Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet - coming to Shrewsbury in November!

 

 

Upset The Rhythm presents…

BILL ORCUTT GUITAR QUARTET
(Bill Orcutt, Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza & Shane Parish)
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.

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

Water Machine on tour!

 

Water Machine are a compulsive itch of a band, so liberating, keen-eyed and catchy! In celebration of their first 7” EP entitled ‘Raw Liquid Power’ (out now on Upset The Rhythm) the Glasgow group are hitting the road in September! We’re lucky to have them playing in London at New River Studios on Tuesday 5th September, they’re also going to be live in session with Marc Riley on Thursday 31st August for BBC 6 music. So many opportunities for refreshment!

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‘Raw Liquid Power’ opens with a menacing, modulating synth melody. Gage’s guitar enters with a mighty bend before breaking into the chugging rhythm of ‘Water Machine Pt. 2’. This timely reminder to refill your water bottle - “don’t be late, hydrate!” less a wellness mantra than a threat - builds to a spacey outro with flashes of the art-punk weirdness of Suburban Lawns. ‘Stilettos’ marches on indignantly with a spiky riff punctuated by Ilgauskaitė’s cowbells. Staccato talk-singing tells a playful tale of stray cats following you home, but belies a darker subtext as the breakdown gives way to paranoid duelling guitars evoking The Fire Engines.
 
The anti-anthem ‘At the Drive In’ skewers joyless DIY crowds, reminiscent of much-missed Glasgow punks Breakfast Muff. Water Machine’s irrepressible sincerity can’t help but shine through in the final moments though, as jibes about “late night trade potential” give way to plaintive vocal harmonies. Morice tears public transport a new one on closer ‘Bussy’, a First Bus diss track bemoaning precarious employment amidst crumbling infrastructure. “That’s why I’m not on time!” they roar over de Hoog’s frantic, pounding bass, bringing the record to a skidding, screeching halt.
 

screensaver - 'Drainer' video!

 

 

Out today!

Here’s screensaver’s new single ‘Drainer’, a fiery anthem for those everyday frustrations that edge you into downer mode. Full video by Rebel Yell up on YouTube now in all its flickering VHS glory. ‘Drainer’ features on the band’s forthcoming album ‘Decent Shapes’, out October 20th through Upset The Rhythm and Poison City in Australia. Available to pre-order now, hup hup!

Deerhoof in London on Monday!

 

Hello everyone!   Hope your week has been going great. Upset The Rhythm return on Monday with a freewheeling Deerhoof concert at Lafayette in Kings Cross.   Anarchic creativity, zig-zagging rhythms and a gleeful delight in the unpredictability of life/song are all hallmarks of Deerhoof's incredible 25 year career. We're SO excited to have them play again, this time joined in support by the wondrous Yama Warashi. Please buy tickets in advance as its very unlikley we'll have any on the door. Also the band would love it if those attending could also consider wearing a face-mask as they are touring in a covid-secure manner. Thank you!   Read on for all you need to know about all our shows this month and next, plus we have newly listed events of Deb Googe, Ruth Mascelli (of Special Interest) and Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews, who will be playing Upset The Rhythm's 20th birthday party on Dec 9th at Cafe OTO. What? You heard right, 20 years, I know!

Upset The Rhythm presents… DEERHOOF YAMA WARASHI Monday 21 August Lafayette, 11 Goods Way, London, N1C 4DP 7.30pm |  £18 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Ef612b08c524 DEERHOOF have continually quested for daring storytelling and radical sounds over their nineteen boundless albums, as experimental as they are pop. Deerhoof’s most recent album ‘Miracle Level’(out now on Joyful Noise)  is also their first to be recorded and mixed in a recording studio. Not because they had tired of their anarchic sound, but because they wanted to open their secretive DIY comfort zone up to something new and uncomfortable. Our research has not turned up many examples of a DIY band waiting 28 years to entrust their record to a proper producer. ‘Miracle-Level’ is an avant-garde, anti-fascist carnival, its spicy surprises whispered conspiratorially, and lit by candlelight. Sit down, let me tell you a story celebrating the infinite small wonders of existence…the miracles that spontaneously present themselves when we’re not distracted by the tribalism and manipulation of our death-driven masters…the miracles that Artificial Intelligence will never replicate. Deerhoof speak in a secret code in which hooks abound, genre is nonexistent, and magic ever awaits us. https://deerhoof.bandcamp.com/ YAMA WARASHI is the vision of Yoshino Shigihara, a Japanese musician and visual artist whose past projects include cult favourites Zun Zun Egui (Bella Union), of which she was a co-founder. Inspired by Japanese folk dance, free jazz and tribal African music, and heavily saturated in psychedelia, Yama Warashi’s songs are lyrically outlandish and charming, melodically addictive and mythical; the band name translates from Shigihara’s native tongue as “small childlike mountain spirit”. Yoshino’s new album ‘Crispy Moon’ displays a bigger sound and an understated but self-assured grandeur. You can hear it in the adorning strings that underpin Dou Dou Meguri’s outré pop, or Makai No Keiyaku’s driving cacophony of Afrobeat rhythms and chiming synth-pop that stomps right through the middle of the record. https://yamawarashi.bandcamp.com

Upset The Rhythm presents… WATER MACHINE LASH GROSS MISCONDUCT Tuesday 5 September New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £7 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Lf7063042bcf WATER MACHINE is an office romance between Hando Morice (they/them), Flore de Hoog (she/her), Jimmy Gage (he/him) and Goda Ilgauskaitė (she/her). An unassuming supergroup formed out of Glasgow institutions including Goth GF, Passion Pusher, Brenda and Soursob, their sound careens between punk, country and alt-rock underpinned by the unique quality they call “Raw Liquid Power”. Following last year’s self-titled demo tape on Gold Mold Records, the four-piece will release their highly-anticipated first studio effort ‘Raw Liquid Power’ on Upset The Rhythm on August 4th.   The EP opens with a menacing, modulating synth melody. Gage’s guitar enters with a mighty bend before breaking into the chugging rhythm of ‘Water Machine Pt. 2’. This timely reminder to refill your water bottle - “don’t be late, hydrate!” less a wellness mantra than a threat - builds to a spacey outro with flashes of the art-punk weirdness of Suburban Lawns. ‘Stilettos’ marches on indignantly with a spiky riff punctuated by Ilgauskaitė’s cowbells. Staccato talk-singing tells a playful tale of stray cats following you home, but belies a darker subtext as the breakdown gives way to paranoid duelling guitars evoking The Fire Engines. https://upsettherhythm.bandcamp.com/album/raw-liquid-power LASH are a new group featuring members of Es, Suep, Findom & Sealings. New Wave with a psychodynamic edge; Neuro-Romantic if you will. Think Pylon, AC Marias, Pink Industry style lamented & mutated pop music. GROSS MISCONDUCT are a conceptually foggy, bureaucratically sound landfill punk band from South London. Featuring members of Killjoys, MILKY, Strong Arm and Surplus. FFO Exit Order, The Cribs, Be Your Own Pet and corporate telephone hold music. Fresh off probation, mandatory training completed and ready for synergy. Check out their new EP and demo now! https://grossmisconduct69.bandcamp.com

Upset The Rhythm presents… PHIL TYLER & SARAH HILL MEN DIAMLER Monday 25 September West Hampstead Arts Club, 32 Mill Lane, London, NW6 1NR 7.30pm | £7.50 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/q7a22698549a PHIL TYLER & SARAH HILL met in Newcastle where they sang Sacred Harp and songs in folk clubs. After a while decided to record an album together, but not long after this, after one sole gig with Alasdair Roberts, Sarah's work took her to live in Brighton. Fortunately their far-flung locations didn’t disrupt the musical partnership too much and last year saw their stunning album ‘What We Thought Was A Lake Was A Field Of Flax’ released on Ferric Mordant. Their songs are primarily traditional, learned from versions by folk legends like Shirley Collins, Bob Copper, Martin Carthy and Peggy Seeger, although two - Sweet Lemney and Golden Lads – have tunes by Tyler, and the latter words from their mutual friend Jo Ellis. The album was recorded by Newcastle artist/producer Phil Begg in an unadorned, simple manner that captures the warmth of Hill and Tyler’s voices, the interplay of their duets and Tyler’s fine guitar, banjo and ukulele playing. https://philtylersarahhill.bandcamp.com/album/what-we-thought-was-a-lake-was-a-field-of-flax MEN DIAMLER is a singer from deepest darkest Wales, who began unravelling the dark swab of provincial England through song in 2005. A serial songwriter and performer of some repute, he has cited Jacques Brel, Townes Van Zandt, Alan Vega and Iggy Pop as influences. He recorded sessions for Marc Riley's 6 Music Show, Radio X and Resonance FM.   Men Diamler's performances are now very rare since he has taken up a more lucrative career in traffic counting. www.bandcamp.com/mendiamler

