Ed Banger came for Tea!

Last Friday, the Ed Banger crew came for Afternoon Tea at Rough Trade East before they took over Fabric on Friday night. Much fun was had and lots of great tracks were played. Good news is they're doing it all again in our temporary Christmas Paris shop on Friday 16th December from 4pm, so come down, grab a cuppa tea, listen to some tunes and buy some Ed Banger merch!

!!JOYEUX NOËL!!




ED BANGER AT ROUGH TRADE ON TOUR CHEZ AGNÈS B

ED BANGER AT ROUGH TRADE EAST

Come down and see Busy P, Mickey moonlight and Riton tomorrow afternoon and have some tea and cupcakes!

Rough Trade in PARIS!!!

Rough Trade Shops On Tour is back in Paris with its' winter collection this December and we're now pleased to announce our in-store events that will be taking place from when we officially open the doors on Friday 9th December at 7pm.

Rough Trade on Tour - Winter Collection will focus on the best albums of 2011, Rough Trade's Album of The Year and a typical Rough Trade edit of only the very best new music on vinyl and CD plus an eclectic selection of Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.

Just as Rough Trade Shops in London are much more than simply places to buy music, but also where you get to see and hear live bands up close, Rough Trade On Tour will feature live performances and signing sessions. A taste for Parisians of just what a great record store experience adds to a city’s cultural richness.

INSTORE LISTINGS FOR THE WEEK IN ROUGH TRADE CHEZ AGNÈS B, 6 RUE DU JOUR, 75001 PARIS, FRANCE...

FRIDAY 9th DECEMBER (PRESS LAUNCH)




7.30pm LEILA (DJ SET)
Anglo-Iranian electronica princess, returns with her second album on Warp and the fourth album of her career. Awaited Blood, Looms and Blooms in 2008, the U & I album released January 16, 2012.
With the Berlin Mt.Sims (Gigolo Records) accompanying her on several tracks creating spectral mysterious sounds. Leila will be honoring us with her presence for a dj set in the ephemeral Rough Trade Shop on tour.



8.30pm SCRATCH MASSIVE (DJ SET)
Celebrating the launch of new album "Nuit de Reve" released earlier this year, this soundtrack from the future features Jimmy Somerville (from Bronski Beat and The Communards), Koudlam, Daniel Agust from Gus Gus, and Chloé. Deep cinematic moods tainted with 80's sensations.

For the opening of the Rough Trade Shop on Tour at agnès b., Scratch Massive will perform an exclusive set as DJ.
For this occasion and to celebrate the partnership between agnès b. and Scratch Massive, a tee shirt will also be on sale soon.

SATURDAY 10th DECEMBER



3pm PHILIPPE COHEN SOLAL FROM GOTAN PROJECT (DJ SET)

Philippe's DJ-Sets are a strong, organic fusion and combination of the electronic Tango music, cumbia digital, tropical bass, and moombahton, also including several unreleased Gotan remixes as well as excellent Latin sounding orientated dance music.

MONDAY 12th DECEMBER



7.30pm ROUGH TRADE ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2011 “JOSH T PEARSON “

Rough Trade's Number One Album Of The Year 2011, Josh T Pearson will be making an appearance in store on Monday 12th December at 7.30pm performing songs from the Rough Trade Christmas Bonus Disc and signing records and merchandise.


TUESDAY 13th DECEMBER



7.30pm WE HAVE BAND (LIVE)

We Have Band are three friends. Darren Bancroft plus husband and wife duo Thomas and Dede Wegg-Prosser met whilst working at a record label, left to form a band, play Glastonbury, release an album that was critically acclaimed by everyone from NME to Dazed & Confused and tour the world. So far, so good!

A stylistic leap on from their debut album, the second entitled ‘Ternion” due for release in January is an intensely personal album that manages to be both uplifting and melancholic.

We Have Band have announced their upcoming 2012 tour, but will give a special French premiere of their new songs in the Rough Trade Shop on the 13th of December.


WEDNESDAY 14th DECEMBER




7pm JARVIS COCKER presents his book “Mother, Brother, Lover”

To celebrate the launch of his new book Jarvis Cocker will be talking about and reading from 'Mother, Brother, Lover', at Rough Trade On Tour chez agnès b.

Widely regarded as one of the most gifted lyricists of his age, and a funny, wry, tender and insightful observer of the human condition in all its minute and arch glory. Jarvis Cocker's first collection of selected lyrics will be presented by the man himself using PowerPoint and followed by a signing session.

THURSDAY 15th DECEMBER




7pm SBTRKT (DJ SET)
SBTRKT is no stranger to writing, recording and releasing music. To date he's had multiple releases on Brainmath, Numbers, Ramp, Monkeytown and now home label Young Turks. Add to that reworkings of Radiohead and Goldie, and remixes of Modeselektor... However, this is his first full-length album. "This release is the culmination of a longer period of constant writing and collaboration, tracks on previous EPs were written as singular pieces. This record is much more of a whole project, more representative of my thoughts and ideas as an artist and each track was completed with the aim to be coherent together."

