CLAIRECORDS NEWSLETTER AUGUST '07 Welcome to the 32nd edition of the Clairecords newsletter, brought to you by the letter P, the number two, and the color purple. MONSTER MOVIE Stop the presses! Monster Movie’s 2002 debut full-length, Last Night Something Happened, is being reissued with new artwork and bonus material by your favorite label (that being us, right?) on Sept. 4. This fantastic recording has languished in out-of-print oblivion for way too long, and the increasingly-vocal protests from deranged fans started to get to us after a while. We have a very limited number of copies available for press, so get ‘em while you can! In further news, as Sean and Christian report, “This year we are taking Christmas back from the Christians and giving them nothing in return because they’ve been naughty.” http://www.monster-movie.com SECRET SHINE You’re already quite aware that former Sarah Records staples Secret Shine emerged from their nine-year hiatus back in 2005. With that in mind, we figured that this would be the ideal time to inform you that Clairecords will be releasing the Shinees’ next studio full-length—their first in since 1993-- in March or April of next year. And yes, there will be American tourdates. Reports guitarist Scott Purnell: “We actually went to the studio yesterday and put the first drum tracks down - we have a tight schedule of recording over the next couple of months but hope to deliver masters or at least a first mix to Dan by early November.” Copies of our 2004 After Years compilation, which collects much of the group’s Sarah output are still available for perusal and purchase through tonevendor.com, as are brand-new T-shirts. So if your memory of these fantastic ‘90s melody makers (and favorites of late BBC-1 broadcaster John Peel) is on the faint side, this is the perfect time to get reacquainted with them. So do it now! http://www.secretshine.co.uk/ SEEFEEL Seefeel fans, set those turntables to stun! Hot off the heels of Too Pure’s revamped reissuance of the late, lamented London quartet’s 1993 opus Quique, we are beyond thrilled to announce that we’ll bringing this outstanding release to your hi-fi as a 4-platter vinyl set by January at the latest. This fabtabulous offering will be limited to 500 copies (100 of them blue) and brought to you in beautiful gatefold packaging. Nearly 15 years after its debut, this daring exercise in ambient glory sounds every bit as ambitious as it did then, so don’t miss this rare opportunity to rediscover this long out-of-print masterwork in fantastic 180-gram wax. http://www.myspace.com/seefeelmyspace TEARS RUN RINGS We at Clairecords are beyond excited to announce the addition of Tears Run Rings to our roster of melody makers. Featuring alumni of groups like Evening Lights and The Autocollants, this Portland-by-way of California fivesome deals in blissful noise guaranteed to appeals to fans of the Pale Saints and Secret Shine. Their debut full-length will be in your hands in early spring; in the meantime, their last outing, the Question & An Answer EP, is available for perusal and purchase at tonevendor.com. http://www.tearsrunrings.com/ THE BROTHER KITE The Brother Kite’s rampage through the Dirty South has come and gone, and if you missed it (which you really shouldn’t have), Pat has the highlights: “I was asleep for most of it and, when awake, had my nose in Shakey, the Neil Young biography. I got birthday presents, Mark danced with a rhythmically-challenged girl at the Voxtrot show for $2 (Dan took pictures), and I had a 30 minute phone conversation about vegetarianism while sitting on the back of a giant Jackalope. And, once again, The Cyclone at Coney Island kicked my ass. So there.” In further news TBK are continuing progress on The Moonlit Race EP, which will contain an unplugged version of “Hopeless and Unsung” that must be heard to be believed. Excited? We are! And for the Quebecois among you, TBK will once again be rocking Pop Montreal within an inch of its life, this time alongside Patti Smith, Ron Sexsmith, Pere Ubu, Magnolia Electric Co., Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Buck 65, the Watson Twins, Half Japanese and m any, many more fascinating artists. Stay tuned to www.popmontreal.com for further details. h t t p://www.thebrotherkite.com * * * ALL YOUR PRESS IS BELONG TO US * * * ELECTRO GROUP “Although only three of Good Technology's 11 songs cross the three-minute mark, Electro Group makes every second count, as if they're just as anxious to play these songs as their fans are to hear them.” -- Sean Padilla, Press Play Record MAHOGANY “Ethereal and shimmering, gleaming a kaleidoscope of jewel colours, the songs on Connectivity! bask in the radiance of the Cocteau Twins and bathe in the essence of the Pale Saints. And if you think that's a pretentious sentence, you haven't tried listening to Mahogany.” -- Maddy Costa, The Guardian (UK) SEEFEEL "The listener never just listened to Seefeel, rather became enveloped and consumed by their music. Their live concert experience was something akin to being hit by a train. They made the most uncompromising, beautiful noise and I miss them." -- Robin Guthrie, Cocteau Twins * * * CLAIRECORDS LIVE AND IN YOUR FACE * * * AIR FORMATION 10/20/07 Nottingham, UK- Junktion 10/24/07 London, UK- The Luminaire AIRIEL 09/01/07 Lima, PE- C.C. La Noche w/ Resplandor 09/28/07 Minneapolis, MN- Triple Rock Social Club w/ Ulrich Schnauss 10/03/07 KEXP Live in Chicago (listen live on www.kexp.org) 12/06/07 Chicago, IL- The Darkroom w/ Arks, Walking Bicycles MAHOGANY 09/29/07 Lima, PE- C.C. La Noche w/loveliescrushing SECRET SHINE 09/28/07 Lund, SE- Blekingska nationen 09/29/07 Copenhagen, DK- TBA THE BROTHER KITE 10/04/07 Montreal, QC- Green Room (Popfest Montreal) 10/05/07 Toronto, ON- Tiger Bar 10/12/07 Pawtucket, RI- Blackstone HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? (A peek into the inner sanctums of your favorite Clairecords stars!) RAYMOND SCOTT WOOLSON “In the ‘how I'm spending my summer’ department: I am currently chained to a pair of headphones, handcuffed to various guitars, tediously writing and recording my new album, to be released on the Clairecords label in 2008. Progress is slow but I haven't thrown any temper tantrums yet. Meanwhile: Look for the reissue of my 2005 album The View From Boggins Heights in August. Originally available as a limited edition CD-R, and out of print since early 2006, the album has been remixed and slightly revised for its appearance as a proper CD. 9 songs. 58 minutes. Well worth listening to. Tonevendor and CDBaby will have it. Meanwhile even sooner: I have added a bunch of songs to my SOUNDCLICK mp3 page. At least one song from each of my 4 recent releases, and a handful of numbers from my 1990's vocal-and-guitar era. Yes, you'll get to hear me singing, and it will become clear to you why I stopped singing. But the songs are quite good, very dreampop and shoegazeish, and enough time has gone by that I don't mind bringing them back out for folks to hear. These are all free MP3 downloads. Help yourself.” _____________________________________ CLAIRECORDS * Purveyors of Quality Noise http://www.clairecords.com http://www.myspace.com/clairecords