Here's our brand new song, "Drift", performed live at Cambridge Junction - click here to stream and download and please give generously.

But how did this all come together? Well, I showed up fresh from the train yesterday at 3pm to be welcomed with a lovely cuppa and a hug. I'd met Shlomo once before in a strange little greasy spoon cafe in Edinburgh during the Fringe. My dear friend Steve Lawson was taking part in Shlo's "Mouthtronica" show, where he invited performers on stage each evening to improvise a track with him (all 23 of those tracks can be streamed and downloaded here - highly recommended) - then when I heard he was looking for guests for this new show I tweeted and hoped.

It was very exciting to be invited along, especially as The Junction is a venue I last visited while playing bass for East Anglian indie legends Miss Black America on their final tour in 2006. Good memories. Cambridge was a very important place for me as a teenager living in nearby Bury St Edmunds, too - it was a town where you could buy cool clothes, visit bigger record shops and play gigs with your band in legendary small venues like The Portland Arms and The (sadly-long-gone) Boat Race.

Anyway, after settling in and unpacking all my musical toys from the two massive hefty suitcases I drag around with me on tour - work began. It's been a while since I wrote a song with someone else and Shlo was very calm, considerate and open to ideas as well as bringing his immense creativity to proceedings.

The beats came first (rightly so!), then the sung vocal loops and a vague verse tune which settled after we played things a few times through. The line "we're all floating in space" popped in to my head straight away and seemed a natural starting point and I started visualising a scenario where broken hearted people were sent in to orbit to heal - or at least stop the bleeding of - their wounds. I'd love to know if any animators out there fancy having a go at that one?

As my lead vocals were pitched really closely to the backing vocal loops we decided to bring my trusty megaphone in to the mix to give some separation as well as adding that crunchy sound I love so much, and Shlo did his thing on effecting them and swirling them around to an epic crescendo before what was supposed to be a heavy guitar section. Unfortunately my overdrive pedal didn't want to play along during the actual gig but that's the wonder of playing live!

I found the whole experience immensely inspiring and creatively satisfying - it's great to have a such an insane deadline that frees you up to experiment, try something new and avoid procrastination (something us musicians can be exceptionally good at!) and the main part of the Human Geekbox show is a brilliantly woven yarn punctuated by wildly creative musicianship and a cheeky sense of humour.

The tour continues on to Poole, Southampton, Leeds, Basingstoke, Ipswich, London, Bristol, Leicester, Gateshead, Antrim and Lancaster - don't miss out!

During the set I mention the Butterflies Audiovisual EP (pictured above) - my six song, six video extravaganza. The second (and last) batch of limited edition handmade CD/DVD packages are on sale now and though I thoroughly enjoyed making them - when they're gone they're most definitely gone! Get yours here along with USB and digital download versions.

Here's what some people have been saying about the EP:

- "the EP is the most beautiful physical artifact on my CD shelves"
- "I love so many things about mine, the record style CD, the handwritten spine. It is the most beautiful EP I've ever seen"
- "I love mine... So beautifully packaged, thanks!"
- "fantastic work even the packaging is second to none"

Due to some Google Hangout logistical weirdness, probably on my side, I started my gig a little late but my short and hopefully sweet four song set was available in its entirety immediately after I'd played - nice work RCM!

The set list was:
[00:33] Shields And Daggers
[05:20] Olympian
[08:52] Delete
[13:10] Slow Puncture

The sister song to "Butterflies" on the Audiovisual EP, "Delete" is a chilly, vocal-only multi-layered piece, a tense musing on the nature of internet relationship statuses vs "real life", the attempt to face big life questions and the consequences of sharing too much online, with a humorous dig at the plethora of artists relying on loopstations - "I'd like to delete myself / Don't like to repeat myself, no".

I shot the video early one Saturday morning in locations around Bristol including North Street, Stokes Croft, Montpelier and the annual Balloon Fiesta at Ashton Court, using a Go Pro extreme sports camera borrowed off a Twitter friend. A follow up to 2011's "Slow Puncture" - a street art treasure hunt of East London - "Delete" is my first location video as a West Country resident and a celebration of my new adopted hometown.

The song is available on a pay-what-you-can basis from Bandcamp or as part of The Butterflies Audiovisual EP, and here's the brand new behind the scenes video:

Finally, here it is live at the Butterflies EP launch at Rattlesnake the other week. Drum!!!

