Silver Factory Superblog

SFS on the radio

2011-12-12T15:13:00.000Z

On December 10th 2011 Silver Factory Superstars song Our Own World was played on Radio Nottinghams BBC introducing programme The Beat.

Listen again via the bbc iplayer 9min35 in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00lzn5s/BBC_Introducing_in_Nottinghamshire_10_12_2011/

Buy the song from iTunes

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/pop-revolution/id485400767

Viva the Pop Revolution

The Pop Revolution is upon us

2011-11-25T19:50:00.000Z

Monday the 28^th November 2011 sees the download release of Silver Factory Superstars debut album, Pop Revolution.

Track list:

1. Tonight

2. Memory & kiss

3. You told me

4. First kiss

5. You are the one

6. Need to love (feat. EJ Norman)

7. Escape you dance

8. Get a grip

9. English twilight

10. Bleed my love

11. Alive with you

12. Our own world

13. Memory & kiss (The Manor Mix)

14. Alive with you (Extended Climax Remix)

For all Compact disc lovers the CD will be released at a later date and here is the best bit.

If you buy the download version from itunes you will get sent the CD version for free.

All you have to do is buy the album from itunes, send us a copy of your itunes receipt to offer@silverfactorysuperstars .com and we will post you the CD as soon as its available.

This way you get your digital faceless copy accompanied by the fabulous tactile fold out sleeved version.

Silver Factory Superstars - Album Sampler

2011-09-29T16:44:00.002+01:00

Have an early listen to the new album before its officially released. Silver Factory Superstars - Album Sampler by Pullfocusrecords

Electrokiss E.P

2011-05-11T10:19:00.001+01:00

May 16^th 2011 is the confirmed release date for the Silver Factory Superstars debut single.

Released through PullFocus records and called electrokiss ep the track listing is:

1. First kiss SINGLE VERSION

2. Memory & kiss FULL LENGTH MIX

3. First kiss EXTENDED REMIX

4. You are the one ORCHESTRAL

Featuring songs from the upcoming album Pop Revolution the single will be available on three formats.

1. Individually numbered limited CD single,

2. download

3. SMS text.

The CD single and download all have the above tracks but the SMS version will only have “First kiss SINGLE VERSION”.

The CD will be available through silverfactorysuperstars.com and the download will be on ITunes on the 16^th May and other Internet stores through the week.

You can pre order “First kiss SINGLE VERSION”. via SMS on your phones here’s the science bit:

To buy this track with SMS for Direct to Mobile download, users should text TRACK KISS to 80818 (Texts cost £1, which includes operator revenue share. UK only.) Operator Data Transfer fees also apply for mobile downloads.

Please bear in mind the SMS service is UK only.

And finally if you want to collect a CD single from me in person come to the gig SFS are playing on the 18^thMay. Follow the link:

Steel city synthpop 3

Viva the Pop Revolution

New Single Preview

2011-05-05T15:27:00.000+01:00

Just a quick message to let you have a sneaky listen to a track off the new single.

Just click the link.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SFSuperstars?feature=mhum

New Single

2011-03-16T10:03:00.001Z

So here it is, news of my first Silver Factory Superstars release for this decade.

Has a prelude to the debut album being released later this year there will be a digital download 4 track single available.

The lead song is the 80s tinged tune First Kiss, the 4 track single will feature the following tracks:

1. First Kiss (Single Version)

2. Memory & Kiss

3. First Kiss (Extended Mix)

4. You Are The One (Orchestral Version)

The release date has yet to be finalised but its looking like it will be a summer release.

In the meantime check out below for a taster of the album.

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3252551

Viva the Pop Revolution.

Gig Alert

2011-02-18T15:02:00.000Z

Just to let you know i will be performing at Steel City Synthpop on 18th May @ West Street Live, West Street, Sheffield.

Hosted by Conversation

And also featuring Wonderful Life

More details to follow

REMIXES

2010-09-24T16:09:00.000+01:00

Silver Factory Superstars Remixes by Silver Factory Superstars

It's Getting Closer

2010-09-15T11:41:00.000+01:00

So, yet again I have been neglecting the updates. The album is still not finished but I am getting closer. Here is a list of where I am at.

Escape You Dance - mix

Get a Grip - mix

Our Own World - mix

Tonight – Do vox & harmonies / then mix

You Told Me - mix

English Twilight – mix

You need to love Me - Do vox & harmonies / then mix

Darkstar - mix

Planetary Solitude – Do vox - then mix

Alive With You - mix

You Are The One - mix

First kiss - mix

Still Love - mix

As you can see a lot of the songs are at the mix stage and I am hoping to release it by Christmas. I still have to record some guest vocals but essentially we are getting to the mix stage.

The images for the artwork are being provided by American photographer Cari Ann Wayman. Her beautiful compositions will really compliment this SFS product. Can’t wait for you all to listen and look at this new release.

Keep checking back.

2010

2010-04-14T13:43:00.003+01:00

2010

It’s been a great start to the year with my first gig, the album near completion and a new web site all in the first 4 months.

Firstly I’d like to thank everyone at Rip it up for a great night of electro madness.

The night was kicked of with Benjamin bloom, followed by myself and headlined by lost controllers. It was a great atmosphere and I made a lot of new friends

The album is slowly getting there just a few more vocals to record then the daunting task of mixing. I played some of the songs at the gig and they seemed to go down quite well.

I have given www.silverfactorysuperstars.com a face-lift to match the artwork of the new album and to give the cyberworld a sneaky peak of things to come.

