Arcady Blog

WEAVE vs. ARCADY BLISS XMAS TRACK

2010-12-14T17:05:00.030Z

Arcady Bliss and Weave are proud to present a yuletide collaboration the like of which has never been heard before. Rushes of Noël is the joint work of two independent creative forces combining chilled soundscapes, acoustic flare and minimalistic vocals to deliver a different kind of Christmas message for 2010.

Weave vs. Arcady Bliss Rushes of Noël by Weave

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

----------------

Get in touch and let us know what you think!
Charlie
xxx

JAMC do The Beach Boys

2010-11-15T22:52:00.002Z

This has to be one of the greatest covers of all time.
That is all.

BLINDIE #2 + SOME EP NEWS

2010-10-29T17:26:00.009+01:00

As you may or may not know, Arcady Bliss are curating monthly nights of top class independent artists at The Star Inn, Guildford. The first was earlier this month and headlined by LOS, possibly one of my favourite bands ever, and also saw sets from the breathtaking Brother & Bones and The Fury. The idea of the night is to showcase 3 fantastic independent artists for a reasonable price, where you can be sure they will be fairly paid and have the opportunity to sell their own music and merch. The next one is this Monday the 1st of November and we are very pleased to announce that our friends Films Of Colour will be head-lining! They've recently had great support from Steve Lamacq among others following the recent release of their debut single "Actions", which has also been featured on a recent episode of The X-Factor. This is a really great opportunity to see a band that will likely fill stadiums one day in a small venue for less than the price of a pint of lager... £3!

Now ain't that a steal?! Doors open at 7.30pm and there will be music from 8.30pm. We, Arcady Bliss, are also playing that night along with This Boy. You can check out all the details on Facebook by clicking the flier below:

At the gig you will also be able to purchase our EP A Moment In Love for the very first time in an ultra limited edition run of 7 packs - we will not make any more of these so, if you buy one, you'll be one of the first people to hear the EP before the proper release!

Each unique numbered pack will include:

4-track CD of A Moment In Love EP + 2 bonus tracks
A hand-written, signed lyrics booklet
An A4 BLINDIE #2 poster
One of 7 Arcady Bliss photographs unique to each pack
2 Tickets to the next BLINDIE night of your choice in 2011 (worth £6 alone)

Price per pack = £10

Remember these packs are ultra limited - we're only making 7 especially for this gig, so once they're gone, they're gone!

See you on Monday! I hope you have an awesome weekend :-)

Love,
Charlie.
xxx

As I promised...

2010-10-27T15:44:00.006+01:00

...last night I'm re-posting Surround for your aural delectation and for you to download! I'm not even asking an email for it, but we would be awfully pleased if you'd pop yours into the red box on the right if you enjoy it.

Surround by ArcadyBliss

Thank you to all of you who came and enjoyed our set at the IndigO2 last night, it was a total blast and we had the best fun. But hey! Guess what! We're playing again this coming Monday the 1st of November at The Star in Guildford at our monthly BLINDIE night along with Films Of Colour and This Boy. It's only £3 which is a less than the price of a pint! Join the BLINDIE FACEBOOK EVENT for all the details :-)

Oh and I'm also playing a solo set at Fahrenheit 55 for my good friend, GU2 Radio DJ and all round legend Andy Vale. Why not come down and join the fun? It's FREE!

Lots of love,
Charlie
xxx

Hands up!

2010-05-11T00:38:00.010+01:00

Who wants to see a really, really stupid picture of Anil and I in a field?!

Well, there you have it...that was probably the most unproductive, spur-of-the-moment photo session that has ever occured. This photo reminds me of the sort of promo shots you used to see in those American, So-Cal pop punk band albums about ten years ago. You know the stuff, the silly stuff we always used to listen to like Blink 182 (that's pronounced one eighty two, true fans ;-) ) and pre-Idiot Green Day.

ANYWAY this post is not really up just to show you an embarrassing, yet somewhat amusing, photograph. Anil and I are pleased to announce a new permanent addition to the Arcady Bliss line-up in the form of one bassist, a bassist to rule them all, Pete Snowdon. He's what David Cameron would probably call a "bloody nice bloke".

We're really happy to have Pete on board and look forward to all of the gigs and festivals we'll be doing with him this summer. Check out the Arcady Bliss Myspace page now for details of all our upcoming shows. The first show will be this Friday the 14th of May at The Great Escape festival in Brighton. We're playing early at half past midday in The Basement on Kensington Street. So, if you're around, come down and kick out the jams with us and welcome Pete into the Arcady fold!

Until then, you stay classy, San Diego.

Charlie
xxx

P.S. It's not my hat in case you were wondering.

April Vibes

2010-04-11T18:01:00.007+01:00

"My thumbs have gone weird!"

No, don't worry, they haven't really - but my left hand has been a bit funny for the past couple of weeks. I think I got a bit of mild RSI playing too much guitar and procrastinating whilst I was supposed to be doing coursework, but hey you gotta think of this equation: Me playing more guitar = Me getting better at guitar and coming up with more song ideas = Better Arcady Bliss.
Coursework doesn't even factor into that. Don't get me wrong, it was actually fairly interesting coursework and I have learnt a fair bit from it...but the time when I had to get around to working seemed to coincide with a particularly creative phase for me, so I was damned if I was going to let coursework get in the way too much. Still, it did, and now I'm left with lots of embryonic, undeveloped ideas and only one or two solid songs...still, they'll all come together in the end I guess.

So anyway, after all that coursework shiznit I've GOT to start getting things together again for my dissertation, final project and solo performance exam...hopefully starting tomorrow if I get my act together. I'm currently back in the Yorkshire, the motherland, for a week or so having a little break from Guildford/Surrey/London/Southern life which has really taken it out of me so far this year. It's been really fun and it's great to be busy but I think the EP recording and everything else that's gone on took its toll on me much more than I'd anticipated. I need a holiday!lol Or a tour...a tour would be sick. Like I said though, I'm back in the shire and resting up nicely. The broken string on my guitar is deterring me from picking it up right now as I can't be arsed to change it and I want to rest my hand...but now I've re-discovered piano! A client of my mum's actually GAVE me a really nice Yamaha Clavinova electric piano which is practically brand new. It's not a brand new model or anything but its barely been played and I can tell I'm gonna fall in love with it...I don't see any keys coming to Arcady anytime soon but as far as song-writing in general is concerned I think it's gonna be awesome. I did study piano a bit as a kid but I can't play anything now, not even chopsticks, so I'm just muddling my way round figuring out what a few chords are, jamming and LOVING it.

In addition to the piano loving that's been going on I'm also rinsing my, and now my parent's, small vinyl collection. I think I've mentioned my new found vinyl-philia a few posts ago but I just thought I'd let you know that it's becoming an ever burgeoning passion of mine at the moment. I've managed to acquire re-issues of all three Nick Drake albums and a 1971 pressing of The Velvet Underground's Andy Warhol album (all huge personal faves) as well as few other assorted discoveries. If there is anyone reading this who is interested in getting into vinyl as a means of listening to music I would heartily encourage you - it's really cheap to do, sounds better, looks better and gives you so much more pleasure than an mp3 ever could. A great place to buy records in Guildford is Ben's Collectors records which is just off the top of the high street through the pillars opposite the guildhall. Google it. Anyway, you can get soooo many records in there for one or two quid which are in great condition and every time I go in I come out with weeks worth of listening for very, very little money.

