It's been a while

Gary writes:

Where to begin? As the title of this post says, it's been a while since our last post here, but we've been very very busy.

In October we played our first show in Manchester as part of the Beat:Cancer live events, sharing the stage with MEMMAKER, Cease2Xist, Tapewyrm and Nature Of Wires. The gig was a great success, and we had some great singalong moments, particularly during a cheeky cover version of Bodyrockers "I Like The Way You Move". The important thing - the fundraising - was also very successful, raising around £1500 on the night. Massive thanks to Mark Haigh and all the folks at Beat:Cancer who went above and beyond as always.

Before and after the Beat:Cancer show we've been working on our new album. Entitled "Rise", the 8 track album will be released on 14th April. As at the time of writing this, the album has been sent out for review and has had tracks played on radio shows as far afield as Australia.

The album will be available as a physical CD and a digital download from our Bandcamp store, as well as digitally via iTunes, Amazon, et al.

We're hopeful that you'll like the album, and that we can secure some live shows to show off the new material.

Until next time....

How Time Flies

Gary writes:

It's been almost year since my last post here (slaps wrists), but despite this we've been busy boys...

After the release of "You Know What You Are" in May 2015, we played at the last Cybersonik festival in London, where we had an unintentional glitch-inspired set, thanks to a temperamental laptop. The upshot of the technical issues means we've got an amended live rig, and we're now laptop-free live.

Following that show, we played at the Beat:Cancer / Club Recall Halloween Ball in October, be-decked in facepaint as "the un-dead with Swag". This was the acid test for the new live rig, and I was very happy with how flawlessly everything worked.

2016 has seen us mostly in "writing mode" with gigs very thin on the ground, and right now we have only one show planned for this year, doing our bit for Beat:Cancer and playing at the Manchester show with Memmaker, Cease2Xist, Tapewyrm and Nature of Wires.

While we've yet to determine our set for this upcoming show, plans are underway.

The bulk of our time at the moment is being taken up with work on our next release, and we've got some really good songs in the pipeline (even if we say so ourselves). Vocals are all tracked and we're currently in the production and mixing phases. At present we have nine tracks, and the plan is for an album with those nine tracks.

Until next time...

#YKWYA - A New EP (And Other News)

Gary writes:

Our most recent EP, entitled "You Know What You Are" was finally released on 22nd May, and as I alluded to in my previous post, due to no label interest at the time, we decided to self-release the EP once we had garnered additional remixes of selected tracks from our talented peers Cease2Xist, Ruinizer, Paresis and X-KiN. X-KiN's remix of "Twist" took the song in a whole different direction, having Anthony's performance mostly replaced with the soulful jazzy vocals of Veronick. Shaken and not stirred, if you will.

The EP had a brief, yet successful pre-order period which saw it being eagerly snapped up as well as getting several glowing reviews as well. Here's a sampling of what some the reviews had to say:

"The band are reaching their potential and cranking out some great songs that will appeal to the current climate." - Intravenous Magazine

"Goodbye is an example why I feel that Defeat are true industrial magicians" Wicked Spins Radio

"There is still that expected and inescapable catchiness, each track whipping up vivacious energies and anthemic temptation but equally they devour the most imposing and darkest corners of emotion and life." - Ringmaster Review

Following the EP release, we played at this year's Cybersonik festival in London, returning to the stage at Slimelight once again. Although the set was beset with a recalcitrant laptop that skipped the backing track randomly, we were very well received by those who had ventured out to see us. A highlight for me was hearing the crowd singing along with us, particularly on "Resist", a track from YKWYA with a somewhat anthemic chorus. It was a real "goosebumps" moment.

As I write this, we've taken delivery of some new kit which means no more laptop live, so no skipping hard disks at future shows. We will be venturing out live with this set-up soon - details of which will be revealed soon.

Until next time....

Gary

A Lot Can Happen In A Few Months

Gary writes:

It's been a while since I've posted here, and a lot has happened in the intervening weeks.

First of all, we've completed the new tracks for the new EP, and these have been mixed and mastered. I have to say I'm very happy with how the tracks have turned out, and I'd go so far to say that the six tracks we've done are the best work we have done to date. We're currently in the process of gathering remixes for the EP, and are currently looking at self-releasing the EP in the new year.

The choice to self-release the EP became an obvious one after the closure of Juggernaut Music Group, who we were in discussions with up until the label's demise a few months ago. Going to other labels in the scene with the begging bowl is not our style, and as we've not had any approaches from any other labels (Juggernaut being the only ones to show any interest in working with us), we've decided to do our own thing and self release as it does seem to be the most logical way forward for us at present. We're not a so-called "name" band in the scene, and I suspect that the labels out there either simply don't know we exist or are just not as passionate about our music as we are.

