Permanent Records

"There were literally nine people there. It was us and the local band and the local band's girlfriends."

With their new record 'Swell' out earlier this year, We talk to Dylan Mattheisen from Tiny Moving Parts about their steady growth from DIY touring to Triple Crown Records.

Music in this episode:

Feel Alive (Swell)

Dakota (This is Couch is Long and Full of Friendship)

Sundress (Pleasant Living)

Good Enough (Caution)

Applause (Swell)

Caution (Swell)

"Putting that record out in to the world was the last time I felt invincible."

Since defining the sound of indie dance floors in the early 2000's, The Futureheads have remained inventive throughout their career. Having been inactive for a few years, we caught up with Ross Millard to talk through the bands back catalogue.

Music in this episode:

Hounds of Love (The Futureheads)

Decent Days and Nights (The Futureheads)

Skip to the End (News and Tributes)

The Beginning of the Twist (This is Not The World)

Heartbeat Song (The Chaos)

Meet Me Halfway (Rant)

"You can't think about what other people think because then you're getting in to the level of self analysis where you're like 'Why do people like me?' and I think that it's not good to be that fundamentally insecure in the creative process."

Over the last 15 years Sam Duckworth has been making music under his own name, as Recreations and as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., touching on a multitude of genres while retaining a clear common thread. Last year he announced the return of the Gat Cape name having retired it under extraordinary circumstances a few short years before.

We got together backstage ahead of his Birmingham headline show to talk through his back catalogue.

His new record Young Adult is out now on Xtra Mile.

Music in this episode:

I Spy (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. EP)

Call Me Ishmael (The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager)

Waiting for the Monster to Drown (Searching for the Hows and Whys)

Collapsing Cities (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. LP)

The Mannequin (Sam Duckworth - The Mannequin)

The Real McCoy (Maps)

Remember (London Royal)

Pipe Dream (Recreations - Baby Boomers 2)

3rd Generation (Sam Duckworth - Kingdoms)

Adults (Young Adult)

Always (Young Adult)

"There are a lot of things we did early on that hurt us for years. I know it's not a particularly glamorous thing to talk about but it's actually the truth"

We talk to James Spence from Brighton (via Nottingham and Sheffield) band Rolo Tomassi about a career that has seen the band release five records before most of the band turn thirty. From early shows while he and vocalist Eva Spence were still at high school, to their new record 'Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It' which has seen the band reinvigorated both inside and out.

Music in this Episode:

Aftermath (Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It) I Love Turbulence (Hysterics) Katzenklavier (Cosmology) Illuminaire (Astrea) Opalescent (Grievences) Rituals (Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It) Aftermath (Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It) 

"At the end of the day, no-one really cares about your band as much as the people in it."

In this episode we talk to Kyle Fasel, bassist in Chicago pop-punk band Real Friends. The band are unusual in that they have retained many of the elements of the 'business' side of a band that would normally be farmed out to outside companies - such as packing and shipping their own merchandise - while reaching a huge worldwide audience. We talk about that, mental health and touring and the bands back catalogue in the wake of the release of their third record 'Composure' which marks a sea change in approach for the five piece.

Music in this episode:

Get By (Composure) A little too nice (This is Honesty) Floorboards (Everyone That Dragged You Here) Loose Ends (Maybe This Place Is The Same And We're Just Changing) Mess (The Home Inside My Head) From The Outside (Composure) Anchor Down (Everyone That Dragged You Here)

"You can't just be like 'yeah it's a massive fucking gamble you big idiot. It's between you and friendly fires - I wonder which one I'm going to give the big gigs to?'"

We talk to Alexei Berrow from Birmingham band Johnny Foreigner about the band's career following a seemingly reverse trajectory, from immediate international success to DIY band - always headed towards the way of operating which seems to most suit the band - and his newer projects Yr Poetry and itoldyouiwouldeatyou.

Music in this Episode

Salt, Pepper and Spinderella (Waited up 'Til It Was Light) Champagne Girls I Have Known (Arcs Across The City) Eyes Wide Terrified (Waited Up 'Til It Was Light) Choose Yr Side and Shut Up (Grace and the Bigger Picture) You Vs Everything (Vs. Everything) Shipping (You Can Do Better) If You Can't Be Honest Be Awesome (Mono No Aware) Sons (Yr Poetry - Lost Boys) Gold Rush (itoldyouiwouldeatyou) Riff Glitchard (You Can Do Better)

"I reached a point of feeling like I know who I am, and I know what I'm trying to do and I know what I'm trying to make and I am okay if people don't like it because I found the people that do like and that do need it and it means something to them, and those are the people I'm making it for."

We talk to folk singer songwriter Grace Petrie about her career from early records recorded in a day, through to her sixth studio album Queer as Folk which smashed every expectation for it's crowd funding campaign earlier this year.

It feels like Grace is at a real turning point in her career and it was a delight to talk through those early recording experiences.

Music on this episode:

Tom Paine's Bones (Queer as Folk) Farewell to Welfare (Tell Me A Story) They Shall Not Pass (Mark My Words) I Climbed A Mountain (Love is My Rebellion) Ivy (Whatever's Left) Nobody Knows That I'm A Fraud (Heart First Aid Kit) Northbound (Queer as Folk) Black Tie (Queer as Folk)

We talk to Rory Friers from Northern Irish instrumental band And So I Watch You From Afar about the bands career from early collaborative EPs with other bands from Belfast's fertile music scene, through their self titled debut, Gangs, All Hail Bright Futures, Heirs and most recent offering The Endless Shimmering.

It will become apparent during the course of the episode that Rory and I toured together a great deal back at the start of our two bands careers. They're some of my fondest memories of touring and that's partly why I chose to start the podcast here.

Music on this episode:

A Slow Unfolding of Wings (The Endless Shimmering) I Capture Castles (This is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop It) Tonight The City Burns (Tonight The City Burns) A Little Bit of Solidarity Goes a Long Way (And So I Watch You From Afar) Search Party Animal (Gangs) Euonia (All Hail Bright Futures) Run Home (Heirs) Three Triangles (The Endless Shimmering) Eat the City, Eat it Whole (And So I Watch You From Afar)

Hey, I'm John and this is an Introduction to Permanent Records – a podcast that discusses an artists recorded output and the route they've taken through those records.

Over the course of the next ten weeks I'll be bringing you the first series of Permanent Records talking to ten musicians about their discographies, their memories of the context those records were released in and really anything else that comes up during the course of that conversation.

In this first episode, episode zero if you will, I wanted to try and give some context to those conversations. I've been a 'musician' (for want of a better word) touring and releasing music as part of a band called Maybeshewill for over a decade, and alongside that I've been promoting shows and festivals and working as a tour manager with acts across disparate genres and from all over the world.

In this first series most of the conversations are with acts I've met through one of those activities. Most I would consider close friends, so sometimes the conversations reflect that. If there's something I think requires more context I'll include links or further information on what we're talking about in these notes.

Music: Fume by Waking Aida.