Bikes, Beaches, Beer & the Back of Beyond

Hola!

An awesome weekend is upon us! With two vehicles full of action, Recluse hit the road  south to open the BMAD Festival in Devon (http://www.bmad.co.uk/festival.html) where we kick off the whole shebang at 7pm, then the plan is to enjoy the festivities until the early hours (or until we black out whichever happens first).

Then, BOOM! It's back in the van up to Llandridnod Wells (our first ever show in mid Wales) the next day (Saturday 30th April) where we are playing with Synthetica who are signed to HabitFormed Records. We are on stage there around 9 / 10 for an hour show and then some serious post-show drinking in the Hampshire Hotel until we turn into dust.

Join us on our Album pre-release mini-tour! Two countries in two days!

P.S. (The album is now in the mixing stages……..)

The Prophet & The Pisshead

Good afternoon Reclusites, I'm assuming that everyone has bought the J Mascis solo album 'Several shades of why' and Soundgarden's 'Live on I-5'?

After listening to bands like Soundgarden again (I haven't listened to them for quite a while because I'm trying to find 'new' bands to get into…which I'm finding really hard) you realise the weight that bands in the 90's had behind them, it's something we are trying to capture on our album, that awesome feeling of fullness that came from a few records and seems to be missing from a lot of newer bands.

Whilst we are the topic of our album, the drums, bass & guitars are now all finished, I'll put up a few studio photographs over the next few days, I've never had such fun in one room with another man (if you can call Campfire Beans' a man, more of a rock minotaur) and we actually managed to get music recorded instead of me spending a full day pleading for him to let the 'Snake' reunion happen (If you missed Snake the first time round you missed it ALL baby). I was surrounded by so many guitar effects I felt like The Edge from U2, except obviously I stepped on more than the reverb and delay pedals during the recording sessions. (Charch probably won't appreciate that one).

So it's the vocal sessions next week for a couple of days and then BOOM! Onto the finicky side of mixing etc where I truly do not shine 'un-shine' if you will, mixing schmixxing I say. We finally have settled on a title for the album which I'm keeping under wraps at the moment in case anyone steals it, we had some COOL names lined up which I am definitely using in the future!

We also had a rehearsal last night at Mike Chiplin's (of Lost Prophets fame) studio in Cilfynydd where I grew up, it really brought back memories when Charch and I were driving (well Charch was driving and I was smoking) to the studio and near my old family home there was a guy on the floor, screaming drunk in the middle of the day shouting at his phone….a phone which ladies and gentlemen…..was turned off.

Anyhoo, the rehearsal was awesome! We smashed through some newer songs which we will probably be playing live soon to see what the crowd reaction is like, but everyone in the band loved them! We have two shows this weekend which will be sporting the new songs so it's your chance to hear them first! There was a slight hiccup when I showed Al & Tom a song I wrote called 'Goodnight Boy' which has a touch of……..

*ahem*….*clears throat*……*mumbles to self*……*shuffles feet*

…..reggae to it. Let's just say the reaction was not dissimilar to when Pauly Shore releases a new film. It probably won't be used in Recluse anytime soon…..(cue Britt's reggae solo album)

In summary, the album is sounding AWESOME and I can't wait to unleash it, had a blast with our lovely photographer Daniel Matthews shooting some of the art for it, it's the most fun I've had sitting in my bath…you 'eard.

Being in a band is awesome, Being is Recluse is the best thing in my life.

Also, if you haven't already downloaded them, it's going to be your last chance to get: Baby Monster Anhedonia Tiny Revelations From www.recluse.bandcamp.com We will be discontinuing them very soon, some of the songs on those albums we will never play live again so it will be your last chance to hear them

'I don't know what he keeps inside,
But he's living like a lightning strike'

Recluse - Move me Big love, Britt

Campfire Beans and Cold Turkey

(Original post date 07 Jan 2011)

Hola,

Leslie Nielsen, Pete Postlethwaite (I remember him most fondly from Dragonheart) Gerry Rafferty (THAT one hurt), these are huge losses to the media industry, and yet with each loss there comes a time of rebirth, and about to be de-wombed is our first full length studio album. The writing and planning has been completed and now is the time for rock (throw horns here) It was tough working out which tracks would / wouldn't make the final cut but we think we've got it right, some rockers, stompers, Norwegian influenced acoustic folk ballads…..ahem……

Not sure when the release will be yet, doing all the marketing / recording / art sorting / releasing independently is a little tinker for time consumption but we (well, Tom) give 100% to these things so it'll all be groovy in the end.

