360 Degree Music began working with Inwits in September 2009, and the band have been busy writing and rehearsing ever since, breaking only to play the odd show, with a particular highlight being their stunning performance at the Stroll On Christmas Party in December.

On March 28th they head off to Edinburgh to play their biggest gig yet, supporting Idlewild in the 1500 capacity HMV Picturehouse. This gig is actually just one part of the Haddow Festival taking place in venues all over the city on the day, and promises to be a humdinger!

We caught up with the lads for a chat prior to this momentous occasion:

Q1: Where did you get the name from?

Ah well if we were to tell you too much it might defeat the object of its meaning. Our inner wit chose it really. Inwit is a word that’s fallen out of use in the English Language over thousands of years so it’s both old and new – a lot like our musical influences. A certain Irish novelist resurrects it in his novel Ulysses, quite possibly the greatest artistic statement of the last century. The plan is for our record to achieve that status for this one!

Q2: What are you currently up to, and what are your plans and goals for 2010?

Currently shooting the breeze, but the breeze has been colder than usual of late so also making a point of keeping warm in the rehearsal room and learning a few new chords. We’re now on C#m… Our plan and goal and dream will always be to make great music, then release it and hopefully play it to more people. The exciting thing about 2010 is we can actually realise that dream this year, so I guess that’s the first plan and goal. From there we just want to play our instruments more and more till we need a breather.

Q3: Tell us about the four guys in the bands?

Buskers. Schemers. Full-Time Dreamers. The sum is most definitely greater than its parts.

Q4: Who are your influences, musical and otherwise?

Anything or Anyone with Soul. It’s getting harder to find.

Q5: Jazz or Electro?

Both are extremely exciting and there’s nothing like a dirty electro beat to get down to. But programmed beats are one thing, “The Freedom Rider” by Art Blakey is quite another. Jazz was, is, and always will be the coolest genre of music known to man. That’s coming from a guitar band. Socially it’s as important to black America as the blues (and we love the blues), musically it pisses all over most things with still a fair bit left in the tank. Finally, and most importantly, it’s unquestionably the sexiest sound going. Getting sexy to a jazz groove takes the word living to a whole new level. Miles Davis over Little Boots any day.

Q6: England or somewhere else?

England is where we’re from, and is obviously important to us. As an English band you can’t help but inject an element of Englishness into the music you make, especially with the rich musical history Englishness entails, particularly over the last fifty years. We’re all products of our time and place so obviously our songs brim with references to London, because that’s our experience. But at the same time we’re all citizens of the world and there’s much to see! James Joyce wrote masterpieces about his homeland from Paris, Zurich and Trieste. We want to be on stage playing music wherever that stage is. There’s six and a half billion people scattered around this globe and we want to play to as many of them as possible, be they in England or indeed somewhere else.

Q7: On your MySpace page, you claim that ‘attitude breeds creation’. How so?

Attitude channeled in the right manner breeds creation, those who can appreciate that whatever they’re doing in their own life will understand the meaning of that statement. Those who can’t, well essentially their the type who channel their attitude into hitting people with bottles on a Friday night, and spend the majority of their adult lives doing coke in the toilet of the same pub they’ve been drinking in since they were sixteen. We stopped worrying about those people a long time ago.

Q8: Who is David McSherry?

We don’t care he supports Tottenham. Jokes Dave! He’s a good lad from the north side of town with an eye for a garment and an ear for a melody. He and his sidekick Michael Warren have hit on a type of melancholia most of these idiot fashionista bands would remove the entire stitching of their skinniest pair of jeans for.

Q9: Is there ever anything good on the telly? If so, what?

Depends what you’re into. In fairness though some of the documentaries that have hit the small screen in the last few months have been nothing short of superb. Berlin, Making of Modern Britain, The Bible and How Earth Made Us to name but a few. It’s been a while now since it finished but Bruce Parry’s Amazon showed us all what traveling should be about. (No offence to the millions of Brits on tour in Australia). James reckons Gordon Ramsey puts on a good show whatever anyone says about his wrinkles or extra-marital activities, where as Joseph is more of a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall man! But you can’t beat the political parlance of This Week with the unholy triumvirate of Andrew Neil, Dianne Abbot and Michael Portillo late of a Thursday night.

