Twenty-One Crows feature on Woodland Recordings Compilation.
October 6, 2008
Brighton based independent label Woodland Recordings has released a new compilation called “HOME TAPING IS MUSIC” Featuring Twenty-One Crows.
The release also features many tracks unavailable elsewhere, and recorded especially for Woodland Recordings.
Initial run limited to 100 copies – all numbered and hand stamped with insert and clippings.
Tracklisting:
1. -a+M – THE POWER OF STRING (EXCLUSIVE) (3.35)
2. BIRDENGINE – SHE’S BEEN LIVING IN THE CORN (EXCLUSIVE) (2.36)
3. JESUS LICKS – INTO THE WOODS (3.18)
4. THE DIAMOND FAMILY ARCHIVE – I WAS DEAD (EXCLUSIVE) (2.23)
5. GREAT DESTROYER – BIRD ISLAND (3.40)
6. LIZ GREEN – OSTRICH SONG (EXCLUSIVE) (3.17)
7. THE GREAT PARK – HEARTSONG (FROM FORTHCOMING W/R/ RELEASE) (4.11)
8. TWENTY-ONE CROWS – A NIGHT IN THE LIFE (4.23)
9. MID-WEST BLUES – VAGRANT (EXCLUSIVE) (3.08)
1O. MUTE SWIMMER – A NIGHT IN (FROM FORTHCOMING W/R/ RELEASE) (3.47)
11. KRISTIN MCCLEMENT – THE WILD GRIPS (FROM FORTHCOMING W/R/ RELEASE) (7.05)
12. MEN DIAMLER – JOY (4.00)
13. BLANKET – WOOD FOR FIRE (EXCLUSIVE, LIVE AT MAIDA VALE FOR BBC RADIO 1) (2.49)
14. SONS OF NOEL AND ADRIAN – THE WRECK IS NOT A BOAT (4.59)
15. CLARA KINDLE – BIRDSONG (FROM FORTHCOMING W/R/ RELEASE) (5.34)
16. THE PARSONAGE – 9OO MILES (3.57)
17. SPOONO – OH GOOD ALE (2.44)
Buy it from www.woodlandrecordings.com for £8 wherever you are.
Twenty-One Crows Ep Available from…
September 20, 2008
You can now pick your copy of Twenty-One Crow’s Debut Ep “What Ever Will Become of This…” for £4 via the internet from:
http://www.twentyonecrows.bigcartel.com/
Twenty-One Crows Interview in XYZ Magazine.
April 15, 2008
Interview
Twenty-One Crows
A few hours before appearing at Redroaster as Twenty-one Crows, Jon Griffin and Becca Tann pulled up a couple of chairs with XYZ’s Mo Mostowfi and explained just what it is that makes them tick.
XYZ: You’ve had a limited edition EP (‘Whatever Will Become Of Us’) out for a few months. Aren’t you already recording the follow-up?
Jon: Yes, it’s going to be another EP actually. We’re not quite sure if it’s going to be four or five songs yet, but it’s going to be a bit angrier. There are a couple of songs that are more political. We haven’t added any dance synths or anything like that!
Becca: We have added clarinet and electric guitars though.
Do you write your songs as collaborations or does one of you take the lead?
Jon: I tend to write them and then we work out the arrangements together. We’re just writing songs at the moment and seeing what’s coming out.
Becca: Jon will write his parts, which is basically the song, and he’ll play them to me and then we’ll mess around with it.
How long have the two of you been writing together?
Jon: About a year; we did our first gig last Easter. Before that I was in a rock band. What I’m doing now feels a lot more natural; it feels more honest and less compromised.
You’ve only got four dates in four months… I thought that maybe you didn’t like playing live!
Jon: It’s an ongoing process… [Laughs] It’s just hard getting on the right bill or right night.
Do you think it’s difficult for projects such as yourselves, with the amount of high-octane rock and indie bands dominating the Brighton scene?
Jon: Initially, I thought it was going to be that way. At the moment there seems to be a thing going on with this music. It’s just been the way that it’s worked out for us. We also don’t want to restrict ourselves in Brighton. We don’t want people getting bored of us. .
