Apocalypse Metropolis

Apocalypse Metropolis is taken from The Speed Of Sound's 'Victory' album, which itself is the 2nd disc of the 'A Cornucopia' trinity. Twinned musically with Apocalypse Acropolis, linked yet totally different in approach, feel and sound. Apocalypse Metropolis envisions a bright, bustling, busy cityscape, of traffic noise and neon lighting creating shadows and glamour, reflecting a civilisation continuing onwards unaware of its imminent collapse. 

A three line phrase skates across eight bars and then shifts in 3/4 time as Bob Dinn’s glorious trumpet is given free rein while ascending piano and vocal harmonies combine with a first Speed Of Sound usage of a string section. This is the very definition of the unexpected.

Physically A Cornucopia can be found on vinyl and CD here: https://www.thespeedofsounduk.com/shop-2/ and the download is here:  

Click the image to go direct to You Tube

https://thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com/album/a-cornucopia-pt-2-victory

Underground - New single day and video premiere

Thanks to Amplify Music Magazine for hosting the video premiere of Underground, the first taste of part2 of A Cornucopia, so this is also the first taste of Victory: Here's the premiere https://amplifymusicmag.com/premiere-underground-by-the-speed-of-sound-introduces-a-cornucopia-victory-album/  

Can you hear the unheard music? Subterranean dance-rock with an insatiable groove in celebration of independent music itself. The theme of non-mainstream creativity is present throughout the three linked albums of A Cornucopia, 'Underground' is where it is all explicitly pulled together. Immunity from the toxic tentacles of major labels and ‘the music business’ gives a freedom of expression simply not possible from within the machine. The ‘we’ stated in ‘we are the underground’ is a collective ‘we’ - not just The Speed Of Sound - instead that ‘we’ every single independent artist and listener across the planet. Together ‘We’ all form the Underground and we are defiantly proud of our existence beyond the exclusive major label 'club'. Just do your thing and get with it!

And - all the links: https://thespeedofsoundundunderground.hearnow.com

Single release day

The first day a new project steps into the outside world is always exciting and West Wind is now the first of the Cornucopia project pieces to break out be heard and also seen, huge thanks to Vive Le Rock magazine for giving the video a premiere on their website and for calling us Psychonauts! 

"Long-serving Manchester psychonauts THE SPEED OF SOUND are back with a brand new video which they're premiering with Vive Le Rock!

Described as "recklessly fast and invigorating rock and roll, borrowing a Bo Diddley beat cunningly melded with a Wagnerian horn section," 'West Wind' is the lead track from the band's forthcoming new album.

“Lyrically this is a protest song," says singer, guitarist and songwriter John Armstrong. "A metaphor for the dominance of the all-pervading major label ‘music industry’ onslaught, snowplowing independent artists out of the way.”

Out today through L.A. label Big Stir Records, 'West Wind' is available to stream/download here."

And! Here is the video... click the image to watch on YouTube:

 

Busy in lockdown

Strange Days, as the say - and they are; we hope you're adapting to the circumstances.
We've been a little quiet lately, but its because we've been too busy to tell any one about it. We have a new single coming again on the lovely Big Stir Records of LA. We've been making video too, which is not easy when you can't get anyone together or film anything outside your house. But here's a teaser shot from one of the videos, we've edited in a little bit of film taken from a gig in back September, it feels so much longer ago than six months since then:

To add to that, we're still here and the website shop and Bandcamp are still open, the post is still going out and still arriving so don't be shy about picking up some limited edition independent music on vinyl or any of the other exciting items we have for you.

Little Miss Restless video

There's a live video from the Elizabeth Gaskell's House gig, eventually... there was a lot of work in making it watchable but all worth the effort.

It's all eyes on album release now and the artwork is almost finished for the inner and outer sleeves, the vinyl is at the pressing plant.
Its a huge project so there haven't been any post updates here for a couple of months,independence is great but there are times when it would be nice to have 60 hours a day to egt stuff done in. That isnt going to happen so it sometimes just take a while. The set list from the Luddstock gig was:
Girl On The Roof
Checkered Land
Brand New Cadillac
Karin B
Sit By The River
I Don't Want You Attentions
There's No One There
And a really nice little festival it was too, a great way to spend a July day and evening. We're back again next year.

the making of the video

We are delighted to work with NPME Style Ltd of Wells again on the Shut All The Clubs video, among other things Natalie is a photographer and we used several of her stills to overlay the live film shot at Ruiby Loung Manchester for the video. Her 'sinister bunny girl' images feature in Shut All The Clubs. And they are very sinister.

We used shots from the Welcome to Wonderland series, the nonsensical wonderland logic that is applied to city planning in the 21st century fits the lyric. There is a short piece about the video on  the NPME website here where you can find links to other of her photographs some of which are for sale as prints via lenswall here.