What else?...hmmm...well I've been doing a bit of this and that for Bearded Magazine too recently. I've been a bit slack with posting on news stuff on the website because of everything else, but I've got a few proper items to write and post up this week. One will be a review of the new Radio Dept album which I'm very much looking forward to getting my teeth into. The others will be review/interviews with Airship and The Joy Formidable and a review of a band called The Crookes whom I went to see in York t'other night. Keep your eyes peeled, yeah? I may even post up a couple on here if you fancy? Just comment below and let me know. The Bearded team are having a meeting soon in London on the 21st as it happens to talk about our new website and some other exciting developments. I'll let you know how it goes, but until then keep checking out beardedmagazine.co.uk and supporting independent music. We love ya for it.

After all that drivel I suppose I should let you know what's actually going on with Arcady. Well, we've got a smattering of gigs coming up including The Great Escape on the 14th of May at The Basement around midday. Please come down if you can, it's gonna be a great day of music and day passes are only about £28-30 which is a bargain for all that you can do and see. The E.P. is coming on. We've pretty much got all the mixing out the way and Anil went and laid down a new last minute lead guitar part on A Moment In Love this Friday. I hope to get it all mastered by the end of this month in time for The Great Escape and the summer. But, if being in bands and the music industry have taught me anything, when it comes to how long you things are going to take, they will probably take at least 3x as long. Fingers crossed this won't happen. Anyway, as I keep saying, I can't wait for y'all to hear it but you'll have to learn some patience along with me...we can do it together!

What a load of waffle that was. Still, I've nothing better to do this Sunday evening so I thought I'd just empty some of my brain onto the internet. Why not? Everybody else does...

Oh I almost forgot - as you may have seen on Facebook we're looking for logo ideas for our "record label" Arcady Recordings. If you'd like to have a go at one please post it up on our FB wall or else email it to me on chelwess@gmail.com . We'll try and pay you back somehow...probably with a free gig round your house or something if you fancy it? Or maybe you could come round ours? I dunno, we'll work something out but either way if we use your design we'll make sure you get a proper CD of the EP once they're all pressed. Sound good? RAD.

Keep tha change ya filthy animals!
Next blog will be much less scatty and random. Promise.

Charlie
xxx

Me and my friends

2010-03-16T20:07:00.008Z

As ever, tonight finds me in rather a reflective mood. I want to talk about friends.

Today, as with so many other days in my life at the moment, I was fortunate enough to spend a fair amount of time with friends. I think all the people I've hung out with today were people that I've met through the college I attend and it struck me once again that a great deal, indeed pretty much all, of the people I spoke to today were people that I value very highly. I've met them all through a mutual passion for music, creativity and expression which it seems to me produces some of the most lovely, genuinely fantastic characters in the world. You music fans and musicians are without doubt my favourite people in all the world.

In caring for music I think we're all bound by something...we all have opinions about music that we base entirely upon how something, as piece of art, makes us feel. At its most basic level I guess we care deeply about how our emotions are effected by a series of tones, melodies beats and words. As such I think this makes us all people who are healthily, and perhaps sometimes not so healthily, in touch with ourselves and sensitive to our emotions and moods.

I'm not so sure where I meant to go with this...I think that's why I'm a songwriter; I just get it out better that way! However, I just wanted to take the time to express to you how grateful I am to have such fantastic friends. You all contribute so much to my life and I learn so many valuable lessons from (and with) you every day. Without you I would never go on unexpected adventures, parties, gigs or trips to the pub. Without you there would be no-one to laugh at my crap jokes, listen to me mumble my dilemmas down the phone or hold my hand when it needed to be held. So many great experiences.

Perhaps this is a bit long, I dunno. It's worth thinking about though isn't it? Mother's Day has just been and gone this last weekend so, just as we remember how much our Mums benefit our lives, I think it's only right and proper that we remember out mates similarly. Is there an international friends day? Is there a day of the year when all wars have to stop for 24 hours? If not then I reckon we should get that idea set in motion...everyone on the Facebook group gets their name on the Nobel Peace Prize if it happens! (If you laughed at that then we're definitely buddies now, no questions asked, no strings attached).

On that note I think I'll leave it there. To my friends, "Thank you. You're ace" and to those I've yet to meet, "I look forward to it". All of you followers and fans of Arcady Bliss count too - we don't want there to be any distance between us and you. We're just regular people making music that we believe in and if it's something that makes your life better then we're doing what we set out to.

Now bugger off, go and hang out with your mates!

Charlie
xxx

Films Of Colour

2010-02-27T18:07:00.004Z

I went to go and see our friends, Films Of Colour play at The Stoke in Guildford last night along with our other mates, the utterly exuberant Free Peace.

Both bands were incredible and I had a lovely time - it was a last minute decision to go because I'd completely forgotten the gig was on until a couple of hours before. Anyway, it reminded me that I'd done a cover of the Films Of Colour (then known as Spires) song "Circles"at the back end of 2008. It was really hastily put together, but I think it's got a nice feel so I thought I'd share it with you again. Let me know what you think :-)

Also, we're having a bit of a chat with the FOC boys to see about doing a wee northern tour later this year. Stay tuned for developments!

Lots of love,
Charlie
xxx

It's early in the morning...

2010-02-22T04:39:00.006Z

...and I still haven't slept yet, which usually isn't conducive to writing the best blogs but I thought I'd have a crack anyway. Ready? Let's begin.

As Anil posted on Tuesday we were in the studio pretty much all last week in London recording our debut E.P. entitled "A Moment In Love". I know I said a few posts ago that we were going to try and record it ourselves but with the circumstances as they are, we decided that the best course of action would be to go and do it with someone who knew what they were doing - my production skills are still pretty amateurish. In short, we had the BEST time. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Gareth and Ollie at The Fold Studios for all their amazing work this week, they made it so easy and fun that the whole thing was a breeze and we think we've made the best record we can for where we're at right now. We've still got the mixing to do, but with it sounding as great as it is now unmixed, I'm confident that it won't take too long to whip into shape then master.

I'm sorry we didn't post up any photos or video while we were there, we do have some that we'll probably edit and put up later. We were working really hard though and doing long hours so it was hard to concentrate on anything much other than the record...oh, and tea, LOTS of tea :-) It might take a bit of time as both Anil and I are really busy with work for our degrees right now, but I'm resolved to keep you guys stocked with a consistent supply material and interesting things. Speaking of interesting things, we'd also like to congratulate Toby Couling who drummed our E.P. for getting the gig to play drums for Noisettes on their current UK tour. It's an amazing opportunity for him and goes a long way in validating our belief that he's one of the best drummers in the UK right now. So yeah, nice one mate, we're really chuffed for you! In addition to that, Ollie managed to persuade Sedi Acolatse, who's the other half of Speech Debelle's rhythm section along with Toby, to lay down some double bass for Snow on Saturday. It was skill! (Yep, thanks to Marsha at Xfm I've decided to bring back the use of "skill" as an adjective, just like when I was a wee nipper).

Phew, typing all that has now given me the urge to finally get some rest. It's 5.20am. Oh dear.

With love,
Charlie.
xxx

P.S. Come and say hello soon over on Twitter @arcadybliss 'cause I've been spending loads of time on there recently. Also, check out Captain Crazy, what a dude:

IN THE STUDIO!

2010-02-16T14:18:00.002Z

Well we're finally here!

As some of you might be aware we're recording our first EP at the fold studio with our good friends Naz Adamson and Toby Couling on bass and drums.

Everything's going great so far and today will be mainly about getting the drums and bass takes down.

We'll be uploading pictures and videos soon so keep an eye out!

Anil x

I did some acoustic demos...

2010-02-02T16:45:00.003Z

today and this is the one of A Moment In Love. Give it a download and a listen, comment back on what you think...simples! It's nowhere near perfect but I like to think it's got a certain charm...

Charlie xxx

A Moment In Love acoustic demo by ArcadyBliss

Extended Play

2010-02-01T18:36:00.005Z

Hey y'all!

Wow, after such an American greeting you're probably wondering what in Zeus' name has gotten into me. I shall tell you...

