CUB Issue 553

CUB

ISSUE 553

QMSU MEDIA DINNER 2014 shots, selfies & sillyness #Qmediadins #pray4jak

Issue 553 SECTION GUIDE 2 // Editorial Team 3 // The Editor’s Letter 4 // London 10 // Arts 16 // Music 22 // Features 30 // Film 36 // Style 42 // Photography 44 // Special Thanks

facebook.com/CUBmagazine // @CUBmagazine // www.cubmagazine.co.uk

Editorial Team THOSE THAT HELPED PUT THIS ISSUE TOGETHER EDITOR IN CHIEF: Becky Hipkiss SUB EDITORS: Lauren Cantillon, Isabella Ashford & Krish Raichura ARTS: Laura Maw & David Loumgair FEATURES: Lucy Sutcliffe, Nour Kobayter & Mattea Todd FILM: Gemma Holt, Laura Staab & Iman Mohamed LONDON: Frankie Brown & Malachy O’Grady MUSIC: Elly Watson, Issie Lofts & Sophie Fordham PHOTOGRAPHY: Emily Gillings-Peck, Olga Kravchenko & Umar Sarwar STYLE: Raifa Rafiq, Lucy Tattersall & Claudia Manca UNISEX: Georgia Conlon & Sarah Pinder ONLINE: Ralitsa Peykova & Ruby Kilroy HEAD OF PR & MARKETING: Alissa Veiga-Pestana PR & MARKETING TEAM: Kripa Gurung, Maria Kristiansson & Bella Catling

Editor’s Note A WORD FROM THE BOSS This issue sees 2014 begin to draw to a close and boy, has it gone quick. Hopefully you’re all beginning to get into the festive spirit as we enter into December but if not, maybe our beautiful Narnia-inspired cover image will do the trick!

Time seems to be gathering speed at a ridiculous rate, with just six months to go (gulp) until that dreaded month of May. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be undoubtedly feeling stressed/anxious/consuming five bars of chocolate on a daily basis as deadlines get into full swing. Final year students? I feel your pain. But lately, I’ve come to the sudden realisation that at some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening right now. Sod the stress - make sure you’re doing things that will make you happy. Life becomes a lot less complicated when you have a smile on your face. Trust me. Make some time for you.

And Issue 553 will help you do just that! Put the kettle on and your feet up as we have some absolute corkers for you, including an exclusive interview with the leading lady of the Green Party herself, Natalie Bennett. Music also gets up close and personal with Wretch 32 ahead of his album release this month, whilst Film trawls campus to find out your favourites. Not for you? Why not take a beautiful stroll along Millenium Bridge with our London section, before heading into the Tate Modern with not one, but two reviews in Arts. No need to thank us.

As always let us know what you think by tweeting the team @CUBmagazine! Fancy contributing? Drop us an email and find out how to get involved - as you can see from our inner front cover, we are a lovely bunch!

Until next time, Becky x

“take pride in how far you have come and have fairth in how far you can go”

Brief Encounters UNDERGROUND Little tube stories, everyone has one. Whether it’s that guy you met or the day you wish you had never left the house, we asked some QM-goers to tell us of their own Brief Encounter...

There are a vast array of eventful tube journeys that could literally spill out of my mouth like a bad case of word vomit, but with ‘go big or go home’ ringing in my head I’ve decided to go with the day that every line but the Victoria managed to be having some kind problem at London St Pancras station.

Settling with good old Victoria, the innocent fresher that was me didn’t realise I had missed my stop until I found myself somewhere near Essex, and only after I’d snapped out of the One Directioninduced stupor that my headphones had coaxed me into (I was listening to their album ironically I swear).

Okay, so I did manage to get home - 5 hours later - unscathed (unless you want to count my bruised ego) - but only after having to give in to the horror of the rail replacement (holding back my tears).

Words: Maansi Kalyan

Photo: NikosKoutoulas / flickr

Eventually finding my way back to the Central line, said tube decided to stop at Holborn because of a signal failure. Choosing to transform my murderous, ‘so done right now’ demeanour into a show of goodness, I had enough time to get off it, escort an old couple to the Piccadilly Line, and get back onto the very same tube. Hoping and praying that it would start working again ‘any minute now’ for a solid thirty minutes, and in between the deafening chants of a crowd of drunken middle-aged men, my sore brain resorted to having one of its many “Why God I’m a good person I did a good deed WHAT IS LIFE” moments.

At Wembley Park station it’s very common to see a rush of people sprinting out of the Metropolitan line trains, across the platform and into the Jubilee line carriages. Why? Because train drivers seem to love closing the doors just before people can reach the other train (it baffles me as to why). One time I observed this happen where one very ambitious man timed his entrance into the Jubilee line train very badly.

The beeping of the closing doors began, the sliding of the doors echoed all around but then... thud! This ambitious man had trapped his hand in the door to leave a very strange sight within the carriage of a hand trapped half way up the door holding a half empty Innocence smoothie bottle.

I think he learnt his lesson of giving patience a chance the hard way…

Words: Elizabeth Tan

Once, when getting onto a Bakerloo, exhausted after work and still clutching some forms I ought to have already filled in, I luckily found a seat opposite a gentleman who seemed unusually unthreatening.

However, this sense of security was quickly shown to be pre-emptive as at the next stop, a rather tipsy gentleman wandered on, sat next to me and began asking what my papers were for.

After what he saw as a sufficient amount of ignoring, he turned to the man sitting opposite me, who was clutching a silver case.

Constant questioning about the case followed, to which it turned out the man was a chef and his tools were in the case (whisks, knives, utensils etc). The drunk gent begged the chef to have a look but to no avail, and having gotten bored he got off at the next station. I thought all had improved and flashed the man opposite a look of sympathy, to which he coldly and terrifyingly responded, “Nobody touches my knives.”

Okay then...

Words: Frankie Brown

novice

Up until Sunday 26th October, I was a complete ‘comiccon novice’. I had always wanted to go when I was a teen, and, I’ll admit, I spent a lot of time drawing my favourite characters from animes such as Full Metal Alchemist and Naurto, and yet I never knew what it entailed. When my friend invited me to go with him to this spectacular event, I thought I owed it to my 14 yearold self to see what it is all about!

The bi-annual MCM Comic Con in London is for comic, anime, manga, and video game (and just about anything else geeky!) enthusiasts to commemorate their adoration for their favourite fictions. The event is used as an opportunity for people of all-ages to morph into a true super hero for a day (or two if they purchase a weekend ticket).

Photo: azurbluedragon / flickr

There was an overwhelming amount of people, yet the queue (that looked like it may go on forever) moved along rapidly and, before I knew it, a yellow wristband was slapped on my arm and we were through the doors! I was surprised to see how many familiar food concessions there were at the exhibition centre (I was elated to see a Costa as I was in serious need of a

stall in the exhibition centre, and whilst I don’t mean to sound hyperbolic, there were hundreds of stalls, all of which catered to all visitors’ tastes. There were several types selling k-pop fan merchandise, comics, anime DVDs, mangas, gamer related merchandise, Japanese confectionery, and more that I can’t begin to name.

My personal favourite stall was one which sold alternative clothing and accessories; I purchased an amazing hoodie and a rucksack both embroidered with skulls. I was also unbelievably thrilled to come across Japanese Kit-Kats (I have looked in the past for this matcha tea flavoured confectionary in the UK but had no luck). Not only was I lucky enough to track down matcha tea, I also found strawberry cheesecake, pumpkin, ice-cream, and sakura (Japanese for ‘cherry-blossom’) flavoured, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of trying all of them. I can now say I recommend every single one however my favourite had to be the sakura – it is a sweet sugary sensation which is quite perplexing!. The wrapping is tiny yet decoratative – you could keep them as keep-safes as you can personalise the packaging with writing. They were expensive for a Kit-Kat but as they are a rarity, £4 per box was definitely worth it.

I was pleased to find plenty of independent cartoonists and craftspeople selling their work in the centre. It is so good that the exhibition isn’t merely about buying infamous brands’ merchandise, such as Tokyo Toys or Game; it truly gives independent artists the opportunity to promote their unique works.

What I loved about Comic Con most was the whole ambience of the event. It is organic, forever expanding and gaining more ‘die-hard’ fans who go make the effort to make and customise unique costumes. If you are a

fan of comics, anime or gaming, you should head down to the next MCM Comic Con and see what’s in store.

The experience was so surreal and I can’t wait for the opportunity to go again!

Words: Naomi Nnedi

LONDON // 7

COMIC CON

flat white). I can honestly say that we went to every

PEDESTRIAN Shadows Walking out of my apartment today, though in a rather more materialist capacity to hunt for designer clothes hidden on the racks in TK Maxx, it was into an insubstantial city. In all honesty, London has probably never been that substantial. Our view of history is not only tainted by who we read and what we know, but most of all by whose words have survived. So for the present, those of us staring back at the capital, particularly for those of us who understand the city through stories and novels, we see London as a web of reality. Now though, London is a city of fractures – where once the cracks were filled, now the city echoes with their hollowness.

The Underground begins these endless fractures.

Each person on the tube begins their day in the same way, they know their goals and their needs – their motivations probably don’t stray too far from the individual who sits next to them. Yet everyone separates. Existing in a mixture of complete solitude yet also hyper vigilance, individuals move this way and that or stand to offer their seat – but actual communication and involvement, a person who stands to give away their seat quickly becomes part of the journey’s background. They are a swaying shadow that keeps the rhythm of the carriage’s manic heartbeat.

St Paul’s dome sits proudly atop the cathedral, a temple to God standing opposite a temple to modern

art. Between the two stretches the Millennium Bridge, a sign of the juxtaposition and oxymoronic nature of London. We live in a city that has foundations of the best and the worst, wisdom and foolishness, despair and hope, the Dickensian poverty of factories and the Wilde wealth of the class who hide portraits in their attics – or at least visit doctors in well-appointed Harley Street surgeries. In short, this city in which we live and learn is one built on such oppositional foundations that its existence should be transitory.

My boots crack the pavement as a woman’s stilettoes stab at it, assaulting the concrete that spreads through the conglomeration of “villages” that make up the city of London. One such village, Soho, is home to my destination. If ever you were to see a place that existed as an epicentre of fracture, a whirlwind of separate collectiveness, it would be the few streets and squares that make up one of London’s most famous villages.

Soho stands much like the rest of the city on foundations of imagination and illusion; it is a dream catcher for all those who seek the demi-monde of London. The independent shops stand with chains and the bars that attempt difference share patrons with the ones that adhere to the old methods of attraction. It is the only part of the city where who you are fails to matter and reality becomes something of a nuisance. Night never really departs Soho; the day is always a memory of the night before and a preparation of the night to come. It is, in essence, a part of the city that belongs to the nether, unreal and unapologetic in its lust for the life of the dark. Arriving into the shop I glance back and see a building site, yet another temporary space in an ephemeral city.

Photo: danrocha / flickr

When Woolf set out on her walk to get a pencil just over eighty years ago, she strode into a city that still existed – the buildings, identity and populace of the city was original, indigenous. London was London, as it always had been.

words: Malachy O’Grady

floating

meadows of

flowers Image: c/o Rebbeca Louise Law

an interview with artist Rebecca Law

ARTS // 11

Words: Laura Maw

Holland, from whom I get the majority of my flowers.

Found (rather appropriately) in her studio on Columbia Road, home to the famous flower market, Rebecca Law has designed her exquisite and stunning floral installations for clients including the Royal Shakespeare Company and Jimmy Choo. She crafts dreamy floral ceilings and walls, creating romantic otherworldly spaces for her onlookers.

There’s something so magical about nature being brought into indoor spaces – especially in London it’s sometimes hard to get sufficient doses of nature, so was your goal to reintroduce nature to the city through art?

Did you begin your flower work at Newcastle University while studying Fine Art? Yes, I began my flower installation work at university in 2003.

After university I wanted to study more about the material I was using – flowers. So I decided to work in various florists, educating myself in the art of floristry, learning about its trends, history and today’s flower industry. After being in the industry for four years I left to continue with my own art.

Yes, most of my installations are about bringing nature into urban spaces. Trying to capture nature and bring it into the city is one of my goals and biggest challenges. I try to capture a small amount of what the earth has given us, allowing the viewer to observe and re-evaluate nature.

I think rooftop gardens, particularly in cities, are lovely – people nurturing greenness wherever they can. Did your fascination with flowers spring from a countryside upbringing? I think I have some sort of weird affinity with the sea because I grew up in a seaside town.

Was it difficult making a living as an artist at first?

I began working on my own in the middle of the recession and had tough financial times. In hindsight, I believe that some of the strongest work can come through having struggles, each decision has huge risks and it draws your focus toward your goals and the future.

One of my favourite pieces of yours is the room screen at your studio on Columbia Road. How long did it take to complete?

It took about three months to complete, from design to finish. There was a lot of stop start!

What is your process for gathering the flowers to create your installations?

I start with the site and the patron. Then I look at which flowers would be relevant for the space, whilst always pushing my work forwards. I have a very loyal supplier in

Yes, I’m a country girl at heart. I was also heavily influenced by my parents. My father is a gardener and my mother adores flowers. We have artists in my family who took inspiration from flowers and I was always encouraged to study them as a child.

Speaking of spending quality time in the countryside, could you tell me more about your participation in the Land Art Projects?

Most of my Land Art projects have been community based, whether to encourage tourism or to integrate mixed groups through creating outside. A lot of my Land Art projects were made with inner city children and people with learning difficulties. They have been incredibly rewarding. Recently I collaborated with my father and created a straight line of Dahlias 1000ft long through a field, we had 1000 participants of all ages. It was amazing to see all of those people get together to create art in the countryside.

THE ART OF

MADNESS MADNESS Words: Dominika Stobiecka Insanity can augment the suffering, but can also bring artistic inspiration. What we arbitrarily and vaguely call mental illness from a certain point of view is simply a different perspective on reality. This applies to a very broad spectrum of issues: from feelings and beliefs to the very direct visual and auditory experiences which, when influenced by one another, create a comprehensive picture of the “madman’s” world. Although usually misunderstood by society, as well as being rejected and marginalized, such a person may sometimes feel an even stronger longing to express himself or herself, to shout out what is in their troubled mind. Hence there is nothing surprising in the fact that many people whom we label as “mentally ill” attempt to contact with the external world through artistic expression.

several rape attempts, Swiss national Wölfli passionately devoted himself to creating his own mythology, in which he reinvented himself as St Adolf II. He was wandering across this amazing world, in which everything was grotesquely exaggerated and bizarre.

In his works Adolf Wölfli mixed the overwhelming abundance of pipes, shoes, umbrellas, kitchenware, hotels, railways,

steamships, factories, bridges, clocks with human faces, staircases, trees, fish, cathedrals, roads and tunnels, suns, moons and comets. His art goes far beyond the canvas, because it is almost a diary of the journey that the artist St Adolf II made in his ‘crazy’ mind. The incredible focus on detail allows the viewers to learn that St Adolf II, for example, examined the world’s largest cave that was 24 000 000 miles long, 500 000 miles wide and 250 000 miles high, and also invented the telephone and the submarine.

When it comes to the classification in the art world, Wölfli is named as the precursor of ‘art brut’ (which translated from French means ‘raw art’ or ‘outsider art’), a primitive style which reveals intrapsychic human experiences, culturally unadulterated and uncensored by the artistic formalism, acquired knowledge and the current fashion.

Thanks to the ‘art brut’ artists, we have the rare opportunity to discover the less falsified; freed from the aesthetic conventions, stereotypes and patterns of thinking. It strikes when looking at the work of Adolf Wölfli that there is no doubt his instinct of creation was as strong as the instinct for survival.

Image: c/o Wikimedia Commons

In 1921, psychiatrist Walter Morgenthaler, published a book called “A Psychiatric Patient as Artist”. In this work, he described in detail many years of observations made on a patient with diagnosed psychosis who - never before having contact with art - began to exhibit a tendency to draw when in the clinic. Trying to control a patient’s hyperactivity often leads to physical aggression, and so Morgenthaler

supplied him with everything that an artist would consider the essentials. In this way, Adolf Wölfli, a frequent patient of mental hospitals suffering from psychosis-induced hallucinations, became known to the world.

In the privacy of the mental institution, in which he was permanently confined to after

ARTS // 13

SIGMA

POLKE at the Tate Modern

Image: c/o Art Tattler

These days, it seems that contemporary art is often marred by the idea that it is ridiculously simple. It can also appear quite alienating at times - once a visit to the Tate Modern taught me nothing bar the fact that the old cart stuck in the middle of the exhibition somehow represented a goat. I have hope, however. A new exhibition called Alibis: Sigmar Polke has arrived at the Tate and it is far from uninspiring.

Polke’s works teem with an astonishingly vast range of concepts and inspirations, and it is perhaps for this reason that the Tate is dedicating fifteen rooms to display a sample of his lifetime work.

On entering, the first room displays Polke’s work from his ‘Capitalist Realism’ movement which mocks the consumerist culture of post-war Germany for masking the recent horrors of World War One. Room five, ‘Polke as Astronaut… Polke as Drug’ then moves on thematically from here, but still conveys the same striking, uninhibited essence of his work. Here, he mocks the puffed-up identity of the modern artist as a ‘visionary’ but does still appear to admire the artist figure in some ways, however, as implied in the very unusual work where Polke ‘communicates’ with William Blake.

In later rooms, Polke experiments with pornographic images, photography, film and fascinating materials (namely, ground dust of a Chilean meteor). He paints onto bubble wrap, uses gel as a canvas and employs modern technology as both medium and inspiration.

Through this multitude of artistic mediums, Polke pushes the boundaries of art’s potential in the modern age and asks whether we can ever really perceive something objectively. This question appears most prominently in his use of modern technology. Polke draws on the fact that pictures in printed newspapers were made up of rows of dots and magnifies these images so that up close it is almost incomprehensible. In the same vein, he photocopies pictures but intervenes during the process so that the picture becomes distorted.

Polke is a truly modern artist: he deals with questions of perception and ambiguity that most of us do not question in our spoon-fed, contemporary world. His work is modern and yet his adventurous use of medium and form is not alienating or uninspiring. It is quite the contrary. Polke’s artistic creativity is delightfully overwhelming and definitely worth a visit.

Words: Hayley Downey

MODERN ART: IS THERE A SECRET BEHIND THE SIMPLICITY?

Words: Holly Croft

Upon viewing several different pieces I realised that it’s not as simple as just some scribbles or dashes of colour, but rather that each brush stroke makes up a greater picture which is capable of filling you with an emotional response. A prime example of this is Mark Rothko’s ‘Red Room’ in the Tate (still currently available for viewing), something which produced a reaction from me which I never expected. As an art student, I

Image: c/o Sébastien Bertrand / flickr

Modern art is not the sort of topic that easily slides through conversation without somebody raising their voice to proclaim, ‘anyone could do that!’. In fact, I will admit that I used to be that very person, until I visited the Tate Modern for the first time several years ago and experienced the work there in person.

As well as the emotional force of the artwork, I also learned from the description that perhaps the techniques used to construct something that was simple-looking upon first glance were not actually that simple. Oil, acrylic paint and glue tempera were all used to create the final outcome. Rothko had clearly carefully engineered his paintings to influence his audience exactly how he planned, and that’s not something that I believe many people could do.

Another notable piece of work is Hans Hartung’s T1937-33. Similar to the approach of Rothko, a series of lines and vague shapes are set out to make you feel tense – akin to the feeling of having a stomach knotted with stress: not exactly pleasant, but fascinating. Delicate methods of applying charcoal, pastel and oil paint also reiterate the fact that the artist didn’t just scribble random things onto the canvas, but made carefully selected choices about the consequences of his work.

If you want to make comments on your own ability to create something that can provoke such a visceral reaction, then go to the Tate Modern and view work like this for yourself. There’s plenty more to see on top of Rothko and Hartung.

You might just change your opinion (unless we’re talking about the sort of installation which involves placing a small wooden cube on a chair to represent the oppression of the individual).

As for those works, I’m not sure I’ll ever be convinced…

ARTS // 15

had previously seen online photographs of the paintings produced by this artist and, in total honesty, I wondered why I was travelling for three hours by coach to look at a canvas covered in red and black rectangles. However, after I had sat in the exhibition room for a short time, I started to feel claustrophobic and trapped. I decided to read the description plaque of the art to distract myself and was overwhelmingly surprised when I saw that this was the reaction from the viewer that Rothko had intended to produce.

I FOUND MY TREASURE IN

YOU

Photo: c/o Wiltshire Council / flickr

Words: Abisola Oke

Photo: c/o Wiltshire Council / flickr

MUSIC // 17

Wretch 32 releases his third studio album ‘Six Words’ this month. Our six words? Get your hands on it NOW. Not only does it feature new rappers and brilliant verses, but we also get a glimpse of his singing voice, which he himself described as “just one bespoke jacket in my tailoring shop.” We sat down with the man himself: What’s inspired your sound on your third album?

Growth, definitely growth. A lot of progression has been happening around me. There’s a lack of growth in music today. I just feel like it gets very samey: if someone has a hit using a triangle, everyone’s like we have to use a triangle. Hit chords, ‘cause they never lose. But I don’t think music is meant to be about that. It’s meant to be about expression, feeling the vibe that you’re creating at that moment.

I enjoyed hearing something different - with UK rap especially, a lot of people attempt to enact the American scene, with the girls, money and all of that.

I just think that with a lot of rappers in particular they vent and just mirror what they see. So a lot of times when we make songs that are about girls and partying it’s probably because we’ve been in the club for seven days this week, doing PAs! But then you get people that are lying, that’s when it gets ridiculous.

Lying in their raps!

Yeah, just facading the lifestyle. I suppose, that’s to some degree creative, but I just like when it’s honest, when it’s genuine.

You always have a message behind your music. How do you maintain having a message and a fan base as opposed to lying as you said?

It’s genuinely me. I’m that guy that would say forget about violence, I’d rather be cool. I’m just that guy. I’m casual. And I think generally my overall look on life is genuinely positive. I want to uplift people, I don’t put anybody down. So, yeah, I think it is because it just genuinely is me being hon-est in the records.

It’s been quite a good year for UK rap, with Krept & Konan and then Little Simz coming up. There’s a general air of respect for the community right now, do you think this will be maintained?

Yeah, I think what’s happening is that the next generation of artists are willing to work hard. They’re talented and they’ve learnt from all of our pros and our cons. As long as people keep progressing and keep making mistakes they’ll always be people that will learn from both sides of the coin. You look at Stormzy and you can see that he’s come through learning Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Skepta, Ghetts, myself; Little Simz likewise. It’s great ‘cause when they come through we’re all receptive and nurturing and want to give them good advice. Work with them and create good records. So that’s what’s keeping it healthy.

Back in the day when we were growing up listening to music, it wasn’t about who had the best car, or who was married to who. It was about who had the best verse. Rap was so competitive. People wanted to be the best! That’s why you had the best music back then because people wanted to outshine the other guy with the best song. Now it’s “I’m going to outshine you with the best video with the most girls that are wearing the least”. And when that’s the foundation of it the quality is thrown out the window.

That was deep, put that in a song! The ‘Doing Ok’ video (which I loved) what inspired that?

Culture. Both of the records ‘Blackout’ and ‘Doing Ok’ are a coin flip apart. I see ‘Blackout’ as sundown and ‘Doing Ok’ as sunrise. So when I thought about that when I shot the video, ‘cause at that sunrise moment I’m feeling everything’s cool and everything’s alright, I’m actually doing okay. I wanted to go somewhere where people had the least but they had the best spirit. They had the most spirit. They have the least items but the most spirit, uplifting community. So we went to where we went to shoot it and I think it just resonates and really hit home. It didn’t do massive, it wasn’t a hit like that, but it was the type of record that comes through andIt had a message?

Yeah and whoever feels it, really feels it. And if you didn’t understand it, it wasn’t for you.

THE SON G SSHHIIMMM MEERRSS WITH TH E ENERGY OLD MEM ORIES. OF Words: E m

ily Hutchin

‘It’s Alright’ is the new song from Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer Fractures, taken from his new self-titled EP. Gorgeous multi-tracked vocals mingle with Fractures’ slowburning electronica on this melancholy track.

The video, a collaboration with Australian filmmaker Matthew Chuang, provides a moving contextualisation for the song. Set in Pripyat, an abandoned ‘ghost town’ near the site of the Chernobyl disaster, the video follows a fictional character as he visits a deserted school. Feelings of isolation and loss are key as the character acts out various scenes from school life, trying to revive memories from his dead surroundings.

At times he seems overwhelmed by sadness, but there are more joyful undertones, and Fractures’ recurring refrain of ‘It’s alright’ is there to remind us that the song is ultimately about finding comfort even after painful events.

The instrumental is minimalist, allowing the melody and the weight of feeling behind the lyrics to shine through. Starting quietly, with gentle piano chords and tones which are almost

son

like the ghostly groans of the decaying building, the track builds and falls very naturally, guided by the drums, which grow to a soft rolling and then drop away again. The vocals are similarly soft, but powerful and emotive, Fractures gently reminds the listener and the video’s character: ‘don’t be consumed’, don’t let your memories take over the present. The song shimmers with the energy of old memories, but reminds us that the present is ‘alright’ too.

With its affecting subject-matter and composition, ‘It’s Alright’ is bound to make you shed a tear. Fans of Bon Iver will love this track, both for aspects of the style and for the mood of the song. Growing critical acclaim and an obvious talent for creating moving work mean that Fractures is definitely one to watch.

Photo: c/o Timm Suess / flickr

FRACTURES, ‘It’s Alright’

trajectory of a faltering relationship

WORDS: DUSHANT PATEL

ben howard I FORGET WHERE WE WERE Photo: c/o Island Records

The first thing that strikes me upon hearing Ben Howard’s new album, which benefits greatly from Chris Bond’s influence as producer, is how well it represents the trajectory of a faltering relationship. I Forget Where We Were is consistently layered with a sense of inevitability, while the emotions we’re taken through provide a strange feeling of relief when we come to the end of the album and ‘The End Of The Affair’.

This is a great departure from what we are used to hearing from the pair, with the haunting effects of ‘Time Is Dancing’ and the depth of ‘Evergreen’. The evolution of Howard and Bond as artists has led to the use of a much broader range of styles and instruments, particularly heard in the electrically atmospheric sounds of ‘All Is Now Harmed’. Percussion is an understated driving force in this album: Chris Bond as drummer and producer has done a remarkable job in adding harshness to a sound which has, in the past, been too soft.

The overall dark tones of the album are starkly contrasted by quicker tempos in more confronting tracks like ‘Rivers In Your Mouth’, but all point towards the inevitable crash of a relationship. Mood has been expertly crafted throughout the album, but especially in ‘End Of The Affair’. Without Bond’s presence, this song adopts a deeply tender instrumentality in a nod to Howard’s signature pizzicato style on the guitar to evoke the melancholy of autumn.

In ‘I Forget Where We Were’, the title song, Howard’s lyricism far surpasses much of what he achieved in Every Kingdom. His use of imagery is wise in a way that ‘Old Pine’ and ‘Black Flies’ simply failed to be. In “I was watching Syria/ Blinded by the sunshine strip”, Howard evokes a sense of the honeymoon phase of his relationship where, much like initial Western perceptions of the Arab Spring, no barrier was large enough to block ascension to a pre-prescribed ideal. When being “blinded by the sunshine strip”, Howard is reinforcing the idea of Western perceptions crowding out

any other opinions of the Arab Spring and, by extension, blind optimism blocking any realistic thought, thus offering an observation of relationships that reaches far beyond his years.

‘She Treats Me Well’ deserves special attention for representing the tired acceptance of a harangued boyfriend and doing it so well thanks to lyrics such as “she’s alright/ when everyone is wrong” creating a stereotyped view of the ‘woman’ in this song. This track, more than any, summarises how the pair have transgressed genres without much fuss throughout the album.

Ben Howard has created something that reflects his increasing musical maturity and his growing sense of lyrical wisdom. Broadening the range of instruments and styles used here has done nothing but improve on Every Kingdom.

I Forget Where We Were is out now and available to buy on iTunes and at most record shops.

YOUR FIRST GIG Words: Sophie Fordham Photo: Drew Stewart

One of the more seasoned gig-goers in the room told me about his first live music experience: “It was back in 1978 when I saw The Clash with my mates, just walking distance from our student digs. Joe Strummer came on stage and went straight into White Riot, the energy passed over you like a Tsunami… It was the best concert I’ve ever been to. Complete unanimity between band and audience.”

Do you remember your knees going weak upon finally hearing that funky, funky beat? Yes, that beat. A beat pregnant with the aspirations of a millennia of pre-teens who Never Had A Dream Come True. And that concert? Well, that was the dream that did.

Jo Whiley, who curates the Little Noise Sessions for Mencap, couldn’t have chosen a better venue for Jake Bugg than Union Chapel, where said connection between artist and audience is at its most unique.

First gigs are often magical, sometimes surprising, sometimes god-awful. But, in being a new experience, they always stay with you.

Last month I went to see Jake Bugg at Union Chapel. Despite reviews of his yester-show at Ally Pally dubbing him with ‘all the charm and charisma of a lettuce leaf’, I had no reservations about it. I’ve never heard a lettuce leaf sing quite like Jake Bugg, but if I did, I would extract it from its cucumbery surroundings and give it a record contract immediately (let’s pretend I have the power to do that). For a lot of people in the room, this was their very first gig and certainly one they won’t forget, thanks to Mencap, ‘the voice of learning disability’.

Seeing Jake is always a treat, but this Grade I listed architectural treasure was made to house a voice like his. I’ve never heard it so pure; far better than on record, he had exquisite control over his voice, embellished his well-known riffs with complex licks, and his dynamic manipulation was executed with perfection.

He made no effort to interact with the audience and left little time between songs, a cause of dismay to some on previous tour nights, and yet here… we were spellbound, hostage to the soul in his voice, struck with awe. All external concerns ceased as the energy in the room took over. After each song the people gushed and as soon as another began — complete silence.

As we sat in the pews of the warmed church with our mugs of tea and hot chocolate, Gemma Cairney introduced the audience to some of Mencap’s ambassadors, who

explained the problems that people with physical and learning disabilities face when they want to see their favourite artists live.

Large, rough, tightly packed crowds, and arranging the support to enable individuals to get to the venue and back posed some of the larger concerns.

“When you’re standing there and there’s so many people, they push you and shove you out the way,” Lizzie tells us. Peter agrees: “I’m fearful against crowds as well.” - “I just want to keep my distance,” says Vijay, “that’s why I’ve never been before.”

The anxiety which surrounds gig-going can be eased with the right support. However, most carers clock off at around 9pm, which is the same time as most touring acts will take to the stage. This leaves many people in a difficult position, but organisations such as Stay Up Late have introduced the Gig Buddies scheme, which pairs up people with and without learning disibilities, who share similar musical interests. Not only does this make music more accessible to all, but it’s a great way to make friends too.

Mencap are an incredible charity that promote choice at the very heart of their ethos. They work in close partnership with people with learning disabilities so as to support their desires, decisions and determination: “From the bottom of my heart, they will always be the greatest charity because they help people like me all around the country, Downs Syndrome people. I helped raise a LOT of money for Mencap” says Jay, to rapturous applause, “and [Mencap will support] our children’s, children’s, children’s children.”

MUSIC // 21

Perhaps it was last month. Perhaps you were twelve. Perhaps, like me, you were dragged along with your parents to see their favourite artist, which, incidentally, you now love. Or maybe for your very first gig you were lucky enough to get your hands on some prized, golden tickets for the all-singing, all-dancing noughties pop asterism and soon-to-bereunited septet, S Club 7.

NATALIE BENNETT THE GREEN PARTY INTERVIEW WORDS: LUCY SUTCLIFFE In May’s European Parliament elections, the Green Party won big time. They recieved over 1.1 million votes, placing them ahead of the Liberal Democrats and resulting in three seats in the European Parliament, a gain on the previous result. In recent months membership has rocketed by 80%, with no sign of slowing down. However, the Green’s are currently not included in the planned televised debates between party leaders for the 2015 UK General Election, which to us seems a bit unfair. We had a chat with party leader, Natalie Bennett, to hear more.

With a real lack of female role models in politics, where did you draw your ambition and inspiration?

In terms of the Green Party, we have no shortage of female role models; Caroline Lucas, Jenny Jones, Jean Lambert and many other great women, so for the party itself it isn’t a problem.

However, it was an issue in my youth; I became a feminist at the age of five after being told I couldn’t have a bicycle because I was a girl. Throughout my life I’ve been told you can’t do this, you can’t do that, because you’re female and I reply with ‘well that’s what you think, but it certainly isn’t what I believe’ and I proudly identify myself as a feminist.

Do you think it is it beneficial or detrimental for us to have career politicians?

I think the situation we have now is a real problem, when so many people come into politics from an extra-ordinary backgroundthe classic being having gone to a fee paying school, doing PPE at Oxford or Cambridge, etc., but it is important that we draw our politicians from a much broader range. Obviously the lack of representation of women in the commons is a huge issue, but it’s just as important that we need people who have been bus drivers, dinner ladies or people who have done different things with their lives, people from different ethnic minority backgrounds, and people with disabilities.

Most people link the Green Party solely to environmental issues, do you think the party needs rebranding?

I think people are increasingly recognising every day the kind of issues we stand for, and what we spend a lot of time talking about, like making the minimum wage a living wage- if you work full time you should earn enough money to live on, and that means we’re calling for ten pound an hour minimum wage by 2020, also the ending and reversing of the privatisation of public services, and things like zero tuition fees. Things that actually matter.

FEATURES // 23

What does the Green Party offer the floating voter to stop them migrating towards parties such as UKIP? I think what we are offering is very much a message of hope, whereby we build a future so it works for the common good.

The three ‘usual business’ parties are offering, at most, a little tinkering around the edges of our failing system, and UKIP is very much trying to look into the past and offering a politics grounded in fear. I think what we have, is the politics of hope.

If you could recruit an MP from another party, who would it be?

Oh! I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head, but we’ve only got six months of this government to go, and hopefully we can elect many more of our own MPs in six months time from now.

How would you address the merging of public and private spending in Universities?

I think there is a huge problem with the attempt to convert students into customers, and when we see private money brought into something like education; it causes a real issue and a change in the nature of education itself, which is deeply damaging. It should be there as a public good, as a facility for as many people to gain an education for life, for whatever their life might throw at them, and the emergence of private spending into education won’t allow that.

Are live TV debates really feasible with 5 party leaders, in their current format?

There have been a lot of photos floating around on twitter showing the Scandinavian countries who have up to eight or nine leaders in their own TV debates, much like ours, which perfectly demonstrates what we could do. I think it is a very weak excuse to say, sorry but we can only have these four white males of a certain age, because we couldn’t possibly fit a fifth one in…

How did your experience as a woman in the field of journalism compare to being a woman in politics?

There are quite a lot of similarities, especially with daily newspaper journalism, you have to prepare for the next morning for people who didn’t like what you said the previous day! You do need a fairly thick skin, and I think having been in the public eye, to some degree, certainly helped.

What paintings would you choose for the walls of Downing Street if you were elected?

Well, no one has ever asked me that before! My favourite artist is Goya, but I doubt the parliamentary expense will extend to an original Goya, so maybe just some prints , I’d be happy with that, but it has to be Goya, particularly because I think he’s the first artist to truly demonstrate to us the horrors of war, and violence, so having that would be a reminder to work towards peace every day.

Yay In an ideal world there would be no need for positive discrimination.

However, to deny the fact that discrimination exists in our country is to comply with the idea that regardless of class, ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability or gender, you’ll get exactly what you deserve. The difficult truth is that there is an inequality endemic in the UK and the archaic myth of meritocracy keeps it alive, kicking, and leaving many of us incapable of achieving our goals. Let’s look to parliament, where it’s very clear that despite Beyoncé’s claims otherwise, girls definitely do not run the world- well, at least here in Britain. The U.K has fallen down dramatically in the global league table for representing women; from 33rd place in 2001 to 65th place in 2014. For example, females account for only 23% of the House of Lords and we can hardly say that parliament is representing the working man either, when 25% of MPs went to Oxbridge and a third were privately educated. Is this a level playing field?

The figures of those working in the media are similarly monolithic.

The Guardian’s 100 Most Powerful People in the Media only included four non-white people, whilst only two on the ninety nine witnesses named in the Leveson enquiry were from an ethnic minority background. As the Creative Access for young people

from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds (BAME) so eloquently stated; “Media cannot reflect society if society is not reflected in the media.”

Such figures should set alarm bells ringing. I like to think of positive discrimination as a way of readdressing a society that has only benefited the lucky few for far too long. It’s extremely difficult to encourage a range of applicants from different backgrounds when there’s no one for them to look up to in the first place. By employing a far more diverse range of people in powerful positions, we can help to create role models for those who have been disadvantaged.

We all joke sarcastically about how hard life is for the white, middle class male, but I believe the joke’s gone far enough. We need to stop complaining and to start demanding drastic change.

Positive discrimination is about stepping up and admitting that as a society we are prejudiced, and paying back people who have been historically oppressed as a consequence of this. It’s the very least we can do.

Words: Rachel Muller Heyndyk

POSITIVE

Discrimination

FEATURES // 25

Nay When I first knew what positive discrimination was, I was all for it. I championed it in those “debates” that let the nerdy kids avoid playing football at lunch time, I even won a couple.

But as I’ve gotten older, it’s fair to say that we haven’t seen this massive shift that positive discrimination was supposed to bring about. Positive discrimination doesn’t work. I’m sorry – I really am – to those of you who looked at it and saw the end to inequality, really the birth of some Utopian ideal of employment.

You see, the main problem is that it comes along too late in life – if you want diversity (and I mean real diversity not the false half assed sense of it brought about by positive discrimination) it has to be brought about by education. Positive discrimination is employment law – not educational. The lack of positive discrimination’s impact is clear when it isn’t even present in the highest levels of society. Take a look at the cabinet, and tell me how positive discrimination is working when the very people who should be adhering to it aren’t. Out of twenty two ministers, five are women and only one is none white – is this an accurate mirroring of society?

Also, the question of ‘who do you champion?’ crops up. Positive discrimination relies on the victims of current society – that’s really the bedrock. So pick a victim – someone who will face the

most discrimination. The two biggest discriminating factors are race and wealth…but then you have women who are discriminated against, the disabled, even (and I know some of you will roll your eyes) LGBT+ which is still such a massive issue, especially trans individuals. I know I’m lumping everyone under an umbrella, but that’s what the legislation does. You tell me who should get the job out of the woman who wants a family, the ethnic minority individual from an estate, the kid whose family have lived on or below the poverty line for most of their life, the individual in the wheel chair or the trans person? Positive discrimination is not the Equality Act – it says you only have to pick one minority.

In short, not only does the current legislation of positive discrimination target a point in life where real difference is unlikely to be achieved but it also lumps every single minority together and tells an employer – “They’re all the same, pick one.” What we need is for there to be education. Positive discrimination, instead of saying there is no difference, points out the difference – creates an “us and them” mentality. Education will take a while, but at least it would begin to eradicate the perpetuation of separate but equal.

Words: Malachy O’Grady

Why you should warm up to

Photo: c/o hanrupert / flickr

the idea of climate change...

Although debates surrounding climate change can be difficult to engage with, the significance of the topic is clear to see from the effect it is having on our environment. Increasingly seasons, climates and weathers are in a constant state of change. This isn’t a natural cycle for the Earth, but a product of greenhouse gases built up in the atmosphere, which cause chaos and unpredictability.

Last winter saw the most exceptional period of rainfall in the UK within the last 248 years, a record breaking cold snap in the US with temperatures of -38°C and the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in history with winds of up to 310km/h in the Philippines. Some dismiss these changes, but it is clear that without a drastic change, the earth’s weather will become increasingly extreme, and problematic.

Are we selfish? The use of fossil fuels and rampant deforestation have been pinpointed as the two major human influences on climate change, yet it is not our species that has had to face the full force of global warming – but every other. In the last forty years alone, fifty percent of the earth’s wildlife has disappeared, with each small change having an impact on the ecosystem. This is particularly evident around the arctic region, which has warmed at twice the rate of the

rest of the planet – so much so that it is not uncommon for polar bear cubs and walrus pups to drown due to the loss of their sea-ice habitats. We need global awareness of the detrimental affects our reckless behaviour is having not only on our environment, but the animal kingdom too.

Some headway has been made, however, because it is with this kind of knowledge that governments have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint. London Green500 has been set up to help cut the carbon emissions from some of the largest organisations in the capital; aiming to reduce their emissions by 60% by 2025. Campaigns against climate change have been going on for decades but in September, the largest climate change march in history took place in various cities around the world with over 2,500 events in 166 countries. It was estimated that 400,000 people took part in the climate march in New York City alone, while in London the number was around 40,000.

These marches demonstrated the increasing worldwide concern for climate change in the run up to the World Leaders’ Climate Summit in Paris next year. The extent of future climate change depends, as always, on how we act today. The majority of people believe recycling is enough to reduce their carbon footprint, however there are simpler ways, such as turning off lights and finding alternatives to driving, which have a larger impact. We need to put pressure on our governments to start making the big changes necessary in order to stop climate change. The tipping point of when our actions will have pushed the Earth’s climate to its limit seems imminent, presenting an irreversible problem of melting ice caps and increasing temperatures.

Unless we alter the types and amount of power that we each use the damage to the earth will be far beyond anything we can fix. Climate change hasn’t just happened overnight, it’s a slow process, but by taking decisive global action try and fix the mistakes we’ve already made, and thinking about our own small actions we can help start to make amends, and hopefully preserve the environment for the future.

Words: Jonjo Butcher

FEATURES // 27

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During the Noughties, climate change was at the top of the political agenda; countries throughout the western world were pledging time and money in an effort to find clean, renewable energy sources, and reverse the potentially disastrous release of greenhouse gases into the environment.

But with the arrival of the recession the issue seems to have lost momentum. For individuals it is difficult to make a difference buying environmentally friendly products, such as organic food, when you’re struggling to pay your mortgage on low wages. On a larger scale, in the midst of a credit-crunch, governments struggle to fund eco-friendly projects whilst making cuts to essential services. But the recent rise of the Green Party, who see the safeguarding of the climate and the recovery of the economy working together, raises the question- is now the time to resuscitate our environmental conscience?

OPPOSITE EN

So you would think (and most people do) that science and art have very little to do with each other. On the surface this may seem true, but the two actually have a profound influence on each other.

Wassily Kandinsky drew influence for his theory of ‘Abstract Expressionism’ from Einstein’s own famous equation, E = mc2 and Dali’s studies of time were

strongly inspired by relativity and quantum physics. More recently, with the growth in our knowledge of the world on minute scales, artists - such as Mark Wright in his work ‘Flux, Fusion and Filter’ - have explored microscopic structures with modern imaging techniques like fMRI. There are countless stories of artists looking to science for inspiration and ideas (and that’s without even mentioning the looming shadow of technology), but it is more difficult to pin down how art influences science. Paul Dirac argued that it is more important to have beauty in your equations than to have them agree with experimental data. Albert Einstein said that his theory of relativity was a response to his displeasure with the unaesthetic nature of the current theories.

Roald Hoffman, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, says that much of chemistry is actually just drawings. “It never ceases to amaze me how a community of people who are not talented at drawing, nor trained to do so, manages to communicate faultlessly so much threedimensional information”. A quick read of a chemistry paper will give you an insight into just how large and

Photo: c/o anderssandberg / flickr

When people consider art and science, they usually see a divide. We are defined as creative or rational, and more often that not it is the differences between the two that are emphasised. But science and art have long strived to answer the same fundamental questions of humanity. Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we here?

Although the end goal of the two pursuits are very much the same, they differ hugely in their approaches. Science is a methodical search for objective truths; a collection of small steps towards a complete description of reality, all subjected to hard scrutiny. Art is more of a series of guesses towards an answer, a stab in the dark and a search for something that stirs a feeling in your gut.

NDS OF THE SPECTRUM? complex the vocabulary can become and yet something like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane which feels almost impossible to say can be represented by a simple array of straight lines and a couple of letters. Chemists think in shapes, indeed the shape of a molecule has profound implications.

Photo: c/o anderssandberg / flickr

Mathematics, geometry in particular, has consistently produced art that is pleasing on the eye. The golden ratio and, more recently, the Mandelbrot set spring to mind. Le Corbusier and Dali swore by the golden ratio and proportioned many of their works around it.

As a physicist I am constantly drawn in by symmetry. To me there is nothing more beautiful in the universe. Theories like supersymmetry are – although almost certainly not a gateway to truth – in my mind just as pretty as any Monet or Turner. Indeed there are some things in physics, such as black holes, which we cannot begin to visualize without the creativity of an illustrator – we live in the age of the artist’s interpretation. Every textbook is filled with these pictures, which are underpinned with science but are, at the end of the day, art.

In the 1920’s Niels’ Bohr, the pioneer of modern atomic physics, had hit a dead end in his quest to find a new atomic model. He was so struck by cubism and it’s ability to dismantle the compact nature of objects, that he decided, like a cubist painting, the state of the electron depended on how you looked at it, concluding that it isn’t really anything until it is viewed.

Despite all this, there is still an underlying snobbery that surrounds science and art. Many scientists look down their noses at artists and imagine them wearing beads in their hair, smoking interesting herbs and throwing paint around, while the art community tend to view scientists as narrow-minded men in socks and sandals. Perhaps if we can fully break down these boundaries, then we could see the beginning of a new era in the two fields. Science and art may be on opposite ends of the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean they have to clash. They can propel each other forward and work together to usher in a new age of creativity and discovery.

Words: Jake Cribben

that gum you like is going to come back in style AT THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER, A SERIES OF MYSTERIOUS TWEETS FROM DAVID LYNCH AND MARK FROST CONFIRMED WHAT TWIN PEAKS FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE 1991: AGENT COOPER ET AL ARE RETURNING TO OUR SCREENS IN 2016.

Words & Illustration: Hannah O’Neill

FILM // 31

A quick scan of the internet tells me that I am not the ‘Twin Peaks’ fanatic that some people are. I can only comment on the return of the cult show as someone who watched it because their parents bought the series for them one Christmas, and who ended up thoroughly enjoying Lynch and Frost’s surreal drama. This is in no small part due to the lack of options on popular television. I received the box set pre-Netflix era and before I discovered streaming, so my choices were limited. It was either this, or a graveyard of artistic merit including ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘90210’, churning out a roster of predictable anorexia/pregnancy/infidelity/suicide/ homosexual-awakening story lines.

‘Twin Peaks’ offered an original blend of drama, horror and humour that had you hooked from the opening bars of its theme song. It may begin with a familiar detective-story scene: beautiful teen washes up on the shore of the local lake in a body bag. But Laura Palmer’s death quickly becomes background noise as a web of intrigue begins to untangle. Isolated in the mountains and surrounded by sprawling forest, the town of ‘Twin Peaks’ is fertile ground for strange events to bloom, and a far cry from the typical big-city setting of most detective stories. It is a claustrophobic atmosphere that makes your skin creep.

One of the refreshing things about ‘Twin Peaks’ is its simplicity; Lynch didn’t rely on special effects or CGI. Instead, he used good old-fashioned horror techniques: slow pans, closeups, eerie music (provided by composer Antonio Badalementi), and lighting. The tension is maintained by a combination of offbeat elements; the slightly clunky acting, the splashy jazz – all of it creates an effect that is quintessentially Lynch. It heralded a new era of television series, as far removed from the family-friendly sitcoms with which it shared

airtime as it was possible to be. ‘Twin Peaks’ was an artistic slow-burner riddled with cliffhangers and unexpected humour. Elements of it are ridiculous to the point of hilarity (the log lady, anyone?), while others are profoundly sinister, and the constant interchange continually catches you off guard.

Lynch and Frost have decided to pick things up in ‘Twin Peaks’ 25 years after the events of the final episode aired in 1991, and are hoping that the majority of the cast will return. They have timed the revival to coincide with what has arguably been a revival of television itself, with the likes of ‘True Detective’ and Breaking Bad keeping us all at home on the sofa instead of coughing up £10 to see some Hollywood circle jerk like ‘Transformers’. And it is looking like the quality of early episodes will be maintained, with Lynch in the director’s chair throughout. Moreover, he recently reaffirmed his love of celluloid film stock, meaning that the series will hopefully retain some of its grainy richness.

Lynch and Frost will no doubt feel the pressure to please fans who have been speculating via the Twin Peaks Expanded Universe for 23 years.

They are, after all, reviving a show that inspired a cult following that has lasted for decades, and which when it first aired gave rise to a windfall of ‘Who Killed Laura Palmer?’ tees and ‘Beware of Bob’ signs. It is a show that people are still quoting from, and which is referenced endlessly in popular culture.

With a fanbase as large and dedicated as that of ‘Twin Peaks’, there is a dangerous scope for disappointment. I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed for questionable perms, panoramic nature shots, and a whole lot of pine.

HOUSEofNETFLIX I know I must be in the minority, but I don’t have Netflix. Is this a problem? At first the site’s films that appealed to me I had on DVD, and the series available were often American repeats. So, for the majority of the time, the lack of a Netflix subscription did not leave me feeling excluded from the discussions of screenantics.

Until, that is, certain online video platforms began to create series or films solely for their sites; shows or films that could only be gained through signing away a monthly payment. Original Netflix releases include the gritty ‘House of Cards’, and their notably famed ‘Orange is the New Black’ (OITNB), which became somewhat of an overnight sensation. Admittedly, the month where OITNB was the word on the street, I did feel marginally out of the loop. Surely, thousands of potential viewers are immediately excluded from the joys of spectating a women’s prison due to the series being solely available to a subscription TV channel?

Today, Netflix has gained some competitors in the guises of Amazon, Blinkbox, Now TV, and even marginal supermarket endeavours such as ‘Sainsbury’s Entertainment’ (catchy!), prompting Rupert Murdoch to comment that media firms must unite to fight the online-streaming giants that are currently taking over.

In addition to series that are only available on certain sites, streaming platforms such as Netflix seem to be hijacking existing TV shows, and creating sequels and spin offs to cinema successes. Adam Sandler

fans are likely to sign up as he recently revealed he will be creating four Netflixonly-films in the next few years. But what happens if a lack of membership means lack of closure? Any fans of ‘The Killing’ may have been left on a cliff-hanger due to the fact that the final series was only available on-line: I personally feel sorry for the poor guy with no Netflix and a negligible broadband connection who never got to see his favourite series tie up all the loose ends.

But you can see the logic behind it.

No doubt the exclusivity of the shows will gain the platform an increase in subscribers. Following the success of OITNB, Netflix profits doubled, and their subscribers hit fifty million. Even if just to be able to see what all the hype is about, Netflix-only creations seem to be bringing in the money. The move to put all ten series of ‘Friends’ online years after E4 axed the repeats, may have a similar effect.

Realistically, for the price of a single cinema ticket, a monthly online streaming payment does seem reasonable, allowing access to unique and (apparently) unbeatable shows. With the trailer release of their latest exclusive series, Marco Polo, Netflix does a pretty good job convincing people that they should sign away their free time to binge-watching. Although a few months late, curiosity about OITNB and House of Cards has driven me to consider a Netflix membership.

Nowadays, there are some things that DVDs and Freeview just don’t offer.

Words: Hari Mountford Image: charliesblog.net

FILM // 33

T E G D E U H B T L G R I L B FOMA EN? S RE SC Movies with astronomical budgets have become the norm of today, but recently we have seen a similar rise for our not so humble TV show.

‘Game of Thrones’ has a budget of allegedly $60 million and the pilot for Boardwalk Empire is said to have cost around $18 million alone. These colossal figures show just how much TV has come along since Seinfeld, whose settings rarely varied beyond the apartment and coffee shop. Even a comedy like Orange Is the New Black has a budget of up to $49 million. This begs the question: is there really a trend between big budgets and big success?

In the UK, a great advocator for projects with small funds and

big success is BBC Three. ‘Being Human’ is a prime example of a brilliant supernatural show, which cost just £500,000 per episode.

The simple premise of three supernatural beings living together caused enough commotion to create a cult following. The show managed to last five seasons and even led to an American spin-off.

At Comic Con 2010, the creator Toby Whitehouse claimed that his budget meant he had “to invent…a very British version of sci-fi” which relied on “inference and suggestion”.

This obviously worked because the US remake failed horribly, and the increase in the budget can clearly be a factor for this. A show driven by characters with meaningful and

engaging interactions is exactly what made ‘Being Human’ so great to begin with, not the fancy CGI effects, which is exactly what the Americans decided to focus on more.

in favour of three episodes at £100,000 each. Four seasons and a movie later, it has turned into one of the most successful British comedies produced by the BBC to date.

This trend of small British shows triumphing despite a restricted budget isn’t an uncommon story.

‘The Inbetweeners’ started off as a frivolous TV show on E4 whose popularity managed to sustain an entire movie franchise and a USA spin-off. The producers of ‘The Thick of It’, an incredibly clever political satire show, featuring the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, were reportedly originally asked to produce a series for £300,000.

However they turned this down

Therefore, despite the allure of shows that flash about the big cash, the deeply moving and interesting television moments can occur from even the smallest of budgets. Never underestimate the power of a good character versus the power of a CGI genius, because people will ultimately be compelled to watch human stories, no matter how cool the dragons may look.

Words: Savera Surana

How Buff?!

Ahmed MA Banking and Finance Is there a film or TV show you associate with any of your friends?

CUB Film took to campus armed with a notepad and pen to tease the inner film and TV buffs out of unsuspecting members of the QM community. This is what they had to say:

Tommaso Economics, Maths & Business, Foundation Programme Which film or TV show have you watched the most times?

“For TV, it’s either The Simpsons or The Big Bang Theory, and for film it is an Italian comedy called Fantozzi.”

Ciara Law, 4th Year What are your TV or film guilty pleasures?

“My TV guilty pleasure is Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It’s so crap, but I love it! You need TV to kill your brain cells, and it does just that.”

Background Image: c/o Deviant Art

“The show Entourage reminds me a lot about my relationship with my friends. We live together, and have fun together. If something ever goes wrong, we are always there for each other. And, we do a lot of crazy stuff.”

Words: Iman Mohamed Photography: Kito Kitev

FILM // 35

Hemani Maths with Business & Finance, 2nd year

Background Image: c/o Deviant Art

Do you have a favourite quote from a film or TV show?

“I can’t remember what film it’s from, but I like the quote ‘not all those who wander are lost’ (fyi, it’s LOTR) I think it gives a lot of insight into the mind-set that people will find themselves in after university.”

Tom John Smith’s Bookshop

Lydia Biology with Psychology, 3rd year

Do you have an all-time favourite film?

Is there a certain film that brings back memories of your childhood?

“Rio Bravo – it’s a very sentimental film for me. I used to watch it with my dad and granddad when I was younger. I like that it has a humanist philosophy behind it.”

“Probably Matilda – my brothers and I used to act as the characters. We knew all the words!”

My favorite and most precious element of my wardrobe is undoubtedly my mom’s old Louis Vuitton Messenger bag. It has huge sentimental value and it was given to me when I first moved to London. It is one of those things you can’t really put a price on and that you love from a distance - in fact it hardly leaves the house. Just looking at it from time to time reminds me of home and especially of the fact that either losing it or ruining it would result in my imminent death.

Sentimental factor aside, I absolutely adore this bag because it is rarer than your usual LV bag that you see around these days. It is a more professional bag, with multiple pockets and secret zips inside. It’s simply the perfect bag if you are at that stage in your life where you’re transitioning towards adulthood and I guess it was given to me as a reminder of that. The only thing left for me to do is to figure it out whether it’s safe to use it or not just yet!

FOSSIL WATCH, £85

Claudia M.

LOUIS VUITTON MESSENGER, Priceless

EDITORS WHAT WE LOV

LINZI ANKLE BOOTS, £30

Lucy T. There is nothing more Autumnal then cracking out my footwear favourite: boots! Whether they be black knee high leather boots or a cute ankle style, it’s unlikely you’ll find me in anything else during the A/W season. My current favourite, and recently purchased, are a pair of black-heeled ankle boots from Linzi.

At just £30, these boots have a simple zip and buckle detail, with the heel adding a couple of inches to your height! They are versatile and can easily be carried through from a day time to a night time look. For me, boots are definitely an autumn staple for any wardrobe!

Raifa R. My English teacher in secondary school used to wear a vintage leather watch in every single class. Whilst everyone paid attention to the rabbits in Of Mice and Men or analysed a poem, I would lust over this beautiful watch on Ms Thompson’s hand. I promised myself that one day, when I was officially ‘a grown up’, I would get a sophisticated adult watch just like that. I finally have…and I love it!

My pick is the ‘Georgia three hand black leather watch’ by Fossil. I customised mine so although the strap is black, the face is rose gold.

In the spirit of the New Year, I have since bought a burgundy Fossil purse that screams class and the words “I’m nearly 22”. Here’s to telling the time and spending money in style.

STYLE // 37

RS PICK: VE RIGHT NOW

The Style Diaries of

Débora Camelo

WE INVITED THIRD YEAR STUDENT DÉBORA CAMELO FOR A CHAT ABOUT HER LOVE AFFAIR WITH SUNGLASSES AND WHY SHE STARTED A STYLE DIARY...

Words: Lucy Tattersall Photography: Umar Sarwar

First, how would you describe your style?

It really depends on what mood I am in. I could never pick an outfit for the next day as I always decide on the day, so it is just dependent on my mood.

If it’s sunny I’ll wear sunglasses, and even if it’s not sunny I’ll wear sunglasses just so I don’t have to wear make up. I love the beach look, so for me natural hair and natural face is the best.

Has being at QM and living in East London affected your style?

Yes, especially with the influence from places like Brick Lane and Shoreditch. I don’t really have a style icon; I just look at people that I see walking around and get inspiration from them. Living in East London has definitely affected my style!

What inspired you to start a style diary?

I always think what did people wear in the 60s? What did people wear in the 70s?

What did people wear in the 80s? And I just felt I wanted to keep track of what I wear so I can look back and see what I used to wear. It’s basically just like keeping a database of my style.

Do you have any favourite places to buy clothes in East London?

Roman Road market is just down the street from where I live and it is so good. I love markets and I love searching for clothes.

You do have to rummage around but I think that you find some really good pieces. And it is relatively cheap as well!

What is your earliest fashion memory?

Being four and my mum making me wear this horrendous Power Ranger-esque crew neck that would probably be quite cool right now. It was disgusting and I refused to go to school in it, so I stayed home! But a good fashion memory was probably me making clothes. I used to cut up my clothes all the time. I would cut up mini skirts to make them super mini skirts, and that was when I was seven or eight.

What is your favourite shop?

Zara. Ten million percent.

And what about a more ‘high-end’ designer?

I love Valentino but that is because I love him, not actually his designs. I can’t afford designer stuff but I tend to look at collections instead of designers as I feel that collections can vary dependent on the season. So for example I liked Dolce and Gabbana’s Spanish inspired collection and the Moschino Barbie collection.

What about make up? Is that important for your overall look?

Not at all. I don’t wear much make up; I only wear make up when I can’t wear sunglasses.

So do you make your own clothes now?

No, although I do cut up my jeans sometimes.

I bought some vintage Levi jeans from Brick Lane, but I wanted ripped jeans so I ripped them myself.

If you had ten minutes to get ready, what would be your go-to outfit?

I literally start with my shoes every time! I start from the shoes and work my way up. I pick my shoes, my outerwear, my bottoms, my top, my jewellery and then my make up or hair. Oh and then I’ll find a bag! I have a bag obsession.

Like what you see? Visit debora-stylediary.blogspot.co.uk for more!

style does...

PARIS All words which I had heard and had used myself to describe Parisian fashion before I arrived in the city of love. I expected to walk down the ChampsÉlysées, witnessing an array of designer handbags hanging from the arms of Parisian women. I imagined myself strolling down the hidden side streets, hearing the click-clacks of heels hitting the pavements and viewing a sea of colours draped over women’s bodies.

I imagined Chanel, Dior and Balmain, combinations of silk scarves and tailored suits catching my eyes.

Despite my initial assumptions, in my own personal experience, I have not found Parisian fashion to be all what it’s cracked up to be. For a city that is considered a fashion capital, an inspiration for designers, I cannot help but ask what is so inspiring about this city fashion-wise? Perhaps it is the areas I have visited? I do not live and work in the most central part of a Paris, so maybe that is why? Yes, I do agree that

the ladies of this city dress in a more reserved and sophisticated manner, something which I do admire, but where are the eclectic fabrics? The piles of jewellery? The vibrant colours?

I feel that Parisians are yet to follow their friends across the channel in their bold statement outfits, their rebellious fashion sense and individuality in their own style. When wearing my favourite orange jumper, I can’t help but feel as if all eyes are on me... quite literally because they are. And not for the reasons I would like, but more for my distinct breaking of the rules of not conforming to an all black outfit.

I feel like I have more of an obligation to make an effort and look the part in London than I do in Paris. My understanding is that it is not just London, but Britain as a whole which is more accepting of one breaking the mold in the fashion world. France, much like it’s thinking behind immigration, is more about assimilation than appreciation.

I am thankful for the disappearance of certain trends, such as my personal pet peeve: leggings as a substitute for trousers or jeans. So far, I have not had to bear witness to an awful view of someone’s leopard print knickers through their ghastly thin tights, something which I have seen in the QM library. I did catch a glimpse of some eccentric looks during Paris Fashion Week as I lunched at the L’Avenue restaurant situated on the high fashion Avenue Montaigne. But since then, I have not been blessed with such a view.

However what I did notice upon my arrival, particularly in the diverse and multicultural suburbs, were the west African women dressed in their traditional attire. From geles to kaftans, dashikis to ankara, it was refreshing watching these women lead their everyday lives, looking proud and graceful while continuing to embrace their culture and identity.

Words: Aisha Rimi

Photo: c/o Wikimedia

Chic, classy, avant-garde, and elegant.

Photo: c/o Wikimedia

SHUTTERBUG SHUTTERBUG.

Photographer Drew Stewart is a pro at catching the energy and excitement of audience and performer through his camera lense.

UMAR SARWAR sat down with the impressively talented Human Geography student to find out how it all began...

Drew, can you explain what you actually do?

I photograph concerts. I shoot for Wembley Arena as their inhouse photographer so basically they get me to photograph their shows for the social pages they run. I also work for a photo agency on a freelance basis; I sort out my own photo passes and send in photos when I can and they help me get my work published where possible.

How did you get involved in music photography?

I’ve always loved photography and I’ve always loved music. The first show I ever photographed was Imagine Dragons at The Forum, pretty big for my first show. I wanted to combine my love

for photography and music and after going to loads of shows and seeing the photographers at the front I decided to give it a go. I went on Imagine Dragons’ Facebook, clicked the ‘about’ section and emailed their PR contact. I asked if I could get a photo pass for the show. I had no portfolio and no outlet that my photos were going to so I was surprised when she said yes! From there I’ve just built up a portfolio and made some connections that have allowed me to work for magazines and my agency.

Wow, so how does one of your assignments work?

For a Wembley Arena assignment we’d organise a photo pass with the promoter about a week or two in advance, then we know we’re good to go. I usually meet the social marketing manager before a show and we discuss the shots we want for that night - sometimes this involves the crowd, specific band members or photos from perspectives you wouldn’t normally get. Then I’ll head down into the photo pit and get set up. Usually

PHOTOGRAPHY // 43

You can see more of Drew’s work at www.drewstewartphotography.com

there are loads of photographers there and it’s great fun to chat and see some familiar faces. There’s usually a support act or two that I have to photograph but after the main show I’ll head to the lounge and edit my photos. They’ll get sent off to my agency as well as Wembley Arena in that same night. Wembley usually want images straight after the show to put up on Twitter and my agency wants them so they can distribute photos as soon as possible. And then I’m done, I usually upload a few pictures to my personal social media accounts just to create a bit of hype as well.

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to get into music photography?

I would say just shoot as much as you can. I’ve still got photos from my first few shows and its crazy how much my style has changed; it’s all about getting that experience. There are a lot of places where you can just turn up at a show, squeeze to the front

and shoot to your hearts content. If you’re a little more daring you could sneak a camera into bigger venues. Don’t worry about settings or camera gear just soak up the thrill of photographing live concerts. My route in was a little unorthodox, I just jumped in at the deep end. I think the key is to get a few shows under your belt, build up a portfolio and then start contacting people from there.

That’s great advice! What’s been your biggest achievement to date?

I think my biggest achievement so far has got to be winning the NME Music Photography Awards this year under the ‘Festivals’ category. There was an awards evening which was a lot of fun, I got to meet some fantastic people and I hope to work with NME in the future.

Photos: Drew Stewart

Special Thanks Without your support, this print issue simply wouldn’t have happened.

Following the disaster that is student media funding, we have officially ran out of money for our print issues.

This issue was partially funded by the School of English and Drama, and we cannot thank you enough for your generosity and support, which has allowed us to continue the team’s amazing work and keep CUB magazine in print.

A particular thank you is in order for Dr. Rachael Gilmour - without your incredulous reaction at the possibility of CUB magazine going out of print, and the stream of impassioned emails that followed, this issue simply wouldn’t be here. And our Editor-in-Chief would probably be on the verge of tears right now.

As always, the ‘boys’ - Jak, Alvin, Kit and Dola We couldn’t do any of this without you (or the Dominos pizza in our times of need) The next round of drinks are on us.

U N I O N

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T O U R

Every week the Union’s four elected Executive Officers go on tour to you to hear what you think about your course, the University, the Union and what you think needs to be improved.

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Arts 1 Foyer

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The Griff Inn

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C H A T

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Francis Bancroft

W I T H 2 5

N O V

Fogg Foyer

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D E C

Mile End Library

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The Griff Inn