Xtra Mile Teams Up With XFMXposure

On 15th December 2013 Xtra Mile Recordings and XFM Xposure will host an incredible Xmas gig at London’s Barfly venue to end the year in style. The night will feature live music from label legend Chris T-T and The Hoodrats as well as three other acts from the roster who will be revealed over the coming weeks. 

Curated by XFM Xposure’s very own John Kennedy - who has tirelessly supported the label’s output for all ten years it’s been around - has cherry picked his favourite acts currently on the label whose music he’s championed all year. The night promises to be a true celebration of independent British music and one that showcases the depth of talent within the Xtra Mile stable. 

Tickets are £12.50 and available to buy here:  http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/89705

Chris T-T has just released his phenomenal ninth album ‘The Bear’ receiving unanimous praise across the board. His single by the same name is currently enjoying plays on XFM’s Evening playlist as well as 6Music by Tom Robinson, Gideon Coe, & Marc Riley; Radio 1 by Huw Stephens and Phil & Alice and Amazing Radio playlist. 

You can see the video here: 

The track was released on split 7” as part of the Xtra Mile Single Sessions the Tenth Anniversary Edition, backed by the orchestral indie rock brilliance of To Kill A King. It was the first of 4 vinyl released every Monday in October as part of our tenth anniversary celebrations. Throughout the year we’ve been up to all sorts; a take-over at 2000trees Festival, a SXSW showcase, promotions with Amazon and iTunes to offer discounts on our back catalogue and of course we re-issued our first ever releases by Million Dead and Reuben – to mark how it all began a decade ago. We also just celebrated in style with a raucous 10th birthday party with incredible sets from Chris T-T, Ben Marwood and Algiers, a presentation of gold and silver discs for Frank Turner’s England Keep My Bones and Love Ire & Song respectively and an enormous cake!

Tune into John Kennedy’s XFM Xposure Monday – Thursday from 10pm. 104.9FM

www.xtramilerecordings.com / www.xfm.co.uk / www.christt.com

“Chris has proven his ability to write intelligent, endearing songs, now he and his band The Hoodrats smash the shit out of everything. Fiercely exciting.” - ROCKSOUND

 

Chris T-T Headline Tour!

Described as an “Outstanding, indispensable genius. A modern-day Blake” by Sunday Times and “One of the great underground artists of our time.” by Jon Snow - CHRIS T-T is truly one of the nation’s best songwriting talents.

Following the release of his critically applauded ninth studio album ‘The Bear’ - which came out on 7th October 2013 – Chris is announcing the details of a headline tour that will start as soon as his support slot on the nationwide Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo tour finishes in late November. His dates will run right through until Christmas. Full tour details are: 

CHRIS T-T ‘THE BEAR’ UK TOUR – SOLO HEADLINE CONCERTS

NOVEMBER

24 Cardiff Mind Fest 
27 Folkestone Googies Arts Café
28 Ipswich The Soapbox House
29 York The Black Swan
30 London Bush Hall Supporting Jim Bob (Carter Usm) *

DECEMBER

5 Manchester Kraak Gallery
6 Leeds All Hallows Church
7 Durham Old Cinema Launderette
10 Newcastle Tba ** 
11 Edinburgh Pivo **
12 Glasgow Roxy 171 **
13 Bexhill Eras Of Style***
14 Margate Tom Thumb Theatre ***
19 Brighton 68 Middle St ***
20 Devizes The Lamb
22 Portsmouth Edge Of The Wedge

*this gig marks Chris’s beard’s 20th birthday
** special guest Dave Hughes (solo)
*** special guest Tom Williams (solo)

 
Chris T-T - The Bear - sleeve.jpg

‘The Bear’ is Chris’s third album for label Xtra Mile Recordings. Recorded with his band The Hoodrats, together they have departed from the paired down introspection of 2010’s Love Is Not Rescue and instead created a full-on psych rock record with hints of Sebadoh, early Hold Steady, early Yo La Tengo, or Blur at their heavier moments and with a nod to grimy garage-y 60s like The Faces and Animals. Channelling these influences, Chris and his band taped the album live in a room and completed it in 3 or 4 takes just as those bands would have done back then. The result is a fascinating and excitingly fresh sounding record and some of his best work to date. 

