The next full Pulco album is out on July 22 and will be called ‘Clay Cutlery’
In these new tunes I’ve continued to explore the theme of sonic autobiography that has been creeping into Pulco music over the last few years.
Using field recordings of places I’ve been to, odd rhythm loops made using simple iPad apps and my trusty £15 guitar the songs have evolved and unfolded as they have been worked on.
Over the summer last year I made recordings of the sounds in Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire and the great organ in St David’s Cathedral to name but a few and these have all become part of the music
Some of the tracks have become recognisable songs and others are just sound collages. Any vocals that were done have been one take improvisations drawing lyrics from the first books or magazines that came to hand
I wanted the tunes to be quite fresh & spontaneous.
2013 is also the 10th anniversary of all things Pulco. To celebrate we will be posting features on some of my previous albums during the run up to the release and we are also putting together a special collaborative album to accompany Clay Cutlery, but much more on that soon!!!
For now you can stream the album below and pre orders will available soon once the album is pressed.
Cheers everyone. Ash
Pulco – Sound Series Vol 1
A limited edition (4 copies) cassette release inc tape, painting & poetry broadsheet is now available to buy
Vol 1 contains 20 minute sound collage using field recordings, electronics and poetry
£10 inc p&p
Please email – pethaugarw@hotmail.co.uk to order & for availability
** we expect these to sell fast. If you would still like a copy email as new copies can be created on request**
I’ve recently started a Tumblr blog to sell my art & poetry. This site will also feature regular musical releases too, the first of which is up to download now.
Sound Series Vol 1 is a 20 minute sound collage in two parts that features field recordings made at the beginning of the year in and around Bangor and new poems written in the last month or so.
It is out now as a digital download but I will be releasing 4 limited edition copies on Cassette. Each one will come will a small painting and poetry broadsheet. I hope to have these finished by the end of the month.
I intend these releases to be a place for me to experiment more with found sound and spoken word. They will also include collaborations with other musicians and poets.
You can visit the Pethau Garw website here and Sound Series Vol 1 can be listened to and bought below
Readers of this site will know that I have sung the praises of Jude Cowan’s work before. Her music exudes a simple but beguiling mix of lofi experimental pop and performance art.
Here is a heads up on a wonderful new EP that she has put together with collaborations from Dutch musician and producer Wim Oudijk.
For those of you that don’t know, Jude Cowan works as an archivist for Reuters, and created her debut collection of poetry on international news agency stories For the Messengers in 2011.
Since then, she has gone on to create musical improvisations of some of the more ‘quirky’ stories recording these in Bark Studios, Walthamstow with Brian O’Shaughnessy. These files were sent to her internet friend Wim Oudijk in Den Haag who arranged new musical parts to create an EP of 4 co-composed tracks. The songs and lyrics are set within a new sound world which is imaginative, expressive yet very accessible, full of hooks and other aural pleasures.
“Listening to Wim’s magical song treatments I felt as if I was experiencing these news fairy tales for the first time, whether swimming in a Russian ice pool, or dancing in a Bolivian carnival.” Jude
The playful cover and booklet design is by Italian illustrator and Camberwell MA Visual Arts graduate Alessandra Genualdo, and reflects the EP’s mood of celebration and its patchwork audioscape.
The Barbie & Ken EP is out today through Folkwit Records & Disc Fair in the Netherlands
You can also get your hands on the tunes over on Bandcamp !
Well it seems that Spring is finally upon us!
2013 is also Pulco’s tenth anniversary !! To celebrate the birthday here is a little exclusive for you.
I have a limited number of copies of a previously unreleased mini album called ‘I Dreamt Of Cows’ available to buy. Each copy has a unique hand drawn CD design and contains an A4 pull out with the story behind the album.
If you would like a copy please click the link at the bottom of the page. The album costs £5 + £1pp. All of the proceeds will go towards pressing my next album ‘Clay Cutlery’ which will be released on Jul 22.
I know that times are tight but every penny given pushes Pulco music in the right direction ! Here’s to another 10 years ! Cheers
Without wanting to sound too pretentious, everyone’s life is a journey! I guess we all understand the analogy, it’s quite a basic assumption I guess.
If you’re an artist then the work you create parallels that journey and if that journey involves traveling along a road then I guess artistically speaking I’ve been driving my Fiesta along the muddy grass verge for the last ten years ! Possibly in my day-to-day life too ?
It’s not that I haven’t wanted to drive on the tarmac and follow the highway code but going ‘off road’ is so much more fun!
Over the last few years my musical taste has gotten quite eclectic to say the least and as a result my own perception of the music I make is probably quite different to the way others hear it I image.
In all seriousness I sometimes feel that I’m being too commercial !
I want Pulco records to be a genuine reflection of my ‘journey’. To me that means retaining the raw, real elements of the sounds around me and then using some level of skill or experience to interpret that noise with enough harmonic cohesion to make an album listenable.
Other times it is just about putting down the first thing that enters your head. I’ll be honest about that.
Molding noise together in this way does often result in something irregular or unformed but so be it !! Life is too.
Over the last album or two I feel that I’ve been able to express this approach to music making a little better and have hopefully created better music along the way. It’s been good to finally feel that Pulco can stand on its own without me being just an ex Derrero member.
I also feel that my musical nonsense might actually have been accepted now on a certain level by the music community in Wales. That is something that I have wanted to achieve all along !!!!
I’m truly grateful for the unquestioning support that I continue to receive from friends, fans and the media. It is kind of what keeps me going.
