John Parish’s soundtrack to She, A Chinese has been fabulously received. The folks over at Drowned In Sound gave it 7/10 and described it as music with “an ancient sensibility driven along by decadent instrumentation”.

Coming up there is an exciting change to find out more about the man behind the music and how the soundtrack was put together. Following a screening of She, A Chinese at the Bristol’s Watershed on 4th May, film-maker Mark Kidel will lead a Q&A session with John the creation of the soundtrack. Tickets here.

There are also two in-depth features about the creation of this soundtrack, and composition in general, over at Drowned In Sound and Largehearted Boy.

SXSW is where buzzes start, and this year was no exception: everyone was talking about Bear In Heaven. And there’s not long before everyone in the UK/Europe can hear for themselves what all the fuss is about. The album Beast Rest Fourth Mouth is out on April 5. The band’s first European tour kicks off on April 15 in Barcelona, and reaches the UK on the April 20 (see full tour dates).

And the album is now available to order from the Dreamboat store in vinyl+MP3 and CD editions. Order the vinyl edition directly from Dreamboat for a chance to win one of ten copies signed by the band (and to choose one of two vinyl colours)!

Here are some of the things people have been saying this week, by the way:

“Bear in Heaven turn out to be AMAZING. There’s an electronic, emo undercurrent. There’s conviction and interesting instrumentation. There are songs that build and explode in the manner of a controlled explosion. It left me very, very excited.” — Huw Stephens

“They’ve Yeasayer’s playfulness, MGMT’s way with a deceptively catchy melody, and The Ruby Suns’ penchant for layering on an infectiously happy haziness that keeps the listener coming back. And the combination is exquisitely managed… expect to hear a lot more about Bear In Heaven over the coming months.” — Mike Diver, BBC Music

Spring is in the air, and that can only mean one thing: the Dreamboat 2010 sampler is here. Get a jump on the upcoming releases in 2010 as well as a couple of our favorites from last year with this 8-track sampler. The CD comes with liner notes and all that nonsense and is packaged in a good looking fold-out digi sleeve. And it’s yours, for free here!

Lots of live action coming up starting tomorrow.

Three-Cornered Moon

Robin Allender’s new two-piece.

19 Feb – Bristol @ The Louisiana
12 Mar – Bristol @ The Folk House

This Is The Kit

Featuring Kate Stables of Whalebone Polly.

12 Feb – London @ The Windmill Brixton
13 Feb – London @ The Witches Hat (Slaughtered Lamb)
14 Feb – Bristol @ The Cube
22 Feb – Paris @ The Shakespear and co.
24 Feb – Paris @ Espace B

Bear In Heaven

New album out in Europe on Dreamboat soon. For US dates between now and early April check the Hometapes site.

European dates from April :
15 Apr – Barcelona, Spain @ Razmataz 3
16 Apr – Madrid, Spain @ Moby Dick
18 Apr – Mallorca, Spain @ Teatre LLoseta
20 Apr – London, England @ The Lexington
21 Apr – Brighton, England @ Freebutt
22 Apr – Manchester, England @ The Deaf Institute
23 Apr – Glasgow, Scotland @ Captain’s Rest
24 Apr – Edinburgh, Scotland @ Sneaky Pete’s
25 Apr – Leeds, England @ Brudenell Social Club
26 Apr – London, England @ Windmill Brixton
27 Apr – Paris, France @ Point FMR
28 Apr – Roubaix, France @ Cave Aux Poetes
29 Apr – Groningen, Netherlands @ Vera
30 Apr – Aarhus, Denmark @ Pop Revo Festival
01 May – Bergen, Norway @ Bergenfest
02 May – Berlin, Germany @ Bang Bang Club
04 May – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow
05 May – Malmo, Sweden @ Debaser
06 May – Goteborg, Sweden @ Jazz Huset
07 May – Stockholm, Sweden @ Hornstull Strand
08 May – Copenhagen, DenMayk @ Loppen
10 May – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
11 May – Antwerpen, Belgium @ Trix
12 May – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Merleyn

John Parish

Composer of the She, A Chinese soundtrack.

06 Mar – Bristol @ The Cube – Haiti Benefit Show

In association with Hometapes, Dreamboat Records will release Bear In Heaven’s Beast Rest Forth Mouth in April. You can stream or download a track on our website from today.

Beast Rest Forth Mouth’s US release in October 2009 triggered an avalanche of praise including Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Music award. Hometapes, in association with Dreamboat Records, are now set to follow up that success with the albums’ 2010 European release. Both CD and vinyl editions feature deluxe packaging and the LP will be available in two colorways.

Following a springtime North American tour with Cymbals Eat Guitars, including a stop at SXSW, Bear In Heaven will make their first trip to Europe for a month-long tour in April in May.

Lots more information will follow, including details on ordering.