WE'RE NOT DEAD

...we've just been sleeping. But fret not! Aaron is freshly returned from his jaunt around India, Nepal and god knows where else and we are all finally back in the same city for the first time since January. On the agenda for future activity:

1. Gigs in September/October. Another European tour. Oh yes.
2. Practising like motherfuckers for said gigs.
3. Editing and mixing the elusive third album. Yes, we've been working on this one for months. No, it's not nearly finished yet. Yes, we will probably play exclusively songs from it at gigs. Unless you ask us nicely to play something old that you like.
4. Frantically trying to remember how to play old songs that people like so that we don't piss everyone off.
5. Mixtapes! Not sure why, but they'll keep us sane on tour. And we might make some copies for you. Dave has already compiled 5 hours' worth of tat for your dubious listening pleasure.
   

More soon, including confirmation of aforementioned promised gigs. Anyone want to put us on in London? Or northern Italy?

FIVE LADS WHO SHOOK THE WIRRAL

Ooh! Well, it only took us ten years. We finally have a real press shot! Four of them, even. We are enormously indebted to the exceptional Steve Gullick, who took these shots of us at our most earnest and sweaty at Chameleon, Nottingham after our split LP launch party.






If you'd like high resolution versions of these photos for press purposes, don't hesitate to get in touch: ichbinsimmo at gmail dot com. Feel free to repost wherever you see fit, but do be sure to credit Steve Gullick. Cheers!

Millions Now Living Will Die Young In A Cold Dead Spiderland

Recording for our third album, possibly or possibly not titled as above, is almost done. We our now preparing ourselves for six months of experimentation, mixing, mastering, and arguments about gates and compressors.

We're very excited about this record. In the past, give or take a few overdubs and sonic tweaks, our recorded output has largely been the sound of a band playing live in a room. This time we're aiming for something that sounds radically different to previous ventures, so we've decided to take a totally different approach. Each instrument is being tracked individually, giving us a lot more freedom for production tomfoolery. The idea/hope is that the production process will become an integral part of the songwriting process.

It's exciting and yet scary, as we don't know quite what the record will sound like. About all we know so far is that it will feature seven or eight tracks and will be our shortest album by some length. I have high hopes that it will be by far the best thing we have ever released... here's to hoping that we don't fuck it up.

Aaron, meanwhile, continues to thrive on the Indian subcontinent. Our only fear for him is that that upon his return (July) he will want to lay down some tabla overdubs.

Crikey.

Reviews of "Clown Jazz"

Reviews of our new split release with Sincabeza (out on Monday 22nd February) are beginning to trickle through. Here are the first couple:

Drowned In Sound
"A masterclass in self-expression without a single spoken word being uttered throughout."

Subba Cultcha
"A warped, fractured take on jazz fed through a distorted blender of guitars and electronics [...] which showcases a creatively diverse band at the peak of their powers."

Pennyblackmusic
"A must for any math rock head"

Rock-A-Rolla
"It's all good."

God Is In The TV
"A Wish You Were Here-style snapshot of a paradise island you will never visit."

Die Shellsuit Die
"Souvaris’ raid on Tortoise fairly leaps from the speakers... pleasing and surprising"

Culture Deluxe
"An impressive new groove-driven direction [...] rather wonderful".

Echoes and Dust
"Off-beat math funk, tightly grooved and interspersed with quirky melodies and a charming exuberancy [...] a great listen."

The Silent Ballet
"The stamina these guys have is amazing; from start to finish, the album is nine-tenths bounce-around-the-room hyperactivity, with the remainder providing just enough breather to remind the listener just how energetic the rest is."

Liability (in French)
"Clown Jazz est comme un révélateur de la bonne santé du math-rock actuel et montre même que l'on peut parvenir à surpasser l'étiquette de genre dans laquelle on les affuble généralement. Un must."

Benzine (in French)
"Un grand cru, indéniablement."

Mille Feuille (in French)
"Rien que pulsation, puissance, vitesse et vie."

Muzzart (in French)
"Force et finesse cohabitent merveilleusement et la rupture voulue et mise en place par Souvaris s'avère juste et débouche sur un horizon différent mais parfaitement en phase avec ce qui précède, preuve de l'adresse affichée dans l'addition d'atmosphères et dans l'élaboration de celles-ci."

DMute (in French)
"Certains parlent de claque, je préfère parler de caresse, l'une plus appuyée que l'autre."

Perte Et Fracas (in French)
"Contrairement à une majorité de groupes du même acabit qui finissent toujours par s'en/vous endormir, Souvaris ne joue pas sur le contraste montée/descente mais sur la richesse des sons et contre toute attente, fini par séduire."

More to follow soon!

Souvaris/Sincabeza - "Clown Jazz" digital release - available now!

Dear friends without record players,

Fret not! If you buy a copy of the new LP, you'll find a download code snuck inside so you can get your digital kicks alongside those (admit, much nicer sounding) superior analogue sounds emanating from your stereo.

Alternatively, if you don't want a weighty great 12" clogging up space in your fashionable abode, you can always buy a digital version of the Souvaris side to clutter up your hard drive instead. And you should be able to find a version in just about any format you could possibly want!

Check out http://souvaris.bandcamp.com, or just have a click below:

Souvaris/Sincabeza - "Clown Jazz" split LP (Gringo Records), released 22nd February 2010

So, the first new release in 18 months is about to be let out the door... full details and a full stream of the entire record here:
http://www.sincabeza.org/sincavaris/

We'll put up some links to reviews as and when we approach the 22nd February release date, but don't delay! this record is limited to 500 copies and when they're gone they're gone! You can buy yourself a copy from a decent independent record shop if you live in the UK, or you can get one direct from Gringo records for a mere £8.50:
http://www.gringorecords.com/catalog/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=397&osCsid=s6sjb82t860b3vlderrhcmpm56

Nice, eh? Ooh, and don't forget we're playing two special gigs to celebrate the launch of this beauteous beast, in Manchester and Nottingham! After that, it will be silence from us, as Aaron is about to spend six months finding himself in India. The rest of us will be recording the remainder of our long-in-the-works third album, which we're hoping to complete sometime before the end of the year. But more on that later.

Lovingly,

Souvaris
xxxxxxx

The January 2010 Microtour is soon to commence!

Femmes! Hommes! Garcons et filles!

Sorry for the prolonged silence, but we've beavering away in the background on some new recordings.... However, with our split LP with Sincabeza finally approaching a firm release date (more details when we know them), we though we should drop a quick note to let you know that we will be embarking on the smallest tour ever in a couple of weeks time. TWO whole consecutive shows in two different cities! First up a trip to Manchester, followed by an LP launch party in Nottingham. Crikey!

THURSDAY 21st JANUARY
@ THE RETRO BAR, MANCHESTER
w/ These Monsters, FTSE 100
7.30pm / £5
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=165966476748&ref=ts

FRIDAY 22nd JANUARY
@ CHAMELEON, NOTTINGHAM
Celebrating the release of our split LP with Sincabeza on Gringo Records
w/ Tenebrous Liar, Hatchling
8.30pm / £5
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=252147462501&ref=ts

Very soon we shall write with solid news about exactly where, when and how you can buy our forthcoming release on Gringo - we are expecting copies back from the pressing plant any day now....

Hopefully see you at one of the shows - do say hello.

Toodle pip,

Souvaris xxx