Earth Ball & Friends in London! May 21st!

 

Truly overjoyed to have this remarkable show on sale now, Earth Ball joined by such comrades in sound!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

EARTH BALL & FRIENDS
‘A SERIES OF IMPROV SETS WITH EARTH BALL FT. CHRIS CORSANO, PETRONN SPHENE, STEVE BERESFORD, AGATHE MAX & CONTAINER’
Tuesday 21 May
Cafe OTO, 18 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL
7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/e2265868051e

EARTH BALL are a wild ensemble from Canada, mainly based on Vancouver Island. Their inception was serendipitous, emerging out of necessity when Isabel Ford, John Brennan, and Jeremy Van Wyck needed a name for a gig. What began as a pragmatic solution blossomed into an artistically conceived project. Embracing complete improvisation, free expression and a truly psychedelic sound, the group's lineup expands for different projects and now features Kellan Maclaughlin on Guitar and Liam Murphy on Saxophone. Each member brings a diverse musical background, having been part of various bands such as Shearing Pinx, Plan Your Future, Kamikaze Nurse, Eschatons and Psychedelic Dirt. Their individual collaborations with artists like Deerhoof, Raven Chacon, Chris Corsano, William Hooker, and others enrich their collective experience, forging a powerful musical force.

 

The group’s live shows are ecstatic and spontaneous, offering audiences a unique experience at every performance. Notably, their appearance alongside legendary experimental duo Wolf Eyes in August 2023 underscored their standing in the experimental scene. As Earth Ball continues to push the boundaries of improvisation and sonic exploration, they remain a guiding light for those seeking a transcendental musical experience. The group’s upcoming album ‘It’s Yours’ will be released on LP / digital by Upset The Rhythm this May and marks another significant leap forward. This second show at Cafe OTO will see Earth Ball and Chris Corsano play a selection of sets with the following guests: Petronn Sphene, Container, Agathe Max and Steve Beresford.

https://earthball.bandcamp.com/ 

Marcel Wave - 'Something Looming'

 June 14th, what a prodigious day! 

We will be releasing Marcel Wave’s inaugural album ‘Something Looming’, packed with eulogies for tragic actresses, ancient riverbeds and concrete obscenity. Marcel Wave (featuring members of Cold Pumas & Sauna Youth) are part trades club symphony, part itchy serenade and part wistful lament. This heady concoction of ‘Meades meets Pat-E-Smith meets Kirklees Borough Council’ will be formally baptised on stage at MOTH Club that very same day (June 14th) with an album launch (featuring The Pheromoans + LASH), now on sale.

Check out their first single ‘Barrow Boys’, a raucous ode to the death of the docklands. Out now digitally and available to study in this suitably wavy VHS promo.

‘Something Looming’ will be released on June 14th by Upset The Rhythm and Feel It Records (in the USA). It is available to pre-order now on 180g black vinyl too.

* Band photo by Robin Christian , thanks very much!

John Maus - Live in London this October!

 

We’re welcoming John Maus back to London this October. His show last year at EartH Theatre transcended with catharsis, a superlative reception and sold out instantly, so we’re heading to the Electric Ballroom on October 8th. New album on the way too, look out!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

JOHN MAUS
Tuesday 8 October
Electric Ballroom
184 Camden High St, Camden Town, London, NW1 8QP
7pm | £21 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/ya6ecfd48907 (on sale this Thursday at 10am)

JOHN MAUS is a truly enigmatic musician. Broadly cut from the synth pop cloth, he’s fashioned the frosty minimalism of its fabric into a cloak of infinite meaning, genuine grace and absurdist humor over the course of four defining albums since 2006. His music is a highly mutable affair, whilst often described as retro-futurist on behalf of the 80’s drum machines and synth sounds employed, John’s music is more personal than the nostalgic re-tread implied. There’s a cinematic quality to his songs, with pathos conjured through propelling bass-lines, trailing arpeggios and of course his deeply resonant vocal. Moroder helped map out the territory but Maus is more interested in seeking cadence through his love of Renaissance polyphony and the experimentation behind post punk. It’s an amalgamation of musical ideas as radical as its intent.

Maus is a ‘man out of time’ trying to make sense of the inhumanity of our world through his mobilisation of the language of punk rock. His aim is true as he reaches for the seemingly impossible. It’s a want to emerge as part of greater multiplicity, to appear, to become, to connect that powers his songs and the man himself. It’s now been 12 years since the widely lauded album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (2011) appeared like a thunderbolt of maniacal energy and turned everyone’s heads. Now regarded an experimental pop classic, Pitiless Censors was a huge breakthrough for Maus as a recognised artist and led to a vast reappraisal of his past work. 2018 saw the release of  his most recent work Screen Memories and its sister release Addendum. Screen Memories unfolds like a pageant, with its variety of songs tendering sunshine and shadow throughout. Maus is currently preparing a new album.
https://johnmaus.bandcamp.com

Chenaux returns to London!

