Just a quick one...

We're away this weekend doing a couple of gigs in the south west. Today, 3 of us played a little acoustic gig in Warminster at a cracking little record shop called Raves to the Grave. They have a bigger store in Frome too (where a cool band called Ahab played last week - Urusen recommended!). We have never actually done an in-store before but really enjoyed it. There should be some videos and pics of it on the way so we'll post them when they arrive. We were invited by Reuben who works there, who's band Port Erin are playing in Bath tonight at the latest Bath Burp launch party. Ben and his mum are contributors to this wonderful independent monthly arts magazine. Reuben will be doing an interview for the blog in the coming weeks about the store, as well as maybe a bit about his band, who recently were recording in the Wood Room at real World, where we were this time last year! Also in attendance today was Rick Wakeman's granddaughter!

'Raves' does LOTS of vinyl, it's a lovely site to see. I spoke to Reuben about this, and we were discussing an article in this month's Mojo magazine about the resurgence in vinyl sales - encouraging to hear when you've just released your 1st 7 inch! The article is a very interesting read, as are the two below which I spotted recently. I will probably make a habit of posting stuff like this (in a tumblr style) - probably with the odd bit of comment thrown in for free!

From pitchfork: I really hate examples of people just taking money out of the industry with no benefit for musicians or people who listen to it. Always nice to see when, even in small ways, some of this is taken back. It reminds me a bit of the action to try and get back the illegal bank charges for overdraft fees from a couple of years ago. Maybe it would be an idea to legislate to say organisations such as ticketmaster are not allowed to profit from these aspects of their services - rather than simply forcing them to disclose that they are doing this? Just a thought.

Via the guardian: Interesting more general article about the internet age and the 'digitalisation of life', with particular references to the music industry. An area I intend to come back to in the blog is what Simon Jenkins refers to as the "potency of experience", ie what the internet and free downloads can never replicate, the feeling of seeing a band live.

Anyway, bed for me now. For the record Port Erin were great, a bit like a psychadelic Radiohead with Jack Bevan from Foals on drums. We're off to Bristol tomorrow for our debut at Communion in Bristol. The original Communion night was setup in London by Mumford and Sons, so I think we're in good company.

What...who?

So we've been beavering away over the last couple of weeks and I thought I'd tell you about it.

We are in the process of getting some of our new material mixed (mostly stuff you will have heard if you've been to a gig in the last few months) in demo form, as we don't really have anything recorded post- One Day In June, which is going back a bit these days.

The new songs have been songs that, in a way for the 1st time, we have written as a band. Musically, especially after the summer of festivals, the band has probably never been as tight as a unit and that shows in the way these songs have grown and evolved. Now we are close to having a good representation of them, it feels like we are clicking the pieces into place in the big old Urusen jigsaw.

To go along with the new recordings, we've been trying to get a better idea in our heads, and on paper, of what we want to project as a band. What is Urusen, what do we sound like, why should people listen to our music, all these sorts of questions are, I'm sure, questions all bands have to answer (or get answered for them), but it isn't easy.

We aren't a band of clones, perhaps the best thing about the band is the different personalities and stories the 5 of us have to tell. Nevertheless, we always agree there is something about the band that keeps us all attached, strong, and keeps us unwavering in our belief that we will be doing this for a long time to come. If we could bottle that effect the band has on us, I'm sure we'd never have to work again, but for now, we've just been trying to work out how to explain ourselves.

We have a couple of gigs coming up before Christmas in London, one acoustic and one full band, which we will probably use to keep bedding in some brand new stuff (one track, 'The Woodsman', is fast becoming a favourite), so if you can, check out the event details on facebook or myspace and come along.

2009 has been a very special year for all of us in lots of ways. The band has hit new heights and grown more than any of us could have hoped for. To close it, we're going to make sure the final two shows of the year are crackers, so that we keep the wheels oiled and at full speed into 2010, which promises to be an even bigger and better year for the band. Hopefully.