Mystery Jet Lag (the american adventure)

Peeling back the asphalt.

First of all, appologies for having posted little in the way of news or goings-on over the last month. We have just returned home from a 4 week American tour (a delayed excursion plugging 'Zootime' and opening for Klaxons across the states).
I think we'd all agree that hitting the road again for the first time in a year(!) has made the long months of writing and recording the second record all wothwhile. It is one thing combing over and over a new song in the studio, in the hope of creating something resembling perfection, but it is quite another to stand infront of 2000 people at the Filimore Auditorium in San Fansisco and perform it for the first time.

We are currently getting all the new material mixed and have also stumbled across some stunning artwork, which, with a little luck, will end up accompanying our lp when it is released, in the early part of 2008.

Do check back in a couple of days, by which time we will have hopefully sifted through our american tour photo album and worked out how much of it is suitable for reproduction.

In the meantime...

-We will be setting out on a small after-hours club tour across the Uk commencing on the 25th of November to road test new material and show our faces before the year is up. Venues, Support Band and Djs will be announced in the next couple of days. But beware - These will be INTIMATE so get a ticket in advance : )

-We will be selling a twelve inch of a new track + remix at the shows

-If you live in the states, but dont own a copy of 'Zootime', our Hybrid James Ford/Erol Alkan part old/part new Lp, get down to your local indie record store and tell the guy behind the counter to hand that shit over.
(or if you live anywhere else in the world, put 'Zootime' into amazon)


And lastly, heres some things for you to download and play to your friends.

Beirut - La banlieu

Band of Horses - Is there a ghost

The Dirty Projectors - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie

Dan Deacon - The Crystal Cat

Vampire weekend - Mansard Roof

Klaxons - No diggity (Blackstreet Cover)



Oh and one more thing. Everybody knows this as one of the greatest and most memorable keyboard lines since the creation of human kind...But the video- THE VIDEO!
This came on the other day and all i can say is that i was a happy person for the rest of the day.



Blaine

"TOUR DAY 1"- Blue skies in Montreal...

We're sitting in an airport lounge, its 4 pm and and the Canadian skies are huge and bright outside the glass window.
We were up at 5 this morning. The long awaited American tour has finally come around, and we've nearly, so very nearly finished the album.
We're on our way to Chicago, with a connection in Montreal and i feel a little like an excited zombie.

We've decided to try and be better bloggers during our time stateside, so hopefully we'll be delivering some fresh photos and a few crisp words on a daily basis.

Sorry not to be more talkative right now but the brain is a little tired...

Till the next,

LoVe,

Kai xxx

BORN UNDER PUNCHES

If you ask me, It really is all about cosy shows. You know the Kind. Where strangers' asses rub up alarmingly close against groins, and where your arms are either above your head (punching the air, as they should be) or by your sides (checking other peoples coat pockets for 'spare cigarettes).
Well, in celebration of this revelation, we decided to play in some damn right hot and sweaty little rooms, just for fun.
The first BORN UNDER PUCHES, to be held at the lauch of hot new blog txtxtxt at corsica studios next thursday will be the first of a series of intimate nights, where we will be putting on acts and djs who we think others ought to know about. This month we have a killer bill, but im paticularily looking forward to Riton's set. Remixer de haute gamme and up n coming posterboy of the ableton generation.

The worst part about not having played a show for near to 7 months (bar a one-off at the opening night of indie superclub Chalk in january) is that you actually start to wonder how you ever did it in the first place. Sure, touring is a trot. Watching tireless roadies carry your guitars and drumkits in and out of clubs each evening whilst ridding your tourbus mini-Bar of its contents is hardly the stuff of a bum's worst nightmare.
Its the idea of actually getting up there and tearing your heart out infront of people who have come there for the sole reason of watching you get up and tear your heart out in front of them that scares the shit out of me.
Fuck, like how did i EVER do that?

Which is why we decided to do some shows with the mighty Late of the Pier for company.
Famous already on blogs like fluokids and skulljuice for thier hotwired gary numan-silicon teens-queen fused sound, they really are the Gary Glitters of how to translate laptop wizardry into full 24 Bit technicolour live, explosive spunk.
If youve not heard them stop reading this shit and witness 'The bears are coming" off thier myspace.
It more lively than life itself
HERE
Its the sound of the the day after tomorrow, created using a circuit-bent speak and spell and sent back in time to warn the children of today of what awaits them just over the horizon. And we like.

Noah and the whale are a 5 piece from west london doing exactly what any band with half an inch of raw talent ought be doing. They are playing thier man tits off. The trick with building up a fanbase appears, actually, as less of a trick once you realise one key thing.
The more people see you play, and the more the same people see you play again and again, the more your songs will penetrate thier little heads. You dont even have to be good. Gwen stephani has built an entire solo career off writing songs which endlessly repeat the same, horribly unforgettable hook from astart to finish. Its kind of odd more talentless people havn't realised that you could sample your self barfing and loop it over a 4/4 beat and have a cult hit on your hands.
EAZY PEAZY

Luckily noah and the whale are a different kettle of fish and write songs that even guys like jeff lewis or conor obherst would pay good american dollars to take home in thier top pockets.
A delightfull combination of harmonium, folk guitars, Basement tapes boogie and charles' heartfelt vocal chords make noah and the whale the best thing since neutral milk hotel hung up their thrift store parker coats at the end of the airplane over the sea tour. If you are coming to the corsica show, get there early or you may very well miss out.
noah and the whales' myspace

Well, on the jets front, i think i could almost safely say we are well on the way to having an album on our hands that we are most proud of. It still has some way to go before it reaches completion, but hearing erol's latest mixes has made the long months of writing and arranging all worth the while. We may even play you one or two if you come down to one of the three shows next week. Expect squeltching guitar parts designed to replicate crashing computers, Synthetic bass workouts and a big lyrical hook borowed from a certain magic FM eighties classic.
Heres a clue..


XBlaine

Ok, seems i made a boo boo, tickets appear to be available at ticketweb, they cost 7pounds fifty pence, and when you search for the concert on the website type in "Born under punches", the name of the night, and it will lead you to the ticket purchasing page....See you soon,XXXXX

Born Under Punches

Here it is, a little concert to unveil new songs, say hello to everyone and play alongside our favourite bunch of bands and disc jockeys...There are tickets going for sale on friday 15th june at ticket master and there will also be a very limited amount available at the door.
Take care, see you there,
william.X