08 April 2006

Thee More Shallows, Ral Partha Vogelbacher, Lower Forty-Eight, 65daysofstatic and Barzin tour dates - and a Montreme special gig this Monday!

There is still time to catch Thee More Shallows + Ral Partha Vogelbacher as they finish up the last leg of their UK tour. The Ral Partha Vogelbacher album ‘Shrill Falcons’ and Thee More Shallows ep, ‘Monkey vs Shark’, are out now, and the reviews are starting to come in, including a 5-star review for the ep in Metro!

The bands had a gap in their tour schedule, so we have organised a short-notice ‘semi-unplugged’ gig upstairs at The Old Blue Last in London this Monday, with Ral Partha Vogelbacher and Thee Mores Shallows. This should be loads of fun. Joining them is the solo project of Nima from Hush The Many, called ‘The Sliding Rule’. The first two people to arrive will get in for free!

Date: Monday, 10th April
Venue: The Old Blue Last, 39 Great Eastern Road, London, EC2A 3 ES
Time: 8 pm doors
Price: £4

Advance tickets can be purchased from Ticketweb:
https://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=162714

If you are around London on Good Friday, we highly recommend that you come along for what promises to be a brilliant end-of-tour extravaganza in the form of an ‘all-dayer’, at the excellent Luminare, with Thee More Shallows, Polaris, Ral Partha Vogelbacher, The Nortorious Hi-Fi Killers, Cleckhuddersfax, Bavid Thomas Broughton and The Unit Ama, plus those fabuolous Silver Rocket DJs and also the Pop Vulture DJs. What a way to kick off the long weekend! More info at www.knom.co.uk

Here are the rest of the Thee More Shallows + Ral Partha Vogelbacher tour dates:

April:

Sat 4th - The Port Mahon, Oxford
Sun 9th - The Social, Nottingham
Mon 10th - Ral Partha Vogelbacher + Thee More Shallows ‘semi-unplugged’ London - The Old Blue Last
Tue 11th - The Porter Cellar Bar, Bath
Wed 12th - The Cavern, Exeter
Thu 13th - Hanbury Ballroom Brighton
Fri 14th - The Luminaire, London - ‘The Long good Friday’ all-dayer

+++++

Lower Forty-Eight

Next up is the imminent arrival of Lower Forty-Eight, for their first full UK tour, followed by a couple dates in The Netherlands. Their new album, ‘Apertures’, will be out on Monday and is already racking up lots of airplay on radio stations around the UK. We hope you can come out and see them!

We will be doing another Monotreme gig at the ace Bull and Gate venue in London on the 23rd of April with Hey Colossus, Lower Forty-Eight + more TBC. Tickets are available now from Ticketweb:
https://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=162716

Here are their tour dates so far:

Lower Forty-Eight - April tour dates:

16th - Manchester at Retro Bar with Doctrine + Traceless Echo + The Year For Lying Eyes + Architect + 3 years Hiding (an Easter all-dayer with Lower Forty-Eight headlining)
17th - Glasgow at Bloc with The Ocean Fracture + Hate becomes The Hero
18th - Edinburgh at Henry's Cellar Bar
19th - Aberdeen at The Moorings Bar with Perineum + Dear John
21st - London at The Buffalo Bar with Lords + Quack Quack + The Mockingbird Nightmare
22nd - Ipswich at The Drum and Monkey
23rd - London at The Bull and Gate with Hey Colossus + TBC
28th - Den Helder (NL) Crossover Royale Festival
29th - Hengelo (NL) at Innocent

+++++

65daysofstatic tour dates

Anyone who reads these mailouts regularly will know that 65daysofstatic pretty much live on the road! And this spring is no exception, having just completed a short UK tour supporting Hundred Reasons, they are now heading over to mainland Europe to capture the hearts and ears of the continentals, then back to the UK for more:

April:

14th: HOLLAND. Motel Mozaique Fest .
16th: BELGIUM. AB Domino Fest.

May:

2nd: Berlin (DE) at Magnet
3rd: Hamburg (DE) at Molotow
4th: Munich (DE) at Ampere
5th: Cologne(DE) at Prime
6th: Görlitz (DE) at Nostromo
10th: Hasselt (BE) at M.O.D
13th: Brugge (BE) at Cactus
18th: Brighton (UK) at Concorde 2
19th: London (UK) at Mean Fiddler

+++++

Barzin

And in May, we welcome Barzin to the UK for the first time - their lovely new album ‘My Life In Rooms’ is out now, so why not pick up a copy?

Here are their tour dates, including a couple in mainland Europe after the UK tour:

Barzin May tour dates:

7th - Leeds at Brudenell Social Club - with Gregor Samsa + Once We Were + Hooray! Say The Roses + Palo Alto (Barzin on at 8:45)
8th: Aberdeen at Tunnels
9th: Edinburgh at Henry's Cellar Bar
10th: Hull at The Adelphi
11th: London at The Betsey Trotwood - with This Is Your Captain Speaking + TBC
12th: Paris (FR) at La Fleche d'Or - with Tamara Williamson
13th: Luxembourg City (LU) at *d:qliq* - with Gregor Samsa
14th: TBC
15th: Oxford at The Port Mahon - with Witches (acoustic) + Wait For Coniston + Deptford Mice
16th: London at The Windmill - with Rosie Wilby + TBC
17th: TBC

That’s all for now. Hope you can make it to see the bands!



For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

5 March 2006

New releases coming up!

Here is what we've got coming up for you. We're not worthy to have such an awesome roster!

27 February - 65daysofstatic 'Radio Protector' 7" vinyl single – out now!

A limited 7" single, which contains the track 'Radio Protector' from the brilliant 'One Time For All Time' album, plus the killer new track 'Asphalt & Trouble'. Only 1,500 copies. Lovingly assembled by the 65 crew. The first 1,000 each have a one-of-a-kind polaroid photo taken by the band between 10th November 2005 and 7th February 2006. A one-time single to keep for all time...

Band website

'Radio Protector' mp3 clip here



20 March - Ral Partha Vogelbacher 'Shrill Falcons' CD album:

The long-awaited return of Chadwick Bidwell and co. For this album, Chad wrote the lyrics and Dee Kesler from Thee More Shallows wrote most of the music. A match made in heaven. Pure pop/rock songwriting genius - with added feedback and drones, including a soundscape contributed by Odd Nosdam of Anticon.

Band website

'Birthday In Beijing' mp3 here



3rd April - Barzin 'My Life In Rooms' CD album:

We fell in love with the first S/T album of Barzin from Canada, and are very proud to be releasing the second album on Monotreme in Europe (released on Weewerk Records in Canada), which is even better! Slow, melodic, melancholic... beautiful, dreamlike music.

Band website

'Leaving Time' mp3 here



3rd April - Thee More Shallows 'Monkey vs Shark' CD ep:

Five new tracks of sonic sorcery from the frighteningly talented Thee More Shallows. Contains a re-recorded version of the song they covered for their BBC Radio 1 session last year - 'I can't get next to you.' Also an awesome remix of 'Freshman Thesis' (from 'More Deep Cuts') by Anticon artist Odd Nosdam, featuring Anticon's Why? on vocals.

Band website

'Can't Get Next To You' mp3 here



10th April - Lower Forty-Eight 'Apertures' CD album:

Lower Forty-Eight return with their finest album to date. Passionate, powerful, heavy...yet also beautiful and melodic. Apertures finds Lower Forty-Eight at the top of their form as songwriters and performers. We just can't get enough of it here at Monotreme HQ...

Band website

'Mass Denial, Massive Guilt' mp3 here



1st May - Cerberus Shoal - 'The Land We All Believe In' CD album:

We have long admired the amazing American musical collective known as Cerberus Shoal. So we are very excited indeed to be releasing their latest album in Europe (out on North East Indie Records in the rest of the world). This is an awesome album that defies classification, with elements of avant-folk, skewed pop, spoken word and fantastic soundscapes.

Band website

'Pie For The President' mp3 here




For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

3 March 2006

BBC Radio 1 Monotreme Records label feature

BBC Radio 1’s ‘One World’ programme will broadcast a label feature on Monotreme Records this Sunday (or more correctly, in the early hours of Monday morning) March 5th, sometime between 1-3 am. Tune in to hear what’s coming up on the label – hopefully there will be a lot of tracks by Monotreme artists and not too much of the nervous croaking of the segment’s presenter, who woke up on the morning of the recording day without a voice. Thanks very much to Radio 1 for the wonderful opportunity to give the bands more exposure!

You can listen to the programme online here.


For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

26 February 2006

65daysofstatic Radio Protector 7” ~ charity auction ~ and tour dates!

The very lovely (and very limited) 7” single ‘Radio Protector’ by 65daysofstatic is released on Monday the 27th of February – that’s tomorrow. The A-side is the track ‘Radio Protector’ taken from their latest album, ‘One Time For All Time’ and the B-side is a new track, ‘Asphalt & Trouble’. The records were hand-assembled and hand-numbered by team 65. The first 1,000 each have a unique Polaroid photo taken by the band attached to the sleeve, with a list of all of the photo names in the insert. The remaining 500 have a colour print of one of the Polaroids attached to the sleeve. We only have stock of the records with the printed artwork in our shop, so you will need to check with your favourite indie shop or buy one at a 65daysofstatic gig on their current tour, or contact the band through their website if you want the ones with the polaroids.

Single number 1 is right now being auctioned on eBay. Included with the record is 1 of the only 2 test pressings of the record, a Polaroid photo of the band and some 65daysofstatic badges. All proceeds go to Friends of The Earth. The Auction closes at midnight tonight (GMT).

