Down the Rabbit Hole - Issue 10

Down the RabBit Hole

Issue 10 1st April

contents Editor’s Note Hello all, We hope you’ve had a great month!

This issue we have an exclusive review of Stillhouse’s brand new EP, ‘Love is The Weight’. We also have interviews with Scarlet’s Wake and Wolfgang Butress – renowned sculptor and musician.

This month’s issue features a piece on modern music’s embrace of the violin, and a review of the blockbuster ‘Logan’. We also have an album review of Ed Sheeran’s, ironically divisive, new album ‘÷’.

All of this, along with our regular Top 5 segments and our Artist in Review, makes for one of our most varied E-mags yet!

Happy Reading, Editor, Rachel Colley

Interviews: Scarlet’s Wake - 4-7 Wolfgang Buttress - 30-36

Reviews: Stillhouse - 42 Ed Sheeran - 10 Flying Vinyl - 28

Articles: Gear Review - Jaguar Bass - 46 Artist in Review - 20-22 Upcoming Tours - 38-40 Film Review - Logan - 16-19 The Contemporary Violin - 44-45

Top 5’s: Top 5 of the Month - 12-13 Top 5 Drummers - 24-27

Gig Guide - 48

Scarlet’s Wake Can you give our readers a brief history of your band?

Which influences helped shape your 2014 album ‘Save Your Soul’ and why?

Originally we were a 5-piece with the guitarist TK (Deathflux, Akarusa Yami), and when we shrank to a foursome we took some time to adapt both our writing and playing styles to suit the new dynamic.

There is a definite evolution of our ‘sound’ over the years –from rock/metal to our current hard rock vibe, but still very much ‘us’!

As we wrote every song on SYS collectively, even if the bones of the song were written by just one of us, there is a wide range of influences knocking about in there!

We all have very different heroes, inspirations and experiences to draw from which sometimes might be really obvious and sometimes very subtle. ‘Save Your Soul’ definitely has a heavier groove based feel to it than our first album, with nods to bands such as Clutch, QOTSA and Sevendust.

Quick Fire: Best gig you’ve played?

Femme Metal Festival at The Asylum in Birmingham When are you next going to be playing around the York area?

If you book us, we will come!

Biggest musical influence?

Every shade of ROCK… Next release date?

Our 3rd album is due to be released mid 2017

You have a new album coming out this year, what should we expect?

Which Nottingham bands should our readers check out?

We’re really proud of this album; it really screams what we’re all about musically as well as emotionally, and we believe it’s some of the best music we’ve written as a band.

There are lots of great local bands but our favourite band at the moment are Witchtripper, who are a brilliant live band and great fun to gig with. We also played with Derby drum ‘n’ bass group Phattfoxx recently and were blown away by their set; they literally made the pint glasses jump across the tables!

There are always going to be similarities to our previous albums but we think this album has really developed into a much more solid sound. It’s rebellious with a lot of depth and energy to it, you can tell we worked hard on it and had a great time making it too!

Scarlet’s Wake Which venues do you enjoy playing the most?

We love playing The Rescue Rooms and The Salutation Inn as they always have a great sound and are both brilliant venues at both ends of the spectrum. It’s great to see venues like these still open all these years and still successfully putting on live bands.

Where would you love to play next?

Being from Nottingham we are always working towards playing Rock City, but we would love to get back to Germany as the gigs we have played there in previous bands were awesome. We would like to get round

the rest of Europe, particularly Scandinavia and the Netherlands, as well as further afield such as Japan and the US. Have you got any stories to share from the road?

We have been touring for a long time now, some of us over 15 years, so we have certainly had our fair share of rock ‘n’ roll experiences, although, not quite at the level of TVs out of hotel windows! Martyr De Mona were a great band to share a stage with; we have been really lucky with some of the bands we have had the pleasure of supporting over the years.

Are there any festivals that you guys are excited to check out this summer?

Are there any musicians that you would love to share the stage with and why?

We love to support local festivals such as Macmillan Festival, Splendour and Deerfest.

They are always good to check out and are really growing year on year, with some amazing big name bands and lots of very talented local bands and musicians. The big festivals as well as Bloodstock and TechFest both look like they have good line ups this year too.

The list is endless, but of musicians/bands that are still live and kicking, Queen, Foo Fighters, QOTSA, Guano Apes, Sevendust, Lacuna Coil, Killswitch Engage, would be amazing‌but to be honest we would gig with anyone ‘cause we just love being on stage!

Ed Sheeran After a year long silence Suffolk’s favorite ginger is back with yet another chart conquering album. ‘÷’, the third in a series of mathematically named albums, keeps up the Sheeran tradition of trying to cram as many genres as humanly possible into one album.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, the ever shifting sound only goes to show that Ed can smash any genre he puts his mind to.

The album sprints from celtic folk merged with hip hop in Galway Girl, to the heartfelt ballads he’s famed for with Happier and Supermarket Flowers, to modern club anthems like Shape Of You. One of my personal favorite things about

Ed Sheeran’s music are the lyrics. No matter what style he’s trying his hand at the lyrics of his songs remain thoughtful and clever and they always manage to strike a chord with everyone listening and thankfully ‘÷’ is no exception. However, unlike his past albums, most of the inspiration for his new lyrics seem to be drawn from his family history. You can really feel the heart in them.

In Galway Girl and Nancy Mulligan he uses celtic style melodies and instruments to hark back to his Irish roots, Nancy Mulligan being his grandmother and the song being the story of how her and his Grandfather met. Supermarket Flowers is another

tribute to his Grandmother, but this time it’s the story of her death and Ed cleaning out her house.

The personal aspect of ‘÷’ is more fun than I’m making it sound, I swear, you just need to listen to Castle On The Hill. It’s a love song to his home county of Suffolk and without a doubt it’s my favorite track on the whole album, not just because I’m a Suffolk girl myself who grew up about half an hour from Ed Sheeran… (that’s definitely part of the reason) Everything about Castle On The Hill from the lyrics to the beat to Ed’s vocals sent me back to every hot summer evening spent

drinking cheap spirits with my friends in a field, the last of the sunset glinting off wheat and streams and roofs of thatched houses painted Suffolk pink. Somehow in 4 minutes Ed managed to make me long for the winding country roads of the county I couldn’t wait to leave - if that isn’t talented song writing then I don’t know what is.

In my personal opinion ‘÷’ is Ed Sheeran’s best album. It manages to take what is so quintessentially him, the heartfelt lyrics and powerful love songs, and shake it up to create a sound that is recognizable to longtime fans, but new enough to keep us interested. I can’t wait to see how he’ll top this!

Top 5 of the month Horizon Zero Dawn This game feels so free yet familiar at the same time, with a cool as hell concept of cavemen meet robotic dinosaurs, its easy to see the appeal. The story is really compelling and drags you in. On the other hand though, if you don’t want to play the story, you can just wander the desserts, mountains and woodland and kill giant machines and help out the little folk. The choice is yours, and both choices are fun!

Iron Fist Another Netflix series by Marvel, and the final Defender has arrived! Iron Fist is full of

action and has a similar back story to some other super heroes I’ve seen on TV... but aside from that. The story follows Danny Rand who is orphaned at a young age and is presumed dead too, while he is really training in a mystical land called K’un L’un.

This is the story of him returning to New York.

Incurably Innocent - At The Drive-In With a new album due out later this year, At The Drive-In have released their second of what already sounds like one of their best albums to date, Incurably Innocent sounds fresh and energetic as hell! Yet also sounds like it wouldn’t out of place on any of their

back catalogue, which is a hard balance to have as a reformed band!

King Kong The new King Kong movie is a standalone plot that is easy to follow without seeing any of the other movies. The cinematography from Kong to the giant spider who impales a man is truly amazing to see, while also being terrifying. While the movie was very action packed and frankly an emotional rollercoaster it wasn’t hard to find humour in the film as well.

You will not be disappointed by watching it.

This is a definitely a must-see movie.

Samurai Jack Jack is back! After a long period where it seemed the series was never going to end and just be another cancelled show, adult swim decided to release is on their channel.

This meant it could be a lot more adult than in previous times on Cartoon Network, and by gosh they haven’t held back! I also liked how they have made Jack look aged in this as it reflects the time that he hasn’t been off air for.

Logan If you haven’t heard by now that there’s a new Wolverine movie and that it’s Hugh Jackman’s last film in the role, then boy do I have some news for you. The bad news is that Hugh Jackman is retiring as Wolverine.

It’s his time and there’s nothing we can do about it. Not even Ryan Reynolds can save us now. The good news is that Logan is a really fucking great film and you’re gonna love it. But honestly, you should have seen it at least twice by now. What’s wrong with you?

As swan songs go, this is one of the best.

It sort of destroys the superhero movie in more ways than one. Firstly, it breaks with all the conventions. Even the ones about

having Stan Lee say one line and throwing in a post-credits scene at the end. Secondly, it’s hard to imagine any future superhero movie living up to the standards set here.

Logan is more of a neo-western than anything else. At its core, the film is about family. Not real family, mind. A cobbledtogether mentor-mentee-clone-of-mentee family. This is addressed in a touching and comical moment when Logan has to quickly come up with a cover-story for the farm family they have just been introduced to. He passes off his biological daughter, X-23 (Dafne Keen), as his daughter, Laura.

He tells the farm-dad that his spiritual father, Professor X (Patrick Stewart), is his biological father, Chuck. It’s hard to be

afraid of a man whose mind is classed as a WMD when you call him Chuck. While this may have seemed like a cover-story, when you get into it, it’s the actual story of the film. Sure, we follow Logan’s last adventure and there is a lot of sweet stabby claw action (and one moment of heart wrenching claw action) but that’s not what the film’s really about.

It is what people flock to see all the X-Men films for, though. And if that’s what does it for you, you will not be disappointed.

