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MUSIC THE VICE
ARTICLES S P I R I T u a l it y i n the 2 1 st C E N T U R Y T H I R D PA R T Y P O L I T I C S
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JANUARY 2015
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contents
C O N T E N T S 12/13
06/08/09/10: The Big List: A what’s on guide to Plymouth’s best venues, bars and clubs, written by Andrew Girdler 12/13: Local post punk band The Vice talk to Plymouth Student’s editor Naomi Girdler about their debut EP launch, arguments and their favourite artists
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14: We meet up with Elixel, Plymouth based digital creative agency made up of postgraduates from Plymouth University’s i-DAT 15: Plymouth College of Art graphic design student Megan Rouncefield showcases her work in this issue’s student submission
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16: Resident writers Anna Petit and Seth Haney talk about the latest changes to UK porn legislation and what it means for us! 17: Creative Writing and English Literature student Neoma Stanford talks about finding inner peace in the busy Western world
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18: Creative Writing student Chloe Smith talks about about Marjons Visiting Writer Lecture series, starting with on screen writer Paul Dodgson 20: Naomi Girdler visits the subject of community owned pubs, with local free house Bread and Roses in the spotlight 22: Dom Wallace, studying at Coombe Dean, talks about how third party politics can and will affect us at the next general election
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24: Student Choice tell readers why they’re the right choice for your student accommodation needs 25: Local student lets agency Unity Lets explains why experience matters in the student accommodation game
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26: New Year, New You? Club Moativation gives you the lowdown on how you can improve your fitness this semester 27: Andrew Girdler brings us a sweet soup recipe to keep us warm and toasty this winter 28: Matt Girdler, computing graduate from Plymouth University shares his favourites of 2014
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28: Local student Chloe Smith reviews I Am Pilgrim by screen writer Terry Hayes 29: Seth Haney breaks down 2014 by selecting his favourite albums of the year
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30: Seth Haney also reviews a Current, Classic and Local album 30: The Dust Piggies are up to no good, again! 31: Resident agony aunt Ellie Ward tackles your hard hitting problems once again
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editor’s letter
Contact PS: 07811 343335 hello@ps-zine.com www.ps-zine.com Published by Us As One Many thanks to all who’ve supported and contributed to PS Issue 11. Editor, Designer & Writer Naomi Girdler naomi@ps-zine.com Contributors Chris Girdler, Andrew Girdler, KC Goddard, Neoma Stanford, Elliot Stanford, Cameron Black, Dominic Wallace, Ellie Ward, Seth Haney, Anna Petit, Chloe Smith, Matt Girdler, Mike Bromage & the Dust Piggies
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Hello! Happy New Year! I am so excited about 2015, I can barely contain it! Not only do we have a great issue to start off the year with, but also lots of big plans! Plymouth Student is growing and it’s growing fast. What started as a small team of six students, all based at Plymouth College of Art, is now a sales team, a group of students, graduates and postgradues from Plymouth College of Art, the University and Marjons, and eleven issues later, a reliable and consistent presence in your student community. However, we are nothing without you guys! We are always looking for more people to talk about their passions, hobbies and ideas, and want to diversify and talk about the issues that really matter to you. You are the voice, we are merely a platform and we don’t mind a sing and a shout. So have your say and email hello@ps-zine.com with any ideas you may have, we’re a friendly bunch! I have a really good feeling about this year, and I hope you guys do too. Watch this space though, the times they are a’changin’. Naomi Girdler Editor
Advertising If you are interested in advertising in PS, please contact us at les@ps-zine.com or 07835 495881 Printed by Newsquest Weymouth The views expressed in PS are not necessarily those of the publishers. Every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of all information contained in this publication. However, the publishers do not accept any liability for any advice or information included in this publication. Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ PSzineplymouth
The Vice L-R: Andrew Girdler, Dominic Wallace, Elliot Stanford and Cameron Black Photography by Naomi Girdler
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the big list
six
THE BIG LIST Listings by Andrew Girdler 2015 is here, and a new semester dawns. However, there’s no excuses for being bored, as there’s a huge host of events happening in the city. From Omid Djalili’s comic genius, to Jason Mraz’s soulful songs, and with local heroes such as funk masters Freshly Squeezed and Kernow punk beys Bangers, there’s something to suit everyone. You just have to know where to look, so we thought we’d save you the trouble!
January Jack and The Beatstalk 02 Dec - 17 Jan Theatre Royal With giant laughs, spectacular special effects, stunning costumes and lots of audience participation this magical family show will be everything you would expect from the South West’s biggest pantomime. Box Office 01752 267222 The B-Bar Comedy Night 07 Jan B-Bar at Barbican Theatre Some light relief with the best standups on the UK circuit. Details 01752 242021 Alex James 08 Jan B-Bar at Barbican Theatre Enjoy a beautiful relaxed evening of classical guitar in the unique Thai
Electric Swing Circus
Bangers
noodle bar. Details 01752 242021 Hamer & Co 09 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Hamer & Co are a smokin’ hot jazz outfit with a difference. Experienced guitar-players Rich Hamer and Frank Hamer perform their own unique brand of music, blending everything from hot to cool jazz using a combination of smooth basslines and groovy rhythms. Details 01752 242021 There Goes Lizzie 10 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque 4-piece pop/rock/reggae band from Plymouth. Details 01752 260555 Cafe Acoustica 14 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bar’s fortnightly showcase of unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021
Worried Shoes 15 Jan The Nowhere Inn Your favourite Indie pop band Worried Shoes with support from Neelix Helix . Geoff Lakeman 15 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Geoff Lakeman is known as “ the dude with the squeezebox “ who can tease everything - from Irish tunes, country blues, tin pan alley jazz and protest songs -from his rare instrument. Details 01752 242021 Metropolis Swing Quartet 16 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Based in Plymouth, MSQ is a quartet of musicians who share a passion for swing and jazz and the great American song-book writers. Details 01752 242021 Company B 16 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Company B, the “rowdy” jump jive band, are returning to Annabel’s. Details 01752 260555 When Giants Fall 16 Jan Tiki Bar & Grill When Giants Fall are a 5-piece contemporary rock band with heavier influences. Material packed full with sing-a-longs, catchy choruses and allround rowdy fun. Details 01752 226305 Freshly Squeezed 17 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque An 8-piece funk fuelled barnstorming behemoth. Details 01752 260555
Amon Amarth 17 Jan The Hub / dbs Live Deeply rooted in melodic death metal with lyrics centered around Viking history and Norse mythology, Swedish viking lords Amon Amarth are on the attack again! Support from Huntress and Savage Messiah. Details 07966 626490 Bangers 17 Jan The Underground Kernow’s favourite punk rockers are back to blow away your post-xmas blues! Support from The Lion and the Wolf and more. Deadsnakes with The Vice and White Scratch 18 Jan Tiki Bar & Grill Garage rock band Deadsnakes debut gig with support from Plymouth postpunk band The Vice and Exeter garage band White Scratch. Details 01752 226305 Wicked 20 Jan - 14 Feb Theatre Royal Packed with thrilling technical wizardry, stunning costumes and showstopping songs (by Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz), Wicked is an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages. Box Office 01752 267222 Forked: Poetry and spoken word 22 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Every other month those clever people at Apples and Snakes present an evening of wonderful spoken word performance. Details 01752 242021
Club Fandango Comedy Night 22 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque A hilarious night hosted by 3 top comedians. Details 01752 260555 The Blue Bottles 23 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Uncluttered grooves aimed squarely at the dance floor. Details 01752 260555 Some Like It Hot 23 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Vintage and contemporary Swing. Played with flair, personality and panache. Danceable delights, steamy songs and tantalising tunes! Details 01752 242021 Platform 15 23-24 Jan Theatre Royal A surprising collection of short new plays from six aspiring writers. Each play, written by a different People’s Company member, presents a unique blend of surprising characters, conflicts and revelations. Box Office 01752 267222 Russel Sinclair & the Smokin Locos 24 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Scottish born singer songwriter performing with The Smokin Locos. Details 01752 260555 Codex Alimentarius 24 Jan Tiki Bar & Grill Exeter’s Codex Alimentarius are coming to tear Tiki Bar down with Gloucester’s Death/Black Metal outfit ASCARIS! Supported by Manipulated and Infinite Devil Machine! Details 01752 226305
JAN 17 // THE HUB
FEB 25 // PHOENIX
THE DIRTY YOUTH | DENDERA
JAN 20 // TIKI BAR
MAR 13 // LEMON GROVE
CYPHER 16 | RSJ | SEETHING AKIRA
FEB 04 // THE HUB
FEB 11 // THE HUB
APR 06 // TIKI BAR
EMP!RE FEB 14 // TIKI BAR
MAY 04 // TIKI BAR
www.advancepromo.co.uk // info@advancepromo.co.uk
the big list
eight
Jason Mraz
We Fight Like Kids 08 Feb Tiki Bar & Grill Midlands hardcore punk rockers, We Fight Like Kids, are heading out on the road in February with melodic metalcore outfit High Rise to support the release of their debut EP and single release! Details 01752 226305 Ross Noble 08 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Following 14 sell-out tours, the king of improvisational comedy is back with another mind-blowing UK tour. Ross Noble will be showcasing his talent in brand new UK show, Tangentleman. Box Office 0845 146 1460
Cafe Acoustica 28 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bar’s fortnightly showcase of unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021 Thomas Ford 29 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Mixing delta blues traditions with nublues songwriting, this one man trio has been hailed as “The rising star of British blues”. Details 01752 242021 Merit 29 Jan - 14 Feb Theatre Royal In a subtle game of cat and mouse, split loyalties and questionable morals, Alexandra Wood’s thrilling and darkly funny new play looks at the complexities of a mother daughter relationship and, in the growing argument between rich and poor, the girl who is stuck in between. Box Office 01752 267222 Risky Business 30 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque 8-piece covers band playing a great mix of Pop, Funk and R&B; ranging from modern artists such as Beyonce, Plan B, and Katy Perry as well as classics from the likes of Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner. Details 01752 260555 Electric Swing Circus 30 Jan The Hub / dbs Live Join Electric Swing Circus for a night of bouncing vintage riotous electric swing music! Dancing compulsory, alcohol consumption recommended. Support from Manushka and Bassfunk Bandits. Details 07966 626490
Annika Skoogh Trio 30 Jan B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre This dynamic Jazz Trio, featuring the distinctive and soulful vocals of Annika Skoogh, the superb Matt Carter on keys and Al Swainger on bass, will be playing standards you know and love plus some unexpected songs. Details 01752 242021 I Love Amp 31 Jan Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque With musicians hailing from some of the most successful bands in the South-West, I Love Amp create a very tight, big sound across a broad range of genres and party tunes! Details 01752 260555 Plymouth Youth Music Services 31 Jan Plymouth Pavilions Young musicians from across Plymouth are uniting to celebrate their love of music at the city’s annual youth ensembles concert. Musicians from all of Plymouth Youth Music Service’s (PYMS) city-wide ensembles and some partner organisations will fill Plymouth Pavilions with music on Saturday 31st January from 6pm. Box Office 0845 146 1460
February Jason Mraz 04 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Jason Mraz’s fifth studio release, YES! sees the San Diego-based troubadour teaming up with his longtime friends and collaborators, Raining Jane, for a purely acoustic and more intimate sound than heard on his previous releases. Box Office 0845 146 1460
Kaiser Chiefs 09 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Following a string of summer festival slots, Kaiser Chiefs will touring the UK from February 2015, with nine new shows added to the previously announced London The 02 Arena and Leeds First Direct Arena dates. Box Office 0845 146 1460 The B-Bar Comedy Night 04 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Some light relief with the best standups on the UK circuit. Details 01752 242021 Collabro 06 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Since winning Britain’s Got Talent, Collabro have since signed a record deal with SYCO Music with their hotly anticipated debut album due for release on July 14. Box Office 0845 146 1460 Hamer & Co 06 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Hamer & Co are a smokin’ hot jazz outfit with a difference. Experienced guitarplayers Rich Hamer and Frank Hamer perform their own unique brand of music, blending everything from hot to cool jazz using a combination of smooth basslines and groovy rhythms. Details 01752 242021 Atomic Daze 06 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque 5 piece band revitalising the best music from the 80’s! Details 01752 260555 Beta Max 07 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque A Decade in 80’S Electronic Synth Rock. Details 01752 260555 Ambience 01 07 Feb The Hub / dbs Live Three of the finest DJ’s / Producers from around the globe are coming to The Hub in Plymouth! Details 07966 626490
Cafe Acoustica 11 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bar’s fortnightly showcase of unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021 Daylight 13 Feb Tiki Bar & Grill Established in 2004, and inspired by the Barcelona’s lifestyle & attitude, Daylight kicked hard from the beginning with their ambition, hardwork and passion to turn their dreams into goals. Details 01752 226305 The Circus of Horrors 13 Feb Plymouth Pavilions The spooktacular Britain’s Got Talent finalists will be freaking you all out with a Friday 13th special!
