London in Stereo // Thundercat

CHLOE FOY

LEVELLE LONDON

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London 04 | 03 | 20

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Pin Ups

Omeara

Omeara

RIFF RAFF

FEE GONZALES

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London 05 | 03 | 20

London 25 | 03 | 20

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Paper Dress Vintage

Camden Assembly

Camden Assembly

THE HOLD STEADY

FREYA BEER

DREAM NAILS

London T 06 | 03 | 20 - 07 03OU | 20 SO|LD

London 26 | 03 | 20

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Electric Ballroom

Paper Dress Vintage

Oslo

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London T 08 | 03OU | 20 SOLD

London 27 | 03 | 20

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GZA LIQUID SWORDS LIVE

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London 09 | 03 | 20

THE FAMILY RAIN The Lexington London 10 | 03 | 20

KID KAPICHI Moth Club London 11 | 03 | 20

THE CAT EMPIRE 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Roundhouse

The Lexington

Moth Club

Brixton Electric

London 12 | 05 | 20

SEASICK STEVE

THE HANDSOME FAMILY

London 04 | 04 | 20

London 17 | 05 | 20

London 27 | 03 | 20

Roundhouse

EarTH

KATY J PEARSON

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London 06 | 04 | 20

London 21 | 05 | 20

Sebright Arms

Electric Ballroom

BROKEN WITT REBELS

JOHN BUTLER

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London 07 | 04 | 20

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London T - 19 | 03 T 18 03OU | 20 | 20 SO|LD SOLD OU

BARENAKED LADIES

PATTI SMITH

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London T 11SO | 04 | 20 LD OU

London 02 | 11 | 20 - 03 | 11 | 20

London 20 | 03 | 20

808INK

London 12 | 03 | 20 - 13 | 03 | 20

Palladium

DANNY WORSNOP Boston Music Room

02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

100 Club

Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

Village Underground London 13 | 04 | 20

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Spring highlights Sat 29 Feb Efterklang

Wed 15 Apr Lankum

Fri 6 Mar Kelly Moran & Missy Mazzoli

8 – 10 May Shabaka Hutchings: Propaganda featuring Sons of Kemet, Shabaka and the Ancestors, Maâlem Houssam Guinia + more

Fri 6 Mar Patrick Watson

Lankum © Ellius Grace

Tue 24 Mar The Lark Ascending: People, Music, Landscape featuring Vashti Bunyan, Andrew Weatherall, Deep Throat Choir + more

25 O SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE GRACE CARTER MARCH 25 OMEARA GRIFF MARCH 21 COLOURS BLANKS APRIL 6 HOXTON HALL JOESEF MAY 7 ELECTRIC BALLROOM KAWALA MAY 12 LAFAYETTE BAD SOUNDS MAY 12 SCALA CHELSEA CUTLER MAY 12 HEAVEN L DEVINE MAY 21 ELECTRIC BRIXTON RINA SAWAYAMA MAY 3 O ACADEMY BRIXTON BECKY HILL DECEMBER 2

2

welcome “Most things are terrible!

And sometimes the terrible shit is really funny!”

Thundercat cover story Page 26 DUA LIPA

I love it when we have acts that look just so ridiculously great on the cover, it really does make our job a million times easier. Obviously I'm referencing the ever-brilliant, ever eye-catching Thundercat here, as he bares his brilliant teeth on the front of our magazine. His new album’s a treat and we have the (equally?) brilliant Robin Murray catching up with him.

March is a seriously strong month for releases (and apparently the true start of the almost year round festival schedule) and we've got Zebra Katz, Waxahatchee and the lovely Sorry chatting about their new releases, loves and lives, while our roundtable discuss the new Half Waif record.

Alongside some truly excellent events (Jessie Ware x Yard Sale Pizza collab anyone?) and all the shows you could ever need.

Have a great month and let the chaos energy of 2020 bring you great things.

STAFF ON REPEAT

the music we can’t stop listening to this month Jess: Dua Lipa - Physical Dave: Jessy Lanza - Lick In Heaven Loki: Half Waif - Ordinary Talk Danny: I Break Horses - Death Engine Gemma: Against All Logic - If You Can't Do It Good, Do It Hard Kezia: Sevdaliza - Oh My God Katie: Om Unit - Vertigo Jack: Waxahatchee - Fire LiS: 07

contents INTERVIEWS 20

REVIEWS

WAXAHATCHEE

26

46

WHAT’S ON

THUNDERCAT

36

16

ZEBRA KATZ 40

56

SORRY

59

FEATURES 12 80

ALBUM RELEASES

EVENTS

GIGS OF THE MONTH

FULL MARCH LISTINGS Thundercat cover story: page 26

NEW SOUNDS

TALES FROM THE CITY 82 85

IN LONDON

THOUGHTS...

Editor: Jess Partridge jess@instereomag.com

Deputy Editor: Dave Rowlinson dave@instereomag.com

Online Editor: Kezia Cochrane kezia@instereomag.com

Festival/Clubs Editor: Katie Thomas katie@instereomag.com

Sub-Editor: Loki Lillistone loki@instereomag.com

New Sounds Editor: Gemma Samways

Staff Writers: Danny Wright, Jack Urwin

Advertising: sales@londoninstereo.co.uk

Photography: Thundercat cover story: the1point8 (the1point8.com) Zebra Katz interview: Larissa Matheus Contributors: Geoff Cowart, Georgia Evans, Rachel Finn, Kazim Gangadin, Thomas Hannan, Jon Kean, Charlotte Krol, Georgia Marsh, Nick Mee, Robin Murray, Harriet Taylor, Lee Wakefield, Henry Wilkinson, Madeline Wrench. londoninstereo.com

@londoninstereo

LiS: 09

FRANC MOODY

YAEGER

WIKI

HANDS OFF GRETEL

O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE

TUE 10 MARCH

MON 10 MARCH SEPTEMBER WED 11

THU 12 MARCH

GHETTS + CHE LINGO

JAMZ SUPERNOVA, CHILDREN OF ZEUS (DJ SET), JGRREY, BARNEY ARTIST, FEMI KOLEOSO (DJ SET)

CIGARETTES AFTER SEX

KLANGSTOF

THU 14 MARCH

TUE 24 MARCH

THU 26 MARCH

KRANIUM

THE JOE KAY EXPERIENCE

DONAE’O

SAT 28 MARCH

SAT 28 MARCH

WED 01 APRIL

VC PINES

BANG BANG ROMEO

THU 05 MARCH

SAT 14 MARCH

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

LITTLE DRAGON + SIR WAS THU 26 MARCH

VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

YAEL NAIM

THE WAITING ROOM

OMERA

OUT LD27 SO FRI MARCH

LAFAYETTE

OMEARA OMERA

EVENTIM APOLLO

THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

COLOURS

A SPECIAL 4 HOUR SET

ELECTRIC BRIXTON

VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

GEKO

+ CHUNKZ X YUNG FILLY + JJ ESKO

FRI 10 MARCH

WED 01 APRIL

THU 02 APRIL

FRI 10 APRIL

BUSH HALL

O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE

LOU PHELPS

CHLOE BODUR

JAMES SMITH

WILLIE J HEALEY

WED 15 APRIL

THU 16 APRIL

TUE 21 APRIL

TUE 21 APRIL

HOXTON HALL

COLOURS

OMEARA

THE PICKLE FACTORY

SCALA

+ WUNDERHORSE

LAFAYETTE

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TU E 24 TH M A R AL L W E ARE W E D 25 TH M A R N OTD TH U 26 TH M A R KL AN G STOF W E D 1 ST A PR PORRI D G E R AD I O

A N E W T E C H N I CO LO U R M U LT I - A R T S B A R & C LU B

U P COM I N G H I G H LI G H TS

mu sic

TU E 3 RD MA R MI SSI O W ED 4 TH M A R TAY L A PA R X TH U 5 TH MA R TH E VI SI ON FRI 6 TH MA R MERKU L ES

TU E 10 TH M A R BA BY ROSE FRI 13 TH M A R J-F EL I X

TU E 17 TH M A R G EMI NI A A L I YAH W ED 1 8 TH M A R K A DEEM T YRE L L

TH U 2 N D A PR PARI S YOUTH FOU N DATI ON F RI 3 RD A PR CHINCHILLA TU E 7 TH A PR TI N YM AN W E D 8 TH A PR SI AM ES W E D 15 TH A PR LOU PH E L PS F RI 17 TH A PR L ATI R TU E 21 ST A PR B L AN K S W E D 22 ND A PR B E G OOD TH U 23 RD A PR N OVA T W I N S SAT 25 TH A PR M AD I SON M C F E RRIN TU E 2 8 TH A PR TA’SH AN TH U 30 TH A PR AL FI E N E AL E

SAT 21 ST M A R CLO CK O PE R A

C O L O U R S H OX TO N C O LO U R S H OX TO N . C O M

2 - 4 H OX T O N S Q U A R E H AC K N E Y, LO N D O N N 1 6 N U

JOCKSTRAP photo: Maxwell Granger

TOP TEN:

New Sounds

FLO MILLI photo: Munachi Osegbu

Powfu - Death Bed (feat Beabadoobee) Jay1 - Flex Raissa - Valentine Victoria Monét - Moment Bekah CC - No Change Hare Squead - Minor Gangsters (Gully) Alice Longyu Gao - Rich Bitch Juice Planet 1999 - Party Ciel - The Shore Flo Milli - My Attitude

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new sounds Jockstrap by Gemma Samways LISTEN TO: Acid

How do you define the indefinable?

