London in Stereo // Holly Herndon

LIVE. MUSIC. CULTURE. MAY 2019.

â„–70 // F R EE

P R E S E N T S

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CRAIG FINN & THE UPTOWN CONTROLLERS - OSLO -

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Victoria Park London E3 24 May > 02 June

Fri 24 May

Fri 31 May

BRING ME THE HORIZON PRIMAL SCREAM > HOT CHIP JON HOPKINS LIVE >

Kate Tempest > Spiritualized > Little Dragon > Roisin Murphy > Steve Mason > Danny Brown > Peggy Gou Presents Gou Talk > Optimo > David August > Josey Rebelle > Little Simz > Jadu Heart > Petite Noir > Maurice Fulton > Ibibio Sound Machine > Lane 8> Ge-ology > Elder Island > DMX Krew Sat 25 May

THE RACONTEURS > INTERPOL introducing

Johnny Marr > Jarvis Cocker JARV IS... > Courtney Barnett Fat White Family > Parquet Courts Connan Mockasin > Anna Calvi > Temples Amyl and the Sniffers > Angie McMahon > BC Camplight > Yak Dream Wife > Our Girl > Viagra Boys > Bakar > The Nude Party Willie J Healey > Demob Happy Sun 26 May

RUN THE JEWELS ARCHITECTS NOTHING BUT THIEVES WHILE SHE SLEEPS > IDLES

Alice Glass > Scarlxrd > Yonaka > Employed To Serve Sat 01 June

LEON BRIDGES > DIZZEE RASCAL THE VACCINES > THE STAVES Dermot Kennedy > Sam Fender Jade Bird > Gretta Ray > Dizzy Sun 02 June

JAMES BLAKE > METRONOMY MARIBOU STATE

Kamasi Washington > Beach House > Honne > Kurt Vile and the Violators > Princess Nokia > Ezra Collective > Toro y Moi > Rina Sawayama > Bob Moses > Andrew Weatherall > Yves Tumor (Full band) > Joy Orbison > Baloji > Cuco > Moxie Presents On Loop > Octo Octa > Galcher Lustwerk > Paquita Gordon

MAC DEMARCO FIRST AID KIT JOHN GRANT THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH EZRA FURMAN RY X Phosphorescent > Julien Baker > Snail Mail > KOKOKO! > Charlie Cunningham

+ More acts to be announced across all days

One of my favourite things as an editor is having a set of cover photos come through that you’re so happy with, so excited about, that you absolutely can’t decide which to use and have to send the options round to all your favourite people to get some kind of clarity. A huge thank you to Parri for absolutely nailing this month’s Holly Herndon shoot and splitting the vote. Paired with words by Gemma Samways, and backed-up by interviews with the amazing Jamila Woods and Georgia, this might be... one of my favourite issues ever?

Also you might have noticed, it’s running real quickly up to festival season, so we’ve put together a guide of our faves around London, the UK and Europe. Even if you can’t go this year, get making plans for next - there’s no better excuse to start organising a trip than this year’s tempting line-ups.

See you at as many as possible.

STAFF ON REPEAT

the music we can’t stop listening to this month Jess: The National - Light Years Dave: HAAi - Drumting Loki: Aldous Harding - Fixture Picture Danny: Kevin Abstract - Baby Boy Gemma: Sky Ferreira - Downhill Lullaby Jack: Courtney Barnett - Everybody Here Hates You Beth: Kouslin and Logan - Bad HAAi (photo: Alec Donnell Luna)

Katie: Anz - Invitation to Dance London in Stereo: 07

Music, Creativity & Technology www.sonar.es

Barcelona 18.19.20 July

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INTERVIEWS 26

32

WHAT’S ON

JAMILA WOODS

46

HOLLY HERNDON 40

60

GEORGIA

EVENTS

GIGS OF THE MONTH

63

FULL MAY LISTINGS

FEATURES 12

15

NEW SOUNDS

2019 FESTIVAL SPECIAL

83

TALES FROM THE CITY 85

THOUGHTS...

REVIEWS 50

ALBUM RELEASES

Holly Herndon cover story: page 32

Editor: Jess Partridge jess@londoninstereo.co.uk

Deputy Editor: Dave Rowlinson dave@londoninstereo.co.uk

Online Editor: Beth Sheldrick beth@londoninstereo.co.uk

Festival/Clubs Editor: Katie Thomas katie@londoninstereo.co.uk

Sub-Editor: Loki Lillistone loki@londoninstereo.co.uk

New Sounds Editor: Gemma Samways

Staff Writers: Danny Wright, Jack Urwin

Advertising: sales@londoninstereo.co.uk

Photography: Holly Herndon cover story: Mathew Parri Thomas (mathewparrithomas.com) Contributors: Hassan Anderson, Rhys Buchanan, Kezia Cochrane, Thomas Hannan, Jon Kean, Charlotte Krol, Emma Madden, Nick Mee, Robin Murray, George O’Brien, Stephanie Phillips, Kelly Ronaldson, Harriet Taylor, Albert Testani Lee Wakefield, Madeline Wrench. londoninstereo.com

@londoninstereo

London in Stereo: 09

RASHARN POWELL

SHY MARTIN

INNER WAVE

WED 01 MAY

THU 02 MAY

MON02 10MAY SEPTEMBER THU

TUE 07 MAY

CONNIE CONSTANCE

TOMMY NEWPORT

GIUNGLA

AMAHLA

WED 08 MAY

SUN 12 MAY

MON 13 MAY

JOEY PECORARO

THE NUDE PARTY JAMES SMITH

M HUNCHO

+ SLIM + D’ONE + KENNY ALLSTAR

PRINTWORKS

+ MASTER PEACE

100 CLUB

THE GLOVE THAT FITS

THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

+ HAZLETT

OMEARA LP @ THE CURTAIN HOTEL CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

THE OLD BLUE LAST

WED 22 MAY

WINDMILL BRIXTON

+ SPOORT + LIILY

WED 15 MAY

ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

BAND OF HORSES + LION

FRI 21 JUNE

THUO23 UT MAY

THU 20 JUNE

SL

JANELLE MONAE

HIGHER BROTHERS

CHE LINGO

THU 27 JUNE

THU 02 JULY

WED 11 SEPTEMBER

THU 12 SEPTEMBER

ARCHIVE

JOSIN THU 17 OCTOBER

THE DIVINE COMEDY

KOVIC

FRI 27 SEPTEMBER

THU 17 OCTOBER

ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL

THU 16 MAY

THE OLD BLUE LAST

OVAL SPACE

ALEXANDRA PALACE THEATRE

LD

SO SEBRIGHT ARMS

THE SSE ARENA, WEMBLEY

THE COURTYARD THEATRE

OMEARA

ELECTRIC BALLROOM

EVENTIM APOLLO

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

JAZZ CAFE

FRI 18 OCTOBER

VISIT METROPOLISMUSIC.COM FOR TICKETS + TO SIGN UP FOR LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS

SQUID

LAVA LA RUE

TOP TEN: New Sounds Wives - Workin' Miljon - Windows Down Faye Webster - Flowers (Feat. Father) Lava La Rue - Burn Maria Somerville - All Too Much Hemm - Skin Helm - I knew You Would Respond Zamilska - Hollow Phoebe Green - Dreaming Of Est-Her - In The End

YAEJI (photo: Micaiah Carter)

FOLLOW OUR SPOTIFY ‘ALL THOSE TRACKS OF THE WEEK’ PLAYLIST FOR ALWAYS-UPDATED NEW MUSIC

Squid by Gemma Samways It’s difficult to say which is the best bit of trivia I’ve gleaned from a scan of Squid’s recent press. The fact that their name’s inspired by the time drummer/vocalist Ollie Judge cheated death choking on calamari? Or that guitarist Louis Borlase genuinely had a SWAT team set on him when he was 13?

Who am I kidding, it’s that half the band used to play in a funk and soul covers band called “Soul Campbell”.

How relevant is all this to Squid’s music?

Well, not especially. But you can definitely trace some of this surreal playfulness running through the five-piece’s recorded output.

pop sensibility. Their break came via 2018’s Speedy Wunderground-released single ‘The Dial’, which offered five minutes of angular post-punk overlaid with agitated vocals and theremin-like interference. Impressively, their latest track raises the bar even further.

Based between Brighton and London, Squid synthesise a mutual love of NEU!, Steve Reich and Munich jazz label, ECM into wiry indie-punk with a decidedly

LISTEN TO: Houseplants

GEMMA (photo: Marcus Maddox)

A Motorik romp interspersed with strangulated sax and James Murphy-style barking, ‘Houseplants’ collapses entirely around the halfway mark, before gathering itself together and careering headlong towards the finish line. Long may Squid’s chaotic brilliance continue.

@squiduk

@squidbanduk

FESTIVALS: All Points East. Electric Fields.

Citadel. Bluedot. Visions. End of The Road

Gemma

by Jess Partridge On the precipice of releasing their second album, Gemma aren’t exactly a new sound, but with four years elapsed since their debut, we thought it could be time for a refresher. Back with a bolder, more adventurous approach, the first two singles we’ve heard from the duo (made up of Felicia Douglass and producer Erik Gundel) have been filled with emotion, tinged with longing and drenched in strength.

Douglass’ vocals take the lead, changing the tone of a track in a single note and creating the kind of passionate, malleable music that works for winter nights, summer evenings, weddings and parties alike.

LISTEN TO: Only One @gemmaband

@gemmagroovs London in Stereo: 13

Academy Events present

THE

EXPERIENCE

TUESDAY 28 MAY 2019 O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON LONDON

LOVER'S ROCK ACADEMY EVENTS & SCRUFF OF THE NECK PRESENTS

3pm til 9pm

Life In The Stocks Presents

An Academy Events Production

OF THE K C A T T A TS

T S A C D O P Triple Feature!!!

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S ta r r i n g

THOMAS TURGOOSE & ANDY ELLIS (Overrated Everything) CHRIS & STU (Hardcore Listing) MATT STOCKS : (Life In The Stocks - ITCH THE KING BLUES)

TUESDAY 30 JULY

O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON LONDON LIMECORDIALE.COM

Plus special guests TBA

SATURDAY 20TH JULY 2019

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L ONDON UK EUROPE

Festival Guide 2019 Our selection of the festivals we’re most looking forward to this year.

