Jarcrew
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| Jarcrew | |
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| Origin | Ammanford, Wales |
| Years active | 1999 – 2005 |
| Genres | Electronica/Punk |
| Labels | Gut Records |
| Members | Kelson Mathias Rich Williams Tom Clark Rhodri Thomas Ben Milner (1999-2004) |
Jarcrew was a five-piece progressive rock band from Ammanford, Wales. They were a relatively well-known underground band (Jarcrew never received tremendous critical acclaim) for approximately five years between 2000 and their early 2005 split. They played a bizarre mixture of electronica/house and prog-rock/punk/funk that baffled audiences up and down the UK (despite their somewhat unapproachable commercial nature they were offered some very lucrative support slots, including an elusive support for Scots rockers Biffy Clyro). Since disbanding over two years ago, several Jarcrew off-shoots have emerged, most notably Future of the Left, a band that contains Jarcrew frontman Kelson alongside ex-mclusky members Andrew Falkous and Jack Egglestone.
Starting in a Welsh mining town, Jarcrew qualified for assistance under the Community Music Wales scheme (a system established to assist bands coming out of the Welsh valleys, be it with monetary support or the release of a record to start a band off on the right track). In 2001 they released their first single, "Paris and The New Math" on Complete Control Music (Community Music Wales' record label, the same label that was responsible for the very first People in Planes release back when they were known as Robots In The Sky) soon followed by the band's debut album Breakdance Euphoria Kids (a line from track 8 of Breakdance Euphoria Kids, "Money Shot") and the single "Capobaby". The album wound up in the hands of Gut Records who offered to remaster the recording (as it was deemed too acerbic and not radio friendly enough for general release). Only half the album was eventually remixed with the original recordings being used for the rest of the album and single. The band agreed to this and with that, they were signed to a national label and were touring up and down the country, as well as providing radio sessions to the likes of BBC and XFM in London (the latter of which can still be found on the XFM website).
19th December 2004 saw the band's final show (with support from long-time friends People in Planes in a small venue in Cardiff) and early 2005 saw the promise of a new album, which the band assured the world was completely written and ready to be recorded (which was evident from the amount of unfamiliar material the band threw into their set from as early as 2003, shortly after their first - and last - album was remixed and re-released by Gut Records). Hot on the heels of this news came the news that Jarcrew had disbanded. No official reason was cited but it is now common knowledge amongst Jarcrew aficianados that the band split due to Rhod Thomas becoming a full-fledged Jehovah's Witness.
While rumours of a forthcoming reformation persist, Kelson (along with final Jarcrew bassist Hywel "Ricardo" Evans - see Band members) has been collaborating with surviving mclusky members Andrew "Falco" Falkous and Jack Egglestone. The group, named Future of the Left, released their debut single ("Fingers Become Thumbs!") on January 29th 2007 and an album is expected in Spring.
[edit] Band members
At their commercial peak around about 2003, the band consisted of:
- Kelson Mathias - Vocals, keyboards/synthesizers
- Rhodri Thomas - Drums, vocals
- Rich Williams - Guitar
- Tom Clark - Guitar
- Ben Milner - Bass and vocals
However, in 2004 the band saw fit to part ways with Milner - not long before an impending tour (Williams and Clark split the bass duties and sometimes left the bass out completely). In the few shows the band did towards the end of their career, session musicians and bassists from other bands were employed. A man introduced as "Ricardo" - who, according to Kelson, did not speak a word of English but was "fluent in the language of rock" - was the band's bassist for their appearance at the 2004 Compass Point Festival in Cardiff (this later turned out to be Hywel Evans, who would remain Jarcrew's bass player up until their split in 2005, and later went on to form an instrumental rock band called Truckers Of Husk - he was also credited as a songwriter on an early Future of the Left track, entitled "The Fibre Provider"). The band claim the split with Milner was amicable, but this is thought to be a press-friendly explanation; Milner claims he was ejected against his will (he did so publicly via the medium of several well-read e-zines, such as Jarcrew champions Drowned In Sound).
[edit] Discography
- Paris and The New Math (single, 13 May 2002, Complete Control Music)
- Breakdance Euphoria Kids (album, 27 June 2002, Complete Control Music)
- Capobaby (single, 16 September 2002, Complete Control Music)
- Paris and The New Math (single, 20 October 2003, Gut Records)
- Jarcrew (album, 3 November 2003, Gut Records)
The band also featured on a number of compilations, including the Fierce Panda Records compilation "The Squirrel EP", which was released on CD and a set of 7" vinyl records. Also featured were fellow Welshmen Funeral for a Friend, politically-fuelled (and, now, also defunct) punk-rockers Million Dead, The Copperpot Journals, Engerica and thisGIRL.
