Down the Rabbit Hole - Issue 1 - MAR

Down the Rabbit Hole

Issue 1 1st July

Feat: Lucas Hardy Oliver Coates Gig Guide

Contents Interviews: Lucas Hardy: 3-6

Editor’s Notes:

Welcome to the first ever issue of Down the Rabbit Hole! Mad Alice Records is an independent record label which is non-genre specific and is based in York.

This E-Magazine is filled with interviews from national and local bands along with reviews.

We also have interactive interactions such as our themed Spotify playlists. You can see what we’ve been listening to lately. Also, go and check out our ‘Artist in Review’ section where we all discuss which artists that we’ve found through reviewing for the website that we’ve enjoyed this past month.

There’s Top 5 lists; definitely check out the Top 5 Things to Take to a Festival since Festival season is now and truly upon us.

Fan of production discussions? We’ve got you covered with learning about the basics of recording.

Lastly, we’ve got a list of gigs that are happening in and around the York area this July. This issue wouldn’t have been possible without the great team of Mad Alice Records and also the bands and artists that have agreed to help out with this project – go and check them out after reading this E-Magazine and show them your support!

Hope you enjoy this first ever issue of Down the Rabbit Hole and that you’ll be ready for the second issue in August.

Happy Reading, Rachel Colley, Editor.

Lost Trends: 7-10

Reviews: Danse Society: 11 George Boomsma: 12

in Review: Perhaps Contraption: 13 Oliver Coates: 13 Sammy kettell: 14 She pulled the trigger: 14

Playlists: Spotify Playlists: 15-16

Top 5: Female Fronted Bands: 17 Bring to a festival: 18

Production: Micing Amps: 19-20

Gig Guide: Guide: 21

Exclusive: Lucas Hardy

Interview: It’s not everyday that you get the opportunity to interview a musician that you’ve followed in the last few years. So, when I got that opportunity I quickly grabbed it and got in contact with said musician. That said musician is Lucas Hardy a singer-songwriter from Isle of Wight. This singersongwriter captures your attention with his catchy guitar riffs and the soothing tones of his voice.

In this interview we find out what Hardy is planning with his solo career, his memories of his past bands he’s been in and what he thinks of the music industry of today. Read on to find out more of this singer-songwriter that should definitely gain your support: Thanks for agreeing to this interview today Lucas. Hope you’re doing well. Have you been having a great summer so far?

Hi! I have been doing well thank you. Winter is definitely my season of choice but I have been enjoying the sun we’re getting in the UK recently.

So, you’ve just uploaded ‘City by the Sea’ on your YouTube channel. Will this become an official song in the next few months?

City By The Sea was a song that I released as a Demo a few years ago and it made it onto my first record, The ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’ EP. Ever since I’ve started work on the new album I have been throwing around the idea of recording a few older songs too. I’d like to re-record the song as I recorded my first EP with a tiny little microphone and used an old MacBook. Now, with newer gear, I feel I can give the song the recording it deserves. It is an important staple in my live set.

Do you think that you would consider recording an EP by the end of the year? Have you got any ideas forming for it?

A few weeks ago, I put my first vlog of the year went up on my YouTube channel titled ‘Let’s Make An Album’. I wanted to put something on record that I’m going to record an album this year. Every year I always want to get an album done but it does take up a lot of time, but my focus has been better than ever and work has begun for a full length! I aim to finish it by the end of the summer.

Back in March you released your single ‘Melody’. Have the reactions to that song spurred you onto creating more music?

With every song I release my mind fires into the thought process for the next single/EP. Melody & Friends are the first releases where I have used newer recording gear and techniques. I’m selftaught with recording/production but that’s a big part of the fun for me. So, with ‘Melody’ especially, I have been spurred on more than ever to create and record more.

The album will be the biggest project I’ve ever worked on.

lucas hardy Going back down memory lane now. You’ve been involved with two groups that are ‘The City Calls’ and ‘Modern Honesty’. What experiences have you learnt through these two groups that you are using in your solo career?

The City Calls showed me my limits. I would get to points in the year where I couldn’t sing properly for months, most gigs were sang through agonising pain. All through poor technique and ultimately, my voice just wasn’t suited for that range anymore. I loved every minute of TCC though; the good always weighs out the bad. Modern Honesty was a very different experience. I had been working on solo music for a few years prior to the Modern Honesty project. So I kind of brought what I had discovered in acoustic music, new singing techniques and brought that to the table. The two songs we released were all done on my tiny USB microphone that I used for my first two EPs and a newer MacBook. So I had the recording process streamlined by then. We would write so well together too, it was a fun and an organic experience.

Even though two of the original members of The City Calls make up Modern Honesty the sound of the two are completely different to one another. The City Calls is your typical, but very catchy, pop-punk band while Modern Honesty can be described as having an alternative-folk-singer-songwriter style to it. What made you and Scotty Perry decide on the change of sound? Did this influence your decision on starting your solo career?

The sound mainly stemmed from the both of us using Acoustic Guitars, it just naturally brought the folk influences along with them. We wrote what we thought sounded cool to us; never to sound like anything else. If we were going into a Pop Punk or Rock style song, we would roll with it.

