A space to create and be creative with The Customs House. Recording studio, rehearsal space, dance studio and more. Call us on 0191 4563917 to get involved!
These are songs recorded/mixed and sometimes even written here.

Wide range of instruments from Ukulele, Guitar to Piano, Predominant genre is acoustic pop.

Upcoming Live (yes...live) date(s):

Sept 15 2021 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Rooftop w/Jennifer Vanilla
(tix: https://dice.fm/event/8won5--chk-chk-chk-jennifer-vanilla-15th-sep-elsewhere-rooftop-new-york-tickets)

!!! is Nic Offer, Mario Andreoni, Dan Gorman, Rafael Cohen, Chris Egan, feat. Meah Pace

Management: Brian Long brian@knittingfactorymgmt.com
UK, Europe & ROW: international@warprecords.com
Booking No & So America: Karl Morse karl@arrivalartists.com
Booking EUR & JP: Rick Morton rick@blowuplive.com
Booking Rest of World: management@chkchkchk.net

Remix Requests  please contact lipstudio2@gmail.com

EMPEROR MACHINE  Biography
Over 30 years since acid house’s summer of love and there are few of 1988’s cast of actors still left standing. Still fewer are those whose music is still resolutely pointing towards the future rather than endlessly looking to the past. In fact, there’s arguably only one candidate left in the UK. While his peers are content with revival parties and classical house nights at the Albert Hall, Andy Meecham is out on his own as one of the few whose gleaming analogue machines are still pointing towards an imagined future rather than an endlessly relived history.
As the Emperor Machine, Meecham’s solo project since 2003, he has been wrenching monumental basslines, strange keyboard figures and luminescent rhythms from his beloved synthesisers, inspired by everything from sci-fi movies and KPM library albums. In some ways, his mission has scarcely altered in the 35 years since he first heard ‘Planet Rock’ in the early 1980s. “That’s the thing that got me hooked,” recalls Meecham. “The fact that it was futuristic sounding.  Anything that was sci-fi: UFO programmes, Dr Who, Star Trek. Stuff that suggested the future.”
While he’s happy to plough towards the future, we still has some serious history to contemplate. Meecham is one of the clique of acts in Staffordshire inspired by house music that included Candyflip, Altern-8, Sure Is Pure and Nexus 21. Meecham’s band with long-time conspirator Dean Meredith, Bizarre Inc, was one of the most successful of their generation and 1991’s ‘Playing With Knives’ was a staple in all self-respecting DJs bag that year. Major label deals, led to swift dissatisfaction; Meredith and Meecham went back to the mixing board to rethink their future. 
As Chicken Lips, they re-emerged alongside peers like the Idjut Boys and Faze Action, to offer their delayed and dislocated rhythms to an audience hungry for relief from the monotony of the four-to-the-floor house rhythm, with joyously dubbed out originals and fiendishly clever remixes for luminaries like Ennio Morricone and Groove Armada to Wolfmother, transforming Love Train from a metallic romp into a disco-dub delight with a bottom-end bigger than a Kardashian. Then there are Andrew’s other aliases (he’s had more than Carlos The Jackal), notably Sir Drew, Future Four, Gino Fontaine, BIG 2000, Randee Jean and Zeefungk.
The Emperor Machine was born out of an online slating of one of his favourite synths, the Roland SH 3A. Indignant at this appalling slight, Meecham set to work on a track only using said Roland. James Dyer at DC Recordings loved it so much, he asked him for another and gave the project its name. Emperor Machine it was.


 As with most of the Emperor Machine music, the methodology goes against the grain of how most electronic musicians approach producing. Rather than reducing it to mathematical blocks of music on a computer screen, Emperor Machine is about long passes, played live and then edited down by a crack team of highly-trained Potteries-based orang-utans, lorded over by merciless taskmaster Meecham.
The key to success is not dancefloor domination, but a far simpler rule, says Meecham. “The music has to make me shudder. So I work on something until I get that tingling feeling. So it’s almost more of a drug thing really. I have to get that out of the music and I can’t get that from full-on 909 four-to-the-floor dance music.”
A shudder and a tingle. And maybe a monster bassline. Emperor Machine redux. 
Bill Brewster

Musician with Trev Gibb, Rushers of Din (present).

In the past: O'Messy Life, Withered Hand (guest), A Woman of No Importance as well as Pillow, Sunday School Adventure Club, Sea of Glass, Dick & the Wranglers

I play drums, guitar, piano mainly. 

Have experimented with table harps, harmonium, wine glasses.

Empire of the Sun, the visionary Australian electronic duo comprising Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, have been making waves across the world with phenomenal live shows and anthemic smash hits for the last decade as one of Australia’s most successful musical exports.
With Steele's background in The Sleepy Jackson and Littlemore's founding role in PNAU, the duo embarked on a sonic odyssey that has captivated audiences worldwide. Since their emergence, Empire of the Sun has transcended boundaries, blending alternative electronica with mesmerizing visuals to create an immersive musical experience unlike any other.

Their seminal debut album, Walking On A Dream, which the musicians described as "a spiritual road movie" spawned iconic singles “Walking On A Dream” and “We Are The People”. The critically acclaimed second LP, disco-pop Ice On The Dune featured “Alive” and “DNA” and saw the band tour the world. Third LP "Two Vines," saw the band welcoming guests like Lindsey Buckingham, members of David Bowie's band from the Blackstar sessions, and Wendy Melvoin from Prince & the Revolution and featured singles “High And Low” and “Way To Go”.
Their chart success extends far beyond their native Australia, with their albums achieving multi-platinum certifications across the globe. In addition to their commercial triumphs, the duo has garnered an impressive array of accolades, including eight ARIA Awards, two APRA Awards, and an APRA Billions Award. With over 5.5 million albums sold globally and a staggering 7.6 billion streams, Empire of the Sun's impact on the music industry is undeniable, solidifying their status as icons of the electronic music genre. 8 years since their last LP, 2024 sees the dawn of a new era. The journey continues…this time we’re going through “Changes”.

Trev Gibb/King of the Sea has collaborated with David Brewis of Field Music, he has supported Kaiser Chiefs and Public Service Broadcasting.
His album 'Nucleotides' was released in November 2016.
His self-release EP 'Everything Happens Too Late' was released in March 2016.
He now records as King of the Sea and is currently working on a new untitled album.

5 piece noisy indie pop band from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

bookings, stories etc: bakerislandband@gmail.com

matt_weaver is following