A track from Birdpen’s highly anticipated second album which is due to be released in 2012. WWW.BIRDPEN.COM

At the year’s end do you look back or does your mind’s eye peer into the future?

Today I’m casting my steely glare towards the early months of 2012 in which we see ‘Band of Skulls’ releasing their much anticipated second album ‘Sweet Sour’.

Available on February 20th and eagerly anticipated, it will launch them into the upper echelons of the rock world.

Evidence so far points to the band adding another layer of polish to their impressive studio sound and all I’m waiting for to hear if they’ve retained their knack for songs filled with quality pop hooks.

As a free taster you can sign up to their mailing list at www.bandofskulls.com and get ‘Devil’s Rug’ an alternative version the single ‘The Devil Takes Care of His Own’.

Another free offering to look out for is ‘Nature Regulate’ a track from Birdpen’s second album.

Its a wonderful soundscape and is already in the playlist at Voice FM.

You’ll be able to download it from www.birdpen.com in January and it will be accompanied by a cool, artistic animated video.

Also in January Dlugokecki will be studio bound to add the finishing touches to their next album ‘Putting the Tracks in Front of the Train’.

It should be a cracker of an album, released on 12th March and you can pre-order from www.dlugokecki.net

Add to that the début début album from LST and already 2012 is looking like the year Southampton will be sticking its head above pops parapet and waving a flag of quality.

Even though bands hate being pigeon-holed music labelling is really helpful and easily defines an era: anyone remember BritPop?

When there isn’t a specific genre you invent one, for example ‘cool/dark’ is how I’m summing up Robin Foster’s latest album.

Courtesy of the Southampton four-piece ‘Wolfe‘ a new genre “ChillWave” has been brought to my attention.

A term coined by blogger ‘Carles‘ which became ‘official’ when iTunes gave it a category and John Pareles in the New York Times summed it up as “recession-era music: low-budget and danceable.”

Wolfe dropped it into a conversation about professional acts they’ve recently supported.

Musicians such as ‘Tropics’ who headlined the club Pop in May: “Musically it worked really well and there was a mutual admiration between bands. It was great to support an up and coming band and one which is part of ‘chillwave’.”

Vocalist Gav Brook continued. “It led to a headline slot a few months later at the ‘Wednesday Night Live’ night at Pop which is a brilliant night for a more eclectic, electronic and left-field artists.”

Other acts they cite are ‘Suicide Party’ and ‘Bridpen’ because of… “the vibe that they create at gigs.”

Fronted by singer/bassist Laura Wolfe, with Paulus Fielder, Stu Rogers and Gav they created a brilliant ambiance, and very well balanced sound, when they supported ‘Maths and the Moon’ at Guava Bar in October.

Their EP “Cries” is available as a free download on Soundcloud and they’ll blow your house down.

First published in the Southern Daily Echo, Friday 11th Nov, 2011

Wolfe “Cries” by WOLFE

From economist to housewife, through shop floor worker and student, the world’s plight is putting this question on everyone’s lips: “Where do we go from here?”

Its also the title of the second album from Robin Foster, a British musician living in France. [Cover photo by Benoit Pelletier]

You might not recognise his name but his music could have underscored your television pleasure as tracks from his debut “Life Is Elsewhere” have been used by Hugo Boss, Barclay’s and the US show ‘One Tree Hill’.

Robin’s latest mix of cool/dark instrumentals and songs features the south’s Dave Pen the singer from Birdpen and Archive.

“It was an instant click between us so it just naturally transpired that we we would do something together,” Robin explained. “I was working on the new album and asked him if he fancied singing on a couple of tracks. Those 2 songs soon became 4 and so we got him over to record them. Then we had a free day in the studio and wrote another on the spot, that was the best part because I’d never worked with anyone so easily before. It was very liberating, we’re completely on the same wavelength.”

And as you’d expect Dave feels the same: “I liked his instrumentations and it felt natural to write lyrics to his music. Also the fact he was an Englishman working in France had a similarity with the musical projects I am involved in and we also connected as people which made working on these songs enjoyable and slightly mad.”

The most important aspect for Robin was the enthusiasm Mr Pen brought to the project: “I love Dave’s voice, he throws himself into it, he really brings a whole new dimension to the songs, it stops you in your tracks.”

The songs Dave has written lyrics for, and also poured his soul crushed vocals onto, are: “A collapsing light”, “Concrete Skies”, “Forgiveness”, “Black Mountain” and the almost
pop “Wait for her”.

I asked Dave if album’s title alluded to a global or inner perspective: “Its a more personal statement. The songs are about guilt, loss, hope and love, not about the state of the economy and the state of our beloved planet earth. That’s in another project you will hear about soon !!”

And many Birdpen fans around Europe are busting for news about that almost album finished!

However Robin takes us a little deeper into the background of the title: “It is also a personal statement regarding two very close friends who died while I was making the album, sparking that eternal question of “what’s next?”… It has many connotations really, it’s also a natural follow on from the first album’s title “Life Is Elsewhere”. This is the next step so to speak, though it’s not just a negative question, it’s also a hopeful one, the whole album has the recurring theme of a light in the dark. ”

For the record I think its a great listen. There is a fine balance between Robin’s instrumentals and the songs he and Dave have produced: they are like pauses during an evening’s conversation. And the answer to the album’s question? Onwards and upwards for both artists.

http://www.robinfoster.fr

Robin Foster’s upcoming live concert will feature special guest singers Dave Pen (Archive & BirdPen) et Ndidi O at the Transmusicales de Rennes, a major French music festival, Friday 2nd December.

Jean-Louis Brossard, organisateur du festival, dévoile son artiste «Coup de coeur», Robin Foster pour ces 33ème Rencontres des Transmusicales de Rennes, au Parc Expo Hall 4, vendredi 2 Décembre à 22h00.

You can visit the festival’s website : www.lestrans.com