Lots of folk about...

Relatively quiet week for us, but still a lot going on. Keen to keep the live shows fresh going into festival season, we had two 2 writing sessions this week to work on some new material that will hopefully start to creep into a set soon. Naturally, we find the newest of our songs the most exciting, so needless to say we're looking forward to getting some reaction to the new songs. With the album recording process set to start in the forthcoming months - its great having brand new material to work with as we head towards that.

We all take an active roll when it comes to writing now, so there is a real feel of collective accomplishment when we see songs come into their own. One song in particular has been kicking around for over a year now in various guises but has never been finished properly. Its working title has always been '3four', and it wouldn't be surpising if that changes, but we have finaly had a breakthrough with it so look out for it at a show soon!

On the subject of shows, we have confirmed a few more dates this week for over the summer, so check out the listings and see if you can come along. In June we have some very exciting gigs to look out for. On the 4th, we're playing with an exciting new band / project called Mt Desolation at The Luminaire in Kilburn. The brainchild of Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley and Jesse Quin, the contributors read like a who's who of the British indie-folk scene (with the odd US mega-star thrown in for good measure). One of them, who will be playing in his own right on the 4th is Pete Roe. Pete has been on tour recently with Laura Marling (both as her opener and as a member of her band) and seems to be garnering glowing responses wherever he goes. We really like him and are looking forward to the whole night - which should be quite an event. We're informed that the night is very close to selling out, so grab yourself a ticket here.

The following week, we are playing 2 gigs with our friends The Magic Lantern. They are currently on tour in support of their debut album "Shine a Light On". A stripped down Urusen will be joining them at the Lansdown in Bristol on the 9th, then the following night  in Bath for a special evening as part of the Bath Fringe Festival. The gig will take place in the Little Theatre Cinema and will feature full sets from both bands, along with usherettes & popcorn. For more info go here - should be another special night.

Compering for us that night will be our friend Sam Brookes. Sam is not only a great singer-songwriter in his own right, he also runs a beautiful monthly night called the Unplugged Sessions at the Windmill in Mayfair. It really is one of the loveliest atmospheres you can find for an acoustic gig, and the quality of act is consistently high. We played at the 1st ever night, so are thrilled to be going back on the 14th.

Lastly, and cheekily, a request. We really want to play the Green Man festival this year. In order to do so, we need 2 mins of your time. Go here, register with the website (un-tick the newsletter subscription  and they shouldn't ever bother you) and then vote for us to open the festival...please! You can win 2 tickets by voting, along with our eternal gratitude!

So all in all, lots to look forward to - see you soon!

P, B, J, N & K x

And we're back!

Sorry for the radio silence, but rather than dwell on that, or try to come up with an excuse, let's just crack on!

For those of you who don't know, things have been going rather swimmingly for Urusen of late. In the last few months we have played some of our biggest gigs to date, as well as seeing some rather exciting off-stage developments occur (more of which later). I'm writing this having just come back from a meeting in a rather nice North London pub where we were attempting to map out the next 3 months of our lives (apologies in advance to girlfriends, family and everyone else for the neglect you may begin to feel!) Having already been confirmed for 9 festivals this summer (go here to check them out as & when we are able to announce them) with a few more to hear back from, we also have some potentially exciting City gigs to fit in to our schedule, as well as the small matter of recording our as yet untitled forthcoming album...and breathe.

At this stage we cannot divulge too much regarding plans for the album, but rest assured we are working our behinds off to get everything and everyone in place for it to be rather special. When we have more pieces in position we will obviously share more. What we can say (as some of you will know) is that there will be a very important and hopefully rewarding way in which all of you can get involved with the album. Details on this will be revealed shortly, so keep your ears pricked!

Other things to let you know is that a lot of our web presence is in the process of being overhauled, so make sure you keep checking the various pages over the coming months and let us know what you think. (Quick reminder that you can be a fan of ours on facebook as well as follow us on twitter).

In addition to the new album, we already have a new demo that we have recently made available at gigs. It features 4 of our songs for a very recession-friendly £4. It is a limited run, so grab one while they are there (never know how much it might be worth when we turn into U2!) we are also sorting out some other rather funky merch for the summer, so be sure to check it out (if you come see us, or on-line when its up and running) as we're quietly confident you're going to like it. What's more, its all being designed by Pete - too talented for his own good!

To finish and bring you right up to date, last weekend saw us open our festival account at the Dart Music Festival in Dartmouth. given the distance from London, we stopped halfway the day before in Box for Lunch at Real World Studios (When in Box, as they say...) and played a little gig at the lovely Queens Head. Without going into too much detail, the gig acted as a little bit of a showcase for us, and went really well. Was nice to see some friends there too (such as Sam Brookes - we like him) as well as getting some local support from Gareth Hale of The Black Swan Effect. The rest of the evening was mainly made up (for me at least) of drinking STRONG cider in the Royal Oak in Bath where we shall be playing later on this summer - think I like the place.

The next day saw us journey down to Dartmouth for what turned out to be a really great day. The festival had a lovely atmosphere and the setting could hardly have been more picturesque. We seemed to go down a storm (as well as my thunder drum seemingly bringing on a storm at one point!) and would certainly like to go back and play again. We then soaked up the atmosphere for a while, as well as lined our stomachs before making the long journey back to London.

All in all a great weekend, next gigs in June are in Bath and London and should be nothing short of spectacular so make sure you come along!

P, B, N, J & K x