That’s it for now

Viva the pop revolution.

iPhone test

2010-04-13T17:20:00.000+01:00

Testing mobile blogging.

Location:Riste's Pl,Nottingham,United Kingdom

Merry Christmas and a synth new year.

2009-12-21T11:38:00.000Z

Well the album is shaping up nicely, the track listing has changed a bit and undoubtedly will change again in the future. The tracks so far:
Escape you dance
Get a grip
Our own world
Tonight
You told me
English Twilight
You need to love
Planetary Solitude
Alive with you
You are the one
First kiss
Still love

The songs are about 60% finished due to the fact that my voice has been messed up for 2 months with various flu and cold symptoms.
I have however started to think about the CD artwork and video projections I need to do for the live shows, so 2010 looks busy already.

In other news I have submitted my remix of EJ Normans ‘Home’ and I am very pleased with it, I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

Check back for the release date.

2010 the pop revolution is coming.

Ok Update Time.

2009-08-18T12:05:00.005+01:00

First off, I’m doing a remix for synthpop queen EJ Norman.
She is planning a major musical onslaught on the world, with a myriad of releases.
The song I’m remixing is called Home and is a great song in its own right (you can here the original on her myspace) and I hope to compliment it with SFS remix dust.

The Album

I’m about half way through making the Silver Factory Superstars debut album.
So far I have laid down 11 songs:

Escape You dance
Alive With You
English Twilight
Planetary Solitude
Tonight
You Are The One
Close To The Edge
U need 2 luv me
You Told Me
Into The Sky
Falling

This is by no means the final track list, as I am planning to record more and then select which ones are worthy.
All the songs are newly recorded and are pure pop.
I am mulling over whether to have guest vocalists on the album or just keep it SFS only, mmmm…… decisions.

Anyway it’s sounding great and hopefully you’ll like it.

On another note you must check out the new album from Frankmusik, it is pure pop.

Viva the pop revolution.

Shes out of her head

2009-05-26T10:55:00.001+01:00

I have decided to treat you to a stripped down version of one of the songs from my solo album, Unrequited.

Purchase the album from iTunes, CD baby and www.mjohnson.biz

Red Phone Box

2009-05-06T11:09:00.002+01:00

So the last couple of weeks I have spent a lot of my time recording, playing and producing a song for Amy Notman.
The song called Red Phone Box is written by Amy and our version can be heard on her Myspace. It was a good session that was followed by the compulsory ‘after recording’ pint.
We had a great time and hopefully we will do it again soon.
Check it out and if she is doing a gig near you, please go and see her.

Amy Notman

Spring In The Air

2009-03-17T13:42:00.006Z

I have started work on the poptastic SFS debut album. It’s been ages since I released the EP and did some gigs (new dates to follow soon) so following the popularity of my SAW-esque ‘First Kiss’ I have been writing and recording.

The new album should be finished by the end of the year and if you want immediate album updates you can twitter me. Here.

REMIX
I have put up a page of some of the remixes that I have done for other artists (Ash, Imogen Heap, Erasure etc) feel free to have a listen and don’t be afraid to ask me to do one for you.
http://www.silverfactorysuperstars.com/SFSremix.htm

Ok, off to celebrate paddy’s day and find some pop inspiration
Viva the pop revolution!!!

Me @ Elstree Studios

Pop Revolution

2009-02-14T15:56:00.007Z

A few months ago I mentioned that for some inexplicable reason I decided to write and record a song inspired by 80's pop gurus Stock Aitken and Waterman.

Well, finally after various rewrites and mixes I have finished it. It is called First Kiss and I have decided to give it to you for free and not only can you get the radio edit but you can also get the extended mix too.

You can listen to it at the SFS Myspace site or at ilike if you want to download it as well. If you want higher quality mp3 versions I can send you a link to where you can download it from or I can send you an old fashioned CD. (mark@silverfactorysuperstars.com).

Let me know what you think.

Also you can now twitter me. here

There Goes The Summer

2008-09-25T12:54:00.016+01:00

So its been a while, hope you are all ok. Since last we spoke I have been engulfing my self in music. It started in July when myself and my friends went to the beautiful latitude festival, despite the showers it was a great weekend, with lots of music.

About a week later I performed on a bandstand in Belper with Amy Notman, Lucy Milford, Jonathon Cundey, Chris Preston and Mark Lilley. Despite being told that we were to play alternate sets with a local steel band, we ended up doing the whole thing as they never showed up. We were saved by the experience of Amy and Lucy and their catalogue of songs, without them we would have looked quite stupid. Although judging from the pics below (courtesy of Mark Lilley) I think I was beyond help in the looks department anyway.

Then came August and the Moseley Folk Festival This has to be one of the quaintest festivals I have ever been to. For starters it is set in a hidden private park right in the town centre.

Moseley Park is unique. Less than 2 miles from Birmingham city centre. Unaltered for a 100 years. 11 acres of peaceful parkland, a beautiful lake packed with fish and surrounded by trees.
Moseley Park is a private park. You need a key to get in! So it's not 'institutional' like many public parks can be. It's a park out of time - some parts of it, such as the Ice House, go back 200 years.
(© Copyright 2006 Moseley Park & Pool Limited)

It is also an extremely friendly, real ale & cider swilling oasis, with some of the best music around.
Besides it being almost non stop rain on the last day and myself having a major stomach upset, it was fantastic, as the pics below will testify.
Highlights: John Tams, Seth Lakeman, Ruth Notman, The Destroyers, Waterson:Carthy, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset.

