At the end of September Kscope hosted a special night at the Union Chapel in London. Nosound, Engineers, Bruce from The Pineapple Thief and Anathema all performed stripped back sets in this breath-taking venue.

Live recordings of the artists involved along with interviews, recorded at sound-check, backstage and aftershow, are featured in the latest Kscope podcast which is now online.

The Union Chapel in north London; arguably London’s nicest venue. It’s a working church, built in the Victorian gothic revival style in the 1870s, it’s also a centre for the arts. It’s unspoiled inside, the audience sit in pews, it’s gorgeous. We invited four of the Kscope family to perform unique versions of some of their repertoire: you’ll hear tunes from Nosound, Engineers, Bruce Soord from The Pineapple Thief (with Alx Leeks) and Anathema. PLUS pre-show, backstage and aftershow interviews with all the artistes as we were (very kindly) allowed to go running around with a microphone.

A gallery of photographs from the night by Anne-Marie Arpin is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/union-chapel and Classic Rock Prog’s review of the evening can be read here.

Podcast content:
Interviews with Giancarlo Erra (Nosound), Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), Mark Peters (Engineers), Vinny and Danny Cavanagh (Anathema)
Tracks featured:
Nosound – Lightdark (original from ‘Lightdark’)
Engineers – What it’s Worth (original from ‘In Praise of More’)
Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) – My Debt to You (original from ‘Tightly Unwound’)
Anathema – A Natural Disaster (original from ‘A Natural Disaster’)

Click here to download the podcast as an mp3

A new edition of the podcast will be available at the end of every month.

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here

Or copy and paste this Soundcloud code onto your Facebook profile: http://snd.sc/u4cNiJ

To buy Kscope albums visit our store at Burning Shed
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]]> http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/24/the-new-kscope-podcast-is-now-online-and-its-a-union-chapel-special/feed/ 0 http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/08/steven-wilson-%e2%80%93-grace-for-drowning-north-american-tour-%e2%80%93-three-tracks-recorded-live-in-london-now-online/ http://www.kscopemusic.com/2011/11/08/steven-wilson-%e2%80%93-grace-for-drowning-north-american-tour-%e2%80%93-three-tracks-recorded-live-in-london-now-online/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:29:42 +0000 Kscope http://www.kscopemusic.com/?p=1565

Steven Wilson’s first ever solo tour of North America starts tonight (November 8th) in Orlando. The gig is the first of eight dates which will also see him visit Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Chicago (click here for full details and ticket links). On the dates Steven will be playing material from his new album Grace for Drowning, as well as selections from his first solo album, Insurgentes.

Grace for Drowning entered the US Billboard Rock album chart at #19 (#13 in independent chart), the UK top 40 album chart at #34, both the Dutch and German national charts at #22 and debuted at #7 in the Polish national charts. The album has been critically acclaimed too, having been described by Mojo as ‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’ (4 stars), by Terrorizer as ‘a dense yet extremely coherent album, Grace for Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year, no less’ (5/5) and by Classic Rock Prog as ‘ a magnificent step up; he simply can’t stopped.’

For the Grace for Drowning tour, Wilson has worked extensively with Lasse Hoile, his long time visual collaborator, to create a show unlike nothing else that has ever done with his other bands, Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, No-Man or Bass Communion.

The shows submerge fans in a rich sensory experience: rear speakers provide surround-sound effects, giant screens show off Lasse’s films made specifically to accompany these songs, and cutting-edge lighting designs give texture to each song. The heart of the performance is Wilson (on keys, guitar, and vocals) and his virtuoso band: Marco Minnemann (drums), Nick Beggs (bass), Theo Travis (flute and sax), Adam Holzman (keys), and John Wesley on guitars. John is replacing Aziz Ibrahim who played on the successful European tour. Three tracks recorded in London’s Shepherd Bush Empire as part of that tour are now available on the Grace for Drowning to the mini-site. The tracks soundtrack short videos made by Lasse featuring pictures taken on the tour.

These tracks have just been added to the mini-site, previously have been available on the official Steven Wilson iphone and ipad app. The free app features exclusive music, videos and photos, plus up-to-the minute news and tour info, and can be downloaded from here.

