news
01 April 2008: Please note: we have now sold out of all the bonus CDRs by Lavinia that were included with the first 100 copies of the Directing Hand LP.
24 March 2008: We have now sold out of the last few copies of the Motor Ghost LP. Try Cargo Records for a copy. Please note though that Cargo's copies do not include the bonus 3" CDR as stated on their webpage.
18 March 2008: FINALLY - Ladies and Gents! The new Directing Hand LP is out and available to buy from us now.
Captured at Eastcote Studios in London, drummer extraordinaire Alex Neilson and classically trained soprano and multi-instrumentalist Lavinia Blackwall cut loose, turn it up, turn it down and let the air escape their lungs. The result is raw beauty in every way possible and we are incredibly excited to unleash this record onto the world.
Consisting of freely improvised tracks on drums, harp and wordless vocals as well as interpretations and reinterpretations of traditional English folk songs, "What Put The Blood" is a true gem. The LP is housed in hand screenprinted wrap-around sleeves designed by Lavinia and features exclusive liner notes by Volcanic Tongue's David Keenan. Go to releases to find out more.
Once again, the first 100 copies of the LP come with a free bonus 3" CDR. Four songs recorded by Lavinia Blackwall in the studio right after the Directing Hand sessions introduce the scope of her talent. Utilizing electric organs, guitars, grand piano and her pure soprano voice, she hauntingly performs two traditional English folk songs and two of her own compositions. The disk comes in a handmade sleeve letterpressed with a Masonic image from Lavinia’s collection. But... don't sleep! These are given away on a first come first serve basis and will be gone before long.
We have a very few copies of MOTOR GHOST’s “A Gold Chain Round Her Breast” left for sale. This 12” LP, limited to a run of 300, is Alex Neilson and Ben Reynold’s debut freeform explosion.
02 March 2008: Directing Hand are hitting the road this month and will be playing at a venue near you! Lavinia Blackwall (harp / vox) and Alex Neilson (drums / vox) will be playing a combination of their own songs, traditional folk songs and improvisations based out of early music melodies. Go and check them out. They might even have a few advance copies of the imminent Dancing Wayang LP to sell!
7th - Newcastle, Retreat (with Jack Rose)
8th - Sheffield, Heeley Institute (with Chora)
9th - Nottingham, Lee Rosys, Broad Street
10th - Bath, St James Wine Vaults
11th - Birmingham (venue tbc)
12th - London, Brixton Windmill, (with Jack Rose and Hush Arbors)
13th - Lancaster, LAWM @ The Yorkshire House
15 January 2008: A Happy New Year to all music fans! We hope you made it well into this new year and that 2008 holds good things in store for all. Things will get busy here at DW HQ with the release of the new Directing Hand record just around the corner. The records have been pressed, the artwork screenprinted, things are shaping up beautifully.
To tie you over until the LPs actual release, Directing Hand's Alex and Vinnie will be on John Cavanagh's Soundwave show on Radio 6 on the 4 February at 7pm. Tune in and check them out for some out there fire music! All transmissions are streamed online at www.radiosix.com.
Please note that we have now sold out of all the Motor Ghost LPs. Alex and Ben still have a few copies left, so if you're looking to get a hold of a copy get in touch and we'll try and hook you up.
19 October 2007: Alex and Ben are currently on tour as Baby Dee's rhythm section. In between and following those shows Alex hits the road with Vinnie, his Tight Meat project with David Keenan and with Jandek. Catch them at the following shows:
20th October - Alex, Vinnie, Mick Flower and Evan Parker - Sar and Shadow - Newcastle
21st October - DIRECTING HAND (w/ Michael Gira / Simon Finn) - Taylor John's - Coventry
22nd October - BABY DEE - Glasgow - Mono (tbc)
24th October - BABY DEE - Newcastle
25th October - BABY DEE - Taylor John's House - Coventry
26th October - BABY DEE - Luminaire - London
27th- 6th November - BABY DEE in Northern Europe
10th November - JANDEK (featuring Alex and Phil Todd) - Amsterdam
11th November - JANDEK - Denmark
19th November - TIGHT MEAT with Sonny Simmons - London - Red Rose
20th November - TIGHT MEAT with Sonny Simmons - Bristol - Cube
21st November - TIGHT MEAT with Sonny Simmons - Cambridge - Portland Arms
22nd November - TIGHT MEAT with Sonny Simmons - Newcastle
23rd November - TIGHT MEAT with Sonny Simmons - Glasgow (tbc)
22 june 2007: directing hand on tour in july:
12th July - Glasgow, The Universal
13th July - Sheffield, Hideout/ Furniture Makers
14th July - Newcastle, Baltic Festival
15th July - Newcastle, Baltic Festival
16th July - Leeds, Packhorse (w/ Astral Social Club)
17th July - Nottingham, Arts Organisation
18th July - Leicester, The Basement Bar
19th July - Coventry, The Tin Angel
20th July - Bristol, Cube Cinema
21st July - Brighton/ Hove- The Greenhouse Effect
22nd July - London, Pleasure Unit (Alex solo)
22nd July - London, Old Blue Last
23rd July - Cornwall/ Penryn- Miss Peapods
24th July - Cornwall/ Flushing- The Mabe
27th July - Manchester, Islington Mill
7 june 2007: we are incredibly excited to announce that the third dancing wayang release sees our favourite drummer alex neilson return to eastcote studios to record more of his signature fire and folk tunes. this time in the guise of DIRECTING HAND and in collaboration with singer, multi-instrumentalist and early music scholar lavinia blackwall. tracks for this full length LP have already been recorded and photos of the session are up in the media section. check back soon for MP3 outtakes. whilst this album is currently scheduled for release in the autumn, alex and vinnie will hit the road in july playing material from and inspired by their recent studio collaboration. tour dates will be announced here soon.
MOTOR GHOST played a smoking set in london a couple of days ago and are making their way back up north for the final leg of their UK tour. don't miss them! to coincide with this tour we have uploaded a couple of short video clips from their debut london performance last year at the macbeth. go to the media section to see for yourself.
and on a final note, we are steadily working on josephine foster and victor cicely's release which is now tentatively entitled 'MEDUSA DA LUZ' ('birth of the jellyfish'). more on this as and when it happens.
28 may 2007: MOTOR GHOST are on tour as of today! Come and check out Alex and Ben playing material from their debut album.
May 28th – Glasgow - The Rio Cafe (Hyndland Street)
w/David Keenan & Paul Hession duo
May 29th – Cardiff - The Buffalo Bar
May 30th – Falmouth - The Zed Shed
May 31st – Cheltenham - Slak Bar
with Arrington de Dionyso + Ignatz
June 2nd – Bristol - The Louisiana (6.30pm)
Venn Festival with Faust, Hawk & a Hacksaw and lots more
June 4th – Norwich - Art School
June 5th – London - Gramaphone (60-62 Commercial St, Spitalfields)
June 6th – Coventry - Taylor John's House
June 7th – Manchester - Star & Garter
w/Indian Jewelry
June 8th – Sheffield - Red House
June 9th – Leeds - Holy Trinity Church (Boar Lane)
2 may 2007: check out the brand new review of MOTOR GHOST's 'A Gold Chain Round Her Breast' at dusted magazine. and while you're at it, head over to foxy digitalis to read ben's recent interview.
24 march 2007: we've already sold out of the MOTOR GHOST bonus disk edition here, so check with shops and distros for a copy of the LP and 3". we do still have regular copies for sale through this webpage.
12 march 2007: YES! the MOTOR GHOST album is out today and we are very, very chuffed to be releasing this beauty into the great wide world to finally let it have a life all of its own.
you can now order this lp directly from us (check the releases and ordering sections) as well as pick it up from ben or alex (who is currently touring the british countryside with his tight meat duo/trio). alternatively, sit tight for a few more days and you'll be able to purchase it from your favourite experimental record shops.
as you may know, the first 100 copies of the lp come with a special 3" bonus cdr of alex performing four traditional a capella folk songs live. what you don't know is that this bonus disk features exclusive and expertly written liner notes by scottish folk singer alasdair roberts. these are sold on a first come first serve basis, so if you definitely want one, make sure to email us first.
08 january 2007: we are now taking pre-orders for the MOTOR GHOST lp. check the releases and ordering sections for prices and ordering details.
29 december 2006: first of all a happy new year to all of you stopping by here! we're well under way to unleashing some exciting goodies in the upcoming year.
i'm absolutely thrilled to say that the next release will be a record by JOSEPHINE FOSTER. josephine and her partner, guitarist and extraordinary pump organist, victor cicely, popped into the studio on 16th and 17th december to record classical and improvised tracks featuring piano, farfisa, harmonium as well as electric guitar and vocals. whilst i am going to prepare this release in the next few months please hop over to the media section to see some pictures from the session.
finally, make sure to drop by again very soon for more details on the MOTOR GHOST release.
20 november 2006: MOTOR GHOST news. well, not so much news as just a small update. whilst the records are at the pressing plant midori and i screenprinted all of the 300 record sleeves yesterday. the record is now set to come out in january, fresh for the start of the new year...
erm, that should read: i printed 5 sleeves and midori printed 295.
27 september 2006: i have added two mp3s of session outtakes to the media section in order to tickle your curiosity a bit. have a first listen to ben and alex in action!
10 september 2006: alex neilson (directing hand, taurpis tula, bonnie prince billy) and ben reynolds (some time ashtray navigator, bridget hayden, andy jarvis) recorded the first dancing wayang session on notting hill carnival monday two weeks ago. we spent a very long day in the studio laying down lots of incredible music involving drums, dumuk (greek horn), vocals, various guitars and electronics. the album is being mixed as we speak and i am so thrilled at the prospect of putting it out very soon. there are a few pictures from the session in the media section. - anna
27 july 2006: dancing wayang is a new record label operating out of a london-based recording studio and aims to provide artists with free studio time and access to a high quality recording facility and equipment. the recording sessions will then be released in small vinyl editions in handmade packaging. i am talking to several artists about coming into the studio for a day, so check back for news on the first release and upcoming sessions. if you'd like to find out more about the studio where the sessions take place follow the about link for some pictures and technical specs. - anna