SONG FOR TODAY: Transit Kings - America Is Unavailable

Happy new year to all readers, friends, bands, labels, promoters and everybody else! The first SONG FOR TODAY of 2013 is this... If you pick up a copy of this month's MOJO Magazine, as well as a great feature on Johnny Marr, you will also get a brilliant CD featuring many of Marr's collaborations with various musicians, plus an exclusive new track from his upcoming solo debut 'The Messenger'. Here is a track that Marr recorded with Transit Kings, an electronic supergroup consisting of Alex Paterson, Guy Pratt and Dom Beken. Jimmy Cauty, co-founder of The Orb with Paterson, was involved in initial recording sessions but does not take part in live sessions. He is currently on "extended leave". The Transit Kings' music is reminiscent of The Orb and The KLF. Ambient house pioneers Paterson (The Orb) and Cauty (The Orb, The KLF), joined with Pratt and Bekem in London’s Townhouse Studios in the summer of 2001, to begin work on a new project. Recording later continued in Cauty's Brighton studio. In 2003, the group released their first single, "Boom Bang Bombay", under the name Custerd.

On New Year's Day 2004, the Transit Kings appeared live in Tokyo. In 2005, they released the Token EP, and performed live (without Cauty) at the Big Chill Festival. In 2006 they released a limited edition set of three colored vinyl 7" singles on Malicious Damage featuring the songs "America Is Unavailable" (Red), "Japanese Cars" (Amber), and "Butterflies and Boom" (Green). They released their first album Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God in August 2006. The "sample-tastic" house album featured guest appearances from The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and comedian Simon Day. The Sun described the album as "quality" and "out of this world" and compared it to a mixture of DJ Shadow and Röyksopp; however, The Times called it "Orb-lite" and proclaimed it to be "Deep Forest-style sludge".

Cauty left the band in 2004 to work on other projects; the official website has him listed as on "Co-Pilot (on extended leave): Graybeard". He is, however, listed as a composer on seven of the Transit Kings' debut album's twelve tracks.