Hello everyone,
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A very happy new year to you all. Hopefully you all had a good time over the holidays. I’ve only just got around to writing this as it’s been a busy period for us, split between heading off to various parts of the UK to visit family, lying down embracing unconsciousness and recording.
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2011 passed by in a flash. I can’t believe 12 months have elapsed. I’d like to thank, on behalf of the four of us, everyone who came to see us, gave us a floor to sleep on/a room to sleep in, bought our records, put us on at their nights/venues, had us on their radio shows, played us on the radio, played on their podcast, interviewed us, wrote about us, fed us, stocked our records, released our records and in anyway helped us out in 2011. It was a crazy year. We’ve travelled further afield than we ever have before and we’ve played to more people than any other year. We’ve played to some incredible crowds. It’s been wonderful to have had the opportunity to travel to the USA, and playing in New York and at SxSW were a delight. We’ve met some amazing people on our travels and it’s been great to chat to so many of you after shows. I fulfilled a dream that I’ve had since I was 10 and held in my hands a copy of our debut record Shouting at Wildlife pressed on vinyl. We’ve Fence Records to thank for that, amongst many other things. Thank you Johnny Lynch, and thank you Kenny Anderson. They’ve provided an incredible amount of support since we joined the Fence stable back in February. The King Creosote and Kid Canaveral tour was the best tour I have ever been on. It’s been a real pleasure collaborating with Kenny, as well. I hope we can do it again 
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Thank you to everyone who came to our second Christmas Baubles. Thank you to The Pictish Trail, eagleowl, Sweet Baboo, Aidan Moffat, Martin John Henry, Josie Long, Standard Fare and Slow Club for outstanding performances, one and all. Thank you to all our volunteers who staffed the bar and guided folk around the beautiful Summerhall. I think we might have to do it again.
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We’ve toured the arse off of our first album, and rather than sensibly take some time off, we’ve been in the studio in between Christmas and New Year getting thoroughly stuck into our second record. So far, we’ve all but finished two new songs ‘The Wrench’ (which we’ve been playing live for a few months) and ‘Low Winter Sun’. I know people always say this, but I think it’s the best stuff we’ve done to date. I know, I know, I’ll drop in another cliché or two before this is done. We’re working again with Gal, the very talented fellow who recorded our first album, and we’ll be fitting in as many album sessions with him as possible in the next few months. It’s a real joy to be recording again. We’ve another track recorded that is currently without vocals and a couple of songs in rough demo form. One of them is certainly for dancing.
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We’re going to take a few months off from shows to focus on getting the album mostly finished and more new songs rehearsed before we head back out on the road. We’ll be going on tour in the late Spring to promote a new release (not an album) and Album #2 will be out some time in the last 1/3 of 2012 (as long as no disasters befall us). I’ll appear with occasional studio blogs over the next few months to tell you facts about compression and microphone positions (that I’ll have to get Gal to write down for me, verbatim) and other such nuggets of studio magic. The blog looks a bit sparse on here. I might pop up the SxSW blogs we did for The Skinny. Perhaps a resolution to blog more? To get better at the keyboard, anyway. Talk less shite? I’m away before this gets any schmaltzier.
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In summary:
1. Yas!
2. Thank you
3. New album
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All the best for 2012. Lang may yer lum reek.
davidx
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<admin>PS We’re currently out of stock of Shouting at Wildlife on CD. Sorry about that. There’s another pressing on its way. However, Smash Hits on 7″ vinyl is sold out forever. If you’ve got one – lucky you!</admin>