Here is the video for Index:

Visit the mini-site to watch videos for Sectarian and No Part of Me

In addition to the tour dates, Steven has booked three in-store appearances including a special rare acoustic performance in NYC, dates are as follows;
Nov 11th – NYC – 12:30pm
J&R Music World, 23 Park Row – signing and special acoustic performance
Nov 12th – Boston – 1pm
Newbury Comics, 1 North Marketplace, Faneuil Hall – signing
Nov 18th – Chicago – 12:30pm
FYE, 26 East Randolph Street – signing

Steven recently partnered with Guitar World and Spector Bass Guitars to giveaway a Legend 5 Classic Bass valued at $1100. This is the same bass that was used on the recording of the album, and you can enter to win it here: http://bit.ly/oz013G

Grace for Drowning North American Tour
Nov. 8 – Orlando, FL, House of Blues
Nov. 10 – Baltimore, MD, Ram’s Head
Nov. 11 – New York, NY, Best Buy Theater
Nov. 12 – Philadelphia, PA, Temple PAC
Nov. 13 – Boston, MA, Berklee Performance Center
Nov. 14 – Montreal, QC, Corona
Nov. 16 – Toronto, ON, Opera House
Nov. 18 – Chicago, IL, Park West
Click here for links to buy tickets for the tour

‘An album that can’t really be described but it urgently calls to be heard’
CLASSIC ROCK

‘Wilson’s ability to create music so prodigiously and to such consistent standards remains a mystery. With his second solo album, the Porcupine Tree leader has done it again.’
METAL HAMMER

‘an immersive, ambitious project that demands repeated spins’
MOJO (4 stars)

‘A dense yet extremely coherent album Grace For Drowning succeeds brilliantly… Prog album of the year’
TERRORIZER (5 stars)

‘A majestic soundscape created by an innovative, forward-looking musician immersed in the history of music’
RECORD COLLECTOR

‘This is a magnificent step up; he simply can’t be stopped.’
CLASSIC ROCK PROG

Grace for Drowing mini-site

Ulver returned earlier this year with their new album Wars of the Roses. Early pioneers of Norwegian black metal, the band have continually evolved throughout their career and now stand as living legends of the dark music industry, blending rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions along with noise and experimental music to create ground- breaking material.

Until recently however the band had remained exclusively within the studio. This changed in May 2009 when the band accepted an invitation to appear at the Norwegian Festival of Literature. The success of this gig lead to them embarking on a string of other gigs in 2009 and 2010, selling out prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Volksbühne in Berlin and La Cigale in Paris before they returned to their homeland for this landmark gig at The Norwegian Opera House.

The 2 hour concert married tracks from throughout the band’s catalogue to stunning visuals to create a spectacle fitting for such a grand venue. This landmark show was recorded and will now be released as a limited edition 32 page rigid digibook 2 disc set (Blu-ray and DVD).

The set can be pre-ordered now from the Ulver mini-site. The site also features a trailer for the DVD, downloads and more.

Ulver are on tour during November, check them out at the following dates;
10th -Espace Torino Italy
11th – Circolo Degli Artisti Roma Italy
12th – Teatro Regio Parma Italy
17th – Razzmatazz 2 Barcelona Spain
18th – Caracol Madrid Spain
19th – Musicbox Lisboa Portugal
21st – Cidade Da Cultura Santiago de Compostela Spain
26th – Fuzz Club Athenai Greece
17th December 2011 – Mega Club Katowice Poland
14th January 2012 – Movistar Arena

Ulver mini-site.

Gazpacho was formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (later joined by Mikael Krømer, Robert R Johansen and Kristian Torp). The band have honed their unique sound, and a substantial international fan-base, over a string of critically acclaimed albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters Marillion.

Missa Atropos, the latest album from Gazpacho, was released earlier this year on Kscope. The album was described by Classic Rock as ‘finely crafted, darkly atmospheric stuff’ and following its release the band embarked on a European tour.

As part of this tour the band played at the legendary Dingwalls venue in Camden. Classic Rock Prog described the evening as ‘sublime’ going on to state, ‘with new album Missa Atropos to draw from as well as a catalogue of songs that draw favourable comparison with both Radiohead and a more sedate Muse, they fill the best part of two hours with invention and brio.’

London is a 2CD set which captures the gig. The set is out now and can be ordered from the Kscope store or downloaded from all major download stores.

Go to the London mini-site to order the 2CD set or for download links. The mini-site also features a montage of tracks from the gig, downloads and more, click here to check it out.

On 14th October, Burning Shed, the online store / label that host and fulfil the Kscope store, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special event at the Leamington Spa Assembly, featuring Kscope artists No-Man and Bruce Soord & Jon Sykes (from The Pineapple Thief), as well as Theo Travis, Memories of Machines and The Resonance Association.

No-Man will play a 45 minute set, including some pieces never before performed live. This will be the band’s first performance since its successful 2008 Mixtaped shows.

The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord & Jon Sykes will be performing as an acoustic duo.

