ISSUE 18 4 - 10 SEPTEMBER 2018
ALBUM REVIEWS
From IDLES, Interpol, Menace Beach and Mark Langean & Duke Garwood
MUSIC NEWS
From Bobbie Johnson, Bill Ryder -Jones, Beachtape and more
GIG LISTINGS Our recommended listings of gigs in Brighton
LIVE REVIEWS Featuring Follakzoid and Stella Donnelly
sIMON RAYMONDE LOST HORIZONS
ISSUE 18
NEWS
CONTENTS SIMON RAYMONDE Former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde chats to Brightonsfinest about touring with Lost Horizons, his Bella Union shop and his father’s musical influence
6
BRINGING THE ARTISTS CLOSER TO YOU... CEO: Frank Sansom EDITOR: Daniel White PRODUCTION: Adam Kidd, Jonski Mason
NEWS
LISTINGS
Local releases and more news from the city’s music scene
3 4
Our recommended listings and previews of this week’s gigs
LIVE REVIEWS
ALBUMS Check out the latest album releases this week
8 8
Stella Donnelly and Föllakzoid feature in this week’s reviews
OUT OF TOWN
COURTNEY BARNETT
Our favourite upcoming gigs outside of Brighton
Listen to our interview with Courtney Barnett on YouTube
5 3
COVER SHOT: Lost Horizons CONTRIBUTORS: Jeff Hemmings Iain Lauder Jamie MacMillan Liam McMillen Ben Walker Christian Middleton Kelly Westlake Paul Hill Chloe Hashemi Dan Whitehouse Annie Roberts Rhys Baker press@brightonsfinest.com advertising@brightonsfinest.com
Australian rocker Courtney Barnett has released a video for her song ‘Charity’. Directed by Ashley Connor and shot to 16mm film, the video follows Barnett and her band spending a day in Toronto, including live footage from their show. Brighton-based four-piece Beachtape have announced the release of a new single, produced by Theo Verney, on 7” wax via PNKSLM Recordings. The single will be released on 14th September, featuring two new tracks, ‘Fix It Up’ and ‘Figure It Out’.
Bobbie Johnson announces new EP and launch gig
Brighton-based rapper and producer Bobbie Johnson has announced the release of some new music in the form of an EP, to be released 22nd September on QM Records, with an accompanying launch gig at the Green Door Store. The hip-hop artist, who has toured extensively with Rag’n’Bone Man as well as sharing stages with the likes of Pharcyde and Roots Manuva, has already released a track from the forthcoming EP in the shape of ‘Another Man’, which you can hear on Spotify.
Following the release of IDLES’ Joy As An Act Of Resistance last week, the band have announced a series of intimate live in-store dates across the UK, including a stop in Brighton, at Komedia on 3rd September, after being upgraded from Resident.
Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral fame has announced the release of his fourth studio album, Yawn. Recorded and produced entirely by Ryder-Jones himself, he’s had help from friends including guest vocals from The Orielles and Our Girl.
COURTNEY BARNETT
Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. At Brightonsfinest we strive to meet all of the best musicians who travel to, or live in our vibrant city. On our YouTube channel you can listen to our archive of radio interviews from both emerging and established artists, highlighting the best in new music from Brighton and beyond. This week we look back at our interview with Courtney Barnett following her performance at All Points East Festival with Patti Smith and Nick Cave as she discusses the release of her second album, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Courtney plays the Brighton Dome, Friday 16th November 2018
brightonsfinest.com brightonsfinestpresents @brightonsfinest brightonsfinestuk @brightonsfinest
BRIGHTONSFINEST.COM
3
PREVIEWS
Sticky Mike's Frog Bar SpringHill Friday 7th September Tickets: £5 Presented by Scruff of the Neck GZA – Concorde 2 – Wednesday 5th September 2018 Arguably one of the biggest shows to hit Concorde 2 in 2018, hip-hop legend GZA will hit the seaside venue showcasing his clever, sophisticated and elaborate delivery style and more in his first ever gig in Brighton. 1995’s Liquid Swords is about as complete a hip-hop album as you’re likely to find. They don’t call him the genius for nothing, and he will no doubt prove that with a mesmerising show at Concorde 2.
K PIC HE T OF EK WE
False-Heads Thursday 13th September Tickets: £5.50 Presented by Modern Age Music Saltwater Sun Friday 14th September Tickets: £6 Presented by Hidden Herd
The Prince Albert El Moono Thursday 6th September Tickets: £4 OTD The Long Tall Texans Saturday 8th September Tickets: £11 Presented by The Prince Albert Brent Cobb Sunday 9th September Tickets: £13.50 Presented by One Inch Badge
Goat Girl – The Haunt – Thursday 6th September 2018 In many ways, Goat Girl are a band we need right now. In these turbulent political times Goat Girl simply do what they want, tackling Britain’s Brexit decision and their increasing interest in gender politics. After having to cancel their last Haunt show due to injury, anticipation is rife for their return to our shores. Their live show is as ramshackle as they come, but lately they’ve looked like more of a unit, sounding better than they ever have.
Family Fiction Wednesday 12th September Tickets: £5 Presented by Scruff of the Neck PowerSolo Thursday 13th September Tickets: £11 The Hip Priests Friday 14th September Tickets: £5 OTD Presented by Apocalypse Dude Groundhogs Saturday 15th September Tickets: £11
RIALTO THEATRE Bethia Beadman + SJ Brett Saturday 15th September Tickets: £8.50 Passenger – Brighton Dome – Sunday 9th September 2018 Born and bred Brightonian, Passenger returns to the Brighton Dome at the beginning of September for the last leg of his UK tour. Fans are in for a real treat as Michael Rosenberg will play tracks from his ninth studio album Runaway, as well as older classics. He knows how to dazzle a crowd with his flawless vocals and sweet guitar skills and with fellow singer/ songwriter Lucy Rose as his special guest, it is set to be a rather special gig.
4
BRIGHTONSFINEST.COM
GIG LISTINGS
GIG LISTINGS
THE ROSE HILL Marisa Anderson Wednesday 5th September Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Dictionary Pudding Abi Wade Thursday 6th September Tickets: £6.60 Presented by Love Thy Neighbour
Green Door Store Tigers and Flies Tuesday 4th September Tickets: £3 Lithics Wednesday 5th September Tickets: £7.70 Presented by Cupboard Music
The Hope & Ruin Erin Rae Tuesday 4th September Tickets: £8.63 Presented by One Inch Badge New Candys Thursday 6th September Tickets: £8.80 Presented by Acid Box
Braindead Assemble Thursday 6th September Tickets: £5 OTD Presented by The Spirit of Gravity & Lost Property
Acid Tongue Saturday 8th September Tickets: £6.60 Presented by Acid Box
Bloom Friday 7th September Tickets: £5 OTD Presented by FemRock
Prettiest Eyes Monday 10th September Tickets: £6.60 Presented by Acid Box
Doomsday Deathfest Saturday 8th September Tickets: £6.60 Presented by SCEM x Jackhammer x Infernum Records
Black Karma Market Thursday 13th September Tickets: £7.70 Presented by Acid Box
Bluestaeb Thursday 13th September Tickets: £4 Presented by QM Records Tarot Rats Friday 14th September Tickets: £5.50 The Snivellers / Porridge Radio Saturday 15th September Tickets: £3.85 Presented by Brighton Noise
Concorde 2 Neville Staples / Dakka Skanks Friday 7th September Tickets: £22 Incognito Saturday 8th September Tickets: £20 Brooke Candy Tuesday 11th September Tickets: £20 Presented by One Inch Badge
Komedia Pale Seas Thursday 6th September Tickets: £7 Presented by Friendly Dinner
Brighton Dome Clare Bowen Thursday 13th September Tickets: £24.75
Beneath The Embers Saturday 15th September Tickets: £4 Presented by Metal Massacre Records Throw Down Bones Sunday 16th September Tickets: £7.70 Presented by Acid Box
NIGHTLIFE Conducta Friday 7th September Patterns 11pm - 4am (The Prince of garage)
Carl Cox Friday 7th September Concorde 2 10.30pm - 4am (Veteren of acid house, champion of techno)
Breger Friday 7th September Volks 11pm - 6am (Psychedelic techno legend)
Felix Fickinson Saturday 8th September Patterns 11pm - 4am (Acid Rave pt. three)
Ben Hauke Saturday 8th September The Tempest Inn 6pm - 3am (Absorbing electronic music)
Sonny Wharton Saturday 8th September Hideout 11pm - 5am (Underground house and uplifting tech)
Melé Saturday 8th September The Arch 11pm - 5am (Euphoric high-octane dance music)
Sonic Switch Saturday 8th September Green Door Store 11pm - 4am (Brighton’s legendary Tru Thoughts party)
OUT OF TOWN
The Haunt Youngblood Brass Band Friday 7th September Tickets: £17 Presented by One Inch Badge Iceage Monday 10th September Tickets: £7.70 Presented by Acid Box Ocean Alley Tuesday 11th September Tickets: £11.25 Presented by One Inch Badge Catherine McGrath Saturday 15th September Tickets: £12
PATTERNS Dylan LeBlanc Monday 10th September Tickets: £15 Presented by One Inch Badge The Dualers Saturday 15th September Tickets: £16.50 Presented by Love Thy Neighbour
Anna Burch Tuesday 4th September Moth Club, London (Pop) - 7.30pm
St. Vincent Tuesday 4th September Cadogan Hall, London (Indie-rock) - 6pm
Incubus Thurs 6th & Fri 7th September O2 Academy Brixton, London (Rock) - 7pm
Toots & The Maytals Saturday 8th September Alexandra Palace, London (Ska/reggae) - 7pm
The Low Anthem Saturday 8th September St Mary’s Church, Guildford (Psych-folk) - 7.30pm
Peter & The Test Tube Babies Saturday 8th September The 100 Club, London (Punk) - 7.30pm
Ghost Sunday 09 September 2018 Royal Albert Hall, London (Rock) - 8pm
Willy Mason Monday 10th September Bush Hall, London (Songwriter) - 7.30pm
The Kooks Monday 10th September De La Warr Pavilion (Rock) - 7pm
Screaming Females Tuesday 11 September 2018 The 100 Club, London (Rock) - 7.30pm
Full event listings at Brightonsfinest.com/listings
JEFF HEMMINGS Talks to LOST HORIZONS’ simon raymonde about bella union, his musical upbringing and taking the band on the road
sIMON RAYMONDE S
imon Raymonde lives and breathes music. It’s been around him all his life. His dad, Ivor, was a very noteworthy producer, arranger and musician. Simon played bass and helped produce the work of the Cocteau Twins, a relatively successful and influential indie band of the 80s and 90s. He’s run a record label, Bella Union, since the late 90s, produced and mixed bands such as Brighton’s Clearlake, James Yorkston, and Fionn Regan, and more recently opened a Bella Union shop in the heart of Brighton. On top of all of this he’s taking to the stage again with Lost Horizons, a band he formed with former 4AD label mate Ritchie Thomas, formerly of Dif Juz. Even though he’s well into his 50s, he’s more immersed than ever, and remains a massive fan of music, old and new. Meeting him at his shop in Ship Street Gardens, it’s immediately apparent. In particular, he’s excited about Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde, a compilation of songs that his dad was involved with in the musical wild west frontier of
the 60s and 70s, which is being requested by many of the customers that morning. His dad’s work no doubt helped propel him to where he is today, music at the forefront. “It’s a really beautiful thing. I always knew it was going to be,” he says of the album he has put together and released. “He was an arranger, a songwriter, and producer. It’s a very small fraction of what he did, and I’ve got volume two already done. This one has Billy Fury, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Tom Jones, Walker Brothers, and then loads of people no one has heard of. There were so many incredible things in the 50s and 60s that disappeared without trace, and I’m still discovering stuff that he did now. He worked at Decca and Phillips as a producer and arranger. Every week he would do something different, he was a jobbing musician. He worked with Joe Meek. My dad was his go-to arranger. He had this little flat in Holloway Road where he did all his pop records. He would get my dad to come by, play him a beat, a melody on the piano, and would say what he wanted, maybe a string quartet, a bass player and something. He would go
away, score it all out, bring the musicians in, come back the next week… And to think it was done in a room probably half the size of this room (little more than a bedroom). It’s a really beautiful package, stories about each track, a bit I wrote, loads of photos. I thought, ‘if I am to do it I may as well do it properly’. And I can, can’t I!? It’s my label, I can do what the fuck I want! It’s a really great record, and it makes me happy, as well as my brother and sister, too.” Over the years, Raymonde has been happy with Bella Union’s output, a label originally formed with Robin Guthrie, in order to release Cocteau Twins material. What were the key moments as far as the label was concerned? “The ones that do well,” he says with disarming honesty, “and bring in more money, and enable you to not just wear the same shoes for 12 years. Those records will obviously be slightly more important. In 2001 we had the Lift To Experience album. That was when America started to like what we were doing, and there were some great reviews. It got us on the map.”
Now up to release number 748 (BC Camplight’s Deportation Blues), this year alone has seen some top notch releases by the likes of Father John Misty, Jonathan Wilson, Ezra Furman, Beach House, and John Grant, who’s, “been with the label almost from the very beginning, and we still work with him.” Perhaps more surprising is the fact that Simon’s band Lost Horizons has enabled him to take to the stage and tour, something he hasn’t properly done since the days of the Cocteau Twins. Whilst touring with the band this autumn, (along with new signing, the Brighton-based Penelope Isles, who are currently recording their debut album for Bella Union) he’s arranged a big one-off show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with all but one of the singers who guested on Lost Horizons’ debut album of last year, Ojala, including Ghostpoet, and ex-Midlake singer Tim Smith. It all started as just as desire to jam. “It’s been a long time since I made music, or been out on the road. It’s the same with Ritchie. He was on the road with The Jesus and Mary Chain, but he
got disillusioned and butted out, and in a way so did I. We both realised we would like to do it, just for fun. We never intended for it to go this far. We’re all up there having fun, and the kids we’ve got in the band are just the best bandmates possible. We love each other’s company even though there is a massive age difference between me and Ritchie and everyone else.” Along with the recent opening of the Bella Union shop, which Simon mans occasionally, like today, he’s busier than ever. “We’ve been open a little over two years. Literally, it was just a whim. My wife (Abbie, a superb photographer, who helps Simon manage the business) was walking down here to get her nails done, and she saw the rent sign, found out it was super cheap. We had talked in our dreams about having a record shop one day. That’s my background. My first job was in a record shop. We pretty much spent our first dates in record shops. We spend all our money on vinyl anyway. It’s a place we feel comfortable. We thought it would be nice to have a little HQ.”
“(Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde) is a really beautiful package, (with) stories about each track. I thought, ‘if I am to do it I may as well do it properly’. And I can, can’t I!? It’s my label, I can do what the fuck I want! It’s a really great record” To read the full interview visit Brightonsfinest.com/LostHorizons
LIVE REVIEWS
Seeing female-fronted bands or solo artists is, for the most part, a rare treat. It shouldn’t be, as pointed out by Australian singer/songwriter, Stella Donnelly, as she graced The Hope & Ruin as part of her European tour of her new album Thrush Metal. Stella has a kind of confidence way beyond her years. The vibrato in her voice, the fluidity of her movements, it all seemed so well rehearsed, but also completely natural. She completely dominates the stage. She’s also funny, like, really funny, and covers topics such as creepy ex-bosses, Christmas, consent and sexual assault as well as her racist creep of a relative and a terrible Tinder date. She really is a live experience, and I thoroughly recommend seeing her for yourself.
Föllakzoid continued their live adventures at Brighton’s Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar for a show of dark explorations. Hailing from Chile, the trio create dense caliginous music which builds into motorik kaleidoscopes of shifting realities. Starting their set with a long Beatles intro, the band create an almost shamanic atmosphere to goad a willing audience into their kraut trip. The unrelenting repetition of their music captivated, but also bored the audience: the opening song lasting the duration of the set. Minds started to wander, not helped by near to no variation in the melody and only one short segment of vocals. Though there were large portions of the crowd who loved every moment, others expressed disappointment outside the venue after the show.
Read the full reviews at Brightonsfinest.com/live
ALBUM REVIEWS Menace Beach – Black Rainbow Sound Out: 7th September 2018
Black Rainbow Sound is a band coming into their own. Production-wise this is the best Menace Beach have sounded: well-rounded and sharp. It’s a record that sounds like the band were buzzing with influence and ideas. Black Rainbow Sound isn’t interested in replicating previous successes. It lets its ideas stand on their own two feet and makes for a great listen. Further proof they’re one of the most underrated UK indie bands around.
IDLES – Joy as an Act of Resistance Out: 31st August 2018
Punk is back. It’s brutal, insane and filled with more angst than ever before. Bristol legends IDLES have returned with their second full length release, a record which I’m already willing to call, with little to no hesitation, album of the year. It’s the big middle finger that the world needs right now and the perfect second instalment to IDLES’ already incredible career. When the people unite, Joy As An Act Of Resistance will be their soundtrack.
Interpol – Marauder Out: 24th August 2018
There’s a broader, more stadium-ready sound to Marauder that falls somewhere between Queens of the Stone Age, War-era U2 and, dare I say it, early Coldplay. There’s no doubt Interpol have offered up their most accessible and mainstream record to-date. Nonetheless, the more interesting aspects of Marauder are when the band are at their most exotic: taking on big riffs and glammed up, brooding vocals and turning them to 11.
Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood – With Animals Out: 24th August 2018
Recorded in LA, Pasadena and Joshua Tree, With Animals’ 12 songs immerse the listener in vast soundscapes. Intricate notes, rhythmic pulses and pulsating melodies then become more apparent in later listens. Well balanced with great structure and enhanced production, after three decades in the music industry, Mark Lanegan has made the most emotional and thought-provoking album of his career.
Read the full reviews at Brightonsfinest.com/albums
8
BRIGHTONSFINEST.COM