British electronic act Cabinet of Millionaires has announced their new single ‘Theresa’. Featuring resplendent punchy beats, sci-fi loony tune hooks, dub basslines and gospel-tinged soul-rock vocals from Pat Fulgoni, this five-song release includes four versions of the title track plus b-side ‘Serve Me’.
Some would label this agit-house, some electro-rock, others social disco. Whatever you’d like to call it, Cabinet Of Millionaires is an uncompromising project with a ballsy soulful political message and infectious grooves. Part band, part blog, according to Eddie Gordon (BBC Essential Mix), this is “the kind of dance music that DJ’s like Andy Weatherall would turn people onto or the Talking Heads would delight the New York uber-cool clubs with”.
This is CoM’s fourth single, following up previous singles ‘Satan’s Horses’, ‘Serve Me’ and ‘Cabinet Of Millionaires’, which have received adio support from the likes of Eddy Temple Morris and Nemone (BBC Radio 6), as well as various American college radio stations.
Steve Whitfield (The Cure, The Mission, Terrorvision, Klammer) mixed this release at Mead Studios in Leeds. He also contributes guitar on the original version of ‘Theresa’ and delivers a lush Donna Summer-meets-Underworld dance remix.
All the way from Huddersfield, Cabinet of Millionaires bring a scathing attack on the austerity policies of the UK’s Conservative Party government, referencing the Windrush scandal, the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and failure to take in enough refugees (whilst selling arms), not to mention the dismantling of the country’s National Health Service.
The accompanying video pushes the message further, following a homeless busker around Manchester as he desperately tries to earn a bit of money with a useless Theresa May puppet before throwing it in the bin.
“This government is not listening. As the last CoM single ranted, “You’re here to Serve Me!” and not the other way around! It is time for a general election. 8 years of Tory rule have brought misery,” says CoM’s Dave C.
Vocalist Pat Fulgoni sings across a wide range of genres, Most recently he has been flexing his vocal muscle with massive Drum & Bass artists including Camo & Krooked, London Elektricity, Dexcell, Technimatic, Logistics, 1991 and The Vanguard Project, and for labels including Hospital, Ram, Shogun Audio, Spearhead, MTA, and Medschool. He’s toured the planet with various acts from the USA to China and throughout Europe. His activism dates back to the 1990s, when he organized the No Compromize CD against the introduction of tuition fees and collaborated with Tony Benn MP.
Live dates have included shows for Love Music Hate Racism and the Peoples Assembly Against Austerity, even being incorporated into a play (theatre) down the road from Conservative Party Conference and live appearances on official demonstration stages in Manchester and Downing St, London.
As of January 25,2019, ‘Theresa’ will be available for digital download across online stores and streaming platforms. It can be downloaded on a or pay what you want basis via Bandcamp.
“Farcical, impassioned and addictive to listen to, hopefully, this will become a much-played earworm that will wiggle its way into the minds of many, moving them onto the streets”
– Examiner Live“The kind of dance music that DJ’s like Andy Weatherall would turn people onto or the Talking Heads would delight the New York uber-cool clubs with”
– Eddie Gordon (BBC Essential Mix)“Theresa’ by Cabinet Of Millionaires could not be more timely, right now. Haunting beats. This would sound brilliant on the radio”
– The Zine UK“Cabinet of Millionaires finds a grounded sound in disco/dance territory with listeners only too happy to follow them there. Beats, drive, a deep soulful voice, and genuine vocal delivery with an important message echoing the sentiment of millions… The cool, rhythmic grooves and slickly fast pace make the pointed lyrics go down smoothly, while the expressively exclaimed lyrics get the message across loud and clear”
– Big Takeover Magazine“Theresa is certainly no love song to the prime minister – but undoubtedly a formidable piece of protest dance-rock… With a passionate vocal performance, rich fuzzy synths and pounding drums, Cabinet of Millionaires have produced a banging protest song that’s sure to get everyone moshing at their next gig”
– Tom Robinson, BBC / Fresh on the Net
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/CabinetOfMillionaires
https://cabinetofmillionaires.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/cabinetofmillionaires
https://www.youtube.com/cabinetofmillionaires
https://twitter.com/cabinetmillion
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Spray – Anthologised By Cherry Red
British synth band and self-styled indie-pop chameleons Spray have announced their forthcoming single ‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’, which is slated for release on May 11.
Founded in 2001, Spray is comprised of Ricardo Autobahn (synthesizers) and Jenny McLaren (vocals, guitars), both formerly of the Cuban Boys, who took their chaotic technopunk to number 1 on the Festive 50 (twice), recorded one of the best Peel Sessions ever and went head-to-head with Sir Cliff Richard in a Christmas Chart Battle (but ultimately lost). Their hit single ‘Cognoscenti Vs Intelligentsia’ (a.k.a. ‘The Hamster Dance Song’) sold a million copies, reached number 4 in the UK single charts, landed them on Top of the Pops and, in the words of John Peel, was “the most requested song I’ve had since ‘God Save The Queen’.
In a mathematically constructed list presented by RockListMusic.co.uk, the Cuban Boys registered as the 30th most popular band in the history of the John Peel Show, ranking ahead of the Inspiral Carpets (31), The Cure (34), Nirvana and The Stone Roses (=tied at 35). BBC producer Mike Engles selected the Cuban Boys’ first Peel Session as one of his top 10 all-time favorites, alongside Nirvana, The Damned and Ivor Cutler.
‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’ came about after a chat Ricardo Autobahn had with a fellow musician. When asked what he was currently up to, he uttered the beautiful phrase “oh, I’m at that stage in my career where I’m being anthologized by Cherry Red”. A lot of Spray’s inspiration and ideas come from everyday comments and this went straight to the band notebook.
“The song is not a critique of Cherry Red as we’re actually big fans of the label. It’s more a straightforward story song about a fading rock band finding success in their twilight years,” says Jenny McLaren. “It’s also an observation about the state of the music industry. If the business is based on catalog reissues, where are the catalog reissues of the future going to come from?”
Spray’s music is influenced by Sparks, The Buggles, DEVO, Pet Shop Boys, the KLF, Chvrches, and The Big Moon.
“This is spiky, new-wave electronic pop with a sense of humor. But we take our sense of humor very seriously. We aim for big choruses and funny lyrics, disco beats, and deafening synths,” says Ricardo Autobahn. “We try and write songs about things that aren’t normally written about in pop. There are enough songs now about love and cars, we try and go beyond that”.
Following the demise of the Cuban Boys, Autobahn and McLaren formed Spray, turning their attention toward synthpop and releasing their debut album ‘Living In Neon’ in 2002 on U.S. indie label Ninthwave Media. This was followed by ‘Children Of A Laser God’ in 2006, which included their smash cover of Lisa Lougheed’s ‘Run With Us’ (also ‘The Raccoons’ theme song).
Spray was the secret weapon behind the UK’s 2006 Final at Eurovision for Daz Sampson ‘Teenage Life’, having written and produced it, as well as singing the treated vocals for that track. Ricardo Autobahn and Daz Sampson would also collaborate on a dance version of ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ under the name Rikki and Daz, recording it with the legendary Glen Campbell himself and filming its expensive video in the Arizona desert. This track went top 10.
Spray also recorded a novelty track as the Barndance Boys called ‘Yippie I Oh’, which became a top 30 hit. Under the moniker, The Attery Squash, Ricardo’s track ‘DEVO Was Right About Everything’ was remixed by Devo themselves. More recently, Spray recorded music with anarchic BBC star Hacker T. Dog.
Ricardo Autobahn writes music for TV and radio, which can be heard from BBC4 to ITV2 and from Australia to the USA. He also plays keyboards with Welsh punk-pop legends Helen Love, also known for their collaboration with Joey Ramone.
Throughout all of this, the duo has continued to record their verbose off-kilter indie-disco synthpop. Later on this year, Spray will release their fifth studio album, whilst undertaking their first live shows. ‘Anthologised By Cherry Red’ is the first material to be released, reflecting the band’s archetypal sound – a celebration-of-all-things-pop tinged with cynicism, despair, and the band’s ironic humor.
Spray ‘Anthologised by Cherry Red’ will be released on May 11 across all the standard online music stores and streaming platforms.
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/spraynet
http://spray.bandcamp.com
http://www.twitter.com/spraypopmusic
http://www.instagram.com/spraypopmusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/spraynetdotcodotuk
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/spray/5903199
http://open.spotify.com/artist/0lF1G9Lj5OsNKzBXmZWdcd?si=6XETlVr1RIenyJ0aYOvUTw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray_(band) -
Pinhdar – Too Late (A Big Wave)
Pinhdar has released their new video for the track titled ‘Too Late (A Big Wave). I must say that the lockdown is producing some really good music and that is none the more true than with Pinhdar’s newest release titled ‘Too Late (Big Wave)’. Pinhdar has been a duo of artists that seem to be on an energetic quest to find their sound and perfect it on multiple levels.
‘Too Late’ is the latest in the evolution of revolution that Pinhdar is on a quest to said perfection. That haunting intro that transitions into an almost Laurie Anderson-inspired chorus is brilliant in so many ways. This is a song that goes left when you think it will go right, musically.
Add to that the cinematic scope of the video and you have the reverse effect of a film where that film’s score compliments the film itself. Here, you have the opposite. The cinema is here to complement the music. And that music is bold.
Check out our other features with Pinhdar HERE.
About Pinhdar
Since exploding onto the music scene in 2019 with their self-titled debut PINHDAR has further refined their brand of Psychedelic dark Pop on this latest album. The duo has made a name for themselves on both sides of the Atlantic when in the band Nomoredolls; relentlessly playing New York venues like CBGB’s, Knitting Factory & Arlene’s Grocery and established a loyal US fanbase before moving on to establish PINHDAR. Under the new name and armed with a new sound it wasn’t long before they’d won over the ears of legendary British critic and Rock Music Biographer Kris Needs.
So impressed with the bands unique sound, Kris invited them to play at the launch of his new book in London, all the while ‘TOY’ was starting to gain critical acclaim across the world with VICE/Noisey listing it in their top 10 tracks of 2019 and legendary station KEXP adding it to their repertoire.
Recorded Entirely during the lockdown in their Milan-based studio alongside Scottish producer Howie B (U2, Bjork, Tricky, Massive Attack, and many others). The musicians initially contacted their producer hero without expecting a reply, Instead, his response was enthusiastic and at a level, they had never expected offering to not only mix the raw tracks but also to contribute creatively as the album’s producer. The bewilderment felt during the months of lockdown while recording and writing led PINHDAR to seek refuge in a parallel reality, a universe of surreal and alien sounds and concepts encapsulated by the Albums cover; a house miraculously floating on the water’s surface.
The record is a dream-like journey and trip through existential anxiety exasperated by the current social environment and dangers both to humankind and our environment. Exploring themes such as solitude, social indifference, environmental threats, and our fear of mortality. These elements are interwoven in dreamy imagery capturing a mixture of emotions against a backdrop of hope. A rollercoaster of uncertainty Parallel is a snapshot of life experienced in 2020.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Pinhdar
https://www.instagram.com/pinhdar
https://twitter.com/pinhdar
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dyLnwsbDsTfxa6qPi7LjF -
Campbell L Sangster – Odds are Stacked
Campbell L Sangster is the solo project of singer/ songwriter aka Lin Sangster from Liverpool. Previous bands include Bad Anorak 404, Kit and Send no Flowers. Sangster’s recent work on soundtracks for film and video projects fed into the songwriting process for ‘Odds Are Stacked’, influencing the approach to the song and lending a visual quality both lyrically and musically.
Campbell L. Sangster’s forthcoming debut album is scheduled for release later this year, and in the meantime more music can be accessed through Soundcloud.
About the Film:
This film is an exploration of female masculinity, past, present and future. Tinged with 50s America and moments of the contemporary, Campbell performs alongside The Drakes – a posing gallant band of butches, bois, studs, transmen & genderqueers.Edie Sedgwick lives on in the body and soul of a sun worshipping, silver-clad mother, desperate for sun rays.
Meanwhile, her budding gymnast daughter becomes mesmerised by the arrival of Buffy – a woman in her 70s – physically strong and utterly focussed in her bespoke one piece swimming suit. With the spirit of Esther Williams and verve of an assassin, we watch as she dives agelessly, effortlessly.
Back and forth, stronger, stronger, air bubbles reaching the surface as each stretch reaches forward, more powerful than the last. The look of the young girl as she watches, watches as this swimmer hypnotizes her.
As the song reaches its climax, the swimmer exits the water; she leaves as she had arrived – controlled but assuaged. The young girl is left to wonder, a stronger spirit, the imprint of the mysterious woman remaining with her forever.
About the Director:
Mike Matthews is a passionate and accomplished director. He has most recently directed successful commercial campaigns for Mullenlowe, VCCP, Leo Burnett and M&C Saatchi. He is exclusively represented by Fat Lemon.Credits:
Director: Mike Matthews @ Fat Lemon
Producer: Kelley Ralph
Production Company: Fat Lemon
Executive producer: Cabell Hopkins
Cinematography: Dave Miller
1st AD: Jerome Franc
Focus Puller: Chris Stephens
Drone: Sam Moore
Gaffer: Darren Jackson
Production Designer: Mark Harriott
Costume Designer: Mark Harriott
Wardrobe Supervisor: Bex Harvey
Make-up: Tricia Woolston
Editor: Kev Palmer @ Ten Three Editing
Colorist: Matt Turner @ Absolute Post
Post Production: Absolute Post