130: Music Never Dies or “All farewells should be sudden, when forever”

The last 2 Sacre Noir live shows were a joy to take part in; firstly showing off our stripped-back duo set at The Monarch Bar in Dunfermline then ripping it up at The Safari Lounge in Edinburgh with a full-on electro/rock showcase which featured Phil on guitar.

We’ve had a blast over the years playing with many wonderful live musicians in many wonderful venues across the UK & Europe and these are experiences we’ll never forget.
From our first live performance at Tam Dean Burn’s Politikal Manifesto night back in 2008 at the beautiful Tron Theatre in Glasgow to supporting Chrysta Bell this summer at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms and all the other crazy shows in Paris, Berlin, London, Liverpool, Gateshead, Glasgow and many more locations… it’s all been amazing!

The 2017 tour video will be online soon but in the meantime you can look back at all our other adventures via this playlist on YouTube.

One of the highlights of this year’s tour was playing in Paris – you can now watch our 2017 arrangement of Everything We’re Running Away From (Sinking Into Darkness 2012 – Savage Recordings) live at La Cave Cafe in Montmartre, on our YouTube channel.

Another Paris highlight was being able to perform something from our E.P. with Canadian artist D.Soul the Soulsamurai (our good friend and label buddy at Dejine:Rec). We’ve had some amazing feedback from this release and it’s something that both Alexis & I were super keen to make happen during our final year writing and recording as Sacre Noir. So when we were invited to be the featured artist at Paris Lit Up at Culture Rapide, we decided it would be a perfect opportunity to arrange a performance of ‘Stories Begin‘ from Scattershot.

We’ve got a lot to thank the good folks at Dejine:Rec for – they really believed in us at the very start of our journey and it was a privilege to have our music featured alongside some of our favourite music makers (James P. Honey, Asthmatic Astronaut and Marco Donnarumma to name just a few).

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Over the next few months we’ll have some more videos from this year’s tour, some behind the scenes from our final video shoot (Rebels & Loners – Nothing Falls Apart 2016 – Savage Recordings) and a few other surprises… keep an eye out for new posts on our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

 

“All farewells should be sudden, when forever.”
―Lord Byron

112: Nothing Falls Apart (LP released)

Monday 1^st August 2016
Nothing Falls Apart – official release

So it has been 4 yeas since the release of the last Sacre Noir LP ‘Sinking Into Darkness’ and in that time we have written, recorded and thrown away enough material for several new records… always stuff we felt was ‘quite right’ and so here we are 4 years later with what we think is the best Sacre Noir record to date.

This is going to be Sacre Noir’s final album and we’ve decided to do the physical releases as a limited edition wooden USB drive (100 copies). The drive features wave files and mp3s of the album, plus hand written lyric sheets, set list, press releases and photos.
We’ve had the idea for a few years and it’s really exciting to see the final product!

The USB is available online from bandcamp & savage recordings or Elvis Shakespeare in Edinburgh & New Hellfire Club in Glasgow.
It’s also available to download / stream from iTunes, Spotify, Deezer & Bandcamp.
We’re very proud of the outcome & feel each track tells its own story as well as being part of the whole record.
Please do check it out and let us know what you think.

Here’s the video’s for the tWo singles to come from the LP
From last month ‘A Rhythm Between Work & Sleep’

Inspired by a line in a George Orwell book, this track has had loads of support since it’s release in July 2016 from radio plays and youtube views.

The lyrics were built around this quote and Erin did an amazing hair & make up job within the 1930’s inspiration (very different from her usual work with Sacre Noir). Location is key & our venue, The Biscuit Factory, was a perfect fit for our look and the music.

And from last year ‘Listen To Me’ – filmed by MeltedBeetle

“In the span of just 2 minutes, the group present us with a ridiculously catchy tune with fantastic lyrics and a captivating rhythm that appears to have a subtle touch of old school blues. In addition, Carrie’s harmonies are stunning and the riffs are remarkable, only picking up with every passing moment. Nothing short of excellent.” Small Music Reviews
 

090 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2015 – Day 1: 15th July 2015

Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2015 – Day 1: 15^th July 2015
And we’re off!
Our annual jaunt to the cities we love, dragging behind us bags and cases of musical equipment, merchandise and clothes has arrived… first stop London.

I love London. We love London. Life loves London.

My first visit to this amazing city was in the summer of 2011 as part of the first Sacre Noir tour. We arrived the weekend after the ‘London Riots’ to play a show in Acton; this was a great introduction to the vibrant culture that thrives in this creative city.
A couple of nights later Sacre Noir played a 2^nd London show in the fabulous Vibe Bar (Brick Lane) & I fell in love. So much musical talent and such lovely people, Londoners, visitors and expats alike, I couldn’t believe I’d never visited before.
Alexis had been several times as a child and even played at the Garage in Highbury when he was the drummer in semi-cult Scottish alt-pop act Ballboy (favourites of John Peel no less).

