OWL HAS FANS FROM FINLAND, NEW YORK, SWANSEA, VALENCIA, BARCELONA, MADRID, SPAIN, DERBYSHIRE, AUSTRALIA, BERLIN, BRISTOL, CORNWALL, WALES, ,LIVERPOOL, LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW, PARIS, MEXICO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, JAPAN, PORTUGAL. BRAZIL, NEW YORK, OREGON, TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, ISTANBUL AND SO MUCH MORE.IN JUST 4 MONTHS OF BEING IN MYSPACE OWL HAS RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF EMAILS OF SUPPORT AND CURIOSITY ABOUT THE BAND. DUE TO DEMAND, WE ARE CONSIDERING PUTTING THE FULL ALBUM UP FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD SOON. WATCH THIS SPACE!!!OWL is a new band with quite an original sound. The mini-album majo is an eclectic mix of tunes and moods. Joyful, ironic, sincere, melancholy and a bit wild, at times. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. While OWL is not easily defined, there are traces of Nick Drake, Syd Barrett, the Violent Femmes and Ray Davies somewhere in the mix. OWL is both traditional and modern. Good tunes countin large amount. OWL is truly timeless. 9 song mini-album of Owl majo available!
Do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail:
[email protected].......................................
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.....................The Owl story begins in the early nineties as The Space Raiders, part of the underground music scene of Swansea, Wales. The Manic Street Preachers are fellow students at the University. The Space Raiders became part of that legendary Swansea 90s underground music scene, supporting and hanging out with The Sweetest Ache, The Green Inspiration band, James Hollingsworth, Nick Birdsall and more. Their first gig experience in Swansea was as part of the meagre audience, witnessing a bristling Manic Street Preachers live set in 1990 with fewer than 100 people at the Mandela Bar, sharing a bill with Attila the Stockbroker.
Man, those were the days!.......................................................
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...............After jamming under various guises, The Space Raiders were formed by Will McCarthy (vocals, guitar) and Jim Mitchell (guitar), Jo Astridge (bass) and Jamie Buchanan (drums) in 1992. The Space Raiders irreverently mixed and match the space-rock of Syd Barretts Pink Floyd, the cracked folk balladry of Bert Jansch/ Nick Drake, the Hispanic touches of Arthur Lee and Love, raunchy Muddy Water blues, dirty funk instrumentals, the vaudeville of the Kinks and the punk venom of The Stooges. The influences may have been retro but the Raiders sound was very much its own, timeless creation....................................................
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......................................Playing a set of completely original tunes, they won the Swansea University Battle of the Bands 1993. With the prize money they recorded, in classic folk-punk fashion, an entire album in 2 days at the Slate Street Studios, Swansea, produced by Marc Elton.
The completely original album The Space Raiders has become a collectors item, due to its limited edition status, and marries jazzy, stop-start tunes, folky polkas and waltzes with brutal space-rock and wah-wah punk rock interludes as well as lost love and joy of life vibes. A sense of humour was never to too far way with The Space Raiders, on stage or on record. From1992 to 1994, The Space Raiders played endless parties, clubs, pubs, cafes, halls and even an open air festival. Memorable gigs include rocking sets at Vincents in Mumbles, a stoned double header with The Green Inspiration band at Mandela bar, an all dayer at Patti Pavillion as part of the anti-criminal justice bill(with Man and Mary Byker on the bill) and a double header with the Sweetest Ache at the Café Select.It should be noted that The Manic Street Preachers lost the Battle of the bands but became enormously and justifiably famous while the Raiders imploded the following summer of 1994 with a final bloody concert at The Lake on the Inn, Swansea! That same summer of 1994, Creation Records expressed a real interest in The Space Raiders and invited them to showcase the album in London. By that time it was too late. The band was splitting up and there was no way back! Singer/songwriter and guitarist Will McCarthy was bound for travelling, teaching English and soaking up the influences of abroad in Czechoslovakia, Italy and Spain. He has chosen to settle in Spain, where he continues to write endless songs and edits and runs 24/7 Valencia magazine. Jim Mitchell was to spend many years travelling & working with his conservation projects; Denmark, Russia, U.S.A and the West Coast of Scotland. He is currently living in England. The bassist Jo is based in Cornwall. has 2 children, is involved in IT and teaching and is currently playing in a ska-punk band. Jamie is married to Marie, they have 2 children , and are based in Birmingham, England.....................................................
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............................................The two main songwriters, Will and Jim, have stayed in touch and continue to write, jam and play live in their respective countries of adoption. Owls majo is the first outing of their new project. It is a 9 song mini-album of Space Raiders tracks and new songs. The track listing of Owl majo is as follows: 1. Warm beer, loud music 2. Berlin Polka 3. Words 4. Jerry Hall 5. Sometimes. 6 Horrible Helga. 7 Ghost. 8. Summertime.
Available on CD, with great artwork, get in contact with
[email protected] if you would like a copy!THE RENOWNED SPANISH NATIONAL MUSIC PAPER, MONODO SONORO, SPAIN'S VERSION OF THE NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS HAS THIS TO SAY ABOUT OWL MAJO:MONDO SONORO.. DICIEMBRE 2006 OWL "MAJO" AUTOEDITADO" A CABALLO ENTRE VALENCIA Y EL PAIS DE GALES SURGE ESTE CURIOSO COMPACTO DEL PROYECTO LIDERADO POR EL EDITOR WILL MCCARTHY. EL SONIDO DE LA GRABACION EN GENERAL ES MEJORABLE, Y SIEMPRE SE PUEDE JUSTIFICAR CON AQUELLO DEL LO-FI. DE TODOS MODOS ELLO NO RESTA ENCANTO A UNA COLECCION DE TEMAS QUE DESTILAN ECLECTICISMO, NOSTALGIA Y AROMAS FOLKIES DE DIFERENTES LATITUDES EUROPEAS. LA CANCION QUE ABRE EL DISCO " WARM BEER, LOUD MUSIC" ES UN HIMNO IDEAL PARA FIESTAS CERVECERAS Y DE DERROTA ETILICA. "BERLIN POLKA" TAMBIEN ES IDONEA PARA ACABAR ENCIMA DE LA BARRA DE UN IRISH PUB. LA REFLEXIVA "WORDS" PONE DE RELIEVE CIERTA SENSIBILIDAD PROPIA DE LOS POETAS OUTSIDERS MAS INTERESANTES. "JERRY HALL" HISTORIA CURIOSA DE UN PERSONAJE SINGULAR CON MOMENTOS INTENSOS QUE SEGURO SE APRECIAN MEJOR EN DIRECTO. EN DEFINITIVA UN TRATADO DE IRONIAS Y MELANCOLIAS ATEMPORALES CON BROTES PSICODELICOS(DE SYD BARRETT A NICK DRAKE APUNTA SU ESCUETA HOJA PROMOCIONAL), LEONARD COHEN, TOM WAITS Y OTROS, CON ALGUNOS MOMENTOS LUCIDOS Y OTROS DESCONCERTANTES. A DESCUBRIR."
RAUL SERRADOR
