The Jazz Butcher recording ‘Last of the Gentleman Adventurers’ — first album in 12 years

Pat Fish and Max Eider — co-founders of U.K. indie-pop group The Jazz Butcher, aka The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy — are planning to celebrate this year’s 30th anniversary of the group by making their first record since 2000’s Rotten Soul, and the duo is funding the project through fans’ donations.

The band last month launched a donation drive through PledgeMusic, and already have raised 206 percent of their target level — but fans are still encouraged to give, for which they’ll receive a wide variety of possible items in return, from vinyl and lyric notebooks to house concerts and even a Fender guitar, depending on the level of donation.

Recording of the album, to be titled Last of the Gentleman Adventurers, got underway this week, and it will “draw on the best of Pat’s compositions since the recording of Rotten Soul back in 2000. Unlike that album, it will be made in a proper studio with the best producer we know.”

Their pitch:

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, Max Eider and Pat Fish are planning to record a new album with producer Richard Formby. After years of wandering, confused, through the digital wreckage of the record business, we have alighted upon this brilliant model for getting our music to those who want it most. So here we are, appealing to you to help us front up the necessary for the recording and manufacturing of that album.

The record will draw on the best of Pat’s compositions since the recording of Rotten Soul back in 2000. Unlike that album, it will be made in a proper studio with the best producer we know.

By pledging here you secure your copy of the album. Think of it as a kind of long-term pre-ordering system. We also have some interesting exclusives to offer, from a signed lyric sheet to Pat’s Fender El Rio guitar. Check out what’s on offer in the sidebar.

If we’re lucky enough to attract more than our target amount, we shall be making a donation to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Anything else will go towards the setting up of a celebratory thirtieth anniversary tour.

If we fail to reach our target, everybody gets their money back and we’ll go back to playing cribbage and dribbling into our beer as we struggle to recall our exact whereabouts. But let’s not think about that, eh?

Please give generously.