The Simonsound

Here is a video for our collaborative single with DJ Format,...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:35:07 -0400

Here is a video for our collaborative single with DJ Format, ‘Battle of the Planets’. You can get the single on the new DJ Format LP, ‘Statement of Intent’.

We’ve added quite a few new shows to our current tour so hope to see you there. This weekend we are in Wrexham, Cardiff and Southampton.

May 4th - Le Zoo, Geneva

May 5th - Le Romandie - Lausanne

May 18th - Band on the Wall - Manchester

May 19th - The Yellow Rooms - Newton Abbot

May 24th - The Cluny - Newcastle

May 25th - The Shipping Forecast - Liverpool

May 26th - The Faversham - Leeds

June 15th - WTF @ Le Nouveau Casino - Paris

August 16th - The Tunnels - Aberdeen

August 17th - The Annexe Liquid Rooms - Edinburgh

August 18th - Koko - London

Some pictures from our first 4 shows with DJ Format in Brighton,...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:31:30 -0400

The Concorde 2, Brighton

Some pictures from our first 4 shows with DJ Format in Brighton, London, Birmingham and Norwich. Thanks to all at the venues and to everyone who came along and danced. Next stop Bristol.

A little taster of the show we are touring with DJ...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:37:09 -0400

A little taster of the show we are touring with DJ Format.

Format starts the show on the turntables cutting up some of his better known songs before being joined by Simon on the Moog Synthesizer and an armory of electronic effects. Here they take you away on a musical journey from Hip Hop & Funk to spaced out electronics. The music is accompanied by synchronised visuals that sample moments from classic B-Boy footage, tripped-out animation and carefully chosen visual oddities in a cut ‘n’ paste style that is completely in tune with the music.
The music itself consists mostly of songs from DJ FORMAT’s first two albums, his new album STATEMENT OF INTENT and also songs from THE SIMONSOUND’s album REVERSE ENGINEERING that Simon & Format made together in 2010.
The video footage was filmed at the launch party on Friday 2nd March 2012 at The Concorde 2, Brighton but the sound was replaced with practice recordings from home due to sound quality issues on the actual video recording.

Updated schedule -

16th March - Hare & Hounds - Birmingham

17th March - Norwich Arts Center - Norwich

30th March - Lakota - Bristol

8th April - Twisted Pepper - Dublin

12th April - Central Station - Wrexham

13th April - Club Ifor Bach - Cardiff

14th April - Soul Cellar - Southampton

4th May - Le Zoo - Geneva, Switzerland

5th May - Le Romandie - Lausanne, Switzerland

19th May - Yellow Rooms - Newton Abbot

24th May - The Cluny - Newcastle

26th May - The Faversham - Leeds

DJ Format’s LP is out today. Double vinyl, CD and digital...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:50:10 -0500

DJ Format’s LP is out today. Double vinyl, CD and digital download. Get physical copies here and downloads here. Aside from the obvious listening experience, we also suggest you buy the vinyl so you can fully enjoy the stunning artwork by Mr.Krum.

See earlier post for details on our joint live shows kicking off in Brighton on the 2nd of March.

We’ve got a bunch of live shows with DJ Format coming up...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:02:07 -0500

We’ve got a bunch of live shows with DJ Format coming up to promote the release of his new LP ‘Statement of Intent’. The new album, which features two Simonsound collaborations (Battle of the Planets and Beyond Disco) is out on the 27th February. We join forces for the live show with a mix of old and new DJ Format material and the simonsound tracks which we made together. The usual/unusual video projections will accompany the music…

First show is 2nd of March in Brighton at the Concorde 2.

Photo

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:07:58 -0500

Video

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:59:59 -0500

passing-cloud: Curtis, Grant, Emily, Jenny and Simon have...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:30:53 -0500

passing-cloud:

Curtis, Grant, Emily, Jenny and Simon have organized the above event The Cosmic Snowball at The Blind Tiger Club in Brighton on 16th December - with a charity donation on the door in Support of The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and Samaritans!

The Phyllis Tuckwell have been supporting me since my diagnosis in January 2010 and continue to do so every week. I actually don’t know what I’d do without them. SO, The Cosmic Snowball welcomes you in my favorite home of Brighton town!

A new mix for the Paris DJ’s website of ’60s and...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:00:10 -0400

A new mix for the Paris DJ’s website of ’60s and ’70s psychedelia and electronics, taken from DJ Format’s record collection and mixed and seasoned by DJ Format and The Simonsound. A perfect treat at this changin’ of the season time. Click on the picture to go and get it from Paris DJs.

The always inspiring Stopping Off Place just posted these...

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:51:15 -0400

The always inspiring Stopping Off Place just posted these wonderful scans.

We now have a release date for the Laura J Martin & The...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:30:00 -0400

We now have a release date for the Laura J Martin & The Simonsound single on Battered Ornament Records. This limited edition 7” with sleeve by Luke Insect will be available from the 1st of August at all the usual outlets (and the Finders Keepers website)

UPDATE - 7” single now sold out at the Finders Keepers online store. Copies still available from Rough Trade, HMV, Jumbo Records (Leeds), Amazon etc etc.

Find a video here for the A side ‘Inside Your Bones’. The B side is a Simonsound remix of Laura J Martin’s song ‘Spy’.

It has been a long time coming and we are excited to finally get this one out. Here is the blurb…

Finders Keepers’ fitful pocket empire Battered Ornaments Records rears its head once again with another bespoke vinyl release featuring the unlikely but essential partnership of Liverpudlian chanteuse Laura J Martin and The Simonsound - a sonic partnership consisting of Simon James and Matt Ford (DJ Format).