Where did the name ‘Twenty-one Crows’ come from?
Jon: Just one of those things. What was it that Nick Cave used to say? I think it was “Google it!” [Laughs]
Fair enough! What do you love and hate about Brighton and why?
Jon: I think it’s changed a lot. A lot of people want to develop the area, mainly councils.
Becca: I don’t like the ‘poncification’ of it all. The population has changed. There is a lot more people with a lot more money.
Jon: I love the laidback sense of humour of the place, and the sea.
Becca: I find that now I’m not living here, I appreciate the things I like about Brighton more. There is so much going on gig-wise too.
Jon: I think you need a distance from it to remember what’s good about it.
All your music is very melancholic. What makes you happy?
Jon: Animals! They make me laugh. Most things make me happy. I don’t really feel I need to write about that. It’s the other, unhappy stuff that I need to deal with! [Laughs]
Words by Mo Mostowfi
Go to the link below to see the full version:
Jacob’s Stories Album Launch Reviews.
April 11, 2008
XYZ Magazine reviewed the night. Here’s what they had to say:
LIVE: Jacob’s Stories
24th March, Redroaster Café
XYZ’s Mo Mostowfi was expecting a few cups of Fair Trade coffee at St. James’s Redroaster but was instead greeted with the perfect setting for a dark musical feast: an album launch for Brighton-based Jacob’s Stories’ ‘Undisciplined Art’.
Support acts Twenty-one Crows and Birdengine were more than adequate. The former put on a good, if slightly neurotic performance, while the latter was beautifully dark, accomplished and assured. Birdengine is definitely one to watch out for.
But, tonight was all about Stuart Lee’s one-man-band Jacob’s Stories. From the moment Lee took his seat and started playing, the audience was hooked. Luscious melodies emanated from the various gadgets and keyboard and made his songs sound like melancholic masterpieces. Pretty much every song performed was captivating, with ‘Dear Mr Pearson’ and ‘God’s Rotweiller’ cemented as my personal highlights. Morons aside, I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t warm to this; all compositions were all executed brilliantly. Lee’s voice is truly captivating, and even the wraps between songs were entertaining, including an unusual and hilarious take on the Easter story. He could consider a career as a stand up comic, although I’m sure he’d disagree. The night was capped off with a beautiful rendition of The Dupree’s ‘You Belong To Me’, which was way better than the original.
Amongst the plethora of emo/metal/indie/hair bands which dominate Brighton’s music scene it is oh-so-refreshing to see a Brighton-based artist who can perform a set full of great songs. At the end of the show I wanted more and felt totally and truly moved by Lee’s music. I cannot think of a bad word to say about his performance or songs.
Jacob’s Stories are profound, immense and beautiful. If you do anything this year, you must check him out live and buy ‘Undisciplined Art’. Jacob’s Stories is a truly awesome musical experience.
www.myspace.com/jacobsstoriesband
www.jacobs-stories.co.uk
Words by Mo Mostowfi
Photos by Sam Hiscox
Twenty-One Crows Reviewed in Kingdom Magazine.
March 12, 2008
Twenty-One Crows
“Whatever Will Become Of Us…” (Self-Released)
Taking folk music into darker framed terrains, Brighton based two-piece Twenty-one Crows play edgy brooding songs, dusky tales of life, loss and fortitude, and what it is to be human.
Comprising Jon Griffin on vocals and guitar, and Becca Tann on accordion and clarinet, Twenty-one Crows formed in the spring of 2007 and finished the year with the completion of their debut EP, ‘Whatever Will Become Of Us…’ Mixing Jon’s husky and spooky balladry with Becca’s languorous accordion creates a sound that is deeply atmospheric and stirring. Recorded and produced by the band with hand made lino print artwork and pressed into only 100 copies, ‘Whatever Will Become Of Us…’ is an undiscovered pleasure. With a new album due out in April 2008, this four track CD is only a teaser of better things to come.
Review : Jeff Schofield
