Author: Paul Tunkin

Daiquiri Fantomas will release their debut single Moon Raga on April 1st 2013, to be followed by their debut album ‘MHz Invasion’ this May on Blow Up Records. Daiquiri Fantomas are an experimental musical duo from Sicily, founded in 2010 by composers and multi-instrumentalists Marco Barrano and Dario Sanguedolce.  Experimenting with acoustic instruments and vintage electronics crossed over with new technologies, their sound has a distinctive “retro-futuristic” flavour, giving a nod both to the 60s/70s (Progressive Rock, Sci-fi b-movies soundtracks, Kosmische musik etc.) and to contemporary electronica, the duo citing The Beatles, Kraftwerk, John Barry and Air as some of their favourite bands.

The single is available as free download for a limited time from daiquirifantomas.com or from their facebook page

Yesterday afternoon Alfa 9 dropped into BBC 6Music for a chat with Steve Lamacq about their new album ‘ Gone To Ground ‘ – out March 11th.

Alfa 9‘s second album ‘Gone To Ground‘ gets its official release on March 11th and the band will be signing the first 100 copies, but they’ll only by available from the official Blow Up / Alfa 9 shop.

Plus you can buy their other releases, including other limited goodies. There are even a few copies of their first album ‘Then We Begin‘ on vinyl signed by the first line-up.

Not one but three Blow Up Records albums made it into the end of year polls for 2012 including Vive Le Rock, Crack Magazine, Louder Than War, Liverpool Echo & some very nice blogs too…

Fay Hallam & The Bongolian  ‘Lost In Sound‘: read press here • more about the album

Baltic Fleet album ‘Towers‘: read press here  • more about the album

Alfa 9 ‘Gone To Ground‘ (not even out yet!): read press here • more about the album

See all artists press here

Alfa 9 ‘s second album ‘ Gone To Ground ‘ gets its official release on March 11th and the band will be signing the first 100 copies , but they’ll only by available from the official Blow Up / Alfa 9 shop –  click here to pre-order to guarantee yours! Plus you can buy their other releases, including other limited goodies. There are even a few copies of their first album ‘ Then We Begin ‘ on vinyl signed by the first line-up.

Here’s what we’ve been up to at Blow Up in 2012… Blow Up Records releases included the critically acclaimed Baltic Fleet album ‘ Towers ’, ‘ Lost In Sound ’ from Fay Hallam & The Bongolian (their very first collaboration), meanwhile the year also saw the return of the mighty Alfa 9  who have been picking up some great early press for their second album ‘ Gone To Ground ‘ which is out in March 2013. All three appearing in end of year polls for 2012 . Sweden’s Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck returned with the single ‘ Leaving For A Day ’ and a last minute Christmas track ‘This Year’ and there were  two new signings to the label for David Woodock and Daiquiri Fantomas , so stay tuned in 2013 for releases from these! The Blow Up club headed back to the USA twice this year, with shows in LA, San Francisco and Sacramento. And in October Blow Up took part in the annual Oxjam series of shows in Leicester. Plus our London residency in West London carried on from 2011 with live guests including Sulk, The Fractures, Thee Faction, Fay Hallam, David Woodcock, B-Movie…. Read more below…. BALTIC FLEET ‘TOWERS’… “Immense. Fleming has upped the ante on an already stellar debut,” Rough Trade Shops ‘Album of the week’ & ‘Albums of the MONTH’ “Exceptional motorik beats” NME “A sublimely cinematic blend of kosmische musik and dream pop ” 9/10 Subba-Cultcha “Something very special indeed” Crack Magazine “One of the finest records from Liverpool in years” Liverpool echo “A wonderfully well rounded and complete album ” Louder Than War ‘Album Of The Week’ & an Album Of The Year AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR: LOUDER THAN WAR, VIVE LE ROCK, CRACK MAGAZINE, LIVERPOOL ECHO, RESIDENT RECORDS & MORE… More about Baltic Fleet here… FAY HALLAM & THE BONGOLIAN ‘LOST IN SOUND’ … “A match made in heaven. It’s timeless and that’s the secret …addictive stuff” ★★★★ Blues & Soul “An immediate pleasure, and wonderfully seductive” Shindig! AN ALBUM OF THE YEAR: VIVE LE ROCK & ‘DANCING’ Podrophenia Single Of The Year More about Fay Hallam & The Bongolian here… ALFA 9 ‘GONE TO GROUND’… “The Stoke songsmiths are back, and it’s been well worth the wait” CLASSIC ROCK “A beautiful record” SHINDIG! EARLY ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: VIVE LE ROCK, PODROPHENIA, ACTIVE LISTENER, POP JUNKIE… Read more about Alfa 9 here. ..

Advance tickets have now sold out for tonight. For those who wish only to attend the late night club session without seeing the bands there will be a VERY limited amount of reduced price tickets at £5 on the door from 11pm. This will only allow entry after the bands have finished playing, and again is strictly first come first served. Stereo Total will return to Blow Up on February 8th 2013 for a one-off London show at The Macbeth . The 5th time our favourite electro-duo have played at the club who are flying in from Germany especially. Plus Blow Up DJs Paul Tunkin & Ian Jackson spinning their trademark mix of Pop Stylism, 60’s Soul, Beat, Garage, Funk, Ska, Soundtracks, Electronica, Library Music colliding with British Pop, Glam, Indie-Pop and New-Wave. More info: blowupclub.com • Facebook Event • Map Advance Tickets: SOLD OUT Stargreen.com • We Got Tickets • Gigantic • SeeTickets • Ticketweb Connect: Facebook • Twitter

This Year a brand new track from Sweden’s  Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck – a melancholy upbeat indie-pop Christmas song announced by the band to celebrate the 1 st Sunday of Swedish advent. Read more: Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck / Facebook / Twitter

“Leaving For A Day” is a brand new track taken from the forthcoming new edition of Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck‘s debut album “Days Come And Go” which has now been expanded to include additional tracks. The album made the top five list of albums of the year for Sweden’s national newspaper Sydsvenskan.

Check out the video for “Leaving For A Day”, a compilation of footage filmed during the bands last visit to the UK, including a Rough Trade East in-store, an appearance at Dot-To-Dot Festival Bristol, a support slot with Camera Obscura at King’s College, a show at the Blow Up Metro Club on Oxford Street and an acoustic session at the V&A.

Finally! A brand new single from Swedish indie-pop 8-piece Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck . ‘ Leaving For A Day ‘ will be taken from a new edition of their debut album ‘ Days Come and Go ‘ which will shortly be rereleased in an expanded form to include additional tracks.  The video is a compilation of footage filmed during the bands last visit to the UK, including a Rough Trade East in-store, an appearance at Dot-To-Dot Festival Bristol, a support slot with Camera Obscura at King’s College, a show at the Blow Up Metro Club on Oxford Street and an acoustic session at the V&A. Read more: Mockingbird, Wish Me Luck / Facebook / Twitter Buy single on iTunes