Tickets can be obtained from the Assembly box office

Falling Deeper, the new release from Anathema was released last week. The album, recorded with a full 26 piece string section, features brand new arrangements of songs from the band’s earliest days as pioneers of heavy music. Classic Rock Prog have described the album as, ‘a more than worthy addition to Anathema’s fine body of work.’

The album entered the UK indie chart at #30 and #8 in the Alternative chart in Holland.

A fresh musical and lyrical approach has transformed songs such as Crestfallen, Kingdom, Sunset of Age and Everwake, which features the incredible voice of Anneke van Giersbergen.

The record has been produced by Daniel Cavanagh and was recorded and mixed by Andrea Wright at the legendary Parr St Studios, Liverpool (where the likes of Elbow, Coldplay and Echo and the Bunnymen have also recorded albums). The orchestral arrangements are from Dave Stewart who worked so successfully with Anathema on We’re Here Because We’re Here.

An extensive video interview with Danny Cavanagh where he discusses the album, the songs on it and plays excerpts on the piano is now on the Falling Deeper mini-site.

Anathema are playing at the A Night at the Union Chapel, a special Kscope evening that takes place on Friday September 30th (full details here)

TRACKLIST
Crestfallen 
Sleep In Sanity
Kingdom
They Die
Everwake
J’ai Fait Une Promesse
Alone
We The Gods
Sunset of Age

Order the CD / Vinyl / Download from iTunes UK / Germany

Anathema’s Falling Deeper mini-site
Buy Anathema albums from the Kscope store

The series of re-mastered reissues from The Pineapple Thief’s back catalogue continues in October with a new 2CD edition of Variations On A Dream.

Variations On A Dream was the band’s third studio album and was originally released in 2004 on the Cyclops label. Bruce has re-mixed and re-mastered the album for this Kscope edition. It is also presented in the same way as the originally limited double album release with the 8 Days album (limited to 1000 copies and never released separately) on CD2.

Variations On A Dream is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. It follows the recent reissue of the band’s 2005 album, 10 Stories Down. A video of Bruce and Steve from TPT discussing 10 Stories Down is also now online.

Steve and Bruce were also filmed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios while the band recorded a cover of Money by Pink Floyd for a recent Mojo covermount CD, watch the video below.

Bruce will be performing a solo set at A Night in the Union Chapel, a special Kscope evening that takes place on Friday September 30th full details here).

Pre-order the CD

Buy The Pineapple Thief albums from the Kscope store

Watch the show here

Gavin, who is Porcupine Tree’s drummer as well as a respected solo artist, was performing as part of Letterman’s second ‘drum-solo week’. Other artists that are appearing this week include Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Neil Peart (Rush) who also played on the show during the first ‘drum-solo week’.

Circles, Gavin’s recent album with 05Ric, was released last year on Kscope. He will be returning with a new album next year.

Click here to visit Gavin Harrison’s Circles mini-site

On 14th October Burning Shed will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special event at Leamington Spa Assembly.
The evening will include performances by artists associated with the company over the last decade. Already confirmed are Theo Travis and No-Man.

No-Man will play a 45 minute set, including some pieces never performed live before. This will be the band’s first performance since its successful 2008 Mixtaped shows. Other acts will be announced soon.

The venue is the stunning, art-deco Assembly, situated in the heart of Leamington Spa (one and a half hours from London and less than half an hour from the Birmingham and East Midlands airports.

Please note, tickets can only be obtained from the Assembly box office – www.leamingtonassembly.com/EventInfo.aspx?id=492

For No-Man album mini-sites, go to: www.kscopemusic.com/no-man/
To buy No-Man albums, go to: www.burningshed.com/store/noman/

2010 was a landmark year for The Pineapple Thief. The band released their latest album, the critically acclaimed Someone Here Is Missing (‘extremely classy and frequently mesmerising’ Classic Rock), along with the Show A Little Love EP (‘it is here that the real magic of a band like TPT shines through’ Classic Rock Prog) and followed a string of festival performances with a European tour. Their recent successful UK dates with Blackfield, ahead of forthcoming dates with Riverside and Amplifier, suggest that 2011 is already looking pretty good too

While these releases, along with 2008’s Tightly Unwound, were many people’s introduction to the band they have actually spent the past ten years quietly building up a dedicated fan base across the globe, selling over 25,000 records and nurturing their ‘bittersweet’ progressive sound. Many of these early albums have been long out of print but are now being reissued on Kscope and 10 Stories Down, the second in this series of re-mastered reissues from the band’s back catalogue will be available in June.

