Kill me. Just… kill me. « == THE CRIMEA \\ Underground ==
« Crimea Photos
Kill me. Just… kill me.
Wed, 2nd May '07 at 19:59 by Christopher.
Tom Wiggins of Stuff.tv, home of Stuff magazine, has made Secrets Of The Witching Hour his download of the week, seeing the story make it on to the front page of the site. Thanks Tom. And If you haven’t already, download the thing or check out the album lyrics.
The story also makes it’s way on to the front page of Netscape.com thanks to a number of user votes.
London blog 020.com give it their top spot, and it’s a great article too, as is another one at Rock Sellout.
It’s front page news too at Click Music, who include some gig dates along with the regular album story. Also posting similar articles are ShoutMouth, CMU Beats Bar and long time Crimea supporters This Is Fake DIY.
Smaller articles appear on Owen’s ex-employer Fly Magazine’s site (check out the latest mag release btw, it’s free too!), monster music site Contact Music, Entertainment.ie and technology blog PC Advisor.
And Danish news site GAFFAk gets in a story for the Danish speaking Crimea fans.
Download of the Week: The Crimea – Secrets of the Witching Hour
Unless you’re willing to risk infecting your hard drive with viruses (and possibly copping a hefty fine) on illegal P2P sites, free music on the internet is harder to come by than a happy Chelsea fan on the way home from Anfield.
But quirky indie pop band, The Crimea, are breaking new ground by giving away their self-financed second album, Secrets of the Witching Hour, completely free on their website.
Despite selling 35,000 copies of their debut, Tregedy Rocks, the band were dropped from their label, Warner Music. So they’ve decided to cut their losses by removing the money-draining middleman (a record label) and focussing instead on expanding their fanbase.
The band hopes to harness the publicity power of the web that saw the Arctic Monkeys and Lilly Allen become sensations in 2006, and bring cash in through increased gig attendances and merchandising.
The record, which features Regina Spektor and was produced by The Cure’s Dave Allen, is only available at 128kbps, but it’s completely DRM-free. Go on, what have you got to lose?
Article by Tom Wiggins for Stuff.tv, 02/05/07.
Article by Charbarred from Netscape.com, 02/05/07.
The Crimea dish out their latest offering to the public as a freebie prior to its more traditional release, a quality try before you buy example, I think so…
You know what they say about something for nothing, usually its not much cop. After all there is no shortage of musicians knocking about on myspace for starters who will happily inflict their wares on your ears and tender sensibilities for the price of your time and a furtive download. The latest band to join in this rapidly established trend are The Crimea, offering their latest release Secrets Of The Witching Hour as a free digital download prior to its hard copy release on June 4th.
Before you all recline in you seats and start rolling your eyes at the prospect of another bit of clutter for your music library, do me a favour and hold your horses.
This…ain’t…bad.
It’s a slab of decently produced modern rock that idles on the lighter side of affairs, making me think of a cross between The Decemberists with their string laden shanty acoustica, add to that a vocal that sounds a little like Billy Corgan in a better than usual mood and maybe sling in a little touch of My Chemical Romance for true postmodern appeal and you might just have an idea of where things are starting to settle.
Musically the songs are well crafted solid affairs, a pleasing mesh of guitars, strings and pianos, interspersed with little snippets of ‘found sound’ making these songs very urbane affairs offset with a slight air of grandiosity (check out Weird for a good example of this). Other highlights include The 48A Waiting Steps with an almost loosed limbed funk approach overlaid with its melancholy choral effect drenched vocal and almost Parisian flavour to its playful backdrop.
As a freebie, you really can’t go wrong with this offering. Even if its not you traditional flavour of offering there should be something of interest to even the most casual listeners. Nip along to the site and find the link now.
Article by Adrian Carter taken from 020.com, 02/05/07.
Crimea fights back with album give-away
In a sea of music piracy, declining record sales and a live music boom, indie band, Crimea, is fighting back. Dropped by Warner Music last year after its debut album sold 35,000 copies, the band has decided to offer their next release for free and begin focusing on touring to rake in revenues.
Crimea fans will be able to download in its entirety, the band’s next record, Secrets of the Witching Hour, with no charge.