Here is the latest update of their tour dates. Joining the band will be Warp Records artist Chris Clark and also The Miramar Disaster. A stunning visual show will be provided by The Media Lounge.

February:

24th: LIVERPOOL, Academy. (no Chris Clark)
25th: NOTTINGHAM, The Rescue Rooms
26th: NEWCASTLE, The Academy
27th: GLASGOW, ABC2
28th: ABERDEEN, Moshulu

March:

1st: STOKE, The Sugarmill
2nd: LEEDS, The Cockpit
3rd: SHEFFIELD, The Leadmill
4th: MANCHESTER, The Academy 3
5th: BRISTOL, The Bierkeller
6th: BIRMINGHAM, The Academy 2
7th: LONDON, ULU
8th: NORWICH, The Waterfront
9th: OXFORD, The Zodiac
10th: BRIGHTON, Concorde 2
11th: BOURNEMOUTH, Opera House

On the 7th of March the band will be joining Phil Jupitas at his 6Music breakfast show, to chat about all things 65 and play a track or two.

After the UK tour, 65daysofstatic will be heading over to mainland Europe for more tour dates over there, Including the Rhâââ Lovely Festival in Belgium in April, at which Monotreme artists Picastro will also be playing. Here are the dates so far…

March:

25th: NORWAY. TRONDHEIM, Student Union.

April:

8th: BELGIUM. Rhaaa Lovely Festival
14th: HOLLAND. Motel Mozaique Fest
16th: BELGIUM. AB Domino Fest

More news on other Monotreme Releases and tours coming very soon, including new CDs by Ral Partha Vogelbacher, Thee More Shallows, Barzin, Lower Forty-Eight and Cerberus Shoal.

For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

11 February 2006

Thee More Shallows in France and London next week

Thee More Shallows will make a quick trip across the Atlantic to perform at La Route du Rock festival in St Malo, France. They will be performing on Friday the 17th of February at Les Palais du Grand Large venue along with The Earlies, Verone and Gravenhurst. More information can be found here:

http://www.laroutedurock.com/_pages/festival_hiver.htm

On their way back home they will stop in London to play a show at the Betsey Trotwood on Sunday the 19th of February. Advance tickets can be purchased here:

http://www.wegottickets.com/event/8907

This will be their only live UK date until they return in March/April for their full tour, about which we will write more soon.

19 December 2005

TOUR DATES!

STINKING LIZAVETA UK TOUR DATES - JANUARY 2006

06/01 London, Upstairs at The Garage §
07/01 Newport, Le Pub §
09/01 Newcastle, The Dog & Parrot §
10/01 Edinburgh, Henry's Cellar §
11/01 Oxford, The Cellar §
12/01 Glasgow, Bloc §
13/01 Leeds, The Fenton §
14/01 Liverpool, TBC §
15/01 Cardiff, Coal Exchange +
16/01 Exeter, Lemon Grove +
17/01 Wolverhampton, Wolfrun Hall +
18/01 Stoke, Sugarmill +
20/01 Liverpool, Uni +
21/01 Manchester Mdh +
22/01 Nottingham Rock City +
23/01 Leeds, Cockpit +
24/01 Glasgow, Garage +
26/01 Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms +
27/01 Brighton, Concorde 2 +
28/01 Oxford, Zodiac +
29/01 London, Mean Fiddler +

§ - HEADLINING
+ - WITH CLUTCH + CORROSION OF CONFORMITY


65daysofstatic - 2006 tour dates:


JANUARY 2006

21st: LONDON, Barfly. XFM gig. With Mystery Jets, Long Blondes & others tbc.
26th: LEUVEN (Belgium), Stuk Kunstencentrum.
27th: ANTWERP (Belgium). De Natchen@De Singel.
28th: LEEUWARDEN (Holland), Venue tbc.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2006

Radio Protector UK Tour. 65daysofstatic (Media Lounge Visuals), Chris Clark, The Mirimar Disaster.

25th: NOTTINGHAM, The Rescue Rooms.
26th: NEWCASTLE, The Academy.
27th: EDINBURGH, The Gig.
28th: ABERDEEN, Moshulu.
1st: STOKE, The Sugarmill.
2nd: LEEDS, The Cockpit.
3rd: SHEFFIELD, The Leadmill.
4th: MANCHESTER, The Academy 3.
5th: BRISTOL, The Bierkeller.
6th: BIRMINGHAM, The Academy 2.
7th: LONDON, ULU.
8th: NORWICH, The Waterfront.
9th: OXFORD, The Zodiac.
10th: BRIGHTON, Concorde 2.

18 December 2005

First up, we are very excited to tell you that the 10" Trencher/Esquilax split (Mono-15) is now available to order from our website shop! This is a limited edition co-release with 5 other labels, and we only have about 120 copies available, so if you want a piece of the action, get your order in soon.

One side contains Trencher's 2004 Peel Session Casio Grindcore sensory assault and the other side contains a pummeling 13-track splatterfest by Esquilax. All on black and white 'bruised' thick vinyl, encased in an awesome silver and black sleeve.

And if that isn't enough, we have some fab Trencher T's you can give as gifts to all your mates! In fact, we have a load of band Ts available now - Thee More Shallows, Stinking Lizaveta, The Mass, Lower Forty-Eight. Just give us a shout and we'll sort you out. We hope to get some JPEGs up in our shop soon.

Also, as we are heading toward the end of the year, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us in 2005 by taking the time to read our long-winded mailouts, buying CDs / merch, attending shows connected with the label and its bands, helping out with promoting the music by putting on or performing in live shows, helping to spread the word via press/radio, word of mouth, or helping with booking shows, assisting with tours, artwork / website design, mastering, manufacturing, distribution, flyering, postering, etc.

A great big THANK YOU - we are indebted to you all! Very *special* thanks go to Kristina and Aaron...

The first half of 2006 will be a tremendously exciting period for the label. Among the highlights of what we we will be bringing you are:

The return of Stinking Lizaveta to the UK in January! YES!! And rumour has it they will be recording a new album soon with their old mate Steve Albini! Tour dates will be posted here very soon... meanwhile, you can check the latest dates on their website

ANOTHER 65daysofstatic tour in Feb/March! (They never stop!!) And some mainland europe dates in January and April, too! Their first venture across the channel... go here for the latest news on dates.

We will also have several outstanding new releases by Monotreme bands 65daysofstatic (7” single ‘Radio Protector’, out 27th of February), Ral Partha Vogelbacher (‘Shrill Falcons’ album, out in March), a new Thee More Shallows ep (out in March), Lower Forty-Eight’s new album ‘Apertures’ (April) PLUS we are extremely proud to be releasing albums by some awesome newcomers to the label - Barzin (‘My Life In Rooms’ album out late March), Cerberus Shoal ('The Land We All Believe In’ CD album out in April) and Aaron Stout’s debut album, ‘Queens Live In Caskets’, (late May). What a year 2006 promises to be!!

PLUS - tours by all of the above!

So please stay tuned for much more news very soon…



For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

15 October 2005

We have lots of exciting release and tour news for you. The brilliant new album by The Mass, ‘Perfect Picture of Wisdom and Boldness’ is out this week! You can buy it now from our shop. You can download an mp3 track from the album here. Or read some reviews here.

Also out this month on the 24th is the awesome new album by 65daysofstatic, ‘One Time for all Time’. The band went into the studio to record an ep, and came out with an entire album! You can buy it in advance from our shop from next week, or pick up a copy from the band themselves, as they are on tour for most of October. Here are their remaining tour dates: .

65daysofstatic – October 2005:

15th: LEICESTER, Charlotte **
16th: BRISTOL, The Croft **
17th: NEWCASTLE, Cluny **
18th: ABERDEEN, Moshulu **
19th: GLASGOW, Barfly **
20th: HULL, Adelphi **
21th: LEEDS, The Cockpit **
22th: CARDIFF, Barfly **
23th: ESSEX, University **
24th: EXETER, Cavern
25th: BRIDGEWATER, Silhouettes
26th: LONDON, Rhythm Factory **
* - with The Mirimar Disaster
** - with Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies


The Mass are also touring mainland Europe and the UK in October / November. Here are the dates so far:

October 2005:

20th: Köln, GERMANY - Access All Areas
21st: Gotha, GERMANY - Rock-INN
25th: Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC - 007
26th: Kromeríž, CZECH REPUBLIC - MC Slady
27th: Ziar Nad Hronom, SLOVAKIA - Skandal
28th: Linz, AUSTRIA - Ann and Pat
29th: Murska Sobota, SLOVENIA - MIKK
30th: Ilirska Bistrica, SLOVENIA - MKNZ
31st: Trbovlje, SLOVENIA - MCT

November 2005:

1st: Augsburg, GERMANY - Provino
5th: Liverpool, UK - Heaven & Hell
7th: Newcastle, UK - Egypt Cottage
8th: Edinburgh, UK - Subway (Cowgate)
9th: Oxford, UK - The Wheatsheaf
10th: Exeter, UK - The Cavern
11th: Brighton, UK - The Freebutt with Souvaris and Fell City Girl
12th: London, UK - Notting Hill Arts Club - Organ Magazine presents (Free afternoon show)
13th: London, UK – The Bull & Gate – Silver Rocket, Monotreme Records and Noisestar present: V.F. LOUD all-dayer – an all-day gig with Trencher, Cove, Bilge Pump, Die Munch Machine, Comanechi, Kyote, Silent Front, Team

+ more dates TBC. Keep checking the band's website for the latest.


