Brixton Hill Studios AGM & BBQ

THE SCARAMANGA SIX – A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:

The Scaramanga Six is the brainchild of headstrong siblings Paul and Steven Morricone. Not in any way like your conventional mindless rock-star filth, The Morricone brothers appear more like a pair of polite and softly-spoken, yet viciously intense and sadistic nightclub bouncers. Raised in the Westcountry seaside resort of Weston-Super-Mare on an education of Stranglers records (by elder brothers) and Tony Bennett records (by their Mum), the young Morricone twins discovered there was much fun to be had in crooning and shouting in equal measures. The Scaramanga Six was finally realised in the dark & drizzly backdrop of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire where the band still lurk to this very day.

TyrannoPop? Luxury Rock Noir? Schitzophonic Splattercore? – whatever you want to call it, this suave and enigmatic unit have carved their own scenester-defying niche since the mid-90’s as the most unique and creative underground rock band in the UK. Every one of these individuals is hell-bent on assaulting the ears of the unsuspecting with intense and preposterous rock and roll music. Add ‘prolific’ to their wild claims – over the last decade & a half, the band have relentlessly embarked on a rampant recording spree. The average gestation period for a Scaramanga Six long-player is approximately 2 years – ‘The Terrifying Dream’ is the title of their current (and eighth) studio album, for which The Scaramanga Six decided to use the fantastic PledgeMusic platform to find and release with a hugely successful campaign. For their previous album, ‘Phantom Head’, The Six made an ambitious pilgrimage to Chicago Illinois to record with the best engineer in the world, Mr Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, The Stooges, Shellac etc etc) in his own Electrical Audio studio. To get that authentic ‘Albini sound’, the recordings were all done completely live with minimal overdubs onto 2” tape using all analogue equipment and the bare minimum of post-production.

But hot on the heels of ‘The Terrifying Dream’, The Six are currently holed up in their secret underground base preparing a barrage of new material for their ninth studio album, which promises to be the most uncompromising, bloated and lavish offering to date. It seems The Six are entering a zenith of creativity, despite committing the music industry cardinal sins of mostly being over 40 and being around for over a decade.

The self-styled ‘evil pop group’ have been tearing a hole in the arse of the live circuit over recent years with their incendiary rock rituals including key slots at many UK festivals (headline set at Leeds 2007 on the Introducing stage). Their previous few albums have pulverised the minds of critics and also seen releases across Scandinavia, the Germanic countries and Japan, all through the band’s own infamous label – Wrath Records. Bookings at some of the big European festivals have also transpired (Hove Festival, Norway and Peace & Love, Sweden). All the while they have been building up and grooming a legion of die-hard crackpot fans ready to creep out from under logs or something and support the band wherever they play. And when they play, THEY SLAY.

“The Scaramanga Six make music to make mind movies to, and long may they continue. ” – THE QUIETUS “Soulful and subtle, yet also adventurous and abrasive, The Scaramanga Six possess all the makings of a classic band.” KKKK – KERRANG! “Rarely does such disregard for the basic principles of songwriting provide such exhilarating results” – ROCK SOUND “As we tiptoe graciously through all the wannabe Libertines and second-rate U2s to find something genuinely original, unique and inspiring, it seems dear old Leeds has come up with the goods again – the intense-yet-aloof rock operas of The Scaramanga Six could be its most omnipotent discovery yet.” – DROWNED IN SOUND “The Scaramanga Six exist in a weird sort of twighlight zone in the music spectrum, where the more experimental end of Ginger Wildheart’s catalogue rubs shoulders with The Cardiacs and The Fall, while Nick Cave looks on moroselyThe Scaramanga Six exist in a weird sort of twighlight zone in the music spectrum, where the more experimental end of Ginger Wildheart’s catalogue rubs shoulders with The Cardiacs and The Fall, while Nick Cave looks on morosely″ – PURE RAWK “A cult phenomenon of a band known for their thunderous flamboyant style of rock; and a relentless presence in the Leeds rock scene since the mid 90s” – DROWNED IN SOUND “Another great album from a band that really deserve a much bigger audience” – THE QUITEUS “The guitars are tight, the melodies are memorable and effective and the production is spot on” – LOUDER THAN WAR

http://www.thescaramangasix.co.uk/new/

https://www.facebook.com/thescaramangasix/

Two piece noise bastards - post hardcore wrapped in a mclusky-esque chaos!

https://www.facebook.com/fraudsfraudsfrauds

BBC 6 Music Round Table winners Mega Emotion are two girls drumming over a sequenced beat. A guy screaming his guts up. "Part Pixies noise-fest, part 80s synth sunset" (The 405).

