Hidden Shoal News
Featured Track – Todd Tobias ‘Night of the Clubfoot’
Choosing a single track from any of Todd Tobias‘s shadowy instrumental albums offers a tantalising glimpse into his intoxicating universe of sound. In the case of ‘Night of the Clubfoot’, the opening track of Medicine Show, a distorted electric guitar weaves a gorgeous, unexpected melodic progression over a doomy dirge. If Medicine Show is a movie, then ‘Night of the Clubfoot’ is the curtain drawing back to reveal something horrible and hypnotic. This is atmospheric instrumental rock staggering through a glass darkly; a fantastical world that’s deep and dangerous enough to lose yourself in.
New Single from The Star Department Out Now!
After premiering on the Crackling Vinyl blog, we’re excited to be able to announce the official availability of The Star Department’s new single. ‘This Ship Won’t Sail’ is a stunning introduction to the duo’s inventive take on expansive down-tempo indie pop and the perfect intro to the band’s forthcoming full length The Pea Green Boat. The song’s organ-driven twists and turns evoke the dark charm of Psychedelic Fur’s ‘Sister Europe’, Deerhunter’s more pop-leaning moments, and the chiming guitar work of seminal Flying Nun outfits. Never self-indulgent yet never predictable, this is hypnotic, emotive stuff.
‘Art rock with a nice, romantic/melodic edge’ – The Guardian
The Star Department are multi-instrumentalists Justin Commins (Kill Krinkle Club) and Michael Orange (Feather Beds, Soft Bones), who formed in Dublin in 2006. Their forthcoming debut album The Pea Green Boat, mixed by Tom McFall (Bloc Party, REM, Stars, Weezer), charts a beguiling journey through gently psychedelic waters.
‘This Ship Won’t Sail’ is available now for download with Pea Green Boat dropping on the 7th of July 2015 through Hidden Shoal.
Kramies Live Session and Feature at IndieMusic
Photo by Jérôme Sevrette
After Kramies whirlwind tour of France, we are left a wake of wonderful features, live sessions and reviews from a range of awesome French mags, zines and blogs to share with you. Case in point is this fantastic feature at the excellent IndieMusic, including some stunning photos of the man himself and a beautiful live version of ‘The Wooden Heart’.
Check it out here and watch this space and as we share more of Kramies French gems!
Crackling Vinyl Premieres New Star Department Single
Ahead of its release later this week, the wonderful Crackling Vinyl blog is premiering the brand new single from The Star Department. ‘This Ship Won’t Sail’ is a sublime slice of melancholic atmos-pop that opens the door to the bands debut album The Pea Green Boat (mixed by Tom McFall (Bloc Party, REM, Stars, Weezer) out July 7th.
Head to Crackling Vinyl now to soak in the goodness and read more about The Star Department here.
Liminal Drifter Signs to Hidden Shoal
Hidden Shoal is excited to announce the signing of Perth based (via UK) electronic producer Liminal Drifter (aka Dr. Simon Order) to its roster of artists.
Order’s previous work in the UK includes the ’90s project dUB Rumble, producing remixes with UK prog rockers Galahad and infamous funksters The Bird Tribe along with numerous TV, film and radio sound credits. Order is also an academic at Perth’s Murdoch University, where he researches radio and music technology, including radio production, community media, user-interface usability, and the use of music technology in teaching and learning.
His work as Liminal Drifter is an ongoing travelogue between identities, physical places and states of consciousness. Many of these dreamy, evocative slices of ambient electronica evolved on hand-held mobile devices, away from the studio, while traveling or visiting new places. This sense of contemplative, exploratory rootlessness imbues his work with the wistfulness and open narrative we often associate with travel.
Liminal Drifter’s debut album Troubled Mystic features collaborations with the ever wonderful Chloe March and will see release on August 12th, preceded by the first single in early July.
Les Limbes Explosive Self-Titled Debut EP Out Now!
