We're hoping to put up our promotional video this week, to raise funds so we can FINALLY get a professional EP recorded.
We have tried many times before to record something halfway decent, and we did manage to get some tracks down DIY style; however we now reeeeally want to have something we can be super proud of that does our music justice. After four years together we figure it is ABOUT TIME!
So, we will be asking for support from everyone we know to help us achieve our goal. We met up on Sunday before rehearsal to record the promo video. We actually only had a vague idea of what we would be doing and saying... and have learned that if we do this again maybe some sort of plan would be a good idea!
When it's out later this week, check out our sparklingly cringe-worthy out-takes for a good big chuckle!
xx
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Monday 28 February 2011
Big fat update squished into one tiny post
We hope you had a fantastic Christmas holiday; Eid; Diwali; New Year and Chinese New Year (Kung Hei Fat Choi to you all) and that 2011 so far is a fabulous one for you!
Yes, it has been THAT LONG since the last Layers post and there is no excuse at all. Really, there is none, though I thought long and hard about giving one.
In this Layers bulletin, you will find out what we've been up to for the past few months, and what is ahead! So... here goes:
- We finished four shiny new tunes at the start of the year, including one about a crazy man who talks to lamposts; a duet with me and Anna which is kind of therapy in verse form and a song about wanting to run out of a work meeting to play with mystical creatures. Finally putting all the experience I gained in previous office jobs to good use!
- We got some photos done by photographer Gethin Nadin, which can be seen on http://www.myspace.com/thelayersgroup
- We played a fantastic gig at Proud, Camden, with Hotvox in February and will be playing for them again with some more funky bands soooon! Photoooos above!
- Our 2011 EP is in the construction stages. We are raising money to do this asap, and more info will be available soon. Please check back with us for details!
Much love,
The Layers
Friday 29 October 2010
Arctic Monkeys? Well that's news to us!
Unbeknownst to us, we have made it into music video site
muzu's TOP 5 list of bands from the Live andUnsigned competition earlier this year!
Thank you Amy of http://www.fieldandfallow.com for randomly coming across this exciting nugget of news! We are bizarrely described as being influenced by the Arctic Monkeys and Maximo Park, but we shall brush over that shall we?
Check out the video: http://www.muzu.tv/blog/2010/05/26/live-and-unsigned-5-top-indie-bands-from-the-competition/
Right now we're getting some new tunes written and will be gigging again soon.
Will keep you posted!
Monday 26 April 2010
WAGS out on the town!
As this is a band blog and not a personal one, this post will be short. But just a quick message to the Layers' other halves: thank you all so much for the support you have and do give us all. Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday, and it feels great to know you're behind us!
Much love, see you soon!
x
Tuesday 13 April 2010
The Layers on Muzu
There’s nothing quite as cringe-worthy as watching yourself on video. Well perhaps hearing your speaking voice recorded. That one always gets me.
The Live and Unsigned people have put our video clip from the last round onto a music video website, Muzu. It is very helpful to see yourself, to see what you’re doing wrong, to improve for next time. On a more positive note, we can also see what we did right. At the time, I was completely in another world. I was trying to make sure I:
a. Performed
b. Remembered what we’d practised
c. Enjoyed it
But the reality was that those 3.5 minutes went by in a complete blur. After we came off the stage I could not have told you if I had sung in tune, or remembered the words, or if I’d even sung at all! It was a very strange almost out of body experience, so to see that I did, in fact, sing the song as planned, was a huge relief.
The bar has now been set. We need to raise this for the next round, and we’re all super keen to do a lot better. I think we’ll use this to work out what needs improving, from the actual music, to the performance, to our styling.
Check out the video, and leave a (nice please!) comment!
Layers on Facebook
Big Love,
The Layers
The Live and Unsigned people have put our video clip from the last round onto a music video website, Muzu. It is very helpful to see yourself, to see what you’re doing wrong, to improve for next time. On a more positive note, we can also see what we did right. At the time, I was completely in another world. I was trying to make sure I:
a. Performed
b. Remembered what we’d practised
c. Enjoyed it
But the reality was that those 3.5 minutes went by in a complete blur. After we came off the stage I could not have told you if I had sung in tune, or remembered the words, or if I’d even sung at all! It was a very strange almost out of body experience, so to see that I did, in fact, sing the song as planned, was a huge relief.
The bar has now been set. We need to raise this for the next round, and we’re all super keen to do a lot better. I think we’ll use this to work out what needs improving, from the actual music, to the performance, to our styling.
Check out the video, and leave a (nice please!) comment!
Layers on Facebook
Big Love,
The Layers
Our first practice for the next round of Live and Unsigned began last night. Having got through to the area finals (which take place on 2nd May), we now have to prepare another 3.5 minute piece, half of which should be our own song and the other half a cover of our choice.
Hannah wasn’t able to make practice, but even with one short, six people is still a lot of opinions! We first decided which of our own songs we would choose. We shortlisted it to Do the Walk and Don’t Stop Now with James and I preferring the former and everybody else choosing the latter. Luckily we’re a very polite (most of the time) bunch, and in the end we all agreed on Don’t Stop Now.
The second part was harder – deciding on a cover. Should we choose something completely un-us, as we did in the Regional Finals when we chose to cover Franz Ferdinand? Or was one of the judge’s comments about us being maybe ‘too unique’ something we should take note of?
Thanks to the magic i-phone, we youtubed a few songs, including Ne-yo’s Closer, Arctic Monkeys’ Bet that you look good on the dancefloor, Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance and even that classic, S Club’s Don’t Stop Moving.
What’s wrong with a bit of cheer? Really, sometimes those boys are just too short-sighted for their own good! ;P
We still plan to try some of the above on Sunday’s rehearsal. However, in the meantime we came up with something that sounded tight pretty quickly and that we all felt excited about. Shy FX’s Shake Your Body links in lyrically, as it is about dance, and the original is such a banger. We’ll see on Sunday if we keep it or go for S Club after all...
Tuesday 6 April 2010
Layers play The Bedford, Balham
Last week we were offered the headlining spot at The Bedford in Balham, thanks to a recommendation by the Rocket Number 9 boys.
The Bedford is well known for promoting new talent, and showcases bands four nights a week. It has hosted and helped acts such as Paulo Nutini, James Morrison and KT Tunstall before they really made it. With a great reputation and being notoriously difficult to get a slot in, we jumped at the chance to play a set at the Bedford, even though we only had two days' notice!
The room we played in was the Shakespeare Globe, which boasts a huge disco ball in the middle. The gig was streamed live on the internet, and the acoustics were fabulous. It's always a treat to play somewhere that has a good soundman!
As our first gig since Sunday's Live and Unsigned, we were all still buzzing, and from the energy we produced on stage, I'd guess it showed. Being the first day of the public holidays, the pub was pretty full and we had a good crowd to play to. Though much of the audience were seated, there was some good chair dancing (!) and the reactions we got were really gratifying.
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