10 Juillet 2021
From CANADA •
Britain's The Gorstey Lea Street Choir present their much-anticipated 8-track album '...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I' via Britain's 500 Broadcast Recording Co, following the gazey indie rock lead track 'Bluebird, Hollywood... Domino' and powerpop single 'That Chitty Bang Majik'.
The Gorstey Lea Street Choir are Michael Clapham and Russ Phillips, two friends whose musical collaboration is rooted in a friendship that blossomed over 35 years ago. Having met as teenagers in the mid-'80s, it took until 2016 for them to turn their teenage plans — discussed back when both were involved in aspiring Manchester bands — into a reality with the birth of this project.
Their music runs with the moods, widely described as dystopian, electric, hopeful, hopeless and thoughtful... The sort of sounds Henry Spencer would have played if he had a Sony Walkman. The album explores such themes as being isolation, lack of communication, escapism and Carpe Diem frustration.
This album was recorded at the Gorstey Shack and Magic Garden Studios in Wolverhampton with producer Gavin Monaghan (Robert Plant, Editors, Ocean Colour Scene, Scott Matthews, Squeeze, Goldblade) and mastered by Ride frontman / producer Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound Studio in Oxford.
Just as on 2020's 'extended play one', tracks 5-8 were mixed by legendary producer George Shilling (Blur, Primal Scream, Cathal Coughlan, Teenage Fanclub, Mike Oldfield) and re-imagined by Choque Hosein from Black Star Liner.
'... from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I' is a tale of two towns with 8 tracks conceived and mainly recorded in Burntwood with 4 songs re-imagined in Farsley. The first town in this story is Burntwood, Staffordshire, the Gorstey boys' hometown. Take 'Prince's Park' in Burntwood as the starting point in this journey, registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the UK's smallest park.
The second town is Farsley, Yorkshire. During 2020's lockdown, Michael reacquainted himself with a vinyl copy of 'Cresta' by The Hollow Me, which led him to ask the question 'I wonder what happened to Choque?'. Choque was a member of The Hollow Men' who Michael's then band 'The Great Divide' had supported back in the early 90's. Michael tracked Choque down via the World Wide Web to Farsley... and soon the Gorstey duo and Choque (also of Black Star Liner) were collaborating... you can hear his genius on 4 tracks here.
"We are really looking forward to folks hearing the rest of the LP, the 4 new tracks and the 4 re-imaginations of 'Extended Play One' tracks by Choque from Black Star Liner," says Michael Clapham.
‘…from Prince’s Park to Farsley - Volume I’ is the follow up to the duo's ‘extended play one’ album, which was released in December 2020 and received support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio, and a whole host of DAB and worldwide radio stations.
In 2018, Russ and Michael entered Wolverhampton's Magic Garden studios to work with old friend and producer legend Gavin Monaghan, resulting in their debut single 'The British Isles' featuring an inspired spoken-word intro from Joe Strummer. Chris Hawkins from BBC Radio 6 Music picked up on the track, kicking things off again after a 35-year hiatus.
As of July 9, the '...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I' LP will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.
"Diverse, talented and melodic, the Gorstey boys ensure that you’ll never experience a dull moment in this 8-track album and will likely be thankful for the experience. Thrills sonic pills and heartfelt delivery" ~ Spill Magazine
"Psychedelic delight that will bring you to a state of bliss or trigger flashbacks to brilliant musical offerings of yesteryear... Superb musical mastery, fascinating dynamics and professionalism in production" ~ Big Takeover Magazine
"Pleading, swirling Powerpop that clearly references the heroic Pop of the 80’s with a contemporary bent' ~ Fresh On The Net
"A ridiculously talented duo... sublime" ~ Egg Box Essentials
"Fantastic, creating a landscape of sonic adrenaline-powered dream-rock bliss... somewhere between Ride’s Carnival of Light, Kula Shaker and Ocean Colour Scene. Somewhere we’re happy to be taken" ~ The Record Stache
The Gorstey Lea Street Choir
...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I
500 Broadcast Recording Co.
9 July 2021
CREDITS
Written and arranged by Michael Clapham and Russ Phillips
Recorded at the Gorstey Shack and Magic Garden Studios with Gavin Monaghan. 'Bluebird' mixed by Gavin Monaghan
'Up With The Larks' 'One Way Ticket' and 'Chitty' mixed by George Shilling
Mastered by Mark Gardener at his OX4 Sound studio in Oxford
Tracks 5-8 remixed by Choque Hosein (Black Star Liner)
Sebastian Beresford (Leftfield/Rodriguez/Edwin Starr) - electronic percussion
Ash Sheehan (The Twang, Dead Sea Skulls, Glen Hughes) - trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion
Gary Hill - piano, additional guitar
Paul Newton - bass
Woz Szpalek - bass
Craig Glover - drums
George Shilling - cello on 'Up With The Larks'
Paul Cooper (The Great Divide) - piano on 'Up With The Larks'
Gavin Monaghan - Monatronics
Keep up with The Gorstey Lea Street Choir
Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter
Soundcloud | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify
Keep up with Mark Gardener / OX4 Sound
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | OX4Sound Twitter
Mark Gardener Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
DIFFUSION July, 10, 2021