Listing Ships

Listing Ships

Listing Ships are an Oxford-based instrumental group active from 2010 to 2014. Their music sits in post-rock and krautrock, with a strong nautical theme running through their work.

Style and themes

The band’s songs are closely tied to ships and the sea. That theme shapes the titles, the samples they use, and the way the pieces are built, with many tracks constructed around seafaring stories. They collect samples from a wide range of places, including Venice and Blackpool, and use them as part of the band’s sound and imagery.

Recordings

One of their later releases is The Hayling Island Sessions, a 12-inch recording made by turning an RNLI lifeboat station into a studio. The release also uses artwork and samples gathered from the surrounding area.

Musical influences

Listing Ships draw on a mix of krautrock, electronica, guitar music and soundtrack composition. Their influences include Can, Harmonia, Neu!, Ash Ra Tempel, Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, Seefeel, Tarentel, The Alps, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Clint Mansell and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Performances

The group performs alongside Damo Suzuki, Health, The Big Pink, Karma To Burn, Arbouretum, Mark Gardener of Ride, and Tall Ships. They also appear at festivals such as Truck, Audioscope and Supernormal, and play in non-traditional venues including art galleries and record shops.

Members

The group includes Tim Waterfield, David Alexander Balch, Mike Bingham, Stuart Fowkes and Jim Hey.