The Retro Gents 14 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque The Retro Gents’ mixture of Funk, Gypsy Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country, Jive, Swing make them different from anybody. Details 01752 260555 Mice on Skates 17 - 21 Feb Theatre Royal Adapted from the original story by Sylvia Hunt, Mice on Skates features delightful puppets created by puppet maestro Marc Parrett (former Artistic Director of Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company) Mice on Skates is about friendship and adventure and is chock full of songs, surprises. Box Office 01752 267222 Omid Djalili 18 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Omid Djalili is back on tour with a new show, following a sell-out four week West-End residency and a sold-out season at the Edinburgh Festival. Box Office 0845 146 1460 Rhymewarp 19 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Welcome to the B-Bar’s participatory poetry and spoken word night. Hosted by the inimitable Mama Tokus and bringing you an excellent array of talent, we think every one of these will be a unique experience not to be missed. Details 01752 242021 The Acid Ballet 19 Feb Tiki Bar & Grill The Acid Ballet make a racket quite unlike any other. This is a group you can’t help but be hypnotised by, both visually and aurally. Details 01752 226305 Rebecca 19 - 28 Feb Theatre Royal Emma Rice, the award winning director, has created a spellbinding new production of Daphne du Maurier’s
Omid Djalili
nine masterpiece which conjures Cornish romance and theatrical magic. Box Office 01752 267222 Club Fandango 20 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque New for 2015! Live Act to be confirmed Details 01752 260555 Katherine Jenkins 20 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Katherine Jenkins, OBE, is the world’s most prolific classical crossover artist. To date, Katherine has released nine studio albums , all of which have sold in excess of eight million copies and gone platinum around the world. Box Office 0845 146 1460 The Lipsinkers 20 and 21 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Described as bringing the noble art of lip-syncing bang up to date with a razor sharp edge, expect a fast paced trip through popular music with choreographed comedy, big hair and high heels. A topical, trivia, transvestite tour de force with trademark twisted style. Details 01752 242021 Duke Johnson & the Scorchers 21 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Duke Johnson & the Scorchers have become an institution in the live music scene & have gained the reputation of one of the best live Rock & Roll bands in the UK. Details 01752 260555 Duveaux 22 Feb Tiki Bar & Grill 2 years on after forming, Duveaux are still going strong and set to really take things up a notch leading into 2015. Details 01752 226305 Tim Barry 22 Feb The Underground Tim Barry is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is the former lead singer of the Richmond, Virginia-based punk rock band Avail. Support from Cory Branan and Sam Russo.
the big list Freshly Squeezed
Paul Carrack 24 Feb Plymouth Pavilions Recently dubbed by the BBC as ‘The Man with the Golden Voice’, Paul is undoubtedly a key figure in British pop history, an all-rounded musical talent. And as his devoted fans know all too well, a Paul Carrack show is always something very special. Box Office 0845 146 1460
launderette 232 albert road, stoke tel: 563382 56 Wilton street, stoke tel: 562686
Cafe Acoustica 25 Feb B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bar’s fortnightly showcase of unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021 what happens to the hope at the end of the evening 25 - 28 Feb Theatre Royal what happens to the hope at the end of the evening is the latest collaboration between long-term friends and award winning theatre makers Tim Crouch and Andy Smith. Box Office 01752 267222 Worried Shoes 27 Feb The Nowhere Inn Indie pop band Worried Shoes are returning to The Nowhere Inn. Royal Blood 27 Feb Plymouth Pavilions After tickets for their upcoming UK and Ireland tour sold out within just two minutes, Royal Blood can now announce details of a major European tour. The confirmation of the tour adds to a phenomenal breakthrough year for the duo, which has already seen their Mercury Prize-nominated self-titled debut album hit #1 as the highest charting debut rock album in three years. Box Office 0845 146 1460 The Riviera Dogs 27 Feb Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Riviera Dogs are a 5 piece Classic Rock & Pop band playing memorable movie tunes from the 80’s & 90’s. Music from Kenny Loggins, Toto, Whitesnake, Van Halen and many many more. Details 01752 260555
BuBBles
March The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 02 - 14 Mar Theatre Royal This thrilling new stage play is based on the award winning novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott. Box Office 01752 267222 The Australian Pink Floyd Show 03 Mar Plymouth Pavilions Aussie Floyd, who have sold over four million concert tickets globally, have generated their own heritage with scores of sold-out shows featuring note perfect performances which remain true to the original. Box Office 0845 146 1460 Broke 03 - 07 Mar Theatre Royal Based on interviews taken across the UK in 2014, multi award winners The Paper Birds explore, with real life stories from the front line of poverty and debt, what it means to be broke in this visually stunning new production. A heartfelt and urgent look at the debt of a Nation from displaced families and gambling addictions to beans on toast. Box Office 01752 267222 Paul Weller 05 Mar Plymouth Pavilions
Forging a solo career in the early nineties Paul Weller was reinstalled as the pre-eminent songwriter of his generation with a total of 11 solo albums to him name and winning a long list of awards including the prestigious Ivor Norvello award for Lifetime achievement in 2010 and the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2006. Box Office 0845 146 1460 The Dreamboys 06 Mar Plymouth Pavilions After a massive sold out 2014 UK Tour, The Dreamboys are back with a brand new Show and UK Tour for 2015. Box Office 0845 146 1460 Hamer & Co 06 Mar B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Hamer & Co are a smokin’ hot jazz outfit with a difference. Experienced guitar-players Rich Hamer and Frank Hamer perform their own unique brand of music, blending everything from hot to cool jazz using a combination of smooth basslines and groovy rhythms. Details 01752 242021 Freshly Squeezed 06 Mar Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque An 8-piece funk fuelled barnstorming behemoth. Details 01752 260555
serVICe WasHes aVaIlaBle Monday to Friday 8.30am to 1pm selF serVICe WasHes 7 days per week 8.30am to 9pm last wash 8pm drY CleanInG aGents all sIZe QuIlts WasHed
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Cafe Acoustica 11 Mar B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bars fortnightly showcase of
Paul Weller
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the big list are returning to Annabel’s. Details 01752 260555
Ross Noble
Brendan Cole 13 Mar Plymouth Pavilions Following his last sell out tour of Licence to Thrill, Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole is once again set to dazzle audiences across the UK with his brand new show, A Night to Remember. Box Office 0845 146 1460 Rumours of Fleetwood Mac 14 Mar Plymouth Pavilions Having performed 500 major concert shows to over a half a million fans around the world since they formed over a decade ago, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac return to the UK to present a spectacular new stage production celebrating the music of the legendary rock supergroup Fleetwood Mac. Box Office 0845 146 1460
unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021 Octonauts 11-12 Mar Plymouth Pavilions Get ready to embark on an exciting new mission with our underwater adventure super heroes Captain Barnacles, Kwazii and Peso, in the brand new live stage show, Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure. Box Office 0845 146 1460
After Electra 12 - 28 Mar Theatre Royal April De Angelis’ After Electra is a deeply moving and blisteringly witty black comedy challenging what it means to be a mother, and exploring how the choices we make can change our lives forever. Box Office 01752 267222 Company B 13 Mar Annabel’s Cabaret & Discotheque Company B, the “rowdy” jump jive band,
Peter Pan Goes Wrong 16 - 21 Mar Theatre Royal The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society set out to present J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of Peter Pan, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does, as the accident prone thesps embark on a thrilling adventure to Neverland, with hilariously disastrous results. Box Office 01752 267222 The Tiger Who Came To Tea 17 - 21 Mar Theatre Royal Following a smash-hit West End season, the teaguzzling tiger is back on the road in this delightful family show; packed with oodles of magic, sing-a-long songs and clumsy chaos! A stunning stage
Blue adaptation of the classic tale of teatime mayhem… expect to be surprised! Box Office 01752 267222 Jack Lukeman 20 Mar Tiki Bar & Grill Described as “a mixture of all the great voices of the 20th century” (The Guardian), Jack Lukeman is one of Ireland’s most respected and best loved performers. Details 01752 226305 Blue 22 Mar Plymouth Pavilions The affable quartet quickly ascended to the top of the charts with three #1 albums, scored highly-respectable collaborations with Elton John and Stevie Wonder, they even represented the UK in 2011 at the Eurovision Song Contest, and now they’re back again with a UK tour! Box Office 0845 146 1460 Words & Music Festival 22 Mar B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre Peninsula arts present a special closing show as part of their Words & Music Festival. Details 01752 242021
Cafe Acoustica 25 Mar B-Bar at the Barbican Theatre B-Bars fortnightly showcase of unplugged talent, hosted by singersongwriter Jessie Mullen. Details 01752 242021 Coppélia 26 - 28 Mar Theatre Royal Peter Wright’s enchanting production of this joyous and witty ballet is an ever-popular celebration of love, with a sparkling score and breathtaking choreography. Coppélia is guaranteed to lift the hearts of all the family. Box Office 01752 267222 Chorus! 31 Mar Theatre Royal Chorus! is a fully staged extravaganza of some of operaís greatest moments. The talents of soprano Lesley Garrett, centre stage with the stunning WNO Chorus, make this a uniquely entwined and magnificent spectacle. Box Office 01752 267222 If you would like to see your event featured in The Big List, email hello@ps-zine.com for details!
