END OF 2010

For the last few months of 2010, we've mostly been working hard to get new material up to match fitness for the Three Trapped Tigers album, which we'll be recording from Jan 4th. Ultra excited about this, and 2011 in general for many other projects.

In between writing and rehearing, we played a few festivals, including End of the Road and Bestival in the UK, and some abroad - most notably Nowa Muzyka in Katowice, Poland. Excellent trip, featuring a personal year highlight: watching Autechre at midnight with only the moon illuminating the stage, crowd and dis-used mine surroundings. Add incredible sound and some of the most inspiring, uncompromising electronica I've heard for ages = perfect darkness! [Also had a brief chat with Mary Anne Hobbs from the side of the stage]. Check out this video from about 12:50 for our feature [amidst esteemed company!]:

TAURON NOWA MUZYKA KATOWICE from kuba kossak on Vimeo.

Other items of note from the past months:

Remixed The Temper Trap [out on 'Conditions Remixed']:

'Rest' The Temper Trap [Three Trapped Tigers Remix] by mattcalvert

Remixed our labelmates Gallops:
'Defbox' Gallops [Three Trapped Tigers Remix] by mattcalvert

Had the MA album The Last and my Bygones EP mastered by Peter Beckmann. [Both out in Jan/Feb 2011 respectively.]














Performed on Resonance FM in an electro-acoustic duo with Cake [Tom Challenger from MA]. Looking to make a duo album in 2011.

Performed with UNKLE/The Heritage Orchestra again, at the Union Chapel.

Played some jazzy guitar on Kylie Minogue's Xmas single. [Honestly!]

JULY - UNKLE: HERITAGE ORCHESTRA / TTT REMIX

Had two UNKLE projects coincide, a massive concert at De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill with the Heritage Orchestra on the 10th and doing a Tigers remix of 'The Answer'.

'The Answer' UNKLE [Three Trapped Tigers Remix] by mattcalvert

Also involved in the gig were Ross Stanley [from MA] on piano, my twin brother John on bass/synths, Jez Wiles on percussion and Graham Fox on drums. And then about 20 string and brass players. On the actual gig there was a huge lazer display which no-one onstage could really appreciate - the very top photo [by Iestyn Lloyd] is from the back of the hall. Back in Dec 2008 there was a Heritage concert at the Union Chapel playing UNKLE's 'End Titles...Redux' album, so this was a continuation but with more of their classics like 'Rabbit in Your Headlights' and songs from their new album 'Where Did The Night Fall'. John and I go way back with Heritage leader Jules Buckley, since we were 15 and he was 18. We played on the 2006 album (as did Ross, Cake and Betts) and I had one of my pieces recorded for it.

2010 Blog - Backdating

I've started this blog, so far as a retrospective - in photos, videos, tracks and text - of 2010 now that we're half way through it [Jan-June posts are under 'June'/'July']. It's been a productive time, and looks to carry on this way - if the rest of this year goes to plan we'll see a Typewritten EP and first Three Trapped Tigers album recorded, as well as the release of my Bygones EP and the MA album The Last. Thanks for taking an interest.

MAY - ROLO TOMASSI/TTT UNDERWORLD

[Photo by Snowtown]

Even though we only got to play 4 songs, it was a great night supporting Rolo Tomassi at the Camden Underworld on May 28th. They played their new album Cosmology in its entirety and it sounded killer – lots of great ideas, very inspirational. Such a cliché to say this about a second album from people so young but it does sound ‘more mature’ even if it's still hectic as hell in places. Amazing gig, this shot from during their encores says it all:


[Photo from here]

'I Love Turbulance' Rolo Tomassi [Three Trapped Tigers Remix] by mattcalvert

APRIL - ACOUSTIC LADYLAND, TTT EP3 TOUR

ACOUSTIC LADYLAND

Played two gigs with Acoustic Ladyland, subbing for Chris Sharkey (who's amazing). Pete, Seb and Ruth - great musicians and such nice people, which only made the privilege of being onstage with them more enjoyable. It was liberating to just wig out on guitar, improvise, noise up, and not worry about keyboards or computers. It was a shame I was only doing two gigs but hopefully I'll be involved in the future of the band somehow.

Straight after the second gig in Newcastle I had to make a 7 hour bus journey through the night back to London so that I could rejoin with TTT and drive to Holland the next morning. Ugh.

TTT EUROPE

The European dates were amazing. First up, a big, city festival Motel Mozaïque in Rotterdam with Fuck Buttons and others on the bill. Fun gig.

Next night, Belgium supporting Fuck Buttons. Some dude mistook me for FB's Ben Power after the show:

Him: "Hey man, I really like what you guys are doing. I don't think anyone else is doing anything like it.”
Me: "Hey, thanks for saying so man”
Him: "I mean, you two have a really great chemistry onstage…”
Me: "Us two? What about...oh...hang on..."

Finally, Domino Festival [photo by VInce Kmeron] - an immense Brussels city festival headlined by 65DOS [big supporters of ours] and Fuck Buttons, with us on second. IMMENSE. What a privilege.

For gigging, EUROPE rules. The gig reps, crew and staff are all so friendly and helpful. You get nice hotels. You get fed really well. I even get the impression that the audience are less militantly trendy and just more open. [For added Euro pimp shit, look here at how the Domino festival stage stuff works: all set up on risers ready to wheel on/off for quick turnarounds - so simple but pretty common in Europe.]

TTT UK TOUR

UK tour for EP3. Cardiff and Bristol we had to cancel as Betts was stuck in Mexico due to the Icelandic volcano debacle. Our support band Talons played anyway and reported that Cardiff was rammed....damn. So we kicked off in Manchester [Deaf Institute], followed by Edinburgh [Electric Circus], Birmingham [Hare & Hounds] and Brighton [Freebutt] which was awesome. Here's us debuting 13 at that gig:

Last stop - ICA, London. I'd never been to this venue but I'm glad to have played it considering there's talk of it closing. Immense. Great vibe to the gig, loads of mates, loads of actual fans who'd come to see us...even promoted by friends of ours RockFeedback - it was sold out we were told. Everyone said the sound - especially the bass - was fucking loud. Well, better than it being fucking quiet.

FLY review

Now that we'd released and toured 3 EPs as planned, it felt like the end of 'Phase 1'. I'm proud of we've achieved without being signed or really having any financial support. Instead, we been lucky to have just some serious believers who've worked their asses off for us and made stuff happen.

FEBRUARY - TTT BEATCAST VIDEO

We were delighted when we turned up at Barden's Boudoir on Feb 5th to find Beatcast setting up to film and multitrack record the whole gig as we’d been talking about doing live recordings. I was still jet-lagged from being in Malaysia for the last two weeks of January and I think by the time we played I'd been awake for 36 hours. They also did an interview outside in which you can see I'd been up longer than usual. Was a great night [put on by Different Class Radio] and good to have our August 2009 tour partner Gold Panda DJing after us.

JANUARY - TTT EP3

Finished EP3 on Jan 4th. Like EP2 it was made quickly [recorded Dec 19-20 in Urchin Studios, 21-23, 27-29 at mine, and mixed at Urchin 30-31 + Jan 2 with out friend Dan Cox, then mastered on 4th]. Lots of the ideas had been in place since August/September, but we didn't record until December mostly through hesitating about new ideas since we were aiming for something different, but reassuringly it got some good feedback when released in April [on Blood and Biscuits]:




BBC
Subba Cultcha 7/10
Soundblab 8/10
Glasswerk 8/10
Alt Sounds