GIGWISE: Issue 7 - Love + Hate

VALENTINES 23 / ISSUE 7

THE BRAND NEW ALBUM OUT MARCH 3rd

From Nothing to a Little Bit More

WE <3 _______

The Gigwise team spill on their newest + biggest musical crushes…

SAM FENDER

Is it a cliche? Absolutely. But an indie rocker who manages to pull off the ‘sad boi’ aesthetic without being overly pretentious really works for me. Plus, he’s fit as f*ck. - Marcus Wood

SELF ESTEEM

My newest musical crush is the goddess that is Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem. I say new because my Self Esteem obsession only began in 2021. Not only is Rebecca an immensely talented songwriter and performer, but she always comes across well (and like an absolute hoot) in interviews and she isn’t scared to break the mould and challenge stereotypes - I mean, there aren’t many people who’d have the guts to wear a dress made out of Boots Advantage cards! - Laura

Dean

DEBBIE HARRY

Debbie Harry was the first rock star to stir my loins when I saw archive footage of her from the 1970s. Seeing her in the modern day did little deter such feelings. Less a woman, more a goddess, even at the age of 77.’Richard Bowes

MIKE KERR ROYAL BLOOD

Royal Blood’s bass playing extraordinaire and a man of dark, moody sarcastic wit, Mike Kerr’s infectious air of mystery, seductive vocals and explosive four stringed riffs are enough to make any human being swoon over his existence. We are a slave to your addiction, your affection and your friction Mr Kerr.Katie

Conway-Flood

MATTY HEALY THE 1975

I mean, who is not in love with this man?! Everyone who says they aren’t is a coward. He has provided the music to the most joyous, dramatic, scandalous and romantic times of my life, and he’s

ALL OF PARAMORE

Is it a Paramore fan thing to have formative crushes on both Taylor and Hayley? I think I was in denial, but my poster-laden teenage wall spoke otherwise… Maybe maturing is also crushing on Zac. Who allowed a band to be both so talented and attractive?

- Chlo Spinks

CHRIS MARTIN

2000S DOUGIE POYNTER

Perpetual dream boy for those of us who spent our pennies in Claire’s copying Avril Lavigne. Lip rings, dyed hair, his cute little voice… it wasn’t long before his picture replaced Matt Willis’s all over my bedroom walls. Edgier than the rest of McFly, yet seemingly quieter and sweeter. To this day I still reckon we’re soul mates.

STINA TWEEDDALE HONEYBLOOD

Enchanting, witty and poetical, Stina brings a fierce edge to the indie rock world and I cannot get enough of it. It may be through my Scottish roots, but her presence is enigmatic and mesmerising, I am spellbound with each new release.

- Cameron Sinclair Harris

Some may find this difficult to believe, but I have a long-held crush on Coldplay’s Chris Martin. His neoliberal, pseudospiritual, boarding-school vibe is everything that usually repels me in a person, but something about him just gets me going. And I hate to admit this, but it was his James Corden Carpool Karaoke episode that made me realise just how charming, funny and buff he is. Sorry!

- Molly Marsh

Tilly Foulkes

In the words of the eternal Effy Stonem - “Love, love, love. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”

With Sleaford Mods gracing our cover with a similar sentiment about the state of the country - Valentine’s Day definitely feels odd this year. As the country descends into new levels of dire, the UK music industry still struggling and a global climate of fear, anger and a general lack of lovey-doveyness for one another; it’s hard to see the appeal of teddies and pink hearts.

But in reading through our chat with the duo, amidst the palpable anger, there’s an even stronger feeling of endearment as Jason and Andrew’s clear love and friendship flies off the page in their rapport. Similarly, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown give us faith in love again, Laufey has us considering the feeling as grand art, and Billie Marten makes sweetness and softness irresistible. In every feature and photo in this issue, there’s love to be found. Love for music, love for writing, love for capturing moments. I personally, see love in the community, as the Gigwise team came together to create our first issue of 2023, and sent it out as a Valentine gift to the

independent record stores, shops and venues we love most. If we could’ve wrapped each one up with a bow and scented it with a sweet perfume, we would have - just for you.

Quoted on page 24, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said; “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”. Outside of the context of relationships, the courage of loving runs through this issue and through the entire music scene at the moment - from artists to fans to us here at the music publications. When the world gets scary and rocky, it’s the love of it all that keeps us going. And we’re still going, still working, still singing along, still dancing at the shows; brave enough to believe in it all cause god, we bloody love it.

With love from me to you; thanks for reading.

Lucy Harbron x

MADE BY

GIGWISE

Gigwise.com

@ gigwise

EDITOR-in-CHIEF

Lucy Harbron @lucyharbron lucy@gigwise.com

WRITERS

Richard Bowes

Charlie Brock

Gavin Brown

Katie Conway-Flood

Laura Dean

Tilly Foulkes

Cameron Sinclair Harris

Brett Herlingshaw

Dale Maplethorpe

Molly Marsh

Bethany Mountford

Millie O’Brien

Aimee Phillips

Chlo Spinks

Chiara Strazzulla

Emma Way

Marcus Wood

ADVERTISING

Dale Maplethorpe

dale@gigwise.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Niall Green @niall.green

niall@gigwise.com

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rosie Carne

Matt Chapman

Phoebe Fox

Mattia Ghisolfi

Rachel Lipsitz

Niamh Louise

Zac Mahrouche

Ele Marchant

Tom Pallant

Lydia Robinson

Tom Sunderland

ILLUSTRATION

Seb Gardner

gardnuh.co.uk

@gardnuh

Artist to Artist

LOVER TO LOVER

Words: Lucy Harbron

Photos: Mattia

Greta Isaac + Martin Luke Brown on love and collaboration

Ghisolfi

Culture is made up of a series of iconic couples. From Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to Patti Smith and Robert Maplethorpe, love and collaboration go hand in hand it seems when it comes to artists. And as musicians, collaborators and partners Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown fuss over each other’s clothes and sing together, getting ready for our photoshoot, everything in the atmosphere screams this could be a love for the ages.

Both musicians in their own right with Greta straying down an art-pop route while Martin hones his sentimental prowess, their relationship was born out of their shared passion and mutual circle of artistic friends, including dodie and Orla Gartland. A quick look at the credits on Greta’s latest EPs, you’ll find Martin right there as a key collaborator, with Greta likewise making her mark on Martin’s recent releases as a creative director. In the fifth year of their relationship, their collaboration and art has been reconsidered to keep the love central. Talking, musician to musician, lover to lover, partner to partner, we facilitated a conversation between the couple on the topics of balance and bliss…

How did you meet?

Martin: The hilarious truth is that it’s technically tinder. We matched but at the time I had a song that I’d just released in my bio and was using tinder to shamefully promote myself. Then Greta had just met Orla [Gartland] and they had a bit of an in joke about me having that song in my bio. But that song wound up getting me signed and getting me an agent and then one of the first tours I went on after it was supporting Orla. We all got on really well and got about half way through the tour before Orla let slip that we’d matched on tinder.

Greta: This is quite a long story…

Martin: Yeah, like we didn’t even go out on that tour, we were just mates for years and years and then eventually snogged on New Years Eve.

Greta: Beyond that initial tinder match, there

had never been any inkling of Martin liking me, even though he says he was in love with me for years…

Martin: You know when you meet someone and you just think they’re amazing and like “oh i could marry them”, but in a light hearted way. We’d even text each other about our dates with other people… my song ‘love is a black hole’ is basically this story, that song answers it.

What came first; love or collaboration?

Greta: Love, I’d say.

Martin: Yeah we didn’t really work together, other than that wedding we sang at, do you remember that?

Greta: Yeah we sang all the classic wedding love songs together, it was so fun. But then when we got together, we started working together. I can’t believe how good the songs were, obviously we love each other but we worked together with Matt Zara and Mark Elliot on my two EPs and the songs were so good. I think part of the success of that was me being able to be fully vulnerable. I definitely struggled in sessions and that’s something that we’ve had some difficulties navigating because I would just get so stressed. I think there’s a balance in sessions where you can be really vulnerable and need to feel comfortable, but if it gets to a point where you’re not even productive - a bit of detachment is good. We had loads of conversations about that which is why we don’t work together anymore, or at least not in that way. I’m working on Martin’s album now as a creative director, so it’s all give and take..

Greta to Martin: What do you think, what’s the most important thing when you’re collaborating with a partner?

Martin: I don’t actually think it’s much different from someone you’re not going out with. I think

if you understand someone and you have a good relationship where that communication is really efficient and you feel comfortable with saying “no, I don’t like that”, all of that stuff is really important. So I don’t think it’s surprising that all the songs are really good. Because like, why wouldn’t they be? But at the same time, I think our lives are so embroiled together; we live together, we work on things together, we both work in the flat, so we’re pretty joined at the hip. I think it came to a point where we sort of associated each other from work with work, and we couldn’t escape it. So I think the separation from collaboration now is like a necessary thing for us to keep things fun and not stressful.

Work life balance must get hard when you work with someone who’s a major part of your life?

Greta: I think boundaries and communication are the two most important things. It takes a lot of practice. I always thought that communication was just something that you learned to do really well and then it great, but it is a constant process

Martin: Learning to never assume anything…

Greta: Yeah, not assuming things because your days look similar. Our experiences in music especially are so different; now we’re both navigating the industry and what our work landscapes look like and how we can support each other as we figure it out for ourselves. It’s a lot of spinning plates, but it works.

How does your music benefit from your relationship?

Martin: For me, I’ve always had a bit of a perfectionist problem and don’t really trust other people or creatives so end up doing everything on my own, like my own artwork and stuff. It felt so loaded to trust someone else, I’d rather have done it myself as I had this idea that to be 100% authentic it all had to come from me. But with Greta, she knows me and understands me from a perspective that can probably showcase

who I am in more of an accurate way than I would because I’d be really neurotic about it and overthink everything. So yeah, it’s just been way easier. It’s just been made easier.

Greta to Martin: What’re your favourite gigs we’ve been to together?

Martin: I like going to your gigs.

Greta: Really?

Martin: Your gig at OMEARA was amazing. I loved it and it was really fun just getting to be a fan. I love being in the audience and not being on stage or even sharing it, I like just seeing it. There’s no ego, it’s just like pure joy. What about you?

Greta: A big one for me was when things were opening up again after lockdowns and we got to see Orla play live for the first time in like two years. We both bawled our eyes out, it was like going to church or something. You know that feeling where you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone? After everything with covid, it suddenly it was all back and we were there watching our best friend do what she does best and remembering why we loved it so much; it was magical, it felt so important.

What’s your favourite thing about each other?

Martin: Eyes.

Greta: Tits? Arse?

Greta: Just how kind you are, and patient and willing to learn and grow and progress your way of thinking. You stay so inquisitive and open, even to ideas that feel so outside of our sphere. I love how generous you are with your time and skills.

Martin: Recently I really love how direct you are all the time. I think you really know what you want and how you want to get it. I feel like i always know where i stand in a really clear way

and i think especially now in an industry where everyone can be quite people pleaser-y or bendy running round all over the place, i love that you’re very intentional. I think it’s amazing.

Greta: I think the things you really value in someone or really hate about someone are both things you wish you had more of for yourself. You so quickly learn that the other person is just a mirror for yourself, and you have to value the things you love about each other but know the annoying things are important for growth and value them too.

What is your proudest moment of each other?

Greta: I remember Martin playing me one of his songs, ‘Elsie’, one morning in bed and it felt like a real turning point. He’s struggled a bit to find his voice and his sound and the sonic landscape of this project had been a bit of a work in progress. And then when he played this song, we both just looked at each other and I remember saying “you’ve got it”. It felt so inherently Martin in every way, it was raw and gentle and really impactful, which is what you are in so many lives…

Martin: For me, it’s your OMEARA gig again, I nearly lost my voice by the end of the night, I was so proud. That show felt like stepping into your brain in a really sick way, and I got to just be a fan of it.

What’s your favourite song by each other?

Greta: I love the whole album, I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. It has so many different pockets of who Martin is in such a genuine, lovely way.

Martin: I was such a fan of Greta even before we got together or wrote together, I used to have her old EP and listened to it in the car all the time. I’m just a fan of you in general…

Love Of The Game

New Hope Club in conversation

Words: Dale Maplethorpe

Photos: Niamh Louise

“FIFA 17 was really good,” Blake of New Hope Club says. He looks through jet-lagged eyes after only just getting off a 10-hour flight from LA.

“Oh yeah, was that the low driven shots one?” Asks bandmate Reece. The three of them all sit in the fourth floor of the Universal building, overlooking the lacklustre roof of Kings Cross.

“Yeah it was.”

“08 was good as well,” adds George, “the one with Ronaldinho and Rooney on the cover.”

Our interview is taking place as the group stages of the World Cup are coming to an end and as such, football dominates a large portion of the conversation. I eventually ask whether or not they’ve had a song on FIFA. “Not yet no,” says George, “but our song just got played during coverage of the World Cup in America. It was the opening game and they played it on this big highlights montage thing.”

The song in question was ‘Walk It Out,’ a single released in anticipation of their new album which comes out later this year. It’s a great tune, packed with energy, delayed and hard-hitting guitar, plus a catchy chorus. “We wrote the song with football in mind,” they tell me. Alongside that, the band have also released ‘L.U.S.H.’ a track which is equal in its catchiness but a lot more pop driven. Together, they’re a good representation of New Hope Club’s ability to keep the much-loved components of themselves present in each song, whilst also varying the way that they deliver those components.

“Sometimes one of us will come in with a song and then we’ll just focus on that during the day and juice it up,” says George opening a can of water, “but it could also be just jamming,” one sip, “a lot of this album came from us going round different instruments and just jamming together. It’s been really fun.”

“We’ve never wanted to put a restriction on ourselves,” adds Reece, “we like to feel like we can experiment as much as we want and kind of just spend longer on a song, trying different

things out. With the first album we didn’t really have as much time, it wasn’t rushed but you know.”

“We were also a lot younger back then,” says Blake, “we had a lot to learn and we had the pleasure of working with some amazing writers. We took that first album as a big learning experience to set ourselves up for this one.”

The debut self-titled album was a huge success, received incredibly well by fans and climbing to top 5 in the charts. In writing this new one, as is clear on the songs both released and not, they have very much put the elements that worked in that first album at the records foundation and built on top of them, taking those lessons and incorporating them into every second.

“We’re more confident in ourselves and put across the things that we want to put across. We’ve had a lot more control over the second record which is great for us because it means we get to tell our stories and we’re less moulded by what is current and big at the time.”

That control and confidence is probably best reflected in the as yet unreleased track, ‘Don’t Go Wasting Time,’ a slow ballad driven tune which under someone else’s control could have been very different. “With this one,” says Blake, his answers and way of speaking much better than most peoples would be after a long flight, “when it was initially produced it was done by an outside producer and it was a lot more upbeat and dancy. We had a studio in L.A. and we thought, let’s just play the song on the instruments in this room and see what it sounds like. When we played it like that I think it just opened our imagination to how it should actually sound.”

The song is a brilliant contradiction of itself. A slow and gradually building tune about wanting to be alone which is ironically the perfect soundtrack for rooms filled with people. “We’ve played it live a couple of times and it’s so fun. It’s one of them where when you get to that bit, like the first time I listened to it post pre-production and it hits that bridge, it kind of feels like an arms

in the air moment.”

The songs heard so far off the new album show fans are in for a diverse treat as New Hope Club develop on a formula that was already working and embrace putting more of themselves on tracks. Not to mention, another massive element to their versatility in previous songs has been the features they have, for instance in the Latin-pop song ‘Know Me Too Well’ with Danna Paola, and they promise to have more.

“We love collaborating with artists,” George tells me, “more so just getting in the studio and seeing how they work, what their dynamic is and what they bring to the table. We write with each other all the time so it’s cool to have a different influence in the room and see what they come up with.”

“Yeah, we love it,” adds Reece, “there’s definitely going to be more, we were talking about some collabs on the way over here, we have a lot in the works and it’s really exciting.”

There isn’t a release date yet for New Hope Club’s second album but based on the songs released so far, the bands newfound freedom and their re-enforced confidence in what they can deliver, it promises to be something special.

“To be honest, we’re just so excited about the songs on this album,” they conclude, “everything is there for a reason, and it really describes what we’ve been through in our career, how far we’ve come as people and how far we’ve come as a band. We’re really excited by it, and we hope it’s received well.”

“We never Want to put a restriction on ourselves... We like to feel like We can experiment”

Laufey’s

Sound of Love

Entering the world of romance + jazz standards

Words: Aimee Phillips / Photos: Zac Mahrouche

Love has to be one of life’s greatest mysteries. It is both scorchingly hot and achingly cold; sometimes unrequited, sometimes returned. Love either evades or envelopes us again and again. Love ultimately leaves far more questions than it ever gives us answers. It’s no wonder, then, that so many of the world’s greatest songs

are about love. Our longing for it, our loss of it.

