This is nice. Welcome to Issue 4. Neither of us were born in Leeds, but it is the place we proudly call home. The place where we never have to search for nice things to write about, because nice people doing nice things are on every road and side street of the city. From the wonderful accessible events by Dman & Friends where everyone can feel comfortable to the work of Bloody Good Period, who are encouraging us all to help end the battle of period poverty, are just a couple of the causes we think sum up the selfless nature of Leeds. These are the definition of nice people. This issue has been a difficult one to complete. Time has been hard to come by, and with illnesses and university work creeping up on us, we were both struggling with motivation. But it only took the email from Cait McEniff containing her finished cover design to reignite our engines. It is not only a stunning piece of art but an exceptional interpretation of Leeds. We love it and love her, and you will too after reading about how lovely she is. As always, huge thank you to our contributors and friends: Laura McDermott, Safi Bugel, Jack Warren, Katie Day, PAPERFACE, Rhiannon-Sky Boden, Lauren Morsley, Ruby Langton Higgins and Milly Parker, without you this issue wouldn’t have been nearly as nice. And a massive thanks to Hannah Platt, Sophie Lane, Oliver Nixon and Tim Wheeler. You may not have contributed a piece for the magazine, but you have given us kind words and encouragement, for which we love you. Stay nice, Meg and Tom (Co-Founders)
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Nice People Magazine April 2019
04 | Nice Gigs in Leeds 06 | A Guide to Your Local Independent Venues 08 | Hanibl x Dante 10 | Moegli 11 |
The Young Wizard
12 | Behind the Cover: Cait McEniff 18 | Lucy Ketchin 22 | Bloody Good Period Charity 26|
Dman & Friends
27 | Migration by Jack Warren, illustrated by Katie Day 28 | honey, dust by Rhiannon Skye-Boden, illustrated by PAPERFACE
Front cover design: Cait McEniff (Instagram: @caitmceniff) Logo design: Julia Pomeroy (juliapomeroy98@gmail.com) Printed by Mortons Print Edited and designed by Meg Firth | Managed by Tom Nixon
FIND US Facebook: Nice People Magazine Instagram: @allthesenicepeople Email: allthesenicepeople@gmail.com
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Follow Nice People Magazine on Spotify for playlists inspired by our gig listings. Discover new music and get yourself to some nice gigs this month.
Nice gigs in Leeds April and May Laid Back
What’s your flavour?
Something New
Vibey
Thursday 4th April Julia Jacklin For fans of: Angel Olsen, Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief… Belgrave Music Hall, £13.50 (Dice) [Waiting List]
Friday 12th April GZA For fans of: Wu-Tang Clan (“G is just the Genius”) Leeds University Stylus, £23 (Dice) [Waiting List]
Thursday 4th April Etta Bond For fans of: Mahalia, JGrrey, Poppy Ajudha… Headrow House, £10.50 (Dice)
Saturday 13th April Stefflon Don For fans of: dancehall patois, killer grime verses and honeyed vocals Leeds University Stylus, £17.60 (Dice)
Thursday 4th April Art School Girlfriend + Sleepyhead For fans of: Japanese House and synth machines Hyde Park Book Club, £7 (SeeTickets)
Saturday 20th April Nice People: Cover Your Tracks charity gig for Mind For fans of: having a nice time Hyde Park Book Club, PAYF
Friday 5th April Nilufer Yanya For fans of: Cleo Sol, Lianne La Havas, Joy Crookes… Brudenell Social Club, £11 (SeeTickets)
Saturday 20th April Anteros For fans of: shameless indie-pop and all-girl stage invasions The Key Club, £9 (SeeTickets)
Friday 5th April Jasmine EP Launch For fans of: a blend of jazz and hip-hop Headrow House, £3.62 (Fixr) Wednesday 10th April Heir + Greatest Hits For fans of: a well good boogie The Lending Room, £6 (SeeTickets) Thursday 11th April KOYO + Shaku and Roads For fans of: massive riffs The Lending Room, £5 (SeeTickets) Thursday 11th April Franc Moody For fans of: intergalactic funk sounds with stellar bass grooves Belgrave Music Hall, £12.50 (Dice)
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Hot and Sweaty
Monday 22nd April Girli For fans of: dancing in your underwear The Wardrobe, £9.90 (Dice) Friday 27th April Soul Rebels Sessions: Necktr + B-Ahwe + The Space Antics For fans of: tight neo-soul and a real good time Brudenell Social Club, £6-7 (Luna Tickets) Tuesday 30th April Loyle Carner For fans of: introspective hip hop Brudenell Social Club, £24 (Dice) [Waiting List] Thursday 2nd May Stella Donnelly For fans of: saying how you feel with a sarcastic wink and a full heart Brudenell Community Room, £9.90 (Dice)
Nice People Magazine April 2019
Thursday 2nd May The Sun Ra Arkestra For fans of: a damn good time Belgrave Music Hall, £23.50 (Dice)