Upset The Rhythm presents… THE SMASHING TIMES JOWE HEAD SILK CUTS Thursday 28 September New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/i167d908f749 THE SMASHING TIMES are a psychedelic twee freakbeat group from a Baltimore basement. Instruments played by humans, bare feet touching the ground. Wrinkled button downs, sweaters filled with holes, music audibly and sometimes visibly made by humans. Can you change the strings on your guitar? Maybe, can you buy me dinner? Lock up your Rickenbackers, Thee Jasmine Monk is coming to town, can they stay on your couch? Recent album ‘Bloom’ was released by Meritorio Records, featuring fractious, chiming riffs and Dan Treacy meets Stephen Pastel style vocals and an impressive collection of genuinely memorable tracks. The Smashing Times’ new album will be coming out on K Records soon. https://thesmashingtimes.bandcamp.com JOWE HEAD is a musician and artist from the Midlands of England, now living in Hackney, in east London. He started his musical career in his home town of Solihull with various school friends in 1972, a project that came to be known as Swell Maps. This group emerged in the late 1970s, are now known as pioneers of what is now referred to as the Alternative Rock or Post-Punk scene. They set up their own independent record label, and mixed Punk Rock with experimental and psychedelic sounds. Swell Maps released four singles and two albums in a brief but dramatic career, that led to them topping the UK independent charts, and influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Blur. When they broke up, Jowe joined Television Personalities. Ten years with the TVPs saw Jowe making more influential records, touring Europe regularly, and playing in Japan and the USA. For this show Jowe is presenting his new trio the Infernal Trinity. https://jowe-head.com/bio SILK CUTS are Exeter's newest C86 influenced indie pop band. Silk Cuts have a new 7" on Freakscene Records (The Computers, The Cut Ups, Spy Versus Spy) this is out in September and was produced by Lucy and Matt Board from Pale Blue Eyes. https://songbox.com/s/silkcuts7

Upset The Rhythm presents… APOSTILLE MARINA ZISPIN Friday 29 September The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/k7a7aa10dff3 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’, is released on Night School on September 22nd. https://apostille.bandcamp.com/album/prisoners-of-love-and-hate MARINA ZISPIN aka synth pop apparitions Bianca Scout and Martyn Reid have been haunting the shores of Newcastle/London since forming Marina Zispin in the summer of 2018. Together they occupy the infinite twilight space that exists between fantasy and reality. Juxtaposing the sacred and mundane; they transform the selected minutia of their everyday existence into the totems and litanies that comprise their stream of conscious anthems of interdimensional melancholia. Marina Zispin release their debut 12” on Night School in September 2023. https://on.soundcloud.com/WHXL2

