Sneaky Pete's

Gitkin’s music exists somewhere between primal, rootsy memory and distant exotic yearning — A dusty bordertown where the familiar blends imperceptibly into the enchantingly foreign.

After a long and fruitful run as a bandleader with relentlessly touring party-rockers Pimps Of Joytime and a Grammy-nominated country blues collaboration with Cedric Burnside, multi-instrumentalist Brian J set out to “explore tonalities I’d never messed with,” as he puts it. It was a release from “having to write lyrics or involve my voice,” he notes, and so the (mostly) instrumental sound of Gitkin came into being.

Reviews of Gitkin’s first LP grappled with descriptors, tagging it vaguely as “cinematic” and comparing it favorably with Khruangbin. True, the music is largely wordless, emotionally evocative, and guitar driven. But it possesses an alluring alchemy all its own. Gitkin’s first release, 2018’s well-received Five Star Motel, amply demonstrated his ease with earthy funk and comfortably-cut rhythm.

On his new full-length release Safe Passage, the itinerant guitar slinger broadens his already rich palette with melodies informed by Greek and Middle Eastern modalities, Peruvian Chicha and Tuareg Saharan guitar styles. No gimmick, this juxtaposition of gut-bucket blues and funk low-end with unexpectedly twisting lead phrases highlights the intense flavors found in each savory ingredient

Coach Party grew up on the Isle of Wight (“it’s only a matter of time until you meet pretty much everyone else on the Island,” says Eastwood) and eventually crossed paths as avid music fans – working in venues, playing together and meeting at the same gigs. 

Coach Party eventually formed after Eastwood and guitarist Steph Norris decided to start playing music together; quickly realising that there was something special about the pair’s songwriting and bond, guitarist Joe Perry and drummer Page joined the ranks. 

Musically, Coach Party are inspired by a broad palate of artists, but always find themselves drawn back to Nirvana, Sonic Youth and The Strokes, and contemporary artists like Wolf Alice, The Big Moon and Tame Impala. Ultimately though, Coach Party’s primary drive to write and perform music comes from “the often entertaining struggle of real life.” 

The band still live and work on the Isle of Wight (Jess at a farm park, Guy in a music studio and Steph & Joe in cafes), and describe life on the island as going “through pretty distinct phases of being a great, and a really frustrating place to live.”

On Sale Fri 11 August 2023 10am

In 2001, Greg Bertens (aka Krayg Burton) recorded a moody, shoegaze-colored bedroom album called Brilliant Career. The spare, introspective pop was a soothing antidote to the rave scene then dominant in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Over the years, through a couple different lineups, Film School has continued to buck trends and expand their sound into the effects-swathed psych rock (and powerful live sets) they are known for today, well ahead of the recent shoegaze renaissance, drawing frequent comparisons to bands like Slowdive and Catherine Wheel. 

Recordings have featured guest appearances by members of Pavement and My Bloody Valentine among others. In addition to Bertens, current band members include Noël Brydebell (vocals), Nyles Lannon (guitar), Jason Ruck (synths), Justin LaBo (bass), and Adam Wade (drums).

After releasing an EP on Scott Kannberg’s Amazing Grease label in 2003, Film School signed with the legendary Beggars Banquet, toured abroad with the National, and played shows with Swervedriver before going on hiatus in 2011. Five years later, what was meant to be a one-off gig for a birthday party inspired the band to formally regroup, leading to the release of the EP June (2016), LP Bright to Death (2018), LP We Weren’t Here (2021), and the forthcoming full-length Field xx for Felte Records in August 2023.

Cyrano is an Edinburgh based artist and producer, making music for the late night overthinkers. 

To celebrate the release of his debut single White Wine, which features Nilüfer Yanya’s Jazzi Bobbi on sax, Cyrano created his own flat bottle of wine with Garçon Wines.

Later in the year Cyrano released his debut EP Consolations, produced by Foals’ Kit Monteith and Luke Smith. Consolations is a concept EP, inspired by Alain de Botton’s book The Consolations of Philosophy. Each track discusses a different theme, lamenting the struggles of modern life and soundtracking the arc of a night.

Throughout 2022, Cyrano supported artists such as Westerman, Laura Misch, Redolent, Anchorsong and Daithí, before finishing the year with a sold out headline show at The Waiting Room in London.

Cyrano started 2023 in New Zealand, performing in Auckland after his debut EP broke into the Apple Music Alternative Charts.

Defined by his live performance, concepts and collaboration, Cyrano has been named in Vic Galloway’s ’25 Artists to Watch in 2023’.

With his sixth full-length album, “Cloud Souvenirs,” American singer-songwriter Chris Staples offers up a slew of indie/folk melodies —not only nurturing the restless heart and curious soul, but also providing a portal for the listener to sit, immerse and disappear into. “Memories are souvenirs we carry around with us,” Staples says. “They remind us of where we came from, and who we are.

Memories are also like clouds in a way. They slowly change and our interpretation of them is everything — they are subjective.”Recorded in his native Florida, “Cloud Souvenirs” conjures what it means to be a musical artist in the incessant white noise and unrelenting digital distraction of the unfolding 21st century, something Staples has pursued in the music industry for over 25 years.“I’ve always made songs as a way of coping. Life is a little chaotic, and writing songs are an attempt at making some sense of all of this” the 44-year-old says. “A lot of my songs have some resolve to them, where they’re the final answer to the problem I’ve been working out. And I think some people take comfort in these songs because of this.

Formed by Melyssa Shannon (Vocals), Jonny Woods (Guitar, Vocals), Aaron Black (Guitar) and Matt Killen (Drums) and Carl Gilmore (Bass) In January 2018, Wynona Bleach began after a 12 Date Russian Headline Tour under their former name of R51. Prior to this they played BBC Introducing stages at Reading and Leeds festivals, supported Feeder, and performed on a televised anniversary of the BBC’s Introducing music show in Northern Ireland at a sold out show in the Ulster Hall alongside Therapy? SOAK Villagers and The Divine Comedy.

Wynona Bleach released their Debut Single “Eyes Burning” in January 2018, and an EP titled “Sugar” in late 2018. They supported Alice in Chains on the irish leg of their World Tour in 2019, after which they retreated to an abandoned warehouse in central Portugal, where they recorded their debut album “Moonsoake” with Bill Ryder-Jones in 2019/early 2020. In august 2021 ahead of announcing a release date for “Moonsoake”, they signed a record deal with Fierce Panda Records.

“Moonsoake” was mixed across the lockdowns in 2020, with the title track recorded in isolation and added “last minute” to the album. As of late 2021, two singles have been released “Glimmer” and “Drag” – the latter being playlisted on BBC radio ulster, as well as charting in the top 40 of Amazing Radio and being featured on multiple Spotify editorial playlists.