Press Releases

In the last two years, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club has performed in three forests, two churches and one circus. Now the four piece indie rock band from Wales who released their second album, Love On An Oil Rig on 14 September 2009, have announced they will play at another unique location - National Museum Cardiff.

As part of the SWN programme of events around Cardiff (www.swnfest.co.uk), they will appear at the Museum at 3:30pm on Thursday, 22 October 2009 at the Sight of Sound art exhibition, which opened at National Museum Cardiff on 25 September 2009. Entry to the gig is free but please book at the main desk on arrival.

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club first visited National Museum Cardiff to meet Art Curator Bryony Dawkes, who introduced the members to some the country's best art pieces. Inspired by pioneer photographer Roger Fenton's depiction of Melrose Abbey, they left to write a musical response to the work as part of the Museum's RESPOND project.

As part of the Museum's Music 09 programme, RESPOND has seen artists and curators working together across Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales's seven sites, to produce a musical response to the nation's collections.

Adam Taylor from The Victorian English Gentlemens Club's explains more about their particular track:

"Nineteenth century photography had longer exposure times than its modern equivalent and action had to be staged. It's those few moments of stillness that this song is about. Most importantly, it is not a soundscape for the photograph - it's a song written after looking at a photograph."

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club's new track Mr Fenton and his picture of Melrose Abbey (2009) is featured in the Sight of Sound exhibition and is also free to download from the Museum's website from 22 October - www.museumwales.ac.uk.

National Museum Cardiff is one of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales' seven national museums. The others are St Fagans: National History Museum, the National Roman Legion Museum, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum and the National Waterfront Museum.

Entry to National Museum Cardiff is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

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For further information, please contact Catrin Mears, Communications Officer on 029 2057 3185 or 07920 027067 or email catrin.mears@museumwales.ac.uk.

• The Victorian English Gentlemens Club

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club were born when Adam Taylor and Louise Mason met at Art college in Cardiff. Using their combined interest in Art and experimental guitar music they began writing music solely influenced by the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. A year later, the debut album was written, and the band signed to Fantastic Plastic Records, London.

Along with drummer Emma Daman, the band toured for 2 years - doing extensive headline tours of Europe and UK, playing at SXSW 08, and support tours with Future of The Left, Noisettes, Deerhoof, and British Sea Power.

Then they locked themselves away, wrote 100 songs, disposed of 88 humanely, and have now laid out the remaining dozen on a 3" silver platter, for your dirty soul to revel in.

'Love On An Oil Rig' takes triple distortion, the most obscure of harmonies and refracts them through the prism of pop. Where the first record wore its influences on its sleeve, this one stands alone. The stripped down primal ideas are defined and sharp, retaining their well-developed Art school sensibilities of the absurd, the outrageous and the other.

Since the recording, a new drummer and fourth club member has been recruited to enhance the ferocity of their sound, taking the noise to the next level with offset guitars, shouts and wails.

The band has recruited Sir Dan Lazenby's fine stickmanship, and Steph Jones's cranky noise guitar.

They still live in Cardiff. They collectively enjoy effects pedals, Sonic Youth, bells, taxidermy seagulls, yellow mackintoshes, distortion, bonsai, black gaffer tape, bone and ivory dominoes and Wire.