November 12, 2019 • No Comments

Brilliant USA singer/songwriter (and member of Nine Beats Collective) HEATHERLYN is releasing a 3 song solo acoustic EP called ‘Songs of the Season’ on November 29th. The EP features 2 Heatherlyn originals and a cover of a not so well-known Christmas carol.

Heatherlyn shared about the EP “For me as a little Heatherlyn, Thanksgiving to Christmas was actually the most wonderful time of the year. Growing up with a single mom who had a high school education, we were often under resourced. I wore hand-me-downs and we received the church’s Thanksgiving dinner baskets. During that time, we visited with my aunts, uncles, cousins and Grammy. Grammy had a small fake white Christmas tree that I loved to decorate and until she died, these were the best of times. Since we didn’t have a whole lot of money, my mom, being very crafty herself, would also find a project for us. Every thanksgiving we would begin creating Christmas ornaments from beads and chenille sticks! And we would make a gift – the same gift but personalized – for each of my Aunt’s families. For me, these are some of my most cherished childhood memories, some of the best quality time with my mom, and the season felt abundant because we were creating together, and the gifts we made were material symbols of all the love and gratitude with which we had created them.

November 11, 2019 • No Comments

The live work under the NINE BEATS COLLECTIVE banner continues. Just confirmed is a week of live dates in California, USA.

“Following our appearances at this summer’s Wild Goose festival it’s great to be playing more dates and sharing about 9 beats again in the USA,” shared Nine Beats Road Manager Rob Taylor. “It’s taken a bit of time to pull these dates together into one week and we are delighted that Heatherlyn and Ben Grace were available and delighted to head up the dates. Nine Beat’s founder, head honcho and lyric writer Steve Bassett and I will be flying over from the UK. Steve will be playing guitar and sharing about the Nine Fold Pathway too. Drummer/percussionist Kesley Reis will be adding the rhythmic backbone to the band”

“Fellow Beatibuddies and Collective members Eric Leroy Wilson and Rosella Haydee White will also be joining us for selected dates and we are also recording the November 21st event at the Kinship Cafe in Fallbrook. It promises to be a great week, meeting some great people and sharing some great music and a great message too!”

NINE BEATS COLLECTIVE is an international collective of troubadours, poets, rebels, provocateurs, sages & activists exploring the ancient Bible sayings known as ‘the beatitudes’. Includes music from their critically-acclaimed ‘Nine Beats to the Bar’ album (available on CD, digital, double vinyl), storytelling, thought-provoking conversation, and practice-based invitation to the 9 beats of Jesus.

These ancient sayings, spoken by Jesus, offer a nine-statement manifesto for a new world order. A counter cultural narrative for our times. A welcome not a weapon, tender not toxic, inviting not divisive. A call for a tribe of people to live life ‘nine beats to the bar’. In them we hear the whispers of another world, the invitation to a path of recovery – whatever your story, whatever your struggle, wherever you find yourself.

For Nine Beat Collective official website (CLICK HERE)

October 22, 2019 • No Comments

We are at long pleased to announce that the entire FRESH CLAIM catalogue is now available on major digital music and streaming sites Worldwide. “Some titles have been available for some time but having all titles available in their own right is something I’ve been working towards for some time especially with the older releases that were originally on cassette and no longer available as a physical product”, states Plankton partner Keith Dixon, “and I’ve at last been able to coordinate everything and get everything uploaded and now live and on-line! I think the current term is all titles have now dropped!”

The list of their releases now available is:

Odd One Out (1987)
Live! No Claims Bonus (1988)
Hud’s Continental (1989)
Soapbox (1991)
In Times Of Rain (1992)
Outstanding Claims (1993)
Broken (1995)
Songs from the Rock Communion (1997)
Backdated Claims (2007)

September 16, 2019 • No Comments

2018 marked the 40th anniversary of the launch of Plankton Records by a young singer and guitarist Simon Law in order to release the “Mirrored Dreams” vinyl LP by his (then) band Sea Stone. And in November 2018 we had a fantastic 40th Anniversary concert in East London to mark the occasion

Almost one year on and 2019 marks another important anniversary for Plankton’s founding partner as the end of September marks the 50th anniversary of Simon’s decision to become a Christian. “It was the most important decision of my life” says Simon “and one that really steered the direction of the rest of my life from the point on and up to the present day… and on into the future too!”

