What's Actually Happening

An update from Team Castles in Space.

Dads, Lads, Mothers, Lovers, Brothers and Sisters,

I hope you’re all well and bearing up.

As ever, There is so much going on in CiS world, that I’m running to keep up. Let’s have a bit of a look at what we’ve been up to and what we have planned. I honestly believe that the label has been doing it’s best work over these last 12 months.

As ever, Gordon Chapman-Fox delivers brilliant work with his Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development project. We’ve had a major new album from him entitled “Your Community Hub”.

In addition there was also a 12”/7” EP, “A Shared Sense Of Purpose”. Both editions featured a remix from Vince Clarke. Vince sent me the remix when I was on the train to London. I downloaded on the phone and when I got to Moorgate, texted Gordon:

“I’m fucking fizzing.”

I never fail to be to be astounded with the invention and precision of Gordon’s work. I’ve spent hundreds of hours listening to his stuff these last few years.

Without doubt, one of the finest things we have ever released came from Jo Johnson. “Let Go Your Fear” is a beautiful record and as ever, we spent so much time on the artwork, which you can really see the results of it with this one. It’s something you need to hold in your hands. In the ten years I’ve been doing Castles in Space, my litmus test has always been, “Would I buy this?” And the loud answer for this one is that I would crawl over any acid or alkaline to bag a copy. Jo is fantastic to work with and this record has been helping me through some recent difficult times. Jo says that it’s a Summer album, but I don’t know about that. I just think it’s a healing piece of work up there with the best. We don’t have many of these LP’s left and I promise you, it’s an absolute work of art in every possible way.

Everything that Jo does is shot through with an otherwise unreachable beauty and I suggest you have a look at her barginous subscription feed for additional joy.

jojohnson.bandcamp.com/subscribe

Someone else I’m a huge fan of is the artist, Paul Cousins.

Paul’s new LP is called “Oxide Manifesto” and again, I feel is some of the most astounding stuff we’ve ever put out there. We’ve got artwork from www.instagram.com/signalstarr who has done the absolute job. It’s a die cut sleeve and looks fabulous. Paul’s process is as good as his music. it’s complex, but the results are astonishing. I’m in awe of these people.

signalstar has done the artwork for the new Field Lines Cartographer LP too. Let joy be unconfined. (More of that later.)

What else?

It’s such a joy to be working with Baron Mordant on new Mordant Music/eMMpleks stuff. The KPMM green bandcamp edition sold out on the day, but we still have the bronze KPM1000 series copies as well as a few of the “Dead Air” black crush vinyl.

In other news, I’ve been expending quite a lot of time on my personal project to make some great pop music. Working with absolute genius songwriter Nick Bonnell, we’ve got a bunch of hot pop tunes that might be coming your way soon.

Massive thank you to Moa, Tash and SuRie for the vox. Al at The Motor Museum, Chris at FitDog, but mostly to Nick for the songs and everything else. The first (instrumental) salvos are up on the CiS Subscription Library:

https://cissublibrary.bandcamp.com/

Along with a video using a song from Nick directed by Gordon using a script I commissioned from Clare Currie, all of whom did an amazing job.

Come and see any of this mad shit at Levitation ‘24. Look at the line up!

www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Bedford/Bedford-Esquires/Levitation-24/37148409/

It would be lovely to see you there.

Colin

Castles in Space

hello@castlesinspace.com