Film press release…

The Dream Is Sweeter Than The Taste

six by seven documentary released today

Released today, six by seven documentary The Dream Is Sweeter Than The Taste
Directed by Alex Mannion-Jones

Watch full film HERE (feel free to share!):

Reissues out now via Beggars Arkive
Vinyl version of The Closer You Get with extra LP of Peel Sessions
Double CD Greatest Hits

Finally ready to be unleashed on to the world, Beggars Arkive are delighted to present The Dream Is Sweeter Than The Taste, a documentary about acclaimed Mantra band Six. By Seven, whose influential second album The Closer You Get was recently re-released along with rarities and Peel Sessions. Directed by Alex Mannion-Jones (Concrete Sleep/The Ballad Of Skelmersdale) the film follows Chris Olley and members of Six. By Seven through the streets of their native Nottingham, mixing new scenes with electrifying archival live footage. There are a range of guests talking about the band including reknowned producer John Leckie, BBC 6Music’s Shaun Keaveny, Niall Doherty from Q Magazine, along with people involved with the record label, Martin Mills and Lesley Bleakley from The Beggars Group.

Despite Six. By Seven’s unique sound, their huge popularity in the music press, endless touring and the efforts of the label, the hype never quite broke through into mainstream success. However, Six. By Seven frontman Chris Olley has always kept the fanbase alive and developed his own ways to distribute music outside of the industry.

Praise for the reissues:
“The darker successors to Britpop, musically akin to the minimal guitar mantras of Spacemen 3 and Loop. Their songs harness the beauty and momentum of playing one or two chords, then socking it to you with the big change.” Mojo 4*s

“A sort of pendulum-swing away from the cheeky-chappy cheer of Britpop back toward the stoic guitar maelstroms of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, Nottingham’s Six By Seven set out to chart a course between the dissonant and the epic.” Uncut

“Veering between Sonic Youth-style jet-engine feedback and atmospheric rock, it sounds as exhilarating as it did back then.” Q 4*s

“Six. By Seven were a fantastic band. Capable of mini-epics culminating in fearsome noise.” Louder than War 8/10

“The Closer You Get is a lost classic.” Soundblab 10/10

[Urgent] Responses Required…

Calling all six by seven EXII Kickstarter backers.

Please respond to the survey as quickly as you can. The record is ready to go to the printers. All I need is everyone’s name for the credits.

Deadline for names for the album artwork will be next Sunday 14th May.

On Monday I will add all the names to the artwork and send some last ditch emails if necessary to get the names if any are missing.

The final cut off day for submissions for executive producer credits will be Tuesday 16th May. I will send the artwork / audio to the printers on Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks everyone. CHRIS

Inner City Life…

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Last night, after mildly psychedelicizing myself and sitting down to listen to the extraordinarily good EXII album on my headphones, I got a shock when my son Charlie came into the front room with his phone in his hand furiously dialing 999 saying: “Someone is smashing Annie’s (my daughter Anneliese) car up outside!”

I jumped up and said: “Did you see it?”

“Yeah, all of it.”

He described the vandal to me and which direction he had gone in and I grabbed my coat and went looking. I got to the end of my road and there were two prostitutes there, both in fine fettle, obviously freshly cracked up and now honing in on me with maximum force. Normally it’s just a mild case of “You looking darling?” Not this time.

One of them ran across the street shouting “Oi, tall bloke, you wanna do me?”

I said: “No, I’m looking for a bloke with a white hoodie and black trousers. Have you seen anyone matching that description walk past here?”

“You can do us both” was her response. “You can do us both for the same price, we’re up for it, yeah?”

“No! I’m looking for someone, I’m looking for a bloke…”

I hadn’t finished what I was saying when she shouted to her mate: “He’s looking for a bloke, he wants a bloke!”

Then she looked at me and said: “That’s alright duck, I’m into girls meself, come and have a threesome.”

At this point I shouted that the reason I was standing there was because I was looking for the dickhead who had just smashed my daughters car. “Have you seen a guy with a white hoodie and black trousers!!!?” I shouted.

“Oh yeah, he was having a massive argument with his girlfriend right here. We told him to fuck off because we’re busy trying to work. He went down that street (pointing towards my daughters car) and then came back and ran up that one.” (pointing up the road we were on)

At that point a cop car raced up, stopped briefly then charged up the road. I walked up towards it and four coppers were surrounding a guy wearing a white hoodie and black trousers.

We spent the rest of the night entertaining the cops with laborious, write every single word down, eye-witness accounts etc. They nicked him and we are waiting to hear more.

In the meantime my poor daughter has to have her life interrupted by this pissed up drugged up fuckwit and spend her Sunday morning dealing with insurance companies etc. and reorganising her plans.

Stuff like this doesn’t happen very often. Ten / fifteen years ago it was bad around here, there was even an attempted murder right on our doorstep. Normally though, because of where we live and the constant police presence, it’s actually a really safe place to live. Unlike everyone else I know in Nottingham, we’ve only been burgled once in 22 years.

I was impressed with the police response and how quickly they got the guy. Things have really changed. In the old days no cop car would have come for two hours, if at all. Then when they did finally arrive, they told us they just didn’t have enough coppers to deal with everything and had to prioritise. Back then Nottingham was gun capital of Britain. Thankfully those days are over.

Anyway, not wanting to miss an opportunity, please pledge for the Kickstarter album. The campaign ends to day at 8PM and any help towards excess fees policies and higher insurance rates would help.

Click HERE or on Annie’s car to pledge.

 

 

 

 

Closer You Get Fridge Magnets…

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I had all The Closer You Get fridge magnets delivered today to give away with this months MuZiK KluB. They look much better than I expected. Especially flown in from Spain!

Seriously. How can your fridge be without one. 😉

Keep music independent and evil… join the revolution… BUY a fridge magnet!

Michael Rother, Robin Hood and….

me and michael

Me and my son Charlie just spent a thoroughly enjoyable morning showing Michael Rother, Hans Lampe and Franz Bargmann around the sights of Nottingham. I met Michael years ago through Julian Cope and have stayed in touch with him ever since. We ended up drinking tea in the old Trip To Jerusalem, Britain’s oldest pub!

Sadly I won’t be able to make the show tonight because we have the six by seven movie premiere going on at the same time. For those of you who don’t know, Michael was a founding member of Kraftwerk and in NEU! and Harmonia. Hans was the drummer in La Dusseldorf and also Conny Planks engineer in the studio. Franz was in German band Camera and plays guitar with Michael now.

You won’t meet three nicer people and it was great speaking the old German again!