9 for 2023!

 

Nine lessons and carols and… nine releases from Upset The Rhythm too! 2023 has been a bumper 20th year for UTR with releases by Me Lost Me, Es, Water Machine, Screensaver, The Toads, Terry, Brontez Purnell,Vintage Crop and Historically F*cked. If you like spontaneous rock throttles, gothic restlessness, time-straddling folk role-play or snappy postpunk we’ve got you covered. So many highlights! All of these records are streaming through the digiverse now, whilst  you can find pristine vinyl copies in all the best shops and via own webstore here too.

Thank you for supporting us as ever by listening, it really means the world.
May many merry times be bestowed upon thee!
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The Umbrellas - London show announced for March 13th!

 

 

Upset The Rhythm presents…

THE UMBRELLAS
Wednesday 13 March
OSLO, 1a Amhurst Road, Hackney Central, London, E8 1LL
7.30pm | £13 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ee39bba86945 (on sale this Friday at 10am)

THE UMBRELLAS are four renegade romantics crafting irresistible indie pop hymns. The band’s self-titled 2021 debut album became a breakout moment, winning critical praise and sparking an international tour. Follow-up LP ‘Fairweather Friend’ goes a step further – absorbing the sonic attack of their live shows, it balances this with studio finesse, allowing the San Francisco four-piece to become the band they’ve always aspired to be. 

It’s a record overflowing with highlights. The candyfloss melodies of introductory track ‘Three Cheers!’ are matched to an impactful percussive punch; ‘Say What You Mean’ finds The Umbrellas working with total confidence, letting the song ride out to its chiming conclusion, four voices working in precision. ‘When You Find Out’ offers rotating notes of guitar punctuated by a vocal that pushes past angst to accept a world full of hope. A lean 10 track affair, it grasps towards beatific pop while fuelled by a sense of risk, and the precision that comes from long months on the road. 

Taken as a whole ‘Fairweather Friend’ is a bold indie pop triumph, crafted with purpose and attention. Taking their time over each note, the four-piece have strengthened their songwriting, adding depth and assurance while unlocking their potential. Some bonds last a lifetime – The Umbrellas are ready to capture your heart.

https://theumbrellasca.bandcamp.com/album/the-umbrellas

UTR20 t-shirts and posters hit the webshop!

Ho, ho, woah!
Tis the season for jolly merch!
Today we added to our webshop our Upset The Rhythm ‘20th anniversary’ t-shirts and risograph posters designed by the wondrous Meg Woof. Our new pin badges and stickers are up there too, joining this year’s UTR releases by Brontez Purnell, Screensaver, Me Lost Me, Vintage Crop, Water Machine, The Toads, Terry, Es and Historically F***ed. To celebrate we’re offering everyone here a festive 20% discount, just use the code UTR20 before January and get merry!

UTR webshop: https://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/
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The Pheromoans at Cafe OTO in March!

Really thrilled for this new show in March!

 

Upset The Rhythm presents…

THE PHEROMOANS
APOSTILLE
DEAN RODNEY JR. & THE COWBOYS
FLEX DJs (HP Sorcery & The Plague)
Tuesday 5 March
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL
7.30pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ed1d116c8c37

THE PHEROMOANS were formed in Brighton in 2005 as a quartet of Alex Garran, James Hines, James Tranmer and Russell Walker, and played their first concert in at the Freebutt in Brighton in January 2006. Russell moved to London shortly after, putting the future of the band in doubt. Combinations of the above line-up along with new member Christian Butler-Zanetti. They would play sporadically in London with promoters such as Upset The Rhythm at venues such as Bardens Boudoir in Dalston. The sound was a very basic take on UK DIY bands such as Swell Maps, along with obscure garage rock bands from the 1960s as documented on retrospective compilations such as Back To The Grave. What set the band apart from their peers was a complete disregard for musical competence and rehearsing, along with the effort Russell Walker put into his lyrics. They made a CD to start selling at gigs in 2007, and gradually recorded that would make up the material up that would be included on several singles and a debut LP on the New York label Consulsive in 2011. Several releases followed, with Scott Reeve replacing James Hines as drummer following a dispute. The early 2020s saw founding member of the band Alex Garran moving to Stavanger in Norway, and Christian Butler-Zanetti to Okinaya, Japan. In stepped Brighton resident Henry Holmes and work began on a forthcoming album in Lewes, recorded as usual by James Tranmer.
https://thepheromoans-alter.bandcamp.com

APOSTILLE is a man who's torn through enough soundsystems to know the difference between gesture and meaning. Alongside running his own DIY record label Night School Records, Glasgow native Michael Kasparis has previously made forays into the realm of hardcore punk with his groups Anxiety and The Lowest Form. Throughout all this, his solo electronic venture Apostille has continued to evolve with each twist and turn of the world. What started off as a quest to whip up a mood and force that into a song has steadily become more of a mission in communication. The third Apostille album, ‘Prisoners Of Love And Hate’, was released on Night School last September.
https://apostille.bandcamp.com/album/prisoners-of-love-and-hate