Massive thanks to The Quietus for supporting the new videos - click here to view and please comment and share with your friends!

The EP is available here.

The Butterflies Audiovisual EP is now available to grab in full. 2 album tracks and 4 live tracks performed with my backing band The Olympians with accompanying videos and extras, available in digital and physical formats.

I'm particularly happy with the handmade CD/DVD packs (only 9 left!!), which involved a lot of double sided tape, PVA glue and patience. Thank you Netflix for entertaining me during this time.

The original USB packs sold out so here's a brand new option, a USB stick containing the Butterflies EP + the Disarm and Little Battles albums plus a limited edition art card:

Now the hard work is done, here comes the fun...I'll be launching the EP in style this week with the help of my ace new special guests band The Magpie Hearts, starring Milly McGregor (Gabby Young And Other Animals / Viv Albertine) on violin, Mishkin Fitzgerald (Birdeatsbaby) on vocals, Simon Goff (Hope And Social) on bass and violin, Kat Arney (Talk In Colour / Sunday Driver) on harp and Gemma Hill (The Lovers, Robots In Disguise) on drums, plus random special guests.

Scroll down for all the gig info but first...here's "In This Boat" (Live from Lightship95):

This week's gigs

Monday 26th August - GREENBELT FESTIVAL, Performance Cafe (1pm)
Solo show

Wednesday 28th August - BRISTOL, Start The Bus
EP Launch show with The Magpie Hearts, support from Expensive + Jemima Surrender
Tickets £5 adv / £6 on the door : Facebook Event

Thursday 29th August - LONDON, Rattlesnake
EP Launch show with The Magpie Hearts + special guests, support from NIFE + Tristan
Tickets £6 adv / £7 / £10 on the door : Facebook Event

Friday 30th August - LONDON, Sebright Arms
Solo show supporting The Impossible Girl aka Kim Boekbinder
Tickets £10 : Songkick Event

Click here for future shows in Bristol, London, Cambridge (guesting with Shlomo!) and York. More tour dates to be announced soon around the country.

Thank you so much to all the people who pre-ordered this very ambitious audiovisual EP over the summer after reading this blog post about it...it's been lovely having you there to send updates to and share the experience with. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Please tell all your West Country friends and scroll down to underneath the beautiful poster for more about the artists.

TICKETS :: FACEBOOK EVENT

"There's a fine line between the unique and the insane, and it's a line which THOMAS TRUAX straddles with his chin held high and 'The Hornicator' firmly glued to his left ear. His collection of home made instruments look as though plucked straight from the mind of Tim Burton and are combined with loop pedals, guitars and lashings of imagination to create one of the most unusual and entertaining live shows you will ever see."

Splendid magazine calls him "one of the five or ten best singer/songwriters in the world that you've never heard of...an exceptional talent, unique and resistant to comparison, yet fairly accessible even to casual listeners."

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Genuine 100% actual Londoners, THE MEN THAT WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR NOTHING come from a past which probably never happened via a present they didn't want.

Less steampunk and more "SteamPUNK", the British four piece mix Anarchy and Anachrony in equal measure. Expect a robot Sid Vicious covering Slayer in an 1877 East End Music Hall: a murky mix of Doctor Who, Doctor Watson and Doctored History. Not for the faint hearted or those of a delicate disposition.

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SHE MAKES WAR is the solo project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and digital polymath Laura Kidd, whose independent albums "Disarm" and "Little Battles" have gained her an ardent international following over the last three years.

Blending urgent, grungey guitars with processed beats, heady pop melodies and a liberal dusting of glitter, She Makes War has drawn comparisons to artists from Blur to Bat For Lashes, Throwing Muses, Bauhaus, Belly, Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. Her quarterly Breakfast With Apollo community and collaboration nights in London and Bristol and impending launch of digital DIY community My Big Sister aim to support, ignite and inspire.

I tuned in to Marc Riley's 6Music show last night to listen to Clara Luzia's excellent live session then was having a little rehearsal with Cajita for tonight's London gig (with Clara Luzia and Mishkin Fitzgerald in support)...so I missed Marc kindly giving "Butterflies" its first BBC airplay!

Thankfully there's a 7 day listen again option and as always with Marc's show it's a gorgeous collection of music from start to finish and a real privilege to be a part of, sandwiched between Peter Stampfel and Roxy Music, no less!