Saturday 18th May Alfa Mist For fans of: tight futuristic jazz and hiphop samples Belgrave Music Hall, £13 (Dice)
Monday 6th May Men I Trust For fans of: No Vacation, Her’s, Temporax… Brudenell Social Club, £14.30 (Dice)
Saturday 18th May Big Thief For fans of: feeling sad but good Brudenell Social Club, £21.25 (Dice)
Monday 6th May Connie Constance For fans of: off-kilter soul and calming piano melodies Belgrave Music Hall, £10.50 (Dice)
Monday 20th May Mildlife For fans of: getting lost in wavey melodies Brudenell Social Club, £11 (Dice)
Friday 10th May Bakar For fans of: Khalid, Rejjie Snow, King Krule… The Wardrobe, £11 (Dice) Tuesday 14th May Allusinlove For fans of: being on your mate shoulders in the middle of a mosh The Key Club, £8.80 (Dice) Thursday 16th May Anna St. Louis + Kern Parks & Ruthie For fans of: Julia Jacklin, Tomberlin, Stella Donnelly... Hyde Park Book Club, £7.70 (Luna Tickets)
Wednesday 22nd May Tomberlin For fans of: proper sad songs and magnetising vocals Brudenell Social Club, £11 (Dice) Monday 27th May Anne-Marie For fans of: low-key bangers O2 Academy, £29.50 (Dice) Friday 31st May Sifaka Sessions: Sifaka + Pablo’s Paintings, Shaku and Felka For fans of: good gig posters Hyde Park Book Club, £4-£6 (WeGotTickets)
Going out out?
Cinnamon presents:
La Cinnamon Fiesta Cinnamon is back with a perfect summers evening situated in Leeds’ creative hub, Open Source Arts. It’s time to breathe in that sweet polluted air and get down, in the true fiesta spirit, to these local powerhouses! With an art exhibit, dancers, visuals, food and flying people to boot. Featuring: S - Drumming Collective, Aerial Acrobatics, HalliGalli live extravaganza, Project Hilts, NikNak, Brazilian Wax + more When: Saturday 4th May Where: Open Source Arts, Aire Place Mills, LS3 1JL
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A guide to...
YOUR LOCAL
INDEPENDENT VENUES In Leeds Illustrations by Milly Parker (@ millky.art)
Wharf Chambers
23-25 Wharf Street, LS2 7EQ It’s impossible to have a bad time at Wharf Chambers. The tucked away bar, venue and exhibition space has an aura that makes you immediately feel at home. Their ethos for inclusivity and their commitment to being a safe space accessible for all creates a place that is instantly welcoming. The smoking area, lit by fairy lights, is a place where everyone talks to anyone and the place where you meet your next best friend. The affordable venue room hosts a plethora of events; from upcoming bands and club nights with the likes of Love Muscle and Equaliser, to yoga sessions, art exhibitions and talks; Wharf Chambers is a place of positivity and inclusion. Come for the friendliest atmosphere, stay for the £2 pints. Visit www.wharfchambers.org for upcoming events, or follow @wharfchamberscc to hear about their upcoming nights.
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Hyde Park Book Club
27-29 Headingley Lane, LS6 1BL Inside the doors of this converted petrol station sits a second home for whoever needs it. By day, good conversations are fuelled by hot coffees and cold beers, whilst veggie and vegan treats from the all-day menu are chowed down by the hungry lunchtime crowd. By night, the Book Club feels like going to your best mate’s house; you’re looked after and you always and stay way longer than you planned. From upcoming bands and local jazz, to spoken-word and art exhibitions, an evening at the Book Club is always an unpredictable treat. After the evening’s entertainment, the benches outside in the carpark become a place where everyone seems to become friends; whether it be initiated by liking the same music or just asking someone for a Rizla, you’re guaranteed to meet some great people in the Book Club carpark. Open 7 days a week, 10am til late. Live jazz every Thursday, open decks every Sunday. @hydeparkbookclub
Nice People Magazine April 2019
Mabgate Bleach
Unit 2, Mabgate Mills, LS9 7DZ
Temple of Boom
Byron Street Mills, Millwright Street, LS2 7QG Walking along Millwright Street, you’re likely to walk straight past Temple of Boom without realising you’re walking past a spot of punk-infused history in the making. The home of all things heavy, ToB’s Fight Club-esque basement holds the legacy of being ‘Leeds’ only venue dedicated to punk, hardcore and metal.’ Originally opening in 2012 as practice rooms for bands such as The Eagull’s and The Flex, the space eventually became a venue after the bands starting putting on their own DIY shows. With DIY at its core, the space has evolved into three venue rooms, a bar & vegan café, a recording studio and rehearsal rooms, all ingrained with a homely spirit and inspired work ethic. Temple of Boom is certainly going to be part of punk history.
With community and DIY spirit at its heart, Mabgate Bleach is a space where you instantly feel a sense of belonging. There’s a tendency for gig spaces to have an air of pretentiousness about them, but at Mabgate Bleach there’s refreshingly none at all; it’s solely about having a good time with good people and good music. Situated in Mabgate Mills on Macauley Street, the unit is also made up of the studio and rehearsal space, Jar Mills Studios. Each acoustically treated room has a unique design, creating the perfect environment to craft and develop your music. Be sure to get yourself down to Bleach at some point; no matter what the occasion, you’re guaranteed to have a nice time. @mabgatebleach / www.jarmillsstudios.com
Visit www.templeofboomleeds.com for upcoming gigs, or follow @templeofboomleeds for updates and pictures of the last night’s carnage.
CHUNK
Byron Street Mills, Millwright Street, LS2 7QG Once you visit Chunk, it almost instantly becomes one of your favourite spots. Run by a lovely community of dedicated and hardworking volunteers who all share a love for music and all things DIY, all profits go back into the space. It represents what community and passion can do together, whilst simultaneously being an inspiring space where you always feel at home. Set-up in 2013 as practice rooms in an effort to offer affordable rehearsal spaces, Chunk has always been a place of inclusivity where like-minded people come to have a good time, all the while being part of something amazing. Always willing to help or give you advice, the people at Chunk are some of the loveliest in Leeds and work hard to provide a space where aspiring bands can thrive. Become a member by emailing chunk.leeds@gmail. com, or follow @chunk.leeds to see whats going on between their four walls.
Sheaf St.
3 Sheaf Street, LS10 1HD
Being just outside town on the Southbank of the River Aire, Sheaf St. is well worth the Uber ride or walk. The event space magnetises flocks of Leeds’ nicest crowds, with the iconic ‘Yarden’ terrace being the place where Leeds’ finest outdoor parties begin. While the perpetually sun-soaked café-bar - catered by Grub & Grog - invites all to pass the hours drinking, snacking and listening to local DJs’ mixes, the Yarden and Dukes Studios next door ooze with energy and positivity. Sheaf St. is possibly the best place to let all your problems melt away; as anyone would say while at Sheaf St.: ‘it’s good here.’ Visit www.sheafst.com for more, or follow @sheafstreet for updates and pictures of resident pooch Mr. Scruff. Words by Meg Firth
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Introducing...
Image by Tom Nixon
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Nice People Magazine April 2019
Hanibl X Dante are the perfect example of practice makes perfect. Giving most of their time to their production, these twins have quickly mastered their style and become highly respected within the Leeds hip hop scene. We are always excited to see what they do next. How long have you guys been going as Hanibl X Dante? and what made you start producing hip hop? Alex: We’ve been making music together under Hanibl X Dante for about 6 months. We’ve both been into hip hop for a long while and have been in bands for the last 10 years, so it was more an experiment than anything. I was in a band with a producer called Jack Wolff; he taught me a lot about hip-hop and then started teaching Lewis production. Lewis: The mindset of creativity and work ethic was one of the most potent things he taught me. I bought an SP 404 and got into making old school boom bap. Over the last 6 months or so this has evolved with the help of a few different producers (Clerk 37 & MOGLI) into a more experimental and contemporary style of production. Having a strong base in the fundamentals of hip hop taught by Jack is something I will be eternally grateful for.
From listening to your beat tapes it seems your sounds are changing and evolving quite fast, why is this and what influences it? L: I think the quite drastic and rapid change in our sound mainly comes down to how far we think we can push ourselves and the
music we make. It’s been great now settling on a sound that works for both of us and really gets our personalities across. Being able to express ourselves and our influences has taken some time but the result has been worth it. A: Not really being too concerned with our music being strictly hip -hop has been a big aspect of growth. It’s easy to become complacent with the style you create in. Experimenting with the more electronic side of production has really freed up the way we work and fits perfectly with the music we write.
How do you work together on tracks? A: We search for a base idea to build off, which might be a sample or a drum break, and then I start to build more rhythms and counter rhythms over it. L: Meanwhile, I normally focus on the melody and sound design side of things. And then we repeat and repeat that process until we’ve got a finished track! A: As i’m originally a drummer and Lewis is a bassist, I guess we just utilise the skills that the other doesn’t have till we get a result were both happy with.
What inspired your artist names? L: They’re both pretty stupid, to be honest. Mine (Hanibl) comes from the main dude in the A team. I thought the show was so big that there would be loads of samples of people saying “Hanibl’ but that’s literally it. A: ‘Dante’ comes from the book ‘Dante’s Inferno’ because I’m well pretentious.
