Bits and Pieces

Posted on 02/10/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Here’s another blog post of a couple of assorted media that have come to our attention that we’d like to share.

First up we have the b-side to the upcoming Fear of Men single coming out on Too Pure that we wrote about a few weeks ago. Mosaic, which is already getting airplay on BBC 6Music, is out two weeks today and the flip Your Side sounds like this:

Next is a remix of one of the tracks from Cate Ferris’ Deep Breath, Ready, Get set GO EP. Condensation has been remixed by Talking Books, and doesn’t feature on the cd:

Finally we have another video for the next single from Bat For Lashes upcoming album The Haunted Man. This is the video to accompany All Your Gold, which also comes out on October 15th:

Cate Ferris / deep breath ready get set GO

Posted on 13/09/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Cate Ferris has been a live favourite of ours for a few years before we even started the blog. Over that time she’s developed an impressive one woman set involving a guitar, several keyboards, flute, guiro, drum and a loop pedal.

My fear before hearing the cd was how it would sound. Would the tracks stand up without the performance element to them? Would putting the songs into a studio setting make them lose all their charm?

Thankfully there’s nothing to worry about, mainly because the one constant throughout everything isn’t affected all. Cate’s warm rich voice is what really elevates the live sets, and hasn’t been held back on the recordings either. Under the watchful eye of Tim Bidwell (who’s also produced the likes of Jennifer Left and House of Hats) the vocals are at the fore and a band has been put together to bolster the sound that Cate makes on her own when she plays live.

Leave a Light On is a sad acoustic number with lovely strings. Trapeze is almost circus-like with it’s flute flourishes. Condensation is the track the gives the EP it’s slightly wordy title, and is a more upbeat stomper. If you’re wondering where you might have heard Doll on a Music Box before then, yes, it is from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Cate’s EP is out now and available through Bandcamp

House of Hats at The Brunswick / Cate Ferris at The Neptune

Posted on 03/09/2012 by brightonmusicblog

This weekend we went to two gigs which on paper, could have been very similar – Both were in Hove, in pubs, both were folk-based acts, and both featured performers who have recently made recordings with local producer Tim Bidwell. That’s where the similarity ends though.

Saturday night, House of Hats hosted their Harvest Sessions night at the Brunswick. The Harvest Sessions is a monthly affair put on by the band where they invite other people they’ve worked with onto the bill to share them with their audience. This month saw Cordelia Gartside (who’s also recently been produced by Tim Bidwell), Rob Vincent and Conrad Vingoe play with House of Hats.

Cordelia Gartside

I only caught the end of Cordelia’s set, but for someone so young I was impressed at how she held the room enthralled. Sometimes the simplest of setups – just a voice and guitar – can create wonderful things. Next up was Rob Vincent, who was very good, and had a fantastic voice, but isn’t from Brighton, so I’ll move on.

Conrad Vingoe

Conrad Vingoe was next onstage, fresh from playing at the Levellers’ Beautiful Days festival thanks to winning a set through an Acoustic Magazine organised contest. Conrad was playing with a slightly reduced band, since his regular mandolin player was playing with Emily Baker in Shoreham, and was just accompanied by double bass, as well as his own guitar and harmonica playing. It was easy to see that Conrad had the skills to win the set – as well as a quality performance, he was charismatic and friendly between songs too. He’s got an EP out soon, which I’m sure we’ll tell you more about nearer the time.

House of Hats

At the end of the night House of Hats came on, and played a relatively short set for headliners – I guess that’s that’s the price of having four bands on the bill. The band played a number of songs from their debut House of Hats EP, their upcoming Rivers Will Run release and even threw in a Dylan cover. Lead vocals were passed between guitarist Alex and multi-instrumentalist Noddy, and the close harmonies from the whole band sounded very slick indeed. It’s great to see a band who are working so hard and seem to be on track for big things also remembering the people they have worked with along the way.

