Matthew Palladino, ‘The Room’, 32” x 26”, watercolour and ink on paper, 2020
We are excited to begin 2021 with our thirtieth issue
In Galway, Ireland, NewDad have been turning heads and
and a magazine that is full of exciting prospects for the
slowly taking over the radio. We zoom the four piece and
year ahead. One band who are ready to seize the new
discover their beginnings, art direction and where they
year is Dry Cleaning and they’re on the cover. As the
can’t wait to play next.
band prepares to release their debut album ‘New Long Leg’ via 4AD, we catch up with them and discuss how
From a warehouse in East London, Nuha Ruby Ra talks
they’ve filled the pandemic silence with gear and volume.
us through her upcoming debut EP, ‘How To Move’ as
Denmark’s Iceage are another band ready to unleash
well as her artist residency in Margate. One album that
an album this year. With a move to label, Mexican
has already seen the light of day is Robbie & Mona’s
Summer, complete, we speak with frontman, Elias Bender
‘EW’. The Bristol duo spare a few minutes with us to chat
Rønnenfelt about the new album, religion and focusing on
David Lynch, building atmospheres and creative spaces.
what’s next.
Photographer, Will Reid is fast becoming the go-to for a lot of exciting new bands that are emerging, creating
In London, deathcrash have had a busy twelve months.
really stand out pieces to accompany their releases. We got
Touring their brand of post-rock with Black Country,
to know more about his process and career so far. You’ll
New Road and releasing a string of singles, the band have
not find a more interesting journey than that of Oracle
emerged as a post pandemic must see. We give the band
Sisters. The band’s roots span far and their adventures
a zoom call to chat about the London guitar scene and
wider. We catch them between ‘Paris I’ and ‘Paris II’ to
switching the focus from social media to just releasing
reflect on singing Irish songs with Fontaines D.C. and
music. A similar stance is shared by Glasgow sibling
sounding like ‘being in love’. Rounding off the issue, we
outfit, Comfort. Excited by their take on politically
speak to Liverpool’s Courting and Amsterdam’s Personal
charged, industrial art-punk, we sent over some questions
Trainer about their imminent debut EPs, brothers, Sons of
to find out about their charity work, their relationship with
Raphael who are gearing up to release their debut LP and
Slow Dance and shouting “SCUM” at Tories.
head to New York where Palberta have released their fifth album ‘Palberta5000’.
3 Nuha Ruby Ra How To Move 8 Personal Trainer Gazebo 11 Robbie & Mona EW 16 Palberta Palberta5000 20 Dry Cleaning Scratchcard Lanyard 24 NewDad Waves 29 Will Reid Fucking new builds, man
31 Comfort Received Life 33 Oracle Sisters Paris 38 Sons of Raphael Full Throated Messianic Homage 42 Courting David Byrne’s Badside 45 Iceage Seek Shelter 49 deathcrash Bind
East London’s “Avant-Punk Queen”, Nuha Ruby Ra, is a
I wanted to do that! But I touched the water and thought...
self-manifested icon in every sense of the sentiment and
maybe not. I’d have to do lots of ‘Wim Hof breathing’
about as intrinsically authentic as Yoko Ono sipping the
for a month in advance. Maybe we could start with cold
nectar of life straight out of a Grapefruit.
showers.
Whilst the going may be stagnant and the hustle’s even
There go all my questions about you being in a
tougher; if we’ve learnt anything at all in our times of
lighthouse...
recent chaos, it’s that as much as we prepare for the worst, life can still be pretty damn unpredictable. For
It looked incredible, there was a red light on all the time
Nuha, a lifetime spent as a cosmic soul-shifter, ‘Vicious
which was amazing. I went to visit it a few times - it
Collective’ legend and rightfully respected multi-
was within close proximity. Have you seen the film
disciplinary artist, was the golden ticket to securing a
‘The Lighthouse’? It’s so good. I watched it the week
Green Man Festival slot via the publicly voted ‘Green
before I went to Margate which is probably why I was
Man Rising’ Competition.
attracted to the lighthouse. It’s like a visual poem, very claustrophobic.
Green Man may, or may not, come to fruition this year... only time will tell. If it’s certainty you’re after and
Surely that would hit quite close to home at the
some pluck that’s been lovingly scrawled into the stars,
moment...
then look no further than Ruby Ra’s debut EP ‘How to Move’; an offering that will well and truly re-tune our
Save it for a day you’re not trapped indoors.
heart-strings for the better, and bring some atmospheric goodness to any future gathering’s, and respectfully wet,
How have you found being trapped indoors? I know
Welsh, and “annually” glorious main stage’s.
you were recording at our friend Dec’s home studio; the ‘Voodoo-Saloon’.
Let’s all join seismic-forces as we welcome Nuha Ruby Ra to her much-deserved spotlight of vivaciously down-to-
I love Dec. I spent November at his cabin which was super
earth iridescence. It’s about fucking time.
nice and I started writing the new record. Then I came back to London and was offered this residency. It feels
I was kinda hoping you’d be in a lighthouse right now...
nice to have the time to do that.
Nuha: Ah no! I wasn’t actually in a lighthouse...although
How do you find routine’s then? Because Dec’s cabin
I wish I was. I was doing an artist residency in Margate. I
is also where he’s living, and the same goes for the
love being by the sea in winter, you can have a better time
Warehouse scene you’re currently based in; that’s your
being connected with nature.
home, studio, and it’s a performance space too?
I have a family friend in Denmark who insists on
The warehouse has been my home for many years and I
skinny dipping every day no matter the weather. She’s
owe so much to the energy of the space. I live with ten
in her 60’s...
other people as a minimum and they’re all really good friends of mine.
3
Words by Al Mills, illustration by Andrew Tseng
But I find when it’s time to buckle down, when I need to
Yeah!! It’s definitely a bit sassy: “I’ll show you how to
be in my ‘bubble’, I have to find somewhere else.
move”... but it’s essentially for me; following that journey of how to move from one point to another.
Good for your mental health too... There’s a theory to that. Rudolph Laban’s Yeah! I’m insanely blessed to have such talented people
‘Kinetography’- codes of movement you project on to
in my life. When you come from a DIY background,
life! “Movement is existence and action is existence...”
you have to help each other out. I’m a big believer in
it’s very existential.
collective and personal energy. Once you start to tune in to energy, you realise we do operate as one. My best friend
One of the biggest excitements for me in art is continuous
Billie Turnbull directed the video for ‘Erase Me’ and is
exploration- exercising as much as possible a lack of
the kind of friend who I instinctively trust. She’d never
judgement to any practise or genre. The best way to
worked with video before but I trusted her to do a great
express yourself for your own benefit is through dance.
job. It’s been really lovely to be able to help as much as I’ve been helped.
I’m quite good at lunging...
You’re collaborative, but it’s your own name on the
I just want to go into rooms with people and like, throw
record. Do you consider yourself a solo artist?
some abstract shapes. I love the multi-disciplinary Bruce Nauman. My background is in fine art and with someone
It was definitely scary to use my name but the songs I’m
like him, if I look at his work individually...I really
writing are very personal and honest so I figured fuck it,
appreciate it. But, if you go to a retrospective of his work,
I’m gonna go that extra mile and be vulnerable. It keeps
it all makes sense; you understand that person and how
the authenticity with myself really important.
they work - the medium is almost secondary. The way I get excited about creating is from that sensibility - you
Eno has a theory that as soon as you put voice to music,
project out of an energy and into it too.
it invites people to assume the narrative is yours. How do you work with narrative voice?
It’s like...your soul’s the house in The Great Gatsby! Sometimes, you have to project that green light out and
With this collection of songs I didn’t plan on being
other times you’re standing across the water waiting to
confessional; there’s no character. It was an exercise of
be beamed at.
honesty and the personal journey has resolved a lot of things. It’s nice to see growth.
I think we get each other.
I’m obsessed with how personable music can be when
This is what happens when you Zoom at 11am. A nice
attached to a memory...
word association here would be Green Man...
It’s magic! There’s been times, even in doing live-streams,
That’s, to be honest, the thing I’ve been most excited
where I’ll be performing ‘Run Run’ off the EP and I’ll get
about for a while. It really meant a lot to me. I feel so
really emotional. It took me by surprise; in happy ways
happy I get to play it for the first time this way.
too. My most special moment of last year was finding out. I I go on a lot of tangents but that idea of physical
didn’t expect to win at all. I can’t explain the feeling when
progression and the fact your EP is literally called
they said my name. I’ll always remember it, feeling like
‘How to Move’...it got me so excited.
someone gets you - it means the world. I really hope it happens.
5
Nuha Ruby Ra
Joe Cruz, ‘28 Barbly Road’ - Scanner Photography, Ink Jet Print
Have you recently found yourself staring out of a window
So how many members actually are there now
for a solid half hour, pondering the who, what, where,
specifically?
when and why we are once again stuck ambling idly behind closed doors…then proceed to forget why you
W: 7 or 8 mostly, but we’ve had about 20 different
even entered that room in the first place (cue an extra 15
members up to now.
minutes of pondering)? One band that have yet to succumb to this cabin fever slump are Amsterdam post-punk outfit,
How did you come to join Sports Team’s label, Holm
Personal Trainer.
Front? I can only imagine the behind-the-scenes antics that they get up to...