Q10: Name five great movies.

Citizen Kane - Stonewall classic.

Un Prophet – French gangster masterpiece currently up for an Oscar.

The Big Lebowski - Comedy genius from the Coen Brothers.

Apocalypse Now – Vietnam epic based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness.

The Last Waltz – Swansong of The Band, with greats like Dylan, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Clapton…

Inwits x

You can get a FREE Inwits download HERE

Q1: Have The Supernovas been back to the studio recently?

Joei: Yeah we were back in Sunshine Corner with Smiley in Fleet at the end of last year. We recorded drums, bass and guitars for 10 tracks so we’ve got plenty of work to be getting on with at the moment!

Q2: How did your debut single do?

Joei: I’m really happy with the progress we’ve as a band as a result of it. We sold around 300 vinyl copies, I’m not sure how many downloads there were on top of that but it was a good start. Just looking forward to the next step now and releasing Slaughter In The Gaza!

Q3: When can we expect that?

Joei: We’re hoping to release Slaughter In The Gaza in March as a Download-only and then follow it up with a full hard copy release of City Of Smoke in the summer.

Q4: The band have been playing all over the country, tell us about that.

Joei: It’s been good over the last year. We’ve really taken it up a gear. No more being stuck in a rut playing the same London shows over and over again. We’ve actually been able to go and visit different places around the country that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
I think the main highlights have been the Bournemouth and Portsmouth shows although the Babyshambles supports in Cardiff, Southampton and Manchester were amazing.

Q5: Do you feel any kinship with any other bands or artists currently playing?

Joei: Well, being on the same label as Inwits and Krakatoa has definitely given us a sort of gang mentality when we’re out playing together. David McSherry would definitely be a part of that gang as well.

Q6: Who would you choose to run the country?

Joei: Tony Benn. Hands down winner. Easy choice.

Q7: Do politics have a place in music anymore?

Joei: Most definitely. I think that one of the reasons that music has hit a patch of boredom or mediocrity, or whatever you wanna call it, is that no-one seems to have anything to say anymore. I mean Lady Gaga is supposed to be the most offensive one out there and all I’ve heard her say is that she’s bluffin’ with her muffin! I like to invite her round for a couple of hands of Poker one day – I bet she’d catch a fuckin’ cold!

Q8: Are there any heroes left, musical or otherwise?

Joei: They are few and far between but they’re not all dead yet.

Q9: What are the worst and best things about being in your band?

Joei: The best thing about being in The Supernovas is the belief I have in the music we make and the boys as individuals. The worst thing about being in The Supernovas is the amount of fried chicken we eat when we’re on the road together.

Q10: You go to Austin, Texas in March, what are your plans for your first American trip?

Joei: To cause a fuckin’ stir… I like the fact that we’ll have Slaughter In The Gaza out for then. I think it should turn a few heads out there. I’m hoping that by the end of our first song, half the crowd will have walked out and the remainder will be up for it. That’s like ‘my vision’ of the gig haha!

It seems to me that there are too many people/companies running new online – music related – sites that purport to help bands gain action. Aren’t these sites just a pain and a hindrance?
Don’t they just eat up your time and drag you away from doing something more productive?

I suggest they are mostly a waste of time and should be avoided.

How does it go….

“Why don’t you sign up to our great new site (run for your gain only) and upload your music, maybe a video or two, fill in a biog and away you go”

Also called the ‘Give Us Your Content For Free’ proposition.

Of course having an online presence is totally necessary, but choose wisely where you sign up and who you give your content to. Bear in mind the more sites you have the more sites you’ll have to manage and keep up to date. A site that is stale with old with out-of-date content will give the viewer the impression that nothing is happening.

So where do you go from here…

Your own artist/label website: Definitely. Own your data and respect your subscribers.
MySpace: Having a presence on MySpace is pretty much a given…. for now anyway.
Blogging: Definitely. Blogger, Wordpress etc.
Twitter: Yes. Easy to post and relay people back to your own site.
YouTube: A no brainer.