There’s triple the usual amount of claw action here. Not just from Wolverine, but also X-23. The initially incommunicado 11-year-old mutant has a lot of slashy

action, from murdering everybody sent to capture her to threatening to disembowel the gas-station attendant who asks her to pay for the items she’s carrying. Hugh’s huge claws come out at the very start of the film themselves. Well, almost. This is not the Wolverine we’re used to. Sure, he still has the sweaty-tank-top-runningthrough-a-forest-roaring moment that we all loved in X-Men 3 (and that was all we loved), but these days he’s usually too old and tired for that. If you didn’t realise that immediately from his bearded-drunkenness in the back of a limo that he has to limp out of, it’s given to quite symbolically by one of his claws getting stuck halfway out. This is remedied only by a very painful scene

Logan

in which Logan screams in pain, pulling the claw out by hand and cutting himself up real bad in the process.

Oh yeah, he’s not healing anymore.

Good news for all you Wheatley fans: Stephen Merchant is great in this. His Caliban is not the superhero that we’re used to. As one of the last mutants, his power of tracking mutants is functionally useless. The side effect of not being able to go out in sunlight still works. He is reduced to a tall pale man skulking around in a basement providing comic relief by way of his South-England twang. Until, of course, suddenly the Bad Bad Men need some mutants tracking. “I’ve changed. I’ve got a life now, a creepy old waystation south of the border!” he cries “This is my life now, skulking around avoiding sunlight!”.

“Nah m8, get sunburned on!” replies Boyd Holbrook’s Donald Pierce. I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but if you think the sweet and lovable Stephen Merchant can run from his fictional horrific past and live a sweet life in total dark and isolation, then you’ve come to the wrong film.

So, the world has aged. Most of the mutants are gone.

The ones who remain are hiding out in

the Mexican dessert, either aging and ill, or really pale.

The rest are produced by Weapon X, rebranded as Transigen. Professor X is an old man. I mean, he’s been an old man since X1 in 2000.

But by 2029 he’s a very old man. His age has essentially crippled his powers. If he’s not taking medication that all but shuts down his telepathy, he is prone to telepathic seizures that threaten to kill everyone in the vicinity. If you think he might be bitter about his age and illness: he is.

His key line from the whole film got the few laughs the film affords. “She’s 11, I’m fucking 90” he grumbles from a bathroom stall. He also tells Logan that he always knows who he is, but sometimes he doesn’t recognise him. This proves to be his downfall.

Okay, here come some spoilers. In the most touching moment of the film, Xavier finally regains the memory of what he did. He is laid in his bed at the farmhouse. Laura is asleep on the floor beside him. ‘Logan’ stands in the corner. Xavier begins to cry a little, saying “it was me, wasn’t it?” as he realises (we must assume) that whatever fate befell all the other mutants was because of him. This is why Logan keeps him hidden away in a disused water tank. This is why they never rest. As he turns to Logan for some confirmation or comfort as the full weight of his actions seats itself firmly on his conscience, we realise

something is amiss. Logan always wears a white tank top. Logan would never stab the Professor in the chest. It’s at this point that we realise two things: Laura is not the only Wolverine clone. And also, Charles Xavier, mentor, hero, father figure, is going to die. For real this time. There were audible gasps in the cinema and for some reason the rest of the scene was a little cloudy as if I was watching it through some liquid that had gathered in my eyes.

Okay, fine, I cried a little.

Sue me.

This film really does not miss a single beat. Between the multi-generational performance of Huge Jacked-Man, Patrick Stewart, and Dafne Keen, there was always the risk of a sort of disunity. But the actors all killed it, and created a truly unique cinematic experience. Seriously, you can wait as long as you like, no superhero film is ever going to beat Logan. The grounded, realist setting gives the scenes even more emotional weight, as if they weren’t already punching us right in the emotional teeth.

Aside from the claws, this film could be happening out in the Mexican desert right now.

Using my own unique rating system which must be applied to all of his films, I’m rating ‘Logan’ at a solid 8.5 Shirtless-Hugh-Jackmans.

Which works out at 17 nipples.

Artist in Review

Thomas the Empty Orchestra Thomas’s voice is unforgettable as he achieves the difficult task of conveying both emotion and honesty in his raspy tones. His knack for storytelling through his lyrics, like many of his folk influencers such as Bon Iver and Paul Simon, works to create songs that listeners can relate to. ‘A More Equal Punishment’, like ‘Patron Saint’ tells of love and heartbreak, a theme that Thomas & the Empty Orchestra does best. He is able to capture all the feelings of this emotion through his songs and lyrics, with his voice carrying the message perfectly. And for this reason I look forward to hearing more from him as he explores his craft.

Little Comets Little Comets are a British Band often described as ‘indie-rock’ because of their similar sound to other well-known bands, while also having their own unique sound at the same time. This is a fine and difficult line that most bands find difficult to walk, making music that is different from others but at the same time a sound that is known to be popular. This is a line that Little Comets seems to walk perfectly as they make a sound both familiar and enjoyable but also different to other bands and intriguing. This is one of the reasons I feel like they will continue to grow in success and popularity. This is definitely a band you all need to listen out for!

Artist in Review

Hajk This Norwegian pop band are just so much fun. I don’t know how else to really describe them. With their 80s-ish vibe and strong melodies, Hajk have set themselves apart from other euro-pop bands and it’s clear to see why they’re already making such a splash in Norway despite their debut album only being released this year. The album is more than worth a listen.

Mt Joy The cover art for the EP might look like you’re drugged up and staring transfixed at Bojack Horseman, but the music is much more interesting. Thematically, there is an overarching motif of drug use. But there’s also some lighter themes, and some themes which are just sort of… middleish.

Blending these themes with the constant thread of drugs and addiction, Mt Joy created ‘Astrovan’. This mixes religion and the like with drugs, resulting in Jesus smoking a ‘doobie’ and putting your name down on his ‘guest-list’. But as we all know Drugs Are Bad™, and that’s also reflected in this song. The singer tells us that “In my heart there’s a holy ghost, writhing on the floor from an overdose”. Touching stuff.

Opening up about the problems that they face through these images allows a sort of honesty and openness to befall the scene.

However, the singer tells us that “I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to come clean to me”. This is soothing. It’s okay. I already know. You don’t have to admit your sins to He Who Already Knows.

Top 5 Drummers Rick Buckler Rick Buckler is a name I’m certain few of you are aware of. Everybody knows Paul Weller, and most people also know Bruce Foxton, but the drummer of the Punkoriented band The Jam doesn’t seem to have as much spotlight – sadly. Rick Buckler was a powerhouse in the Jam from the start. From their debut album to their final days of the band and Foxton’s ‘tribute’ under the name From The Jam, Rick Buckler was a beast. Giving Punk more of a softer touch with not relying on the same fast fills and breaks, Buckler made The Jam as original as Weller’s voice and writing abilities. From “Sounds From The Street”

to “Town Called Malice”, Buckler deserves some love.

Rod de’Ath Apart from the bassist Gerry McAovy, it seemed that Rory Gallagher’s band line-up was forever changing. The man who made sounds that shouldn’t be physically made was a solid figure, so it’s natural that he expected his backing musicians to be solid as well. He found what he was looking for in Gerry, but it wasn’t till Rod de’Ath joined the group that Rory began to release some amazing music. The man himself was a virtuoso on a variety of instruments, but Rod de’Ath was a drumming innovator.

His complex and wild drumming wasn’t only keeping the band in time, but it seemed that his drums were playing notes themselves.

His drums weren’t only the back-bone of the band, they also filled the areas no other drummers could even dream of fulfilling.

A prime example of Rod’s work is on Rory’s 3rd album ‘Tattoo’. “They Don’t Make Them Like You Anymore” perfectly showcases Rod’s talent, and out of all the drummers on this list, Rod is definitely underrated.

Neil Peart Formed in 1968, the band that would later be known as Rush made its first steps in Toronto. After the release of their debut album in 1974, the band ‘s original drummer John Rutsey decided it’s time to leave - 2 weeks before Rush’s first tour of the U.S.A. Quickly taking on auditions, Lifeson and Lee decided to take Neil Peart on board with the band.

Since 1974, the line-up stayed the same.

Alex Lifeson, the complex guitar god, Geddy Lee, the ‘calm before the storm’ bassist and sharp vocalist, along with Neil Peart, the unpredictable drummer, would take on the

Top 5 Drummers world and music would never be the same.

A lot of the band’s success came from Neil Peart himself. Lifeson and Lee would tend to write the music whilst the drumming poet would do the lyrics himself.

With tracks, such as “Tom Sawyer”, you can not only check on Peart’s amazing drumming and use of double-tapping of the instruments, but also his virtuosic use of lyrics.

Pierre Van der Linden This is a band that few of you can probably remember. Focus is a Dutch Based band that achieved world success in the early

1970’s with their 2nd album ‘Focus II’, better known as ‘Moving Waves’.

This album granted Focus their international breakthrough, with the album reaching as far as no. 2 on the UK charts and no. 8 in the US charts. The band is a powerhouse, where each member relies on one another to a significant degree. Pierre Van der Linden was recruited shortly before this album, and he is a major cause for the band’s success.

His drumming is beautifully crazy. His fills are faster than lighting yet he can easily return to a steady beat straight after.

“Hocus Pocus” is a wonderful example

of this tune. Whether you listen to the original studio track or the live version, you’ll understand why Pierre deserves the recognition he rarely receives.

Max Weinberg In 1974, Max Weinberg auditioned for the role of the drummer with the E Street band, played Springsteen’s “Sandy” and eventually cemented his position in the band after playing Fats Dominos “Let the Four Winds Blow”.

Max Weinberg (a.k.a ‘Mighty Max’), would go on to become one of E Street Band’s most important members. It was his

sound on the ‘Born to Run’ album that enabled the band to achieve international success. Springsteen had managed to achieve something big, his meaningful and embedded lyrics along with wonderfully composed music was already there, all that Springsteen needed was a bit of Mighty Max. You can listen to Springsteen’s 1975 album ‘Born To Run’ and see for yourself Max Weinberg’s immersive innovation. His simple-yet-complex drumming proved to be the exact essential token that Springsteen needed so many years ago.

Flying Vinyl - March

Many of you may be aware that vinyl is making a resurgence, and if you’re an avid follower you will have seen our previous articles about it. There is one company that are spearheading this resurgence: Flying Vinyl, a company that presses a handful of up and coming bands’ singles for your listening pleasure each month. And they do not disappoint, from a stunning pink sealed box to the multi coloured vinyl within. Here are a few words on each, but if you’re a vinyl fanatic or just a new music lover then you need to be pressing order for next month!

