FOR UPDATED NEWS PLEASE VISIT THE OFFICIAL
SISTER CHAIN & BROTHER JOHN WEBSITE
OR FACEBOOK PAGE

 

Live presentation

On The Roof, Let Me Ride, Hey (Pixies), HeadQuarters, Aarhus, Denmark, 2011.

Satan Said music video, 2012.

 


This page in Danish or German

Looking like Victorian gentlefolk, wielding a distorted guitar and a tambourine, they relate stories of the wicked set and the lovelorn; of teenage daydreams and erotic nightmares, creating what can best be described as Parlour Punk or latter day chamber music.

The duo Sister Chain & Brother John formed in July 2005 when Berlin-based singer Sister Chain (Skin Blues, Spinster Sister) and Brother John Higgins  (former frontman of London band Val’s Basement and fly by night producer) met in a mysterious bookshop.

Since that day, Sister Chain and Brother John have played hundreds of concerts in churches, on boats, on street corners in war zones as well as the usual nightclubs, festivals and concert halls. They released their debut album "Darkness to Warm Your Heart" in 2008 and toured in Denmark, Norway, Germany, UK, The Czech Republic, Israel and more. The duo's second album "The Androgyne Show" was released in early 2012.

Press sheet (pdf)
Facebook (link)
MySpace (link)



COMING SHOWS!

Contact SOPA Booking & Management at:
Mail: sound.of.perpetual.astonishment(a)gmail(dot)com
Phone: (+45) 40 95 64 39

DEC 20 2013: South Sea Live, Sheffield, United Kingdom

FEB 9 2014: White Trash, Berlin, Germany

Currently booking UK tour for December 2013 - January 2014. More shows to be announced soon.
Get in touch if interested in setting up more shows.



The second album!
CLICK HERE to check out the album website

Buy LP or download
USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany.


SOPA Shop
Pale Music Shop
Norman Records
Groove Records
(eBay)
Discogs



The first album!

Buy LP or download
USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany.


SOPA Shop
Pale Music Shop

CD Universe
Discogs

CD Baby


 

Download Stentor Radio interview excerpts:
Part 1 - About band origins and songwriting
Part 2 - About "The Androgyne Show"

Download Radio Eins interview:
About the band and live songs


CONTACT

Direct band contact and newsletter subscription
E-mail: sisterchainbrotherjohn@yahoo.com

Label, Booking, PR and Management
Lars Kjær Dideriksen (SOPA)
E-mail: sound.of.perpetual.astonishment@gmail.com
Phone: (+45) 40 95 64 39
Website: www.larsdideriksen.com/sopa

Album Distribution
Germany, UK, USA etc:
Pale Music Int., Berlin
Phone (+49) 30 680 89 495 / (+49) 30 689 74 871
Fax: +49 30 689 74 872
E-mail: promo@pale-music.com
www.pale-music.com

Denmark:
Rillbar Distribution, Copenhagen
info@rillbar.dk
www.rillbar.dk

PRESS PHOTOS


Download (5.9 mb, tif-file)
Photo credit: Central Valley Project




Download (5.9 mb, tif-file)
Photo credit: Central Valley Project

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Download (3.3 mb, colour)
Photo credit: Peter Ehrentraut



Download (2.6 mb, black/white)
Photo credit: Peter Ehrentraut

x

Download (2.6 mb, black/white)
Photo credit: Peter Ehrentraut


Download (2.4 mb, black/white)
Photo credit: Peter Ehrentraut

Press

"All the staff at the radio fell in love with them. They are fantastic. You have to see them live. Now that I have heard and seen I'm thinking: Everyone must love this. This is damn good! Sister Chain has a fantastic voice. It was magic."
- Jennebo Radio, Sweden

"On their Album, Darkness to Warm Your Heart, Sister Chain and Brother John have taken the framework of the duo with all its limitations and used it to its full extent."
- Thomas Mauch, Die Tageszeitung, Germany (read the whole review)

"
Subversive, interesting and unique. What more could you want?"
- Gareth Owen, Electronic Beats, Germany (read the whole review)

"
Sister Chain & Brother John are something else: Esther Ofarim and Klaus Nomi spring to mind, but also Bauhaus and The Sisters of Mercy, the Brecht and Kurt Weill cabaret and Lotte Lenya… I am at their show now and I am melting with pleasure, a different type of pleasure, one that comes from insane twists of noise, screams and distortions… what a triumphant finale to such a cultural evening."
- Michael Rorberger, The Town Mouse, Israel

"I dare to promise you that Sister Chain & Brother John are one of a kind. This is a festival act which stands out in the crowd, to say the least."
- Live at Heart Magazine, Sweden

"Berlin-based Sister Chain & Brother John is a most peculiar and rather unique acquaintance. Victorian glam rock meets dark cabaret moods of the duo's strange, seductive, macabre and highly dramatical theatrical universe. There is something absolutely alluring about Sister Chain & Brother John's peculiar world. (…) There is a constant lurking danger in Sister Chain’s shrill tremulous voice that complements the disturbing universe perfectly. (…) There are glorious highs in the spinning Satan Said, the title number with playful bass, the doomsday heavy When It All Comes Down and the delicious fingerpicked On The Roof."
- Gaffa, Denmark's biggest music magazine
(4 stars)

"Berlin based Sister Chain & Brother John are on to record number two now so someone must be listening. (...) The majority of this stuff brings to mind the stripped back minimalist punk approach of The Cramps performed by French-Canadian duo Vialka. If they’re not buddies I’d be very surprised. Anyway, if Victorian glam cabaret is your schtick this is going to blow your frickin’ mind. Everything about this record is olde style, from the four-track production to the sleeve photo, shot with an 1860s camera and developed with cyanide on glass plates. Yowza!"
- Norman Records, UK
(4 stars)

"Sister Chain’s theatrical singing with Brother John’s minimal yet melodic bass playing creates a very intense and effective combination, which I find fascinating. An exceptional, boundary breaking, and unconventional show."
- Far From the Madding Crowd, UK

Link for interview at Geiger.dk, March 2011 (Danish)

Link for Zitty Berlin interview on 'crowdfunding', September 2011 (German)

Link for Zitty Berlin interview, July 2007 (German)



LIVE SHOWS

Sister Chain & Brother John have played hundreds of live shows so far. Here is a selection of some their past shows:

2013:
September:
Live At Heart Festival
: Våghustorget + East West + Level + St Nicolai Kyrka (church) + Mastodont, Örebro, Sweden.
Radar, Aarhus, Denmark (supporting The Revival Hour)
Studenterhuset, Copenhagen, Denmark

August:
Ozen Bar, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Uganda, Jerusalem, Israel.

July:
Dun-Well Doughnuts, New York, USA
Sidewalk Café, New York, USA
M White Mug Lounge, New York, USA
Sidewalk Café, New York, USA (extra show)

June:
The Word, The Rumba Room, Memphis, USA
Mot & Ed, Memphis, USA
Mutiny Now Book Shop, Denver, USA

May:
Wild At Heart, Berlin, Germany (Supporting Lene Lovich Band)
Waterloo, FireWater Closet, Berlin

April:
Darling Hamlet Tour, Denmark:
Uteater, Odense
Slagtehal 3, Aarhus
Badstue Rock, Aarhus (in-store)
Klub Møtrik, Maskinen, Svendborg
Vosnæs Gods, Aarhus (private show)
Waterloo, FireWater Closet, Berlin

March:
Beatbaracke, Aschaffenburg, Germany

February:
Steampunk-Art Exhibition, 12 Grad Aetherloge, Berlin, Germany


2012:
November:
Kulturpalast Linden, Hannover, Germany

October:
Kugelbahn, Berlin
Sameheads, Berlin (Halloween show)

September:
Örebro, Sweden: Live At Heart Festival (Four shows: St. Nicolai Kyrka, Våghustorget, Harrys and Grand Markurells Hotel).

May:
Spot Off, B-Huset, Godsbanen, Aarhus, Denmark. (Spot Festival)
Fitzherberts, Push The Tide Festival (Fringe side of Brighton's Great Escape Festival), Brighton, United Kingdom.
Cowley Club, Brighton, United Kingdom.
12 Bar, London, United Kingdom.
West Street Live, Sheffield, United Kingdom

March:
Kugelbahn, Berlin, Germany. German release concert for "The Androgyne Show"

February:
The Androgyne Show on Tour in Denmark:
Beta, Copenhagen
Stereo Studio, Copenhagen (in-store)
Aarhus, HeadQuarters
Aarhus, Stardust Café) and
Aalborg, The Student House


2011:

December:
SOPA Label night, Antje Öklesund, Berlin, Germany

November:
Naked Factory, Amiga Club, Kunsthalle M3, Berlin (Treptow), Germany
The Thunderbolt, Bristol, Great Britain

October:
Kugelbahn, Berlin (Wedding), Germany

September:
Örebro, Sweden: Live At Heart Festival (5 shows: Opening Ceremony, Stortorget (Big Square), St. Nikolai Kyrka (church), Ivy Bar & Grill and Café Deed)

June:
Berlin: @ Zosch

May:
Berlin: @ Ex'n'Pop

March:
Aarhus, Denmark: HeadQuarters (with Fallen Men)
Copenhagen, Denmark: Route 66
Copenhagen, Denmark: Huset i Magstræde/Planeten (with Hymns From Nineveh)
Hannover, Germany, @ Nordstadtbraut (with In Laudanum)

February:
Berlin: Vernissage show 'Follow Me' Art Exhibition (Maria Es) @ Gallery SuedOst
Hamburg: MS Stubnitz

January:
The Androgyne Show on Tour in Israel: shows in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem.



