Nice People Issue One by Nice People Magazine

Issue 1

Clue Records dead naked hippies Thirsty Girls

FREE!

Bobbi Rae girls that gig Necktr hanibl x dante

ey up! Welcome to our first issue. The idea of Nice People came to us at Brudenell Social Club after one too many pints. We were gushing about all the nice people we know doing incredible things, and joked that someone should dedicate a magazine to them. Two months later, and here we are, with a lovely magazine full of only a fraction of the wonderful creatives, musicians and initiatives in Leeds. This first issue is dedicated to every one who has supported us so far: To Bobbi Rae, who illustrated our beautiful front cover; to our good friend Julia Pomeroy, who designed the logo of our dreams; to our family at Hyde Park Book Club, for always inspiring us and making every shift a treat; to Jean Pavitt at Delinquent Magazine, who’s led by example and helped us find our feet with the intimidating reality of starting a magazine; to Thirsty Girls, Hanibl x Dante, Hey Fish Yo Swine, Vide0 and Game Program for playing at our launch gig; and, of course, to everyone who has contributed a piece: Thank you Jemima Skala, for your insightful and important feature on grassroots feminism and Girls That Gig. Thank you Tom Baran, for introducing us to some killer bands on the Leeds scene. Thank you Adina Rees and Shauna Stapleton, for contributing your stunning poem and illustration. And thank you Rory Haworth Galt, for making us smile with your lovely words on Jack Mears’ doggies. Also, big ups to you for picking up this magazine. We hope it introduces you to some of the wonderful things happening in this city and encourages you to get involved. Here’s to the next one. Lots of love, Meg and Tom (Co-Founders)

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Front cover design: Bobbi Rae (Instagram: @bearcubs) Logo design: Julia Pomeroy (juliapomeroy98@gmail.com) All photos and images credited to the owners Printed by Mortons Print

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Nice gigs in Leeds October and November

Laid Back

What’s your flavour?

Something New

Thursday 4th October BAKAR at Chapel For fans of: Madlib, Cosmo Pyke, King Krule... £8.80 (Dice)

Vibey

Thursday 18 October She Makes War at Brudenell Social Club For fans of: Bully, Hey Charlie... £8 (Dice)

Saturday 13th October Barney Artist at The Chapel For fans of: Jazz infused hip hop £7.25 (Dice)

Thursday 18th October Baloji at Belgrave Music Hall For fans of: Urban Congolese music infused with funk, hip-hop and rap £13 (Dice) Sunday 21st October Girli at Brudenell Social Club For fans of: dancing in your underwear £9.90 (Dice)

Sunday 14th October Bo Ningen at Brudenell Social Club For fans of: ‘Noise rock psychedellia’ £14 (Dice)

Monday 22nd October Sink Ya Teeth at Headrow House For fans of: anything good £6.25 (Dice)

Tuesday 16th October Halo Maud at Headrow House For fans of: Björk, BANKS, Grimes... £8.25 (Dice)

Saturday 27th October Grace Carter at Chapel For fans of: Mahalia, Jorja Smith, Raye... £9.90 (Dice)

Tuesday 16th October Anteros at The Wardrobe For fans of: sugary hooks and all-female stage invasions £8 (SeeTickets)

Tuesday 30th October Jen Cloher at LCoM For fans of: Courtney Barnett mixed with folk £10.50 (Dice)

Tuesday 16th October Our Girl at Oporto For fans of: genius songwriting £8 (SeeTickets)

Wednesday 31st October Indie Banquet IX at Wharf Chambers For fans of: Kagoule, Chest Pains, Yowl... £8.50 (Dice)

Wednesday 17th October Puma Blue at Belgrave Music Hall For fans of: King Krule... woozy candle-lit vibes £7.88 (Dice)

Wednesday 31st October Witch Fever at Lending Room For fans of: explosive riffs and unapologetic noise £5.50 (SeeTickets)

Friday 5th October Franc Moody at Headrow House For fans of: getting sweaty to some disco-funk £10.50 (Dice)

Hot and Sweaty

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Thursday 1st November SPINN at Lending Room For fans of: sun-drenched indie hooks £7 (Dice) Thursday 1st November Estrons at Belgrave Music Hall For fans of: YONAKA, Black Honey... £10.50 (Dice)

Friday 9th / Saturday 10th November Indie Banquet Mini Weekender at Hyde Park Book Club For fans of: Trudy And The Romance, Genghar, bdrmm, Team Picture, Party Hardly, Walt Disco, Glass Mountain, Uncle Buzzard, Pepe Sylvia, Mystic Peach... £20 (Dice)

Friday 2nd November RAYE at The Wardrobe For fans of: MNEK, Mabel, M.O... £14 (Dice) [SOLD OUT]

Friday 16th November Kojey Radical at Belgrave Music Hall For fans of: RAY BLK, IAMDDB, Loyle Carner... £16.85 (Dice) [SOLD OUT]

Friday 2nd November Elder Island at Belgrave Music Hall For fans of: Nick Hakim, Jordan Rakei... £10.50 (Dice)

Friday 20th November King Nun at Hyde Park Book Club For fans of: killer riffs and unhinged energy £7 (SeeTickets)

Friday 2nd November Or:la at Headrow House For fans of: Dixon, Call Super, Bicep... £7.25 (Dice)

Tuesday 2oth November Sunflower Bean at Church For fans of: Dream Wife, The Orielles, Goat Girl... £14.85 (Dice)

Koyo

KOYO KOYO are a band that are snowballing fast and show no signs of slowing down. With their debut album, a seemingly endless strings of gigs and new material on the way, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a band that are refreshingly exciting to follow. We caught up with frontman Huw at Hyde Park Book Club.

Nice People Magazine October 2018

“We’re like mad scientists.” The Leeds band’s debut album is a mass of spiraling sonic structures and heavy hitting harmony, tagged by many listeners as progressive rock; “we’re just a rock band” lead singer Huw clarifies, “but it did end up sounding very progressive.” With this album being released at the end of 2017, it would seem that Koyo are relatively new, but Huw explains how the concept of the group began back in early 2015. Beginning as just lead singer and guitarist Huw and synth player Jake, it took over two years for the band to grow into its current formation. It wasn’t until after the album was finished that the bands current line up was finalised and moving forward the band are taking a different approach to writing; “It used to be Tom providing killing drum tracks and then me and Jake just throwing shit at it, it was quite experimental. We were like mad scientists, which is cool. We are obviously really proud of it, but one thing that has definitely changed is it’s more of a band effort. A more solid sound that has been crafted while we have been gigging and touring the album. The next one will be a bit more stripped down, more like a drum part, a bass part, two guitar parts, a vocal part and synths”. “We were always working towards an album. Obviously we had to write everything first, so when that was done it just took ages to figure out how we were going to do it, where we were would record it and just being able to afford to record it. We had to break it up over the course of a year and a half; we didn’t have a whole album when we started recording, we had around three songs, then were like ‘fuck doing an EP, lets do an album!’. So we wrote three or four more and went back to the studio”.