On the flip side of any perceived EP release-related woes, Anthony and I played arguably our best gig ever opening the proceedings at the first Beat:Cancer LIVE festival. Being first on the bill is always tough, as crowd numbers are usually low for the opening bands. However, this proved to be the exception for this gig and hearing the crowd roar after finishing the opening track spurred both of us on to give a great performance, and the show become one big party. It was an experience I will never forget, and I'm eternally grateful to Beat:Cancer supremo Mark Haigh for inviting Defeat to be part of proceedings. We had a blast tearing up the stage with Biomechanimal, Ruinizer, Cease2Xist, Dirty K, and ESA: Electronic Substance Abuse, and it seemed that the new tracks we performed (which will be on the EP) went down very well.

With the festive season soon upon us, we're taking things easy at the moment, gearing up for the EP release, which we'll be announcing the date for soon.

Until next time...

An Apology And More EP News

Gary writes:

I'd like to start this update with an apology.

As those who follow and know us may know, we had secured the opening slot for last month's Cybersonik Festival after The .Invalid was unable to appear. However, illness on my part prevented us from playing the show. I'd like to extend my apologies to those who wanted to see us play, but also to promoters Synchrotrax and the other bands on the bill, particularly good friends Ruinizer and Machine Rox.

However on a more positive note, work on the EP has continued unabated and as of today, we have 5 of the 6 tracks now mixed and mastered, as well have having a storming remix come in from Cease2Xist. We hope to have the final sixth track mixed and mastered very soon and our hope is that with the EP we can grab the attention and release the EP via a label - fingers very much crossed on that one.

On the mastering front, I'm working with erstwhile labelmates Ghost In The Static on mastering their next EP, with steady progress being made. I don't wish to steal the guys' thunder, but the songs I've worked on so far are belters and this new release promises to be a brilliant follow up to "Fallout".

Until next time...

New EP news / Cybersonik 2014

Gary writes:

Since our last update, we've been busy getting our next E.P. ready, and we have tracked the vocals for the E.P. We're currently in the mixing stage, having mixed one of the six tracks already, with good progress being made on the remaining five tracks. We're still on the look out for a label following SDR's closure at the start of the 2014, and we're hopeful the E.P. will garner the right kind of attention and get us signed up again, as being a part of a label "family" is something that we've missed since SDR closed.

On the live front, we have stepped into the breach and will be opening Cybersonik again this year (having opened last year's event).  We're looking forward to playing in London again and will be previewing a new song from the upcoming EP. The show promises to be a belter with good friends Ruinizer and Machine Rox also on the bill. The full lineup for Cybersonik is on the Facebook event page here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1438240139757022

Hopefully we'll see some of you who read this at Cybersonik.

Until next time...

What A Difference Three Months Makes

Gary writes:

Well, it certainly has been an eventful few months since I last wrote here.

Autumn saw the bombshell that Static Distortion Records, the label we came to see as extended family, was to close it's doors as a conventional label at the end of 2013. The SDR artists remain a unit in the form of an artists collective, but it was very much the end of an era. Our thanks go to Steve Fearon for welcoming us into the fold and kicking arse for us during our time with SDR. We have forged new friendships, which I hope will remain for years to come.

In terms of the releases I've already alluded to in previous posts, the video and single for Coffin was released, and we're exceptionally thankful for those who submitted remixes for the single. Special mention must go to Jay Ruin, whose Ruinizer remix of the track features as the lead track on the single and also is used for the video soundtrack. Our most recent release is RE:LAPSE, which is a track for track remix version of [seek help], which is packed with storming remixes and well worth checking out, especially given that it's a free download!

The last month has seen me mastering tracks for Cease2Xist - an artist I have the greatest admirition and respect for. I'm currently mastering the upcoming EP/album "WIYGN?", and I can safely say this is the best mastering work I have done to date. You'll get to hear "WIYGN?" soon, and I promise it'll be worth it. Dayve Yates has put together a belter of a release, which also features a Defeat remix of the title track.

As far as the future is concerned, the coming months see us returning to Welwyn Garden City to play support for good friends Nine Day Decline (March 7th at The Green Room) and recording some new songs for a new EP.

Until the next time...

News From The Front - October 2013

Gary writes:

Phew! What a whirlwind the last few months have been since the last update. Since the release of [seek help] - which has been well received by those who have heard it - I've been very busy remixing tracks for other artists, including Tactical Module ("Into Exile") as well as fellow SDR labelmates Machine Rox ("Night Riots") and Cryogenic Echelon ("Pandora").

Things have been a bit sparse on the gig front, with us playing only one show at the end of August, with rock band Sunsets The Day and the awesome Jesus Hooligan. If you can, I urge you to check out Jesus Hooligan - Industrial/Punk/Folk that is infectious, raucous and a lot of fun!

Away from the gig front, I've been busy devoting time to not only remixing tracks for other artists, but also mastering Cryogenic Echelon's recent album "Taste Of Failure" - you can hear the results at http://staticdistortionrecords.co.uk/album/taste-of-failure. I also have secured another mastering job with another artist I have the highest respect for, and am very much looking forward to working with them...

As 2013 draws to a close, Ant and I are putting a video of the album track "Coffin" together, to coincide with a free single release of the track. We've got some excellent remixes of the track from the likes of Haru Yasumi, Ruinizer and DEP lined up for the single release and we'll be giving out more details of this soon.

Plans are also in place for a free release of an alternate version of [seek help], which will follow the running order of the original album, but contain alternate versions of the songs, many of which have been remixed for us by our very talented peers. We expect this to be available shortly after the single release.

Until the next time...

An Industrial-tinged Summer Solstice beckons

Gary writes:

As I write this, we're two days away from releasing our debut album, after what has been a very busy time recording and mixing. The album was mastered and delivered to SDR at the end of April, and we've have three positive reviews so far, with one even scoring 10/10! Links to the reviews are below:

http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/defeat-seek-help/

http://crimsonmoonzine.com/defeat_review

http://www.intravenousmag.co.uk/2013/06/review-defeat-seek-help.html

Feedback we've had on the tracks we've previewed on Soundcloud has also been really positive, and the mood in the camp is buoyant as release time draws ever closer. We are most definitely very proud of this first album.

We also played our first ever London gig on 8th June, opening the Cybersonik festival. We arrived at the venue with time to spare, and checked out some of the other bands going through their soundcheck. Then our soundcheck came and disaster nearly struck. It's a bit of an in-joke amongst musicians about the reliability of Behringer gear, but our keyboard mixer (which had worked flawlessly for the past 10 years or so) decided to throw a fit in the soundcheck and went wrong - the right channel on the main mix was completely dead, meaning we only had the left channel! Luckily we were able to run our kit directly to PA, bypassing the mixer. With that sorted, we were able to soundcheck and then play the gig itself without any problems. The feedback we got from the crowd was very positive, with several people commenting on how clear and punchy our sound was. I was also able to meet many of those I only "knew" virtually. All in all, for us the gig was ultimately a big success.

I've also been recruited by Mark Haigh, head honcho of Draconic Elimination Projects (DEP) and prime instigator of the Beat:Cancer compilation to mix the next "DEP feat. MiXE1" album. Although it's early days, things are going really well, and I'm really enjoying working on the project.

Until next time.

News from the front.

Since our last update way back in February, we've been busy working on our debut album. We're now very happy to announce that the album is all finished, mixed and mastered, and we're very proud of the work we've done. The album is called [seek help] and will be released on 22nd June on Static Distortion Records. The album will also be available on iTunes, Amazon and the other usual online outlets, but the CD will only be available on the SDR webstore. There's a preview video for the album on YouTube - go to http://www.youtube.com/defeatuk and check it out.

Before the album release date, we will be opening this year's Cybersonik festival at Electrowerkz/Slimelight in London on June 8th. It's our first gig of the year, and without doubt the biggest for us to date. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

In other news...

Since wrapping the mixing of the album, I'm currently involved with MiXE1, performing mixing duties for their forthcoming album, as well as undertaking remix projects from Cryogenic Echelon and Biomechanimal (who are also at Cybersonik). Another future project is mixing the upcoming D.E.P. (Draconic Elimination Projects) album - more on this as it develops.

Until the next time...

G.

2013 - The story so far...

We're now into the second month of 2013, having averted Mayan-predicted disaster at the end of 2012 and we're currently busy beavering away at getting the album ready for release. At the time of writing this, we have most of the tracks at about 75% completion in terms of mixing, with one track "in the bag" completely. We're well on the way to having this completed very soon.

Cybersonik edges ever-closer, and even though it's still some way off we are starting to think about getting the set together and looking at what tracks to perform. There will likely be a mix of material from the EP and the new album (which we hope to have released by the time Cybersonik is upon us).

We're also very happy and proud to be involved in a project called Beat:Cancer. Our good friend and producer extraordinaire Nik Hodges has kindly remixed a track which will be exclusive to this very worthwhile cause. Nik produced the "Outbursts!" EP, and was only too happy to provide what is an absolutely fantastic remix for the Beat:Cancer CD. Special mention should also go to Mark Haigh, the mastermind behind the whole B:C project.

Until next time...

G.

The end of the world next week? I think not!

As 2012 comes to a close we have some very exciting news. Mark your calenders, because we are opening next year's Cybersonik festival on June 8th


It promises to be a really good night and we're really looking forward to it. We're looking at changing the live set to incorporate new songs that will be going on the album we're working on at the moment.