10 Stories Down was the band’s fourth album and was originally released in 2005 on the Cyclops label. This Kscope edition is presented in the same way as the originally limited double album release with the 8 Days Later album (which was never released separately) on CD2.

The 2CD edition of 10 Stories Down is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store and shall ship from June 6th, three weeks before it is available in stores.

Tracklist features;
Disc 1
1. Prey for Me
2. Clapham
3. Wretched Soul
4. The World I Always Dreamed Of
5. Start Your Descent
6. My Own Oblivion
7. It’s Just You and Me
8. The Answers
9. From Where You’re Standing
10. I Will Light Up Your Eyes
11. Who Will Light Up Your Eyes

Disc 2
1. Sunday: Crash
2. Monday: Sleep
3. Tuesday: Haboob
4. Wednesday: The Snail Song
5. Thursday: Fifty Four
6. Friday: 5 Minutes
7. Saturday: Reverse
8. Sunday: King Street

www.kscopemusic.com/thepineapplethief

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Engineers’ gig at ULU which was set to take place on Friday, May 13 has been postponed. The band are hoping to rearrange the date for later in the year. Full refunds for tickets are available at point of purchase.

Engineers’ new ‘To An Evergreen’ EP will now be released on June 13.

The full tracklisting of the EP is:
1. To An Evergreen (Edit)
2. What It’s Worth (Helios Remix)
3. Twenty Paces (Beroshima Remix)
4. In Praise Of More (Elika Remix)
5. Subtober (North Atlantic Oscillation remix)
6. Twenty Paces (A Shoreline Dream Remix)
7. Hey You (Pink Floyd cover)

www.kscopemusic.com/engineers

Kscope are very proud to announce that Ulver are the latest band to join the roster. Early pioneers of Norwegian black metal, the band have continually evolved throughout their career and now stand as living legends of the dark music industry, blending rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions along with noise and experimental music to create ground-breaking material.

The last two years have also seen Ulver manifest into a live band. Following their first live performance in May 2009, at the Norwegian Festival of Literature, the band toured Europe in 2010 selling out prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Volksbühne in Berlin and Casa da Música in Porto, to great acclaim:

‘Ulver’s presentation is surreal and stark. A psychedelic excursion, an immersive experience, fuelled by haunting, progressive art. After such a night, you don’t want to see another band for a few days. Because anything else would pale when put alongside Ulver.’
Classic Rock Magazine

The band will be going back out on tour in March ahead of the release of their new album Wars of the Roses which will be released on Kscope on April 24th.

Full tour dates are at www.kscopemusic.com/ulver where you can also sign up to the mailing list for updates on the album.

The vinyl edition of Welcome To My DNA, the new album by Blackfield is now available to pre-order from the Kscope store. Each copy ordered from Kscope will come with a download card which features a unique code to download a digital version of the album. The vinyl edition of the album is pressed on heavyweight (180gm) vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and will be limited to 2000 numbered copies.

The Welcome To My DNA mini-site is also now online. The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the album’s opening track Glass House when signing up to the mailing list.

A video of Steven and Aviv in the studio recording the album and discussing the concepts behind it is now on the mini-site and the Kscope iPhone app has also been updated to include music from the album, plus Blackfield news, artwork and pictures.

Pre-order the CD digibook here
Pre-order the vinyl album here

The duo will also be touring to support the release of the album with dates in UK, Holland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France, USA and Canada (full tour dates are on the mini-site).

It has just been announced that The Pineapple Thief will be supporting Blackfield on the UK dates of this tour. Support acts for the other dates will be announced shortly. The Pineapple Thief are confirmed to play:
6th April Leamington Assembly
7th April Manchester Academy 2
8th April London Shepherd’s Bush Empire
10th April Amsterdam Paradiso

Click here to visit Blackfield’s mini-site
or go to Blackfield’s website for ticket links

Click below to watch the new promo for The Pineapple Thief’s Someone Here is Missing, by Neil Whitman, or click here to watch the video on Vimeo or YouTube.

Blackfield – Welcome to my DNA, new album and tour announced by Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen

Third album is to be released on March 28th, followed by live dates.

Blackfield is the acclaimed collaboration between Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Israeli artist Aviv Geffen. The duo return with their third album Welcome To My DNA which is released on Kscope in March 2011. Formed after a meeting in 2000, the partnership blossomed into a cross-cultural collaboration that has already spawned two albums (2004’s Blackfield and 2007’s Blackfield II).

The duo will also be touring to support the release of the album with dates so far confirmed in UK, Holland, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and France (full tour dates below) with American dates still to be announced. These will be the first dates they have played together as Blackfield for over three years, due to both artists’ recent hectic schedules.

