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The Occasional Keepers
Experimental / Folk / Indie

		Music for mooncussers France/London/Glasgow United Kingdom Profile Views: 19689 Last Login: 5/20/2009
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www.myspace.com/theoccasionalkeepers

The Occasional Keepers: General Info

Member Since	7/27/2006
Band Website	http://www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk/ltmhome.html
Band Members	THIS SITE IS RUN BY THE OCCASIONAL KEEPERS Caesar (The Wake) - Carolyn Allen (The Wake) - Bobby Wratten (The Field Mice/Northern Picture Library/Trembling Blue Stars) - Michael Hiscock (The Field Mice/Trembling Blue Stars) - With occasional, Occasional Keeper Beth Arzy (Aberdeen, Trembling Blue Stars)
Influences	Shipwrecks, Bracken, Fog and lighthouses.
Sounds Like	Dreaming
Record Label	LTM
Type of Label	Indie

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All Music Review (view more)

Review 3 (view more)

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True North Review (view more)

True North (view more)

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About The Occasional Keepers

The Occasional Keepers comprise Bobby Wratten (The Field Mice, Northern Picture Library, Trembling Blue Stars) together with Caesar and Carolyn Allen (The Wake), plus guests. **************************************************************** THE BEAUTY OF THE EMPTY VESSEL is the first instalment from an ongoing collaboration between Bobby, Caesar and Carolyn, featuring guest appearances from Beth Arzy (Aberdeen, Trembling Blue Stars) and Michael Hiscock (Field Mice). The album features a meditative, minimalist mix of guitars, keyboards, echoing drums and male and female vocals, set against the background hummings of real places and real times. The songs incorporate a variety of styles, to produce a highly personal synthesis of neo-folk, experimental pop, dissonance, electronics and improvisation. All ten new tracks were recorded and produced by Ian Catt (St Etienne) in April 2005. Full tracklist: The Bracken, Rose-Scented Fire, J. Carpenter Kid, Of Nightingales, Concrete Music, In Quiet Isolation, Desire, North Sea Rig, The Crackle of Debris, The Last Lighthouse Keeper. **************************************************************** REVIEWS: "While it's a logical follow-on from the musicians' other work (a Sarah supergroup?), Beauty exists on its own just fine. Often it's a matter of the smallest touches having the greatest impact, thus Caesar's melodica floating over the moody ambient collage intro on Concrete Music, or the rich electric guitar melody for In Quiet Isolation - measured, beautiful and living up to the song title" (All Music Guide, 08/05); "Lovely bubble bath pop and slo-mo waltz" (BBC Ceefax, 09/05); "The Occasional Keepers reference the past but are just as concerned with the modern day world. Combining a foreground of acoustic guitars and shy downbeat vocals with background field recordings, the formula is shown to best effect on Rose Scented Fire, The Crackle of Debris and the instrumental finale, The Last Lighthouse Keeper, all of which possess a compelling layer of eeriness. Little easy-on-the-ear jangle pop, but in its place there's a much greater appreciation of atmosphere and texture" (Leonard's Lair, 08/05); "An album of intriguing and often magical avant-pop, with sound experiments in texture and light coalescing around crystalline guitars and pitter-patter drum machines. The whole album is, as the title suggests, a study in minimalism that veers from the abstract to the figurative in accomplished sweeps. Esoteric, elegiac and essential" (Tangents, 09/05); "Though much less loud than Sigur Ros, fans of that band will enjoy the dreamy feel of this album as well. For that fact, Kendra Smith will love it too, and the album works excellently when just played and enjoyed" (Gullbuy, 09/05); "Yes, Beauty holds introspection dear to its heart, but embraces experimentalism to a degree many wouldn't have predicted from three people heavily involved in the more sensitive sounds emanating from the British underground in the 80s and early 90s. Concrete Music and In Quiet Isolation effectively form the album's central section. The former is Eno-ish and still only gradually announces itself from its field-recording intro. It takes in the most minimal of melodic signposts (a lonely piano tinkles, a single bell tolls, Caesar's melodica flows in and out) and is so frail it barely counts as 'otherworldly'. In Quiet Isolation, meanwhile, could easily be the album's title - sparser than sparse, with a chiming electric guitar leading the way" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 10/05); "A 'supergroup' more in the vein of This Mortal Coil than CSNY, the trio mix together quiet acoustic guitars, keyboards and assorted field recordings with male and female vocals in a mix of gentle ballads and swirling instrumentals" (Exclaim! 10/05); "Un bien bel album triste comme un galion enfoui qu'on visiterait emerveille, le coeur leger de le savoir si bien conserve. A conseiller aux amoureux des grands paysages sonores... et aux fans de Sarah Records!" (PopNews, 11/05) **************************************************************** AMG:The idea of a Sarah Records supergroup might have seemed strange (to put it mildly) to some around 1990 or so. But come 2005 and with the LTM label in full swing reissuing a variety of bands from that stable, such a thing has happened, with the Occasional Keepers bringing together Bobby Wratten from the Field Mice/Northern Picture Library/Trembling Blue Stars and the two core stalwarts of the Wake, Caesar and Carolyn Allen. To top it all off, The Beauty of the Empty Vessel is produced by Sarah veteran Ian Catt, so it's easy to go into this debut effort with certain expectations. But while it's a logical follow-on from the musicians' other work, Beauty exists on its own just fine -- one could play it for someone who knew nothing of the band's context and the combination of reflective singing and delicate arrangements could easily be enough. Often it's a matter of the smallest touches having the greatest impact: Caesar's keening melodica on "Concrete Music" floating over a moody ambient collage intro, or the rich electric guitar melody for "In Quiet Isolation," measured, beautiful, and living up to the song title. "The Bracken," which starts the album, serves as a perfect précis for the band's intention -- the combination of serene piano, mantra-like acoustic guitar, and soothing woodwind is both tightly arranged and warmly inviting, a formalism that seeks to attract rather than look inward. When the bandmembers take even a slightly rougher approach, the effect is to seem monstrous given the album's calm -- thus the shift to distorted vocals on the chorus of "Of Nightingales" is almost like dropping a bomb on a calm hillside. A couple of tracks take a specific keyboard lead approach that slots in (all too readily perhaps) with the "synth pop as emo" school of Magnetic Fields/Postal Service, but think of "J. Carpenter Kid," with calm guest vocals from Beth Arzy (who also sings on the quite Cure-like "Desire"), as a Young Marble Giants tribute instead and all is well. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

