Little Barrie + The Schizophonics

Little Barrie

Following the release of their last album ‘Shadow’ in 2014, Little Barrie embarked on a worldwide tour. The low budget US west coast leg of the tour involved travelling from Tokyo to Los Angeles, crossing the International Date Line and arriving before they left. They picked up their van and had 48 hours before they were due on stage in Seattle. This was the tone of the tour. As Barrie Cadogan explains, “We were totally out of our minds, driving through blazing sun and pitch black for days trying to eat up the miles. Your head starts playing tricks.” Their forthcoming album is inspired by these hallucinatory drives up and down the Interstate 5 Highway.

Little Barrie wanted the new music to reflect some of the chaos and beauty of that time, but do something sonically different. The aim is to combine the influence from Beastie Boys albums like Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head with the explosiveness of 60's freakbeat to create their own sci-fi fuzz. "We wanted the effect of cut up sounds and rhythms, but recorded as a live performance rather than just remixing ourselves." They experimented on the basic recording gear at their disposal and Barrie modified his guitar to get the effect he was after.

‘With a fractured distorted guitar sound somewhere between The Open Minds ‘Magic Potion’ and The Factory’s ‘Try A Little Sunshine’ being propelled by Virgil (son of Steve) Howe’s choppy funk flecked breakbeat drumming, they’ve come up with a sound akin to Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys playing freakbeat for now people’

Having recently penned the theme tune to ‘Better Call Saul’, the band’s music has been synced across adverts, films and TV shows in the UK, US, Europe, Japan & Australia.

“I don’t ever want us to repeat ourselves,” explains Cadogan. “We want to keep moving. Your tastes change, and the way you want to go, and the band’s sound has changed. We’ve played together so much more, and because of that we’ve been able to do a lot more. It’s not just the gigs, but recording and rehearsing together. There’s much more of a performance element in the band now.” Anyone who has witnessed the band's live performances over the past few years will testify to just how tight, accomplished and telepathic each element has become. The band has toured extensively around the world and been personally invited to support artists such as The Stone Roses, Charles Bradley, Dinosaur Jnr, Kasabian and Primal Scream.

Little Barrie are guitarist and vocalist, Barrie Cadogan, bassist Lewis Wharton and drummer extraordinaire, Virgil Howe. In addition to being in the band, Wharton is also a motorcycle enthusiast and illustrator; Howe, the acclaimed drumming son of rock figurehead Steve Howe, produces and DJs in the UK and abroad; Cadogan is a world respected guitarist and the go-to guy for the likes of Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Edwyn Collins, Anton Newcombe, Spiritualized, Pete Molinari, The Chemical Brothers and Paolo Nutini. It is a testament to these three players that as a band they are making their strongest music to date.

The Schizophonics

Over the last few years, the Schizophonics have built up a formidable reputation in San Diego as an explosive live act. Tapping into the same unstoppable combination of rock ‘n’ roll energy and showmanship that fueled the MC5 in the heyday of the Grande Ballroom, they're also heavily influenced by artists like Jimi Hendrix, Iggy Pop, James Brown, Little Richard, and the Sonics.

Singer/Guitarist Pat Beers and drummer Lety Beers started playing together in early 2009 and have worked tirelessly since then, playing literally hundreds of live shows up and down the West Coast, and further afield. A 2013 tour of Spain with El Vez – who had recruited them as his backing group – resulted in the group’s first record release, a three-song 7” EP on the Munster label.

In July 2015 the Schizophonics’ second single, “Put Your Weight On It” b/w “Red Planet”, was released on the Ugly Things label. They've since continued their savage performances across the west coast and Europe, as well as constant local live shows. They are currently recording a full LP at Earthling studios.