I had been working on my solo stuff for some time prior to Modern Honesty, so I wanted to try things I couldn’t do as a solo musician with the band. Dual vocals were a heavy part of it.

We have followed your YouTube channel and social media links for some time now and it seems that you have the odd gig here and there. Would you consider a tour in the near future?

Touring is big, big, big goal of mine. The main project at the moment is the new album and being consistent with my YouTube channel. There are so many places I’d like to be playing more so when the album is out, I’ll start looking into the first tour.

Hypothetically speaking, where would some of your dream places be to gigs and why?

Scotland, I have never been there so it would be a good to get up there. A US tour would be incredible. Germany would be great; my Grandfather was German so I’d like to go over there someday.

You also cover songs on your YouTube channel. Which song has been your favourite to cover and why?

I really enjoyed working on the Blink-182 covers. I had acoustic versions of the songs figured out for some time now so to finally get them on film/recorded was great fun.

Your influences include Foo Fighters, Blink – 182 and Motion City Soundtrack. Which artist has caused the biggest impact in terms of inspiring you to play your music and why?

Without a doubt, Blink-182. They got me to pick up a guitar and want to start a band. With every album they released, I’d get more and more inspired to keep making my own music.

Interview: Now to get a little more political. What do you think of the music industry as a whole? What, in your opinion, should be celebrated and should be improved? What are your reasons for these answers?

I love the music industry. I am happy to be a part of it but I am a very small fish in a big pond.

There is a whole world out there that I haven’t experienced before or even know anything about.

I’m a musician first and everything I do in music is to help further my music career, whether that is to make new records or play bigger shows. Right now, I am happy with how it is progressing and I’ll keep working on it to build and build a life in this. But I know what it’s like to fail in this industry and I know how hard it is to have dreams crushed by the harsh realities music sometimes has. It is a tough business to crack. The industry is always battling something, whether it’s privacy, streaming, touring costs; there is always something to adapt to. I don’t know the secrets but I can say new media is the key now. I’m not saying inviting some people to a Facebook event. I’m more on about embracing new technologies and using the software/affordable hardware that is accessible to musicians now. I’m a DIY musician at heart so everything I say stems from that mentality.

You recently played Salisbury Live. How was that experience for you and would you play it again?

Getting to play Salisbury Live again this year is great. I love the city of Salisbury and it will always hold a huge part of my heart. Salisbury Live is ever evolving and I hope to play again next year.

There is a gig around every corner. It is my heaven. It can only get bigger too, with the more people that hear about it.

A little bit of backstory now. When did you start learning to play the guitar and is guitar the only instrument you’ve learnt to play?

I started playing guitar when I was around 13. Although, I started on Bass first before moving onto the 6 string. I still have and use my first guitar too, it’s covered in stickers and is beaten up but I love it. It deserves retirement soon but maybe a few more shows. I’m a pretty competent air drummer too.

If you could learn to play any instrument in the world, be as creative as you want here, which one would it be and why?

It would have to be Piano. I love piano and I always try and sneak a little bit of piano into my recorded music. That’s the beauty of tech these days, you can get amazing sounds out of your laptop and it’s keyboard!

lucas hardy If you could choose one musician to bring back to life and have a practice session with, which one would it be and why?

Didn’t even need to think about this one! Johnny Cash. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how amazing that would be to work with him. I’m still hearing songs he has worked on and recorded for the first time and every one fascinates me. With his lower vocal register and raw emotion in his music, he is a huge inspiration for my songs now.

This interview has given you the insight of the mind that belongs to Lucas Hardy. We look forward from hearing more from this young artist and I hope you lovely readers are too. Go and look at Hardy’s social medias and make sure to give him a follow on those. This magazine is all about showing young and upcoming artists the support that they deserve and we hope that you agree with thinking that this is important too. Thank you to Lucas Hardy for agreeing and participating with us on this interview and we look forward in working with him hopefully in the future.

Exclusive: Lost Trends

Interview: The York based band Lost Trends agreed to have an interview with us this month. At Mad Alice Records we love to promote new and upcoming bands that we believe need that extra support. In this issue we got to do just that with Lost Trends. Have a read of this interview and if this band peaks your interest then go and have a listen to their music. Now, onto the interview: Hello lads. Thanks for taking the time out to answer these questions. First off, would you like to state some background information so the lovely people can learn what kind of music you play or how you formed?

Rusty - It all started with Me, Pete and John's brother just writing acoustic stuff in my living room, no real structure just experimenting and playing different instruments, it was all just for fun. We had all been in bands before so it was just something to do. When Sammy (John's brother) went travelling John came and played drums for us and we instantly loved it. It was one of those moments when we all looked at each other smiling and not saying a word, but knowing exactly what we were all thinking.

Pete - At this time Rusty's brother had joined the band and was playing bass, which was convenient as they lived together and we started laying down our first songs.

Adam - I joined the band when Rusty's brother left due to other commitments. They put an ad out for a bassist and they seemed like passionate lads that had a game plan for the future and that drew me in…. As well as their music of course… haha.

