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The Future Shock and Asylum Co-promotion at Live Lounge, Sunday 30 September

In asylum, bands, brighton, guernsey, jersey, live lounge, music on August 16, 2012 at 19:11

The Future Shock is a live music collective based in Guernsey, organising promotions, tour bookings and events in the UK and Channel Islands with a stylistically eclectic approach and forward-looking philosophy embracing rock, metal, punk and indie. For September 2012 The Future Shock has scheduled a tour across the country that culminates in Guernsey and Jersey. The Jersey show is the final date in this ambitious programme, and Asylum is helping to stage the show at Live Lounge, St. Helier.

The event takes place on Sunday 30 September 2012 from 7.30pm until about midnight. Entry is £5. Five excellent bands are lined up: Nightworkers, Last Of The Light Brigade, Of Empires, Harlequin Knights and Beau Fiasco.

 

Nightworkers (Brighton)

Jack Moullin – vocals
Jamey Exton – guitar
Rowan Reddington – guitar and vocals
Joe Haberfield – synth and vocals
Alex Roberts – bass
Jonny Ross – drums

 

“Nightworkers have emerged from the insomnia of a town that never sleeps. Taking influence from rock ‘n’ roll’s finest craftsmen including Primal Scream, Rolling Stones and Brian Jonestown Massacre, their unique blend of electronically pulsing, guitar driven hypnotic rock creates a stampede of sonic ecstasy. They have kept close to them the identity and beliefs of great guitar bands that modern music has lost along the way. Nightworkers not only demonstrate a brave, solid sound but visually seduce you through the intensity of their performance and the strength and belief behind their songs.” ~ Sarah Wade, Disorder magazine

 

Last Of The Light Brigade (Guernsey)

Tyler Edmonds
Ben Queripel
Stu Carre

 

“Last of the Light Brigade formed in 2010 and following the amicable departure of guitarist Joshua Moore settled on the more angry three-piece set up for which they are best known. Having recorded the album The Ones You Left Behind at the analogue Gizzard Studios in London, their own distinctive brand of British rock has seen them carve out a niche in Guernsey’s music scene and earn acclaim from Radio 2’s Janice Long and local luminaries The Risk. In 2010 they supported Paul Weller at the Jersey Live festival, and last year shared the stage with Ocean Colour Scene at the inaugural Guernsey Festival of Performing Arts.” ~ Dominic Laine

 

Of Empires (Guernsey)

George Le Page
Matthew Berry
Jack Fletcher
Liam Bewey

 

“Born as a result of the all-inspiring state that is intoxication, like the spawn of an accident that happened one fateful night but one that you’ll never regret. Of Empires have only just entered the world and their declaration: To embark on a stripped down, no bullshit rock ‘n’ roll. Reminiscent in places of the hard rock sounds of the 1970s, a genuine and authentic sound driving the pure fundamentals of that rock ‘n’ roll tradition which we all believe in.” ~ Of Empires

“With their new take on the hard rock sounds of the 1970s, debut single I Am The Night certainly hints this is a band worth watching.”Tommy Girard

 

Harlequin Knights (Jersey)

Marcus Harley – vocals and keyboards
James Dolan – guitar and vocals
Gary Law – bass
Leon Bouhaire – drums

Marcus is well known as a vocalist in the stylish and successful big band Inside Job. James is a maverick singer-songwriter who blazed a trail of magnetically indecorous indie rock in The Author and The Tracys. Gary’s supercooled bass grooves made unforgettable impressions in the performances of Velofax, Methylated Spiritualists and Bubblebrain. Leon is a powerhouse drummer who has worked with BlackStats and The Audio. Together they are experimenting with an unconventional new sound uniting rhythm ‘n’ blues and progressive rock.

 

Beau Fiasco (Jersey)

Hannah Campbell – vocals
Steve Catterson – keyboards
Sam Robinson – drums
Matt Munro – bass
Rhodri Hart – guitar

Beau Fiasco – A Beautiful Storm

Beau Fiasco have been playing on and off since January 2012 working on dreamy indie pop, and band members have previously played in The Mulburys, Honey Bun and Hip Hoperation.

 

Asylum Poll Winners’ Show at Live Lounge, Friday 15th June 2012

In all ages, asylum, bands, brighton, hove, jersey, live lounge on May 17, 2012 at 12:13

It’s been almost two years since Asylum produced a live event for the Live Lounge, Jersey. Friday 15th June sees the auspicious return, by public demand, of Asylum’s unique brand of eclectic live promotions. Following an overwhelmingly well subscribed recent poll to find the most requested live bands in Jersey, the top five acts chosen by fans are performing at the first of a series of shows that will run throughout summer 2012. It’s good to be back!

