Bite Size Update!

Article originally posted on The Sound Of Confusion blog on the 26th of March

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Alrighty Sound Of Confusionists!! (or perhaps SOCrates might be a better collective noun for you very clever people)

Hopefully you’re all enjoying your weekend and soaking up any bit of sunshine you can find! I saw a butterfly and a bee yesterday...in march...in Scotland!!! The world is truly upside down.

Anyway as there’s been a sudden synchronized burst of activity from our ‘Found of Confusion’ artists, here’s a quick news update for any interested parties.

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Our first founders POLARSETS have only gone and got themselves hooked up with the ever fashionable Kitsune label! New track ‘Sunshine Eyes’ (below) will be released on the 18th of April and the band will then take to the road for a northern tour:

23rd April STOCKTON, KU - tbc
24th April DARLINGTON, Inside Out - tbc
27th April EDINBURGH, Electric Circus - tbc
28th April GLASGOW, King Tuts - 8:30pm £5
29th April ABERDEEN, Cafe Drummonds - £5
30th April LEEDS, Live At Leeds - tbc
1st May YORK, The Duchess - 4pm - £4
3rd May HULL, Fruit - 8pm £4.50
5th May MANCHESTER, TROF Fallowfield - 8:30pm £2 (bargain)
6th May DURHAM, Live Lounge - 7:30pm £5
18th May SHEFFIELD, The Forum – Free!

It’s unlikely you’ll get the chance to see the band in venues of this size for much longer and at these prices it’s got to be worth your time, so get along there

Polarsets - Sunshine Eyes by partisanpr

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WASHNIGTON IRVING are also being good enough to treat us to new material. ‘Abbey Gallop’ comes out on April 25th and it too coincides with a tour that makes its way round Scotland before heading south to Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff and London – all dates are listed at the band’s MySpace page here

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The third new single on offer comes from SECRET RIVALS and it’s a cracker. ‘Tonight Matthew’ is out on the 4th of April via Kittiwake records and could prove to be a big breakthrough for the band. Here it is:

Secret Rivals - Tonight Matthew by Kittiwake Records

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Our final update is the news that LASZLO, fresh from the release of ‘Satori’, has finished work on his album and has it provisionally pencilled in for a release around May time. I’m excited about this record but you can make your own minds up by listening to this medley previewing all the tracks:

Laszlo Album Sampler by Lydian Label

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So there you have it, lots happening for our F.O.C bands, maybe this blog is a lucky charm ;-)

Stay awake for the next bunch of founders which are coming your way in around a week (NOTE: Now Tomorrow) but in the meantime enjoy the tunes and be good!

FOUND: FEBRUARY

Then there was February, the shy introverted month, the smallest month in the playground that all the others gang up on and give a good kicking too, then pinch its marquee days. February is the quiet romantic dreamer, sneered at and excluded by December and January for not being hard enough, it passes the time gazing wistfully at the popular spring and summer months as they hang out in the sun with all the pretty girls. Essentially February just wants to be loved and that’s why the one thing it hangs its knitted bobble hat on is giving the couples of the nation St Valentine’s Day!

This year I came down stares on the 14th and quite literally could not get out the front door! That’s right reader you guessed the punch line didn’t you – the crushing disappointment of ANOTHER year with no cards left me an emotional wreck, drowning in tears and unable to cross the threshold to face a desolate loveless existence outside!!! Thankfully instead of having to tackle my misery head on I was able to push the rejection deep deep down inside and throw myself into this month’s ‘Found Of Confusion - Harrah! For those playing catch up the premise is that I track down musicians that have thus far slipped under Kev’s sweeping radar then offer them up to him for his enjoyment or disgust.

So with that in mind here are the tunes that blocked out my sobs this month:

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After intrepidly tackling the west coast of America last month, we began February by venturing even further afield under the guiding hand of London producer LASZLO. His ‘Nrv’ single from September came over all celestial and took us wandering round the galaxy, discovering the delights of the music of the spheres. A dash of Jazz here, a sprinkling of dub there, Laszlo stirs his melting pot and then serves up meticulously prepared helpings of ambient electro. A new single ‘Satori’ is due in the coming days with an album to follow in the close future. For the time being those hungry for more of his treats should take in the excellent ‘Zeitgeist’ from last spring’s ‘Mr Sunshine’ EP.

Returning to earth without a bump, our next ‘founders’ were already in position waiting for us, tapping their feet impatiently and plugging in the amps ready to blast away any lingering space dust. That band was Oxford’s SECRET RIVALS and the song the 4 piece belted out was ‘Prone to Explosion’ from October’s debut EP ‘Start The Fires’. Combining punk energy with a guitar riff that must surely have been borrowed from The Cure, this track would have fitted perfectly between Echobelly and Elastica on the next ‘Now this is Britpop revisited again volume XXIII’. Too retro for some? Well perhaps, but sometimes a bit of simple nostalgic fun is just the trick

On a personal level what most definitely isn’t ‘just the trick’ is anything aligning itself to folk ‘music’. One too many school PE lessons taken up with pointless country dancing has left me breaking out in cold sweats at the mere mention of the word ceilidh and with a steadfast belief that the fiddle plays no part in a civilised society, never mind on record! Norwich’s GRENOUILLES however have taken me a little step closer to letting go of that phobia. Their free 5 track ‘Hawk On the Down’ EP provided our third ‘Found’ of the month in the form of a duet to absent love called ‘Folding Wings’. Armed with an acoustic guitar, a piano and that dam fiddle they’ve put together a collection of heartfelt ballads that could charm even the most ardent grump into submission.