DEAN RODNEY JR.  is an artist and the lead singer of Dean Rodney Jr. & The Cowboys. In this latest project he puts on the golden suit and riffs about food, jiggling body parts and more over tight disco pop. Backed by Rosie Ridgeway, Jack Barraclough, Tom Hirst and Robyn Steward, you better watch out as there’s a new sheriff in town! Their debut album ‘The Yeehaw Moment’ is out now. Dean was also the frontman of The Fish Police, has collaborated with Ravioli Me Away and during lockdown, Dean wrote and recorded 54 albums, describing a fictional alternative version of the present day, Dean TV World.
https://deanrodneyjrandthecowboys.bandcamp.com

Upset The Rhythm celebrates turning 20 this Saturday!

 

Seasonal greets!   We're donning party hats this Saturday at Cafe OTO as Upset The Rhythm is celebrating 20 years of rigourous DIY musical operation: 2000 shows, 160 records and a whole lotta late nights!   Come and help us blow out all those candles! We have thee best company as Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews will bring their lo-fi pop marvels, ethereal ballads and noir soundscapes to London for the first time. Long-standing UTR kith and kin Rattle and Russell Walker (of The Pheromoans) will also be providing entertainment during the evening, plus Simon Marchant (of Normil Hawaiians) will be sharing his DJ talents with us throughout.   We'll have records for sale, risographed posters and bright orange t-shirts (designed by Meg woof) to help mark the occasion, read on for the full story. Mince pies vs birthday cake hmmmm!

Upset The Rhythm present their 20th birthday party with… LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS RATTLE RUSSELL WALKER SIMON MARCHANT (Normil Hawaiians) - DJ SET Saturday 9 December Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Y1c88667d259 LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS shared a big house in Baltimore in 1983 with a continuously revolving cast of artists and musicians. It was there the like-minded artists formed their first band, Ceramic Madonna Head, a short-lived project which included housemates Elizabeth Downing and Peggy Bitzer. By the time the lease was up, Linda and Peggy had decided to move to New York where they would form a new band called The Woods while Nancy and Elizabeth remained in Baltimore and formed a performance art band called Lambs Eat Ivy. While playing guitar in The Woods in the mid-80’s Linda purchased her first 4-track cassette recorder and embarked on a pioneering decade of solo, DIY home recording with a series of cassettes and 7” records of smart and moody singer-songwriter bedroom pop music. This trailblazing period was recently documented on jewel-box compilation ‘Sky Girl’ and Captured Tracks’ retrospective compilation ‘Till Another Time: 1988-1996.’ During this same period Nancy pursued art, animation and filmmaking. The friends stayed in touch but hadn’t worked on a project together in nearly thirty years. In 2020, Linda rediscovered in the back of a drawer some old tapes of Nancy’s songs she had recorded for her in the 90’s. In the process of digitizing the old recordings she was inspired to reach out and float the idea of a new collaborative recording project with her old friend. ‘A Passing Cloud’ (Grapefruit/Gertrude Records) is the fruit of their rekindled long-distance musical conversation. All the songs were composed incrementally by passing tracks back and forth between Maine and Maryland, making for some beguiling pop music that draws us in with a carefully rendered intimacy. https://lindasmith2.bandcamp.com/album/a-passing-cloud RATTLE are a UK-based duo, Rattle focus almost exclusively on drums and more drums, beneath a delicate overlay of vocal harmonies and percussive effects. Formed by Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley, Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using drums and voice alone. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Rattle effortlessly blend the avant-garde with irresistible melodies and hypnotic drum beats, using rhythm and harmony to create a refreshing sound that is utterly new - a pretty rare feat these days when we're saturated with so much music. Rattle's immense ‘Sequence’ album came out recently through Upset The Rhythm. https://rattleon.bandcamp.com/ RUSSELL WALKER is a 43 year old resident of Hitchin, Hertfordshire who dislikes Piers Morgan's son. He  writes / performs on his own as well as in various projects - his most recent releases are Soothers with Malvern Brume (Are You Before, 2023) and I Can't Remember as the Lloyd Pack (Digital Regress, 2023). https://on.soundcloud.com/aACG9     * Amazing poster by Meg Woof! We will have some risograph posters and some striking orange t-shirts emblazoned with this image available at the show!