Pete - Regarding musical direction Rusty and I have very different guitar styles, me coming from a Funk background and Rusty coming from a Punk background. It took a bit of work but as soon as we started to understand the way each other played it all fell in to place.

Rusty - Yeah we started complimenting each other's sound and with John's up-tempo and offbeat drumming and Adam's bass hooks, we really started crafting our own sound.

So, what has been your favourite song to write and why?

Adam - Personally it's "Things You Could Be' which we are recording at the moment, because I'm very proud of the baseline and how organically it came together.

Rusty - Yeah we pretty much wrote it from start to finish in an hour or so, obviously changed things later but the main structure and riffs just came together. I would have to say 'DJ', I wrote the riff years ago before I'd even been in any bands and every band I was in we tried to make it in to a song and it never worked. Then one practice John just asked if anyone had any new riffs and twenty minutes later we had the entire song apart from the lyrics. It was one of those songs you just loved playing as well.

Pete - I would have to say "Things You Could Be" as well, loved writing it and love playing it. I can't wait for everyone to hear it when the new EP comes out.

John - "Time" (on the up coming EP). Love the song and it has a good variation of drumbeats in it, so it was fun to write.

What would you say would be the most challenging song that you have written and why?

Rusty - Definitely "Dark Disco", the riff itself I used in a song in my old band but the song was a lot heavier. So when I brought it to the band we wanted to change the feel of it, make it funkier and more Lost Trends, which we did, but it took a lot of work, and heated discussions at practice.. haha… Plus, we needed a break for the song and I wrote a riff which was an 8/16 pattern I think which had a lot of delay on so it felt like a constant but was really hard to work out where it started and where it ended.

Pete - Yeah everything about that song seemed challenging and Rusty and me definitely butted heads when it came to the sound and direction. It was a constructive collaboration and every band member contributed to something that sounds way better than if just one of us had wrote it.

lost Trends Since starting the band what has been your memorable moment and why?

Rusty - That's a hard one, obviously having one of our songs used on a Channel4 advert was something I don't think any of us will forget. The first few years were just trying to get people to hear us and get better gigs, this year has gone crazy. The feedback has been so positive, the bands we have played with, the promoters and people that have helped us out; it's just been very humbling so it's hard to pick out just one part. I don't think people realise how much hard work you have to put in to doing this, especially when you have a 9-5 job as well, but it's what we love doing so it's worth it.

Adam - Yeah things are just getting better all the time so every memorable moment is taken over by another one.

John – We played a gig recently, which went down really well with the crowd and we got good feedback from a promoter and an established band with a big following. Nice to get recognition from people who know what they're talking about and it definitely opened a few doors.

What are you looking forward to with your tour that’s coming up?

Adam - I'm looking forward to playing with bands we have never played with and playing some new venues.

Pete - Yeah, can't wait to play some bigger and better venues.

Rusty - Everything for me, I just love playing live, I would do it every night if I could. I love watching live music and we have played with some amazing acts and watching them makes you up your game. We have festival season to get through first, which seems to be busy for us, we can't mention a lot of them yet though.

What are your plans for the band regarding the future?

Pete - Releasing the new EP. It seems like a long time since we have had some new music out so can't wait to see the reaction.

Adam - Glastonbury.

Rusty - haha… Yeah that's the dream; hopefully Michael Eavis will get in touch soon. Just keep going and see where it takes us.

Some of your major influences as a band include Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Arctic Monkeys and Sex Pistols among others. What have you learnt from these influences?

Rusty - The structure and sound we want, at the end of the day. We write music that we would want to listen to. You will always take influences from your favourite bands; you will do it without even knowing about it.

Adam - I like my baselines to be loud and driving while retaining a funky groove, that's something I have come to appreciate since joining these guys.

Interview: Also, your songs do have the groove quality to them like that of your influences Foals, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Arctic Monkeys. What songs are the crowd pleasers at your shows?

Rusty - At the moment we are really happy with our set, every song seems to go down really well but when we play 'DJ' it goes mental, it's the song everyone seems to know if they have looked us up.

Adam - Yeah 'DJ' goes down a right storm.

Pete - At York shows without a doubt "DJ" is a crowd pleaser.

What are some of the main topics of your songs? Which ones would you say are the most important to the band and why?

Adam - Rusty?

Rusty - haha… Cheers mate. Every song changes really, it can be as simple as "DJ" which is about generic DJs and generic music, I love dance music and there are some amazing DJs out there but when it's done wrong it makes me cringe. I guess it's the same with all types of music though. I try not to be too precise with lyrics, they mean something to me but I think if people can read in to them themselves and find something that relates to them it becomes much more personal to them. Sometimes even I don't know what I'm writing until I read it back.. haha How have the bands experiences changed when being in the studio? How have the bands sound developed during the last two EPs? Rusty - It's entirely different being in the studio, everything changes, the way you write, the sounds you use. It definitely opens you up to a whole different side of music. I get addicted to it and never want to stop changing things or add and taking things out and these guys have to pull me back or otherwise we would never release anything.

Pete - We have become more comfortable in our songs, every track we write sounds like Lost Trends now and I think before we were working out what fits with us.

