Quack Quack
Quack Quack are Richard ‘Moz’ Morris (keyboards/drums), also a member of Two Minute Noodles, Chops and The Declining Winter, Neil Turpin (drums) from Bilge Pump and Stu Bannister (bass). Instead of describing the band’s sound, this snippet from a review goes some way to putting Quack Quack’s music into words:
“On the surface, Leeds trio Quack Quack seem to exist in some animated part-prog, part-post-rock indie hinterland, but closer inspection reveals a tight-knit instrumental trio who, in absorbing and acknowledging everything from dub, jazz, funk, and electronic music, subvert all tidy enclosures of prog-this or post-that.” Allan Harrison, Copper Press
Vessels
Vessels are a 5-piece from Leeds, who initially began life in 2005 with founding members Tim Mitchell (drums, laptop), Martin Teff (bass, guitar), Tom Evans (guitar, vocals) and Lee J. Malcolm (guitar, keys, electronics, vocals). The line up was completed by long time friend Peter Wright (guitar, bass, vocals) a year later. Since their inception, Vessels have honed their incendiary live set with over 100 shows, putting increasingly more adventurous and challenging songs to the test. Within this period there have been appearances at Leeds and Latitude festivals, and support slots with Caribou, Efterklang, This Will Destroy You and Brett Anderson.
Escalade
Escalade is a project of New York-area native Greg Sullivan, currently based in Tokyo. Literally finding its beginnings in the studio- during a stint as an assistant engineer, Sullivan and his songs were then flung out on the road. Embarking on a self-imposed exile across the Pacific to New Zealand, the basics for a debut album were arranged and recording whilst living in backpackers, and an artists loft in a former printing press in downtown Wellington. Along the way, the A-side of Cuckundoo Records 7” single release- “X’s & O’s” was first cut direct-to-disc by lathe record artist, Peter King at his plant outside of Christchurch on the South Island. Due to isolation of various kinds, work on a debut album began as a solo project by default. Fast-forward to a full-time life in Japan, where with the help of various players the songs blossomed slowly, pieced together like an audio jigsaw puzzle. This year has seen several live shows as both a duo and trio, presenting the songs with a mixture of different instruments and loops. The first images of an “escalade” were largely instilled by the image of spiraling up a never-ending stairway to infinity in a scene from a children’s fantasy novel. Like a burglar erasing their own footsteps behind them, the impression of leaving no impression hangs out in the subliminal shadows. The songs are calmly insistent, swaying to their own sensitive internal pulse. A monolith perched on a pinpoint. Step lightly and leave plenty of space for the thoughts to fall.
