The Simonsound

Images of the limited edition version of The Beam. As well as...

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:15:07 -0400

Images of the limited edition version of The Beam. As well as the colour vinyl and map from the standard edition, this pack adds a sew on Monorail Pilot Patch, mini booklet, one of a kind 1/4 inch tape loop and Simonsound Transit Authority ticket. Available exclusively from our Bandcamp.

Packaging and design by Emily Macaulay at Stanley James Press.

Very excited to share images of the new Simonsound single...

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:08:00 -0400

Very excited to share images of the new Simonsound single ‘The Beam’. The title track will be getting its first public airing on BBC Radio 3’s The Late Junction on Tuesday 13th of May, so please tune in to hear that. Pre-sales and more info on the strictly limited edition ‘Pilot Pack’ will follow that broadcast.

A fantastical Monorail journey in sound!

Like a souvenir from a mid century World’s Fair, ‘The Beam’ follows in the footsteps of early electronic musicians such as Raymond Scott, Tristram Cary and Tom Dissevelt.

Travel into the realm of imagination with The Simonsound Transit Authority

Please subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to hear about upcoming releases. ‘The...

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:01:10 -0400

Please subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to hear about upcoming releases. ‘The Beam’ pre-orders are coming soon!

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Coming soon on Project Blue Book Records, take a trip into your...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:40:03 -0400

Coming soon on Project Blue Book Records, take a trip into your imagination aboard the SS Mk I Monorail

I recently visited Florida again and had more time to explore...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 08:13:52 -0500

The Beam

EPCOT

Merry Christmas from NASA

New musical partner

Firing room at Cape Canaveral

Launch controls

Rocket

Launch shelter at Cape Canaveral

Monorail pilot posing at Contemporary Resort Hotel, Disney World.

The Beam at Disney World

I recently visited Florida again and had more time to explore Kennedy Space Center and the missile and rocket launch sites of the early space missions. I also spent a lot of time riding the Monorail at Disney as inspiration and to collect footage and material for an upcoming Simonsound release in the new year. More on that soon.

A little videophonic collage for our remix of Beta...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:32:23 -0500

A little videophonic collage for our remix of Beta Hector’s ‘Trust Me’. Re-imagined as mythical magical dream sequence!

Its a free download from Beta Hector’s Bandcamp page.

Here is the full length visuals from our tour with DJ Format...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:11:02 -0500

Here is the full length visuals from our tour with DJ Format this year, interspersed with a bit of footage from shows. The audio is from our Paris, Aberdeen, Vienna, Brighton and London shows.

Thanks to everyone who came along. It was a blast!

New Simonsound 7” coming early next year.

Here is a video for our collaborative single with DJ Format,...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:35:07 -0400

Here is a video for our collaborative single with DJ Format, ‘Battle of the Planets’. You can get the single on the new DJ Format LP, ‘Statement of Intent’.

We’ve added quite a few new shows to our current tour so hope to see you there. This weekend we are in Wrexham, Cardiff and Southampton.

May 4th - Le Zoo, Geneva

May 5th - Le Romandie - Lausanne

May 18th - Band on the Wall - Manchester

May 19th - The Yellow Rooms - Newton Abbot

May 24th - The Cluny - Newcastle

May 25th - The Shipping Forecast - Liverpool

May 26th - The Faversham - Leeds

June 15th - WTF @ Le Nouveau Casino - Paris

August 16th - The Tunnels - Aberdeen

August 17th - The Annexe Liquid Rooms - Edinburgh

August 18th - Koko - London

Some pictures from our first 4 shows with DJ Format in Brighton,...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:31:30 -0400

The Concorde 2, Brighton

Some pictures from our first 4 shows with DJ Format in Brighton, London, Birmingham and Norwich. Thanks to all at the venues and to everyone who came along and danced. Next stop Bristol.

A little taster of the show we are touring with DJ...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:37:09 -0400

A little taster of the show we are touring with DJ Format.

Format starts the show on the turntables cutting up some of his better known songs before being joined by Simon on the Moog Synthesizer and an armory of electronic effects. Here they take you away on a musical journey from Hip Hop & Funk to spaced out electronics. The music is accompanied by synchronised visuals that sample moments from classic B-Boy footage, tripped-out animation and carefully chosen visual oddities in a cut ‘n’ paste style that is completely in tune with the music.
The music itself consists mostly of songs from DJ FORMAT’s first two albums, his new album STATEMENT OF INTENT and also songs from THE SIMONSOUND’s album REVERSE ENGINEERING that Simon & Format made together in 2010.
The video footage was filmed at the launch party on Friday 2nd March 2012 at The Concorde 2, Brighton but the sound was replaced with practice recordings from home due to sound quality issues on the actual video recording.

