Reptilian Indie Overlords!!!

Never has the phrase 'aiming for world domination' caused more of a chill to run down the spines of MILC staff. For while it may the common aim of hopeful bands the world o'er, such an intention carries a mite more weight when it belongs to the son of a man who believes the earth is run by "reptilian humanoids".

Yes, David Icke (former Coventry City goalkeeper and BBC sports presenter, wearer of distinctive purple tracksuits and possessor of more than a few 'out there' theories) has a son, and that son is none other than Gaz, front man for spritely-songsters Kody.

So while we wish the boys all luck with their efforts to storm the charts and our hearts, we do hope and pray that they don't meet any prime ministers soon...

"I once had an extraordinary experience with former prime minister Ted Heath," recalled Icke Snr. "Both of his eyes, including the whites, turned jet black and I seemed to be looking into two black holes..."

...Watch, ahem, this space.
www.kody.co.uk

Scully are a live! (act)

Tom, Danny and Matt were recently down at Miloco ("wicked place") putting the finishing touches to their debut album ("sounds awesome") with Mr Ben Hillier in charge of the mix and our own Joe Hirst ("northern monkey/top bloke") in attendance. And along with being clearly chuffed with the results and bound for stardom, Scully also have the following live dates ahead of them:

March 8th - Tatty Bogles, Soho
March 16th - Water Rats - supporting Story One
March 31st - Buffalo Bar, Islington
April 4th - Water Rats, Kings Cross
April 12th - Dublin Castle, Camden

And if you head along to their website there are a couple of nice tunes for you to listen to.
www.scullyofficial.com

Sound of 2006: official

Shoemanzi-numanzi-woomanzi?
No, no, no, of course not. The answer was 'Humanziie', but is now 'Humanzi.'

And what are we on about, you might not unreasonably enquire? Well, just that Humanzi, those leather-clad noiseniks, have changed their Myspace address. Yes, that's all. It's now www.myspace.com/humanzi. But you'd have probably guessed that.

They've also just wrapped up a multi-month, almost-million-date touring schedule that saw them loitering backstage with the likes of Hard-Fi, The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Dirty Pretty Things, but if you pray superhard they're sure to feel the lure of the road again sometime soon.
www.humanzi.com

Golden Howling Bells

If you were to head along to those lovely folks at Bella Union's website you could lay your no-doubt-sweating hands on a golden - yes, golden! - vinyl copy of the Howling Bells debut single Wishing Stone.

Just follow this link if you're keen: http://www.bellaunion.com/shop.php?prod_id=bellacd115

It's backed by The Wild and This City's Burning, and you can probably ask them nicely and get a silvery CD copy sent instead if you really want to.
www.howlingbells.com
www.bellaunion.com

Future [album] heads

The Futureheads have unveiled full details of their forthcoming album 'News And Tributes'. It's due out on May 22, and, for those who need a teaser, the tracklisting is as follows:

'Yes/No'...'Cope'...'Fallout'...'Skip To The End'...'Burnt'...'News And Tributes'...'Return Of The Beserker'...'Back To The Sea' ...'Worry About It Later'...'Favours For Favours'...'Thursday'...'Face'

The album was recorded in a "remote Yorkshire hideaway" before they and Ben Hillier decamped to Miloco's "easily-accessible London mix-haven", The Neve VR Room.
www.thefutureheads.com

 

This is Hard Kaur

MC Hard Kaur - the UK's "first Asian female rapper" - has been getting a lot of radio plays lately, not least thanks to Bobby and Nihal at BBC Radio1 and Adil Ray on the BBC Asian Network.

And if you'd like to hear a little of her beated-up tunes for yourself, including recent cut "Bounce 2 Da Rhythm", I'd recommend you swing by her site and click on the audio link. Well go on then.
www.mchardkaur.co.uk

Those Outlandish Danes

Flying off shelves quicker than greased bacon in an earthquake, the latest Outlandish single, Look Into My Eyes, has laid waste to the competition. It spent a gargantuan number of weeks at the top of the Danish charts and, in the process, achieved the 'most radio plays in the quickest time' ever recorded there! (Whose job is it to count these things?)

The single comes from their recent album, Closer Than Veins, which was mixed in The Neve Room by our own Pete Hofmann (see Staff Profile), with Lucas Secon producing.
www.outlandmoro.com

Swing low, sweet Test Icicles

Gah! So it's true. The Test Icicles split rumours ran rampant these last few weeks. And sadly, after confirming they were, then confirming they weren't, they've now gone and confirmed they definitely are to be no more.

They've cancelled their American tour, and have announced that their U.K. shows will be their last, specifically:

18 April 2006 - Glasgow Garage - £9
19 April 2006 - Sunderland Manor Quays - £9
20 April 2006 - Manchester Academy 2 - £9
21 April 2006 - Coventry Colliseum - £9
22 April 2006 - London Astoria - £10


And just to confuse matters still further there will be one more single from the band at the end of April.
If you'd like more info, head to their Myspace blogs to read Sam and Rory's statements on the reasons and feelings behind their decision.
www.myspace.com/testicicles
www.test-icicles.com

The terrible loss of Mr Ivor Cutler

Okay, so we never had the pleasure of hosting the great Ivor Cutler at Miloco, but I hope that doesn't prevent MILC from wishing him a fond farewell.

Responsible for such classics as Tales From A Scotch Sitting Room Vol.2 (no, there never was a volume 1), Wet Handle, Jammy Smears and Prince Ivor, his distinctive Scottish drawl delivered tales and tunes of childhood make believe, skewed reminiscences, and wistful comic insights that delighted, quiet literally, gazillions of fans over the years.

Mr Cutler passed away in March 2006 at the ripe old age of 83 after providing listeners and audiences with decades of surreal cultish offerings. He'll be sorely missed. www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A855218

Domino top spot

Congratulations to regular patrons Domino for scooping this year's A&R award at the Music Week Awards.

They've been marvelous clients of ours over recent years - entrusting us with delightful artists like Clearlake, Arctic Monkeys, Test Icicles (RIP) and The Archie Bronson Outfit - and we can't think of a more deserving bunch of chaps and chapesses to waltz off with such shiny industry recognition.
www.dominorecordco.com