Otherwise: The Brothers Grimm, David "Sugar plum" Lynch, Jeff Noon, The Goon Show, Planescape Torment, System Shock, Terry Pratchett, Terry Gilliam, House of Leaves, Laputa, Phantasm, Nature (the place, not the journal), Georgie Lewis Borgie, Ducks.
Sounds Like
A valkyrie in a chainmail bikini crashing the (flaming) moon into the earth while playing a bitchin' guitar solo. There's probably a skull with snakes for eyes in there somewhere too, and an inexplicable anchor which says "mum".
...Okay, none of that is true. But wouldn't it be cool if it was?
I'd be Drone, wouldn't I? Now, I could tell you about myself straight, but that'd be boring, so here's a sexed-up bio. In the second person for the most part, despite the fact I wrote it myself, just now.
Drone: The Excitement Never Ends.
Drone was first ejected from his parents' stomachs in 1983, as some sort of screaming, shrivelled homonculus. His childhood was riddled with adventures, such as finding abandoned toys under mouldy old doormats, eating blades of grass, smelling tomatoes on the vine and learning to use the outdoors toilet. From an early age he was deeply passionate about music; famously remarking "I hate music!" at the age of three, whilst pounding his fists on the floor. Such perspicacity can only be a sign of an infant prodigy.
Around the age of twelve (following a period of several years frittered away on imaginary worlds, computer games and surprisingly morbid navel-gazing), his body started to mutate quite alarmingly. He traded in his stupid, squeaky voice for a stupid, deeper voice and became enamoured with his faintly hairy upper lip. In short, he became a teenager. Of course, this did nothing to help his morbid navel-gazing, or indeed his habit of creating imaginary worlds.
It was at this point that he started writing music, under the misguided notion that it would get him a girlfriend and/or help him grow a personality. His initial endeavours showed a remarkable streak of originality and creativity; in other words, he didn't have a clue what he was doing. The years progressed and he conspicuously failed to learn to play any instruments, or even learn much music theory. Nevertheless, through sheer bloody-mindedness his music somehow became less bad.
After the runaway successes of his first two albums, "Memoirs of a Boy-Faced Dog" and "Disc 0", which a few mates in the common room bought for two quid a pop, Drone decided it was time to go big-time. That was May, 2001. The rest, of course, is history. The last seven years have seen him going from strength to strength: learning to sing; discovering he could not sing; singing regardless (to hell with other peoples' ears); learning five chords on a guitar; roping friends and family into performing songs live; dropping out of a biochemistry degree; releasing an album to moderate approval (and minimal embarrassment); and spending unhealthy amounts of time on the Internet. And what would Drone be doing today? Well, that remains a closely-guarded secret, but we can be sure of one thing: he's got a lot of work to do before he can refill his overdraft.
Quotes about Drone: "Like Boards of Canada with a MIDI interface problem" - Boomkat records.
"Chest-thumping 3am paranoia... a playground full of feral children" - Hecklerspray.
"an unpredictable, difficult einzuordnendes element that makes it difficult to really describe in words." - Amazon.de (as translated by Google).
So there you have it. The man, the music, the legend. If you read all that, good for you. Listen to the tunes, click on the links and, you know, just have a poke around. But whatever you do, don't go into the cellar. It's always a metaphor for the unconscious, and we all know that never bodes any good.
I'm happy to announce that my new album "Songs From The Films Of David Lynch" is out now.
"Truly unsettling and perplexingly brilliant... testament to both the quality of Lynch’s soundtracks and Truax’s talents" - The Skinny
"Truax is paying homage to a kindred spirit with this album. It's the best kind of tribute – affectionate and respectful, but with its own quirks and imaginative leaps and its own distinct identity." -The Scotsman
hey thanx amigo,thats some wicked synth action on the n.i.n. remix there,i can tell you have been at this a while,i got relations in almwich,do you know that place?Thanx again,marty..!!
