A couple of interesting updates. First off, I've managed to get my dirty little hands on the session the guys did at Studio Brussel back in February. So head over to the downloads section to get your own copy. More shows have been announced too, in both the US and Scotland. So those you can see over in the gigs section.
Almost release day proper! The Radio 6 session them bearded folks did the other week is online.
It's time! There's a tour of the UK and a chunk of the continent in February to coincide with the new album and single. A video for the single, Barriers, can be found here and it's rather spiffing really.
Aereogramme will also be appearing on Ballads of the Book's, an album to be released on Chemikal Underground in March. The concept for the album was dreamt up by Idlewild's Roddy Woomble and teams Scottish musicians with Scottish writer's. The writer Aereogramme collaborated with was Hal Duncan, who wrote the lyrics for "If You Love Me You'd Destroy Me".
From the message board:
"Sorry to put a slight dampener on things, but the album won't be out until the new year. The reasons for the delay are to do with the way the record industry works and how much time it takes to get the wheels rolling on a release. It looks like it will be either the 3rd week in January or the first week in February 2007.
No idea if there are any Japanese people who read this board, but you lucky folks will be getting the album in or around November 2006 and the rest of the world (US, Canada, UK, Benelux, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France I think) will be getting it at the same time in the beginning of 2007.
We will be releasing a 7" single of Barriers in January 2007 (about 1000 copies I think) which will, if things go according to plan, be accompanied with a video. We will also hopefully be launching a new site or mini-site before this year is out, where you will be able to download some stuff, maybe a couple of songs, preview the artwork and maybe stream a bunch of other songs from the album.
Following that we need to get our collective arses in gear and play some shows. I think we may even do a few shows here and there before the year it out, but we will keep you informed of that.
Anyway - just wanted to keep you posted with what we are planning to do, and to remind you that we haven't forgotten about you all!
Iain x"
There have also been announcements of a couple of one-off shows. On the 4th November Aereogramme will be headling the VISIONS Party at the Forum in Bielefeld, Germany. Details can be found here. Then they are playing in London on Wednesday 15th November. Go for details.
And the last bit of news, a sneeky peeky of the artwork for the new album:
Details about the forthcoming album, My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go, are now out and about so I no longer feel like I have to keep quiet about it. It is phenomenal, the best thing the 'Gramme have ever done by far (that's quite a statement from someone who believes their back catalogue is the best music created). In the UK the album will be released by Chemikal Underground and the current aim is for an October(ish) release. I can't remember the exact details for the States and mainland Europe but I know that's all being sorted for the near future too. Once I have concrete details I'll stick them up here.
My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go
Oh boy have I got a special treat for you! In honour of National Day of Slayer (www.nationaldayofslayer.org) the guys have produced an exclusive cover of Disciple off Slayer's God Hates Us All album. It is truly haunting and classic 'Gramme briliance. Direct everyone you know to this. You can get it by clicking here or by browsing to the downloads section. Enjoy!
NEWS!!!! Finally, some news!!! A tentative release date has been set for the Aereogramme/Isis Fishtank session release: 25th September. This news has not appeared on the Fishtank website (www.konkurrent.nl/labels/fishtank.html) but that's the date Craig informed us of on the forum. Have a look at the site because there have been some other interesting collaborations in the Fishtank series.
As far as I am aware no real progress has been made to do with releasing the new album but I have been reliable informed that however long it takes it is entirely worth the wait. In the meantime I am working on giving the sotu site a facelift and might even pick out a facelift treat when that's all done.
Happy New Year one and all! Time for a progress update on the new album. Four tracks have been mixed and more are nearing completion. I've had a sneaky preview of the tracks... I'm not going to give anything away, but oh boy! Aereogramme have been my favourite band by quite a distance for many years now and what I heard takes it to a whole new level. This stuff will make your spine tingle with excitement and your facial hair stand on end with awe!
On a different, less interesting note, Steven McCarron has had to switch servers so the old message board is no longer in existence. Fortunately wee John, whose surname I don't know, has been a legend and has set up a new forum on my server. Fingers crossed there won't be any need to move the board again for a long time to come.