John Tams

21st century gigging

Ruth Notman

Then in September I saw the Stray Cats in Brixton. What a fantastic band but what a weird audience.
Don’t get me wrong they looked great all quiffed up and gave the whole gig a sense of authenticity but they never moved. Usually when you go to see a band that plays 80% of songs at a high tempo you start to move your legs, nod your head or even bounce up an down but not this crowd. Although they were obviously enjoying it they never moved, perhaps it was the sticky beer laden floor.

(photo by hwatson78)

Finally I have started to record my first SFS song in over a year. I got inspired when I heard the Pete Hammond remix of the Alphabeat song Boyfriend. It is so 80’s that it got me in the mood to record a Stock Aitken and Waterman cheese fest.
The song at the moment is called First Kiss and I have recorded the bulk of the instrumentation but writing cheesy lyrics is proving harder than I first thought. The chorus and bridge are written its just the verses.
Anyway check out the video below for my inspiration.

First Press For Solo Album

2008-06-23T20:19:00.003+01:00

Click Image for larger view.

Go Here for online version.

Go here to Purchase album.

Recent Gigs

2008-06-23T19:22:00.011+01:00

Just thought I'd post some images of my recent gigs.

Connect 4, Island Bar, Birmingham, May 08
Images by Candee Photography

Rose of England, Nottingham, June 08

The Alter Ego Has Landed

2008-05-29T14:05:00.001+01:00

It is finally out there.

My Debut solo album 'Unrequited' has now been released on Pullfocus records. You can hear a few of the songs on www.myspace.com/mjohnsonuk (including the fantastic duet with Amy Notman) plus if you like what you hear why not purchase a copy. You can buy it from itunes, Cd baby and Pullfocus shop (more digital outlets will follow). click one of the links below.

CD BABY

PULLFOCUS SHOP

It's Here

2008-05-08T09:54:00.004+01:00

My new solo album has arrived. Purchasing details to follow.

Thursday

2008-05-02T10:42:00.003+01:00

Just a reminder that i have a gig on the 8th May at Island bar, Birminham. (all the info is here: http://www.myspace.com/connectfournight ). Would be great to see you there.

As part of the promotion for the night SFS are featured in to excellent podcasts.

http://www.robocastradio.podomatic.com
http://www.brumcast.podomatic.com

Would love to see you all again.

A New Gig For May

2008-04-15T10:22:00.002+01:00

Click Image for info.

Chasing the Devil

2008-03-13T13:45:00.003Z

I start with bad news. Due to unforeseen circumstances the gig at The Cross on 26th March has been postponed. As of yet I don’t have a new date but keep checking back.

On a better note the solo album is nearing completion.
Last week I recorded the female parts for the duet Getting Scared and was blown away by the fantastic voice of an angel. I won’t tell you who it is yet, only that she is one of the midlands stars of the future ( I have to keep something as a surprise) .
Also I have decided to include a new song on the album which I wrote about a month ago. It is called Chasing the Devil and is an up tempo guitar -filled- orchestral voyage, you’ll love it.

This week also saw me acquire the talents of Boston (US not UK) photographer Diana Lemieux who has kindly agreed to provide the images for the albums artwork. Its looking fantastic.
Check her out:
www.flickr.com/photos/dlemieux.

So this is what is left to be done:

Mix Chasing the Devil
Sign off the artwork
Master the album
Seal it with a kiss
Post it to you.

The new track listing:

She’s out of her head
In your arms
Spinning
Pop Love (keep me a secret)
Don’t let it drop
The ballad of Billy James
Chasing the Devil
Just of you
Getting scared
Lost
Rip the town up
Softly

The release date is most likely to be the end of April, beginning of May.

Don’t forget the gig on the 26th March is postponed.

Bunkers Hill

2008-02-18T10:51:00.014Z

So the weekend is over and another SFS gig bites the dust.
This time we played at Nottingham's new electro night Electrazone @ Bunkers Hill.

Sharing the stage with me this time was the excellent The Silent Age and the event organisers Electraset.

It was great to see a lot of familiar faces and some surprises. Along with the usual Silver Factory Superfans (including Loyal Stephen, Beautiful Emma and Distant fan Gary) also in attendance were Adam and Ricky of Indie pop band Captain Dangerous.

The set was something like this:

Adam & Stephen

SFS featuring Captain Dangerous

Next gig is on the 26th March at Connect 4 @ The Cross, Moseley

See you there

Time

2008-02-11T11:02:00.000Z

So this year is just flying by. It seems most of my time is taken up with rehearsing or trying to finish of my solo album and at the moment I can’t see this pattern changing either.
Right, the album is 80% finished, I just need to finished mixing the songs, In Your Arms and The Ballad of Billy James (which I have been mixing for 4 weeks now and they still aren’t right) and then record the female vocals for the song Getting Scared. I need to have all the production finished by the end of March as Pullfocus studios will be moving in April.

I also have a gig this week ELECTRAZONE (16th Feb) at Bunkers Hill in Nottingham. Make sure you get there early as I am on at 8:45ish.

And on top of all that, it looks like I will be helping a fantastic singer/songwriter with her songs. I will have my producers hat on, so don’t expect to hear my voice. I am really looking forward to it, nothing has been finalised yet but keep your fingers crossed.

See you all on Saturday.