SBTRKT's debut album pulls off a series of impressive feats: it's bursting with fresh ideas, and yet it sounds immediately familiar. It's sound-patterns and rhythms can easily soundtrack the ecstatic hands in the air dance floor moments as well as reliving the monotony of the morning commute. Its influences are incorporated with subtlety and sophistication: dense enough to interpret, light enough to dance to.

FRIDAY 16th DECEMBER



4pm – 5.30pm ED BANGER AFTERNOON TEA & MUSIC
Featuring BUSY P, and FEADZ before their party at Showcase. Feadz plus the label's head, Busy Pedro are inviting you to Rough Trade On Tour chez agnès b to share some tea, cupcakes and music.

Time to celebrate the newest releases from Ed Banger. Signed copies, bonus CDs, Cool Cats merchandising and tickets to giveaway.

SATURDAY 17th DECEMBER



3pm CUBENX (DJ SET)
New architect of contemporary Techno. Mexican born Cubenx pays homage to the late 80's British scene with the launch of his debut album "On Your Own Again".

To stay updated on exclusive in-store events taking place at Rough Trade On Tour chez agnès b please follow us on Twitter @roughtradepopup

Christmas At Rough Trade East

On THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER from 6pm until 10pm, Rough Trade East is hugely excited to invite you to our inaugural Christmas Market. As Christmas is a time for seeing old friends, we’ve invited a VERY select guestllst of boutique vendors to come down for the night, help the party go off with a bang, and give you a unique opportunity to chat to the people behind your favourite products.

The first one hundred customers through the door on the night will be given a Rough Trade goodie tote bag containing a small gift from each of our vendors. Designer Ella Doran will be offering a very special, vinyl inspired, gift wrapping service for all customers' purchases on the night too.

In the Rough Trade Café, Leila McAlister, founder of the esteemed Leila's Cafe, will be helping serve the very best seasonal food treats, alongside Raef Hodgson, founder of natural wine emporium Gergovie Wines, who'll also be on hand to explain the delicious natural wine offer, available by the glass and bottle-to-go.

Our Album Of The Month for December is by Jeb Loy Nichols. Jeb will be joining us for the evening playing songs from his new album “The Jeb Loy Nichols Special”, followed by a DJ set of country soul classics by Ross Allen.

More details about each of the vendors included in the night can be seen below…

ACS HEADPHONES
Representatives from ACS will be on hand during the evening to talk about their quality headphones. Every ACS custom-fit product is hand made from medical-grade silicone. Crafting exclusively in silicone gives incredible levels of comfort and allows your earpiece to flex with the movement of your jaw to maintain a seal and keep perfect isolation. Using silicone means that the earpieces quickly warm to body temperature so you can enjoy your sound without even noticing that you have anything in your ears.

BOOTHNATION
Boothnation are the people behind Rough Trade’s fabulous photobooth. Created by award winning photographer Seamus Ryan each booth is carefully designed with his unique beauty lighting in mind. These booths have become an essential part of celebrity parties, music festivals and awards nights. Recent events include the BAFTAS, the MTV Awards, Tinie Tempah’s after party and Glastonbury.

For Rough Trade’s Christmas night, Boothnation will be converting the instore booth into a snow booth, a magical winter wonderland in a box. Festive props will be available to get everyone into the spirit and instant colour prints will be provided. The Snow Booth will run throughout the Christmas period.
Rough Trade’s special ‘Photobooth Certificates’ offers customers a unique gift idea for friends and family; 10 prepaid sessions in the booth for £25, a £5 discount on the normal great value price.

CAUGHT BY THE RIVER
The Caught By The River folk will be on hand selling their choice of books of the year alongside a lovely selection of great stocking fillers from Matt 'Bird of the Week' Sewell including Christmas cards, brooches, badges and colouring books. Also available on the night will be prints by Kavel Rafferty, postcards by Tom Gauld, DVDs from the BFI and CBTR’s collectable fanzines – An Antidote to Indifference Issues 1 & 2. Providing you with advice and affordable Christmas present options for all those difficult people to buy for on your list.

COLOUR ME GOOD
Get out your berols as I LOVE MEL grown-up colouring books go large-scale for a COLOUR ME GOOD fest in Rough Trade East. Music themed line drawings from 'Colour Me Good Record Sleeves' and 'Hip Hop Mix Tape' will adorn the walls, crying out for a bit of felt tip action. The perfect opportunity to embrace your inner child... just don't go over the lines!

HERB LESTER MAPS
Herb Lester Associates research, write, print and distribute maps and guides to the world's great cities. We seek out the well used and much loved, and enjoy the extraordinary as well as the everyday. Old bookshops and new coffee shops, park benches and dive bars, hat shops and haberdashers: this is the world according to Herb Lester. Marvel at our magnificent maps and guides to London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Chicago, Glasgow and of course Spitalfields.