The Valentines
Stan Smith
Scruffians
Parker and The Flowing Wow
Gavin Tate of The Gaa Gaas

There are two shows on this date: Firstly, Asylum renews its commitment to Jersey’s vibrant youth music scene with the All Ages show from 6pm to 9.30pm. Scruffians, Stan Smith, and two UK acts The Valentines and Parker and The Flowing Wow will be performing at this show. There is a no alcohol policy at the early show, but in all other respects this show is the real deal – a concert rich in talent and excitement. Other forthcoming all ages shows will feature many more young bands of the Channel Islands, but this time we are presenting a near-mirror of the late show’s line-up. Entry for the all ages show is £2 on the door.

The late show starts at 10pm on the same night. Parker and The Flowing Wow, The Valentines, Stan Smith and Gavin Tate of The Gaa Gaas are the amazing acts, with support from the legendary DJ duo of Mr. Livingstone and Carlo Zen. In anticipation of a busy night, we’ll be opening the top floor bar as a chill area with some great DJing and sophisticated atmosphere to complement the frenzy of the live room on the middle floor. Entry for the late show is £7 on the door.

The Valentines, from Brighton, are renowned for their melodic brilliance, urbane attitude, and audacious splicing of doo-wop, garage rock and classic pop. Expect glamour and authentically stellar stage presence!

 

Stan Smith are Jersey’s undisputed masters of metal and notorious for the sheer power of their performances. Their live set is a technical tour-de-force and very heavy. They are signed to the crucial Rising Records label and are preparing to release an album in 2012.

 

Gavin Tate, a key figure of Bomp! the hugely influential St. Helier art pop collective, is based in Brighton where he directs his band The Gaa Gaas to ever-greater heights of phantasmagorical glamour. He recently performed at Gibus in Paris with a densely layered set of artful electronic noise, and will be treating the Asylum audience to a performance for drum machine, synthesizer, guitar and vocals.

 

Parker and The Flowing Wow are a band from Hove with great songs exhibiting a reverence for the classic signifiers of British indie rock: Psychedelia, keen melodic gifts and beautiful weirdness. Their sound condenses folk, pop and the enigma of surreal poetry. This band, liked by everyone that hears them, are currently finishing an album and it will be a marvellous thing!

 

Scruffians are the band that for Asylum’s comeback show represent the under-18s scene with poise and ambition. There is an alluring inventiveness about their songs which are melodically distinguished with clever interlocking guitar parts and a buoyant beat group swing to the rhythm section.

 

Asylum ran regular shows from 2008 to 2010, featuring the best alternative acts from the Channel Islands and UK, finally drawing the series to a close at its peak in October 2010. The reputation of Live Lounge as the premier venue in Jersey for live music is assured, and Asylum is proud to be back working with Flavio and his team to celebrate the diverse musical talents of the Channel Islands and invite special guest artists from the UK. For future events we’re planning to stage a team-up with the best bands from Guernsey, continue to support the youth scene, and welcome more great acts from across the seas.

Facebook event here

Poster designed by Luc Pallot

All band images © the respective artists.

Asylum at Live Lounge, Saturday 19th December 2009

In asylum, bands, brighton, bristol, jersey, live lounge, music, york on December 3, 2009 at 17:29

Update, December 14th 2009: The Gaa Gaas have had to pull out of this show. We completely understand their decision and hope to work with them soon. I’ll leave the write-up about them in this post because their substantial influence on the island’s music scene has guided the choices for this promotion and we will miss them!

Their place in the night’s line-up has been filled by Pirate Video Company. They are Max Cleworth, Piers Le Moignan, and Nick Wells. They write and perform a kind of agitated, brainy pop, with chants and melodic hooks to snag the mind, matching chaotic principle of punk with minimal funk grooves. There is an intriguing absence of harmonic rootedness in their work which suggests an experimental bias in their methods. Dean Taylor of This Is Not A Label has said of them, “I like them.”

A is for Asylum

Man Is Slapped

Richard Berks, a man with a laptop and brain brimming with surreal musical inventions, is known for being keyboard player in the original lineup of Jersey and London-based post-punk heroes Velofax. Since those riotous days he has done many things including having moved to beautiful, northern fortress city of York but perhaps most notably he has created a series of astounding works as Man Is Slapped. His recordings are stunningly produced, brazenly unconventional, and delicately romantic. His music is a kaleidoscopic moiré of guitar, glitch, synthetic blooping, breakbeats, and intelligent pop singing. There is an evident delight in confounding expectations with lucid abandon. The music is surprising and strange, and from within this intricate, unstable architecture of electronic mashup a passionate soul emerges to explore emotional realities with subtle poetry and wit.

