Ireland's most revered independent band The Redneck Manifesto return with their first album in six years this March with the release of the much anticipated Friendship on Dublin based Independent label Richter Collective, home to the likes of Adebisi Shank , BATS, Not Squares, Jogging and many more.
Having have been at the forefront of the independent music scene in Ireland for over 10 years - aided by word of mouth, staunchly supportive fans and impassioned live shows - TRM have already released three modern Irish classic records in the shape of Thirty Six Strings (2001), Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head (2002) and I Am Brazil (2004). 2010 sees the band ready to unleash their fourth full-length Friendship – a 10-track album that the band themselves compare to “a psychedelic kraut-rock band jamming with The Meters”.

It might be four years since their last recorded output, the Seven Stabs EP but the quintet of Mervyn Craig, Matthew Bolger, Niall Byrne, Richard Egan and Neil O'Connor have been busy on their own solo projects in the interim. Richard Egan is now well-known for his electro-influenced transcendent pop side-project Jape having released previously three albums culminating in 2008's Choice Music Prize winning album Ritual. Matt Bolger is part of the design duo M&E who are gaining plaudits across the design community and makes synth-laden music under the name The Son Green. Neil O' Connor is also known as experimental ambient composer Somadrone while Niall performs as Visionaire and Mervyn creates his own music under the name Cochon and On.

Friendship
June 2009 saw the band members re-convened from their homes across the world in Ireland, San Francisco and Sweden to Black Box Studios in France to record with Dave Odlum, the same studio they had recorded I Am Brazil with Odlum six years earlier.

The album's title was no doubt inspired by their time together in the comfortable environs of a cottage in the French countryside where the band clocked in 17 hour recording days, talked about music, drank and cooked together.

Black Box Studios afforded the band the time to experiment with the sounds of their instruments and to bring in the knowledge they had individually gained producing their own side-projects alongside Odlum. “I think that between all of us we have a very diverse taste in music which has grown broader over the years to encompass a lot of new ideas and sounds,” says Mervyn. “These individual influences are combined when we write and record together over time to produce the final melting pot of ideas.”

The band used the analogue and digital equipment in the Black Box studio on the new record, pushing themselves in new creative ways. “The sound of the record comes a lot from the result of processing modern instruments, like an andromeda synth, through old vintage effects boxes, filters and speakers, like a Leslie cabinet,“ explains Matt. Both Mervyn and Neil agree that Friendship is more sonically adventurous than previous recordings .“It still sounds like TRM but we've never sounded as good on record before,” adds Matt.

Judging by the opening track the multi-faceted 'Black Apple' with its bass-heavy, cascading riff opening, leading into the heavier fuzz guitar, propulsive drumming and synth-laden second half, this is The Redneck Manifesto at their most creative.

Friendship will be released in March on CD Digipak, Gatefold vinyl and MP3 download on The Richter Collective label with an M&E designed sleeve specially designed for the gatefold vinyl edition and of course, “to blow peoples minds”.

Crëvecoeur is an unusual French trio formed in 2003. Initially formed by two young multi-instrumentalists playing guitars, percussions, harmonium, trumpets and various toy-instruments, Crëvecoeur were later joined by a further violin player/multi-instrumentalist. Their songs are mostly instrumental pieces, a tribute to the glorious days of soundtrack music, yet with a pop sensibility.
Crëvecoeur have already played many shows, opening for such bands as Sophia (USA), Karate (Usa), Shannon Wright (USA), Dead Meadow(USA), and Audrey (Sweden), Souvaris (UK),The Low Low's (Usa),Marvin (Fr),D.A.A.U (Belg), Castanets (usa), The Servant (UK), Do Make Say Think (Ca), The Brunettes (NZ), PercevalMusic (Fr) and Remember Remember (UK).
In 2005, their first single was released by the small independent label Euphrate Records. The first album, entitled «1» was released on March 2007 on Drella Records in collaboration with DSA; it features 10 songs recorded between their hometowns of Nancy and Paris. Crëvecoeur could be the result of the encounter between Calexico and Pascal Comelade, or Henry Mancini and The Black Heart Procession....
Live, Crëvecoeur use subtlety and a range of tones and images to create a unique atmosphere - every show is accompanied by live 8mm film projections.