Have a brilliant weekend! Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

DEERHOOF YAMA WARASHI Monday 21 August Lafayette, 11 Goods Way, London, N1C 4DP 7.30pm | £18 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Ef612b08c524    JOHN MAUS SHAKE CHAIN Tuesday 22 August EartH Theatre, 11-17 Stoke Newington Rd, London, N16 8BH 6.30pm-10.30pm | SOLD OUT   WATER MACHINE LASH GROSS MISCONDUCT Tuesday 5 September New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £7 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Lf7063042bcf   MARTIN NEWELL (Cleaners from Venus)  Monday 11 September St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL 7.30pm | SOLD OUT    PHIL TYLER & SARAH HILL MEN DIAMLER Monday 25 September West Hampstead Arts Club, 32 Mill Lane, London, NW6 1NR 7.30pm | £7.50 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/q7a22698549a   THE SMASHING TIMES JOWE HEAD SILK CUTS Thursday 28 September New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/i167d908f749   APOSTILLE MARINA ZISPIN Friday 29 September The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE 7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/k7a7aa10dff3   MARTIN NEWELL (Cleaners from Venus)  Monday 2 October St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL 7.30pm | SOLD OUT   THE MAKE-UP Thursday 5 October The Dome, 2A Dartmouth Park Hill, Tufnell Park, N19 5QH 7pm | £25 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/q880da4b245b PHEW ALISON COTTON ME LOST ME Tuesday 17 October Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £16 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Ne228acb66c8 PHEW ANA DA SILVA SUNROOF Wednesday 18 October Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £16 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/t6505dd3f0dc LANDE HEKT SUPERMILK CHARLEY STONE Monday 23 October The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £9 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/s8612f0fbfaf   PROTOMARTYR ES Thursday 26 October Electric Ballroom 184 Camden High St, Camden Town, London, NW1 8QP 7pm-11pm | £17.50 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/hca4d1d3c365   LOOPSEL JJULIUS Friday 27 October MOTH Club, Old Trades Hall, Valette St, London, E9 6NU 7.30pm-10pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/zc893d7209b7   STEVE GUNN Friday 3 November St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL 7.30pm | £13 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/N12fb913e35b   WOLF EYES YEAH YOU Sunday 5 November 100 Club, 100 Oxford St, Oxford Street, W1D 1LL 7.30pm | £14 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/b59d2922fb18   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 | £22.50-25 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ff42bd8be939

Deb Googe - London show!

 

 So delighted to be working on this new show, Deb is the BEST!

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.
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

The Smashing Times - London show

 

 

Really thrilling for this concert next month at New River!!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

THE SMASHING TIMES
JOWE HEAD
SILK CUTS
Thursday 28 September
New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay, London, N4 1DN
7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/i167d908f749

THE SMASHING TIMES are a psychedelic twee freakbeat group from a Baltimore basement. Instruments played by humans, bare feet touching the ground. Wrinkled button downs, sweaters filled with holes, music audibly and sometimes visibly made by humans. Can you change the strings on your guitar? Maybe, can you buy me dinner? Lock up your Rickenbackers, Thee Jasmine Monk is coming to town, can they stay on your couch? Recent album ‘Bloom’ was released by Meritorio Records, featuring fractious, chiming riffs and Dan Treacy meets Stephen Pastel style vocals and an impressive collection of genuinely memorable tracks. The Smashing Times’ new album will be coming out on K Records soon.

JOWE HEAD is a musician and artist from the Midlands of England, now living in Hackney, in east London. He started his musical career in his home town of Solihull with various school friends in 1972, a project that came to be known as Swell Maps. This group emerged in the late 1970s, are now known as pioneers of what is now referred to as the Alternative Rock or Post-Punk scene. They set up their own independent record label, and mixed Punk Rock with experimental and psychedelic sounds. Swell Maps released four singles and two albums in a brief but dramatic career, that led to them topping the UK independent charts, and influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Blur. When they broke up, Jowe joined Television Personalities. Ten years with the TVPs saw Jowe making more influential records, touring Europe regularly, and playing in Japan and the USA. For this show Jowe is presenting his new trio the Infernal Trinity.

SILK CUTS are Exeter's newest C86 influenced indie pop band. Silk Cuts have a new 7" on Freakscene Records (The Computers, The Cut Ups, Spy Versus Spy) this is out in September and was produced by Lucy & Matt Board from Pale Blue Eyes.

Ruth Mascelli - London show!

 

Very pleased to announce this mighty event for Nov 18th!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

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

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's 20th birthday w/ Linda Smith & Nancy Andrews

Upset The Rhythm is celebrating a double decade of activity this December, we very much hope you can celebrate with us!
UTR
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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 Nottingham 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

'Raw Liquid Power' out today!

Drink deep!
Water Machine’s sensational 7” EP ‘Raw Liquid Power’ surges into the world today.

More whirlpool rapids than tepid puddle the Glasgow gang of four have gathered together spiky riffs, staccato singing and pounding bass / drums into four totemic anthems of art-punk weirdness that brim with irrepressible sincerity. So much to soak up! ‘Raw Liquid Power’ is available digitally now and on transparent red vinyl from all the best shops and our webstore too!

