March 30, 2006
Cities: More Information on The New Album
It's just a few days until the release of Cities: The Cat Empire Project. Excited yet? We are:
What do we know about it so far? According to the official description,
The recording project was written by front men Felix Riebl and Harry Angus and arranged by Ross Irwin of The Empire Horns and features guest performers: Kumar Shome (Sitar), Greg Sheehan (Tamb), Bobby Singh (Tablas), and the vocals of Nina Ferro and Julie O'Hara.
I guess this is why it is a "Cat Empire Project": there's a whole lot of collaboration going on! Julie O'Hara is no stranger to Cat Empire fans, and followers of Sydney-based group The Bird will be keen to hear anything that Bobby Singh is playing tabla on. Perhaps this album will be more serious and/or instrumental than the last?
Those of you who saw the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Melbourne have already heard at least some of the songs from the album; as we've already mentioned here in the news posts, the title track "Cities" is available on the official Commonwealth Games soundtrack, too.
Melbourne newspaper The Age has set hopes highly with a stunning review of the album,
.... But Cities is just one of those happy accidents that befalls a band that, in the jazz and Latin traditions they favour, lives to play and doesn't much care for pop's rules of engagement.
While Cities is being released in Australia, Two Shoes could be nearing a North American release. NineMSN reports that the band is close to signing contracts for Canada, the USA and Europe, and will be releasing a new edition of Two Shoes with some extra songs.
March 20, 2006
The Cat Empire Project New Album
Cryptic emails depicting city skylines being sent out by The Cat Empire have finally been decoded by fans on the forums.
'Cities' by The Cat Empire project is set to be released on April 1st 2006, with different tracks on the album featuring the involvement of some talented musicians associated with the band.
Musichead already have a tracklisting up on their site with songs such as 'Song for The Day', 'Song for Elias' & 'The Waltz' making eagerly awaited returns to their repertoire. The title track 'Cities' can also be found on the Official Music from the Commonwealth Games Ceremony cd release.
For more details on their Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony performance and discussion about 'Cities', make sure you keep an eye on the forums!
March 13, 2006
And The Winner Is.... Melbourne!
What's the connection between Nikki Webster and The Cat Empire?
Is it that "Strawberry Kisses" is the secret favourite song of more than one member of the band? (Time for a cover, guys?)
Is it that both Nikki Webster and The Cat Empire will be heading back into the studios soon for a new album... TOGETHER?
Is that that, like Nikki at the Sydney Olympics, The Cat Empire could be playing at the opening ceremony of some kind of major international sporting event, in Melbourne?
There's only two ways to find out. Buy a $400-plus ticket, or watch the coverage on Channel Nine. Don't miss it.
March 06, 2006
The Kieran love rolls on...
The next winner of the Caption Contest is through, with Mike K coming up with the goods with this gem...
Kieran: poor little guy, can't hold his grog...
Poor Kieran, just can't keep himself out of the action!
Check out the Forums for the next pic!