Our return gig that we played in August is up on YouTube in it's entirety for those who want a taster of what is to come.



Until next time,

G.

Autumn update

The blur that has been (and continues to be) 2012 marches on unabated.

The EP has been out for a few months now, and we're gearing up towards the release of a remix album containing remixes the EP tracks 'Outburst' and 'Parasite'. This album will be available as a download only on 27th October, and best of all, it's completely free.

We were able to call upon Static Distortion label mates G of Ghost in the Static, Digital Diktator, Digital Deformation, Cease2Xist, The Open Eyed Dreamer and Axial Point, who have all provided very different takes on the tracks as they are presented on the EP. We also have a remix by Machine Rox as well as a remix by our good selves.

We also made our first foray into promo videos and filmed and edited a video for the EP track "Parasite". The video, made on a shoestring budget, captures the spirit of an un-hinged news broadcast, and is on our YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/defeatuk

Aside from the remix album, we have also played our first live shows in a long time too. The first, at The Square in Harlow, Essex on 16th August went as hitch-free as we could have hoped, and the whole gig is also available to view on our YouTube channel. The second gig was down at Plug 'n' Play in Reading on September 14th supporting label mates Ghost in the Static.

Right now, we're putting together demos of tracks for a forthcoming album, which will take us into 2013 and beyond.

Until next time,

G.

It's Unleashed!

Well, our debut EP "Outbursts!" is now out there in the big, wide world and available via the usual outlets (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). CDs are available from the Static Distortion Records webstore, or from us directly - contact us via our Facebook page for more details. If you haven't got the EP yet - go and get it today and grab yourself a slab of electro-industrial fun.

We're really pleased with how the EP has turned out, both in the packaging of the physical (and virtual) product, and particularly in the production, mixing and mastering of the EP. Huge thanks to Mr. Nik Hodges for all of his help and guidance. I think it's fair to say without his encouragement for us to get back in the saddle properly, this E.P. may have not come to fruition.

Also, massive thanks to Steve Fearon at SDR for stumbling across our "rough" version of Outburst on Reverbnation and signing us to SDR on the strength of it and a conversation at Electrowerkz back in May. Steve has kicked ass for us on numerous occasions already, and I hope that we can repay the faith he has shown by signing us.

Finally on the thankyous: a massive thanks to all our new friends and fans (i.e. you guys) for supporting us. We hope to be gigging on a relatively regular basis, so hope to meet some of you in the flesh in the future.

For those who can make it to see us, we're playing at The Square in Harlow on Thursday 16th August, which will be our first gig in a very long time - it would be great to see you.

Until next time,

G.

Release news!

Our first EP, "Outbursts!" is now available for pre-order at the Static Distortion Records webstore - http://staticdistortionrecords.co.uk/.
Pre-order either download or CD and get a free download of "Parasite".

The video for Parasite is being assembled and should be available soon.

G.

Exciting times are beckoning

The last month or so has been a blur. We have signed to an independent record label, and have now completed the EP. It's all recorded, mixed and mastered, and will be release on 13th July as a download at various outlets including iTunes and Play.com. We also have the EP available on CD as you can see here:

We've been shooting a video, which is currently being edited, and preparations for live outings are also well underway.

More to come next time...

G.

Video shoot...

Our video shoot for "Parasite" earlier today went really well, and we have about 4 hours of footage that we now need to sort through and edit together. We decided on the 1930's East European politburo look for most of the shoot, and we are really impressed with the footage we have.

Work on the video now begins in earnest, and we'll keep you posted to how things progress.

Until next time,

G.

Situation Report June 1st 2012

We're currently getting a live set together, and everything is coming together nicely. Keyboard sounds are tentatively programmed for about half of the set, but need organising and auditioning through a big PA along with everything else to get levels right, etc., and we hope to do this in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we'll be filming some footage for a video we're going to be putting together for at least one of the tracks on our forthcoming EP, which is being release via Static Distortion Records.

We'll be filming in HD and will also be using green screen, which is a first for us so it's all exciting stuff!

Halfway there...

Today was a very good day at Defeat HQ, as it saw us reach the halfway point in terms of mixing tracks for the EP. Two tracks are now "in the bag", with another two still to go. We're currently looking to be ready to master and release the EP at the end of April/beginning of May.

It's all looking (and sounding) great.

Until next time,

G.

 

The mixing phase begins

Work on our soon to be released/unleashed 4 track EP continues apace. All the vocals are now tracked and sounding great - Ant's done a fantastic job, and his vocals have a menacing growl about them.

The next stage is to get the mixing of the songs underway.

Onwards and upwards.

G.