Once More From The Top poster

Initial copies of the Granite Shore LP will come with a free poster, shown above. There'll also be some other extras... More details to follow.

Above are the LP (top) and CD (bottom) sleeves of the forthcoming album by The Granite Shore, Once More From The Top. Official release is likely to be in April or May, but we expect to be taking pre-orders hopefully sometime in February, although current vinyl manufacturing times are making it difficult to be sure when we'll have stock. More details will follow soon... Watch this space.

Trick Mammoth: Floristry pre-orders

We're now taking orders for Trick Mammoth's Floristry and copies ordered now will start shipping next week. This is your chance to get your hands on it well before official release in late February and, when purchased from us, you get a CD thrown in, plus initial copies bought from us come with a gorgeous poster:

 We also have a number of other Fishrider titles in stock, including the Males album Run Run Run/MalesMalesMales (again, LP with CD included when bought from us) and The Prophet Hens' Popular People Do Popular People CD, which has been making quite a lot of "best of 2013" lists. Tomorrow we'll be announcing news of a special Occultation Sale which includes a special offer on buying all three of these together at a much-reduced price, along with bargains on items by The Wild Swans, The Distractions, Factory Star, The Granite Shore and The June Brides, amongst others.

Wild Swans reissues coming in 2013

As some eagle-eyed fans have already spotted, we're planning a 2LP reissue of The Wild Swans' The Coldest Winter For A Hundred Years in a few months' time. A lot of people have shown an interest in a vinyl edition so we'd like your input before taking any definite decisions. We're suggesting a double LP on 180g vinyl, with the original album on the first LP and all non-album Occultation tracks collected on the second, including the Tracks In Snow EP, featuring three tracks only officially available on a limited CD that sold out over a year ago. Like the album, these tracks have never been out on vinyl. 

 

If enough people want it, we'd consider doing an even more limited "super-deluxe" version, but we want to know what you'd like to see. If you click on the image above or here you'll be taken to a short questionnaire which'll help give us an idea of numbers and how you'd like us to go about it. 

If that weren't enough, we're also working with partners on a 2x180g reissue of the classic Incandescent compilation .We're aiming to release both at the same time which'd mean we'd be able to offer special pricing to anyone who buys both together. Again, most of this material has never been on vinyl and the original CD is long out of print. There are even plans for a truly spectacular deluxe hardback book format version.

More? Well, the band's classic debut single, The Revolutionary Spirit, has recently been chosen as the opening track on Cherry Red's huge Scared To Get Happy boxed set, due out in a few months. The box has further Occultation connections as it features Blue Orchids' Dumb Magician and The June Brides' Every Conversation.

2013 will also see a Distractions retrospective released - with Occultation involvement - by our friends at Hidden Masters, including everything the original band released and more. 

In other news, work will be getting underway soon on the Granite Shore album and, after the success of Moon / Cloud, we're hoping to coax The June Brides back into a studio too. As The End Of The Pier has done so well, there are radical plans NOT to wait 32 years before a third Distractions LP, although we'll have to see... We still have a few copies of the limited version of the 180g LP including a free poster when ordered from The Occultation Shop.

Nick Halliwell interview on Penny Black Music

There's an interview with Occultation boss Nick Halliwell on Penny Black Music - one of our favourite sites, they've supported the label from the very early days. It includes hints about upcoming Occultation releases and goes into some depth about the label's origins and plans.

End Of The Pier Show flyers

 

Here are the really rather lovely flyers for the forthcoming Occultation "End Of The Pier Shows" in Salford, 31st August and 1st September, featuring The Distractions, Factory Star and The June Brides.

June Brides T-Shirts And Badges

There's now a June Brides shop on the band's website, click here to peruse some of the many fine articles available for your retail requirements. For now it's t-shirts, badges but Mr Wilson informs us that this is merely a toe dipped into the waters of empire-building. We at Occultation also have plans to produce some fine articles of apparel and possibly other items, hopefully in time for the forthcoming End Of The Pier Shows. If anyone out there has any suggestions then we'd love to hear them, please e-mail info@occultation.co.uk.