Adam - You can definitely tell that over the last couple of records not only have we improved and developed our craft as musicians but also our scope and ambition as to what we can do with our sound has grown.

Your song ‘DJ’ was used in a Channel 4 advert. What was that experience like for the band? Was it a surreal experience hearing your song on the TV? Pete - The Channel 4 thing was amazing. I remember being at work and looking at the band email inbox and saw an email, which was from someone at Channel 4. I didn’t believe it and sent it on to Rusty. The experience was amazing and has opened a lot of doors for us to get better gigs so we are very thankful to the team at Channel 4 and would do it again in an instant.

Adam - It was very gratifying that after working so hard doing what we do, that our song, our work is on national telly.

Rusty - It was surreal; it was always on in the morning when I turned the TV on when I was half a sleep. It was a strange few weeks with everyone texting and emailing me that they had “Heard your song on the telly.”

lost Trends Excluding the influences that have been mentioned, what other artists would you like to have the chance of working with and why?

Pete - Radiohead.

Rusty - Yeah Radiohead, the problem with Radiohead is that they are just better than everyone else. I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but they push the boundaries more than anyone I think.

Adam - Karen O. Having her feature on a song and playing off her energy would be awesome.

Rusty - That would be awesome, I don’t think I would be able to take my eyes off her; she has an amazing stage presence.

I hope you lovely readers learnt a little bit more about the band members from Lost Trends. Like I said at the beginning, it is important to show support to any band who are hard-working and deserve your support. It’s a tough world out there in the music industry so go and give the guys of Lost Trends a listen and follow on their social medias and you never know, you may have just found your new favourite band!

Exclusive: The Danse Society

Danse society The Danse Society, originally formed in Barnsley in 1981, are a Post-Punk/Gothic band. Their sixth album, fittingly titled VI, was their third to be released after reforming in 2011. This album is very ‘space-age’, the first half of the album sounds very much like something that could soundtrack films like Prometheus or Interstellar.

‘Intro’, begins with a sci-fi-eqsue droning accompanied by elements of synth. The intro is both uplifting and daunting, the combination of which speaks well for the remainder of the album. The first full song, ‘Into The Red’ dramatically picks up the pace in comparison to ‘intro’. Vocalist Maetheyliah, who joined the group following their reformation, provides tones that are similar to those in The Runaways ‘Cherry Bomb’. The song maintains a regular pace and a steady chorus, whilst not being overly intrusive. ‘Star Whisperer’ has a heavy verse structure and a fantastic breakdown in place of a chorus. I really enjoyed this track thanks to the change in structures provided throughout, achieved well by drummer Iain Hunter, the song keeps you interested. ‘Awesome’ yet again sets off with some sturdy riffs from Paul Nash (guitar) and Lee Jones (bass). David Whittaker also demonstrates his ability to create a catchychorus on the keyboard in this one. The lyrics are hypnotic and alluring: ‘come to my life step into the lights like human kind did through centuries’.

‘Bloodstream’ picks up in slow waves. For a band that revels in the strength of riffs, this song is haunting. Featuring layered lyrics, featuring a prominent modulated voice with a quieter and even more modulated response. For example ‘It’s time to let the past go’ is overlapped by an underlying ‘it’s gone’.

The song draws to a close on some quite melancholy keyboard melody. ‘Freakshow’ is arguably the heaviest song on the album. Opening with menacing cackling and heavy breathing, the song instantly drops into a metal-esque form with layers of synth pop. ‘Because this isn’t a movie, last minute we’ll f*** you, welcome to the freak show’ foregrounds a strange break from heaviness halfway into the track, which slowly climbs its way towards a build up for more.

The track ‘Dangerous’ strengthens itself by repeating the chorus in a Nirvana-esque, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, fashion. ‘Ain’t Gonna Happen’ opens with a playful melody, reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys, the elongated ‘dream on’ pushes home this songs message of saying no, and taking no sh**. The following song, ‘Doodlebug’ has a deceptively innocent title – it drops you in with air raid sirens, which are then incorporated into the melody and maintains heaviness throughout. Karma Machine is an epic conclusion to this album, building up with aggressive, vengeful lyrics about when ‘karma bites back’ until the song folds in on itself into a keyboard and synth frenzy, similar to Enter Shikari’s ‘Zzzonked’.

The Danse Society truly know their strengths. Delivering on strong songs from start to finish. If you enjoy post punk, the likes of Pink Floyd or songs that feel almost apocalyptic, then you could do with giving ‘VI’ a listen.

Exclusive: George Boomsma

George boomsma This Northallerton singer-songwriter shows great potential in his debut album. The opening song ‘Dreaming Drowning’ starts off with clunky piano chords that gradually builds up into an interesting and catchy tune. The tone of Boomsma’s voice matches well with the sound of the piano. The pace of the song is an intriguing one since right at the start it is one that is fast paced and then it steadily slows down into a gentler pace. This pace carries on throughout the song and fits the mood and the lyrics.

The second song ‘Autumn Song’ opens with some soothing guitar chords and Boomsma’s calming voice.