Meilir Melody driven songs with experimental elements & strange instrumentation. Meilir's debut 'mini album' BYDD WYCH is due for release in April 2009. www. myspace. com/meilirmusic
Mwsog Intricate arrangements for voice, strings, percussion and electronica. www. myspace. com/mwsog
Andy Hickie After "working his soul dry" to buy a camper van, Andy's master plan is well into effect to keep on moving, searching for enlightenment and inspiration along the way... For the past year and a half he has followed the trail blazed by troubadours like Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch, travelling around the major cities and towns of Ireland, England and Wales, gigging, busking, collecting stories and sharing his songs and music the old fashioned way. www. myspace. com/andyhickie
Heal The Last Stand Advocates of hope and joy, Heal the Last Stand sing life-affirming songs from the heart and soul. Since their inception less than a year ago, they have enjoyed a summer full of festival appearances including the legendary, Glastonbury Festival, and even supported Cerys Matthews, in front of a capacity crowd at Llangollen Fringe Festival. Expect euphoric harmonies and profound sentiments, without a trace of heartache, pain or sorrow anywhere in sight. www. myspace. com/healthelaststand
Oh my Lord! What a cracking line-up we have for No.9 on THURSDAY 15TH JANUARY, check it out! NOW UPSTAIRS AT THE BUFFALO BAR, Windsor Place, Cardiff - 8pm till Late! - £4.00 *** Drink offers include £2 a pint and £2 for a spirit + mixer ***
CHRISTOPHER REES [Blues / Soul / Country] "Intense and absolutely mesmerizing" Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1)
CONVOI EXCEPTIONNEL [Minimalist / Rock / Hip Hop] "Convoi Exceptionnel are a Welsh rock and hiphop duo from the mean streets of Aberystwyth. Despite now living 300 miles apart and armed with only an SM58, a Mac and a twenty pound guitar from Argos they've managed to knock up some tunes for your enjoyment and get played on national radio"
DRAW ME STORIES [Alternative / Folk Rock / Indie] "A dark and raw yet perfectly polished and professional performance that will surely lead to bigger things...No doubt helped along by the fact lead singer Carl Hodgetts has the kind of Ian Curtis/ Paul Banks voice that makes girls go weak at knees!"
VALLEY LINES [Electronica / Dub / Psychedelic] "Valley Lines is the main musical project of Cardiff based electronic producer and sound artist Christian Gates, his musical output shifts from simplistic electro to densely layered electronica, often incorporating sound recordings from the natural environment with complex beats and synthesised noise"
...plus DJ's for a good old dance!
Get the weekend started early ;~) Luv, [Thee alternative - EVERY month!]
Oh my Lord! What a cracking line-up we have for No.7 on THURSDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER, check it out! Be there or be square ;~)
CYMBIENT [Indie / Experimental / Surf] "...from lavish psychedelia to valve crunching riffs to structured beauty...rich backing tracks and lush harmonies...Stuff Brian Wilson into a split screen camper van with some retro valve amps, a first edition stylophone, Beefheart’s ’Clear Spot’ on the stereo and head for the welsh surf breaks with cymbient..."
STRAY BORDERS [Alternative / Experimental / Rock] "...current essential new Welsh tunes include a demo by Stray Borders which could give Mogwai a run for their money..." [Huw Stevens]
DRONE [Electronica / Indie / Pop] "F!?&ing Godly" [A friend] "As much fun to listen to as Dylan" [Another friend]
...plus DJ's for a good old dance!
Get the weekend started early ;~)
Upstairs at 10 Feet Tall, Church St, Cardiff - 8pm Till Late - £4. 00
Luv, [Thee alternative - 3rd Thursday of EVERY month!]
THE AUTUMN DEFENSE (two members of WILCO) + PLUSH (Liam Hayes) Sunday 7th September @ Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
The Autumn Defense is a collaboration between Wilco/Uncle Tupelo bassist John Stirratt and Wilco multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone who has also produced records for the likes of Andrew Bird and Joseph Arthur. They have released 3 albums of beautifully arranged, organic, wispy folk-rock and singer-songwriter musings.
"Comfort music for the soul...” UNCUT **** "never less than utterly gorgeous" THE WORD "reference points include Nick Drake and CSN, Bread, Big Star and the essence of Love, Steely Dan and a dozen others" MOJO **** "edifying and beautifully textured" DAILY MIRROR **** "soft rock at it's most elegant." TIME OUT "Soft, dreamy and bittersweet” WASHINGTON POST "Warming, gorgeous and delightful” DAVID FRICKE, SENIOR EDITOR, ROLLING STONE
Liam Hayes appeared as himself in High Fidelity and his band Plush's long lost masterpiece 'Fed' is currently receiving rave reviews across the music press including 5/5 in Uncut, 4/5 in Mojo, Q, Plan B, NME 8/10 etc. A regular collaborator, he has also worked with Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy), appearing on keyboards across the Palace era output, and also played on records by Royal Trux.
"Fed is beautifully excessive, ornamented with dazzling soul/pop arrangements. And the songs are glorious..." UNCUT ***** "A banquet of sonic gorgeousness" NME 8/10 "Fed is something of a lost classic" MOJO **** "Fed can be finally heard as a testament to Hayes's widescreen obsessions" Q **** "Perfect takes time" PLAN B “a soulful symphonic masterpiece” ROLLING STONE
A pretty decent amount of superlatives there for just £9 (adv.) Get your tickets from www. clwb. net, Spillers (Cardiff) or Diverse (Newport)
Hot 'n' Sticky June day greetings! Really hope you can make it along to No.4 on THURSDAY 19TH JUNE for some great music and a boogie...you know you want to ;-)
All the best, [Thee alternative - 3rd Thursday of EVERY month!]
No.9 
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No.5
