We have just completed the third leg of our 5-stage US tour and are currently getting some rest and doing laundry in Seattle. So far it has been super fun and most of the shows have sold out, which is a first for us (only 25 years into our slow-build touring career.) The new record "Old School" has been extremely well-received so far according to the fans we meet at the shows, and we have been enjoying incorporating most of the new tunes into our live sets. We have avoiding boring ourselves by playing a mostly completely different set of tunes each night (which also benefits a handful of superfans who have been following us around catching multiple consecutive shows.) Simon (that's him, referring to himself in 3rd-person again) has reluctantly re-activated Instagram and has been using the band account @newmastersounds to communicate with fans in real time. (But not Facebook as he was locked out of the band page during the Great Hacking and hasn't been let back in and that's just fine with him.) We have now sold out of merch so are now looking at setting up drop-shipping from this site so you will be able to get made-to-order T-shirts and hoodies and we don't have to carry any more big boxes around in our rented soccer-mom van.
It was a real delight to reconnect with many of our US fans and fellow musicians on Jamcruise at the end of February. We are now gearing up for our first US tour since 2020 which will co-incide with the release of our latest studio record “Old School” (out March 29th on One Note Records & Color Red) which will be available on vinyl LP and CD at the shows. Check out tour page to find out if we are playing anywhere near you on this trip, and if not, hopefully we can get to you next time…
“Do The Sausage Roll” is a “Hammond-led instrumental souljazz banger” (this is a direct quote from the PR notes written by me, the drummer) and will be the first digital single from the forthcoming album “Old School”. The title clearly implies a response to some kind of hip teen dance craze. A more imaginative and/or ambitious band might have devised some clever choreographed moves and filmed themselves performing for TikTok, but that would probably have triggered various debilitating age-related injuries. Besides, none of us knows how TikTok works. The track should magically show up this Friday on all the digital platforms so you’ll be able to come up with your own special dance for it then.
Here we go…
Just saying goodbye to each other after a great run of four live shows in Northern Spain, each of which was a unique and special experience. We visited Galicia for the first time, playing on an outdoor stage for the 10th anniversary party of the Ho! Gruf (pronounced “groove”) music club in the ancient Roman walled city of Lugo. Then we headed across to El Nautico de San Vicente, a beach venue and recording studio where they host three bands a day and the audiences show up without knowing who they will see. The third show was in Avilés, Asturias, for La Grapa Black Music Festival (pictured). Last night we capped off the tour with an intimate club show at Dabadaba in Donostia, Basque Country. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us, we hope to return to Spain again next year.
(photo credit: Fran Cea Photography)
Right after a great little run of shows (Saint Paul Soul Funk Festival in France, then Manchester, London and Leeds, UK) we went down to Joe’s place - The Perle Studio in the Peak District - where we laid down 11 new 4-piece tunes which we hope to release on vinyl LP and digital streaming early next year. We have just parted company for 12 days but will meet up again in Madrid ready for a run of four shows on August 2,3,4,5 in Northern Spain with Lamar Williams Jr. Looking forward to revisiting songs from the Shake It and Deplar albums, as well as instrumental staples from the back catalogue.
Very much looking forward to our first visit to Baja California, on the west coast of Mexico, at the end of November to play this boutique mini-festival with our pal Lamar Williams Jr.
“Smoothie”, the second digital single to be taken from the forthcoming studio album “Old School” is out today on all the usual digital platforms. Pre-Order the FLAC digital album download via our Bandcamp here: https://newmastersounds.bandcamp.com/album/old-school
| Fri Apr 05 |
Resonate Festival Live Oak, FL |
| Fri Apr 19 |
Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR |
| Sat Apr 20 |
The Fillmore San Francisco, CA |
| Sun Apr 21 |
Moe’s Alley Santa Cruz, CA |
| Mon Apr 22 |
Hopmonk Tavern Sebastopol, CA |
Teaser trailer for our live-in-studio follow up to 2016’s Nashville Session album - this one was recorded in June 2018 at the same studio - Welcome To 1979 - and features existing NMS originals whose arrangements have evolved on stage since they were originally recorded. Plus a banging cover of John Cameron’s KPM classic Afro Metropolis. The LP comes with a free download card which includes two additional tracks - Flimsy and Six Underground - that are on the CD version but didn’t fit onto the vinyl.