Excellent news! Eric Chenaux has a new album coming out in May called ‘Delights Of My Life’ and he’ll be sharing those highs with London on June 28th, when he heads our way for this new concert!

Upset The Rhythm presents…

ERIC CHENAUX
Friday 28 June
St Pancras Old Church, Pancras Road, King's Cross, NW1 1UL
7.30pm | £12 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Pbad9db9e326

ERIC CHENAUX is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter, singer and sound sculptor. He has released seven solo albums of experimental song on the Montréal-based imprint Constellation, charting an adventurous and uncompromising path through avant-folk, out-jazz and pop composition, increasingly rooted in a unique and elemental juxtaposition of fried, frazzled, semi-improvised guitar and smooth, clear tenor balladry. He has been called “a musician like no other” by Tiny Mix Tapes; his solo albums praised by The Quietus as “stunningly beautiful, genuinely inimitable, whose reputation will only grow with time.” Gracing the cover of The Wire magazine in 2017, the feature article declared: “Chenaux succeeds in generating an astonishing array of timbres. A singer and songwriter possessed of angelic sweetness and clarity accompanying himself with largely improvised, visceral guitar textures that seem intent on undermining and obscuring his own songs. It’s the need to communicate tussling with the urge to obfuscate; lucidity versus opacity; form against chaos.” 

 

Chenaux’s first album as a singer-songwriter was ‘Dull Lights’, released on Constellation in 2006, and an acclaimed, highly original solo discography has unfolded since then: ‘Sloppy Ground’ (2008); ‘Warm Weather With Ryan Driver’ (2010); ‘Guitar & Voice’ (2012); ‘Skullsplitter’ (2015); ‘Slowly Paradise’ (2018) and ‘Say Laura’ (2022). He has featured on a range of collaborative records issued by other labels through this same span, including Okraïna, Avatar, Grapefruit and Three:four. He has performed and recorded with countless artists, including Ryan Driver, Sandro Perri, Pauline Oliveros, Michael Snow, Han Bennink, Josephine Fosterand many more. Chenaux’s forthcoming album ‘Delights Of My Life’ features Eric with a thee-piece band and will be released in May on Constellation. This new record conveys warm familiarity, shot through with the exuberantly experimental subversion and playful, even mischievous, iconoclasm that continues to mark Chenaux as defiantly, virtuosically, and genially one-of-kind.

https://ericchenaux.bandcamp.com/

Orange poster!

 

Classic orange Upset The Rhythm poster!
Dates for the diary!
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Earth Ball + Chris Corsano - in Shrewsbury!

 

Upset The Rhythm presents…

EARTH BALL
CHRIS CORSANO
Friday 24 May
English Bridge Workshop, Abbey Forgate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6AD
7.30pm | £10 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/Rd34b1015951

EARTH BALL are a wild ensemble from Canada, mainly based on Vancouver Island. Their inception was serendipitous, emerging out of necessity when Isabel Ford, John Brennan, and Jeremy Van Wyck needed a name for a gig. What began as a pragmatic solution blossomed into an artistically conceived project. Embracing complete improvisation, free expression and a truly psychedelic sound, the group's lineup expands for different projects and now features Kellan Maclaughlin on Guitar and Liam Murphy on Saxophone. Each member brings a diverse musical background, having been part of various bands such as Shearing Pinx, Plan Your Future, Kamikaze Nurse, Eschatons and Psychedelic Dirt. Their individual collaborations with artists like Deerhoof, Raven Chacon, Chris Corsano, William Hooker, and others enrich their collective experience, forging a powerful musical force.

