With just the right blend of psychedelia and hypnotic grooves, White Hills weave in and out of anthemic chants, deep space bleeps and other worldly madness for a mix that proves to be intoxicating. Since the release of the band’s debut CD, listeners have been praising their originality and unique brand of heavy space rock.

Earlier last year, White Hills released their newest and most energized recording to date, Frying On This Rock’ The album was bursting with raw energy packed into their newly streamlined songs, whilst still managing to maintain the killer guitar work and fuzzed out psychedelia the band are famous for.

Their boundless live performances, especially the higher profile ones at ATP New York, Supersonic and several Roadburn Festivals, or their dates with the Flaming Lips and Sleep have established White Hills as one of the most talked about space rock bands currently performing.

Support comes from Opium Lord – one of the UK’s hottest properties in doom at the moment.  The act has only been a proper band since December 2012 and they have already signed to seminal metal label Thirty Days Of Night Records, gigged with the mighty Boris, received major airplay on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show and have announced 3 separate UK tours. Hailing from right here in Birmingham (fittingly, being the home of metal), Opium Lord feature ex members of History of the Hawk, Stinky Wizzleteatand current Mothertrucker.

WHITE HILLS PLAY HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON SUN 14TH APRIL 2013, WITH SUPPORT FROM OPIUM LORD. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Check out the video White Hills video for ‘H-p1′ below:

http://youtu.be/CUsuW_llITU

World Service Project play the Hare and Hounds this Wednesday 27th March as part of the Jazzlines series. Current leaders in a major European jazz project in which they tour with like-minded bands from different countries this particular group is led by pianist Dave Morecroft, featuring Tim Ower on saxophone, Raphael Clarkson on trombone, Conor Chaplin on electric bass and Liam Waugh on drums.

Formed in 2009 and through many incidents on buses, aeroplanes and run-ins with local councils they have arrived at The Wacky, the Slightly-Uncomfortable, the Dark Jazz Riff and the Downright Silly. Greatly inspired by the vibrancy of Loose Tubes and psychedelic nature of Frank Zappa the band combine complex riffs, boisterous grooves and humour  with a large dollop of Stravinsky-an fun thrown in. Check out the band playing live at the 12 Points festival below.

http://youtu.be/MSoYC2LS7Mk

Support on the night comes from the Chris Young Sextet, featuring Alto saxophonist Chris Young, from the Birmingham Conservatoire. He is joined by a backline including Ben Kane on drums, Dan Casimir on bass and a flexible rhythm section with vibes from Liam Halloran and guitarist Tom Ford. The Chris Young Sextet is completed by the voice of Lottie Hodgson, who improvises melodies over the top of their accomplished styling.

If Jazz is your thing then this is a night you cannot miss. Make sure you get your advanced tickets for the bargain price of £8 plus booking fee. You can find them  here.

Next Friday 29th March, Ruts DC will be DJing right here at the Hare & Hounds. Support on the night comes in the form of two live bands, The Cracked Actors and Black Bombers!

We’ve kindly been given two guest list spaces to give away to one lucky person, however we’ve been given strict instructions to do things slightly different this time. In order to win you don’t have to be right you just have to funny! All you have to do is come up with an amusing (and fairly clean) answer to this question..

Segs and Ruffy the two surviving members of the Ruts have booked a
long session with their favourite kinky mistresses.
What take away food would they order on their way home?

Post your answer as a comment and if you’re deemed the funniest the tickets are yours! The competition closes 12 pm Thursday 28th March, with a winner selected not long after. If you don’t want to leave the chance of getting tickets to your sense of humour alone then perhaps the safer option is to get your advanced tickets right here instead.

Good Luck!

This Friday 22nd March see’s Origins bring Bristol based producer and DJ Kahn to the Hare and Hounds.

Known for encompassing a variety of styles in his productions blending grime, garage, dubstep and more, Kahn is one of the hottest bass-music acts to emerge from the city of Bristol as of late. A true individual with a unique sound and sense of style, Kahn has been turning some serious heads over the last year and you can be assured to hear a diverse set that’ll knock your socks off.

Spanning from the garage influenced sounds of ‘Like We Used To’ (his 1st 12″ release on Peverelist’s label Punch Drunk Records in early 2011) to the bass pounding frequencies of ‘Way Mi Defend’ and deep minimal ‘Azalea’ (out on Box Clever), while not forgetting his outstanding dub-infused DEEP MEDI release of Dread/Late Night Blues: Kahn’s style is fresh, unique and unpredictable. Check out his single ‘Dread’ below…

http://youtu.be/2aPh3ZHFE9M

It all kicks off tomorrow night at 9:00pm with £7 advanced tickets still available right here.

Returning after a decade of silence, Birmingham Promoters bring stripped down lo-fi disco four-piece Gramme to headline the Hare & Hounds!

After more than a decade of silence – no gigs, no music, no nothing – Gramme return with their debut album Fascination. The cult around the band and their lone release, the Pre-Release EP, continued to grow until in 2011 some mysterious 12″ bootlegs of ‘Like U’ began to appear, with edits by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. A few months later self released white labels begin to circulate with new Gramme material. Those recent EP’s have gone on to form Fascination, the first full studio album by Gramme.

Gramme is the musically pioneering band that went missing in action sometime around 2000. Originally signed to Trevor Jackson’s Output label, the band emerged in the mid-nineties with a sound so out of step with the cultural milieu they found themselves swimming against the tide.

Originally a five piece, the band formed around a shared love of the emotional melancholy now synonymous with Factory artists such as Joy Division, Section 25 and A Certain Ratio. Gramme were attracted by Manchester’s psycho disco of the early 80′s and NY’s subterranean proto punk-funk on 99 Records and bands like Liquid Liquid and ESG. Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphyhave also acknowledged the influence of the band’s EP on the early DFA sound.

“An influence on every record you’d ever want to dance to in a sweaty room above a pub, this record deserves your attention” – The Guardian

Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

GRAMME HEADLINE HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON TUES 7TH MAY 2013. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Check out the new video for ‘Too High’ below:

http://youtu.be/iG3zOTYdQBo

Birmingham Promoters are teaming up with Moseley Folk to bring the enchanting Alessi’s Ark to Birmingham for a headline show at Hare & Hounds.

Travel, adventure and personal revelation mark the new album by singer-songwriter Alessi Laurent–Marke of Alessi’s Ark. The Still Life is a work both lucid and heartbreakingly lovely, a sonic landscape that roams a wide range of emotions.

Only a few short years into her career, the London-based Laurent-Marke is already prolific. Her most recent release, 2011’s Time Travel, was praised by the press, with MOJO swooning, “The understated arrangements suggest you’re listening to a woman with impeccable taste…”,  and NME remarking, “the songs have a deftness that defies her years”.

Still only 22, Laurent-Marke continues to explore. The last few years have seen tours through England and across the Continent – supporting artists including Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Villagers, and Laura Veirs – with the young singer backed by a revolving cast of musical collaborators, her own ‘Alessi’s Ark.’ These adventures fuelled the creative inspiration for what would become The Still Life.

“As precocious as Laura Marling, the 12 songs reveal a talent that’s on the verge of becoming something special… Beautiful and beguiling, the album gets under your skin” – The Guardian, 4 stars

Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

ALESSI’S ARK PLAYS THE HARE & HOUNDS BIRMINGHAM ON WED 1ST MAY 2013, WITH SUPPORT FROM CANNON STREET. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE.

Check out the video for ‘The Asteroids Collide’ below:

http://youtu.be/EkN7ib3Brkg

Tuesday 19th March see’s Welsh singer songwriter Al Lewis play the Hare and Hounds as part of his 12 date UK tour.

Over the years Al has drawn comparison to the likes of James Taylor and Fionn Regan and has been gaining support, praise and fans from a number of prominent figures throughout the media world, including BBC Radio DJ’s Janice Long, Steve Lamacq and Huw Stevens. Just recently he was invited for a live interview and acoustic session by Radio 2 DJ Dermot O’leary.

Al’s latest album ‘Battles’ see’s him reunite with long-time collaborator Sarah Howells (Paper Aeroplanes) and talks about the passing of time, life’s trials and tribulations and the endless search for fulfilment. Taking elements from his influences Al keeps his new album fresh, delivering each melodic track with a modern twist and youthful energy. You can check out Al’s video for his single ‘Make a Little Room’ below.

http://youtu.be/zkcgdbXTefw

£7 advanced tickets for the gig are still available right here.

As the UK’s second biggest city, Birmingham is host to a diverse mix of extremely talented artists, all masters of their craft. Unfortunately, it’s rare to come by events that showcase the broad reaches of Birmingham’s talent. However, fret not! ‘Off The Chain’ is here and it promises to deliver everything cultural and arty you could possibly want all under one roof.

            ‘Off The Chain’ is a brand new pop up event headed by the owner of Ogee Jewellery. Artists, from illustrators to graffiti artists, jewellers to textiles, up cyclists to face painters and t-shirt printers will gather to showcase and sell their talent and all their profit goes towards funding their dream.
The first of many ‘Off The Chain’ pop up events will kick off at 12:00pm on the 26th May bank holiday Sunday right here at The Hare And Hounds. Music will be provided by local DJ’s Brian Travers of UB40 and Ben Dunn of Jam Hot.

If you’re an artist interested in trading at the ‘Off the Chain’ event please email; contact@offthechain.org.uk

For more information go to http://offthechain.org.uk/

As many of you may know local lads and Leftfoot favourites Troumaca have recently been signed to BBC Radio 6 DJ Gilles Peterson’s record label ‘Brownswood’, so we thought we’d throw a bit of a celebration and hold a bank holiday special on March 31st  with both Gilles and Troumaca playing right here at the Hare and Hounds.

To carry on the tradition of ticket give away’s in 2013 we’ve put two guest list spaces up for grabs for one lucky person. As always all you need to do is answer the following question…

“At which Birmingham based festival did Gilles Peterson first hear Troumaca?”

To enter simply email your answer to Tom@leftfootvenues.co.uk by 12 pm Friday 29th March. A winner will then be selected and contacted via email shortly after. If you’re not the lucky type and don’t want to miss out on the gig then make sure you get your advanced tickets right here, be quick though as they’re selling fast.

Until then you should just keep watching Troumaca’s official video for the single  ‘My love’. Enjoy & Good Luck!

http://youtu.be/jHuyOv-REx8

Please DO NOT post your answer as a comment, it will not be counted as an entry.

We have two pairs of tickets to give away to DJ Fabio’s epic 4 hour journey this Saturday.