Roll up for a prize draw to win one of our limited edition East London screenprints.

IMPOSSIBLE PROJECTS
Rediscover the joy of instant analogue photography with the Impossible Project hot shots who will be joining us to demonstrate the most effective ways to get great photos with vintage Polaroid cameras. Discover how to harness the unique character of the Colour Shade and Silver Shade films and explore the magical palettes offered by experimenting with temperature and shielding techniques.

LUCKY SEVEN
Lucky Seven make the finest embroidered patches and caps in the business. The patches bare the names of the fictional companies found in some of our best-loved cult films and TV shows and are worn on trucker and army caps complete with captain’s crests. All caps are bespoke and are only available from the custom made cap shop online.

For the Rough Trade Christmas Fair, we will be previewing the new ready made line of Rough Trade / Lucky Seven caps and patches which will be available to buy in store on the night.
We will also be demonstrating the bespoke side of our business and custom making caps to order for Rough Trade customers. There will be a limited collection from our online range available, which will be on sale at just £20 per cap.

MASON & TAYLOR
Mason & Taylor is a craft beer and real ale bar and one of the newest additions to East London's bar scene. Located at the junction of Brick Lane and Redchurch Street they serve a wide range of specialist craft beers and real ales on draught and in bottles over 2 floors, along with English small plates food. Their seasonal, curated bottled beer list features a wide range of interesting beers from UK, US, Belgian and Australian microbreweries.

PRICK YOUR FINGER
Prick Your Finger presents 'On Message' your chance to spell it out this Christmas, using the lo-fi wonder that is the 1970's punchcard knitting machine. For one night only we will knit scarves to order. Your wooly thoughts knitted up in scarf form - how cosy!


SONIC EDITIONS
Showcasing the relaunched Rough Trade Collection which includes limited edition hand-made prints of Gram Parsons, Tom Waits, Joe Strummer and Amy Winehouse from only £45, Sonic Editions will be present to talk about their collection of limited edition fine art photographic prints of the greatest music and cultural icons.


SWITCHOPEN POSTERS
Switchopen is the Illustration Company of Artist and Illustrator Nick Rhodes. Established in Manchester in 2004, Switchopen offers a unique service of design, illustration and print; combining an interest in music and printmaking, Switchopen offers a creative and bespoke approach to projects large and small.

Switchopen illustrations will be showcasing limited edition screen-printed gig posters and art prints. Also available on the night will be limited edition set of art prints.

TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US
Join Technology Will Save Us experts and tinkers for an evening filled with DIY technology and making!

Take home one of our easy to make DIY Technology kits for a yourself or a special person in your life; Try some of the most innovative products on the market like Sugru hacking putty and the wonderful rechargeable USB Cells; Sign up to one of our regular DIY technology workshops and give someone the gift of learning how to solder their own musical device or learn how to make a set of speakers out of any material.

We will also be joined by our friends from the exciting enterprise Bare Conductive. They will be demonstrating and selling a brand new kit we have developed together using Bare Paint. This amazing new material allows you to paint with conductive ink on any surface and create electronic circuits out of imagery, components and different materials. We are super excited to see what experiments and unique gifts we can develop for the holidays.

Rolling Stones - Some Girls

Roll-up, roll-up and celebrate the re-release of 'Some Girls' at Rough Trade East!

Come down to Rough Trade East, London on Friday 25th November and go old skool with us and our life size retro 'Some Girls' cut-out!

Be brave, stick your head through the stocks and get snapped by photographers to create your own totally unique 'Some Girls' album sleeve.

What's more you can check out first hand our Super Deluxe Collector's Box Set with all the trimmings and win exclusive 'Some Girls' prizes!

ROUGH TRADE SHOPS ARE BACK IN PARIS

Rough Trade Shops On Tour is back in Paris with its' winter collection this December.

Rough Trade Shops will open a temporary (one week-only from Saturday 10th December – Saturday 17th December) Paris store, located in the woman's agnès b. store, 6 rue du Jour, Paris, 75001.

Rough Trade on Tour - Winter Collection will focus on the best albums of 2011, Rough Trade's Album of The Year and a typical Rough Trade edit of only the very best new music on vinyl and CD plus an eclectic selection of Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.

Just as Rough Trade Shops in London are much more than simply places to buy music, but also where you get to see and hear live bands up close, Rough Trade On Tour will feature live performances and signing sessions. A taste for Parisians of just what a great record store experience adds to a city’s cultural richness.

LIVE: Rough Trade’s Number One Album Of The Year 2011, Josh T Pearson will be making an appearance in store on Monday 12th December at 19h30 performing songs from the Rough Trade Christmas Bonus Disc and signing records and merchandise.



Other artists performances to be announced very soon. Stay updated by following us on Twitter @RoughTradePopUp

Trunk vs Fuel

A NIGHT OF WEIRD BOOKS, LIVE SCREEN-PRINTING, INTERESTING MUSIC & OTHER THINGS.