Earth Ball’s first cassette 'Fruiting Bodies', released in 2021 under Misophonia Records, was followed by the self-released album 'Go to Earth.' The creative momentum continued with the digital and cassette release of 'Have One' in 2023. Earth Ball's dynamic presence has reverberated across the west coast of Canada.  The group’s live shows are ecstatic and spontaneous, offering audiences a unique experience at every performance. Notably, their appearance alongside legendary experimental duo Wolf Eyes in August 2023 underscored their standing in the experimental scene. As Earth Ball continues to push the boundaries of improvisation and sonic exploration, they remain a guiding light for those seeking a transcendental musical experience. The group’s upcoming album ‘It’s Yours’ will be released on LP / digital by Upset The Rhythm this May and marks another significant leap forward.
https://earthball.bandcamp.com/ 

CHRIS CORSANO is an upstate NY-based drummer who has been active at the intersections of collective improvisation, free jazz, avant-rock, and noise music since the late 1990's. Corsano is one of the greatest drummers working today, developing a percussive language of extraordinary amplitude and infinite resources. His collaborations stretch from free jazz greats (Joe McPhee, Evan Parker, Paul Flaherty & more) to noise mavens (Jandek, Bill Nace, C Spencer Yeh etc) and pop superstars (Björk). Capable of generating narrative out of permanent ecstasy, Corsano never ceases to be profoundly affirmative and imposing of his language, and being an absolute and charismatic virtuoso, he simultaneously is one of the most noble and generous improvisers of the few last decades.

A move from western Massachusetts to the UK in 2005 led Corsano to develop his solo music - a dynamic, spontaneously-composed amalgam of extended techniques for drum set and non-percussive instruments of his own making: e.g. bowed violin strings stretched across drum heads, modified reed instruments, and stockpiles of resonant metal. In February 2006, Corsano released his first solo recording, The Young Cricketer, and toured extensively throughout Europe, USA, Australia, and Japan. In 2009, Corsano returned focus to his own projects, including a duo with Michael Flower, Vampire Belt (with Bill Nace), Rangda (with Richard Bishop and Ben Chasny) and his solo work, further expanded in its use of contact microphones and synthesizers. In 2017, he received the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artist Award.

Corsano's dedication to collective improvisation has led to collaborations with many kindred spirits and his appearance on over 150 records and 1000 live performances. He's worked with, among others: Paul Dunmall (released by ESP-Disk), Joe McPhee (Roaratorio), Okkyung Lee (Open Mouth), Earth Ball (Upset The Rhythm), Nate Wooley (No Business & Astral Spirits), Jim O'Rourke & Akira Sakata (Drag City), Merzbow (Family Vineyard), Jessica Rylan (Load Records), John Edwards, Nels Cline, Heather Leigh, Ghédalia Tazartès and Sunburned Hand Of Man.
https://chriscorsano.bandcamp.com/music

Parsnip - Turn to Love [VIDEO]

Don’t turn back! 

Parsnip explode into colour, costume and creativity with their incredible video for new single ‘Turn To Love’. Out today digitally and featured on their forthcoming album ‘Behold’ (out April 26th through Upset The Rhythm and Anti Fade). Blooming marvellous effort from the Australian DIY pop quartet!

Slumberland Records showcase!

 

Upset The Rhythm present a Slumberland Records showcase featuring…

BIRDIE
TONY MOLINA
LIGHTHEADED
HANGOVER LOUNGE DJs
Wednesday 24 July
The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB
7.30pm | £14.00 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/j163b4c82f7b

BIRDIE’s roots go all the way back to 1992 at Saint Etienne live band rehearsals. Debsey Wykes had been in Etienne (and everybody's!) faves Dolly Mixture and was on board as a backing vocalist, while Paul Kelly had been in the equally legendary East Village and was now part of St Etienne's touring band. The pair became fast friends and then a couple, bonding over a love of the sunshine pop and soft rock music of the 60s and 70s, and began spending hours together strategising a new band, eventually forming Birdie in 1994 and releasing the "Spiral Staircase" 7" in 1997.

In the summer of 1998 Birdie recorded their debut album "Some Dusty" with the estimable Brian O'Shaughnessy (Denim, Moose, The Clientele). It's a deep and beautiful album, with Paul's melodic, sophisticated arrangements providing the perfect setting for Debsey's sweet and soulful soft-pop vocals. Birdie followed up the 1999 release of "Some Dusty" on It Records with a series of essential singles - “Let Her Go," "Such A Sound," and "Sidewalk" -- culminating in the release of their second album "Triple Echo" in 2001. Family life and other artistic pursuits called, and Birdie has only been sporadically active since then. Their brief but perfectly-formed discography has become the stuff of legend, charming savvy pop fans around the world. Summer 2024 will see the long overdue vinyl reissue of "Some Dusty" on US indie label Slumberland Records.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/292344-Birdie-2

TONY MOLINA is a northern Californian native with a restless, multi-faceted musical personality. He got his start playing in hardcore bands, but over time developed two distinct styles that are very far removed from that sound. Initially under the name Ovens, then as a solo artist, he crafts bite-sized chunks of melodic pop that can be broken into two sub-headings: quiet acoustic guitar-led ballads and noisy electric songs that sound like Teenage Fanclub with J Mascis and the Fastbacks' Kurt Bloch spearheading a dual guitar attack. In 2009 Molina released the first music under his own name, the 12-song Embarrassing Times cassette. In 2013, Molina released his second solo album, Dissed and Dismissed, a collection of 12 short and fuzzy tunes that took notes from '90s indie and power pop acts like Weezer, Redd Kross, and Dinosaur Jr. What was intended as a demo caught the attention of fans of melodic guitar pop and hooked two legendary American labels, Matador and Slumberland. The former released the Six Tracks EP later in 2013; the latter signed him and reissued Dissed and Dismissed in 2014.

