Interview: The Dirty Feel - Truth Be Told

London’s The Dirty Feel, whose dynamic Southern-influenced blues-rock recalls acts like Cream and early Fleetwood Mac while cocking an ear to 21st-century electric-roots groups, have released their debut album Truth Be Told, 18 months on from the tragic death of singer/guitarist and founding member Nick Hirsch. Lost in the Manor spoke to drummer Virgil Howe.

Congratulations on the release of Truth Be Told, how are you planning to celebrate the album’s release? Thank you very much. With Nick’s passing the release is very bittersweet for us. We are really pleased with how the album sounds and everyone's positive reaction to it. And we really want to keep playing this music for people to enjoy live. So we have a launch gig on the 5th December at The Blues Kitchen in Camden, London.

Nick is pictured on the cover, did his death (from a blood-related disease) lead you to question whether to finish Truth Be Told, or just forge your determination to get it heard? We had finished the album before we lost Nick, so releasing it was never in doubt. There's so much more of Nick’s music that deserves to be heard. We're compiling it all so people will have a place to hear it.

You’re relaunching as a four-piece, with the addition of a keyboard player. Can fans expect a change of dynamic, in either the songwriting or live performance? At first, [bassist] Kez and I understandably thought that we would/could never play our music again. After a while we spoke to Nick’s family and our friends about the possibility of playing the album live and we all couldn't bear the thought of Nick’s music and The Dirty Feel, as a band, finishing there. Not wanting to carry on as a three-piece, the addition of Henry Broadbent (who we played with in The Killer Meters) was an obvious choice, as the new record has a fair bit of keys on it and Henry is a great singer to boot.

The Dirty Feel are known for incendiary gigs. Which of your tracks are guaranteed to ignite the coldest crowd? ‘Get Down’ has always been a crowd favourite. But we haven't played tracks like ‘Threadbare Excuse’ or ‘Spanish Silver’ live yet so it'll be interesting to see how they go down. I think there's more of an epic quality to this album, so we're able to take people on more of a journey.

You’ve been playing live for more than a decade now. How has the London circuit changed over the years? Less venues and more bands.

The razor-blade riffs on your recent single ‘Far Gone’ bring your sound bang up to date. The commercial success of the likes of White Stripes, Black Keys and The Strypes shows the enduring appeal of stripped-down gutsy rock’n’roll. So how far are you guys going to take it? What does the future hold for The Dirty Feel? We want to take it as far and wide as we can. Like we said, we haven't played lots of these songs live yet. So we're really looking forward to showing people how The Dirty Feel sound has moved on with this album. As far as the future, we are taking it one step at a time. It will never be the same without Nick, but we can do our best to keep the band moving onwards and realise the dream we all started together.

Truth Be Told is out now

Follow Nick Mee on Twitter @Nickjmee

Introducing: Christian Gregory - Count on You

Checkout Christian Gregory's 'Count on you' which is the debut single on Michael Kiwanuka's brand new label Movement Records

'Count On You' is set for release on Dec 9th

Watch/Download: Kaleida - Think

Kaleida's debut offering 'Think' is the first track to drop from an EP of the same name that will be revealed before the end of the year. Made up of Christina Wood (vocals) & Cicely Goulder (keys / production), the electronic duo are London based and come together via Norway, Germany and the US.

Download 'Think' today for free

Watch: Velour Modular – Forward

Its opening frames may suggest some sort of French numeracy test, but stick with the promo for Velour Modular’s ‘Forward’, because not only is it a wonderfully nonsensical visual showcase of brilliant colour and unlikely objects intruding on a bleak, washed-out landscape, but the accompanying four-minutes of ambient disco-pop confirms that Gallic groovemakers have a hand in much of today’s classiest electronic dance music. Working with London-based Spanish producer Hektagon (whose 2009 ‘Finsbury Park Interlude’ sparked obvious interest in these parts), Cannes-born chanteuse Guilhem has crafted a melodic mini-gem. An ominous choral refrain about nuclear chaos may not seem the most obvious lyric to take hold on the dancefloor, but its immediacy and the song’s crisp, minimal beats and modular synth runs are sure to generate plenty of heat. Find it on the duo’s ‘Capsule’ EP, out imminently.

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Watch: Psapp - Wet Salt

Check out Psapp's cool new video 'Wet Salt' which is taken from Psapp's Album 'What Makes Us Glow'

Speaking about the track, the duo said "Wet Salt is a song about the dirt, greyness and magic of city life. It’s full of bustle, colour and magic. It’s also about the internal battle where you yearn for the quiet green of the countryside but somehow can’t live without the mess and madness of a city. We alternated between Hackney and a German castle in the country to record this record.”

