News

  • Carrera Drums Announcement

    Carrera Drums Announcement

    As most people will know, I have been a proud ambassador for Carrera Drums since the start of 2011, and have been honoured to play their drums and be involved with the company for the past four years.  Everywhere I go – on live shows and in recording studios – I get compliments on my Carrera gear from artists, from other musicians, and from engineers and producers.

    Sadly, however, Carrera Drums is winding up in spring of this year, and will cease trading as of the end of March.  This is the official announcement from the Carrera Drums website:

    It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Carrera Drums will stop trading as of the 31st March 2015.

    Dave Carrera has fought serious health issues over the last 3 years which have now deteriorated to such a level that he has decided to focus on attempting to recover or stabilise his condition which, even with good extraction, a dusty workshop hinders.

    We have all had fun making some fine instruments for some of the finest drummers active today and want to thank everyone for there support, kindness and love over the last 5+ years.

    Any works currently in progress will be completed and shipped before end of March 2015 and customers have been notified.

    We are also selling all tools,stock and items via our eBay page, search for Carrera Drums, but welcome direct emails to info@carreradrums.com with sensible offers for our drum shell making molds and tooling which if agreed to, must be collected by end of March 2015 

    Again, thank you to everyone who has helped us over the years and we wish you all every success in your futures. 

    Yours sincerely 

    The Carrera Drums Team

    Carrera Drums website

    For my part, I am gutted to see Carrera Drums end in this way; their extraordinary attention to detail, high-quality craftsmanship and innovative way of thinking will be sorely missed in the UK drum building scene, and by the musicians who use and work with their products.  Of course, the health of Dave Carrera – whom I am lucky to consider a friend – is the most important thing, and I fully respect his decision – which can’t have been at all easy – and the reasons for it.  I will continue to use my Carrera Drums live and in the studio, and will be very proud to keep flying the flag for this amazing, ground-breaking company.

    Carrera Cherry Custom
    Carrera Cherry Custom · Freshpack Photography
  • Witchers Album Launch Party

    Witchers Album Launch Party

    Well, I’m finally able to announce that the long-awaited debut Witchers album will be released on Monday 11th May 2015 – and we will be playing a headline show at The Waterfront Studio in Norwich to celebrate the album’s release on Thursday 7th May 2015.

    It will be three years since we began work on the album, and almost two years since we last played live, so we’re very excited about getting on stage again and playing our music for you all!

    I hope to see lots of you there on 7th May to celebrate the launch of the album with us – tickets are available from any of the band members, or online.

    Listen to a track from the album now here.

  • Paul Lamb & The Detroit Breakdown

    Paul Lamb & The Detroit Breakdown

    I’m very excited to be supporting Paul Lamb & The Detroit Breakdown with the Jamie Roe Band at Wolverhampton’s Robin2 venue on May 20th. Details and tickets can be found on the Robin2 website here.

  • New Witchers Music

    New Witchers Music

    As you may have noticed, Witchers have been on something of a ‘hiatus’ lately.  We’ve been through a couple of line-up changes, and various of the band members’ personal lives have taken priority recently.  However, out long-awaited self-titled album Witchers will be finally be released this year, in May – after three years of work! – and tomorrow you will have an opportunity to listen to Undivided, one of the tracks from the album, on Soundcloud for the very first time.

    'Witchers' cover art

    Personally, I’m extremely proud of my involvement with Witchers and my playing on this album; it’s been a long time coming, but I can’t wait for people to hear the fruits of all our hard work!

    The idea is that, as we get closer to the release date there will be some live shows (our first live appearances since Cambridge Rock Festival in August 2013!) to promote the album, and to get people talking about Witchers again.  I will be able to reveal more about these shows, and more about the record in general and its release, nearer the time.

    In the meantime, however, please ‘Like’ Witchers on Facebook, and follow our Twitter account – and, most importantly, check out Undivided online tomorrow!  We love it, and we hope you will too!

  • I am delighted to be able to announce that my debut solo album, Bones From My Back, will be released on 8th December – and available to stream here at www.manek.org.uk from a week before (1st December).

    Making this record has been quite a journey for me, and I can’t wait for people to hear the music I’ve been working on for the past year; I hope you’re all as excited about it as I am!

  • On Wednesday 30th July, the Sistema In Norwich Martineau Chamber Orchestra will be performing at the Royal Sandringham Estate in front of HRH The Prince Of Wales, Prince Charles, as part of the 133rd Sandringham Flower Show.

    The Martineau Chamber Orchestra will perform a specially-written new piece of music for the Prince Of Wales as part of a brand new tropically-designed garden, as well as various other favourite pieces of repertoire.

  • I am proud to have been asked to compose and produce part of the soundtrack to a new original play at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  A FullFuse Theatre productionSochi 2014 deals with Russian cultural and political attitudes towards gay rights through the prism of the recent Winter Olympics in Russia, and will feature clips of my music during several scenes.

    The play runs from 1st – 10th August and from 12 – 21st August at 12:50pm each day at Bunker One of the Pleasance Courtyard in the centre of Edinburgh.  Tickets can be purchased from the official Edinburgh Fringe Festival Box Office website.

  • Tasmin Little

    Tasmin Little

    We are very excited to have world-famous solo violinist Tasmin Little supporting Sistema In Norwich this week, giving a workshop/masterclass with our Martineau Chamber Group, performing alongside them in concert at the John Innes Centre on Friday 28th February.

    This concert is promoted by the Norfolk & Norwich Chamber Music Society, and forms a part of Tasmin’s ‘Naked Violinist’ series of performances. Details and tickets are available here.

  • MAP At Wayland Academy

    MAP At Wayland Academy

    I am very pleased to have been asked to work with Year 10 and Year 11 students on the BTEC Performing Arts course at Wayland Academy in Watton, as part of the Music Arts Project programme in Brandon and the surround area.

    The students on this course train in three areas on musical theatre – dancing, acting, an singing – and I shall be working with them in a Musical Director capacity, leading vocal rehearsals and taking charge of all the musical aspects of their work on this course.

  • I shall be performing with with my good friend Jimmy Roe in his famous Jimmy Roe Trio at VicFest in Martham (Norfolk), in the first live performance with the brand new Trio line-up at 2:30pm on Saturday 3rd August.

    A few days later, we shall be recording a live video with the Trio at EPIC Studios in Norwich, featuring some of the latest new material on which we have been working.  Stay tuned for a link to these when they are online!

    I’m really enjoying working with Jimmy again, and can’t wait for you all to see and hear the new tracks.

Kit Marsden // Musician