Counteract | National News with a Local Edge

Tribes announce headline UK tour

Richard Franks — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:01:13 +0000

Following on from the eagerly anticipated release of debut album ‘Baby’, Camden quartet Tribes have announced details of a fourteen-date UK tour.

Straight off the back of their NME tour with Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy and Azealia Banks, the band will head on an extensive jaunt, starting in Brighton, whilst calling at cities such as Bristol, London, Leeds, Glasgow & Dublin – before ending the tour right here in Birmingham.

See full list off tour dates below.

April
21 // Brighton, The Haunt
22 // Norwich, Arts Centre
24 // Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
25 // Bristol, Thekla
27 // London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
29 // Leeds, Cockpit
30 // Glasgow, Oran Mor

May
1 // Manchester, Academy 3
3 // Liverpool, O2 Academy 2
4 // Dublin, Academy 2
5 // Belfast, Stiff Kitten
7 // Sheffield, Leadmill
8 // Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
9 // BIRMINGHAM, O2 ACADEMY 2

Tickets are on general sale now from all good ticket outlets.

Exclusive Interview: Zulu Winter

Jack Parker — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:51:57 +0000

Zulu Winter have kicked off the new year with the announcement of a new single and a handful of special live shows in the first few months of 2012.

The London five–piece are set to release their second single, the first for their new label Play It Again Sam Recordings, on the 27th of February 2012.

‘We Should Be Swimming’, the follow up to their recent debut ‘Never Leave’/ ‘Let’s Move Back To Front’ release on Double Denim, is released on seven inch vinyl and available to download and comes backed with ‘Sycamore Trees’. Produced by Tom Morris the new single hints at what to expect from the band’s first long player which is due in May 2012.

We caught up with keyboardist Dom Miller from the band to talk about band names, fans and what the future holds for them.

Counteract: Why did you choose the name Zulu Winter?

Zulu Winter: We thought it was the best we came up with! That probably gives you an impression of how rubbish the other ones were!

C: How did the band come together?

ZW: We’ve known each other for a long time, some of us went to school together, we all met up after Uni and decided that this is what we wanted to do, so we went about doing it.

C: Were any of you in bands before Zulu Winter?

ZW: Lots! I was listening to some tracks the other day that me, Guy and Henry did under the the name Meet Lady Freya, some of the tracks were pretty good, I think there might be a myspace somewhere with some tracks on… this might start a re-appreciation of MLF and we’ll have to do a Stone Roses type reformation! That would be pretty cool!

C: What has been the best gig you have played so far?

ZW: We played in Botanique in Brussels in a mini amphitheater and the lights were amazing! Botanique as the name suggests is a botanical garden so it was all set within a giant green house surrounded by lush green plant life.

C: Which song gets the best reaction when you play live?

ZW: Hard to say really, I’m stood at the back looming over my keyboards so don’t really see what’s going out front, I did spot a few people jumping around to We Should Be Swimming at our last gig, but maybe somebody was stepping of their toes, as I said hard to tell!

C: Which bands have been the most fun to play gigs alongside?

ZW: The most inspiring I think was Braids, they make a beautiful sound and really suck you into their live show.

C: What are your fans like?

ZW: Beautiful, intelligent, witty, caring

C: What’s the strangest thing someone has written about you in the press?

ZW: ‘They sound all sinuous’ I had to look up what it meant. Always best not to read your press as you’ll usually get confused!

C: Are there any other musicians you would like to collaborate with?

ZW: I’ve been listening to a lot of David Axelrod’s stuff, so he’d be pretty cool, but there’s 4 other relatively interesting people in this band who keep the juices flowing so that’ll do for now.

C: Do you think image is an important part of being a band?

ZW: The music you make is always the most important, and if you care about that you’ll probably care how it’s presented, but if you’ve got a nice suit but no tunes you’re probably not in a very good band.

C: What gigs have you got coming up?

ZW: We’ve got a show at Cargo, in London on 29th February and we’re going on some international travels soon, which should be exciting. However I think we’ll be touring the UK around April time so keep an eye out for then.

www.facebook.com/ZuluWinter

New Order announce UK tour – Birmingham info & tickets

Richard Franks — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:49:48 +0000

Photo: Press

Your Dad’s favourite band NEW ORDER have today announced a four-date UK tour for Spring 2012.

The band, minus Peter Hook, will head out on the short jaunt in late April and early May including a date at the newly refurbished Birmingham Ballroom on April 29.

See below for list of tour dates.

April
26 // Manchester, O2 Apollo
29 // BIRMINGHAM, BALLROOM

May
2 // London, O2 Academy Brixton
5 // Glasgow, O2 Academy

Tickets go on sale Friday February 3 at 9am via all good ticket outlets – with Birmingham tickets going on sale via theticketsellers.co.uk.

