Temposhark 'give-away' competition

Temposhark are an English electronic rock band, formed in London by singer and songwriter Robert Diament with programmer Luke Busby. Temposhark are best known for their songs Joy, It’s Better To Have Loved and Not That Big, a duet with singer Imogen Heap, which features on their 2008 debut album The Invisible Line.

Here's what the press has to say about Temposhark:

“The excellent Temposhark have been causing a stir with their gritty synth lyrics in electrotrashy nights across town. Ace newcomers.” – Time Out London

“The Invisible Line fades back and forth between interesting and extraordinary.”
– Rhadish.com / The Y! Radish

“Hipsters will be sinking their teeth into UK electronic act Temposhark.” – Next

“The group delivers its material with precision and passion and Diament's crystal clear voice effortlessly segues from a pleading quiver to an angry snarl” – Textura

A torrent of accolades has rained down on Temposhark's new album The Invisible Line:

- Came in at #16 most added on CMJ’s in their first week
- Debuted in their second week at #172 on CMJ’s Top 200
- Got 7 out of 10 stars in an NME review “…they could be your favorite band” – NME
- Hit number 20 on iTunes top 100 electronic albums
- Had prominent placement in it’s first week of release on iTunes, Zune, MSN, Spinner, Rhapsody, Napster, Walmart (I know, they aren’t so cool, but…) and InSound.

Robert from Temposhark was invited by iTunes USA to create his very own 'artist playlist', 18 of his favourite songs that have inspired him including artists like Tori Amos, The Cardigans, Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush. Check it out now to find out more about the artists that influenced the Temposhark sound.

On April 16th Temposhark embarked on a US tour! To celebrate this momentous event I'm running another 'give-away' contest that includes t-shirts, stickers, buttons, and albums!

To enter for a chance of winning these really cool prizes, please leave a comment on this post. The competition closes May 31st 2008 and 5 winners will be randomly selected by me. My decision will be final! Good luck.

Special thanks to Two Sheps That Pass for supplying the competition prizes.

You can buy The Invisible Line from iTunes, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com today.

For further information:

www.temposhark.com
www.myspace.com/temposhark
www.bebo.com/Temposhark
www.last.fm/music/Temposhark
“Crime” (download link)

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe by RSS! I'll be running further 'give-away' contests throughout the spring and summer.

Opulent Tunes

Enough ruminating on the Sony BMG Music UK competition fiasco! Yesterday, I discovered that singer Nerina Pallot is from South London! Her dulcet transatlantic intonations fooled me!

Nerina sounds reminiscent of Sheryl Crow (famous former backing singer on Michael Jackson's Bad Tour). In the words of Times Online, Nerina has an 'astonishingly versatile voice' and a 'knack for alchemising half-focused images into phrases that haunt as long as her opulent tunes echo in the head'. Her album "Fires" is truly worthy of your consideration!

'80s mix master, Chris Lord-Alge (Darren Hayes' Spin), adds further snap, crack and pop to Nerina Pallot's production - you can really envisage "Learning To Breath" playing in The OC or The Hills. Chris would you mind remixing my DEF Track demo single?

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover (MP3)

Nerina Pallot will be performing at the Acorn Theatre in Penzance on January 24th. A tempting post Birthday treat!

Blame It On The Boogie

In 1990 a Media Studies assignment, the music industry, resulted in the brief formation of my Pop/R&B band - Def Track - when I co-wrote "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover". The band members were Shane Johnson (lead vocals), Jamie Smith (backing vocals and bass) and myself (backing vocals and keyboard).

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover (MP3), inspired by a verse from Bros’ Life’s A Heartbeat (The Time album), was recorded at Exeter College’s Bishop Blackall annexe to the chagrin of the music department! How dare media studies students display creative versatility and ungraciously use the main studio to produce commercial material! At the time Paula Abdul, Bros and New Kids On The Block dominated the transatlantic airwaves.

At this point it wouldn’t be churlish to reveal that, aside from a few minor ad-libs from the lead vocalist, I single-handedly wrote the lyrics and take the blame myself.

The song was exclusively recorded using electronic keyboards, bass and drums (mixed using a Commodore Amiga A500) in homage to Michael Jackson’s Bad album, which was clearly influenced by synthpop producers Trevor Horn and Giorgio Moroder.

The arrival of Savage Garden, in the late 1990’s, sparked a resurgence in the synthpop genre and the track's production stands up to comparison with their debut. Darren Hayes are you listening?

Originally the group (self-managed to avoid pitfalls) wanted to submit a 4 song demo EP entitled Facade to radio stations such as Atlantic 252. However, it never came to pass. So, via the magic of the internet here's Def Track's breakthrough single that never was.