Next month, Grumbling Fur embark on their first UK tour and play a one-off show as the Grumbling Fur Time Machine Orchestra alongside Mark Titchner’s Rose installation at London’s Illuminations Festival. This follows last night’s triumphant and magnificent set in support of The Charlatans gig at the Garage, where Tim Burgess joined them singing ‘Lightinsisters’. The gig was the launch for The Charlatans ‘Talking In Tones, which Grumbling Fur have remixed – listen to that below. ‘Lightinsisters’ will be released on November 17th and comes backed with new track ‘Florian’, we’ve a fantastic video that Alexander Tucker, Daniel O’Sullivan and Tim Burgess made on a beach with the artist Michael James Lewis in North Norfolk (an East Anglian true mind-melter), above. You might also like to know that the title for The Charlatans new LP, Modern Nature came about when Derek Jarman’s diary collection fell on Burgess’ head as he worked on solo material with the ‘Fur in Seven Sisters.
"No one realises this about Tim yet, but he’s the Damo Suzuki of Manchester," says Tucker. "He’s really good at improvising and getting a vibe." After discovering Glynnaestra via The Quietus’ 2013 chart, Burgess played ‘The Ballad Of Roy Batty’ on 6Music and kept tweeting of his love for the band. He confesses now that his tweets "were like flares I was firing into the sky, saying I wanted to work with the band". Burgess drove down from the Charlatans studio to "Grumble Land, Fur Island", and the trio instantly clicked, which Tucker says was because everyone was out of their comfort zone. "He had a civilising effect on us," adds O’Sullivan. The result was ‘Lightinsisters’, a track that became a tribute to both O’Sullivan and Tucker’s house and the building in Seven Sisters where Burgess had been living until it was demolished. "It struck me that it was about change," Burgess says. "Changing platforms, changing crafts."Â
As well as their forthcoming dates around the UK (see below) and their support slot with East India Youth at Heaven in November, Daniel O’Sullivan and Alexander Tucker have unveiled a new live incarnation of Grumbling Fur wherein they can explore their desires outside of the boundaries of song. The Grumbling Fur Time Machine Orchestra will be performing a special set as part of London’s Illuminations Festival on Thursday, November 6th. This incarnation of Grumbling Fur is a fluid, flexible entity in which they’ll be joined by other musicians and fellow travellers to perform sets very different from the usual Fur fare. "Composition\spontaneous actions= RA\OM !!!!" they enthuse – a recent set inspired by the sounds and films of Derek Jarman at the Faber Social cleansed many a mind.
NOVEMBER
6th – Grumbling Fur Time Machine Orchestra & Mark Titchner perform Rose, Illuminations Festival, Camden Roundhouse, London: Tickets here
13th – Heaven, London (East India Youth support): Tickets here
15th – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate: Tickets here
20th – Birmingham  Alfie Birds, The Custard Factory, Birmingham: Tickets here
21st – The Compass, Chester: Tickets here
22nd – Wintersong Festival, Glasgow: Tickets from Monorail, Tickets Scotland & Platform
23rd – Soup Kitchen, Manchester: Tickets here
DECEMBER
7th – Brighton Komedia Theatre Bar, Wire’s DRILL Festival: Tickets here
