Bristol in Stereo // Shygirl & New Sounds 2020 by Bristol In Stereo

Live. Music. Culture January 2020

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 96 // Free

Shygirl

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Sun 26th Jan

Thur 12th Mar

Tue 21st Apr

Mon 27th Jan

Fri 13th Mar • SOLD OUT

Thur 23rd Apr

Wed 29th Jan

Sat 14th Mar

Sun 3rd May

Fri 31st Jan • 6.30pm • SOLD OUT

Thur 19th Mar

Tue 5th May

Lightning Seeds

The Mission

Fri 20th Mar • 6pm

Fri 8th May • 6.30pm

The Subways

The Shires

Mon 23rd Mar

Mon 18th May

Cigarettes After Sex

BROCKHAMPTON

Tue 24th Mar

Thur 21st May

Krept & Konan Caravan Palace Ashanti & Ginuwine Sam Fender Sat 1st Feb • 10pm

Innovation

Sun 2nd Feb • SOLD OUT

Kano

Tue 4th Feb

The Interrupters Wed 5th Feb • SOLD OUT

Steel Panther Mon 10th Feb

The HU

Mon 24th Feb

Beartooth Thur 27th Feb

Hot 8 Brass Band Sat 29th Feb • 10pm

Garage Nation

Stiff Little Fingers NF

The Dualers

Ash

Fri 27th Mar

James Bond – in concert Sat 28th Mar

I Prevail

Thur 2nd Apr • 6pm

Roachford

Sat 4th Apr • 10pm

Hybrid Minds

Lamb of God Feeder

Steel Pulse

Brian Fallon & The Howling Weather Sat 13th Jun • 6.30pm

WAR

Wed 17th Jun • 5.30pm

Volbeat

Fri 18th Sep • 7.30pm

Rend Collective Thur 8th Oct

Tue 3rd Mar

Mon 6th Apr

Testament

Caribou

Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Juke Box

Thur 5th Mar

Wed 15th Apr

Wed 21st Oct

Rak-Su

Heels of Hell

Fri 6th Mar

Fri 17th Apr • 6.30pm

Fri 6th Nov • 6.30pm

Example Oh Wonder Sun 8th Mar

Sisters Of Mercy

Lioness ... A.K.A The Amy Winehouse Experience

Soul II Soul

Fri 4th Dec • 6.30pm

Heaven 17

O2 Academy Bristol ticketmaster.co.uk 2

Frogmore Street, Bristol BS1 5NA • Doors 7pm unless stated Venue box office opening hours: Mon - Sat 12pm - 4pm

ticketmaster.co.uk • seetickets.com • gigantic.com

o2academybristol.co.uk

January • 2020

book

0117 203 4040 colstonhall.org

Colston Hall loudly and proudly presents great shows in venues across Bristol Sun 19 Jan

Tue 11 Feb

Sat 7 Mar

The East Pointers

Gill Landry

Andreya Triana

The Wardrobe Theatre

Exchange

Bristol Folk House Tue 28 Jan

Jonah Tolchin The Wardrobe Theatre Wed 29 Jan

Sun 8 Mar

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman

Exchange Tue 18 Feb

KOKOROKO

Daddy Long Legs

Trinity

The Louisiana

Fri 31 Jan

Fri 21 Feb

David Wax Museum

Exchange

Bristol Folk House Sun 2 Feb

Lisa O’Neill Bristol Folk House Thu 6 Feb

Anna Meredith Trinity Fri 7 Feb

Wed 12 Feb

YACHT

HMLTD Sun 23 Feb

Damien Jurado St George’s Bristol Wed 26 Feb

A Winged Victory for the Sullen Trinity

Exchange Sun 15 Mar

Yorkston Thorne Khan The Louisiana Tue 17 Mar

CocoRosie Trinity Fri 20 Mar

Ziggy Alberts SWX Sat 21 Mar

Andy Shauf Fiddlers Sat 21 Mar

Sean McConnell

Thu 5 Mar

Blanck Mass

Princess Nokia + Tkay Maidza

The Crofters Rights

Loco Klub

Trinity

Dear reader, Editor-in-Chief / Sales Loki Lillistone loki@instereomag.com Deputy / Live Editor Jon Kean Online / New Music Editor Kezia Cochrane Features Editor Dave Rowlinson Local Release Editor Lor Nov Creative Director Larissa Matheus

New year, new music. You can’t round off one decade without starting a new one and, as we do so, it’s our pleasure to bring you New Sounds 2020: our annual extended rundown of people to watch this year. London’s Shygirl leads the charge, sitting on our January cover. She shares with us her slow and winding route into the world of music, from buying her first CD in Woolworth’s, to DJ-ing, to now being a nascent recording artist. Elsewhere we chat with Beabadoobee, an artist with the equally enviable and unenviable task of going straight from school to her first world tour. As for Bristol, Oliver Wilde’s latest exploit – and veritable supergroup – Pet Shimmers are just about ready to come out of the oven, with a debut album set for this month. Saffron Records signing, Grove, is about to have her best year yet, while Some Bodies are poised to prove why they’re one of the buzziest Bristol bands around right now. All this, plus live listings, January’s best releases, guests, events highlights and more. Happy new year, pals.

Fontaines D.C. (Live, p.56)

Contributors:

Jessica Bartolini, Geoff Cowart, Georgia Evans, Francisco Gonçalves Silva, Emma Madden, Stephanie Phillips, Lee Ramsey, Gemma Samways, Ari Sawyer, Elliott Simpson, Harriet Taylor, Katie Thomas, Lee Wakefield, Danny Wright Cover photo by Jenn Five, typeface by Lucas Le Bihan ( Velvetyne ). 6

New sounds 2020

Events

Releases

Full Listings

Live

Thoughts

61 In Bristol

Shygirl

Staff on Repeat: Loki: Caribou – You & I Jon: Squirrel Flower – Headlights Kezia: Swan Meat – Suckling Lor: God Damn – High Frequency Words Larissa: Grimes – My Name Is Dark (Art Mix) Aldous Harding (Live, p.56)

CLUB & LIVE EVENTS GUIDE For up to date listings please visit:

swxbristol.com Tickets available from:

ticketweb.co.uk

8 @swxbristol

New Sounds 2020 Emerging acts you can expect to hear a lot more from in 2020.

Shygirl words: Emma Madden photography: Jenn Five styling: self-styled Around twenty years ago, Shygirl went to Woolworths to buy her first CD. After exchanging pocket money, she arrived home with Ultrabeat’s ‘Pretty Green Eyes’, the result of her natural predilection for club music, and the fact it spun on rotation on the music channel her parents regularly played. “They definitely weren’t into Eurotrash like I was,” she says. While Woolworths, CDs and Ultrabeat have since become antique, after DJing under her chosen sobriquet, her pash for the club has been fully realised. Despite only having the same years of experience as Ultrabeat have had hits, she’s swiftly become one of the underground’s most in-demand singers and spitters. Her ability to cut and run alongside a beat with terse, imperious lyrics has attracted some of the scene’s’ very best, with the likes of Arca and SOPHIE hitting up Shy’s hotline. Her stage name is more aesthetic than it is descriptive. The sangfroid and effortlessly assertive way in which she delivers lines like “You feel that? That’s me bitches!” doesn’t come from practice, it comes from her core: “Even when I was bullied in primary school, I stood up for myself.” Shy’s general erudition is immediately obvious (she was a studious kid, and her secondary school’s head girl), but it’s her emotional intelligence that’s most enviable. Self-reliance and self-ownership seem to be the central tenets of her life; she takes care to know herself before reaching out to know (or love) anyone else. “I’ve always had that feeling,” she says. 10

“I’ve alway myself and change

ys been d I can’t me.” 11

“It’s more like finding the right words and being able to understand how you’ve always felt, and actually being able to talk about it – having a knowledge of what you’ve always been. I’ve always been myself and I can’t change me.” She didn’t exactly find herself in her first club experiences. After years of attending house parties and underage drinking with friends on Blackheath’s green, she discovered the disappointment that many teenagers face on their eighteenth birthday – that clubbing and legal partying isn’t actually all it was chalked up to be. “I never really liked the standard clubbing scene because it was quite hetero, whether or not I was aware of that, it just was not my vibe.” It wasn’t until she started studying at Bristol University that she found her “tribe.” Switching between weekdays in lectures and weekends back in London, where she worked as a photographer’s assistant, she fell in with a group of creatives who were all “pushing for their passions”. Having been used to popularity at school, Shy admits to being “the type of person who easily assimilates”. Now she’s met her people, she no longer has to be so malleable. “When you find people you truly connect with, it’s such a nice feeling.” She’s found that other queer people are more likely to share her values. “Knowing yourself, taking the time to find yourself; to feel different and to pursue that different-ness, is a quality that we really share between us in the community.” The bonds she’s made there have offered her and her friends a vital alternative to the heteropatriarchy outside their queer oasis. “It’s not just friends. Most people in the community aren’t even in touch with their family because they’ve been disowned. So, our friendship group is a lot tighter because we rely on each other very differently. I am lucky enough that I come from a very liberal family, but I still have a feeling of otherness from my family. I think most people do. People can’t grow up to be exactly like their parents. 12

Finding people who you share the otherness with is really nice.” For her, a couple of those people include producer and frequent Shygirl collaborator, Sega Bodega, as well as singer. Coucou Chloe, both of whom belong to Shy’s Nuxxe Collective, which she describes as “an incubator for new talent and what we see and enjoy”. The collective’s helped to launch her own music career, which she landed on almost by accident. Around two years ago, she began casually experimenting with Sega, taking vocal jabs to his beat as they created a “natural call and response” together. While music was never something she “thought of doing consciously”, now she feels as though her “creativity is finally in the right place”. Music “feels like the real thing,” she says. “It almost feels therapeutic.”

“We are vulnerable. No matter what bravado you put on, you just are.” Rather than recording under her own name – “which would come with its own set of implications and prejudices” – her persona has offered an empty space which she can fill with ideas and work. “Like Picasso had his blue period, this is my Shygirl period,” she explains. That period – which is still only germinating – has exercised her most commanding side. Across the EP and few singles she’s released so far, the listener is often positioned as the scumbag bro who Shygirl wants to fuck, but doesn’t give a fuck about. She calls out orders in deadpan, as though there’s no alternative to getting what she wants: Bend to her whims and (metaphorical) whip, or she’ll have no time for you. “I’m not out to waste my day,” she intones on ‘Gush’.

While Shy finds that “most people across the board find it hard to talk about sex”, sometimes even using it as a way to “justify their prejudice against queer people”, sex has offered Shy a handy metaphor to make sense of the power relations between her and others. “It’s helped me to discover what I am and am not comfortable with. Because we are vulnerable. No matter what bravado you put on, you just are,” she says. Ultimately, she’s playing with everyone’s favourite subjects: sex and violence. But often, the two get confused. “The terminology is sexual, but actually, what I’m talking about isn’t sexual at all. I’ve pulled words that are used in drill songs, but because it’s me saying it, people just assume that I’m talking about sex.” “Female artists get criticised for talking about sex, but it’s something we have difficulty

talking about, so why wouldn’t we try to? It addresses a lot of shame. I’ve noticed that a lot of decisions people make are based around the shame people feel about themselves. Sex to me is the first thing I think you should use to be yourself.” Until everyone else learns to catch up, Shy intends to just “keep putting out really good music”, as she figures out plans for the forthcoming year. “I have so many ideas for how I keep wanting to introduce myself. I feel like every song is another introduction, another way of saying ‘hello, this is me’, because I’m still finding out so much about myself.” Shygirl is an artist we will be following closely in 2020. Listen to: ‘BB’ @0800shygirl

@ 0800shygirl 13

O U T N O W AT J U S T M U S I C , T H O M A N N & M O R E

T H E U LT I M AT E S O N G W R I T I N G H A N D B O O K

THE MOST PRACTICAL BOOK TO GET STARTED WITH SONGWRITING Teaches the key knowledge using practical tips, with 68 easy-to-understand modules and example songs used in each one.

A HANDS-ON GUIDE INCLUDING: Hooks, Riffs, Chord Progressions, Topline, Lyrics, Song Structure & Sections, Arrangement, plus lots more...

Grove

words: Kezia Cochrane The aptitude that Grove holds for commanding a room is inimitable. Whether performing their solo material, or as one half of BAAST, DJing, or hosting nights, Grove is an exceptional artist who knows how to steer a party right. Bringing queer AF, badass anthems to the club, you’ll catch them delivering searing bars and beats about “how whack your boyfriend is” and serving up sensual dancefloor heaters. Fusing a wealth of distinct sounds, Grove’s creations intersect hip-hop, club music and more, with rich and diverse influences blending together to create tracks which shift from emotive melodies and lyrical vulnerability, to simmering, pure party hedonism and, as they put it, “shout[ing] about how much they love the sesh.” And all of this is intertwined with Grove’s powerfully-soulful voice and flow, delivered with a glimmer in their eye. Having recently moved to Bristol, they’ve quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting performers around. In addition to their two main projects, they’re also part of the cast of BAC’s ‘Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster’, which has seen them perform at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer.

It’s been a busy time, with this, joining Saffron Records, working on new material and playing a number of shows – including the iconic Dalston Superstore in London – all of which certainly has us excited to see what the new year holds. With a new EP dropping soon, which they’ve given us very enticing tasters of at recent live shows, now is the time to take note, as we’re going to be hearing a lot more from Grove this year. Listen to: big poppa @theyisgrove @theyisgrove

Pet Shimmers words: Jon Kean

Pets? Shimmering? One thing you can guarantee your pets don’t do under normal circumstances is shimmer. Your hamster starts emitting intermittent gleams of light, you’re either likely to rummage in your man drawer for the nearest Geiger counter or start worshipping Mr Nibbles as a deity. What are Pet Shimmers? A Bristolian supergroup? A collective? Intergalactic situationists taking temporary residence on Earth to see if they can out-weird what’s already going on here? Ask Oliver Wilde to define things and he’ll tell you they’re a “nuclear family-fronted, sit down, stream friendly play shifting, 8-bit apocalypse party band for fans of sparkle force and gender neutral milk hotel,” all of which are words and phrases that make sense in splendid isolation, but when put together convey something intangibly deeper, recalling the lengthy, poetic titles of his solo albums. Pet Shimmers’ songs are much more felt than heard. Trying to pin down the lyrical thread of one of their songs is somewhat akin to running along Wapping Wharf, trying to

catch the meaning of life in a butterfly net. There seems to be pain and compassion in there somewhere, and a desire to end up somewhere other than where convention dictates, but beyond that, the shimmer that they are likely to bring to your life comes from loving the fact that, for a few moments at a time, you’re in a better place. No need for whale noises or profound breathing exercises, just an exhilarating blast of ‘Mortal Sport Argonaut’ or the cosmic swell of ‘Super Natural Teeth’ and you’re sorted for comfort and joy. Those aware of Wilde’s prolific nature will be unsurprised to hear that this fairly nascent band have a full album ready to release this January, topped off with a tour in support of (Sandy) Alex G shortly after. If you return in the new year feeling jaded of your nineto-five day-job faff, hankering instead after something more extraordinary and characterised by “More feels, less Hz,” then you should spend the early months of 2020 adrift in Pet Shimmers’ hazy, textured world, repeatedly mumbling WTAF to yourself (I propose: Wilde, That’s Acoustically Far-out). Listen to: Mortal Sport Argonaut @petshimmers @petshimmers 17

Beabadoobee words: Georgia Evans

She may have only just finished school, but Beabadoobee is on her first world tour, supporting fellow Gen Z star Clairo across the States before heading over to the UK for a string of shows with her label, Dirty Hit. With her ever-changing hair colour, grunge aesthetic and affinity for the 90s, the 19-year-old (real name Bea Kristi) has carved out her own brand of bedroom pop on her most recent EP, Space Cadet. “I love Pavement and Sonic Youth, that’s kind of what I listened to a lot,” Bea says, as she discusses her early influences over the phone from Washington. “Growing up, it was a lot of The Cranberries, Suzanne Vega – who’s incredible – and a lot of my mum’s music that she used to show me. And Keane. I grew up on Keane and Maroon Five’s first album, Songs About Jane,” she giggles while radiating a kind of slacker coolness reminiscent of her heroes. Echoes of these can be heard in her uncomplicated, soothingly melodic chord structures, which glide between folk and punk influences. Therefore it comes as little surprise that she notes Green Day’s Dookie as the first CD she ever bought. “I still bang out that album to this day,” she says. “It’s just crazy, the chords are so powerful, and that’s so sick. I guess I get inspired by that album a lot because all of mine are super simple, but you know, Billie Joe just finds an amazing way to carry it.” However, what really makes Bea’s music particularly gripping is her honest lyricism. Touching on themes of depression, anxiety and insomnia, it’s relatable, not just to Gen Z, but to anyone who has experienced those feelings. The response to this is why she chose to pursue music as a career. 18

“I ju music take s from

“Seeing so many people relating to the things I say motivated me so much,” she says. “I just write music to kind of take stuff away from my brain.” Particular moments of poignancy within her third EP, Space Cadet, derive from this candidness. One example being ‘Sun More Often’ with lines like, “In your head / You’re scared / So just sing along / To the song / In your head.” Bea points out this track as embodying what she hopes to achieve within her music. “It’s sentimental, because it pulls heartstrings, but you can rock out to it,” she explains. “I wrote it when I was really sad and I was telling myself to go see the fucking sun more often, because I was depressed all the time.” Nevertheless, there are flashes of defiance within the five-track collection. The song ‘I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus,’ is a direct homage to one of her heroes, which champions owning your uniqueness. It was meeting the Pavement frontman at one of her shows (his children happen to be fans) that Bea recognises as a highlight of the past year. “He pulled out his hand and I just went in for a hug. I was like, ‘oh my god, you’re amazing, I love your music,’” she chuckles.

ust write c to kind of stuff away my brain.â&#x20AC;?

“It’s sentimental, because it pulls heartstrings, but you can rock out to it,”

This has not been the only encounter Bea has had with an idol, as she’s found a somewhat unlikely kinship with labelmate Matty Healy. Ever since they bonded over feeling ‘out of place’ at the London Fashion Awards, they now regularly hang out together, and she even steals his clothes. The best piece of advice he’s given her? “I literally have so many text messages,” she ponders. “But one time he told me to just always make music for myself and not for other people.”

obviously going to be touring a lot,” she says. “I can’t say much, but basically new music and more shit is coming.” “I can’t say much, but basically new music and more shit is coming.”

Having released what she refers to as her ‘favourite songs ever’ and embarked on a global tour moments after completing her A-Levels, Bea shows very few signs of slowing down. “I’m currently writing an album and I’m

Beabadoobee is one of In Stereo’s ‘New Sounds’ artists to watch for 2020. Listen to: ‘I wish I was Stephen Malkmus’

It’s a partnership with a unique sense of balance. No Home Record is a spectacularly taut, ill-disciplined project, but it’s also one constructed with enormous precision –

@radvxz

@beabad00bee 21

Some Bodies A five-piece that feels like a genuine five-man collective. Clever, but not ponderously so. Like the kid that sits at the back of the room and gives the teacher grief, Some Bodies are the cynical class clown, writing the lyrics for their first album in the back of their exercise book, imagining what the first video will look like, rather than giving the suited drone at the front their full and undivided attention. Nobodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fool. Anyone at the album launch of Sunscreen at The Louisiana on 15th November will know that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got what it takes to become another name that once played there on their way up: songs with careful construction that rock out slowly or stroke you with crooning, sun-blessed existentialism; a front man with the vocal range and the moves to keep you transfixed; strong facial hair game. This is 70s honeyed psych with caustic Millennial disaffection. Jon Kean Listen to: Higher Self @BodiesSome @BodiesSome 24

TSHA Anyone looking to stave off more political gloom for 2020 need look no further than TSHA’s melodic, escapist electronic music. The London-based DJ/producer makes the kind of globetrotting electronica that put fellow British visionaries Bonobo and Four Tet firmly on the map. In fact, Bonobo included her single, ‘Sacred’ on his 2019 fabric presents album. And TSHA’s recent cut, the propulsive ‘Me You’, takes cues from Four Tet’s ‘Lush’, with Indian santoor swapped for a mbira and Persian lutes. ‘Moon’, from her second EP, Moonlight (released November 2019), is a richly-textured, syncopated and euphoric beast of a track that makes you want to move to a desert island. Not much is known about the background of this self-taught talent, but an increasingly busy live schedule that’s already seen her play Printworks and The Warehouse Project, as well as host radio shows (Rinse FM, Worldwide FM), means we’re surely about to learn a whole lot more. Charlotte Krol Listen To: Me You @tshamusic @tsha909

KUCKA I first took notice of KUČKA’s genius on Flume’s second album, Skin. Paired with Vince Staples on ‘Smoke & Retribution’, her sublime hook proved the perfect accompaniment. Despite a quiet couple of years, comeback track ‘Drowning’, released on LuckyMe, more than made up for her absence. Ominous rumbles of bass trade blows with warm synths and KUČKA’s croon, while she unpicks the overwhelming homesickness that enveloped her after moving to Los Angeles. Amongst the cold electronics that form its sumptuous melody, KUČKA ensures, lyrically, there’s always a human heart beating at its core. Quite simply, it’s a formidable way to mark her return. After collaborations with SOPHIE, A$AP Rocky and Cosmo’s Midnight, as well as high-profile support slots with the likes of Mount Kimbie and Mura Masa, 2020 is the year KUČKA finally steps out on her own. Something tells us she’s going to do perfectly fine. Lee Wakefield Listen to: Drowning @iamkucka @iamkucka 25

Kelvyn Colt There’s not a lot Kelvyn Colt can’t do. Unconcerned with the constraints of genre or geographical borders, the German-Nigerian rapper is destined to light up 2020 with his rapid-fire flow and infectious enthusiasm for crafting only the catchiest hooks. Many of them arrived by the bucketload earlier this year, as Colt rode something of a hot streak, unleashing ‘Down Like Dah’, ‘WDWGFH’, ‘Savage’, ‘Bury Me Alive’ and most recently ‘Mile Away’. He pairs his unstoppable verses with cinematic visuals, often vast in scope and even creating a self-directed short film to stand alongside ‘Savage’, that traces Colt darting through Cuba in a tribute to classic noir flicks of old.