Visions August 4th, Hackney

Kinda feels like we say this every year, but last year’s Visions felt like the best one ever - a really joyful, positive day full of incredible music, rooftop cocktails and a ton of like-minded people. The party atmosphere was just incredible all day.

So obviously we are absolutely thrilled that Visions is back, and once again boasting a line-up chock full of fast-rising stars and a bunch of our total favourites (hi, Anna Meredith!). With plenty more to come we’re expecting another beautiful day bouncing around Hackney venues. And, yes, we will of course be starting our day at the Visions Dog Show - the single most uplifting experience in the London year.

The Ends

DON’T MISS: Anna Meredith, Kedr Livanskiy, Squid, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Iceage.

The Ends is making its debut in Lloyd Park, Croydon this year, and is clearly set on making quite the statement with a hip-hop-heavy line-up that sees legends like De La Soul rub shoulders with the incredible Nadia Rose (who this’ll be a home-town show for). With American heavyweights and British favourites all playing over the festival’s three days, it seems like The Ends is bringing something new, and hopefully essential, to London’s festival scene and we can’t wait to see it go from strength to strength over the coming years.

Cross The Tracks June 9th, Brockwell Park

DON’T MISS: Martha Reeves, Poppy Ajudha, The Comet Is Coming, Jordan Rakei.

May 31st-June 2nd, Lloyd Park

Nadia Rose

DON’T MISS: Ghetts, Nadia Rose, NAO, De La Soul, Ama Lou, Tiana Major9, IAMDDB.

A brand new festival is coming to Brockwell Park, and it seems exactly the right kinda pace for that tranquil setting.

Promising soul, jazz and funk and headlined by none other than Chaka Khan, Cross The Tracks is a welcome addition to our city. The idea of leaving Field Day or Junction 2 one night and spending the next day rested up on grassy south London hills while genuine superstars and exciting new’uns slowly soothe us and coax us into more dancing just feels absolutely dreamy.

Top street food and London’s best beers complete an ideal day, in our opinion.

Festival Guide 2019 � LONDON FESTIVALS New year, new home for one the summer’s most essential festivals. Heading about as far as possible from Brockwell Park, this year we’re gonna be dancing hard in Enfield, N18 - a place where we hope Field Day will settle down for a while because the new site looks absolutely incredible. Four interlinked warehouses (one London’s largest warehouse venue), 10 acres of outdoor space and a new 3am license all adds up to a real exciting new chapter for the festival and we cannot wait to see it. The line-up? Dance, rap and R&B dominates, and is just about impeccable.

All Points East May 24th- June 2nd, Victoria Park

Field Day June 7-8th, The Drumsheds, Meridian Water

DON’T MISS: Earl Sweatshirt, Kelly Lee Owens, Skepta, HAAi, Pusha T, Marie Davidson.

Setting up in Victoria Park for a healthy old chunk of the summer, All Points East announced itself last year with a jaw-dropping line-up that saw the festival sell-out. Combining free community events around two huge weekends of shows, it feels like the new kids are doing what they can to fit right into east London. This year’s line-ups may lack a few of the giant hitters of last year, but more than make up for it with a bill of real depth and quality, whether you want nostalgic old faves, or exciting new up‘n’comers, each day is packed with treasures.

Junction 2 DON’T MISS: Christine & The Queens, Hot Chip, Peggy Gou, Viagra Boys, Octo Octa, Cuco.

Boston Manor Park (out Brentford way) is gearing up for one hell of a party this summer, as Junction 2 descends with a line-up dripping with some of the sweetest names in dance music, killer B2B sets, and stages hosted by clued-up souls like Fact and Phonica Records. Junction 2’s unique setting – the M4 literally runs right above it, and the concrete pillars form and influence the site – means it’s a festival that instantly feels different, special - kind of like a secret party that absolute everyone is invited to.

We advise you take that invite up, and dance underneath the London traffic.

June 7-8th, Boston Manor Park

DON’T MISS: Daniel Avery, Bicep, Ben UFO, DJ Koze, Daphni, Objekt.

London in Stereo: 17

End of The Road August 29th-September 1st, Larmer Tree Gardens

A long-standing absolute favourite of ours, End of The Road tends to wrap our UK festival season up exactly the way we want: in a beautiful setting, with wonderful acts and an atmosphere which is genuinely soul-nourishing. This year’s line-up is as eclectic and fun as we’ve come to expect.

There’s tons of dance, noise and sonic oddness to compliment the indie stars on the main stage, so there really is something for everyone. Throw in the latenight discos, woodland adventures, comedy line-ups, secret shows, amazing food options and bars and you’ve got what we think is the standard-bearer for British festivals. Just can’t wait.

photo: Sonny Malhotra

Riverside

DON’T MISS: Beirut, Metronomy, Mitksi, Kelly Lee Owens, Jarvis, Georgia, Black Midi, Fontaines DC, serpentwithfeet.

If you want a two-day party on the banks of the river Clyde, then we’ve got exactly the place for you: Riverside is Scotland’s biggest electronic festival, and when you see the quality of the line-up, it’s really not hard to see why. It’s a real who’s-who of exactly the kind of names you want to see to know that you’re going to have the best time. Even better, it’s over a bank holiday, so there’s no need to worry about taking extra days off to recover. From the big names, to the cutting-edge artists, this promises to be the best weekend in Glasgow in 2019.

May 25th-26th, Glasgow

We Out Here August 15th-18th, Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire

DON’T MISS: Tirzah, Matthew Herbert’s Big Band, Sons Of Kemet, Randall, Awesome Tapes From Africa.

DON’T MISS: HAAi, Helena Hauff, John Talabot, Jeff Mills, Willow, Jon Hopkins

In many ways it’s quite surprising that Gilles Peterson hasn’t curated a festival before. His love of crate-digging, eclectic tastes and championing of the new and the rare seem to make him the ideal candidate.

Anyway, it’s happened now in the shape of We Out Here - and it’s got Peterson stamped all over it. Where else might you find jazz, drum‘n’bass, jungle, big band, electronica and pretty much everything in-between in one place? Where else would Matthew Herbert, Randall, Connie Constance, HAAi and Tirzah all come together to dazzle?

A really exciting new festival.

Festival Guide 2019 � UK FESTIVALS Look, we know that probably nobody would go to a festival just for the food, but we do need to point out that Dishoom are at Lost Village and one of their bacon naans for breakfast is the festival dream.

More importantly, this unique festival, set in an abandoned woodland village, always promises an experience unlike any other.

Whether traipsing through the woods, chilling down by the lake or just getting swept up in the general pandemonium, there probably won’t be a second spent without a smile on your face. The music?

Our friends, be ready to dance. A lot.

Bluedot July 18th-21st, Jodrell Bank Observatory

Lost Village August 22nd-25th ,Lincolnshire

DON’T MISS: Maribou State, slowthai, Todd Terje, Nabihah Iqbal, Jayda G, Jessy Lanza, Shanti Celeste.

When your main stage is overlooked by a giant telescope, you know you’re not dealing with just any festival. The acts that perform on that stage are all carefully curated to suit that quest for exploration.

Kraftwerk are headlining one night, which seems just about ideal. In fact, the whole line-up is a hugely inventive, with the forward-looking nature of the acts more important than genre. Which works for us.

In a neat bit of synchronicity, it’s also 50 years since the moon landings this year, and Bluedot are going all out to party in the name of that landmark event.

Green Man DON’T MISS: Jon Hopkins, Self Esteem, Kate Tempest, John Grant, Kraftwerk, Hot Chip,

Green Man has always felt a true pioneer of the modern festival experience: an idyllic setting, line-ups that suit that setting, with superior food and drink options all combining to create a festival atmosphere that couldn’t be more different to the ones we embraced at 16.

And we’re very into that. Not that there’s ever been any resting on laurels - Green Man has always pushed forwards with more variety on the bill, more for families to do and even a ‘settlers pass’ which allows you to turn up early, and take advantage of all the local area has to offer.

August 15th - 18th, Brecon Beacons

photo: Nici Eberl

DON’T MISS: Four Tet, Sharon Van Etten, IDLES, Aldous Harding, Gwenno. Car Seat Headrest.

London in Stereo: 19

NOS Alive July 11th-13th, Lisbon, Portugal

There are some festivals where you instantly feel at home, and NOS Alive, camped on the banks of the Tagus River is one of those. Being in Lisbon helps, being a relatively small site helps. Covering the whole thing in astroturf so there’s never any mud issues definitely helps. But none of these things are the reason we keep returning. There’s an indefinable atmosphere onsite which just makes it a really joyous place to be. When you’re there you’ll marvel at how brilliantly odd the line-up is: acts you’d never expect to share a bill somehow blend in together to form one of our very favourite, genre-defying, festivals on the planet. Obrigado, NOS Alive!

Roskilde

DON’T MISS: Loyle Carner, Cut Copy, Jorja Smith, The Cure, Robyn, George Fitzgerald, Sharon Van Etten, Hot Chip.

Sometimes a line-up comes along and just keeps hitting you. The further down the list you go the more it seems like something you dreamed-up. Well Roskilde always have huge line-ups but this year they’ve really gone for it. Boasting the title of the largest media and arts festival in Northern Europe it offers a plethora of experience, with headliners as varied as Cardi B, Bob Dylan and Vampire Weekend, there’s not a single chance of being bored for even a moment, which is a blessing because the festival lasts a massive eight days!

Sonar July 18th-20th, Barcelona, Spain

DON’T MISS: A$AP Rocky, Octavian, HAAi, Jlin, K A R Y Y N, Floating Points, Vince Staples.

June 29th- July 6th, Roskilde, Denmark

photo: Flemming Bo

DON’T MISS: Aldous Harding, Jon Hopkins Chance The Rapper, Brockhampton,

This is the first year we’ve partnered with the trail-blazing, boundary-pushing festival that is Sonar, and we really could not be happier to be onboard with such a great event. With over 140 shows across nine stages in the heart of Barcelona, its thrilling day and night programmes go hand-in-hand to make sure you get a taste of so many of the best electronic-influenced acts across a multitude of genres. Alongside the main festival get tickets for the conference Sonar+D, which this year concentrates on artificial intelligence and experimental design. We just can’t wait.