His next album, 2018's Kill the Lights, came about much more naturally. He worked on some songs with a friend, Jasper Leach, and they decided to make a record out of the demos they had started. Recorded in two studios and a bedroom, the album was again built around Molina's acoustic guitar and winsome pop melodies, but this time featured some folk-rock-ready 12-string electric, a full-band sound, and Leach's keyboards. Molina’s latest album, In the Fade, was released by Summer Shade, an offshoot of Run for Cover, in August of 2022 and was the first of his solo records to contain all the sides of his musical personality under one roof.
https://tonymolina650.bandcamp.com/

LIGHTHEADED from New Jersey have conjured, through some mysterious alchemy, a distinctive flavor of pop that draws as much from 60s Brill Building, garage-pop and folk-pop as it does from the DIY indie explosion of the 80s/early 90s. Their debut EP "Good Good Great!" shows that band core Cynthia and Stephen are clearly students of pop in all its permutations, but they wear their influences lightly - a typical Lightheaded song could have been released in 1966 or 1986, but in fact sounds just right in 2024! Their sound has just right amount of elemental murk, drawing to mind a mythical collab between Phil Spector and Curt Boettcher's Sagittarius, working their way through the Goffin & King songbook. Cynthia's rich vocals are the secret weapon, possessing a depth and swing that can handle with aplomb the sprightliest pop or the tear-jerkingest drama. The group’s debut album titled “Combustible Gems”,  will be released on Slumberland this May!
https://areyoufeelinglightheaded.bandcamp.com/

Empires into Sand

Huge day today! Normil Hawaiians’ first new album in 40 years will be coming out on Upset The Rhythm on May 24th. Titled ‘Empires into Sand’, the record is an incredible patchwork cloak of ideas drawing on ambient drone, motorik impulse, folk idiom and a certain cosmic uncanny. 

 A Windswept album recorded in a windswept Scottish coastal retreat, ‘Empires into Sand’ swims with short wave radio interference and overheard satellite transmissions. These are winding rivers of song, peopled with the displaced, determined, downhearted yet hopeful. Swirling atmospheres, field recordings, tape-looped drums, rapid synth flights and soaring vocals all abound in this echo from the now.  

‘Empires into Sand’ will be released on gatefold LP, CD and digitally on May 24th, it is available to pre-order now from our shop now.

Lead single ‘Exiles’ is released today, exploring the continuous movement of human beings, check out the video for more sublime signs from the firmament.

 

 

Earth Ball - 'It's Yours' album announced!

Arise!

It's time to take on Earth Ball! Earth Ball are a wild ride of an ensemble from Nanaimo (Canada); spontaneous, instinctual and eruptive inside out. When Earth Ball fire up the amps in their basement you can hear the voices of ghosts hum through the speakers. Kellan's hued feedback, Izzy's sturdy basslines, Jer's paperbag guitar tone and rumble pack zaps, Liam's sheets of sound and Brennen's multidirectional drums are expansive, restlessly inventive and truly psychedelic. Their debut LP ‘It’s Yours’ will be coming out on May 17th via Upset The Rhythm. Take a first listen to ‘A Need To Cool Down’ and reframe your brain, all is temporary.

 

 

‘It’s Yours’ is available to pre-order on clear 180g vinyl w/ a hand-painted insert from the band now.

Earth Ball are also touring the UK this May in support of this release with their friend-in-sound Chris Corsano, see you at a show!


EARTH BALL & CHRIS CORSANO - UK TOUR

May 20 - London - Cafe OTO
May 21 - London - Cafe OTO
May 22 - Manchester - White Hotel
May 23 - Bristol - Cube Cinema
May 24 - Shrewsbury - English Bridge Workshop
May 25 - Glasgow - Flying Duck
May 26 - Newcastle - Lubber Fiend

May 27 - Leeds - Wharf Chambers
May 28 - Nottingham - The Chapel
May 29 - Lewes - Con Club

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