The London launch of debut solo album by A Certain Ratio's Jez Kerr, Numb Mouth Eat Waste takes place at The Bowery in London this Friday 30 September. Tickets are 10.00 advance (or 15.00 with a special offer including a signed copy of the album). Support comes from The Institute of Modern Love and doors open 19:30. See you there!

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The Bowery
36-38 New Oxford Street
London WC1A 1EP
Tel: 020 7580 3057

More details on Jez Kerr's Facebook

Labels: events, gigs, Jez_Kerr

V Thirteen (featuring Dermo ex-Northside) play their first live gig on Sunday 25 September 2011 at The Willows as part of the Salford Music Festival. They're on the Main Stage at 7pm.

The band also supports Shaun Ryder at the Castle in Oldham on 17 December as part of SWR's 2001 UK tour.

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More info on V Thirteen on Facebook.

Labels: events, gigs, Northside, Salford_Music_Festival, V_Thirteen

Scanner teams up with the Heritage Orchestra and visual artist Matt Watkins for Live_Transmission, a special re-working of the songs of Joy Division at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea on Saturday 4 February 2012. The project has the blessing of all the surviving members of Joy Division and was produced in consultation with Peter Saville.

Live_Transmission goes on sale on Wednesday 28 September 2011 at 10:00 am with tickets priced at 16.00 GBP.

Labels: Joy_Division, Matt_Watkins, Peter_Saville, Scanner

Proud Camden presents Exemplar: Joy Division, an exhibition of photographs of Joy Division by Kevin Cummins which runs at their Camden gallery from 6 October until 11 December 2011.

"From their semi-derelict rehearsal spaces to Curtis's magnetic onstage presence, Cummins's shots are a very rare glimpse into the brief but brilliant Joy Division years."

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6 October - 11 December 2011
Proud Gallery
The Horse Hospital
Chalk Farm Road
LONDON NW1 8AH

Tel: 020 7482 3867

Labels: events, exhibition, Joy_Division, Kevin_Cummins

The ultra-rare Happy Mondays Shaun On One T-Shirt was assigned the Factory Records catalogue number FAC 288. However, the evidence would seem to point to them not being actually made by Factory. Fiona Allen, who ran Factory merchandising at the time, has no recollection of them and Kevin Cummins (whose photo it is) says no-one ever asked him for permission.

So it would seem these were made unofficially. As to how they came to be assigned the FAC number we can only assume that Tony Wilson saw one, liked it and decided to give a FAC number.

Of course if anyone has any information which contradicts this version of events then we would very much like to hear from them.

Labels: Fiona_Allen, Happy_Mondays, Kevin_Cummins, Shaun_Ryder, T-Shirt

The new release by Section 25 is the Invicta EP which is released Monday 3 October 2011 via Hacienda Records (HAC 010, digital download via fac51thehacienda.com and then on Monday 17 October via iTunes, Spotify, Beatport, etc.

The full tracklisting is:

1. Colour, Movement, Sex and Violence (Song mix 3:22)
2. Inner Drive (Chaos mix 4:56)
3. Colour, Movement, Sex and Violence (Alternative mix 3:56)
4. Inner Drive (Song mix 3:48)

A tour accompanying the release has been announced with dates in the UK, America and Belgium plus there is a Manchester date at The Factory on Saturday 8 October.

2011 tour itinerary

Sat 8 Oct - The Factory, 112-118 Princess St, Manchester M1 7EN, Tel: 0161 272 7251 - Buy tickets

Thu 17 Nov - Mojo 13, 1706 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington, DE 19809, Tel: 302 798 5798
Fri 18 Nov - The Ottobar, 2549 North Howard St, Baltimore, MD 21218, Tel: 410 662 0069
Sat 19 Nov - Secret Project Robot, 210 Kent Av, Brooklyn, New York 11211, USA
Sun 20 Nov - TT The Bears, 10 Brookline St, Central Sq, Cambridge, Boston, MA, USA

Sat 17 Dec - BIMFest 2011, Muziekcentrum Trix, Antwerp, Belgium

Labels: events, gigs, Section_25

Mark Reeder (ex-Shark Vegas) has confirmed details of his multi-format album of remixes he has done for artists such as Bad Lieutenant, Depeche Mode, Blank & Jones, Sam Taylor-Wood with Pet Shop Boys, Fidelity Kastrow and Spartak (the latter two featured on the SC5.1 free CD given away with initial copies of Scream City 5 last year) and many others. It is a 2CD/1DVD set featuring stereo mixes on the CDs and 5.1 surround mixes on the DVD.