You may or may not know that we've been banging on about doing an EP for ages, but to cut a long story short we're finally gonna get around to it because we've booked the studio time. Yep, we're heading down to The Fold Studios the week of the 15th to cut our debut EP proper. Naz Adamson will be on bass duties and Toby Couling will be hitting things for us so Anil and I are both super stoked (not to be confused with super soaked) about the whole thing. All being well, we'll be posting up videos here and on Arcady TV (yes we may actually finally use our YouTube channel!lol) from the studio as we record and keep you updated during the whole process.

We're playing a Valentine's Day gig on the 14th in Staines, the day before we go to the studio so please come down and have fun with us. RSVP on Facebook.

Meanwhile, I've been listening to lots of vinyl as my turntable finally arrived! I've been talking about getting one forever and I'm so happy to finally be able to listen to my little collection and I look forward to augmenting it - I don't think I'm gonna buy CD's anymore unless it's something that's limited edition or has a cool DVD with it. I dunno, we'll see...

In other news, go to www.manbabies.com for a giggle if you've some time to waste for gems like this...

With that, I shall leave you. Please feel free to drop us a comment at the bottom of this post and say hi - Google Analytics (uhuh, I'm a geek) tells us that we have readers from all over the place checking out the blog and we'd love to get to know you :-)

Lots of love,

Charlie xxx

MTV

2010-01-27T17:43:00.002Z

Salut!
I'm delighted to inform you that our music, along with that of the other 4 bands and artists chosen for the MTV listening session in Cannes will be used in upcoming MTV programmes. We're really excited to have this opportunity and would like to congratulate all the others who were chosen. 2010 really is turning out to be pretty sweet so far, and long may it continue in that vein. As always, keep spreading the word and checking back here regularly for all our news and ponderings.

In other news, last night was my first time seeing our friends The Hall of Mirrors do a full band gig and they were truly out of this world. Everyone I've spoken to who saw them were blown away and I think it's fair to say that we can expect, and indeed wish for, big things from them this year and beyond. See below for a charming video of Jessica and co. busking in Portobello Rd - her songwriting's clearly the product of the best possible influences and the voice? Well, see for yourselves...

Love,
Charlie.
xxx

ARCADY BLISS - MTV - THE HILLS -MIDEM

2010-01-18T18:41:00.007Z

Now then, how's it going? I want to use this blog post to let you in on a piece of news that Anil and I have been fairly excited about over the last week or so. We've kept it under wraps until now, partly because we couldn't quite believe it when we found out and also because we didn't want to jinx it if it wasn't really gonna happen. Anyway, heres the deal:

Anil, as well as being a killer guitarist, is also a music business student and is going out to the biggest music industry conference this year called MIDEM, which is held every year in Cannes, France. He entered Arcady Bliss and our song "Feeling The Glow" to be considered for an MTV Listening Session for their hit TV show The Hills and, to cut a long story short, we're one of only 5 artists that have been chosen for showcase at the session. This basically means that there's a really good chance our song could be featured on The Hills and other MTV programmes.

How mad is that?! We realise, of course, that there's still a good chance that nothing big will come of this but we just wanted to let you know so that we could say thank you to you, our small number of fans, friends and followers who have stuck with us and supported us so far. It's an oft-used phrase but we really couldn't do it without you.

Of course we'll keep you posted here on the blog as to how (and if) it all pans out.

Love, as always,

Charlie
xxx

P.S. If you're interested and want to find out more about Midem and what this is all about go to the MIDEM 2010 website.

If you, or someone you know, will be at the conference then please go and support Anil who will be there representing us at the session which is on Tuesday 26th of January, 10-11.30am, Auditorium K, Level 4.

An Open Letter

2010-01-13T11:27:00.004Z

Dear Blog Reader,
Now then, how do, whassup? I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for my lack of regular blogging and just general info regarding the goings-on of the seemingly erratic band that is Arcady Bliss. In short, I found the tail end of last year quite difficult because we just couldn't seem to get our proper momentum back after Jake left, despite doing some other cool things that I've mentioned on the blog before e.g. playing at the Indig02, doing the Yamaha podcast, recording Surround and other such tomfoolery. I think it was mostly because we had to turn down lots of gig offers because we simply couldn't do them - we didn't have a full band. We still don't, which brings me to my next bit of news...

Ben, our original bassist and my best friend, is leaving the Arcady fold in order to pursue his other musical and creative projects. It's an amicable and not unforeseen turn of events and, of course, we wish him all the best with his future endeavours. He will, I hope, still be involved in some Arcady things in the future, most likely using his video-graphic skills to get Arcady TV finally up and running.

Thankfully, we are remarkably fortunate to have great friends at hand who have come to our aid in our hour of need. The diligent talent that is Adam Millest has taken up stick duties for the forseeable future and so far we're having a blast playing with him. In addition to this, he's slowly but surely confirming our long-held suspicions that he might just be The Nicest Guy In The World™. We've got some ideas in the pipeline for a possible full-time bassist replacement but if you think you can help or would like to try out, please contact me here: chelwess@gmail.com

We're doing a gig in Guildford tomorrow (14/01/2010) at The Star, just at the bottom end of the high street. So please come along and support us. All being well we'll have our great mate Naz Adamson (check out his re-arrangements on his website by the way because they're superlative) holding up the bottom end of the sonic spectrum for this gig so you can rest assured it's gonna be a blinder.

That's great, I hear you say, but what's going on with that EP of yours? Well, I'm glad you asked. We've decided after much dillying, and indeed dallying, that we're gonna try and do it ourselves. We'll be laying the drums down in the next couple of weeks and then the rest of the tracking and mixing will be done at my house. We then plan to get it all mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering. As for a release date, well, we'll keep you posted.

More gigs coming your way soon and later this year - we're in the process of confirming a really good slot at the small but perfectly formed Aeon Festival this summer and we've got another gig at The Hobgoblin in Staines in the works for Valentines day. There's more to come as well, trust me :-)

I hope that's cleared a few things up and whetted your appetite for an Arcady Bliss shaped 2010.

To end, as ever, I've got a little video for you. It's of me old mate George Craig from One Night Only strutting his stuff for Burberry last year in Milan of all places! Now I confess I haven't seen him in a bloody long time, but it's weird to think that just a few years ago he was lying on the floor of the stage at The Junction pub in York keeping my old band's bass drum from sliding along the floor because we'd forgotten our drum mat - silly old times! As you can see he's gone a long way since those halcyon days in York and Helmsley and it's always a pleasure to see people you know doing well. Hurrah for commerce!

It's just crazy, innit?! :-)

Yours, til next time,

Charlie
xxx

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-12-31T21:36:00.004Z

To see in 2010 we thought we'd let you have this new track Surround exclusively (for now) on Arcady Blog.

Also don't forget to come and see us at our next gig at The Hobgoblin in Staines on Sunday, January 10th!

Surround by ArcadyBliss

Give it listen, download, share it and let us know your thoughts.

Here's to a mesmerising 2010 :-)

Lots of love,

Charlie, Anil and Ben.
Arcady Bliss xxx

Yamaha Podcast!

2009-11-29T14:13:00.013Z

A lot of you might not be aware that Arcady were invited to Yamaha UK HQ in Milton Keynes about a month ago to record a song for the November edition of their monthly podcast as their featured artist of the month!

We had a great time and it was humbling to be recognised by such a well respected company and we basically just had a lot of fun! Bear with us on some of it, we weren't expecting to be interviewed but feel it went well and I'm sure you'll all love the many ways in which we try to compliment the extremely expensive gear they gave us to play with!

With us we had our good friends Deadlight who performed an acoustic version of 'Embrace Me' and are well worth checking out.

Click HERE to go directly to the November podcast which you can stream or download.