What’s coming up for Hanibl X Dante? A: We’ve got an EP coming out on 8MANA in the next few months which we’re really excited to put out. It’s been a labour of love and has given us the opportunity to work with some amazing artists and producers. Alongside that, we’ll be putting out some tracks that we’ve produced with/for other Leeds artists; we’ve had the pleasure of working with amazing vocalists Roe Green, B-Ahwe & Jack Zealey L: Also , we have our weekly residency at Headrow House (every Thursday) and our monthly radio show over on KMAH Radio. All the details are on our facebook page.
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Introducing...
Meet George Moore, the experimental bass heavy music producer under the alias MOEGLI. Centring his output around the style of ‘wonky hip-hop’, garage and groovy percussive elements, Moore is a sleeping giant in the Northern music scene. So, how long have you been producing under MOEGLI? I’ve been producing under the alias MOEGLI for roughly around 3 years now, since just after I arrived in Leeds to study at Leeds College of Music (LCoM). I used to be in a producing trio titled Au Malu back in London before coming to Leeds. That fizzled out so the next logical thing to do was to start a solo project focused around bass heavy experimental dance music with a hip hop tinge. You are connected with the guys at 8MANA. Does this circle help inspire your music? I run the label with a few of the other guys. I’m the in-house mix and mastering engineer for the stuff that gets released through the label also. Sharing and gaining insight into each-others music taste definitely helps inspire my music; I definitely owe those guys a lot when it comes to discovering new music. I sometimes don’t pay attention to what’s new - there’s
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just so much good music out there being released constantly; It’s hard to keep track of it all. We have a few crazy producers whose creativity is off the charts; namely a dude called Tomwyn, whose musical output is always mad inspiring. His ideas have helped influence mine.
Do you always produce alone? Mostly, yes. However, in recent months I’ve started to focus less on nerding out on the computer and taking a more collaborative approach to making music. I used to strongly believe in doing everything myself. From the compositions, synthesis, mix and master. However, collaborating with session musicians and other artist/beat makers has opened up so many possibilities and has expanded my sound to a degree that I wished I’d done it sooner. Music is collaborative in its nature and being a computer musician you can sometimes forget that, I find.
Have you got any plans on the horizon? I’m currently in the final creative stages of making my Debut EP! A 7 track record with bass heavy beats and symphonies centred around the hip hop style. It’s going to titled Sink or Swim and will be out around June. After that’s released I’m going to be focused on more up-tempo dance music around the 110-140(BPM) range and really take it back to the roots of what initially inspired me to produce music in the first place. Finally, who is your biggest inspiration in the Leeds scene at the moment? I would have to say my housemates, who also make music! Shout outs to my boy Anthony (Leo Cosmos), whose work ethic never seems to falter, and Lewis who goes under the name “Kalaux”. He’s also prepping his debut EP which sounds absolute fire. Don’t sleep on either of these two. Nice People Magazine April 2019
Introducing...
The Young Wizard is a producer and rapper who is making waves with his expressive form of hip hop. With an upcoming EP and projects with some of our favourite artists in Leeds, The Young Wizard is someone to have in your periphery. What inspired you to start producing as under the alias The Young Wizard? The Young Wizard is my first and only project as a solo artist. At the time of the birth of TYW there was a lot of crazy shit going on in my life and in my head that there was just so much trying to burst out that I wasn’t able to deal with normally. How long have you been going as The Young Wizard? How did you meet the other members of your band? The Young Wizard was conceived about two and a half years ago, when I started taking my rapping more seriously. The current live band has only been going since September 2018. The band is made up of a mix of musicians I met whilst studying jazz piano at Leeds College of Music; Seb Knee-Wright (Necktr) on guitar, Glen Leach on keys, Patrick ‘Cheekbones Tricky’ Hand on bass, Greg Burns on
Drums and Bethany Herrington (B-ahwe) on back-up vocals.
What would you say are your main influences? My main influences are from all over the place. Anywhere from pianists such as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner to Mos Def, Nas, Red Hot Chilli Peppers. At the moment I’m really feeling Noname, Saba and Smino hailing from Chicago and St Louis respectively. I think what they’re currently doing is pushing the boundaries of what hip-hop is both musically and lyrically and it’s really resonating with me. You worked with LAUSSE THE CAT on his album last year, how was it working with him? Any more collabs planned? I’ve worked with Lausse the Cat since the dawn of TYW as a project. In fact we were both once freestyling at a house party together and he was the one who
got me to record and pushed me to take it more seriously. So I guess you could say without him there would be no Young Wizard. He is a really creative guy and has forced me to look at things in a whole new light with regards to conceptual writing. Lausse will be featuring on one of the tracks off of my upcoming EP.
What’s coming up for The Young Wizard? Any big plans? I can’t describe my excitement to release this upcoming project. It’s my first multi track release and has been about a year in the making. All 8 tracks were written, recorded and produced by myself so I’m keen to share the hundreds of hours of hard work with the world. It’s entitled Life’s a Bitch, I Just Need an Early Night and mainly explores themes of death, sex and introspection. Life’s a Bitch, I Just Need an Early Night is due at the end of May.
