Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs have confirmed that 'The Future Is Medieval' is set to receive a physical release.

Taking time off, Kaiser Chiefs re-assessed how they wanted their music to be absorbed. Recording in a variety of different locations, the group ended up with a batch of twenty brand new songs.

Deciding that they simply couldn't whittle down the new material, Kaiser Chiefs launched an inventive new fans led scheme. Uploading twenty tracks to their website, fans could choose their favourite ten and then purchase the 'album'.

Named 'The Future Is Medieval' the record won massive press attention, focussing mainly on the means of distribution. Now Kaiser Chiefs have confirmed that the 'album' will be given a physical release.

Rather undercutting their own argument, 'The Future Is Medieval' will be pressed onto CD for a June 27th release. The final tracklisting contains some of the band's own favourites, alongside cuts clearly popular with fans.

In addition to this, the new version of 'The Future Is Medieval' contains the brand new exclusive track 'Kinda Girl You Are' - which wasn’t even finished when the album became available.

Recording and mixing right up until the last minute, Kaiser Chiefs were forced to leave the track out of the initial project. Producers include Tony Visconti, Ethan Johns, Owen Morris and the band's own Nick Hodgson.

Opening with 'Little Shocks' the final tracklisting contains thirteen new songs from Kaiser Chiefs. Of course, as a fan you may well own quite a few - if not all - of the songs on offer. Disgruntled? Inspired? Leave a comment below.

Following a long hiatus (since 2008), Kaiser Chiefs announced that they expected to release their fourth studio album in mid-2011. The album was recorded over a period of eighteen months at various locations including drummer Nick Hodgson's self-built east-London studio.The album's producers included Tony Visconti, Ethan Johns and Owen Morris, in addition to Nick Hodgson himself.

In 2011 the band played at Germany's Hurricane and Southside Festivals in June, Switzerland's Gurten Festival, Pinkpop in The Netherlands, Belgium's Rock Werchter, Portuguese festival Optimus Alive! in July, V Festival in August, Hard Rock Calling in June, the Isle of Wight Festival in June and at Terres Rouges Festival in Luxembourg in September. They also played at Tennants Vital in Bangor, Ireland and in September they played two sold out home town shows at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds. They also be played in October in Festa das Latas, Coimbra - Portugal.

Kaiser Chiefs have also established their own record label, entitled Chewing Gum Records. Their first signing was The Neat, a band from Kingston upon Hull, who were featured on the BBC6 Music Playlist.

On 30 May 2011, Ricky Wilson appeared on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show and announced a new song which was called "Little Shocks". It was played on the show and was streamed on the band's official website.

On 3 June 2011, Kaiser Chiefs launched their new album from their website. However, instead of simply allowing fans to download the pre-made album, the band instead employed a new policy of allowing fans to "create their own albums". Using this technique, fans are able to choose 10 out of 20 songs to create "their album" for £7.50; the band provides streams of roughly one minute to preview each track before selection. Furthermore, after the creation of some albums, by early customers, later customers could be able to select an already created album if they desired, with the original creator being reimbursed one pound for each copy of their album downloaded/sold. Many celebrities including, Radio One DJ Chris Moyles, The Guardian Newspaper, and frontman Ricky Wilson, created their own version of the album, donating the £1 reimbursement for each copy sold to the Alzheimer's Society.

On 27 June 2011, Kaiser Chiefs released an official tracklisting for the album, featuring 12 of the 20 available tracks and including a previously unheard track 'Kinda Girl You Are' which did not make the initial launch as it was not ready in time.

On March 6, 2012 the album will be released under the title Start The Revolution Without Me for the US market. The tracklist differs significantly from the initial release including the track On The Runwhich is exclusive to the US album and will serve as its lead single in early 2012.