02/10/2006
Since the news broke of Grant McLennan‘s tragic passing, we have been flickering through moods of melancholy and a sense of wonder at the huge body of work that Grant has produced over the past 27 years. And so did TREMBLING BLUE STARS, who have joined the project of Rare Victory Records to pay hommage to the music of the great Australian songwriter, and they have already recorded their cover version of the song "Coming up for air".
The album, which isn’t coming out until June 2007, will be titled "Love goes on! – a tribute to Grant McLennan & The Go-Betweens", and it will feature sixteen contributions by true admirers of the McLennan–Forster repertoire. Among the artists that have already confirmed their inclusion, apart from TREMBLING BLUE STARS, there’s other favourites of us like BELLE & SEBASTIAN, THE BATS, PORTASTATIC, IVY and THE CLIENTELE. Music journalist Jack Rabid will be contributing liner notes.
In an effort to make this tribute album as participative as possible, Rare Victory Records is asking fans of the GO-BETWEENS to contribute to the compilation by sending any photographs they may have of Grant. June 2007 is still a long way from here, but it will surely be worth the wait. [ Read more ]
20/06/2006
When we announced that TREMBLING BLUE STARS weren’t going to play live anymore, many expected things going even worse and thought the next news would be the band splitting up. But obviously things aren’t like this, and we can prove it with such good news as the ones we present you with now: Bobby Wratten has just entered the studio to start things off with the recording of a new album, as always with the help of Ian Catt (SAINT ETIENNE). The album will be called "The last holy writer", and it will feature 10 new songs. Yay!But this isn’t all the good news: in these recording sessions, the band is going to lay down 16 tracks in total. Besides the 10 songs on the new album (which will be the seventh on their career, time certainly flies!), TREMBLING BLUE STARS and Ian Catt will record 2 songs for a 7" and 4 other songs for an EP. Ear candy for the fans! We’re sure that many of you can’t wait to listen to so many new melodic delights from Bobby Wratten, one of the most admired and influential composers in the international indie-pop scene since his years fronting cult stars THE FIELD MICE, and a strong inspiration for Elefant Records throughout all these years. [ Read more ]
08/01/2006
Radio legend John Peel, the most influential radio DJ in the world of radio, established many years ago an yearly list of the best 50 songs he had played on his radio show that year, and called it The Festive 50.This year, the tradition goes ahead in spite of the sad news of Peel’s demise, and the BBC is already getting ready for a new edition of the Festive 50: a countdown that is eagerly followed by many a pop music aficionado, who are then favoured with (re)discovering excellent songs that might have passed unnoticed during the year, and have a quick look at what has been of worth in the year that’s almost over.
In the votings prior to 2005’s Festive 50 we found several songs from Elefant’s recent catalogue. Two bands have been selected, featuring two songs per band: TREMBLING BLUE STARS are in it with “The sea is so quiet” and “This is bliss”, and CAMERA OBSCURA (one of the most supported bands in John Peel’s show in the last years) participate with “I love my Jean” and “A marathon not a sprint”. [ Read more ]
14/09/2005
Yes, Bobby Wratten‘s band says goodbye to live stages. Mind you, ONLY to live concerts, though! Bobby has been feeling uneasy with live shows for some time, and he has finally decided to not play live anymore and concentrate instead on studio recordings. They will still record and make records, just not play gigs anymore (something already done in the past by another illustrious name from Elefant: our dearly loved LE MANS).
Finally, TREMBLING BLUE STARS will end their gig life with a farewell tour on the US East Coast, where they have always been very well received. On these concerts the British band will play some of the classic tracks on their discography, and they will surely introduce as well some of the tracks on their latest releases on Elefant Records, the album "The seven autumn flowers" and the CD-EP "Bathed in blue". Our hearts will fly to the USA to give the last goodbye to live shows by a seminal indie-pop band, heir of the splendid saga started with THE FIELD MICE, and fortunately we will still enjoy their music and new recordings for a long time from now on.
These are the dates of their last ever tour:
Saturday, September 24th: Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ (support TBA)
Tuesday, September 27th: Mill Creek Tavern, Philadelphia, PA (w/The Snow Fairies)
Wednesday, September 28th, DC9, Washington, DC (w/Sprites + The Positions)
Thursday, September 29th, Magnetic Field, Brooklyn, NY (w/Sharp Things + TBA)
Friday, September 30th: Rothko [ Read more ]
11/07/2005
Revista 69, a Peruvian magazine dedicated to independent music, will give Hawai its readers along with the June issue an exclusive CD, “Como un fan”, featuring twenty-four songs taken from the Elefant Records catalogue. An excellent introduction into our label for the Peruvian fans, given away inside a magazine which has dedicated its two alternative covers (they’ve got no back cover) to Beck and NEW ORDER, and which also includes on this issue other interviews, articles and reviews on such artists as LOS BELKING’S, Rufus Wainwright, THE ARCADE FIRE, Daniel Melero, KINGS OF CONVENIENCE or Juana Molina.The website of Perú’s Revista 69 is http://www.revista69.comThe tracklist for this CD is as follows:
01 El bello verano [FAMILY]02 Rimas [ENTRE RÍOS]03 Canción de si tú me quieres [LE MANS]04 Los amantes [ANA D]05 Amor cúbico [NIZA]06 Honey [SINGLE]07 Keep it clean [CAMERA OBSCURA]08 Cierra los ojos [COOPER]09 Poppy girl [VACACIONES]10 Lady Dilema [CARLOS BERLANGA]11 El sol no brillará nunca mas [LA CASA AZUL]12 The sea is so quiet [TREMBLING BLUE STARS]13 Sunday Sahara Spain [IBON ERRAZKIN]14 I love my Jean [CAMERA OBSCURA]15 Rabia [COOPER]16 À Hélène [LES TRES BIEN ENSEMBLE]17 Tantas cosas que arreglar [LA CASA AZUL]18 Volverás [JUNIPER MOON]19 Open Skies [TREMBLING BLUE STARS]20 Los días de Perky Pat [LA MONJA ENANA]21 Paradise lost [METRO]22 La balada de la primavera [L [ Read more ]
12/01/2005
"The seven autumn flowers", fifth album by TREMBLING BLUE STARS, and the first released on Elefant Records worldwide, has been very well received by the specialized press in the UK and the USA, where the album has just been released.
"Bathed in Blue" is the title of the new single taken from this album, although after checking the amount of new material on it we should maybe say it´s a new EP that comes to enhance the already excellent set of songs on the album.
To begin with, on this new single, two brand new versions of "The sea is so quiet" are included, both of them different to the original track featured on the album: there´s an extended mix, as well as a radio edit that has been improved with some remixing and a different ending. Along with these tracks, we find on it three previously unreleased tracks ("Through the silence and games", "Wounded light" and "This is bliss"), and a new song, "Branches", which is the instrumental version of "The moon turns branches to silhouettes", a still unreleased song that will come out very soon.
The recording, as usual with Bobby Wratten´s band, has been produced with the help of Ian Catt (SAINT ETIENNE).
ER-359 TREMBLING BLUE STARS “Bathed in Blue” CD-Single01. The Sea Is So Quiet (edit)02. Through The Silence And Games03. The Sea Is So Quiet (long version)04. Wounded Light05. Branches06. This Is Bliss
Out now!!Release [ Read more ]
11/01/2005
Bobby Wratten’s band will be presenting the songs on their fifth album, “The seven autumn flowers”, as well as on their new EP, “Bathed in blue”, in a short Scandinavian tour along with American duo MATES OF STATE.This Swedish mini-tour will start on April 7th at Linköping’s Herrgarn, where the London based band will share the stage with MATES OF STATE, as well as with ELECTROCUTE from Germany.On April 8th, TREMBLING BLUE STARS will be the only band on the bill at Lund’s Blekingska Nationen, and on April 9th they will rejoin the MATES OF STATE at the Fritz’s Corner night at Stockholm’s Debaser venue (same venue where just a few days afterwards will be playing another fellow Elefant Records’ recording artist, Scottish band CAMERA OBSCURA).This is the tour’s complete information:
7/4 – Herrgarn, Linköping w/ Mates of State & ElectrocuteWeb: www.hg.seDoors: 9pm Show: 10pm Tickets: 90SEK no presale. 8/4 – Blekingska Nationen, LundWeb: www.blekingska.seDoors: 10pm Show: 11pm 9/4 – Fritz’s Corner @ Debaser, Stockholm w/Mates of StateWeb: www.fritzscorner.nu, www.debaser.nuDoors: 8pm Show: 10pm Tickets: 90SEK no presale [ Read more ]
29/11/2004
"The seven autumn flowers" is finally coming out on sale in the UK next monday November 29th
"The seven autumn flowers", fifth album by TREMBLING BLUE STARS, and first records by the band that is released worldwide through Elefant Records, is finally coming out on sale in the UK next monday November 29th. Release date for the album in Australia (via the Pop Frenzy label) and the United States (via Bar/None) is January 11th 2005.