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Behind the Cover...
C a I t Mc E N I f f
Cait McEniff for Colours May Vary
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Nice People Magazine April 2019
Cait McEniff has perfectly encapsulated Leeds in this issue’s front cover. It is testament to her stunning style, which seamlessly blends intelligent observations with a childlike curiosity. Meg Firth talks to Cait about developing her style, people-watching and her huge collection of journals.
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eeds is a place full of characters; from the wolfman to Stevie the dog, the city is brimming with stories untold. Life in Leeds inspires illustrator Cait McEniff, who moved to the city recently to start her degree in Illustration at Leeds Arts University: “There are so many kooky characters in Leeds; it’s a big friendly melting pot of interestingness,” Cait tells me as we sit down for a cuppa at Hyde Park Book Club. “I’m fascinated by drawing as a means of storytelling and Leeds is a great place to indulge in that.” Cait’s observational art has the ability to immerse you in a warmer, more simple world. Through her signature style of wonky characters, soft shading and subtly blended tones, Cait’s coloured pencil drawings transport you into gentle soft atmospheres. People with tiny heads and chunky bodies populate her art in a style that is refreshingly carefree. It is void of any ego, and in turn, captures a childlike innocence. “Art in school is very much about drawing realistically,” Cait explains. “When I left, I wanted to go back to drawing like a kid again. Just to tap into that wonkiness really and be as playful as I can, and try and get back into that childhood curiosity.” Combining childlike naivety with a sentimental awareness, Cait’s sketches instantly bring a smile to your face. Honing in on a single contemplative gaze or a nonchalant passerby, Cait is able to convey a plethora of emotion through the smallest and gentlest of marks. It’s
no surprise that she spends a lot of time peoplewatching. “I’m people-watching all the time!”, Cait admits. “I know it’s bad, but I just love listening to people’s conversations; I just find it fascinating. You never know what’s going on in people’s lives.” Always with a sketchbook on her, Cait fills her pages with little observations that she makes while watching others go about their day-to-day. “Everything’s always moving, so there’s something charming about capturing that in wonky wobbly lines,” Cait muses, who also likes to capture moments with film photography. “I think there’s real value in both and having a different way of making memories tangible is something really beautiful!” In an increasingly digital age, Cait’s use of colouring pencils and a sketchbook is refreshing. “I just love the tactile-ness of having a physical and tangible thing that holds it all,” explains Cait, who started a project when she was 16 to do a journal a month: “Looking back they’re so cringey,” laughs Cait. “It’s nice to keep but hard to look back at; it’s nice to see that progression and have a shelf of things you’ve made.” Originally from Warrington (“the shit bit in between Liverpool and Manchester”), Cait studied an Art Foundation at Manchester School of Art before deciding to move to Leeds for University. Cait was slightly hesitant at first about going to study art is “so glad” she did. “It’s just like primary school but harder,” laughs Cait, talking about how she loves the freedom of the course. “The tutors just support everything you
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“I’m fascinated by drawing as a means of storytelling; Leeds is a great place to indulge in that.”
want to do and there’s a real drive to just be joyful with it. One of my tutors, Matt, always says: ‘dance then stance’, which I think is a great little nugget. It’s the idea of trying not to have an end image in your mind and just enjoying the process of playing and having fun with it. It’s such a privilege to be able to do what you love so I think there’s a duty there to have as much fun with it as possible.” Next time you’ve got a spare 10 minutes in between chores, take a page out of Cait’s book. It’s easy to let the stresses of our lives consume us to the point where we don’t take the time to look up and breathe it all in. There’s a purity and goodness to be seen in day-to-day life - even in the sad bits - and Cait McEniffs sketches remind us of that. Words by Meg Firth
Nice People Magazine April 2019
Soweto Market © Cait McEniff (@caitmcenniff)
All images used by kind permission of the artist © Cait McEniff (@caitmceniff / caitmceniff.com)
Nice People Magazine April 2019
Š Ruby Langton Higgins (Gross Studio) @femmedrawn / @grossstudio
L u c y
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K e t c h i n Images: The Plant Room Collection by Lucy Ketchin
With names like Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore under its belt, Leeds has long been a cultural hotspot. The creative legacy of the former-industrial city we know and love continues to be felt, with a wealth of exciting local artists working and collaborating in the area. One is illustrator and textile artist Lucy Ketchin.
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elf-described as being fuelled by coffee and music, Lucy experiments with illustration, painting and natural dyeing, alongside dabbling in other creative realms. Regardless of medium, a common theme underlies herpractice: “I like to make work that speaks to people, but is also for myself.” Her illustrations, often simple and charming, can be spotted around Leeds, with previous commissions including Belgrave Music Hall and The Hepworth. A recent project, in collaboration with a local school, was a colourful on-site mural featuring a diverse group of children, in her signature side profile. The figures were accompanied by a quote from the retired vicar who sponsored the piece: ‘It doesn’t matter what others are doing, it matters what you’re doing.’ The process was also rewarding for Lucy herself: “Working closely with my community is always fulfilling. It’s great that I can be supported by people in my area, and also give back something that helps in turn.” The city itself is a source of inspiration for Lucy, due to its extensive pool of makers and its collaborative spirit. “Leeds is an exciting city with a creative community,” Lucy says, mentioning friends and collaborators Zosia (The Plant Room) and Mike (The Archipelago Studio), as well as Becky and Andy from Colours May Vary (and their dog, Stevie— “The best ever!”), as particular supporters of her creative, and personal, development. At a time of unemployment, financial concern and poor mental health, Lucy tested a new medium as a creative outlet. After some research on dyeing using natural food waste - from onion skins and beans to avocados - Lucy figured it was a cheap way to be creative and keep busy. It was also a good way to slow down, and learn something new: “It is a long process, but incredibly rewarding and so exciting!”. Her next step was to teach herself to sew, and soon she had fashioned all her dyed fabric samples into a quilt: “That quilt now hangs in my living room and is really wonky and faded since I made it, but it still holds a lot of importance.”
“Without sounding too whimsical, it reminds me that no matter where I am, or my situation, creating work will always be a way to keep sane and focused.” Indeed, Lucy’s artistic expression and wellbeing seem closely intertwined. When she’s not working, Lucy enjoys the independent venues and sites that Leeds has to offer. In particular, she cites North Star Coffee shop as a recent haunt - for its nice atmosphere, coffee and scrambled eggs - whilst Meanwood Park is a favoured spot for fresh air and, of course, dogs. Slightly out of the city, Lucy recommends visiting Salts Mill in Saltaire. The textile-millturned-gallery features an extensive collection of David Hockney works, including his original iPad drawings from 2011. The West Yorkshire spots appeal to Lucy is understandable, as she cites the influential 20th century artist’s use of colours as a major inspiration for her own work. His pool lithographs are up there with Lucy’s all-time favourites. Lucy also enthuses over Leeds’ very own Northern Monk Brewery, a place she values for its charitable and friendly community. As part of the Northern Monk Patrons Project, the brewery works with different Northern artists to create a series of curated beers and accompanying labels. As the 15th Patron in the lineup, Lucy has two beers under her name already; a strong start to the seven she has in her series. The first, a collaboration with Miami-based brewery J Wakefield, saw Lucy devise a label and name for a blueberry sour IPA. Meaning is important to Lucy when creating, and thus she titled the beer: ‘Blues Run the Game’, a homage to Jackson C. Frank. The deep blue label foregrounds a girl sporting a pair of headphones and clutching a copy of Joni Mitchell’s iconic album ‘Blue’, a nod to the Canadian singer Lucy admires.
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Image: ‘Farewell Tangerina’ by Northern Monk
“Social media can completely extinguish my motivation, or ignite it.” Their second collaboration launched just a few weeks back, with Lucy even more closely involved this time: she chose the flavours and participated in the brewing process. ‘Farewell Tangerina’, a play on Joan Baez’s ‘Farewell Angelina’-- another folk music reference— is a tangerine, chokeberry and vanilla sour ale, a natural choice for a fan of the citrus fruit. With her Northern Monk collaborations as an example, music seems to be a significant part of Lucy’s creative practice. But what is her go-to listening material for working?: “When I’m trying to focus and get something finished, you’ll definitely find me listening to upbeat bops. It keeps me awake and motivated!”. Alternatively, if she’s teasing out some emotion for drawings, or in need of ideas, she turns to her music library: “Often, it’s a lyric or song that gives me ideas for my work”, Lucy says, hence the musical references on the cans. However, she’s also inclined to soundtrack her work with a true crime or documentary-style podcast; she recommends Criminal, Short Cuts and This American Life in particular.
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“I’ve learnt that a few hours in the sun, or a conversation with a friend over coffee, is just as important for productivity as knuckling down and focusing”.
With over 49,000 followers on Instagram, I wonder about the impact social media has on Lucy’s practice. It’s a double-edged sword, she explains: “It can completely extinguish my motivation, or ignite it.” Whilst social media has been a useful tool for meeting people, promoting work - or even gaining validation - it is switching off and getting outside that nourishes her desire to create: “I’ve learnt that a few hours in the sun, or a conversation with a friend over coffee, is just as important for productivity as knuckling down and focusing”. Although contacting peers for guidance is Lucy’s number one piece of advice for overcoming a creative block, Lucy also believes in engaging in other hobbies: “Picking up my guitar, finding new music and looking after my plants are also things that help me chill out and re-focus.” However, it’s also about figuring yourself out: “I think accepting my working patterns and knowing the environments that serve my creativity are the best ways to stay motivated.” So, what’s in the pipeline for the rest of the year? This month, Lucy has a show at Left Bank Leeds, the stunning former church situated at the edge of Hyde Park. ‘If It Makes You Happy’, open from the 3rd of April, is a collection of works on paper and textiles, exploring ‘self-reflection, growth, friendship, and simple pleasures’. In the long term, Lucy simply wants to make sure she’s always making the things she loves, as well as looking after herself and supporting her community. In her own words, “watch this space.”
Instagram: @lucyketchin Website: cargocollective.com/lucyketchin
Words by Safi Bugel
Image: The Plant Room Collection by Lucy Ketchin
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Illustration by Lauren Morsley (laurenmorsley.com)
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Bloody Good Period is a charity based in London and Leeds that provides sanitary products to those who cannot afford them, such as asylum seekers or refugees. Laura McDermott has a conversation with regional co-ordinator, Jess Strudwick, all about Bloody Good’s aim to end period poverty. Bloody Good Period is a national charity that provides 25 asylum seeker centres across London and Leeds with period supplies. Yes, period supplies. Period, a word that fills many with sheer dread, due to the ancient unnecessary stigma that still surrounds the concept, even in 2019. Period! Why is it, that when half the population of the entire planet have a period once a month, the topic is still something associated with a sense of embarrassment and shame? Period poverty has only recently become an issue in the public eye. Since periods have always been a taboo subject, it hasn’t been an evident problem to many: “Women have been suffering in silence, almost too scared or embarrassed to ask for pads when they really need them, purely down to how society treats the issue” states Jess. Bloody Good founder, Gabby Edlin, volunteered at a drop-in centre for asylum seekers and refugees, when it dawned upon her that they provided all the basic life necessities apart from period products. Pads were something that they only gave out in the ‘case of emergencies’. Bloody Good Period believes, “Every month should be treated as an emergency. If you need pads you need pads.” In that moment, lies the birth of Bloody Good Period, which now supplies period products to thousands of women and young girls all around the country.
Asylum seekers and refugees are given £37.75 to live on per week. Having a period in that week can take up a large chunk of that allowance. The harrowing thing, Jess tells me, is that women then substitute pads for “Socks, rags or tissues because they simply need the money for other things.” Women with children, for example, often cannot justify taking money from the small amount that they receive and putting it towards their period when the money could go towards dinner, or school books or Christmas presents. The type of substitutes that women make for pads, however, are extremely unsanitary and can lead to all sorts of health issues such as infection. This, in turn, creates an entirely new set of problems for such women to face. Period poverty is not seen as a local issue, with the stereotype being that it only exists in developing countries; however, Jess tells me, “People often assume it’s not happening within their community or with people that they know. Women you speak to on a daily basis may be affected by period poverty but you would just have no idea that it is happening.” Many are blind to it by no fault of their own, but due to the lack of conversation around the issue. For this reason, Bloody Good direct people to volunteer and donate in their local areas, tackling an invisible problem that very much starts at home. “The general public are the ones helping us to fight against period poverty.”
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In Leeds, Bloody Good is supporting drop-in centres who provide emotional and practical support to asylum seekers and refugees, such as Meeting Point in Armley. Jess kindly contacted Meeting Point, to find out the responses that Leeds based women have had to receiving the products from Bloody Good. One woman who had received the sanitary products said in her feedback: ‘You’re not “good”, Bloody Good Period – you’re GREAT! Thanks for helping us with what we need, and in the end giving us so much more.’ Another woman has said ‘I almost cried to know how much these people care... We will never forget what they all do for us.” And finally, “I used to save my pennies, go without and my children would go without. When you have so little, it means so much. Thank you Bloody Good Period. Like we say ‘you give us wings – real wings!”.
be provided for everyone.” Going on she explains, “People shouldn’t have to rely on donations from the public; products should be available in public places such as schools, hospitals and workplaces. Toilet paper is given out for free everywhere because it is seen as a necessity; when a woman is on her period, pads are a necessity too.’
Bloody Good Period is at the centre of an ever-growing discussion within society, tackling some of the most prevalent egalitarian issues. Award-winning author Reni Eddo Lodge described Bloody Good Period as a charity that ‘strikes at the intersection of feminism, migration, race and injustice’; it is the structural prejudice, built within the foundations of society that is sustaining such a problem, undoubtedly intertwined with issues of class and race in a continuous cycle of period poverty. Statistics have shown for example, that over 137,700 young girls in the UK have missed school because of their period. But those girls will also have likely been from lowerclass families, families with mothers who cannot afford products for themselves, they cannot afford to provide such products for the daughters either. They are missing school and important lessons that could (along with a multitude of other factors) mean that they are not being provided with the education to allow them to escape the poverty they are living within. Some may see this as a large logical leap to make, but each factor of structural injustice really does add up.
So, let’s get talking! Talk about period poverty and the injustice that many, such as asylum seekers and refugees face. Talk about the normality of something every woman has to go through and endure.
We need to break the taboo surrounding the topic of periods. The entire stigma is created as a result of the societally conditioned reaction from the general public to something which essentially is so normal. Jess finishes by telling me: “We want to change people’s view around periods. Even just to get people talking! We want people to no longer shy away from it, due to the societal pressures that make women feel like it is something disgusting’.
Nice People will be holding a Bloody Good collection at Hyde Park Book Club. If you can, pop into your local shop and pick up a packet of pads for a few quid. Whether you have a period or not (boys I’m lookin at u), it is something that will mean a lot to someone else! www.bloodygoodperiod.com @bloodygoodperiod Words by Laura McDermott
Bloody Good Period are aiming to end period poverty. This is a goal that in some ways is so near to being achieved and yet in other ways still so far. Jess tells me that their “Main plan for the future is to work on a strategy in which Bloody Good essentially no longer has to exist, as free period products should
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Illustration by Lauren Morsley (laurenmorsley.com)
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Dman
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Nice People Magazine April 2019
Dman & Friends is a collective of passionate people, pushing to create accessible club nights in Leeds. Fronted by the Dman himself, the collective donates all of their profits to charity. So far, all of their nights have been in aid of Sunshine and Smiles, a parent led charity supporting children and young people with Down Syndrome in Leeds.Tom Nixon sits down with Dman and collective member Poppy to find out about the group and what they have planned for the future. Tom: So what made you start ‘Dman & Friends’?
Tom: What do you see in the collectives future?
Dman: For ages, I used to sit and think that I want to one day make a night that my little brother would be able to attend when he’s older, because he has down syndrome. Also I’m autistic and I always super struggled. Before I worked in night clubs I used to just go to SubDub, because I didn’t feel comfortable anywhere. Then I found stuff like Slut Drop, where the DIY premise and the people there make it feel comfortable.
Dman: We are always looking for ways to make it more accessible. And I think we just want to do more things. Things similar to slut drop and those things, those are what inspire me. If they can continuously run a night for such a great cause then we need to open up that scene a lot more.
You do get a lot of charity driven nights across Leeds and nights that specifically donate all their profits to charity. It’s something I loved when I first came on the Leeds scene. It was things like MAP that made me want to do nights like that, but even more accessible.
Tom: So how does the collective work? What does everyone bring to the table? Dman: It’s very much a loose thing. It’s nice to have a group of people who have a shared idea: running a night which is purely making vibes for charity, to get money for charity. Getting a load of people in one room to have a good time, whether they are DJing or just giving up their time to help out.
Poppy: We do also want to start doing more events like the ones we did when we first started out, where we were doing it for kids in the day and then for us at night time, very wholesome vibes. Dman: I want to start doing work for more charities around leeds as well, and generally keep pushing that accessibility and the family friendly vibe. It was a lot more work doing those events, doing 4 in the afternoon til 4 in the morning. I’d be there from 12 in the afternoon til 5 in the morning, stressed out the whole time, tired, steaming, but it was all worth it.
Guilty Pleasures Dman: Estelle - ‘American Boy’ [Feat. Kanye West] Bronski Beat - ‘Smalltown Boy’
Poppy: Khia - ‘My Neck, My Back’ Sophie Ellis-Bextor - ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’
Sunshine and Smiles organise groups and events to improve the lives and opportunities of children and families living with Down Syndrome in Leeds, UK. Visit their website for resources, details on how to help and their latest news and events: www.sunshineandsmiles.org.uk
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Migration |
Words by Jack Warren Illustration by Katie Day
Clearing your throat to speak, Shout down those winter head’s harrows, Ringing your hands like the necks of wounded sparrows, That once flew holding dream in beak. A flight line to anywhere The north will do, Over rooftops brothered by creed, Fossilized factions found only here. Over blackened smiles in workman’s halls, Remembered only by lonely living room photos, And the odd coal scuttle. Over cul-de-sac lives. To the station, muscle of the city, A bicep tattooed in graffiti, It flexed its best when you arrived. “Can I sit with you?” You talked and talked, and talked Through a Blithering numb air. Your steam in the tunnels of my ear, Walls unpainted, not for want of solitude. You lit fires in caverns, I hadn’t been in for years.
honey, dust |
Words by Rhiannon-Skye Boden Illustration by PAPERFACE
This house is a maw now. He sits in the jaw, and waits for a voice Now missing from the kitchen While, for anyone who’ll listen The sounds left to fill the space ring clear Passed around the back garden like a wake buffet A brick wall, tennis ball, bounce A sunny ricochet A steady sound to keep the grief at bay, to keep away the day We set the table in silence. We pass lemonade We line up stone swans in reverence We leave the gate unlatched We walk away Hope the bricks soak up the shadows she left behind, Hope they use them to shade the next kids Whose laughter hits those walls And bounces off
free entry 11am onwards 27th april • 25th may • 29th june
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