Timothy C. Holehouse

Dead Pilot is proud to present:

Timothy C. Holehouse – To The Howls At Midnight

“

Tim Holehouse is quite a legend, if you haven’t heard of him by now you really ought to be ashamed of yourself. He has spent many years touring and releasing alt country/folk records under the name “Tim Holehouse” but has recently split himself in two. Now Tim presents his other half “Timothy C. Holehouse” where he finds himself exploring darker areas of his musical mind.

“To The Howls At Midnight” is the first full length album from this new side and is a sister album to the Tim Holehouse record “From The Dawn Chorus” (which is out on beautiful “orange” vinyl and can be bought directly from the man himself I believe: http://www.myspace.com/timothycholehouse). Recorded over the new years period of 2007-2008, this is an intensely eerie and minimal album of deep and warm melodies and drone. Bent guitar swells and subtle drones layered over broken drum beats. I can’t think of anything that sounds remotely like what Tim is doing at the moment so do yourself a favor and give this a listen.

Packaged in windowed digipak with beautiful artwork and printing by Joey at Vision Incision. Limited to 100 copies.”

£5.00

Available now!

Message to Bears – Departures

A very kind review written by Colin MacKinnon over at Oxfordbands.com
http://www.oxfordbands.com/2009/03/07/message-to-bears-departures/

“Jerome Alexander’s ‘Message to Bears‘ project provided Oxfordshire music with one of its finest records of 2008 in the shape of ‘EP One’, a collection of hushed, hypnotic instrumentals, dominated by dreamlike strings and translucent acoustic guitars with a dash of scratchy electronica. Everyone I’ve played it to has loved it, whether they were seen-it-all-before music producers, professional scientists or Christmas party animals. ‘Departures’ the full-length album that follows that first-rate debut, is every bit as wonderful as its predecessor.

Despite the title, there is no great departure in style from the earlier record. The recording is significantly more professional (less stool-squeaking), and the string arrangements are lusher, but the almost-painful pastoralism, the craftsmanship in construction and above all the cinematic potential are all present in spades. Songs like ‘Autumn’ almost make one want to go off and write a screenplay. You simply can’t live in Oxfordshire and listen to music like this without thinking of the landscapes near Uffington, the chalk downs above Blewbury or even those strange villas observable from the train between Cholsey and Goring. This music may be timeless but it’s anything but placeless.

Highlights are too many to mention. ‘Hidden Beneath’ plays with a four-to-the-floor dance beat, but what really matters is Alexander’s guitar-picking, a shining, bell-like sound so distinctive he could almost patent it. ‘Pretend to Forget’ is heart-crackingly desolate, with a gorgeously dissonant cello and violin part to complement the intricate guitar work. ‘Hope’ dispenses with the guitars, leaving the strings to work the magic. Beginning with a series of mighty, sustained chords redolent of Barrington Pheloung’s scores for Inspector Morse, the track then expands majestically with the introduction of tremoloed triple-time violins and further deepening of the chord structure by the addition of inner parts. This is the sound of a popular composer at his meridian.

Elsewhere on the record, Alexander allows himself to depart from formula a little. ‘November’ uses piano as the main rhythm instrument, rather than his usual guitar, taking him temporarily into Eric Satie territory, while remaining consistent with the vision of the album. On ‘At the Top of This Hill’, he even allows himself to sing a little (hum, really) and his sister Gemma is pressed into vocal service on the otherwise slightly dull track ‘Snowdonia’. The record ends with an eerie little sequence of high-frequency Rhodes piano chords, with the title ‘Lost Birds’.

So finishes a magnificent piece of modern-day musical impressionism. This is music of depth, vision and humanity: I find it hard to think that anyone could fail to be touched by the second half of ‘Hope’ or all of ‘Autumn’. Find it, buy it, love it.”

By Colin MacKinnon

PREORDER NOW! http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/product/message-to-bears-departures-pre-order

Tracklisting:

1.Running Through Woodland
2.Hidden Beneath
3.Pretend To Forget
4.Hope
5.Autumn
6.At The Top Of This Hill
7.November
8.Snowdonia
9.Find Our Way Home
10.Lost Birds

Limited to 500 copies on pro replicated CD (NOT cdr!) and housed in an Arigato Pak.

Shipping late May!

1877 and Bjerga/Iversen out now PLUS Message to Bear Pre-orders!!

Hi all, I trust the Easter weekend is treating you well? Here’s something else for your sweet tooth.

1877 – I Am An Antagonist

Brand new single from Bucks based noise rock/art pop crusaders 1877.

Title track “I Am Antagonist” sees the band build from up tempo electro beats to walls of synths and feedback, with a deep underlining melancholy. Think Fuck Buttons meets Joy Division with a hint of Mogwai.

The second track on the disc is a post punk electro rock bliss out, entitled “Narcolepsy”.

Reviews:

“I’m picking up a definite shift towards post punk artists like Kraftwerk, New Order and the like at the moment. And 1877 are one of the better bands to emerge from this gene pool. The electronic drums and snapping snare are pinned tight back and allow the phasing synths and streams of guitar to eddy around the deliberately low mixed vocals. It’s Depeche Mode picking a fight with Trent Reznor. It’s very dark. It’s very mesmeric. It’s very good.”http://www.tastyfanzine.org.uk/singles83feb09.htm#1877

“Serious, strong stuff on 1877’s debut release. Antagonist begins with electronic percussion and keyboards before the guitars come in backing submerged Curtis inflected vocals. Cold and powerfully arranged the instruments mesh and splinter menacingly.
B side Narcolepsy is, if possible, even more intense. Guitar and Bass drive relentlessly reminding the reviewer of Sumner and Hook on Interzone. True to its title, the track carries a bleak Burroughsian menace which has gone unheard in music for far too long.
Chris Stanley in The-Mag wrote, “They carry a genuine menace and intensity”. I can only, totally, wholeheartedly agree. Excellent!” http://www.thenewroxette.com/reviews.asp

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aofaNct7W8g

Stream:

http://www.last.fm/music/1877/I+am+an+Antagonist

Limited to 100 copies, packaged in classic Dead Pilot windowed card digipak.

Bjerga/Iversen – The Luminous Disc In The Sky

Legendary experimental droners Bjerga/Iversen need no introduction. They’ve been on the scene for years now and have truly honed their sound to perfection. They’ve had releases on all the great DIY/CDr labels and have now they’ve contributed to Dead Pilot.

Here they present a static tinged minimalism piece that ranges from deep buzzing tones to industrial wails to crippled electronics. A murky drift through a ruined future. Deep, and highly recommended if you’ve checked out the Hourglass Drops/Wereju and Dead Wood/Phantom Heron Seas splits.

Packaged in a lush hand stamped blue envelope with paper wallet and textured paper insert, limited to 50!

PLUS!

I am now taking PRE-ORDERS for the brand new Message to Bears full length album entitled “Departures”. It will be out on a pro replicated CD (not CDr!) and packaged in a fancy Arigato Pak. This will be the first real CD out on Dead Pilot and I couldn’t be happier that it will be for Jerome’s amazing music. I expect everything to be ready to ship sometime in May but of course I will keep you posted throughout the project.

Thank you all for your continued interest and support!!