The Band: HEY SHOLAY

The Release: CLOUD, CASTLES, ______ EP

The Formats: SIX TRACK ORANGE VINYL 12¬ù & DIGITAL EP

The Label: FIERCE PANDA (CATALOGUE NUMBER NING 261)

The Release Date: JUNE 3RD 2013

The Tracklisting:
1. 'WDYRWMTB'
2. 'IF THAT BIG OLD FAT YELLOW THING IN THE SKY WAS TO BURN OUT I WOULD GRAB YOU BY THE HAND AND FLOAT OFF INTO ORBIT (A SONG FOR ROBERT WYATT)'
3. DJJJDJJJDDDHHHH'
4. B IS FOR BERLIN
5. 'LOVE AND HAT (A TATTOO ON THE KNUCKLES)'
6. 'A MARIGOLD (CALENDULA OFFINALIS)'

The Story So Far: Hey Sholay remain a five-piece group of musicians, filmmakers and artists from Sheffield and Leeds, who continue to play a breed of psychedelic independent pop with a hint of the Northern Lights captured in a jam jar. They have been described as imperious masters of the contemporary anthemic chorus, with bright vibrant tunes and a beat guaranteed to make you tap your toes.

In September 2012 Hey Sholay released their cosmically-titled debut mini-album, '((O))' on fierce panda. It really was quite the journey into sound, a genteel mess of ideas and a giant mass of melodies blended together by lovingly customised keyboards and maximised guitar effects pedals. Now comes this six-track follow-up release, and lovers of mind-bending alt.pop melodrama will be relieved to know that the excesses of ((O)) havent been reigned in one iota. In fact, you could say that Hey Sholay have shaken themselves further from the c((O))nstraints of mainstream reality.

Consider that when these EP songs first turned up in demo form at the panda HQ they had entirely reasonable titles such as 'Wyatt', 'Codeine', 'Peacocks' and 'Foxy Knoxy'. One return trip to the creative moon later Hey Sholay re-presented an EP called Cloud, Castles, _____ which featured six manically-titled tunes including new live favourite WDYRWMTB which contains a cheerily killer chorus that asks, not unreasonably, ?ìWho Do You Really Want Me To Be?¬ù. And yes, one of these songs really is called 'Djjjdjjjdddhhhh' ‚ whilst writing the press release Simon Panda didn't doze off facedown on his keyboard after yet another executive lunchtime meeting in The Famous Cock

Such blissful creative leanings are even more admirable when you consider that the band had all that lovingly customised gear stolen along with the Hey Sholaymobile late last year, right down to the last maximised effects pedal. What could shatter many a.n. other penniless combo into pieces however has seemed to only add melodic fire to their battered bellies. We think that catchily-named second track If That Big Old Fat Yellow Thing In The Sky Was To Burn Out I Would Grab You By The Hand And Float Off Into Orbit (A Song For Robert Wyatt) fundamentally marries Flaming Lips with Pink Floyd while Jeff Lynne nods along approvingly, and if that doesnt float your boat you simply shouldnt be allowed to have a boat which floats.

A wise man once said that Hey Sholay are progressive, but not oppressively so; populist, but not obsessively so. In fact, the wisest of men cant quite get their heads around what makes this band tick and what encourages them to tock, and weve been putting out their records for well over 18 months now. But what we do know is that they fizz in the most unexpected places, like these¦

TUESDAY MAY 21ST 2013 LONDON KINGS CROSS THE SCALA
(fierce pandas 19th birthday slamdown with The Crookes + The Heartbreaks)

FRIDAY JUNE 7TH 2013 SHEFFIELD QUEENS SOCIAL CLUB (with Lets Buy Happiness + High Hazels)

www.facebook.com/heysholay