Aviv describes Welcome To My DNA as ‘an album about loneliness and sadness. There are many songs about love, god… the same subjects that Blackfield have dealt with before.’ Musically the album builds on the established Blackfield sound, described by Clash as ‘a lush but soulful mix of separate cultures, deep sounds and touching lyrics,’ and the results have lead Aviv to state ‘I believe it’s our best work so far and I’m really excited about going on stage with this album.’

The digi-book and vinyl editions of the album are now available to pre-order on the Welcome To My DNA mini-site which is now online here. The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the album’s opening track Glass House when signing up to the mailing list.

Tour dates release so far are as follows;
6th April Leamington, Assembly, UK

7th April Manchester, Academy 2, UK

8th April London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, UK

10th April Amsterdam, Paradiso, Holland

12th April Hamburg, Markthalle, Germany

13th April Berlin, C-Club, Germany

14th April Warsaw, Progresja Club, Poland

15th April Krakow, Studio Club, Poland

17th April Munich, Ampere, Germany

18th April Pratelln, Z7, Switzerland

19th April Milan, Magazzini Generali, Italy

20th April Rome, Alpheus, Italy

21st April Treviso, New Age, Italy

23rd April Karlsruhe, New Substage, Germany

24th April Frankfurt, Batschkapp, Germany

25th April Bochum, Matrix, Germany

26th April Cologne, Stollwerck. Germany

28th April Antwerp, Trix Hall, Belgium

29th April Paris, Trianon, France

Click HERE for ticket links
Click HERE to pre-order the album from the Kscope store
Click HERE for the Welcome to My DNA mini-site

Kscope is pleased to announce the latest signing to our roster, Norwegian act Gazpacho.

Gazpacho were formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (later joined by Mikael Krømer, Lars Eric Asp and Kristian Torp), and have spent the last 15 years honing their unique sound over a string of critically acclaimed albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters Marillion.

Until this point all the band’s releases have either been self-released or on Marillion’s Racket Records label but the band have now signed to Kscope who are set to give an international release to the band’s latest album Missa Atropos, which has previously only been available in Germany.

Front man Jan Henrik Ohme has explained that the band have made the decision to ’get our music out to our fans around the world, and we’re all looking forward to working with such an excellent group of people’.

Jon-Arne Vilbo adds, ‘we will be joining bands such as Porcupine Tree, Anathema, Blackfield, to mention a few, which is the perfect fit for Gazpacho while staying true to the term: “different music”. We believe Kscope understand who our fans are and understand how to reach out to them. So… while they’re phoning their bank to borrow gazillions for their promo budget, we hope our new friends will help us in bringing you the music that you crave.’

The Kscope edition of Missa Atropos will be available in February 2011 and will come packaged in a deluxe digibook. The album is now available to pre-order on the Missa Atropos mini-site which is now online.

The Missa Atropos mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the track River when signing up to the mailing list. The mini-site also contains details on the bands forthcoming European tour which kicks off in Berlin on January 22nd before visiting Switzerland, Holland, the UK and Belgium.

We have 2 pairs of tickets for both the UK shows. To stand a chance of winning these tickets all you have to do is email the answer to this simple question to competitions@kscopemusic.com:

What was the name of Gazpacho’s previous album?

Make sure to include contact details and which of the gigs you would want to go. Winners will be notified by January 20th.

Gazpacho are playing live in January and February across Europe, dates are as follows:
22/01/2011 GER Berlin Maschinenhaus
23/01/2011 GER Stuttgart Röhre
24/01/2011 CH Pratteln Z7
26/01/2011 GER Aschaffenburg Colossaal
27/01/2011 NED Hengelo Metropol
29/01/2011 UK Leamington Spa The Assembly
30/01/2011 UK London Dingwalls
01/02/2011 GER Köln Live Music Hall
02/02/2011 GER Hamburg Fabrik
04/02/2011 BEL Verviers Spirit of 66
05/02/2011 NED Zoetermeer De Boerderij
06/02/2011 NED Den Bosch W2 (Matinee Show at 15.00)

Sign up to the Gazpacho mailing list for a FREE mp3 from Missa Atropos here, or visit the mini-site for more details on the album.

North Atlantic Oscillation have announced that they will shortly be going into the studio to start work on the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut Grappling Hooks, which was released earlier this year on Kscope.

Before they return to the studio they are playing some more live dates with label-mates Anathema, having just completed a tour with Engineers.

In addition to this they will be playing at the London Calling festival at the Paradiso in Amsterdam on November 12th. They hope to return to Europe for some more dates as well as embarking on their first tour of the US.