Futures announce UK tour

Richard Franks — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:42:41 +0000

Futures have announced their first headline tour of 2012. The Buckinghamshire quartet who release their debut album ‘Start A Fire’ in the spring, through Vertigo/Mercury Records will play nine shows in April.

The tour begins at The Haunt, Brighton on April 17, followed by a gig at Norwich Arts Centre on April 18 and Birmingham’s HMV Institute on April 19. The tour finishes on April 26, when the band headline London XOYO. The new single ‘Start A Fire’ is released on February 20.

See below for full list of dates.

April
17 // Brighton, The Haunt
18 // Norwich, Art Centre
19 // BIRMINGHAM, HMV INSTITUTE TEMPLE
20 // Glasgow, ABC2
21 // Newcastle, O2 Academy 2
22 // Manchester, Club Academy
24 // Oxford, O2 Academy 2
25 // Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
26 // London, XOYO

Tickets are priced at £8.50, excluding London which is £9.50, and are on sale tomorrow (Friday January 27) at 9am.

Howler to play the HMV Institute

Andrew Gutteridge — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:10:10 +0000

Fresh from supporting The Vaccines on their UK tour, Minneapolis 5-piece Howler have set out on their own for a string of UK performances. Stopping off in Birmingham on February 5th, the much touted quintet will be bringing their Strokes via Replacements influenced sounds to the HMV Institute. Their debut EP, ‘This One’s different’ was first released in the US back in February 2011. The story goes that Rough Trade, on hearing their demo tape, immediately dispatched someone to go and sign them up. The record was then given a UK release in August. Their debut album ‘America Give Up’ has just been released and is receiving rave reviews in the music press. Firmly predicted as one of the bands of 2012, this is set to be a great gig.

Support on the night comes from Nile Marr aka Man Made, a singer songwriter from Manchester.

For more information check out the Birmingham Promoters website – birminghampromoters.com/.

Exclusive: First wave of bands to play RockNess 2012 announced

Richard Franks — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:01:26 +0000

Counteract can exclusively reveal the first wave of bands to be announced for RockNess Festival 2012.

Festival favourites and Scottish legends BIFFY CLYRO are the first confirmed RockNess 2012 headliner – which will be the band’s first ever Scotland headline slot. Speaking about the announcement, Simon Neil, Ben Johnston and James Johnston of BIFFY CLYRO said ”We are thrilled to be returning to RockNess in June, and this time we’ll be headlining. The location is amazing and the enthusiastic crowd made for a memorable experience in 2009, so we’re counting down the days until our return in 2012.”

As one of the very best live bands around, BIFFY CLYRO are at the top of their game. A decade long assault on the globe’s live music circuit and a five album-strong catalogue heavy on blistering, fist pumping anthems has seen to that. The trio’s unique sound, brought to glorious fruition on platinum selling albums ‘Puzzle’ and ‘Only Revolutions’ is well honed – a mix of off-kilter tempos, thumping guitar riffage and soaring vocals – and has steered the Ayrshire trio’s well earned rise to rock glory.

The second headliner to be announced is DEADMAU5. Intense and inspiring, to witness a DEADMAU5 live show is to experience shock and awe. A dazzling spectacular of technical wizardry and kaleidoscopic visuals that has seen the Toronto-born behemoth (aka Joel Thomas Zimmerman) garner acclaim from both critics and fans alike, and continue his ascent as one of the very biggest names in electronic music.

One of the UK’s biggest rising stars of 2011 and quadruple BRIT Award nominee ED SHEERAN has also today been confirmed. ED’s debut album ‘+’ recently went triple platinum, he’s been on three sold-out tours, and has today seen his biggest UK tour to date sell out in record time. This one man, DIY phenomenon blurs timeless song writing with bang current hip hop, and he counts various collaborations including those with grime rapsters Wiley and Wretch 32 to his credit.

Annually topping the wish list of fans as their must-see live act at RockNess, it is with huge excitement that Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay, aka JUSTICE, will be bringing pummelling levels of intensity to the festival. The prospect of the French house duo - whose electrifying live shows have all who witness reaching for the superlatives - hitting up Dores is sure to generate elation.

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Other artists today announced to play the June festival are:

METRONOMY, NOAH & THE WHALE, WRETCH 32, FRESH / LIVE, AZEALIA BANKS, BEARDYMAN, DEATH IN VEGAS, CHIC featuring NILE RODGERS, ETIENNE DE CRECY, TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS, BUSY P, GESAFFELSTEIN, RITON, THE CUBAN BROTHERS, FILTH djs, POLYMATH & COUNT CLOCKWORK.

Also announced today is a more convenient method of people outside of Scotland to travel to the festival – THE ROCKNESS EXPRESS.