That’s both the difficulty with describing and utter joy of simply discovering Jockstrap, the Dean Blunt and Björk-approved duo comprised of Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye.

Having come together in 2017 while attending London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama - where they’re still studying jazz and electronic composition respectively - Ellery and Skye are already responsible for a slew of wonderfully warped compositions that draw on their individual strengths.

As sometime violinist with Goat Girl and Black Country, New Road, Ellery oversees the lush arrangements and contributes dewy vocals, while Skye leads on fantastically off-kilter

@jockstrapmusic1

production. So far, the results have never been anything less than riveting.

Take their 2018 EP, Love Is The Key To The City. One moment they’re making the sort of barbed bossanova that belongs in a Chris Morris film (‘I Want Another Affair’), the next they’re abruptly slicing through symphonic strings with Pong-style synth arpeggios and pitch-shifted vocals that demand “Fuck me!” (‘Joy’).

Now signed to Warp, their first single for the label is ‘Acid’, a suitably lysergic waltz driven by shivering Disney strings, staccato keys and coruscating electronics. To the surprise of precisely nobody, it’s as brilliant as it is utterly unclassifiable.

Drug Store Romeos

by Jess Partridge

LISTEN TO: Frame Of Reference @DrugStoreRomeos

DRUG STORE ROMEOS photo: Melanie Hyams

Hampshire's Drug Store Romeos might only be on their second release but with an innate sensibility for a gentle hook and beautifully sunny lo-fi sound, they're the band we need to drag us into the Spring. There's something that stands out about their carefully compiled tracks, the dreamy vocal mixed with drum machine beats gives everything a blissed out tone that settles under your skin. Having toured with the likes of HMLTD, and already booking shows at major festivals there is undoubtedly so much more to come from such a truly entertaining live act. Get down to one of the shows for a sneak preview. You won't regret it.

LiS : 13

CLUBNIGHT SUN 1 MARCH

NADA SURF THU 12 MARCH

JAKE ISAAC WED 15 APRIL

FARR WED 4 MARCH

LOUIS DUNFORD MON 16 / TUE 17 / WED 18 MARCH

LILLA VARGEN WED 15 APRIL

HIGHLY SUSPECT WED 18 MARCH

OUTLYA FRI 17 APRIL

NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB

THE LEXINGTON

JACK VALLIER WED 4 MARCH THE WAITING ROOM

THE STAVES WED 4 MARCH THE DOME

MICHAEL KIWANUKA THU 5 MARCH O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON

PATRICK WATSON FRI 6 MARCH BARBICAN

ELECTRIC BALLROOM

SLAUGHTERED LAMB

ELECTRIC BALLROOM

SEAFRET WED 18 MARCH LAFAYETTE

DAN CROLL THU 19 MARCH COURTYARD THEATRE

JADE BIRD THU 19 MARCH

O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

CHOIR! CHOIR! FINK FRI 20 MARCH LAFAYETTE CHOIR! MON 9 MARCH OMEARA ZIGGY ALBERTS SAT 21 MARCH ROUNDHOUSE JACK GARRATT MON 9 & TUE 10 MARCH EARTH

LYR TUE 10 MARCH

HOXTON HALL

AARON SMITH WED 11 MARCH THE WAITING ROOM

MOSA WILD WED 11 MARCH SCALA

HALF MOON RUN THU 12 MARCH ROUNDHOUSE

SCARYPOOLPARTY TUE 24 MARCH SCALA

SAM FENDER THU 26 & FRI 27 MARCH ALEXANDRA PALACE

MARTHAGUNN THU 2 APRIL COURTYARD THEATRE

KOKO TUE 7 APRIL

CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

JUNODREAM WED 8 APRIL MOTH CLUB

BUSH HALL

OMEARA

OMEARA

OTHER LIVES MON 20 APRIL LAFAYETTE

IDA MAE WED 22 APRIL BUSH HALL

LEIF VOLLEBEKK MON 27 & TUE 28 APRIL BUSH HALL

TORA SAT 2 MAY LAFAYETTE

HOLLOW COVES WED 6 MAY LAFAYETTE

RICHARD FAIRLIE MON 11 MAY

CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

BALCONY WED 20 MAY OMEARA

BEARCUBS WED 4 NOVEMBER LAFAYETTE

MICHAEL KIWANUKA FRI 27 NOVEMBER ALEXANDRA PALACE

events AVA Festival - London It feels like AVA is already a mainstay of the London event calendar, even though it's only in its third year.

The London offshoot of the popular Belfast event is bigger than ever this year, kicking things off on the Friday with a day of vibrant discussions and panels featuring some major players with Ninja Tune, Resident Advisor, Sonar and more all there to discuss the inner workings of the music industry. Things really get going on Saturday though, where you can return to Printworks for a truly stellar line-up of dance faves, Orbital headline but the likes of Joy Orbison, Ross From Friends, Overmono and Peach heat things up.

March 13th-14th . Printworks . avafestival.com Conference: Free. Saturday club: ÂŁ30adv+

WOW – Women of the World This year we're celebrating a whole decade of Women of the World Festival, as it returns this March with a whole host of events, discussions, performances and WOW Marketplace - an indoor market with stalls raising awareness, offering workshops and selling unique items made by women-led businesses. With celebration of women at its heart, it's an examination of worldwide equality and its packed programme provides incredible opportunities to see world class speakers and performers.

MARCH 6th-8th . Southbank Centre . southbankcentre.co.uk

photo: Joseph Okpako

Yard Sale Pizza x Jessie Ware Jessie Ware: creator of quintessential bops such as ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’. Yard Sale Pizza: creator of some of the best pizza London has ever seen. Together at last! Actually it turns out this collab’ is not that surprising. While we’ve been patiently waiting for a new record it turns out Jessie and her mum have been hosting the podcast Table Manners and have a cookbook coming out March 5th! Which is great, of course, but we’re here for the pizza, so what’s on top of Yard Sale’s beautiful base? Dubbed the ‘Friday Night Full House’, this Jewish comfort food-inspired wonder boasts thinly sliced beef brisket, cola braised onions, smashed potato latkes and fresh dill pickles. Latkes on a pizza? We truly love to see it. Plus with £1 from every pizza sold going to Nightingale Hammerson, you’ll literally be making the world a better place by eating it. Whether we’re in Yard Sale’s new Hackney Road digs, or ordering in at the Chesham Arms, we’re gonna be celebrating this coming together of our worlds a lot this month.

AVAILABLE IN ALL YARD SALE RESTAURANTS March 3rd - April 5th . yardsalepizza.com

. @YardSalePizza

Spilt Milk We've teamed up with our pals from Spilt Milk for a whole day celebrating International Women's Day at one of our favourite venues: The Shacklewell Arms. Not only is there a killer line-up of womxn-led bands but the venue will be packed with all kinds of fun - Hate Zine take over for workshops and panels, and our long term collaborators This Must Be For You are there to make your day with their thoughtful gifts. Come down for the bands and stay for an joyful and inclusive day that'll leave you inspired.

MARCH 7th . Shacklewell Arms . FREE . shacklewellarms.com

Rebecca Solnit in conversation with Mary Beard Two of the greatest minds in literature in conversation? What an absolute treat. Rebecca Solnit is one of the finest writers around, whether her focus is turned to her home state of California, solitude, the environment or feminism. Mary Beard is a scholar, classicist and fiercely wise woman.

Both have recently published works which dovetail perfectly on the subject of being a woman.

Solnit’s latest, Recollections of My Non-Existence, is a memoir touching on her place in the world and rejecting the rules of the patriarchy, while Beard goes further back to ancient Greece and Rome, fighting misogyny from its birth to the modern day. This is sure to be a fascinating and inspirational discussion on feminism, history and literature from two incredible women.

