Joe Lally has played bass in Fugazi since their inception in 1987. In 2003 the members of Fugazi decided to take an indefinite hiatus from recording and performing. Since that time Joe has continued to write and perform solo material in collaboration with various musicians and friends.
www.myspace.com/josephlally

Juneau Projects was formed in 2001 as a collaborative practice by Ben Sadler and Philip Duckworth. Based in Birmingham, they have exhibited nationwide and internationally. Their work engages with people and folk histories, bringing together music and found imagery in new interactive combinations. In early performance works they used mobile phones, wood chippers, microphones and cd walkmans, often destroying them to make unexpected sounds. Their work has developed to encompass video, installation, sculpture, performance and painting featuring an array of natural imagery, such as animals and birds, which seek to express how we think we feel about nature in the 21st century.
www.juneaurecords.co.uk/

Chairmakerharnesses the sounds of traditional folk and mixes it up with 21st century electronics. The results are lush soundscapes, pastoral collages and the essence of firelight. Think of Paul Giovanni, old wives tales, ritual magic and english folklore blended together with a hint of 80’s synth pop and a dusting of caustic rhythm.’

www.myspace.com/musictotravelto

Intensive, confrontational, raw and uncompromising: four words I think of when someone mentions Eugene and the boys to me. Amazing jazz infused, Birthday Party style noise, they produce a live show where you never know what might happen, an element which is as exciting as it is scary. Eugene is unpredictable and unsettling as he prowls the stage looking for unsuspecting victims to terrify and pours his soul into the microphone creating something that is undeniably powerful.
www.myspace.com/theoxbow

Light Trap are a trio from Birmingham, England comprised of John (Haxan, ex Doom & Sore Throat), Doug (Una Corda) and Nic (ex Napalm Death & Scorn).
They combine blackened and primitive noise rock with progressive and experimental elements.

From devouring linear drones, lush melancholy to pure unadulterated rage experienced through a back drop of churning rhythms, using Cohesive
experimental recording techniques combined with discordant world eating riffs enveloped in a signature approach to atmosphere and interspersing
melody making a truly individual record.

Transitional
The line up consists again of musican/producer Kevin Laska on guitar/voice/electronics/synth and drum programming, who’s probably best known
work before transitional was with Anthony Di Franco ( ex- skullflower ) as Novatron. Dave Cochrane( who’s past and present credits to name a few
include Head of David, jesu, Greymachine and God) on Basses.
www.myspace.com/transitionaluk

Poster by Ben Javens

Three of the finest US bands swing by as part of the now legendary Shred Yr Face tour..

The Shred Yr Face tour will be hitting the UK for the third time this November, following two previous jaunts around the country showcasing upcoming bands like F*cked Up, Rolo Tomassi, Los Campesinos, No Age.. You get the picture. Well this time it’s some bands from across the pond and they’re all pretty much amazing…

check out the Shred Yr Face blog

WOODS
“Woods’ latest album, Songs of Shame, is their most cohesive collection, and it’s not only quickly lifted them to front of the Woodsist crew but positioned them to be the group that appeals to those who’ve previously been uninterested in the 2008-09 crop of lo-fi. As with the best lo-fi albums, Songs of Shame performs some sleight-of-hand by sounding private and homespun yet also not just accessible but immediately lovable. Along the way, Woods can evoke any number of their lo-fi ancestors, from early Guided by Voices to the murkier depths of the Siltbreeze or Flying Nun back catalogs, but they’re still able to retain their own immediately recognizable off-kilter character… Despite Woods’ humble production values and their fondness for living room ambiance, Songs of Shame has that almost subliminal ability to make one want to move in to listen more closely. And once you’ve been drawn in for a good listen, it becomes difficult not to want to come back for many more.”— Matthew Murphy- PITCHFORK, April 24, 2009
www.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

ESPERS
Espers is a neo-psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia. They formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons but later expanded to a sextet including Otto Hauser, Helena Espvall and Chris Smith. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties british folk such as that of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and The Incredible String Band as well as many contemporary folk acts such as Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler and Nick Castro and as such their work is often lumped in with the so-called new weird america movement or naturalismo as Devendra Banhart preferred to coin it in 2006.
www.myspace.com/espers