Photos of charity gig. Fishpond, Matlock Jan 08

2008-02-01T11:42:00.001Z

The listeners

An empty stage

Running Order

A Silver Factory Superstar

A Silver Factory Superstar with Guitar

Amy Notman

Bass man Johnathan

Mark Lilley

Next Gig Feb 16th

2008-02-01T11:38:00.001Z

Click poster for details.

The Big Smoke

2008-01-14T15:10:00.000Z

This month doesn’t seem to be slowing down. With rehearsing, recording, and film prep for back projections and various other projects, all being at the forefront of my mind, there is still the mixing, artwork, cd duplication and mastering to get sorted for my new album.
Thankfully a respite from all this was a trip to London at the weekend.

I boarded the train on Friday afternoon, found a seat I felt would be worthy of bottom, took off my coat and sat down. As the train started to move away from the station I reached into my bag for my journey essentials: Ipod, Diet Coke and a packet of wine gums. Now that I was encased in my own musical world and safe in the knowledge that my stop was the last stop, I settled in for the 2 hour journey.
The trip down there was over really quickly even though I had managed to jot down a lot of post production ideas for the new album.

I arrived at St Pancras station at 4pm I was astounded how great its face lift looked. This was the first time I had been since its reopening.

After admiring the amazing construction my friends and I ventured to the tube so we could go and meet the rest of our party at Paddington station. We made our base for this at the Sawyers Arms and drank, chatted, drank, and waited.
After about 45 minutes the last member of our posse or that evening arrived and we made our way to the Barbican Centre.
The Barbican is a great modern building with a 1960’s style design, even though it was conceived in the 70’s and finished in 1982.

We had come here to see a live film score of the 1926 film Battleship Potemkin. The soundtrack was to be played by the BBC concert orchestra and its composers the Pet Shop Boys, while the film itself was played on a large screen above the stage.

The performance was well worth the trip and the novelty of watching a film with a live score is something I recommend to every one.

Saturday started with the arrival of two late additions to our now ever growing gang. With the sun blasting down upon us and the cold wind caressing our faces we made our way to one of the largest food markets in the world, Borough Market. This place is fantastic for all manors of home grown organic meat and produce. After some mulled wine and food we made our way pass the Golden Hind to the Tate Modern.

What a building!

Louise Bourgeois -Maman

Even if you don’t appreciate Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth installation the Turbine Hall it is situated in, is simply fantastic.

After a couple of hours walking the Tate we attempted to go out door ice skating at Somerset House but this the never happened due to the first slot being a 10:20 pm.

Being as I was the only one heading back home that day I decided to head back to St. Pancras when everyone else decided it was time (7:15pm) to go and eat.
So I said my goodbyes and made my way home.

Lets make a date.

2007-12-19T11:58:00.001Z

More info in the new year. You're in for a treat.

Have great Christmas and a drunken new year.

Busy Busy Busy

2007-11-27T11:21:00.000Z

So much to do and so little time. At the moment I am in the middle of rehearsals for the Electrozone gig on the 16th Dec (see below).

Any one needing tickets drop me a line and I will accommodate you. I will be performing 5 songs, one of which is a synthpop version of an old Xmas classic.
As well as this I am also starting to put together the set for my charity gig in January supporting Mark Lilley. This performance will be different to my usual synthpop experience, as I plan to play some songs off my upcoming solo album. So as well as hearing the old favourites , you will also hear some brand new songs and get to see me play the guitar for once. I am really looking forward to playing these songs for you, and hopefully you will love them too.
Being as we are on the subject of the solo album, I will give you an update. The album will feature 11 songs and not a synth in sight. At the moment I have 6 songs finished and I am in the middle of trying to find time to record some additional vocals with Mark Lilley and the duet with an as yet unknown female. If all goes well the album should be out Feb 08.

Here is the track listing:

She’s out of her head
In your arms
Lost
The ballad of Billy James
Spinning
Pop love
Just of you
Getting Scared
Don’t let it drop
Rip the town up
Softly

One last thing i have also just put up a video i made for Chesterfield band Avangaad

See you on the 16th

Do me a favour

2007-10-30T10:41:00.000Z

Do this for me please.
www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/tom_robinsons_introducing/recommend.shtml

Any of my sites, don’t mind.

www.myspace.com/mjohnsonuk
www.myspace.com/silverfactorysuperstars

Cheers

No Gig

2007-10-19T11:34:00.000+01:00

The small gig that was scheduled for this Saturday has been called off due to some English and South African guys running round a pitch with an odd shaped ball.

On a brighter note the Oxjam gig is still happening, my band is still playing the Xmas gig and the Matlock gig has now been moved to Jan 08 (i will be supporting, as well as playing in the headline band).

Think thats it.

Good luck England!!!!

I hate winter

2007-10-16T10:48:00.000+01:00

So it’s happened. Just as winter draws in, I wake up with a cold.
I really hate them, for me they always come at the worst times. It’s always when I have something planned or when it’s a quiet time at work. They never come when you want to pull a sicky or when you have nothing planned.

I blame the inconsiderate public. Why do people insist on going to work when they have a cold, all it does is spread the germ? If everyone stayed in when they got a cold the risk of infection would be less, therefore less people would eventually be off ill and the countries productivity would be higher.
Instead, I have to put up with the sneezing and coughing all the way to work on the germ incubator called a tram. Plus its not as if you can get away from them, as you get closer to town, more people with more germs get on and stand close enough to smell your armpit and then sneeze. This isn’t the worst bit. The icing on the flu cake is that when they do sneeze it goes all over everyone else because there hands are not available to cover up there face. One hand is holding a bag and the other is holding on to the rail so they don’t fall over.