So here for you all, a good 4 and a half months before its release is a review of the new album ‘Clay Cutlery’ written by the mighty Ian Hughes .
This column appears in todays North Wales Daily Post (01/03/13)
Given that I was trying to avoid sounding too pretentious I think I just blew it !! Hope you get what I’m trying to say though
Onward tourists!!
Ps – If you’d like to listen to the album pop here – but keep it to yourself :0)
Colchester artist Johnno Casson may be also known to many of you as Snippet, the wonky pop multi instrumentalist. He also happens to be a good pal and collaborator of mine!
After the release of his brilliant album ‘Window Shopping’ last October Johnno invited a wonderfully diverse & talented group of musician friends (me included) to remix the songs from the album. With no set brief other than to re-imagine the songs in our own vision Johnno’s new album is the result of that work.
I’m no music critic and would never try to be, but I love collaborative records that are made in the name of art and which are kind of born out respect for fellow musicians who are allowed the experimental freedom to put their own take on a tune. This is one of those records.
Each track on the album reflects the quirky heartfelt charm of Johnno’s originals and finds them nestled beautifully amid the alter ego’s of us collaborators.
I don’t fully have the words to describe the album but it is good and that’s that! The best thing to do is click on the link below and find out for yourself!
The record is released on Mon 25th Feb as a free download via Rash Records and is produced by Johnno’s mate and long time producer Wim Oudijk.
Click here to get your hands on Window Dressing
More info on the collaborators can be found here
and Johnno’s home page for all things Casson is only one click away
Hi folks ! Just a quick post to let you know about the new studio that my old pal Dave Derrero has just opened in the lush countryside outside Canterbury
Palm Tree Studio is a new recording studio set in a leafy location on the North Downs in Kent, just 5 miles from Canterbury.
This project sized studio provides high quality digital recording to a Cubase audio workstation. Some musical instruments are available on request and are listed in the equipment page on the website.
Dave has over 20 years experience playing in and recording with bands including 10 years working in the Welsh music industry.
Check out the studio here
http://www.palmtreestudio.co.uk/
Welcome all to the world of Pulco in 2013. Christmas has gone and the snow is just about melting now. I’ve had by head buried in books and music over these dark winter months but the time is right to face the world once more & write a quick post up here to let you know what you can expect from Pulco this year.
First & final gig
I’ll be playing at the Buffalo Bar in Cardiff on Sat March 9th as part of the launch party for my good mate Jo Whitby’s album ‘The diary of me’
Please come and see me because this will be the last ever Pulco gig. Yup, I’ve decided to retire from playing live. It has only been an occasional occurrence anyway over the last few years but I feel that the musical direction that I’m going in really won’t work for me in a live context anymore. The last 20 years have been ace so thanks to everyone who has ever clapped a hand or raised a glass.
New album – Clay Cutlery
A selection of new recordings is just about ready to head off for mastering
On this new album I’ve been continuing to explore the theme of sonic autobiography that has been creeping into my music over the last few years.
Using field recordings of places I’ve been to, odd rhythm loops made using simple iPad apps and my trusty £15 guitar the songs have evolved and unfolded as I have worked on them.
Over the summer last year I made recordings of the sounds in Folly Farm and the great organ in St David’s Cathedral to name but a few and these have all become part of the music.
Some of the tracks have become recognisable songs and others are just sound collages. Any vocals that were done have been one take improvisations drawing lyrics from the first book or magazine that came to hand
I wanted the tunes to be quite fresh & spontaneous.
I’ve got my fingers crossed as always that the album will come out on Folkwit Records later in the year and more importantly that I’ll be able to raise the money to make it !!
Poetry, Drawing & Music
I’ve opened up a shop at ETSY to make available my poetry books and drawings. I’m also planning to make a series of limited edition CDR releases of soundscapes and field recordings so watch this space.
And finally?…..
As well as contributing to the Laurence Made Me Cry album, I have also remixed two tracks for Johnno Casson. The songs will be on his album ‘Window Dressing’ which will appear later in the year.
Last but by no means least is an exciting project that I have been working on with Adam Leonard Gareth Davies and Stephen Mcleod (Unexpected Bowtie). We have recorded a set of instrumental song inspired by abandoned London tube stations. The release will be cassette only !
Ok pawb. Back to my writing
Pulco at home with his good lady wife
At festive times like these when families and loved ones gather together to share tidings of peace and goodwill it is appropriate that we pause for a moment to take stock of the year just gone and collectively reflect on our artistic achievements. Celebrate music and life and be positive about the negative.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that have supported Pulco this year with your album purchases, musical collaborations, professional commitment to my project and general messages of goodwill and friendship.
Over the last 12 months the good ship Pulco has sailed forth once again into uncharted territories, making new discoveries and conquering new lands. I have claimed great treasures and enjoyed fine adventures along the way. For this I thank you all!
However, I am mindful that whilst it may be constant, the path of the DIY musician is still a rocky and dangerous one and that we continually find ourselves in times of hardship and uncertainty. The road ahead is never an easy one to navigate!
But stick with me you brave lovers of experimental independent music for together we can shape a brave new musical world where home-fi sketchbook music can flourish unchallenged, free from prejudice and safe from the evil tyranny of corporate demands!
Let our musical appetites lead us forward!
So please pause for a moment and raise a glass with me to salute ourselves and the musicians and music lovers of Wales for without them our lives would be nothing more than an empty vessel of routine. A vacuous space devoid of colour and hope!
We make this country what it is!
A very Merry Christmas to you all
Pulco 2012
FOLLOW ME
Join my mailing list and receive offers, Newsletters etc
sending...