And Picastro make a very welcome return to the UK in November, too! Their gorgeous new album, ‘Metal Cares’ is out now and has been collecting great reviews in the UK and mainland Europe, as well as north America. You can read some of them here.

Here are the November tour dates for Picastro:

13th: Birmingham - Flapper & Firkin (with Dwayne Sodahberk)
14th: London - Betsey Trotwood (with Dwayne Sodahberk)
15th: London - 93 Feet East (with Akron/Family)
16th: Manchester - Scubar Basement (with Dwayne Sodahberk)
17th: Bristol - Cube Cinema (with Akron/Family)
18th: Oxford - Wheatsheaf (with Dwayne Sodahberk)
19th: Brighton – The Freebutt (Monotreme Records Presents: with The Chap and Dwayne Sodahberk)


For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

10 July 2005

Thee More Shallows return to the UK this week to record a BBC Radio 1 session for Rob da Bank. We don’t know yet when the session will be aired, but we will let you know as soon as we find out. Meanwhile, the band will also be playing several live shows in London, including another special, handpicked-by-Monotreme bill. Here are the details:


Sunday, 17th July at The Yacht Club (a boat on the Thames opposite Temple Station)

Nosiestar and Jonson Family Records all-dayer, ‘Sink The Boat #10’

The More Shallows are on around 9 pm, but be sure and come early, as it may well sell out and the lineup is superb! See here here for more information.


Tuesday, 19th July at The Betsey Trotwood

Monotreme Records presents: Thee More Shallows, Rothko and Econoline. Plus Rehab DJ's Dancon1 and Pete Stormcrow. Map info here.

Those of you who attended the last Thee More Shallows gig at the Betsey Trotwood will know that this is a very small venue, so we advise you to book in advance via Ticketweb, or turn up early (doors are at 7:30, not 8 pm as stated in the flyer). There will be even fewer tickets on sale this time.

Here is a flyer you can download for £1 off the door price, created by the truly awesome Luke Drozd , who will surely be famous one day.

We are very proud indeed to have Rothko and Econoline joining Thee More Shallows on the bill. Please click on their names above to go to their websites.

Rothko:

“Like the painter, this Rothko creates giant canvasses of blissed-out colour.” - Arena

“…as omnipresent and inescapable as air or light, sustaining and enveloping everything around it.” -The Wire

“Rothko's quietly ecstatic ambience seeps easily through genre divides.” - Uncut

Econoline:

“guitars that would rather implode than quit chiming” -Everett True


Wednesday, 20th July at The Buzzard (Formerly Purple Turtle), Camden

With 13 & god (Themselves + The Notwist), The Chap (Thee More Shallows are on first). More info here

The Chap are one of the best live UK acts we’ve seen in a long time! And their new album is brilliant, too.


And last but not least, this week Thee More Shallows celebrate the North American release of their album 'More Deep Cuts' on Turn Records. So at last you North Americans can get your hands on a copy! There is some cool new artwork for this release, so completist nerds, take note!

For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

10 July 2005

Thee More Shallows return to the UK this week to record a BBC Radio 1 session for Rob da Bank. We don’t know yet when the session will be aired, but we will let you know as soon as we find out. Meanwhile, the band will also be playing several live shows in London, including another special, handpicked-by-Monotreme bill. Here are the details:


Sunday, 17th July at The Yacht Club (a boat on the Thames opposite Temple Station)

Nosiestar and Jonson Family Records all-dayer, ‘Sink The Boat #10’

The More Shallows are on around 9 pm, but be sure and come early, as it may well sell out and the lineup is superb! See here here for more information.


Tuesday, 19th July at The Betsey Trotwood

Monotreme Records presents: Thee More Shallows, Rothko and Econoline. Plus Rehab DJ's Dancon1 and Pete Stormcrow. Map info here.

Those of you who attended the last Thee More Shallows gig at the Betsey Trotwood will know that this is a very small venue, so we advise you to book in advance via Ticketweb, or turn up early (doors are at 7:30, not 8 pm as stated in the flyer). There will be even fewer tickets on sale this time.

Here is a flyer you can download for £1 off the door price, created by the truly awesome Luke Drozd , who will surely be famous one day.

We are very proud indeed to have Rothko and Econoline joining Thee More Shallows on the bill. Please click on their names above to go to their websites.

Rothko:

“Like the painter, this Rothko creates giant canvasses of blissed-out colour.” - Arena

“…as omnipresent and inescapable as air or light, sustaining and enveloping everything around it.” -The Wire

“Rothko's quietly ecstatic ambience seeps easily through genre divides.” - Uncut

Econoline:

“guitars that would rather implode than quit chiming” -Everett True


Wednesday, 20th July at The Buzzard (Formerly Purple Turtle), Camden

With 13 & god (Themselves + The Notwist), The Chap (Thee More Shallows are on first). More info here

The Chap are one of the best live UK acts we’ve seen in a long time! And their new album is brilliant, too.


And last but not least, this week Thee More Shallows celebrate the North American release of their album 'More Deep Cuts' on Turn Records. So at last you North Americans can get your hands on a copy! There is some cool new artwork for this release, so completist nerds, take note!

For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

7 June 2005

Some very exciting news from Monotreme HQ…

65daysofstatic will be appearing on Huw Stephen's BBC Radio 1 ‘One Music’ show TONIGHT between 11pm - 1am GMT, playing a 45-minute LIVE, unedited set in front of a lucky studio audience. So if you can tune in please join the party (97-99 FM in the UK or here on the www).

If you miss it, you should be able to stream the broadcast from the Radio 1 website later.

Also, 65daysofstatic are on tour this week – here are the remaining dates:

07/06/05 – Radio 1, Session broadcast live from Maida Vale
08/06/05 – Cambridge, The Portland
09/06/05 – Kingston, Kingston Peel
10/06/05 – London, The Barfly
11/06/05 – Nottingham, Rock City

And just confirmed – 65daysofstatic will be playing the Truck Festival in Oxford on Saturday, 23rd July.

After that then the band will hole up in an undisclosed location and work on their new album.

And here’s some more great news…

Thee More Shallows will be returning to the UK in July to record a session for Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank show. We will have more information about the broadcast date closer to the time. They will also play a few live shows before they fly back, so stay tuned for further announcements. If you haven’t picked up their new ep ‘Cuts Plus Two’ yet, you can get it from our shop or at many fine retail establishments, including those lovely folks at Norman Records.

Thanks to all who turned out to see Picastro on their first ever European tour. Thanks also to Knom Music for booking the tour and to Bikini Atoll for sharing their gear and their company with the band. Picastro enjoyed it so much they plan to return later in the year for another tour. Their new album, ‘Metal Cares’ has arrived from the pressing plant at last and it is stunning. Not only is the music beautiful, but the artwork is amazing. The album will be out in a few weeks but you can buy it now from our shop – go here to listen to an mp3 of the track ‘Sharks’.

Also, just a reminder that the current issue of The Wire magazine includes a free CD (Wire Tapper) which has an awesome, previously unreleased track by Picastro with Tigerbeat6 artist Dwayne Sodahberk.

For all of the latest news, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

7 May 2005

A quick update to let you know that Picastro will be touring the UK and Italy over the next few weeks – starting today! This is their first ever tour of Europe and we are very excited to have them here! We hope you can come out and see them.

All UK dates are with Bikini Atoll (Bella Union). We’ve been told that Picastro may or may not be headlining some of these dates but as yet we don't know which ones, so if you don't want to miss them be sure to get there early.

Here are the dates:

7th Oxford - Wheatsheaf
8th Norwich - Ferryboat
10th London - The Yacht Club
11th Exeter - The Cavern
13th Grimsby – The Matrix
14th Aberdeen - Tunnels
15th Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
16th Hull - Adelphi
17th Leicester - Pride of Leicester
18th Manchester - Star and Garter
20th Italy - Turin
21st Italy- FOOLTRIBE FESTIVAL-pista di pattinaggio(Mirandola)
22nd Italy - Alapalooda - Onara di Tombolo (Padova)
24th Italy - il Prezzemolo (Firenze) with Tanakh

The CD production for the new Picastro album has suffered some severe delays, so will not be out till later May / early June. If the shipment arrives in time we will do our best to get some to the band while they are on tour.

Picastro will have a track on the Wire Tapper compilation CD that comes free with the June issue of The Wire. The track is a previously unreleased collaboration with Tigerbeat6 artist Dwayne Sodahberk.

For all of the latest information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

18 April 2005

This week Thee More Shallows will be wrapping up their UK / European tour with two final shows in London:

Wednesday, 20th April - supporting The Thermals at Barden’s Boudoir in Stoke Newington. Also on the bill are 3hostwomexicansandatinofspanners, who are every bit as weird and wonderful as their name suggests! (We love 'em) Early arrival for this one is strongly advised. Brought to you by the good folks at KNOM.

Friday, 22nd April – KNOM and Monotreme Records present a very special end of tour show at the Betsey Trotwood in London, with Thee More Shallows headlining. We have also chosen two more fantastic bands to complete the bill: Detwiije, whose lovely string-laden instrumental soundscapes will leave you spellbound, and Lumiere Brothers - purveyors of beautifully twisted pop gems. The Betsey Trotwood is a very small venue (capacity 60), so we advise you to either buy your tickets in advance on Ticketweb - or print out the handy discount flyer found at here and turn up early to be sure to get in. We’d love to see you there!