I will have to invest in one of these garments:

Hopefully I will be ok by the weekend to play in a friend’s band.

Aaarrrggghhh!!!!!

Gig this weekend

2007-10-15T16:31:00.000+01:00

This Saturday 20 Oct 2007, 20:00 - Railway Inn,120 Cowers Lane,Shottle, Belper
Don't get too excited as i am only playing keyboards for Mark lilley who is doing a short support set.

See you soon

Bouncy analogue-flavoured number that should appeal

2007-10-05T15:43:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to a review of synthpop compilation Electraparade, which features our track Still Love.

Here

You can also buy it for Electraset's my space. just click HERE

So it's been a while !

2007-09-27T10:58:00.000+01:00

Since our last chat I have been up to my eyes with rehearsing, recording and going to gigs.

For the past three weeks now I have been slogging away with Mark Lilley in preparation for the next stages of his rehearsals. This is when the rest of the band get involved and hopefully creating a sound that will be like angels whispers. The band will include leader of the pack Mark Lilley, bass player extraordinaire Jonathon Cundey, the voice of a generation Amy Notman and ivory tinkler me.
Our first gig is in Belper details below:

The recording of my solo album is going quite well too. I have finished a song called ‘Don’t let it drop’ (which is about the death of someone close to me), and I have almost finished a rockabilly-ish song called ‘Rip the town up’ (which like most my songs has a focus on a girl that I fancy). I have also decided to record a duet called ‘Getting Scared’ but I need a female to sing the girl parts, all interested parties send an email to mark@silverfactorysuperstars.com. To complement this I am also going to include a cover version of the Silver Factory Superstars song ‘Planetary solitude’ but the twist is I won’t be singing it, someone of the opposite sex will ( again email to mark@silverfactorysuperstars.com).
I have also started to write a country type song with a friend of mine called Sally Boylan which at the moment is called The Ballad of Billy Jones. It will be a while before I start recording this one though because time is short at the moment.

This week saw me attend two great gigs the first was the Canadian songstress Feist and the second was by indie stalwarts Kula Shaker. Both gigs left me wishing I had a band to tour my new songs with.

See you next time.

Might as well rain until September

2007-09-04T10:39:00.000+01:00

RANT
I hate it when people say one thing, do another, then don’t admit to it. Twice this week this has happened and both times the other person involved has just looked at me blankly as if to say I’m at fault.
On top of that the Nottingham Trent-Barton bus company needs to sort out their cash saver card system and their staff too. In particular one who gentleman works at the shop in the broadmarsh centre. He needs to learn about customer relations and how to control his temper.

GIGS
On a better note, in October and November I am playing keyboards for two of Mark Lilley’s gigs. See his web page for details here.
This at the moment this is taking up most of my time, as Mark is an evil task master. Any spare time I do have is taken up with the project below.

SOLO
After much deliberation and frequent requests I have embarked on writing and recording my first solo album.
The album will be a non synth affair with an emphasis on real instruments and a band feel. At the moment I have finished 3 songs ‘She’s out of her head’, ‘Lost’ and ‘Spinning’
You can get a taster of what’s to come at www.myspace.com/mjohnsonuk .
There are 3 songs there at the moment 2 are from the album plus a demo of ‘Around this space’.

INTERVIEW
In May I played a gig in Oxford for Gappy tooth, Here is an interview I did for their Denture publication.

1.how do you feel the electro scene has evolved since you formed the band in 1994.
It seems that with the ever growing network of Myspace, a new underground Synth revolution has started. All of my gigs this year have been acquired through this site. It is a total contrast to ten years ago when you would have to employ a booking agent to seek out and find the right venues to play.
There is still a lot of animosity associated with synth bands from promoters and venues. A large percentage will not put you on unless you have a traditional line up, I thought after 25yrs of synth based music being around this would have changed but alas no. They seem to think its too risky to put rock/indie bands on the same line up as us but on the other hand are quite happy to put the likes of Goldfrapp on with a local indie band supporting.
Musically though there are a lot of great new synth bands out there that ware mixing old values with new technology. Check them out, there are a lot on my Myspace.

2. do you prefer working solo, or is it more interesting when the other guys get involved?
Working on my own are the first initial steps in anything I do, be it writing, recording or playing live (I am a bit of a control freak). I like to write on my own and then get others in to suggest things and point out ways that I could improve my songs. As far as live performances go I love having people to share the experience with, it makes the event more enjoyable. Take Gappytooth for instance, on stage will be a friend of mine called Mark Lilley who will be playing keyboards and off stage will be our video director Stephen Loynds (Pullfocus Media) who have both been involved with me for over ten years now and without them the whole live experience wouldn’t be as enjoyable.

3. any tips of other acts to look out for?
Yeah we have recently worked with some cool bands, here are a few:
Captain Dangerous
Schmoof
Starbase 109
Autons

4. what’s made you keep going all these years?
It has to be a passion for music. For as long as I can remember, everything in my life has been associated with music. My mum claims that I could sing before I could talk but I find that hard to believe. Writing/recording songs has always been a great way for me to channel all my emotions and keep myself sane. It is also the process of nurturing an idea into a song and then recording/performing it to an audience. Or it may just be the need to be loved, who knows?

5. Stegasaurus fights T Rex (the dinosaur, not the band). Who would win?
I’d have to say the Stega. If I remember correctly, it has two brains so it would easily out smart the brutish Rex.
How nerdy was that?

6. Who’s afraid of Virginia Wade?
We are, have you seen her eyebrows!!!!

Erasure Remix

2007-08-02T11:02:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to say i have just completed a Remix for Erasure.
The song called 'When a lover leaves you' is from there latest album
The remix was for a competition, which would be great to win but the competition is of a high standard.

If you want to hear it go here

Listen

My mixes are numbers 143&144.

If you want to vote go here

Show Your Support

I hope you enjoy them.

P.s don't forget to buy Mark Lilley's Album Here

The Attack of the Lilley pads

2007-08-02T10:47:00.000+01:00

My good friend Mark Lilley has just released his long awaited second album.
The self titled album features many talents of the local music scene, including myself.

For more info, check out Marks web site

http://www.marklilley.info

Also keep a look out for the Silver Factory Superstars Remix of Marks song 'State of the art'.
Hopefully this might be available through Mark Lilley's site soon.

Gappy Tooth Industries Part Two. The Video

2007-07-03T14:38:00.000+01:00

Instead of writing a lengthy blog about our Oxford gig, i thought i'd put up a video instead.

EP Superstores

2007-06-05T13:45:00.000+01:00

You can now buy 2007's best synthpop EP from all these places:

AOL music
Apple iTunes
Bitmunk
BuyMusic
Cd Baby
MP3-Extension
MusicIsHere
Mysask
Napster
Palmares
PayPlay
Puretracks
Ruckus
Sympatico
The Great Escape
Tradebit

Gappy Tooth Industries Part One. The Pictures.

2007-05-30T12:29:00.000+01:00

Photos Courtesy of Gappy tooth and Dave Attacks.

SFS Play Oxford

2007-05-25T14:12:00.000+01:00

Trip to the seaside

2007-05-15T11:55:00.000+01:00

So these last couple of weeks has been quite busy.
It started off with my self and Bob Pullfocus filming Tina again for another one of my back projections.
The visuals are for the song Alive with you, which you can see below. I have also put the visuals up for She was all.

Thanks again Tina you’re a star.

After this I spent a couple of weeks programming and rehearsing for our debut at Brighton’s Dream Sequence.

DS4
On our arrival we were greeted by the lovely EJ Norman, the promoter of the night. As we unloaded the Silver Factory Supercar it started to dawn on me what a great building the Sussex Arts Club is, a great venue for a night of electro.
Once we had unloaded we checked into our digs which were about 2 miles away. We caught the bus back into town and went and sound checked. All went well (unlike our dreadful Ditch bar experience) and the images looked great and we sounded awesome.

While we were sound checking Bob had done a quick scout of the area to find us somewhere to eat. We ended up in a quaint little Italian restaurant which served us some great pasta dishes.

The Gig itself went like a dream, although it wasn’t a big crowd the people that were there made the trip well worth it.

Here is some footage of the night. Enjoy.

See you all at Leicester on the 25th May.

Film Shoot

2007-04-16T11:42:00.000+01:00

So, last Thursday Pullfocus Films was camped out at Nottingham train station filming one of the back projections for the Silver Factory Superstars Brighton gig.
The actress for the shoot was the delightful, funny, beautiful model Tina Fox. As the the hundreds of people got on and off trains Tina was never phased and was very professional, even though this was her first ever film shoot.

Besides being questioned by the stations security, the day went well and we got some great footage.
The video will be online after our Dream Sequence gig. Info Below:

We have another shoot planned with Tina but at the moment the right location is proving hard to find.

In other news Silver Factory Superstars have been asked to play at a charity gig in July to raise funds for Whitstock. At the moment I need to check Mark Lilley’s availability but fingers crossed we will be there.

Photos From The Ditchbar Gig

2007-03-27T15:23:00.000+01:00

Quick moan before the photos.
Just a gentle reminder that i have noticed recently in write ups, reviews and comments we are being referred to as The Silver Factory Superstars. Could everyone just be aware the our name is Silver Factory Superstars and therefore has no 'The'.

Have we forgot anything?

2007-03-26T11:00:00.000+01:00

The Silver Factory Superconvoy started out from Nottingham at 3pm on Fri 23rd Feb for their 2nd gig of the year at the Ditch Bar in London. On our way to the big smoke we had to take a detour through Solihull to meet our tour driver Martin.

At this point we were still on time and still in high spirits listening to the reggae version of 'Ok computer'. As the bright lights of the city drew closer and lanes of traffic grew longer we could see that we weren’t going to make our 6.30 deadline. After about half an hour of phone calls to the bar to warn them of our late arrival and to our fan club contingent to tell them were the bar was we eventually arrived at trendy Shoreditch.

Being as we were now one hour late we hastily unpacked the tour vehicle and rushed into the bar were we was greeted with closed arms and a sneer. After a few minutes I located the sound engineer who asked me the usual questions

“What’s your line up?”

“Oh hello” I replied, “its 2 keyboards, 2 Vocals and a laptop but we will need an extra mic stand for the vocoder. Do you want us to set up around the other bands being as we are on first?”

He paused, then said “yeah, just go and set up your drum kit….” He stopped mid sentenced as he saw the confusion arrive on my face.

“Err… I don’t use live drums I’m a synthpop band, my line up is 2 keyboards, 2 Vocals and a laptop.”

“So you haven’t brought a drum kit then”
“No, isn’t that the job of the band who is on last?”

He then unfolded a piece of paper that showed the running order. He pointed to the last name on the list and said ”yeah, you are the last band on!”