Cate Ferris

Sunday night we were just around the corner, where Cate Ferris was playing at The Neptune’s regular music night. Cate was last invited to play at the Neptune back in March, and they enjoyed her performance so much that this time they gave her the whole evening to perform in, which she broke up into two forty-five minute sets. Most of this was filled with her newer material which starts off simply but builds up subtly with harmonic vocal loops and sampled drum or keyboard lines complimenting her acoustic guitar. It wasn’t all new tracks though – Cate also dug out old favourites Still Green and Bonnie & Clyde. The gig also marked the first outing of Cate’s new EP – “Deep Breath, Ready, Get Set, Go” is a new four track which isn’t officially out until next Monday, but was available on the night. After a marathon set, the crowd demanded more, so Cate improvised on the spot, building a song just made from harmonies layered over one another and looped – a raw exhilarating end to a fantastic performance.

Jennifer Left single launch at the Blind Tiger

Posted on 20/06/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Jennifer Left’s debut single Black Dog came out a few weeks ago, and last night she held the launch party for it at the Blind Tiger Club. Support came from Cate Ferris and the Peppermint Beat Band.

Cate Ferris had a tricky job as opener of the night – Set times were already pushed back because of the football and when she took to the stage things were still quite quiet, but by the end of the set the venue was full and she had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand. Playing predominantly new material, some of which has been recorded by Tim Bidwell (who also produced Jennifer Left’s single) to be released as an EP sometime in the next couple of months, Cate played guitar, drums, flute, and keyboards, and used samplers to loop her sounds and harmonise with herself. Expect to read a lot more about Cate on the blog in the next few weeks as we get more details of her single and her flashmob on 1st July…

Next up were The Peppermint Beat Band, a tight five piece retro rock’n’roll group, originally from Northampton but who’ve been based in Brighton for the past few years. Their trousers were as tight as their harmonies, and their facial hair was quite something too.

The Peppermint Beat Band

Finally this month’s Source cover star hit the stage. The band’s songs bring together a wide range of influences, from folk to jazz to pop and back again, all underpinned by Jennifer Left’s distinctive smoky voice. Band members swapped instruments, picking up a variety of guitars and basses, a mandolin, some keyboard based instruments, including an accordian and a xylophone (which almost fell apart on it’s way to the stage), as well as trumpet. Despite not yet being released yet, the songs sounded accomplished and familiar – old yet new at the same time. Time flew by and before we knew it the set was being closed with the song that the whole evening was celebrating, new single Black Dog.

Jennifer Left

new single : Nordic Giants (feat Cate Ferris) / Shine

Posted on 31/05/2012 by brightonmusicblog

Brighton Music Blog favourites Nordic Giants release their debut single today.

If you’ve got a nagging feeling that they’ve had a single already, then you’re kind of right – Their “A Tree as Old as Me” EP came out in September 2010. But technically, that was an EP, not a single, so here they are with their debut. And if you’re thinking that you might have heard Shine before, then you’ll be right there too, because a different version was on the EP.

Shine is an absolutely epic track. Like the very best bits of Sigur Ros, but with female vocals, going from whispers to a barrage of wondrous noise in a heartbeat. Things start off quiet with Cate Ferris’ vocal line over what might be strings, or could be reversed guitars. Things stay restrained for a couple of minutes after which the tension slowly starts to build, then comes the drop, and then an explosion of noise, like fireworks in your soul.

B-side Together samples a Martin Luther King speech (which bizarrely has also been sampled by Linkin Park, of all people), and brings to mind a more melodic Godspeed You Black Emperor – a rousing moralistic oratory over rousing intense post-rock. There’s also an acoustic version of Shine thrown in for good measure, with simple piano lines and a string quartet replacing the guitars.

Shine is out on iTunes now.

New videos from Cate Ferris

Posted on 28/12/2011 by brightonmusicblog

Cate Ferris has posted up some new videos onto her youtube channel today. They’re both tracks that she’s been playing live this year, so if you’ve caught her playing around town, you’ll know just how good they are. If not, enjoy these for the first time.

Trapeze:

Leave a Light On

Cate’s Youtube Channel and her Facebook page