You can pre-order "The Butterflies Audiovisual EP" (6 songs, 6 videos) now via Bandcamp and get 3 tracks immediately (digital and limited edition physical versions available) PLUS receive Kickstarter-style updates throughout the summer as I put everything together. I wrote about why I'm doing this recently - please have a read.

Thank you so much, Marc! See you tonight, London (and tomorrow, Bristol!).

"Bristol's Laura Kidd - aka She Makes War - can do delicious things on her own, having entirely self-produced two albums of DIY bedroom grunge. Most recent release 'Little Battles' is a triumph of gorgeous melodies, slashy guitars and processed beats. "All my songs deal with the clash between the analogue and digital worlds, she says. "Delete" is about online relationship statuses, but also the prevalence of people using loop pedals but forgetting that the important bit is the song itself". And what songs they are."

[NOTE - of course both my albums were expertly co-produced by Myles Clarke and I would never claim otherwise, though if self-produced in this article means writing, paying for and promoting them myself then yes, that's true! But credit where credit's due...always.]

The track is available on a pay-what-you-can basis (from free to infinity!) here., and make sure you listen to the rest of the songs so far. His album "Tiny Ghosts" is out on July 1st - I can't wait to hear it!

I met Cajita in February 2012 when we played at Tim Eveleigh's marvellous Freedom of Expression night in Croydon, after which he kindly stepped in on guitar for the "Little Battles" album launch and many subsequent gigs as well as starring in the "Minefields" video. This year we released a collaborative single - a remix of "Never Was".

We're going to be collaborating on stage again in London next Friday 28th June for BWA5 - read the gig preview here and find out about my wonderful guest acts Clara Luzia and Mishkin Fitzgerald.

A week on Friday sees the fifth in my regular gig series, Breakfast With Apollo, popping up at the fabulously theatrical Zigfrid Von Underbelly in Hoxton Square.

I started putting on these nights just over a year ago out of frustration at the London gig scene - I felt it was time both performers and audiences were treated better and so I sought to curate eclectic, interesting nights of high quality live music, encouraging more sensible ticket pricing and channelling as much of that money as possible directly to the artists on stage by keeping other costs low. I'm thankful that so far the shows have been a big success, with attendance averaging 100 people per gig.

And so I present to you....

Breakfast With Apollo #5 [aka Can't-get-to-Glasto!]

Friday 28th June 2013 - Zigfrid Von Underbelly, 11 Hoxton Square, London, N1 6NU
She Makes War + Clara Luzia + Mishkin Fitzgerald
+ Buy Tickets
+ Join the Facebook Event - pre-order tickets to receive a special link to a download EP

There will be special guests, onstage duettage and an exclusive early screening of the video for the forthcoming "Butterflies" EP - click here to read about the early Bandcamp pre-order I've set up with Kickstarter privileges.

Lomography UK are running a competition to win two tickets to the show via an interview with Clara - click here to enter.

If you can't make this one don't fret - the Butterflies EP launch is happening on Thursday 29th August and tickets are already available!

MEET MY GUESTS

CLARA LUZIA is a musician from Vienna/Austria who started writing and performing songs in the early 90s, and founded her first band Alalie Lilt in 1999.

In 2005 she left the band and started working on her original material with producer Alexander Nefzger. Her full length CD "Railroad Tracks" was released on Clara's newly founded label Asinella Records in 2006, followed by 2007's "The Long Memory" which gained Clara Luzia the Austrian Music Award AMADEUS. Her 2009 release "The Ground Below" gained her another AMADEUS nomination, as well as massive radio airplay in Germany and Austria.

In April 2012 Clara Luzia and her band plus newest addition pauT on clarinet and bass went to the studio again to record "We Are Fish" - released on March 1 2013.

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MISHKIN FITZGERALD is best known for her role as lead singer and pianist in the British 'orchestral rock' band, Birdeatsbaby. After two albums under her
belt with the birds, she launched her solo career with her first record 'Present Company'. Influenced heavily by classical music and contemporary artists such as Nick Cave and Patti Smith, Mishkin's sound is distinctive, fragile and unapologetic. A mixture of darkly tinged piano ballads and orchestral
cinematic pop tunes. The first single 'Present Company' was played on BBC Sussex Introducing and hailed by Simon Price (Independent, Guardian, Q) as 'stunning'.