“Music and using it to communicate  to others has always been a passion of mine so I wanted to mark the occasion with a concert of some kind, but not just a normal type of gig. Then I got to thinking about what other landmark events had also happened in 1969. The moon landing and the Woodstock festival were 2 obvious ones that came to mind and then there were other things more close to home such as my team Manchester City winning the FA Cup and my friend Graham Claydon became a priest. Graham was an important influence in my early years of being a Christian and remains a dear friend to this day. And the Youth Praise 2 song book was published. This was an import book for me as it included songs written for people of my age and it gave me songs that me and my band could perform before I had written any songs of my own”

“So, I’m putting on this 50th Celebration evening in my church at St Gabriel’s in Pitsea to celebrate my 50 years of being a Christian and I thought we’d start the evening by singing some of the songs from Youth Praise 2 together. It will be great to give them an airing again and it will give me a chance to acknowledge this important time in my life and the people who were in and around our youth group in Walthamstow. Then we are going to have a band gig with a difference. Steve Gale, who’s played bass with me in our band FRESH CLAIM since the late 1990s is joining me on stage with our sons – my son Issac and his son Matthew. Both of them play drums and Matthew also plays some keyboard. So that will be like ‘Fresh Claim & Sons’. And then, to close the evening, for those people who want to join me we will be holding Night Prayers in the Church from 10.00pm”

We know its going to be a joyful and fun time on the 28th and obviously we will be joining Simon to celebrate, reflect and remember together.

September 10, 2019 • No Comments

We are so excited and encouraged that the Nine Beats Collective movement and message continue to reach out across the World.

The latest news is the launch of the “KOSI” project which is launching this September in East Africa. The project, led by Nine Beats Collective member Ambassada, features some of the biggest artists from Uganda and Kenya. KOSI is aimed at empowering as well as motivating kids and teens in East Africa and Africa at large.

Ambassada and his friends have re-visited and recorded a new version and interpretation of Ambassada’s song ‘Kosi’, the original version of which features on the Nine Beat Collective ‘Nine Beats to the Bar’ album which we released.

One of the other artists featured on the new recording is also one of Kenya’s fastest rising stars Jabiddi. His journey is an inspiring story, from starting out living in one of Africa’s biggest slums called Kibera in Nairobi to a national music and dance star.

In a competitive musical market like Uganda, breaking through as a female artist is one of the biggest milestones Nina Roz has managed as she has emerged as a singer and model and is now one of the top five female artists in  Uganda. Nina brings a whole different vocal tonation plus an artistic approach like no other onto the KOSI project which is why we are so honoured to have her be part of the project. We know she will help inspire a whole new generation of female teens who have been thinking about giving up on their musical abilities.

We hope to share more news, photos etc as we receive them from Ambassada and/or the Nine Beats office. In the meantime keep it ‘Mseto’ as Ambassada and the team prepare to drop the KOSI project this month.

Nine Beats Collective official website (Click here)

To order Nine Beats Collective CD (Click here) or deluxe double vinyl (Click here)

Nine Beats Collective Facebook page (Click here)

Nine Beats Twitter page (Click here)

July 29, 2019 • No Comments

Plankton band ECHO are playing at the 2019 KingsStock Festival on Saturday August 10th. The band will be playing at 2.00pm on the Garden Stage

Creating a place for creativity inspired by a life of faith, Kingsstock 2019 is a 4 day event offering captivating performances from over 40 UK based artists. 2019’s festival marks a special landmark for KingsStock as its their 10th year so they are inviting artists who have played at the festival before back to make the weekend a time of celebration, making it their best and most unfortgettable experience yet. This will be Echo’s third performance at the festival.

KingsStock 2019 is taking place at Moggerhanger Park, Park Lane, Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire, MK44 3RW. Tickets (both weekend and day passes) are various prices and will be available on the gate but they are still available to order in advance at a cheaper cost (CLICK HERE)

To find out more about the festival, the full line-up etc, go to the official KingsStock Festival website (CLICK HERE)

July 26, 2019 • No Comments

June 25, 2019 • No Comments

The brilliant and acclaimed NINE BEATS COLLECTIVE are to play at the renowned Wild Goose Festival in the USA in July.

Quoting the festival website: “The Wild Goose is a transformational community grounded in faith-inspired social justice. When we come together for the nationwide festival we learn and grow by co-creating art, music, story, theatre, and spectacle, engaging in a wide variety of robust, respectful conversations with each other and with thought leaders and artists from other communities. We refuse to be enemies with anyone. We are hospitable to all and welcome people of all faiths, and no faith, to seek the common good together.”

Nine Beats Collective are currently due to play the MainStage at 8pm on Friday 12th July and on Saturday 13th they are playing both, the River venue at 3pm and the Cafe venue at 11pm.

