Happy 105th day of the year. Cripes, it’s going quick. From our little hideaway in Devon: Theres been Doom Bar, kick abouts in the garden, rum and ginger beer, lots of new songs, and some seriously deaf ears. We even played a little gig for a few locals the other night, mostly playing new stuff we’d been working on. Occasionally there was some incoherent shouting and clapping at the end of the song. I think they liked it. In exchange they got on the decks and blasted some of their favorite soul and r&b records. Listened to the radio a lot. It’s pretty bad at the moment, isn’t it? Nick Cave, Doves, and Bat For Lashes prove theres still hope, though. In one bedroom theres a choice of 5 different beds. Lots of cats and log fires. What an awesome place.
Here are a few snaps I’ve taken. Tom’s got some high-res shots on the way, but this should tide you over for now.
The barn, where we live and make music.
Calm of the Devon sunset.
posted by jim at 10:59 pm
Hello,
Couple of things:
Firstly, in case you don’t already know, we are no longer with EMI Records. Don’t panic. It sounds a bit frightening but it’s the most liberated we’ve been creatively since signing to the label three years ago, and it gives us the chance to make the next album something we really want it to be. It also removes all the legal shit that surrounds every note one plays when signed to a big label, and so allows us give freely to you whatever little bits and pieces we feel like. Something we’ve come to realise that’s really important about music: it’s for sharing. And that’s much easier to see now on this side of the machine than it was a few years ago during the haze of wide-eyed optimism: the radiant, cigar-toting gatekeepers of fortune with one hand on the pursestrings and the other massaging the egos of the industry ‘cool-makers’…. I digress.
The second change is that we’ve parted ways with our drummer. David Jordan has made the decision to leave the band, in order to pursue other interests. It’s been an amazing few years and we wish him the greatest success in his next adventure, but Air Traffic will continue and we’ve been spending the last few months hard at work on new songs that we’re really anxious to play… We’ll tell you more about when this will be soon.
Erm…. and if you didn’t sign up to the mailing list before last week then you missed the free track. It went down quite well though so I think we’ll throw some more stuff up that way pretty soon… make sure you’re subscribed if you want to get it.
x
Chris
posted by chris at 10:27 pm
I’ve managed to source an Internet connection, a rare luxury here in rural Devon. I blog to you from an old farmhouse complex we have taken over, in deepest sleepy England. All our gear is currently set-up in the barn. It has a wonderful atmosphere, tons of energy in the room. We drink lots of gin, play long into the night, extremely loud, my ears really hurt – but so far no one has complained. Probably because there is no-one around for miles! It’s just nice to be able to see the stars breathe in fresh air, after spending far too long in London. We’re hard at work on songs, concepts, ideas… lots of creativity bouncing around. We’re going to send a strange little track to everyone on our mailing list later – I don’t want to ruin the suprise, but make sure you’re signed up if you don’t want to miss out!
Hopefully will have a few pictures and other interesting bits for your consumption next time. Back to work now.
/jm
posted by jim at 12:57 pm