Our producer Mark 'Campfire Beans' Tambini is a hottie as well which helps, as I sing to him in the studio, lost in the smokiness of his eyes….also kids, Mark is a DIE-HARD fan of 12 bar chugga-chugga blues so please constantly email him with essays on that very topic.

Also, a very sad time for local independent radio here in Wales, AFAN FM who have supported us a great deal in the past have had to close their doors to make way for….a generic dance radio station (Fewf, for a second there I thought that an awesome, volunteer run local radio station who heavily supported independent music was being replaced by a style of station that is ten-a-penny) so we wait for Hash & Hannah to resurface with another perfect musical outpost sometime soon so we can steal more two hour radio slots from them :) Well you can hear the tracks that we selected but weren't aired here http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178098015548571

I bought a new 'axe' recently, a Fender Jaguar Blacktop HH which is definitely affecting the tightness of my trousers, it's strange not playing my Guild M-70 but I daresay I will use it on the recording at some key parts for nostalgic purposes. I heartily recommend the Blacktop series from Fender, tasty sounds at tasty prices. (I'll want payment for that slogan, Leo)

Now get to bandcamp and download Tiny Revelations! www.recluse.bandcamp.com

RIP AFAN

Recluse DVD

(Original post date 13 Dec 2010)

Something a few of you may be interested in, but first...

Please, forward links to our music either here  or even www.recluse.bandcamp.com to spread the word!

Now that's out of the way, we are putting together a DVD of images (as in pictures / short movies / photographs / scanned poems or lyrics) to have as a visual backdrop projected at our live gigs, a lot of the venues we have played at (I would say 80%) have a projector on site for band use and we really want to put together a compilation of images obtained from people outside of the band and perhaps the band themselves to play during our sets. We would use this at every show and in return for helping us out (and in queezing your creative teat) we will send you an exclusive Recluse track not available anywhere else :)

What we are looking for is any kind of written or visual art that reflects any Recluse song or lyrics, how they make you feel, if they remind you of something or just the mood / vibe you get from our music.

please send anything you come up with to recluseuk@hotmail.co.uk
(if the file is larger than 10 meg, please message us here and we will find an alternate way of transferring your file(s)

Thank you for continually supporting Recluse!

Merry Christmas,
Recluse

Tiny Revelations - Digital Release

(Original post date 19 Nov 2010) 

Lots going in at Camp Recluse at the moment, with the imminent release of our live album Tiny Revelations as well as a load of gigs on the run up to Christmas (not that we celebrate Christmas because we are die-hard Pagans, hell-bent on riding into the mouth of oblivion on the winged goats of Apocalypse). Plus we are now officially 'hips deep' in the recording process of our debut full-length album! Oh yes, I know all you Reclusites are as excited as Tom when he looks at pictures of Les Claypool.

There has also been a rumbling of new songs recently, we have five or six that are completed and just need to be perfected in rehearsal so you'll be hearing them at a gig near you soon (Heartjacker is a new band favourite)

As well as the above we are also looking at getting some official Recluse merchandise together to support the cause

The guitarist is also creeping ever closer to his J Mascis Custom Fender Jazzmaster…..

Tiny Revelations

(Original post date 23 Sep 2010)

Good morning / Afternoon / Evening (location dependent)

We have finished the artwork and the final mixes of our first live album 'Tiny Revelations' which will be available in all seedy online record stores next month.

We played a great show last night with Big Colours in The Globe, Cardiff such a nice venue. We even had our own dressing room complete with a toilet and very ominous bar of (once) peach scented soap which I kept an eye on just in case it robbed me.

It was free entry show but we got paid two cigarettes. Rock and roll, Baby.

Tom Waits Storytellers, perfect.

Video & Live Album

(Original post date 05 Aug 2010)

Hey Reclusites!

Things have been pretty busy recently, after coming back off our tour we were lucky enough to have Owen from Eject Pilot Eject offering to edit our first video so that is going to be unleashed on you all later this month, well to be precise, the very first Recluse music video will be launched at:

7pm on 10/08/2010 via youtube (link to be announced)

Right now we are finalising the artwork for our live album with:

Daniel Matthews Photography - Facebook

This is going to be released over the next couple of months after cd duplication has been finalised etc. but it is teasingly close to fruition, mark my drunken words.

-Tiny revelations, scattered like the thoughts of the insane
but I'm still a believer'

In Retrospect

Tour!

