Calvin Party & The Full Zimbabwe

On a wintery hilltop somewhere in rainy Lancashire sits an unassuming building that from the outside could only be described as a garage, but once through the door, it's Tardis-like exterior spreads out into one of the plushest little recording emporiums you could imagine.

Locked within, owner Steve Lindley and longtime musical cohort Ian Almond lay down swirling ambienty Africany sounds - they package them into nice records and release them into the ether under the monicker The Full Zimbabwe. There are four tracks free to download below (not on their album which is called 'Land of the Vouty'. Find out more - Zigzag).

Download Winter Hill

Winter Hill. Track listing: Why Zimbabwe; So Solid; Babylon Way: Tumjildi.

Same town, same musical circle, same era spawns John Donaldson, who sings songs of passion & vitreol + social conscience + guts. He fronted The Levellers (long before the crusties of same name existed) and later Calvin Party.

Peel sessions, and lots of records all on Liverpool's Probe Plus

Songs of Loss and Gain is an 8 track 2 EP Eli Recs release. Its bookended by 2 rare and very early Levellers tracks (Under the Hammer & Friction - fantastic tracks, raw and pounding, featuring John at his angry passionate best) - sandwiched in between are 6 stripped down, acousticky & bare Calvin Party tracks - 4 of these appear courtesy of Probe Plus Records, and appear on the Probe album. (Never as Black - Probe 54 distributed by SRD).

Calvin party have been through a number of line-ups in their time, but the John Donaldson/Dave Thom partnership has been a constant (Marr/Morrissey is not an unreasonable analogy), with Thom providing a well punctuated backdrop of sparkling virtuoso guitar to Donaldson's soaring passionate vocals and pounding rhythmic guitar. The next album can't come soon enough.

check out Calvin Party's myspace for all their gig info & latest news http://www.myspace.com/calvinparty

Songs of Loss and Gain: Get it from Eli Records, PO Box 187, BB11 3GL, UK. £5.99. P&P £1.20 within EU (click here for postage & packing rest of world) - Cheques & POs payable to Eli Records (UK).

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Track Listing:

CD1: Under The Hammer; Brave New Morning; Life and other Sex Tragedies; Never as Black.
CD2: Every Day; Songs of Loss and Gain; Northern Song; Friction.

Hear some of Under The Hammer

Hear some of Brave New Morning

Hear some of Life and Other Sex Tragedies

Hear some of Never as Black

Hear some of Every Day

Hear some of Songs of Loss and Gain

Hear some of Northern Song

Hear some of Friction

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