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Review on show: Click here

Evening.

With the rains come more time to scurry through the alcoves of audio-land...Rain and music seem to go hand in hand. And soil. Dirt. Seeds and earth.

We have been earthed.

Now the seeds must germinate. Sprout. Form and reach to light.

Go help the seed grow. Let us be the soundtrack to the rain outside your window whilst your little computerised mouse-clicks make the rain for our little sproutling.

Go to www.triplejunearthed.com/wim

You will find us in the grass. Set us free.

Thank you.

Good morning children,

As you may have guessed from the title of today's sermon, we have been dubbed Fbi's 'Up For It Unsigned Artist of the Week'! This means lots of people were woken to the sounds of 'Milk with my Tea' coming from their radio's this morning.

This evokes the awesome imagery of thousands of people singing along as they dramatically pour said milk into said tea whilst wearing knee-high socks and baggy t-shirts.

To the lactose intolerant amongst you, I'd like to point out that soy milk almost counts, but I believe if you just train your body to adjust to dairy it can happen.

Maybe not sound medical advice, but at least you can sing along in earnest!

Thanks and love to fbi and to the listeners and all and sundry. Especially sundry, I love that guy.

xx

Hi hi hi hi hi.

Thought it was time for an update, because, from the facade of the myspace page and downturn in shows lately, you might get the impression we're not doing much. I don't blame you for thinking this, but the magician has to learn his tricks, bunnies need to be trained and new women-folk need to be found in order to cut them in half...All in the name of science mind you.

Well we are! We have been busy. So I thought I'd share.

Firstly, and most brilliantly, we shot some photographs...or rather, we had some very talented people see to it that photographs were taken. They look so good right now, although we are yet to receive the final images. We will let you know when we do get these in. And a more detailed little wrap of the whole thing will follow suit. But suffice to say the photos were taken by Ted O'Donnell and you can see his stuff here (http://www.tedodonnell.com/). 2 pics from the shoot are there. Some other amazing shots are there. Best you stop reading actually 'cos his work is far more inspiring than these words here.

Other magicians involved were Megan Chassay, Cara Striker (you should go to http://cara-kicia.blogspot.com/ after you finish ted's page), Rosemary Pantling and Irene and, of course, Alex.

So yes. Thanks to all for your amazing work. Seriously, your work turns the receptors in our brains into a tornado of neon.

In aural speak. We have been writing new things. I had a look at an entry of mine in February stating intentions of posting new material up. Well promises don't come with an expiry date and whilst we have had new things on the pot for a while, we keep making them better (new spices, flavours) and get frustrated with old versions. Basically we are waiting until we have a proper little being to show you. So do be patient. If you are getting sick of the tracks up there now, do say something.

In fact, I'd love some sort of a reply to these rants to get some discourse happening between you and us.

2 or 3 weeks. New songs. demo's. up here. something. Fingers crossed.

And just quickly...FBi is so integral so the vibrancy of this city. A beacon.

That's probably enough for now. Will speak soon. Promise.

x

Waking up all bleary eyed and a little worse for wear...Just had to put it out there to every beaming face that came to our Adventure Club show last, you are the best!!!
Remnants of whatever hangover are totally eclipsed by the vibe that you created last night and to have those curtains open to all of you out there and to have the joy of playing in front of you was so special. So THANK YOU!!!!!
Thanks for dancing in the leaves and singing with the dinosaurs. Can't wait to do it again and again and so pleased to have each and every one of you there to make it the awesome experience it is. You are all so integral to it...what else can we say but WIM fans are the bomb and we awake up with giant smiles at the memory and resonance of yours.
See you all very very soon! (friday coming for the ultra keen :) )

wim xx

Forming in late 2007, WIM are a band harking back to classic pop and timeless folk, whilst facing steadfastly forward toward modern indie/art rock. Incorporating psychedelic instrumentation, soulful and earnest lyricism and intriguing vocal melodies, the sound travels a broad spectrum.

It happened something like this…After living in Paris, Martin Solomon returned home a singer. He met songwriter Simon Jankelson and they began to collaborate. Harry Thynne assumed the kit, Dustin Bookatz the bass and lead guitarist Saul Wodak soon entered the picture. Most of the members had spent extensive periods of time in different parts of the world and their experiences and stories slowly presented themselves in the songs they began to write.

Their path seemed to be motivated by the search for something ‘enduring’, in that the focus was certainly more on the songs themselves, as opposed to the sounds and trends happening around them. ‘Old’ songs were merged and new ones written and this entity formed the bricks and mortar, the palette and the shape of WIM.

The band travel from the realms of such timeless sounds as The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and Neil Young, to the more contemporary Grizzly Bear and Devendra Banhart. Describing themselves as ‘glam folk’, WIM aspire to meld and cross-reference a variety of genres.

This gamut of creativity was made clear in WIM’s 2008 demo. Interestingly recorded mere months after the band had formed, the result was a surprisingly professional and emphatic recording that managed to capture their variety of song styles. The demo has since helped the boys gain the attention of various local media and notable industry figures.

It has also catapulted the band into a series of noteworthy shows, in turn creating a kind of mysterious aura around the name “WIM”.  The band has recently played to packed out and captivated crowds at Manning Bar, headlined nights at Oxford Art Factory and featured in a series of underground music spectacles. Writer and editor of Music Feeds Magazine, Michael Carr, says of their live show: “WIM delivers the most crushing and indomitable set of perfect shiny pop I have ever seen.”

Perhaps this credit is indicative of the group’s attitude to playing live. Says singer Martin Solomon: “We’ve always preferred the word show to the word gig. I think that’s what we’re really aiming to achieve more and more with the band - putting on a show where that audience is truly engaged and involved – transported, even”.

In the end, the band is really about a sense of return to music and a new take on the modern-classic song. WIM’s sound travels over a vast array of colour and feelings; their songs truly speak for themselves.

So...this is a blog? Okay. What do I do here? write, or type, i suppose.
Well, let's try to recap for all the blogs that may have, but haven't come before, in the brief tenure that is wim thus far.
So about 12 months in, six of the last spent playing shows, working out what we look like standing up, and all of the growth that has accompanied that, and we are here...
A brief respite, wherein we are writing more songs (it's about time, I know) and a chance to reflect.
I, Dustin, would like to extend thanks to everyone who has stopped by and taken the time to listen. Thank you. The response has been nothing short of joyous for us and makes us want to take this thing so so much further. Don't worry, we'll do our best.
So what are we doing?
Well, having just played a lot of shows (for us anyway...oh and huge thanks to all who danced their hearts out and sang 'la la la la la' at the top of their lungs!), we are taking several weeks to write more songs, travel some, and start the next chapter. So do stay tuned.
We are planning on demo'ing some things, which we will upload here, so you can see what we've been brewing since the songs that are up on this page. See where we've been reaching and where we might be going.
We will try post more blogs to keep people informed (assuming someone reads this) and maybe offer an insight into what's going on in our minds as we approach this time in our lives...
But for now it's back to the laboratory, which is more of a botanist's lab than that of a frankenstein or something, but I'll leave the imagery up to you good people.
End of bog one.
love,
Dustin.