Sentient sonic anarchists Black Futures have released ‘Body & Soul’, the newest offering to be taken from their debut album, Never Not Nothing, which is out August 30 via Music For Nations. ‘Body & Soul’ showcases two integral pieces of the Black Futures formula – the calm and the chaos. Catchy and infectious melodies swell throughout the verses, creating a false sense of security which is shattered by the thunderous distortion of the ground-quaking chorus.

Featuring footage from Expedition 001, which saw the band circumnavigate the globe in one trip taking in the vast desolation of Joshua Tree – where they erected a monolithic logo in the middle of a hippy commune and played a strung-out gig as witnessed in the video for previous single ‘Trance’ – to performing an outrageous set in an abandoned Russian Cold War bunker in Berlin where Soviet warheads had been aimed at the West.

The Expedition also saw them spend time in the Far East where the duo filmed the video for ‘Body & Soul’ in the metropolis of Tokyo. Amid tropical heat and the anarchic influence of the city’s punk clubs, the video features a breakdancing hazmat dancer whose energy and movement mirrors the track’s infectious intensity.

Acclaimed for their raucous and wild shows, Black Futures have made a name for themselves following a string of incredible performances supporting Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes as well as a number of mind-blowing festival appearances at All Points East, Camden Rocks, Download Festival and Glastonbury.

They’re now set to take their anarchic live show and army of hazmats to Kendal Calling and Boomtown to end their triumphant summer, before heading out across the UK throughout October supporting Black Peaks.

BLACK FUTURES TOUR DATES 2019

FESTIVAL DATES

28/07 – Cumbria, Kendal Calling Festival

09/08 – Winchester, Boomtown Festival

09/11 – Lincoln, 2Q Festival

IN STORE PERFORMANCES

30/08 – Rough Trade East – Album Release Show

31/08 – Banquet, Kingston

02/09 – Rough Trade, Nottingham

03/09 – Rough Trade, Bristol

04/09 – HMV, Birmingham

05/09 – HMV, Manchester

BLACK PEAKS TOUR

03/10 – Manchester, Gorilla

04/10 – Aberdeen, The Lemon Tree

05/10 – Glasgow, Garage

06/10 – Birmingham, O2 Institute

08/10 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms

10/10 – Bristol, The Fleece

11/10 – London, Camden Electric Ballroom

Much-loved Welsh band Funeral For A Friend are back, for two shows only, in aid of a cause very close to their hearts. The special performances will take place at The Globe in Cardiff on October 28 and at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on October 29.

In a message from the band, they explain the motivation behind playing these gigs and provide some further insight into what to expect: “FFAF Family, When we left the stage on May 21st 2016 at London’s Kentish Town Forum, we all agreed that it was the perfect way to end Funeral For A Friend. We’d toured the UK one last time, playing some of the biggest shows we’d performed in years, in front of our friends and families. It was the perfect ending. Since then, we’ve been asked many times - ‘do you think you’ll ever come back?’ and the answer has always been a resounding ‘no’, because there was never any reason to.

Until now.

Recently, a man who can quite legitimately lay claim to being the world’s biggest FFAF fan (both literally and figuratively!), our friend Stuart ‘Big Stu’ Brothers, has been stricken with a terrible illness which has ultimately led to a terminal prognosis. Last month, Stu was given a few short weeks to live by his Doctors. As Stu’s friends, we wanted to do something to help; particularly for his family and 3 young sons, who are going through unspeakable trauma right now. We discussed the possibility of auctioning off some FFAF memorabilia (which we’ll still do), but it became apparent that the way in which we could best help Stu was to perform some fundraising shows, with the proceeds going directly to his family.

So, on October 28th and 29th, at the Cardiff Globe and London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire respectively, Funeral for a Friend will be performing two more shows to benefit the Brothers family. Being that Stu was an old-school fan right from the very start, we will mainly be performing material from the early part of our career circa 2002-2007. Joining Matt, Kris, Gav and Rich for the shows will be guitarist Darran Smith (who left the band in 2010) and drummer/vocalist Ryan Richards, who left in 2012.

Additionally, a fundraising page has been set up for Stu’s family. If you can, please give generously to a great man and a great cause. 

Thank you, and we’ll see you in October.

Matt, Kris, Gav, Rich, Darran and Ryan. 

FFAF.”

I’m sure the irony is not lost on fans. Let’s hope Bullet For My Valentine don’t follow suit.