Liberation Theology single available now

The debut single by Smoke Feathers - Liberation Theology - is now available to buy on iTunes here and Amazon here. We can also arrange to send you a CD if you visit our blog shop. The single contains a dub mix of the title track, featuring a sample of Nicaraguan revolutionary poet Ernesto Cardenal, and an acoustic version of To Begin, To End. As many of you know, we have waited a long time to release our first material and it really is a fantastic feeling to be doing so at long last. Please get behind us, buy the single and share it far and wide. We have had some great moments already in the life of this band, played some wonderful shows to some wonderful people, taken Glastonbury by storm and been lucky to stumble across an incredible studio (Vale Studios) where we recorded the album we will release later this year. We know that with your support we can make a big success of this thing. It's a grassroots mission and every ounce of positive vibration you send our way will only make us stronger. Thanks so much to everyone who has made it to a gig in past few years, listened to our tracks online or just encouraged us to believe in ourselves and work hard at what we love. Onwards and upwards!

Ernesto Cardenal on Liberation dub mix

Nicaraguan Liberation Theologian, poet and revolutionary Ernesto Cardenal has given us his blessing to sample his poem Psalm 5 on our dub mix of Liberation Theology. It's an unrivalled privilege and honour to have the approval of this inspirational man. We hope the single will raise awareness of the movement and epoch in which Ernesto played an important role. We live in cynical times but art can still be a powerful force for change. Those who know Smoke Feathers know how strongly we believe that. At its heart, Liberation Theology is a song about - and dedicated to - those who struggle against powerful, malevolent forces masquerading across the world as liberators, reformers or saviours. Our music will always reflect and support that fight. A video of Ernesto's Psalm 5 is below, please take the time to watch it. You can hear the dub mix here.

Featured artist on Musicborn website

We are going to blog about our unbelievable time at Glastonbury later this week, once we have gathered up all our pictures and videos and generally come down from one of the greatest weekends of our lives. But, in the meantime, we just wanted to say that the team at Musicborn have kindly selected Smoke Feathers as the featured artist for their website launch. Thanks guys! We are in the middle of a four-week residency under the Musicborn banner at 93 Feet East so please come down and check out a gig (see our Shows link on the right for details).

7 gigs: Glasto's hardest working band?

The masterplan for our first trip to Glastonbury has been approved and signed off by the Smoke Feathers board of trustees and it has to be said we must be in the running for the title of hardest working band at the festival! We are booked in for seven live sets across different stages from Thursday to Sunday! We have a big van! And a big tent! We will also be selling limited edition CD singles of Liberation Theology to anyone that will take one and we have lots of T shirts to give away. Please come and say Hi and watch one of our sets if you are going to be there. It would be great to see some familiar faces in the crowd. Here is the essential Smoke Feathers Glasto agenda:

Thursday 23rd June

6pm - MSF Live, The Common

10.30pm - Real Ale Bar, Acoustic Field

Friday 24th June

4.15pm - West Holts Bar

Saturday 25th June

4pm - Real Ale Bar, Acoustic Field

Sunday 26th June

3pm - Bimble Inn, The Park

7pm - West Holts Bar

10pm - Tadpole Stage, Green Futures Field

Free Glastonbury warm up at 93 Feet East

We are going to be playing a stripped back set in the front bar of 93 Feet East tonight to help warm up for our first trip to Glastonbury. Our good friend John Blood will also be playing in the main hall, bringing some most powerful Caribbean vibes to lift you up and help you float through the week. He really is a star and someone you wouldn't want to miss. Did we mention it's free to get in? Please come down and wish us good luck for Glasto! Music gets rolling from 8pm...

One week to go to: Liberation Theology

Peep! Peep! People, it's getting hectic at Smoke Feathers HQ! We have a mere one week to go until the release of our first single Liberation Theology on June 22. Matters are now reaching a high frequency of pressurised urgence. Please help us to promote the launch by sharing this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter and listening to the track on our Soundcloud page. Any support you can give us by getting the word out there would be absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone who has helped out so far - you are wonderful, vibed up people! This is a grassroots thing and your word of mouth will help us find a wider audience for our music and break on through to the other side. The single coincides with our first appearances at Glastonbury and comes with two hot B sides - a trippy dub mix of the main track and a live acoustic version of  To Begin, To End - all recorded at the amazing Vale Studios in Worcestershire. It will be available on iTunes and Amazon in mp3 format from June 22 and also as a limited edition run of 500 CDs. Thanks again for all your support!

B sides mastered at Fluid Mastering

We have now mastered the B sides for the Liberation Theology single with the assistance of the hyper-sensitive (and priceless) ears of Tim Debney at Fluid Mastering. Thanks Tim! Masters and artwork are at the printers, going through the complex and exacting Smoke Feathers production process in time for next week's release. Being at the forefront of all the latest technology developments in music, we would love to employ this shadowy, new-fangled contraption soon -- maybe for a vinyl EP of Liberation Theology remixes?

Liberation Theology on Break London radio

Tune in to the excellent Break London radio on Monday June 13 to hear our single Liberation Theology get its first airplay. The song has been selected as the station's "Out Of The Blue" track on Callum Hale's show between 12 and 2pm. So click on to the site at lunchtime to listen in and send a comment to their Contacts page to show your support for Smoke Feathers!

Shared 2 compilation LP with Miles Hunt

We have contributed two tracks to the Shared 2 compilation album, the brainchild of Miles Hunt from the Wonder Stuff. Miles produced both of our songs - Tropical Rain and Six Years - which drummer man Paul recorded during sessions in south London. The version of live favourite Tropical Rain is a stripped back, chilled take while Six Years, an older, darker song, features some mind-blowing strings played and arranged by Erica Nockalls. You can hear both tracks here. The compilation also features some very cool music from Miles and Erica, Boo Hewerdine, Jim Bob from Carter USM fame, Dan Donnelly, Damien Dempsey, Brentlee, The Daughters and Ian Prowse from Pele and Amsterdam. As you can imagine, the album is packed with great music from some better known songwriters as well as imspiring material from breakthrough artists. If you are interested in beautifully-crafted songs and discovering something new, it's an essential purchase. You can buy the album here or pick up individual tracks from iTunes and Amazon. A Shared festival is on the cards later this year, so stay tuned!

Recording B sides at Vale Studios

Stu and Matt are up at the awe-inspiring Vale Studios in Worcestershire to lay down a couple of B sides for the Liberation Theology single. We are producing a psychedelic dub mix of Liberation and an acoustic version of To Begin, To End. We have had to deploy the demon Scully (below) to elevate the full frequency of vibes to maximum levels and, of course, maintain the highest of pressure at all times.

93 Feet East residency this summer

We have been booked for a four-date residency at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane this summer with the wonderful crew from MusicBorn. The first show, our official warm-up for Glastonbury, is going to be a three-piece experience in the front bar on Monday, June 20 (on stage 9.15pm). The final gig will be full band fireworks in the main hall on July 11. Details of these free shows lie to your right (unless you are reading this upside down).

Liberation Theology single on sale June 22

We are excited to announce the release of our debut single, Liberation Theology, on June 22 ahead of our first trip to Glastonbury Festival. You can hear the song by clicking here. The track and two B-sides will be on sale via iTunes and Amazon. We will also be producing a limited 500 run of CD collector's edition singles (more on that to follow). Spread the word!