DIY, December 2021 / January 2022

DIY DIY Plus

BIG

ALBUMS of 2022

ISSUE 114 • DEC 2021/JAN 2022 DIYMAG.COM

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From the marginalised to the mainstream, people have always used music to reflect their emotions and environments. It’s a tool that reacts to, comments on, and influences so many aspects of our lives, such as our identity, culture, politics and society.

Music can showcase individuality and subcultures or unite entire communities. It can be at the very heart of who we are as human beings or at the centre of worldwide movements.

Throughout time, people have used music to provide a social commentary on history’s most pivotal moments, create awareness and stoke the fires of progress. They’ve also used it to soundtrack love, work through breakups and express how they feel.

Our Music Made Us campaign is told through the students, graduates, journalists, experts and passionate people who have been shaped by this creative outlet.

Discover their stories at bimm.ac.uk/musicmadeus

Rethink Music Education

CELEBRATING HOW MUSIC HAS CHANGED OUR WORLD At BIMM Institute, we explore, discuss and celebrate what music means to people, how it has impacted our world – and how it has made us who we are today. It’s part of our mission to prepare you for a long-lasting career in the music industry.

Discover more

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Question!

Listening Post

As we say goodbye to another year, what have been Team DIY’s musical highlights of 2021?

SARAH JAMIESON • Managing Editor The sheer delirium around Måneskin’s win at Eurovision and Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall sassily owning Noel Gallagher on Never Mind The Buzzcocks are high on the list, but honestly, just watching snippets of Self Esteem’s live shows on social media has given me the ultimate of feels.

EMMA SWANN • Founding Editor Becoming obsessed with The Horrors’ latest reinvention, almost crying on my return to the hallowed fields of Reading Festival - and the riff in Wolf Alice’s ‘Smile’.

LISA WRIGHT • Features Editor I have been slightly in love with Rebecca

Lucy Taylor since first stumbling upon Slow Club at Camden Crawl about 150 years ago, so watching her become the cathartic, hilarious, most important voice of the year has been a delight to witness. I don’t even mind being in my thirties anymore - thanks RLT! LOUISE MASON • Art Director When Frank Carter told me he was currently having a 'fox-in-adustbin' obsession, and I then - coincidentally - promptly unveiled a fox-in-a-dustbin for our impending cover shoot.

ELLY WATSON • Digital Editor I told Rico Nasty I’d let her spit in my mouth when she performs in the UK.

Editor's Letter It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

And no, we don’t just mean that Christmas is right around the corner: it’s finally time to unleash the Class of 2022 on the world, and to say this year’s is a special one would be a mighty understatement.

Ever since catching our eyes and ears with their whipsmart yet tongue-in-cheek first single ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’, Yard Act have had us hooked, and so it’s an absolute pleasure to have them leading the pack as the cover stars of our double issue this month. And what’s more, we’re celebrating tons more brilliant new acts heading in the right direction, all within these pages. From the delicious double entendres of Wet Leg through to the genre-blitzing stylings of Paris Texas, via the camp cowboy fantasies of CMAT, our Class of 2022 are blazing quite the trail across music. So buckle up, because it’s time to get moving!

Sarah Jamieson, Managing Editor

PHOEBE BRIDGERS - DAY AFTER TOMORROW Continuing her tradition of sharing a charity Christmas single every year, Phoebe has already taken on classics like ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, and this year she’ll have you crying into your mince pies with her reinvention of Tom Waits’ 2004 song ‘Day After Tomorrow’.

Stick it on after watching ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ for maximum feels.

100 GECS - SYMPATHY 4 THE GRINCH Ahead of the release of their second album ‘10000 gecs’ early next year (more on that on p11), we’ve got to give some love to gecs’ 2020 glitch-pop ode to the Grinch. A characteristically batshit-yet-addictive anthem from the duo, “I’ve been good for way too long / Gonna get the shit I want” is the kinda motto we’re taking all the way into 2022.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN - IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS TILL SOMEBODY CRIES Mood.

ISSUE PLAYLIST Scan the Spotify code to listen to our Dec/Jan playlist now.

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T N CO E NT S

NEW S

6 O RL A N D O W E E K S 10 A L F IE T EMPL E M A N 12 P OR R ID GE R A DI O 14 NI SH K U M A R 16 L I TT LE M IX

Shout out to: All our incredible contributors for their hard work over the past twelve months, state51 for continuously letting us shoot / hang out / eat delicious food at their offices, the House of Vans for once again inviting us back to celebrate our Class of... in style, all at Kilimanjaro for helping us organise such an ace Class of 2022 tour, NEKO Trust for being a safe haven for our print mags throughout the year, Leeds’ best aka the Brudenell for hosting our cover shoot (plus all our amazing extras, Fat Andy - we still owe you that fiver!), Little Mix for actually letting us put you on our DIY In Deep cover, plus every PR, manager, label and agent involved with helping us bring yet another brilliant Class of... to life. And, of course, anyone reading this! We couldn't do it without you.

Class of 2022 26 30 34 38 40 44 48 50 54 58 60 62 64

YA RD A C T WE T LE G P RI YA R A G U P OR IJ HO L LY H U M B E R S T O N E DEB N E V E R L I M E GA R D E N PA RIS T E X A S CMAT SA D N IG H T D Y N AM I T E E NG L IS H T E A C H E R RO LE M OD E L L A UR A N H IB B E R D

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Founding Editor Emma Swann Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson Features Editor Lisa Wright Digital Editor Elly Watson Art Direction & Design Louise Mason Contributors Alex Cabré, Alisdair Grice, Bella Martin, Ben Tipple, Chris HamiltonPeach, Chris Taylor, Ed Miles, Elvis Thirlwell, Eva Pentel, Fiona Garden, Ims Taylor, Jenessa Williams, Joe Goggins, Louisa Dixon, Max Pilley, Phil Knott, Rhian Daly, Tyler Damara Kelly, Will Richards.

Cover & p3 photo: Ed Miles This page photo: Phil Knott

For DIY editorial: info@diymag.com For DIY sales: advertise@diymag.com For DIY stockist enquiries: stockists@diymag.com All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of DIY. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which DIY holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of DIY or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.

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NEWS

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AlbumS of 2022 Orlando

Weeks

DEBUT SOLO OFFERING ‘A QUICKENING’ FOUND THE FORMER MACCABEE RUMINATING ON THE MORE PENSIVE ASPECTS OF NEW PARENTHOOD. NOW, ‘HOP UP’ FOLLOWS TO SHOW THE MORE JOYFUL OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN WITH A RECORD ROOTED IN LIGHTNESS AND PLEASURE. Words: Lisa Wright. Photos: Eva Pentel.

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ay the record sleeves for 2020 debut solo album ‘A Quickening’ and its forthcoming successor ‘Hop Up’ (due 14th January) next to each other, and you can see the change in Orlando Weeks visibly.

The former - against a palette of greys and blurred images - aimed to document the experience of new fatherhood; for reasons that he would only fully acknowledge after its release, it wound up prioritising the more anxious, nervous aspects of the idea. Though ‘A Quickening’ wasn’t a wholly grey record, it wasn’t a technicolour one, either. “I made such a song and dance about the last record being about an experience of an event, but it wasn’t all this sort of slow build anticipation, anxious wait stuff,” he reflects, sipping on a hot chocolate as the usual array of tumble-down kids and autumnal adults make their way past the South London park bench where we’re perched.

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“I was so excited, but I wasn’t far enough away from it all to write about that excitement, and I was also in the throes of this long held belief of ‘find the tricky things and try to make something vaguely cathartic from them’. Songs are not physical things, and so, to qualify their existence, if you can remember that it was a battle then maybe they feel [worth it]? But I also think that’s sort of bollocks.”

In comparison, ‘Hop Up’ arrives adorned with primary-coloured reds and blues - its accompanying, similarly-hued videos filled with playful images of the singer nodding merrily alongside comedian and friend Lolly Adefope from inside an enormous red double kagoule (‘Deep Down Way Out’) and floating buoyantly through puffy white clouds on ‘Big Skies, Silly Faces’. Where thematically the record aims to fill in the gaps left by its predecessor, ‘Hop Up’’s mood is also the yin to his debut’s yang - an album that embraces lightness and good vibes at every opportunity.

“I think we all need escapism, right? And I was surprised at how much, if you lean into feel-good, that elevates everything else. Making a record that felt good had a massive impact on my mood and made living with me a lot easier for everyone including me; it was a real lesson,” he smiles. “With the videos, I’ve been trying to push the boat out more than what feels comfortable. It’s odd when you do something and you think everyone’s gonna say, ‘What the fuck was that?!’ And no one does, and it’s just… fine…”

“I always liked the idea that when you’re really in love with people, that’s the closest that I’ll ever get to faith.”

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f the process of bringing ‘Hop Up’’s visuals to life has been an evidently freeing one for the musician, then the record’s creation sounds equally as uplifting. Back in the days of The Maccabees, the band wound up on a roughly three-year album cycle, with post-studio interviews always spent recalling long, arduous nights, trawling through hours and hours of material to find the light at the end of the tunnel. ‘Hop Up’, however, lands barely 18 months after his solo debut, following a period that he describes as “a genuine pleasure”.

“My friend has a space in the Bussey Building [in Peckham], no one was in there and they’d all taken their gear home, so after everyone was asleep, I’d go there and work late into the night,” he recalls of the album’s writing sessions. “I could hoot and holler and go far too far in directions I knew would never make the record, but by going there you’d go hard and get half. I had a couple of keyboards, a guitar and trumpet, and was really loud and got drunk and made shouty songs and then found fun bits in there, and then I’d wait to use any of those things until I had a basic rhythm, and I’d sing on top of that. It changed everything.”

Recruiting producer and musician Bullion to man the decks, from the off, Orlando had a clear vision for the world the work would sonically occupy.

“Because so much about making records is about decisions, if the decision is, ‘This thing doesn’t feel like it’s taking me higher’, then it’s not the one. I wanted the songs to be lean and concise things.”

This attitude - of elevating the high, joyful moments - extended to his choice of guests, too; Katy J Pearson lends her vocals to the pillowy bounce and whistles of ‘Big Skies, Silly Faces’, while Willie J Healey pops up on dappled duet ‘High Kicking’. “I listen to their records, and I get a feeling from them that I hoped this record might have a bit of, where you come out of the other end feeling better than you did at the start,” Orlando nods. “They’re really

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“I was surprised at how much, if you lean into feel-good, that elevates everything else.”

AlbumS of 2022 Rina Sawayama In the time since releasing debut ‘Sawayama’ back in April 2020, Rina has already managed to shake up some of the UK industry’s outdated awards eligibility and befriend a national treasure (“I thought ‘Jesus, this is really daring’. It’s fantastic,” went just one platitude from Elton John on the LP). Back in September, she revealed to a fan “next year, late summer” would be when its follow-up may appear, and as of her ‘Dynasty’ tour this autumn, she debuted brand new track ‘Catch Me In The Air’ and described the almostfinished record as “even more personal”.

Jack White

good people, and I thought I’d like to have some really good people sing on the record.”

Lyrically, ‘Hop Up’ is almost certainly the vocalist’s most unguarded offering of his career so far. Full of declarations of love and devotion, there’s little room for metaphor or veiled analogy. “I’m not in love / With anything else / Now nothing comes close,” he sings on ‘Make You Happy’; “You come along / I am blind faith / I have perfect freedom,” goes ‘Silver’.

“The concept of perfect freedom is that every human is born free, and then you’re born into servitude of some kind. But in that split second you’re free before the world imposes structure on you. I always liked the idea that when you’re really in love with people, that’s the closest that I’ll ever get to faith,” he muses.

Lolly Goes Pop Comedian Lolly Adefope makes a star turn in the video for ‘Deep Down Way Out’; Orlando explains how lockdown made their friendship sweeter than ever.

“I knew Lolly a bit before the lockdowns, but during lockdown we sort of became pen pals - it was really sweet and a very genuine friendship.

Our way of starting conversations each time would be to send a piece of music that was making us forget the situation, and that’s why I asked her to be in the video: it was nice to crystallise that in a double kagoule.”

“In my experience, if I’m writing about complicated or sad or hard things, I wanna cloak it a bit because I probably have shame wrapped up in it, or it’s embarrassing; a lot of the battle with those things is because it makes you cross or afraid, whereas if you say its name then you exorcise it and it stops being a thing,” he

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continues. “But if your lyrics are about something that makes you very happy and makes you feel great, then that’s all there is.”

It’s a positive attitude that’s translating. A permanent fixture on BBC Radio 6 Music, the singles released so far have been an exercise in mood elevation, and on a recent, intimate warm-up tour, Orlando even stepped out from the conductor’s position he occupied on the few ‘A Quickening’ dates that were allowed to happen prepandemic into one front-and-centre.

“If you're amongst other characters, I think you find a mode,” he reflects of his previous years in the limelight.

“You end up fitting in amongst these other personalities, and then you’re defined by the group personality as well as the individual, and you stop trying to break out of that maybe?

So I think it’s just a relief when you do something that feels like a challenge and it’s worth it - and when it’s been a pleasure doing it.

All those things, to find the sweet spot of that, it’s very refreshing.”

‘Hop Up’ is out 14th January via Play It Again Sam.

Never a man to rest on his laurels, if Jack White wasn’t busy enough extending his Third Man empire this side of the Atlantic, its London outpost having opened back in October, or soundtracking the latest Call of Duty trailer with single ‘Taking Me Back’ (not quite a sentence anyone expected to write about a man who’d long been assumed to have eschewed anything of the digital era), then writing and recording two new records for 2022 might just do it. ‘Fear of the Dawn’ is set for release in April, featuring the new single and a guest spot from rapper Q-Tip, and July will see it followed by ‘Entering Heaven Alive’, itself closing with the single’s stripped-back flipside ‘Taking Me Back (Gently)’, which might just give away the two records’ vibes.

Sky Ferreira A record that was teased not long after the eventual release of stellar debut ‘Night Time, My Time’, itself long-delayed, back in 2013, with possible tracks including 2019 single ‘Downhill Lullaby’, ‘Don’t Forget’, and ‘Descending’, will ‘Masochism’ finally see the light of day in 2022?

We can hope.

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AlbumS of 2022 Alfie

Templeman THE PROLIFIC TEEN SENSATION IS READYING HIS ANTICIPATED FULLLENGTH DEBUT: AN ALBUM DRAWING FROM GENRES PAST TO CREATE SOMETHING THOROUGHLY NEW. Words: Elvis Thirlwell.

Liam Gallagher

It was all the way back in October when Liam announced album ‘C’mon You Know’ for May 2022 - but with news he’d be revisiting the hallowed grounds of Knebworth (twice!) just days after its release, that level of foresight made a little more sense. He’s not spilled much about the record’s content, but educated guesses can be made, and no doubt the man himself will describe it as “biblical” anyway.

Arctic Monkeys An event centred around a Children In Need performance of the (iconic, tbh) BBC News theme isn’t where you’d expect to find out about what’s likely to be one of the year’s biggest records. But then Matt Helders spilling to the corporation’s Radio 5 Live isn’t even the oddest way we’ve learned of new material from the Sheffield bunch: who could forget his mum giving us the first confirmation of ‘AM’ way back in 2012? “It’s all in the works,” said the drummer of the group’s seventh and follow-up to 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’. “It was a bit disjointed how we had to do it, and there are bits to finish off.” Let the festival headlining rumours commence.

Nilüfer Yanya Another of the officially-announced upcomers, set for release on 4th March, ‘PAINLESS’ follows 2019’s ‘Miss Universe’ (and last year’s ‘Feeling Lucky?’

EP). Recorded between a North London basement and the surely more chilledout locale of Penzance’s Riverfish Music alongside producers Wilma Archer, Bullion, Andrew Sarlo and musician Jazzi Bobbi, it’s set to be, in her words, “a record about emotion. I think it's more open about that in a way that Miss Universe wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built around it.”

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edfordshire pop prodigy Alfie Templeman - still at the daisy-fresh age of 18 - has, in three measly years, notched up four EPs and an acclaimed mini-album, ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’, released just this May. Still not content with this delightfully relentless release schedule, however, the close of 2021 brings whispers of a debut album proper, due for the new year...

The record’s recent first tease, ‘3D Feelings’, reprises the brand of funky sunshine pop that Alfie has made his staple - albeit with a richer, more expansive sound. Citing R&B, Motown and Amy Winehouse as key inspirations, his other name checks are tantalisingly left-of-centre.

“It’s not just 14 puny, shitty pop songs.

I promise!” he laughs. “A lot of this record is influenced by Krautrock, weirdly enough! Also a lot of proggy stuff, bits of Genesis, Pink Floyd.

There’s a Santana influence as well, and a Beatles-y bit. It’s a massive mixing pot on this album. It’s just random shit that I like, basically. It’s great!

“Making a full-length record has given me a chance to go both ways,” he continues. “I’ve been able to extend the production and do something really poppy, but also the chance to touch upon some stuff that’s maybe, oooh... experimental?! When you’re 18, you’re still learning what music you love, so it’s kind of my ‘trial and error’ album. I don’t know if I’m really doing it right or not though. I’m so worried that Santana’s gonna call me up and go, ‘This is shit. What are you doing?!

Stop!’”

Much of this trial and error period was conducted this summer in producer Will Bloomfield’s Suffolk studio, with former ‘Happiness In Liquid Form’ collaborator Justin Young of The Vaccines back in the writing room. “I’ve done so much with Justin so we have a really good respect for each other,” he notes. “I’ve got these incredible guys to help me put together something and it’s good because, well, I’ve got Justin Young! So this will definitely be cool.”

Preceding these fruitful sessions, however, came a darker period of mental turbulence and creative lethargy for the musician. “I slowly made stuff in 2020, and nothing really picked up until 2021. [2020 was] when I went into a massive depression state for ages,” he explains. “I was constantly on edge, all the time. I was like, ‘I need to record a song or something, something to get out of this’. That’s how I made the last song on the record.

I was very depressed, very confused.

I was getting therapy. I started [taking] antidepressants. Everything was really intense. No worries though - I’m all good now.”

With an album in the bag, plus a host of dates pencilled in across the UK, Europe and America in the coming months, Alfie recognises that this is a “pivotal” moment in his career. Will he find the time to commit to any new year’s resolutions too?

“No wanking in 2022. That’s a rough one, but you know what, I’m gonna try and inspire the boys.”

AlbumS of 2022

Charli XCX

With singles ‘Good Ones’ and ‘New Shapes’ - which features guest spots from pop besties Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek - already released, a street date of 18th March already announced, and a further list of collaborators shared that included the likes of Rina Sawayama, Oneohtrix Point Never, producers Ariel Rechtshaid, Justin Raisen and AG Cook, and The 1975’s George Daniel, while ‘CRASH’ is all officially official, there’s still much to speculate around with Charli’s latest. The first images of the - to use pop parlance - ‘era’ - feature Charli writhing around a grave with her own name on. Her announce statement chooses to lead with the fact it’ll be “the fifth and final album in my record deal”. What’s next for Charli? It’s bound to sound like fun.

100 gecs “I’m so worried that Santana’s gonna call me up and go, ‘This is shit. What are you doing?! Stop!’”