As he said these words I started to laugh, which probably wasn’t a good idea as one of members of Red Badge of Courage came over to enquire what was happening.
The sound engineer then explained what the situation was and that the mix up was the fault of the promoter, Omar (who by the way wasn’t there). Red Badge bass player then turned to me and asked what Omar had organized with me. I then quoted the following email conversation to him.

Hi Omar

Just starting to sort out arrangements and E-promotion for our
forthcoming gig at the ditch bar on the 23rd March.

A few questions

What time do you want us there for setup/sound check?
Do you need to know any Technical Info?
How many bands are on?
What time will we be on (need to know for transport)?
Have you any promo posters/banners I can use for emails/Myspace etc?

Oh and finally is there anywhere to park at the club?

Looking forward to the 23rd

Mark

He replied

Hi,

Load in and sound check is at 6:30pm. Parking on street available after 7pm or carpark near petrol station down the road is available.

Free entry

3 bands total Temple and Red Badge. You guys on at 9pm for 30 minutes.

Thanks,

DiTch Bar

Once he had processed this, he then asked the sound engineer for Omar’s phone number, he said he didn’t have it (which is strange as he had just told me he was employed by Omar) and that Omar never comes to the event.
This had got the Warrington based band a bit angry as they had traveled all this way, booked hotel rooms and brought a small contingent of support with them.

While we set up our fictitious drum kit and electronic band the other two bands rapidly tried to find a spare drum kit. During this time the other band (who weren’t Temple as stated in the email) had managed to find a gig elsewhere in London that had a drum kit and Red badge decided to do a an unplugged style gig.
After our farcical sound check we sat down relaxed and enjoyed our expensive drinks and watched Red badge perform. They were really good and showed that they were a pro band by the mere fact that they can perform to a high standard under the harshest situations.

After their set I and Mark Lilley set up, line checked and proceeded to play.
As our virtual drum kit started to pump through the sound system and the bar staff started to tap their feet Red Badge packed up there gear and went, taking their small following with them. This would have been a problem if wasn’t for the Silver Factory Superfans, lead by Julia and Helen, who showed London how to party.
Just as I was getting into singing to the lightly populated bar the sound engineer started twiddling his knobs and cut the sound from the main speakers and never noticed until he took of his headphones, panicked and then turned it up so much that Glasgow could hear the distortion.

Once we had finished and the DJ hurriedly moved us of stage, we mingled, drank and then started our long journey home.

One thing that can be said for this episode is that it always pays to have a back up plan and always take your drum kit.

Roll on Brighton and the loving bosom of the Synth Community.

Just one final note, i have noticed that recently in write ups, reviews and comments we are being referred to as The Silver Factory Superstars. Could everyone just be aware the our name is Silver Factory Superstars and therefore has no 'The'.

Moan over.

Live Video

2007-03-16T22:01:00.000Z

Here is a great video shot by Stephen Loynds from Pullfocus Films, of us playing live at Nu electro.

NU ELECTRO GIG

2007-02-28T15:10:00.001Z

On Monday (26th Feb) Myself, Mark Lilley and filmmaker Stephen Loynds ventured out on Silver Factory Superstars first gig of the year.

After the initial lateness of my arrivals at picking them both up we drove to Manchester guided only by our wits, skill and ...er... sat nav.

When we arrived in Manchester (and drove around the venue numerous times) we parked up and proceeded to unload.
Upon walking into the venue I was shocked to be greeted by a poster of myself (still can’t get used to that).

The night itself was great and all the bands that played were of the highest caliber and they are all bands you should check out live. They were:

Starbase 109
Silver Factory Superstars
EJ Norman
Uberlaser

After gig and the mingling we set off back to the Midlands with, a feeling of fulfillment, some great new friends and …er… the sat nav.
The journey home was fine until at about 2.20am we decide to stop at Woodall services.
Once inside I decided to take out some cash from the ATM and by some food, except the machine withdrew the cash from my account and didn’t actually give me the cash. Thieving git.

I eventually got to bed at 4.30am

I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the Nu-electro night as we had a great night and made some great new friends.

If anyone has any pictures of us playing please send them to me (especially the guy I signed a picture for, you look like you got some good ones).

SFS Unplugged

2007-02-06T22:57:00.000Z

Here are some images of myself and Mark Lilley performing at Junktion7.

Photos by Helen.

Rehearsal, Colds & itunes

2007-01-31T09:54:00.000Z

Over the weekend a few notable things happened. Firstly I, Mark Lilley and Stephen Loynds embarked on the first part of the Silver Factory Superstars 07 mini tour preparations.(at magnet studios) (click for grainy photo)
We spent most of Saturday going through the set, so that we all knew where and when things were supposed to happen and also to get Mark up to speed on the technology he would be in charge of.
On the whole it would have been a great rehearsal except I started to get a cold which led to me eventually losing my voice. (I’ve had the cold for 6 days now)

That evening was supposed to be spent getting drunk and having a laugh in celebration of my birthday but after only 3 hours I had to bail, the evil cold gremlins had taken over.

One thing that has perked me up a bit in these dark moments of man flu (besides JLH) is my EP is now on itunes. Look.

How cool is that. Click the Itunes Logo below to go and buy this sugar coated poplove E.P now.

Blatant Advert.

2007-01-23T09:45:00.000Z

So this is 07

2007-01-21T01:35:00.000Z

Well what a start to year, it began assisted a friend of mine, Mark Lilley finish off his second album. We attended the mastering in Cambridge were Mark, myself and the engineer spent hours tweaking, listening, EQ-ing, listening and compiling. The finished product sounds great and should be released in the couple months.