This year we decided to have a ‘petit tour estival’ (small summer tour) as we’re keen to get home and release the 1^st single from the forthcoming EP; so we only have 10 days on the road this year and we’re determined to make the most of it.
Today we travel from Sacre Noir HQ in Edinburgh to our home from home at the amazing Ealing Towers. Our host (Joe) has been a true patron of the band and has looked after us every time we’ve come down to play shows. Providing us with beds, beer, BBQ’s, banter and so much more, London would not be an option for us without his help and as a small token of thanks tonight we for Greek; eating, drinking, catching-up and putting the world to rights at Joe’s local on Pitshanger Lane.

Conversation topic no 1: since our last visit, Joe’s very talented and driven daughter has managed to move from her first job after graduating as the Assistant to the Editor at Vogue, to now having a 15-page spread in the Aug. 2015 edition about Art & Fashion in London’s East End… less than 12 months, I’m super impressed.

Vogue

Tomorrow we play our only London date of the summer; a great line-up of bands at The New Cross Inn. Also coming up this summer we have 2 concerts in Paris and a few very special shows planned for this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before we get our heads back into ‘studio mode’ and get started on finishing the 3^rd LP.

However, before we start on that, let me tell you about recent goings on and exciting things we’ve been keeping secret (unless you follow our social media pages)…the crows are not what they seem.

Back in May we had a great photo shoot with Vikki McGraw Photography & Colette Casher Make-Up… this was an amazing day where we captured a few different looks to use for promotional purposes prior to the release of the next LP. Colette was shortlisted as one of the UK Pro Hair & Beauty’s ‘Makeup Artist of the Year’ Award 2015 after submitting this photo.

Vikki & Colette made such a great team on the day and I’d highly recommend working with both these fantastic ladies. Vikki had taken live photographs of Sacre Noir in 2012 and these remain some of my favourites, so I can’t wait to see the final edited shots.

21^st June 2015
We spent the day at La Belle Angele (Edinburgh) filming the companion video to our next single ‘Listen to Me’ with Stephen Young from MeltedBeetle . On hand was our make-up artist Erin Culley to make sure everyone looked amazing; actors Lyndsey and Steven (who both appeared in our last video) did a sterling job and Stephen came into his own with the cinematography. We love Erin & all her work on previous Sacre Noir videos, but this time she surpassed herself and we can’t wait to show you all the results.

More about the video process coming soon (press release available on request).

The preview party is planned for Saturday 25^th July at New Hellfire Club (record shop), Glasgow. Alongside a stripped back Sacre Noir set of tracks from across the back-catalogue and maybe a special cover, the event will feature a set from the fantastically talented Josephine Sillars plus we’ll have some cake and other small tokens of appreciation as well as the screening of the video (which we’re really proud of). It’s the only way to see the video before the official launch on 31^st July and we’ve decided to hand press a limited run of CDs for the lovely people who come along to support us as a thank-you.
The shop is run by a bunch of great folk and we’re really happy to have their support. All Ages Welcome / BYOB

Facebook Event Page – New Hellfire Club
The single has been mixed by Leonora Winstanley & mastered by Lucius Lowe for Boogs Music.

We have booked the release party at Bannerman’s Bar (Edinburgh) for the following Friday night (31^st July). This show will be hosted by Fortune Promotions; we plan on turning the back-bar of this unsuspecting Old Town venue into a haven of carnival delights (face painting, video screening, party bags and more). Local support for the evening comes from Alt-Rock act Aperture and we are very excited to have London based 3-piece BlackMoon1348 playing with us at the show – this will be their first gig in Scotland and we can’t wait to show them around our beautiful city.

Facebook Event Page – Bannerman’s

Rumour has it there may be a sneaky Black Moon 1348 video shoot happening on the Saturday after this gig, so keep your eyes peeled for info.

26^th June 2015 – Bannerman’s Bar
In preparation for the duo shows, AlexisSs & I played a pre-tour set at Bannerman’s trying out the new material and new equipment. We promise to get Phil to London soon for a full band gig of guitar/vocal/drum/loops-madness.
The last time we played at Bannerman’s was at the start of our summer tour last year with London based bands dressmaker & The Terminal Gods, plus our good friends The Omega Corridor (who are also on the bill with us for this show).

