Invaderband live 26/5/13 (courtesy of Jim Cunningham).
A Farewell To Hexes – ‘Sightings’
12 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Releases, Videos Tags: Bluebook, Close Encounters, Cumberland Spaceman, David Bowie, Jenny Randles, John Carpenter, Josef Allen Hynek, Low, Martyn Ware, Norcross, Phil Oakey, Project Bluebook, Project Sign, Rendlesham Forest, The Human League, The Solway Spaceman, UFO
*** SOLD OUT ***
I have a new release on 27th May 2013, the ‘A Farewell To Hexes‘ (Tectona Grandis, TEAK02) maxi-single. It’s the work of one bearded man and his synth, and purely as a cynical commercial move, I was going for a sort of Human League MK1 / Bowie’s ‘Low’ side 2 / John Carpenter soundtrack feel. Will.i.am and Tom Jones will have their hands poised over the red buttons for this stuff.
Format is limited edition CD (30 copies only) in stickered, hand-numbered mini-gatefold sleeves, with an insert of the mysterious ‘Solway Spaceman‘ photograph / lyric sheet. Tracklisting is:
- Sightings
- Solway
- Norcross
These are £4 + postage to your location (£1 UK, £2 EUROPE, £3 R.O.W). They’re not made up yet, but you can certainly pre-order one – PayPal to adamleonard@hotmail.com Thanks.
Here’s a video of the first track, which is heavily influenced by (i.e. a rip-off of) early Human League, and amazingly British synth pioneer and Human League MK1 founder Martyn Ware approves.
NxNW
10 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Gigs
Invaderband are playing at the new / first NxNW festival. We’ll be on about 10pm on the Sunday night.
Tickets via The Playhouse Theatre | Facebook – NxNW
Where your Central flower blooms
30 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Gigs Tags: Derry, Grand Central, Invaderband, Krautrock, Our Krypton Son, Punk, The Gatefolds, The Murder Balladeers, Undertones
Invaderband live @ The Grand Central, Derry, 25/04/13.
From left to right: Chris, me, Rion, Gavin
“Tickets”
There are quite a few videos of the night up on YouTube, but here’s ‘Tree Erection’ which is one of the songs on the forthcoming Poseidon Adventure Re-soundtrack project:
The set list, stolen, as was my red plectrum – main suspect being an unnamed member (Fergal Corscadden) of The Gatefolds, who also played on the night.
Thanks so much to everybody who came. I was surprised by the numbers there to be honest, and we even had Derry Punk Royalty (is that an oxymoron?) in the audience in the form of Undertones bassist and gentleman Michael Bradley, who later tweeted about it. Chuffed!
Invaderband landing on 25th April
10 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
Upcoming gig at the Grand Central bar (1st floor) in Derry.
Invaderband badges (available behind the bar) serve as tickets, and only people wearing badges will be allowed in.
The infrastructure curves like a system of nerves
09 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Releases Tags: 1980, John Foxx, Metamatic
*** SOLD OUT ***
Being 11 in 1980, the first records I bought were by artists like The Human League, Depeche Mode, Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Ultravox, Gary Numan and John Foxx. Electronic music was my first love. I like to think I was the only 11 year old who owned Fad Gadget records, and by the time I was a teenager I owned the entire Kraftwerk back catalogue, and even a few D.A.F. imports. My son is 13 now and owns no records at all. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.
Anyway, an album which made a deep impression on me at the time was John Foxx’s ‘Metamatic’. Recorded in 1979 after he left Ultravox and released in the spring of 1980, it stood and still stands alone as a monochrome electronic masterpiece. I’ve long wanted to make music in that vein, but never had the gear or the ability to do it. And then a man called David Ansara approached me to say he’d done a cover of one of my songs he’d heard online. It transpired he was a vintage analogue synthesizer geek, so I asked him “Could we do something which sounds like Metamatic … ?” and the answer was “Yes”. And here are some of the results. We’ve got an album’s worth of material written and recorded, but for now, here’s a 3-track EP.
Echoes In Rows: ‘Click Click Drone’
01 Zone Zone
02 Shoot Me Like A Scene
03 Brian Aldiss
It should be out on 25th Feb on limited numbered CD (80 copies), the first 19 of which come with a download code for a bonus track. I’m thinking of putting it on Bandcamp too, but I still have a bit of a mental block when it comes to downloads. Cost is £4, plus postage to your location (UK £1, Europe £1.50,Rest of world £2.00).
