Hello YOU,
Back once again (like the renegade master) with the latest dollop of NEWS regarding the band that still torture from Yorkshire, THE SCARAMANGA SIX. That’s right – as we lurch, bleary-eyed through the sixteenth year of our existence, it struck me that we are still going at this with the fervour of a bunch of rabid teenagers hungry for ultimate rock power. There are still many more musical coups to mount, performing triumphs to be had and artistic dreams to be realised. It’s not over yet – oh no, far from it.
What follows is the latest missive concerning the whatnots, whereabouts and wangdangdoodles of your favourite evil pop group in the spring of the year two thousand and eleven…..
1. ‘CURSED’ OUT RIGHT NOW
Well, here it is. It has been a long time coming – from the first batch of hugely enjoyable recording sessions with our dear friend Sir Tim Smith (with whom our positive vibes towards a successful recovery are constantly being emitted – get well soon chief), through the rampant construction of our leap-frogging fifth album ‘Songs of Prey’ with Gentleman James Kenosha, to the gargantuan task of starting afresh with the inimitable Alan Smyth at his 2Fly Studios in the city of steel – 5 years towards completion in fact.
We are now filled up to the gills with pride to unleash our sixth album, ‘CURSED’, upon the ears of the unsuspecting and faithful alike. A huge thank you to all of you who have pre-ordered the album, or picked up a copy since it’s official release date last week. It means so much to us – we owe you the world and I hope we have repaid your faith in us by providing some serious musical substance to provide both a challenge and a tonic to your taste-buds.
You can get the new album from all the usual physical stockists (dist by Shellshock) and digital shops (through Zebralution) such as iTunes etc. It is also available to listen on places like Spotify (which still generates minute royalties somehow) and our very own Bandcamp site – which will also point you in the direction of buying. Those going for the physical product will be rewarded with a beautiful digipak sleeve with 16-page booklet full of the stunning artwork of Kevin Summers and the photography of Paul Mansley. It really does look as good as it sounds. Buy directly from us here:
http://www.thescaramangasix.co.uk/ or here: http://www.wrathrecords.co.uk/
Anyone buying directly from us will get the bonus of a copy of the ‘Walking Through Houses’ 7” single free.
There are rumours going around the band that our next set of albums will follow in the footsteps of ‘Cursed’, but the theme will be decided by simply removing one of the letters in the title. Next will be ‘Cured’, (an album all about bacon) followed by ‘Cued’, a long player dedicated to the enthralling game of snooker. The final two in the quadrilogy will be ‘Cud’, a set of covers of the music of Carl Putnam & co and then finally ‘CD’ which will be a blank disc with no artwork whatsoever.
2. LAUDATION FROM THE MEDIA
The first harvest of wholesome coverage from our most recent UK press and radio campaign has been uprooted by the combine harvester of public relations. Some absolute belters of praise for the new album amongst the crop – it is certainly proving to be all wheat and no chaff thus far.
THE SUN newspaper has been the most heavyweight so far, with an absolutely blinding 4.5 out of 5 review of Cursed courtesy of Matt Silk (we thank you most publically). Here is what it said:
“THIS, the sixth album from the Leeds-based outfit, was meant to be their fifth. But Cardiacs genius Tim Smith was in the middle of producing it when he suffered a stroke in 2008. Here the material resurfaces and serves as a fitting tribute to Tim, packed with all the drama and inventiveness you would associate with his work. Part art-rock, part punk, part pop, TSS’s haunting songs always ooze eclectic theatrical class. But Cursed takes it up a notch – bordering on epic at times. It’s their best album yet and that’s saying something.”
