You know the score at this stage. Indiecater releases something and a couple of seconds later it is playing on your music player. That’s the immediacy of downloads and it is also the reason we have been able to keep our prices low. Despite all the advantages of mp3s though they are not the prettiest things to show your friends what a beacon of cool you are. Lots of you have told us this and today we are moving into stage two in the evolution of the label. From mid October we will be in possession of our first run of CD’s, a couple of weeks later the second release to be given the physical treatment will arrive. Our first foray is what we are here for today however and it is the CD version of Candy Claw’s ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’. Hopefully at this stage you’ve established how great the Fort Collins act are, the reviews alone will show you we are not alone in our love of them. Their CD will be selling for €9 (which will include worldwide postage) but you can pre-order it for €8 today and as soon as the stock arrives we will post it on to you. Your pre-order will also include the download version of the album so you can enjoy it straight away before giving it the full stereo treatment in October.
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Indiecater Volume IV is our fifth compilation (the links to its predecessors are in the sidebar) and is probably our most ambitious one so far with a total of 19 tracks featuring the cream of the underground. Most of the tracks are of the indie rock/jangle pop variety although there are dashes of electronica and experimentation throughout. The hope is that it will give some much deserved exposure to these great artists and encourage people like you into further investigation of their back catalogue. Every one of the songs has appeared on our sister blog mp3hugger at one stage or another so we are delighted to make an official statement of our love for them! The majority of the sale price goes directly back to the bands so you can be safe in the knowledge that you are supporting independent music. Included in the download bundle are all 19 tracks, the original artwork and an information sheet.
We’d like to say a big thank you to all the contributing artists and their gracious labels for making this compilation possible. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have putting it all together.
Here is the full tracklisting (the first digital comp with 2 sides!)
10 Princeton – Ms. Bentwich (Eagle Rock)
11 The Uglysuit – Chicago (Oklahoma)
12 Roofwalkers – Tear Down The Tents (Washington)
13 Warpaint – Bille Holiday (Los Angeles)
14 Black Nielson – Love Song To Chan Marshall (Southampton)
15 Sweet Jane – Blackboots & Blackhearts (Dublin)
16 Zinedines – Twice Upon A Time (Muro)
17 Delorentos – Solitude (Dublin)
18 Honeyheads – Out Of Marseille (Hamburg)
19 Shout Out Out Out Out – Guilt Trips Sink Ships (Edmonton)
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We found Candy Claws bathing in the waters off San Esteban near the shimmering Panda Valentine archipelago and they quickly stole our hearts. Their debut album is our first dip into electronica and we think you’ll be enamoured. You know how that genre sometimes gives the impression that the machines hold sway, well ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’ wrestles the initiative firmly back in our favour. When you hear the ocean, it’s actually the sound of real ocean and those vocals, although somewhat digitised, are so inherently human it makes you feel good to be on the right side of artificiality. What is he talking about I hear you say; well this is just an ordinary man exuberant on the heart wrenching persuasion of this album. I listen and I sink into bliss. ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’ is as innovative as it is tuneful and in our estimation is one of 2009’s finest works. The album has been completely remastered for the occasion including brand new artwork.
As a special treat we have a limited edition CD, signed by the band, to give away to 10 people. The winners will be picked at random from those who buy the album over the next few weeks.
Ryan from Candy Claws now tells us the story behind ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’.
Aloha! Ryan here from Candy Claws. A little about ourselves and the album… Kay and I spent our first two years as a band writing and recording the music. It always had a nautical theme, perhaps because of the mystery of the ocean. Then I discovered Rachel Carson’s book, ‘The Sea Around Us’, hidden away on a shelf at my grandparents’ house, and the whole album came into focus. Miss Carson’s book, though scientific non-fiction, is imbued with such beauty and mystery, written in such elegant prose it feels more like poetry, a hymn to the sea. That’s what we were feeling for in our recordings, too, so we decided to make the album a ‘musical companion’ to the book. In June of 2008, Kay and I went to Italy with her high school art class, and recorded ocean sounds on the shores of Portovenere and Monterosso. Then in October I went to the Philippines with my mom, sister, and grandmother to meet our extended family for the first time. I recorded more ocean sounds at San Fernando and San Esteban on the island of Luzon. It was important to us to include sounds we had recorded ourselves, in places we loved, because sound effects tend to be gimmicky, but this way it seemed a lot more personal, and it’s exciting to be able to say the album was recorded in three different countries! Anyway, we made all the music in Fort Collins at a place called Flashy Storm, which is also called Ryan’s Bedroom when I go to sleep. Our favorite bands at the time, who really influenced the sound: the Beach Boys, Starflyer 59, the Lassie Foundation, My Bloody Valentine, Cornelius, and maybe you can guess a few more? Well, thanks for listening! See you soon!
Watch The Video To Catamaran!
(If you’d like to download this video and have bought the album just get in touch and we’ll send it on!)
Have you heard many records lately that feel just at home when the sun is warm as when the snowflakes are about to form? Not many I’d wager but ‘California Trail’ is about to seamlessly fill that gap in your music collection. Adam & Darcie are a husband and wife team so it seems particularly apt that their vocals should complement each other so irresistibly. Both take on lead vocals at various points throughout but it is rare to find one voice operating unaccompanied. This is an album full of lush harmonies, delicate (and often intricate) instrumentation and a running order that never breaks the beautifully soothing flow. As the world around gets increasingly besotted by electro retro giddiness Adam & Darcie’s sophomore proves to be a calming antidote. ‘California Trail’ is getting its debut on indiecater, something that makes us feel very proud. We hope you like it as much as we do.
We recently asked Adam and Darcie to give us the lowdown on their writing and recording process and here’s what they said.
Adam and Darcie on writing:
Darcie: I’m very melody driven. Adam can construct a beautiful guitar part but until it has a strong melody that I can’t resist singing, it’s like a faceless person. Often, when I write a song I start with the melody.
Adam: For me it’s usually a matter of picking up a guitar and letting my fingers do whatever they want until something is sparked. After being moulded a while you start to see a song come to life. It’s always exciting to see what they’re going to be like, like they have a personality of they’re own. It’s also a great release in that you can express, comment, lament, celebrate, etc. whatever is going on in and around you in an almost subconscious way.
Adam and Darcie on recording:
Darcie: I usually saunter in, tell Adam to push the button, do a take, and then go back to my knitting. Truthfully, Adam is responsible for the flesh and bones of every song. Sometimes it takes a really long time because I’ll keep cracking up about a bum note or get defensive when Adam tells me I need another take. My parts usually get laid down 3/4 of the way into a song and Adam will then write a few more cool instrumentations over them.
Adam: At home. In the living room. The bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, etc. In the spaces we live. As a result you can occasionally hear a chair squeak, or on our new album, the sound of our son in the background… they’re very subtle, and few and far between but when they’re there it doesn’t bother me.
Listen To California Trail!
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Fans of a certain act from Manchester should be wearing a broad smile on seeing the name of this band. And if you are at all partial to tunes that are embellished with rolling harmonies and flowing jangle that particular facial expression should remain steady over the course of ‘The Seven Seas’ (it’s a Polaris Prize nominee after all!). Rishi Dhir is a veteran of the music scene, although ‘The Seven Seas’ is his first record since leaving the High Dials in 2006. Sounds to us like the break has done him real good because Rishi has managed to whip up an album of jangle pop delights with Elephant Stone. Not only that but he has also put his recent immersion into the world of the sitar to great use, with those Eastern influences forming an integral part of the album. ‘The Seven Seas’ is awash with great moments and its arrival at this time of the year means that summer just got a whole lot brighter. You can download the album and artwork for just €4, a small price to have you kissing the cotton clouds.
Listen To The Seven Seas!
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EP#5 from South Ambulance and there’s a sea change occurring. The melodies are still in abundance but this time they come fitted with a more pervasive sense of melancholy. If you peruse the lyric sheet from our past encounters there’s no mistaking that despite their hook filled tunes South Ambulance certainly have a skewed view of the world. You could miss it though as so often the words are masked by a jangling gaiety. EP#5 sees the gloom spread its tentacles and while the tunes are as pristine as ever you may find less occasion to grab your partner by the hand. The download bundle also includes two jaunty tracks called ‘Circling With Thee’ and ‘Rabid Ghost’ which up to this point were unreleased. Their spiralling choruses are worth the price of the EP alone. We adore South Ambulance, we really do. The hope is that you will too.
Rather than convolute with their thoughts on EP#5 South Ambulance decided that this quote from Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘A Descent Into The Maelstrom’ would suffice.
“Our first slide into the abyss itself, from the belt of foam above, had carried us to a great distance down the slope; but our farther descent was by no means proportionate. Round and round we swept – not with any uniform movement – but in dizzying swings and jerks, that sent us sometimes only a few hundred yards – sometimes nearly the complete circuit of the whirl. Our progress downward, at each revolution, was slow, but very perceptible.”
Tracklisting
1) Dear Mutiny
2) They Stick Together
3) What The Doctor Said
4) The Stay Away
5) Circling With Thee
6) Rabid Ghost
Listen To EP#5!
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