It appears that Seclusion is finally getting released in North America. The current date set is 21st March 2006 and the label is Sonic Unyon. A bit of news about the new album is that it's going to be called "My Heart Has A Wish That You Would Not Go". Tracks titles named are "Exits", "Trenches", "Barriers", "A Life Worth Living" and Nightmares".
I've just been contact by a lovely lady called Rebecca who drew my attention to an old (2003) live video of Indiscretion #243. The site is www.wennsrockt.de and don't be put off because it's in German, there's a big picture of Craig's noggin with something clickable under it that presumably plays the video (I'd check but BT are currently "working" on my line).
I spoke to Iain yesterday and he's psyched about the new album. I'll misquote him saying "it's the best thing we've made so far". Mixing is still to be done and all the other things will be sorted out soon too I'm sure. I THINK some motion is being put behind the Isis collaboration again so we'll hopefully be flooded with 'Gramme goodness in the not too distant future.
First off, the new index page is a small hinter of what the new facelift for the site might look like if I actually ever get round to finishing it. As far as I am aware the album is in the mixing stages at the moment, but I'm most likely horribly wrong there. I've spoken to both Craig and Iain briefly and they've both had very positive reports. Apparently it has the 'Gramme most grim and optimistic moments on it. That's all I know at the moment, hopefully that will change in the not too distant future (Iain!).
To keep everyone's 'Gramme fix going for the mean time I've managed to get my hands on a song that a couple of us have been trying to track down for quite some time now. It came from the midst of you lovely fans so as always it's down to everyone being nice to me (hehe, some day I'll do something in return). So thank you Ryan. It's called The Letter To Sea and it was released on the But Solid compilation of an Italian label called See-Through Records. Hobble on over to the download section for a listen.
There is little news to report other than that the fishtank session went well and the results are still being finished off. Currently it looks like it might be some time before there is a release. The band are also gearing up to head into the studio for the new album. Live mp3s of the recent Paradiso show the guys did with Isis are now available for download.
Not only have we just heard that a fourth album is in the process, but Aereogramme will also be teaming up with the brilliant Isis for an In The Fishtank session. These sessions are run by the Dutch label Konkurrent and will see the band recording over a couple of days to produce a record (which will no doubt have a cool fishy or some other aquatic feature on the cover). So will we get epic slow-burners juxtaposing Aaron Turner's satanic growl and Craig's angelic, soaring vocals? We will have to wait and see...
To keep everyone happy while we wait for all this new Aereogramme goodness sotu has another exclusive. This time it's a bundle of music Iain wrote for the BAFTA-nominated short film Elephant Boy. Head over to the downloads section to get the tunes.
This notice just appeared on the message board from Iain:
"I am pleased to say that things are starting to fall into place for the new album.
Looks like we will be recording in August/September. We have booked 2 months in the studio - the longest scheduled Gramme recording yet.
We have licensing deals in place or under negotiation already for Japan, Australia, Germany, US, France and of course the UK - where it will be released again on the mighty Undergroove.
And most importantly - we have close to 24 songs in some form or another, written and in various stages of arrangement.
Will keep you all updated as we go
Iain"
More gigs have been appearing, including some shows in the UK and a support slot with Isis in Amsterdam. Check out the gigs page for details.
On a different note, a new official message board has been set up because the other one was broken by evil yucky hackers who need to get a life. Sadly enough it's a completely fresh board so you all have to sign up again and I've lost my overpowering post count, grrrrrrrr. Click on the message board linky button and it'll take you straight there.
So festival season is coming up and as usual the 'Gramme are playing some of the awesome continental festivals. So far the Area 4,Greemfield and Stone Hill festivals have been confirmed. Check out the gigs page for further details. Just wanted to say a quick thank you to Rainer and Fabian for going out of their way to tell me about these festivals.
Sorry about the lack of updates but nothing has really changed from before and I've been busy doing various other websites. Iain and Campbell are finishing recording Julia Thirteen's debut album and that's about all that seems to be going on. I'll see if I can dig out some new downloads over the next few days to keep your 'Gramme fix going.
Ok, so there is very little news to report. Despite there being a minor injury scare last week because Iain scratched a toenail, the physios have informed me that he has passed all the fitness tests and will definately be able to play in both the upcoming homeland and European campaign. When asked about his injury, Iain answered, "I'm not like those other diving wimpos, I'll play standing on one leg if the manager wants to put me out there."