Crimea manager, Steve Taverner, said a large percentage of bands is struggling to make money from CD sales, however, fans are flocking in droves to live music venues. He also noted that merchandising is becoming more and more lucrative, going hand-in- hand with the recent concert craze.
“I’ve been in the business for 25 years and I’ve never seen a live scene like it,” Taverner said.
Secrets of the Witching Hour will be available Sunday, May 13. Drummer, Owen Hopkin, feels a strong online presence will widen the band’s fan base.
“We want to harness the power of the Internet,” Hopkin said. “If it’s on there for free, we’ll reach more people than the orthodox route of selling the record.”
Traditionally, many acts give away single tracks in exchange for a secure way to purchase upcoming projects. The move marks Crimea as the first established band to offer an entire album for free.
Crimea began in the UK on the V2 label as The Crocketts. After being dropped, members, Owen Hopkin and Davey MacManus formed Crimea. The band released its debut, Tragedy Rocks on the Warner Music label in 2005 and was later let go following the 2006 single release, “Lottery Winners On Acid.”
Article by Jim Hagerty for Rock Sellout, 01/05/07.
More on: The Crimea
The Crimea have decided to make their second album available for free.
‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ can be downloaded for free now, from www.thecrimea.net. The eleven tracks also come with artwork.
The band are letting fans download the release – which features Regina Spektor and production from The Cure‘s Dave Allen – free of charge as their plan is to increase their audience, and then make more money through touring and merchandise revenue.
For those that want a physical format, the CD will be in the stores on 4th June through their own label Free, Two, One Records.
The Crimea will be touring this month, with the following dates:
26 S.Wales Narbeth Queens Hall
29 Surrey Boiler Room
30 Reading Fez
1 Nottingham Social
2 Birmingham Carling Bar Academy
3 Liverpool Carling Academy
5 Leeds Rios
6 Leicester Charlotte
7 Wolverhampton Civic
9 Manchester Joshua Brookes
11 Northampton Soundhaus
13 Brighton The Barfly
16 Aldershot West End Centre
For ticket availability, check here.
Article taken from Click Music, 02/05/07.
The Crimea: a band that ‘gets it’
Despite all the fuss about “illegal downloading” and the impact it has one profitability, English band The Crimea will be releasing their second album for free, starting May 13th. They will release a disc, but hope fans choose the free download.
The band, understanding revenue doesn’t usually come from album sales — at least not these days — and comes more from merchandise and tours, are planning to up their profile and earn a living that way. Basically, they’ll be using the album as a means to an end, rather than the more RIAA-friendly end in and of it self.
The album will be called Secrets of the Witching Hour.
The NME is reporting the band has the following dates booked:
Can’t hlp but wish good luck to this band — because they’re adapting to the digital age, rather than fighting it at every turn.
Article by Pixie for ShoutMouth, 30/04/07.
Beats Daily Bulletin
The Crimea have said that they are planning to release their second album ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ as a free download on 13 May. The band hope that the move will increase their profile, even if it won’t make them money, and that they’ll make up the difference by increased touring and merchandise revenue. Frankly, their profile should be higher than it is, given the quality tunes they produce. See www.inaudible.co.uk/crimea/ for info. CD addicts needn’t despair yet, however, a not-free physical release will follow on 4 Jun.
Article from CMU Beats Bar, 01/05/07.
The Crimea Give Album Away
The Crimea are to give away their forthcoming album for free.
‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ will be available as a download now, with a CD release scheduled for 4th June.
They are playing a string of tour dates to coincide with both the free and paid-for releases.
26 South Wales Narbeth Queens Hall
2 Birmingham Bar Academy
5 Leeds Rio’s
13 Brighton Barfly
Article taken from This Is Fake DIY, 02/05/07.
THE CRIMEA FOR FREE
London fivepiece The Crimea are making history, by giving away their second album ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ for free.
The follow-up to the bands’ 2005 debut ‘Tragedy Rocks’, which despite selling 35,000 copies was not enough to keep them their record deal at Warners, is available free to download at the band’s website.
Physical copies of the record go onsale on 13th May.