It’s the first gig for The Omega Corridor since original guitarist, Andrew left last August and they were sounding great. The onstage banter between Steven & Euan (Little Love & The Friendly Vibes front man) was classic, self-loathing and very Scottish. New guitarist Doctor Sandy seems to be fitting in nicely and is bringing his own style to class it tracks like ‘Local Anesthetic’ (my personal favourite for both musical tensions & lyrical style).

Everything in our set went really well. We gave it plenty of energy as the crowd was small in numbers but huge in spirit. There were some Lyonnais visitors in the bar who’d come along to see us, so I got to practice my French at the end of the night (we also got a few tips about festivals in the south of France that we may be able to play in the future). New tracks seemed to go down well (the crowd danced throughout our set so it was difficult to tell which was their favourite) and an old fan who was in the audience commented that we seem to have gotten ‘heavier’; the last time he saw us play was at the launch of ‘Battery Powered’ by Lynnette almost 2 years ago, and we were a trio at that gig. I guess the new material does have a certain stomp.

Sacre Noir – here comes the sun…27^th June 2015
We’ve had an exciting start to 2015, writing and recording new material for our 3^rd LP, and collaborating with some very talented people for recent photo shoots, single mixing and video making.
However, the most exciting news is that Phil got married to his beautiful partner Carol!

David Lozowy Photography
Good Times

NEXT SHOW:     Thursday 16^th July 2015 from 8pm @ The New Cross Inn, London
PLAYING WITH: The Tinun’s (France), The Vantage Society (UK) & Kaleidos Eye (UK)
Facebook Event Page – NXI, London

083 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2014 (gig 10)

Friday 8th August – The Beresford Lounge, Glasgow
There were a few negative issues that surrounded this event but I’m going to start with the positives; all the acts were amazing. Chrissy Barnacle opened the show and having only listened to her music online I was really looking forward to her live set. She has a wonderful storytelling manner and made the intimate crowd feel at ease instantly. Chrissy has an amazing guitar style, picking her way through beautiful melodic sections and adding bass and percussion parts periodically, it was quite mesmerising. Her voice is stunning! So pure and honest, she glides through her range with ease and even delighted the crowd with her lupine howl. I loved every song in her set and found it difficult to pick out a favourite but I’ve gone for ‘Sandstone’ because I love the lyrics so much,
“I’ve boiled a million kettles, to fill all of my water bottles
This wont be easy or quick, but it is what we need
I’m sweating you out of me”
I urge you all to download her FREE ‘Hazelnuts EP’ from BandCamp, which includes ‘Sandstone’ and 5 other fantastic tracks.

Chrissy Barnacle live at The Beresford Lounge

Next up were Made Of Glass, my new favourite Edinburgh based band and I was really looking forward to seeing them live for the first time – they did not disappoint. Despite the issues with sound (live music vs Glasgow City Council) and cheap in-ear headphones, their set was really cool. I loved the production of the backing sounds / vocals and although I was longing for the addition of a bass sub, I thought they played a great set. Their track ‘The Night’ was the stand out track of the night for me, however this is as yet unreleased, so instead I’ve chosen ‘Labyrinth’ for it’s pure electro/acoustic goodness.
Draped in black, Duncan’s energy is amazing, Nicky’s delivery has a distinctive celtic twang and their face-paint is intriguing. They are definitely a band to watch out for in the future.

Made Of Glass live at The Beresford Lounge

We played next and it was fantastic to have Phil back with us on guitar after so many shows away without him. Due to the sound (volume) issues, we played what should have been a fairly high-energy set with slight reservation. The venue was not really suitable for a band like us; they seem to have a lot of problems with Environmental Health (residential neighbours complain about the sound pollution on a regular basis) and already have a “no acoustic drum kits” rule in place, which we managed to get around by borrowing an electric kit for the evening from The Academy of Music & Sound. After sound checks were completed there was a “no amps” announcement, which was just not possible for either Sacre Noir or Jen Stevens & The Hiccups, so we’d arranged to turn everything down as much as possible. In complete contrast to the phenomenal bass sound we’d had at the last gig with Phil (Bannerman’s 17th July 2014), this performance was controlled but well received. The people we spoke to afterwards seemed to get where we were coming from musically and we’re positive about the front of house sound, so maybe it was lacking on stage due to the small monitor that the room had.

Sacre Noir live at The Beresford Lounge

Last up were the fantastic Jen Stevens & The Hiccups. Having travelled over two hours to get here, and on the back of my comments to them about how great the music scene is in Glasgow and what a cool place it is in general, I was really disappointed for them… this was not the introduction I’d hoped we could provide. They played for a good 40 minutes and included my favourite track ‘Middle of the Road’. Everyone in the room was blown away by their set and they have definitely left a lasting impression on those who were seeing them live for the first time.