Having signed to Sports Team’s burgeoning indie label, Holm Front and with their debut EP ‘gazebo’ set for
W: My girlfriend’s in Pip Blom and she used to play
release later this month, we caught up with frontman,
with them. She did a tour with them in England and they
Willem Smit and bassist, Casper van der Lans of the band
became friends. I organise these gig nights in Amsterdam
to pull us out of our lockdown comatose.
and I invited them to play there together with Pip. We played too and after they saw our set they said (something
I see that I’m talking to you guys in Amsterdam today.
along the lines of) ‘hey we like your sound’ and wanted to
What’s the mood currently like amongst musicians in
put us out.
the Netherlands? It’s all gone to shit here in the UK... Sounds about right, all the best things happen at Willem: I think same here, there’s not a lot of shows.
gigs. I can’t wait to get my ears round your debut
We had a couple of months where we did a few concerts
EP ‘Gazebo’. What was it like to work on both the
for 30 people on chairs. It was fun to try because you’ve
recording and production together? I can imagine
really got to maintain the energy yourself and you have to
recording with an ever-shifting line up poses its own
work harder. It’s good practise I guess, but I want to do
challenges?
proper shows again. Casper: It differs. It’s always Willem writing and demoing Definitely – it’s good to see that you’re taking the
the songs and then we look into it together, usually at my
positives. Willem, you appear to be the eye of the storm
place where we are now. We look at the arrangement and
that makes up Personal Trainer. How did you find your
take things away and add others. At times we record with
fellow band members and is the line-up ever changing?
full band but usually we work from the demo. There’s a song that we recorded on the EP in Bristol with the guys
W: First I was in a band called Canshaker Pi. I then
from Home Counties.
wanted to do something by myself but when I tried playing it live for the first time, I decided that I actually
W: Oh yeah - Will played guitar, Connor recorded it and
wanted a bigger band than the band that I was already in.
Ollie was filming. It was fun and from that we used a live
So, then I just asked more and more people to join and
recording. We also recorded with Dan from Bull during a
after a while I liked the idea of changing the line up all
tour we did in England.
the time and keeping things new at every show. It’s settled down now a bit. We have a ‘proper band’ I guess.
Words by Laura Pegler, illustration by Anna Boulogne
8
It’s nice to see that a couple of British bands have
Gigging is arguably crucial to an emerging band’s
snuck their way in there! Regarding the lyricism that
success. How have you fared with touring in the past
underpins the EP, what fundamental concepts and
and do you have hopes of getting out on the road again
ideas did you decide to explore?
this year?
W: There’s never an overarching theme, it’s more like a
C: So far we’ve done one tour outside of Holland. That
collection of rock songs. When I write lyrics, I think I
was supporting Pip Blom which was great because
focus mostly on the way it sounds at first and then try and
they’re all also friends of ours. We’ve crashed on people’s
perfect and shape it into this abstract thing. I prefer lyrics
floors…
that are a little abstract and open to interpretation. It’s mostly just nonsense (laughs)!
W: Yeah! That was nice…sometimes. We stayed at this one place in Brussels, it was the first night and we slept on
To be fair, I think that a lot of punk music sounds
the floor and this guy sang…what did he sing?
like nonsense and that’s why we like it! Looking now to your music videos, there’s a certain charm which
C: He was playing VR games and had insomnia, so he
comes from their DIY aesthetic. Willem, I am simply
was going to do that all night long. He was drunk singing
envious of your uninhibited dance moves. Who’s the
‘Creep’ and ‘Mad World’ and yelling whilst we were on
brains behind the operation?
the floor trying to sleep in the room right next to it.
W: Our percussion player Guillaume mainly does the
W: That was one of the tougher experiences. But mostly
videos or the two of us do it together. We like the idea
that tour was really fun! Pip asked people to come early
of making videos ourselves and showing the fun we’re
to see us, so we played to packed rooms which was really
having. We don’t think about it too much honestly, it’s just
special and a good opportunity if you’re starting out in
fun.
a new country. For the coming year we’re hoping to tour but it’s really hard to tell if anything’s going to work out.
I see that you’re taking the phrase ‘no half measures’
We’re trying but this situation is hard to predict.
to extremes… Please can you explain just how on earth you plan to be the first band ever to play two shows, at
As 2021 does play out, what can we expect to hear from
two separate venues at the same time?
you guys after the EP release?
W: Yes - although I do want to keep that a secret for the
Willem: We’re making new stuff now so maybe we’ll
Dutchies here. I came up with the idea because we did
release more music by the end of the year, but it’s all
a ‘different line up every time’ sort of thing and I was
really hard to tell at the moment. We’re just going to try
the only person that was always there. I thought that
and do as much as possible so that when the possibility
that was a little arrogant so I decided maybe I should be
is there, we’ll definitely be in the UK and coming to see
replaceable too. Then I thought it would be cool to be the
you!
first band to play two shows at the same time. I don’t want to give away too much sorry (laughs)! I think you’re probably the first frontman in history who wants to be replaceable...
9
Personal Trainer
Matthew Palladino, ‘Still Life With Fruit’, 53” x 41” x 4”, enamel and plaster on panel, 2014
Rising surrealist dream-team, Robbie & Mona are
I’ve watched Will experience this when all our equipment
creatures of their own habitual oddities. Both members
is at the studio and for some reason we can’t get to
of Bristol cult band, Pet Shimmers, the couple-come-
the studio that day; he gets depressed. I don’t do
creative-powerhouse are well and truly manifesting their
transcendental meditation like Lynch promotes...I want to
self-described “scrap-book glitch pop” daydreams as they
but my focus is so bad. I have my own intuitive ways of
gear up to release their debut record ‘EW’ via Spinny
getting to the deeper fish.
Nights. You’ve said your live-shows focus on atmosphere over It goes without saying that we’re currently living in an
performative accuracy. Is there a vulnerability in
exceptionally dazed and confused era. When Oz and
playing with such experimental chance when you’re an
his ‘yellow brick road’ seem better constructed, and
‘up-and-coming’ act?
theoretically more reliable than our own ‘powers above’, you know the path ahead is gonna be a long-winded and
Will: No I don’t think so, does the world need another safe
civically peculiar one to say the least.
electronic duo project?
The going’s gotten tougher but our hearts are collectively
E: I think once you’ve been with the songs for a while
tied together by chords of beating self-reflection. Take
they no longer feel that experimental or odd. They’re non-
a bite from the green apple and unwind with Robbie &
linear, but still ‘poppy’ and accessible.
Mona. You know you want to, life’s bizarre enough as it Does building an atmosphere come before conveying a
is.
message? Do you believe in David Lynch’s theory of ideas being “like fish”?
E: Building an atmosphere, a mood, a colour, sometimes a message comes without intending it to. Lyrically and
Ellie: I remember reading his book on this and really
vocally, it’s mostly all written within a state of automatism
resonating with the description of how if an idea doesn’t
as I feel I can trust my spontaneous way of expressing. It
come into fruition it’s a bit like heartache, and to avoid
also feels more authentic...
this you need to give attention to the environment you create in. If your space isn’t right then all those creative
W: We like our songs to be interpretive, allowing the
moments can’t get grounded.
person who’s listening to use their imagination.
11
Words by Al Mills, illustration by Darren Shaddick
What are your work habits like when living and
E: Yes! HSP’s! I get socially anxious. I’d like to watch
creating with each other as people and as creative
everyone like a cinema without having to interact.
partners? W: There’s a great documentary on the ‘Cathars’ presented W: We live it, we eat it. It engulfs us in a red velvety
by Tony Robinson on YouTube. Every day I like to watch
curtain. This can also be a downfall because I struggle to
an episode of ‘Michael Palin’s: Pole To Pole’ which
sleep...
predates my birth and wonder: “where the fuck was I?”
E: It can be tricky sharing a bedroom; using it as a
One of my favourite books is ‘Fen: Stories’ by Daisy
studio and a personal space through lockdown within a
Johnson and I see a lot of parallels between her writing
tiny shared house with no living room. I like it all being
and yours. (in context, Fen is a book of stories that are
immersed, there’s no edge, it’s all one world.
intrinsically hard to explain; eg: a tale of a girl turning into an eel, puts life into the taboo of anorexia).
As members of another band, is there ever any pressure to fill new and uncharted spaces with this project?
You’ve got a line that goes: “Gradually her spine floated up and out, tongue licking each vertebra coiling
E: I don’t feel it as a pressure or a result of needing to fill
out as she choked on her own distress.” Is there any
new spaces really. I’ve always wanted to do a project like
‘surrealist realism’ here?
this but wasn’t able to do it on my own. When I met Will, he completely got it and it worked.
E: I suppose it describes that slightly dissociative feeling of self and body, but also that internal, suffocating,
Do you consider Robbie & Mona alter-ego’s?
panic... basically madness. Breathy, panicky, corporeal fear.
E: They’re actually the names of my dead dogs from when I grew up! When we first got together doing music we
Do you think surrealism acts as a mental block or a
were a bit sideways and barking into the microphone... it
subconscious aid to self-reflection?
kind of went from there. Robbie was really neurotic and scatty, Mona was quiet and docile.
E: I imagine lots of very ‘straight-edged-victim-to-ourmaterialistic-society’ type people get really frightened of
Are you naturally drawn to personal escapism?
the weird things that pop into their head or fear obscurity.
E: Yes. I watch my moods drastically change depending
I read surrealism can be found within realism- showing
on the ‘reality’ I’m in. If I’ve listened to something like
reality to be multifaceted rather than fixed, secure, or
Leonard Cohen, I feel elated; everything feels broader,
continuously comprehensible. With songwriting, I try
more playful.
and approach it like doodling, just kind of allowing and trusting whatever comes out, then later with an ‘editing’
W: A good pillow is my escapism.
kind of brain, [I’ll] be a bit more conscious piecing it together.
Songwriting (and art in general) is for the most part heralded as cathartic. Would you consider yourselves
You’re pretty vocal about your cinematic influences
as observationally sensitive people?
(Chytilova & Lynch particularly) Why are ‘Daisies’ and ‘Blue Velvet’ important to you?
W: Yes, I like to watch and judge people. E: They’re really attractive films. The humour and nonlinear aspect of ‘Daisies’ feels freeing and mischievous.
13
Robbie & Mona
When I begin my bit doing our songs, it feels like a
W: Yes and no. I would love to think our music could
similar feeling; trusting myself to go on a non-linear,
elevate some visual art but then on the other hand... we
nonsensical but also very sensical, little inner-voyage.
made it for people to appreciate with headphones on staring at a blank wall.
‘Blue Velvet’ is delicious in terms of its characters, colours, mood, and off-kilter-ness. Watching these always
How much is Bristol tied in to your sense of identity?
just puts us in that excited mood to create a world. E: I’ve lived here for around 10 years, and weirdly I’d say Has lockdown changed your relationship with film and
it doesn’t. Dartmoor does however. Dartmoor is where I
the interpretation of your own music?
grew up as a teenager and I think it really knitted itself into me.
W: During the first lockdown I spent a lot of time playing the piano and this has definitely shaped the way we’ve
W: I haven’t lived in Bristol long so I don’t feel it has
written our second album.
shaped my identity.’. although the people I’ve met in Bristol have shaped my musical output massively.
E: I think because we’ve been seeing less ‘current music’, we’ve become more influenced by things like ‘Barbara
What’s next?
Streisand’ and 70’s duo ‘R&J Stone’. We realised we really wanna make some ballads for our second album...
W: Album two and we’re moving to London!
Cabaret Voltaire recorded a “largely improvised” soundtrack for Babeth Mondini’s 1979 film ‘Chance Versus Casuality’- a film the band themselves had never seen. Does your own dream-pop lend itself better to cinematic experimentation?
@darren.shaddick
14
Palberta One would usually be forgiving of a band for releasing
It’s sad that we can’t tour and see people reacting to our
a somewhat fatigued and overly polished record by the
album in real life but we hope that this album can still
time of their fifth outing. Such is the desensitising effect
bring a moment of joy to people in a time when little
of the staid linear narrative that the music industry most
about the news feels positive. But yes - we really miss
often ascribes to, it’s sad to say that by the time a band
touring. It’s one of the most engaging ways to share music
reaches such critical mass, it’s almost expected for an
and it seems as though that will have to wait until 2022!
album to arrive that is seemingly stripped of the magic of Your records have always shown a propensity for
its predecessors.
melodic prowess, often bursting at the seams with Brooklyn’s DIY mainstays Palberta on the other hand are
hooks. But with ‘Palberta5000’, the songwriting feels
a band that buck trends at every corner - it just so happens
more focussed and refined - could you perhaps describe
that ‘Palberta5000’, their fifth collection of work, is their
why you think this might be? There’s a distinct RnB/
most essential and fully realised set of songs to date.
radio pop feel to some of the tracks with the vocal melodies…
Palberta’s ebullient nature sees the trio shedding any notion of the typical hierarchical structure of a band as
Well we do love radio pop and RnB so no doubt, those
members swap instruments from song to song, all the
influences are woven into the album. But besides that, the
while holding down three part pop harmonies with razor
few intentions we had for the album was to make lots of
precision. Melodies that soothe and discombobulating
harmonies and to make the songs longer. Working towards
guitar riffs weave in and out of eachothers orbits with the
those ideas made us really hone in on the songwriting
graceful aplomb of a troupe of acrobats.
process. We practiced a tonne before we recorded this album and really worked each song out.
The juxtaposition of influences and musical styles coupled with the unpredictable nature of not knowing where a song
Listening to your records, I sense a connection between
is about to take you creates a wooping sensation in the gut
yourselves that is almost telekinetic, often defying
- it’s what makes this band a truly vital proposition.
the hierarchical structure that has come to define the mechanics of the majority of bands over the years.
We caught up with the three-piece as they were gearing
Could you tell me a little bit about that?
up for the release of ‘Palberta5000’ to talk about musical kinship and the hope that can be found in places where
It still feels like magic to us. The three of us have beyond
people help each other.
friendship, an undeniable musical connection. It’s our first language. No leads, no masters up in this band. Truly a
First of all, I’d like to say a huge congratulations on
three way collaboration.
‘Palberta5000’. It is a truly astounding body of work. How does it feel to be releasing what many would
One of your recent singles, ‘Corner Store’, tells a story
consider to be your most cohesive record to date during
about taking a stroll down to the corner store on a
a time where people can’t come together to celebrate
Sunday afternoon to meet your friend and you see them
like they usually would?
on the front of the Sunday Times. Was this an actual coincidence?
Words by Sammy Clarke, illustration by Ollie Silvester
16
Haha no. It’s based on us being goofy and imagining
Are there any Brooklyn music scene contemporaries
random scenarios. I think we were more focused on the
that you’d recommend? I’m really enjoying the work of
flow of the words until we realized we were telling a story
Gustaf, The Wants and Sloppy Jane at the moment.
and then from there, we decided to roll with it. But you know, that probably will happen sometime and I have a
Yes! Check out Sweet Baby Jesus, Water From Your Eyes,
feeling that the faces will be our own (laughs).
Matt Norman, Dreamcrusher, Sunk Heaven, Julia Santoli, Mr. Truelove, Franki/e Consent, The Cradle, Pooty,
You recorded ‘Palberta5000’ with Matt Labozza of the
Financial Collapse and DOG.
bands PALM/Shimmer at his studio which is actually located in the original childhood home and family
These have been politically tense times for the UK
lampstore of Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman. What
and USA in recent years. With the inauguration of Joe
was that like? Did you feel any Pee Wee energy during
Biden into the White House would you say that there is
those sessions?
a sense of renewed optimism now in the States?
Yes Matt Labozza also recorded both Palm and Shimmer.
To be honest, I’m feeling optimistic about other things,
He is an insanely talented engineer and had great insight
not Joe Biden’s inauguration. I am excited more so by
and suggestions as we were recording. It was a four
the mutual aid efforts that so many around us have either
day process and we used every minute of it. The house
started or participated in. To me, that is the work being
itself didn’t have too much Pee Wee energy as far as we
done locally right in our neighborhoods and that gives me
could tell but just knowing that at one point he lived
hope and optimism. It doesn’t need any president to make
there definitely fired us up. We love his show and the set
it happen. It’s just people helping people.
designs. And our music stays for the kids. I completely agree and relate to that in the sense that You’re signed to independent label Wharf Cat Records.
true change in society always starts from the actions
As a platform, they’ve been at the vanguard of
of small communities setting an example towards how
Brooklyn’s independent music community for a while
governments should be responding to crises. With
now and are also responsible for showcasing many
clarification that we are seeing eye to eye here, I’d love
artists that have gone on to make waves over here in
for you to tell me what is next for Palberta?
the UK. How did your signing with the label come about and what is your relationship like with other acts
We are writing a tonne of new music which means we
on their roster?
are probably working on the new album but that’s to be expected as we recorded this album about a year ago. We
A while back, they reached out to us. We had just released
are hoping to tour in Europe in 2022 if travel becomes
a split with No One And The Somebodies. It was before a
accessible again. We are hoping to also tour the US and
show at Rough Trade. We all talked and we really vibed
Canada. We are hoping to take over the world and we are
with Doug and Trip and were excited by the prospect of
expecting to be on the cover of the sunday times any day
being on a label with a lot of bands that we respected.
now...
There are great artists on Wharf Cat and we’ve had a lot of fun getting to know them all. We spent a bunch of days sharing a ranch with a few of the bands during SXSW. All fun and games. The bands on the label are very supportive of one another.
17
Palberta
Joost Stokhof
The landscape of a release has shifted dramatically in the
The level of exposure that’s going to happen around
last year or so. Dry Cleaning had just started 2020 as they
the album feels exciting, we still haven’t really felt that
meant to go on, attacking two NYC sold-out shows in full-
physically. It’s going to be difficult to equate to real terms.
flow when the pandemic hit and they had to return home.
Normally we’d see the size of the shows grow and meet
Refusing to sit back and stew on what could have been,
more people and we haven’t done anything for a year now.
they dusted themselves off and threw all the momentum It must be bittersweet in a way having to stop the US
into their debut album.
dates early but I guess you’ve been able to channel ‘New Long Leg’ is one of those thrilling records that feels
your energy into the record and escape any lockdown
like it was born in unusual times but delivers fresh and
blues?
incisive takes with every twist and turn. It’s been a strange journey for the South-London band running up to this
That’s exactly what we did really. It was really hard to
pivotal moment, but circumstances haven’t knocked them
take, but in the same breath it was amazing to be there at
off-course - if anything lockdown has offered the scope to
all. It felt like such a surreal success to make it there and
bring their debut full-length to life.
to play sold-out shows in America was just absolutely mad to us. We didn’t expect that, on the plane over we thought,
“Everything seemed to happen as it would have done
is there going to be ten people there or is it going to be
actually”, vocalist Flo Shaw reassures us as we connect
half full? None of us had any sense that there would be
with the band over a video call. “In terms of the trajectory,
two sold-out shows in New York. It was disappointing to
the pandemic hasn’t affected us aside from in an emotional
have to come back but we were trying to be as positive as
sense.” The themes of isolation and ache are indeed
possible and ploughed into the record. You feel a sense of
present with tension and release, but you might have
loss even though it’s minor in comparison to what’s going
to look closely for them. We caught up with the group
on in the world.
who’ve come quite the distance since forming at a karaoke Was it easy carrying your live energy and momentum
night.
into the record or was it quite a harsh break in Considering the impromptu nature of how the band
rhythm?
came to be, how does it feel to be at the point of dropping such a defining body of work?
