PRIME Interview And Recent Press

Dead Neanderthals were recently interviewed by ATTN Magazine about our most recent album - PRIME. Read the interview here.

The album has received some excellent reviews and end-of-year plaudits, including top 20 best jazz albums of 2014 according to The Quietus, and Free Form Free Jazz blog's top 10 of the year.

Some of the excellent reviews include:

"Fusing the textural and tonal freedom of jazz and noise with the linear attack of metal, Prime is an absolute blast." Stewart Smith - The Quietus (full review)

"..a wake-up call to anyone who thought free jazz was a dying art." - Sammy Stein - Something Else (full review)

"Prime is never boring. It will rain down on you. It will intoxicate you. It will traumatise you, pummel you, devastate you, destroy you. Once heard, it will never be forgotten, and heavy music will never seem the same." - Lach Walter - Cyclic Defrost (full review)

Julian Eidenberger - Free Jazz Blog (full review)

MacDara Conroy - Thumped (full review)

Paul Margree - Louder Than War (full review)

Finally, one of the most incredible reviews I have ever read from Massimo Ricci for Touching Extremes.

PRIME is available on LP and download:

Gaffer Fest 2014

The 2014 edition of Gaffer Fest is taking place on the 10th and 11th of October at Le Periscope in Lyon. Dead Neanderthals will be performing on the friday night, and launching our new album on Gaffer Records - 'Prime'. 

More information about the line-up and tickets here: http://www.gafferfest.com

Dead Neanderthals - PRIME

PRIME will be the next full-length album from my ongoing collaboration with Dead Neanderthals. The album will be released by Gaffer Records on LP and download on October 10th.

Previews and pre-orders will be available from Gaffer Records and Dead Neanderthals soon.

"It is an album of broiling menace, screeching mayhem and a wake-up call to anyone who thought free jazz was a dying art.." – Sammy Stein, Something Else. Read the first review here.

Gaffer Records Evening

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Gaffer Records are hosting a series of shows across Europe. I'll be playing their London date on May 6th at Cafe Oto in an amazing trio with Alex Ward and Steve Noble, supporting LOUP.

Gaffer Records are undoubtedly one of the most vital record labels for underground music in Europe, and I'm proud to have four releases on the label. They released my debut improv album - 'Koi Bombs' with Mark Holub and Toby McLaren. Then 'Languages..' with Sheik Anorak and Mark Holub, '..And It Ended Badly' by Dead Neanderthals, and my solo tape 'Antennae'.

www.gafferrecords.com

Dead Neanderthals UK Tour 2014

In January I'm playing a short UK tour with Dead Neanderthals. The dates are:

31st Jan - Dulcimer Bar, Manchester

1st Feb - AAE, Sheffield

2nd Feb - Green Door Store, Brighton

3rd Feb - The Vortex, London

The Dutch duo incorporate elements from free jazz, grind and noise culminating in a pummeling sound that is akin to Painkiller and Borbetomagus. They are a household name in the Dutch experimental music scene, and have played tours and festivals all over Europe and the US.

Our collaborative album '...And It Ended Badly' was released on Gaffer / Raw Tonk Records in October 2013.

http://rawtonkrecords.bandcamp.com
http://deadneanderthals.wordpress.com

Antennae - Available Now

After long delays, my solo album 'Antennae' is finally available on cassette from the Gaffer Records store: www.gafferrecords.com

The album is a series of short improvisations exploring a strict palette of minimal saxophone sounds, with an emphasis on breath and mechanical noises over "pure/natural" notes. The instrument was close-miked to heighten the presence of these sounds. However, no effects, multi-tracking or external processing were applied to the recording. 

Each cassette comes with a digital version of the album, which contains two bonus remixes by Graham Dunning and Alex Bonney. The digital version is available to stream or download here:
http://gafferrecords.bandcamp.com/album/antennae

'...And It Ended Badly' - Artwork

'...And It Ended Badly' is the collaboration I recorded with Dead Neanderthals at the end of last year in rural Netherlands. The album will be released by Gaffer Records and Raw Tonk Records on October 10th on CD and download.

Artwork by Dead Neanderthals

www.gafferrecords.com
rawtonkrecords.bandcamp.com
deadneanderthals.wordpress.com 

Gaffer Fest 2013

Gaffer Fest returns this year from October 10th - 12th at Le Periscope in Lyon. I'll be playing on the opening night with Dead Neanderthals, and we'll be launching our new collaborative album '..And It Ended Badly' the same night.

www.gafferfest.com

May Update

A selection of gigs coming up in May:

11th & 12th:
Ov London presents Art Of The Moment. Two day improv festival in London with daytime workshops and performances both nights.
http://ovlondon.weebly.com/art-of-the-moment.html

16th & 17th:
Mini-tour with Dutch grindcore free-jazz duo Dead Neanderthals. The Vortex, London (16th) and The Cowley Club, Brighton (17th).
http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/gigs.php?gd=20130516#.UYLcp7_3DLY
http://clubzygotic.wordpress.com

21st:
Duo with Pianist Mike Hurley at The Lamp Tavern, Birmingham
http://www.blambirmingham.co.uk/kook-and-hurleywebster-duo/

24th:
Trio with Sheik Anorak and Alex Ward at The Vortex, London.
http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/gigs.php?gd=20130524#.UYLdSb_3DLY

New Solo Album - Antennae

My new solo album 'Antennae' will be released on cassette and download by Gaffer Records in a few weeks time. In the meantime you can now stream the album from Gaffer's bandcamp page:
http://gafferrecords.bandcamp.com/album/antennae

The album is a series of short improvisations exploring a strict palette of minimal saxophone sounds, with an emphasis on breath and mechanical noises over "pure/natural" notes.

Antennae was recorded, mixed and mastered by Alex Bonney. The download version also features a remix by Alex, and one by Graham Dunning.

Recent Press, Reviews, and Airplay

Some recent reviews of Webster/Holub/Anorak - 'Languages..'

Jazzwise Magazine (UK), February 2013:

The Liminal (UK), March 2013:

http://www.theliminal.co.uk/2013/03/liminal-minimals-march-2013/

Kinda Muzik (Holland), March 2013:

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/colin-webster-mark-holub-sheik-anorak/languages-live-at-vortex/23872/

Sound of Music (Sweden), March 2013:

http://www.soundofmusic.nu/recension/colin-webster-mark-holub-sheik-anorak-languages-live-vortex

'The Claw' with Mark Holub also gets a mention in this excellent overview of recent sax and drums duo albums by the Brazilian blog 'Free Form Free Jazz':

http://www.freeformfreejazz.com/2013/02/sax-e-bateria-meio-seculo-de-encontros.html

Also, the London internet radio station NTS live has been showing support for 'The Claw' recently. One track was included in this interesting show, worth listening again:

http://ntslive.co.uk/dont-trip-w-margarita-john/

Recent Airplay/Podcasts/Mixtapes

Some tracks from the Webster/Holub/Anorak album 'Languages..' have been played on various radio shows and podcasts recently. Some are still available for streaming or download, so I've posted the links below:

Free Form Freakout:
http://fffreakout.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/fffoxy-podcast-11.html

The Mystery Lesson:
http://mysterylesson.posterous.com/archive/1/2013

Majjem Radio Show:
http://www.majjem.com/20121114majjempart1.mp3

The album also got a mention on Brazilian blog Free Form Free Jazz:
http://www.freeformfreejazz.com/2012/11/sons-novos-de-varios-cantos-lancamentos.html

Gaffer Fest Recording

In October my duo with Mark Holub played at Gaffer Fest in Lyon. I've posted my recordings of our whole set here for streaming and download. The recordings are just from the stage, so aren't high quality, but you get the feeling of what was a great night and a really excellent festival programmed by Frank from Gaffer Records. At the time I had mixed feelings about the set as we had both had very early flights to Lyon and the energy levels were quite low. But in retrospect I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Webster/Holub/Anorak - Languages..

'Languages..' is the new live album recorded by the trio of Mark Holub, Sheik Anorak and myself at The Vortex jazz club in London earlier this year. It's out now on Gaffer Records on CD and all formats download.

Stream it or download it from here:

Anorak/Webster/Holub tour recordings

Here's an audio excerpt from the Anorak/Webster/Holub set at Port Mahon in Oxford during our mini-tour back in March:



There's also this excellent video of the whole set:



We also have a video clip from our set at Green Door Store in Brighton:



..and we have an excellent recording of the set at The Vortex that we're hoping to release later in the year.

Recent Airplay/Podcasts/Mixtapes

Tracks from 'The Claw' have had some airplay recently on various radio shows, blogs and podcasts all over the world. Most are still available to stream or download, so check them out. It's great to be included alongside some great artists that I really respect. I've compiled some of them here:

Taran's Free Jazz Hour (1): http://taransfreejazzhour.com/podcast/92012.html

Taran's Free Jazz Hour (2): http://taransfreejazzhour.com/podcast/132012.html

The Mystery Lesson: http://mysterylesson.posterous.com/124102051

Free Form Freakout: http://fffreakout.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/fffreakout-podcast-40.html

WRUR 91.1FM: http://dev.wruw.org/guide/playlists.php?show_id=535&playlist_id=26039

Ink Project Mixtape: http://soundcloud.com/inkproject/ink-project-mixtape-12-free-1

Tiny Mixtapes: http://m.tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/mix-chocolate-grinder-mix-47-slower-combing-eggs

Fractal Meat On A Spongy Bone: http://ntslive.co.uk/?p=8879 

Far Side Virtual: http://www.pbsfm.org.au/node/18942

A track from my previous album Koi Bombs was also recently featured on this free Gaffer Records compilation, alongside tracks by Mats Gustafsson, Weasel Walter, and Sheik Anorak:

http://gafferrecords.bandcamp.com/releases


Also worth metioning this review (in French) of a gig I did in Lyon back in March with Sheik Anorak and Clement Edouard: http://666rpm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/report-colin-webster-sheik-anorak.html

Sheik Anorak / Colin Webster / Mark Holub - Tour

In March the new trio of Sheik Anorak, Mark Holub, and Colin Webster are on tour in the UK:

March 19th - Port Mahon, Oxford
March 20th - The Vortex, London
March 21st - Green Door Store, Brighton

Lyon-based guitar-shredder, and free jazz noisenik Sheik Anorak is known for collaborating with like-minded souls all over the world, including: Mario Rechtern, Weasel Walter (from the Flying Luttenbachers), Clement Edouard, Yoann Durant, and Matthieu Peyraud. He also moonlights as head-honcho of Gaffer Records, releasing amazing music by the likes of Mats Gustafsson, Talibam!, OffOnOff, Jazkamer, and many others. 
For this tour Sheik Anorak is joining forces with Led Bib sticksman Mark Holub, and saxophonist Colin Webster.
www.sheikanorak.com


For all three dates they are joined by Lyon-based power-jazz-trio Lunatic Toys, and for the Brighton gig by Bolide as well.


Also, on March 7th the trio of Sheik Anorak, Colin Webster, and Clement Edouard (from Lunatic Toys / Loup) are performing a special show at Buffet Froid in Lyon.

Koi Bombs Album Launch

The Koi Bombs album launch is taking place on Saturday 22nd January at Stoke Newington International Airport. Not only are we releasing our record on the night, but also Ma. (led by my good friend Tom Challenger) and LOUP (led by Gaffer Records head-honcho Sheik Anorak) are both releasing albums as well!

It promises to be a great night with all 3 bands performing. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets are £5 on the door. There's also a guestlist for press/promo etc.. so get in touch if that's you.

Koi Bombs Artwork

'Koi Bombs' is the first release from my trio Webster/Holub/McLaren.

It's being released by Gaffer Records on CD-R this month.
http://www.gafferrecords.com/

We're playing a few London gigs to support the release:

17th January - Boat-Ting, on a boat, Temple Pier, Embankment
22nd January - ALBUM LAUNCH @ Stoke Newington International Airport, Stoke Newington
27th January - Ray's Jazz @ Foyle's Bookstore Cafe, Soho