FULL LINEUP FOR FRANK TURNER'S LOST EVENINGS FESTIVAL // LAST MINUTES SIDESHOWS ANNOUNCED

With one month to go, we can announce the full line-up of the sold out Lost Evenings festival. A host of Xtra Mile bands will play the the four-day festival, taking place on 12-15 May at iconic Camden music venue, the Roundhouse. Monday 15 May is Huw Stephens' Label of Love featuring Xtra Mile Recordings. As well as Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls doing a greatest hits set, they will be joined by Skinny Lister, Will Varley, Ben Marwood, a solo set by Ducking Punches, and Non Canon. Complementing the festival are sideshows called Last Minutes. On the Saturday afternoon at The Monarch, Xtra Mile presents the Xtra Mile BBQ with live music from Sam Duckworth (Get Cape, Wear Cape Fly) and Rob Lynch, while on the Saturday night Frank Turner and Sam Duckworth DJ at The Big One at Dingwalls. Tickets for Dingwalls here.

Lost Evenings sees Frank Turner curate and headline four consecutive one-off concerts, with an exciting supporting cast of musical talent confirmed for both the main stage and a second stage that will run alternately each evening. Check out the poster below for details.

On Friday, 12 May, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls will perform a crowd pleasing greatest hits set and supporting that night will be America’s finest AJJ, alongside up and coming band New Pagans. Following on Saturday, Frank will perform his debut album Sleep Is For The Week in full to celebrate its tenth anniversary this year. Long-admired musical peer Seth Lakeman will support with Anglo/Scottish duo Deux Furieuses. On Sunday, Frank resurrects Nambucca’s infamous former club night Sensible Sundays, and brings in close pal and musical hero Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit. As only seems right, Nambucca’s very own Beans On Toast kicks off the evening. Closing Lost Evenings on Monday 15 May, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls unite with Huw Stephens and his Label Of Love to feature Xtra Mile Recordings and showcase the extraordinary talent on the roster. Skinny Lister and Will Varley support Frank’s second greatest hits set of the series. 

The second stage, named the Nick Alexander Stage in memory of the merchandise manager and long-time friend of Frank who was tragically killed in the Bataclan attack in 2015, plays host to some of the best emerging acts all handpicked by Frank and Radio X’s John Kennedy. Friday’s bill is Crows, Bloody Knees and Moses; Saturday has Young Romance, Bless and Guise; Sunday hosts Louise Distras, Lewis Bootle and Uri Sade and finally Monday feature’s Xtra Mile acts Ben Marwood, Ducking Punches (solo) and Non Canon.

In addition to the evening performances, OneFest will run a selection of events during the day, that include panels focusing on The Business, Women & The Industry, Getting Gigs, Mental Health, Digital Generation as well as a keynote speech from Radio 1’s Gemma Cairney – plus much more.  The full programme of events that offer inspiration, insight and advice to young individuals both operating in and trying to break in to the music industry can be found here. 

The OneFest element will be part-produced by a cohort of six young adults aged 18-25 who are currently undergoing professional development programmes within the music industry, designed and run by The Hub. These programmes will support them in fulfilling roles across the event in panel and additional stage programming, artist liaison, digital marketing and business affairs. 

As well as all the OneFest and Lost Evenings activities, a full programme of satellite events, under the title of Last Minutes has been confirmed at various venues in Camden. The Hawley Arms, The Monarch, Lock Tavern and Dingwalls will host special intimate live performances, late night DJ sets, after parties, meet ups and food deals.

For a full listing of events go here: www.lostevenings.info

ABOUT ONEFEST

Born in Wiltshire in 2011 as a part of the BBC Village SOS series, OneFest was established to help the local community sustain and develop their community hub and featured Damien Rice, Laura Marling, The Magic Numbers and Dry the River. Returning in Wiltshire in 2012, and this time also featuring local talent via BBC Introducing, Damon Albarn headlined with Rae Morris and Raghu Dixit also on the bill. Five years on and OneFest has evolved into a UK-based, non-profit, music industry development company set up to support the emergence of new talent.

Working collaboratively with partners, such as Music Glue, The Great Escape, the MMF, AIF (Association of Independent Festivals), Roundhouse, The Hub, The 100 Club, PRS for Music, PRS Foundation and Young Guns Network and with the support of Arts Council England, OneFest provides a platform for new and emerging talent which aims to inspire, support and develop a new generation of artists, performers and music industry professionals through the creation of genuine opportunities and practical experience in the music and creative industries – ultimately contributing to a regeneration of the UK music community.

www.onefestUK.com

LOST EVENINGS WEEKEND DAYTIME PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED // CHRIS T-T LIVE AT THE FTHC ROOM

OneFest has announced the full weekend daytime programming for Frank Turner's Lost Evenings at the Roundhouse. On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 of May 2017, a packed schedule of talks, workshops and live music awaits designed to inspire, support and develop a new generation of artists, performers and music industry professionals.