Look out below for our programme of events for 2024, now boasting a Tara Clerkin Trio concert at the end of febraury at The 100 Club. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!   Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

Upset The Rhythm present their 20th birthday party with…
LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS
RATTLE
RUSSELL WALKER

SIMON MARCHANT (Normil Hawaiians) - DJ SET

Saturday 9 December
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL
7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Y1c88667d259

LANKUM

RACHAEL LAVELLE

Wednesday 13 December
Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH

(Produced by UTR and Parallel Lines)

7.30pm | SOLD OUT

 

THE HOMESICK

ROBERT SOTELO

Thursday 22 February

The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9JB

7.30pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/bf946caa252b

 

TARA CLERKIN TRIO
Monday 26 February
100 Club, 100 Oxford St, London, W1D 1LL
7.30pm | £13 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/a16641a4040a

 

MARY LATTIMORE
Tuesday 26 March
Scala, 275 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9NL
7.30pm | £15 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/E8624bc1f2eb

 

HOUSE Of ALL
Thursday 18 April
The Dome, 2A Dartmouth Park Hill, Tufnell Park, N19 5QH
7pm | £18 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/wac85b671659

 

LANKUM
Saturday 18 May
Sunday 19 May
Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St, London E8 1EJ

(Produced by UTR and Parallel Lines)

8pm | £25-£31.50 | Tickets: https://upsettherhythm.co.uk/

 

THE REDS, PINKS AND PURPLES

Wednesday 12 June - SOLD OUT
Thursday 13 June
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB
7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/gf4a71a6788c

Tara Clerkin Trio - London show for February!

 

OK! February just got interesting!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

TARA CLERKIN TRIO
Monday 26 February
100 Club, 100 Oxford St, London, W1D 1LL
7.30pm | £13 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/a16641a4040a

TARA CLERKIN TRIO are Pat Benjamin, Sunny Joe Paradisos and Tara Clerkin, three musicians involved in a number of cult Bristol bands over the years before confidently settling down in triangle formation. They are inspired by and borrow from jazz, trip hop, electronica, psychedelia & minimalism, twirling the non-pretentious strands of these threads together into a trippy green winged-cloak, adorning Arthur Russell and dripping in blue jam.

Their self-titled debut LP was released in 2020 and was a sleeper hit, coming in at 35 in the Wire's top 100 albums of the year and in Bleeps top 10. Their latest EP, ‘On The Turning Ground’, was released on World of Echo in November. Whilst their inspirations might be centreless, but the trio still possess a very obvious anchor in the form of their hometown. Bristol stands as a city of multitudes, heterogenous and vibrant in such a way as to allow it to renew and remake time and again. Tara Clerkin Trio drink from that same well, duly reflecting a rich musical heritage built on fwd-facing electronic subcultures and experimental urges. As such, ‘On The Turning Ground’ finds them subject to their own subtle internal evolution, the pervasive sense that you've caught them mid-bloom, on their way to becoming but never anything but themselves.

https://taraclerkintrio.bandcamp.com/

UTR 20th anniversary radio special for Hello Goodbye!

There was an Upset The Rhythm 20th anniversary special on the radio over the weekend. Huge thanks to deXter Bentley & Hello Goodbye on Resonance FM for inviting Chris to chat about two decades of activity, our party at Cafe OTO this coming Saturday and why his right arm is two inches longer than the left. Starts from 7 minutes! Featuring tracks from Brontez Purnell, Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews, The Pheromoans (exclusive first listen) and Rattle (live in session). Nick Carlisle from Bamboo even pops up for a chat too! Magic!

Listen again

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Brontez Purnell's album out today, plus shows for Bill Orcutt and Ruth Mascelli next week!

 

Time to party! Today we’re releasing a new album from supreme multi-talent Brontez Purnell!   Confirmed Bachelor is out now on crystal-clear vinyl and digitally everywhere, go check it out!   These twelve songs are of the no-time-wasted variety. Fuzzed-out pop songs, hotly delivered from the heart, often sassy, sometimes sappy, always snappy! We’re talking about jagged riffs galore, bubblegum bounce and Brontez’s vocal racing to bopsome effect. So much to celebrate! ‘Confirmed Bachelor’ is available to order now.

Brontez Purnell has been making music since the ‘90s. The Southern-raised, Oakland-based American musician and writer has centred his queerness and Blackness in projects Gravy Train!!!! and Younger Lovers as well as in his award-winning books ‘100 Boyfriends’ and ‘Since I Laid My Burden Down’. He is also a dancer, film maker and choreographer.   Hot on the heels of recent 7” singles for Sub Pop, PPM and his first solo electronic record ‘No Jack Swing’ (Dark Entries / Papi Juice), Brontez returns in DIY-punk band formation for a new album entitled ‘Confirmed Bachelor’. Brontez’s band includes the multifaceted talents of Vice Cooler (who also produced and mixed the album), Sean Teves (of Younger Lovers) on drums, Kevin Preston (Prima Donna, Green Day) on guitar, Aaron Minton (Prima Donna) on piano and saxophone, and Laena Myers-Ionita on violin. The album was recorded in Los Angeles at The VCR earlier this year.   Confirmed Bachelor is a hot wonder, upbeat, witty and ever-lively only with a forlorn core, a resolute focus and defiant honesty. It’s a rare triumph, a record you can dance your Friday night away to, whilst the songs’ subtly work on your emotions from the inside out.

