That’s what the group formerly known as The Sharp Five is known as these days (the ‘+’ is in case of people sitting in with us). We’ve done a couple of dates at The Chequers in Brighton, which is a great little pub and seems to be developing a good reputation for jazz. I put together an EP from our last gig there.

I’ve finally got around to updating/uploading some short clips of a few of the recordings I’ve been involved with over the last few years (although to be fair the oldest clip goes back to February 2009!) It’s made me want to resurrect Undercurrent, if it’s just as a bit of home studio fun.

Speaking of (or referring to) nostalgia for old projects, I’m doing a couple of gigs with Sussex Uni Big Band next week. I will know a maximum of two people. It’ll be fun, and strange.

A couple of announcements about Death Ape, making official some of the stuff which I may or may not have jumped the gun on with the last post.

Brighton’s Death Ape Disco sign with Ripple Music

For various reasons I’ve been offline for a while (as far as this site is concerned), but it’s time for a quick update on what’s going on. As of last June Death Ape Disco are a signed band! Thanks to TBFM Magazine’s online Battle of the Bands we have a one-album deal with Ripple Records. The writing process for the new album is approaching the home straight with many of the songs coming together and several being rehearsed to the point of being able to debut them at our comeback gig at the Prince Albert, Brighton on May 9th.

Towards the end of last year I reunited with B-Func, my erstwhile university function band. We’ve been getting back together for random gigs every couple of years since entering the real world, but this time is different – we will be playing a few dates to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity. They do great work in an area which has affected several of us in the band. Dates TBC, but I can’t wait to get out there with this band again – it’s always a great gig for us and for the discerning funk fan, with choice cuts of TOP, Herbie and Jaco alongside the usual cover band staples.

I haven’t done a whole lot of composition work since I left college, but I’ve put some of the bits I did in the last few years on Soundcloud. One is a piece called O for vibraphone, bass clarinet and choir, which I wrote while at Trinity; the recording is of a performance at the South Bank Centre as part of 2011 Ether Festival.

 

The others are a couple of short cues for ‘The Headonists’, a production by Hove-based theatre company ID Parade. Rhino In The Study is the theme tune for a fictional philosophy TV programme, Gumshoe is fairly self-explanatory.

As promised, here’s the track that Left Arm Pregnant recorded at Ford Lane Studio on Jan 15th. It’s a free download, and we’re all really happy with it, it sounds huge. Enjoy!

Over Christmas my Left Arm Pregnant bandmates and I were overcome with goodwill and decided to make our EP available on ‘name your price’ download at our Bandcamp page:

http://leftarmpregnant.com/

We’ve recently been in the studio again, having received an incredibly generous offer from Ford Lane Studio near Arundel for a day’s free recording. We recorded a track called F.I.N.E and it sounded massive, producers Rob and Sam did an incredible job.

OK, OK… “More to come on Death Ape Disco” I said, and then nothing for 8 months. Sorry. Well, what’s happened since May? I’m still playing with Death Ape and having much fun doing so – most recently we shot a music video for a track called 10,000 Years which should be ready pretty soon. Left Arm Pregnant recorded an EP, The Harvest, in the autumn (appropriately enough) which is now available to buy – you can hear a sample of it below, complete with nerdtastic prog rock Hammond solo by yours truly. And I’ve started playing trombone with a reggae band, Samsara, with whom I had the pleasure of supporting Black Uhuru in Brighton over the summer. 4 months later I can still feel the low end from that gig. Plus, of course, the usual function-oriented activities, including a tasty little swing and jazz quintet with a great singer who can best be described as Sinatra meets Meatloaf – good times and good tunes.

I’m now Watford-based after 18 months living in Brighton – still doing plenty of South coast gigs but will be looking to increase London work in the New Year.

 

Lots of exciting things to mention since the last post. Despite taking the plunge into the previously uncharted territory of a day job I’ve taken on a few new projects, including a rock and metal function band and a couple of jazz things in the pipeline. Most recently I’ve started playing with a great rock band, Death Ape Disco, who I’ll be depping for on bass for 6 months or so. Check out their album Supervolcano, released in March, here:

http://deathapedisco.bandcamp.com/

Quite different from any playing I’ve done before, and I’m finding it interesting adjusting my style to play the songs properly. In particular my usual OCD avoidance of open strings has gone right out the window, and in a nerdish way it’s a liberating feeling! More to come on Death Ape Disco no doubt.

Finally, Sneaky Low Five have been recording a demo in new bassist Dave’s home studio, and he’s done an awesome job on it. You can listen to it here:

http://m.soundcloud.com/harrycodrums/sets/sneaky-low-five-demo-ep