Anteros Fans of Madonna & HAIM An indie pop, and a bit of rock, band are a great opener to the box. Anteros are a female fronted band that are picking up momentum in the big leagues! Their music is easily digestible for anyone that’s not heard them before and is one the records that will be returning to my player later today.

You need to check out this band if they play near you anytime soon before they get too big!

Her’s Fans of Mac Demarco & Trudy and the Romance This is a band that is clearly from Liverpool, with the song at heart and subtle Beatle undertones, this is a band that serves the song. A great duo that could easily play the beaches of Miami to the cavern club.

They have a truly unique and international sounds that will go on to transcend everyone if they keep going the direction that are going.

A dream pop masterpiece!

Our Girl Fans of The Big Moon Grunge and pop, a combo that’s not normally expected. Our Girl is a spare time trio with a sound that sounds 200%. This band combines old school grunge angst with heavy riffs that are also melodic.

This single features 3 songs, one of which is a cover of Ty Segall, this is a great relatively upbeat version of this song with a commercial glean that the original lacks.

They take the track and tweak it enough to make it original but still the energy throughout.

Van Zeller Fans of the Amazons 1,2,3,4 and you’re away! A frenzy of notes hit you progressively throughout the 2 tracks. Keeping momentum up and building towards anthem like sounds. The two tracks complement each other perfectly.

This is a band that I can only imagine dominantes live. A Garage Punk four piece that are sure to tear up the scene.

Mantis Opera Fans of ALT-J & Muse This was easily the curveball of the set of singles this month! Mantis Opera are a one man’s project to explore experimental psychedelia! This 4-piece band is one to watch. Strings, pumping drums, guitar & Synth tones from another planet. These tracks have been well and truly crafted to perfection. I was truly lost for words when the needle dropped. Go and support this band as they get this writers stamp of approval!

Wolfgang Buttress Wolfgang Buttress is a renowned Sculptor and Musician. His creation ‘The Hive’ merges art, music and science to create an immersive piece – once homed in Milan, and now in Kew Gardens. I interviewed Wolfgang on his connection to music, and how incorporating music in ‘The Hive’ has changed his creative practice.

How are you connected with music?

I’ve always played music since I was a teenager. As a kid I was in Post-Punk Bands. I think one of the things that I really loved about that was that there was no formal training, it was […] more the idea and the energy.

There were four of us into similar kinds of music, and we drew straws. I ended up playing the drums – but I could’ve quite easily ended up playing the guitar or the bass.

How does this come into your art projects?

I’ve always played music, for about thirty years, but it’s always been separate to my art, my sculpture and my painting. I’ve always done the two things, but they never really sang to each other.

When I first had the idea of [The Hive] for The World Expo and the UK Pavilion, I was really keen to create a multi-sensory experience.

This is because my first ever live experience was with bees. I put a bee suit on and pulled out a frame of bees.

It looked fantastic, you have thousands and thousands of bees on the frame. It smelt incredible.

It was the sound – the sound – this really low, deep, visceral hum. It was incredibly moving. To me, it almost felt like there was a connection to the earth through the bees.

How did you construct the music for The Hive?

For a long time I’ve been really interested in drone music. When you start looking into it, through lots of different cultures, the drone is really important and meditative - it has a calming effect. So somehow, I felt I needed to have sounds within the sculpture.

I met Dr. Martin Bencsik, he was talking to me about his accelerometers which sense vibrations inside a bee hive.

Through these vibrations, we can tell what the bees are doing: whether they’re calm, whether they’re active, whether they’re healthy, whether they’re unhealthy.

You can actually see on a

digital graph what the bees are doing. It seemed to me that would be a great way of expressing these signals as light and sound for a sculpture.

The light was relatively straight forward […] but you don’t get the sense of the energy of the bees on a bright, summer, Milanese day. So, the sound was really important. […] I invited Dr. Martin Bencsik into the recording studio. I asked some friends of mine who play in lots of various bands, [including] Tony Foster, Kev Bales who played with Spiritualised [English Space Rock band] and Julian cope.

I asked Deidre Bencsik who’s an amazing, classically trained cellist, and Camille Crystal, a singer.

We had a livestream of the bees that came into the recording booth, and Deidre very quickly realised that the bees actually play in the key of C, so she started playing along with the bees. I asked her if she could retune her cello to an octave lower. We had this really incredible sound of the bees, we had this really deep C drone of the cello, and then Camille started singing. It was kind of like an epiphany [..] It was like nothing that we’d ever heard before. It was just complete chance, and

we happened to have our microphones on and we recorded it. That became the basis for the whole of the soundscape for The Hive.

Because we could change the lights, depending on the bees’ activity in the real bee hive, we had the idea that we would record a library of sounds, that could all be triggered by the bees. So, for the next two weeks to month we kinda jammed with the bees, really, and improvised with them all in the key of C. We had violins, Melodeum, guitar, piano, percussion, a choir. People started to hear about it and really wanted to get involved.

Then we had Jason Pierce from Spiritualised as well as Youth. We wanted a string section so we asked Amiina, the string section from Sigur Ros, and they were really keen to get involved.