Festival Guide 2019 � EUROPEAN FESTIVALS To be honest, over the last few years we’ve been choosing the chiller times at NOS Primavera Sound in Porto over the glorious chaos of its bigger Barcelona sibling. Not this year though - the line-up is absolutely ridiculous and there’s no way we’re missing out. Shout out to the 50/50 gender split, boo to Cardi B for pulling out, and hooray to Miley for stepping in. We’re honestly so excited to be back at Parc del Forum, navigating the vast site, letting the sea breeze cool us and wondering if this is maybe the most perfect festival line-up we’ve ever been treated to.

Øya August 6th-10th, Oslo, Norway.

Primavera Sound May 30th - June 1st, Barcelona, Spain

DON’T MISS: Robyn, Solange, Miley Cyrus, Charli XCX, Lizzo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Yaeji, Tierra Whack, Janelle Monae.

The Nordics just know how to do festivals so well: incredible line-ups in stunning locations and beautiful cities, Øya is no exception and as they’re turning 20 years-old this year they’re very up for celebrating. We know from her recent headline shows that Robyn’s live show is breath-taking and if you need any other reasons to go well then, you’re wrong, but also Øya has been named the Greenest Festival In The World by A Greener Festival Awards, so you can do it all with a conscience. And seriously, don’t miss Robyn.

Iceland Airwaves DON’T MISS: Robyn, Christine & The Queens, Earl Sweatshirt, Tirzah, Pom Poko, slowthai

The 21st edition of Reykjavik's favourite festival is already set to be another brilliantly exhausting explosion of new music and long-standing favourites.

There are few other cities so well equipped for a festival like this: the close-knit nature of the city and its abundance of brilliant venues means you can go from one side to the other chasing all your favourite acts with ease. The whole city embraces the excitement created by the festival, so it doesn’t matter where you go, you’re in for a treat. As ever we have one piece of key advise: the lobster soup at Sea Baron.

November 6th - 9th, Reykjavík, Iceland

DON’T MISS: Anna of the North, Girl in Red, Georgia, Amanda Tefjord, Shame, Seabear, Pottery.

London in Stereo: 21

Houghton August 8th-11th, Houghton Hall, Norfolk

At last year’s Houghton we enjoyed sets from the likes of Midland and Willow almost as much as we enjoyed the Charli XCX medley we played in our tent as the rain pelted down. Each artist on Houghton’s bill has been personally invited to play by Craig Richards. With a focus on extended sets, 24 hour programming and surprise b2bs, don’t forget to squeeze in the tour of Houghton Hall’s sculpture park – James Turrell’s ‘Lightscape’ is the perfect locale for some recovery time. And just to let you know, the 2018 edition was very sold-out, so we’d advise you book those tickets as soon as possible.

Kala

DON’T MISS: Bruce, Joy Orbison, Margaret Dygas, Object Blue (live), Powder

Albania’s first international festival, the second edition of Kala will take place in the paradisiacal beach resort of Dhërmi. A holiday as well as a festival in breath-taking surroundings, during the day Kala offers delicious food, yoga and well-being, water sports and day parties on Gjipe, a stunning beach accessible only by boat. By night dance under the stars on the beach to a lovingly curated line-up featuring a live performance from our former cover stars Hercules & Love Affair.

June 12th-19th, Dhërmi, Albania

Field Maneuvers August 30th-September 1st, Secret Location (near M25)

photo: Jack Davis

DON’T MISS: Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, Giant Swan (live), Kiara Scuro, Local Group.

DON’T MISS: Danielle, Inner City, Josey Rebelle, Midland & Job Jobse, Peach

A no-frills rave in a field, 2019 marks another first for us as we prepare for our inaugural Field Maneuvers. Specifically, we’re preparing to lose our mind in Sputnik, the mind-bending rave tent that could have more lasers than people. With a capacity of just 800, excellent programming, strong sound and a commitment to curating a close-knit community that returns year-on-year, we cannot wait to officially join the Field Maneuvers family - or to find out where the festival it actually being held.

Festival Guide 2019 � ELECTRONIC FOCUS 2019 marks our first Dekmantel and we cannot wait to dance at The Amsterdamse Bos. A who’s-who of club music year in, year out, Dekmantel is lauded as much for its dedication to excellent sound and production as it is for its crème de la crème programming. Prepare for three days in the park as well as a slew of opening parties including Cybotron live, Sun O))) and rising star Deena Abdelwahed performing Khonnar live.

Dekmantel July 31st - August 1st, Amstelveen, Netherlands

DON’T MISS: Afrodeutsche, Carista, Octo Octa & Eris Drew, Skee Mask & Zenker Brothers, Stellar OM Source (live)

also recommended:

London Bushstock, June 15th, Shepherd’s Bush Don’t Miss: Ider, Gang Of Youths, Laurel, Marthagunn.

Citadel, July 14th, Gunnersbury Park Don’t Miss: Honeyblood, Friendly Fires, Dream Wife, Fontaines DC.

Brave New World, June 22nd, Roundhouse, Camden Don’t Miss: Awesome Tapes From Africa, Tony Allen X Deli Sosimi X Bucky Leo X Femi Elias.

Naked City, July 27th, Beckenham Place Park Don’t Miss: Neneh Cherry, Ata Kak, Kamaal Williams, LTJ Bukem.

Lovebox, July 12th-13th, Gunnersbury Park Don’t Miss: Chance The Rapper, Solange, Giggs, Lizzo, Brockhampton.

UK

Parklife, June 8th-9th, Manchester Don’t Miss: Cardi B, Dave, The Streets, Kayt.

Latitude, July 18th-21st, Suffolk Don’t Miss: Lana Del Rey, Loyle Carner, Marina, Cat Power, Girlpool.

The Great Escape, May 9th-11th, Brighton Don’t Miss: Little Simz, Flohio, AJ Tracey, Biig Piig, Self Esteem

Larmer Tree, July 18th-21st, Dorset Don’t Miss: Kate Tempest, Let’s Eat Grandma, Flamingods, Melt Yourself Down, Jade Bird.

Africa Oyé, June 22nd-23rd, Liverpool

EUROPE

Don’t Miss: Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda, OSHUN, Carlou D, The Garifuna Collective.

Lowlands, August 16th-18th, Netherlands Don’t Miss: Anderson .Paak, The National, Billie Eilish, James Blake, Giorgio Moroder.

We Love Green, June 1st-2nd, France Don’t Miss: FKA twigs, Kali Uchis, Christine & The Queens, Tierra Whack.

North Sea Jazz Festival, July 12th-14th, Netherlands Don’t Miss: Kamasi Washington, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Blood Orange, Janelle Monáe.

Nachtdigital, August 2nd-4th, Germany Don’t Miss: Helena Hauff, Marie Davidson, Lux, Powder, Batu.

Exit, July 4th-13th, Serbia Don’t Miss: The Cure, Skepta, Peggy Gou, IAMDDB, Jeff Mills.

London in Stereo: 23

JUNIORE WED 1 MAY 100 CLUB SNEAKS WED 1 MAY WINDMILL BRIXTON ROZI PLAIN TUES 7 MAY OSLO HACKNEY ELSA HEWITT TUES 7 MAY RYE WAX HAND HABITS WED 8 MAY OUT SOLD THE LEXINGTON

LAURA JEAN FRI 24 MAY THE ISLINGTON LUCY DACUS WED 5 JUNE EARTH HACKNEY GUIDED BY VOICES WED 5 JUNE OUT SOL6D JUNE & THURS VILLAGE UNDERGROUND CATE LE BON MON 10 JUNE VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

DRUGDEALER WED 15 MAY TUFNELL PARK DOME

WASUREMONO WED 19 JUNE SEBRIGHT ARMS

FAT WHITE FAMILY WED 15 MAY O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

THE STROPPIES THURS 18 JUL THE LEXINGTON

W. H. LUNG SAT 18 MAY OSLO HACKNEY

SAM EVIAN TUES 27 AUG THE LEXINGTON

GEORGIA WED 22 MAY REDON

BEDOUINE SAT 7 SEPT QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

NATALIE EVANS THURS 19 SEPT THE ISLINGTON PLASTIC MERMAIDS THURS 3 OCT SCALA BESS ATWELL THURS 10 OCT OMEARA ROSIE LOWE WED 23 OCT VILLAGE UNDERGROUND PALACE SAT 9 NOV ROUNDHOUSE SHURA THURS 14 NOV ROUNDHOUSE SIR WAS WED 27 NOV SCALA BC CAMPLIGHT THURS 28 NOV ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL

PARALLELLINESPROMOTIONS.COM

THE VISUAL

Integer, and powerful emotionally-laden indie.

Friday, 12:15 - Komedia (Dutch Impact Party) Saturday, 22:00 - The Walrus

LEWSBERG

Straight forward post-punk.

Thursday, 22:15 - Horatios Friday, 13:15 - Komedia (Dutch Impact Party)

FATA BOOM

A grungy mix of trippy electro hiphop.

Friday, 15:15 - Komedia (Dutch Impact Party) Saturday, 01:15 - Komedia

RINA MUSHONGA

Afropop rhythms and soul-lifting vocal harmonies.

Friday, 19:00 - Hideout

PIP BLOM

Alternative indie-rock sensation.

Friday, 16:45 - Hideout Friday, 20:15 - Coalition

(LIVE)

JARREAU VANDAL

5QWNHWN JQWUG YKVJ KPƃ WGPE es of pop, hiphop and r&b.

Saturday, 02:00 - Komedia

DUTCH IMPACT PARTY AT THE GREAT ESCAPE FRIDAY MAY 10TH

VENUE: KOMEDIA (MAIN) 44-47 GARDNER STREET (ENTRANCE ON

12:00 - 16:00 REGENT STREET)

EUT

High energy post-pop.

Friday, 14:15 - Komedia (Dutch Impact Party) Saturday, 20:15 - Horatios

THE MAUSKOVIC DANCE BAND

Afro-Caribbean rhythms & Space Disco.

Thursday, 20:30 - Komedia

BEA1991

Trip-hop beats with low rumble vocals.

Friday, 19:30 - Shooshh

LINE-UP: 12:15 THE VISUAL 13:15 LEWSBERG 14:15 EUT 15:15 FATA BOOM

interview

Jamila Woods words: Kezia Cochrane photography: Bradley Murray

here’s a particular serene selfassurance that Jamila Woods exudes, both in her music and when I speak to her. Even amidst a busy US tour, and on the cusp of her second LP LEGACY! LEGACY! being released, the Chicago-based musician, poet, activist and teacher purveys a grounded presence, a quality that is tangible throughout her music.

“My mum, she’s a spiritual healer and a writer and also a doctor. She would always teach me that energy is very connectable,” Woods details. “And she’d be like ‘when you walk into a room imagine white light around yourself, imagine there’s a shield between you and things that might come your way that seem negative and present challenges’. That was what I was thinking of with that line, that being my weaponry,” she expresses of the line on ‘ZORA’ where Woods sings “My energy is my weaponry / I tenderly fill my enemies with white light.”

Explaining further the inspiration for this track, Woods articulates, “Zora [NealeHurston] has this line in her essay where she said, ‘I do not weep at the world – I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife’. And that line, she’s saying I’d rather be sharpening my tool than being preoccupied on the people who are trying to oppress me. So for me, I was thinking ‘what are my tools’”.

Each song on LEGACY! LEGACY! takes its name from pertinent, inspirational artists and activists within black history, including James Baldwin, Eartha Kitt, and Basquiat, to mention a few. With these tracks, Woods offers poetic, meditative testaments to the influence these figures have had on her, whilst weaving her own personal narratives into this. “The tracks are named after people but are very much autobiographical songs,” Woods emphasises. “I’m singing about my own experiences almost like self-portraits, through the lenses of the different people and what I’ve learnt from them.” Woods’ lyrics are poetic works in themselves, crafted with astute linguistic potency and precision. Melded with the glistening, soulful melodies that saunter through the record, this verbal and aural harmony is steeped in vivid, emotive poeticism. “Each song was different in terms of which came first, the lyrics or the track,” Woods explains. “Slot-A was one of the main producers and oftentimes he just played me a bunch of tracks that he had and then some of those I wrote after hearing the track, like ‘MILES’, ‘MUDDY’, ‘GIOVANNI’, ‘ZORA’, ‘SONIA’. But then there are a few that I had in mind from the title of the song, and then we worked together to kind of build the sounds of the track around the lyrics and around the ideas.”

While the issues and ideas that Woods explores on this record feel vital and pertinent in the context of the current political climate, she states “I don’t really resonate with the idea that something is important now more than ever. It’s more just like I wanna feel free to follow where my inspirations lead me.” There is however a certain relevant urgency conveyed within the title LEGACY! LEGACY!, both in terms of the record and in a wider context. “The title comes from Margaret Burroughs’ poem and I happened to see a print of the title when I was working on the songs. My friend has a print at his house that has the words ‘Legacy Legacy’and I was

interview

“I’d been thinking a lot about the question of what will I add to that conversation…”

London in Stereo: 27

interview

“I don’t really resonate with the idea that something is important now more than ever…”

just struck by that”. The Burroughs poem in question highlights contributions of luminary African-Americans and in the title asks What Will Your Legacy Be? “I’d been thinking a lot about the question of what will I add to that conversation or what am I adding to that legacy?”

There are two versions of ‘BETTY’ that bookend the record, with the closing one being a house remix, “an important shout out” for Woods tying in with her Chicago

roots. On this song she richly intones, “I am not your typical girl, throw away that picture in your head”, and it feels an undeniably apt, poised declaration of an artist firmly laying the foundations of her own legacy, which will certainly only continue to grow.

Jamila Woods releases LEGACY! LEGACY! May 10th via Jagjaguwar / Closed Sessions. @jamilawoods

@jamilawoodsofficial

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cover story

Holly Herndon words: Gemma Samways photography: Mathew Parri Thomas

“I could capture your voice, and then I could make it speak whatever I wanted it to speak. So what does that mean for the sovereignty of your personhood?” ven from the amount of words that you’ve emitted in this conversation, I could create a voice model of your voice,” Holly Herndon explains calmly from across the hotel room, a mischievous glint appearing in her ice-blue eyes. “I could capture your voice, and then I could make it speak whatever I wanted it to speak. So what does that mean for the sovereignty of your personhood?”

Just ten minutes into our meeting and I’m seriously contemplating the moral implications of A.I., not to mention the practicalities of never uttering another word aloud ever again. If the aforementioned scenario sounds ludicrously dystopian, it’s chastening to realise that these are the capabilities and very real ethical concerns - of the technologies that Herndon has dedicated the best part of a decade to exploring.

In the process of completing her PHD at Stanford, the Tennessee-raised, San Francisco-based sound artist has produced three LPs that, in part, document her research. First came 2012’s RVNG INTL-released Movement, a feast of laptop-based experimentation that first established Herndon’s fascination with vo‑ cal manipulation. Platform followed in 2015 on 4AD, developing those ideas further both practically and thematically via experimentation in the field of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and what subsequently proved to be - an eerily prophetic critique on surveillance cul‑ ture. These themes continue to underpin latest LP, PROTO, which structurally is Herndon’s boldest experiment yet.

At the heart of the record is an “A.I. baby” named Spawn, which Herndon and her partner Mathew Dryhurst built from “a souped-up gaming PC running some machine-learning algorithms.”

Spawn works by mimicking sounds from the specific training sets she’s exposed to by Herndon, Dryhurst and their collaborator Jules Le Place, be it recordings of individual voices or choirs, or any other sound design.

The end result is what Herndon describes as “an ensemble member who can interpret and perform,” drawing on very specific data sources.

“Most machine-learning systems are dra‑ wing on a vast pool of data,” Herndon ex‑ plains of the difference. “So when Facebook and Google are doing machinelearning, they’re hoovering up all this freely available information that we’re constantly giving them, and then creating models on these oceans of data.

London in Stereo: 33

cover story We wanted to hone in and make the human labour really visible - which is something often made opaque by more corporate A.I. structures - to see if [the music] had a different aesthetic quality to it.

“And the reason we used the child metaphor is that we wanted to think about it with the gravity and weight of raising a child; seeing ourselves as involved in that process and having a voice in it. Because this nascent intelligence doesn’t have context beyond what we’re feeding her, kind of like a child being raised by a parent or a community.”

Spawn appears throughout PROTO, interwoven with - and often indistinguishable from - the array of human voices that Herndon assembled at her second working base in Berlin. On the sublime, synthdriven symphony ‘Eternal’, there’s an angelic quality to the intricately-layered vocals.

On Jlin-collaboration ‘Godmother’, Spawn’s garbled, guttural performance is borderline nightmarish. Herndon laughs when I mention that Dryhurst described the lat‑ ter effect as “ugly”.

“At first I was a little embarrassed, because it’s kind of like Spawn is beatboxing.

I trained her on speech - reading 10-minute scripts and also singing phrases to bring in different timbral variety. Of course it makes logical sense that, when presented with percussion music, she would combine those things to sound like beatboxing. But ugly’s the wrong word. Maybe more rough, and honest, rather than this sci-fi, glitzy sheen. And that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to use sound as material specifically: to show that this is what audio sounds like from a neural network.”

As Herndon explains, this raw quality is at odds with the dominant narrative in A.I. music. “Most people take music, abstract that into a score that has pitch and rhythm material in the form of MIDI data, then train

the A.I. on that so that the A.I. can create infinite works in the style of that canon. So we’ll see a lot of generic, Hans Zimmer-like film scores being created, a lot of muzak, a lot of passive listening music. Certainly, the economic incentive is there for people to take a more conservative approach.

“Somebody has to take a risk and come up with something new in order for music to progress, otherwise we’re stuck in the now forever.”

“This is really problematic for many reasons. Firstly, you’re drawing on a shared musical canon and recreating something that’s being monetised for the benefit of one person. And second, when we are using the existing canon as training sets it gets us in a recursive loop aesthetically. Somebody has to take a risk and come up with something new in order for music to progress, otherwise we’re stuck in the now forever.”

Taking inspiration from the musique concrète movement, Herndon’s creative interests lie in sculpting sound to create new aesthetics entirely. “What can music reproduced by an inhuman intelligence reveal about the structure of the sound itself?,” she gushes excitedly. And yet for all her and her collaborators’ enthusiasm for the project, Herndon readily acknow‑ ledges the ethical issues and potential pitfalls in the future of A.I. development.

“Certainly there’s room to be critical, because we don’t have a great history of shared resources,” she laughs wryly. “I mean, look at the way the

London in Stereo: 35

cover story

“...look at the way the Internet’s gone.

We were just like, ‘Information wants to be free!’ and now we’re in a giant shopping mall, and advertising logic is dominating my interpersonal relationships. That’s fucked up!”

Internet’s gone. We were just like, ‘Information wants to be free!’ and now we’re in a giant shopping mall, and advertising logic is dominating my interpersonal relationships. That’s fucked up! And so I think we should not fuck it up this time, you know?

“I don’t wanna be hyperbolic, but I do think it’s fundamentally groundbreaking technology that we have. And it’s still early enough that we can make some decisions as a community as to where we stand on it and how we can use it in a way that’s symbiotic and beneficial to everyone. If we can encode our values and ethics into the protocol layer from the get-go, then maybe we can foresee some damage down the line. I mean, I think you have to have some optimism if you want to feel agency in the world, otherwise you’re giving up

and allowing someone else to determine the future.”

With PROTO, Herndon has begun defining this future undaunted, assembling a likeminded team of “nerds” to assist her.

And of all the mental somersaults required to create this third album, which aspect does Herndon cite as the most chal‑ lenging? “The humans,” she laughs without hesitation. “They all have their own lives, their own schedules, their own ideas… They’re complicated.”

Holly Herndon releases PROTO May 10th, via 4AD. LIVE: Barbican Centre, London, October 16th FESTIVALS: Sonar, Spain. Manchester International Festival 2019 @hollyherndon

@hollyherndonmusic

| HOXTONSQUAREBAR

MAY / JUNE 2019 02.05 06.05

Winston Surfshirt /

09.05

Giant Rooks /

17+18.05 27.05 30.05

03.05

Eloise + The Dawn Of May / 12.05

28.05

21.05

Stealth /

Microwave /

04.05

Hersey /

The Aussie BBQ /

CloseUp Festival /

Ali3nhead /

Mister Lees / 07.05

14.05

23.05

29.05

Faers

08.05

Ella Vos

Gold Dust

Mild Orange

Karen Harding

Foreign Beggars / 01.06 Jillian Jaqueline / 04.06 Low Cut Connie 08.06

Dat Brass / 19.06

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Youth Club /

24.06

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14.06

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Prose

Dates, times & tickets: w w w.hoxtonsquarebar.com

FESTIVAL 17 MAY 2019 18 MAY 2019

AND MANY MORE!

interview

GEORGIA words: Lee Wakefield photography: Rosia Marks & Hollie Fernando

“Someone dropped one of my favourite disco tracks that was played throughout my childhood and I had this moment of ‘fuck, how important is this?!’” eorgia Barnes has been seeking thrills between her debut album and now. That much has been clear from recent singles ‘Started Out’ and ‘About Work The Dancefloor’, perfectly cra‑ fted homages to hedonistic pursuits, but it’s illuminating to hear about Georgia’s experiences in the four-year period that’s passed.

“I kind of lost my identity in London a little bit. I found it an uncomfortable place to be sometimes,” she reveals, having lived in the city her whole life. “I saw some of my friends struggling, people struggling, and I think I was influenced by the surroundings of London and the idea of seeking thrills within these mundane routines.”

One such pursuit included heading to Manchester’s The White Hotel with a group of friends and Georgia experienced something so powerful that it shaped the direction of those new songs. “Someone drop‑

ped one of my favourite disco tracks that was played throughout my childhood and I had this moment of ‘fuck, how important is this?!’ This had me feeling emotional, this has made me feel connected to who I am.

Maybe it’s the old cliché of just having a space where you feel like you can tap into all sorts of emotions and who you are.”

She pauses, choosing her words carefully.

I can sense the magnitude. “It was quite a powerful moment. It sounds a bit like a clichéd disco thing but I really did have an emotive moment on the dancefloor and I

never realised that before, how powerful a DJ can be. I think before I always thought it was a novelty but suddenly realised how important DJ culture is. Maybe I was a bit ignorant but I suddenly realised what an amazing thing it was.”

Around the same time, she set about exploring the very first pioneers of dance music (“early Chicago house, Detroit techno, Cybotron, Underground Resistance”) and tracing its journey into the hearts of British ravers and filtering into

the charts. “You start drawing these lines of where music travels to and from,” she tells me excitedly. “You get pop stars that work with those producers and hear the sounds and see what happens in the clubs and the culture around it. The Chicago and Detroit sounds really did shape pop music from the eighties to now. We in the UK embraced it so heavily. It’s music that you love and sometimes you want to learn more about the history and the makeup of how that came about and I’m very much interested in all of that.”

London in Stereo: 41

interview This curiosity should come as little surprise due to her musical exposure from an early age, even if it didn’t always make sense to Georgia. “It was a world that was quite familiar to me as my dad was in Leftfield and my mum was a big lover of all types of music, so it was quite a familiar story.

I’ve seen it as a young girl, seeing twenty thousand people raving in a tent and not understanding it, but later on in life figuring out why it’s so brilliant.”

“IT SOUNDS A BIT LIKE A CLICHÉD DISCO THING BUT I REALLY DID HAVE AN EMOTIVE MOMENT ON THE DANCEFLOOR AND I NEVER REALISED

You’ll be doing the same with these new tracks, I suggest, offering a gateway for casual dance music fans. “That would be the ultimate musician’s or producer’s goal,” she confirms. “If you can get a kid to say ‘I want to know more about one of those basslines’ or ‘she mentions Mr Fingers or Frankie Knuckles’, that is, for me, the beauty of music.”

It doesn’t take long before we’re back on the subject of Georgia’s beloved London, a place so vital to her songwriting. “I do love this city beyond words and I do get sentimental when I think ‘I’ve been walking on the same pavement for 28 years’ and feel like my foot is imprinted on this stone,” she admits, before checking herself and giggling “fucking hell, grab a hold of yourself!”

Another pause, before Georgia continues: “I feel very grounded and rooted in this city but I feel like it’s time for a change. I think I have to leave the city to come back and appreciate it again.” And there she goes, on a mission to seek yet more thrills.

THAT BEFORE, HOW POWERFUL A DJ CAN BE…”

Georgia’s latest single About Work The Dancefloor is out now, via Domino LIVE: The Louisiana, Bristol, May 17th Redon, London, UK, May 22nd FESTIVALS: The Great Escape. Latitude. Reading & Leeds. End of The Road. @_georgiauk

@GeorgiaUK

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FRI.07.JUN.19 WED.22.MAY.19 SAT.04.MAY.19

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new things happening soon that you just don’t want to miss out on

Lee Krasner, Icarus, 1964, Oil on Canvas, Private Collection

Lee Krasner: Living Colour

Queen of Hoxton Rooftop

Lee Krasner is one of the most important and (more importantly) most interesting abstract expressionists, pioneering in a variety of extraordinary (and ordinary) mediums. Long overshadowed by the work of her husband Jackson Pollock, this is the first retrospective of her work in Europe for more than 50 years. With over 100 of her works included it’s a formidable collection displaying her wide range of talents and fearless experimentation. Don’t miss this chance to explore her multitude of ways to communicate the inner experience and learn more about such an underappreciated artist.

Humans have one pure summer instinct: get on a rooftop and drink cocktails. Well it’s that time again, and the creative souls at the Queen of Hoxton have come up with another gloriously colourful theme for their summer season: The Secret Den Of The Luchadores (the women wrestlers of Mexico). So expect frozen Margaritas, fiesta vibes and all the great food they always get so right. See you up there!

MAY 30TH-SEPTEMBER 1ST. BARBICAN CENTRE, EC2Y 8DS barbican.org.uk / @BarbicanCentre

MAY 2ND, QUEEN OF HOXTON, EC2A queenofhoxton.com // @_QueenOfHoxton_

Waltham Forest: The People’s Forest Waltham Forest have just announced a whole year of events to celebrate their relationship with Epping Forest, which is good news for us because it means we have all kinds of great stuff coming our way.

Using the forest spaces and the surrounding areas, there’ll be everything from live music, a 24-hour forest radio broadcast and women-only walks. It’s all kicking into action this month with the brilliant Lone Women hosting a walk, a contemporary dance journey into the forest and a day of workshops, all based around activism and the history of the forest.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WALTHAM FOREST wfculture19.co.uk // @WFculture19

Imaginary Cities The British Library is one of the best places to spend time, a great place to introduce people to and explore the permanent exhibits. Make sure you also catch their temporary exhibit based on fantastical cityscapes that have been created by artist-in-residence Michael Takeo Magruder. You’ll be able to explore four environments created from the metadata and information from 19th century maps, re-imagined with cutting edge technology.

OPEN UNTIL JULY 14TH. THE BRITISH LIBRARY, NW1 2DB bl.uk/events/imaginary-cities // @britishlibrary

Mary Quant Exhibition

Imaginary Cities at the British Library, 2019.

Photographs by David Steele (c) Michael Takeo Magruder

EPPING FOREST (photo: Luke Turner)

So the V&A’s Dior exhibit just won’t stop selling out, but fear not because there’s another fashion great just next door. This practically semi-permanent exhibit plays host to some of the most gamechanging ideas and creations in the history of the high street. Mary Quant’s work is one of huge influence and this is a completely unique opportunity to get insight into her designs, accessories and even some unseen pieces from her private archive.

OPEN NOW UNTIL FEB’ 2020 VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/maryquant // @V_and_A London in Stereo: 47

SLOWTHAI NOTHING GREAT ABOUT BRITAIN May 17th Method Records

A near-fautless array of early singles, a prominent place on our (and everyone else’s) 2019 tips list, live shows that bristle with visceral energy, those billboards for the album campaign... slowthai seems to be able to do no wrong right now. So Danny Wright got Robin Murray and Hassan Anderson together to find out if his debut LP lives up to those weighty expectations.

When do you think you first heard slowthai, and what did you make of him?

Robin: Probably the I WISH I KNEW EP in 2017.

He seemed really disruptive right from the start - it was UK rap but completely punk in spirit.

Hassan: It was a while back. I felt like I was hearing a more grime-influenced Jamie T. He seems to have grown really quickly. Have you been surprised?

Robin: To an extent I am, yeah. There's huge variation in his sound, and it doesn't fit in easy categories.

Hassan: Yeah, everyone seems to know about him and be into it.

Robin: But he's so urgent and intense in his approach, everything he does cuts through.

Hassan: Totally agree with that. It’s a very varied sound. But his distinctive and biting flow laces the whole thing together.

So, the big question is, what do you make of the album?

Robin: I think it's superb. It’s jarring, immediate, claustrophobic. It’s just this belch of creativity that doesn't make sense but kind of falls together perfectly.

Hassan: For me it’s not breaking any new ground but it is definitely a confident addition to UK hip hop and his flow has you hanging on his every word. You hear a ton of influences in there without it feeling derivative, too.

How would you describe the sound? Is it something different from the EPs? Hassan: It’s varied and hard to call it one thing to be honest. One minute it’s bassdriven Scroobius Pip-style delivery, the next you can hear Dizzee Rascal-style flow and the next it’s venomous and exaggerated like Jamie T.

Robin: He definitely adds something to the singles. It’s all over the place really - punk to really brittle, almost grimy beats.

It's an obvious comparison but it reminded me of listening to The Streets for the first time…

Hassan: Yeah the opening beat is very Streets. I would say that The Streets’ voice is much more distinctive though.

Robin: I think it has the same rawness that Original Pirate Material had for sure. But I definitely feel slowthai is in his own lane.

Do you feel, with the title and subject matter, that he's capturing something about the UK right now?

Robin: I think a lot of what he says on the record - about class, mental health etc - is timeless, but it does feel definitively 2019.

Hassan: It summarises neatly a sentiment I think a lot of young people are feeling right now. His voice is very vicious and personal yet I feel it could be the mouthpiece for a very wide array of listeners.

Robin: Yeah, I think his honesty makes it a very now experience.

Hassan: The title is very punk sounding too. In a time when rap is very rarely explicitly political, it’s something that makes you stop and take notice.

Robin: I wouldn't say that, though - Dave's record is political, JME met with Corbyn. I think there's a context that makes this record very right for 2019.

Hassan: Dave and JME are exceptions to the rule though - I think rap is very rarely that explicitly political.

And what about best tracks/best lines?

Hassan: “In short, I’m not a mop you can drag cross the floor” made me laugh. I think ‘Doorman’ is one of my return listens.