the vice
twelve
T H E V I C E / Words by Naomi Girdler /
thirteen
Sometimes as a journalist, you write about subjects because you’re interested in them, or you want to learn something new. Sometimes you write about something because you want other people to know about it. In this case, it’s the latter. It doesn’t take a private detective to figure out that one quarter of the band is my brother, but as a musician myself, a fan of the local scene and a deep appreciator of music, you need to listen to The Vice, like, right now! I managed to get all four boys in a room together, to talk about what The Vice is really about. You might know them as Black Dog, of which they played a few local shows, but with the release of their EP, they became The Vice, but hey, what’s a name, it’s their fucking music you should care about. The line-up begins with Elliot Stanford, a self confessed socially awkward front man, who pens songs, plays guitar and sings so damn good that Ian Curtis would be proud. Then there’s Dominic Wallace, the most left wing chicken in the farm, who shreds some seriously insane guitar, as well as writing riffs that sound like they came out of a Californian studio rather than an attic in Stoke. Andrew, my little brother, playing four strings and singing as quietly as possible, hammers out your staple rhythm section with Cameron, on drums. He’s the only one actually qualified to say he’s a musician, but the pieces of paper really don’t matter when he starts doing solos. According to the boys; ‘We’re an unofficial five piece with four active members, our other homeboy Taylor is leading
Elliot recommends: Arctic Monkeys, Miles Kane, Peace, Toy, Temples, Dr. Dre, Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, The Smiths
the vice
the Exeter scene with White Scratch. And despite having no transport, we still manage to get to shows. We have the taxi drivers of Plymouth to thank for that, who have helped us numerous times with Cam’s drum kit and our gear.’
As the interview moves along, the intensity of bickering seems to escalate, with loud insults, talking over each other and general ‘banter’ between the four of them. Elliot manages to break through the ruckus and explain to me what it’s like being in The Vice.
"we argue all the time... it can take us a while to actually get anything done"
‘It’s funny, we’re all mates, but we argue all the time. Constantly. Every single time we’re all in a room together, a massive argument will happen. Just like when one time someone attacked another member during practice… it can take a while for us to actually get anything done.’
The band, who released their debut EP ‘Black Dog is Dead’ in November, self funded and hand drawn, launched the release to a youthful, packed crowd at the Underground on Mutley Plain. Despite only having a combined age of 68, their infectious tunes get crowds of all ages moving with catchy lyrics, indie hooks and dirty riffs. I asked how their first time in the studio was; ‘Recording was fucking awesome. Doc Price is a legend, and made the whole process so stress free. We all felt like we reached a spiritual place, haha! We definitely needed the recording to help us feel a bit further away from the attic band we started out as and to move into a more professional place. It was a good learning process, we didn’t have to do too many takes and it was a great feeling making music for us and no-one else.’
Dom recommends:
Parquet Courts, Goat, The Fall, Eagulls, Hookworms, King Crimson, WYFOFBATH, White Scratch, Worried Shoes
‘When it comes to writing songs, it tends to come from one person and we’ll work together on it as a band. Teach it, play it, let it progress into a song, but each member has his say. We all understand the music we’re trying to play.’ With only 6 months worth of gigging under their belt, the boys have a whole year ahead of them with the world at their fingertips. Dom tells me what the New Year has in store; ‘2015 is looking exciting, we’re writing new songs at the moment and developing our sound. We want to play more gigs, get out of Plymouth a little and we’re hoping that Bristol will be our next stop for that.’ The Vice have their next show at Tiki Bar and Grill on North Hill, on the 18th January. If you can’t check that out, visit them on Facebook and check out their debut EP ‘Black Dog is Dead’ at www.facebook.com/thevice6
Andrew recommends:
Cameron recommends:
Worried Shoes, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Aphex Twin, King Tuff, The Rapture
Stone Roses, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Arctic Monkeys, Paulo Nutini, New Order, Black Sabbath
postgraduate spotlight / elixel
fourteen
L-R: Becky Veater, Paul Bird, Gavin Jones and Christian Cook pictured at the Media Innovation awards, Photography by Dom Moore Photography for the Media Innovation Network
E LI X E L Interview by Naomi Girdler PS: What is Elixel and what are you guys about?
with the name until about three days before the pitch!
ELIXEL: Well, we all started together at i-DAT, on their Digital Art and Technology degree course. Over the four year course, we’d worked together on a variety of projects, but it all started with a module where you had to pitch a game idea to a real client. i-DAT is great for bringing industries into the course like that. So the four of us went away, came up with an idea and pitched it to a company called Wild Futures. We won the project and did a live launch with all our equipment in the Mall and loads of kids playing our game! It was pretty cool.
PS: Well, that brings me nicely to my next question, what inspired the name, Elixel? ELIXEL: We’re all nerds basically! It’s based around elixirs, giving life, as they do in games, and also the pixel, and since breathing life into pixels is what we do, it seemed to fit! It took us a long long time to come up with it though and even now people say it wrong. We do try and push the whole pixel side of things so it makes a bit more sense when you say it, haha. PS: How’s business then?
We’ve been working as a team for a few years and we’ve really gelled into our roles well. There’s me (Paul) who’s on design, Christian (or Cookie) focusing on app coding, Becky focusing on website coding and then the brains behind it all, Gavin, although he won’t admit to that. It was in our fourth year, after a year of being on placement, that Elixel really began to become a reality. We all had a module called Venture Culture, where we had to create a business or product idea, that we then had the opportunity to make into a reality. We then had to pitch our idea to a group of ‘dragons’ or business leaders. It was nerve-wracking but definitely worth the prize, which was free space for a month at the Formation Zone based in the university. They help young people in the creative sector with their business ideas. We hadn’t even come up
ELIXEL: Business is good! Turnover is up, which is always a good sign! We are doing well at the moment, and we’ve recently added a business advisor to the mix. Contradeals is a great way for us to keep afloat, such as our premises. After Gavin’s time at Silverstream, which is based in the same building, they told us they had some free space and wanted to encourage a creative hub. So that’s where we came in. So when we were first starting up, in the first six months, we only paid for two months rent which is a great help at such an early stage. Good way of saving our money when we really need it. PS: You designed and developed an app for UP:SU, can you tell me more? ELIXEL: We developed an app for the Student Union, and it’s been really successful. It’s a tool for the SU to
be able to get feedback from students as well as be able to direct offers and discounts their way as well as the ability to share experiences with other students over social media. They can find out what’s going on, and it really allows for a personal experience tailored to the student. We’ve already had interest from other SU’s about this project, so that’s really exciting, and something to keep an eye on for the future! PS: You also have a new app in the works, can you tell me more about Artory? ELIXEL: Designed and developed by us alongside i-DAT, Artory is working with a huge selection of creative companies in the city, including Plymouth Arts Centre, Barbican Theatre, Theatre Royal, Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University and The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art, it ties in all the various events and activities available in the city and puts them in one place. It allows the user to leave feedback, share events and earn Art Miles to exchange for offers at a variety of venues across the city. It goes live on the 30th of January, so check out the website www.artory.co.uk for more details. PS: What made you guys stay in Plymouth? ELIXEL: We all love Plymouth. It’s beautiful with its connection to the moors and beaches nearby, I think that’s what made me want to stay here. There’s a lot of green space and that’s always appealing. It’s very student
and university focused however, and you really see this over the summer as it turns into a ghost town, which is a shame since that’s when Plymouth really turns beautiful! PS: What advice would you give young people trying to start up their own venture? ELIXEL: It’s so much easier to start a business as a student. It’s less commitment in the sense that you’re fully committed to your work load and there’s not a huge amount of distractions to get in the way. Don’t be afraid to call in favours and pull strings and get your friends and family involved in the process. We started out with £20 each and our own computers, so anything is possible! We got a lot of help from Outset Plymouth and Outset Finance which helped us secure a business loan, as well as the Starter for 10 initiative, which allows 10 young businesses the opportunity to pitch their business idea for a total of a £10,000 grant prize. We’re lucky we got the funding we have, and if you can keep a business going throughout the recession, you should be okay! PS: Got any last minute advice? ELIXEL: Under promise and over deliver! Don’t make promises on projects you can’t keep, keep them to yourself and shower them with surprises at the presentation. No-one wants to be promised the world, only to have it half assedly put in front of them.
fifteen
megan rouncefield / student submission
M E G A N R O U N C E FI E L D Interview by Neoma Stanford
PS: What are you studying?
PS: Do you love it?
MEGAN: BA (Hons) Graphic Design at Plymouth College of Art.
MEGAN: Yes! The college has a great working environment and tutors encourage us to collaborate with other students in different departments. We are also taught professional practices, in order to expand our knowledge of working within the design industry and ways of self promotion such as website / portfolio designing, with a view to setting us up for the world of work.
PS: What sort of things does your course involve? MEGAN: My course involves a broad range of design practices including; motion graphics, ‘typographics’, publishing, and branding. I am also involved with ‘The Design Hub’, which is an in-house design studio that allows students to work on live project briefs with real clients. More about my course can be found here: http:// www.plymouthart.ac.uk/courses/ba-hons-graphicdesign/section/overview
PS: What do you plan to do when you’ve finished? MEGAN: Ideally I would like a job working within a design agency once graduating to build up industry skills and knowledge, which I can then use to work as a freelance designer.
