Field Music to reissue debut album for its 20th anniversary

“As naive as it might sound, we really wanted to make music which didn’t rely on clichés,” says David Brewis, “And, while I don’t think we quite succeeded, I do think that first record stands as something quite unique.” His brother Peter concurs, “I think we were trying to make pop music collages out of everything we were interested in at the time, which felt like quite a lot - we probably listed a few influences on our myspace (like you were meant to do at the time - Beach Boys, Motown, Free Jazz, 20th Century Classical Music, Kate Bush, The Neptunes etc). I suppose we were aiming high - trying to make our own type of music for ourselves.”

The second disc of this new set will include the first ever vinyl release for the 2006 b-sides collection, Write Your Own History, as well as three more rare/unreleased recordings from the band’s formative years, brand new liner notes from former NME writer James Snodgrass, and archive material from the North East music milieu which gave birth to Field Music, The Futureheads, Maximo Park and more.

To mark the anniversary, the original Field Music line up – the Brewis brothers and Andrew Moore (keys) – will play the album and more on three dates this November. To whet the appetite there is a new live session from their local boozer.

“We’ve been having to figure out how to play these old songs again, for our three shows in November. In advance of that, a few weeks back we invited a few friends along to our local to witness us bash through some oldies. And luckily for you, our good pal Ian West expertly filmed this mini-gig so you can watch If Only The Moon Were Up (Locked-in at The Bridge Hotel Vaults) right now.”