Man Is Slapped by Tommy Jackson

Man Is Slapped has been featured on episode 16 of the brilliant Instant Classic podcast curated by pop genius Penny Broadhurst. Download it here Back To School Bumper Special

For more news and content from Man Is Slapped see
Man Is Slapped Facebook page
Man Is Slapped (free download)

Brobots!

The lovable alien machines who came in from the cold of outer space to learn how to party with Earth women, watch Countdown, break human instruments and remake them again in their own curious ways have taken Jersey by storm in 2009. The list of promoters and media players that have supported them goes on and on: Branchage Festival, Club Kamikaze, JMCT, Jersey Live, Channel TV, Gallery Magazine, Jersey Evening Post, BBC Radio Jersey, Scuro Disco … It would be unthinkable to celebrate the end of a great year for Asylum and Live Lounge without welcoming them back.

C.O.I.

Asylum wouldn’t have happened without the technical brilliance and devotion to quality that sound engineer Justin Vooles has consistently brought to the project. Justin has invited one of his favourite bands, C.O.I. of Bristol, to perform at this show.

C.O.I.

C.O.I. make party music for the kinds of parties at which mind and body are separated in ecstatic revelry. Bristol has always been a cradle for exceptional bands and experimental creativity, and this crew stands head and shoulders above the others according to Venue Magazine. Their songs are rip-roaring anthems delivered with amazing dexterity and streetwise personality. Spiraling shards of Townsendian guitar collide with staggeringly powerful drumming and choruses of gleeful terrace menace in song after song of pop genius. For more information about the band join C.O.I. Facebook group.

The Midnight Expresso

Discordian balladeer, movie star, style guru … Many titles have been bestowed upon The Midnight Expresso but his true identity remains a mystery to, well, probably no-one but that won’t stop me from trying to maintain a veneer of cracked mystique in this blurb. Armed with a keyboard that looks like it was fished out of a skip, stage dress that challenges all acceptable states of mind, and a way with words that is hilariously unhinged, The Midnight Expresso rocks the party hard.

The Midnight Expresso has worked with some of the coolest alternative acts in the business, including Chairlift and Pete and The Pirates. He produced a documentary film, Tornado Of Fame, about breaking into the music business from within. More recently he has been closely involved in the newest regular music night to take place at Live Lounge, Club Kamikaze, which looks set to go from strength to strength in 2010.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

DJs Colin Livingstone and Carlo Zen, who have been our co-hosts over fourteen months of Asylum entertainment, will be playing their choicest cuts between the bands and dancing like mad at the front. Thanks guys for all your hard work and devotion to the scene.

Entry is a fiver and the show starts at nine. Don’t be late or you won’t get in.

The Gaa Gaas

Since I started promoting live music nights in Jersey one name has recurred in many conversations with musicians and music fans. “He’s a genuinely nice guy,” I’m told, “who has not lost contact with his origins, his inspiration, or his friends.” In the various histories of musicians moving their music ventures away from Jersey, those attributes can be surprising and rare. So who is this person who inspires such admiration?

The brilliant, uncompromising punk futurist Gavin Gaa Gaa, and his band mates Peter Hass, Ali Cooper and Ashley Baker, have been forging a darkly minimalistic punk sound in Brighton since 2003. They play mainly in London, where they have a prominent place in the pantheon of new wave punk, and they have been releasing singles and EPs with an industriousness and commitment to quality that is singularly impressive. Their latest release, We Are All Pop Stars! EP, is available to buy from their MySpace page (see link above) where details of other releases and forthcoming dates can be found.

The music of The Gaa Gaas is restless, energetic, cathartic and catchy. Fizzing synths meld with monolithic bass riffs, guitar riffs snake and roil around relentless teutonic drumming, and the four piece creates a sound that is unified, elemental rock ‘n’ roll of the best kind. Recently they have put up new song Perception! on MySpace as an example of what to expect from new EP Repulsion Seminar due for release in early 2010.

For more information about the band and related projects see
The Gaa Gaas at Parallax Sounds Music Label
The Gaa Gaas Facebook page
Gavin Gaa Gaa (Solo Project)
Slurps & Squids (The Creepy Kids)

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