This includes the FTHC Room, hosted by Frank Turner himself, which takes over the Sackler Space from 1.45pm on Saturday 13 May. Events in the FTHC Room are:

• A screening of Get Better: A Film About Frank Turner by Ben Morse
• A fascinating collaboration between the Music Glue band competition and Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
• A live performance by Xtra Mile's Chris T-T as he celebrates 20 years of making music

Tickets are £7.50 + fees*
*Fees are £1.95 per transaction included in the price

Running time: 4.2 hours

Age restrictions: not suitable for children but may attend if accompanied, at parents’ discretion. Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance.

There's plenty more going on over the weekend including talks on getting gigs, women and the industry, how to access funding for musicians, erasing the stigma of mental health and a conversation with Frank Turner.

THE RPMS NEW EP 'AGENTS OF CHANGE' OUT 2 JUNE 2017 // LISTEN TO 'OH MY GOD' // NEW UK TOUR DATES

The RPMs release their second EP, Agents Of Change, on 2 June 2017 through Xtra Mile Recordings and have announced a run of shows throughout the spring and summer months.

Preorder Agents of Change here.

Setting an experimental trajectory with a clutch of razor-edged new tracks, Brighton trio The RPMs are back with details of a forthcoming new EP.

Emerging from the creative cauldron of the Brighton scene that has also birthed contemporaries including Black Honey and Fickle Friends, The RPMs new material delivers a bolder and edgier sound channelling the uncertainties wrought by the ongoing fallout of global events.

The upcoming release reveals a band getting to grips with coming of age in an increasingly volatile world and lyrically sees the three-piece offering their take on the grip of social media in modern life. 

From the opening track ‘Oh My God’, Jack Valero articulates the frustration of an increasing stagnant youth culture: “kids all in the clubs still singing ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, there’s just so much that they don’t know”. ‘Troubled Town’ is a song about honesty within love, or the lack of, complete with an fiery slide solo. ‘Things I Forgot To Do’ has an infectious energy and rhythm on the theme of running out of time. ‘Help Me Start the Day’ closes the EP, harboring dark undertones of depression and mental anguish that are masked within a lighthearted pop tune echoing the ‘slap a smile on it’ culture that is still uncomfortable with this condition.

Talking about the new release, Jack says:

“We’re very aware of how our lives as young people are so heavily under the spotlight of social media likeability these days. Social media has brought great freedoms to people, allowing them to connect and share with anyone in the world, but also brings great pressures to be forever feeding the machine. It’s crazy that in the age of information, people seem more uninformed than ever. We are the first generation predicted to be poorer than our parents and young people are turning to each other, social media and their favourite bands to help them understand the world they've inherited and we're trying to understand it too."

Hailed by the BBC as a 'spookily young Brighton trio with killer melodies and an Arctic Monkeys rasp’, The RPMs gathered early plaudits for their debut Digital Disobedience EP which saw the three-piece notch up plays on Huw Stephens’ BBC Introducing and John Kennedy’s Shock of the New (Radio X), gain tip-offs from 6 Music taste-makers Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson, plus ‘track of the day’ features in the likes of Clash, Gigslutz, Record Of The Day and more.

Hoping to consolidate that early buzz with with the release of Agents of Change in spring 2017 and busying themselves with constant rehearsals to refine their new songs, while developing a bigger on-stage sound with the addition of a new guitarist, the band are excited to get out on the road in support of their new EP. And in the words of Jack: "Elvis has left the building, player two has left the game, first we'll shut it down and then we'll start all over again...."

Catch them live at the following dates with more to be added. Get full dates and tickets here.

MAY 2017

01 Glasgow @ The Hug & Pint
03 Bristol @ Louisiana
04 London @ Thousand Island
05 Bournemouth @ The Anvil

JUNE 2017

03 London @ Camden Rocks Festival
21–23 Bromyard @ Nozstock: The Hidden Valley Festival

AUGUST 2017

12 Sheffield @ Leefest: Neverland

www.the-rpms.co.uk / www.facebook.com/TheRPMsOfficial / @The_RPMs
 

BEN MARWOOD VIDEO FOR 'THE DEVIL MAKES WORK FOR JAZZ HANDS' // UK TOUR STARTS THURSDAY 6 APRIL 2017 // 'GET FOUND' ON FRIDAY 7 APRIL 2017

Just before long-awaited third album Get Found, which you can preorder now before Friday 7 April 2017, Ben Marwood has revealed the lyric video's ultimate form for new song 'The Devil Makes Work For Jazz Hands'. Watch it below.