THE CAVE SINGERS
Despite their name, The Cave Singers do not actually hail from any physical cave that we’re aware of – though Seattle can be a dark and mysterious city, with its share of stalactite-esque hangers-on. Metaphysically, however, said Cave Singers have filled a cave-like void in Matador’s collective musical consciousness this summer. Here is the mystery of Seattle’s Cave Singers: They never listened to much folk music, they never intended to play folk music, and more importantly, their guitarist never picked up the instrument until recently. Yet, this strange trio is writing and performing some of the most hypnotizing folk music we have today.
www.myspace.com/thecavesingers

Damien Jurado’s solo career began during the mid-1990s, with him releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings. Gaining a local cult following in Seattle, he was brought to the attention of Sub Pop Records by Sunny Day Real Estate singer Jeremy Enigk. After two 7″ releases (“Motorbike” and “Trampoline”) Sub Pop issued his first full album, Waters Ave S. in 1997. His second album Rehearsals for Departure, released in 1999, was a relative breakthrough.

He often makes use of found sound and field recording techniques, and has experimented with different forms of tape recordings. In 2000 he released Postcards and Audio Letters, a collection of found audio letters and fragments that he had found from sources such as thrift store tape players and answering machines.  After signing for the Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian, Damien Jurado reverted to his trademark folk ballad-based style, releasing four more albums: Where Shall You Take Me? (2003), On My Way To Absence, (2005) And Now That I’m In Your Shadow (2006) and Caught in the Trees (2008).
http://www.myspace.com/damienjurado

Ions
The Black Country strikes again with this latest offering of talent featuring Richard Labran formerly of Black Country legends Solway Fifth, Deadsunrising and Formation Flight and Andrew Walton of the impressive West Bromwich post rock trio, Cellardoor. Ions put together well crafted songs that are a mix of dance, pop and rock, where the notes ebb and flow from the darkness into the light and back again. An intruiging sound that will at times get you dancing and at other times leave you perplexed.

Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.
Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.
Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Poster by Ben Javens

Efterklang make music for the inspired. But don’t feel left out, for Efterklang inspire all. Otherworldly pop songs, both magnificently ambitious and engagingly intimate. Breathtaking panoramas of sound with few clear antecedents. This is music with no boundaries.

Childhood friends Casper Clausen, Mads Brauer and Rasmus Stolberg grew up on the small Danish island of Als, close to the German border. Fuelled by youthful ambition, the trio moved to Copenhagen where they were joined by Rune Mølgaard and Thomas Husmer, forming Efterklang in December 2000.

Early on, the band instituted a self-sufficient working method that they still apply to everything they do: writing, recording, producing and organizing every element of their music and performance from their Copenhagen bunker.

Efterklang are well-known for their stunning live shows. Following the release of Parades the band took their eight-piece live band on the road, the tour established Efterklang as one of the most fascinating and uplifting live acts in the world.

http://www.myspace.com/efterklang

Manchester dwelling musician, born and brought up in the beautiful rolling landscape of Wigan, Nancy Elizabeth is a lover and creator of songs and instrumental music. The first release was an E.P. called ‘The Wheel Turning King’, which came out on Manchester label, Timbreland. That led to her hiring a cottage in the middle of nowhere, where she created her first album ‘Battle and Victory’.

http://www.myspace.com/nancyelizabethcunliffe

Poster designed by Kris Jones

Isis create their own universe and rules, they are compromisingly heavy, slow and brutal, but apply a deftness of touch that so many other bands using the quiet/loud dynamic miss completely. They are hard to categories, but all the more interesting for it, using vocals sparingly they approach the idea of a voice as another instrument in their cannon, they want to bludgeon you but they also want you to see the inherent beauty in all that is ugly and while you imagine that a band playing ten minute slow burning epics would be boring to watch they are hypnotising and entrancing and above all exciting.
http://www.sgnl05.com/

FINAL serves as an undefinable and experimental interpretation of Justin Broadricks more recognised music ; encompassing the brutal and the dark to the beautiful and the melodic, the term ‘ambient’ is often used to describe the sound of FINAL, but the music is not at all intended to function purely as background as the term ‘ambient’ generally implies…..

http://www.avalancheinc.co.uk/final.html

Moving on from their well-received eponymous debut, Starless & Bible Black have drawn together the sounds of ‘70s Topanga Canyon country-rock, ‘80s Mancunian jangle, and space-age psychedelic drones to make this dynamic, warm and woodsy second album. Gone are the dulcimers and banjos of the first record, replaced by an electrifying wall of Telecaster and Moog, and standing in the centre of this bold, widescreen sound resides the earthy and husky voice of Hélène Gautier.

