ISSUE THIRTYFIVE APRIL/MAY FREE
BOOKA SHADE FRANK TURNER EGYPTIAN HIP HOP EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
ROLO TOMASSI EDITORS WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS CHAPEL CLUB WIN GIG TICKETS AND FRAMED POSTER
ISSUE THIRTYFIVE APRIL/MAY HIGHVOLTAGE.ORG.UK 4 manchester news introducing - CHAPELCLUB / WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS 7 EDITORS 8 ROLO TOMASSI FRANK TURNER 9 10 EGYPTIAN HIPHOP EVERYTHING EVERYTHING 11 12 BOOKASHADE single reviews 15 16 album reviews live reviews 18 20 listings 22 new Noise
HIGHVOLTAGE IS SEVEN YEARS OLD!
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NEW WEBSITE
To mark the occasion you can Win a pair of tickets for an upcoming HV show of your choice and a framed print of the 7th Birthday party poster by answering this question:
Just a reminder that the new highvoltage website is up and running. For more reviews, interviews, comment and info on all HighVoltage activities log on to the brand spanking new site.
Name the four bands who appeared on the first ever High Voltage Sounds release.
WWW.HIGHVOLTAGE.ORG.UK
E-mail your answers to richard@highvoltage.org.uk before 30th April to be entered into the draw.
EDITOR - Richard Cheetham - richard@highvoltage.org.uk DESIGN - Andy Cake | Soap | www.soapforall.co.uk LISTINGS EDITOR - Mike Caulfield - listings@highvoltage.org.uk CONTRIBUTORS - Fran Donnelly, Simon Wright, Stuart Holmes, Benjamin Thomas, Neil Condron, Sophie Armour, Denise Tench, Alex Lynham, Grace Brown, Clemence Flamee, Harry Garne, Andy Best, Gemma Louise Harris, DJ, Mke Caulfield, Michael Perry, Liam Pennington & Gareth Roberts
Want to join the award winning HighVoltage team? We’re looking for talented writers & designers, volunteers and all round music fans to help out. Get in touch with richard@highvoltage.org.uk
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manchester INT R O DUC ING _news LOCAL RELEASES
>
April / May is a busy period for local releases, with
Though for a more sombre, reflective release you
the breadth of the cities scene represented. The
can’t better ‘Sundial’ by the Travelling Band.
singles reviews on page 15 could have easily been
It builds on the majestic folk-rock of previous single
another 5 times bigger, but I’ll aim to run through the
‘Waterfall’, with a more assured vocal harmonies,
pick of the bunch here… There’s a couple of long
and a wider range of instruments to bring out the
overdue debut releases, including Dutch Uncles
warmer side of the band’s song writing.
(Love & Diaster) whose new song ‘The Ink’
Electro-popsters Performance release their first new
showcases their stadium filling potential. Full of
material for some time in 'The Living'. It's a glorious
snappy guitar lines and shiny keyboard parts there’s
pop-rock tune with Joe Stretch's vitriolic vocals at
elements of Talking Heads and Field Music in their
the core of a smart back beat. Finally, Young British
sound. It culminates in a sweeping wall-of-noise
Artists release their second ltd edition 7" via Red
finale, full of youthful enthusiasm and energy. On a
Deer Club. It's another smoky post-punk track, and
more electro-pop-rock slant is ‘Braces’ by Ten Bears
worth snapping up when it's released on 19th April.
(East West), a ridiculously catchy party track.
NME AWARDS TOUR
>
Two of Manchester’s hotly tipped acts, Hurts and
treat. Everything Everything (featured on page 11)
Everything Everything, will join forces for NME’ s
will also be sure to put on a top show, after a solid
annual Radar tour. The tour travels across the UK
few months of touring across Europe and SXSW.
and lands at Academy 3 on 26th April. HV was at
Also on the bill is the rather fine Darwin Deez,
Hurts’ debut show at St Phillips Church last month
who’s debut release ‘Constellations’ was on the
so can confirm that ticket holders are in for a real
HV stereo for sometime back in December.
FESTIVALS
>
Manchester’s festival season has taken some
rebranded from previous years known as
interesting turns over the past few weeks, as
Futuresonic. Current confirmations include The
profiled on www.thisisthenow.co.uk. Established
Hacker (pictured), who'll bring a solid set of tech-
local festival Sounds From The Other City has
house. Whereas Konono No 1's distinctive blend
expanded to take over nine venues in the Chapel St
of African percussion over electronic beats, and the
area of Salford. There’s established names such as
legendary Omar Souleyman, headlining at Sound
Fujiya & Miyagi, Chrome Hoof and Alexander
Control, are typical of the festival's fresh approach.
Tucker alongside upcoming local acts Wu Luf, MAY 68 and The Calvalcade. But for big names Dot To Dot has done the business, with Mystery Jets, Los Campesinos!, Liars, Chapel Club, Wild Beasts, Field Music and Doorly on the bill. Yet one of the biggest surprises is the FutureEverything event,
HV has programmed a shed load of local acts and top name DJs, including Fiithy Dukes to play at Font Bar as part of Eurocultured on 30 and 31st May. So keep your eyes peeled for news about that…
CHAPEL CLUB
Of all the bands tipped for success in 2010, East London’s Chapel Club are among the most furtively whispered about. Rumours abound of a record company scramble after a handful of gigs and a recessionbusting wad of cash, but is there any truth among the conjecture? Singer Lewis Bowman is on hand to clear up some of the loose talk...
ever making it this must be hard to swallow. And was it for silly money? “I guess we could’ve chased a huge advance, but I don’t know how big it would have been. We asked all the labels that were interested if they would give us complete control as well as time to grow and develop, and signed with the one that said yes. Or rather, the one that said yes Chapel Club’s debut single-proper and seemed to mean it”. ‘Oh Maybe I’ was released at the Again there’s that suggestion end of February, accompanied by of uncertainty which seems to bucket loads of radio play which go against the band’s startling really started the Chinese whispers. ascent. But perhaps it’s a good What does Lewis think about the thing that one of our most explosion of interest? “We feel promising new bands can see grateful for all the attention and through the fickle world of record affection coming our way, and glad company politics. “We’re just that ‘O Maybe I’ has been getting a trying to hold our balance amid good response. But [have we] the silliness, and keep our minds made it? No…not quite.” At least on what’s important: the songs. the circus isn’t getting to anyone’s Ultimately, whatever happens, head. “As far as I’m aware, we only happens. What matters to me is have one real fan and he lives in less where we get to and more Poland”. It’s an interesting that I keep my eyes wide for the juxtaposition that Lewis offers; ride.” the proud bravado of being in a band on the up, and the Words by Harry Garne unassuming modesty associated with just starting out. “I feel like a pretty unlikely frontman... it’s in my nature to over-think everything” says Lewis “but the other guys are really fucking good, so I’m sure I’m the only one in that boat. That leaky dinghy”. It’s this combination of ballsy confidence and formless doubt which colours the theatrical gloom of Chapel Club’s songs; everybody likes a riddle to solve. So, to the myths. Were Chapel Club really signed after only four gigs? “False: we were signed after three. But what gigs they were.” For all those bands toiling the toilet circuit nationwide without a hope of
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WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS
With the release of sophomore effort The Snake in 2008, Wildbirds and Peacedrums let loose one of the most startlingly raw and complex records of recent years. HV caught up with the duo to get the lowdown on their forthcoming eye-centric EPs Retina and Iris. Or at least snatches of lowdown, if not all of it... “I have been a bit hung up on the surface of the water versus the surface of the eye, the reflections and the special light that generates”. Anyone familiar with the music of W&D will know it’s more than a little...well, off-kilter. Veering from pagan chants to banshee wailing, any explanation from the band was always going to be obtuse to say the least. Example: what do they sound like live? “Like a mini version of the Red Army Choir. But sober. Or at least just tipsy. With God and the Devil playing cricket in the middle.” It’s safe to say you wouldn’t get this level of lunacy in a Bombay Bicycle Club interview. Since the release of their criticallyacclaimed second album (not forgetting that their debut ‘Heartcore’ won the coveted Swedish Jazz Act of the Year award) Mariam and Andreas have been busy; both husband and wife have embarked on separate musical ventures in the interim, but it’s the new EPs that are the focus today. “Both EPs were recorded in two days each and then mixed. The preparation was the thing that took time, doing the arrangements with Hildur [Gudnasdottir, of Múm], finding a choir, a church.” The EPs were recorded in Iceland, in a small,
suburban church; did this setting affect the music? “It was almost impossible not to! This strange, empty and wet country was perfect for the music. Just as we had hoped.” So what’s the story behind the EP titles? “It’s about the eye, the communication of what we see and what we feel. The two EPs sound very different [with] Retina symbolizing the light reflections...and Iris having a more dry, light and close up sound”. To confuse matters, the two together go under the title Rivers – is it worth asking why? “It came to us from the universal conciseness, or was it from a fashion oracle? We have forgot. [laughs] It all just felt like a picture of someone almost drowning but being saved. Like having water in your lungs...but that’s not scary when suddenly realizing almost your whole body is made out of it, water. Hard to explain, more something to feel in the music.” For anybody worried that the mystery has disappeared from our anti-pop stars, consider Wildbirds and Peacedrums; mad as a bag of spanners, but somehow utterly brilliant. Retina is released on 10th May 2010. Iris is released 7th June 2010. Words by Harry Garne
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live 22nd April // The Roadhouse THE FEATURES // & KASSIDY// Doors 7.30pm tickets £6adv.
23rd April // Deaf Institute KING CHARLES // THE COLD ONE HUNDRED // THE RECKONER // with HV, UP THE RACKET and very special guest DJs till 3am plus BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY! Open 8pm-3am, tickets £5 adv
25th April // Deaf Institute Co-promotion with Now Wave THREE TRAPPED TIGERS // TALONS // THE KILL VAN KULLS // & ELMO LOGIC // Doors 7.30pm, tickets £7 adv
18th May // Deaf Institute HOLY FUCK // w/ special guests Doors 8pm, tickets £9 adv
30th May // Eurocultured @ Font FILTHY DUKES (DJs) w/ NAIVE MELODY, UP THE RACKET & POGO DJs Plus live sets from LOST KNIVES // ENVY // THE KILL VAN KULLS // THE SHALLOW // THE WAITERS // & D/R/U/G/S // 3pm-3am, tickets details www.eurocultured.com
31st May // Eurocultured @ Font HEY ZEUS // OSZIBARACK (POLAND) // BLACK KNIGHTS // I AM MECHANICAL // GEEVOR // & MEMOIRE //
16th June // The Roadhouse BABE SHADOW // & HEY ZEUS // Doors 8pm, tickets £5 adv
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editors
After two platinum selling albums of dark, guitar based indie rock, Editors returned last year with In This Light And On This Evening; a noticeable change of direction into electronic territory for the band. High Voltage caught up with the band’s drummer, Ed Lay, during their recent U.K. tour to find out more.
What were the band's reasons for the change of direction on the new album? When we started to write for the record we realised the stuff we were coming up with was more than a nod to what we'd done previously. Chris [Urbanowicz, lead guitar and synthesizers] was the instigator of it. He went home and decided that rather than writing on the guitar he'd change the instrument that he wrote his parts on [to keyboards and synthesizers] and that was a sign to us all that we should try and move on.
Did you see this album as the start of a new chapter for the band? The way we recorded the second record was in a very linear fashion. With this record we wanted to get away from that. We didn't want to make it sound too clinical so we recorded it live. We all got into the studio together and programmed the stuff that we needed to propel the songs along. We played [together in the studio] as four members of a band and we hadn't done that for a good number of years. We worked very hard in the weeks running up to going into the studio so we could be pretty much ready to hit the record button. We wanted to do it quite quickly and concisely and it worked out well. That's what Flood [Mark Ellis, producer] wanted to do as well so it was a happy meeting of minds. Was Flood your first choice of producer for this album? We'd discovered what the mood would be for the whole album before he got involved, but when we found that mood he was the obvious choice. What did he bring to the album as a producer? He gave us confidence. We didn't think we'd be able to record it live;
it felt a bit unnatural to be a traditional rock band playing on different instruments but he gave us the confidence to do that. If something wasn't maturing in the way it should do he'd point it out and just tell us to try something different; he encouraged us to be more creative when we'd perhaps think of just doing something easy.
released and nobody had got particularly familiar with it. I think they’d bought tickets on the basis of what we'd done before so you're always going to get a few blank faces staring back at you.
What were your influences whilst making the new album?
I think we have lost a few fairweather fans with this record. It's not the most instant album in the world and nor were we intending it to be that way but we're very happy with it.
When we went into the studio a very big record for us all was Sound Of Silver by LCD Soundsystem; the way it has real groove and gives a human feel to electronic music. Talking Heads too; we referenced them quite a few times, but I think more than just bands we were talking about other things, like the experiences we've had travelling. Film soundtracks too. Whilst we were playing I was imagining what sort of scenes it could go over in certain types of films; it felt like a more pleasant way of sitting in a studio. Have you been pleased with your fans’ responses to the new material so far?
Do you think you may have lost some fans with your change of direction?
Have you thought ahead to the sound of the fourth album at all? Not really, but what I hope to do is go into the studio before the year is out. Hopefully we'll do some demos and record as soon as possible. I don't know what it's going to sound like though. Heavier, probably. I think we're all in a heavy place. Head over to www.myspace.com/editorsmusic for more info Words by Stuart Holmes
I think the people [on this] tour have come because they appreciate the latest record. On the last tour it was just a week or two after it had been
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ROLO _TOMASSI Sheffield-based prog hardcore outfit Rolo Tomassi have been going from strength to strength over the last few years, and are set to return later this month with a UK tour and the release of the second album, ‘Cosmology’. Ahead of their tour, High Voltage caught up with vocalist and keyboard player James Spence to chat about their sound, their history, and their plans for 2010. HV: Tell us about your new album, ‘Cosmology’; we understand it’s been pushed back... JS: Well, everything was running a little bit late with it. We actually got the mastered record back from America a
lot later than we were initially expecting. It’s kind of disappointing, as it doesn’t really coincide with the tour now, although we’ve pushed our London headline show back, so that’s now acting as the release show. This record has been done for us since we finished recording it at the end of October last year, so we’re desperate to have it out – we really want to play the new songs, we want everyone else to hear it. We’re just so keen to start this new chapter with the band! What can we expect from the album? It’s a natural progression from the first record, everything is just so much better. It’s such a cliché for a band to come out and say that, but I think we’ve found a bit more of an identity in what we want to do, as we have more direction than ever, in terms of song writing. It’s a lot heavier and flows a lot better. It’s a fun record to listen to! You’ve worked with DJ and producer Diplo on this album; how did you guys meet? Actually, he mentioned us in an interview for Pitchfork. I was aware of
some of the high profile remixes he’d done, so we approached him about potentially doing a remix, as he mentioned he was a fan of the band and it escalated from there, really! He came to see us when we played SXSW, and then Ed and I went to meet with him when he came over to England to DJ. We then started talking things out, and it was then worked out that we would go over and record with him in America.
listening to Goblin, M83 – this was mainly from a keyboard writing perspective. Obviously, I’m sure the others would probably discuss artists that are more specific to their role in the band. In my head, when I think about what inspires me, I think about my role in the band and what I bring to songwriting.
How would you define your sound?
We have a few festival appearances, including Live at Leeds and Slamdunk Festival in May, and we’re looking to figure things out past then. We have some very interesting things in the pipeline! Nothing I can announce, but we’ll be busy throughout the rest of the year. Once the album comes out, all we want to do is tour, hard!
We’ve kind of settled on ‘progressive hardcore’, just because people are trying to put works like ‘spaz’ and ‘Nintendo’ in there, and we just wanted something that sounded a bit more respectable than that (laughs). I think it’s prog rock meets hardcorehardcore definitely, as that’s the base of the sound, it always has been and always will be. It’s progressive as well, like bands like Between the Buried and Me; our guitarist is a big fan of that band. We’re just trying to create this really big wall of sound. As a band, who inspires you, musically or more generally speaking? Everyone would give you different answers! When we started out, we were all listening to very similar sorts of music, and that’s one of the reasons we started the band. Bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Red Chord and At the Drive-In were a massive influence to us. Personally, when it came to writing the second album, at the time I was
Do you have any European festival plans this year?
What's been the highlights of being Rolo Tomassi this far? Definitely still being able to do this! I would really struggle to pick a single highlight, as there have been several. In just the last six months, we’ve been to LA and Australia, as well as touring the UK and selling out some of our shows. There’s far, far too much to pick from across what we’ve done, and we’re so proud about what we have achieved with this band. I think my favourite thing is that I get to wake up every day and still get to do what I love—it’s a complete privilege. Rolo Tomassi play the Roadhouse in Manchester on 12th April, and Live at Leeds on 1st May. More info on www.myspace.com/rolotomassi
“IF DYLAN CAN GET WRITER’S BLOCK, THEN SO CAN I” - THE CONFESSIONS OF
Frank _Turner Before his slot at the Academy, the largest show he’s ever played, HV is fortunate enough to catch up with Frank Turner. He strolls tiredly into the room, soft drink in hand, and admits that after a morning of interviews he’s exhausted. It’s not long however before the conversation slips into a comfortable discourse, and Frank’s answers tell of a sharp intelligence coupled with a willingness to voice his opinions honestly, however brutally so. Having said that, what would you expect from a man who finished his third year History dissertation while on tour with Million Dead in Europe?
What would you say are your biggest influences, musical or otherwise? I grew up with punk rock. That kind of informs everything I do, there’s no escaping that. In recent years it’s the Big Three: Springsteen, Neil Young and Dylan. In the whole folkrock, singer- songwriter territory they are inescapable. Your current set-up is very different from Million Dead, even with the band backing you- how does it compare? It is very different. When Million Dead broke up I decided I didn’t want to be in a band anymore. The intermeshing politics in Million Dead were fucking ridiculous. I played on my own for eighteen months to set the groundwork for what happens now… my band now is a dictatorship, not a democracy. I’d like it to be a constant, like the E-Street Band. I want people to know the names of Ben Lloyd, Matt Nasir, Nigel Powell and Tarrant Anderson as well as mine. Those are my boys. In Million Dead we were wide-eyed idealists, and I think we were probably dickheads… I can’t believe I just said that! Can you remember the best show you’ve ever played? Frank pauses, momentarily lost in thought, so I try to prompt him: “was it with your first band? Like, your first ever gig?” Ha, no it wasn’t that… with Kneejerk I remember the first show I ever played that people sang along to words that I’d written.
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That was in Manchester actually, at some tiny practice rooms - it really blew me away. Tonight’s the biggest show I’ve ever headlined… before the London show that is. The other week I played in New Jersey to three hundred people who knew all the words to my songs. It’s a weird feeling being that far away and getting that reaction. What are your plans for after this tour? Europe after the UK, then the West Coast of the US, then Australia and New Zealand. After that, a ten-day tour of China. I really don’t know what to expect from that… then it’s festival season. My tour schedule runs through to February next year. Frank explains that he’s writing his new album for the end of this year, and that he’s also planning an album of traditional English folk songs. He’s also writing a book; explaining, “I’m coming up to my thousandth solo show,” he’s choosing a hundred entries in his tour diary to turn into a consistent narrative of his life on the road thus far. I ask him, is he sure he’s keeping himself busy enough? I’m a workaholic. I’m haunted by the idea that my enthusiasm or my song writing will dry up. If Dylan can get writer’s block, then so can I. What do you think of the current musical climate? For that matter, as someone who’s very involved in the punk scene, any thoughts on that? The US and UK scenes are very different…
I don’t know and I don’t really care about scenes. It’s always struck me as a rubbish reason to like a band, because they came from a certain town. I’m still working my way through the Gram Parsons bootlegs. He goes on to mention Frightened Rabbit and Gallows as favourites, as well as expressing admiration for Craig Finn (of The Hold Steady), Aiden Moffatt (Arab Strap) and John le Sampson (The Weaker Thans) as lyricists. He confesses that he’s not familiar with Andrew Jackson Jihad although he’s been recommended them several times. After a passionate discussion, I decide to close with something I hope he feels equally passionate about. What do you love about music? I don’t know. It’s so completely infused in my life. It sounds pretentious, but I can’t imagine my life without this much music in it… it’s the context for everything. I just fucking love to play guitar and sing. It’s the coolest thing in my life and I hope nothing ever comes between me and that. It’s a fucking joy. My life would be fucking empty without it. Frank Turner is on tour for the foreseeable future. His newest album, Poetry of the Deed is out now. Check www.highvoltage.org.uk for a more in depth version of this interview. Words by Alex Lynham
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Egyptian _HipHop From the Barnstorming performance at the In The City showcase, through to debut single ‘Hazel Groove’, there’s little doubt that within their fledgling career they have been one of the most talked about and hyped bands coming out of Manchester. We caught up with Alex Hewett from the band to discuss the whirlwind of Egyptian Hip Hop. Do you think critics focus too much on the fact you are a Manchester band and always try to associate you against bands like Happy Mondays, as your music doesn’t strike as particular Madchester? Yeah It’s clutching at straws, when you compare us to the likes of the Happy Mondays, cos, to be honest we have never really listened to them. It’s kind of a lazy reference point, but they have to work with what they can, with our location I guess.
So in that respect do you feel that in general music writers understand your sound and all the difference aspects to it? Well we do sound like a lot of things, so a lot of reviewers aren’t sure what to make of it, some will get the sound, but most wont and they will try to pigeon hole us which is often off the mark. They want to see us as this new Manchester band, but we are not really massively influenced by Manchester sounds, and I think we would be making this music if we weren’t from Manchester anyway You have such a developed sound for a young band, were you all in to your music from a younger age, and what bands/sounds do you try to incorporate into your style? Yeah we grew up listening to a lot of different stuff, Alex will listen to Mars Volta or Steve Reich and stuff, where as I listen to a lot of Talking Heads, and the others were into a lot of Psych or kraut rock like Can or Neu. We all try to change interests with music so it’s never the same thing. Funny you should say as parts of your music is reminiscent of Talking Heads. Yeah, if we had to be another band it would probably be them for the career they have had. There’s no ignoring the hype and expectation bestowed on EHH, but
do you think this works to your advantage, or is a hindrance to your growth?
on, I suppose we all just start playing music with friends rather then hanging around the streets.
Well, at the moment we don’t have a whole lot of music behind to back it up, I mean we have written a lot of songs, but only a small portion of these are us hitting our potential. It kind of works in our favour as in the future we can definitely achieve even better, and surprise a few people with more quality songs.
Your first gig as a foursome was March 21st last year, so almost a year on, how have you seen the band develop in such a short space of time?
The main criticism about your music is that there is not enough of it, will you be upload more songs on Myspace soon? Yeah I’ve got 20 of our songs on my computer, but there’s only really five of them that we are happy with at the moment, and 3 are live versions that haven’t been properly recorded yet. We have got this 12 minute jam when we recorded our single which is pretty cool. We should put more stuff online after the next singles out Being from Marple, along with members of Delphic and Dutch Uncles, what is it about this borough in Stockport that’s spawn three of Manchester’s hottest bands at the moment? Well It doesn’t really have a scene as such, but it’s a nice place, its not posh like Alderly Edge, or rougher like Levenshulme, its a place for families with kids, and we are encouraged to get into music early
"I don't know where we are. Somewhere west of London." Calling from a service station somewhere in the UK, Manchester's Everything Everything had better get the GPS fixed soon as they’re going places. En route to Brighton (apparently), HV catch up with Jeremy from the band to talk about SXSW, the joy of not telling the truth and being the new Beastie Boys...
a capella breaks, R'n'B basslines and songs about Photoshop, this isn't your run-of-the-mill indie band. "We try to avoid clichés" says Jeremy, straight-forwardly, and the range of comparisons dreamt up by the press suggests this has been more than achieved. "We've been likened to We Are Scientists simply as we are wearing lab coats in one photo. That's just lazy. If that’s the way it works we're just as much the Beastie Boys. Actually quote me on that – ‘We are the next Beastie Boys”. Feel that? That’s a blast of fresh air from a new band not taking the hyperbole too seriously. The year started on a high with an appearance on the BBC's Sound of 2010 shortlist, and tonight is Everything Everything’s final warmup gig before flying to this year's South By Southwest festival where they are playing a finger-shredding 6 shows in 4 days. Considering the
EVERYTHING _EVERYTHING For the uninitiated, Everything Everything might just be the most thrillingly original thing to happen to British music for some time. Descending on Manchester from various corners of the UK, Jeremy, Jonathan, Mike and Alex play some of the most fantastically off-kilter pop songs never to make it onto a Destiny's Child remix album. Boasting three-plus-part harmonies,
airmiles and the workload, Jeremy is remarkably nonplussed; "I think the entire British music industry will be there so I don’t know how many Americans we’re even going to meet! But it’s the experience.” (A day later the band post online that “it’s like Anchorman” and that they’ve bumped into Bill Murray, so an experience is certainly what they’re getting.) On their return it's
straight off on this year's NME Radar tour with co-headliners and fellow Manchester residents Hurts...but don’t go thinking that this is a ‘Manchester’ tour. "The great thing about the so-called Manchester 'scene' at the moment – and I use the term carefully – is that everybody is totally different but totally cooperative of one another; what’s good for Delphic, is good for Egyptian Hip-Hop, Hurts, Run Toto Run, Dutch Uncles, and for us. All are different but mutually beneficial to one another. It’s a really good thing”. And on the prospect of touring with their nearneighbours? “Everyone has heard so much about Hurts and yet they haven't played many gigs; we’ve heard rumours about their big production values, but we don't really know them yet." Previous alumni of the Radar tour include La Roux, The Rakes and The Cribs so they’re certainly in good company. Somewhere on the other side of this packed touring schedule is the release of their currently-beingmixed debut album, pencilled in for an August release. Set to include "half older songs and half newer" and "at least 2 of the 3" singles (‘MY KZ UR BF’, ‘Suffragette Suffragette’, ‘Photoshop Handsome’) it's already setting up to be a belter; “we’re really pleased with what we’ve laid down, so now we’re just sifting through it”. If you stumble across to the EE MySpace you'll see the percussion for 'Weights' being recorded in woodland on various pieces of metalwork including a step ladder and an oil drum ("I was playing the van" says Jeremy proudly, "it means a lot to us, but won't survive much longer"). It’s this kind of sideways
approach that make Everything Everything such a compelling prospect, especially as the quirkiness (a word I use reluctantly and certainly not disparagingly) is transferred live through their arrangements. But it also makes it difficult to unwrap the truth from the less-than-true. "The label says we need to keep up our online presence, but there isn’t always much in the way of crazy gossip. It’s hard to convey sarcasm in 140 characters...but we try anyway!" Perhaps this explains the published assertion that they're using a sample from Pammy and Tommy Lee's sex tape on the record? "We're happy to leave that unconfirmed" says Jeremy, providing hours of tooth-comb listening for the lawyers. “We can deny that the album is called 'Urinal Cake', though". Well, that’s another layer unwrapped at least. Any final words before setting back out on the road? “Well, High Voltage gave us our first gig, so everything we amassed after has stemmed from that: the Night and Day gig on November 5th 2007. We played ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ that night, and probably every night since.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you when these four take over the planet. Everything Everything visit Manchester Academy 3 with Hurts as part of the NME Radar Tour on 28th April 2010, Live at Leeds and Dot to Dot. Before that they’ll be DJing the HV Birthday Party at Islington Mill on 4th April. Words by Harry Garne
Well we have got much better playing live, and we can develop our songs when playing live. None of us own studios so we don’t really record a lot and we don’t really have spaces in our homes so a lot of the ideas and material come from playing live. So any festivals planned for this year? We are actually doing 13 festivals this year I think - I have a massive list. We are doing Latitude, Bestival, Green Man, Field Day, Underage to name a few. You couldn’t have been to that many as a punter anyway? Yeah I have only ever been to Leeds Festival, which was good, but this year should be an experience. As well as their extensive festival shows Egyptian Hip Hop are touring the UK in May, calling at Manchester’s Dot to Dot festival on 31st May. Debut single ‘Wild Human Child’ is out now. Words by Andy Best
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EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK From deep within the throbbing techno heart that is Berlin, Arno Kammermeier talks to us whilst in the studio where he and his colleague Walter Merziger are putting the finishing touches to their upcoming fourth record More!. With Booka Shade encompassing an electronic palette of sounds over the years, the new album is anticipated from all corners, but as its title promises, these pioneers in modern dance music are striving beyond their minimalist cool for the first landmark house album of the new decade. “The ‘More!’ comes because when we discussed what we wanted from the album, we constantly came up with wanting more energy, more emotion and more dance beats. We live in a time where people are filling up their hard drives with more stuff, and it seemed like a suitable expression for what we’re doing. “Now we want to bring the energy back with this album. We wanted the basic tracks to be really suitable for
the clubs and this is where our DJing came in. It helped with the production of the songs, because we could check out the grooves and see how the crowd reacts.” Is it important to test out ideas on the dance floor during the production of a new album? “It was for this album, because with The Sun & The Neon Light we were more on this trip of song writing and home listening. The album before that featured major dance hits so we wondered where we could go from there, but rather than compete we thought we’d try something different, and it was a bit moodier and darker, and now we want to go back to something energetic again.” Has this come as a reaction to playing more as a live act in the past few years? “In a way yes, because there are a lot of songs on it that we can bring to the stage, and we wanted it to be
able to represent the live experience. We would like to have something like a concert recording at some point because as an electronic live act we feel like we have to come up with a way to capture this. But we also wanted an album that people could listen to before they go on a night out. I’ve tried it a few times at friends’ houses and it gives you a lot of good energy.” A contentious decision that comes with every discerning clubber’s Friday evening, the getting-ready-to-go-out album is an essential part of the weekend, and it makes you wonder what makes the grade for these esteemed dance trendsetters? “If I’m just going out for some club music then I’d probably put on one of the latest sets from the M.A.N.D.Y. guys, but as for new music, we just ran into this new album from Delphic which we love after Ewan Pearson told us about them. I remember them from when they did a release with R&S last year which unfortunately we
had to turn down, but we’ve listened to the album and it’s great for when the sun comes up.”
especially at a time when there is a lot of music focused on the drums and the beats.”
If you were to name the most influential electronic artists of the 00s, Arno Kammermeier and Walter Merziger would have credible claim on the title. Their 2008 album, The Sun & The Neon Light introduced their genre-mingling sound to radio listeners and a wider indie crowd that wasn’t so cluborientated, whilst 2006 predecessor Movements produced no less than four era-defining, international dance hits in ‘Mandarine Girl’, ‘Darko’, ‘In White Rooms’ and ‘Body Language’. And Booka Shade’s impact extends further still, as far back as 2002 when the duo founded Get Physical Music, perhaps the most innovative and prominent imprint in house and techno today.
“There is some really interesting stuff going on there beat-wise, but Booka Shade is also about the atmosphere and melodies, and in that sense I think we have created our own universe that is sometimes in sync with the dance floor and sometimes somewhere else completely. There are not many bands that present electronic music in the way we do.”
“I like to believe we have a good standing as producers, but also as songwriters. It is always about the song, even in dance music, and
The more epic and song-based ambience of the last album also meant a step up from ubercool, in-demand DJs to a fearsome live act of bolstered beats and high-tech visuals, capable of drawing the biggest crowds at both clubs and festivals. When HV last spoke to Arno in 2007 he told us of sleepdeprived weekends and exhaustion on the roads as the duo adapted to a
demanding tour schedule, but today he is fresh after a stint in Australia and is confident ahead of this summer, something he puts down to a better balanced lifestyle. “We try to keep the tours to strings of two or three weeks now because after a while you turn into this rock ‘n roll mode, and you’re a bit far away from the real world. Both of us have families so we can’t get lost in this and we like to get in touch with reality. So I hope we’ve found a good balance between the live shows which we take very seriously, but then also the label and all those things you have to do. It is a company that has to be looked after.” The much-improved Booka Shade live show is sure to take live dance music to a new level this summer once More!’s power has been given a chance to air, and it is no more eagerly anticipated than this coming June when Arno and Walter come to Platt Fields to play Parklife festival as
part of a phenomenal line-up featuring everyone from Friendly Fires to Vitalic. It is sure to be the pick of the many electric memories Booka Shade have made in Manchester, from deep and dank DJ sets at Sankeys to roof-raising Warehouse Project live sets, as Arno reminisces; “One night we played Manchester and some guy got on stage and tried to walk between our setups – over our cables – and he just broke down everything, it was hilarious. But then another night we played with Sasha, which I remember being amazing.
but not many of us make it. So we are very thankful for the chance.” Humble words but make no mistake, Booka Shade will go from strengthto-strength in 2010, and for a name that has been at the cutting edge for the past ten years, big things are expected of More!. Setting dance floors alight around the world, the German pair promise a summer of more good times to come. Words by Fran Donnelly HV’s Top 3 Getting-Ready-To-Go-Out Records 1. Cut Copy – Fabriclive.29
“We look forward to returning to the UK in general. It’s probably difficult to explain to someone from England or the States – as being the home of rock ‘n roll and pop music – that it means a lot to somebody from Germany to be respected there. You might get Rammstein or Kraftwerk or even certain DJs,
2. Daft Punk – Homework 3. The Chemical Brothers – Come With Us
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singles SINGLE OF THE MONTH Airship Algebra EP Airship are a new band from Manchester, but forget traditional lad rock stereotypes, as these guys have a wide range of sound. Lead track ‘Algebra’ is a foot stomping, sing along, guitar based track, whilst ‘Go To Sleep’ is a more tranquil effort, with psychedelic guitar sounds, and tender vocals. Both tracks are brought together with a smooth ease. ‘Algebra’ is just the thing to kickstart the idea filled EP, a classic tune that’s sure to get venues
packed out by the end of the year. It’s model sing-along chorus and danceable riffs make it an instant hit. ‘Never Awake’ stays in this style, with Strokelike guitars and crashing drums it’s again a near definite smash.
drums are replaced by the sweeter sounds of a piano.
‘Spirit Party’ is slower than these two but just as good, calming you down for the end of the EP. Less energetic and bouncy but still with a chorus to lose yourself in, it’s a perfect penultimate tune.
Grace Brown
With an album out later this year, Airship are a band to look out for in 2010.
Closing track ‘Go to Sleep’ is a completely different sound, a slow and soothing number with simple, quieter chords and tender vocals. The crashing
Real Dolls Trophy
Fenech Soler Stop and Stare
LCD Soundsystem Drunk Girls
At first listen, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Real Dolls were either, having a laugh, or trying far too hard to be “gangster.” However, give the lyrics a chance and you’ll see that they are in fact laughing at the music industry’s fakery. New single “Trophy, ” mocks the concept of bragging rappers who display their “model” girlfriends, a scene all too familiar in every generic R n B video. “Looks like a poster, does what she‘s supposed to”
After remixing Marina and the Diamonds and collaborating with Groove Armada, dancefloor favourites Fenech Soler are back with their new single ‘Stop and Stare.’
For many, myself included, the arrival of the new LCD Soundsystem record is a massive fucking deal. The band, well, James Murphy, has carved a niche in the music scene by doing the unthinkable; writing songs with guitars and keyboards. Holy moly.
It’s not exactly easy listening, the bass is heavy and the vocals are grimier than a public toilet. The vocals feature master of “new wave grime,” Afrikan Boy, who’s distinctive style has seen him collaborate with hip hop queen MIA. With their own club night “Pronk” in Manchester, Real Dolls are fast becoming creators of popular dance music. Their hip hop sound will be a welcome change from the countless up and coming indie four pieces that Manchester tends to hatch.
A classic club-land anthem ‘Stop and Stare’ is, without a doubt, going to be hot property come summer. Supernatural synths layered over masses of sparkling percussion and harps ensure that this track will be blasting from sweaty clubs throughout the rest of the year. This tune is three minutes and forty four seconds of pure dance bliss. It has all the ingredients for the perfect club-land track; bouncy beats, radio friendly hooks and catchy lyrics telling the perfect love story of two starcrossed clubbers “feeling the fire” between them both. It’s released on April 19th and with remixes from Jaymo and Andy George, Mighty Mouse, Tony Senghore and Reset, Fenech Soler’s fans won’t be left longing for more. It’s the idyllic mix for the idyllic night out.
Sounds of Silver dropped three years ago with the music scene in desperate need of shaking up. Though James Murphy must be cursing his luck. His magic dust seems to rubbed off on acts like Justice and SMD at the expense of his own material, if ‘Drunk Girls’ is anything to go by. Yet in the way that ‘North American Scum’ was a clear single from the otherwise groove heavy Sounds of Silver, and ‘Daft Punk is Playing at My House’ from the eponymous debut, there’s surely no need to panic that This is Happening will be anything other than awesome.
Richard Cheetham
Clémence Flamée Grace Brown
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fifteen
albums By the time most bands reach their fifth album you'd forgive them for sinking into some kind of musical coma, a rut if you like. Yet Sisterworld by New Yorkers Liars is a thrilling example of their seismic artrock. The intensity matches previous releases but the depth of Liar's sound finally shines through.
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Titus Andronicus The Monitor
The self-titled debut single from the New Jersey based quintet Titus Andronicus barked and bawled it's way through a dizzy couple of minutes. It's over a year since that release wrestled it's way into the heads of the UK music press, and the months in between have been kind to a band on the cusp of greatness.
Springsteen was formed, no doubt, from playing any downtown bar they could find, you get the impression Titus Andronicus were playing the wildest house parties around. "I need a whiskey, I need a whiskey, I need a Whiskey!" Patrick Stickles bellows on 'Theme From "Cheers"' (not a cover version btw), before the track climaxes into a toe tapping hoedown.
'A More Perfect Union' kick starts their sophomore LP and sums up the band's sonic ambition. Sure there’s noise and a melee of instruments at it its core, but there's a focus on melody too. This sense of projecting the band's music in a slightly different angle to The Airing of Grievances is far more effective.
Their ramshackle sound is a glorious mess. With a heightened cleverness towards their songwriting, likening them more towards to a progPogues than their NJ brethren. 'Four Score and Seven' uses violins, trumpets and several changes of pace over its eight minutes. And only two songs on this LP fall below the five-minute mark.
Whereas the New Jersey honed rock of The Gaslight Anthem and Bruce
Darwin Deez Darwin Deez Since relocating to America’s capital Darwin Deez has been cultivating his own brand of offbeat pop for the cities hipsters to feast upon. And, with second single ‘Radar Detector’ hitting the likes of NME TV it seems Darwin Deez is set to bring the party to unsuspecting masses. Album opener ‘Constellations’ is a delightful pop hymn, stealing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars’ opening line and retaining all credibility upon a bed of jangle guitar. Deez’s aptness to couple delightful rhyming couplets and his quirky vocal style is refreshing to say the least. Other highlights include the mischievous ‘Bad Day’ which sees Deez wishing a string of unfortunates to fell a love rival “I hope that the last page of your 800 page novel is missing/ I hope that it rains if you leave the window down on your red mustang”. ‘The Bomb Song’ shows that Deez is not just quirk for quirks sake as he describes his sadness and yearning in true New York style “Say you love me now/ maybe you will say you love me now”. ‘Deep Sea Divers’ is a beautiful vision of a broken relationship in which he places the lovers as divers sinking into the sea, an avid juxtaposition with the soft gentle guitars. However, stand out track is single ‘Radar Detector’. Destined to peruse summer festivals and dance floors alike this truly epitomizes a pop song. Catchy chorus, delightful lyrics and a poppy soundtrack this song could propel Deez and his brand of pop into the single charts.
The cheekily titled 'A Pot In Which to Piss' is at the core of all that is great about this album. Across it's 9 minutes singer Patrick Stickles croons, gasps and shouts his way through the track, pausing for breath only before unleashing a throatthrottling barrage of lyrics. Perhaps the genius of this record is that it came as such a surprise. On the surface Titus Andronicus seem like clueless nut-jobs winging it, but there's a bucket load of layers on this record, that will keep it sounding fresh all the way through till 2010’s end of year polls.
Richard Cheetham
Male Bonding Nothing Hurts
I have an idea. Instead of releasing an album with 12 songs sounding the same, how about something a bit more...schizophrenic? If you’re a member of We Have Band this will sound familiar – it’s as if they don’t want to be categorised or something. Starting with Elbow but veering to Hot Chip and The Rapture, it’s a journey of discovery via the boombox, a mixtape of disparity which somehow ticks all the right boxes.
We Have Band WHB
It’s somewhat difficult to truly evaluate an album consisting of songs so short they make Blur’s Song 2 seem positively ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Yet somehow Male Bonding have managed to shoe horn so many ideas and styles in to their barely 2 minute slices of punk, that it makes the job of picking merit from each actually very easy. Signed to the purveyors of lo-fi music Sub Pop, the UK three piece play the kind of music often overhyped by the likes of Vivian Girls or Wavves, but with a more rich and accomplished sound then either of these two.
Album highlight is ‘Weird Feelings’, sounding like Vampire Weekend in a drunken bar fight with Biffy Clyro. It’s fast and aggressive, yet also jangly and summery.
The entire album is a refreshing listen perfect for the fast approaching summer. And, considering it was recorded in his bedroom using just a PC and mic, his debut is quite an achievement.
Lewis Riley
Andy Best
If I can avoid the word eclectic for the rest of this it will be a thesaurus-based miracle; but such is the huge appeal of We Have Band. Appearances on Kitsuné compilations and the hugely popular dance floor banger ‘Oh!’ suggest a catalogue of on-trend
With a euphoric burst of noise the new Nice Nice album begins, soon sweeping all away in its path. It’s part Japandroids punk/post-grunge, part Beta Band psychedelic experimentalism. It’s noisy, chaotic, and often very self indulgent, but it’s also dangerously compelling.
Tracks like ‘All Things This Way’ and ‘Your Contact’ are rapid nuggets of Surf punk, and both have elements of grunge drumming and traces of pop in their tunefulness. You know when you accidently play you favourite record at 45rpm, before realising that it should be 33rpm, only to then realise that it sounds better faster? Well that’s the lasting impression from songs like ‘Crooked Scene’ or ‘Tuff’ that are blink and you will miss them mini assaults on your eardrums, which is also the general theme for the album.
Nothing Hurts curtain call is also the only rest bite from the albums high octane energy. It’s an acoustic number including the Vivian Girls who add their harmonies to the cause. For any album to be over in under half an hour may point to a band lacking in ideas, but in the case of Nothing Hurt’s this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Liars Sisterworld
Angus Andrew displays a more reserved role as the band's sonic lynchpin throughout the LP. On previous albums, particularly They Were Wrong So We Drowned, Andrews has been the flailing protagonist of Liar's frantic movements. Yet his composure helps to give the LP a foundation.
Nice Nice Extra Wow
By track three it’s settled into a more regular groove, and from ‘Away se Glow’ onwards more melodic psychedelic nonsense is the order of the day. It sounds like the recent Yeti Lane album would have if somebody ran the whole thing through a complicated sequence of Kaoss Pads and loopers. There’s clearly distinct instruments somewhere there in the mix, but apart from the drums often your guess is as good as mine. The
For those looking for wackier moments, fear not. 'Scarecrows on a Killer Slant' injects crazy time signatures and vitriolic lyrics about killing a tramp with a gun (?), but you wouldn't have accepted less from the song name right? Although a different drug is at work on 'Proud Evolution'; a blissed out psychedelic track that centre’s on a killer rhythmic groove, whilst guitarist Andrew Hemphill adds layers of feedback on top of Andrew's melodic chanting. The band's debut album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top may have been released way back in 2002, but there's still vitality
in the band who first attracted attention with the punk-funk majesty with 'Grown Men Don't Fall In The River, Just Like That' On that track they chanted "We have our finger on the pulse of America", which must have been ironic. But this incredibly confident LP finds Liars at their top of their game. Making them kings of the alt-rock movement despite the usurping efforts of Yeasayer, No Age and Grizzly Bear.
Richard Cheetham
electronica and ‘My People’ by The Presets repackaged (respectively), yet opening pair ‘Piano’ and ‘Buffet’ are closer to Doves than Daft Punk, all smouldering guitars and hypnotic vocals. It’s a false entrance which serves to build the anticipation rather than be considered anomalous and, sure enough, when forthcoming single ‘Divisive’ erupts like Guy Garvey bellowing out ‘I Feel Love’ it feels like a bomb has gone off. Divisive it ain’t. Equally impressive (the Garvey/Gaynor effect was supposed to be a positive thing) is ‘Love, What You Doing?’, a bonus track from New Order yet to be uncovered and echoing The Whip for unbridled euphoria but with just a touch more subtlety. If the
number of Manchester bands cropping up is a source of concern for you out-of-towners, don’t be alarmed; we also get shades of Talking Heads and Hercules and Love Affair...what you’re buying into is essentially a sack load of the most exciting live bands around distilled into a shiny disc. Told you it was eclectic. DAMN.
high water marks are clearly the opener, ‘Set and Setting’, the energetic Aliens-esque ‘A Vibration’, and the Big Pink/ School of Seven Bells-like ‘A Little Love’, while ‘Big Bounce’ with its percussive Flaming Lips vibe is also likely to be a favourite for many. After ‘Double Head’, with ‘Make it Gold’ and closer ‘It’s Here’, they move into early Verve territory, and the guitars take the fore from the electronic instruments.
looped the noise sections of the Betas’ ‘Dr Baker’ and maybe a little bit of ‘Day in the Life’ for variation, added some new drums and sparse vocals, you just might end up with this album. Then again, maybe that’s a compliment.
Harry Garne
Alex Lynham
My only criticism of the whole brilliant, confusing, delightful package is that with at times few vocals to tie it all together, and a massive wall of polyphonic melodies coiling from the speakers, it’s hard to distinguish between everything, and until several listens in it’s very hard to get a clear idea of which piece is which. If you
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live Nachtmystium are ostensibly a black metal band, but have done away with most of the superficial trappings of the genre (corpse paint, spiked wristbands, living in a forest) and instead have focused on tweaking their sound to incorporate elements of psychedelia, blues and, in some cases, just straight up rock n' roll.
GIG OF THE MONTH There really is no band that compares to Wild Beasts in full flight, with Hayden Thorpe & Tom Fleming's countertenor vocals. Impressive lungs as they have, this is also backed up with two diverse and hit laden albums.
Wild Beasts w/ Erland & The Carnival Academy 2, Manchester
Firstly Erland & The Carnival grace the stage with their sea shanty weird folk. Touching on their debut it’s a confident support set, with much more vigour and impulse than their show at the Deaf Institute earlier in the year. As ever Erland moves from one non descript instrument to another, each one creating their own little sound to The Carnival’s woozy organ rich folk. Simon Tong, a man who has seen and done it all is nonchalant throughout, allowing the rest of the band to work through material from their self titled debut with the highlight being the anthemic ‘My Name is
Carnival’, that still sounds like the song The Coral never wrote. Wild Beasts arrive onstage to a backdrop of stars and waste now time in breaking straight into ‘The Fun Powder Plot’. With a set rich in quality from both albums, it’s a credit to the bands abundance of good songs that after an hour we are left wanting more. As good as they are, and with the crowd are lapping up ever note played, there is still a modesty to them, with Hayden Thorpe proclaiming “We were playing the Deaf Institute a year ago, this is mad, thanks so much for coming”. Followed by “We always said if we made the Manchester Apollo we would retire”.
impression of the show, and of Wild Beasts in general, is that of a band punching well below their weight. A band that should be much bigger, whose albums warrant much more acclaim. I for one am glad it hasn’t happened that way for them, as I wouldn’t want them to change a thing.
Andy Best
Nachtmystium Moho, Manchester
The guys seem genuinely chuffed to have a half-decent crowd tonight, as according to front man Blake, the last two shows, in Bristol and Wrexham, were complete washouts, with about 10 people at each. It's not exactly packed to the rafters here either, but nonetheless, the increased attendance seems to spur the guys on, who proceed to thoroughly blast
The audience were wide-eyed and nattily dressed: they didn’t know what to expect.
Arriving back for the encore of ‘Hooting and Howling’ and the apt ‘Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio goodbye’. The lasting
Neither did Kevin Rowland, it seemed, as he meekly strolled on stage, took his seat and eyed the audience warily. He didn’t smile or seem to appreciate the overenthusiastic whoops and cheers from the sell out crowd.
Four Tet w/ Pantha Du Prince
The Tindersticks
Now Wave @ Club Academy
Cathedral, Manchester
So it’s Four Tet tonight and I’m equally excited to see techno Berliner Pantha Du Prince who stands behind a small mountain of bass speakers placed on stage fiddling and tapping his various gadgetry. His handsome and pointy face is peeking out of his black snood. His set comprises of more pops, whirrs and crackles than a rice Krispie advert and when they all fall into place behind his pulsating throbbing beats he begins to drag the slacker crowd up off the floor and the boogie begins. An unusually swift turnaround sees Keiran ‘Four Tet’ Hebden take to the stage meekly, he shyly grins at the audience and begins to coax his array of sonic weaponry into action. Out of the pounding beat slowly emerges the female vocal line heard in ‘Angel Echoes’ the opener for new album There Is Love In You. There’s no messing about here and he’s straight into ‘A Joy’, which is a monster of a track, if you’ve never heard it it’s your loss, as I can’t really describe it here. There’s a nice moment where he’s messing about with what looks like an iPhone connected to his laptop, grinning at the audience as he taps away and produces blips and gongs through yet another new toy. Rather than an encore Hebden pauses for a quick drink and then ends the show with the classic 'As Serious As Your Life'. There’s no denying Four Tet is a musical innovator and his work is something to behold and appreciate like a national treasure. I still felt a little touch of disappointment though. There was no light show to speak off and no merch stall so good as it was; it could’ve been better.
Dan Jagger (photo by Sebastian Matthes)
By far the most unique in Manchester’s architecture, the Cathedral is carving itself out as one of the new venues of choice. Its majestic gothic feel and grandeur leave you gawping up to the ceiling and the stain glass windows throughout.
Close Up With Kevin Rowland Greenroom, Manchester
What the ‘big man’ might make of the sale and consumption of alcohol, the openly cavorting of couples outside of wedlock, and the Portaloo’s on his front lawn is anyone’s guess. Yet The Tindersticks waste little time in breaking into their new and 8th album Falling Down A Mountain. They start with the title track, before moving to the chilled chimes of ‘Keep You Beautiful’. The excellent ‘Peanuts’, played without Mary Margaret O'Hara’s vocals, is an early highlight as Stuart A Staples baritone vocals echo around this colossal building. Staples has the look of a man who was born for this role, his incredibly aged vocals and stage presence is a constant throughout. He’s the ringleader, and does a terrific job in bringing the music together. With a vast back catalogue, they couldn’t help but miss off some favourites, mine being ‘Tiny Tears’, that would have suited the occasion if they had played it, yet with the set galloping over an hour and a half you can’t blame them for effort. The whole evening leaves you with a feeling of a band that eight albums in have finally hit their peak as a live act. All material played from Falling Down a Mountain sounds their most accessible to date, leaving all the die hard fans at the front feeling like they are in the presence of only one messiah tonight.
Karima Francis w/ I Am Blackbird Band on The Wall, Manchester
Though he was dressed like the star, with turn up jeans, white roll neck jumper, velvet waistcoat, leather jacket, trench coat and beret at a jaunty angle, the Dexys frontman seemed to better wear the air of ‘I’m not sure why you want to know about me.’ Nerves on both sides were apparent. Dave Haslam had even admitted so,
I Am Blackbird are a band which fuse guitar, cello, bass, trumpet, drums and vocal to outstanding effect. Probably deemed a folk/rock/blues outfit, they are so creative that such demarcations become irrelevant. They opened their set with ‘Mary Jane’ and ‘Setting Sun’, two remarkable tracks which mesmerise the listener and showcase the talents of one of their most potent weapons drummer Charlie Garson. ‘One Good Reason’ shows Jonny Baldwin, the lead singer and guitar player, at his sparkling best, delivering an infectious chorus with an impassioned vocal delivery. Baldwin’s voice is soulful and he sings with such honesty and sincerity that it is difficult to not to
the crowd at Moho tonight away, with a set that focuses on their lauded 2008 album ‘Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1’, including tracks such as 'One of these Nights', 'Ghosts of Grace' and 'Assassins'. This is all interspersed with a few older tracks, such as 'Seed of Suffering' from their 2006 album 'Instinct: Decay', and even a sneak listen to a new track (the name escapes me) from their forthcoming album, 'Addict'.
himself says on stage: "We're not one of those black metal bands that are afraid to smile or tell a joke on stage; we don't buy into that elitist bullshit. If you do, then there's the fucking door." Quite right, too.
Mike Perry (picture by Gemma Louise Harris)
Black metal isn't for everyone; hell, it even divides people that listen to nothing else but metal, but tonight, Nachtmystium show what can be done with a genre that many are afraid to tamper with, lest they be ostracised from the fold. As Blake
but it was no surprise given the task in hand – interviewing his hero in front of an intimate and inevitably wellinformed audience. And the first few questions were a little stilted. Rowland was surprised at being asked about the present first: “I thought I’d have time to warm up before talking about that,” he grimaced, and relied heavily on Haslam’s explanations and evident knowledge. What was unexpected, however, was the honesty from a man known to err to the reclusive. He divulged thoughts, feelings and admissions freely: how he beat cocaine, (“logically, by getting help”), his biggest regret - choosing not to release singles from Don't Stand Me
believe in him instantly. I Am Blackbird demonstrated tonight that they are too good not to make it big, and with their debut EP available soon there is now nothing standing in their way of success. Karima Francis was given a gift. Her voice truly is stunning and despite the plethora of high-quality female singers around today none of them can truly claim to have one better. She pens very honest songs making it difficult not to respect her greatly. Yes, her range is astonishing and something to behold, though one would prefer to hear a melody line that doesn’t quite encompass such a complex range of notes. Having said that, she is an expert performer and the way she
Down despite the label’s warnings – and his seemingly genuine dislike of the limelight: “George O’Dowd was outside the restaurant signing autographs. He thrived off it, while I was wearing a disguise.” Had Dave Haslam not been as knowledgeable and caring in his approach, Rowland would not have responded with such thoughtfulness and candour, which in turn was exactly what the audience craved – especially seeing as a number had travelled down from Glasgow for the occasion.
Sophie Parkes
handles her crowd is something special. For fans of hers it must be a great feeling to have the barrier between the artist and audience almost completely removed. She conducts herself in such a manner that makes clear she is no different from her audience, this being particularly refreshing at a time so focused on celebrity culture.
Rob Pollard
Andy Best
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listings April April Thursday 1st Amy Macdonald @ Academy 1 Aura + The Missing Link @ Academy 3 The Gift + The Dilettantes @ Club Academy Acoustic Ladyland @ Band On The Wall We Have Band @ Sound Control The Kiara Elles @ Night and Day Cafe Derrick Cartet @ Moho Annie Mac presents… @ Warehouse Project
Friday 2nd
Saturday 10th
Tuesday 20th
Wednesday 28th
Wednesday 5th
Friday 14th
Sunday 23rd
Hunx and his Punk @ The Corne Step up @ Band on the Wall John Butler Trio @ Academy 1 The Smiths Indeed @ Academy 3 Fresh Meat @ Night and Day Cafe
The Primitives @ Moho Live Black Rebel Moorcycle Club @ The Ritz Candi Station @ Band On The Wall
Ash @ Academy 2 Hurts / Everything Everything / Darwin Deez Brandi Carlile @ Club Academy Crippled Black Phoenix @ The Ruby Lounge Young Guns @ The Roadhouse
Rose Elinor Dougall (ex Pipettes) @ The Ruby Lounge Young Knives @ Moho Live Vains of Jenna @ The Roadhouse Beardyman Live @ FAC251 The Factory
Francis Rossi @ Academy 2 The Anja Barnacott Memorial Foundation @ Club Academy Boyz II Men @ The Apollo A Sunny Day In Glasgow @ Islington Mill Don McLean @ The Bridgewater Hall The Wailing Souls @ Band On The Wall Dum Dum Girls @ Sound Control
Alkaline Trio @ Academy 1 Marina And The Diamonds @ Academy 2 Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions @ Club Academy Black Eyed Peas @ M.E.N Arena Dave Evans (ex AC/DC) @ Moho Live A Place To Bury Strangers @ Deaf Institute Wolves In The Throne Room @ Islington Mill Sian Alice Group @ The Corner
Sunday 11th Robyn Hitchcock @ Club Academy Russian Circles + Earthless @ Islington Mill New Education @ Moho Live
Monday 12th
Hospitality @ Warehouse Project Kong @ Sound Control The Inflictors + Pearl Divers @ Night and Day Cafe
The King Blues @ Academy 2 Laura Marling @ The Lowry Lou Rhodes @ Band On The Wall Rolo Tomassi + Trash Talk @ The Roadhouse
Saturday 3rd
Tuesday 13th
Airbourne @ The Apollo Alan McGee’s Greasy Lips Club @ The Ruby Lounge Kartica + We Walk In Straight Lines @ Night and Day Cafe Mr Scruff @ Band on the Wall
Brokencyde/ Jeffree Star @ Academy 3 Angelspit @ Moho Live Lou Rhodes @ Band On The Wall Rain Machine @ Deaf Institute
Sunday 4th High Voltage 7th Birthday Party @ Islington Mill The Broadcast @ Moho Live Walter Schreifels @ Night and Day Cafe
Monday 5th Mount Eerie + No Kids @ The Ruby Lounge Pete Doherty @ Moho Live Beverley Knight @ The Lowry Davy Knowles @ Night and Day Cafe
Tuesday 6th And So I Watch You From Afar @ The Ruby Lounge EyeHateGod @ Moho Live Willkommen Collective @ Band On The Wall Last Harbour @ Deaf Institute Tai Chi Swayze @ Night and Day Cafe
Wednesday 7th Battle Of The Bands @ Academy 3 Royal Bangs @ Deaf Institute Run Toto Run @ Night and Day Cafe
Thursday 8th Whitney Houston @ M.E.N Arena Ultravox @ The Apollo Django Bates- ‘Beloved Bird’ @ Band On The Wall The Paddingtons @ The Roadhouse The Paris Riots @ Deaf Institute Islands Lost At Sea @ Night and Day Cafe
Friday 9th AFI @ Academy 1 Kranius + Propax @ Club Academy There For Tomorrow + The Friday Night Boys @ The Roadhouse Secret Moves @ Night and Day Cafe
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May
Wednesday 14th Young Rebel Set @ The Ruby Lounge Ed Tudor Pole @ Moho Live Glamour of The Kill @ The Roadhouse
Thursday 15th
Wednesday 21st Karma To Burn @ Academy 3 Angus and Julie Stone @ The Ruby Lounge
Thursday 22nd Joshua Radin @ Academy 2 Fuck Buttons @ Club Academy Rufus Wainwright @ The Apollo Dave McPherson (InMe Acoustic) @ Moho Live Chris Cunningham @ Opera House The Features @ The Roadhouse Bears In Heaven @ Deaf Institute I Concur @ Night and Day Cafe
The Showcase 2010 @ Club Academy Candi Station @ Band On The Wall Caribou @ Deaf Institute
Thursday 29th Arch Enemy @ Academy 1 Thrash and Burn 2010 @ Club Academy The Cheek @ Moho Live Kevin Johansen & Liniers @ Band On The Wall Lauren Pritchard @ Nexus
Friday 23rd
Friday 30th
Bombay Bicycle Club @ Academy 1 Mostly Autumn @ Academy 3 Jeff Dunham @ The Apollo King Charles @ Deaf Institute Kid British @ FAC251 The Factory
Chase and Status @ Academy 1 Wishbone Ash @ Academy 3 Sandi Thom @ Club Academy Fools Gold @ The Ruby Lounge John Smith @ Band On The Wall MAPS Festival @ Various Venues
Saturday 24th Reef @ Academy 1 Alphabeat @ Academy 2 The Travelling Band @ Academy 3 Diversity @ The Apollo Dizzy Lizzy @ The Ruby Lounge Vile Evils @ Moho Live Robin Williamson & John Renbourn @ Band On The Wall
Dropkick Murphys @ Academy 1 Plan B @ Academy 2 Bowling For Soup (Acoustic) @ Academy 3 Darwin Deez / Driver Drive Faster @ The Ruby Lounge Jo McCallum/ Andy Schofield Big Band @ Sunday 25th Mark Lanegan @ Academy 3 Band On The Wall The Duke And The King @ Club Standard Fare @ Night and Day Cafe Academy Three Trapped Tigers @ Deaf Institute Friday 16th The Alarm + The Godfathers @ Academy Gil Scott Heron @ The Palace Theatre Hypnotic Brass Ensemble @ Band on the 2 wall Atlanta Soul @ The Ruby Lounge Paul Brady and Band @ The Bridgewater Monday 26th Hall Parkway Drive @ Academy 1 Warsaw Village Band @ Band On The Cathedral @ Academy 3 Wall Whale Watching Tour @ Club Academy Kate Nash @ Deaf Institute Fight The Empire @ Night and Day Cafe British Sea Power @ Moho Live Sarah Borges and Broken Singles @ Band On The Wall Saturday 17th Elliot Minor @ Club Academy Tuesday 27th Kotnstadt @ Islington Mill Powderfinger @ Academy 2 Frankie & The Heartstrings @ The Ruby The Bluetones @ Moho Live Lounge Roachford @ Deaf Institute The Strange Boys @ Deaf Institute Crystal Antlers @ Sound Control Shy Child @ Sound Control Basia Bulat @ Night and Day Cafe Hudson Mohawke @ FAC251 The Sunday 18th Factory Sonic Boom Six @ Academy 3 Alesana @ Club Academy Idlewild w/ Sparrow and the Workshop @ Moho Live
Monday 19th
Good Shoes @ Deaf Institute The Blood Oranges @ Night and Day Cafe
May Saturday 1st LCD Soundsystem @ Academy 1 Hammerfall @ Academy 2 Gian Introduces @ Academy 3 InMe @ Club Academy Dance Gavin Dance @ The Roadhouse (6-10pm) Joakim DJ Set @ The Roadhouse (11pm3am) MAPS Festival @ Various Venues
Sunday 2nd The Futureheads @ Academy 3 The Austrailian Pink Floyd @ M.E.N Arena The John Bishop Show @ The Apollo Vashti Bunyan @ Royal Northern College Of Manchester MAPS Festival @ Various Venues Sounds From The Other City @ Various Venues
Monday 3rd Audio Bullys @ Moho Live Paul Curreri @ Band On The Wall WoodPigeon @ Deaf Institute
Tuesday 4th Kids In Glass Houses @ Academy 2 Deerhunter @ Club Academy Wintersleep @ The Ruby Lounge Chris Helme @ Moho Live Foals @ The Ritz Joan Armatrading @ The Bridgewater Hall Matt Schofield @ Band On The Wall Atticus Black Tour @ The Roadhouse
Thursday 6th
Kill Hannah @ Academy 3 Hot Club of Cowtown @ Club Academy The Sunshine Underground @ Moho Live Saturday 15th The Clone Roses @ Academy 2 Neil Cowley Trio @ Band On The Wall Kings Ov Leon @ Academy 3 Fuzzbox @ Club Academy I Set My Friends On Fire @ The Gotan Project @ The Apollo Roadhouse Lightspeed Champion @ Deaf Institute Hauschka, James Blackshaw & Nancy Elizabeth @ Band On The Wall Friday 7th White Rabbit @ Night And Day Cafe Hole @ Academy 1 Misty’s Big Adventure @ Academy 3 Sunday 16th Scouting For Girls @ The Apollo Your Twenties @ The Ruby Lounge Alabama 3 @ Academy 2 The Slits @ Moho Live Rihanna @ M.E.N Arena Vessels @ Band On The Wall Dogs @ Moho Live Cocorosie @ Manchester Cathedral Duke Special @ St Phillips Church Monday 17th Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Academy 2 Saturday 8th Jamie Cullum @ The Bridgewater Hall Gogol Bordello @ Academy 1 The Virginmarys @ Band On The Wall UK Guns N Roses @ Academy 2 The Bundles (feat. Kimya Dawson & George Borowski @ Academy 3 Jeffrey Dawson) @ Deaf Institute Surfer Blood @ The Ruby Lounge Show Of Hands @ Band On The Wall Tuesday 18th A Wilhelm Scream @ Moho Live Sunday 9th Trembling Bells @ Band On The Wall The Temper Trap @ Academy 1 Holy Fuck @ Deaf Institute Mr Hudson @ Academy 2 Peter Green And Friends @ Academy 3 Wednesday 19th Michael Buble @ M.E.N Arena Diana Vickers @ Academy 2 Parachute @ The Roadhouse Johnny Flynn And The Sussex Wit @ Academy 3 Monday 10th Example @ Club Academy Kiss @ M.E.N Arena Hip Parade @ The Ruby Lounge The Chariot @ Moho Live Hayseed Dixie @ Moho Live Cold Cave @ Deaf Institute New To Q @ Sound Control Thursday 20th Justin Currie @ Club Academy Tuesday 11th Ingrid Michaelson @ Deaf Institute La Roux @ Academy 1 Pint Shot Riot @ Night And Day Cafe The Big Pink @ Academy 2 The Antlers @ St Phillips Church The Slackers @ Moho Live Po’Girl @ Band On The Wall Friday 21st Flight Of The Conchords @ The Apollo Jace Everett @ Academy 3 Wolf Parade @ Club Academy Wednesday 12th Delphic @ The Ritz Eli Paperboy Reed & The True Loves @ The Christians @ Band On The Wall Academy 3 Stornoway @ Club Academy Saturday 22nd Faust @ The Ruby Lounge An Evening with Transatlantic @ Jim Bob @ Night And Day Cafe Academy 1 Flight Of The Conchords @ The Apollo Grinspoon @ Academy 2 Dreadzone @ Academy 3 Thursday 13th Emarosa @ The Roadhouse Konono No.1 @ Club Academy Smudge @ Sound Control Grails @ The Ruby Lounge Mamma Freedom @ Moho Live Snake Davis Band @ Band On The Wall
To post your event in the HighVoltage listings email your event details to Mike Caulfield... listings@highvoltage.org.uk
Monday 24th The Rocket Summer @ Academy 2 Black Eyed Peas @ M.E.N Arena Titus Andronicus @ The Ruby Lounge Jessica Hoop @ Band On The Wall Ganglians @ Deaf Institute
Tuesday 25th Mark Knopfler @ M.E.N Arena Sugar Hill Gang @ Moho Live Louisiana Red Michael Messer @ Band On The Wall Asaf Avidan & The Mojos @ Night And Day Cafe
Wednesday 26th Heavy Trash @ Academy 3 Rod Stewart @ M.E.N Arena Crowded House @ The Apollo Chiddy Bang @ The Roadhouse Goldheart Assembly @ Deaf Institute
Thursday 27th Teenage Fanclub @ Academy 2 Dead Meadow @ Academy 3 Rod Stewart @ M.E.N Arena Crowded House @ The Apollo Mayer Hawthorne @ The Ruby Lounge Transmission @ Moho Live Quasi @ Deaf Institute
Friday 28th RX Bandits @ Academy 3 Westlife @ M.E.N Arena The Longcut @ The Roadhouse The Hungry Pigeon Festival @ Various Venues
Saturday 29th Son Of Dave @ Academy 3 Alicia Keys @ M.E.N Arena The Doors Alive @ The Ruby Lounge The Hungry Pgeon Festival @ Various Venues
Sunday 30th Slayer @ Academy 1 Westlife @ M.E.N Arena Neal Casal @ The Ruby Lounge Liam Frost @ Band On The Wall The Hungry Pgeon Festival @ Various Venues
Monday 31st Dan Reed @ Moho Live Dot To Dot Festivals @ Various Venues
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NEW NOISE SEND YOUR NEW BAND TIPS TO RICHARD@HIGHVOLTAGE.ORG.UK TO APPEAR IN THE NEXT NEW NOISE ROUND-UP… The Cold One Elmo Logic Hundred
Apes Fight Back
Montage Populaire
1913
TCOH have amassed a handful of gigs and are already on people's Ones to Watch list. Their hauntingly beautiful music harks back to the predigital age, with their ideas honed in song-writing sessions before being "developed into a much heavier, fuller sound live."
Have you ever wondered what might happen if you put a couple of primates in a room with a bucket of Red Bull, half a dozen Es, a very large bass rig and a drum kit? Who knows? But it could well sound like the North West musical cataclysm, Apes Fight Back.
Having already won themselves a place among the last few bands battling it out to perform at Glastonbury this year via the festival’s ‘Emerging Talent’ competition, and been praised by Artrocker, this is a band well on its way to fame – or at least a record deal.
Fresh from supporting Reverend & The Makers are 1913, a four-piece band rooted in the North-West. They have a dark neogothical look about them, and combine spirited guitars with synthesised beats. Along with subtly applied drumbeats ably meshed together by the translucent tones of their front man.
With a modest amount of plays on their Myspace page, and a select bunch of gigs, it seems that Elmo Logic are a band on the rise. Their music indicates that the sometimes quintet have strong grasp of what it takes to write upbeat music. ‘Cool As You’ has a vibrant chorus, with a clinical pop veneer. The demo Given their relative infancy they recording of ‘Induction’ is also must first find their feet and be a moody affair. given space to breath "We've all been in bands before, with But it’s the downbeat ‘Fly To varying degrees of success, New York’ which showcases but this is a band with a new the band’s inner ambition. A focus." Musical comparisons drum machine back beat are evident, yet TCOH are adds to the tracks somber keen to explore new ideas tone, but it’s far from "Every song starts with a riff becoming an Editors barrel or melody that gets built upon, scrapping album track, as which is perhaps why one singer Laurence croons “I song may appear to have don’t need that many things, more 'mystique', whilst the to be happy”. Emotive stuff. other is catchy. We don't see any reason why an expressive See them support Three song can't still be a pop song." Trapped Tigers at Deaf Institute on 25th April. See them support King Charles at Deaf Institute on Recommended track – ‘Fly 23rd April To New York’
Live, the band is high-octane, rapid and obnoxiously loud. “Our sets are only 20 minutes long at the moment,” says Dan. “Any more and I just get knackered. My voice can’t handle it either!”
Their melodic pop music manages to combine a fairly romantic sound, built by sweet vocal harmonies, with achingly infectious beats and striking rhythms.
Labels have become obligatory for musical outfits. Attaching such a stigma to AFB would risk relegating them to an already existing family. They are however, the protagonists of a documentary, which after years of making, has unearthed a strangely alluring, yet incredibly venomous beast.
The skilful rhyming of the lyrics to ‘Simon Says’ make for simply blissful listening as the words seem to flow like limericks over beating drums and jarring guitars. The layering of different instruments playing different rhythms creates a real wall of sound effect, while retro vocal harmonies add a real Recommended track – ‘A Night sense of urgency that would almost certainly make for a For Lovers’ fantastic live performance.
Their sound is one of progressive rock with a dark indie undertone, which you would associate with White Lies who 1913 supported at Fac251 recently. Yet this band seem to have escaped the Oasis canopy, which is now found in so many new unsigned bands, they strive to be different and you can hear this in their latest video ‘Atlantis.’ The boys are next playing in Oldham on the 26th of March at Oldham Castle, this venue will be an ideal size to house their euphoric music.
Simon Wright Recommended Track – ‘Over Analyse’ Richard Cheetham
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Richard Cheetham
Recommended track 'Simon Says'
Recommended Track – ‘MNRTAUR’
Sophie Armour
Words by Danni Skerritt Picture by Shirlaine Forrest
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