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‘Dark Indie’ News from Heist Towers

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:10:21 +0000

A wave of excitement flowed through the normally calm cavernous halls of Heist Towers today as time came to tell a drooling world of the newest member of the Heist family, Rapids!
(And for once the exclamation mark at the end of a band’s name falls grammatically correctly at the end of our sentence)

Rapids! play ‘dark indie’ in their own unique style. Hailing from the perhaps un-indie town of Bournemouth, the band have quickly come to the notice of bands and radio alike. Opening shows for the likes of The Chapman Family and Errors, the band have a live show that transfixes audiences. Without any team around them in the early days, the band impressed by gaining notice from Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy and Tom Robinson with Steve Lamacq interviewing Matt Holliday on air on his 6Music show.

Expect the first release from the band in September 2010, in the meantime listen to them on http://www.myspace.com/listentorapids

Heist expects great things from Rapids! even if the exclamation mark does make a mockery of Heist’s previously perfect grammar.

Rumours that Heist signed a band from Bournemouth in the height of Summer just for the free holidays on the south coast are completely unfounded.

The Answering Machine go all app on us.

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:22:50 +0000

The Answering Machine are pleased to announce their totally FREE app for iPhone users (sorry, androids, symbians, two cans and a string users, no app for you just yet). However for those who are part of the iPhone generation, search for ‘the answering machine’ in the iphone’s app store or go to the band’s spendid iTunes app page as follows.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-answering-machine/id379383212?mt=8

A special prize goes to the one millionth downloader……….

Oh and whilst we are getting all tech’ie on your ass, why not follow Heist on Twitter (@heistorhit) plus The Answering Machine (@theansmachine), LoveLikeFire (@lovelikefire) , The Crookes (thecrookes) and Pomegranates (@pomegranatesart)

18th May 1980/2010

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 07:50:23 +0000

Thirty years ago today, much like I am back doing again today, I was juggling two lives, one is freight forwarding at Heathrow for the money and one involved with music, for the passion. I can recall that it was a Sunday and I was due to leave for an evening band meeting at the NFT with the band that I then managed Repetition. A friend called to me to say that he had heard from Rob Gretton that Ian Curtis had died.

Now at this point one might assume that the sky became dark and there was countrywide grief. Having lived through times, whilst incredibly sad, the importance of the contribution of Ian & Joy Division took longer to sink in to most people (other than those close friends and insightful writers like Paul Morley). It is perhaps only in retrospect that Ian & Joy Division became so important to so many; even important to those who perhaps had never heard of Joy Division prior to Ian’s death.

Ian was born two months after me and whilst I was brought up in the namby pamby South, Ian’s life and subsequent lyrics were inextricably linked to what is now fast becoming my spiritual home, the North West.

Two months after Ian’s demise, I remember sitting in a studio in Saffron Waldon with Rob Gretton as he produced a single for Repetition. Perhaps with some trepidation raising the issue of Ian’s death and in typical Rob fashion he said that Ian was a ‘selfish w*nker, he screwed up all my plans’. But even through Rob’s usual confrontational non nonsense approach, you could tell that he knew that even in those two months, Ian had already become an immovable reference to a generation.

It was my passion for Joy Division that subsequently led me to admire the Factory Records ethos so much, work closely with Annik at Factory Belgium and, many years later, start up a record label which in its own small way tries to adhere to that orginal Factory ethos. It is indeed strange that in 1980, we were then one year into Thatcher’s Britain with all the turmoil that this brought to the poorer parts of our country. Today, 30 years later, we are one week into what could be another austere Tory parliament. I just wonder what a 54 year old Ian would have made of it.

WOXY.COM ceases operation ?

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:07:04 +0000

Rumours started surfacing on my trip back from this year’s SXSW that a serious situation was brewing at US indie station WOXY.COM and having just checked their Internet streams we now fear the worst has happened and WOXY.COM have ceased broadcasting. This appears to be following the ending of their funding by current owners Future Sounds of California and the lack of any suitable buyers. With the impending possible BBC6Music axing, it feels like indie music itself is under attack.

