* * * HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!! * * *
 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

We hope you've had a wonderful Christmas, full of warmth & happiness, great times with your loved ones, and plenty of good cheer!

And we wish you the very best of starts to the New Year ~ Let's make this a big one!
On that note, we have some major news for you from PANIC ROOM HQ......

PANIC ROOM SIGN RECORD DEAL WITH *ESOTERIC ANTENNA*!!!


PANIC ROOM are signing an international record deal with the fantastic new label 'Esoteric Antenna', as of January 2012!!! 

ESOTERIC are part of the well-respected major label CHERRY RED, and they are launching Esoteric Antenna as a brand new branch of their company, championing only the best in brand new releases, by great emerging artists.
Panic Room are proud, excited and honoured to be one of their select few, chosen to ride at the helm of this new venture! 


UP UNTIL NOW, Panic Room have always been an independent band, and we are incredibly proud of all we have achieved since our beginnings. We've done all of this with just a lot of hard work, crazy-long hours, pure devotion / obsession, and a hell of a lot of passion for our music!
And we've never been prouder of the band - or of you, our amazing family of fans - than we have over this last year.

It's this increasing level of success which really makes us want to take bigger steps though, and to achieve even more than we ever have before...

We've been thinking for a long time about whether to stay independent or to sign with a label - a company who could give us more support and promotion, and get us to bigger places; who could help to take some of the pressure off and share the workload when we're having to do every job in the office (of which there are many!); and who could ultimately allow us maximum time and energy to focus on the music.

So it seemed perfect timing when, at the beginning of our Autumn Tour 2011, we were approached by representatives of the label Esoteric, who were keen to sign us!

They knew of us through the many industry insiders and A & R men who are fans of Panic Room, and had been following the buzz around us for quite a while. When they made the decision to launch their new 'Front-Line' label for 2012, they approached us straight away to offer us a deal.

To work with a label like Esoteric / Cherry Red brings a thousand major benefits that are just perfect for us right now - increased promotion in every area, profile-building with a creative team alongside us, worldwide distribution with a fantastic new supplier, and all the resources and contacts available from a big label. These and countless more opportunities; plus, very importantly, we would get to maintain full control of our creative output, and our tour schedule.

When you've been working as a small team for a long time, you know your business inside out and it can be pretty daunting to let others in... But as soon as we met the Esoteric and Cherry Red folks, we knew they were good people, full of ideas and enthusiasm, fully supportive, and that they also shared our core values and ethics - essential when you are to work with people as an 'extended family' of your band. 

We knew that to be under the wing of Cherry Red and Esoteric was a great place to be... and we were excited and honoured to be welcomed there.

ESOTERIC ANTENNA

Esoteric are a very well-respected label, and for 2012 they wanted to launch a whole new era of the label by concentrating on new 'front-line' releases - new bands, new albums, nothing but exciting new projects.
They have enjoyed great success with 're-issues' on their label too, but they wanted to make a distinction with their new output by branding it as something unique - and so, the new label will be called 'ESOTERIC ANTENNA'.... reaching out to new horizons!

 

PANIC ROOM are very proud to be a part of this new venture for the label, and to be signing with them for our next album - Panic Room 3.
 

(Our first two albums will also be re-printed and released by Esoteric, so in total there will be all 3 of Panic Room's albums available to buy through Esoteric / Cherry Red)

We are currently working on all of the material for the new album, which we'll start recording on 18th January.

The recording / production should be completed by Spring 2012, and then the record label will concentrate on a big promotional push to the music industry and media. This will bring maximum attention to the album before its official release in late May / early June 2012.

We are very excited about the new record deal, and we really hope that you will share our excitment too!
There are only good things ahead... and we can't wait to get started!!!

 

THANK YOU FOR 2011!!!


Of course, looking ahead is the best thing about a New Year....
but we couldn't let the moment pass without saying a huge *THANK YOU* to all of you for an AMAZING 2011, and reminding you of some of the highlights that you helped make happen for us, last year....
 

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2011
 

* In January, Anne-Marie Helder was voted 'Best Female Vocalist' in the 'Classic Rock Presents Prog' magazine Readers' Poll... a huge accolade, and voted for by over 30,000 people!

* Also in the New Year, Panic Room were voted in the Top Ten Albums of 2010 by both Classic Rock and Classic Rock Prog magazines, for our last album 'Satellite' (2010).

* In April, our very own Gavin Griffiths was voted 'Best Drummer' at the CRS Awards; where we also picked up 'Best Song' (for Satellite), and the very first 'Personality of the Year' Award - for Anne-Marie! Lovely crystal 'gongs'... we were chuffed!

* In February and June the Panics hit the road, then played the Cambridge Rock Festival in August ~ with the summer gigs also featuring the debut of some new material, penned for the next album (Panic Room 3).

* September / October saw the band play their biggest tour to date ~ over 20 cities across the UK, reaching out to fans in every corner! The band were on fire, and loved every minute of it...

* December ~ the Christmas shows!!!
Wow, what can we say... these gigs finished the year with a huge bang (quite literally - we had explosions, flames, starry backdrops, & all sorts of special effects to make this a magical show for everyone!)
We were blown away by the sheer energy and enthusiasm you shared with us at these December shows (in London and Bilston), and there couldn't have been a better way to round off an amazing tour and finish the year!

 

ROLL OF HONOUR

There are just too many people to thank for all of their help, love, devotion and support of the band, all of who make things possible for us to do what we do....
But here are just a few names we couldn't go without mentioning!
 

* Our partners and families, with a special thanks to Anne-Marie's parents for putting us up (or up with us!?) at the Hotel Helder on a regular basis - we can recommend the cooked breakfast! ;o>

* Those who help us make our music - Tim Hamill at Sonic One Studios (we'll see him v soon for PR3!), Dave Pickering for great sound (e.g. at Cambridge Rock Festival), and all those who inspire our songs and ideas...

* The bands and artists who have supported us this year - these include the David R Black band, Sarah Dixon with her sultry and beguiling sounds, and the mighty Morpheus Rising who rocked so hard at the Robin in December!

* Our crew and helpers, who are our extended family...
This includes all those who've helped sell merchandise at our live shows, which is a tough and full-on job! So big thanks to: Ray and Steph (legends!), the lovely Jolijne, 'Hippy' Dave and Christine Cooper, and the 'Merch Maiden' from David R Black, Penny Hargreaves!!!


All of these special people, along with you our loyal fans, are heroes to us, and help to make this crazy life in music possible... Where would we be without you?!!

So, here's a special New Year toast to all of you..... Cheers!!!
And here's to an AMAZING 2012 for us all......


Love and Peace,
Rock and Rockets,
from
*x* PANIC ROOM *x*

...Anne-Marie, Jonathan, Paul, Yatim and Gavin.