Article from The Fly, 01/05/07.
British indie outfit THE CRIMEA will make history this month (May07) by becoming the first ever band to give away a new album over the internet for free. The group are letting anyone download their album Secrets Of The Witching Hour even though they’ve spent thousands of pounds recording it.
Article from Contact Music, 01/05/07.
The Crimea Make Musical History
London band The Crimea have made musical history by releasing their second album ‘Secrets of the Witching Hour‘ for free, via internet download, yesterday. As of 8pm last night, the album is available from The Crimea’s website, www.thecrimea.net, despite the original release date of May 13th 2007. The album guest stars New York songstress Regina Spektor and is produced by Dave Allen, who has previously worked with The Cure. The Crimea will be releasing a CD version of the album on June 1st, but hope that the revenue lost in sales through the internet downloads will be recouped through touring and merchandise sales. Hope that works out for you, guys…
Article from Entertainment.ie, 01/05/07.
The free offer for The Crimea’s second album, ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’, was announced on the band’s website. The online release was originally planned for 13 May but has been pushed forward and is available now. According to the site’s counter, it has received nearly 5000 downloads so far.
Article by Zoe Mutter for PC Advisor, 02/05/07.
The Crimea forærer album væk
Det engelske indie-band The Crimea lægger deres kommende album ud på nettet til gratis download
I Danmark er The Crimea et temmelig upåagtet navn, men det kan ske, at der bliver rådet bod på det inden længe, for den London-baserede gruppe bryder med pladebranchens vanetænkning, når de nu lægger deres andet studiealbum ud på internettet til gratis download.
Umiddelbart virker det som kommercielt selvmord, men der er mening med galskaben, for idéen med strategien er at opbygge en fanbase, som med tiden også bliver potentielle købere af gruppens fremtidige produkter.
Dertil kalkulerer gruppen med, at udgifterne i forbindelse med det nyindspillede album kompenseres af indtægterne fra de koncerter, bandet spiller i kølvandet på udgivelsen.
Gruppens manager, Stephen Taverner, siger om strategien: “Det er for at nå et større publikum. De (The Crimea) håber, at eftersom det er gratis, vil det åbne bandet til et bredere publikum og generere flere penge fra live-indkomsterne”.
Men den alternative markedsføring må ikke omfattes som, at gruppen brænder broerne til pladeindustrien, bedyrer Taverner, men snarere, at målet er at forøge gruppens fanskare online og hermed stille gruppen bedre i kontrakt-forhandlinger med de store, internationale pladeselskaber.
Ja, det lugter lidt af Arctic Monkeys, kan man indskyde, for det populære Sheffield-band er på mange måder forgangsbandet udi alternativ markedsføring på internettet.
Arctic Monkeys gjorde det nemlig muligt at downloade gruppens sange gratis og dermed skabe en masse opmærksomhed omkring gruppen. En strategi, som i den grad har givet pote.
Du kan downloade The Crimeas album “Secrets Of The Witching Hour” på gruppens hjemmeside nu – helt gratis.
Article by Kasper Kirkegaard for GAFFAk, 01/05/07.
9 Responses to “Kill me. Just… kill me.”
Wow what a response, I’ve read a few of these articles, not so many saying how great the music is though is there…
That’s mostly resigned to the forums, most of which i’m not posting. The articles generally remain impartial, which imo is a good thing
Hey, thanks for the link. Best of luck
back as I’m attempting to create my own personal blog and would love
Hello to every one, the contents existing at thiis site are in act
Havve a look at my site :: strongtie
pirate kings spin hack says:
“Meanwhile, Kim’s mother Kris Jenner has defended her daughter’s surprise decision. Kim Kardashian’s music career is under a microscope because she has succeeded in the world of television and it is hard for people to accept her in the world of music. Are you a female model, actress or stuntwoman and think you have what it takes. The well-known red outsole and high heel both are wooden but the distinct things about Christian Louboutin. For their Spring 2009 prom collection, Jovani has paired vibrant colors with cutting edge designs to produce the most elegant and relevant dresses for the season.
