Good to hear you again, Kirby...awesome vocal, ...great sound on this track!!!

Any artist is welcome to send us a track via freshonthenet.co.uk anytime between Monday lunchtime and Wednesday evening (or when we receive 200 submissions, whichever is sooner) - and all our moderators, including Tom Robinson, will listen to every track. This is our full inbox from the week beginning Mon 5 December 2022: from Friday afternoon you'll be able to hear our shortlist and pick your favourites on this week's Listening Post which will appear at freshonthenet.co.uk/batch470

If a track you submitted does not appear in this list, it’s probably because another of your tracks appeared in our Fresh Faves or on the BBC Music Introducing Mixtape during the last three months — we ask that artists featured on either wait three months before resubmitting to give others a chance. 

We also don’t accept short previews or SoundCloud Go tracks that can only be heard as 30 second previews, and tracks made private after submission, which cannot be included in playlists. You will be able to resubmit the track in future. Tracks (and remixes of tracks) that have been previously submitted, and tracks from banned artists will also be removed.

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ENTIRE INBOX: Batch 470

‘Fight Fire With Fire?’ is the new single by Tribes of Europe & Barbara Stretch, out 4th November 2022 via Integrity Records on all digital platforms and limited edition, hand numbered 7” lathe-cut black vinyl.

With the classic vocal of Barbara Stretch, former frontwoman of Pye Records’ soul sensations The Vernons, to the fore, the Ely Fallen Angels Choir led by CREEPY NEIGHBOUR’s Max Taylor add layers of joyous harmonies to this building 60’s style space pop stomper with a strong political undertone.

Tribes of Europe, the alter ego of Fenland-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Martin Elsey, are joined on ‘Fight Fire With Fire?’ by Andy Gangadeen (Massive Attack, Chase & Status) on drums, Phil Cambridge (Kensington Symphony Orchestra) on trombone & trumpet, and Chris Taylor (Poison Girls, The Bays) on bass and co-production duties amongst the resident chickens at the wonderful Bluebarn Studios in the Cambridge countryside.

Martin describes the thinking behind the new single: 

“The motivation for the song was the creeping fear watching democracy across the world get more and more squeezed and ‘played’ as we get further into the 21st Century. Populists, oligarchs, autocrats … all seem to feel like their moment has arrived. Sooner or later each individual has to decide how they’re going to respond to that.”

Previous singles by Tribes of Europe & Barbara Stretch have enjoyed national support on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Ulster, BBC Radio 3's Late Junction and various regional shows.

 “An instantly catchy and uplifting retro-futuristic creation” - Get In Her Ears
“Unashamedly ‘60s but with a new twist” - Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music
“The whole goddamn super-group bring their A game on this one” – LWM 

https://tribesofeurope.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/EuropeTribes
https://www.facebook.com/TribesOfEurope/
http://integrityrecords.co.uk/

Fight Fire With Fire?

Night Falls Fast

After spending the summer bathing in the warm analogue waters of 70's fuzz rock, Villanelle & The Northern Wonder return with brand new single 'December Bloom'. A head turner, a sound to reanimate Bolan, a melody to make Fleetwood Mac swoon. This hook is sure to be so deeply embedded in your mind you'll forget your mums birthday.

December Bloom.wav

Crunchy, synth-y instrumental, hope you like it!

Cover art by NeuralBlender.

22 3 21

Lullaby song with a sea thematic for baby Ana Maria

Lullaby | Cantec de leagan

Charles Shomo composed the music and recorded the instrumental track in Wake Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Martin H. Samuel wrote the lyric about the Alamo and Rick Livingstone recorded the song, with the Caffeine Creek Band, in St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.A.

'Red Banner, No Quarter' was a Best Outlaw Song Top 10 Finalist in the Fall 2022 World Songwriting Awards contest.