Dates are as follows:

Touring with Anathema in the UK and Ireland
17th December An Cruscian Lan // Cork
18th December The Village // Dublin
19th December Spring and Airbrake // Belfast

The band have also recently made some live recordings that they made for a recent BBC session, as well as new remix available. The remix (By Brazilian act Worldengine) is available for free in exchange for re-tweeting the link through the tweet for a track site while the BBC tracks can be downloaded from the band’s site in exchange for a small donation to a charity of your choice. Go to www.naoband.com/charity for more details.

For more info on the album, downloads, a free MP3 from Grappling Hooks, go to the mini-site at: www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation

The new album – 2CD special edition
 
Three Fact Fader, Engineers’ second album was released last year on Kscope to widespread critical acclaim. The band now return with In Praise of More, their new album and their first with their new line-up.Mark Peters has moved to guitar and has been replaced by Daniel Land on bass and Matthew Linley has joined on drums. In addition to this respected solo artist Ulrich Schnauss, who had previously played keyboards live with the band has joined as full time member.
 
Although the majority of the songs on In Praise of More were recorded by Mark, with the assistance of Dave Potter, Ulrich was on hand to offer advice and point out ways to make what were essentially home recordings sound as stately and elegant as they do. Taking in everything from the synth-heavy krautpop of To An Evergreen to the autumnal acoustic folk of There Will Be Time and the wintery piano instrumental Nach Hause, the album strips back the layers of sound that characterised the band’s previous releases, but remains just as powerful. One of the highlights, the beautifully understated Twenty Paces, which blends The Blue Nile with almost jazz-like rhythms, is the first track that Mark and Ulrich co-produced.
 
The 2CD set also features an instrumental version of the album and is available from the Kscope store now.
 
Here is the promo for ‘In Praise of More’, the first single taken from the new album, filmed and edited by Peter Breen in 2 days!
www.peterbreen.tumblr.com/

The In Praise of More mini-site is now online at www.kscopemusic.com/engineers.
The mini-site features album info, downloads and more along with the chance to download a free MP3 of the title track.

Critical acclaim for In Praise of More:

This is an album damp with tears, slightly shaken by angst and should be given to most UK bands around at the moment to use as an example in making an album that is a joy to behold.

8/10

Words by Chris Todd

for the full review, read this web page

The long awaited reissue of Nosound’s 2005 debut album Sol29 will be available on Kscope from August 16th 2010 and to celebrate there will be a special Nosound performance at the BlagClub in Notting Hill in London on Friday 13th August.



The gig will feature a special stripped down set in an intimate setting and promises to be a special occasion. A limited amount of tickets are available for only £5 for the gig and these can be reserved by emailing unplugged@nosound.net. Signed copies of the album along with other Nosound merchandise will also be available at the gig for people who sign up to this list. There is also a Facebook event page here.

 Sol29 has been out of print for almost two years, during which time it has become a collectable (and much requested!) piece. The album will be expanded to a 2disc set (CD + DVD) and will be packaged in a super jewel case with slipcase and feature new and revised artwork as well as the original photographic booklet.



The audio CD will feature completely new digitally restored and analogue mastered audio from the original 2005 album, plus three extra re-mastered tracks (clocking in at 78 minutes of music!).

 The DVD features a brand new 10 minute video for Sol29, plus the original three ambient/experimental audio video tracks included on The World Is Outside DVD-R. As an extra for fans who missed the first release, the Kscope edition will also include all the original mixes of Sol29 as they were released on 2005 album version. This will be the final and official Sol29 release, collecting all the Nosound early studio material in one single release.

 Go to www.sol29.com for more details and to check out the video for Sol29 or go to the Kscope store to pre-order your copy.

An extensive interview with Giancarlo from Nosound will also feature in the next Kscope podcast which can be listened to, or downloaded from the podcast page.

Anesthetize is a 2 disc set (DVD + Blu-Ray) which captures the power of band’s live show. Recorded in high definition on multi-cameras over two nights at 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland in October 2008, the concerts featured tracks from throughout the band’s career until that point. Anesthetize collects the highlights from the two shows and presents them on both DVD and on Blu-Ray. The last remaining copies of the limited digi-book edition of the DVD and Blu-Ray set are now available to order from the Kscope store. Once this edition sells out, a super jewel case edition of the set will be available.

Buy Porcupine Tree albums
www.kscopemusic.com/porcupinetree

Buy Steven Wilson albums
www.kscopemusic.com/stevenwilson

Nosound have announced that the long awaited reissue of their 2005 debut album Sol29 will be available on Kscope from August 2nd 2010. The album has been out of print for almost two years, during which time it has become a collectible (and much requested!) piece. The album will be expanded to a 2disc set (CD + DVD) and will be packaged in a super jewel case with slipcase and feature new and revised artwork as well as the original photographic booklet.

