Random Hand New video, Album & live shows

Random Hand New video, Album & live shows

CELEBRATE THEIR 20th ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW SELF-TITLED ALBUM DUE SEPTEMBER 29TH VIA BOMBER MUSIC

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE

Twenty years in, and top of their game, West Yorkshire, Keighley-bred ska punk icons Random Hand are coming in hot with their fifth album! Their bodies may be creaking with grey hairs beginning to show, but the vitality and relevance of their music isn’t changing one bit. Refined and confident, the band’s new album, due September 29th via Bomber Music, is set to redefine their place as one of the UK’s most significant and dependable punk bands.

20 years ago, as the seemingly unstoppable third wave of ska punk came crashing down on the world of popular music, only to leave a misunderstood scene in its wake, Random Hand worked tirelessly on keeping the spirit of the bands that inspired them alive and kicking. Tearing full throttle through the UK punk scene with their ferocious in your face ska-punk-metal mayhem, stops along the way in the USA, Canada, Russia and all over mainland Europe have displayed a band with a relentless touring schedule. The band have played countless festivals including Reading, Leeds, Slam Dunk, Rebellion, Guilfest, Glastonbury, Boomtown Fair, 2000 Trees, Mighty Sounds and toured alongside the likes of Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Propagandhi, Big D & The Kids Table, Voodoo Glow Skulls etc. They played their 1000th show in July 2011 and were nominated for the AIM award for ‘Hardest Working Band’ (they came a close second to Frank Turner). They have recorded 3 sessions for BBC Radio 1.

Having taken a brief pause from touring to pursue solo projects after the release of 2015’s ‘Hit Reset’ album, the band are raring to return to the fray with gigs confirmed for September and October, and the highly anticipated release of their fifth album.

“We pushed ourselves to breaking, then further still,” explains bassist Joe Tilston. “We stopped to recover and then came back with a passion and energy we didn’t think possible. Random Hand have now played over 2000 shows and we are currently curating a series of our own HandFests across the UK this year, the first in Leeds in February sold out two days in less than 45 minutes.

“Once we started writing the new album, we hit a groove like in the years the band first started,” continues Joe. “Things felt so natural and exciting again. Working with Andy Hawkins, who helped us craft ‘Hit Reset’ was the obvious choice. We loved making that album, but recording an album you know you’re not going to tour is a very different experience. This was exciting, potential was oozing out of every session, that didn’t feel stunted or a waste. The choice to call it ‘Random Hand’ felt like a bold statement for album five and two decades into a career. But we feel that good about it, it defines all we’ve done, and we believe it stands as tall as anything else we’ve ever created, if not taller. With all the other great things happening in ska punk in the international scene and in the UK, makes it feel like this album couldn’t be timed better.”

The first taste of these new recordings comes with ‘Lifejackets’, an infectiously joyous body shakin’ tune that, like much of Random Hand’s music, masks a serious and weighty message.   

“It’s a song about the gap between us and those at the top,” states Joe. “For the video we played out in a retro encounter with a tyrannical salesman, who ruins everyone’s day. We descended on one of the empty shops, that litter Keighley’s Highstreet. Closed like a time capsule from the 2008 financial crash, it served as the perfect location for our throwback adventure. It was colder in there than the nice sunny day outside, but we were all dressed like cretins so we stayed in and shivered. But we knew we were onto something special with the talented people we were working with, getting the best out of us.”

Watch the video for ‘Lifejackets’ HERE:

Album Pre-order HERE:

Catch Random Hand live at the following dates:

September

28           Nottingham, The Cold Store

29           Norwich, Arts Centre

30           London, The Dome HANDFEST

October

1              Bristol, The Fleece

5              Manchester, Rebellion

6              York, The Crescent

7              Glasgow, Garage Attic

8              Newcastle, Think Tank

Find Random Hand online:

WEBSITE /FACEBOOK /TWITTER /BANDCAMP /BOMBER MUSIC

RANDOM HAND Celebrate 20 Years With New Album

RANDOM HAND Celebrate 20 Years With New Album

Pre Order Here

Twenty years in, and top of their game, West Yorkshire, Keighley-bred ska punk icons Random Hand are coming in hot with their fifth album! Their bodies may be creaking with grey hairs beginning to show, but the vitality and relevance of their music isn’t changing one bit. Refined and confident, the band’s new album, due September 29th via Bomber Music, is set to redefine their place as one of the UK’s most significant and dependable punk bands.

Today, the band release new single ‘The Cycle’; a joyous, high-energy three-minutes-and-forty seconds of rampant ska vigour that masks a deeper meaning…

“Lyrically, ‘The Cycle’ is inspired by the instability of the world we live in,” explains singer Robin Leitch. “There seems to be something of an epidemic in recent years in regard to how secure we feel our environment is. One minute everyone seems to be getting on, and the idea of empathy is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and then at the drop of the hat we revert to dog eat dog, just like that.” 