Look at my web blog – pirate kings
Kill me. Just… kill me. « == THE CRIMEA \\ Underground ==
« Crimea Photos
Kill me. Just… kill me.
Wed, 2nd May '07 at 19:59 by Christopher.
Tom Wiggins of Stuff.tv, home of Stuff magazine, has made Secrets Of The Witching Hour his download of the week, seeing the story make it on to the front page of the site. Thanks Tom. And If you haven’t already, download the thing or check out the album lyrics.
The story also makes it’s way on to the front page of Netscape.com thanks to a number of user votes.
London blog 020.com give it their top spot, and it’s a great article too, as is another one at Rock Sellout.
It’s front page news too at Click Music, who include some gig dates along with the regular album story. Also posting similar articles are ShoutMouth, CMU Beats Bar and long time Crimea supporters This Is Fake DIY.
Smaller articles appear on Owen’s ex-employer Fly Magazine’s site (check out the latest mag release btw, it’s free too!), monster music site Contact Music, Entertainment.ie and technology blog PC Advisor.
And Danish news site GAFFAk gets in a story for the Danish speaking Crimea fans.
Download of the Week: The Crimea – Secrets of the Witching Hour
Unless you’re willing to risk infecting your hard drive with viruses (and possibly copping a hefty fine) on illegal P2P sites, free music on the internet is harder to come by than a happy Chelsea fan on the way home from Anfield.
But quirky indie pop band, The Crimea, are breaking new ground by giving away their self-financed second album, Secrets of the Witching Hour, completely free on their website.
Despite selling 35,000 copies of their debut, Tregedy Rocks, the band were dropped from their label, Warner Music. So they’ve decided to cut their losses by removing the money-draining middleman (a record label) and focussing instead on expanding their fanbase.
The band hopes to harness the publicity power of the web that saw the Arctic Monkeys and Lilly Allen become sensations in 2006, and bring cash in through increased gig attendances and merchandising.
The record, which features Regina Spektor and was produced by The Cure’s Dave Allen, is only available at 128kbps, but it’s completely DRM-free. Go on, what have you got to lose?
Article by Tom Wiggins for Stuff.tv, 02/05/07.
Article by Charbarred from Netscape.com, 02/05/07.
The Crimea dish out their latest offering to the public as a freebie prior to its more traditional release, a quality try before you buy example, I think so…
You know what they say about something for nothing, usually its not much cop. After all there is no shortage of musicians knocking about on myspace for starters who will happily inflict their wares on your ears and tender sensibilities for the price of your time and a furtive download. The latest band to join in this rapidly established trend are The Crimea, offering their latest release Secrets Of The Witching Hour as a free digital download prior to its hard copy release on June 4th.
Before you all recline in you seats and start rolling your eyes at the prospect of another bit of clutter for your music library, do me a favour and hold your horses.
This…ain’t…bad.
It’s a slab of decently produced modern rock that idles on the lighter side of affairs, making me think of a cross between The Decemberists with their string laden shanty acoustica, add to that a vocal that sounds a little like Billy Corgan in a better than usual mood and maybe sling in a little touch of My Chemical Romance for true postmodern appeal and you might just have an idea of where things are starting to settle.
Musically the songs are well crafted solid affairs, a pleasing mesh of guitars, strings and pianos, interspersed with little snippets of ‘found sound’ making these songs very urbane affairs offset with a slight air of grandiosity (check out Weird for a good example of this). Other highlights include The 48A Waiting Steps with an almost loosed limbed funk approach overlaid with its melancholy choral effect drenched vocal and almost Parisian flavour to its playful backdrop.
As a freebie, you really can’t go wrong with this offering. Even if its not you traditional flavour of offering there should be something of interest to even the most casual listeners. Nip along to the site and find the link now.
Article by Adrian Carter taken from 020.com, 02/05/07.
Crimea fights back with album give-away
In a sea of music piracy, declining record sales and a live music boom, indie band, Crimea, is fighting back. Dropped by Warner Music last year after its debut album sold 35,000 copies, the band has decided to offer their next release for free and begin focusing on touring to rake in revenues.
Crimea fans will be able to download in its entirety, the band’s next record, Secrets of the Witching Hour, with no charge.