For those who are not already aware, WOXY.COM is probably one of the 5 true indie stations in the USA along with the likes of KEXP, KCRW, The Current, WFMU etc. Pretty much all other stations have moved over to AAA & chart music only. Only these few stations still exist who, like 6Music, are the sole places where new music can get onto the US airwaves. Indeed WOXY.COM is probably the best exponent of this and must have now given thousands of bands their first airing on radio.

This terrible news of WOXY.COM’s closure comes immediately after what was probably their best week of SXSW hosting artists from Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings to Frightened Rabbit to Surfer Blood to We Were Promised Jetpacks to name but a few.

From a personal point of view, WOXY.COM was the main catalyst for Heist Or Hit Records being formed following hearing a track called Radio Nurse by the first artist we signed being played on the station. Several influential commentators have suggested that 6Music’s natural match in the USA is WOXY.COM, both stations having similar ethos. There has already been an amazing response from artists, labels etc to the attack on 6Music but I fear that the situation with WOXY.COM is far worse, possibly irretrievable.

Heist would urge all those artists who have enjoyed airplay on WOXY.COM or anyone who believes in truly independent radio to email, blog and just generally shout to anyone who will listen to see if we can find some white knight to step in and save the station even at what would appear to be past the 11th hour.

WOXY.COM’s station ID is “WOXY.COM – The Future of Rock & Roll”. We sure as hell hope so!

Mick/Heist

Ref: http://www.woxy.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOXY.com

Show dates and times for Heist bands playing at SXSW this year

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:29:28 +0000

The Crookes
Wed March 17th – Dirty Boots @ Wave Bar Rooftop, 6th St – 1pm.
Thus March 18th – Yorkshire Party – British Music Embassy, Latitude 30, St Jacinto – 1.10pm
Thurs March 18th – Official Showcase – Friends Bar, 6th St – 10.25pm
Fri March 19th – Caffe Medici- Guadalope @ 22nd St (University District) – 3pm
Sat March 20th – PRSF/ British Music Abroad Brunch – British Music Embassy, Latitude 30, St Jacinto- from Midday

LoveLikeFire
Fri March 19th 2:20pm Berklee’s 5th Annual SXSW Day Party, Friends Bar 208 E. 6th Street
Fri March 19th 6:00pm Dominican Joe Party, Dominican Joe 515 South Congress
Sat March 20th 12:15pm Future Sounds Day Party, Shangri-la 1016 East 6th Street
Sat March 20th 10:00pm Official showcase Emo’s Jr. 600 Red River Street

Pomegranates
Tues March 16 – Beauty Bar *617 East 7th Street* (1am)
Thurs March 18 – Maggie Mae’s *323 East 6th Street* (9pm)
Fri March 19 – Distrct 301 *301 West 6th Street* (3pm)
Fri March 19 – Union Park *612 W. 6th Street* (5pm)
Sat March 20 – Home Slice Pizza *1415 Congress Avenue South* (3pm)
Fri March 19 – Distrct 301 *301 West 6th Street* (3pm)

US visa update for UK bands travelling to SXSW

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:38:49 +0000

—–Original Message—–
From: SXSW Registration [mailto:reg@sxsw.com]
Sent: 06 March 2010 23:10
Subject: 2010 SXSW US Embassy Information

Effective March 1st, 2010, individuals applying for a non-immigrant visa* at the U.S. Embassy will be required to submit a new electronic application form, known as the DS-160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application.

List of Countries Using the Online DS- 160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application Form:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_4230.html

Due to unforeseen problems with the new visa application form DS-160, any applicant who has an appointment with a U.S. Embassy the week of March 8 – 12 who is unable to complete this form, may furnish the DS-156. In addition, males aged between 16 and 45 should complete the DS-157 and F and J visa applicants the DS-158. The forms are available on the visa forms page at

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

Amin Simms
SXSW Registrar
reg@sxsw.com

Our Email To The BBC Trust – Save 6 Music

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:02:38 +0000

The deicison to close 6 Music is not finalised until the BBC Trust has agreed. You can email your thoughts to: trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk. Take 5 minutes to make a difference.

We sent the following:

Hello,

As someone who works for a small independent label, the thought that 6 Music could close fills me with sadness and worry. 6 Music really is a music station for music fans and the fact that there is such an outpouring of anger at the decision to shut the station proves how much it means to so many people. On a professional level it gave the label great hope that we could communicate and have our releases heard by real music fans. It also filled us with pride that such musical luminaries such as Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley and Tom Robinson took the time to listen and enjoy what we put out. It has also been with great pleasure that our bands have gone in for sessions with 6 Music where we have had the chance to see the passion and enthusiasm that goes into every show.

