Above is a photograph of a photograph that sits on the surface of the moon, too small to be detected by lunar satellites and thought to be slowly deteriorating as the shrink wrap reacts to temperature. The image was placed there in 1972 by Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke and inspired the cover artwork for The Stars, Like Dust, combining a spontaneous human gesture with something distant and desolate. You can read the full story of the original photograph here and I think there’s something really touching about it.

Well, Dr. Dog is pleased as a puppet to be a super world indie dog. Read what SWIT had to say about his mission into space.

We have lift off! Watch the brand new video for The Stars, Like Dust now, taken from the album Gilded Cage. Directed by @zomtographer with camera co-pilot Tim Connell. Album available on vinyl and CD here.

A giant star-sized thanks to Breaking More Waves blog for waxing lyrical on waxing moons and ambient antimatter. Nice mention of The Dark Outside too.

Read it here. 

Hurtling to Earth tomorrow at 10am (UK time), watch the space-themed video for The Stars, Like Dust, directed by my friend @Zomtographer, or get it sent directly to your inbox.

The Stars, Like Dust is taken from the album Gilded Cage, available now from Bandcamp on vinyl, CD and in various digital formats.

Excellent photos by Rachel Shewen of us finding our bearings at The Talking Heads, Southampton, UK. View the full set on Flickr.

Above is one of the original album cover ideas for Gilded Cage by photographer and visual collaborator @zomtographer after a day spent building, cladding and furnishing a retro living room set, long before pink carpets and orange curtains became the dominant decor.

On the subject of which, I recently answered a few questions for the brilliant We Are Cult about small town peculiarities on film and wood cladding. Those with strong opinions on tombstones and ugly crying are also in for a treat. ⚰️

Spent my Saturday with a gold marker in hand. Only a few hundred records to go! ✨

My Bandcamp was looking a little drab so I put down some pink carpet to spruce it up a bit. Hands up who likes Pepto-Bismol?

Head over there now to admire the new carpet.

Waving off 2017 with the album faves of Breaking More Waves. A sea of thanks to Robin for placing Gilded Cage at number 15 and sea/see you in 2018.

‘In Your Neighbourhood’ is featured amongst this year’s SWIT hits. It’s such a good playlist, in fact, that it has caused cassettes to grow eyes and ears! Listen here.

I hope you asked Father Christmas for a Bandcamp gift card this year, as Gilded Cage is now available on CD from Bandcamp (and subscribers get 20% off all physical merch)!

If you’re wondering about the availability of a physical version of ‘Gilded Cage’, then you’ve come to the right update. Currently, vinyl is still in production, but as soon as it’s here it’ll be going up on Bandcamp and, if you’re a subscriber, you can get 20% off. 

Secondly, a few of you have asked for CDs and whilst a record is a beautiful object, you’re right, it’s quite hard to listen to in the car, so I’ve had a limited number of CDs made and they should be here within the next two weeks! Thanks to @zomtographer for the artwork for those.

Lastly, thank you for your patience and encouraging comments. I took this picture a few weeks ago, as both the sticker and the context seem quite fitting for anyone doing a creative project or making music independently. We are all this motorhome.

I spoke to the wonderful We Are Cult about confidence, Blancmange, grunting and, err, metal detectors. Read the full interview here.

For desert island doom, Simpsons characters as musical references and a sad tale about my dashed hopes of becoming a sign painter, head over to More Than The Music to read the questions that I answered for their Fast Five feature.

The picture is from Flashbak. It’s like looking in a mirror.

Massive thanks to Patrick Mahan for adding 'In Your Neighbourhood' to his Heavy Rotation and Spankin' New playlists and brightening up this dreary Monday.

‘In Your Neighbourhood’ is on this week’s magnificent HighClouds Spotify playlist, alongside FKL, Björk, Arca, Röyksopp and Robyn. You can listen here.

Way up in the digital sky, a puppet band, a watchful eye. 

Watch ‘In Your Neighbourhood’ on HighClouds now.

Bears do other things in the woods, y'know.

Tees available now from Bandcamp (with free download of In Your Neighbourhood).

From Colour Work by Steven Taylor Photography.

Thought I’d post this today because Xune Mag and Pavillonn really know their onions. In Your Neighbourhood features on both of their Spotify playlists! You can listen here and here and think about onions, if you like.

Big thanks to Mark and Right Chord Music for adding ‘In Your Neighbourhood’ to the Lost On Radio playlist.

Hearse-ing around and reposting a 1953 doom cruiser because this heading from Super World Indie Tunes really made me laugh. Thanks to Tom for the kind words about In Your Neighbourhood.

If, like me, you float between the digital world and the tangible world, you can get hold of new album Gilded Cage and every single digital Curxes release for £20, plus 20% off physical merch like CDs and vinyl. Read more over at Bandcamp. 

Photography by @zomtographer.

If you’re into raindrop keyboards and unicorn funerals, you can read an in-depth gilded page about new album ‘Gilded Cage’, thanks to those all round champs DOPECAUSEWESAID. You can also read about the influence of horror soundtracks on the album and my failed career as a saxophonist in this earlier interview on their site.

My second album Gilded Cage is out now.

Listen at Amazon, AWA, Bandcamp, Deezer, Google Play, iTunes/Apple Music and Spotify, among many other digital stores. Alternatively, you can get hold of the CD version from Bandcamp.

Written and performed by Roberta Fidora, except In Your Neighbourhood, written by Roberta Fidora and Andrew E. Wright.

Additional performances by Mike James, Grace James and P.J.E. Davy. Recorded, produced and mixed by Deluxe Flamingos and Roberta Fidora. Mastered at Stardelta Mastering, with thanks to the Mike Howley Trust on the Isle of Wight. Art direction and photography by Rob Luckins. 

Deluxe Flamingos:  deluxeflamingos.bandcamp.com
P.J.E. Davy:  www.pjedavy.com
Rob Luckins:  www.welcometothedarkslide.co.uk 

A huge thank you to all of the above for their help and encouragement and we hope you enjoy listening to it.

P. S. I’m already working on the next EP, so every stream and purchase helps. Thank you!