I have also been setting up gigs for Feb, March, April and May.Some of these have yet to be confirmed so keep checking back.

26 Feb Nu-electro Manchester
23 March The DiTchbar London

3 May Dream Sequence No. 4@The Sussex Arts Club Brighton
25 May Electrotease II @ Sumo (TBC) Leicester

The EP is doing well and is now being shipped out to Internet stores for you to purchase via download. A list of the stores is below.

MP3-Extension
Napster
MusicNow
Interia Destra
BuyMusic
PayPlay
Apple iTunes
MP3tunes
Inprodicon
Daiki
YooPeDoo
Bitmunk
RuleRadio
USEN
Rhapsody
Ruckus
Tradebit
Verizon Wireless
Puretracks
Sony Connect
MusicIsHere
MusicNet
WrapFactory

Its Finished!!!!

2007-01-03T12:34:00.000Z

After months of hard work my first E.P is finished.
It is out now and you can buy it from this link.
BUY ME HERE

I will post more towards the end of the week. Its all go at the moment.
Got to go and pack for a little music based trip.

Later

Noodles, Folk and Vocoder

2006-11-28T16:19:00.000Z

Friday
Well what a busy weekend.
Friday night I spent an evening catching up with an old friend. We went for a few beers and had a nice meal at Wagamamas.
We eventually ended up at a late bar where we bumped into 2 members of upcoming band Captain Dangerous.

A good night was had by all.

Saturday
Today had more of a creative air about it. I started by going over to the Lilley Pad to assist Mark with some keyboard parts for his next album. We had great fun experimenting with vocoder parts on a piece called Architecture. The final result sounds great and works well within the soundscape Mark has created.
After this hard work we sat and had an impromptu nostalgic listening session. This involved going through some of our 13 year old multitrack recordings and deciding that we should archive and release them at some point.
We then spent the evening at the Derby Assembly rooms being entertained (in a some what lack luster fashion) by folk songwriter John Tams. As much as John is without doubt one of Britain’s top song writers, this evening was spent mostly listening to his tall stories and jokes. I suspect we only got half an hours worth of songs in a 2 hour gig.
The highlight was the support acts, Mitzi and Bryony, truly breathtaking.

Sunday
After a well deserved lie in I installed my new monitors into the studio.

This took me quite a while as I needed to re-route a lot of stuff.
They sound brilliant and make good things sound great and average things sound awful.
The rest of the day was spent sequencing a cover of a well known indie bands song for next year’s gigs (sounds great).

Until next time.

Recording, Gigs, Monitors

2006-11-17T14:20:00.000Z

Well what a busy few days.
Since the last blog I have written 5 of the 6 instrumentals for my EP. Although none of them last more than 1min30 I am very pleased with how they are sounding, just one more to go.
So not to keep you out of the loop too much, here is the track list with additional production notes.

TRACK ..................................................TO DO

Still love.........................................Completed
Beautiful (instrumental).....................Record/mix
She was all....................................Completed
Enchanting (instrumental)..................Record/mix
Planetary solitude .........................Completed
Captivating (instrumental).................Record/mix
Talking in maybes Record..............Vocal/Mix
Kind (instrumental)...........................Write/record/mix
Alive with you...............................Completed
You (instrumental)............................Record/mix
In my life........................................Record Vocal/Mix

I the last two days I have also been organising some gigs for next year. As it stands I have 2 confirmed and 2 in negotiation.

March 07.......... Nu-electro .....................Thirsty Scholar, Manchester
March 07......... ElectroTease ..................The Charlotte, Leicester
May 07............. Dream Sequence No. 4 .Sussex Arts Club, Brighton

TBC

Early 07........... Gig organised by Electraset....... Nottingham

Hopefully I can add a few more to the list.

On a different note while I was writing this superblog I got a phone call from Digital village saying that the Edirol monitors I had ordered had been discontinued.
So now I have to scour and research more speakers for my studio, sigh.

‘til next time.

The First Superblog

2006-11-14T16:23:00.000Z

Hi all, I thought I would start a blog so everyone can get an insight into what it’s like being a Silver Factory Superstar. For starters don't expect a blog on a regular basis, this isn't becoming of a SF Superstar but I will try my best to keep them as frequent as possible.

These past few weeks I have been quite busy making a promo video and documentary for a Nottingham band called Captain Dangerous. I am doing this with Stephen 'Bob' Loynds from Pullfocus.

As well as the above I have also been busy recording and mixing songs for my new EP. This cd is being produced to coincide with a live date I am playing in May 2007 at Dreamsequence in Brighton.

I have just completed a song called 'She was all' and I’m in the process of recording the vocals for a song called 'In my life'. This song is proving to be a bit of a nightmare though. After a week of recording my vocals, I am still not happy with my performance and I have decided to leave it a bit until I can face it again.

The Extended Play cd will feature 6 songs recorded in the last year as well as 5 short instrumental pieces that link all the songs together (very Pink Floyd). I have only just started to write these instrumentals and it’s proving to be quite enjoyable.

Draft sleeve for the Cd what do you think?

Finally I have recently been helping out fellow musician and honorary SF Superstar Mark Lilley with a live performance. This gig was Lilley's first for almost two years and it was good to see him back where he should be (a return favour for assisting me when I played an acoustic gig last month at junktion 7).

Phew that’s it for now