After the above, for me, it all gets blurred and unclear. Last FM, Jango etc. I’m not saying the above is it – the list to end all lists -  I’m just saying… You can have too much of a good thing, can’t you?

I’d love to hear if anyone has any comments or thoughts or has any other suggestions.

Please tell us what works for you.

All for the common good you understand.

Q1: How and when did the band form?

Alfie: In the backstreets of south London

Ben: In early 2008 we started ‘jamming’ at ‘The Toilet Factory’, a squat in Camberwell on Sundays. Our first proper gig was on 28th June at The Wilmington Arms.

Q2: Your first EP came out at the end of 2009, what’s next?

Ben: The next EP ‘Alchemy’ is nearly ready and will be coming out in the spring. There’s talk of doing a Steve Lamacq session around that time too. In the meantime we’ll keep writing, rehearsing and gigging hard.

Alex: Alchemy is a lot more ‘us’, the sound of it is what we have been working towards, it has really come together on this EP.

Alfie: We’ve got loads of gigs coming up. We really want to play some festivals in the Summer too.

John: I want to play as many festivals as possible this summer, maybe get a little European jaunt together too.

Q3: The band play a lot of shows in the London area, do you plan to travel further afield?

Ben: Of course. It’s simply a question of finances. We can’t afford to underwrite our touring costs as we are all poor!

Alfie: We do have gigs coming up around the UK in March and April though and maybe even some in Europe too!

Alex: Yes, we have plans for Europe and hopefully New York in the near future. We would love to record out there as well as play gigs.

Q4: The lyrics of the songs are very poetic, where does the influence and inspiration come from?

Alfie: Books.

Ben: Ask John!

John: Most of my lyrics are introspective I suppose. I try to avoid the whole ‘we’re getting drunk on a Friday night’ kind of stuff. Maybe people relate to them, maybe they don’t, but writing is a lot cheaper than therapy! I read a fair bit too, as I think everyone in this band does, and it’s bound to have an effect on how I write. Rather than taking direct inspiration, I seem to reference certain books or poems, and use them to enhance the ideas I have.

Q5: Steve Lamacq appears to have picked up on the band, having played ‘Jumbo Jet’ on his show a few times. This must have been helpful?

Alex: It’s more than we could have hoped for, it’s come at a perfect time for us, just as we are in the flow of releasing stuff and getting used to recording with each other, it’s a good sign of things to come I think.

Ben: We’ll find out in time just how ‘helpful’ it’s been. It’s certainly good to know that he likes our music though.

Alfie: Lammo is a great ally to have, and he knows his music. The good thing about him is he plays what he likes, and is not governed by traditional radio playlist restrictions.

John: Every band wants to get on the radio, so from that point of view it’s great.

Q6: Shakespeare or The Smiths?

Ben: Why choose. They have both had a huge impact on me.

Alfie: We like Shakespeare’s music, the early stuff mind, he got a little bit wayward towards the end, and of course The Smiths wrote some smashing plays.

Q7: The band have a very distinctive sound, what are the individual band influences?

Ben: Thanks. We try not to think too much about influences when writing  songs. Whatever serves the melody and the moment is right. We never set out to write a song that sounds like this or that. We’re not that  cynical.

Alex: I love ‘80s indie: Echo And The Bunnymen, The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Smiths, but I’m a sucker for drum & bass, breaks, dub and dub step, these are the things I seem to be listening to a lot at the moment. We like to draw inspiration from all sorts of places, me and Alfie were listening to Disney songs last night……..

Alfie: Whatever serves the melody in that moment is right. We never set out to write a song that sounds like this or that. We’re not such cynical songwriters. As far as our individual influences go, I like Family, Curtis Mayfield, most things on the Motown label, not that Bruce Willis album though. “I didn’t like that one bit, apart from his shoes on the cover.”

Alex: …also Ian Dury and The Fall!

John: John Martyn, Dylan, Captain Beefheart, Kate Bush…

Q8: Alcohol or records?

Ben: Again, why choose. We spend most of our money unwisely. Let’s just  leave it at that.

Alex: I think that’s the hardest question I have ever been asked, they go hand in hand, don’t they?