The band have a lot planned for the coming year and have recently been recording at The Nave studio in Leeds with local producer Tom Orell. “We recorded a single about a month ago, which will be on the new album, just to test it out, rather than commit to the entire thing, and we are really happy with the results,” reflects Huw. “It will probably be coming out before the album, as a single, it’s called ‘Before’ as well so that fits!”. I couldn’t help but notice the excitement in Huw’s voice surrounding the recording; “We had a great experience with Tom in the studio. We really wanted to do it with him; he’s our age and a lot of our influences are the same. He totally gets what we want to do. He’s a dream to work with!” I recently saw the band on their UK tour in September and they did not disappoint. The huge sound they manage to produce was breathtaking and they flowed from song to song, keeping the audience captive with ease. Huw mentioned that for the band this tour was “putting a close on the album” with the plan to “lock ourselves away, finish writing, record in February, and then aim for the album before summer.” The setlist at their Leeds gig held a few of their new songs, with one in particular sticking in my mind, ‘Against All Odds’. This showed the bands progression and Huws very honest and deep cut lyrics demonstrated maturity and huge promise for their new album, something which everyone should be very excited for. Tom Nixon What have Koyo been listening to? Mildlife - Phases

This nine piece are taking the Leeds and London scenes by storm. Their conceptual fusion of afrobeat, hip hop, funk and soul is catching the eyes and ears of all gig goers that love to boogie. I caught up with one of Necktr’s guitarists, Seb, and chatted about the interesting life of being in a band with nine people and his opinion on the current music scene in Leeds. So, Seb, being in such a large band, do the members fluctuate at all? No its always the same 9 of us, but we have done some gigs where there are 12 of us. Our usual set up is vocals, keys, trumpet, trombone, two guitars, drums, percussion and bass but sometimes we have added tenor sax, baritone sax and DJ Nik Nak doing some scratching. Was it a nine piece from day one? When we first started it was a 6 piece. We all met at Leeds College of Music, where some of us studied jazz, some studied popular music and some production. We actually came together as a timetabled project we had to do once a week for an hour and a half. At that time we had a different drummer and a different bassist; they dropped out of college all together, so we replaced them and when it got to the end of first year when we were like, ‘this is actually pretty fun, we are enjoying making what we want to make and we are all on the same page,’ so we basically just carried on.

How was starting a band like that received in Leeds? We started at a time when that sort of music was getting a breath of fresh air in Leeds. The Tight Lines guys started kicking off a bit and we started getting some gigs off the back of them. Bands like Tête de Pois and Mamilah started as well. All of a sudden loads of bands started at the same time and all had an interest in fusing hip hop with african beats, funk and soul. So all of these bands are just varying degrees of those elements. Where would you say you lie within those influences? We liked a lot of West African grooves, Zimbabwe rhythms, and we are big into hip hop, such as MF Doom and J Dilla. Our keys player raps as well so he jumps in on some stuff. We’ve also been into more cinematic kinds of sounds as well, like broad, expansive and really floaty sounds. That’s what we tried to push on the EP we just finished. That’s what is really interesting about playing with 9 people; we are all from

Nice People Magazine October 2018

different backgrounds, some really into hip hop, some into funk or, one of the drummers, Tim Cook, is mad into african music, which is where that came from. How does writing go in such a large group? It varies. It used to be everyone bringing ideas, maybe starting with things from they keys, or myself, or even just a drum groove. From there we would all get the ball rolling, all get in there arranging it all. Which is fun, but quite stressful sometimes with 9 personalities. It’s a good job we are all mostly on the same page, so it never gets too out of hand. Sometimes it would take a while to get a song fully finished, because we would be writing it, whilst also arranging all the parts. We’d try and get a structure down but also lay it out between 9 different instruments all at the same time. We are now about to undergo a new way of writing, which I feel is going to be a little bit more cut down to maybe myself, the horns and the keys, doing a lot of writing, then chuck it out to people and see what they think. It’s an interesting process, and it’s the first time I’ve had any experience writing with more than 4 or 5 people. The trick is to keep it democratic and open. It often happens where one person is like ‘we should play that part like this’ and someone else is like ‘no its should go like this’ and then usually we are like ‘fuck it, lets have both!’. More is more, which is how I see it. What direction do you see Necktr moving towards? When we formed we always said it would be like great to get on a label like Wormfood Records, because they’re tied with such a great scene in London. We thought it would be great to stay up here and do our thing but also have a hand in that pie as well. It seemed like a far off idea, but then we actually played with Afriquoi and the owner of Wormfood was there. We got chatting and stayed in contact. After that it slowly turned into more of a concrete deal and now we have an EP coming out through them. The EP is coming out on November 23rd and we have some singles coming out before then. But to be honest, I don’t really know. I really enjoy travelling around playing music and I want to keep on doing that. We are all really good friends, so when we go out and do things it feels really special, so just keep on doing that. We had a taste of festivals this summer and it would be great to get on more next year. Maybe it’s way off, but it would also be cool to check out Europe. But for now, just keep touring and keep writing.

Speaking of touring, how does that go with nine people? Its erm... interesting. We still haven’t got the vehicle situation sorted out. We are trying to raise funds to get a van, so it’s usually split up between a car and a six seater. It goes well, Necktr is a funny one because we are all really tight mates, and some of us are quite rowdy and like to party quite a bit, and some of us not so much. We never rub each other up the wrong tree or anything like that, but there will be nights where the naughty people run off and the others just chill out. It is really fun and positive; its a big adventure. With a large group, it feels like more of a support network, more of a team effort. Big family vibes. Is there anything in Leeds your really excited about? Tall Talker, who are in a different sort of scene to us, I suppose, but they’re opening for us at our EP launch. They’re really exciting because I’ve not seen a lot of good math like Tall Talker in Leeds and they also have an EP coming out. They’re honestly the only math band I can think of in Leeds; they’re so good. There is also a band called Long Legged Creatures supporting us, they’re fucking sick. They’re a quartet but they play really dark music. The bassist, Beth, gets sounds from a bass that I have never heard anyone get from a bass before, like really big subs. There’s also Jasmine Whalley, from Tête de Pois. She has a project just called Jasmine and she’s just been signed up on the ‘Jazz North’ scene, which is sick. She is definitely going places and she really deserves it; she was in my year at college and a really hard worker. There is so much shit going on, we are spoilt for choice. To finish up, is there anything you would like to say to music fans in Leeds? I’d just encourage people to go to gigs. To go out and see what’s happening. Hyde Park Book Club is having a bit of a resurgence at the moment and there is a lot of sick stuff going on there. I’d encourage people, if they really enjoy live music and if they’re coming to Leeds for the first time, to have a look at what is going on off the beaten track a bit more. It’s very easy to just pay attention to the gigs that are more obviously advertised, but check out the more DIY level because that’s where the new shit is coming from in Leeds. That’s where the bigger third parties, with more money for advertising, pluck their shit from. So check out Book Club, Chunk, Temple of Boom, Wharf Chambers, and check out the free spaces like Assembly House. Pay attention to what’s going on underground. Interview by Tom Nixon

Jon Nash A man well versed in the trials and tribulations of being in a band in Leeds, is Jon Nash. A veteran of the Leeds music scene, Nash has been involved in numerous musical ventures, but currently resides as the drummer for Leeds legends Hookworms and Cowtown, as well as fronting his own solo project under the title of Game_Program, all of which have exciting things on the horizon. The music never stops for Nash, even after we finished the interview he raced off to meet up with Hookworms to begin writing some new material for their next album. Contrary to the very recent release of their entrancing third album, Microshift, released earlier this year, the band are constantly ploughing ahead; “It’s hard to say what’s going to happen until we start doing it. I think there’s always a conscious effort to not do the same thing we did before, but which way it goes, we will have to wait and see.” With some big shows still left to play at the end of the year, new music on the way and talks of drastically expanding their live AV setup to create larger, mesmerizing visual performances, you’d have thought this would be more than enough to have on your plate as a musician. But not for Jon Nash. Cowtown too have been writing, premiering some of their new material for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6, including songs about Donald Trump and “confused aggressive men”. The band have plans to finish writing and get back in the studio to have an album ready for next summer.

Image: Andy Abbott

Nash’s newest venture is his solo project, Game_Program, of which he has just finished his first EP. Two tracks spanning around 30 minutes each, the EP is due at any time. For any ‘gear heads’ out there, Nash described his live Game_Program setup; “I’ve just switched to using the Elektron Digitakt. I used to use an MPC 2000, the old Dilla style box, which was great, but it runs on a zip drive which was causing me loads of problems. So I switched over and have been messing around with that. It sounds really good so gonna build all my future sets out of that. So there’s that, a [Roland] SH-101, a Moog Mother-32, an old [Novation] K-Station for pads, and I’m hoping to introduce something else when someone comes through from life. But that’s it for me being confident and comfortable doing my own thing”.

“Shit, I’m getting old”

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Starting to push his solo music, Nash says it’s like “a musicians retirement”. Being 39, Jon is looking for something a little bit more “old man,” which involves being predominantly sat down. “Shit, I’m getting old. It’s just how much longer I can be arsed lugging gear around and playing in the basement. I want to be sitting down and not sweaty.” With a hard drive full of unfinished music, Nash’s reasons for abandoning songs are hilarious. “I just get offended by the silliest things, like the slight tone of a synth and i’m just like ‘forget it, forget the whole thing! There is a philosophical problem with it, because the birth of an idea is always exciting, so no matter what happens at that point, your always like ‘oooh, all the little things have come together’ and you get all excited. But then as you develop the ideas it’s like ‘well, what am i really contributing to the world of music here?’ and if i’m in that kind of mood, i’ll just be like ‘no, this is just an Aphex rip off’.” Regardless of these humorous drawbacks, the EP is finished and there’s good reason to be excited. Jon and I talked for over an hour on every possible subject around modern music scenes, especially Leeds. Nash moved to Leeds in 1997 and has been a part of the DIY scenes ever since. This, Nash mentions, was a time when the internet had become ‘a thing’ and music was a lot more accessible than it was before. You didn’t have record labels choosing what music you should be listening to, “it seemed to open up culture for a few years”. But now, after the industry getting a better grasp of the internet, we are back to a world of curated music choices through services like Spotify Radio.

The industry has also changed for bigger bands since this time; “The funny thing is, I’ve avoided the mainstream music industry all my life. I don’t know why, a stubborn child and all that. I hated things like the Kaiser Chiefs; I still hate the Kaiser Chiefs. But that’s the best thing about us doing Hookworms. We run in more professional circles and know everyone’s super straight. Labels are less willing to deal with unpredictable people. Unless they’re Kanye West.” These are interesting directions of movement for music, but back down on a local band level, we discussed how has the music changed. “Personal politics is something that is super high on the agenda nowadays, which is something that’s a big change from where we were. But ultimately, it’s not about the big macro ideas, like concerns about the environment, or consumerism, or veganism. They’re maybe not as important as pure personal ideas such as identity. That’s where the most interesting things are happening at the moment. Things like Crywank, the whole project is about them - what they feel which is again totally relevant, but a totally different approach to the past”. A lot has changed over Jon Nash’s career, but one thing is still the same; he is still creating new and exciting music, all the while supporting the Leeds music scene and hoping to move more into production to help new musicians start their careers. Essentially, another all round nice person. Tom Nixon

Image: Cowtown by Ricky Adam

Ever dreamt of starting a record label? Scott Lewis tells us how he started Clue Records.

nyone in the know will tell you that Leeds’ music scene is one of the best in the country. From aspiring musicians sat practicing in their bedrooms, to promising young bands on the stages of the city’s most iconic venues, Leeds is home to a plethora of talent with limitless potential. With independence and a hard work ethic at the city’s core, Leeds is the place where people with a vision achieve wonderful things. One of those people is Scott Lewis, the Co-Founder of independent record label Clue Records. Home to Yorkshire bands Avalanche Party, Trash, Forever Cult, Narcs, Sunface and Allusondrugs, Clue Records is a label that stops at nothing to support the bands they love. From putting their bands on festival stages, to releasing compilations with other bands and labels they admire, Clue Records is a friend that any aspiring musician would want on their side. The prospect of a record label came into Scott’s head in the Summer of 2012 while he was working with bands at Oxjam Music Festival; “These bands I was working with were amazing but weren’t getting picked up; nobody was taking a punt on them. I’ve always loved the idea of record labels and the families and cultures they create. That was dead exciting to me so I just thought, ‘I’ll try it. I’ll find out what it is when I get half way through it.’” The ethos of Clue Records very much seems to be about friends helping out friends. It’s clear that the bands Scott works with are not only musicians who he has limitless faith in, but a close-knit group

of people who want to see each other succeed. “We had a couple of bands starting at the same time, and everyone was quite close. Everyone wanted to support and encourage each other, and it just had that proper nice family feel. We’ve always tried to be that way and be positive,” expresses Scott. “There’s a lot of good stuff out there and we just want to push it. If nobody knows what Clue Records is but they’re aware of the bands, that’s fine by me.”

“I want Clue to do well and succeed, but I also want other labels in Leeds to succeed.”

Podcasts were initially how Clue Records first started. “We did that until we started building up a bit of a growing,” Scott explains. “Then we released our first single in early 2013, which was ‘19’ by Narcs.” It’s this DIY initiative and genuine love for upcoming bands that fuels Clue Records, and Leeds is certainly a place where the soil is rich for DIY projects to blossom; “There’s a really nice and positive DIY scene in Leeds. Everyone’s got their fingers in different pies, and the majority of people want everyone else around them to do well as well. Whether it be Tony from Come Play With Me, or Dan from Hide and Seek, or Rob from Philophobia, we always try and look out for each other,” says Scott about supporting other independent labels. “I want Clue to do well and succeed, but I also want other labels in Leeds to succeed.”