On to UTR shows now then!   We're celebrating our 20th anniversary of Upset The Rhythm next week with a one-off concert in... Shrewsbury!   We're bringing the fantastic Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet to our hometown next Thursday (November 16th) for a performance at St Mary's church. We're very pleased to have Rattle playing this one too, it will be really special, we hope you can join us.   Read on for a full digest of that concert alongside a write-up of a rare solo performance from Ruth Mascelli of Special Interest which will take place on November 18th (The Waiting Room) with the Charlène Darling Groupe and Disciples DJs too.   You'll also find events by Deb Googe (of My Bloody Valentine) and Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews detailed below too. This latter one is our chance to celebrate 20 huge years in your company in London too!

Upset The Rhythm presents… BILL ORCUTT GUITAR QUARTET (Bill Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza & Shane Parish) RATTLE Thursday 16 November St Mary the Virgin, St Mary's Pl, Dogpole, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1DX 7.30pm | £15 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/nbf97235de2b San Francisco-based guitarist and composer Bill Orcutt presents his latest project, an all-electric Guitar Quartet performing the music from his 2022 LP “Music for Four Guitars,” an album which Pitchfork describes as “a rigidly structured quartet that weaves tiny rhythmic phrases into expansive tapestries, drawing on the tenets of early minimalism and New York guitar groups like Glenn Branca Ensemble.” Featuring an all-star team of guitarists Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish, the ensemble will present the music in an expanded live format that will combine intricate composition with no holds barred improvisation. Outside of London this concert in Shrewsbury will be the guitar quartet’s only other UK performance. Shrewsbury is the ancestral home of Upset The Rhythm and an amazing historical town to visit. Bill Orcutt is the former guitarist and founder of the notorious 90’s group Harry Pussy, and his sound is a stuttered reimagining of blues guitar, weaving looping melodic lines and angular attack into a dense, fissured landscape of American primitivism, outsider jazz, and a stripped-down re-envisioning of the possibilities of the guitar. Whether he’s playing his decrepit Kay acoustic or gutted electric Telecaster (both stripped of two of their strings, as has been Orcutt’s custom since 1985), Orcutt’s jagged sound is utterly unique and instantly recognizable, compared with equal frequency to avant-garde composers and rural bluesmen. The New York Times has called him a "powerful musician... a go-for-broke guitar improviser," and described his sound as "articulated sprays of arpeggiated chords and dissonance." Wendy Eisenberg is an improviser and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. Their work spans genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs; their performances span venues, from international festivals to intimate basements. Though often working solo as both a songwriter and improviser, with acclaimed releases on Tzadik, VDSQ, Out of your Head, and Garden Portal, they also perform in the rock band Editrix, and in endless other combinations of their heroes and peers including Allison Miller, Carla Kihlstedt, John Zorn, Billy Martin, and Caroline Davis. They are also a writer on music and other things, with published essays on music in Sound American, Arcana, and the Contemporary Music Review. Settled in Brooklyn, Ava Mendoza has gained a deserved reputation in recent years for being one of the most exciting musicians on the New York scene, appearing on stages and records with John Zorn, Matana Roberts, Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, William Parkers and Mike Watt. Although also performing with the trio Unnatural Ways (with whom she appeared at Jazz in August in 2016), here Mendoza presents her beguiling solo work whose latest chapter, New Spells, released in 2021, brings together her own compositions with pieces written by Trevor Dunn, Devin Hoff and John Dikeman. Marc Ribot has described New Spells as “a beautiful, powerful and highly original solo electric guitar record – not just another record but a new sound, a new voice”. Shane Parish devotes much of his time to developing his singular and expressive voice on the guitar. He communicates through emotion, unexpected melodicism, technical whimsy, a nuanced sense of form, and rich timbral variety, simultaneously drawing from the guitar’s history and aiming for its future.  He is known for fronting the electric instrumental prog-punk band Ahleuchatistas, and for his uniquely beautiful solo acoustic finger-style work, often creating modern re-interpretations of traditional folk tunes.  He has released records on Tzadik, International Anthem, Cuneiform and more. https://billorcutt.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-four-guitars   RATTLE are a UK-based duo, Rattle focus almost exclusively on drums and more drums, beneath a delicate overlay of vocal harmonies and percussive effects. Formed by Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley, Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using drums and voice alone. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Rattle effortlessly blend the avant-garde with irresistible melodies and hypnotic drum beats, using rhythm and harmony to create a refreshing sound that is utterly new - a pretty rare feat these days when we're saturated with so much music. Rattle's immense ‘Sequence’ album came out recently through Upset The Rhythm. https://rattleon.bandcamp.com/