The DVD also contains videos including a recut version of the original John Foxx Underpass, I’m In Love With A German Filmstar by Sam Taylor-Wood and more.

A full website with audio and video is also up and running at five-point-one.co.uk.

Tracklisting

DVD 5.1 surround remixes

1. John Foxx - Underpass (Mark Reeder's Sinister Subway Remix Edit)
2. Bad Lieutenant - Twist Of Fate (Mark Reeder's Led's Twist Again Remix)
3. Noblesse Oblige - Duel (Mark Reeder's Shot At The Crack Of Dawn Remix)
4. Marsheaux - So Far (Mark Reeder's So Close Remix)
5. Depeche Mode - Sweetest Perfection (Mark Reeder's Sweetest Conception Remix)
6. Echoes - Ice Cold (Mark Reeder's Cold As Ice Remix)
7. Blank & Jones, Mark Reeder Featuring Vanessa Daou - Heart Of Wax (Heart Of Crystal Mix)
8. Anne Clark - Full Moon (Mark Reeder's Stairway To The Stars Remix)
9. Vanessa Daou - Black & White (Mark Reeder's Monochrome Mix)
10. Sam Taylor-Wood With The Pet Shop Boys - I'm In Love With A German Film Star (Mark Reeder's Rias Remix)
11. Spartak - Lets Go Get 'Em (Mark Reeder's No Pain, No Gain Remix Edit)
12. Electrobelle - Falling (Mark Reeder's In Your Arms Remix Edit)
13. Fidelity Kastrow - 21st Century Girl (Mark Reeder's Strident Remix Edit)
14. May68 - The Prisoner (Mark Reeder's Runaway Remix)
15. Parralox - Sharper Than A Knife (Mark Reeder's Cutting Edge Remix Edit)
16. Bad Lieutenant - Sink Or Swim (Mark Reeder's Rettungsring Remix Edit)
17. Die Toten Hosen - Disco (Mark Reeder's Lange Hosen Remix)
18. Anne Clark - If... (Mark Reeder's Seemingly Forever Remix)

CD1

1. John Foxx - Underpass (Mark Reeder's Sinister Subway Remix)
2. Bad Lieutenant - Twist Of Fate (Mark Reeder's Led's Twist Again Remix)
3. Noblesse Oblige - Duel (Mark Reeder's Shot At The Crack Of Dawn Remix)
4. Marsheaux - So Far (Mark Reeder's So Close Remix)
5. Depeche Mode - Sweetest Perfection (Mark Reeder's Sweetest Conception Remix)
6. Echoes - Ice Cold (Mark Reeder's Cold As Ice Remix)
7. Sam Taylor-Wood With The Pet Shop Boys - I'm In Love With A German Film Star (Mark Reeder's Stuck In The 80s Mix)
8. Spartak - Lets Go Get 'Em (Mark Reeder's No Pain, No Gain Remix)
9. Fidelity Kastrow - 21st Century Girl (Mark Reeder's Strident Remix)
10. Bad Lieutenant - Sink Or Swim (Mark Reeder's Rettungsring Radio Remix)
11. May68 - The Prisoner (Mark Reeder's Runaway Remix)
12. Die Toten Hosen - Disco (Mark Reeder's Lange Hosen Remix)
13. Anne Clark - If… (Mark Reeder's Seemingly Forever Remix)

CD2

1. John Foxx - Underpass (Mark Reeder's Dark, Long & Sinister Remix)
2. Blank & Jones, Mark Reeder Featuring Vanessa Daou - Heart Of Wax (Heart Of Crystal Mix)
3. Sam Taylor-Wood With Pet Shop Boys - I'm In Love With A German Film Star (Mark Reeder's Rias Remix)
4. Echoes - Ice Cold (Mark Reeder's Colder Than Ice Remix)
5. Parralox - Sharper Than A Knife (Mark Reeder's Cutting Edge Remix)
6. Bad Lieutenant - Sink Or Swim (Mark Reeder's Waterwing Remix)
7. Vanessa Daou - Black & White (Mark Reeder's Monochrome Mix)
8. Anne Clark - Full Moon (Mark Reeder's Stairway To The Stars Remix)
9. Fidelity Kastrow - 21st Century Girl (Mark Reeder's Strident Remix Edit)
10. Electrobelle - Falling (Mark Reeder's In Your Heart Remix)
11. Bad Lieutenant - Twist Of Fate (Mark Reeder's Synth Of Fate Remix)
12. Die Toten Hosen - Disco (Mark Reeder's Kurze Hosen Remix)

Labels: John_Foxx, Mark_Reeder, Pet_Shop_Boys

2011 sees ACR celebrate their 33-and-a-third birthday party with a show in Manchester, which might seem an odd and inappropriate time to release a parallel project and your first solo debut, but that’s precisely what the iconic band’s front-man is doing in September. This is the year of the first Jez Kerr album.

