28/03/07

My apologies - 2007 seems to be becoming a year of impossibly limited edition releases... here's another:

Xenis Emputae Travelling Band/Ashtray Navigations split cdr, 30 copies, on the Greek label Absurd. Private release as a birthday gift to a friend of Absurd, in hand-made fabric sleeves by Endyo. Three tracks by XETB from 2004-06, one mellow electric sitar piece by Ashtray. 30 mins total running time. No copies available!

More easily obtainable releases coming in a couple of weeks...

p.s. wonderful Gayle Brogan has some copies of Gamaaea available.

19/02/07

A new XETB release! Gamaaea, a 30 minute long tape on Beyond Repair - limited to 50 copies. Seven tracks recorded between autumn 2006 and winter 2007. Each copy comes with one of five different covers.

There's also a XETB interview at the Evening of Light website, in both Dutch and English. Thanks to Oskar Strik for asking the questions.

Finally, I'll be part of Ashtray Navigations at Ali_fib Fest 2 at Instants Chavirés, Paris, on the 4th of March. Also on the bill are Major Stars, Dinosaur with Horns, the legendary Little Howlin' Wolf, the soon-to-be-legendary él-G, and ROT. More info here.

10/01/07

Happy new year!

Not that much to say, save that three out of print XETB albums have been re-released as MP3s by Woven Wheat Whispers. They are: The Hieroglyphic Mountain (2004), Toadsman's Bell (2005) and Stella & Astrophel (2006).

The first of a few new releases should come along shortly in the form of a XETB tape entitled Gamaaea, and the Pneumatic Consort archive cd. Hopefully the Reynardine compilation should be wrapped up by February too!

According to the 13th Note, Glasgow website XETB are playing with Jazzfinger and Lanterns on the 27th - I've no idea how idea this came about, since I'll be in Manchester with Ashtray Navigations and Astral Social Club on that night! But I'll get to Glasgow sometime this year...

11/09/06

A couple of minor bits of info:

1) Call for Submissions - Reynardine & Fox Folklore Themed Compilation

I'm looking for submissions inspired by the songs or mythology surrounding Reynard the Fox and Mr. Fox. The creepy sleeve-note on A.L. Lloyd's First Person LP inspired this, to wit:

"Reynardine - A vulpine name for a crafty hero. Mr Fox is a disquieting figure in folk tales. A girl tosses her glass ball into his garden, and when she goes to retrieve it, he holds her prisoner. One thing she must not do if she is ever to regain her freedom: that is, to look under the bed. But she cannot master her curiosity, and one day when the coast seems clear, she looks under the bed, and there, grinning at her is Mr. Fox. In another tale Mr. Fox is an elegant witty lover with a cupboard full of bones and tubs of blood. The dread uncertainty is whether he is man or animal. Similar unease broods within this song. Some commentators have thought it concerns a love affair between an English lady and an Irish outlaw, and have set its date in Elizabeth's time. Others believe the story is older and consider Reynardine, the "little fox", to be a supernatural, lycanthropic lover. It was a favourite ballad in both Ireland and England in the nineteenth century."

A fascinating article from the Folklore Journal concerning A. L. Loyd's interpretation and mythologizing of Reynardine and the issue of 'authenticity' in the folk revival can be read here.

Retellings, reinterpretations, songs, soundscapes, lycanthropic freak-outs - all types of submission are welcome, just get in touch!

2) Larkfall Updates

Not much to report at present. An archival disc of Pneumatic Consort material will be released in a small edition toward the end of the year. English Heretic's Wyrd Tales is now available to order through the distro page. Note that this will be sent seperately from other Larkfall orders. Added a few more pictures to the XETB pages - the last for a while, since my camera has broken.

3) Ashtray Navigations

Hopefully I'll be playing as part of Ashtray Navigations on the following dates:
13th Nov Leeds - Cardigan Arms supporting Pengo
16th Nov Newcastle - Cumberland Arms supporting Matt Valentine & Erika Elder
8th Dec All Tomorrow's Parties

25/07/06

Ashtray Navigations at Instants Chavirés, Paris (photo by Mick Flower)

A couple of minor bits and pieces. I'll be playing as part of Ashtray Navigations in London on the 4th of August, at the Red Rose, Islington. Also on the bill Astral Social Club, Birds of Delay and The Digitariat. More info at the Second Layer site.

I've finally got round to creating a list for occasional announcements so that interested parties can keep up with Larkfall/XETB related projects. You can sign up here.

Finally, I'm happy to announce that English Heretic have released their book & cd Wyrd Tales, which features a collaborative track inspired by M.R. James' "O Whistle and I'll Come To You My Lad". Recorded on Felixtowe Beach and Walton Church. I think this is the best thing to come from English Heretic so far - both in terms of music and concept. Recommended to fans of Kenneth Grant, Philip K Dick, JG Ballard, MR James and the like.

03/06/06

..

I am very pleased to announce two new Larkfall releases!

Xenis Emputae Travelling Band & Jani Hellén Split
This new Larkfall release finds both artists at their most minimal and meditative There are three XETB tracks: Water Invocation is a mantra recorded at a tributary of the Wharf. Horizon of Eternity is a static meditation with flute, flageolet and bowed strings, which derives its structure from a Geomantic oracle. Finally, Gástan is a prelude to the church-like atmosphere of Jani Hellén's track with flute, accordion and organ. Finnish native Jani Hellén contributes Paluu Vasempaan Kammioon, an epic of archaic futurism composed of manipulated synthesiser drones and arpeggios that brings to mind Peter Michael Hamel's Cathedral on C or a fragmented Tangerine Dream.

Xenis Emputae Travelling Band - A Prism for Annwn
The new XETB full length is the last in the 'optical' trilogy (A Selenographic Lens and The Pyrognomic Glass) of extended workings. This release divides into two parts: A Prism for Annwn (tracks 1-5) comprises a sonic exploration of the Celtic otherworld, while the final track is an epic droning re-working of Thirteenth century hermit Richard Rolle's hymn Lord Jesus, When I Think of Thee. I'm very happy with the way this turned out...

More information and sound samples on the recordings page.

01/05/06

..

A good May Day to one and all. Many thanks to those who came to see XETB at the Small Music Theatre and thanks to Costas and Anastasis for organising the show. I still have a few copies of the limited edition cdr "Stella & Astrophel", which can be purchased here.
Another new XETB release is "Heard Gripe Hrusan", an archival disc of recordings from June 2004 to October 2005, very kindly released by 23 Productions.