Jen Stevens & The Hiccups live at The Beresford Lounge

I’d really hoped for a better night for their introduction to Scotland, but at one point just before the end of Jen Steven’s & The Hiccups set, a member of staff from the venue came barging into the venue space shouting “turn it down”. When the repost from a lively audience member came “turn it up”, his response was “no, turn it down, the council are in”. I was genuinely embarrassed by this episode. Apparently the DJ downstairs, who we could hear above the band already, was not causing a problem, but because our space was closer to the residents it was us that needed to turn down again. I have never been so disappointed by a venue and their ability to book appropriate events for their space or their ability to communicate in a professional manner. There are another dozen (at least) issues that plagued this even but I feel enough space has been given to the negatives and overall, despite everything, I did really enjoy all the music on the night and that’s a huge positive. Another positive is that our sound engineer for the evening, David, was great. He stayed calm throughout all the ups and downs, and managed to get a really great sound for all the acts. These two points have definitely been consistent traits of this year’s tour; we have played with some amazing acts and have met some really talented people, who we’ll definitely keep in touch with.
We managed to miss the last train home by just a second or two, but thankfully Phil was able to give us a lift home. An hour or so later, soothed by the sounds of Tool and The Prodigy we were back home in Edinburgh and ready for a little break from live gigs for a week or two. We have a couple of shows at the end of the month where we look forward to welcoming Michelle Blades to Scotland. We also have the video launch for “It’s Too Late Now” to look forward to as well as some rehearsals and interviews to complete – there really is no rest for the wicked.

NEXT SHOW
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 11 Thursday 21st August @ Box (Glasgow)
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 12 Friday 22nd August @ Elvis Shakespeare (Edinburgh)
Video Launch Night: Thursday 28th August @ Moriarty Bar (Edinburgh)

082 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2014 (gig 9)

Wednesday 6th August – The Central Bar, Gateshead
After a couple of eventful days off back in Scotland (being stung on the neck by a wasp and the shock of returning to work) it was time to get our selves together again for the next show… our first ever show in Gateshead.
We are really excited to have arranged a couple of dates with Jen Stevens & The Hiccups this summer and this is the first of those (not including The Corbridge Festival) on their home turf; the North East of England. We chose The Central Bar as it’s a lovely venue close to the Metro station and it has a good reputation for live music. The first act on this evening was Ben aka Felix Police; a one man band with his guitar and a bunch of pedals providing bass, beats, harmonies and other cool sounds. I’ve seen loads of acts like this over the years (KT Tunstall and Ed Sheeran do it well), and sometimes the sound can be limited / lacking but not tonight. I really liked his style especially the vocal harmonies and the fullness of his arrangements. Felix Police is a new act (this was the 3rd live outing) but I expect we’ll be hearing more from this fine young man in the future. The overall sound was like a mix between Tenacious D & Beck with a little Pixies thrown in for good measure. You can check out my favourite track from tonight’s set “The Ants & the Elephants” on SoundCloud.

Felix Police live at The Central Bar, Gateshead

Next up we played a 30 minutes set which included all 3 singles feature on the current LP (She Can’t Take It, Rue Crimée and the forthcoming release It’s Too Late Now) plus the two new unreleased tracks that have gone down so well with audiences this tour (Heartache and Rebels & Loners). We had no sound problems this evening in fact everything was perfect (thanks to Tony for sorting everything out for us) and no sooner had we started playing when the set was over. The audience in Gateshead was very polite and reserved in comparison to the crowds in London and Paris; very attentive and seemingly enjoying our material but as it was a sit-down show it was hard to tell just how “into it” they really were, however I got the feeling if they didn’t like us we’d soon have heard about it.

Sacre Noir live at The Central Bar, Gateshead (photo by S. Gray)

Again it was lovely to see some familiar faces in the audience tonight. Special thanks to Sarah & Marie for coming out to support original music (always a pleasure ladies).
The final act of the evening was Jen Stevens & The Hiccups; I had forgotten just how tight this band are live! Fabulously catchy tunes, lushous harmonies, fantastic musicianship, big smiles (Adam) and great hair (Jen) – they’ve got it all. I truly love Jen’s voice; like a cross between Stevie Nicks and Gwen Stefani, it’s rocky and soulful with lovely technical moments to catch out the vocal geeks like myself. We can’t wait to introduce them to a Scottish audience this weekend, I’m sure they’ll have a ball. They’ve got a really commercial sound and their songs wouldn’t sound out of place on Radio One: check out their track “The Sound” on SoundCloud.