Watch: Joe Goddard – Taking Over

We’ve all been there, of course, at the back-end of a heavy night out, when your fast-food takeaway starts serenading you. No? Hmm, maybe I was overdoing it slightly. Anyway, this hallucinatory eventuality is the focal-point of Joe Goddard’s video for the title track of his recent ‘Taking Over’ EP. Featuring a crooning kebab (Doner Summer perhaps? Pitta Andre maybe. Chilli Gonzalez?), it’s a cool visual foil for the Hot Chip/2 Bears man’s generous serving of gentle after-hours electro, which threads a pleasing guitar peal through squelching synths and a softly insistent chorus. Take a look below. And go easy on the hot sauce.

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Listen: D/R/U/G/S - You Are Everywhere

Check out the new track from D/R/U/G/S

'You Are Everywhere' features vocals from Rebecca Rivers (her debut release). The track is available to buy digitally via Bad Life and will be followed by an EP, which will be dropping before the end of November.

Live Review: Lazytalk Live at The Finsbury 26/10/13

It’s hard to see how LazyTalk could become any more efficient at what they do. The band’s populist blend of ska-punk, drum’n’bass, British hip-hop and Jamie T-style street smarts is perfectly forged to whip up any crowd, including that at the Finsbury this Saturday night. Throw in a couple of anthemic, terrace-ready tracks, such as ‘Luzaville’ and ‘Memories’, and you’d imagine it’s only a matter of time before some sharp svengali picks up the band and runs with them. Frontman Piers Robinson has assembled a fluid quintet of skilled rebel-rousers, of whom the trump card could be keyboardist Josh, who took time out to blow gear-shifting sax solos when the tune demanded. Meanwhile, Piers wrapped his tongue around contemporary grievances ranging from the corporate dilution of pop to the perils of the pre-dawn bus-ride, all keenly observed and addressed in quickfire prose. Reappropriated covers of hits by Ini Kamoze and Dawn Penn (I’ll leave you to guess which ones) gave clues to the band’s roots - and there was certainly a punky reggae party at their rhythmic core - but LazyTalk picked and mixed from myriad sounds of modern urban Britain. Most of it was delivered strictly to crowdplease, and although the doubling up of tempo following a languid intro was a trick somewhat overdone, it never failed to lively up the dancefloor. An unashamedly bang-on-it good-time act with fire in their bellies and brains behind the beats, the five-piece put a smile on the face of a sweaty Finsbury, just as they did last time they played here some 18 months previous. This is a band who, by now, should surely be instigating knees-ups at bigger venues nationwide. LazyTalk just need an action plan.

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Listen: Buzzard Lope - Amazing Radio Sessions + Album Launch

You can catch Lost in the Manor's very own Buzzard Lope live in session with the wonderful Ruth Barnes on amazing radio.

The shows are aired from 10am - 1pm so make sure you tune in.

Buy Buzzard Lope tickets for their Album Launch on Nov 21st at the Servants Jazz Quarters - Tickets

Live Review: Parquet Courts + Mazes - Village Underground 28/10/13

The lovely lo-fi psychedelia of Mazes’ Ores and Minerals LP has been one of the year’s more absorbing releases, but the band were a shadow of their recorded selves at Village Underground tonight, the loops that should have augmented the guitar, bass and drums trio felt somehow shorn of all melodic depth. This meant the focus fell too unforgivingly on the jagged string-picking and off-kilter vocals of Jack Cooper, who was reticent in the spotlight. Showpiece tunes, such as ‘Bodies’, ‘Hayfever Wristband’ and the ‘Mrs Robinson’-esque cover ‘Donovan’ were still pretty fabulous, strong enough to withstand a below-par performance, but, stripped of its studio subtleties, much of Mazes’ idiosyncratic poppy Krautrock veered disappointingly close to the landfill. A blip, perhaps.

