COME PL AY WITH YONAK A WA LT D I S C O
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11 June 2022
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WHAT'S INSIDE DIRECTOR Tony Ereira (he/him) tony@cpwm.co
NEWS 04 FROM THE TEAM LONG READ 06 YONAKA 24 WALT DISCO
MAGAZINE Andrew Benge (he/him) andy@cpwm.co LABEL Eva Davis (she/her) eva@cpwm.co
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH 12 WE ARE DOMI / PRAGUE 30 JOSHUA ZERO / LONDON
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT Scott Lewis (he/him) scott@cpwm.co
IN FOCUS 32 THE MUSIC VENUE TRUST
DIVERSITY PROJECTS Antonia Lines (they/she) antonia@cpwm.co DIVERSITY EVENTS Lily Sturt-Bolshaw (she/her) lily@cpwm.co
TOOLBOX 14 HE.SHE.THEY. / CREATING A BRAND 34 ADAM PITS / FINDING A PATH IN PRODUCTION THE KIT LIST 20 FES INDUSTRY EXPERTS 17 GÉRALDINE ZANASKA 22 LIV & LIZ
SPECIAL THANKS
DIGGING DEEPER 28 COSMIC NINJA
and in no particular order... Matilde, Michelle, Meg, Rob, Thom, Mirella, Jamie, Lee, Nisa, Warren, Asher, Sue, Abi, Beth... all of the artists, industry representatives, other contributors and everyone else who took the time to tell their stories and helped make this happen.
PHOTO BOOTH & ART WALL 18 JAGUAR JONZE 5 QUESTIONS 23 BROOKE COMBE 27 CHARM OF FINCHES
SMALL PRINT
Come Play With is printed by Mixam. Copyright © 2022 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.
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YONAKA & WALT DISCO COVERS Andrew Benge (@andrewbenge)
NEWS
FROM THE TEAM Hello! Welcome to the latest issue of our magazine! We’ve had so much going on in the last few months, so it’s nice to stop and take stock of what we’ve been up to. We’ve recently closed applications for our Come Platform Me project, which offers support to new and upcoming promoters from the Yorkshire area. We had nearly 50 applications and had to whittle it down to 8 events, it was tough! But we are very excited for the shows that our promoters have planned, look out for them popping up on our socials with the Come Platform Me logo! We have lots of label activity coming up too. Our friends at Launchpad are running their annual conference and thanks to Breed Media, we’re doing
a live selection panel to make a limited edition 4 track EP, the submissions we had were all amazing and totalled about 40, so more tough choices for the team and panel. We‘ve had two releases since we last spoke, a digital single from Dirty Freud and our first 7” single of 2022, featuring Green Gardens and Oh Papa. It’s going to be a busy year of releases for us, so give us a follow on our new label socials @cpwmrecords, to keep up! We also have three great live shows coming up: •
YAY MARIA, Fig By Four, Mayshe-Mayshe at Wharf Chambers, 15 April
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I Know A Place Live with Stealing Sheep, Crush & Genn at Belgrave Music Hall, 16 April
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Straight Girl, Ding Frisby at Venn Street Social (Huddersfield), 21 May
Hoping to see some of you there! The pandemic is rolling on, so it’s continuing to be a difficult time for musicians, promoters and the live music industry with rescheduled shows and cancelled tours. If you can get to a gig, please try to, and if you can support indie bands and labels, then please do! Thanks for your support, enjoy the mag! Antonia Diversity Project Manager, CPWM
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YONAKA 6
The Brighton four-piece exploded back onto the scene with their empowering and defiant new mixtape. Frontwoman Theresa Jarvis shares how her mental health journey helped motivate the band’s sonic evolution. 7
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YONAKA are in a category of their own making. Their explosive, unapologetic anthems leave you strutting in cinematic slow motion; a snarl on your tongue and the confidence to do anything. This empowering sound is the result of a long personal journey with their mental health, developed sonically in the chrysalis of lockdown. Writing countless songs in their home studio together, the Brighton four-piece - comprised of Theresa Jarvis, Alex Crosby, Robert Mason and George Edwards - exploded back onto the scene with their thoughtfully curated mixtape, ‘Seize The Power’. It was their first offering since 2019 and set the tone with its oozing self-worth and new snarling sophistication. An evolution from their debut album, the eight-track mixtape is a collection that displays the band's personal growth during their two-year hibernation. With nothing else to focus on, the four best mates dedicated all of their time during lockdown to writing: “We weren’t writing for a specific thing or sound,” reflects frontwoman Theresa Jarvis, sitting in the living room that doubles up as the band’s studio. “But when we wrote ‘Seize The Power’ we realised that was the sound and what we wanted our new music to be.” This title track introduces YONAKA’s new perspective since emerging from the cocoon of lockdown. They’ve grown tougher since the vulnerability of their debut album ‘Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow’, and this new offering throws two fingers up at those who stood in their way, including their
inhibitions. “I felt very much like a victim in Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow’,” admits Theresa. “But in ‘Seize The Power’ we’re taking the power back. We all possess the power within but through life, we are always put down by others, told to be quiet and not express ourselves; this makes us less confident and we lose ourselves. I wanted to take back control.”
"I HAVE SOME DAYS WHERE I'M TOO SCARED TO GO TO THE SHOP ON MY OWN" - THERESA
are struggling with mental health and remind them they are strong for dealing with something that is out of their control. Theresa squares up to her demons on the blistering track ‘Call Me A Saint’, which addresses her journey with mental health: “I wanted to recognise in myself that I am a saint for putting up with this shit every day and still fighting on. And so is everyone else who’s battling with mental health issues or whatever else is going on in their lives. It’s so easy to be your own worst enemy; but realise that you’re making it through the day; you’re still here, you’re working on it.”
Self-producing the mixtape in their living room, the band have kept to their DIY roots. They’ve always lived within a stone's throw of each other, The band has always been with their strong kinship open about mental health, forming when they first with Theresa, in particular, played together in Theresa being vocal about her and Rob’s basement in 2014. experience with anxiety. Theresa booked a gig before It’s something that has they even had a setlist, and “consumed” their previous they embarked on writing releases, and with their their first songs as a band. new sound, the band have They’ve not stopped since straddled any raging selfthen, writing lyrics in their doubt and tamed it into phone notes, journals and defiant self-empowerment: messages. Songwriting has “I have some days where I'm become a form of natural too scared to go to the shop self-expression for the four on my own,” shares Theresa of them: “Music is almost with refreshing honesty, her like a diary but for the world bandmates sat beside her, to read,” muses Theresa. “It listening empathetically. “It's definitely helps get things out. so easy to beat yourself up I feel like everyone should and think you’re weak. But it’s just write all the time anyway. important to be softer and say It’s just good to get those to yourself: ‘Actually you’re thoughts out. Otherwise, we doing really well and I’m proud keep it all in and that’s not of you so just keep going.” healthy. You don’t have to say it out loud, just say it to It is all too easy to let your yourself.” Guitarist George mental health consume you adds: “ I write about my day and extinguish any sense on the notes on my phone of self-worth. With their and delete it at the end. It's music, YONAKA are on a cathartic.” mission to praise those who 9
The four of them wrote “over 100 songs” during lockdown while gigging was off the table, culminating with the eight tracks shared on the mixtape. They sat on this new material for over a year before releasing it, a time they describe as “nerve-wracking” but “exciting”: “It’s such a big departure from the last album,” explains bassist Alex Crosby. “We spent so much time working on it, listening to it back and feeling all the emotions that we put into it. It was all up in the air about how people would receive it.”
putting all their energy into each explosive anthem. “The tour with Nothing But Thieves was amazing - it was a great first gig back,” reflects Alex. “But then when we were on our own tour - which had been years since we’d played our own show - it was just a whole other level. When you’re playing to your fans, the energy in the room is crazy. It feels easier to play almost. It boosts your energy with everyone singing back to you.”
so open about their mental health struggles is refreshing, especially in the way that YONAKA repackages their internal battles into soaring, empowering anthems. Theresa has been very vocal in the past about her journey with anxiety and how she has come to accept it - referring to it as her “guest” and herself as to its “keeper”. “Being open about mental health is important,” the frontwoman begins. “It's nice when you hear someone else saying they feel all the same weird shit that you feel. You feel "MY THERAPIST like you’re not on your own The release of the mixtape’s and it's reassuring to know ONCE TOLD ME THAT singles - ‘Call Me A Saint’, that you’re not going crazy. THERE’S NOT ONE To read the full version of this magazine you can buy print ‘Ordinary’ and ‘Seize The It’s invisible to other people STRAND OF HAIR ON Power’ - accumulated overdirect to you from our Bandcamp unless you talkor about it.” copies delivered support YOUR HEAD THAT 7 million streams together, us The viaPower’ Patreon for even goodies! with the ‘Seize We end our conversation IS NOT more WHERE exclusive IT’S video alone reaching over half by sharing the best advice SUPPOSED TO BE. a million views on YouTube someone’s given us: “My YOU’RE YOU’RE by the time the mixtape wasJust click therapist once told me that onWHERE the links below: finally released. YONAKA SUPPOSED TO BE AND there’s not one strand of were welcomed back with hair on your head that is YOU GROW FROM open arms from the radio not where it’s supposed THERE." THERESA and editorial circuit as well, to be. You’re where you’re with Annie Mac showcasing supposed to be and you grow the commanding release in “You feel so grateful to have from there,” shares Theresa. her coveted Hottest Record this family supporting you,” “Follow your heart and do slot. “I felt more confident Theresa adds. “The adrenaline what you love to do. We only with this release,” expresses you get is insane. I got ill on get this life once and you’ve Theresa, with Alex, Rob the second day of the tour got to do what makes you and George all nodding in and I was all bunged up. I’d happy and what makes your agreement. “Every time freak out each night telling heart sing, whatever it is that we play the mixtape it is so myself I was going to be shit gets you out of bed in the satisfying to hear. Sometimes and thinking I couldn’t do it. morning. It's hard, but keep when we play the older But then we'd get out there something in you that keeps stuff from ‘Don’t Wait Until and the adrenaline just soared you fired up and driven.” Tomorrow’ it feels a bit like a through me.” regression.” The album"Seize The Power" Through their honest lyrics is out now on Creature They also got to recut their and openness about mental Records. teeth on stage when they health, YONAKA have built a toured again for the first time loyal family of fans who not back with Nothing But Thieves only enjoy their music, but across the UK and Ireland. deeply relate to it: “When Live, the four have always you see people singing and performed as if it’s the final dancing up and down to time they play together. In your songs you just feel so the crowd, their fans squint grateful. It's amazing to be through sweat and euphoria able to reach people through as they witness YONAKA music.” To hear a band being Words by Meg Firth
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Photography by Andrew Benge
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PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC WITH WE ARE DOMI
INTRODUCTION
Hi there, it’s Benjamin, Casper and Dominika, or as our band is called: We Are Domi. We currently live in Prague and are also representing the Czech Republic in Eurovision 2022. Our music has always been difficult to put under one genre, but having been through our phases with drum and bass, Scandi pop, electronica and heartfelt ballads, we have finally come to terms with labelling our music as electro-pop. The three of us met when we
were studying in the UK, or more specifically Leeds, when Dominika needed musicians for her vocal recital. She was into Aurora and Norwegian pop at that point, so when she laid her eyes on a couple of Norwegians in the year below her, she didn’t have to think twice about who to ask to create the music she wanted. As we were all into Norwegian pop as well, it was an easy decision to give this a try. We all vibed straight away, both emotionally and musically, and decided to continue being a band after the vocal recital. Since then, we have released seven singles, lived together during lockdown, and played a lot of fun gigs together. When we lived together during lockdown in Leeds, the world was at a standstill. We saw this as an opportunity to do what we had not-so-seriously 12
discussed many times, move to Dominika’s homeplace, one of our favourite cities - where we also had most of our listeners at the time - Prague.
PUBS/BARS
As pilsner/lager was invented in Czechia, it is only natural that we begin by talking about the pubs and drinking culture here, in the land with the highest beer consumption in the world. Moving from Leeds to Prague, we are also moving from one place where people generally like to drink, to another. However,
the drinking culture here does stand out quite a bit from how we experienced it in England. Having a (super cheap) casual beer is incorporated in everyday life for Czech people. We think the Czechs have no equals when it comes to the quality of the beer, compared to how cheap it is. It is hard to narrow down our favourite places to drink, as there are so many beautiful and historic pubs in this city. Our favourite place to have a drink in the summer would have to be at Letna Beer Garden, where you have a view over the river Vltava and the whole city. After having a few drinks there, you can continue with a five-minute walk to one of the city’s hotspots, known as “Stalin” (there used to be a 16-metre tall statue of Josef Stalin there), where there are daily outdoor gigs during the summer. If you want to have an indoor beer and some traditional Czech food, we’d recommend checking out one of the many Lokál’s around the city. Prague also offers many clubs, but as we are not big clubbers, we can’t really recommend any. Honorary mention: Strahov Monastery Brewery, founded in 1142, has been a beer brewery for over 600 years.
are the third-largest minority in the Czech Republic, after Slovaks and Ukrainians, so there are a ton of Vietnamese restaurants here, if you enjoy Vietnamese food. Our top cheap places to eat would be: Cafe Louvre by Narodni Trida is a beautiful restaurant that offers great lunch menus. Mon House in Letenské náměstí, which serves Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian food, and if you want to order a pizza, get Johnny’s Pizza Bar. It doesn’t look the best from the outside, but the pizza is amazing.
FOOD
OUTDOOR CINEMAS
The food in Prague is amazing, and as the city is a famous tourist attraction, it offers a very multicultural menu, and most places are vegan and vegetarian friendly. For traditional Czech food, we’d recommend U Veverky or Lokál. Vietnamese people
HOLLYWOOD FILMS
A lot of Hollywood films come to Prague to shoot their films. Partially because of the beautiful scenery, but also because, much like with the beer, the Czechs can provide the highest quality equipment and crew, much cheaper than many other places. We bumped into good old Adam Sandler playing basketball last summer.
Outdoor cinemas and car cinemas are a big thing here. The latter I haven't seen since I saw the Grease movie, but it seems more common here. The non-car outdoor cinemas come in various cool locations, whether it is on a rooftop, in a beer garden or
Words by Benjamin, Casper & Dominika / We Are Domi
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by the river. This attraction, like any other attraction here, will of course serve beer with the movie.
VENUES
The Czech Republic moved into a lockdown just after we moved here, we haven’t gotten to experience this fully yet, and as we are in the middle of Eurovision preparations now, we don’t have time to play or attend gigs. There are, however, some beautiful venues in this city. One of our favourites is Jazz Dock, which is - much as the name suggests - a venue on the water. Go there if you want to enjoy a jazz gig, or a drink in the daytime when the sun doesn’t allow you to do anything else but have a refreshing cocktail by the river. Other than this, Prague offers many free park gigs, where you can see amazing acts. Last year, we walked through a park, and suddenly Portico Quartet was standing on the stage.
We Are Domi will represent Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin with the song 'Lights Off'.
TOOLBOX
CREATING A BRAND
WITH STEVEN BRAINES / CO-FOUNDER OF HE.SHE.THEY. INTRODUCTION I’m Steven Braines co-founder of HE.SHE.THEY. – an international event series/record label/ podcast series/social media app fashion label/consultancy – and more besides. Essentially, HE.SHE.THEY. is a brand name, an umbrella name, for all the different activities that my co-founder Sophia Kearney and I do that have a shared ethos about disruption and making different disciplines more inclusive and diverse. We also have other brands like the Weird & The Wonderful, and historically, other brands which I made for others, sold to others etc. IN THE BEGINNING My particular method to starting songs up in the demo process is
to not be precious and just make as many as possible. All in one burst of energy. Doesn’t matter what I’m feeling, I just grab a guitar or bass, plug into garage band (cue boos and hisses from the crowd but I lovvvve garage band IOS), I might try a few of my fuzz pedals in the chain too for chaotic wonkiness. For every 20 demos, I make there’s typically one or two that go on to become a proper fleshed-out song. It’s just a numbers game. It’s kind of inevitable you’ll strike gold with that ratio. I’ve always hung on to something I once read that either Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen said (I forget which… LenBo?) - they would write 20 or 30 verses of a song just to get the best 3 or 4. Mind - blown! WE’RE ALL BRANDS I also manage musical artists – 14
they too are brands, even myself or you are brands to others. I basically think that a brand is what you are seen to stand for by others. As a person, that can be communicated by what we are wearing, what we post on social media, and what we say. I’m a queer, left-wing, Goth music fan – in a nutshell, I tend to post about queer and minority rights, I wear almost exclusively black clothing and I post about this. I also post a lot at being at gigs or artists I like. That’s not the entire sum of my parts by any means but I think a lot of people who know me or indeed don’t know me that well. Would describe me as that. I’m also a huge wrestling fan but I don’t post about that often so people don’t know that – so most people wouldn’t include that as part of my “brand” because I don’t communicate often by
posting, or wearing wrestling shirts etc. . WORD ASSOCIATION The same thing applies when you’re creating a company or DJ brand. That’s why I called the music management company I founded The Weird & The Wonderful, as I wanted to manage artists that were left of centre but very talented. The name definitely helped like-minded artists come to be managed by us, which in turn attracted others. Some of the artists I’ve managed over the years include Maya Jane Coles, Tricky, Nadine Shah, Tale of Us, all of which I would argue easily pass the “are they weird and wonderful?” test. Having a brand like that meant that promoters, music supervisors, other brands etc knew if they wanted something ‘weird and wonderful’ – we were the go to people. I was once asked by a major fashion designer if I knew someone who could taxidermy a horse that had just died and within 30 minutes I had them on the phone to someone. This is the schematic power of a brand. If I was called the “Blue Water” or “the beautiful & the brilliant” I wouldn’t be the first thing in people’s minds by association. Similarly, If I had mainly mainstream acts having the name ‘The Weird & Wonderful’ would either not really help or at worse be confusing and hinder. So now it’s your turn. You’re starting a record label, club night, fashion label or just even marketing yourself as an artist. Who or what are you? ‘HE.SHE. THEY.’ is about equality in music so it means if you identify as male, female or non-binary then you are all included. So the name fits the concept. We’re actually further than that as we look at things intersectionally but it’s basically a name we felt both captures that we’re about Words by Steven Braines
bringing diversity and inclusion to different things and, also, crucial for commercial success, looks good on a T-shirt, flyer and rolls off the tongue.
"IMITATION IS THE MOST SINCERE FORM OF FLATTERY”. UNLESS YOU'RE A DRAG QUEEN THAT’S PROBABLY NOT TRUE IN THE CREATIVE BUSINESS." THE LAME NAME GAME? Is the name good or lame? Ask your mates. Ask the brutal ones and ask those who would likely be consumers of your brand. A dear friend once wanted to call men’s fashion “Mashion” – thank goodness he had asked others first. Fashion is not female “ashion”. Menswear is the name for male fashion. Had he spent loads of money on that idea it would have been awful and the fashion world would not have taken his other ideas seriously. At first, he thought I was being tough on him, but then others agreed and thematically, it was viewed as not a good idea. INNOVATE DON’T IMITATE “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”. Unless you're a drag queen that’s probably not true in the creative business. If you’re an artist PLEASE go to Spotify, Resident Advisor and Beatport first and type your name into the search function. If there is another artist or DJ with the same name DON’T CALL YOURSELF IT – it often leads to headaches and, at worst, heartaches, if you’re forced to change it.
by accident. FUTURE-PROOFING Personally, I have also avoided using my own name in the company or club night brand etc because a) you sound like a law firm b) it’s harder to sell the company – who wants to own Braines LTD without Steven Braines as part of it, and also just ego wise too. Unless you're a performer yourself rather than a company or a group, then it’s just you so it’s fine. If you’re a designer, I often think it’s better to have a brand name rather than a designer name. There is a great Vivienne Westwood documentary about how she franchised out the name in Asia and didn’t like the layout of the shop and some clothes that were sold bearing her name. The minute you sell that company with your name on it, someone else essentially owns your legacy. Always, imagine when you start something that one day it could be massive and sold and that way you future proof your brand from the start. I would hate to have had Steven Braines – a fashion house – and sell it and then suddenly people are selling fur products or sweatshop made clothes in my name with zero recourse for me to change things.
BRAND CONGRUENCE Make the brand congruent. Who we programme for the club night and who we release on the label are linked. The imagery we have on the flyers is about platforming people who are performing at the night but we tend to use dancers over DJs for it as a way of signalling to people what type of night it is and that you can be experimental in what you wear and it’s welcomed to be different and many are Try not to create a club night trans and non-binary to show name that sounds like someone we’re trans-inclusive in a world else – as it will be mistaken, it would look like you copied it, and were transphobia is still sadly also if something bad happens to rife. Who we interview on the podcasts links into nightlife, art, the other brand, that mistaken identity sometimes mean you get the charities we support, people who bring diversity and inclusion associated with what happened 15
Main photograph by Fiona Garden
to what they do, or have broken glass ceilings. With our fashion models, we use different people of different genders, and body types so it’s more representative. I’m 16 stone. I like seeing bigger bodies in clothes so I know what It might actually look like on me! Also, with our clothing, we make sure there is a range of sizing for all bodies, that designs are things anyone could wear including if you’re gender dysphoric. We make sure that the materials are vegan friendly and the factory conditions are good and wages. We also make the garments good quality so they last longer so there is less fashion waste. All these things are important to Sophia and me, and we hope and believe they are important to our customers. MORALITY OVER MONEY MI think that’s really important, that the morals of the company reflect Sophia and me. Could we make more money in the short term if we cut corners or
used the cheaper supplier, or just exclusively booked cis-het white male DJs maybe? But we wouldn’t want to, it wouldn’t be us and we may as well just be brokers in the city or selling anything if that’s the case and we’re driven more by activism than money and the money comes eventually if the work is good anyway. I don’t need racists, transphobes, homophobes, or misogynists to buy our stuff. We’d rather be poor. The idea that success in business should purely be judged on a profit and loss sheet, is archaic, a bit
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of a myth and definitely not how I want my legacy to be viewed. For more information on what to expect on the night, visit the HE.SHE.THEY party FAQs: www.heshethey.me/faq
INDUSTRY EXPERTS
GÉRALDINE ZANASKA WHO ARE YOU?
Hi, I’m Géraldine, I’m a music business entrepreneur, a passionate advocate of music talents from across the world, I live on a narrowboat and I have a lifelong passion for cheese.
WHAT ARE YOUR JOB TITLES?
That’s always a tricky one as I wear many hats, like many in the industry. I’m the Founder of Compass Music and the creator of Lighthouse, the digital platform I’m currently building, which in itself is 12 different jobs or so. I’m also an international music business consultant, project manager, B2B event manager, occasional live music promoter, public speaker, educator and mentor.
WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
Compass Music is the international music business consultancy I started nearly 3 years ago, after a decade of working in the industry, specialising in music export and international development. I’ve worked with companies as varied as record labels, music publishers, music export offices, music conferences. I have imagined and conceptualised new events to promote their goals, ran online trade missions, coordinated international promo campaigns Words by Géraldine Zanaska
and physical delegations of professionals, hosted workshops, facilitated introductions and a bunch of other stuff! Two days are never the same. And as an entrepreneur and business owner, you have so much work to do that usually goes unnoticed: promote your services, find new leads, prepare proposals, negotiate deals, execute contracts to high standards, handle the admin & finances, plan ahead, pay people on time, get paid on time, build relationships, build a great product, gather feedback, keep yourself informed of new trends, the list goes on.
what I knew to others, and ultimately mentor newcomers in the industry. This bit of my work came naturally to me as I’ve always enjoyed passing my knowledge on to others. After an initial dose of imposter syndrome, I realised I was really enjoying all of the above, and that I was quite good at it!.
Lighthouse is the new digital platform and marketplace for music industry professionals with international ambitions I’m currently working on. It stems from my experience in music export; I realised there was no easy way and few existing resources to learn about music markets around the world, devise a good international strategy and ultimately get answers from knowledgeable, trustworthy people on the ground to help your project move forward. So I invented one!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS?
As I gained experience, people started approaching me to host workshops, talk at conferences, moderate conversations, teach 17
HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT?
I think most opportunities I ever got in the industry was either from having the nerve/audacity to reach out and to self-promote or from genuine networking. I love people, and I’m naturally curious.
I thought about starting my own business for years before I took the leap. My advice would be to just do it if you’re thinking about it. Don’t overthink things. You’ll never be ready. And that’s ok. Do things to the best of your ability, and make yourself proud. The rest will follow. Or not. And that’s also ok. But you would have learnt plenty along the way, I can guarantee you that. You can find me easily and connect on LinkedIn, or follow @compass_music_ If you’d like to check Lighthouse, which is now open in beta, go to www.lighthouse-music.com
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THE EUROVISION FIRE DRESS WITH JAGUAR JONZE
Jaguar Jonze | Eurovision Australia Decides 2022
* mannequins coloured white to help distinguish more easily
Jaguar Jonze recently dazzled audiences, and the judges, at Eurovision - Australia Decides. Her performance won her the Jury vote, and landed ‘Little Fires' at third place overall in the competition.
The standout costume moment of the event her ‘fire dress’ was a collaborative and lengthy process, starting from Jaguar Jonze’s initial concept and developing with other creatives and technical experts to become an incredible spectacle. JAGUAR JONZE: Artist and original concept designer TAMZEN HOLLAND: Stylist JOTEO TEO: Costume designer 18
SAM MACER: 'Fire Skirt’ concept designer You can watch the performance here.
Images and illustrations provided by Jaguar Jonze
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THE KIT LIST
FES INTRODUCTION
Hi, I’m Polly. I’m the guitarist and vocalist in FES. I’d personally describe our style as trying to meet in the middle of Math Rock and Pop with a progressive edge. Over the years my gear and preferences have changed a lot but I love discovering new pedals and sounds and the gear I am using now has become a huge part of the FES sound.
GUITARS
Since 17 I’ve always found myself leaning towards Fender Telecasters and started off the band using my brothers for a couple of years. It Words by Polly / FES
was great and it did the job nicely but after purchasing my first Fender Strat, there was no going back. Playing in a 3-piece I’ve found that I’ve needed to take every opportunity to sound as big as I can. Not only do I think the Strat achieves this, but it also has a wider variety of tones to accompany it. In the studio, I also tend to lean towards a Jaguar for those gritty, beefy vibes.
PEDALS
In terms of pedals, it’s been a long journey to where I am now finding what suits the band. I’m a huge fan of Walrus’ pedals! They sound great and they look dreamy. 20
WALRUS AGES My most used pedal is the 5 Ages-State Overdrive. I love the versatility of it! It has 5 different types of overdrive which have been so handy when doubletracking guitars in the studio. I used to swear by the Fulltone OCD but like many others, I fell out of love with the company
and frankly the Ages does everything the OCD did but with so much more flavour.
now. But I always end up coming back to Boss’ Delay DD-8. The DD-8 is pretty much always set to the Shimmer; it’s mouthwatering. In our music, we’re not trying to create huge shoe-gazey dreamscapes so the DD-8 gives me a more straight and versatile delay sound.
face and doesn’t squash your eyes! Earphones are an obvious must and I’d recommend a book for the long drives. If you’re a person who menstruates, I’d suggest trying out a menstrual cup. They’re more comfortable and generally last longer which means fewer stops along the way.
WALRUS SLO
My other shoutout pedals would be Walrus’ Slo (dreamy reverb). The thing I love about the Slo is the added low octave that it adds to reverb tails. This again comes in handy as a three-piece when we want to create bigger sounds but I find that it’s not too overbearing. Whilst some reverbs can sound like a huge cathedral, the Slo adds colour without losing itself in massive swirling worlds of reverb.
BOSS DD-8 DELAY
I’ve tried out quite a few delays
TOURING ESSENTIALS
Touring can be difficult if you’re an introvert like me! Trying to find time alone to recharge is a difficult task when you’re constantly surrounded by people. So… We need to find a way to create the illusion of being alone. Get an eye mask and thank me later. Make sure to buy one that sits comfortably on your
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FES’ Debut album ‘With Regards from Home’ is out April 29th on Small Pond.
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INDUSTRY EXPERTS
LIV AND LIZ WHO ARE YOU? We are Liv and Liz - best friends for nearly 12 years! Presenters, producers, vocalists and lovers of a G&T.
invite them for a fun, in-depth interview. The best part is when we are live, we press a few buttons and dance around the studio!
WHAT ARE YOUR JOB TITLES? As well as working at record labels (Sony and Warner), we also are radio presenters at Subtle Radio!
HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT? During the pandemic, we both felt really disconnected from the music industry. As vocalists, we weren't able to gig or go to the studio so as a way to keep our creative minds going we recorded a radio demo and sent it off to some of our favourite community radio stations. Subtle enjoyed our demo and invited us in to record a show
WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? At Subtle Radio, we produce and present a monthly show which shines a spotlight on upcoming UK R&B, Hip-Hop and Soul! We look out for many upcoming artists and Words by Liv & Liz
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that same week! WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHERS? Just start! It is so easy to think about what you want to do but the best thing is to just DO and GO FOR IT!! Also, in the early stages say "Yes" to everything, because you never know where it might lead you to! You can follow us on Instagram at @liv_browning and @lizzieberchie or catch us spinning the latest R&B and Hip Hop on Subtle Radio on the second Saturday of every month from 4-5 pm!
5 QUESTIONS
BROOKE COMBE WHO ARE YOU? I’m Brooke Combe (pronounced like a hair comb). I’ve gotten every possible variation of the name at this point. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Edinburgh but you’ll probably see me more in Liverpool. That’s like my second home.
doing it. I also do it because I’ve gotten lucky to have many amazing opportunities come my way that has sort of paved this new lifestyle for me. It’s boss.
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? I’ve started dusting off the cobwebs to get ready for the Miles Kane UK Tour. I’ll be WHAT DO YOU DO? supporting him the whole tour I write tunes and sing as well so I’m really excited about as play a couple of different that. It’s gonna be a great instruments. experience with my band who are my good mates too. Then WHY DO YOU DO IT? it’s on to festival season. Most My life revolves around music excited for TRNSMT on the and it has done for a long time home turf. That should be a now it feels like. It gives me a belter of a day! buzz and I can’t imagine not Words by Brooke Combe
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WHAT'S THE HOT TOPIC? Hot topic in music right now for me would probably be Wet Leg. I love what they’re doing and I’m sure I read somewhere they started writing those tunes as a laugh and it kind of just took off for them which I think is cool. Their songs are boss. My next festival is Stockton Calling on April 16th so hope to see everyone there. My new single ‘Miss Me Now’ came out a couple of weeks ago so have a listen and get dancing!
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WALT DISCO After two years of creative experimentation from within the four walls of their flat in Glasgow, Walt Disco has emerged clutching a treasure made from glitter and steel - their debut album, ‘Unlearning’. 24
We caught up with James, the frontman of the six-headed hydra that is Walt Disco, just as they stepped off a ferry to Belfast, the ‘Unlearning’ tour now only recently underway. Talking to James on the eve of the band’s debut album release set for April 1st, and on day two of a tour that started in Walt Disco’s hometown of Glasgow the night before, we were privy to an exhilarating and exclusive moment in time, as though convening with an athlete, seconds off the starting blocks, the gunshot still ringing in their ears. A project that started during lockdown in 2020, ‘Unlearning’ is an album that has been a long time in the making, and for James to finally release it has felt surreal. “It feels weird!” they laugh, “I can't believe it's finally gonna happen. it's been coming for so long and now it's here.” As ‘Unlearning’ has spent the first two years of life existing largely within the minds and hard drives of the six, for James, the public reception has been especially interesting to follow. “Every time a review comes in it's like ooh, what's it gonna say?” It’s not surprising that reviews have been glowing. Like for many artists, lockdown was a time of intense creativity for Walt Disco, who spent a lot of the creative process for ‘Unlearning’ within the four walls of their flat in Glasgow. Without access to recording studios due to the covid restrictions, the band improvised, setting up a makeshift studio within one of the bedrooms. The crude setup and developing production skills were far from a hindrance for the six, instead, it opened the floor for sheer and untethered creativity. “[The creative process] was very crude with a limited set up so it forced us to think outside of the box to create the sound we wanted.” A recent obsession with electronica influenced these sessions and proved the perfect match for their DIY setup. “Experimenting with electronica was kind of the way we achieved that. It just so happened we were listening to a lot of experimental electronic music at the time,
which definitely informed the sound.” Playing with a lot of sounds and techniques that were relatively new to the band meant Walt Disco had no rule book. They knew only what they liked and what they didn’t, and as a result the sound that is ‘Unlearning’, and now synonymous with Walt Disco, is untethered and brilliantly unique.
"WE WROTE ‘MACILENT’ THE DAY AFTER THOSE TRANS PEOPLE WERE ATTACKED IN HOLLYWOOD... WE'RE JUST QUITE TIRED OF SEEING THAT SORT OF HEADLINE OR NEWS STORY." “We're quite childlike in terms of, well I don’t want to say in attention span,” James laughs, “but in the way that we’re always intrigued by new things and in the way sounds just fascinate us. We are always just looking for a new one to get drawn in on. On this album, we were definitely drawn to a certain type of metallic sound, like clanks and bonks. And synths that are quite cold and like lightning, and reverbs like, I don't know … like a wet cave almost,” they laugh again. It is perhaps comforting to know that James also struggles to put the Walt Disco sound into words. It is as though their sound can only really be quantified by sound itself, or by conjured atmospheres like the cool damp dark of a cave, complete with an underground spring and stalactites. It's not something one can grasp purely through spoken word, it really must be heard to be believed. There are elements of 80s British glam rock with glittering synths and vibrato vocals the sort we associate with Bowie and Roxy Music, intertwined with the glitz and glamour intrinsic to the genre. There is also something of Sisters of Mercy in the gravitas 25
of the vocals and clamouring drums. It is clear they have tapped into the complex musical repertoire that is Britain's audible history. However, this is done in a manner that is fundamentally unique and audaciously “Walt Disco”. Their music warps into soundscapes that transport you from fairground to haunted house, to a burlesque show. There are many elements of the theatrical and the two-minute instrumental track titled ‘The Costume Change’ enforces this theme. It can be subtle and heartwrenchingly poignant in one moment and then indulgently cacophonous in the next. Tessellating reverb and synth make this shift seamless. “We always knew what an ‘Unlearning’ sound was,” James explains. One can only imagine how it felt the moment they finally isolated the album’s DNA. Additionally, the visual aesthetics are very important to the Walt Disco experience. In their music videos, photoshoots and Instagram feeds, the band cultivates a visual aesthetic that is harlequin, gothic romantic, club kid and more. James shouts out stylists Jack Shanks and Gus Sharp who have put together some of the group's recent iconic photoshoot looks and lists Bowie, Saint Vincent, and the New Romantic scene as current influences. However, inspiration also comes from within. “Finley [the keyboard player] is a very maximalist person when it comes to fashion and I’m quite into knitwear and Scandi stuff at the moment. It’s just kind of always evolving and we’re always talking to each other about fashion and music and going shopping together.” The variety of elements of Walt Disco’s music and visual style can largely be attributed to the fact that there are six of them: James on vocals, Finlay on the keyboard, Charlie on bass guitar, Lewis on guitar, Dave on drums, and Jack on Synths. “I think the six-piece informs the sound.” James says, “I think it is more like six minds than necessarily six players, especially because a lot of the album isn't all six people playing instruments at the same
time. Yeah, it's like everyone's opinion and everyone's taste in music led to the way the album sounds.” Of course, with so many creative minds in play, one would imagine creative visions could at times clash, but James assures us this is not the case. “I think we just know how to disagree.” James explains, “And I think when we get to the final product, most people can see where we're coming from. We always agree it sounds right at the end.” Aside from the excitement of Walt Disco’s musical and visual identity, the music itself tackles themes that are often personal and raw. In the opening track ‘Weightless’ we listen as James comes to terms with their own expression of gender identity and in doing so this acts as an invitation to others to do the same. In another case, ‘Those Kept Close’ is about the fear of losing loved ones, as James faces not being able to see their mother over lockdown, something which many of us if not all can relate to. Both tracks and multiple others were entirely self-produced, and the intimate creative process influenced the personal nature of the tracks and the extent to which James could make such raw expressions.
definitely informed the sort of dark tone of the song. They call for a universal change in the way we as human beings treat each other. “We definitely wanted the chorus to be sort of like a cry out to everyone just being like, the world could get on so much better but there's so much violence everywhere in people's hearts and minds.” While most of the tracks Walt Disco were hands on from the first writing sessions to the final production, the song ‘How Cool Are You?’ was written by Callum Rankine in 2015. The son of Allan Rankine of ‘The Associates’ gifted the bones of the song to the band and then the six went to town giving it that Walt Disco flair.
established music scene with an exciting pulse for new music and talent. James feels the pandemic has affected the social aspect of the scene somewhat, but they also speak to the network of talent that continues to emanate from the city. “I think the pandemic definitely has led to less socialising with other groups. There's kind of just been the six of us and our manager and then the people we work with on videos. And obviously videographers and photographers like Eric and Casper from Humble Film who make amazing videos for us and other bands. They have done things for Belle and Sebastian, and Fauves and stuff like that.” Humble Film is responsible for
Walt Disco’s visually To read the full version of this magazine many youofcan buy print awesome music videos including the one for ‘How Are You’, copies delivered direct to you from our Bandcamp orCool support “He wrote it so long ago and which sees the band skating he first saw us play aroundgoodies! an ice rink dressed in us via Patreonthen forwhen even more exclusive live, he was like, oh they’d be harlequin-esque garb. “They're so good at that. And then I just, for some reason, never got around working on it but then in lockdown, we had enough time. It went through various different structures and kind of got shortened a bit and we flipped some sections around and then added the ‘la, la, la’ chorus and then it felt like very us. And it's definitely a fun one to do live.”
amazing. We've just made our fifth video with them for the album and it's incredible.”
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“When we were producing in the house I think I was comfortable enough to write quite honestly. Maybe if I was in with a producer that I didn't know as well, it might have been hard to do that way.” ‘Macilent’ was written alongside Jessica Winter in response to the violence that queer and trans people face daily. After three trans women were attacked in Hollywood in August 2020, they wanted to convey the anger and disgust that they felt in the wake of learning about this incident and others like it. “We wrote ‘Macilent’ the day after those trans people were attacked in Hollywood and I suppose I think ourselves and Jessica were just quite tired of seeing that sort of headline or news story. Yeah, we felt strongly enough to write about it and that Words by Mirella Cockerill
Kicking off the ‘Unlearning’ tour in their hometown of Glasgow the night before, a place infamous for an electric crowd atmosphere was amazing, said James. The experimental nature of the tracks meant they required some adaptation for live performance, but James was happy with the outcome. “Yeah, I think we nailed it last night, it was amazing.” “And having a good-sized band helps to recreate that sound when we play it live. So yeah, I think we definitely had to think outside the box in terms of recreating the sounds that were made on the album.” Glasgow has a special place in Walt Disco’s history, having spent much of their early days playing gigs in the city. It hosts many grassroots venues and has an 26
“Rosie Schofield is a great photographer who was taking photos at a gig last night. And then there were lots of people at the gig from the scene like producer Bobby who worked on the album, Lizzie Reed who's incredible, Scarlett Randall, Russell Stewart, FAUNA was supporting. So yeah, it is really supportive. It was nice to see everyone again, after a long-time kind of in the shadows. Yeah, it was a nice moment.” We finish back where we started, on the phone with James who has just touched down in Belfast with the rest of the band, ready for day two of the European tour. I get the impression that this tour is a homecoming to the band, not only because it started in Glasgow but because it is a return to live music and to their fans and friends in the industry. With their long-anticipated debut ‘Unlearning’, Walt Disco has emerged from the shadows and onto the stage in style. The debut album "Unlearning" is out now.
Photography by Andrew Benge
5 QUESTIONS
CHARM OF FINCHES WHO ARE YOU?
We are Charm of Finches, we are sisters, Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes from Melbourne Australia!
WHAT DO YOU DO?
We make indie folk music about love, grief, the loss of childhood, wonder, nature and the future of our world. Between us, we play guitar, piano, violin, cello and we sing harmonies.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
We’ve always loved to sing and songwriting has always been our way of expressing ourselves and processing emotions. It’s been beautiful to share our songs with the world, hear how people connect to it and to witness music’s ability to connect and heal - that feels powerful and valuable. It’s also so Words by Mabel & Ivy / Charm Of Finches
wonderful being part of the music community and singing and playing with incredible musicians! We love where music has taken us. We’ve travelled around Australia and now we get to travel to UK and Europe doing what we love!
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Right now we are on the road touring regional Australia, playing in small halls in small towns. We will finish this tour in a couple of weeks and then fly to London! We can’t wait.
WHAT'S THE HOT TOPIC?
We reckon it’s all about doing it yourself in music at the moment! Whether that’s recording your own albums, making your own music videos or connecting directly to listeners on social media. During lockdown when we were unable to tour, we decided to record our own 27
album at home using one microphone and a makeshift vocal booth out of blankets draped over microphone stands. We co-produced it remotely with Canadian Daniel Ledwell and had lots of Zoom meetings and swapped a lot of files! We also direct and edit our own music videos. We love the creative process of making a mini-movie to fit with our songs and getting our friends in to act in them with us! The album is called ‘Wonderful Oblivion’ and it’s out in the UK on 6 May and on all streaming services! We’re excited to be visiting the UK and Europe from late April till late July. You can see if we are playing near you on our website charmoffinchesband.com Photography by Laura May Grogan
DIGGING DEEPER
COSMIC NINJA POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TURMOIL...
When we started Cosmic Ninja we didn’t set out to be political. We were drawn together by our love of rock and electronic music, and our desire to merge the two into something fresh and exciting to us as musicians. We’ve all gigged in the UK scene in previous bands but connected over our project to splice the power and heaviness of a rock band with the colours, euphoria and characters of synths and electronic sounds. Our aim is to make music you can party to that will have you heading banging in the mosh pit one moment and raving away into the night the next. We have always thought of Cosmic Ninja as a way to bring people together and promote inclusivity but most importantly have a good time. Living in the UK has been tough in the last half decade or so. These
are worrying times, we are more divided than ever, and the limits we will go to maximise profit and personal gain knows no bounds. People act too often as individuals and have lost their empathy for their common neighbour. This has been driven largely from the top by the government and complicit media cheerleading them on.
“WE ARE TIRED OF LIVING IN FEAR AND WORRYING ABOUT OUR FUTURE AS A COUNTRY AND OUR SPECIES, THE CHARLATANS MILKING SOCIETY DRY FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT...” 28
Brexit and the aftermath was a turning point for us as a band. From here on out we had an awakening to what was happening. The deliberate attempt to divide us and pit people against each other as a political power play has been difficult to watch. The atmosphere in the UK is so toxic we knew we wanted to talk about what we were seeing and feeling through our music. I can’t even imagine what people looking at the UK from other countries think. We have a corrupt government that continuously lies, manipulates the public, sells itself to the highest bidder or Russian oligarch and who will go to any lengths and stoop to any depths to hold on to power. They don’t work for us, they work for themselves.
Despite the blatant corruption, numerous scandals, and increasing lack of any sort of moral code or decency, they get away with it. People don’t care though, they are not engaged with what is going on. In this technological age it is so easy to keep yourself in the loop but perhaps we don’t want to as that same technology gives us the means to distract ourselves, draw all the air from the echo chambers we trap ourselves in, to manipulate others and discourage the search for truth and critical thought.
the case. It is so painful watching Russia but the spirit and unity of Ukraine has been incredible to behold at least.
Alas, it’s not just the UK, this is global. If you look at Trump, or what is happening in Russia and how Putin has used the state controlled media to create his own narrative you can see mirrors of what is going on in the UK. The unquestionable impact that Russian money in our country is having is at last starting to seep through and prompt the serious questions it deserves, but it shouldn’t take a war for this to be
But it's not all bad, living in Bristol provides us with hope and positivity as we see the promotion of liberal values and acceptance on our doorsteps every day. The toppling of the Edward Colston statue was a moment of extreme pride for us as Bristol leads the way and puts itself on the map championing social justice. In our own way we hope we can make some contribution to keep it there. Our music is shaped by the
We are tired of living in fear and worrying about our future as a country and our species, the charlatans milking society dry for their own benefit, and most importantly the inequality that has festered and grown exponentially. This has had a profound effect on how we feel and has proven to be fruitful as a source of inspiration, and formed a natural path for us to take in our lyrics.
Words by Cosmic Ninja
local experience we have had, the community here and the sharing of amazing moments, such as performing major LGBTQ events which we have a deep connection to, and even the deaf community. These moments keep us going, give us hope and remind us that there is good out there and a place for us all, but we have to keep fighting for it. Our new EP "Dissident Transmission" is our best work yet and a culmination of our development musically and the lyric journey we have been on. This EP shows who we are as a band and our message that has evolved from this political and social turmoil. We want people to hear it and hopefully resonate with it, and give people encouragement to stand up and fight in a positive way to make real change.
Photography by Rupert Gammond
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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
LONDON, ENGLAND WITH THE JOSHUA ZERO
INTRODUCTION
My name is Joshua, I’m nonbinary and you may know me from playing with my art-rock project Joshua Zero on various tours around the country. You may also know me from my punk-centric side projects and features with Long Legged Creatures, Burning Bones, and Horspit. I live in London, you may have heard of it. It’s big, colourful, multi-cultural and chaotic. It's full of history and promise and it's the city I was born in. I haven’t lived there my whole life, when I was 11 my parents moved from Wembley to Harpenden, a middle-class suburb in Hertfordshire. My school changed from being mostly black and Asian to being all white and the
conservative values of the place strengthened my need to be different. This is where my need to play the guitar very very loudly began. In 2015 I moved to Leeds to study music, my only passion and success in school. It was here I learned that there were plenty more musicians like me in the world and I drank, drugged and played with them.
However, in 2020, Leeds began to feel small so I 30
decided to move back to the capital. And since my family have moved to Bristol, it’s the only place that I can consider to be my roots.
THE SHIP, SOHO
So that’s enough about me, time to talk about London. The first place I’d like to talk about is in the black heart of Soho. The Ship branches off from Piccadilly like a third arm or a sixth finger. It’s a punk bar with a rock’n’roll history that would make your face melt. Positioned next to the old Marquee Club (RIP), it frequently hosted the likes of The Who, David Bowie, The Clash, Jimi Hendrix, and a plethora of others. It's been referenced in songs like ‘Born Slippy’ (Underworld) and ‘A-Bomb on Wardour Street’
(`The Jam) and it was a stop for the late Taylor Hawkins in between UK shows. I’ve met and partied with some incredible people there, from original punks who squatted with the Sex Pistols to megastar celebrities in search of a good time. The Ship is a safe place for any marginalised community and it’s a landmark in the history of rock’n’roll.
local bands like AV Dummy and Fightmilk. It has hosted out of town bands like Mamilah and Gordian Stimm with great success and it will soon host me on the 20th of April supporting The Golden Age of TV. The Shacklewell Arms is an honest, well-run venue with a cool stage and decent sound. It's a great place to hear what’s going on in the London music scene and you should definitely check it out (on the 20th of April, to see me).
THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS, DALSTON
The next place I’d like to talk about is The Shacklewell Arms. It’s based in Dalston and has been host to some incredible bands, including
GREENWICH PARK
Finally, the last place I’d like to talk about is a more personal
Words by Joshua Zero
spot. It's just a park. And that park is Greenwich Park. Because holy cow it has the most incredible view. Its were I spent my last birthday and it’s where I celebrated the release of my latest single ’12 Inch Alcoholics’. If the tides are out you can go onto the beach, we had a fire there but maybe watch out for the police before you do that. These are some of my favourite spots in London, visit them if you can. You can see me live in London on the 20th at The Shacklewell Arms and if you’re not from Joshua Zero will be in Bristol (21/04), Manchester (27/04), Leeds (28/04) and Brighton (17/05). My new single ’12 Inch Alcoholics’ is out on all streaming platforms with an accompanying session video by Rockwood Sessions that can be found on Youtube. Main photograph by Ellie Slorick
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THE MUSIC VENUE TRUST (MVT) she laughs.
For about 3 years, the issues that Clara Cullen, Music Venue Trust’s Venues Support Manager, came across had a similar shape. Noise complaints would escalate and cause a venue to lose its licence, or redevelopment plans would target unprofitable pubs for more lucrative ventures. “The fact of the matter is most landlords would prefer the building to either be flats or to be a restaurant or a Pret,”
Suddenly, the pandemic hit, the country locked down, and venues lost their entire sources of income overnight. “In the very early months, I genuinely thought that we could see the total wipeout of the grassroots music venue sector” Cullen tells me. By the end of 2020, the numbers painted a grim picture: live music industry revenues had fallen by 81%, the annual income of freelancers fell by 88%, and 15% of the workforce had left the sector. Stark numbers like those can obscure the human impact. “When we’re talking 32
about the loss of a venue, often the venue operator lives in the venue,” Cullen says. “You couldn’t detach the professional from the personal. There were cases in which it was about ensuring people had money to buy food.” The Music Venue Trust (MVT) was founded in 2014 with the goal of protecting, securing and improving grassroots music venues. Along with advocating for live-musicfriendly government policy and raising awareness of the issues facing the night-time economy, they operated an Emergency Response Service. If a venue was under threat of closure, MVT could offer advice to help de-escalate the situation. During the
pandemic, Cullen oversaw this initiative just as demand rose to unprecedented levels. Before the Culture Recovery Fund was introduced, she spent weeks writing letters to landlords and councillors, asking them for support. MVT also launched the Save Our Venues campaign, the biggest action they had taken so far. Having identified 556 venues at immediate risk of closure, they provided artists tools and guidance to perform virtual gigs in support of the venues close to their heart. By the end of the year, the initiative had raised over £3.8m. Things might not be as dramatic as in the darkest days of the crisis, but new situations bring new threats. The latest hit to the sector has been the cost-ofliving crisis - the energy requirements of live music are huge, and the accompanying bills are astronomical. One venue that came to the MVT for support had seen their energy costs triple in size.
rather than the government. “We have to keep pointing out the illogical nature of the fact that we’re a massive driver of music in the world but we’re also now one of the highest countries to be taxed for it.”
“IN JANUARY 2020 THE MUSIC VENUE TRUST WAS REALLY OPTIMISTIC, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WE HAD MORE VENUES OPENING THAN CLOSING... THEN TWO MONTHS LATER THE PANDEMIC HAPPENED.”
Furthermore, as the immediate danger dwindles, so does government enthusiasm. The day I speak to Cullen is the final day of the #HackTheVAT campaign. Before the pandemic, the VAT on live music tickets was 20%. This was cut to 12.5% to help recovery, but returned to its previous rate starting April 1st.
Although a lot has changed since the beginning of 2020, perhaps there is still room for optimism. The MVT is currently preparing a new campaign advocating for a whole new model of venue operation: community ownership. This would involve members of the public raising the money to buy a venue’s freehold by investing in a community share. Notfor-profit Sister Midnight is currently campaigning to save Lewisham’s ailing Ravensbourne Arms in exactly this way.
MVT have spent the past few months urging music lovers to buy tickets before the reduced VAT went up, to ensure as large a proportion as possible of the money spent on gig tickets went towards supporting the scene
This is not a new development - the idea has been part of the MVT’s long-term ambitions since the very beginning - but the pandemic has highlighted to many that the idea is not just a pipe dream, it’s a necessity.
Words by Charlotte Banks
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Mark Davyd, MVT’s founder and CEO recently told NME that music venues in the UK collectively were in £90m of debt. This mostly comes from rent arrears. If music venues were community-owned, shareholders would be able to pause rents until the danger passed. For example, Bristol Exchange, which became the city’s first community-owned venue in 2018, did not face closure during the pandemic. “We’re not going back to 2019 and I don’t think we should go back” Cullen tells me. I’m inclined to agree. If the pressures of the pandemic brought to light the structural issues of the live music sector, it’s only right that the future centres around the communities that care about their local grassroots venues. If anything has been demonstrated by the trials of the past few years, it’s the passion and resilience of the people who work in live music. “When I go round venues, I’ve never seen people who are more dedicated and genuinely driven by an ethos which I don’t think you see in other sectors.” Music fans, too, showed their mettle. “At a time when it was very very chaotic and there was no real certainty, people did go above and beyond to support their local venues. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to repay the debt.” For more information about what the MVT does or how you can contribute see musicvenuetrust.com
Main photograph by Tony Redmen
TOOLBOX
FINDING A PATH IN PRODUCTION WITH ADAM PITS
INTRODUCTION Navigating a career in music production can be tough. From what equipment to get to grips with first, what music to make to how that record then enters the world, there are enough plates spinning to make even the most creatively equipped feel dizzy. I spoke to Adam Pits, DJ, producer and co-founder of label On Rotation, to get to the bottom of how his journey shaped his approach, and what tips he’d give to budding producers and labels. HOW DID YOU FIRST ENTER THE WORLD OF PRODUCTION? “My musical journey has been slightly unorthodox having come from a relatively strict classical background, but I’m very aware
of the positive benefits that I’ve gained from my training so I don’t regret the path I have taken so far!” TALK US THROUGH YOUR PROCESS OF RELEASING A RECORD. “The aim is to connect first with a distribution company that you trust and can see having a good relationship with. Once you have a good understanding of the deal, then it's actually mostly worked out by them. “The creative side of things is fully down to you and your team; like artwork, musical direction and artists. The current state of pressing plants means that there are many delays on vinyl pressings so it's important to plan ahead and make sure that you've got releases sorted and 34
mastered to keep things ticking along for when spaces clear up. “Once you have a release date it's good to sort out the promotion side of things. Finding YouTube and Soundcloud channels that fit your sound and will reach your target audience is key.
"THIS IS A NEVERENDING GAME OF LEARNING THOUGH SO I'VE ACCEPTED THAT MISTAKES ARE FINE AND THEY ARE ALL PART OF THE JOURNEY." “We tend to do this a month before, staggering track
premieres. During this month we also push on all of our social media platforms to further our audience reach. Once the record is released, you hope for the best!” WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN AT THE TIME OF YOUR FIRST RELEASE? “I wish I knew how to produce better at the time of my first personal release. Having technical knowledge of how to mix down tracks is so essential to the final product being good. This is a never-ending game of learning though so I've accepted that mistakes are fine and they are all part of the journey. “It actually makes what I do more addictive - knowing that I'll always be learning and never getting bored is a beautiful thing.”
IS THERE ANY EQUIPMENT THAT YOU HAVE INVESTED IN THAT HAS MADE PRODUCTION EASIER? “Absolutely - 100% Ableton 11. I moved from Logic Pro X and it has been a game-changer. I don't regret starting with Logic as I think it's given me a different type of skill set, but I would suggest to any budding producers that you also make the switch if you have not yet done so. “Don’t waste your time buying hardware gear unless you really need that natural touch of feeling the instrument. I've saved so much money having not done that and I personally think working in-box is far more productive. The best soft synth out there is DIVA by U-he in my opinion. Powerful and intuitive.”
Words by Abi Whistance
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Keep up to date with Leeds label On Rotation via their Facebook page and their Instagram @on.rotation.music.
Adam Pits’ latest release "A Recurring Nature" is out now on On Rotation.
COME PL AY WITH WALT DISCO YONAK A
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