(Original post date 03 Jul 2010)

Well hello there folks,

We are just about to embark on our first tour, it's a short week long jaunt around England and ending in Cardiff where we are headlining Buffalo bar which has an AWESOME sound system, I have seen two really tasty bands there recently, Spider Kitten and  The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club (I think that was what they were called) either way, we know the sound will be hot on that gig (9th July) so it's a good, local way to end the tour, plus as I live in Cardiff Bay I can REALLY celebrate hard afterwards and fumble home in the wee hours.

Another big part of the tour is Monday 5th July when we play the Dublin Castle in Camden town, London. A lot of great bands and artists have played there so we are excited about that bad boy, so if you can get to London, BE THERE! Especially if you are a label scout or a band manager looking for a hot new alt-rock band to nurture :)

I am also filming the whole tour on a hand-held so I am looking to edit together a short documentary....ah heck, I'll say it..... ROCKUMENTARY (portmanteaus eh?) when we get back, but I will warn you Reclusites, my knowledge of video editing is minimal at best so it could take hundreds of thousands of millenia to put together......but I'm aiming to get it done in a month or so.


Just a swift aside, my brother overheard someone in a hotel yesterday stating that 'The birth of Communism was Merthyr Tydful'

For those of you who don't know (and I'm guessing that there are many) Merthyr is a small town in South Wales......it's not the name of Karl marx's summer house. Whoops, once again the Welsh astonish me.







http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1024862

who the heck put that link there?

The Search Begins

(Original post date 23 May 2010)

Well hello there Reclusites,

The first reviews we have seen of Anhedonia have been pretty good which is awesome, apparently we have 'lost our dark amosphere' though and I've checked my pockets and can't find it so maybe it is gone. Not to say that we write pop songs now, to be honest I didn't really think of ourselves as dark, maybe not partivularly bright but I always thought there was a message of hope in the lyrics, painting a picture of a situation but not all doom and gloom, heigh-ho, maybe I just need more sunshine.

The upcoming tour with Eject Pilot Eject is looming and we have a couple of tasty gigs lined up in Cardiff & London but there is an emergency meeting going on tomorrow to finalise some dates so we can really get grooving with it. The thought of spending a week in a small van with 4 dudes and a lady (Don't I own a DVD called that?)is an interesting one, especially when Tom's throat clearing noises and Charch's chain-bad-gagging come into the equation.

On a more musical note (see what I did there, did you?) we have recorded a live albumin the very plush Green Rooms just outside our home town and it sounds TASTY, it's unmastered yet so after some tweaking it should be a real barn-stormer......I don't know what that means folks, but heck, it sounds cool. There are four new tracks on there as well as some golden oldies, the new songs are:

Hush (slight problem with this one......when we played I had really, really tight flares on and the end of the song requires....nay, DEMANDS a lighter solo but sadly for all those involved, my trouser

Crown of Sleep (one of my favourites to play live)

Porterhouse blues (featuring our first drum solo....yes...it's finally happened)

Calmer killer (This song contains only two lines of lyrics and is influenced by a  book I recently read about someone who 'wasn't very socially aware')

We are currently looking for a director for a music video, iseally it would be for passing cars but we would be happy for a video for any song in our back catalogue (available for free from www.recluse.bandcamp.com) so if you fancy it, let us know! More info as it becomes available on the virgin Recluse music vid!

'It's strange to think of you as not around' - Crown of sleep


peace out
Britt




Paris rocks.

Anhedonia Release

(Original post date 05 Apr 2011)

Hi Reclusites!

It's finally happened, our new EP 'Anhedonia' has been released. You can listen to it here on Myspace, or download it from www.recluse.bandcamp.com. or from our Facebook group...heck, even pick up a physical copy from our gigs.

The tracklisting is:

Passing cars

We could both use someone

Dirty Blonde

Remain

Passing Cars (Bedroom acoustic version)

We are planning some gigs and are smack bang in the middle of arranging a summer UK tour with the ever awesome Eject Pilot Eject. (www.ejectpiloteject.com) as well as trying toget a decent director to sort out a couple of music videos. It is looking more and more like the next release will be a full live album with some older songs as well as a few new tracks that we haven't yet recorded, so it should be a cool mixed bag.

More gigs to be up soon as well as tomorrow night from 10 until 12 at www.afanfm.co.uk there is a two hour Recluse takeover! Our new EP played in full as well as some older recorded tracks, exclusive interviews and a live acoustic track recorded specifically for the radio show!

Cheers for your continued support, hope you love the new songs as much as we do.....especially Dirty Blonde :)

Recluse out (for now)

'With holy hands you're drinking dirty water

I even miss your silhouette' - Dirty Blonde

Rooms and the Number 13

(Original post date 12 Feb 2010)

What's that?