The record has been enthusiastically received in the British media, and reviews have been secured in Uncut, Mojo, Q or Plan B, whilst the Sunday Times have chosen it Album of the Week on their November 28th issue.
On the other hand, on December 6th the band will attend Gideon Coe‘s show on BBC Radio 6, where they will record an acoustic session and will also surely announce their forthcoming gig on December 11th at the Winchester Club in Glasgow (the club run by Gavin from CAMERA OBSCURA, their fellow Elefant Records recording artists).
12/11/2004
Release date: November 29th 2004ER-1114 TREMBLING BLUE STARS "The seven autumn flowers" LP/CD
Elefant Records has great pleasure in proudly announcing the exclusive worldwide release of "The seven autumn flowers": TREMBLING BLUE STARS’ fifth album. The band of Bob Wratten is one of the main international indie-pop’s exponents, and he’s a songwriter worshiped by a crowd of fans. Wratten was one of the mainstays of the Sarah Records’ sound, leading THE FIELD MICE.
The members of the band themselves have produced their brand new album, along with Ian Catt (SAINT ETTIENNE). Wratten retains his usual partners of the last releases: TBS band members Beth Arzy (ABERDEEN) and Keris Howard (HARPER LEE). The album includes the song "Helen Reddy" (Beth voice), already released in the advance single "Southern skies appear brighter" (also an exclusively Elefant’s release before past summer). Elefant has already licensed "The seven autumn flowers" for Bar/None (USA), Pop Frenzy (Australia) and Universal Philippines (the Philippines) labels. The album will be released in Spain, and also in all countries in which Elefant enjoys distribution, next November 29th. [ Read more ]
31/08/2004
We´re happy to bring you “Momentos perdidos” a collection of rarities, b-sides, wrong hits and a bunch of previously unreleased gifts. Lovely souvenirs from such different harbours as Japan, Germany, United States, France, England and, of course, Spain.
“Momentos perdidos” shouldn´t be seen as the usual compilation, nor a balance of the most representative stuff from the last years: we only expect to bring you a collection of delightful songs that, due to different reasons, were hidden in a record or never came to be published.
01. Stop in the name of love LOS FLECHAZOSTaken from ER-174 “si tú te vas” Single
02. Tantas cosas que arreglar LA CASA AZUL (UNRELEASED)
03. Desde ayer GUILLERMINE (UNRELEASED)
04. Radio star NIZA (UNRELEASED)
05. Open skies TREMBLING BLUE STARSTaken from ER-356 “Southern skies brigther extended play” CD-Single.
06. I don´t want to see you CAMERA OBSCURATaken from ER-352 “Teenager” CD-Single
07. Nadadora NOSOTRÄSH (UNRELEASED)
08. Today SPRING (UNRELEASED)
09. Velero lleno de estrellas y bahías Ana DTaken from ER-185 “Recordando” Single
10. Pasa por mí ENTRE RÍOS (UNRELEASED)
11. La vaca PURÉ (UNRELEASED)
12. El halcón milenario PATRULLERO MANCUSOTaken from ER-183 “El halcón milenario” Single
13. El último tiro JUNIPER MOON (UNRELEASED)
14. Sara tiene un secreto COOPERTaken from ER-339 &ldqu [ Read more ]