Yet nowhere is the topic of love held so tenderly as in jazz. Often regarded as a soundtrack to love, the way that vocals and melodies intertwine can feel like the sonic representation of the emotions we feel. From the heart swell of the strings to the hopeful meandering of the piano and the longing and lamenting of the saxophone, the romantic power the genre holds is undeniable.

“It’s one of those things that you can write endlessly about. There’s no final answer to anything and everyone experiences love so differently”, Laufey ponders. “We’re all so interested in hearing other people’s perspectives on love whilst trying to make our own conclusion. But really, there is no conclusion. So there’s just a lot of conversation around it. It’s such a mystifying feeling. I think as humans, we always want to figure everything out, get some sort of answer, and there’s just no answer to anything when it comes to love”.

Laufey’s love affair with jazz has been a lifelong one. Growing up, the sounds of Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra would fill the house on her parents’ stereo. Enamoured with the string arrangements she heard in her favourite jazz standards, Laufey trained as a cellist and classical musician, eventually releasing her own original works.

Laufey has made a name for herself by adding a modern pop twist to her jazz sound, crafting wistful, charming and dreamily romantic songs that captured the hearts of fans around the world. A singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, she released her debut EP Typical of Me in 2021, before releasing her debut album Everything I Know About Love in 2022.

The LA-based Icelandic-Chinese jazz artist has become a key voice in the contemporary jazz scene in recent years. Yet no matter how much she writes and sings about love, Laufey has found that she too, is no closer to uncovering the answers that we all seek. In fact, she

originally contemplated naming her debut album ‘Questions for the Universe’ (Laufey fans will know this track ended up on the deluxe version of the album) instead of the resulting title.

“Most of these songs are me asking the universe questions”, Laufey explains. “This album marked the transition from childhood to adulthood for me. When you grow up, you stop asking your parents these questions, because you realise they don’t really have all the answers in life. I struggled with knowing where to direct these questions, so I had all these questions for the universe”.

“I just thought [Everything I Know About Love] perfectly encapsulated the theme of the album. Because it’s really a list of everything I know about love, which is just not very much. But all these songs are everything I know about love so far”.

It’s this quest for answers that keeps Laufey

constantly inspired. “I write very much about whatever moves me in the moment, and I always find that it’s some sort of overwhelming love or hurt over love”, Laufey reveals. “I think that’s just a very prevalent emotion always, but especially in these tumultuous early 20s - those years where you’re trying to figure stuff out”.

So why exactly do we connect jazz with great romance? “A lot of jazz music was written in the 30s and the 40s. The vocabulary was a little bit different,” Laufey begins. “I think to the modern ear, it sounds very timeless, very old school, very nostalgic, very romantic, and something almost a little bit other worldly or from a different life. So it seems more tender; softer somehow. I think that has to do with a lot of the lyrics. Sonically, it’s this sound that we connect to a lot of old movies”.

One of the greatest questions surrounding love - and one that is endlessly debated - is what love sounds like. For some, it is the comforting

hum of familiarity; the sleep-filled sighs of the lover each night or the purr of a loyal pet curled by your side. It could be anything from grand love ballads to the hum of a car pulling into the driveway. For Laufey, “Love sounds like tension and release to me. A lot of swelling strings but also the technical definition of a chord, the tension in a chord. You’ll have a chord that has lots of notes in it and lots of tensions in it. And then you move one note, and it just releases. That’s how love feels to me, because it will be tense, it will have a lot of dissonance in it, some sort of difficulty and then it will let go and it’s the nicest release”.

There’s one jazz musician in particular who has captured Laufey’s heart: Chet Baker. The American jazz trumpeter and vocalist, nicknamed “The Prince of Cool” is top of Laufey’s list when asked about her favourite jazz standards. “I love ‘Everything Happens to Me’. There’s a fantastic rendition by Chet Baker. It’s [originally] by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis. I think the lyrics are so beautiful, and it’s such a pretty way of putting love. It’s like he’s listing all these things that have happened that are unlucky to him, and the unluckiest is that I’ve fallen in love with you”, she says.

Laufey is such a fan of Chet Baker, in fact, that she dedicated a song to him. On the almost Disney-esque ‘Just Like Chet’, Laufey sings: “Unfortunately I don’t know anything ‘bout love and its foolish tendencies / And just like Chet, I tend to fall in love too easily”.

What does love feel like for Laufey? “Love feels... I don’t know. Recently, it feels a little humiliating, I find. Not in the most standard definition of humiliating, just in the way that to love someone is to be able to allow yourself to be completely vulnerable. That’s what you give up when you start falling in love or have so much love for someone, you allow yourself to be completely yourself and it’s a little bit humiliating”, Laufey muses.

Laufey’s sentiment brings a quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu to mind: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while

loving someone deeply gives you courage”.

“I think love is scary”, Laufey responds. “I think it’s the best thing and the worst thing in the world. It drives you a little bit mad. Out of all things in life, love has the ability to sway you around the most; sway your emotions. Love is what can both make you happiest and saddest”.

As an acclaimed jazz musician and hopeless romantic, what has Laufey learned about love so far? “That it’s unexpected”, she mulls, a smile in her voice. “Scary but beautiful”.

“there’s no ansWer to anything When it comes to love”

Laufey’s Selects

i love you for sentimental reasons

Ella Fitzgerald

the nearness of you

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

i’m in the mood for love

Errol

Garner

someone i love

Bill

Evans

lilacs

Rachmaninoff

For the love of it...

Phoebe + Nell by Rosie Carne

Fontaines

D.C by Tom Pallant

this is f*ck you

Sleaford Mods welcome you to UK GRIM

Photos: Rachel Lipsitz

Words: Dale Maplethorpe /

,

What’s fucking wrong with loving your country? Look around and there is unrest everywhere. People all over social media call for a general election, every headline on the news is one of scandal, turmoil, and the atmosphere whenever you breathe a word of politics in a social situation turns trepid. We’re all Tory MPs now.

There’s no top 5 album when you’re off grid. No. Fuck the charts. There are just the musicians who say what you’re thinking better than any public speaker ever could. Better than any pundit, any news writer. There is that which you can identify with. That which manages to capture the rage of today and bottle it, notes from half empty lyric’s pads crumpled up and bunged inside, the top peeping out, lit and thrown in the face of whatever we’re calling it these days. UK Grim, put it in the fucking bin.

What’s fucking wrong with loving your country? Look around and there is unrest everywhere, and so there is music documenting such unrest everywhere too. We’re all shouting. We’re all making noise and storming the gates to soundtracks of revolution - some people embody feeling better than anyone ever could. “Hey Dale,” wrote Rough Trade, “here’s the new Sleaford’s album, I reckon you’ll like it.”

On 17th January, the UK duo and voices of marginalised majority Sleaford Mods dropped their new single ‘UK GRIM’, announcing an album of the same name coming in March. The track is laced with the rage infused lyricism that we’ve come to expect from Jason Williamson. Layering some of their most political lyrics to date over a backdrop of heavy bass and 808’s produced by Andrew Fearn, backing vocals are provided by a country that’s fed up and wants change.

This song kick starts the new album and introduces the listener to what they can expect for the next hour; a soundtrack to unrest that puts the country’s unstable atmosphere into something tangible, something you can move to, listen to and touch. No one seems to be able to convey a feeling shared by millions quite like Sleaford’s, and this album is no exception. It’s the voice of ‘I’ve fucking had enough.’

“You done your Christmas shopping?” says Jason. I meet him and Andrew in a coffee shop in Nottingham towards the beginning of December. “Yeah a little bit,” replies Andrew. “How was it?” Asks Jason, to no response but an eyeroll. “Hahah, fucking dog shit, init?”

It’s interesting how only a couple of days ago I was listening to UK GRIM in awe of these two, completely blown away by their ability to remain composed but still catalogue anger, to present a rage and confusion which is spreading, but be poetic and cohesive whilst doing so. You hear the music and see their image and it’s like the two are untouchable, and now here we are, eating cookies and chatting Christmas. I’ve put too much milk in my tea and there’s a small chihuahua a couple of tables back that won’t stop barking.

“I’m tryna get hold of a Phenakistiscope,” says Andrew, talking about buying a present for his Dad. “It’s like a wheel and it spins round, you put a bit of card on and then look through a slot and it animates.”

“Have you had any joy?” Jason takes a sip of his coffee.

“I’ve only just found out what they’re called, so far I’ve just been working with the description. There’s one in France I can buy, I had a look the other day but I’d have to pay another £80 for postage in case it breaks and shit.”

“That’s stupid…”

This carries on for some time. The two let me in on their chat and we discuss how hard it is to buy for certain people. Sleaford’s bounce off of one another with every statement, a clear reflection of their similar mindset and ongoing friendship, which has seen them produce 7 albums, with the most recent, Spare Ribs, been well received by fans and critics alike. It has also led to them headlining festivals and selling out arenas in the UK, as well as packing venues across Europe and in the US.

“I’ll write something at home or in the studio when he’s working or making a cuppa or something,” says Jason, talking about the process of writing together after such a long time.

“He normally has the concept for what the songs about,” Andrew tells me, “and then that gives him the confidence to bring it to the studio and we work on the rest. It normally works out really well because it means that everything is kept fresh.”

I’m a big fan of Sleaford Mod’s music. They continue to be consistent in quality and are always out there, offering something different to music lovers who like good production, wellworded emotion and unrelenting expression. This formula is obviously something that works well for them. UK GRIM though, there’s something about this album, something a bit different. It keeps the aforementioned going but it’s angrier, packing more of a punch and to be released during a time like this, a time of war and energy bills rising and the wealth gap becoming so wide you could swing Larry the Cat in it, it’s unlike anything else that you’re going to hear this year.

“So,” Andrew takes a drink, “what’s your favourite track on the album?

“it’s the nature of music, isn’t it? you can look aWay but you can’t turn your ears off.”

As soon as the first line of the first chorus is sung, you understand exactly what you’re listening to. The collective voice of a nation crammed into an hour-long album, poetic rage and sonic rebellion, here for the people.

Jason: Music is more accessible to us, d’you know what I mean? It’s something we can get our hands on, I don’t know, it’s how we’re tuned in as people, as creative people.

Andrew: It’s the nature of music, isn’t it? You can look away but you can’t turn your ears off. As a medium it’s just more in your face and we’ve both been doing it for such a long time, we know exactly who we are. You end up being a covers band if you become too influenced by anybody else. You’re always striving to get away from that, to find your own little area where you can create your own sound and have your own voice.

Jason: We’ve been inspired by so many things. It’s like when you do an album people are always like “what were you listening to?” and it’s like, well, nothing. It’s all back there init? (Tapping his head) There are some things I was listening to but I don’t know if I applied them to the album.

Andrew: Yeah, it’s not so much about being self-absorbed than it is about living in your own creative world.

Whatever they do, no matter how shocking it is, nobody quivers, everyone’s part of the same body. We’re so inundated with corruption now that we’ve become part of it almost. What was depressing about the Matt Hancock thing was this allegiance to conservatism. It’s still very strong with a lot of people in the British public. We are like that I suppose, we are a country that is proud of the flag and proud of our history, whether you believe in it or not.

Andrew: We’re stepping closer towards American politics; the whole thing is very contrived like one big media circus. We’re on that page now. It’s kind of transparent and half the other way. Most of us will ignore it.

Jason: It’s so transparent they’re not even bothering to hide it. The amount of people that have been bollocked for PPE, for this and that. People claiming universal healthcare, people on benefits, they don’t have time to sit there and critically think about the conservative party. The educations not there either. People in the upper class look down like, ‘what you gunna do?’

“What’s fucking Wrong With loving your country? e verything!” – ‘i, claudius’

With anger so present in every single song, and in the interest of this been a valentine’s issue, it’s worth looking into whether there is anything that could convince the band to love their country again.

Jason: Well, I do kind of love my country in a way but just not in that way. I like the fields and the mornings and the fucking dew on forest leaves. Whatever. There are a lot of nice things. Fucking, villages?

An overriding theme of the album is the state of UK politics. We talk about this shortly after Liz Truss has resigned and Matt Hancock is scoffing cock on I’m a Celeb. The public seem to be loving it.

Jason: It’s as if we’re fully married to the government now, it’s like we are as one.

Andrew: That’s just nature though init? Not the country.

Jason: I suppose.

Andrew: You get that everywhere.

Jason: I love this clump of land, I guess.

“ this is uk grim, keep that desk area tidy, put it in the bin, this is uk grim” – ‘uk grim’

“nothing after one sheet then slash, there’s gunna be some hurdles here, it’s basic fucking maths” – ‘ tory kong’

“i saW a doctor i said ‘ Why do i feel like slapping these b&m goths, all this post punk dross,’ he said ‘because they’re fucking cunts Jason, fucking hit em’” –‘diWhy’

The album doesn’t limit itself exclusively to politics though. Sleaford’s also talk about some of the people that are currently on the music scene, and a lot of fake attitudes that they see in bands these days.

Andrew: I love that bit. It’s really unexpected isn’t it, when he says that? It’s funny.

Jason: I mean, we were kind of one of the first to do it. Now you’ve kind of got all these other bands that have come out and share a similar message. I don’t care, we were first. If someone turns round and says, “you’re just saying what they’re saying,” it’s like, no, they’re saying what we’re saying.

Andrew: Everyone’s doing it in their own style aren’t they? They’re a bit obvious as well. They represent the city that they’re in a lot of the time, it’s not that clever really.

Jason: These bands at the bottom, like, they think they’re holier than thou, when really it’s just as bitchy and horrible as it is when you get to the top. They’re going round and saying they’re independent and all this but truth is you’re looking for fame like anyone else. You can try and cover it up and make out like you’re some kind of Van Gogh type character, but you’re not. That’s what makes me angry.

Andrew: If you’re an artist or a band, you know, you’ve just gotta make good music. Once you’ve done that and you’ve managed to get it out there, there’s a lot of luck involved.

Jason: Oh god yeah.

“buy some time in the hole, in the Waiting room of soul, in the depths invisible to everyone apart from you” – ‘apart from you’

Jason isn’t afraid to get personal, writing about how the bigger picture, politics and a lot of people in music rain down and affect his mentality. That being said, he only grazes against the topic...

Jason: I’m a lot older now so I’m not bothered, all of the hang ups of wanting to appear a certain way have gone. The two things are married, aren’t they? My personal life is so affected by politics and they’re so close, the two things are entwined. I discuss that in ‘I Claudius’, being a kid and memories of being a kid, which is quite depressing and personal, but I’m not going to be totally obvious about what emotions I’m going through.

Andrew: I think that would be self-indulgent, wouldn’t it?

We finish our teas and head out. The café is round the corner from where Sleaford Mods rehearse so they show me it. Large Spare Ribs spray paint covers the shutter door. “We’re gunna get someone to do UK Grim over it,” they tell me. It’s an album that touches upon a lot and expresses itself in different ways. It’s a must listen but the reasons for that are hard to properly convey, as they’re both equal parts moving and infuriating. As we say bye, I ask the two why fans should lend their ears. The two have a think and then Jason put’s it perfectly.

“It’s a classic Sleaford’s album. It’s the same quality as Spare Ribs but it’s harder. It’s really good, really fucking good,” his hands shuffle in the pockets of his gilet, “you’re not gunna get much better English music at the minute, we’re one of the best bands in the country,” his hands come out the pockets to say this last bit.

“Fuck you, this is it.”

Match Maker

We sent two Gigwise writers out on a blind date… What could go wrong?

Words: Tilly Foulkes + Brett Herlingshaw

TILLY SAID

You can learn a lot about someone by paying attention to their musical interests. Immediate red flags include, but are not limited to, ‘all pop music is rubbish,’ ‘100 gecs don’t make real songs’ and ‘Robbie Williams? Twat.’ The question ‘right, who’s your favourite band?’ is as good as any in getting to know someone intimately, so a blind date at a gig can either go very well or beyond terribly.

Brett and I are set up via email. Our first big music revelation surrounds what gig we actually wanted to see. There were two options in Manchester for the night we’re both free: Blossoms or Pierce the Veil. Now, this could’ve been make or break. To me - a person who got a My Chemical Romance tattoo two days after seeing them on their comeback tour - the answer is obvious…

It instantly strikes me how nice it is to spend time with another person who thinks about music like I do - the point of it, its impact, how it makes you feel and what that says about you. and the night itself is a laugh; both Brett and I are as silly as each other. Pierce the Veil are brilliant and the crowd are equal parts friendly and boisterous.

As for Brett and I…it would be funny to do this again, though I’m not sure if either of us will ever be able to find the time.

BRETT SAID

You’d think dating and music taste would go hand in hand. For some, it’s important, and for others it’s not a top priority. For a music writer, though, music taste is obviously a shared passion. Sending two music writers on a date? What could go wrong.

I met Tilly at Oxford Road station in Manchester, where they are giving Jarvis Cocker vibes immediately. Over a pint we chat about our favourite interviewees and shared music taste and all is going well until Tilly mentions they enjoy The Smiths more than The Cure (for obvious reasons, I disagreed).

While Me and Tilly shared a lot of interest in the same music, there was one ticking point - I am not an emo and this gig was 100% emo - well, about 99%.

At this point, Tilly pointed out that I am a normie. They even said jokingly (I hope) they would title their piece ‘I took a normie to an emo gig.’ Tilly even said before the gig, “I only really know King for a Day.” Not to get them in trouble with the other emo’s.

Not to get all First Dates, but I’d be up for seeing Tilly again! They were funny, engaging and just generally fantastic company!

Hollywood Heartache

Glüme is ready for her leading role

Words: Molly Marsh

Born and raised in LA, Glüme launched her career at the age of six. A prolific child actor with a mother determined to make her a star, she spent her youth being home-schooled, surrounded only by other showbiz youngsters. In 2023, she’s an electro-pop singer-songwriter – and on her new album, Main Character, she’s finally ready to talk about her past.

Still based in LA, we took to her spiritual home; the internet, to get to know the artist.

As soon as she appears on the call, I’m immediately struck by her appearance. She has tattoos all over her arms and hands, and wears a flamboyant pink dressing gown. Her bleachblonde hair is styled in a way that evokes her idol, Marilyn Monroe. Her lips are a bold red, her eyelashes expertly preened. I have to remind myself that while it might be 5:30 in the evening in London, it’s only 10AM in Los Angeles. My mind wanders back to my own appearance at 10 that morning. It doesn’t bear thinking about.

But with a long history in the world of stardom, the title of her sophomore record strikes me. What does it mean to be a ‘main character’ when everyone around you is making a career of being one?

“I grew up doing child acting,” she tells me, “and I had a very scary stage mom who always wanted me to get the leads – the main characters. But I didn’t realise until the last two years that the way I was living my life was always like a supporting character in a movie. I was never living for myself or my own needs. I was always taking care of others and catering to other people. So, I never really was the main character, but I played the main character on a lot of TV shows and things like that.”

People who haven’t spent their entire lives in the all-singing, all-dancing world of LA showbusiness usually experience main character moments when we attempt to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Who hasn’t been walking through the rain and imagined they’re in a music video? Well, Glüme hasn’t – because she routinely makes music videos.

“I feel like I miss a lot of real life moments,” she explains. “I didn’t really have a childhood and I don’t have time for a lot of regular personal life stuff. My love life is a mess because I work 12 hours a day. So I don’t always feel like I’m living, and part of me is okay with that, but some days I’m like – oh shit! Am I gonna regret not doing this or that? I regretted not being a kid!”

I ask if the album taps into any of these anxieties - “Absolutely. It’s the first time I’ve been open about my upbringing. I made a short film about it too that’s going to be coming out with the album, called ‘Child Actor’. It’s not good for you when you’re that little, to be working. I’ve been working full-time since I was six, so I feel like an old guy! I’m tired!”

We talk so often about child performers struggling with their egos and senses of self, but rarely worry about the effect that working so much has on somebody so young. Glüme admits to having been through both struggles.

“It takes a toll on the body. And ego-wise, it depends on who you’re surrounded by, but generally it kind of fucks up your ego. When you’re 13, they’re like ‘Get work done, lose weight!’. And you still have stuffed animals! You kind of still fuck with your dolls’ house! You’re not thinking about looking like a sex symbol. But it feels like people are telling you ‘Stay young, grow up, stay young, grow up’ and you’re like ‘which is it?’. To this day, I’m still confused about whether it’s okay to be an adult woman or if I’m still supposed to be an adolescent.”

I tell Glüme I’ve never been to Los Angeles, but that my perception of it in the movies is that there are a lot of main characters there. I ask her what it’s been like to grow up in such an ostensibly glamorous place.

“The only people I knew growing up were other child actors, because I was home-schooled. So I never felt like anyone was more of a main character than anyone else, because we were all trying to do the same thing. Everyone was competitive, but we were also just there for each

other because we had no other friends. We were all up for the same parts but no one was catty about it. Whereas I went to one year of high school and that was much scarier – there were so many social hierarchies I had no idea what to do with.”

Glüme’s experience of school is a familiar-sounding one. I went through something similar, albeit in Tameside, Greater Manchester, rather than Los Angeles, California. I tell Glüme that I think that kind of tribalistic behaviour has its roots in self-preservation, and she agrees. “It felt like if you were bitchier, people would like you more. In entertainment, they really chop you down and you’re humbled by that.”

The new album, Main Character, is extremely genre-diverse, mixing electro-pop ballads with trap tracks like recent single ‘Flicker Flicker’. It’s near-impossible to pin down, heralding a death knell for the idea of genre itself. ”I mean –Taylor Swift was country, then she was pop, then she was whatever. It’s about making whatever kind of art you think is exciting. It’s not like people come out of the womb and are like ‘I am electro-pop’.”

Despite this forward-thinking, label-less approach, the album has a cohesive sound, and I’m interested in how she and her collaborators kept everything sounding so harmonious.

“When we went in to mix the album, we were really careful about the bass and drums being consistent, no matter which collaborator we were working with. Johnny Jewel – the owner of my label – killed it by making sure consistency was the main thing.”

But even in a city of stars where everyone is battling for a moment of fame, Glüme isn’t immune. With the album’s tracklist boasting a feature from Rufus Wainwright, her whole demeanour changes as she gushes about it; “I’ll be honest – I don’t get starstruck often because I grew up around here. If I ran into Jude Law, I’d just be like ‘He’s really good-looking’. But when Ru showed up and knocked on the door, I was definitely a little starstruck. They say never meet your idols, but sometimes it’s okay. We were watching him work in the booth and he’s a genius. We were hiding behind the monitor and being like ‘OH MY FUCKING GOD’.”

The Wainwright collaboration is just one of many highlights on Glüme’s sophomore record, which releases on February 17th on Italians Do It Better. Also featuring contributions from STRFKR, Kevin Barnes, and Sean Ono Lennon - it’s a whole world to step into, and Glüme’s ready to be the protagonist.

“stay young, groW up, stay young, groW up”

crushing

The Beatles - ‘Something’

Adrianne Lenker - ‘Anything’

Laufey - ‘What Love Will Do To You’

Sam Cooke - ‘You Send Me’

Faye Webster - ‘Kingston’

Japanese Breakfast - ‘Be Sweet’

The Beach Boys - ‘God Only Knows’

Harry Styles - ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’

David Bowie - ‘Absolute Beginners’

The 1975 - ‘I’m In Love With You’

Phoebe Bridgers - ‘Sidelines’

Suki Waterhouse - ‘Moves’

Alvvays - ‘Archie, Marry Me’

Vulfpeck - ‘Back Pocket’

Mitski - ‘Love Me More’

Baby Queen - ‘Want me’

crushed

Phoebe Bridgers - ‘Moon Song’

Lucy Dacus - ‘Night Shift’

Jeff Buckley - ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’

Samia - ‘Kill Her Freak Out’

Ethel Cain - ‘A House In Nebraska’

Quinnie - ‘Man’

The Smiths - ‘I Know It’s Over’

Katie Gregson-MacLeod - ‘Complex’

Sarah Kinsley - ‘The Giver’

Taylor Swift - ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’

Fiona Apple - ‘Paper Bag’

Harry Styles - ‘From The Dining Table’

Leonard Cohen - ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’

The 1975 - ‘Be My Mistake’

Lana Del Rey - ‘Terrence Loves You

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - ’Maps’

Angel Olsen - ‘Unfucktheworld’

LOVE

Words: Gavin Brown

Photos: Lydia Robinson

Billie Marten is looking within.

Over the past decade, Billie Marten has wowed with her wonderful acoustic songs that showcased her talents as a singer and songwriter. Now, she returns with her latest album Drop Cherries, the follow up to 2021s Flora Fauna. Recorded on tape in remote country locations with a team of tight collaborations, it sees her exploring something she hasn’t before - love. As captivating as ever, Marten’s unique style seems to wrap everything in tenderness, and with such a soft subject, we’re settling in for her most beautiful project yet.

Catching up with Billie to get an insight on the album, she couldn’t get her excitement across fast enough - “I’ve got very good feelings about it.” The making of the album was a smooth process for her as well as she tells us. “The album was done in Froome, in Somerset, with my friend, Dom Monks. Usually you have quite a large gap between making records and putting them out but this one seemed like it was ready more quickly this time”.

Thematically, Drop Cherries is something new for Billie, building a musical mind map around one word; “the main theme is mostly exploring different types of love. Self love, relationships, familial love, just moving on to a different theme that I hadn't explored in any album yet”.

The topic of love is something that Billie has wanted to explore for a while and certainly showcases a different side to her music. Maintaining the same qualities we’ve grown to cherish in Billie Marten songs, the scale has simply grown as her introspection reaches new heights and refreshed focus. Extending her viewpoint to bigger topics, broader thoughts, and clearer feelings, it’s all a matter of maturity; “I think it's only natural,” she said. “I think when you start in music, especially when you're a woman, you have the confessional songwriter blanket and I think there's so much insecurity and lack of awareness in the beginning that all you can talk about really is how you feel. Once you spend a few more years within music, things become sort of clearer and you get a larger sense of what

you want to talk about”.

The title of the album is central to the themes that the music explores as Billie cryptically explained, “it was actually a story that my friend told me. It just came out of nowhere and it was about a relationship he had. The central theme around it was this character, asking the other to do anything to make her feel good. One of these ones was smashing red cherries into a cream carpet. This doesn't really make any sense without context that basically it was just a really nice image I had in my mind. I knew that was the general theme of the album that was to come, so that's where it came from”.

With the themes on the record established, it was onto the making. Recounting tales of the recording process, the overwhelming topic of love and pleasure seems to prevail into every corner of the album. “It was very smooth. It was incredibly laid back. We had loads of time. It was mostly live so there wasn't a lot of time to ruminate on performance. We had different players coming in every day to sort of keep the energy going and it was wonderful”.

A good amount of time has passed since her last album Flora Fauna, released in the midst of an industry changing pandemic. Now out the other side with all that growth in her back pocket and 20/20 hindsight, the album’s differences massively influenced her thoughts around this new project. “I think with each one, every artist grows. Not necessarily in the right direction, but also that's a great learning curve. It's funny, I thought Flora Fauna was much more of a departure than it actually was. I think I put more weight on that album being a different sound and it was a fun experiment but it wasn't necessarily the direction I wanted to go in. I think this album is much more true to form. I think it's just music that I would want to listen to and music that reminds me of people that I love”.

“Everything's a fun experiment. You never know what it's gonna sound like. It doesn't matter how many ideas you have before it, or what it wants to look like, or the concept”.

With an extensive back catalogue under her belt

already, looking back on her career so far must be quite a strange prospect for Billie Marten. Starting so young, she’s a long way from where she started, but little Billie stays close by; “I was a tiny child at the beginning, so I didn't really know very much at all. To be honest, ever since I was 12, things have been kind of surprising and difficult to wrap my head around so I feel much more of a human as my music has developed.”

And on the topic of Drop Cherries, love and its complexities, you can hear that inner child voice cutting through with every gushing mention of romance. “I think we're missing it. I think growing up and witnessing people's modern romance is quite interesting to me and how dates go now and it's all quite transactional. I would like to have more spontaneity in romance. I think that's what romance is; things you don't expect. But I love loving. Loving is really fun and nice”.

Almost as much as loving love, Billie loves love songs, gleefully chatting away about the enduring popularity of a good old fashioned love song; “I always think about this because I think we're always trying to find the greatest love for whatever. I wonder why so many songs are about love. It seems to be something that we need to get off our chest all the time”.

What is the most romantic song ever? Billie opts for a John Martyn classic. “I would say ‘Couldn’t Love You More’ by John Martyn. That is probably the best love song I've ever heard”.

Despite her young age, Billie has already had a long musical career with Drop Cherries making up the latest part of that. Recounting some highlights as we round off our chat, it’s plain to see how much making music means to her; always has and always will. “I think it’s always the same. It's just knowing that every time I make music, someone's there to listen to it, which is a really, really proud thing. I think that's amazing and I can never quite get my head around it but it's nice.” With an album of the calibre of Drop Cherries, we’re sure the crowd of listening ears will only grow, as the album becomes the latest timeless take on love eagerly adopted by a human race still desperately

figuring it all out.

think that’s What romance is: things you don’t expect.”

“i

Wa12 forever, fucking buzzing

Jamie boyle of the k’s on pride + play

Words: Dale Maplethorpe

“We’re proud of where we come from,” The K’s are a young indie rock band from Earlestown, “we’re even prouder of where we’re going,” with a string of singles under their belt, they’ve been making serious waves recently and don’t show any signs of stopping.

Despite the quick success and where their music is taking them, they confess the sound of home is still embedded in every song that they write. “Earlestown is nothing special to anyone who isn’t from there. It’s just another northern English working class town. But to us it’ll always be home. I’ll always write about stuff that’s real to me… so I suppose it’s got to be embedded and it

always will be. WA12 forever.”

There are a number of things that contribute towards the band’s success. Firstly, the exciting vocal melody. There is no consistency in the speed that lyrics are delivered at, and yet they remain consistent with the rhythm of the track and fit perfectly. It sounds like spoken word at times and makes every song exciting to listen to.

“I think part of the reason some come out like that was because I’m not following a process, I’m writing and composing in the moment. Sometimes I just get into a zone where it just flows into, like you say, almost spoken word.”

The way the music is put together draws the ear too. Despite having a pretty cohesive sound, they don’t use the same formula for each song. Some are a lot heavier than others and certain tracks are gentle, it keeps listeners on their toes when entering into a new tune. One of the main highlights of the music are the killer guitar solos, infused with classic rock but brought into the 21 st Century.

“Ryan is a fucking wizard on the strings. He grew up learning from the likes of BB King and Keith Richards so his playing naturally takes on a more rock and roll style, but it changes from song to song. The lad can do it all. He has a few in our tunes like TV and Aurora that literally take the song to the next level and very few people can do that. I heard a Lathums tune (Say My Name) the other day where Scott absolutely nails one and again, it takes the song to the next level.”

The K’s have also been welcomed onto the live scene with open arms, which isn’t a surprise. The tunes encourage singalong and connection, to the point that the only thing missing from introductions is the sound of a can being cracked open.

“We’re very much a live band. That’s the reason we do it. It’s mint watching new releases get millions of streams and get into the charts and stuff, but nothing comes close to walking out on stage with thousands of people screaming. We know that no one can out do us live and it shows when we are up there having the time of our lives on stage.”

They’re not all talk either, as The K’s are already getting asked to hit the big stage. They’ve taken to the thousands at festivals like Neighbourhood and Isle of Wight, plus it was only recently announced that they’re going to Albert Hall as part of Teenage Cancer Trust supporting Kasabian and The Snuts.

“We’re fucking buzzing. Teenage Cancer Trust is an absolute honour to be a part of. It does so many great things for so many amazing peo-

ple. We were honoured to be asked to play our own shows for them in smaller venues but to be asked to play The Royal Albert Hall with Kasabian and The Snuts is next level. I don’t know how to put it into words other than fucking buzzing.”

So, what’s next? The band have started amazingly, there’s no doubt about it, but where do they go from here? If you ask The K’s, the only way is up. They want to create more than music. They want to create a community and lifestyle, separating themselves from “mindless dribble” that gets a lot of backing thanks to major labels and deep pockets. They put good tunes and their fans at the forefront of this plan.

“It’s already more than music. One of the best things about what we do is the community our fans have built around us. There are fans from all walks of life and corners of the earth but they come together because they share a common interest. Seeing everyone help each other out and support each other is amazing. Whether that’s travel to shows, sorting tickets, meeting for drinks before it for people who are attending alone, the list goes on. It’s absolutely class to be such a positive thing in people’s lives. Our fans are fucking amazing, and we love every single one of ‘em.”

a d ate W ith t he l athums

p utting their best foot for W ard...

Words: Dale Maplethorpe / Photos: Tom Sunderland

Don’t you hate that pre-date feeling? I sit there twiddling my thumbs, pretending to read a book and look intelligent, not making it too obvious that every other second I’m staring out the window. HOME in Manchester is about half full and smells of toasties and bleach. People sit around discussing cinema, typing away on laptops and sipping coffee as George Michael’s ‘Freedom’ plays quietly in the background. A wood panelled bar lines the side of the room and I lean awkwardly to read the menu from a stool that can’t make head or tails with itself. I’ve already decided I’ll order a latte. Safe. Classy. Oh god I’m so nervous.

As I think about going to the toilet to freshen up, I see them heading over. Four of the cutest heartthrobs you ever did see. The Lathums. My hands are sweating as I stand up and reach out to shake theirs. On my end it’s all thumbs, on theirs it’s composure and smiles.

I introduce myself, order a coke (I panicked) and we get straight to small talk. Turns out they’re in a popular band with a number one album behind them and a second on the way. Handsome and talented! I ask if it’s still as exciting as it was when they first started, or if the thrill begins to wear off due to the pressure from knowing you have a fanbase.

Alex speaks on their behalf, thick Wigan accent permeating first date tension. “We’re still living it now,” he wears a green cardigan and round glasses, “if you think about it too much you’ll get in your own head, so it’s better to just go with the flow really. Sometimes you get a certain feeling before a show where things kick in and you realise where you’re really at but we’re still living through it.” He’s so cute when he talks.

The rest of the group all nod in agreement before Ryan adds, “our attitude hasn’t changed, I think we’ve just gotten more comfortable in our position and a bit more used to everything that’s happened, but our attitudes always just one of making people happy.” My heart swelters.

“Yeah,” agrees Alex, “we just wanna take it as far as we can.”

I excuse myself to go to toilet and powder my nose. My hat is lopsided and I have crumbs in my beard from breakfast. God I’m so embarrassed. I have to tell myself to slow down. See, this is why I’m single, I fall head over heels with the first interesting people that I meet and end up looking at the rest of the date through rose tinted lenses. So, they’re cute, they’re interesting, but are they ready for a relationship? I need people who are going to tell me about their day and who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. I have a look at them online and see a lot of the songs that they’ve written do just that.

“It’s like therapy for myself, the songs,” says Alex. Turns out where a lot of us listen to music in times of trouble and hope it speaks to us, he does the opposite. “I haven’t listened to much music for a while now. I’ve been trying to keep away from influences.”

The new album From Nothing to a Little Bit More, comes out in March. It addresses the hard times but in a way which encourages singalongs and togetherness. The themes of different tracks touch upon losing those close to you, loneliness and love. ‘Lucky Bean’ for instance, is about Alex’s ex but remains written in the present tense. “I wouldn’t ever change a song,” he tells me, “cos the way it was written should be the way that it’s presented.”

I really like their music. The new album draws influence from a range of different genres and each member of the band’s personality shines through. Alex delivers soulful fragility with his words and lyrics, but it’s accompanied by amazing production. The band support him musically in the same way they did emotionally through those hard times that are discussed on the record.

One of the new singles ‘Say My Name’ is a ballad through and through but kicked into 6th gear with a killer guitar solo. “That was just me that, that was my share,” Scott says, “we were working with John Kettle when we was developing it and he loves a good guitar solo so he encourages it.”

The solo is unpredictable but welcome, which is the feeling throughout the whole album. “It’s a strange one,” explains Alex, “I don’t really want anyone to expect anything, that’s the fun about it. Nobody knows, sometimes we don’t even know what we’re gunna get on the album. It’s kind of like the best songs present themselves. I hope that whatever people expect, it was wrong, you know what I mean? That means we’re doing our jobs right.”

For the second half of the date we head round the corner to play mini-golf. The chemistry between the band is completely unparalleled. They laugh and joke together with each swing of the club, regardless of how good or bad it is, creating an atmosphere which even though I’m new to, feel welcome in. This clearly isn’t rare given how welcome the newest member, bassist Matty, has been made to feel too. The largest venue he had played up to a year ago was in front of a few hundred people and then snap, he’s going round Europe supporting The Killers.

“Yeah, it’s only been 8 months,” he tells me before talking about how much fun he’s having with the band. “I’m really looking forward to Castlefield Bowl.” With that, all promising aspects of the date come crashing down. Turns out they don’t just make good music, but they play it in front of packed out venues all the time.

I can’t build a relationship with them if they’re never going to be here. I think about asking them if they’d ever give up the touring life, but their love for it is clear. “The shows and stuff like that,” Alex says, “that’s kind of people’s chance to escape. As long as they’re having fun, we are, and it’s fine how they express it really. As long as they’re not hitting anyone.”

Alongside the release of the new album, The Lathums will be taking to the road to play intimate shows in pubs, larger gigs in venues across the UK and Europe, festivals, and topping it all off with their biggest headline performance to date in front of 8000 people at Castlefield Bowl.

We finish our round of golf and part ways. We promise to keep in touch, but I know that we won’t. They’re lovely lads and can write music like nobody’s business, but I can’t be a stay at home partner whilst they’re out gallivanting in every corner of the world. It wouldn’t work. I get on the train home and play one of their newer releases

‘Sad Face Baby.’

It’s starting to rain and I’m back on the dating apps. I’m lonely at the best of times. I go to my camera roll and look at our photo from minigolf. Well, maybe not always.

Sheena Patel: shadoW play shadoW play

“l’m massively romantic,” I meet Sheena Patel at WA, a Japanese Patisserie in Covent Garden. Bright white counters line the side of the room and light piano music plays in the background as we sit by the window and people watch. “I’m not seeing anyone at the moment and it’s been a long time so I have all of this feeling that I want to get out. I love it. Romance in the sense of being Romantic with a capital R feels quite artistic and old world. So, it’s quite nice to think of myself as romantic.”

Contrast Sheena’s own feelings with her debut novel ‘I’m A Fan,’ which follows an unnamed narrator who develops an unhealthy obsession with an unnamed love interest. She cheats on her boyfriend with this man who is a figure of authority, selfish lover and dickhead. “I watched the insurrection and was really disturbed by it,” Sheena tells me, “so I wrote about how governments are the same as an emotionally unavailable boyfriend. That idea of telling a bigger story through one person.”

The man our narrator is obsessed with does not represent what the character wants in a relationship, rather, he is a representation of what he can give her access to. He is the key to unlock doors in a world which would otherwise slam them shut. “It’s almost brutal turning someone into a symbol, it’s almost as brutal as how he behaves to her. To turn someone into an access point, like, I want you for what you can give me.”

The narrator's obsession becomes incredibly unhealthy, leading to her renting dogs to get closer with his friends, sending letters to his Mums house and forever stalking one of his other love interests on social media. That obsession manifests as disdain and anger, not only to the man but the world around her. Men and women alike.

“It’s a battle for survival. It’s like, oh yes, we’re all sisters and I wouldn’t do that to another woman but it’s like, well, you would. You would if the thing you want is up for grabs. We all would. When you want something, you will do whatever you can to get it.”

The narrator is someone who doesn’t give a fuck but at the same time gives way too many fucks. A lot of people paint her as unlikeable, but I disagree. She’s incredibly human. Some actions are odd and the way she treats certain people is outright nasty, but we have all been blinded by something we want in the past and I think the way Sheena portrays the narrator is one of the most honest telling’s of uncompromising desire in modern literature.

“I really enjoyed spending time with her,” she tells me, “She’s different to me, and that kind of gets people mixed up. It was supposed to be like shadow work, you know? The shadowed parts of the internet, the shadows of ourselves, the shadows that shape the page. I enjoy her, she’s difficult but I enjoyed writing it.”

Considering the book is relatively short, there’s a lot to unpack and it’s hardly been touched upon above. The structure is almost poetic, with blank space used to various effect and words hanging from the page. It discusses the likes of art, money and accessibility in the creative world. Sheena inhabits those shadowed aspects of us and the world and shines a light on them. It’s creative, fun, disturbing, and all things in between.

I’m A Fan.

I’m A Fan is out now, via Rough Trade Books

divorce

Words: Charlie Brock

2022 saw Divorce drop their debut EP, Get Mean. The four piece are Nottingham natives, but as 2023 rolls around, we find the band recently relocated to London. Get Mean earned the band critical acclaim, captivating song writing complements a mix of indie guitars and lyrics of murder, love, loss and service stations.

Promising early singles have been backed up in style with the debut EP, and short swift UK tours have proven Divorce as one of the UK’s most exciting new bands. Gigwise caught up with Felix and Tiger in their new London HQ to chat about their process, and brand new material.

Something we especially enjoyed on ‘Get Mean’ was the lyricism, and the storytelling that is so present throughout the songs. I know you share vocal duties, but does that extend to the song writing process too?

We write in a mixture of ways, but we tend to write the lyrics and the chords together. Sometimes one of us will write an entire song, but also we collaborate and add bits to each other’s tracks. Often we will start from scratch together too – we have been writing as a pair for such a long time, that even if we’re writing alone we have the same mentality… a shared brain.

The band is made up of experienced musicians, all of the group come from different bands and backgrounds: does that make Divorce a vehicle for exploring new sounds and ideas that may not get attention in other dynamics?

If anything, it has helped us refine our writing as a duo. I think in our last project we may have over extended the genre-transcendency too much. I still don’t like to be too ‘solid’ in a genre, that can be too contrived, but it has really helped us hone a sound for Divorce. But at the same time, from the EP we just released you can definitely expect more experimental sounds in the future. Our newer stuff is a little more ‘west’. We’re becoming more comfortable as studio goblins!

How ‘west’ are we talking?

Instead of writing in traditional structures, pop structures which we largely stuck to in the last EP it is definitely more “free form”.

The Divorce sound is especially unique, with elements from country and Americana to the grungier parts- what are your influences that have led to such an interesting style?

Yeah it’s definitely varied. We’re four ‘music people’ with really different tastes. That being said we have come together and loved a few LPs. Tom Waits, Big Thief, Wilko, Mitski. More recently Sorry and Alex G, The Blue Nile too.

Are there literary influences to the lyrical content?

We both come from a fairly theatrical world, me [Felix] and Tiger met at youth theatre. I always had a familiarity with plays and Tiger is a film buff. There’s a great deal of character in these things and I love to look for characters. I love to step out of my life and write about

harriette

Words: Millie O’Brien

Prepare to meet your new bestie, the ultimate popgirly, Harriette. The sweetheart singer-songwriter and mastermind behind the smash hit ‘at least i’m pretty’ sat down with Gigwise to divulge on being a die-hard Swiftie, dropping out of art school for the TikTok grind, and just generally being a Gen Z, 20-something, relatable queen.

Let’s take it to the very beginning, how did you first get into making music?

I’ve always loved telling stories. I’ve copied Taylor Swift by saying that. I was really obsessed with Taylor Swift, Lizzie Macguire, Hannah Montana growing up; just the girlies really. I started playing guitar when I was 9, then I learned Taylor Swift existed and thought, that’s what I want to do. But I went to art school instead, then covid happened and I started writing more music and ‘at least I’m pretty’ blew up. That was when I was a sophomore in college, failing all my classes.

What was that moment when ‘at least i’m pretty’ blew up like?

It just felt …perfect! I’d never posted anything that I’d written before on the internet, only silly videos. I’d started writing it the day before and then finished it and posted it that night. I’d only written the first verse and chorus and thought people would like this on Tik Tok… I was totally right! Within 24 hours the video had 100k likes. Then I was like, fuck I got to finish it.

With your songwriting, you write quite candid, silly lyrics to express sad feelings. Why do you adopt this approach?

When I’m writing, I try to keep it conversational. I know someone’s gonna hear it, so what would I not be embarrassed to say to a random person? I like to keep it approachable, playing the sadness off with silliness. I think things should be funny, more people should make silly songs.

How does this translate when you’re writing with another person? Do you feel awkward being vulnerable in a writing session?

Harriette: Yes and no. So many of my songs are just like me talking about myself and my experience, so sometimes when I’m writing, I’m being vague in the song. I’ll watch Sabrina Carpenter’s videos and when Sabrina’s talking about a breakup and calling up her writing person and being like let’s hash it out, I just… could never! I don’t think that’s how I work. There’s definitely a balance, I don’t spread it all out unless I feel like the person’s a good friend.

The ultimate music convo starter: what was your Spotify Wrapped of 2022?

All women top artists, obviously! I also don’t really like it when boys sing I realise, I don’t really…care…when they’re speaking… But my top artists were: Taylor Swift, she’s been my number one for 5 years in a row, Clairo, Olivia Rodrigo, Fiona Apple, and HAIM.

What can we expect next for Harriette?

I’m working on a project which will be out this year. I’m excited for it so I can stop being like: Now I have four songs! Now I have five songs! I feel like ‘at least i’m pretty’ is like a meme. From the minute I posted it, I didn’t feel connected to all of the attention it was getting, I just thought it was cool that everyone liked it. So now when I release new stuff, I feel like I’m showing another trick I can do. A lot of the project is about experience on and with and around being a 20-something year old on the internet and me in my relationships in my life currently. I love writing about myself, what can I say!

efe

Words: Chiara Strazzulla / Photos: Niamh Barry

Ever since the release of her debut EP in late 2020, EFÉ –the stage name of Dublin’s Anita Ikharo – has been pretty much the textbook definition of ‘one to watch’. Building her own brand of bedroom pop with plenty of indie chords and just a touch of shoegaze, the Irish singer-songwriter has been leaving her mark on a challenging music scene and fine-tuning her voice into something equal parts bold, sincere, and challenging. With an extremely successful festival season and the release of her second EP, VITAMIN – C, now behind her, she reflects on the path that led her here – and on the one that lays ahead.

It’s been two full years since the release of your first EP. What’s changed, and what has stayed the same?

As I was working on the second EP, my music taste changed a lot, and there are elements of that which ended up in the music. At the end of the day, I want to make music that I would listen to and would enjoy, and I love how that turned out. There were parts of my experience that ended up in it too; navigating the music industry became a theme, and codependency – that is the main theme in the new EP.

Codependency is also what the C in the title stands for. How did you end up exploring that?

I saw codependency as all the things that I felt I needed in order to do something. But it was also me working

through it and coming to realise that I didn’t need to be so codependent, to have other people in order to succeed. That I can do things myself. It was like, ‘let me see if I can do this myself!’ and then I actually did. There was a big growth happening, in being able to see the problem and then fix it.

The EP pretty much works its way through it; it’s almost a work of self-analysis.

Yes, it’s always been a huge part of how I do music. A lot of people are in a feeling and make a song there, but I end up stewing in the feeling, not writing in the moment. I usually come to it from a place of reflection; when something’s very fresh, I leave it, and then come back to it and figure it out.

You’ve had a very busy second half of 2022; What were the highlights?

I just came back from tour, opening for Still Woozy around Europe, which was insane; I used to listen to their music in secondary school. It was surreal. It feels like it hasn’t happened sometimes. And doing my own headline show: I was just crying on stage. It was the first time I didn’t have to fight to be heard; people knew the lyrics, and I was like –what is happening?

And what are the plans for 2023? What’s coming next?

I think I need to surprise myself. But I’ll be releasing some more music, and I would like to do a headline tour. We’ll have to see – the world surprises me all the time, so I’m not planning anything anymore!

oWboyy

Words: Emma Way

Coming for a scattering of towns around the South Coast after forming via mutual friends and insta stories; Cowboyy are doing it the old fashioned way. Building hype via the live circuit, their debut track Gmaps was met by an already loyal fan base and hooked in through their high energy sets. Now settling down to release their first EP, Epic The Movie, coming in March, we met Stan the frontman to get to know them.

How did you meet your band initially?

I knew Reubin as a friend through school and the others I met on Instagram. I put something on my story about looking to play with new guitarists and then someone who knew Kai, who plays guitar, sent it to him and the same exact thing happened with Rhys. Now we’re all best buddies.

How did you go about choosing the songs for the EP?

There were seven we recorded originally. It was just a case of (some songs) slowly felt weaker as other ones got better. It was just more of a gut feeling. The next EP is a lot harder hitting, heavier opposed to the first one, which is a lot cleaner.

Was it intentional that you wanted to gig the material live before you released them?

You kind of have to play live. Reubin, for example, hasn’t played in any band ever before. So, to go into that recording environment and understand their parts of what they’re playing, they need that sort of live pressure.

When you’re talking about getting used to the pressure, do you mean being in a recording studio and getting the takes?

I felt like it’d be unfair to just say we’re going to a recording

studio to record all this stuff. Like, let’s take small gigs and just build it up slowly. It avoids that step completely. I just think it makes it feel way more organic because otherwise it’s a singer-songwriter forcing the band to do this and that’s not what I want it to be.

How have you found the reaction to your first single?

I think it’s pretty good. Everyone who’s not from America and a Black Midi fan likes it basically.

You have a reference in your track ‘Algorithmic’ about being a Black Midi rip off. Why did you feel like you had to justify that in the song?

I think people think it’s some statement, but it’s based on a gig that we did. The crowd were typical post punk (fans). I think it was our second gig ever and everyone was just like, they’re a Black Midi rip off and we were just overhearing this conversation. I guess the Black Midi thing is just inevitable really. Its spoken word and the artwork looks like it.

Do you find that you write a lot of songs that reference inside jokes?

Sometimes there’s a funny noise that one of us makes on the pedal board or there’s a guitar tone that we think is funny, and we make a song out of that. We’ve got a song on the next EP called ‘Bell Pepper Hell’. I used to work at a bell pepper factory, and someone fell through the floorboards, and we said they went to bell pepper hell.

With EP one coming soon, have you started on anything new? What’s the next sound going to be?

We’re going for a more psychedelic, more fusion jazz, bigger sounding thing really. The first EP wasn’t done with Rhys’s on drums, and I haven’t played with a drummer I get on with as much as him, so there’s a whole new element of music to explore there.

Royal Albert Hall presents

KETY FUSCO FRIDAY MARCH 3RD 2023

The Queen of the Electric Harp