PS: What’s it like being a student in the great city of Plymouth? MEGAN: Plymouth has a large student population and is a very sociable city, there is a great contrast of rural and city life and most places are accessible by foot which is great as you don’t have to rely on public transport. PS: Can you tell us what’s good to do in Plymouth? MEGAN: During sunnier weather, most students enjoy going to the Barbican for a drink. But there really is something for everyone, whether it be sports, or socialising. It’s also great to have Cornwall just down the road if you fancy a little adventure.
that’s what she said
sixteen
THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID Words by Anna Petit and Seth Haney For fear of sounding too much like Charlie - I Hate The Internet - Brooker, the modern human spends an unhealthy amount of time hanging out behind screens. No part of our lives is without some sort of internet influence...even a quiet walk in the country is ruined by stopping to take endless photos to spunk all over Instagram or Twitter or Facebook. Easy access to the net means easy porn access, and despite recent changes to porn legislation, there seems to be no end to the gritty pit of wank aids for us to dip into...day or night or day and night or anytime in-between. It all began on the 1st of December 2014, with the introduction of a series of restrictions on the pornography produced and sold in the UK. Acts deemed life-threatening such as strangulation have been banned, as well as spanking, full bondage, and female ejaculation, despite its male counterpart often being the climax (no pun intended) of most films. We decided to get a bit pissed, and had a chat about porn and its impact. Seth: Anna, would you say you’ve enjoyed any of the types of porn that are now banned? Anna: So I’m in the process of reading through the ‘forbidden’ list, and other than feeling simultaneously and weirdly turned on as well as like I’m about to be sick on my pyjamas, what has just made me recoil in anger/horror is the whole jizz in face injustice. Girls squirt sometimes... a good angle will see to that. Why ban that? If a girl can’t squirt on a CONSENTING fellow human, what even is the point in porn?! Does that answer your question? Seth: There’s an argument that some of the banned acts are aimed at limiting women’s freedom and enjoyment in pornography. I don’t see anything wrong with any of the
S&M acts. Although I’m not a body fluid fan, I can see why both sexes could really get off on that type of porn. Does this mean that, perhaps, we’ve become desensitised to a lot of what we watch? I’ll be honest, there’s a few things I’ve masturbated over in that list and now it’s banned I can’t help but think that we’ve/I’ve become a little removed from the purpose of porn. Anna: You desensitise to anything if you’re exposed to it enough. I guess there’s an argument for it though. Or maybe, as a society, we’re just more sexually free? Banning what I agree is pretty normal stuff seems a bit repressive. Porn is there to excite you….The purpose of porn..what’s that then? Seth: Pornography is an extreme luxury, isn’t it? I don’t know if it’s necessary. I feel in the last 15 years, it’s become a part of everyone’s life. Would your life be that different without it? Anna: Yeah, my life would be different without porn. Not worse, but different. I’d definitely be more of an active lesbian…. It barely takes putting in the letter P into Google to find porn online, with statistics indicating that sex is by far the most popular term on the web. However, in relationships, it can turn porn sour. There’s been a variety of different research and surveys on how too much porn threatens your libido, can lead to depression and even rewires your brain. But watching porn with a significant other can really expand your repertoire and encourage a healthy sex life. So where’s the balance? Anna: How would you feel about watching porn with a sexual partner? Seth: I’ve watched porn with partners in the past. I find that it’s usually a case of searching around a lot to find something that you both
enjoy. Porn feels very different to me when there’s somebody else in the room. There’s a different energy when I’m not just focusing on pleasing yourself. It’s fun when you get the right video though. You can really lose yourself in the moment. Anna: I think the first time I watched porn was with a partner. We’d been together for ages and had toyed with the idea of fetish parties and dogging etc.. It dawned on me that my fantasies had been entirely manifested in my own head..so we watched porn so I could see what really happens. Of course that in itself was a false representation, but it gave me something cool to look at while we fucked. I wouldn’t say watching porn with a partner is solely something to do as a solution to a dried up sex life though… but when you get it right it can be really kinky. Seth: Yes, it can be a good ingredient to a healthy sex life. I think you have to a be a certain type of person to really get into fetish parties and dogging and I guess swinging also. It’s never really appealed to me to share a sexual partner. But I enjoy that type of porn now and again. It’s usually in a ratio of more women to guys though. With vajazzling, ‘designer vaginas’ and of course, larger than your average schlong, it’s no wonder people get confused about their own bodies when watching porn and being faced with the same genital formulae time and time again. This can cause selfesteem and confidence issues, as well as sexual performance anxiety that can really stop you from having a healthy and satisfying sex life. Has porn got a lot to answer for? Anna: Do you think that watching porn can have a damaging effect on body image? Seth: For me personally, no. I’m quite aware
that the type of guys in porn aren’t regular guys. I find the muscles and shaved body hair pretty ridiculous. Guys in porn always seem like dumb apes. It wouldn’t surprise me if that type of guy is bred in a laboratory somewhere. When I’m out though, it’s obvious that there’s a type of guy that watches porn and thinks, “I want to look like that”. I’ve worked with men that spend all their time sticking to ridiculous high protein diets and spending more time in the gym with other guys than with their partners. How do you feel about body image in porn? It seems that it can be a lot kinder to women, from my point of view. Anna: There seems to be a huge variety of women in porn, that’s true, so I guess the body image thing is more dependent on the watcher than the watchee. Breasts are my personal issue…not so much when I indulge on my own, but when watching porn with a sexual partner, I’m pretty picky about the sort of woman I’m happy to watch. Big tits are a massive no no! Seth: I find myself being fussy with the women I want to see too. It’s very mood dependent. Over the years, I’ve found myself really digging the site, ‘Suicide Girls’ - have you ever seen that? Anna: Yes! I’ve never felt as unhappy with my body than when I first discovered Suicide Girls! I guess I was in my late teens… I wanted to be one! It’s taken me the best part of a decade to realise it’s probably not that great! Seth: That’s interesting. I’ve always liked that site as it seems very open to women of all sizes. It’s always felt like more of an attitude than anything else; here are women that want to be naked and are happy to be naked. I guess that appeals to the pervert in me.
seventeen
spirituality in the 21st century
SPIRITUALITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY Words by Neoma Stanford So you’ve decided that spirituality might be the answer to some of the problems in your life. Maybe you were angry, or maybe you’re just disillusioned with the world, or maybe you wound up in what you perceived as a bad situation in life. Perhaps you’ve decided that the Buddhist way of life is for you with its calm mindful approach to existence, or maybe the philosophical Hindu practices of self actualisation through deep meditation. Maybe you’ve just decided to take a new approach to life – however huge or minor. Learning patience and achieving calmness can only be a good thing. In order to not feel like we are trying really hard at something and not gaining what we want from it, we should definitely acknowledge that these practices conflict in many ways with the political, social and cultural climate in which we find ourselves. An Indian king named Tilopa, born in the year 988, is said to have left his riches to seek something more and, after a series of teachings with various gurus, walked the path to enlightenment. He gave six ‘words of advice’, these were: “Let go of what has happened. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don’t try to control anything. Don’t try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest.” So in a way, trying to achieve enlightenment could be seen as a futile activity. The story is encouraging, and the words resonate beautifully in the soul for a little while after the eyes have read them. But we do not become good simply by observing good – we do not become the words. So, you’re walking through the town centre, and the quickest way you can get to where you’re going is to walk through the mall, and it seems like most people are walking at a pace which couldn’t really be considered walking, and you just so happen to find yourself stuck behind one of those people, and you feel an anger rising up inside you. Where is your
stillness now? You might even try to access these feelings in the moment in which you are stuck behind the slowest human being ever to have walked the planet, but they have become inaccessible to you somehow.
we forget that happiness is right there and (we) keep chasing it around So you want to be that calm person who woke without their mind, who sat in tranquility for an hour with nothing but being, but this shit is hard when you’re surrounded by other humans. I know. It’s easy to be calm when you’re sat on your own, the real test comes in shopping malls and train stations and when someone in their car doesn’t let you cross the street. There is a brilliant quote which highlights this perfectly, from Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. “With the rise of chiefdoms around 7,500 years ago, people had to learn, for the first time in history, how to encounter strangers regularly without attempting to kill them.” This reminds us that, anthropologically speaking, we aren’t really meant to run into this many humans every day, only since civilisation has existed have we had to deal with this problem, and I think for most of us this is still something we are having to adjust to. Buddhism teaches us to love everyone because we are all suffering with the affliction of being human, and that is such an easy concept to grasp, but how can I show you compassion when you have shown me none, person in the car? Well the answer is this: true compassion is having compassion for those who do not deserve it.
We need to think about the ways in which these practices used to be easier to carry out because there were no distractions, and this is why when people go on meditation or yoga retreats they find that they have a good starting point for inner peace. In this modern world there seems to be no starting point, or if there is one, it’s drowned out by the sound of the white noise that is western culture. As Terrence Mckenna said, “Ego is a structure that is erected by a neurotic individual who is a member of a neurotic culture against the facts of the matter. And culture, which we put on like an overcoat, is the collectivized consensus about what sort of neurotic behaviours are acceptable.” I would see it as more of an undercoat than an overcoat; something we wear beneath our skin which holds things in; holds us within ourselves. Because we are like this, because we identify so throughly with an idea of ‘ourselves’ and ‘others’, often we find it difficult to have compassion for the person going slower than us, and the person in the car who speeds up when they see you crossing the road. We have separated ourselves from them. We no longer recognize that we are the same as them in the way in which is most important; we are both human and we have both suffered in being so. We find ourselves in a tug of war with a desire to be calm, loving and content on one side, and the desire to seek pleasure from our senses on the other. ‘I want to achieve enlightenment, but maybe later, when I’ve watched this film and eaten this sandwich and smoked this cigarette and listened to this album. Then maybe I’ll do a bit of meditating and then I’ll be that one step closer to true happiness.’ We forget that happiness is right there and keep chasing it around. We won’t catch it because it is already within ourselves, we just have to let it be.
visiting writer series
eighteen
PA U L D O D G S O N
VI S I T IN G W R I T E R S E R IE S Words by Chloe Smith The room is dimly lit by the spotlights on the ceiling that
of my life experiences being of interest to anyone. He
code transmission of the voice recording his grandfather
pierce the room at varying angles with a soft yellow glow.
tells us that there is one key technique to good life-
had stumbled upon. Now it didn’t sound as annoying as I
It adds to the effect of the darkening sky outside and
writing which many writers fail to incorporate; the use
understood the importance behind the dots and dashes
makes me feel like I’m at home, snuggled up on my sofa
of the senses. I realise that this is true as I can’t actually
being played aloud.
with a good book in front of me. Looking back, the way
remember the last time I properly thought about senses
that the room was laid out and the lighting made it seem
when attempting to write a narrative. I tend to focus
The power of radio becomes the topic of the evening
like we were admiring someone, or something; a piece
more on the setting. Life writers often fail to engage with
and how it has adapted since its first appearance in
of art, or someone playing music at a bar with the lights
the senses due to using the first-person perspective. It is
family homes. What was once an activity which everyone
turned low to create mood and effect – to keep all the
our own point of view of how the events unravelled and
took part in as they sat around the radio of an evening
attention on the speaker.
we tell it how we remember it, not how the reader would
listening to the broadcasts, has now become a secondary
see it from the outside.
activity as we listen whilst driving or doing other tasks. Paul reminds us of the infamous broadcasting in 1938
Paul Dodgson. A writer of memoir, radio drama, theatre, songwriter, as well as producer and director. He’s worked
After being washed away in the soothing tone of his
of Orson Welles’ retelling of H. G. Wells’ The War of the
across all networks of the BBC and is known for writing
voice and the incessant flashing of the camera by the
Worlds. A fictional story played through radio drama
some episodes of Eastenders. He steps up on to the
photographer who was hired by the university, we then
reduced America to a state of pure fear as they truly
stage (which is really just a desk at the front of the room
removed ourselves to the lecture theatre above the
believed that they were being invaded by Martians. And,
in front of a projector screen shining at the wall), and
university library for the presentation Paul Dodgson
radio drama was born.
prepares himself. He’s wearing a jumper and trousers and
would provide to not only students, but to the public. Sat
has curly hair and I can’t help but think that he looks like
down at the back of the room, all we can hear is a loud,
Paul Dodgson presented us students with a lot of
a stereotypical author. And when he speaks, dulcet tones
high-pitched sound that irritates the ears and makes me
information:
echo around the room and I am drawn in. I can imagine his
want to go down there and turn it off myself. But it turns
autobiography, tips on how to flesh out the story by
voice on an audiobook – drawing me in and relaxing me
out that it is important to the presentation he is about
writing down the key events and then noting down the
as I’m washed away in the story. But that’s not what he is
to give, and relates back to this topic of interest - radio
small details that slowly came to mind, and the knowledge
there to do. He is there to educate and enlighten.
drama.
that we could eventually – like him – be writing for radio.