I appreciate there has been a call for cuts to how the BBC spends it’s money and I appreciate that as a public broadcaster you need to provide the best quality for everyone. However, the decision to take away two key radio stations (I have read much in support of the Asian Network too) seems like you are stripping the BBC of some real quality. The closest thing we have in this country to 6 Music is XFM – it’s a station mainly heard in London and Manchester and has to target it’s output to attract advertisers. The beauty of the license fee is the unique high quality output the BBC could afford to produce.

Exceptional broadcasters taking risks on brand new music should be something the BBC is proud of and not something to cut back on.

Yours Sincerly

Heist Or Hit Records

A reactionary blog.

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:33:44 +0000

As everyone has heard overnight, the BBC may be cutting some of it’s services, one of which is the digital station 6 Music. Let’s be honest and straight up on this one, it would really hurt new music if this is the case.

Over the last few years we have seen Radio 1 sink into a state of ‘celebrity DJ’ over actual music fan so people flocked to 6 Music. For all of Jo Whiley’s annoyances, at least she wasn’t Fearne Cotton and anyone choosing ’Grimmy’ over Lamacq is clearly a fool. But at 6 Music you could hear people like Steve Lamacq, Marc Riley, Lauren Laverne all playing music because they love and understand it. Guy Garvey’s radio show was absolutely brilliant but who else would have given him the slot to do it? 6 Music also gave us the Saturday morning perfection of Adam and Joe, now being nicely run by Collins and Herring. It was broadcasting that was not aimed at everyone but from the ground swell of outcry today, it clearly meant a lot to some. Indeed, the station boasts a listener-ship of 700k people a week, taking £10 of these people’s yearly license fee would save the station. I think we all agree that this money is better spent here than on Chris Moyles or Graham Norton’s wages.

For a small label, like ours, 6 Music is somewhere you could actually aspire to get your music played and heard by some real music fans. I don’t think we would have ever got The Answering Machine as the breakfast show song of the week on Radio 1, but it was something attainable on 6 Music. As James Yuill Tweeted earlier ‘We have to save 6 Music, who else will play my records’. It gave us hope that we could really connect with people, where as without 6 Music, there would be no point in even trying for Radio 1 plays. We would never have the profile or the money to get close.

The BBC are looking at quality over quantity in the future and this is actually something I would agree with. 6 Music is the quality that should be saved. So should amazing imported shows like Heroes and Mad Men. Their website also might be cut which again is madness. The BBC is something this country should be very proud of but it seems they are just wanting to run it into the ground so we are left with characterless radio DJs and TV that is beyond dull.

I hope we can look back on this blog and realise that it wasn’t needed; that the truth was that 6 Music was always safe but until it is, people who really care for new exciting music need to speak out.

Remix Us

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:39:33 +0000

Recently Martin from The Answering Machine has been doing some amazing remixes. He’s put them here for you to check out - http://www.myspace.com/theansweringmachineremix. His LoveLikeFire mix went up yesterday and is a fresh take on a song we all love here.

It got us to thinking that if people want to remix our tracks then they should be able to easily, so if you fancy having a bash at the Answering Machine track ‘Emergency’ drop us an email to pete[at]heistorhitrecords.com and we’ll send you a link to download the stems of the track right away. Then it’s entirely up to you how you re-work the song.

Keep checking the site for new tracks and downloads soon!

A time for reflection

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:26:30 +0000

At Heist Towers, we find ourselves in a sombre and reflective mood this weekend. We share offices in Ashford with a cargo company where a wonderful man called Richard used to work as a messenger. Sadly, Richard passed away suddenly last Friday.

Whilst his main time was spent working with the cargo company, on many occasions, Richard had cause to get involved in assistance for Heist and our bands. Richard was an absolutely lovely man with a generous spirit. Whilst being born in the late 30’s, Richard still took a amazingly keen interest in the progress of the Heist bands and used to play The Answering Machine and LoveLikeFire albums as he went about his work in his cherished Viano messenger vehicle. He will very sadly missed by all in the Heist family.