Price: £10.00
Format: CD-R
Artist: Navigator
CatNo: BS_117_CD-r
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Navigator Noisebox singles CD-r

Shifting from brooding and intense croon-laden epics to out-rock experiments that evoke Tortoise and Bark Psychosis at their best, this represents a collection of all Navigator's output for the respected Noisebox label.

1. assay
2. diving bell
3. on all you hold sacred
4. II
5. when the wires fall
6. impossible without...
7. a little astronomy
 8. at the end of the day
 9. killtaker
10. swing
11. we will all burn together
12. II (novo) - remix for sessions magazine
13. assay - 3rd eye foundation remix
14. tycho brahe (previously unreleased)
navigator were:
 
nicholas melia
matthew walsh
jennifer robottom
samuel richards
additional musicians: kate day (violin), matthew white (trumpet)
all songs written and performed by navigator and published by universal/island music
original copyrights noisebox records 1996/1997
all rights reserved. made in the eec.
this is a cd compilation of navigator's singles for the noisebox records label. this is the track listing (finally) agreed with the band.
upon their initial limited vinyl releases all of these sold out very quickly. the track "II (novo)" originally appeared on the cover-mounted cd which came with a magazine called "sessions". the magazine is now defunct and the print run was fairly small anyway so this is pretty rare. the band agree that this is actually a much better version of the song.
 
matt elliott's remix of assay (under his "third eye foundation" name) was undertaken as a favour to the band as his girlfriend was/is a friend of theirs. it deconstructs the track completely and uses elements of other tracks from the assay ep too. it was originally available on a limited vinyl version on the swarfinger label.
 
navigator formed whilst students at the university of east anglia and began rehearsing at the noisebox studios in norwich. their first single "killtaker" (nbx022) sold out of its 500 pressing in three weeks. the single attracted the attention of the major record companies, music press and john peel. a second single, "a little astronomy" (nbx026) was a similar success selling out of its 500 pressing in just one week. by now there was a real buzz about the band and their third single "when the wires fall" (nbx027) saw them tour the uk with mogwai, temporarily recruiting telstar ponies' brendan o'hare on drums after sam fell ill on the first night of the tour (appendicitus!). the single also made it into the indie top ten by selling out of its 750 pressing in one day and a dodgy video appeared on itv's "the chart show". the band played some great support gigs at this time to people like david thomas (ex-pere ubu) and novak.
 
at this point nick, jen and matt were becoming more interested in experimenting and deconstructing found sounds and tape loops and were looking to move away from the song-based structures of the early singles. their fourth single for noisebox, "the assay ep" (nbx028/nbx028cd) was the point at which sam left the band to pursue a successful career in journalism. the "assay ep" was released on a double-pack 7" (an immediate sell-out) and a cd single.
 
due to contractual reasons tied up with their publishing contract with island music, the band went on to record their debut album for the swarfinger label rather than for noisebox records. "nostalgie" sold out of its vinyl pressing and the band played a few, increasingly radical shows where they would improvise sounds for the length of the set. sometimes it worked, sometimes not.