The Occasional Keepers's Friend Space (Top 24)

The Occasional Keepers has 580 friends.

The Wake

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12 Stars

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jointhecircle.net/radio

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aberdeen

der Kenji

LTM Recordings (label)

SPIDER PROBLEM

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John

Keren Ann

Kat

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Elefant Records

di di my darling

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The Occasional Keepers's Friends Comments

Displaying 25 of 63 comments ( View All | Add Comment )

Record Finders Online Now!	Dec 12 2008 10:19 PM The Occasional Keepers was a Top 100 UK fave band of 2008 on my radio show, The British Breakfast on WRIR 97.3FM Richmond, Virginia USA (www. wrir. org) Congrats and thanks, Gene Pembleton Record Finder
Nicolas	Jan 24 2009 6:55 PM Broadcast are pretty good...I have 2 of their albums.
floating homesound	Jan 26 2009 11:35 PM : )) ))))
The Tomatometers	Sep 18 2008 9:50 AM thanx for the friendship ! come round sometimes... cheers
Record Finders Online Now!	Jul 23 2008 11:05 PM "The Life of the Fields" on my radio show, The British Breakfast on WRIR 97.3FM Richmond, Virginuia USA (www. wrir. org)this Saturday between 9-11am my time which is either 2-4pm or 3-5pm Your time. I love this album and is in my tops for 2008. Would you guysbe up for doing a station ID for us. Give ya great exposure. Anyway, great record! Respectfully, Gene Pembleton Record Finder
an andy	Jul 20 2008 2:03 AM Just wanted to say, in regards to True North, thanks for making music of rare and haunting beauty. Last summer I bought "Last Holy Writer" in NY and about a year later I did the same with "True North". In a sweet continuity, I bought it from the same nice guy who introduced me to The Field Mice years ago when all the new Sarah albums and singles were coming out (he now runs Other Music). I took "True North" under the bridge and listened while having a drink as the sun set. Thanks for being a great soundtrack to my life! (cliche? maybe, but truth as well)
Nicolas	Jul 13 2008 2:08 AM The Ravens is still a gigantiliciously(!) amazing song. As timeless as O Pamela. I'm starting to think Caesar has the midas touch. I'll still be listening to this in 50 years time when I have no eyeballs and my arms have fallen off. Due to dementure I'll also still be praying Bobby will play again!
Andrew Morrison - Dandelion Radio	Jun 4 2008 6:47 PM The Occasional Keepers are featured in my June show on Dandelion Radio, a Peel-inspired online station playing exciting new and unsigned music. We are a fully-licensed Internet station that is run and presented by volunteers recording monthly shows. To view the schedule and listen to the audio stream, visit our website www. DandelionRadio. com, or find us on MySpace at myspace. com/dandelionradio. Andrew Morrison
Mark	May 30 2008 1:03 PM Just to let you know I'm playing your wonderful "The Life of the Fields" on my Dandelion Radio show in June, streaming from Sunday and then throughout the month at www. dandelionradio. com Love the album. Thanks again for some great sounds. Mark W
LAKE NATION	May 26 2008 12:07 PM We Love your Album! Yuri
the Airfields	May 20 2008 9:46 PM long live the Occasional Keepers!
SPIDER PROBLEM	May 19 2008 7:14 PM Thank you for that ;)
Bang Bang	May 17 2008 10:00 AM i love the braken so much.. cheers xxx
Lee	May 4 2008 8:57 AM Hey I really Like your stuff Have you ever played In Seattle?
The Hillfields	May 1 2008 11:58 AM theres no secret of my admiration of all things tbs/ok's , so thanks for the add - inpsiring as ever.. cheers rob
angelmark	Apr 25 2008 7:42 AM True North is a truly beautiful album. Thank You, Michael.
LeS sOUriREs TrOmPeURs	Apr 23 2008 10:41 AM cool new songs ...
The Silver Abduction	Apr 21 2008 12:20 PM Beautiful stuff, many thanks for adding us. xx
Deathsquad	Apr 19 2008 8:49 PM awoke ill today,though the postie brought in the new cd:thanks , it is wonderful !
Chiller Cabinet	Apr 10 2008 9:21 PM New Tracks on the Chiller this weekend. Ben
Jonathan	Apr 9 2008 9:58 PM On first listen, the new album is really really really good. Just in time for a heavy weekend of family and funeral! xoxo
Kat	Apr 3 2008 4:34 PM hi oks, i agree with kenji. i'd love to listen to the songs in context though. are we nearly there, mom? x
der Kenji	Apr 2 2008 4:56 PM Abs. gorge.
The French Defence	Apr 1 2008 11:25 AM sublime new songs. Wow.
angelmark	Mar 30 2008 8:12 PM I just love the new songs! Can't wait for the new album. M.

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