On Wednesday before their gig, Thee More Shallows will be dropping in on the Glass Shrimp show on Resonance FM (or 104.4 in London) around 5-5:30 pm for a quick chat about their music and whatever else comes to mind. Also, Steve Lamacq is scheduled to be playing a track from the new Thee More Shallows ep ‘More Deep Cuts’ on his Radio 1 show on Monday evening. Our thanks to him and also to Rob da Bank and John Kennedy for playing tracks from the ep on their shows.

And a reminder that 65daysofstatic are still the road, tearing up stages (and themselves) and playing to packed venues all around the UK - so check out their tour dates at www.65daysofstatic.com and mark your diaries. You won’t be disappointed. The ‘Hole’ ep is pretty much sold out now (we have only a few copies left) but we plan to have a repress sometime soon, so no need to go on eBay just yet.

For the most up to date information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

1 March 2005

Stinking Lizaveta release their new album, ‘Caught Between Worlds’ on the 7th of March. To read more about the album and the band, go here. To listen to some mp3s from the album, go here. You can order the CD from our shop now – just click on the catalog link to the left.

The band will be touring the UK in March. Here are the dates so far. Please come out and see them, they are simply amazing live! Several of their dates will be with Monotreme favourites Hey Colossus , who are well worth checking out too.

15th London Barfly with Dead Meadow, Lords
16th TBC
17th TBC
18th TBC
19th Glasgow The Arc with Hey Colossus, Snowblood
20th Edinburgh Studio 24 with Hey Colossus, Snowblood, Jesus Elephant
21st Newcastle, The Tyne
22nd TBC
23rd Live session on London Resonance FM Glass Shrimp Programme
24th London The Yacht Club - A Noisestar 'Sink The Boat' event with Hey Colossus and Bilge Pump
25th Oxford, Wheatsheaf
26th Cardiff, venue TBC

65daysofstatic have completed their marathon tour of the UK. By all accounts it was a roaring success, and they managed to stay intact, apart from the loss of a little blood and some guitar strings. A big thank you to the band and to the other great bands who made the London ULU gig on the 21st so special – Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies , Redjetson and DJ Scotch Egg . I’m sure you will be hearing a lot more about all of these artists this year…

More exciting news for the 65 kids – They have just recorded a session and interview for BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe programme, which will be aired tomorrow, the 2nd of March, between 7pm and 9pm, we've just been told. Also, during the week of March 7th, the band will be ‘artists in residence’ on XfM radio’s John Kennedy X-posure programme, which will air the session tracks they recorded in January throughout the week.

And a new ep by the band will be out on the 14th of March. The ‘Hole’ ep contains the album track ‘Hole’ plus 4 new tracks and two remixes of album tracks ‘The Fall of Math’ (65dos remix) and Retreat! Retreat! (Mothboy remix). It also has the video of the track 'Retreat! Retreat!'. It's already getting lots of airplay on Radio 1 and XfM, and the the new video for the track Hole should be appearing in rotation in selected high street shops and on MTV2 soon.

If you missed the January / February tour or just want some more 65daysofstatic live, the band are already planning another whopping UK tour for April. Here are the dates so far:

Thurs 7th -Brighton, Pressure Point
Fri 8th -Bournemouth, Mr Smiths
Sun 10th -Southampton, The Joiners, with Redjetson
Mon 11th -Leicester, The Charlotte
Tues 12th -Hull, The Adelphi, with Thee More Shallows
Weds 13th -Leeds, Joseph's Well
Thurs 14th -Manchester, The Academy 3
Fri 15th -Oxford, The Wheatsheaf
Sat 16th -Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Sun 17th -Coventry, Browns Cafe Bar
Mon 18th -Norwich, The Ferryboat Inn
Tues 19th -Newcastle, Cumberland Arms
Weds 20th -Aberdeen, The Tunnels
Thurs 21st -Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
Fri 22nd -Edingburgh, The Bongo Club
Sun 24th -Cardiff Barfly
Mon 25th -Liverpool Barfly
Tues 26th -Derby, The Vic Inn
Weds 27th -Bristol, The Croft


March / April also sees the arrival of Thee More Shallows for their first tour in over two years. Their new album, ‘More Deep Cuts’ has appeared on numerous ‘top 10 of 2004’ lists and has been praised in the press as a ‘remarkable, mercurial masterpiece’. The album was voted 19th in the top 50 albums of 2004 in the Playlouder Readers' poll. There will be a new ep, ‘Cuts Plus Two’ out in April. We will have more news about this and the tour dates soon.

Also coming up is the gorgeous new Picastro album, ‘Metal Cares’. The band will be over on tour in May – we will have some dates for you soon.

For the most up to date information, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

27 November 2004

Plenty of exciting things going on here at Monotreme…

First off, the new 65daysofstatic CD maxi-single should be hitting the shops on the 29th of November. But you can buy a copy now right here – just click on the 'catalogue' link in the menu on the left. The single contains the track ‘Retreat! Retreat!’ from the album ‘The Fall Of Math’, plus the tracks ‘AOD’ and ‘The Major Cities Of The World Are Being Destroyed One By One By The Monsters’. It has already been made ‘single of the week’ on BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe programme, and was also awarded ‘single of the week’ by Organ Magazine. Quantities are limited, so be sure to get in there early if you want a copy.

The band has filmed a video for Retreat! Retreat! (produced by Media Lounge) which will be popping up all over the place soon, including TV, mobile phones, and video screens in high street shops, so look out for it. We have just heard that the video has been chosen as one of MTV2's 'Hot New Ones' on the NME chart show and the Gonzo show presented by Zane Lowe. The video will be shown all next week, starting this Sunday (the 28th) at 7pm (NME chart show) and then 7pm weekdays - Hot New Ones airs Monday and the song will be featured throughout the week on the Gonzo show. You should be able to vote for the video after the chart show on Sunday by going here

65daysofstatic have also recorded their Peel session for Radio 1 at Maida Vale studios last week. John Peel’s producer and the management at Radio 1 have decided to go ahead with the recording and broadcast of all previously scheduled Peel sessions, and we are all very honoured that the band has been allowed to record their session. The session has been scheduled for broadcast on the 9th of December. You can hear it on the radio or on the www between 11 pm – 1 am GMT at The Radio 1 website.

And more exciting session news - 65daysofstatic will be recording a session for the John Kennedy show on XfM sometime in the new year. We will let you know when the session is scheduled for broadcast. Also, The forthcoming ORG records compliation CD ‘ORGAN RADIO 21’ will contain album tracks by both Thee More Shallows (2AM) and 65daysofstatic (Hole), as well as many other great bands. We hope to have copies of the CD to sell soon. See the Org Records website for more info.

Look out for more new Monotreme releases in the first part of next year, including the awesome new album by Stinking Lizaveta, ‘Caught Between Worlds’ and the stunning follow-up to ‘Red Your Blues’ by Picastro called ‘Metal Cares’. We are also working on European tours for Stinking Lizaveta, Thee More Shallows and Picastro in the first half of 2005, and we will post the dates as they become available.

We are very pleased to announce that the debut album by The Mass, ‘City of Dis’, is finally getting its long awaited US release on the Crucial Blast label. The album is available to buy from the label now and will be in the shops on the 4th of January. The US version features enhanced CD-Rom video footage not available on the European release. The Mass will be playing some shows in early December supporting The Fucking Champs, and we highly recommend that you go see them if you happen to be in the San Francisco area. See The Mass website for more info. Here are a couple of quotes from live reviews of their recent London show Upstairs at The Garage with 65daysofstatic:

“THE MASS ARE AWESOME - I have never ever said any band were awesome before, it’s the most over used word in wordom, The Mass are Awesome! … The Mass never ever stop being interesting, they never ever stop totally rocking and thrashing and jazzing and progging and when he picks up that sax its not some icing on the top, it’s just a natural part of the whole of it. They build things up so so so well, how on earth can anyone follow that? …we’re slumped and gasping for air, The Mass were awesome.” -Organ Magazine

“Think Sweep The Leg Johnny, Converge and Mr Bungle mixing it up in a seedy back alley bar…When frontman Matt Waters pulls a saxophone to his lips and stabs at it DEP-style, The Mass cement their position as mavericks…why aren’t The Mass huge?”

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Barzin 'Songs for hinah' (hinah )

Billy Mahonie ‘Dust’ (Tritone)

Diamanda Galas "Defixiones Will And Testament' (Mute)

Diamanda Galas "La Serpenta Canta' (Mute)

Grails 'Red Light' (Neurot)

Half Asleep 'just before we learned to swim' (hinah )

n.lannon 'Chemical Friends' (Badman)

Neurosis 'The Eye of Every Storm' (Neurot)

Reigns 'Corners & The Straights / Recurring Attic Dream' 7" (Jonson Family Records)

Silver Rocket 'SR50 compilation' (Stupidcat Records)

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum 'Of Natural History' (Web Of Mimicry)

Sonny Smith 'One Act Plays'

Stafrænn Hákon 'Ventill/Poki' (Resonant)

Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies 'hurrah! another year, surely this one will be better than the last; the inexorable march of progress will lead us all to happiness' (Fierce Panda)

26 October 2004

R.I.P. John Peel

This is an incredibly sad day for Monotreme Records.

John Peel was a big hero of mine. He was the major inspiration for starting a record label and throughout the decades he served as a champion for diversity and integrity in music, and a rallying point for people who felt alienated by the mainstream.

