Hey, it’s been a while! Here’s an update of some Galaxians shows coming up that are confirmed. There are also a few more coming up real soon that we’re itching to tell you about but we’re just waiting for them to be confirmed. Watch this space!
11.11.13 LEEDS Leeds University Union, Stylus (w. Public Service Broadcasting and Vessels)
Adv. price £13.50 (buy here)
Doors 7.30pm (Galaxians on first!)
Combining music, spoken word, and visuals, London-based duo Public Service Broadcasting were formed in 2010 when multi-instrumentalist and songwriter known as J. Willgoose, Esq. recruited equally regally named drummer Wrigglesworth, following a string of eclectic but, ultimately, unfruitful musical outings that had been going on and off since the late ’90s. Inspired by listening to archive material from BBC Radio 4, Willgoose began to delve deeper, searching for both audio clips and film footage from throughout the 20th century that he could possibly complement with indie/electronic music and vice-versa. Public Service Broadcasting’s first release, EP One, appeared in August 2010 and was the perfect introduction to the pair’s concept, featuring “New Dimensions in Sound,” which sampled an infomercial for a record player alongside vibrant indie rock that built into a crescendo of distorted guitar. PSB began to make a name for themselves on the live circuit with an unmistakable set that featured an old walnut-veneered 1960s television which they lovingly described as the band’s “frontman.”
A year after EP One, the duo released the single “Roygbiv” and then The War Room, another EP, this time focusing on World War II and, in particular, The Blitz. Sampling propaganda films, sirens, and a film about the invention of the Spitfire on a track of the same name, the EP created further buzz and radio play for Public Service Broadcasting as they prepared their debut album Inform – Educate – Entertain, which was released in May 2013 on their own label, Test Card. By now the guitar, banjo, and electronics of J. Willgoose, Esq. and intricate drumming from the jazz-trained Wrigglesworth was developing into a well-rounded, well-oiled machine. One of the album’s highlights, “Everest” was based around The Conquest of Everest, a 1953 film documenting Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s first successful ascent of the mountain, including the fitting line “two very small men/cutting steps in the roof of the world.” Public Service Broadcasting went on to tour the album and play a host of festivals in the summer of 2013, as well as secure a support slot with the Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park.
(info taken from the event listing)
16.11.13 LEEDS Brudenell Social Club (w. Har Mar Superstar)
Price: £12 advance (+stbf) (Buy)
Doors: 19:30
“I’d travel to the edge of the earth to hear that man sing.” —SF Weekly
“He’s a singular performer who struts with enviable assurance; his confident swagger fills the room.” —Metro
Bye Bye 17, the new album from acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Har Mar Superstar (aka Sean Tillmann), is currently out on Cult Records. Already receiving widespread critical praise, BULLETT calls the album, “impossibly groovy and infectious,” while KCRW asserts, “I’d call the album a guilty pleasure but I don’t feel guilty at all. It’s just packed full of hooks.” Additionally, of the album’s first single, “Lady, You Shot Me,” Death + Taxes declares, “Har Mar Superstar returns with the song of his career,” while MTV Buzzworthy calls it a “Buzzworthy Obsession.”
Of asking him to join the label, Cult Records founder Julian Casablancas notes, “First time I saw Sean was at the Mercury Lounge years back, and I was blown away by his voice, his confidence and his showmanship. When he recently played me his new record, I felt it was something we could help make truly great. He’s the man with the golden voice, and we’re excited to try and turn people on to that fact… Like the dude himself, the record’s just tough, sad, hilarious and rad.”
Written in New York City, the 10-song album was recorded at co-producer Jim Eno‘s (Spoon) Austin studio with a full live band. Focusing this time more on his voice, Tillmann says, “I was listening to a lot of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke at the time, and I’ve always been obsessed with those guys… ‘Restless Leg,’ ‘We Don’t Sleep,’ ‘Prisoner’ and ‘Rhythm Bruises’ came out of people playing together. But the rest were just like me in a room, gettin’ weird, by myself.” See below for full track-listing.
Tillmann named his flamboyant alter-ego after the Har Mar mall in suburban St. Paul, MN where he spent his youth watching movies and writing songs about passers-by in the food court. Tillman explains, “Har Mar Superstar used to be a different person. It used to be my excuse to get away with the more fantastic things in life… It was easier to get onstage as this other guy and be outrageous and have it be glorified. I guess the confidence I got from being Har Mar Superstar translated into my real life, so now we’re one and the same.”
(info from the Brudenell website)
11.01.14 OLDHAM Constant Friction club night, Jacksons Pit
More details TBC nearer the time, but this sounds like it’ll be ace if you’re in the Manchester area!
19.01.14 LEEDS Hi-Fi Club
Again, more details TBC. It’s a Sunday though! Don’t let that stop you, like…
We are very pleased to announce that along with our pal Game_Program (aka Jon Nash of Hookworms / Nope / Cowtown) we have been confirmed as support for 100% Pure Silk recording artist and former Mi Ami member Daniel Martin-McCormick, otherwise known as Ital, in Leeds on 10th October. From FACT magazine: