Tagged: hms morris

We are delighted to welcome  My Name Is Ian  back onto our release schedule after an uncharacteristically long development period for their latest album,  Fantastic Company , out via  Bubblewrap Collective  on  4 ^th June 2021 .

The band’s standard ‘prolific-and-terrific’ approach, culminating in no less than 18 releases since 2010, has been put to one side, with their latest being written and recorded over two years, with time spent in four different locales (Cardiff’s  Rat Trap  and  King’s Road Studios , the pop-up  Snowbird Studios in Riofreddo, Italy and  Axe and Trap Studio in Wells). The resultant LP takes a substantive shift from the garage-pop of previous records and leaps double-footed into a charmingly wonky, indie-dance parallel universe where almost anything seems possible.

Placing centrally the multi-layered, pre-programmed beats of in-house production guru, Joseph Coleby, live instrumentation including electric guitar, four different keyboards and synths, smooth funk-soul bass and hand percussion are also liberally sprinkled throughout.

Flanking Reginald Foxwell’s ever-incisive lead vocals are over 20 other singers including members of  The Burning Hell, Quiet Marauder, HMS Morris  and more. The aggregated effect of this production methodology, musicianship, and spirit of sonic adventurism is a warming, texturally deep and irresistibly catchy set of tracks straddling pop, hip-hop and experimental soundscapes.

The next single to be released from  Fantastic Company  will be  Where is The Time? Featuring  HMS Morris  on  16 ^th April 2021 . The album will be available on limited edition heavyweight black vinyl and across all the usual digital streaming and retail platforms.


Links: 

https://mynameisian.com
https://twitter.com/goodmynameisian
https://bubblewrapcollective.co.uk/artists/my-name-is-ian/
https://mynameisian.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/mynameisianmusic

A  multi-dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound  - Clash

HMS Morris’ knowledge and creativity within the electronic-psych genre is expansive and satisfying  -  Jill Goyeau, Get In Her Ears

Hot on the heels of the well-received Babanod, released in early February, HMS Morris are now pleased to present Poetry. It’s the second in a series of singles due for release in 2020, and will be available from April 1st on Bubblewrap Records.

The song reflects the sliding scale of madness that results from unreciprocated obsessive love. Beginning with some light-hearted hypothetical quasi-stalking, singer Heledd Watkins then moves through self-criticism, recrimination, and finally a full-on banshee-wail of desperation. Structurally the music is indebted to Ravel’s Bolero, a repeating ostinato rising steadily from very quiet to very loud – although in Poetry, HMS cover twice the volume in half the time, in acknowledgement of the limited attention span of the snapchat generation.

Poetry will be available digitally from all the usual platforms. 

Following the release of ‘Babanod’, ‘Poetry’ and ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ earlier in the year, HMS Morris are back with the fourth and final single in the series, ‘Partypooper’, will be released on November 6th.

Songwriter Heledd Watkins explains Partypooper’s origins thus:

‘It’s a response to the mental highs and lows of being a musician – or any kind of human person really. A great deal of us struggle with a little internal partypooper, a malignant imp who likes to wait until we’re at our happiest before screwing up her mean little face and blowing mightily on her shit-horn of doubt and regret, leaving our ears ringing and our confidence in tatters as she skips gleefully away. She’s not above putting the boot in when you’re down either; during the downtime in between gigs, or as you’re reading a crap review of a record you spent the last year perfecting, or when you see a hype band flying past at 100 miles an hour to New Music Friday-land or some equally alluring destination. We all have one. We all deal with them in different ways. Here’s hoping that mine has a fear of high-tempo Latin numbers with horns and distorted wailing.’

Partypooper features guest appearances from the superb Owain Gruffudd and Gwyn Owen from Band Pres Llareggub (Owain also arranged the brass). Iestyn Jones is on drums. It was recorded at St Peter’s and Fitzhamon Studio in Cardiff, and Stiwdio Sain in Llandwrog. Partypooper will be available to stream or purchase digitally from all the usual platforms.

Yn dilyn y senglau ‘Babanod’, ‘Poetry’ a ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ yn gynharach elenni, bydd HMS Morris yn ôl gyda’r bedwaredd sengl yn y gyfres, a’r olaf, ar Dachwedd y 6ed. Ei henw yw ‘Partypooper’.

Ebe Heledd:

‘Mae’r gân yn ymateb i’r uchderau ac iselfanau meddyliol sy’n rhan o fywyd cerddor – neu unryw berson a dweud y gwir. Mae nifer fawr ohonom ni’n ymrafael â partypooper bach mewnol, ryw hen ‘sguthan flin sy’n joio torri ar draws dy hwyl gyda’i hutgorn alarus, gan aros nes dy fod di’n hapus dy fyd ac yna’n dy foddi mewn atseiniau o amheuon ac edifeirwch. Ac dyw hi ddim rhy browd i dy gicio di pan wyt ti lawr chwaith; wrth i ti ddarllen adolygiad gâs o record rwyt ti newydd dreulio blwyddyn yn gweithio arni, yn ystod y saib ryfedd yna rhwng gigs, neu pan wyt ti’n gweld y band-heip diweddaraf yn hedfan heibio ar 100 milltir yr awr ar eu ffordd i diroedd gyfriniol New Music Friday neu debyg. Mae un ganddon ni i gyd. Ry’n ni oll yn delio â nhw mewn ffyrdd gwahanol. Dwi’n gobeithio fod fy un i â ffobia o diwns Latin tempo-uchel gyda chyrn a sgrechfeydd’.