Anil

Stephen Fry

2009-11-15T11:49:00.004Z

After having seen this video I felt compelled to post it. I don't have anything particularly interesting to say around the topic, however I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Fry for the hours of mirth he has given me whilst watching Jeeves & Wooster, Q.I. and Blackadder. Furthermore I've delighted in his books such as Moab Is My Washpot and The Liar as well as his blogs AND he's clearly the best audiobook narrator ever. In short, Stephen Fry is a man I look up to (literally and metaphorically) and admire. I hope to meet him one day...perhaps we'll spend a sunny summer afternoon at Lord's watching England win the Ashes, supping Pimm's and discussing gadgets...oh tis cruel to dream of what will never be!

Thank you, Steven. Please don't stop any time soon.

The video commemorates his one millionth follower on Twitter.

Love from
Charlie
xxx

P.S. I wonder if we're distant relations...my mother's maiden name is Fry and my grandfather went to the same Prep School (he even tells the same story about the barber and the "Fredrick Fry F.R.Y." spiel).

Washed Out - Feel It All Around

2009-11-13T16:49:00.003Z

One of the best videos I've seen all year by a long way. Put a ring on THAT Beyoncé.

FEEL IT ALL AROUND from Northern Lights on Vimeo.

Charlie xxx

IndigO2

2009-10-29T20:35:00.008Z

Tuesday night saw us play at the IndigO2 within the O2 Arena complex which turned out to be so many shades of awesome. We were joined on drums by our friend Toby Couling who plays for this year's Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle as well as our buddies 8Fold who I mentioned in another post a little while back. It was an honour to play with him and as a result there's a very good possibility we'll be recording our EP in December at 8Fold's "The Fold" studio with him on sticks duties yet again...ooh I get all warm and fuzzy at the very thought of it, haha!

So yeah we had a wicked night and rinsed the free-ness at the VIP bar (that's right VIP bar, bitches!) and the catering in our dressing room (yeah, CATERING and DRESSING ROOM) for all they were worth. We played a good'un and got proper pissed basically...rock and mother-loving roll. Don't worry though readers, we haven't got ideas above our station or owt; just a nice one-off, innit? Still, makes me think of back in the day when I first played a gig back at home in Fibbers...the Article boys and I thought we'd really made it...crammed into the broom cupboard they call a dressing room and stealing warm beer from the headliner's rider 'cause we were under age. Happy, care-free days :-) I hope I'll be back there in due course but Tuesday night was some super-mega next level shit and something I think we could all-too-easily get used to given half a chance...but fuck it, it's not really REAL is it? It was just a night of living the myth.

Also, on Monday night, Ben and I caught up with Marcus from Airship in Southampton at the Editors gig. We know sooo many legendary people in music - I feel well lucky...makes it easier to tolerate the dickheads we've come across. Anyway that gig was ace. Not sure how I feel about Editors new material though.

Listening to the new JoFo album, Grace and the Bigger Picture...you know what I'm gonna say about it :-)

Until next time...
I love you...just the way you are,

Charlie xxx

As promised...

2009-10-21T17:15:00.002+01:00

in my last post I thought I'd give you a wee update as to what's up.

Last week was sweet - my first review for Bearded Magazine went online with no major changes from the live editor so that was a good start. On Tuesday what was supposed to be a short night out to see Linda Harrison and Grainne O play at The Boileroom turned into a jaunt that finally put me in bed at 4am...I got up at 8am. Urrrrrgh! Still, I felt pretty proud that I'd managed to get up and get stuff done. I also made some cool new friends so all was well. Thankfully Wednesday was pretty quiet, but I managed to get some free tickets to see The Cribs from our producer, Adi so I went up to Kentish Town to see them on Thursday night. I fucking love that band - they've literally NEVER WRITTEN A BAD SONG and now they've got Johnny Marr...oh...put it this way, the whole set was like one long ridiculous orgasm for yours truly. Not only did that happen on Thursday, but on the way to the gig I found out I've got an interview and live review of The Joy Formidable and Passion Pit on the 31st - win! On Friday, as you already know, we were in the studio finishing off Surround…all good vibes so far…we’re just mixing and working on a “radio edit” and other such industry schmindustry bullcrap. THEN on Friday I went up to Edinburgh to see my little brother and my parents. Life is good!

Tonight we’re auditioning a new drummer – fingers, toes, eyes, ears and legs crossed that he fits the bill. I’m sick to death of looking for a new ‘un.

Tomorrow we’re off really, really, really early (Jake included for what will REALLY be the last time ever) to Milton Keynes to cut a live track for Yamaha which will go on their podcast which, apparently, a few people listen to. Good vibes, I guess.

This Friday I’m reviewing The Drums at Koko in Camden. Heard a few tracks of theirs on Come Pick Me Up way back in June and sort of forgot about them. Managed to get a copy of their Summertime! EP early the other week and it’s superlative. Something fishy has to be going on…it’s so rare for a band to actually live up to the hype, but they seem to be doing it. Here’s a live video of them:

Sorry if this blog has been a bit more about friends and other people I admire and not so much about Arcady, but there’s lots more to come. Besides, friends and family make the world go round. IndigO2 next week. Whoop!

Must dash.

Love you…especially you Free Peace,

Charlie. xxx

STUDIO

2009-10-16T23:17:00.005+01:00

Now then!

Sorry I haven't updated as regularly as I'd like, things have been a bit busy. We finished tracking today and did a bit of mixing in the studio with our super producer Adi Winman, now I've just flown up to Edinburgh and am staying with my little bro in his ridiculously huge house! Mad times. I'll update in greater depth when I've got a bit more time, but I've had a pretty amazing week - really, really happy :-) Just wanted to let you know that the new track has now gone from being called "Fear The Silence" to "Surround". I can't wait for you all to hear it! Be patient and you shall receive.

Have a cracking weekend, I'll update properly next week.

Lots of love,

Charlie.

xxx

P.S. Sorry I haven't posted up the audio from last week's radio session,
but the GU2 listen again player appears to be buggered so I couldn't rip the audio.

Studio THEN Radio tomorrow...

2009-10-08T19:05:00.006+01:00

...just another day in the life of a rockstar, eh? *ironic lolllzzzzz* (or whatever the kids say online nowadays).

Wanted to let you know that we're going into the studio tomorrow to record that new track "Fear The Silence" that so many of you said you liked after our last gig. We'll post it up in a couple of weeks when it's all done.

Then after a hard day in the studio and our last with Jake (cue violins and tears) Anil and I are heading up to GU2 Radio at the Surrey Uni campus to play a few acoustic tracks and do our first ever interview. Wish us luck! We'll be on Andy Vale's show sometime between 7 and 8. You can listen live at this link right here

I'll post up the audio tomorrow night if all goes well, if not I'll rip the audio from the listen again function so you can all enjoy it forever here on the blog.

That's about it I guess...it's been a funny old week.

To end, here's my favourite new picture of myself...I'm not a narcissist I promise!

Love and that,
Charlie. xxx

P.S. Please go to the Jack Wills Unsigned website, search and vote for us. Thanks :-)

Waxwing Acoustic Session

2009-09-27T13:42:00.006+01:00

Hey y'all,
Just a quick one to let you know that I'm going to play a special acoustic ultra-folk set tomorrow le soir at Ben's Waxwing Acoustic Sessions night in The Electric Theatre bar. It's only £3 to get in and for that you get not only to see the Arcady set but also our lovely friends 10p Short, Kif James and Chris Brown plucking their twangers. Doors at 7.30pm.

See you there!

Love n that,

Charlie xxx

It is with heavy heart...

2009-09-22T12:21:00.001+01:00

...that I must announce the departure of drummer, lad and general bloke extraordinaire Jake Sorbie from the Arcady fold.

