previous news updates

2005

30 NOVEMBER 2005
hello friends of Litmus!

Our last gig of the year, and perhaps for a little while after that, is this Friday, 2 December, at The Ruskin Arms in East London. More details about this legendary metal pub (home of Iron Maiden! ROCK!!) are at http://www.ruskinarms.co.uk/

Sadly Grooveweird have had to pull out, and the promoter hasn't booked another support band, but this means we've got time for a good long set. We'll be on stage about 9.30pm, and we're probably going to play until we fall over or get thrown out. Not only that, but it's going to be free to get in. You know what to do!

Thanks, as always, to those of you who came out and gave us some support at the Mean Fiddler with Space Ritual and Amon Duul II - even if you came to see all the bands we appreciated the number of you who got down the front instead of standing at the bar. Though we only got to play for half an hour, I think our three song set made a good impression, so hopefully it will lead to some more gigs for next year.

Meanwhile, we've now just about finished writing the music for our second album, and just have some lyrics to finish off before we record sometime early next year. It's looking promising for this one to get picked up by a good underground record label, which we're hoping will get Litmus out to a wider audience. Seriously, there are people out there who don't even know they like spacerock yet. They can run but they can't hide.

This might be our last message for the year, so have a great winter holiday, whatever your preferred flavour of celebration, and we'll see some of you at the Ruskin.

love from Litmus
x

27 SEPTEMBER 2005
Before we go any further, I have to let you know that sadly we won't now be playing at the Gong Unconventional Gathering in Glastonbury next month. We'd been booked by the original organiser, who had even produced posters with Litmus on the bill. Unfortunately, there were simply too many acts for two days in a comparitively small venue, and they quite rightly have to give precedence to Gong members, ex-members and relations. It's disappointing not to be playing, but we wish them luck for a succesful weekend, and if you have any interest in Gong we strongly urge you to go. More information at http://www.planetgong.co.uk.

Litmus will still be playing at the Walthamstow Standard, London, on 7 October and the Portland Arms, Cambridge on 20 October. More gig information on our website at http://www.litmusmusic.co.uk/earthmissions.html.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who came to Brixton Telegraph, and everyone who watched us at the Sonic Rock festival, and special thanks to the Sonic Rock organisers and crew for keeping it happening despite the appalling weather.

That's all for now.

love from Litmus

25 AUGUST 2005
Well, it seems ages ago now, but the gig at Camden Underworld with Witchcraft and Circulus was a fantastic night. It was probably one of the best bills we've played on, there was such a good mixture of styles - all three bands drawing on psychedelia and 1970s influences, but moving it all forward in completely different directions. A really enthusiastic crowd, too.

You've got another chance to see us in London next Thursday, 1 September, at the Telegraph in Brixton - a new venue for us, so come and help us make a big impression. Expect to hear some more new material being previewed in advance of recording the new album, and full lights and projections from Lighthouse.

The following weekend we'll be at the Sonic Rock festival up on the east coast, along with some old friends like Arthur Brown and other great acts including Steve Hillage's System 7. Details of all our gigs are at www.litmusmusic.co.uk/earthmissions.

On the website front, we're going to be responding to some of the questions and requests we get with a series of items to be added to a new page over the coming weeks and months. The Rays Of Sonic Light have been activated, just move your cursor to the logo in the bottom left corner of our home page...

Hope to see you all in Brixton,
Lots of love,
Litmus

19 JULY 2005
Hello - hope you've all been enjoying the sunny weather.

We had a great time at the "2 Days of Love and Peace" festival in Germany last month - our thanks to the organisers and crew for looking after us, feeding us and bringing us as much beer as we could drink. The other bands were really friendly too (we had a great laugh with Caravan in particular). Oh, and we got to play in front of several hundred people.

A rather smaller (but no less appreciative) crowd came to see us at the Man on the Moon, Cambridge - a nice gig despite Martin losing his voice and cymbals flying at Simon's head.

Our next gig will now be at Camden Underworld on 29 July, with doom-rockers Witchcraft and acid-medieval-folk from Circulus; both bands have new albums out and are getting great press so this will be a highly anticipated evening. Details of all our gigs are at www.litmusmusic.co.uk/earthmissions.

In the meantime, we're working on the material for our new album, now more than half written, which we hope to record later in the year. And the website is being updated with renewed enthusiasm(!), with new photos and links added recently. More to come soon...

See you in Camden,
Lots of love,
Litmus

14 JUNE 2005
Hello again!

Firstly, some of you may have heard rumours that we'd be playing at the Tackeroo in Hednesford this Sunday, but unfortunately they had to cancel the gig (we heard that they've had trouble with the noise on Sundays, and the thought of an evening with Litmus was just too much...) We're hoping to reschedule for a Friday or Saturday night later in the year.

By way of an alternative, Litmus are a last minute addition to the bill at the "2 Days of Love and Peace" festival in Wuppertal, Germany, this weekend (18 and 19 June). Litmus will be making sure that there is little "Peace" to be had on the Saturday afternoon, and there are more details at: www.lcb-online.de

For those of you who can't make that one, we also have some UK dates lined up, starting with the Man on the Moon, Cambridge on 30 June. Back in London, we're venturing south of the river to play at The Telegraph, Brixton on 1 September.

Litmus will also be playing at the Sonic Rock Festival on 9 and 10 September, along with a fantastic line-up featuring the very best of psychedelic rock and dance music. This looks like it will be a fantastic weekend - more details to follow.
  
Looking further ahead, we're back at the Walthamstow Standard, London on 7 October, with support from Underground Zero.
 
Finally, we've been invited to play at the second Gong Family Unconvention in Glastonbury on 22 October, which should be a lot of fun for a long-time Gong fan like me! (And if you haven't heard any Gong before, I suggest you rectify the situation promptly!)

That's all for now,
Lots of love,
Litmus