In this day and age of disposable hipster trendiness, the coolest person in the music world was a tubby, balding, self-effacing 65 year-old man with a soothing voice and a gentle sense of humour, who for the better part of 40 years blew every other broadcaster out of the water with his unerring pursuit of the cutting edge and willingness to champion artists who may never have had a chance without him because they didn't fit the right corporate template.

Nothing made me prouder and happier than when he played some of the Monotreme artists and when 65daysofstatic got offered a Peel session - which was due to be recorded on November 18th. I don't think it can ever get any better than that for me!

My heart goes out to his family and to all of the musicians and music fans around the world who have lost a champion for their cause. Who can ever replace him? And yet his influence will continue to live on in those of us whom he inspired - of that I am certain.

Thank you, John! We miss you. XX

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

14 October 2004

A quick announcement to let you know about an upcoming event in London next weekend which promises to be rather special:

Silver Rocket, Monotreme Records and Jonson Family proudly present:

'AN ALL DAY GIG'...

Sunday 24th October, 2004
The Rhythm Factory, 16-18, Whitechapel Rd, London, E1
3pm-11pm
£7 (advance - see below)/£8 (on the day)

Appearing are:


65daysofstatic:
With loads of airplay by Peel, Lamacq and even Zane Lowe their debut album 'The Fall Of Math' is also getting excellent reviews in ORGAN, Kerrang! The Wire, Rock Sound, and a host of other mags. They have been described as Squarepusher meets Mogwai, or the Aphex Twin with guitar, but that doesn't do their innovative (some say revolutionary) sound full justice. Thier live shows are viciously euphoric, frenetic, overwhelming, bordering on chaos and really, really loud.

Jason and the Astonauts:
South coast dwelling post hardcore band - unpredictably tuneful, noisy and clean limbed.

Cove:
Taking the POWER trio as their motto, driving rhythms slashing guitars super rock riffing and a Shellac worthy sense of timing.

Help She Can't Swim:
Fantastic lo-fi girl fronted hyperactive indie rock, think Bikini Kill/Huggy Bear crossed with Sonic Youth, Pretty Girls make Graves and Gravy Train.

Spraydog:
Long time Peel faves making well loved indie rock, like Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine, the Delgados and Sonic Youth.

Charlottefield:
Fat Cat/Jonson family's best singles of recent times have come from this collision of Captain Beefheart rhythms, The Fall's sensibilities and Fugazi's sonics.

The Edmund Fitzgerald:
Highly intellectual but lovable math rock from oxford, it's a mystery to all how they manage their superb timings.

Phil Collins 3:
Imagine the Nation of Ulysses wearing crazy costumes playing the beginners guide to melt banana. Now you're half way to the eccentric genius of the PC3.

Ship's a Going Down:
Post-rock with angular guitars in the style of Slint and Billy Mahonie mixed with a touch of Godspeed beauty...

Click here for more information. Hope to see you there!

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

18 September 2004

The Monotreme web pages for 65daysofstatic are now up. Go here to read about the band and the album - including photos, reviews, etc. and go here to listen to some mp3s from the album and see the tracklist and cover art. Or click on the 'Catalogue' link to the left to take you there - and while you are at it, why not order a copy of the 65daysofstatic and Thee More Shallows albums? Both have been receiving some excellent reviews, which you can read here and here. We now accept payment by PayPal.

And some more exciting tour news for you - The Lower-Forty-Eight / The Mass joint tour of Europe is gathering momentum like an 18-wheeled juggernaut going down a steep mountain pass with no brakes, culminating on the 29th of September in a showcase gig in Berlin at The Popkomm festival. Check here for up-to-date information of their remining dates on the mainland.

Then on the 1st of October, there will be a very special gig in London - the Silver Rocket Club whom we admire greatly are putting on not one but two Monotreme bands Upstairs at The Garage - cutting edge noise tykes 65daysofstatic are headlining the bill, preceeded by those maestros of weird and wonderful heaviness, The Mass. And to round it all off, up-and coming purveyors of angular rock, TEAM (who share a manager with 65daysofstatic) will aso be performing, so be sure and get there early, as it promises to be a top night of entertainment. Add in to that mix a club nite that goes on into the early hours driven by the unbeatable Silver Rocket DJs, and you'd really need a good reason to miss this one. You might need some earplugs, too, as it can get a bit loud sometimes...

We will have more tour dates to announce soon, so stay tuned.

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

24 August 2004

We have updated the web pages for the new Thee More Shallows album. Click on the 'Catalogue' link to the left to take you there - lots of new photos and some mp3s from the album. The web pages for 65daysofstatic will be up very soon.

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

24 July 2004

We are very excited to announce two new Monotreme releases, which will both be out in late September. For fans of Thee More Shallows, the long wait for a follow up to their 2002 debut album is almost over. And we can assure you that the new album, 'More Deep Cuts' has been well worth the wait! We will have more about that soon. Meanwhile, you can hear a couple of the tracks from the new album ('House Break' and 'Freshman Thesis') by clicking here and here.

And equally exciting is the news of the addition of another fantastic band to the Monotreme roster - 65daysofstatic, from Sheffield, UK, who are rapidly gaining a reputation as a band to watch. Their self-released, limited to 1,000 copies ep 'stumble.stop.repeat' quickly sold out, and was designated 'single of the week / month' in various review magazines, and also earned the admiring comment "Rather excellent!" from DJ John Peel. Their debut album, 'The Fall of Math' will be out in late September, and with it the band have continued to expand their unique blend of rock, dance and electronica. To hear some mp3s of tracks from the new 65daysofstatic album ('I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood' and 'Hole'), click here and here.

We plan to have some new web pages for both bands up soon, including lots of cool new pix!

Also, some exciting tour news: Lower Forty-Eight and The Mass will be coming over for a joint European tour in September. Here are the dates so far - more to be added very soon:

European booking by Roadshock.

8 September - Netherlands - Eindhoven - AOR

10 September - Netherlands - Utrecht - ACU

14 September - Germany – Chemnitz - Subway to Peter

17 September - Poland – Sienlawka - Wiktor

18 September - Czech. – Varnsdorf – KD - Rozkrok

24 September - Switzerland – Bremgarten - KuZe B

28 September - Germany – Dresden - AZ Conni

29 September - Germany – Berlin - Duncker (PopKomm showcase)

And Matthew Solberg, who plays bass in The Mass, is currently on a tour of Europe / the UK with his other band, From Monument To Masses, who are on the Dim Mak label. Be sure and catch them if you can. For a list of tour dates, go here.

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

16 April 2004

The Picastro ‘Red Your Blues’ CD is out now. To promote the release of the album, Liz Hysen and Rachel McBride (cello) will be coming to the UK for a brief visit next week to do two radio sessions. The first one will be a live in the studio session for Gideon Coe’s BBC 6Music programme at around 12:00 on Monday the 19th of April. You can listen to this on the web or on digital radio – see the BBC 6Music website for more details.

Liz and Rachel will also be recording a session for syndicated broadcast on the Student Broadcast Network (SBN) – more news later on when that will air. In addition to that, Liz Hysen has done a telephone interview for the Belgian national radio Radio 1 Cucamonga Show which is scheduled for broadcast on Monday the 19th between 9-11 pm European time (GMT+1). You can listen to it on the wwww: go to http://www.radio1.be/, click on ‘prorammas’ and then ‘Cucamonga’ (Monday) for more information.

Following the UK trip, Picastro will be embarking on a tour of the USA, playing shows with friends Cerberus Shoal and Scout Niblett, among others. Here are the dates for the tour:

Wednesday, April 21 - Buffalo, NY - Soundlab - with Dear Families and Born Heller

Thursday, April 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Tritone - with Cerberus Shoal, Garden State and the Motorists

Friday, April 23 - Boston, MA - The Zeitgeist - with Tigersaw, Viking Moses

Saturday, April 24 - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head Club - with Cerberus Shoal and the American

Sunday, April 25 - Arlington, VA - Galaxy Hut - with Cerberus Shoal

Monday, April 26 - Brooklyn, NY - Pete's Candy Store - with Scout Niblett and Yalan

Tuesday, April 27 - Columbus, OH - Parker Paul's house

Wednesday, April 28 - Bloomington, IN - Bear's Place - with Cerberus Shoal And Justin Vollmar

Thursday, April 29 - Pittsburgh, PA - Quiet Storm - with Hope Harveys



To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

04 March 2004

This month sees the long-awaited UK/European release of Picastro’s gorgeous debut album, ‘Red Your Blues’. Picastro hail from Toronto, Canada, and ‘Red Your Blues’ has already had a sold-out release on the US label Pehr. Picastro’s music is characterized by broodingly beautiful soundscapes, in which cello is used as a lead ‘vocal’ along with front woman Liz Hysen’s submerged, murmered vocals. Fans of the string-laden dynamics of bands such as The Dirty Three, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Rachels may find a new band to enjoy in Picastro. The album won’t be hitting the shops until the 29th, but if anyone would like to order a copy from the website for immediate delivery, please see the catalog page for ordering information. You can find more information about the band and the album, including reviews, here and download some mp3s here.

Ral Partha Vogelbacher’s ‘Kite vs Obelisk’ has now been released on mainland Europe, where it has received many excellent reviews, including several perfect scores. As soon as we get some translations we will put them up. And several more album reviews have been added to the web pages for The Mass and Lower Forty-Eight, so please take a look and see what people have been saying about them. We’ve also got some ace new photos up for The Mass. The English text of an interview that Lower Forty Eight did recently for the German webzine Broken Violence can be found here, and the band are currently being interviewd for another German website, so expect more soon.

