May 2014
www.brumnotes.com music and lifestyle for the west midlands
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TALE S FROM DOWN UN D E R:
COURTNEY BARNETT
Also this month: SLEAFORD MODS THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS CAMERA OBSCURA TROUMACA
MERRYMOUTH BO NINGEN BEATY HEART YOUTH MAN
PLUS: Supersonic Festival returns / Full One Beat Weekender line-up revealed / Win tickets to Lunar Festival / This month’s best new albums Your pick of what’s on throughout May May 2014
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Sun 20th July • £13 adv 6.30pm - 10pm
Ultimate Genesis Mon 21st July • £12.50 adv 6.30pm - 10pm
Onslaught 10.30pm-3.30am • £4 adv
OVER 18S ONLY - PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED
Fri 9th May • £3 adv
Propaganda
The Bestival Takeover Tour Fri 30th May • £3 adv
Propaganda
ft. Game Of Thrones’ Finn Jones (DJ Set) Sat 10th May • £19.50 adv
Embrace
Thurs 15th May • £15 adv
+ Artillery + Hatriot (ft. Steve Zetro Souza former vocalist of Exodus)
Sat 23rd Aug • £22.50 adv / £25 VIP 9pm - 5am • over 18s only
Bassman Birthday 2014
Electric Six
Fri 12th Dec • £11.50 adv
Fri 5th Dec • £15 adv
The Doors Alive
Graham Bonnet
Fri 19th Dec • £30 adv / £170 VIP
6.30pm -10pm
Catch the Rainbow Tour
Sat 6th Dec • £18.50 adv
Jesus Jones The Doubt Tour
Fri 2nd May • £10 adv
Fri 6th June
Kazabian (Kasabian Tribute)
Hozier + Daniel James
Primal Fear
6.30pm - 10pm
Tues 6th May • £8 adv
Bad Rabbits
Fri 9th May • £5 adv 6.30pm - 10pm
Sat 27th Sept • £20 adv
The Fray
Snooty Boobs
+ Pickering White + Poets & Thieves + Stuart Woolfenden
Sun 11th May • £11 adv
Sun 18th May • £24 adv
Mon 12th May • £7 adv
Graham Parker and The Rumour
plus special guests Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls
Tues 10th June • £14 adv
Rival Sons
Sun 15th June • £8 adv / £15 VIP
Andy Jordan
Weds 25th June • £17.50 adv
Gareth Gates + Jai McDowall Thurs 26th June • £15 adv
Heaven & Earth
+ M.ILL.ION + Only The Good
Sun 29th June • £30-£35 adv Seated show • over 18s only
Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin Smith & Ralph Garman
Thurs 3rd July • £15 adv
Bam Margera’s F**kface Unstoppable Mon 7th July • £28.50 adv
Moved from The Institute, Birmingham Original Tickets Still Valid
Extreme
Pornograffitti Live Tour + Leogun
Mon 7th July • £15 adv
Brian Jonestown Massacre
UB40
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Quadrophenia Club Night
Sat 31st May • £27.50 adv
6pm -10pm
Professor Green
Sat 27th Sept • £12 adv
Courtney Love
6.30pm -10pm
Rescheduled show • original tickets valid
6.30pm - 10.30pm
We Are Saviours
+ Tryptikon + Morbus Chron
Mon 8th Sept • £17 adv
Fri 16th May • £16.50 adv
Sat 17th May • £5 adv
At The Gates
+ Furyon + Valous
+ Chrome Molly + Aceldama
+ Hawk House
Weds 3rd Dec • £12 adv
Sun 7th Dec • £18 adv
Mordred
Charlie Simpson Action Bronson
Passenger
Tues 26th Aug • £12.50 adv
Tues 23rd Sept • £15 adv
6.30pm
Tues 18th Nov • £20 adv
8pm - 1am • over 18s only
Big Screen Film Show with DJ Drew Stansall (The Specials) plus The Atlantics (playing the movie hits) + The Coopers + The Birmingham Club A Go Go DJ’s
Weds 15th Oct • £15 adv
Kid Ink
Sat 18th Oct • £16 adv
Katy B
Sat 18th Oct • £10 adv
We Are The Ocean Sat 25th Oct • £15 adv
Pure Love + Pup
Angel At My Table Tues 13th May • £10 adv
Martin Stephenson & The Daintees + Helen McCookerybook
Weds 14th May • £19.50 adv
Michael Franti & Spearhead Mon 19th May • £15 adv
Hank Wangford & the Lost Cowboys ‘Waltzing With Wangford 2014’
Weds 21st May • £12.50 adv / £27.50 VIP
M.A.D.
6pm - 10pm
Sun 15th June • £10 adv / £30 VIP 6pm - 10pm
Hollywood Ending Sat 28th June • £5 adv 6.45pm - 11pm
Warlord UK
+ Garganjua + Shebrew + Spiral Dive + From Eden To Exile
Thurs 3rd July • £4-£6 adv
School Of Rock & Pop Showcase Tues 8th July • £9 adv
Rixton
Fri 11th July • £10 adv 6pm - 10pm
In Hindsight Weds 20th Aug • £12.50 adv
My Ruin + Sanctorum
Tues 9th Sept • £10 adv
Pearl Jem
(Pearl Jam Tribute)
Fri 19th Sept • £10 adv 6.30pm - 10pm
Up Close and Personal Acoustic Tour
Definitely Mightbe
Fri 23rd May
(Oasis Tribute) 20 Year Celebration, Performing Definitely Maybe in Full
The Upload Tour
Sat 20th Sept • £10 adv
Sun 26th Oct • £15 adv
Sat 24th May • £5 adv
Sun 28th Sept • £12.50 adv
Weekend ticket £25 adv
Enemo J
1pm -11pm
Weekend ticket £25 adv
UK B-Boy Championships Knock-Out Jam
6pm - 10pm
ft. Emma Blackery, BriBry & Dave Giles
3pm -11pm
6.45pm - 11pm
UK B-Boy Championships
+ The Final Chapter + Rise Of Athena + Those Without Hope + Hung Drawn Quartered
World Final
Mon 27th Oct • £16.50 adv
Sam Smith
Fri 7th Nov • £16.50 adv 5.30pm -10pm
Asking Alexandria Sat 15th Nov • £11 adv
The Smyths
30th Anniversary of “Hatful of Hollow” - playing the seminal album in it’s entirety
Weds 28th May • £8 adv
UK Foo Fighters
Rescheduled • original tix valid
Hats Off To Led Zeppelin Fri 17th Oct • £10 adv 6.30pm - 10pm
The Modfathers
6pm - 10pm
UK’s No. 1 Tribute to Paul Weller & The Jam
+ Connor Harris + Canary Swing + Rewind
Sat 18th Oct • £10 adv
Futureproof
Thurs 29th May • £9 adv
The Riptide Movement
Danny & The Champions Of The World
+ The Hummingbirds
+ Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou + Brokenwitt Rebels
Sat 31st May • £10 adv
Sat 8th Nov • £10 adv
Weds 4th June • £12.50 adv
Sat 29th Nov • £11 adv
+ The Cult Of Dom Keller
The UK’s No. 1 Stone Roses Tribute
Metallica Reloaded + Skid Raw Wooden Ships
Antarctic Monkeys The Clone Roses
16-18 Horsefair, Bristol St, Birmingham, B1 1DB 2
Doors 7.00pm unless stated • Venue box office opening hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm, Sat 11am-4pm • No booking fee on cash transactions
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Tuesday 13 May
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May 2014
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TO U R A N N O U N C E M E N TS & P R I O R I T Y B O O K I N GS • F I N D U S O N
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CONTENTS
Dumb supporting Jaws, live at The Institute. See the review on P36. Photo by Tasha Cassidy. Brum Notes Magazine Unit 12 The Bond 180-182 Fazeley Street Birmingham B5 5SE info@brumnotes.com 0121 224 7363 Advertising 0121 224 7363 advertising@brumnotes.com Distribution StickupMedia! 0121 224 7364 Editor: Chris Moriarty Contributors Words: David Vincent, Daron Billings, Dan Cooper-Gavin, Saima Razzaq, Ben Russell, Tajinder Hayer, Stephen Brolan, Katie Teggin, Jack Parker, Lorraine Teare Assistant Editor: Amy Sumner Arts Editor: Dan Cooper-Gavin Food & Drink Editor: Daron Billings Pictures: Andy Hughes, Wayne Fox, Ian Dunn, Jonathan Morgan, Ross Jukes, Tasha Cassidy Design: Adam Williams, Andy Aitken Connect Twitter: @BrumNotesMag Facebook: www.facebook.com/ BrumNotesMagazine Online: www.brumnotes.com
Regulars News 6-7 Fresh Talent 10-11 Style 32 Food & Drink 34 Live Reviews 36-37 Album Reviews 38-39 What’s On Guide 40-46 Music and Features Behind the Scenes: RML Studios 8-9 Troumaca 14 Merrymouth 16 Youth Man 18-19 Beaty Heart 20 Camera Obscura 22-23 Sleaford Mods / Supersonic Festival 24-25 The Amazing Snakeheads 26 Bo Ningen 29 Courtney Barnett 30-31 All content Š Brum Notes Magazine. Views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Brum Notes Magazine. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of content, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses claimed to have been incurred by any errors. Advertising terms and conditions available on request.
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Brum Notes Magazine
May 2014
5
SLAM DUNK ROCKS UP TO WOLVERHAMPTON Kids In Glass Houses
news
SWIM DEEP & MORE TO LAUNCH NEW digbeth VENUE
SWIM DEEP will take to the stage in their home city to help launch a brand new venue in the heart of Digbeth. Alfie Bird’s opens in the Custard Factory later this month on the site formerly known as the Medicine Bar, and more recently occupied by 78 Bar. It will include a cocktail bar, pizzeria and loft-style club and event space, as well as a 350-capacity music venue and beer keller next door known as The Oobleck. Three nights of events are planned for the bank holiday launch weekend, which takes place from May 23-25. Opening night on May 23 will include the ‘Oobleck Oompah’, a chance to sample the new ‘urban beer keller’ setting, with live comedy from Barbara Nice and late night clubbing from White Men Can’t Funk. Swim Deep will headline The Oobleck on Saturday, May 24, while Jamm Hott and Heducation present Scratch Perverts upstairs in The Loft on the same night. Sunday, May 25, will be a bank holiday extravaganza taking place across the full venue from 3pm to 3am for the Hott Date All Stars, featuring live sets from the likes of Ekkah, The Hip Priests and White Blacula, plus a DJ set from Hot Chip’s Felix Martin.
Slam Dunk Festival will deliver a hardhitting line-up of pop punk, ska, alt rock and more across seven stages this month. The one-day event will take place across indoor and outdoor spaces in and around Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall on bank holiday Monday, May 26. The All American Rejects headline this year’s proceedings, alongside nearly 50 other bands and DJs on the bill, including Less Than Jake, Mallory Knox, Kids In Glass Houses, Canterbury and Light You Up. Rock club night Uprawr curates the DJ and party lineup, which includes DJ Yoda and Tek One. Tickets are £35 or £39 including the after party. visit www.slamdunkmusic.com.
brummie bread on the rise
The smell of freshly baked bread will soon be wafting its way through the Jewellery Quarter. New commercial bakery Peel & Stone launches on Water Street in May and is aiming to deliver more than 3,000 loaves a month. The brainchild of the team behind Soul Food Project and The Church pub, it will supply pubs, restaurants and shops and also open to the public at certain times.
BIRMINGHAM PRIDE TO BRIGHTEN UP THE CITY CENTRE FOR BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
Birmingham Pride returns this spring bank holiday weekend, with the popular Carnival Parade set to turn the city centre into a sea of colour.
Photos by Jane Williams
The annual weekend-long LGBT festival, the largest of its kind in the UK, takes place on May 24 and 25 around the Gay Village and surrounding areas. As well as the parade itself, which launches from Victoria Square at midday on the Saturday, a host of other entertainment will be staged, including live music, cabaret, dance performances, a fun fair, market and a street party. Birmingham Pride aims to celebrate the city’s LGBT community and promote a message
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of equality and freedom, and is open to all. Acts performing on the Pride Main Stage will include Gabrielle, Ms Dynamite, Fuse ODG and Stooshe on the Saturday, while Sunday will see performances from the likes of Conor Maynard, Katy B, Kimberley Wyatt, Foxes and Lucy Spraggan. The Chic Dance Arena also returns to this year’s festival, with DJ sets from Take That’s Howard Donald, Artful Dodger, Clinton Shawe, Lisa Sharred, Donkie Punch and many more. For full details, including ticket information, visit www.birminghampride.com. Brum Notes Magazine
JAWS and troumaca TO HEADLINE ONE BEAT WEEKENDER AS FULL LINE-UP REVEALED
Ghetts Jaws
JAWS will headline this summer’s One Beat Weekender, a two-day celebration of new music taking place in the outdoor amphitheatre at Mac Birmingham. The full line-up has now been revealed for the event, which is in its third year but will double in size to run across two days for the first time. The festival, curated by One Beat Records and This is Tmrw, takes place on July 19 and July 20, with dreamy surf-pop local heroes Jaws topping the bill on the Saturday and tropical adventurers Troumaca headlining Sunday.
Los Campesinos!
bass 2014 celebrates best of british talent
There will also be DJ sets from the likes of MHVH, This is Tmrw and Jack Parker across the weekend, as well as an all-day bar, food stalls and a vintage market, plus late night after parties at the Bull’s Head in nearby Moseley, with free entry to all One Beat Weekender ticket holders.
Two weeks of events celebrating British black arts and music kick off in Birmingham next month. BASS 2014 runs from June 1 to June 14 at various venues and will be the ninth consecutive year of the annual celebration, curated by Punch. This year’s festival has a theme of ‘Made in Britain’ and will showcase some of the most exciting new and emerging black artists in the UK, alongside established performers. The line-up includes the likes of Ghetts, Jacob Banks, DJ Target, Stylo G, Wretch 32, Call Me Unique and Apache Indian. There will also be club nights, including a Ministry of Sound silent disco, film screenings, comedy shows and exhibitions.
Tickets are £28 for the weekend or £15 per day and available from the Mac Birmingham box office on 0121 446 3232 or online at www.macbirmingham.co.uk.
For full details on this year’s programme visit: www.punch-records.co.uk.
Jaws will be joined on the bill by Los Campesinos! on the first day, as well as Dumb, LSA, The Grafham Water Sailing Club, Juice, Hoopla Blue, Johnny Foreigner, Curb, The Jacarandas and Byron Hare. Sunday’s line-up is completed by Glass Animals, Ekkah, Friendly Fire Band, Midnight Bonfires, Elephantine, The Exploding Sound Machine, The Oddysee, The Dollcanoes, Sylvia and OhBoy.
Tim Burgess
COMPETITION: WIN WEEKEND TICKETS FOR TWO TO LUNAR FESTIVAL 2014 Lunar Festival returns to the nearby Warwickshire countryside next month boasting its best line-up yet. Taking place from June 6-8 in the spiritual home of Nick Drake, Tanworth in Arden, the eclectic three-day festival will be headlined by Donovan, The Polyphonic Spree and Tim Burgess, with the likes of British Sea Power, Temples, The Magic Band, Toy and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown also on the bill. And we’re offering you the chance to get in on the action FOR FREE with a pair of
May 2014
three-day festival passes up for grabs for one lucky reader. For a chance to win, simply tell us: For which band is Tim Burgess the lead singer? Email answers and contact details to competitions@brumnotes.com by May 23 for a chance to win. visit lunarfestival.co.uk to buy tickets. 7
behind the scenes
Photos by Andy Hughes
After launching RML Studios in Wolverhampton last August, Ryan Pinson has already welcomed a host of noteworthy local talent through his studio doors, including Dan Whitehouse, the now sadly defunct Wide Eyed and Babypink, Curb and Alex Ohm, a process which has snowballed through a wonderful word of mouth reputation. As he finishes work mixing God Damn’s debut album, we head into the studio to find out more. “I got into it at a young age,” Ryan says of his introduction to the music world. “My mum always used to play The Police and I just remember being obsessed by Stewart Copeland on the drums. I’d set out these books in a row and just start tapping them out as if they were drums. I became mesmerised by watching bands and I just wanted to be a part of that. I remember – and I must have been about eight – we went to a recording studio with school to do this Christmas song, Santa’s On Strike. The studio is no longer there but it blew my mind, the idea of being able to record music. “I didn’t start learning how to sound engineer until I got a job. I spent four years at college learning various bits and pieces and I didn’t really understand it after I left but I was lucky enough to get a job at Zip Theatre straight after that and I kind of learnt the long way round. I didn’t have an engineer to follow and watch so I picked things up by ear and did a lot of reading, watched a lot of videos and that was my education. For me, the best way to learn is to listen to a lot of music. Something that you can’t teach is taste and that just comes from listening to music and trying to understand how it was done.” RML is a digital studio. With the resurgence of analogue and the new trend for recording to 8
tape, we were interested to hear about Ryan’s preference. “I’d love to be able to record analogue,” he says, “but the problem is that some of those pieces of equipment cost thousands and thousands of pounds and I simply can’t afford it. I went to a studio in Liverpool called The Motor Museum and there they record to tape and transfer to digital so they have the best of both worlds. I think in an ideal world that’s how I’d like to work.” It isn’t just bands who head into the studio at RML – Ryan works with an eclectic mix of musicians across the genres. “I tend to work with a lot of bands but I like to work with different styles,” he says. “I do a lot of hip hop – a band called Broken Dialect [sadly now no longer together] and local label Wolf Town DIY. We also did this one record which featured The Game…it was a remix!” As we chat, God Damn front man Thomas Edward wanders in. The heavy blues rock and grunge duo are putting the finishing touches to their debut album, which they’ve recorded and mixed between London’s Metropolis studios and RML here in their homeland of Wolverhampton.
“We started off with Ryan and we always end up coming back to him,” says Thom. “Especially vocally, I wanted to come back and feel like I was doing it in my living room.” “It’s important to have a good relationship with the artists you work with,” continues Ryan, “and if I work with a band I want to give it my all – whatever goes out there is part of me as well, it affects me.” There’s a whole lot of work which goes into the recording and the production of the records we listen to every day. There are processes, techniques and tweaks that ultimately make the difference between being able to listen to a record and not, yet to the untrained ear many of these pass inaudibly. It’s also a process of time and care. “Good recording is just getting people to feel comfortable, that’s how you get the best performance,” Ryan adds. And RML sure feels like a comfortable home.
Find out more about Ryan Pinson and RML Studios by emailing Ryan at rpinson@hotmail. co.uk on contacting him via facebook.com/ ryan.pinson1. Brum Notes Magazine
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May 2014
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Words by Amy Sumner Photo by Jonathan Morgan
– there’s the heaviness of Sabbath mixed with DIY balls of punk, sprinkled with a healthy dose of Hawkwind, cos everyone loves a little space rock. With the last band having a very formulated rockabilly sound, I just wanted to do something free and wild and I think that’s where the Hawkwind influences came in, those dudes were doing insane things for their time. Joe is an unreal blues guitarist and I’m a little more rough and ready, so I think the way our two guitars fight each other really shapes things.” And after all of that, what does the name actually mean then?
Dong Fang
facebook.com/dongfangband
Type ‘Dong Fang review’ into Google and what you get is some bloke droning on about the greatness of industrial storage containers in Japan. They’re undoubtedly impressive, obviously, but they don’t quite pack the punch of Dong Fang BAND, four boys making rip-rollicking blues rock’n’roll in Birmingham.
“I’ve been waiting for the name question!” Tom enthuses. “I was in the States and I saw this huge truck pass us on the road with the words DONG FANG written on it and a drawing of two dolphins doing the nasty. I turned to my buddy Dan (of The Castillians and Swampmeat fame) and we instantly said ‘that’s a band name!’ There’s many reasons why people start bands, but the truth is that I just got a perverse kick out of seeing dolphins going at it on the side of a truck.” If that sounds like something you want to see, Dong Fang play the Brum Notes May Issue Launch Party at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, on May 6.
Having played just three live shows to date (“Captain Hook could count our shows on one hand and still have fingers left,” says frontman Thomas Hughes), Dong Fang are still just finding their feet. That said, they’re no strangers to the local scene, being made up of past members of The Cedar House Band and linked inextricably with the ColdRice and Killer Wave movements, bands like The Mighty Young, like Grand Union, like The Castillians, who spend their time ferreted away amongst the abandoned warehouses of Digbeth. “I think it’s just a desire to want to do something yourself,” says Tom of the common thinking between their contemporaries. “There’s a huge DIY ethic to it, from artwork to recording to secret shows, it’s all done in-house. Some of the best bands in the world are hidden in a warehouse in Digbeth, it’s mad! We started out admiring those bands so much, and now we’re lucky enough to call them our friends.” Cedar House Band delivered a tantalising slice of rockabilly. Dong Fang are much more 70s New York, much more CBGB. “It’s been a lot of fun so far, I’ve never played with a second guitarist so I can definitely be lazier now,” jokes Tom. “I don’t think Cedar House will ever be dead, it’s just in a coma. A dormant volcano! Over the past year the three of us hadn’t been able to stay in the same country as each other so me and Jake [Wilks] wanted to get something else going and it just took off from there. We knew Joe [Gatsby] from playing shows with his kick ass band The Mighty Young, and we both went to school with Ed [Rhodes].” In terms of musical influences, there’s plenty to pick out. “It’s kind of a melting pot of all my favourite stuff from the 70s 10
Brum Notes Magazine
The Ándales
soundcloud.com/the-andal-s Perdu, You’re Gonna Kill Me and the almost Blur-like Is This Love. It’d be almost too eclectic were it not for the fact that live, the band manage to pull it all together, crafting a coherent and fluid rendition. “I genuinely think we sound like a band that Quentin Tarantino would use and feature in a film,” says Xander.
“It’s a nod to our love of Spaghetti Western cinema and the music of Ennio Morricone,” explains The Ándales’ lead guitarist, Matthew Sharkey about Ramon Rides Out, a song caught halfway between Mexico and The Last Shadow Puppets. “There’s a wide spectrum of influences throughout our music that encompasses the broader sound of Latin music though,” adds keyboardist Xander Lee. “We also draw from Andean music, people like Victor Jara and Violeta Parra, Spanish flamenco and Brazilian tropicalia,” surmises bassist Raúl Lagunas. His brother Patch, frontman and the swagger of the group has remained silent until now. “We’ve also got a lot of love for The Pixies, Kevin Tihista and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Love, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Beatles.” So that’s a fair bit to go on. To say it’s an eclectic mix is an understatement. The songs on The Ándales’ SoundCloud range from the aforementioned Spaghetti Western chant-infused flurry of Ramon Rides Out and Winter Is All That Remains to more tender moments, Je Suis
The Ándales formed only at the tail end of last year, or November 11 to be precise, on the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup d’etat, which saw the overthrow of socialist President Salvador Allende and his civilian government and the formation of the military junta responsible for the brutal repression of left-wing political activity. That makes the Coventry five-piece pretty hot off the press. That said, they’ve a wealth of impressive material and are already working on their debut album. “The process varies from song to song,” Patch explains about their writing. “Sometimes someone will come in with a riff or a melody and then we’ll finish the track together. Right now we’re concentrating on having complete material prior to rehearsing it.” “We’re the band that people know about but haven’t seen yet. We’ve played a handful of gigs.” We bring The Ándales to Birmingham at the beginning of the month. Just don’t try to get a secret out of them – they’ll quote The Beatles at you incessantly.
THE PLAYLIST THE BLUEBEAT ARKESTRA The Chillr Opening track from The Bluebeat Arkestra’s new eponymous EP, The Chillr is a dark cocktail lounge groove comprising soulful strings, haunting vocals and a shadowy undercurrent. The EP is available for pay-whatyou-want download now. thebluebeatarkestra.bandcamp.com
PRISMS Radio The dark-wave synth trio take a more pop approach to songwriting with their first offering of new material in a while. ‘I see a pattern forming now’, observes frontman Craig Davis towards the end, might that be the sound of Prisms to come? prismsofficial.bandcamp.com
THE JACARANDAS Get Her Off Of My Mind Birmingham/Manchester quartet The Jacarandas re-enter our radar with a new line-up and their new track, Get Her Off Of My Mind, a lament to a lost love, which despite its sorrow still manages to drip sun-lit serenity. soundcloud.com/the-jacarandas
THE CLOCKTOWER
The Ándales play the Brum Notes May Issue Launch Party at The Sunflower Lounge on May 6.
You’re So Wonderful Energetic pop melodies, rock rhythm and impressive indie buoyancy, here’s one for the sunshine. Hooks aplenty and a chorus you ain’t getting away from in a hurry, You’re So Wonderful is out at the end of the month. soundcloud.com/theclocktowerband
the mourning suns
Enquiry
lime
Crafting lucid 60s psych folk, The Mourning Suns are a six-piece with bewitching male/ female harmonies sitting somewhere between Kate Bush and Esben & The Witch. Morbid yet serene, and wholly enchanting. Watch them: May 3, Cafe Ort, Balsall Heath
Digbeth-based noise trio creating downright dirty fuzz-fuelled riffs teamed with killer heavy drums and ruckus vocals. Prepare your ears for a rollicking. Watch them: May 9, The Sun at the Station, Kings Heath
Wolverhampton quartet Lime draw influence from The Cribs and The Strokes and produce alluring indie rock layered with heavy drums, hook-laden guitars and a catchy vocal to boot. Watch them: May 28, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
ONES TO WATCH
May 2014
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Photo by Kate Hook
l e f t f o ot b a n k h o l i day w e e k e n d e r —
troumaca get into t h e h o l i d ay s p i r i t What’s the best thing about May? The bank holidays of course. And what’s even better about this May in particular? Well, for one, Leftfoot will be taking over the Hare & Hounds to put on three nights of shows on the last bank holiday weekend, with not one but three storming headline acts to really give you something to sleep off on the Monday. Ben UFO, Troumaca and The Hot 8 Brass Band will keep the party going throughout. We caught up with Troumaca frontman Sam Baylis to fill us in on what his band have been up to since revealing acclaimed debut album The Grace to the world last summer.
And you’ve got One Beat Weekender coming up this July too. That should be a unique setting for you, in the outdoor amphitheatre at the Mac, looking forward to that one? Indeed. That will be, what they call in the business, a moment.
What have you been up to since your album The Grace came out last year? Loads of shows and quite a bit of writing too. We’ve also had some time to spend with family and friends, which is always good.
Back to the Leftfoot Weekender, can you sum up the other acts and DJs on the bill over the three days for us? Ben UFO – genius. The Hot 8 Brass Band – nuts hip hop homage ting. Adam Regan – top selector. This Is Tmrw – Always on the money.
Were you pleased with the reaction the record got? It’s always humbling to know people derive pleasure from your work. We are very grateful for that.
the last work and extract certain ideas. New approaches, new lives, it’s all new. It must be have been a pretty hectic year for you. Any highlights that stand out for you? For me, Shambala, it blew my tiny little mind. London, Birmingham and Bristol tour shows were incredible. Can we expect any new material at the show this month? Maybe, baby.
Do you still feel as proud of it now or does it feel like a long time ago for you as a band? It’s like a fine wine, over time new flavours develop, you taste the history and appreciate the shadow cast, which grows in ways you don’t always expect.
Back at the Hare – plenty of happy memories there for you, is that always one of your favourite venues to play? The Hare feels like home. Shouts to all the crew, The Silver Fox, Tiny Matt, Crazy John, Hairy Tom, all the gang.
And what’s next on the agenda, have you started work on the follow-up? We have. It’s exciting to focus on elements of
Any other surprises in store for the night? Hopefully. But if I say now it won’t be a surprise will it, my dear?
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It’s been sunny for One Beat the past two years, have you got a Sun God dance to roll out just in case? As a matter of fact I’m Pagan, so I will be invoking the Gods just before the show.
The Leftfoot Bank Holiday Weekender takes place over the second May bank holiday weekend, from May 23-25, featuring: BEN UFO (Hessle Audio), plus Adam Regan, Matt Beck, Opyn & Bastian (Friday, May 23, 9pm-3am); TROUMACA plus special guests, with DJ sets from Leftfoot, This Is Tmrw, MHVH (Saturday, May 24, 9pm-3am); THE HOT 8 BRASS BAND, plus DJ support from Sam Redmore, Soul Food Soundsystem (Sunday, May 25, 9pm-late). Tickets are on sale for individual shows or a limited amount of weekend tickets are available for £25. Brum Notes Magazine
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May 2014
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MAKING MERRY Ocean Colour Scene spin-offs Merrymouth are back with their second record. But despite its acoustic roots, frontman Simon Fowler tells David Vincent why it’s “not a ‘folk’ album”.
While Britpop hitmakers Ocean Colour Scene remain very much his main job, frontman and songwriter Simon Fowler continues to enjoy his parallel career with ‘folk-orientated’ act Merrymouth. Featuring Simon, plus fellow OCS member Dan Sealey and keyboard player Adam Barry, the band are set to return this month with an appearance at Birmingham’s Mac to accompany the release of their sophomore album. Entitled Wenlock Hill, the collection features 11 tracks that offer a distinct and relaxed vibe, yet much of the material could, with some re-arranging, easily sit with OCS. “The songs on this album, I don’t know which songs wouldn’t crossover to be OCS songs,” ponders Fowler. “I don’t think Salt Breeze would and I have to say That Man, which Dan wrote, probably wouldn’t, but I don’t think it really matters. I don’t make a huge distinction when I’m writing. “I don’t see that some songs sit more with Merrymouth than Ocean Colour Scene,” he continues, “[but] Dan is very much interested with that folk tradition, going to folk festivals and having Martin Carthy sleep on his floor.” While OCS’s crowning glory is undoubtedly the riff-tastic The Riverboat Song from breakthrough 1996 album Moseley Shoals, behind such driving tunes, the band always demonstrated a remarkable sensitive side. Back at a time when record labels insisted on multiple versions of releases, singles could easily require six or more new, nonalbum tracks, and it was here especially, that Fowler let his acoustic singer-songwriter side fly. “That was ridiculous, it was all about getting chart placings,” he recalls of the slew of extra songs acts were forced to record. “But it was good for doing 16
B-side albums of single releases off the album, if you know what I mean. “I don’t even know what a single is nowadays. Do they even have ‘singles’? It’s just a download,” he adds as an aside, before returning to the topic. “Those OCS B-sides were written in the same way as I write now. I’ve always written with an acoustic guitar and with an old Sony cassette tape recorder. I always have done, so I’ve always had that ‘acoustic’ side to me.” Merrymouth’s marketing blurbs refer to them as a ‘three-piece folk orientated band’ and while they’re also signed to Navigator Records – home to releases by the likes of such ‘proper’ folkies as Bellowhead, Heidi Talbot, Lucy Ward, Spiers And Boden and Oysterband – Fowler reckons the ‘folk’ tag isn’t a tight fit. “I don’t think this is a ‘folk’ album, but it’s got an acoustic feel to it. I think it’s more of a band album than the first Merrymouth album. The first one was routed in that folk tradition, but this one isn’t like that so much.” It includes knees-up Salt Breeze featuring Chas Hodges from Chas & Dave, but perhaps even more surprising is a stripped down take on The Stone Roses’ 25-year-old Madchester anthem, I Am The Resurrection, sung by Dan. “When you do a song like that, for God’s sake don’t copy it,” laughs Fowler, adding that that he was never worried about how ardent Roses’ fans would react to the radical resetting. “I don’t know if there has been any negative feedback. I’ve never been concerned about things like that. It’s such a good song, the lyrics are brilliant.”
With a larger body of Merrymouth-penned material now behind them, don’t expect the band to stray into too much OCS material when they head out on tour this month. “We have two Merrymouth albums out now, so we can base our setlist on that,” Fowler states. “It’s us three and a violin player. In Scotland we’re with John McCusker who is one of the best musicians in the country. In England, because he’s so busy touring the world with Mark Knopfler, we play with Emily Sanders who played on our last tour. She’s from Coventry, so that’s nice.” Further Merrymouth dates loom in the autumn, while next year will see Simon and Dan back in the OCS fold, belatedly marking that band’s 25th anniversary. Plans are still very much ‘TBC’, but some special OCS celebratory shows are mooted, with rumours of a string quartet. “I don’t need to plan ahead as you never really know what’s around the corner. We didn’t know in 1996 we’d be pop stars,” he laughs. So why have OCS lasted a full quarter century when the majority of their peers have long gone? “We’ve always got on, and we got a certain amount of success, and we’ve always been known as a live band,” Fowler says, promptly. “So even though we don’t sell the records in the same numbers as we once did, we can still sell out the Albert Hall and tour. And people have stuck with us, they’ve taken us on board.”
Merrymouth are live at Mac, Birmingham, on May 17. New album Wenlock Hill is out on May 5 through Navigator Records. Brum Notes Magazine
May 2014
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FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH Animated, excitable and downright raucous, Youth Man certainly know how to pack a punch on stage. So their ever-growing fanbase will be hungry for a rare headline show in their home city this month. Amy Sumner meets a band just as full of energy off stage as on it. “OH MY GOD. We did a photo shoot last month and we were standing in a river and it was so cold, Kaila cried! In pain!” Drummer Marcus Perks is practically gleeful at the memory. “Adam [Haitof, bass] didn’t bring any shoes so he did it barefoot,” continues guitarist Kaila Whyte. “I had flip flops on…” he interrupts. “That is barefoot,” interjects Marcus, “and we got in and it was so cold and to be fair I did have hi tops on but I turned round and Kaila was crying.” “She never sent us the photos out of courtesy,” Kaila concludes. They’re an animated trio. Sat in the conservatory at Muthers Studio where the band rehearse, we want them to give us something that people won’t know about them. For a while they’re poised there stumped before it comes to them and they enthuse about it. That’s the general trend for the interview. Growing up together, Kaila, Adam and Marcus formed a band because, as Marcus explains, no one else was “saying what we thought needed to be said. We wanted something that we weren’t getting”. Around the tail end of 2012, they released their debut Youth EP, which passed relatively under the radar, something the band are thankful for now. 18
“I think we approached it wrong and then we were sad when it was a bit shit,” reflects Kaila. “But then we had to do Youth to know what we needed to do with Bad Weather. It was a learning curve,” adds Marcus, pragmatically. “We’ve matured in our approach to songwriting since then, and the recording process, that was one of the main things that was wrong with it. And now we’ve figured out what we want,” Kaila continues. The band’s Bad Weather EP was released last November. Recorded over seven days at The Motor Museum in Liverpool with producer Al Groves (Elvis Costello, The Coral, The Zutons, Sunset Cinema Club), the five-track EP was the powerhouse offering the group had always promised. Heavy Rain, Insipid, Salt and Wide Awake have since become beautifully developed live performances, full to bursting with attitude, energy, and a delectable post-punk flourish. And it’s begun to gain them a real following. “We played this house party and a guy sang all of Heavy Rain into my eyes,” remembers Marcus.”Plus people, press, they actually want to talk to us now – they ask us more questions than they used to.” The release of Bad Weather attracted the attention of Primary Talent, the booking agency which Brum Notes Magazine
Photos by Andy Hughes
“Onstage it’s important to do what you need to do and what comes naturally to you, so if you wanna kick your legs about then kick your legs about.”
counts Daft Punk, The Horrors and Toy among its acts.
“You wouldn’t put shit art up in a museum so don’t put shit art up on stage,” concludes Kaila.
“Primary Talent heard about us from The Flapper show with The Bots that we played last year. He reckons he’d always had us on his radar but he got in touch with us just after we released Bad Weather because he’d heard it and he liked it. We spoke to him a couple of times on the phone and he decided that he wanted to work with us,” says Marcus.
With two EPs under their belt, the band continue to write. “We have phases where we write songs that fit together and maybe that’ll fall into being an album,” Kaila adds. But Marcus admits that it’s a matter of attention span for the group. “We have a very short attention span. We intend to work on an album, at some point, relatively soon.” So it’s in their minds, but it’s not a premeditated thought.
Youth Man are great on record. But where they really come into their own is through the live performance. It’s a relentless thrash of power, guitar, drums and an underpinning bass which holds it all together. They’re chaotic but in a way which works.
In the meantime, Youth Man play an impressive run of festival dates (Supersonic, 2000 Trees, Live At Leeds, The Great Escape) before returning to Birmingham to play a headline show at The Sunflower Lounge at the end of May, presented by your very own Brum Notes and Birmingham Promoters. Their second ‘deliberate’ headline show to date, we’re told to expect “approximately one to three new songs” and an all round party atmosphere. Why? Because it’s Adam’s birthday the day before. So give him the birthday present he deserves – get down and watch the show. And if he’s alright, maybe you could buy him a drink.
“As a musician, live performance has got to be your passion and your release,” says Kaila. “On stage it’s important to do what you need to do and what comes naturally to you, so if you wanna kick your legs about then kick your legs about.” “Live performance is very important,” agrees Marcus, “I almost think that it’s more important now than records. It’s hard to get people to come out and see you live so you don’t want them to be pissed off when you do get them out. But the way I see our shows and the way I tend to perform is almost like exhibiting a piece of art. I want to show people what we’ve done and I want them to be excited about it.” May 2014
Brum Notes and Birmingham Promoters present Youth Man live at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, on May 24, with support from Elephantine and Adore. They are also live at Supersonic Festival, May 31, The Custard Factory. 19
HEART
FROM THE
Tropical trio Beaty Heart are a band determined to enjoy themselves on their own terms. “You can kind of do what you want and think about it later,” they tell Amy Sumner. Beaty Heart are three childhood friends who formed a band in Peckham after moving there for university. When they supported Jungle in Birmingham in March, there were five of them on stage and three of them were drummers. Sometimes the clue really is in the name.
energy, songs which sound like light, such as Banana Bread, Kanute’s Coming Round and Seafood. But there are also delicate moments – the sleepy-eyed Yadwigha’s Theme and Muti, which drip with morning dew. It’s really exquisitely balanced.
Tropical is a word that is often misappropriated, yet it’s difficult to think of Beaty Heart as anything other. They say they’re crafting ‘rhombus pop hymns’ and it’s psychedelic too, a la Animal Collective – calypso rhythms that flutter with loops and twists, hooks and chants and with a pounding, tribal, beaty heart at its centre.
“There’s always that danger [to keep playing about with songs, adding in layer after layer] but we were actually really lucky in that we recorded Lekka Freakout and Banana Bread about two months before the rest of the record,” says James. “In that time we were able to get a real perspective on what we actually wanted, to de-clutter everything. We cut Banana Bread from a four minute plus track down to just over two minutes and stripped out loads of wishy-washy crap. That kind of became the ethos for the rest of the record, to really concentrate on making sense of the clutter.”
“We found a blog when we were at college called Awesome Tapes From Africa on which we’d find new stuff to listen to and we got pretty obsessed with it,” explains James Moruzzi, on how the band got together. “That was probably the major source of inspiration but Animal Collective were a big influence on us too, The Beach Boys, The Congos, Teebs. We all kind of bring everything to the table, we have our own palettes and ways of making samples and melodies work. That’s what’s so fun about making our music – you can kind of do what you want and think about it later. It’s also what can sometimes make being in this band so frustrating.” Beaty Heart’s debut album, Mixed Blessings, is due for release at the end of this month. It’s a beautiful creation filled with euphoric bursts of 20
These are songs that the band have been working on since they first began to make ripples within the music press around three years ago. But in those three years they’ve honed and they’ve perfected the material which sounded so promising even then. “Lekka Freakout and Get The Gurls have both developed so much. If I type those names into my iTunes, it almost tells the story of our band through song. They’ve both been re-worked from lo-fi jams into acoustic and choral pieces and have verses
from some of the first tracks we ever demoed,” James says of their progression. Live, Beaty Heart have expanded out into an instrument-swapping gospel celebration. They’re a pleasure to observe. But they’re adamant in not compromising the dynamic they’ve worked so hard to achieve on their recordings. “Playing live is such a personal thing between a group of people, and I think if we kept on bringing different people into the equation we’d just lose the vibe. We’ve only recently started playing with Pat and Phonix, and probably the main reason we went for it was that they’re both such safe people and easy to vibe with. The live show is very important to us, we’re always talking about how to improve it, change it, develop it – it’s another thing to have fun with. We all have super short attention spans and get bored easily though, so the more we change things, the happier we are.” Beaty Heart take charge of all their own artwork and visuals too, “partly because we don’t trust anyone else…and also because it’s fun.” Forwardlooking, thirsty for a challenge and charmingly crafting interesting material in an age of saturation, we couldn’t ask for anything more.
Beaty Heart are live at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, with support from Arc Vel on May 16. Brum Notes Magazine
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21
Lights, Camera, Action
Glaswegian twee indie outfit Camera Obscura may have ploughed their furrow away from the glaze of mass poularity but they have built up an impressive canon during a career spanning nearly two decades. After overcoming their own share of personal trials and tribulations, they’ve back on the road and sounding just as gorgeous as ever. Amy Sumner finds out more. When we call Camera Obscura’s velvet-voiced frontwoman Tracyanne Campbell she’s sounding flustered and has forgotten all about our interview. “I’ve just had a baby and it seems to have affected my capacity to do real things, like interviews,” she rationalises apologetically. In truth, they’re a band getting back into the swing of it after two years of ‘enforced hiatus’ during which time drummer Lee Thomson relocated from Glasgow to London, pianist Carey Lander was diagnosed with cancer (though thankfully responded well to treatment), and two new babies threw everything left into disarray. Camera Obscura’s beginnings lay in the indie pop Glaswegian mindset of 1996 alongside the likes of Belle & Sebastian, a band they’ve been paired with pretty relentlessly ever since, owing to their similar brands of indie twee. Over their 18 years together though, Camera Obscura have blossomed from 22
reticent indie wallflowers through 60s chamber pop and into stronger electric instrumentation, bolder shades of country and elegant orchestral pop. Simultaneously, they’ve remained surprisingly consistent, Tracyanne’s vocals dependably and unassumingly beautiful upon five album’s worth of material, every single one about love. “It’s hard to put in a nutshell what we’ve learned because I think we’ve learned a lot,” Tracyanne says about the band’s time together. “We were absolutely clueless when we started, as I imagine lots of bands are. We’ve mainly learned to accept ourselves for who we are and accept the kind of music that we create, and to be comfortable with the level that we’re at. Twenty years is a long time and I’m not saying that the band is coming to a natural demise or anything but you do find yourself thinking, ‘Jesus am I still doing this?’ I think we must have really good endurance.”
The band’s beautiful debut record, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, was released in 2001 with Underachievers Please Try Harder, Let’s Get Out Of This Country and My Maudlin Career following at regular intervals after. Last year, the band packed their bags and headed across the pond to Portland to work with Tucker Martine on their fifth album, Desire Lines. First mooted to the band by singer songwriter M Ward who was passing through Glasgow on tour at the time, Martine’s back catalogue also boasted R.E.M, My Morning Jacket and Beth Orton and seemed a perfect pairing for the band. “Recording with Tucker was slightly different,” Tracyanne explains. “We did record live [as with their previous records] and take our stations all knowing that we were about to play and record but Tucker was interested in getting a really solid drum track so that was the priority whereas in Brum Notes Magazine
– and I would like somebody to tell me that I’m wrong and that this isn’t the case – but I think a lot of young people listen to music on their phone or through a crappy pair of headphones on the subway and they don’t listen to it very deeply. I don’t know if having all your music digitally allows you to sit down and really give it the time. Although who am I to say that that’s what people want from music? I like to give it the time – to sit down and put a record on and really concentrate from start to finish, A-side first and B-side second. But I know that a lot of people don’t do that – my partner doesn’t do that and I know if we sit down with a new CD or something in the car, he’ll listen to three seconds of one of the songs, decide that he doesn’t like it and skip it. I hate that, I’m like ‘you’ve gotta listen to the whole thing!’, like some kind of music fascist or something.”
lot of confidence from making that record,” says Tracyanne. “Subsequently things started to become more serious and we were able to go full-time for a while and just do it, just play at being in a band and concentrate on doing that. I don’t know if it’s our most successful record, I think it probably is though I don’t really take notice of things like that.
So has this modern ability to listen to music on the move altered how people listen to and interact with records?
Camera Obscura embark on a tour of the UK and Ireland this month. With five albums of material now to choose from, picking a setlist can’t be easy. Do bands ever feel more of an affinity to one record that the others or is it a case of dividing the love equally around?
Camera Obscura are a band who over an impressive length of time together have overcome their hardships to consistently produce beautiful and beguiling material. Their live shows, now less common than previously, promise a special delivery of that catalogue. Be sure not to miss it.
“I think that these days lots of people don’t have the same mental capacities of concentrating for very long,” she replies. “And I think that probably
“I suppose Let’s Get Out Of This Country is an important record to us because that’s when things really changed with the band and we gained a
Camera Obscura are live at The Institute, Birmingham on May 30.
the past the vocals always had been. Previously if we got a great vocal take but there were a few musical imperfections, we’d choose to go for it because we felt like we’d captured something whereas with Tucker it was more about getting a really solid drum track. Essentially we did still record live but there were overdubs.” During the mixing of Desire Lines, the band would all cram into the car of their studio assistant, Michael, to listen to the tracks and see how they sounded in this now common listening environment. “We haven’t always had the luxury to take time over our record – in the past it’s just been a case of saying ‘OK, that’s a take,’ and that’s it – you’ve gotta live with it no matter what,” continues Tracyanne. “This time we would all cram into this crappy little car that usually smelled of pizza or something and have a listen.”
“In terms of picking a setlist, to a certain extent it might be pretty Desire Lines-heavy because we didn’t get chance to tour that very much – we only did a very short run of dates in the UK and the States so I guess that all the cities we’re going to in the UK and Northern Ireland haven’t heard much of this newer material. We’ll do some stuff from Desire Lines and then a mixture from the other records. Maybe even a cover!”
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23
MOD
– ern Life is Rubbish
Spitting aggro lyrics of gritty reality, underpinned with a brash punk spirit and all laid over mechanical electronica and hip hop beats – Sleaford Mods are all about challenging the commonplace. Perfect then for Supersonic Festival, Birmingham’s beacon of avant-garde, a weekend celebration of adventurous music and art that returns in intimate form this month. David Vincent speaks to the East Midlands anti-heroes ahead of their much-anticipated return to the Second City. A recent broadsheet article cited an end to bland, smooth and likeable bands, welcoming in ‘a new wave of new rage’. At the forefront of this loose movement they cited Eagulls, Girl Band, Evil Blizzard and Sleaford Mods. “[I’ve] no real opinion on these bands really, I’d not heard of any of them before this article,” says Jason Williamson, one-half of the aforementioned Mods. “I guess the writer wanted to talk about a few that he liked, I think his article probably came across like a scene piece but I don’t think that was his intention.” When asked who he sees as his musical peers, Jason answers simply: “Nobody.” 24
Once beholden to the rave scene, Jason picked up a guitar and started listening to The Small Faces, and such 60s associated names as Steve Winwood, Julie Driscoll and Terry Callier when “raving lost its shine”. But this too lost its appeal. “I used to be in bands, fuckin’ hated it,” declares Sleaford Mods’ Bandcamp page. “Just the unoriginality of it all,” explains Jason, of his dislike of being in a traditional bass/guitar/drums line-up. “When you see most in a band set-up it’s just history by numbers. Most bands have no flair, no balls and no vision. To be competent, a professional is not good enough. If you aren’t bringing anything to the table apart from celebrity, then history will laugh at you and mock you forever.”
Sleaford Mods started in 2006 by accident, initially as a solo vehicle for Jason, when he delivered a tirade over some loops. After a stint in London, he moved back to Nottingham in 2009 and soon after met Andrew Fearn, whose arrival resulted in a clear division of labour – Jason concentrated on the lyrics, with Andrew creating the beats and tunes. “I write everything on my phone then bring it to Andrew. He’ll reel off five or six beats and I’ll just pick one,” says Jason of their writing method. Their fifth CD-R, the charmingly titled Wank, led to further live appearances and their eventual signing to abstract-punk label, Harbinger Brum Notes Magazine
Sound, who released the Austerity Dogs album, initially on vinyl. Now on its fourth pressing in just over a year (and also available on CD), a series of uncompromising singles have followed (including Routine Dean/Pubic Hair LTD for Matador), now all collected together as Chubbed Up: Singles Collection. Stark, harsh, occasionally bile-ridden, yet public and critical response has been uniformly positive. “We never thought it would kick off like this, never,” exclaims Jason, of their sudden popularity. In these days of slick, affordable production techniques, Pro-Tools and cut-and-paste songwriting, Sleaford Mods’ audio attack packs a serious punch. Jason cites “Two Lone Swordsmen, the Wu, Oi, Punk. Old folk stuff” as influences, while PiL/Lydon, The Fall, The Streets and John Cooper Clarke seem distant cousins. With tracks rarely staying longer than three minutes, Jason rants across a catchy-though-basic music track, referencing fly-tipping, dodgy car stereo shops, job centres, stinking loos, stinking streets, middle
class twats and discount stores. Seemingly fuelled by cheap cider and drugs, here’s a real working class voice of protest. “Oh yeah,” says Jason at the idea that Sleaford Mods are a protest act, “…we’re a fuckin’ protest band alright.” While tracks such as Liveable Shit (‘…you put up with it…’) discuss universal themes, others are littered with very specific UK references, so it’s perhaps surprising to discover The Mods are also gaining fans in Europe, with recent shows in Belgium and Germany well received. “They really connect with it,” says Jason of European audiences. “It’s mad ‘cos the language is very provincial but I guess the energy is universal.” The duo’s latest album is the just-released Divide And Exit. “All of them are good,” Jason says of the album’s 14 tracks. “I’m not proud of them as such, to me
It’s a festival that doesn’t so much push boundaries as smash them to smithereens, with a line-up that can be relied upon to provide a bracing, challenging alternative to the pedestrian festival scene. Dan Cooper-Gavin picks out the highlights. This year’s event, Supersonic Ltd Edtn, was originally due to be a rather boutique affair, but with the opening of the Custard Factory’s new venue Alfie Bird’s, promoters Capsule have taken delight in expanding the bill and spreading the acts across two stages.
is the result of telepathic communication between the band and a group of test subjects.
Amongst the biggest names in the line-up are Swans, Michael Gira’s punishing New York outfit, who’ll no doubt feature material from their epic new album To Be Kind. Similarly heavy are the formidable Michigan three-piece Wolf Eyes, who’ve carved out a prolific career from horrorinspired noise.
There are some supremely talented solo performers on the bill – Lyon’s Agathe Max is a purveyor of stunning solo violin and FX, Norwegian Jenny Hval’s act is as much about literature and provocation as it is about music, Chris Brokaw is a restlessly creative guitarist known for his work with the bands Codeine and Come, his film soundtracks and too many collaborations to mention, while German Felix Kubin’s CV spans electropop, orchestral pieces, radio plays and, yes, noise.
Another headline draw from across the Atlantic are Matmos, who create surprisingly accessible electronic music from the most unlikely of sources – their latest album The Marriage Of True Minds
We can also look forward to the absorbing ambient techno of Basic House, the Mark E Smithapproved four-bassist onslaught of Evil Blizzard, the massed prepared guitars of Liverpool’s
May 2014
they are just well formed bits of violence that mirror any given time or belief I had. I’m chuffed more with the recognition from established people to be honest. Not tossers either, real folk who didn’t turn into Noel Edmonds…” After a “mad” sold out show at the Hare & Hounds in March, Sleaford Mods are back in the city for Supersonic Ltd Edtn, where they’ll join a line-up that also includes Swans, Matmos, Wolf Eyes and Pharmakon. “Not heard of any of them to be fair,” says Jason, of the other acts. “Swans vaguely but I’m not that up on underground stuff of this ilk. It’s all new to me,” he says, with a laugh.
Supersonic Festival Ltd Edt takes place on May 30–31 at the Custard Factory, Birmingham. For more information, see: www.supersonicfestival.com. Sleaford Mods’ Divide And Exit is out now via Harbinger Sound.
Evil Blizzard
shimmering Ex-Easter Island Head and the ecstatic audience participation of Sly & The Family Drone. Brum is well represented too, thanks to the effervescent Youth Man and the ultra-heavy combos Opium Lord and Backwards, the latter band featuring former members of Napalm Death, Beestung Lips and Una Corda. And it’s not just about the bands. As part of his residency at Eastside Projects, ex-KLF hellraiser Bill Drummond presents a re-enactment of performances given by his choir The17, while instrument designers MortonUnderwood bring their If Wet event to Supersonic, a show-andtell salon for fellow inventive types, here featuring electronic noise artist Ryan Jordan and Sarah Kenchington’s upcycled instruments. 25
They’ve already unleashed one of the albums of the year so far and now Glasgow band The Amazing Snakeheads are set to take audiences by storm as they tour the UK with their brand of aggressive garage rock. David Vincent meets a band revelling in baring their teeth. From their growing reputation, you’d think The Amazing Snakeheads are a band utterly consumed by anger and aggression. But that’s not true. Sure, there’s strong emotions at play, a visceral energy, a darkness, and a rage evident within debut album Amphetamine Ballads, but as the band themselves stress, there’s also “a hell of a lot of joy in the music”. “The joy for us was in the making of the record,” explains drummer Jordon Hutchinson. “The two weeks we spent recording it will live with me forever. I think the joy manifests itself audibly in the exuberance of the performance. For example, if you listen very carefully to I’m a Vampire, you can hear me through the drum mics shouting ‘Woo WOO!’ We considered doing a retake but it was totally natural and part of that take, so it stayed.” As for the critics’ obsession with a perceived violence within the music, Jordon says: “We don’t read a lot of the press written about us. If you read and accept the good you have to take the bad too. From what I gather [the reviews have] been pretty positive, which is surprising to us.” Officially announcing themselves to the world at large with last summer’s 84-second 7ins single Testifying Time, the Glaswegian trio are long-time friends who slipped into playing together. “Dale [Barclay, guitar/vocals] and I were neighbours and partied together,” says Jordon, who himself originally hails from New Zealand but with parents from Glasgow. “William [Coombe, bass] and Dale have been friends from childhood. The three of us got to be friendly through a northern soul night in Glasgow called Divine that we attended religiously. 26
“[Our] first gig was around summer 2010 at a place I was working. A bar called The Local, which was more of a diner really. I asked the manager if we could play tucked into a corner; he asked if we could get boozers in and I bluffed it saying, ‘aye, no worries’.” The bluff payed off, at least for the band: “We played pretty loose but had a great time.” Peddling a raw, lo-fi brand of garage blues rock, reference points would appear to be acts such as The Black Keys, Nick Cave’s Birthday Party, Pixies, The Fall and The Cramps (with a touch of Arab Strap), but while the band prefer not to discuss their influences in detail, when asked to compile Brum Notes a mix tape, Jordon is quick to share his current musical obsessions. “If it was a current mix tape I’d have AutoNeutron by Fat White Family, Sunshine Fuck Off! by The Rosy Crucifixion, Mermaids From Hell by Future Glue and Wild Lightning by Rhythm Hawks.” All tracks by bands who clearly share a similar energy and passion. Now signed to big-gun indie label Domino, The Amazing Snakeheads could have presumably had their pick of studios when it came to recording Amphetamine Ballads. However, they opted for Glasgow’s Green Door, where they’d previously recorded demos and where they enjoyed complete creative freedom. Much has been made of the collection’s nocturnal feel, an atmosphere Jordon explains was, in part, down to the fact that the recording was done after dark. “All at night,” the sticksman stresses. “The studio we record at is in a semi-commercial area and you can’t make noise there till after 5pm, so it was a necessity really.”
With such varied acts as Franz Ferdinand, Royal Trux, Hot Chip, Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts, Blood Orange, Anna Calvi, Jon Hopkins and The Pastels, Domino certainly has an eclectic roster, though Jordon say they feel little musical kinship with any of their labelmates. “We are pretty isolated up here in Glasgow. The Franz guys are sound but I wouldn’t call it kinship.” For what it’s worth, he also believes the benefits of the city hosting the Commonwealth Games are limited at best. “I don’t think it will have much of an effect,” he says of the 20th Commonwealth Games, which start on July 23. “Glasgow is a football city for better or for worse. Physically they are trying to pretty it up but that only lasts so long. I sound down on the games – I just think that’s the cold reality.” Looking ahead to the coming months, The Amazing Snakeheads’ plans are simple. “Tour the shit outta ourselves,” says Jordon, who cites two forthcoming festivals as personal highlights. “The Stockton weekender and Wickerman should be good,” he says, adding one Stockton headliner in particular has him excited. “Can’t wait to see Martha Reeves again!” cries Jordon, name-checking the 60s Motown legend. It seems The Snakeheads have soul as well as joy. Who’d have thought it?
The Amazing Snakeheads are live at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, on May 8. Debut album Amphetamine Ballads is out now on Domino. Brum Notes Magazine
May 2014
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Brum Notes Magazine
It’s Bo Time London-based Japanese four-piece Bo Ningen are here to open your ears and your minds to new sonic adventures on their acid punk ride. Amy Sumner meets a band transcending language barriers and letting the music speak for itself. In English, Bo Ningen means ‘stick people’. It’s a name with child-like connotations but more fittingly it’s a name that illustrates perfectly the four people who make up Bo Ningen. “A friend of mine once told me, ‘You are three-dimensional from the front but two-dimensional from the side,’” says the band’s frontman, Taigen Kawabe. When you see the wispy slightness of them, Bo Ningen fits pretty well. As a band they are made up of Taigen on vocals and bass, Yuki Tsujii and Kohhei Matsuda on guitars and Mon Chan Monna on the drums. All four players were born in Japan (though the exact locations range from Tokyo to Zifu, a small town on a mountainside just north of Nagoya), and came to the UK, London specifically, separately to study. By chance, playing on a bill of Japanese rock bands, the initial seeds of Bo Ningen were sewn and now here we are, onto album number three with them playing some of the most coveted shows around. “We moved to London separately so we all studied different subjects except Mon Chan [who was introduced by a mutual friend]. I studied Media Studies and Visual Culture, Taigen studied Sound Art, Kohhei studied Illustration and I guess we all sort of wanted to escape from Japan to some extent and do something new,” says Yuki of the band’s beginnings. Taking what they perceive to be the best bits of both Japanese and British music, Bo Ningen’s Japanese influences include Flower Travellin’ Band, Acid Mothers Temple, Boredoms and Ruins. May 2014
There’s a whole lotta acid rock in there. But there’s also old school psychedelia and there’s homage to British bands like Hawkwind and Loop. What Bo Ningen are trying to do, and what they’re doing pretty well, is open audiences up to new genres of music to which they mightn’t have been exposed before – though they sing entirely in Japanese, they’ve toured with everyone from Merzbow to The Horrors in an attempt to play to these different audiences and engage with them through their ferocious live performance. “We all have different backgrounds and interests – between us, we studied sound art, illustration, media and visual culture and fashion design, and we’re interested in pro wrestling, literature, film and BDSM. All these elements are our source for music,” explains drummer Mon Chan, when asked what they’re singing about. “And we write everywhere,” says Kohhei, “bedrooms, streets and studios. Good thoughts come about in a moment, so it’s best to keep our minds open all of the time.” Nearly all of Bo Ningen’s back catalogue has been released through Tottenham independent, Stolen Recordings. In May, they release their third fulllength record to date, entitled III, which is preceded by their new single DaDaDa. “DaDaDa is about layering different rhythms and harmonies over each other,” says Kohhei. “Just like its cultural context is multi-layered, lyrically it’s about the past, the present, the future and the unwritten history.”
And what about the new LP as a whole? “It’s still a Bo Ningen record,” says Taigen, “‘Loud and Heavy’ but each song has something new on it. It’s somehow more catchy too, so we believe that we can open the door for the people who haven’t listened to our kind of music before. The new songs contain more experimentation in harmony, such as layering, different tonality, and mixing slightly tilted rhythms on top of each other. There’s lots of studio work involved but the sound remains real. Even though sound doesn’t have a visible body, this new record is almost visible and physical.” “When we first started we didn’t have any structures, we’d just been jamming,” says Yuki of the band’s progression. “We still have that mind but now we’ve got more structures and colours. The new album pushes us up to the next phase sonically.” “And we try not to lie to ourselves,” Mon Chan says, when asked about the importance of the live show. In other interviews, the band have referred to ‘unlocking the sixth sense’ through the medium of the live performance, so what can we expect from the Birmingham date? According to Yuki: “Brand new songs, forgotten songs and something beyond your understanding of Bo Ningen.” This one’s going to be impressive. Don’t miss it.
Bo Ningen are live at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on May 9. 29
COURTING ATTENTION Australian singer Courtney Barnett has been attracting plenty of interest with her lo-fi style and uniquely honest tales of everyday life. And while she admits it’s a surprise to find herself earning fans on the other side of the world, her forthcoming UK tour should see her cement her place as one of the most in-demand new acts around. She speaks to David Vincent. Some would say it’s early morning when Courtney Barnett calls, but the Australian songwriter is sounding pretty spritely. “It’s a quarter to 10. That’s not so early,” she laughs. “But what’s rock’n’roll without coffee?” She’s stateside for the release of The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas, which brings together tracks from her two 2012-13 EPs I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris and How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose. The USA visit coincides nicely with her appearance at Coachella, one of many festival appearances she will be making from here on in. In fact, expect her name to be popping up in plenty of ‘ones to watch’ festival guides. “It was fun. It’s Palm Springs [in California], near the Joshua Tree, and it’s super hot. It’s a pretty 30
beautiful landscape, and a nice area to be in for a music festival. I didn’t get much of a chance to see any of the other bands on though as I was running around, doing stuff, so only saw bits. I missed Neko Case, I wanted to see her – maybe next time…” Just as in the UK, US audiences have been won over by her appealing mix of laid-back lo-fi slacker indie and autobiographical tales, as epitomised by breakthrough track Avant Gardener, in which she recalls an exchange with a medic while in the midst of an anaphylactic panic attack. “The response has been pretty good I guess. Lots of people have been listening to it and saying good things about it. I was a bit … ummm … this is the first time we’ve played outside of Australia for a few months, so seeing how your songs connect
to people who maybe haven’t heard them before is always something to worry about, but they’ve been working well.” The daughter of a dancer and screenprinter, Courtney initially had her eyes on a different kind of artistic career. “I did two years at art college and then I left – so I guess you could call me an art school drop-out,” laughs the singer, who also provides drawings for all her record covers and merchandise. “I quite enjoyed it and I wanted to be an artist, not a musician, but I wasn’t focused enough. I was 20 and wanted to explore. Then I moved to Melbourne – not too far – at the time. I wanted to go travelling, like some of my school friends who, after school, kinda took a gap year, and went backpacking around Europe. But I never had the money, so Brum Notes Magazine
“THERE’S LIKE A MILLION MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD, SO IT’S OVERWHELMING TO THINK THAT ANYONE HAD EVER HEARD MY SONGS.”
Photo by Adela Loconte
I ended up working in a shoe store, which was depressing – and writing songs.” She eventually wound up working behind the bar at The Northcote Social Club, which she calls “one of the best music venues around”. But handing in her notice to pursue her own musical ambitions must have felt somewhat satisfying. “I just quit the other week because I’m on tour for the rest of the year. It was a live music venue in Melbourne, kinda, in my humble opinion – and I am biased because I did work there for a few years – one of the best music venues around. A whole load of great bands played there and I used to get free tickets and watched them from behind the bar. A lot of them were just local bands, although Pixies played there at one point, but that was before I was there, sadly.” A clear music buff, she says she’s captivated by the honesty of certain songwriters – something she strives to achieve. “There’s no point in doing it if you’re just making stuff up. You might as well be a short story or May 2014
fiction writer otherwise,” she says. “That’s what I’m attracted to – people’s vulnerabilities, people’s views on things. Writing like that, that’s just naturally how I started. “The songwriters I admire are people like Jonathan Richman, [Australian songwriter] Paul Kelly, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave…there’s a lot. I guess it’s normal to draw inspiration from all types of music, I don’t just listen to one type of music, it makes for a varied performance, it makes for more sonically interesting things.” Although The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas only received it’s official UK release in March, Courtney already has her next long-player in the can. “We’ve just finished recording the new album, a few days before we came out [to the US in April], so a couple of new songs have been creeping into the live set now. Some don’t have titles yet, just shitty working titles I made up in the studio. It’ll come out later this year, and I’ll probably come up with song titles the week before,” she laughs, adding it’s very much
a continuation of her EP releases in terms of sound and approach. “The new album is pretty similar to the EPs. The first EP was recorded in a day, the second in two days, with a bit of overdubbing and stuff. [This new album] is a bit more focused. We had a weekand-a-half in the studio, so we had more time to spend on songs, to get things sounding how they should. It sounds pretty similar because the songs are still written by the same person.” But before the release, there’s more gigs away from home to contend with – something which Courtney confesses to being blown away by. “I totally was surprised that anyone had heard the record, of course! There’s like a million musicians in the world, so it’s overwhelming to think that anyone had ever heard my songs,” she says. “I can’t pretend that I’m not surprised.”
Courtney Barnett is live at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on May 18. 31
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Brum Notes Hayer Magazine By Tajinder
May 2014
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TURTLE BAY John Bright Street, Birmingham B1 1BL 0121 643 1303
Another new opening for John Bright Street and bringing a little more Caribbean colour to Brum’s dining scene, this is the seventh outlet in the rapidly expanding Turtle Bay chain. You can see why it’s been such a success in a relatively short space of time. From the minute you set foot in the place right through to when you emerge stuffed full of spice, rum and plantain the whole experience is, well, irie-ly enjoyable. After a particularly friendly greeting you’ll want to take in the interior, which is decked out in a kind of shanty-town chic, with old stereos and speakers lining a corner of the room, a central island bar, corrugated iron on the ceiling and some funky oil drum lightshades helping to create a nicely chilled out atmosphere. Happily the same degree of thought’s gone into the food and drink with an impressive range of 30+ rums on offer, some truly classic Caribbean dishes and prices that won’t break the bank or bring down your buzz. Kicking off with delicious Passion Rum Punches,
Cuisine:
Caribbean
Price:
Around £18pp for three courses
Service: Atmosphere: Food: Overall:
our appetites were whetted for starters of ‘buss up shut’ Pepper Roti and a Lamb Pattie. The roti, slices of flatbread stuffed with potatoes, cheese and scotch bonnet peppers, was crunchily crisp on the outside and soft and gooey inside with a warming but not overpowering spicy heat. The generously proportioned pattie was stuffed full of lamb, putting pretty much all Cornish versions to shame. As you’d expect, if you can jerk it it’s on the menu... chicken, ribs, pulled pork, burgers. The roasted jerk Pulled Pork Bun was cooked to mouth
PUB WATCH: the woodman
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melting perfection without losing its distinctive meaty texture, the warming marinade ramped up the dribbling juiciness even further and the sweet chunks of roasted red onion added a neat contrast to the dish. It’s this combination of sweet and heat that lies at the heart of some of the best Caribbean food and the other main of Jerk Chicken Wrap packed a similarly well balanced punch. Both dishes came with crisp on the outside and soft on the inside sweet potato fries and a delicious spoonful of fresh and fruity Caribbean slaw. Pudding? It would be rude (boy) not to and what jerk is to savoury dishes, rum is to puds. The BBQ Pineapple was well cooked but perhaps the rum caramel sauce could have done with an extra shot. The Caymanas Rum Cake though was a triumph. As chains go, Turtle Bay is one of the better examples with great grub, some genuinely quirky touches, friendly service and impressive value for money. Just go...you’ll have a ‘rum’ old time. Daron Billings
New Canal Street, Birmingham B5 5LG
Website: www.thewoodman.co.uk
Despite being a Grade II listed building built way back in 1897 (for the once mighty Ansells Brewery) and overlooking the stunning remains of Curzon Street Station, until recently The Woodman was in grave danger of going the way of so many of our historic pubs. Happily it’s been saved (not a moment too soon by all accounts) by the good folk behind The Wellington and Post Office Vaults and, following a monumental effort, it reopened last September. By some miracle, many original features survived giving the place a wonderfully cosy feel and the
bits that had to be replaced are difficult to distinguish. There’s an equally pleasing choice of real ales on offer (at least six with a Real Ale of the Day for just £2.70 a pint) plus lagers and ciders (decent stuff, none of your Carling and Blackthorn muck here) and pub grub on offer (everything from a full English through to steaks, burgers and a traditional Sunday roast). And whilst it may seem a little off the beaten track, it’s actually just a stone’s throw from Millennium Point and a mere minute or two from the Bullring. A hidden gem. DB Brum Notes Magazine
Photo by Ross Jukes
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May 2014
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Photo by Tasha Cassidy
live
bigger audiences. With energy levels among the watching hordes now soaring, cries of “We Want Jaws!” are bellowed out in unison. And as the heroes of the night emerge and weave their magic, crowd surfers appear from all directions and circle pits open up on the floor. The crowd tonight reflects the headliners – a picture of vigour and energy. Their set has clearly progressed, playing old favourites such as the dreamy Toucan Surf and updating it with Gold (an encore favourite) and excellent new single Think Too Much, Feel Too Little. The atmosphere is any band’s dream and the Brummie quartet float through the evening with a new glint in their collective eye. With their debut album right around the corner, this is surely just a sign of more excitement to come. Katie Teggin
Cold Ocean Lies The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham 12/04/14
Seemingly progressing three-fold with each live outing, tonight Lichfield four-piece Cold Ocean Lies sound bigger, better and more confident than ever. Which is no surprise, given the industry attention they’ve been getting – that sort of backing should instil at least a little panache. Penned by such a young band, these songs really do have balls. Wasted Time, The Game and Fade are all finished with an even grittier flourish than on record and their dark grunge rock – part Smashing Pumpkins, part Dinosaur Jr – really comes into its own given a room full of such a perceptive crowd. There are a few minor slips but nothing to write home about. It’s an assuredly top notch performance from a band very much on the ascent. Amy Sumner
jaws The Institute, Birmingham
Coves
19/04/14
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath 23/04/14
The sold out venue is almost bursting at the seams with fiery teenagers, as JAWS prepare to hit the stage. It’s little over a year since they supported fellow Birmingham darlings Swim Deep in the very same room. Since then, frontman Connor Schofield has visibly gained more stage presence and confidence, adding to their already breezy set. Jaws are a band ready to shake off their ‘potential’ tag, visibly flourishing in the ever-growing limelight. First up, a half-hour set from Juice gets the night underway. Catchy tunes, including debut single Sugar with its insanely infectious riff and lyrics, are excitedly received by the 36
swelling crowd, underlining Juice’s own status as ‘ones to watch’. Exciting Brighton four piece The Magic Gang follow and definitely don’t disappoint. Lead singer Jack Kaye looks like he’s loving every minute of it, crying out lyrics such as, “I don’t feel inspired, I think they’ve conspired against me”, and following up with a rousing stage dive. The third – and most anticipated – support act to take to the stage are Dumb. As they air recent single Two Bottles it is little surprise that the adoring crowd chants along to every word. Dumb are a band who look perfectly at ease playing to bigger and
It feels as though tonight is for those who yearn for the past. Those who strive to share the collective experiences of previous generations of music fans. Coves bring their critically acclaimed debut album Soft Friday to a busy Hare & Hounds harking back to simpler, groovier times. First we are greeted with a raucous set from the Birmingham born and bred Juice. The bobbing and lurching of lead singer Davis Armstrong helps to propel the energy of their distorted odes to groovy ladies and the splendours of sugar. Their sound is that of long nights spent wide awake making everything looser and tighter in equal measure. Brum Notes Magazine
again that Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip know how to wow a crowd. Lorraine Teare
Goldfrapp Symphony Hall, Birmingham 26/03/14
Goodnight Lenin Photo by Wayne Fox
Recreating an album sound in a live setting, for any band, is quite the challenge. But with headliners Coves’ Soft Friday the album itself has a rough and ready live feel to it and so playing the songs live comes across so effortlessly for the band. Depending on your generation, Coves will remind you of either The Jesus & Mary Chain by way of The Velvet Underground, or a mystical and oh-sochilled out version of Big Deal. But when a band can provide such a hypnotic performance, it no longer matters who they sound like but how they make you feel. Coves provide quite the rush. Jack Parker
Goodnight Lenin The Prince of Wales, Moseley 17/04/14
We all know who Goodnight Lenin are don’t we? Five talented Brummie lads, who savour the sounds of the 60s and 70s, resonated through the likes of masters Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The band have kept a low profile since their sell-out gig at Birmingham Cathedral last December, so it was no surprise to see a courtyard full of fans ready to toast the bank holiday. Throughout the set John Fell’s intricate guitar solos led the way to this quintet’s gentle blend of Americana with Liam Conway and Sam Berry’s rhythm beefing up the offering. Matt Sherlock’s calm and collected demeanour on bass is the epitome of cool. Stand-out tracks included Ode To The Rebellion and Slow Down, where we saw multi-instrumentalist John Joe McCreedy seamlessly shift from his funky keys over to a violin, churning it out epically, as the tune erupted to an explosion of sounds. For a band yet to release a debut album, Goodnight Lenin have done really well in developing this distinctive sound. They modestly concluded without the pretence of an encore, revealing their Record Store Day release, a charming cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s Helpless. Recorded May 2014
at Highbury Studios, owing to “the kindness of others,” the group offered a free download to all gig-goers. That reminds me… Saima Razzaq
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton 22/04/14
Despite their extensive tours over the last few years, this was surprisingly the first time that Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip had ever played Wolverhampton as they roll up on the back of third album Repent, Replenish, Repeat. Opening on Stunner, the duo mix industrial beats with a pounding electronic back drop. Their new material is darker and exhibits a new intensity, showing how their style and narrative has evolved since previous LP The Logic of Chance. Showcasing new tracks such as Gold Teeth, Porter and Night Bus Sleepers we get a blast of hip hop infused delights and gritty lyrics. Spoken word tracks such as You Will See Me are aggressive yet excellently delivered, each word spitting out emotion and taking the crowd on a journey through home truths and thought provoking stories. Across the night Dan gives us short bursts of his own music through solo performances, whipping the crowd into a dancing frenzy as he blasts out his highly energised electro tracks. The beats are crisp, confident and meticulously worked, and these mini-solo slots provide an exciting addition to the set. For Cauliflower they invited opening act Sarah Williams White back on stage, her soulful voice lending itself beautifully to the supporting vocals. Likewise for Stiff Upper Lip they are joined on stage by Itch for a fast paced and catchy collaboration, much to the pleasure of the crowd. Revisiting older tracks, they work through audience favourites such the The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Thou Shalt Always Kill and the powerful Angles. The set is inspiring and accomplished, demonstrating once
“Are you comfortable? Then let us begin.” Goldfrapp open the first night of their tour to the spoken preface to Peter and the Wolf. An introduction to the instrumentation of the orchestra aimed at children, the move is perhaps telling for Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregor, who are tonight backed by a band of four and experimenting themselves in the composition of the live set. Beginning with Jo, tonight the band play a 90-minute show of two polar halves. The first is a slower more acoustic set-up, comprising mainly songs from their most recent sixth record, Tales of Us. It’s clearly a new comfort zone to settle into for the disco pop princess frontwoman who asks, “Is there something you can take for nerves? Maybe I should start taking drugs, after all, you’re never too old to start.” Drew, Alvar and Annabel flash Goldfrapp’s ability to present stripped back and breathy vocals atop a more folky instrumentation just as well as their trademark sound. Alison wanders off stage to mark the split in the set. When she returns, You Never Know, Number 1, White Horse and Ooh La, plus a plea to stand, entice the entirely seated audience to its feet and the band settle into their trademark Euro-disco glam rock blaze. A lot of thought has clearly gone into tonight’s performance, and it is a performance rather than a band playing their songs live. At the close, a friendly northern voice chimes up from behind, “we’ve all stood up at the back now Allison!” They’ve completely wowed tonight, stamping in a well-chosen heel their ability to not only maintain but to evolve and morph into whatever they choose. As relevant now as ever before. Amy Sumner
Coves Photo by Ian Dunn
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album reviews
Beaty Heart Mixed Blessings Out May 26 (Nusic Sounds)
To craft a record is to craft a work of art. Whether it’s dislocated melancholia, a delicate weaving of instrumentation or a full-throttle thrash through the motions, a record is a representation, a baring of the creative mind and soul. In Mixed Blessings, Beaty Heart have done their potential proud. Banana Bread whirrs into action, chiming with child-like candescence, a fairground whirl of claps and chants bleeding into the tribal rainforest flutter of Kanute’s Comin’ Round and Seafood, which skips and whistles and shines. Remember the box
KAN WAKAN Midnight Moon Out May 5 (Virgin Records)
Epic, tribal, grandiose. That’s pretty much how you need to arrive into a room full of pussy-footers – yes, that’s where we’re at, in the current musical sphere. Welcome, then, to Kan Wakan, an LA-based troupe that comprises instrumental guru Gueogui Linev and Amy Winehouse-like singer Kristianne Bautista, who generate an instantaneous fear and flourish in opening track Like I Need You as if the world was about to end. As trepidation goes, it’s atomic-bomb ominous, and fiercely, 38
of musical instruments they’d roll out in Music class at primary school? It’s that level of fun and forthright glee, but it’s constructed with the benefit of perception, direction and actual talent. Interwoven with dew drops, slower numbers like Yadiwichas Theme, the sleepy eyed Muti and Kinder intersperse the jubilation before building back up to Lekka Freakout and the cascading raindrops of Greetings to Eblis. This is a beautiful work of upbeat psychedelic pop, inextricably indebted to Animal Collective but wearing its heart on its sleeve as it does so, building upon the foundations which that band laid and making it their own, their beating tribal heart running right through the middle of it, binding it together, a coursing red ribbon through its very veins. Beaty Heart layer
brutally beautiful. Following this, Are We Saying Goodbye? is a sparse but sonorous seduction of a song that is the soundtrack to any smoky, heartbroken subterranean chamber that cries out to the forgetting night. A simply beautiful soundtrack to pain that sounds and feels like it was crafted from a bluesladen reminiscence – instantly memorable, but emotionally get-the-fuck-outable. In the middle, something beautiful is happening. The title track is as breathy as the earth on a frosty autumn morning, Bautista’s vocals heavily sighing and soaring in equal measure over an unstoppable melody and percussion that scrapes the sky and lets the light in – an oxymoronic melange of glee and melancholy. Which pretty much says all you need to know about Kan Wakan – hypnotic
and texture their way to an intricate album that gets better with each listen and the discovery of hidden strands you’d before listened past. And lyrically there’s enough to keep you concerned indefinitely. ‘They’ll eat banana bread around the totem pole, they’re drinking ice cream straight from the bowl’, anybody? Avoiding the temptation to overwork and overplay, it’s already one of the best things we’ve heard this year. Amy Sumner
to the point of stupefying. Drugs go well with this, I would imagine. Though we insist: score responsibly. This stuff is out there, maaaan. Stephen Brolan
September Girls Cursing The Sea Reissued May 5 (Fortuna Pop)
September Girls like reverb... in fact they bloody well love the stuff, and at times this can grate on the ears when listening to their debut long player. As an album it has all Brum Notes Magazine
the reference points your discerning fan of gloomy old style indie music looks for in a record. Take the Jesus and Mary Chain attitude and atmosphere of the title track, the Joy Division drum/guitar intro of Money; the sheer hookisms of the bassline to Sister or the chiming chord progression of Another Love Song. These shout out a real understanding of influence and direction. The only issue to these ears is that that direction can be a little one dimensional on occasion. The constant echo of admittedly gorgeous harmonies can get a little laborious on repeated listens (especially on headphones, which I am advised is how the ‘kids’ consume about 78.9 per cent of their music these days). This is a good album, which has piqued interest, in the nature of a guilty glance across the bar, but I want to fall in love with these September Girls, not merely imagine how things could’ve been after a couple of shared, enjoyable yet icily distant moments. Maybe their live appearance at the Hare & Hounds on May 7 will fan the flames? Katie Duffy
DELAYS Faded Seaside Glamour – 10th Anniversary Edition Out May 19 (Rough Trade)
“Can you hear that knocking in your soul?” Even after a decade, the initial bars of opener Wanderlust – a glistening waterfall of steel-drum melodies overlain with Greg Gilbert’s angelic vocals – instils an ambivalence that at once warms the soul while sending shivers down the spine. Aptly titled Faded Seaside Glamour, this post-Britpop gem coupled star-spangled melody with a plaintive nostalgia that brought emotional depth to a musical climate that was electioneering on single dimensions. That Delays have fallen out of the spotlight in recent times makes the re-emergence of this sublime debut all the more essential. Never part of the trend but fervently beloved of those that discovered them, Delays have always trod their own path in a culture of conformity, and the enduring sound that still exists herein shows just how unique this band were – and still are. Comprising classic singles such as the ethereal Nearer Than Heaven and semi-surreal call to arms Long Time Coming, this is an album that has scaled heights, but also has grounding. Tracks such as the fibrous No Ending and Satellites Lost demonstrate an inordinate amount of depth, while the sensual seduction of Stay Where You Are is virtually a fuck put to tape – one of the sexiest tunes ever made. Delays, as their moniker suggests, were always May 2014
behind schedule in their own time – but the re-release of this treasure, and its enduring relevance, shows Delays really are worth the wait. Again. After 10 years, that soul is still knocking, and that glamour is far from faded. Stephen Brolan
Sharon Van Etten Are We There Out May 26 (Jagjaguwar)
The gritty melodrama and loin-girding intensity of Brooklyn’s Sharon Van Etten reached fever pitch in 2012 with Tramp, her third album – produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, it was met with rapturous reviews. It means that Are We There, Van Etten’s latest demonstration of steely courage in the face of adversity, carries a weight of expectation, but it shoulders the burden well. The album’s tracklisting reads like the fractured poem of a stormy relationship, with titles such as Your Love Is Killing Me, Break Me and I Love You But I’m Lost leading the way to more seat-gripping tales of violent passion. Aside from the occasional dash of woodwind and click of a drum machine, Van Etten doesn’t break much new ground here – but if we’ve come to expect lyrics of such raw honesty and spinetingling vulnerability as “I need you to be afraid of nothing”, they’re no less powerful for it. Are We There might fall short of its career-defining predecessor in terms of show-stopping standalone tracks, but Van Etten’s world remains as turbulent, fragile and strangely beautiful as ever. Dan Cooper-Gavin
Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal Out June 2 (Rough Trade)
The biggest challenge to reviewing a Parquet Courts record is to avoid using the words ‘Pavement’ or ‘Fall’ more than once. From opener Bodies Made Of, the discordant guitar work under a laid back groove and disjointed melodic vocal, set the scene. Almost a long lost cousin of Blur’s Coffee & TV if it copulated with Sunday by Sonic Youth, the tune eases you into the album in an acceptably alt rock fashion. If the aforementioned comparisons are to be avoided, then let’s say there is a certain vibe to Black And White and Vienna II with its wonky guitar and call and answer vocals, as well as the wordplay
and minimalism of Ducking And Dodging with its epileptic mid section, which calls to mind Mark E Smith’s troupe of ne’er do wells. There are definite elements of country and blues and good old rock’n’roll embedded in the genes of Sunbathing Animal, and nice elements of oddity that definitely impress, but there is also a nagging feeling of familiarity on occasions, such as on She’s Rolling. Instant is a drawn out jam that wears its preppy haircut and plaid shirt-shaped heart on its sleeve, and by Raw Milk and Into The Garden those Malkmus-isms are settling into a pleasant groove. As a collection, Sunbathing Animal has a distinct lineage, harking back to the days of oddball subversions and distortions of an overused art form, and for this it should be praised. After all, if you’re gonna draw influence, then you could do a lot worse than draw on the oddities and imperfections of a seminal band who themselves drew on the influence of a seminal band. Katie Duffy
Charlotte Carpenter Whole EP Out now (Let It Go Records)
The first thing that hits you about Charlotte Carpenter’s Whole EP is the stark simplicity. Right from the get-go the clean guitar and almost haunting vocals pull you in and make it impossible to do anything other than just listen – listen and become absorbed in another world for the next 17 minutes. All four songs, described by the beguiling songstress herself as being about discovery, contain a raw charm, an honest quality that makes it almost like listening in on something you know you shouldn’t be. Because there is very little instrumentation throughout the EP, apart from some muted drums and hushed keys, it means you focus on the honest and, at times, deeply personal lyrics. Never is this more obvious than on the love ballad Stay With Me, a tale about desperation and trying to rescue a strained relationship – a first for the young performer. All songs are tender and emotive though, even the country-tinged Sinking. Short and sweet, Whole EP shows Charlotte Carpenter at her best, an extremely talented singer-songwriter who defies her young years. Ben Russell
Read more reviews and keep up to date with all the latest releases at www.brumnotes.com
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gigs
Echo & The Bunnymen
PICK
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, May 11 With 36 years together as a band and three Gold-selling records, Liverpool’s Echo & The Bunnymen return with their first studio album in over four years and a short string of live dates to accompany. Promising a seminal set formed of 11 albums worth of genre-defining material, the band visit Wolverhampton as part of a European tour to show off new LP Meteorites, released later this month following a Pledge Music campaign.
Victories At Sea / Cymbals Hare & Hounds, May 2
Having just returned from a run of European live dates with Editors, dark electro-pop trio Victories At Sea treat us to a rare live performance in their Birmingham locale. Sinister, subversive synth, transcendental samples, wraithlike desolation all kept nice and cheery with a buoyant percussive milieu. Victories At Sea are joined by London dance-pop four-piece Cymbals (think Foals, Everything Everything, D/R/U/G/S) and local angular alt quartet, Hoopla Blue.
The Pizza Underground Hare & Hounds, May 26
Macaulay Culkin’s pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute band, and we swear we didn’t make that one up. Re-imagining Velvet Underground songs as pizza-oriented homages (and who hasn’t thought about that?), the band’s repertoire includes All The Pizza Parties, Pizza It Hurts and Take A Bite Of The Wild Slice. Playing their Fresh To Your Door UK tour, the band have also been known to give out fresh boxed pizzas at their shows so make sure you’re down early just in case.
frontwoman returns to Birmingham with her back catalogue spanning 15 years. Though the tour dates are officially billed as solo, Love has admitted the band’s mid-90s lineup are all back in rehearsals together. Expect a performance indeed.
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds Hare & Hounds, May 25
The current musical outfit of Kid Congo Powers, the legendary guitarist with The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Support on the night comes from vicious punk blues duo Black Mekon and raw punk rock two-piece Table Scraps. Expect a night of down and dirty rock and roll.
Glee Club, May 11
Promoting the release of his latest EP AHJ, released on band-buddy Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records at the end of last year, Albert Hammond, Jr plays an intimate show of new and old material at Birmingham’ Glee Club. Expect a special performance in beautiful surrounds.
Wolverhampton Civic Hall, May 30 Returning with his third studio album, Caustic Love, the Scottish singer-songwriter plays Wolverhampton as part of his European tour. With a set of material from all three albums, including his number one record, 2009’s Sunny Side Up, tickets have now sold out.
Melt-Banana
Playing her first UK shows since 2010, the Hole
Japanese grindcore noise rock outfit Melt-Banana
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Albert Hammond, Jr
Paolo Nutini
Courtney Love
O2 Academy, May 18
return as a duo to play highlights from Fetch, the band’s first studio album since 1997�s Bambi’s Dilemma. Expect their usual impressive experimental electronica as well as the exploration of some new percussive techniques throughout their 10-album back catalogue.
The Rainbow Warehouse, May 27 Albert Hammond, Jr Brum Notes Magazine
club nights
Soundwave Festival Launch Party
PICK
Alfie Bird’s, May 24
HEDUCATION and Jam Hott present the legendary Scratch Perverts, winners of the DMC World Team DJ Championships at the Birmingham Launch Party of Croatia’s Soundwave Festival. The night also coincides with the launch weekend of Alfie Bird’s, the new music venue at the Custard Factory, so be sure to head down to see what all the fuss is about.
Star Wars Hott Date
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, May 4 May the fourth be with you and all that, this special edition of Hott Date in association with Chicks Dig Jerks brings none other than Erol Alkan to the decks alongside the likes of Dark Circles, This Is Tmrw and Hot Cherryade. There’ll also be live sets from Plankton, Table Scraps, Elephantine, High Horses and others. Fancy dress is encouraged during 12 hours of mischief.
Made Birmingham 2014 The Rainbow, May 2 - 5
Annie Mac, Chase & Status, Sub Focus and
Jaguar Skills are among the names at this Made 2014 Bank Holiday extravaganza. Taking place across four days spread across The Rainbow’s various spaces, including the Textile Factory and the open air Arena, there’ll also be 10:31 and Shadow City residents. On Friday night The British Street Food Awards feed you up ready for what promises to be a serious slice of weekend Bank Holiday fun, night and day.
launched a year ago with the agenda of getting folk together to celebrate, appreciate and share in songs from the past to present day. Returning to the Clifden this spring/summer there’s a series of great events, not least this one which welcomes Craig Christon and Joe Gill from Leeds-based party players Joe’s Bakery. Expect vinyl only and some serious underground grooves.
The Great Outdoors,
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, May 23-25
The Lord Clifden, May 17
Set in the gorgeous garden of The Lord Clifden in Hockley, The Great Outdoors events were
Leftfoot Weekender
Three nights of party to be had with Ben UFO, Troumaca and Hot 8 Brass Band all live at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath. There’ll be a Stables takeover, a pop-up cocktail bar and the finest local DJs, including Adam Regan, MHVH and Sam Redmore, across the venue to keeping the parties going until 3am.
The ‘Ouse Carnival Boxxed, May 24
Chase & Status
After a successful trio of events at Suki10c, The ‘Ouse expands to a bigger space just round the corner in Digbeth. Grooving from 6pm through until 6am, there’ll be music inside and food and entertainment outside encouraging a real carnival vibe to proceedings. May 2014
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arts &
Adrian Street and his father, 1973 © Dennis Hutchinson
culture
Jeremy Deller curates All That Is Solid Melts Into Air
PICK
Warwick Arts Centre, from May 2
The Hayward Touring show, in which the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller examines the enduring impact of the Industrial Revolution on British culture, arrives in the West Midlands. The exhibition combines modern music, film and photography with a broad range of 19th century material. Industrial folk, heavy metal and glam rock provide a fitting backdrop to images such as John Martin’s ferocious canvas The Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah, James Sharples’ iconic engraving The Forge and photographs of Adrian Street, the flamboyant wrestler whose androgynous character was in direct rebellion against his Welsh mining roots.
Marvellous Machines: The Wonderful World Of Rowland Emett
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, from May 10 This largest ever display of whimsical kinetic sculptures and cartoons created by the beloved inventor, who lived and worked in Birmingham, is sure to delight adults and children alike. The automata on show include flying machines and items that Emett supplied for Dick Van Dyke’s eccentric Caractacus Potts character in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The Modern Toss Late Night Activity Centre
Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry, May 16 The misanthropic cartoonists par excellence celebrate their 10th birthday with a night of participatory drawing events, including The F***YEUX 2 Tapestry, a foul-mouthed single-panel cartoon collaboration, The Periodic Table Of Swearing, a distinctly X-rated take on Mendeleev’s proudest creation, and The Modern Toss Portrait Booth, in which you can be immortalised by the pen of Toss creators Jon Link and Mick Bunnage.
Catch-22
The Rep, May 20-24 42
Joseph Heller’s fantastic novel, which sees Captain Yossarian trapped within the absurdity of World War II, is no less powerful half a century on, and now Newcastle’s Northern Stage company are coming to town to present the first ever UK production of Heller’s own adaptation. Through uproarious humour comes a withering indictment of the futility of it all.
The Forensics Of A Flat (And Other Stories) The Rep, May 30-31
A chance to sample the work of Brum-based Francesca Millican-Slater, a writer and performer declared “a rising star” by The Guardian. This one-woman show is a paean to a dated flat in south Birmingham – its history, its geography and the people who have passed through it. A selfproclaimed “love affair with a local area to the tune of bad karaoke”.
Jerry Sadowitz: Comedian, Magician, Psychopath! Crescent Theatre, May 2
You’d be hard pressed to find a comedian more provocative and controversial than the New Jersey-born, Glasgow-raised iconoclast Jerry Sadowitz, who has combined outrageous social commentary with uncommon sleight-of-hand
card trickery to dazzling effect for decades. Too obscene for more than the occasional appearance in the media, his current tour calls into the Crescent Theatre for one night only. Not for the faint-hearted.
Kindle Theatre: A Journey Round My Skull Mac, May 1
A mind-expanding evening of theatre in the form of a love story shot through with auditory hallucinations. Taking its name from a 1930s book by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy, in which he details his brain tumour being operated upon, local outfit Kindle Theatre create a sonic dreamland in a bid to examine the lengths we go to to rid ourselves of painful memories. Stick around for a Q&A with the creative team afterwards.
Confirmation Warwick Arts Centre, May 21-22 A fascinating show exploring confirmation bias – the tendency for people to favour information that confirms their prior beliefs. Chris Thorpe and Rachel Chavkin’s production engages with research in the context of political extremism in an attempt to discover how we come to believe what we believe, and why we’re so ready to dismiss alternative viewpoints. Brum Notes Magazine
birmingham
MAY OPEN EVENTS OPEN EVENING
Courses for Sept 2014 Introduction to Music Music Performance Music Technology: > Music Production > Sound Engineering Music Business Artist Development
Weds 14th May 5-7pm
TASTER DAY
Thurs 29th May 10am-3pm
BOOK NOW! www.accesstomusic.ac.uk 0800 28 18 42 (landlines) 0330 123 3153 (mobiles) Heath Mill Studios 68 Heath Mill Lane Digbeth, B9 4AR
May 2014
the music college Graded ‘Good’ by Ofsted April 2013
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WHAT’S ON M M M M M C C
Thursday, May 1 Nine Black Alps
The Flapper
Birmingham
David Sereo
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Everybody Looks Famous CoCo & The Butterfields The Fall
The Institute
Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Warwick Arts Centre The Glee Club
Coventry
The Victoria
Birmingham
Rev. Obadiah Steppenwolf III Manilla Rd Comedy
Birmingham
Friday, May 2
M
Jupiter Ate
M
FaceOmeter + The Fidgets Red Light Room EP Launch Blue Nation
M M M
Thieves
Victories At Sea M CN Lucha Libre CN Taking Care of Busi-
CN CN CN CN
ness Dan Ghenacia
M M M M M
CN C M 44
The Institute
Birmingham
The Rainbow
Birmingham
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Birmingham
Bodega
Birmingham
Island Bar
Birmingham
Birmingham
Kings Heath
NextDoor
Birmingham
Suki10c
Birmingham
Made Birmingham
The Rainbow
Birmingham
Bank Holiday Party with DJ Tic Tac Toe Just A Groove
The Rose Villa Tavern The Victoria
Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Bull’s Head
Moseley
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Town Hall
Birmingham
wolf III Pam Ayres
Saturday, May 3 Nocturne ft Patch & The Giant Malarki + Caitlin Iles Dinky
Birmingham
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy 3
Birmingham Birmingham
Fathoms
The Flapper
Birmingham
Vault of Eagles
The Sunflower Lounge The Rainbow
Birmingham
CN Made Birmingham CN
Birmingham
Hard Bounce Blitz!
CN CN Prosumer CN Segweh Rev. Obadiah SteppenC C
Actress & Bishop The Adam & Eve
2014 Dubwise Jungle Special with Congo Natty YO! MTV Raps with E Double D Rev. Obadiah Steppenwolf III Sunday, May 4 YES
Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Symphony Hall
Birmingham
KEY TO LISTINGS: M = LIVE MUSIC CN = CLUB NIGHT C = COMEDY
M M M
The Big Wolf Band
The Crown
Birmingham
Snarky Puppy
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Live Jazz
Birmingham
M
Sunplugged
M
James Cook + Alex Love Swingamajig Festival
The Rose Villa Tavern The Sun At The Station The Roadhouse
CN CN Dave Owen + Jaybee +
Spotlight
Birmingham
Suki10c
Birmingham
CN CN Made Birmingham
The Rainbow
Birmingham
The Rainbow
Birmingham
CN
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Bull’s Head
Moseley
SoulTec Below - 9th Birthday
CN M M M M C M M M M M
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M
2014 Hott Date H&H Takeover Hot Wax Bank Holiday Takeover Monday, May 5 Emp!re
Kings Heath Stirchley
The Flapper
Birmingham
Lake Street Dive
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Clean Bandit
The Institute
Birmingham
Robert Cray Band
Town Hall
Birmingham
Comedy Night with David Tandy Tuesday, May 6 Modern Minds
The Roadhouse
Stirchley
Birmingham
Bad Rabbits
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy 3
The Great Escape
The Flapper
Birmingham
Graham Gouldman
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Brum Notes May Issue Launch Party ft The Andales + The Mighty Young + Secret Special Guests + Dong Fang Wild Cub
The Sunflower Lounge
Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Yellow Ostritch
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Wednesday, May 7 Powder Blue
The Flapper
Birmingham
The Wonder Years
The Institute
Birmingham
September Girls
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Solids
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Drakelow
Bull’s Head
Moseley
Thursday, May 8 Fatal Chaos
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
Desolated
The Flapper
Birmingham
Janelle Monae
The Institute
Birmingham
The Amazing Snakeheads Sons & Lovers
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Birmingham
The Grand Slambovians The Rifles
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Slade Rooms
Wolverhampton
Birmingham
Kings Heath
Brum Notes Magazine
C
Dana Alexander
M
Friday, May 9 Against The Wheel
M M M M M M M M M
M M
Birmingham
M M M M C
Birmingham
Pretty Yende
Town Hall
Birmingham
Comedy Night with David Tandy Tuesday, May 13 Martin Stephenson & The Daintees Jagwar Ma
The Roadhouse
Stirchley
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
The Institute
Birmingham
Syd Arthur
Birmingham
We Were Evergreen
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Delays
Slade Rooms
Wolverhampton
Wednesday, May 14 Michael Franti
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
The Flapper
Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath Birmingham
Charlie Simpson
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy 2
Bethan & The Morgans
The Roadhouse
Birmingham
Rodney Branigan
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Ben Norris
The Glee Club
Birmingham Birmingham
Action Bronson
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy
Duke
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
Stubblemelt Album Launch Lotte Mullan
The Flapper
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Augustines
The Institute
Birmingham
Fallen Clouds
The Rainbow
Birmingham
Ghost Nation
Birmingham
Beaty Heart
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Factory Floor
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Lucha Libre
Bodega
Birmingham
Taking Care of Business House Of God - Perc (live) + Jerome Hill DJ Tony Jenkins
Island Bar
Birmingham
The Tunnel Club
Birmingham
The Victoria
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy 2
Birmingham
The Flapper
Birmingham
The Institute
Birmingham
The Lord Clifden The Rose Villa Tavern The Victoria
Birmingham
The Institute
Birmingham
Hightower
The Rainbow
Birmingham
Byron Hare
Birmingham
Bluebeat Arkestra
The Sunflower Lounge The Yardbird
Bo Ningen
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Friendly Fire Band
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Alarm Bells
The Sun At The Station The Roadhouse
Kings Heath
Island Bar
Birmingham
The Victoria
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
M Hollow Bodies M Teleman M CN MAIA
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
M
Birmingham
ness Dana Alexander
Saturday, May 10 Jack Harris
Birmingham
Stirchley
M M M M M
The Rainband
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
ANiMA
Birmingham
M M
The Roz Bruce Infusion
Scruffy Murphy’s The Flapper
Birmingham
M
The Institute
Birmingham Birmingham
Panic! At The Disco
The Sunflower Lounge Civic Hall
John Cooper Clarke
Wulfrun Hall
Wolverhampton
Hot Wax
Island Bar
Birmingham
Energy God & Macka Diamond The Great Outdoors ft Michael Ruetten FACE x Mvsn
The Institute
Birmingham
Three Spire Romance
Catfish & The Bottlemen Luna Vegas
Birmingham
Wolverhampton
The Lord Clifden The Rainbow
Birmingham
Birmingham
Education in Sound
The Rose Villa Tavern The Victoria
Quantic (Live)
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Knicker Bocker Corey
Bull’s Head
Moseley
Dana Alexander
The Glee Club
Birmingham
CN CN JuQebox
M M M M M M M
The Institute
Birmingham
Embrace
CN CN CN C
Birmingham
Wolf Alice
The Institute
Birmingham
M M M
CN
Birmingham
The Flapper
Sam Pepper & Mazzi Maz The Kooks
Snooty Bobs
M M M C
M M CN CN
Symphony Hall
InMe
Birmingham
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy
M
Monday, May 12 Tori Amos
Actress & Bishop O2 Academy 3
King Krab M CN DJ Henry Evens CN Taking Care of Busi-
C
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Birmingham
M M M M M M M M M CN CN CN
Thursday, May 15 Cherry Suede
Friday, May 16 The Emissaries
CN Ben Norris C
Sunday, May 11 AWOOGA
TALK
Birmingham
Monument
The Flapper
Birmingham
Albert Hammond, Jr
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Bear Hands
The Institute
Birmingham
Pure Love
The Institute
Birmingham
Less For Murder
The Yardbird
Birmingham
David Gibb + Elly Lucas Bohemian Jukebox
Kitchen Garden Cafe Bull’s Head
Kings Heath Moseley
M CN The Great Outdoors ft
Wulfrun Hall
Wolverhampton
Island Bar
Birmingham
CN
The Glee Club
Birmingham
M Echo & The Bunnymen M CN Zinc Rough Works C May 2014
M M M M
Saturday, May 17 Nat Bite Second City Fire We Are Saviours Stubblemelt Album Launch Lit Craig Christon JuQebox
CN Beatamax
Kings Heath
Birmingham
Birmingham
Kings Heath
Birmingham
Birmingham Birmingham 45
CN Bruk Up Takeover CN Uber Ben Norris C M M M M M M C M M M M M M M M C M M M C M M M M M CN CN
Sunday, May 18 Courtney Love
Moseley
The Glee Club
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham
The Free Love Club with Thawns French For Rabbits
The Rose Villa Tavern The Sun On The Hill The Yardbird
Courtney Barnett
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Two Glass Eyes
The Roadhouse
Stirchley
Stephen Carlin + Mrs Barbara Nice Monday, May 19 Idiom
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
The Flapper
Birmingham
Drowners
Birmingham
The Young Folk
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Tuesday, May 20 Kyle Carey
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
Jeff Beck
Symphony Hall
Birmingham
Wednesday, May 21 M.A.D
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
Bob Wayne
The Institute
Birmingham
Young Rebel Set
The Sunflower Lounge The Glee Club
Birmingham
Live Jazz
Josh Widdicombe Thursday, May 22 Tiny Ruins
Birmingham Birmingham
Kings Heath
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls The Struts
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Andy Robinson
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Friday, May 23 Tom Hickox
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Jimi Goodwin
The Institute
Birmingham
The Hoosiers
The Institute
Birmingham
Steady Hands
The Rainbow
Birmingham
Thumpers
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Structure
NextDoor
Birmingham
Bank Holiday Party with Funk Fusion Ben UFO
The Rose Villa Tavern Hare & Hounds
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Alfie Bird’s
Birmingham
Saturday, May 24 Jess Morgan
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
Swim Deep
Alfie Bird’s
Birmingham
Kings Heath
Enemo J
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
Marc Ford
The Institute
Birmingham
Youth Man
CN Scratch Perverts CN RAM Birmingham Warehouse Party Troumaca (live)
CN CN Enter The Dragon Ro Campbell C
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Kings Heath
Bull’s Head
O2 Academy
CN Ro Campbell C Barbara Nice C M M M M M
Hare & Hounds
The Sunflower Lounge Alfie Bird’s The Rainbow
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Bull’s Head
Moseley
The Glee Club
Birmingham
M M M CN M M M C M M M M M M M
Sunday, May 25 Eva Plays Dead
The Flapper
Birmingham
Joe Miles
The Yardbird
Birmingham
The Hot 8 Brass Band
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Hott Date ft Felix Martin Monday, May 26 White Denim
Alfie Bird’s
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Meadowlark
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
The Pizza Underground
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Comedy Night with David Tandy Tuesday, May 27 Freeze The Atlantic
The Roadhouse
Stirchley
The Flapper
Birmingham
Foxes
The Institute
Birmingham
Melt-Banana
The Rainbow
Birmingham
Blair Dunlop
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Wednesday, May 28 Futureproof
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
Awolnation
The Institute
Birmingham
Only Real
The Sunflower Lounge The Glee Club
Birmingham
Brewdog
Birmingham
C
Craig Campbell
M
Thursday, May 29 Sean Cannon (The Dubliners) The Riptide Movement
M M M
Birmingham
O2 Academy 3
Birmingham
The Enemy
The Institute
Birmingham
Vix & Her Mischiefs
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Birmingham
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath
The Glee Club
Birmingham Birmingham
ESKA M CN Mostly Comedy Andy Robinson C
Kings Heath
M
Friday, May 30 Sour Mash
M
Supersonic Festival
M M M
Camera Obscura
Actress & Bishop The Custard Factory The Institute
East India Youth
The Institute
Birmingham
The Assist
Birmingham
M M M CN
JAM DRC
The Sunflower Lounge Hare & Hounds
Keziasoul
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Paolo Nutini
Civic Hall
Wolverhampton
Lucha Libre with DJ T4BLES Deano Ferrino (Magic Door) Phil Ellis
Bodega
Birmingham
Bull’s Head
Moseley
The Glee Club
Birmingham
Cafe Ort
Balsall Heath Birmingham
Schoolboy Q
The Custard Factory The Institute
Laced
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Tempting Rosie
Hare & Hounds
Kings Heath
Dolce Vita & Face ft Lee Foss Phil Ellis
The Rainbow
Birmingham
The Glee Club
Birmingham
CN C M M M M M CN C
Saturday, May 31 Rosie Bans Supersonic Festival
Birmingham Birmingham
Kings Heath
Birmingham
Brum Notes Magazine
May 2014
47
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Brum Notes Magazine