To celebrate the release of "Own Label", Jonny Trunk and graphic partnership Fuel will be in store on Tuesday 22nd November. This partnership has produced some interesting books over the years, from the first ever study of Music Library LP art to rubber fetish wear and now an overview of Sainsbury's Own Label packaging designs from the 60s to the 70s.

Fuel are also well known for their Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedias, and Jonny Trunk runs Trunk Records, possibly the UK's most peculiar record label.

On the night Fuel Publishing books will be available, Jonny will be Djing, signing books and possibly fending off amorous advances from both men and women alike. They have also organised a screen printer for the evening and will be producing and releasing a one off T shirt / poster as an exclusive to Rough Trade for one night only. There will also be special pre-release copies of the next Trunk album available. We can barely contain ourselves!

Check out the nice little video containing packaging seen in the book...

ROUGH TRADE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2011

It's that time of year when we announce our Top 10 albums of 2011. In reverse order...

10 - WHITE HILLS - H-p1



Featuring exclusive-to-rough trade bonus disc 'Oddity II: Night Scene On Mill Mountain ''H-p1' - a 7 track, 68 minute disc featuring a 27 minute collaboration with Julian Cope. 'H-p1' manages to distill 40 years of guitar terrorism in all its forms into one mammoth work. There are recognisable rock forms present but the way White Hills use them invigorates the listener like no other rock record this year 'H-p1' channels a collective anger, a seething distrust of control into a swirling psychedelic, brutalising record that mainlines the thrill of the renegade straight to the listener's heart.

Order White Hills here.

9 - THE HEAD AND THE HEART - The Head And The Heart



With their gorgeous harmonies and upbeat country and folk tinged songs, this is just the ticket for lifting spirits in the gloomier months of winter, and catchy enough to be singing along in the car, on the bus or train whatever the time.
Exclusive 3 cd set including a super exclusive bonus disc only available from Rough Trade.

Order The Head And The Heart here.

8- JOHN MAUS - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves



Featuring an exclusive bonus disc of rarities and early cuts from John Maus' career. A pulsing, hypnagogic synthesised pop invested with both Maus' sense of humour and a pensive insight into the human condition. Maus' music boasts a rewarding duality; it is complex melodically but carried out with a directness that stirs the heartstrings.
With exclusive rough trade bonus disc featuring a multitude of unreleased demos and recordings from through out John Maus' career.

Order John Maus here.

John Maus will be performing a live in-store gig this Wednesday 16th November, 1pm at Rough Trade East. More details here.

7 - ZOMBY - Dedication



Featuring the 'Nothing' album on cd, only available through Rough Trade. a perfectly crafted essay in less is more production and composition, this delicate slab of electronica at times employs little more than atmospheric whirrs, one finger synth lines or subtle clicks and samples to create a rich, brooding masterpiece. Think Burial meets Steve Reich.

Order Zomby here.

6 - VERONICA FALLS - Veronica Falls



A gloriously morose blend of melancholia, gothic gloom and a set of tuneful, snarling post punk pop nuggets, all rendered with beautifully structured boy/girl harmonies and a searing, energetic, muscular guitar sound. a melancholy, ghostly lyrical pre-occupation and a taut, distinctly punk aesthetic raise this high above their indie-pop peers.

Order Veronica Falls here.

5 - PJ HARVEY - Let England Shake



A ghostly, misty soundscape that perfectly mirrors the ideological spectres of england, war and history that permeate this album, 'Let England Shake' centred around guitars shrouded in echo and reverb, mutated musical samples and a set of tunes as good as any Harvey has presented to date.

Order P J Harvey here.

4 - GILLIAN WELCH - The Harrow And The Harvest



Although the musical palette is spare and rustic; all expertly arranged harmonies and exquisite acoustic guitar duels, Welch and guitarist David Rawlings manage once more to fashion something entirely modern and original that still resonates with the honesty of the archaic.

Order Gillian Welch here.

3 - KURT VILE - Smoke Ring For My Halo



Exclusive bonus disc featuring the full live set from Kurt Vile's instore at Rough Trade East. Meandering through delicately picked glacial ballads to more direct, strummed rockers this is a patchwork of American classics, brilliantly re-interpreted through Vile's signature guitar work, world-weary melancholy, and laconic vocal delivery.

Order Kurt Vile here.

Check out a performance by Kurt Vile earlier this year at Rough Trade East here.

2 - NICOLAS JAAR - Space Is Only Noise



'Space Is Only Noise' is a beautiful combination of classical, electronic and sampledelic sounds, with slow paced, delicate beats, producing a truly wonderful mixture of the digital and analogue worlds colliding in perfect harmony. Includes an exclusive 5 track bonus mix cd.

Order Nicolas Jaar here.