Jake's leaving, for the rest of the year at least, to go to Sydney, Australia to live and work with his brother. He gave us the news last night at practice and it's fair to say that we were pretty shocked but also really happy for him to take this wonderful opportunity. Jake's been a fantastic guy and a dream to play with, and has been integral in shaping the Arcady Bliss sound so much in the space of just a few months.

Unfortunately it looks unlikely that he will play the gig at the IndigO2 with us in October, but he will be recording with us in Godalming on the 9th when we will be laying down new track, "Fear The Silence". It will be a fitting climax to his time with Arcady Bliss and Anil, Ben and I wish him the best of luck and success in the future. That said, our doors will always be open for him to return when he's back from the land down under.

Charlie.

Obviously this now means we're on the look out for someone to fill Jake's shoes, so if you or anyone you know is interested in trying out, please get in touch to chelwess@gmail.com (please bear in mine that backing vocals are a prerequisite).

After the freshness...

2009-09-16T17:09:00.005+01:00

Well Well! Last night was an amazing one, full of good times and Kopparberg! The cider was my fault, but the Boileroom gig was fantastic, and quite a good turn out as well for a tuesday night! 'Fear the Silence' the newest one, was well received, finishing off the set with Charlie now attacking his Telecaster a little more often! Loud, very loud.

Thanks to all that came to see us last night, especially as we were first on it was nice to see such a big friendly crowd smiling back at us from beyond the ridiculously hot lights. The people lucky enough to sign the mailing list should be enjoying our little 3 track right about now, so if you unfortunately missed it you can sign up on our widget and we'll see the tracks are mailed to you sharpish

Have fun!

Ben

FRESH

2009-09-14T16:56:00.003+01:00

We're playing a gig tomorrow at The Boileroom (pretty much our spiritual home) for all the lovely fresh dossers...erm, sorry... I mean students (we can say that 'cause two of us are) in Guildford. Being as it is that we're the best band playing, they've thoughtfully put us on first so you can enjoy us before you get too pissed and can't remember. Yay! :-)

We're on stage at 7.45pm but be there a bit early as we're told it's gonna be really busy (no, seriously, this time it will be).

Love from,

Charlie, Anil, Ben and Jake.
xxxx

P.S. Never do this to a llama.

Tomorrow sees

2009-09-05T13:34:00.003+01:00

the first Arcady band practice in what seems an infeasibly long time. We're going to be working on a couple of new songs that I hope we'll play at the Freshers gig at The Boileroom, Guildford on Tuesday the 15th of September. I can reveal that the current titles for these are "A Moment In Love" and "Fear The Silence". I'm not sure about the title for the second, I think we may change it to something a little prettier :-) Anyway, I hope lots of you readers can make it down to that gig. There will definitely be a little more electricity.

Arcady aside, some of you may have noticed on Twitter and Facebook that I'm becoming increasingly obsessed with John Martyn's album, "Solid Air". Like Mary Poppins it's practically perfect in every way. So please find below a live performance of one of my favourite tracks from the album along with the beautiful, understated lyrics.

John Martyn - May You Never

And may you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold.

You're just like a great strong brother of mine
You know that I love you true
And you never talk dirty behind my back
And I know that there's those that do.

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
Now please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me.

And may you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold.

Well you're just like a good close sister to me
You know that I love you true
And you hold no blade to stab me in the back
And I know that there's some that do.

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
And please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me.

May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold.

You're just like a great strong brother of mine
And you know that I love you true
And you never talk dirty behind my back
And I know that there's those that do.

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
And please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me.

May you never lose your temper
If you get in a bar room fight
May you never lose your woman overnight
May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold.

May you never lose your temper
If you get in a bar room fight
May you never lose your woman over night
May you never lose your woman over night
May you never lose your woman over night.

Love to you all,
Charlie.

Note to all bands...

2009-09-05T13:33:00.004+01:00

..educational music videos are the way forward.

Anil.

I've seen a few...

2009-09-04T15:07:00.004+01:00

...of these re-subtitled scenes from the most excellent film, "Downfall" over the past week or two but this one made me chuckle more than most; it's all about the Oasis split.

Hope you enjoy it! Proper post coming soon.

Love and that,
Charlie.

Usually

2009-08-13T16:41:00.006+01:00

When a man is hungry, he eats. But occasionally a man needs something more, something more than just a casual snack or “lite bite”, he needs only one thing, and that my friends, is a SUBWAY.

Subway Tip #1:

First, choose your bread. You want something fresh and tasty, none of this dry, baked-5-hours ago nonsense, for this is the platform on which your entire Sub rests, so choose wisely, and go forth.

Subway Tip #2:

Do not touch the Promotional Sub. Steer clear of the special offer short time only Subway, they will lead you astray and ruin your day. They are the untried and untested and should be avoided with caution, except the Reggae Reggae sauce Sub, that may be consumed.

Subway Tip #3:

Never underestimate the power of “Double Cheese”. Extra cheese can be the glue that holds your Sub together, not just some sort of random condiment. Think it through and be wise; if you’re going to have Swiss cheese on your Sub, then you’ll have to match the contents accordingly, go for the meatball or the tuna with Swiss to enhance the structural performance of your sandwich. Cheddar is reserved for the Chicken and Bacon ranch.

Subway Tip #4:

ALWAYS TOAST IT!

Subway Tip #5:

The Subway Melt shall be held far above any other Sub, for it has bacon in it.

Subway Tip #6:

The Veggie Delight is not edible. Period.

Subway Tip #7:

The Sauce can make a Sub. It can also ruin it completely, for instance confusing Chili Sauce with BBQ can spoil it instantly, bad times. The Sauce is the icing on the cake, the snow on the summit, the awesome-maker, and the choice can be a hard one. Southwest and Ranch are good choices, but don’t mix with the Teriyaki or the Marinara. Lite mayo is always a winner,

Subway Tip #8:

Egg and Sausage Breakfast Subs are a sinful, and to eat one is heresy.

Subway Tip #9:

Always get a cookie.

Happy Subbing,

Ben.

I wrote a few weeks back

2009-08-13T01:10:00.006+01:00

that I was going to write a post about some things I'd gained from lectures I attended by Steve Lawson and Mike McNally. I think the reason I was so excited after hearing from and meeting them was that they summarised a lot of things I'd been thinking about for a while. Things I'd been trying to do. Steve showed me how possible it is to be really independent and just make the music that you want to without trying to conform to the musical Zeitgeist. As for Mike it was more to do with the whole Do It Together thing.

I'm not the best at articulating myself succinctly and I'm easily side-tracked (this article on music marketing has just been particularly diverting) so please bear with me if you can.

What have I learned?

Fans come first.

Being an independent musician you're looking to make money from selling a small number of records, merch and tickets to a hardcore fanbase. You should own all your own copyrights so this is possible. If you do it right, you could break even before you even release the work. Marillion demonstrate this pretty well. Email addresses are gold. Reward loyalty. Communication with your fans is a two way street (you can comment at the end of this post, so why not let us know what you think?)

Be accessible.

You've gotta take your web and social networking presence seriously. Make it search engine optimised. Make it easily visible for the disabled and easily viewable in all browsers. Make your website easy to navigate. Use RSS.

Be interesting.

Well I may not be all that interesting...I don't know because you readers out there haven't told me yet...maybe you're falling asleep! Anyway, I do try my best to be interesting but I'm more about being real, honest and doing things with transparency. Hopefully by doing those things the "interesting" will come naturally.

Be viral.

Videos, mp3's, ringtones, wallpapers. You know what I mean. Word of mouth is the best marketing ever. FACT.

Be amazing live.

If you're shit you've got no chance. Same goes for your tunes. Having a good live show is so important because it's where fans are won and lost. It's also an opportunity to meet fans, interact and sell your wares.

A band is a brand with a product.

