Tuesday 20 December 2011

Stuart Maconie features Gannets live

Gannets returned to the airwaves for a second time this week. Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone on BBC 6 Music ‘live feature’ featured our set from this year’s London Jazz Festival. You can listen to it again on the iplayer for another whole week. This was our first live appearance in over a year, captured amidst the busy comings and goings of the Front Room stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall by none other than the ornithological department of the British Broadcasting Corporation itself. Thanks to Mister Maconie and his crack pot team for picking up on our first flappings as we prepare ourselves for a full UK tour early in 2012 (dates and ticket information can be seen in this very same blog below).
Other exciting Gannets news is that our debut album will be called ‘Transmissions of Not’ and will be exclusively available at the gigs for £15 in a deluxe heavy vinyl packaging with gatefold sleeve featuring original artwork by the band itself – For those of you with a digital persuasion fear not! This will be no Hackney carriage just for old times’ sakes. . . Every copy of the vinyl also comes with a CD complete with extra tracks that we couldn’t fit on the record. With the official release date for the album on the Babel Label set for April 2012, this is your chance to get your hands on a copy of our record months before it gets into the shops and before it appears anywhere on the internet. It’s something we’re extremely chuffed about so why not get your copy piping hot off the band itself.
Jan 25 Gateshead Central Bar / Jan 26 Manchester Band on the Wall / Jan 27 Leeds Brudenell Social Club / Jan 28 Coventry Taylor John’s House / Jan 29 Birmingham The Yardbird / Feb 1 London Vortex / Feb 2 Basingstoke The Haymarket / Feb 3 Bristol St. George’s / Feb 4 Cheltenham Slak Bar / Feb 5 Brighton The Blind Tiger Club.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Gannets live on Radio 3


Gannets returned to the live stage for the first time in over a year with an energetic half hour set during this years London Jazz Festival. We also saw one or two unique collaborations between Gannets and members of Dave Kane's Rabbit Project, Mat Maneri, Corey Mwamba, Paul Rogers, Robert Mitchell and other guest artists at this years festival.

Adventures in Sound, as it was billed by BBC Radio 3 posed the quizzical notion; is improvisation more creative in longstanding groups or one off collaborations? The nature of the gig was to encourage the sense of surprize and shock that should confront improvisation for both the listener and performer and which can truly be appreciated as something unique in that all too breif a moment when and where it takes place. Its also done to mix things up a bit and there were indeed some beautiful and sometimes odd musical moments during the collaborations but I just don't know which I would say was most creative. Judge for yourself . . . . .

Highlights of the gig can be heard over on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 5th December at 11pm - Jazz on 3 presents Adventures in Sound with special guests Gannets.

Photo of Fyfe Dangerfield by Richard Kaby.

Monday 7 November 2011

gaNNets tour dates


"one of the highlights of the London Jazz Festival"  TIME OUT

"the abstract improv version of the Guillemots"  THE GUARDIAN

GANNETS WINTER TOUR 2012 - click on the tour dates below for more info and to link with local venue and ticket outlets. . .
Fri 3rd: BRISTOL > St. George's £10.
0845 40 24 001

Sat 4th: CHELTENHAM > Slak Bar £6.
01242 524011

Sun 5th: BRIGHTON > The Blind Tiger Club £10.50 / £9.50.
01273 606312

With support from ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND, NATIONAL LOTTERY FUND and JAZZ SERVICES.

Thursday 20 October 2011

The boy returns from Brazil and Gannets play London Jazz Festival.

Around about now Fyfe will be returning from his adventures in Brazil where he’s been scooting about doing a bunch of shows with that other band of his, Guillemots. They will also be playing dates in the UK this coming November but more to the point, if you happen to be around on the 19th of that very month you will have the oppertunity to catch Gannets on home turf! We shall be giving our first public appearance in over a whole year! The occasion is the London Jazz Festival where we’ll be playing as part of 'Adventure’s in Sound' which incorporates a selection of new compositions and improvisations from current artists in Jazz. As well as Gannets there promises to be a rare appearance from ‘Mujician’ double bassist Paul Rogers, Estonian guitarist Jaak Sooaar and the Glaswegian saxophonist Raymond MacDonald amongst other surprise guests, and on the day of the concert a selection of unique collaborations between different combinations of all the musicians will also be devised so you can expect a decent bit of off the cuff thick thackery. It starts at 2pm Saturday November 19th in the Front Room of Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. It’s free entry too. And for all of those out of towners amongst you the whole thing can be heard in glorious stereo on December 5th on BBC Radio 3.

NEWS FLASH! Gannets will be featured in the closing set at Adventure's in Sound from 5.30pm - 6pm.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

clarinet improvisation

Here's a short bit of footage of Alex performing a solo clarinet improvisation at London's Cafe Oto in February earlier this year.

Monday 26 September 2011

Fyfe Dangerfield in Antiquity Epic Flick!

Gannets very own Fyfe Dangerfield provides an amusing musical backdrop to an unusual film! This clip is from another episode of the ridiculous antics that can be found over on Two Thirteen TV. We witness the discovery of a metal gong from antiquity, believed to possess highly potent magical powers that multiply potatoes. As the stockpile of coveted knowledge and religious myth is unpacked by our two learned inquisitors their revelations turn out to become somewhat more fruitful than just the potatoes they had originally bargained for.

Monday 12 September 2011

Album launch and live stuff all coming soon!

Welcome to the all new Gannets blog offering you the first bleary eyed glimpses into our eager return to live activity. To be honest we’ve been a bit all over the shop as of late what with Dominic moving to New York and Chris going off to join the circus. Fyfe has been working on the new Guillemots album, and Alex and Steve have both had their hands tied with recording projects of their own so it’s been hard to fathom anything that might resemble the usual crystalline nerve that you must have come to expect from us. So in an attempt to put a stop to all this dillydallying around we’ve decided to announce the long awaited release of our debut album which will appear on the fantastic Babel record label in early 2012, and to celebrate this momentous occasion we’ll be playing a whole bunch of live dates around the UK in the New Year. As tempting as it is to spill the beans all at once, we’ll have to wait until October before we can confirm each and every detail about the tour. However, should you need to whet your appetite you will be able to catch us at this year’s London Jazz Festival on November 19th for free . . . Yes for free, zilch, no green shield stamps required, not even a half crown or a three penny bit needed! We’ll be playing a totally improvised set as part of BBC Radio 3’s Adventures in Sound at The Front Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. Exact timings and numerical equivalences will be shared with you here soon, and you can also search the radio waves for Jazz on 3 every Monday night at 11pm to eavesdrop on rumours surrounding this star studded event as well as what else might be going on at LJF this year. OK that’s all for now.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

exclusive album preview

Here's a little taste of what the forthcoming Gannets album is sounding like. We recorded it at the legendary Pinewood Studios and this one is called Walking the Gannet.

Gannets preview on Salford City Radio.

Bob Osborne at Salford City Radio presents an exquisite mix of bebop classics and newer more avant garde music. Back in August his show featured a special preview track from Gannets forthcoming album, and also new music from Chris Cundy & Dominic Lash. You can listen to the whole show again here.