Alfie: How can you choose between the two things that make wedding receptions worth going to?

Q9: Do the band have a political standpoint?

Ben: We don’t like to force our political beliefs down people’s throat. Our music is about escapism and enjoyment. We just live our way and lead by example.

Alex: I don’t personally, I’ve never been hot on politics.

John: I try not to get too involved in this kind of thing, especially regarding lyrics. I think I’ll leave that to people who know what they’re talking about. We are, after all, a band not the panel of Question time, and music, especially our music, is all about escapism rather than getting bogged down in things beyond our control.

Alfie: Get rid of Boris Johnson, he’s funny on ‘Have I Got News For You’ but that’s about it. If he gets rid of bendy buses, Alex wont be able to get to gigs!

Q10: Who would you most like to work with, in terms of a producer and musicians?

Ben: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Captain Beefheart, Prince, Armand Van Helden.

Alex: Producer would be Rick Rubin, just to see what the hype is really about. I think Jack White would also be a good for me in the studio, trying out loads of guitar effects, nah actually, fuck it, Dr. Dre or RZA! Musician wise, that’s tough. Maybe Thom Yorke, I would love to know what goes through his head when he’s making music. The obvious ones for me would be Johnny Marr, I’m a big fan, maybe he’d be a good bet for a producer…

John: The m*therf***in’ D R E, and Quincy Jones. Plus Paul Tipler who’s very much into what we’re doing and has produced some great bands like Eighties Matchbox b-line Disaster.

Alfie: We would all love to work with up and coming producer Ben Bones, as most big name producers are normally judged on the amazing projects they worked on in the past when they were establishing themselves. Bones has a great career ahead of him, and we would love to be one of the great projects HE has worked on. Have always wanted to work with Snoop, standard.

Gaoler’s Daughter can be seen out and about – CLICK HERE for details

Jumbo Jet – from the EP ‘The Only Way To Travel’ is available through The Gaoler’s Daughter store HERE

I first found out about Fool’s Gold about 6 months among a bunch of other new bands, at first I didn’t really get it, but recently I went on a whim and got the album. It is a wonderful record, very reminiscent of the debut Yeasayer album but with it’s own Jewish twist. Full of exciting and interesting instruments and sounds, this is truly an inspiring album. My favourite track has to be the epic ‘Yam Lo Moshech’, a piece of incomparable pop perfection. Having seen them live at White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s a few weeks back, my love for them is secured, their live show is a better version of the record and a more exciting one. They caused the crowd to dance along as well as getting into the audience and almost causing a conga! I can’t wait to see them when they are next over and I recommend that you do too…

James (Stroll On)

Last week I saw the La Roux and Noisettes albums in Sainsbury’s for £3 each. I find this amazing. Really. If anyone doubts the mess the record business is in just think about that for a moment. 3 of your British pounds!

I make no comment about the quality of these artists or their individual merits, but for sure they’ll have had much major label moolah pumped into them, and there they are, in amongst the nappies, coffee and cigarettes, but far cheaper than any of these products.

Once upon at time there lived an executive who decided that the company needed to generate more profit so they could give their ‘music loving’ CEO a bigger bonus, in order for him to get his own suite, on its own floor, whilst the minions below were monitored on mini cameras, cooped up in their chicken coop work spaces. So he made a deal with the supermarket chains, which suited the latter until they discovered DVD and Yakult and Fair trade coffee and…

It’s a disease that major labels have had for a while.

I’m not knocking supermarkets, although I guess I could. They are not in the business of selling a specific product – they’ll sell anything at any price to anybody to generate footfall.

To them:

Music=Product         Product=Footfall         Footfall=Profit

And ultimately selling music this way devalues it. Probably works wonders for beans though.

It is true that record companies certainly have had an awkward relationship with retailers over the years. Letting them choose release dates, price points and even cover designs. Especially with TV advertised compilations. How barmy is that?

Back in the day, Woolworths had a great deal of influence in this area. They were responsible for sales in excess 30% of the market and could order huge amounts of stock and the labels really needed their support. This now seems like fantasy, but really they were very important.

