Download a free EP from Captain Horizon containing tracks from the Radiostasis sessions.
You can download the EP for FREE from the Captain Horizon Store.
The EP contains the following tracks
- Turn Away
- El Nibre
- Climbing the Waterfall
- Strong Enough
News
2 Happy New Year! 2011 Highlights
We’ve had a hell of a year! With that in mind, we’ve decided to give you a quick rundown of the highlights of 2011 from where we were standing. Enjoy!
New Disorder Music Festival
“It might have been the middle of fucking nowhere, but it was a mighty fucking night!” – Whitty, frontman
“I’d bought along an absolutely stupid pair of union jack trousers. Moments before our set, Whitty insisted that if I was going to wear them then it should be without a shirt. I was already kind of nervous at this point since hardly anybody in the crowd knew us. As I stepped out onto the stage, I raised my Guinness to the audience, knowing that if it fell flat, I’d have looked a total nob-end. Luckily, they went mental.” – Alex Thomson, Bass
We were very excited to be on the bill for this, and what a gig it turned out to be! Reasons we were chuffed with how this went included the wonderful luck-of-the-draw time slot we ended up with, the number of metalheads who prised themselves away from the bar to check us out (we weren’t really expecting this at all), the amazing reception we received, and the very kind reviews written after the event for Nottingham Live and Midlands Rocks.
We were very happy with how our set went, Alex’s devastating trousers notwithstanding – often the energy we try to build up gets interrupted by an equipment malfunction or us being crap at changing between songs, but for this gig it all went off without a hitch. Whitty’s zombie facepaint suited him down to the ground.
Funds raised by the day for Rock Against Child Pornography and Abuse amounted to a total of £1500 – a wonderful achievement we were very proud to be a part of.
Whitty, having forgotten about the previous days’ corpse paint, was discovered in the back of a van the following morning staring in horror at his own reflection and whimpering incoherently that he would never drink again.
Kerrang! Vintage Arts Fair
“Dale End was fucking heaving. I’ve never signed so many shoes and bellies in my life” – Whitty, frontman
We were invited by Heretic Promotions to be their representative at the Kerrang! Radio Vintage Arts Fair. At first we were that heady mixture of excited and worried – wow, Kerrang! Radio! Will anyone want to see a gig in the middle of Dale End? Will all our gear get nicked while we play? Will the weather hold out? Will stuff be thrown at us?!
It was with some trepidation, then, that we hauled our gear up the goods lift of The Square Shopping Centre in Dale End, emerged blinking into the bright sunshine, and … bloody hell, the place was rammed. Our first concern, easily dismissed.
The lovely people who’d turned out for the day hung on in their hundreds to see us. Someone had handed Whitty a radio mic, which enabled him to perform much of the set while running around the square and, at one point, while riding an onlooker’s skateboard. After our set, we were proffered with many, many things to sign – somewhat bizarrely, much of the audience seemed to want our scribblings on their shoes. And arms. And skateboard.
We love you, Birmingham!
Playing Live on BBC WM
“I was so nervous, I thought I would be sick right there in the studio before we went on.” – Joshua Watson, Guitar
The day before the release of Radiostasis, we rolled up to BBC WM with our full complement of equipment. We’d been invited to perform the EP in its entirety, live, for the thousands of listeners to BBC WM’s unsigned show. This was quite unlike anything we’d ever done before, and listening back to it, it shows – not necessarily in our playing of the songs, but we suddenly realised none of us really knew how to be interviewed. We’re pretty sure we talked total rubbish. Hopefully it wasn’t enough to put people off the music itself, which we played OK – but what an experience it was!
Kilburn Festival, London
“That drunk woman dancing around in her one-piece swimsuit had me pissing myself.” – Mez, drums
“Downright lovely.” – Whitty, frontman
We stumbled upon a slot at a free open-air festival in the summer in Kilburn Grange Park which turned out to be absolutely amazing. The weather was hot, the drinks delicious and the people many. We climbed PA stacks which were not strapped down and in so doing unwittingly endangered everyone’s lives. We gave away about 30 CDs, causing a stampede towards the stage, and in so doing unwittingly endangered everyone else’s lives.
It’s a miracle any of us made it out alive.
Sonic Rock Solstice
“Sonic Rock was amazing again this year, apart from the fact I got thrown out on the final night for bringing my own drinks in… but then again, if you play with feathers you’re going to get your arse tickled.” – Whitty, frontman
Our favourite ever full festival, we appeared on the Top Rock Radio stage for the second year and once again enjoyed it immensely. Josh and Alex got so drunk after the CH set that they can’t really remember anything. Having reviewed the evidence, we have to conclude that at some point we hung out with our good friends Dakesis…
Radiostasis & El Nibre EPs
“Our recorded output in 2011 makes me weep. It’s around an 80/20 mix of joy and horror.” – Alex Thomson, Bass
Yes, this year we released two EPs. We’re extremely pleased with how they both came out and it’s fair to say that by recording ourselves, in our own time, in our own lockup, using our own equipment, we’ve hit upon a way of working which really produces the goods. Our guitarist-cum-producer, Josh, has been able to shape our sound the old-fashioned way: by spending countless hours mixing and constructing harmonies and guitar layers during the actual recording process. This simply wouldn’t be possible for us working in a big studio, where time is quite literally money, but it’s been crucial in carving out a sound and identity which is unique to us.
This is continuing through into 2012 as we get ready to release our debut album, of which more news very soon…
Captain Horizon would like to thank all of our fans from the bottom of our hearts for an incredible year!
P, L & B
Captain Horizon
0 December Gigs and Album Update
As 2011 draws to a close, we’ve got four dates left this before we go away to finish the album.
Upcoming dates are Thursday 8th December at the Roadhouse Birmingham, supporting our very good friends Dakesis. We’re also making a headline appearence at Woodys Music bar on Saturday 10th December.
Followed by Friday 16th December, supporting Frantic Empire and Signify (the last gig with their current line up) at The End in Birmingham.
Our last gig of 2011 will be at The Railway Hotel in Evesham with support from The Vanguard. We hope to see you there!
The album recording has been progressing very well and we’re currently around 60% of the way through the process. We’re extremely happy with the initial feel and sound that has been captured during the sessions – we can’t wait to share it with you all!
0 Scruffy Murphys, Bristol Pear and Ye Olde Foundry This Weekend!
Captain Horizon’s three gig mayhem starts this evening (Friday 14th October) at Scruffy Murphys, Birmingham.
We’re headlining tonights gig, with support from Half Shot and One Notch Up. Doors are open from 8pm with an admission charge of £2.
Saturday sees Captain Horizon heading over to Selly Oak to perform at the Bristol Pear. We will be playing alongside bands Panacea Dream, Zero Amigo and guests The 7% Solution. The gig is free entry! Doors open at 8pm.
Sunday night we’re heading over to Dudley to play at Ye Old Foundry as part of a John Peel memorial gig. Other bands that are featured include our good friends Martyr De Mona and Synopsis. The first band takes to the stage at 3pm.
0 Midlands Rocks Review from New Disorder Festival
Midlands Rocks have posted up a review from the New Disorder Festival featuring Captain Horizon:
As the second part of the day kicked off, the room was full of anticipation. I’d say it was a 50/50 split in the room of people who have previously seen Captain Horizon and those that had heard all about them (see MR’s review of their album, Radiostasis here). They didn’t disappoint. Whitty is probably the best front man on the scene at the moment and his on stage (and off a lot of the time!) antics and banter are as much a part of this band as the music is. What about the music? A blend of alt rock, with some proggy influences but all wrapped up in a pop style sums up Captain Horizon nicely. Bouncy infectious tunes have a joyful factor to them, but throw in the occasional moodier song and you grasp the technical brilliance of this band. For me, by far the performance of the day. When is this band going to be signed? Who knows in this day and age, but with a little luck this band could be huge.
You can read the full review by Tony Gaskin and Cath Holland of the day on the Midlands Rocks website.
0 Live Review – New Disorder Festival
A review featuring Captain Horizon at the New Disorder Festival has been published on nottinghamlive.co.uk. Thank you to Harry Paterson for his extremely kind words!
The unique blend of alt, prog, classic rock, indie and unashamedly glorious pop that constitutes Captain Horizon’s songs is clearly made for enormadomes and for a mesmerising half-hour period, the MFN was transformed into the California Bowl.
You can read the full review of the day here.
Photography by Sue Paterson.