Special Issue : Best of Indie Rock 2015
Ambient
www.ambientmagazine.co.uk
No more monkeying around!
Arctic Monkeys announce their last gig for a while.
The Kooks return!
Did I just hear luke announce a tour?
Arcade’s on Fire! Not are they only the latest gossip, but their newest hit is too hot for the charts.
Plus
Sophie Khoo
The new senstation sharing her secrets.
The Strokes Find out the reasons behind their comeback
The Killers They're killing their fans after Brandon's brake up
Tilly Lewis Find out her top fave tracks and behind the scenes
ÂŁ3.99 $5.75 December 2015
Contents Ambient Magazine - December 2015 Sophie Khoo 04
She is not just a one hit wonder, her plans for the future seem promising and excit-
ing.
Neon23 Trees
It's going to be Neon Tree's first year at Ambients festival! Who will you be seeing at our festival next year?
10The Killers They're killing it, but they're also killing their fans after Brandon's brake up.
On The cover
Cover Story
10 Tilly Lewis
Tilly has just finished touring around the UK, and is in complete shock with the response from all her fans on the tour and her newest songs.
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14 No More Mon-25 Arcades on keying Around
Fire
Artic Monkeys announce their last gig in a while.
Not are they only the latest gossip, but their newest hit is too hot for the charts.
16 The Kooks Re-
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turn
Did I just head Luke announce a tour? December 2015
38The 1975
Latest fashion tips from our biggest fashion inspiration, Mat Healy.
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The Strokes
Find out their secrets behind their comeback... why now? Inclusive interview with the strokes here thanks to Ambient!
Features Meet The New 18 Catfish and 12 The Strokes 04 Sensation, Sophie Khoo
She's not just a one hit wonder, her plans in the future sound exciting and promising.
the Bottlemen are back Find out their seTakeover crets behind their For all you Catfish fans, this ones for you.
20 The Killers,
23 Jamie T or Neon
38 Trash or Fashion Sense
Killing It.
But they're also killing their fans after Brandon's brake Who will you be watching at our fes- up. tival next year?
Trees
15 Cant stand 34 How To Be... them now Luckily for you, we got The Neighbouhood to join in this time!
December 2015
comeback.
Latest fashion tips from our biggest fashion inpsiration, Mat Healy.
40 Competition Time
A tour? again? But with a twist.
Today could be your lucky day!
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The Liberteens 15 Look whos back! They're going on your, worldwide this time. Can't stand them now?
Band Index 38 The 1975
25 Arcade Fire
14 Arctic MOnkeys 36Baby Shambles 18 Catfish and the Bottlemen 23Jamie T 20The Killers 16The Kooks 15 The Liberteens 34 The Neighbourhood 23Neon Trees 04 Sophie Khoo 12The Strokes 06 Tilly Lewis
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December 2015
Sophie Khoo Photographed by Aimee Smith
A
mbient Presents to you, Sophie |Khoo. She's only been singing for just over a year but already she's being talked about around town. Want to know all about the hype? Listen up!
nless you've been sleeping under U a rock or hiding away, I expect that you've heard her single 'Over You', or at least you've stuck it on on the radio and found yourself jamming away. I'll have to admit it came as a surprise to those at Ambient how amazing someone so young, at the age of 19, could be. But as a big lover of Florence Welsh's voice, its not a shock that we'd love someone like Sophie Khoo too, having that similar bold, huky twist to her voice, that original style we all love. We spoke to the one and only Sophie Khoo to find out about the behind the scenes of her amazing new single, bringing hope and predictions to us that she'll be excelling in her carer in the near future. We asked her about the makings of this song, and the inspiration behind it. Where has this talent sprung out from? 'Well, I've been singing for a year or so in talent shows, plays, the lot, but not till recently have I even thought about writing my own music considering that it's my weak spot.' The nation seeming to disagree with her though, this song reaching out to many as they relate and empathise with her due to her emotional lyrics. She seems to be a lyrical genius! Releasing this beautiful single is making us wonder where her heart is at. These lyrics are simply wonderful, and really make our heart melt. 'Personal experiences seem to be the best source of good writing, and also really helped me express
December 2015
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my emotions, which is perhaps why they seem so real and helped those who listen to 'Over You', to connect and relate to the lyrics. I completely poured my heart out in this song, it feels so personal to me.' She speaks the truth, her lyrics having a huge impact on anyone who listens to this song. Someone with such skill shouldn't just stop here, they must continue to create and produce music. We just crave more! Luckily for you, we bring you great news. 'I've had such amazing response to this single, which i'm very shocked about, its motivating me to write more! Hopefully i'll continue to produce music, and perhaps i'll be doing some amazing things in the music industry in the future!' What a relief! And she even has a fanbase already, as we keep receiving tweets from the nation requesting us to dive in and find out about this amazing woman. Unfortunately thats all we had time for, but it was enough to entice us and make us even more excited for upcoming music from Sophie Khoo! She's just made for the music industry, just look at her!
'I completely poured my heart out in this song, it feels so personal to me.'
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‘I never imagined that this would happen’
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December 2015
Ambient Presents To You....
Tilly Lewis
er dreams have finally come true! And what a lucky girl she is too. Not only
H
has she only ever dreamed of singing for the rest of her life, but she has always imagined preforming on a stage in front of a crowd. And guess what? At the age of 23, her dreams are being accomplished with a huge smile on her face. And for you fans out there...heres a interview revealing all her deepest secrets beyond singing and her great success.
e cannot express how W proud we are of Tilly, being a huge supporter and fan, falling in love with her music. It only seems fair that we should dive in and reveal all her secrets, being as nosey as you reading this probably are.
So, we all know this is your biggest dream, but what has been the hardest part of this experience? Although this has been the best year of my life, there has defiantly been some tough moments and hard aspects of being kinda well known. I've never exactly been the most confident when speaking to a lot of new people, yet I can do the whole stage situation so I'm not really sure why. However, I am getting better and starting to learn how to interact with those I don't feel so comfortable around!
What has been the best part of your carer then? Defiantly touring around the December 2015
UK! I am having the most incredible time and have had the best response from my fans from this tour and it is so amazing getting to see the majority of people who support me in the flesh! After all, this is what I've been waiting for for a long long time. I really hope that I will get the chance to tour again, and I will defiantly do if I get the opportunity!
What's it like having a huge fanbase that supports you? I never imagined that this would happen, and considering that the amount of praise and support I get each day increases, it can get quite overwhelming, but don't get me wrong, it's still amazing. Having all these amazing people being so kind really motivates me, and its incredible getting to meet them in the street, and puts this all into perspective as much as it can.
Although you receive many pleasant comments, do you www.ambientmagazine.co.uk
get any hate at all? Of course, who doesn't? But I don't ever let them get to me. They just have nothing better to do with themselves other than be negative and mean about other people. Some comments can be critical and quite helpful though I suppose, and they don't really mean it in a bad way.
Who inspired you to start singing and writing all your music? This is a tough one as I had so many inspirations whilst growing up, being a massive fan of a variety of brilliant artists. However, I owe it all to Morrissey, being the biggest fan of the Smiths and their beautiful lyrics. Although I am also in love with the Arctic Monkeys and also Miles Kane, it's hard to say who's my favourite. Have so much respect for Luke from the Kooks too, being a close friend of mine and helping me out while I adventured out on this amazing 07
journey.
What does it feel like to finally stand up on stage and to preform for the first time? It was very strange but a big relief, and a huge rush of excitement almost swept me off my feet. I had been waiting for that moment, and I had preformed before so wasn't completely new to how everything worked so I suppose I had an advantage.
