Floyd is very proud to kick off 2008 with a solo support
slot for one of Melbourne's finest live acts, ARIA-award-winning
Tatar songstress Zulya Kamalova and her band the Children of the
Underground: Thursday 31 January 2008 at Manchester Lane. Make sure
you catch this very special show. Click here
for details.
July 07 - Australian retail
outlets
The new album is available at the following record
stores:
FLOYD THURSBY & THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
A Thief's Journal
(Ang Fang/MGM)
A Thief's Journal opens with The Thief, an extremely
restrained folk/gypsy ballad quite akin to the sound of Howling
Bells, the O'Hooligans, or even Gogol Bordello (on about five cases
of valium). The follower, In Your Hands is a contrastingly
sweet, acoustic track which at first left me a little disappointed
after my interest had been sparked by its predecessor. Then again,
on Red Letter Thursby incorporates a subtle violin into a
crescendo of guitars and drums, ending in a striking, frenzied rock
jam. But that is both the strength and weakness of this album. While
Thursby charmingly blends extreme forms of rock, folk and acoustic
sounds, you find that the musical style takes a dramatic turn in
a different direction just as you're beginning to settle into one
of his many styles.
FLOYD THURSBY & THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
A Thief's Journal
(Ang Fang Industries / MGM)
A journey of powerful lyrics and easy listening melodies
For me, this album demonstrates a bundle of talent and an intriguing
sketch of brilliant songwriting. The LP exhibits a cruise-y, darkly
poetic voyage, passing through smooth acoustic rhythms to heavier
serrated riffs. Together with Thursby's distinctive, soothing voice,
Richard Wilson's precise drumming and Mark Hilton's unique strumming,
the trio create a fascinating blend of original Australian folk
rock. With a dash of alt-country and a splash of Grease-style swinging
beats illustrated in the final track, the band has delivered
a masterpiece. With his father a poet and mother an author, it is
no wonder Thursby was blessed with such effortless flair in singing
and songwriting. A Thief's Journal goes straight to the poolroom,
being a must-have on the iPod for taking the bite out of reality
or even just setting the scene for a relaxing stroll.
We are delighted to announce that 'A Thief's Journal'
is featured as Radio
Adelaide's feature CD for the week beginning Monday 14 May.
Also, Floyd will be launching the album in Adelaide with a solo
show at the Wheatsheaf Hotel on Friday 8 June, with support from
Cloudy Davey.
May 07
- Melbourne CD Launch date announced
The new album will be launched at a special show at
the East Brunswick Club on 25 May, with support from our good friends
The Unusual Suspects, and Hugh McGinlay. More info here.
May 07
- Rhythms
magazine review: 'endlessly rewarding'
Got a great review in the most recent Rhythms magazine,
Australia's leading blues and roots music publication:
FLOYD THURSBY & THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
A THIEF'S JOURNAL
Ang Fang
Gee it's great to come across a singer who's discovered their own
voice and learned to trust its idiosyncrasies as a strength, not
something to be ashamed of. Floyd Thursby has a fascinating voice
somehow it reminds me of a young Bryan Ferry with perhaps
a bit of Jonathon Richman thrown in. The fact that Thursby is an
engaging lyricist and sings with ingenuous ease, makes his voice
a treat to listen to. But of course, all that would be insignificant
without great songs as vehicles for that voice. Thursby has armfuls
of them. There's not an uninteresting moment on this debut LP.
The sparse, acoustic instrumentation, punctuating stabs of violin
and convulsive guitar, and ¾ time signatures will remind
some of Tom Waits. However, Thursby also consistently exhibits a
penchant for striking, structured melodies there are memorable
pop songs at the core of many of these twisted bits of folk music.
For all its dark lyrics, for example, 'The Lover's Twist' is musically
beautiful, its chords falling exactly where you hope they will.
It is rewarding to hear younger bands discovering the aural richness
of vintage tones and textures like reverb and tremolo. Floyd and
his band Mark Hilton and Richard Wilson team with producer Marty
Brown, to employ tone and, more importantly, space with acumen on
A Thief's Journal. That, along with a set of strong songs and Thursby's
unique vocals, makes for an endlessly rewarding recording.
Rhythms Magazine, May 2007
April
07 - Debut album out 5 May 07 on Ang Fang Industries through MGM
We here at Ang Fang Industries are very pleased to
announce that we have finalised an agreement with Australian distribution
company MGM, which will ensure that the new album by Floyd Thursby
& the Definite Article 'A Thief's Journal' will be available
at record stores across the country.
The record is being sent out to radio in the coming weeks so keep
an ear out, and head into your favourite record store any time after
5 May and ask for a copy - if they don't have it, they should be
able to order it in for you. Floyd is getting on the road for a
tour of Tassie to promote the new album, and will be back for a
Melbourne launch in late May.
