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

You're too kind...

We've recently had our music used for an ad that's due to be broadcast from the end of this month. Below is a link to the head of the creative agency behind the ad talking about why he likes us so much. Which is jolly nice!

Click here to have a gander.

Hope everyone is feeling festive and almost ready for Christmas, we are!

P, B, N, J & K x

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.

We are the shadows of the night

Just a quick one that we thought was too cool not to let you know about.

Verity Sharpe hosted a special Hallowe'en edition of the Late Junction on Thursday on Radio 3. To open the show, she played a track recorded in the 80s by Ben's Dad Peter Please called "We are the Shadows of the Night". It was from an album he recorded called "Uffington" to go with a book he published around the same time called "Chronicles of the White Horse".

The story is that "We are Shadows of the Night" is so scary that Ben used to hide under the kitchen table at home whenever it was played. I say used to...

Anyways, its online here, so have a listen (and a laugh or a scream depending on how easily spooked you are!)

We'll be waiting....

Whoa there, what's all that racket?!

...its the sound of us being REALLY busy! Lots of stuff going on of late in Urusen land, quite a few good gigs (where were you?!) and then lots of meetings and planning and practising and recording and...and...I'll tell you all about it!

So since the last blog, we played at the single launch of our friends Trail. it was in North London and was lots of fun and there are some lovely pictures from the night that are up on our facebook page (not group - that's closing soon so if you're still using that, get with the programme, the changeover is coming!) so have a look, some great ones of Nick and Jay - helps when your playing 100 year old beautiful instruments!

We also recently made our debut at the renowned South London venue, The Bedford. The venue is genuinely one of the most special small venues in London, with a startingly good sound system and lighting rig. The gig went really well and it was lovely to see some faces not seen for a while - we've already confirmed to go back in February so hopefully see you again then.

Last night, we we're back on Pete and Ben's home turf, playing at the infamous Moles, supporting up and coming indie-folksters Stornoway who are currently touring in support of their new single Unfaithful. We met Rahul from the band at the Larmer Tree Festival in the summer, so was great to see him again, and the night was really good all round, bpth bands on top form. Thanks to Steve and 13th floor, and everyone who came down, hopefully be back again soon.

Lots of other things going on behind the scenes at present, but nothing too set in stone yet unfortunately so will let you all know when it all gets confirmed.

In the meantime, check out this - nothing to do with us! But if you stumble across any funny urusen-themed links then please let us know!