Jen Stevens & The Hiccups live at The Central Bar, Gateshead

Sorry to have missed the second half of their set tonight, but as the last train back to Edinburgh leaves Newcastle before 10pm, we headed off into the night to the sounds of the Hiccups and made our way back to bonnie Scotland once more.

Our next show is in Glasgow and again we’ve been working with House Cat Promotions to arrange this event. It’s a great line up – not to be missed!
I discovered Made Of Glass thanks to local Edinburgh musician Steve Heron (best recommendation of the year – thanks Mr H) and they have become a firm favourite on my current playlist. A new(ish) duo based in Edinburgh, Nikki & Duncan are about to set the scene alight! As soon as I heard them I knew they were the kind of band I’d love & set about arranging a show together pretty much straight away. I was super pleased when they agreed to play this show with us in Glasgow as I think they’ll make a great addition to the night. Also on the bill for this show is Chrissy Barnacle – new to me but I’m loving the material online and again can’t wait to see the live show. I hate it when I discover a new act I love, then have to wait ages for their live show to come to Scotland. This way I get to see two great new acts in one night (and we’re sharing the stage) – bonus.
Check out the links above for all bands, then come along to the live show… when it’s done it’s done!

House Cat Promotions poster

NEXT SHOW
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 10 Friday 8th August @ The Beresford Lounge (Glasgow)
House Cat Promotions Presents Chrissey Barnacel / Made Of Glass / Sacre Noir / Jen Steven & The Hiccups

070 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2014 (details and dramas)

Monday 14th July – Wednesday 16th July
We’ve spent the last few days finalising the details for our Paris shows; signing the contract for our show at La Dame de Canton & re-arranging the line up for our final gig in the city at Au Chat Noir on July 26th – we will now be joined by Popper Must (Be), an Alt.Folk act from Paris as well as the fantastic Trip-Hop/Rock band AsOne. There has also been an issue or two with one of our Glasgow shows, so there may well be a venue change in the offing. More details and dramas to follow…

Posters spotted in the Grassmarket

NEXT SHOW
Summer Tour 2014: Gig 3 Thursday 17th July @ Bannerman’s Bar, Edinburgh Terminal Gods / dressmaker / Sacre Noir / The Omega Corridor

066 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2014

Pre-Tour shenanigans & excitement

Summer Tour 2014 – Postcard

As another summer approaches, Sacre Noir returned to the live circuit with a pre-tour show at Edinburgh’s Citrus Club on June 21st. The gig was set up as a birthday celebration, and local acts (favoured by the birthday girl) turned out in force to show some love. Also on the bill was one of my favourite local riot grrrl acts, The Fnords. I have long been a fan of their surf-punk styling’s but it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen them live and their set was, as expected, fierce. A half-hour set peppered with old and new tracks and full of energy. Other acts on the night included birthday girl Pat’s bands P.A.L, Third Bass (whom she didn’t get to play with on the night due to breast feeding responsibilities) and the Incendiary Bats. I hadn’t seen any of these bands before and was super impressed with the line up. P.A.L have a great track called ‘Alex’ – definitely my favourite of theirs from the night and there were some mighty fine guitar and drum skills on show during the Incendiary Bats set (the bass skills on show during this event were of course evident in all bands except Sacre Noir).
We played as a trio & tried out a new original track, currently called ‘Rebels & Loners’ and also our new cover track ‘Open Up’ by Leftfield. The crowd were great! They were really responsive & reacted well to the new additions in our set. It seems like ages since we’ve played live together and it was a great warm up for this summer’s tour.

Next up was a super Sunday practice session at Bainbridge Music on Iona Street. We booked in for a double session; 1st up a trio rehearsal for the shows on July 12th at Corbridge Festival & 17th at Bannerman’s Bar, Edinburgh, then a duo rehearsal for the first night of the tour at The Roxy 171, Glasgow. 6 hours of rehearsal with a break for lunch at Café Casablanca on Leith Walk and one broken pedal (Phil’s Digitech 2nd edition Whammy – oh no) and I think we’re about ready hit the road.

AlexisSs ready for super Sunday Sacre Noir session

We’ve made some changes to the set up and are planning on unveiling a few new songs this summer, so I can’t wait to kick things of on Thursday with the first of two House Cat Promotions shows we have this summer. HCP are a Glasgow based promotions machine that have put together a great line up for us to begin our summer in style.

Sacre Noir @ The Roxy 171, Glasgow

Before this however I had a small business trip to Birmingham, where I saw this great advert at the Adidas store:

Adidas store Birmingham

Then Alexis & I went to see the marvellous Beth Orton at the O2 Academy in Glasgow. Last year we saw Amanda Palmer play in Edinburgh before we went off on tour & it provided us with an extra kick of inspiration and this year seeing Beth was not dissimilar. She has decided to play just 3 shows in the UK to promote the re-issue of Central Reservation. Both Alexis & I performed tracks from this LP as part of our final year Degree shows, so it was an amazing experience to watch her perform them live. Her band was amazing; Ted Barnes (guitar), Ali Friend (bass), Daisy Palmer (drums), Sam Amidon (violin – Beth’s hubby) and an amazing keyboard player whose name escapes me, but his and his fellow band mates playing was exceptional.

Beth Orton live at the O2 Academy, Glasgow

I really liked Daisy’s backing vocals and the general calmness that they exuded on stage was stunning. Track of the night, although I enjoyed every minute of their set, was Devil Song. This was that track I included in my degree show and listening to it performed live, really brought back memories of my college days and why I wanted to be a performer back then. On reflection I’m sure my ideals haven’t changed all that much.

Summer Tour 2014: Gig 1 Thursday 3rd July @ The Roxy 171, Glasgow
House Cat Promotions Presents: Sacre Noir//Josephine Sillars//Megan Airlie//Model Jet Pilot (Solo)

062 – Sacre Noir Summer Tour 2013 (gig 12)

Thursday 8th August 2013 – Day off in Berlin

It’s been go, go, go for over a week now and today we got to have a proper day off; no secret gigs, no travel and no promoters to deal with, so we started the day in a very relaxed fashion, and went out for breakfast at a near-by backwerk (baked goods), this tested my language skills a lot… I think I’m getting the words right, but my pronunciation is clearly very poor as I had to repeat everything to the waitress at least twice before she understood me. This made me realise that the small amount of effort I’ve been putting into learning French recently has really helped (thanks to Lucile for the lessons), and that I’m sure with a similar effort my German could be much better too.
We popped back to the apartment to make use of the washing machine before heading out to do a spot of shopping in one of our favourite areas in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. P’berg is in the borough of Pankow and was once very popular with the bohemian Berlin youth, although we discovered that recently it has become a much more expensive area due to it’s popularity – just like in London it seems that the “money” in this city likes to follow the artist community. A special treat for us was to see the Nick Gregson graffiti that we used for the ‘Sinking Into Darkness’ LP cover whilst in the area – she’s still looking good!

Sacre Noir with Nick Gregson graffiti in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

We had pizza for lunch at a nice little café and wandered down to Alexanderplatz, which was busy with food and drinks stalls, local clothing and entertainment. There are a lot of mainstream shops & department stores in the area so it was really nice to see some local traders here too.
We’d arranged to pop into Pfefferbett to have a chat with the booker for our show tomorrow night and as they had live music on we thought we’d go there next to check it out. All the arrangements are as agreed and our contact at the hostel is super-cool (as the Berliners say), really friendly and welcoming and excited about our show.

Pfefferbett’s secret garden, Berlin

The band playing was called Halfblind Henry & His Instabilities who describe themselves as Americana / Soulblues / Folk ‘n’ Roll, but as it was a stripped back show I’m not sure we got to see the full range of their musical stylings. The vocalist (Halfblind Henry himself) played guitar & sang and his Instabilities provided backing on a range of other instruments; slide guitar, bass, harmonica, percussion, melodica & sax. We stayed to enjoy their first set then caught the U-Bahn over to Kreuzberg to have tea at a great Indian restaurant we’ve eaten at before called Iman’s – the food is excellent & the service is fault-free.

Eating at Iman’s in Kreuzberg,

It started raining at about 10pm so we decided to call it a night and headed home – easier said than done. The first U-Bahn we got on terminated before it’s final destination, so we had to change a couple more times before we were back on track.

Friday 9th August 2013
Gig 12 – Pfefferbett, Berlin (Acoustic show)

This morning I was rudely awoken by the telephone ringing at 8.30am, then the doorbell at 9am, then the neighbours a little later, something was telling me it was time to get up! We went out the Schlossgarten just up the road and had a nice relaxing stroll along the Spree.

Charlottenburg Schlossgarten, Berlin

It’s our last ‘away’ gig tonight for this year’s summer tour and it’s an acoustic show so we didn’t have to worry about taking any equipment – just some stock, a mailing list and ourselves. We arrived at Pfefferbett around 6pm and the sun was still shining so a gig in the garden it is!

Chalkboard at Pfefferbett, Berlin

The guitar choices are classical or classical so the sound is very quiet, but the crowd that start to gather on the terrace are very attentive and seem to really enjoy our set. We played for just over an hour and then ate at the venue (Currywurst & frites) before heading along to the ‘open stage jam’ at Little Stage in Neukoln. The talent on show in the bar was great and such a variety of instruments and styles… Alexis had a jam with some guitarists, piano & keys, bass and saxophone (look out for some footage in the tour video – coming soon) and it was great to see him playing drums again. Usually I’m onstage too and I can’t remember the last time I got to just sit back and enjoy.

