A DIY INDIEPOP VINYL & CASSETTE LABEL

The Winter Sprinter 2018

Fika Recordings, WIAIWYA and Gare du Nord proudly present the return of annual Winter Sprinter!

Four nights, three labels, twelve bands, DJs… the perfect antidote to the post-Christmas blues in the intimate surroundings of The Lexington.

Thanks to Track & Field and Fortuna Pop; without their previous stewardships of the Winter Sprinter, we'd all be sat at home feeling glum the first week of January.

A limited number of super early bird 4 day passes are available now for £32 from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings. Keep an eye on the website, our Twitter and Facebook pages to keep up to date on the line up announcements!

July 24th: The Hayman Kupa Band album launch show

Advance tickets from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

THE HAYMAN KUPA BAND When Darren Hayman (Hefner) and Emma Kupa (Standard Fare/ Mammoth Penguins) decided to make a duets record, we knew the results would be great, but we didn’t expect them to be THIS great. Gathering together a rhythm section consisting of Michael Wood (Whoa Melodic/Singing Adams) on bass and Cat Loye (Fever Dream) on drums, The Hayman Kupa band create brash, bold and effortlessly melodic power pop. Sharing writing duties and sometimes singing each others words, lines are blurred and creativity explored in a wonderfully exuberant collection of songs. The album, recorded in three days at Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate, is an exploration of relationships and, at its heart, it’s the sound of a friendship being made.

WOLF GIRL Wolf Girl are Becky, Chris, Carl and Christabel - a garage pop four-piece based in South London. Having met each other through being in awkward teenage bands in the South East, they eventually formed in September 2013. With admirable authenticity, they record and rehearse in an old garage called Bucket East that backs onto the river Wandle, staying faithful to their garage-rock tendencies. It’s been said that they both do and don’t sound like the Ramones, and have also been compared to both the Shop Assistants and Bratmobile. Wolf Girl have their own trademarks though, offering a spirited take on powerful, melodic and jagged indie pop that often recalls the noisier aspects of C86.

SCHANDE A London trio, Schande are known for writing discordantly catchy, melodic indie rock- that joyous blend of 90s indie at its best, mixed with a unique element of the unknown. Jen’s take on Schande’s sound is simple: “We’re not story tellers- the music is landscape where literal meaning is irrelevant. We’re inspired by memory, by experience and by those undefined tangents and planes linking the two. Those tensions between space and location- that’s what we soundtrack.”

Jun 21st: Enderby's Room with The Wave Pictures and Emma Kupa at St Pancras Old Church

We're putting on a very special gig in the beautiful confines of St Pancras Old Church to celebrate the release of the debut album from Enderby's Room. And we're delighted to be able to say both The Wave Pictures and Emma Kupa will be playing full sets in support of Enderby's Room.

ENDERBY'S ROOM

Enderby’s Room is fiddle player Dan Mayfield, once from rural Lincolnshire, but he has now found home living in London. His folk tinged songs reflect on his traditional folk upbringing. Mayfield has played violin for many artists including Daniel Johnston, Darren Hayman, The Wave Pictures, Allo Darlin’ and the Belles of London City morris dancers. Over the past ten years he has gently built up a collection of his own songs, which he performs with his band Enderby’s Room. The name comes from an Anthony Burgess character called Mr Enderby who composed his prose inside the toilet. The band’s make up has been constantly evolving; around 30 different individuals have been a part of Enderby’s Room over the last decade, before settling on the current 5 piece lineup. Enderby’s Room’s sound features a Victorian pedal harmonium, together with French horn, double bass, ukulele, guitar and percussion.

“Unfolding gently, the quiet grace of Enderby’s Room seems to draw on the folk tradition while taking brave chances of its own.” Clash Music" "At times they capture the sumptuous melancholia of Low; at others, they're finding new shapes for indie folk" How Does It Feel “their delicate harmonies, unusual instruments and vivid storytelling are intricately woven and desperately beautiful” Green Man Festival

THE WAVE PICTURES

The Wave Pictures are David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny ‘Huddersfield’ Helm. Formed in 1998 when Franic and David lived in a village called Wymeswold, the band played with several drummers until Jonny became a permanent member in 2003 replacing Hugh J Noble. In the beginning the band learned to play together by covering Jonathan Richman songs but soon David was writing lots of original material. They have since released six studio albums to critical acclaim and played numerous sessions on BBC 6 Music, Radio 1 and Xfm. Interest generated from these recordings has enabled The Wave Pictures to play shows all over the world with artists including Jeffrey Lewis, Darren Hayman, Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Herman Düne.

EMMA KUPA

Emma stepped into the limelight as the lead singer, bass player and songwriter for much loved (and missed) indie heroes Standard Fare, and has since been a front woman in Without Feathers, Mammoth Penguins and The Hayman Kupa Band. What she lacks in quality band names she more than makes up for in intensely personal and irresistibly hummable pop tunes.

BELLES OF LONDON CITY

An innovative and unique blend of morris dancing, song, music and foolery with a modern edge, with Enderby's Room's Dan Mayfield on fiddle.

Advance tickets available from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings.

Fika's next show: 26th Feb at Moth Club

Come and join us on the 26th of February at Moth Club for a very special evening with Bill Botting & The Two Drink Minimums to launch their debut album Better Friends. And what better way to do it, than invite a very special bunch of the band's friends to join them on stage on the night. We can't reveal much more than that yet (all will become clear soon!), but we promise you this is one show you don't want to miss. We'll be announcing some names and the very special support act shortly... but in the meantime, here's all the info you need:

26th Feb 2017 Moth Club Old Trades Hall Valette Street E9 6NU Doors 18:00 Ends 22:00ish Tickets £7adv / £10 on the door Facebook event

Stanley Brinks and Freschard tour dates

November 4th MARSEILLE, France - La Machine a CoudreNovember 5th ARLES, France - Le Magasin de jouets November 23rd METZ, France – Bar 7/7 November 24th TBA November 25th NANCY, France - Home sweet home festival #4 November 26th REIMS, France - TBC November 27th REIMS, France – Quartier libre (tbc) November 28th PARIS, France – L'Olympic Cafe November 29th ZÜRICH, Switzerland – New Zitrone December 1st FREIBURG, Germany – White Rabbit December 2nd MANNHEIM, Germany - Altes Volksbad December 3rd WAIBLINGEN, Germany – Fidel's Fitz at Kulturhaus Schwanen December 4th BAERENBACH,Germany – Shorty's

Owl & Mouse on tour

ommvd Not long now until we host Owl & Mouse and Model Village at the start of their tour, with support from Deerful. Advance tickets available from wegottickets.com/fikarecordings

Come join us on the 23rd of November at Haunt N16 to see Owl & Mouse kick off their tour alongside Model Village. Joining us will be Deerful.

Advance tickets for the London show are available from WeGotTickets.

23rd Nov - Haunt, LONDON N16 26th Nov - Moat House, ROCHESTER 27th Nov - JT Soar, NOTTINGHAM 2nd Dec - The Blue Moon, CAMBRIDGE 3rd Dec - The Waiting Room, COLCHESTER 4th Dec - The Old Crown Inn, SHEFFIELD