Starless & Bible Black were formed in Manchester in 2005 when Hélène Gautier, guitarist Peter Philipson and synth man Raz Ullah started performing live together and they were soon joined by Paul Blakesley on double bass and Brian Edwards on drums. Drum duties on recent recordings were performed courtesy of Karl Penney, another friend of the band.
Their first record was released in 2006 to unanimous critical acclaim most notably from Pitchfork, Wire, CMJ and The New York Times and a seven-inch single Up With The Orcadian Tide was pressed up in summer 2007. Live shows have included playing alongside Vetiver, James Yorkston, Espers and The Earlies as well as performing at the Green Man.

“they accomplish all this with a firm perception of their own powers, drawing on such varied sources without succumbing to self conscious classicism, and stamping their own personality on their material” Wire Magazine

http://www.myspace.com/starlessbibleblack

“A prolific and committed independent musician, SIMON FOX was formerly leader of Birmingham’s post-rock pioneers, GROVER. Between 1993-2003, Grover released a host of albums, singles and split releases on independent labels around the world. Broadcasts on BBC Radio1 (including a Peel Session in 2001), plus airtime on a variety of independent stations in Europe and the USA, helped Grover build a dedicated international fan-base and influence the UK post-rock scene.

Since then, Simon has quietened down, trading sweeping guitar theatrics for more intimate, acoustic-led songwriting. The new songs, performed under the moniker FOX, show a more personal, reflective side, with deceptively rich arrangements, a disarming wit and a flair for creating intimate moods. Recordings feature Simon playing a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, banjo, percussion, keyboards, theremin, mandolin, even occasional brass and woodwind.

http://www.myspace.com/worldoffox

Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.

Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.

Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Just confirmed as additional support for this show is Lewis Garland. Intimate folk tinged sounds act as a backdrop for intricate wordplay.

poster designed by Ben Javens

Fuck Buttons was conceived by Andrew Hung & Benjamin John Power in the winter of 2004. Initially the group was born as an outlet for their nihilistic-noise tendencies but quickly, the two Fuck Buttons realised they could harness the use of noise as a tool to immerse and evoke. No longer afraid of melody or rhythm, the group started fusing all these elements to the point when drone becomes melody becomes rhythm…
http://www.myspace.com/fuckbuttons

Zun Zun Egui conjure up bona fide rebel music that is full of body, raw in spirit
and totally free of precedent. A heavy, heavy dance band, they fire up mighty,
eternal grooves worthy of some dust-caked Lagos street jam, but don’t just
settle for that: tropical melodies, thrilling stop-start time switches, scorching
psychedelics and robust underground rock flourishes are gathered up as the
momentum swells towards frenzied, ecstatic finales. East African guitar
practice is inflamed by multi-lingual incantations (in French, English, Creole,
Japanese…), sinuous prog gets a big bass undertow. It’s roll and roll, a
rainbow blaze of rhythm and sound that pulls both the rockers and the
writhers into its heart.
http://www.myspace.com/zunzunegui

Theo
The work of one Sam Knight, is one for the math rock fans. Taut, chugging guitar loops layer up with frenetic tapping patterns that interweave in spiralling complexity before near sub-atomically precise, powerhouse drumming clatters and builds each song into juggernaut of riffs and rhythms. To achieve something like this recorded is one thing, but to see Theo perform live is quite another as each song blurs into the next and the dazzling guitar and drum acrobatics leave jaws sagging on the faces of all who bear witness to the talent on offer.
http://www.myspace.com/theo1000

poster designed by Ben Javens