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CHECK OUT OUR 7 DIGITAL WIDGET FOR FREE AND PURCHASE DOWNLOADSTurned down by major labels for being too old...STAN are a critically acclaimed duo from Hertfordshire [UK], who have attained something of a cult status on a number of internet music sites. Many musicians from different countries and different genres have asked to collaborate with them and appear on their guest list, and they have developed a particularly strong connection with leading members of the Detroit hip hop community.
They play in a variety of styles creating their own unmistakable genre that one reviewer rather neatly called "slightly wonky folk". Recordings for their third album "LostforWords" have been completed and the cd is now available.
STAN have appeared on local independent radio and the BBC, as well as a number of other stations including being play listed on Pulse.
Andrea Thorne writing in Making Music Magazine awarded four stars and wrote:
"catchy, ...laidback grooves,... atmospheric,... [with lyrics] that create some very vivid images, which is a bit of an art form in my opinion, I like songs that play like movies, so well done".
"THE QUEENS PARK" CD reviewed in edition 30 of the international magazine ...BLUES MATTERS!
STAN - "THE QUEENS PARK"
NARCH1 Productions 14 Tracks 47.09 mins
STAN are a two piece group formed of Neil Archer & Tim Smith, who between them play an assortment of instruments, covering the traditional Guitar, bass drums, keyboards to the less popular Ham bones & Hammer & Spanner.no they are not into Heavy Metal.The duo deliver 14 tracks, all self written & produced, conjuring up the soft music of the late sixties, with plenty of whimsy, eastern influences & experimentation. They are not afraid to improvise and each track has plenty of depth and subtlety that warrants repeated playing.While only having one true blues track on the album in Black Cat Blues this album should not be disregarded, as some of the other tracks do bring back memories of yester-years, like the mod influenced Brighton Rock or the ship yard factory sounds of the 1920s on Son of a Son of a Sailors Son. This CD is definitely an album that benefits from playing in a relaxed atmosphere; it is very soothing.....Review by Adrian Blacklee.
"LULLABY" EP reviewed by ROCKMIDGETS.COM
It seems that of late, relaxed acoustic acts are on the rise. James Blunt's Back To Bedlam sold massively last year, Jack Johnson's third album has received widespread acclaim and soft-jazzy acts like Katie Melua and Jamie Cullum continue to shift records. So STAN, releasing the Lullaby... EP as a stopgap before their third independent long-player, should by rights be massive by now. Sadly, this is not the case; there is probably a reason for that.
The reason being that they refuse to remain stuck in the restrictive laid-back niche that the aforementioned acts seem happy to relax in. STAN experiment, and have somehow found a genre somewhere between 1960s pop and... rap. The Lullaby... EP is acoustic music, but not as we know it. Stan, made up of two ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalists, Tim Smith and Neil Archer, start with acoustic sketches and screw around with them; a rap break here, a splash of Hammond organ or even a gong there.
By daring to think outside the box, STAN may have doomed themselves to a lifetime of obscurity; I don't know about them, but I'm happy with that. If boring music is the price of commercial success, then may they continue to play their slightly wonky folk for years to come.
Rating: 4/5 by Gaz Hughes
BUY THE LIMITED EDITION LULLABY EP AT www.sparklepromotions.com/shop
"LOSTFORWORDS" CD reviewed in FUSE MAGAZINE April 2008 edition
STAN are a pop/rock/jazz duo from Hertfordshire, who play in a variety of styles from acoustic to full on rock. Their influences include classic Brit bands across four decades, add to this a jazz influence, with a touch of Northern Soul, then you might have some idea of where STAN are coming from… Describing themselves as ‘Internet-Café Jazz’, Stan (great name!) build diverse sounds around off-kilter West Coast rock, Zappa-esque jazz breaks and even rap vocals sometimes. Stan songs deal in dark, cohesive themes of obsession, compulsion, addiction, love and loss and over the past three years they have attained cult status on several internet sites. On the face of it, Stan should not really work. Their strangely eclectic pot of sounds, on paper, belongs in the dark corners of real ale pubs. In reality their heady brew of internet friendly modern takes on classic themes is strangely engaging. Add some brooding Hammond organ and the result is uplifting music you’d love to accidentally find being played live in a week night bar when you want to chill out rather than party.
All band photos by Russ "the man with the long lens" Hardy.