PayPal to adamleonard@hotmail.com please, or email if you don’t have PayPal and we’ll sort something out.
Here’s a little preview video wot I dun (sorry, I’ve been listening to too much Slade recently).
Seasonal Deluxe editions of Nature Recordings
04 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in General
*** SOLD OUT ***
In November I got 5 copies of the Nature Recordings boxed CD from Nigel at Northwestern to hopefully sell at the gig I was doing. I ended up giving one away, and obtaining a nice round number of buyers for the other 4 copies, i.e. zero.
So I have 4 copies which I have decided to personalise. These are editions of ONE, which – and let’s not argue about it – is pretty limited.
Each one of the Winter, Spring, Summer & Autumn Deluxe editions will give you:
1. The Standard edition contents (i.e. CD, 4 ‘Tower’ inserts, Hydrangea petals, letterpressed hand-numbered insert by Phil McMullen).
PLUS EXTRAS:
2. An exclusive bonus CDr or download code for 3 acoustic guitar/vocal versions of Nature Recordings songs. These are not yet recorded, and will not be made available anywhere else, ever.
3. A badge.
4. A new, original hand-written seasonal poem.
All in a numbered customised box for your chosen season.
Nature Recordings Deluxe edition
Price: £12 per box.
To reserve one please email me on adamleonard@hotmail.com, specifying:
- Your chosen season.
- Whether you want the bonus tracks on CDr or via download code.
- Your location.
I will then reply with a total cost including postage.
Happy new year.
+A
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
12 Dec 2012 2 Comments
The Poseidon Adventure – Tree Erection
…..
Tell me, where did 2012 go?
As the end of the year draws closer, here’s a quick update:
1. The BBC session I did for the Electric Mainline show is now available via SoundCloud for your listening pleasure. There is a new song (‘About Much Else’) on there, with the lovely piano work of Chris McConaghy. Presenter and DJ Stephen McCauley has today described this song as “easily one of my Electric Mainline highlights of 2012”, which is very kind indeed.
2. I have a new track on the The First Active Listener Acid Folk Sampler over here. ‘Stille Nacht II’ evokes (in my mind anyway) a calm and quiet, snowy evening.
3. As promised last time, there are now a few Invaderband live video clips on YouTube – ‘Ringtones From The Coffins’, ‘Not Alan Rickman’ and ‘The Implausible Man’.
4. Next year. There should be a number of releases in 2013 if all goes to plan, all of them quite different in style:
- Echoes In Rows analogue electronics album – with David Ansara.
- A Farewell To Hexes analogue electronics EP (solo).
- RELYCS – ‘Songs For Abandoned Tube Stations’ cassette – with Pulco, Gareth Davies and Unexpected Bowtie.
- A track on the forthcoming Kitchen Cynics tribute album from Folk Police Recordings.
- The Poseidon Adventure re-soundtrack (LDC9) – with Gareth Davies.
- Crossing Over With Gareth Davies & Adam Leonard EP – with Gareth Davies.
- Waxen Wasps project – with Dom Cooper.
Merry Christmas people. Thanks for your support this year – I appreciate it massively.
[ Raises glass to 2013 ]
Landed Right On Target
20 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Gigs
Photos: Martin-og Bradley
Invaderband made their first ever appearance, unannounced on Friday night upstairs in Sandinos at the Our Krypton Son album launch party. I played a couple of songs alone on the acoustic and then we did 4 band songs. It was easily my most enjoyable live experience to date, and I’ll be forever grateful to Chris, Rio and Gavin for allowing this pipe-dream to turn into reality. I’m pretty self-critical, but I really think we sounded great.
I’ve set up a Facebook page for news and stuff HERE. Please pop over and say hello.
There are some basic iPhone videos coming my way, so I’ll get those posted up when I get them. Finally, I need to dispel some rumours regarding me apparently going “double-denim” that night. Relax, I would never do this – and as can be clearly seen in the photos, I am wearing some nice charcoal trousers.
Solo set @ Our Krypton Son album launch show
01 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Gigs
The eponymous debut album from Our Krypton Son is released on 16th November by Smalltown America records. This is a great record.
There is an album launch party in Sandinos in Derry, and I’ll be playing a solo set at it along with Little Bear, Conor Mason & Amo. Entry is free if you buy the album from here.
The Message Tapes 