In all things of nature, there is something of the marvellous...
~Aristotle
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NEWS
Posted on 24-8-2010 at 23:19 | 0 CommentsAlbum Recording + Bloodstock 2011!
Hey everybody,
It's been a little while since I spammed you all with an album recording update, so here's something to rectify that. Quick progress check:
Drums: 100% done.
Bass: 100% done.
Guitars: 90% done (all the electric guitar is done; I just need to re-record a couple of acoustic bits).
Keyboards: 75% done.
Flutes: 30% done.
Vocals: 0% done as of now.
Either way, we're definitely beyond 50% completion! The album title is also finalised (you'll all find out what that is in due course :P) and the artwork should be finished in a very short space of time... and boy, do we have a surprise in store with regards to the artwork. :D I want to reveal it, but again, you'll all have to wait until the time is right!
The second part of this newspost concerns both Bloodstock 2010 (which 4/6ths of the Oak patronised), which was absolutely excellent and saw outstanding performances by a number of bands, most notably our esteemed brethren Old Corpse Road (http://oldcorpseroad.co.uk/) who completely tore up the New Blood Stage on Sunday.
Now, hot on the heels of the festival, The Bearer from the aforesaid Corpse Road-ians seems to have taken it upon himself to recommend us to play at Bloodstock 2011, a prospect which as you can imagine, we're all quite excited about. Check out the forum thread here: http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=24019
Then register (if you're not already) and have your say! Being able to play at Bloodstock would be absolutely amazing for us, so we'd love to try and make it happen :)
That's all for now- we should have another webisode up in the near future, so watch out for that as well.
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 2-8-2010 at 18:38 | 0 CommentsA fond farewell to Mr Sinclair...
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First off, we'd like to thank you all for supporting this constantly evolving beast that we call ‘Northern Oak’; every kind word and round of applause that you have offered are highly treasured, and we hope to continue performing for your aural pleasure for as long as possible.
However, we have grave news to impart. One of the band's founding members, Mr Elliot Sinclair, has chosen to leave in order to focus on his career. Our incalculable gratitude goes out to him for sharing so many stages with us, working tirelessly on so many songs in practice rooms, for his charming personality and for being THE sexiest member of Northern Oak.
Still, this leaves the band short of a keyboard player and so we are extending our tendrils and roots in search of a new member for our eccentric company. If you are interested or know of someone that would be, please contact us via our Myspace (myspace.com/thenorthernoak) or our website (northernoak.co.uk) so that we can organise some form of trial. Please bear in mind the following:
-Elliot will not officially be leaving the band until the end of this year, as he wishes to play all the gigs we have lined up. During this time, we will be looking to help you familiarise yourself with the songs that are part of our current setlist as well as working on new material with your input. Keep in mind that our music can be quite complex so you must be able to demonstrate a solid level of technical ability. Classical training is appreciated but not necessary.
-Ideally, you would be based in Sheffield, as this is where all practices take place. However, if you are committed to the band despite being further afield then you are just as welcome to apply.
-You must be committed to regularly playing live shows. We intend to release our new album by the end of the year, and as a result we will be intending to promote and showcase it in as many parts of the country as we can.
-Northern Oak is an equal opportunities employer- please feel free to apply regardless of your age, gender or sexual preference!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we hope you will stay with us to see how the next chapter of the Northern Oak saga unfurls.
Posted on 1-7-2010 at 09:40 | 1 CommentsAn Interlude
Hey everybody,
In a brief break from me posting about the album recording (although saying that, I've just begun doing the acoustic guitars, and I'm feeling rather optimistic about how they're sounding!) I would like to present to you the following piece of artwork, completed by the rather excellent Metal-Truncator (a.k.a His Royal Highness Owen Watts).
Go and check him out on DeviantArt and show his work some love!
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 27-6-2010 at 18:56 | 0 CommentsYoutube Videos Galore
Hey everybody, just a quick update from me; the recording continues at a good pace, so myself and Martin decided that in order to provide people with updates on how it's going, we'd do a series of webisodes discussing our progress. The first of those is now up on Youtube, so check it out!
Furthermore, I put up another video of Rich butchering In These Hills- that can be found here: Northern Oak: Rich In These Hills
Updates will continue as we press onwards with the recording!
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 15-6-2010 at 12:16 | 0 CommentsNew Album Recording: Drums
Hey everybody,
Yesterday saw Northern Oak go into the studio (well, myself, Wib and the excellent Harriet Holman) to record drum tracks for the follow-up to Tales From Rivelin. After a day of Wib pushing himself to the limit (and beyond!) we've got all the drum tracks recorded, and they sound great! I haven't even started mixing yet and they're shaping up nicely.
So, now that we've fully started recording (instead of dilly-dallying about it for months!) expect regular updates, which will mostly consist of me squeeing about how exciting it all is. Next up: bass guitar recording. I eagerly await telling Rich to turn his bass down over and over again... :P
Cheers, and keep an eye out for more updates!
Chris
Northern Oak
Posted on 28-4-2010 at 21:15 | 0 CommentsNorthern Oak are on Twitter...
Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, a news update by someone other than Chris. Shock and horror!
Today I wish to draw your attention to the fact that I have a new online progeny...
http://twitter.com/northernoak
I suggest you gander at my ward and begin following. In return I promise to make weekly updates on what m'colleagues and I are up to.
Regards,
-Martin
P.S. We now have East Riding Rock Festival tickets to sell so get in touch if you want one!
