Peenko Blog is Four Years Old Today: Vinyl Postcards

 It was four years ago today that the first ever Peenko blog post went up, now that might not mean a lot to you, but for me it's pretty massive. When you hit so called milestones like this, it makes think back on how much has happened over the past four years. I am not going to sit here and blow my own trumpet too much, but prior to starting this site, doing this such as running a record label, putting on gigs, managing bands, etc, etc, were just pipe dreams. Seeing as I have no musical talent to speak of whatsoever, this blog has allowed me to fulfil a much longed desire to be involved in the music industry in my own little way.

For quite a while now I have been thinking about doing something special to celebrate my blogs 4th birthday, for the blogs 1st anniversary I gave away Peenko badges, in year 2 I released an EP with I Build Collapsible Mountains and last year I launched my ill fated podcast (finding the time to record it put paid to that). This year though I am extremely proud to say that I have come with something pretty damn awesome.

What with the recent trend of artists releasing their music on formats which were deemed to be defunct, such as cassettes, VHS tapes, etc. I had been looking to find something that was even more unique and you know what, I only went and found it. So here's the back story about what I came up with...

At the start of the year I contacted four of my favourite artists, that would be:
Randolph's Leap (Fence Records)
The Son(s) (Olive Grove Records)
RM Hubbert (Chemikal Underground)
Behold The Old Bear (Gargleblast Records)

...to ask them if they'd be up for recording a song for me that had to be no longer than two minutes long,  which I would then release exclusively on a vinyl postcard. That would be a postcard that you can play on a turntable, just like a record!

Aren't they pretty!

Anyway, surprisingly enough to me they were all up to challenge and now after many many months of planning and organising I am very pleased to be able to share with you my first ever releases on vinyl postcards!

Each postcard is limited to just 20 copies. The tracks will not be made available anywhere else and there will be no re-press, hopefully making them a bit of a collectors item (or at least that's the plan).

YOU CAN BUY THE POSTCARDS NOW BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK

Just to prove that they actually work, here's a wee video of The Son(s) postcard doing it's stuff (wait until about 20 seconds in for the song to start).

In case you were wondering the songs are all under two minutes long so that they fit on the postcards. I could have paid extra to have more space, but I liked the idea of giving the artists a bit of a challenge. The postcards are priced at £10 per card or £36 for all four, now that might seem pretty steep, but even at that price I won't be breaking even. I like to think of this as being the Scottish equivalent of Blue Monday, so if you feel like moaning about the cards being too expensive please don't!

Here's a bit more info on the cards:

C403 by Behold The Old Bear was recorded by Raindeer in the comfort of his own bedroom.

This Ain't It by Randolph's Leap was recorded by Roy Froude at Stow College. 

Heisenberg by RM Hubbert was recorded by Charlie Ward (aka King Post Kitsch) in his living room.

All My Days Are Shorter by The Son(s) was recorded by KP Son at 13 Leopold Place, in Edinburgh in the spring.

All of the songs were mastered by Jonathan Huxtable of Small Fish Recordings.

The postcards were designed by Kris Ferguson (Mitchell Museum/Miaoux Miaoux)

For those of you who are interested in finding a bit more about where I got the postcards printed, I used a company in Austria called Vinyl Postcards. They're quick, friendly and I can't recommend them highly enough!

BUY THE POSTCARDS

Doune The Rabbit Hole Review Pt. 1

 

I hate camping. I fucking hate it. You're always surrounded by midges and grass and trees and fresh air and everything else that's wrong with the world. I have twice endured festival camping in my short lifetime. One time was Connect in 2007, where, for some daft reason, we pitched the tent on a hill. When it came time to get some shut-eye (sleeping at a festival, eh? I'm wild, me...), I experienced this recurring, unsettling feeling of slowly sliding downwards headfirst every time I neared sleep. I thought we were going to career head first into the next tent on the hill - a scary prospect: its occupants were an Italian couple who shagged each other relentlessly and without mercy every night and well into the morning. Literally all night, every night. Not a wink of sleep was had between both our tents but they were certainly enjoying themselves so fair play. 

The other time I camped at a festival was the year previous at T In The Park. On the Saturday morning, my pal (and Doune The Rabbit Hole companion) Wullie spewed in the tent and ruined life. I'm not even going to go into details other than to say that we'd both eaten Cornish pasties the day before and, by the look of things that morning, his definitely had more carrot. After those occasions, I vowed to camp never again. Never again unless I absolutely, unquestionably had to. Of course, this would mean no more festivals.

So when Dear Leader Peenko got in touch to say he'd quite like me to review Doune The Rabbit Hole I jumped up and down and ran around the room screaming with joy (figuratively). And not just because the line-up looked pretty good, but because Doune The Rabbit Hole had this year been moved to a site only a few miles away from my house, well within driving distance. Or, to put it another way, within showering and sleeping-in-a-warm-bed distance. So while you may now feel the first two paragraphs you just read were a largely unnecessary preamble to this one, they were written with the intention of providing enough juxtaposition to allow you to discern just how overjoyed I was to be able to go to a festival and go home at night for a shite in my own house.

Wullie and myself arrived to find the place swarming with hippies. Dreadlocks and tie dye everywhere, children being pushed around in wheelbarrows and wearing dungarees made of felt. It was hell. 

Actually, it really wasn't. It was all very pleasant, but just a bit disorganised. The volunteers were exceptionally friendly but most of the ones we encountered didn't really have much of a clue. For instance, on arrival we were issued with our wristbands and told to go to the production office for press passes. Four hippies later we were directed to the artist check-in caravan as this was where the press passes apparently were, not the production office. Thankfully the very helpful Lucy actually knew what was going on and informed us that the wristbands we had initially received sufficed as press passes too. We were in. Yay! Not that we would have needed a wristband right enough seeing as it wasn't checked once all weekend. 

We managed to get hold of a programme which normally would allow you to plan out the stuff you'd like to see, right? WRONG! The programme didn't actually publish times of bands, only the order they were due on stage. The 'timetable' included the disclaimer, “Time is an illusion, fesitval time doubly so. These listings are provided only as an approximate outline of concurrent stage happenings.” Which to me translates as “we're too lazy to do this properly”. Couple this laziness with the fact that bands were chopping and changing all over the place, things got a bit chaotic, and nobody really seemed to know what was going on or who the bands currently on stage were etc. It probably wouldn't be much of a problem to most people there just to enjoy themselves but to a reviewer who kinda needs to know exactly where and when bands are on, it's a little bothersome. 

But now for the important part. The first band I saw on the main stage were possibly called The Woven Tents though I can't be all that sure because they weren't listed in the programme as playing at that time. Whoever they were, I'd place them in the avant-garde sub-genre of Carnival-Circus-Pop. It was all thoroughly enjoyable and rather eccentric, swinging between utter mentalness and atmospheric soundscapes in an instant. Definitely one for fans of Animal Collective.

Behold, The Old Bear (Photo by Wullie Crainey)

Staying at the main stage, we have Behold, The Old Bear up next. It's the first time I've heard them live and they're fantastic. Much like it is in Mitchell Museum, frontman Raindeer's voice is pushed to breaking point at the top of his register to great effect, giving a really strained but passionate vocal sound. It's more straight up than Mitchell Museum, something like a more outwardly rocky Spinto Band. They're great to watch too, evidently having a lot of fun on stage. 

We decided it might be time for some scran, but on the way we stopped into the Baino Tent to be confronted by Pumajaw. Pinkie Maclure is such a good singer there are few superlatives to describe her. She has this deep, rich voice - not unlike Sarah Vaughan or even some of Grace Jones' work. It's a pity it's wasted here though, because their music is pretentious, self-indulgent and dull. After them it's up the hill for some excellent Doune The Rabbit Stew from Wild Rover Food, followed shortly afterwards by the best (only) churros and chocolate I've ever had.

Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells (Photo by Wullie Crainey)

One thing I notice about Doune The Rabbit Hole is just how family friendly it is. There's loads of children here, enjoying the mud and music, running around like wee dafties and generally having a brilliant time. “I'm meeting him tomorrow, and I plan to suck him dry, and she pulled back up her knickers and she kissed my cock goodbye” drawls Mr Moffat of Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells during Glasgow Jubilee, as children dance atop of daddy's shoulders. They're a class act, and live their award-winning album is really brought to life. The Copper Top is the highlight though. It's one of those strange songs that's a bit haunting and harrowing, yet inviting at the same time. It's like being sat down on a comfy armchair beside a roaring fire one freezing January night only to be told of a loved one's imminent demise. Live, they don't tend to embellish the material from Everything's Getting Older. There's no need, it's beautiful as it is.

The Phantom Band (Photo by Wullie Crainey)

And finally on Friday we have The Phantom Band. I'm a huge fan and have seen them many times but this is by far the best they've ever sounded. There was often a real danger of some songs sounding weedy in the past if the sound wasn't too great but they've beefed up their live sound here to great effect. Folk Song Oblivion was one of those songs but tonight it sounds huge and heavy, like a good boot to the chest. Also sounding excellent was the material from The Wants, in particular A Glamour and Mr Natural. Rounding things off with a triumphant Crocodile was a nice touch. A rather superb way to finish the first day.

(end of part one...)

Friday Freebies

Kowalskiy
The trouble with writing these Friday Freebies on a Thursday night is that quite often someone posts a cracking free download on the Friday and I don't have time to update the post. This happened last week when my fellow blogger, Kowalskiy posted up his latest free monthly EP, his latest offering was possibly his best to date (do I say that every month?) including tracks from Blue Sky Archives, This Silent Forest, The Sea Kings, The Spook School and my current favourite thing ever - Behold, the Old Bear (who are also coincidentally playing at Stereo tonight). You can download the EP for free from Bandcamp


.
Where We Lay Our Heads 
I think I should warn you in advance that the new Where We Lay Our Heads single, Bury You. is one catchy fucking song. Seriously I haven't been able to get it out of my head all week, not that I complaining mind you. You can download the single for free over on their Bandcamp page. If you live in Edinburgh then you catch them playing live along with Letters and Loch Awe at the Wee Red Bar on Sunday night.




Woodenbox
Nothing makes me want to delete an email more than seeing the word 'remix' in the subject header, I have never really seen the point. But sometimes there is the odd exception to this rule as I fucking love the new remix that the FOUND boys have done for Woodenbox's Everyone Has a Price. You can download it for yourself and marvel in it's glory over on SoundCloud.

  Everyone Has a Price (Found remix) by Woodenbox band

Happy Particles
If you haven't already checked out Happy Particles debut album 'Under Sleeping Waves', then I would urge you to get that rectified asap, either that or you are already fully aware of just how fucking good the album is. Then either way you should check out the very first demo of the song Rhodia, that band recorded as back in 2009 when they were just a duo, as it's free to download on Bandcamp. You can catch the band playing their first live gig of 2012 next Saturday at the 13th Note, with support from North American War & Olympic Swimmers.



FatCat Demo Compilation
When the label that gave us the Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Frightened Rabbit and now PAWS, post up a compilation of the best demos that they received recently you can't help but be interested to see what little gems they've unearthed. Find out for yourself what's been exciting them recently by downloading the compilation for free here

  Sisterland - New Jersey (Red House Painters) by FatCat Records Demo .

130701
Seeing as we're on a bit of a FatCat trip, you should check out their imprint label, 130701, as they've got a free sampler download up for grabs. Featuring tracks from Max Richter, Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka and Jóhann Jóhannsson, the compilation can be downloaded in exchange for your email address.

Brazil Exists
Stirling pop-rock outfit, Brazil Exists have posted up a few free downloads on their SoundCloud page. Some of the tracks were recorded with Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan last year, you can find them here. The band will also be supporting the Frabbit boys on their Highlands & Islands tour of Scotland next month.