Numb Mouth Eat Waste consists of ten atmospheric tracks that might never have seen the light of day on an ACR album or single, but understandably don’t sound particularly at odds with its creator's previous creative output. Conversely, the opening salvo of Rip You Right Back, first single Play Sumthing Fast and the roughly trumpet-spattered Help Me, have rather more in common with the more recent outbursts of Wire than ACR – sharp guitar thwacking, biscuit-tin drums and distorted basslines all topped off with unsubtle arrangements, not so far removed from their Object 47 and Red Barked Tree sets.

But it’s from the remainder of Kerr’s intriguing album where jewels can be discovered and nuggets can be mined. The bassist’s previous forte has been with plaintive, pretty yet atmospheric vocals – think Flight, think The Big E, think Knife Slits Water and think Choir - and on this album, you get similar, minus the bigger sometimes Martin Hannett-flavoured arrangements. Inland, a minimal sample-laden twitchy funk-a-logue with Kerr’s softly-uttered lyrics, sets the scene. The potty-mouthed and almost poppy Sum Space, also possesses a different approach with the writer presenting exclamations like, “Thick as a brick, so says me / I don’t know shit / so says me” - he won't win Pulitzers with that coupling, but it’s honest.

So then, gone is the strident Mancunian confidence, or so it would seem, but lock onto the album’s fantastic centrepieces in the middle of the album and all is even better. Reason I Feel Like An Alien is the standout on this album, beautifully sung, exquisitely played and triumphantly arranged - if Kerr fails to stick this under radio stations' noses, I can only presume he has better in his canon, or he's mad - it's a corker. No Left Shoe and Technicolor Dawn (next single) fill out the middle of the album, both charged with quirky breaks, back-in-the-daze basslines and rolling beats and both bass-heavy with whispered lyrics and minimal trickery.

Ultimately, Numb Mouth Eat Waste is all about Kerr stretching out from the confines and conformity of a group and exploring a world of experimental and esoteric soundtracks, created within a ring-fence of mates and a reputation for cranking out a solid show.

8 out of 10

Album review by Paul Pledger (cheers Paul)

Numb Mouth Eat Waste is out on 12 September 2011 via Higuera Records (digital download)

Labels: A_Certain_Ratio, Jez_Kerr, review

The Adventure Babies come out of previously-apparently permanent retirement to play the IAStival Festival in Manchester's Heaton Park today. Jez Bramwell writes on the Festival's official blog of the parallels with the AdBabs' previous Heaton Park appearance as part of the Cities In The Park Factory day back in 1991. Jez also assures Cerysmatic that it's "not a comeback - just for fun".

Labels: Adventure_Babies, events, gigs

The Sheffield Star reports on Karl Walsh's (ex-Factory folksters To Hell With Burgundy) new band The Visitors who are currently touring their "70s classic rock-flavoured antics" across the north of England

The full tour itinerary is below and more info may be found at thevisitors.org.uk.

September

Fri 10 - Bohemia, Accrington, BB5 1HN
Fri 16 - Elton Sailing Club, Bury,BL8 2BR
Sat 17 - The Station, Ashton, OL6 6XB
Sun 18 - 2pm The Horse & Jockey, Tamworth Rd, Corly, Birmingham CV7 8AA
Fri 23 - Old Dog Inn, Preston, PR1 3BT
Sat 24 - Cobden View, Sheffield, S10 1HQ

October

Fri 7 (Album Launch) - Kings Arms, Bloom St, Salford, Manchester, M36 6AN
Sat 15 - The Adelphi, Hull, HU5 2RU
Thu 20 - Blue Cat Cafe, Heaton Chapel, Stockport, SK4 4AG
Thu 27 - The Jolly Tar, Nantwich, CW5 6BE
Fri 28 - The Base Bar, Manchester, M1 7DB

Labels: To_Hell_With_Burgundy

New Order make a surprise return to live action with two, erm, one-off gigs in France and Belgium this October. It's a welcome return for Gillian Gilbert and a not-too-surprising no-show for Peter Hook. Phil Cunningham on guitar and keyboard and Tom Chapman on bass complete the line-up.

The gigs are at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on 17 October and La Bataclan in Paris on 18 October. No details as yet of pricing or availability but this will follow.

Labels: events, gigs, New_Order, Peter_Hook

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