Profile of Lynskey

Stop slapfighting pls

Brilliant idea.

There was a thread in COH2 Gameplay asking about the music from the last show, so I thought it was time to get off my bum and make this thread about this season's music.


The main SNF soundtrack is available here for free, containing the theme and various other original bits of music I've done for previous seasons.


The song from the hype video is "Greta Moon Sugar" by the fantastic Octobuse, a cross-Atlantic collaboration by two awesome artists in their own right, Shirokuma and Mita Lupa.


The music between the rounds this season is made up of bands I know or from near where I'm from, most of whom are featured weekly on the Studio109 Live and Online podcast, which unfortunately clashes with SNF on a Sunday for the live broadcast, but is available here during the week. Unfortunately due to Soundcloud's maximum time length per profile, past episodes tend to get deleted to make way for the new show.

CAT CALLED DOG
The track "Find Your Way" is a stomping bit of blues rock from a fairly new duo comprised of two regulars from our local scene. They're gigging all over the North of England at the moment and generating a fair bit of buzz.

DAVE BEESTON
Dave is a veteran lounge singer and singer-songwriter who now bashes out amazingly well written tracks in the style of Elton John and many others, in his legendary shed. I could have picked a number of tracks, but went for "Lot to Be Said"

DEGENERATION FUZZ
Another local band causing a few waves, they've recently signed a deal and have been in the studio recording their first EP, of which SNF track "Alcohol" is one. Unashamedly old-school grunge, they're a ton of fun and as passionate as you'll get.

LYNSKEY
Little old me. There's two of my tracks on rotation for this season, the grunge-meets-DJ Shadow "First Wave" and the fast and furious "3Stigmata" and this collaboration with Deb Halliwell, Solar Trip

SELLENIUM
Sellenium are one of the big focal points of the local scene here and pretty much every band I know has benefited from their kindness and enthusiasm. They're all brilliant musicians and are one of the best live bands you'll see. You'll hear "Breaking Smile" and "Stop the World" during this season.

SHIROKUMA
Mark Corrin aka Shirokuma is one of my oldest friends and has put out four albums now of quirky, original electronic music and has gained Singles of the Week in NME and on Radio 6 in the past, as well as being remixed by some of the best in UK electronica. The two tracks on the SNF mixtape are from his awesome last album "Abandonware", "When the Doll Comes Alive" and "Anti-Society and UNKLE overlord"

SUICYANIDE
Suicyanide are another cornerstone of our local scene. Proper Punk, acerbic, melodic and with some sharp as a razor lyrics to boot. I struggled to pick just two songs for this season, but went with "Life's Full of Surprises" and "Pain is not the Cure".

THE BIRCH HOUSE BROTHERS
This is my brother-in-laws band, from Sheffield. They've got a really wry sense of humour and some great beards, as well as great little songs that fall somewhere between Pulp and The Strokes. The track "Fool" is a big favourite of mine and will get stuck in your head at some point this season.

THE BOOK THIEVES
The Book Thieves are mainstays of the Liverpool music scene, with a sort-of-familiar but somehow one-of-a-kind indie guitar sound that's a joy to listen to. They're really richly textured and balance experiment with swooping melodies. Unfortunately the track from this season of SNF, "Spinning Yarns" isn't online, but you can check them out of Facebook here.

THE INKHEARTS
Young, catchy, indie as anything and infectious as hell, The Inkhearts are a big up and coming band. Within a year they've gone from the rehearsal room to supporting The Alfedoras at the O2 Academy in Liverpool. Their stuff should probably come with a warning that if you hear it once you'll find yourself singing it all day. Featured on this season of SNF are two tracks from their debut EP, "Great Escape" and "Secrets"

XEVIOUS CUBOID
The 'Xev provide the dance music for this seasons in-between breaks. Their first album "Cityscapes" is a pretty damn masterful exploration of different genres and ideas, a really engaging listen and danceable as you could wish for. You can get the album on I-Tunes here.

ZENITH GLOW
Zenith Glow is the project of accomplished flamenco guitarist, jaw-dropping rock guitarist and generally all-round axe magician Alex MacKenzie. I produced an EP for him last year, from which the SNF track "In Your Wake" is taken, that sees him go back to his Alt-Rock roots.

It was a really nice of Ami to let me have free reign with the incidental music for this season. I think it's important to give as much support as you can to great bands where you are and to give something back. There's a ton of other acts I could have put on too, so who knows I might see if Funk doesn't mind another .zip file. It is frustrating these days to hear people complain about the undeniably plastic quality of music that's around, yet knowing at the same time there are great bands out there trying their hardest. We live in a bad time for up and coming artists where you have to be a hair-dye commercial or a pin-up to get anywhere, or even worse if you want to actually make a living you have to be a covers band performing some old hits in a wig.

I hope a few of you latch on to some of these tracks and investigate these bands further, what's more I really hope it inspires you to check out your own local scene and take a chance on some new bands. It can be joyless, but it can also be a lot of fun, and when you do find something great it's amazing to be a part of it.

Better be strategy talk and not mouldy old political stuff in this thread or it'll be moved to the Scrap Yard.