Yes, you heard correctly,

Recluse are the first band of the month at the very sexy www.roomthirteen.com

Tonight, raise your drinks to the very wonderful Sian Jennifer Smith!

(Heck, Neil Richardson as well)

Transient

(Original post date 25 Jan 2010)

 

It's done, it's currently getting mastered and yes...it rocks. 

Transient will be ready in February.

 

We are currently readying for a Haiti benefit show that we are headlining in Alfred's Bar In South Wales, also playing are:

Johnny Cage & The Voodoo Groove

Jam With Robina

The Kix

perfect.

 

We are arranging our first music video shoot over the next month and we have been chosen as band of the month by roomthirteen.com so there will be a link and info on that soon just had the first mastered track from our session at the studios, and it is sounding really burning hot.

This could be brilliant.

Green Rooms That Aren't Green

(Original post date 01 Dec 2009)

BOOM! monday night rockin' at the Green Rooms, we whipped through passing cars as a warm up and then it was straight into some new stuff, we covered a lot of ground tonight, there is a new song titled 'Dirty Blonde' that weighs in at eight and a half minutes that is, as Tom would say 'Covered in riffs' in all fairness it is an absolute MONSTER (Baby Monster if you will....see what I did there?) we haven't played it live yet because well, we don't want to frighten the crowd off. Then...well.... then there was the embryonic stages of a new song coming from a few chords I was playing around with on my acoustic a few weeks ago and it looks like it's going to be a new favourite of ours, a real sexy slow burner...I'll keep you posted.

We are looking at recording a new EP in Jan/Feb at Terra Firma studios, we will get a few newer songs done and hopefully 'We cold both use someone' which especially close to my heart and my favourite to play live so I'll let all you Reclusites know the score on that when we book the studio time.

 

Oh, come and watch us on the 3rd in the Meze Lounge and on the 4th at Cwmparc, we have been getting distand mutterings from indie labels recently which is extremely groovy, also EPE (thats the punk-rock juggernaut that is Eject Pilot Eject for all you Recluse beginners) and ourselves are caressing each other with regards to a few possible gigs in Europe which really tickles my balls. France is in Europe y'know, and that's *Charch's favourite country.

*Charch is Davies

SpiderKittenareawesome.

 

we were dancing in her room
to the rhythm of a flickering candle
you live forever in a photograph
forever young with a painted mouth
- Recluse...Dirty Blonde.

Zync, Pilots and strippers

(Original post date 29 Nov 2009)

Well, we were excited about tonight's show because we got to watch the awesome Eject Pilot Eject, there was another band playing called Calling Madison who also did their pop-rock thang well.

The crowd was a little thin on the crowd probbaly due to Athlete playing next door and the torrential rain but I knew it was going to be one of 'those' nights when we had to stop our soundcheck because there was a stripper hanging about giving dudes lapdances upstairs, but hey, that's rock and roll kids. Aftera bit of smoking and banter about booking a European tour next year with EPE we smashed into some songs during which my amp kept falling over (mainly because SOMEONE kept tilting it up against the wass mid-set for some reason, heigh-ho. Davies nearly burst into flames/tears/song because his drum kit was (as he put it later in the car) 'moving like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever' long live Davies I say.

The next gig is in Trefforest at The Green Rooms tomorrow where we will get all dressed up and funky, more on that tomorrow after the show.

(For EPE)

The first chord change in 'Harder than it needs to be' broke my heart, I clasped Davies for comfort, that EP is MINE.

keep on rockin'

Britt

Baby Monster Review (Gig Reviewer)

(Original post date 23 Nov 2009)

Recluse, a three piece band hailing from Cardiff, Wales, was formed in July 2008.

Since then, they have been described as a strange Queen Of The Stone Age, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Kyuss, Pearl Jam fusion, and have released their debut EP, 'Baby Monster', which GigReviewer.com have the pleasure of reviewing.

A pleasure it is indeed, as this 5 track EP is a fantastic work of music, where two of these tracks have been featured in a documentary about bikers going around LA.

The EP opens with 'Come On Over', featuring a hard hitting drum beat before the catchy, yet puncy, guitar riff pushes its way through the barricades.  As the riff flows and changes, the smooth, yet grungy, vocals interrupt to bring a fantastic start to the 5 tracks you are ready to hear.

The mood changes as the Baby Monster EP works its way through to the next track, 'Back In The Ground Again'.  This has a softer opening to the song, but gets heavier as it progresses.

A few harmonic hits, followed by yet more classic riffs bring you on to 'Lover', the third track, and you start to get a feel for the bands talents of working with different moods.  This is full of harmonising guitar, bass and vocal patterns.  The bass has a very nice part to play during the chorus of this song and really brings him out of his shell.

The EP is full of fast, rythmic guitar patterns and solos that punch through your head and stick around.  The pure meat and noise produced from these three guys are so strong that once they've peirced your head (and ear drums) you can almost feel your mind bleed... it's great!

'Stranger' has an awesome opening also and makes the EP flow into some new realms, still keeping up that ultimate feel that this EP produces.  This is no change when we approach the final song on the EP, 'Blue Room'.

This last track does make a change, as we sit back and listen to all the raw musical talent to everyone as they play there four minute instrumental track, filled with different lines of speed and catchiness before it runs out to a nice solid end that makes you want to hear more.

About the Author Gary Smith - Photographer, Editor, Writer for GigReviewer.com

Baby Monster Review (courtesy of the lovely Sian Smith at Room Thirteen)

(Original post date 24 Aug 2009)

Let me introduce you to Cardiff-based indie trio Recluse, made up of vocalist and guitarist Britt Roberts, bassist Tom Stephenson and drummer Alex Davies. ‘Baby Monster’ is the band’s debut EP.

Packed full of dark, intriguing tracks, the band make you sit up and take notice straightaway with great guitar riffs throughout opening track ‘Come on Over’. Second track ‘Back in the Ground Again’ is a raw, no-nonsense rock song whilst ‘Lover’ is slightly softer but still retains the band's signature rough edging. Vocalist Britt Roberts’ voice is soft yet gritty with a powerful raw quality which is particularly sexy in this track! ‘Stranger’ has a very attractive bluesy quality which makes it stand out from the other tracks. The final track, ‘Blue Room’, ends the EP on a high; an entirely instrumental track that shows the world just how talented these guys are!

Recluse cannot be placed in the same box as your average indie band, for a start, they are not as mind-numbingly boring as the majority of mass-produced indie bands doing the rounds at present; in fact, I’d go as far as to say that, given time, they could do for indie what Black Sabbath did for metal - watch this space!

Track Listing
01 - Come On Over
02 - Back In The Ground Again
03 - Lover
04 - Stranger
05 - Blue Room

http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/10276/Recluse__Baby_Monster.html

Recluse at the moment

(Original post date 21 July 2009)

Things are looking good, a full calendar for the next month or two and some radio play, songwise things are taking a turn, and it's mostly our Jummers (read - drummers) fault. We have around 14 songs so a full album is on the cusp of being frittered out soon. The newest songs are longer and more 'proggy' gosh darn I miss the punk rock stuff (B-sides baby...B-sides) and the lyrics are branching out more, I'm happier now so it's hard to write such sad songs.

We have our first radio interview on Thursday, nore info on that soon but I am nervous about this, talking about song meanings is a new one for me so we'll see how it goes. I don't want to unveil to the public that all the songs are about whatever they may not be about.

'Between the torn love letters and the mountain slides, 

you give your father's stare with your mother's eyes... 

and I realise I'm a stranger here for the first time'

(Reckon it should be the lyric on the back of the T-shirts? Let us know)

Keep on proggin' (or rockin'),

Britt

Dead Fashion

(Original post date 05 July 2009)

Well, last night was awesome, tainted only by myself having an allergic reaction to some medication I am on. We played a booming set (Le Pub has easily the best sound engineer and monitor setup in South Wales) ending on a cover of Nirvana's Breed. Got appraoched by an engineer from BRFM after the gig who asked us if we wanted to p[lay a radio session with an interview so I'll keep everyone posted on that, i think it gets filmed in front of a small audience and then burned to a DVD so we can get some high quality vids up on Youtube etc. An awesome live band to keep an eye out for was the band after us 'Life! Death! Prizes!' they had a cool stage show and played a cover of Billie Jean that almost made my soul melt.

 

We have two new songs in the pipeline that are slightly more 'avant garde' than our usual rock stuff so we may try and get into a studio and burn out a few more songs for the Myspace (although surely you aren't getting bored of listening to Come On Over just yet? C'mon, that's the future hit of the summer!)

Loving the retro-rock comments we get at our gigs, last night was 'You guys rocked so hard I felt like it was '94 again'

winner.

 

P.S I noticed we haven't uploaded any pictures for a while so we are going to try and get a professional photgrapher at every show so that's something to keep your peepers peeled for.

 

Cheers,

Britt