Hello,

Faith’s Meat Kiosk was officially released today, so Happy Release Day to us.

You can now buy Faith’s Meat Kiosk in iTunes, or stream it from Spotify, or find it in any number of other well-known digital retailers. You can also now listen to the whole LP over on our Bandcamp page where you can purchase a download, some seasoning, a CD, or various combinations of all or most of these.

Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered music and / or chicken seasoning in the last month or so.  We’ve had messages from a lot of you to say that your packages arrived over the weekend, so we’re going to assume everyone got their goodies before the official release. If you pre-ordered a download only, or if you purchased something tangible, check your email inboxes for your download codes.

We hope you enjoy the record!

Love from,

Friends of the Stars

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Hello.

Our 2nd LP, “Faith’s Meat Kiosk“, is coming out on 23rd April 2012 and to celebrate we’ve teamed up with Birmingham’s wonderful Jack Rabbit and created our very own Fried Chicken Seasoning.

You can pre-order it now from our shop. It comes in a number of flavours, all of which include a download of the “Faith’s Meat Kiosk” LP. All prices for physical goods include postage and packing.

Digital Download - £3 (or more, if you wish)

Fried Chicken Seasoning - £5 - a 50g packet of our fabulous seasoning

CD - £12 - a ‘vinyl’ CD in a full colour gatefold sleeve

Combo - £15 - the CD and the seasoning..

DELUXE! - £25 - 2 (TWO!) packets of seasoning, a CD copy of “Faith’s Meat Kiosk“, a CD copy of our first LP, “Lighting & Electrical“, and a handmade, numbered, uber-limited CD of demos and live versions of the songs from the “Faith’s Meat Kiosk” LP.

If you’d like to order some, or spread the word, go to www.friendsofthestars.co.uk/music

We really hope you enjoy the new songs and the seasoning. Both were made with love.

Cheers,

Friends of the Stars

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The next release on the label is the wonderful EP by Fields of Ypres, “For Every Hour”.  As of Monday 31st October, you’ll find the EP available in all good digital retailers. You can also get a digital copy of the EP for a name-your-price download on the Commercially Inviable Bandcamp page.

This EP is part of an ongoing series of limited edition EPs from the label. We have 100 physical copies of the EP available as a CD single, each of which comes in a hand-made, numbered sleeve, and with a download code. These will be available from Bandcamp and at forthcoming Fields of Ypres shows.

We’re really happy to be adding Fields of Ypres to our small but perfectly formed roster. Fields of Ypres is Graham Phillips, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Wolverhampton, UK who decided to contact us in 2010 to see if we’d be interested in releasing his tunes. It didn’t take us long to decide that we would like that very much indeed.

We’ll let Graham take up the story from here and allow him to explain his chosen name and what brought him here…

“The evocative name is a metaphor for new life, every year the fields surrounding the town of Ypres flush red in a sea of poppies, a beautiful contrast to their painful history.  After recovering from a long drawn out illness in 2009, I returned home to the West Midlands and set about writing a new set of songs, I felt like I’d been given a fresh start.  My debut EP,  “For Every Hour”, recorded at home and at friends houses and then mixed and mastered by Mike Odmark over at Grey Matters Studios, Nashville, TN, is the culmination of this journey.  Drawing influence from songwriters such as Aaron Roche, Nathan Phillips, Bon Iver and Nick Drake amongst others, I’ve sought to capture pieces of life in their fleeting, bittersweet and beautiful form.”

We hope you enjoy the EP. We think it’s one of the best we’ve released so far.

All the best,

COMMERCIALLY INVIABLE

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Next up on Commercially Inviable Records will be the wonderful LP ”An Ocean Full of Broken Stars” by Richard Burke. The LP comes out on Monday 15th August, when it will be available worldwide through your friendly and local digital retailer. If you can’t wait until 15th August you can head over to the Commercially Inviable pages on Bandcamp where you’ll find the whole album available to stream now.

If you like what you hear, please spread the word.

If you really like what you hear then could purchase a Name-Your-Price download copy (a minimum price of £1), and spread the word by sharing that around with our blessing.

If you really, really like what you hear, then you could buy one of the ultra limited CD copies, which comes with a free download.

Limited CD release….

As well as being available in all the usual digital outlets and via Bandcamp, we also have a limited number of handmade CD albums available. Each one comes with a printed lyric sheet and a bonus live EP. The CDs are available via the Bandcamp page for £8 + p&p

Sharing…

As with all of our releases we hope to reach as many discerning music fans as we can. It’s a big world out there and it has a short attention span, so getting our music heard can be a tricky thing to do. We’re a small label without much of a budget and even less of a clue, but it’s not impossible, not with your help, anyway. We happen to think Richard and this LP  are pretty great, so if you do too please do pass around these links to your Twitter buddies, Facebook friends and whoever else you hang around with.

Link to this page: http://is.gd/KIpSAS

Link to Richard’s LP on Bandcamp: http://is.gd/sJVwDL

About Richard Burke..