Updated schedule -

16th March - Hare & Hounds - Birmingham

17th March - Norwich Arts Center - Norwich

30th March - Lakota - Bristol

8th April - Twisted Pepper - Dublin

12th April - Central Station - Wrexham

13th April - Club Ifor Bach - Cardiff

14th April - Soul Cellar - Southampton

4th May - Le Zoo - Geneva, Switzerland

5th May - Le Romandie - Lausanne, Switzerland

19th May - Yellow Rooms - Newton Abbot

24th May - The Cluny - Newcastle

26th May - The Faversham - Leeds

DJ Format’s LP is out today. Double vinyl, CD and digital...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:50:10 -0500

DJ Format’s LP is out today. Double vinyl, CD and digital download. Get physical copies here and downloads here. Aside from the obvious listening experience, we also suggest you buy the vinyl so you can fully enjoy the stunning artwork by Mr.Krum.

See earlier post for details on our joint live shows kicking off in Brighton on the 2nd of March.

We’ve got a bunch of live shows with DJ Format coming up...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:02:07 -0500

We’ve got a bunch of live shows with DJ Format coming up to promote the release of his new LP ‘Statement of Intent’. The new album, which features two Simonsound collaborations (Battle of the Planets and Beyond Disco) is out on the 27th February. We join forces for the live show with a mix of old and new DJ Format material and the simonsound tracks which we made together. The usual/unusual video projections will accompany the music…

First show is 2nd of March in Brighton at the Concorde 2.

Photo

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:07:58 -0500

Video

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:59:59 -0500

passing-cloud: Curtis, Grant, Emily, Jenny and Simon have...

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:30:53 -0500

passing-cloud:

Curtis, Grant, Emily, Jenny and Simon have organized the above event The Cosmic Snowball at The Blind Tiger Club in Brighton on 16th December - with a charity donation on the door in Support of The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and Samaritans!

The Phyllis Tuckwell have been supporting me since my diagnosis in January 2010 and continue to do so every week. I actually don’t know what I’d do without them. SO, The Cosmic Snowball welcomes you in my favorite home of Brighton town!

A new mix for the Paris DJ’s website of ’60s and...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 13:00:10 -0400

A new mix for the Paris DJ’s website of ’60s and ’70s psychedelia and electronics, taken from DJ Format’s record collection and mixed and seasoned by DJ Format and The Simonsound. A perfect treat at this changin’ of the season time. Click on the picture to go and get it from Paris DJs.

The always inspiring Stopping Off Place just posted these...

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:51:15 -0400

The always inspiring Stopping Off Place just posted these wonderful scans.

We now have a release date for the Laura J Martin & The...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:30:00 -0400

We now have a release date for the Laura J Martin & The Simonsound single on Battered Ornament Records. This limited edition 7” with sleeve by Luke Insect will be available from the 1st of August at all the usual outlets (and the Finders Keepers website)

UPDATE - 7” single now sold out at the Finders Keepers online store. Copies still available from Rough Trade, HMV, Jumbo Records (Leeds), Amazon etc etc.

Find a video here for the A side ‘Inside Your Bones’. The B side is a Simonsound remix of Laura J Martin’s song ‘Spy’.

It has been a long time coming and we are excited to finally get this one out. Here is the blurb…

Finders Keepers’ fitful pocket empire Battered Ornaments Records rears its head once again with another bespoke vinyl release featuring the unlikely but essential partnership of Liverpudlian chanteuse Laura J Martin and The Simonsound - a sonic partnership consisting of Simon James and Matt Ford (DJ Format).

Analogue synthesizers, tone generators, and reel to reel tape machines buzz and whirr amongst the roots of Laura J Martin’s homegrown supernatural siren song as folk traditions merge with The Simonsound’s science fiction fantasies for this hauntingly progressive/regressive experiment.

This strictly limited edition (500 only) vinyl release is the eighth release from Battered Ornaments Records, an independent label with a DIY asthetic producing lovingly made limited vinyl runs of off-kilter independent music housed in jaw dropping sleeves created by top artists and graphic designers.

NYC Finds

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:28:50 -0400

NYC Finds

60 Seconds with…. The Simonsound. A quick interview over...

Thu, 19 May 2011 14:17:57 -0400

60 Seconds with…. The Simonsound. A quick interview over at the Spitalfields Festival blog. Our next gig, hosted by Nick Luscombe, is at the Spitalfields Festival on Wednesday the 22nd of June. Find out more here.