To get into Woolworths you had to go into the lion’s den that was Entertainment UK. There you would see a buyer who would make decisions based on the relationship with the company or individual, rarely the product. The product would be taken seriously when the company were able to shell out big bucks to get the album / single racked in all the stores. Did you really think these titles were picked on merit?

I’m not for a minute suggesting that this was a corrupt system or that WW should have stocked everything asked, I am simply saying that the record companies should have respected what they had, protected their artists for the long term and developed a better way to sell.

Here’s a true tale, highlighting the tail wagging the dog syndrome. In 1994 BMG were releasing an album that they were trying to get into Woolworths and the buyer at the time didn’t think the title was right. He had a problem understanding the type of music that was on the release.

True…

1    THE LEISURE SOCIETY – A Short Weekend Begins With Longing

2    WILCO – You Never Know

3    PETER HOLSAPPLE & CHRIS STAMEY – My Friend The Sun

4    JAMIE T  - Sticks ‘N’ Stones

5    AMAZING BABY – The Narwahl

6    EELS – All The Beautiful Things

7    GRIZZLY BEAR – Two Weeks

8    WHITE DENIM – Paint Yourself

9    KASABIAN – Where Did All The Love Go

10   LOCAL NATIVES – Wide Eyes

11   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Summertime Clothes

12   MARSHALL CRENSHAW – Passing Through

13   REVEREND & THE MAKERS – Hidden Persuaders

14   PHOENIX – Lisztomania

15   WOODEN SHJIPS – Down By The Sea

16   GIRLS – Laura

17   M. WARD – For Beginners

18   PAPERCUTS – A Dictator’s Lament

19   EELS – My Timing Is Off

20   GRIZZLY BEAR – Southern Point

1.    EELS  Blinking Lights & Other Revelations

2.   THE SHINS  Wincing The Night Away

3.   THE CORAL Roots & Echoes

4.   SHACK  The Corner Of Miles And Gil

5.   BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE  Bravery Repetition And Noise

6.   YEASAYER  All Hour Cymbals

7.   BECK  Sea Change

8.   WEEN  White Pepper

9.   CLOUD ELEVEN  Orange And Green And Yellow And Near

10. THE VINES  Vision Valley

11. DUSTY TRAILS  Dusty Trails

12. ARCTIC MONKEYS  Whatever People Say I Am…

13. OUTKAST  Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

14. THE TROUBADOURS  The Troubadours

15. BECK  Modern Guilt

16. THE PEARLFISHERS  Up With The Larks

17. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE  Welcome Interstate Managers

18. LARRIKIN LOVE  The Freedom Spark

19. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT  Want One

20. THE SHINS  Chutes Too Narrow

21. MGMT  Oracular Spectacular

22. EELS  Daisies Of The Galaxy

23. JOSH ROUSE  Nashville

24. COCONUT RECORDS  Nighttiming

25. BOBBY GAYLOR  Fuzzatonic Scream

26. JAY-Z  The Black Album

27. THE QUARTER AFTER The Quarter After

28. EMINEM  The Eminem Show

29. WEEN  Quebec

30. KINGS OF LEON  Aha Shake Heartbreak

31. WILCO  Wilco (The Album)

32. WHITE DENIM  Fits

33. LEISURE SOCIETY  The Sleeper

34. BLACK LIPS  Good Bad Not Evil

35. WHITE STRIPES  White Blood Cells

36. JAMIE T Kings & Queens

37. WOODEN SHJIPS Dos

38. BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE Tomorrow’s Heroes Today

39. SUPERGRASS  Road To Rouen

40. BECK  The Information

41. MARSHALL CRENSHAW  Jaggedland

42. GRIZZLY BEAR  Veckatimest

43. NEIL YOUNG  Chrome Dreams II

44.  ROGER JOSEPH MANNING, JR.  The Land Of Pure Imagination

45.  SHERYL CROW  C’mon C’mon

46. WHITE STRIPES  Elephant

47. THE STROKES  Is This It

48. JANE’S ADDICTION Strays

49. WEEN  Shinola (Vol. One)

50. THE JUNIPERS  Cut Your Key

This is from the BBC website, posted just before Christmas:

Listen to Florence and the Machine’s cover of Last Christmas

On Tuesday of this week, BBC Introducing hosted a very special Christmas gig at a tiny London venue to celebrate what has been a fantastic year for new music. You can read all about it in my previous post and check out the photos.

