earlier this year, i was approached to curate a special mixtape for an international radio show called The Voice Of Cassandre. with all of the lockdown madness, it took me longer than it would’ve done usually, but i’m dead excited to finally see it available online to stream here.
The Voice Of Cassandre
i tried to document a loose timeline of Skint & Demoralised influences – partly my lyrical influences before i’d even picked up a pen, and then also musical influences once we’ve developed a songwriting partnership.
the mixtape is an hour long and was originally broadcast on radio stations in the UK, France and Greece. huge thanks to Grégory Lochouarn for approaching me to do this. i hope you enjoy the listen!
here’s some news that we’re dead chuffed about. last year’s comeback single Boro Kitchen 4am is one of the winners of this year’s Bread & Roses award for political songwriting and spoken word. back of the net.
the award is presented by Culture Matters in association with the CWU and the Musicians Union. there’s a full list of the winners here.
there’s nothing on the horizon in terms of new releases from Skint & Demoralised as things stand, but i’m currently in the middle of releasing a new poetry EP called A Life of Wearing White, in case that’s of any interest…
the poems capture my experiences as a lifelong Leeds fan; starting with the centenary poem which was shared by the club, and ending with some darker elements which featured in my Two Little Ducks show.
50% of the profits from this release will be donated to the Leeds Fans Food Bank, so please support it if you can. it’s available in all of the usual places, but the best place is the Nymphs & Thugs Bandcamp (here). ta very much.
when we did our first ever headline tour way back in February 2009, Mark Tighe was there to capture the opening night in Sheffield. and when we played our headline show at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds in December, he was there again. i love Mark. he’s ace.
huge thanks to Travellers Tunes for naming We Are Humans at No.14 on their Top 30 Albums of 2019 list. there are some awesome releases on there, so it’s great to see our effort in and amongst them. have a butcher’s here.
if you still haven’t listened to We Are Humans, you can stream it in all of the usual places here. it’s also available on limited edition white vinyl (they look even better than that sounds), and you can buy them here for £15 plus P+P.
this time last year, we’d written two tracks and had no idea what we’d end-up doing with them. to have signed a deal with Fierce Panda was a massive honour, and the final result is something that we’ll always be immensely proud of.
thanks to everybody that’s supported us in 2019. roll on 2020…
our final gig of 2019 sees us return to Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds for another headline show on Monday 16 December. and seeing as it’s also the last gig of the decade, we have a jam-packed bill for you!
support comes from Louise Distras, Fighting Rhythm and poet Toria Garbutt. what more do i need to say?! oh yeah, and it’s 14+. tickets are available here for £8/6, and you can shout about it on Facebook here. ta very much.
today sees the release of our new album ‘We Are Humans’ on limited edition white vinyl (available here). it also sees the release of a brand new digital EP, with ‘Slim Jim’s Liquor Store’ fronting the attack, plus an Electronic States remix and my ‘Red, White & Blue’ poem.
click to stream or download the ‘Slim Jim’s Liquor Store’ EP
Electronic States is the new remix outfit from Skint & Demoralised songwriter/producer David Gledhill, and may or may not drop a hint as to the direction of our next album.
i’ve been performing the ‘Red, White & Blue’ poem at our gigs and it’s gone down a storm. it’s a key part of the ‘Two Little Ducks‘ show that i toured last year and whilst it didn’t feel right on the album, i very much wanted it to be released alongside the material.
my ‘Red, White & Blue’ poem, recorded by Muddy Feet Poetry
lyrically, ‘Slim Jim’s Liquor Store’ takes a drastic departure from the main themes on the album. when we were signed to Universal back in the day, i ended up living in London at the age of 20; consumed by self-doubt, imposter syndrome, anxiety…the full works.
the daily pressure of video shoots, photo shoots, interviews, rehearsals, meetings, gigs and all that bollocks took it’s toll. plus the fact that no matter what i was doing, it wasn’t just acceptable to have a drink – it was almost expected.
Slim Jim’s Liquor Store
it got so back that i ended-up signing myself up for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy down the road from my house in Islington, but as soon as i’d finished, i’d still head straight over to Slim Jim’s Liquor Store on Upper Street.
it’s a fucking great bar, if you ever fancy it. just maybe don’t spend as much time there as i did…
i’m guessing that most of you will have heard our fourth album ‘We Are Humans’ by now. it was released digitally on 30 August and is available to stream or purchase in all of the usual places (click here for the links), but far more exciting than that is this physical release…
Fierce Panda have produced some limited edition white vinyl copies of the album, which are released on 25 October. and to be quite honest, they’re absolutely fucking beautiful. you can order them through Fierce Panda, or through my independent spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs (click here).
we’ll also be selling them at gigs, and they’ll be stocked in a small selection of independent record shops as well – so either way, it’s easy enough for you to get your hands on a copy for £15 plus P+P. huge thanks to Kerry Harrison for the sleeve design and to Mark Coverdale for the final touches. just look at ’em…!
Skint & Demoralised ‘We Are Humans’ on limited edition white vinyl
Skint & Demoralised 