Upset The Rhythm presents… RUTH MASCELLI CHARLÈNE DARLING GROUPE DISCIPLES DJs Saturday 18 November The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/tc44dce1c5c1 RUTH MASCELLI is one quarter of the New Orleans no wave/glam/industrial group Special Interest, providing drum machine and electronic textures to their anthemic songs. As a solo artist, they have released a number of tapes as Psychic Hotline, before making their debut under their own name with the album ‘A Night At The Baths’ on Disciples in 2021. Ruth lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. The forthcoming second solo album from Ruth Mascelli and a clear progression from the pulse-racing nightime bathouse concept of their debut record. Non-Stop Healing Frequency is a carefully constructed sequence of electronic mood pieces, tender ballads, kosmische disco tracks and industrial symphonies. Synth, piano and drum machine are layered carefully over the course of these eleven tracks, with Mascelli’s own voice featured several times, including a devastating version of “Lopin’ Along Thru The Cosmos” by the late, great Judee Sill. https://ruthmascelli.bandcamp.com/album/non-stop-healing-frequency CHARLÈNE DARLING aka Charlotte Kouklia builds a self-contained musical world via French and English language vocals, and a minimalist backing of guitar, organ, bass and drums. At times recalling the feminist post-punk of The Raincoats, the avant songcraft of Brigitte Fontaine, or the psychedelic vignettes of Cate Le Bon, in truth Charlène Darling sounds like herself. The arrangements are playfully experimental, dubbed out percussion bubbling over the stripped back instrumentation, or rough tape edits disrupting lush harmonies, but never losing sight of the earworm hooks that make these songs so addictively listenable. Step through the door and walk right in. Charlène Darling’s second album of beautifully constructed leftfield pop songs will be called ‘La Porte’ and will be released on Disciples soon. It is an exploration of misplaced desire and all-consuming romantic obsession. This performance will feature Charlène’s full live band, the Charlène Darling Groupe. https://charlenedarling.bandcamp.com/

Upset The Rhythm presents…. DEB GOOGE TOO MANY THINGS Thursday 30 November The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £11.00 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ed3a9e85f413 DEB GOOGE - bass player with My Bloody Valentine, Thurston Moore Group and Brix Smith, will be touring solo presenting her first solo recordings (release date early November). Taking a bass IV, a looper and a pile of FX pedals, Deb Googe blends traditional basslines with more abstract noises to make intricate, layered soundscapes. Deb's new project will be called Da Googe, info on her forthcoming album soon! https://www.instagram.com/googoogiegoo/?hl=en TOO MANY THINGS are duo Marion Andrau (The Wharves/Underground Railroad/Throw Down Bones) & Jem Doulton (Thurston Moore Group/The Oscillation). Marion & Jem play each other’s songs best described as gloomy noise, politico-romantic psych; expect well oiled electronics, guitar, keys and vocals leading you to an underworld reminiscent of the red room of Twin Peaks. https://youtu.be/7OdkXmTRyWA

Upset The Rhythm present their 20th birthday party with… LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS RATTLE RUSSELL WALKER Saturday 9 December Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Y1c88667d259 LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS shared a big house in Baltimore in 1983 with a continuously revolving cast of artists and musicians. It was there the like-minded artists formed their first band, Ceramic Madonna Head, a short-lived project which included housemates Elizabeth Downing and Peggy Bitzer. By the time the lease was up, Linda and Peggy had decided to move to New York where they would form a new band called The Woods while Nancy and Elizabeth remained in Baltimore and formed a performance art band called Lambs Eat Ivy. While playing guitar in The Woods in the mid-80’s Linda purchased her first 4-track cassette recorder and embarked on a pioneering decade of solo, DIY home recording with a series of cassettes and 7” records of smart and moody singer-songwriter bedroom pop music. This trailblazing period was recently documented on jewel-box compilation ‘Sky Girl’ and Captured Tracks’ retrospective compilation ‘Till Another Time: 1988-1996.’ During this same period Nancy pursued art, animation and filmmaking. The friends stayed in touch but hadn’t worked on a project together in nearly thirty years. In 2020, Linda rediscovered in the back of a drawer some old tapes of Nancy’s songs she had recorded for her in the 90’s. In the process of digitizing the old recordings she was inspired to reach out and float the idea of a new collaborative recording project with her old friend. ‘A Passing Cloud’ (Grapefruit/Gertrude Records) is the fruit of their rekindled long-distance musical conversation. All the songs were composed incrementally by passing tracks back and forth between Maine and Maryland, making for some beguiling pop music that draws us in with a carefully rendered intimacy. https://lindasmith2.bandcamp.com/album/a-passing-cloud RATTLE are a UK-based duo, Rattle focus almost exclusively on drums and more drums, beneath a delicate overlay of vocal harmonies and percussive effects. Formed by Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley, Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using drums and voice alone. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Rattle effortlessly blend the avant-garde with irresistible melodies and hypnotic drum beats, using rhythm and harmony to create a refreshing sound that is utterly new - a pretty rare feat these days when we're saturated with so much music. Rattle's immense ‘Sequence’ album came out recently through Upset The Rhythm. https://rattleon.bandcamp.com/ RUSSELL WALKER is a 43 year old resident of Hitchin, Hertfordshire who dislikes Piers Morgan's son. He  writes / performs on his own as well as in various projects - his most recent releases are Soothers with Malvern Brume (Are You Before, 2023) and I Can't Remember as the Lloyd Pack (Digital Regress, 2023). https://on.soundcloud.com/aACG9 * Amazing poster by Meg Woof!