Crimea manager, Steve Taverner, said a large percentage of bands is struggling to make money from CD sales, however, fans are flocking in droves to live music venues. He also noted that merchandising is becoming more and more lucrative, going hand-in- hand with the recent concert craze.
“I’ve been in the business for 25 years and I’ve never seen a live scene like it,” Taverner said.
Secrets of the Witching Hour will be available Sunday, May 13. Drummer, Owen Hopkin, feels a strong online presence will widen the band’s fan base.
“We want to harness the power of the Internet,” Hopkin said. “If it’s on there for free, we’ll reach more people than the orthodox route of selling the record.”
Traditionally, many acts give away single tracks in exchange for a secure way to purchase upcoming projects. The move marks Crimea as the first established band to offer an entire album for free.
Crimea began in the UK on the V2 label as The Crocketts. After being dropped, members, Owen Hopkin and Davey MacManus formed Crimea. The band released its debut, Tragedy Rocks on the Warner Music label in 2005 and was later let go following the 2006 single release, “Lottery Winners On Acid.”
Article by Jim Hagerty for Rock Sellout, 01/05/07.
More on: The Crimea
The Crimea have decided to make their second album available for free.
‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ can be downloaded for free now, from www.thecrimea.net. The eleven tracks also come with artwork.
The band are letting fans download the release – which features Regina Spektor and production from The Cure‘s Dave Allen – free of charge as their plan is to increase their audience, and then make more money through touring and merchandise revenue.
For those that want a physical format, the CD will be in the stores on 4th June through their own label Free, Two, One Records.
The Crimea will be touring this month, with the following dates:
26 S.Wales Narbeth Queens Hall
29 Surrey Boiler Room
30 Reading Fez
1 Nottingham Social
2 Birmingham Carling Bar Academy
3 Liverpool Carling Academy
5 Leeds Rios
6 Leicester Charlotte
7 Wolverhampton Civic

9 Manchester Joshua Brookes
11 Northampton Soundhaus
13 Brighton The Barfly
16 Aldershot West End Centre
For ticket availability, check here.
Article taken from Click Music, 02/05/07.
The Crimea: a band that ‘gets it’
Despite all the fuss about “illegal downloading” and the impact it has one profitability, English band The Crimea will be releasing their second album for free, starting May 13th. They will release a disc, but hope fans choose the free download.
The band, understanding revenue doesn’t usually come from album sales — at least not these days — and comes more from merchandise and tours, are planning to up their profile and earn a living that way. Basically, they’ll be using the album as a means to an end, rather than the more RIAA-friendly end in and of it self.
The album will be called Secrets of the Witching Hour.
The NME is reporting the band has the following dates booked:
Can’t hlp but wish good luck to this band — because they’re adapting to the digital age, rather than fighting it at every turn.
Article by Pixie for ShoutMouth, 30/04/07.
Beats Daily Bulletin
The Crimea have said that they are planning to release their second album ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ as a free download on 13 May. The band hope that the move will increase their profile, even if it won’t make them money, and that they’ll make up the difference by increased touring and merchandise revenue. Frankly, their profile should be higher than it is, given the quality tunes they produce. See www.inaudible.co.uk/crimea/ for info. CD addicts needn’t despair yet, however, a not-free physical release will follow on 4 Jun.
Article from CMU Beats Bar, 01/05/07.
The Crimea Give Album Away
The Crimea are to give away their forthcoming album for free.
‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ will be available as a download now, with a CD release scheduled for 4th June.
They are playing a string of tour dates to coincide with both the free and paid-for releases.
26 South Wales Narbeth Queens Hall
2 Birmingham Bar Academy
5 Leeds Rio’s
13 Brighton Barfly
Article taken from This Is Fake DIY, 02/05/07.
THE CRIMEA FOR FREE
London fivepiece The Crimea are making history, by giving away their second album ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’ for free.
The follow-up to the bands’ 2005 debut ‘Tragedy Rocks’, which despite selling 35,000 copies was not enough to keep them their record deal at Warners, is available free to download at the band’s website.
Physical copies of the record go onsale on 13th May.
Article from The Fly, 01/05/07.
British indie outfit THE CRIMEA will make history this month (May07) by becoming the first ever band to give away a new album over the internet for free. The group are letting anyone download their album Secrets Of The Witching Hour even though they’ve spent thousands of pounds recording it.
Article from Contact Music, 01/05/07.
The Crimea Make Musical History
London band The Crimea have made musical history by releasing their second album ‘Secrets of the Witching Hour‘ for free, via internet download, yesterday. As of 8pm last night, the album is available from The Crimea’s website, www.thecrimea.net, despite the original release date of May 13th 2007. The album guest stars New York songstress Regina Spektor and is produced by Dave Allen, who has previously worked with The Cure. The Crimea will be releasing a CD version of the album on June 1st, but hope that the revenue lost in sales through the internet downloads will be recouped through touring and merchandise sales. Hope that works out for you, guys…
Article from Entertainment.ie, 01/05/07.
The free offer for The Crimea’s second album, ‘Secrets Of The Witching Hour’, was announced on the band’s website. The online release was originally planned for 13 May but has been pushed forward and is available now. According to the site’s counter, it has received nearly 5000 downloads so far.
Article by Zoe Mutter for PC Advisor, 02/05/07.
The Crimea forærer album væk
Det engelske indie-band The Crimea lægger deres kommende album ud på nettet til gratis download
I Danmark er The Crimea et temmelig upåagtet navn, men det kan ske, at der bliver rådet bod på det inden længe, for den London-baserede gruppe bryder med pladebranchens vanetænkning, når de nu lægger deres andet studiealbum ud på internettet til gratis download.
Umiddelbart virker det som kommercielt selvmord, men der er mening med galskaben, for idéen med strategien er at opbygge en fanbase, som med tiden også bliver potentielle købere af gruppens fremtidige produkter.
Dertil kalkulerer gruppen med, at udgifterne i forbindelse med det nyindspillede album kompenseres af indtægterne fra de koncerter, bandet spiller i kølvandet på udgivelsen.
Gruppens manager, Stephen Taverner, siger om strategien: “Det er for at nå et større publikum. De (The Crimea) håber, at eftersom det er gratis, vil det åbne bandet til et bredere publikum og generere flere penge fra live-indkomsterne”.
Men den alternative markedsføring må ikke omfattes som, at gruppen brænder broerne til pladeindustrien, bedyrer Taverner, men snarere, at målet er at forøge gruppens fanskare online og hermed stille gruppen bedre i kontrakt-forhandlinger med de store, internationale pladeselskaber.
Ja, det lugter lidt af Arctic Monkeys, kan man indskyde, for det populære Sheffield-band er på mange måder forgangsbandet udi alternativ markedsføring på internettet.
Arctic Monkeys gjorde det nemlig muligt at downloade gruppens sange gratis og dermed skabe en masse opmærksomhed omkring gruppen. En strategi, som i den grad har givet pote.
Du kan downloade The Crimeas album “Secrets Of The Witching Hour” på gruppens hjemmeside nu – helt gratis.
Article by Kasper Kirkegaard for GAFFAk, 01/05/07.
9 Responses to “Kill me. Just… kill me.”
Wow what a response, I’ve read a few of these articles, not so many saying how great the music is though is there…
That’s mostly resigned to the forums, most of which i’m not posting. The articles generally remain impartial, which imo is a good thing
Hey, thanks for the link. Best of luck
back as I’m attempting to create my own personal blog and would love
Hello to every one, the contents existing at thiis site are in act
Havve a look at my site :: strongtie
pirate kings spin hack says:
“Meanwhile, Kim’s mother Kris Jenner has defended her daughter’s surprise decision. Kim Kardashian’s music career is under a microscope because she has succeeded in the world of television and it is hard for people to accept her in the world of music. Are you a female model, actress or stuntwoman and think you have what it takes. The well-known red outsole and high heel both are wooden but the distinct things about Christian Louboutin. For their Spring 2009 prom collection, Jovani has paired vibrant colors with cutting edge designs to produce the most elegant and relevant dresses for the season.
Look at my web blog – pirate kings