Grenouilles - Hawk On The Down EP - 01 Bones by thebluewalrus

Sorry I'm going off track for a minute but did anyone else just hear Jamie T? No? It must be my mind playing tricks on me - well either that or one of you out there is listening to ‘Lost and Found’, our final track of the month that came from East London lads JUKEBOX COLLECTIVE. Currently recording their debut album in a studio in Manchester the JC’S sound is hard to pin down, a more electro Sunshine Underground? LCD soundsystem’s little brothers? Neither description nails it to be honest, so the only solution is to click on the links below and make your own mind’s up – clearly one of you already had!

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Found Of Confusion - Summary/Track Recommendation

03/02/2011 -  Laszlo: ‘Nrv’

10/02/2011 – Secret Rivals: ‘Prone To Explosion’

17/02/2011 – Grenouilles: ‘Folding Wings’

24/02/2011 – Jukebox Collective: ‘Lost And Found’

Want to find out more about the bands? Click on their name and explore their sites.

This article originally appeared here showcasing some different songs from the artists.

FOUND : JANUARY

Pap Pa Pa - Sound the trumpets (< they’re what that was meant to be), it’s the return of King Winsabet the 3rd, strolling down from my ivory tower to once more sprinkle my soothsaying magic upon The Sound Of Confusion blog!

Sorry about that, I just fancied making a grand entrance. Those of you that have heard The Sound of Confusion/Conclusion in 2011 will probably already have a fair idea why I’m here – Kevin Wright has set me a challenge! No doubt tired of me routinely rubbishing all his hard work, he’s put the boot on the other foot and ordered me to present him each Thursday (or so) with one band or artist that’s he’s never encountered. As tasks go it’s not an easy one – what exactly do you play the man who’s heard everything! For now though my luck appears to be in and I’ve found a couple of sources I can count on for new material, so I’ll be forwarding tunes to him until my secret wells runs dry (around the start of march I’d say!). The songs I submit may not all be to my own or your taste, but I’m hoping to get together an eclectic mix so stick with me and, with a bit of luck, you’ll find one or two you like. If you hate all of it – yes I do mean you James - then don’t worry, it’ll be your turn when I get sacked!

That’s the housekeeping done so let’s go for it. Here’s what ‘The Found Of Confusion’ has been up to in January.

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The honour of being the first ever ‘Founder’ went to North East of England residents POLARSETS and they kicked us off in fine style. Put out via their own label ‘8 seconds records’, last spring’s debut release ‘Leave Argentina’ carried the hallmarks of a Two Door Cinema Club cut, all be it one that had been filtered through Crystal Castles mixing desk. Novembers follow up single ‘Morning’ adopted the same percussive acid house blueprint 808 State imported from Ibiza at the end of the 1980’s. A string of significant support slots (Everything Everything, Fenech Soler, Ellie Goulding) suggest 2011 promises much for this trio.

Week 2 saw us, by which I mean myself and you Kev’s faithful listeners, leave Tyneside and head north – waving at my house on the way through– to the welcoming arms of the City of Glasgow. This is somewhere we’re likely to revisit a few times in the coming months but on this occasion we were there to lend our ears to the warm melodies of WASHINGTON IRVING. Consistent with their Celtic roots this sextet (that is six right?) knock out folk infused indie rock, but let’s be clear it’s the good type rather than the Mumford and Sons variety. June’s ‘Little Wanderer, Head Thee Home EP’ was brimming with the kind of promise Stornoway showed during 2009’s uplifting Jools Holland appearance. Let’s hope Washington Irving can deliver where the Oxford lads have subsequently struggled.

Having had enough of the wintery streets of Govan and Maryhill, the decision was taken to get some sun on our backs, so we travelled across the Atlantic to Los Angeles and while we were there took the opportunity to get better acquainted with hip-hop MC and producer BLU (at the special request of our North of England Correspondent!). 2007’s skilfully crafted ‘Below The Heavens’ album, made in collaboration with fellow producer/rapper Exile, blended soul and jazz and bestowed on Blu a reputation as the most respected new voice on the hip-hop underground scene. Since then he’s maintained a relatively low profile preferring to hone his skills through a series of mixtapes. This year’s greatly anticipated solo debut however, working title ‘NoYork’, could see him crowned as the heir apparent to Nas and Mos Def’s brand of thought provoking lyrical street-hop.

The final week of January led us back to where we began for a get together with Newcastle’s LANTERNS ON THE LAKE. More informed observers than me have drawn favourable comparisons with the work of Mazzy Star and Sigur Ros, and it’s difficult to argue with their assessment. Be it the woozy berceuse that is recent single ‘Lungs Quicken’ or the haunting simplicity of ‘I love you sleepyhead’, ‘Lanterns’ coax out fragile melodies that slowly unfold, perfectly underpinning the worldly wise breathless vocals of lead singer Hazel Wilde. Having recently signed to Bella Union (home to Sound Of Confusion favourites Beach House) 2011 should bring about the release of their debut album to augment the assortment of tracks already lighting up the blogosphere.

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Found Of Confusion - Summary

06/01/2011 – Polarsets: ‘Morning’

13/01/2011 – Washington Irving: ‘Sisi’

20/01/2011 – Blu: ‘Departing Flights’

27/01/2011 – Lanterns On The Lake: ‘I Love You, Sleepyhead’

For further information on each of the bands click on their name.

This article, complete with different videos, also appears here

And So It Begins

Welcome to the Found Of Confusion Blog - Like the Sound Of Confusion but not as good....so emm, maybe you should go and look at that one instead!!