1 - JOSH T PEARSON - Last Of The Country Gentlemen



With an exclusive bonus disc featuring Josh T Pearson's set of Christmas songs recorded specially for Rough Trade. A man who engenders an almost religious fervour in his followers (a band that has grown considerably throughout what has been a remarkable year) this was one of the most eagerly anticipated albums in recent memory, and it was more than worth the wait; a magical, intense and cathartic journey into, and out of, darkness.

Order Josh T Pearson here.

On Thursday 1st December Josh will be taking part in a Q&A session with Stevie Chick followed by a signing session. Alongside this, a new exhibition of photographs by Steve Gullick charting the past decade of Josh's career will be displayed in-store.

Josh will also be performing at our Rough Trade On Tour chez agnès b shop on rue du Jour, Paris 75001 on Monday 12th December at 19h30.

Check out a performance by Josh T Pearson earlier this year at Rough Trade West here...

The Moon & The Sledgehammer Screening With Philip Trevelyan

Caught By The River's next installment is a screening of the cult movie The Moon And The Sledgehammer including a Q&A with the director of the film Philip Trevelyan
next Wednesday 9th November from 7pm at Rough Trade East.


THE MOON AND THE SLEDGEHAMMER: Philip Trevelyan's unique portrait of the remarkable steam-loving Page Family.


THE MOON AND THE SLEDGEHAMMER is a film about a family of real people: Mr Page; his two sons Jim and Peter; and his two daughters, Kathy and Nancy. Mrs Page died long ago. The Pages live in a ramshackle house situated in six acres of woodland, which they own themselves, in the heart of the commuter-belt, 20 miles south of London. The trees cut the Pages off completely from the outside world, and isolated in their island-clearing, they let the 20th Century slowly pass them by. It is a simple life without running water, electricity or gas. Peter and Jim earn what little money the family needs by doing casual repairs to tractors and farm-machinery in the neighbourhood. Machinery is the permanent obsession of Mr Page and his sons.

Tickets are limited to 120. Buy your £5 ticket at Rough Trade East or online here. If buying online please remember to print your order as a reference and bring it along with you on the evening.

Anyone buying the DVD on the evening of the screening will have the ticket price refunded. Alternatively you can buy the DVD at Rough Trade East and collect a wristband for the screening at the same time.....strictly one per person

This highly acclaimed film is now available on DVD for £16.99. If you're pre-ordering online and would like to attend the screening please mention this in the comments box during the final stages of checkout.........one admission per purchase.

Caught By The River's Many Books Of The Month by Little Toller

This month, the Caught by the River / Rough Trade, Book of the Month, is not just one title but many. In fact, it should really be called 'Independent Publisher of the Month'. This title goes to Little Toller Books, of Dorset, in recognition of their ever consistent skills at digging the crates for the best in British writing about nature and rural life. All titles from their catalogue will be on the shelf, including revived classics such as WNP Barbellion's The Journal of a Disappointed Man (described by our reviewer as, "Sometimes suggesting Sir Peter Scott collaborating with the Manic Street Preachers’ Richey Edwards, The Journal Of A Disappointed Man is one of the most remarkable books in the history of nature-themed non-fiction" ), The Local, a beauty of a book by Edward Ardizzone and Maurice Gorham looking at London pubs on the eve of the Second World War in words and pictures, and the newly reissued Caught by the River favourite, Sweet Thames Run Softly by Robert Gibbings (with a brand new introduction by Luke Jennings).

More reviews on Little Toller titles here.

There's also still a very limited number of Caught By The River's very first printed fanzine 'An Antidote To Indifference' for sale upon their dedicated shelf here in the shop.

CALLING ALL CRAFTERS...

Next Thursday 3rd November from 7pm sees Rough Trade East celebrating all things craft in conjunction with Cicada Books latest book State Of Craft.

Lots of things to see and make on the night with some very special guests and contributors from State Of Craft.

Make a moustache for free for those of you who are unable to grow one for Movember. Print a tote bag for £1 or create a feathered hipster headdress for £3; then at 8pm put your DIY dilemmas to our crack team of crafters.

Fire questions to our guests u ber jewellers Tatty Devine, natty knitters and in-store vendors Prick Your Finger, sublime seamstress DIY Couture and print prodigy Mr Wingate.

This creative frenzy marks the release of State of Craft (Cicada Books), a new book featuring over 60 step-by-step projects from successful designer-makers - from pom-pom necklaces and cross-stitched tote bags to jam-jar lamps and old-jumper pouffes. Edited by BUST Craftacular London organiser Victoria Woodcock, the book also includes interviews with craftsters and how-to sections on knitting, crochet and sewing.

All materials supplied, no skills needed: bring your creativity and your crafting questions! No wristbands needed, just turn up on the night. Be early though as this is expected to be a busy one!

CAMDEN CRAWL 2012

CAMDEN CRAWL 2012 EARLY BIRD TICKETS GO ON SALE 9:00 AM on WEDNESDAY 26th OCTOBER!

Next year’s Crawl, scheduled for Friday 4th – Sunday 6th May, will be one of Olympic proportion. As a warm up to the weekend’s full programme, the Crawl will host an opening night marathon to be held at Camden’s historic KOKO venue featuring six live acts and a special guest headliner to be announced later this month.