The title track of the album was released on split 7” as part of the Xtra Mile Single Sessions: The Tenth Anniversary Edition.

There are beautiful lyric videos to every track of the album available to see here:

Photo by Ben Morse, taken at Xtra Mile's 10th Birthday Party. 

Since 1999 Chris T-T has released eight albums, including a trilogy about London: The 253 (2001), London Is Sinking (2003) and Capital (2008), as well as alt-folk protest classic 9 Red Songs (2005) and more recently the inward-looking Love Is Not Rescue (2010). 

Based in Brighton but restlessly mobile, he has written for The Morning Star, Louder Than War, Huffington Post, New Public Thinkers and others. Alongside writing and touring, Chris speaks regularly at conferences and runs seminars and workshops. 

* not that Jon Snow; that Jon Snow. The main dude off of Channel 4 News, not Ned Stark’s bastard off of Game Of Thrones.

Franz Nicolay Returns To Our Shores!

Franz Nicolay is set to release his latest single 'Hearts of Boston' out on 25th November from his third vaudevillian world folk extravaganza, 'Do the Struggle' out now on Xtra Mile Recordings.   The video was shot at Franz's ancestral homeland in the mountains of New Hampshire, and features a lot of flaming things.  Possibly including Franz. 

Check it out here: 

The single is a whacked-out Pogues via Arcade Fire burst of handclaps and violin. Crammed with his Americana storytelling across a pace and passion to match any punk outfit, it's as good an introduction to Franz Nicolay as you could get. He worked with producer oktopus, of the innovative New Jersey industrial/hip-hop group dälek, to move beyond the singer-songwriter sound world and create a dark, explosive, and cinematic opus of personal and political anger.

With the help of Guignol rhythm section John Bollinger (drums) and George Rush (bass, tuba) and guests including Ezra Kire (Leftover Crack, Morning Glory), Franz Nicolay has woven tales for everyone to hold onto.

He is over this side of the pond this November for a UK tour with The Cut Ups. The 'Bearing Torches' tour will see the Exeter band back Franz during his headline sets, and they'll also be main support each night, with Franz joining them on keyboards. 

Catch them at:

NOVEMBER

13 The Exchange, Bristol
14 The Cavern, Exeter 
15 Tiki Bar and Diner, Plymouth
16 Wharf Chambers, Leeds
17 Chameleon Arts Cafe, Nottingham
18 Tiger Lounge, Manchester
19 Kage, Dundee
20 Audio, Glasgow
21 The Central, Gateshead
22 The Prince Albert, Brighton
23 The Black Heart, London
24 Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading (Franz only, acoustic, w/ Ben Marwood)

 

Oxygen Thief - Joins The XMR Family!

Content with playing acoustic guitar "with such ferocity that it takes the top of your head off" (as Tom Robinson from BBC 6Music put it), he had no plans to turn Oxygen Thief into a band but Neil and Ben from of Xtra Mile's own The Retrospective Soundtrack Players had other ideas; re-recording some of his songs with distortion pedals firmly engaged and firing the demos at his inbox. 

Oxygen Thief & Band, photo by Joe Watson.

Oxygen Thief & Band, photo by Joe Watson.

So, Barry dusted off his electric guitar and started rehearsing and recording with this new line-up and played their first shows; opening for Left Side Brain in Bristol, and at London's legendary charity knees-up Lexapalooza in March 2013.

Solo, acoustic, loud / 3 piece, electric, louder: Oxygen Thief will tour the UK in both incarnations to celebrate the release of the ‘Accidents Do Not Happen, They Are Caused’ mini album – firstly solo supporting Jonah Matranga (far, onelindrawing) and then full band headline shows as well as a support slot for Jamie Lenman. Full dates below.

 Oxygen Thief has been unofficially part of the Xtra Mile family for a while now – Charlie Caplowe, Managing Director of Xtra Mile explains:

“We’re delighted to have Oxygen Thief join the XM clan. To be honest he’d somehow managed to get himself onto so many Xtra Mile Recordings bills and stages over this last summer that we were almost convinced he was already signed!"

Dolan says:

"Having released a split EP with Ben Marwood & Jim Lockey (2009's ‘Exclamation At Asterisk Hash’) I've watched them go from strength to strength since signing to Xtra Mile, and we've often chatted about whether I might end up joining them on the label someday. The opening song (There Can Be Only One) from the band mini album appeared on that split in acoustic form, so I'm glad to have it kick off the new release as a link back to the fun we had touring together. I'm excited to be joining a roster with so many other acts that I've been both a huge fan of, and great friends with, over the years, especially as the label celebrates its 10th anniversary."

TOUR DATES

November
Solo tour supporting Jonah Matranga

12th: London - Windmill Brixton
13th: Newport - Le Pub
14th: Stoke-on-Trent: Minster's
15th: Nottingham - Guitar Bar
16th: Dunlop - Auld Hoose
17th: Aberdeen - Tunnels
18th: Edinburgh - Sneaky Pete's
19th: Glasgow - Nice & Sleazys
21st: Newcastle - Trillians
22nd: York - The Basement
23rd: Brighton - The Hope

 

November
Full band shows:

29th: Plymouth - Tiki
30th: The Louisiana - Bristol

December
1st: The Loft, Portsmouth
3rd: Cookie Jar, Leicester
4th: The Vic, Swindon
5th: Avondale House, Southampton
8th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
9th: The Garage, London w/Jamie Lenman

Northcote

NORTHCOTE
Brand new signing to Xtra Mile Recordings

art.jpg

It’s with great pleasure that Xtra Mile Recordings welcomes the musical talents ofNorthcote to the ever growing roster and unveils details of his forthcoming album. 

Canadian Matt Goud (aka Northcote) will release his self-titled album on 11th November 2013 with the stand-out single ‘Hope The Good Things Never Die’ following on 18th November. The releases coincide with a huge tour of the UK and Europe supporting peer and comrade Dave Hause – ex-frontman of The Loved Ones. 

Full dates are:

NOVEMBER

13 Dublin Academy 2
14 Belfast McHugh’s
15 Glasgow King Tuts
16 Manchester Gorilla
17 Brighton The Green Door Store
19 Amsterdam Paradiso
20 Hamburg Knust
21 Bremen Lagerhaus
22 Hannover Gig Linden
23 Dresden Beatpol
24 Berlin BiNuu Berlin
26 Cologne Gloria
27 Frankfurt Batschkapp
28 Munich Strom Linienclub
30 Milano Factory (Area2)

DECEMBER

02 Vienna B72
03 Stuttgart Universum
04 Antwerp JH Kavka
05 Southampton Joiners
06 London The Garage
07 Nottingham Bodega Social Club
08 Newcastle The Cluny


Northcote performing 'How Can You Turn Around'. 

Born and raised in small-town Saskatchewan, Northcote’s early exposure to music was a mix of traditional country on AM radio and the hymns he learned at his childhood church. However, it wasn't until he discovered punk and hardcore music that he realized music’s healing and therapeutic power.

Over the past 8 years, few young musicians in Canada have put on as many miles as Goud who toured for years as a member of a post-hardcore band and has more recently transitioned into life on the road as a singer/songwriter with accompaniment by an ever-rotating slew of guests and friend musicians.

On signing with Xtra Mile Recordings, Northcote’s main man Goud states:

"The Northcote team is excited and grateful to be working with Xtra Mile. I felt at home while playing for the first time in Europe this past spring at the Pirate Satellite Festival in Stuttgart, and I am looking forward to returning next month to support Dave Hause for 25+ shows. We're very excited to be joining our new label home in Europe." 

The new self-titled album was produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Cave Singers, Dan Mangan) at The Hive in Vancouver, and is Northcote’s most forthcoming and confident album to date, reflecting this young songwriter’s increasing maturity and experience. Breaking the stereotype of the reserved and solemn cafe singer/songwriter, the album entices both the performers and the listeners to come out of their shell.

On ‘NORTHCOTE’, Goud further strengthens his voice as an emerging Canadian artist. Confident, full chords replace contemplative ballads, and the influence of his eclectic background of punk.

Drag The River

DRAG THE RIVER SIGN TO XTRA MILE RECORDINGS AND RELEASE BRAND NEW ALBUM 

    Xtra Mile Recordings are excited to announce that they have signed the incredible and influential country / rock band, Drag The River and will be releasing their new album across the world this autumn. 

    art.jpg

    On 15th October 2013, the self titled, ’Drag The River’ LP will be released worldwide (except North America) as a digital download. From the 5th November 2013 it will exist on CD/LP & digital download worldwide (including North America).  We are also happy to announce Drag The River’s phenomenal 2008 album ‘You Can’t Live This Way’is being re-released digitally on 15th October 2013 in both territories. AND available on CD in both territories will be Frank Turner and Jon Snodgrass’ collaboration album ‘Buddies’ on the 15th October (previously available on 10” Green vinyl and digital download).

     

    For the uninitiated, Drag the River are self described as a "Country & Midwestern" band. Transplanted from Missouri, the band resides in Colorado comprising of the talents of Chad Price (of ALL), Jon Snodgrass (of Armchair Martian, Scorpios), JJ Nobody (of NOBODYS) & Dave Barker (of Pinhead Circus).  Drag The River began in 1996, when Chad was playing in ALL and Jon was rocking in Armchair Martian.  The two wanted an outlet for the more laid-back, country-influenced songs they were both writing.  They are one of those bands that manage to transcend the confines and boundaries of the musical world and become more like a legend. There’s something about their haunting croon and fuzzed-out Telecasters that make everything fit together so perfectly, hitting that same elusive mix of rock n’ roll and alt-country that The Replacements defined and so many others have tried to cop.

    Coinciding with the release of this album they are taking to the road across North America with a full band in October as well as Jon and Chad performing as a duo at The Fest in November.

    Full dates are:

    October

    11 Albuquerque, NM at GasWorks - All Ages
    12 Phoenix at Pub Rock (full band)
    13 San Diego - Bar Pink - (full band)
    14 Fullerton at Slidebar - (free show & full band)
    15 Los Angeles at The Mint  (full band)
    16 Santa Barbara at Velvet Jones (full band)
    17 San Fransico at Thee Parkside (full band)
    18 Santa Cruz at Moe's Alley (full band)
    19 Reno at Chapell Tavern (Free show & full band)

    November

    03 "The Fest" Jon & Chad at the Wooley

    Also announced are dates for December 2013 w/ Blood Shot Record's Artist, Cory Branan.

    December

    03 St. Louis at The Duck Room (full band)
    04 Columbus at Ace of Cups (full band)
    05 Asbury Park at Asbury Lanes (full band)
    06 New York, at Mercury Lounge (full band)
    07 Allston at Great Scott (full band)
    08 Dover at Sonny's Tavern (full band)
    09 Burlington at Club Metronome (full band)
    10 Quebec City at L'Autre Zone (full band)
    12 Montreal at Divan Orange (full band)
    13 Vankleek Hill, Ontario at Beau's (full band)
    14 Toronto at The Silver Dollar Room (full band)
    15 Hamilton at Club Absinthe (full band)
    16 Chicago at Abbey Pub (full band)

    With more dates for February 2014 to be announced.  Stay tuned.

    Bands They Have Rocked With:

    Frank Turner, Jim Ward, Murder By Death, Cheap Girls, Nothington, Drive By Truckers, Austin Lucas, Larry & His Flask, Chuck Ragan and are alumni of the Revival Tour.  The Dropkick Murphys, Gogol Bordello, Throwrag, The Groovie Ghoulies, The Ergs!, Tim Barry, Ninja Gun, Son Volt, Two Cow Garage, Limbeck, Dwight Yoakam, Spoon, Rocky Votolato, Owen, The Reverend Horton Heat, Deer Tick, and Joey Cape. They’ve been pretty busy over the last decade.

    Tracklistings are:

    ‘Drag The River’ (self titled)

    1. Wichita Skyline
    2. Not That Kind
    3. Black In Bloom
    4. Ghosts of High School
    5. Like Longfellows
    6. Here's to the Losers
    7. the Other Side of OK
    8. History with History
    9. Waste of Time, Valentine
    10. Song for My Roommates

    Pre-order here.

      

    ‘You Can't Live This Way’

    1. Death of the Life of the Party
    2. Rangement
    3. Brookfield
    4. Fleeting Porch of Tide
    5. W.W. Too
    6. Tobacco Fields
    7. Defy the Moon
    8. Caleb's Grave
    9. Lying in the Feel
    10. Lost Angel Saloon
    11. Br00tal
    12. Pre-Post Party
    13. Lizzy
    14. Bad Side of a Good Time
    15. You Can't Live This Way