Falling But Not Alone, album #11

Finally, *finally* we have lift off on FBNA.

For those who've listened to me prattle on about the worriedaboutsatan mystery album pipeline, you'll have caught wind of me mentioning this 'lost' album, that was submitted about 2 years ago and was never seen again, due to a combination of Covid, mega schedules, and people being involved in accidents who were supposed to master it.

Well, all that is finally behind us now, as that album, which is called Falling But Not Alone, will be out early next year via Wolves & Vibrancy. Pre-orders will be open on December 2nd.

I'd told Fabian from the label that I'd love to work with him again after 2018's 'Shift' EP, but alas, events conspired to get in the way. I mean, first of all, the band's makeup changed somewhat, then I had schedules, then he had schedules, etc. so this whole thing goes back quite some time.

The record is itself a sort of half a compilation of tracks that got missed from various releases, and half a brand new thing (which obviously isn't brand new anymore!) The first two tracks, 'All's Lost' and 'Hours Pass' were tracks I already had lying around - All's Lost, by the way, had at one point about 5 vocalists attached to it, but it was only when I contacted Manchester's She The Throne, that a vocal ever got put on it. So props to them for that. That's also the oldest track here, which I think comes from around 2017/18, but got left on the cutting room floor for reasons unknown. It's a banger! 

'Hours Pass' was actually a late addition to Time Lapse, but got cut for timing reasons when n5MD put the album out in May 2020. 

The other two were late additions themselves, but ideas that I finally got around to finishing up when I moved into my current house in Saltaire. That was early 2020. So yes, this has been one hell of a journey, and I'm so glad it's finally coming out!

Go say hi to W&V (and follow them on Bancamp) here: wolvesandvibrancyrecords.bandcamp.com

 

big

Back when the band first started, I'd like to think I was very driven to try and propel satan forward as much as humanely possible - we'd constantly be playing live, always hustling and forever trying to get 'big' - get a label, get an agent, get a manager. I have to admit, those habits die very hard, but one thing that age brings is a sort of sobering brutality that 'big' isn't really the be all and end all of being in a band, or making music in general. If it's taken the arse to completely fall out of the music industry to realise it, then at least some good has come of it.

It's enough to just keep on making something. Sure, it might not sell as well as something else, or you can't get that big gig you want, but it doesn't matter. Those things have never really mattered. It's enough to just sit at a laptop and think 'what am I going to make this time?'

And I've had labels, agents, etc. and none of it ever really propelled me into being 'famous' - good labels find you, good people find you, you just have to trust that. 

If everything's burning around us in 'the biz', then at least take yourself out for dinner and have some fun. Book a show yourself, put a record out yourself, do something silly, I don't know. You might as well, because doing things 'the right way' has never looked or felt so alien and ludicrous. You've got a lot of technology at your fingertips - might as well use it, fuck it.

I suppose this all links into the current social media death spiral we're seeing, and as much as things like twitter and OG facebook have helped me, and the band, it's also oddly liberating to see these places disappear and wonder what will happen next. Are you up for another social site? or do you want to just run into the woods and never log onto a website ever again? Either way is perfectly valid, there's no wrong answer. I quite like the idea of being a little less online, but I'm also not naieve enough to think I won't be able to work without it, so it'll be interesting to see how people reset themselves. 

But yeah, anyway - just keep making stuff, because there's enough shit in the world, you might as well fight the good fight.

Live set 2022

This year's been a strange one for live stuff. In March I set out on my own for the first time as satan, and did a few dates up and down the UK. They were hard work, I'll not lie. Really fun, and was great to meet some friendly faces old and new, but having to book shows yourself, and in 99% of cases, having to promote the shows yourself (that means being the band, the promoter, the tour manager, the door guy, the sound tech, the driver, poster designer, PR guy, etc.) is a hell of a lot of work for one person with a full time job to take on. 

So after that, and having seen the changing landscape of live shows in the UK first hand, I thought I'd give it a rest and just do the few bits I had after that and call it a day for a little bit. I did a show for the Endless Hum in my hometown of Shipley, a slot at ArcTanGent festival, and a support slot with my dudes Gallops down in London. After those I was fucking tired. I'm old now you know! *Adam Curtis voice* but then, something happened. Well, it's not as dramatic as that, but I was offered a chance to support Mono in Leeds at City Varieties, to which I obviously said yes, and then finally was asked to step in last minute to a mini Endless Hum upstairs at The Triangle in Shipley, supporting French EBM act Leroy Se Muert.

Just before that last minute step in, I recorded the live set, as I realised I'd not done that yet, and with the fragility of booking things yourself and being the ultimate one man band, I figured it was in danger of being lost forever as I'd no doubt either move on to a new live set for next year, or just not play for a little bit.

SO... here it is, in all it's glory. A practice session recorded before that Triangle show, set to various shots of my studio or live photos from my escapades all year. Enjoy!