Headlining the gig was a good friend of ours, Florence and the Machine. Our love affair with Florence began back in March 2008 when, unsigned, we took her out to Texas to perform at the BBC Introducing showcase at South by Southwest, where she was introduced by Steve Lamacq. She’s gone from strength to strength since then, enjoying phenomenal success this year. So we were extremely proud when she came to the gig on Tuesday night to thank us by performing an acoustic set to a packed out pub. To say it was ‘intimate’ would be putting it lightly.

The highlight of Flo’s set was undoubtedly her hauntingly beautiful and forlorn rendition of Wham!’s Last Christmas. Accompanied by acoustic guitar and harp, Flo’s incredible voice had us all transfixed.

It’s been proving popular on Radio 1 this week, where Greg James and Huw Stephens have both been playing it, but for those of you that haven’t heard it yet, here it is in all its glory. If this doesn’t get you feeling festive, nothing will…

Is it just me or does it suck that the BBC is promoting this ‘artist’ (I use the term loosely, as to my mind this is the worst case of ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ since Little Boots and La Roux came prancing into town). ‘Flo’…the ‘wacky’ theatrical chick who actually cannot sing in tune. Sponsored by the BBC! Played by the BBC! Flown to Texas by the BBC! How ‘Alternative’, how ‘Indie’ that this stuffy old corporate institution is now informing us how great this ‘exciting new talent’ is. Wake up kids!

1.    WILCO  – Wilco (The Album)
2.    WHITE DENIM -  Fits
3.    LEISURE SOCIETY – The Sleeper
4.    JAMIE T – Kings & Queens
5.    WOODEN SHJIPS – Dos
6.    MARSHALL CRENSHAW – Jaggedland
7.    GRIZZLY BEAR – Veckatimest
8.    PHOENIX – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
9.    LOCAL NATIVES – Gorilla Manor
10.   M. WARD –   Hold Time
11.   FOREST FIRE  – Survival
12.   DANGER MOUSE / SPARKLEHORSE – Dark Night Of The Soul
13.   EELS – Hombre Lobo
14.   THE DECEMBERISTS – The Hazards Of Love
15.   PETER HOLSAPPLE & CHRIS STAMEY – Here And Now
16.   CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG – IRM
17.   AMAZING BABY – Rewild
18.   HOPE SANDOVAL & THE WARM INVENTIONS – Through The Devil Softly
19.   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – Merriweather Post Pavilion
20.   THE SHIVERS – In The Morning
21.   THE HORRORS – Primary Colours
22.   MINDY SMITH – Stupid Love
23.   REVEREND & THE MAKERS – A French Kiss In The Chaos
24.   METRIC – Fantasies
25.   PAPERCUTS – You Can Have What You Want
26.   ALESSI’S ARK – Notes From The Treehouse
27.   GIRLS – Album
28.   COCONUT RECORDS – Davy
29.   SARAH BLASKO – As Day Follows Night
30.   BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – Working On A Dream
31.   THOMAS DYBDAHL – Thomas Dybdahl
32.   VETIVER – Tight Knit
33.   CAVE SINGERS – Welcome Joy
34.   RHETT MILLER – Rhett Miller
35.   TIM TEN YEN – Everything Beautiful Reminds Me Of You
36.   HANDSOME FAMILY – Honey Moon
37.   CROCODILES – Summer Of Hate
38.   BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY – Beware
39.   MADNESS – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
40.   THE DUKE & THE KING – Nothing Gold Can Stay
41.   THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES – Communion
42.   BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW – Eating Us
43.   IMOGEN HEAP – Ellipse
44.   DEAD MAN’S BONES – Dead Man’s Bones
45.   ST. VINCENT – Actor
46.   THE DRUMS – Summertime!
47.   J.J. CALE – Roll On
48.   BERNARD FEVRE – Black Devil Disco Club Presents The Strange New World Of…
49.   BOB DYLAN – Together Through Life
50.   ASOBI SEKSU – Hush