Ok, so now I've got that out of my system (seriously, don't read anything into it, I am just in a weird mood)... There's a new radio session up with a full band version of The Future Without You along with Inkwell and The End, Telfer has tabbed out Lightning Strikes The Postman, I've updated the gigs listing and my interpretation of the lyrics for the 4th acoustic CD are up as well. I had a brief chat with a grapevine the other day as well and it said there were mutterings about the possibility of recording a new album a lot later on this year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. After an apparently great European tour the 'Gramme are settling down for a few weeks before heading off on massive UK and European tours in the new year (look at the gigs section for details). Currently they are trying to sort out distribution for Seclusion in the US so hopefully any of you Americans will be able to see it in shops soonish.
As a special Christmas present the guys have given me permission to make mp3s of the old vinyl tracks available from sotu. I apologise for the bit of crackle and background hum but my turntable isn't in the best of shape. Head over to the downloads section for mp3s of Salvation, The Long Walk Home and the old version of Hatred.
Wow! The Cottier's gig was amazing! Julia Thirteen played a superb set and their gothic looks made them blend in with the churchy surroundings perfectly. Aereogramme marched on to the sounds of Scala's version of I Touch Myself, much to the amusement of the whole crowd and band. Subsequently, they played Dreams And Bridges, Black Path, Inkwell, A Meaningful Existence, I Don't Need Your Love, Motion, Older, Lightning Strikes The Postman (with Iain using a particularly pointy and white heavy metal style guitar), Post-Tour Pre-Judgement and The Unravelling. With Indiscretion #243 and Wood following as an encore. The crowd were superb and everyone was really loving it. Thanks to the [ c a y t o ] and Jade guys for entertaining me for various parts of the night and thanks to the Julia guys for a great party.
On more websitey news, the Air session the 'Gramme did last Monday is up for you to listen to and it features a completely new song called "You're Always Welcome". Enjoy.
The Stockton leg of the HIFH support tour on Wednesday was pretty good. The 'Gramme played Dreams & Bridges, Older, Indiscretion #243, Post-Tour Pre-Judgement and The Unravelling. The sound was pretty damn poor but the quality of the songs still managed to shine through. Although the attendance at the gig wasn't huge, a lot of people seemed to be won over by Hairyogramme. Check out the live downloads for a Craig B acoustic set recording I was sent from his Dr Drakes gig and the new guitar tabs. I am currently working on some pretty pictures for the equipment listings and a new section for arty types that will be started off by some beautiful pictures Craig has given me.
With Seclusion now released upon the world everyone can listen to this sublime record. The band will be heading out on the road again shortly, with a few headline dates and a load of slots supporting Hell Is For Heroes. Head over to the gigs section for the dates. Seclusion has recieved a lot of very enthusiastic and favourable reviews (9/10 in Rock Sound) and some entertainingly weird ones (Kerrang! calls it a "work of art" before giving it a 2K rating?!). I have figured out the lyrics for the mini-album now as well, so you can all have a looky at them now. Hope you all enjoy Seclusion as much as I do.
The latest of the exclusive SOTU Seclusion unveilings is the artwork which was created by Aaron Turner from Isis especially for the 'Gramme. You will be able to see the artwork in its full glory and hear this astounding mini-album on the 20th September in the UK (haven't got a release date for US or continent yet, sorry), but in the mean time here is the cover picture:
I am now allowed to unveil the tracklisting for the new album, note the Flaming Lips cover:
The new album, entitled Seclusion, has been finished. On top of the five tracks already mentioned there will be a video with Dreams And Bridges as its soundtrack and the video again with an alternate soundtrack which will also be included as an audio track on the album. The big epic song has been titled The Unravelling. The artwork for the album has been done by Aaron Turner from Isis. No release date has been confirmed as yet but I think we are looking at September(ish). Oh, and it's going to be out on Undergroove Records. This is just a one-off release on the label, Haireogramme have not signed to them.
Updates: the full Melkweg (2004) and Eurosonic (2002) are now available for download and there is a new (old) interview
Mixing of the new mini-album is almost complete. The tracks to be included are Inkwell (previously called Carousel), I Don't Need Your Love, Dreams And Bridges, a cover (they won't tell me which) and a big epic song. Iain has informed me it is going to be a strange album, YAY! On a different, websitey note, Telfer has sent me a couple more tabs so they are up and I should hopefully be putting up some live tracks from more recent gigs for your enjoyment soon.
Aereogramme were fantastic last Tuesday supporting Biffy Clyro. The setlist was as follows: The End, Carousel, Dreams And Bridges, I Don't Need Your Love, Indiscretion #243 and Post-Tour, Pre-Judgement. New guitar tabs have been added on the discography page, courtesy of Telfer. The latest dates for the gigs around the continent with Thursday have also been added. And as a final bonus, I have another exclusive mp3. This time it is the credit music Iain did for a History Channel program about the Second World War, entitled Through Hell And High Water. Enjoy: Through Hell And High Water Credit Music
I just put up the dates of the tour in support of Isis. There is rumour that Aereogramme might be releasing a mini-album around April/May. If it is the case then I don't think it is actually part of signing to a label or anything so if any of you guys own a label and want to release the best music in the world, get in contact! There will also be an exclusive Campbell/Iain mp3 available from here shortly. The piece was written by them for live performance and is based around William Peter Blatty's book The Exorcist, as read by a Mr Christopher Lee. The Exorcist
I have finally managed to get my servers sorted out. What happened was that my last server got hacked and as a result has completely died and since then I've been having a tough time finding somewhere that doesn't cost too much but which gives me plenty of server space for all the media.
So here is the new improved look, more pictures, lyrics for the second acoustic cd and several new downloads. Hope you like it all.
The Hogmany gig was absolutely superb. The quadrophonic sound meant it was the best I have ever heard Aereogramme (or any other band) live. The visuals projected behind the band were a lovely touch and fitted the music brilliant. We got everything from computer games (e.g. Vib Ribbon), horror movies (e.g. Evil Dead) and crazy Japanese people dancing. The set included Egypt, Motion and the three new songs. Conscious Life is a pop song Aereogramme style and really makes you want to dance. I Don't Need Your Love is played by only Craig, Iain and the trusty laptop and envolves Iain picking away with plenty of reverb/delay and is suitably quiet. Dreams And Bridges ends with some incredibly heavy guitars after having been led by a haunting guitar part on Iain's behalf beforehand. Iain informed me that the band are hoping to purchase a projector so that visuals can become a permanent part of their live experience. The whole band also wished me and everyone else a Happy New Year!
The guys are currently practicing their asses off so as to be ready for the tour. They have been practicing Motion and three new songs for the tour and the New Year gig. The new songs are "Conscious Life", "I Don't Need Your Love" and "Dreams and Bridges". On another note, the Livers and Lungs EP will never be released in the UK. However, Chemikal Underground will be selling it from their website shortly.
Aereogramme are currently organising a tour of Europe, well, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria for December and although not all the dates have been confirmed I have all the German dates up in the Gigs section. They will also be playing at Glasgow barfly on December 31st so you can start your New Year Grim Beard syle!
The band have been working on demos for the third album. Titles that have been leaked to me so far are "Conscious Life", "Dreams And Bridges" and "I Don't Need Your Love". That should be enough to have you salivating already.
The Aberdeen gig was excellent. The turn-out was a bit poor so I think a lot of people missed out! The set was something like this: Older, Black Path, Indescretion #243, The Question Is Complete, A Meaningful Existence, Hatred, No Really Everything's Fine, Post-Tour Pre-Judgement, Yes, Zionist Timing, Wood. So yes, a fairly full-on/insane set.
I saw a poster in Aberdeen today advertising an Aereogramme gig on the 1st of August and I've got ticket number 1. Apparently it's a one-off gig and I've not seen advertising for it anywhere at all. But everyone who can should get their ass down there!
I have been completely misled about the release of the new EP and I apologise. For some stupid reason or other the new EP will be released in the UK in September. However, it has been released everywhere else in the world already. Only 500 copies have been shipped to the States so that's a bit of a bummer for you Yankees.
