H!TP D!Js

Holly and I have been invited to do some DJing at this live cultural event at Chapter Arts Centre on 8th June. The night is to represent the release of Islet’s new single Triangulation Station, which is quite a tune. We’ve never done DJing before and we can’t wait. Shape Functions are the best.

See you,

DJ Neale (actual real life initials)

winter villains music album

Josef Prygodzicz what plays in our band also plays in another band called Winter Villains and they released a music album yesterday on Barely Regal Records and it’s called ‘February’ and it’s great and you should listen to it and then buy it and then be happy about it (I know I am).  Real life physical versions are available from Spillers Records in exchange for money and it’s well worth your while because they look and feel terrific.

Big love,

H!TP x

music concert

We’re very delighted and pleased to announce that we’ll be playing this ↑ music concert on 18th March at Four Bars, Cardiff (that’s Dempsey’s to you and I).  Clicking on the poster leads you to the all important Facebook event where can read all the information given here for a second time, just in case you missed anything.

This is our first time headlining which is rather exciting, and we’ve had the pleasure of picking the line-up ourselves.  R.Seiliog and Mars To Stay are two first-rate music bands and we’re very much looking forward to performing with them.

It’d certainly be nice to see you there!

Positive regards,

h!tp

[gush]

A HUGE thanks to those that came to the Pinkunoizu concert last night - the music and atmopshphere was 100% premium quality and we had an excellent time. Pinkunoizu were totally stunning, and Rhodri Brooks was class. We had a lot of fun playing our songs too. Thank you to those that spoke to us afterwards and were encouraging and friendly - it really means a lot.  Extra special love and hugs to Shape Records for putting on such a corker of a night, and for inviting us to be part of it. We feel very lucky indeed to have been involved. Cardiff has a lot to be proud of. [/end gush]

da-vid vid

Back in the summer I strapped an iphone to my bike and rode about a bit and filmed it. A few nights ago I recorded a track at home. This is a video where the two merge.  It’s called ‘No Wonder You’ve Never Broken Any Bones’.

shape records & sŵn present: PINKUNOIZU>H!TP>RHODRI BROOKS***************

This is the best poster ever, yes?  Clicking on it will take you to the Facebook event where there’ll be links to tickets and that.  Alternatively you can drop by Spillers and pick up a real life analogue ticket, if that’s how you like to do things.

We are really very pleased to be playing concerts again, and this one is of premium quality.  Positive regards to Shape Records for inviting us to play (and for booking Pinkunoizu who are one high class music band).

Hope we see you there!

Kind regards,

H!TP x

(bad) news

It is with a great deal of sadness and disappointment that we must announce that we’ll no longer be supporting Islet at Clwb Ifor Bach at the end of the month.  Holly is still struggling with a vocal injury, which doesn’t seem to want to go away.  We’re really gutted to miss out, but it cannot be helped.  We’re staying positive, though - writing new tracks, and continuing to make plans for the EP release.

Our replacement will be the wondrous H.Hawkline, so not all bad.  I like this track a lot:

We’ll be back soon,

h!tp

recording, new ep, triple denim

Last week we spent two days recording our new ep with Charlie Francis at Music Box Studios.  Recording is intense, stressful. exciting, boring, long and short all at the same time.  But we had a super-duper time and we’re really pleased with how it was all sounding where we left it.

Unfortunately Holly was unable to record her vocals due to an injured throat.  This is the result of too many rehearsals (ha!) and not warming up enough - all made worse by going to too many loud gigs (looking at you, Truckers of Husk).  She’ll be spending an afternoon in Charlie’s attic getting things finished once she’s better.

We’re hoping to release the ep June/July time, when we’ll hopefully be doing a little tour too (more on that later).  In the mean time here are some photos of us getting all sesh and that:

The live room.

Holly doing her Lamb of God style vocals.  Moments later she broke.

Josef shredding, introspectively.

Some distortion pedals I never use.

A thing of beauty.

Triple denim.  You thought it couldn’t be done but it could.

Really cannot wait for you to hear it,

h!tp

recordiau

Next month we’ll be transferring five brand new tracks from our minds onto record.   It’s been far too long since our last release, so we’re all very excited about getting in the studio again.  We’ll be in the capable hands of Charlie Francis once more, and we can’t blooming wait.  I think it’ll sound quite different to anything we’ve done before.  Can’t wait for you to hear it.

This seems like an appropriate moment to announce the arrival of some new faces to the H!TP fold over recent months.  Here are those faces:

And what wonderful faces they are!  Up above is the majestic Francesca Dimech.  Francesca has joined us on trumpet.  We have persuaded her to make time between playing with The School, Inc.a and Wonderbrass (and probably a load more), as well as performing in a solo capacity as Francesca’s Word Salad.  She’s a very busy trumpeter, and for good reason.

The dashing gentleman you see is Josef Prygodzicz.  He’ll be playing some guitar, doing some singing and generally helping us make more of a racket.  Josef plays in band called Winter Villains who have an album coming out soon and are really rather brilliant.  Josef has settled quickly and is already pushing H!TP to places we never dreamed of (as demonstrated in this clip):  

Do YOU like pickled stuff?

Exciting times, challenging times.

david!tp x

ooooooooooooo little saint nick

Christmas is hurtling towards us so here is a small gift to help get you in the festive spirit.  It’s a cover of the The Beach Boys’ Little Saint Nick we recorded at home last December, and it’s free for you to download.

Merry Christmas everybody,

h!tp

free show, WMC 26/11/11

We’re playing a free show in this grand building on Saturday 26th November.  We’ll be performing on the Glanfa stage from 7pm.  Come along and be scruffy and make us feel at home.

h!tp

WANTED

demos

Here are a few rough recordings of tracks we’ve been working on over the past few weeks.  The songs are not finished, a lot of what you hear is improvised (and so quite dodgy).  They were recorded on Mark Foley’s iPhone.  

h!tp

p.s  Check out Holly’s trumpet solo.  It’s special.

The beginnings of a track provisionally called Action Boy & Action Girl;

Action Boy & Action Girl pt.1 DEMO by hailtheplanes

The outro of that track;

Action Boy & Action Girl pt.2 DEMO by hailtheplanes

A couple of sections taken from the jamming of a brand new track:

3x5 pt.1 DEMO by hailtheplanes

3x5 pt.2 DEMO by hailtheplanes

A tour de force from Holly;

Holly Trumpet Solo AMAZING INCREDIBLE OMGZZZ by hailtheplanes