At the encouragement of a few friends, I've decided to start "blogging". Not "micro-blogging", like we supposedly did on Tumblr a decade ago, but actual honest-to-god Blogging. And I think it'll be nice to do it here, on this quaint Neocities page, immune (hopefully) from whatever Twitter and Insta does with one's data; I don't fancy interfacing with Substack either. Of course, I'm hoping this blog will be focused on music: updates on Dear Laika as a project, musical analyses of songs I love (including my own!), and perhaps even recommendations. Maybe I'll write about other things that are on my mind, but who knows? I'm open to taking requests and suggestions! I already have at least one post ready to go so I can feel somewhat secure in committing to writing semi-frequently. Look out for that first "essay" sometime this week.
For now, the most exciting and immediate issue at hand is this Sunday's show supporting Popular Music, the duo of Zac Pennington and Prudence Rees-Lee, at The Shacklewell Arms in Dalston, London. I make no attempt to hide that this show is something of a dream come true (in both a figurative and literal sense, believe it or not) considering I've been a fan of Zac's musical projects for years. I'm also pleased as punch that three fantastic musicians have agreed to be in my accompanying band: Ted Mair (of The Golden Dregs and Sculpture Park) has freed me from the restrictions of singing from the keyboard; Dave Adsett (who has played for Geordie Greep by the way, yeah, I know) is on drums; and replacing Henry Nicholson on bass is Ollie Chapman (who also plays for Clementine March and Sophie Jamieson). And it's a free gig! I'll put a link to "tickets" at the bottom of this post.
Having lost the modest momentum of Pluperfect Mind's release cycle, I'm feeling some inertia after two years, but I am hugely grateful to everyone who's been willing to help me get back in the proverbial game. I do have a new album in the works! I'm slowly chipping away at the final few songs, and I mean the songs, not the recordings of the songs; I'll need all the help I can get with the latter... We're playing the songs I've already written live, though who knows how different they'll sound when recorded. And speaking of shows, we would like to play more, probably from August onwards; if you know any promoters who might want to book us, please put us on their radar! Likewise, press coverage would also be quite lovely in the future (though, only two shows out of cryo, we may not be judged to warrant it yet). Anything to keep the ball rolling and the dream alive!
Before I sign off and go for a much-needed walk, I'll quickly recommend some new(ish) music by friends and relatives (i.e. labelmates):
caroline - caroline 2
foot foot - still waters, empty house
Glasshouse Red Spider Mite - What Do You Mean The Monster?...Hahaha
OHYUNG - You Are Always On My Mind
Keep your eyes peeled and your lips licked. Much love!
Tickets for the Popular Music / Dear Laika show