Tickets for the Friday 4th May event and 15% reduced early bird weekend passes for Camden Crawl are on sale exclusively through www.thecamdencrawl.com and a limited amount of weekend ticket purchases will include the option to attend the festival’s opening night party.


To mark the launch of next year’s festival, Camden Crawl unveils its brand new VARIETY club night. VARIETY is four great nights out in one featuring an eclectic assortment of cutting edge comedy, London’s most competitive pop quizzes, guest DJs and a very special live music guest each week…and its FREE ENTRY!!

WHERE:... VARIETY at The Star Of Kings, 126 York Way, London N1 (Kings X O 5 min walk)

WHEN:... TONIGHT Wednesday, 26th October 2011 from 6:00pm until 12:00am curfew

WHO:... 7pm ROUGH TRADE SHOPS POP QUIZ / 8pm TIERNAN DOUIEB / PHIL NICHOL (live comedy)
9pm TWO WOUNDED BIRDS / 10pm YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE / 10.45pm GOOD GIRLS GONE BAD (DJ)

FREE ENTRY

The 2012 Camden Crawl programme will feature more than 250 of next year’s brightest music talents and special guests from the UK and abroad across Camden Town’s two mile stretch of historic pubs and venues. Previous line ups may be found at www.thecamdencrawl.com/archive. Additionally, its extensive daytime arts festival showcases cutting-edge independent talent across a variety of disciplines. 2012 events will include comedy, storytelling & spoken word, fringe theatre, a fanzine, poster and record fair, independent film screenings, outdoor live music stages and more. The festival’s interactive events will continue to include pop quizzes, live karaoke and plans are afoot for an ‘alternative pub-Olympics’.

Line ups are announced from January 2012 and, as always, venue schedules and surprise guest appearances remain under raps until the event.

VISIT WWW.THECAMDENCRAWL.COM FOR INFO AND TICKET DETAILS

Pat Graham - Instrument

One of next month's exhibitions is by photographer Pat Graham entitled 'Instrument'. It will be displayed in the shop from Tuesday 1st November running for two weeks until 15th November and will feature images from Pat's book of the same name.

On the opening night, Pat will discuss the process and stories behind the project that spanned 15 years in the making. Including tours with bands The Cribs and Modest Mouse, visits to the musicians homes, and studios, etc. Many of the UK based musicians will be on hand along with Pat to celebrate the release of Instrument. The night will include an exhibition of some of the best shots in the series as well as proofs from the book. Listening stations will be set up with the songs that go with the photos. So come and join us for this night of Sound and Vision. Books will be signed and prints will also be available.

In the mid nineties while living in Washington DC music photographer Pat Graham photographed Ian Mackaye (Fugazi, Dischord Records) and his iconic white Gibson SG. At that point his photo project Instrument was born. Over the next 15 years Graham documented/photographed and interviewed 50 plus musicians about there favourite instrument and the stories that went along with them.

Some of the artists in the book include:

Johnny Marr - The Smiths, Modest Mouse, Cribs, Healers, etc
Bernard Sumner - Joy Division, New Order
Colin Newman - Wire
Alex Kapranos - Franz Ferdinand
Gary and Ryan Jarman - The Cribs
James Cauty - KLF, The Orb
Ian Curtis - Joy Division
Tom Cullinan - Th Faith Healers, Quickspace
Jerry Dammers - The Specials, Special AKA Arkestsra
Justin Vernon - Bon Iver
Hal Blaine - Beach Boys, Phil Spector, etc
Jeff Tweedy - Wilco
Kim Deal - The Pixies
Billy Childish
Kate Nash


Here's a selection of a few of the images taken from Pat's book...



Alex Kapranos - Fender 1973 Fender Telecaster - Alex bought this guitar in 2003 for 666.00 pounds he has played it every since.



Billy Childish's - Kira guitar - Billy learned to play on this



Hal Blaine's Sleigh Bells, etc. These bells and percussion instruments can are the sound of Good Vibrations as well as Phil Spectors wall of sound.



Ian Curtis' Vox - Heard on the Love will Tear us Apart and seen in the video as well.



Johnny Marr's red 1959 Gibson 355 - One of Johnny's favorite guitars. He wrote Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and Girl Afraid on this guitar.



Bernard Sumner's Moog Source - This is the sound of the bass in Blue Monday.

More information can be found here.

Mother, Brother, Lover by Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Cocker is widely regarded as one of the most original and memorable lyricists and performers of the last three decades. Mother, Brother, Lover (his first book) is a collection of seventy lyrics, selected and annotated by the author.

Opening with an essay on the art of lyric-writing, the selection features Pulp classics such as 'Common People', 'Babies' and 'This is Hardcore', as well as less familiar and unreleased songs. Spanning thirty years of songwriting, the collection reveals a unique sensibility: a sometimes visceral, sometimes everyday take on love, relationships and the things we do to each other when the lights get low.

Mother, Brother, Lover takes the reader on a tour into the life, art and preoccupations of one of the great British artists of the late twentieth century. Shocking, sharp, clever and funny, it is a beautiful, enduring collection.

There will be a super limited edition version of the book. 100 copies at £100 each. It will contain a bookmark made from an individual strip of passport photos. Each bookmark is unique and will be signed, numbered and dated by Jarvis. The book itself will be signed numbered and slipcased. Books can be pre-ordered from our online shop here.

Faber & Faber recently announced an expansion of their relationship with Jarvis Cocker, as he is appointed Editor-at-Large. Cocker will work closely with Lee Brackstone and Hannah Griffiths in a broad commissioning role. Cocker's appointment echoes the role famously played by Pete Townshend in the 1980s at Faber.

Here's an interview with publishing director Lee Brackstone where Jarvis talks about writing lyrics, his inspiration and his thoughts on putting together his first published collection.

NICKY WIRE IN CONVERSATION WITH DORIAN LYNSKEY

To celebrate the launch of his new book 'Death Of A Polaroid' - A Manics Family Album, Nicky Wire will be in conversation with Dorian Lynskey, author and Guardian music critic.

Documenting more than twenty years of the band's career, Nicky Wire has kept a personal visual history of the Manic Street Preachers' various evolutions and travels across the world, right from their early beginnings in Blackwood, Wales. Nicky will discuss his passion for polaroid photography and the history of the iconoclastic band, and take part in a book signing following the Q&A.

The event, brought to you by Faber & Faber in association with the Guardian, will be hosted here at Rough Trade East on Wednesday 16 November.

An exhibition of Nicky's own polaroids will also be on display in the shop from 16th - 30th November.

Tickets for this special event are exclusively available to Guardian readers, at £11 or £9 for Extra members.

An invite will also be included with preorders of the special limited edition hardback version from Rough Trade. More information on the book can be found here.

Here's a video of Nicky Wire introducing the book and talking of his love for Larkin...

30 Years of On-U Sound... Disturbing The Comfortable, Comforting The Disturbed

Since 1981, with label boss and producer Adrian Sherwood at the helm, On-U Sound has released over 100 albums and singles and has launched the careers of, and inspired an endless list of artists.

In celebration of this cult British label reaching the grand age of 30 years, On-U Sound and Rough Trade East are excited to present a very exclusive London in-store special event.

A night not to be missed, Thursday October 27th 2011, will begin with a rare in-person Q&A between Adrian Sherwood and Steve Barker of the highly respected BBC radio show, On The Wire. This will be followed by a mind-bending DJ ‘head-to-head’ between Adrian Sherwood and reggae maestro musician/producer, Dennis Bovell.

On-U Sound and Rough Trade will also collaborate to release an exclusive and limited New Age Steppers 7” vinyl collectors’ item. Featuring the track Fade Away, the A-Side of the first ever single to be released by On–U Sound in 1981, the single will be backed by a sneak preview track from the brand new forthcoming New Age Steppers album to be released in 2012.

The single will only be available to fans upon entry to the in-store event on the night. Pre-ordering the single via the Rough Trade website will guarantee entry to the event (one per person) and must be collected on the night. Otherwise entry is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Unique, maverick and massively respected, On-U Sound is undoubtedly one of the UK’s most influential independent labels. Never straying far from the cutting edge, it has contributed to a strikingly diverse soundtrack to chaotic post-punk, post-colonial Britain.

For more information on On-U Sound click here...

TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US AT ROUGH TRADE EAST

Do you love sound? Have you ever wanted to know more about it? Come learn how to solder an amplifier as well as design and construct your own set of speakers out of any material.

We have a DIY SPEAKERS WORKSHOP by TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE US this Saturday 15th October from 10am - 1pm.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW ONLINE OR AT ROUGH TRADE EAST.

There are 20 tickets for this workshop priced at £60 per ticket and includes all materials.

Check out this video demo...

DIY Speaker Demo from Daniel Hirschmann on Vimeo.

ADJAYE. AFRICA. ARCHITECTURE.

One of the world's most exciting young architects, David Adjaye has built acclaimed houses, commercial and public buildings all over the world and is coming to Rough Trade East to discuss his new book "Adjaye. Africa. Architecture."

Rough Trade East will be hosting an event entitled "An evening with David and Peter Adjaye" on Monday 17th October at 6pm.

Join David and Peter Adjaye for conversation, images and sound from their new collaborative project.

Over a ten-year period, the architect David Adjaye has visited 53 major African cities and photographed thousands of buildings, sites and places that few of us will ever be able to visit.

Now he shares his observations in a new book. It documents Adjaye's tribute to African metropolitan architecture. The individual volumes present cities according to the terrain in which they are situated - the Maghreb, Desert, The Sahel, Savanna and Grassland, Mountain and Highveld, and Forest.

In conjunction with this project, his brother, Peter Adjaye, has curated the African Metropolitan Music Compilation that explores some of the most significant styles of African music across these geographical zones .

David Adjaye will introduce the project and talk about his journey. Peter Adjaye will then respond. This will be followed by a book signing and a DJ set showcasing the African Metropolitan Music Compilation.

More information about the night can be found here and you can also pre order the book here.

Fires and Fanzines from Caught By The River

We've got a couple of things to mention on the Caught By The River side of things.

Firstly, Caught By The River's book of the month is now on sale here at Rough Trade East along with their eclectic selection of books on nature and culture.

October's chosen title is Fire Season: Field Notes From A Wilderness Lookout by Philip Connors. 
For five months of every year Philip Connors quits the city and becomes a fire lookout. Connors had me fascinated as he tells what he sees from his observation tower in New Mexico’s Gila wilderness and joins the dots between Aldo Leopold and Jack Kerouac with a subtle nod to Thoreau – “Every day in a lookout is a day not subtracted from the sum of one’s life.” 

A short video about the book can be viewed here...



Secondly, next Wednesday 12th October from 6.30pm - 8pm sees the second installment of monthly events brought to you by the Caught By The River boys. Read on for more details but this looks like it's an event not to be missed…



Xerox – A Celebration Of Fanzine Culture From The 70s To Now

Time and again, we’ve found ourselves saying that Caught By The River is like a fanzine. As longtime fanzine readers, writers and buyers, it makes total sense that there would be something lo-fi and DIY deep inside us; an ever present and excitable urgency to pass on newly learnt information to as many people as possible.
Earlier this year, we decided to join the dots between our site and some of the grassroots mags that had been inspirational to us by holding Tales From The Typographic Ocean, a symposium at Port Eliot Festival to discuss the roots of the UK’s underground press. Our very good friend Emma Warren (formerly of Jockey Slut) hosted a panel that featured Rough Trade’s Geoff Travis, Elektra record’s biographer Mick Houghton and ZigZag man Andy Childs. Tripping back to the late 60s, the talk moved onto punk rock and beyond, painting a kaleidoscopic picture of a time before today’s heavily sponsored, focus grouped music press.
Back in the Smoke, we thought it was something worth revisiting. On Weds October 12th, we’re staging a second fanzine panel. We’re calling it Xerox. This time it’ll go beyond punk, taking in C86, acid house and a whole bunch more. The line up on the night will feature Caught By The River contributors Andy Childs (ZigZag), Andrew Weatherall (Boy’s Own), Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) and Geoff Travis (Rough Trade), all in conversation again with Emma Warren.

It’s free.

It’ll also be the launch of our own Caught By The River fanzine. More of that later though…

Stormtroopers Arrive At Rough Trade

Rough Trade East has become exclusive UK retailer of Andrew Ainsworth’s Original Stormtrooper range of replica helmets.



Andrew Ainsworth, prop designer of the iconic figures, recently won a Supreme Court ruling against George Lucas, allowing him the right to sell replicas (outside of the US) made using his original designs.

Andrew says, "I'm very excited to be working with Rough Trade, a wonderfully inspiring independent retailer whose roots, like mine, go back to the mid-70's. Rough Trade East is the perfect modern environment to appreciate my work, given its joyous celebration of all things independently creative."

Director of Rough Trade Retail Group, Stephen Godfroy, says "Andrew is a undisputed design genius, fiercely independent in his astonishing battle to retain rights to his seminal contribution to popular culture. We're naturally very proud and excited to exclusively represent his work."

Following the Original Stormtrooper range on-sale here at Rough Trade East, a Q&A event will be held at the store (date TBC) in which Andrew will tell his incredible story… make sure you follow our twitter @roughtradeshops for more announcements and updates.

In the meantime here's a short video on how the iconic stormtrooper helmet is made...

It's National Poetry Day...

... so we've got a load of new poetry bits in the café over at East, and all available online as well. Here's everything you need to get your poetic kicks this weekend...



Firstly, we have the truly beautiful Faber Romantics set. All the poets you need, with great new selections from the likes of Andrew Motion, Paul Muldoon and Fiona Sampson. Keats, Blake, Clare (my personal favourite) et al all exquisitely packaged in hardback form with a design nod to Josiah Wedgewood. Get the whole set. Seriously.



Secondly, we have two new books from two of the most exciting poets currently working...



Daljit Nagra's latest is a kaleidoscopic, pan-cultural masterpiece; deftly blending linguistic and cultural tropes to create an exhilarating, humming melting pot. This book becomes city itself. The whole world in fact.



And then, out today, the elegant, rich and sometimes harrowing new book from Alice Oswald. A meditative, distilled translation of the "atmosphere" of Homer's Iliad, Oswald has turned the great narrative epic into a bittersweet, elegiac jeremiad. A great review can be found on the Caught By The River site here.

It is said the English love poetry, but never buy it.

More information on National Poetry Day can be found here.