End Of The Pier Show tickets

Some of the ticket-buying websites can be a bit confusing so, at Mr Finney's suggestion (a good one), here are direct links to each of the three options for coming to the Occultation "End Of The Pier Shows" featuring The Distractions, Factory Star and The June Brides.
1) Click here if you want to come on Friday 31st August only (£12 advance, £15 on the night)
2) Click here if you want to come on Saturday 1st September only (£12 advance, £15 on the night)

3) Click here if you'd like to come on both nights, i.e. Friday 31st August AND Saturday 1st September (at the special reduced price of £20 for both tickets).

If you have any problems you can always drop us a line at info@occultation.co.uk.

Moon/Cloud arrives

The June Brides singles and CDs arrived this morning and very lovely they are too. The first few orders are going out this afternoon, the rest next week. So... shipping now. You can order them from the Occultation Shop.

The June Brides: Moon In June

We're now taking orders for the first new June Brides single since 1986. Moon / Cloud features a new Phil Wilson song, A January Moon, plus Nick Halliwell's Cloud, which began life as a Granite Shore track before the June Brides ravished it.

The 7" single, when ordered from Occultation, comes with a 10-track CD, the two tracks from the vinyl plus a further 8 from Mr Wilson's archives. It can be ordered here. There are also options allowing you to buy it together with the Granite Shore's singles, as Flood of fortune featured Messrs Wilson, Torabi and Fonda. Those are here.

We expect to have the singles and CDs in stock next week and they'll be posted out chronologically, so the sooner you order, the sooner you'll get yours...

Second End of the Pier show tickets on sale

Tickets for the second End of the Pier show are now available here. Those people who've already booked for the Friday should've received an e-mail offering them a reduced price if they'd like to come on the Saturday as well.

Second End Of The Pier Show in Salford

We've been somewhat taken aback by demand for tickets for the End of the Pier show announced at the Kings Arms in Salford, Manchester, for 31st August 2012. So we've now added a second night, which will be the following evening, Saturday 1st September at the same venue. 

Tickets are priced at £12 in advance/£15 on the door (if there are any tickets left) for each night but we're offering a special price for anyone who wants to come both nights, £20 for tickets for both Friday and Saturday. Those of you who have already booked tickets for the Friday will receive an e-mail with a special code allowing you to book a ticket for the Saturday at the reduced price as we really appreciate your loyalty.

Tickets for the Saturday and for both nights together are due to go on sale tomorrow morning (Friday 8th June 2012), more details when we get them. But if you're planning to come we'd strongly advise you to book your tickets in advance, the Kings Arms is a fairly small, intimate venue and this really is an unmissable bill: it'll feature what's realistically likely to be your only chance to see The Distractions, with the line-up that made the new album (Messrs Finney and Perrin, plus Nick Halliwell and Arash Torabi from The Granite Shore and Mike Kellie of the Only Ones, Spooky Tooth, etc.), but also Factory Star and The June Brides. 

Ticket details will follow tomorrow...

June Brides: Moon/Cloud artwork

Above is the front cover of the forthcoming June Brides 7" which will be released jointly by Occultation Recordings (PAN7DC015) and Slumberland Records (SLR 175) in North America. The "Moon / Cloud" single is a double 'a' side featuring a new Phil Wilson song, "A January Moon" and a version of a previously unreleased song called "Cloud" written by Nick Halliwell of The Granite Shore and The Distractions. The 7" will go into production next week and we expect to have copies by mid-June (obviously). Official release is set for 25th June but as usual we'll be taking orders before then. Copies ordered from Occultation will come with a special CD featuring not just the two tracks from the vinyl release but a number of related rarities and unreleased tracks in the usual Occultation packaging. More details to follow over the next few weeks.

Salford here we come

Tickets for an Occultation event featuring The Distractions, Factory Star and The June Brides at the King's Arms in Salford, Manchester, have just gone on sale at:

http://www.kingsarmssalford.com/details.php?show_id=282