The audio CD will feature completely new digitally restored and analogue mastered audio from the original 2005 album, plus three extra re-mastered tracks (clocking in at 78 minutes of music!).

The DVD features a brand new 10 minute video for Sol29, plus the original three ambient/experimental audio video tracks included on The World Is Outside DVD-R. As an extra for fans that missed the first release, the Kscope edition will also include all the original mixes of Sol29 as they were released on 2005 album version. This will be the final and official Sol29 release, collecting all the Nosound early studio material in one single release.

Before this release the band will be returning to the stage starting with a special homecoming gig on May 29th. Following the success of their recent gig at the famous CrossRoads venue in Rome where they were joined on stage by a full wooden string quartet to play the whole of the A Sense of Loss album, the band return to Rome on May 29th for another gig which promises to be an equally special night.

For this gig, a headline slot for one of the Unprogged.com nights, Nosound will return to their original five piece rock band formation playing a 90 minute set featuring a selection of their favourite tracks from their three albums at the small and intimate Dissesto Musicale venue in a rural village near Rome. More information can be found at the band’s official website www.nosound.net

The band has already started work on their fourth studio album which will be released in 2011. Writing and recording sessions already started in UK, and will continue during the summer with the whole band recording in their brand new recording studio located on the hills around Rome.

Click here to order Nosound albums

Get your tickets here… be quick to avoid disappointment

NEW SINGLE…The new single Nothing At Best, the first to be taken from the new album Someone Here Is Missing, will be available to download from itunes from May 17th. The b-side to the single Open Waters is an exclusive digital only track written during the album sessions and only recently completed for the Nothing at Best single.

NEW VIDEO…The new video for Nothing At Best directed by Arnfinn Moseng & Negar Bagheri is now premiering on the album mini-site. Combining 2D animation techniques with live action special effects, Arnfinn and Negar have created a beautiful film noir-esque video which captures the mood of Nothing at Best perfectly.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE ALBUM…

Someone Here is Missing is available now to pre-order from the Kscope store on CD & Limited Edition Vinyl. Limited to 2000 numbered units, the vinyl edition of the album come on 180gms black vinyl in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with an art print on 250gms Tintoretto Gesso Paper and is supplied in a PVC wallet. The vinyl edition also comes with a special ‘drop card’ with a link to a digital download of the album.

The first 250 orders will also come with a pad of exclusive Someone Here is Missing post-it notes which echo the album’s artwork.Both editions are also available as part of album + t-shirt bundles (long or short sleeve).

“The Pineapple Thief are primed to become an overnight success” CLASSIC ROCK PROG

For more information, audio samples, videos, downloads and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/thepineapplethief

North Atlantic Oscillation return in June with Ceiling Poem, the second single to be taken from the debut album, Grappling Hooks. The track was described as ‘a gentle dreambeat that explodes into a technicolour psych-out’ by Classic Rock and by The Quietus as ‘inverted, unexpectedly Byrds-inflected folktronica’.

Kscope commissioned Stephen Ong, a young animator from Norwich to create an animated promo for the single, which you can see above.

Grappling Hooks, the debut album, was released earlier this year. The record immediately received rave reviews across the board, including being named Zane Lowe’s record of the week, and their first UK headline tour confirmed their status as one of the most exciting new bands to emerge in 2010.

“Super exciting new Rock n Roll for a new decade” Zane Lowe, BBC Radio One

“something a bit special” Classic Rock Prog

“Intriguing oddness from Scotland” Uncut



They will also be embarking on a short UK tour in May ahead of festival appearances this summer.
Playing live at the following dates:

May 14th – Great Escape, BRIGHTON (Levi’s Ones To Watch)

May 15th – BE @ Proud Galleries, LONDON

May 16th – Southampton Joiners, SOUTHAMPTON

May 17th – Oxford Jericho, OXFORD

May 18th – Barfly, CARDIFF

May 19th – BBC Introducing @ Oakford Social, READING

May 20th – Liverpool Sound City, LIVERPOOL

May 21st – Stag & Dagger, LONDON

May 22nd – Stag & Dagger, GLASGOW

July 14th – Pistoia Festival (supporting Porcupine Tree), ITALY

July 30th – Y Not Festival, Matlock, DERBYSHIRE

August 7th – Standon Calling, HERTS

September 10th – Bestival, ISLE OF WIGHT

For more information, audio samples, videos, downloads and more, go to the mini-site at www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation

Engineers have announced a couple of line-up changes to the band. Mark Peters has moved from bass to guitar and has been replaced by Daniel Land on bass and Matthew Linley has joined on drums. In addition to this Ulrich Schnauss, who had previously played keyboards live with the band has joined as full time member.