Random Hand made the music video for ‘The Cycle’ themselves, at their practice room in Keighley.

“Embracing the true DIY punk ethos,” Leitch recalls, “And struggling to find a suitable video location, we decided to get the tools out and modify a section of our own rehearsal space. You may enjoy the thrash of a double-speed guitar, but there is no music like that of a hammer on a nail. We stayed up late the night before, drilling, sawing, and listening to disco. I even nicked a couple of lights from the theatre I work in. We pooled our resources to create a blank canvas to perform against, and hoped the music would speak for itself.” 

20 years ago, as the seemingly unstoppable third wave of ska punk came crashing down on the world of popular music, only to leave a misunderstood scene in its wake, Random Hand worked tirelessly on keeping the spirit of the bands that inspired them alive and kicking. Having taken a brief pause from touring to pursue solo projects after the release of 2015’s ‘Hit Reset’ album, the band are raring to return to the fray with gigs confirmed for September and October, and the highly anticipated release of their fifth album.

“We pushed ourselves to breaking, then further still,” explains bassist Joe Tilston. “We stopped to recover and then came back with a passion and energy we didn’t think possible. Random Hand have now played over 2000 shows and we are currently curating a series of our own HandFests across the UK this year, the first in Leeds in February sold out two days in less than 45 minutes.”

This September 30th, the day after the albums release, Random Hand headline the London HandFest at The Dome, Tufnell Park where they will join friends Popes Of Chilitown, The JB Conspiracy, Crazy Arm, Call Me Malcolm, Darko, Tree House Fire, Hell’s Ditch, Mr Shiraz, Roshambo, Traits and Till I’m Bones for a day of essential punk rock and ska.

“Bringing our 20th anniversary celebration to an end, we descend upon London with another incredible two stage lineup,” says Joe. “Welcoming some incredible friends we’ve made along the way, and some bands we are desperate to see. The huge variety of bands is testament to the diverse and inspiring scene Random Hand has been a big part of, over the last two decades.”

Order tickets for HandFest HERE

Catch Random Hand live at the following dates:

September

27           Bradford, The Underground

28           Nottingham, The Cold Store

29           Norwich, Arts Centre

30           London, The Dome HANDFEST

October

1              Bristol, The Fleece

5              Manchester, Rebellion

6              York, The Crescent

7              Glasgow, Garage Attic

8              Newcastle, Think Tank

Random Hand are:

Robin Leitch – Vocals & Trombone

Joe Tilston  – Bass

Dan Walsh – Guitar

Sean Howe – Drums

Find Random Hand online:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

BANDCAMP

BOMBER MUSIC

Cover Band Pic by Danny Payne

Two For Tuesday

Two For Tuesday
JESSE MALIN  |  photo by Vivian Wang

A re-recorded version of the song ‘TKO’ from ‘The Fine Art Of Self Destruction’, the 2003 debut album by New York based singer songwriter Jesse Malin is available Here. It is the final one of three re-recordings that have not already been included as part of that record’s recent 20th Anniversary reissue. Reimagined and re-recorded with his longtime band, the song was produced by Derek Cruz and engineered by Geoff Sanoff, who also worked on Malin’s ‘Sunset Kids’ (2019) and ‘Sad And Beautiful World’ (2021) albums.

Official Site  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram

Second out round two and this Tuesday its Random Hand who are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and to mark this they have announced a new self-titled album, due September 29th via Bomber Music and released this video ‘Lifejacket’. You can pre order the album Here

Deaf Havana announced as Camden Rocks Festival Sunday headliners plus another 26 acts added.

Deaf Havana announced as Camden Rocks Festival Sunday headliners plus another 26 acts added.

????Sinners and Revellers???? Bringing you Sundays headliners, Deaf Havana! Joining Camden Rocks for their first ever London festival headline! Also announced are rising stars Our Hollow, Our Home, Britpop veterans Hurricane#1, breakout indie trio GLASS PEAKS, The Lottery Winners, Red Rum Club, Sworn Amongst, Orchards, KOYO and more!

For more artists just announced and to explore festival playlists ➡️ www.camdenrocksfestival.com

They join already announced Frank Turner, Ash, The Wonder Stuff, RAT BOY, New Model Army,Wheatus, Carl Barât, Ginger Wildheart, The Professionals., Angelic Upstarts, MILK TEETH,Richie Ramone, Pretty Vicious, Raging Speedhorn,Random Hand, Discharge, Eliza and the Bear, The Virginmarys, Area 11, Sonic Boom Six, Chamberlain,The Last Internationale, [spunge], BANG BANG ROMEO, LOTUS EATER, Rews and hundreds more of the best in live music across indie, rock, punk and metal ????

