mailshot: reading/southampton/london, and two EPs

The following is taken from the ben marwood mailshot. You can join the party by signing up at benmarwood.com

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All!
This may be the first mailshot of 2013, but I do feel like it's a little late to still be wishing people a happy new year. Instead, let us celebrate the wonder of February, which has already given us my Mum's birthday and King Richard III being found underneath a Leicestershire car park. He was bound to turn up eventually.

So far this year I've been hard at work doing all the stuff for the new album that I always forget needs doing - working out the design, writing the liner notes, trying to remember who played what where, and other such fun. I'm delighted to announce that I still can't tell you anything about it, and instead this news update was going to consist almost solely of SuperbOwl jokes, until I looked just now on Twitter and they're still being made at a rate of about 100 per hour.

So with a heavy funny bone, here's some real, disappointingly-serious news about two new EPs and some shows, including the return of the world's greatest charity all-dayer, Lexapalooza, on Easter Sunday (31st March). Rejoice! But not too loudly because it's an important religious holiday and not just an international chocolate day.

Two new EPs out today (and a launch show, this Thursday)

Yes, this week sees the release of the first properly-new material since 2011's Outside There's A Curse album, and it arrives in the form of two digital EPs; one called Demons containing just me, and a split EP called Ben Marwood and Quiet Quiet Band Lay Low. I'm sure you can guess the name of the band who appear alongside me on that one.

To celebrate we're having an EP(s) launch party at South Street Arts Centre in Reading on Thursday night, to which you are cordially invited. Some tickets remain, at £5 plus booking fee, and I believe the Quiet Quiets have some CD-R promo copies of the split available from them on the night.

Thursday, February 7th

Double EP launch party @ South Street Arts Centre, Reading

w/Quiet Quiet Band & Tom Crook (of Band of Hope)

£5 adv/door - tickets here

Both Demons and ..Lay Low are available from all decent digital retailers, probably in fancy formats. You can also hear them on Spotify, if that's your thing, or a couple of my efforts are up on my Soundcloud page. Artwork for both was painted by the immensely talented Cat Holt, who did the artwork for Outside There's A Curse too.

Now is probably a good time to also mention that the free Incidents/Accidents EP is still up on Bandcamp for your downloading pleasure.

A Southampton gig is also happening

Saturday, March 9th

Bent Brief, Southampton

w/Rob The Liar & more

free show! 18+

And finally, the return of Lexapalooza - Boston Music Rooms, Easter Sunday, London

Yep, I'm excited about this one. For the uninitiated, Lexapalooza have previously given me the pleasure of playing alongside the likes of Frank Turner, Get Cape, Chris T-T, Jim Lockey, Oxygen Thief, Beans on Toast and many more, all in aid of raising money for Breast Cancer Campaign as well as being a really good excuse to dance, eat cake and enjoy a beer. I haven't played a Lexapalooza in ages, and I'm delighted that it's back.

There's plenty more acts to be announced but currently I'm sharing the stage with Jim Lockey & the Solemn Sun, Oxygen Thief playing a full band show, Retrospective Soundtrack Players and many more. There are no tickets in advance so just turn up on the day. If you'd like to read up on it - and you should - head over here.

So, I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading, and stay warm.

b

xx
benmarwood.com

new year, new releases

Happy new year!

Yep, it's a brand new year and if the Mayan prophets are to be believed it's the year of the new album, presumably a new setlist and also, finally, the year of the first ever Ben Marwood music video. Relunctantly pro.

But more on that another day. We can't do these things (albums, gigs, media) from a standing start or we'll pull a muscle, so to celebrate it being a new year and me having more songs recorded than I know what to do with, this February will see the release of not one, not two, not three.. wait, actually yes two new EPs available digitally, one my very own work and one shared with my friends Quiet Quiet Band, containing my ex-Broken Tail cohorts Jay Newton and Paul Smith.

Both EPs are released through the fantastic Josaka Music label, a couple of people who I'm proud to be associated with. Back in the days of Broken Tail they let us use their digital and physical distribution deal to get our releases onto iTunes, Amazon and into the shops, and I'm happy to be involved with them again.

Here's the info:

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Release #1: Ben Marwood and Quiet Quiet Band Lay Low
Released 4th February 2013 through Josaka Music
Cat No. TSK12, available digitally through all good stores

Ben songs: Run Home, I Promise You That It Will Be Okay (EP version), A Bedpost Mostly Notches, Come All Ye Unfaithful
QQB songs: Homemade Pistol, Fudge, Town & Country, Sutterton Roundabout

I've been hoping this one will come about for a while. QQB are one of my favourite bands, and a breath of fresh air in much the same way Heartwear Process were in 2007/2008, especially in Reading. Three ex-Heartwear members make up half of Quiet Quiet Band, and now they're slowly conquering the South one gig at a time.

Of my songs, 'A Bedpost Mostly Notches' and 'Come All Ye Unfaithful' were considered for the album right up until the last minute, and a version of 'I Promise You That It Will Be Okay' will indeed crop up on the new album. 'Run Home' is played on piano and I got Quiet Quiet's Jay Newton to help me out with that given that I'm as good at playing the piano as I am at playing Von Rothbart in Swan Lake.

The artwork for this record is by Cathy Holt, and is one of the alternative covers from first album Outside There's A Curse.

Release #2: Ben Marwood - Demons (EP)
Also released 4th February 2013 through Josaka Music
Cat No. TSK13, available digitally through all good stores

Tampa International
All Teeth On Skin
Demons (EP version)
You Can Run Away For Money
Daria
Tampa International (demo)

To complement Lay Low, here's an EP I made all by myself. Largely comprised of songs that didn't fit on the album, it features two versions of a song involving my favourite airport, two songs that were written during recording sessions for album #1 ('All Teeth On Skin', 'You Can Run Away For Money'), a cover of one of my favourite Cake songs ('Daria') and a song called 'Demons' which will feature on the forthcoming album and contains a ripping guitar solo from Paul Cardno of Damien A Passmore & the Loveable Fraudsters, Reading's tallest comedy country band.

The artwork for this record is also by Cathy Holt, and is another one of the alternative covers from first album Outside There's A Curse.

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So, there you have it. More to come tomorrow - I haven't got any new noises to offer you today, so instead here's a video from Beans on Toast.

the results are in

Merry christmas!

Honestly, this is the last time i'm going to mention this EP, but the results of it were this:

a) i stopped counting yesterday when it sailed past 400 downloads
b) the money raised has paid for the mastering of the new album
c) the masters are at my house RIGHT NOW
and,
d) after 24 hours, the EP was #5 in the Bandcamp chart (#1 in folk, just pipping Sufjan Stevens)

i screencapped it just for posterity, and because i find it entirely unbelievable.

so, thank you once again. i hope you all have a merry christmas and a fantastic new year, i'll be back in January with some new show announcements, details on the two new EPs and general messing around.

an EP for free, for longer..

Holy shit, internet, what happened?

I feel like i've been assaulted viciously with inappropriate generosity and I think someone touched me on the bum. Sure enough, after offering up an EP for free for the first 100 people who could be bothered to stumble across it by Facebook, Twitter or just by chance at 11.08, by 11.45 I hit 101 and extended it to 200, and now at 12.14 I'm paying Bandcamp using the money that you crazy, generous fools sent me to extend it to 5000 because, you know, the interest is ridiculous.

I'm touched, and you're all crazy. What this means is the people who aren't sat in front of their computers at 11am on a Sunday will have the opportunity to leisurely log in after Antiques Roadshow (I don't know why I'm aiming this comment at my Dad - he treats the Internet with suspicion) and still enjoy free stuff at Christmas.

So, here's to listening to free stuff until we're all exhausted and stuffed full of free music until the mere mention of an mp3 blog will cause us all to spew music from our mouths.

Merry christmas, me.

An EP for free

Incidents/Accidents EP
available now from Bandcamp
December 23rd, 2012

Five new versions of five old songs.

1. Friendly Fire (alternate version)
2. Five Little Secrets (alternate version)
3. You Can Hold On Once (alternate version)
4. More Good Propaganda (alternate version)
5. Question Marks (alternate version)

Pay what you like for the first 100 downloads!



Whilst on the surface 2012 has been a quiet one for me, in reality I've been as busy as ever. I was working on the new album from January to September, built a webstore in March, spent most of April and May in the post office and ended the year actually playing some gigs like the real musician I was in 2011. Rejoice!

Now the dust has settled and 2013 is taking shape, and with the spectre of new releases looming on the horizon - two further digital EPs are heading your way in February, and there's a small matter of the new album in May - I figured it was about time to introduce these five stripped back, re-recorded versions of five old songs to the world; the Incidents/Accidents EP is available now through Bandcamp, free for the first 100 of you, and a shiny pound from then on.

No you're right, that's not much money but fuck it, it's Christmas.

All five of these songs originally saw the light of day between 2007 and 2009, with a couple of songs featuring on the This Is Not What You Had Planned mini-album and a couple on the split EP with Oxygen Thief and Jim Lockey. This time around though, it's as basic as a song can get - just me shut in the tiny vocal booth at White House Studios with three microphones and a guitar for these stripped-to-the-bone live versions.

.. And merry Christmas etc.
Thank you to those of you who came out to the final five shows of 2012. Each and every one was great in its own way, from the massive York show (still can't get used to security barriers) to the crammed hometown Reading one, highlights being the entirely-acoustic Oxford show with Dive Dive and Francis Pugh & the Whisky Singers and introducing Retrospective Soundtrack Players to the After Dark 80s club night. 'Easy Lover' and 'Uptown Girl' all over.

There'll be news on the two new EPs in the first week of January, so keep your information centres peeled. Have a merry Christmas and a great end to 2012 - what a year, even if it looks a bit like I've done bugger-all.

xx

Coming to a sweaty venue near you..

new shows: Portsmouth, Reading, London and Devizes

Well howdy,

So it turns out, I have some shows coming up. It's been something of a rarity this year, what with gigs in 2012 being put on the back burner to allow me, in theory, to get some kind of life in my life/work balance. I think I hate the phrase "life/work balance" but it does come in useful when you want to describe the balance between life and work.

Anyway.

Shows.

This is not an exhaustive to-the-end-of-the-year list, because I do expect a couple more to be confirmed, but here are the some which I am definitely, absolutely going to be playing at:

OCTOBER 
Sunday 21st SOUTHSEA/PORTSMOUTH Edge of the Wedge
w/Retrospective Soundtrack Players & Oxygen Thief
£5 adv - tickets here

NOVEMBER 
Saturday 17th READING Rising Sun Arts Centre
w/Retrospective Soundtrack Players
£4 adv - tickets here

NOVEMBER 
Sunday 18th LONDON Brixton Windmill
w/Retrospective Soundtrack Players
£4 adv

DECEMBER 
Friday 14th DEVIZES The Lamb
w/Beans on Toast
£5 adv - tickets here

Let the good times roll.