EMERGE
ISSUE 1 FREE
SEPERATING MUSIC FROM THE NOISE
Does anyone care? NEW MUSIC . CURRENT ARTISTS. NO MORE RECYLED STORIES.
JAWS HABITATS WYTCHES BLACK TAMBORINES
Content ISSUE 1
editors letter 4 Contributors 5 Emerge chart 6 Column 8 HAbitats 10
NEW sound 14 Q& A: The WYtches 16 Poster 18 Jaws 20
The Black tamborines 28 Back of the shelf 32 Venue 34 Gigs 36
Reviews 24
Q & A: bowtie creatives 38
EMERGE SEPERATING MUSIC FROM THE NOISE
DOES ANYONE CARE? Editor’s Note DOES ANYONE CARE? Really who is still raving on about guitar music, about an alternative scene that isn’t grime, house or Drake? The guitar centric music press is tired and everyone knows it. NME is a waste of space in its new revamp and the rest of the big titles are recycling the same stories of “rock n’ roll” that have been told thousands of times with the occasional new photo. It’s time for new stories, new sounds and a new generation of artists to take centre stage. That is what EMERGE is here for. We take pride in shinning light on current acts that haven’t got the press attention they deserve. Each issue EMERGE will bring featured interviews with rising artists who make their own music and do so for authentic purposes. We strive to find sincerity and dismiss the mass production. In this edition we talk to the likes of Jaws, Habitats, The Black Tambourines and The Wytches. We get the real story from bands who have got where they are through relentless dedication, who don’t care about big labels or topping the charts. This magazine will be promoting the acts we think need to be heard as well as the acts who didn’t get on the radar in years past. So does anyone care? Of course they fucking do. We are EMERGE. Signed, Oscar Nicholas.
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Contributors Meet the Emerge Team
Oscar Nicholas Editor/ writer
Originally from the bright lights and bustling streets of asingstoke, scar finds himself lost most days but through it all has managed to become the editor of Emerge Magazine. He is a punk and indie fanatic and writes for multiple online music publication in between studies. Oscar is about to leave university after three years of studying journalism. He doesn’t have a clue what to do with his life. Twitter: @Oscarsaurusrex
Jacob Flannery Features Editor/ writer / photographer acob is a product of the uiet town of heffield, who likes to pronounce words in’t reyt way apparently that’s far from the truth. e’s a music fanatic and is hooked on seeing bands live. Writing and photographing for various music publication in print and online, he’s now writing for merge on the latest new and growing talent out there. Unsure on where the world will take him, Jacob is just enjoying it whilst he still can. Twitter: @Jacob_flannery
Tim Price Writer/ design Chief
Born and bread in the heaving metropolis that is Merton, Bicester. Tim from a young age worked in magazines such as FHM, GQ and ELLE, working from home mostly. Until he eventually moved into The Guardian as music editor. Yet after some years made the transition to writing novels, one of which, “Lying”, won the Manbooker prize in 2013. [Although Tim is a creative mind he is also full of shit]. Twitter: @TimHudsonPrice
EMERGE CHART
6
the emerge #1
Easier Said - Sunflower Bean
rooklyn trio un ower ean sit at the top of the first ever merge hart. hey bring clear, crisp and highly reverbed indie shoega e to the table. ll members are under 21 and “Easier aid” encapsulates a post adolescent lust for the new.
#3
he dimly lit bedroom is so fre uently a hub for musical creativity. tlantan duo ales have solidified there gentle lo fi loops from a makeshift home studio. In “Ivy” the combination of auren organ’s uni ue vocals accompanied by drum machine and an elusive bass make an emotional I masterpiece.
Ivy - sales
#5 so tired - hockey dad
urf punk duo ockey ad take it back a notch with “ o ired”. he ustralian band embody their genre so much ust listening to them makes you feel like your on the beach. uick guitars and bouncing drums stand strong.
#2 Be Apart - Porches
orches, ew orker aron aine, has taken a change of direction is his new music. ost notably the stunning electronic backbone of “ e part” couldn’t be further away from the folky sound he established himself with.
#4 It Hurts Until It Doesn’t - Mothers others have taken a rise in following lately which can clearly be attributed to the alluring vocals of ristine eschper. Ironically others bear resemblance to the soft romance of aughter, holding a chilled sound with dramatic undertones.
7
EMERGE CHART
chart #6 I Was A Fool To Care Mac Demarco and Jon Lent
he king of a all things alternative in , ac emarco, has teamed up with his occasional keyboardist on ent to create a mellow cover of ames aylor’s “I Was a ool o are”. It’s a classic uirky take on folk in a way only emarco can do it.
#7
winging guitar pop band anuka oneys have a sound suited to the nineties. he righton group’s latest track “ aby” is catchy and authentic. wanging riffs make for a beautiful melancholy twist to generic guitar pop.
#8 Equivocator Peach Club
Baby Manuka Honeys
#9
rankie osmos holds a soft demeanour in her music. “ n the ips” is a lo fi track with rankie singing about her innocent lust for love. he song’s pounding bass line sits most prominently under her gentle vocals.
jungle - habitats
THE 1. 2.
TOP
Easier aid e part
20
un ower ean orches
3. Ivy - Sales 4. It urts ntil It oesn’t 5.
o ired
ockey
6. I Was
ool o
others
ad
are
ac
emarco and on ent
each lub have a vicious tone to them. emale punk vocals and distorted frustration give the orwich band a bite. “ uivocator” is mean and unforgiving whilst at the same time showing a venerability.
#10
AVAILIBLE ON SPOTIFY, SEARCH FOR 'EMERGEMAGAZINE' + LISTEN TO OUR EMERGE CHART PODCAST ON SOUNDCLOUD
On the Lips Frankie Cosmos
If there is one thing that’s missing from the ritish alternative scene it’s funk. abitats have that and some. “ ungle” transcends from a bouncing guitar centric groove track to a huge e pansion of “ohh”s, not dissimilar to an early oals record.
7.
aby
anuka
8.
uivocator
9.
n the ips
10. ungles 11.
each
lub
rankie
osmos
abitats
omebody to nybody argaret
12.
oneys
laspy
leepwalking
13. Warm
leached
agic
14.
o rogress
15.
ncombed
16.
lean
17.
lown
18.
ssurance
19.
iolet
adu
eart
ad reeding air
ung
he apanese ut
ouse
reys ost ilm
iserable
20. aking What’s ot ours
irl
COLUMN
8
DEAD BEHIND THE EYES
T
here are two types of music fan. I believe it’s a universal distinction between all of us. Firstly there are the fans that see music as more than just noise (I hope this is you if you’re reading . he fans that search further than a and chord aimlessly strum, who hunt for meaning behind melody and are disgusted by insincerity. The troopers if you will. Then there are the music fans that are happy to take whatever is shoved down their throat. et’s call them the takers. hese are the fans that financially hold the music industry together. Without the numb minded, hundreds of national treasures would never have made it. rtists like ylie, obby, he pice irls, nor the likes of their modern day successors such as onner aynard, lly urs and all the other shiny faced actor semi finalist turn pop stars ust wouldn’t be marketable without them. In the grand scheme of things, if you fall under either above distinction, it doesn’t really matter. owever, outside of the grand scheme and in the angry mind of the trooper stuck in front of a mid day adio show, it’s clear there is a lot of worthless shit on the airwaves. ven though it’s highly irritating, and often I wonder how I involuntarily know the lyrics to a ayn song, this regular sort of shit music is tolerable. his is because it’s clearly shit and it would be a hard push to say it is anything other than ust staple pop spaff. here is however a particular form of hate reserved for the artist that tries to hide the fact they’re a marketed melody praying on the simply amused. These sorts of artists nearly always start off as uite good bands. hese bands may have even produced a decent tune or two in their early years. ost notably, the arbiter of the beige, e tra medium, vanilla ice cream music e perience oldplay. o other band is unanimously hated by almost every respectable music fan as they are. oldplay reserve a special kind of resentment in the music world that their predecessors, , never achieved. he music that makes you sad to see people confuse as sincerity is the bane of the industry and frankly everything that’s wrong with our desperate, narcissistic culture. iddy eyed frontmen making music for a montage scene in a hospital drama. cting as though they are multi layered minds, whilst in reality all they’re thinking about is whether to have ketchup or mayo with their chicken nuggets for tea. What’s sad is that people, mostly within the taker
category, eat that shit up. eople love oldplay. eople love umford ons. nd people love the pioneer of melancholy nothingness, hil ollins. ou can’t blame them. hese artists gain their fan base by producing really nice, emotional melodies. ut that’s all they do, produce a nice melody, a meaningless empty ga e into the not too far reaching distance, nice melody. his is why hearing he ray can often make you vomit into your own mouth if it catches you off guard. he songs are well composed and at time the lyrics even hold mild conviction. ut that’s all they do and it’s ust not enough to be considered empowering and respectable. It’s music empty of deeper thought and sentiment. ow, most popular chart music of course with e ception doesn’t really mean anything further than reinforcing general cultural ideologies. hat’s fine though, they don’t need to. owever, oldplay and all the other empty, “clean alt rock”, artists that scatter music play on a fa ade of depth. It’s a distraction through a hollow smile. It’s music that’s dead behind the eyes. What makes this insulting is that there are thousands of artists tearing heart and sole e cuse the clich , giving true e pression that remain substantially unheard. cts like aughter, he istricts, ll We re, others, orches and thousands more rarely find solace outside of usic. his is the tragedy that the bland, happy go lucky, no need for substance, oldplay centric music is creating not that I’m hung up on it or anything. he message I am trying to get across is that, although it doesn’t matter if you fall under either fan distinction, artistic sentiment is vital and should be valued. If owie didn’t mean what he sung or the eatles saw music as ust a tool to become famous, they wouldn’t hold the historic credibility they do. If he trokes or adiohead forced their way into the charts with a lowest common denominator music video featuring animated chimps, they would lose respect. I guess that’s what it all crumbles down to the respect of an artist being based on credibility and sincerity. I can e cept music with no depth dominating prime time adio . owever, I cannot accept the gawping eyes of millions towards artists creating a fa ade of meaning. rtists pretending to feel and pretending to create for purity. When in reality all they achieve is the perfect backing music to a montage scene in an I Wednesday night drama. ON
Habitats bounce, groove and a suburban escape FFO: FOALS, FRIENDLY FIRES
Next to a dirty brick wall in Basingstoke: (left) Jœ Payne, (right) Michæl Lawford.
B
asingstoke is a suburban town in ampshire. It’s know for being a bit of a nowheresville, with little more than a shopping centre and a couple of half decent colleges. It doesn’t really have a happening music scene. As a whole, suburban towns too often get neglected when it comes to music and the big cities take presidence for obvious reasons. However, this doesn’t mean their isn’t uality and uni ue sounds coming out of nglish towns. Habitats are a band striding forward in representing the suburbs. hey’ve recently released their second , “Jungle”, which was recorded stateside under guidance of producer Oliver hasten oby, ay . hey started from bedroom recording at a friends house in their teenage years and have evolved and pushed themselves into a new realm. hey’ve got multiple tours under their belt and plays on the likes of usic. hey play an indie groove style that’s e ceptionally oyful, holding a bounce solid enough to make even the cruelest dictator nod to the beat. I meet half of the uartet, oe ayne lead vocals and guitar and ichael awford vocals and guitar , in th e back of a Weatherspoon’s in their hometown of Basingstoke. We sit in the downstairs area of the pub, it’s dark but away from the overly merry locals by the bar upstairs. oe is wearing a vivid purple t-shirt and Michael, who is considerably taller, wore grey. hey are very chilled guys. heir latest “ ungle” was released in anuary. I asked if they think this new record is more mature than there last. Michael laughed, “Not more mature” and oe continued, “We’re the most immature band you could meet”. oe
FEATURE : HABITATS
12
"On the penultimate day we was in the studio from ten o'clock to about four in the morning. We were doing vocal takes and he was saying “you need to give it more energy. And we were like “"dude, it's“ four in the morning, what are you on about?"" goes on, “In terms of sound, this record is better uality recording. he ma ority of the songs we’ve got on the we’ve been playing and touring. o it’s uite a similar vibe”. heir dynamics have changed dramatically from humble beginning as a college band. Joe looks back on his first gig with the band, “ he other three were in a band before, then they got me in and then we started writing and soon formed abitats. ur first gig was, I think it was 2012. It was in Winchester, in the ailway Inn. It was my first ever show, I just remember being really embarrassed. It was ust concentrating. I remember I had my tongue out the whole time. ou know when you’re ust concentrating so hard that you’ve got your tongue out.” oon after they formed they recorded their first single. “ o we basically put iamond ays up online which was our first ever song that we wrote and recorded. It went down really well on ound loud and stuff. We couldn’t really believe it”, oe e plains. abitats started playing in ondon more and more often after online attention rose. “It was good and we played around here locally uite a lot but eventually thought “fuck it” lets go London”, says oe. “ o we was playing ondon like two, sometimes three nights a
week. ust tryna get any gig we could. or the first year we basically just gigged as much as we could, anywhere, any party, any bar.” hey put their first out and eventually got picked up by lub andango, a label and management agency. oe tells about the informality of abitats early recordings, “Well to be honest, the whole idea of the first was completely random. We literally put it out and we didn’t know what the fuck we were doing”. abitats got a break when they were selected out of twenty three bands to record in Hudson, New ork tate. ichael tells that their management, “basically became very pally with a guy who owns a publishing company. nd he was looking for bands because he’s a producer as well, kind of in his spare time but he doesn’t record that often. Our management showed him us and he really liked our style. We met him once in London and he basically wanted us to come over but we couldn’t afford it. o he was like “yeah fuck it I’ll ust pay” and he took us over there”. Joe attributes their recording venture stateside to “luck” even if that is debatable. he e perience of going from home recording to working in an old converted church in udson, ew ork, was otherworldly for the band. ichael
tells that, “With diamond days it was all produced pretty much by ourselves with just an engineer to get it down. And then to go to merica with some guy who’s like pretty high up in the industry to ust be like “right this is what we’re going to do” and ust lay it out. aving a structure to it all. We were like “this is fucking weird”. “We were doing hours day, at least. n the penultimate day we was in the studio from ten o’clock to about four in the morning. We were doing vocal takes and he was saying “you need to give it more energy”. nd we were like “dude, it’ four in the morning, what are you on about?”” Joe interrupts, “I was half asleep”. Michael looks at him and says, “I think you were asleep when we finished. We did the rest in the morning”. hey’re a band who don’t seem particularly bothered about hitting the big time. Michael humbley e plains, “I think that we ust don’t think about it. nd that’s how we’ve got so far now. It sounds a bit cliche but we’re ust writing the music and letting our team deal with whatever”. ou can hear this attitude in the music, it’s rela ed, it’s content. oe sums up their cavalier, not give a fuck outlook, “ ou ust gotta en oy it man. n oy what you’ve got going on and if shit happens it happens.” ON
New Noise
14
NEW sound The latest acts breaking ground.
Sundara Karma Chess Club / RCA Victor records FFO: CIRCA WAVES, PEACE
S
undara arma’s single “ lame” e ceeded over a million streams on spotify in less than two weeks following its release. ow their latest offering “ oung nderstanding” and an increase in sold out shows, ensures this ame is going to burns e ceptionally bright. “ oung nderstanding” sees a more polished and refined sound trembling the speakers. It may appear slightly more commercialed alongside earlier material however it still reatins abundantely intellegent lyrics that are combined with catchy intrumental arrangements. aking the love torn songwriting of eace and adding
some poppy est. ront man scar ulu and co certainly seem to be the new bu band for the younger music fans, with “Indigo uff” blowing in the wind. undara arma are constantly on the road promoting their typically indie sound. aving ust finished the remainder of their supporting slots with othing ut hieves, the band head out on their own once more, playing to the larger crowds this latest string of performances has surely beckoned. We don’t e pect undara arma to be lingering around smaller venues much longer, so if you’re after catching the indie dreamers in the most intimate of settings now is not the time to be hanging around and waiting. JF
VANT Parlophone RECORDS FFO: RAT BOY, BLOOD RED SHŒS olitically charged violent punk and a air for a chatotc gigs, ant’s e ploisve stage prescence is putting them on the map. ront man attie ant often refers to the band as being from “planet earth”. With lyrics that tackle the issues knawing away in the singers head. ant are never afraid to lash out at the system. ive shows have given the band a reputation for e plosive performacnes. JF
TRASH CLASH RECORDS FFO: THE MAGIC GANG, JAWS
rash are signed to the relatively small lue ecords. hey’re from the uaint town of hesterfield. a y lyrics and with a cult following, rash can often be heard in the various, somewhat hidden, music venues of northern cities. lissfully laid back, mellow melodies and a summery feel, have taken rash too few and far support slots, oining the likes of atboy and aws. he boys often pop up at small metropolitan festivals are set to only build their repertoire further this season. JF
THE WYTCHES tsh t r " t’s te ot n neteen hen e o e s’ e
erent e se s on e the rst one n or so e re son on’t th n t h ro e ro er
A
fter making your way through the grimy rooms of the Corporation venue and up the winding stairs, you finally stumble into he Wytches dressing room. It’s loaded with pi a bo es and beers immediately after their sold out show in heffield. fiery live performance to say the least, he Wytches are riding the wave from their debut album “ nnabel ream eader”. he infuses grunge rock with some surf psych splurges. he release of new “ hunder i ard’s eprieve”, showcases a scowling four tracks that hint a new album of different sorts is on it’s way.
After meeting up with singer/songwriter Kristian ell, bassist aniel umsey, drummer ianni Honey and their new organist Mark Breed, at an instore session at Dr. Martins prior to their heffield performacne. merge finally got the chance to sit down with most of the band, after their messy show.
: ou e been ayin i e a air bit now ow do you nd t at in com arison to recordin ristian: I prefer the recording side to it, but there’s always limited time in the studio and once you’re out you always think, well, there was ten million things we could have done differently and you’re really kicking yourself for it. Whereas live, you ust get into it. at is your writin
rocess i e
ristian: I’ve definitely tried really hard and got really frustrated about not getting anything down. ll the best things that come are when I’m in a good mood. ou can always be more patient with it when. When we record it’s normally like we write it and then record ar : I found that when the best recordings come
Q & A: THE WYTCHES
17
out well when we re record songs like three times in a row, we start getting agitated that we aren’t getting the right sounds because we already think we’ve got the sound of the track. he best thing is when you write something new that night and ust go for it. ou know, you haven’t got any e pectations, it’s the first time you record it and so that’s how it is. If you were to re record something from the first album it would ust be confusing, whether it’s better or worse you wouldn’t know. he new stuff, that’s what’s great. o it was a cou e o years a o w en you re eased your debut a bum nnabe ream eader o you a e anot er a bum on t e way anie : We have, we’ve recorded like ten songs already. We went in with the intention of doing the album and finishing it, but since we’ve had everything back it’s kind of like we want to do more. here’s a couple of tracks that we weren’t happy with so we’re going to go back in and do some more, ust so we put something out that we’re really happy with, not ust half happy with. at s t e a bum oin to sound i e ristian: It’s uite a lot different, because I was only like nineteen when we did the first one and for some reason my voice was well I don’t think it had dropped properly aughs . o my voice is a bit lower now, it seems to get lower and lower all the time. anie : We did a lot of e perimenting with sounds and pedals and stuff. ristian: We used a lot of ring modulation that’s an effects pedal in case you were wondering . anie : here’s also a lot more organ on it, played a lot more organ.
ark
ar : ecently I’ve had a piano in my house, well like for the last four or five years, so I’ve been picking up that. nd ow about yrica y w at s t is a bum about ristian: his is sort of less ambitious, more understandable. rummer ianni walks in and grabs a bottle of whisky e’s taking the whisky. or fucks sake I guess as it stands, because we’re still going to finish more, this is more straight forward. I feel like you maybe alienate some people with weird lyrics, so this album is kind of ust more standard. ar : It’s like less fancy, more straightforward. ristian: eah that’s it, less fancy. I feel like I was ust trying to be a bit fancy before. ar : It’s like arry ilsson and he eatles, they always try keep it simple, and It’s always the best lyrics. bviously there are like great lyricists like orrissey if you want to throw that out there, but the straight forward lyrics are always great. he eatles have never been faulted for it so ristian: hey have a lot of cra y ones as well. ar : eah like egg man I m the Walrus’ ristian: What’s that one appiness is a Warm un’, all the lyrics on that are like mad time. nd not ust the chorus either, but the verses and stuff all have like cra y lyrics in them. It ust shows that with stuff like that, sometimes people really don’t have to have a clue what you’re on about to make it interesting, but I ust kind of lost that at the moment. JF
Emerge
JAWS ANxious to get STARTED FFO: SWIM DEEP, PEACE
“
Pre performance picture: (Left to right) Eddy Geach, Jake Cooper, Conor Schofield, Alex Hudson
W
ell for starters that was never the intention” After dropping a tune on Soundcloud and receiving a surprisingly positive reaction, front man of aws, onnor chofield grabbed some of his mates and put a band together. It sounds so simple, yet with W that’s essentially how it all came about. Their infectious guitar plucking and synth stricken choruses put them in with the likes of Swim Deep, Palma Violets and The Family Rain. However, Jaws have taken this new wave of indie music, that surfaced at the time of eace’s follow me’, in an entirely new direction. a y lyrics focus upon the boredom of life in Birmingham and with that it seems chofield’s ambitions for the band never stretched a far from the borders of the city, “we expected to play local shows and never really take off”. What We aven’t ot et’ is the band’s latest offering, and subtly teasers the possibility of further new material. Instrumentally the sleek verses and anthemic style choruses escape the previous mess of arrangements heard on standout tracks old’ and tay In’ from their debut. With the release of this new single, Jaws are certainly begging the question for when a new album will be released and they aren’t half making people wait for it. But, for now it seems as though the band are firmly set on re building the live bu surrounding them which can so
FEATURE: JAWS
22
"It's not like I sat down or anything and went, “are you okay?“ t wasn't like it built u and then ame out in one big thing, everyone was aware and uite su ortive. t might have been different if we'd set out to get big or whatever, but we didn't, so it was never an issue. As we“ve grown as a band and got more o ular it“s be ome less of an issue, so it's ust dealing with it."“
quickly dissipate. t first glance, this seems like a straightforward task. Building to their debut release Jaws were a new and exciting name on fans lips. Festival appearances and live shows attracted niche crowds of sun bla ed hipsters, that all ocked to witness the band’s new and attractive sound. ow, they’ve got a tougher job. Jaws are no longer the new kids on the block; they have a reputation, a name people recognise and live performances they simply have to deliver on. These pressures however seem far from chofield’s list of concerns “ here’s no time to let pressure get onto you, we have to be good, we have to hit a certain level every night really. Ever since we realised that, we’ve ust dealt with it, by just doing it.” Connor sounds confident when talking about the bands live performances and after witnessing the crowds response to their set in heffield there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be. hroughout the entirety of their performance, lyrics were shouted back
towards the stage and as each new track broke the crowd of youngsters surged forward and bounced around hectically. At this gig there’s a deep sense that those in attendance have an affinity with the band of Brummies, that in some way everyone is a fan of Jaws. What We avent ot et’ lyrically explores looking up to false idols, “that sounds a bit deep” Connor explains before getting lost in a rant about the social media cra e that surrounds families like the ardashians. “It’s like people don’t desire a feeling anymore so they want a thing, they want a piece of clothing or a phone, they don’t want to be happy or achieve anything.” he says. yrics like “In a world where all they show you is...what we haven’t got yet” draws attention to the materialistic world Jaws feel we live in and the ever growing pressure to want more of these materialistic items being forced upon us. Connor goes on to explain that the song is almost saying you can be happy without having these pieces of material. Rest assured, he
makes it abundantly clear that he doesn’t “fucking live on a farm...without electricity or clothes” there’s clearly a limit or line. “I mean, some people can be cra y” he says. After asking Connor whether this newest single is a teaser for a follow up to debut album e lowly’, he hits back straight away, telling Emerge that a new album is already done. “We’re literally sitting on it” he says, “It’s completely done, it’s even in our van now”. Unfortunately grabbing a copy for a quick listen was out of the question, however Connor quite simply describes the album as “less cheesy” and “ a bit more cooler”. here’s similar vibes to e lowly’, particularly links with songs like old’ and ’. yrically the album again focuses on anxiety and similar subjects close to the lead singer’s heart, yet with growing writing experience and more confidence onnor explains that his song writing has matured: “When I started the band I wasn’t really sure what I was doing to be honest. I didn’t know what to sing about and I didn’t really feel like being
honest because I didn’t think it was going anywhere. But then as I’ve got more confident performing live and writing, you just start to write more about what’s bugging you and what you feel.” ne issue that’s been recurrently close to the front man is an iety. or chofield confidence hasn’t always been so certain and when the band have toured in the past, anxiety has sometimes got the better of him. “It’s weird because over the past four years I’ve progressed so much with it, but when I was fifteen, si teen years old I couldn’t go or do anything.” It seems strange to think that Connor would form a band and put himself on a stage in front of any kind of crowd when suffering from anxiety. However even ust chatting to chofield about such a personal issue brings out the determination in him to defy it.”The only way that’s going to well and truly help me, is to deal with it myself and learn to face things”. “We’re a group of friends, it was no secret what was going
on with me. ou can’t keep that stuff a secret. One of the things for me that makes me feel better is that I know I’m happy if I’m aware of everything. o knowing that everyone’s happy makes me feel better. It’s not like I sat down or anything and went, are you okay ’ It wasn’t like it built up and then came out in one big thing, everyone was aware and quite supportive. It might have been different if we’d set out to get big or whatever, but we didn’t, so it was never an issue. s we’ve grown as a band and got more popular it’s become less of an issue, so it’s just dealing with it.” Conner deals with his anxiety through defiance and control. rowing in confidence by throwing himself head first into hectic situations, the relationship between the band has grown to resemble that of a close knit family. This is evident uite literally, as chofield’s dad is the bands running manager. Adding a sense of comfort to the set up, Connor explains that his dad and the band often make decisions together as
equally controlling partners. “I couldn’t do this without having some control and not knowing as much as I do, it would just freak me out.” Having family by their side has worked for Jaws and it seems that the band’s progression and onnor’s new found self assurance in song writing has beckoned a more positive direction for the band to explore. A new album can surely be expected shortly, the real question is whether this new avenue and positive outlook can create the same reaction that demanded the spotlight a couple of years back in 2014. For Connor this seems like a concern he’s oblivious to, his ambitions are modestly simple: “hopefully someone will pick up our new record and be like well that’s a better outlook to have. hat’s the sort of message that I sort of want to pass out, there’s a lot of negativity isn’t there nd it’s sort of like looking at negativity and seeing that there’s always a light and everything.” JF
REVIEWS
24
REVIEWS how we rate: AAAAA PERFECT
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A
GOOD
MEDIOCRE
SHIT
PARQUET COURTS HUMAN PERFORMANCE Still grunge, still moody. Third time round and on the mark.
ROUGH TRADE
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rontman Andrew Savage, guitarist Austin Brown, bassist Sean Yeaton, and drummer Max Savage are their own stereotypes. The four look exactly the way their music suggests: gangly white dudes with ruf ed button ups, shaggy hair, and forlorn faces that scream “I on’t are, eally, I on’t” owever, despite this nonchalant persona, they create DIY rock at an ama ing rate, pulling on post punk and garage as need be while the mainstream’s all encompassing aws chew up almost everything they release last year’s vapid , onastic iving,
withstanding). he rooklyn band’s fourth album, uman erformance follows this garage y trend. his album relying more on their ability to mix thick rock with aunty country guitar riffs. et it is not the cowboy come to the city vibes that are most impressive about this album but the progressively thoughtful lyrics. or e ample in “ o an o ity”, Savage shouts at the top of his lungs, “ ocrates died in the gutter” suggesting that even the great fall to undignified ends and that people end up the same way whatever we do in life. Another is the lyric on “ erlin got lurry”, “It’s so
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REVIEWS
effortless to be a stranger, that’s when they count I don’t put my hand up” suggesting the rela ation of anonymity. These thought provoking little lines are dusted over the entire album and really show the advanced song writing of both Savage and Brown. Yet what is so pleasing is that these small vocal gems are set to those old backyard punk riffs that makes this genre so easy to fall in love with. Indeed, throughout the album the instruments sound as if they’re rotating in a circle, taking turns stepping into the middle in order to ab one another playfully, particularly during a sloppy duel between guitars mid song. his chilled, almost bumbling rhythm although slightly loose, is incredibly infections and has you bobbing your head unconsciously. ike “ unbathing nimal” their previous album , “ uman erformance” is an easy listen that’s more nitpicky than initial plays suggest — but the band probably doesn’t want you to think that. hey probably don’t want you to think anything, really. on’t read into it, but do challenge it. TP
BLEACHED
CHRIS COHEN -
WELCOME WORMS
AS IF APART
DEAD OCEANS
THE
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American quartet Bleached, felt they needed to escape from their . habitat for this album. Instead opting for the desert, focussing work ust outside oshua ree, a small town in an ernardino ounty, alifornia. The arid air seems to have encouraged a nuanced album, different to their previous surf punk offerings. With dramatic pieces such as “Wasted on ou” teamed with angry outburst like “ hemical ir,” Welcome the Worms is a true album, in the sense that it has peaks and troughs, rather than ust an e aculation of immature angst.
JADU
HEART-
WANDERFLOWER ANCHOR POINT
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adu eart were introduced to the world at the sold out nchor oint showcase at ondon’s val pace alongside Bonzai and Masa, who headlined the night. Wearing what appeared to be derivatives of Donny Darko masks, they swelled the venue with wobbly base sounds and twinkly bells, which were cut through by the excellent female vocals of ina. ne part of the duo that makes this heart, beat. The other member, Faro (both performers preferring mononyms) provides the beats and comparatively droning vocals that form the background to ina’s more energetic inserts. he album itself, “Wander ower” can be pretty well described by the first track, “Warm agic”. s well as being the title song of their debut album, the two words act as a pretty accurate synopsis of the album in its entirety. Indeed, the album consists of sleepy, ethereal, base heavy tunes similar to those one might listen to after a rave
CAPTURED RECORDS
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singer songwriter hris ohen, former member of Deerhoof, has a new take on full stereo noise rock. is latest album “ s if part” merges soundscape with elements of a creating soothing and uni ue music. omposed mostly of piano and guitar the record is like laying in listening to the rain with nothing to do. here isn’t really anything shocking, only pleasantries. lthough this won’t define a generation anytime soon it has charm, which is as hard thing to grasp musically. ong’s like “ orrey ie” and “ un as one way” hold huge emotive effect made stronger by transcending bass tones. ON
has pushed you too hard. pecifically, “ he ove”, second track on the record provides a more guitar based oaty sequence with a compressed in and out base loop that is very pleasant. “ adu emple” on the other hand is a pulsing love song with a hip hop rhythm set to the atmosphere of a rainforest. nd then there is ursed. alf of this track is the sound of rain consistently falling on tarmac, which as an artistic statement makes all the impact of a wet annel. et when the rain does finally subside, there is some really interesting concoctions of mad base sounds and underwater vocals that really bumps. What adu eart bring to the table is one beyond ust electronically infused guitar. It’s a blend of genre that creates something new and exciting enough to spark attention. TP
REVIEWS
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SALES SALES (EP) Warming indie. A beautifully meloncolly summer soundtrack. Their debut EP will be hard to top
A NMIND OF MINE SONY MUSIC
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SELF-RELEASED
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hen the word homemade is said, what’s really meant is beautifully rough round the edges. omemade is authentic, whether it’s cake or a song. Sales are a duo from Atlanta, America who make indie loops in their bedrooms. Their sound is astonishing compositionally it is minimal and proves the cliche that sometimes less is more’. ordan hih and auren orgen have been together as ales for ust over three years. organ’s voice has a gentle yet unique tone, almost rasped at the corners. In their self titles a melancholy dreamscape of bouncing
There are two words that every artist tries to avoid, boring’ and cliche’. he e member turn solo artist has managed to achieve both of the above with ease. Sadly all that Zayn has done in his debut album, “Mind of ine”, is emulate rake badly. It’s not that the record isn’t well composed or that ayn’s vocals aren’t pleasant enough, it’s ust that the record holds little to no substance at all. There are glimpses of wonder in the but it is all overshadowed by the es ue instrimentation. ON
guitar loops and drum machine create a sincere story of love and youth. pening track “ enee” holds orgen’s elongated crying vocals over clean guitar, cutting and chopping until it breaks with “took too long, you better leave” sung accompanied by ust a bass. he continues with little to say for any aws. racks “ ow”, “ hinese ew ear” and “ etting It n” carry on the theme of suburban anguish. he concludes with a remix that feels out of character for Sales, however, you can see the merit. An album is predicted to follow, after the spacey melody spurred over this we can only e pect more good things to follow.
THE MAGIC GANG (EP) TELHARMONIUM
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Brighton natives, The Magic ang e ist somewhere between present day house parties and s discos. heir syrupy sweet Wee er style pop with its hard edges creates an interesting listening experience. Across five tracks, ack aye and co. announce themselves as old school romantics. he down in the dumps “ asmine” and “ ll hat I Want Is ou” come off simple on the outside, but deep down they’re comple and con fused souls, like ark from eep how trying to find “the one”. P
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BAD BREEDING SELF-RELEASED
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iving in empty surroundings and being angry go hand in hand. ad reeding’s latest self titled album is fuelled by such anger. hey’re a band who do post punk with such ferocity that even listening to them makes the veins in your forehead bulge. From start to finish the album is filled with contempt for everything that is ideologically righteous. The Stevenage band has made clear on several occasions their feelings about the upper class and the inequalities that they bring to the rest. And it seems their not going to let this topic go anytime soon. Screams of “why should I except no progress” from vocalist hris odd sum up the in forth track “ o rogress”. he record is absolute in it’s emotions, there is no bright side here ust relentless outcry, it feels authentic. Bad Breeding have a sound reminiscent of eeds band agulls, although more agitated. They play to standard, no longer than two minute, punk song length yet giving hardcore a more British tone. The group play with melodies more than most other punk acts, “ urn his lag” holds a bass riff and guitar progression at time u taposed to odd’s harsh screeches. There are moments of obscurity, spews of art rock’ ambience with pained shouts intertwined. These do
not sound out of place yet don’t add much to the experience. Bad Breeding use imagery of suburban ’s buildings for artwork frequently, this combined with their dark sound create a feeling of dystopian imminence. Tracks like “ orrupting ist” and “ hame” take on the topic of corruption with brutal force. ut honestly there isn’t really any moment on the that isn’t filled to the brim with rage. ne thing can be said for sure is that Bad Breeding are a band who stand for what they say. Their hate for authority is sincere and relentless. The stand out song is the previously released single “ ge f othing” which as the tittle suggests follows a similar theme to the above. The track plays with more complex instrumentation, twanging guitar breaks and a build into screams of the songs tittle conclude. t moments “ ad reeding” pushes obscurity and leaves a feeling of slight emptiness. This being said that may be exactly what the group was going for. Through all the feedback and anger it’s a proving post punk is standing strong and even progressing darker than some may choose, however, there’s no bullshit. ON
ON SCREEN THREE COUNT FILMS
AAAA eah he fucking amned, haven’t heard of them? I bet you have heard of he e istols though and he lash. Well, while they were signing big record deals and attracting the ma ority of the media’s attention, he amned were destroying venues and creating some of the best music of the punk era. ow, over years on from the band’s birth into the counter culture decade, that was the ’s, their insane antics have been committed to the screen in one of the finest and most violent music documentaries ever.
he film follows the band from its chaotic roots to present day tours. Along the way, the audience learn about what it’s like to shit on strangers beds and have full drum sets thrown at their heads. We hear from the members ave anian, rian ames, aptain ensible, and at cabies what it’s like to continue a music culture outside of its chronological limits. he film was premiered at W Festival last year receiving rave reviews and unanimous acclaim. P
THE BLACK TABOURINES RAW
Backstage at the Victoria in Hackney: (Left to right) Jake Willbourne, Josh Spencer, Jim Sibley and Sam Stacpoole
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STAMINA FFO: BLACK LIPS, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
n the backstage room of North ondon’s ictoria pub and venue, the well travelled ornish uartet, he lack ambourines, sit between seven bands worth of guitars and amplifiers. he backstage is opposite the ictoria’s kitchen. smell of frying beef dominates the room. hey drove from almouth early this morning yet are surprisingly spritely considering. ake Willbourne, bassist and vocalist, attributed this to coffee. nly recently returned from uropean tour dates, he ambourines are headlining an event set up by the small independent ondon label, rt is ard. eaturing a line up of indie, garage acts, all I sorts who happily wonder around the venue after their sets. It’s a close nit vibe. he label’s founders are even manning the merch table. he ambourines have been asked to perform he elvet nderground ico’s album in full to celebrate the record’s th anniversary. “ eah, it’s nothing special” ake declares. ead vocalist and guitarist, am tacpoole, adds, “It’s one away from a significant year. It’s like, not uite silver, but getting there. hat’s kind of how we feel about our band really”. ake okes, “If we fail tonight then we’ve got another year until we really get it right”. ack in the summer the group released their second album, titled
FEATURE: THE BLACK TAMBOURINES
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"AS YOU GET OLDER YOU REALISE THERE'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE A MOMENT, OR THE GIG, WHERE WE GET SIGNED TO THE MAJOR LABEL AND SUDDENLY EVERYTHING IS EASY. YOU JUST GO BACK AND DO IT ALL AGAIN AND WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED, YOU REFINE IT AND YOU GET BETTER AT IT."
“ reedom”. hey play a garage, surf punk sound, more west coast of the than West ountry in all honesty. hey’re energetic and chaotic, rift centric with a I ethos. reedom’s charm comes from its authenticity, feeling like a creation not a construction. Which is true for all of their recordings. i months have passed since their ’s release, via asy ction records. he record pushed them further into garage punk stratosphere. With decent coverage across the music press they are starting to get worthy recognition in the form of gig offers and a growing fandom. I ask if they have re ected on reedom since it’s release am e plains, “ he album actually came out two years after we recorded it. o I think we’d done all the re ecting we could possibly do on it”. am continues to elaborate, “We were asked to write the album by someone before we had it, and then we did it for them and that didn’t go through. o we ended up with an album to play with”. hey had total control over everything in the recording process. Working from a studio in almouth, using a mi ture of their own kit and that of their friends. “It’s not like you get an engineer and a load of gear and stuff. ou know, we have
some stuff to play with and we get our mates to help us. hey happen to be uite talented.” olding power over every aspect of the record comes across in their music. he energetic rawness in tracks like o ction’ and I Wanna tay way’ put the ambourines in the middle of the punk spectrum. Which is where they predominantly like to stay. ll of their music could have been recorded decades ago. ot sub ect to modern in uences, as much as bands like he elvet nderground and the amones. ne of the bands within the last decade they do however take in uence are lack ips. ake, e plains, “it’s uite funny, because we hadn’t heard of them and someone said we sound like the lack ips. o we listened to them and we were like, “Wait we do””. am adds, “ lack ips were a big in uence on us and we owe them a lot”. heir commitment to the band is obvious when we speak. si hour drive in their van from ornwall to ondon is “kind of standard now”, as the ambourines’ guitarist, osh pencer letcher, describes it. rom speaking with them it comes across that am and ake are the more talkative half of the band. With osh and im ibley, who plays drums, chipping in on occasion.
hey are rela ed, am has a sort of stoner vibe to him, like what you would e pect of a alifornian musician. here’s an easy, chilled tone to his voice. he truth is that he lack ambourines are not a new band. hey have been going since their college years back in the late naughties and are now in their mid twenties. “We were doing a music course and also in art classes together, so we bonded”, ake e plains. am adds on, “we were both in separate bands. e and osh were in a band together, ake and im were in a band together. o it’s a super group of young bands.” e looks at ake and im, “It’s like guns and roses together. ou’re probably roses and we were guns”. efore getting past the interview formalities, a member of rubs, another act on the day’s line up umps in and okingly says, “ i, wen Williams, long time listener, first time caller”. et with laughter, am says, “ e actually has our tattoo”. It’s a black tambourine on his under arm, bicep area. “It’s totally lit, we’ve all got it.” he indie punk, garage rock scene isn’t covered hugely in recent years. owever, he lack ambourines are settled in the middle of it all. hey know the other acts performing today and
praise a huge list of artists they’ve played with. he band’s profile has risen in the last year after reedom and a tour across the and urope. I was curious if they had noticed a difference “ eah. oming off of tour, we had loads of people who were like “we’ve been following you since day one”. I’m thinking, “you haven’t and clearly haven’t done your research”. ut we’ve definitely got better gig offers since “ reedom” came out”, answers ake. am admits that he finds playing back home more fun than in ma or cities. ot in a way that he doesn’t en oy performing in ondon and such. ake says that people tend to be “a little less inhibited” in the bigger cities. o which am agrees and says, “ eah, less inhibited. nd also you get to like put on your own show and put your own line up on, curate everything when playing in almouth . It’s sort of fun to curate the shows down there”. It’s clear that they are a band that likes to do things themselves, how they want to. ow back from they’re continental tour the band have new plans for the coming months. ake, with an enthusiastic tone declares, “I’m pretty e cited for what we’ve got planned. We’ve got some more
urope dates. We’re going to play a festival in ustria ne t month. We’re going to ublin and we’re going to make an album”. am adds, “ eah we’ve got an album that we’ve toured and we’re going to record”. hen uipping, “ oured and record” to which he smiles. hey are still yet unclear on where this coming record will be released, or even funded. he plan is to record the album as a demo and “set some feelers out”. ven though “ reedom” hasn’t been released for long, it’s been over two years since the band has recorded any new material. It’s a critical choice deciding what direction to go with in the new album. I asked them what should fans e pect and if there distinct change in sound “ his is going to be our ablo” ake says. “ his is obviously going to be a lot more musically accomplished. We’ve had, what two years to write it.” ake goes on, “I wouldn’t say that we’ve haven’t stylistically changed that much rather than follow a natural progression. he songs we wrote at the start were three chords”. am okingly adds, “ ow we have five”. lthough stylistically the band resemble the sound of their youth, their attitude is now more mature.
heir goals are no longer about hitting the big time. ake e plains, “I think that we started I had a set of goals that were very uickly achieved but we very uickly accomplished those goals. o we ust constantly set ourselves new ones.” e continues, “We wanted to get some sort of physical vinyl single out, so we did that pretty uickly. nd then there was tour and we did that. nd then there was tour urope and we’ve done that.” im adds, “ very tour we do we get better. ot only at playing but at organising it. ust to be able to keep progressing is the goal. ake then says, “ s you get older you realise there’s probably not going to be a moment, or the gig where we get signed to the ma or label and suddenly everything is easy. ou ust go back and do it all again when you’ve finished. nd you refine it and you get better at it.” he lack ambourines probably won’t get in the top forty any time soon but that’s okay because they don’t want to. hey’re authentic and you can hear it in their music. on’t e pect them to go away because he lack ambourines are in it for the long run. ON
BACK OF THE SHELF
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back of the shelf The records that got lost and went unappreciated. We bring them out of the dark.
SURF CURSE - BUDS BIG JOY RECORDS
I Best Track: freaks, pony boy
TEEN
SUICIDE
WASTE YRSELF RUN FOR COVER RECORDS 2013 nguish and slightly moot emotions make up een uicide’s lyrics in the most part. ocalist am ay fronted the bandcamp pro ect from his bedroom in altimore, ew ork. e recorded vocals with his laptop’s microphone creating a gentle tone, distorted round the edges. e openly admits to regretting the band’s name choice, however, it probably helped their circulation through umblr at the beginning. It’s a moany affair but one that deserves another look. ON
2013
t’s been three years since the evada surf punk two piece urf urse released their debut album “ uds”. It astounds merge that this record has not reached the great heights it deserves. “ uds” has everything a summer soundtrack needs to succeed fast, reverbed guitars and laid back stoner vocals. It’s a record that makes you wanna give up whatever your doing, find your friends, get drunk on a beach and tell everyone your most embarrassing secrets, only to pass out, wake up and do the same thing the ne t day.
THE CAST OF CHEERS FAMILY SELF RELEASED 2010 Irish four piece math rock group he ast of heers released “ hariot” back in . hey construct sharp looping riffs comparable to that of oals. hey’re a band able to build into crescendo with transcending subtly, their debut “ hariot” demonstrated how cut throat they could be with their sound. racks “ uricom”, “ oose” and “ iger o ” take bouncing guitars and make it sinister. he band followed the record up three years later with “ amily”, an e ually comple however a slightly more happy affair. ON
“ uds” is awless. racks like “In y ead ntil I’m ead”, “ he mell aved y ife” and “ reaks” hold deep sentiment. truggles of an iety, the dreams of youth and lost love underlay a fast paced alifornian rhythm. acob ubeck and icholas attigan are a classic andcamp group who deserve beyond their status as ust a uick wristed punk duo. urf urse managed to slip past most radars whilst signing to label ig oy ecords. erhaps it’s time to pull “ uds” out and indulge its restful chaos they do so well. ON
WU LYF
GO TELL FIRE TO THE MOUTAINS LYF RECORDINGS
2011
Wu yf sadly are mostly forgotten in . hey created huge hype building up to their debut album “ o ell ire o he ountain”, only to breakup shortly after. Wu yf are a band who burnt fast and bright, retaining a small cult following. he anchester uartet made rich atmospheric indie with harsh yelping vocals. hey recorded their debut in a church and turned down ma or labels. fter they hung up the towel all that was left was one reverb filled, furious . ON
VENUE
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Radiohead performing their first ever gig in 1986 at The Jericho Tavern, Oxford.
The er ho Ta ern o on a r da
We tr o r er est to s ort o a a ts and ta ent that s ho the ot to start th and e don t ntend to rea trad t on no
I
t’s a riday night in in central ford, there’s about people in a pub. he crowd is uieted by an announcer on the small stage in the main room. band is about to come on and play he says their name is n a riday. eople whir with anticipation and ease forward to the wooden platform erected at the back wall. he room is stuffy with heat from the many bodies compressed into one space. he faint aroma of spilled lager and urine mingles with the cassolette of women’s perfumes as the throng of people settles themselves along the bar. hen, as if con ured from thin air, hom orke appears on the plinth. he other members of the band follow, they introduce themselves and begin to play. hey play a set that would later form the foundations of their first album, ablo oney. his was adiohead’s first ever gig, at he ericho avern. hat’s the kind of musical heritage that this venue has cultivated. ut that was ust the start. upergrass, under the name heodore upergrass were signed here in and since then, a string of massive bands have cut their teeth in the humble, impressive acoustic cauldron that is he ericho avern. ames like, ummer amp, ennis, ombay icycle lub, alma iolets and oals have all found their feet here. wner of the ericho avern, ohn err ,said, “We try our very best to support local acts and talent, that’s how the pub got big to start with and we don’t intend to break tradition now”.
he pub itself is made up of two bars, one on each oor. he one on the bottom oor is significantly bigger but the bar closest to the performance area is the one on the top oor. he only real drawback to the venue is the e pense of spending an evening there. s it is located right in the epicentre of ford’s hip district, the prices make even some of the posh kids wince. ll in all, with the intimate atmosphere, great gigs and ama ing sound, he ericho avern is a must if you ever find yourself in ford. pecifically Walton treet, ericho, ford, fordshire, .
Where to stand he main upstairs gig area is shaped, with the bar around the corner. owards the back there are ban uettes and a few tables with seating. he best place to stand is at the front, or to hug the wall at the sides to get a good view. he stage is well raised, so you can see from further back in the room, however there is a step in the middle of the standing area that can make life difficult. ut the venue is small enough to get a good view from most places, and if the upstairs bar is open it’s not too much of a hassle to go and get the drinks in without losing your spot. TP
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GIGS
The defininitive guide to the best upcoming gigs May-July, 2016
May unflower ean Father John Misty ewis e ar Baby Strange and White Bleached Ja wa a Ben Caplan Breaking Benjamin Gold Panda Virgin Kids Adam Green
O2 Ritz, Manchester Roundhouse, Chalk farm, London The Lexington, London Bodega Social, Nottingham Academy 3, Manchester he lug, heffield Arts Club, Liverpool KOKO, London The Dome, London Sebright Arms, London Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
May 16th, 2016 May 18th- 20, 2016 May 24th, 2016 May 24th , 2016 May 25th, 2016 May 25th, 2016 May 26th, 2016 May 27th, 2016 May 30th, 2016 May 31, 2016 May 31st, 2016
Electric Circus, Edinburgh Leopard, Doncaster Audio, Brighton Royal Albert Hall, London
4th June, 2016 4th June, 2016 6th June, 2016 10th June, 2016
June Laura Stevenson Pearl Skam Porches Bell and Sebastion
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GIGS
Laura Stevenson performing at London Paladium last year.
The Emerge Pick Laura Stevenson and The Cans are the band to see this year, with aura’s enchanting vocals and the band’s beautiful and complex melodies, they have the ability to win over almost any crowd. Origionally from Long Island, New York, Laura brings a raw, sweary edge to an otherwise soft and happy garage band. Catch her on her world wide tour in Nottingham on the 1st of June, in Birmingham on the second or Edinburgh on the fourth. Prices are very reasonable for such an amazing act. But tickets will run out fast so be sure to lock one down.
July Clay Will and the People Silver clouds Shanty Alibis Yung Bell The Melvins The Apples
Electric Circus, Edinburgh The Garage, London Sebright Arms, Brighton The Jericho Tavern, Oxford Plymouth Pavillionns, Plymouth Hare and Hounds, Birmingham Ort Cafe, Birmingham Art School, Glasgow Jazz Cafe, London
1st July, 2016 4th July, 2016 6th July, 2016 9th July, 2016 12 July, 2016 17th July, 2016 20th July, 2016 25th July, 2016 30th July, 2016
Q & A: BOWTIE CREATIVES
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(Left) Josh Collins and (right) Tom PreceyBowTieCreatives
bowtie creative "You genuinely have to hunt people down like dogs sometimes"
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inding musical gems is a difficult business. It re uires dedication, stamina and a good ear. It also as it turns out, needs the prospective talent to fight with their girlfriends, but we will cover that later. ased in West ondon, ow ie reatives is a visual and audio production team, which aims to promote the aspiring performers of today. he organisation is made up of osh ollins and om recey, two university friends who decided that they suited e cuse the pun the business of recording and producing some of the freshest artists in the . merge got to know them over a kype interview on a rainy uesday evening.
things ourish. What do you look for when you are looking to record new talent? o be honest, my taste in music and om’s is pretty good you know, we don’t have the ear of imon owl but I think we ust trust our own instincts enough when we are looking for people. We always discuss as well, taking into account certain markets and the audiences that someone might appeal to. ou have to get out there, go to lots of gigs and yes you see a lot of bad stuff but every now and then you come across some good stuff and even a few gems. hat’s when it’s worth it.
So why the name BowTieCreatives? When we started it about years ago at uni as ust a thing on the side, at the time I really liked bow ties, and we were creative. It’s literally a simple as that. I started off originally with my sister and she put the name together. Emerge: How did you guys get started? y dad is a photographer and my sister is a video producer, so we had the e uipment and the studio and at uni we had talented musicians as friends gestures to osh so we thought why not have a bit of fun with this. nd then we started to actually get some traction and more and more people became interested and then osh came on full time. hen I’d say the last nine months it has gained ground. We have now got a lot more people involved like osh’s brother oe has come on board to help with social media as that’s how these
Yeah, we have watched a lot of your stuff, like Marcel?
ut one of the most important things is definitely networking. ust got to be nice person, got to chat to everyone. Interrupting pread love. ou genuinely have to hunt people down like dogs sometimes. What do you guys do to help new artists and musicians? ot only do we provide you with a video, we provide social media backing and promotion as well. We provide the platform for great musicians to showcase themselves. o w at s t e best t in making music videos?
about
h yeah, I met him at an open mic gig and approached him, he happened to randomly be there, I think he had a big argument with his girlfriend when he was at home then when he left for some air came across this gig and came in. hen si months later we got him. reak ups make the best music.
ilming days are the most fun. We try to go through gigs and up and coming events and going out giving cards is also uite fun. ecause you meet all these artists at gigs and festivals and stuff then as soon as you mention that you produce videos they get well into you.
What are the hardest obstacles for rising musicians?
Who should we check out in terms of new bands and artists?
I think as a musician you really have to trust your ability, if you think you’re good and people keep telling you that you’re good, you’ve sort of got to go with it and believe in yourself. ot to keep gigging, keep recording and buy e uipment ike for me personally I like to record in house, so doing the research and finding out what you need to buy to be able to record yourself.
aniel brahamson. eah, he’s wedish and probably the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. o genuine, he gigs everywhere, he busks. is Instagram is great, he writes these long long te ts. e has so much e perience around the ondon scene as well. TP
EMERGE SEPERATING MUSIC FROM THE NOISE
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k i n g m a r s h a l l WE TALK TO THE MAN WHO COULD BE CROWNED KING
IN ISSUE 2