The Mermaids
We have a brand new song on our myspace player. It’s called The Mermaids, was inspired by the wonderful Ennio Morricone, and features Christopher singing in Portuguese.
Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/hongkonginthe60s
Or here: Free streaming on Last.fm
Thu 24 July - FREE GIG - How Does It Feel Presents
We’re playing How Does It Feel Presents on Thursday night at Jamm in Brixton. It’s free all night to get in!
Here’s some more info from How Does It Feel:
HDIF PRESENTS
Thursday 24th July
Even As We Speak/Mexican Kids At Home/Hong Kong In The 60s/The Give It Ups
Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, SW9 6LH, 7.30pm, FREE admission, map here
Seven mins walk from Oval tube, last nothern line tube north at 00.22
Even As We Speak
Mary Wyer and friends perform songs by Even As We Speak, the heartstopping Australian indie pop band that released four singles and an album on Sarah records, and went on to influence the likes of Camera Obscura. Expect classics like “One Step Forward” and “Beautiful Day”, and possibly their legendary cover of “Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order. This will be their first UK appearance in 15 years.
http://www.last.fm/music/Even+as+We+Speak
Mexican Kids At Home
A fantastic new five piece from Derby, Mexican Kids At Home describe themselves as “four skateboarders and a girl singer” and play what they term Medieval Death Folk - a gorgeously lo-fi mixture of indie pop and anti-folk, festooned with melodicas, ukuleles and the like. Their latest EP, “When We All Live In Igloos:”, is out now on WeePOP!
http://www.myspace.com/mexicankidsathome
Hong Kong In The 60s
“A lovely understated and quite beautiful sound,” says Sean O’Hagan of the High Llamas on Hong Kong In The 60s’ marriage of synth pop, krautrock and pastoral folk. Imagine Stereolab transported to a rural idyll or The Shortwave Set on a dreamy analogue trip, and you’re halfway to the blissed-out brilliance of the London trio’s songs.
http://www.myspace.com/hongkonginthe60s
The Give It Ups
Give it up for…a cool new five piece from south London, who cite the Vaselines, the Swell Maps, the Mountain Goats and Beat Happening as influences. Their debut single is out now on Cloudberry records.
http://www.myspace.com/theegiveitups
Doors 7.30pm
The Give It Ups 8pm
Hong Kong In The 60s 8.45pm
Mexican Kids At Home 9.30pm
Even As We Speak 10.15pm
DJs:
Caspar Salmon (Jingle Jangle Country Bitch!)
Tamla Tim and Phoenix Phil (Pop-Art)
We are Queens of Sounds
As you may or may not know, a few months ago we were invited to appear on a compilation CD for release in Japan curated (as they say nowadays) by Hideco of Queens of Sounds, a London-based fashion label with a nice line in shirts and also a putter-on of Anglo-Japanese gig nights. We’ve had word now that the CD is being released on 30 July and we are thrilled to see that it’s already on Amazon JP! It will also be available at HMV and, our favourite, Tower Records in Japan.
For those of you who don’t read Japanese, Google provides a rough translation of our little blurb on the CD: “A flower that grows wild in the lovably self-effacing music”. Isn’t it so true?
We can’t wait to see the compilation in the flesh!
The sound of Footsteps
So! A brand new song has gone up on our MySpace and its melancholic summery vibe is sure to please. The Aluminum Group called the song “tender and calliope-like”, which I am very happy about since I am a huge fan of the band.
As someone who doesn’t like to listen to their own songs much, I am finding Footsteps almost too listenable! This is absolutely a good sign, right?
Apologies!
I’m sorry to report that we had to cancel all of our June gigs due to Christopher’s ongoing ill health. Hopefully he’ll be able to play some keyboard parts by next month, ready for our HDIF gig.
But we haven’t been sitting about, no. We’ve been cooking up a whole batch of new songs and, as I write, Tim is putting the finishing touches on the three that we recorded at the weekend. Expect to see some activity on our MySpace page soon.