Ulrich is a respected solo artist while Daniel also fronts Daniel Land and The Modern Painters and Matthew Linley has recorded under the name of Gilbert.

The new line-up will play their first gigs on Monday 8th March, with Sereena Maneesh at The Lexington, London, and on Thursday 18th March supporting Chapterhouse at Scala, London.

Tickets for the Lexington gig are available from Sonic Cathedral HERE.

A new 2CD edition of Engineers self titled debut album will also be released on Kscope in May 2010.

Click here to visit the Engineers website

In Tilburg on April 28th, Tim Bowness & Band will be performing a headline slot at the annual Tonefloat label night. Tim will be playing several No-Man songs as part of his show.

The bill also features Steven Wilson collaborator, Dirk Serries/Microphonics (Vidna Obmana/Fear Falls Burning/Continuum etc).

Tickets are available from here

Mixtaped, the 2 disc DVD set from No-Man, is also available from the Kscope store. Comprising the band’s sell-out performance at London’s Bush Hall in 2008, a comprehensive career-spanning documentary, and numerous extras (including newly commissioned and archive video footage), Mixtaped provides a fascinating insight into one of British music’s most unusual cult heroes.

Click here for more info on Mixtaped

Hotly tipped trio North Atlantic Oscillation have been announced as the support for UK dates of Porcupine Tree’s current European tour.

The band take over from Kscope label mates, Engineers who had to pull out of the dates due to unforeseen personal circumstances. The dates kicked off last night in Wolverhampton before gigs in Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Dec 08 2009 NEWCASTLE, Academy
Dec 10 2009 MANCHESTER, Academy
Dec 11 2009 GLASGOW, ABC

NAO’s debut release, the EP Call Signs, has just been released and has been attracting rave reviews with Art Rocker claiming ‘NAO may well be your new favourite band’ and Drowned In Sound simply declaring ‘they really are quite alarmingly good’ while naming the track Cell Count as their single of the week. The Metro also recently stated that their ‘bright, friendly electronics and lush Brian Wilson harmonies suggest Scotland may have the beginnings of its own Animal Collective.’

The Call Signs EP can be ordered from the Kscope store or downloaded from all major download stores including iTunes, Amazon and emusic. Grappling Hooks, the band’s debut album, will be available from March 2010.

Check out the video below for Cell Count below, filmed and edited by Ben (from the band) and Michael Sherrington of Forest of Black.

www.kscopemusic.com/northatlanticoscillation
www.naoband.com

A promo for Engineers’ new single What Pushed Us Together is also now on the Kscope Vimeo channel, and can be seen below. The single can be downloaded from iTunes now, and will be available at most other digital outlets soon. The single also features the A Ricardo Tobar Mix.

www.kscopemusic.com/engineers

Click here to order your copy of Mixtaped DVD from the Kscope store

Mixtaped, the 2 disc DVD set from No-Man, is now available from the Kscope store. Comprising the band’s sell-out performance at London’s Bush Hall in 2008, a comprehensive career-spanning documentary, and numerous extras (including newly commissioned and archive video footage), Mixtaped provides a fascinating insight into one of British music’s most unusual cult heroes.

Formed in 1987 by Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, No-Man has produced a unique body of work that has developed from the band’s proto Trip-Hop / Ambient origins into something beyond easy categorisation.

The documentary, Returning, reveals for the first time the band’s full history from their roots in a teenager’s bedroom to an unsuccessful career in mainstream Pop; from near obscurity to increasing cult success.

Here is a trailer for the 2DVD set:

Mixtaped Disc One:
* No-Man’s complete Bush Hall live performance with 5.1 and stereo options (90 mins).
* Live photo gallery – Including photos from all three of No-Man’s first live concerts in 15 years, with an exclusive soundtrack of the song Housekeeping (recorded live in Dusseldorf).

Mixtaped Disc Two:
* Returning – A 90 minute career-spanning documentary including previously unseen footage, photos and images, and in-depth interviews with every member of No-Man past and present (including Tim Bowness, Steven Wilson, Ben Coleman and Chris Maitland). Directed by award winning journalist Richard Smith, Returning is the story of No-Man.
* Extras – Complete videos for several No-Man songs spanning 1990-2008.
* Rare live footage.
* No-Man ‘live timeline’.