Years ago, there was a Plot. Whatever did or did not happen, the memory has been trampled down between the pages of our history books, yet another reason for us to forget the weary revolts of our weekly board meetings, number punching recoils, school running backs and forths, and aren’t we glad for it? Any excuse to forget yesterday and to fall into the ‘morrow with swollen eyes and spiked temper heads.

Back then, a gaggle of men attempted to alter the course of their future, and our history. Fearless fools with dreams of revolution? Internal government bodies seeking to manipulate and fix opinion in their favour? Either way, these men sought to persuade their reality to the path they thought it best deserved to travel along. As the celebrated star of this ‘plot’ threw himself from the gallows and broke his body into paralysis, to avoid the inevitable humiliation of punishment, I wonder did he consider the attempt a failure? His dream stamped out days before his plan shook hands with an alternative fate? Or was it actually a success?

You and I will never know. All we do know is what we’ve been told, what they conspire to tell us, and most of that will be moderated by the very men who Fawkes and Co supposedly claimed charge against.

It’s 2011 now, and that moment has long since passed. More conspiracies, more plots, illusion and not so hidden agendas. 2 weeks ago, with this man and that mission on my mind, I dug up a patch of loose soil from my own yard of bones, and breathed life into a song that still raises both a smile in me, as do thoughts of old Fawkes.

The Fire Brigade was originally available, scrappy and symbolic of my then frame of mind, on the first Beast Reality release, a collection I called Old Books, Broken Bands and Other Little Treasures.

Here it stands again, in 2011, still scrappy, still symbolic of the frames in my mind, and perhaps closer to what my dream originally intended it to be. Re-recording this song also gave me fitting excuse to blindly throw myself into another previously untapped medium – cartoon animation.

You’ll be able to download this song from iTunes and Amazon over the next day or two, as soon as the spark has caught and the flames have been kindled.  However, I’d like you to download it right now, and you can do so by following this link … BUY THE FIRE!

It would be amazing if all you guys could assist me in promoting this, anyway you can, by either sharing this song and its video with your friends, or any other means you have to hand … let’s see how far we can spread this little fire!

I wish you all a happy Fire Night … stay safe, stay sure of yourself, and always keep a curious eye to possibility of an alternative (point of view).

Forever in flames, your f(r)iend, CroOK.

PS if you fancy reading these words again, here’s a burnt offering.

Sunshine spent the weekend in Medway, whilst I threw voices over the first batch of 2011′s domestic recordings at Ranscombe. For the time being, here’s a rough as you like demo from late 2010, of a song called ‘The Dirty Mile’, which takes its title from that shadow drenched strip which bridges the Chatham and Rochester divide, both home and hell for so many.

FREE DOWNLOAD – The Dirty Mile (demo)

Ever curious and always yours sincerely, Lupen Crook

x

Album out, we’ve been turning our attention to the upcoming gigs. Next show is at Kentish Town’s Bull and Gate on the 4th November. It would be great to see you there, possibly our last London show of the year before we head around the UK, so come along and get involved. For those of you in the Medway / Maidstone area, if you fancy coming up we can possibly sort out a coach which will do 2 pick ups and 2 drop offs, plus entrance in to the gig, for roughly 15 quid per person. Leave us a comment if you’re up for it, be great to see some of you lot up for this one.

Other news, we’re giving away “Fantasist In March” as a FREE download via this site, so just click on the yellow banner shown on the home page or otherwise click on the one above, let the sharing begin. Below you’ll also notice we’ve dug out a rough ‘n’ ready performance of this song, filmed by Hg at our  London album launch gig at The Flowerpot on the 1st of October. Enjoy. xxx

Free MP3 download: Curse Of The Mirror Wicked

Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds are proud to unveil their latest release, Curse Of The Mirror Wicked.  This EP is released in support of YoungMinds.  There’s more information on the mini-site explaining why.  If you enjoy the music, please consider making a donation to the charity.

Here’s one of the songs from the EP, performed last night at The Flowerpot in Kentish Town.  A slightly more acoustic set than normal, with Bob away and Tom filling in on percussion duty.  Check out that high-tech, rice-filled salt shaker and borrowed tambourine… no expense spared!

Download the EP here… let us know what you think x

Free MP3 download: Great Fears & Curious Predictions

Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds are pleased to offer their extended Crooked Family of fans a free download-only EP, Great Fears & Curious Predictions, containing five previously unreleased acoustic tracks.

The EP was recorded in mid-2008 and represents the sound of the band during a period of transition.  The music is pared down to its bare essentials and the lyrics are more direct and less cryptic than in previous work.

“I am trying for simplicity,” explained Mr Crook in an interview around the same time.  The results of this recording session were the starting point for the work that commenced on the band’s next album several months later.

Notably different in tone to the newer material released on The Lost Belongings EP in July of this year, they nevertheless offer a further indication of where the band is heading with its next major release.

Great Fears & Curious Predictions takes its place in the formal canon of the band’s discography.  It’s download-only because it’s free, but artwork is included to allow fans to make their own CD copies if required.

The EP has its own mini-site, to distinguish it from the individual MP3 downloads that have appeared here in the past (and will continue to appear in future).  Please pass on the link to your friends, spread the word.  Enjoy.

- Hg, 09/09/09 at 09:09

Free MP3 download: Kick Up The Leaves

(Right-click in Windows or ctrl-click on a Mac, then choose the save or download option depending on which browser you use… Leave us a comment if you get stuck and we’ll get you sorted out.)

Driven by such haste and random mania, because she was ill, too ill to spend the day with Wendy it seemed. So, she came to ‘work’ with ‘Daddy’, and, using an old digital camera, this is what we made. The camera records sixty-second at a time, which is just about her attention span. The song, if I remember rightly, was written during the winter months at her mother’s house. It was recorded days later, quite painlessly, thoughtlessly and I’ve never played it since. The overdubs were added immediately afterward, and will likely never be reconsidered. At the time, I had been suffering a bout of insomnia. Nothing serious, nothing harmful, just the golden light of Old Roads street lamps casting stark light across her mother’s bedroom and all that slept within it, all but me. Between midnight and 3am, every night, I would hear her footsteps from down the hall, padding hurriedly toward her mothers bed, and I would watch her creepy crawl under the covers, wrapping it around until there was no room left for me, which was fine, because it meant I didn’t have to persecute myself with notions of sleep anymore. When the day arrived I would try, at times, to discipline her, by teaching her right from wrong, but all the while fearful that she if learnt too much, the very spirit that drives her tantrums, her certain madness, her most precious part, might calm and cool off. Between the both of us there are mixed messages always. As my eyes glare over and voice draws in, deep and directed with precision, my lips twitch because a great big smile sits beneath the scornful expression painted over my face. I have always known she can see this, so, the elephant mask has come in handy. The mask itself was acquired from Wendy’s House and I am grateful to her that I was not prosecuted, or even asked to return my latest disguise. As for the title of this song, it is a phrase I had never come across before, until one night whilst I wandered her mother’s apartment like a ghost, an article from a magazine recently torn out and stuck to the wall in the kitchen caught my attention. It offered some advice – 20 ways to keep healthy and happy during the winter. ‘Kick Up The Leaves’ was the 13^th piece of advice – it encouraged me to go outside, walk, get some fresh air. Eventually I took that advice (Scare Crows), but for now, as we get set for the release of the new EP, you can have this little treasure on me.