another punch in the dark, connects.

finally, after almost 6 months of putting off the release dates and numerous financial and physical set backs we have definite news about the two releases which have been pending since way back when. both talibam! and gentle friendly will be officially released on october 1st but because we've kept you in the dark for so long we've decided that you're in need of a treat so we're putting them up for sale on our website on monday september 8th, then in october you'll be able to also buy them at rough trade east on brick lane and at platform in the custard factory, birmingham.

here is some information on the bands and their tapes.

talibam! - chewy needs his meat c40 cassette (ss002)


talibam! are one of the most challenging and fascinating bands in contemporary music, not content with standing still, not restricted by the boundaries of genre they are more concerned with exploring and pushing themselves and their music to transcendent new heights. on "chewy needs his meat" talibam! have pumped up and pressurized, pushing red on the meters, sinking their teeth into the saturated beauty of an analogue ecstasy. the sound is a blended up time-machine transmission from a newly populated martian landscape faraway from the wasted megacities left behind on a burnt earth canvas. After the apocalypse, toxic anthropologists will determine "chewy needs his meat" alone summarizes the debauchery and wreckage that took place.

talibam! - extract from chewy needs his meat.mp3 (zshare)

side a:
1) chewy needs his meat
side b:
1) chewy needs his meat cont.

gentle friendly - esses together/blast debris (debris from blasts had 1968-2008) c30 cassette (ss003)


gentle friendly create intricate, esoteric pop music, as private and dear as it is accessible. they are often compared to the likes of animal collective and in the same sense as experimental and innovative it is also manages to remain mysteriously individual. this cassette release, titled "esses together/blast debris (debris from blasts had 1968-2008)" is a collection compiled by the band from reams of magnetised tape and hours of song. It is a mesh of old favourites and brand new cuts for you all to step to.

gentle friendly - punch in the dark.mp3 (zshare)

side b:
1) mic check
2) ins
3) you are the brother/real fighters
4) untitled 1
5) punch in the dark
6) dymo omega
side b:
7) untitled 2
8) giants exist!
9) teen lightning pt. 1
10) teen lightning pt. 2
11) ex ex

so, there you have it. both tapes will cost just £4 each! with £1.00 to cover the costs of the postman and paypal (more overseas) or just a flat rate of £4 at shows or from us in person. so crack open your piggy banks and fill up our collectively empty pockets as of september 8th. each is limited to 100 and is on a fancy coloured cassette which is then wrapped up in brown paper and string and comes with it's own unique stop scratching comic by trav_art. get yours fast before they become back catalogue gold.

also, in other news we have someone new to introduce you to; mike coley is long time friend of mine who shares much of the same tastes, ideals and opinions of stop scratching and also has a fondness for the love playing music to the sound of our own shrinking livers and so we asked him to come on board and join myself and cassie as part of stop scratching djs, to accompany this he'll also be a fixture on these here pages as a contributor to the blog. i'll bully him into making himself known over the next few days. keep your eyes peeled for dj sets and events coming soon.

thank you, i'm off to sign on which will no doubt turn into a full blown war with the jobcenter