I hate the whole notion of this, but all the hating in the world doesn't make it less true. Make your art, but be aware of these things. Market appropriately.

No one needs a major label deal.

The only thing majors are good for these days is worldwide marketing. They can make you a star overnight but where's the satisfaction in that? I want to do things my way, put in the hard yards and be satisfied with what I've achieved at the end. I'll also be better off financially.

You don't have to do everything yourself.

Build a small, dedicated team. Delegate. Reward. Incentivise. Work together. If you need someone's help, see if you can do something that benefits them too. It's not rocket science. The whole Polyphonic, Terry McBride, Nettwerk thing seems to be an ideal way forward. In fact, I think it's the dog's bollocks and I look forward to seeing how it works out. Terry, if you're reading, sign me up.

So, yeah. In a nutshell that's what I think we have to do and what we're trying to.

Sound good?

Smashing, I'm off to bed to dream up some stuff.

Love and that,
Charlie.

P.S. I rather like this video and this song. Thanks again MTV 2. Plus, I'm going to do a long long long over due Spotifriday playlist this week. Promise.

P.P.S. Go on, have a gander at The Cribs new video too. I fucking love them. I love Johnny Marr-Jarman. Can't wait to see them in December.

Not for the first time

2009-08-10T23:44:00.003+01:00

my noggin is full of thoughts tonight. Emotions continue to be evoked from old memories, which were reminiscences brought about from the most minute of stimuli. The power of the human mind continues to boggle and astound me.

I've got all these words rising through the treacle of my consciousness that will hopefully break the surface soon and breathe deeply in some semblance of song. They must.

Is it noble and admirable to want to be an artist?
In attempting to immortalise and perfectly convey a moment through song, say the unsayable, can one claim to be using one's time to the fullest?
Can it be done?

Do actions speak louder than words, chords louder than bombs?

Perhaps, one morning when the birds have begun but the sun's not yet warm I, we, will understand.

"Rise and shine all you gold diggin' mothers, are you too good to tango with the poor poor boys?"

Charlie.

Listen again to our 1st time on the BBC!

2009-08-09T01:19:00.003+01:00

BBC 6 Introducing Radio Play and Comment 1 by ArcadyBliss

I'd just like to point out that although the biography he said at the end was very much centred around me, Arcady Bliss is a band of four people. It is truly the sum of its parts and more. We're a team and we couldn't do it without everyone who helps along the way, especially our fans, families and friends.

Thanks for helping us make another small step.

Charlie.

BBC 6 MUSIC TONIGHT

2009-08-08T01:02:00.007+01:00

Tune in to BBC 6 Music @ midnight tonight to hear "Feeling The Glow" on Tom Robinson's BBC Introducing: Fresh On The Net show.

You can listen:

Live on the good old interweb.
on Sky channel 0120
on Freeview & Freesat channel 707
on Tiscali TV channel 632
or UPC Ireland channel 912
or Virgin Media channel 909
or DAB Radio (12B)

(Who says Wikipedia isn't informative, eh?)

Also, if you love us as much as we love you (which is lots) please email a quick note to introducing.6music@bbc.co.uk or send a text to 64046 just to let Tom know that you thought we were better than most of the drivel that's on the radio these days and he should play us again. It'll take you 2 minutes tops and would, in the parlance of x-factor, mean the world to us :-)

Oh no I can't believe I just used that phrase. I'm off to wash my mouth out with soap...

Charlie.

Russell Lissack

2009-08-02T17:42:00.007+01:00

This is just a quick post to say that you should go and listen to this 15 minute radio programme from the series Joan Armatrading's Favourite Guitarists.

This episode from the series focuses on Russell Lissack from Bloc Party who I've met briefly on a couple of occasions before and after gigs. Not only is he a most charming, shy chap but he's also responsible for my modest collection of guitar pedals and my fascination with them. Bloc Party are one of my favourite bands, I've seen them live about 5 times and when I really think about it they are one of few bands that never ceases to blow me away live; spine-tingling, euphoric moments a-plenty.

Russell was a true inspiration to my friends and I when we started up our first band, and the first two Bloc Party albums, especially Silent Alarm, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Just go and listen to the show, hear a very rare interview with Russell and wonder at the magic of his guitar work.

Love and that,
Charlie.

I realise we're a band

2009-07-20T23:06:00.004+01:00

...but there's this blog called www.shutupbands.com that's rather captured my imagination this evening. It consists of all sorts of ridiculous quotes from band biographies, press releases, riders etc. and makes you realise...well...to put it mildly there are a lot of clueless, misguided souls out there having a crack at the music and/or fame game. A great deal of the content is anonymous, but for hearty laughs I reccommend you check out the bits on Kerry Katona and La Roux. Also the bit from Florence & The Machine's PR (whom I would assume is now their ex-PR) is a quite magnificent read.

This, I suppose, is a cue for everyone to get derisive about our band blurbs etc.

Go on, I dare you ;-)

Charlie.

OK so I wouldn't...

2009-07-20T15:14:00.004+01:00

normally be up for posting something about Bon Iver because I got soooo sick of hearing about last year's album. However, this video is fantastic and made me want to sing in a chamber choir again. NEVER underestimate the power of three harmonising voices and a guitar.

Also very pleased that England finally beat the Aussies at Lord's today for the first time in 75 years. Maybe now I'll be able to get some work done :-) Roll on Edgbaston!!

Charlie.

Sweet baby Jesus...

2009-07-18T12:53:00.003+01:00

and the orphans!

That's the coolest music video I've seen in quite some time. I particularly like the bit when Alison sparks up a fag.

That is all,
Charlie.

Do you know what?

2009-07-15T11:52:00.011+01:00

I've been itching to write a new blog post for about a week now, but I'm totally snowed under with really shitty coursework that I'm struggling to do for the simple reasons:

1) I don't see any educational value in the assignments.
2) I'm overflowing with songs (and I bought a new guitar at the weekend that I want to play 'til my fingers bleed, wear to the bone and fall off [see above photo])
3) There's loads of interesting stuff on the internet to read, listen to or watch eg Dubber's exceptional free ebook "20 Things You Must Know About Music Online" or The Music Industry Report or just Twitter in general.

It's just a real downer and I can't allow myself to spend too long on here until I've got everything done.

Anyway, I just thought I'd say that my next post should be pretty interesting for all you people out there in bands just like us. Last week I met two fantastic people both working in the industry and gained a lot of valuable advice from them - the lectures they gave, speaking to them afterwards, reading their blogs and following them with Google Reader and following their tweets. The two chaps in question were Mike McNally and Steve Lawson who both spoke about the current state of the music industry, how to promote yourself and how to focus not just on D.I.Y. but D.I.T. - DO IT TOGETHER. I plan to write a lengthy piece all about it and my thoughts on the industry when I have the time, probably at the weekend/early next week if I get my shit together.

I know this will probably be a bit geeky/lengthy/in depth for some of you but, well, that's how I roll. However I'm also here to prove that geeks can make beautiful art, be cool, stylish and into sports too! I'll do my best.

On a lighter note, check out this video of comedian Jon Richardson who was on telly the other night. He's bloody funny.

...yeah...don't write notes, they never work :-)

Love and that,
Charlie.

P.S. Oh yeah I went to see Oasis and Kasabian at Wembley the other night with my brother...the show was great (apart from the bit where Noel decided not to sing Don't Look Back In Anger) but I've never seen so many drunk, boorish, coked-up blokes (or twats as they're more accurately known) in my life.

The Watched

2009-07-09T12:18:00.017+01:00

Afternoon all!

Charlie's done a pretty good job of updating you all with recent Arcady news so I won't venture too much in to that. What I will mention is that we've got our hands on the stems for the version of 'Feeling the Glow' that's up on the MySpace and they're available to any of you budding producers who want to have a go at a remix, we're open to anything so just get in touch and let us know if you want them.