Jam session at Little Stage in Neukoln, Berlin

Whilst we were there we caught up with Alex and managed to get the live recordings from our gig, so we’ll be able to mix them when we get home and possibly even have a couple of live tracks to send out to our mailing list subscribers when we return.
1.30am and the U-Bahn is still running so it’s no problem travelling across the city to get back to the apartment.

Next gig: Thursday 29th August, 2013 at Pivo Pivo, Glasgow

It’s gonna be a great gig!

Next gig: Sunday 1st September, 2013 at Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh
swapping The Mickey 9’s for the mighty Lewis Gibson & The Midas Touch for the final show in Edinburgh – bring it on!

044 – the best of 2012…

Monday 31st December 2012

My first blog was published on June 3rd 2011 and was inspired by a trip to Liverpool Sound City @ the end of May that year. Since then I have posted on acts from various genres including; electronica, alt.rock, hip-hop and folk as well as the continuing adventures of Sacre Noir. Along the way I have discovered a multitude of artists from far and wide, who have each brought a little bit of brightness to my listening habits.
At the end of 2011 I started doing a ‘Best of…’ list but never quite got round to posting it, this year I’ve decided to bring you my top picks for Best live videos of 2012 and also the top releases that I have been involved in too.
I’ve also done a top 5 run down of my fave albums of the year for The Sound Project, which was very difficult as there have been so many great releases this year – check it out here: http://www.thesoundproject.org.uk/tsp/features/sacrenoir_2012.htm

So in no particular order my choices for the Best live videos of 2012 are…

Delilah – Love You So (live from KOKO, London)

One of my favourite vocalists of the moment, Delilah continues to shine & is growing her loyal following by delivering amazing performances in the studio and on the stage. Her gig at KOKO, London this year was followed by a host of great videos from the show, but this one is definitely my favourite.

Kimbra – Settle Down (live SXSW 2012 Spotify Sessions)

This performance of “Settle Down” was shot in the front yard of the Spotify House at SXSW back in March. I love this arrangement and think the simple use of sampling / looping is a very effective way of breaking down the track.

Mark Lanegan Band – 4AD Session

Not just one track, but a mini-set of four from the Blues Funeral LP which was released in Feb. There have been 15 great videos created for the 4AD Sessions in 2012 including ones from Blonde Redhead & St Vincent that I’d also recommend checking out. The Mark Lanegan Band one is featured here because of it’s stripped back simplicity. That and the fact that Mark has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. The band are fantastic and the songs are true to the gritty grunge and blues records that Lanegan has previously delivered.

Tori Amos – Leather (live @ De Kruitfabriek Sessies)

Tori Amos is one of my favourite artists & has been a massive influence in not just my listening habits but also my own music. I’ve always loved her brutally honest lyrics and how she manages to deliver these in such graceful performances. This version of Leather was recorded for the Belgian TV show in September, just before she took to the road to promote her latest release ‘Gold Dust’.

Matt Corby – Brother (Balcony TV Melbourne)

Balcony TV is taking over in the world of great live video sessions. Being broadcast from all across the globe, there are so many great videos from a huge range of acts. Matt Corby was the runner-up on the 2007 series of Australian Idol. Moved to London in 2009 and was signed to Communion (the Mumford & Sons singer’s label) and has been doing great ever since. I’ve only just discovered him, but if this one video is anything to go by then I’m sold.

Regina Spektor – How (captured in The Live Room)

Another fabulous vocal delivery, this time from a live session at Electric Lady Studios in New York, by the enigmatic Regina Spektor. The song “How” originally features on her 2012 album ‘What We Saw From The Cheap Seats’.

Gary Numan – Are Friends Electric? (AllSaints Basement Sessions)

I’ve always just thought that AllSaints was a high street fashion shop. However they claim “AllSaints collections mix Culture, Fashion & Music into a powerful formula of confident clothing that expresses individuality.” The store in Berlin held the very cool ‘Basement Sessions Special’ (essentially a live band & DJ party in the shop’s basement, complete with cocktail bar and freaky dancing) during Berlin Fashion Week this year. They’ve also recorded a host of Über-cool looking videos, and I love this version of “Are Friends Electric?”.

Keaton Henson – You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are (Attic Session)

This is a lovely version of my favourite Keaton Henson track. Understated and glorious for it.