Gig, Weds 28th May - DEATHDISCO at Notting Hill Arts Centre
This coming Wednesday we are playing Alan McGee’s DEATHDISCO. We’re the first band on, onstage at 9.30pm.
Here is the key information: Entry is FREE until 8pm, and £5 thereafter. So, come early.
More info at the Notting Hill Arts Centre website.
Please come and see us, and say hello!
Long time no see
We’ve been busy moving, writing new songs, being played on Radio 1, knitting, playing gigs, buying old keyboards and going to ATP.
Have you got your tickets for The High Llamas at the Whitechapel Gallery yet? We have. See you there.
London and Oxford in The Same Week
We are going to be busy next week! On Tuesday the 1st of April we’ll be supporting the excellent NOW at the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane, London. The gig will be FREE ENTRY all night. Here is some info from the venue website:
Tuesday 1st April
HEAD & ARM
More a continually evolving collective than a band, ‘NOW’ claim to make pop music while managing to incorporate 11 minute soundscapes, dainty electronica, thumping techno, and all-out samba throw-downs. They have collaborated with Krautrock legend Damo Suzuki (Can) and supported bands such as Faust, Tunng, Psapp, Rothko, Plaid, A Hawk and a Hacksaw amongst others. Their album ‘Frisbee Hotpot’ is out now on Pickled Egg recordings. Live they are hugely enjoyable, their myriad of influences brought together by a strong rhythmical heart to create astoundingly catchy and inventive 21st century pop music. Currently they are an eight-piece.
7.30pm - 11.30pm — FREE
Then, two days later…
Thursday 3rd of April
SWISS CONCRETE
On Thursday, we’ll be doing our FIRST EVER HEADLINE SHOW at the Bullingdon Arms, a pub on the Cowley Road in Oxford. The lovely people at Swiss Concrete are putting this gig together, and the lineup is a peach. Come early because you should listen to main support group My Sad Captains. If you live in Berkshire, Hampshire or Oxfordshire, you really ought to come. Entry is £4 on the door or £3 in advance at WeGotTickets.com.
Here is Swiss Concrete’s rather silly flyer (click for bigger):
Riffs & Fragments
What a nice flier, eh? Come catch us at Riffs & Fragments on Friday 14 March at Christ Church and Upton Chapel, Lambeth (map). The sublime Télégramme à Jane, who we supported in Paris, will also be playing so make sure you don’t miss them.
Doors are at 8:00pm, entry is an extremely reasonable £2.
February Fortuna POP!
Our next gig will soon be upon us - Friday 22 February is really not that far away. And it looks as though Fortuna POP! has assembled a fine evening of electronic loveliness. Playing alongside us are: The Keyboard Choir, Champion Kickboxer and The Leaf Library.
Tickets are now available at WeGotTickets.
Live in Paris
We’re very excited to announce our first show outside the UK and, indeed, outside London! We will be playing with the wonderful Télégramme à Jane on 23 February 2008 at Le Vieux Léon in Paris. It looks like a lovely little venue.
Tim and I have both never been to Paris before so we are double excited and plan, with Christopher, of course, to make a little holiday of it.
Come and see us at Le Vieux Léon, 18 rue de La Grande Truanderie. Merci mille fois to Télégramme à Jane for organising this!
More acts confirmed for Scaledown
Two more performers have been added to this week’s Scaledown line-up:
Mark Norton - Although best known for his saxophonic talents with the mighty Gene Drayton Unit and a host of other bands, tonight Mr Norton will be leaving his horn at home and entertaining us with a sparkling spoken word set.
Martin White - Mr White has played at Scaledown both solo and with his Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra. We welcome him back as he returns with more accordion and ukulele masterpieces of mirth.
Having seen Martin White (better known to us as The Accordion Man) live before, I know that you’ll be in for a treat. Come along this Friday for an evening of variety and interest in central London!
All © Hong Kong In The 60s, 2007
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