Hatcham Social
Encyclopedia
Hatcham Social are an English
indie pop
band who first met and formed in New Cross
, London
, and who have released a string of singles on indie labels since 2006, a debut album in 2009 and are currently active in a Pledge Campaign for the release of their second LP. With the debut album they made headway in the mainstream media, with The Guardian
describing them as 'irrestistible' and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) calling them 'a wonderful pop group with the world's coolest drummer'. The band are named partially after the Hatcham Liberal club on Queens Road, Peckham, and the Old English word 'Hatcham
', meaning 'a clearing in the woods'. The Hatcham Liberal club was well known as 'Hatcham Social' around the time the band formed. The area in which it lies was, in previous times, known as Hatcham. Their debut album
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil
was released in March 2009 in the UK
.
, but left in order to devote his time to Hatcham Social; they soon released their self-recorded debut 7" single "Dance as If..." on the indie label WaKs Records (Daniel Devine). After showing considerable interest and forming a friendship with the band, Faris Badwan
of The Horrors
(a former art student at Central Saint Martins) agreed to create the artwork for the band's second single, "How Soon Was Then?", released on PopGrooves (the label set up by David Fineberg); the artwork to the single was hand-printed on 200 limited edition 7" sleeves. The single gave the band their first national radio airplay
on the BBC 6Music show Mint, hosted by Marc Riley
, in January 2007.
saw it as 'carefree and irresistibly catchy'. The success of the single prompted BBC 6Music DJ
Gideon Coe
to invite the band in for their first live radio session on Tuesday 14 August 2007, whilst the Queens of Noize
chose "Penelope (Under My Hat)" as their 'Trophy Track' on their BBC 6 Music show on 4 August 2007. Artrocker
magazine also asked the band to perform a live radio session for them, and used one of the live tracks "Snap My Hands" on their cover mounted free CD in December 2007.
proclaimed 'twee-tastic basement recorded pop shouldn't be starting a south London revolution, but it is'. Vice
described it as 'one of the best things we've heard all year', and Time Out magazine chose the self-recorded b-side
, "Berlin", as one of their 'Picks of the Week', likening the band to 'The Pop Group
, Josef K
and Virgin Prunes
'. The relative success of the single was proven when it reached number 14 in the Official Independent Label Singles Chart on 9 March 2008.
Growing recognition has seen Hatcham Social headline a show at London's 100 Club
in February 2008, and they have played the Camden Crawl, Great Escape and Dot to Dot music festivals in London, Brighton, Bristol and Nottingham, as well as Faraday in Barcelona, London Calling in Amsterdam and Lovebox in London.
, will be released in early 2009 through Fierce Panda in the UK and TBD Records in the US
.
of the 1980s
including bands such as The Pastels
, Orange Juice
, and Josef K
, as well as post-punk
and shoegaze bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Fall. Their music (particularly their early singles) also features a 1960s beat music
influence, including the pop sensibility of The Kinks
.
They have also taken great influence from story books and children's literature, most notably through their rendition of the Lewis Carroll
poem "Jabberwocky
", which they performed live at their 100 Club gig with a performing arts group, SKIPtheatre (they also made a brief appearance in their music video
to "So So Happy Making"). The band's love of story books and children's literature (and as a nod to the 1980s) influenced them in choosing to release two cassette tapes of their self-recorded material, Found In The Woods (versions 1 & 2). The first edition brought together the five tracks on their first two vinyl only singles, and was released on 25 May 2007. The second edition brought together six other previously unreleased self recorded tracks, and was released on 31 December 2007.
, Neils Children
, and Electricity In Our Homes, and are associated with The Horrors and The Charlatans (whom they have supported in a number of concerts) through their work with Faris Badwan and Tim Burgess. Finnigan Kidd, as well as having drummed for Klaxons before concentrating on Hatcham Social, is also a part-time member of the indie rock
supergroup
collective The Chavs
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band who first met and formed in New Cross
New Cross
New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross. The ward covered by London post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and who have released a string of singles on indie labels since 2006, a debut album in 2009 and are currently active in a Pledge Campaign for the release of their second LP. With the debut album they made headway in the mainstream media, with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
describing them as 'irrestistible' and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) calling them 'a wonderful pop group with the world's coolest drummer'. The band are named partially after the Hatcham Liberal club on Queens Road, Peckham, and the Old English word 'Hatcham
Hatcham
Hatcham was a manor and later chapelry in what is now London, England. It corresponds to the area around New Cross Gate station in the London Borough of Lewisham....
', meaning 'a clearing in the woods'. The Hatcham Liberal club was well known as 'Hatcham Social' around the time the band formed. The area in which it lies was, in previous times, known as Hatcham. Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil is the debut album by Hatcham Social, released on March 16th, 2009, on Fierce Panda Records in the UK and TBD Records in the US.-Track listing:#"Crocodile" #"Sidewalk" #"Murder In The Dark"...
was released in March 2009 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
"Dance As If..." and "How Soon Was Then?"
Hatcham Social formed in New Cross in 2006 when David Fineberg met brothers Tobias and Finnigan Kidd. Drummer Finnigan Kidd was still a member of KlaxonsKlaxons
Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
, but left in order to devote his time to Hatcham Social; they soon released their self-recorded debut 7" single "Dance as If..." on the indie label WaKs Records (Daniel Devine). After showing considerable interest and forming a friendship with the band, Faris Badwan
Faris Badwan
Faris Badwan is a British musician, best known for being the lead vocalist for the English Alternative Rock band The Horrors, and more recently one half of his side project Cat's Eyes with Rachel Zeffira.-Early life:...
of The Horrors
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
(a former art student at Central Saint Martins) agreed to create the artwork for the band's second single, "How Soon Was Then?", released on PopGrooves (the label set up by David Fineberg); the artwork to the single was hand-printed on 200 limited edition 7" sleeves. The single gave the band their first national radio airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
on the BBC 6Music show Mint, hosted by Marc Riley
Marc Riley
Marc Riley is a British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he had his own record label, In-Tape, and also worked as a record plugger...
, in January 2007.
"Til The Dawn" / "Penelope (Under My Hat)"
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, produced the band's next single, the double A-side of "Til The Dawn" and "Penelope (Under My Hat)". Both sides of the single were recorded with Burgess, for whom this was his production debut. Again, artwork was provided by Faris Badwan. Artrocker described the single as a 'polka-dot-skirt-swirling number with credibility' whilst Dazed & ConfusedDazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
saw it as 'carefree and irresistibly catchy'. The success of the single prompted BBC 6Music DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Gideon Coe
Gideon Coe
Gideon "The Guv'nor" Coe is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist.Coe was one of the child presenters of the BBC 1 children's programme "Why Don't You?"....
to invite the band in for their first live radio session on Tuesday 14 August 2007, whilst the Queens of Noize
Queens of Noize
Queens of Noize are an English indie/disco or Wonky pop DJ duo based in London. The constituent members are Mairead Nash and Tabitha Denholm.-Career:...
chose "Penelope (Under My Hat)" as their 'Trophy Track' on their BBC 6 Music show on 4 August 2007. Artrocker
ArtRocker
Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Factory...
magazine also asked the band to perform a live radio session for them, and used one of the live tracks "Snap My Hands" on their cover mounted free CD in December 2007.
"So So Happy Making"
The band's growing friendship with Badwan saw him switching from design to production for Hatcham's next single, "So So Happy Making". The single was released as a joint venture between Loog Records and Waks Records. Artrocker described the single as a 'wonderful, life-affirming record' whilst the NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
proclaimed 'twee-tastic basement recorded pop shouldn't be starting a south London revolution, but it is'. Vice
Vice (magazine)
VICE is a free magazine and media conglomerate founded in Montreal, Quebec and currently based in New York City.Vice is available in 27 countries...
described it as 'one of the best things we've heard all year', and Time Out magazine chose the self-recorded b-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, "Berlin", as one of their 'Picks of the Week', likening the band to 'The Pop Group
The Pop Group
The Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
, Josef K
Josef K (band)
Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial...
and Virgin Prunes
Virgin Prunes
Virgin Prunes was an Irish gothic rock band formed in 1977. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1990.-Career:...
'. The relative success of the single was proven when it reached number 14 in the Official Independent Label Singles Chart on 9 March 2008.
Growing recognition has seen Hatcham Social headline a show at London's 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
in February 2008, and they have played the Camden Crawl, Great Escape and Dot to Dot music festivals in London, Brighton, Bristol and Nottingham, as well as Faraday in Barcelona, London Calling in Amsterdam and Lovebox in London.
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil
A post from the band on their forum, A Clearing In The Woods, indicated all tracks were recorded with Tim Burgess and Jim Spencer throughout the month of August 2008. A blog posted on their myspace on 7 November 2008 explained their debut album, entitled You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The SoilYou Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil
You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil is the debut album by Hatcham Social, released on March 16th, 2009, on Fierce Panda Records in the UK and TBD Records in the US.-Track listing:#"Crocodile" #"Sidewalk" #"Murder In The Dark"...
, will be released in early 2009 through Fierce Panda in the UK and TBD Records in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Line up change
At some point after the touring of the first album David Fineberg left the band and took a year traveling the world. Jerome Watson who had been playing extra guitar on live shows also left to concentrate on his own project. Toby and Finn continued to record and write towards the second album. After the album was written they acquired a new bass player and guitarist in the form of Riley Difford and David Claxton respectively. Response to the new line up seem positive with a review for a recent show where they headlined the Lexington in London stating 'they produce a sound so full, accomplished and engaging that it fills the Lexington to bursting. Bigger stages beckon'Second Album
Hatcham Social are currently working with the company Pledge to release the second album. The campaign relies on fans pre-ordering (pledging) the album and other 'goodies' and regular pledge only updates on the work on the album to raise the funds for the release of the record. The album has been titled About Girls and was recorded with Jim Anderson (Transgressive, Cold Specks), Laurie Latham (Echo and the Bunnymen, Squeeze) and some was produced and mixed entirely by the band.Like An Animal Single
Like An Animal was the first taster track to be released off of the second LP and was given away as a free download from the bands Bandcamp page. It was limited to 500 free downloads and then went to being available as to buy. Artrocker said the single was 'Awesome' and gave it a five star rating.Influences and sound
Hatcham Social derive heavy influence from indie popIndie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
of the 1980s
Music of the United Kingdom (1980s)
Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from sub-genres and what is now classed as World music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and...
including bands such as The Pastels
The Pastels
The Pastels are a group from Glasgow, Scotland, UK.Their early records for labels like Whaam!, Creation, Rough Trade, and Glass Records, had a raw and immediate sound, melodic and amateur, which seemed at odds with the time...
, Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, and Josef K
Josef K (band)
Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial...
, as well as post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and shoegaze bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Fall. Their music (particularly their early singles) also features a 1960s beat music
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
influence, including the pop sensibility of The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
.
They have also taken great influence from story books and children's literature, most notably through their rendition of the Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
poem "Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
", which they performed live at their 100 Club gig with a performing arts group, SKIPtheatre (they also made a brief appearance in their music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
to "So So Happy Making"). The band's love of story books and children's literature (and as a nod to the 1980s) influenced them in choosing to release two cassette tapes of their self-recorded material, Found In The Woods (versions 1 & 2). The first edition brought together the five tracks on their first two vinyl only singles, and was released on 25 May 2007. The second edition brought together six other previously unreleased self recorded tracks, and was released on 31 December 2007.
Associated artists
Hatcham have frequently played with bands including The VioletsThe Violets
The Violets are a post punk/indie/pop band from the New Cross area of London. Formed initially as a bassless garage punk trio, The Violets early gigs saw them playing stark, spiky and minimalist punk that evoked early art-school punk bands such as Delta 5, Prag Vec, and Siouxsie and the Banshees,...
, Neils Children
Neils Children
Neils Children is an English post-punk band, founded by John Linger and Brandon Jacobs .-Career:Neils Children formed in 1999 at Harlow College in Essex, where John Linger and Brandon Jacobs were studying with Richard Hawkins...
, and Electricity In Our Homes, and are associated with The Horrors and The Charlatans (whom they have supported in a number of concerts) through their work with Faris Badwan and Tim Burgess. Finnigan Kidd, as well as having drummed for Klaxons before concentrating on Hatcham Social, is also a part-time member of the indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
collective The Chavs
The Chavs
The Chavs are a Rock supergroup formed in 2004, by former Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Carl Barât. Alongside Barât in the band are Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, Primal Scream keyboardist Martin Duffy and drummer Andy Burrows from We Are Scientists...
.
Singles
| Year | Title | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Dance As If…" / "Catch Me If You Can (You Can't)" | 7" | WaKS Records |
| 2006 | "How Soon Was Then?" / "Land of Maybe" / "Rhinoceros" (DJ Sinjin mix) | 7" | PopGrooves |
| 2007 | "Til The Dawn" / "Penelope (Under My Hat)" | 7" & Download | WaKS Records |
| 2008 | "So So Happy Making" / "Berlin" | 7" and CD | Loog Records |
| 2009 | "Murder In The Dark" / "Mimicry" | 7" and Download | Fierce Panda |
| 2009 | "Crocodile" / "Dissected" | 7" and Download | Fierce Panda |
| 2009 | "Sidewalk" | 10" (Ltd.100) | Fierce Panda |
| 2011 | "Like An Animal" | Download only (Ltd.500) | Fierce Panda |
EPs
| Year | Title | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Found In The Woods (edition 1) | cassette tape | PopGrooves |
| 2007 | Found In The Woods (edition 2) | cassette tape | PopGrooves |
| 2008 | Party | mp3 download | PopGrooves |
| 2008 | Crystal World (Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... only) |
CD | Vinyl Junkie |
| 2009 | Postcard In Colours (US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... and Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... only) |
CD | TBD Records |
Albums
| Year | Title | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil is the debut album by Hatcham Social, released on March 16th, 2009, on Fierce Panda Records in the UK and TBD Records in the US.-Track listing:#"Crocodile" #"Sidewalk" #"Murder In The Dark"... (UK) |
CD / Download | Fierce Panda |
| 2009 | You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil (US) | CD / Vinyl / Download | TBD Records |