Lisa Morgenstern When you find out that German-Bulgarian artist Lisa Morgenstern’s background is in ballet and classical music, it makes immediate sense. Combining synths and classical piano influences – often drawing on the traditional voices of her Bulgarian heritage – Morgenstern’s compositions are elegant and moving pieces of music which feel at once both sweeping and intimate. Consider her stunningly-expressive voice and Morgenstern feels like a musician has it all.

Having been announced as one of Forbes’ prestigious 30Under30 alumni, it’s fair to say all eyes are on Kelvyn Colt moving forward. Of course he’ll rise to the occasion, just like he has all his life. Lee Wakefield

Having performed a commissioned piece with Berlin’s Bulgarian Voices choir at Pop Kultur earlier this year, her performances have proven to be as unique promised, especially when spanning centuries of musical history. With so much talent, it’s impossible to know where she’ll go next. One thing is certain though – we really are excited to see what the next twelve months hold for Morgenstern. Jess Partridge

Listen to: Mile Away @KelvynColt @ kelvyncolt

Listen to: Answers @LisaMorgensternSongs

@li_morgenstern

Robert RidleyShackleton Something of a cult icon, Robert RidleyShackleton, or The Cardboard Prince as he is also commonly known, is quite the prolific artist. The kind of performer that steps on stage and delivers the shock factor to unwitting audience members, via an innate, raw power, RRS is a comedian, musician, poet and all-round eccentric creative genius. With his unique brand of â&#x20AC;&#x153;card-funkâ&#x20AC;?, he offers honest, witty lyrics atop DIY funk grooves played on a cassette, while channelling the spirit of Prince through his sheer audacity and flamboyance. A charismatic personality, he combines it all with an array of signature dance moves, which together makes for a unique and downright brilliant experience. Alongside his own creations, RRS also heads up the Cardboard Club, his own label and night. Having put out an impressive handful of releases over the past year, including Card Funk, which offers a pretty apt introduction to his world, Robert is an idiosyncratic talent that deserves to be witnessed by all. Kezia Cochrane Listen to: Lady @robertridleyshackleton @rrscardboardclub

SickOnes SickOnes have been around for a few years now, but it wasn’t until line-up changes last year that the band began to feel fully-formed. Breaking free of the stagnant associations of a testosterone-fuelled genre, SickOnes have been making music that strikes back. Their latest three-track single release gives a clear indication of where the group are headed, originally debuting on BBC Radio 6 and championed by its host. Consequently, their name seems to be cropping up more and more regularly in the local scene, having supported established artists such as Ceremony and Petrol Girls. It makes clear sense why SickOnes are gaining prominence, as the punk scene (and world generally) continues to make a conscious shift towards inclusion. Though this isn’t to say their music is the result of a politically-correct rollout; there’s a tremendous amount of passion and sincere authenticity behind it all, evident in their live shows. Truly SickOnes are the real deal. Harriet Taylor Listen to: Exit Years @sickonesuk @sickonesuk 28

Christian Alexander Our introduction to Christian Alexander, on the release of his Summer ‘17 project, was sweetly simple: “I made this over the span of a couple weeks recently in my bedroom when I was feeling low.” So, yeah, you kinda know what you’re getting here - downtempo, lo-fi productions and disarmingly-straightforward lyrics, ruminating on the constant mess of life, love and loneliness. But what sets this Preston native apart from so many of his peers, is the wildly imaginative yet subtle take on RnB snaking through his arrangements, recalling something closer to the glorious icy detachment of Frank Ocean or maybe even Tyler, The Creator’s calmer, more downbeat moments. His debut track, ‘Going Thru’ was the perfect first step, but it was the October release of ‘Lemonade’, with its fuller, more sophisticated, poppier production, that really got us paying attention, marking him out as a unique talent likely to make a huge impact in 2020. Dave Rowlinson Listen to: Lemonade @christiaaanalexander @christianalexander_97

Football FC Bands and football clubs attract a similar level of partisanship from their supporters. What makes bands that bit more enigmatic is that they can appear out of nowhere, strike up a following by word of mouth, gain significant airplay and suddenly become huge. You couldn’t imagine hearing about a bunch of mates playing exciting Sunday football on Clifton Downs in the Spring, then expect them to be FA Cup giant killers the following January. But that’s where we find Bristolian self-styled ‘spunk’ band, Football FC. Whether ‘spunk’ adds its ‘s’ for ‘shoegaze’ to a more familiar genre is a possibility, as their hazy distortion suggests. There’s plenty of post-punk bass debasement for your indulgence too. Their most recent track was called ‘Big Time’, with frequent reference to “big shoes”. The large footwear they’re stomping around in could feasibly belong to the likes of Egyptian Blue, Shame or The Murder Capital. Jon Kean Listen to: Big Time @footballfootballclub

@footballfcband Photo: Jonny Nolan

Black Country, New Road It’ll take you less time to read this than it will to listen to a track by Black Country, New Road. It’ll take you much more time to work out what’s going on in a track by Black Country, New Road than it will to read this and listen to a track by them combined. To save you a few minutes, it definitely involves a scintillating free-for-all of sprechgesang poetry, post-apocalyptic progjazz, with snippets of post-rock, post-punk, math-rock, darkwave and grunge. Amongst other things. The Beat Generation meets Gen Z in a flurry of fragmented screenshots that depict modern life in all its stupefying absurdity. Lead singer, Isaac Wood, bristles with middle-class, middleEnglander, post-millennial disaffection, with that voice you make when you’ve had a few and you ring an ex to ask why they dumped you, or when you’re just looking to start an argument with absolutely anyone about anything. Jon Kean Listen to: Sunglasses @blackcountrynewroad @blackcountrynewroad 29

Events by Elliott Simpson

Independent Venue Week

Beat Horizon Festival

Jan. 27th - Feb. 2nd at Various Venues

Jan. 24th at Motion

A week-long celebration of the UK’s finest independent music venues – what’s not to love? Anyone who goes to gigs regularly in Bristol knows that its independent venues are the music scene’s lifeblood. Places like The Louisiana and Exchange have hosted an astounding number of great bands over the years.

After taking place in London last year, Beat Horizon Festival is now stretching out its musical tendrils to Bristol and Manchester, and we couldn’t be happier (particularly about the Bristol bit). The line-up this year is stacked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, drum and bass, and dubstep, among other genres. From local legend Roni Size to the wave-making Sampa The Great – who recently lit up Bristol with a sold-out show – the allday event is set to be oozing with great music.

Independent Venue Week is your chance to show some love to your favourite Bristol venues, with several taking part in the celebrations. Pop along for a night of vibrant rock by seeing Hardwick Circus at Mr. Wolf’s or give yourself over to the warm pop sounds of Hibou at Crofters Rights. Be sure to scope out the full line-up online and see what takes your fancy – you might just discover your new favourite band.

Roni Size

Hibou

Boards of Canada

Gayan Gamelan Ensemble Interprets Boards of Canada Jan. 17th at Thekla

Sampa The Great

Boards of Canada stand as one of the most influential artists in IDM, with their 1998 album Music Has The Right To Children often seen as their pinnacle. So, what better way to celebrate how dang good it is than with a jazz reinterpretation? Trumpeter Byron Wallen will be joined by his gamelan ensemble at Thekla for a very special performance that promises to be nothing less than stunning. If you have other plans on the 17th, you might want to start rescheduling them now.

Free For All Festival

HUBB Records Vol. 2 Launch

Jan. 1st - Jan. 31st at Mother’s Ruin

Jan. 16th at Glitch

Mother’s Ruin, one of Bristol’s most beloved small venues, is delivering a whole month of free gigs in January and you can colour us very excited. Over 100 acts are performing across 31 days, meaning there’s plenty of great music to choose from. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could even try going along every night, carrying the list of bands like a huge scavenger’s hunt list. Just make sure you remember to bring ear protection if you do…

Founded in 2017, HUBB Records is a project that aims to help musicians find their footing during the early stages of their career. They’ve now partnered with nine stunning Bristolbased musicians for a night that guarantees to wow. From the sunny folk-rock of Anna Colette & The Average Men to the fidgety, glitch-ridden electronica of Sin Amor, there’s going to be plenty of great music for you to wrap your ears around. 31

DHP PRESENTS

TUE.07.JAN.20 UT SOLD O

Wage War THE FLEECE

THU.23.JAN.20

Sleep Token

TRINITY CENTRE

FRI.31.JAN.20 UT SOLD O

Sam Fender O2 ACADEMY

SAT.01.FEB.20

Beans On Toast TRINITY CENTRE SUN.02.FEB.20

The Local Honeys THE LOUISIANA WED.05.FEB.20

Olivia Lane

CROFTERS RIGHTS MON.10.FEB.20

Ariel Posen

THE LOUISIANA MON.10.FEB.20

The Hu O2 ACADEMY

TUE.11.FEB.20

Asgeir SWX

TUE.11.FEB.20

Counterparts EXCHANGE

THU.20.FEB.20

The Inspector Cluzo EXCHANGE

FRI.21.FEB.20

James Joe Gideon Blunt CARDIFF TUE.11.FEB.20

THE LOUISIANA WED.12.FEB.20

Beth Hart

CARDIFF ST. DAVID’S HALL SUN.16.FEB.20

Lauran Hibberd THE LOUISIANA TUE.18.FEB.20

Black Futures EXCHANGE

THU.20.FEB.20

DIIV SWX

THU.20.FEB.20 UT SOLD O

Rosie Lowe

THE LOUISIANA

MOTORPOINT ARENA FRI.21.FEB.20

Sam Lee

CARDIFF THE GATE SAT.22.FEB.20

Apre

THE LOUISIANA SUN.23.FEB.20

Zuzu

THE LOUISIANA TUE.25.FEB.20

Sorcha Richardson THE LOUISIANA TUE.25.FEB.20

William Doyle

CROFTERS RIGHTS WED.26.FEB.20

Déjà Vega

THU.27.FEB.20

God Damn THE LOUISIANA FRI.28.FEB.20 UT SOLD O

The Mysterines THE LOUISIANA SUN.01.MAR.20

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead EXCHANGE

MON.02.MAR.20

Franc Moody THE FLEECE

TUE.03.MAR.20

The Luka State

CROFTERS RIGHTS TUE.03.MAR.20

Torres

THE LOUISIANA WED.04.MAR.20

Samantha Fish CARDIFF THE GLOBE

THE LOUISIANA

A LT T I C K E TS .CO M • F B .CO M /A LT T I C K E TS • @ A LT T I C K E TS

08.01.20

MARK MORTON

31.01.20

NEKROGOBLIKON

JAH WOBBLE & THE INVADERS OF THE HEART

11.01.20

04.02.20

09.01.20

IDER

HEATHER FINDLAY BOARDS OF CANADA PLAYED BY BYRON WALLEN’S GAMALAN ENSEMBLE CHASE RICE 21.01.20

23.01.20

GIANT DRAG 25.01.20

THE MILK CARTON KIDS 26.01.20

INSOMNIUM 28.01.20

TWIN TEMPLE 30.01.20

UNCLE FRANK

04.04.20

05.03.20

11.04.20

LOVE FAME TRAGEDY

06.02.20

11.03.20

PKEW PKEW PKEW 07.02.20

POLIÇA 14.02.20

GEORGIA 12.03.20

ANAMANAGUCHI 13.03.20

WOLF PARADE 14.02.20

TWIN PEAKS

HANDS OFF GRETEL

22.02.20

17.03.20

17.02.20

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

04.03.20

3TEETH

(SANDY) ALEX G

19.01.20

01.04.20

THE SHERLOCKS

STRAY & THE GROUNDHOGS

05.02.20

17.01.20

03.03.20

THE RIFLES UNPLUGGED

KORPIKLAANI 18.03.20

BOY & BEAR

MR IRISH BASTARD

26.02.20

18.03.20

25.02.20

X AMBASSADORS 28.02.20

THE MARCUS KING BAND 02.03.20

WINSTON SURFSHIRT

THE GROVE EAST MUD DOCK BRISTOL BS1 4RB

THEKLABRISTOL.CO.UK THEKLA.CLUB FT THEKLABRISTOL IY THEKLABRIS

SONS OF LIBERTY 28.03.20

THE ICICLE WORKS 29.03.20

DARCY OAKE

KOJEY RADICAL WILLE & THE BANDITS SPACE 15.04.20

LARKINS 18.04.20

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS 24.04.20

DARWIN DEEZ 25.04.20

LANTERNS ON THE LAKE 09.05.20

L DEVINE 15.05.20

OH MY GOD! IT’S THE CHURCH 05.07.20

LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS

Georgia Seeking Thrills Domino Records, January 10th

Danny Wright chats with Gemma Samways and Charlotte Krol about Georgia’s latest pumping, synth-driven effort, Seeking Thrills. Were you fans after the first record? Charlotte: Yes, I was hooked on her after ‘Nothing Solutions’ came out. Which must have been 2014, 2015? Gemma: To be honest, not hugely - I just couldn’t click with the record. But then I remember catching her at The Great Escape a few years ago, performing an early hours set upstairs at Komedia, and she was brilliant. Charlotte: I’m yet to see her live – everyone raves on about her. 34

She’s amazing - such energy. Did hearing the singles make you think this record could be a great one? Gemma: Definitely. I was obsessed with ‘Feel It’ when it came out and then ‘About Work The Dancefloor’ obviously blew up. It felt like she’d finally found her groove. Charlotte: For sure. ‘About Work The Dancefloor’ was this huge, kinda alt Robyn bop. And ‘Feel It’ is brilliant, angsty electro. ‘Started Out’ is also one of my favourites, so damn catchy! I’m glad we’re all agreed on that. Do you think the album lived up to those songs? Gemma: I think it does in the sense it shows another dimension to her songwriting. It’s

pretty brave how she’s front-loaded it with the singles. Charlotte: This record isn’t short of a banger. Even after those initial singles, you have ‘Ray Guns’ which is very M.I.A., ‘The Thrill’ and ‘Honey Dripping Sky’ serving as the closing bookenders (shout out to that delicious acid house playout on ‘The Thrill’). And ‘Never Let You Go’ (another single) is great. Gemma: ‘24 Hours’ is massive too. Charlotte: I guess it’s frontloaded with big tunes, drops a little in the middle, and ends with some proper bouncy club tunes. It’s a much more rounded, confident album overall than her self-titled. Confidence is the thing that jumps out at me. It feels like her live shows have shown her where she wanted to go… Gemma: I agree. Charlotte: Yeah totally. Gemma: Even the moments where she drops the pace can be startling - ‘Ultimate Sailor’ is beautiful (what is that name though?). Charlotte: Haha, I thought the exact same thing. The synths in that song remind me of Blade Runner. Gemma: Yes! Definite Vangelis vibes. Are there any lyrics that jumped out at you? I love the ones in ‘Mellow’… Charlotte: Yeah, they’re brill! Is she saying “funkajello”? It paints such a vivid picture of a not-so-vivid-in-drunken-memory of a night out. Gemma: Absolutely - the dubby bassline and the double tracked vocals make you feel woozy. That’s one thing I find really fascinating - it’s an album about clubbing totally sober. She’s said “I was going through quite a heavy period with drinking and other sorts of substance abuse.” Charlotte: Listening to it initially I’d assumed – e.g. with ‘About Work The Dancefloor’ – that it was all about wired-up hedonism (she wrote

it after a bender in Berlin), and then thought much of the other tracks were about drugs/ drinking etc. Gemma: Yeah it seems to be dealing with things that happened and she’s since gone totally straight edge and that’s brought her clarity musically. Last question: can you wait to see this live? Charlotte: No! I bitterly regret missing her show in London recently. Gemma: I’m very excited to see her live again. I think these songs are going to sound incredible. To me, she’s a live artist - that’s where she really thrives. And with this album she’s given herself some really good ammo for those shows. Anything else to add? Gemma: Just that she’s improved so much since the last album - if she can maintain that upward trajectory the next album could be a 5 star record. Charlotte: Definitely. She’s a real talent. I’m very excited to hear more from her. Seeking Thrills is out January 10th via Domino. @GeorgiaUK

@GeorgiaUK 35

Hannah Diamond Reflections PC Music Out now

Album Reviews The Big Moon Walking Like We Do Fiction Records January 10th There’s a new Moon. It’s still full. But we’re seeing it from a different, distant, philosophical perspective. Whereas 2017’s stellar giant leap, Love In The 4th Dimension was packed with stratospheric, rocket-boosted, guitardriven claims such as, “I’ll be formidable,” 2020 brings us the vulnerable, Earth-bound Walking Like We Do. Their debut showed them reaching up and scraping the sky. In contrast, The Big Moon’s return orbits around everyday human flaws. Track one, ‘It’s Easy Then’, tells of “Waiting for the piano to fall,” epitomising the realistic sense of self-doubt that Juliette Jackson’s lyrics convey throughout. It also symbolises the bold sonic innovation they’ve made: the keyboard has landed. Surely, if Neil Armstrong were alive today, he’d proudly plant a bloody big flag on this album. Jon Kean 36

Maybe it’s to be expected, but Hannah Diamond’s long-awaited debut album is, predictably, impossible to quit. After a heady first listen, I found myself craving the absolute joy only Reflections can provide, bouncy melodies rattling around my head for days after. To call it worth the wait is an understatement. We’re firmly in the demented nursery rhyme territory of PC Music here, with most tracks boasting the trademark glassy and fractured calling card, but it’s sleeker and more refined than anything we’ve heard from the imprint before. Perfectly polished, it seems the label’s long-standing mission of creating a new kind of popstar have been fully realised on Reflections. Lyrically, Hannah Diamond ponders love in all its forms, including new-found, devastating loss and ultimately moving on, but any crying in the club is quickly washed away by A. G. Cook’s flawless production, armed with delirious melodies that detonate with irresistible euphoria. The dizzying closer, ‘Make Believe’ is a prime example, drifting at glacial pace before stabbing synths shatter the quiet and transport us to trance parties of the past. ‘Love Goes On’ finds Hannah contemplating going it alone (“Maybe I’m good on my own / could it be time to let go”) as the track builds to a pounding crescendo and crashes down around her, while ‘Concrete Angel’ is one of the most bonkers tracks of 2019, its furious final minute featuring a gleeful and grin-inducing happy hardcore breakdown. As pop perfection goes, Reflections surely lands somewhere close. Lee Wakefield

Mura Masa R.Y.C. Anchor Point / Polydor January 17th

Mura Masa has teased a new sound since the release of the dazzling, ‘I Don’t Think I Can Do This Again’ featuring Clairo earlier this autumn, but this is far from what could’ve been expected. Facing that dreaded sophomore album, the 23-year-old producer has turned the clocks back with RYC (Raw Youth Collage) to create a choppy collection of Britpop, new wave and 90s rave-inspired tracks. This journey through adolescence is certain to divide long-term fans as moments like ‘Teenage Headache Dreams’, with Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell signify a turn away from hip-hop influences to vocallydistorted, indie crooning over heavy club beats. However, there are glimpses of brilliance, such as ‘Deal Wiv It’ which features slowthai channelling a Mike Skinner bravado, the joyously funky Georgia collaboration ‘Live Like We’re Dancing” and ‘Today’, an enticingly delicate ballad with Tirzah. Georgia Evans

Robi Mitch Our Year Self-release Out Now

Nostalgia and longing blaze through every second of Robi Mitch’s debut, Our Year. The apocalyptic ‘Miss’ is a hazy blur of sun-kissed melodies and droning vocals that subtly draws attention away from the chaos of British politics, while ‘Ghost’ takes a cynical yet humorous look back at days filled with isolation, fuelled by psychedelic guitars and an overwhelming sense of defeat. Stepping into the obscure, beachy waves of ‘Deputy’, the track marks a philosophical daydream in which Mitch contemplates how different life would be as a carefree, ocean-dwelling animal, exchanging his earlier cynicism in favour of imaginative alternatives. Later, Mitch falls back to Earth in a spacey, optimistic closer, powerful electric guitars accompanying the track as he sings that “this could really be our year”. Ari Sawyer

Field Music Making A New World Memphis Industries January 10th

From the buoyant pulse running through Making A New World, it is difficult to reconcile the album with the dark subject matter at its core. Born out of a project documenting the effects of the First World War for the Imperial War Museum, Field Music’s Making A New World is a 19-track-long walk through histories known and unknown. The jaunty piano-led ‘Coffee or Wine’ tells of the anxiety felt coming home to a new world, while the sombre ballad, ‘A Change of Heir’ tackles the first gender reassignment surgery. Packed with ragged beats, jittery guitar riffs, and rippling funk bass, Making A New World balances historical documentation with creative exploration, giving you new ways to ponder over your history thesis on the dance floor. Stephanie Phillips 37

Omar Souleyman Shlon

Sassy 009 KILL SASSY 009

Mad Decent Out Now

Luft Recordings Out Now

Before civil war forced him to flee Syria in 2011, Omar Souleyman had already racked up more than 500 albums. The part-time wedding singer and former farmer developed a respected marriage of beats, digital tricks and love poetry that caused brides to blush. His fourth album in exile, Shlon, features Hasan Alo (double keyboards) and Azad Salih (saz), with lyrics from long-time collaborator Moussa Al Mardood.

The sudden exit of twothirds of the original formation of Sassy 009 came as surprise, considering that their esteemed debut EP was on heavy rotation throughout the Summer of 2017. As for Sunniva Lindgård, she took matters into her own hands, and along with co-producer Baya, she is now at the start of an exciting new beginning.

Five of the six tracks are full of bleeps and plucked strings as they hurtle you towards the dancefloor. But the heart of the album is revealed on beautiful slowburner ‘Mawwal’. It’s a traditional song about a love that lasts forever and provides a necessary ballast to its head-first dance tunes. Here, Souleyman’s singing seems to revel in the time and space to create something fragile. Geoff Cowart

Kamaal Williams DJ-Kicks K7 December 6th

Now a solo endeavour, slight musical remnants of the past as a group are brought back, however, instead of the use of flutes among dazed soundscapes and catchy electropop sing-a-longs, the new Sassy 009 era is trailblazing, reactive and unruly, set to twist and turn any dancefloor along the way with its pulsating electronica. While Lindgård balances between havoc and renewal, KILL SASSY 009 doesn’t really ‘kill it’’; it makes her blatantly stand out. Francisco Gonçalves Silva

Throwing his hat into the world’s most famous mix series, London born-and-bred producer, Kamaal Williams provides a 21st-century take on the soulful sounds of years gone by, in the 70th instalment of DJ-Kicks. Whether he’s curating smooth, buttery jazz that’s filled with slick sax and sensual percussive elements, confronting the keys à la Herbie Hancock or, like an acid blues Jekyll and Hyde, transfiguring into his electronic music alias, Henry Wu, Williams demonstrates an impeccable command of genre and mood. He scrapes the firmament on joyful, disco-inflected occasions like ‘Southern Freeez’ by Freeez, tunnels into a smoky basement on a live recording of ‘Snitches Brew’ and slots in breakbeat-heavy garage with the inclusion of Japanese DJ Seiji’s ‘Buggin’ Out’. In a tribute to his hometown’s diverse underground scene, he presents a portrait of the sounds that rumble through the city. Georgia Marsh

Brasher Everything Self-release Out Now

Brasher are brand-new and beautifully Bristolian, though that could also be Bristol, Pennsylvania, by their vocals’ sound. They are, aptly, more brash than your average band, playing punk-rock with a distinct metal hammer. You can almost smell the leather and even, on occasions, envision a spangle of sparkly spandex as you listen. The band possess a monstrous rhythm section and hit peak form when they deviate furthest from the road to Download with layered vocals on ‘Fin De Merde’, or offer more complex musical arrangement on ‘Asbestos Oesophagus’ and ‘Who The Fuck Is David?’ Everything is straining to be played live, let loose in its natural environment: drenched in a fine mist of sweat, entwined by tendrils of saliva and enmeshed in a tangle of hair. Jon Kean

Wire Mind Hive Pinkflag January 24th

Ave Grave Secular Variaton Lemon Test Out Now

Ever forward thinking, Wire were post-punk before punk had even petered out in a pool of its own spittle. The pioneering spirit continues on Mind Hive, their umpteenth record in a back catalogue that contains no duffers. As with most Wire albums on first listen, it’s a strange and at times uncomfortable experience. Bearing more similarities with industrial metal than their most revered, scratchy and melodic work, they masterfully channel foreboding doom with every rumble, clang and slap of their instruments. Even its jangliest turn, mid-LP highlight, ‘On the Beach’, seems in a rush to find shelter. While “it’s another solid record from Wire” might not be a particularly remarkable thing to declare, the fact it’s their 16th in a row absolutely is. Thomas Hannan Los Angeles’ composer and sound artist Sean Christopher Galloway, under his moniker Ave Grave, combines field recording techniques and electronic textures, creating glimmering compositions by making use of a combination of cassette tape loops and digital media, closely aligned and in parallel to William Basinski’s modus operandi. Out via Berlin-based label Lemon Test, Secular Variation comprises four-tracks of otherworldly soundscapes, incorporating found sound, whispering voices, wilderness, transmissions and birdsongs. Hypnotic and fragile, Ave Grave’s ability to occupy space with his sound is immersive and requires detailed attention to crack the layers of symbiotic melodies. Its musicality visually projects a pure, freeing atmosphere. As such, sit back, relax and allow yourself to merge with it. Francisco Gonçalves Silva 39

Easter She Is Warm Self-release Out Now

Stine Omar and Max Boss make devotional synth-pop and their incisive minimalism and irreverent spoken word are one of their strongest assets as a band. Two albums, two EPs and a selfproduced soap opera brought the deserving attention to the project, curiosity never ceasing even in the moments of absence. With a willingness to always transcend, Easter’s new EP, She Is Warm emerged after brainstorming on the hottest day of the year. With that idea as a concept in mind, the new set of songs, some released as singles through the course of the last two years, revisit their creative mannerisms, yet aiming at a different angle: less downer, going for upbeat and peculiarly warm, never neglecting the tender layers of dream-like observational gaze. Francisco Gonçalves Silva

Holy Fuck Deleter Holy Fuck EF Music January 17th

High anxieties seem to have well and truly assimilated into the cultural zeitgeist of recent record releases, and even Holy Fuck’s fifth LP, Deleter cannot fully escape its ravages. From the start, on Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) collaboration, ‘Luxe’, we are met with mumbling vocal samples (“I’d like to scrap all of it / start over again”) that saturate the song with palpable ennui. Deleter ultimately acknowledges murkier depths than previous Holy Fuck recordings – for instance, ‘San Sebastian’ that churns with Krautrock-like precision. Yet the tenacious, rhythmic loops of the band’s oft-colourful electronic rock sporadically cradle us from being swallowed into a total funk, instead lifting us up into the funk. ‘Ruby’ finally purges remnants of a forlorn decade, amping up into a final, blistering crescendo to greet the future afresh. Harriet Taylor

Joe Clegg Phoenix Be Softly Out Now

Joe Clegg has always been a part of the creative team behind many of the UK’s leading pop acts, working as Mumford & Sons’ live music producer in recent months and, over the previous decade, working as musical director for Ellie Goulding. November marks the release of Clegg’s debut solo EP, Phoenix – a lo-fi instrumental blend of collaborations and drum-heavy, atmospheric beats. Aptly-named opening track, ‘Arrival’, builds slowly into a crescendo of crooning synths, while ‘36+2’ moves towards a heavier, postrock, industrial vibe. Lead single, ‘Pyramids’ later pulls the record back into a blend of trance-like beats and dream-pop influences, before ‘Vista’ marks a chaotic soundscape of electronic distortion. The record is an impressive feat – hardly surprising for someone with Clegg’s knowledge and experience – and undoubtedly captivating throughout. Ari Sawyer

Human Head Sorry, I Wasn’t Listening

October Drift Forever Whatever

Beth Shalom Out Now

Phys Ed. Recordings January 24th

Comprised of five brutally-honest tracks, Sorry, I Wasn’t Listening marks the debut EP of Bristol/Llanelli poet, Joshua Jones. Out under the pseudonym, Human Head, the record presents the unfiltered, inner workings of his mind as he struggles through a vague sense of identity, the pressures of adaptation and the fear of not knowing what’s to come.

As a phrase, ‘October drift’ sounds like midAutumn when the clocks go back. As a band, they carry plenty of descending darkness, whilst also raging against the dying of the light. Kiran Roy growls over Chris Holmes’ and Alex Bispham’s restless rhythm section rumble. ‘Losing My Touch’ announces, “There’s nothing here for me now.” ‘Cinnamon Girl’ asks, “If you ever thought of letting go, would you let me know?” ‘Naked’ is thematically stripped-back, morbidly declaring, “We’re just dead leaves at the bottom of a drained swimming pool.”

‘Real Time’ talks of isolation and loneliness, driven by a pulsing beat and aggressive guitars, while Jones’ confessional, yet unapologetic vocals flow smoothly throughout the track. Lead single, ‘No One Lives Here Yet’ boasts a collaboration between Jones and producer Thom Weeks [Binboy, Gnarwolves], and the immaculate ‘Intruders’ marks an internal monologue of self-doubt, while ‘Room to Haunt’ draws the record to a close with a helping of dreamy, psych-pop sadness. Ari Sawyer

Torres Silver Tongue Merge January 31st

Just as October ends with actual pumpkins, October Drift convey aspects of the Smashing Pumpkins, with additional influences from My Bloody Valentine. Their debut album, Forever Whatever sounds like such a valentine has royally skewered a lover’s heart. Jon Kean

After two projects co-produced with Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey), the fourth album from Mackenzie Scott, aka Torres, sees her debut as sole producer. The follow-up to 2017’s Three Futures, in Silver Tongue Torres continues in her sumptuous pop, rock and electronic hybrid, musing on love and desire; finding it, chasing it, fighting for it, losing it, understanding it. According to Merriam Webster, to be of “silver tongue” is to be “marked by convincing and eloquent expression”. Silver Tongue is convincing, and fervent. At times, the swirling guitar engulfs the lyricism, obscuring Scott’s impassioned, narrative vocal; muddling the eloquence. The record is heavily textured: glittering synths meet driving percussion and punchy guitar, but for ‘Gracious Day’, a delicate, acoustic love song and one of the album’s stand-outs. “You moved in like a wave of quiet grace,” Torres sings — eloquence divine. Katie Thomas 41

Full Listings ENDEAVOUR £8ADV / 6.00PM / EXCHANGE

SUNDAY 22ND DECEMBER

ARVAS (NORWAY) TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

FREE LIVE MUSIC WITH SHAGAI SHUFFLE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

FLAG FEN £5ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

RIAAN VOSLOO’S UPHILL GAME FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN

CHAR B + PIPPA CAVE £3/£4 / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

POLEMICS + CHANG + MARTYRIALS £4ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

ALABAMA 3 £26ADV / 6.30PM / O2 ACADEMY

LONDON CALLING + REBEL STATION + DJ WILD BORE £12ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

Full Live Listings: WASABI FREE / 10.00PM / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY THE EMPERIALS £9ADV / 7.30PM / THE THUNDERBOLT SATURDAY 21ST DECEMBER OLINDER/TWEEN FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE CABLE STREET COLLECTIVE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE OFFICAL XMAS SHOW TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON KASIA + DASH HOPES £5ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA CRAIG CHARLES £15.50ADV / 9.00PM / O2 ACADEMY BEN BADDOO DANCE CAMP BAND & JACKSON (WORM DISCO) FREE / 10.00PM / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY RXPTRS: X-MAS £10ADV / 2.00PM / THEKLA SNATCH 22 £4ADV / 7.30PM / THE THUNDERBOLT

THE POCKET SESSIONS HOSTED BY RUTH ROYALL FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY MONDAY 23RD DECEMBER SLIM’S BLUES & ROOTS SESSION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN DAVE BRENT'S STARS IN THEIR EYES £5ADV / 6.00PM / EXCHANGE OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY TUESDAY 24TH DECEMBER XMAS EVE PARTY WITH THE DISORDERLIES + SOMBRERO SOCIETY + THE DAMSELFLIES FREE / 7.30PM / THE THUNDERBOLT THURSDAY 26TH DECEMBER OPEN STAGE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE SNAZZBACK PRESENTS: GIDEON CONN FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

see bristolinstereo.com/live-listings for up-to-date events and more

Full Listings FRIDAY 27TH DECEMBER

GIN JAM - OPEN STAGE NIGHT FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

LIVE MUSIC WITH LEE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

TUESDAY 31ST DECEMBER

HIPHOPAPOTAMUS & RU ROBINSON’S XMAS GOOCH FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN QUEERCORE £10ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE DIRT + KICK BOY + SOLACE £5ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

THE HANGOVER CLUB NYE PARTY FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE DTYM £12ADV / 10.00PM / EXCHANGE NYE - FEEL FLOWS W/ MANAMI & NEATHWAY + KIIA + MARLON CLARK FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

SATURDAY 28TH DECEMBER

NYE ! £10ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

LIVE MUSIC WITH TOBY FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

MR WOLFS NYE FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

RAZZOMO FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

RAMSHACKLE NYE £8ADV / 10.00PM / O2 ACADEMY

J E VISTIC £3/£4 / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY WITH BATTLEMOOSE £9ADV / 7.30PM / THE THUNDERBOLT

45S / / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY SUNDAY 29TH DECEMBER HOT CLUB DE CLIFTON / JACK CALLOWAY FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE THE SOUNDS OF URSA FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY MONDAY 30TH DECEMBER JAZZ RENDEZ-VOUS FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE SNAZZBACK PARTY BAG FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

WEDNESDAY 1ST JANUARY FRINGE JAZZ FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE THURSDAY 2ND JANUARY FRINGE JAZZ WITH JAMES MORTON FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE DAN WALDMAN HAMMOND QUARTET FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN FRIDAY 3RD JANUARY LIVE MUSIC WITH LEE + GUESTS FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE TROYKA FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN 43

see bristolinstereo.com/live-listings for up-to-date events and more

Full Listings AVON TERROR CORPS ALL NIGHTER FREE / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

MONDAY 6TH JANUARY

B-JS: TURBO ISLAND 2 / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

CANTEEN JAZZ SESSION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: DROOGS + CUFFS + OMEGA KIDS + HOW NICE FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

SATURDAY 4TH JANUARY

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: DOWNLAND + REVELLO DRIVE FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

TWEEN OLINDER DUO FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

GIN JAM - OPEN STAGE NIGHT FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

BOOGALOO STRING BAND FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

TUESDAY 7TH JANUARY

HULLABALOO MUSE TRIBUTE £10ADV / 5.30PM / THE FLEECE

OPEN MIC FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

CANCEL THE TRANSMISSION + KARMEN FIELD FREE / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

KAIT LEE & EDDIE JAY FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: M4D SM4SH EDITION FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN COMMON GROUND + JUKEBOX DECO £4ADV / 7.30PM / THE THUNDERBOLT SUNDAY 5TH JANUARY SUNDAY JAZZ: HOPKIN/OLIVER + JOHN PEARCE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE ACOUSTICIANS FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN SYDNEY SESSIONS FEAT. EDDIE JONESWEST FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: BLADDERWRECK + SHALLOW TENDENCIES FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN 44

WAGE WAR SOLD OUT / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE LEWIS CREAVEN'S DHARMA BLUES FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY WITCH TRIPPER + GEVAUDAN £5 / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN WEDNESDAY 8TH JANUARY FRINGE JAZZ FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE MARTIN KERN QUARTET FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN WALDO'S GIFT: REWORK FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: BECAUSE: REASONS + TRASHED FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

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Full Listings FRUIT MACHINE - LIVE HIP HOP CYPHER FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS MARK MORTON £16ADV / 6.30PM / THEKLA THURSDAY 9TH JANUARY HIP HOP NIGHT FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE OLD BONES COLLECTIVE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN SNAZZBACK PRESENTS TEZETA FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY URFE + SOBEK + DEAD SPACE CHAMBER MUSIC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: BOX CAT + RIVER ACID FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN ANIMAL BAR + REECE BLUCK £3-£4 / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS FRIDAY 10TH JANUARY LIVE MUSIC WITH LEE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE YOUNG PILGRIMS FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN BREAKFAST RECORDS: FRANK & BEANS / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS ORRYX £5ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE DIE HOLOCASUTUM £7ADV / 6.00PM / EXCHANGE GUNS 2 ROSES £12ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: CHANG + MUNCLE + BLOOD SLUGS + GHOST OF THE AVALANCHE + LIIP + THE BACKHAND JAGS FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN HORNING GLORY FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE SATURDAY 11TH JANUARY STEVE LEVER FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE THE WHISKEY REBELLION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN THE BOTTLE: LYNKS AFRIKKA + FOOTBALL FC + SOCIAL CONTACT £6ADV / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS EAT UP! £5ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE SUBHUMANS £10ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE WRETCHED SOUL + DEMOCRATUS + KILLERKORP + KNG IBEX TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON DECCAN TRAPS £5ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: DOWNARD + THE ROAD + PAVE + BORROWED ATLAS + HANK + A PIG CALLED EGGS + KILLIARC FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN THREELANAGIG FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE LIVE MUSIC TBA / / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY HEATHER FINDLAY £16ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

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Full Listings SUNDAY 12TH JANUARY

BEN OSBORN FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

STEVE PAYNE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

BEDLAM: MISERY KIDS + SUPPORT / 7.30PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

EDD BATEMAN’S WEST AFRICAN LOVE AFFAIR FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN

EMILY ISHERWOOD + WETLEG FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

FAIRY BOY / 7.30PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

SIMIAH (LIVE) DOUBLE DRUM SHOW FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

THE BIG MOON ALBUM AND TICKET / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: NERVE ENDING FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

WEDNESDAY 15TH JANUARY

MONDAY 13TH JANUARY

FRINGE JAZZ FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

DECYPHERS HIP HOP SESSION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

BRISTOL EUROPEAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

PURPLE PILGRIMS + ROBBIE & MONA FREE / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

SLAUGHTER BEACH DOG £12ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

WALDO'S GIFT: OPEN COLLABORATION FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: PBA + FEWELS + AIR MILES FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: EMILY MAGPIE + HALLELUGENIA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

GIN JAM - OPEN STAGE NIGHT FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

FRUIT MACHINE - LIVE HIP HOP CYPHER FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

GEORGIA ALBUM AND TICKET / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

EASY LIFE ALBUM AND TICKET / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB £20ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

THURSDAY 16TH JANUARY

TUESDAY 14TH JANUARY

LIVE MUSIC TBA FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

OPEN MIC FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

IT: LES FLAIR + ANIMA GROOVES + MEN IN MAKEUP / 7.30PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

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Full Listings SNAZZBACK: OPEN STAGE FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY ATOMCK £5 / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON THE BELLRAYS £12.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: 6FOOT7 FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN PARKA + PARISH + WILDSHAKES £3/£4 / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS FIELD MUSIC ALBUM AND TICKET / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY LEWIS CRAVEN FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE NUALA HONAN / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

THE BYRON WALLEN GAMALAN ENSEMBLE PLAYS BOARDS OF CANADA £17.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA SATURDAY 18TH JANUARY WILL BLAKE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE GNAWA BLUES ALL STARS FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN ATHERIS PROMOTIONS / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS BAZ BARRYÂ€™S SPARE PARTS & HEAVY TRAFFIC £15ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE LEGEND BOB MARLEY TRIBUTE £15ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE BAD TRACKING + ORGANCHRIST + HATEWIRE / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

EP/64 + RAINBOW SLICER £6ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

BLG: THE ORANGE SKIES + THE MALARKEY / 7.30PM / THE LANES

VISIBLE TOUCH: A TRIBUTE TO GENESIS £13ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

GIUDA £12ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

PINK TRIBUTE SOLD OUT / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

LYSERGIC LIMES & BLG: FREEZ + SAPPHIRE BLUES FREE / 7.30PM / THE LANES

VERDISA £3-£4 / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS STRIKING CLOCK FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: BEAT HARLOWS + DIVING BELL + DON JUAN + EROTIC SECRETS OF POMPEII + WINDSHAKE FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

ASSEMBLY NIGHTS PARTY FREE / / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY

SAOCO COLLECTIVE FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE

AN EVENING WITH JOY £3 / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

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Full Listings SUNDAY 19TH JANUARY

TUESDAY 21ST JANUARY

THE EAST POINTERS £16.35 INC. BF / 8.00PM / BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE

OPEN MIC FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

KAROLINA'S TRIO FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE AL FRESCO TRIO FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN

STEPH GRACE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN NEDERVEEN + ELI CARVAJAL + CAT UNA £3ADV / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

REZPROSHOWONE + STONE HAND / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

SEEDLING SESSIONS: SAM TRUSSON + MORE TBA FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

HABITUS FULL BAND + DJS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD £9ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

SONGSMITH FREE / 8.00PM / MR WOLFS

THE TESKEY BROTHERS £15ADV / 7.00PM / TRINITY CENTRE

CHASE RICE £16.50ADV / 7.30PM / THEKLA

WEDNESDAY 22ND JANUARY

MONDAY 20TH JANUARY

FRINGE JAZZ FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

CANTEEN LATIN SESSION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

STEVE MATHERS QUARTET FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

BLUE MONDAY: OLIVIA ROSE + MOTMAN + LAZY EYES FREE / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

FP: THE WHITE LAKES + CRYSTAL TIDES / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

NOAH GUNDERSEN £10ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

AV TRIO FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY THE MOWGLI'S £12ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: QUE ASCO! + THE CAT MAGIC FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: FREQUENCY COWBOY + LIFE IN MONO + THE PROSAICS + DANIEL KEANE FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

GIN JAM - OPEN STAGE NIGHT FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

FRUIT MACHINE - LIVE HIP HOP CYPHER FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

see bristolinstereo.com/live-listings for up-to-date events and more

Full Listings THURSDAY 23RD JANUARY

LOS GUSANOS FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE

LIVE MUSIC TBA FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

WHAT IS LIFE? ZINE LAUNCH £7 / 7.00PM / ROUGH TRADE

BANDINI FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

KINDNESS £15ADV / 7.30PM / TRINITY CENTRE

BREAKFAST RECORDS: RADIATORS + DAMEFRISOR / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS SNAZZBACK PRESENTS SEFRIAL FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY THREE DEAD + FUTURE PILOT FREE / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: THE STATE WE'RE IN FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN GIANT DRAG £16.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA SLEEP TOKEN £13.50ADV / 7.00PM / TRINITY CENTRE FRIDAY 24TH JANUARY LIVE MUSIC WITH LEE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE BARE SOULS FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN LEBROCK / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

SATURDAY 25TH JANUARY LIVE MUSIC WITH TOBY FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE YOKO PWNO FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN GODEATER + VEXED / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS TWIN SIBLINGS + GRANDMA'S HOUSE £5ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE MARILLION TRIBUTE £7ADV / 8.00PM / EXCHANGE SPECIAL KINDA MADNESS £13.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE PEMPHIGOID + SEPULCHRE + MISANTHROPIA £5 / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: DEEP SHADE FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN PARUSKI FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE

FIGHTERS FOO £12ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

BURNS NIGHT: THE DRYSTONES + MISHA CEILIDH BAND / / OLD MARKET ASSEMBLY

CHIAROSCURO FREE / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

EMILY BREEZE / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: FAOLAN ALLEY + LESPECTRE + RIC FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

THE MILK CARTON KIDS £20ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

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Full Listings SUNDAY 26TH JANUARY

TUESDAY 28TH JANUARY

HOT CLUB: JACK CALLOWAYS BAND FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

OPEN MIC FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

EASTERN STRINGS FREE / 4.00PM / THE CANTEEN

LEBO FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

EAR TRUMPET / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

HIBOU + SOME BODIES / 7.30PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

THE POCKET SESSIONS HOSTED BY RUTH ROYALL FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

TAMASENE FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN KREPT & KONAN £26.50ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY INSOMNIUM £15ADV / 7.30PM / THEKLA

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: TBA FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN JFS PRESENTS: BRISTOL HORNSTARS / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS TWIN TEMPLE £12.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

MONDAY 27TH JANUARY

JONAH TOLCHIN 13.08INC. BF / 8.00PM / THE WARDROBE THEATRE

ART NIGHT FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

WEDNESDAY 29TH JANUARY

SLIM’S BLUES & ROOTS SESSION FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

FRINGE JAZZ FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

DENO £10ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

HERONDRONE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

WIRE £17.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE

THE SOUND CUPBOARD DONATIONS / 8.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

OPEN MIC: HOSTED BY MIKE DENNIS FREE / 8.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: RETURNING VIDEO TAPES FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN GIN JAM - OPEN STAGE NIGHT FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS CARAVAN PALACE £25ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY 50

WALDO'S GIFT: SYNESTHESIA FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: ONE LAST SCORE FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN FRUIT MACHINE - LIVE HIP HOP CYPHER FREE / 9.00PM / MR WOLFS

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Full Listings ASHANTI & GINUWINE £33ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY

FRANZ VON FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

BAND OF BURNS £16.35-£27.25INC BF / 8.00PM / ST GEORGE'S BRISTOL

LEECHED + TUSKAR + GEIST / 7.00PM / THE CROFTERS RIGHTS

THY ART IS MURDER £17.50ADV / 6.00PM / SWX KOKOROKO £16ADV / 7.30PM / TRINITY CENTRE THURSDAY 30TH JANUARY OPEN STAGE FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

BREAKDOWN £3ADV / 11.00PM / EXCHANGE GREEN HAZE + THE OFFSPIN £12ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE KID KLUMSY £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: BULLY BONES FREE / 7.00PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

MARK J LEE FREE / 9.30PM / THE CANTEEN

JAMES DORMAN BOSSA SOUL COLLECTIVE FREE / 11.00PM / NO. 1 HARBOURSIDE

NED'S ACOUSTIC DUSTBIN £15ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

SAM FENDER £16ADV / 6.30PM / O2 ACADEMY

SNAZZBACK PRESENTS ST BARBE TRIO FREE / 9.00PM / THE GALLIMAUFRY

LOWER DENS £13.75 / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

ALL EARS AVOW + FLOORBOARDS £5ADV / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

JAH WOBBLE & THE INVADERS OF THE HEART £17.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

CURRENT SWELL £15ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

SATURDAY 1ST FEBRUARY

FREE FOR ALL FESTIVAL: DIE! CHIHUAHUA DIE! + ZINC BUKOWSKI FREE / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN

NO FUTURE PUNK FESTIVAL £25ADV / 2.00PM / THE FLEECE

UNCLE FRANK £12ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

DEPTT S: THE K’S + PARKA £3ADV / 7.00PM / THE LANES

FRIDAY 31ST JANUARY

COUSIN KULA £6ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

DAVID WAX MUSEUM £13.08 INC. BF / 8.00PM / BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE

KEVIN DEVINE CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF BROTHERS BLOOD / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

HANGOVER CLUB FREE / / THE BRISTOL FRINGE

BEANS ON TOAST £15ADV / 7.00PM / TRINITY CENTRE

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Full Listings SUNDAY 2ND FEBRUARY LISA O'NEILL £13.08INC BF / 8.00PM / BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE THE FELICE BROTHERS £16.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE SUBLIME CADAVERIC DECOMPOSITION (FRANCE) + BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS + PUTREACTION OF ROTTING CORPSES (FRANCE) TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON WIG IN A BOX & BLG: SUM TING WONG / 7.00PM / THE LANES THE LOCAL HONEYS £12.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA KANO £30ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY

3TEETH £14ADV / 6.30PM / THEKLA THURSDAY 6TH FEBRUARY WHEEL £10ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE ANNA MEREDITH £15ADV / 7.30PM / TRINITY CENTRE FRIDAY 7TH FEBRUARY ULTIMATE 40 (UB40 TRIBUTE) £13.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE WS & BLG: ETHERS + JAPANESE TELEVISION / 8.00PM / THE LANES OCTOBER DRIFT £7ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

TUESDAY 4TH FEBRUARY

THE MENZINGERS £18.50ADV / 6.30PM / SWX

YEP ROC SHOWCASE £14ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

POLICA £18.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

THE INTERRUPTERS £20ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY

SATURDAY 8TH FEBRUARY

TWEN & GUESTS £7 / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE IDER £10ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

JAYESH ALL-DAYER £10/13 / 2.00PM / EXCHANGE A BAND CALLED MALICE £12ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

WEDNESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

IT: GO CACTUS FREE / 7.30PM / THE LANES

MAN & THE ECHO £10ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

NOVATINES £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

JAMIE CRUICKSHANK £5ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

SMOKE FAERIES £12 / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

STEEL PANTHER £32ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY

SLUM VILLAGE X ABSTRACT ORCHESTRA £18.50ADV / 6.30PM / SWX

see bristolinstereo.com/live-listings for up-to-date events and more

Full Listings SUNDAY 9TH FEBRUARY

THURSDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

THOSE DAMN CROWS £10ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

MXLX £6ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

JULIAN COPE SOLD OUT / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

FRIDAY 14TH FEBRUARY

SHOPPING / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

BRU-C £10ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

MONDAY 10TH FEBRUARY

THE BON JOVI EXPERIENCE £15ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE

KELE £16ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE ARIEL POSEN £15ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA THE HU £19.50ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY ANGEL OLSEN £18ADV / 6.00PM / SWX TUESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY JOE GIDEON £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA ASGEIR £16ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

ALIEN STASH TIN + CONSPIRACY OF CHAPLINS + THE LIABILITIES OF AD TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON KING NUN £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA DAMO SUZUKI / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE (SANDY) ALEX G SOLD OUT / 7.00PM / THEKLA SATURDAY 15TH FEBRUARY THESE SMITHS £12ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE WAXSLAX & BLG : PONYLAND / 7.00PM / THE LANES

GILL LANDRY £13.08INC BF / 8.00PM / THE WARDROBE THEATRE

EMILY CAPELL £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

WEDNESDAY 12TH FEBRUARY

SUNDAY 16TH FEBRUARY

YACHT £15ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

HUNDREDTH £12.50ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

STARSET £16ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

DUBIOZA KOLEKTIV £17.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE LAURAN HIBBERD £9ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

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Full Listings MONDAY 17TH FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 21ST FEBRUARY

GRAVY TRAIN & BLG: MOLLY + NOSSIENNES DONATIONS / 7.00PM / THE LANES

HMLTD £11ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

TWIN PEAKS £13ADV / 7.30PM / THEKLA TUESDAY 18TH FEBRUARY BLACK FUTURES £10ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE OTOBOKE BEAVER £12.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE DADDY LONG LEGS £11.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA MUSH / 6.30PM / ROUGH TRADE

THE TINA TURNER EXPERIENCE £17.5ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE AS DECEMBER FALLS £9.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA SATURDAY 22ND FEBRUARY MCLUSKY* £SOLDOUT / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE ANTARCTIC MONKEYS £13.5ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE GRAVY TRAIN & BLG PRESENT: MILO'S PLANES / 7.00PM / THE LANES

WEDNESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY

APRE £7ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

WEIGHT EXPECTATIONS: ONE MAN'S RECOVERY FROM ANOREXIA £PWYW / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE

GENTLEMAN'S DUB CLUB £18.50ADV / 6.30PM / SWX

GENGAHR £11ADV / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE GOAN DOGS £8.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA THE YOUNG HEARTS £6ADV / 7.30PM / THE MOTHERS RUIN THE MURDER CAPITAL £13.50ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

THE RIFLES UNPLUGGED TOUR £17.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA SUNDAY 23RD FEBRUARY MAX & HARVEY £19ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE WIG IN A BOX & BLG PRESENT: CHERYL HOLE / 7.00PM / THE LANES

THURSDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

ZUZU £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

DIIV £14ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

DAMIEN JURADO £20.80 INC. BF / 8.30PM / ST GEORGE'S BRISTOL

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Full Listings CORY WONG £18.50ADV / 7.00PM / SWX

