COME PL AY WITH SELF ESTEEM SLOW THAI GIRLI WHENYOUNG TALLSAIN T SPQR
AND LOTS MORE... BEHIND THE SCENES AND UNDER THE SKIN OF ALL THINGS MUSIC
PICK ME UP FOR FREE OR BUY ONLINE / #004 / JUN2019
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WHAT’S INSIDE
TEAM CPWM MANAGEMENT Tony Ereira MAGAZINE Andrew Benge LABEL Scott Lewis EVENTS Sam Robinson SELF ESTEEM COVER Andrew Benge SLOWTHAI COVER Crowns & Owls
THIS ISSUE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
SPECIAL THANKS In no particular order - Adrian, Simon, Jenessa, Rebecca, Louisa, Sally, Courtney, Sophie W, Milly, Katja, George, Lindsay, Burak, Kimberley, Nathan, Tyron, Sophie O, James, Aoife , Niall, Andrew, Kate, Jennifer, Cindy, Laura, Peter, Bex, Jack and everyone else that helped make this happen.
SMALL PRINT
Come Play With is printed by Mixam. Copyright © 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher at andy@cpwm.co. Printed in the UK.
04 CPWM - NEWS JUNE 2019 06 SELF ESTEEM 12 TALLSAINT 14 GIRLI 16 PHOTO BOOTH 20 SLOWTHAI 25 WHENYOUNG 26 FROM THE STREETS TO CENTRE STAGE 28 GO AHEAD AND JUMP! 30 SPQR 3
CPWM - NEWS JUNE 2019 Things are never quiet at CPWM and the last couple of months have been no exception. We released our 14th split 7” from Talkboy and Dialect - with the two tracks being chosen at our first live selection panel last year by a panel that included Abbie McCarthy (BBC Radio 1), Roisin O’Connor (The Independent) and David Martin (ILikeTrains / The Leaf Label.) Dialect was our first foray into grime and the Talkboy release was the first physical release with these generators of amazing music and harmonies that we plan on doing lots more with this year. We repeated that live selection process again this year with an equally stellar set of judges Phil Taggart (Radio 1), Yasmin Lajoie (Giant Artist Mgmt / Neneh Cherry), Paul Riddlesworth (Too Pure / Dipped In Gold), Adele Slater (Coda Agency / Courtney Barnett) - and the line-up to select from was so strong that we couldn’t get it down to 2 artists for a release! The panel selected 3 amazing artists - Sea Legs, Dense and Van Houten. If anyone knows of a pressing plant that specialises in 3-sided vinyl, please hit us up! Sat 4th May saw us pull together an amazing stage at Live At Leeds festival with 4 CPWM alumni bands playing (Team Picture, The Golden Age Of TV, Talkboy, Dead Naked Hippies) and 2 that we’ll see releases from in the months ahead (Faux Pas and Sea Legs!) Always a cracking festival put on by the good folks of Futuresound. We even managed to slip Team Picture onto the bill over at Sound City in Liverpool on the same day! We’ve put on some brilliant gigs recently (Terravi, Crack Cloud, Thee MVPS, Roxy Girls, Crumbs) and at the time of writing are heading over to see a bunch of bands that have recorded with us before appearing at Long Division in Wakefield. News of another new picture disc release and ever more live activity to come very soon… as always, we really appreciate your support. To keep up to date just give us a follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Tony Ereira, Director CPWM To support CPWM please see www.patreon.com/CPWM
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MUSIC EZRA FURMAN THE WEDDING PRESENT GRUFF RHYS
INSECURE MEN
LUCY ROSE
ROLLING BLACKOUTS C O A S T A L F E V E R A N N A C A L V I STEVE MASON AKALA PALACE SUNFLOWER BEAN FLYTE
BC CAMPLIGHT
FONTAINES D.C.
CHARLES WATSON
THE SLOW READERS CLUB
JOHN BRAMWELL
SELF ESTEEM
THE LEISURE SOCIETY
TOM WILLIAMS
SHE DREW THE GUN
TRACYANNE & DANNY
KATHRYN JOSEPH
FLAMINGODS
WILLIE J. HEALEY
TINY RUINS
PIROSHKA PIP BLOM
THE HOWL & THE HUM YOU TELL ME SKINNY PELEMBE THE ONCE LISA O'NEILL LAUREL K.O.G AND THE ZONGO BRIGADE DYLAN CARTLIDGE POM POKO PENELOPE ISLES RASCALTON LAURAN HIBBERD REDFACES GENTLY TENDER LUCIA ADULT MOM BESS ATWELL WALT DISCO MI MYE ADVANCE BASE BLAIR DUNLOP AMY MAY ELLIS CALLUM PITT NEW YORK BRASS BAND RUTHIE LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER SMOOVE & TURRELL (DJ) + MANY MORE
C O M E DY & S H OW S R E G I N A L D D. H U N T E R JUSTIN MOORHOUSE KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN
BARBARA NICE
T O M PA R R Y
JONNY & THE BAPTISTS BEETLEMANIA
RIA LINA
T O M PA R R Y
LUCY BEAUMONT W I F I WA R S
NINA CONTI
M I LT O N J O N E S
PAT R I C K M O N A H A N
THE BRETT DOMINO TRIO INEL TOMLINSON
F OX D O G S T U D I O S
AMY GLEDHILL
JOHNNY COCHRANE
PLANET EARTH III
DENIM
THE SCUMMMY MUMMIES
ALICE FRASER
SARAH BENNETTO
T H E K AG O O L S + M A N Y M O R E
L I T E R A R Y & S P O K E N WO R D R I C H A R D H E R R I N G A K A L A I N C O N V E R S AT I O N S A R F R A Z M A N ZO O R C O M M O N P E O P L E PA N E L A L E X W H E AT L E T O N Y WA L S H
D R AG Q U E E N S T O R Y T I M E A N I TA S E T H I + M A N Y M O R E
P L U S S C I E N C E , WO R K S H O P S , C I N E M A , W I L D E R W I L D, S P O R T, W E L L B E I N G , F O O D, D R I N K & U N D E R 5 S
“ T H E N O R T H ’ S FAVO U R I T E FA M I LY F E S T I VA L” - T H E G U A R D I A N W W W. D E E R S H E D F E S T I VA L .C O M
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SELF ESTEEM 6
Having built up her confidence to go it alone, Rebecca Taylor is firing on all cylinders as Self Esteem. CWPM catches up with her to learn more about the attitude adjustment that was to unlock her creative freedom.
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Rebecca Taylor is a woman who knows the importance of balance. In the last few months she’s appeared on national television, announced a massive tour (while performing at various festivals and sold-out shows) and started work on her second album as Self Esteem, a confessional solo project that laughs in the face of pop as a guilty pleasure. On the morning we call, however, she is taking on the arduous task of pairing her socks after a mammoth post-gig wash. Most in her position would be rolling their eyes and demanding an assistant, but not Rebecca; she’s disarmingly content to be sifting through patterns and plains. In fact, after 15-odd years in music, she’s just really bloody happy – happier than she’s felt in years. “I genuinely have more of an attitude of not giving a shit anymore” she admits plainly, the relaxation obvious in her voice. “A lot of what was painful for me mentally is just gone now I’m not trying to fit into what somebody else wants me to be. It’s nobody’s fault but mine, but creatively I’m realising I’m more of an artist than I even knew, and it’s physically painful not to express myself.” A therapist’s first question would be to ask what had changed, but in Taylor’s case, the diagnosis is obvious. Having spent a decade as half of indie-folk duo Slow Club, the itch to do something different has been hanging
over her head for years. Wilfully ambitious, her natural star-quality and wicked humour paled in the face of industry sexism, pushing her to play the role of twee submissive. Tethered to her commitment to bandmate Charles and the world they had built together, it took a long time to work up the confidence to admit that she wanted more. “It was all really personal nonsense that I‘d created for myself. ‘ she says. “Nobody was making me feel that way, but I’d really built up in my head that I wasn’t good enough or a good enough musician, all that sort of shite. Slow Club were on album three, things were going a bit better in terms of doing a lot more press and styled photoshoots and stuff and I was really loving that, but it didn’t feel like the rest of the band were. Around then, I think I tasted a bit of what I really fancied doing.”
“THE SUBJECTS I TOUCH ON THE ALBUM AND EVERYTHING I’VE DONE WITH SELF ESTEEM IS ADDRESSING ALL THE STUFF I’D LIKE TO BE ASKED ABOUT MORE” What she did fancy then, was something that better celebrated her long-term love affair with pop music. A long-term Kanye West 9
devotee (“although I’m more like a Kanye apologist from when he was saying all that crazy stuff”), Self Esteem’s debut ‘Compliments Please’ sees her explore a much more expansive sound, layered with surprising samples and in her words, ‘banging beats’. The lyrics are similar wide reaching, tackling everything from personal doubt to feminism and sexism, with ‘Girl Crush’ being a particular stand out. “I really wanted to explore the sexual tourism of girls with girls, and write a song that worked as the anti- ‘I Kissed A Girl’.” She explains. “There was a different version of that song but Johan (Karlberg, the album’s producer) didn’t like it, but I was like ‘noooo, I have to say this!’ That was a tough one but there was this brilliant breakthrough. We’d been drinking Fosters like all day and Sophie my keyboard player was down, and we just got it cooking somehow. I can’t even remember how, I think the chorus just came to me and we stayed up all night making it. It was one of the best times of my live just being like woo, cracked it! So much of Slow Club was like ‘no, trust me, believe me on this’, but then it wouldn’t get done and I had to just get over it. I’ve noticed with Self Esteem, because there’s not someone doing that for me any more, it’s up to me to call it a day. I have learnt a little bit how to do that, but with ‘Girl Crush’ I just believed in it too much to let it go. I was like yesss, I’m right!”.
Knowing her own mind had led Self Esteem down some pretty excellent paths. Armed with her new no-fucks-given attitude, she’s flinging herself into all manner of situations with relatable frankness, from appearances on BBC’s Sunday Brunch (“I got loads of hate on Twitter for looking miserable and I’m like ‘oh yeah, the guy from Made in Chelsea is mansplaining football to Julia Stiles, sorry my face said what I was thinking”) to playing massive London shows clad in a phenomenal bespoke dress, crafted from Boots Advantage cards adorned with her name and concert date.
because the joy I’ve got out of having an album that says everything I want and playing gigs the way I want to play to gigs… I’d love to do meet more people, make more music with like-minded people and make more visuals, but it all comes down to what the label can do cash wise and it’s all still tough out there because of course nobody buys everything. So I’m working on being really mindfully happy about where I’m at and for the first time I can say that I am.”
imagine that is much in her work that remains unread. Is there anything for instance, that she wished people asked her more about? “Ooooh! Y’know, my hair journey!” she laughs. “You know, I can’t think really. The subjects I touch on the album and everything I’ve done with Self Esteem is addressing all the stuff I’d like to be asked about more. In Slow Club, I was always representing two people, so you can never get really passionate about any one particular thing unless we shared a viewpoint, and we often didn’t. I’ve set everything out with self esteem and people have responded to it in the way I always wanted. I’m having all the conversations I always wanted to be having, the fans are all people I’d want to be friends with. Slow Club gigs were always full of sweet couples and old men, and both of those things are great, but now I’ve found my girls and my gays. I’m loving how many gay guys are really into my music.” She lets out another of her trademark cackles. “I’m finally Kylie!”
“You know what, that is definitely the best thing I’ll ever think of,” she roars with laughter. “I’m going to wear it at Glastonbury again I reckon. I’m already thinking ahead for my next look…you know when you’re trying to take a selfie and you take like 70 fucking pictures trying to nail it and then all end up in your camera reel? I’m thinking of the next time that happens making a print out of it and doing fabric of all the selfies I deemed not okay. I’m obsessed with the glamour of everydayness – there’s this wanting to be such a huge rich famous pop star but the acceptance of not being that, accepting that you can live your life in your own little way.”
“There’s the Slow Club documentary coming out soon, and all the way through it I’m just saying I just want to be on Jools Holland, I just want to be nominated for a Mercury, and I really am desperate for more more more. Charles can’t really see why I can’t just be happy with where we’re at, and back then it felt so frustrating that he could speak like that, but I realise now that it’s just because he was creatively fulfilled and I wasn’t. But that’s the place I’m at now. It’s all bloody learning and accepting things isn’t it? It’s all part of being able to go I’ve thought of this tune and The album “Compliments this lyrics and I can now put that down and someone might Please” is out now. hear it and like it, the science of that…it just feels so much better! But we’ll see. I am ambitious still, I want loads. It’s not a bad thing.”
Having found her very own happy place, her ambitions for the future remain both huge and realistic. “My ambitions have shifted a little bit,
Having spent the majority of her adult life in interviews and press junkets, her lyrics scrutinised and her tweets passed around, it’s hard to 10
Words by Jenessa Williams | Photography by Andrew Benge
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TALLSAINT WHO ARE YOU?
Tallsaint @iamtallsaint.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I’m an alt-pop songstress. I enjoy embracing electronic sounds whilst lyrically balancing how to be vulnerable but also dictating a feeling of how to find strength in your own shortcomings, and everyone else’s. I also really like to bathe in my favourite artists day-to-day who never fail to provide me with everlasting inspiration; Empress Of, St Vincent, Grimes, Ariana Grande, Tei Shi, Spice Girls, Wild Beasts, Beyoncé. At this exact moment, I’m having a really nice time revisiting True by Solange
which was co-written by one of my favourite songwriters ever, Dev Hynes.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I like exploring moods, I like exploring tiny facets of all kinds of relationships, and I like picking at things. I also don’t know how or if, I would be able to deal with not communicating all the words & melodies & colours that recoil throughout my head week to week. The handsome part of my growing skills surrounding being a songwriter and a producer of sounds is that I can better communicate these explorations via the use of glamorous textures and layers. 12
Then, if a listener wants to absorb my meanings and considerations in a different way according to them that’s beautiful to me, the song is yours once it’s out.
“I LIKE EXPLORING MOODS, I LIKE EXPLORING TINY FACETS OF ALL KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS, AND I LIKE PICKING AT THINGS”
Photography by Andrew Benge
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Right right now, my beloved PJ Harvey (cat), has a cold & a cough and has been put on some tablets from the vet, so my anxiety levels are pretty high as she (as well as the artists listed above) is my muse. The first track I released this year with Dance to the Radio was called Warm Skin which is about her falling asleep with her head in my hand and subsequently me waking up next to her. Somewhat easy to guess how I’m dealing with it… I am currently writing a track called Cough. It might not ever see the light of day, but for every good track I have, I’m sure I have 20 that are awful. #practise.
I’m about to release a track called Skin Deep on the 13th June which will be on my first EP release called Hard Love set for release in July. It’s a track set at a passive aggressive disco where the aim of the disco is to get close to someone who you don’t see eye to eye with. I like skin it seems. As well as that, myself and my remarkable live band are going on a mini co-headline tour with our friends Peakes in June. You can catch us sidechaining our way through to: 19th June - York (Fulford Arms) 20th June - Leeds (Hyde Park Book Club) 25th June - London (Paperdress Vintage)
WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
I think the role of the artist/ songwriter/producer is quite spicy at the moment. Particularly the changed perception for women in this role. I like the fact that pop stars like Charli XCX are recognised for being the songwriter and not just the singer (although this notion is annoying in itself quite frankly. Vocalisation alone, obviously, provides so much emotive quality and command for whatever given track…) alongside power houses like St Vincent who is producing the next Sleater Kinney album.
CPWM - UPCOMING ARTISTS
THESE ARE THE ARTISTS WE’RE WORKING WITH NEXT, LISTEN + FOLLOW ON SPOTIFY
TALKBOY
UNCLE BUZZARD
FAUX PAS
DENSE
SEA LEGS
VAN HOUTEN
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Open Spotify App > Search > Camera > Scan
GIRLI With platform trainers of an ankle-snapping height and hair a shade of pink so shocking it would make your mother gasp, there is little wonder Milly Toomey adopted the name GIRLI. She takes everything ‘appropriate’ the word conjures up - all that is sugarsweet and delicate - and amplifies it to the extreme, all with a flourish of ‘fuck you’. 14
With songs about falling in love with guys and girls, jumping the gates of closed parks with your mates and drinking booze from Costa cups, GIRLI’s songs are as much a soundtrack to the madness as they are the morning after, staggering into the harsh light in last night’s clothes. Her sherbet-covered brand of pop is brutally honest, as well as politically charged (“Weakness is just another word for femininity / But I’m just a raving feminist / Burn the bras, don’t shave your pits / Don’t listen to me, I’m fuckin’ crazy”). She is every teenage girl’s “samurai princess”, armed with wit and brash lyrics to take down gender norms and sexist rhetoric. Her debut album ‘Odd One Out’ – released after a flurry of mix tapes – takes, as GIRLI describes, a more mature approach. “I carry the same messages, but deliver them in a slightly more grown-up way.” She continues, “I wanted it to connect with people on a personal level, and to help them with whatever they’re going through. There’s a lot of personal songs on that album about mental health, learning to love yourself and falling in love for the first time – things that people can relate to. I want it to help people, I want people to feel like the album is their friend. I just want each song to feel like your own diary entry.” GIRLI’s early music was dominated by certified bangers and pop monsters, with throbbing basslines and skittering, Harajuku-style synth that wouldn’t be out of place on a dance machine. Songs like ‘Girls Get Angry Too’ and ‘So You Think You Can Fuck With Me Do Ya’ established her fierce, uncompromising attitude that has become her trademark. “I think I’ve changed a lot since I started putting out music,” she muses. “When I started out, I was met with a mixed response. I think some people were taken aback by how straightforward it was, and how brash a lot of my lyrics were. A lot of people don’t get it.” She attributes this to her explicitly feminist lyrics; the hostility towards them is something that continues to “baffle” her. “I think when I started putting out music, I was writing a lot of confident, ‘fuck what people think’, songs. This is still definitely my attitude,” GIRLI is quick to mention, “but I wrote them with the intention
of boosting people’s confidence. The songs I’m writing now are more open about my vulnerabilities. It’s really important to talk about insecurities and negative thought processes; a lot of people feel alone, but it’s an experience that people will find is universal.”
“IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT INSECURITIES AND NEGATIVE THOUGHT PROCESSES” “I don’t get that much hate online anymore”, GIRLI adds, almost absent mindedly. It’s interesting that public perception of GIRLI goes so naturally hand-in-hand with social media. In ‘Neck Contour’, she constantly checks what time the guy she likes was last online, wondering how many likes her life has. “I’m a very sensitive person, and I struggle a lot with measuring my self-esteem on things that don’t matter,” she confesses. “Social media is quite literally designed on encouraging comparison – with numbers. It’s such a soulless kind of thing; there is nothing in a ‘like’. There is much more value in someone coming up to you and saying, ‘Hey, I really like what you do.’ Instead, we’ll measure ourselves on how many likes something got, how many followers we have – how many this, how many that. It’s toxic, so toxic, and it can eat you up. The worst thing is that you’re aware it’s eating you up, you’re aware that you don’t want it to - and yet it still does.” “It can be used as a good tool, too”, she admits. “I’ve met so many people on the internet who have influenced my life really positively.” Her song, ‘Girl I Met on The Internet’ sums up this generation who can find love that quite literally knows no bounds. “For people who are feeling alone and isolated, the internet is a great place to find likeminded people – even if they live a thousand miles away. It’s incredible considering whole movements can start from something as little as 15
a tweet. As whole, I just think we haven’t got to grips on how to use social media in a healthy way yet.” When asked what the biggest challenge she faces as a young woman in the music industry, GIRLI answers without hesitation: “Being taken seriously.” Her aesthetic, brighter than glorious technicolour, coupled with her angsty lyrics have led to her being received as ‘childish’. Her debut album is not only an exercise in her own versatility, but an exercise in vulnerability, adding dimension to a caricature. “It’s hard because if one person doesn’t like you, or doesn’t like your music, and they’re in a position of power, that can really have an effect on what festivals you’re booked for; if your music gets played on the radio; if your music gets featured on certain playlists on Spotify. It isn’t even do with your fans, it’s to do with the bureaucracy.” “It has been weird, having to jump through hoops like that,” she contemplates. “There’s a feeling that if you don’t fit the mould, then you’re pushed out. The mould is constantly changing. I think definitely in the past, people have wanted artists to produce music that’s radio-friendly, and of a certain genre that appeals to that. To be honest, as an artist, my music sonically sounds very different depending on each song. I’m kind of multi-genre. I’m not against pop, but there are certain things I’ll put out as GIRLI, and some things I won’t. In the past I’ve been pressured to go into a certain direction with my music and make it more commercial. While I’m not against commercial pop music, there are songs that would feel unauthentic to release for me to perform.” Having just finished a UK tour, with a debut album under her belt, I asked if she has taken a breather to think about where she’s going next, and what kind of success she is striving towards. “I define success as being content and living in the moment, being right there, forgetting everything else and enjoying what it is right now – not what it will become in the future or what you wish it was.” It’s the GIRLI way: worry tomorrow but for tonight, just let go.
Words by Sophie Walker | Photography by Andrew Benge
PHOTO BOOTH
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01 MARINA (KATJA OGRIN) 02 CROWS (GEORGE HARRISON) 03 RITA ORA (ANDREW BENGE) 04 BIRMINGHAM PRIDE (KATJA OGRIN) 05 YAK (LINDSAY MELBOURNE) 06 ANGELICA (KIMBERLEY ROSS) 07 LIZZO (BURAK CINGI) 08 HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD (NATHAN ROBINSON)
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SLOWTHAI Renowned for his righteous truths and compelling storytelling, Northampton rapper slowthai is rapidly becoming one of the most gripping artists in recent years. With forthright lyrics rooted in personal experience, bolstering beats and punky overtones.
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Tyron Frampton’s reputation precedes itself. He is a genuine, charming young Brit and a captivating musician. The release of his debut album, Nothing Great About Britain, furthers this with a string of honest close-ups of modern day British life; austerity, drugs, animosity and the threat of violence all emerge in slowthai’s verses, but not without hope, devotion and rebellion. “That’s a cool name man, Come Play With Me, I like that.” Ty’s unmistakable amiable Northant accent tells me down the phone, as he travels from Cardiff to Leeds for the fourth date on his 99p tour, ahead of the release of his debut album. “Had a show last night but it’s all good man, I’m ready for the next one. We got FIFA on the go and a couple zoots, not the worst way to travel on a rainy day.” Ty grew up on a council estate in Northampton and he wanted the album to speak openly about this, and for his music to be a strong proponent of community, in a country that is becoming increasingly divided. “I believe that a lot of what is actually great about Britain is coming from these estates and these communities and that’s what they forget. That’s what everyone forgets is the most important thing, and that’s where the power is because they’re the faces that make up the country. Like what’s the percentage of wealthy people vs the percentage of those less well off?” So, in the closing bars of the albums title trаck, Nothing Great About Britain, when Ty rumbles: ‘Hand on heart, I’m proud to be British,’ he’s sincere. “It’s funny because now I’m not living on that council estate, people respect my opinions and ideas a lot more. Although people still have their prejudice, it’s like if you come from a certain place, you’re kind of a
joke. You’re the monkey that claps and sings, you know what I mean?” he adds.
“IT DON’T MATTER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE OR YOUR SITUATION YOU CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE AND I’M AN EXAMPLE” In both his personal life and his music, slowthai does not shy away from the truth. “No matter what we do, when there’s a classist system where people are paid certain amounts, because of where they came from, higher education or whatever. These problems are always gonna be there innit. The establishment, they try and separate the people. They try and make it so people hate or they can’t understand one another you know what I mean?” The completion of the album has resulted in an evolution for slowthai culminating in a raw, evolved sound. The record includes the perfect mixture of stylised hip hop rhythms, social commentary, satirical fun lyricism and remarkable production. For any artist, the release of their debut album is a pinnacle moment in their career. When speaking with slowthai at the beginning of May he jokingly described the lead up to the release as “like waiting for Christmas. Except everyday’s like Christmas Eve so I’m like fuck, arghhhh. Just waiting and then like, it never comes. When it comes out I’ll be so relieved innit. I’m just fed up of it man, fed up of waiting. You never think you’re gonna do it like a full album, wow. I’ve built it up so much in my head.” 21
Nothing Great About Britain was predominantly recorded in East London in early 2018, with Kwes Darko at the head of production along with the help of Mura Masa and Slaves. The album also features legendary grime MC Skepta and Birmingham’s Jaykae. “When you’re putting a record together it’s mad, you start getting fed up and shit and then when it’s all done its the maddest feeling, the biggest relief. I’ve known I wanted to call my album Nothing Great About Britain since the first tune I released, Jiggle. I’ve got things on there that I ain’t ever really spoke about and it just feels good to let it go, vent and move on from certain things through my music.” In his album slowthai undertakes a valuable level of introspection, while simultaneously speaking for the marginalized people of the nation. “The point of the album isn’t to politically empower this or that, I’m not trying to tell people what’s right or wrong. I’m just trying to empower people in their everyday lives to be the best version of themselves and not care about anything that’s holding them back. It’s all just smoke and mirrors, we get swayed by that, we forget what’s important, we don’t stand together and then it’s all lost. We can kill our own self-esteem just by beating ourselves up constantly and it’s bullshit. Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and hold our heads high.” “Empower the people! Get locally owned pubs, get locally owned shops, anyone who’s not part of big franchise corporations. But it’s not even just that, it’s also about sticking together and loving each other. Live your fucking best life man, don’t ever be afraid to be yourself. That’s all I’m trying to get at, it don’t matter your circumstance or your situation you can be whatever you want to be and I’m an example.”
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slowthai’s gritty music video for Nothing Great About Britain sees him knighting hooded figures on a typical British council estate. Visually, slowthai transfers power to the everyday people, paired with his lyrics that give a voice to the often buried, realistic experience, of a large number of Brits. “There’s people who can’t speak for themselves because they don’t get given a voice or a platform, hopefully they feel like they can once they hear the album.” Ty boldly closes the album with the courageous autobiographical track; Northampton’s Child. A scalding account of his challenging upbringing, where he highlights his experience with adversity. The song is dedicated to his mum as he crowns her his ‘only Queen’ and praises her tenacious spirit. “That one’s the one man. Everyone loves it but I dunno I kinda hate it cause like, it’s so personal innit. It’s difficult for me to perform. But, I had to end the album with my mum man I just had to. She devoted so much of her life to me.” Ty first picked up a mic at aged 8 and he recalls rapping in the playground, but it wasn’t until later in life that he became serious about music. Early on his flow stood out, the unique drawl in his speech was initially mocked by his peers but as it stands, it’s that which makes Ty a notoriously rare commodity: an authentic voice in an increasingly gentrified world. “People knew me as slow Ty before I made music. I mumble innit and it was a cuss when I was young, so I decided to use it. I took it and I empowered myself as slowthai. I dabbled with rap from around age 16 but I didn’t get serious on it until I was 20 and then I started writing a lot in Northampton. I like being there innit and vibing, I still try to check everyone but lately I ain’t really got time.”
slowthai makes a point of giving back to his fans. In late April, he took to Twitter to ask his followers for recommendations of small independent venues, up and down the country, for his budget-friendly 99p tour. Just 13 days from the original post, he announced venues and tour dates.
“WHEN I CAME FOURTH IN THE BBC - SOUND OF 2019 - I WAS MAD SHOCKED MAN. I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT LIKE HONESTLY IT’S SICK, IT’S COOL, IT’S JUST WEIRD” “I got the idea from ice cream, it costs £1.50 for a 99 flake, madness. On this tour I’m giving people their ice cream for the right price. I’m really enjoying it so far man, I’m loving all these little venues. Every show is it’s own little surprise and I love the unknown.” For any artist, coping with the stress of touring can be exhausting. Speaking to Ty half way through the leg of his 99p tour, he walked me through how he manages touring. “Everyone that’s in my team is like my family and that makes it easier. All my friends are my family. We all just laugh and then I dunno man you get tired but you get tired doing anything. You just have a bit of Courvoisier, smoke a couple zoots, play some tunes, play some FIFA, and always have a laugh with the team man.”
going and getting smashed in new places but when you’re doing shows you have to reign it in. Sometimes we have a little mooch about, but at the same time I just wanna give people the best show, so I ain’t gonna fuck around. I gotta be serious, I take my craft seriously and I want to put all my energy into the music.” Ty’s humble nature most certainly lies at the roots of his success and despite his rapid rise to fame, his character has not faltered. “When I came fourth in the BBC - sound of 2019 - I was mad shocked man. I appreciate the support like honestly it’s sick, it’s cool, it’s just weird. I never really thought I’d be on a list like that.” “With my album on the way, people think they can come around and put their 2 pence in, but they don’t know anything. I know who I’ve got around me and I love all those people. If I’m gonna eat, they’re gonna eat. There will never be a time in my career when I replace them, because we grew together, did this together. We don’t need anyone else, we just do it ourselves.“ Nothing Great About Britain comprises a symphony of hard truths that provide hope for a better Britain, unclouded by the guise of the establishment, led by the community and the people that actually make Britain great. We wrap up and he signs off. “Life’s what you make it man. See you later, it’s all love.” The debut album “Nothing Great About Britain” is out now.
It’s life’s simple pleasures that keep him at bay. “The hardest thing when you’re on tour is not going out, I love 23
Words by Sophie Okonkwo | Photography by Aidan Cullen
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WHENYOUNG WHO ARE YOU?
We are Whenyoung, a three piece band. We’re from Limerick in Ireland but we live in London.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
We make indie dream pop music with a new wave/punk edge to it. We feel the need to write euphoric songs with lyrics that inspire hope and positivity in us and hopefully our listeners.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
We all bonded due to our love of alternative music. When we decided to play music together we realised that we all shared the same dream to create music that inspires a sense of place in the world, honesty and a feeling of euphoria.
Photography by Lindsay Melbourne
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
We have just released a new single called The Others ahead of the release of our debut album on May 24th on Virgin EMI.
“WE ARE WRITING NEW SONGS AND SEEKING INSPIRATION FROM OUR SURROUNDINGS SUCH AS VISITING ART GALLERIES AND WALKING THE STREETS” We’re playing lots of festivals over the summer including Neighbourhood Weekender, This Is Tomorrow, TRNSMT, Body and Soul, Boardmasters and Latitude.
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Then we will have our own headline tour in the autumn. At the moment we have a few days off and we are writing new songs and seeking inspiration from our surroundings such as visiting art galleries and walking the streets.
WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
We find that it’s most inspiring and healthiest to march to the beat of our own drum so we’re not necessarily swayed or influenced by trends in terms of our song writing. There does seem to be a noticeable move to promote awareness of positive mental health and the equality of women in music which are essential topics. The debut album “Reasons To Dream” is out now.
FROM THE STREETS TO CENTRE STAGE With a number of small grassroots UK music venues closing over the past few years, a new stage has established its place. Whilst the fight to save this pillar of the music scene must continue, how can busking offer an additional avenue for emerging artists?
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Most UK cities allow busking in some form, however, the squabble over location, whether amplification is allowed, and how long you can play for, isn’t always black and white. Noise complaints surrounding amplification, and private versus public land causes a number of restrictions, but in London an organisation was setup by the Mayor to examine the busking landscape, and provide further opportunities for street performers. Having spoken to Kate Jones, programme director of BuskInLondon, can other cities follow suit with their model? Where many cities allow busking, few take this further, working with and actively encouraging public and private landowners to support it. Setup in 2014, BuskInLondon began with, ‘a six-month feasibility study commissioned by the Mayor to look at the busking and street performance landscape in London.’ Kate had created, and was running the annual busking competition, Gigs, which last year entered its 10th year. Kate explained, ‘Although Gigs started as a one day event on the Underground, it was supersized for the London Olympics and we expanded to a multi-week, multi-location festival. Busking was becoming more visible in the capital and we were receiving more and more enquiries about how to busk in London.’ BuskInLondon do just that, providing information on where performers are legally allowed to busk, the regulations in place, and providing additional performance opportunities. Kate went on to explain that they, ‘have created a model for other cities to adopt. Yes, every city has different spaces and challenges, but busking can work anywhere.’ Current partnerships that they have setup in London include paid performance opportunities, at Battersea Power Station and inner city location, Broadgate Circle, alongside a weekly busking circuit at the National Rail stations. Despite
the moaning of the odd miserable commuter, the National Rail scheme often receives praise for transforming the, often tedious, everyday commute of Londoners.
“YOU HAVE AN EVER CHANGING AUDIENCE, YOU CAN TRY OUT NEW MATERIAL WITHOUT THE SAME RISK AND MOST EXCITINGLY, YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS LISTENING” With the world banishing change in favour of contactless, it may at first have seemed to signal the downfall of busking, but just as every other business has turned to contactless card readers so too have the buskers. BuskInLondon partnered with iZettle, one of a number of contactless payment companies. ‘In 2018 we launched a partnership with iZettle that offered performers a contactless payment system to try and offset dwindling cash revenues as we move closer to being a cashless society. There are other contactless systems out there, but what made ours a world first was a piece of software that allows buskers to set their iZettle unit to a repeat payment. The busker does not have to stop performing to deal with the transaction and the person paying needs only to tap their card or wearable technology to donate - as simple as putting money in a guitar case.’ Yet, the implications of busking go further than earning money. As Kate explained, ‘You do not have to pay for your (public) stage, you have an ever changing audience, you can try out new 27
material without the same risk and most excitingly, you never know who is listening.’ As proven by the success of some of BuskInLondon’s buskers, this is definitely the case. Hattie Briggs, was spotted by Alfie Boe whilst busking at Paddington station in October last year, and he asked her to be his support act on his recent tour, playing 21 shows, including a show at the Royal Albert Hall. This is just one of a number of examples of performers being discovered on the streets. One of the biggest events in the BuskInLondon calendar is International Busking Day, occurring on July 20th. Over the past few years the number of people and cities involved in International Busking Day has been continuously growing. The team send out t-shirts and stickers to anyone wanting to get involved and this year as ever, BuskInLondon have big plans for the day. They’ve got ‘music, circus and participation at Wembley Park, from performers who are just starting out via those who are starting to make waves in the business, to a couple of big surprises.’ Last year there were performances from artists including Nile Rogers and Newton Faulkner. When Shakespeare said, ‘All the world’s a stage,’ he was right. Busking allows every pavement to become one. With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, another event showcasing busking, occurring in August, perhaps the art form will get the recognition it deserves, and with more small venues closing perhaps we can see more cities adopt a similar model to London that champions this avenue for emerging artists. For more information please see www.buskinlondon.com
Words by Jennifer Hyman | Photography by Oxford Atelier
GO AHEAD AND JUMP! Music professionals to benefit from accelerator programme to develop innovative business models! The 10 successful fellows will receive training, tutorship and specific frameworks under the JUMP accelerator programme. Find out more about this project (supported by Creative Europe) and be part of it! 28
JUMP – European Music Market Accelerator provides a framework for music industry professionals to develop innovative business models. It aims to help the music sector adapting to the recent transformations of the market, while encouraging it to work on a transnational level. The music industry is changing and it is changing fast. There has been the digital shift, which changed the landscape drastically and the ecosystem is now evolving in a way that has caused a lot of turbulence. JUMP believes it is important for music industry professionals to adapt rapidly to these transformations of the market by developing new skills and new business models. For nine months, 10 to 20 participants will have the opportunity to develop their innovative ideas and to benefit in addition from an extensive training and a personalized tutorship. JUMP will offer three fellowships over its duration (2018-2022): the first one has already started in March 2019 and two more ones will be taking place in 2020 and 2021. JUMP is very unique in its format, unlike more traditional teaching methods, the fellows are on the field attending the different conventions of the network, where they will have plenty of occasions to network, pitch their projects and promote their ideas. They broaden their horizons by getting to know the different markets in Europe and by exchanging with peers from different countries, nationalities and backgrounds, which is hugely inspiring. The training programme enables the participants to have a sound overview of the whole music industry ecosystem, but also provides Words by Cindy Lecat & Laura Gardes
them with specific workshop where soft skills such as how to pitch properly, how to lead a team or negotiate deals. “BEING PART OF JUMP HAS BEEN AMAZING SO FAR, NOT ONLY TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WHAT WE’RE DOING AT CPWM & TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS EUROPE, BUT ALSO TO SEE WHAT PROJECTS THE OTHER FELLOWS ARE INVOLVED IN. THERE ARE SOME REALLY FORWARD THINKING & INNOVATIVE PROJECTS BEING PUSHED BY ENTHUSIASTIC PEOPLE, TO BE PART OF THIS GROUP IS REALLY EXCITING.” - Scott Lewis, CPWM
- Enhance technological development with projects tackling fair remuneration, transparency mechanism, data collection and AI. - Build bridges between different key actors of the ecosystem with projects increasing the mobility of professionals and promoting the diversity of repertoire.
The next call for applications will be published in October 2019. The fellowship 2020 will again take place from March until December and this time 15 participants will be selected. In the meantime, if someone would like to have a better idea of what JUMP is all about, you can meet the fellows and the rest of the team at the next conventions on their calendar in Athens during the Athens Music Week, taking place on 19-20 June 2019. In addition, an audio library featuring all the panels, talks and workshops A key aspect of the project which are given as part of is also the fact that each the JUMP programme are fellow is advised by a tutor, currently being uploaded a renowned music industry on the JUMP website and professional, who will guide will be available for replay the fellow in the elaboration for anybody interested. This of his/her project. The should give the opportunity to tandems of this first fellowship a broader audience to benefit have already established their from the shared knowledge. action plans for the next nine months and will be in contact JUMP is co-funded by the on a monthly basis to followCreative Europe Programme up their progress, fine-tune of the European Commission, their strategies and achieve and implemented by MaMA their respective goals by the Festival and Convention (FR) end of the year. Un-Convention (UK), C.T.L (PT), M.E.S.O (GR), Nouvelle JUMP covers a wide variety Prague (CZ) and MIH (IT). of projects all aiming at addressing different needs For more information, please of the industry. For the see www.jumpmusic.eu or fellowship 2019, three write an email to the JUMP categories have been coordinator Laura Gardes: identified: laura.gardes@mama-event.com - Help fostering social change with projects focusing on diversity in the industry, mental health, and environmental sustainability 29
Photography by Ana Viotti
SPQR WHO ARE YOU?
Hi i’m Peter and i’m going to say that SPQR is 3 people with the lowest self esteem I’ve ever known, trying to get through various stressful situations without at least one of us having a meltdown. That’s as close an image as I can portray in words.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I’m just trying to get by; trying to give myself some purpose and meaning in a meaningless world; trying to connect with myself, and also with others, through the medium of song.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I wake up every morning and ask myself the same question… just kidding. I love music and my real passion is writing songs and working on them, and making little poems and lyrics, and thinking about ways to make things fit together nicely and be special to me. I enjoy playing songs live too. It’s better than anything else in Photography by Andrew Benge
the world, isn’t it? It can’t feed your mouth but it can feed your whole soul.
“HAVING SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND YOU HAS BEEN THE BIRTH OF SO MUCH GREAT MUSIC” WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Well, we’ve just released a new EP called ‘Low Sun Long Shadows’. It’s 4 songs that we recorded in London with the lovely Margo Broom. Have a listen and see what you think—it’s not for everyone but it might be for you. We’re currently in the process of booking shows around the country and I’m writing lots of new songs so its all a lot of ‘building’ at the moment, which is a nice place to be! We’ve just got to keep going and keep learning, and keep making mistakes in order to learn, and all of that stuff we all already know. 30
WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
I can only really comment on what I see, and I know that this has been the case forever, but I’ve noticed that it has become a lot more popular recently for bands to present a social commentary. This has obviously been hugely beneficial on so many fronts, and it’s amazing to see people contributing to major changes in our society. Having something to say about the world around you has been the birth of so much great music and I feel with that being at the forefront now, more great music is sure to come in the next few years. I suppose if you’re asking what that means to me personally, though, I’d have to say ‘not much’. I just don’t use music that way. But you know, we’re all different. I just try and do it for me, because I’m not really a big opinion person for a lot of stupid reasons. Maybe I’d like to put my voice to addressing problems in the world around.
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Women in Music A three-year initiative for female (and female-identifying) music creators and industry professionals. So far projects have been led by inspirational artists including Beth Orton, Anna Meredith, Fatima Al Qadiri, Nadine Shah, Shiva Feshareki and Stealing Sheep. Find out more about opportunities and events Sign up to our newsletter at www.brightersound.com
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