★ RED BANNER, NO QUARTER ★

EARLY ON A COLD MARCH MORNING
 A HANDFUL OF MEN THEY TOOK A STAND
 IN THE YEAR OF EIGHTEEN THIRTY SIX 
WHEN A SABRE DREW A LINE IN THE SAND

AND IT WAS SANTA ANNA WHO GAVE THE ORDER
 FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER
 SANTA ANNA GAVE THE ORDER 
FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER

EVEN AS THE DAY WAS DAWNING 
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE MEN STOOD THEIR GROUND
 THIRTEEN DAYS IN SAN ANTONIO 
SUCH A FEARFUL SIGHT A DREADFUL SOUND

WHEN SANTA ANNA GAVE THE ORDER
 FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER
 SANTA ANNA HE GAVE THE ORDER
 FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER

IT WAS VICTORY OR DEATH FOR THE VALIANT FEW 
OUTNUMBERED AND OUT-GUNNED 
AS SURRENDER AND BE SPARED AN ULTIMATUM THEY KNEW 
WITH A CANNON SHOT BY TRAVIS IT WAS SHUNNED

SANTA ANNA GAVE THE ORDER
 FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER 
SANTA ANNA GAVE THE ORDER 
FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER

A BLOODY BATTLE TO THE BITTER END 
WHILE THE MEXICAN BAND PLAYED EL DEGÜELLO 
NOW THE GUNS ARE SILENT AND THE SMOKE HAS CLEARED TO THIS DAY TEXIANS ALL SAY REMEMBER THE ALAMO

IT WAS SANTA ANNA WHO GAVE THE ORDER 
FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER 
SANTA ANNA GAVE THE FINAL ORDER 
FLY THE RED BANNER SHOW NO QUARTER

Music: Charles Shomo & the Caffeine Creek Band
Lyric / Music: Martin H. Samuel  – ASCAP IPI: 216450985
 © 2022 Malaika Music  – ASCAP IPI: 336609064 
Composer: Rick Livingstone – ASCAP IPI: 48485843
Zabra Music – ASCAP IPI: 447850726
ASCAP Work ID: 918966912
ISWC: T3142543366
 ℗ 2022 MHS

Red Banner, No Quarter

Transpiration

I took a gun 
and put to my head
I could feel the cold steel 
beneath my finger tip
Man, just get a grip.

Looking in the mirror 
I’m looking back at me
Searching for the fire 
the fire I cannot see
It won’t let me be

You took my blood 
and you took my soul away
You put them in a place 
only tears could wash them away

You took my blood 
and you took my soul away
You put them in a place 
only tears could wash them away

I could feel her warm lips 
so close to mine
the taste of her kiss 
like sweet apricot wine
closing time

All those years 
that I was searching 
searching for the fire 
the fire inside of me
Now it’s all I can see

You took my blood 
and you took my soul away
You put them in a place 
only tears could wash them away

The Fire Inside

Follow Heir - https://linktr.ee/heirtheband

Written by Ste Fisher, Tom Hammond and Sam Perry
Produced by Ste Fisher, Tom Hammond, Samuel Newham, Sam Perry and Harry Vernon
Mixing and additional production by Hugo Meredith-Hardy
Mastering by Kane Whitelam

© 2022 Love vs Fear
℗ 2022 Love vs Fear

Picturing Mother

Method: Layering (ehx mel9 and roland vt4 involved, as well as a guitar, a plastic recorder and the zoom r20 - incl the room2 effect).
Narration: Reading my latest poem. 
On my 29th birthday I had given a private reading of one of Ingeborg Bachmann's short stories, titled: the 30th year. Now, doubling up, I have not given a private reading - consider this a replacement. It is  a poem of mine reflecting some aspects of that eerie relationship between fiction and reality and dispersing personal narratives.

Gedicht / copyright jo richter:

damals, als ich jenen text bachmanns
vom aufbrechen des vertrauten, ins telegrafenferne
einer vom ich unversehrten heimat vorlas, im
dreißigsten jahr, waren auch die mich ummenschenden
befremdet: wie kann man sein wahres leben nur
so im streulicht fiktiven gestaltens betrachten?

jetzt, im realen sechzigsten jahr, finde ich
keine heimkehrnovelle im schrank, die nicht
von geld, von frieden, von der verzweiflung handelt,
im angesicht weiter und weiter vermieteter wohnungen
und viel zu fleißig gepflügter felder: gerne
rastete ich auf einer brache, wäre sie noch vor sinnen.

das papier vor mir ist ungelesen, als hätte ich
nie eine schriftspur darüber gelegt, dem vorgeliebten
nie nachgespürt: war ich nur da als probe-
abdruck der selbstbehauptung anderer, die ihre
geschichte frech in stadtmauern meißeln, über tempel-
freskos weißeln, sich stilecht in poetenpergamente kleiden?

das sechzigste jahr

im sechzigsten jahr

Mangle

Inevitable 88 BPM

Tom (https://soundcloud.com/tom-2020) and I now present track 2 in our collaborative album in progress "La belle et le loup, ou Les loups du Gévaudan" (2023), or in English translation "Beauty and the Beast, or The Wolves of Gevaudan").