Analogue synthesizers, tone generators, and reel to reel tape machines buzz and whirr amongst the roots of Laura J Martin’s homegrown supernatural siren song as folk traditions merge with The Simonsound’s science fiction fantasies for this hauntingly progressive/regressive experiment.

This strictly limited edition (500 only) vinyl release is the eighth release from Battered Ornaments Records, an independent label with a DIY asthetic producing lovingly made limited vinyl runs of off-kilter independent music housed in jaw dropping sleeves created by top artists and graphic designers.

NYC Finds

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:28:50 -0400

NYC Finds

60 Seconds with…. The Simonsound. A quick interview over...

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:17:57 -0400

60 Seconds with…. The Simonsound. A quick interview over at the Spitalfields Festival blog. Our next gig, hosted by Nick Luscombe, is at the Spitalfields Festival on Wednesday the 22nd of June. Find out more here.

Next gig coming up in May in Brighton at The Playgroup Popup...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:58:15 -0400

Next gig coming up in May in Brighton at The Playgroup Popup (formerly Hectors House, which has/or is having a makeover).

The Simonsound present a 40-minute audiovisual performance that offers a window to the future as seen from the past.
Performing songs from their debut album ‘Reverse Engineering’, alongside new material, The Simonsound use analogue synthesisers, vintage FX and tape machines to channel the sounds of pioneering electronics and mood music of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

They are joined on stage by the dynamic and captivating Laura J Martin (vocals & flute) with whom they are releasing a single on Battered Ornament Records. Plus EXCLUSIVE new Simonsound/DJ Format collaboration and a Simonsound remix of new Tru Thoughts artist Beta Hector which is like a very strange dream. To my personal taste Beta Hector is possibly the best thing to come out on the Brighton label, so make sure you check his album out in August.

Back to the gig - Laura J Martin will be performing a solo set, and the half of the simonsound that has the best record collection will be playing some obscure pysche/library/electronics into the early hours.

In addition to the sound, a pre-recorded synchronized video projects moving and still images from the period. Mans conquest of space, new advances in technology and early computers are all represented alongside clips that show the fascination with ‘inner space’, or ‘the mind’, prevalent during this period.

Photo’s from our Royal Festival Hall performance on Friday...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:25:00 -0400

Photo’s from our Royal Festival Hall performance on Friday 8th April.

Pictures taken by Shin Inaba.

A psychedelic montage for the B side to the new Laura J Martin...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:08:13 -0400

A psychedelic montage for the B side to the new Laura J Martin & The Simonsound single.

Here is the stunning artwork by Luke Insect for our new...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:03:00 -0400

Front

Back

Here is the stunning artwork by Luke Insect for our new single.

Laura J Martin & The Simonsound

A. Spy - Laura J Martin (The Simonsound remix)

B. Inside Your Bones - The Simonsound featuring Laura J Martin

Available towards the end of April on Battered Ornament Records - Limited numbered 7” Vinyl and digital download.

Ether 2011 has a great lineup this year including two screenings...

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 12:51:00 -0400

Ether 2011 has a great lineup this year including two screenings of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with live soundtrack performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Philharmonia Voices. To hear the music of Richard Strauss and Gyorgy Ligeti live in the surroundings of the Royal Festival Hall will be very powerful. The two performances are on the 8th and 9th of April, and we’ll be beginning the journey into space in the Clore Ballroom before the show on the 8th. Its free to come and hear us too!

Head over to the Ether website to see the full lineup.

Tomorrow (March 8th) is International Women’s day so I...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:36:00 -0500

Else Marie Pade

Jean Ichelberger-Ivey

Laurie Spiegel

Tomorrow (March 8th) is International Women’s day so I thought it worth reminding you of the Tone Generation episode dedicated to celebrating the lesser known female electronic composer’s working in the ’50s and ’60s.

The Tone Generation, originally made as a 10 part series for London`s Resonance FM, has expanded beyond its initial coverage of early electronic music around the world, and continues with a new topic in each subsequent program. Still using his record and cd collection as source material, Ian Helliwell has explored electronics in jazz and dance, and looked in detail at Expo 58, the RCA Synthesizer and electronic music authors. Women in Electronics, is the 19th show and the electronic music tracks all come from a selection of female composers who worked with tape or analogue synthesizers. Featuring Else Marie Pade, Jean Ichelberger-Ivey, Pril Smiley, Daria Semegen, Ludmilla Frajt, Laurie Spiegel and Lily Greenham. To listen to the podcast series go here.

The latest episode of The Tone Generation, is now available here. Focusing on music composed on the legendary Buchla range of electronic music boxes, Ian Helliwell plays and discusses tracks by Morton Subotnick, Ernst Krenek, Michael Czajkowski, Warner Jepson, Bulent Arel and Arthur Krieger.

Looking forward to playing at the launch of Form & Order at...

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:18:07 -0500

Looking forward to playing at the launch of Form & Order at The Nest in Dalston, London towards the end of March. We’ll be performing a new song live for the first time too!

‘Form & Order: A new showcase exploring the innovative strains of live electronic music. Debuting this month, we focus on the versatility of the female voice with an eclectic foray into female fronted electronics.

Introducing the immersive analogue neo-pysch of The Simonsound with Laura D Martin, the crystalline prog-poptronica of Cornelia, and the moody slo-mo harmonic noise of the epic Snowghosts.’

In related news we bid farewell to Debbie Clare who is heading off to Vietnam to teach. So whilst we lose her beautiful voice, witty banter and pre show games, they gain a strange but intelligent brain. Come back soon Debbie!