They’ve already revealed the title - ‘10000 gecs’, somewhat obviously and its cover, a photo of the pair - Laura Les and Dylan Brady - showing off new tattoos on their respective torsos. We’ve already heard lead single ‘mememe’, and read the news that the record will feature Laura Les without Auto-Tune for the first time (“As I’ve been exploring my voice more, I’m like, ‘I can do this’. And also I’m sick of worrying about it. If I don’t just fucking do it, then I’m just a scaredy cat. And I don’t want to be a scaredy cat,” Laura told Pitchfork earlier this year.) The duo also recruited drummer Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, just about every US rock band at some point) to bolster their sound on the record.

BROCKHAMPTON “2 brockhampton albums in 2021,” tweeted Kevin Abstract back in March of last year, “these will be our last.” While one half of the Texas-born collective’s promise came in the shape of April’s ‘ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE’, we’re yet to get a sniff of the group’s apparent swansong - according to bandmate Henock ‘HK’ Sileshi, because they’re seeing “how these new members we’re scouting make it thru tryouts.”

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AlbumS of 2022

Porridge Radio

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SECOND ALBUM ‘EVERY BAD’ PROPELLED PORRIDGE RADIO FROM UNDERGROUND HOPEFULS TO A MERCURY NOMINATION AND CRITICAL ACCLAIM. GEARING UP FOR LP3, THE CONVICTION AND UNCOMPROMISING ETHOS THAT DREW THE MUSIC WORLD IN IS OUT IN FULL FORCE. Words: Lisa Wright. Photos: Louise Mason.

hough the oft-stated trope that an artist ‘makes music for themselves, and if anyone else likes it, it’s a bonus’ would likely be the first call in a round of interview bingo, few people ever sound as compulsively magnetised to the craft of songwriting as Porridge Radio’s Dana Margolin.

“I feel compelled to make music and make these songs. I don’t even know if I liked the first album, but I had to make it!” she explains during a lunch break at Eastbourne’s Echo Zoo - the residential seaside studio where the vocalist and her band have been recording 2022’s incoming third LP. “So part of me is like, it’s cool that people like it: that’s good news for me because then it could be something I do my whole life if I’m lucky. But I’m gonna have to do it anyway, so it’s not about whether or not we have good reviews.”

The difference between that first album - 2016’s relatively under the radar ‘Rice, Pasta and Other Fillers’ - and its 2020 follow up ‘Every Bad’, however, was that, second time around, lots of people did in fact like it very much and it had very good reviews indeed. Released in March, just in time for the band to experience its success solely from the confines of their living rooms (“The release day was our last show and then nothing. It’s hard to understand if people exist; you see more social media followers but I don’t know what that means…”), it took Porridge Radio from a relatively underground concern to a band with a Mercury Prize nomination and a host of end-of-year ‘best of’ list features to their name.

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Dana might be level-headed about the importance of outside success, but the quartet’s reversal of fortune clearly wasn’t lost on her - in fact, much of ‘Every Bad’’s follow-up deals with the mental mind-fuck of it all. “There are quite a few songs on the next album about how terrifying all of that is,” she explains, “and how hard and overwhelming.” And though dealing with hard and overwhelming emotions has often been at the core of Porridge Radio’s raw, gut-punch offerings, it’s a trait that seemingly doesn’t get any easier with time…

“Maybe I’m just cringed out by everything I’ve ever done?!” she half-jokes. “I’ll be recording vocals and be like, ‘Is it too cringe if I say this?’”

“It’s really hard to just expose yourself,” she continues.

“The songs are always really deep and personal, and then after I’ve made them I’m like, ‘Oh god now I have to share this thing.’ I guess that’s why people relate to our music, because I try not to filter out the stuff that I’m embarrassed about but also that’s really hard.”

On their as-yet-unannounced third, Porridge Radio are set to open the doors even further. Recorded over several batches of studio time in the first half of 2021, lyrically the record finds Dana ploughing the emotional furroughs of her brain once more; “[Bassist] Maddie said that she cries in the shower when she thinks of the words sometimes,” the singer chuckles. “I’m always told that the songs are very sad but I think they’re really uplifting…”

Musically meanwhile, they state that their new project will be more varied and surprising than anything they’ve released so far - drawing on their love of proper pop,

lo-fi nuggets and everything in between. “I feel like, on the last album, there was more consistency and it was all guitar songs,” begins drummer Sam Yardley, “[but this time] one track is very hyper-produced pop and then there’s another that’s a very stripped back piano ballad.” “I think we’ve departed a little bit from [just] chords on the guitar in every song,” Dana picks up.

“None of them have choruses still though - sorry.”

Today, we get a sneak peak of one - entitled ‘U Can be Happy If U Want To’ - that might not have a chorus but manages to build into a purging monster of a climax regardless. Think the cathartic slow build of The Horrors’ ‘Sea Within A Sea’ or Foals’ ‘Spanish Sahara’, but through Porridge Radio’s uniquely emotive lens.

With all the groundwork there to make LP3 the one that cements them as a truly important voice within UK music, Porridge Radio are reaping the rewards of a lifetime spent sticking to their guns. They might still not have the whole ‘external validation’ thing sorted - “I think it’d be great if people like it, but chances are, when you do something and everyone likes it, then the next thing you do people will either like it the same or less… or more?! I don’t know…” questions Dana - but the quartet are feeling good, and last time the quartet felt good about their music it turned out very well indeed.

“Porridge Radio are one of my top artists on Spotify; that’s why I can never share the end of year thing because it’s too awkward,” laughs keyboard player Georgie Stott. Never mind: come the end of 2022, a lot of people should be sharing the band’s latest on her behalf.

“People relate to our music because I try not to filter out the stuff that I’m embarrassed about, but that’s really hard.”

- Dana Margolin

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WET LEG CHA ISE LONGUE

HAVE YOU HEARD? End of Year Singles Special!

As we call time on another 12 months of musical missives, we asked comedian NISH

KUMAR to pass judgement

on what 2021 had to offer… Interview: Lisa Wright.

I think they were recommended by Iggy Pop on his 6Music show and anything that’s good enough for Iggy is good enough for me - musically I mean, other stuff in the past that was good enough for Iggy, I don’t think would be good for me at all.

I like this track a lot; there’s something very charming and witty about it and I’m excited to see what they do next. It feels like a really interesting calling card for a new type of funny, smart indie rock - and definitely there’s a huge gap to be filled there.

Verdict: 4 long French chairs out of 5.

MÅNESKIN ZITTI E BUONI ADELE, EASY ON ME

You know what? I’m genuinely thrilled she’s finally getting some air time. She’s been bubbling under the surface for a long time, and I think this could be her year. [‘Easy On Me’] sort of is Adele-by-numbers, but if your numbers are as good as Adele’s why would you do anything different?

Verdict: 3 crying ladies at 11pm out of 5.

LITTLE SIMZ WOMA N She’s the best, I’m a huge, huge fan. I thought ‘GREY Area’ was phenomenal and everything she does pushes her sound forward in really interesting ways.

‘Woman’ is one of the more lowkey efforts [on the album] in terms of the sound of it, but her flow is insane; she’s such a brilliant rapper, and so lyrically dextrous and musically ambitious. I don’t think there’s anyone in music that we should be more excited about than Little Simz.

Verdict: The aesthetic on the last tour was all white uniforms, so it’s 5 all white uniforms out of 5

SELF ESTEEM, I DO THIS A LL THE TIME There’s something very clever and very arch about this album, and there’s a nice bit of light and shade to this track. Someone really discovering that they love themselves is a nice thing to hear! I relate to earnestness - in spite of the fact I’m a comedian, at my core I’m quite an earnest man - so it made me feel good and positive.

Verdict: 4 ladies complimenting each other in a nightclub toilet out of 5.

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There’s something of The Darkness about it - not the metaphysical concept, the band - and it’s not the most original sound in the world, but when it’s done this well, does it really matter? I kind of want to have sex with all of them. And I think its tongue is firmly in its cheek - or their tongues are firmly in each others’ cheeks. It’s some people having some very self-aware group sex, is the best way I can put [this song].

Verdict: 3 entirely unused condom wrappers out of 5.

OLIVIA RODRIGO GOOD 4 U

People over 30 should legally not be able to give their opinions on Olivia Rodrigo. I think my generation is starting to age out of relevance and we are not doing it in a dignified way. I truly believe if you can clearly remember September 11th, no one cares about your opinion on Olivia Rodrigo.

Verdict: N/A.

LIL NAS X MONTERO (CA LL ME BY YOUR NA ME) Lil Nas X is everything that a pop star should be. He’s funny, subversive, playful, sexy - he’s a perfect pop star. This is what pop music exists for and it’s what it should be delivering. It’s provocative at a time when that word is largely used to mean a white man being transphobic on Question Time; I’m very happy that a generation of young people are being exposed to a pop star as smart and talented as Lil Nas X. We’re all very lucky to live in his world.

Verdict: 5 devil dicks out of 5.

Nish Kumar is touring the UK and Ireland with his Your Power, Your Control tour in 2022. DIY

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DIY In Deep is our monthly, online-centric chance to dig into a longer profile on some of the most exciting artists in the world right now. And there truly aren’t many bigger girl bands in the known universe than our third cover stars - the one and only Little Mix.

We joined Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie over Zoom as the global pop sensations celebrate 10 years in the game and their debut Greatest Hits release, ‘Between Us’. Keep reading for an extract, and head over to diymag.com/littlemix to peep the full feature… Words: Jenessa Williams.

L

ittle Mix aren’t just a girl band: they’re a girl BAND. Ten years in, with six studio albums, 27 singles, 100 award nominations and an ever-growing army of fans around the world, the now-trio consisting of Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Perrie Edwards have cemented their position as one of - if not THE - defining pop groups of our generation. They are songwriters, performers, activists, allies, mothers and businesswomen. And yet over the years, they have spent an inordinate amount of time defending all of the above.

“When you come from a show like The X Factor, it’s always assumed that you’re puppets who just go on stage and are told what to do,” says Jade.

“But from the off, that really was not the case for us. The fact that we've stuck around for 10 years suggests that maybe we're doing a good job...”

With their lives tied up in celebrity, fans have often been frustrated with the way that Little Mix have been portrayed in the press. As one put it on Twitter, “There is more to Little Mix than their dogs, boyfriends and lockdown activities.” And so, as they celebrate the release of greatest hits album ‘Between Us’, there will be no tabloid discussion: no babies, no boyfriends, no fabricated beef. For DIY’s Zoom call with bonafide pop royalty, we’re getting stuck into the proper stuff; what it takes to thrive at the very top of the pop game for a full decade and still enjoy each other's company.

You know how the origin story goes by now. In 2011, four working-class girls - Jade, Leigh-Anne, Perrie and Jesy Nelson - auditioned as soloists for The X Factor, wide-eyed and utterly unprepared for what was to come. They didn’t make it through as individuals,

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the

DIY in deep

magic

Litt ttlle

number

Mix

It took me and Leigh-Anne six years to get a publishing deal as songwriters, because people just wouldn’t believe that we could possibly write.”

- Jade Thirlwall

but were put together by the alchemic eye of girl group legend Kelly Rowland, endearing the nation with their colourful pep. When they were crowned victors, they were catapulted into the whirlwind of public perception, clinging to one another to survive the storm.

“We were so lucky in that we just clicked, didn’t we?” reflects LeighAnne. “We were so young, I think we needed each other. When we first sang together, it was just like, wow. This is going to be something big.”

“Honestly, I can't imagine I’d have been able to do it at that time on my own,” agrees Jade. “I think we knew very early on that we wanted to be the band we would have liked growing up. We had The Spice Girls, TLC, Destiny's Child, but it'd been a while since there'd been a group with that sort of female empowerment. We set certain boundaries for ourselves from the off; there wasn't going to be a lead singer, and we collectively agreed that the sound would be pop with a bit of R&B. From the beginning, we were very much all on the same page.”

From the sugary harmonies of ‘Wings’ to the badass choreography of ‘Sweet Melody’, it’s difficult to think of many female pop groups that have felt quite so balanced in their collective growth.

Each girl has had her fair share of stand-out outfits, high notes and extracurricular engagements, and it’s been the same with songwriting; from the very beginning, they’ve all got stuck into the creative process of their music, crafting heart-rending ballads and party bangers with equal finesse.

Nonetheless, when they won Best British Group at the 2020 BRIT Awards - the first girl group in history to do so - numerous rock’n’roll types lined up to have a pop, including Noel Gallagher.

Claiming that the band were “not even in the same fucking sport” as Oasis, Noel Gallagher denounced their win, bemoaning the denigration of ‘real’ music. In customary fashion, Jade used an appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks to provide a now-legendary clap-back: “It’s a shame really, as we are definitely the most successful girl group in the country, but he's not even the most successful performer in his family.”

The memory of her one-liner raises a smile, but Jade remains frustrated. “It always tends to be the men that are in those very instrument-led bands; the industry as a whole is very much led by older white males,” she begins.

“From the off, there is that assumption that women can't do it as good as they can. It's such a weird stigma; it took me and Leigh-Anne six years to get a publishing deal as songwriters, because people just wouldn't believe that we could possibly write. Just because you don’t have a guitar, doesn't mean that you're not capable of sitting in a session and forging brilliant pop music. Which is what we do!”

Read the full DIY In Deep feature with Little Mix at diymag.com/ littlemix. ‘Between Us’ is out now via RCA. DIY

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DIYIRL

Rachel Chinouriri

In case you missed it (and truly missed out), over the past few months we’ve kicked off DIY IRL - a new live series, rounding up some of our favourite new talents and plonking them where they belong, on a stage in front of you lot.

The first installment saw Katy J Pearson and Bull charm the pants off of Walthamstow’s Signature Brew venue, before our second show with new music connoisseurs Pixey, Molly Payton and WOOZE. Most recently, however, we hopped over to East London’s Shacklewell Arms, for a blissful bill of Rachel Chinouriri, bb sway and Aziya. Stay tuned for more announcements over the coming months…

RACHEL CHINOURIRI / BB SWAY / AZIYA Shacklewell Arms, Dalston

It may be a Monday night late in November but there’s something in the air at the Shacklewell Arms tonight; everyone is very clearly up for a good time. That’s a good job considering that’s exactly what Aziya is armed to offer up. The East Londoner’s show opener fizzes with an addictive energy, her melding pot of guitar-driven pop - and a cover of Grimes’ slinky hit ‘Oblivion’ for good measure - providing a high octane moment early in the night.

Next up, it’s admittedly a change in pace but bb sway’s set is still entirely wonderful.

Aided by their friend Anne on violin and armed with just an acoustic guitar, the likes of ‘Bet You Know’, ‘Under The Sea’ and ‘Baby Wants Out of The City’ shine brightly in this more stark guise. Throw in the odd whistling anecdote and a real life violin solo - yes, really - and it makes for an entirely charming watch.

While Rachel Chinouriri’s headline set was always billed as more of a stripped back affair, it’s not exactly what you’d expect: her performance tonight still offers up some of the spellbinding magic of her recent ‘Four Degrees in Winter’ EP. Slinky but achingly beautiful, cuts like ‘Plain Jane’ and ‘Give Me A Reason’ are darkly intimate and powerful all in the same breath. (Sarah Jamieson)

A CLASS ACT It probably comes as little surprise that we’ve had Leeds four-piece Yard Act on heavy rotation for most of this year - since playing Hello 2021 in fact - and with their eagerly-awaited debut album ‘The Overload’ set to solidify their status as the buzziest in the ‘biz next year, they were the obvious choice for the cover of this very Class of 2022 issue.

But that’s not all! To mark the occasion properly, we’re teaming up with Kilimanjaro to take the band on tour in January for a big ol’ party

JANUARY 2022 7th•Hull, The Polar Bear & English Teacher & Deadletter 8th•Birmingham, Institute 3 & Lime Garden & Panic Shack 9th•Bedford, Esquires & Lime Garden & Malady 14th•Oxford, The Bullingdon & English Teacher & Daisy Brain 15th•Stoke, Sugarmill & English Teacher & Cathy Jain 16th•York, The Crescent & English Teacher & Low Hummer

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with loads of our other faves - including fellow Class of 2022 inductees Lime Garden and English Teacher.

What’s more, tickets are on sale right now! Check out the full DIY & Kilimanjaro presents… Class Of 2022 tour dates below, and get your tickets over on diymag.com/classof2022tour.

HELLO DARLING While we may have had to do things a bit differently last year - with our Hello 2021 shows going fully online, and live-streamed over at state51 HQ - we are absolutely chuffed to announce that we’re heading back to The Old Blue Last for Hello 2022, baby! That’s right, we’ll once again be returning to our rightful January home in the New Year, where we’ll be kicking up a fuss every Tuesday night like the good old days.

And what’s more is we’re inviting some of the best new acts around to join us for the occasion: the likes of Miso Extra, Chrissi, Porij, Nuha Ruby Ra and Modern Woman are just some of the artists set to appear across the month.

Keep your eyes peeled on diymag.com for the full line-up announcement soon, but in the meantime, mark every Tuesday in January in your diary: you’ve got plans!

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It's now full speed ahead as 2022’s musical extravaganzas begin to reveal their line-ups. First up, though, is meeting some future favourites.

FIRST FIFTY

Priya Ragu, Sipho, Lime Garden, Daisy Brain Studio 9294, Hackney Wick. Photos: Emma Swann.

W

ith two far-too-quiet years having now passed since the music world last descended upon Brighton for The Great Escape’s annual weekend of new band elevation and liver destruction, the return of First Fifty isn’t just a handy advanced preview of 2022’s first announcements, but a chance to enter into the hype-embracing spirit of the festival once more. And, if DIY’s stage at Hackney Wick warehouse venue Studio 9294 tonight is anything to go by, then a couple of years’ pause has done nothing to diminish TGE’s buzzy pulling power.

If hooks are what you’re after, then Brighton’s Lime Garden have them coming out of every pore. There’s jangly, guitar ones in ‘Surf N Turf’, brooding bass-led ones in recent single ‘Clockwork’ and wobbling looped ones in party-starting closer ‘Pulp’: a varied multipack, but held together by the kind of irrepressible, giddy good vibes that are undeniable. As you were, LG.

Local boy Daisy Brain (the nom de plume of singer Will Tse) kicks off the night with a set of fuzzy grunge that wears its heart on its sleeve - or, more accurately, its chest, as the frontman’s Fugazi T-shirt attests. Yet there’s a

Birmingham boy Sipho might need a lesson in accepting praise; giving his band members and the audience constant shout outs, he spends tonight steadfastly ignoring the fact the whoops and hollers are clearly all for him. But you

commercial ear for a hook here that suggests Daisy Brain could veer down more radio-friendly paths than the ‘90s guitar heroes. Which, let’s face it, isn’t massively hard.

SIPHO

sense Sipho won’t be able to downplay his talents for much longer - armed with a vocal born for big rooms, the likes of ‘BODIES’ and latest track ‘BEADY EYES’ undulate with a controlled power and swagger that makes total sense of the young star’s steadily escalating profile.

And though headliner Priya Ragu is still technically in the early stages of her career - debut EP ‘damnshestamil’ only a few months out of the traps tonight there’s a level of stagecraft and confidence that feels like it could easily be plucked and put onto any stage given to her. Channelling fellow Sri Lankan M.I.A. and veering seamlessly between the warm strut of early single ‘Good Love 2.0’ and ‘Forgot About’’s sweeping balladry, she’s a total package new talent: one stepping into a severelyunderrepresented space and filling it masterfully. (Lisa Wright)

Festival

NEWS IN BRIEF

LCD Soundsystem, slowthai, Phoebe Bridgers and The Killers are among the acts confirmed to appear at Bilbao BBK Live (7th - 9th July). Joy Crookes, Pet Shop Boys, Bicep and Peaches are also set to appear across the event.

Haim and Jungle are the latest acts added to the Lisbon-based NOS Alive (6th - 8th July), joining alreadyconfirmed artists including The Strokes, Metallica, Glass Animals and St Vincent.

Flow (12th - 14th August) has announced its first 2022 names, with Gorillaz, Little Simz, Sigrid, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fontaines DC all Helsinkibound next summer.

Dry Cleaning, Yard Act, Lime Garden and CMAT are included in the first wave of artists confirmed for North Yorkshire’s Deer Shed (29th - 31st July), with John Grant, Nadine Shah and Django Django set to headline.

PRIYA RAGU DAISY BRAIN

Photo: Katy Cummings

LIME GARDEN

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Y Not (29th - 31st July) has added a handful of names, with The Vaccines, Manic Street Preachers, Dream Wife, Orla Gartland and Easy Life also added to the event, joining the likes of Pale Waves, Sports Team, The Big Moon and Alfie Templeman.

ESNS (19th - 21st January) has completed its 2022 lineup, with ENNY, The Lounge Society, Berwyn and Sprints among the final artists confirmed to appear at the Dutch showcase event.

www.icea.se

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26 Yard Act 30 Wet Leg 34 Priya Ragu 38 Porij 40 H

world in DIY

Though life has involved a lot of stops and starts there will always be brilliant new minds making we’re celebrating the most exciting, unrelenting, around: onwards and upwards, we’re going full

50 Paris Texas 54 CMAT 58 Sad Night Dynamite 60 24 DIYMAG.COM

Holly Humberstone 44 Deb Never 48 Lime Garden

motion

CLASS OF 2022

of late, the one thing we’ve come to rely on is that brilliant new music. And, heading into 2022, couldn’t-put-a-lid-on-them-if-you-tried fresh talents steam ahead into the bright new musical dawn…

0 English Teacher 62 Role Model 64 Lauran Hibberd 25

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

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Yard Act

At the juncture between social observation, surrealism and stand-up sits the captivating yarns of Yard Act and, with debut album ‘The Overload’ just around the corner, the Leeds quartet are ready to unveil their greatest trick yet. Words: Lisa Wright. Photos: Ed Miles. Art Direction: Louise Mason.

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world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

ou kind of know when something’s different…” ponders bespectacled Yard Act frontman James Smith, pint in hand, as the detritus of party poppers and burst balloons from today’s cover shoot gets swept up at local haunt and Leeds institution, the Brudenell.

“Even [when it was just] online, I was completely aware that it was a different response to anything I’d ever had before.

Then when it opened up, speaking to other bands - bands I really like and consider our peers - I realised that maybe they saw us slightly differently to how they saw themselves.

Then I did think, maybe there’s something going on…”

See, in some ways, Yard Act are the very definition of an overnight success story. April 2020 debut single ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’ was released a mere three months after James and bassist Ryan Needham decided to start a project; ‘Fixer Upper’, its follow-up, was intended as a demo but immediately started to gain enough traction to give it an unexpected life of its own. By the time the band - completed by guitarist Sam Shjipstone and drummer Jay Russell - were allowed on post-pandemic stages for some of their first ever gigs together, they were already playing to hungry crowds of actual fans. Following a recent performance on Later… with Jools Holland and several completely sold out tours, their debut album ‘The Overload’ will land via their own Zen F.C and major label Island Records on 21st January - barely two years since Yard Act began.

that happened by chance.

“I’ve never found myself an interesting thing to talk about, even though I’m quite egotistical…” James Smith

Individually, however, it’s none of their first rodeos; a Leeds supergroup of sorts, with members previously playing in Menace Beach (Ryan) and Post War Glamour Girls (James) among other local stalwarts of the scene, Yard Act have enough experience under their collective belts to sense when the tides are shifting. They just weren’t to know that, after years of quasi-successful attempts at breaking through to the wider musical world, the project that would finally land would be their most unassuming and haphazard one so far.

“I feel like this whole band’s been born out of absolute chaos,” grins Ryan. “If we’d have been following the normal routes, it might have been jaded and boring, but everything was done in such a different way to anything any of us have done before; it doesn’t feel like a trodden path because everything’s been different.”

“It was probably the first time starting a band since I was 18 where I didn’t have any ambition for it, and it instantly connected,” James nods. “It’s a reminder that once you put something out there, you don’t have control over it. I’ll always go back and remind myself that we put out a Logic demo that we recorded in Ryan’s print studio when we were pissed and people liked it.”

T

here’s an attitude of rolling with the punches and prioritising fun that permeates everything Yard Act have done so far. If the first rule of improv is to answer any question with “Yes, and…”, then the quartet’s willingness to throw themselves in has improvised a path that feels refreshingly uncalculated for arguably the most talked about breakthrough guitar band of 2021.

Throwback a few years, and James was gamely dressed up in a cowboy hat, bootcut flares and a leather jacket, doing his best Beck impression for a New Year’s Eve party tribute band. When Yard Act needed a new drummer, he remembered the sticksman from that night: enter Jay. Even the band’s increasingly signature style of lyrically-dense tales that sprawl over the music, often continuing on into the silent gaps or past the end of a chorus, was something

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“Ryan was sending me demos, and I would have blocks of words, but the demos would run out and I’d just carry on talking. The words just surpassed the amount of music available, but I didn’t stop,” James recalls. “It’s a weird way of doing it, and we didn’t realise it would become a Yard Act calling card.”

The tales themselves - from the wife in ‘Peanuts’ who invents a deathly allergy to explain the constant no-shows of her imaginary husband, to the subject of album track ‘Tall Poppies’, who never leaves his hometown and is better or worse off for it, depending on your perspective - range from the pithy to the poignant. At all times, the frontman deals in specificities and detail, fleshing out characters that could easily populate a sitcom (and are soon to populate a 50,000 word novel that James has also written - no biggie) into lyrics that land somewhere between spoken word and stand up. “And a drunken uncle at a wedding,” chips in Ryan.

“I’ve never found myself an interesting thing to talk about, even though I’m quite egotistical,” James notes, with a typical glint in the eye. “I’m clearly quite interested in myself; I don’t think I’m one of those people who doesn’t care what people think of me, I’m really quite self-conscious and I analyse my own actions quite a lot. But equally I don’t think that’s an interesting thing to talk about.

“And more so,” he continues, “I do just really like people; I find people so funny and so curious, even the knobheads - everyone’s a knobhead at some point, nobody’s [solely] a knobhead or nice, that’s not a thing. People are so complex, and it’s not black and white. I’ve got people I’m friends with now who I thought were dicks for months on end, and then you get past the barrier they put up because they’re scared and you realise they’re actually really nice but they’ve just got problems that cause them to act in a certain way. Graham [the two home-owning character from ‘Fixer Upper’] loves his wife, you know?”

I Get Up, Stand Up Before starting Yard Act, James occasionally performed his own hybrid cross between stand up and poetry at the Brudenell - we’ll let him fill you in…

“I did a couple of gigs supporting poets, and within 20 minutes of trying to plan a set I realised I couldn’t stand po-faced and read out serious words.

So I started writing really daft short poems that I counteracted against more serious ones; it was like stand-up but I was hidden behind a piece of paper so I never had to claim I was doing stand-up because the second that you say, ‘I’m a stand up’ people expect to laugh.

Maybe it’s slightly out of fashion now because Trump’s not in power, but I rewrote ‘Stan’ by Eminem word for word but from the perspective of Donald Trump writing a letter to Gil Scott-Heron, but getting him confused with Phil Collins. I knew it had a time limit on it, but it was quite good…”

t’s this determination to show the nuances of humanity with warmth and generosity that sits at the heart of Yard Act’s storytelling. There’s a kitchen sink quality to the way James writes that can be funny, sad and slightly chaotic all at the same time.

Born in Warrington, yet with the band regularly hailed as ‘quintessentially Yorkshire’, he’s aware of the danger of stereotypes and not falling into their traps.

“You can get typecast because of where you come from and I’ve seen it with Yard Act time and time again,” he notes. “The whole thing is a balance of playing up to it and owning it because that’s what you are, but then also not letting people assume that’s what you are, and that’s the hardest thing to do.”

What Yard Act undoubtedly are, however, is a group of mates who’ve struck the perfect balance of humour, or - as James succinctly puts it: “I ain’t bothered about being serious, but I don’t want it to be a joke.”

Their videos so far have seen them dressing up as magicians, waving fistfuls of YA-branded Monopoly money, and cavorting around car boot sales that could be plucked out of an episode of The League of Gentlemen (10 points to whoever spots the video extras who’ve also turned up for today’s shoot).

When DIY is sent over a copy of ‘The Overload’’s lyric sheet, it’s amusingly had all the album’s swear words and naughty bits highlighted in bold - presumably, we ask, to flag any faux pas before the BBC complaints department gets involved? “Oh yeah, on Jools Holland they were like, ‘You can’t say ‘fuck’ but you can say anything else’,” regales the frontman. “Can I say ‘cunt’? ‘No you can’t say cunt…’ So anything but fuck or cunt? OK well, there’s two dickheads in the second verse… ‘No’.” He pauses. “So can I say ‘sucking each other off’...?”

Musically, the band are also far more interested in fun than their early post-punk categorisations might suggest - although, says Ryan, “we definitely got on

“I rip off Elastica so much, they’re my favourite band ever, and I’ve been pretty tactical about the rips but they’re there,” Ryan continues. “It’s funny, ‘cause bands are asked what they like, and they say Donna Summer even though they sound like The Fall.” “Oh you like Nina Simone? That’s cool,” picks up James, now a few pints down. “Why can’t you play the piano then? Why can’t you sing? Why aren’t you AMAZING?!”

R

minute as a well-paced rapper, but delivering them with knowingness and Northern charm.

Yard Act might have seemingly come from nowhere, but undoubtedly it’s all the years of graft - both on and off stage - that have enabled them to get to a place that feels so seamless. “Sometimes very young bands break through with a style and a sound, and they’re naturally really fucking cool and are themselves.

But most of the time there’s a front, whereas there’s definitely not a front with this band,” James nods. “Yard Act is the first band where I really feel like I’ve got the balance of getting all my emotions right, which is 10% fucking anger, 60% laid back and reasonable, and then 30% sarcastic and cynical about everything cos that’s a really good way to deflect from what you’re feeling.

I’m just completely satisfied with the man I am. I’m more content than ever to just be a 30-year-old bloke who’s not that interesting unless he’s pretending to be a character on stage for a bit.”

olling into 2022, however, now is the time when, even for Yard Act, things start to get serious. After a year that’s seen them perma-playlisted across BBC 6Music, tipped by every music outlet worth its salt and named by Elton John as one of his favourite new acts (“I feel like we manifested it, we WHO played ‘Bennie and the Jets’ every Leeds punks day in the van for six months and then with a one-of-ahe appeared”), everything is in line kind, exhilarating for ‘The Overload’, and Yard Act in frontman. general, to do very well indeed.

IN THREE WORDS

Their debut is a record that backs up the hype, too. From the angry skulk of ‘Dead Horse’ - the only track where James admits that he “puts the boot in a bit” (“Occasionally, when you’re in a foul mood, you need to be like, ‘Fuck off, you’re a fucking idiot and I’m right’”), through the strange, deadpan ping-pong of ‘Rich’ to the anxious rattle of ‘Quarantine the Sticks’, it manages to pair unlikely hooks with cheeky eyerolls at every turn, packing as many words-per-

MAKING MOVES

“I feel like this whole band’s been born out of absolute chaos.” Ryan Needham

at post punk to get to the next station.” “We knew it was having a moment, it was quite calculated,” winks James, “but Pulp and Blur are way bigger than the post punk thing for us; I don’t think people realise how much that’s influencing the music. I fucking adore both of those bands.”

Next big thing.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Being crowned Elton John’s favourite new band and headlining DIY’s Class Of 2022 tour. Are the two connected? We could never say...

MOST LIKELY TO

Call you out on your bullshit while simultaneously making you dance uncontrollably.

And though the frontman might tend towards the self-effacing, you can tell that neither he nor his bandmates are taking any of this for granted. Having seen the mids and the lows of being in jobbing indie bands for years, now the highs are finally arriving, Yard Act are milking them for all the fun and high-jinx they can get. Not that they’re not dreaming big, mind… “I’ve had an idea that Elton gives Bernie [Taupin] the week off and I send him some of my lyrics to see what he does with them,” James decides before breaking into an Elton-does-Yard-Act version of ‘Fixer Upper’. The way their trajectory is hurtling forward, the idea doesn’t even seem all-that insane.

‘The Overload’ is out 21st January via Zen F.C / Island. 🌐

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don’t know if any of it ever will sink in,” Rhian Teasdale ponders from a plant-filled kitchen on a rare quiet morning. As one half of Wet Leg (completed by bandmate Hester Chambers), it’s been nearly six months since a switch was flipped in her life and has yet to be turned off. In June, the pair released debut single ‘Chaise Longue’ and were thrust into the eye of the storm of viral success, its addictive absurdity immediately striking a chord with all who heard it. The attention around the single quickly translated into rapturously received festival sets and endless gigs across the UK, with yet more acclaim for cheeky follow-up ‘Wet Dream’ continuing their ascent and the eyes of seemingly every discerning music fan in the country (and further afield) firmly fixed on their next moves.

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

Wet Leg Putting fun at the fore, 2021’s breakout ‘Chaise Longue’-loving buzz band are riding the rollercoaster and loving life. Words: Rhian Daly. Photos: Fiona Garden.

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The Domino signees might have been unexpectedly catapulted onto the path to greatness, but they’re managing to take it all in their stride by simply refusing to take it that seriously - or think about the ramifications of this year’s events too much. “It’s so funny,” the singer and guitarist declares with a grin - one of many times she assesses the band’s experiences as such during our chat. “You’re always so busy, so you always think about what you need to do today and take it day-by-day. But sometimes you spend so much time avoiding looking at the bigger picture because it’s so overwhelming that you forget to take stock.”

While Rhian and Hester might still be trying to get their heads around just how they’ve become one of the most exciting breakout bands of 2021, they’re more sure about why ‘Chaise Longue’ had such a big impact upon its release. “It’s just so silly, isn’t it?” Rhian laughs, referring to brilliantly bizarre lyrics like “Is your muffin buttered? / Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?”. She points to the timing of the single as having some influence on the response to it, too. “After being locked down and everything just being really doom and gloom, I think [it connected with people] because it’s just so fucking dumb. That’s probably all anyone has capacity for at the minute - like, ‘I don’t want to be challenged!’.”

In the months since that single, Wet Leg have found themselves invited onto tours with the likes of Declan McKenna, Inhaler and Willie J Healey, and have managed to squeeze a handful of headline dates between that packed itinerary. With only two songs out at the time of those tours, and both being talked up considerably online, the duo were nervous about what crowds would make of the full Wet Leg experience. “Some of our songs sound quite different to what

“I think ‘Chaise Longue’ connected with people because it’s just so fucking dumb!”

- Rhian Teasdale

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world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

WHO

Isle of Wight duo taking 2021 by storm.

IN THREE WORDS

we’ve put out already so our guess is as good as theirs as to whether they’re gonna like whatever else we’re doing,” the singer reasons. “We’ve had such a lovely reaction so far, though. It’s so funny, man...”

I

t’s fair to say that 2021 has been a big learning curve for Wet Leg, thrusting them into situations that previously they’d only dreamed about. Life on the road makes for a notable strand of that, with Rhian recalling her confusion at the start of their tour life. “Our tour manager is very savvy and has done so many tours, she’s been doing this for years,” she begins. “But she bought us 48 Itsu pots and I was like, ‘Why have we got 48 Itsu pots? Are we not gonna have meals?!’

But they really come into their own when you’re on the road.”

Despite being friends for years, the last few months have also taught the two pals a lot about each other too.

“Hester is very strong,” Rhian says of her bandmate, who’s out sick today.

“Actually it’s funny because you don’t necessarily put these two things together, but I think I’ve learned that we’re both very strong, very sensitive people.”

Wet Leg’s journey into the spotlight might have been swift, but the musicians’ friendship has been growing for nearly a decade, since they met at college. Before they formed the band, they were “quite good friends,” but it was a year of going to festivals together, “bumbling around, having no responsibilities and watching music together” that really solidified things.

“That’s how we were able to actually start a fun band with loud, thrashy guitars,” Rhian says.

Although Wet Leg’s main mission is fun, when the duo first started playing together, another emotion had a strong presence - fear. “It’s quite an intimate thing, playing music with another person,” the singer and guitarist reasons. Prior to teaming up with Hester, she had been doing her own solo project - something she had the freedom to “get something wrong” in. “Messing up in front of someone, for some reason, feels like the most awful thing in the world that could ever happen,” she groans. “Once you play together and you do mess up, though, you realise it’s actually fine. But our first rehearsal together, we were both so

32 DIYMAG.COM

tentative and like [puts on a meek, highpitched voice] ‘Oh! Argh!’.”

Finding their feet in their Isle Of Wight home, the duo had to rely on a DIY scene for gigs and community, and Rhian says the make-up of that circle is something that gave her the courage to try the band thing out in the first place.

“We’ve got Lauren Hibbard [see p64 for more on her…] and Coach Party - it’s mainly women. It makes it easier if you can see someone that looks like you, that you identify with. It’s easier to be like, ‘Oh cool, I’ll do that too because these girls are already doing it’.”

The isolated nature of the island is something else she sees as beneficial to the Wet Leg story so far. With only one proper music venue to play in, there are limited opportunities to get out there and perform - something which might sound like a disadvantage to most people, but that the singer sees a silver lining to. “Living in London, you do have more opportunity to perform your work, whereas on the Isle Of Wight you can work on something and work on something without the idea being intercepted by outside opinions,” she shrugs.

That’s a notion that relates to the band’s just-announced debut album. Although the pair were now receiving outside opinions from producers Dan Carey and Jon McMullen, the songs that will appear on the self-titled record were mostly written before the wider world knew of Wet Leg’s existence.

S

et for release in April 2022, the sessions for the record have been “fun and fresh” according to Rhian, and she and Hester are feeling confident - albeit with some lingering trepidations - about what the finished product will be. “It’s the same feeling of doing a set where people know two songs,” she rationalises. “I wonder if people are gonna like it or if it’s gonna be what people expect. It doesn’t really matter though cos it is what it is!”

Two more songs have recently arrived, though, to help ease those concerns and flesh out what we know of the band. “I don’t think there’s any sexual innuendo in these ones,” Rhian laughs, explaining their key differences, but both the chiming ‘Too Late Now’ and the jerky ‘Oh No’ are just as addictive as their predecessors - even without smirk-

MAKING MOVES

Fun, fun, fun.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Becoming one of the most hyped bands of 2021 after two singles, and sending purchases of chaise longues through the roof.

MOST LIKELY TO

Blow your socks off with their live show and then invite you backstage for a relaxing sit and a can.

“I’ve learned that we’re both very strong, very sensitive people.” - Rhian Teasdale

inducing lines. The former features thunder-cracking sounds chasing away the pair’s anxieties and worries, before the singer declares: “I don’t need no radio, no MTV, no BBC / I just need a bubble bath to set me on a higher path.” The latter, meanwhile, lurches between phone-induced concern and excitement, and sounds like another guaranteed crowd-pleaser when Wet Leg return to the road next year.

As well as offering something new, these fresh tracks also reinforce the DNA at the heart of the outrageously exciting new band: pure, unadulterated fun. “When we started Wet Leg, we were looking at some of our friends that were in bands and not enjoying it. They obviously love music a lot and really want to be doing it, but it’s not a cool vibe if you’re not enjoying it. What’s the point?” questions the singer.

Despite them seemingly having the world in the palm of their hands, even the duo’s humble ambitions don’t stretch much beyond having a good time. “We had our Jools Holland session the other day, and beyond that I just don’t really know what other ambitions there are to have,” Rhian says slowly, as if she’s still trying to conjure some up in her head. “It’s just so mad, everything that’s been dealt to us. It is what it is and hopefully it will continue to be as good as it’s been, but we’re just doing our thing and focusing on fun. As long as we’re having fun, that really is the most important thing.”

‘Wet Leg‘ is out 8th April via Domino🌐

33

“I never even thought about my music going international, because that doesn’t happen for Swiss artists.”

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

in

Priya Ragu The Swiss-Tamil musician is forging a rarely-represented path, and crafting a collection of genre-amorphous hits in the process. Words: Joe Goggins. Photos: Eva Pentel.

H

er whole life, Priya Ragu had inhabited two worlds; with her debut mixtape, she conjured up her own. September’s ‘damnshestamil’ announced the multi-talented artist as somebody with little time for stylistic boundaries, melding pop, soul, hip hop, alt-R&B, and the Tamil music of her heritage into a kaleidoscopic sound that defied the conventions she’d previously found discouraging: that Tamil music rarely makes appearances in the Western mainstream, and that music so genre-amorphous always seemed unlikely to make the radio in Switzerland.

“I never even thought about the possibility of my music going international, because that doesn’t tend to happen for Swiss artists,” she explains over Zoom from London, where she’s now based. It’s about to, though; fresh from a run of UK shows supporting Jungle in front of some huge crowds, and with her first UK TV appearance on Later… with Jools Holland ticked off in November, Priya will head out on the European leg of Jungle’s tour in January, before playing SXSW in March.

It’s all pretty damn impressive for someone who only gave up her day job six months ago. “I was constantly travelling back and forth to London, and work started to get stressful.

I was making a lot of mistakes, and I knew I couldn’t focus on both,” she notes. “There’s the Swiss mentality that makes you want to keep hold of the security forever. That was my parents’ outlook - ‘You never know how this music thing is going to turn out!’ But I haven’t looked back. I’ve already sort of forgotten what that life was like. I think I made the right call.”

Priya’s Sri Lankan parents are evidently a huge influence; whilst Switzerland itself is a world away from their Tamil culture, the latter was alive and kicking within their home, from the records and movies that she was raised on to her father’s work as an amateur musician himself. By way of an introduction to performance, Priya would even occasionally play as part of his band at weddings and birthday parties.

More than that, they’ve helped inspire her storytelling, too; for the video to single ‘Good Love 2.0’ - eventually shot

34 DIYMAG.COM

in Goa, India - she’d wanted to go instead to Jaffna, Sri Lanka, where her parents hail from. “The song was inspired by the story of my parents, and how they met; they were next door neighbours,” she explains. “It would’ve been amazing to go to that city, to those houses, and tell that story there for the video, but there’s a lot of difficulties that come with that in Sri Lanka. It’s still quite militarised, so there’d be a lot of questions, and you can’t move around freely, so we went to Goa instead; we were looking for somewhere that looked similar.”

P

riya cites M.I.A. as an influence, but hasn’t been inspired to follow her into writing politically by her brush with the complex situation in her parents’ homeland yet, at least. “I’ll talk about politics in the future, for sure,” she explains, “but for now, I don’t see my lane as being a political path. It was powerful to see how M.I.A. used her platform, but that was also at a time when the war was going on - the situation’s different now.

There are still a lot of things to address; the military is still there, there are still no equal rights, and the oppression of the Tamil people goes on, and it’s been happening for over 20 years now. I think there are solutions, and whatever I can do to speak to that, I will do. But there’s nothing too political on the mixtape.”

Instead, the importance of having artists like M.I.A. to look up to came in the sense of representation, something the singer has increasingly come to realise the crucial value of. It’s rare for Swiss musicians to make waves in the western musical world, let alone Tamil ones, and Priya Ragu is avowedly both. The title of her mixtape isn’t just lip service to her background; on ‘Santhosum’, she sings entirely in her parents’ language (“The oldest language in the world - sick, right?”), while ‘Lighthouse’ interpolates Sri Lankan flute and ‘Deli’ fuses South Asian percussion with electronic drums. It’s groundbreaking, but without M.I.A as a role model, she might never have been so daring.

WHO

Swiss-Tamil R&B star bringing sounds of old into the 21st century with glee.

MAKING MOVES

IN THREE WORDS

Tradition and innovation.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

With debut project ‘damnshestamil’, she ripped open the idea of what an R&B artist can be in 2021, leaving endless pathways for her future.

MOST LIKELY TO

Encourage you to forget what you know and embrace the unpredictable.

“It gives kids a lot of hope if they can turn on the TV, or put on a record, and see and hear somebody who looks like them,” she enthuses. “It gives you courage. To begin with, for me, it was Black women; I was looking up to people like Lauryn Hill, but until M.I.A. came along, it felt like there were no Sri Lankans making it happen. I remember the first time I saw her, on TV. I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is actually possible!’

The way she sounded, the way she looked - she was just totally true to herself, and the western world was accepting of her. I don’t feel like I have to hide any of my heritage away.”

A

similarly important figure has been Priya’s older brother, who produced ‘damnshestamil’ and records his own music under the name JaphnaGold. He’s a key collaborator in the songwriting process, particularly in the creation of beats, but has been an

35

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

Priya Ragu

“It gives kids a lot of hope if they can turn on the TV, or put on a record, and see and hear somebody who looks like them.” influence her whole life, from passing down records to introducing her to Tamil film soundtracks.

“He’s my older brother, so growing up, everything he was into, I was copying,” she laughs. “He was a big hip hop fan, so that’s where that side of the music comes from, but a lot of the stuff on ‘damnshestamil’ is just a reflection of what I was into growing up - R&B and soul, past and present. So on the one hand, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone were important, and then on the other, Brandy, The Fugees, Musiq Soulchild. And yet, all that time, my heart was beating for Tamil music; I’d listen to it and sort of daydream about how my life might have been different if my parents hadn’t moved here for work. I'd watch a Tamil movie, and the lifestyles I’d see, I’d wonder if that was how mine would have been. It felt like having two different personalities at times.”

This duality is something Priya has readily embraced in her music, in both sound and themes; ‘damnshestamil’ runs the gamut from bangers (‘Chicken Lemon Rice’) to heartbreak (‘Forgot About’). She’ll begin work in earnest on a debut album in 2022; it’ll be more conceptual than the mixtape, she says, but is unlikely to be littered with features. “If you asked me who my dream collaboration would be with, I’d say there isn’t one. I’m cool with just doing my own thing and putting it out there.”

36 DIYMAG.COM

Musically speaking, it sounds as if anything’s possible. “Style-wise, there won’t be fewer of them,” Priya says. “There’ll probably be even more! According to my fortune teller, anyway...” 🌐

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world in motion

Porij

CLASS OF 2022

Making socially-aware dance music through a fresh lens, this Manchester quartet are crafting tunes for the head and the feet. Words: Joe Goggins. Photo: Ed Miles.

O

ne of a handful of videos on Porij’s YouTube page has them playing their track ‘150’ in the back garden of their old shared house in Whalley Range, south Manchester. It ends with a neighbour, working from home, telling them off for making too much noise. “Oh, sorry man,” chirps their drummer, Tom, before a disclaimer follows: “In his defence, it was 10am so we probably deserved it.”

It’s a nice summation of this stylistically un-categorisable young band’s irrepressibility; when their hectic gigging schedule ground to a halt for obvious reasons in 2020, the four-piece - all music students in Manchester at the time moved in together and channeled all their energy into fresh material. “It was almost a bit of a blessing in disguise,” says Tom over a four-way Zoom call (the band started out in the city, but are now scattered across the country). “It used to be that rehearsals might have [involved] spending a couple of hours learning a new song before a gig. We suddenly had time to hone our live sound, and when we returned, it was such a vibe.”

The quartet - comprised of Tom on drums, Jammo on bass, Tommy on guitar and Eggy on vocals - are tricky to pin down musically. There’s no question they make dance music; it’s just that it shifts shape from track to track, littered as they are with nimble guitar riffery, infectious grooves, and inventive beats from the band’s apparently inexhaustible supply. “We’re all beat-makers,” offers Tommy. “It’s a band

MAKING MOVES

DIY

WHO

Manchester four-piece making dreamy beats to escape the grey of their hometown.

IN THREE WORDS

Forget your cares.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Disclosure were fans of their ‘White Noise’ cover, and their originals tread the same danceable, exotic line.

MOST LIKELY TO

Transport you far away from the shit of the everyday.

with, essentially, four producers, who are all instrumentalists as well. It’s a clash of different mindsets, and that’s why the sound is so eclectic. Every single song starts differently.”

Beneath the boisterously fun exterior and sharp suits that have become a staple of their image, there’s genuine substance, too; recent single ‘Nobody Scared’ is a socially-conscious track about gender-based violence that's based on Eggy’s own experiences. “I don’t think I’ve ever been afraid to tackle issues like that,” the vocalist explains. “I write about what moves me in the moment. I definitely won’t shy away from anything like this, but I’m not going to shoehorn in issues either. I write about what I’m emotional about, whatever it might be.”

Last November’s introductory mixtape ‘Breakfast’, which featured original material as well as covers of fellow dance outfits Disclosure and The Prodigy, was followed up by a first EP proper, ‘Baby Face’, in September. With everything from the production to the artwork kept in-house on their own Oat Gang label (“Autonomy is a beautiful thing,” says Eggy), Porij are in no rush to put out a first full-length in 2022, with their priority instead to take their irresistible live show far and wide.

“We’ll be out on the road, international style!” Eggy exclaims. “It would be so wicked to just play all over the UK, every small town, every small venue, just absolutely smash it. Maybe we will. That, and we need to get to Japan!” 🌐

“It’s a clash of different mindsets, and that’s why the sound is so eclectic.” - Tommy 38 DIYMAG.COM

39

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

Holly Humberstone From introspective bedroom pop star to becoming one of the UK’s most tipped artists in the past year, Holly Humberstone’s career has been quite the ride so far; it’s only set to get wilder. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

“I’d never really, truly believed that it was real,” admits 21-year-old Holly Humberstone - undoubtedly one of the year’s biggest breakthrough successes. “It was really hard for me to fathom what was happening and grasp that there were people out there that my music was connecting to.”

Having released debut track ‘Deep End’ in early 2020 - a touching ode inspired by certain struggles her sister was facing, and Holly’s own feelings of helplessness in their wake - most of what followed would become impacted by some sort of restrictions.

Over the next six months, her brand of confessional but confident emo-pop quickly caught on, with the candid songwriting of her first EP, that August’s ‘Falling Asleep at The Wheel’, quietly converting fans throughout lockdown. But her rise was a steady one, happening mostly behind the closed doors of the pandemic.

T

hough the conditions of these first moves are unlikely to have been anyone’s top choice for breaking through, there’s something about the more meditative, unshowy way Holly’s been introduced to the world that strangely suits her.

Take one listen to her musical offerings so far and it probably comes as little surprise to learn that, for Holly, songwriting is the way she sets her world to rights.

Something she’s been drawn to even as a child - her parents encouraged creativity from an early age for their four daughters - the intimacy and honesty

40 DIYMAG.COM

the singer breathes into her songs is also her way of processing emotions. “It’s my way of sorting things out in my head, putting something behind me and making sense of stuff,” she nods. “Quite a lot of the time when I don’t understand how I feel about something, if it’s confusing me or weighing me down, I’ll just go into the studio and get to the core of it. It’s honestly so therapeutic for me and so important for my mental health. It always has been, and I think it will always be my way of coping with things.”

It’s something she found particularly important throughout the making of her most recent EP, November’s ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’. Plotting a series of major changes in her life (moving out of her childhood home in ‘Haunted House’, relocating to an anonymous London flatshare in its title track), the EP doubled as an opportunity for her to reflect on how to move forward from these events. “The EP is so personal to me; I wrote it at a time when I felt like I was growing up.

“I remember writing ‘Friendly Fire’ and I was in this relationship,” she begins. “I’ve never really been very good at relationships, so this was my first proper one that had lasted over a year. I realised I really cared about the person, but it was really hard for me to figure out how I was feeling about this guy. I knew something was wrong and was weighing me down, then I went in and wrote ‘Friendly Fire’. I came out of the studio and was like, ‘OK, I know what I need to do. I need to put my happiness first even though I don’t want to hurt this person.’ [Songwriting] honestly just sorts me out when I’m confused and chaotic, which is most of the time…”

C

losing out 2021 with a slew of sold out gigs, and with a spring US tour and her biggest ever London headline at O2 Kentish Town Forum set for next June, life for Holly Humberstone these days however is the opposite of those quiet first moves. “It literally went from zero to a hundred for me,” she nods of the speed at which things changed since live shows were once again allowed.

“I’d done no headline shows before the summer, so I just went from never playing a show whilst I’ve had

WHO

Gen-Z mouthpiece fast becoming the voice of a new generation of Brits.

MAKING MOVES

B

eing a hyped new artist in 2021 has come to mean something distinctly different compared to those who’ve run the gamut in previous years. With live shows all but wiped out until midway through summer, packed out showcases were swapped for streamed bedroom performances and IG Live sessions; success was measured more than ever through metrics and streaming numbers instead of physical fans congregating in a room. For the artists themselves, meanwhile, it’s been a rollercoaster ride that they’re still only just getting used to.

IN THREE WORDS

Transcendence from sadness.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Placing second in the BBC Sound of 2021 poll, being nominated for the BRITs Rising Star 2022 award, the list goes on...

MOST LIKELY TO

Have you retreading your teenage heartbreak for closure.

“As a female, we’re trained to set [ourselves] against each other, but it’s been crucial for me to take a second and really feel proud of myself.”

41

world in motion DIY

Holly Humberstone

CLASS OF 2022

music out, to playing festivals. Having people show up for my set was just really beyond me and strange. Until this summer, I’d never really seen physical evidence that these people really existed.”

As it sounds, the past few months have seen her life take a full 180-degree turn. From working with The 1975’s Matty Healy - who co-wrote her newest EP’s track ‘Please Don’t Leave Just Yet’ - earlier in 2021 to making her first trip to America (“I never thought I’d even be able to tour in the UK, let alone out there!”) via a summer of festival performances and headline shows, the rollercoaster is very much back in full force. And while a debut album may still be a little while away (“The thought of [making] an album right now is quite terrifying! I just need inspiration and time to think about how I want it to be, but I’m excited”), she’s embracing this new kind of chaos, and taking it one day at a time.

“I haven’t even had any time to write!” she laughs, on whether being busy again has helped her creative flow. “I was finding it really hard to tour; I really enjoy travelling and meeting people but it was really hard because I didn’t have any time to write, and I felt like I didn’t have any way of expressing myself because I didn’t have time. Coming back now to write is just the best thing ever, and it reminds me of the reason I wanted to make music in the first place.

“I think because I have been so busy, it’s been really hard for me to find a second to be objective about everything,” she surmises. “To think rationally that this is really happening and feel proud of myself as well. Especially as a female, we’re trained to be competitive and set [ourselves] against each other, but it’s been really crucial for me to take a second and really feel proud of myself. Yeah, I’m really tired and stressed but I’m getting to do this

job as a career, and this is what I’ve always wanted to do. Not many people get to do it, and this past year has just made me feel so lucky.”

Encouraged by her mum to keep a diary so she can one day reflect back on the whirlwind that’s slowly becoming her reality, even in a period of successive peaks there’s one clear highlight that’s stood out so far. “The Shepherd’s Bush [Empire] show,” she nods. “I haven’t seen so many people in one place in such a long time! The thought that they’d all bought tickets to come and see my show was bizarre. Having them all sing the words back was just really emotional and the most affirming thing ever that this is what I’m meant to be doing.”

Holly had better get used to people clamouring to come see her; now that the floodgates have been opened, it doesn’t look like they’ll be relenting any time soon. 🌐

“Songwriting is so therapeutic for me, and so important for my mental health.”

42 DIYMAG.COM

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CLASS OF 2022

Deb Never

Wide open and receptive to the possibilities of the world around her, LA’s Deb Never is proving herself a boundary-less creative talent to be reckoned with. Words: Rhian Daly. Photos: Phil Knott.

“I can play a rock show or a rap show, you can’t put me in a box.”

F

or those who think they’ve already got LA’s Deb Never sussed, her next release has the potential to throw those preconceived notions into flux. The musician might be most closely associated with melancholy, hip-hop-tinged indie-rock, but the single that will arrive at the start of 2022 does a complete 180 on the niche she’s mostly inhabited so far.

“A lot of my songs are always so sombre and with this one I just wanted to get my freak on,” she explains of ‘Crutches’, sitting in her car outside a rehearsal room in LA. It’s a song that hardcore Deb fans will recognise from her live show, but has taken a while to be worthy - in her eyes - of sharing with the world in a more permanent way.

“When I play it live, it goes crazy and I needed to translate that on the record as well.

I want it to be something where you listen to it and you just want to fucking move.”

On the surface, the punk party-ready anthem might seem like something of a curveball, but listen closer and you’ll find ‘Crutches’ perfectly encapsulates a big part of the Deb Never artistic identity. “I’m tearing down the walls,” she sings at one point - a line that could be interpreted to refer to her refusal to be pigeonholed by the world. “I love that people can’t really put a genre to the type of music that I make or put me in one lane,” she says with an audible grin. “I can play a rock show or a rap show, you can’t put me in a box. I love artists where you can’t really define them, but they have their own thing - I think that’s sick.”

As a woman, especially, it’s important for the musician to stay in control and defy being moulded into one particular thing. “I feel like a lot of women become successful in their music but then it’s almost like the industry takes over and they get controlled,” she reasons. “I feel like that’s something that doesn’t happen all the time with guys, but it’s so hard with women to be able to create their own lane and their own community without it being [co-opted by the industry]. I’m like, ‘Fuck that!’”

T

he upcoming track, meanwhile, has another key lyric that seems integral to unravelling Deb’s story: “I’m only learning how to grow”. It might have taken three years since she started releasing music, but on September EP ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’, the rising artist began to pull back the curtain and reveal more of her personal experiences. It’s a process that she’s still leaning

44 DIYMAG.COM

into, but one that fans can expect to hear more of in the future.

“I feel like I know myself more now than I ever have and I think that’ll naturally translate into the things I make,” she says. “So I’ll be more honest with the things that I make or, even if I want to experiment with something else, it’s not gonna sound all over the place. I’ll be able to dive into my own world even deeper.”

Making music itself has been a big part of helping Deb come to understand who she is. Her latest EP, which was coloured by anxietyreflecting sonic collages, even helped her come to a big personal realisation.

“I don’t think I ever realised I was an anxious person until I started making the EP,” she says. “Those feelings translate into sounds where it’ll be really quiet and intimate and then it just sounds like an explosive moment. After I got done with it I realised, ‘Oh, I have anxiety issues, I have to deal with that’.”

Sharing more revelations like these in her music isn’t necessarily something Deb says she is ever going to be entirely comfortable doing, but the feeling of being uncomfortable is also one she prizes when it comes to making music. “I need that feeling to be able to explore new boundaries,” she reckons, suggesting that as she invites us further into her inner sanctum, her output will become increasingly adventurous in tandem.

That’s an exciting prospect from an artist who has already refused to be beholden by what’s come before. Her 2019 debut EP ‘House On Wheels’ was laced with emo atmospherics, rap production and the occasional surging wall of guitars. ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’, while keeping the core spirit of that record, expanded things into new ground, be that the string-laden fuzz-rock of ‘Stupid’ or the fizzing indie-pop tinges of Jim-E Stack collab ‘Sweet & Spice’.

And, just as her music is going on a journey, becoming Deb Never has been its own expedition in itself. Deb, who is originally from Spokane, Washington, keeps her legal surname to herself, letting the alter-ego she created when she was younger serve as her only public-facing persona. Keeping her everyday self separate from her music is

WHO

MAKING MOVES

Your favourite songwriter’s favourite songwriter.

IN THREE WORDS

She’s coolness personified.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

With endorsements from The 1975, slowthai and more, she’s fast becoming a go-to collaborator for the stars.

MOST LIKELY TO

Get you starstruck from her inimitable style and sound.

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something she finds liberating, allowing her to let out “a part of me that I was never able to express”.

“I feel like Deb Never is the person that I, when I was growing up, wanted to be,” she says of how the two sides of her are different. “In real life, I’m a fucking dork. I think the biggest difference, though, is that I’ll be more introverted or - I wouldn’t say shy, [but] I keep a lot of things I truly feel to myself. Deb Never is where I can say whatever I want; it’s more in your face, the more flamboyant part of me. She’s also very emotional too, apparently. We all need a release at some point, I guess.”

A

s a kid, Deb says she had huge social anxiety, perhaps not helped by how much she and her family moved around whether that was her and her mother living in various spots around the Pacific Northwest or her joining her father on trips across East Asia while he did missionary work. If constantly being the new kid in school or landing in a different country added to her quiet nature, at least it had a benefit for her future career.

“It helped me open my eyes a lot and gave me a lot of perspective,” she explains. “Perspective is so important when it comes to writing or when you have something to say. Travelling definitely gave me a lot of different influences too; I don’t think I would have listened to most of the music I listen to if I didn’t travel around and hear what people like in different regions and countries.”

Being able to work in other places than LA is something that’s also incredibly crucial to Deb and something she tested herself on when she made ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’ in London. As you can hear from the resulting EP, that trip was a success and the music ended up reflecting how she felt about the city. “I think it’s ‘cause it reminds me so much of home in Washington - weather-wise and

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Deb Never

“I’ll always have that feeling of not belonging, and that’s why it’s so important for me to create my own world.” with the people. Going there felt new but familiar,” she says. “That makes sense with my music - a lot of feedback I hear is that there’s this sense of nostalgia, but it’s fresh. It just felt right working out of London.”

Ask Deb if there’s one place that she feels the most comfortable and at home and she’ll respond not with a city or country, but a place that exists in different forms across the world. “I think that would be in a studio with a close group of friends or collaborators,” she muses. “I think I’ll always have that feeling with me where I don’t belong [in a place] and I think that’s why it’s so important for me to create my own world.”

The Deb Never universe, though, is still in its infancy - as she’s keen to point out. “This is just a teaser,” she exclaims excitedly, noting the progression she’s already made. “[‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone?’] is only the second body of work I ever put out and, compared to ‘House On Wheels’, it’s a step [up]. I know what I’m capable of even if I haven’t shown that yet. With other projects, I want to be able to explore different sounds and get bigger and do better [things] and get more experimental, but still make it me. So yeah, this is just a taste test.”

Her debut album is currently in progress as we speak, but she’s keeping any details of it close to her chest for now. “I don’t want to spoil it too soon! Call me in a couple of months and I’ll give you a better answer,” she teases. Whatever her next trick turns out to be, expect it to be another brilliant blossoming for an artist constantly on the move. 🌐

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Lime Garden With only a handful of songs out in the world, the Brighton girl gang are creating an infectiously excitable impression with every new move. Words: Lisa Wright. Photo: Emma Swann.

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he dynamic is Tippi and Leila are very zen and chill, and they bring us back down to earth when we need it, and then me and Annabel are known as The Chaos Twins. We’re constantly on a high,” grins Lime Garden’s redhead vocalist Chloe Howard as the other half of her wild pairing pipes up: “If it wasn’t for that equal split, then madness in either direction would ensue…”

Formed initially at university in Guildford and then fully cemented with a relocation down to Brighton, Lime Garden are the sort of band that coming-of-age films are

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made for. Equal parts hyperactive enthusiasm and dry self-awareness (“We had our first meeting in Milton Keynes shopping centre outside a Krispy Kreme,” notes the singer sagely of her and drummer Annabel Whittle’s inaugural conflab), they’re prone to chatter that excitedly tumbles over each other, guitarist Leila Deeley and bassist Tippi Morgan completing a quartet that encapsulate the pure giddy joy of crafting bangers with your bezzie mates.

For all that talk of ‘women in music’ can make for conversations too tired to even vaguely indulge, Lime Garden are a group of four women who obviously adore being just that. “We didn’t want any men in our band; fuck that, they’re annoying!” grimaces

“We didn’t want any men in our band; fuck that, they’re annoying!” - Annabel Whittle WHO

MAKING MOVES

Brighton quartet with an unattainable, effortless cool.

IN THREE WORDS

A real gang.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Across a handful of singles, a signature sound is already emerging – they sit in an enticing space between pop, rock and the dancefloor.

MOST LIKELY TO

Get you changing your wardrobe and haircut to be like one of them.

Annabel. “When you jam with them, they’re always just over-compensating and that’s NOT COOL.” And though the quartet themselves began - via childhoods and teenage years spent variously listening to different types of ‘70s rock, psychedelia, emo and hair metal - trying to rail against archaic expectations (“We very much started at college being a heavy band,” notes Leila. “We wanted to prove ourselves as girls and be really loud, but then we grew up and learnt to pull the song out of the noise”), it’s by embracing their true dynamic that the four have really started to come into their own.

D

rip-feeding a string of early singles that have veered from the infectious bounce of debut ‘Surf N Turf’, through to the more restrained, introverted ‘Sick And Tired’ to the bass-led stalk of this winter’s ‘Clockwork’, the “Limey sound” that populates each distinct nugget is one that’s blossomed within adversity.

“Before lockdown, we were quite into jamming and writing in the room. But then when we were split apart for so long, we started writing using computers and, through that, our music got a lot more electronic and poppy because we discovered this whole new world of stuff to play with,” explains Chloe. “That was a turning point that gave us time to think, what kind of band do we want to be?” agrees Annabel.

And what sort of band DO they want to be? “A successful one,” she answers without missing a beat as her bandmates erupt into chuckles.

Having spent early practices learning to play Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Arabella’, you can still hear the backbone of classic indie throughout the band’s current output, but Lime Garden’s knack for a hook is also far from predictable. Lyrically, Chloe describes the red thread of their outlook as having “that melancholic, happy-sad feeling about it; a dance and a cry, that’s all we’re after”, while Leila decides that musically their style is “poppy stuff that’s electronic, but with slightly wonky guitars”. From the outside, we’d argue the most cohesive thing about it all is Lime Garden themselves; thriftshop clad early twenty-somethings who love a laugh and a bright, brilliant hook, they could follow the likes of Peace and The Big Moon as the next lovable guitar gang.

Next up, as well as heading out for a portion of DIY’s Class of 2022 tour with Yard Act, the quartet will reveal ‘Clockwork’’s b-side ‘Marbles’ in January. “It’s about when you have a group of friends that are a bit crazy and who make you feel like you’re going a bit mad if you’re around them for too long. But it’s very dancey and fun, and a good way to start the new year on a high,” nods Chloe. “We’d been toying around with it for ages and we just couldn’t figure it out; we thought we’d invented another key of music because we just couldn’t work out what was going on. But then we eventually managed to sort it out and now it sounds sick,” Annabel confirms.

They’re still leaving things loose as to when a debut EP or album might emerge, but state that the only plan for it would be “just banger after banger after banger, to be honest”. It might sound like a tall order for a group who’ve only got half-a-dozen songs to be judged on, but with vibes this high and a camaraderie that’s tangible, you wouldn’t want to bet against them.

Don’t believe us? Let Lime Garden tell you themselves. “We want to bring mindblowingly amazing vibes!” declares Chloe. “The band of the century!”

Lime Garden play selected dates on the DIY Class of 2022 tour. See p18 for details. 🌐

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Paris Texas Keeping things mysterious and forging their own unique route through the hype machine, LA duo Paris Texas are slowly letting the world into their bountiful bag of tricks. Words: Tyler Damara Kelly. Photos: Phil Knott.

I

f there’s one idea that encapsulates both LA duo Paris Texas’ laid-back, men-of-few-words energy as individuals, and the genre-bending music that they create together, it’s effortlessness. “To be honest, it was just this unspoken thing that’s happened over time,” one half of the pair, Felix, shrugs over Zoom of their unassuming origin story. “We just figured out at a certain point that we were going to be making music together.”

For a duo who’ve taken the industry by storm over the past nine months, Felix and producer Louie Pastel seem completely unfazed by the concept of being a hype band - perhaps unsurprisingly given that their seemingly-rapid ascent has actually been a long time coming. The childhood friends have been making music together for almost ten years now, but were unable to afford to record during the first three of them; instead, they chose to perform as much as possible, and to keep writing at every opportunity.

Then, when the pair were able to pool enough cash together to fund some recording time, they were met with resistance from people who weren’t interested in working with inexperienced artists; again, Paris Texas decided to work everything out by themselves. Luckily, Louie had been making beats since his teenage years, and had some understanding of how to craft a body of work that was fit for release.

Fast forward to May 2021 and, following the shockwaves of ‘HEAVY METAL’ - their immediately attention-grabbing debut single, released in February of the same year, that blended industrial metal guitar lines with electronic beats and laid the foundations of their knack for decimating any song that they write over - the eight-track ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ landed.

Demonstrating their amalgamation of influences, it showcased indie flare in ‘AREA CODE’ and touched on trap in ‘PACK 4 DA LOW’, the duo displaying a seamless and adaptable flow, all packaged up together in Louie and Felix’s distinctly DIY way.

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Both believe there’s a lot of pressure that comes from putting out your debut project, and so they decided to shun away from calling it an EP, album or mixtape, instead coining it a ‘practise’.

“They were demos, and I feel as though there wasn’t a goal in mind,” explains Louie. “When you say you’re going to put out a project, it’s like your thesis; you’re making a statement.

Whether it’s your life or religion, you want to say something.

We were feeling a lot of things at once and it was kind of jumbled. A lot of albums that I like have a consistency which I enjoy. This isn’t very clear [in that way] but we were just making music and having fun.”

A

world away from prescriptive labelling, the most notable thing about the raw nature of ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ was that it captured a moment in time for the band, setting them immediately apart from any of their contemporaries. Paris Texas is a meeting of minds of two people who “are both evolving and learning at different times,” they say. With no heed paid to making a grand opening statement, the release showed an insight into a duo at the beginning phase of their career, with no outside influence or social media pressure clouding their judgement.

There’s something instinctive about the way the duo move through King Krule moodiness in ‘FORCE OF HABIT’ to disorienting bass lines on ‘SITUATIONS’, all the while staying true to their hip hop roots. In a society that enjoys putting things in boxes, Paris Texas are something of an anomaly - and it’s fair to say that they quite enjoy the fact that people are unable to completely define who they are and what they’re doing, too.

“Right now, there are only a few people doing things that are different - and I mean being different without being corny,” says Louie. “We’re not being up our own asses or pretentious, claiming that this is the new wave. We’re having fun and people seem to be having fun with us.”

However, heading into 2022 with their star rising further than ever, there’s little room for anonymity. How do Paris Texas now feel about letting people into their world, considering the critically-acclaimed reception that ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ has had? When DIY last spoke to them, Louie was simply hoping that the release would be memorable. Surprisingly, he doesn’t feel as though it has been, but is well aware that real context is simply a thing that comes with time.

“As a fan of myself, when we put it out I was like, ‘Holy shit, this is for real’, but I think it was just a moment and we need to keep it up. People are still waiting for us to prove ourselves,” he says earnestly. “I think if we do the next project and it’s critically acclaimed, people will remember ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ and it will be a moment, but right now, people are still waiting for the actual project.”

W

hilst ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ was released under the label of a “practise,” its follow up ‘Red Hand Akimbo’ - unveiled in October - was a fully formed EP. With a heavier focus on guitars, and jankier, almost disconcerting beats, it feels as though Paris Texas are experimenting with creating a sound truly unique to themselves; as they say in ‘Dr. Aco’s Magical Bullets’, “I am bigger than my last song,” and whether through manipulating their voices or adding

“We’re not being up our own asses or pretentious, claiming that this is the new wave.” - Louie Pastel

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“We’re still learning a lot, and there’s a lot that needs to be done before we open it up.” - Felix MAKING MOVES

WHO

LA pair sitting at the most thrilling, energetic end of hip-hop.

IN THREE WORDS

Brockhampton on heat.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Dropping two impossibly exciting projects in 2021, ready to take up their crown on tour next year.

MOST LIKELY TO

Send you home from one of their gigs with a ripped t-shirt, one shoe and an unshakeable grin.

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in vocal samples which allude to a deeper narrative, there are surely greater things in the works.

The EP is still as formless as ‘BOY ANONYMOUS’ was, and lacks the consistency that Louie previously mentioned, but it feels as though perhaps this was more of a conscious decision than on its predecessor. The duo mention time and time again today that they’re still learning, and it feels as though, when the time is right, all will be revealed.

In terms of what’s next for Paris Texas, they’re remaining tight-lipped, but it’s all part of a grander plan. They’re about to embark on a huge American tour with BROCKHAMPTON in spring; playing several-thousand-capacity venues every night, it’s set to be a completely different experience than the grassroots duo have ever had before. Then, once that’s over,

it’s time to focus on new music. “We’re still learning a lot,” Felix reiterates again, “and there’s a lot that needs to be done before we open it up. Holding out as long as you can is really fun because it lets people interpret the art for what it is at the time.

When they want to know something about you, they can just go to your music and that’s where they can be updated about something that’s going on. And in our age that’s kind of a dead thing; in the age of the internet, it’s hard to move like that...”

For a duo who burst onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere, before delivering some of the most innovative and interesting first moves to emerge in a while, it’s only fitting that Felix and Louie are still embracing the excitement of a little secrecy.

As the saying goes, start as you mean to go on, and being unpredictable and hard to define is something that Paris Texas have thrived on since the word go. 🌐

OUT NOW

OUT NOW

out now 53

“I am a culture vulture.

I can see something from a mile away and know that I love it.”

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CMAT

The ultimate culture vulture with a knack for creating the kind of witty, kitsch (and sometimes heartbreaking) pop songs that are impossible not to fall for, CMAT is warmly welcoming you to her world. Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photos: Ed Miles.

T

o put it simply, spending an hour with CMAT is immensely entertaining. One minute she’s waxing lyrical on her fascination with Irish history, the next she’s regaling us with tales of her time working terrible retail jobs, before bursting into an impeccable impression of Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers. “She’s fucking grrrreat!” she declares, rolling her Rs delightfully. “She’s the genuine article and you can fucking smell it from a mile away.”

This eclectic ping-ponging around social touchstones is something that CMAT - Dublin singer-songwriter Ciara MaryAlice Thompson - is becoming renowned for, both in and outside of her music. Whether through heartbreak anthem ‘Another Day (KFC)’, which namechecks the comfort she found in ordering another round of the Colonel’s wares, or via the kitschy soap opera-esque video for 2021’s ‘I Don’t Really Care For You’, her world seems to grow more technicolored and detailed with each release.

“My hair and make-up artist always says, ‘Ciara, you’re such a CV, such a CV!’,” she laughs, “which is a culture vulture, but I’m like, ‘Ivy, that has a bit of a different meaning now…’” Needless to say, she’s on the money. “I am a culture vulture. I can see something from a mile away and know that I love it.”

Even the anecdotes she offers up today give a varied but multifaceted look at CMAT’s cultural inner-workings. From first writing songs aged 12, inspired entirely by Taylor Swift (“I was fully, straight meat-and-two-veg country music; I had no interest in being an authentic version of myself”), to following Bombay Bicycle Club on tour when she was younger (“I used to be an avid stalker of them, and I would do it all again if I could”), via explaining her debut album’s due date, the same as George Harrison’s birthday - “And two days after my own birthday - Pisces season!” - her musical upbringing has been varied, and she’s comfortable with that.

Granted, the road to that sort of self-awareness isn’t always an easy one. Suffering badly from cystic acne as a child, Ciara’s young, outgoing personality was quickly turned on its head. “I

had teeeeerrible confidence issues,” she recalls. “I went from being the loudest child you ever would’ve met to continuing to be the loudest child except with severe insecurities.” Instead of socialising, she “basically locked myself in my bedroom for six or seven years” and began to absorb as much culture as she could get her hands on. “Then I came into adulthood and realised I knew so much more about pop culture than almost everyone else the same age as me, and I knew nothing about everything else.

“I knew nothing about interpersonal relationships. Because of that, when I was 18 and I got into a relationship, it was with someone way older. And while I was in an 18-year-old’s body, I had the cultural and intellectual mind of someone well into their 50s but the emotional width of an 11-year-old.” She pauses.

“That combined made me a songwriter I think,” she cackles.

W

hile for Ciara herself, the charm of songwriting is in exploring the minutiae, that’s not necessarily the case for everyone. Not one for speaking in sweeping generalisations (“It’s just not interesting”), she’s always been drawn to “distinct characters” within genres, who drill down into the tiny details that colour our everyday lives and experiences. And, while she admits that “world-building is second nature” to her, it’s only since focusing on this solo project that she’s been able to explore that fully.

“When I was in my old band, I was always writing lyrics that were very specific to me, and had lots of my own references,” she offers up. “I was always singing about Diet Coke. I think people think I’m doing it on purpose, but I always think about how, in the ‘60s, people sang about cigarettes in every song because they were just smoking cigarettes every day. I drink six or seven cans of Diet Coke every day - it’s gonna make its way in! When I don’t have a can of Diet Coke, it’s no bueno…

"But I kinda came into conflict with one other band member in particular, who was always like, ‘We’re not trying to be funny here, why are you doing all these funny lyrics?’ He was all ‘it’s not all about getting the jokes in’ and I was like, ‘I’m not joking!’

“I think a lot of people may misidentify me as novelty or

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humorous,” she continues. “I love comedy and humour, but I’m being serious pretty much all of the time.

They’re never funny songs! But then, when I started writing what I wanted to write, that was when people started relating to it. And this was me singing about fucking Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in Dublin; most people have not been there.” She winks, ”but I have…”

T

MAKING MOVES

WHO

Dublin star-inwaiting with a superbly fun, winking take on swingin’ country sounds.

IN THREE WORDS

Giddy up, cowboy!

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Making cowboys and KFC the most unlikely of bedfellows.

MOST LIKELY TO

Regale you with stories over a Bargain Bucket.

he subject of humour is clearly an important one for CMAT. While, as Ciara says, her songs are never designed to be explicitly funny, it’s on grammaticallyperplexing forthcoming debut album ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ that she’s decided to explore the ways in which we - as a society - use comedy to mask our true emotions. “The concept of the album is specifically about my psyche, but also the entire history of the nation of Ireland, and the entire generation that is late Millennials, or early Gen Z,” she says, keeping a barely-straight face through her rather sizable claim.

“It’s all about comedy and dark humour and this whole coping mechanism of ‘Jokes, jokes, jokes!’,” she goes further.

“That double edged sword of comedy, which is like, ‘Ah yes, you can get through anything at all - the worst years of your life - if you just make jokes about it all the time’. But it’s also that thing of, if we keep making light of everything and we keep constantly joking about everything that happens to us, we’re not taking any time to reflect on the impact that it’s had on us. We’re not owning or facing our problems at all, constantly.”

While ‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’

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explores this societal problem writ large, it’s also given Ciara an avenue to process her own experiences in a way she admits she never would have otherwise. "It’s my biggest problem, 100%,” she admits. “I’m really bad at talking about things in real life. There are songs on the album that are about things I will just never be able to talk about, and I know this. I’m really good at talking about them through song, but then if someone comes up to me and says, ‘Ciara, what’s that song about?

Are you going through something right now?’ I’m like, ‘Pft, nooo!’” she mockingly retorts, “‘I just listened to a podcast!’”

A deft exploration of some of life’s darker moments and realisations, it’s a record that also offers up an even greater window into CMAT’s rich and witty world. Most importantly, however, it continues her mission to create something worthwhile, like her musical heroes before her.

“For the people who continue to give me their attention, I want to be doing something that’s worth their time, energy and effort,” she nods emphatically. “I say this about four times every day, but I want to be John Grant: he’s doing his own thing and being exactly who he is, not caring if people take him seriously or not, while still trying to make things that are beautiful.

That’s exactly what I want to do; I’m not interested in the whole ‘blowing up’ and ‘having a moment’ thing. Fuck the moment!”

‘If My Wife New I’d Be Dead’ is out 25th February via AWAL. 🌐

“I think a lot of people may misidentify me as novelty or humorous, but I’m being serious pretty much all of the time.”

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Sad Night Dynamite With a second mixtape and a massive US tour kicking off the year, Sad Night Dynamite are ready to explode into the new year with a bang. Words: Max Pilley. Photo: Fiona Garden.

It’s already been a dramatic ascent for Archie and Josh Greacen, with Sad Night Dynamite’s combination of urbane, slick hip-hop instrumentals and sweetly melancholic vocal melodies quickly attracting admirers from FKA twigs to Gorillaz. They rounded out 2021 with a pair of standalone singles - ‘Demon’, featuring South African firebrand Moonchild Sanelly, and ‘Psychedelic Views’ with Maryland rapper IDK - and both are songs that they confide will be included on the release of their second mixtape, due early in 2022.

“It’s done and packaged, we’re just creating the world around it now,” says Josh. “It’s a complete

continuation of the storyline that we’ve already started, there’s an overarching theme.” Although separate releases, they consider their debut pair of mixtapes the first of which was released in early ‘21 - to be two halves of the same project, even if they are conscious that their sound is rapidly evolving.

“It’s bizarre how quickly it changes, it’s almost disconcerting,” says Josh, “but you just have to go with it. You can’t really chase the past. A lot of the music we’re writing now doesn’t sound anything like the music we’ve released, but to us that’s the only way of keeping it exciting. And you can’t control it, either.

We’re best when we’re not really thinking.”

If the early singles are any indication, the new material will demonstrate an even more urgent Sad Night Dynamite, with production that seems to pull equally from Tyler, the Creator and Peggy Gou. But if international tours and follow-up mixtapes aren’t enough to fill their diaries, their minds are firmly squared on the prospect of recording their debut album too. “We’re not trying to put too much pressure

“A lot of the music we’re writing now doesn’t sound anything like the music we’ve released.” - Josh Greacen

on it, but we’ve always had this grand idea of what an album is,” Josh continues. “We’re really starting to think about it,” agrees Archie. “You only get to do your debut fucking album once, it’s got to be right.”

Despite the nature of a lot of their output so far, the duo are also keen to dial back the prevalence of collaborations in their music going forward. “Features are everywhere,” explains Archie, “and there’s nothing wrong with that, but when me and Josh are building our own identity, that’s when I feel we’re at our strongest.”

It’s a clear sign that Sad Night Dynamite are rising to the top of their game when they’re able to resist calling on their glittering array of fans for star power features.

Not just a pair with an impressive little black book, they’re justifying the excitement from the inside out. 🌐

WHO

A duo from Glastonbury whose genre-resistant sound reflects the boundaryless ethic of the festival.

IN THREE WORDS

No rules here.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Gorillaz and FKA twigs are fans, and there are worse people to have on board...

MOST LIKELY TO

Surprise you with whatever comes next – these are two musicians whose sound never sits still.

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MAKING MOVES

S

omerset-born, London-based duo Sad Night Dynamite may have only ever played a small handful of shows but, with a blockbuster US tour supporting Glass Animals up their sleeves for next Spring, their newbie status won’t be left intact for long. “To go from only playing three gigs and a little bit of busking growing up, to going to America to play in front of I-don’t-know-how-many people, it’s just exciting,” enthuses the band’s Archie Blagden.

alt-J

The Dream Tour 2022 Plus Special Guests

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English Teacher Leeds post-punkers celebrating life’s biggest and smallest moments in equal measure. Words: Will Richards. Photo: Sophie Jouvenaar.

T

he story of English Teacher so far seems tied to the pandemic more than most.

Releasing their first single in February 2020, just weeks before the first lockdown, the Leeds four-piece then spent their quarantine writing music to incite pandemonium in crowds when the world opened back up. At their first ever gig as a band, as part of DIY’s socially-distanced May Big Bank Holiday Weekender in London, the chaos they had in mind was prohibited by law, but bums were already firmly wiggling on seats.

can also be mundane,” Lily says of her lyrical approach, which is already turning her into a magnetic frontwoman. “Our first song was called ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, but it’s also very important to me because it’s about where I come from.”

“The mundane can be made important, and the important can also be mundane.”

- Lily Fontaine

Though singing since her early teens, Lily was always obsessed with bands and the camaraderie that surrounded them, and bided her time before the right people came along at the right time. After waiting so long, did she never consider being a solo artist?

“Please don’t consider it now!” drummer Douglas Frost says incredulously to his bandmate.

“I’m putting that on our Wikipedia page: ‘DIY broke English Teacher up!’”

Fast forward six months from that show and the band are speaking to us while recovering from a sweaty and chaotic gig supporting Sports Team in Leeds, the kind they could only have dreamed of this time last year. Since lockdown ended in July, they’ve hit the road hard, making up for lost time and becoming one of the standout new live acts of 2021. “It’s making us want to write faster and heavier songs,” vocalist Lily Fontaine tells us, “because we want to see the crowd move.”

“The mundane can be made important, and the important

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English Teacher play selected dates on the DIY Class of 2022 tour. See p18 for details. 🌐

MAKING MOVES

English Teacher formed from the ashes of dream-pop band Frank, and fragments of their previous incarnation can still be felt on their hazy earliest material. It was on this year’s single ‘R&B’, though, that the quartet truly stepped out as a brilliant new voice in UK guitar music. “Despite appearances, I haven’t got the voice for R&B / Even though I’ve seen more Colors shows than KEXPs,” Lily spat with an already-signature sing-speak, her thick Yorkshire accent and the track’s wiry postpunk evidencing the influence of bands like Shame and Sorry to a new generation.

However, in truth - and luckily for Douglas - the four-piece have the perfect gang mentality of a band who wouldn’t work on the same level with any one element removed. And, moving into 2022, English Teacher are teasing a left-turn on upcoming new material with “more singing” and “softness”. “It’s not all shouty and guitar-based,” Lily says. “We haven’t shown our full capabilities yet. The most exciting thing about next year is showing the other sides to us.”

WHO

Leeds post-punkers with an eye for a cutting one-liner.

IN THREE WORDS

Challenging yet fun.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Playing their first ever gigs postpandemic and already marking themselves out as one of the best bands on the circuit.

MOST LIKELY TO

Make you want to move to Yorkshire and start a band.

Partisan Records |

| 2021

Femi Kuti & Made Kuti: Legacy +

Aerial East: Try Harder

Hildegard: Hildegard

Fontaines D.C.: Live from Kilmainham Gaol

Fela Kuti: Open & Close (50th Anniversary reissue)

Maple Glider: To Enjoy Is The Only Thing

Box Set #5 co-curated by Chris Martin and Femi Kuti

Body Meat: Year of the Orc

LUMP: Animal

Chubby and the Gang: The Mutt’s Nuts

Geese: Projector

IDLES: CRAWLER 61

world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

Role Model

Going from newbie film student to Mac Miller-tipped bona fide pop star in the making in two years, Tucker Pillsbury is dreaming bigger by the day. Words: Elly Watson. Photos: Phil Knott.

“S

omeone came up to me at a meet and greet and said that they’d describe my music as sad and horny,” Role Model beams over Zoom. “I thought that was really beautiful…”

Now at a point in his career where he’s used to hoards of fans lining up for meet and greets, and with his “sad and horny” bops currently gaining more and more universal acclaim, it’s hard to think that at one point Role Model - aka 24-year-old Tucker Pillsbury - didn’t have a plan to make music at all.

Raised in Maine without - he professes - a single “musical bone” in his body, Tucker originally studied film before a chance meeting with two friends at the end of his freshman year would go on to derail his academic plans entirely. Seeing them record music in their dorm, Tucker decided to try his hand at penning songs; when they left him some recording equipment, he soon fell in love with the process. But his route to success wasn’t all smooth sailing. “[The music] was horrible in the beginning,” he laughs. “I started rapping, and those [songs] are horrible! I’ve made sure they do not exist on the internet anymore. But there was a point where I changed my name to Role Model and I put out my first song under that name called ‘Cocaine Babe’ on SoundCloud, and immediately it did far better than anything I had ever put out. I was like, this is cool, it feels more like me.”

“I want to make pop music with substance.”

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Based around a sample from soul band Penny and the Quarters, ‘Cocaine Babe’ found Role Model taking inspiration from ‘50s and ‘60s poprock - alongside his love of rap - to craft sounds that would eventually become the lo-fi, lovelorn pop he’s now known for. However, following the track with 2017 debut EP ‘Arizona In The Summer’ (recorded in his “disgusting” dorm closet), Tucker found that he’d hit upon the right sound but it still wasn’t getting the traction he had hoped for. He was almost about to call it quits, but then came a phone notification that would change everything...

“Out of nowhere, Mac Miller’s manager had DM’d me and said that he and Mac loved the EP,” he recalls. “I screamed. I was in my little apartment at the time and I remember throwing my phone.

I remember needing to get out all my excitement, so I went out of my apartment and ran up and down the stairs in my building.”

Tucker pinpoints that moment as changing his life, and he still considers what the late rapper would think every time he sits down to write. “Would he fuck with this song? Would he think that this line is corny? I think that’s just his power: he really is just someone you look up to the second you meet them.”

F

ast forward to 2021, and the care and thought that Tucker has continually put into his work has fully manifested itself into undeniable breakthrough success: Role Model, with a little help from Mac, has become one of the hottest new names in the ‘biz. Backed up by two other heartstring-pulling EPs (2019’s ‘oh, how perfect’ and 2020’s ‘our little angel’), as well as last year’s viral hit ‘blind’, Tucker has now got the amount of eyes on him that he always wanted, and is ready to increase his reach with a long-awaited debut album, set for release “early early” 2022.

Not wanting to just pen an album of love songs (“Honestly, that’s just boring”), the album details the journey of his first big relationship, told through past mistakes with people, resulting in an album that’s both about love and “the power of women”. “I want to make pop music with substance,” he emphasises. “I think it’s so easy to make these catchy fucking ‘I love you baby, drive me crazy’ type of songs, but I just can’t do that. And so I think the challenge for me is fitting a really visual story into these pop structures.”

Noting Olivia Rodrigo, FINNEAS, and Billie Eilish as musicians crafting a similar style of pop, Tucker highlights writing how he speaks as something that makes his music so relatable - and he’s certain this album is going to connect with people even more. “I’m not one for trophies or anything, I’ve got no history in sports or anything, but a trophy would be fucking nice,” he jokes. “About a year and a half ago I tweeted ‘I’m not kidding, I want a GRAMMY for this’, and that’s the mindset I’ve had for the past two years working on it!”

MAKING MOVES

From recording in a closet to selling out venues worldwide, Role Model’s ride now looks like it’s only going to continue its ascension. “I was talking to my mom yesterday, and she’s like, ‘What the hell? This [success] came out of nowhere? You were in school for film, like, two seconds ago, what happened?!’” he smiles. “I’m just as confused, but I’m here for it!” 🌐

WHO

SoundCloud star who’s a rapper one second, a crooner the next.

IN THREE WORDS

Sounds like sunshine.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Gaining a fan in his idol, the late Mac Miller.

MOST LIKELY TO

Hide a devastating one-liner about anxiety in songs as bright and sunny as they come.

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world in motion DIY

CLASS OF 2022

Lauran Hibberd Channelling Weezer-esque riffs and a large dose of self-aware humour, Lauran Hibberd is hopping on the party boat from hometown Isle of Wight into the big wide world. Words: Elly Watson. Photos: Ed Miles.

M

ost rising stars have dreams of topping the charts or having their face plastered on billboards across Times Square, but for the Isle of Wight’s Lauran Hibberd, the moment when she’ll know she’s made it is slightly closer to home.

“My dream is that a dad would have to bring his daughter to a gig of mine, and she’d stand at the front and dance and scream and have fun, and her dad would be at the back like, ‘This is pretty cool’,” she smiles. “And then on the drive home, he’d be like, ‘This reminds me of bands back in my day’, and she’d be like, ‘Can you shut up?!’ That’s kind of what I would like to achieve.”

Already well on her way to winning over the whole family, Lauran’s infectious slacker-pop sounds have firmly infiltrated their ways into the hearts of the daddaughter demographic and beyond. However it took the 24-year-old a while to land upon her niche of witty one-liners and pop-grunge riffs.

“I go to sleep thinking, I can’t work a 9 to 5, I might have a look at sugar daddies.

And that’s what I write about!”

With a sound Lauran describes as part “Weezeresque slacker rock” and part “big ‘90s West Coast vibes”, she’s even been working with producer Suzy Shinn, who’s previously been in the studio with Rivers Cuomo and co (“I’m always like, ‘Tell me things about [Rivers]! What does he eat?!’ And she’s like, ‘Just chill...’”). Heading into her first full-length musical statement, she’s ready to start soundtracking the lives of others herself.

But, as the saying goes, it was better late than never, and discovering bands like Green Day allowed the doors of possibility to swing wide open for Lauran.

Add to that a chance stumble upon a guy performing at Bestival while cracking jokes between songs, and the singer finally knew what kind of artist she wanted to be. “That was the moment when I was like, there’s so much more to being a musician and an artist than just writing good songs,” she nods. “It’s about the person. [So I thought] maybe I should be more myself and say all the weird things that come into my head.”

“Coldplay write songs about the environment and it’s like, cool Chris Martin, you go Chris Martin!” she jokes, “but not everyone can do that, and not everyone goes to bed at night and the environment is

“The way I felt when I took Avril Lavigne’s record home, I want girls to feel like that [with the album],” Lauran smiles. “I want it to be like listening to ‘My Happy Ending’ in my room and getting my hair cut like her. I want to be someone’s Avril Lavigne!” 🌐

MAKING MOVES

C

Now gearing up to share her eagerly-awaited debut album next year, Lauran is adamant that it’s her best piece of work so far, and although its current manifestation is “chaotic, in a good way”, she’s certain that the late nights working will pay off. “You have to be unhealthily obsessed with something for it to work,” she emphasises. “Do you think David Bowie was a normal guy? Do you think he was like, ‘I’m gonna put the guitar down at 5pm and pick it up at 9am’? No! So I’ve been unhealthily obsessed with it for a while, and I’m enjoying this obsession. And [the album] just stinks of me, and I love that.”

Documenting her journey through music “in a really comical way”, her debut is set to find Lauran revisiting a series of first times, recalling previous moments with a slightly cynical edge as she looks back on her formative years. “You know when you have a balloon and there’s that weight [hanging off it]?” she asks.

“There’s fun on top of it, but I’m the weight holding it down.”

Heading to music college when she was a teen - “It was kind of like School of Rock!” - Lauran’s musical journey actually began with thoughts of being a folk star, before a producer in a studio session introduced her to Weezer and her all-important lightbulb moment occurred. “I was very much 15 years too late,” she laughs. “I was literally going around like, ‘Have you heard of Weezer?!’ And everyone’s like, ‘Yes!’ I was so late to the party...”

ut to the present, and Lauran’s personality is packed into every inch of her music, with her current discography (including recent 2021 EP ‘Goober’) reading like a humoursoaked journal entry - a ‘Sweat Patch’ here, a ‘Bleugh’ there.

their biggest problem, though maybe it should be…

But I go to bed at night and I’m like, I sent a nude last night and I really shouldn’t have done that. I go to sleep thinking, I can’t work a 9 to 5, I might have a look at sugar daddies. And that’s what I write about! I write about what I actually think about going to bed.”

WHO

Isle of Wight songwriter with an unstoppable love for the distortion pedal.

IN THREE WORDS

Such. Huge. Choruses.

ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR

Along with Wet Leg, she’s made the Isle of Wight a surprising hub for brilliant new guitar music. Get on the ferry...

MOST LIKELY TO

Soundtrack the next great teen movie.

Set to play DIY’s Class of 2022 show at House of Vans on 9th December, what can we expect from Lauran’s performance?

“Lots of outrageously puffy dresses. Lots of big guitars. Lots of questionable solos. It’s gonna be good. Basically, if you like Weezer, if you like having a good time, if you like not standing still and a good chorus, then you’re in for a treat.”

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‘Did Adele just do that?’ you might ask on first listen. Yeah, she did. But she didn’t have to. 

ADELE 30

(Melted Stone / Columbia)

The overriding feeling after listening to - or, for those perhaps more emotionally-attuned, really living through - ‘30’ is that, really, Adele didn’t need to do all that. And it isn’t entirely surprising to learn that she almost didn’t do it at all, for the global superstar’s fourth album puts just about everything out there, in as raw and uncompromising a way possible.

‘30’, we’ve long been told, is Adele’s ‘divorce album’, so the fact that ‘Cry Your Heart Out’ has her extolling the idea of crying as catharsis between lyrics such as “I created this storm / It’s only fair I have to sit in its rain,” and “I can’t get no relief / I’m so tired of myself / I swear I’m dead in the eyes,” is unlikely to raise an eyebrow. But nothing can quite prepare for the gut-wrenching climax of ‘My Little Love’. A song that begins by questioning the effects of her decision-making on son Angelo, it’s peppered with voice notes between the pair (“I love you one million percent”; “I love your dad ‘cause he gave you to me”) and ends with another, on which she’s audibly ugly-crying about being lonely.

Mind you, her disclosures aren’t all entirely bleak. ‘All Night Parking’, with its “Maybe it’s the way you remind me of where I come from”, and “We come from the same place but you will never give it up” on following track ‘Woman Like Me’ appear to serve the kind of rumour-confirming tea regarding her reported romantic dalliances that Carly Simon could never.

The real masterstroke of ‘30’, however, comes with how these lyrics - the pain, the self-flagellation (sometimes

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cruel, often mocking), the hope, the acceptance are expertly matched musically. Working its way through Adele’s 31st year via divorce, sadness, a new relationship, breakdown (and the list goes on), these songs are suitably sandwiched between two gorgeously cinematic numbers that serve to present the record as if it’s a slice of melodramatic Old Hollywood, or a West End show. Composer Ludwig Göransson chips in on string-led opener ‘Strangers

By Nature’, a structureless track that ends with a cheeky spoken-word “Alright then, I’m ready”, while ‘Love Is A Game’, one of three tracks worked on with Inflo, returns to the same vibe at its outset, adding just a beat before it transcends into an equally glorious ‘70s Motown-esque stomp.

There’s the emotional apex of ‘My Little Love’, during which its strings almost overwhelm Adele’s vocal (itself going full-pelt) as if she’s drowning.

‘Hold On’ has a dual vocal call-and-response on which she’s acting as her own support network, before a choir (officially known as ‘Adele’s crazy friends’) comes in with a beat for a euphoric climax.

On ‘To Be Loved’, Tobias Jesso Jr’s minimal piano arrangement reflects her light-of-day realisations (“I’ll never learn if I never leap / I’ll always yearn if I never speak”, “Looking back I don’t regret a thing”), while arguably the record’s biggest note is saved for the simple line, “I tried”.

And, as if to hammer the point that being ‘easy listening’ doesn’t always mean having to play it safe, there’s a (relative) risk in the record’s centre. ‘Can I Get It’, produced by Max Martin and Shellback, is easily Adele’s most conventionally ‘pop’ moment to date. Its strummed acoustic guitar, stomp-heavy beat and occasional whistle might be a Marmite situation for anyone wholly dedicated to the singer’s soaring balladry, but it also exudes more of her off-stage character than anything she’s released to date.

‘Did Adele just do that?’ you might ask on first listen. Yeah, she did. But she didn’t have to. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘My Little Love’, ‘Can I Get It’, ‘Love Is A Game’

Brilliantly constructed to unfurl like some sordid soap opera of Brexit Britain. 

YARD ACT

The Overload (Zen FC / Island)

Leeds bunch Yard Act felt like one to watch the second they burst through in 2020 with ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’, four minutes of sandpaper post-punk, lyrical crosshairs trained on figure-fiddling uber-rich types. Their subsequent ‘Dark Days’ EP fuelled the flame, all chunky beats and wiry guitars with the pithy words from James Smith’s sharp tongue the icing on the cake.

‘The Overload’ lives up to its hype with flying colours.

Brilliantly constructed to unfurl like some sordid soap opera of Brexit Britain, it brims with vignettes populated by instantly-recognisable caricatures of the now. There’s “the landlord, Fat Andy” on the title track, a misdemeaning man in a suit narrates ‘The Incident’, while our old friend Graham, the new money slab of gammon from ‘Fixer Upper’, cameos too.

Yard Act wear their affiliations on their sleeves, as James satirises the day’s big-ticket topics consumerism, gentrification, cancel culture, class identity - with a perfect balance of wit and genuine insight. His lyrics are dense, revealing more word play with repeat listens, his slick delivery and heavy accent an amalgamation of John Cooper Clarke, Stewart Lee, and Mark E Smith: part comedian, part activist.

There’s a unique flair to the way he embodies the characters too. On ‘Land of the Blind’ you hear the saliva wet round his mouth as he points fun at English

imperialism: “We cram clammy hands into empty pockets... So we can all fuck about half naked on the beaches of some far off foreign land”.

The instrumentals serve as a perfect vehicle for the messages at hand; the rest of the band (Ryan Needham on bass, Sam Shjipstone on guitar and drummer Jay Russell) are just as watertight. ‘Dead Horse’’s hook is so addictive it’s surely laced with something illegal, ‘Witness’ fizzes like a pill in water, its lo-fi crackle bringing The Fall’s ‘Totally Wired’ to mind, while ‘Payday’’s combo of warbling riffs and bongos sounds like Blur’s ‘There’s No Other Way’ if it got blitzed in an industrial dishwasher.

For all the brashness here, though, there’s a tenderness unseen before from the outfit. ‘Tall Poppies’ condenses the life of one average Joe - birth until death - into six lilting minutes that don’t cast any judgement, merely observing, perhaps, that an ordinary existence is all any of us are really given, and that’s okay. The question posited by ‘The Overload’, as Smith rattles off his smarmy one liners, is, if the world is so awful, what are we going to do about it? On ‘100% Endurance’, the band show their hand. “It’s all so pointless / And when you’re gone / It makes me stronger knowing / That this will all just carry on,” James sings, in a moment of real touching poignance.

So it seems, Yard Act’s truth is that, sure, sociopolitics, sea levels rising, CEOs misbehaving, and all the rest is important, but at the end of the day, you only get one life, better crack on and start living it. (Alex Cabré) LISTEN: ‘The Overload’

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ALBUMS 

ARCA

KICK ii, KicK iii, kick iiii, kICK iiiii (XL)

Let it never be said that Arca is somebody for doing things by halves. After initially introducing us to her ‘Kick...’ series of records in relatively straightforward fashion - the kaleidoscopic first instalment played like a panoramic portrait of her many musical whims and influences, while the second was a heartfelt paean to the Venezuelan reggaeton that shaped her sonic outlook - she’s now delivered us a veritable avalanche of songs, with the third, fourth and fifth chapters of the project all arriving at the same time. Taken together, the albums are overwhelming in their stylistic diversity; one minute, she’s serving up clattering electro on the likes of iii’s ‘Skullqueen’ or ‘Ripples’, and the next, we’re hearing her break classic ideas of what ambience should mean to fit her own mould on the Oliver Coates-featuring ‘Esuna’; it’s the second track on the brooding ‘kick iiii’, elsewhere on which we get an industrial maelstrom of a collaboration with Garbage’s Shirley Manson, ‘Alien Inside’. Anybody hoping that the surprisereleased ‘kICK iiiii’ might neatly bring everything together, meanwhile, will be disappointed; it’s an obtuse, moody exercise in dark electronica. Even had she not unleashed so much music upon us at once, you still get the feeling that ‘Kick...’ would overwhelm us anyway; it’s a complex calling card from a singular artist. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Alien Inside’

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SPECTOR

Now Or Whenever (Moth Noise) Packing droll synth-affected indie swagger, Spector imbibe third album ‘Now Or Whenever’ with a similar, if less obvious, sense of reinvention to that seen on both 2015’s ‘Moth Boys’ and follow-up compilation ‘Non Fiction’ in reconciling no-frills, gig-ready energy with minimalist mechanics. Fred Macpherson’s drawl struts with the raconteur edge that has anchored the outfit for the last decade, a limberness lent to the sardonic smarts of ‘An American Warehouse in London’, barbed playfulness that sees the band in their deadpan element. Spector are at their best quipping on such everyday mundanity with a razor-sharp referential eye, backdropped by infectious riffs and a tremoring electronic pulse, not lacking here – familiar resigned yet melodic tones filtering through ‘Norwegian Air’ and the Prefab Sprout-esque sophisti-pop of ‘I’m Not Crying You’re Crying’. Committed to tape with the help of Rich Turvey, on ‘Now Or Whenever’ Spector strike between the two eras of their sound, tempering all out alternative bravado with yearningly bittersweet baritone-crooning ballads. (Chris Hamilton-Peach) LISTEN: ‘D-Roy’

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BONOBO

Fragments (Ninja Tune) When you played such a huge part in the early ’00s downtempo boom, it might be tempting to simply dine out on that sure thing rather than continue to innovate.

Bonobo's seventh studio album, ‘Fragments’, seems to crave that easier path. It's certainly more interesting than the by-numbers ‘Migration’ but it still feels like Simon Green is stuck in a locked groove. Signature soundscapes become the primary focus, rather than self-referential motifs. Opener ‘Polyghost’, for instance, feels like it could’ve been an offcut from any of his 2010s albums with its lilting harps and creeping ambient atmosphere. As with every Bonobo record, though, it still makes for a pleasant experience. Forgettable, sure, but Simon’s skills as a producer are never in question.

‘Fragments’ is full of beautiful background textures to soundtrack other things: dinner parties, club night closing time, sunrise DJ sets. His choice of vocalists is as strong as ever too. Jordan Rakei’s ghostly croon is a perfect fit for the ethereal fourto-the-floor beat of ‘Shadows’. Kadjha Bonet’s appearance on closer ‘Day by Day’, meanwhile, feels like a warm breeze. But when you want something with more heft, it’s a record that’s lacking. When that heft does roll around, it feels like a welcome slap to the face. ‘Otomo’ is a case of collaboration breeding great ideas. A relentless, dizzying slice of IDM, with harsh metallic clanking paired with stunning choral samples, this partnership with O’Flynn is as far away from a dinner party as you can get. With ‘Fragments’, Bonobo is as listenable as ever. But this locked groove is one he seems too comfortable in. Once you hear where he can go, there’s a frustrating desire to see him latch on to that fragment of himself rather than the familiar. (Chris Taylor) LISTEN: ‘Otomo’

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Frontman Fred Macpherson ruminates on what‘s kept Spector going a decade on, and collaborating while creating ‘Now Or Whenever’.

Hop Up

What did Spector spend the it-seems-nowmandatory album vinyl delay time doing?

Coming up with increasingly arbitrary album formats to sell instead and writing more songs so we’re ready for whatever delays 2022 throws up. Now we’re officially back in business it would be good to stay in business.

ORLANDO WEEKS (Play It Again Sam)

It might be that Orlando Weeks needed to be shorn of his guitars before we could really find out what he was capable of as a songwriter. Still in its infancy, his solo career to date has been a beguiling one. He already put a fair bit of clear blue water between himself and his past life in The Maccabees last summer, when he released ‘A Quickening’, a soft, minimalist collection in the mould of Mark Hollis’ self-titled solo album, or the quieter side of How To Dress Well, all undulating synths and flickers of piano beneath Orlando’s inimitable gentle croon as he reflected on the realities of impending parenthood. On this quick-fire follow-up, the tempo is kicked up a notch, in keeping with the subject matter; if he was nervous about becoming a father on ‘A Quickening', he’s celebratory about it on ‘Hop Up’, an album defined by its warm textures, and melodically indebted to eighties synthpop. The sunnier side of Tears for Fears hangs over ‘Look Who’s Talking Now’, while his domestic contentment radiates out of the glacial ‘High-Kicking’ and the chirpy ‘Hey You Hop Up’. Occasionally, the strict adherence to a minimalist palette threatens to become much of a muchness, but there’s enough tweaks to the formula - honeyed backing vocals from Katy J Pearson on ‘Big Skies, Silly Faces’, for instance - to keep things interesting. This is an irresistibly likeable album, very much in the mould of its creator’s affable, mellow personality. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Look Who’s Talking Now’

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Q&A How did what you've described as the “collaborative” nature of the album come about? How fluid did it get at points? Did the combination of working both remotely and together irl bring up any surprises?

We decided to try and write a song with as many artists we’re friends with as possible. A few tracks from these collaborative efforts made the album and we’ll be releasing more as singles in 2022. In terms of how that came about, we just wanted to vary our usual approach, and also make the most of the first time we could actually see people in 2020. Hopefully it’s had a positive effect on the record.

You’ve said you think it's taken a decade to work out what's best about Spector, so what *is* best about Spector?

Well we’re still here (just), so maybe not breaking up is one of of our best qualities.

I also think the fact that we care a lot about what we do but don’t take it too seriously helps. And that none of our friends think we’re cool, so there’s no one we have to try and impress on a day to day basis. We’re artists who want to be entertainers really, which is probably more fun than the other way round.

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ALBUMS 

EELS

Extreme Witchcraft (PIAS / E Works)

RECO MMEN DED Missed the boat on some the best albums from the last couple of months? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

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SNAIL MAIL Valentine

Lindsey Jordan’s second full-length is equal parts hopeful and bittersweet.

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BOSTON MANOR Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures The Blackpool rockers’ surprise EP maintains a feeling of gripping introspection, and a need to exorcise it.

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PARIS TEXAS

Red Hand Akimbo The duo’s wonderfully cinematic second collection brims with personality.

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AMBER MARK

Three Dimensions Deep (PMR / EMI) A lush unfurling of sonic prowess that’s been years in the works, on ‘Three Dimensions Deep’ Amber Mark luxuriates in her music for an hour, over seventeen tracks that shimmer into one consistent flow of sound. There’s a real sense of feeling and complexity behind the record, which uses every facet of Amber’s expertise across songwriting, production and instrumentation to build each track. Her vocals tend to be the focal point, soulful and sanguine, whilst the instrumental backdrop does tend to be just that, a backdrop - but that’s not to say she doesn’t merge everything together beautifully. As sharply subtle and rich as the instrumentals are, their limitations are in their cohesion: Amber has created a soundtrack, as slick as velvet from start to finish, but without allowing for anything to stand out. It’s a record you have to give the space it deserves, rather than dip in and out of.

That said, there are still some tracks that are especially sumptuous (‘Healing Hurts’, ‘Out Of This World’), that call attention to the fact that this is her musical cosmos, aware of its own self-indulgences, and no worse for it. (Ims Taylor) LISTEN: ‘Healing Hurts’

Seventeen tracks that shimmer into one consistent flow of sound.

Nearly thirty years since his first release, Mark Oliver Everett remains a man of many faces. In the past decade alone, the everburgeoning Eels catalogue has veered from boisterous indie rock to deeply thoughtful, piano-based self-excoriation - in fact, they pulled off that switch in the space of twelve months, following up 2013’s noisy ‘Wonderful, Glorious’ with the introspective ‘The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett’ a year later. Since, there’s been time for a lengthy hiatus, then two more albums, ‘The Deconstruction’ and ‘Earth to Dora’, that split the difference between the two sides of E’s songwriting coin. You always suspected, though, that a return to honest-to-god rock and roll was on the cards, not least because the last couple of Eels tours have been such freewheeling, good-time affairs. The return of John Parish to production duties for this latest album only furthered that suspicion, and sure enough, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’ may be as freewheeling as Eels have sounded since they last worked with Parish, on ‘Souljacker’ a full two decades ago. The record casts E as the kind of louche rock frontman he’s increasingly presented himself as on stage in recent years, from the strutting riffery of opener ‘Amateur Hour’ and ‘Steam Engine’ to the Beck-indebted groove of ‘Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve’. There’s still room for reflective E, too - not least on the breezy ‘Learning While I Lose’ - but in the main, this is a record scored through, unmistakably, with a desire to have some fun. (Joe Goggins) LISTEN: ‘Grandfather Clock Strikes Twelve’

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AURORA

The Gods We Can Touch (Decca) Having built upon the baroque synth-pop of her debut with a follow-up two-part second LP, Aurora’s celestial spark has remained her calling card, one that shows no sign of dimming with ‘The Gods We Can Touch’. Where the multi-layered, near operatic scale of her second played with an increasingly diverse sound, her latest cut toys with a cross-section of styles, seeing Latin rhythm (‘The Innocent’) nudge shoulders with the scream-splattered Ennio Morricone-esque ‘Blood In The Wine’ and slumbering ‘50s lullaby ‘A Little Place Called The Moon’.

Aurora is at her most sonically fluid to date, jumping between states with a frivolity that is the album’s main draw, each track a detour into its own independent realm populated by various esoteric characters of Greek myth - an escape from reality that finds form via hypnagogic highlights ‘Cure For Me’, ‘Exhale Inhale’ and the Cranberries-veering ‘Giving In To The Love’. Tightly paced electronic seams blur with floating chamber pop and global influences, warding off any sense of inertia on an album that has one foot in the worldly and another in the firmament. (Chris HamiltonPeach) LISTEN: ‘Cure For Me’

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MILES KANE

Change The Show (BMG)

Miles Kane had his fourth solo album practically in the can before an impromptu jam with London psych outfit Sunglasses For Jaws compelled him to recruit the pair to re-record the whole thing. Injecting their looser, more shambling energies for Album-Four-Take-Two, the eventual product, ‘Change the Show’, fizzes with an upbeat energy, drenched head-to-toe in Miles’ staple obsessions. Learning a thing or two from his time in soul-covers supergroup The Jaded Hearts Club (for what it’s worth, an act best experienced on paper), his latest feels a crash course in the rudiments of wham-bam northern soul and Wall of Soundindebted pop, with knowledge of the Bolan-esque ballad or Beatles-y romp thrown in for good measure (as Miles’ guitar tone resurrects George Harrison’s ghost in leading cut ‘See Ya When I See Ya’, one half expects John Lennon to croon “isolation” at any moment). Lyrically, the record betrays the singer’s new guise as a seasoned rock veteran, ponderously reflecting on his life to date - “I sue myself for damages for the mistakes I made” he broods on ‘Coming of Age’ - while retaining, now and then, that familiar, youthful bluster - “whisk me off to Sicily, we’ll pretend we know the history” he beams joyously on ‘Tell Me What You’re Feeling’. All in all, the blanketing lime-lit production, the in-your-face '60s nostalgia, the five-sugars-in-the-tea gooiness of it all may be too cloying for some, but Miles Kane has been so upfront about these musical influences, and for so long, that one can only admire him for so faithfully embodying them. (Elvis Thirlwell) LISTEN: ‘See Ya When I See Ya’

HOUSE OF VANS LONDON BACK IRL. KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND PROGRAMMING AT HOUSEOF.VANS.EU 71

ALBUMS

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NO ROME

It’s All Smiles (Dirty Hit) No Rome’s debut has been a long time coming; some of its tracks’ origins can be traced as far back as 2016. And having spent a lot of the time since working alongside a vibrant who’s who of collaborators, ‘It’s All Smiles’ arrives as a clear amalgamation of lessons learned in and out of the studio. The record naturally leans heavily on pop, but is also littered with complex textures, electronic flourishes and a few heavier touches - not least as ‘Everything’ builds to a ferocious guitar crescendo, or on the scuzzy punk of ‘Secret Beach’. Elsewhere, industrial sounds cut through the otherwise sombre mood. The likes of ‘How Are You Feeling?’ offer the full scale of sounds in one, moving from the pop-punk reminiscent opening to its ethereal chorus and electronic breaks. The production alone moves ‘It’s All Smiles’ far beyond any lazy comparisons. It provides the space for Rome’s explorations of love, pain and loss, a bittersweet juxtaposition up against the record’s dance focus. “I miss you so, but I can’t see you,” he repeats on ‘When She Comes Around’, before a desperately pained plea for closure on ‘Secret Beach’. It cements Rome’s desire to mess with pop convention, and much like his Dirty Hit stablemates serves to further expand any preconceived boundaries of the genre. With every listen there’s something else to hear, something new to discover, and something different to feel. (Ben Tipple) LISTEN: ‘Secret Beach’

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EERA

Speak (Just Dust) ‘Speak’, the second album from Berlin-based Norwegian, Anna Lena Bruland, is an exploratory narrative of self-acceptance, a perpetual process of renewal experienced by Anna herself and subsequently projected onto the listener. The title track is delicately delivered by descending synth punches and a thumping underbelly of industrial saw loops, while elements of psych-pop bleed in during the chorus of gossamer ‘Ladder’ and the surreal, atonal textures of ‘My Muse’. Each song is layered with Anna’s signature vocals, longing fuzzbox guitar sentences and weighty mantras that bear far more lyrical weight than her spaced delivery lets on. It results in a truly compelling and acute story of individual maturity through self-discovery. While 'Reflection Of Youth' delved into intimate soul searching and destructive introspection, ‘Speak’ casts a macroscopic lens on the human experience, delicately documenting Anna’s rising confidence and newfound acceptance in her sense of self. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Ladder’

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MICHELLE

After Dinner We Talk Dreams (Transgressive) Known for their spacious harmonies and candid lyrical approach to life, MICHELLE swiftly became a powerhouse of NY pop after single ‘SUNRISE’ flecked every curated playlist with the word ‘summer’ in. While carefree lockdown album ‘HEATWAVE’ was a glossy summer record, ‘AFTER DINNER, WE TALK ABOUT DREAMS’ dives deeper into the individuals that collectively make up MICHELLE, unearthing a smorgasbord of vocal talent, pinned into place by the smooth swing of a nu-funk beat, and a newfound breadth in their songwriting. Desire is a primary subject of the record, with ‘SYNCOPATE’ concerning the sensual movements involved in intimacy, and ‘END OF THE WORLD’ lusting after a theoretical apocalypse hook-up. Leaning on the romanticisation of NYC as much as that of their interpersonal relationships, this second offering is a shimmering exhibit of vocal dexterity, however some tracks occasionally feel devoid of the usual MICHELLE flourishes, with '50-50' sounding like an Ed Sheeran B-side and 'Layla In The Rocket' leaning on simple songwriting to offer palatable pop, but nothing greater. Toeing the fading line between R&B and inner-city soul, ‘AFTER DINNER, WE TALK ABOUT DREAMS’ is flecked with a hints of pop greatness. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘END OF THE WORLD’

Absolute (behind the) scenes!

In the studio with the NYC-based collective as they recorded ‘After Dinner We Talk Dreams’.

Julian comps to make sure the singers sound as good as they deserve to sound. Who knows if this take ever made it on the song...

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TWIN ATLANTIC Transparency

(Staple Diet / Believe)

‘Transparency’ is not an album Twin Atlantic expected to make.

Isolating at home as a new parent, vocalist Sam McTrusty started to write. Producer Jacknife Lee stepped in remotely and an album capturing the turbulent chaos of the last years began to take shape. Unlike anything the band have released before, it unfolds as a series of personal rants, observations, and musings mirroring the experience of many. Enveloped in Twin Atlantic’s most playful sound to date, the record touches on everything from anger, despondency, self-deprecation, loneliness, social media, and Brexit. Its mantra appears up front on opener ‘Keep Your Head Up’, a celebration of community, cemented by Sam’s ode to the power of self-belief on the raucously bonkers ‘One Man Party’. The candid lyrics sit against a paradoxically carefree sound, one that is destined to surprise long-time fans. It all feels like something of a middle finger to expectation and convention, a learning shared by many over the past two years. The record spans from spoken word to ‘70s funk and ‘80s glam rock, dabbling in balladry and power pop. It may not be the most polished or serious piece of art to emerge from the pandemic, but it’s impossible to deny the sheer amount of personality and unashamed frivolity bubbling out of ‘Transparency’. (Ben Tipple) LISTEN: ‘One Man Party’

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Recording vocals at Figure 8! Julian’s engineering, Jamee’s goofin around, and Sofia is working her magic in the booth.

Sofia belts ‘She Wolf’ over the ‘Syncopate’ instrumental. You oughta try it too.

Emma admires the cables on the floor of the studio: small mazes of sound and wonder.

DIY & OVAL SPACE PRESENTS...

DIY

22- 24th April 2022 APPEARING ACROSS THE WEEKEND…

SATURDAY HEADLINE

in conversation

in conversation

BABY DAVE CARO d CHILLI JESSON CHRISSI DELILAH HOLLIDAY FRÄULEIN GROVE JESSICA WINTER MALADY MISO EXTRA REGRESSIVE LEFT SPOORT SPRINTS SWIM SCHOOL Many more artists to be announced.

Plus workshops, Q&As, demonstrations and more.

Multiple Venues, East London Tickets on sale 15th December

DIYALIVE.COM

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Coming Up

ALBUMS

SHAMIR HETEROSEXUALITY Having already shared lead single ‘Cisgender’, Shamir says the record is “me finally acknowledging my trauma.” Out 11th February.

BIG THIEF - DRAGON NEW WARM MOUNTAIN I BELIEVE IN YOU Yes, we’re still trying to figure out that title, too.

The mammoth 20-track record is released on 11th February.

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While Your Heart’s Still Beating (Night Heron)

Things Are Great (BMG)

Are We Gonna Be Alright?

KYLA LA GRANGE

BAND OF HORSES

FICKLE FRIENDS (Cooking Vinyl)

Being flung into fame in your early 20s is never sold as plain sailing, but on ‘While Your Heart’s Still Beating’ Kyla La Grange gracefully reflects on her spiralling youth, taking cues from electro-pop superstar Robyn in rhythm and dynamism. The record toys with the universal notion of making the most of life, ‘Neverland’ positing that familiar post-night out restlessness: “But I'm still staring in the mirror at 3am / Sad to wash the glitter off,” and ‘Set You Free’ remarking on fleeting late night engagements. Where earlier work exercised her frustration towards nascent lovers, late nights and misplaced naivety, here she directs the narrative to express a memorial to those exact moments. A natural and elegant evolution of character, delivered in a bundle of bounding synth-pop choruses, withheld electro soundscapes and deft introspection.

(Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Neverland’

Band of Horses’ first record in six years teeters between the anthemic and milder scores that powered their initial appeal. Ben Bridwell’s gossamer vocals lead a revival of reverbed guitar sequences and revitalised songwriting, primed by confessional opener ‘Warning Signs’ in a cycle of optimism and reflection. The South Carolina-based five-piece’s deserthued harmonies take centre stage once more, country-veering melodies upscaled with a renewed emphasis on staple rousing build-ups and slow-burning yarns. ‘Ice Night We’re Having’ zones in on the album’s partautobiographical nature, a reversion to crisp chords and pining sentiment that elsewhere carries the easy-breezy soft rock of ‘In Need of Repair’. An extended gap since their last full-length outing has resulted in their sharpest raft of material since ‘Cease to Begin’.

(Chris Hamilton-Peach) LISTEN: ‘Ice Night We’re Having’

There’s a peppy familiarity to Fickle Friends on ‘Are We Gonna Be Alright?’.

The Brighton band’s second full-length proper is largely a route through conventional, shiny, to-the-point pop.

So when it hits the mark, theirs is as radio-friendly a sound as it comes: ‘Pretty Great’ has the kind of wellworn chord changes that are at once familiar and nostalgic, ‘IRL’ possesses an earwormy chorus, and Natti Shiner’s breathy, matter-of-fact vocal often brings to mind Sky Ferreira’s through the record’s twelve tracks.

Unfortunately, it also often misses the mark. It’s a well-worn trope that it takes some doing for spoken-word breaks to work mid-song, and theirs, in the otherwise fine ‘Glow’ really doesn‘t, and it isn’t until penultimate number ‘I Won’t Hurt Myself’ that it feels as if anything here has its own distinct identity. (Louisa Dixon) LISTEN: ‘I Won’t Hurt Myself’

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Shoals

Thyla (Easy Life)

Archive Material (Full Time Hobby)

PALACE

THYLA

SILVERBACKS

(Fiction)

MITSKI - LAUREL HELL Three years on from ‘Be The Cowboy’, Mitski’s sixth will hit shelves on 4th February.

MATTIEL - GEORGIA GOTHIC Mattiel Brown and bandmate Jonah Swilley headed to a woodland cabin in northern Georgia for this. Obviously. Out 18th March.

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Brought to life by the UK's scattered lockdowns, ‘Shoals’ embraces a far more existentially reflective side of Palace. The glassier tracks float freely through; ‘Gravity’ ironically spirals out into the atmosphere with pining guitar rings dancing under vocalist Leo Wyndham’s languishing passages, while album coda ‘Where Sky Becomes Sea’ brings us down neatly to solid ground. Cadence is established on ‘Fade’ and is not matched again in the project, but deftly exhibits the capability of Palace to mobilise their intensity into different shades. ‘Shoals’ suffuses a sense of somnambulism, where Leo’s longing cries fill expanses of sonically rich moments, splashed with reverb-heavy chord progressions and speculative melodies. A more pure and intense sound, less manufactured and acutely heartfelt. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Gravity’

At times, the eponymous debut from THYLA sounds like a crisp echo from the past, so effective are the Brighton trio at reproducing the kaleidoscopic aesthetics of ‘80s new wave. ‘Amber Waits’ is a dazzling start, Millie Duthie’s icy vocal skirting over a bubbling pot of guitar rock, ‘Gum’ slaps potent fuzz round an irresistible bass groove, and ‘Flush’ grows from a gentle ebb and flow to a crashing tsunami of anxious noise in a beast of a chorus. Patches of the record feel undercooked, though.

‘3’ is another cut whose chorus (Thyla’s speciality) is sublime, while the rest is fairly lacklustre. For how ambitious the vision here is, the final mix feels ropey too. After a little too long spent in New Band Limbo (the band are stragglers from the boom that gave us The Magic Gang, Black Honey, et al) ‘THYLA’ isn’t the blockbuster it might have been, but it sure has its highlights. (Alex Cabré) LISTEN: ‘Amber Waits’

Following up your debut in little over a year would suggest you’ve got a lot to say - and an urgent need to do so immediately. Yet Silverbacks’ ‘Archive Material’ doesn’t go far enough in any which way to seem anywhere as crucial: where debut ‘Fad’ showcased the Dublin outfit’s shape-shifting nature as ‘something for everyone’, second time around it’s more ‘nothing in particular’. The likes of ‘Wear My Medals’ and ‘Recycle Culture’ echo the late post-punk tidal wave, but with that quickly fade into familiarity. ‘Nothing To Write Home About’ and closer ‘I’m Wild’ meanwhile, err towards jangly indie-pop, forming the stronger tracks on show, but somehow still sit uncomfortably, the change in pace jarring not because of the differences between them - but because it’s not quite enough of one. A puzzling, and largely forgettable collection. (Bella Martin) LISTEN: ‘I’m Wild’

OUR TOP LABEL RELEASES OF 2021

NxxxxxS HEATWAVE

The Parisian vapourwave master returns after his recent Freddie Dredd collaboration.

Anushhka Chkheidze Theatre Extracts

Sumptuous neo-ambient from up-and-coming Georgian producer.

Steve Jansen Corridor A masterclass in poise and reflection from the ex-Japan drummer.

nijuu nijuu in the forest

Charming S Korean bedroom dreampop and follow up to much-loved ‘in the sea’.

VÄLVĒ Geography

Debut album from Chloe Herrington’s post Chromehoof band. Limited lathe edition.

Wandering Rocks Stall A seamless blend of ambient, drone, dub, metal, psychedelia, art-rock and post-punk.

JK Flesh vs Gnod EP Two industrial psych heavyweights reimagine each others work. Limited lathe edition.

Fyfe Dangerfield The Birdwatcher EP

A brave and beautiful sonic adventure from The Guillemots frontman.

Trim Roadworks, Pt.1 Cutting edge grime from the enigmatic masetro..

The state51 Conspiracy is an independent label and distributor with a rich history. We work with emerging and established artists, record labels and distributors to release and market music. We film live performance sessions at the state51 Factory and make products in the state51 Atelier, our award-winning product design studio. We also have a shop and zine called GREED.

LABEL • FACTORY • ATELIER • DISTRIBUTION • SINCE 1991 state51.com 75

EPS, ETC.

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EXIT KID

Basis (self-released) 

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Great Taste

Playground Antics

MISO EXTRA

(Beatnik Creative)

WILLOW KAYNE (Columbia)

Dubbed “umami for for the ears”, ‘Great Taste’ fuses sensuous sexuality with salivating food-lust across a sizzling array of gelatinous bedroom-hip-hop.

Glitchy and urbane like a metropolitan streetside studded with neon lights, the electronic beats underlying the collection are just as bright and ebullient as her rhymes. For every delicious sample (the fruity ‘1013’ bobs and swings to an oh-so-tasteful accordion line), there’s a colourful lyric to match: “Can’t believe it’s not butter / This love’s spread like no other”, from zingy opener ‘Adventures of Tricky and Duke’, ranks among the most memorable. Indeed, it’s in the vocals where the EP shines: Miso concocts a tasty brew that intersperses verses of sticky, sultry rap with sugary anime-inspired melodies. This all-toobrief introduction to the gastronomic wonderland of Miso Extra (no track exceeds the three minute mark), however, offers only an appetising hors d'oeuvre for a main course which, we can only hope, is soon to follow. (Elvis Thirlwell) LISTEN: ‘1013’

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VLURE

Euphoria (So Young)

VLURE have long infused EDM sensibilities into their viciously urgent tracks, unsure whether to hole up in the deepest pocket of Tresor or leave the local pub regulars’ jaws on the floor. Debut EP ‘Euphoria’ paints a group that are wholly aware of their forward momentum, and utilise it to create a throbbing soundscape that takes you on a tour through the stripped underbelly of club music.

The electro-symphonic soundscape lays down a thunderous foundation for vocalist Hamish Hutcheson to spit his visceral woes. ‘Heartbeat’ showcases his discerning vocal power while 'I Won't Run (From Love)' turns the cheek and accesses a more intimate colour of his delivery, supplemented by keyboardist Alex Pearson's forlorn vocal runs. This floor-filling debut seamlessly blends subterranean dance textures, crunching guitar, soaring synth leads and pulsating intensity. A calling card for a band that no room can hold. (Alisdair Grice) LISTEN: ‘Heartbeat’ 76 DIYMAG.COM

Having picked up the Ivor Novello Rising Star award last year with just two released tracks to her name, Willow Kayne’s debut EP ‘Playground Antics’ arrives with no small amount of hype-justifying to do. But, within six wildly ambitious, genre-amorphous tracks that pit the singer somewhere between Charli XCX, M.I.A. and Remi Wolf, it’s evident to see what the acclaimed songwriting body has already seen in Kayne; from ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’, which pits sassy pop toplines over jungle beats, to the pure swagger and playground chant chorus of ‘Opinion’ (Maya Arulpragasam, watch your back), to ‘Faces Change’ with its undulating rap and woozy ‘90s, Massive Attack-y bridge, ‘Playground Antics’ is exploding with ideas, but has the skill to wrangle them all together expertly. On her debut, Willow Kayne shows us she can rap, she can sing, she can do lip-curling bad bitch and cheeky, playful pop star - and holy hell, can she write a tune. (Lisa Wright) LISTEN: ‘Opinion’

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STATIC DRESS

Prologue... (self-released)

Having originally begun life as a handful of tracks burned to CDs and sold at shows this summer, the fact that Static Dress’ project ‘Prologue…’ is so cohesive is remarkable. A first real taste of the sheer depth that the band seem intent on diving to for their work, this “soundtrack” - as they’re calling it - is a blistering affair, laden with intrinsic detail. Consumed in isolation - it is, however, intended to be listened to alongside its accompanying comic book - it showcases the Leeds band’s ability to produce an enticing, refreshing take on post-hardcore. Take everything in more deeply, though, and it’s an all-encompassing creative work, veering from atmospheric introductions (‘A_Distraction’), to vocoder-led interludes (‘In This Fake City’) before slamming back to its chaotic hardcore roots. If this is how they’re getting started, we can barely imagine what’s around the next corner. (Sarah Jamieson) LISTEN: ‘Sober Exit(s)’

Exit Kid’s latest is just three songs and just under ten minutes long, and yet still manages to pack a world of fun. It’s a Polaroid picture of an EP, really - a perfectly-captured handful of moments laden with nostalgia, with just enough glare in the shot to show you that there’s a lot more going on than may first meet the eye. Across the three songs, there’s a notable amount of variety. ‘This I Know’ is fuzz-pop in its purest form, as bright and buzzy as it comes, whereas the title track tries out a lot more instrumental development with a helping of atmospheric orchestration and blue-skies ambience - and then the punk vibes of ‘We’re Strange’ provides the end credits that just beg for a slow fade with its euphoric chorus and laissez-faire countermelodies. It’s impossible to reach the end of ‘Basis' and not really want more. (Ims Taylor) LISTEN: ‘We’re Strange’

Q&A

Emre Türkmen talks how his once side-project is now his main focus, and finally taking Exit Kid to the live stage. Interview: Alisdair Grice.

‘Basis’ is more bright and fresh than the ‘Garden’ EP, is there any reason that you chose a brighter sound for the new project?

Recently it’s been quite a bright time. It's been a weird one because of the pandemic - sort of equal parts doom and gloom on a global scale plus forced imprisonment.

But I think it’s probably just a case of where I'm at in life. It's just a very personal project, so I just go with whatever comes out.

Does it feel good being able to put more time into Exit Kid after Years & Years became a solo project?

It does feel good. I’ve always got a lot of stuff on the go and I always have done but certainly, it does. It has felt like last year, especially with everything else that went on, I had more time. And we're going to take it on the road as well, which is kind of exciting. We've been rehearsing...

In real life as well!

I was in a basement room with Dylan [Bell] last night just being really loud. Not worrying about the germs in the air. Both of us double vaxxed. So yeah, really excited to do that because I feel like that’s the next step for it.

Have you played a show with Exit Kid before? Or has it been a show-less project?

We've only played like three odd shows. We played a show in Camden - a rehearsal one without telling anyone to dust off the cobwebs. And literally, about five days later lockdown happened. I didn't quite know what it [Covid] was yet. We did play the Old Blue Last too, which is a place that I know and love. Years & Years did that too when we were in our early gestation period.

You were able to work with some pretty big behind-the-scenes names (John Catlin, Robin Schmidt) on this project on the mixing and mastering side - how did that come about?

I've never met John, but I was introduced to him by our engineer. He's sort of like a third member and he works with some great bands. So I just did a Zoom thing with John. I don't like to be part of a mixing and mastering process, not in person. I feel like you find the people that are right, and then you let them work their magic. I don't think it's necessary to do it in person - everyone's different, right? I just like to give them the space and time to do what they do best.

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IT’S YOUR ROUND

A big inter-band pub quiz of sorts, we’ll be grilling your faves one by one. now brought to you via Zoom!

THIS MONTH: CONOR FROM VLURE Where: At home, Glasgow. Drink: Coffee (black, no sugar).

Specialist Subject: Star Wars

General Knowledge 1. What year was the London Marathon first held?

2002?

Bit late. It was actually 1981.

1. What is the name of Yoda’s home?

Dagobah.

Correct!

2. Who built C-3PO? Anakin!

Correct! ` 3. What is the name of Boba Fett’s ship?

Ooooh. I don’t know, I’ll need to pass on that one.

It was originally called Slave 1, but was changed in August 2021 to Firespray.

4. What is the ‘Rule of 2’?

I’m showing my lack of knowledge here! I’m not sure.

It’s that there can only be two Sith Lords at one time.

5. What is the creature that lives in the garbage compactor of the original Death Star called?

Oh, I do know this. I can draw it, but I can’t remember for the life of me its name.

It’s called Dianoga.

I would never have got that...

2/5 FINAL SCORE:

2. What is the rarest M&M colour?

Is there a coffee one? I’m actually allergic to M&Ms, so I’m really not sure.

It’s actually brown! We’ll give you a half point for that.

3. What was the first soft drink in space?

Surely Coca-Cola.

Correct!

4. Who created Sherlock Holmes?

Pass. I feel like I might be too Scottish for that knowledge.

It was Arthur Conan Doyle... from Edinburgh. .

5. What is a group of ravens known as?

A murder!

Sadly not, that’s a group of crows. A group of ravens is called an unkindness.

Oh wow, that’s pretty cool.

1.5/5 1.5 /5

3.5/10

Verdict: “I think I put in a pretty solid show two days after tour!”

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ière up

black midi

Pa

GUSTAF

live

wooze Floating a

MALOX

POHODA FESTIVAL 7.—9. JULY. 2022

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