No such crisis of confidence for Parquet Courts, so full of Big Apple swagger that they barely seemed to notice a couple of false starts and even got away with some interminable drone rock in ‘She’s Rolling’ (an antidote to the hardcore snippets that peppered the rest of the set) before kickstarting the pogoing and stage-diving proper with Light Up Gold’s zippy back-to-back openers, ‘Master of My Craft’ and ‘Borrowed Time’. Looking like four insouciant college kids, the Courts’ excitingly forceful hipster punk occupies an unlikely space where The Strokes might rub up against Discharge. Their slacker singalongs slammed into the sell-out crowd via a surge of distorted adrenaline and unrelenting high-speed 4/4, delivered in a whirl of hair, sweat, power chords and feedback. Guitarists Andrew Savage and Austin Brown took turns to bellow out lyrics in a Brooklyn drawl, the latter joking how he’s made more trips to London this year than to his mother’s - the band have more than quadrupled the size of venues they’ve played while doing so. The intimate ferocity in which they specialise is best suited to compact and sweaty, though, and it’s hard to imagine them pulling off such a relentless onslaught in establishments much bigger than Village Underground. Relish the moment, of course, but the Courts may have reached a career crossroads where the snotty attitude and humour of thrilling garage nuggets like ‘Master of My Craft’ and ‘Stoned and Starving’ point the way over much of the set’s powerful but perfunctory punk rock. After all, Parquet Courts may come on like indifferent wasters, but their wise-guy lyrics betray a band whose ambitions surely lie beyond just sharing the bill with Anti-Pasti at the 2016 Punx Picnic.

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Listen: Patterns - This Haze

A potent attention-grabber ahead of the band’s debut album, ‘This Haze’ is evidence of Manchester quartet Patterns’ drowned-in-sound approach. Trembling guitar arpeggios ring out from great washes of feedback and keyboard sustain, bolstered by pounding tribal toms. Blissed-out vocals deliver a final layer of irregular melody, the lyrical unintelligibility just adding to the hallucinatory whole. As if Bloc Party dropped acid at a Baggy revue and cranked up the fuzzbox, ‘This Haze’ is more intriguing soundscape than instant smash, but is certainly satisfying enough to flag up that January album as one of 2014’s early essentials.

Patterns’ Waking Lines (Melodic Records) is out on 6 January

Follow Nick Mee on Twitter @Nickjmee

Listen: Nuns - I Don't Know Where I Stand

I can't really give you any info on the band as they are so new and fresh. This track is a blinder Please do share this with your friends. Lets just hope they come over soon to the UK from the states. We at Lost in The Manor would love to house Nuns for a show!

Listen: Tristesse Contemporaine - Fire

Here you can catch a little taster of Tristesse Contemporaine's new album

Mysterious Paris based trio Tristesse Contemporaine are set to release their 2nd full length ‘Stay Golden’ on 25th November through Record Makers. It follows the release of the ‘Woodwork,’ EP, which marked the start of their collaboration with the label, also home to Kavinsky, Sebastien Tellier and Hynolove amongst others. Inspired by the ghosts of shoegaze, krautrock and Madchester, the album was produced by the band themselves and continues their quest to soundtrack an era lost to the night.

Made up of Japanese ex-punk singer Narumi, Swedish hockey player turned guitarist Leo and Maik, a British hip-hop fan known for his role as the lead singer of Earthling, Tristesse Contemporaine embodies the concept of a melting pot. Their unique blend of brooding indie and minimal electro pop is equally diverse, effortlessly combining sparse dance beats with bouncy bass lines and providing a fitting backdrop for the more ethereal elements of the new album.

From the uplifting pop of album opener ‘Fire’, abrasive rock of ‘I Do What I Want’ and precise house sounds of ‘Going Out,’ ‘Stay Golden’ straddles a plethora of genres whilst maintaining a signature sound that is undoubtedly their own. It can also be considered as a collection of poetry dedicated to eternal youth.

‘Stay Golden’ is set for release on 25th November through Record Makers. The eye-catching album artwork was designed by Elisabeth Arkhipoff from an illustration by Guy Peelaert.

1 – Fire 2 – Stay Golden 3 – Waiting 4 – Going Out 5 – I Do What I Want 6 – Can’t Resist 7 – Burning 8 – Pretend 9 – Most Times

Have a listen to Fire, it sounds ace!

Live Review: Yurs + Mano's Daughter - The Finsbury 12/10/2013

In BBC4’s ‘Synth Britannia’ doc, prolific music writer Simon Reynolds contends that 1980s electronica acts developed a ‘fire and ice’ template, wherein a boffin figure handled the technology while a passionate female or gay male vocalist provided the sensual drama. Think Yazoo, Soft Cell et al. It’s a formula that Mano’s Daughter adhere to, contemporising the image thanks to their man behind the Moog who, in stubble and distinctive tee, resembles the hip guy from your office IT department. But over and above knowing where to locate the restart button, Matthias Garrick’s expertise at sequencing steady binary beats and hefty cadences was clear, as was his musicality – sublime keyboard runs colourised his act’s cyborg sheen as much as the heartfelt reverb-drenched vocal of Sarah Carter, who injected range into the duo’s downtempo balladry. Touches of Portishead’s ethereal chill leaked into a brooding sentimentality popularised by the likes of BANKS, leading to dense slab of moody modernism, occasionally so widescreen that the songs' abrupt endings came as a disconcerting jolt. And as well-conceived as each tune was, the set never really changed gear, its constant loping pulse rendering it somewhat repetitive. Mixing up the BPM here and there wouldn’t have gone amiss on this Saturday night.