“We are so pleased and thank Wild Goose for the invitation and we are looking forward to playing at the festival” said Nine Beats Collective creator and co-ordinator Steve Bassett. “The USA contingent will be out in force with (at least) Heatherlyn, Rev Vince Anderson, Eric Leroy Wilson and also Ben Grace taking part. As with all things Nine Beats there is a lot of on-going planning and organising! We’ll be posting news and update on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter sites as we progress and I’m sure Plankton will too!”

The critically acclaimed ‘Nine Beats to the Bar’ album is available on CD from this website (Click here) as is the wonderful double vinyl edition (Click here) and it is also available digitally on all major music download and streaming sites Worldwide

For the Wild Goose Festival website (Click here)

Wild Goose Festival tickets available via Eventbrite.com (Click here)

Nine Beats official website (Click here)

May 21, 2019 • No Comments

Singer songwriter MATT JR HURLEY, who released his ‘Raising Questions’ EP on Plankton in 2016 has teamed up with fellow singer songwriter April Shipton and under the duo name of ‘Beyond The Mountain’ are releasing the single ‘One More Mountain’ on Friday 24th May. The single will be available on all leading digital music sites/platforms. (This is not a Plankton Records release)

“The response to the song and the whole Beyond The Mountain project idea has been brilliant” shared Matt. “We have and are doing several radio interviews and appearances, including Premier and UCB and just this week we’ve been able to confirm our appearance at Creation Fest 2019 in Cornwall”

Matt and April met at on a Christian songwriting retreat, where a common passion to share hope to those struggling soon emerged. With inspirational music and powerful testimonies, the pair of friends are a poignant reminder that whatever mountain we face; we are never alone, and there is always hope.

Matt’s Plankton EP “RAISING QUESTIONS” is still available on all digital music sites/platforms Worldwide and on CD from this website (click here)

For more BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN news/info check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondTheMountainTour/

May 13, 2019 • No Comments

Here at Plankton Records we’ve always counted it a great honour and privilege to be working with, and a part of, the whole NINE BEATS COLLECTIVE project. There are lots of reasons for this and one of them is because “the collective” goes way beyond just creating, performing and releasing some great music together. As well as songwriters and composers its fantastic to be working with poets and writers. Two of those writers have recently had new books published.

AARON NIEQUIST (who is also a brilliant songwriter and musician – check out ‘Lament’ on the ‘Nine beats to the Bar’ album) has published THE ETERNAL CURRENT. Quoting a press release:

“The Eternal Current is a call for Christians to move past the shallows of idealized beliefs and into a deeper, more vibrant, beatitude-like faith rooted in sacred practices and intimate experiences with God.

When the limits of his own faith experience left him feeling spiritually empty, Niequist determined God must have a wider vision for worship and community. In his search, Aaron discovered that there was historical Christian precedent for enacting faith in a different way, an ancient and now future way of believing. He calls this third way “practice-based faith.”

This book is about loving one’s faith tradition and, at the same time, following the call to something deeper and richer. By adopting some new spiritual practices, it is possible to learn to swim again with a renewed sense of vigor and divine purpose.”

Available from Amazon Worldwide. Direct links to book on UK or USA

ROZELLA (Roz) HAYDEE WHITE (who we had the pleasure of meeting and working with at the Greenbelt Festival in August 2017) has just published LOVE BIG. Again, quoting a press release:

“Love has the power to transform us – In the words of Mother Teresa, “We have forgotten that we belong to each other.” This lapse in memory has caused deep fractures and allowed fear, hatred, and division to infect our lives together. We’ve become disconnected from each other and from our very selves.

In Love Big, leadership coach Rozella Haydée White introduces readers to the power of revolutionary relationships. Modeled after the image of God as a lover, these relationships can heal the brokenness of our lives by crossing over the dividing lines of race, gender, religion, orientation, ability, identity, and class to provide relief and inspiration.

Revolutionary relationships will usher us into a reality marked by love, connection, and a belief in abundance. Revolutionary relationships lead us to love big – to love despite hardships and fear; to love in the face of despair; to love ourselves and others deeply and passionately; to love in ways that change us all.”

Available from Amazon Worldwide. Direct links to book on UK or USA

Both of these books are thought provoking and challenging brilliant and well worth checking out – as are their authors!

And while focussing on books we just wanted to remind you that the brilliant THE NINEFOLD PATH Notebook by Mark Scandrette & Danielle Walsh is available as a single book or in money saving packs (for group/church use) from the official Nine Beats Collective website, along with the LEARNING LAB GROUP GUIDE (the leadership handbook to go with THE NINEFOLD PATH notebook). To go to the official website (CLICK HERE)

Happy reading!!!