Charlie's been getting me into a lot of new music recently, stuff I would never have listened to before. Firstly there is The Cribs new track 'We Were Aborted' which was available to download free from their website for a limited time. It's the first time I've clearly heard Johnny Marr's contribution to the band and while I'm not the biggest Cribs fan it has left me eager to hear the new album, mainly for Marr's contribution though. Then there's Bombay Bicycle Club and their new album 'I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose' which Charlie's already posted about, I'm absolutely loving 'Always Like This.' Also worth a mention are The Temper Trap, an Australian band who I'm not really sure how to describe, click the link and have a listen to 'Sweet Disposition', some really interesting guitar work going on there but it's just a damn good tune!

Also did anyone see John Mayer's version of Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature' at the memorial? If not you have to check this out! A very brave move to not sing, but I think it really shows what great feel and expression he has on the guitar.

Finally, since the most feedback I've ever got from this blog is from when I posted a video of a chimpanzee riding on a segway I thought I'd post another hilarious video but this time one that doesn't exploit animals. Thinking about it, I might make it a weekly thing to stick a funny video up to accompany my posts, not sure what the rest of the band will think of this though, Charlie however has made the fatal mistake of giving me a separate account on this so I can and will post what I want, when I want!

Anil

The Written

2009-07-09T00:27:00.005+01:00

While the others are off swanning around with exams and song writing, I’ve been trying to occupy my time by writing a book. It sounds a bit daunting and perhaps a bit strange, but it’s a good way to get some ideas out and get lost in a different place for once.

So far it’s going reasonably well, on the 80^th page or so, and I’m looking forward to finishing it. It's quite easy once you get into the storyline. The good thing about writing, like with music, is that you can write, and sing, about whatever subject you want; there are no rules to fiction and freedom of speech is paramount, so its whatever you want it to be.

I’ll be posting up snippets of the book, “The Written”, up here soon, and there will be another site where you can read a lot more, so I’ll let you know as it comes along!

Take it easy,

Ben

Loads and loads...

2009-07-06T23:51:00.013+01:00

...and loads of stuff. Well, ok maybe not LOADS but I'm doing my absolute best to put off doing boring, pointless coursework for as long as possible so I'm gonna write about a few things. Here goes...

1.) Arcady Stuff

We did a couple of full band gigs last week and one solo show which was really cool, plus we met and hung out with some nice people which was even better. Neither were particularly well attended, but folks at each gig who'd never heard us before had wee natters with us about how much they dug our set so it was totally worth it. I don't care if we ever do gigs to two people in the future, so long as at least one of them leaves a bit better off for the experience then that's our job done...and if they end up coming to another gig and buying some of our future wares then so much the better!lol

So yeah, those were the last gigs for a while as we're taking some time out to finish up some new songs and make some of the old ones a little bit better...cutting off the fat as it were. I also plan to steal my telecaster back from Anil and start playing it live. This, Bliss fans, means that I plan for our sound to get a little heftier and I'll be able to fully rock out the way I want to.

Here's a picture of me playing solo at Field Recordings night at The Enterprise in Chalk Farm last Tuesday, kindly taken by Brad @ UBPICS

We're going to record our first EP in September, that's the main reason we're taking some time off. As well as this Jake is really busy with his dissertation and other commitments and Ben is keeping occupied with his other band, but more of them later. I want to concentrate on doing some other songwriting too for non-Arcady projects which I may tell you about in the future, I guess we'll just have to see how it goes ey?

If you, or anyone you know puts on gigs in London and the South please get in touch with us as we want to start booking a load for early next year when we'll be releasing the EP and also for this Autumn and Winter. Just as importantly we're also looking for a hip young artist to collaborate with us on our visuals, primarily on artwork for the EP, our MySpace and website. Sort of like a 5th member I guess...the Stanley Donwood to our Radiohead. Please get in touch with me at chelwess@gmail.com if you can help.

Thanks again to everyone who's supported us so far this year. Please keep spreading the word, keeping in touch and being as lovely as you all invariably are. We couldn't keep doing this all without you, and your continued support means more to us than we could ever put into words. You know who you are :-)

2) Other Bands I Want To Plug

Those of you who know me, know I'm a total music obsessive and I love nothing more than discovering bands old and new and shouting about them. So here are a few I'd like to share with you:

Cubrik
Shouty, frenetic God-damn-fucking-amazing live band from round our way. Tom, the lead singer/guitarist is not only ridiculously talented but also a very nice fella.

Deadlight
Ben's other band (we saw him first though!) who are rising so fast they're almost a blur. The songs are epic Rage-y, Linkin Park-y, Incubus-with-a-sprinkle-of-je-ne-sais-quoi-y goodness. They may be our mates, but I wouldn't put them up here unless I thought they really were the dogs bollocks. They are.

Los
These lot played with Deadlight last Saturday in Epsom and absolutely blew me away. Effortlessly cool indie/grunge (though don't let that put you off)/bluesy alt. rock. I can't really describe the adequately enough in words or how much I dig them. Put it this way - I'll be out and about wearing their t-shirt as soon as it arrives through my door. Oh and I got a setlist off of Chris their guitarist after they finished. Fanboy? Pffft...well, yeah, actually.

8Fold
Funky, crazily fun "Gyp-hop" straight outta London. I saw these guys live at Beach Break Live and they were just one of the tightest, most entertaining bands we've seen in a long time. Their debut album, "Poet's Cottage" is out now on iTunes and it's just great. Do yourself a lemon and get it, yeah?

Checking Pulse
Another set of my mates, but again, I wouldn't post them if they weren't worthy. They make un-ashamedly catchy, commercial electro punk-pop and once they really get out there on tour the kids are gonna freakin' love it. Ooh, I'm a sucker for disco high-hats!

Johnny Foreigner
I realise they're already fairly well known and whatnot but I have to plug them just because their music make me feel that good. Also, they've just released a free (well, for the price of an email address) EP entitled "Feels Like Summer" from their website. Go get it now and worship at the altar of JoFo. It's here that I'd also like to declare my undying lust for their bassist, Kelly...I doubt she'll ever read this so I guess it's all good :-s

Right, procrastination and vomit-inducing gushing over. I'm hitting the sack.

Love and that.
Charlie.

I had the blues...

2009-07-03T23:40:00.005+01:00

...but I shook them loose. The new album from one of my favourite bands of the last 3 years, Bombay Bicycle Club is up to preview now on We7.com before it comes out next week. My CD will be dropping through the letterbox on Monday but I just couldn't wait! NME gave it 8/10 this week if memory serves...anyway, enough of this idle banter. Bugger off HERE and feast your lugholes on this brilliant, smile-inducing band :-)

Charlie.

Radio Ga Ga...well, GU2 actually

2009-06-30T12:02:00.004+01:00

Go to http://www.gu2.co.uk/components/com_radioschedule/scripts/listenbackplayer.php?show=Andy%20Vale%27s%20Perfumed%20Garden%20Gnome%20Show&file=2009-06-25_19-00-00_StereoLog.mp3&time=25/06/2009%2019:00 and listen to around the 35min mark for some Arcady goodness and some lovely comments from DJ Andy Vale. Well, mostly lovely...Meat Loaf?!!!lol

Charlie.

ME7 Playlist

2009-06-24T21:21:00.002+01:00

It's nice to try and win money so we can do new recordings and that. Please listen to my ME7 playlist for free on WE7 and help us win some CPM......CASH PRIZE MONIE$!

Click HERE

or HERE

maybe even
HERE
to listen and help.

Ta,
Charlie.

Brighten your day...

2009-06-24T13:36:00.003+01:00

...with Ladyhawke.

