We have been away. We tried on shoes. We have trained in glove and shadow puppetry but now we are back.

Tomorrow we meet to record something new and roll eggs.

TH

Did a gig in Southampton with the lovely Brooklyn-based Larch recently. They were great and God damn it so were we.

Now that we have the taste for doing it live again we won't be stopped. Watch this space. 

On the lighter side, our drummer has disappeared. We think he might have gone to New York for a spot of R&R. Answers to the name of "Benet", or "Mr K's  Modern fashion". A reward is offered but do not try to approach him unannounced.

John Conway, a mysterious music man residing in Kazakhstan, has spent several  weeks playing about with "Mudgeeraba" while he awaits sentence for  various unsavoury trouser crimes. We wish him well and as a mark of respect have posted his Mudgeeraba mix.

But for reasons best known to ourselves we have titled it "Mugeerba Azerbaijan"

we hope you like it

At the weekend we all went camping together inside a large concrete pipe near a railway track in Suffolk. Unfortunately the weather was unkind but overall it was a smoothly clipped experience and we plan to go again in 2009.

Tonight was a good rehearsal, new songs coming together well. The vocalist was, as ever, achingly hauntingly wonderful and acted as the rock upon which we could all cling and grow.

No post today, or yesterday, but we have decided to start worshipping John Frum and suggest that you do too.

Finally - not one but two (count them) new songs!  The unspeakably cachy (and potentially libellous) "Foster Klug" and the uncatchably speaky Mudgeeraba (don't ask) - described by James Blunt as "not at all beautiful" and by Ramon as "ruggedly handsome".  For optimum appreciation, play through dodgy PC speakers while squinting through one eye.  We hope you like them. 

Benet (just the drummer).

Had a great night recording

And also importantly a great curry.

Follow up EP to Los hombres del arnés del tomate is shaping up.

Still worried about Big John du Bois though, his state of mind is just disturbing

Chris (just the bass player)

Date: Wednesday 25 April.
Location: Chateau Harness, high up in the leafy delights of London's glamourous hotspot, Tulse Hill (You can see the London Eye from the skylight)
Purpose: assembly for a day of recording at the newly christened Tomato Studios. A suburban delight of stained glass and proper wood flooring. We were impressed.
Gadget-to-people ratio: alarming and intimidating. Frankly, two of the band members remember recording with 4 track tape, so inserting things into a laptop was an alien and disorienting prospect. Fortunately ignorance was balanced by the technical wit and wizardry of the rest of the band, who refused to run away from the USB leads. Software so complex that the manual came in three parts. Still there were about 400 amp simulations and zillions of guitar and bass samples, so lugging the 4x12 up the stairs was never an option. The new EP will be called 'Mask', since this was the little bastard that caused us so much trouble all day (p. 362 of the manual - we got there in the end). We didn't get as far as mixing. That's for another day.
Beer and comforts: plentiful, nay copious (intoxication a real danger, and main cause of pain and suffering)
Inspiration: leaky, wilting, listless in some; brash and buxom in others. on the whole, we achieved good things. But will do better when listening to what went down.
Songs: We had a bagful of bits 'n' bobs to throw together, a couple of well rehearsed tunes to garb by the neck and stuff into the machine, and two guitar-only ideas to air in the brightness of the day.
Progress: relaxed, friendly, distracted, then focused on getting through the take without screwing up. Recording seems much simpler in a live setting, but less satisfying in the end. We'll get the hang of it.
Results: Well, we didn't split up, kill each other or smash anything. Four new tunes are taking shape and we'll gradually get them up on the site as we do them.

If 'there is no sin except stupidity', we'll try not to be so sinful next time.