UTR
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Steve Gunn - in London this November!

 

 

Upset The Rhythm presents…

STEVE GUNN
Friday 3 November
St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL
7.30pm | £13 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/N12fb913e35b

STEVE GUNN is a New York-based guitarist and songwriter. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years, Steve has produced volumes of critically acclaimed solo, duo, and ensemble recordings on labels such as Matador Records, Three Lobed Recordings, Paradise of Bachelors, and RVNG. His albums represent milestones of contemporary guitar-driven material, and forward thinking songwriting. Steve has steadily processed his inspirations into a singular, virtuosic stream. Close listening reveals the influence of blues, folk, ecstatic free jazz, and psych in his continually unfolding output. His most recent record Let the Moon Be a Planet (RVNG Intl.), a collaboration with pianist David Moore of Bing & Ruth, was released in March. A record with John Truscinski and Bill Nace, ‘Glass Band’ (Three Lobed), will be released later this summer. Steve is currently somewhere working on new music.
http://steve-gunn.com

Brontez in the building!

 

Party hats on!
Today we’re announcing our new album from supreme multitalent Brontez Purnell! ‘Confirmed Bachelor’ (best album title ever award bagged) will be released on September 15th on crystal-clear vinyl and digitally. 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 dizzying effect.

Today we’re sharing the first single from the album, a cover of a long-loved Julie Ruin song. ‘Stay Monkey’  is as lively and bopsome as it is lovelorn and restless. Enjoy the music, the cake and the rogue king of rock-n-roll, this is worth celebrating!

‘Confirmed Bachelor’ is available to pre-order now: https://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com

 

 

It's been too long! The welcome return of Apostille!! New show on sale now.

Upset The Rhythm presents…

APOSTILLE
MARINA ZISPIN
Friday 29 September
The Waiting Room, 175 Stoke Newington High St, London, N16 0PE
7.30pm | £8 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/k7a7aa10dff3


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’, is released on Night School on September 22nd.

https://apostille.bandcamp.com/album/prisoners-of-love-and-hate

 

MARINA ZISPIN aka synth pop apparitions Bianca Scout and Martyn Reid have been haunting the shores of Newcastle/London since forming Marina Zispin in the summer of 2018. Together they occupy the infinite twilight space that exists between fantasy and reality. Juxtaposing the sacred and mundane; they transform the selected minutia of their everyday existence into the totems and litanies that comprise their stream of conscious anthems of interdimensional melancholia. Marina Zispin release their debut 12” on Night School in September 2023.

https://on.soundcloud.com/WHXL2

The Make-Up in London this October!

Never thought in our wildest dreams that Upset The Rhythm would be putting on The Make-Up in London!
 

Tickets now on sale: https://link.dice.fm/q880da4b245b
x

Upset The Rhythm and DHP present…

THE MAKE-UP
Thursday 5 October
The Dome, 2A Dartmouth Park Hill, Tufnell Park, N19 5QH
7pm | £25 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/q880da4b245b

THE MAKE-UP, from Washington, DC, are a renowned group of revolutionary malcontents for whom the tedious rules of rock mean very little. First appearing in 1995, The Make–Up arose like a demon of righteousness, striking out for aesthetic correctitude, fearless non sequitur, communal fervor, and the sacred business of "show." Inspired by R&B, Gospel music, Yeh-Yeh, and Rock 'n' Roll, The Make–Up were strange then and are strange still.

They just don't jibe with the garage conservatism or the po' faced blandness of commercial "indie rock." They are a a "band without a country." Still, they are sorely missed for their performances which were rumored to feature: matching outfits, Farfisa organ strikes, secular sermonizing, call and response vocals, and calamitous guitar fuzz over a sea bed of rhythm-rubble.

The Make-Up were prolific, toured the world, and recorded lots of 45s and “long playing” records before they submerged out of sight in 2001 A.D.  Since then the group members have lectured, healed the sick, banged on cans, and generally inspired in other ways, but now come together once again to celebrate their gestalt, their unique chemistry, and the songs they created. They are something special.

https://makeup.bandcamp.com/