Richard Burke previously screamed his way through seven years of Indie rock mayhem with the wonderfully shambolic Starries before deciding that his delicate, lusty vocal chords were much better suited to the comparatively quieter world of off-kilter folk.

“An Ocean Full Of Broken Stars”, clocks in at just under 30 minutes and is simply a magical, mesmerising collection of songs. Listeners to the album will immediately be drawn to the track “Brown Eyes, Dark Hair” and his stunning, highly personal take on Yazoo’s “Only You”.

Throughout the record and at his live shows, Burke consistently wraps his words and melodies around musical arrangements that would fall flat in the hands of less dexterous vocalists. Whilst Indie Rock mourns his loss, Off-Kilter Folk can rejoice as he melds the fluent guitar style of Jose Gonzalez to the tunefulness of Teenage Fanclub, all the while incorporating his wonderfully quirky and often heart-wrenching lyrics.

To paraphrase the shy, often self-deprecating man himself, some people just think he’s shit. A more generous, objective observer would suggest that such people merely fail to see his worth. For the record, we think the naysayers are misguided fools.

Enjoy the LP!

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a whole heap of news for you this time round.

indietracks: first up, i’m delighted to be playing indietracks festival this coming weekend. i’ll be on the church stage at2.20pm on saturday 30th july. if you come and see me play, one of my glamorous assistants will give you a free cd! you can have a free copy of the basic cd version of respect on the door. all my stuff will be on sale at the merch stall, but if you want to get a freebie, you have to come to the show.

new single: my next single will be out very soon on where it’s at is where you are records. this download single closes the loop on my respect project, which had me covering a whole heap of songs from the 1980s and already incorporated 12 monthly downloads in 2010, an album and single released at midnight 1st january 2011. there was a competition to choose two 1980s songs for me to cover for the second single. luckily, the winners, dunc vernon and tim chamberlain, showed excellent taste and you’ll be able to download my versions of “flowers” by galaxie 500 and “pristine christine” by the sea urchins. nice!

	you know, for kids!: i’ve just recorded a new song for the pop! for kids project. it’s a great idea, getting artists to make music for kids that doesn’t suck - a must for culturally aware parents everywhere. you can download for free my version ofpure imagination, originally sung by the great gene wilder in my all-time favourite film, willy wonka & the chocolate factory.
	website update: i’ve finally got round to adding a shopping cart to the music page. this makes it much easier for you to order multiple items. when you click on “add to cart” a shopping cart is automatically generated. you can review and amend your purchases before you buy. p.s. you don’t need a paypal account to buy anything.
	i’ve uploaded the complete works of krafla to soundcloud. you can download all the tracks for free! for those of you who don’t know… “lovely electronica.” huw stephens, bbc radio 1. krafla was steve hough (einstellung / cable regime / godflesh / grover) and simon fox. extending the experimental tendencies of grover, krafla developed into a long-term project, mixing live instruments and electronica. a debut 7″ single on static caravan records was followed by an e.p. release on bearos records. krafla add layers of depth and instrumentation to fragile song structures and delicate melodies.

gigs
29th-31st july 2011
indietracks festival butterley station, butterley hill, ripley de5 3qz
with jeffrey lewis, edwyn collins, jonny and loads more…
stop press: i’m on in the church on saturday afternoon, 2.20pm - free cd for everyone who attends my show!

13th august 2011
a grand day in
the windmill 22 blenheim garden, london wc1n 3lz
(all-dayer)

10th november 2011
folk for free
birmingham symphony hall* centenary square, birmingham
(*foyer!)

cheerio!
FOX

–
www.worldoffox.com
www.ruthgreendesign.com

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James Summerfield and his new band will be recording his fourth album in July 2011. It will be released as a ’name your price’ download and as a strictly limited CD. Although we do not have an official release date, it’s likely to be available before Christmas 2011.

In the meantime, James is inviting you to suggest the title for his new LP. This is from his website:

“If you would like to order a signed hard copy of the album with artwork etc, then send an email to james@jamessummerfieldmusic.com stating your name and address, then we will reserve you a copy and make contact with you once the official release date is confirmed (please note, you do not have to pay at this stage). James would also like to hear your ideas for album titles so make sure you email your suggestion before August 2011, and if it makes it, you’ll get a free copy!”

To help you make your suggestion we’ve made 6 demo tunes available as a free download on our Bandcamp site. The winning entry will receive a credit in the sleeve notes, signed copies of the CD, and various other goodies. Also, and if you’re not too far away from Birmingham, we’ll see if we can get James and his band to come and play a special show just for you and your mates.

You can also suggest your title over on Twitter. James is @jwsummerfield and we are @cominrecoreds, or you can use the hashtag #namejslp in your post and we’ll find it.

Enjoy the tunes and get thinking!

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Tickets are £12 and available here

See you there!

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hello chums!

i’ve got some exciting news for this summer!

all aboard!
i’ll be playing this year’s indietracks festival! it’s great boutique festival in derbyshire. it features loads of indie bands and you get there by steam train! headliners this year are jeffrey lewis and edwyn collins, so i’m in pretty good company. details on which day and stage i’m playing as soon as they’re released. there’ll be an indietracks compilation coming out too, so look out for that. there’s even an interview with me here, if you’re interested.

as if that’s not enough, i’ll also be playing a lovely intimate little get together in varberg, sweden: blazfest. those lovely chaps the winter olympics asked me to play their annual indoor barbecue and all-dayer a grand day in at the brixton windmill.

respect is due
don’t forget that my respect competition closes on 1st june 2011. if you buy the deluxe version of my latest album, respect, and email me the limited edition number, you’ll go into the hat for a free prize draw. two winners get to choose a song from the 1980s which i will record as my next single! there’s only a handful left, so don’t leave it too late! if you’ve already bought it, email me with your edition number to enter.

on me shed, son
videos from the shed sessions we recorded last summer are finally online! i’ve posted them up on my blog so you can have a look.

so, here are the gig details:

29th may 2011
the free love club the yardbird, paradise place, birmingham b3 3hj

16th july 2011
blazfest varberg, sweden

29th-31st july 2011
indietracks festival, butterley station, butterley hill, ripley de5 3qz
with jeffrey lewis, edwyn collins and loads more…

13th august 2011
a grand day in, the windmill 22 blenheim garden, london wc1n 3lz
(all-dayer)

cheers
FOX

–
www.worldoffox.com
www.ruthgreendesign.com

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We’re gearing up for a bunch of releases on Commercially Inviable over the coming months and as a preview we’ve added a track from each to our Bandcamp page. You can listen to the songs there, or here on the player below. The sampler is also available as a free download.

A little general information about the releases, with more specific skinny for each release to tag along in due course.

“Dorset County Breakdown” by The Docherty Brothers will be the first in a new series of ultra-limited EPs that we’ll begin releasing into the wild this spring. We’ll follow this up with an EP from Young Runaways, “There Is A World Outside“, and another, as-yet-untitled EP, from Fields of Ypres. All 3 acts are new to the good ship Commercially Inviable, so please treat them gently.

We have a few more of these limited EPs up our sleeve, from friends old and new, so keep ‘em peeled. Physical copies of these EPs will be rare as hens’ teeth and available at gigs, or via mail order, only. Digital sales will, of course, be available online in all good music stores. 

To go next to these lovingly-crafted EPs in your record collections we’ll also be releasing the 2nd LP from Friends of the Stars, “Faiths Meat Kiosk“, which is finally complete, raring to go and sounding great. The album will be available on CD and download, and also in a very special limited edition. More details on that soon!  

Alongside these new releases we also have some digital re-issues in the pipeline. In 2008 we released James Summerfield’s 3rd LP, “Count To 10 & Start Again” and whilst we’ve been waiting for him to put the finishing touches to his 4th record, we’ve managed to get his first two LPs from cold storage and will be giving them a full, worldwide digital release for the first time. “Hailah, Hailah” (from 2004) and “Paint The Road” (from 2006) were CD-only upon their original releases but will finally see the ones-and-zeros light of day shortly, as will a LIVE EP, from 2005, that James recorded during shows he played in support of the Hailah, Hailah LP.

Additionally, and also on the re-issue tip, in time for their EP release on the label we’ll also be giving the full digital treatment to Young Runaways’ superb debut LP, a record that took them to all the way to Glastonbury, ”The Boy & The Beartrap“.

We hope you enjoy the songs.

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february FOX update

on me shed, son…

last summer me and a bunch of the commercially inviable chaps headed down the m5 to a shed in somerset, where we recorded some lo-fi live acoustic sessions. it’s taken a while to get the videos online (the shed has taken on a life of its own and jon, the genius behind it, has been way busy keeping on top of it all!) now they’re online, i’ve posted them up on my blog so you can have a look for yourself!

other artists to have graced the shed include micah p hinson, roddy woomble, even steve harley! you can have a look at their sessions here: www.songsfromtheshed.com.

i’ve got a brace o’ nice gigs coming up in the next week, too:

2nd march
island bar
suffolk st queensway, birmingham

tour support for eux autres, who are a fine band from san francisco (think ‘beach house‘ but with better songs). also on the bill is sheffield indiepop hero pete green’s new outfit, the sweet nothings. it’s going to be lovely, so come on down.

8th march
totally acoustic
the lamb
94 lamb’s conduit st, london wc1n 3lz

this is one of my favourite gigs to do. free in, with a whip round for the acts. run by the hardest working man in indie, mj hibbett! when he’s not touring the globe doing comedy musicals dressed as a dinosaur, mj hibbett has a lovely little acoustic night where invited guests play in a room above a pub with no p.a., no mics, nothing. intimate, friendly and always good fun, totally acoustic is a quiet revelation. me and mj will be playing with peter buckley hill and jenny lockyer.
(early gig - starts 7pm)


cheers,
FOX

–
www.worldoffox.com
www.ruthgreendesign.com

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