Other almost evangelical reviews have cropped up on the interweb. Here are some quotes/links:
“With its theatrical leanings ‘Cursed’ sounds like a concept album, though what the concept would be is beyond me, unless it’s ‘b****cks to convention” – Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot: http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/album-review-the-scaramanga-six-cursed/
”The Scaramanga Six are the most unusual of bands; brave, crazed and severely off-kilter, their fierce sense of musical independence means that they do whatever they want whenever the hell they want to. One day all bands will be like this…..in my dreams.” – Uber Rock: http://www.uberrock.co.uk/cd-reviews/24-april-cd/2384-the-scaramanga-six-cursed-wrath-records.html
“That the wider music industry still can’t get its head round the excellence of this band is a constant frustration, but allows the score Wrath Records 1 Music Industry 0, again” – Leeds Music Scene: http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/14629/
“You know – I don’t think any other band could pull this off! It really is quite unique in its sound. Actually …. I think I like it! A lot!! 9/10” – Loud Horizon: http://loudhorizon.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/the-scaramanga-six-cursed/
“latch onto this album; you might find it uncomfortable at first but like a wet suit, once you jump in with it, you’ll find it damn hard to get out of it.” – Unseen: http://www.weareunseen.co.uk/#/scaramanga-six/4550995622
“a worthy contender for anyone’s album of the year” – Manchester Music: http://www.manchestermusic.co.uk/
Finally, a massive thank you (or should I say “Diolch yn fawr”) to disc jockey HUW STEPHENS of BBC Radio One for spinning ‘Last Roll of the Dice’ from the new album on his show the other day. It’s always a huge surprise to hear yourself on the radio, but one that we wouldn’t mind happening a bit more often! If you want to hear The Six (dis)grace the radio waves, then why not email/twitter/message your favourite presenters and shows demanding your fix of The Six on air. We really do rely on the support of you lot to make stuff like this happen.
3. ONLINE NEWS
We’ve gone and started one of those trendy Facebook pages. This supersedes the old Facebook ‘group’ which will probably close down fairly soon. On the new page, we should soon be putting up random blurting from band members, exclusive bits of footage and photos and whatever else we can think of.
We have never pleaded for people’s affection before, but all we ask of you right now (providing you are a Facebook user!) is to go to this page and ‘like’ us. Further to that, if you can suggest to your friends to also ‘like’ us, it may make us feel valued in society for a bit. Here it is:
http://www.facebook.com/thescaramangasix
Any suggestions as to how we can smarten up our online act are greatly appreciated. Though musically we are evil masterminds, technologically we are idiot savants.
4. NEW T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE NOW
Often noted for our sartorial elegance, we are proud to offer some brand new T-shirts available to add to the range of stylish Scaramanga Six apparel. The new shirts, available in either sport grey or light blue, feature the head of our new band pet, ‘Snarly’ the Wolf.
Available in the usual sizes (S, M, L & XL), the T-shirts are £10 each (plus P+P) and can be bought from the Wrath Records site using your money in some way or other. Thankfully our T-shirts have not yet hit all the bit-torrent sites where users can download them for free, one cotton fibre at a time. Go here to procure one of these:
http://www.wrathrecords.co.uk/produc.htm
For the future – we can easily get another run of shirts done in both this and the older ‘Tentacles’ design. If you are looking for something in a specific size or colour, let us know and we’ll sort you one out in the next batch!
5. FORTHCOMING APPEARANCES
Well done for getting this far. Finally, just a reminder for those of you in the Yorkshire area (or those planning an extraordinary weekend trip up north/to the UK), that we have a couple of gigs coming up supporting our fantastic old muckers, EUREKA MACHINES. We will be playing a completely different set of songs at each of these nights, so as to satisfy any of you planning on attending both.
FRIDAY 27th MAY – The Brudenell Social Club, LEEDS
EUREKA MACHINES
THE SCARAMANGA SIX
BLACK MOTH
CIRCLES
Doors: 8pm
Ticket link: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/110536
SATURDAY 28th MAY – The Parish, HUDDERSFIELD
EUREKA MACHINES
THE SCARAMANGA SIX
THE PRETTY MACHINE
Doors: 8pm
While you are at it, why not get a copy of Eureka Machines’ stunning second album, ‘Champion the Underdog’ – you won’t regret it. www.eurekamachines.com
That’s the end of this epic news-barf.
Cheers,
Steve