'The Devil Makes Work For Jazz Hands' dips into the determination it took to make the album a reality.

Driven by the stripped back approach that helped make Ben's debut album Outside There's A Curse such a favourite, the song speaks of death, and hints at the struggles that kept Ben out of action for a year. Ultimately the song is redemptive, with Ben singing “you should know that you can't fear all the things you feel in the dark”.

In satirising the lyric video – from drum clicks to choruses, and glitches to reboot via loading screens for extra drum fills and self-worth – it transposes more meaning from the song than your average attempt at teaching you a song's words.

Ben, Non Canon and Helen Chambers tour the UK in April. Read an interview between the two XMR artists Ben Marwood and Non Canon here. Grab tickets for tour dates here.

APRIL

06 Brighton @ Brunswick
07 London @ The Monarch
08 Portsmouth @ Southsea Sound
10 Bristol @ Crofters Rights
11 Nottingham @ Bodega
12 York @ Fulford Arms
14 Edinburgh @ Opium
15 Glasgow @ Hug & Pint
16 Manchester @ Gullivers

Get Found has been a long time in the making. After the successes of debut album Outside There’s A Curse (2011) and the follow-up Back Down (2013) – which include a sold out solo headline UK tour; a support run with Frank Turner across the US, and the very surreal spectacle of accompanying Mr Turner upon rolling green hills at his pre-show performance of the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Ben wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to or even want to play music again.

A very intense year-long illness stopped Ben in his tracks and even though 2014-2015 was a surprisingly productive year of writing new songs, life continued to intervene, and this promising musician spent a year “embracing horizontal living”.

A third album was anything but inevitable at that point. Yet here we are, in 2017, warmly welcoming another Ben Marwood record. The album doesn’t stray far from its roots but plays with them tenderly. Pedal steel aches on ‘Enraptured’, while ‘DNFTTTS’ is pure andante piano melody. ‘Nights’ chugs and spits before bellowing into the most uplifting-sounding chorus about death you’ve heard yet – and there are plenty to come. “I’m not dead, I’m not dying, I just can’t get up,” confesses Ben on ‘I’m Wide Awake It’s Boring’ as one of just two songs that directly reference his mental and physical state of that difficult year. But Ben’s still able to pull his best from just his familiar flowing fingerstyle and disarmingly affecting voice on ‘Bones’ and ‘Bury Me In the Pantheon’.

Confessional and demanding of attention – it’s great to have Ben Marwood back.

www.benmarwood.com

Chris T-T 'Best Of' Out 19 May 2017 // 20th Anniversary Shows // Watch New Video For 'English Earth'

May 2017 marks Chris T-T’s 20th anniversary making music, so let’s celebrate his 20 years of loyal dissent with a first-ever career retrospective: the imaginatively-titled, double CD Best Of, out 19 May 2017. Preorder it on the XMR online shop or via iTunes.

For the first time Chris will also compile his song lyrics into a book, published to coincide with its release. Disc 1 focuses on Chris’s most loved songs from over the years and disc 2 is a rarities collection of Chris’s favourite studio recordings that haven’t been released on CD before. Full tracklisting is below. Watch the new video for 'The English Earth', originally from 2001's The 253 album and featured on Best Of.

The same week in 1997 that Tony Blair came to power, Chris moved to London. Before the end of May he’d played his first solo gigs (Chris that is, not Tony) and self-released his debut 7” single.  

Shortly after, Chris home-recorded and self-released his debut album Beatverse – years before this became commonplace – on a MiniDisc four-track with no computer. Beatverse was barely distributed but won Chris label interest and Radio 1 plays from Steve Lamacq, who championed the song ‘Shit From All Angles’ on the Evening Session. By Christmas, Chris was guesting live on the show.

Over two decades since then, Chris T-T has been walking his own path, with visionary psych pop, startling humour and unflinching, sometimes discomforting, radicalism. He’s released ten solo albums to consistent praise and played over 2,300 shows worldwide. Ten years ago he joined the Xtra Mile Recordings family, signing in 2007 on the suggestion of fast-rising young singer and fan Frank Turner. He has released four albums with Xtra Mile: Capital (2008), Love Is Not Rescue (2010), The Bear (2013) and 2016’s 9 Green Songs. 

Charlie Caplowe, MD of Xtra Mile Recordings says this about Chris T-T and the Best Of release:
“From the very start it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Chris both in a business and social sense. We're really proud to have been along for the ride for at least half of his amazing 20 year career. Here’s to another 20!”

Chris is also doing a short run of ‘Best Of’ 20th anniversary concerts in the UK as well as playing his first appearance at the illustrious Cambridge Folk Festival. Full dates announced so far can be found here. 

Chris T-T Best Of tracklisting

Disc 1

1. Dreaming of Injured Popstars
2. Ownership
3. The English Earth
4. Shit From All Angles
5. You Can Be Flirty
6. Drink Beer
7. Sellotape (Dawson's Creek)
8. Eminem is Gay
9. 7 Hearts
10. Giraffes #1
11. The Huntsman Comes A-Marchin'
12. Preaching to the Converted
13. (We Are) The King of England
14. A Box To Hide In
15. Market Square
16. Elephant In the Room
17. The Bear
18. Gulls
19. Love Me, I'm A Liberal (full band version)

Disc 2

1. The Idris Lung (1997 version)
2. Cutler (7" version)
3. A Hole Full of Submarines (band version)
4. Tendon #3
5. What if My Heart Never Heals? (7" version)
6. Tomorrow Morning (7" version)
7. N253 (band version)
8. Decksweep
9. The Headcold Bit of the Winter
10. 100,000 Turkeys
11. Back in the U.S.S.R.
12. Bored of the War
13. You Can't Stop the Machine
14. In the Dressing Room
15. A-Z (Xtra Mile High Club piano version)
16. Nintendo (piano version)
17. Words Fail Me (acoustic version)
18. The Outer Darkness Theme (with Gill Sandell)
19. Dancing On My Own
20. 31 Pills (band version)

Still busy as ever, in the past year Chris has released grief-stricken ecology record 9 Green Songs (sequel of sorts to 2005’s 9 Red Songs), been sole musician (piano accompanist) on the Jim Bob (Carter USM) album Jim Bob Sings Again, completed a set of narrative folk ballads as Creative Fellow at the National Trust Workhouse, Southwell, and played more guest piano on fellow Xtra Mile artist Non Canon’s self-titled debut. Meanwhile his weekly late night folk music show Midnight Campfire on Sussex radio station Juice 107.2 has a growing loyal following.

Ben Marwood 'Bury Me In the Pantheon' // Listen to the new track from third album 'Get Found' out 7 April 2017

Singer songwriter Ben Marwood unveils a brand new track ‘Bury Me In the Pantheon’ ahead of the release of his long awaited album Get Found on 7th April 2017. Preorder the album now from our online shop.

Listen to 'Bury Me In the Pantheon' below.

‘Bury Me In The Pantheon’ sees Ben at his best - his familiar flowing fingerstyle on the acoustic guitar and disarmingly affecting voice exemplifies why Ben Marwood is one of Xtra Mile Recordings’ most treasured artists.

The forthcoming album, Get Found, has been a long time in the making. After the successes of debut album Outside There’s A Curse (2011) and the follow-up Back Down (2013) – which include a sold out solo headline UK tour; a support run with Frank Turner across the US, and the very surreal spectacle of accompanying Mr Turner upon rolling green hills at his pre-show performance of the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony - Ben wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to or even want to play music again.
 
A third album was anything but inevitable at that point. Yet here we are, in 2017, warmly welcoming another Ben Marwood record. The album doesn’t stray far from its roots but plays with them tenderly. Pedal steel aches on ‘Enraptured’, while ‘DNFTTTS’ is pure andante piano melody. ‘Nights’ chugs and spits before bellowing into the most uplifting-sounding chorus about death you’ve heard yet – and there are plenty to come. “I’m not dead, I’m not dying, I just can’t get up,” confesses Ben on ‘I’m Wide Awake It’s Boring’ as one of just two songs that directly reference his mental and physical state of that difficult year. Penultimate song ‘The Devil Makes Work For Jazz Hands’ dwells on death and immobility again (“the weight of the world is locked on your shoulders forever”) before sliding in a slick guitar solo and resolving into a plea of “you should know that you can’t fear all of the things you fear in the dark”.
 
Confessional and demanding of attention – it’s great to have Ben Marwood back.
 
Coinciding with the release is Ben’s first tour in over three years – taking in some of the UK’s best independent venues. Support comes from label mate Non Canon, and on select dates, Helen Chambers.

Full dates are below and you can get tickets here.

APRIL
06 Brighton @ Brunswick*
07 London @ The Monarch*
08 Portsmouth @ Southsea Sound*
10 Bristol @ Crofters Rights*
11 Nottingham @ Bodega*
12 York @ Fulford Arms*
14 Edinburgh @ Opium
15 Glasgow @ Hug & Pint
16 Manchester @ Gullivers
*with Helen Chambers on these dates

Facebook / Twitter @benmarwoodmusic / www.benmarwood.com