GT & BLG: THE WANTS £8ADV / 8.00PM / THE LANES

MONDAY 24TH FEBRUARY

RINGS OF SATURN £15ADV / 7.00PM / EXCHANGE

X AMBASSADORS £18ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA

GRAVY TRAIN & BLG: MAGIC SHOPPE + RADIATORS FREE / 7.30PM / THE LANES MIKAL CRONIN £11ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA BEARTOOTH £22.50ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY OBONGJAYAR / 7.30PM / ROUGH TRADE PALAYE ROYALE £16.50ADV / 7.00PM / SWX TUESDAY 25TH FEBRUARY GIRL RAY £10ADV / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE DAMNATIO MEMORIAE & BLG: MOLCHAT DOMA £10ADV / 8.00PM / THE LANES SORCHA RICHARDSON £9ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA BOY & BEAR £16.50ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA WEDNESDAY 26TH FEBRUARY NEW YEARS DAY £14ADV / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE RAZORRAPE (SWEDEN) + BRUTAL SPHINCTER (BELGIUM) TBC / 7.00PM / THE GRYPHON

THURSDAY 27TH FEBRUARY VEX RED £15ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE THE BIG MOON £12.50ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE GOD DAMN £7.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA HOT 8 BRASS BAND £22.50ADV / 7.00PM / O2 ACADEMY FRIDAY 28TH FEBRUARY CHARIVARI + BYKER GROVE FANCLUB £5ADV / 7.30PM / EXCHANGE DREADZONE £19.50ADV / 7.30PM / THE FLEECE THE MYSTERINES £8ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA THE MAINE £19ADV / 6.30PM / SWX MARCUS KING BAND £20ADV / 7.00PM / THEKLA SATURDAY 29TH FEBRUARY THE DOORS ALIVE + THE GIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE £13ADV / 7.00PM / THE FLEECE DRY CLEANING £10ADV / 7.30PM / THE LOUISIANA

see bristolinstereo.com/live-listings for up-to-date events and more

Live Reviews curated by Jon Kean, Live Editor

Aldous Harding December 7th at O2 Academy words: Elliott Simpson photography: Jessica Bartolini The show starts slowly. The stage awash with blue light, Aldous Harding appears and takes her seat at the centre. She then patiently tunes her guitar – the audience mutedly mesmerised – before beginning to gently finger-pick a song. Harding is the kind of artist destined to amass a cult following. Her music is cryptic yet always strangely beautiful and on stage she’s similarly mysterious. She rarely speaks and when she does, it’s never what you expect. “I don’t do sentiment,” she says partway through the show, and then after a long pause, “…or improv.” After playing a few songs by herself, Harding’s band joins her on stage. While her solo playing is spellbinding, the lusher sound of a full band is needed to bring many of the songs from Designer to life. The album’s title track is a bright and fun head-bopper, while ‘The 56

Barrel’ is beautiful in its quiet nuance. While Harding’s picked chords sit at the heart of the song, the rest of the band build it out stunningly. The intimate ‘Damn’ is another evening highlight. For this song, Harding sits alongside keyboardist Mali Llewelyn, the two of them playing a looping series of notes. The song shifts and changes slowly, the other members of the band adding subtle flourishes to it. Every time the audience makes a sound, Harding shoots them a serious look, like a stern but well-loved schoolteacher. Drummer Gwion Llewelyn signals the song’s climax, playing the trumpet in its final stretch. Harding forgoes her guitar for the night’s final song, a new one named ‘Old Peel’, instead arming herself with a striped mug and a drumstick. After counting her band in, she begins to strut around the stage, hitting the mug menacingly. It’s Harding at her most eccentric. The song itself is fantastic: angular and almost krautrock inspired. If it’s a glimpse of where Harding plans to go next, then it’s impossible not to get excited. Bring it on.

Fontaines D.C. November 30th at SWX words: Jon Kean photography: Lee Ramsey Louche and loud, loving and literary, Fontaines D.C. capped an exemplary year with an SWX set full of security-scaring infectiousness and devastating stillness. The boys were back in town. Bristol felt like even more of a ‘better land’ than ever. Resplendent in an oversized grey jumper that Niall O’Flaherty would have been devastated to lose, Chatten emerged, grabbed the mic stand, hammered it several times into the floor, raised it back to singing level and glared. The first plastic beer glass went projectile in the crowd before a note had even been struck. Watching Chatten was anthropological, fascinating. He stalked, shaking his hands, like a caged tiger with an especially pernicious paper cut. For anyone who’d enjoyed them at The Downs Festival or Glastonbury, seeing them indoors - contained, enclosed - surely felt like they were in their perfect habitat. Somehow, having walls to bounce off and a roof to raise compliments their headache-toheartache, post-drunk post-punk chaos. And how riotous it was. They opened with ‘Hurricane Laughter’. ‘Too Real’ was even more sonically aggressive than its marginally less threatening cousin on the album. These erupted along with similarly frenetic, insurgent salvos from Dogrel, such as ‘Sha Sha Sha’, ‘Liberty Belle’ and ‘Chequeless Reckless’. Through thirteen splendid songs, the contrasting tenderness that these five unshackled crazies created hit hardest. Even amidst the onslaught of ‘Lucid Dream’ they confronted us with the heart-rending simplicity of “Tell your mother that you love her.” ‘Television Screens’ was a high point, Chatten’s prolonged and primal ‘Aaaahhh’ towards the end charged with poignant Ian Curtis intensity.

They kept the big dogs on the leash until late. ‘Big’ closed the set. ‘Boys In The Better Land’ brought squeals as soon as Chatten was tambourined-up. Mid-song, the barrier security guard, stage left, looked more alarmed by a crowd’s movement than I’ve ever seen at a show. Grian Chatten surveyed the lawful disorder that the band had successfully incited. And just for a split second, just the once, he smiled. Find full reviews and more at: bristolinstereo.com 57 57

Thoughts ... by Harriet Taylor Staff Writer

“They Don’t Know What They’re Talking About.” Music journalism is a funny thing, teetering in the balance between objective and subjective. Music is formulaic; there is method and structure, yet it is similarly personal, emotional and intangible. Is there a correct approach for musicians, writers and their respective listeners or readers to take towards art? What is fair game and what is not? We’ve all read articles or reviews, penned by such-and-such in such-and-such publication, and had the right to disagree. We’ve tweeted @someone, perhaps without much thought, loaded with vitriol or high praise. But what happens when someone is objectively wrong? And does this justify a torrent of abuse for someone simply doing their job? The answer, not surprisingly, is no. When journalist Laura Snapes spoke out against Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek in 2015, it became something of a watershed moment for the rampant misogyny and various other problems perpetuated in and by the music industry at large. It also served a startling reminder of the hate directed at journalists by musicians and their fans alike, even when the critique was entirely justified. Snapes’ article is a clear example of precise, professional and ethical journalistic practice, and for her few detractors, she garnered a lot of support overall. Of course, on the flipside, there are some authors and publications that take their opinions too much as gospel. Even though 58

readers are typically more savvy to inhouse biases than in years past, and many publications have since made positive strides to rectify past hardline opinions or controversies, erratic scoring systems and the prominence of certain publications in the wide discussion of music has given them the power to make or break careers, seemingly on a whim. Harsh criticism has been known to affect tour and album sales, which in turn affects livelihood. Negative reviews leveled against an artist early in their career can have a devastating impact later, as past reception carries forward and stunts growth. But perhaps the problems existing between journalists and musicians don’t fall entirely on one side. Perhaps the third party factor needs to be considered. As a reader of music publications, it’s important to remember not to be spoon-fed what to like, but to stay vigilant and form your own opinions. To be receptive, independent, and willing to stand up for the right thing if needs be. At the heart of it all, we each have a responsibility to be kind, respectful, and supportive of the music that we share in, live to, and survive by. Harriet is a longtime BiS contributor, both in print and online. Head to bristolinstereo. com every Thursday to see her curate our Gigs of the Week.

The Gallimaufry

Snazzback Afro-funk & psych-jazz

9 Jan ~ Snazzback presents Tezeta / 8 piece instrumental group from Bristol combining elements of experimental jazz, afrobeat, soundtrack composition and collective improvisation. 16 Jan ~ Snazzback Open Stage / The spirit of collaboration gener-

ates fresh and exciting ideas. Snazzback invite some of Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top musicians to join them on stage to make music in the moment.

23 Jan ~ Snazzback presents Sefrial / Saxophone-heavy jazz rock fronted by rising star Sophie Stockham. 30 Jan ~ Snazzback presents St Barbe Trio / Extended improvisations with intricate arrangements that draw on jazz, rock and hip hop

thegallimaufry.co.uk

Behind Every Musician

@WeAreTheMU

ert.indd 1

10/05/2

VOL. 3 The Free Bristol Label Compilation, curated by Bristol In Stereo. 25+ Artists / 15 Labels

Download at: bristolinstereo.com/newschool

in Bristol with Mig Schillace at The Louisiana

When did you move to Bristol? I am from Bristol. Lived here most of my life. Who is your top Bristol artist at the moment? Some Bodies, Robbie & Mona, Oro Swimming Hour, Lice, Ebu, Giant Swan, Beak>, Slonk, Kate Stapley, Flag Fen, Courier, Swallow Cave, Pocket Sun. Tell us your go-to places to eat and drink. Mokoko (amazing coffee), The Bristolian (best breakfast in Bristol by a mile), Koocha Mezze Bar, Arnolfini. What’s the best way to spend one really good day here? Having an early morning coffee at Mokoko, maybe taking in some art at Centrespace or Spike Island, recording or rehearsing with Pet Shimmers at The Louisiana, then maybe go to a gig at one of Bristol’s many excellent music venues. What’s your favourite thing about the city? The music and art scene are what make Bristol such a great city. We also put on some amazing festivals - Dot to Dot, The Downs Festival, Harbour Fest, Simple Things and I’m really looking forward to Ritual Union Festival which begins next year. Also, that we have Labour MPs representing us. And your least favourite? Gentrification. Not a big fan. Also, the fact we still have a Mayor. It was useful to try out, but I think we need to go back to a more councilbased system. How does it feel to be a small venue with such a big history? We’ve just celebrated our 32nd year of running The Louisiana. In this time, we have had some incredible experiences. So many

Photo by Laure Noverraz great artists have played our stage, ranging from Amy Winehouse to Dua Lipa, The White Stripes, Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, Super Furry Animals (There are too many to list). As well as some dark times – ten years ago, we were threatened with closure due to noise complaints. It lost us our house due to soundproofing costs and having to stop trading for a month. Luckily, we’re still here. We have lots of exciting plans for 2020. We are building a studio in the Louis cellar and hopefully getting a new PA system. We will also be looking to change the bar décor and opening up a pop-up kitchen. The Louisiana is an independent venue on Wapping Road. Check out the posters in the bar area to see just how many huge bands have been through there on the way up. 61

Your Music Career Starts Here Join the most exciting industry in the world bimm.ac.uk/bristol/open-days

63 bimm.ac.uk/bristol