Very quickly we had these incredible musicians who all wanted to get involved – because it was all about the bees.

How is this music incorporated in The Hive?

The actual sounds that you’re hearing in the hive are completely determined by the bees. Usually, we think that we’re in control, man is in control, but this way was essentially letting go – the bees were in control, they were determining what the sound was like. That made it really powerful because it meant that when the audience

was in the hive they were at the centre, it was like a conversation between the bee and the audience – it wasn’t a pre-recorded thing or a sculpture that was on a plinth, it was fluid and everchanging, very much like nature.

I wanted to express the importance of the now, and that’s the amazing thing about music – it’s always in the now. You hear it and its gone, the only thing that’s left is the memory of it.

To really appreciate it and when you play it, nothing else really exists. It’s a really fantastic tool to get inside people emotionally.

How was the experience of playing live in The Hive and at Glastonbury Fest different?

I only thought that The Hive was going to be in Milan for six months. So, for me it was important that I documented it. We decided to express the essence of this on a record. We recorded four tracks, put these bits together to try and make a sense of what it actually felt like in the hive. Then we played to Jeff Barett from Heavenly Recordings, and he really

Wolfgang Buttress

loved it. We thought, we need to get out there. At first we sold maybe twenty copies, and it’s on its fifth pressing or something crazy now!

I didn’t really want to play just a recreation of the record. [When] we played live we have a live stream of bees –accelerometers in a real bee hive, either in Brackenhurst in Nottingham or in Kew Gardens – its sent through the internet to wherever we’re playing.

It goes through the mixing desk, and onto the monitors when the band are playing.

We have an idea of structure based on the record, and then we hear what the bees are doing and respond to that. […] It’s a combination of the raw, unfiltered, live sound of the bees and the musicians responding to that – within our heads there’s a framework of the song.

The bees are very much at the heart of the performance. I think that gives it another energy, gives it a frisson, a sense that something special is happening. That’s an incredible thing, sometimes you’ll hear a woop or a quacking sort of sound that comes from nowhere, but you know its coming from a hive back in Nottingham and we can be playing in Glastonbury or London.

Dr. Martin Benscik will go on stage for 5-10 minutes and explain a little bit about the bee sounds the audience

might hear, so that brings science right to the core of it. When the audience hears these sounds, they know what they are. It’s a really nice way of getting the story over about how important bees are, how intelligent they are, but in a very quiet way rather than preaching at people.

The research carried out

by Dr. Martin Bencsik for The Hive has been recognised by New Scientist Magazine. Was it challenging to harmonise between music and science?

What was really illuminating about the project was how much it was a symbiotic relationship between the science, the arts, and the music. They informed each other. As the artists and musicians, we weren’t interested in just illustrating a scientific premise or theory, we wanted to add to that, and it was the same with Dr. Martin Bencsik, what was lovely about it was that we kind of let ourselves go – I think he learnt a lot about the music and the arts, and how that could express his research and think about his research in a different way.

And for us, as artists and musicians, we thought how we were actually expressing sound and structure and atmosphere, and we were learning loads about the bees and science.

It was really harmonious, and it wasn’t a challenge, if anything it was liberating,

and it made us think more and more about how we can actually create sound how we can create atmosphere by bringing these disciplines together.

At Langar Hall in Nottingham, You and Dr. Martin Bencsik created a Bee Hive Cello - why a cello?

It was two things really.

It was serendipity, in that the cello is at the heart of the soundscape in a lot of ways – it’s a human drone produced in response to the bee drone.

And, we knew that the bees were dying, and historically bees would actually make their nest in the rotten trunks of trees. We’re affecting the landscape, so intensely, there’s very through feral bees around – so we have hives.

Bees and man have this kind of symbiotic relationship.

The thing about the cello, with the airholes, is that it’s the perfect size for a bee to go in and not have lots of predators. A friend of ours, Imogen Skirving, her bees were dying, so we thought it would be great to put a new hive in Langar Hall for her, almost to celebrate and make an event of it.

Deidre Bencsik had this old cello which was broken, and she didn’t know what to do with it. We thought: we could make this into a new bee hive.

It was an experiment, we didn’t know whether it would work or not. Martin

and I caught a swarm of bees, put on bee suits, put some honey and lemongrass inside the body of the cello, we poured the bees in – and they were absolutely fine, they absolutely loved it for about a year. They created this incredible hive within the cello.

Deirdre played the cello with the bees inside, and the bees were absolutely fine with it! They didn’t get annoyed or angry.

What was the most important part of that project?

For us its kind of important that we’re doing something to help the bees, but we’re trying to make it visible so people will see this slightly surreal object of these bees going inside the cello. Then, when people ask for the story and ‘why is this happening’, then we say that why is if you go round Langar Hall its really beautiful, but it’s all monoculture – there aren’t enough flowers for the bees to feed on. You’re out in the countryside and the bees are dying, the bees are suffering – in a lot of instances they’re suffering more in the countryside than in the cities, which seems perverse.

After a year, the bees died in that cello – they starved to death. So […] we’ve recreated the experiment, we’ve got a new cello – a slightly larger one […] and we go once every couple of weeks and feed the bees

just to keep them going through the winter months and the early spring – it seems insane. What we’re doing now around Langar is planting a wildflower meadow, for this idea that this hive is sustainable.

Bees can be seen as the kind of sentinel of the earth, the barometer of the earth, so if we can keep feeding the bees with this wildflower meadow we’ve planted, and the bees survive, it shows that we’re tipping the balance backwards – it makes our relationship with nature more harmonious.

Do you plan to involve music in your future projects?

There are three or four projects at the moment where we’re looking at working with the core musician (toni bonstren and kev bales). We’re working on one project here in Nottingham, the original Bramley apple tree is dying, so we’ve taken a graft from it and we’re creating a new apple orchard. We’re in the process of creating this large sculpture with a large reflective pool. when you’re inside the sculpture you’ll have the sense of this new orchid – we’ll send signals through specks of light and sound inside the sculpture itself.

I’m working on another project in Taiwan with NASA. NASA have two satellites which are permanently focused on the sun. We’re transforming the signals

from the satellites and turning those signals into the sensors which will trigger off noises and sounds within the sculpture – so when you get closer to the sculpture the sounds that you’ll hear will actually be triggered on the effigy of the sun.

Wolfgang concluded that ‘The Hive’ has changed the way he approaches his work.

For me, working on The Hive has completely changed my practice. In that I’m now using sounds and music as an integral part of my sculptures.

I think that because we’re bombarded by visual imagery every day – beautiful, horrible, horrific – sometimes we can almost be desensitised to visual imagery. Sometimes, if you hear something or you smell something, you take it in, you internalise it a lot more.

For me, it’s a way of getting ideas out there and making them more immersive, more personal, more powerful.

My practice is changing, its going in this new direction especially the larger projects - sound is now an integral part of them, and that’s all thanks to the bees.

Wolfgang Buttress

Upcoming Tours King No-One

Lisa Marini

15/4/2017 – 7.30 pm Fibbers, York

20/4/2017 – 8 pm The Basement, York

With their previous sold-out tour, King No-one are back and performing in York.

With their success with their funky track “Alcatraz” and pop-rock tune “Antichrist”, this band is bound to achieve more and more. Performance is key, and King No-One will grant you a performance like you never seen before.

With a voice like hers, you’re bound to be enchanted by Lisa Marini. With her unique tone, her original compositions will without a doubt leave you amazed. This unsigned artist may be rocking an acoustic set, but you’ll leave as amazed as if you went to a stadium concert in the heart of London.

Lost Trends + Support 21/4/2017 – 7.30 Fibbers, York The heavy hitters of rock, Lost Trends, are headlining the 21st of April at Fibbers, with a group of equally amazing support acts such as The Jade, Assembly, Borderline and Young Bulls. You’re bound to have your mind blown away and ears pounding for more than a day.

Ward Thomas 2/5/2017 - 7.30 pm York Barbican After their surprising 2nd album skyrocketed in the charts and achieved no.

1 in the UK Albums Charts, Ward Thomas are performing their tracks in the style of American country, but with the lyrics that reflect the stories of Britain. The two sisters from Hampshire are sure to give one amazing performance.

Upcoming Tours

Slydigs 20/5/2017 -7.30 pm Fibbers, York Do you miss the 60’s? Well, look no further! Slydogs are playing at Fibbers, and they’re one of few modern bands that manage to encapsulate the spirit of the 1960’s. Coming back from their support tour for The Who, the Slydogs are going to rock you away. This is a gig you don’t want to miss.

The Cranberries 27/5/2017 – 7.30 pm York Barbican One of the biggest selling acts of all time. Formed in 89’, the Cranberries had commercial and critical success from the start. With hits such as “Dreams” and no. 1 charter “Zombie”, the band was estimated to have sold over 40 million copies. Back from their hiatus, the Cranberries are ready to rock with some music of their past and future.

Jack Savoretti 2/6/2017 – 7.30 pm Fibbers, York With his critically acclaimed album ‘Written In Scars’, Jack Savoretti managed to topple all expectations. Now on tour, Jack Savoretti is bound to thrill any in all genres. With his gentle-growl, like a young Rod Stewart, get your tickets now!

Stillhouse

Love is The Weight Stillhouse recently sent us their latest EP, ‘Love Is The Weight’. It features a sound that is distinctly indie pop, complete with soft acoustic instrumentals and gently sung vocals.

The first track ‘Razor’s Edge’ is the perfect opening to this EP. It tells the tale of a couple “[walking] on razor’s edge”. It explores their different ideas about love, which have led them to this edge to begin with. “She says love is hopeless, he knows hope is heartless”. The whole thing is sung softly over soft acoustics, creating a real sense of melancholy.

The title track also explores issues in a relationship. The protagonist reveals that he “won’t let you know what [he’s] thinking” and admits that he’s “planning to lose” love, which he refers to as a game. Vocally and musically, this song sounds like some of the best of McFly’s earlier work, but lyrically it’s in its own world entirely.

The EP as a whole explores different interpretations of love. It’s absolutely a terrific listen, although it is a little on the longer side for an EP, at a staggering 7 full length songs. Overall, I’d rate ‘Love is the Weight’ at a solid 9/10. The vocals combine perfectly with the music, creating a wonderful listening experience.

The Contemporary Violin Classical instruments such as violins have always seemed to be delegated specifically to the classical music genre. The type of music you listened to in high school without ever really taking it in. But as I grew up I began to respect and enjoy the pure sound of violins.

I remember sitting in the cinema in my teen years waiting for movies to start with the low lull of violins and I remember sitting there and really loving the sound. I have spent most of my life wishing that I could play the violin myself and even bought one. Other than breaking a string to see if it need tuning I haven’t touched it since. I think I abandoned it at home when I left for

University, along with all the other things that collect dust in my mum’s loft. I know I should learn my lesson about buying musical instruments that I will never play but I am still considering buying a guitar.

In contemporary music violins seems to be the last classical musical instrument to be included, pianos for example are used so often they are practically a staple sound in music today. It is nice to see that violins are also starting to make that change.

From an outside perspective, it is also refreshing to see that music can take a classical instrument such as the violin and use it to create an entirely new sound than

that which you imagine when you first hear the word violin.

With great names, such as Clean Bandit and rising stars such as Lindsey Stirling all being a part of the growing popularity of classical instruments its clear to see that this movement is going strong. Although both artists have the similar idea of including violins in their music, their sound differ drastically. Clean Bandit include violins along with other instruments, making the violins apart of the overall sound. While this proves that violins can be a part of everyday music it is vastly different from the sound that Lindsey Stirling creates. Lindsey creates music with just a violin, she doesn’t

sing or add anything to it, she simply shows the isolated sound of the violin. For contemporary music, this is something new and different but also something incredible to see. People travel to see Lindsey Stirling just to hear her play her violin.

I would like to end by saying that I love the fact that the violin is gaining much more attention in contemporary music. For a while I thought the violin might become an instrument that was chained to a specific genre but it makes me so happy that it is being adapted to fit many different types of genres.

Gear Review

Fender Squire Jaguar Bass This is a beauty. In crimson red, this wonderful active-pickup bass is one of my favourite. I remember when I decided it was time for a new bass, I was torn between a Fender Telecaster Bass or an Epiphone EB0 Bass (I was 16, I had little money, these were my only options at the time). I had £200 to spend, a few days before I decided to get the Fender Telecaster bass, my good friend said that he decided on selling his Jaguar Bass.

Thrilled and shocked, I was in awe that he offered his bass to me. Once I bought it from him, I couldn’t stop playing it. I wrote countless tracks, composed a multitude of bass riffs and simply enjoyed the tone this wonderful bass had to offer. Wonderful for slapping, yet calm and collected for blues and Jazz, in my opinion Fender Squire Jaguar Bass is more versatile then a Jazz Bass or a Precision Bass. I fell in love with this instrument from day one, and after my father gave me his Marshall Bass State 330 amp, I decided this bass was good purchase. It’s great value for money, its sturdy and has that balanced set of weight. Perfect for anything for slapping, fantastic for the deep rhythm bass of Disco Tracks and just overall its quite versatile.

In my opinion, the best thing about this instrument is its clarity of sound. The notes don’t get lost or muddy, and there’s practically no unwanted noise from the frets and its very strong. If you’re planning to purchase another bass, I’d highly recommend looking into a Jaguar Bass.

Find one, test it out and decide for yourself – I’m sure you won’t regret it.

gig guide Tuesday 4th The Bootleg Beatles, Barbican, York, 7.30pm

Saturday 22nd April, Rockin’ Em – back to the 50’s, Fibbers, 7.30pm

Saturday 8th Alexander O’Neil, Barbican, 7.30pm

Saturday 22nd April, The Salvador Darlings, The Islington, London, 9pm

Sunday 9th United We Stand, Basement, 7.30pm

Thursday 27th April, The Phil Rudd (AC/ DC) Band, The Idol Band, Fibbers, 7.30pm

Thursday 13th The Quireboys, Last Great Dreamers, Souls of Tide, Fibbers, 7.30pm

Thursday 27th April, Northern Radar Presents Marsicans, Faux Pas, Serotones, Basement, 8pm

Friday 14th Scopyons, Hi-On Maiden, Fibbers, 8pm

Friday 28th April, The Lounge Kittens – ‘Bringing up the Rear’ Tour!, Fibbers, 7.30pm

Saturday 15th King No-One, Serotones, Fibbers, 7.30pm Sunday 16th Resurrection w/ Happy Mondaze, Oasish Fibbers, 5pm Monday 17th ZAPPATiKA, Neuschlaufen, Fibbers, 7.30pm Wednesday 19th The Strawberries, The Howl & The Hum, Naked Six, Violet Contours, Fibbers, 7.30pm Thursday 20th While She Sleeps, In Hearts Wake, Fizzy Blood, Fibbers, 7.30pm Friday 21st April, Lost Trends, The Jade Assembly, Borderline, Yong Bulls, Fibbers, York, 7.30pm Friday 21st April, Soma Crew, The Black Lagoons, Dead Bird, Basement, York, 8pm

Saturday 29th April, The Magic of Motown, Grand Opera House, York, 7.30pm