RockNess Festival takes place in the beautiful surroundings of the village of Dores, Loch Ness, Scotland between June 8-10, 2012.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday January 26 at the following prices:

3 day weekend camping: £159 | 3 day weekend non camping: £149
3 day weekend camping / non camping student ticket: £145
3 day weekend VIP camping: £209 | 3 day weekend non camping ticket: £199
3 day Disabled weekend camping / non camping: £79.50 / £74.50 – Please email access@aeglive.co.uk
The RockNess Express: £225 – For more information click here.

For details on all ticket agents go to rockness.co.uk.

RockNess announce The RockNess Express – an easier way to travel to the festival from Birmingham

Richard Franks — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:01:16 +0000

There’s now an easier way to travel to RockNess Festival if you don’t live in Scotland.

THE ROCKNESS EXPRESS makes its exciting debut this June and marks the Year of Creative Scotland. This specially chartered train will depart from London Euston, picking up festival goers at Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle, before delivering the up-for-it party people to their final destination of Inverness.

Expect a full scale shindig on board THE ROCKNESS EXPRESS with top music, surprise guests, the best of Scottish food, cocktails, games and goody bags. What’s more, RockNess Expressers will get priority access on site before anyone else arrives AND a private party! If that isn’t enough, the unbeatable price of £225 is sure to impress. For this, revellers will get a VIP weekend ticket with camping PLUS travel from any of these UK destinations (only £16 more than a VIP ticket on its own), and be boosting their green credentials while having heaps of fun at the same time. All aboard!

To see the first wave of 2012′s announcements, click HERE.

Tickets including The RockNess Express package are available now from rockness.co.uk.

The RockNess Express is supported by The Scottish Government and EventScotland as part of the Year of Creative Scotland. Aged 18 and over.

M83, HMV Institute, Birmingham 21/01/12

Samuel Litherland — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:50:14 +0000

Armed with one of the best albums of 2011; emerging French dance outfit M83 finally reached the HMV Institute to showcase their stunning sixth album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming!’.

Appearing just before 8:30pm under a twinkle-light backdrop, the band kicked off their set with synth led ‘Intro’. The beautifully combined vocals of Anthony Gonzalez and Morgan Kibby captivated the crowd until the crashing cymbals mid-way through brought the song to life, transforming the HMV Institute with colour and the first of many dances.

The set list was well spread between albums; airing ‘Teen Angst’ from second album ‘Before the Dawn Heals Us’ and the slow dance groove of ‘Kim and Jessie’ from fifth album ‘Saturday=Youths’. From the early set, the stand-out track was their upcoming single ‘Reunion’, which had the whole crowd singing.

Personal set highlight, ‘Wait’ showed a different side to M83, with its slower, ambient style once again showcasing the incredible voices of both singers. Returning back to their high-tempo dance; standout hit ‘Midnight City’ produced the largest response, its huge riff being sung back note-for-note ending with deafening applause.

Playing a two song encore; it was the eight minute long instrumental set finale ‘Couleurs’ which had the whole standing section dancing in unison – Its 90s style techno, pulsating and ensuring everyone left more than happy.

M83 are without doubt a class act; with ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming!’ potentially the catalyst for greater success. With greater radio-coverage and more live shows to come; they will be hot property during the summer festival period.

Introducing: Alt-J

Toni-Louise Chadwick — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:27:03 +0000

Shortcut symbols, keystrokes and Apple; they aren’t called triangle but Alt+J.

Also known as Δ, there’s an eclectic mix of both backgrounds and influences within the band, of which the Leeds lads can only agree on the likes of Metronomy and Radiohead (which isn’t a bad thing). Developing such a sound that is easy to ‘get’ but undeniably unique is no mean feat, and as such people must be scratching their heads wondering why it hasn’t been done this brilliantly before.

Some might say the name is pretentious but rest assured the music certainly isn’t; an intriguing sound but a googling nightmare, their genre is blurred and unnamed which makes every track they have both a delight and a surprise to listen to. A full album would be something pretty special not just for what to expect but to see how their minimal approach translates.

Self described as ‘folktronica’ the only way you’re going to decide for yourself is if you head over to their soundcloud for a listen. Future bands can expect the comparison of “they sound like Alt J!”, these tracks are unique.

Listen to new single ‘Fitzpleasure’ below.

Catch them supporting Ghostpoet this February and Wild Beasts in March.

Summary: Rhythmic genre hoppers
For fans of: The XX, Wild Beasts, Metronomy
Listen to: Fitzpleasure, Matilda, Breezeblocks
Online: Website | Facebook | Soundcloud

Video: Spector – Chevy Thunder

Richard Franks — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:09:37 +0000

Spector have revealed the video for their next single ‘Chevy Thunder’, due to be released on February 27.

Be sure to catch them when they play The Rainbow in Birmingham on February 23!