Robin: ‘Gorgeous’, ‘Grow Up’ and ‘Missing’ for me. I think it's a record people will listen to in a thousand different ways.

What do you make of the Skepta collab?

Robin: It’s a good name for slowthai to get for sure. There’s only two features on here, though - pretty defiant for a debut.

Have you guys seen him live?

Robin: I have not! But I’d really like to - I imagine the chaos of the live show is when the chaos of the record probably seems most direct. I'd better get my skates on before he's playing massive venues. And the next tour costs 99p, so there's always that.

Hassan: Me neither but I saw him in a boxing ring in London, on people’s stories though, and it seemed like the perfect setting for his style of rap.

Live we’ve seen him chanting "When I say fuck, you say Theresa.” Is it too easy to say this is a state of the nation kind of album?

Robin: It does feel like that at times but stuff like 'Peace Of Mind' is really personal.

Hassan: It’s almost impossible not to be engaged in politics at the moment because the UK is in crisis and democracy seems to be failing so to have someone who can channel that and make it into banging music is something that maybe immediately makes slowthai’s music an emblem for the nation even if he doesn’t intend it to be at times.

Thanks guys.

Robin: Nothing Great About Britain but plenty great about this convo amirite?! (Please don’t put that in). (Too late - Ed) FESTIVALS: Liverpool Sound City. Primavera Sound, Spain. Lovebox. Melt!, Germany. OFF, Poland. Øya, Norway. Boomtown. Reading & Leeds. @slowthai

@nospacenocaps London in Stereo: 51

MAC DEMARCO HERE COMES THE COWBOY Mac's Record Label May 10th

THE NATIONAL I AM EASY TO FIND 4AD May 17th There’s a slow-burning, blue-flame energy to The National. Combining the best bits of Smiths-y melancholia, traditional dad rock, alt-rock cynicism, and straight-up art.

Their success was both surprising and inevitable.

Their eighth album comfortably meets and exceeds the breadth of their past decade’s aural sublimity. Tracks such as ‘The Pull Of You’ and ‘So Far So Fast’ are utterly breathtaking journeys, as Berninger’s characteristically soothing baritone retreats slightly into the mix, complimenting the addition of prominent guest vocalists and choral arrangements.

This sixty-minute sensation is further indebted to the Dessner and Devendorf brothers’ calm handling of strings and percussion, which reframe past sorrows in a strange new light.

Head to any record retailer, and their discography now dryly beckons: I Am Easy To Find.

Harriet Taylor

Everybody's favourite lovesick scoundrel is back, and he’s sticking to the plan. With Here Comes The Cowboy DeMarco saunters through the saloon doors and serenades us with a bluesy collection of railroad ditties and mournful ballads. Lead single 'Nobody' swaps DeMarco's trademark slider for a saturnine horn, parping under pizzicato chords. His razor-sharp witticisms burn as his jaunty vocals belie his true meaning with lines such as “Hop on a plane, fly out to Spain, you can die alone,” interspersed amongst songs like 'Choo Choo', which apparently mean nothing. An air of sarcasm hangs over the whole record, and if I'm honest, I was hoping for something a lot more radical.

Best listened to in the haze of lonely summer evenings.

Madeleine Wrench

CATE LE BON REWARD

Mexican Summer May 24th Cate Le Bon possesses that rarest of gifts; a specific sound instantly recognisable as hers, but one pliable enough to take her anywhere. On Reward, the fifth in a series of increasingly impressive records, she uses it to visit her most mesmerising musical territory yet. A rock record only in the broadest of terms, Le Bon is wilfully experimental across Reward, but always in control. Her music is playful and delicate, highly intellectual without snobbery. Consistently, it’s a joy, from the peculiar beauty of the brass-laden ‘Miami’ opener through the effortless pining of ‘Daylight Matters’ to the closing staccato lament of ‘Meet the Man’. At once a comforting and curious listen, Reward is an excellent album from an artist finally getting the recognition she deserves. Thomas Hannan

VAMPIRE WEEKEND FATHER OF THE BRIDE Columbia Records May 3rd

After six years away Vampire Weekend are back. In those intervening years they’ve lost a founding member and songwriter (Rostam), signed a major-label deal, and developed a worrying penchant for wearing socks and sandals and, it seems, making double albums. So here is Father of The Bride (sadly not a Steve Martin concept album), finely treading its sandalled feet along the line between corny and cool.

For a band constantly criticised for being overly arch, they’ve always sounded joyfully unpretentious. And so it remains. ’Harmony Hall’ mixes a 90s baggy vibe and wonderfully uncool piano groove to make maybe the single of the year. There’s also a song knowingly called ‘Unbearably White’ (insert side-eye emoji). This is a looser, warmer sound than before and gloriously unfashionable touchstones are everywhere.

Sometimes that works, like on opener ‘Hold You Now’ which mixes a campfire strum with Danielle Haim and a choral sample from the Hans Zimmer Thin Red Line score, and ‘We Belong Together’ and ‘This Life’ (co-written

by Mark Ronson) where Ezra sounds more like Paul Simon than he ever has before. But songs like ‘Sunflower’ show prog should never come back into fashion and it seems to drag in the final stretch. The result is a fantastically all over the place 18 song record that could have been a brilliant 12 track one.

Watch out, we’ll all be wearing sandals soon.

Danny Wright

EZRA KOENIG (photo: Monika Mogi)

DRAHLA

USELESS COORDINATES Captured Tracks May 3rd Drahla grabbed a handful of studio days between tour dates and festival slots between January and August 2018 to record Useless Coordinates. The title reflects the band’s transience during that time. As for the feel of their debut album, ‘hectic’ doesn’t even do it justice. By the time you get to ‘Stimulus For Living’ on track four, you’re already suitably stimulated to stay awake for a good 48 hours.

Tracks like ‘Pyramid Estate’ and ‘React/Revolt’ showcase the new addition of Chris Duffin’s crotchety sax, shouldering into Rob Riggs’ impatient bass, Luciel Brown’s shredded beats, all thumped in return by Mike Ainsley’s percussive assault and battery. It sounds like the ultimate musical mosh pit. The album finishes with ‘Invisible Sex’. You can’t say you saw that coming. Jon Kean London in Stereo: 53

HONEYBLOOD IN PLAIN SIGHT Marathon Artists May 24th Honeyblood is now very much a solo project for Stina Tweeddale, but she was far from alone in the build-up to her band’s third album: “I was being haunted by a woman who’d come in my dreams and try to kill me.” Yikes! It’s an experience documented on album opener ‘She’s a Nightmare’, and gothic paranoia informs much of In Plain Sight, albeit mostly metaphorically – the tricks and treats of love and lust are confronted in the likes of ‘A Kiss from the Devil’ and ‘Tarantella’. It’s largely set to glassilyproduced bubblegum rock that lacks the raw punch of Honeyblood’s earlier material but isn’t shy of brash pop-punk hooks. ‘Glimmer’ is the grittiest of these contagious cuts, but it’s the warmer, darker melodia of ‘Twisting the Aces’ that's most likely to tingle one's spine. Nick Mee

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE

LET'S TRY THE AFTER VOL 2 Arts & Crafts Out Now Broken Social Scene has always been a band that’s thrived on kindness. Founded at the beginning of the millennium as a joint venture between long-standing members Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew, over time, BSS began to exhibit a collective model, enlisting the likes of Feist and Metric’s Emily Haines along the way. From their 2003 album You Forgot It In People onwards, BSS have created some of indie rock’s most emotionally nourishing music. And while they might have dipped slightly in quality with their 2017 output Hug of Thunder — which sounded more like Soccer AM anthems than anything too trailblazing — Let’s Try The After Vol. 2 sees a return to form. With electronic flourishes — tiny synths which coalesce like bokehs in the band’s wide sonic picture; autotune which adds an extra-human beauty; signals which add a squiggle to the band’s enormous canvas — BSS have proved once again that great art can be sourced from great hearts. Emma Madden

SEBADOH ACT SURPRISED Fire Records May 24th Sebadoh are back in the game with their first record in over six years and it’s an angsty bundle of joy. Act Surprised feels like a familiar friend from the get-go. It’s got that youthful grit and energy that the band have come to be known for in their prolific career. Tracks like 'Celebrate The Void' showcase cracking lyricism as Lou Barlow utters, "I get the feeling you don't feel me." There's a sense of urgency and freshness behind this record that’s immediately apparent from the first listen. It sounds like a bunch of guys who are enjoying making music and the result is perhaps one of their finest albums so far. Rhys Buchanan

LYDIA AINSWORTH

PHANTOM FOREST Zombie Cat Records May 10th In recent years Lydia Ainsworth has written pop songs for people who are ambivalent about pop.

2017’s Darling Of The Afterglow was an electronicmeets-orchestral affair flecked with hooks. Phantom Forest is her most sonically taut yet – one for listeners seeking evened plains – a concept record about humanity’s disregard for nature that’s set to a crisp, synth-pop soundtrack. ‘Can You Find Her Place’ is a tropical tonic of springy bass and whip-smart beats.

‘Diamonds Cutting Diamonds’ best exposes Ainsworth’s composition chops: mapping synths and beats like a symphonic movement. Phantom Forest isn’t, however, constrained to the synthetic sounds typically associated with modern pop – there’s ample acoustics. Moreover, Ainsworth is keen to test her experimental limits, even if the results are less cluttered overall. Charlotte Krol

SACRED PAWS

RUN AROUND THE SUN Rock Action May 31st Fresh from their SAY award win with debut album Strike a Match, the Glasgow-based act are back with their trademark brand of highlife-inspired pop. Run Around The Sun sees the band playing on themes of insecurity, loneliness and resilience. Not ones to bring their audience down, every track is buoyed by triumphant horns and infectious rhythm sections. On ‘Life’s Too Short’ Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers sing in unison about continuing in the face of opposition, while ‘Shame on Me’ reflects on a failed relationship.

‘What’s So Wrong’ ponders on the cyclical routine depression forces us into, all played out over a chaotically joyful melody. With this record, Sacred Paws have created an album you can dance through your existential crisis to. Stephanie Phillips

SNOW GHOSTS A QUIET RITUAL Houndstooth May 3rd Eleven years since the band’s formation, Bath natives Snow Ghosts have worked mercilessly to refine their sound, blending a unique hypnotic ambience with post-industrial influences, haunting vocal harmonies and a smooth wave of electronic undertones. This month, the trio return with their third studio album, A Quiet Ritual, offering a poetic and sobering commentary on the concept of death. John Kenny’s carnyx opens the album, gradually progressing into a violent and distorted burst of sound, courtesy of ‘RIP’, while ‘Heavy Heart’ builds towards a rush of heavy, aggressive instrumentals. Later, the mesmerising ‘Spinners’ borrows lyrical themes from Norse mythology, and Cartwright’s powerful vocals pierce through an eerie musical soundscape laden with sorrow, before the harrowing ‘Silence’ reflects the emptiness of loss with a simple, bittersweet melody. Kelly Ronaldson London in Stereo: 55

KEDR LIVANSKIY YOUR NEED 2MR May 3rd Kedr Livanskiy’s second album, Your Need announces its arrival with the piercing synths of its title track. It’s a fiercely confident opening statement, at odds with a recording process that, by her own admission, felt uninspired for long periods and ultimately came to fruition in a matter of weeks. Perhaps it shows in the record’s frantic feel, skittering from one electronic touchstone to the next, yet never feeling predictable. Levanskiy is not paying homage, she’s simply setting out a new blueprint for us to embrace, examine and worship. And there’s a lot to enjoy here, from the pummelling breakbeat of ‘Ivan Kupala (New Day)’ to the delicate keys that lend ‘Your Need (Deep Mix)’ a gorgeous sense of weightlessness.

Uncompromising, this is club music on Kedr Kivanskiy’s terms. Lee Wakefield

CHARLY BLISS YOUNG ENOUGH Lucky Number May 10th

FAYE WEBSTER

ATLANTA MILLIONAIRES CLUB Secretly Canadian May 24th “I should get out more,” Webster repeatedly utters throughout the opening track of Atlanta Millionaires Club. It’s a statement that belies the wonderful diversity of inspiration the artist draws from. The prominence of pedal steel – the stunning, slowwalking ‘Hurts Me Too’ and ‘What Used To Be’ – point to country, there’s brooding soul in ‘Jonny’ (also home to one of the album’s best lyrics: “...my dog is my best friend and he doesn’t even know what my name is.”), funk in ‘Come To Atlanta’, while ‘Flowers’, with its gentle swaggering, rap-clad hue wouldn’t feel out of place on an FKA twigs record. Webster paints a picture of vulnerability while tongue appears gently in cheek and there’s a knowing wink in delivery. Millionaire or not, Webster’s club is one we should all look to join. George O’Brien

Met with collective critical praise for their 2017 debut, Guppy, Charly Bliss return with a sophomore effort that's more considered and introspective, but only fractionally less pop-punk and bombastic. Eva Hendricks' distinctive, highpitched range accentuates the juxtaposition between the squeaks and shimmers with jawbreaker-like lyrics, where each catchy, sugar-laced layer gets closer to a centre that's confused and searching for answers. The groove and bright pop synths of 'Chat Room' and the emotional weight of the title track paint the picture of growth and evolution of Charly Bliss' sound on Young Enough into something unique rather than novel. All the depth and changes aside, this record is fun and it's exciting to know there is more to come from them. Albert Testani

THE OLD BLUE LAST

SEBRIGHT ARMS

Fri 03 | Free What The Funk?

King Nun

Wed 08 | Free Dark Party Old Sea Brigade

Sat 04 | Free Spilt Milk Monster Florence

Sun 12 | Free EYOE Planet

Tue 07 | Free Live Nation Just Mustard

Mon 13 | Free Bad Vibrations Nice Biscuit

Fri 10 | Free Permanent Creeps Club DBRMM

Tue 14 | Free Dark Party Mermaidens

Tue 14 | Free Slay Low These New South Whales

Thu 16 | £8.80 Rockfeedback Pottery

Thu 16 | £13.20 Metropolis Music Joey Pecoraro

Fri 17 | £6.60 Spilt Milk Yama Warashi

Mon 20 | Free Slay Low A Swayze & The Ghosts

Sun 19 | Free Dark Party Tallies

Thu 23 | Free Spilt Milk Sunda Arc

Thu 23 | SOLD OUT Metropolis The Nude Party

Sat 25 | Free Mode FM Ed The Dog

Sat 25 – Sun 26 | Free Spilt Milk Weekender Scalping, Sistertalk, 3 Peace + more!

Fri 31 | Free Teen Creeps Ice Baths the old blue last.com/listings @theoldbluelast

_K_R_E_A_M_ KARAOKE EVERY FRIDAY – FREE! sebrightarms.com @sebrightarms

our selection of the best shows coming up this month

O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE

O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON

JESS GLYNNE

YIZZY

May 22nd £45 adv // @o2sbe

Shepherd’s Bush

May 17th £10adv // @O2Islington

Angel

YIZZY

SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS KAIA KATER May 9th £12.50adv // @ServantJazz

Dalston Junction / Kingsland

THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY DUTCHKID + EARL GRAY COLLECTIVE + RALPH TAYLOR May 16th £8adv // @CamdenAssembly

Chalk Farm / Camden Town

THE LEXINGTON TOMBERLIN + DANA GAVANSKI May 24th £11adv // @thelexington

Angel

THE WAITING ROOM RACHEL K COLLIER May 29th £11adv // @WaitingRoomN16

THE DOME + BOSTON MUSIC ROOM RAW POWER FESTIVAL

Dalston Junction / Kingsland

THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS TAMARYN + COLD SHOWERS

May 25th-May 26th £60adv // @DomeTufnellPark

Tuffnell Park

THE OLD BLUE LAST

May 25th £12.10adv // @shacklewell Arms

Dalston Junction / Kingsland

BRIXTON WINDMILL

THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES

SNEAKS

May 14th FREE // @theoldbluelast

May 1st £8.50adv // @WindmillBrixton

Old Street / Liverpool Street

Brixton

MOTH CLUB

BUSH HALL

CHAI

HEN OGLEDD

May 17th £12.10adv // @Moth_Club

Hackney Central CHAI

May 14th Shepherd’s Bush Market / Shepherd’s Bush £14adv // @Bushhallmusic

O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN LOTTO BOYZZ May 2nd £19adv // @O2ForumKTown

Kentish Town

PAPER DRESS VINTAGE THEE MPVS, CAPTAIN SÜÜN May 30th £6adv // @paperdressed

Hackney Central

JAZZ CAFE HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN CLOSEUP FESTIVAL: LITTLE CUB + WYLDEST + PIZZAGIRL + MORE May 18th £10adv // @HoxtonSquareBar

Old Street

JODIE ABACUS + RUBY FRANCIS May 9th £12adv // @TheJazzCafe

Camden Town

ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL

THE SEBRIGHT ARMS THOUGHT FORMS May 3rd £9adv // @SebrightArms

Bethnal Green/ Cambridge Heath

XOYO ALLYSHA JOY + LAURA MISCH May 17th £10adv // @XOYO_London

Old Street / Liverpool Street

NOTTING HILL ARTS CLUB FERMEZ LA BOUCHE + EUT + WALT DISCO + LIILY May 8th FREE // @NHAClub

Notting Hill Gate

OSLO ROSE ELINOR DOUGALL May 28th £10adv // @OsloHackney

Hackney Central

THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB TURYA May 20th £10adv // @slaughteredlam

Farringdon/ Old Street London in Stereo: 61

mandolin orange TIDES OF A TEARDROP AVA I L A B L E N O W “Every note and lyric is delivered with the utmost care…”

—MAVERICK

ON TOUR 1/5 Ampere - Munich, DE 2/5 Lido - Berlin, DE 3/5 Nochtspeicher - Hamburg, DE 4/5 Palladium - Malmo, SE 5/5 Slaktkyrkan - Stockholm, SE 7/5 John Dee - Oslo, NO 8/5 Pustervik - Gothenburg, SE 10/5 Oosterpoort - Groningen, NL 11/5 Doornroosje - Nijmegen, NL 12/5 Paradiso - Amsterdam, NL 13/5 Dok - Ghent, BE 14/5 Les Etoiles - Paris, FR 15/5 Islington Assembly Hall - London, UK - SOLD OUT

FULL MAY LISTINGS

LONDON’S GIG GUIDE Your full listings guide to all the best shows happening across North, East, South and West London this month.

Wednesday May 1st Thursday May 2nd

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Friday May 3rd

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Saturday May 4th

Sunday May 5th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Tuesday May 7th

Monday May 6th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Wednesday May 8th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Thursday May 9th

Friday May 10th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Saturday May 11th

Sunday May 12th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo Tuesday May 14th

Monday May 13th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS Wednesday May 15th

Thursday May 16th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Friday May 17th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Saturday May 18th

Sunday May 19th

Monday May 20th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Wednesday May 22nd Tuesday May 21st

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Thursday May 23rd

Friday May 24th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Saturday May 25th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS Sunday May 26th

Tuesday May 28th

Monday May 27th

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

LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo

Wednesday May 29th

Thursday May 30th

WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing

FULL MAY LISTINGS

Friday May 31st

LONDONINSTEREO.COM/SUBSCRIBE GET THE NEW ISSUE OF LONDON IN STEREO DROPPING THROUGH YOUR LETTERBOX EACH MONTH find us on Spotify at London in Stereo to keep up with our weekly new music playlists

SOLD OU

T

SOLD OU

T

SOLD OU

T

SOLD OU

T

WOOZE

TOMBERLIN

BODY TYPE

OPEN MIKE EAGLE

14 May Tamesis Dock 15 May Moth Club

G FLIP

15 May The Garage

24 May The Lexington 24 May Islington Assembly Hall 26 May Electric Brixton

DRAHLA

STRAND OF OAKS

POTTERY

RAYANA JAY

BRANDT BRAUER FRICK

MAYRA ANDRADE

CHAI

THURSTON MOORE’S GUITAR ENSEMBLE

15 May Studio 9294 16 May Sebright Arms 16 May Electrowerkz 17 May Moth Club

TRUDY AND TH

21 May Oslo

MURLO

22 May EartH

LONNIE HOLLEY

8 May St John at Bethnal Green

27 May Omeara

29 May Camden Assembly 30 May EartH

31 May EartH

9 July Moth Club

COSMO SHELDRAKE 10 July Oval Space

ADULT MOM

25 July The Lexington

DAKHABRAKHA 26 July EartH

VISIONS FESTIVAL 3 Aug London Fields

MOBY: THEN IT FELL APART

MURKAGE DAVE

3 June EartH

JACCO

COMPOSHER

23 May The Lexington

CLOUD NOTHINGS

HOLLY HERNDON

1 June EartH

MATMOS

LAURAN HIBBERD

26 June The Dome

WIRE

STONEFIELD

22 May The Dome

STARCRAWLER

GIA MARGARET

1 June The Lexington

CASS MCCOMBS

13 May The Lexington

20 June St Pancras Old Church

ANEMONE / CORRIDOR

CHARLY BLISS 13 May The Garage

HILANG CHILD & PAUL THOMAS SAUNDERS

6 June EartH

11 June Jazz Cafe 12 June EartH

KEVIN MORBY

19 June O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

5 Sept St Pancras Old Church 16 Oct Barbican

18 Oct Studio 9294

THE DREAM SYNDICATE 21 Oct Scala

PUMA BLUE 30 Oct EartH

ANNA OF THE NORTH 6 Nov Heaven

ELDER ISLAND 20 Nov Roundhouse

rockfeedback.com

“...it felt celestial and joyous and watching people come together under the light and sound was a little bit of magic...”

by

Erland Cooper

In January we built a celestial NEST of light and sound.

It was a gigantic, kinetic light installation that lit up the London skyline. A huge 20-metre diameter, 30-speaker surround sound, white light helix - one part 3D Spirograph, one part firework display. It could be seen, like a spaceship, from the Southbank to the M25 and, for three nights only, became a place to commune under: a safe haven bringing together a sea of over 70,000 Londoners.

The light was choreographed (much like ballet), to a 15-minute score that looped for three hours each night, with four flights or murmurations per hour. It featured ambient glowing eggs, tape-loops, strings, synths and the human voice. With children, teenagers, adults to senior groups, I sampled over 1,000 joyous community members, that all came together at one precise point, for full flight display.

It was designed, engineered and built by the ground-breaking Marshmallow Laser Feast and commissioned by London Borough of Culture as part of their opening ceremony to crown Waltham Forest as their chosen

borough for 2019. Placed in Lloyd Park, behind the William Morris gallery, the nest burned brightly like a beacon to the borough.

It was one of the most rewarding projects I've worked on, it felt celestial and joyous and watching people come together under the light and sound was a little bit of magic.

I recall a child saying to his mum, who had a tear in her eye…

“It’s like sitting right underneath fireworks but without the bangs!”

the

I recall a man saying to his mate, who had a tear in his eye…

“It’s like tripping off your face!”

Such a fine connection of people and place, individuals, engineers and producers, all tied together by the magic of arts curator, Kirsteen McNish.

Erland Cooper releases his new album, Sule Skerry, May 17th via Phases.

LIVE: Barbican Milton Court, May 16th.

Rough Trade East, May 17th @ErlandCooper

@erlandcooper London in Stereo: 83

05/19 The MOTH Club Valette Street, London E8 Saturday 4 May

SHORTPARIS Tuesday 7 May

LOWLY Wednesday 8 May

CURRENT JOYS Wednesday 15 May

BODY TYPE Friday 17 May

Lanzarote

lanzaroteworks.com #lanzaroteworks

Programming

The Waiting Room 175 Stoke Newington High St, N16 Monday 29 April

BERNARDO Tuesday 30 April

MARTHAGUNN Wednesday 1 May

ORA THE MOLECULE Monday 6 May

LUCIDVOX Wednesday 8 May

CHAI

TAMARAEBI

The Shacklewell Arms

Studio9294

71 Shacklewell Lane, London E8 Tuesday 30 April

BEE BEE SEA Wednesday 1 May

THE ENTREPRENEURS Friday 3 May

MERMAIDENS Monday 6 May

TOM MCGUIRE & THE BRASSHOLES Tuesday 7 May

WIVES

92 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN Saturday 27 April

TEST PRESSING FESTIVAL: MOON DUO, APTBS Wednesday 15 May

DRAHLA Thursday 23 May

VIAGRA BOYS Saturday 15 June

PORTICO QUARTET Friday 28 June

METZ

Her’s

by Hassan Anderson The horrific news that arrived at the end of March that Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading, aka Her’s, had been involved in a fatal car crash whilst on tour in the U.S. was, and still is, devastating for anyone who knew them or their music. So local and full of life, Her’s were like the band next door everyone knew and secretly had a crush on. It feels sickening to even type about them in the past tense, quite frankly. They still seem so present...

Stephen and Audun, 24 and 25 respectively, met whilst studying at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in 2015. They quickly formed an unbreakable bond that was made present in every song they wrote, gig they played or even photo they took together as Her’s. The warmth of this union was offered out to anyone who called themselves a fan of the band.

This was clearly demonstrated by the plethora of tributes online following the news of their death from fans, other bands and the music industry in general.

I reviewed both their album-length releases for London in Stereo and concluded in 2018 that “There isn’t a band in the UK that can make the plastic plod of a drum machine sound

so dreamy”. Upon reflection, this is only a half-truth: there isn’t really another band in the UK like Her’s whatsoever.

Bangers like ‘Cool With You’, ‘Marcel’, ‘Harvey’, ‘Blue Lips’, ‘She Needs Him’, ‘Speed Racer’ and so many others are unmistakably theirs. Their music displayed a rich knowledge of influences and they put them together playfully to produce a sound that was simultaneously pop and lo-fi. They were totally unafraid to stray from the usual way of doing things and try out insane ideas that somehow worked both on record and live. Most importantly they were refreshingly funny and although their writing is poetic they never lapsed into the seriousness that is all too tempting for most songwriters.

Their loss is a profoundly tragic one in so many ways. My thoughts are permanently with their family members and loved ones.

To conclude I’d like to say thank you for your songs and magic brightness, Her’s. We had your tracks on loop when you were here and will continue to do so now you are at rest.

Hassan Anderson is a music journalist and TV researcher who has worked for the likes of Channel 4 and MTV.

London in Stereo: 85

MONDAY 29TH APRIL THE GARAGE

SUNDAY 28TH APRIL O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN

HO99O9

TOKIO HOTEL

TUESDAY 7TH MAY SCALA

+ PLACK BLAGUE

FRIDAY 10TH MAY THE UNDERWORLD

STELLA DONNELLY

THE PICTUREBOOKS

THURSDAY 16TH MAY THE WAITING ROOM

FRIDAY 17TH MAY THE VICTORIA

+ SOFIA BOLT

TUESDAY 7TH MAY MOTH CLUB

LOWLY

THURSDAY 16TH MAY CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

DUTCHKID

+ EARL GRAY COLLECTIVE + RALPH TAYLOR

FRIDAY 17TH MAY OMEARA

BLUE AMERICANS

TIA GOSTELOW

WILD YOUTH

17 ,18 & 19TH MAY UNION CHAPEL

MONDAY 20TH MAY ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH

THURSDAY 23RD MAY THE UNDERWORLD

TH SOLD TH OUT SOLD OUT

AMOS LEE + MUTLU

Home of promoters Kilimanjaro Live

TYLER RAMSEY

+ TAMZENE

THE WORD ALIVE

+ MAKE THEM SUFFER + OF VIRTUE + AVIANA

SUNDAY SUNDAY2826THTHAPRIL MAY O2 THEFORUM SHACKLEWELL KENTISH ARMS TOWN

TOKIO THE DUNTS HOTEL

TH TH TUESDAY 729 MAY WEDNESDAY MAY BOSTONSCALA MUSIC ROOM

TH TUEMONDAY 28TH & WED 29TH 29 APRIL MAY BERMONDSEY THE GARAGE SOCIAL CLUB

FAYEHO99O9 WEBSTER + PLACK BLAGUE

TH FRIDAY 10TH29MAY WEDNESDAY MAY THESQUARE UNDERWORLD HOXTON BAR & KITCHEN

STELLA ANGELDONNELLY DU$T

THE PICTUREBOOKS KAREN HARDING

THURSDAY 30 16THTH MAY ELECTROWERKZ THE WAITING ROOM

31THST MAY FRIDAY 17 THE DOME THE VICTORIA

POWERBOLT + HIGH-VIS + SOFIA + HIGHER

TH TUE TUESDAY 28TH & WED 7TH29 MAY MAY MOTH OMEARA CLUB

FATHERSON LOWLY

16THTH MAY THURSDAY 30 CAMDEN ASSEMBLY HEAVEN

DUTCHKID YONAKA

EARL GRAY COLLECTIVE + RALPH TAYLOR NINTH WAVE + TILLIE ++ THE

31THST MAY FRIDAY 17 MOTH CLUB OMEARA

LOOK MUMAMERICANS NO COMPUTER BLUE

SHAKEY GRAVES TIA GOSTELOW

SLOW MAGIC WILD YOUTH

17TUESDAY ,18 &1819THTHJUNE MAY UNION CHAPEL VILLAGE UNDERGROUND

TH MONDAY 20 THURSDAY 20THMAY JUNE ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH UNION CHAPEL

RD THURSDAY MAY SATURDAY 28TH23SEPTEMBER THE UNDERWORLD EVENTIM APOLLO, HAMMERSMITH

TH SOLD TH OUT SOLD OUT

AMOSAPOLLO LEE OMAR

TYLERTOWNES RAMSEY JUSTIN EARLE

+ MUTLU Home Home of of promoters promoters Kilimanjaro Kilimanjaro Live Live

+ ROSEANNE REID

+ TAMZENE

THE WORD WILCOALIVE

+ OF VIRTUE + AVIANA + MAKE THEM +SUFFER OHMME

S.J.M. CONCERTS PRESENTS

PLUS INHALER

21 MAY / CAMDEN ASSEMBLY

30 MAY / BUSH HALL

TAME IMPALA

KELLY JONES

8 JUN/ THE O2

16 JUN / EVENTIM APOLLO

D O N ’ T L E T T H E D E V I L TA K E A N O T H E R D A Y A SOLO TOUR

PLUS THE WIND + THE WAVE

PLUS INDOOR PETS

29 JUN / O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON

19 & 20 AUG / EARTH

27 AUG / ELECTRIC SO LD OUT BALLROOM 30 AUG / EARTH

13 NOV / ALEXANDRA THEATRE

PLUS THE TWANG

13 DEC / O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON