Azure Blue

The latest addition to the Fika Recordings roster is Swedish synthpop master Azure Blue, the new project from Tobias Isaksson (Irene, Laurel Music). After his delightful debut album last year, Rule Of Thirds, we're joining the Swedish label Hybris to bring you Azure Blue's sophomore album Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt on 12" maroon vinyl. Matinée Recordings will be releasing the CD in North America, while Anna Logue Records will be releasing a double LP featuring both the Rule Of Thirds and Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt LPs.

Listen to the singles from the upcoming album below, and then pre-order the new album on vinyl here

Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt is out September 30th 2013.

Azure Blue has grown into the hearts of music lovers around the world with his debut album Rule Of Thirds and a promotional tour of 10 countries. His debut received critical praise, winning a Swedish independent grammy award, Manifest, (previous winners include The Knife, Jens Lekman and El Perro Del Mar) for the best pop album in 2012.

"Nostalgia fuelled pop harking back to the heyday of Factory Records, Isaksson's material is deeply romantic with a deft production slight of hand that can single-handedly break your heart and indeed heal it in one fell swoop." The Line Of Best Fit (UK) "The best electro-pop record in recent memory." Blurt Magazine (USA) “His touch is tender and light, and the album’s best songs always swing to the sky, riding up on decades of learning from drum machines and tangled relationships” The Fader (USA)

Released today

Barcodes, the second single from Making Marks, is released today on 7" vinyl and download. There's a bonus track too, in the form of a Barcodes remix from Skantze Tanzen.

Also out today is the debut LP from Victoria and Jacob, in a gorgeous die cut sleeve on heavyweight 12" vinyl.

Barcodes video from Making Marks

Here's the new video from Making Marks, recorded during their summer North American tour with Tigercats and The Smittens. See if you can spot members of both dancing throughout the video... It was recorded on the drive from a wonderful Richmond, Virginia house show on the way to a hectic show in Washington DC (and just before we blew a tyre on the interstate and limped the hire car back home).

The single comes out on the 5th of August on 7" vinyl - both tracks are exclusive versions that won't feature on their upcoming album, due out early 2014. There's also a banging remix from Skantze on the download. Pre-order here (and pick up their debut 7", Ticket Machine, at the same time).

25th July: Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire, UK (Django Django, Soulwax, Regina Spektor...) 28th July: Indietracks, Derbyshire, UK (The Pastels, Camera Obscura, Helen Love...) 30th July: The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, UK (with The Ballet & The Felt Tips) 31st July: The Maze, Nottingham, UK (with The Ballet & We Show Up On Radar) 1st August: The Lexington, London, UK (with The Ballet & Without Feathers) 22nd August: Cafeteatret, Oslo, Norway

Victoria and Jacob's Cry Baby - out now!

Victoria and Jacob - Copyright- Heloise Faure 2013 - 2303SMALL

After a stunning acoustic set complete with a string section at the Union Chapel in London last weekend, Victoria and Jacob release Cry Baby, the second single from their upcoming debut album today. It is available as a download from iTunes, Spotify and the like, and direct from the Fika shop too. The single comes complete with all 8 of the remixes, from talented folk such as Darren Hayman, Antwerp and Cosines amongst others.

Their debut album is available to pre-order now on both CD and LP - the latter in particular looks absolutely stunning, coming in a die cut sleeve on heavyweight 180gsm vinyl.

Darren Hayman & The Short Parliament - Bugbears [12"/CD]

Artist: Darren Hayman & The Short Parliament
Title: Bugbears
Format: 12” album on heavyweight vinyl | digipack CD - both with illustrated lyric booklet
Cat#: Fika024LP | Fika024CD
Release date: 15th July 2013
Bandcamp | Spotify

An album of songs from the English Civil Wars and seventeenth century to accompany The Violence. 

I recently made an album called ‘The Violence’. It concerns itself with the East Anglian witch trials during the English Civil Wars. During my research I started to come across folk songs of the seventeenth century and Stuart era. Two such songs appear on that album: ‘When the King Enjoys His Own Again’ and ‘A Coffin for King Charles, A Crown for Cromwell and a Pit for the People’. 

I didn’t seek to achieve forensic detail when finding these songs, but was keen to have a sense of the flavour of the music of the era. As a side project to the album, I started to record and adapt some of the songs, and now they are collected here. 
Consider this an accompanying volume to The Violence, a scene setter, a spin off. 

Although I did a fair amount of research, these are not meant to be definitive or historical readings of the songs. I have revised, edited and even rewritten in places. 

Thanks to Malcolm Taylor and the library at Cecil Sharp House, and the English Folk Dance and Song Society. 

Darren Hayman, February 2013. 

Press for Bugbears

"Bugbears ends up sounding like a stellar Darren Hayman album. 'The Contented' and 'Impossibilities' are like Hefner at their best, while 'Seven Months Married' is the kind of engaging, unfurling yarn the 42 year old has made his own since going solo. History has rarely been so engaging" The NME [7/10]

"an intriguing, satisfying listen" Record Collector [4/5]

"Pretty poignant ane educational, too" Uncut [8/10]

"Bugbears is a rich and warming curio" Mojo [3/5]

"the freeness of the reinterprations animates the source material all the more effectively" Financial Times [4/5]

"Bugbears is a loving and modern take on the chaotic Civil War period, with his Essex and London accent giving the songs greater authenticity" Neon Filler [8/10]

“Hayman may sing about impossibilities, but with Bugbears, he’s proved that it’s possible to turn the ancient into the contemporary and the fatalistic into the optimistic.” Music OMH [4/5]

“With Bugbears, Hayman stands apart” The Arts Desk

"they no longer sound like musty relics but more an interesting and occasionally informative journey back in time that's seen through modern eyes and is, on more than one occasion, really quite enchanting" SoundsXP

"Musically the band have done a cracking job with the arrangements, and all the songs, featuring lute and violins alongside guitars, sound incredibly authentic. Of course this is a Darren Hayman album so the songs he has chosen tend to the darker side of life, but that's what we love about Darren Hayman, right?" Artrocker

"Hayman recognises the birth of modernity in the social upheaval of that era" The Quietus

"quirkier in concept than performance, like a folk genre idea tackled with an indie band's skillset" Herald Scotland

"These songs could have carried on all day as far as I was concerned: Bugbears is, in every way but superstitiously, utterly charming." For Folks Sake

"he has unearthed a fascinating treasure trove of folk songs and turned them in to a lovingly performed, effortlessly enjoyable collection of songs" Penny Black Music

“The hearts of the songs have been treasured in their time-travelling.” Kyeo [3/5]

“‘Bugbears’ is distinctive album and an intriguing companion to The Violence. Hayman has reached back into the past and picked up a handful of gems.” Drunken Werewolf

“‘Bugbears’ is a collection of lovingly crafted folk songs” Norman Records

Fulhäst - What Do You See?

London's one-man-Gameboy-pop-punk-band Fulhäst has published a new video for the song What Do You See?, the upcoming single from debut album Broken.

The video features members of Durham punk bands ONSIND (Plan-It-X Records) and Martha (Discount Horse Records), as well as Birmingham's Ace Bushy Striptease (Odd Box Records).

What Do You See? is a totally free (or pay what you like) download available from the Fika webshop.

'Broken' comes on yellow vinyl at the end of the month - it's available to pre-order now from the shop. The album also includes a remix of a Your Skin from Darren Hayman... we'll let you hear that shortly!

Fika Recordings 'Barely Legal' North American Tour 2013

We've been back in the UK for a few days now from our 8 day tour around the East Coast of Canada and the USA with The Smittens, Tigercats and Making Marks. Readjusting to normal life has been somewhat tricky - I'm seriously missing getting on the road and venturing to a new city, stopping off a swim in a river on the way, or just chilling outside the motel until 5am with 14 of the best people I've had the pleasure to work with on Fika. Thankfully, Jørgen, drumer for Making Marks, filmed much of the trip and edited it down to the wonderful video below. Have a look and see what you missed out on. See you stateside in 2014 maybe?

Cosines - Hey Sailor Boy!

Here's the video for Cosines' debut 7" single Hey Sailor Boy!, out on Monday. Inspired by the video for Kellie Marie's "It Feels Like I'm in Love", the videos follows two sailor's drunken debaucheries around central London. The video features prostitution, drug taking and nudity.

The video was shot by Simon Love on one rainy afternoon in April, the band spent most of the afternoon in the pub or running away from HMS Belfast security man Roly. Drummer Jonny slept the whole day so missed the filming. It was directed and choreographed by Simon Love.

Buy the 7" single here.

On Tour!

