COME PL AY WITH T HE GROWL ERS MOSES BOYD
EMMA ZILLMANN / FROM THE FIELDS CARO S A R A H M A RY CHA DWICK BABII L U X LYA L L AND LOTS MORE... BEHIND THE SCENES AND UNDER THE SKIN OF ALL THINGS MUSIC
PICK ME UP FOR FREE OR BUY ONLINE / #008 / MAR2020
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The Unthanks The Futureheads 10 Beardyman The Lovely Eggs years She Drew The Gun Brix & The Extricated Lanterns On The Lake Roddy Woomble Beans On Toast 11
Big Joanie / Allusinlove / Too Many T’s / Peggy Sue / Hands Off Gretel West Wickhams / The Bleeding Obvious / Ric Neale / The New Nostalgia Hannah Trigwell / Rev Magnetic / Mush / Faith Eliott / Abbie Ozard Before Breakfast / Fonda 500 / The State Of Georgia / Macroscope / LIO Priestgate / Jermaine Peterson / Reardon Love / Alice Nicholls / Scarlet The Golden Age Of TV / Joe Russell Brown / Yard Act / Ding Frisby / Samh Team Picture / Low Hummer / POZI / Dead Naked Hippies / Faux Pas Jodie Nicholson / Langkamer / Martha Hill / Katie Spencer / Mt Doubt Foundlings / Cowgirl / Life Model / Ruthie / Look Mum No Computer One Day, After School / In Peru / Tiger By The Tail / Genevieve L Walsh Weekend Recovery / Wise Willis / Ruthie Adamson AKA Wonky Wordsmith Alex Asher / AJ McKenna / Casee Wilson / Steven B Williams / dbparker Surface Waves / Alligator Moon / The Hyde / Drain-Age / Lemon Drink Martini Police / Red Shakes / Ava In The Dark / Bunkerpop / Burning Bones Jasmine / LADY / Goridan Stimm / Straight Girl / VENUS / Central Arcade Mildred Pierce / Green Gardens / Dan Greaves / The Jarrs / Fran Minney Men In Glass Houses / Hannah Willwood / HerTiltedMoons / Chloe Wilson Mad Leisure / Mt Misery / Rock Bottom Risers / Charlie Padfield Band Electric Press / Sarah Watson / The Harriets / Ben Robinson / Pavillion Emily Parish / Lloyd James Faye / Luna & The Moon / Michael Dailey Machine / The Passing Fancy / In The Morning Lights / Mayshe Mayshe
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free family activities across the weekend
04–07 June
Across Wakefield City Centre www.longdivisionfestival.co.uk
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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 - Dean, Janelle, Rachael, Dan, Francis, Aidan, Harry, Sarah, Burak, Jo, Liz, Suzanne, Jodie, Dean, Emma, Louisa, Andy, Nisa, Jenni... 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 / MARCH 2020 06 THE GROWLERS 12 EMMA ZILLMANN / FROM THE FIELDS 15 SARAH MARY CHADWICK 16 PHOTO BOOTH 18 MOSES BOYD 21 CARO 22 ROCK THE SOUTH / MALTA 24 NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH / EAST YORKSHIRE 26 BABII 28 YOUTUBE PUNK 30 LUX LYALL 3
NEWS
MARCH 2020 Welcome to our new issue everyone. We’ve deliberately been lying low for the early part of 2020 while we pulled plans together for the year ahead and can now share some of those things coming up. We’re just about to launch Come Platform Me - a series of events in and around Leeds throughout 2020 designed to showcase some amazingly talented women, minority gender and LGBTQIA+ performers and promoters. Thanks to the Arts Council for supporting us again to deliver this series of events. Our first single of the year will come from two brilliant Leeds bands - Van Houten, fresh from releasing their debut album last year, and In The Morning Lights. We asked our pal, the awesome Emily Pilbeam, new Presenter of BBC Introducing West Yorkshire, to choose an artist that she was really into and she wanted to throw her weight behind ITML! Anyone that made it along to our Womxn+ In Music event in late January will have seen the live selection from a ridiculously strong 8 finalists for an Autumn single from Chanté Amour & Straight Girl. We’ve got news of stages at Live At Leeds, Long Division, Heelapalooza and one other key national festival to come in the weeks ahead. As ever, the quality of new music coming out of Yorkshire is so strong. We’ll be doing our best to bring you some of it during 2020! Enjoy the magazine and thanks for your support as always - comments and feedback always welcome. Tony & the CPWM team.
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THE GROWLERS 6
From ruckus warehouse parties decorated with dolls heads and bizarre art, to putting lofi sounds on the map. Now, with Natural Affair, Brooks Neilsen is giving us a glimpse inside their dysfunctional, but loveable family. 7
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When I meet Brooks, he’s fresh from a cheeky shot of tequila “If I’m gonna go sit in a bright room and talk I probably should.” Jokes aside, Neilsen is warm and apparently well-rested after an extra night in London. That being said, he has a continuous creative awkwardness about him, one that follows him on stage. For those unfamiliar with Brooks Neilsen and Matt Taylor, I’ll say this: The Growlers are so admired they could be a cult. Some would consider them pioneers of DIY rock and roll, but we know that stretches back far beyond their lifespan. Their new release "Natural Affair", though having a more upbeat dance vibe, is still signed with their signature sound.
grown and that’s largely due to the lyrics. The themes of love, family and closeness reverberate in Neilsen and Taylor’s songwriting.
The Growlers have always been ones who don’t fuck with the rules. Some would argue they put lo-fi DIY rock and roll on the map, perhaps one of the reasons they have “It started with me talking such a large following, some about how it’s a really blurred of which are currently lining line between the weird up outside as we speak. But dysfunctional family I’ve for Neilsen, it’s always been always known of The Growlers, about the music, never what and me recently having one. came with it. I still don’t know what I’m doing, I didn’t know it then, “We were DIY because I and that’s probably okay.” didn’t know any other way. I This sentiment reflected in didn’t really want to talk to their album cover; a family people, I’d meet somebody masked in bizarre face-paint famous and I’d be like get the shot after a fight at a family fuck away from me. I had no barbecue. ambition to go and meet and collaborate and find out the way things were done or do “WE ATE, WE any of that.
SURFED WE DID SOME SHIT, THEN WE WRITE TILL 3, 4 IN THE MORNING AGAIN. IT ALL STARTS THERE. THE SAME WAY WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT.”
“It was made the same way we always make them. It’s going away to our buddies house in Topanga, he’s kind of the secret band member.” They’re referring to Kyle Mullarky, who owns the ranch the band use to get some R&R and make a record where they’ve been hiding out since the making of "City Club" in 2016. “He finally got some credit you know, saying that the produced the “Still haven’t heard it for a record, but he’s always been a long time!” Neilsen admits, really big part of it.” laughing. But that’s to expect when you’ve just spent a long “When we all meet up, we’re time agonising over every cut off from the world on this single line. “I just need some little ranch. It takes until the space, but playing it live has afternoon for us to go okay, been some satisfaction. we’re not hungover anymore. Growlers fans are very openWe ate, we surfed we did minded and take onto it really some shit, then we write till quickly." 3, 4 in the morning again. It all starts there. The same way In fact, Neilsen admits he may we’ve always done it. Before have come down with a touch that, it was mainly done in my of writer’s block, “It takes warehouse.” about 60-70 ideas to make an album. The first batch of songs "Natural Affair" still sounds as Matt gave me I just really quintessentially Growlers as couldn’t do. I didn’t know for you would expect, the upbeat the first time if I had a mental riffs and signature lo-fi sound. block or if I just couldn’t vibe But this one feels a bit more with it.” 9
I just kept us really tight and away from everything and I thought that would harbour some creativity and amateurishness that would create our own style. Us working with this very minimal gear would create this kind of mystical, ghostly vibe. I think I was right.” Making music has certainly changed since Nielson and Taylor started drinking and jamming back in a warehouse in California. A bedroom can be transformed into a high-quality studio, and the bands of today could spend a fortune recreating the lo-fi sound The Growlers can put a chef’s kiss to with the flick of a wrist and a bottle. That mostly comes down to pulling something out in the old school way. “The fact that you only have so many takes to do it because you’re running out of tape, that makes you pull something out of you. If you have a thousand takes to do it you become indecisive. Now, my time is a little more valuable and when I come to work I want to work. If I’m
neglecting something if I’m wasting time. “ I’d be amiss if I didn’t quiz Neilsen on the success of Beach Goth. Hard to define with just one meaning, “They tried to make me do that in a court of law!” he quips, it’s a catch-all term that describes the essence of The Growlers in two syllables. Not only is it the name of their label, their style and general aesthetic, but most importantly their festival that they recently won back from Noise Group after lawsuit that nearly had them lose their name. “At the beginning, we threw all these warehouse parties, that was just this kind of mayhem. Then we did the rounds and played clubs, but it was obvious that we gotta go home and throw a party the way we used to. So we got a load of friends bands, all the junk from the warehouse and decorated the venue and this little interactive stuff that Matt and I thought of to trip people out and it snowballed really quickly. Then we just got this scary feeling, like this feels wrong the capacity is wrong, some of these bands are fucking lame we would never approve this.” We had to learn the horrible side of it, find out there’s a bunch of kooks out there who are really greedy. But we won it, we got our baby back and are treating it the way we originally did. Now its got that cool, old feel and we’re doing everything, we’re in full control and it feels safe, comfortable and weird.” The last couple of years the band has been executing it exactly how they want. Weird art, cool music and all. “Last year was a major success. Everything feels really good now. This thing Words by Ella Guthrie
stays boutique until I know exactly what it is and everything flows perfectly and then we’ll expand a little. Maybe move it somewhere else maybe do something in Europe or the UK, we thought we gotta take this to Brighton, the weird UK version of Coney Island. We kind of fell in love with it over there. It was like a ghost town when we first got there, so that was the first spot we were like this is very Beach Goth.”
“NOW ITS GOT THAT COOL, OLD FEEL AND WE’RE DOING EVERYTHING, WE’RE IN FULL CONTROL AND IT FEELS SAFE, COMFORTABLE AND WEIRD.”
are. We’re a band who goes on the road, work our assess off, does it our own way.” Watching them show off their 13-year discography at the roundhouse matched up to that electric passion you can tell Neilsen still has for his night job. All the way up to the rafters, you could feel the energy from the crowd consisting of fans new and old, worshipping the gospel of a singer still attached to the slightly awkward kid who just wanted to throw a party. This makes sense, considering how Neilsen approaches a crowd, even now “I still have to have a couple of drinks, go up there, and block out the fans are there, escape for a second and fall back into where I was when I wrote it in order to perform it with any meaning.”
But all in all, The Growlers remain the best band you may have never heard of. It’s not even the catchy riffs, melodic vocals voicing emotionally hitting lyrics, it’s the authenticity. They are Barely able to contain my who they are, and no label, no excitement about a possible amount of money, no political Beach Goth collaboration with crisis is going to change that. my home town, our discussion moved to the age old question “This thing is special through of authenticity and what he fans, love and whatnot. We’re can bring himself to write just going to keep knowing about after 13 years. what we are and keeping it simple. We love being on “I practised being a grumpy the road and we love making old guy for a long time, then records.” it started to really pan out. Avoiding things and sticking The latest LP "Natural Affair" to what I like, which is very is out now on Beach Goth simple. I like to read, I like to Records & Tapes. go to the beach, hold it all in and be the quiet leader until I get my time to be creative and vomit out a lot of pent up energy.” We’ve worked underneath and around everything that’s going on. We are consistently being ourselves. We know who we 10
Photography by Andrew Benge
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EMMA ZILLMANN FROM THE FIELDS
Working for From The Fields and programming highly acclaimed festivals such as Bluedot, Kendall Calling and Inner City Electronic must, on the surface at least, rank as a pretty glamorous way to spend your working day. But it wasn’t always the case for Emma. 12
“My first gig was a 100 cap seated gig in a 40 ft deep stone cylindrical room under Brunel Museum in London. To get in you had to crawl through this tiny door. We had to get all the backline down there, the bar, everything. It sold out and I gave all the money to the band because I wasn’t a very good promoter. I just said, you’ve done all the hard work, you have the money! As first gigs go, it’s pretty unusual and surprisingly successful. But either way, things have moved on and Emma now finds herself programming hundreds of artists at a range of sites and events across the year. But whether it is down a hole or in the shadow of a radio telescope (Bluedot), the setting is key. “Location is massively important. It does depend on your lineup, but for us and what we do, it’s something that we think about a lot. Both the places we put festivals on are World UNESCO sites so we’re really inspired by the landscape.” Bluedot in particular has revolutionised the festival landscape. 2020 headliners Bjork (playing a UK exclusive Orchestral show) Groove Armada and Metronomy stand alongside an appearance from astronaut Tim Peake, lightsaber training workshops and a talk on evolution of the gag reflex. And it all makes sense, somehow. Working across such a diverse platform of events and themes raises the
question of what drives promoters like Emma; where does the passion lie? “No-one’s ever asked me that before! I’m going to say something really cheesy; it’s not specifically music. It’s more about audience reaction. That’s why I get up and do what I do. Those four days where you see people having a really good time at a thing you’ve had a hand in putting together is a pretty amazing feeling.”
“PEOPLE HAVING A REALLY GOOD TIME AT A THING YOU’VE HAD A HAND IN PUTTING TOGETHER IS A PRETTY AMAZING FEELING.” As any promoter who takes a step from hobby towards business will tell you, there is a pull between what you love, and what your public wants. Bluedot is clearly a labour of a defined passion whereas something like Kendall Calling needs to be able to appeal to three, or maybe four generations at once. It can be a difficult balance. “Ultimately it’s about catering to the audience. But for example, at Bluedot the 2020 lineup is quite balanced gender wise. But when we put out our survey (in 2019) “who do you want to see next year”, in the top one hundred names that came back, only 6 were women. But the lineup has 13
gone down well, and what we’ve given them seems to be what they want. But it’s not what they asked for! It’s fine because we know our audience are open minded and interested in finding new stuff.” For bands breaking through, this can be the most difficult stumbling block. A slot at these levels of festival can signify a real step forward. How can you prove you are what an audience wants before you’ve really got in front of that audience? “I get ideas and submissions from so many different places” Emma tells me. “It might be the official submission process, BBC Introducing or from local promoters that I know - it’s really varied and I don’t have a prescriptive way of booking emerging bands.” “I’d say part of it is timing. If it comes across my desk at the right time and it works, then it’ll happen. I make notes, keep my ear to the ground. I’d often say, applying directly to play at the festival is probably the worst way to get booked. Because we get so many.” Is a booking agent key? “If an agent gets in touch, that means the band have probably got management, they’ve probably got releases, probably played live and you know you are getting a band that is festival ready. Whereas some of the local bands, they don’t know how to make the most out of that slot and it can be a wasted opportunity.”
The other angle is to simply be a great live band, or at least a busy one. Is your name out there, on the tongues of promoters at great venues?
Emma shares some other key advice and although it is fairly obvious when written down, all too many bands can forget the basics; make sure you are applying to play relevant festivals. If you are a “That’s pretty much what I’m Pop-Punk band, don’t apply most interested in; whether to Cambridge Folk Festival. they are good live. If they’ve Make friends with other been playing and they are bands, make friends with good, people will tell other people who pass through people about it and that’s your city and that you play how a fanbase grows. I get with. requests from agents to book their little bands and “Become really well known they haven’t even toured, in your hometown” says but they’ve got massive Emma. “Then people streaming numbers. And I’m know that you are nice just not interested because to deal with and you are that is just one element of professional and turn up on an artist’s popularity. It could time etc. It increases the be three million people in chances of someone like me Russia listening and they’re hearing about you through not going to buy tickets for other people.” Kendal Calling.”
As much as it can pain the socially awkward or artistically driven - so much of it is about networking. And you either need to do that yourself, or find a professional willing to do it. It just depends how much you want to be part of the industry. For Emma, much of the hard work of programming is done. “I’m excited about the Summer. The posters for the festivals are right here in front of me and I guess when I’m looking at it, a lot of what I see is the stuff that didn’t happen. But as it gets closer, it starts to become less “words and numbers” and more the reality that I’m going to see those amazing bands I’ve booked and have a great time.”
Words by Dean Freeman
3 day ticket 109 €
POHODA FESTIVAL POHODA
9—11 JULY AIRPORT TRENČÍN SLOVAKIA 2020
TOMORROW’S MODERN BOXES
www.pohodafestival.sk 14
AWAY FROM THE NOISE
SARAH MARY CHADWICK MY ENDLESS QUEST FOR SELF life agonizing. There has been joy, and love and excitement IMPROVEMENT...
My name is Sarah Mary Chadwick and I am a musician and visual artist. I was born in New Zealand but have been based in Melbourne for about 16 years, on and off. I still have a very strong New Zealand accent. I dislike travel, so I don't go overseas much these days, although I plan to do a lot of touring in the next couple of years. I find it easy to produce a lot of work, and always have. I have problems, but making art and writing songs has never been one of them. Apart from making music and art, my endless quest for self improvement has occupied a lot of my time. Apart from all the time when I'm happy (which these days is a lot) I have found
but always under a cloud of sadness and anger that I have almost found impossible to move. This has led me to doctor, specialists, psychologists (eight total) and thankfully, eventually to psychoanalysis (one analyst for five years so far). I am an alcoholic so I have seen alcohol counsellors (two) been to AA (not much but enough to know its not for me) and tried Moderation Management. I've picked up running, endlessly walk my dogs, I have been on medication many times, I have drowned myself in literature and music, I have been close to my friends and ditched the shit ones, I have asked for help and not asked for help, I have stopped talking to my family and I have 15
worked hard at every day job I've had (well, most, some I just got drunk at). Now at 37 and after all that work, its slowly becoming easier. Sure, I have moments, I still drink way too much, I sexually act out, I have bouts of depression, one relatively recently that prompted a suicide attempt. But, overwhelmingly, it's easier. I have friends I love and a life that's pretty fucking fun with joy and romance and lots of silliness. Hang in there, hey. I've had a shocker, and look at me right now! Smiling and able to tell the tale. My ninth solo record 'Please Daddy' was out on January 24th 2020. I think it came up well. Photography by Xi Cao
PHOTO BOOTH
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01 STRANGE BONES (SARAH OGLESBY) 02 MABEL (ANDREW BENGE) 03 SLEATER-KINNY (BURAK CINGI) 04 THE MAINE (NATHAN ROBINSON)
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MOSES BOYD
Expectations are often hard to shed. But, innovation and boundary-breaking remain firmly the name of the game when it comes to drummer and producer Moses Boyd. 18
The name Moses Boyd has been doing the rounds for some time, typically in the same breath as talk of the UK's erupting jazz scene. Hailing from South London, the jazz vanguard has drummed on the likes of "Your Queen Is A Reptile" by Sons of Kemet and secured two MOBO awards as one half of Binker and Moses. He is a drummer by trade, but with three breakout solo releases under his belt, he's undoubtedly master, not jack, when it comes to producing, composing and DJ-ing too. When I catch up with the Catford-born artist, it's not your usual sit-down affair. Instead, we exchange some contemplative DMs via Moses' own fan-to-artist WhatsApp channel: The Exodus Hotline. A homegrown, encrypted solution to the restrictions of social media, the hotline means Moses is now only an add away from a one-toone with a listener. Though innovation seems to flow naturally through the jazz old hand, the recent launch of his hotline and debut album "Dark Matter" proves ingenuity has been flowing distinctly freely as of late. At any one time, his newest offering "Dark Matter" seamlessly skirts the fringes of half a dozen genres. Understandably, when the album dropped in February, there was a rush to define the work. Berghain-ready free-jazz? Downbeat afrobeat? Droned-out grime? Dark Matter's tracks are all and none of the above, the Schrödinger's cat of contemporary jazz cuts. Not like it matters to Moses. He's been dodging pigeon-holes (and cat boxes) ever since his earliest electronically-
leaning releases Displaced Diaspora and Rye Lane Shuffle respectively – the latter being mixed by dance music titans Four Tet and Floating Points.
“THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON IN THE UK AT THE TIME THAT MADE ME FEEL AND RELATE TO SOMEONE GOING THROUGH THEIR STRUGGLES...” “It's firstly instinctive”, Boyd types when we talk about his approach to mixing genres, “then the music kind of presents its sound. ('Y.O.Y.O' and '2 Far Gone' from Dark Matter) both happened like that, where I couldn't hear it going another way... those were just the sounds I was gravitating too. For this whole album, I was lucky I had time to truly explore sounds. I didn't know how to explain it, but I knew when a sound touched a feeling I was going for – it was like something I had to get out of me.” When you listen to the brew of clambering piano, strange horns, and D&B on Dark Matter's 2 Far Gone, Boyd's natural ability for splicing styles is obvious. It echoes through the whole album. An hour with Dark Matter feels like a tube ride with the lights turned off - hurtling ever forward, it navigates genre turns with absolute precision, bringing us closer to some murky destination without us seeing quite how we got there. The cold rush 19
of momentum ensures Dark Matter's mood never once dips into lethargy, despite the underlying political darkness Moses has been influenced by recently. “At the time, I wasn't aware, I was just creating, but when I looked back at what was going on, Brexit... Grenfell... the Windrush scandal, it had a big impact on the sound. There was so much going on in the UK at the time that made me feel and relate to someone going through their struggles on the other side of the world. Wherever I went in the world I felt connected to random people, I could see external conditions affecting someone very tangibly.” Moses tells me this is where his title Dark Matter came from. After all, dark matter is an unseen substance that connects and effects everything around us, for him, it was a “perfect metaphor.” These might seem like weighty, astronomical themes for a dance floor-jazz record, but such a concept stays true to Moses' bigger-picture ambition - a quality that's seen him take on ventures outside of the studio as well as in. Since the launch of his WhatsApp Exodus Hotline, Moses has gathered legions of numbers from late-night Dark Matter listeners and London Jazz fanatics alike. In theory, anyone can now message the producer directly. “It's been interesting to see how people relate to direct contact”, Moses muses. “They're not used to the concept, understandably, so it's been a learning experience for people that message me.” Rather like Dark Matter, the hotline responds to systems
of separation. Although this time it's the barriers that come in a newsfeed – analytics, ads, algorithms, it all stands in the way for Moses. The return to almost simple telephone technologies is an ingenious way to combat this disconnection, but it's also a stellar business move for Boyd. “It started from realising the restrictions social media platforms have in preventing you from reaching your audience,” Boyd explains. “I wanted to get back to the core of building a full-proof way to reach anyone who wants to be reached - without having to pay a billion-dollar company to do so. Don't get me wrong, business is business. But I get annoyed with feeding the machine and getting little out of it.” Although not a new concept – Moses says he was inspired by a similar app built by recording artist Ryan Leslie – the potential of the hotline is evident even in its early stages. Considering Boyd's personal goal to build an Exodus phone book of 10K, it's easy to imagine the possibilities all this on-tap customer data offers a new release. For now, the artist is already showing us the power of his phone book - Boyd's impressive roster of collaborators is, after all, a trademark of his. The list includes the likes of Sampha, Kelsey Lu, Nubya Garcia, and Little Simz. Last year he even worked alongside fashion heavyweights to produce a score for the Men's Dunhill Paris fashion show - true to form, Boyd tells me he organised a fashion week after-party solely using the Exodus Hotline. Words by Liz Gorny
Such a diverse backcatalogue of collaborations spawns partly from his evereclectic music taste - when I ask Boyd about his bucket list collaborator, he responds “Bjork”, with zero hesitation. Here, perhaps Boyd's jazz upbringing shines through. Much of the producer’s boundary-pushing nature comes not from a need to be controversial, but a free-wheeling openness to sounds and combinations of all kinds – so long as the final arrangement works.
“I WANTED TO GET BACK TO THE CORE OF BUILDING A FULLPROOF WAY TO REACH ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BE REACHED...”
lyrics. Usually, artists need something to go off, but he just heard the beat and sonics and perfectly summarised it all. He even said he couldn't relax until it was done, something in him had to finish the song there and then.” This instinctive trait seems to be shared by the two collaborators. Make no mistake, Moses is reaping an artistic assuredness that comes from years spent at Trinity Laban, endless rounds of the London circuit, and a decade cutting his teeth with jazz greats like Gary Crosby. And yet, the drummer seems to possess an intuition that guides even his most uncharted experiments; whether that be a genrebending release or a new way to connect with his audience. At the end of my chat with Moses, I ask for a picture of his view at the time. He buzzes straight back with a photo of some mac and cheese straight out of a cafe in Glasgow - he'd mentioned to me earlier that “having the mornings off in a city keeps you sane on tour.” As an artist that's rushing towards new experimental horizons with the pace and precision of a clangorous Max Roach-esque drum solo, it's good to know he slows down once in a while. Even if only for a half-beat.
The most recent of Moses' expertly picked unions, is with fellow London up-and-comer Obongjayar. The rappercum-singer lent his rasping voice to Moses' politically charged Dancing in the Dark – a clinging track that glues together Dark Matter's larger themes of disenfranchisement and diaspora. Like so many of The debut LP "Dark Matter" is Moses' arrangements, he tells out now on Exodus Records. me Obongjayar's all-too fitting lyrics came, not from the heart, but somewhere closer to the gut. “It was pretty special”, Moses reminisces. “When we got together in the studio, he had no idea of the themes or ideas of the album and in a few hours he wrote the whole 20
Photography by Andrew Benge
5 QUESTIONS
CARO WHO ARE YOU? We are the artist currently known as Caro. WHAT DO YOU DO? We make music and sometimes make other things too, such as clay urine monsters and tie-dye balaclavas. WHY DO YOU DO IT? Sometimes it's because we want to leave some evidence of our existence after we're dead and sometimes it's because we want to boogie. WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? Bryn is looking into the ramifications of adding
“BRYN IS LOOKING INTO THE RAMIFICATIONS OF ADDING ANOTHER ROW TO THE STANDARD CADBURY'S DAIRY MILK BAR...” another row to the standard Cadbury's dairy milk bar and what effect that could have on male fertility rates, the results thus far are promising. Andrew is deep into his training to become one of Bondi beaches elite lifeguards 21
so that he can star on the hit Australian TV show 'Bondi Rescue.' And I'm currently thinking about starting to try and prepare to approach learning how to do a backflip. WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC? We really think that the internet is going to be the next big thing. The new single ‘Form A Line’ is out now.
Photography by Andrew Benge
IN FOCUS
ROCK THE SOUTH / MALTA Rock The South Malta has become a staple in the Maltese music scene and a much-needed platform for international touring acts to visit the islands – especially considering the fact that there’s a significant indie music following. 2020 marks the 9th edition of the festival which has grown steadily each and every year. This year, Leeds-based alternative rock band Pulled Apart By Horses will be the main headliners on the 16th of May 2020, together with the American, post-metal band Staghorn and the Anglo-Greek outfit Balothizer. Previous headliners include Soccer 96 (UK), Giungla (IT) , Sdang! (IT), Porcupine Tree's Colin
Edwin (UK), Zatopeks (UK) and Bo Ningen (JP). As from 2018, Rock the South has partnered with UK music group Phantom Limb – a company that works with independent labels, live touring, music publishing and worldwide distributors. Through this connection, the Maltese festival can be more ambitious and more selective when booking artists.
FRIDAY 15TH MAY
Rheez, The Ranch, Caro, Roża, Djun, Eyes to Argus, Eddie Fresco Yung Belial (IT) Band In A Camp: ĦAJ, Hearts Beating in Time, Rip Off (HU), Ralston Bowles (US), Oxygyn, Lucy's Last, Royals 22
SATURDAY 16TH MAY
Krishna, Rambler (UK), Beesqueeze, The Areola Treat, Bark Bark Disco, Bila, Yews, Danjeli, Pulled Apart By Horses (UK) Silent Disco: Black Plague VS MIB Crew
SUNDAY 17TH MAY
A Black White Satellite, Damaged & Co, 400ppm, Double Standard, Goldstein, Align The Tide, Thrashacre, Dripht, Nomad Son, R.A.S, Balothizer (UK/GR), Staghorn (USA), BNI Silent Disco: Bass Culture VS Rock The South Crew For more information about the event go to: www.rockthesouthmalta.com For tickets go to: bit.ly/2TC709q
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www.rockthesouthmalta.com
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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
EAST YORKSHIRE
of programming for Humber Street Sesh, a 32,000 cap festival catering for new emerging regional and national artists since 2012.
BANDS AND ARTISTS
INTRODUCTION
There’s recently been a new crop of artists within the city which has been really refreshing.
I’m Daniel, 28, Hull City Fan, singer in Post Punk Five Piece Low Hummer, and promoter for Sesh Events and VMS Live. My day job involves lots of different roles!
Priestgate, Autosuggestion and Spilt Milk all create visceral aggressive post punk along more established artists like Life, Lumer and Cannibal Animal.
From booking the weekly Tuesday, free entry night ‘The Sesh’ at The Polar Bear (now into its nineteenth year) to providing Hull City fans with local bands on the concourse on matchdays, as well as booking and promoting bands at The Polar Bear and The Welly for VMS Live. That’s not including being head
Fever are a new indie five piece, writing witty, catchy indie songs, they’re supporting Blossoms on tour through March. And then there’s acts like Slowdaze, a lo-fi, home produced singer songwriter creating beautiful soundscapes and laid back layers of instrumentation. 24
STUDIO AND RECORDING
Fairview Studios, which has survived in the city for over fifty years, have produced artists like The Mick Ronson, The Housemartins and The Paddingtons. It’s a right of passage for Hull artists. The main man there is guru John Spence. AOO Studios is ran by Pat from The Talks who has recently recorded bands like No Nothing’s and Fever. Rockit Studio, Africa Studios, Rehearsals Rehearsals and Gorilla Studios are the main practise rooms in the city which also double up as recording spaces.
SUPPORT SERVICES
The Colleges and Uni courses all make a concerted effort to integrate their students into Hull’s music scene which means we’ve had some great college bands over the years, they all have
studios too which we hear a lot of good stuff from.
hosts international artists in an intimate small space.
The Warren, and their label Warren Records is a vital resource within the city for young adults. With a studio and practise rooms both usable for those between 16-24, The Warren also offers fantastic support to young people, not just with music (recording and releasing albums as well as compilations) but also with important physical and emotional support.
Asylum is based at Hull University, it’s 1000 capacity and recently hosted Primal Scream, Chase & Status and Gary Numan. The Bonus Arena is new to the city and a really useful capacity for Hull at 3500 and is bringing bigger acts to Hull, from the likes of Jack White, George Ezra and The Beach Boys, and finally… Social! What was Fruit, a beautiful warehouse venue on the redeveloped Humber Street, will become Social in April, a 300 cap venue which will cater for art, music and general entertainment brought together by Dave Mays who has legendary status in Hull for his work with venues within the city.
VENUES
Hull Is in a really good place from a venues perspective. The Polar Bear is a 200 capacity venue which hosts music and comedy along with free entry club nights every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Recently we’ve hosted John Newman, Spector, Cassia, Working Men’s Club to name a few. The Welly operates as two rooms, a 350 cap and 600 cap. Steeped in history for live music and its famous club nights, Johnny Marr, Miles Kane, Alien Ant Farm and Dragonforce have all felt at home there in the past year. The New Adelphi is to be protected at all costs. Hidden between houses on De Grey Street, The Adelphi is 180 cap, and brings culturally significant stuff to the city, historically hosting the likes of Oasis, Greenday, Stone Roses, The Housemartins, Pulp and Radiohead. Dive is a bar come live venue on Hull's cultural avenues, hosting small and sweaty packed gigs in their 80 capacity room. For those of a rock persuasion, O’Rileys on Beverley Road caters for the heavier side of things, along with Gorilla Studios which Words by Daniel Mawer
LGBTQIA+ SCENE AND COMMUNITIES
Make Noise are a fantastic all girl collective which works to raise awareness within the city. Established a few years ago, working in partnership with The Warren, their showcases and networking opportunities have been a really important voice in regards to equality within Hull’s music scene.
PROMOTERS
Presents has worked in Hull for decades and specialises in Heritage acts, his shows always sell well. Not forgetting Mark Budheron (Ulltra Festival), Mike Scott (bandit music) and Nigel Holmes (smash it up) focusing individually on indie, pop punk, and old school punk.
GIGS AND EVENTS
Blossoms/21st March/Bonus Arena The Sonics/10th April/Polar Bear Mystery Jets/19th April/The Welly Smoove & Turrell/2nd May/The Social The Pigeon Detectives/7th May/ Asylum Curtis Eller’s American Circus/12th June/The New Adelphi Club
HISTORICAL FACTS
Besides The Rolling Stones and The Who both playing shows in Hull back in the day, as well as Bowie recruiting Hullians The Spiders From Mars for his band (check out his Parky interview for a great Hull accent impression) The Housemartins signing their first record deal on The Adelphi Stage itself in 1985 goes down as Hull folklore!
RECORD SHOPS
Minster Records, Spin It Records, Disc Discovery, Go Records, Bug Vinyl, Wrecking Ball.
INSTRUMENT SHOPS
Gough And Davy’s, Antone’s Guitars, Paddy’s Music.
Besides little old me tripping up all over the place, we have some established promoters in Hull. Dean Shakespeare (Under The Influence) has worked at venues across the city, providing us with some astonishing artists, such as Lee Scratch Perry, Mystery Jets, Pins, along with Miles Kane and Spector. Joe Hubbard and Futuresound bring a lot over to Hull which is greatly appreciated, from The Howl & The Hum, to Working Men’s Club and The Orielles. Martyn Rudd of Screaming Tarts 25
WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS
AMPED - An initiative ran by The Warren, gives great work experience to those between 16-29, teaching creative skills to young people within the city. To get in touch, give them an email on amped@thewarren.org.
Illustration by Francis Scott
5 QUESTIONS
BABII WHO ARE YOU?
I am BABii and I am a producer, writer and artist and I make left field electronic pop music.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I make everything myself, I make my own artwork, videos, merchandise, and sometimes even my own photos.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I do what I do because I can’t help it, to the extent that BABii was a project that happened by accident, it was never premeditated, I just make things all the time and I love learning new skills and how things are made, and it turns out people like to absorb it too.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
Right now I am currently on my way home from Norway, it was very cold and rainy but I got to go
to a troll forest on a mountain, invade Iglooghost show at Borealis Festival with singing, and see AYA play one of the best live shows I have seen in a while so I’m happy.
“ALL I EVER THINK ABOUT IT MAKING NICE THINGS, SO THAT’S ALL I FOCUS MY ENERGY ON AND FILL MY BRAIN WITH.” WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
My hot topic about music is that I don’t know anything about music really, I like to know how it works, but I hardly pay attention to the world of music. All I ever think 26
about it making nice things, so that’s all I focus my energy on and fill my brain with. So I don’t really know what to say, I guess I was thinking yesterday about people who are just singers and what that would be like, to just put all the control into other people’s hands, and how I personally think it comes across very soulless and impersonal, or confusing and conflicting across the different mediums, but somehow people still connect to that kinda of artist and find it meaningful even though none of it comes from one place or personal feeling and even though kinda like they are a mannequins. It’s interesting that people can empathise with art that’s made based on algorithms and that’s not from one persons soul and mind. The new EP 'iii' is released March 27th. Photography by Andrew Benge
01 - 03 MAY 2020 3 DAYS 3 VENUES LIVERPOOL
JOE TALBOT IDLES FRONTMAN
TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT PLUS.SOUNDCITY.UK.COM 27
YOUTUBE PUNK Now underground music is available instantly to anyone anywhere in the world. In the 1970s to hear the best new off grid punk you had to physically go to CBGB’s or Max’s in Kansas City. 28
If you didn’t live in New York this music would be inaccessible until it was released internationally and thus its underground essence would be gone. In the 1980s fans went to great lengths to combat this obstacle by trading cassette tapes of underground punk and metal with each other through the post. This created an invisible network of music geeks spreading the word of their favourite bands across the seas. Fanzines like Sniffin Glue and Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll were also pivotal in sharing and taste making the newest underground punk music of the time. But in these modern times we have the internet, the insatiable content beast that has come along to change the game. It’s now possible to listen to 60 Singaporean hardcore punk albums all playing at the same time in 60 different browser tabs, a concept that would have blown the minds of 70s punks. Bands from all continents actively create new exciting music and upload it to platforms like Bandcamp, usually with tags like ‘Punk’, ‘Hardcore’, ‘Black Metal’, ‘Texas’ etc. that allow it to be found if people want to look for it. A few faceless, valiant trailblazers with YouTube channels have made it their goal to find the best of this abundant underground punk and re-upload it to their YouTube channels where it is listened to by thousands and sometimes millions. ‘No Deal’, ‘Anti’ (aka ‘Jimmy’) and ‘Harakiri Diat’ are three of the most followed YouTube channels that do this. They have become the modern gatekeepers of punk. ‘Anti’ has been uploading underground punk since 2014, they are responsible for uploading 668 videos archiving some of the most fascinating and innovative releases of the past six years. Some of the most notable uploads include; ‘THE Words by Dom Thompson
CONEHEADS - L.P.1.’, ‘D.L.I.M.C’s - November Cassingle’ and ‘Lumpy and the Dumpers - Huff My Sack’ all amassing hundreds of thousands of listens.
“THESE YOUTUBE CHANNELS CELEBRATE THE GRASSROOTS NATURE OF THIS MUSIC.” However, there is an ethical concern, because what is essentially happening here is piracy. The YouTube channel Anti has even provided free download links for many of the albums uploaded on their channel. Many of these bands are unknown to wider audiences and rarely sell 100 records, so to have their music commodified and devalued is in many ways unfair. Although another way to look at this is that it gives them an international platform that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. This gives artists that otherwise would have most likely stayed undiscovered in their respective local scenes an international listenership and fanbase. Perhaps the best example of when an artist gained worldwide exposure due to their music being uploaded on YouTube is Molchat Doma. A Belarusian Dark-wave/ Post-Punk band whose album 'Этажи' achieved 2.1 million listens on YouTube despite being released on a small boutique label from Berlin. These YouTube channels celebrate the grassroots nature of this music. Music that presents total creative freedom, be it from corporate censorship or over production that is often heard in major label rock releases. This is music in its purest form. Bands often make little or no financial gain on their releases 29
which, criminally unfair as it is, means that the main motivation for releasing it is expression. Listeners aren’t presented with any “pre-packaged” image that has become increasingly popular with major label artists, when browsing oceans of YouTube punk, the only information they are provided with is the band name, the cover artwork, the sonic element itself, the track listing and the album name. This leaves the listener, in what has become the unique position of, judging the book without a cover. This is part of the appeal to many who are tired of targeted PR campaigns and want to discover music that is different, raw and unadulterated. Exploring archival punk music YouTube channels has become the modern day equivalent of ‘vinyl crate digging’, finding hidden gems with nothing to go off other than if the bands name sounds cool and if you like the artwork. What tends to lead people down the figurative online rabbit hole that is YouTube punk tends to be complex algorithms that learn the behaviour of users through the collection of data and then recommend those individuals content based on patterns in their behaviour. Click on one cool looking album cover and the algorithm does all the work, perpetually recommending you cool new bands every time you log on to YouTube, kind of like your cool friend that interned at Rough Trade. Whilst channels like Harakiri Diat, No Deal and Anti provide freedom and escapism from the mainstream they still fall victim to the controlling influence and censorship of the algorithm. So is YouTube punk a phenomena to challenge the pre-packaging, force-feeding music industry we have become accustomed to or is it equally or more controlling and exploitative? Graphics by Ross Skitt
5 QUESTIONS
LUX LYALL WHO ARE YOU?
Today, right at this moment? I'm Lux Lyall and my bathwater is too warm so I'm slightly dizzy. I'm a London based (for better or worse) singer and writer.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Of the things I’m allowed to talk about, I sing and I write. That takes up most of my life at this moment, thankfully. I tried waitressing and working at an ice cream parlour... but I got fired for stealing tubs of Raspberry Ripple and spilling entire bottles of coke on people... and instantaneously bursting into tears. Turns out people don't like that, when you cry into their fries.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
I tried other career paths and studying more logical subjects in order to silence the nails on the chalkboard voice that constantly told me to write, or sing, at really, really impractical hours of the
night, but I couldn't. And the harder I tried not to write or sing, the weirder my dreams got, and I had to draw the line eventually. When The Man from Another Place shows up in your sleep and he's not saying ‘Lets Rock’ he's screaming ‘YOU BETTER FUCKING ROCK’ in sixteen languages you have no choice but to listen. Trust me.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?
My first solo album ‘VAMP’ is was released on April 24th. I'm working on a new collection of poetry, I’m also expanding on some older pieces and recording a spoken word album that will be released alongside ‘VAMP’ as a limited collection. I'm in rehearsals with a great new band with a view to playing live throughout summer and for the rest of the year. My latest single ‘Baby is a Vamp’ is out on March 19th and the video which was put together by a new incredible production company called Mesmerist is out on March 26th. I was very, very lucky to have them get on board for it. 30
WHAT’S THE HOT TOPIC?
Honestly? I try to stay as detached as possible from current topics considered hot in music and otherwise, for the sake of my own sanity. Doctors orders. But of course the way Brexit is going to negatively impact touring musicians has been weighing on my mind. Expensive visas leaving the majority of UK bands priced out of touring Europe is going to be a real fucking shame, for musicians trying to make a living and for potential fans who won't have the opportunity to see them. People missing out on that gorgeous moment, when you walk into a small bar or venue and hear something completely new and fall head over heels and want to devour that band or that musician. All those electric little connections between potential fans and struggling artists who are hustling like hell to be heard, just fizzling out before they can happen. It sucks man. Photography by Rowan Spray
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COME PL AY WITH MOSES BOYD THE GROWLERS
EMMA ZILLMANN / FROM THE FIELDS CARO S A R A H M A RY CHA DWICK BABII L U X LYA L L AND LOTS MORE... BEHIND THE SCENES AND UNDER THE SKIN OF ALL THINGS MUSIC
PICK ME UP FOR FREE OR BUY ONLINE / #008 / MAR2020