Thanks for reading, see you soon and have a great weekend! Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

DEAR NORA R. AGGS Monday 13 November The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/wcbfc13f5224   BILL ORCUTT GUITAR QUARTET (Bill Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza & Shane Parish) RATTLE Thursday 16 November St Mary the Virgin, St Mary's Pl, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1DX 7.30pm | £15 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/nbf97235de2b RUTH MASCELLI CHARLÈNE DARLING GROUPE DISCIPLES DJs Saturday 18 November The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/tc44dce1c5c1   DEB GOOGE TOO MANY THINGS Thursday 30 November The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £11.00 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ed3a9e85f413   Upset The Rhythm present their 20th birthday party with… LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS RATTLE RUSSELL WALKER Saturday 9 December Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Y1c88667d259 LANKUM Wednesday 13 December Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH (Produced by UTR and Parallel Lines) 7.30pm | SOLD OUT   THE HOMESICK Thursday 22 February The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/bf946caa252b   THE REDS, PINKS AND PURPLES Wednesday 12 June - SOLD OUT Thursday 13 June - ON SALE FROM 10AM! The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/gf4a71a6788c

 

Wolf Eyes this Sunday, upcoming events for Dear Nora, Bill Orcutt and Ruth Mascelli

 

Morning everyone!   Epic thanks to all of you who came to see Lande Hekt, Protomartyr, JJulius & Loopsel last week, was brilliant so many of you could attend, tons of highlights logged in the memory bank. Tonight we have Steve Gunn in town but as that show's sold out already we're going to turn our attention to this Sunday's earth-quaking return of Wolf Eyes to London at The 100 Club no less! John and Nate will be finsihing the UK-leg of their 'Dreams In Splattered Lines' tour with us on bonfire night so expect some fireworks. Yeah You and Rubber will be setting fire to the blue touchpaper whilst DJ Daun will keep us entertained spinning records inbetween, cannot wait. Tickets on the door from 7.30pm, amps on 8pm, see you very much down the front.

Read on for everything you need to know about Sunday's concert, plus a full show write-up can also be found below for Dear Nora and R.Aggs on November 13th (The Waiting Room).   Our hometown Shrewsbury-special with Bill Orcutt and his guitar quartet on November 16th (St Mary's, Shrewsbury) is also detailed alongside a rare solo performance from Ruth Mascelli of Special Interest which will take place on November 18th (The Waiting Room) with the Charlène Darling Groupe and Disciples DJs too. So much to look forward to!   You'll also find in our programme list a newly announced event for The Reds, Pinks & Purples next June, tickets onsale from 10am today, will go fast, so don't say we didn't warn you.

Upset The Rhythm presents… WOLF EYES YEAH YOU RUBBER DJ DAUN (Flowers Must Die) Sunday 5 November 100 Club, 100 Oxford St, Oxford Street, W1D 1LL 7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/b59d2922fb18 WOLF EYES have spent 25 years fusing together DIY electronics with the avant-garde sensibilities of Fluxus and the granite of dreary Midwestern life. Their new album 'Dreams In Splattered Lines' is a surreal dreamscape of disorienting sound collages, where hit songs are transformed into terrariums of sonic flora and decimated fauna. As if pulled from a fever dream, the surrealists of the 1960s converge with alien electronic blues musicians in an underworld of mystery. The air is thick with car wash radio white noise, crackling and fizzing like a toxic elixir, spoken word poetry transmissions as absurd and cryptic phrases. Each corroded aural environment is a microcosm of chaos, honed to razor-sharp precision. Swept away in a whirlwind of thirteen perplexing narratives, each one an unpredictable journey through subterranean worlds, a sonic trip of reality folded into itself.   Wolf Eyes have released three albums in the first half of this year. ‘Dreams In Splattered Lines' has been preceded by the January compilation of collaborations 'Presents Difficult Messages', and April saw the release of 'Wolf Eyes w/ Spykes', bringing a much sought after early release to vinyl for the first time, documenting a recording session pivotal to the ongoing development of the group’s sound. Alongside this has been the usual steady stream of lathe cuts, side hustles, art and inzanity. https://wolfeyes.xyz/ YEAH YOU is the Welsh duo of Elvin Brandhi and Gustav Thomas which came out of the Tyneside noise scene in 2013. Their music is the monster they find hiding under every surface from formica to fibre glass to fortune and unforgivingness; their charge is to explode its merciless tongues so as to lick the dancefloor clean of reactionary gloop. The duo have released on Slip, Opal Tapes and Alter, with forthcoming releases on Nashazphone and Mouhoi. ‘… an absurd pairing of the Rilkean sublime [with] knackered EDM. https://yeahyou.bandcamp.com/ RUBBER is a hardcore punk band featuring members of Joy-Rides, Negative Space, Sauna Youth and Scrap Brain. Minor details, interference, a ceramic light - for your consideration.