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Left: Scott Lewis outside Brudenell Social Club, photographed by Meg Firth

“It’s about loving the artist that you’re working with and pushing them as much as you can to be successful.”

Sitting with Scott on the wobbly picnic benches of Brudenell Social Club, there was no better place to be sat w gushing about Leeds. The iconic venue is at the heart of the city’s independent music scene, inviting anyone to forget about the bad days and toast to the good days with a cheap pint. “It’s what kept me in Leeds at the start, and it’s become the centre of my time here,” reflects Scott. “You’ll come here on a night and there’s all sorts of different characters and different people; there’s no boundaries to it. Putting on a gig at Brudenell was a big goal for me, and now bands we look after play here regularly, and that’s mint because this is the place in the country that I’d want any of our bands playing.”

The daydream of having a record label seems eternally glamourous; you imagine yourself going to gigs every night and eating your breakfast off platinum records while your band plays on the radio. Yet, the reality of it is a lot of hard-work, graft and persistence. Scott tells me about what makes it all worth it: “It’s a big thing for us to have our bands being able to play live. At Y Not Festival, Trash were playing to this massive crowd and they were all really going for it and I was just giddy. I love watching people lose it, or seeing their jaw hit the floor when they see the bands. All the hard work you put in - all the hours of just sending emails over and over and getting no replies - pays off and it means so much. There’s been a few times

where I don’t know if I can keep on going, but it’s those little successes that make all the graft worth it.” So, what advice would Scott give to anyone who wanted to start a record label? “Be sure that you want to do it,” Scott advises first and foremost. “Think about why you want to do it, and what you can do for bands. Ideally, it’s about loving the artist that you’re working with and just pushing them as much as you can to be successful. Just remember it’s about graft.”

Meg Firth

Since their formation in 2016, Dead Naked Hippies have caused a whirlwind, and their limitless potential is at the eye of the storm. We sat down with them at Brudenell Social Club to talk about the Leeds music scene, music as an escapism and what’s next for the Leeds rock trio.

ead Naked Hippies are that band who provide the perfect soundtrack for coming-of-age. Their slow-burning, contemplative sound consumes you, enveloping you in a perfect dichotomy of raging riffs and thoughtful lyricism that both empowers and sedates you. Lucy Jowett’s honeyed vocals purr over Joe Clarke’s meditative guitar hooks while Jacob Marston’s steady drums drive with graceful temper, before the trio let loose and release all inhibition. They’re the party and the come-down, rolled into one raging release of emotion. “We started this band [in 2016] because we wanted to have a lot of fun, and ironically it spiralled and got quite busy quite quickly,” admits frontwoman Lucy in response to their quick success. There’s no doubt that being in the spotlight brings with it a pressure to succeed, and together with the inevitable ups and downs of life, it’s easy to let yourself burn out. Yet, the band channelled their personal struggles back into their music. Speaking of stand-out track ‘Guillotine’, Lucy explains how the song came from a dark place; “The song is just about life and things we were all going through. I suffer with anxiety and depression and things like that, and the song was written at a time where I was feeling pretty low really. It was just about setting myself free from that.”

It’s refreshing how open the band are about their feelings. The way they allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other stands to hush the stigma that anxiety is a liability or a fault, and instead transforms that vulnerability into power. “[Songwriting] is the way we deal with things going on. We’re all really open with each other, and when we perform we just put it all out there. It’s a release to write the song, then every time we perform its very intense and important for us.” In an age where we’re often discouraged to appear vulnerable, bands like Dead Naked Hippies are those close friends that tell you it’s ok; “recently, people have come up to me after and have said how the vocals connected to them and that’s number 1 for me,” expresses Lucy. “A few years back, when I was just starting up and stuff, I didn’t really think about it that much; but as we’ve done it more it feels really important for me to carry a message and to help people.” Drummer Jacob adds, “I think we didn’t realise how much that [connection] was going to be part of us. Recently with ‘Guillotine’, there’s this real energy we feel when playing. When we did our single launch for it, it was almost goose-bumpy; there was just this feeling of connection. We were all taken by surprise by that.”

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Emerging in 2016, the trio attracted a wave of deserved recognition and quickly became a fixture of Leeds’ seemingly unstoppable music scene. Attracting attention from the likes of BBC Introducing, Dork Magazine and Clash, Dead Naked Hippies turned heads from the onset. Earning themselves supportive crowds and rightful slots on festival stages, the band were caught in a whirlwind of impressive debut success. “There was a point early this year where we weren’t doing as much,” admits Jacob. “We weren’t playing as much and I think it just fucked us so bad. Personally for me it was like the worst period of my life, I don’t know quite how it happened. I didn’t realise how important it was for me to perform, so that period was an eye-opener for me.” Live, the three play let go of all inhibitions and perform as if it’s the last chance they’ll get to play. Joe and Jacob’s riveting rhythm seem to possess Lucy, as she stomps about the stage with an all-consuming magnetism. The emotional progression of their songs is beautiful to witness live, as they navigate from a vulnerable sway into a swirling moshpit of emotion. “We’re all about that loud quiet,” jokes Lucy. “We want to capture the intimate moments. It’s really important for us to capture the soft moments, but also the raging kind of vibe.” Sitting with the band at Brudenell Social Club, the band gush about how supportive and special the music community in Leeds is. “We went to uni here and we have lots of close relationships with different musicians around Leeds,” elaborates Lucy. “Just knowing people are going through the same as you is massively important. Say if we were just doing this band and we didn’t have anyone else to chat to about it, it could feel so isolating.” Temple of Boom, where the band practice and one Leeds’ most underated venues, has played a huge part in Dead Naked Hippies’ lives; “The guys who run it, Si and Lecky, have always been really supportive, and it feels like we’re part of their weird family. It’s like our bedroom there, we’re there all the time.” The venue, tucked away on the edge of the city centre, is a hidden gem that would go unnoticed to the average passer-by. Yet, inside, punters of all backgrounds gather and let loose to some of the country’s finest upcoming bands. “The room’s literally like a cupboard,” laughs Lucy. “People just walk by and probably don’t think that there’s that much going on, but anyone who practices there knows something special happening.” Jacob adds, “Whenever we play Temple Of Boom it’s the best feeling, because it literally feels like we’re playing in our living room. It’s great, like everyone’s coming round ours for a party but we don’t have to clean up.” “I think you can always tell when a band is from Leeds because, even across genres, there’s always this work ethic involved,” says Josh with an irrepressible smile. “Like we went to Glasgow, and the sound guy was talking about Post War Glamour Girls - who were one of his favourite bands - and he was just like, ‘all my favourite bands seems to be from Leeds.’ He was saying that he hadn’t seen a bad Leeds band. I think because there’s so much going on in Leeds, bands only really leave if they’ve hit that point.” That’s certainly true of Dead Naked Hippies. The band seem to be on an upwards trajectory towards great success and opportunity, and just like most other Leeds bands, they’re putting in the hard work and effort to get there. It’s undeniable that they are set to achieve more wonderful things, and boy do they deserve it. Words and images by Meg Firth (@megfirthphoto)