The message of the song itself is quite simple, the trials and tribulations of friendship and love, but what Boomsma does with the lyrics is what makes the song stand out. It is flooded with descriptions of various images that allows the listener to delve into the mind of Boomsma and understand the meaning of the song even more than if the lyrics had been simple. The lyrics that Boomsma gives the listener are that of complex ones and ones that are intriguing.

‘Benny Boy’ blends the two elements of ‘Dreaming Drowning’ and ‘Autumn Song’ together with the acoustic guitar riffs and the piano chords that work well with one another. However, this doesn’t happen right at the start of the song. The listener is introduced to the guitar and Boomsma’s voice that, like with ‘Autumn Song’, seem to work easily along side each other.

‘Bristol’ and ‘Brother of Mine’ are both short and sweet songs. They both draw on place and people for themes. The melodies of these songs flow well into each other. ‘Bristol’ begins as a fast paced song but changes with the verses. The piano also joins in with the guitar riffs in this song and creates an interesting contrast that works. The ending of the song ends more softly than the start; with concluding piano chords and Boomsma’s voice. ‘Brother of Mine’ starts off with a gentler sound than ‘Bristol’.

However, the ending of ‘Bristol’ and the beginning of ‘Brother of Mine’ easily flow into one another without creating any awkwardness between both songs.

‘Avenue Green’ is a unique song since the beginning starts off with only Boomsma’s voice leading the way until about thirty seconds into the track. This grabs the listener’s attention and allows the listener to pay particular attention to the narration that is being told by Boomsma. When the instrumentals start up they do not overpower Boomsma’s voice in anyway and the listener is able to follow the story.

It becomes a fast paced song and ends on a dramatic finish.

‘Still Here Dreaming’ is one of the longer songs of the album and allows the listener to fully emerse into Boomsma’s lyrics and sound. It also gives the listener an idea of how Boomsma sounds with a ballad style; this is picked up in his last song. ‘How High The Mountain’ is a highlight on this album. Even though it is not very long the fact that there are hardly to any instrumentals on this track and all that is entertaining the listener is Boomsma’s voice and this is worth a lot of praise. Boomsma is able to catch the listener’s attention for two minutes with only the soothing tones of his voice. ‘Run On’ allows for normality after ‘How High The Mountain’ has finished. It’s back to acoustic and piano sounds that compliment each other beautifully and this carries onto ‘Through the Winter’, which is the last song on this album. This one has a similar sound to ‘Still Here Dreaming’ and gives the listener a dramatic finish to the whole album. It is a song that compliments all of Boomsma’s unique musical skills that appear on this album and fits them into one song.

Overall, this album is definitely one to look into if you are at all interested in acoustic or singersongwriter music. Boomsma has brought something new to the genre and is a talent to get behind while he is still an upcoming musician. Buy the album when it comes out on August 10th.

In Review:

Perhaps Contraption Rock and brass aren’t normally two genres put into the melting pot and mixed together! But Perhaps Contraption do it perfectly, mixing in bits of Jazz and folk as well, to create a truly unique sound, which made my ears perk up instantly.

My personal favourite track by this band is ‘Droplets/ Molecules’, as it just builds throughout. It feels like a call home mixed with a pied piper pulling you away! It’s truly an earworm of a song. Although this track is follows very closely by the album title track ‘Perambulations’, both are great examples of perfectionists at work, as they have perfected their individual instruments and their song writing craft.

And to top it all off, the band not only plays great music but also looks the part, if you watch a single for one of their music videos their notes sounds perfect throughout! As well as dressing in a very eccentric way to portray their musicality and sonic spectacle!

I know I definitely look forward to hearing where this band is going to next and I hope that Mad Alice Records can have something to do with it, even if that’s just attending one of their gigs as a group!

Oliver Coates ‘Cellist,’ a word so commonly associated with the elite and upper class, but is given an entirely new lease of life by Oliver Coates. ‘Upstepping’ is an electronica album, which digs its roots right into the human psyche, and wordlessly crawls into parts of your brain you’d forgotten existed.

My favourite track on this album is ‘Memorial to Hitchens’. It gives off similar vibes to Hans Zimmer’s Inception score and Holst’s ‘Planet’ compositions. It creates a barren, yet beautiful, scene – the abandoned building of songs. The most notable song on this album is certainly ‘The Irish Book of Death and Flying Ships’. With a similar affect to the soundtrack of an indie horror film ‘It Follows’, this song gives the listener mild (who am I kidding, pretty huge) discomfort and goosebumps. It is important to listen to music that takes you out of your comfort zone every now and then, and this song, with its clashing strings and percussion and warped bible quotes, is definitely out of mine. But just like horror films, I’ve found myself going back to this song to experience the feeling all over again. It is so far removed from both popularised electronica and classic cello that it is hard to fathom. The quote this song comes back to, ‘the wolf was heard speaking with human voice, which was horrific to all’ is suggestive of the power of music, and how shocking we find it when a clashing, contrasting album can speak in tune with our own humanity.

I chose this album as it defies expectations. Oliver Coates is non-conformist. Although he covers Beethoven, and collaborated to create the revival of Radiohead’s old vibes, he is capable of creating fresh and innovative sound. I hope that Coates inspires others to use their instruments to their full abilities, not just to emulate archaic sound. Mad Alice Records would love to support those who can break out individuality amongst stereotypes, and hope to hear from more musicians who defy expectations.

Sammy Kettell Sammy Kettell. I genuinely find Sammy a brilliant artist to listen to, it’s so nice to just put in in the background and relax to. Even the faster songs are nice to just sit, relax and chill too. In every song you can hear how much effort has been put into it, both the song writing, the recording how it is portrayed is beautiful. Each song from Whiskey and Wine seems to have its own story about how it was written, there’s a story that you can tell is beautifully wrote into each song and all the songs are weaved together lovingly. The performance of the album almost feels live, which I guess he wants you to feel, as if he’s there with you telling you the story of the EP live to you.

She Pulled the Trigger The boys in She Pulled The Trigger have definitely made the most impact in my life with their motivational messages since I have started to listen to them more. This was just one of the reasons why I decided to choose them for this section of the E-Magazine.

The EP opens up with a heart pounder of a song ‘Stand Up and Fight’. This opener will get anyone up and moving. It also provides the perfect motivational message for those days when the listener may need to hear it. The guitar riffs in this song will be stuck in your head for days afterwards. Definitely a catchy song to open on with on their debut EP. The second song that follows on after ‘Stand Up and Fight’ is ‘Higher’ which has a similar sound and message than the previous song. However, this one has it’s own unique take and the motivational message comes at a different angle at the start of the song.

It’s more of a supportive song than a ‘Go and take on the world by yourself’ kind of song. The singer offers the listener support to be able to reach the dreams that they want to achieve. Also, it is a short song, which means it will become a crowd pleaser at shows.

The following song ‘Dying to Shine’ goes along the same vain as ‘Stand Up and Fight’ but with this one it can be said has more of an aggressive tone to it. This makes it sound more of a call to arms song than ‘Stand Up and Fight’ was. Both are different to one another but they do have the same message; the difference is just how the singer words it. The next song on the tracklist is ‘Living on the Edge’ which gives the listener an extremely catchy riff at the beginning of the song and then drifts off into another catchy riff that carries out throughout the piece. This is interspersed with mini guitar solos throughout and it also ends with one. This song has a slightly different message than the last three. It’s more of a thought-provoking message with telling different people’s stories and possible situations that people would be living in. This change in writing style carries through into ‘Battle Scars’, which is the longest song in this tracklist.

This EP closes with a motivational message of making it but it also is a more thought provoking way of how the singer has got the dream that he wanted to gain. The last two songs on this EP are more of a backstory on how to get to your dreams. This whole EP is the encouragement of following your dreams and is packed out with motivational messages. I’d strongly encourage you lovely readers to search them on their social medias and follow them since I believe there are big things heading their way.

Spotify Aidan: With a mix of Techno & Electro hits, this playlist is designed to keep you in the zone throughout, enabling you to get work done!

I use this playlist in the office to work through some of the projects that we have going on, ensuring that I’m driven and focused. Featuring tracks from Daft Punk, Massive Attack and Hayden James, I’ve tried to mix a range of tracks and artists both new and old to create an interesting melting pot of heavy hitting riffs and hooks which entice throughout.

If you think any other artists should be added then send them over and I’ll curate them as we go!

Zoe:

Something about hearing ‘5 Years Time’ (Noah and the Whale) in a sunny beer garden just feels right, and The Jump Smokers remix of ‘Alone Together’ (Fall Out Boy) is perfect for the beach - or the warm patch of grass outside your flat. ‘Hugs Not Drugs (Or Both)’ (Brendan Maclean) is a great party song by an indie artist. ‘Shake’ (Jared Mees & The Grown Children) is as lyrically optimistic as my hopes for sunny weather. ‘Baby Fratelli’ (The Fratellis) is a summer must-have, also featuring in the Hot Fuzz soundtrack. ‘June Hymn’ (The Decemberists) is an acoustic ode to summer, fab for days at the park. ‘Come on Eileen’ (Dexy’s Midnight Runners) is features in The Perk’s of Being A Wallflower’s upbeat ‘living room routine’ scene. ‘A-Punk’ (Vampire Weekend) reminds me of spotting wildlife at summertime, whilst Hooked on a Feeling (Blue Swede) is so catchy it is hard to ignore on a sunny day. My summer favourite ‘All Star’ (Smash Mouth) is lifted straight from the Shrek soundtrack – it’s an instant nostalgia hit.

Playlists Alex: My Spotify playlist is one to chill and relax to, these are a small collection of some songs I use to help relax. The first is ‘Taro’ by Alt-J, this band have a lot of very easy listening songs, but I find this one to be a nice one to start the playlist with. The second song is ‘L’ by Tycho, an ambient band from America. The third song in the playlist is ‘Lets Get Smiling’ by Biffy Clyro, this song is really simplistic and slow, with it mainly consisting of one guitar part and vocals. The fourth song is; ‘Hands’ by Sucioperro. This is a really slow song with really nice sounding guitars throughout; the vocals are really simplistic. The next song is ‘The JCB Song’ by Nizlopi. To me, this song has always been a song I find really easy to relax to and I’ve always loved pretty much every aspect about this track. The next song is ‘Swing Life Away’ by Rise Against. This song takes the acoustic guitar and vocals setup from some of the previous songs, but also adds more reminiscent lyrics to the song. The seventh song is ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd. You couldn’t have a chill playlist without at least one Pink Floyd song. The eighth song in the playlist is ‘Everyone’s a VIP to Someone’ by The Go! Team, a masterpiece of relaxation. The penultimate song on the playlist is ‘Good Riddance’ by Green Day. It always takes me back to the good times. The final song in this playlist is Moon by Foals. This is because it’s just really slow and easy to listen to.

Rachel:

This playlist is filled with electronic and rock music from many different artists. These include artists such as Owl City, Zedd and Ella Eyre who give me an instant summer vibe. ‘To Binge (Feat. Little Dragon)’

by Gorillaz also gives me the summer vibe but in a more calming and relaxing way. ‘Figuring it Out’ by SWMRS, ‘I Don’t Know’ by Lisbon and ‘Dance Till We Die’ by Patent Pending are all songs that are great party tunes when you have friends around. Songs like ‘Come Over (Feat Stylo G) by Clean Bandit, ‘Weight of Living Part II’ by Bastille and ‘Rock the Cashbah’ by The Clash all have memories from the summer time associated with them such as holidays that I played them on. Overall, this playlist will give you the summer vibes that you definitely will need throughout these summer months.

Top5: Female Fronts

Top 5

Female Fronted Bands 5. The Kills: Not only is this band a two piece (A personal favourite line-up for me!), they’re a female fronted powerhouse! Taking a similar styled approach to the White stripes, Alison Mosshart (The Dead Weather) & Jamie Hince, with a stripped back performance, but enough sound to blow most people’s minds.

The track ‘No Wow’ sums up the band perfectly, it oozes with feedback and distortion and simple lyrics, which entice the listener to want more, make sure you check out their new and old albums!

4. Fleetwood Mac This maybe a controversial choice, as this band has constantly shifted in shape! And I know that some readers may prefer the old line up. But when fronted by Stevie Nicks (Buckingham Nicks) it just tore up the rulebook, mixing blues and rock to create some of the catchiest music around.

‘Rhiannon’ is the song that enticed me to dive into their discography; unlike ‘The chain’ it seemed to grab me more, probably due to the multitracked vocals to create some thick chorale like choruses.

3. Garbage Garbage is one of the greatest female fronted bands going, in my opinion, as they’ve lasted the test of time by always playing true to themselves. Shirley Manson backed by studio guru’s Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig, have created a diverse palate of sonic exploration which rivals most bands discography.

Coming from the Grunge scene, Garbage quickly broke away from the punk ethic and took to the studio by storm; creating a visceral masterpiece with tracks like ‘Vow’, which sums up their intense level of detail to their sonic mastery.

2. The Staves What happens when you’re life is embedded with music, when family is paramount alongside expression. You get the Staves! A great 3 piece, all female band featuring Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor. Three sisters who create some of the most delicate and intricate music that I’ve heard recently, I can’t quite recall how I discovered them.

An interesting mix of ukulele, guitar and voice are at the core of the ensemble, and then with everything imaginable added onto to create vast soundscapes that would challenge most composers.

‘Blood I Bled’ is a great example of how they’ve taken every idea, boiled it down to empower the melody and then built it up again from there.

1. Black Honey This powerhouse, British 4 piece take elements of powerhouse rock to spaghetti western to create one intense sound. This band is definitely up and coming, hitting the festival scene like a hammer and making a scene. Fronted by Izzy B Phillips, who’s voice will entice you in and wish they had more material!

Luckily they have album plans going forward, which I’m rather excited to see where this band will go next. ‘Mothership’ is a culmination of heavy rock riffs, Izzy’s powerhouse vocals and some of the catchiest melodies out there.

Top 5

Things to take to a festival With it now being prime festival season, we thought a top five things to take to a music festival would be easily one of the most appropriate top 5s! Of course we’re going to get down to the things you may not think of or may not come to mind straight away though (so no tent or booze on this list…)

5. Nibbles… take an alarming amount of biscuits, cereal bars, chocolate, crisps etc. you never know when you’ll have the urge for food and most food places have a ridiculous queue and cost a fortune!

Most of the food places are closed by midnight too, so if you fancy a snack during the night, a cereal bar never goes to waste. (don’t forget at least one bottle of water, you can fill it up using the taps there though) 4. Chair. This is another item many festivalgoers forget. Quite often on the mornings of festivals, or even afterwards, having somewhere comfortable to sit is a necessity, as realistically the rest of the time you’ll be standing or sitting on the wet and muddy floor. Having somewhere comfy to sit that’s dry is probably one of the best feelings in the world. Even if its just a fold up chair that you know you’ll never use or need again, the chair totally makes a difference to the festival camp experience.

3. Baby wipes/wet wipes. This is an almost definite thing that you need. This is because everybody needs to wash! Wet wipes are a brilliant tool for removing all mud or dirt from your face, legs, arm, neck, wherever it may end up! They’re also a good way of washing, due to the state of the showers they have at most, which end up pointless by day two because the entire surrounding area becomes a mud bath anyway! Trust me, wet wipes are the best way of washing yourself (BONUS: dry shampoo is a good combo for this too)!

2. Spare clothes. Although you may think that everyone would take more than one pair of clothes with them to a festival, the harsh reality is quite a few seem to forget… Yeah, maybe you can make it through on one set of clothes, but after a long day rocking out and having some good old fashioned fun in the mud, its always nice to get back to your tent, and slide on a clean pair of trousers that aren’t soaked and covered in mud.

1. Wellies! This is easily the most important item you can take to a festival. I mainly wanted this one, as the number one must take because for my first festival… I didn’t take a pair… I ruined a good pair of shoes and probably almost ruined my feet’s health by not packing a pair. Yeah they may be uncomfortable when wearing them, but trust me, when it starts to even slightly rain, the entire festival becomes one big mud pit. And going even slightly near it causes you to be covered in mud and makes your feet feel like they’re constantly walking in puddles….

So there’s our list of essential things to take to a festival, if you have any other ideas of items feel free to let us know!

Production Recording amplifiers for guitar and bass are arguably one of the easier things for a producer to record, yet there are so many different ways to do it.

Firstly before we jump into ways of recording, we need to learn a bit about what we are recording.

Amplifiers are exactly what it says it is, it’s a device used to amplify sound. The component that will be recorded is the speakers, which can usually be found behind the amplifiers mesh. Depending on the size and shape of the amplifier depends on how many speakers it has.

Each speaker sounds slightly different to the other ones so it’s down to personal preference as to which you want to record the most. The speakers are a cone shape and depending on where on the speaker you record, the sound will change with it. The closer to the centre of the cone you are, the more full and smooth it will sound. While the closer to the edge you record, the more harsh the sound will be so remember to take that into consideration when deciding on what sound and tone you want.

Mic’ing Amps

The first microphone placement is the easiest to do as it is literally placing a dynamic microphone right in front of the cone. This can be effective but you can be limited in what sound you record. A similar one to this is one of my personal favourites, as it involves two dynamic microphones. Both mics have to be an equal distance from the cone (this is to avoid phasing which is where sound waves cancel each other out). The first microphone can be in the same place as it was originally while the second is on a microphone stand that can be swung towards and away from the amplifier. This allows you to cycle through many different places the microphone can be facing and allows you to quickly search for a really nice sound. By having the microphone off axis (not directly facing the amplifier) you can get even more different variations of sound with the technique.

The final majorly good way of recording is the front and side technique. For this you will need two condenser microphones that can be used in a figure 8 pattern. You’ll need to set this up around a metre in front of the amplifier. Place the microphones essentially on top of each other with one directly facing the amplifier, and the other microphone side on to the amplifier. Make sure both are figure 8 and make sure the room is at least a little reflective otherwise this technique doesn’t work as well as it feeds off the reflections of the room to create its sound. This technique can be used with the other technique extremely well to create many different layers in the soundscape.

Gig Guide Friday 1st July – Martin Heaton – Opening for Carrie Martin at the Milton Rooms – Malton – 7pm.

Saturday 2nd July – Antonio Folk Art – Folk on the Water – Warwickshire Canals Basement – York - Open Mic Night -Free – 7.30pm Friday 8th July – Melthem – Snickleway - Free Friday 8th July – Fibbers – York – Arcane Roots w/ Black Peaks £10 – 7.30pm Saturday 9th July – Fibbers – York – The Y Street Band w/ I Set The Sea on Fire - £5 – 7.30pm Wednesday 13th July – Fibbers – York – Augustines - £14 – 7.30pm Thursday 14th July – Fibbers – York – Dave Acari + Swampcandy (Co-headline!) - £8 – 7.30pm Friday 15th July – Basement – York - The Funny Brothers: Pre-Reality Tour - £5 – 8pm Saturday 16th July – Fibbers – York – Them Lewis Boys! - £12 – 7.30pm Sunday 17th July – Basement – York - Amelia White + Dan Webster –£7 ADV/ £9 OTD – 8pm Thursday 21st July – Basement – York - Please Please You Presents Gill Landry (Old Crow Medicene Show) – £8 ADV / £10 OTD – 8pm Friday 22nd July – Fibbers – York – Larrakia, A Joker’s Rage, Feed Them to The Forest and The Superindent - £5 – 7.30pm Friday 22nd July – Stein Bier Keller – York – Dick Valentine (Electric Six) Free – 8.30pm – Age: 18 Tuesday 26th July – Fibbers – York - Ash w/ Tax the Heat - £15 – 7.30pm Friday 29th July – Fibbers – York – Fat Boy Slim (Live from Times Square Newcastle!) - £25 – 6pm GATES OPEN Saturday 30th July – Fibbers – York – Ocean Colour Scene w/ Shed Seven, Hyde & Beast (Times Square Newcastle) - £42.50 – 2pm – Age: 18

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