Paul is the second Visiting Writer of the academic year
On his new stage, Dodgson tells the story of the arrival
What’s next? Keep on reading…
at Marjons. He is here to lecture us on life-writing and
of radio drama to the twentieth-century when wars were
the techniques used to make it believable and exciting
raging. It turns out that Paul’s own grandfather built
Want to be a part of the next Visiting Writer’s series? On
based on our own real life events. I am told that everyone
the first ever crystal radio set in 1919 in order to listen
Tuesday 17th February 2015, the University of St Mark
has a story to tell and that even the most mundane of
to Morse code transmissions, only to come across an
and St John hosts the next in the series, the Multi Story
experience can be ‘reworked’ to appear extraordinary –
experimental voice broadcast allowing his grandfather
Theatre. For more information on Multi Story Theatre,
a point I find a bit hard to believe considering I had just
to witness the early stages of radio broadcasting. It was
visit their website: www.multistorytheatre.co.uk
started thinking up ideas for my next Creative Writing
at this moment that Paul replayed the irksome sound we
portfolio, and couldn’t possibly have confidence in any
heard before the presentation began – it was the Morse
techniques
on
writing
memoir
and
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community interest pubs
twenty
THE PUB IS THE HUB Words by Naomi Girdler
Pubs are an important British way of life. Pubs are often a central staple for a community, and a pub is nothing without its patrons. However, what’s different about pubs such as the Bread and Roses situated in the heart of student land, on Ebrington Street, is that there literally wouldn’t be a pub without the patrons. With 28 pubs closing every week in the UK, community ownership is fast becoming a popular trend within pubs and other rural services, keeping them alive as pillars of the community. The difference between Bread and Roses and say, the Queen Vic is that rather than being owned by Danny Dyer and his on screen family, a community or group of people can pull together to own and run their own pub. It also works as a social enterprise which wants to use its profits and assets for the public good. Bread and Roses works in the same way, operating as a community hub and arts space for everyone to use. With a cafe and free wi-fi during the day and progressive live musicians and events in the evening, the pub explores and celebrates art, music, food and culture. Formally The Trafalgar Inn, Bread and Roses was the brain child of former university lecturer Justin Pollard, local jazz vocalist Louise Parker, Plymouth University fine arts lecturer Steve Berry and Kath Willcox, who works front of house. Their aim was to rekindle the idea of the pub being the hub of the community with a welcoming ambience for people of all ages and tastes. Opening back in 2012, the pub has gone from strength to strength, with a huge variety of events and activities to be enjoyed by all. With local artist residencies, gigs, poetry readings, workshops, monthly clubs and discussion groups, the pub embraces all tastes in music, all aspects of arts and offers a place where artists and artisans of all genres can display their work or share their creativity. With locally sourced and organic food served throughout the day, with non-meat options for all their vegetarian friends, they also serve an exciting and different range of drinks from across the world. With focus on the community, Bread and Roses can continue to indulge and support the patrons around them. Go on, pop on down to 62 Ebrington Street sometime, and indulge yourself too.
twenty two
wrestling
T H I R D PA R T Y P O L I T I C S a n d w h at t h at m e a n s f o r p lym o u t h
Words by Dominic Wallace With less than 50% of ages 18-25 turning up to vote in 2010, the youth, amongst many others, seem to be consistently disillusioned when it comes to politics. This alienation has given way to the likes of Russell Brand and other political commentators who are attempting to give back the voice of the people. But Russell’s revolution may not be coming tomorrow or any time soon, unfortunately, but from the Green Party’s rally for representation on next years televised leadership debates or UKIP’s grab at two seats in Westminster, the search for alternative politics is well and truly on the rise. But what does this mean for Plymouth? Plymouth Sutton and Devonport is traditionally a swing constituency between Labour and the Conservatives, but what is the reason we’ve voted for either of them? In the 2010 general election was it the Conservative’s policies that won them the constituency or rather Oliver Colville’s sterling personality? According to ‘Vote for Policies’ (a useful webpage which gives individuals a place to make an unbiased and informed decision as to who to vote for through policy choice) policies are most likely not the reason these people became our representatives. Sutton and Devonport’s results show the Green Party to have the most popular policies followed by Labour, the Lib Dems, Conservatives and lastly UKIP. This unwillingness to vote for a party representing your specific beliefs is devastating to the democratic process in the UK, as people vote for the lesser of
two evils in order to avoid the dreaded ‘wasted vote’. However it is important to know that no vote is a wasted vote, societal change is not instant and can occur - but over an extended period of time. The Liberal Democrats formed in 1988, the Green Party of England and Wales in 1990 and UKIP in 1993. Still relatively young parties they are able to make genuine political change happen, as the Liberal Democrats showed when they formed a coalition with the Tories in 2010. The Green Party represent a growing consensus of dissatisfaction towards the operations of our society and firmly believe in well being and fairness in
in Westminster. The representative for Moorview is Ben Osbourne, who describes himself as ‘an ordinary person’ who offers a common ground ‘which too many politicians these days simply cannot offer’. These candidates challenge the Westminster norm of the middle aged, male, career politician, who severely lacks any connection to the very people he is supposed to represent. Currently in the process of developing policy proposals for the 2015 general election, some Plymouth specific policies from their most recent manifesto include: resilient and healthy local communities, warm affordable homes, secure employment and vibrant economy.
"UNWILLINGNESS TO VOTE FOR A PARTY REPRESENTING YOUR SPECIFIC BELIEFS IS DEVASTATING TO THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN THE UK" society rather than obsession with economic growth that the Conservatives and Labour preach. As well as being the ‘environment party’ they also campaign for social justice in order to reduce the inequalities within society and the political process. Green Party’s candidate for Sutton and Devonport is Libby Brown, someone who describes herself as the ‘ideal candidate to sweep away stereotypes’ as she represents females and the youth, two massively underrepresented groups
While Green Party represent the left, on the far right is the BNP’s slightly less racist cousin; UKIP. Anyone who is aware of modern day UK politics knows of the smarmy, Eurosceptic, businessman Mr Farage, who offers a completely privatised, Orwellian dystopia, free from the negative influence of free thinking societies and anything not inherently British. Representing Sutton and Devonport’s far right minds is Roy Kettle whose main focus is on jobs, transport links and defence
as reported by UKIP Plymouth’s webpage. According to him our lack of border control is the reason for wage deflation, a wild accusation as the 2011 consensus states 92.9% of Plymouth residents consider themselves White British (to give some sort of context; the population of white British in the UK, as of 2011, was 87.9% while London came in at 59.8%.) Furthermore Kettle spouts this as a reason to leave the EU when in reality Plymouth’s largest ethnic minority is the Asian population. On Plymouth University he criticises the scrutiny they have recently come across, because spending £150,000 on seven chairs is apparently worth brushing under the carpet. His counterpart representing Moorview is Penny Mills, an environmental campaigner who is strictly opposed to renewable energy. Her webpage has hardly any vague reference to specific action for the area and mimics the traditional UKIP party pawn. These parties will be rallying their support as we come up to the general election in May; an election that will be seemingly unpredictable as a whirlwind of third parties come into view. Whatever your party of choice, remember that no vote is a wasted vote and that you could help ignite genuine political change in this country, even if it takes another 20 years.
twenty three
tempted by temping? / advertorial
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By working in various temporary positions, you will gain a comprehensive insight into different workplaces and how they operate. Want to work in communications? How about engineering? Or maybe the civil sector? With Pertemps, you will be placed in a range of commercial roles where you can really get a taste of what an industry consists of. Better than internships, you’ll even be earning while you’re learning. What’s more, with the sociable hours you’ll be working, you’ll even have your weekends free to splash your hard-earned cash. In an increasingly competitive job market, the search for employment post-university can be an uphill battle for graduates. With degrees becoming more commonplace, you can set yourself apart from the crowd with an interesting and varied list of experience on your CV.
With each assignment, you will find yourself developing valuable transferable skills. Constantly being placed within different roles and businesses, you’ll learn how to be adaptable and use initiative, whilst also enhancing your interpersonal skills and growing in confidence working in a professional capacity; all desirable skillsets and experience that employers are so keen to see on a CV. Temping can also prove a fantastic opportunity for networking with big name companies; make a good impression, and you might find yourself making some great professional contacts who will keep you in mind for permanent vacancies when you graduate! Pertemps’ Plymouth branch has an extensive client list and strong relationships with market leading companies; and if you register, you will be afforded the potential to network with all of them.
Students: Pertemps wants you! Not attracted by the prospect of spending your weekends bored in sales or pulling pints for minimum wage? Want to gain some valuable experience in diverse and rewarding roles for big name companies?
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www.pertemps.co.uk 35179 Tempted by Temping advert.indd 1
16/12/2014 15:09
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student choice / advertorial
twenty four
The Students’ choice One of Plymouth’s fastest-growing student letting agencies is set for further growth in 2015.
agencies and have years of experience in all aspects of the property market from development, letting, buying and selling.
Student Choice Plymouth was only launched 18 months ago and now manages 500 student rooms, mainly in sought-after locations within easy reach of the university and art college.
“My members of staff are very familiar with the student market and the demands of student accommodation. We thrive on giving our tenants the best possible service with our personal touch and understanding.”
