Look, I know it's a shock but we are in fact alive and well, although we are
living in a canoe that we paddled away from the shores of north east England
in an attempt to escape our seaside ice cream eating debts, but we got lost.
We are currently circling the Isle of Man (we think) where we can just about
get reception on my RedCurrant, on which I type. If you want the true depth
of banality of our existence in the canoe, subscribe to our Twitter feed
banalisthenewinteresting@twitter.com

Anyway.

I just wanted to mention that the album I produced last year by Sean Gorman,
a.k.a. Swoop Swoop is out now on Metal Postcard records through Vitamin in
Australia, Cargo in the UK and... other distributors in other places.

It's nothing like ollo, but everything like Swoop Swoop. I didn't want to be
one of those producers who comes in and stomps all over the artist's
identity in the name of now-ness.

Have a preview listen here:

http://www.vitamin.net.au/Swoop%20Swoop/Somewhere%20In%20The%20Shadows/track
sdefault.asp?ai=271

If you like what you hear you might like to go to

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/requests/make_a_request.htm

and request it. "For Real" might be a good one.

It is a grower, not a shower. Oo-er... what I mean by that is... it is
very unusual in this era in that it doesn't: shout, scream, dress up, poke
screwdrivers in your ears, claim to be an alien love spirit, only wear
pyjamas soaked in bourbon, pretend to be a homo, evoke faux religious zeal,
launch itself at the flickering flame of fame via a TV show, have a cool
video on YouTube, utilise social networking for grassroots marketing
initiatives, hop on to any passing bandwagon and try not to fall off until
the next one comes along, or only sound good on Ketamine.

Give it a few goes.

Back to ollo.

After, what, 6 months of computer and gear nonsense I am finally approaching
having a studio again having had to upgrade everything ever to the point
that I nearly left it all outside in the rain and sought solace as a roving
Buddhist solo acapella group singing "Knees Up Mother Brown" on a continuous
loop substituting dialogue from 'Race Around the World' for the lyrics.
"It's a hit!" I hear you cry! But oh no, that would be too easy. Fear not,
more non-selling "what is it meant to be, exactly ?" ollo music of marginal
appeal will be exiting my soul to be seared onto CD or written to MP3 via
telepathy some time soon. Ish.

But you know, if I CAN get this gear to work properly, eventually, I am
very excited...

Alex

It was touch and go when the power cut kicked in but the Saigon live gig went really well. The Emergency were great, we had fun DJing as well and Jase the promoter was a fantastic host so huge thanks to him and of course Sean from Metal Postcard/12 Apostles who hooked us up and has been great company.

It was the first chance to break out the Chinese huluzi live, and we did a cover of one of the tracks from the Swoop Swoop/Sean Gorman album I have just finished producing.

The crowd went with it all which was great, I wasn't sure if they would be into it as it would be very different to what they normally get to hear, as the previous night's Santana-like live band showed.

So thanks to everyone who came, it was great fun thanks to you all. The sound guy, a Frenchman called Alex was also great to work with. It makes it so much more fun when that stuff is smooth going. OK running out of power on the laptop. Looking forward to Hanoi, an outdoor gig.

Alex

Neotropic's album that first came out on Mush, White Rabbits, has just been re-released on Squid's Eye/Council Folk (catalogue SER006) as Whiter Rabbits, with remixes, one of which is by ollo.

http://www.amazon.com/Whiter-Rabbits-Neotropic/dp/B00142K5VW

Coming soon to an endangered species (record shop) near you... the EP of remixes of track from The If If called If Thief. Remixes are by:
Faux Pas
Dsico (x2)
Neotropic
40 Thieves
S D Onions
Hot Cock

Once Sean Gormans’ album is complete expect a vocal on the new LAKELUSTRE album which is in mastering and then new ollo material, if life is kind.

Alex is back from 10 intense days recording Sean Gorman/Streaky Jake/Swoop Swoop’s new album and there are some corkers if you are gladdened by the thought of Elliot Smith, MBV, and Dylan swirling about in a new broth infused with Western Australian sun and melancholy. And the crockpot top is the new cow bell.

Due for release in the next couple of months is the new project from Steve Cobby of Fila Brasillia and Pork from Pork recordings – The Cutler. The album will feature a song with lyrics and vocals by Alex called Cleaver. E's reet proud that 'e is.

We are proud to hear that "Moosk" from "C-Sides" is being used to promote the Cinema for Peace Award (www.cinemaforpeace.com) which will be presented during the gala on February 11 in Berlin. It's a charity project which will be hosted by Bob Geldof and many other stars.

Well, yeah but no but. One is a sample from the i-Tunes only C-Sides release, a moody old thing called Moosk. If anyone wants to help us get this release out as a real life CD please contact us. It feels a bit lonely over there at iTunes and would like to make more friends.

The other is a remix of the song The If If by Melbourne's mighty Faux Pas, who managed to transform a melancholy meanderer into a spritely smiler. Hats off to you sir!

Thank you for your ears.

Alex

Lars has decided he doesn't want to be involved in ollo's live performances. It's completely amicable, but it means I am having a rethink about what ollo live is and how to do it. That may partly be determined by new material. In the mean time an EP of remixes of tracks from The If If, entitled "If Thief" will be out in the next couple of months.

Happy New Year to youse all.