Dark Dark Horse

For whatever the reason, Leicester is slowly become renowned as a hub of interesting, original music currently pouring out of the UK. This is glowingly evident with the likes of Maybeshewill, Herra Hidro, Kyte, Minnaars and now with Dark Dark Horse, a collaboration between producer Jamie Ward, formerly of Kyte and now with Maybeshewill, and kids in cars singer James Stafford.

Combining Wards dark, atmospheric electronics with Staffords unique and at times very hypnotic vocals, Dark Dark Horse have had quite an unusual start to their musical journey. After posting their initial demos online, the first label that came calling just happened to be based over five thousand miles away from the bands hometown. Japanese label Rallye, home to Toro Y Moi and Au Revoir Simone, really impressed with what they had heard on the demos offered to release an album.

The label released the bands debut Centuries in Japan late last year, but after healthy interest and some airplay on national radio in the UK, Dark Dark Horse are currently busy working on a release date for this side of the world. And in a bizarre twist for an as yet unreleased album in the UK, a certain betting office is offering odds of thirty three to one on Dark Dark Horse to pick up this years Mercury Music Prize, the same odds as Mogwais Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.

You can check out tracks from Centuries at the bands Myspace and Last fm pages.

Myspace

Last.fm

Interview - Seabear

On the back of an exhausting US tour for their latest album We Built a Fire and with their songs popping up in numerous hit TV shows, one may think that all this attention might go to the heads of eccentric Icelandic indie group Seabear. We can be rest assured however, that this has not happened and that the band, according to guitarist Halldór (Dori) Ragnarsson, still see themselves as simple musicians and nothing more. Drop-d got a chance to speak to Ragnarsson about life in Seabear, on a break from the bands ever increasing schedule.

Seabear started as the one man project of Sindri Mar Sigfusson, but through chance encounters in Reykjavik, it quickly escalated into a seven piece as Dori explains “It just happened. We all seemed to meet in a short space of time around the live scene in Reykjavik. Sindri asked us to play on a few tracks that he had been working on and it just evolved from that. Now we are all like a family and really enjoy writing and playing music together.”

In 2007 Seabear released their debut album The Ghost That Carried Us Away and followed this up in 2010 with the outstanding We Built A Fire, “On We Built A Fire we wrote the songs together”, describes Dori “it was like baking a cake at a kindergarten, some of us have a guitar riff or a drumbeat and the others add their input or idea to complete the song. When everyone is happy we know the song is finished.”

Although this all sounds easy and simplistic the album did have its share of problems, with the difficulty of trying to get all seven different personalities into the studio at the same time proving the biggest headache. “It took us a long time to finish that album,” Dori explicates, “we worked around it for almost two years, Sindri did all the recordings and it was sometimes hard to get us into the studio to finish it. When you are seven people doing the music together it can be complicated; not complicated necessarily about the music more so the logistics of it all. For the next record we are thinking about getting a producer to work with us.”

The success of the album in the states seems to have taken everyone in Seabear by surprise with the initial twenty five date tour expanding to over fifty due to phenomenal demand. “Yes it has been a really busy year for us. Around the world we have almost played a hundred gigs, but this is such a privilege to be able to tour the world and play our music. The fact that audiences in different countries know our music is such a thrill for us because in the end we are just a small indie band from Iceland and we will always just be musicians poor or not.” Dori added “I still don’t know why they want to use our music on the TV, this is a nice thing but it’s a very alien concept to me.”

The band have only played Ireland once supporting fellow Icelanders Mum here a few years ago, at a well received gig in Dublin. Dori still has fond memories of the place. “Yes, we liked it in Ireland a lot, in a lot of ways there are similarities to Iceland. I don’t know, sometimes there is nothing to do so you just meet up with your friends and make music. I got the impression that this is the same in Ireland from a few of the Irish musicians I have spoken to.” He continued “You guys can also be very proud of your whiskey which I really love and hopefully we will play in Ireland soon. I am personally going to scream at our booker as to why we have not been there for so long.”

So hopefully the bands booker will listen to these screams and get some live Seabear shows our side in the coming months. The album We Built A Fire is currently available and very worth a listen.

Eagleowl - Into The Fold EP

In the shadow of the city’s famous castle, Edinburgh lo-fi folksters Eagleowl have been taking it steady since 2005. Their latest offering the Into the Fold EP, which was meticulously planned and rehearsed around mealtimes, shows that sometimes slow and steady does in fact win the race.

Beginning life as a duo, with Bartholomew Owl guitars/vocals plus Malcolm Benzie violin/mandolin/ukulele/melodica, Eagleowl gradually expanded to include double-bass player Clarissa Cheong and the harmonium styling’s of Rob St John. Their previous EP Sleep the Winter gained the band some noticeable recognition in their home country, but Into the Fold sees the Scottish quartet slowly perfecting the art of the understatement.

Title track Into the Fold is a blissfully, spaced out piece of alt-folk with a gorgeous and intentionally at times out of tune harmonica running up and down its spine. Eagleowl cite Low as a massive influence and this track is one that Alan Sparhawk would be proud to call his own. Things take a very quirky turn with the following tune Morpheus which may easily make its way onto some deranged kids television show, if only there were such a thing. Normality is somewhat restored however, with the hauntingly, sombre ode to Neil Young that is Eat Hats, showcasing some very fine guitar work by Mr Owl. Proceedings come to a close with the sprawling nine minute odyssey No Conjunction which fades out with ‘Don’t look back when you get there' hypnotically chanted over and over, is quite a fitting way to bring it all to a close.

Into the Fold is definitely worth checking out for fans of Low, Galaxie 500,The Dirty Three and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy or for anyone who might want to hear the soundtrack to the saddest, most beautiful art-house film you’ve never seen as some of the press in Scotland have described Eagleowls latest work. When we may get to hear the bands full length debut is anybody’s guess as these Scots believe in doing things right, rather than doing things fast.

Surface of Atlantic - A Frame Per Season

French philosopher Blaise Pascal once noted that, “beauty is a harmonious relation between something in our nature and the quality of the object which delights us”. So if monsieur Pascal is to be believed, Surface of Atlantics delightful second record A Frame Per Season is indeed a work of beauty.

Formed in Montreal in 2005 through various musical projects, Surface of Atlantic have for the last number of years been building a loyal following in Canada with their unique live shows which consist of ten musicians accompanied by projections of abstract and dreamy visuals. A Frame Per Season is the bands follow up to their 2006 debut Ephemeral as We Speak and shows a band progressing and maturing at an astonishing rate.

With echo’s of early Sigur Ros, opener No Sleep, Walk blends silky strings and a marching drumbeat in glorious fashion as the listener is swept up on this musical adventure. The bands influences of jazz and old French pop are all touched upon in A Frame Per Season and no more so than with Bonjour Tristesse, which would not be out of place in an old Luis Bunuel or Francois Truffaut film. The group have had four of their songs featured in Xavier Dolans award winning picture Jai tue ma Mere and the cinematic ambiance is continued with the sparsely, gorgeous Sea and All Emerald Suns. Live favourite Great White is probably Surface of Atlantics most accomplished piece of work to date. The simplicity of the piano and violins blended with singer Dave Douvilles voice is masterfully brought together and would surely be a highlight on any bands record.

A Frame Per Season is a beautifully crafted, flowing record and certainly gives the impression that Surface of Atlantic didn’t suffer that tired old rock n roll cliché of the difficult second album. The bad news for us this side of the Atlantic, however, is the band has unfortunately no live dates scheduled over here this year, so we will not be able to hear the transition of this outstanding record to the stage.