The business was founded by director Tony Kallis who originally trained as a gas engineer. Over the years he gained experience in property development and maintenance and three years ago started managing properties for local landlords.
Student Choice now works with about 30 landlords in the city and in the last 12 months alone has doubled the number of student rooms they are managing.
“It was more like a hobby at first,” said Tony, “but I soon found that we were getting more and more enquiries both from students and landlords, so I went into the business on a full time basis two years ago.” He has recruited an enthusiastic team and created a strong community feel about the business with a ‘funky image’ that appeals to the younger generation.
“We pride ourselves on the quality of accommodation, setting the highest standards of fixtures and fittings. “We will be increasing the number of rooms we manage to 600 early in 2015 because of the growing demand for the quality accommodation we offer. In the last two months we have let over 400 rooms for September 2015 and we expect more quality stock to become available in January.”
Tony added: “Students are certainly more The Student Choice team, headed up by Tony, discerning these days and expect a quality includes office manager Samuel Agostini, who service at competitive rates. has previous experience in retail management and customer service; property manager Lougas The Student Choice team “Our rentals are fully-inclusive of all bills and we West, who has previously worked in property don’t ask for fees or deposits so students have maintenance and management as well as complete peace of mind when it comes to the customer service; Christina Kallis, accounts and admin administrator, who has previous experience in law and accounts and Mark important issue of budgeting.” Clark, who has many years experience in property maintenance and oversees The company has supported student activities in the past by sponsoring sports maintenance issues. teams and other interest groups and Tony would be pleased to hear from any Mark is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any emergency maintenance group looking for sponsorship in 2015. requirements. Student Choice, 60 North Road East, Plymouth 01752 262222 Tony said: “We see ourselves as one of Plymouth’s premier student letting www.studentchoiceplymouth.com
twenty five
unity lets / advertorial
T RUST IN UNIT Y L E T S T HIS SEM EST ER The old adage of being big enough to cope but small enough to care can definitely be applied to Unity Lets – a family run, independent student lettings agent, established in 1994.
water, gas, electricity, broadband and a monthly ‘communal area’ clean which includes cleaning the oven!
Lets can help. The friendly, experienced team are based at 96 North Hill, opposite Plymouth High School for Girls. Call 01752 223354 or email enquiries@unitylets.co.uk.
Unlike a lot of agents, Unity Lets do not charge admin fees, Unity Lets have an established high street shop front in a prominent location on North Hill, employing six experienced office staff and a large team of maintenance and cleaning staff. The company is proud to be one of Plymouth’s leading professional student letting agents. Over the last 20 years, Unity Lets has learnt that listening to the needs of students and being flexible is key. As an independent agent Unity Lets has the autonomy to make changes to suit its tenants who are all individual – ‘happy students make happy tenants’.
Quotes from Unity Lets tenants:
H A P P Y ST U D E N T S MA K E H A P PY T E N A N T S !
The team at Unity Lets understand that students want to be predominantly close to the University of Plymouth, City Centre and also the great day and night time student social life of Mutley Plain. Its range of student accommodation is based mostly around these areas and with properties from one to 13 bedrooms, Unity Lets have something for every student.
guarantor fees or take a deposit. All Unity Lets ask is a ‘holding fee’ to secure the property which acts as a credit on the second term’s rent.
Unity Lets offer all-inclusive rents starting from £65 including
Pop into the office for a coffee and a chat to see if Unity
‘Thank you Unity Lets for everything, moving in has been a pleasure, thanks to all that you have done’, Maisie, Salisbury Road. ‘Thanks Matt, John, Sam and all the lovely girls at Unity Lets for such a great place to live’, Joe, North Road. ‘I have just completed my tenancy with Unity Lets and found them to be an extremely professional company to deal with. Any maintenance issues were dealt with efficiently and nothing was too much trouble. I would recommend Unity Lets to anyone in Plymouth looking for a place to rent and in particular would recommend Claire Tucker for her professionalism and work ethic’, Sam, Diamond Avenue. ‘Thanks for taking your time to communicate with us and updating everything. I really enjoy the house and the services that Unity Lets offer’, Innocent, Ford Park Road.
fitness / advertorial
twenty six
GET MOT IVAT ED THIS NEW Y EAR AT CLUB MOAT IVAT ION Students who want to get fit or stay fit in 2015 may need a little motivation - Club Moativation to be precise! Club Moativation Health and Fitness Club is located within the Holiday Inn near Plymouth’s city centre and has put together a tempting package of special rates to appeal to students. Leisure manager Jacqui Merchant said: “We have seen a significant growth in the number of students using our facilities over the last three years and feel we have a lot to offer compared with some of the other gyms or health clubs. “Being located in a hotel like the Holiday Inn provides a special atmosphere and environment. If you are looking for a health club that doesn’t provide an intimidating, impersonal gym experience, then we feel Club Moativation is the place for you. “We have a small team with a wide range of skills and abilities who take real pleasure in their work and enjoy getting to know our members,” added Jacqui who is a personal trainer
who also teaches aerobics. To appeal to the student community Club Moativation are offering massive discounts compared with their normal membership fees - with no joining fee or additional costs and a month’s free membership for those who sign up during January. “We have the choice of three month, six month or nine month packages, all of which qualify for an extra month free if confirmed in January,” said Jacqui. The nine month package works out at less than £22 per month and entitles members to use of all the facilities and participation in any of the classes at Club Moativation, such as yoga, pilates and circuits. One of the jewels in the Club Moativation crown is the indoor 15 metre pool with spectacular views towards The Hoe and across the city centre. Other facilities include a well-equipped resistance gym, cardio gym, large free weights zone, sauna, and steam room.
There is also a decked roof garden available for members to relax and chill. Members also receive a free induction and fitness assessment in the gym provided by one of Club Moativation’s qualified instructors. Club Moativation members also benefit from a 25% discount off all food and drink purchased in the hotel and a 10% discount off any leisure merchandise sold within the club. Club Moativation at the Holiday Inn is within easy walking distance of most student accommodation in the city centre and there is also free parking at the rear of the hotel for members. The club also has extended opening hours from 6.30am to 10pm Mondays to Fridays and 7.30am to 9pm at weekends. For more information contact Club Moativation on 01752 63901 or visit www.clubmoativation.co.uk/clubs/ plymouth.html
T OP T IPS F OR GE T T ING FIT IN 2015 Running The simple ones are the best. Running at a relatively slow pace for just half an hour can burn off the best part of 500 calories.
Walking Why not try walking. To things. From things. Walking is the future. The faster you walk the quicker you get there - and the more calories you burn. Cycling Remember when you were 12 and you’d spend whole days riding around on your bike - throwing yourself over jumps, riding no-handed, occasionally doing massive wheelies that didn’t feel like hard work, right? You don’t need to be a spandex-wearing Mark Cavendish wannabe to keep fit on two wheels. Swimming Like cycling, swimming is something you could do all day long as a kid without ever getting tired - these days
even a few lengths every day will work wonders for your fitness levels. Dancing You (probably) spend a few nights a week dancing like a maniac to suicide-inducing ‘classics’ such as Summer Of ‘69 or Livin’ On A Prayer - maybe, from time to time, try removing alcohol from the equation. Kinect Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect system is a life saver for people who think computer games are more appealing than exercise. Spend half an hour throwing yourself around your living room and you’ll feel like you’ve run a marathon - minus the cheering crowds and having to give money to charity... Chill And finally, the best way to stay healthy in Plymouth is to avoid stressing yourself into a frenzy. Do something that chills you out, at least once a week. Good luck!
twenty seven
W I N T E R
recipe
WA R M E R
Recipe by ANDREW GIRDLER Quick tomato soup with cheesey garlic dippers For the soup:
For the dippers:
400g can cherry tomatoes 1 tbsp caster sugar 100ml vegetable stock dash each tabasco and worcestershire sauce 2tbsp mascarpone few torn basil leaves (optional)
1 medium ciabatta roll, halved 1 garlic clove, halved 125g ball mozzarella cheese, shredded
Method: Put the tomatoes, sugar, stock and sauces into a medium pan with some salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 mins. Stir in the mascarpone and blend to a smooth soup. Return to the pan and keep warm while you make the dippers.
chips chips with dip cod haddock hake plaice china sole lemon sole scampi
1.85 2.35 3.70 3.70 3.70 3.70 3.00 4.00
2.55 3.05 4.30 4.30 4.20 4.30 3.60 4.60 3.50
sausage jumbo sausage fish cake
0.80 1.60 1.10
burger in bun cheese burger 1/4 burger 1/4 cheese 6oz burger 6oz cheese burger chicken burger veggie burger
1.50 1.70 2.50 2.70 3.00 3.20 2.40 1.90
1/2 chicken chicken nuggets veggie fritter pea fritter onion rings
3.00 2.20 1.50 1.30 1.50
baked beans curry sauce mushy peas faggot gravy dips for chips roll & butter pineapple fritter banana fritter can of drink
0.80 0.90 0.90 1.20 0.60 0.50 0.45 1.50 1.50 From 0.75
All prices correct at time of going to press
Prep: 5 mins / Cook: 20 mins Serves 2 Heat the grill to high and toast the ciabatta until golden. Rub with the garlic, season, then top with the cheese and grill until melted and golden. Slice into fingers and serve with the soup, sprinkled with the basil, if using any.
