BN1 Magazine June 2023

BN1 is a multifaceted cultural, communal, and lifestyle publication that enjoys wide distribution throughout the vibrant regions of Brighton, Sussex, and extends into the bustling metropolis of London on a monthly basis. Our publication can be found in various esteemed shops and venues. If you are seeking to effectively reach a substantial target audience, we invite you to get in touch with us to explore the possibilities of our collaborative partnership and the valuable assistance we can provide.

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BN1 Magazine has taken every reasonable care to ensure the information contained within this periodical is accurate on the date of publication. It is advisable that you verify any information before relying upon it. BN1 Magazine accepts no responsibility for the consequences of error or for any damage or loss suffered by users of the information, materials or third parties featured within this magazine.

CONTRIBUTORS:

STUART ROLT

AMY STANBOROUGH

OWEN WATERS

NOOR SHEIKH

KIM PECI

AISHA KABIR

EDITOR IN CHIEF:

CHRIS SADLER

CHRIS@BN1MAGAZINE.CO.UK

EDITOR: STUART ROLT

STUART@BN1MAGAZINE.CO.UK

MAGAZINE DESIGN: AMELIA HARRIS

NEWSDESK/

GENERAL ENQUIRES: INFO@BN1MAGAZINE.CO.UK

COVER FEATURE: ROSIE JONES (BRIGHTON COMEDY GARDEN)

BN1 MAGAZINE

UNIT 28. FLOOR 6

NEW ENGLAND HOUSE

NEW ENGLAND STREET

BRIGHTON. BN1 4GH

01273 022991

CONTENTS

THREE FRIDAY NIGHTS

LIVE MUSIC EVENTS

GREAT BRITISH WINE TOURS

OF THE ARTIST

ROSIE JONES BELLAH MAE GHETTO FUNK COLLECTIVE

THREE FRIDAY NIGHTS - GOODWOOD RACECOURSE 9 / 16 / 23 JUNE

The iconic Three Friday Night fixtures at Goodwood Racecourse are set to light up the Sussex Downs once again this June. The glittering line-up of international acts features; Claptone, Felix da Housecat and Roger Sanchez and will be held on Fri 9, Fri 16 and Fri 23 June 2023. Since its ground-breaking inception in 2013, these nights of postracing entertainment in the parade ring comes with a fresh line up of international DJs, immersive performances and a few surprises for racegoers.

The sell-out series will begin on Fri 9 June, with Berlin artist Claptone certain to wow the crowds. Quickly establishing a place in dance music’s upper echelons, Claptone’s living existence is shrouded in mystery, with a beak-style mask hiding his identity. Dedicated to making people dance, two-time Grammy Award nominated Felix da Housecat continues the party on Fri 16 June and to bring Three Friday Nights to an ultimate crescendo, Grammy Award Winner Roger Sanchez takes to the decks on Friday, 23 June.

Over three nights, more than 25,000 fans are expected to flock to Goodwood Racecourse as the parade ring morphs into a dancefloor illuminated by lasers, against the backdrop of an evening race in a breathtaking open-air amphitheatre. This year, racegoers are encouraged to celebrate a new ‘reflection’ theme which will be carried through lighting installations, dress code and surprise performances throughout the night. Complimentary return bus journeys will run to Chichester Train Station and neighbouring towns make it accessible for all.

Adult admission tickets start from £40, with Juniors (13-17) starting from £30. Each of these events is anticipated to sell out quickly. Tickets can be purchased at www.goodwood.com or by calling 01243 755055.

Image by © Stephanie O'Callaghan

Image by © Christopher Ison

Image by © Jayson Fong

Image by © Toby Adamson

Image by Simon Weller Plumpton College

DOG GROOMING AT ONE GARDEN BRIGHTON

Plumpton College takes great pride in training the next generation of dog groomers who are now offering their services at One Garden Brighton. With a team consisting of experienced dog groomers and trainee students (available on specific days), they provide a comprehensive range of grooming services while prioritizing the well-being and care of your beloved pets. Operating from a commercial studio, their practices adhere to industry standards.

Under the guidance of the Plumpton College Dog Grooming team, the studio operates with trainee groomers on Mondays and Tuesdays, and a professional commercial team from Wednesdays to Saturdays. These highly skilled teams offer a diverse range of services tailored to suit the unique needs of each dog. Moreover, the studio serves as an educational hub, hosting Dog Grooming courses at the same location.

The opening hours of the studio are as follows:

Monday - Saturday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm

Monday - Tuesday: 9:00 am - 3:30 pm (Term time only)

(Student Trainee Grooming - Concessions Apply)

Wednesday - Saturday: (Professional Dog Grooming Team) Convenient parking is available at Stanmer Park, Patchway Carpark, with charges applicable.

For on-the-day appointments or further inquiries, interested individuals can either visit the studio directly or contact them at 01273 892046.

FROM TWO TONE TO DISCO

New artwork featuring 40 years of record collecting unveiled at Enter Gallery

Acclaimed artist Mark Vessey has released his latest work, which portrays four decades of music inspiration for Defected Records founder, Simon Dunmore. Featuring 88 records, which span Soul, Funk, Disco, Seminal House, Two Tone, R&B, Mod, Jazz and 80s Electronica, this photographic edition was launched at Enter Gallery, on Brighton’s Bond Street, last month.

Dunmore, an icon and ambassador of UK Dance Music, has helped establish the careers of many of world’s best-known DJs and artists. Starting his label, Defected Records, in 1999 and evolved it from an independent start-up to a formidable and highly influential global force. He was also the creator of Glitterbox, the polysexual and maximum glamour clubbing brand and record label, which produces trailblazing high energy disco events across the world.

Now, his musical influences are distilled into a limited-edition artwork in collaboration with British photographic artist Mark Vessey. Bestknown for exploring and celebrating icons of pop culture, he lovingly curates the subjects of his images - which include magazines, books and vinyl records that have had special significance within the popular cultural heritage of the 20th and 21st Centuries. This new print and photograph follows on from his critically acclaimed work with Norman Cook continuing a vinyl music theme.

THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III

Comes to Brighton Open Air Theatre

After their triumphs with The Lady in the Van and Abigail’s Party, Sarah Mann Company are staging Alan Bennett’s acclaimed The Madness Of George III Comes to Brighton Open Air Theatre. With a cast including Nathan Ariss, Amelia Armande, Nick Bartlett, Robert Cohen, Paddy Cooper, Jack Kristiansen, Pip Henderson and Sarah Mann, it comes to the city’s only bespoke outdoor theatrical venue on Weds 12 – Sat 15 Jul

King George III is unwell and parliament is in crisis. His behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic, with rumours circulating that he has even addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia. Doctors are brought in with their bizarre and inhumane treatments as the pleasure-seeking Prince of Wales prepares to manoeuvre himself into power… This is a spectacle of Kingship, a comedy of manners and an exploration of a man in mental crisis.

www.brightonopenairtheatre.co.uk

Here in this single image, Dunmore displays some very personal moments across his musical career, all drawn from his own collection. It features music as diverse as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Love Unlimited In Heat, to Digital Underground Doowutchyalike and Bobby Wilson I’ll Be Your Rainbow

Vessey has previously created photographic works showcasing collections of dance music subgenres including House Music, Funk and Soul, as well as collections inspired by Bowie and Kate Moss. He has also documented past covers of physical print magazines that we adore including Dazed & Confused, Mixmag, I-D and NME, covering music culture in an impactful and unique way, evoking the nostalgic emotions we have for different mediums. He has established himself on the artistic stage as an incisive celebrant and masterful documenter of popular culture.

This print is from a limited edition of 12 and comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity. For more details, head to: www.entergallery.com/ collections/mark-vessey

Image by © Stephanie O'Callaghan

LOVE SUPREME FESTIVAL 2023

Love Supreme Jazz Festival returns to Glynde Place for its milestone 10th edition on Fri 30 June – Sun 2 July. This year’s programme is topped by Mercury Prize, Ivor Novello and Brit Awardwinning UK rapper Little Simz and the legendary Grace Jones, making it the only major UK music festival with an all-female headline bill.

A huge array of the leading lights from across the jazz and soul spectrum will also be performing across the weekend including the likes of multi-million-selling, four-time Brit Award winner Emeli Sandé, French singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire FKJ, pioneering

bassist and vocalist Thundercat, Brit Award nominated gospelsoul trio Gabriels, soul queen Candi Staton (as part of her final UK shows), bassist, producer, bandleader and close Miles Davis collaborator Marcus Miller, powerhouse British drummer and bandleader Yussef Dayes, multi-million-selling, Grammywinning American soul group Shalamar (celebrating their 40th anniversary) and the father of Ethiopian jazz Mulatu Astatke.

There’s also incendiary US funk big band Tower of Power, South London-born neo-soul star Greentea Peng, South African vocal group The Joy, Brit-funk outfit Incognito, UK soul singer-

songwriter Pip Millett, Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan, one of the most celebrated British jazz musicians of all time, Courtney Pine CBE, US R&B singer Yaya Bey, three-time Grammy nominated US vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, internationally acclaimed Blue Note alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and French-Caribbean singer and bass player Adi Oasis, plus DJ sets from UK legends Danny Krivit and Greg Wilson, and much more.

Additional offerings this year will include a wellness and yoga area, organized hill walks across the South Downs, a host of activities aimed at children, a long-table-style banqueting

restaurant, the Supremium VIP area, which will offer a range of premium benefits plus the opportunity to watch exclusive artist performances, and the Jazz Lounge, which will present a range of artist interviews, talks, panel discussions, breakfast news reviews and film screenings. The festival will also see the return of an expanded Bands & Voices area, which presents cabaret, spoken word and swing dance lessons, and nestled away in the woods the Blue In Green area presents live music and DJs late into the night.

For more information and tickets, head to:

www.lovesupremefestival.com

30 JUNE - 02 JULY

Candi Staton Lil Simz

Thundercat Adi Oasis

Image credit: Kendall Bessent

Image credit Jesse Lirola

CONKER ACTIVITY TRAIL

Award-Winning Author Hannah Peckham brings children’s Activity Trail to Leonardslee

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens are welcoming back the Conker Activity Trail, featuring the acclaimed children’s author Hannah Peckham. From Sat 10 June - Sun 30 July, this immersive event will be inviting visitors to explore nature, their senses, and their emotions while engaging with the imaginative world of Peckham’s books.

The Conker Activity Trail is designed to help lay the foundation of good mental health in children, mirroring the goals of Peckham’s books. Upon arrival, visitors can pick up a free activity book at reception and follow Conker, the lovable chameleon, around the picturesque gardens in celebration of her award-winning book, Conker the Chameleon.

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens was chosen as the perfect location for the trail, as woodland gardens provide a calming and restorative effect on the mind for both children and adults. Studies have shown that cortisol levels decrease when walking in nature, and outdoor activities can reduce the risk of poor mental health.

In addition to the activity trail, Hannah Peckham will host a book reading at Leonardslee on Sat 17 June. Her latest book, Bronty’s Battle Cry, follows a little dinosaur who learns to live life singing to his own tune. During the illustration stage, Peckham’s three-year-old son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Now on a mission to raise awareness and find a kinder cure, Peckham works tirelessly on the #PantsToLeukhemia initiative with her son, Bodhi. As a result, 25p of each book sold will be donated to the Leukaemia UK #PantsToLeukaemia fund.

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a stunning Grade I listed woodland garden located in Horsham, West Sussex. Known for its breathtaking landscapes and diverse flora and fauna, it provides a serene environment for visitors to connect with nature and enjoy various events throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.leonardsleegardens. co.uk

SPIN OUT RETURNS TO WORTHING THIS SUMMER!

Worthing Theatres and Museum’s annual season of mesmerising openair performances is returning this summer, packed with the best and most exciting theatre, circus, music and dance performances - and all for free.

Spin Out ‘23 kicks off on Sat 17 June, with a day full of circus fun and activities followed by two performances of Gravity and Levity’s incredible aerial show, Why?.

The Free Family Circus Day runs all day in the Pavilion Theatre Atrium on Sat 17 June. You can learn to juggle, hula hoop, diabolo or plate spin. Get your face painted, dance along to some sensational tunes and enjoy craft activities throughout the day - all for free!

The Spin Out ‘season continues on Sat 22 July with The Precious Thing - a family friendly show which sees two characters juggling, handbalancing and clowning as they try to fish for food and protect their most treasured possession. Then Srishti Dance return to Worthing, on Sat 29 July, after wowing in 2022. Their new fast-paced outdoor show, Bells, Beats and Banter, features four dancers and three musicians; the choreographic equivalent of speed-dating!

Daryl & Co and Mimbre’s Look Mum No Hands, on Sat 5 Aug, is a beautiful show, combining theatre, movement and acrobatics to tell a story about two friends growing up and testing their own boundaries.

Flying straight from the success of Falconry Dismay last year, Dizzy O’Dare’s Kevin Tickle is back with Kevin Tickle’s Dogs on Sat 12 Aug. Expect theatrics and high-jinx in the form of games such as sausage bobbing and fastest recall, acrobatic feats and impressive skills from daring dogs. The following weekend, Ockham’s Razor return to Worthing with new show, Public, on Sat 19 Aug. Using acrobatics, parkour and dance the collective of young dancers will move through the area dancing with the fabric of the world!

Spin Out ‘23 rounds up with a joyful, roving, outdoor dance performance, Blazing Saddles, from Bicycle Ballet. The show celebrates women, cycling and fashion, taking a wry look at pink, evolving cultural taboos, modern women and bikes.

You can find out more about all the Spin Out 2023 events, and book free tickets, by visiting: www.wtm.uk/spin-out.

Image by © Stephanie O'Callaghan

WORK

OF

YUN HYONG-KEUN COMES TO HASTINGS CONTEMPORARY

The UK’s first ever public gallery exhibition of works by Yun Hyong-keun (1928 – 2007), one of the leading figures of Korean art, is heading to Hastings Contemporary on Sat 10 June – Sun 1 Oct.

His practice centering on the gate of heaven and earth, with blue representing the colour of heaven and umber the colour of earth, it resonates with Hastings Contemporary’s location. The gallery stands on the Old Town’s Stade, looking out onto the differing shades of blue of the expansive sky and sea. This is further reflected by the exhibition’s opening sequence of paintings; a small group of umber and ultramarine works from the early 1970s.

The show then continues by exploring the genesis of ‘the gate of heaven and earth’ with several works displaying its gradual widening until it almost disappears with the closing work – from the year of Yun’s death in 2007 – realised in Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue (1999 and 2007), in which ‘heaven’ is now almost completely suppressed by ‘earth’.

The concept of silence created by Yun’s work, particularly through the interpretation of gates or portals as voids, has the effect of turning the gallery space into a chapel or temple. The window onto the Old Town is veiled, as are the skylights, to enhance the meditative power of the individual paintings. This allows the viewer to be absorbed by the subtle range of tones, which on closer examination reveal the mix of ultramarine and umber through the blending of the two colours. And while the gate in each of the works from the 1970s absorbs the eye, the two late works Burnt Umber & Ultramarine Blue (1999 and 2007), with their narrowing portals place the emphasis back on earth, into which the artist himself would eventually be absorbed.

In the aftermath of the Korean War (1950–1953), the country found itself effectively isolated from the rest of the world’s art markets and movements. This led South Korean artists to create their own sets of rules derived from the Korean tradition and creative parameters in the field of abstraction, with a group including Yun founding the Dansaekhwa movement.

From 1973, he began to establish a distinctive style of his own, with his work not only informed by nature but also by the scholar and calligrapher Chusa Kim Jeong-hui. He also engaged with Western art– such as his 2-year relocation to Paris with his family in the early 1980s and his encounter with Donald Judd (1928-1994) in 1991. He used these influences to create his signature palette of umber – the colour of the earth – and ultramarine – the colour of heaven – to create rectilinear compositions, reminiscent of traditional East Asian ink-

wash paintings. Using pigment diluted with turpentine, Yun would spend days, weeks even months layering the paint down to create fields of intense darkness. This process effectively creates a physical sense of time, with the artist’s different returns to the canvas to layer more pigment resulting in blurred edges along its outer edges.

“Our gallery strives to show the very best of modern and contemporary art whilst also being one of the greenest galleries in the UK,” says Hastings Contemporary Director, Liz Gilmore. “The inspirational presence of Yun’s retrospective on the occasion of the 58th edition of the Venice Art Biennale gave momentum to our thinking and planning to bring Yun to Hastings. The exhibition will focus on Yun’s stunning and reflective umber and ultramarine paintings, which makes such a fitting juxtaposition with our location between land and sea.”

Although he is less well-known outside of his native South Korea, Yun Hyong-keun’s career and contribution to the Dansaekhwa movement during the sixties have begun to attract fresh interest internationally. His paintings’ combination of performative, rhythmic strokes, meditative qualities, and monochromatic aspects represent a contrast to Western Minimalism and works by artists such as Agnes Martin or Rothko’s Abstract Expressionism. A point the Hastings Contemporary show demonstrates, with Yun’s paintings reflecting his own culture while sparking comparisons with key artists in the canon of 20th century American and European abstraction.

For more information about Hastings Contemporary, and the work of Yun Hyongkeun, visit www.hastingscontemporary.org

BRIGHTON ARTIST LAUNCHES COLLECTION OF OVER 40 LGBTQ+ POP ART PRINTS IN CELEBRATION OF PRIDE SEASON

Brighton artist launches collection of over 40 LGBTQ+ pop art prints in celebration of Pride season

Under the brand name iHeart Pop Art, Brighton-based artist, Jared Orlin, has launched a brand-new collection of queer pop art prints. With over 40 designs and still growing, the collection is inspired by the familiar colours of various Pride flags. These flag colours form the backgrounds of the prints, onto which queer-friendly slogans are overlaid, either amusing or empowering. The prints are all digitally designed and showcase a variety of gender and sexuality representations within the LGBTQ+ community, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, non-binary, transgender, genderqueer, bear, asexual, demisexual and queer. The collection also includes two Pride-themed prints of Brighton’s iconic Royal Pavilion.

“I'm only one small part of the LGBTQ+ community and while I certainly don't claim to represent everyone's voice, I know what it's like not to feel seen. The idea behind the ‘Queer Power’ prints, as I’ve called them, is the opportunity for members of our community to be proud of and show off their identity,” said Jared. “Hopefully they make people chortle – and feel proud to be LGBTQ+. Because Pride isn't just a month! It's all-year round.”

Designed with affordability in mind, the open-edition prints are available in several sizes, from A5 to A2. All designs are digitally printed on satin finish high-quality gloss paper with vibrant colours to brighten up any room. Prints can be purchased from www.iheartpopart.net with free shipping and a portion of the proceeds going to LGBTQ+ charities in the UK.

YHK.1993, Oil on linen

‘A POWERFUL AND ENTICING PRODUCTION’

‘LUCAS HEDGES AND MIKE FAIST ARE SPLENDID’

‘A GEM OF A SHOW’

UNTIL 12 AUGUST | STRICTLY LIMITED SEASON

British writer, comedian, and podcast host Adam Buxton brings BUG, the longrunning, sell-out BFI music video show, to the Brighton Dome for a special event in support of Wild Vision Forest School.

Audiences can expect a curated selection of outstanding videos from the last few years, accompanied by various unhinged comments from the online community and other amusing content from Adam’s laptop.

Wild Vision provides exciting sensory opportunities that allow children to develop new friendships, confidence, independence, and have fun together. The sessions offer a respite in a natural environment for visually impaired children and their parents. The activities are designed to stimulate the senses and foster physical and emotional well-being through a connection with nature.

These sessions also broaden the range of experiences accessible to visually impaired children. The aim is to break down barriers and enable them to learn new skills in a supportive and inclusive outdoor environment. With a high adult-to-

ALBUM RELEASES OVER JUNE

Ashnikko - Weedkiller (June 2)

Foo Fighters - But Here We Are (June 2)

Jake Shears - Last Man Dancing (June 2)

Louise - Greatest Hits (June 2)

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies (June 2)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Hana (June 2)

The Aces - I've Loved You For So Long (June 2)

Christine and the Queens - Paranoia, Angels, True Love (June 9)

Tom Grennan - What Ifs & Maybes (June 9)

child ratio, the sessions provide exciting, hands-on, and sensory-rich activities. The goal is to encourage those with sight loss to explore new experiences, even in activities and environments that might be perceived as more challenging to access. Through these sessions, the team can address the individual needs of the children and their guardians while building positive relationships.

Adam has this to say: I’m excited to be back at the Brighton Dome with a Best Of BUG show featuring a selection of innovative music videos from the last few years as well as a few older classics from the vaults, important perspectives from the YouTube commentary community and some of my own ridiculous bits and pieces too. And because all proceeds from the evening will be helping children from the East Sussex community, we all get to feel virtuous too!

The show is scheduled to take place at the Brighton Dome on Fri 28 July. Tickets are priced at £20 and can be purchased from the Brighton Dome box office.

McFly - Power to Play (June 9)

Niall Horan - The Show (June 9)

Ben Howard - Is It? (June 16)

Kelly Clarkson - Chemistry (June 23)

Maisie Peters - The Good Witch (June 23)

Olivia Dean - Messy (June 30)

The Japanese House - In The End It Always Does (June 30)

ADAM BUXTON BRINGS BUG TO THE BRIGHTON DOME IN SUPPORT OF WILD VISION FOREST SCHOOL

LIVE MUSIC LIST

ANIMAL HOUSE

The Hope and Ruin, Sat 10 June, 7:30pm

Conceived in a shed in an Australian backyard, the now Brighton based band pull their tunes from a broad church of indie. When you’re spinning their songs, it’s a sermon of earworms. When they play live it’s ‘something for sweaty kids to believe in while they jump on the spot and lose their minds’ - DIY Mag.

Their DIY debut album, Premium Mediocre captured the attention of Radio 1, 6Music, Clash, and has amassed over 3.3 million plays on Spotify and Apple Music. Animal House are currently in the midst of drip-feeding out their sophomore album Emotion Cowboy. The album is an expression of the idea that the new frontier for men isn't going faster or being stronger. It isn’t climbing higher or lifting heavier weights. It is, perhaps, a more difficult challenge; understanding and expressing our emotions. Don't be another cool and detached man, be an Emotion Cowboy.

SOUL GLO

The Green Door Store, Wed 14 June, 7:30pm

Late December 2020 found Soul Glo holed away in an unfinished warehouse, beginning to find drum tones for their upcoming full length, Diaspora Problems. They had just begun to accept that they would be in talks with Epitaph Records, and that it was likely they were going to go with the label as they hadn’t even begun to reach a place where they could consider shopping it to other record labels. Working with Epitaph was far and away the best case scenario that the band could’ve hoped for, but they simultaneously wondered if the label had any understanding of what they were getting into.

From 2016 to 2021, Soul Glo conceptualized and produced Diaspora Problems nearly completely alone. Lyrically, the album deals with analyses of the music industry as it exists through the eyes of people who are experiencing it for the first time.

CAN’T SWIM

The Prince Albert, Mon 26 June, 8:00pm

They are originally from Jersey, signed to Pure Noise Records. They have produced their own unique blend or rock, punk and emo, taking their sound to festivals like 2000trees. Their fourth LP, Thanks but No Thanks was released in March of this year, and the project found them going back to their Jersey roots. The group consists of vocalist Chris LoPorto, bassist Greg McDevitt, guitarist Danny Rico and drummer Blake Gamel. Four records in, it feels like Can’t Swim are just now hitting their stride. They’ve stretched their wings over nearly a decade, dabbling in everything from frantic hardcore (2019’s Foreign Language EP) to ethereal indie (2020’s Someone Who Isn’t Me EP), yet have once again found their way back to their musical home. Don’t miss their performance at The Prince Albert on Trafalgar Street for something special, with support from Jetski.

ALGERNON CADWALLADER

Chalk, Thurs 8 June, 7:00pm

Algernon Cadwallader is an American emo and math rock band from Yardley, Pennsylvania. They were originally active from 2005-2012 before they kicked off a reunion tour in 2022. Steroegum referred to the band as the “Heroes of the emo revival”. The band is formed of Peter Helmis, Joe Reinhart, and Colin Mahony who met in high school. After the success of their North American reunion tour, Algernon Cadwallader announced two New Years Eve shows at Philadelphia's Johnny Brenda's. On January 19th, 2023 a headlining Japan tour was announced for April of 2023 followed by a Europe/UK in June of 2023, of which consists their night at Chalk in Brighton.

THE WAR ON DRUGS

The Brighton Centre, Sat 17 June, 6:30pm

The War on Drugs have steadily emerged as one of this century’s great rock and roll synthesists, removing the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the obtuse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present.

Led by Adam Granduciel, The New Yorker called them “the best American ‘rock’ band of this decade” in support of their album, A Deeper Understanding, for which they won the 2018 Grammy for Best Rock Album and were nominated for a BRIT Award for International Group of the Year. 2020 saw the release of LIVE DRUGS featuring live interpretations of songs throughout their career, including off their 2014 breakthrough, Lost In The Dream. Co-produced by Granduciel and Shawn Everett, their fifth studio album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, “chips away some of their hazier edges in favor of sharper melodies, broadening the borders of the meticulous yet joyously simple sound [Granduciel] has perfected” (Pitchfork, Best New Music). It landed on numerous 2021 best albums of the year lists and garnered a second BRIT Award nomination. The band headlined Madison Square Garden in support of its release.

STANLEY BRINKS + FRESCHARD

The Prince Albert, Tues 6 June, 8:00pm

Stanley Brinks (André Herman Dune) is a French singer-songwriter who at first, gained musical notoriety performing under the name of André Herman Düne in the 90’s being a frequent Peel Sessions guest. After touring extensively over the course of a decade and relocating to Berlin, Düne reached a transformative period in his life and musical career changing directions and becoming Stanley Brinks, a quirky singer-songwriter who explores folk/Americana influenced songwriting. Brinks as a solo entity explores simplistic yet catchy song structures, soothing yet rough around the edges vocals, playful lyricism, and lofi-eque production.

Descending from rural France, Freschard was born into a DIY musical and creative background, organising intimate musical shows from the age of 12 in a barn. Freschard later relocated to Paris where she first crossed paths with singersongwriter and frequent collaborator Stanley Brinks, singing on some of his beloved songs written under former alias Herman Düne. After relocating to New York, Freschard embarked on her solo venture, creating beautifully DIY songs taking influence from European folk, Americana, and avant-garde.

BIMM FE + FRIENDS SHOWCASE & MELTING VINYL PRESENTS

The Hope and Ruin, Weds 14 June, 7:00pm

ARTISTS PERFORMING: Sonic Reset, Arcadia, Delirium, SOTA, Nina Savage, Delphine Vega, Crystalise, Raffery Casey & More

Join BIMM at The Hope and Ruin in association with Melting Vinyl on the 14th June for the best talent that BIMM Diploma has to offer! With some special guests from BIMM HE and BHASVIC. Expect a great blend of Rock, alt-indie, acoustic, electronic, funk and much more! All proceeds from this event will be going directly to a charity (TBC). To support this cause and hear some talented musicians, get your tickets as this is a special night not to miss.

TORS

The Hope and Ruin, Tues 13 June, 8:00pm

Tors are a dynamic trio hailing from Devon, UK. Known for their catchy hooks, emotive lyrics and angelic harmonies. In 2019, the three-piece toured UK/Europe performing sold-out shows supporting artists such as Tom Walker, John Newman, Walking On Cars, and Picture This. More recently, they hit the road with X Ambassadors, Duncan Laurence, and Sam Ryder across the UK and Europe; the success of which has secured them a place as main support on Sam Ryder's UK headline tour in March 2023 where they will be playing to over 30,000 fans in just 2 weeks. They now have their own headline EU and UK dates planned for summer 2023.

The band really started gaining momentum at the start of 2023 when sharing A Capella snippets of their song 'Anything Can Happen' which had multiple huge viral moments and took their followers to over 160k on Instagram and 115k on TikTok in just one month. In January 2023 they released an EP with the title track ‘Anything Can Happen’ which has a lot of playlist support from Spotify and is currently moving up the German airplay charts and averaging 50k streams per day.

Great British Wine Tours whisk you out of the city and into the glorious Sussex countryside to explore award-winning vineyards, breweries and cheesemakers. The best of Sussex is showcased through fun and informative tours, led by expert guides.

The flagship tour - “Big Red” - takes its name from the 1960s red London Routemaster bus that carries guests into the heart of English wine country. What more British way to start a tour than with a trundle through the Sussex countryside, enjoying the stunning views from the windows of a vintage double-decker. Arriving at the vineyard, guests enjoy an expertly-guided tour of the vines and winery to learn the secrets off English wine making from grape to glass, followed by a tutored tasting of a range of award-winning still and sparkling wines. Then it’s time for lunch and a delicious picnic hamper that guests can pick up and enjoy amongst the vines. Veggies and vegans are catered for too, and of course, there’s a glass of Sussex still to wash it all down. After lunch, guests head to vineyard number two, for a second guided wine tasting and a chance to relax and watch the sun fall over the beautiful South Downs.

Great British Wine Tours partner with vineyards including Court Garden Vineyard, Ridgeview Wine Estate, Albourne Estate, Bluebell Vineyard Estates, Artelium Estate, Wiston Estate, and Bolney Wine Estate, to name just a few. They also run regular Friday ‘Cheese and Vine Tours’, taking in a tour and cheese tasting at High Weald Dairy, before heading to a nearby vineyard.

Great British Wine Tours is Brighton’s first regularly scheduled UK wine tour operator and their values are simple. Working closely with their partners, the mission is to get people into the countryside, introducing visitors to local Sussex wines and cheeses. With over seven hundred vineyards in England and Wales and with British sparkling wines taking some of the most prestigious international awards, the UK wine industry is blossoming... and it’s right on our doorstep! From wine-buffs to first timers, tours are designed to be enjoyable, relaxed and informative. First and foremost, a Great

British Wine Tour is a memorable day out.

The ‘Big Red’ Wine Tour of Sussex runs every Saturday from Brighton Station from March to October. There are also midweek tours too. On a ‘Vineyard Safari Tour’, guests can pair up in electric buggies and head out amongst the vines at Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate. Or there’s the Steam & Vine Tour, combining a vineyard tour with a visit to Bluebell Railway for a guided-tour and steam train ride. Perfect for Father’s Day!

Looking for a private tour experience? Great British Wine Tours will design your perfect day.

Catering for groups of 2 to 200, a private tour is the ultimate treat: perfect for corporate away-days, that special anniversary day out, or an extra-special Hen celebration.

For a full list of upcoming tours, check out the Great British Wine Tours calendar and choose the perfect tour for you at greatbritishwinetours.co.uk/tour-calendar/.

Looking for a special gift? You can book vouchers online to gift one of these fantastic experiences to someone you love. To find out more, or book your tour, go to greatbritishwinetours.co.uk

The Most Dangerous Man in Brighton is the new crime thriller by Martin Webb, a former local clubland boss, entrepreneur and columnist for The Telegraph. Martin also presented Channel 4’s Risking It All and is currently a Special Sergeant with Sussex Police.

This book delivers a punchy, funny and authentic romp through Brighton’s criminal underworld, following the desperate attempts of young ex-student, Buster Brett, to escape the clutches of his employer and notorious mob leader, Billy Murphy. Buster doesn’t help his chances of survival by stealing a load of his crazy boss’s cash and getting mixed up with a local con artist who’s hell-bent on getting her own hands on the loot.

With only his old mate, Dexter, to help out, who also happens to be a hopeless stoner, Buster’s chances of success are slim. This is a fast-paced tale of redemption and betrayal with a huge amount of violence and bad language thrown into the mix. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and, as the title suggests, most of the action is set in the back streets and grand terraces of Brighton and Hove.

If you fancy a fun, entertaining, easy read by the pool this summer, then this is definitely the book for you. ‘The Most Dangerous Man In Brighton’ launches in July and is available to buy on Amazon or at

www.dangerousman.co.uk

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN BRIGHTON

Keira Thomas presents LGBTQIA+ exhibition, Out of the Artist

The Out of the Artist is a multi-artist exhibition created by local poet, and event manager for Worthing Pride 2019, Keira Thomas.

The exhibition creates a safe and accepting space for local independent LGBTQIA+ artists to creatively share their voice and personal experiences, free from restrictions and discrimination. Out of the Artist has no strict theme, allowing the artists to create and portray whatever art they wish, in their chosen form or medium.

It features work by Amelia Armande, Bryony May, Caroline Osella, Emma Clowsley, Gil Mualem-Doron, Helen Bedding, Joanna Barr, Kai Hilton, Karen Palzeaird, Keira Thomas, Kym Kovary, Leoni Thomas, LG, Mars Chicca, Robert Ryan, Stephanie Young and Tor Lloyd.

Out of the Artist will be presented at Worthing Museum and Gallery’s Studio Gallery from Sat 27 May - Sun 10 Sept 2023.

Exhibition Creator & Coordinator Keira Thomas says "In my current chapter, allied with my significant journey of being a proud lesbian, alongside supporting the LGBTQIA+ community in various ways; I feel passionate about creating an open and safe space for local LGBTQIA+ artists to creatively express and share their voice.

The name, 'Out of the Artist', derives from the importance of each artist having entire freedom to share the individual voice that lies within them.

Working collaboratively with 'Worthing Museum & Art Gallery' and local artists, to create the Museum's first LGBTQIA+ exhibition, is a very proud and monumental milestone; aiming to inspire, encourage and support other LGBTQIA+ artists to share their voice, as well as individuals from other underrepresented communities.

A number of our exhibiting artists are members of the 'LGBTQ+ Community of Worthing' Facebook group, who are fully inclusive and warmly welcome you to join their flourishing community.

Full inclusivity is at the heart of the exhibition, which is represented amongst our exhibiting artists and their diverse, powerful and influential work.

Proudly celebrating the innovative talents and bravery of our inspiring artists, we welcome all to visit the exhibition...and invite you to open your mind; ready to support, to immerse yourself in creativity, and to be part of the progressive future of Worthing."

Gil Mualem-Doron, an award-winning transdisciplinary artist, researcher, curator and contributor to the exhibition, will be running 4 free workshops titled Planning Worthing LGBTQIA+ Beach, to ignite the artistic passion of the Worthing community. Gil's art is based on his lived experiences of intersectionality as a migrant, person of colour, and neurodivergent queer.

In collaboration with LGBTQ+ Community of Worthing Facebook group, and with full inclusivity being at the heart of our values, the exhibitions invites you to open your mind, ready to immerse yourself in the work and celebration of our inspiring LGBTQIA+ artists.

Describe your artwork in three words.

KAI HILTON: Bold. Colourful. Minimalist.

JOANNA BARR: Humanitarianism, love, non-representational

GIL MUALEM-DORON: Socially Engaged Art

AMELIA ARMANDE: Colourful, Fun and Mythological

KAREN PALZEAIRD: Seascapes, Beauty and freedom

MARS CHICCA: Personal, chaotic, imperfect

KYM KOVARY: Challenging, honest, real

HELEN BEDDING: bold, colourful and big!

EMMA CLOWSLEY: Rhymes, pebbles, memories

What is your creative form or medium of choice?

KAI HILTON: Adobe Illustrator is my go to design software, as for printing my work, I always go for Fine Art Giclée printing on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth Paper.

JOANNA BARR: I've chosen to use acrylic paint for colour purposes. Oil paint and clay work are a typical go to though not featuring in the Out of the Artist exhibition.

GIL MUALEM-DORON: A collaborative storytelling created through various media and in this case performance, photography and installation art.

AMELIA ARMANDE: The pieces that I have brought to the gallery are digital remasterings of a series of watercolours I created for a display at Colonnade House last year. But they are inspired by my primary art form, which is performance storytelling. I have been collecting LGBTQIA+ folklore and mythology for the last two years, and look forward to being able to share the stories connected with the seven different artworks at the gallery.

KAREN PALZEAIRD: Generally Acrylic painting but also graphite pencil sketched drawings.

MARS CHICCA: Mixed media collage -- I like to use a variety of objects and textures including photographs, drawings, letters, words cut from books or magazines, even bottles or computer chips and arrange them in a way that evokes a particular feeling or echoes a theme.

KYM KOVARY: Songwriting/video and broadcasting

HELEN BEDDING: My preferred medium is acrylic paint.

EMMA CLOWSLEY: Poetry

What excites you most about the Out of the Artist exhibition?

KAI HILTON: The first exhibition in Worthing of It's kind, as well as an amazing opportunity for us local LGBTQ artists to express ourselves in our chosen art medium.

JOANNA BARR: I'm excited that LGBTQIA Artist can collectively express through art. I'm extremely grateful to Keira Thomas for making this happen and to Worthing Museum.

GIL MUALEM-DORON: Being part of what I hope will become an LGBTQ+ artists' collective.

AMELIA ARMANDE: It's amazing to see all of these different styles and forms and themes all in one place. I think it shows how, even just in Worthing, the queer community is vibrant, thriving, and filled with creativity.

KAREN PALZEAIRD: Being free to express my thoughts and feelings in art form having spent my life struggling with my sexuality. It has given me confidence to draw and paint more.

MARS CHICCA: As someone who grew up queer in America in the 1980s and 90s, the sense of acceptance and belonging to a supportive community of like-minded people in Worthing has been helpful in healing from past shame and embarrassment over my gender identity and sexuality.

KYM KOVARY: The thing that excites me most about being part of the exhibition is that being an LGBT exhibition, people are coming to see our work for that very reason.

HELEN BEDDING: I am excited about having the opportunity to exhibit alongside other LGBTQ artists.

EMMA CLOWSLEY: It's a fantastic space for LGBTQ+ artists to express themselves through different art forms, share with the public

Where else can we find your artwork?

KAI HILTON: You can find my artwork on Instagram @kaijedcreative As well as on Etsy kaijedcreative.etsy.com or search KaiJedCreative (one word)

JOANNA BARR: My painting and models are rarely seen A few originals have been sold or gifted in the past. both pieces shown in the Out Of The Artist exhibition have new homes already.

GIL MUALEM-DORON: During May-June at P21 Gallery London, Jubilee Library Brighton, and online: www.gmdart.com

AMELIA ARMANDE: Follow me on Instagram at @theydyamelia to see more of my performances, writing and art.

KAREN PALZEAIRD: I have an Instagram and Facebook page… Instagram. @Kj25_01_art Facebook KJ Art

KYM KOVARY: soundcloud.com/kymkovary, soundcloud.com/ kymkovarypodcasts, youtube.com/@TheKymKovaryShow

HELEN BEDDING: You can find my artwork on Instagram, @hebe_ artist

EMMA CLOWSLEY: Instagram @emmacpoetry; Poetry pamphlet 'Don't Forget Your Toothbrush' by Emma Clowsley (Flight of the Dragonfly Press) (Publisher based in Worthing)

Out of the Artist will be showcased at Worthing Museum from Saturday 27 May - Sunday 10 September 2023. For more information, visit www.wtm.uk.

Gil Mualem-Doron Kai Hilton

KeiraThomas Mars Chicca

ROSIE JONES

BRIGHTON COMEDY GARDEN SUN 9 JULY

We had the privilege of obtaining some time with the highly acclaimed comedian, Rosie Jones, known for her appearances on various popular TV shows and her stand-up comedy performances. She has fronted two successful travelogue series for Channel4, “Mission: Accessible” and “Trip Hazard,” both of which were recommissioned for a second season. Rosie has also made notable appearances on shows such as “Live At The Apollo,” “The Jonathan Ross Show,” “Cats Does Countdown,” and “The Last Leg,” to name some.

In addition to her comedy career, Rosie is an accomplished writer and actor. She wrote for the hit Netflix series Sex Education and wrote and starred in the Channel 4 commissioned series Disability Benefits. She made her prime-time acting debut in Silent Witness and played a recurring guest role in BBC’s Casualty as Paula. Rosie is also an author, having released her second children’s book, The Amazing Edie Eckhart: The Big Trip, and receiving praise from renowned author Jacqueline Wilson. After successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with her shows Fifteen Minutes and Backward, Rosie is now on her first international tour, Triple Threat, with performances across the UK, whilst also making an appearance at the Brighton Comedy Garden; the open-air comedy gala featuring the absolute best comedians of the moment, alongside a curated selection of emerging talents.

Rosie, your comedy is noted for its frankness and boldness. What drives your desire to challenge societal norms through humour?

I am SO passionate about comedy, because I think humour has the power to change people, and their beliefs for the better. And that is what I try to do in my stand up. I talk very openly about what it’s like to be a disabled, gay woman in 2023, and hopefully by doing that I can make my audience consider what it’s like for me and realise that I am just like them…as well as giving them a good few giggles along the way!

As an openly gay woman, could you talk a little about how your experience within the LGBT community has influenced your comedy? And, are there any specific LGBT issues or topics that you feel particularly passionate about discussing in your standup?

I talk a lot about being disabled AND gay, and I do this because when I was younger, and I’d turn on the telly, there weren’t any disabled, gay people that I could look up to. Therefore, I didn’t think you could BE disabled AND gay, I thought the minorities were mutually exclusive. As well as this, I feel like, specifically the word, ‘lesbian’ had a lot of negative connotations

and stereotypes attached to it, most of which I could not relate to. I talk openly about being a gay woman, to show that my sexuality does not define me, and that a lesbian can have long hair, wear dresses and have cerebral palsy.

Could you share how your experiences with cerebral palsy have shaped your path and approach in the field of writing and comedy?

I have had cerebral palsy all of my life, which means that from as far back as I remember, people have felt quite awkward around me. It was always up to me to break the tension and I found that using comedy was the best way to do this. If I cracked a joke when I met somebody, they’d quickly realise that just because I spoke differently, it didn’t mean that I was somebody who should be pitied. Comedy is the best way to break down barriers.

In terms of my writing, that is an incredibly important part of my comedy. Because I speak slower than non disabled people, I need to make sure that the audience doesn’t get to the end of my joke before I do. The most important word of my joke is always the last, and that is to make sure that I am in control!

Who are the comedians that have influenced your comedic style and why?

Oh, so many. But my two heroes have got to be Billy Connolly and Victoria Wood. Billy taught me the importance of storytelling, and weaving jokes through a seemingly normal story, and Victoria taught me the importance of rhythm, pauses and musicality in stand up. Every syllable matters!

What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?

Definitely performing at Wembley Arena, to 12,000 people, including my mum and dad. Going out onto stage and shouting, ‘hello Wembley’ was a pinch me moment.

Stand-up comedy is known for being unpredictable. Can you share any interesting stories or unexpected challenges you’ve encountered on stage?

Haha, it really is. I can usually handle hecklers, but one time a lady got so drunk, she wouldn’t stop shouting. I held my nerve, kept the other

audience members calm and entertained, and eventually the police were called. I’ve never been so close to getting punched.

As a successful woman in the comedy industry, what advice would you give to other women aspiring to have a career in comedy?

Just do it. That archaic notion that women aren’t funny is long behind us, but we still need more non male voices in the comedy industry, so come and join the fun!

What role do you think comedy plays in initiating dialogues around societal and cultural issues?

A huge one. Comedy can help us see a point of view which may be different from our own, and comedy, when done right, can make us feel a little less afraid of the unknown. Comedy has the power to change.

What can we expect from your Triple Threat tour?

At least three jokes, but they’re GREAT jokes. And a lot of fun, nonsense and joy!

Are there any upcoming projects you’re working on that you can share with us?

I’ve just filmed a documentary which’ll be out on Channel 4 in July, and I have another children’s book which will be released by the end of the year…and I am continuing to dominate all TV shows at all times, so I’ll see you on your television screens very soon!

Rosie Jones is on tour with her show Triple Threat across the UK this year. But luckily for you lot, you can also see her at the hugely popular Brighton Comedy Garden on Sun 9 July, including David O’Doherty, Nish Kumar, Amy Gledhill and Ivo Graham on the line-up!

I held my nerve, kept the other audience members calm and entertained, and eventually the police were called. I’ve never been so close to getting punched.

BrightonComedeyGarden Image credit: LloydWinters

Bellah Mae

Manifests dream collabs, and confesses dating disasters following the release of her brand new track ‘Date Your Dad’

TikTok, Taylor Swift, dating disasters, and writing extremely catchy songs, Bellah Mae embodies everything that us young women can’t get enough of. Her brand new song ‘Date your Dad’ comes with the disclaimer that no dads were actually dated in the process of songwriting, but these fun and controversial titles are the starting point for Bellah Mae’s music. The lyrics, “he’s fitter, he’s richer, he’s got his shit together” are unapologetically bold, and written to a melody that you just want to scream along to. Do you remember that era when teen girls were obsessed with Hannah Montana and Wild Child? Bellah Mae would be the product of combining this aesthetic circa 2010, with contemporary references to ‘icks’ and ‘I’m just Bait’ in her cleverly crafted songs.

Ick = things that people do to make them seem less appealing or attractive.

‘I’m Just Bait’ - a news/culture Instagram meme page.

She has just played her first ever festival, The Great Escape, which she described as an incredibly fun but also a weirdly intimidating experience. “Everyone around

BY AMY STANBOROUGH

you works in the music industry [at The Great Escape]” she laughs, referring to the incredibly talented and creative nature of people who visit or work in Brighton. Bellah Mae lives in London and jokes that she sometimes tells people she is an accountant, because it is easier than explaining that she is a singer and songwriter. However, Bellah Mae considers that we should never be embarrassed to admit what we do; to admit our talents and goals.

“When you’re talking to people, you just never know who anyone is,” she explains on the benefits of promoting yourself.

She tells me her performance at The Great Escape was a bit of a blur, “you don’t ever process what you’re doing until about ten minutes before.” For Bellah Mae, attending the event was a

Meet Bellah Mae, who will be performing at Brighton Pride this summer

matter of being in the car, having a red wine, doing a quick five minute sound check, and then suddenly walking on stage. “There was just no time to process it” and instead, she got lost in the singing. “I just love performing, and when you see people singing the song back, that is the BEST thing ever.” Spotting her fans in the crowd put Bellah Mae at ease, though she knew that the people that didn’t yet know her music would quickly love it too.

It is this pure confidence and energetic passion which populated Bellah Mae on TikTok, when her debut track ‘Boyfriend of the Year’ went viral in summer 2022. Bellah Mae encourages “everybody who is up and coming to have a TikTok and social media in general. Reels [on Instagram] are doing better for me at the minute [for engagement] and it just fluctuates. Definitely being present on all platforms is important.” Once you have the account though, it is all about being brave enough to promote yourself. “You can’t go viral if you don’t post the video” Bellah Mae affirms. “It could be the third or thirtieth video, but just one could pick up traction” she continues, emphasising social media’s importance. “Anyone can do [TikTok] and it is so powerful. You just don’t know the reach it can have.” Like doing anything new which puts you in the spotlight, it can be scary or uncomfortable at first, but Bellah Mae proves that it can also lead to you fulfilling your dreams. She is at a point now where she has forgotten how she was once conscious of the fact that people in her home town may see her singing videos. When it comes to promoting yourself, “you just have to own it.”

‘Boyfriend of the Year’ then went on to feature on Mollie King’s Radio 1 show ‘Future Pop’ for its first ever radio spin. Bellah Mae says that Radio 1 are the best supporters ever, and Mollie King and Maia Beth (also hosts ‘Future Pop’) are two of the kindest women she has ever met. All three of Bellah Mae’s songs debuted on Radio 1, with ‘Drama King’ and ‘Date your Dad’ also receiving praise and support on the station. “It’s true that your own voice on the radio sounds so different,” she tells me, reflecting on how that experience felt for her. She continues, “you don’t realise how many people are listening in on that moment” instead, finding herself bopping to the song as if she is the only one tuned in.

Her newest single, ‘Date Your Dad’, communicates tongue-in-cheek lyrics about Bellah Mae feeling more mature than the guys she was dating. It is an empowerment anthem which flips the narrative to thinking about what the female wants in a relationship. The lyric, “just because you know one Arctic Monkeys song, doesn’t make you Indie, if anything it’s icky,” led to us having a more casual chat about other ‘icks’ or turn-offs Bellah Mae could list. She calls to her bestfriend and housemate, Lily (who is in the room with her), to support the discussion. “I don’t like when boys wear boat shoes and no socks,” Lily confesses, to which Bellah Mae replies, “no I don’t mind that.” The conversation quickly sucked me into a debate between two best friends, which is exactly how listening to Bellah Mae’s music feels. ‘Date Your Dad’ could easily be re-written as the script for a facetime conversation with your girlfriends. It’s friendly, confessional and playful.

On the topic of dating and relationships, which are evidently a key theme to Bellah Mae’s songs, she tells me the disaster story of this one guy she was seeing. The first red flag was that he would always invite her on “dates” to group dinners. He never wanted to spend a date as just the two of them. Eventually, when Bellah Mae did get to see him alone, they had planned to go to a bar in Harrods. Lovely setting, gorgeous atmosphere. Well, that is what Bellah Mae was thinking too. But instead of heading to the bar, he headed to the drone section, and started asking Bellah Mae which drone he should buy. “I know nothing about drones!” Bellah exclaims. But then it got worse, as they started to head towards his home in Knightsbridge, where he handed her some bedsheets and asked her to make his bed! He did in fact have a broken shoulder, and physically could not do it himself, but that is surely not what you want to be doing on a first date! “I did it though,” Bellah Mae says. The rest of the “date” consisted of him creepily filming her eating a digestive biscuit and criticising how bad Bellah Mae is at Connect 4. My response to this story is, please tell me you did not see him again. “No Amy, I did not,” she confirms. Good.

“I actually have a really tame life,” Bellah Mae then tries to convince me after that whirlwind of events, “it’s actually Lily who all of my songs are about. She has a wild life, not me.” Their friendship is clearly her muse, and the fact that they live together means that inspiration is always in the air. “I just couldn’t live my life without her, everyone needs a friend like Lily” Bellah Mae says, and her fans love Lily too. She laughs, “we may as well be a duo.”

Amongst Bellah Mae’s musical muses, she admires the likes of Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. With this information, I posed that we play a game of ‘Write, Sing, Support’ (kind of like ‘snog, marry, avoid’). I ask the question, which of these three women would you most like to write a song with, which would you sing on a song with, and which artist would you most like to support on tour? It proved to be a difficult question for Bellah Mae, hand on chin, pondering it for some time. “Support Taylor” she blurts out before quickly retracting that. “Support Avril, sing with Miley, write with Taylor.” “I have to write with Taylor, she is the best song-writer of our generation!” is the final decision. Then, she

declares “I will make this happen in the next 3-5 years,” and we take a second to affirm the manifestation.

I ask if Bellah Mae has a distinct writing style and she replies, “I am a title concept writer.” What this means is, “I come up with ideas on a walk or in the sauna, when it is just me and my thoughts,” coming up with a song a day. She continues, “I will take an emotion of how I am feeling, and then I will think it through in obscure ways.” For example, she tells me how the first line of ‘Drama King’: “You take as long as you like to send a reply” was a true experience which she then tried to label with a well known phrase. That phrase became ‘Drama Queen’ which flipped to be ‘Drama King.’ All her lyric ideas are fleshed out and then her song-writing team (the likes of Amy Wadge and Alex Stacey) help with the melody and to put it all together. “For me, songwriting is my biggest passion,” Bellah Mae says, so it is evident why the sense of planning and experimenting with ideas is crucial to her. “The songs are everything; I want them to be a representation of who I am.”

Songwriting proves to be something quite therapeutic for Bellah Mae. It is a way to figure out her emotions: “a lot of the time I don’t even know how I am feeling about something until I put it into a song.” One emotion she knows for sure though, is the excitement she has to be performing at Brighton Pride this summer where she is expecting “high energy and a lot of fun.” She first went to Pride when she was sixteen, after her older sister had just come out. However, this will be her first time at Brighton Pride. Her sister will be coming home from living in Dubai to see the performance. “I just love how it has gone full circle,” Bellah beams. “My music is fun, high energy, and not that serious, which I feel like is perfect for the Pride environment.”

To round up our conversation, I ask what else Bellah Mae is manifesting for 2023. “I will have a top 40 this year” and “I will be performing at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball” she declares to the universe.

Book your ticket to Fabuloso at Brighton Pride to see Bellah Mae live this summer

www.wearefabuloso.org

ACCLAIMED DANCE CREW COMES TO BREAKIN’ CONVENTION 2023

By Stuart Rolt

Bringing together the best local and internationally-renowned dance crews, Breakin’ Convention will be unleashing an explosion of sound, colour and movement at Brighton Dome this month.

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, this travelling international festival of dance theatre showcases exceptional Hip Hop crews, including top-poppers, lockers, B-boys and B-girls, plus showstopping global acts. You’ll also find live DJs, graffiti artists and freestyle dance sessions, so everyone can join in.

Over the past 20 years, Breakin’ Convention has grown to be an important reference point and showcase for talent today, presenting relevant acts who simply need to be seen. It represents the origins and evolution of Hip Hop culture from around the world and around the corner. Through its international festivals and tours and professional advancement programme, Breakin' Convention is at the vanguard of the global development of Hip Hop theatre artists.

Founded by Hip Hop theatre pioneer Jonzi D, it forms part of Sadler’s Wells Theatre and bases its annual festival there. Touring nationally since 2007, and internationally since 2013, this has brought an uncompromising and Funky brand of dance performance to live audiences of over 100,000.

Among the superstar crews headed to Brighton Dome on Sat 3 June are Ghetto Funk Collective from the Netherlands. Co-founded by best friends Ruben Chi and Roché Apinsa, this assemblage of dancers, musicians and DJs have created their own Funk-fuelled movement, sound and experience. They’ll be performing It’s On The One, inspired by a musical term describing a tight and syncopated rhythm which emphasis the first beat of each measure. Legendary star James Brown often directed his band with this during live performances. The dancers take the audience on a journey paying homage to their scene’s rich cultural heritage, infusing it with a fresh, modern sensibility in a celebration of dance styles and a testament to its enduring power.

But what is Funk? Can it even be defined? Funk certainly brings people together. It has nothing to do with colour or class. It gives everyone the freedom to express themselves as part of a larger community. But it’s more than wearing expensive clothes, going to the cool clubs or playing on the first beat of the bar. Not everyone is Funky, but everyone could be. And everyone should be. Ahead of their performance at Breakin’ Convention, we asked Ruben and Roché from Ghetto Funk Collective to tell us about what Funk is to them…

WHAT MAKES FUNK MUSICALLY DIFFERENT

TO OTHER STYLES?

Ruben Chi: I would say – It’s such a universal sound. It houses all emotions and brings people together, while keeping this raw essence to it. It has such strong characteristics as a strong groove - driven nature, rhythmic complexity and use of syncopation and this call and response structure.

Musically - Funk is on the one, it emphasizes the first beat in every measure. It’s saying that everyone is going through different rhythms in life, we all have our own ups and downs, and it reflects in our own approach to rhythm - but we always come back on the one, to celebrate our oneness together. And this, for me - is what you hear in Funk. You know, if you hear Funk - you just want to dance to it…

WHAT ‘MODERN’ FUNK RECORD DOES EVERYONE NEED TO HEAR?

Ruben Chi: We would give it up for our friends from Jungle - for who we choreographed a music video last year and we are really stoked about… So, we are going for Jungle Good Times / Problemz.

HOW HAS FUNK ENDURED SO WELL? IS THIS BECAUSE OF ITS ABILITY TO EMBRACE NEW TECHNOLOGY AND BLEND WITH OTHER MUSICAL STYLES LIKE HIP HOP AND SOUL?

Roché Apinsa: Funk blends in with all kinds of music, its frequency is really uplifting. Its ability to resonate with diverse audiences, its influential impact globally and its adaptability is what makes it so unique. The music engages you well and the groove is always present in its essence.

I guess its endurance is indeed influenced by its capacity to embrace new technology and blend with other musical styles like Hip Hop and Soul or even more alternative genres.

WHAT ARE THE FIVE BEST DRUM BREAKS IN HISTORY?

Roché Apins: If we talk about drum breaks, of course we have to start with the all-time classic - Jimmy Castor Bunch It’s Just Begun. And not to forget James Brown Funky Drummer, Incredible Bongo Band Apache, James Brown Cold Sweat… and any Nate Smith drum breaks. Ha-ha!

ARE THE DJS AS IMPORTANT IN FUNK AND HIP HOP CULTURE AS THE MUSICIANS?

Ruben Chi: In Funk music, DJs often serve as tastemakers and curators, selecting and playing records that represent the spirit of the genre. They are responsible for creating seamless transitions between songs, mixing different tracks together, and maintaining a continuous flow of music that keeps the energy alive.

Funk DJs are adept at blending and manipulating tracks to create new sounds and experiences, incorporating elements like breakbeats, samples, and scratching techniques to enhance the music - such as our brothers Rob Manga & Lucas Benjamin from the Ghetto Funk Collective who are really

paving new ways within the Funk sound while staying authentic to the roots of it.

Similarly, in Hip Hop culture, DJs have been instrumental since its inception. They were the pioneers who laid the foundation for the genre by using turntables to loop and manipulate drum breaks from Funk and soul records. DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa played a pivotal role in shaping the early sound of Hip Hop through their innovative techniques. DJs continue to be central figures in Hip Hop, providing beats, scratching, and mixing skills that form the backbone of the music. And i think it’s beautiful to see the connection between those two. Funk is like a father to Hip Hop and they strengthen each other.

IS FASHION A BIG COMPONENT OF FUNK CULTURE?

Roché Apinsa: Yes, it is. I know that back in the day, when people would go out to visit a club, they would always dress up well and it was important to shine and be presented well. The way you would dress up would say something about your character. So yes, I think fashion plays a significant role in Funk culture. It is an important component that reflects the spirit, attitude, and aesthetic of the genre. Funk fashion emerged alongside the music in the 1960s and 1970s, and it continues to have a lasting impact on popular culture.

WHAT FIVE ALBUMS WOULD YOU SUGGEST SOMEONE CHECK OUT TO START THEIR FUNK RECORD COLLECTION?

Ruben Chi: James Brown - In The Jungle Groovee

The J.B’s - Doing It To Death

Jamiroquai - A Funk Odyssey

Lettuce - Unify

FKJ - French Kiwi Juice

HOW DO YOU DANCE TO FUNK? IS THERE A SET OF RULES, OR IS ‘FEELING’ MORE IMPORTANT?

Roche Apinsa: I think, personally, it always starts with the feeling, and the feeling comes from the music. So, it’s the music which initiates that feeling that makes you want to dance, at least for us it is. Of course, in dance there are rules, many techniques, movements that you can practice and work on, but when it comes to dance - In essence it is not about your training or your skills. It’s about the relationship between you and the music.

Ghetto Funk Collective perform at Breakin’ Convention, alongside BPM Dance Academy, Project Female, StreetFunk, Visual Artists, Will Timpson, Urban City Dance, Mover and Yvonne Smink, at Brighton Dome on Sat 3 June.

SKYLARKS

Brookworth Homes create superior and sustainable coastal living in Rottingdean

Now is your chance to reside in style beside the sea, as Brookworth Homes bring new standards of luxury living to Sussex. Skylarks is a range of outstanding specification three and four-bedroom houses, all perfectly positioned on Ovingdean Road in Rottingdean, which embrace the beauty of both country and coastal living.

Brookworth Homes are a privately owned residential development company, formed in 2000 and based in Reigate, Surrey. “Our intention from the start has been to go against the grain on the property development world, and build superior houses that exceed expectations,” says Managing Director, Gavin Rowley.

Situated just four miles from cosmopolitan Brighton, each stunning Skylarks property is adorned with an array of finishing touches to complete the luxury living experience and add a unique character to your home. The exterior of every property has been carefully constructed with the same attention to detail as the interior. They’ve been designed to complement the surrounding neighbourhood, with care taken to use authentic and sustainable materials.

“From the naming of the development to the construction materials used we have crafted a development sympathetic to East Sussex and the South Downs. The name ‘Skylarks’ is reflective of the local Beacon Hill Nature Reserve which has been involved in the preservation of the birds, among other local wildlife. Our use of flint, weather boarding, and choice of bricks are to ensure the houses fit perfectly into their beautiful natural and man-made surroundings.”

Cited by Rightmove as one of the UK’s top five coastal property hotspots of 2021, Rottingdean is a vibrant seaside village with a peaceful, enchanting beach. With a bustling high street and picturesque village green, this historic village is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It remains an unspoiled spot on the Sussex coast, whist being within easy reach of exceptional schools and the bustling cultural hub of Brighton & Hove and the city’s marina.

This beautiful village is also conveniently located for commuting and international travel, with London and Gatwick under an hour away by train. With rolling hills, glorious heathland and river valleys of the South Downs nearby, this is a stunning location

in which to live. Rottingdean is home to a number of popular, family-friendly restaurants to fulfil any appetite, along with a terrific selection of brilliant pubs and bars.

Every detail of Skylarks’ remarkable residences has been carefully crafted to elevate your standard of living. Relax in open and spacious family rooms. Savour the comfort and style of underfloor heating and expertly-fitted porcelain tiling. And enjoy all the expectations of a contemporary lifestyle, from integrated branded appliances to worldclass Smart Home technology. Each house has a unique character and comes complete with a generous garden, spacious garage and allocated parking space.

“Other developers are looking to make the most money per site, which leads to cheap construction methods and materials, and the squeezing of as many properties into the area as possible,” says Rowley. “When it comes to specifications other developers will be looking to make cut-backs and provide the minimums, even charging extras for flooring, turfing and appliances.”

Each property’s kitchen is bright and spacious, providing a comfortable yet entertaining environment for cooking family meals during the week and hosting special guests on the weekends. With feature tiling throughout, every bathroom offers a cosy ambience as you relax in carefully constructed baths and showers, creating an at-home retreat. From composite stone marble effect worktops and porcelain floor tiles laid in a classic Herringbone pattern to pendant lighting over feature areas, every aspect of these homes has been created to complement contemporary lifestyle.

Underfloor heating provides comfortable ambient heat, controlled by the touch of a button, and there are no radiators to interfere with the design of the interiors. From the impressive front entrances, distinctive aluminium windows, bi-fold doors and characterful facades, to the automatic sectional doors and integrated EV chargers of the garage spaces, each home is innovatively designed to ensure durability and longevity whilst preserving a stylish facade.

The kitchens feature handle-less, slab doors in a combination of oak veneer and lacquer finishes, with integrated handles on cabinetry and composite stone worktops and splashbacks. The quality extends throughout

from Miele washing machine and tumble dryers to luxury Duravit bathroom fittings and Minoli Porcelain wood effect floors. “We are building a superior product to the rest of the property market. Our architectural designs inside and out, along with our marketing leading specifications, ensure we are at the top of our field.”

Each is equipped with the latest technology to offer both convenience and peace of mind. Enhanced security is provided by the Control4 Smart Home System, which allows control of lighting, audio, heating, blinds, a video doorbell and much more, making winding down, or getting ready to entertain, as simple as pressing a button. A Lutron lighting system, with its personalised lighting and blind control, helps you create the ideal ambience - whilst offering pioneering energysaving solutions. And with lightning-speed Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband, working from home and leisure time have never been smoother.

“At Brookworth Homes we pride ourselves on producing turn-key properties. Meaning that we deliver our houses with all the features we believe our customers will desire, and more. Fully fitted wardrobes, high-end branded kitchen appliances, security features and Smart Home Technology are standard at our properties.”

Sustainability plays an enormous part in all of Brookworth’s projects. “We strive to use the most sustainable products in the construction of our properties; and are planning to implement further sustainable features in the future. Our headline sustainability features are PV [solar] panels installed on houses that will benefit the most from their installation, and that we install EV chargers at every property.”

The Brookworth experience revolves around understanding the lifestyle aspirations of their communities. Attention to every detail ensures they can deliver beautiful homes which enrich your quality of life at home, work, school, and play. “One of the pillars of our philosophy is to create communities at our developments. With the lower density of housing, comes a more friendly and close-knit feeling with your neighbours. With the security features that are installed as standard, we also ensure your property and belongings within always feel safe and secure.”

For more details on Skylarks, or any of Brookworth Home’s other developments, head to: www.brookworth.com

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PROFESSOR DAVE GOULSON

By Aisha Kabir

The story of bumblebees over the past century has been one of decline. Professor Dave Goulson specialises in bee ecology at University of Sussex and is adamant about the importance of these industrious creatures within our fragile environment. “Two species became extinct in the UK during the 20th century and one species recently went globally extinct,” he tells me. This is only getting worse as bees are rapidly declining and have been for quite some time.

Much of Goulson’s work involves the study of behaviour and conservation of bumblebees and he has published numerous novels and scientific articles on the importance of saving them. “Bees are very important pollinators and pollination is required by about 80% of all plants in the world. Roughly three quarters of the crops grown in the wild don’t give a good harvest unless visited by a pollinator. Though bees do not pollinate everything they are one of the most important pollinators in the northern hemisphere.”

The main reason bees are declining in the UK is due to farming practices. There are more intensive and larger fields, with big monocultures of crops and chemicalsincluding insecticides intended to kill pests. “Not surprisingly, farmland is quite hostile to all insects. Also, 70% of Britain is farmland so if most farming operates this way it takes away from the habitat that bees would have lived in.” Another threatening cause is climate change. “Bees tend to overheat in hot weather since their fur is designed to keep them warm, so they are most successful and abundant in cool and temperate parts of the world like Britain”.

Goulson developed a curiosity for insects at a young age. “When I was about five or six years old, I would always collect caterpillars during lunchtime at school and would even take them home to feed them and watch as they grew into beautiful moths. I’ve been lucky to have turned that into a career.”

Since then, Goulson has emerged as the nation’s leading expert on bumblebees and has acquired numerous credentials over the course of his career. He was Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Social Innovator of the Year in 2010, given the Zoological Society of London’s Marsh Award for Conservation Biology in 2013 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2013. Other honours have included the British Ecological Society’s Public Engagement Award and the Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology.

In 2015, Goulson was also named number eight in BBC Wildlife Magazine’s list of the top 50 most influential people in conservation, while in 2018, 2019 and 2020 he was named as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Thompson ISI. He is also a trustee of Pesticide Action Network, and an “Ambassador” for the UK Wildlife Trusts.

Britain’s leading expert talks about the importance of bees amidst their alarming decline

Alongside his research, he has published more than 300 scientific articles on the ecology and conservation of bumblebees and other insects, along with the definitive guide on the subject, Bumblebees: Their Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation.

There’s also been a Sunday Times bestseller, A Sting In The Tale, which was created to build interest in bees and their conservation. “I wrote the book to try and inspire people and persuade them that these creatures were worth paying attention to and looking after. While bees are important because they pollinate wildflowers and our crops, I also shed light on their intelligence and fascinating social lives.”

This was followed by A Buzz in the Meadow in 2014, Bee Quest in 2017, The Garden Jungle in 2019, then Gardening for Bumblebees and Silent Earth in 2021. So far, these books have been translated into 17 languages and have sold more than half a million copies.

His fascination with these unassuming insects has a direct relevance on all our lives. Goulson’s work has also involved looking at what bees provide for humans. “Much of the fruit and vegetables we eat are pollinated by bees.” he says. “Without bees our diets would be much poorer because they pollinate these vital components of our daily intake.”

Near the end of last year, the human population reached a staggering eight billion people. “With the growing population, losing pollinators means there would be less food and eventually some people would starve. Essentially what would happen if yield started to drop, prices would go up and the poorest would be affected, both internationally and within countries.”

Right now, we are losing 4% of crop yields, because there aren’t enough pollinators. Which is causing around half a million deaths a year through malnutrition worldwide. Therefore, if bees continue to decline and the human population continues to rise, that half a million figure is going to increase.

Goulson founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, a charity which has grown to around 12,000 members, with the aim of trying to reverse declines. “We are trying to create more habitat – particularly flower-rich meadows since they are bumblebees’ favourite habitats.” says Goulson. One of the major ways we can help save bees is how we garden.

He spends much of his time trying to foster and encourage others to look after insects when gardening. “Bees are in every city so if you’ve got a garden of your own then you can grow bee friendly flowers [not using pesticides] and the bees will sniff the flowers out,” says Goulson. He also mentions if you do not have a garden “You can badger the council to go pesticide-free and plant bee-friendly flowers in parks, and also reduce mowing so often.”

Another way to help save bees is to spread awareness about the importance of having them, whether it’s via word of mouth or even social media. “Insects like bees are often overlooked in ‘PR’ and not talked about as much compared to bigger, furrier animals like tigers and lions.”

In addition to ways in which people can help reduce the decline of bees Goulson recommends buying more organic foods. “It sounds really simplistic, but it’s true to say that if we all bought organic food there wouldn’t be any pesticides in the world. Of course, not everyone can afford this but those that can, at least partially, encourages farming that is more bee friendly.”

Our MPs write laws and set standards for the environment. For anyone wanting to help save bees, Goulson suggests they: “Vote for politicians that actually do something to better the environment. It would be helpful to vote parties such as Green that focus on the importance of environmentalism and the more votes the better because other parties like Labour might see this and take it more seriously.”

Reducing meat consumption, so that you’re eating it sparingly instead of every day, would make a huge difference. This has been contested, but according to Goulson there is a very clear scientific consensus that eating meat is harmful for bees. This is because: “meat uses more land and resources to grow and ultimately is not a very efficient way of feeding people. This doesn’t mean everyone has to go vegan but simply reducing the amount you eat can help

a lot.” There is a relatively tiny amount of farmland used to grow the majority of our crops that we eat since “about 80 percent of the world’s farmland is used to rear animals” says Goulson.

Based on a recent YouGov survey, which shows the percentage of individuals eating a plant-based diet has increased over the past two years, more than a third of people in the UK are interested in being vegan. According to the poll of UK adults, 36% considered following a vegan or plant-based diet to be ‘an admirable thing to do’. Though veganism has increased over the last few years, there are many who are still sceptical as the ratio of non-vegans to vegans is significantly higher.

“In theory if everyone was to go vegan, we could free up about 60% of the world’s farmland straight away, and possibly even turn it into giant bee nature reserves or national parks. The current system is unnecessarily inefficient and wasteful, since we throw away the food we grow - which is damaging to the environment. But we can all play our part in trying to make things a little better on that front.”

You can find out more about bees and preventing their decline, by visiting: www.bumblebeeconservation.org

Join the Movement at The Dance Space

Studies into the impact of dance on health and wellbeing have found that it contributes to our sense of identity, belonging and self-worth. Which is a why every body is welcome at Brighton & Hove’s home for dance, The Dance Space.

Arts charity South East Dance opened the doors to their accessible new building in the Circus Street development a year ago and, since then, have seen thousands of people come through their sliding doors to enjoy dance in one way or another. As well as hosting a regular programme of dance classes for all ages and abilities, The Dance Space provides much-needed space for artists to develop and rehearse work. South East Dance also works closely with community organisations in the local area, including care homes and nurseries, and offers regular free classes in the studios to those groups.

This summer sees the return of South East Dance’s annual free festival Our City Dances, created in collaboration with their local steering group. A day of family-friendly fun on Sat 1 July, head down to The Dance Space for workshops, live performances, films, taster classes,

food and drink. Community partners will also be running stalls, many responding to this year’s theme of celebrating nature and looking at how we care for each other and the planet.

Brooke Mead Extra Care Facility Residents at The Dance Space

Photo Credit Danny Fitzpatrick

Barbara Diabo photo by Mike Patten

The breakout crime novel of 2023

There are certain people you don’t want to cross. Men like Billy Murphy, a violent mob boss, reputed to be the most dangerous man in Brighton.

When college drop-out, Buster Brett, steals Billy’s cash on a whim, his odds of surviving are slim. On the run, a gang of armed thugs are soon hot on his heels.

With only his druggie mate and a scheming con-artist to help out, Buster risks everything on an audacious plan that could not only save his skin, but also make the world a better place.

‘A dazzling roller-coaster ride through Brighton’s murky underworld’ ABSOLUTE MAGAZINE

‘An intriguing journey into the dark side of the city by the sea.’

LATEST BRIGHTON

‘‘Fast-paced British gangster tale that wouldn’t look out of place as a Guy Richie lm’’

SILVER MAGAZINE

for orders and and merchandise visit:

www.dangerousman.co.uk

buynowat

Brighton

BOOK FESTIVAL

The Literary Festival Making Marginalised Mainstream

Brighton Book Festival returns to Brighton for a second year for six days of literary events. The festival will take place on Tues 20 - Sun 25 June, within the same week as Independent Bookshops Week and Windrush day. Using the core values of the festival - Representation, Inclusion, Access and Community, we delve deeper into what events the festival hosts, and more importantly, how they use the festival to celebrate marginalised writers.

REPRESENTATION

Founded by two independent radical bookshop owners, Carolynn Bain of Afrori Books, and Ruth Wainwright of The Feminist Bookshop, at the core of Brighton Book Festival is making the marginalised mainstream. Represented at the festival are a range of authors from all types of communities across twenty events in the week. Some events include, ‘Real Life Dystopia’, ‘Colourful Nature’, ‘Boyz to men’ plus Nikesh Shukla as this year’s Writer in Residence. The award winning writer will host a workshop ‘Your Story Matters’ on the Saturday evening, encouraging participants to sharpen their own writing skills through themes of identity.

At the forefront of the event is not just showcasing underrepresented authors, but also the heterogeneity of readers. Brighton Book Festival allows the opportunity for readers beyond the spectrum of white middle class to see themselves in books and writing too.

Plus, on Thurs 22 June, a fully immersive multimedia experience will celebrate 75 years since the HMS Windrush arrived into the Tilbury Docks from the Caribbean. This will purport interesting conversations about migration and shaping diverse communities. Brighton Book Festival is not just about creating new literature and revolutionising a future for publishing opportunities; participants can also celebrate how or why our contemporary society has been formed beyond the books.

The line-up also features Dorothy Koomson, Patrice Lawrence, Marvyn Harrison (founder of Dope Black Dads), Natalie and Naomi Evans (founders of Everyday racism), Yomi Sode, Diana Evans, Louise Hare, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Fats Timbo and many more.

INCLUSION

As suggested by the diversity in which authors and communities are represented via the events, Brighton Book Festival is an incredibly inclusive space. In their first year, over 50% of attendees said they had never participated in a book festival before, which is a huge achievement for making ticket buyers feel included in the world of literature.

Even if you do not love escaping into fascinating Sci-Fi, or getting your teeth sunk into horror novels, Brighton Book Festival ensures all types of literature is included. For instance, ‘It’s All Greek to Me!’ Is a

discussion about classic plays on Weds 21 June. Or, Tuesday night’s Supper Club treasures recipes as stories using Lerato’s cook book Africana.

Included in the process of putting the festival together is a committee of all Brighton based women. They are proud to be working in partnership with the Brighton Centre for Contemporary of Arts at the University of Brighton where many of the events will be hosted. Founding member of Sistas by the Sea and Legacy Film Festival Althea Wolfe joins Ruth and Carolynn as a director of Brighton Book Festival this year.

ACCESS

Speaking on last year’s festival, Ruth Wainwright said “we had a big dream to create a festival for Brighton that was accessible for everyone, not just a small elite group. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, we know that people need to have events that they want to attend and can afford. So, we are ensuring that ticket prices are as accessible as possible.”

There are many other ways Brighton Book Festival is looking to be as accessible as possible, with all venues being wheelchair friendly. Alternatively, you can register for some events online, participating via livestream. This opportunity really broadens the landscape for who can attend the festival, no matter where in the world literature lovers may be.

COMMUNITY

The collaborations with local publishers, local charities, local businesses, independent booksellers, and other partners truly makes Brighton Book Festival a communal event. A sense of community that you could also volunteer for. Should you be interested in volunteering at the festival, helping run the events therefore developing organisation and communication skills, go to brightonbookfestival.co.uk/volunteer

The sense of community at Brighton Book Festival is guaranteed to be second to none as everyone is encouraged to feel inspired and get creative. To read, write, listen and vocalise stories, regardless of who you are. It is truly a revolutionary era for literature in terms of who is being published and whose stories are being heard. Become a part of this history by attending the festival, and hopefully other major literature events will follow suit.

Spread the word and also get involved with the Brighton Book Festival online community at @brightonbookfestival

For specific event information over the six days, and to book your tickets, got to www.brightonbookfestival.co.uk/events.

Photo Credit Manuel Harlan

The world premiere of Brokeback Mountain, a new play with music, written by Ashley Robinson with songs by Dan Gillespie Sells and based on Annie Proulx’s short story, is now playing @sohoplace. Directed by Jonathan Butterell, Brokeback Mountain stars Mike Faist as Jack and Lucas Hedges as Ennis, both making their West End stage debuts. The production sees Jonathan Butterell and Dan Gillespie Sells (The Feeling), creators of the hit musical and film Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, reuniting with Producer Nica Burns.

Wyoming 1963: a wild landscape where people live in extreme rural poverty in tight, insular and conservative communities. When Ennis and Jack take jobs on the isolated Brokeback Mountain, all their certainties of life change forever as they flounder in unexpected emotional waters of increasing depth. Dan Gillespie Sells’ beautiful Country and Western songs weave heartbreakingly through this intense tale of an irresistible and hidden love spanning twenty years and its tragic consequences.

This is a play with original music by Dan Gillespie Sells, performed by the extraordinary singer, Eddi Reader, joined by her onstage Country and Western band: Sean Green (piano/Musical Director), Meelie Traill (upright bass), Greg Miller (harmonica) and BJ Cole (pedal steel guitar).

Dan Gillespie Sells’ powerful and beautiful songs, sung by “The Balladeer,” give voice to the tumultuous inner landscape of our wannabe cowboys (both young men of few words), and provide the scope of our vast and brutal outer landscape, not to mention allowing Proulx’s poetic prose to literally sing.

'A powerful and enticing production' - Broadway World

'Compelling' - Guardian

'Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist are splendid' - iNews

'A gem of a show' - Evening Standard

‘Brokeback is still moving mountains 20 years on’ - Metro

‘The piece packs a punch’ - Telegraph

‘An impossibly moving tale for our times’ - WhatsOnStage

Brokeback Mountain is running for a limited season until 12 Aug 2023, Mon to Sat: 7.30pm, Thurs and Sat: 2.30pm at @sohoplace.

Buy tickets at www.sohoplace.org/whats-on/brokeback-mountain

All images by Manuel Harlan

BARBARA HEPWORTH: ART & LIFE

Exhibition exploring career of legendary artist and sculptor opens at Towner Eastbourne

By Stuart Rolt

Alandmark retrospective of Barbara Hepworth is running at Towner Eastbourne until Sun 3 Sept. Encompassing sculptures, as well as rarely-seen drawings, paintings and archival materials, the exhibition celebrates one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.

The show forms part of Towner 100, a series of exhibitions and events marking the Eastbourne gallery’s centenary. Originally staged at The Hepworth in Wakefield, Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life has garnered rave reviews. It brings together some of her most celebrated sculptures, including the modern abstract carving which launched her career in the 20s and 30s, the iconic strung sculptures of the 40s and 50s, and large-scale bronze and carved sculptures from later in her career.

Key loans from national public collections are being shown alongside items from private collections which have not been on public display since the 70s, as well as rarely-seen drawings, paintings and costume designs. “Hepworth’s works, spanning her life, are arranged thematically through Hepworth’s wideranging interests in music, dance, science, faith and politics,” says Karen Taylor, the Towner’s Collections & Exhibitions Curator. “Within each theme there are both known sculptures and motifs that seem ‘very Barbara Hepworth’ alongside other works that will delight and surprise; such as her hospital drawings and other paintings that collectively offer an insight into the development of her celebrated sculptures. Both are essential in the exploration and telling of Barbara Hepworth’s art and life.

As this important show comes to Sussex, it’s an opportunity to experience Hepworth’s work in a landscape where the land and the sea meet, nestled in the South Downs, important for an artist who juxtaposed land and sea, solid and fluid. “She talked on many occasions about her relationship to the landscape in which she grew up in Yorkshire. She wrote about her experience of these lived landscapes in sculptural terms ‘Moving through and over the West Riding landscape…, the hills were sculptures; the roads defined the forms’. Then later in the 1940s she moved to Cornwall where she embraced the rugged coastline and light that St Ives is renown for. Setting the exhibiton at Towner Eastbourne merges both of these experiences of location that Hepworth was drawn to and inspired by, uniting the sea, the reflected light and the open landscape of the Downs - a combination that Hepworth would surely approve of.”

Of a middle-class family from the West Riding of Yorkshire, Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield in 1903. She trained in sculpture at Leeds School of Art and on a county scholarship at the Royal College of Art met the painters Raymond Coxon and Edna Ginesi and the sculptor Henry Moore. Hepworth was runner-up to John Skeaping for the 1924 Prix de Rome and travelled to Florence on a West Riding Travel Scholarship. After visiting Rome and Siena with Skeaping, they were married in Florence in 1925 and moved to Rome, where both began carving stone.

In 1926, the couple returned to London. Links forged through the British School at Rome with the sculptor Richard Bedford (a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum), ensured that the collector George Eumorfopoulos visited their studio show in 1927 and bought two of her works. The couple moved to 7 The Mall Studios in Hampstead in 1928 (where Hepworth remained until 1939). With Bedford and Moore, they became leading figures in the ‘new movement’ associated with direct carving. Successful joint exhibitions in 1928 (Beaux Arts Gallery, London and Alex. Reid and Lefevre, Glasgow) and 1930 (Arthur

Tooth & Sons) consisted of animal and figure sculptures in stone and wood. They joined the London Group for successful joint exhibitions in 1928 (Beaux Arts Gallery, London and Alex. Reid and Lefevre, Glasgow) and 1930 (Arthur Tooth & Sons) consisted of animal and figure sculptures in stone and wood. They joined the London Group and the 7 & 5 Society in 1930-1. A son, Paul, was born in August 1929, but the marriage was deteriorating and in 1931 Hepworth met Ben Nicholson (then married to Winifred Nicholson), who joined her on holiday at Happisburgh, Norfolk. She and Skeaping were amicably divorced in 1933. In 1934 Hepworth gave birth to triplets, marrying Nicholson four years later.

Hepworth and Nicholson revealed their shared move towards abstraction in joint exhibitions in 1932 (Arthur Tooth & Sons) and 1933 (Lefevre). This became the abiding direction of her work, epitomised by her pioneering practice of piercing different forms, and coincided with experiments in collage, photograms and prints. Establishing links with the continental avant garde, the couple visited the Parisian studios of Arp, Brancusi, Mondrian, Braque and Picasso.

They joined Abstraction-Création and were major figures in Paul Nash’s Unit One grouping and the associated publication edited by Herbert Read (1934). In 1935 they were instrumental in restricting the 7&5 to abstract work, thus paving the way for a fertile period of constructivism enhanced by artist refugees from totalitarian Europe (Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, Breuer, Gabo). This culminated in the publication of Circle: International Survey of Constructive Art (1937), edited by Nicholson, Gabo and the architect Leslie Martin, and designed by Hepworth and Sadie Martin. Such utopianism was curtailed by the war, and Hepworth and Nicholson evacuated to St Ives, Cornwall. They stayed with Margaret Mellis and Adrian Stokes at Little Park Owles, Carbis Bay. Domestic demands and lack of space restricted Hepworth to small sculptures and painting until, on moving to Chy-an-Kerris, Carbis Bay in 1942, she secured a studio.

Her first major solo exhibition (Temple Newsam, Leeds 1943) was followed by a monograph by William Gibson (Barbara Hepworth: Sculptress, 1946). She was prominent amongst St Ives artists, forming a focus in 1949 for the establishment of the Penwith Society of Artists with Nicholson, Peter Lanyon and others, and helping to attract international attention to the group’s exhibitions. Although Hepworth’s contribution to the 1950 Venice Biennale was dogged by comparisons with Moore, two retrospectives - in Wakefield (1951) and London (Whitechapel 1954) - and Read’s monograph (1952) confirmed her post-war reputation. She bought Trewyn Studio, St Ives in 1949, where she lived after her divorce from Nicholson two years later. She visited Greece in 1954 in an effort to recover from the sudden death of Paul Skeaping the previous year.

Hepworth was especially active within the modernist artistic community in St Ives, during its period of postwar international prominence. Her experience of the Cornish landscape was acknowledged in her choice of titles. In a wider context, Hepworth also represented a link with pre-war ideals in a climate of social and physical reconstruction; this was exemplified by her two sculptures for the South Bank site of the Festival of Britain. Public commissions and greater demand encouraged her to employ assistants for preliminary work - including Denis Mitchell and Dicon Nance - and to produce bronze editions. Hepworth’s international standing was confirmed by the Grand Prix of the 1959 São Paolo Bienal, which came amid honorary degrees, the CBE (1958) and the DBE (1965), and a second Whitechapel exhibition (1962) and a European tour (1964).

Opposite page Barbara Hepworth with Figure for Landscape and a bronze cast

In 1964, Her Single Form was erected outside the United Nations building, New York as a memorial to the Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld. Hepworth served as a Tate trustee (1965-72), donating six works in 1964 and a further nine in 1967 prior to the 1968 retrospective at the Gallery. The catalogue raisonné by Alan Bowness (the sculptor’s son-in-law) included in J.P. Hodin’s 1961 monograph was extended in 1971.

With her long-standing friend the potter Bernard Leach, she was awarded the Freedom of St Ives in 1968 as an acknowledgement of her importance to the town. After a long battle with cancer, she died there in May 1975 in a horrific fire at her home. The studio was designated the Barbara Hepworth Museum in the following year and, upon coming under the Tate’s aegis in 1980, secured an unrivalled collection of her work for the Gallery. Since then, scholarly interest has focused on her status as one of the few women artists to achieve international prominence.

“Hepworth’s dedication to her sculpture permeated all aspects of her life,” says Taylor. “She lived and viewed her existence through the lens of art. Passion such as Hepworth’s can be infectious and inspiring. We hope our visitors will leave feeling uplifted, reflective and inspired to experience their own landscape, their life through art. Should they leave wanting more they can also pick up a copy of Eleanor Clayton’s publication Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life from the Towner shop.”

The exhibition opens with an introduction to Barbara Hepworth’s work, showing the three sculptural forms she returned to repeatedly throughout her career using a variety of different materials. Though abstract, these forms reveal Hepworth’s enduring ability to express essential human experiences, from interpersonal relationships to our connection to the world around us.

A detailed look at Hepworth’s childhood in Yorkshire through archive material and photographs will include some of the artist’s earliest known paintings, carvings and life drawings as she began to explore movement and the human form. A proponent of direct carving, Hepworth combined an acute sensitivity to the organic materials of wood and stone with the development of a radical new abstract language of form. Hepworth’s interests in music and dance, and how they informed her sculptures, will be explored in depth. In 1951, Hepworth met composer Priaulx Rainier, and subsequently made several works inspired by the parallels between musical form and abstract sculpture. This coincided with her first theatrical design, for the 1951 production of Electra at The Old Vic. Archive photographs will be displayed together with Apollo, a metal sculpture that formed part of the stage set, along with costume and set designs for the 1955 opera by Michael Tippett, A Midsummer Marriage, staged in 1955 at the Royal Opera House.

This section of the exhibition will also explore Hepworth’s passion for dance, and how she captured movement with gestural paintings and sculptures such as Forms in Movement (Galliard) and Curved Form (Pavan), contextualising her move to creating sculptures in metal in the 1950s.

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life at Towner Eastbourne will culminate with a section looking at Hepworth’s interest in science and technology, from the bold geometric abstract drawings and sculptures made in the 1930s and her friendship with physicist J D Bernal, through to her iconic Hospital Drawings of the 1940s, and her fascination with the Space Race in the 1960s. A group of works will be brought together to reveal the influence of this decade of space exploration on Hepworth, from Disc with Strings (Moon), 1969, made the year Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, to Four Hemispheres, inspired by the Telstar satellite. Hepworth noted at

the end of the decade, ‘Man’s discovery of flight has radically altered the shape of our sculpture, just as it has altered our thinking.’ With all these works, Hepworth married her interest in science with a deep spirituality, which will also be explored through the exhibition. In these works, and many others throughout her career, Hepworth connected the local with the universal, and challenged the boundaries of modern sculpture in ways that continue to reverberate today.

“Focusing on Hepworth’s practice through a broader lens offers the visitor the opportunity to appreciate her all-encompassing passion to create and the complexities that Hepworth had to navigate to be an artist, a woman and a mother in the early stages of her career. Eleanor Clayton wrote, when describing works from this period ‘The tension between these two forms could reflect the push and pull of the maternal experience… the desire to care for and be close to her children, and yet retain her own identity and agency.’ To experience her work in this way and understand how they came into being presents a sensitive perspective into her life’s work.”

Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life runs at Towner Eastbourne until Sun 3 Sept. www.townereastbourne.org.uk

Top Image Hepworth, Disc with Strings (moon), 1969

Bottom Image Hepworth, Sea Form - Porthmeor, 1958

TGE 2023

IN PICTURES

The Great Escape 2023 was another successful weekend of celebrating music’s finest up and coming talents. Brighton came to life as multiple venues across the city had a jam-packed schedule of gigs. It was a vibrant and thrilling experience for all music-lovers as every street was filled with the sound of guitars and vocals.

On the Friday night, Unknown T kicked off the festival’s Spotlight shows in style. It took place at the legendary Concorde 2, presented by UTA, with his hard hitting drill and distinctive vocal delivery that got crowds pumped. Support from Ms Banks, Tiggs Da Author, Gyakie and Cristale gave the crowds an unforgettable night and a rap masterclass. The iconic Brighton Dome Concert Hall welcomed Maisie Peters for a magical homecoming for the rising star, which also featured TikTok singer-songwriter star Aine Deane.

Friday also saw highlights from the likes of English Teacher who treated fans with a double dose of their witty, noisy unique sound at both Fabrica and The Old Market, proving their hype is well deserved. The Pretenders showed their class as they celebrated the announcement of their new album with a sensational performance of their new tracks. The Amazon New Music Stage was crowned by Irish post-punks The Murder Capital who raised the roof on the beach with a packed audience.

Headlining the spotlight show on the Saturday was Mercury Prize winning poet and singer

Arlo Parks at The Brighton Dome. Sharing her tales of teenage unease and passing romance atop soulful beats and reminiscing with the crowd, saying “This is the first festival I ever played.” Support came from rising Danish indie-folk artist eee gee, whose spellbinding melodies proved a joyous listening experience.

Having recently announced a new album and tour, indie favourites Gengahr gave a spirited show at Chalk filled with classics and glimpses of new music alike. Cambridge ‘skinhead soul princess’ Etta Bond took to the stage at Zahara, and hotlytipped Isle of Wight outfit Coach Party kept the energy high with their third show of the festival.

As the sun sets on a vintage, sold-out edition of TGE, Brighton has once again provided a platform for hundreds of the world’s most exciting artists and spread cutting-edge industry knowledge - the UK’s richest showcase of music talent once again proving a huge success.

Super earlybird tickets for The Great Escape 2024 are now available for the festival at www.ticketweb.uk/event/the-greatescape-festival-2024.

Above: Grove / Top right: AntsLive

Mid left: Hutch / Mid right: Chubby & The Gang

Bottom left: Cowz / Bottom right: Congatulations

Images by David Smith - photosbydavid.org

Above: Mila Brazzi interviewing Woody Cook at The Great Escape for BN1 Magazine TV. Image by Alline Beatrici Lourenco (@beatrici)

All images by Alline Beatrici Lourenco (@beatrici)

Top left: Shaé Universe

Top right: Mae Stephens

Bottom left: Caity Baser

Bottom

Moonchild Sanelly

right:

All images by Alline Beatrici Lourenco (@beatrici)

Top right: Arlo Parks

Top left: The Beach Stage area

Bottom left: The Murder Capital

Bottom right: Alice Longyu Gao

LETTING STUDENTS TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR EDUCATION AT SML COLLEGE

There’s a lot we know about how children and young people learn, for instance they are all different. Yet school assumes that children and young people will learn the same things, in the same way, at the same time, through a fixed curriculum.

The essence of the Self Managed Learning approach is that they provide a structure within which young people can plan, organise and carry out learning activities. Each student is able to work out for themselves what and how they want to learn.

We asked staff at SML College to tell us a bit more.

SML stands for self-managed learning. What does this mean exactly for the way your students learn and why is it beneficial?

Self Managed Learning does what it says on the tin. Young people aged 9-17 manage their own learning. Just as Dyson vacuum cleaners are well known for something they don’t have – a bag – we are well known for what we don’t have – no classrooms, no imposed lessons, no imposed timetable, no imposed rules, no uniform. Students are supported within a small caring learning community to take charge of their own learning.

What does an average school timetable look like at SML College?

There are 65 students in the College – 40 in the morning and 25 in the afternoon. There are 65 timetables. There is no average timetable – students can learn pretty much anything they want and in any way that they want.

Do children still learn their usual Mathematics and English?

There is free choice in the College. Most choose to learn English and Maths – but not necessarily according to a school model.

How do you plan and research your learning activities? Can you give us an example of some activities?

Students plan their activities each week. Activities can include 1:1 sessions with staff; workshops on a range of topics; art activities; sport such as football and basketball; discussions; making computer animations; playing musical instruments; drama; cooking; etc. etc.

The college is extremely inclusive, with a high representation of neurodiverse young people attending. How does this way of learning benefit and encourage

these students in particular?

By responding to the needs of each individual students benefit enormously. They can realise their potential by pursuing what they need.

Are there things that other mainstream schools could be doing to make sure neurodiverse young people, and the way they learn, is considered by teachers and classrooms?

We have proved over the last 20 years that there is no need for standard classroom teaching. We have run Self Managed Learning programmes in a number of schools and proved the worth of the approach.

Who can come to SML College and how could I apply?

Anyone aged 9-14 can apply. If a young person is potentially interested they can come and spend a week at the College to check it out. There is no prior commitment required to join our learning community.

Are you looking for volunteers or donations for SML College?

Yes. We welcome volunteers and we definitely need donations via our website smlcollege.org.uk

SML College, Gardner Road, Fishergate, BN41 1PN

UK’S LARGEST OUTDOOR ART INSTALLATION OPENS AT WAKEHURST

Wakehurst is now home to one of the UK’s largest outdoor art installations. The work, at Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, was commissioned to wrap the Elizabethan Mansion, while it undergoes an extensive roof restoration. Titled Planet Wakehurst, this bespoke photo montage was created by Australian-born artist Catherine Nelson.

“I couldn’t really imagine this moment,” she said at the unveiling. “I’ve a nice big monitor, but that’s as big as the piece got. It was a great surprise, when I came and saw it for the first time at this scale… how strong the concept was and how it really spoke about the garden and diversity. So, I was really happy about that.”

Using photography of plants captured across the 535-acre site, the inspiring installation is a celebration of Wakehurst’s rich array of plant species, from the colourful blooms of the abundant Water Gardens to the towering Giant Redwoods of California in Horsebridge Wood.

“The first thing was to take lots of pictures. These three works comprise hundreds of photos. I came in August last year, and for ten days photographed everything in all sorts of light. By doing that I created a massive library of material which I could work with to create this digital collage.”

A visual artist who uses the camera and digital medium as a paintbrush, Nelson studied painting before moving into film visual effects. She’s worked on several big budget productions, including Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and 300. The skills she learned are now applied to creating incredible photomontage artworks and videos. “Although what I was doing in film was time-based, the concepts of how to put things together still apply. Also that informed my discipline to just sitting down and doing it hour in, hour out; day in, day out, week in, week out!”

The installation also houses a new viewing platform. Raised 33ft above ground level, the lookout point creates a new experience for visitors to the Sussex site, affording stunning views across the Mansion lawns and out to the Sussex Downs beyond. This is the first-time visitors will be able to take in Wakehurst’s spectacular landscape and the surrounding countryside from this elevation.

Set in the heart of the garden, the Elizabethan Mansion was built in 1571-1590, and it requires extensive work to preserve the Grade I listed building for future generations.

biggest restoration project of the last century. “We knew the vast scale of the site with its layers of scaffolding poles and boards could form a magnificent canvas, but we had no idea just how spectacular this opportunity was until we started working with Catherine Nelson. Her vision for Planet Wakehurst will transform a building site into an artwork unlike anything you’ll see around the country. The connection with our collections and our critical science research is palpable in her work. Her consideration for our important plant collections and her passion for Kew’s mission to halt biodiversity loss has resulted in a truly striking work.”

Measuring over 1550m2, Nelson’s UK premiere installation forms the equivalent of 25 double decker buses, wrapping around three sides of Wakehurst’s mansion. Visitors can see beautiful species magnified in exceptional detail, offering new perspectives on the flora which makes Wakehurst so special, and sparking curiosity into science research conducted across this unique living laboratory. “This work is about what I’ve always been interested in,” says Nelson, “which is nature, the need for diversity in the local… That’s our future. We live in a time of crisis with climate change, so the concepts I’m dealing with in this project are always present throughout my art.”

Catherine Nelson’s Planet Wakehurst runs for the next two years. For more information, visit: www.kew.org/wakehurst

Lorraine

Lecourtois, Wakehurst’s Head of Public Programmes, says the Mansion’s roof work forms the

I AM FYA

BY STUART ROLT

BRIGHTON-BASED EXPERIMENTAL MUSICIAN GEARS UP FOR ACCA SHOW AND SINGLE DROP THIS MONTH

“I feel like I’m totally representing myself now. More than I’ve ever done musically.” Producer, vocalist and videographer, Anthea Clarke, is reflecting on the bass-heavy richness and wonder of her current musical project, I Am Fya. “I’m in such a beautiful space… Everything I’m creating at the moment feels really true and necessary.” It’s a place where tripped-out dub and vocal harmonies both resonate amongst tantalising percussion loops, taking the listener to within touching distance of rich family histories and distant Caribbean shores.

“I was about 16 when I started telling people I was a singer… I’ve been singing as a backing vocalist for quite some time.” Originally hailing from Manchester, she moved to London at 19 to start a successful career doing sessions (including work with Kae Tempest) and singing on adverts. “It’s basically a space where I found myself in. But I wouldn’t say I was completely happy. I think I’m a bit too punk. My vibe was always that I can fit into these boxes and do that, but my heart wasn’t totally in it.”

The idea for I Am Fya was born in 2010. Clarke was determined to forge a new path, making music which was true and representative of her world. She’s now been living in Brighton for nine years. An introduction to Kassia Zermon, Creative Director of the Rose Hill arts hub, then led to being signed up to their label. “Her band Bunty are amazing. I really connected with her very early on!” Located just off London Road, The Rose Hill is a venue and studio complex, run by a passionate group of musicians. From the start, it’s set out to platform interesting, varied and adventurous artists, workshops and film screenings – offering a nurturing atmosphere for an eclectic range of local creatives. “The brilliant thing about that venue is it feels like home. It’s really comfortable. I’ve had some amazing events and gigs there.”

Clarke finds herself at the tail-end of a Digital, Music And Sound Art degree at Brighton University. The course has a foundation in experimental sound design, alongside incorporating of filmmaking. “All through my course, my practice has changed quite a lot. It’s why I went… so I could think outside the box a bit more. They’ve been really supportive of what I do.”

She makes all her own beats, starting off arranging on GarageBand before moving up to Logic Pro, along with keyboards and her trusty Roland SP-404 sampler. “It’s my best friend at the moment,” she says with a chuckle.

Her work manifests as something ardently Avant Garde – like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop met Karl Stockhausen at a soundsystem block party and fell in love. I Am Fya morphs everyday sounds into something

sensory and beguiling, allowing waves, samples and electronic noises to sizzle across her minimalist sonic art. “Growing up, I was listening to The Smiths and Public Enemy,” she tells me. “Culturally, I’m an English girl, but I’m also Caribbean. All of that has been an influence on me, for sure. Radiohead are my favourite band. Thom Yorke is one of the most soulful singers. Nobody can argue with me about that.”

Right now, her creative focus is concerned on finishing Homeland; a visual album which draws from her heritage, it crystallises a link between sound and vision. She’s been producing parallel audio and film elements for the concept - an unwaveringly personal endeavour exploring familial life and self-love. “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m the next big video producer on the scene, but for what I’m doing I feel like it has to be me that does it all.”

Field recordings are playing an increasing role in her practice. During the numerous recent lockdowns, she spent quite a lot of time in Barbados with her parents. “I’ve always been very good at recording stuff, but until I was on this course, I didn’t know what to do with them. There are recordings of everything, like car rides, conversations, nature, animals and the sea.” These became the bedrock of the tracks on Homeland. Capturing these sounds were a device to combat boredom, against a backdrop of restrictions placed upon movement and socialising. “I was just going round recording me bashing blinds or kicking plant pots. Then I’d chop it up and make a drumbeat. I made the most of a weird situation.”

Her musical palette has been reduced to just the most essential and expressive spectrum-sweeping elements, creating a wash of emotion and storytelling. It shifts between melancholic and empowering, as the ghosts of past and future evolve within these shape-shifting collages. “It’s kind of witchy, experimental and soulful. Some people find it quite challenging, but some really get it. Because there’s elements of mysticism, which is the ancestral stuff which I talk about. There’s lots of haunting and beauty. Thom Yorke is my guy, as I said, so there’s that kind of element. But there’s also beats and joy.” The namechecking of Radiohead and their approach to soundscapes seems perfectly natural. There’s certainly a shared playful approach to timbre and rhythm, gracefully arranging sounds and textures to envelop the listener.

The story of that sojourn in the West Indies is perhaps best encapsulated in her new single, The Sun Will Kill Me. Released this month via Rose Hill Records, it depicts long walks in the heat, developing friendships and new-found belonging. As a launch event, the day of release is being celebrated with a show alongside electronica pioneers Creep Show – the much-vaunted collaboration between John Grant, Stephen Mallinder, Phil Winter and Ben “Benge” Edwards – at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts on Fri 16 June.

“It’s probably my biggest show yet as I Am Fya. I’ve played there before as part of Brownton Abbey, which is a black, afro-futurist

Photo Credit Kate Dominic

Cont.

queer collective. I’m so excited about this gig though. I’m just blowen away that I’ve been asked. It does feel really important.” Recently she’s performed at Glastonbury Festival’s late-night safe-space The Sistxrhood, and with Brownton Abbey at Summer: In The Black Fantastic at London’s South Bank Centre. But ACCA’s music-oriented venue, with its bass-forward soundsystem and awesome acoustics, seems perfect for what she does.

Lyrically, she’s always approached her compositions from a personal angle. The opening track on her last album, The Woman, was inspired by her learning about a man who’d turned himself into a successful guru – it’s narrative countering his desperation for validation (and probably hard cash) with the lines ‘Your guru is a woman. Your god is a woman’. “This dude just stands onstage staring at people,” she tells me, disbelief hanging in her voice. “Thousands of people are like: ‘OH MY GOD! I FELT SOMETHING!’ I’m like: ‘Jeez. Is this where we’re at?’ This guy is not doing anything. He’s not saying anything. There’s nothing about him. It really annoyed me because men very easily get put on these pedestals. No, your god is a woman. She might be a trans woman. She’s definitely a black woman!” Alongside dismantling patriarchal inanity, she’s also been happy to discuss female orgasms, family, home, identity and the experience of immigrants in her songs. “I can never shy away from these things…”

Talking to her, she’s bursting with life. The word ‘beautiful’ comes up a lot. And even when questioning the value of certain things, she’s careful to deploy objective arguments rather than relying upon facile dismissals. And then there’s the near obsessive zeal when she talks about music.

The love of music in all its forms is perhaps at its most prominent on her radio shows. With slots on the city’s 1BTN and Slack City stations, she slowly playing her part in shifting existing paradigms around who’s expected to push tastes and trends. “My Slack City show is a bit more experimental. I get a nice response from people. I’d really like to be on 6Music. I think they need more people like me on there.” She says the foray into broadcasting has been really good for her own practice. She’s always open to new music and ideas… but having to present these shows demands she thinks more about what inspires and drives her. “I want to bring new and exciting stuff to people’s ears. I’m quite good at curating playlists and stuff. It’s been really beautiful, and really creative.”

The homogeneous nature of the creative scene, whether broadcasting or the music industry, has shifted recently. But change is glacial, regardless of the grumbles about male-dominated festival bills or club line-ups.

“I see some men who are very successful, and they have been for a long time, but they’re boring. The amount of queer, black

and brown collectives that are now smashing it… for them to reach those heights almost seems impossible. The gatekeepers are still going to let the dudes in.”

With uncompromising production and composition, I Am Fya’s sound brings together bass-rich textures, poignant soundscapes, rich lyrical narratives and distinctive staccato beats. This is the sound of the real modern Britain. A place rich in innovation and diversity, where all our experiences are important. She’s undoubtedly pushing experimental music forward, with work that is beguiling and mysterious. It’s a puzzle box of sounds waiting to be opened; constructed from clever rhythms, uncompromising narratives and mischievous soundscape. And it seems like this might only be the start. “I’m going to keep my fingers in lots of pies. There are collaborations coming up, more producing and doing my thing… and I’m also curating festivals and nights. I’ve got a DJ collective called Sista Selecta, and we do some cool stuff. There’s a lot of exciting things that I’m planning. I’m not going to stop!”

I Am Fya plays with Creepshow at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre For The Creative Arts on Fri 16 June. Her new singles, The Sun Will Kill Me, is released on the same day, via Rose Hill Records.

www.iamfya.com

www.therosehill.co.uk

www.attenboroughcentre.com

Photo Credit Anya Arnold

Photo Credit Kate Dominic

Photo Credit Anya Arnold

KOMEDIA

BENT DOUBLE EVENT

Every first Sunday of the month, Bent Double presents a spectacular diversity of LGBTQ+ comedians and familiar television personalities. This event is brilliantly hosted by Zoe Lyons, a celebrated figure known for her appearances on Live at the Apollo, Mock The Week, and the BBC 2 Quiz show Lightning.

The event on the first Sunday of June (4th June) opens its doors at 6:30pm and commences at 7:30pm. It’s designed for individuals 18 years old and above.

THE NEST COMEDY CLUB EVENT

Berk’s Nest, an award-winning production company, meticulously crafts the line-up for The Nest Comedy Club, introducing the audience to the brightest and most engaging comedians. This event is suitable for both seasoned comedy enthusiasts and newcomers.

The third Sunday of each month brings stellar performers from the Edinburgh Fringe and

popular comedy TV stars, with tickets starting at only £8!

The event on the third Sunday of June (18th June) opens its doors at 6:30pm and commences at 7:30pm. It is open to individuals 18 years old and above.

BOOGIE WONDERLAND - 70S DISCO EVENT

Boogie Wonderland is reviving the energetic 70s spirit at Komedia with a selection of the decade’s greatest hits to keep the dance floor alive.

The playlist includes artists like Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, Abba, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, T. Rex, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Marvin Gaye, Hot Chocolate, Elton John, Prince, David Bowie, The Emotions, and many more!

The event is scheduled for Sat 10th June at 11pm. It is open to individuals 18 years old and above.

COMIC BOOM EVENT

Comic Boom promises an exhilarating night filled with exciting new comedy. The remarkable MCs introduce the audience to the rising stars of comedy and a top headlining comic. This event ensures a warm, friendly, and vibrant atmosphere, perfect for comedy lovers of all ages.

The June show introduces Headliner Tom Ward and MC Barry Ferns, while the July show features headliner Garrett Millerick and MC Barry Ferns. It provides a platform for the future comedy stars. Past acts include acclaimed comedians like Seann Walsh, Angela Barnes, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Sarah Millican, Nish Kumar, Sofie Hagen, Maisie Adam, James Acaster, Rachel Parris, Harriet Kemsley, Dan Tiernan, Mark Simmons, Esther Manito, and many more!

The event happens on the last Thursday of every month (29th June & 27th July), doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. It is designed for individuals 16 years old and above.

EDINBURGH PREVIEWS EVENT

Komedia proudly announces the return of the Edinburgh Preview Season, from the 4th to the 28th of July. The season features dual performances from 24 comedians, comprising both established names and rising talents.

The line-up includes remarkable talents such as Chloe Petts, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Matt Forde, Jordan Brookes, Helen Bauer, and Ali Woods.

All shows are priced at £9. This event is suitable for individuals 16 years old and above.

THE FORGE COMEDY CLUB

Get ready for a laughter-filled June, Brighton! The award-winning Forge Comedy Club, celebrated for their comedic prowess, is set to electrify the stage at Ironworks Studios on the 3rd of June. As the hottest comedy ticket in town, they've built an unforgettable night of hilarity that will leave the audience doubled over with laughter. The exciting line-up is soon to be announced!

As the clock ticks past bedtime, the energy doesn't dwindle. The Late Show at The Forge is all geared up to be the go-to spot for latenight comedy at the Brighton Fringe on the same night. The identities of the performers remain a delightful mystery, adding to the excitement.

The fun continues on 10th June, as the Forge Comedy Club, rated as Brighton's No.1 Comedy Club by TripAdvisor, promises another night of relentless laughter at Ironworks Studios. Get ready for a fantastic Saturday night filled with surprises and the best comedians on the scene.

The comedy tsunami doesn't stop there. On 15th June, the one and only Al Murray, a.k.a. The Pub Landlord, will serve up a fantastic feast of humour at Ironworks Studios. With a new year unfolding, Al is ready to dish out the most comical responses this great nation needs.

On the 17th of June, the Forge Comedy Club is all set to return to Ironworks Studios, Brighton. An electrifying night of laughter is in store, with the line-up to be announced soon.

Mark 21st June in the calendar, as Ivo Graham is slated to take over Ironworks Studios with his show 'My Future, My Clutter'. Expect an evening filled with laughter as this endearing comedian shares his amusing journey through pranks, parenting, and procrastination. Due to popular demand, an extra date has been scheduled!

For those who missed out, fear not! Ivo Graham is back on 22nd June for a repeat performance of 'My Future, My Clutter'. This

show is guaranteed to be a laughter therapy session, not to be missed!

More laughter is in store on the 24th of June, as the Forge Comedy Club prepares to bring down the house yet again. Brace yourselves for a laughter riot as some of the most talented comedians take to the stage at Ironworks Studios.

Wrapping up the month on 30th June, Rosie Holt is set to present a preview of her Edinburgh show, 'That’s Politainment!', at Ironworks Studios. Holt takes a satirical dig into the world of politics and entertainment, highlighting how a disastrous political career often leads to lucrative entertainment opportunities. This is one performance not to be missed!

WHERE INDIVIDUALITY THRIVES AND EDUCATION KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES

Why SML College?

Freedom to choose what to learn

Learning tailored to future goals

Supportive & small scale

Low student - staff ratio

Proven approach & successful outcomes

About Us

Self Managed Learning is a progressive and innovative alternative to schooling where students are encouraged to manage their own learning We run educational programmes for young people aged 9-17 years old in an inclusive and supportive environment tailored to the needs of the young person

smlcollege.org.uk

office@smlcollege.org.uk

Fishersgate, West Sussex

FINDING THE FAMILIAR IN THE BEACHY CITY, BARCELONA

By Amy Stanborough

Chances are, if you live in Brighton, you are someone who loves exploring cities that are situated on the coast. Brighton has that in common with San Francisco, Sydney, and Barcelona. These cities are, expectedly, full of tourist attractions and fine-dining restaurants amongst the hustle of business and apartments. However, they also boast that sea-breeze air with beach bars serving nachos and iced tea, plus quaint streets for hippies to congregate and create art. Barcelona is the ideal city for walkers keen to do a spot of sightseeing, but also perfect for sipping sangria and snacking on tapas in the harbour, if that is more your forte.

I spent three days and four nights in the city. Our accommodation was close to the Sagrada Familia, but our first meal was surprisingly close to the tourist attraction. As in, close enough for a view of the impressive architecture in its nightly glow. The lesson learnt was that no matter where you order tapas from in this city, the food is likely to be authentically delicious. Ordering tapas at an Italian restaurant was kind of oxymoronic. But we savoured the flavours of garlic prawns and crunchy patatas bravas as if it was our last meal, not our first. Glasses of sangria were poured as me and my bestfriend and travel partner planned our next few days in the city.

We had a delightfully filling and healthy breakfast at Green Kiss (Avinguda Gaudí 87): smoothie bowls topped and loaded with berries, banana, nuts, chia seeds - all the fibre and goodness. Then, we walked to Las Ramblas. Maps told us that this would take an hour, but if it did take that amount of time, the minutes flew by. While observing the gorgeous architecture of the apartments above us, the walk did not feel long; it was simply part of the exploring. With every block, we became more familiar with the city scape’s pedestrian noise and recognised that there were probably more patisseries in Barcelona than in Paris. Not a fact, just a mere guess based on how many times we pointed at custard tarts and flaky croissants.

Crossing the road at Gaudi’s house, we now felt like we were at a central point. Paths were busier with people snapping photographs, and no sign says ‘city centre’ quite like a Starbucks, Five Guys and Primark all within a 1 mile radius. Ignoring such familiar brands, we headed towards La Boqueria instead. You will quickly realise, if not already, this trip was structured around our love of food.

Forty-five minutes were spent slowing mooching up and down the market before even buying anything, attempting to walk in as straight a line as possible so as not to miss one sight or smell. We had to take it all in, memorising which stall had the juiciest looking olives, or the most golden empanadas, before jumping in and letting desire take control. We were playing the game perfectly, strategizing wise food choices. It sounds dramatic, but when you love food as much as us, these decisions are crucial. No one likes food envy or regret.

Of course, we will never know if we truly had the juiciest olives on offer based purely on sight, but we were satisfied with our cup of green olives stuffed with raw garlic. Plus, we shared a chorizo empanada, chicken empanada, and a gourmet cup of cured meats, creamy cheese and breadsticks. These little cardboard mezze cups are all over the market and selecting the best combination of cured ham is a mission. A mission, we think, we passed. La Bocqueria also impressed us with its vibrant fruit juices and chocolate stalls with designs and flavours that could compete with Willy Wonka’s imagination. Dried fruit and nuts never looked more appealing in their pick n mix organisation, and even the stalls with interesting fish mongery or butchering kept my gaze in pure fascination. It’s not every day you see a sheeps head.

While our picnic of snacks appeased the curiosity of trying different things, I recommend Barcelona seafront for the most picturesque spots to eat. Sauntering from Las Ramblas to the harbour is like you have entered an entirely different destination. That is the pure joy I find in beach cities. Marina Port Vell is where you want to be, beside the Museum of Catalonian History, Here we found pure Baleric sea and sun, and the largest glasses of Aperol Spritz to accompany the blissful vibes. The restaurant that stood out to us was Brisa Palau de Mar where the tapas was more high-end, with alternative large plates sounding devine too. We tried squid ink croquettes, honey glazed aubergine, crispy mustard chicken and more. Provided were the textures we could only ever dream of recreating back at home. It was a restaurant experience which makes travelling truly wonderful, knowing that I will be thinking about that food for a long time, but unable to reach it again unless I take a flight.

Between the beach and another attraction, the Arc de Triomph, were what we called

‘The Lanes of Barcelona’ as we accidentally stumbled across these cobbled roads on a detour. A place where resident’s washing floats from balconies, instigating pure sonder, or you will find dimly lit bars, tucked away vintage stores, and quaint galleries. Streets like Carrer del Rec and Carrer de la Princesa are where you will want to be. The trick is, the deeper you go into these twisty roads, the more you will be pleasantly surprised. I shan't say anymore, because these are the secret gems you should discover for yourself.

Other things people probably do not usually tell you about Barcelona is that the beach itself, sitting on the sand, is not a peaceful experience. You will be offered mojitos and massages non-stop. Instead, go to one of the cafes on the decking and watch the waves from there, or immerse in colourful beach hut vibes and soft house music at Makamaka restaurant (Pg. de Joan de Borbó, 76). They serve cocktails, burgers and Mexican food. And, if walking is not your thing, the metro is incredibly easy and inexpensive to use. There is always a metro station nearby, and every station just has one direct route meaning you cannot get confused about which train you are getting on. We paid for a ten euro ticket which you can use as many times as you like on the metro, and buses too, in twenty-four hours. Two and three day passes are also available to purchase.

On our final day in Barcelona, we had a delightful brunch at Granja Petitbo in Eixample (Pg. de St. Joan, 82). With its rustic interior (think, concrete walls and wooden furniture, tin cutlery pots and posters of faded maps, plus decor complete with table flowers) and long list of coffees, this was clearly a trendy spot for locals. A classic plate of scrambled eggs and bacon was exactly what I was craving. This establishment certainly would not feel out of place on Brighton’s Sydney Street. Our lovely waiter asked in broken English if we would ever move to Barcelona, and you know what, maybe I would. Perhaps I will buy a pleasant apartment where I can hang baskets of flowers over the balcony. In the morning, I will cycle to the bakery to buy baguettes so crusty that they grate the roof of my mouth with each bite. Working in a local gallery, exploring the museums, and going on late night ice-cream walks. But then again, who says this Barcelona lifestyle cannot be created from your own home, no matter where in the world you are…

There’s No Place Like Arcobaleno!

By Amy Stanborough

Arcobaleno rightfully name themself Brighton’s celebrated hidden treasure. I don’t venture into Kemptown much, which is possibly why I had never heard of Arcobaleno myself. From the outside, the venue does not look particularly enticing. A white building with a white logo. But perhaps the portal into a vibrant and proud space as soon as you walk through the door is the intention when you transition from exterior to interior.

Upon giving Arcobaleno a quick follow on Instagram, and seeing a mixture of high definition videos promoting weekend drag events, and an ABBA themed cocktail menu (yes, you read that right), plus more personal videos which highlight the sense of community and inclusivity that Arcobaleno embraces, I was disappointed I had not heard of this space sooner. They have so much going on at this LGBTQ+ bar and cafe, also including disco and live music nights. Their latest venture that we were invited to experience was their freshly launched Maltese-Mediterranean brunch menu.

First, a little more about Arcobaleno, so that I can truly establish how incredible this business is. It is a family owned venue, by Nick and his mother Luciana, who together also founded Across Rainbows to celebrate diversity and inclusion in LGBTQ+ communities. The restaurant is unapologetically decorated with pride flags on every table, rainbows painted on the walls, and aptly selected Wizard of Oz memorabilia. This ode to Oz allowed Arcobaleno to coin the hashtag #NoPlaceLikeArcobaleno.

By night, the cafe transforms into a literal stage where cabaret, drag, music, glitter, joy and all of the above takes place. By day, the establishment is just as vibrant, but exuberance is delivered through a delicious culinary adventure, rather than via ABBA tracks and platform heels. The lovely waitress, Morgane, let me choose a table (I unknowingly went for the area which transforms into a stage) and immediately felt very welcome in her presence. Morgane was friendly with all customers, proven when I overheard her chatting away to a family visiting Brighton for the day. Arcobaleno truly is a space for all to feel like they are at home.

The manager Dan, Nick’s brother and Luciana’s son, also introduced himself with a

large smile. Arcobaleno opened just last June, Dan informed me, and he is looking forward to their one year birthday coming up. The new brunch menu seems like the perfect way to amplify their presence in Kemptown. They have made their mark as fun and inclusive, but now they want to indicate that they really know their food too.

I had only briefly gazed over the brunch options thus far, but was immediately impressed by how most of the dishes were totally new to me; hard to find when it comes to a Brighton brunch. This is when I asked what inspired the Maltese element of the breakfast, to which I discovered Luciana is originally from Malta.

A menu perfect for summer, highlights include ‘Eggs in Purgatory’ (£10.50) featuring two eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, and creamy feta, served with flatbread or focaccia. Or, amongst the ‘Lunch Brunch’ list are even more unique dishes such as, the Crispy Belly Pork (£12.95), which is panfried belly pork served with black pudding and potato rosti, fried egg, crunchy chilli oil, pickles, and rocket. Or, you could try the Timpana (£12), a Maltese pasta pie made with beef and pork in a rich tomato sauce, with pasta and parmesan, wrapped in puff pastry. And that's not all – Arcobaleno also has a number of delicious fry-up options, including a fully vegan option.

When it came to ordering my breakfast, I was torn between trying the Avocado Rosti (£9.95) - crisp potato rosti, smashed avocado, fried eggs and chive oil, or one of the filled bun or flatbread options. With Morgane’s recommendations helping me decide, I opted for the Smoked Salmon Verde (£9.50) - smoked salmon, whipped feta, leaves, and green sauce. The detail that swayed me was the fact that all bread - flatbreads, buns and focaccia - are made fresh in house everyday, and that was a taste experience I was not willing to miss.

The plate came out on a branded piece of parchment paper, a nice touch which indicates Arcobaleno has a clear sense of brand identity. The dish itself was generous. For what I thought would be a lighter option, this flatbread was truly loaded. Far too often, smoked salmon can be plated up in pathetic and measly portion sizes. This was different.

The flatbread was packed with the smoked goodness, all ingredients of the finest quality, which is a priority for the Arcobaleno family. The whipped feta was rich and creamy. Feta generally is an ideal, not-too-cheesy option, but when whipped, it also provided a lovely textural balance against the crisp salad leaves and rocket. The mysterious ‘green sauce’ was, I think, a light drizzle of pesto. Oily, basil-y, all the good stuff that you want trickled on breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bread was soft and floury with a gentle char to it, wrapped around these flavoursome fillings. Made in house by hand (using locally sourced organic Shipton Mill flour) too, I couldn’t help but imagine tasting the extra care and effort. I did attempt once or twice to pick it up and eat the flatbread like a sandwich, but this feast deserves a knife and fork.

Washed down with a refreshing orange juice, it was just what I wanted at 11am on a sunny Saturday morning. What’s more is that their new beer garden was hosting the quaintest independent market. Creatives selling originally crafted prints, jewellery and tote bags as part of Across Rainbows accumulated at the back of the venue. This alone was a symbol of the colour and community that Acrobaleno radiates.

The restaurant’s brunch menu runs Tuesday - Sunday between 10am-4pm. Arcobaleno is also proud to be completely wheelchair accessible as a venue with side access to the beer garden, and disabled toilets located on the ground floor. Plus, students get 10% off, a sign on the bar informed me.

Arcobaleno says, “Discover a vibrant hub of diverse events and experiences at Arcobaleno. From mental health workshops and live music performances to drag shows and book launches, our calendar is everchanging and full of surprises. Plus, enjoy our delicious coffee and lunchtime menu with friends or sip on our signature cocktails after work. Our doors are open from morning till late, welcoming all who seek a safe and inclusive space to connect and celebrate. Find us at the heart of Brighton’s Kemptown, 120 St George’s Road, BN2 1EA.”

For a truly unique brunch experience, delve into these Maltese-Mediterranean flavours

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As a seasoned gastronome with a particular affection for the nuanced delights of Japanese fare, I recently had the pleasure of attending the inaugural ‘Yakitori Fridays’ at Daddy Longlegs, tucked away in the other end of Kemptown. With a spirit of culinary adventure propelling me, I embarked on a journey to this alluring pub.

Positioned tantalisingly near Brighton’s vibrant seafront and marina, Daddy Longlegs has intriguingly embraced a new Japanese yakitori concept, an addition that perfectly complements its already well-established commitment to quality pub food.

On stepping into the premises, I was embraced by an immediate sense of cosy conviviality. The pub’s aesthetic balance between casual relaxation and meticulous attention to detail, wonderfully enriches the patron’s overall experience. Here, the discerning diner can truly relax and bask in the culinary escapade at hand.

Being deeply fascinated by Japanese food culture, I was eager to pursue DaddyLonglegs’ newly unveiled yakitori menu. Our party of three, with appetites stoked, selected every option available. Initiating our feast was a succulent serving of KimChi and Octopus, artistically presented on a cushion of edamame puree and adorned with tangy pickled radish, swiftly succeeded by enticing skewers of pork belly and, the pièce de résistance, crispy chicken skin. These latter delights held me captive, despite their potential threat to cardiovascular health.

Following on was an intriguingly textured dish of steamed eggs, and a compelling mushroom rice offering that bore a striking resemblance to risotto in texture, but presented an undeniable mushroom potency that won our acclaim.

The subsequent dish, a cauliflower steak, was surprisingly reminiscent of its meat counterpart, enhanced by an irresistibly delicious soy glaze. Culminating our feast was a beautifully prepared whole grilled bream, delicate and perfectly seasoned, with bones that surrendered with ease.

To heighten my epicurean journey, I savoured three exclusive cocktail creations. The ‘Bullet Train’, a delectable concoction of Aluna

YAKITORI FRIDAYS

AT THE DADDY LONGLEGS

1 ARUNDEL RD, BRIGHTON, 01273 686993

Coconut rum, vanilla vodka, espresso, and miso butterscotch, allured with a sweet palate that reminded me of a more refined espresso martini. My choice was complemented by the ‘Lucky Koi’, a whisky cocktail tempered with kumquat and lemongrass, proving to be a refreshing treat.

My companion ventured to try the ‘Flying Lotus’, an elegant blend of roku gin, cherry blossom, and plum sake. This tipple perfectly echoed the notes of our feast, skillfully amplifying the interplay of flavours.

Daddy Longlegs stands as an unsung hero within the precincts of Kemptown, its dedication to food excellence, congenial service, and calming aura elevates it as a sanctuary from the urban hustle. For those craving an experience that marries diverse flavours in a harmonious symphony, their ‘Yakitori Fridays’ is a gastronomic experience not to be missed! And yes, as the name so candidly suggests, it’s a Friday affair.

For all of you who have a hankering for a satisfying, dependable meal, we’ve come up with a list of the best burger joints in Brighton & Hove. For anyone looking for a succulent, juicy bite at the end of the night or an easy daytime lunch, this list is just what you need. If you’re vegan, vegetarian, or swear by meat only, whatever it is, we’ve got something for you. Keep reading and we can assure you there won’t be any trouble picking your next takeaway or meal out, because these places have everything you need.

Patty & Bun - Ship Street

Since their first opening in London in 2012, Patty & Bun has kept their standards high, and expanding into Brighton only made them push harder to crowd please. Their Brighton location is open for both dining in and delivery, so the world is your oyster. The menu features all sorts of burgers including chilli, lamb, chicken, mushroom, and two totally plant-based options, not to mention the classic beef patty they are known for. They even have monthly specials that are location-specific, so if you want to try something new, take a good gander at the menu before ordering. Juicy burgers, banging sides and indulgent ice cream sandwiches for dessert; this is one of the top spots for burger lovers in Brighton. If you’re eating in, stick around for a cocktail or two and absorb the atmosphere.

The Vurger Co. - Brighton Place

Once again, The Vurger Co. has become a staple in the Brighton food scene, and not just for vegans. Plant and meat lovers alike both hit The Vurger Co. when in need of a satisfying bite or even just a snack. They’ve been in the vegan burger game for a long time, so they know exactly what they’re doing. The Vurger Co. takes great pride in their burgers, keeping their selection small but mighty, as well as being highly sustainable. Their ‘Hunny ‘Chicken’’, ‘New York Melt’, and signature ‘Auburger’ are all popular choices amongst their loyal fanbase. Pair your burger with one of their many sides- whether you want fries, tater tots, or something cheesy (their Fauxzarella Sticks are delicious), whatever you go for will have you feeling fantastically full.

Social Board - St James Street

Social Board may be known for their sandwiches and café-style breakfasts, but don’t let this fool you; they also have a brilliant selection

By Noor Sheikh

of burgers and fries that will keep you going for hours. Using 100% locally sourced beef and vegetables, as well as freshly baked buns, Social Board is the perfect place to grab a bite. With a couple of variations on the beloved beef burger as well as a chicken burger, and a halloumi burger, you’ll be able to enjoy local produce turned into a mouth-watering meal. They more than happily cater for any dietary needs, so don’t shy away if you’re after something gluten, nut or sugar free. Most of their recipes come from fine dining restaurants, but they take these and put them into their welcoming café atmosphere, so you’re certainly going to be getting bang for your buck.

Honest Burgers - Duke Street

Honest Burgers is another tried-and-true favourite of people everywhere, as well as in Brighton. On their regular menu is a whole host of burgers, including a good few beef, chicken, vegan and vegetarian options. Or, go for one of their smashed burgers, which are cooked quickly to lock in all of that flavourful moisture. All their burgers are served with a side, which doesn’t stop at just chips, although their rosemary salted chips are always a good way to go. You can choose from wings, onion rings, coleslaw and salad too; all these options are a burger lover’s dream. And for Brighton only, they’ve cooked up a special something. Their ‘Only at Brighton’ special contains a generous drizzle of their very own Honest x Brighton Hot habanero hot sauce, which is the perfect combination of fruity, tangy and spicy. Head over to Honest for spectacular food every time.

Lost Boys Land - York Place

Initially working out of The Joker on Preston Road, Lost Boys Chicken has proven time and time again that they are the ones to see for a good chicken burger. After becoming a huge success at The Joker, they opened up their standalone shop, Lost Boys Land, giving their customers a whole new location to access their tasty dishes. Taking inspiration from Brighton’s colourful food culture, Lost Boys uses only fresh food made using local produce. The Lost Boys, headed by Tomas Samandi, make all their small batch sauces in house, which coat their chicken as well as fries. Their Hot Chicken Sandwiches are made using tender chicken thighs that have been brined and coated in buttermilk before being fried to order and put in a toasted potato bun. They can be paired with any of their sauces - mango, buffalo, Szechuan, blue cheese - you name it, they have it. All of these come in vegan versions too.

7bone Burger Co. - Church Road

7bone is a funky burger place in Hove which has a menu absolutely brimming with unexpected, but always moreish combinations. Just taking a look at their ‘provisionals’ or starters will get you hooked. Pregame your ‘Frankie Says Rilassare’ or ‘Donnie J Trump’ burgers with a serving of chicken fried olives or ‘coq skins’ which are their aptly named chicken skin crisps. Their ever-changing specials are always exciting, with a recent one being a pineapple espresso burger. Dry aged beef makes for a tender bite, and this is what they use in all of their beef burgers, but you can also give the free-range buttermilk fried chicken a go. Team up your burger with any of their fries, or spring for dirty fries. Or, if you’re feeling up for a feast, grab a few sides and go for the full monty. It’ll definitely be worth it.

Burger Brothers - North Road

Having made their mark on Brighton’s vibrant food community, Burger Brothers has become a must-try spot for any burger lover in the area. Everything is made on the premises and cooked to order using locally sourced, top-quality produce. Priding themselves on the simple but wellloved beef burger, they are never short of impressing their customers. By keeping their menu items to a modest minimum, they focus on quality and service, which is exactly why they are a current favourite of the Brighton crowds. A halloumi burger, chicken veggie burger and vegan option also decorate their menu, meaning there’s something for everyone. Pay them a visit at their quaint location on North Road and grab a bite to eat. Maybe even try one of their smoothies or milkshakes to wash it down.

Bangerz ‘n’ Burgers - Duke Street

Bangerz ‘n’ Burgerz has an expansive menu for diners to enjoy in their eclectic and edgy space. They have great selections of hot dogs, wings and dirty fries, but the burgers are the real star of the show. Their burgers come with all the fixings, some of which include crushed tortilla chips, BBQ slaw, and hashbrowns. Having a number of locations in Sussex and surrounding areas (including restaurants in Chichester and Southampton), it’s no secret that they’ve had success in the realm of burgers, and they truly know how to make a good one whether it’s beef or chicken. Vegans and vegetarians do not fret, for there’s an entire menu with completely different, but just as delicious options for you guys. If you don’t fancy anything off the menu, look closely to find their ‘Build Your Own’ section, which can come with a beef or chicken burger, or even a hot dog if that’s what you’re in the mood for.

The Bok Shop - East Street

Another long standing favourite in Brighton, The Bok Shop comes in strong with their chicken-based burgers, leaving absolutely no room for disappointment. They’ve been open since 2017 and have been working on making their chicken the best, ever since then (even though we think there’s little room for improvement!) Bringing in flavours from across the globe, and combining them with fresh greens, chillis and pickles, The Bok Shop has something to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. All their burgers and other mains are served with fries, so you’ll have more than enough to fill you up, no matter what you go for. Their ‘Classic’ remains a favourite of many, but go for a ‘Jennifer Buffalopez’ or a ‘Piggie Smalls’ for that extra kick. And what’s more, any of their sublime menu items can be made vegan by replacing the chicken with their impressive vegan chicken.

Primal Burgers - Portland Road

To end off our list, we have Primal Burgers, based in Hove. Their meat is locally sourced and 100% grass fed, and they make a special effort to ensure that there are no additives or preservatives in any of their tasty creations meaning they are all natural. They have on offer some brilliant burger options, along with the classic accompaniments: wings, onion rings, jalapeño poppers and fries loaded with all kinds of toppings. But, even with all of this on the menu, the burgers remain the main event. Buttermilk chicken burgers with anything from tzatziki to bourbon infused bacon jam, and high-quality beef joined by grilled jalapeños and peanut and lime sauce; Primal Burgers is the place to be if you want a traditional burger with a fun twist. For the burger purists, they make their signature ‘Neanderthal’, which is stripped down to the essentials: American cheese, onions, pickles, American mustard and ketchup. Everything a good burger needs.

LOST BOYS LAND

Photo Credit Ellen Richardson

SOCIAL BOARD SMOKEY BURGER

Photo Credit: @deffyphotography @food_photographer_brighton

FILM PREVIEWS

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Fri 2 June

Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League Unlimited), Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami, Soul) and Justin K. Thompson direct the next technicolour chapter of the genrebending, reality-smashing Spider-Verse saga. Miles Morales has reunited with Gwen Stacy, but suddenly, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse.

He encounters the Spider Society, a team of SpiderPeople charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spideys and must set out on his own to save those he loves most. Anyone can wear the mask – it’s how you wear it that makes you a hero

STRAYS

Fri 18 Aug

It’s the holidays, and the whole family can enjoy this brilliant, animated adventure. When Reggie, a relentlessly optimistic Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, he remains certain that it would never happen on purpose.

But once he falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier who loves freedom and believes owners are for suckers, Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is.

Determined to seek revenge, Reggie and some new pals embark on an epic adventure to find that former owner … and make him pay!

THE BOOGEYMAN

Fri 2 June

Based on a 1973 short story by Stephen King, Rob Savage directs a supernatural horror to keep us all up at night. Starring Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets), Chris Messina (The Mindy Project), Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and David Dastmalchian (Blade Runner 2049), it centres around the bereavement of a high school student and her little sister.

Devastated by his own pain, their father, a therapist by profession, gives them neither the support nor the affection they need from him. When a desperate patient shows up unexpectedly at their house asking for help, they bring in a terrifying entity which feeds on their greatest suffering.

ASTEROID CITY

Fri 23 June

Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Steve Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie and Jeff Goldblum. Wes Anderson has pulled together an astonishing ensemble cast for his latest film.

This time we’re following the transformative events occurring at an annual Junior Stargazer convention in 1955. Students and parents from across the country have gathered for this scholarly competition. A week of rest, recreation, comedy, drama and romance await them in a slightly offbeat fictional American desert town.

JUNE 2023

ELEMENTAL

Wed 7 June

Disney and Pixar transport us to a fantastical city, where fire, water, land and air residents live together. Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) and produced by Denise Ream (Cars 2), it features the voices of Leah Lewis (The Half of It) and Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World: Dominion).

We’re introduced to Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade. While they cannot touch each other, Ember and Wade discover how much they actually have in common. But not everyone is happy about this flourishing relationship… especially her parents who have quite robust views about non-fire elements.

EVERY BODY

Fri 30 June

Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Julie Cohen casts light on a world obsessed with gender; where intersex people are often erased entirely, in this powerful documentary. Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo recount their individual experiences with stigma, social pressure, andsurgeries performed on them as minors.

This trio make the case for the much-needed rethinking of both archaic medical practices and binary ideas of gender and sex. A huge hit on the festival circuit, Every Body paints an intimate portrait of life in between and outside binaries and exposes how little has evolved in the way intersex people are viewed and treated.

SURROUNDED

Tue 20 June

Letitia Wright and Jamie Bell take us back to five years after the American Civil War. Freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington travels west to lay claim on a gold mine. It’s the summation of years of toil for her community.

This is a dangerous world for an unaccompanied Black woman, so she travels disguised as a man. After her stagecoach is ambushed by a group of murderous thieves, Mo is forced to hold legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh captive while the remaining surviving passengers seek out help. What ensues is a battle of wills, blurring the line between captor and captive, as they both try to survive the harsh western landscape.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

Fri 30 June

It’s another crack of the whip for Harrison Ford, as he returns to the role of everyone’s favourite heroic archaeologist for this fifth instalment of the iconic franchise. Alongside Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), Antonio Banderas (Pain And Glory), John RhysDavies (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), Shaunette Renee Wilson (Black Panther) and Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom).

In 1944, Jones prevents Jürgen Voller from obtaining a mysterious dial known as the Antikythera. A quarter century later, he becomes uneasy that the US Government has recruited former Nazis to help win the space race. Voller is now working on the moon-landing program. But is everything as it seems?

TV GUIDE

THE CROWDED ROOM

FRI 9 JUNE

APPLE TV+

Starring and executive produced by Tom Holland, this gripping, psychological thriller follows a man arrested after his involvement in a shooting in 70s New York City. This captivating and unconventional mystery is structured around a series of interviews with curious interrogator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried).

Created by Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman (Fringe, A Beautiful Mind), it also stars Emmy Rossum (Mystic River), Sasha Lane (American Honey) and Will Chase (Nashville). As Danny’s life story unfolds, we begin to see elements and pivotal moments in his mysterious past which shaped him. All the twists and turns ultimately lead him to uncover a life-altering revelation.

MANIFEST

FRI 2 JUNE

NETFLIX

Bing, Bong! It’s the final call for the passengers of Flight 828, as this supernatural show wraps up business. Will it give us the answers we demand? I certainly hope so…

After Angelina unleashes a devastating volcanic fissure, the passengers face severe scrutiny in a world which now hates them. A mysterious accident delivers ominous warnings on a biblical scale, which jeopardises the livelihood of all the passengers. Cal may now offer a glimmer of hope for survival, as the ominous Death Date rapidly approaches. But the struggle between good and evil will continue right up to the very last down to the very last day of this suspenseful and joyous story.

SECRET INVASION

WEDS 21 JUNE

DISNEY+

While big screen cousins are becoming increasingly spectacular in scale, Nick Fury takes the MCU into the shadows. After learning of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of deviant shapeshifting Skrulls, he teams up with Everett Ross, Maria Hill and Talos.

It’s a change of pace, as Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Earth’s greatest spy. Joining him is Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charlayne Woodard, Killian Scott and Emilia Clarke, Don Cheadle and the ubiquitous Olivia Colman. Together they must race, jump and punch against time to thwart the imminent conquest and save humanity.

HIJACK

WEDS 28 JUNE

APPLE TV+

Idris Elba and Emmy winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) star in a seven-part hijacking thriller. This exhilarating story is told in real-time, depicting the journey of a hijacked plane on a seven-hour flight to London. Back on the ground, the authorities struggle to find any hope of a solution. Also starring are Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Eve Myles, Aimee Kelly, Mohamed Elsandel and Ben Miles.

Panjabi takes on the role of Zahra Gahfoor, a counterterrorism officer at the centre of the rescue efforts. Elba plays Sam Nelson, a skilled negotiator in the business world who uses all his expertise to rescue the passengers’ lives. However, his high-risk strategy could have serious consequences.

HUMAN RESOURCES

FRI 9 JUNE

NETFLIX

From the inventive minds that brought us the award-winning adult animation favourite, Big Mouth, comes something even edgier and messed-up. Nick Kroll, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Loot) and David Thewlis (Fargo) reprising their Big Mouth roles, along with Aidy Bryant (Shrill), Brandon Kyle Goodman, Keke Palmer (Nope) and Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat).

This spin-off pulls back the curtain on the daily lives of the Hormone Monsters, Depression Kitties and Shame Wizards who help humans journey through every aspect of life from puberty to parenthood to the twilight years. It quickly becomes clear that though the protagonists are creatures, they have a lot of humanity themselves.

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS

THURS 15 JUNE

PARAMOUNT+

Arguably the best part of the Star Trek franchise, Strange New Worlds gets a welcome second season. We’re warped back to the pre- Kirk era, where Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) has a firm hand on the Starship Enterprise’s controls. Accompanied by Number One, Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) and Vulcan Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck) he and the crew seek out new life and new civilizations, boldly going where (almost) no man has gone before.

With an episodic storytelling approach, inspired by The Original Series, this is a more relaxed and character driven affair. Details of the new season are scarce, but expect fan favourites, Easter eggs and maybe a cheeky crossover.

THE WITCHER

THURS 29 JUNE NETFLIX

This huge fantasy show from Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (The West Wing, The Umbrella Academy) sees its third season split into two halves. But fans of the franchise don’t have to wait too long, as the next instalment is dropping on Thurs 27 July.

As monarchs, mages and beasts compete to capture them, Geralt is determined to protect his newly-reunited family. Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers. Instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever.

It’s the final season… and we’ll be sorry to see John Krasinski (The US Office, A Quiet Place) go. Not just because we’ll no longer be able to call it ‘Dunder Mifflin world Police’ (still a splendid joke), but because it’s turned out to be a rather tightly-orchestrated espionage thriller.

Unsurprisingly, our titular protagonist is on his most dangerous mission yet. Tasked with fighting internal corruption, he uncovers a series of suspicious black ops which could expose the vulnerability of the nation. But our hero’s belief in the system he has always fought to protect comes into question, as the full extent of the rot becomes clear. Explosive stuff.

JACK RYAN

FRI 30 JUNE PRIME VIDEO

Across

1 Rapid nuclear reactor shut-down (5)

4 Helper (9)

10 Dressing (10)

11 Atop (4)

12 Ministers (9)

13 Bender (5)

15 Sets of equipment (4)

17 Female big cat (10)

19 Herefordshire town (10)

21 Type of heating fuel (4)

22 Reprimand (5)

24 Contented (9)

27 Waist band (4)

28 Volume for preliminary artistic studies (10)

29 Steam locomotive (4,5)

30 One of these means almost cloudless (5)

Down

2 Truce (5-4)

3 Isolated (5)

5 Snow vehicle (7)

6 Notion (4)

7 Fabricated (7-2)

8 Hangman's knot (5)

9 Emphasize (9)

14 Wig (9)

16 Ignorant person (9)

18 Whipping boy (9)

20 Makes journeys (7)

23 Gaiety (5)

25 Legend (5)

26 Capital of Norway (4)

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