'a huge rush of excitement almost swept me off my feet' I see you got a bit close to Mat Healy on the tour, ay? Had a feeling that he was going to be brought up... he's just so popular! Well we've just been friends for ages and we seem to get along so well, we're practically the same person! I suppose we'll see how everything goes, it was a pleasure having him by my side for the majority of the time as he really helped me whilst on tour. God, I love that kid.
You got any gossip you'd like to share with us that's happened on the tour so far? Well yeah, my album comes out on January 19th..ahah joking! No not really, unfortunately not! It was all just fun and games backstage, everyone pulling pranks on each 08
other but that's it really. None really stand out to me.
Oh yeah! Your second album comes out very soon, tell us about that. Eekk! I'm so excited to share it to everyone! I've only shown sneak peeks to a few of my friends and I seem to be getting great reactions, I just hope everyone else thinks the same. I love how upbeat these songs are, and also how meaningful they are to me as I wrote about personal situations.
Finally, how would you say the whole experience has been overall? Wow, thats a tough question I defiantly couldn't put into one word. Overwhelming as you can imagine, but obviously so amazing as i'm living my dream! It's tough at times as there is so much to this job that I wasn't expecting but with the whole team and the support of my family, it makes it totally worth it and manageable, I'm having way too much fun!
Have you found writing you're own songs a struggle? It's not my strong spot, but with Luke by my side giving me a helping hand and with others around me too, i'm finding it a lot easier. I was kinda okay at writing in school so I wouldnt say it's too hard, but having experiences to talk about makes them sound a lot better and i enjoy the process of writing my own songs a lot anyway.
You seem to sound like you've got it all under control! Or are you hiding the stress that comes with these amazing opportunities? I don't generally stress that much, and have never been a stressful person but being around those who help and support me really does help. Having these amazing opportunities makes it totally worth it anyway, and everyone seems to know what they're doing which makes it all a lot easier to cope with. Practise makes perfect is something that i've learnt whilst touring. www.ambientmagazine.co.uk
Tilly Lewis Uk Tour 2015-2016
Manchester 22nd December 23rd December
London
5th January 6th January 7th January December 2015
Ambient Review 'What's Not To Like'
by Tilly Lewis
Tilly Lewis has managed to make quite the name for herself since the release of her single back in the Summer. She's finally graced us all with the release of her outstanding album, putting Ambient in shock. Her soothing musky vocals seemed to send thrills down our spines, leaving us craving more and more. I reckon Tilly's new album 'What's Not To Like' is for you helpless romantic folks. This one is a cloud of wispy vocals, coated in velvet to display a confession of hopeless December 2015
romance. She;s created an image of confusion and lust for a man, sending us to dreamy land. If this isn't enough to draw you in, well we've heard rumours that she might be playing at Reading next year and may also be joining much loved Matty from The 1975, being rather believable due to their close relationship on her tour. Nevertheless, Ambient are full supporters of Tilly and her carer path and are in awe as her originality is what we love to hear and see. We are looking forward to what her future will bring, and are extremely excited for her upcoming album in January.
www.ambientmagazine.co.uk
09
The
Saffrons 10
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December 2015
Ambient Review 'Get Over It'
by Aimee Smith
If you're into the whole rocky vibe, I wouldnt suggest anything over than checking out The Saffrons insane very first EP, 'Get Over It''. With a punch, this album certainly proved the Saffrons hard efforts to produce the perfect collection of tracks. The lyrical aggression and insane riffs are utterly memorable and it's no surprise that this album, radiates utter brilliance. After initial doubt as to whether the band could create
December 2015
such success with little experienence, they certainly proved us all wrong. The rocky, relentless and funky riffs of Get Over iT, arguably one of the most standout tracks, feel as if there is a rave going on in your head and everyone’s invited, leaving your foot tapping and the urge to get up and jam. From such intricate sensations to floor filling melodies, these kings of rock have truly mastered the art of rusty fuzz rock 'n' roll. So, a big thumbs up to these guys for creating yet another unquestionable musical masterpiece and preserving the sound of good old rock.
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