In less than two weeks Fika Recordings are heading out on tour across the USA and Canada with Tigercats, The Smittens and Making Marks, ending up at New York Popfest. It's our first venture across the Atlantic, so please tell your friends, come down and have a dance and bring some pocket money to buy some records! Tigercats + The Smittens + Making Marks May 25: Taverne L’inspecteur Épingle, Montreal QC May 26: The Monkey House, Winooski VT May 27: Radio, Somerville MA May 28: Charm City Artspace, Baltimore MD May 29: Clown Can Country Club, Philadelphia PA May 30: Church Of Abraham, Richmond VA May 31: The Velvet Lounge, Washington DC June 1: Spike Hill, Brooklyn NY (The Smittens and Making Marks - afternoon show) June 1: The Bell House, Brooklyn NY (Tigercats - evening show)

Making Marks are also appearing at this summer's Indietracks festival and we're curr Jul 25-27 Indietracks, Derbyshire

Don't worry if you're in the UK though, there are plenty of Fika related shows coming up!

Darren Hayman has announced a monthly residency at the Vortex in Dalston, London. July features Witches and Bugbears; August is Sun Sea and Lidos. May 25: Now We Are Festival, West Bromwich July 11: Vortex, London Aug 8: Vortex London

Victoria and Jacob, the latest signings to Fika, are bringing their lush electronic pop to you as well... May 17: Old Blue Last, London (free show) May 25: Now We Are Festival, West Bromwich June 25: The Portland Arms, Cambridge July 24: 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff July 25-28: Secret Garden Party Festival, Cambridgeshire August 11: The Lexington, London (Album launch show with Azure Blue [SE], Cosines and Hong Kong In The 60s)

Fulhäst isn't going to miss out either, he's playing... June 28: Empty Shop HQ, Durham July 21: Buffalo Bar, London Aug 5: tba, Brighton

and finally Cosines will also be heading off to West Bromwich to join Darren Hayman, Victoria and Jacob, and many many more, after a last minute show with Seapony May 16: The Lexington, London (with Seapony) May 25: Now We Are Festival, West Bromwich

Darren Hayman - Bugbears

BugbearsLPFront

It's happening again! After the sold out screenprinted 10" Christmas In Howarth EP we released for Darren Hayman the Christmas before last, we've another release from him out on Fika Recordings, this time a full length LP! The album has evolved dramatically from our first discussions with Darren about Bugbears and has materialised into one of the most ambitious projects we've undertaken so far. So let's run you through all the important details you need to know!

Bugbears LP vinyl book

Bugbears ...is an album of songs from the English Civil Wars and seventeenth century to accompany The Violence. Here's Darren's explanation of Bugbears:

I recently made an album called ‘The Violence’. It concerns itself with the East Anglian witch trials during the English Civil Wars. During my research I started to come across folk songs of the seventeenth century and Stuart era. Two such songs appear on that album: ‘When the King Enjoys His Own Again’ and ‘A Coffin for King Charles, A Crown for Cromwell and a Pit for the People’. 

I didn’t seek to achieve forensic detail when finding these songs, but was keen to have a sense of the flavour of the music of the era. As a side project to the album, I started to record and adapt some of the songs, and now they are collected here. Consider this an accompanying volume to The Violence, a scene setter, a spin off. Although I did a fair amount of research, these are not meant to be definitive or historical readings of the songs. I have revised, edited and even rewritten in places.

The Short Parliament Joining Darren on Bugbears are Bill Botting, Dan Mayfield, Dave Watkins, David Tattersall and Johny Lamb.

Formats We'll be presenting Bugbears on 180gr heavyweight 12" vinyl (including a download code) and within a beautiful CD gatefold package. Both formats come with a 16 page booklet of illustrations, lyrics and Darren's notes, interpretations and commentary.

Illustrations Duncan Barrett is the genius behind the sleeve artwork and the booklet design. His artwork has graced numerous Fika releases in the past and hopefully many more to come! The booklet itself features an illustration for each of the 13 songs on Bugbears, from 13 different artists. Among those involved were Pam Berry, Robert Rotifer, Dan Willson and Ant Harding.

The Blog Over the next two months in the run up to the release on the 15th of July, Darren and I will be hosting a blog. Expect to find previews of the songs, videos, interviews from historians and musicians, features of the illustrators and plenty more.

Pre-order The album is available to pre-order from the Fika Recording shop now, shipping in early July.

Bugbears CD and booklet

Follow the Bugbears blog at fikarecordings.com/bugbears