Location:

London, UK

Biography:

Custom Blue is the music written by Alex Pilkington and Simon Shippey…..with a little help from Mark Tucker, Dirty Roy, Steve Musters, Jeff Mann, Spacek, Mark Pritchard, Dave Brinkworth, Crispin Weir, Chris Taylor amongst others. With a number of singles under their belt, starting in 2002 with ‘EPOne’ featuring a Mark Pritchard mix of ‘One More Time’, followed by the acoustic ‘Maya’, psychedelic ‘Concentration’ and gentle ‘In A Rut’. ‘EPOne’ was swiftly followed by the critically acclaimed album ‘All Follow Everyone’ which, amongst others, includes the single ‘So Low’, glorious ‘Structure’ and ‘Hazel’s Groove’ as well as production from Spacek and Mark Pritchard. The single ‘So Low’ was released to promote the LP featuring remixes by Mark Pritchard (vinyl only), Cinematic Orchaestra and Andy Votel. (2002)

A gap followed before Custom Blue released the ‘Under the Counter’ 7” on Farout Recordings the prequel to the new album ‘All Will Be Well’ (working title) (2006/7). In the break, Custom Blue also created the Hoighty Beaver album, produced the majority of the well received Beth Hirsch LP ‘Titles and Idols’, Simon also released solo projest The Eye, and Custom Blue also remixed the recent Ed Vallance single ‘Deep End’, while Alex has played guitar in Brazil with Azymuth on the 7” ‘Morning’ released on Farout Records (2006) and Arthur Verocai, who’s new album will be released in 2007 – and also with The Beauty Room, Peacefrog Records, on the Giles Peterson show on BBC Radio One. Simon continues to play with Ed Vallance currently and has been guitarist for the upcoming album.

Review:

Custom Blue’s debut album “All Follow Everyone” was released via DJ Ross Allen’s Island records A&R stable Island Blue on April the 15th 2002. The album and debut single “So Low” (released on the 8th April) had been widely acclaimed throughout the music press.

The fluid grooves and restless heart searching of ‘All Follow Everyone’ stalk a sundown landscape. It could be the empty streets and dimly lit bars of an alienating metropolis. Equal it could take you to distant shores with the moon rising and space to think of the girl or guy that got away. Certainly, its going to take you on a mesmeric journey like no other album so far this decade.

While your regular British mid-twenties song writing pair have been busy with crash chords and histrionics, Alex Pilkington and Simon Shippey have allowed shadows, soul, string sections and electronically nuanced suggestion to seep into the acoustic songwriter heart of their work.

Small ideas and fashion loyalties have been set aside and the needs of the songs have been allowed to lead. So light another cigarette, pour a glass of something dark and sweet and let their haunting, poignant, sublime songs go to work on memories good, bad and yet to form.

Plenty of great atmosphere, “In a Rut” is a particularly beautiful moment… can’t wait for the album” – (5/5) MUZIK

“All Follow Everyone” is a collection of unforgettably well-written, well arranged songs. Graceful, thoughtful and poignant – (4/5) SEVEN

That was then….

Farrout Records and a whole new Custom Blue dawn awaits. New album (working title) ‘All Will be Well’ is expected for release in 2007.

Links:

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/customblue

Custom Blue - http://www.customblue.co.uk

Tunes: