FREE [ AUTUMN - WINTER 2010 ]
TIM BURGESS WE ARE SCIENTISTS PULLED APART BY HORSES NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB GAVIN WATSON VS. PEANUT (KAISER CHIEFS) O.CHILDREN TRICKY GRINDERMAN
FREE FLY53 DOWNLOAD EP See inside for details
Middle: Jack Rock Jacket, Attikin Shirt, Double Snake T-Shirt, Sneaks Denim Left: Immortals T-Shirt, Twisted Carrot Denim
FLY53 AW10 FANZINE Welcome to the latest edition of FLY53’s very own fanzine,packed full of exclusive interviews and photo shoots with some of our fave musicians as well as our pick of the bands on the up. Just like FLY53’s clothing, this magazine was conceived and designed with a healthy dose of rock‘n’roll attitude for you lovely 24 hour party people as we chat with The Charlatans legend Tim Burgess, Chart hit makers The Noisettes, check in with the awesomely glam yet grizzly Grinderman, share a Latte with Leeds’s noisiest sons Pulled Apart By Horses, get down with the
bold and beautiful young things O.Children, natter with New York’s indie icons We Are Scientists, chow down with the ice cream loving New Young Pony Club, get picky with Tricky and do a head-to-head photography-off with The Kaiser Chief’s Peanut and Skins ‘n’ Punks legend Gavin Watson – who also contributes several exclusive photo shoots throughout this issue too.
PULLED APART BY HORSES Page 18
FLY53 hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did making it! FLY53 ‘PULL ON, WEAR IN, ROCK OUT’.
TIM BURGESS
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB Page 22
Page 06
O.CHILDREN Page 10
CONTENTS RESIST THIS ........................................ 04 TIM BURGESS ..................................... 06 GRINDERMAN .................................... 08 O.CHILDREN ......................................... 10 TRICKY ...................................................
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PULLED APART BY HORSES ......... 18 NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB .............
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GEAR UP FOR THE AW10 PARTY SEASON PARTY HARD WITH FLY53
GAVIN WATSON VS. PEANUT Page 28
WE ARE SCIENTISTS ....................... 24 GAVIN WATSON VS. PEANUT......... 28
In association with www.artrocker.tv - PAGE 3 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
WE ARE SCIENTISTS Page 24
FLY53 & ARTROCKER MAGAZINE PRESENT
This seasons FLY53 album takes in the greats, the legends, the buzzin’ and the new kids, producing quite simply, a storming 45 minute sound extravaganza. We dare you to RESIST THIS!
Grinderman Heathen Child (Edit)
Pulled Apart By Horses Universal Talk Box
Tricky Every Day
Taken from the new album ‘Grinderman 2’ (Mute Records), we are proud, honoured and very, very excited to present Grinderman as this month’s front cover stars and lead track on this CD. ‘Heathen Child’ gives a great taste of things to come on Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey & Jim Sclavunos’ second outing as Grinderman.
’Universal Talk Box’ is the B-side to ‘Back to the Fuck Yeah’, which was the first single off their new album, out now on Transgressive Records. Pulled Apart By Horses go on a full UK tour in September. Do not miss the most exciting live band in the country right now.
Taken from forthcoming album ‘Mixed Race’, released 27 September on Domino Records, the album was recorded in Paris, where Tricky currently lives, and is his most direct album to date. Musically his magpie’s eye takes influence from UK, Jamaica, the US, North Africa and France. He’s performing at Bestival and will then be doing his own tour in the Autumn
New Young Pony Club We Want To [Tom Furse (The Horrors) Mix]
We Are Scientists Nice Guys
The Charlatans Sincerity
’Nice Guys’ was the second single from the new album, ‘Barbara’, out now on Masterswan Recordings/PIAS. We Are Scientists continue their colonization of sub-three-minute pop rock in 2010. Weighing in at just two minutes fifty-four seconds, ‘Nice Guys’ limbos comfortably under that temporal ceiling that critics call “The Altitude of Icarus”. W.A.S. pull off this smash-and-grab timing by focusing on the basics: guitar, bass, and drums.
‘Sincerity’ is take from the band’s 11th Studio album, ‘Who We Touch’, released on 6 Sept through cooking vinyl. The album features Crass’ Penny Rimbaud on a spoken word track and the album itself will be available as a standard CD or deluxe edition featuring early versions of album tracks as well as previously unreleased material. Tim Burgess himself told us this about ‘Sincerity’ saying: “Kraut Inspired Jam, gone Euphoric Pop with Rather Sinister lyrics – I was thinking about Genesis P-Orridge/Marc And The Mambas/The The quite a lot!”
Tom Furse of The Horrors lends a helping hand to NYPC’s fantastic single ‘We Want To’, whilst the original version can be found on NYPC’s 2010 album ‘The Optimist’, which was released on their own label The Numbers. “It’s effortless cool can’t help but remind you of their ability to fill a dancefloor in seconds flat” – Artrocker. Now they can’t be wrong!
- PAGE 4 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
Jim Jones Revue Big Len
The Chapman Family All That Is Left To Break
Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now! G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You Know I’ve Got A)
The Jim Jones Revue release their incendiary new album ‘Burning Down Your House’ on 6 September through Punk Rock Blues Records/ [PIAS] Recordings UK. ‘Big Len’ is a barn storming cut and sets the scene for the album. Catch the band live across the UK in September and October, they are a breath of RnR fresh air!
After 3 years of building up their fearsome live reputation, the band have spent most of 2010 in the darkest corners of Northern England trying to piece to get her their debut album, which is finally scheduled for release in January next year. ‘All That’s Left To Break’ is taken from sessions recorded in the band’s home town of Stockton-on-Tees. The Chapman Family will be playing in the UK and Europe to support the first single from the album, ‘All Fall’, to be released on Halloween. They still remain one of the most important new bands to come out of the UK for years, this track is yet further proof.
Darwin Deez Hey Mom
Polka Party Korean Cinema
Dinosaur Pile-Up Head Spinner
With a bona fide hit single in the slinky form of ‘Radar Detector’, sold out shows across the country, summer festival dates a plenty and a critically lauded debut LP under his belt, Darwin Deez undoubtedly had summer in the palm of his hands. This track is the B-side to the ‘Up In The Clouds’ single which is out now on 7” and download. Darwin is also embarking on a mammoth 15 date UK tour in October, kicking off in high style on 12 October in Manchester
‘Korean Cinema’ is taken from the band’s recent ‘Korean Cinema EP’ release which is out now. The EP is based around themes from the films of Korean Cinema put into their own selfish style (in their words). They are back in the studio working on a single to be released later this year and one expects that to push them to the masses.
This exclusive track from Dinosaur Pile-Up is not featured on their forthcoming debut album ‘Growing Pains’, which is released on FriendsVsRecords on 4 October. The album follows a handful of introductory independent releases over the past year and a bit. The result is a storming rock powerhouse of big pop songs driven by the kind of wall shaking undercurrent only a three-piece can muster. The band tour the UK in the autumn.
EWITFR…N! are correcting the mistakes of pop songs past. Made up of Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and The Blood Arm’s Dyan Valdés, the band released their debut album ‘Fixin’ the Charts, Volume 1’ on Cooking Vinyl earlier this year. The first single is a response to Avril Lavigne’s song ‘Girlfriend’. EWITFR…N! believe that this song sends a divisive and ugly message to impressionable listeners, telling young women that they can derive more worth and status from stealing each others’ boyfriends than they can from realizing their own achievements!
ENHANCED CD BONUS FREE DOWNLOAD EP! So you’ve now listened to the album and read about the tracks now it’s time to get your hands on yet more free music. SIMPLY INSERT THIS COVERMOUNT CD INTO YOUR COMPUTER and go get your Exclusive FREE DOWNLOAD EP. We did dare you to RESIST THIS! Do we hear double dare? Just go get your EP now and thank us later - PAGE 5 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
TIM BURGESS
THE CHARLATANS
Amid a hectic schedule surrounding the release of their eleventh studio album, The Charlatans’ iconic front man, and Cheshire’s finest son, Tim Burgess lets us in on his plans for a new sideproject and tells us why Marks & Spencer’s apples are the best The voice of the indie generation, Tim Burgess is known as much for his cutting-edge sense of style and haircuts as his hits with seminal 90s and noughties band The Charlatans. We caught up with him for a few words on one of his rare visits back to the UK from his new home in Los Angeles, California. FLY53: This year was the 20th anniversary of The Charlatans debut album ‘Some Friendly’ and you played it in its entirety at some festivals and special one-off shows, how was it revisiting that album and playing those tracks live again? Tim Burgess: Obviously people know the hits on there, but for me it was really built around tracks like ‘Flower’, ‘Believe You Me’ and ‘White Shirt’, and we hadn’t played those songs since 1992. We tried to play it as straight as possible, but there are two members of the band who weren’t part of the band then, and because of all the time that had passed it was a new thing. It took me somewhere else, not backwards; it kinda felt very much in the present. FLY53: The Charlatans are known for their love of 60s psychedelic, how did you arrive at your sound? TB: I used to hang out in record shops; I still do, but back then even more so. I just spent all my time going to local record shops. I met our first manager, Steve Harrison, in Omega Music, a record store in Northwich, where I grew up. He had a really good knowledge of music and I was really getting into bands like Rain Parade, that American 80s psychedelic music and Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles, which got me into 60s psychedelic music. Bands like The Long Ryders taught me about The Byrds and that whole West Coast scene. Then I heard The Nuggets and Pebbles compilations. The Nuggets box set is a real classic. FLY53: You curated a stage at the Isle of Wight Festival and have been very pro-active in your work with new bands like Hatcham Social, whose album you produced, is it important for you to stay in touch with new music?
TB: Curating the stage at the Isle of Wight Festival came about because I wanted to put on a club night, but for a whole day, so when The Charlatans were asked to headline that tent as part of the deal I said I wanted to put on all the bands before us. I like to do something every day and working with Hatcham Social came about because they asked me. I’d never produced before, so I started out by thinking what my main problem with producers was when I first started out; and it was that they never listened to me. But people who are in bands get to a certain point because they really care and they’ve thought out how they wanna be and be heard. So when I heard Hatcham Social I just heard that what they were doing was great but there was a cloud over their music. So I just took away the cloud of murkiness and let them actually be heard. They were so freaked out cos they were like “We sound so good”, and I was like “I know you do”, but it was just them sounding as good as I think they should sound. Fly53: So what are the plans for The Charlatans and new material at the moment? TB: We’ve got the new album that’s just come out, and we’ll be touring that now until Christmas, so we won’t be writing for a while. But I’m writing stuff for a solo album and a new project with Stefan from the Klaxons and Josh from The Horrors, but we don’t know what it’s going to be called yet. We’ve done some stuff before and it’s kinda been on-going for a couple of years now, but the time feels right for that to happen. FLY53: You’re known for your style and especially your awesome haircuts, but who was your style icon when you were growing up? TB: I thought everything New Order ever did was brilliant, and they looked great, especially around the time of ‘The Perfect Kiss’ in 1985. FLY53: So how did the infamous ‘heavy fringe’ idea come about? TB: That was because of The Byrds and The Ramones. The fringe is a hard one, it’s always hard – it looks weird if it’s too short. I’m jealous of Aerial Pink’s hair, so I think I’m just gonna - PAGE 6 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
grow it long now. FLY53: Have you ever thought of doing your own clothing range like Liam Gallagher? TB: I haven’t, but I should, it’d be great. FLY53: You left England for Los Angeles, what do you miss most when you’re in the States? TB: I really like Marks & Spencer. I like the apples they have there. I have to settle for coconuts when I’m in LA. I love walking by the river in Britain and the beat of the steps always gives me ideas for melodies and song ideas, so I miss that.
The Charlatans new album ‘Who We Touch’ is out now. Left page Tim is wearing Legend Jacket. Below Tim is wearing Virus III Hooded Sweat Photography: Gavin Watson
GRINDERMAN Featuring never-before-seen photos by Gavin Watson, Grinderman return with another album of leftfield, tongue-incheek rock’n’roll Photography: Gavin Watson Grinderman’s approach to writing this new album was almost entirely based on improvisation. Broadly speaking, how do the early experiments evolve into a final record? Jim Sclavunos: When we first start out, it’s wide open. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Nick may have some words written in a notebook, maybe Warren’s got a couple of riffs or loops, but the rest of it’s wide open. By the time we’ve got the album sequencing together and everything’s mixed, all of a sudden it seems so cohesive and it’s like; ‘oh! That’s what we meant to do all along!’ But all those threads have to be journeyed on throughout the making of the record. The lyrics can seem at times romantic, at other times the thoughts of a sexual predator. Where does the latter half come from?
Nick, you and Warren Ellis have been making a lot of film soundtracks recently. Has that process informed the new Grinderman album? Nick Cave: Yeah, I don’t know about this record but it informs the way we make music anyway. Working with Warren has really deepened our musical relationship, working on those film soundtracks. And I think they’re very improvised, those soundtracks, or at least initially, and I think that’s had a big effect on the way Grinderman go about making music. Some of the music on the new record has this contrast of tranquillity and violence – is that balance inherent in the personality of the band?
Nick Cave: It’s all about the bass playing. How do sing anything else when Marty [Casey, bass] gets on one of his malignant grooves? It’s pretty difficult to sing anything else. He is the predator. That’s what happens in songs, especially when we are improvising and you get this groove thing going down, the music just sort of suggests stuff. So I take no responsibility for the lyrics, I tell you that!
Nick Cave: Yeah absolutely. It’s just what we do. I think that kind of counterpoint definitely comes out of film work. We’ve been doing this from the start, but it’s hugely effective when you put something that is tender over some image which is violent. Me and Warren do that all the time. And music can effect the image in film hugely: if you have footage and you start putting different pieces of music over the top of it, what you choose has a massive effect. And I think that sort of stuck, with Grinderman… with anything we do.
With all the members of Grinderman also being in the Bad Seeds, is it difficult to make each separate project sound distinct from the other?
One of the most surprising songs on the album is an almost summery, groove-based track called Palaces of Montezuma. How did you arrive at that beat?
box, isn’t it? Jim Sclavunos: Well, the beauty was in that original crudeness, it wasn’t even a drum, just a case that was full of junk – you could hear it all rattling around inside – and you have to keep those bits. You know? We’re keeping these improvs and building on them despite the limitations they might impose. The album can feel quite terrifying and almost like a disorientating assault at times, with songs such as Worm Tamer. Was that that intention? Jim Sclavunos: Sure, it’s been observed that the whole album is enthused with this malignant atmosphere. But there’s also this undercurrent of anxiety and neurosis, and it takes on a hallucinatory sort of delirious quality after a while, and certainly with something like Worm Tamer where you’re being assaulted by all these different sounds flying out seemingly at random… that heightens the whole delirious effect. The band have known each other for years in and out of the Bad Seeds. Is it important to have that close network of trusted friends? Nick Cave: I do have around me a small group of people that I do trust. Because sometimes you just don’t know if what you’re doing is any good, or if you’ve just gone off on some tangent that’s irredeemable. Is it easier to take risks with friends then?
Nick Cave: We can’t be worried about whether we’re crossing boundaries with what we do. We’re not precious about having Bad Seeds over here and Grinderman over here… It gets increasingly counter-productive to worry about that. I mean, if we wrote a song that sounded really like the Bad Seeds then we don’t do it, but basically we’re the same people doing the same things.
Nick Cave: It started with Warren playing a cardboard box – he can’t play the drums but we needed someone to keep the beat, so he just went BOM BOM BOM! On a drum case, and it sounded really good. But then some really lovely stuff came afterwards. It’s quite out of the ordinary to base a track on someone tapping out a beat on a cardboard - PAGE 8 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
Jim Sclavunos: Grinderman is the kind of band that welcomes the risk and maybe an embarrassment that is potentially irredeemable [laughs], and doing that among friends and trusted colleagues is maybe the smarter way to make those explorations.
WINTER ‘CHECK’ LIST
Check out your wardrobes this season with fashions absolute staple essential; the checked shirt. Rock-up in some top dollar, worn in classics to look effortlessly cool this winter. Our checked shirts are forever...not just for this Christmas.
Mafia Jacket
Candy Knitted Scarf
Underbelly Checked Shirt
Devonshire Denim
Six pocket neat regualr fit Devonshire denim. Grey cast indigo denim,oversprayed with grey pigment
Nemesis Long Sleeved T-Shirt
Left to right Gauthier wears Dark Lines Knit Tobias wears Bad Apples T-Shirt Harry wears Burton Jacket, Voodoo Knit Sleath Keifer Polo Photograph by Gavin Watson
O.CHILDREN The best new band to bust out of East London since the Libertines, O Children’s debut album has not been off the FLY53 stereo. Tobias, you have a naturally low frequency voice, but do you have a falsetto? Tobias: Yeah I toyed with falsettos every now and then with the recording of the record, and there’s some private stuff in my closet – skeletons – there’s some pretty high frequencies. I was blessed with an OK range and so I use it, it just so happens that this is the easiest way to do it. It’s easier. I’m getting old you know? What is your favourite 80s horror movie and why? Andy: I’m gonna say George A Romero’s ‘Day of the Dead’ from 1985. Purely because it’s so underrated. They try and train a zombie to be a human. Harry: I’d say Halloween, mainly because of the music. Gauthier: I’d go with Braindead. I don’t know if you can really call it a horror… it’s more of a romance really. It’s an old time zombie romcom. Tobias, you mentioned before that you wanted the audiences at your live show to feel like they were getting laid. Has anyone reported feelings of sexual arousal to you?
girlfriend. So 1/10. Although having said that I guess the record collection is gothic. Let’s make that 1.5 out of 10.
wanna be funny about it, then OK, it’s my sadness. Or lack of sadness. Who knows? It’s a very cloudy sea.
You mentioned that you tried to incorporate the production techniques of 80s goth and 90s noise music. What kind of techniques are we dealing with here?
It was in the news the other day that American Apparel has just crashed, and some people are interpreting this as the end of the hipster age which has dominated the last decade. Is there anything in that?
Tobias: Ummm… reverb? The drums? Basically, if you record the drums just dry, no matter how much you tweak them, you’ll never get that really punchy sound that you need. Some of my favourite records don’t have that, but I always think in my head: shit… if I had my way and enough studio time, I’d take all these records and re-release them under my own record label with all these drum effects on, and make millions. It is a very expansive, cinematic sound. Would you say the movies are influential on the sound? Tobias: I don’t necessarily mean to, but when I write it seems to come out like a movie script. And not in the sense of beginning, middle end – no, nothing like that at all – it’s more descriptive. Almost like reading a book, but with more action and less… reading [laughs]. Would you describe yourselves as a melancholy band? Tobias: Like everyone else I have good days and I have bad days. I just happen to be able to write about the bad days better. And if you
Harry: I don’t like being a ‘Shoreditch hipster’ you know. Whatever people say about Shoreditch it’s just a lot of young people living in one place. People want to live there because it’s exciting and it’s vibrant – but you shouldn’t take it too seriously. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s on the decline: there’ll always be people in London looking for new things, trying to be different. Are you looking forward to the future? Tobias: I am looking forwards to the future, not just because I don’t wanna die young, but because I want to see all the crazy shit that’s gonna happen. It’s just going to get weirder and weirder – I have panic attacks almost every day about what’s happening already so I just want to see how long we can… ride it. FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD - O.Children - Ruins Simply put the CD from this very zine into your computer and get the FREE Bonus DOWNLOAD EP which includes this amazing single from their critically acclaimed debut album. We really are too good to you !
Tobias: Yeah actually. There was a Youtube comment – Andy showed me this – someone left a comment saying that the music does special things to their loins. Whether they’re being serious or not I have no idea… but stuff like that is good for me. You’re known to some people as a gothic band. But how gothic are your bedrooms? Please rate them out of 10 in terms of gothicness. Andrew: Well in my bedroom I like to stick on opera music now and then. And I would rate that as being more gothic than one of those wanky, crappy hat stands. So according to my definition of what’s gothic, I would rate it a 6.5. Gauthier: My bedroom would be about a 1/10, solely because there’s a crucifix in it, but it’s gold, not black. There’s floral designs on the carpet, on the bed… everywhere. It’s a really girly room, possibly because I live with my
Left to right Tobias wears Laudrup Jacket Harry wears Cedar Tree knit Sleath Dictator Knit Photograph here plus black and white photographs left by Peanuts - PAGE 11 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
GEAR UP, ROCK OUT, RAVE ON Update your vintage rags this season with chunky geometric knits, retro tees and worn-out leathers. Rock a new aesthetic and gear up in some bold, fearless and subversive pieces to break the norm and rock the riot. MONKEY 23 KNIT
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Casa Pascal Leather Jacket, Underhand Knit, Little Faith T-Shirt, Devonshire Denim.
Major Jacket, Rolling Stock Checked Shirt, Bird Of Prey T-Shirt
Herman Duffle Coat, Bad Apples T-Shirt
- PAGE 12 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
Key features to look for when going out this season are torn and distressed fabrics, over-sized zips, cobweb lace and bags of attitude! Tattered, sheer fabrics are teamed with chunky tasseled knits and shimmering details to create an amalgamation of punk fairytale meets casual. VICE DRESS
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THERMAL PULSE JACKET
Photo Montage Jersey
Base Cover Knit
Thermal Pulse Jacket, Bats Jersey Top
- PAGE 13 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
TRICKY
In this rare and exclusive interview the famously reclusive UK hip-hop artist, Tricky, passes on his wisdom to FLY53 Photography: Jack Dante is Past Mistake at Teleclub in Ekaterinburg in Russia from the last tour. You’re a bit of a film star these days - which film appearance are you happiest with? None of them cos I don’t think I’m an actor – though I like the appearance in Brownpunk the movie, cos I got to direct myself, and do what I wanted to do. Brown Punk - no more? It was stuck in business limbo for a year and a half so I had to get out of the deal, which has just happened, so soon it’s going to be operating again – should be some stuff out later this year – the page on www.trickysite.com will have details. Fiona Wang, a couple of things I’ve produced in Paris, some of the guests on Mixed Race, Franky Riley, Marlon. Brownpunk is anti a&r and pro international – it’s a label for all – we’re going to franchise it around the world cos we want artists everywhere to be able to use the name for their own ends - to release anything that they feel is exciting. Where do you live these days? I’m a gyppo I live everywhere and I’m a citizen of the universe – everyone’s too nationalistic, it’s outdated. People don’t seem to realise its 2010 now. What is your greatest regret? When family members died without me having told them I loved them – my uncle Kenneth Porter for one. What is your greatest acheivemnet?
I’d always assumed the the name Tricky came from the Run DMC track of the same name I’m wrong aren’t I? What’s the real story? When I was about 18, I was supposed to meet my mate outside a shopping centre in Knowle West, and the same day that I was meant to meet him I went to Manchester instead and stayed there for six weeks. When I came back to Bristol, I got dropped back to the same place where I was supposed to meet my mate, and he happened to be there. First thing he said to me was “ You Tricky bastard” and that was it…. What was it about Bristol that produced the Pop Group, Glaxo Babies and your career? A west contry funkiness? It’s so boring there there’s nothing to do except go in the studio.
How did you feel at the time to be labeled ‘Trip Hop’? Do you mind the term? I don’t like the term trip-hop, never have – if I invented this music it should be called Trick Hop anyway. You famously played in complete darkness, what was the thinking behind that? I used to be nervous then, and I see performers as people who can sing or dance and cos I can’t do either, I thought why am I up there? And I didn’t like the fact that people liked to see me perform – didn’t understand the connection between the artist and the audience, plus I had a bit of fuck-you attitude. It’s not like that now, I’m learning how to communicate with the audience - if you want to see how it’s changed - to see how it is now – go to this link http://www. youtube.com/watch?v=GjLB5t45Q_8 which - PAGE 14 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
I’m still trying to do that – I’m still trying to create my greatest achievement. How important is your image to you? I’m just me so I don’t really notice it – I don’t feel I have an image – I just do what I do – that being said, me being myself is very important to me, so if that’s what you mean by image then yes, very.
STAND STRONG FOR FLY53
Get ready to combat high street style this season with our new military inspired collection. Skulls and creatures feature heavily to accentuate the vibrant colours used throughout. This range will truly help you stand strong for the resistance this winter.
Crystal Stilts Short Sleeved Checked Shirt
100% cotton twill Ruben trousers with a peached finish
Double Snake T-Shirt
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Burton Jacket
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Headlining this season is the badass look. Wear in and rock out for a punked up look in some of our vintage tees. Featured in acid washes and dirty over-dyes, the tees illustrate graphic stories for an authentic finish to the outcast idiosyncrasy. Ooh, what a teese!
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Jorma from The Bronx wears our Already Dead and Lucky Bones T-shirts “Look like a badass. just dont tell anyone how soft the cotton is, tough guy�
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Tobias from O.Children
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8
12
11
15
Eagles of Death Metal wear our Bad Apples and Junkdrome T-Shirts
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ALREADY DEAD 13
LITTLE FAITH DARK MAGIC ACID EAGLE
Gavin Watson
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LUCKY BONES
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MASTER HIT
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BIZ
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SWEETHEART
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FUBAR
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DOUBLE SNAKE
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BAD APPLES
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JUNKDROME
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BAD SIGN
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BRIGHT FUTURE
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BIRD OF PREY
PULLED APART BY HORSES Photography: Gavin Watson
Left to right Lee: Crystal Stilts Shirt James: Master Hit T-Shirt, Burton Jacket Tom: 32 Crash Long Sleeved T-Shirt Robert: Sweetheart T-Shirt
- PAGE 18 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
Launching out of Leeds like a bunch of lunatics straight out of the asylum, alternative indie metal noise rockers Pulled Apart by Horses pack a mean punch. With their self-titled debut album blowing out ear drums across the country we got them to slow down their runaway train enough for us to jump aboard for a chat Indie? Metal? Grunge? It’s all just rock’n’roll to us, but many have had a tough time deciding just exactly what kind of music Leeds fourpiece Pull Apart By Horses through out of their deafening loud speakers. But true to their Yorkshire roots and not concerned by being pigeon-holed, the band just wants to play. FLY53: There’s a plethora of heavy bands coming out of Yorkshire, do you think there’s something ‘in the water’ there that’s spurning this new heavy sound? Pulled Apart By Horses: I think there is, but it’s not a conscious decision. There are just a lot of like-minded people. All of our friends are in bands or have creative jobs, so we just bounce off of each other. It’s not just heavy music in Leeds though, it’s very diverse, but there’s a strong spirit and it’s very healthy with lots going on. It’s what keeps us in Leeds – the music scene. FLY53: You covered a Sky Larkin song as a b-side, which was a bit of a surprise, how did that come about? PABH: I remember saying ages ago that their song, ‘Somersault’, was such a happy, nice, bouncy song played on Micro Korg synthesisers that it’d just be so amazing to turn it into a heavy, full-on sounding song – so we made it sound like thunder with a Drop A Sabbath-style riff. FLY53: Your music really crosses-over between the indie world and the heavy metal galaxy, how did you mange to find such a diverse audience? PABH: There’s a definite divide. For a little while we didn’t get any press cos people weren’t sure what we were, but eventually they got it after they saw us play a few times. We played Download, which is the most metal you can go, and then we did Latitude, and they’re both at completely different ends, which is bizarre, but
cool. If you come to our gigs there’ll be a bunch of indie kids in skinny jeans standing next to a guy with long hair and covered in tattoos. We really like interacting with our crowd live. FLY53: So how’s life been going since the album came out? PABH: The album came out in June but our latest single, ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’, is the one that’s been getting us all the attention, so we’ve kinda done things the wrong way round. Normally a band puts out two or three singles, gets some press and then by the time album comes out and things take off, but now it’s all really kicking off. So we’re touring until we die! We say we’ll finish a tour and then the next one starts. But by the end of the year we’ll be eager to start writing again but I think we’ll just get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off and have to write the album in between Christmas dinner! FLY53: You asked fans to donate instruments to be trashed by your good selves in the video for ‘High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive’, how was the response to that? PABH: We got too much. We even got an email from a girl saying ‘I didn’t see the bass amp I sent you in the video’ and we were like ‘We didn’t get time to smash it up!’ We had one of my best friend’s basses that we’d been borrowing and the only thing we hadn’t been sent to trash was a bass, so Rob smashed that to absolute pieces, and he didn’t even know. I just took him back a chunk of his bass and on the back it says ‘Soz, P.A.B.H.’ and I thought he was gonna be really pissed off, but he was like ‘That’s amazing, I’m gonna put that on my wall’. FLY53: How important is fashion to you and how you look reflecting the music you make? PABH: We haven’t got a clue. We’ve all got our own individual tastes and listen to different - PAGE 19 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
music, but the band brings us all together. If you look at us some people will probably think we look like a band, but really we’re just a bunch of oddballs. Lee’s a hardcore punk who’s covered in tattoos and Fred Perry shirts. I’m all about Primark! We’ve all been through the long hair, Dr Martens and bleach blonde hair, and I’ve been a bit of a creepy Goth with the one white eye contact like Marilyn Manson. My passport photo looks like it’s black and white but I’ve just got a white face and dyed black hair – I look like the Blair Witch. But it’s all been about the music you’re listening to at the time. Pulled Apart By Horses debut album, self-titled album ‘Pulled Apart By Horses’ is out now. Top right picture Robert: Attiken Shirt. Tom: Attiken Shirt, Hank Hat. James: Master Hit T-Shirt, Burton Jacket. Lee: Mafia Jacket, Profanity Knit, Dirt Road Polo.
Buffalo Checked Shirt
STREET STYLER The shirt has become a necessity to every man’s wardrobe. Whether you’re a vintage washed denim cowboy shirt kinda guy or a utilitarian, sharp edged English gentleman, FLY53 has a range of shirts geared for every occasion this season. Our shirts are the uniform of the street; individual, savvy, streetwise with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude.
Punter Funnel Neck Shirt
Attikin Checked Shirt
Resolution Denim Shirt
Crystal Stilts Short Sleeved Checked Shirt
Outcome Denim Shirt
- PAGE 21 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB -TAHITA BULMERTrying not to spill her ice cream on her fancy new Fly53 clothes, New Young Pony Club’s Ty tells us why you have to look good while you’re rocking out
a bit less of a dichotomy between Optimism and Pessimism and more of a spectrum of approaches to enjoying life. Do you still like ice-cream these days, or do you prefer sorbet? Always love Ice Cream. Occasionally I flirt with Twisters but I always end up going back to my first love. What would you say to the person who coined the phrase Nu-Rave? Congratulation, you’ve successfully made certain aspects of my life incredibly boring. Was allowing your music to be used on ads a good idea?
Has success brought you ponies? Unfortunately my life is still pretty pony free. Your latest album was The Optimist - does the title reflect the band’s persona? It reflects one aspect of the bands persona. We want to embrace an adult version of Optimism where there is room for life dark moments but you get through them and you move on. Its
What advice would you offer to a new band if offered a similar package? Its a very good idea in this day and age. If fans are going to download 18 months work for free, they can hardly expect us not to accept corporate opportunities. Bands at our level make virtually nothing from our own gigs because the costs associated with playing and touring are so high. You pay for your flights, transport, technical staff, tour manager, hotels, food, instruments, there’s very little left at the end. Plus we have to pay bills and buy food like everyone else and records don’t pay for themselves to be made anymore so its djing, merchandising, corporate gigs and generally selling out as much as possible these days. I - PAGE 22 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
don’t regret any of our music being used in the way it has been. We wouldnt have been able to continue past 2005 without those companies wanting to use our music. If a new band was offered the same opportunities, Id say take them. You’ll need that dosh to survive the way things are at the moment. Just make sure you utilise the exposure and hopefully you will pull a Go Baby Go moment and become massive. There’s a darkness about The Optimist where did that come from? Well, contrary to popular belief this band is 50% extroverts and 50% introverts and sometimes that’s just in one person. The previous album was a party album and we wanted it to be because we couldn’t really afford to go to any parties when we were making it. It was a fantasy record. A great one that lots of other people loved enough to play at their parties. The Optimist is a more truthful representation of us as people. We wanted it to be more honest and to have those layers of emotional depth that were missing from the party album. I went out of my comfort zones and wrote about the things I was going through at the time. The death of very long relationship and generally just feeling totally burnt out and exhausted after touring non stop for three years. Andy went out of his comfort zone and experimented with new soundscapes and production techniques. We explored, tested ourselves and sometimes that can be a very challenging and scary prospect. We had to
learn to accept the fact that the darkness essentially comes from us. But the light does as well.
everyone implicitly knows why those artists make those choices and what their choices are trying to say.
Who has the biggest say in your stage attire?
If you could choose one piece of art that best represents NYPC what would it be?
I have the most say in mine and Andy has the most say in his, Lou has the most say in hers and Sarah has the most say in hers. How important is image in music? Very important now. You’re not just a band, you’re a brand. You’re a vehicle for all sorts of assumptions, preconceptions and ideas. Obviously image is one creative aspect of being a musician that hopefully allows you to re-inforce what you are saying in your music. And of course, after 50 years of popular music, image is a shorthand for all kinds of messages. Not a lot of death metal bands wearing pink or reggae artists in studded leather belts and
Vassily Kandinsky’s Cossacks. A very innovative work with lots of texture and layers of meaning. Looks happy and colourful and easy to understand. Is actually very complex and really rather dark. The future for NYPC? Find some way of putting out Album 3. Where we marry the darkest bits of Fantastic Playroom and the light hearted bits of the Optimist to massive plaudits and the general delight of our audience. Play amazing gigs worldwide. Dj at great parties. Pursue various incredible solo projects. Wear exceptional outfits. Get drunk
- PAGE 23 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
a lot and crash golf carts. Headline something. Pay all our bills. Get married. Have kids. Buy yachts. That last one is probably not going to happen. Left page Tahita wears Patron leather jacket and Killer Lipstick Jersey Top. Below Tahita wears Zips Jersey Top and Lola Belt. Photography: Gavin Watson
WE ARE SCIENTISTS Uber cool Brooklyn two-some We Are Scientists return with new music and, now, a new look too, courtesy of some FLY53 rock’n’roll
How’s Lewis? Hope that cat is still about. Lewis is alive and well, to the best of my knowledge. A couple of years ago he leapt from the balcony at the apartment where he lives, plummeting 3 stories to the small bushes below. The blast of the fall made him somewhat milder, or at least more introspective. He now serves up carefully calculated cruelty, rather than the berserker mayhem that was once his calling card. But yes, very much still about, Lewis. Will there be a second series of Stevie Wants His Money? There will not. Although it’s commonplace in the world of entertainment these days to glue a prolongation onto perfectly-contained films or serials simply because they met with some viewer approval, we’re of the mind that dead
the tour is kaleidoscopic, not easily rendered as cogent anecdote, but I do recall fondly the sound checks during the last week, when we learned a big group version of Hotel California that was performed at the final shows. At the very last show, in Montreal, I played it wearing only small pink underpants, and Keith spent much of the song lofted above Eddie’s head. (Yes, Keith’s fairly light, but it’s also true that Eddie’s an ox.) Read much Chick Lit lately? Anything you can recommend? I read the first hundred pages or so of ‘Committed’, the most recent title by Elizabeth
horses shouldn’t be tampered with – certainly not dragged up onto a cart and paraded around town square – so we’re leaving the Steve show and its characters, all of whom explored perfectly parabolic arcs during the show’s 6 episodes, alone. We’d sooner undertake a sequel to A Farewell To Arms, frankly! Actually, we are working on a sequel to A Farewell To Arms. In it, Lieutenant Henry has returned to the United States and fallen into a drunken, depraved lifestyle that includes an addiction to murder. It’s up to Sherlock Holmes to stop him. You toured with Art Brut - how as that? Any amusing anecdotes? Touring with Art Brut is like sleeping with the lights on and the TV blaring and a Stooges record on loop and somebody lighting off firecrackers in a big metal garbage can. That is, not very restful, but you learn a lot. Due to the arduous conditions, my memory of the - PAGE 24 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Gilbert. It takes on marriage, offering a sort of meandering exploration of how marriage is conceived in different cultures. It’s not great. I never read ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, but I assume it’s better. ‘Committed’ is, in the truncated form I experienced, rudderless and, worse, weirdly snarky. I offer as apologia for Elizabeth Gilbert, though, a recommendation that you check out her TED talk, which you’ll find on the internet. (Google ‘elizabeth gilbert TED talk’ and there it’ll be; this will also introduce you to the incredible resource that is TED talks, if you don’t know them already.) Who’s Barbara and how come she had an album named after her?
You misunderstand: Barbara *is the album*. The album isn’t named after anybody; the album is named ‘Barbara’. Would you call yourselves a ‘t-shirt and jeans’ band? No, I don’t think so. We certainly own a few pairs of jeans that fit like icing on a cake, and some t-shirts that accentuate our marvelously flat bellies, but we love a good suit, too. Or even just a button up shirt tucked into some non-denim trousers! This can be a wonderful ‘bridge look’ for those times when a tee & jeans are too scrappy but a suit threatens to overwhelm. Pajamas can be great for wearing around your or another person’s house. It’s the final day of planet earth - what does it say on your t-shirts? Mine says ‘Armageddon’ and Keith’s says ‘Deep Impact’.
The Advice column on your website is very useful, do you have any advice on starting an Advice column? First of all, you need to acquire expertise in something. Our advice column is quite intimidating to would-be advisors because we cover every subject, but you needn’t do that with your column. You can do a carpentry or parenting advice column, or even break all the rules and do a sex column. So yeah, spend a few years mastering the ins and outs of something (or everything), and then set up your column. We find that a rhyming dictionary is also critical. Who do you look up to when you’re down and who do you look down on when you’re up? When I’m down I look up to junkies, who have the courage to trade bodily health for a chemically-enhanced experience of the world.
- PAGE 25 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
When I’m up, I totally look down on junkies, those pathetic losers. Throwin’ it all away, junkies. Is that a test-tube in your pocket or are you just happy to answer Artrocker questions? What are the chances? Both, actually! Below Left to Right Keith: Ernie Jacket, Little Faith T-Shirt Chris: Brundrettes Jacket, Firefly Shirt Left Page Chris: Outcome shirt, Bad Apples T-Shirt Keith: Acid Eagle T-Shirt, Monkey 23 Knit Photography: Gavin Watson Poloroids: Peanut
YOU’VE JUST BEEN PUNKED Get punked this season with our collection of retro inspired tees. Bikers, Rebel Millitants and Punks feature heavily, where illustrations of skulls and winged creatures dominate worn-out fabrics. Saddle up for some tongue in cheek, biker geek chic.
Hawardian Carrot Fit Denim
Little Faith T-Shirt
Underhand Knit
Seven pocket twisted carrot fit Hawardan denim. Grey cast indigo denim, oversprayed with grey pigment
Casa Pascal Leather Jacket
HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?
THE SEARCH HAS BEGUN GO TO FLY53.COM FOR DETAILS
GAVIN WATSON VS. PEANUT
Photography legend Gavin Watson shares photo tips with The Kaiser Chief’s very own lens lover, Peanut Who’s got the biggest lens? Gavin: I’d say Peanut’s is longer – and dare I say wider? It’s got a wider aperture. Digital or film? Peanut: You can’t choose one or the other. If I had to take one to the grave, film. When you’re holding a negative in your hand, you’re holding something quite valuable. Gavin: And they last. You can burn them, put water on them, and they will last. Digital is a work horse, film is to keep the art going. I loved digital when it came out, but as soon as I was getting paid again, I got myself another film camera. What makes a good photograph? Peanut: It’s something that invokes an emotional reaction in somebody else. Rather than getting you to think ‘yeah that’s a nice image’ a good photo would remind you of something else, or look like it could be something else… Gavin: That reaction is what I get from my work – it really hits people in the face. Now I can’t see it because they’re [photos of] my mates, but it has a reaction in that people get brought back to their teenage years. They don’t see skinheads – they see themselves and their mates when they were kids. I’ve shown my stuff across the world and it got the same reaction, whether it was from middle class Norwegians or a bunch of Somalian geezers – they all saw their childhood.
Do people take too many photos? Peanut: People do take too many photos in the mistaken idea that it’ll help them get that one good photo. If you hold down the shutter on your digital camera you might get that one good shot – but I reckon it’s more about composition, or choosing the right moment. There are too many computer hard drives full of images. Gavin: It’s not the amount of photographs that people take, it’s the amount of individuals that will save those photographs and show them to human beings in twenty years time. That’ll be down to very few people, and all of a sudden the reaction will be ‘Fuck! The Secret Garden Party! Where’s all my photographs? Why wasn’t I taking a camera around?’ It’ll be people like myself – who keep their mobile phones, keep their hard drives and exhibit them in ten years and find that time has creative power. Can photography be art? Gavin: I really have contention with that. I think that it’s a craft. Art is when you sit down and paint the Sistine Chapel or do a Rembrandt. That’s art to me. A photograph is a craft. Having said that, if you’re creating your own process, like you’re making a camera with a 15” film on it, and you’re going out taking massive film of New York City that takes hours to expose… that might be art. Controlled art. But what I do is a craft. Does the camera ever lie? Peanut: Yes and no. A lie can be told around a - PAGE 28 FLY53 AUTUMN/WINTER 2010
picture, “this is what happened here” – so unless you were there to see the events around it… that’s the beauty of a picture. It leaves you uncertain as to the events of just before or after it was taken. What you do know is what happened at that instant of time, when the shot was taken. Gavin: Everything is open to individual interpretation. Prove a point? This photo. Black kid. [shows a photo of a black teenager at a hairdresser, having his head shaved in close up. The hand shaving his hair belongs to a white man]. It was exhibited in Islington. Put all the pictures up, come in there, dead silence. There’s a South African behind the bar. ‘Could we have a word please? You must take that picture down.’ I said I beg your fucking pardon mate? ‘You’ve got to take the picture down.’ Why’s that mate? ‘Because it is the white hand of oppressor.’ Really? I think that’s your own projection of your own fucking guilt. That’s a mate of mine getting his hair cut. Now fuck off and sort out your own political situation – don’t project it onto my images. But that’s the power of my images – they blow people’s fucking minds. Because they’ve seen Romper Stomper, they’ve read the papers, and they think of themselves as intelligent. And they come along with these utterly preconceived ideas that they’ve got out of the media like force-fed pigs. And they’re asking questions about why there’s a black kid in my pictures. So I don’t answer questions like that. What is your all time favourite photograph?
Peanut: No idea. I was in the studio the other day, and there was the photo of Lennon at his white piano with the closed shutters. And you think, yeah – musically that creates some kind of reaction within me. It’s evocative. Then again there are some photos that I’ve taken in Greece… they couldn’t have come out better. I look at them and can’t believe I even took them.
Gavin: If the clothes are evocative of history they certainly can. I realised recently that I’ve always been a fashion photographer. I enjoy taking pictures of clothes, and in fact I end up photographing the clothes and getting the faces out of focus – which has probably pissed off some of the bands I’ve photographed. I like clothes.
Gavin: I don’t have a favourite photo of mine, not one. It’s all relative to the work depending on how I’m feeling. There is one that jumps into my mind – a friend of mine called Johnny Craig is only a baby, he’s only 21. He’s got a ferocious passion for film. And he sent me a photo of a naked skinny kid on the beach with a pig’s head where his bollocks should be. And it’s the most horrible picture I’ve ever seen! It’s just wrong! I love that picture.
Which person in the world would you most like to photograph? Peanut: I wish I could take a picture of the band, but with me in it as well. I did some shots where I left the camera on a timer and had to run in and get comfortable really quickly! But I’d like to somehow be stood there myself with a camera and have myself in the photo with the band. Just from a controlling point of view. So your answer is… The Kasier Chiefs!
Do clothes make a good photo? Peanut: Not really. There is the question ‘can clothes save a bad photo’, and I don’t think so. Either the photo’s well beyond saving, or it’s fine no matter what they’re wearing. That’s the way I look at it.
Clockwise from top left: Gavin: Assen Beanie, Double Snake T-Shirt, Major Jacket Peanut shot by Gavin Gavin with his younger brother Neville, wearing Root Down II Jacket Peanut: Shroom Jacket Gavin with his younger brother Neville
Peanut: If you’re going to put it in one sentence, then… yeah! [laughs] Gavin: Scarlett Johansson on the top of a London tour bus on a rainy afternoon, for a couple of hours.
VISIT FLY53.COM DURING DECEMBER AND TAKE PART IN A REAL 24 HOUR PARTY FOR ALL YOU 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE! THE SEASON IS UPON US, SO LET’S GET MESSY…
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DOUBLE ACT
Denim has been super distressed this season; jeans and shirts have been treated with solid core vintage washes, pigment sprays and crumpled finishes too for that extra hard-waring, worn-in look. Double denim is making a come back, so pull on, wear in, rock out!
Acid Eagle T-Shirt
Resolution Denim Shirt
Five pocket neat loose fit Not Exactly denim. 13oz red cast indigo hand scraped 3 year old vintage reprodution
Fear Hooded Leather Jacket
Not Exactly Denim
FLY53 Streetwear apparel for Men and Women available to buy online at FLY53.COM with FREE UK Delivery* or in-store at FLY53 stockists around the world. Find your nearest stockist online at FLY53.COM *Full price items only. Subject to change.