The song was created in collaboration on 4 October 2023 (initial composition, recording, arrangement and mix in MAGIX by Tom), 10 October 2023 (additional instruments, melodies and sound effects, recording and arrangement in GarageBand and Logic Pro, with an intermediate mix in Logic Pro by Alex M), and 11 October 2023 (final additions, arrangements and mix in MAGIX by Tom), and posted here on SoundCloud on 13 October 2023 (by Alex M). We are grateful for the use of vocal samples from the package "Magix Trance - The Vocal Trance" purchased and integrated into the music by Tom.

The artwork cover for the track is based on a photo by Tom of 11 September 2013 that was cropped and annotated in Mac OS Preview by Alex M and Tom in coordination on 8 October 2023.

Duration: 6:20 minutes

La belle et le loup, ou Les loups du Gévaudan 2 - Tom & Alex M

Forgot who I am 

Forgot who I am 
Don’t know how to pretend 
I just wanna be someone else 
Till the end 

Can you play the game 
I don’t wanna play the game 
Never want to see you again 
Always want to hold your hand 

Don’t know how to be behave 
Can you say my name 
I don’t know which way 
I don’t know which way 

I really don’t know what to say where to go 
I really don’t know what to feel and how to show 

Forgot who I am 
What is god plan? 
Can you say my name
I don’t know which way to go

Lyrics & Vocals by Lenny Levin
Music by Cold Compassion

Forgot who I am

these were the type of songs played a $3 3 band concerts or $10 3 days festival where music was fun and everyone was pweacefully high

Said Freedom

Get Back on Your Horse

Fresh On The Net is a music blog hosted by Tom Robinson and Team Freshnet, offering independent artists an open door and a level playing field for their music. Our inbox is open at http://freshonthenet.co.uk every Monday to Thursday morning - if you share a track with us there it will be heard by every member of our moderation team.

IMPORTANT: 
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Kirby Howarth is a talented singer-songwriter hailing from the picturesque city of York in the United Kingdom. With a captivating blend of folk, indie, and blues influences, Kirby's music weaves together heartfelt storytelling, soulful melodies, and raw emotions.

Drawing inspiration from personal experiences and the world around him, Kirby creates songs that resonate deeply with listeners. His lyrics are poignant and introspective, offering a glimpse into the human condition and the complexities of life. Accompanied by his soul-stirring acoustic guitar, Kirby's warm and emotive voice carries his melodies with a graceful authenticity that leaves a lasting impression.

Kirby's talent has garnered recognition beyond the local scene, with his music being featured on esteemed platforms such as BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6, as well as receiving widespread airplay on various local radio stations. His performances are characterised by an intimate and genuine connection with the audience, where each song becomes a shared experience that touches hearts and lingers in the memory.

“Acoustic laid back new wave punk indie folk with a sprinkle of deep meaningful day to day observations on how the world goes round and round and round and sometimes I actually notice this happening and decide it’s worthy enough to write a song about.”
- Kirby Howarth

"In the years I’ve been tracking the progress of York singer songwriter Kirby Howarth it’s been fascinating to hear him refining his approach and zeroing in on the sound he’s been hearing inside his head all these years.
As a result, his songs grow ever more focussed and appealing"
- Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6

" A strong collection of songs, well written and delivered. The vocal styling is distinctive and appealing - you connect emotionally with the listener."
- Tom Robinson, BBC Radio 6

" That's another fantastic song everyone's a gem from you, you write really really nice songs Kirby."
- Alan Raw, BBC Radio Leeds Introducing

The Fire Inside

Kirby Howarth

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