Tonight Doves are featured on the tv show Live from Abbey Road which airs on the Sundance Channel in the USA. The show was first aired in the UK last October, well worth a look if you haven’t seen it already.
It is already available to watch on demand if you have Comast or RCN.
Doves are featuring in the 29 March to 4 April of the Big Issue in the North Magazine. Feature on the front cover (could not find a picture so far) and a 2 side article about “Doves. At peace with temselves, in our music special”
Jimi reflects on songs on ‘the places between’ and also recalls the long way they’ve come from. Jimi also is thinking back to the struggles while recording Kingdom of Rust. In the magazine it states: Today he’s (Jimi) more positive for the future, stating – if not exactly confidently then at least hopefully – that there’ll be one more studio record before the band consider calling it a day. Looks like the recent rumours about doves splitting up were only hot air, fingers crossed.
Today Doves visited Jodrell Bank in Cheshire to perform a couple tracks for the Guardian Newspaper. Jimi & Jez played acoustic versions of Andalucia and Kingdom Of Rust.
I don’t recall flagging up this really cool article last year from Sound On Sound, who interviewed Jez & Dan Austin about producing Kingdom Of Rust. A great insight into the recording process.
Williams admits that it wasn’t just this democratic approach, along with an obsessive attention to detail, that created such a long gap between Doves albums. There was a bit of writer’s block involved too, which the guitarist tackled by employing the radical Immersion Music Method, invented in 2001 by a pair of songwriters from Oakland, California.
“I was finding myself getting into bad habits,” he says. “Like music avoidance — instead of knuckling down and getting on with songwriting, you might find an excuse to get your emails or pop out and see your mates. So I read this amazing book [The Frustrated Songwriter’s Handbook, by Karl Coryat and Nicholas Dobson]. I’m simplifying it here, but basically what it boils down to is you have to write a song every half an hour for 12 hours. It’s incredible. I had my Logic all set up as a template, everything plugged in ready to go. Then quite a few songs started to come out of these sessions.”
In the tradition of their previous facilities, their latest studio is — bizarrely — named after former breakfast TV host Frank Bough. “It’s Andy’s perverse sense of humour,” his brother explains. Not that Frank Bough Sound III is likely to last much longer than its predecessors, since Doves are already becoming keen to move on.
“We’re getting a little bit tired of it now, ‘cause it was such an intense, long period to record this fourth album,” Jez laughs. “There’s only so much cowshit you can take.”
Also some good 6 Music news from Baldilocks at doves board. Doves will soon be doing a live session on the Lauren Laverne show. Will flag up more info when I get it.
If you fancy owning the handwritten lyrics of Kingdom Of Rust as pictured above, then head over to the Cancer Research ebay auction to put your bid in. So far its at £62 with five days left in the auction. Good luck!
Not quite sure how to describe this, but apparently its some “celebrity” discussing Kingdom Of Rust with a blogger I think, kinda funny in places..
Blokes Singing About Bloke Hood Cody: The fact that they are blokes and sing about their bloke hood is a major plus for me. On the other hand, to my mind their sound is suitable for stadiums or at least hockey rinks…It’s BIG. Fluxy: “Blokes that sing about their bloke hood” Ha! But their sound is definitely BIG. And great with images. Every time I turned on the TV, this album is being used on shows. I hear songs on football shows, teenage dramas, documentaries about Iraq. The latest was on a TV dance contest, after a bitterly disappointed 40 year-old woman was booted off the show. They played a track from first album ‘Lost Souls’. Apt. Cody: I get it, though. Even though the lyrics are very personal, the music builds to anthemic. It is very produced (not meant as negative). Fluxy: I was told by a guitarist friend that Jez Williams, the lead guitarist, is considered by many to be the top dog in Britain at the moment. “Top dog” meaning best guitarist, as opposed to best shagger…. Cody: Yes, he does have a multiplicity of riffage.
Those of you who have followed the blog since last April may recall I set up a poll to find out your favourite track from Kingdom Of Rust. The poll ended January 1st..
With 730 unique votes, the winner is the title track Kingdom Of Rust by four votes! Closely followed by 10.03 & The Greatest Denier which were seperated by one vote. You can see the results in full below.
Jetstream
87 (11%)
Kingdom Of Rust
140 (19%)
The Outsiders
41 (5%)
Winter Hill
115 (15%)
10.03
136 (18%)
The Greatest Denier
135 (18%)
Birds Flew Backwards
17 (2%)
Spellbound
59 (8%)
Compulsion
100 (13%)
House Of Mirrors
42 (5%)
Lifelines
43 (5%)
Votes 730
The new poll once again on the right menu asks what is your favourite doves album. The poll will once again run til the end of the year.
A reminder, if you have not voted in the Your Favourite Doves Songs poll, then please do so. The poll will stay open indefinitely, but I shall post results as they stand once the best of album is released. So far over 1000 of you have voted! Thanks so much.
Speaking of Guy Garvey, this appeared on teletext (RIP!) today..
Guy Garvey has admitted teasing Doves, after they lost out on the No 1 album spot by just six sales.
Kingdom Of Rust entered the album chart at No 2 in April, narrowly missing out to Lady GaGa’s The Fame.
Garvey told PS: “Doves is one of my albums of 2009. But, when I heard how close they were to No 1, I bought six albums and posted them to Jimi with a note saying ‘Sorry these are late.'”
Gotta laugh! Though maybe Jimi be best asking Guy how many number one (or number two for that matter!) albums Elbow have had! ;)
As I reported earlier, doves performed a live session for Absolute Radio at the House of St Barnabas chapel. The performance was acoustic. Setlist info courtesy of Blue Skies & NLF on doves board.
Setlist
Kingdom Of Rust The Greatest Denier The Fear (x2) Just Like Christmas (Low Cover)
More over the weekend! Audio & hopefully some video on Tuesday night.
Doves have donated a signed copy of Kingdom Of Rust in a bid to raise money for Music Beats Mines. The album is signed by Jimi & Andy.
The charity, a campaign by the Mines Advisory Group, aims to help those affected by land mines, particularly in third world countries, where people are still being killed long after a conflict has ended due to the mines still being present. In many cases, whole areas have been abandoned due to fear.
Bidding has started, the auction finishes December 7th.