Norwich trio Mega Emotion is made up of Iain on guitar, Lisa and Jan on keyboards, all of them sing and play drums/percussion over electronic beats. Iain describes their sound as “an alternative soundtrack to the film Tron.”

Since forming in late 2013, Mega Emotion have won Steve Lamacq’s Roundtable on BBC 6 Music, seen their demo material 'BRAINS' play-listed as a 6 Music Recommends track of the week, and been championed on XFM and by BBC Introducing.

Live, they have played for John Kennedy’s Remedy showcase in London, and supported the likes of Dan Croll, Thumpers, LoneLady and Yuck.

Their debut single Uncomfortable, was released on cassette by Post/Pop Records in 2015 – who have released cassette tracks by Everything Everything, Pulled Apart By Horses, Ash, Johnny Foreigner and We Are Scientists. Latest track OK MAYBE OK has been played on Radio X and BBC 6Music and championed by BBC Introducing.

“Brains starts like Blondie and soon becomes something different. Part Pixies noise-fest, part 80s synth sunset. I fucking love this song. It makes me want to rip out my shitty broken spine and flop around on a dance floor having fun.” The 405 (single of the week)

“Mega Emotion aren’t your standard synth-pop proposition. They may weave webs of slick electro beats that nod out to Blondie, but they also have a thing for excessive layers of noise.” The Fly (names to watch)

“A tasty jellybean of guitar embellished, smart electro pop” The Music Fix (single of the week)

“Sounds like: A mad genetic experiment between Casiokids and Blondie.” Click Music (track of the day)

https://www.facebook.com/MegaEmotion/

Jen Macro from My Bloody Valentine, The Hood Rats etc plus the men of Smallgang give it some. https://www.facebook.com/hurtlingtowards/ https://soundcloud.com/hurtling-76527065/let-go

Lo-fi pop is punctuated with proggy outbursts, psychedelic breakdowns and passages of cod-metal joy.

https://www.facebook.com/hamlegion

Indie noir quartet based in the neighbourhood.

Debut single "Dance To Death" is out now on the newly-formed Brixton Hillbilly label, based on Brixton Hil (!)

https://www.facebook.com/gaygirlmusic/

https://soundcloud.com/brixton-hillbilly/dance-to-death-by-gaygirl-1

Formed on Brixton Hill featuring current and/or ex-members of Rat The Magnificent & stuffy/the fuses. A sound came out sounding like Julie Cruise and Stereolab playing poker at a Sunn 0))) gig. Ambient Avant Hard. https://www.facebook.com/hotsaucepony/

Keith Top Of The Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band (to give them their full title) were formed by chance during an Art Brut show at The Knitting Factory in New York, when the support act pulled out at the last minute, and Keith and two members of the headline act joined forces to play some of Keith's songs. Since then, the band has existed in a constant state of flux, with band members often being recruited a few minutes before the show, and numbers ranging from just Keith and a drummer to 24 musicians, and a brass section, sharing the stage!

The band live by two rules - no rehearsals and no soundchecks - to ensure that every song they play sounds different every time. This novel approach is applied to the track listing on Fuck You! I'm Keith Top Of The Pops, as they were arranged based on the songs' first ever performance.

Keith has also attracted a fantastic line up of musicians to record alongside him, including Dyan Valdes of The Blood Arm, Fruitbat and Jimbob from Carter USM, Keith Murray and Chris Cain from We Are Scientists and Ian Catstiltskin, Eddie Argos and Jasper Future from Art Brut. As a result, the sound is a collection of wonderfully chaotic freeform rock tunes that sound like a cross between The Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit, with more bitter and twisted undertones.

https://soundcloud.com/abadgeoffriendship/keith-top-of-the-pops-his

https://www.facebook.com/jessicaleemorgansings/

SacrificE and Bliss is a mythologically driven 3 piece who compose music that celebrates the spirit of story and culture. Raw classical texture fused with synth-punk, and soaring medieval vocals mixed with brittle guitars.

https://www.facebook.com/SacrificeandBliss/