On the other hand, Aereogramme had a homemade CD-RW on sale at some of their recent gigs on the continent. It features five acoustic tracks: Black Path, Broken Horse, What Do You Want, Remember and Finding A Light. There will also be a live tour cd on sale at the next set of gigs.
Those gigs are posted up in the gigs section (suprisingly enough!) and our heroic beard-mongers are apparently playing two shows in one day! And there was me thinking they weren't as tough as they look.
And last but not least, I hope to have an MP3 section online soon, seeing as the one on Sleep And Release has gone belly-up. I don't know what I'll be able to put on it yet, because I plan on asking the band first.
The 12th of May will see the release of Aereogramme's new EP, entitled "Livers & Lungs". The tracks on the EP are "Indescretion #243", "Asthma Came Home For Christmas", "Inhalation Blues" and "Thriller". "Inhalation Blues" was recorded in Iain's bedroom, while "Asthma ..." and "Thriller" were recorded on tour, so yes, it is NOT the version from the Peel Session. Should be good!
The dates for Aereogramme's American tour are up on the gigs page now and there are some new pictures too. The third song played on the Session In Scotland was called "Finding A Light" (I think), although it could also be "Faster Than Light", it is hard to decypher. For MP3s of the Peel Session and some other live MP3s go to a new fan-site: http//www.sleepandrelease.co.uk. The site isn't finished yet, but it is shaping up to be very impressive, so be sure to check it out!
The recent Session In Scotland was really good. Aereogramme played "In Gratitude", "What Do You Want" and another new song I cannot remember the title of. I did record the session though, so I'll have a peeky back and perhaps put the title up on here.
Here is just a random pit of stuff about the new album. Track 10 which is called "-" is referred to by the band as "New Roses". The reason for this name is because they wrote the song in the studio and were heavily influenced by Neurosis whilst writing it. From there "New Roses" (Neurosis), you see?
I also just saw them live in Aberdeen. The set as far as I can remember was "Older", "Yes", "Black Path", "Indescretion", "A Simple Process Of Elimination", "In Gratitude", "Zionist Timing", "Post-Tour, Pre-Judgement", "Wood" and "Snake". It was really good and "Wood" must be the most intense live song ever!
The new album is utterly amazing. I can't decide which is my favourite song, although at the moment I'd say it is between "Indescretion #243", "No Really, Everything's Fine" and " - ". Everyone make sure you catch them on the upcoming tour!
The Peel Session Aereogramme recorded will be aired on the 19th of February. The two new tracks that they recorded are "Believe Me" and "Inhalation Blues" and the two covers are "Snake" by PJ Harvey and "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. Should be gooooood! Check out the pictures section for a glimpse of the "Sleep And Release" cover artwork.
Aereogramme have just announced a new tour of the UK. A tour in the States will follow in March/April. They have also just recorded a new Peel Session. The broadcast date is yet to be announced however. They recorded two new songs which are not even on the new album (which, by the way, is definately called "Sleep and Release") and a cover of "Snake" by PJ Harvey, as well as another cover, but they refuse to say which. The video for the "Indescretion #123" has also just been finished. And to top it off, I have just added an email interview I did with Craig.
Aha, I have just got hold of a supposed title for the new album. It is supposedly called "Sleep and release". Seems a tad straight-forward for an Aereogramme title but oh well. I got it from the guy who is creating Aereogramme's new website. He also says that the new album is fantastic.
I saw Aereogramme on December the 28th and they were up to their usual greatness. I hadn't realised that Iain had now also grown a beard, just to fit in with the rest of them. The set consisted of A Meaningful Existence; The Question Is Complete; some new track with an awesome chugging bassline; Black Path (really cool, my girlfriend's favourite of the night, and she'd never heard Aereogramme before!); a new slow/quiet one with only Craig and Martin on stage; one or two other new ones (can't remember, it was too good!), one of which was really heavy, but not quite up to Shouting For Joey level; and then to finish off Post-Tour, Pre-Judgement and Zionist Timing. No Shouting for Joey though! And no Fuel To Burn (I really want to hear that live, but never will). Cayto and Single Point Of Light were both good support bands, but Aereogramme eclipsed both of them completely.
Oh yes baby, they have finished the new album. The track listing is as follows: