For Folk's Sake » I Said Yes

FFS picks I Said Yes for free download from Track in the Box

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:29:59 +0000

I Said Yes‘s track ‘When The Night Comes In’ is now available for free download from Track in the Box.

I Said Yes are a 5-piece band from Oxford, London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Wiltshire and Windsor. Hugh from the band sent FFS a very nice email back in January 2009 asking if we’d listen to their music. We did and we were blown away. We got ISY to play the very first Allotment night and crammed them into the Betsy Trotwood in support of Broadcast 2000 and Al Lewis & Sarah Howells. The band have recently been recording music in Somerset, so keep an eye on their MySpace for new songs.

Track in the Box is the latest project from the Green House Group, which is also responsible for Record Drop, and has fingers in pies like Blissfields and The Flowerpot. They say, “Track in the Box is a daily newsletter to help you discover (and sometimes rediscover) great bands.” Subscribe here to get free music in your inbox every day.

Come to The Allotment TODAY: Broadcast 2000, I Said Yes and Al Lewis and Sarah Howells

Lynn Roberts — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:13:26 +0000

The time has come, and For Folk’s Sake and Anika in London will be delighted to welcome you to The Allotment this evening.

We have teamed up with Anika for this, the first of many, London band nights characterised by excellent music, a DIY attitude and, perhaps most importantly, free For Folk’s Cakes.

For our first show today – Wednesday 7th October – we’ve invited long-time FFS favourites Joe Steer of Broadcast 2000 (EP review here, interview here), Al Lewis and Sarah Howels (EP review here) and I Said Yes (live review here). We’re mega excited about seeing such a lovely line-up all in one place.

Delicious For Folk’s Cakes are being made for your consumption by Nigella-alike Helen from FFS, FFS’s wee sister Ailsa Roberts – who’s famous all over Hampshire for her culinary skills, and the wonderful Arabella Cooper-Maddox.

The basement of the Betsey Trotwood is going to be thoroughly decked out with handmade decorations, and there’ll be some Allotment paraphernalia on sale including Anika in London comics drawn straight onto canvas bags.

Doors are at 7.30pm with the first band on at 8.30. Tickets cos £5 or £6 with a handmade programme. The Betsey’s nearest tube is Farringdon and the address is 56 Farringdon Rd, Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 3BL.

We hope to see you there!

Words: Lynn Roberts

Live Review: Stars of Sunday League EP Launch @ The Luminaire, London

Lynn Roberts — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:23:52 +0000

The folkstars were out in force on Monday night for the Stars of Sunday League‘s launch of EP ‘The Boy’s Got Prospects’.

First up were I Said Yes, who came from all over the UK to play just two tracks. FFS has been looking forward to hearing them for some time. And – despite having to switch around parts thanks to a singer with no voice – they didn’t disappoint. I Said Yes play lovely and rousing folk pop with accordion and violin. Check them out.

Next came Jay Jay Pistolet-lookalike Semaphore, Younghusband – whose lyrics can fair tell a story – and Planet Earth, whose songs invite inexorable comparisons with Young and Lost Club label mates Noah and the Whale.

Olly the Octopus, who is a strong contender for the tallest and most manly man in folk, played an politically-charged track on a battered guitar which implored “Now is the time to bring the music back to life”.

What a treat Little Words are. The covers band featuring Hugo Sheppard, Jeremy Warmsley and SOSL’s Euan Robinson played four stunning Magnetic Fields songs from the album 69 Love Songs (if you don’t have it, buy it). Their close harmonies on The Book Of Love were just beautiful.

Broadcast 2000 got to play an extended set, thanks to the non appearance of the headliners-but-one “Meat Three Gym“. Joe Steer – whose songs have been used to soundtrack many a TV advert – played with the fullest band this reviewer has seen yet and it truly is a kinetic and exciting live show. The glockenspiel player began the set by playing the walls before bashing the hell out of his poor glock with such precision he looks like he’s clockwork.

Headliners Stars of Sunday League played perfect renditions of frontman Euan Robinson’s delicate folk songs. Euan, who seemed genuinely surprised by the turn-out, had his soft Edinburgh burr and acoustic guitar joined on backing vocals and viola by Sarah Triggs and the accordion and harmonium from Max Jones.

SOSL’s lyrics are sometimes political – there’s a song about now well-known gay 70s politician Harvey Milk – sometimes personal – such as his self depricating 101 Good Reasons to do Nothing – occasionally acerbic – ”I hate the way they laugh/the way their haircuts make amends for their faces” – but always thoughtful and accompanied by uncluttered arrangement and beautiful melodies. If this show was anything to go by, FFS can’t wait to hear the EP.

Words: Lynn Roberts

Photo: Anika Mottershaw

I Said Yes

Lynn Roberts — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:30:12 +0000

They say:

‘i said yes’ are a group of friends who started out recording low budget covers of contemporary ‘pop’ tunes back in 2006.

They’ve come a long way since then, playing their first gig at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh (November 2007), supporting Molly Wagger and have now played in more than one city worldwide.

Listeners of XFM Scotland voted ‘i said yes’ ‘band of the week’ back in February 2008, and then Martin Bate chose to feature ‘pointless conversation’ on XFM’s ‘new music rising’ podcast on the 16th Feb 2008, which was pretty exciting,

‘i said yes’ recently spent 5 days in Joe Robertson’s attic in Portobello recording three new songs which you can listen to above. Without Joe’s patience and brilliance, they’d be but a shadow of the recordings that they are now.

Taken from I Said Yes’s myspace

For Folk's Sake » I Said Yes

FFS picks I Said Yes for free download from Track in the Box

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