twenty eight
best of 2014: games / book review
BEST OF 2014: GAMES
by Matthew Girdler
2014 was a funny year for games. We saw major titles like Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin’s Creed: Unity disappoint with numerous game-breaking bugs, while titles such as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Wolfenstein: The New Order surpassed everyone’s expectations on their release. It was also a year which saw the battle between the new consoles heat up, with both the PS4 and Xbox One getting some great titles and big bundles to outsell each other. Obviously, this is just my opinion, and if you disagree with any of the choices on this list then feel free to email me at whogivesashit@fakeemail.com. 5. South Park: The Stick of Truth Great video games based on movies are hard to come by, but great games based on TV shows are even rarer - that’s what makes South Park: The Stick of Truth so impressive. Not only does it work as a fun game, it also acts as a 12 hourlong episode of South Park. The developers, Obsidian Entertainment, have a real love for the cartoon, and that shines through in every aspect of the game. It’s perhaps most obvious in the visuals, because you’d be forgiven for mistaking the visuals as footage from the show itself. As well as successfully emulating South Park’s look, it also features a script written and delivered by the creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. As an RPG, The Stick of Truth is pretty traditional, but with the cartoon’s trademark satire and shock humour thrown in for good measure. I was never challenged by the gameplay, but the relativity short campaign (compared to most RPGs) is packed with hilarious and memorable moments that make the game a must-have for any South Park fan. 4. Destiny Destiny was met with much criticism upon its release, most likely due to the insane hype set by Bungie’s work on Halo. I can’t say I disagree with all the complaints; the story is incomprehensible and missions are pretty repetitive. None of this bothered me though - I was too drawn in by the satisfying combat, amazing visuals and addictive progression system. One thing you can’t fault Destiny on is its ambition. By changing from a linear campaign in Halo to an MMO-like structure, the game loses the traditional hero storyline but gains a sense of community. Battling enemies with strangers nothing new, but it gives Destiny a sense of scale and grandeur that’s missing in most first-person shooters. Add to this some excellent competitive multiplayer and you’ve got yourself a suitably epic follow up to one of gaming’s most legendary franchises. 3. The Last of Us: Remastered From Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation to Uncharted on the PS3, I’ve always been a fan of Naughty Dog’s unique blend of memorable characters and thirdperson action, and the studio excelled themselves with The Last of Us. Following the success of Nathan Drake’s swashbuckling adventures, Naughty Dog turned their attention to creating a darker, more mature story. To put it in cinematic terms: if Uncharted is Indiana Jones, The Last of Us is Children of Men. It sees you playing as Joel, a middle-aged man who has to a escort Ellie, a 12-year-old girl, across the post-apocalyptic US. It’s a superbly executed tale, one which makes use of quiet moments - a real rarity in big budget games - giving you time to connect to the characters and their plight. You’re also far less empowered than in most actionadventure titles; Joel can be taken down in a few hits, so you’re forced to play cautiously, skulking in the shadows and managing resources. The combination of immersive gameplay and excellent storytelling makes The Last of Us one of the most affecting and cinematic games around. I missed The Last of Us when it first released on PS3 in 2013, but the 2014 remaster for PS4 - which runs at a higher resolution and frame rate, and includes the Left Behind DLC - is the ultimate version of the game. 2. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor This was a game that I had little-to-no knowledge of leading up to its release. Still, my love of Tolkien’s world put this open-world, action-adventure title at the top my wishlist when it came out in September. The Lord of the Rings series has a spotty record when it comes to videogame adaptations, so my expectations were tempered somewhat. I had no reason to worry though, because Shadow of Mordor is arguably the best one yet.
A large part of what makes it great is Nemesis, a dynamic AI system. Nemesis randomly generates a number of orc captains to populate Mordor, each with their own unique look and personality. Playing as Talion, a ranger who harnesses the “wraith-like abilities” of Celebrimbor, maker of the Rings of Power, you are given complete freedom to take down the captains in any way and order that you wish. It all adds up to make Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor one hell of an orc-slaying power trip. 1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare If you told me at the start of the year that Call of Duty would be my favourite game of 2014, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Over the past few years I’ve started to feel a bit of “Call of Duty fatigue”, the last one to really hold my attention being Black Ops. That changed this year though; Advanced Warfare is the first title to be solely created by Sledgehammer Games, and the first CoD to be developed on the new three-year development cycle. This fresh talent and extra year of work paid off big time, because Advanced Warfare is the best CoD in years. Set in 2054, CoD:AW sees you playing as Private Jack Mitchell, who, following the loss of his left arm in the battlefield, is recruited by a major private military corporation and hooked up with an advanced prosthetic arm. What follows is arguably the best CoD campaign since Modern Warfare: it has all the action and future gadgetry you’d expect from a game called Advanced Warfare, but it also has plenty of unique sections that are unlike anything we’ve seen in previous games (a stealth sequence involving a grappling hook is a particular highlight). All that just acts as training for the multiplayer though, where you’ll be able to put everything you’ve learned into practice. The biggest new mechanic is the Exo suit, a hydraulic framework that allows its user to double jump, boost, dash and slide around the game’s wartorn environments. In the campaign it’s a bonus, in multiplayer it’s downright revolutionary, as the added manoeuvarability completely changes the pace and flow of matches. It can take a little while to fully realise the potential of the suit, but once you do, Advanced Warfare becomes an incredibly addictive ballet of chaos.
Game review
by Matthew Girdler, computing graduate from Plymouth University
PS3/PS4
LIT T LE BIG PLANET 3 / developed by SUMO DIGITAL /PUBLISHED BY SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT One complaint that’s consistently levelled against the big game publishers is that they lack creativity. Companies like Ubisoft, EA and Activision are often criticised for failing to innovate, instead churning out sequel after sequel of their most popular franchises. However, one series that’s always valued creativity and innovation above all is Little Big Planet. While the fact that this is the first numbered sequel not to be developed by Media Molecule didn’t inspire much confidence, LBP3 is another strong entry that adds plenty of new toys and tools for players and creators alike. In a series tradition, the game opens with a live-action video accompanied by some excruciatingly quaint narration from Stephen Fry. Mentions of “imagispheres” and “cerebrum-bilical cords” are particularly cringe-inducing. Ignoring the occasional questionable portmanteau though, Little Big Planet’s patchwork universe continues to be a charming and eye-catching one. Its good looks come more from design than any technical feat, though; the PS4 version runs at a higher resolution and frame rate, and probably includes a texture upgrade too, but there’s not much to discern this entry from previous ones - at least visually. Thankfully, the opposite is true of the gameplay. While it would’ve been easy for Sumo Digital to churn out what would effectively be a content pack for LBP2, it’s clear that the studio has made a real effort to expand upon the series. The main addition is that of three new playable characters - Oddsock, a dog-like creature who can run and jump on walls; Toggle, who gets his name from being able to toggle between the strong and heavy Big Toggle, and the small but fast Small Toggle; and Swoop, a sack-bird that can fly, glide and carry objects with its talons. In addition to the heroes, there are six new gadgets that can be wielded by Sackboy, including a gun that can shoot or suck air, boots that give you the ability to double jump, a hat that allows you to ride on rails and a gun that can be used to teleport around levels. Creators can even make their own gadgets, opening up the realms of possibility even further.
Another big improvement has been made in the game’s layer system. Whereas previous entries had levels confined to three playable layers, LBP3 allows creators to use a whopping 16 layers of depth. This addition is put to particularly good use in a top-down platforming level that had the character bouncing up towards the screen - something which wouldn’t have been possible in previous games. The single-player is littered with interesting levels and sections like this, and I can only imagine the novel creations that will come in the next few months.
Like many players, I’ve always guiltily enjoyed playing the LBP community’s levels, without ever putting the time in to create one myself. Thankfully, level creation has been made more accessible than ever - Sumo Digital have included a huge number of tutorials to help players, and they’ve been ‘gamified’ with objectives for the player to complete using their new creative knowledge. Unlike most tutorials, these ones are actually fun and are likely to inspire a whole host of players to get creating - myself included. Overall, Little Big Planet 3 is a resounding success. Sumo Digital had the unenviable task of taking on one of Sony’s franchises, and pulled it off with gusto. A more technical advancement to go with the new hardware would’ve been nice, but the new additions are numerous and significant enough to ensure plenty of ambitious and exciting content from the Little Big Planet community.
BOOK review
by Chloe Smith, creative writing student from Marjons
I AM PILGRIM Terry Hayes /PUBLISHED BY BANTAM PRESS
I Am Pilgrim is the debut novel of former journalist and screenwriter, Terry Hayes. His previous works involve writing for the big screen with films such as Mad Max and Dead Calm – a film that launched Nicole Kidman on to the Hollywood scene and created her career. As well as Nicole Kidman, Hayes has also worked alongside the likes of Johnny Depp and Mel Gibson. Terry’s novel follows the career of secret service agent Scott Murdoch (or is it Brodie Wilson, Peter Campbell… or Pilgrim?). As terrorism, murder, and subterfuge come together in an assortment of investigations which all lead to one person Saracen. In a gripping bestselling thriller of 2014, Hayes brings to the fore current cultural and social anxieties of the modern era making it a believably exhilarating and authentic novel to read. Hayes’ narrative follows the mysterious yet highly intelligent mind of Scott Murdoch, a man working for an unknown sector of the secret service in America. A modern Batman archetype – he has no living relatives (having been orphaned at a young age), and his job involves saving the lives of millions undercover with fake aliases. Murdoch is a modest character telling the reader how he made mistakes by not noticing out of place objects or people, and his regrets with his adoptive parents. Hayes creates a believable, realistic, and imperfect character who is relatable to any reader. On the opposite side of the story is Saracen – a muj from Saudi Arabia similar in character to Murdoch. Saracen changes his identity multiple times to evade the prying eyes of the American government and is also both mysterious and highly intelligent. It is Saracen’s intelligence which leads Murdoch in to the heart of the West’s fight against terrorists from the east and may ultimately lead to devastating consequences. Hayes plays a twist on the war against the East presenting an unknown and unidentifiable threat that Murdoch must unravel. Playing on anxieties of terrorism and war, Hayes creates a plausible and all too realistic setting which could potentially lead to the end of the greatest superpower ever known. When I first picked up the book, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. With a habit of not reading the synopsis and plunging myself head first in to the deep end, I went against the norm. The novel’s synopsis however is short and snappy; giving no details away of the story behind I Am Pilgrim. This drew me in immediately. I wanted to find out who this “young woman murdered in a run-down Manhatten hotel” was and why there were “smouldering human remains on a mountainside in the Hindu Kush.” It is from this synopsis that you realise there is more going on than you originally thought on separate sides of the world.
BEST OF 2014: MUSIC
by Seth Haney
You could spend the rest of your life arguing about the best albums of any given year. It’s always a very subjective, personal choice. Great records come into your life over the course of 12 months, you rant and rave to your mates about the music that’s blowin’ your tiny mind and they either agree, disagree, or think you’re just plain mental that you’re rocking out to an album of Guatemalan finger cymbal solos. So, without prejudice or judgement, I bring to you my favourite albums of 2014. There’s something for most of you in here. Please note, although these records are numbered, that in no way reflects my preference for these albums. I just like some order in my life. 1. Warpaint - Warpaint If I had to walk away with one album from 2014 it would be a close call with this second, eponymous record. The lush twin vocals of Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman combine with their hypnotic playing and inspirational drumming of Stella Mozgawa, producing one of the best dream pop records of the last ten years. They knocked out a great set at Glastonbury in 2014 to boot.
Warpaint
2. Mica Levi - Under The Skin OST This, to your lager swilling mates, is the film where Scarlett Johansson gets her kit off. To the initiated, this is the creepiest soundtrack to the most mind-bending film of 2014. If you can listen to the whole record without fear of alien seduction and consumption, then you clearly didn’t watch closely enough. Not an album for a dark night.
twenty nine
best of 2014: music
yielded great reward for repeated listens.
Flying Lotus SBTRKT
Lamar track deeper than the one dropped here. 4. Shit Robot - We Got A Love If you’re not hip to the stellar output of DFA Records, this could be the album that gives you the necessary in. 90s House through a thoroughly millennial lens provides enough modern grooves to throw shapes long into any big night. Pro tip: the vinyl sounds so much better than the digital release.