The importance of grassroots feminism and why we can’t expect change to come from above. By Jemima Skala | Blog Editor for Girls That Gig

proudly define myself as a feminist, and have done for as long as I can remember. Even my little tween self was confused when people I knew reacted badly to the word. Feminism means equal rights, representation and opportunities for all women; I stress the word ‘all’ because some “feminist” movements seem to have recently forgotten that a feminism that isn’t intersectional isn’t feminism at all. I got into Girls That Gig when I was in my second year at university; Megan and Vicky were speaking at a careers event that I went along to, and I had the privilege of interviewing them for the student newspaper. Soon afterwards, I started writing for them, and fairly soon after that, Megan asked me if I would like to take over as blog editor. I was ecstatic. Here was a grassroots collective that was implementing good from the ground up, embodying the very change that they wanted to see in the world, and bringing everyone that they interacted with along with them. It’s been a great honour to work with Girls That Gig over the past year or so, and it’s incredibly fulfilling to be able to be a part of an organisation with similar ideals to my own.

This was around the time of the national election in 2017, when it was more important than ever that small grassroots movements were gathering to support each other. How could we expect our government to make any positive changes, when our Prime Minister made a billion-pound deal with a political party that doesn’t believe in equal marriage rights or abortion rights? When Diane Abbott was receiving horrific amounts of racist and sexist online abuse, and nothing was being done about it? When our Prime Minister held hands with the President of the United States, the very same man who has bragged about sexually assaulting women and who limited the rights of trans women in America? They say that actions speak louder than words, and these actions laughed in the face of women all over the country. How on earth were we expected to have any sort of faith in our government if these were the values our government appeared to uphold? In my eyes, it was time for action. It was clear that our government wasn’t going to be making any sort of change any time soon, so if we wanted anything done, we were going to have to do it ourselves.

Nice People Magazine October 2018

get their work out there and find their voices. We might not be making waves, but as long as we can sow a couple of seeds, that’s alright by us. Small-scale organisations like Girls That Gig, Girl Gang, gal-dem, Girls Against, and countless others, are also hugely important for creating communities, as they provide a friendly face in a world that feels increasingly depersonalised. This sort of contribution is priceless; whilst policy change and official recognition of the changing nature of women’s rights is of course important and necessary to progress, grassroots organisations give women the confidence and the backup to be able to produce these wider changes.

@girlsthatgig

One year on from the national election, and there are the stirrings of change in the air. But, to paraphrase Isaac Newton, for every positive action of change, there will be an equal and opposite reaction from the detractors. Just because they shout louder doesn’t mean they’re any more worthy of attention. So keep doing what you’re doing, gals, because chances are that you’re doing some good somewhere, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

@girlsthatgig

There is of course that little voice in my head that niggles at me whenever I’m having a bad day. “What’s even the point of this all?” it says. “What sort of difference will this ever make?” Well, probably not much in terms of large-scale change, but it’s worth everything for the thought that someone someday might see what we do here at Girls That Gig and be inspired. We probably won’t ever change government policy or broker a peace deal, but what we do is important in the every day. We help normal women get their voices heard. We run pieces on quotidian worries and pleasures that aren’t considered “news-worthy” enough for larger publications. We provide a platform for women in creative industries to

facebook.com/girlsthatgig

Girls That Gig is a prime example of ladies doing it for themselves: the team is made up entirely of women, our regular contributors are all women, and we cover a huge range of topics that interest us. This wasn’t necessarily a case of not seeing ourselves in mainstream media outlets, but of bringing our media outlet closer to our audience and allowing for more interaction, more conversation, and more collaboration.

girlsthatgig@gmail.com

“Small-scale organisations are hugely important for creating communities, as they provide a friendly face in a world that feels increasingly depersonalised”

What Are the Neighbours Up To? Manchester

It’s just past midnight. You’re in the middle of the dancefloor. All your worries and stresses melting away as the all-female line-up plays banger after banger. Everyone in the room is having the best time, whether they’ve had five drinks or none. You’re at a night run by Thirsty Girls, and it’s the best party you’ve ever been to.

hirsty Girls is a Manchester based DJ collective and gig promoter based in Manchester, who celebrate all women and non-binary musicians in all genres of music, and use their platform to raise awareness for local charities in order to spark positive change. Essentially, Thirsty Girls are partying towards a better world. We caught up with member Katie to learn more about what they do. “We’re a DJ collective, but we also put on shows and events,” Katie explains. “The most notable would be Homerpalooza, which we try to put on once a year. We basically play everything that’s been played in The Simpsons, from Barry White to White Stripes. It’s just a really fun silly night where everyone can come and get dressed up as their favourite Simpsons character; we have a walk-off where everyone does a cat walk in their costumes, it’s always very silly and very fun.” And it doesn’t stop at just The Simpsons. For International Women’s Day last year, the collective hosted an Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging party in aid of The Monthly Gift, a Manchester based charity that supplies toiletries and sanitary products to women living on the streets. “That was an honour. We played ‘Ultraviolet’ at like 2am, confetti canons went off and we were all just going insane on stage. Then we had a stage invasion and I was just

thinking ‘is this really happening?!’ It was just the silliest night. We made bunting out of underwear that we put all across Deaf Institute – which we then donated to homeless charities. I went as a sexy stuffed olive. I was the stuffed olive that Georgia wanted to be.” If a world was run with Thirsty Girls’ mentality, it would be a planet you’d never want to leave. Everyone’s included, everyone’s welcome, and there’s always a banger playing. “That’s mainly what we try and do, just have fun,” Katie tells us. “We’re not pretentious playing edits of what we found on the deep dark web. We’re just like, ‘who wants to listen to Wiley’s ‘Wearing My Rolex’. We’re glorified wedding DJs.” It’s this lack of pretentiousness that makes Thirsty Girls so approachable. Anyone’s welcome to their parties, as long as they’re there to have fun and to treat everyone like a friend. “A big thing for Thirsty Girls is making sure everything’s inclusive,” elaborates Katie. “Our main goal is to be completely accessible, whether that be having cheap entry or having gender neutral toilets. It’s about creating a safe space for those who need a safe space; we never want anyone to feel uncomfortable or out of place. You can come and be accepted with open arms.”

