And So I Watch You From Afar

This self made instrumental juggernaut have been razing Belfast, Northern Ireland to the ground with their remarkable live performance which have been described by the press as stunning and unmissable and for which they achieved gig of the month from NME. After selling out of their much anticipated debut EP in just 6 weeks the mammoth mind melting machine that is And So I Watch You From Afar have been tipped by all the Irish and Northern Irish press, had high praise from Kerrang! and become a firm favourite on BBC Radio 1 receiving nationwide airplay on the Huw Stephens show and having recorded a live session for Radio 1.

As well as writing, playing, producing, designing and self releasing this instrumental debut mini album ‘This Is Our Machine And Nothing Can Stop It’ the guys have just sound tracked a short film and finished a collaboration EP titled ‘Tonight The City Burns’ featuring the vocal talents of some of Northern Ireland’s finest new talent. The EP was released on Oct 17th at a packed-to-the-rafters, sold out show to 400 rabid fans in Belfast. Featured in all music publications and newspapers in the country (AU, Irish News, Belfast Telegraph, Hotpress etc) the show was considered to be the biggest night of the year and was NME.com gig of the month. Uniting some of the key new bands in Northern Ireland, LaFaro, Driving By Night, Cruz and Cahir O’Doherty of Fighting With Wire, the show featured live performances of the individual bands, whose vocalists then combined with ASIWYFA to create a behemoth of mutual talent, a fitting reflection of the band’s integral position and lynch pin like status where they beat at the very heart of Belfast’s extraordinary music scene. Operating their machine with heartfelt punk ethics of bands such as Fugazi, the band charge themselves with the duty to build, support and cultivate Belfast’s positive musical movement, now taking the good word (albeit instrumentally) to the streets of the mainland UK and beyond. They are just back from a UK †tour having played top headline shows as well as supporting the likes of High on Fire, 65 Days of Static, Crippled Black Pheonix†and YOURCODENAMEIS:MILO.

Having been only together since 2006, these ambitious foursome have the drive of some kind of bastard big tank and have managed to build not just their own reputation to towering heights but also that of a whole city, give them a second and they’ll be curating All Of Tomorrow’s Parties. This is their machine and it certainly doesn’t look like anything can stop it.

A representation of this machine is featured in the album artwork by renowned artist Mr Friers. The mini album runs over 8 tracks where the delicate minutiae of fidgeting rhythms in an optimistic dream state are steamrollered by a colossal sonic barrage of apocalyptic proportions. The debut full length self-titled album is released on April 13th 2009 when the band return to tour the UK - so watch out, And So I Watch From Afar are the bull and we are the china shop.

And ASIWYFA are :

GUITAR | Rory Friers
GUITAR | Tony Wright
BASS | Johnny Adger
DRUMS | Chris Wee

maybeshewill, gifts from enola, adebisi shank, caspian, 65daysofstatic, if these trees could talk