Shit Robot
The first solo debut from Chairlift singer, Caroline Polacheck, is a solo record in the truest of forms. Record in seclusion with only a laptop, the album creates a lush sounding record with expansive vocal performances. From the co-writer of Beyonce’s ‘No Angel’, this is the flip side of slick R’n’B.
Ramona Lisa
5. Session Victim - See You When You Get There Contrary to popular opinion, not all European dance music is all cold angles. The German duo, Session Victim, spent most of 2014 record this Jazz and breaks inflected House record in the sunny environment of San Francisco. The vitamin D encased in this record is more than enough of your recommended daily allowance.
8. Jess Williamson - Native State From the opening of ‘Blood Song’, you are swept up into the dry, acrid sound of Austin, Texas. It’s a short, sharp record that floors you with its emotional palette. There’s plenty of banjo, guitar and slide on this record to please any fan of wooden music. Don’t call it country though, this record more than elevates itself above genre.
Session Victim
Jess Williamson
Mica Levi
6. Flying Lotus - You’re Dead!
3. SBTRKT - Wonder Where We Land ‘New York New Dorp’ had the weirdest name for a song that everyone seemed to love in 2014. It also came ahead of an album that defies categorisation. Sure, Sampha returned to bang out some great sounding songs. It also had one of the best hip-hop tracks of the year hidden away at the end of the record. ‘Voices In My Head’
7. Ramona Lisa - Arcadia
FlyLo upped the stakes in 2014. With his contemporaries still caught up in the world of guns and ho’s, he brought out a dark, simmering meditation on death. It’s a powerful record that spins the idea of hip-hop into ink-black reaches of the cosmos. From the artwork on, this record still takes you on Interstellar-like journeys long after the first, initial exploratory listens. You’ll never hear a Kendrick
9. Illum Sphere - Spectre Vex ‘Spectre Vex’ serves as the remix album for Illum Sphere’s fulllength album ‘Ghosts Of Then And Now’. This is worth the admission for Lone’s remix of ‘Embryonic’ alone. A pulsing, modern, sleek reshape of a record that just missed out inclusion on this list. This is the chill-out record you missed out on.
Illum Sphere
thirty
music reviews / dust piggies
MUSIC
REVIEWS by Seth Haney
CURRENT BLACK MESSIAH / D’ANGELO RCA
I’d love to shake D’Angelo by the hand. The dude hasn’t released an album since ‘Voodoo’ in 2000 and he comes back with one of the strongest releases of the year.
This is a modern soul record with social awareness and emotional depth that is lacking in so much of the genre in 2014. In ‘The Charade’ he sets out feelings on the state of racial equality at this point in the US. Elsewhere, tracks like Sugah Daddy, Back To The Future (Part 1) and Prayer drift out of your speakers with grooves that not even modern day Prince could concoct. I seriously love this album. It’s one of the biggest releases for 2014 and you should be playing it loud from the end of this sentence.
CLASSIC LONDON CALLING / THE CLASH CBS/EPIC/LEGACY
melds all of his many influences into a multi-headed monster. It’s a beguiling experience to travel into this album. No matter how many times I sat down to listen, I found details in the music that I hadn’t heard before.
girth. There’s plenty here that strays from the cliche of ‘77 fury and that’s what makes it a thoroughbred classic. It highlights a band as its peak power. The songwriting of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones is as strong as Lennon/ McCartney at their zenith. I don’t need to tell the best songs of this record but I do urge you to make it your first purchase of 2015.
From the magical opening of Crystal to the languid funk underpinning Psuedoscience, via the symphonic dubstep head-fuck of Synth0ny and onto the album’s jewel, A Symphony Of Colours, you really get to visit all of the far reaches of Simon’s mind. It’s a journey worth taking with a true maestro as your guide and I can’t wait to hear more.
LOCAL EUNEIROPHRENIA
Very few artists can do that. Just look at the mess of ‘Chinese Democracy’ by Guns ‘n’ Roses. With no promotion and no hype, he casually drops it at the quietest time of the year for new releases and sits back to watch the ripples.
Double albums are the ultimate folly of the music industry. For every Blonde on Blonde, there’s a Stadium Arcadium. A double album can showcase the greatest facets an artist’s work, it can also highlight a band too bloated and unsure of itself to do anything else but blow their wad over two long hours. It’s tricky to get it right. That’s why London Calling, in all its foursided vinyl glory, earns its place in the pantheon of great double records. It’s beguiling that a “punk” band even had the nerve to put an album out with such
/ SIMON DOBSON SELF-FUNDED
You’ve probably seen Simon Dobson blasting his horn with the deliciously funky Freshly Squeezed. You may not know, however, that this brother is a serious musical mad genius, capable of scoring war films and writing beautiful, stirring classical pieces like Journey Of The Lone Wolf. On Euneirophrenia, his debut album, he
w w w.dustpiggie s.com
thirty one
agony aunt ellie
If you would like Ellie to help you with your problems, send us over an email at hello@ps-zine.com
agony aunt ellie Ellie likes tea, cats and tie-dye. She doesn’t like snakes and when her friends are sad. We thought that was the best criteria for an agony aunt we’d ever heard. I’m a second year student and I’ve just completed my first term of house sharing. I’m having a few problems with my house mates…they don’t clear up after themselves and they wake me up when they come home pissed pretty much every night. I’m also certain one of them has been stealing my food. I’m not good at confrontation, so I’ve let it slide until now, but I’m feeling so miserable about it all I’m now thinking about moving out. Can you give me any advice as to how to make things better? I’m really struggling... Thanks. 12 years ago, my house mates shat into a milk bottle and left it in our mate’s wardrobe, shaved their hairy, student balls into his bed and donned his girlfriend’s underwear FOR A LAUGH. Cruel? Yes. Unusual? Not so much. I’m telling you this for two reasons: Firstly, in hindsight, these things are fucking hilarious. We’re all still friends and reminisce with fondness of a time when our main concern was getting away with stealing condiments from Goodbodies (sorry Goodbodies!). Secondly, your situation could be A LOT worse. Living in a shared house brings a world of shit and to some extent you just have to grow a pair and put up with it. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t tolerate bullying, but equally you need to consider whether it is really worth the emotional energy you invest in getting upset about things that are, to be frank, completely typical student behaviours. Stealing food is unreasonable, and needs to be addressed, but if your housemates want to go out on a bender every night, there’s shit all you can do about it. Sometimes the best solution (short of sound-proofing your room, sticking blue tack in your ears and blacking out your eyeballs) is to JOIN IN. One day, you’ll be sitting in your house with a handful of dribbling children and the only thing keeping you awake will be the inevitable misery that accompanies getting older…so maybe have a go at having a social life, yeah? Where the not clearing up/stealing food is concerned, these things are fairly universal, but this is not to say that they can’t be improved. Shared living is a big part of the growing up process, and whilst you may not be confrontational in nature, you need to learn to be…starting today. Call a house meeting (bring beer if it helps) and tell your friends what the problems are. Though I can’t guarantee with absolute certainty that they won’t bite, it’s very unlikely, and you will feel better for airing
your concerns. Often in these situations, it’s a case of ‘better the devil you know’. The perpetrators in this scenario are your friends, and as such should respect your feelings. Moving out won’t help your situation; you’ll only find yourself in the same, sinking boat with a group of people you don’t know. Shared living can be a lot of fun, and as a youngling, that should be a priority. Say your piece, chill out and ride with it. Good luck! I’m a 22 year old male, and I’m a virgin. It really isn’t important to me whether I have sex or not, but my friends never stop going on about it. They’re always taking the piss or trying to set me up with girls on nights out. How can I get it across to them that I’m just not interested? What the fuck is wrong with you?? I’m joking, of course. I’m intuitively inclined to offer you a round of applause and a pat on the back for being so brave and admitting to being a virgin, but actually, that’s not the issue here. The very fact that being a 22 year old virgin is still taboo when LGBT and other minority groups are becoming (rightfully) more and more accepted as a normal part of society is nothing short of ridiculous. So no congratulations to you, sorry. You’re a normal bloke, and you need neither applause nor pity for the decisions you make about if and when you decide to have sex.
more about white privilege and I can no longer ignore this problem. Like the other day, I had cut my finger at work and went to get a plaster. It was then that I realised that the ‘skin coloured’ tone of the plaster isn’t skin coloured at all, it’s caucasian. White people are so widely represented, and we are ignorant. As a white man in a racially prejudiced world, how can I use my white skin privilege to address the issues that are getting more and more obvious to me? Single handedly you’ll be hard pushed to change the world, but on a local level, through consciously acknowledging your own white skin privileges and educating your peers, you could really make a difference. Your question led me to do some digging, and shamefully I found no evidence of an anti-racism society at either the University of Plymouth or Plymouth College of Art. It’s embarrassing at best, particularly when the list of societies includes groups devoted to Pokemon, Harry Potter and FUCKING JUGGLING! I mean juggling is fine, but I was under the distinct impression that universities were full of intellectuals and academics, hell-bent on changing the world and saving lives and creating amazing and wonderful things. But you know, juggle if you want guys…I’ve heard there is a LOT of scope for promotion in the circus.
Bonne chance, flower.
Start a society or a group or a club or a blog or write a cheeky little article for PS Mag. Get a following and raise awareness. Though born of ignorance and fascist ideals, there are some battles a black man can’t fight for risk of being perceived to be conforming to the ‘angry black man’ stereotype, but using your white privilege to fight along-side minority groups against racism would be a great step towards cultivating the social equilibrium we all want. Through highlighting seemingly trivial issues such as the colour of plasters or ‘nude’ underwear, people will begin to consider their own white skin privilege and will hopefully, in turn, join the fight for a balanced and all-accepting society. Reflecting on your position as a white man and recognising how your life might be different if you were coloured requires deep insight, and I applaud you for your desire to use this for the benefit of others. Compassion is contagious, and the PS team will do everything to support this cause.
So considering the latest news, especially in the US, highlighting racism, police brutality and the prejudice many ethnicities face every day, I am learning more and
Good luck, and thanks for bringing this issue to our readers’ attention. #illridewithyou.
Unfortunately, in regards to getting this across to your mates, you may have a battle on your hands. The majority of twentysomethings are heavily driven by their sexual desires, and as such the concept of being asexual is probably pretty alien to most of your peers. The only small consolation I can offer is that you can retaliate hard when one of them ends up with herpes. The most important thing to focus on here is that you are happy with your sexual behaviours. Don’t feel pressured to do something you don’t want to do, and don’t let the bastards get you down. As long as you are confident in who and what you are, they can’t touch you. Rise above it and be the better man…after all, your manliness isn’t a measurement of how many holes your dick has been in, and it would serve most people well to remember that.