March 22, 2019

Put down whatever you are doing and pick your jaws off the floor. We are pleased to announce we have a new blog post, briefly charting some of the thoughts around recording our debut album. Its going slower than we expected but its no Chinese Democracy (yet)!

December 04, 2018

If you don't use social media, then you are probably a happier person. However, it does mean that if you don't follow us on twittergram and facetumbler and just use this website for all things Ordeal, then you may be more behind the times than Donald Trump at a conference on feminism. 

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Since our last news item in April things went rather quiet. Not intentionally, but for a band of work life balance ups and downs (see practically every blog we've written), perhaps not unexpectedly. 

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So, the album recording has taken a back seat whilst we get back into gear performing live. Having had a few gigs under our belt with one more to come before the end of the year, we feel rejuvenated to not try and let it all slip again in 2019 (childcare permitting!). 

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And though you may not want to peak at that damn social media, enjoy our website which has been updated across many pages. And why not check out our most recent blog by clicking on the lovely band photo from our last gig. 

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April 13, 2018

The Sweet Ordeal were delighted to finally start recording their first album at newly opened Route 49 Studio, Brighton, today. The studio is the brainchild of Ben Brockett, leader of well respected local folksters The Galleons. For The Ordeal Ben is not only supplying the space but also his skills as an engineer and producer.

Day one of recording saw Hannah and Nick working on two tracks; the folktronica numbers ‘I’ll Let You Down Tonight’ and ‘In the Blink of an Eye’. Nick said "It was a good start and Ben really put us at our ease. We are confident this is the start of a productive relationship, and we're really looking forward to the next session!"

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The band will be recording the album over several months, the consequence of complex childcare arrangements, with most of the sessions unlikely to feature all three band members attending at the same time. Nick continues "It will be slightly frustrating not being together as much as we'd like, but we'll be working hard in between being in the studio to get the sounds of our songs recording ready".   

February 14, 2018

We are delighted to announce that we are going into the recording studio to record our first ever album. Turning audio water into wine will be Ben Brockett (second left) from Brighton based indie folk band The Galleons, taking the helm as our producer. Recording proper will start in April, after we have hopefully had a few gigs under our collective belt. We managed to raise over £500 towards the cost by taking the unusual step of crowdsurfing at the wedding of Nick (uke, keys, vocals etc.) to Hannah (bass, cello, keys, vocals etc.), and look forward to keeping you updated through our various social media sites over the upcoming weeks and months. 

October 26, 2017

We are delighted to announce that on October 14th 2017, Nick and Hannah from the band got married at Brighton Town Hall. Following the ceremony the wedding party were joined by others at a lively reception at legendary Brighton folk venue The Brunswick. This gave the happy couple an opportunity to gather their favourite local musicians including The Self Help Group, The Galleons and Jamie Freeman, with the Ordeal also playing a few tunes too. 

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Instead of the usual dinner sets and toasters, Hannah and Nick asked for donations for their album fund and over £500 was raised, for an album we hope to record next year. 

September 17, 2017

After an unintentional summer break, we have hit the rehearsal trail in preparation for playing our first gig in a while, on November 9th. We have had the same set for about a year and now we are working on new material, and our first track has ended up as a dirty folk-rock bluegrass number. It's a bit of a departure for us, that's to be sure. But then again, so was our folktronic number 'I'll Let You Down Tonight!' Meanwhile, 'Come Get Lost' is based on a true story, although this time at least the protagonist didn't die in the end! 

September 17, 2017

As promised, here is our show recorded with the lovely Neil Povey on The Courthouse Irregular show, courtesy of Hailsham FM, way back in July. Featuring two hours of music, chat and a live set from us. What more would you want with the nights drawing in!

July 01, 2017

Tonight The Sweet Ordeal was delighted to play live on Hailsham FM, as guests of Neil Povey's show The Courthouse Irregular.

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Squeezed into the space the size of a small shed, we played 6 songs as well as playing selected tracks from other artists. It was a real pleasure to have this experience, and Neil was brilliant in working out a way for us to play with almost our full sound in a studio normally acquainted with a simple acoustic set up.

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This was our first ever radio show, and we hope we did it justice. There will be a link to the show coming up in the next few days.

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May 30, 2017

Described as a dark comic tale of a man losing the plot, we are pleased to announce that the short film 'The Perfect Companion', for which we have composed the end credit song, is now available to view online. A launch project for emerging Brighton based film company Medosen Productions, the movie also stars two members of The Sweet Ordeal in supporting roles, with Nick and Hannah playing irritated neighbours of the main character. Another first for this project was our song 'I'll Let You Down Tonight', which has been our first to use a drum machine as we explored a more folktronica direction.

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You can hear the song on Our Music page.

March 08, 2017

The Sweet Ordeal have just completed their first ever self-produced song 'I'll Let You Down Tonight'. Written for the end credits of Brighton based short film project 'Perfect Companion', the song is based on the film's storyline of a man's relationship with his blow-up doll.

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Nick, who produced the song said "This project gave us the perfect opportunity to try and self produce a track. Because we were writing as a commission, with a subject matter that was very different to our usual themes, it felt like we had a bit more freedom than if it was for, say, an EP.

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"That meant the way we wrote the song also changed from our usual process, with the starting point musically coming from Hannah's keyboard line and then me adding some beats. Normally we start with either the guitar or ukulele. Now we know we can successfully have a wider palette from which to start. It was great having a more spacey, folktronica edge too, which is something we've been threatening to develop for ages, starting with our song 'Where Do I Go From Here?'".

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The film is currently going through the final editing phase and so we hope the song will come out soon, too!

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January 12, 2017

The Sweet Ordeal have been given the opportunity to write a song for a short film project. The song will form part of the final scene and then run over the final credits. The yet to be titled film is a dark comedy based on a man's relationship breakdown with his blow up doll. Made by local first time film makers, it has the feel of Peep Show or Spaced and has scenes that include the Ordeal's Nick and Hannah as supporting characters.

The band has recently started working on the song, in which they have used a drum machine for the first time. Nick says "We started off with a drum beat and Hannah created a layered keyboard sound with John adding a simple reverb heavy coda on guitar. I've kept obvious references out of the lyrics, so that the song has a life away from the film. Though early days, we are pleased with the results so far. What is equally pleasing is that we have found another way from which to start writing songs, which helps us in one of our long held aims to develop a more folktronica feel to some of our sound."

November 01, 2016

We are pleased to announce that we are currently working with Bradley Norton of Precarious Productions, on a stop motion animation of our song 'Where Do I Go From Here?'.

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Based on the death of Chris McCandless, the American traveller and hiker, who was the subject of award winning film Into The Wild, Bradley's brief was to interpret the song in his own way.

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McCandless travelled throughout the United States, eventually hitchhiking to Alaska, where he died, possibly of starvation, on the Stampede Trail in 1992.

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Nick of The Sweet Ordeal, who was the author of the song's lyrics said "It would have been easy to go for a literal interpretation of Chris' story, but having seen Bradley's previous work, it made a lot of sense for a more poetic and imaginative response, to reflect my more ambiguous lyrics."

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Currently the date of release is unknown, with the video still in production. We'll keep you posted!