COME PL AY WITH B AT F O R L A SHES AITCH ANNIE HART ALICE BOMAN DITZ BADGIRL$ AND LOTS MORE... BEHIND THE SCENES AND UNDER THE SKIN OF ALL THINGS MUSIC
PICK ME UP FOR FREE OR BUY ONLINE / #007 / DEC2019 JAN2020
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WHAT’S INSIDE
TEAM CPWM MANAGEMENT Tony Ereira tony@cpwm.co MAGAZINE Andrew Benge andy@cpwm.co LABEL Scott Lewis scott@cpwm.co DIVERSITY EVENTS PROMOTER Emily Marlow emily@cpwm.co
THIS ISSUE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
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SPECIAL THANKS In no particular order - Chris, Keong, Nisa, Natasha, Jenessa, Ian, Lindsay, Sarah, Burak, George, Jen, Jenny, Liv, Janelle, Jamie... and everyone else that helped make this happen.
SMALL PRINT
Come Play With is printed by Mixam. Copyright © 2020 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 NEWS / DEC 2019 / JAN 2020 06 BAT FOR LASHES 12 BAND TALK 14 PHOTO BOOTH 18 AITCH 21 BADGIRL$ 22 ANNIE HART 25 DITZ 26 ALICE BOMAN 3
NEWS
DEC 2019 / JAN 2020 Happy New Year everyone from all of the CPWM team. We all needed a break after a hectic but exciting 2019! Thanks to everyone that supported our last releases of 2019 in late Nov / early Dec - the beautiful Hollow Spheres from Talkboy and our AA 7” from Sea Legs (‘Favourite Doll’ - Little Indie Blogs’ Track Of The Day) and DENSE (‘Fever Dream.’) Both of these were selected from a panel than included Phil Taggart of BBCR1. It’s always good to see some of the artists we’ve worked with in the past getting some love and Team Picture released a brand new single ‘Another, Always’ - which Huw Stephens gave a spin - and released a CD of session tracks they’d recorded for John Kennedy. Expecting exciting things from that lot in the year ahead. We’re cooking up big plans now for the next single and we’re doing 2 live selection panels if anyone wants to get along and see how we choose most of our singles! The first is at our Womxn+ In Music event at Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds 25th Jan which will include Fay Milton (Savages) and Big Joanie as panellists. Then we’re hoping to do another round at the newly launched Music:Leeds Launchpad Conference, also in Leeds, 28th March. Don’t forget, if you want to support us and receive copies of everything we release physically through your door and digitally into your digital spaces before release, check us out at PATREON.COM/CPWM Please hit us up with anything you think we should be listening to or anyone you'd like to see featured in a future issues of this magazine. Happy 2020s! Tony & the CPWM team
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BAT FOR LASHES 6
Take a trip. Trip up to the sun. While our bodies are one. And we play in our minds‌
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When the sun goes down, Nikki Pink roams the streets of Los Angeles. Taken in by an vampire girl gang, she trawls out to the desert to suck the blood of her enemies, taking no prisoners. Every night is a celebration of sisterhood, of wisdom and knowingness. She is a woman in charge of her destiny, at one with the power of her surroundings. When morning comes? Pink awakes as Natasha Khan, and another day of dreaming can begin. Khan has been making music as Bat For Lashes for well over a decade, but in truth, she’s enjoyed any other number of aliases within that time. An artist with a capital A, she emerged as a alt-popstar in 2006 from a nest of gothtinged feathers, before donning the femme-fatale wig of alter-ego Pearl for 2009’s ‘Two Suns’. Subsequent years have stripped things all the back by way of ‘The Haunted Man’, before piling it all back on (and then some) to become a freshly-widowed honeymooner for ‘The Bride’. A storyteller by nature, you can never be quite sure what she’ll come up with next, which is exactly how she likes it. “I think nowadays there’s a pressure for everyone to be so constantly transparent and sharing every detail, but for me, that just goes against everything that I loved about the artists I liked growing up,” she explains. “They took on characters, and there was
this alluring attraction around them because there was a mystery to who they really were. I like social media and the raw immediacy of posting things right away, but I still like mystery. When I get onstage and start to tell people stories about trips to Death Valley or the histories of the Witches of the Moors that I’ve picked up from people there, people are so excited to hear something of quality rather than me just blabbering about my shopping list. If I’m going to tell you about myself, you’re going to get something of substance and merit, something you can remember. It’s all about communicating something worthwhile and keep it exciting and weird and mysterious for people.”
“PEOPLE ARE SO EXCITED TO HEAR SOMETHING OF QUALITY RATHER THAN ME JUST BLABBERING ABOUT MY SHOPPING LIST.”
she spent a chunk of her twenties living in New York, flitting back and forth before settling in her current home of LA. “Having a countryside upbringing definitely gives you more chance to rebel in the quiet,” she considers. “There were some very idyllic moments that allow you to connect with nature and learn that practice of contemplation and escaping into your own imagination instead of constantly having a million distractions. I remember dressing up as Courtney Love and standing at Rickmansworth station in this babydoll dress with ripped stockings and red lipstick and hairspray, and people just being so shocked by my presence. You can be a real freak in suburbia; in the city you’re just competing with other people. I’ve always had quite a strong relationship with America; culturally and musically – being quite a young girl and reading so much about native American history, huge national parks and trees, all of that was quite romantic and alluring to me. I moved to LA just because at that time, my whole community of people had moved out here, and there was just a very thriving music and dance and film scene. Being very multimedia myself, I like to be in places where I can tap into all of the different artistic forms that I like.”
Exciting, weird and mysterious is certainly an ongoing theme of Khan’s life. Raised in rural Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, she was always an imaginative child, something she channelled into It was this multimedia a pre-fame stint as a nursery inclination that actually led teacher. Outgrowing the UK, 9
Khan into the brainspace of her latest album, ‘Lost Girls’. With no real desire to make another Bat For Lashes album, she was instead set on creating a movie script, exploring the world of Nikki Pink and her new vampire gang, for which music would come later. Lead single ‘Kids In The Dark’ was something of a happy accident, a song recorded at JJ Abrams studio for a Stephen King TV series. When the pairing didn’t work out, Khan thankfully reclaimed the “heady, romantic feelings” of the track for her own - without even trying, she’d found the stimulus for a record she didn’t know she wanted to make, paying homage to the 80s popculture of her youth. “I love that I grew up in a time when there were all these fantastic new machines and sounds and movements, all these bands dressing up in make-up and using drum machines – so much playing and exploration and freedom.” she smiles. “Some of the songs that were in the charts at that time would never make it into the charts now. I just feel like it was a very expansive time, and I’ve always gone back to it because it gives me this very warm, sparkling, phenomenal feeling. When I moved to LA, I suddenly felt like I was in those scenes from the movies – I was in that neighbourhood where they were riding the bikes from ET, I was on those mountains from Flight of Words by Jenessa Williams
the Navigator. There’s all these Stephen Spielberg references everywhere, all these things that resonated and unlocked these wonderful memories. And then I tried to combine that with modern day production techniques to bring it into the now – there’s a ton of ways we did things on this record that would never have been done that way in the 80s, so hopefully we’ve created something of a new landscape or soundtrack in a way.”
“I DON’T REALLY TEND TO MAKE PLANS; THINGS RATHER TURN UP WHEN I NEED TO DO THEM.” ‘Lost Girls’ in the bag, Khan’s attention can now turn to the next creative outlet. Her attention is constantly pulled in a whole selection of ways; while taking a break from music she ran meditation workshops for prisoners, and did a stint as an artist-inresidence in a continuation scheme for kids who hadn’t got the credits they needed from traditional high school. She’s like to do more of that, she thinks, or potentially lecturing. She’s illustrated a children’s book that she’d quite like published, and has a few ideas for a podcast. And then of course there is 10
the small matter of finishing this script that was meant to predate the record, and possibly, somewhere in the future, another album, if the fates move her. “I don’t really tend to make plans; things rather turn up when I need to do them.” she says. “I’ve just turned 40 and I feel like I’m in my prime of feeling like a knowledgeable person. Me and my friends keep talking about being killer whales – with pods of orcas, the fertile females will be at the back getting pregnant, in the middle there’s the males, and at the very front there’s the matriarchal queens of the pod, the menopausal leaders. I’m not menopausal yet; I still feel very young and vibrant, but I’ve got the wisdom of being 40. I’m really excited to be in my prime and start sharing more of that wisdom.” The latest Bat For Lashes album "Lost Girls" is out now.
Photography by Logan White
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BAND TALK AHEAD OF THE UPCOMING RIFFEST #2 WE ASK EACH ARTIST TO TELL US ABOUT THE OTHERS ON THE LINE-UP AND ANY STORIES THEY HAVE...
CROWS on Strange Bones James: Crows and Strange Bones are like passing ships in the night; we always seem to play the same cities and the same venues but so far, we’ve never been able to see them play. Their live show looks chaotic, though, so we’re definitely looking forward to sharing the stage with them at RIFFFEST #2.
STRANGE BONES on Calva Louise
BROODERS on 99% Cobra
Bobby: Calva Louise are my favourite up and coming band. Their sound is extremely innovative and they are next-level-good live; exceptional musicians, I would go as far as to say they’re the best live band around; it’s actually annoying how good Jess is on guitar. I first saw them play at a festival in Glasgow and ever since then I’ve been hooked. You will be too, dear reader. Do yourself a favour and clip your speakers out now.
Adam: Throughout the whole planning process of RIFFFEST #2 one of the biggest challenges has been deciding on who is best to open the bill with a bang. With so many amazing bands at our disposal for the day we had to choose one with the ability to grab people’s attention and hurl it around the room like a dodgeball of intense riffery. We'd been told legendary tales of 99% Cobra through the grapevine of this wonderful scene and as a result we could think of no better band to kick off proceedings following reputation alone. After experiencing their raw power at Humber Street Sesh this year (and being outdone on a guitar smashing competition) we couldn't resist pulling the Hull howlers into the frenzy. RIFFFEST #2 will be a rollercoaster ride from the word go, but we can’t think of any band more fitting to start the ride than 99% Cobra. 12
CALVA LOUISE on Crows
DEAD NAKED HIPPIES on Dense
Jess: When I moved to the UK for the first time I was keen on going to as many gigs as I could, to get a better understanding of what music meant here. The first gig that I attended in the UK was watching Slaves, with Crows and Wonk Unit supporting. When I attend gigs, I find that I best enjoy music with my eyes closed. On this occasion, I was right at the front of the audience for Crows, with my eyes shut, when I got a tap on my arm. I was so lost in the moment that I had failed to notice the front man James looming over me with microphone in hand making direct eye contact. It was quite a shock opening my eyes from this moment of musical serenity to see James staring me down up close and personal. Since that show, though, I knew what path I had to take. I ended up getting involved with Wonk Unit following that gig, which lead to a chain of events that resulted in the formation of Calva Louise in the modern times. So, to some degree the process and inspiration of forming Calva Louise all began with Crows. Am I excited about seeing Crows headlining RIFFFEST #2? Hell yes, I am!
Jacob: Dense are a band that sound like they could regularly share a stage with Sex Bob-Omb and Crash and The Boys in a fictional Toronto. Urgent and raw, but with a swaggering menace that will have even the crossed armed gig goers at the back of the room nodding in rhythm. The guttural and chaotic vocals are a perfect accompaniment to the sludgy carnage raging behind them, Sam’s unrelenting drums keep the picture moving along with Dylan’s bass riffs offering an endearing nod to early Sabbath. My biggest complaint about this band is that they haven’t got more songs released, aside from one single and numerous live videos, so it’s hard to sink my teeth into their work. I’d be really interested to see in which direction they’d take with an EP. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they produce in the future and can’t wait to see their set at RIFFFEST #2.
DENSE on Dead Naked Hippies
99% COBRA on Brooders
Charlie: Each of us have seen Dead Naked Hippies individually in a different venue around Leeds and on the summer festival circuit, and we can definitely vouch that they are one of the fiercest live bands in the city at the moment. We truly resonate with their performance, given the amount of noise they make as a three-piece, as well as being part of the Come Play with Me alumni that we have recently joined. We are big fans of their single Drain You and their newest release, Eyes Wide, is a stellar vocal performance. Being one of three ‘local’ bands on the RIFFFEST #2 line up, we are psyched to share a stage with a band flying the flag for the Leeds scene around the country.
Rob: We’ve all been aware of Brooders for quite some time now but, until RIFFFEST #2, we’ve never crossed paths through touring or anything else. Their latest single Caged showed just how similar we can be to each other. Fuzz heavy math rock riffs is what we’re all about. One thing is clear when it comes to Brooders music, it’s that they do what they want and in doing so they sound like no one else in the UK music scene. We’re very excited to play with them in January.
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RIFFEST #2 takes place Sat 25th January 2020 at Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds. Tickets available from Dice, Jumbo Records and Crash Records.
PHOTO BOOTH
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01 IDLES (LINDSAY MELBOURNE) 02 DENSE (SARAH OGLESBY) 03 THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS (ANDREW BENGE) 04 LIZZO (BURAK CINGI) 05 FREYA RIDINGS (ANDREW BENGE) 06 SEAZO (GEORGE HARRISON) 07 ESTHER (GEORGE HARRISON) 08 ROSALIA (BURAK CINGI)
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AITCH
Finding your place beyond the confines of your surroundings takes courage, time and determination, but putting your name on the map on a national scale takes all of this and much more! 18
The UK grime scene may have originated from London but regional circuits continue to gain strength and this past year has seen a select number of artists truly break out beyond their region into the national scene. The landscape of the industry in 2019 has certainly been a contributing factor to this, with social media and online distribution allowing for ever growing instant consumer influence, but it is clear that those who have made it into the national playing field have done more than just post content online. The finest example of an artist doing just that is Aitch. Hailing from Manchester, he may only be 19 years old but in the last year Aitch has gone beyond giving us a ‘Taste’ of what’s to come, placing himself amongst some of the industry’s household names.
the release of a number of singles and features. These include tracks such as, ‘Wait’, ‘Keisha & Becky Remix’ and ‘Strike a Pose’. This rapid release schedule of songs that resonated with his ever-growing audience was one of the main factors that contributed to his growth, as he ensured that focus remained on his brand through delivering regular content. Despite this the rate at which Aitch’s following increased was a surprise to him and the team. And whilst Aitch, ‘expected to blow’ he also thought that it wouldn’t happen so quickly. ‘It was a bit of a shock. It was an expected shock.’
“I COULDN’T GO ON A BREAK FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS, NO ONE’S INTERESTED. KEEP GRAFTING, JUST KEEP WORKING.”
The power of social media and online distribution are evident in establishing Aitch’s place in the industry. The success of his music video on YouTube for his single Straight Rhymez, was the first of his songs to reach that wider audience. However, whilst it may sometimes seem that this is simply a case of creating and distributing Aitch affirms With content changing that: significance quicker than ever once an artist is beginning to ‘Definitely social media and gain momentum continuing to YouTube plays a part in it but build on this is vital, and it is also it was the work that was clear that Aitch is very aware going on in the background of that. that made it what it was. We were going to London, making ‘People like to take a rest our first millie, doing radio before they’ve made it but sets, so it wasn’t necessarily you can’t really do that. Or just the music it was the people like to keep people things we were doing in the waiting for too long. Saying background as well.’ I might drop this tune I might not and even me now There was clearly no let-up I couldn’t even do that. I in the work rate occurring couldn’t go on a break for in the background, as months and months, no one’s building off the back of interested. Keep grafting, just the success of Straight keep working.’ Rhymez Aitch continued to gain momentum through Aitch has done far from take 19
a break, instead following up his string of singles by bringing us his EP H20 at the start of September. An 8 track EP, the meaning behind the title of H20 carries some strong sentiments. Firstly, on the tracks, ‘They all seemed to just flow nicely together back to back and we just put two and two together like water flows, man flow.’ Then to a bold statement, ‘We can’t live without H20 and I just come with the approach I don’t think the scene would be alive without me basically.’ This point was proven when he then announced his first headline UK tour and it sold out in just 7 minutes! No mean feat for an artist whose career truly began to take off just earlier in the year. With this acting as a clear indicator for demand and national appeal, he announced a second set of UK live dates for December. ‘The tour in September was mental, it was crazy, bare energy. The crowds were sick! This next tour in December we’re just looking to make everything bigger and better really. Obviously the venues are bigger, there’s gonna be more people, so we need to put on more of a show for them.’ Proving that he’s now beyond even the confines of the national scene and instead well and truly a part of the global scene, in 2020 Aitch is also taking the H20 tour to his audience outside the UK. ‘Then I’ve got the Europe and New Zealand and Australia tour coming up. I’m looking forward to seeing what my audience is like over there.’ Despite the ever expanding regional rap scenes, being from Manchester, and anywhere outside of London, does make some aspects of cementing your place in the scene more challenging.
Aitch is fully aware of that especially when, ‘I need to leave my house at 8 to get to London so it’s sometimes earlier mornings than needed maybe or something like that.’ However, Aitch acknowledges, ‘Other than that I would say I’ve got the best job in the world.’ Perhaps another marker or contributor to his growing success is Aitch’s campaign with Northface, which has seen him in JD Sports around the country. ‘We done a campaign with Northface so I ended up doing some bits and bobs with them so now everytime I want to buy a pair of Airforce I see my face. Not too bad but I’m sick of seeing my face now.’ It’s clear in the way Aitch describes his career and music that he has an assured sense of confidence in his abilities and this seems to translate to live performances too where Aitch says he doesn’t get nerves when performing. ‘Nah never, I just do it. It’s just a natural process now. I don’t really get nerves, I don’t know why, I just don’t.’ This lack of nerves is most certainly a blessing when it comes to keeping his cool and featuring on tracks with some of the industry heavyweights. Recently featured on the remix of Ed Sheeran and Stormzy’s track ‘Take Me Back to London’, alongside Birmingham based Jaykae, Aitch has once again collaborated with Stormzy, featuring on a track on Stormzy’s new album. Released in December 2019, it was a collaboration that came about naturally.
put my verse on it and sent it back. And it was just that simple really. Hopefully it’ll have a sick reaction.’
“I WANT TO DO A TUNE WITH LILY ALLEN. I THINK SHE’S SICK. YEAH SHE’S JUST WAVEY. I THINK ME AND HER WOULD MAKE A SICK TUNE.” Yet whilst these features and collaborations are exciting, for Aitch the craziest part of this year was ‘the EP going to number 3 or Taste going to number 2, I would say that’s the sickest thing and then the only reason it didn’t go to number one is because the Ed Sheeran tune was there, and I was on the remix anyway.’ Undeniably these collaborations are yet another way to break out of the regional scene and with this string of them under his belt it will be interesting to see who the rapper collaborates with next. Often artists do something slightly unexpected and Aitch’s dream collaboration may be just that. ‘I want to do a tune with Lily Allen. I think she’s sick. Yeah she’s just wavey. I think me and her would make a sick tune. I’ve talked to her a couple of times, I’m gonna make it happen.’
Whilst Aitch’s career has gone global, he still continuously ‘That was just his people know champions the Manchester my people innit. I’ve met him scene. The UK is continuing loads of times and he had the to create equally diverse tune already and he must have and prevalent scenes and felt like I’d sound good on it Manchester certainly offers and he sent it me over and I one of them. ‘Mastermind, Words by Jen Hyman
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Geko, Meekz, Ragoloco, Kay Rico. The list goes on. There’s bare people in Manchester. A long list. I would say if you’re trying to find Manchester artists you just need to go on my Instagram and look at the people I follow. The artists in Manchester are doing their thing, everyone’s putting in work now.’ This work rate seems to be a theme that is continuous for Aitch who has plenty more to come in the next year with, ‘More sick music, more shows, festivals next year, you’ll catch me there at all the shows.’ His work ethic and growing success see him in good shape to dominate the scene in 2020. YouTube recently announced him as one of their ones to watch for 2020, an accolade that has previously been held by the likes of Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa. With the many factors that have contributed to his success this year, perhaps the most crucial but often overlooked is self-belief and Aitch certainly displays that. Wise beyond his years Aitch leaves us with one final thought, ‘Don’t take too much advice off a certain individual because their circumstances aren’t always the same as yours.’ Aitch has just received a nomination for Best New Artist at this years BRIT Awards. The album "AitcH20" is out now on Northern Quarterz.
5 QUESTIONS
BADGIRL$ WHO ARE YOU? We are Badgirl$ TV from Manchester (mostly). or just Badgirl$ if you’re trying to find us on Spotify etc. WHAT DO YOU DO? We are a band or a group or whatever IDK, all three of us are vocalists, Bill produces as well, and we record some vocals. WHY DO YOU DO IT? Bill just got a cat, he’s called Spooks. Bubz getting married next year. Cooks is auditioning for the new James Bond.
“BILL JUST GOT A CAT, HE’S CALLED SPOOKS. BUBZ GETTING MARRIED NEXT YEAR. COOKS IS AUDITIONING FOR THE NEW JAMES BOND...” Apart from that we are just working on new music 24/7.
in a couple months, “Stadium songs for support tours”. It’s just classics on classics and maybe a couple features! WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC? I think Badgirl$ should be the hot topic, we are the most underrated band ATM, TBF we may not have released enough yet but 2020 is ours for real. Check back this Spring for more news on upcoming projects.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? We got a new Ep coming out 21
Photography by Burak Cingi
ANNIE HART Fusing New York attitude and her life experiences to create minimalist pop tunes with an emotive message. 22
Introspective lyrics, DIYdriven and minimal are three terms that can be used to describe Annie Hart's music. After achieving a respectable degree of fame with the synth trio Au Revoir Simone, Hart decided to flex her songwriting skills and take her talents to the next level by releasing a couple of solo tunes that are equal parts emotive, chilling and reflective. Annie Hart's latest album, 'A Softer Opening', is an epitome of her illustrious career. The album is a reminder of Hart's roots as it's heavily centred around keys and vocals. As a child, music was her first love and true passion. "For Christmas, we got a little Casio keyboard. I think it was supposed to be for my brothers. I ended up taking it to my room and writing all the time. We didn't have any piano lessons, so it was something I did for fun on my own," she recalled fondly. "It's more of a compulsion to play and a way to keep me sane. It's like a meditative experience, and it's something I enjoy doing." Hart's initial foray into the professional world of music come about in college when her friends invited her to become part of their band. After that band dismantled, two of the original band members joined Hart to form Au Revoir Simone. The rest, as they say, is history. "We're all hard workers (*referring to the band members of Au Revoir Simone) since we're New Yorkers. We got so much
joy out of creating. We got asked to play a concert and from there, people started getting our music and inviting us to play shows. For me, it was kind of surreal since I went from it (her music) being something that no one cared about, to, suddenly, having more and more people coming to the shows." she said.
“WE PRINTED OUR OWN ALBUMS, SCREEN PRINTED THE COVERS, WALKED AROUND RECORD STORES TO SELL THEM...�
There's also another artist that inspires me... Julie Byrne. Both of those women created albums that are so minimal and understated," Hart said. "Listening to that music inspired me to record the songs that I had written even though I had a fear of non-acceptance. The music industry is so huge... I reasoned that I should claim that little space. There's a beauty in quiet music that it felt good to honour it by just keeping the songs as a unit. I thought that the album would be more of a 'world'... something you could just put on and listen to."
The songstress continued by saying that for her, songwriting serves as "We released our own a personal cathartic albums... (we printed our experience. As her songs own albums, screen printed revolve around her own the covers, walked around experiences, she feels that record stores to sell them she's not yet ready to share on consignment and played those intimate occurrences concerts). It started growing. during songwriting sessions. We got signed to record "I also don't have much labels in Europe and Japan time," she explained. "I'm and started touring, touring a mother, and I have a lot and touring. After ten years of things going on in my of playing in that band, it life, so I don't have enough started getting bigger, and it time to carve that close of was really fun." a relationship that's needed to be in a band. So I just kept The band's eventual it personal." extended hiatus proved to be an opportunity for Annie Her DIY attitude is something Hart to divert her attention that immediately comes to her original solo material. across through her music. "I gravitated towards sad She produces her songs and melancholic songs. I've and also dabbles in music always been a little afraid video production. Being a of sharing them since it New Yorker, this work ethic requires more patience from and 'hustler' mentality is a listener to be interested deeply ingrained. During in quiet music. However, I her teenage years, Hart was really inspired by Gia used to attend punk and Margaret... she's amazing! house shows that deeply 23
resonated with her belief that 'If somebody else can do it, why can't I do it?'. As a result, nowadays, she prefers to take the reins when it comes to the overall creative process. Hart also speaks highly of the city that shaped her. "New York is such a cool place since it's impossible to be lazy here. It's inspiring since it encourages you to work really hard and take advantage of the opportunities that are here. There are so many people, concerts, music stores, friends to collaborate with.." she gushes. "The cost of living is so high that you always have to work and create. If you don't, you don't really get to do it. I'm
glad I ended up here since it fits my personality."
if you make something that you love, it gives you the confidence to talk about it and to be excited about it. It also gives you credibility in that you believe in your music and that it's ready for the world to hear."
And the New York singersongwriter scene? "There are a lot of artists in New York! For the album release show, I'm playing with two of my friends: Drew Citron - she has a beautiful The new solo album, "A voice and a great method Softer Offering" is out now. of songwriting - and Jane Herships - she's got a record coming out that's so good." At the end of the interview, I asked Annie Hart if she could give some advice to the singer-songwriters out there who are reluctant to release their music. She perfectly summarised her years of experience in two sentences: "Only make music that you wanna hear:
Words by Janelle Borg
Photography by Sebastian Kim
CURRENT 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
DIGGING DEEPER
DITZ ON... BEING DIY
I’m Anton from DITZ - noise rock kinda post-punk from Brighton, known for erratic live shows influenced by early hardcore and noise rock. Lots of guitar effects are a big part of our sound, setting us apart from the UK’s post-punk scene. Or so people say... I never really knew what I wanted to do in music when I started Uni, but knew something could happen. Getting into a band was never really my initial plan and I’d not played in a band prior to DITZ, except for covering ‘Sorry I’m Not A Winner’ for a school talent show. I always enjoyed going to local shows and supporting touring bands, some of which are bands that we play with today. Mental!
Whilst also being in one of Brighton’s most iconic bands, I promote shows - often it’s artists big and small in a variety of venues, usually guitar music, bits of other genres and just stuff I think people would like. Originally, nobody wanted to put on DITZ so I made it happen myself. Touring is expensive and I’ve seen it from both sides, sometimes it sucks, but most of the time it's the best days of your life. Understanding that most of these bands are skint nearly all of the time but still getting out there and doing what they love makes the sometimes thankless task super rewarding. Being a promoter often made me quite popular with bands we played with, I’ve made a lot 25
of good mates along the way. Buzzy bands would often get snapped up by bigger promoters, understandably. But these bigger promoters would often screw over these bands by not promoting their show properly, but I wanted to change that. It might’ve taken 3 years and burnt a massive hole in my pocket, but more bands are becoming promoters (like LUMER and BDRMM - Bleakhaus). This DIY attitude needs to become less of a fashion statement, helping to grow grassroots live music scenes and supporting other artists up and down the country. ‘Total 90’ (Alcopop! Records) is out now. DITZ head out on tour in February 2020. Photography by Jamie MacMillan
5 QUESTIONS
ALICE BOMAN WHO ARE YOU?
I’m Alice Boman. Born in Malmö, but now living and working in Stockholm since 3 years.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I put my feelings into words and music.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
Because it’s a way for me to express myself and understand what I’m feeling and going through in life. And because I love to sing and to play - alone at the piano or sharing that experience with others. I love how time and place kind of cease to exist in those moments.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
I am eagerly waiting for the release of my album Dream On that is out on Jan 17 next year. The master has been done for 6
“SOMETHING THAT WORRIES AND UPSETS ME, AND THAT’S THE USE OF AI IN MUSIC MAKING. TO ME THE HUMAN TOUCH IS CRUCIAL” months now and we have kept on working on designs etc, but now I'm so ready. I’m naturally both excited and nervous about it but I cannot wait for it to be out in the world. For people to hear it and for me to move on to playing those songs live - and also to start working on new things.
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WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
It’s not a hot topic really but something I have read about recently and something that worries and upsets me, and that’s the use of AI in music making. To me the human touch is crucial. For it to feel authentic. For people to be able to relate to another person - not a computer. And I know that AI will hardly take over and that people will not stop making music - so I should probably not be that worried but I still don’t like the idea of it at all. Something important gets lost. And I feels like a lot of things today are moving in the wrong direction. The debut album "Dream On" is out on 17th January on [PIAS] Play It Again Sam.
Photography by Märta Thisner
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COME PL AY WITH AITCH B AT F O R L A S HE S ANNIE HART ALICE BOMAN DITZ BADGIRL$ AND LOTS MORE... BEHIND THE SCENES AND UNDER THE SKIN OF ALL THINGS MUSIC
PICK ME UP FOR FREE OR BUY ONLINE / #007 / DEC2019 JAN2020
