ABoF Does Electro

With the rapid and sudden emergence of a really strong alternative electo scene at the moment and artists such as AlunaGeorge and Disclosure going from strength to strength we thought it sensible to introduce to some of the artists on the A Badge Of Friendship roster helping to spearhead this new campaign.

Death Rattle

With recent support from John Kennedy (XFM), Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music) and Amazing Radio plus video features on NME, Artrocker and Clash around their last EP HE&l, London based girl/boy electro-gloom-pop duo Death Rattle return with their second offering - four track EP Fortress released via Frontal Noize on 29th April.

Fortress continues where HE&l left us - on an intense and darkly mesmerising journey through icy and desolate soundscapes. Where HE&l gave us the kind of immediate, dark electro pop and nod-along beats that drew instant comparisons to The Knife and Sleigh Bells, Fortress is its insular, brooding cousin subtly creating an even bleaker, impending-doom feel that their previous release always hinted towards with the band's influences - Depeche Mode, Fever Ray and NIN - becoming ever more apparent.

Homework

With two critically acclaimed EPs already under their belt and a growing reputation for thunderous live shows, Edinburgh-based synth lovers Homework released their debut album 13 Towers on 25 March 2013.

Recorded over just a handful of weekends in a former lighthouse, the band set about working on the album with a fresh approach and one simple goal: to capture the raw energy of all four band members playing together. The result is their most ambitious work to date.

To support the release of 13 Towers, lead single It’s All Over was be released on 4th March 2013and the band have an array of live dates throughout the UK in April and May.

The/Das

Berlin based duo, The/Das introduce their unique brand of ‘techno tenderness’ with their forthcoming EP Speak Your Mind Speak, which will be released on 29th April 2013 via Sinnbus.

On Speak Your Mind Speak, The/Das wield the electronic avant-pop sensibilities of Matthew Dear with an understated melodic charm akin to Darkstar and create something that’s laid back and intriguing.

The/Das duo Fabian Fenk and Anton K. Feist have previously played together with Bodi Bill. As Bodi Bill, the band released four albums together and built a considerable fan base in their native Germany. In the UK, XFM, NME Radio and BBC 6Music picked them up with reviews and features coming from RCRDLBL, Notion, Shortlist Magazine and numerous websites and blogs online. They are no strangers to the live circuit either having played Melt, Eurosonic, Iceland Airwaves, Ekko Festival and many more festivals and shows all over Europe.

With the release of their debut EP Speak Your Mind Speak, The/Das prove to be one of the leaders and innovators of their genre, showcasing their pop sensibilities as they did with Bodi Bill yet with an edgy toned down vibe making them an exciting prospect for 2013.



If you would like further information on these artists or any others on our roster, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Our Best of 2013 so far!

We've barely hit March but we've already found ourselves working with some of the best new bands in the UK and beyond. We're super proud of our roster and we think 2013 is going to be our best yet.

We've made a Soundcloud set for you to listen to our latest releases online. Some of these are free downloads too - don't say we don't spoil you! We'll let the music speak for itself but do check out the links below and if you can't see the Soundcloud playlist for whatever reason, just click here.

Tracklisting

Flutes - 'What Is Love'
Death Rattle - 'The Blows'
Homework - 'The Edge of Control Was Black'
Access Royale - 'Truth In Numbers'
Three Blind Wolves - 'In Here Somewhere'
The Maginot Band - 'Sombre Fayre'
The Caulfield Beats - 'Two of Swords'
Artifacts - 'Echoes'
Woodenbox - 'Race To The Flood'
Fat Goth - 'Creepy Lounge'
Daniel Inouwa - 'Fade Out'

SAMA nominated ABoF artists!

SAMA (Scottish Alternative Music Awards) has just released this year’s list of nominations and looking at the list it's not hard to see how many brilliant Scottish bands there are on the scene. In its fourth year, SAMA draws attention to the Scottish bands and artists that the mainstream tends to ignore and looks away from major acts like Frightened Rabbit and Biffy Clyro.

The SAMA shortlist just demonstrates how varied and colourful the choices can be, where nominations are chosen by leading figure heads in the Scottish music industry and the final winner is decided by a 10 day public vote. This year see’s three A Badge Of Friendship bands reach the shortlist and three in strong contention of success. So lets take a look at them now...

Fat Goth

Fat Goth released their second album Stud on January 28th. The Dundonian three-piece have gained support and praise from Kerrang! Magazine, Rock Sound Magazine, Q, Terrorizer Magazine, BBC.co.uk, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1 Scotland and many more. 2013 sees them nominated in the Best Rock / Alternative category. A tour is currently in the works for April and May and with Fat Goth riding on the success of their latest album and this SAMA nomination, their shows could turn out to be rather unmissable.

Vigo Thieves

Formed in Wishaw in 2008, Vigo Thieves have been nominated in this years Best Live Act category. With appearances last year at T in the Park where a huge crowd swarmed the BBC Introducing stage to witness the four-piece, video releases that are easily reaching over 30,000 views on YouTube almost every time, their most recent success is being the first unsigned band to sell out King Tut's in Glasgow, two nights in a row back to back. With this in mind it’s not hard to see why they've earned this most deserved nomination.

Cara Mitchell

Cara Mitchell has been nominated in the Best Acoustic category. This sixteen year old songstress has already enchanted listeners with her debut EP, Have You Ever Wondered, which was released via AGP last year and although only debuting live in October 2011 this nomination proves that Cara is someone to cast an eye on over the coming year. A firm one to watch.



For more information about the SAMAs, head over to their official website for the latest news.

Guest Blog: Fat Goth

Dundee's Fat Goth touched base with us here at ABoF HQ last year wanting us to get involved with a PR campaign for their second album 'Stud'. To say we were blown away by their music would be an understatement, these guys were unbelievably good. Since their album release last week (28th January), they've made a huge impression for an underground band with gleaming reviews from Kerrang!, Rock Sound, The Skinny, The List, Q Magazine, BBC and many more. Fat Goth's teeth gnarling drummer, Mark Keiller, tells us how he feels now the album's out and what his "first time" with ABoF has been like...

I first found out about A Badge Of Friendship through Halina at Glasgow Podcart / Olive Grove Records. My old band Pensioner put out our album Yearlings with Halina and Lloyd and I knew ABoF had been doing PR for the label for a while before us. It was immediately apparent that ABoF were totally on the ball.

When we finished 'Stud' I got in touch and asked if they would be into doing press for it. Luckily enough ABoF were really into our noise and we managed to work out a way of doing a proper full campaign.

I suppose in some ways I do a lot of the things a band manager would do and I'll happily admit I'm a complete control freak. This makes it all the more of a compliment to ABoF - working with them has been incredible. When we spoke on the phone it was like we'd spoken a hundred times before, they never give you the impression that they're too busy with all of the other clients they have to help you out with anything.

I would find it very difficult to think about working with anyone else having had the experience we continue to have with ABoF. They are passionate, insanely hard working and we all feel really lucky to have had them be part of inflicting 'Stud' upon infinitely more people than we ever could have on our own.

Results wise, things have been building up really steadily ever since the campaign started. We've had so much press we even have to check our page on the ABoF site to remind us of every mention we've had! Getting great reviews nationwide in magazines like Rock Sound, Q, Kerrang! and Artrocker just to name a few has been brilliant and we've just noticed many more people paying attention in general. We've also had big articles in The Herald and The Skinny so far this year, which I think has turned loads more people onto us.

We are massive fans of Torche as well and since the campaign started we started speaking to their guitarist Andrew who also sings and plays in Tilts. 'This Is A Call: The Life And Times of Dave Grohl' author and ex-Kerrang! editor Paul Brannigan has also been really complimentary, which means a lot. These are just a few examples but it meant a great deal to us and it's thanks to ABoF.

Fat Goth's second album 'Stud' is available to buy now via the band's Bandcamp page for £5. You can also grab a copy via iTunes, Amazon and Play.com.

New Releases This Week

It's been busy times here at ABoF HQ with a flurry of releases this week. Enjoy our little round-up of the week - stream, listen, download and enjoy!

Artifacts

This week saw the release of the long awaited single from Artifacts. The London Based five-piece has drawn a great deal of praise already from Echoes with Artrocker being a known supporter previously describing the band as having "…soundscapes of pure ecstasy".

Echoes is available to stream now from Artifacts Soundcloud page.

Fat Goth

Fat Goth set course into wind this week with the release of their eagerly anticipated second album Stud. The high flyers sought much admiration from magazines such as Kerrang!, Q, The List and The Skinny Magazine with the BBC going to great lengths saying “Fat Goth, we salute you”. After Rock Sound's stellar 8/10 review, they even made Band of the Week on the RS website. With a tour planned around the next single Surf's Down and festival dates planned throughout summer 2013 it’s vital you keep checking their Facebook for all the latest news.

Stud is available to buy now on the band's Bandcamp, iTunes, Play.com, Amazon and streaming now on Spotify.

Homework

Homework are new to our roster and this week sees them stream a preview from the forthcoming debut 13Towers. "The Edge of Control Was Black" is a six minute high energy battering of the senses that happens to be both clinical and warming at the same time. With two critically acclaimed EPs already under their belt their debut album has to be their most ambitious work to date.

"The Edge of Control Was Black" is available to stream via Homework's official website.

The Maginot Band

To end a week of epic releases The Maginot Band are kickstarting 2013 in style with the release of single Sombre Fayre via When You Awake Records. Harking from classic genres of yesteryear the band echo the earthy feel to their music with the supporting video taking them out amongst Britain’s green and pleasant land. With a live set at Madhatters, Inverness planned for February 9th and further live dates on the way 2013 looks to be an exciting year for the band.

The video for Sombre Fayre is available to watch via the band's YouTube channel.