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29/01/03 NO NEWS AS YET
No official announcement has been made as yet about the new ESP single or album, so we can only guess the album will be out on the 10th March, as suggested by HMV. If a single is to be released before the album then an announcement must surely must be expected soon.
29/01/03 ESP ON THEIR SUCCESS
ESP were interviewed about their success story by XFM recently. In it they talk about the first record they made and getting signed, read it in full below:
Success stories - Electric Soft Parade
Teenage brothers Alex and Tom White were simply known as The Soft Parade when Xfm played them in 2000. Now fully 'Electric', their debut album 'Holes in the Wall' is a Mercury Music Prize nominated smash.
The musically precocious duo have been recording music since their early teens, and used to sell their cheaply recorded albums at school. Part-time frontman Alex (he sings and plays both guitar and drums) explains:
"We did a series of recordings for albums. They were demos really, but our philosophy was, 'Let's make an album in a little demo studio but if we call it an album and do a tracklisting as an album would sound and artwork it'll come out better", and they did. They were only 50 or 100 copies each, sold around Brighton, but we called it a record label and everything. It was exciting to do."
It was a track from one of these DIY albums that first got Xfm interested in the duo, who had called themselves Soft Parade after the Doors album - only to later incur the wrath of a Jimbo-aping covers band of the same name:
"We did one that never got released, then we did another which did which was released on tape, that's how old school it was, a fucking SA90! That was 1997, when Tom was twelve. Then we did three CD albums, and the third of those we took three tracks off - and that's what got us signed".
Following their Xfm debut, a representative of their current label, BMG, contacted them and asked to come to see them rehearse. So, did Xfm help ESP get signed?
"100%, yeah definitely. A record label guy came down to watch us rehearse, but the reason he came down was because he went into Xfm and asked what they'd played on the Unsigned slot. They said this, this and this and he listened to them and said, "I like that one". They said "Here's the contact, go and find them". It was totally through Xfm, they were the middleman to our record deal".
Alex is full of praise for their manager Tony, who has been involved with the band since the early days. He attributes their Mercury Music Prize nomination to Tony's persistence, saying, "It was our manager who's done it. He's the one. We made the record but he got us to make the record." In fact, it was a bit of managerial cunning that got them onto Xfm in the first place:
"Tony was managing another band at the time, and they'd kind of gone a bit, having arguments, splitting up and getting back together again the next day, being a nightmare to manage. He started to manage us in the meantime. Months before we'd had anything to do with him he'd got a letter through from Xfm saying "We'll play them", wanting names and ages, that sort of thing. He just photocopied it and sent both demos back, and they played ours! That's a true story."
20/01/03 LATEST OFFICIAL NEWS
The latest news on ESP has been posted on the official ESP site, read it below:
"The guys have been spending the last few weeks in Brighton working on their new album. The White brothers have set themselves the mammoth task of bettering their debut LP "Holes In The Wall", and from the demos alone we feel confident they have written another Mercury Music Prize contender!! Tom and Alex's song writing has matured into further greatness, having had the time to experiment with instruments and sounds, the album oozes catchy melodies and heavier guitars, promising not to disappoint fans."
10/01/03 NEW SINGLE IMMINENT
The DB Records site suggests that an announcement will be made on the next ESP single, tipped to be Lose Your Frown, within the next few weeks. The full official ESP update is below:
08/01/03 - The band are still beavering away in the studio working on the follow up to their Mercury Award nominated debut album. The new songs that the band played during their November tour sounded fantastic and we are all looking forward to hearing them on record. You can expect the band to announce a brand new single in the next few weeks.
10/01/03 ESP COMPETITIONS
The competition on the Brotherhood of Fish site, where you are asked to design a cover for the new ESP album, ends in February so get your entries in quick.
06/01/03 NEW ALBUM RELEASE DATE
We can exclusively reveal that, according to the HMV website, the next Electric Soft Parade album will be released in 2 months time, on the 10th March 2003 to be precise. Your can pre-order it for £15.99, although this seems rather expensive so you might be best waiting. There are currently no details of the title of the album or the track listing, although we do know that Lose Your Frown will be the first single. Click here to hear that tune. If the album is to be released in early March, it would be expected that Lose Your Frown will be released before that, probably some time in February. Anyway, we'll keep you posted when we find out more.
06/01/03 AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM
The latest issue of NME contains this article in which Tom White talks about the gear they own and what youngsters should spend their money on:
Tom White of The Electric Soft Parade reveals his gear tips
Does good gear have to be expensive?
"Not at all. When we first started we had the crummiest gear, but it was good for the stage we were at. We had to try and make it sound good. A lot of the stuff we use now isn't the best stuff you can buy - it's just what sounds right."
Has any original gear stayed with you?
"Loads of it - a lot of old pedals and a couple of guitars and keyboards. Stuff that doesn't wear out or break, you re-use and mix with the new stuff. You buy a new pedal and stick it next to an old tremolo and it sounds great."
How much gear does a band need?
"I actually don't think it's worth buying a lot of gear. A young musician should be trying to find their sound, something unique that they do well. That doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot of money. I genuinely think starting out on worse instruments in crappier studies is better for the soul, so when you get to the bigger studios you feel like you've earned it. You've learnt and know how everything works."
Are you still accumulating gear?
"Definitely. We bought a Boss Dr Sample recently, which has been really lush on the new album. It's only about £200, but it does so much. We got a Korg Kaos pad as well for Alex's guitar. We also got a bullet harmonica mic, this old '50s thing. You can't use it live because it feeds back, but in the studio it sounds unbelievably good. You get that Sparklehorse vocal sound straight away."
Any more tips?
"We never have enough keyboard sounds. I'd say in the early stages of a band, get the peripheral band members to spend their money on keyboard sounds!"
NME, 4th January 2003
06/01/03 HAPPY NEW YEAR
Happy new year to all you ESP fans, here's hoping that, with the new album imminent, 2003 proves to be just as if not more successful for the band.
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