We are also periodically adding new links to the links page - please take a look if you have the time. We have more exciting news on the way. If you would like to be kept up to date with all of the latest Monotreme news, please join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com with the word ‘subscribe’ in the subject line

03 January 2004

‘Skin Failure’ by Lower Forty-Eight and ‘City of Dis’ by The Mass are out now. We have added some new reviews to the reviews pages (here for Lower Forty-Eight and here for The Mass). The UK/European tour for the bands is being arranged now – we hope to post a full list of dates here soon.

The Ral Partha Vogelbacher album ‘Kite vs Obelisk’ will be released throughout continental Europe in late January with distribution by Cargo.

More good news – The wonderful debut album by the Canadian band Picastro will be released in the UK/Europe in March – we will have more information about this soon. We have also received the exciting news that Thee More Shallows are putting the final tweaks on their sophomore album, so if all goes well we hope to set a release date sometime before the summer. Plans are underway to get Picastro, Thee More Shallows and Ral Partha Vogelbacher over on tour before the year is through.

Wishing you all a happy new year!

To join our mailing list send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

A Silver Mount Zion "This Is Our Punk Rock," Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing' (Constellation)

Bardo Pond ‘On The Ellipse’ (ATP)

Barzin 'Barzin' (Ocean Music)

Beecher 'Breaking the Fourth Wall' (Calculated Risk)

Black Eyes 'Black Eyes'(Dischord)

Bonfire Madigan 'Plays for Change' (MoonPuss)

Cat on Form ‘Structure and Fear’ (Southern)

Death Cab for Cutie ‘Transatlanticism’ (Fierce Panda)

Experimental Dental School 'Hideous Dance Attack!!!' (www.experimentaldental.com)

Film School 'alwaysnever' (Amazing Grease)

Foe 'Arm Yourself with Clairvoyance' (House of Stairs)

From Monument to Masses 'The Impossible Leap in 100 Simple Steps' (Dim Mak)

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci 'Sleep Holidy' (Sanctuary)

Stafrænn Hákon ''Skvettir Edik à Ref' (Resonant)

Isis 'Oceanic' (IPECAC)

Jetplane Landing 'Once Like a Spark' (Small Town America)

Mono 'One Step More And You Die' (Rykodisc)

Montana Pete 'Baige' (www.montanapete.co.uk)

Paul The Girl 'Electro Magnetic Blues' (Inconvenient)

Rachels 'Systems/Layers' (Quarterstick)

Replicator 'Winterval' album and "" ep (www.replicator5000.com)

Ship’s A Going Down 'May She Marry A Ghost And Bear Him A Kitten' ep (Vacuous Pop)

Tangaroa 'Tangaroa' ep (Raw Nerve Promotions)

The Fucking Champs 'Greatest Hits' (Matador)

Upstate 'Missing'Soundtrack (Friendly Psychics)

Various Artists 'The Combined Stupidity of Spiteful Men' (House of Stairs)

Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies 'Let's Get Going...You're fracturing me With This Misery' (Quick Fix)

23 September 2003

Just a quick update to say that both Mono-05, ‘Skin Failure’ by Lower Forty-Eight, and Mono-06, ‘City of Dis’ by The Mass will be out in mid-October. Needless to say, we are very excited about these two albums, and we think that you will be too once you've heard them. While you are waiting, you can look at the new web pages we’ve added for both bands and listen to some mp3s. For photos and press release for Lower Forty-Eight, go here. For mp3s by Lower Forty-Eight go here. For photos and press release for The Mass go here. For mp3s by The Mass go here. If you would like to order either of these albums directly from us, click on the ‘catalogue’ link in the menu bar or email us.

We are also pleased to announce that following a successful UK tour in June, Virgil Shaw has been invited back to the UK to co-headline a Way Beyond Nashville Festival gig at The Borderline in London, and we are proud to be booking the UK dates for this very talented songwriter and performer. This time Virgil will be touring solo with just his guitar and a head full of magical songs. The date for the Way Beyond Nashville show will be the 31st of October, so if you’re looking for a bewitchin' good time this Halloween, be sure to come along. Sharing the bill will be co-headliner Paul Burch, plus Eve Sellis in support. More treat than trickery, we assure you! Virgil will also be playing some more UK dates in October (including a return to the wonderful Windmill in London and another great Pop Art vs. Industry production in Manchester), and we will have more information about that very soon. If you haven’t yet picked up a copy of Virgil Shaw’s latest album, ‘Still Falling’ on Munich Records, treat yourself to something special – after all, it’s nearly Christmas…

If you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

20 July 2003

The Ral Partha Vogelbacher Album ‘Kite vs Obelisk’ is out now. You can read more about it here, including some reviews, and to hear some mp3s from the album go here. BBC Radio 3’s ‘Mixing It’ programme will be broadcasting a track from the album tonight. The programme will be available on their website for one week following the broadcast.

Thanks to everyone who came to see Chad Bidwell's first ever UK dates. We hope there will be many more to come. Thanks also to everyone who turned out to see Virgil Shaw and the Killer Views and Felix Costanza during their UK tour. We hope to get them back over to the UK again soon.

Special thanks to James Moore of Do Something Pretty, Charlie Peverett and Dave Morrison of Gilded Palace of Sin Promotions in Brighton, Nick and Dan of Artsvsindustry Promotions in Manchester, and Barry Everritt at The Borderline, Tim Perry at The Windmill, and Matt of Rough Trade Rota in London for putting the bands on, and to Bernie in Manchester and Charlie in Brighton for their outstanding hospitality.

We have several new albums on the way, so there will be more news about them very soon. The next two will be Mono-05, ‘Skin Failure’ by Lower Forty-Eight and Mono-06, ‘City of Dis’ by The Mass, followed by Mono-03, ‘Red Your Blues’ by Picastro. So please stay tuned.

If you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

3 June 2003

Apologies for the long gap between updates. We have been working hard on several new releases and some tours, too. Lots of news for you. First the not so good news: The Ral Partha Vogelbacher album 'Kite vs Obelisk' will not be out until the 7th of July. Our resident Feng Shui expert has decreed that the cases of CDs must sit in a precise formation for a specific period of time, and who are we to argue? To help make the wait more bearable, we have put up an mp3 file of another track from the album called 'Walking A Sickly Bobcat South Of Your Cedar Infested Estate' here for your entertainment. And to make things even more enjoyable, we have persuaded Chadwick Bidwell of Ral Partha Vogelbacher to come over to the UK for a couple of solo tour dates in June, so please come along and see him if you can and you will be able to buy a copy of the new album before it hits the shops. So far the dates are:

15th June - Brighton @ The Hanbury Ballroom with Virgil Shaw and the Killer Views and Felix Costanza (Granfaloon Bus)

18th June - London @ The Windmill, Brixton with Broken Leaf (formerly Teflon Monkey)

And more exciting tour news: Two Monotreme favourite artists, Virgil Shaw and Felix Costanza (front man of Granfaloon Bus) will be coming very soon to play several dates in the UK. Virgil Shaw's last album 'Still Falling' (Munich Records) was a top Monotreme pick for 2002, and Granfaloon Bus's critically acclaimed album 'Exploded View' (Glitterhouse) took up almost permanent residence in the Monotreme CD player the year before that, and their newly released album, 'Lucky Curtains', shows no signs of stopping either. Virgil Shaw will be bringing his band, 'The Killer Views' with him, and Felix Costanza will be playing a solo set of new and old songs. This will be his first ever UK appearance, so don't miss out. When Vigil Shaw's previous album, 'Quad Cities' came out, members of the band Grandaddy were so impressed by it they invited Virgil to open0their US tour for them. Upon discovering that Virgil Shaw will be in the UK at the same time Grandaddy are touring here, they pulled a few strings and got the band added to the bill on their London date at the Astoria, so if you are going to see Grandaddy, be sure to arrive early. Here's a list of the tour dates:

8th June - London @ The Windmill, Brixton with The Larry Love Show Band (featuring members of Alabama 3)

11th June - Manchester @ Tmesis Bar (support: Chris Evans - no, not THAT Chris Evans!)

12th June - London @ The Astoria with Grandaddy (Virgil Shaw and The Killer Views only)

13th June - London @ The Borderline with Redlands Palomino Co. (Broken Family Band on first)

14th June - London @ Notting Hill Arts Club - a free Rough Trade Rota Afternoon

15th June - Brighton @ The Hanbury Ballroom (support: Ral Partha Vogelbacher solo set)


Some press quotes for Virgil Shaw and the Killer Views:

"What I have been listening to is Virgil Shaw's Quad Cities" (Grandaddy, The Best Thing I've Heard All Year, MOJO January 2001) "Virgil's songs fracture images, turn them sideways, and hold them up to the ultraviolet, letting us lucky ones see not just a snapshot, but the beautiful, warped depth of it all. He's damn near the best we got." - JIM FAIRCHILD / GRANDADDY

“A place where the mystic Americana of the Band meets Mr Shaw’s own surreal tales and hard-luck images” NEW YORK TIMES

“Full of beautiful abstractions. Weird like Roky Erickson and soulful like Van Morrison.” ROLLING STONE

"a real doozy slice of rich and sparse, slow'd and sonic, rumbling rural moodsome might and melody. [Still Falling] is a pleasingly pliant and plaintive thing of notable grit, graft, heft and harumph." TIME OUT LONDON

‘Album of the week’ – The Independent

"an intense record that trumps Will Oldham's last record in expressiveness and quality" DE VOLKSRANT


Some press quotes for Granfaloon Bus:

"with Costanza's desolate, whiskey-soaked lyric book in one hand, and the other on the wheel, Granfaloon Bus keeps moving it's woozy, boozy, tires toward all points serious, shimmering, and soulful." BILLBOARD

"This as near a perfect blending of country and indie pop sensibilities and sounds as I could hope for. One of the nicest surprises I've had in a while." INK19

"Granfaloon Bus manages to capture both the charm of indie lo-fi-ness and the timeless-ness of old time recordings...I'll give this an A+. IN MUSIC WE TRUST"

"think perhaps the organic unity of the new Sparklehorse album or Drunk’s shimmering early records…This is the soundtrack to Dali’s Persistence Of Memory - Dali gone bucolic and settled down on a porch somewhere in the Deep South." COMES WITH A SMILE

We hope you can make it to one of these shows.