Day and weekend tickets available from £40 (subject to booking fees) ➡️ www.camdenrocksfestival.com

Camden Rocks Tickets and more bands announced

Camden Rocks Tickets and more bands announced

Camden Rocks Festival 2019
1st & 2nd June
The next wave of artists for Camden Rocks Festival 2019 is here! The multi-talented punk and folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner is joined by hitmakers The Wonder Stuff, Random Hand, Discharge, Richie Ramone, The Professionals, Eliza And The Bear, Sonic Boom Six, Area 11, Spunge, Shvpes and ninety other phenomenal bands across indie, rock, punk and metal announced.

They join the first wave of acts that includes Ash, Ratboy, New Model Army, Wheatus, Carl Barat, Ginger Wildheart, Milkteeth, Pretty Vicious, Raging Speedhorn, Angelic Upstarts, The Virginmarys, The Last Internationale, Bang Bang Romeo, Rews and many more.

This year Camden Rocks Festival is a two day event for the first time! Bringing you 400 artists across twenty grassroot venues in Camden Town.

Get out your microscopes and open up a spreadsheet to map out your days.  If you were to ask us here obviously the star attractions of The Wonderstuff and Ash will have their fans but watching The Hip Priests, The Spangles or Rich Ragany & The Digressions is where the gold dust is.  We’ll be doing our bit on the run-up to the event when we know venues and band times and let you know where we’ll be heading.

Tickets

The New face of Ska, Punk is!!!

The New face of Ska, Punk is!!!

Nev Brooks.

Picture the scene, I’m Sat watching BBC 4 (someone has to) and on comes out of the blue (not entirely) Roots, Reggae, Revolution, an absolute classic fronted by Akala, an in-depth analysis of the history of reggae and how Ska came forth from the Dancehall.

 

Sitting where it began as something that came out of necessity, through times of struggles, designed and delivered to help lift up the community sending forth a huge message both political and social.  Further down the line it drifted with real Roots reggae taking hold, sat simmering in the background until it leapt to prominence again in the late seventies/early eighties under the banner of Two Tone. Now if we look at music and cross genres, Rock and Roll always preached rebellion, looking down on an older generation, Punk spat not just Anarchy but a sense of Nihilism, whereas Two Tone (Ska) preached togetherness, Black and White united against a social structure where the far right were at their most active. The message cutting forward against a Thatcherite Britain, promoting togetherness, kicking against austerity measures and giving a clear message through infectious rhythms and well-voiced opinions.

 

Leaders of the movement The Specials, The Beat, The Selector all still going great guns now, or should I say all re-ignited given their voice back through those same issues coming full circle, the far right rising, Brexit looming and the need for the musical underground to find a voice. Taking the sound on mutating it and adding a hint of Anarchy was always going to be a good thing so it stood to reason that Ska was going to infiltrate the Punk underground for its next stage of development.

Now over the last four/five years I’ve really immersed myself in the sound and one band that look set to cross over into the mainstream has to be The Bar Stool Preachers, skanking out of Brighton I’ve ended up in conversation with vocalist TJ McFaul on a number of occasions raved about both their LP’s Blatant Propaganda and Grazie Governo both of which you can pick up here Bar Stool Preachers live they put on an amazing show and second LP Grazie Governo should be the one to launch them into the big time, if you can get bigger than playing to 15,000 across Europe supporting Die Totenhausen. You might not have heard of them? I suggest you rectify the matter, check it out

 

Next up if that really takes your fancy bounce along to The Popes of Chillitown again a band simmering away tearing up venues nationwide whether you pick up the first LP A word to the wise (it was a pledge release) their sophomore LP To the Moon or the new LP Work hard, Play hard See you in the Graveyard you will not be disappointed All of which you can pick up here :-

 

Popes Of Chillitown these are a must-see live act, ripping through Reggae/Ska/Dub/Punk/Hip-Hop and Drum and Bass all done with an infectious smile, check it out

 

Now you might be starting to build one of those recommended playlists if your streaming this stuff, which granted most people do nowadays, but what you really should be doing is supporting the bands not the streaming platforms, get on the website or better still buy at a gig, you might even manage to get it signed!!!

 

Next up has to be Skaciety bouncing out of Kent they released an absolutely blinding LP Overstaying our welcome you can pick it up here

Bandcamp again yet another band tearing up stages across the UK, check them out

Sitting on the TNS roster of bands next up Faintest Idea released an LP that absolutely tears your face off called the Minimum Rage, followed up by the second LP The Voice of Treason politically in your face and with a real hardcore edge this attacks the genre from a different angle, still ska undoubtedly but leaning more towards a real punk/ political edge. You can pick both up here

 

By now your either bouncing around the room or wondering why the fuck haven’t I listened to these bands before, take a breath there are many more what about The Skints, Random Hand, Call me Malcolm, Complicated men of Leisure, Captain Accident and the Disasters to mention just a few more. Or if you want to look further afield what about the mighty Interrupters?

 

or the band I’m going to leave you with Jaya the Cat? Here come the Drums indeed!! Enjoy go ahead and discover your new favourite band. As with everything the biggest fun you’ll ever have in this musical world is discovering something new.

Jaya the Cat

 

BSP pic by Dod Morrison