Nice People Magazine October 2018

With this refreshing ethos, nights run by Thirsty Girls are more than just a good time. Alongside celebrating and encouraging women and non-binary folk in the music scene, the collective also work with local charities to raise awareness and money for important social issues. “The one that we mainly work with is The Monthly Gift which is a fucking great charity,” Katie tells us. “We have a collection box on the door and people can bring unopened boxes of tampons and pads. We give them to Monthly Gift and they distribute them round to women in need of them in Manchester. There’s such a big homeless issue in Manchester. It feels really real and it’s on everyone’s doorstep at the minute, so if we can help and do something, no matter how small, we try and do it.” Thirsty Girls is a gang that anyone would want to be part of; they have a clear sisterly bond and are each as enthusiastic as the other. “We’re all constantly bouncing ideas of each other,” Katie laughs. “The amount of 4am texts we send each other that are full of the best ideas. And we normally all follow through and make it work.” And they’re ready to welcome anyone who wants to get involved with open arms; “We always want more people. If you want to join Thirsty Girls drop us an email. The more the merrier, the more ideas to bounce off people, the more girls and non-binary people on stage the better.” Homerpalooza crowd, photographed by Ruby Mead

Katie is quick to tell us that anyone who wants to get involved doesn’t need to have any experience DJing; just as long as you’re enthusiastic, they’re happy to show you how; “I didn’t know how [to DJ] until I joined Thirsty Girls. A lot of us just learn from watching each other. It’s proper nurturing with never any patronising. We’re just like, ‘Come here, what tune do you want to play? Pick a banger and I’ll show you.’ Now I feel confident and comfortable when I get behind decks, and that’s purely from Thirsty Girls. That’s the thing, it’s a support network. Even if it’s just personal stuff going on, we’re each other’s mates.” The Manchester community is rife with nice people doing nice things, and Thirsty Girls are quick to gush about the people they admire. “There’s a good few of other collectives in Manchester who are doing similar things. Mutualism are fucking great; they’re proper DJs. They’ve got a really nice vibe about them as well and they’re all really friendly. They take you under their wing.” Despite doing similar things, Collectives in Manchester support each other rather than compete. “It’s only a good thing that there’s lots of us doing a similar thing for equal representation,” elaborates Katie. “It’s such a nice feeling to be part of it each in our own way, and hopefully being part of a bigger change and shift towards people being more equally represented. We all bounce off each other. We just end up hugging and crying knowing it’ll all be ok.” No matter what your story, get yourself to a Thirsty Girls party. You’re guaranteed to make some friends, have a good time, and leave knowing that good things are happening in your community. Meg Firth

made other people laugh as well, so I just thought, ’fuck it, share the joy!’”

Bobbi Rae We met Leeds based designer and illustrator Bobbi Rae to talk about her joyful and empowering illustrations.

nter the world of Bobbi Rae and you’ll never want to leave. Everything is bright, bold and non-judgemental; you can swear if you want to swear, fart if you want to fart, and most importantly, be whoever you want to be. Her bouncy, carefree illustrations breakdown the traditional ideals and expectations of femininity in a way that most girls can relate to, from dancing around naked to sticking two fingers up to the patriarchy. Above anything, the characters that Bobbi create make you smile. Each one is in their happy place, untroubled and not letting societal conventions bring them down. Using art as an escapism, Bobbi explains how these positive characters were born from a relatively negative place: “I was working in a job that I really hated,” reflects Bobbi. “I’d come home and draw, because that’s all I ever really wanted to do. All the stuff I’d draw would be to make myself laugh - to make myself feel less shit about the shit job that had to go back to tomorrow. I realised those same things

With Western art having a long history of depicting the female body as nothing more than an object of the male gaze, Bobbi’s characters are both refreshing and empowering. They exude confidence and self-love in a way that inspires you to give less fucks about what people think. “I wanted to make a cartoon version of reality,” Bobbi explains; “It doesn’t make you any less valid as a woman if you don’t want to stand there in a dress with your shoulders back. It’s just about representing that side of things in a way that’s funny and relatable, but also poignant and rings some truth.” The traditional conventions of womxn* and femininity are in desperate need of reversal, and Bobbi doesn’t hesitate in admiring the women who deliver a similar message with their own art; “Tara Booth does cartoony self-portraits about her experience of being a woman and living with anxiety. None of the people in her drawings are polished or pristine, they’re very, very real. Like doing all the weird Tetris positions you do trying to do shave your legs. I love how real they are.” Despite being cartoons, Bobbi’s relatable characters reflect the experiences of womanhood in a very real way. “Sometimes they’re a little based on my friends,” Bobbi says with a grin. “My friends are just funny; I seem to have collected a bunch of great people in my life. They just come out with the funniest things, and none of them are artists but I find them just as equally as inspiring as working with other artists.”

Nice People Magazine October 2018

‘Explorers’ by Bobbi Rae

All images used by kind permission of the artist © Bobbi Rae (@bearcubs)

“I think it’s important to let people know that art isn’t necessarily this prestigious thing... art is for everybody.”

Bobbi certainly surrounds herself with good people. Together with her friend Emma, Bobbi runs an art workshop called Modes of Expression. “Emma’s really awesome. We started Modes of Expression around 2015, doing little workshops for people where we’d do all sorts; we made cushions, and plant pots and macramé hangers...” lists Bobbi. “Then we applied for a mural that was in town and we didn’t get it, but we had spent ages on our proposal and we were just like, ‘we should try and get it somewhere else.’ Emma met this guy who worked for Armley council, and they ended up hiring us to do our mural. After that we got more and more commissions to do various murals. It’s a really fun thing.”

We all have those things that we love to do but don’t admit to because we don’t think we’re good enough to deserve recognition. Whether you love to sing but keep it to the shower, or love to draw but only on napkins that you’ll immediately discard, it’s a sad fact that we’re pressured to pursue things only if we think we can be the best. “I think it’s important to let people know that art isn’t necessarily this prestigious thing where you have to have done a degree or studied at an art school to be an artist, because that’s not the reality of it,” expresses Bobbi. “I can’t remember who said it, but I read a quote a while ago that was like, everyone’s born an artist and it’s just the experience of life that chips away and tries to tell you what you’re not. But art is for everybody.”

The workshops that Modes of Expression have done with school-kids have been eyeopening for Bobbi; “It’s really interesting when you’re working with kids and you do things that they wouldn’t have done at school,” she elaborates. “Recently, we did a workshop with kids making things with a jigsaw cutter. It came out better than if I had done it, because they really took their time. They were super creative; it makes you wonder what you could do if people would just let you.” Right: Commission for Slut Drop’s first party of 2018

Nice People Magazine October 2018

All images used by kind permission of the artist © Bobbi Rae (@bearcubs)

While we chatted at Short Press, an art and plant haven in Burley and the shop where Bobbi works, customers frequently came in to peruse the art on sale, including many prints by Bobbi herself. We ask her how it feels knowing that her art is on people’s walls at home; “It’s really weird- it’s so weird!” Bobbi laughs. “When people come in to the shop and say that they love my art and have a print I want to hide; I just get really bashful. If the person has come in here to buy my art and they aren’t aware that it’s me behind the counter who’s done it, I won’t mention it and I’ll refer to myself as ‘the girl who made this artwork’. It’s very humbling,” she says with a smile that can’t repress her gratitude. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do; it’s really weird that it’s actually happening and people actually like it and want it. It’s a bit like imposter syndrome where if you’re doing quite well you don’t believe that it’s you that’s done it.”