Mae Partypooper yn elwa o gyfraniadau gwych Owain Gruffudd a Gwyn Owen o Fand Pres Llaregub (diolch hefyd i Owain am y trefniant brass). Iestyn Jones sydd ar y dryms. Fe’i recordiwyd yn Stiwdio Fitzhamon a St Peter’s yng Nghaerdydd, a Stiwdio Sain yn Llandwrog. Bydd Partypooper ar gael i’w ffrydu a’i phwrcasu yn ddigigol o’r llefydd arferol.

Following the release of two pre-covid singles ‘Babanod’ and ‘Poetry’, HMS Morris are back with the third in the series,  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol.’ , which translates as ‘International Students’. The single will be released on September 16 ^th

HMS Morris HQ is nestled on the edge of one of the most multicultural streets in Cardiff, City Road. It’s a noisy, colourful cosmopolitan crush of restaurants, shisha bars and barbers, which have recently been invaded by posh student accommodation projects. But while this may have been the initial impetus behind  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ , by the time it had solidified into a definite sound and feel it was no longer a rant about fancy student halls.

Rather it had become an assertion that the world be a better place if we were all International Students. In the context of this summer’s global race-relations reckoning, there is a general moral imperative for us all to become students of the international: to watch the news as if it’s our own story, to actually take it in, to learn and adapt our behaviour. We should be prepared to immerse ourselves in other cultures, just like the international students of City Rd do.

'Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol'  will be available to stream or purchase digitally from all the usual platforms.

See them  not  live:

September 10-12 – Waves Vienna Digital Showcase
October - ‘Out of Focus’ Digital Festival organised by Focus Wales

Watch it back:

HMS Morris live from Cultvr Lab Cardiff -  https://www.cultvr.cymru/hmsmorris/

Yn dilyn y senglau cyn-covid ‘Babanod’ a ‘Poetry’, mae HMS Morris yn ôl efo’r drydedd yn y gyfres, ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol.’  Fe fydd y sengl yn cael ei ryddhau ar Medi 16eg.
 
Mae hwb creadigol HMS Morris yn swatio ger un o strydoedd mwyaf amlddywilliannol Caerdydd, City Road. Mae’n gawl gosmopolitaidd o fwytai, shisha bars a barbwyr – sydd yn ddiweddar wedi eu gorlethu gan neuaddau posh i fyfyrwyr. Problem enbyd heb os, ond er mai hyn oedd yr ysgogiad gwreiddiol tu ôl i  ‘Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol’ , erbyn iddi galedu yn deimlad a sain pendant doedd hi ddim yn rant am neuaddau myfyrwyr swanc bellach, ond yn hytrach yn fyfyriad ar faint o le gwell fyddai’r byd petaen ni i gyd yn fyfyrwyr rhyngwladol.

Yng ngyd-destun y daeargryn cymdeithasol byd-eang ddechreuodd yn Minneapolis ym mis Mai, mae hi’n ddyletswydd moesol arnom ôll i astudio y rhyngwladol: i wylio’r newyddion fel mai ein stori ni ein hunain yw e, i’w ystyried yn ofalus, i ddysgu ac addasu ein ymddygiad. Dylen ni fod yn yn barod i drochi mewn diwyllianau eraill, yn union fel mae myfyrwyr rhyngwladol City Road yn gwneud.
 
Fe fydd ' Myfyrwyr Rhyngwladol'  ar gael yn ddigidol i’w ffrydu a’i lawrlwytho o’r manau arferol.
 
Gwyliwch nhw ddim cweit yn fyw - 

Medi 10-12 – Gwyl Ddigidol Waves Vienna
Hydref - ‘Out of Focus’ Gwyl Ddigidol Focus Wales
 
Gwyliwch yn ôl:  

HMS Morris live from Cultvr Lab Cardiff -   https://www.cultvr.cymru/hmsmorris/  

HMS Morris are a Welsh Art-Pop group that delve into the wonky, odd-ball side of psychedelia, finding the balance between bold experimentalism without giving up accessibility. ‘Morbid Mind’ and ‘Arth’ showcase the range of the band’s songwriting, sailing from a White Denim –esque fluster to melodies reminiscent of traditional Welsh folk music. ‘Morbid Mind’ explores the morbid curiosity that resides within all of us, that drives the popularity of ‘murderabilia’ and lies behind the rubbernecking instinct. The lure of the morbid can be explained as a noble desire to empathise with the unfortunate, but can also lead to obsession, insanity, even death...

‘Arth’ (Welsh for ‘Bear’), is a tribute to an animal associated in cultures around the world with spiritual strength, courage, and harmony with the cycles of the Earth. Today, as the fight intensifies to overcome the forces destroying our global communities and habitats, it seems more important than ever for us to channel the spirit of Arth. Following the success of their debut album ‘Interior Design’ the band are excited to showcase new material alongside old favourites and will be hitting the road from April.

Live Dates

June 23rd -  Chester Live, Chester
July 1st -  Gwyl Tafwyl Festival, Llandaff Fields, Cardiff.

Biography

HMS Morris are a Welsh Art-Pop group that delve into the wonky, odd-ball side of psychedelia, finding the balance between bold experimentalism without giving up accessibility. 'With an undercurrent of post-punk edginess, the group toy with colliding synthesisers and cooing vocals and still manage to create something cohesive and alluring' (Clunk).

Released in November 2016, the band's debut album 'Interior Design' is 'a real trip, a multi- dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound' (Clash), and with an as yet untitled follow-up already in production, it seems the voyage is just getting started.

Photo credit: Rhodri Brooks