Basically there's this cool dude and fellow Yorkshireman who writes for the NME called James McMahon (formerly under pseudonym James Jam) and I follow his blog HearYouMe. I wonder if the name was taken from the Jimmy Eat World song?...hmmm. He also posts lots of little YouTube videos and this one lightened my mood after receiving a lot of shitty news yesterday. Enjoy!

Aaaah...it's good to know I'm still puerile as fuck even though I have turned 21.

Charlie.

I really...

2009-06-09T11:29:00.003+01:00

really, really like this song. Thanks to my brother Henry for sending it to me the other week.

Charlie.

The Dawn Party

2009-06-03T19:09:00.001+01:00

I will dance,
And I'll take flight
In the colours of your night.
Oh as the dawn
Stands up to sing,
I'll pretend I'm king.

I'll be watching.

As the words
Slip from my tongue,
Our eyes will meet as one.
In the field
Of revellers,
My courage will be my curse.

And I'll take flight,
And I'll take flight,
In the colours of your night.

And I'll take flight,
And I'll take flight,
In the colours of your night.

by Charlie Elwess

Damn and blast!...

2009-06-02T11:53:00.006+01:00

I leave Anil with the task of supervising the 3rd Spotifriday playlist and, naturally, he has totally forgotten to do it. To be fair though, we were both far too busy partying on Friday to even pass the most brief of thoughts on it. Never fear however, the Arcady Bliss Spotifriday Playlist will be back with a vengence this Friday as we give you a double length edition of 24 tracks. If you want to make any suggestions/requests, just leave us a comment at the end of this post :-)

Whilst we're on the subject of Spotify, here's Part 1 of an interview from the Great Escape '09 festival (I really really really hope we can play there next year) with Daniel Ek. He's the dude that started the whole thing and I was interested to hear what he had to say. Check it out...

The Music Void - Daniel Ek on MUZU.

Charlie.

Feeling The Glow...

2009-05-28T19:12:00.002+01:00

...is FINALLY up as a full band studio track on our MySpace! It was recorded, mixed and mastered by the man, the myth, the legend (and our good friend) Dave Saunders in his living room. It may or may not be available to buy soon. We'll see :-)

Charlie.
xxx
:-)

Chimp...

2009-05-26T14:23:00.003+01:00

...ON A SEGWAY!

Anil.

The Yanks

2009-05-26T11:12:00.001+01:00

Charlie isn't the only one to be languishing in the lands of procrastination. Hanging out in the US these past few days with an American family playing Amercian drinking games hasn't been the most productive week so far, but it has showed me that the Yanks will listen to any music you show them, across the board. I was fortunate enough to meet one guy called Dooney who asked me about the music back in the UK. Thanks to good 'ole Spotify, he listened to about twenty songs back to back, and gave his full attention to everything, even if he didn’t like it. Several of his friends were the same and it just surprised me away how passionate they are about new sounds or unknown bands. All of the people I've met over here seem to be the same, jamming away to Friendly Fires, or Dizzee Rascal even though they have no idea what he's saying. Several of the people out here have even heard a little bit of Arcady Bliss too and it seems to be going down quite well. Their response to my cultural lesson was to show me a YouTube clip entitled "Bro Rape"...but never mind.

Please head down to the Songwriting competition tonight and support Charlie. Thanks again to everyone who came the other night to the Boileroom (or Boom) and supporting us.

Take it easy,

Ben x

Arcady Bliss Spotifriday Playlist #2

2009-05-22T23:36:00.001+01:00

Go and find it HERE ...before it's too late!

"OMG!"...

2009-05-22T15:39:00.003+01:00

...as they say in the parlance of t'interweb. I can't believe that I've spent the best part of another whole Friday in front of my computer and, thus far, neglected a fair few of the jobs I intended to do today. All I wanted to do while I'm hear is inform you that I've just confirmed a solo show for Sunday in aid of the Court Meadow School for children with special needs at The Swan Mountain Range Restaurant & Bar in Forest Row. Please come and support if you can (I'll give you a lift from Gtown if you like). Tickets can be booked in advance from 01342 822318 for £5 or they are £10 on the door. All proceeds go towards the charity.

Also, don't forget to pop down to the Boileroom on Tuesday (26th May) to support me as I play "Feeling The Glow" and try to win a prize of some sort...I'm not even sure what!lol Anyway, come down if you're in Guildford, have a few bevs and listen to some cracking tunes.

Right! I'm going outside for some air...

Charlie

I just can't...

2009-05-20T10:25:00.002+01:00

...stop smiling after last night's gig at The Boileroom :-) We played really well and had an awesome time with friends and all the other bands. Congratulations to Deadlight for getting through, and major kudos to Cubrik and Luna Park Rescue for being awesome and making it a gig to remember.

If anyone has any photos or videos of our performance, please email them to me on chelwess@gmail.com and in return I'll send you any MP3s of our tracks that you want. Sound good? Get on it!

Charlie <3

Last night at Bar Med...

2009-05-18T15:34:00.002+01:00

...was fully badass and we had an amazing time! If you came, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and that you'll come and vote for us in the Battle of the Bands @ The Boileroom tomorrow night (19/5/09) . It's going to rock. Hard.

Charlie

Spotifriday!

2009-05-15T19:30:00.002+01:00

A shout out to all you Spotify users!

We've totally nicked the concept of Spotifriday from one of our favourite music websites, DrownedInSound and we'll be doing a playlist every Friday (well, as often as we remember) consisting of 3 tracks from each band member. Please find the link to the very first one below, and have a good listen 'cause we reckon it's pretty damn cool! Why not send us your own playlists in return? Get on the MySpace, Facebook or Twitter pages and send us your mixes.

Arcady Bliss Spotifriday Playlist # 1 - 15.05.2009

Happy Spotifriday!

Charlie.

Time's Moving On in May

2009-05-15T18:51:00.000+01:00

Good evening all,

I suppose this is a bit late coming seeing as there have been many goings on in the land of Arcady recently and this post comes to you on the eve of a particularly busy few days! On the Sunday 17th we will playing at Bar Med and on the 19th we will be playing the second heat of the ACM battle of the bands at The Boileroom. Obviously your support would be much appreciated on the night as the audience votes, but I feel a bit wary about attempting to pile in as many friends as possible in order to secure the most votes. It might be just me, but I feel it takes a bit away from the music...and it will be an amazing night of live music.

Also worth the mention is the gig that me and Charlie played as a duo on Monday supporting John Bramwell of I Am Kloot. It was great to get the duo going and also nice to be asked to play on the back of our first full band gig in April.

On the recording front, we recorded six live tracks with Mike Avent of iMeetEye and a few of those are currently on the MySpace. If you haven't already heard them, check them out at www.myspace.com/arcadybliss. We also recorded 'Feeling the Glow' with Dave Saunders recently and it's in the process of being mastered so look out for that on the MySpace too.

Congratulations are in order for Charlie as 'Feeling the Glow' got through to the final of the ACM song-writing competition. There are some great tracks in the final and being included in the last 13 of 151 entries is an achievement in itself.

Finally, Arcady Bliss have their first festival appearance at Beach Break Live in Cornwall. We'll be playing on Thursday 18th of June at12:45pm on the ACM New Music Stage, so if you're at Beach Break, you know where to be!

Anil.

And so...

2009-05-15T07:21:00.000+01:00

...it begins. The journey into the deepest depths of the Arcady Blog, the official journal documenting the happenings, thoughts and creativity of Arcady Bliss. This is not just a place for news and updates, but a space in which I hope we will also post much more. I think of this as a space for other creative and thoughtful outlets, whether they be photographs, short stories, videos, poetry or ramblings long or short of any kind.

Please come with us, subscribe and keep reading as we stumble headlong into an unknown future.

I think it could be exciting.

:-)

Charlie.