The Bowery



Firekites is a Newcastle, Australia emerged collective revolving around the acoustic musings of four main player: Tim Mcphee (The Instant), Rod Smith, Jane Tyrrell (The Herd) and Jason Tampake (Josh Pyke, Charge Group) and signed to the australian label Spunk. Tucked away for the past two years, Firekites have been persistently self-recording their first musical offering – a debut LP, The Bowery. Sonically rich & musically diverse, Firekites have drawn together disparate, sometimes juxtaposed, influences resulting in a record that covers some unexpected ground. Blurring the lines between lo-fi jazz, folk pop and subtle electronica, comparisons have been drawn with well known artists: Hood, Midlake, Kings of Convenience, Tortoise and The Sea and Cake. Expanding on initial acoustic ideas, Tim & Rod called on long-time friends Jane Tyrrell, Jason Tampake, & Matt Blackman (Charge Group/Purplene) to explore their sound in the abandoned iconic coffee-house/dance hall, The Bowery. The Bowery was the first art-deco coffee-house of its kind in Newcastle and was an appropriate backdrop for the initial sessions. The remainder of the record was crafted in collaboration with Richard Pike (Pivot), who added synth elements and electronic beats. Firekites now welcomes Ben Howe and Pegs Adams, the former of whom skilfully re-interprets the tracks with live drums and percussion, with the latter replacing Tyrrell live vocally and also contributing keyboards. With the patient production of indie impresario, Wayne Connolly (Belles Will Ring, You Am I, The Vines, 78 Saab), ten self-recorded tracks take their place on the debut LP out now through Spunk/EMI. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.