Tuesday, May 22, 2012

And So I Watch You From Afar announce North American tour dates with Russian Circles, Zechs Marquise




Belfast, Northern Ireland's celebrated instrumental band And So I Watch You From Afar announce extensive North American tour dates this summer paired up with several other Sargent House family bands. ASIWYFA kicks off the tour in Canada with Russian Circles and Indian Handcrafts (including Sled Island festival), then later joined by Deafheaven on the west coast, ending in Los Angeles at the El Rey at the big Sargent House/1656 Music show with Chelsea Wolfe also playing. In July, ASIWYFA pair up with Zechs Marquise for co-headlining dates throughout North America. Please see complete dates below. 

ASIWYFA released their sophomore album, Gangs last November via Sargent House. The complete album is available for streaming via Bandcamp HERE.

A pair of MP3s from Gangs are also available: opener, "BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION" for download HERE and the brilliantly titled "Search:Party:Animal" can be intercepted HERE. Both tracks are cleared for posting. 

Known for their unrelenting tours that has seen them play over 300 shows since the start of 2009, And So I Watch You From Afar don't know how to take a break. From appearances at SXSW, Eurosonic, Electric Picnic, Novarock, Canadian Music Fest, Popkomm, Pukkelpop, Sonisphere, to tour dates in Europe, North America, Russia and a support slot for rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, the band has been on the road playing music non-stop since the release of their fan-stirring debut self-titled album. 

In between, the band was nominated for Ireland's coveted Choice Music Prize for Album Of The Year and XFM's New Music Album Of The Year, released The Letters EP in February 2010 and a stop-gap tour single "Straight Through The Sun" in November 2010. 

It's a small wonder then, that the band actually managed to record their highly-charged second album Gangs at all with that punishing schedule. It was recorded on weekdays between festival appearances over the summer of 2010 during July and August at Start Together Studios in Belfast with producer Rocky O'Reilly and the help of a young technician by the name of Lee McMahon.

The heart of Gangs is a section entitled Homes: "Ghost Parlor KA-6 to Samara to Belfast" which spans tracks six and seven. It's a near 10-minute epic which taps into the emotions of returning to familiar places and visiting new ones for the very first time. "It's a cheesy thought but we wanted to capture our journey through touring: seeing so many different things, unexpected happenings, sudden changes and then a homecoming," Rory explains. "The end of that tune sums up the relief and elation of coming back into Belfast and getting to see our friends and family again."

It's a sentiment echoed by the title of the record - Gangs. "In the same vein, everything we've done, places we've played all, people we've met, all circulate around these pockets of people, pockets of scenes and pockets of culture. These gangs of people who emanate from everywhere. It's that DIY / The Clash / Black Flag sort of thing that our band is like a gang sometimes."

Gangs is available in North America on LP, CD and Download via Sargent House as of November 8th, 2011. 

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR & RUSSIAN CIRCLES - 2012
Jun 18 - Winnipeg, MB @ The Park Theatre  w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 19 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 20 - Calgary, AB @ Dicken's Pub - Sled Island Fest w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 22 - Vancouver, BC  @ Biltmore Cabaret 
Jun 24 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos 
Jun 25 - Portland, OR  @ Doug Fir Lounge 
Jun 27 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's w/ Deafheaven 
Jun 28 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/ Deafheaven
Jun 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre w/ Chelsea Wolfe & Deafheaven


AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR & ZECHS MARQUISE - 2012
Jun 30 - Anaheim, CA  @ Chain Reaction
Jul 01 - San Diego, CA  @ The Casbah 
Jul 02 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room 
Jul 04 - San Antonio, TX  @ The White Rabbit 
Jul 05 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s 
Jul 06 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 
Jul 07 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada 
Jul 08 - Norman, OK @ The Opolis
Jul 10 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird 
Jul 11 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen 
Jul 12 - Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar 
Jul 13 - Toledo, OH  @ Mickey Finns 
Jul 14 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern 
Jul 16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose 
Jul 17 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall 
Jul 18 - Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter 
Jul 19 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade 
Jul 21 - St Petersburg, FL @ local 662 
Jul 22 - Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box 
Jul 24 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 
Jul 25 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar 
Jul 26 - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. the Bears 
Jul 27 - New York City, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall 
Jul 28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie



Artist: And So I Watch You From Afar 
Album: Gangs
Label: Sargent House 
Release date: November 8th, 2011

Track list:
01. BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION (MP3) 
02. Gang (starting never stopping)
03. Search:Party:Animal (MP3) 
04. 7 Billion People all Alive at Once
05. Think:Breathe:Destroy
Homes
06. Ghost Parlor KA -6 to...
07. ...Samara to Belfast
08. Lifeproof

( 'Homes' couples together tracks 6 and 7)

On the Web:

Hi-res photos, album art, bio and more:

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