If Mano’s Daughter maxed out the melancholy, Yurs bounced in from the other end of the emotional spectrum, a sunny blast of poppy tuneage that had the crowd jumping from first number to last. Their two frontmen sharing guitar and vocals were embellished by keys, bass and drums, with four of the five-piece spreading delicious harmonies around a powerful tenor, leaving traces of Byrds here, Monkees there. Direct comparisons to such giants would plainly be overdoing it just yet, but those layered voices are a wonderful card to play, and terrifically crafted numbers like ‘I’m Allowed’ had instant impact. In the main, the group drew on the finer stuff of noughties indie, a combination of catchy riffs, the lightness of touch of good-vibe American guitar bands and, most obviously, the effervescent dexterity of Supergrass, an outfit whose versatility was key to their success. Judging by this Finsbury show, Yurs also have the proficiency to change direction with ease, a quality that should scream commercial viability. Yurs ‘oping, anyway (bad closing pun should be read with a Westcountry accent for full effect).

Follow @Nickjmee on Twitter

Introducing: The Lunchtime Sardine Club + Live Date

The Lunchtime Sardine Club recently grabbed the attention of Amazing Radio with the first single “Rumours” and also featured on a Big Scary Monsters best of... compilation earlier this year. With the sound branded as “a happier Elliott Smith circa 1998” by Brighton Noise, The Lunchtime Sardine Club’s Icecapades is the perfect concoction of Elliott Smith’s storytelling style and Grizzly Bear’s lo-fi folk.

Live Dates: Servants Jazz Quarters Oct 22nd - More info

Listen: Fé - She Came + Live Dates

Fé announce ‘She Came’, the band’s second single and the follow up to ‘Time’, an inspired debut which caught the attention of BBC 6 Music, The Guardian and reams of flattering blogs. It was a flawless signal of intent from Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan, a band we consider to be an extremely significant new discovery.

Fé play London Kings Head Members Club on 23rd & 30th October 2013 Get on the guest list here

Release date: Monday 25th November 2013

Watch: Jungle - The Heat

In May 2013 London collective Jungle sprang out of the blocks with debut track 'Platoon', which saw a release, along with track 'Drops', through Chess Club Records on 15th July. Now they are preparing for their first ever live shows by revealing the video to new single, 'The Heat'

'The Heat' will be released on 21st October 2013 on Chess Club Records in the UK and B3SCI Records in North America.

Jungle play the following dates...

10/10/2013 - Manchester - The Roadhouse 17/10/2013 - Brighton - Sticky Mike's Frog Bar 24/10/2013 - Leeds - Belgrave Music Hall 30/10/2013 - Sheffield - The Harley

Listen: Jack Cheshire - Long Mind Hotel (Album)

I've been listening to this non stop over the last few days. I highly recommend this as my 'Album of the week', 5 stars all round!

‘Long Mind Hotel’ is, without doubt, Jack Cheshire's most accomplished work to date, a real treasure trove, longing to be discovered and its spoils shared.

You can catch Jack and his band live on these dates Servant Jazz Quarters, Dalston, London. with House of Trees. 09/01/2014 The End Festival, The Pavillion, Crouch End, London. 16/11/2013 The Vortex, Dalston, London. with RM Hubbert. 10/11/2013

Stream and buy the album in full

Introducing: H A R T E B E E S T

These ultra cool producer duo H A R T E B E E S T chose to leave London to return to their native island, where they found their voice living in isolation. The result was analogue synth laden hooks and R’n’B falsetto vocals follow minimal hip-hop beats and dreamy guitar landscapes. The result is a breath taking adulterate that is both nostalgic and contemporary.

What the Press already have to say "H A R T E B E E S T are going to immediately impress you" - Hilly Dilly "Melodramatic yet undeniably catchy, ‘death.’ is certainly reason enough to keep an eye on the development of H A R T E B E E S T" - Crack In The Road

Check out their debut single Death

Listen & Events: Bishops Album Launch & Stream The New Album

Here is your chance to get a ticket for the official Album Launch of The Bishops at the Sebright Arms for Oct 23rd. We at Lost in The Manor have been working with The Bishops for a few years now and we are so excited for the show. The supports are excellent also and will be The Lazlo Device and The Shallows Tickets are £5 in advance which you can purchase here

If you fancy checking out the facebook event you can see it here

Stream the new album 'All Things Lost' by The Bishops in full