And still more news. Later in the year we will be releasing three more albums - 'Red Your Blues' by Picastro, 'Skin Failure' by Lower Forty-Eight, and an as yet unnamed album by an as yet unnamed band that used to be called The Mass. We are tremendously excited about all of these new releases and we'll have more news about them soon and some mp3 files for you to listen to.

If you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Granfaloon Bus 'Lucky Curtains' (Glitterhouse)

Howe Gelb 'The Listener' (Thrill Jockey)

Califone 'Quicksand/Cradlesnakes' (Thrill Jockey)

M Ward 'Transfiguration of Vincent' (Matador)

27 February 2003

We hope you have been enjoying the new mp3 file, 'Red Hot Tugboat' from the forthcoming Ral Partha Vogelbacher album, 'Kite vs Obelisk'. We are sorry to have to report that the release of the album will be delayed, as the CDs have been enjoying multiple return excursions to the manufacturing plant to iron out all of those little problems that tend to occur from time to time. We will keep you posted on the release date, and if we get really bored waiting, we may put up another mp3 file for your enjoyment.

Meanwhile, we have taken this opportunity to post a couple of new reviews of the Ral Partha Vogelbacher ep 'Whistle Like You Mean It' here. Also, Thee More Shallows' album 'A History of Sport Fishing' got a nice review, an interview with the band and a place in the 'top 10 albums of 2002' list at Sponic.

There are also some new links on the links page - have a look here...

If you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 'Master and Everyone' (Domino)

The Mountain Goats 'Tallahassee' (4AD)

Giddy Motors 'Make It Pop'' (Fatcat)

Devendra Banhart 'The Charles C. Leary' (Hinah)

Natural Snow Buildings 'Ghost Folks' (Hinah)

7 December 2002

In anticipation of the forthcoming release of the Ral Partha Vogelbacher album, 'Kite vs Obelisk', we have uploaded an mp3 file of one of the tracks from the album, 'Red Hot Tugboat' to the website. If you would like to hear the track, all you need to do is click here. The 'Kite vs Obelisk' album should be out in February.

At last we can announce the winner of our contest. Hamish the hamster, who had the final say in the selection of the winner, was powerfully attracted to the entry sent in by Lee from Brighton. I'm sure the fact that the entry was written on a lettuce leaf did not influence Hamish's selection, although the winning entry was devoured within seconds after it was chosen. Lee correctly identified the Joy Division song that Thee More Shallows covered on their UK tour last month as 'Disorder', and will be duly rewarded with a Thee More Shallows T-shirt. We hope that it will become an essential item in his wardrobe.

As always, if you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Virgil Shaw 'Still Falling' (Munich Records)

Timesbold 'Timesbold' (Zeal Records)

Peace Not War Compilation (Peace Not War Project)

The Black Heart Procession 'Amore Del Tropico' (Touch and Go)

26 October 2002

The Thee More Shallows UK tour has come and gone in a blur of motorways and music. If you missed it, you not only missed hearing some great live versions of songs from ‘A History of Sport Fishing’, you also missed the chance to hear a few stunning new songs, as well as covers of Joy Division and Billy Idol songs. For those of you who were there, we are having a contest: Whoever correctly names the Joy Division song that the band covered on the tour will be entered into a drawing for a Thee More Shallows T-shirt. Please email your entry to joyohjoydivisioncontest@monotremerecords.com. You can also snail mail your entry to:

‘Gimme that T-shirt!’
c/o Monotreme Records Ltd.
PO Box 31395
London SW11 1XT, UK

All bribes will be accepted but will not sway the judges’ final decision. The drawing will take place on the 30th of November. A small rodent may or may not be used in the final selection process.

Thanks to everyone who turned out for the gigs, and special thanks to all of the people who worked so hard to help put the tour together, including Rare Pleasures Promotions in London, Vacuous Pop Promotions in Oxford, Charlie Peverett of Fear of America/Gilded Palace of Sin/Flying Machine in Brighton, Norman Records in Leeds, Club Tokyo Lucky Hole in Birmingham, and Magic Teapot promotions in Leicester. Thanks very much also to Jetplane Landing, who invited the band to support them at the Roadhouse in Manchester and who wowed the audience with their dynamic performance.

Special thanks also to Paul ‘Skippy’ Filmer, who drove the van for the first two tour dates and shortly afterwards emigrated from the UK for good – we hope the latter had nothing to do with the former, and we wish him all the best in Denver. Paul also took some nice photos of the Birmingham gig, which you can see on his website: http://www.skippyscage.com/theemoreshallows/tmsphoto01.html

And a huge thank you to Simon ‘Snuff’ Wells, the best driver / tour guide / sound & lighting man / photographer / general morale booster that anyone could ever wish to be cooped up with in a white van for days on end,for making the tour so much fun that everyone is eager to do it all again next year.

Also Jim Johnstone of Alan James PR for his tireless promotion efforts, Scott at Century 23 in Edinburgh for the short-notice production of fabulous T-shirts, Mick and Dave in Leicester for putting us all up and helping to find the band a gig there, and Stuart Bannister in Leeds for his sonic wizardry.

And of course, the biggest thanks of all go to Thee More Shallows, who not only performed brilliantly but were also the most agreeable, enthusiastic and funny people you could ever wish to be on tour with. Core members Tadas Kisielius and David ‘Dee’ Kesler were joined on the tour by Brian Fraser on drums and Andy Lund on bass, two very talented people whose own musical projects are highly recommended listening.

Next up from Monotreme will be a full-length album by Ral Partha Vogelbacher, ‘Kite vs Obelisk’ (due out in February), which has sent serotonin levels at Monotreme Records HQ soaring, and a 12” album of beautiful songs by Waterworks, which will be out once we’ve managed to sort out the artwork for it. We’ll have more news about those releases soon.

To join our mailing list and be kept up to date on all things Monotreme, all you need to do is send an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Ral Partha Vogelbacher 'Kite vs Obelisk' (demo)

The Rail Gun Ensemble 'Best of 7-9' (demo) (King of Sticks)

Lower 48 demo tracks (King of Sticks)

Shellac Live at All Tomorrow's Parties (cheers, Mik!)

Snuff 'Snuffsaidbutgorblimeyguvstonemeifhedidn'tthrowawobblerchachachachacha
chachachachachachayou'regoinghomeinacosmicambience' (Workers Playtime, 1989)

15 September 2002

Thee More Shallows UK tour!

We are happy to announce that Thee More Shallows will be coming to the UK for a tour very soon. Here are the dates of the gigs they will be playing:

27 September - Birmingham - The Market Tavern - Club Tokyo Lucky Hole

28 September - London - Arts Cafe, Toynbee Hall - Thee More Shallows + support TBC

30 September - Leeds - The Packhorse - Thee More Shallows + Dragon Rapide

2 October - Oxford - The Cellar - Thee More Shallows + Hollowphonic +The Workhouse

3 October - Manchester - The Roadhouse - Jetplane Landing + Thee More Shallows

4 October - Leicester - International Arts Centre - Hem + Thee More Shallows + Nectar

5 October - Brighton - Palmer's Bar - Thee More Shallows + Flying Machine

We hope you can make it to one of these gigs. We were very excited to learn that Thee More Shallows will be supporting two bands that are big Monotreme favourites: Jetplane Landing and Hem. And new friends and favourites Flying Machine will be supporting the band in Brighton, but they are also doing their own UK tour, so be sure and catch them if they play in your area.

A new review of Thee More Shallows' album, 'A History of Sport Fishing' (Mono-01) can be found in the current issue of Uncut magazine. You can read it here. There is also a review of the Ral Partha Vogelbacher 7" ep 'Whistle Like You Mean It' (Mono-02) in the current issue of Record Collector. A copy of that review can be found here.

We are hard at work preparing our next release, which will be a limited 12" vinyl album by Waterworks containing some demo tracks we first heard last year and have been madly in love with ever since. This will be followed up next year with another album of beautiful songs. We have also just received the master for the new Ral Partha Vogelbacher album, 'Kite vs Obelisk', and it is an absolute scorcher. Witty, humourous, melodic and flat-out rockin' in places. These guys pack more into a 2-minute song than many artists do in an entire album. Look for that one in February.

As always, if you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

3 August 2002

We've added some new links to the 'links' page and on the Thee More Shallows page in the reviews section we have added a link to a piece written by John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats on his 'Last Plane to Jakarta' website and 'zine, which you can find here. It appears that he's a big fan of the Megalon label (who put out Thee More Shallows and Ral Partha Vogelbacher in the USA) and he has written an article about what a great label Megalon is, and how much he likes both Thee More Shallows' 'A History of Sport Fishing' and Ral Partha Vogelbacher. Singled out for special mention is a Ral Partha Vogelbacher track that appears on Monotreme 01. So if you want to know which Ral Partha Vogelbacher tune has been stuck in John Darnielle's head for months, listen to the sound clip of 'The Sunshine Hates Your Guts And Wants To Eat Your Brains' here, or buy the 'Whistle Like You Mean It' ep and get the entire track along with two other tracks that you will be humming to yourself and maybe even singing out loud in the shower (soap-on-a-rope microphone optional). They really do stick inside your head! If you haven't heard of The Mountain Goats you are missing a real treat - go here to find out all about them.

If you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

The Breeders 'Title TK' (4AD)

Piano Magic 'Writers Without Homes' (4AD)

The Flaming Lips 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots' (Warner Bros.)

Mum 'Finally We Are No One' (Fatcat)

Waterworks Demos

8 July 2002

The Ral Partha Vogelbacher 7" ep, 'Whistle Like You Mean It', is out now. The ep is limited to 350 copies and comes in a beautiful hand-letterpressed sleeve, created by Ral Partha Vogelbacher (aka Chad Bidwell) himself. And the music, you ask? Three tracks of gentle lo-fi low-key quirkiness, with six strings and quiet vocals reminiscent of M Ward and Howe Gelb. Step into a world where vampire slayers, hummingbird brains, angel's fingers and lion's breath co-exist in perfect harmony. And if you like what you hear, be sure to check out Ral Partha Vogelbacher's full-length album on Megalon Records, 'The More Nice Fey Elven Gnomes Are Hiding In My Toilet Again.' For more information about this release and the artist, including sound clips, photos and reviews, click on the 'catalogue' link.

The debut album by Thee More Shallows, 'A History of Sport Fishing' should now be available in your favourite local indie music outlet. If they don't have it, you can either ask them to order it for you or check our 'links' page for a list of places that stock it. You can also order it and the Ral Partha Vogelbacher ep directly from us - see the 'catalogue' page for more details about the album, the artist and how to order. Some reviews of the album can be found here.

We have also updated our 'links' page, so any of you net surfers with time and bandwidth to spare may want to take a look at that.

We hope to bring you more news about our next release by the artists formerly (and still) known as Waterworks soon, so please stay tuned for more information.

As always, if you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Now Playing:

Sierpinski 'This Geography of Ours' (Jonathon Whiskey)

Bathyscaphe 'Road Movie' (Lykill)

Spraydog 'Mint Hand' (Stupidcat)

Paloma 'Actresses Date Actors' (62TV)

Dishwater Psychics 'The Signal Will Fade ep' (Friendly Psychics Music)

Jesse Harris and the Ferdinandos 'Crooked Lines' (Bean Records)

Joseph Nothing 'Dreamland Idle Orchestra' (Planet Mu)

Wire Live at All Tomorrow's Parties (cheers, Mik!)

19 June 2002

Just a quick update to let you know that a few more excellent reviews of the Thee More Shallows debut album 'A History of Sport Fishing' have come in since Monday. You can find them here.

17 June 2002

The debut album by Thee More Shallows, 'A History of Sport Fishing', (Monotreme 02) is out now. Well, sort of. The distributors got carried away marking the important date on their calendar with the bingo marker I mentioned in the last update, and got a bit confused, so the album probably won't be reaching a fine retail establishment near you until the 24th. But if you're feeling especially eager, you can always order it directly from us. The truth is, we just can't wait any longer because we are far too excited.

I could bang on and on about what a brilliant album this is, but you probably wouldn't be willing to just take my word for it. Fortunately, some people whose words you may be much more inclined to believe have been awarding the album enough stars to form a substantial constellation. We have added some more wonderful reviews of the album to the rapidly growing collection. Go here to read them. And may we take this opportunity to say to all of those lovely people who wrote such kind words about the album, thanks very much! Any time you would like to drop in for a cup of tea you will always be welcome at Monotreme HQ. We will keep your favourite biscuits on hand just in case.

If any of you were lucky enough to be in Paris last Wednesday and tuned in to the Planet Claire programme on Aligre FM 93.1, you would have been able to hear a track from the album (Where Are You Now?). And even if you weren't there, you can still hear Wednesday's programme via Real Audio from their website for a while longer. The tracklisting for last Wednesday's programme can be found here. Many thanks to Francois Bousquet for playing it.

Astute observers among you will have noticed that we are releasing Monotreme 02 before Monotreme 01. This is not an attempt on our part to subvert any *numerical system. The birth of Monotreme 01 involved a more difficult labour, which required the use of a plumber's plunger and some ice tongs to coax it out. But at last it is ready and it is a real beauty, so we will slap it on its bottom and send it into the world on July 1. Ral Partha Vogelbacher's 'Whistle Like you Mean It' 7" ep contains three wonderfully whimsical songs and comes packaged in a to-die-for heavy paper sleeve designed and hand-letterpressed by the artist himself. A man of unlimited talent and charm, our Ral Partha Vogelbacher, as are all of the Monotreme artists. The glorious album artwork for the Thee More Shallows album was designed by none other than Tadas Kisielius of Thee More Shallows. You can view images of these magnificent covers by clicking on the 'catalogue' link in the menu bar. If you click on the cover images you can download some sound clips, and if you click on the artists' names you can read all about the releases, including reviews, and also see some pretty pictures of the artists themselves. Happy clicking.

With two such fine releases to start off the label, we could easily be forgiven for resting on our laurels, but we don't want to crease our laurels, so we are already hard at work preparing to bring you something very special by yet another divinely talented group of musicians known as Waterworks. We will have more news about that soon.

Remember, if you would like to join our mailing list you can do so by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject line.

5 May 2002

Thanks to everyone who eagerly accepted the free Monotreme Records sampler CDs we handed out at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival last weekend. If you were one of those people we would love to hear what you think of it.

We have now added some new pages to the site, where you can order Monotreme releases, read information about the bands and listen to some sound clips. Just click on the 'catalogue' link in the site menu.

After consulting our resident gypsy fortuneteller and meteorologist, we have set the release date for the debut album by Thee More Shallows, 'A History of Sport Fishing', for the 17th of June. Please don't forget to mark your calendars. We find that circling the date in red marker pen is an effective way to do this, but those big bingo markers are also fun to use. Just don't get carried away and go for a blackout.

We also hope to release the Ral Partha Vogelbacher 7" ep, 'Whistle Like You Mean It' either on the 10th or 17th of June, depending upon when the records arrive from the pressing plant.

So far the response to both releases has been very good. We have some reviews up on the pages for each release - just click on the 'catalogue' link and follow the links for each artist to get to the reviews.

We also have several other projects in the works, including a mini-album by the wonderful Waterworks and and an album by Ral Partha Vogelbacher that you won't want to miss. More on those soon.

And don't forget, if you would like to be kept up to date on all of our releases, you can join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject of the message.

Now Playing:

Songs:Ohia 'Didn't It Rain' (Secretly Canadian)

Nina Nastasia 'The Blackened Air' (Touch and Go)

Danielson Family 'Tell Another Joke At The Ol' Choppin' Block' (Secretly Canadian)

Kepler ('Missionless Days') (Resonant)

Silver Jews 'Bright Flight' (Drag City)

Various Artists 'All Tomorrow's Parties free 3-CD festival artists' sampler' (compiled by Shellac)

March/April 2002
Hello there. Thanks for stopping by. We plan to have the first two Monotreme releases out in May:

A 7" ep by Ral Partha Vogelbacher, 'Whistle Like You Mean It', with a handmade letterpressed sleeve, designed and pressed by the artist himself! The ep contains three lo-fi songs of gentle oddball whimsy that offer a  glimpse into a world where angels' overworked fingers absorb the heat away from hummingbird brains and "the sunshine will find you like every other well-funded marketing ploy." An exclusive track by Ral Partha Vogelbacher, 'The Wrong Bike', appears in the compilation CD accompanying the Winter 2002 issue of 'Comes With A Smile' Magazine, which is out now. And if all of this sounds appealing you will want to check out Ral Partha Vogelbacher's first full-length CD / vinyl album, 'The More Nice Fey Elven Gnomes Are Hiding In My Toilet Again', available now from Megalon Records. 'Comes With A Smile' magazine described this album as "24 minutes of beguiling, memorable kookiness…the problem brain-child of Chadwick Bidwell and associates…the secret twins of M Ward and Will Oldham".

As if that isn't more than enough to be excited about, we also have the honour of  being chosen to release the brilliant debut album of a band that is bound to win the hearts and ears of anyone who loves beautifully crafted songs  with quiet melancholy vocals, soaring strings and chiming guitars. The album is 'A History of Sport Fishing' by Thee More Shallows, from San Francisco.

Later in the year we plan to release a CD mini-album by Waterworks as well as another project by Ral Partha Vogelbacher.

If you would like to be kept up to date on all of our releases, you can join our mailing list by sending an email to news@monotremerecords.com, including the word 'subscribe' in the subject of the message.

Now Playing:

Comes with a Smile vol. 5: 'Kicking It With Clowns' (Comes with a Smile)

Jetplane Landing 'Zero For Conduct' (Smalltown America/Yogaboy)

James William Hindle (S/T) (Badman)

Granfaloon Bus 'Exploded View' (Glitterhouse)

Hem 'Rabbit Songs' (Setanta)

Rothko 'Not Gone, Not Forgotten' (Lo)

David Thomas and Two Pale Boys 'Surf's Up!' (Glitterhouse)

Check Engine (S/T) (Southern)

The Handsome Family 'Twilight' (Loose)

current news