Hidden Shoal is excited to announce the release of the powerhouse debut self-titled EP from French outfit Les Limbes. The Les Limbes EP is an exercise in intensely focused energy and atmosphere. Its four instrumental tracks are driven by dense, heavy guitars and a lithe, propulsive rhythm section, counterpointed with soaring strings and driving pianos. This mix of adrenalised rock heft with atmospheric pop dynamics is both mesmerising and incredibly visceral.
“All the arty guff on this EP, the soft heart of prog is melted down and reforged into a lead ball which gets fired at your chest. It’s the kind of attack that makes you stronger, revives a lagging passion for types of music that have been worn down by workmanlike treatment. Quite the opposite of their name, which means, simply, Limbo, Les Limbes are thrilling.” – 4ZZZ (Chris Cobcroft)
The Les Limbes EP is available now via BandCamp along with the usual digital retail stores.
Hypnotic Neo-Classical Pop from REW<< (Single & Video)
We’ve been itching to give you a first taste of REW<<‘s forthcoming sophomore album Olive Skinned, Silver Tongued Sirens Sing Swan Songs and we’re relieved to say the time for itching is over! ‘The Lights in the Sands of Katumpkale’ is an evocative instrumental miniature – a window into Ryan E. Weber’s kaleidoscopic musical universe. Insistently plucked and bowed strings weave and coalesce around Weber’s effected vocals, creating a kind of surreal neo-classical pop. The accompanying music video, shot on Super 8 and transferred to VHS tape, deepens the song’s mystifying and avant-garde allure as the camera cuts between the body parts of an eerie, white-faced figure moving in black space.
‘The Lights in the Sands of Katumpkale’ is available now as a free download and stream. Check out the video on YouTube and Vimeo. Olive Skinned, Silver Tongued Sirens Sing Swan Songs will be released through Hidden Shoal on 16th July 2015. Find out more about REW<< here.
The October Solution’s “Axis Swim Scar” Out Now!
We’re excited to finally be able to announce the release of The October Solution‘s stunning debut album Axis Swim Scar. If you’re late to the party, dream-pop architects The October Solution are the inimitable combo of Drew Sullivan (Slow Dancing Society, City of Satellites) and Jarrod Manuel (City of Satellites). While steeped in ’80s nostalgia, their music moves beyond familiar tropes to stand as defiantly futuristic and progressive, no better exemplified than on the 1st single ‘1984’, which draws upon the sweeping grandeur of Disintegration-era Cure. Axis Swim Scar resonates with soaring guitars,ethereal vocals, and deftly woven pop melodies, melding the incandescent ambient sounds of Slow Dancing Society within the propulsive song-craft of City of Satellites.
Head here to stream and buy a copy of the album and also look out for it at the usual digital outlets such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and the rest. Don’t forget to download a free copy of 1st single, ‘1984’ here as well.
Hypnotic New Music Video for Markus Mehr’s ‘Only For A While’
Experimental ambient maestro Markus Mehr‘s track ‘Only For A While’ (taken from his 2012 album On) has recently featured on the Caf del Mar compilation SunScapes, alongside Brian McBride, Marconi Union and Biosphere. The track now has a hypnotic, Twin Peaks-style video, thanks to Hidden Shoal’s very own Cam Merton, in which a long, slow flight over forests and lakes loops on and on, deepening the music’s aching drift.
Check out the video at YouTube and listen to more of Mehr’s work here, including his latest masterpiece Binary Rooms.
Les Limbes Sonic Exposure Feature at Igloo Mag
We’re a little over a week away from the release of Les Limbes brilliant self-titled debut EP so what better time to delve a little deeper into this wonderful French outfit. Thanks to the ever wonderful Igloo Mag and their Sonic Exposure feature we can do that very thing! Head to Igloo Mag to hear more about the bands history, their approach and the forthcoming EP. And of course if you haven’t yet succumbed to the adrenalised, John Barry’esque post-rock’n’roll splendour that is ‘Hypersonic’, the first cut from the EP, then stream below or download here.
Hidden Shoal MixTape