“If I had drawn flowers at uni as I would have drawn them now, I wouldn’t have passed. They would have all had smiley faces in the middle.”

Below: ‘I’d Pick You’

We end our conversation with some advice Bobbi would give to any aspiring artist; “Just keep doing it. Never stop. Keep telling people about your work, which I didn’t do because I was nervous. No matter how supportive people are they still critique you as well, and it’s only ever the bad stuff that sticks in your head. I think for anyone who wants to do it, you need to take anything negative anyone’s ever said to you put it in a box aside and just crack on anyway. You can go back and reflect on it but you need to separate yourself from anything anyone’s told you and just do it. If I had drawn flowers at uni as I would have drawn them now, I wouldn’t have passed. They would have all had smiley faces in the middle. Just do it and put it out there. And even when no one responds, keep doing it.” That’s what Bobbi did, and looking at her beautiful illustrations on the cover of our first issue, we’re very happy that she stuck at it. Meg Firth

Man’s best Friend. I

n this era of increased mental health awareness and amplified cerebral noise, nice people doing nice things are important for our generation to find its inner peace. Us ne’er-do-well millennials - us of the Generation Y – we are all in need of a release from the monotony of social media in favour of more authentic channels for our curiosities.

By Rory Haworth-Galt | Sick Puppy

A mental battle that’s often invisible to the untrained eye, it’s important to remember that those of us struggling with feeling shit can carve out patterns of escapism to minimise the impact that the fleeting stench of turd holds over our lives. As such, there are countless coping mechanisms. Some return to the present moment with yoga and much meditation; some quash their minds into submission with ultra-marathons and gym beat-downs. Others post topless selfies on Instagram for a quick fix of dopamine and self-esteem. The most adept of sufferers write self-important articles and disguise them as something altogether more philanthropic. Horses for courses, my friends.

Art can be a fantastically immersive route into a different perspective, detached from any negative mind-farts. If you yourself want to caress your curiosity, one such pathway can be found in the exploration of the canine odyssey of Jack Mears. An up-and-coming artist buoyed by boundless zane and a good slice of humour, Mears has centred much of his art around his trademark dogs who set out to “cheer you up with their silliness”. Morphed and moulded into mind-bending forms, his trusty doggos hold an uplifting sentiment that we could all use a little more of. I caught up with him to talk feelings, fun and art.

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Find Jack Instagram: @jack_mears www.jack-mears.com/ Find Rory sickpuppy.blog

“My inspiration for the dogs actually comes from not having a pet dog and wishing I did. Dogs’ emotions are so easy to read and most of the time they are having a great time, which is something I aspire to. We all need to remember to have a fun time.” A big sunny window into the fun life of dogs for those of us who don’t have one as a pet, us bastard millennials can surely benefit from such a wholehearted and humorous focus on having a good time. When digging through the Jack Mears catalogue of human life à la canine, some of his more aesthetically complicated creations seem to hold the most simplistic ideals: “I like to create dogs merged with human bodies to help remember that – even though we are people and we have to uphold responsibilities such as having a job and earning money, we are still animals who have to exercise regularly. And poo poo.” Not to have faecal matter as too much of a recurring theme here, but there’s enough literal poo involved in everyday human life to make accepting the presence of a metaphorical turd burglarism a complete overkill. We’ll all be pooped out. Instead, allow your mind to fiddle and flex with art to help free up a little bit of time for you to really enjoy yourself in your brain. You deserve it. Here, Mears’ art again proves exemplary in its ability to help you escape feeling crap. This is highlighted no better than through his own glowing testimony to the personalities of his dogs. It’s enough to make anyone smile: “Each of the doggies don’t have a bad bone in their bodies. They are all friendly and nice. If they could speak, I know they would say something nice like “you bring light to my life mate”, then they’d hit the play button and a very good song would come on the CD player.” What musical delights await you when meeting the dogs? Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex? DJ Casper’s Cha Cha Slide? You’ll have to have a look and find out for yourself. So, take inspiration from Jack Mears and his doggos. If you’re feeling rubbish, get off your phone for a bit and give your artistic curiosities free roam. Say hello to the dogs. Enjoy some canine hedonism. Just don’t roll in any poo.

Jack Mears is set to release a new zine in collaboration with Roys Room in October 2018...

10 influential hip hop albums

anibl X Dante are the aliases of Bradford born twins, Alex and Lewis D-T. Relocating to Leeds some years ago, they have been involved with the Leeds music since and have moved into Hip Hop production only recently. The two-piece comprise of Lewis as producer and multi-instrumentalist, and Alex as drummer and percussionist. Lewis’s production is uniquely fresh and strongly driven by Alex’s intricate style and endless talent on the drum kit. The twins also have their own monthly radio show on KMAH Radio, called the 12th Circle, which they describe as a “celebration of the Leeds music scene and the many artists within it.” The show features primarily original music made specifically for each show, and also invites guest artists and DJs with some favourite deep cuts thrown in.

with

Hanibl x Dante

Below are the twins’ Top 10 influential albums that have lead them to their style and production techniques.

Fancy Dancer Bobbi Humphrey

Yeezuz Kanye West

A Late 70’s masterpiece recording and performance-wise with incredible flute. Great sample material, everyone has sampled Humphrey. The golden years of fusion, really nice grooves, well recorded, and a pleasure to listen to at any point.

Hard as Fuck, Dark as Fuck. Its sick when your trippin’. Kanye playing Kanye, the album that got us both into hip hop. Very brave production choices, always a reminder as a producer that less is more.

Aquemini Outkast 20 tracks, and each one is fucking sick. Great features from Erykah Badu and George Clinton. Andre 3000’s flow is amazing, especially on ‘Liberation’; Andre 3000 is the goat. Psychedelic Hip Hop at its finest.

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Shades Of Blue Madlib

The first Hip Hop album that got me into a different style of jazz. A great example of how to meld Hip Hop and jazz, delving deeper into the production with longer songs. It explores how to incorporate jazz in a beat format; ‘Mystic Bounce’ is especially sick.

Every Eye Ivan Ave

Produced by MNDSG, Ivan Ave is one of the best rappers at the moment. Lyrically, it’s doomy and abstract; we could play the whole thing at a DJ set and no one would think twice. Essential boogie hip hop.

Stepping Into Tomorrow Donald Byrd

Basically amazing to sample, great fusion of disco and jazz funk. Amazing players and musicianship. Great Sunday listening. Stand out track, ‘Think Twice’.

Anti-Anxiety Swarvy

For me Anti-Anxiety is an inspiration and where I aim for my beats to sit sound wise. Great features from Pink Stifu and Ivan Ave. The record blurs the lines between sampled and original material, it’s very fresh.

Untitled Unmastered Kendrick Lamar Kendrick at his most creative and uncommercial. Stand out track, ‘Untilted 8’; that song is a great entry into 70’s boogie sounds.

Take Me To Your Leader King Geedorah My favourite MF Doom album, it’s just sick he’s a massive all the way through. He comes across very confident and it’s MF Doom at his most unapologetically weird. He produced and rapped the whole thing. Stand out track, ‘Fazers’.

Brown Sugar D’Angelo Perfect baby-making music.

Pstl cstl If you find yourself watching a 8-bit esque, pixel art music video in the style of your favourite retro video game, then the chances are your watching a video by PSTL CASTL (Emily Garner). One of the most outwardly positive and bubbly personalities I have ever had the pleasure to interview, Emily is also one half of the incredibly talented synth pop duo, Vide0. Emily’s passion for all things retro - from video games to 1980’s synth pop - is obvious within her art. Creating fast paced, rhythmic and wonderfully colourful versions of her clients favourite games; “usually, a band will come up to me and be like ‘right, can you drop us into this video game?’ Emily explains, “Then I’ll have to play the game for like a week”. Her animations have come a long way from her simple beginnings; Emily states she started to animate as soon as she had access to Microsoft Powerpoint, where she would draw slides on MS Paint, and flick through them like a notebook. It is easy to see how these two seperate art forms, of music and animation, are strongly linked throughout Emily’s inspirations. “I’m really interested in early Playstation 1 games, or Saturn games that are kind of 3D, but aren't quite there yet. It’s still a little bit strange looking, with only a couple of depths. All the super weird 3D figures on PS1 games are great. I find them really beautiful.” Her favourite game being the PS1 Japanese rhythm game, Bust-A-Move, “the soundtrack is incredible!” as it features big 1980’s style drums and catchy melodies. These inspirations are easy to hear within Vide0’s music, with lots of glittery synthesizers and catchy bass riffs, but this being said, the duo’s originality and sheer upbeat positivity is what sets them apart from the crowd. This is why the news that the band have been recording really excited me. Emily mentioned that they have a whole load of songs ready to record, and have plans to hunker down over the winter and get an album together. They have one single ready to go and should be out anytime, but for now we must sit and wait for the magic. Tom Nixon

Nice People Magazine October 2018

Within Leeds’ thriving music scene is a strong, longstanding following for music of a dark nature. With venues such as Temple Of Boom, Wharf Chambers and Chunk hosting a huge variety of underground punk and metal music, Leeds based bands are consistently putting out killer material. Here are five new(ish) releases from West Yorkshire bands that will thoroughly torment your ears.

Hundred Year Old Man Breaching Hundred Year Old Man has seen a great reaction after releasing their album Breaching back in April. The band’s sound is huge, canyon like reverbs sit on black metal influenced leads making for an epic listen. The band makes use of a wide range of textures and timbres throughout, including samples and in doing so keep this lengthy listen interesting and fresh. This ambitious release is a really tidy and collected piece of work.

Mere Mortal Tartarus The first and only track Mere Mortal have released sounds as promising as it does evil. The vocals are menacing, the lyrics self-loathing and the guitars sound like they’re straight from hell. Compiling members from bands like The Flex, Big Cheese and Bitter Youth, the tune leaves you wanting more as soon as it’s over. Fit for headbangers and two steppers alike, the band have a full 12” coming out soon on Quality Control HQ.

Implement Illusion Of Freedom

5 Heavy Yorkshire Bands You Need to hear NICE PEOPLE CAN DO SOME PRETTY UNHOLY THINGS. Image: Hundred Year Old Man by Stuart Isteed for Down The Front Media

Melding members of Cheap Surgery and Human Certainty, Implement front a New York influenced breed of hard-core drenched in noisy metallic goodness. The group put out their first release ’Illusion Of Freedom’ this summer and it's a nine minute ride of ferociousness, balancing furiously fast riffs with stomp-worthy heaviness. Shrill and unrelenting vocals sit on heavily effected guitars making for a real sonic assault that will appeal to hardcore kids and noise rock heads alike.

Silk Demo

Silk are a new Leeds based band who recently released their demo through Neutral Word Records. Monstrous vocals sit over old school hardcore instrumentals, creating four high energy bangers. Filled with blistering riffs and tasteful tempo changes, this demo is bound to get people moving and will appeal to anyone who likes hardcore in its rawest form. The intro track has you hooked instantly.

The Shits Crawl Through Dirt The Shits’ name is almost as disgusting as the noisy music they make. Crawl Through Dirt, the bands recent two-track, is as distorted as they come. The noise influenced punks create a brilliantly estranged sound with a vocal performance comparable to going insane. The first track ‘The Boss’ is full of sonic youth vibes whilst 8 minute marathon ‘Drink Your Blood’ takes a heavier and sludgier route. With live performances as provocative as their music, they’re certainly worth your attention. Tom Baran

Black |

Words by Adina Rees Art by Shauna Stapleton (@shaunastapletonart)

“I am my own muse.” – Frida Kahlo I’m taught that I’m too short, too round, too rough, too black Curls in spirals that a slinky would envy Dark skin soaks abuse like rays of sunlight My natural nose too wide, too imperfect Black features copied but real blackness criticised I refuse to ingest words of hate any more No longer will I try to be a ghost in your white world I will wear my crown of coils like the goddess that I am Curls falling with an air of lightness, only clouds can relate Honey-glazed skin blessed with darkness Sweet nectar of Caribbean juices froth on my lips I refuse to become the energy you force upon my skin Like a spring, my curls and I will bounce back I am my only home and my big lips will defend All who inhabit until the day I die To love yourself is the greatest form of all art So, consider me an artist.

27-29 Headingley Lane · LS6 1BL Leeds

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HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB. ···

www.hydeparkbookclub.co.uk

MUSIC—ARTS THEATRE—DJS —TALKS.

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> UPCOMING ——- GIGS

TEMPESST · TREMBLING BELLS BAD PELICANS · BLEEDING KNEES CLUB PARIS_MONSTER · BRANDON REILLY FATHERSON · DANIEL BLUMBERG CHILDCARE · WESTERMAN THE COATHANGERS · JO PASSED THE KVB · MAGIC POTION PHOBOPHOBES + GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS TALOS · SAINTSENECA THE REBEL(Country Teasers) · TVAM

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2018

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EIGER STUDIOS

www.eigerstudios.co.uk

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REHEARSAL SPACE RECORDING STUDIO —— VENUE

P +44 113 244 4105 New Craven Gate Industrial State · Ls11 5nf

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