2010:
November:
Aarhus, Denmark: @ Café Vestergade

September:
Berlin: @ the establishment (with DJ Sheila Chippenfield (Elastica))
Berlin: Support for Sedlmeir @ Cortina Bob

August:
Tel Aviv: Memorial Concert for Haike Friedmann @ Azrieli Complex

July:
Berlin: @ CCCP Club, Berlin
Berlin: Five Year Band Anniversary Show @ Dazzle Club

May:
Berlin: Anniversary Party @ Gallery Nightwalk

March:
Berlin: Support for Levinhurst - Lol Tolhurst & Michael Dempsey (The Cure) @ Musichall

February:
Berlin: The Androgyn Show @ The Kollage Gallery

January:
Berlin: Kulturrevue @ Festsaal Kreuzberg


2009:
November:
Oslo, Norway: Concert with Frank Snork Quartett @ Blå
Aarhus, Denmark: SOPA Night #5 @ Aarhus Art Academy
Aalborg, Denmark: SOPA Night #6 @ Transformator, Aalborg Teater

October:
Tel Aviv: Midnight Show @ Ozen Bar
Fredrikstad, Norway: Halloween Show @ La Boheme

September:
Berlin: Sunday Lunch Concert @ Ima
Berlin: The Fantasy Cellar #4 (with In Laudanum) @ Another Country Bookshop
Berlin: Patrons and Servants Party @ L-34
Jerusalem: @ No Coast Label Festival

June:
London: @ The 12 Bar (with Subterraneans)
Berlin: Renate comics release party at KIM, berlin
Spiekeroog Island, Germany: Heimweh Festival for Alternative Americana

March:
Berlin: Festival at Tacheles

January:
Berlin: @ Tacheles Art Center
Berlin: @ The Fruehperle (plus exhibition of Sister Chain comics)


2008:
November:
Berlin: Darkness to Warm Your Heart Album Launch @ Another Country Bookshop
Berlin: Finissage of the Group Exhibition : Treasure Sure @ Galerie der Künste
Berlin: Privatklub (Support for Subterraneans)

September:
Berlin: @ Shampoo Tips for Long Black Hair (with In Laudanum)

July:
London: Darkness to Warm Your Heart Album Launch (UK) @ The INDO
London: @ The Haggerston

May:
Berlin: Finissage show – Art exhibition curated by Legs Akimbo (Team Plastique) @ Secret of the Berlin Supermuse

March:
Berlin: @ Intersoup

February:
Berlin: Fuel - Music & Spoken Word Night, hosted by Lady Gaby @ Schokoladen
Berlin: Support for Joae Head (Television Personalities) @ Troedler
Berlin: Vernissage: Through a Glass Darkly (Nora Below) @ Gallery Curfew & I
Baden, Switzerland: @ Expedition Earth Benefit Festival

January:
Berlin: @ Roman Lipski's Studio


2007:
December:
Berlin: Fantasy Cellar # 1 @ Another Country Bookshop (with Marzipan Marzipan)

September:
Berlin: Attic Explorations @ K:ITA Gallery-Club
Tel Aviv: Midnight Show @ The Third Ear

August:
Berlin: @ King Kong Klub
Berlin: @ Intersoup

July:
Berlin: Two Year Band Anniversary show @ The Evangelist Church 'Osterkirche'

May:
Berlin: Tanz der Nosferaten – New Wave Festival @ Alter Feuerwache

April:
Berlin: Vermissage of paintings by Eduardo Esquivel @ Gallery AB
Prague: @ Blind Eye


2006:
December:
Berlin: Exberliner Magazine Party @ Kaffee Burger
Berlin: Christmas Murder Party @ White Trash
Berlin: New Year’s Eve midnight show @ 'Dave Lombardo'


2005:
December:
Berlin: @ The Pirate Cove

July:
Berlin: Band Against Bush Festival @ Mudd Club

VIDEOS


"On The Roof" music video, 2012.



The Androgyne Show, live in Berlin, 2011.



"The Last Room" & "Satan Said", Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012.
 


"What You Shouldn't", Aarhus, Denmark, 2011.


"96 Tears" (cover), Huset i Magstræde, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2011.


Interview on Stentor Radio, Part 1 of 3, Aarhus, Denmark, 2011.



Interview, Looking For Kohl, Hannover, Germany, 2011.


More videos:
Three songs live at Berlin's Kulturrevue Kollage.

Black Room, SOPA Night #5, Aarhus Art Academy, Aarhus, 2009.
Also see the band play live in Jerusalem here.