APRIL 1st . Tickets: £20 . Emmanuel Centre, SW1P . londonreviewbookshop.co.uk

LiS : 17

Academy Events present ACADEMY EVENTS & GRAND HOTEL VAN CLEEF PRESENTS

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MONDAY 6th APRIL T U DO ELECTRIC SOL BALLROOM LONDON An ACADEMY EVENTS & DMP presentation by arrangement with ITB

ACADEMY EVENTS & METROPOLIS MUSIC BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS

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NICK CORBIN WITH HIS BAND

O2 Forum Kentish Town London

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UT LD O May WedSO13th Thu 14th May

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interview

waxahatchee. words: Danny Wright photography: Molly Matalon

E

“

very record of mine is reflective of a period of my life,” explains Katie Crutchfield. “This is exactly what was going on, this is where I lived, who I was dating. I can look back and think ‘That was a perfect snapshot of what was happening’.”

Saint Cloud then, the fifth album she’s made as Waxahatchee, is a snapshot of the last few years. It’s been a period of transformation, a time of struggle that saw her looking back to her roots for answers.

Announcing the album she revealed she’d been ‘burning the candle from both ends… and slowly but surely I’ve been working to get closer to myself again’. That meant getting sober and also taking time to make the album. Song titles like ‘War’ and ‘Hell’ (the former’s chorus goes “I’m in a war with myself”) reveal she’s been through a lot.

Does she feel she’s changed as a person?

“Yeah,” she pauses briefly, before a defiant.

“Oh yeah.” “A close friend said right when you first get sober you won’t recognise yourself. I remember thinking ‘I don’t know about that’ but it’s true. It turned my whole life upside down in a really positive way - it forced me to do some work on myself.”

That work reveals itself in a beautiful, introspective record that is an intimate journey through places and feelings - and signalled a change in approach from 2017’s Out in the Storm. “My early records pointed the finger inward but that was the exact opposite - it was very angry at something external. The sound of the album reflected that too - very loud and raw. But as soon as I started playing it live I knew the next thing I did had to be different.”

Work began on the record, but slowly. “I was newly sober and had all this creative energy but I couldn’t get into it.” That was until she started working with the band Bonny Doon.

It was, she says, 'a magical experience’.

Working with them allowed the sound she had in her mind to bloom. The record, then, seems to be about openness and acceptance: both of herself and the music she was making.

“With this record I leaned back into what’s most natural for me...”

LiS: 21

interview In response to the rock of Out In The Storm, Saint Cloud is wonderfully stripped-back country and Americana. You could call it a ‘new’ style but really it was her returning to “these old influences that I grew up with.

When I was younger, I was into punk and underground stuff. I was really fighting my natural tendencies to lean into a more traditional sounding voice and that conflict created something really cool. But with this record I leaned back into what’s most natural for me and there’s an ease to it that’s absent in my other records.”

Despite the comfort in the songwriting, lyrically the album is unflinching in its self-examination. Yet even this made it simpler. “Weirdly they’re the easiest type of song to write for me. When you’re writing about another person there's a lot of internal dialogue that’s sort of questioning yourself like, ‘Maybe I'm wrong about them?’. But when you’re questioning yourself it’s easier to pick things apart.”

Amidst the record’s stories of internal struggle, the album’s sparkling centrepiece is ‘Fire’, a love song to herself about self-acceptance. Not that, it turns out, she’s quite ready to accept herself just yet. “Even though I wrote it as a statement of self-acceptance it doesn’t mean I accept myself,” she laughs, wryly. “It's more a reminder of what I need to do.”

‘Fire’ captures something beautiful and rare, something which is reflected in its performance: “In the past I’ve recorded my vocals line by line, obsessing over each one.

With ‘Fire’ I was really psyching myself up telling myself ‘This is a BIG vocal moment for me’ but when we listened back it just wasn’t right. So I went back in, told myself to chill and did it in one take and that’s what you hear on the record.”

It’s an apt mirroring of the way this album captures moments. Snapshots, you could call them. About life and places and the people around us. It’s the sound of an artist letting layers float away, of a musician who has fallen in love with music again.

Saint Cloud is released March 27th via Merge Records @k_crutchfield

@waxahatchee

4 Mar

THE ORIELLES

8 / 15 / 23 Apr

5 & 6 May

ALI BARTER

THAIBOY DIGITAL

ECCO2K

CUBICOLOR

SPACEY JANE

MARIKA HACKMAN

PEGGY SUE

KONRADSEN

OLLIE WRIDE

YUMI ZOUMA

DANA GAVANSKI

Electric Ballroom 5 Mar The Garage 5 Mar

O2 Forum Kentish Town 6 Mar The Lexington 10 Mar

Moth Club 10 Mar

Pinups 9 Apr Oslo 9 Apr

The Dome 11 Apr Lafayette 15 Apr

The Lexington 16 Apr

PYJAEN

DEVON WELSH

LOUIS COLE BIG BAND

SARAH KLANG

SHABAKA HUTCHINGS ONESFEST

HAPPYNESS

Bermondsey Social Club 13 Mar EartH 14 Mar

EartH 17 Mar

HARVEY CAUSON Electrowerkz 18 Mar

STONEFIELD

Moth Club 19 Mar

JULIA BARDO

Pinups 23 Mar

Omeara 18 Apr

Bush Hall 18 Apr

Moth Club 22 Apr

MELT YOURSELF DOWN Lafayette 23 Apr

PETRIE

Bethnal Green WMC 28 Apr

PHARMAKON Studio 9294 29 Apr

LUCAS SANTTANA

FAR CASPIAN

DEEP DEEP WATER

BING & RUTH

HONEY HARPER

NATHAN FAKE

HENRY GREEN

YOUR SMITH

Rich Mix 25 Mar

Moth Club 1 Apr

The Lexington 2 Apr Oslo 4 Apr

MAYRA ANDRADE Electric Brixton

Lafayette 4 May

Kings Place 5 May Moth Club 5 May Oslo 5 May

EMMA-JEAN THACKRAY Moth Club

Studio 9294 6 May

Sebright Arms 13 May

ANNA BURCH Oslo 15 May

ALTIN GUN EartH 16 May

KOKOKO EartH 21 May

WIRE

Islington Assemblt Hall 25 / 26 / 27 May

SWANS EartH 29 May

OM

EartH 4 Jun

WESTERMAN Hoxton Hall 4 Jun

POTTERY

The Dome 18 Jun

SOCCER MOMMY Electric Ballroom 1 Jul

THE RAPTURE

O2 Forum Kentish Town 14 Oct

U.S. GIRLS

Southbank Centre 4 Nov

HAPPYNESS Scala

rockfeedback.com

cover story

T h u n der cat words: Robin Murray photography: The1Point8

E

very journey starts with a small step, or so the aphorism goes.

But each Thundercat album, seemingly, begins with the multi-talented LA musician at home, relaxed, with his bass plugged in, and his laptop perched next to a bag of crisps. “It starts out with me on the couch with my cat,” he laughs, rustling through a packet of Kettle chips. “That’s how it always starts.”

LiS: 27

cover story Where it ends up, though, is always worth travelling to. New album It Is What It Is finds Thundercat surging into fresh spaces while also re-establishing his roots. It’s an album that features some of his oldest friends, as well as his musical heroes; yet it’s also a project framed by loss, while finding joy in the simple task of making music.

2017 breakout album, Drunk turned his world upside down. An explosive release, it led to an 18-month tour, high-profile TV spots and an international audience. Put simply - it changed his life. To paraphrase one of Thundercat’s own songs, though, he’s been through them changes, and not all of them have been welcome.

“Mac was a beautiful soul... He wanted everybody to see the beautiful side of life.

A very eager and bright-eyed cat... ” “I lost a lot of friends to drug abuse and violence,” he says with a sombre turn to his tone. “From that to relationships changing, and a lot of physical growth. I’ve lost, like, 100 pounds. I didn’t even do it on purpose at first! Lots of life changes have taken place. And I’m still here through them, so I’m very happy for that.”

Thundercat was extremely close to Mac Miller: “There was never really a time when I was without him, in many different ways,” and his loss permeates the new album. “Mac was a beautiful soul,” he says. “He wanted everybody to see the beautiful side of life. A very eager and bright-eyed cat. It was a shame to watch him go.”

photography assistant: Gabe Gonzalez

LiS: 29

cover story “It hurts a bit,” he says, his voice audibly shaking. “But it’s one of those things. That’s why the album is titled that way – because that’s just life.”

It Is What It Is is about embracing every facet of life, from loss to laughter. It’s like a 360 view of Thundercat’s aura, his mind laid out on record, uninhibited and unedited. “I always feel that you are definitely at war with yourself when it comes to being creative,” he says.

But it wasn’t a journey he undertook alone.

Steve Lacy permeates these studio sessions, while saxophone colossus, Kamasi Washington – a long-time friend – also makes a stellar contribution. Funk icon, Steve Arrington pushes ‘Black Qualls’ to the stratosphere, while everyone from Childish Gambino to Ty Dolla $ign hits the mic. It’s a varied cast, one that Thundercat picked out because he knew each and every musician would grasp what it was he wanted to say.