Upset The Rhythm presents… DEAR NORA R. AGGS Monday 13 November The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/wcbfc13f5224 DEAR NORA’s sound encompasses a spectrum of styles including classic rock, experimental music, ethereal pop, new age, folk, punk, and R&B. Katy Davidson (pronouns: they/she) writes lyrics with layered meanings that contemplate the vast realms and intersections of wilderness, humanity, morality, technology, late capitalism, and love. Dear Nora, Katy’s band since 1999, could sound like anything (and it’ll always sound like Dear Nora). Katy reinvents themselves at any moment, yet there is always the familiar face of a friend, taking us on a musical trip we didn’t know we needed to go on until we did. The latest time around, Katy and the Dear Nora crew bring us ‘human futures’ (2022, Orindal) , which is their first LP recorded in a commercial recording studio. There are new kinds of songs, old kinds of songs, there is still the voice of beauty and sanity that I’ve come to know and love over the years. The great strength of Dear Nora’s music is that it takes stock of its time and place and captures something that we can revisit later. It seems like the world depicted in these songs will continue to become more unrecognizable and more unlivable – but this is also tempered by my feeling of being understood by this music, and that life itself, shadows and all, is still beautiful and mysterious in the eyes of Dear Nora. https://dearnora.bandcamp.com/ R. AGGS is a multi instrumentalist and songwriter based in Glasgow. Ray Aggs, a prolific specialist in euphoric post-punk, has achieved international acclaim with collaborative touring projects Trash Kit, Shopping and Sacred Paws. Creating zines and co-ordinating workshops that encourage women, non-binary people, and people of colour to form bands, Aggs has galvanised the DIY scene in the UK. Ray released a solo album on Lost Map records as part of their Visitations residency in 2019 and self released //Tape 1// in 2020. Both releases showcase Aggs’ signature hybrid post-punk/highlife inspirations stripped down to new minimal extremes. Pulsating, electronic beats, coolly-recited lyrical mantras and spindly guitar lines abound in this life affirming music that speaks directly to your heart. https://r4ggs.bandcamp.com

Upset The Rhythm presents… BILL ORCUTT GUITAR QUARTET (Bill Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza & Shane Parish) RATTLE Thursday 16 November St Mary the Virgin, St Mary's Pl, Dogpole, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1DX 7.30pm | £15 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/nbf97235de2b San Francisco-based guitarist and composer Bill Orcutt presents his latest project, an all-electric Guitar Quartet performing the music from his 2022 LP “Music for Four Guitars,” an album which Pitchfork describes as “a rigidly structured quartet that weaves tiny rhythmic phrases into expansive tapestries, drawing on the tenets of early minimalism and New York guitar groups like Glenn Branca Ensemble.” Featuring an all-star team of guitarists Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish, the ensemble will present the music in an expanded live format that will combine intricate composition with no holds barred improvisation. Outside of London this concert in Shrewsbury will be the guitar quartet’s only other UK performance. Shrewsbury is the ancestral home of Upset The Rhythm and an amazing historical town to visit. Bill Orcutt is the former guitarist and founder of the notorious 90’s group Harry Pussy, and his sound is a stuttered reimagining of blues guitar, weaving looping melodic lines and angular attack into a dense, fissured landscape of American primitivism, outsider jazz, and a stripped-down re-envisioning of the possibilities of the guitar. Whether he’s playing his decrepit Kay acoustic or gutted electric Telecaster (both stripped of two of their strings, as has been Orcutt’s custom since 1985), Orcutt’s jagged sound is utterly unique and instantly recognizable, compared with equal frequency to avant-garde composers and rural bluesmen. The New York Times has called him a "powerful musician... a go-for-broke guitar improviser," and described his sound as "articulated sprays of arpeggiated chords and dissonance." Wendy Eisenberg is an improviser and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. Their work spans genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs; their performances span venues, from international festivals to intimate basements. Though often working solo as both a songwriter and improviser, with acclaimed releases on Tzadik, VDSQ, Out of your Head, and Garden Portal, they also perform in the rock band Editrix, and in endless other combinations of their heroes and peers including Allison Miller, Carla Kihlstedt, John Zorn, Billy Martin, and Caroline Davis. They are also a writer on music and other things, with published essays on music in Sound American, Arcana, and the Contemporary Music Review. Settled in Brooklyn, Ava Mendoza has gained a deserved reputation in recent years for being one of the most exciting musicians on the New York scene, appearing on stages and records with John Zorn, Matana Roberts, Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, William Parkers and Mike Watt. Although also performing with the trio Unnatural Ways (with whom she appeared at Jazz in August in 2016), here Mendoza presents her beguiling solo work whose latest chapter, New Spells, released in 2021, brings together her own compositions with pieces written by Trevor Dunn, Devin Hoff and John Dikeman. Marc Ribot has described New Spells as “a beautiful, powerful and highly original solo electric guitar record – not just another record but a new sound, a new voice”. Shane Parish devotes much of his time to developing his singular and expressive voice on the guitar. He communicates through emotion, unexpected melodicism, technical whimsy, a nuanced sense of form, and rich timbral variety, simultaneously drawing from the guitar’s history and aiming for its future.  He is known for fronting the electric instrumental prog-punk band Ahleuchatistas, and for his uniquely beautiful solo acoustic finger-style work, often creating modern re-interpretations of traditional folk tunes.  He has released records on Tzadik, International Anthem, Cuneiform and more. https://billorcutt.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-four-guitars   RATTLE are a UK-based duo, Rattle focus almost exclusively on drums and more drums, beneath a delicate overlay of vocal harmonies and percussive effects. Formed by Katharine Eira Brown and Theresa Wrigley, Rattle began as an experiment in crafting rich songs and melody using drums and voice alone. Their music weaves and intertwines post-punk, minimalism and experimental rock, through off-kilter rhythms, patterns and counter melodies. Rattle effortlessly blend the avant-garde with irresistible melodies and hypnotic drum beats, using rhythm and harmony to create a refreshing sound that is utterly new - a pretty rare feat these days when we're saturated with so much music. Rattle's immense ‘Sequence’ album came out recently through Upset The Rhythm. https://rattleon.bandcamp.com/

Upset The Rhythm presents… RUTH MASCELLI CHARLÈNE DARLING GROUPE DISCIPLES DJs Saturday 18 November The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/tc44dce1c5c1 RUTH MASCELLI is one quarter of the New Orleans no wave/glam/industrial group Special Interest, providing drum machine and electronic textures to their anthemic songs. As a solo artist, they have released a number of tapes as Psychic Hotline, before making their debut under their own name with the album ‘A Night At The Baths’ on Disciples in 2021. Ruth lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. The forthcoming second solo album from Ruth Mascelli and a clear progression from the pulse-racing nightime bathouse concept of their debut record. Non-Stop Healing Frequency is a carefully constructed sequence of electronic mood pieces, tender ballads, kosmische disco tracks and industrial symphonies. Synth, piano and drum machine are layered carefully over the course of these eleven tracks, with Mascelli’s own voice featured several times, including a devastating version of “Lopin’ Along Thru The Cosmos” by the late, great Judee Sill. https://ruthmascelli.bandcamp.com/album/non-stop-healing-frequency CHARLÈNE DARLING aka Charlotte Kouklia builds a self-contained musical world via French and English language vocals, and a minimalist backing of guitar, organ, bass and drums. At times recalling the feminist post-punk of The Raincoats, the avant songcraft of Brigitte Fontaine, or the psychedelic vignettes of Cate Le Bon, in truth Charlène Darling sounds like herself. The arrangements are playfully experimental, dubbed out percussion bubbling over the stripped back instrumentation, or rough tape edits disrupting lush harmonies, but never losing sight of the earworm hooks that make these songs so addictively listenable. Step through the door and walk right in. Charlène Darling’s second album of beautifully constructed leftfield pop songs will be called ‘La Porte’ and will be released on Disciples soon. It is an exploration of misplaced desire and all-consuming romantic obsession. This performance will feature Charlène’s full live band, the Charlène Darling Groupe. https://charlenedarling.bandcamp.com/

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend! Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

STEVE GUNN

BRIGID MAE POWER
Friday 3 November
St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL
7.30pm | SOLD OUT

 

WOLF EYES
YEAH YOU
RUBBER

Sunday 5 November
100 Club, 100 Oxford St, Oxford Street, W1D 1LL
7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/b59d2922fb18

 

DEAR NORA
R. AGGS
Monday 13 November
The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE
7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/wcbfc13f5224

 

BILL ORCUTT GUITAR QUARTET

(Bill Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza & Shane Parish)
RATTLE

Thursday 16 November
St Mary the Virgin, St Mary's Pl, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1DX
7.30pm | £15 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/nbf97235de2b

RUTH MASCELLI
CHARLÈNE DARLING GROUPE
Saturday 18 November
The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE
7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/tc44dce1c5c1

 

DEB GOOGE
TOO MANY THINGS
Thursday 30 November
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB
7.30pm | £11.00 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ed3a9e85f413

 

Upset The Rhythm present their 20th birthday party with…
LINDA SMITH & NANCY ANDREWS
RATTLE
RUSSELL WALKER
Saturday 9 December
Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL
7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Y1c88667d259

LANKUM
Wednesday 13 December
Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH

(Produced by UTR and Parallel Lines)

7.30pm | SOLD OUT

 

THE HOMESICK

Thursday 22 February

The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9JB

7.30pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/bf946caa252b

 

THE REDS, PINKS AND PURPLES

Wednesday 12 June - SOLD OUT
Thursday 13 June - ON SALE FROM 10AM!
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB
7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/gf4a71a6788c