Posted on 24-8-2010 at 23:19 | 0 CommentsAlbum Recording + Bloodstock 2011!
Hey everybody,
It's been a little while since I spammed you all with an album recording update, so here's something to rectify that. Quick progress check:
Drums: 100% done.
Bass: 100% done.
Guitars: 90% done (all the electric guitar is done; I just need to re-record a couple of acoustic bits).
Keyboards: 75% done.
Flutes: 30% done.
Vocals: 0% done as of now.
Either way, we're definitely beyond 50% completion! The album title is also finalised (you'll all find out what that is in due course :P) and the artwork should be finished in a very short space of time... and boy, do we have a surprise in store with regards to the artwork. :D I want to reveal it, but again, you'll all have to wait until the time is right!
The second part of this newspost concerns both Bloodstock 2010 (which 4/6ths of the Oak patronised), which was absolutely excellent and saw outstanding performances by a number of bands, most notably our esteemed brethren Old Corpse Road (http://oldcorpseroad.co.uk/) who completely tore up the New Blood Stage on Sunday.
Now, hot on the heels of the festival, The Bearer from the aforesaid Corpse Road-ians seems to have taken it upon himself to recommend us to play at Bloodstock 2011, a prospect which as you can imagine, we're all quite excited about. Check out the forum thread here: http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=24019
Then register (if you're not already) and have your say! Being able to play at Bloodstock would be absolutely amazing for us, so we'd love to try and make it happen :)
That's all for now- we should have another webisode up in the near future, so watch out for that as well.
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 2-8-2010 at 18:38 | 0 CommentsA fond farewell to Mr Sinclair...
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First off, we'd like to thank you all for supporting this constantly evolving beast that we call ‘Northern Oak’; every kind word and round of applause that you have offered are highly treasured, and we hope to continue performing for your aural pleasure for as long as possible.
However, we have grave news to impart. One of the band's founding members, Mr Elliot Sinclair, has chosen to leave in order to focus on his career. Our incalculable gratitude goes out to him for sharing so many stages with us, working tirelessly on so many songs in practice rooms, for his charming personality and for being THE sexiest member of Northern Oak.
Still, this leaves the band short of a keyboard player and so we are extending our tendrils and roots in search of a new member for our eccentric company. If you are interested or know of someone that would be, please contact us via our Myspace (myspace.com/thenorthernoak) or our website (northernoak.co.uk) so that we can organise some form of trial. Please bear in mind the following:
-Elliot will not officially be leaving the band until the end of this year, as he wishes to play all the gigs we have lined up. During this time, we will be looking to help you familiarise yourself with the songs that are part of our current setlist as well as working on new material with your input. Keep in mind that our music can be quite complex so you must be able to demonstrate a solid level of technical ability. Classical training is appreciated but not necessary.
-Ideally, you would be based in Sheffield, as this is where all practices take place. However, if you are committed to the band despite being further afield then you are just as welcome to apply.
-You must be committed to regularly playing live shows. We intend to release our new album by the end of the year, and as a result we will be intending to promote and showcase it in as many parts of the country as we can.
-Northern Oak is an equal opportunities employer- please feel free to apply regardless of your age, gender or sexual preference!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we hope you will stay with us to see how the next chapter of the Northern Oak saga unfurls.
Posted on 1-7-2010 at 09:40 | 1 CommentsAn Interlude
Hey everybody,
In a brief break from me posting about the album recording (although saying that, I've just begun doing the acoustic guitars, and I'm feeling rather optimistic about how they're sounding!) I would like to present to you the following piece of artwork, completed by the rather excellent Metal-Truncator (a.k.a His Royal Highness Owen Watts).
Go and check him out on DeviantArt and show his work some love!
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 27-6-2010 at 18:56 | 0 CommentsYoutube Videos Galore
Hey everybody, just a quick update from me; the recording continues at a good pace, so myself and Martin decided that in order to provide people with updates on how it's going, we'd do a series of webisodes discussing our progress. The first of those is now up on Youtube, so check it out!
Furthermore, I put up another video of Rich butchering In These Hills- that can be found here: Northern Oak: Rich In These Hills
Updates will continue as we press onwards with the recording!
Cheers,
Chris
Posted on 15-6-2010 at 12:16 | 0 CommentsNew Album Recording: Drums
Hey everybody,
Yesterday saw Northern Oak go into the studio (well, myself, Wib and the excellent Harriet Holman) to record drum tracks for the follow-up to Tales From Rivelin. After a day of Wib pushing himself to the limit (and beyond!) we've got all the drum tracks recorded, and they sound great! I haven't even started mixing yet and they're shaping up nicely.
So, now that we've fully started recording (instead of dilly-dallying about it for months!) expect regular updates, which will mostly consist of me squeeing about how exciting it all is. Next up: bass guitar recording. I eagerly await telling Rich to turn his bass down over and over again... :P
Cheers, and keep an eye out for more updates!
Chris
Northern Oak
Posted on 28-4-2010 at 21:15 | 0 CommentsNorthern Oak are on Twitter...
Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, a news update by someone other than Chris. Shock and horror!
Today I wish to draw your attention to the fact that I have a new online progeny...
http://twitter.com/northernoak
I suggest you gander at my ward and begin following. In return I promise to make weekly updates on what m'colleagues and I are up to.
Regards,
-Martin
P.S. We now have East Riding Rock Festival tickets to sell so get in touch if you want one!