Luke Haines: Gorgeous George (live session for Guardian Music)

I love Luke’s introduction – you get the feeling it went on for ages and the peeps who edited this video probably had to do a lot of cutting. “Gorgeous George” is a track from the latest LP ‘Nine and a Half Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s & early 80s’ which I had the pleasure to see him touring this year.

The Night – Strangers (live acoustic session)

Another act new to me in 2012, The Night released this acoustic version of their FREE D/L single “Strangers” for their YouTube fans. That’s all I really know – but I really like it.

And now for the Sacre Noir releases;.
No. 5
Artist: Madhat / Brinkworth / Riddlah
Track: Think Alot
Label: UVBeatz
Genre: Hip Hop
FREE SINGLE TRACK
http://uvbeatz.bandcamp.com/track/think-alot-madhat-brinkworth-riddlah-sacre-noir
Check out this collaboration straight from the UVBeatz lab.

No. 4
Artist: Conscious Route
Album: The Real World LP
Label: You Sonix Records / True Hold Records
Genre: Hip-Hop
Dark Places (featuring Sacre Noir)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-real-world/id547549973
First time collaboration for Sacre Noir & Conscious Route for this new LP released in August this year.

No. 3
Artist: Mark Deez
Album: The Oracle
Label: iLL-Legit Records
Genre: Hip-Hop
Ascension Remix (ft Sacre Noir, Prod. UVBeatz)
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/ascension-feat.-sacre-noir/id580345392?i=580345463&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Released at the end of November, the new Mark Deez album features the ‘remix competition’ track. Riddlah reworked the beat & I provided a vocal hook – what a team!

No. 2
Artist: Savage Sound System
Album: Liars and Thieves Will Have It All
Label: Savage Recordings
Genre: Unclassifiable
Various appearances of the newest EP from Scotland’s most avant-garde Hip-hop / Noise / Pop collective.
http://savagerecordings.com/recordings.html
Featuring vocals from Sacre Noir and D.Soul the Soulsamurai plus MC from The Riddlah, ShilohZen and Werd this release was recorded in Scotland, Canada and the USA.

No. 1
Artist: Sacre Noir
Album: Sinking Into Darkness
Label: Savage Recordings
Genre: Electronica
2nd full length LP – Scottish electronic and live band vibes!

Released in July the new LP has been well recieved & features the debute single “She Can’t Take It”. After the success of the Summer Tour 2012 with shows in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paris & Berlin, Sacre Noir are looking forward to the New Year with a second single / video due pre-Spring, and lots more gigs both home & abroad in the pipeline.
Kepp up-to-date with all the news @ http://www.savagerecordings.com/sacrenoir

042 – Summer tour 2012 (the last night of the tour)

Tuesday 28th August – gig at Pivo Pivo, Glasgow
After a week of being back in Edinburgh we’ve just about caught up with all the work awaiting our return and are ready for the final show of the Summer Tour. We’re lucky enough to be joined once again by Phil on electric guitar and Alexis switches to electronic drums for this last show at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow.

Blackboard at Pivo Pivo, Glasgow

Got the train through just in time for the rush hour crowds to be heading home, with all our gear it was a bit of a squeeze, but we made it with plenty of time to set up and get a good sound check. The sound in the venue is superb & it’s nice to be back to the familiar line-up of guitar, drums and vocals. It’s the first time any of us have been in the venue and we’re all really impressed (space, facilities, staff & pizza were all excellent).

Alexis & Phil pre-gig @ Pivo Pivo, Glasgow

We played first to a fairly appreciative audience and chatting to peeps afterwards once again proved insightful; putting faces to names and getting feedback on the set from peers and audience members are always fun parts of any gig. I was really impressed with the overall sound at Pivo Pivo and having not practiced with Phil since before the Hyperbubble show in mid July (and even that was a different line-up with Alexis playing 2nd guitar) we all seemed to fit straight back into the swing of things. Tracks of the night that stood out were ‘Rue Crimee’ and ‘Night Flight’.
Next up was Becci Wallace & Bill Breaks who I enjoyed very much indeed. I’d heard Becci do guitar vocal stuff via her YouTube page before but didn’t really know what to expect from this collaboration. From the very first track, the beatz were crisp, the bass was heavy and the vocals were delightfully original and delivered with style and an honesty rarely seem in music these days. Their set was a blend of down-tempo hip-hop vibes and trippy lyrical delights. For me the set was reminiscent of Helicopter Girl or Martina Topley-Bird and ticked all of my musical likes for this kind stuff.

Becci Wallace & Bill Breaks

So that was us, packed up and heading back to Edinburgh & before we knew it, the summer tour 2012 was well and truly wrapped up.
You can check out our video of the tour featuring live footage and more here: