Caradoc Gayer is a journo and writer in the earliest possible stages of his career and LeftLion’s new Editorial and Digital Marketing assistant. Back in September 2020, Caradoc moved from Stonehenge country in the south-west to study English at UoN, and found himself personally inspired by everything from the city’s buzzing music and arts scene, to the sweeping green spaces, to the creative and ambitious people he met day-to-day at Uni.
After hosting electronic music shows at University Radio Nottingham, working as editor-in-chief of the student led music mag The Mic, and a stint in UoN’s shortest lived indie covers band, he started contributing to LeftLion in 2023. He preceded joining the LeftLion team with a journalism masters at NTU, then a two week internship at the office earlier this year. You can generally find him at indie-pop shows or in a world of his own in the remote countryside.
Q @caradoc_g
supporters
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Photographers
Martine Hamilton Knight
Charleigh Keemer
John Medd
Peter Taylor
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Illustrators
Emily Catherine
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Nottingham quartet Bored Marsh are gearing up for the release of their debut EP, Idiot. We sat down with the band to talk about live performances and their skyrocketing success
Nish Kumar
A brand new space has opened up in one of Hockley’s best loved pubs, The Angel. We chat to Ben Rose about the history and ethos behind this long-established venue
Before he brings his show, Nish Don’t Kill My Vibe, to Nottingham Playhouse, we sit down with Nish Kumar to talk about politics' place in comedy and life on-the-road
Poetraits
Following his exhibition in collaboration with Nottingham Poetry Festival, LeftLion Photography Co-Editor Fabrice Gagos talks about life behind the lens and his series of Poetraits
Brews, Hairdos and Tunes
We catch up with Trekkah Benjamin to mark the tenth anniversary of Phlexx Records and his newly founded Phlexx store, coffee shop and barbershop on Weekday Cross
Willing and Babel
When up-and-coming Italian author Constanza Casati dropped into Nottingham on her book tour, we asked a few questions about her mythology-inspired second novel Babylonia
Oh, Grow On Then
The head of ecological enterprise GrowNotts, Jack speaks about building green spaces and collaborations with Nottingham businesses
When you’ve lived in a city for years, it’s easy to think that you know all of its secrets. The great thing about Nottingham however, is that there’s always something different going on - new venues to explore and up and coming musical goodness to soak up. Whether it’s a tip off from a (often much younger than I) student that’s new to the city, a nugget of history that adds new context to an area, or a familiar spot that has transformed, I’m still discovering layers of Nottingham.
This month I was immediately intrigued when architectural photographer and NTU lecturer Martine Hamilton Knight dropped an email in my inbox to see if we were interested in a story about the Nottingham War Rooms. This preserved Cold War era bunker is sitting in plain sight over in Aspley and you can read about its absolutely fascinating history page 24.
Similarly, I’m excited to spend some time chilling in the Chesterfield Lounge, a newly
Over in Aspley stands a preserved Cold War bunker. We speak to an architectural photographer and a nuclear history specialist about the historical and cultural importance of the building
Groovy Garage
We have a natter with the director of Groovy Garage, a new Notts based streetwear brand, about the culture behind streetwear and vintage clothing
Scouting About
Ahead of their headline slot at the Weekend Festival this month, indie pop band Scouting for Girls talk music, touring, and dream gigs
Garum then…
We spotlight Raymonds, an exciting new small-plates restaurant on Stoney Street, and reveal what on earth ‘fried chicken with garum caramel’ is (spoiler: it’s delicious)
Cult Classic
The general manager over at Nottingham’s oldest cinema, The Savoy, tells us about the venue’s quirky history and its ever-changing links to the local community
We Run Notts
The duo behind popular social media brand We Run Notts talk about the joys of community running and how the sport changed their lives
opened space at The Angel, which is one of Nottingham’s oldest pubs and a place close to my heart. Check out our interview with landlord Ben on page 22.
And even the streets are evolving. While the shopping centre remains a bit janky (although I’m beginning to warm to it) the Green Heart park area over at Broadmarsh is looking absolutely stunning, and the streets are becoming greener with pollinator-friendly planters from GrowNotts dotted about (read our interview with the green-fingered folk behind these on page 33).
LeftLion has also been spending a good amount of time in the brilliant Central Library at our live podcast events. Check out previous interviews with beatbox musician Petebox and artist Emily Catherine on your usual podcast app - and (if you catch this in time) do come along to our interview with singersongwriter Daudi Matsiko on Friday 6 September.
"Honey I punked the artist"
‘Banana frieze’ located above Avenues Cafe, Sneinton Market
Bored Marsh
Guardian Angel
War Rooms
Yoghurts are like nicotine patches for snack addicts
“This place is lovely” “You know what's not lovely? Cyberbullying.”
A man muttering at a Deliveroo courier who is cycling on the pavement: “I swear if you catch me in a bad mood next time I’ll knock you off your bike!”
“I don't want to be sketched. Not while I'm in shorts.”
“Sorry guys. I’ve not been let out of my cage in ages. Am I embarrassing?”
“Well, you did try to get your fanny out on the bus”
“I'd rather have a good qualityfloor-burger than bleached chicken.”
“Dating advice; don’t put all your boobs in one basket.”
“I went to a nudist beach one year, but you get through so much suncream.”
Pick Six
For this month’s Pick Six we turned to gig photographer and regular LeftLion contributor Faye Stacey.
“We love you for who you are. Deep down. Not just your funny posts and your pedo jokes” “Is that what I am to you? Just a pedo”
"Do you want to come and Spidermanwatch with us on "NoSaturday?" thanks I'm 31"
“I could be friends with a chiropodist.”
Parents aren’t picky eaters because they only buy the food that they like
Film
My favourite film has to be The Lost Boys (1987). Growing up in the 80s this was an iconic film. It has vampires, cool vampires, unlike other films - yes twilight I'm looking at you. I've lost count of the times I've watched it. I even own the soundtrack on vinyl which has a couple of tracks on there from INXS and a cover of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me by Roger Daltry. Yes, it's probably dated now, but for me it's so wonderfully nostalgic that I simply don't care.
Song
This is so hard! My favourite song changes all the time, depending on how I'm feeling. This ranges from The Beautiful South to My Chemical Romance, but I think I've settled on We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt I first saw We Are Scientists at YNOT in 2022 and have been a fan ever since. I’ve been able to see them live three times and again next month. This is definitely my favourite song of theirs and I absolutely love the drums in it.
Book
I'm not a big reader, but I do enjoy autobiographies. The last one I read was The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl. It reads as if Dave is actually talking to you himself and gives an insight into his childhood and learning to play instruments. Dave only ever had one drum lesson and is totally self taught. He can't read music and plays by ear. Definitely worth a read.
Notts Spot
As a huge music fan I'm going to say the Rescue Rooms. I'm a massive fan of Rock City and The Bodega too and I'm really excited to see what's going to happen at The Palais, because DHP are so good at music venues. But back to the Rescue Rooms. I love the intimate nature of the venue and that I've managed to see some amazing bands there. The sound is always incredible and the staff are all wonderful. I've never had a bad night out there.
Notts Food
It's got to be Suede Bar in Heathcote Street. I'm a simple girl and I love a good pizza and they make great pizza. There's plenty of choice and lots of drinks too. The theming of the bar is so much fun and there's so many little details that make you smile. It's located close to two of my favourite venues, Metronome and The Bodega. Did I mention the turtles? And the 'push it real good' on the door? What's not to love?
Holiday Destination
This was really tough for me to choose. I thought about the European city breaks I've been on and loved. I'm not really the sort of person to sit in the sun by a pool, firstly that's a bit dull and secondly I'm ginger, so I'll probably die. Then I thought about what I love doing and the answer is simple, I love music. I've just got back from YNOT festival (my 5th festival this year, do you see a theme here?) and I loved every minute of it. Camping in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside, catching up with old friends and making new ones, eating and drinking overpriced items and listening to some of the best live music. So I definitely choose YNOT.
words: Dani Bacon
photo: Jessica Davenport Bray
words: Frances Thimann
In association with
DARK ROSE
Dark rose Lake-soft shadows
As of the hushed night. O Still-unfolding rose, patterning Of time and hope and love, in delicate Extravagance, sweet asymmetry, unfurling, Flaming, flaming, O how fierce love burns! Irradiance…
…Frail rose now, infolded, burn-scarred by love, Only ache and emptiness are left. Fragile, Wasted, fading in the grey light, Dried, broken, faint. Fallen.
UNDERCOVER ARTIST
We sat down with this month’s cover artist D.A. Orli to hear about some of his previous work and inspirations…
What is the story behind the cover?
My artwork is exhibited under the inscription: The Ersatz Museum, an assumed place that contains a collection of weird, bizarre and apocryphal artefacts. The box art, cabinets, prints, drawings and ephemera that I make are consequently ‘on loan’ from their collection. My work for the Ersatz Museum is commonly set in a bygone age, maybe the late Victorian/early Edwardian period when a plethora of patented inventions, useless mechanisms, strange ideas and exaggerated cures were rife. The vintage Circus of Life poster featured on this month’s cover, and created for the upcoming exhibition at Nottingham’s Surface Gallery, harks back to a time before mass media and our technologically saturated society. It was far easier back then to be entranced by the arrival of a circus, even though it may turn out to be not as fantastical as the poster proclaimed.
nottinghampoetryfestival.com
What inspires you as a photographer/artist?
Nottingham’s most opinionated grocers on...
Who was that fat man in charge of Russia? Not Gorbachev. Brezhnev. We know about the bunker in Aspley, but there’s a whole city under York in the airfield and everything’s there. And if you go to Number 10 and the Ministry of Defence, they’ve all got it downstairs. We were a bit young at the time, but we didn’t take much notice. We liked pop music. That was much more fun.
Bored Marsh/Broadmarsh
Are they a new band? We can’t remember much of Broadmarsh before it was built, we never ventured down to that part of town. Are they keeping the derelict building derelict, or is it like a work of art? They can’t have an eyesore in the middle of town. The council have had very little choice, they should have been helped by Central Government. But there was no need to build it in the first place. Of course before there was Dury Hill, which you could just get a mini up and down. And they wrecked that, for what?
Stand up comedians
It’s many things: an amalgamation of eclectic observations and interests, much like the artwork itself. While on the face of it my artwork may look surreal, magical or even romantic, the underlying principle is to explore themes such as mass consumerism, the ownership of history and how our past can be rewritten for political gain. It also refers to conspiracy theories, pseudo science and invented mythologies. Through humour, irony and the subversion of image and text I try to question what is the nature of ‘fake’.
While on the face of it my artwork may look surreal, magical or even romantic, the underlying principle is to explore themes such as mass consumerism, the ownership of history and how our past can be rewritten for political gain
Tell us about some things you’ve worked on in the past…
My 3D constructions are created from recycled and found objects, ranging from broken electrical equipment, old tools, toys, archaic fixtures & fittings, household packaging, and single use plastics. These are carefully taken apart, re-modelled, re-painted, textured and aged to complete the construction of each case. The use of this media was arrived at from working as a community carnival parade artist. With little or no budget, we had to use any materials we could find to create floats, costumes and displays. The consequence of this was that I became fascinated with how these refashioned objects took on a new life, suggesting an old relic, a forgotten machine or lost mechanism.
Do you have any tricks for getting started and staying inspired as a creative?
It’s a cliché but never follow trends, fashions and what the art world expects of you. If I could explain this any better, then I’d be a writer and not an artist.
If you could sit down and chat with any artist in your field, who would it be and what would you talk about?
I don’t think I would. Their own interpretation of their work may contradict and devalue what it was that first inspired me. Relating to my own creations, I am most fond of those that preserve their mystery and remain an enigma.
Q @ersatzmuseum
The best one we’ve ever seen is Jimmy Tarbuck, donkey’s years ago at Derby Assembly Rooms. But it was so poorly attended. The first thing he said was, ‘Have you all come in the same car?’ We saw Michael Macintyre in Nottingham too. It was no great shakes. He got a smile but no fits of laughter.
The Cold War
Nadia on...
The
far right
Last month we witnessed something that I was hoping to never see in my lifetime. Across the country, far right thugs took to the streets in their thousands, seeking to intimidate, threaten and physically hurt minority communities. Shops owned by people of colour were looted. Cars were set on fire. Muslims were particularly targeted, with attacks on mosques and disgusting Islamophobic chants shouted in the streets. In Rotherham, a mob tried to torch a hotel housing asylum seekers, terrorising and endangering the lives of more than a hundred people inside.
What provided a spark for the violence was a horrific tragedy in Southport on 29 of July, where eleven children and two adults were stabbed at a dance class. Three little girls lost their lives as a result. Rumours spread quickly that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker, and although it soon emerged that the suspect was a British-born Christian teenager, the facts didn’t matter for those determined to organise Islamophobic riots.
In Nottingham, the events of late July and early August brought back painful memories. Last summer, we also lost three much-loved members of our community, and three more people were injured in a senseless attack. Also then, the far right attempted to exploit this horrendous crime to spread racism. It was incredibly moving and admirable to then hear the victims’ families speak out against hate and appeal for unity. This time too, we heard parents of the murdered children condemn the extremists and call for peace. It speaks volumes about their character that, in their immense grief, this was the message they wanted to send.
It’s also worth noting that the far right had been organising even before the Southport attack. Two days before the tragic events occurred, Tommy Robinson led a demonstration in London that attracted tens of thousands of people. Fascists didn’t need a new reason to take to the streets, only a convenient excuse. It’s beyond shameful that they chose to insult the victims
and their loved ones by claiming to speak on their behalf.
While the rioting has now stopped, and prisons are filling up with its participants, the far right threat hasn’t gone away. The real work starts now: not only to prevent more thuggery on our streets, but also root out the sickening ideology that drove it.
Billionaire media moguls know that fear and controversy sell, and often don’t care which minority they endanger in the pursuit of profit. They, too, must be held accountable for their actions
Racist violence doesn’t emerge out of nowhere. It’s true that disinformation and conspiracy theories can easily spread online, and social media companies aren’t doing enough to prevent it. However, it would be simplistic to put the blame solely on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or TikTok, when you don’t need to log on to be inundated with messages of hate. It’s often enough to turn on the TV, or glance on the front pages of newspapers in your local supermarket. Billionaire media moguls know that fear and controversy sell, and often don’t care which minority they endanger in the pursuit of profit. They, too, must be held accountable for their actions.
It’s also inaccurate, and deeply offensive, to describe racism as a working class phenomenon. The rot starts from the top. For years, we’ve heard fabulously rich politicians spew hate before jumping on a private jet. We’ve heard Eton-educated multi-millionaire Boris Johnson describe Muslim women as ‘letterboxes,’ and call black people ‘piccaninnies’ on the pages of the Telegraph. Nigel Farage, who gets paid nearly £1.2 million a year by GB News, has built an entire career
on scapegoating immigrants. Our richest-ever Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, made attacking refugees (and trans people) a central part of his message, while the rest of the country was trying to survive a devastating cost of living crisis. Even Tommy Robinson writes his anti-migrant posts from a billionaire’s villa in Spain, where he migrated four years ago.
The working class is diverse. The average British worker has more in common with their Nigerian or Pakistani colleagues, than they do with any of the men mentioned above. It’s the rich and powerful who have an interest in keeping working people divided. If workers are convinced that foreigners are pushing down wages, they won’t join a union with them and organise for higher pay. If people believe that immigrants take all the social housing (untrue: 90% of new lets go to UK nationals), they won’t blame governments that have sold it off and failed to build more, resulting in a loss of more than 260,000 homes in a decade. The super-rich prefer white working class people to be more angry about their black and brown neighbours, than about an economic system that allows a few to amass unimaginable wealth at the expense of the many. By exploiting people’s frustrations and anxieties, the far right helps perpetuate that injustice.
Fortunately, most people in Nottingham understand this. During those difficult days, when many Muslims, migrants and people of colour were scared to leave their homes, it was so inspiring to see our community come together to resist hate. The quickly organised counterprotests many times outnumbered the far right, and showed our city at its best.
As we come to terms with the awful events of recent weeks, let’s recommit to working together to stamp out racism in all its forms. Let’s make it clear, in case anyone has any doubts, that people of all faiths and backgrounds will always be welcome in our city. And if the far right ever dares to gather here again, it will, once more, be humiliated.
nadiawhittome.org
words: Nadia Whittome photo: Fabrice Gagos
NISH,
DON’T KILL MY VIBE...
The man’s so funny, they booked him twice. Nish Kumar brings his razor-sharp political insight to the Nottingham Playhouse two times in October during the Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe tour. Here he gives LeftLion an exclusive peek…
Well, thank you Nish for speaking to LeftLion today. You’re coming to Nottingham twice in October. What can audiences expect on the nights? They can expect a stand-up comedy show about unfunny subjects. That's the way I'm pitching it currently.
Well, that's interesting. There's going to be jokes about climate collapse and income inequality. And I was thinking, what's funny about that?
I like to do comedy about things that I am obsessed by. And I wish I was obsessed by some more relaxed and more entertaining things than that, but I’m not, sorry. Yeah. I like the idea of making people laugh about things that aren't of themselves inherently funny.
Is that to spread awareness or make people think?
I mean, I think that's probably a retrospective term that I've slapped onto it. In reality, it’s more solipsistic than that. I'm only capable of talking about things that are obsessing me.
You're billed as a political comic, what attracts you to politics? And would you stand for Parliament if you were given the chance?
I'll answer the second question first, definitely not? Absolutely not, under no circumstances would I stand for parliament because I think everybody's had enough of the entertainer politician. We need serious people who have specific ideas about how to enact the change the country badly needs. And I would say that I'm interested in politics insofar as I'm interested in the kind of systems that govern our lives. And I'm interested in the institutions that govern our lives. And I think that I have a sort of healthy combination of an appreciation for them and a mistrust of them.
Were you born to be funny? And how did you get into being a professional comic? I was always a big fan of comedy on television from when I was a little kid. And I think that’s how I got into it. When I was at university, I joined a sketch group and went up to the Edinburgh Fringe. And that was my first taste of understanding what an actual career in comedy involves.
I was looking at your tour dates, and I thought, golly, this guy tours the country a lot. Do you enjoy life on the road? Well, the nice thing about touring as a comedian is that I never disappear completely. So, I'm largely away Wednesday to Sunday. And so, I'm home every week, I'm not away in that sense. And, yeah, I like going to the movies a lot. And so that's a hobby that tessellates nicely with a job that involves me having a lot of free time in various towns and cities, because they've all got cinemas. It's a useful thing for me to be into, given the way in which my free time manifests itself.
When you meet new people, do they always expect you to always be funny?
I guess there was some expectation that I'm going to be continually hilarious. But I am, so it's fine.
What advice would you give anyone wanting to get into stand-up comedy?
My most important piece of advice is that if you're interested in going into comedy, particularly stand-up, just do it. There's no substitute for doing it. You can read all the
articles you want. You can listen to all the podcasts telling you how to do it. But there is no substitute for just doing it. Give it a go and you'll figure out pretty quickly if it's something you want to do or not.
Is there anything about Nottingham that sticks in your memory?
I’ve done a lot of gigs in Nottingham, and I guess that I'm always very pleased by how quickly the show sells. We've had to add a second show. And the Playhouse is a really beautiful theatre, so I'm always excited to be here. It's a good comedy town.
And after this tour, the Hey, Nish, Don't Kill My Vibe tour, what's next for Nish? Honestly, I don't know, really. It's hard for me to look beyond. I'm doing a weekly news podcast. But the tour is sort of long. And we're talking about doing some shows in America and Australia next year. So that I will really only be done with this show next summer. That’s why it's difficult for me to look beyond that. And my podcasts will run at least until next May or June. So, I'll cross the next bridge when I come to it.
Your tour must be so immersive, you don't have time to think of the future? Yeah, I'd say that's true.
I think everybody's had enough of the entertainer politician. We need serious people who have specific ideas
about how to enact the change the country badly needs
Anything else you’d like to add?
The most important thing is: buy tickets. You don't even have to come. Just buy the tickets, and I'll have your money. And then I'll feel great.
Is there anything special about the show you'd like people to know?
My advice would be to Google me first and have a little look. If it seems like your cup of tea, definitely come. If you are immediately irritated, please don't. Don't put yourself through that process.
Why? Do you ever have problems with hecklers?
Not on tour. But occasionally people come and they seem annoyed and I think, guys, you've got to use the internet. It's a wonderful resource. It's not just for pornography.
So, you’re talking about things that are important to you and they perhaps disagree?
Yeah, sometimes. Yeah. Or they just don't expect it to be as intensely political as it is. That’s why I would just say, give me a quick Google and make an informed entertainment choice.
Nish Kumar is appearing at the Playhouse on Wednesday 9 October and then again on Wed 30 October 2024.
Circus of Life
The circus is coming to town later this month, with an array of artistic feats on display in a new exhibition at Surface Gallery. Showcasing the work of six very different artists, The Circus of Life playfully reveals both inner and other worlds, with shared themes of mental health, healing, playfulness and illusion. Ahead of the exhibition’s grand opening, artist Maximilion Speed treated LeftLion to a chat about the strange workings of creative thinking, why art should be made by humans, and what to expect from the work on show.
If you’ve never had the chance to sit down with a Surrealist, I recommend you try it. They’re rare, but there’s a few of them about. Perhaps we’d all be better off if they were stationed in town squares and libraries for anyone in need of a spur of the moment mind-flip; a conversation that will scrub out the stains of mundanity from their day. One of the perks of this job is the different creative minds you get to meet, and if a Surrealist wants to come to the LeftLion office on a Monday morning to discuss creativity and gift a vintage playing card to each of the staff, that’s no problem for us.
Maximilion Speed has been creating images for over forty years, having once studied a Fine Art BA at Coventry Polytechnic. A teacher by trade, in a previous life he worked as a designer, creating album covers for musical acts such as KLF, De La Soul and Inspiral Carpets. But as much as this illustrious past is most likely ripe with its own stories, we skipped straight past the small talk to focus on the upcoming exhibition, Max’s current work, and a myriad of wonderful tangents, from guerilla advertising and art pranks to the tumultuous relationship between technology and creativity, and how art can teach us to question our realities…
“My work delves into dreams and surrealism, questioning what’s real and what’s not,” explains Max. “It’s fascinating how the brain interprets visuals differently. When you split an image and mirror it, you start seeing things that aren’t really there. In one of my prints, I noticed what looked like a skull when I got it back from the printers, but it only appeared when the image was doubled. I showed it to others, and some saw a beetle instead of a skull. Sight is one of the least reliable senses. The brain creates realities that don’t exist.”
Much of Max’s work comes from a technique he calls ‘transient collage’, in which objects are placed over photographs in layers that obscure the original image to create new meanings. While
at first the details may seem arbitrary, the Surrealist train of thought suggests that each viewer’s interpretation of a piece of art can reveal something personal to them. For Max, engaging in this way can help people expand their imagination, recharge or find new ways of thinking.
Art has a bit of extra content stored in it like a battery. You unleash that energy by engaging with it. I like the idea that someone could get a piece of my art and look at it for years, seeing something new each time
“Art is a different purchase than, say, a table, which can be aesthetically lovely but also practical. Art has a bit of extra content stored in it like a battery,” he explains. “You unleash that energy by engaging with it, letting it flow through your eyes into your brain. It’s like having a little holiday, you know? I like the idea that someone could get a piece of my art and look at it for years, seeing something new each time.”
In the face of our increasing consumption of art as fleeting ‘content’ on a screen, one of the aims of the exhibition is to bring this interaction away from technology and back into the physical. “Social media drains you. There’s something qualitatively different about seeing something in print or interacting with art in person,” says Max. “Scrolling can take you into a sort of vortex, whereas a beautiful painting on a wall - there’s a human story behind that, not corporate interest. We need more human interaction, more conversations, more debate. This exhibition ties into that - how art and real human connection are so vital. Everything else is transient, ephemeral.”
This isn’t all fluff talk. To kick the exhibition off with a bang, there will be a grand opening event on Friday 27 September which will feature circus performers, a live DJ and opportunities to meet the artists. There will be much more than the surreal to enjoy too, if you’re a fan of graphic art, emotive painting or playful sculpture, the exhibition will also present Corrina Rothwell's expressive figurative paintings, characterful line drawings and dioramas by Angela Walsh, and bold pop-out prints of Dick D. Spice. Additionally, Paula Reed’s work brings futuristic landscapes, while D.A. Orli (this month’s cover artist, who you can hear more from on page 14) invites you into a surreal world with playful exhibits from the Ersatz Museum.
“I hope that the audience engages with the exhibition, finds something fascinating—whether it’s a detail, a glimmer of an artist’s influence or experience. Hopefully, there’s something that matches someone’s interior,” Max says.
Throughout the exhibition there will be opportunities to take home prints or framed one off pieces at a range of price points, and visitors are encouraged to support the Nottingham art scene by treating themselves to a piece. “Art occupies a space that society doesn’t always make room for. I mean, making a living off art? It's nearly impossible. I have no idea how some people do it. I wish I could do it better, but even if we don’t make money from it, we’ll still keep creating. It’s not about the financial reward - it’s about that inner drive.
But it seems clear that the exhibition is about more than selling work, and rather more a celebration of creativity, the human condition, and things that only art can reveal.
The Circus of Life exhibition runs from Saturday 28 September to Saturday 19 October at Surface Gallery. Head down to their opening celebration on Friday 27 September.
@circusoflife24
words: Sophie Gargett
photo: benjatattoo
Bored Marsh
I've lived here all my life and I don't think you realise how good the city is until you go somewhere else, so you have that sense of taking it for granted. The name made us laugh at first but now I really connect to it
interview: Karl Blakesley
photo: Paul Mason-Smith
In just a few short years, alt-rock quartet Bored Marsh have gone from non-existent to becoming one of the hottest bands to emerge from the booming Nottingham music scene. Now with the release of their debut EP on the horizon, we sat down with frontman Joe Need and guitarist Brad Westby to discuss their rapid rise.
So, I understand you all started playing together during lockdown – how did that come about?
Joe: Brad and I used to work in retail together years ago and we always shared a similar passion for the same bands. We’d both been in bands for years, but Brad wanted to concentrate on guitar without worrying about singing too. So, we shared some ideas during lockdown, got Jade (bassist) and Paul (drummer) on board, went into the studio in the summer of 2021, and took it from there. We spent well over a year writing and finding our sound before our first gig at the end of 2022 at Hockley Hustle.
Brad: Joe is the only person I have ever met who loves Be Here Now (Oasis album) as much as me, so I knew we'd work being in a band together. I was quite keen to start something after the COVID situation, so getting Joe, Jade and Paul on board and then getting into the practice room felt good. I knew I could write good music, but singing is a different thing - so adding Joe was the starting point.
Did you ever envisage the band would get beyond a lockdown hobby to this point, where you are releasing your debut EP while playing venues and festivals across the country?
Joe: The focus for us has always been about the music. We write music that we enjoy playing and that we’re proud of, which ultimately means we’re happy to share it and love it when people are into it. The band and the other guys have personally been a huge rock in my life through some difficult times, so building those personal and musical connections has been really special. Anything else is really a bonus.
Brad: It's actually going way better than I thought from the very start. As long as we're into the tunes and we're doing the right things, then we'll do as much as we can.
When did the change happen when you knew this band had momentum to be something bigger?
Joe: Getting an email out of the blue from a production company wanting to use our debut single The Grind on a TV show, when it only had a few Spotify streams, was pretty surreal. It gave us confidence we’d created a good song with Phil (Booth, JT Soar) and Rich (Collins, Snug Recordings) who are amazing.
You have a strong local affiliation to Nottingham, even down to your brilliantly playful band name “Bored Marsh” – do you feel that connection to the local area and music scene has been one of the key drivers to your success so far?
Joe: I was actually living in Yorkshire when we came up with the name but that pull of home in Nottingham was really strong. I think musically the city is thriving and I think as I’ve got older, I’ve learnt to build more genuine and supportive relationships with other people in the music scene. The early support from passionate music people/promoters like Dom Gourlay and Paul Tuplin at Karma have been huge in terms of opportunities, but also confidence.
Brad: For me the name really means something. I've lived here all my life and I don't think you realise how good the city is until you go somewhere else, so you have that sense of taking it for granted. The name made us laugh at first but now I really connect to it.
With the band name as well, I am curious – what were some of the rejected ones you had before you landed on that moment of inspiration?
Joe: The original project name was ‘Lowborn’ and I think ‘Vauxhall Conference’ was mentioned at some point! We didn’t deliberately choose a Nottingham link but once I came up with it - whilst lying on a bed in Lanzarote of all places!it just stuck.
Your latest single Alright, OK! feels like a real mission statement heading into your debut EP – what is the meaning behind that track?
Joe: There’s some fairly dark themes lyrically in many of our songs but I guess Alright, OK! was written about trying to give myself a bit of a wake-up call. When I sing “we’re alright, I’m ok”, whether I mean it or if it’s sung ironically depends on the day!
Brad: Jade had the bass riff at the start of a practice, so I set about laying the track out musically. It gave me The Cure
vibes, and at the time I was really into Disintegration, so it went from there. I remember pushing the band through it at some points because it took us ages to get it right, but I actually think it's been after the recording that it's really taken centre stage.
The full EP, IDIOT, drops on 27 September – how did the project come together and what were some of your main influences whilst making it?
Joe: We released two singles last year but really wanted to put out a body of work, even if it’s only four tracks, so that people really get a feel for who we are as a band. There’s quite a lot of variation to our sound and being ‘pigeonholed’ too early can be hard to navigate. The reverb has been a key feature of Brad’s songwriting and guitar style, so that comes through in the bass and vocals too. We still have melodies and fairly traditional song structures, which maybe helps the appeal to people into different genres. Inspiration is varied but would include Brian Jonestown Massacre, DIIV, Foals, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Nirvana and Mazzy Star.
Brad: Again, I think the process has been very organic. We all are naturally influenced by other bands, but the other stuff gets me too - politics and the state of things. Idiot can mean what you want it to mean, but life has gotten so stale and saturated in a lot of aspects. Modern popular culture is so dull, then we've had the Tory government, Brexit and the re-fascination of fascism. I remember Joe's lyrics when I first heard "Idiot" and I immediately thought yeah, the song and EP should be called that.
You’re having a big launch party at Rough Trade on the day of the release. What would you say to anyone thinking about buying a ticket?
Joe: We’ve been blown away by the support. We have two amazing Nottingham bands playing, Hhymn and TRANKS, and there’s only about twenty tickets left, so it should be a good night. It will be great to do a bit of a longer set and we’re hoping for a real party vibe, not just a gig.
Brad: Yeah, just crazy. We've also agreed for a food bank to be at the gig, so if you're coming down then please bring a can or packet of something to donate. We'll also have somebody there to raise awareness and let people know what they do.
Nottingham’s music scene seems to be having a real moment right now, your band is obviously a big part of that – what do you think is driving that and who are some of your favourite artists from around Nottingham right now?
Joe: Smaller independent venues like JT Soar, The Chameleon (RIP), The Angel, Billy Bootleggers etc. means there’s so many opportunities for new bands to hone their live skills and play to people. I also feel there’s been a positive shift with promoter DHP giving local bands support slots and putting on the likes of Dot-To-Dot and Beat The Streets. We played Focus Wales recently and it was great to play alongside Eyre Llew and Midnight Rodeo, representing Notts, but other local bands I love include Swallowtail, Bloodworm and Rain Age.
Brad: TRANKS are my favourite current band in Nottingham. There's always been a decent scene with so many different bands. I've loved quite a few over the years. It really should get more recognition than it does.
Looking beyond the EP release, what are your plans for the rest of 2024 and heading into 2025?
Joe: We’re trying to get the right live opportunities both in and out of Notts, but we’re writing a lot at the moment and don’t want to stand still sonically. We’re hoping to put out a vinyl release next year and it would be great to do some more festivals next spring and summer.
Brad: I think ultimately we'd like to go as far as we can within the boundaries of responsibility that we all have. We just need to keep doing the right things at the right times and keep making music that we all enjoy. I always think the newest song is the best. I would also love to get a record out there, however we do it.
Bored Marsh will release their debut EP IDIOT and play Rough Trade on 27 September.
Q @boredmarsh
Poetraits
Through August, Phlexx Records at Cubed Cuts & Coffee hosted Poetraits, an exhibition by LeftLion photography editor Fabrice Gagos, showcasing a series of photographs which captured the essence of eight poets: their personal identities and creative voices. Featured as part of the 2024 Nottingham Poetry Festival, the project was made possible with support from Arts Council England. We caught up with Fabrice to discuss life behind the lens as a professional photographer.
What was the central theme or concept of the exhibition?
The idea for the project was to build images in collaboration with the poets, rather than simply take their portraits. I've been making portraits for the Nottingham poetry festival for three consecutive years, and will continue to do so, but I was also looking for a more thoughtful and cinematic way of creating images.
What was the inspiration behind the stylized portraits of poets from Nottingham Poetry Festival?
Well, without any pretension of getting near his work (and his budget!), the idea of building a more ‘cinematic’ scenery is inspired by the work of Gregory Crewdson. I don’t necessarily like everything he does, but approaching photography more like cinema is something that resonates with me for two reasons, one, because as a child I wanted to be a director, before realising I probably don’t have the social skills for this. And two, because right now everyone is a ‘photographer’, we almost all have a powerful camera in our pocket. So, the thought and time you’re putting in your work is, in my opinion, what makes a difference. The idea is always to try and create more signal than noise, which, I would admit has become increasingly difficult.
What message or emotion did you hope to convey through the exhibition?
I'd say... this is not my problem. In every creative work I've done I've never really thought about that. What’s important to me is enjoying the process and delivering the work with as much integrity as possible, after that this is out of my control. This is not my role to tell people what to feel about it, and from experience, hoping they will feel one way or another is just setting myself up to be disappointed. Of course, I hope people connect with my work in different ways and enjoy going through the exhibition, have a nice coffee and a nice time, but if not... well, too bad. I did have a good time and the people I
worked with seemed to enjoy the process too, and I believe the final work is genuine and as good as it can be.
What was your creative process for this exhibition and did you approach it differently compared to your other projects? What did you enjoy most about working on your Poetraits series?
The creative process was widely different in that, for once, there was one. But if I have to pinpoint one main difference from other photography work it would be the time spent talking with people I was working with, building the connection with them and trying to create an image that represented them, as well as putting more thought about the location, props, and everything. It was definitely a collaborative work.
What photography medium do you prefer to use and what themes/genre do you enjoy most?
I'm shooting exclusively digital. I mean I have nothing against film, but I have neither the patience nor the budget to shoot with film, and to be very honest, it doesn't matter that much. I also feel like digital gives me a workflow with minimal attention to the technical part so I can focus on connecting with my subject. I don’t think I have a general theme, but I’m definitely working almost exclusively as a portrait photographer and with artists/creative people. I’m not connecting as well with the ‘general public’. That’s probably why I’m never considering having my own studio.
This also brings me to work on location and having to think about using the environment as best as I could, which fits me well as I have a kind of DIY approach to my work. I’m always using my own lights as it gives more control (and more pleasure) but I also keep my set up as mobile, cheap and minimal as possible. Because of that, I have been rejected for some photography jobs just because my gear wasn’t deemed
professional enough. For me it merely shows how disconnected we are sometimes from creativity and art… Am I ranting again?
Have you had any memorable reactions or feedback from viewers that you’d like to share?
Not from viewers, but from people I worked with. For some, creating an image connected to a theme made them think differently, probably more cautiously about their own work. Some found this inspiring to write more about a specific theme, or simply realise they’ve had one. I also have stories that I’m not sure are mine to share (maybe one day in another form), but this is definitely something that makes such a project worth doing.
What do you hope to explore in your future work? Do you have any upcoming projects or ideas in the pipeline?
I want to extend the Poetraits project and work with more poets and hopefully make a book out of this, with the images and accompanying texts if possible.
I also want to reproduce the experience with other creative people: writers, musicians, painters... around Nottingham and eventually, why not, around the UK. I also have another project that is still in an early stage, gathering my street photography from my first year as a photographer and around the idea that this is what made me connect with the city when I first arrived in the UK.
What this project made me realise is that I like having something that goes beyond creating an image and opens up the possibility of creating an event that brings creative people together. Poetraits can easily become a series of events with poetry performances, sound design and music for instance. Once again, this is probably inspired by having a more cinematic approach.
Q @fabrice.gagos
What’s important to me is enjoying the process and delivering the work with as much integrity as possible, after that this is out of my control
interview: Dani Bacon photos: Fabrice Gagos
NOTTS SHOTS
Want to have your work featured in Notts Shots? Send your high-res photos from around the city (including your full name and best web link) to photography@leftlion.co.uk or tag #nottsshots on Instagram.
Proud to be Free Sarah Parnell
You Met Me at the Left Lion David Marbles
On the Brink of Binks Yard Peter Taylor
In the Bright Lights John Medd
Goosey Road
Charleigh Keemer
The Old Garage Big Bob McPlop
Our Pal Mary Laura Bingley @_laura.amy
words: Caradoc Gayer
photos: Dani Bacon
GUARDIAN ANGEL
There are few publicans as busy as Ben Rose. Having owned the beloved Hockley food and music hotspot The Angel Microbrewery since 2016, he’s continuously evolving the historic pub and its adjoining live music venue The Chapel through new events and an exciting seasonal menu. With the opening of a new, multi-purpose space upstairs called The Chesterfield Lounge, we caught up with Ben on his ethos for running a pub, his plans for The Angel, and the small historical discoveries he continues to make there.
If you’re looking for a memorable pub, or even just a long-established but constantly exciting local business, run with love, then you could do worse than visit The Angel Microbrewery in Hockley. I didn’t discover the venue until Hockley Hustle 2023, when I’d already lived in Notts for three years. Looking for more live music, I walked down a side-street which I’d generally missed until then, and was struck by the timeless look of the building: it had vaguely old-worldly style coloured in intensely modern blue and white. Once inside I enjoyed a beer and watched some cool young artists from Nottingham’s Confetti Institute.
When I visit to speak to the owner, Ben Rose, and hop upstairs to see the building's new addition: The Chesterfield Lounge, that timeless effect still feels just as vivid. The lounge has an off-kilter vibe when I walk inside, probably because of the wallpaper: which is almost entirely made from early 20th century newspapers.
“We were taking down an old ceiling and these magazines fell out,” says Ben. “They were from 1907 or so, and in mint condition. I was um-ing and ah-ing about how to do these walls, before I had an idea, got a printer to scan the magazines, and make them into wallpaper. I think it works. It compliments the fact that the building is centuries old, and is trying to be in keeping with its age.”
Ben is a little modest about the thought that he put into the wallpaper, but it fits a pattern all the same, inasmuch as there are quirky and unexpected details to The Angel’s history. Back in the 19th century, its patrons were falling out of windows and downstairs at a concernedly high rate, while The Chapel, next door, hosted a party for the Grand Order of Druids in 1871. In the 1980s the Chapel became a music venue, going on to host acts like Oasis, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys over the years. As Ben continues to evolve the building, he’s still making eclectic discoveries about its history.
“We dislodged some sticking out bricks upstairs and found a cricket ball. Later, we also found a cotton bobbin in the walls. We did some research and found that they were put into the building when someone died, as a sort of time capsule, so we’ll be framing them. I’ve always liked derelict buildings and really enjoy evolving this pub. It’s been eight and a half years but I still want to do more.”
Ben took over The Angel in 2016, after making his name in Notts running The Alley Cafe, a beloved vegetarian spot in Cannon Court. Ben continues to honour vegetarian cuisine at The Angel, which has become known for its diverse menu, inclusive of all culinary preferences, from vegan and gluten free to meaty dishes.
“We tried not to make a song and dance out of being vegan or vegetarian, we just tried to make good food. This place basically does what the Alley Cafe did, but bigger. It was a challenge when I made the decision to sell meat, but if I hadn’t I probably wouldn’t have made it because of the cost of running such a big building. The overheads are phenomenal. If we’d been a little too streamlined or niche in our approach, it wouldn’t have been suitable. We had to accommodate everybody for the greater good of keeping The Angel open, otherwise it’d probably have been turned into a Wetherspoons to be honest.”
Ben’s inclusive approach to running The Angel not only encompasses the food, but also the events regularly hosted there and in the adjoining Chapel. Throughout the year there’s live music of all genres, from indie, rock and folk, to dance and reggae. This comes to a peak when The Angel participates yearly in Hockley Hustle and Dot2Dot festival.
“I’ve always felt like there needs to be more diversity and options, without much judgement,” says Ben. “I’m not pigeonholing us in any style. If somebody asks me ‘What’s your demographic of customer’, I’ll say anybody who likes coming into a pub that’s a bit alternative and welcoming. I couldn’t really classify what this place is but it’s meant to be open to anyone: not somewhere that’s too aggressive, or judgemental, or loud or offensive. It’s meant to have a bit of everything.”
If there’s any room that best embodies that ethos of ‘a bit of everything’ then it would be The Chesterfield Lounge, which Ben says he added to expand the kinds of atmosphere and types of enjoyment that the pub can offer. Having recently hosted an Irish folk night, the lounge is set to cater for all kinds of events in the future.
I’m not pigeonholing us in any style. If somebody asks me ‘What’s your demographic of customer?’, I’ll say anybody who likes coming into a pub that’s a bit alternative and welcoming
“We’re going to quizzes. We also do a Greek music jam night now too,” Ben adds, “The idea is that, while the pub is downstairs doing its thing, we have events here. Sometimes you’ll go to pubs and realise that it’s a quiz or open mic night. You’ll be trying to catch up with friends and think ‘ah I’ve got to go somewhere else.’ Now people have the option to come upstairs to listen to music or socialise downstairs. Now it’s got its own space, which accommodates everybody.”
As a whole Ben says the lounge is intended to bring people together and imbue The Angel with ever-more creativity, especially on occasions when people in Notts come together to show off their talents, skills and artistry. For him it’s still vital to keep The Angel as one of the most buzzing, social hubs in Hockley, for the near and more distant future.
“During Pride, there were DJs downstairs, while this lounge was used as a market stall space. We moved a lot of the furniture out and it worked really well. After that we had a metal festival, and all the bands hung out here,” Ben says. “I’ll be interested to see how it works for Hockley Hustle, because we’ll have bands playing upstairs, and people chilling in here. It’s going to be nice to see the room evolve and come into its own.”
For a pint, a meal, or an evening of live music visit The Angel on Stoney St, or follow their social media for event updates.
[Q]@theangelmicrobrewery
WAR ROOMSr ooms
interview: Sophie Gargett
photos: Martine Hamilton Knight
Over in Aspley, nestled in a modern housing estate, a preserved relic of the Cold War era stands solemnly. With a multitude of curious features, from furniture to forgotten documents, The Nottingham War Rooms holds a wealth of insight into how the Government were preparing in the Midlands for a nuclear attack. With renovations planned to give the building a new life, we spoke to architectural photographer and NTU Senior Lecturer Martine Hamilton Knight, who recently had the chance to photograph the space, and Dr Daniel Cordle, until recently an Associate Professor at NTU, who specialises in nuclear culture and history, to find out more.
The Nottingham War Rooms looks like it has a fascinating past. What can you tell us about the building and Nottingham’s links to the Cold War?
Dan: The bunker was constructed in two phases. In 1952-53 it was built as a Regional War Room which would have coordinated local civil defence response in the event of an atomic attack on the region and liaised with central government. A second phase of the building, enveloping the original, was constructed in the early 1960s. The plan by then was that it would be a Regional Seat of Government, an RSG, able to operate independently of central government and responsible for governing a large region - or what was left of it - after a nuclear attack. There was a strong feeling that central government might cease to exist, at least in the short term, and that local areas would have to get by on their own.
There's something interesting in that all these preparations for civil defence against nuclear war always feel like they're a little bit out of date. So the original war room, I think, was designed with the idea that it would be able to survive the atomic bomb - if it wasn't a direct hit - but by the end of the 1950s, the hydrogen bomb, which is often described as 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb, had come along, and they didn't think they could build something to survive that, so they built the extension to survive radioactive fallout. Secrecy was presumably crucial to its survival, but the existence and location of the RSGs was actually leaked in the early 1960s.
Can you talk a little about who would have been stationed there?
Dan: It would have housed about 430 people and there would have been a Regional Commissioner who would have been in charge of the North Midlands region of the country in the event of nuclear war. It's a striking story, not just about nuclear fear, but also about how the country would be governed in an emergency situation and about democratic accountability. The Commissioner would have had a frightening level of power.
Intriguingly, too, people who came in would have had to make very quick decisions about leaving family and friends. Some wouldn't have known they were on a list to be in this place, and would have found out at very short notice that they were expected to be in the bunker.
…And do you know what would follow once these people were safely inside?
Dan: Well, the primary purpose of the RSGs was for continuity of government. There’s an intriguing shift in the idea of civil defence that takes place during the 1950s and 1960s from the idea that you can provide rescue and recovery for ordinary people to the idea that simple survival of the structures of administration is the best you can hope for in the short term. What the idea of ‘nation’ would have meant in this situation is hard to say. The RSG would presumably have tried to organise relief and to preserve a semblance of social order, but it’s hard not to think they’d have been overwhelmed. Civil defence during the Cold War was always a bit mysterious and perhaps also seemed rather absurd to many - a delusion. Some of it is bluff - gesturing toward civil
defence as part of convincing your enemy you’d be willing to fight a nuclear war - and perhaps some of it is wishful thinking; some of it might well be, well, we just can't really afford to think about it properly, so here’s the best we can do - it was hard to make the case for spending lots of money on it. Nuclear war could feel like an abstract threat, a lot of the time, even if there were moments like the Cuban missile crisis, or like the early 1980s, when there was a lot of public concern about the possibility.
This looks like a dream place for a photography expedition, what was it like capturing the place?
Martine: It was really clear that we needed to document this building before it underwent enormous structural change. It's listed, but in order to put it back into practical use, there's got to be significant adjustments to it as a structure in order to allow it to function with a new life. So I knew there was a really short deadline on being able to capture it in an emotive manner.
Because of the nature in which the building was decommissioned but then used for storage, it's still carried on telling a story about extreme incident control, because Defra then took it over and there's some really curious stuff stored in there, such as from the 1967 Foot and Mouth outbreak, which again is about incident control and threat to humanity and animals.
So visually it's very chaotic as you can see from the images, but also it's the human things like the toilets, which are classic junior school toilets. There's that sense of everything unravelling outside the door while you're still trying to maintain normality in your workplace, with no windows, while everybody's dying outside. I thought oh my goodness, I've got to photograph it. So I basically jumped on Dan's case and went ‘no more photos from phones. Please can I do this properly? Let's use this opportunity to create something with visual integrity and legacy.’
Dan: It's a place that speaks in new ways now - I think particularly in the last couple of years when nuclear anxieties have become more prominent again. So I think this building speaks to the 21st century world intriguingly, as well as to a Cold War history.
It's a striking story, not just about nuclear fear, but also about how the country would be governed in an emergency situation
Did you come across anything particularly unusual or intriguing whilst in there?
Martine: The building has been incredibly disturbed. It does look like it's gone through its own form of war. There were large amounts of asbestos in it that Homes England, who currently administer the site, had to remove, so a huge amount of stuff got moved around and there are random things in random places. It has this really sort of disjointed and chaotic feel. Plus also I had to light the shots to supplement the temporary lighting that's in there, because there are some rooms that are in complete pitch blackness. Psychologically, most would find it very uncomfortable. And it's right next to brand new housing development, which is really incongruous.
Dan: There are shadows on the wall where the clocks used to be, because either the clocks have been put in storage or someone's nicked them, but I think time would have felt strange and uncanny there. You would have had no cues from outside of what time of day it was because there are no windows. You'd have been sealed off. There's an odd, bureaucratic idea of what society is and what human existence is. Essentially the bunker’s a kind of glorified office complex with some military dimensions to it. There are all kinds of in-trays, filing systems and messaging systems.
There’s an upcoming event at Broadway on 23 September where people can find out more. Can you talk a little bit about this?
Dan: Dr Sarah Jackson, a colleague at NTU, and I ran a ‘Creative Archive’ project at the bunker. With the support of NTU’s Institute for Knowledge Exchange Practice (who also supported Martine’s photography expedition) and the Centre for Research in Literature, Linguistics and Culture, and also with the generous help of Homes England and Hamilton Russell, who are seeking to develop the bunker, we took writers and experts into it. We gave them a tour and ran a writing workshop there, and people developed poetry and fiction from that event. The book that is coming out of that work, Bunker: Stories and Poems From a Nuclear Age, will be published by Five Leaves Publications and launched at the event. We’ve timed it to coincide with a 40th anniversary screening of the landmark BBC film about nuclear war, Threads, at the Broadway, which I’ll also be introducing. Threads might be one of the bleakest things ever shown on British TV, but it's a brilliant piece of filmmaking. I think what's striking about it is that you see the world collapsing. It portrays a society that descends to mediaeval levels; an existential threat to the very idea of a nurturing human society.
Head down to the screening of Threads on Monday 23 September at Broadway Cinema. If you’d like to attend the launch of Bunker: Stories and Poems from a Nuclear Age, email Daniel Cordle and Sarah Jackson at nottinghambunker@gmail.com
words: Rich Higton
Fabrice Gagos
Brews, hairdos and tunes
Currently celebrating its 10th birthday, Phlexx Records has made its name as one of Notts’ most iconic and successful record shops and labels, since its founding in 2013 by local names Trekkah Benjamin and Bru-C. With the recent set-up of their new store, adjoining coffee shop, and barber shop on Weekday Cross, we caught up with Trekkah to reminisce on the history of Phlexx and their ambitions to move ever up and onwards.
By the start of the 2010s the humble local record store, once a mainstay of any high street throughout the UK, had all but vanished. The rise of streaming and internet commerce saw the great stores of Nottingham's city centre slowly but surely consigned to history. Selectadisc on Market Street, Way Ahead on St James's Street, Arcade Records on Chapel Bar and Funky Monkey on Goose Gate, to name a few, are all gone.
However, this is not where the story ends. A renaissance is upon us; with the unforeseen resurgence of vinyl, and to a lesser extent audio tape, the record store is once again thriving in Nottingham and throughout the UK. This is where Phlexx Records make their entrance.
Phlexx was formed in 2013 by producer Trekkah Benjamin and rapper Bru-C as an outlet for their project, The Afterdark Movement. The company went on to organise events at The Maze, Nottingham Contemporary, and Bar 11, as well as DJ sets for Mimm Radio and poetry slams at Suede bar, while curating festival stages for Dot2Dot, Broadfest and Hockley Hustle. This is not even to mention the 60+ releases on the Phlexx label, from artists as diverse as Bru-C, Soft Girls and Boys Club, Nactus Kunan and Marco Woolf.
The past decade has been a heck of a busy one for Phlexx, and they show no sign of slowing down. I paid a visit to their shiny new record store/cafe/performance hub at 6 Weekday Cross, to chat with founder Trekkah Benjamin about the past, present and future of Phlexx Records.
“We started out as Phlexx Promotions, which was a way to put on our own shows. We put on our first event at the Maze, spread over three floors featuring well over ten acts including acoustic artists, DJs and bands. That first event was a sell out!”
These Maze events carried on for a good while, showcasing local acts and drawing in large crowds of eager music fans. From here the record label was born. “If you look at those early Phlexx Records releases, it was just our own music. BruC's Kame-Hame-Ha EP, then my first EP as a producer, then another one from Bru-C, and that's how it all started.”
Phlexx celebrated their 10th birthday in October 2023 at Hockley Hustle, which included an evening of electronic music at the Broadway, featuring music from Thomas the Dance Engine, Soul Buggin', Aicha Honeydips, T.O.N.E.S and Trekkah, to name but a few. Stages at Mimm Studios and Metronome featured DJs, poets, graffiti artists, the whole shebang!
Any local artists that want to bring in CDs, vinyl or merch, we're encouraging the selling of their work. So for artists that want a Phlexxabition, we can put on an exhibition here, do a launch event, and keep your work up for a couple of weeks
“Phlexx has been quite flexible,” explains Trekkah. “We've run poetry events called Spraybox in collaboration with GOBS Collective. We've done acoustic stuff called Folk it Up, we've done stuff with Mimm, we’ve worked with the Angel to revive the Chapel, doing the whole new install there. We're ten years old now and we're looking around saying ‘right what's next?!’”
Well, what's next is the brand new record store/cafe/barber shop situated on Weekday Cross, a cosy place to hang out, drink coffee and listen to tunes. The cafe has decks set up, giving anyone a chance to preview some of the vinyl which is on sale (as long as it's open of course). The store has a great variety of vinyl, from hip hop and R&B to electronic, jazz, and the best new music from local artists.
It is all quite the family affair, as Trekkah explains. “My nana used to work at Decca Records, doing the admin and my father was the manager of Virgin Megastore Nottingham for 25 years, and now he sells records on Discogs. So record selling has been in the family for a long time. My brother also owns the Cubed barber shop, which has the coffee shop (a 200 Degrees franchise). It made sense to move the record store into the
space available. Vinyl sales have had their biggest spell in four decades, so I think the shop was a way to mature the label. We will still be doing some events, but I can't really carry on staying up till 4am every week! This gives the label another face, moves us forward and allows us to mature.”
Phlexx Records has always been a destination for music-lovers to visit, listen and discuss. “My dad used to work at Revolver Records, and I remember Selectadisc and Funky Monkey: that's where I would go when I was young. You would hang out and speak about music, discover new music, and I thought that was really cool. I want Phlexx to be a destination where people can come and do live sets. We're going to have events where people can bring their own vinyl and we'll stream it, all just for fun and to share music.”
The Phlexx Record Label, where an eclectic mix of local artists have found a home and an outlet for their creativity, is still going from strength to strength. Whether it be the jazzy bossa nova of The Jazz Bastrds, the afrobeat of Megs or the alt-folk of Benjamin Zięć & the Rarebreeds, Phlexx continues to champion the burgeoning Nottingham music scene. “We've got a Notts Property rack, which is all local music with a couple of Phlexx pressings in there. Any local artists that want to bring in CDs, vinyl or merch, we're encouraging the selling of their work. So for artists that want a Phlexxabition, we can put on an exhibition here, do a launch event, and keep your work up for a couple of weeks.”
One decade in, Phlexx Records continues to be a leading light on Nottingham music and culture. Trekkah and the team at Phlexx work tirelessly to champion local culture, and long may they do so.
A big thanks to Trekkah for taking time out of his incredibly busy schedule to sit down for a brew and chat.
You can head down for a brew, a tune or a new do at the Phlexx Records/Cubed Barber Shop, at 6 Weekday Cross or head over to phlexxrecords.co.uk for more info on latest releases, mixes and all the news from Phlexx.
photo:
I want my country back. Waiter, we say cow, not boef. When I grew up round here, in a wattleand-daub hut, you could leave your doorhole open.
Don’t give me Danish pronouns, we say heora, not theirr. Half my daughter’s class are called Ivar or William. Every Saxon hill is topped with a stone keep now, and you know they’re just going to fill them with students.
My country back, further back - Decolonise transport, dig up the Roman oppressors’ limestone roads, cover them in topsoil. Brick up the aqueducts. Call in the navy. Turn Claudius’ boat around. Celebrate the Narratives of our Native Peoples, scratch out the Latin letteratura - telling campfire stories didn’t do us any harm. Cultural appropriation means Mediterranean villas, where they always and only eat yoghurt.
I want my country back, so fill in the channel, winch Doggerland from the seabed - in the ice age we lived for hard graft. O where are the steppe mammoths of yesteryear? Just hairy chappies now with their flint spearheads. Some of my best friends are homo habilis. Grandfather would be rolling in his burial mound.
Earlier if possible. You do see more theropods round here than you used to. Would you feel safe walking home when your neighbours have three claws on every limb and a top speed of twelve metres per second? Sarcosaurus loitering on the Jurassic saltmarshes, and where are their parents?
When I were a lad we were up to our knees in primordial soup, and we didn’t know any different. And how did this place get away from me?
Q @andrewtucker.uk
Willing and Babel
interview: Andrew Tucker
Young Italian author Constanza Casati shot into The Times’ bestsellers list with her first novel Clytemnestra, respinning mythology through a woman’s eyes. Her followup Babylonia is doing just as well, so we caught up with her in Nottingham during her recent book tour to brush up on our Bronze Age…
First things first: which Mesopotamian god would you swear allegiance to?
Easy! I'm gonna go with the goddess Ishtar, simply because she inspired the main character of Babylonia, Semiramis, the goddess of love and war. Her animal is the lion and lions play a big part in the novel.
Your first novel Clytemnestra was rooted in a love of Greek classics - what took you back to Babylonia next?
Well, I found out about Semiramis a few years ago - I was reading the Italian author Giovanni Boccacio, a contemporary of Chaucer who wrote the first collection of women's biographies in Western literature. Boccacio calls Semiramis ‘spirited and skilled’ - but there was one wicked sin that stained all her accomplishments - the fact that she burned with desire and ambition.
This ancient Greek historian called Diodorus of Sicily compared her to Alexander the Great - I was intrigued. And then I found out about this tragic love triangle that eventually made her queen. That was the moment when I knew - I need that emotional hook. This was three or four years ago, but then I had to spend months and months doing more research!
So are you the sort of person that’s surrounded by post-it-notes?
I focus first on research that allows me to understand the mindset of the people. In this case reading the Epic of Gilgamesh, written a thousand years before The Iliad and The Odyssey. Or reading proverbs and love poems, and trying to understand what that meant for these people, for instance, what their underworld was like…
And then the other kind of research that I do is more practical. It allows me to understand what the palace was, like, how it was structured, the kinds of positions that women could hold politically in the empire, war tactics and studying the bas reliefs on the walls. I’ve read somewhere that when you're writing historical fiction, you know that you've researched enough only when the setting starts to feel like a memory…
Characters mention ‘the land of dust’ as the afterlife - if Semiramis comes from dust as you say, is it a bit of a cycle?
That was one of the first things that I became obsessed with. The House of Dust, the Land of Dust, the Land of Darkness appears everywhere in ancient Mesopotamia literature. I thought, ‘how interesting that these people in ancient Assyria were incredibly violent and constantly at war, but more than anything else they fear death.’
Much of my first novel Clytemnestra is actually set in ancient Sparta, and Spartans did not fear death. But, there is that sense of a cycle because Semiramis started out as being a nobody, and for her that's literally like being dead.
I’ve read somewhere that when you're writing historical fiction, you know that you've researched enough only when the setting starts to feel like a memory…
Do you set out to kind of focus on feminism and themes of class, or does that develop organically as you go?
A great question - the novel was originally two different POVs, Semiramis and King Ninus. But then one day somewhere during my first draft, I suddenly thought of the first line of the slave Ribat’s first chapter: ‘he has learned to read on the scars of his mother's back’. Once I had that line, I had the character.
Ribat’s similar to Semiramis in a way because both have this obsession with ambition, their trajectory is quite similar. They both come from the dust, and they slowly rise towards the high heavens. Gilgamesh has been called the epic of the fear of death, and in Babylonia the characters fear death more than anything else. Fame is the way to overcome that.
illustration: Jim Brown
Ah! So do you ever find yourself dreaming about Babylonia? Yeah, maybe not dreaming about the setting. Because that would be quite traumatising [Constanza laughs]. But about the story.
Babylonia is out now at all good bookshops. Read our full interview with Constanza at leftlion.co.uk @costanzacasati
Oh, Grow On Then…
interview: Angelena Efstathiou
photos: Joseph Clark, Tom Platinum Morley, Alice Ashley
You may have seen some of the planters dotted around town looking extra loved up lately - a dash of colour around Canning Circus, Bridlesmith Gate becoming an altogether more pollinator-friendly aisle to walk down. A lot of this greening action can be traced back to GrowNotts. Angelena Efstathiou caught up with grower-in-chief Jack Harris, to hear all about how they’re greening up our city whilst bringing the community with them…
What is GrowNotts? When did it start?
GrowNotts is a Community Interest Company we started back in 2022, with a mission to create meaningful environmental and social change. We want to engage, support and empower people so that we're tackling that goal as a collective.
Our core belief is that fostering people's connection with nature, in all its forms, is fundamental to nurturing a happier, more interconnected, and ecologically vibrant city.
So it's not just planters then?
We love whipping up planters, and it’s a wicked way to get businesses on board with what we’re doing, but we’re so lucky that we get to work on loads of amazing projects across the city. We deliver education, workshops, design and build green and growing spaces and so much more. Through that we’ve got to work with so many inspiring groups and people. From Green Hustle, Nottz Garden Project, It’s In Nottingham and of course all of the folk that have engaged with our programs in the city.
What made you want to start this up? How did it come together?
Before GrowNotts, I was an Organic Grower in the Cotswolds. We’d do loads of education as part of that, one workshop I delivered involved a group of children who came all the way from Hackney, and seeing the reaction they had and watching their relationship with nature develop during the workshop was immense. The way it impacted all the groups we came into contact with in such a visceral way was something I just couldn’t stop thinking about. I wanted to bring that back to Notts with me, and imagine our own way in curating those impactful experiences.
So a lot of people associate GrowNotts with you Jack, but who else is involved?
We’re a full on crew these days, and we wouldn’t have been able to do half the stuff we’ve achieved without them. Zena Kay has worked on some beautiful art projects, illustrated our designs and delivered workshops with us. Joe Stevenson has done the same as well as working on some of our bigger builds and nurturing our new spaces. Oscar Stewart has also been
en V ironment
supporting across all our stuff. People work with us in all different ways and capacities, and we all bring something special to the table.
The one thing I find makes GrowNotts different, you often see planters with beautiful artwork on them. You collaborate with artists quite a bit, right?
We want the stuff we love to be engaging, meaningful and just generally fun and exciting. Art plays a massive part in that. Not everyone wants to talk about cabbages, we need to find new ways to get people excited about green and growing stuff. Notts is blessed with so many wicked artists too. So yes, we absolutely try to bring in art into our work, from leaning into creative ways of delivering workshops, to having lovely murals, ceramics and installations within our green and growing spaces.
Not everyone wants to talk about cabbages, we need to find new ways to get people excited about green and growing stuff
You also collaborate a lot with students and community groups?
We love working in collaboration, that’s what it's all about. We’ve worked with students from NTU, Nottingham College, the City Council, It’s In Nottingham, The Carousel and a whole bunch of others including other social enterprises. We’re always wanting to collaborate, it supports us in engaging new people, creating and delivering better ideas and we just want to share and grow at the end of the day.
What’s your favourite project so far?
We built a green space for Nottingham College at High Pavement sixth form, we were asked to build a garden that provided ecological benefit, a space for socialising, learning, growing food, and importantly a space where students could have their own impact. The students were an inspiration to work with, they grafted from start to finish, through rain and shine and seeing how proud they were when we’d finished are
the moments we’re doing all this for. We had students bring their mates down, showing them what thyme was, getting them to sniff the basil, how to ID mint plants. Those students were personally responsible for creating positive change, in a place they’re connected to, and we got to support that. Lovely stuff.
What’s your vision for the future?
To have an ecologically vibrant and connected city. We want people to be buzzing to come into Notts. Proud. Inspired.
Speaking of buzzing, can you tell me more about the Bee-SuperHighway? Where does it go?
We’re still in our early phases, but the BeeSuperHighway is about creating green, bright and biodiverse pathways through the city centre. We’ve been working on this project with It’s In Nottingham for the last year. We’ve got a community garden on Sussex St next to Tramline Spot, have installed about forty odd planters on Bridlesmith Gate and we’ll have some more exciting things getting installed over the next couple of months.
This all sounds amazing. Before we wrap up, can you tell me about the Lush Store on Clumber Street?
Lush wanted to get involved in the stuff we’d been doing with It’s In Nottingham on the high street, but because Clumber St has such a high footfall we had to get creative. We designed and built them a propagation unit which we’ve dubbed the prop shop. So now they grow hundreds of plants a year, which we then go and plant across all of our projects in the city centre. Pretty cool ey? Right in their shop window too, I’m not sure that will have been done anywhere before, so that was a great project to work on and the team there are the friendliest bunch.
How can people get involved and find out more? We get about! We’re always at events, host plant ups and have lots of workshops lined up. If you follow us on socials we tend to keep people updated through that, and our website will hopefully be with you all soon.
@GrowNotts
Groovy Garage
words: Addie Kenogbon
Notts is no stranger to the streetwear world. Once home to the likes of iconic 80s/90s independent streetwear shop GForce, whose stylish and original garms made waves around the globe, recent years have seen the likes of Mimm, Garms, Relic x Hooked and Hidden Garmz open shop in the city. With a new kid on the block, Groovy Garage launching its second Midlands presence in Nottingham’s Urban Outfitters, it begs the question: ‘Why does streetwear have Nottingham in such a chokehold?’ Ahead of Groovy Garage’s launch, we chatted to their director Jack Tavener, and delved into the rise of streetwear culture.
When Streetwear first emerged in the 1970s, it was predominantly worn by urban teenagers who craved a sense of creativity and individuality, crafting styles to express themselves, with limited resources or money. Once worn by skateboarders and surfers in California, it became the uniform of many on the fringes of mainstream fashion, culture and society. It’s no wonder then, that Nottingham - a city known for its rebellious nature - was an early adopter of the trend.
In the 70s and 80s, brands like Stussy and Hurley were early pioneers of streetwear, but once it hit the mainstream and influences from hip-hop, skate and punk cultures infiltrated the scene, the trend became more commercialised.
During the late 2000s as the world became more green conscious and the slow fashion movement dominated, streetwear lovers started to follow suit, often favouring retro 80s and 90s vintage pieces, over new and emerging ones. This marked a cyclical evolution of the trend.
Enter vintage streetwear brands such as the Groovy Garage, which launched in Kettering five years ago and has amassed a cult following. The team’s Kettering store has attracted fans from across the Midlands, but August marked its first launch in Nottingham with a mini store-within-a-store, at Nottingham’s Urban Outfitters.
“We've had a shop in Kettering for about five years now, but we’ve been doing pop-ups for the last three years on the side on the last weekend of every month, and travelling to Nottingham,” director Jack Tavener said. “We fell in love with the city, as it’s such an amazing place. We could have chosen any city and we were offered London, but we wanted to do it Nottingham, because it just felt right, both geographically and with the students too. We feel
that a shop like this coming to Nottingham which sells streetwear and all the types of pieces - things that people can't get that often - is seriously what the city needs.”
The new store is located at the downstairs, menswear section of Urban Outfitters, and stocks a range of menswear and genderless garms, including hoodies, polos, vintage sportswear, jeans and more. Labels include Adidas, Nike, Carhartt, Stone Island and Evisu, as well as designer labels like Prada, Moschino, Yves Saint Laurent and Ralph Lauren.
If you buy something pre loved, it has character and nine times out of ten, somebody else isn't going to have it. And, I just love the story behind the garments too
Jack says the store hopes to offer something for everyone. “It's a mix of vintage designer style, with a twist of streetwear,” he says. “There's stuff like Stone Island ranging back from the 1980s for example. For our Nottingham store and the stock we have there, we’ve worked hard to create a space where everybody can shop. It's not just pieces that are hundreds of pounds. People will find things there that may cost a few hundred pounds, but then there'll be something in there for fifteen quid, so everyone can shop.”
“Often with some of these streetwear shops in London, people don't feel like they can go in them because it's intimidating. Everything's so expensive, they're playing loud music and it can all be a bit much. But, I'm trying to give off the vibe that you can come in, have a look around and take your time. It
doesn't matter what you have on, you'll probably find something you like”
It’s this very ethos which may explain the recent rise in vintage streetwear, with people often turning to vintage boutiques to get their hands on a bargain or a rare piece from years back that no one else has. Some might say, the circular nature of these garments offers a nod to streetwear culture’s original roots, when early adopters didn’t often have money to buy the latest trends, so were fuelled by a craving to stand out from the fray.
Jack resonates with this, explaining that his love for vintage streetwear bargains began back in 2017, when he and his friends used to trawl car boots and vintage shops in Leicester to get their hands on some treasures. However, he believes TikTok has played a big part in people’s love for streetwear pieces
“I think TikTok has obviously played a massive part in terms of fashion and brands. I used to do car boots and there'd be no one there. Now I do car boots and people walk around with cameras on their chests, filming TikToks. I think TikTok has definitely helped in bringing retro fashion to the mainstream.”
“There's just so much in preloved too. Not everybody wants to wear the same things as everybody else. But if you buy something preloved, it has character, and nine times out of ten somebody else isn't going to have it. I love the story behind the garments too. We do markets all over the world, but people often don’t realise how much effort we put into finding these pieces.”
Groovy Garage launched on 29 August. Find it in the menswear section of Urban Outfitters in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre.
Q @groovy.garage
Scouting About
interview: Conall Stacey
Since their formation in 2005, Scouting for Girls have earned a well-deserved place in the English poprock hall of fame, and cemented that status with the release of their latest studio album The Place We Used To Meet in 2023. The trio – Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/vocals, Greg Churchouse on bass guitar and Peter Ellard on drums – combine irresistibly catchy tunes with boundless energy and a knack for crowd interaction, making their live shows particularly memorable.
Ahead of their upcoming gig at The Weekend Festival, we asked the band to share some insights into their music, touring, and dream gigs.
The Place We Used To Meet has been out for a while now. What does this album mean to you?
I've heard many fans say that it’s their favourite album since the first – and I agree. It’s a collection of songs that look nostalgically back to the years we were kids, first fell in love and formed the band. Our best collection of tunes, too.
What’s your favourite track from the album?
Glow is my favourite – probably the best song I've written in a decade. It’s about meeting my wife when we first toured Japan, and not realising how that first kiss would change our lives forever. Every aspect of that song has been a joy. Writing it at home on a grand piano someone had just lent me; recording the song with one of our best friends in the business; filming the video in Tokyo; and now touring it.
Do you feel that in your newer music you’re freer to experiment than at the start of your career?
Ha, I don’t think we’ve ever been accused of experimenting!!! I just try to write the perfect pop song – something that makes people feel good in their soul.
How do you prepare for your live performances?
Nineteen years of practice and twenty minutes of vocal warm ups.
You're playing The Weekend Festival at the end of September. What are your best memories of Nottingham gigs in the past?
Rock City is one of our favourite venues in the entire world. It’s magic. I have no idea what’s its secret ingredient because the floor is sticky, the stage is small and the dressing rooms are tiny… It has to be the people. I get worried when we play there because I start to think that it can't be as good as the last time… and it never is… it’s always better.
Do you prefer playing festivals or your own concerts? What are the pros and cons?
That would be like choosing between my favourite children. We are lucky to do both as then you never get bored of either… or when we do, it’s time to go into the studio and make another record. I do prefer the indoor toilets though.
You're also starting the second leg of your UK tour in September. How are you feeling about it?
Buzzing. This tour has been my favourite we have ever done. We’ve kept the best bits of last year's tour and improved the best. All the big tunes, some fan favourites and some new ones. New setlist and staging too, so if you saw us in 2023 you’ll love ’24 even more!
What's it like being back on a tour bus?
I absolutely love it. It’s like being in a mobile party with your best mates on a submarine – sometimes cramped, sometimes smelly, always fun and liable to go off.
Rock City is one of our favourite venues in the entire world. It’s magic. I have no idea what’s its secret ingredient because the floor is sticky, the stage is small and the dressing rooms are tiny…
Do you get to do tourist stuff in the places you visit?
I live for it! We try to sneak in some sightseeing between sound checks and naps. I’m like a ninja tourist – in and out before anyone notices. I have the photos to prove it, mainly taken to remind myself of everything we’ve done. The guys joke that I have been to every single ‘brown sign’ tourist attraction in England. I probably have.
What's the favourite gig you have played?
Y Not Festival this year was magic. In the heart of the Peak District with the sun setting behind the stage leaving the 20,000 strong crowd bathed in glorious sunset. They sang every word, jumped as one and we even had a mosh pit. It fulfilled every teenage dream I had of being onstage in a band.
If you could do a gig with any band/artist dead or alive, who would it be?
Freddie Mercury – he’s the king of showmanship, and I’d love to see if we could keep up with his legendary energy! It would also give Pete our drummer an excuse to wear some of his best outfits.
Scouting for Girls are set to headline The Weekend Festival on Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment, which takes place on 21/22 September. They share the bill with Toploader, The Rosadocs, Ryan Arnold and The Mease on Saturday, while Sunday sees Dub FX, The Clause and Dirty Blonde on the line-up, among many others. Tickets and further information about The Weekend Festival can found at theweekendfestival.com
@scoutingforgirls
Victory Lap Torch Songs (EP)
Gothic, moody, noir-infused outfit Victory Lap have been making waves in the live music scene this year, with headline gigs, support slots, and festival appearances aplenty — and this was before they even had a presence on streaming services. But now, they have an EP to their name. Torch Songs continues the magic of their live show, with the deep, captivating vocals and strong, powerful guitars perfectly capturing the 1950s-esque atmosphere they craft on stage. While their live show has already garnered a solid fanbase, Torch Songs is guaranteed to extend their reach even further. Gemma Cockrell Cara Flynn Overthinking (Single)
The Hoplites River of Change (Maxi Single)
Beautifully produced by well-known local musician Cameron Worne (Grain Mother, Catmilk), teenage singersongwriter Cara Flynn’s latest release is one soaked in warmth and haze, all lazy acoustic guitars and shimmering harmonies, with a sparkling piano emerging like a welcome friend just when it’s needed. But there’s also a sense of depth here: it’s a song which is mature, introspective and self aware. We find Cara riffing on her anxieties and insecurities, as hinted at by the title — and this reveals an honest power underlying the undoubted beauty. Phil Taylor
I'm not sure if a three-track single becomes an EP or a maxi single but it really doesn't matter when the music is this good. Nottingham's newest contribution to the local ska and reggae scene is here and I'm pleased to announce The Hoplites have arrived in style: a nine-piece band of experienced musicians with a heavy influence of 1960's Ska and 1970's+ Reggae. Tracks River Of Change, Longing For Something and Redemption give you a masterclass in ska and reggae sounds, with powerful bass lines, the rockiest steadiest drum beats, soulful keys and guitar, leaving vocals to deliver the strong messages. Look out also for local singer Chloe Rodgers on Longing For Something Bassey
Wizards Can’t Be Lawyers Paying For A Friend (Single)
After taking a few moments to gather thoughts, this song rushes out of the gates at rapid speed, maintaining a burbling momentum for most of the next four minutes with only a short break to gather breath before a final headlong rush to the finish. Wizards not only have a great name, but a refreshingly eclectic yet down-to-Earth approach to music making. They’re rooted in blues and rock-and-roll, while not being afraid to experiment with progressive elements. That approach is exemplified here, in a song exploring angsty themes of the incessant rush of modern society, capturing that unsettled zeitgeist effectively. Phil Taylor
Beginning with gentle, sweeping piano keys and an ear-catching ringtone sound effect, before a snippet of a phone conversation with a friend transforms into a melodic, soaring trap beat, Cali Green's Waiting... is a beautiful Hip-Hop track, which sees the Confetti rapper's heartfelt and honest lyrics flowing seamlessly and driving the track forward. With an upcoming EP, Made on Player St, on the way, there's no doubt that he will become another successful artist to come out of the popular Nottingham-based music programme, which has produced some of the city's finest talents. Gemma Cockrell
County
Nottingham folk and Americana are a fusion that is gaining some serious attention from the restless locals, and few do it better than Lawrence County. This latest album is an eclectic mix of well-known folk songs but with the LC alt-country approach, ten songs dating from many generations ago and now spiced up with influences that include C&W, bluegrass, blues and roots sounds. My personal favourites on the album are Nottamun Town, Little Pot Stove and Dirty Old Town, but grab a good old physical CD copy of the album or the new fangled download thingy and decide on your own. This is music to sing to and music to drink to! Bassey
If you’re from Nottingham and want to get added to our list of music writers, or get your tunes reviewed, hit us up at music@ leftlion.co.uk
Cali Green Waiting… (Single)
Lawrence
Nottamun Town (Album)
Garum then…
words and photos: Julia Head
Another highly anticipated new spot in Nottingham, Raymond’s, finally opened its doors in August. Our Food CoEditor, Julia Head, took a stroll through Lace Market to check out the buzz and capture the first impressions of this vibrant addition to the local dining scene.
Located in the former Oscar & Rosie’s (RIP) premises on Stoney Street - also the site of our old LeftLion offices - the new neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar has undergone a complete refurbishment introducing a modern and sophisticated ambiance with a masculine edge. Long gone are the days of Oscar & Rosie’s infamous metre-long pizza (and late-night editorial meetings), the space now offers a refined small plates menu with an impressively curated wine list as long as your arm.
We’re thrilled that such an iconic space in Nottingham has been taken over by another local talent within the industry. Opened by Nottingham’s Marcus Lewsley (ex-Mesa in Hockley), Raymond’s is sweetly named in honour of Marcus’ grandfather. Marcus, better known as @Marcus_cooks_ on Instagram, is a self-taught chef who swapped his aviation career for the kitchen after attracting tens of thousands of followers on social media, thanks to his culinary inventions.
He’s joined by Head Chef Richard White, and they have carefully created the menu together. And what a menu it is. You can expect beef tartare on toast with smoked beef fat butter and mustard sauce; crispy fried chicken with garum caramel (more on that below), dressed herbs and lime; courgette flowers stuffed with creamy
ricotta; sweet heritage tomatoes dressed with ricotta and salty anchovy; and one of my many favourite desserts: Basque cheesecake topped with blackberry compote.
The addition of the garum caramel is an interesting one. What is garum? I’m glad you asked. Garum is a fermented fish sauce that was essentially used as the ketchup of the ancient world, mass produced in factories by the Romans, and sprinkled on anything savoury
The menu might be small, but it packs a punch with six standout plates and some tempting specials.
We managed to sample some of the plates at the soft launch, and can confidently give everything two thumbs up, a high five, and a chef’s kiss. The fried chicken, in particular, is a strong contender for the best we’ve had in Notts, and the addition of the garum
caramel is an interesting one. What is garum? I’m glad you asked. Garum is a fermented fish sauce that was essentially used as the ketchup of the ancient world, mass produced in factories by the Romans and sprinkled on anything savoury.
The fall of the Roman empire meant the end of its mass production, but the art of the fish sauce was not lost in Italy and has now become a modern-day secret ingredient in dishes all over the world.
That’s about as deep as our history lessons and random facts go, but one other thing to note is that the prices are more than reasonable too, with the most expensive dish setting you back just £12.50.
Upstairs at Raymond’s is due to open in the autumn with exact plans to be announced, but there is talk of more small plates and also adding steaks and skewers to the menu. Raymond’s is set to be a popular spot; 150 covers were booked within half an hour of reservations going live, so our advice? Don’t wait around to book your table.
Find them at 8 Stoney St, Nottingham, NG1 1LP raymondsnottingham.co.uk
Cult Classic
interview: Sophie Gargett photos: Adam Pickering
There’s nothing quite like a vintage movie experience, and Nottingham is lucky to have an original Art deco cinema in Derby Road’s Savoy Cinema . Built in the 30s, the building still contains many original features to admire, and now after a recent refurb to bring deluxe seating in three screen rooms, there’s even more reason to visit. We went down to chat to General Manager Paul Scotton to get some insider info on the Savoy’s 89 year history…
Compared to modern multiplex cinemas, what’s it like working in such a historic cinema?
The building has a lot of character and there’s a lot of history to the cinema, there’s generations of customers that come and tell us lovely stories about how they used to visit when they were children and now they’re bringing their child or grandchild.
The owner, James Collington, is so passionate about the cinema’s industry, he's made so many brilliant changes since he took over in mid 90s and it’s helped keep Savoy thriving. When he was a teenager, he’d help out around the cinema when the old manager Alan Silvers was running the Savoy, so there’s a nice connection there.
The building has been open since 1935 when cinema was just settling into talkies and technicolour and cinema-going was a novel event. What glimmers of the past can people still see in the building?
Over the 89 years there’s obviously been a lot of refurbishments to keep the cinema up to date for modern audiences, but it still keeps that nostalgic feel. The layout of the entrance foyer has always stayed the same, with the counter in front as you enter and the stairs to the main screen to the left. It means that when people visit the cinema it is still similar to how it was when they came years ago. We have some great photos around the cinema of how it used to look from the 40s-60s, so customers can see how it’s changed but also which details are the same.
In 1960, the cinema was used for filming scenes for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Do you know how this came to be? Has the building changed much since?
A lot of the film was shot around Lenton, so I imagine they reached out to the cinema to use it as a filming location and they would have been eager to oblige. The scene set in the cinema where they walk down to the foyer has made the staircase iconic, and they still look the same today so we sometimes get people coming in and asking if they can have a quick photo on them.
A lot of people have passed through the Savoy’s doors over the years, what stories do people tell you about the role the cinema’s played in their lives
A lot of lovely memories have been made by customers over the years and it's always fascinating to hear the stories from older customers about how it was when they were children visiting in the 60s and 70s. People reminisce about seeing their first blockbuster here like Jaws and Star Wars. We get a lot of people mentioning our double seats and remembering bringing their dates here as well. We’ve even had people telling us how they’d get into trouble when trying to date multiple girls, and bump into them at the cinema when on another date! The double seats definitely made Savoy the destination for cinema dates.
Other than standard movie-going, what else goes on at the cinema?
Children’s parties where they have a private screening of a new film are very popular here, and like a lot of cinemas, we do live streamed operas, ballets, shows, and concerts, but we also do some brilliant classic one-night specials every month that feel unique because of Savoy having that vintage quality to it. Our customers love seeing the curtains open to reveal the screen, and there’s a great feeling knowing that no matter how old the film is, it would have been shown on that same screen when it first came out. We’ve also introduced 35mm screenings which really
take customers back to how the movies looked when they were first released. It’s a great experience seeing them on film.
You show a lot of music documentaries and films - from last year’s screening of 1979’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars to the upcoming release of Kneecap which is about the rise of the Belfast-based hip-hop trio. Who chooses what’s on the bill for this type of film?
It can be a mix between distributors reaching out to us and us reaching out to them. We love showing a wide range of content and try to put on as many different screenings as possible. Seeing these special events on a cinema screen with fellow fans is always a great atmosphere.
A lot of lovely memories have been made by customers over the years and it's always fascinating to hear the stories from older customers about how it was when they were children visiting in the 60s and 70s
You recently had a Spider-Man mural painted on the side of the building, how did that come about?
Helen Vesey from our head office was always eager for us to improve the side of the building. She felt it would really brighten up the area next to the cinema and make it more of a landmark in Nottingham. The main difficulty was deciding what to have painted on the side of the cinema. Lots of ideas were considered and different designs put together but in the end we decided it was best to go with one character that was iconic but also timeless and that’s how we settled on Spider-Man.
Do you find changing customer demographics affects what the cinema does? When students move back into the Lenton Triangle, does that come into consideration?
Yeah, there’s definitely a massive change in the Lenton area when the students disappear over the summer, it feels a lot quieter but it’s been like that for a long time now so we expect it during this period. It balances out to a degree as obviously there’s a lot more families during the school holidays when the students are away. We show more children’s films then and program some films that will connect with students more when they are here.
Is there anything else you’d like to shout about?
We still pride ourselves at being the best value cinema in Nottingham and feel we offer a really friendly and unique cinema experience that balances the age of the cinema with all the modern amenities like comfortable seating, state of the art laser projection and, of course, Tango Ice Blasts!
Savoy in the 40s: Nottingham City Council
In sickness, health… and training
Sometimes a little teamwork is imperative for getting motivated to exercise. Husband and wife, Dennis and Victoria, created We Run Notts as a platform to share their running journeys and encourage their followers to do the same. Since beginning in May 2023, the two have shared the highs, lows, and in-between bits of running recreationally, along with creating the A-Z of running in Notts.
Nottingham-born Dennis and university alumni Victoria met during their time working together at Boots Head Office. Since then, they’ve married and created We Run Notts, a joint social media page dedicated to running. For Victoria, We Run Notts is a platform to “share how we learn through our difficulties and work as a team, even when running is hard, injuries frustrate us, and progress feels slow.”
After only dabbling in running occasionally, Victoria was inspired to try Couch To 5k again a couple of years ago, and then began to wonder what other running challenges she could take on. “I’d heard about the London Marathon and, despite not really knowing what getting a place would entail, I entered into the 2023 ballot.” Sure enough, Victoria received a ballot place and has been running consistently ever since. With the support of Dennis, who has been an active runner for the past seven years, she completed the marathon and more since.
Over the years, Dennis found a love for trail running and longer distances, including the Edinburgh Marathon and Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge with friends. Beyond the desire to test his limits, his passion is fuelled by helping other people achieve their goals. This feeds into the We Run Notts partnership, as the two spend plenty of quality time running together, having great chats –and, of course, winding each other up occasionally.
From the outside it can feel that running meet-ups, social runs and running clubs aren’t a place for you. There are so many to choose from in Nottingham and joining one can definitely feel a little daunting. But, the ones we’ve been to have been really welcoming
For Victoria and Dennis, a bonus of training in a team is that they are each other’s biggest cheerleaders, often supporting from the sidelines during events and throughout training. “We cheer each other along as we pursue our goals, but also tell each other what we might not want to hear, like ‘do your stretches!’” Dennis explains. The two encourage each other to go for it in every sense, no matter the challenge, both inside and outside of running. It’s part of what encouraged them to apply for the Asics FrontRunner UK & Ireland team, and since successfully being selected they’ve joined a passionate and encouraging team of committed runners.
For their followers, We Run Notts crucially champions the racial diversity of the running community. “Nottingham is such a diverse city but the running community doesn’t always reflect this, nor do the starting lines at running events. We often ask ourselves what we can do to change this, but we don’t know what we can do for sure just yet.” The pair have found ‘participative
representation’ to play a key role – showing up, participating, and encouraging others, particularly those who may feel the same, to do so too.
“Nottingham is a friendly city and the running community often is too,” explains Dennis. “However, from the outside it can feel that running meet-ups, social runs and running clubs aren’t a place for you. There are so many to choose from in Nottingham and joining one can definitely feel a little daunting. But, the ones we’ve been to have been really welcoming.”
If you were to look on Instagram, you’d find that We Run Notts has a particular highlight – running the A-Z of Nottingham spots. That’s right, they’ve run across 26 Nottingham locations, in alphabetical order, recently completing their A-Z. After realising that they were running the same routes out of habit and not exploring all of the locations Nottingham has to offer, they set themselves the challenge of running at a different location each week. They started with Attenborough Nature Reserve in January and finished at south Nottinghamshire hamlet Zouch this July, completing this half-a-year challenge with many highlights along the way.
One particular highlight included C week, where they explored Clifton Woods Nature Reserve. This hidden gem offered quiet trails and woodlands – a trail runner's dream. On E week, they headed to Erewash Valley Trail and bumped into a fellow runner who led them to discover Bennerley Viaduct – another first location for the pair.
With the first We Run Notts meet-up during the U week of their A-Z, Victoria and Dennis played a crucial part in enriching the local running community. Fellow Nottingham runners joined them at University Park to explore the location, with a mix of paces to accommodate all runners. After this great experience, the two intend to hold another meet-up soon, so keep an eye on their Instagram page if you’re interested.
It’s the connection with other Nottingham runners that has been one of the biggest highlights of the We Run Notts journey so far. “We love that the running community celebrates and encourages others, whether that be someone taking part in their first Parkrun, conquering a new distance or getting a personal best,” Victoria explains.
Now that the two have a taste for exploring all that Notts has to offer, they look to explore more of the surrounding areas and find more hidden running gems. This will be great prep for their next challenge of the Robin Hood Half Marathon in September, so if you see them at the starting line or even just out and about, be sure to say hi.
Follow Victoria and Dennis’ journey on instagram @werunnotts
words: Emily Bicknell
photos: Pete Stables and Simon Roberts
Reasons to be
The news is normally negative, but here are some nice things that have been happening in Notts in the last month.
We’re poets and we know it
Up near Nottingham Central Library, the Nottingham Poetry Festival facilitated the creation of the city’s longest street poem. On Saturday 17 August, 700 people participated in this most wholesome of record-breaking-attempts, each wordsmith adding three lines and ten words, with a theme of Nottingham’s ‘rebellious spirit’ emerging from the piece. If you’re passing by the library, to or from your way to work, check out the poem for a daily mood boost!
Pans and parades
On Sunday 18 August, Nottingham’s yearly carnival was a roaring success, attracting visitors from as far as Trinidad and Bolivia. Not only was the festival celebrating 25 years since it was first re-established in 1999, but this year organisers drew attention to the lesser known fact that the UK’s first carnival celebrations took place in Nottingham, back in 1956, not Notting Hill London.
The weight of the world
As the 2024 Paris Olympics drew to a close, the final medal for Team GB was earned by none other than Bulwell-born weightlifter Emily Campbell. Already the first British woman to have won an olympic weightlifting medal back during Tokyo 2020, the 30 year old won bronze in the women’s 81kg this year, after setting a new personal best of 288 kg. Go Emily!
words: Caradoc Gayer photo: Denis Malachov
Toliet Humour
Something made you laugh in the lavs? Send your funniest quips to editorial@leftlion.co.uk
Can you guess the answer to this Notts themed riddle?
My first is a cross
And the question that follows
The next is cut short
Or full of sorrows
In part I can call
Or whole play a song
But you won’t have heard me
In so very long
My last is a fellow
Familiar in town
Call me straight-talking
A Notts chap of renown
TRUTH OR LEGEND?
THE CASE OF THE The Wise Men of Gotham
It’s September, so I’m sure that many people reading will be back at work or uni, perhaps after a trip away to a far off place. If so, visiting the Nottinghamshire countryside on days off always comes recommended; as it’s sometimes said, a trip away from the city can feel like you’ve stepped into another world for a while.
According to a mediaeval legend about the Nottinghamshire village of Gotham (twenty minutes south of Beeston) this was quite literally the experience of messengers sent by King John sometime in the 13th century. Historical accounts differ as to why King John was intending to visit Gotham: one goes that he would be establishing a public road through the village, another goes that he wanted to build a hunting lodge there.
The Gotham villagers didn’t fancy giving up their land, or consequently having their taxes raised, so in a stroke of genius decided to deter the king’s officials through a less-thanconventional method: by feigning madness. While the King’s men were visiting to scout out the area, they were seen participating in numerous unhinged activities such as trying to drown an eel in a pond. The village blacksmith, meanwhile, burned his whole smithy to the ground to get rid of a wasp's nest, while a farmer rode by carrying two bushels of wheat, saying that they were too heavy for his horse to carry. At the time madness was seen as contagious. The officials therefore returned to the king and told him that he’d best stay far away from Gotham
Broadly, the story is part of a folktale genre called the Blason Populaire which invokes negative stereotypes about a particular group; in this case, countryside ‘fools’, or peasants. Back in the 1930s, this tradition famously influenced America, when writer Washington Irving wrote a satirical piece about New York, stating everyone who lived there was crazy, he nicked the Notts’ village title and called the city ‘Gotham’. This in turn inspired writer Bill Finger to make ‘Gotham’ the setting of the Batman comics in 1939. The implications thereafter were that the word evoked a trickster-y, surreal kind of atmosphere which befitted Batman, as a story.
Did you solve last month’s riddle? The answer was… The Wise Men of Gotham, who you can read more about in the next column!
But going back to that humble Nottinghamshire village, south of Beeston, its story seems to say something about places ‘other’, ‘outside-of’ or ‘apart-from’ the city. These places, whether or not they’re in the countryside, might upset or change our conceptions about daily life and what matters to us. Whether or not you’re trying to drown an eel in a pond, taking a step away from the humdrum mundanity of daily work and admin and visiting somewhere new or unusual, or just going a little crazy for a while, whatever that means to you, could do us all some inexpressible good sometimes.
words: Caradoc Gayer illustration: Arthur Rackham
best oF tHe montH
Dear Evan Hansen
When: Mon 9 - Sat 28 Sept
Where: Nottingham Playhouse
How much: From £9.50
The Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen will premiere its 2024 tour at the Nottingham Playhouse. Telling the story of an anxious high school boy, the production features some of the biggest musical theatre numbers of the last decade, with this year’s tour being the first to feature an ensemble. The premiere is set to be a huge date in Nottingham’s theatrical calendar; one that’s not to be missed.
Circus of Life
When: Fri 27 Sept - Sat 19 Oct
Where: Surface Gallery
How much: Free
Feeling like a quick trip into the subconscious this autumn?
Visit Circus of Life, a surrealist exhibition presenting the work of six local artists. The opening night will feature circus performers, live music and DJ sets. The exhibition itself will spotlight the art styles of six different artists, from the surrealist collage of Max Speed to the absurdism of D.A Orli: the mind behind this month’s cover. If you’re looking to absorb some playful and dreamlike visuals then Circus of Life is an unquestioned must-see.
National Theatre Live: Prima Facie
When: Thurs 12 - Thurs 19 Sept
Where: Various cinemas How much: Various prices
Prima Facie, a one-woman play starring Jodie Comer, is back on national stages and screens after its sold out run in 2022, at London’s West End. Screening in Notts at Broadway, The Savoy, The Bonington Theatre and others, the play follows a barrister named Tessa who builds her career from a working class upbringing. Visit a screening for some top notch, DIY theatre beamed straight from London’s South Bank.
Eyre Llew
When: Sat 14 Sept
Where: Bodega
How much: £12.10
Local act Eyre Llew are set to headline the Bodega for a pivotal show in their journey as a band. Known for their dextrous and ethereal sound, the ambient-rock four-piece will be playing songs from their upcoming, second fulllength record, showcasing their prowess as seasoned performers that have toured internationally since 2017. Check out the show to see a beloved local group at the height of their prowess!
The Weekend Festival
When: Sat 21 - Sun 22 Sept
Where: Victoria Embankment How much: £33.28
Charity festival The Weekend will return with a diverse lineup including Scouting for Girls, Sammy Porter, and Dub FX plus rock, reggae, electronic, and blues acts. This year, the festival has partnered with Reach, a Nottingham based charity which supports people with learning disabilities to enjoy a better quality of life. Alongside its support of charity causes, The Weekend partners with different local community groups, so check it out and be part of the good work that they do!
Sanctum Sanctorium
When: Fri 20 Sept
Where: Metronome
How much: £16.50
80s throwback act Sanctum Sanctorium will perform their show Dark Side of the 80s at the Metronome. Formed out of a mutual love of 80s goth and alt rock, the five piece have become known for really going-all-in, covering artists from across the decade, including The Cult, The Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus, while visually, their performance should welland-truly take you back thirty years, from their outfits to their onstage attitude.
Inspire Poetry Festival
When: Thurs 26 Sept - Thurs 3 Oct
Where: Various Libraries How much: Free - £10
Inspire Poetry Festival will return to Nottingham this month for a lively week of performance, workshops, exhibitions and film screenings. Whether you’re an ardent wordsmith or a passing poem fan, you’ll almost certainly find something to love at the festival which will celebrate all kinds of poetry and literature in Nottingham, from formal lyrics to freestyle spoken word. Programmes for the week’s events can be found at local libraries across the city.
Goose Fair
When: Fri 27 Sept - Sun 6 Oct
Where: Forest Recreation Ground
How much: Free entry
One of Europe’s largest travelling funfairs, Nottingham’s own Goose Fair will return to the Forest Recreation Ground later this month. With over 250 rides and attractions for all ages taking place across nearly twenty acres, this highlight of Nottingham’s autumn calendar is still not to be missed, whether you’re younger or older, student, professional or parent, and certainly if you’re looking to add a splash of colour to your week, as the days get darker.