  Boxcar by Brazil Exists


Greyhound Out Of Mainline
What the world needs now is some incredibly miserable lo-fi shoegaze recorded in someones bedroom and thanks to Greyhound Out Of Mainline that hole has now been filled. He's just released his album, 'Quirky', on limited edition CD-R and as a free download on Bandcamp. If you're looking for something a bit downbeat to take you into the wee hours of the night then you might want to check this out.




Drunk Mule
And so we come to the end of this weeks Freebies, to round it all off we have the kings of Friday Freebies, a free download from those prolific Drunk Mule boys and their new track Forget The Crowds which can be found on their Bandcamp page.

We've Got It Covered #91

 You think I'd learn, every week when it comes to writing/rambling in these posts, I find myself thinking I really should have done this last night. The reason for this being that I am also supposed to be on daddy duties on a Saturday morning, so not only have I been up since 6am and am feeling slightly delirious, I am also supposed to be in charge of looking after my 18 month old daughter. So please excuse me if this post seems even more aimless than normal.
I've never thought of myself as being all that superstitious, however, when I think about I probably am. As on Monday there I had a great day, it was sunny, I awoke to the new Randolph's Leap EP in my inbox, I found £15 and Mitchell Museum announced that they were reforming. A pretty fucking awesome day I'm sure you'll agree. But whenever something as good as that happens I always know that I have a stinker of a day ahead of me. That day was Friday, as I awoke to fund that my car had gotten a puncture, which made me late for work, then it cost me well over £100 to get some new tyres, meaning that I couldn't afford to travel through to Edinburgh to see Adam Stafford. Pisser indeed.
I figure now though that I have had my bad luck and that things should be back on the up, today is already looking rather good as I am going to see Martin John Henry at the Captain's Rest, where he will be supported by Behold, the Old Bear (aye that band what I have been banging on about for ages). Which in a roundabout way ties in with the good day I had on Monday as they're made up of some of the members of Mitchell Museum. Who said that the Scottish wasn't anything but incestuous!
Tonights gig is also the launch for Martin's split single Span / Onlycolour, which comes out on Monday. But if you come along to show you'll be able to get your grubby mitts on a copy of the 7" single which will be available to buy on the night. Doors for tonight are at 8pm  and it's only £6 on door. Hopefully I'll see you a few of your pretty little faces there, anyway, in a rambling roundabout way that brings me to this weeks cover version which of course comes from Behold, the Old Bear and their cover of the Peter Gabriel classic Solsbury Hill, enjoy...


Behold, The Old Bear - Solsbury Hill (Peter Gabriel cover)

Artists To Watch Out For In 2012: #3 - Behold... The Old Bear

 I don't know about you, but I was genuinely gutted last year when Mitchell Museum decided to take an indefinite hiatus. Being the talented bunch that they are, I guess it was always inevitable that they'd resurface with other musical projects sooner than later. It was only recently that Kev from the Moth & The Mirror started raving about how great, former Mitchell Museum drummer, Raindeer's new project, Behold... The Old Bear was. At first I was a bit hesitant as it turned out that Kev was actually also in the band, however, after asking Raindeer to send me a few tunes, it's safe to say that Kev wasn't lying. Having heard the demos that they've been recording I am really looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for Behold... The Old Bear. If you're looking for some kind of pointers as to what they sound like, I'd go with The Dodos crossed with a darker version of Mitchell Museum, or at least that's the best that I can come up with. Anyway, here's Raindeer for some more sensible words about Behold... The Old Bear



Hello, I'm Lloyd. Who on earth are you?

Hello, I am Behold, The Old Bear.


Seeing as your one of my ‘Ones to Watch’, what exactly should everyone be watching out for from you in 2012?

People should be looking out for some gigs, which I will be involved in, in a musical capacity. It will be the first time that this has happened as I have recently assembled a combination of people I can now call a band. Also, I will be looking to doing a semi to full re-record of my album that I recorded in my bedroom this year. This is an exciting thought for me because I love the writing and recording process. It will give me the opportunity to further expand the sounds and ideas which I have created so far.


2nd start by Behold, the Old Bear

Behold... The Old Bear play their first ever gig supporting Blue Sky Archives at Bloc in Glasgow on the 18th of January.

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