“It’s fun!” he gasps, attempting to sum up the studio process. “I was just actually with a friend of mine last night and we started creating music… And it was very funny because the moment that is always the most intense is when you’re realising the possibilities, and trying to create solid matter out of something that keeps changing. It’s exciting to watch something take form like that.”

One continual contributor on the album is Flying Lotus; a producer and musician, he’s there both to add to the music and to prick Thundercat’s own imagination. “He’s not so much a quiet presence, he’s very loud spoken!” Thundercat laughs. “I think with this album, he did a little bit more playing, too, which I think he was really excited about. Shoot, man. He’s always challenging me to do more, and to think more, and to do something different.”

Spread across a hefty 15-track span, It Is What It Is is actually a remarkably concise album, with songs rarely being allowed to billow out. “It’s the way it comes out of you,” he asserts, biting down on some more crisps. “It’s not always meant to be some very drawn out, long idea… sometimes it’s just simply stated. It’s like, there’s no more to say. It’s just that.”

LiS: 31

cover story

“At the end of it, if you make it out alive and you get a chance to laugh at it… then laugh!”

This ethos is matched to every corner of his creative life. “It’s just as important to do nothing, for me,” he comments. It’s an almost zen-like approach to studio creation. “We put a lot of pressure on the idea of making music, but everything takes time,” he adds. “You spend time with something, that’s the only way you can tell if you love it. The time spent with the music is something that you can’t make up for. So sometimes you have to be OK with taking the time, that’s all. And time is endless.”

Everything Thundercat does is rooted in this infinite love for the music. Whether it’s hitting up friends passing through town or tracking down some of his all-time heroes, he seems at his most rooted – at his happiest – when he is focussing on a project. “I always like to say, nothing makes up for time spent playing the instrument,” he adds. “There’s a lot that can be created in those times and in those moments. I’m usually very happy to go back in the studio after I’ve gone on the road for a while, because my mind is definitely in the algorithm of the playing.”

Reflective but eager to move forwards, Thundercat continually turns back on himself.

No sooner does he assert something than he retracts it, a playful sense of logic that forever builds to this overwhelming wall of laughter.

“If we couldn’t laugh then we’d probably be shooting, now wouldn’t we?” he shrieks. “It’s just important to laugh. I like to laugh at most things.

Literally.

And not to be condescending, but it’s just that… most things are terrible! And sometimes the terrible shit is really funny!”

“But sometimes it does take a second to get to the laughter, because the pain is very difficult,” he continues. “At the end of it, if you make it out alive and you get a chance to laugh at it… then laugh!”

It Is What It Is is released April 3rd via Brainfeeder.

LONDON - April 4th, Roundhouse BERLIN - April 17th, Astra @Thundercat

@ThundercatOfficial

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Heather Peace

interview

“I wanted this album to be well-rounded and be genre-nonconformist because I am...”

T

he year is 2012. At Rick Owens’ Paris show, a runway lined with creeping flames fades into view and a pulsating beat begins to fill the room. As models stomp the catwalk, tensions in the track rise over a heavy bassline. Camera shutters fire off and snarling vocals declare, “Ima read that bitch.” This was the moment in which Zebra Katz became an overnight hitmaker.

Eight years later, the Berlin-based performer – real name Ojay Morgan – is preparing to release his debut album, LESS IS MOOR, a self-funded passion project that reflects his commitment to working as a fully-independent artist. “Most of the time I feel like I’m speaking in hieroglyphics,” he says, discussing how he had to present himself to the industry after this debut. “I don’t know if it’s because I come from a theatre background, or because I manage myself as an artist.”

Zebra Katz is a first-generation JamaicanAmerican, born in Florida’s West Palm Beach, whose artistic expression paved the

way for this project. A thesis written while at university in New York, titled ‘Moor Contradictions’, acted as the precursor to LESS IS MOOR, with its exploration into issues surrounding the Black experience.

Nevertheless, it was Fashion Week exposure that catapulted Katz to fame, resulting in a nationwide tour and an invite to appear on the Gorillaz album, Humanz, which also featured his personal hero, Grace Jones.

Once this all came to a close in 2017, he settled down in Berlin and immersed himself in his solo work.

The results are showcased on LESS IS MOOR. A raw patchwork of who Katz is, the dynamic collection ruminates on identity, sexuality and the life of a star, and operates outside the constraints of genre. The dynamic collection jolts between the dark and brooding techno-driven ‘IN IN IN’, via the sexually-charged ‘LICK IT N SPLIT’ featuring Shygirl, and the stripped-back ‘NECKLACE’ with gentle guitars and vulnerable vocals.

"I didn't want to make what people thought I should be making," he says. “The first track, ‘INTRO TO LESS’, is inspired by the [Public Enemy] album, Fear of a Black Planet, and is kind of setting up how I was perceived in 2013, when they were just talking about my sexuality. I was coined as 'queer rap' and that's all that people were focused on.”

tz ka

zebra

words:

photography:

Georgia Evans

Larissa Matheus

LiS: 37

interview "I was labelled as a 'ballroom' artist but I wouldn't call myself that," he continues. "I think that's why I wanted this album to be well-rounded and be genre-nonconformist because I am. I don't adhere to one sound.”

Working with the likes of Sega Bodega, Tony Quattro and fellow Red Bull Academy graduate Torus, Katz has created an album that successfully showcases this versatility.

As a self-managed artist, he has been able to build his own image, create his own sound and decide the time-frame in which he releases new projects. “Every time I make a choice, that's my decision,” he says.

“That's been such a breath of fresh air for me; I feel very proud. I’m very thankful that I didn't rush it. I didn't go off any of the fear and doubt that people put into my head."

The visuals for ‘ISH’ further demonstrate this fearlessness. Opening with a news report about an escalation in violent homophobic crime, the video then cuts to a dancer whose expressive movements indicate some kind of torment. Slowly, flashes behind him reveal a crowd jeering.

“There's a shot of a mob, because we're thinking about all the politics we watch,” he explains. “The far-right, Black Lives Matter, anti-vaxxers: there's always that mob mentality. With the news anchor, we refer to the notion of how the media blackouts are covering up hate crimes against the LGBTQ community, especially against trans black women, and I wanted to say that.

“The video is kind of me lashing out at the anger I feel. The quote by James Baldwin, ‘to be a negro in this country and to be relatively conscious, is to be in a rage almost all the time,’ is at the centre, and I'm trying to capture that rage." Having the freedom to express through such audio-visual media represents a new chapter for Zebra Katz. “I'm getting back to the parts I enjoy: getting on stage, performing and making these tracks have a visual aspect," he says. “And I'm glad I did it this way because I've learned so much more about the industry and my process.”

Makeup: Sofia Ghezzo Leal LESS IS MOOR is released March 20th via The Vinyl Factory / ZFK Records LIVE: Berlin, Prince Charles, March 25th London, Space 289, March 26th @ZebraKatz

@ZebraKatz

SORRY

interview

F

or some bands, the road to their first album is one filled with lofty ambition, high anxiety and the sense that they could be standing on the precipice of falling into a music career that is truly life-changing. For Sorry, though, that journey seems to have been far more laid-back than most.

The North Londoners flitted through a variety of musical styles in their first few years, playing gigs together in gritty pubs all over the city. They released their music as a series of guitar-led, glitchy mixtapes as they went along, sort of like an in-progress log of a band figuring out what they wanted to sound like - or rather, if they wanted to sound like anything in particular at all. It’s perhaps not too surprising, then, that when it finally came to making debut album, 925 (named after the mark printed on silver that’s 92.5% pure), they approached it with the same relaxed attitude they’ve always had.

words: Rachel Finn photography: Sam Hiscox

“I think we wanted to play music, but I don't think we ever thought we'd do it professionally, because that's kind of a stupid idea to think that we could do that,” Louis O’Bryen admits, sounding a little surprised at how far they’ve come. “The way that we made music never really changed. It didn't start becoming a job. And [record label] Domino are really chilled about it and just let us do our thing, so we didn't really feel any pressure.”

It was a project formed by Louis and his childhood friend, Asha Lorenz when they were in secondary school (later adding drummer Lincoln Barrett and bassist Campbell Baum to the mix). For a band that never really planned to do much more than play a few gigs with their friends, you could argue things have got slightly out of hand.

“I think we

wanted to play music, but I

don't think we ever thought we'd do it professionally, because that's kind of a stupid idea to think that we could do that.”

LiS: 41

interview

Asha and Louis may have grown up making music together, but teaming up with co-producer James Dring (previously behind albums from Gorillaz, Jamie T and Nilüfer Yanya) in a tiny Hackney studio, proved to be what they needed to take their music from bedroom project to, as Louis describes it, “how a proper debut album should sound.”

As a result, 925 delivers on the promise of their scrappy, weird early tracks, but delivers with a more polished veneer. They still keep the rough, experimental charm that made them such an exciting prospect in the first place, leaving you still not quite sure at any point where the album is about to veer off to next. A song can be calming one second and full of chaos the next and, lyrically, things can switch from romantic to overflowing with dread in just a line or two “They still are based on personal experience, but some of the songs have characters in them,” Louis explains of their approach to songwriting. “The lyrics would

mirror the style of that song or what character we thought that song’s [instrumental] sounded like. It's kind of easier to write from a different perspective sometimes because it allows you to be more free with your lyrics.”

Sorry don’t seem to have any high-flying ambitions to their music, but rather just want to make songs that encapsulate life in all its oddity. Lucky for them, it looks like that attitude is finally paying off too.

“We've spent loads of gigs playing support slots where no-one is really coming to see us. We spent years doing that, but now that we've got an album, people are coming to see us and it's become really rewarding,” Louis says. “We want to just keep doing what we're doing and just carry on making good music. Then everything that we deserve from that will come naturally.”

925 is released March 27th via Domino LIVE: - Village Underground, May 7th @sorrybanduk

@sorrybanduk

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album of the month Half Waif

HALF WAIF (photos: Brian Vu)

The Caretaker ANTIMarch 27th @HalfWaif

@HalfWaif

Half Waif is one of the ‘singer-producer’ world’s best kept secrets. With the vibey poise of Helena Deland and a vocal command reminiscent of Caroline Polachek, her 2018 debut garnered her a cult following – but will The Caretaker see her hit the next level? Danny Wright got Kezia Cochrane and Gemma Samways round the table to find out.

When did you first hear Half Waif’s stuff?

Gemma: I heard select tracks circa Lavender, but to be honest it's only very recently I've delved a bit deeper.

Kezia: For me it was In the run-up to Lavender coming out. I reviewed the album and got properly into her stuff then and more so after seeing her live a couple of years ago.

Gemma: Ah, I'm yet to see her live, but after listening to this, I'd really like to.

Kezia: She's so amazing live! It really transformed the venue I saw her in, into something truly special and spellbinding.

What was it about her that got you into her?

Gemma: Initially, recommendations from friends. I think I had an idea of how she would sound, but once I actually listened, it transpired I was completely wrong, in a really great way.

Kezia: I think the way she writes with such honesty and vulnerability and delivers this through her incredibly powerful and emotive vocals was what first really struck me about her music.

And does The Caretaker maintain that spark and originality?

Kezia: I'd say so. It feels like there's a greater confidence across the record, both sonically and in this sense of clarity that she reaches over the course of the album, even though the lyrics are more introspective. I'm really into the bolder electronica here.

Gemma: As a record, it feels bolder than Lavender.

It’s braver and more imaginative. It’s like the contrast has been turned up at times; the colours seem sharper.

Yeah definitely - all the sounds are really crisp here. How would you describe the sound? And are there any particular songs that show that sound off?

Gemma: I feel like there's no one song that feels representative of the album as a whole, but the single 'Ordinary Talk' provides a really good route in. The programmed beats, the unadorned intimacy of the lead vocal, and this subtle tapestry of backing vocals behind it. I don't really want to use the word folktronica… but I guess I just did (though the folkiness mostly comes from the vocal timbre). I found the arrangement of 'In August' particularly interesting; something about it reminds me slightly of Air's 'Alone in Kyoto’.

Kezia: There are quite a lot of different sounds across the whole album, but it feels like some tracks, such as 'Brace', offer a more stripped-back sound with piano and vocal melodies, while others such as 'Halogen 2' definitely have more of a synth-pop thing going on. Overall there's a kind of beautifully soaring quality to the sound that intertwines all the different arrangements across the tracks.

I love ‘Halogen 2’.

Kezia: Yeah, that's definitely my fave track!

Are there any artists you'd compare her to?

Gemma: Vocally, Natalie Prass at times.

Kezia: I'm actually not sure who I'd compare her to right now (might come back on that one, ha).

Gemma: It's difficult, isn't it? Though the fact that we're struggling to pinpoint similar artists is probably a really good thing and shows she’s doing something quite unique.

With the character of The Caretaker and the narrative arc of disillusionment to healing, dare we call this a concept album?

Gemma: Technically, I guess, but a concept album in a non-conspiracy theorist/Muse way.

I'm not sure you need to engage in any way with the concept to understand the album more that it’s an introspective record about personal growth and self-acceptance.

Kezia: Yeah, I guess in essence it is a concept album, but it feels quite subtly so.

Definitely. Finally, circling back to her live show - listening to the record, could you picture it live?

Gemma: I'd be really interested to see how she replicates all those layers live.

Kezia: Remembering the Lavender show, she definitely holds a real capacity to create such an all-encompassing wave of sound that would be really amazing to see with the bolder sounds here.

LiS: 47

album reviews Cornershop England Is A Garden Ample Play Records March 6th

Stian Westerhus Redundance House of Mythology March 6th

Killer Norwegian free-form guitarist, Stian Westerhus needs no introduction. He’s the dude who can shred a few perfectly-placed notes and thereby sustain an entire tune.

Adding a second instrument – his voice – into his recent solo albums has provided a less fulfilling, if curious, distraction from his oblique jazz-noise romps.

On Redundance, his searching, pained drawl is centre stage as he opens with a pair of eight-minute songs about Chinese state oppression (‘Chase the New Morning’) and a seemingly doomed love (‘All Your Wolves’). There are plenty of clever twists, hot guitar runs and Scott Walker-esque warbles to make it a worthy listen. Yet his singing seems to restrict the music by making the songs about something – instead of creating a limitless sonic journey. You choose.

Geoff Cowart

It’s been eight years since Cornershop’s previous album, but their motif hasn’t changed: just strike up a loose two- or three-chord pattern and let it roll, utilising a selection of instruments that seem to have been raided from the school orchestra, while Tjinder Singh delivers astute lyrical maxims. At its windswept best, it’s joyous, and this album is generous in that regard.

Northern soul-style opener, ‘St Marie Under Canon’ is peak Cornershop, with perhaps their best hook since, whisper it, ‘Asha’, while ‘No Rock…’ goes flares-and-platforms glam in its tribute to the “concrete California” of Singh’s Midlands roots.

‘Everywhere..’ sets a satire on police brutality to calypso-lite and, though the formula wanes a little thereafter, ‘The Holy Name’ delivers a cynical yet sonically buoyant album closer from this most singular band. Nick Mee

U.S. Girls Heavy Light 4AD March 6th

U.S. Girls’ Meghan Remy assembled a cast of 20 session musicians - including Bruce Springsteen’s right hand man, Jake Clemons - to record her seventh album, Heavy Light live to tape, resulting in a distinctly choral, spacious sound that feels strangely sparse, despite the fact if you listen closely, there are about a million interesting things going on at any one time.

Spoken-word interludes reminisce on not entirely pleasant childhood experiences, while the record is concerned more widely with hindsight and its personal and cultural ramifications. Weighty themes indeed, but it’s an uncomplicated treat of a listen that contains some of Remy’s best work. ‘4 American Dollars’ in particular is among her finest songs, ‘And Yet It Moves / Y Se Mueve’ her most formidable groove. Thomas Hannan

Fake Laugh Dining Alone State 51 Conspiracy March 13th

“The act of dining alone is either awkward and embarrassing or honourable and enjoyable, depending on who you ask” notes Kamran Khan, aka Fake Laugh, in a press release for his latest full length effort, Dining Alone. That juxtaposition of vulnerability and defiance is perhaps emblematic of Fake Laugh as a project generally. From catchysad early singles like ‘Short of Breath’ all the way up to last year’s celebratory but self-deprecating ‘Honesty’, it’s Fake Laugh’s ability to blend light with dark that gives his music its sepia-like quality. On his sophomore album Dining Alone however this approach is taken to new, surreal depths as if a lonely walk had turned into a stroll through a hall of mirrors.

That stroll begins right from the start with the circusy but menacing album opener ‘Ever Imagine’ through to bashful bop ‘If You Don’t Wanna Know’. Pensive choruses are interwoven with playful synth lines and jagged rhythms that mark a distinct break from the eager riffs and scuzzy bedroom production of Fake Laugh’s eponymous debut. Fans looking for their fix of shimmering guitars and heartfelt hooks will find much to dig into through Dining Alone, but the jovial panic of ‘Alarm Bells’, the haunting glitches of ‘Dining Alone’ and the gangster majesty of ‘Empty Party’ shows an additional side to Fake Laugh that goes beyond the realms of lo-fi jangle pop.

Kazim Gangadin

Little Dragon New Me, Same Us Ninja Tune March 27th

Little Dragon have a pretty consistent scorecard when it comes to reflecting on their output. Whether crafting percussive floorfillers (2011’s Ritual Union) or wonky ‘80s-inspired synth-pop (2017’s Season High) the Gothenburg band seem incapable of letting the quality of their songs dip. On New Me, Same Us, the group pull in more acoustic instrumentation, without abandoning their intoxicating brand of alternative clubready music.

Moreover, the record contains some of singer Yukimi Nagano’s most personal stories, ostensibly about moving on from a long relationship. On ‘New Fiction’, gamelan chimes and a lounge bass underscore the bruising realisation: “We need new fiction / We need to find our own way.” ‘Hold On’, meanwhile, is a certified Little Dragon 101 banger. They’re seemingly incapable of missing the mark. Charlotte Krol LiS: 49

Daniel Avery & Alessandro Cortini Illusion of Time Phantasy March 27th

This sounds a lot like the weather, with soft, swirling synths unfolding into grainy, industrial drone rattles that put me outside on a stormy day. Not unlike Pariah's excellent 2018 release, Here From Where We Are, but wandering down a longer, less signposted path, each composition evokes a hypnotic bleakness that's soothing and unsettling.

This is a gently self-indulgent collaboration between two heavyweight noise experimentalists that's too ambient for daytime listening and too edgy for sleeping. I would suggest perhaps meditating or quietly pondering how many leaves are left on all the trees in the world at this very moment to be the perfect listening environment. Madeleine Wrench

MJ Cole Madrugada Decca March 27th

Before you recoil at the prospect of yet another electronic music pioneer stripping back their trademark sound and exploring a new ambient direction, this one’s worth sticking around for.

Thanks to MJ Cole’s effortless musicality on the piano, a childhood passion he found himself reconnecting with, there’s a real sincerity (sorry) to Madrugada that elevates it above its contemporaries.

Having littered minimal compositions in releases throughout his career, the results across a full album are undeniably powerful. From the swirling electronics that bubble under ‘Reimagination’s dreamy crescendo to ‘Strings For Jodie’ ranking as the album’s emotive high point, there’s no greater privilege as the listener than entering the “meditative state” MJ Cole inhabits when playing. Above all, Madrugada brings peace in the most trying of times.

Lee Wakefield

Disq Collector Saddle Creek March 6th

When life gives you lemons, what do you do? The reality has nothing to do with lemonade production, or G&T. You’re usually too melancholy, distracted or over-worked for that. You forget you have lemon juice on your fingers and you wipe it in your eyes.

For Disq, on Collector, therein lies the rub: Modern life is regularly rubbish, and it stings. The workaday tedium of staring at screens on ‘Daily Routine’ leads naturally into being “too restless to unwind” on ‘I’m Really Trying’. By the time we hit the penultimate track, we hear them rock out on the exhaustedly bleak ‘I Wanna Die’.

Frequently sounding like a blend of the Lemon Twigs and The Lemonheads, Collector balances its lyrical acidity with compositional freshness and zest. Jon Kean

Porridge Radio Every Bad Secretly Canadian March 13th

Porridge Radio’s Every Bad plays like a vivisection of the human psyche, each track dredging up anxieties in a way that’s so honest it’s as if no one were ever meant to hear. All instruments are filtered through a cocoon of introspection, and we’re carried along by singer, Dana Margolin’s beautiful and often contradictory vocals.

‘Give/Take’ is a masterclass in garage rock, while the sweeping, transcendental euphoria of ‘Don’t Ask Me Twice’, solipsistic pop of ‘Born Confused’ and building, brooding ‘Lilac’ are equally glorious. An album of extremes, Every Bad achieves the enviable feat of being hopeful and embittered, tangled and immaculate, and as classic sounding as it is relevant to 2020.

Henry Wilkinson

Porches Ricky Music

photo: Max Hirschberger

Domino March 13th

“I think I was as lost as I was madly in love,” Porches’ Aaron Maine has said of Ricky Music. Across 11 songs, the New Yorker stumbles through heartbreak with looser structures and an undercooked production style that sometimes lands but often misses. Those searching for the slick house grooves of 2016’s Pool or the warped techno-pop flirtations of 2018’s The House won’t find more of the same here.

Ricky Music instead revises the intimacy of Maine’s 2013 debut but imbues his songs with his latter-day electronic turns and pitch-bent vocals. ‘Rangerover’, Maine’s collaboration with Dev Hynes, is by far the highlight: a skulking, rich synth-pop ballad that encapsulates feeling both sorrowful and hopeful post-breakup. More of this please, and a bit less moping, on whatever’s next.

Charlotte Krol LiS: 51

Hilary Woods Birthmarks Sacred Bones March 13th

Enshrouded in spectral mystery, Birthmarks is a deeply sensory, corporeal record. Opening with ominous, droning drums and growling strings, Hilary Woods’ vocals are evocative, whispered incantations that glide amidst the eerie landscapes of the album. Sometimes sparse, sometimes densely textural and populated, the sonic terrains Woods crafts are earnest, haunting, and ritualistic.

Recorded while heavily pregnant, between Galway and Oslo last winter, at times the drum beats feel like a pulsating heartbeat, claustrophobic and all-encompassing.

And this intensity pervades throughout, as across the eight tracks, Woods explores fluctuating experiences of selfhood and becoming expressed with unbridled ferocity.

There’s a visceral, cinematic quality to Birthmarks that further accentuates the internal and external turmoil at the core of the record, leaving a poignant, transcendental impression. Kezia Cochrane

Minor Science Second Language Whities March 20th

Nic Tasker's label, Whities, is continuously transforming the landscape of electronic music, shapeshifting between dancefloor clangers and emotional ambient sonics from the likes of Avalon Emerson, Leif and Nathan Micay. They've also released three leftfield EPs from the British-born, Berlin-based producer, Minor Science, recently issuing his debut, Second Language.

Demonstrating anxious techno that varies in intensity and tempo, it's intricately packed with modular vocal inflexions and experimental electro: the kind of sounds that wouldn't feel out of place on a release or showcase from Ilian Tape.

The timescale of the record is blissfully built, with melodic intervals, jazzily rhapsodic percussion and maddeningly complex sound design, all pieced together in a release that, once again, shows off Whities’ ability to radicalise dance music . Georgia Marsh

Melt Yourself Down 100% Yes Decca March 27th

For a band who’ve built a reputation for drawing upon diverse influences and sounds, 100% YES is yet again an incredibly varied listen. Not in an untethered, Mr. Bungle Disco Volante kind of way – everything here maintains a certain cohesion to the band’s beating heart of jazzy tenets and repertoire of bangers. But through an ample touch of creative insanity, you glean the sense that this iteration of Melt Yourself Down has evolved with sufficiently more to say.

The first clue that things are predominantly different with this release lies in the cover art, where an arresting psychedelic image from Alex Garant replaces the pyramid logo that adorned past releases.

Evolution, not necessarily adaptation, is here conveying the band’s humanistic strength, positivity, and vitality. And that’s something we all need desperately in 2020.

Harriet Taylor

gigs of the month

our selection of the best upcoming shows

O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON

FLETCHER + L DEVINE

ANVIL

March 30th £21.20adv // @o2sbe

Shepherd’s Bush

SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS

Angel

WERKHAUS

JARKI MONNO March 11th £7adv // @ServantJazz

March 21st £23.25adv // @O2Islington

HEATHER WOODS BRODERICK Dalston Junction / Kingsland

March 3rd £13.75adv // @werkhauslondon

Liverpool Street

HEATHER WOODS BRODERICK

THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY REWS + NOVACUB March 19th £12.50adv // @CamdenAssembly

Chalk Farm / Camden Town

THE WAITING ROOM YAEGER March 10th FREE // @WaitingRoomN16

Dalston Junction / Kingsland

THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS

WOLF PARADE

PHOEBE GREEN + LAZARUS KANE + JULIA BARDO March 5th Dalston Junction / Kingsland £13.20adv // @shacklewell Arms

COLOURS KADEEM TYRELL + BILLY DUKES March 18th £10adv // @ColoursHoxton

THE DOME

Old Street

BOSTON MUSIC ROOM

WOLF PARADE + JOENSUU 1685

PENGSHUI + KID BOOKIE

March 11th £20adv // @DomeTufnellPark

March 19th £9adv // @BostonMusicRoom

Tuffnell Park

Tuffnell Park

PAPER DRESS VINTAGE

BUSH HALL

MOA MOA

ARCHIE

March 18th FREE // @paperdressed

Hackney Central

March 10th Shepherd’s Bush Market / Shepherd’s Bush £12adv // @Bushhallmusic

NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

ALEX FRANCIS + CHARLOTTE ROSE BENJAMIN + BARLOWLN + MAVICA + EMIE

SMINO

March 1st FREE // @NHAClub

Notting Hill Gate

BARBICAN

March 6th £20 // @BarbicanCentre

NIMMO Hackney Central

Barbican / Old Street

JAZZ CAFE GREENTEA PENG

XOYO MIRAA MAY + BENJIFLOW + AMARIA March 4th £12.50adv // @XOYO_London

Kentish Town

KELLY MORAN + MISSY MAZZOLI

MOTH CLUB

March 13th £8.50adv // @Moth_Club

March 26th £24adv // @O2ForumKTown

March 26th £10adv // @TheJazzCafe

Camden Town

Old Street / Liverpool Street

TORRES

OSLO TORRES + HARKIN March 5th £12adv // @OsloHackney

KELIS

Hackney Central

ROUNDHOUSE

THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB

KELIS + FARR

JULU IRVINE + HEG BRIGNALL

March 17th £27.50adv // @RoundhouseLDN

Camden Town

March 15th £10adv // @slaughteredlam

Farringdon/ Old Street LiS: 57

Full March Listings

L o n d o n ’s Gig Guide Your full listings

Monday March 2nd

guide to all the best shows happening across North, East, South and West London this month.

Sunday March 1st

Tuesday March 3rd

visit londoninstereo.com for all the latest listings, & to sign up to our Gigs Of The Week email

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Wednesday March 4th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Thursday March 5th

Friday March 6th

visit londoninstereo.com/subscribe to get London in Stereo delivered every month

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Saturday March 7th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Monday March 9th

Tuesday March 10th

Sunday March 8th

see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Thursday March 12th

Wednesday March 11th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Friday March 13th

find us on Spotify at London in Stereo to keep up with our weekly new music playlists

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Saturday March 14th

Sunday March 15th

Monday March 16th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Wednesday March 18th

Tuesday March 17th

visit londoninstereo.com for all the latest listings, & to sign up to our Gigs Of The Week email

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Thursday March 19th

Friday March 20th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Saturday March 21st

see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Sunday March 22nd

Monday March 23rd

Wednesday March 25th

Tuesday March 24th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

Full March Listings

Thursday March 26th

Friday March 27th

see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Saturday March 28th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

March Listings

Monday March 30th

Sunday March 29th

Tuesday March 31st

see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo Wednesday April 1st

Friday April 3rd Thursday April 2nd

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

April Listings

Saturday April 4th

Sunday April 5th

see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Monday April 6th

Wednesday April 8th

Tuesday April 7th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

April Listings

Thursday April 9th

Friday April 10th

For all the latest and most up-to-date gig listings, visit londoninstereo.com Sign up to our mailing list to get the week’s best gigs in your inbox every Monday. see londoninstereo.com/venues for up-to-date listings at all our favourite venues

BIRD ON THE WIRE PRESENTS

Big Thief

A Winged Victory For The Sullen

Modern Nature

Tycho + POOLSIDE

THU 27TH FEB EVENTIM APOLLO

THU 27TH FEB FRI 28TH FEB ROUND CHAPEL

WED 4TH MAR OMEARA

THU 5TH MAR PRINTWORKS

Charlotte Dos Santos

Douglas Dare

Moses Sumney

Zebra Katz

Maria McKee

TUE 10TH MAR VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

MON 16TH MAR OMEARA

WED 18TH MAR HOXTON HALL

THU 26TH MAR SPACE 289

TUE 31ST MAR EARTH

Porridge Radio

Squid

Great Lake Swimmers (solo)

Nadia Reid

Braids

WED 1ST APR COLOURS

THU 2ND APR SCALA

FRI 3RD APR ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

THU 16TH APR OSLO

FRI 24TH APR MOTH CLUB

Jonathan Bree

black midi

Destroyer

Peaness

Sorry

FRI 1ST MAY DINGWALLS

SAT 2ND MAY QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

TUE 5TH MAY VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

WED 6TH MAY THE LEXINGTON

THU 7TH MAY VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

Scout Niblett

Jackie Lynn

Aldous Harding

Aoife Nessa Frances

Porches

MON 11TH MAY MOTH CLUB

MON 18TH MAY MOTH CLUB

WED 20TH MAY BARBICAN HALL

THU 21ST MAY SET

THU 21ST MAY LAFAYETTE

Pile

HEALTH

Wesley Gonzalez

Weyes Blood

Adrianne Lenker

WED 27TH MAY BOSTON MUSIC ROOM

TUE 2ND JUN STUDIO 9294

TUE 9TH JUN ELECTROWERKZ

WED 10TH JUN O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

SUN 6TH SEP EARTH

MORE INFO & TICKETS

BIRDONTHEWIRE.NET

LISTINGS LISTINGS LISTINGS LIS SUN 1 MAR MINIMAL FORCE EMEX + GUESTS 16:00 - 22:30

TUE 3 MAR CLUB.THE.MAMMOTH: HEATHER WOODS BRODERICK IN EARNEST & DOWNOTTER 19:00-00:00

THU 5 MAR DENIAL CLOTHING:

THE NINTH WAVE & SPECIAL GUESTS 19:00-00:00

SUN 8 MAR MINIMAL FORCE WED 25 MAR THEO KOMP + GUESTS HULT MUSIC PRESENTS 16:00 - 22:30 19:00-00:00

FRI 13 MAR THU 26 MAR XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX FIREHOUSE PRESENTS SPECIAL GUEST TBA 19:00-00:00 20:00 - 03:00

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE

SAT 14 MAR NORTHERN IMPACT 1600 - 0000

16:00 - 22:30

THE ZEITRAFFER CONCERTS:

THORSTEN QUAESCHNING & PAUL FRICK 20:00 - 23:59

SAT 7 MAR

HYPNOSIS X SOMNUS

VINICIUS HONORIO

+ ALNA, P RISCO, RI SYBER SYMON, OPERATION 4.0 & VISUALS BY ARIA KIANI

+ GUESTS 16:00 - 00:00

SUN 15 MAR MINIMAL FORCE F

NICK ZAFIRIADES + GUESTS

FRI 6 MAR

SAT 28 MAR ALL ABOUT THE BEATS: LINDSEY MATTHEWS

SUN 29 MAR MINIMAL FORCE

PRES. P.E.A.R.L.

P. E. A. R. L, THEO KOMP

THU 19 MARCH SMILE END MUSIC

+ GUESTS

16:00 - 22:30

19:00-00:00

SAT 21 MAR ROLLAR: FIRST BIRTHDAY 17:00 - 00:00

SUN 22 MAR MINIMAL FORCE 16:00 - 22:30

22:00 - 06:00

MARCH MARCH MA

MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH MARCH

A N E W S PA C E F O R E A S T L O N D O N

LISTINGS LISTINGS LISTINGS L 85 BRICK LANE, E1

EVENTS / INFO / TICKETS:

WERKHAUSLONDON.COM

STEPHEN MALKMUS photo: Samuel Gehrke

tales from the city

by

Stephen Malkmus I have a hazy collection of assorted memories from visiting London through the years. My first was in 1981 with my soccer team and I was in the freshman year of high school. We weren’t staying in London primarily - our coach was English and he arranged a tour and we were playing some junior teams. I guess we were in Devon - I can’t really remember - but I do remember we were excited cos we could drink beer in these pubs in the countryside.

Then we went to London and we got time to wander around and I remember I wanted to smoke these John Player Specials - a cigarette brand that looked like a Formula One car and I thought that was really cool for some reason.

We drank and blagged our way into a strip club at the age of 15.

We also went to a football match in the countryside just by ourselves. It was like a third division match, and it was totally grim and really dangerous and just hard people everywhere - but that was 1981 and England.

Then, once the band started, my main memories revolve around this hotel in Shepherd’s Bush called the Dalmacia where indie bands stayed - it was kind of grubby, cheap and accepted young reprobates. I remember stale air and being hungover.

There were the assorted concerts. And I remember recording in Maida Vale and maybe not realising how cool it was that we got to do that. It was one of my first moments in a proper studio because, you know, Pavement just

recorded in a garage. I just kind of remember thinking ‘What? Why are they mixing it?’ This sounds so big and not like I would make it sound.

I mean I liked London because people liked our band and that was Pavement’s springboard to the rest of Europe and we were just excited that people were interested. I’d read about groups like the Pixies being really popular in England first and having a cult following.

But as far as the gigs go they’re kind of a blur. I didn’t know what was good about us if there was anything good about us. We hadn’t done a lot of gigs and we were very raw - and we were relying on energy and excitement.

We were hanging out with people I did interviews with or some bands that we played with. There was a time with the Melody Maker and Everett True and lots of photo sessions. Later in the 90s I became friends with Elastica and Justine Frischmann - because we toured with them on Lollapalooza - and when we were waiting for a tour to start I got to hang out with them. She had bought a place around the corner from Rough Trade and there were parties and plenty of names to drop. MIA, who was not a musician yet, was there, Jamie from Tank Girl and, of course, Damon was there and I became friends with him. I met a Spice Girl! That was pretty fun.

As you get older you're able to appreciate things more and, I mean, now when I come, it’s different. When we played some ATP festivals I had some time to hang out with my friend Chris from Matador and eat in J Sheekey, go to pubs on the water, playing Jenga and drinking and going to Hawksmoor churches. And there are still the gigs.

Stephen Malkmus releases his new album, Traditional Techniques, March 6th via Domino. @stephen_malkmus

@StephenMalkmus LiS: 81

in London

with

Cornershop Why do you live in London?

Tjinder: After struggling to not be in London I suddenly found myself in the Capital to move in with my then-girlfriend. Since then, I haven’t been able to leave because London has too much going on.

Ben: I too made the move to London to live with my girlfriend. I knew I had to be somewhere where there were constant gigs too.

What are your go-to places to eat and drink?

Tjinder: The Haberdashery (N16), Escocesa (N16), Petit Coin (N16), Chez Nous (W1T) Ben: Lisboa Cafe (W10), George's Portobello Fish Bar (W10), the Moroccan Soup Stand on Golborne Rd (W10), Lahore Karachi, (SW17).

Do you have any favourite outdoor spaces?

Tjinder: Lauderdale Park in Highgate is still most cherished.

Ben: Tooting Common and Wimbledon Common.

The daffodils are out, the sun’s kinda shining - do you notice a change to London as winter fades away?

Tjinder: As a dog owner, the days meld into one and so do the seasons, or did a conker hit my head?

Ben: I think London seems to carry on through it all regardless generally, that’s one of the things I like about the city. On the coldest day you can still get a warm tube into town and find interesting things to see and do.

Where’s your favourite place to hide from the rain?

Tjinder: In my recording studio, if The Multi-Coloured Green Beans aren’t in there.

Ben: I prefer to walk in the rain, but if it got torrential, a walk around the Tate would be ideal.

ONE GREAT PUB AFTER ANOTHER. STARTING AT

What’s the bit of London you live in got that the rest of London hasn’t?

Tjinder: No tube (in Stoke Newington).

Ben: Phenomenal Indian Restaurants (in Tooting).

THE AULD

What’s the best way to spend one great day here?

Tjinder: One great pub after another. Starting at The Auld Shillelagh at 11am, and finishing in The Shakespeare 12:30 am.

Ben: An old café in the morning, a walk around an area with history, take in a record shop and end up in a great pub!

AT 11AM, AND

Do you have any favourite venues?

Ben: New River Studios in Manor House is great, The Windmill in Brixton too, I like Islington Assembly too, plus DIY Space in Southwark.

SHILLELAGH FINISHING IN THE SHAKESPEARE 12:30 AM. - Tjinder

CORNERSHOP photo: Chris Almeida

AN OLD CAFÉ IN THE MORNING, A WALK AROUND AN AREA WITH HISTORY, TAKE IN A RECORD SHOP AND END UP IN A GREAT PUB! - Ben

Does living here influence your music?

Tjinder: Not knowingly, my accent is still Black Country.

Ben: I think it can subconsciously affect the tempo!

What’s the worst thing about London?

Tjinder: Living so close to The House of Parliament and the corridors of those that have let the country down so badly.

Ben: Packed tubes, gang activity, the cost of accommodation and the huge amount of people living in poverty.

What’s your advice for getting the most out of living here?

Tjinder: I would not be so bold about holding hands.

Ben: Get out there, explore and check out as many activities as possible – there’s loads of free things to do too.

Cornershop release their new album, England Is A Garden, March 6th via Ample Play.

There’s an album launch, and charity fundraiser for Detention Action, at The Social on the same day.

CornershopHQ

@CornershopHQ LiS: 83

mar apr = lanzaroteworks.com—@lnzrt

MOTH CLUB Lianne La Havas • Tungz • Nap Eyes • Walt Disco SHACKLEWELL ARMS Matt Maltese • Sweaty Palms • Lice • The Mantis Opera THE WAITING ROOM Paris Youth Foundation • The Rhythm Method • Barbudo Park Motive PECKHAM AUDIO Minimal Violence • Scalping • LA Priest • Phobophobes STUDIO 9294 Blanket • Pharmakon • Kedr Livanskiy • Lebanon Hanover WIDE AWAKE 5/6/20 Brockwell Park Hackney Dalston

/ /

mothclub.co.uk

shacklewellarms.com

/ /

@mothclub

@shacklewellarms

Stoke Newington / waitingroomn16.com / @waitingroomn16 Peckham Hackney

/

peckhamaudio.co.uk

Wick

/

studio9294.co.uk

/

peckham_audio /

@studio_9294

...thoughts

In Spite Of Laptop Speakers

by Katie Thomas Last month, Shawn Reynaldo used his newsletter, First Floor to ask: are journalists consuming electronic music incorrectly? He admitted that sometimes he listens to music, especially promos, on his laptop speakers.

Techno Twitter was up in arms. How dare journalists (who have, one tweet read, “only one job”), be so dismissive as to listen on tinny laptop speakers? Don’t we realise that electronic music is too detailed and too low end-focused to appreciate in this way? Are we all really that lazy?

No, is the straight answer. Let me level with you - sometimes I listen to promos on my tinny laptop speakers. Sometimes, god forbid, I even listen to promos through the one-eared headset that I have at my desk. The desk at the part-time job I slave away at so that I can, you know, sustain myself as a journalist.

In defence of every journalist that dares to admit such an irresponsible way of listening, I pose the idea that, like DJs

and producers, we too have a pretty fine-tuned ear. We know what we like and we can tell pretty quickly (even through laptop speakers!) if this is a track we’re going to dedicate more time to.

If I want to spend more time with a release, and if I’m going to cover it in some way, then you can rest assured I’ll use my best headphones to appreciate the intricacies in the track as best I can. And yes of course it would be better to experience dance music in the space and atmosphere it was built for (i.e. a club). But I’m sure I’m not alone in this when I say, I can figure it out. I’ve had enough formative, transcendental even, experiences in the club in my time. I can listen to your new EP at home and imagine how it would feel to hear it on a dance floor, on a proper system, with the energy just right.

Lest anyone forget, please, we all live and breathe music in the same way.

We’re all in this for the same reason – because we fucking love it.

Katie is a freelance journalist based in London, who regularly listens to dance music in clubs. She's club & festivals editor for London in Stereo, and a regular contributor to the likes of Resident Advisor, Crack and The Face.

Ask her about her headphones on Twitter: @katietweets26

LiS: 85

THU 05 MARCH

THU 12 MARCH

FRI 13 MARCH

THUMPER

EMMA MCGRATH

BAD//DREEMS

WED 18 MARCH

THU 19 MARCH

HEIR

BROOKE BENTHAM

PINUPS

+ WYCH ELM + SCROUNGE

SAT 14 MARCH OMEARA

DANI SYLVIA

+ MARX WILL + TOMI SARIO

THE GRACE

CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

FRI 20 MARCH

WED 25 MARCH

DANCING ON TABLES

RETRO VIDEO CLUB

OLD BLUE LAST

+ FRENCH BEACHES

THU 26 MARCH

ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

WHITE TAIL FALLS + ALEXANDER WOLFE (SOLO ACOUSTIC)

THE GRACE

OSLO

OMEARA

WED 25 MARCH

THE WAITING ROOM

EYELAR

+ ADAM ROM

THU 26 MARCH

SAT 28 MARCH

RONDO MO

TUNGZ

THE WAITING ROOM

MOTH CLUB

SAT 28 MARCH

SAT 28 MARCH

TUE 31 MARCH

THE SUBWAYS YOUNG FOR ETERNITY

SON LITTLE

MARGARET GLASPY

FRI 03 APRIL

SAT 04 APRIL

PINEGROVE

DINOSAUR PILE-UP

NEON WALTZ

WED 15 APRIL

WED 15 APRIL

THU 16 APRIL

LANTERNS ON THE LAKE

JOE PURDY

LIFE

THU 16 APRIL

THU 23 APRIL

THE ACADEMIC

SEA GIRLS

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

OSLO

LAFAYETTE

+ ART BRUT

THU 02 APRIL

ELECTRIC BALLROOM + KATY J PEARSON

EARTH

+ WYLDEST

ELECTRIC BALLROOM + LAURAN HIBBERD

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN + DUNE RATS

OSLO

ROUNDHOUSE

OMEARA

LAFAYETTE

THU 30 APRIL

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

THE SNUTS

S.J.M. CONCERTS PRESENTS

TALK SHOW

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

SAFENATH + RUBBER JAW

28 MAR / ULU LIVE

23 APR ELECTRIC BALLROOM

13 MAY O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

20 MAY VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

23 APR / LAFAYETTE

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

LUCIA & THE BEST BOYS

23 MAY / OMEARA

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

GRADE 2 + LOVEBREAKERS

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

WEIRD MILK + THE EXTONS

30 MAY / OMEARA

13 JUN O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

17 JUL

O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST OUT FRI 05 JUN & 06SOLDJUN EMIRATES STADIUM