Julia Laura 'It Don't Stop The Bleeding' cover

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Here’s Julia Laura playing a cover of my 2019 song ‘It Don’t Stop The Bleeding’ live at our concert at the Babylon Kino in Fürth last Friday. A long day with setting up the new sound system but later on this lovely evening with many friends and heavy music. Thank you to Julia and to all who came down and stayed down to listen.

Julia has much more music on her Bandcamp here and I urge you to go listen.

I’ll have songs from my set from this night to share here or over on my Patreon in a day or two as well.

Nürnberg concert this Saturday, tomorrow

I just got asked to play a last minute concert tomorrow in Nürnberg at the rather excellent DESI. Doors open at 15:00, music and reading from 16:00. My good friend Julia Laura will play at 17:30 and eventually I will finish the evening at 21:00. That’s the story.

Pre-order now live and a very limited vinyl available

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My new album, ‘The Ghost Is The Only One That Beats My Drum’ is finished and now available to pre-order on my Bandcamp site to be released 04.12.20.

I’ve just finished making 100 copies of the physical edition - a CD-r with an A3 lyric sheet and a unique photo on each cover. 100 copies, 100 different self portraits. The full quality digital edition includes a pdf booklet of the lyrics and a handful of gifs.

Please note - all Bandcamp subscribers will automatically receive this album in a week. if you are a subscriber - thank you but please do not pre-order!

‘The Ghost Is The Only One That Beats My Drum’ was recorded in Stuttgart in September and October this year. Loops and percussion for the title track began to suggest structure right after ‘bottle the grief’ was released - I wanted to get stuck into something that I could get my teeth into. Something with meat on the bones.

Julia Laura kindly took some time and sent me backing vocals when the title song was in a skeletal state but otherwise I recorded everything alone in an empty room here. Max Braun helped with sound advice in his studio and finally Spatial Mastering in London communicated wonderfully and worked hard on it last week.

Here’s a simple video for the first song I made a few days ago:

And here’s many more moving images for the title track:

I’ll write and post more about this in a week or so.

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Something else - in collaboration with Cosirecords in Oberhausen we’ve made a very limited, super expensive vinyl edition of my 2014 album ‘Kitchen’ available. These are 12 numbered test pressings with simple new artwork and insert.

These are the very last copies we have of this and, right now, the only way to listen to my stuff on vinyl. Nuts.

THE GHOST IS THE ONLY ONE THAT BEATS MY DRUM

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The 16 minute title track from my new album is available as a digital download on Bandcamp and a video on the Woodland Recordings Youtube channel below:

I wrote and recorded this the last few weeks and Julia Laura sent her backing vocals across to me without hearing the whole thing. She’s the voice of reason in this thing.

The video (and album artwork) is constructed from over 500 self portraits I made last week in a forest in the south of Germany, with help from @mart.schneider. I’m putting the album artwork together now and I plan to put it out by the end of November. More soon then.

Thanks all,

Stephen

Concert in Nürnberg this evening

Photo by hurniclaude

I’m booked to play a concert in Nürnberg this evening at Luise, Scharrerstraße 15 from 19.30 at something called ‘Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer’ which is a bit, you know. I’m happy to be playing in front of people after so long but, of course, if it rains all is off.

Entry is free and it’s limited to 50 people so please come along in time if you’d like to hear some music. Julia Laura is playing as well and will have copies of her new album, so there’s that too.

Next week it goes on and up to Hannover, Kiel, Rendsburg, Rostock, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Berlin - dates are always here.

Be well and say hello

Stephen

Julia Laura 'I Lock The Door Upon Myself'

This is my buddy Julia’s second album, which I recorded and put together over the last year or so. I recorded her first album too, a simple acoustic collection that we put down in a few afternoons, but this time Julia had written songs with space and parts for more instrumentation. We set up in three or four houses last summer in between travels and when we were able to meet. Her friend Mark Timmins had some great electric guitar parts so I started with recording the two of them playing the songs together at his place in Nürnberg in the few hours before his girlfriend finished her shift. Later, in Bayreuth, Josua Bauer (Vincent von Flieger / Nick & June) played some horn parts and accordion and later still, at Julia’s parents house in Fürth, Elena Steri sang some backing vocals whilst her folks quietly prepared dinner in the kitchen. I think there’s also a couple of songs that Julia played in my little bedroom in Fürth on there too. I like to record this way, in rooms where there’s a chance for coffee and books, things placed carefully on the wall. Also a window of opportunity whilst the house is quiet, some gentle pressure on things.

Early one morning Julia went out with Mina Reischer and they shot a roll of medium format film by the river in Nürnberg. Mina works on a lot of the artwork for the label and is something of the house portrait maker.

I mixed it in a couple of different places and then a few weeks ago we got together in Stuttgart and cut paper, stamped pictures and made some copies of the physical edition. Julia sang a couple of songs and I filmed them, like this:

It feels a bit like the album started at a gallop and then lost a little wind towards the end as the different elements and people involved were kept apart by distance and the virus. But recently it’s been brilliant to meet and wrap it up and finally make it available for everyone. I know Julia has new songs and new sounds she is hearing and perhaps there’ll be something else coming from her soon.

Anyway, we made this fine thing together and it’s out now.

Stephen

ps - Julia and I are playing in Nürnberg next weekend - 29.08.20 at Luise.

Julia Laura 'SPAWN OF HELL'

I’ve been recording Julia Laura’s second album for Woodland Recordings over the last year or so and we’re finally ready to begin sharing some of what we made. Here’s ‘SPAWN OF HELL’ over on her Bandcamp page:

And here’s the video she put together:

I also made her first release with her, have played shows together and she’s writing new songs all the time. More to follow for sure. Go listen.

Stephen

ps - new album from me coming in two weeks, news in a few days.

Last concert of the year and new free download

I’m playing this Saturday evening at the Café Mainheim in Nürnberg - a label night in a way. Vincent von Flieger and special guest cause she’s in town Julia Laura are also there and we want it dark as it gets so please bring candles. It’s free to get in but there’s no entry without a candle and we’ll start early so everyone can play long and slow.

Also, later tonight or tomorrow I’ll release a free download of a recent live album from Rostock recorded two weeks ago. Find that on my Bandcamp here:

Have a lovely weekend

Stephen