REQUEST A FLOYD SONG
Request a Floyd song of your choice from any of the following esteemed
broadcasters:
The new music video for 'The Thief', taken from the
upcoming album 'A Thief's Journal' and directed by Cris
Jones, is now available on You Tube.
January
07 - Track from the new album, now on MySpace
Howdy folks. We can now proudly unveil the first track
from the brand new as-yet-unreleased Floyd Thursby and the Definite
Article album 'A Thief's Journal'. Visit Floyd's new MySpace
page to have a listen to the brand-spanking new recording of
'The Thief'. It won't be released to radio for another month or
more, but look out on ABC TV's Rage for a video clip (directed by
Cris
Jones) which should be out some time in February.
Floyd's debut self-titled EP is now available to purchase
online through chaos.com's independent artist initiative The
Can. Check out the site here.
The disc is retailing for $12.00.
November
06 - Floyd on Myspace
Floyd Thursby has bowed to the inevitable and has
joined the world's fastest growing and most brutal popularity contest:
September
06 - Back from Russia, ready to rock - polka-style
Floyd Thursby and his band the Definite Article celebrate
a return to Melbourne with a big show at the Empress Hotel on Saturday
7 October.
Joining him will be kick-arse country rock ratbags and joint headliners,
Clinkerfield, and the mysterious cowboy bard Lindsay Phillips. Click
here for more info.
Floyd has been in Europe for two months, performing special shows
at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and at Café Rosa in
Berlin, and tramping the back roads of Romania, Moldova and Russia,
searching for weird and wonderful polka-esque inspiration.
His travel diaries will be posted on this site in the coming month,
featuring tales of the summer snows of the Slovakian mountains,
Russian ska-polka clubs and hat-thieving forklift salesmen from
Romania. Floyd will also tell all about the forbidden pleasures
of the non-existent state of Transdneister, Europe's illegal arms-dealing
capital, and one of the only Soviet Communist enclaves left in the
world today.
Floyd will be performing a series of gigs over Melbourne's summer
and spring, leading up to the launch of his debut album A Thief's
Journal in early 2007.
July 06
- Europe 2006
Floyd will be in Europe for August and September to
track down the best of contemporary and traditional Russian and
Eastern European music and has also lined up a few solo shows while
he's over there. Click here for more
info.
Floyd, Mark and Rich are heading into Marty Brown's Standalone Studios
to record the debut album for Floyd Thursby and the Definite Article.
Expect the new album out around November.
May
06 - S.A Tour 2006
Floyd Thursby and the Definite Article tour South Australia for
the first time with two big shows on Saturday 6 May and Sunday 7
May. More info here.
April
06 - Good Friday Eve at the Empress
Floyd and the band are headlining the Empress on Good Friday Eve
with Because We Can and Jim Dandy. More info here.
In the lead up to the gig Floyd will be doing an interview (and
maybe a song or two) with Ryan Egan on 102.7 RRR's Local and/or
General on Monday 10 April at 10pm.
November
05 - Grand Finalist - 2005 PBS Festival of Song songwriting competition
News this month is that Floyd reached the grand finals of the PBS
FM Festival of Song songwriting competition, and is officially the
only performer to get that far relying significantly on polka and
polka-related material. While Floyd was ultimately not successful
in taking away the grand prize, all involved agreed that it was,
in the end, a victory for polka. Other grand finalists that Floyd
was privileged to go head-to-head with were Khancoban, Lindsay Phillips
(congratulations to the winner!) and Lucie Thorne. Make sure you
check out these amazing acts some time soon. Thanks heaps to PBS
for running such a great competition.
October 05 - EP available at Polyester Records, November
gigs
Ang Fang Industries is pleased to announce that we now have a bricks-and-mortar
retail outlet for Floyd Thursby's debut self-titled EP. Polyester
Records (387 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Ph: 9419 4961) has copies of
the EP available for $12.00.
Floyd and the band also have a bunch of gigs coming
up in November: gigs
September 05 - 'Babylon gate' charting
at no. 4 on www.weedshare.com
Thanks to all of you out there who
checked out www.mazar.com.au and
listened to Floyd's tunes. Mazar is a music download site for Australian
indie bands which runs on a legal file-sharing protocol called
'Weed'. Weed allows users to listen to a track up to three times
free of charge, before purchasing a download of the track for US$1.00.
Floyd's song 'Babylon Gate' was featured on www.weedshare.com ,
the main worldwide site for Weed-based downloads, and reached No.
4 in the world-wide Weed charts, which is currently also featuring
tracks by US pop and rock powerhouses Kelly Clarkson (No. 10) and
Dave Matthews (No. 7).