Our live shows felt really great because we’d been doing it so solidly, it was muscle-memory and they were really
The releases have been pretty impromptu up until now
fun, then all of a sudden we were just sat in a room. We
as well. We put the first EP online and you could pay
decided to get back to practising about six weeks before
what you wanted for it and then we took it down. So I
we recorded. We were a bit rusty for sure but it all came
guess that side of the spectrum has been a bit strange as
back. It never takes us that long to warm up, it was a
well. There’s never been such a build-up before, it feels
couple of times meeting up and we’re pretty much back to
like a long time coming in some ways. We were finished
really familiar territory. We’ve had some forced pauses,
recording and mixing by September, so it’s been a bit of a
but I think the energy and excitement comes from the
wait I suppose, it’s felt like a long time coming.
gaps where we haven’t been able to play. Having gear and volume around you makes you excited.
Words by Rhys Buchanan, illustration by Pamela Guest
20
It’s easy to miss volume, you can get quite emotional
There’s still that energetic spirit and sense of fun in
around it because our lives are so much quieter at the
there at the same time?
moment. I think the nature of the lyrics can seem to change subject Through the pandemic it’s been important to have
depending on what mood you’re in when you read them. I
something to look forward to, I guess to see the
always find it hard to pin down what the songs are about,
culmination of your work manifest in this physical
it takes me a long time, I’ll write the lyrics and choose by
package must be a real joy?
gut instinct what lines should go together. I’m not trying to service a particular theme or subject, then I’ll often
Absolutely, we would feel so much worse about this year
realise six months later what the song is actually about.
if we weren’t releasing an album. We’ve been able to put a lot of our losses to the back of our mind which has offset
I guess they evolve alongside the music as well in many
it. So much of our energy has gone into this album. I think
ways?
also the hope that later this year we may be able to play They all react off of each other when we get an inkling
some shows has kept us going.
for the subject it can alter the way we play it. If it’s Was it a very focussed process or were you able to cut
heartfelt we might play a bit wonkier, hard or even trashy.
loose and have a laugh while making the record as
Everything bounces off of each other and the lyrical
well?
themes definitely energise the unit as a whole. Lockdown allowed us to properly listen to what everyone’s doing, to go back and write parts or even re-write parts.
The recording period itself was full-on and it was definitely hard work, we were recording every day, we had a day off over two and a half weeks so it was quite intense
You must be itching to see it out there and share the
but it was very fun at the same time. It was a concentrated
experience with a wider audience?
process but we wouldn’t say it was hard work, it was a hell of a lot of fun. It was a very different process to our
It will definitely be a real joy to get out there and play
first EPs because we recorded both of those in about a day.
them live because a lot of the songs have continued to evolve since we recorded them. We’ve got a couple
Some of the themes of isolation and unease were there
of songs that are a bit longer now like ‘Her Hippo’ for
on the record earlier, was this driven home by world
instance. Nick and Lewis had a really long outro to that
events around you as well?
which is just bass and drums and it didn’t end up on the record but it’s definitely what we’re going to do live.
It’s half and half really, they were themes I was interested in anyway but then when you’re faced with something
Lastly, how will you celebrate with that champagne
like the pandemic, it’s hard for it not to be in your writing.
moment on release week?
It would be impossible to pretend your circumstances were different. Maybe some writers can do that but if I’m
It keeps changing a lot but some form of live show,
trapped indoors I’m going to write about being trapped
whether a miracle happens and we can do it in person or
indoors. If my entire social circle is kitchen appliances
whether it’s going to be live-streamed, whatever we can do
then that’s what I’m going to write about. It didn’t feel
we will. Maybe we should just play a live show to people
like a choice for it to wind up in some of the writing. Most
who have been vaccinated so it will be all over sixty-fives
of the lyrics were written before the lockdown itself but
like our first tour. ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’ will be coming
finishing touches were certainly influenced by the mood
out as a 45, so we’ve got some fun things coming out
at the time.
like that. It’s so complicated though, we’re constantly changing things and side-stepping things, we’re certainly going to be there though.
21
Dry Cleaning
NewDad NewDad have captured the attention of many with only
Á: There will be such a buzz around the first gig we get to
a string of singles released last year. The Galway four-
play in Galway, plus our mums and dads usually fill out
piece who formed for a music practical at school are now
15 tickets.
quickly becoming the dream-pop shoegaze ones to watch. We caught up with Julie, Sean, Áindle and Fiachra to talk
S: Although the last gig we did was a socially distanced
about their upcoming debut EP, ‘Waves’.
one just after we recorded the EP and the majority of the people there we didn’t know at all.
Your debut single only came out in 2020 and yet you’ve already had nods from various publications and radio
That’s when you know you’re doing something right
stations. How does it feel to get this much recognition
when strangers start turning up. So, the EP had been
so early on?
finished for a while then, how long have you been working on ‘Waves’ for?
All: It’s crazy, it’s ridiculous, oh yeah S: We had a batch of demos which all kind of meshed well Áindle: Last year was just mad, but the band had already
together, we had a few more too…
been together before that… Á: But I think we found these 6 worked cohesively Julie: ...for years but we never did anything.
together so we started working on them right around the time we started paying for our practice space. It meant we
Á: For four years we were just finding ourselves doing
could work on them non-stop for months. Before that we
pub gigs and stuff, but we decided to wait until we were
were using my front room.
really happy with how things sounded before we released anything. I think we did the right thing.
J: We practiced until we could get into a studio. I’d say we had them down for about two months before we went to
J: We are still so new though, even the four of us, gig
record, and it’s been done since then.
wise, haven’t really played that much together. Being on stage isn’t something we’ve really gotten yet.
Á: Also, everything before then had been self-released, we’d recorded it all ourselves in Julie’s bedroom, so our
It doesn’t sound like that at all, it sounds tight like
demos were up to the standard of how we would normally
you’ve been performing for years. Any venues you’d
release. But being in the studio was a time for us to
like to play when we’re not in a pandemic world?
experiment and make our sound a bit bigger.
Á: I’d love to play Whelan’s again which is this venue in
I did see some nice pictures of you guys in a studio with
Dublin. We played there before but there was no crowd,
some very snazzy equipment, how did you find that
only a couple of blokes in masks.
recording process?
Sean: I’d love to play in Galway again. All my friends are
Á: Sean can probably talk about pedals for a couple of
finally realising ‘oh they’re actually quite good’ and a load
hours. There was a big shelf of pedals and we wanted to
of people here are dying to see us.
try every one.
Words by Phoebe Scott, illustration by Sam Moore
24
J: It was so cool, and Chris Ryan was so great to work
J: I wrote the lyrics to them looking back on how I felt
with, he just knew what we’d like.
when I was seventeen or eighteen but I’m twenty now and feel more grown up.
Á: It was a studio he’s used to working in, so he was very professional. We’d worked with him on some of the other
F: When Julie was singing some of the songs, I was like
tracks but only online, so to get to meet him and see he’s a
did she write this about me because I felt exactly that way,
real human was great.
someone’s been into my diary.
Fiachra: He had some amazing ideas; he played the
The songs are super open and relatable for sure,
producer as well as the mixing engineer. There are so
although I’m not sure I can relate to smashing up
many things in the songs which isn’t how we would have
watermelons with a golf club. Your video for ‘I Don’t
played it in practice but then Chris would say “try do
Recognise You’ is the caravan tea party of dreams.
something there” and we bounced off him really well.
Where did you film this?
J: And we did it all in 3 days.
F: It was actually just in my back garden!
S: Yeah, we only had 3 days to record it, there was a lot of
S: We had an entire narrative planned and we were gonna
pressure. Julie and Chris were there one night until 2am.
book out a big open studio space where they do musicals in town and have proper sets.
Á: While we got pints… Á: Then two days before we were set to film, lockdown Definitely worth the extra hours as it sounds like a well
happened, so we went to Fiachra’s back garden.
thought out body of work. There’s a clear theme of the sea throughout it too, plus all of the song titles, even
J: And that was with no plan.
the first line. Have you spent a lot of time by the sea? Á: We had vision, but it was very based on Strawberry Á: Well, we live in Galway which is a seaside coastal
Fields.
town and every summer you’d spend it by the seaside or rivers. Galway used to be a medieval port so the whole
F: Well, they just dance around a piano and a tree and we
city is built around rivers and the sea so it’s all sort of in
thought we could do that once I had convinced my mum
your brain.
to let us use the caravan. We had to trek an hour out of the city because I live in the country, but at least there weren’t
F: And I suppose beside the water is the best place to
too many neighbours.
drink cans, that was the theme of the whole thing. Á: It’s quite nice that our first music video features the Á: It’s a great EP to drink cans to.
countryside of Ireland, it’s very pretty and fitting.
All sounding very merry by the sea but ‘Waves’ also
I think the visual style you all have comes across well.
touches on feeling low, heartbreak and realising the
Your artworks are usually interesting illustrations or
person you love isn’t who you thought they were. Any
graphic designs. Do you know what the EP is going to
advice for those going through something similar?
look like?
J: It’s not that bad after secondary school.
Á: Yeah, we do know what it’s gonna look like!
Á: Make it to twenty and you’ll be fine, being a teenager is the worst.
25
NewDad
S: It’s the same guy who designed the ‘I Don’t Recognise
And finally, if you could choose any person to become
You’ artwork so they tie in very nicely as well. He’s a
your New Dad who would it be?
sound lad from Limerick who reached out to us. S: Probably Danny DeVito, I feel like you’d cuddle up Á: We’ve only worked with local Irish artists for our first
every night beside the fire and he’d read you stories. Very
singles, well the very first ones I drew the covers as we
loving.
didn’t have any money to pay someone. With ‘Cry’ and ‘Blue’ we worked with Connor who is a friend of ours and
Á: I’d say Jackie Chan. I watched all of his movies as a
an amazing graphic designer.
kid. I feel like we’d have a lot to talk about, I love Rush Hour 2.
S: All of them have a natural feel to them. With ‘Blue’ we were sent two versions, but one was scanned through and
J: I mean maybe Liam Neeson, I’d always be protected.
we gravitated towards that. F: Think I’d pick Gino D’Acampo, I’m between Gordon Á: We take a lot of consideration into the aesthetic of our
Ramsey and Gino, I just prefer D’Acampo’s food.
music as well. I think it’s important to present yourself and your music in the way you want to be perceived.
samuelmooreillustration.com
26
The lads came to me with the idea for the sleeve - Ned (Green, Legss frontman) references the parasitic plight of the London New-Build phenomena in the opening of ‘On Killing a Swan Blues’ - “doctor doctor, I think I’m at deaths door / every step I take, a different render” - and I think the theme of this housing Invasion-OfThe-Bodysnatchers that’s happening all around us was something we both felt strongly about. Fucking new builds, man. They’re everywhere. Their homogeneity is crushing areas that used to thrive on idiosyncrasy and esoterica. So we kinda wanted to play on this idea of how they felt so warped and wrong and surreal to us by Director and Photographer Will Reid is fast becoming the
making our own Hoarding Render showing a fictitious
go-to for a lot of exciting new bands that are emerging,
New Build project populated with bizarre figures (the
creating really stand out pieces to accompany their
4 members of the band). It was shot in Docklands in an
releases. We got to know more about his process and
area that’s a particularly sterile New Build Village. My
career so far.
very talented mate and retoucher Jacob Ray went IN on Photoshop, comping the band back together from the
What’s your main inspiration while creating work?
individual plates we’d shot and doing even more polishing on the environment to make it appear evermore fake so it
When it comes to inspiration for creating work, I’m
looked like one impossibly chaotic moment. SO proud of
always fed by input from the world around me, of
the sleeve. I have one of the vinyls framed in my shed. It’s
course - stuff I’d seen, read or listened to recently that
also one of the best EP’s I’ve heard in a long time (I may
was clanging around my head and nurturing some sort
be a tad biased) - it’s very nice to have been involved.
of desire (case in point: I’d been on a Wong Kar-Wai tip before shooting ‘London I Love You, But You’re Bringing
What photographers have had the biggest influence on
Me Down’ for Malady and as a result, Christoper Doyle’s
you?
(Kar-Wai’s DoP) work influenced how I shot parts of that video). Me and my brother have a very strict set of self-
Photographic influences are an ever changing topic for
imposed guidelines and rules when it comes to our output.
me, but I guess leading on from your question about
A sort of “idea quality control” that only lets the good
the sleeve for Doomswayers, it makes sense to bring up
ones through to get explored further. By holding thoughts
Gregory Crewdson. He provided one of my earliest “wow”
up to these instincts it helps refine things down to the most
moments when it came to stills, because his work overtly
potent bolts of inspiration. Our main drive is about trying
combines the sensibilities of cinematic storytelling with
to make stuff WE haven’t seen before, or putting disparate
stills photography in a way I’d not seen before. It opened
references together in a new way to make something that
my eyes to what this medium could do. He once said his
feels fresh. That’s the most inspiring thing.
images are “movies shot at 1 frame per second” - and that quote really stuck with me as a concept and a way of
I really love the cover you did for Legss’
thinking about high production value photographs. Then if
‘Doomswayers’. What was the process behind that one?
I had to throw a few more in the mix I’d say Nan Goldin and Martin Parr. I have books by those three very close to
The ‘Doomswayers’ EP with Legss has been one of the
my desk at all times and I guess the frequency with which
most fulfilling things I’ve ever worked on. Both the sleeve
I look at them must mean they’re the baseline for me. And
and our video for ‘On Killing A Swan Blues’ (big shouts
Lynch, always.
to Joe Taylor / DENIAL here too) were dream projects for me.
29
Words by Josh Whettingsteel, photos by Will Reid
Your work is starting to become synonymous with a lot of the exciting new bands we cover in So Young. How did that come about? The Malady and Legss stuff in particular is really exciting... That’s very nice of you guys to say. I’d like that to become a thing for sure! My emails and DMs are always open for new bands and artists. I try and strike a balance between commercial work and passion projects like music videos (Malady’s vid being a recent example). I do the commercial stuff so I can take on smaller budgeted projects because that’s what feels most fulfilling to me. The hookup with Legss started after me and Joe (DENIAL) created a zine together over lockdown called COMMUNION (which you can still buy on the Denial store!). Legss featured in it. We shot some promo / press shots with the band for that publication and then got chatting about their upcoming EP on the shoot which led to everything else... Junior from Malady was actually in the video for ‘On Killing a Swan Blues’ - we got talking on set about their upcoming single “London” and it just went from there - so it’s all been a very organically flowing thing. I’d love to keep it going and smash out some more promos this year but it’s just a shame that gigs aren’t happening (really missing the Windmill) and shoots can just about happen, but right now it’s on ice again during the current lockdown, which is a necessary arse. It will come back. I’d love to work with some of the recent So Young cover stars like Black Country, New Road. black midi would be dope to link up with. Slow Dance records have some awesome people on the roster at the moment. The new Dream Wife record is cool, too. I just wanna keep pushing the creative workrate with bands I admire.
30
In this period of economic inequality, stagnant social
Nat: The song was first inspired when I found out what
mobility, and continued rise in the usage of food banks,
“received pronunciation” was. As a kid from Aberdeen, I
it’s always welcoming to have bands in the musical
felt so ashamed of how I naturally spoke, that I actually
landscape that take a zero-tolerance stance and lead a
forced myself to stop talking like that because posh people
politically charged sonic-storm against the status quo. Say
were all I saw on TV. When you start writing about class
hello to Glaswegian duo, Comfort. A barrage of industrial,
inequality it’s hard to stop, there are just so many flagrant
gloom-laden protest-pop meets art-punk - Comfort are not
examples of it everywhere. Our world is ruled by people
content with the current socio-economic climate under
who have no idea what it’s like to live in it, who wouldn’t
Conservative rule being the accepted norm.
manage to cope within it. And the “anti-elite” option is always just another rich lad who sees a big pay day in
Having recently released ‘Received Life’ via Slow Dance
playing us against each other. Hoarding wealth, having
Records, the latest offering from Comfort is an early-doors
more than you need, is seen as a status symbol, something
favourite for 2021. The blistering cacophony of the single
to aspire to, but it’s disgusting. Private education
taken off of Slow Dance’s latest compilation is uneasy
shouldn’t exist. Billionaires, or millionaires, shouldn’t
listening in the best of ways and showcases the barbed,
exist. Children should not be punished or rewarded
visceral brilliance of the enigmatic outfit. With that said,
based on the opportunities their parents had. As someone
we had a socially distanced chat with the band to get to
who has worked underpaid jobs in the retail/hospitality
know them a little better.
industries since the age of 16, it is absolutely disgusting what we expect people to put up with it just so they can
You’re both siblings which is always incredibly
have a roof over their heads. You can’t help but laugh
fascinating when it comes to creative output. Is it
when you hear a bunch of millionaires singing “All You
sibling love or do you have that element of rivalry, and
Need Is Love”, some cheek as well because one of them
how has it laid for the formation of what is Comfort?
was a serial abuser. I honestly have no clue why we’re not just tearing everything apart and burning it to the ground.
Sean: We feel incredibly fortunate to be siblings in a band and I believe it is that connection which lays the
Are you politically engaged outside music, or is music
foundation for Comfort’s creative output. Since childhood
your outlet to vent?
we have both shared a love of music, from starting out with our Argos guitar packs as kids to watching MTV2
N: Being politically active outside of music is very
together every day as teens. We have shared experiences
important to me. The past couple years I have taken a
that go well beyond our taste in music and art, it’s a
break from activism as I got to a point where I was taking
lifetime of growing up and learning together that lends an
on too much, I burnt myself out. I needed to take a break
incredibly natural feel to our writing process. We often
so I could balance the things in my life in a healthy way.
laugh whilst writing as the majority of our songs are
I had been involved in radical projects during this time,
written without any discussion on where the music should
but I don’t wish to go into details and take credit for what
go or how things sound, it just comes together organically.
was a community accomplishment. Protesting is important
There is no rivalry, in fact we believe that our mutual
to me and such a profound thing to do, it feels nourishing,
understanding is what allows us to push the limits of the
to chant alongside like-minded people, to demand change.
music we create.
It’s been a big part of my life for years, being good at shouting helps for when you’re on the megaphone too.
Talk us through ‘Received Life’. It’s a tour-de-force...
I’ve also had the great honour of shouting SCUM in a few tory politicians faces. What a feeling!
Words by Brad Sked
S: I work for a charity in the south side of Glasgow that
Growing up there was frustrating, with it being so far
utilises the arts to build confidence and self esteem in
north there were never many new/hyped bands that made
young people, many of whom struggle to thrive in our
the trip. The truth is that we both left Aberdeen as soon as
underfunded education system. With immense pressure
we could. Glasgow has been great to us. Although we’ve
being piled on our non-privately funded schools, the
not found ourselves in a scene where our sound ‘fits’, we
results are being unfairly etched upon the many young
have been fully embraced by the DIY scene who have
people whom slip through the cracks. It’s so tough
supported us with opportunities to perform. DIY scenes
meeting people at the start of their adult lives who believe
are incredibly vital to pushing a cities creative output, but
that they have nothing to contribute, especially when that
it can be harder for people to sustain their output here due
belief is stamped with approval from those in Westminster.
to the lack of funding/opportunities compared to London,
Social attitudes can be terrifying - in recent years I heard
which is tough. But there are positives to that. The initial
an old school acquaintance (now a London based lawyer)
struggle for opportunities, it develops a determination
exclaim that those in desperate need can ‘just visit a food
and work ethic that has taken us from knowing absolutely
bank’. Some people have too much money, so much so
no-one to the position we are in now. Participating in the
that they struggle to empathise with those who have little
scene has allowed us to develop our sound and grow as
or no cash, they don’t see their lives as having the same
artists.
value as their own. These are attitudes which we seek to expose and confront with our music.
I’m pretty curious about the lack of social media presence. Is that intentional and is it an approach that
‘Received Life’ was released on the ever-great Slow
you’re looking to continue with in the future?
Dance via the ‘Slow Dance 20’ compilation. How did that come about and how has the working relationship
N: I don’t think it’s right for unelected, unaccountable
been?
people to have the sort of power these companies do. It makes me sad to think of how free the internet could be,
S: Up until now we’ve been quite old-school in that we’ve
but instead it has been hijacked by companies with no
made most of our connections through live shows. We got
ethics, and morphed into a staunch arm of capitalism.
chatting with Maddy from Slow Dance following a show
I find it scary how ubiquitous it is, all we want to do is
we played at The Bunker - which we absolutely loved.
make music, so that’s what we do.
This led to us meeting the rest of the team and performing at their venue/multipurpose HQ, Slow Space. That show
S: Aside from Facebook being highly exploitative of its
was fantastic and we urge you all to check out Slow Space
users, we really didn’t see the point in all honesty. Bands
in London Fields once things are safe enough to re-open!
who start out with the aim of pushing their music via
They had asked if we’d be interested in contributing to the
social media - to me you’re just marketing to your mates.
compilation and it was an easy decision.
‘Listen to this track you heard 5 months ago played on this radio show but only listen in from 37 minutes and
I read that you’re originally from Aberdeen, but now
6.82 seconds’ we really don’t see the point in doing that.
find yourselves in Glasgow. Talk us through what it’s
Besides, when you’re starting out most people you know
like in both cities and are they cities allowing artists to
won’t say what they really think. There seems to be so
prosper with community support?
many bots posting spam ads on posts these days anyway, it’s not an approach I can see us changing as things are.
S: In all honestly I can’t speak for Aberdeen as neither of
We’re actually working with Slow Dance to create our
us have lived there for 10+ years.
own website at the moment. Keep an eye out!
ORACLE SISTERS Chris Willatt and Lewis Lazar forged a childhood
Chris: Irish songs bring people together, they’re earnest,
friendship in their hometown of Brussels. Collectively,
honest songs that are wonderfully uplifting.
they’re known as the Oracle Sisters; a union whose intense chemistry bleeds into the world they’ve created
L: And you were born in Ballymoney, with the seashells.
for themselves, where divine intervention seems to connect all the dots. A painter and mathematician by trade,
C: I was indeed. Up north. The home of Joey Dunlop.
the arrangement of their music marries the pragmatic with the romantic, brimming with noire spirit. Like
There’s a lot of romance in Irish music, too. I find your
all great troubadours, their path in life is decorated by
music is quite romantic to listen to. I saw a comment
circumstance, where every step seamlessly informs the
on one of your videos the other day where someone said
next. As we enter a new year, their latest EPs imagine
your music ‘sounds like being in love.’
two different futures bound to the same place. That place is Paris, where theatre and poetry riddles the streets. It’s
C: You can’t get better than that. You’re right though, Irish
a transcendent listen. A welcoming waft of warm air to
music is incredibly romantic.
accompany whatever step any of us choose to take next. L: Jaysus, that is a compliment. That’s very sweet…but What’s your relationship with Hydra? I saw you were
there’s also a lot of pain in Irish music. Ultimately, it’s
there with the Fontaines D.C. and Murder Capital lads
triumphant.
over the summer. Artists seem drawn to it because of the Leonard Cohen connection.
C: That’s the beauty of it. There’s an ache. But there has to be a heart in order for there to be an ache.
Lewis: Well, I ended up there a few years ago, whisked away by an American painter called Lola Schnabel who
You’re two people who seem to have travelled a lot,
introduced me to the island. I kept going back to paint and
collected memories and inspirations from various
write with Chris as well and this year I was there teaching
places and yet you chose Paris as the setting and
at an artist residency and ran into Carlos (Fontaines
namesake for both EPs. What does Paris do for you
D.C.) who was a friend I met in Paris. He had James (The
that other cities do not?
Murder Capital) along. It developed into this frenzy of singing, Irish songs, an orgy of music, bubble of happiness
C: There’s constant theatre on the streets.
in the Covid times. We would always pick grapefruit from Leonard’s garden.
L: I mean, for me, we ended up here when we got offered a job at a cabaret. I think it’s that whole world that Paris
You’ve spoken before about your love for Irish music -
is subconsciously steeped in, more than any other city it
what do you think makes you resonate with that?
looks like a stage, even the buildings are theatrical.
L: I lived in Dublin some years ago and discovered a lot
C: There’s the paradox of the city steeped in history and
of Irish music that way so when it came to playing with
romance which is also trying to carve a new identity for
James and Carlos I knew a lot of the same songs.
itself.
33
Words by Harley Cassidy, illustration by David Huang
L: Also, I love a lot of French music. They emphasise
L: Goya was a truth teller and then Edith Piaf was a song
a lot on diction, poetry, story telling… There’s a whole
bird in times of war and they both serve their purpose
genre of music based on insults and sexual innuendos
from different angles.
that has been around for hundreds of years in the Basque Country. There’s Jacques Brel and the theatre singers. Piaf
You seem to be largely informed by spirituality.
I grew up listening to and Brassens…there’s a rich artistic
You’ve cited elements of tarot, astrology, mythology in
history.
previous works…do you find solace and understanding in these aspects? I know your bandmate Julia has a lot
The concept behind ‘Paris I’ and ‘Paris II’ is that
of involvement within that, too...
you’re at a crossroads in humanity - choosing one path to go down. Why did you choose the narratives
L: Her boyfriend is a tarot card reader! I’m very fascinated
of utopia and dystopia to define each record? Is it
by Jung, mythology and concepts of the unconscious and
dictated by the current world we are living in?
used to read tarot cards for a short while, too.
L: Yep, it’s definitely about the awareness of the world
C: There are answers lurking round every corner.
being at a crossroads that inspired it coupled with these old pictures of the Paris fair of 1900. Seeing those inspired
L: There was a time where I found understanding
the idea that a city can be remade and reinvented in an
because I was having very symbolic archetypal dreams,
ideal form and so the idea was to present two alternative
so I had to learn more to understand them. I find no
worlds or visions of Paris and we wanted it reflected in
more solace than I would find in music or art but it’s
the production and the art work. We’re doing a newspaper
interesting to understand myths and where we come from
sort of set in the future with that utopia and dystopia
psychologically. And yeah, astrology of course; it’s the
dichotomy.
new age mirror.
C: I think the future of the planet is at the forefront of
Are you astrologically compatible?
everyone’s minds right now. We’re aware that we could be the generation that set things on the wrong or right path.
L: Haha, yeah our sun signs are for sure. Our moon signs,
We’ve inherited a smoked out drug addict and it’s time to
not always. Sometimes his moon looks at my moon funny.
straighten a few things out in rehab. Reimagine the future. C: But when they are aligned…there was a strong How do you see the role of the artist in times of social
chemistry from the start. We go on melodic rambles
unrest?
together, which is always somewhat of a spiritual experience.
C: To guide and inspire people. Inspiration is a strong form of energy.
How do you think you will move forward in 2021?
L: I think if you’re committed to being an artist, you’re
C: We’re releasing ‘Paris II’ at the beginning of April
not free from moral laws entirely but you’re not a preacher
and a special live EP with luscious string arrangements
either. There’s a great relief in offering something to
before the summer. We’re currently finishing our album
dream towards, too.
to be released after the summer and I’m exploring the art of miming for our next music video to be filmed in Paris
C: I just think once you plant a seed of inspiration, it can
early February. We have assembled a really excellent
give people a reason to live, to be excited about the future,
global team for touring the end of 2021/2022 when those
to take action, to create and collaborate. Life can be very
doors open up again. We’re excited to get out on the road
bleak without art.
and play for people again. But for me right now it’s all about the miming.
35
Opposite, REN, ‘We Belong Here’
Sons of Raphael are on the crest of releasing their debut
Oh wow, I wasn’t expecting that!
album ‘Full Throated Messianic Homage’, a record that has been seven years in the making. Being fiercely loyal
L: Yeah, that took us half a year to complete.
to each other and to their artistic vision has left little room for compromise. Speaking for one of the first times about
R: Took us half a year to complete and you know we were
the record, brothers Ronnel and Loral proudly unravel the
the only people that believed in this. As happens with a lot
story with a transferrable enthusiasm coursing through
of things that we do.
them. L: Yeah no one thought that we could pull that off with the The record was finished in 2019?
art. But this is really the story of this band. Everything is way too ambitious. We don’t compromise and I think that
Loral: We finished the record in June 2019…
takes time.
Ronnel: Since then I’ve been writing the second record.
Was completing the album a very draining process? Especially in comparison with the EP...
I thought that might be the case, it seems like you’re pretty prolific in your writing...
R: The songs that appear in the EP, I wrote when I was thirteen years old in boarding school. At the time we got
R: The songs never stop and they write themselves. This
our record deal, all we cared about was making ‘Full
record has been taking a very long time to make.
Throated Messianic Homage’.
L: When we finished it, we finished the actual record, but
L: By the time the record deal came into the picture the
we still had to make music videos and we spent months on
songs were already written and we could actually move
getting the artwork. We take our time. Have you seen the
into the next step which was production.
artwork? R: And as to your other question – yes, draining I’ll say I have seen it, yes...
is not enough, seven years of famine perhaps, as Joseph predicted in Pharaoh’s Dream in Genesis. I think that
L: We have it right here… [Turns the phone to reveal a
would describe it pretty well.
huge canvas of the album artwork]
Words by Emma Flynn, illustration by Sarah Fabre
38
How was it working with Philippe Zdar?
L: We came to the studio with those 300 tracks the first day was a bit like ‘oh my god’, as in 300 stems for tracks.
L: The best. R: There were just layers over layers over layers. Many people made reference to his enthusiasm, is that
Sometimes we had, you know fifty different percussion
something you experienced?
instruments, it didn’t stop.
L: It’s crazy, if my brother was describing seven years of
The production is massive with a lot of tracks having so
suffering making this album, the only good time was when
many layers to them...
we met him. L: Thank you, yeah we just used lots of different sounds How did you meet him?
and gear and instruments. It wasn’t a narrow-minded production.
L: We’d met dozens of people who wanted to mix the record and something didn’t feel right. We didn’t
R: No not at all, we were open to just about anything.
necessarily know his music. The interesting thing is the
Hence the combination, which I don’t think happens a lot,
first time we met him we went to his studio in Paris. We
you know electric guitars, fuzz guitars and an orchestra,
met and had to catch the Eurostar so we only had maybe
which seems very obvious to us.
twenty-five minutes and in those twenty-five minutes we didn’t speak about music, we just really liked the guy and
L: Everything was us at the end of the day. We went to the
thought he was great.
boarding school where we studied and we used the school orchestra just to see if it even made sense to do it. I would
R: And by the time we left he said “I’ll see you in March”,
write the arrangements and play all the parts on the piano
and it was so obvious to us that we were coming back.
and we realised it can actually work. But then it took two years to do that.
L: It doesn’t happen often where we meet people who are on the same page. I think what sums it up is that we were
It’s all piecing together. Lyrically the album is quite
supposed to go to Paris for three weeks and we ended
heavy, even after a week of listening I feel like I need
up working with him for three months almost, and a lot
more time to get to grips with it...
of it was because it was just fun. There were days when we didn’t actually work on music, we’d wake up and if
L: That was also one of our ambitions, to make a record
it was a sunny day he’d be like “Let’s go home and cook
that will span a thousand generations.
today” or “Let’s just walk around Paris and go to a nice restaurant”. It was the first time where we didn’t think
R: There’s a very short-term artistic vision that is going
that this was a nightmare, because before that it was very
on at the moment. I feel that people are not interested so
difficult to make this record.
much in making timeless records or writing about timeless themes, they are mostly interested in writing about the
R: He was the only person in the world, and he testified
headlines, and headlines by tomorrow will be gone.
to that himself, that was able to mix this record. I think anyone else who had to mix this record would’ve had a
There’s an interesting juxtaposition between the
nervous breakdown.
overarching theme of death but sonically it being quite bright and energetic...
39
Sons of Raphael
R: That’s intentional. You know, we wanted to create
Not only the connection between God and music, but the
this atmosphere when we recorded ‘Let’s All Get Dead
beginning of this band.
Together’ we recorded the choir and went down the stairs and looked at them and instructed them to “Sing like it’s
Were you on a different trajectory, or going in a
Christmas” and the lyrics are “Let’s all get dead together,
different direction when that happened Loral?
put our dreams aside, not care for one another, swim in cyanide.” The lyrics are so direct when it comes to that.
L: No, we were making music anyway as brothers you know. Sons of Raphael didn’t begin two years ago, it
Ronnel, you studied Theology and had also been
began in the womb probably. We’ve always made music
playing music growing up. When did you start to make
together but we never cared about releasing it or anything
the connection between the two?
like that and naturally it just changed as we started doing more and more stuff together.
R: I made the connection in boarding school in a religious studies class. I had a fantastic tutor and she introduced me
R: When we were in boarding school, I’d always try and
to a sermon that was written by a Theologian called John
brainwash my friends to listen to good music so we could
Fenton that’s titled ‘Eating People’ and that gave me the
start a band together and that never worked out. But
inspiration for it. It was about the last supper of Jesus, I
you know, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes
think that was the initial connection for me. A few months
to ruin”, that’s from the Book of Proverbs and I think
later my brother and I performed together for the first time
basically it’s our band, it’s all built on the fact that we are
in this band so it was quite significant.
brothers.
@saradopera
40
Last year saw Courting release a trio of relevant, snappy
I think you’re accessible and don’t take yourselves too
and almighty fresh tracks that gained them a following and
seriously which is appealing to a lot of people...
pricked up the ears of many. But three tracks alone doesn’t make a great band, so what is it about the Liverpool
There’s a lot of bands who do interesting things very well,
lads that’s caught people’s attention? Catching up with
but in the respect of how you present yourself as a person
frontman Sean Murphy-O’Neill it became apparent that
when you’re making art, I feel like things have kind of
the music is only half of the story. Courting are a likeable
changed in how that works alongside your music. If you
band who place having a good time at the epicentre of
don’t offer a presentable, digestible personality with your
all they do, “If we can give someone a bit of a laugh,
music, people will take it differently and you’ll instantly
or you know something to do in a boring period, then
appeal to a different crowd. One thing we’ve always tried
that provides us with some instant grat”. Be it through
to do as a band is kind of bridge that gap between music
perusing the depths of Wikipedia or leaked MSN search
that’s a bit more underground and more accessible music,
histories for track material, internet crowd participation
more popular music, more mainstream stuff.
through their listening parties or not being afraid to be associated with popular music, their energy and exuberant
There’s often a bit of a stigma around that.
spirit is contagious. S: I think in circles of bands who play guitar music, The band started in 2018 right?
there’s definitely a stigma around the word ‘Pop’.
I’ve always said we kind of have the world’s most boring
Yes…
band back story. You read stories of how someone like The Strokes came together and our story is nowhere as
It’s definitely seen as low art, low culture. I find that
interesting as that. I’ve been reading the ‘33 ⅓’ books,
really annoying and I think a lot of people when they
the one about Suicide and how they came together in like
wrote about ‘Popshop!’ kinda missed the point, saying
an art facility when one of them was working on visual
it was ‘art criticism’ or about ‘selling out’. I find that so
exhibitions, and the other was a jazz pianist and they
daft because there’s so many bands that people say have
formed the band together and the fact that people used
sold out when in reality all they’ve done is made their
to throw axes at them during shows and they’d bolt the
sound more accessible. I feel like people get very angry
doors down. I thought, My God, back stories used to be
when bands make things that aren’t necessarily popular
interesting in music.
but are trying to take from pop music. I think as a band we definitely would like to take things that are popular and
For someone who’s never heard of Courting, how
put that through our own lens.
would you describe the band? Lean into I guess. There is a definite tendency to shy It’s difficult to put a label on what we do because I think
away from ‘Pop’ like it’s a dirty word almost?
in the singles that we’ve released so far we’ve gone through different styles and ideas so quickly. I don’t think what we’ve made is too difficult, I’d encourage anyone who doesn’t like difficult music to give it a go.
Words by Emma Flynn, illustration by Niv Bavarsky
42
Exactly, I read a comment ages ago on Twitter and
I thought that was quite funny and at the start of lockdown
someone was talking about the saxophone solo in
thought we’ll probably be out of this by July or whatever
‘David Byrne’s Badside’ and someone had said “I like
and that people would find it funny, like a virtual pub
it, it’s obviously ironic”. I thought what’s ironic about a
crawl. But after releasing it I think it made people quite
saxophone? The reason we put a saxophone solo in a song
sad. People watched and were like ‘Fuck, I miss the pub!’
is because everyone enjoys saxophone solos, they’re fun.
which was not my intention. I wanted to bring on the
There’s no irony about it.
excitement for when this is over but I think all it did was make people realise that ‘if we have to have a virtual pub
The release of your EP ‘Grand National’ in April is
crawl then this is depressing’.
going to be good timing, we’ll hopefully be coming out of the worst of this and the EP has such a good energy
Is doing your own videos something that you enjoy and
about it...
will carry on with?
I’m really excited to release it because sometimes you
I think there’s definitely an element that we like artistic
know I talk to people about our band and I forget that the
control, I feel like sometimes when you’re working on art
songs on that EP haven’t come out yet and I realise that
for yourself you understand what you mean better than
people may have a different perception of us to how I
a collaborator. Usually we design all our own covers, all
perceive our music.
our own merch and posters or whatever and that’s fine but when it comes to video production we’re maybe a little bit
I loved listening to it, especially the last two songs. I
more fucked because none of us know how to do that. It
think people will be a little bit surprised by ‘Crass’
becomes a question of at what point artistic control meets
because that one is a little bit darker, more spoken
quality video production. We did ‘Popshop!’ with a friend
word. I wasn’t expecting that...
of ours and I think he did a really good job and it hits the point of the video home. I suppose it’s DIY until someone
Thank you, when we wrote ‘Grand National’, the intention
can do what you can’t, and better.
was for that to be the final point of what we’ve been doing After your EP comes out, what are your plans for 2021?
for the last two years, and then I wanted the second half of the EP to lean in towards what I was saying before, our sensibilities of what’s popular and taken from more
I’d like to play as many shows as humanly possible
interesting music. ‘Grand National’ is the front tier of
because I didn’t realise how much I missed doing so. I
our current sound like it’s got the big chorus, it’s got the
just wanna go to places again. Sounds daft to say, but for
big ending, the heavy riff. The second half is definitely
us to be able to actually operate as a band and have a bit
us doing whatever we want and leaning towards how we
of fun and do fun things and it all not be serious stuff.
wanna sound in the future.
We’ve wrote songs that first we would’ve played live and then release, but now we’re gonna release before anyone’s
I like the DIY element to some of your videos like the
heard them. Hopefully it’ll be the thing where people hear
one for ‘David Byrne’s Badside’ with the different pub
them and think they’re good. I’m excited to be a normal
backgrounds...
band again and not be trapped away.
That was a lot of fun to make, at the time I was doing an art project, like a book of travels but all the travels were just using the dodgy zoom virtual background thing.
43
Courting
For a decade now, we have been blessed with Iceage.
Yeah, I think we always consciously try and pick
From the furious punk railings of ‘New Brigade’ to the
somewhere that has a certain atmosphere - a room that
swampy romantic grandeur of 2018’s ‘Beyondless’,
isn’t sterile, that has some kind of spirit that can breathe
they have always encapsulated a certain gorgeous,
something into our work. I don’t sit and sense the room,
melodramatic ecstasy which has propelled them from the
try and become one with it, but I think subconsciously the
depths of Copenhagen’s dirtiest venues to the furthest
surroundings you create for yourself and the environment
reaches of the globe.
you create will definitely impact it to some degree. Because recording songs takes quite a lot of living in a
Entering 2021, we are confronted with the prospect of a
certain moment, once you push that record button you can
fifth chapter in their opulently old-testament universe.
actually project some immediacy into what goes down on
‘Seek Shelter’, their first release through Mexican
the tape. The environment then does become a part of that
Summer, was recorded over an intensive 12-day stretch at
whole entity.
Lisbon’s Namouche studio, a monument to 60’s vintage which found the band placing cloths over the buckets used
You drafted in Pete Kember of Spacemen 3 on
to collect water from leaks so as not to interfere with the
production duty, and mentioned feeling he needed to
sound. The album mirrors the dilapidated grandeur of
be almost a ‘wizard’ for you. How did that shape the
the space, as frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt is found
sound of the record?
desperately searching for the ethereal hand of salvation. Iceage have never been content to inhabit the middle
We wanted a ‘wizard’ because we didn’t need anyone
ground, and it is this exuberant exploration of extremity
to come in and shape the songs for us, or tell us what to
which has made them one of this generation’s most
do - we just needed a sparring partner that could become
important bands.
its own mind to contribute things we wouldn’t ordinarily come to ourselves. Peter is definitely a genius in his own
We caught up with Rønnenfelt to discuss the new album,
right, with a wayward sense of sonic thinking. So he was
religion, and the effects of a life spent as a musician.
there to help shape sounds, and often we would talk about the sound we were trying to achieve not on a technical
Looking at photos, and reading about the haphazard
level, but more of a vivid, visceral language - like ‘this
nature of Namouche studio, when listening to the
particular break needs to sound like a car crash’ and he’d
album you can almost feel the aura of the space. Are
come in with a specific type of pedal for that.
you someone who’s output and creativity is particularly affected by the aesthetic surroundings when you work?
45
Words by Dan Pare, illustration by Lauren Doughty
He was also just such a downright lovely gentleman to be
I read an interview with Nick Cave where he said
with, our stomachs were hurting by the end of the session
something similar about hitting that vein, and that the
from laughing at all the bullshit we were talking.
most difficult thing for him was releasing an album, and then having to do all the press and touring that
Something prominent on the new album is the
accompanies that, and it actually becomes quite painful
reference to divinity, and searching for salvation - but
to reach that point again. Is that something you agree
this theme has been running through your music for
with? Or is it just quite natural now?
some time now. Would you consider yourself religious? Or do you have a relationship with something that is a
Well this is the difficult part - this is one of the first
higher power?
interviews I’ve done since we started this record cycle, so it’s been a while since I actually sat down with it, because
I don’t know if I would consider myself religious, but I
it’s been a while since it was finished and I consciously
have an undeniable relationship with religion, I’m quite
try to push it away once it’s done. So now I have to
naturally attracted to the imagery of it, and when trying to
trick my memory to try and figure out what the fuck I
make sense of things and mould them into lyric form, for
was thinking at the time, and after you’ve done a certain
example. I grew up in a partially Catholic family, and was
amount of interviews you’ve retraced what happened, and
brought up in a Christian school with church singing every
what my thought process was, but for now I’m actually
morning - for better or worse it’s ingrained in me. When
quite unclear about what this thing is!
trying to take actual living and put it into the context of a song, it seems like there’s something in that which wants
Are you someone who relistens to the work you’ve put
to reach towards heights, which sometimes becomes this
out? Or is it just about moving onto that next chapter,
search for divinity, where instead of having a rift that
having bookmarked that part of your life?
spans between good or bad, there’s a need to extend that so it becomes almost heaven and hell. I think it’s in my
I almost never sit down and listen to an album I’ve made,
nature as a songwriter to reach further than what I’m
just because it feels a bit self-masturbatory, as well as
actually capable of.
being an uncomfortable mirror into the past - you start to see the flaws, and are confronted by the ghosts of former
I do get that, because something I’ve always enjoyed
selves, so to speak. I’m not very self-congratulatory or
about your work is your ability to transform the
nostalgic about things in general, so I try to keep focussed
ordinary into the transcendental. Is that ability to
on what’s next - looking into that body of work seems
go beyond the immediate feel of things something
like a distraction. Maybe someday when I’m an old man I
particularly important to you, both in terms of your
can sit back and look back fondly, or end up in a situation
writing and the way you live your life?
where I have to figure out what I’ve actually done with my life! But we’ll see about that.
I don’t aim to search for those places, but it happens every time I sit down and write lyrics for something, I end up
Do you keep journals and diaries, and do they
there. There’s always a point in a particular song or in
influence your writing?
the midst of writing where you hit that vein where things spill onto the page, there’s a release. I’m now almost at that moment where it’s a bit ‘here we go again, fucking typical’!
47
Iceage
I always keep journals, and when it’s time to execute lyrics for an album I use them as a navigation system for what I’ve lived through, and to figure out what can be broken up and molded to song form. They’re source material. Is that something you’re constantly referring back to? Or do you revisit them in one motion when writing so everything has the same feel of mindset to it? I consciously try not to write lyrics in my free time, it’s only when there’s an album that’s about to be recorded that I actually sit down and do it in a fixed period of time, just to make sure that all of the album is born of the same mindset, it keeps it whole. It also gives you the freedom to let the memories it’s based upon mutate, and then you curate. You can write a song that is based about two different subjects or moments that mold together to be something that is entirely different. Since the release of ‘Beyondless’, at least from my vantage point, it seems like you toured the world relentlessly until Covid. You’ve been involved in that cycle of tension build and release for a decade now has that altered how you relate to life? Both musically and personally? Yeah. The band has gone from something that was just blindly lashing out, towards something where you’re aware that this is now your pursuit. You end up tying a lot of what you anchor as meaningful in your life around creating the music. It’s a funny thing how in order to create these things, you need to go out and live them, so you can tie it together. It becomes a way of making things tangible, and in that sense easier to deal with. It’s now the only thing that makes sense, I couldn’t ever imagine seeing life otherwise. My brain now revolves around tying life into song form.
There is a time for fury, and a time for painful
It felt like a very natural evolution for us, because I think
introspection. In the case of London-based sonic wizards,
over the last few years I’ve seen what’s a la mode in the
deathcrash, they are capable of an effortless splicing of
London band scene change quite a lot - there was quite a
the two, often within the same minute. Playing a strand
lot of flamboyant art-rock stuff, and then the post-punk,
of post-rock which can fall into both the realm of the
and then the more electronic stuff, so it does change quite
uncomfortable and the triumphant, they are the sound of
a lot - I think for us, as we kept changing and refining
a tsunami breaking in monochrome, an impressive vortex
the songs in our set, the stuff that was staying included
of noise and beauty, tapping into the anxiety of human
was the slower stuff. It also coincided with us leaving
experience within the framework of an impossibly vast
university and feeling a lot more confused and uncertain -
universe.
the stuff that was coming out of us was changing because we weren’t playing at parties anymore, we were playing
With a fantastic EP and collection of singles under their
first on to an empty room!
belt (not least 2020’s ‘People thought my windows were stars’, the vinyl pressing of which sold out in 24 hours), a
There’s also an element of just not being very good at
burgeoning reputation for an almost religiously entrancing
writing the faster stuff - the post-punk stuff, at least in my
live show, and a debut album set for release through
hands, just comes out super lame! There are other bands
Untitled(recs) towards the back end of this year, it feels as
doing that stuff so well, I think we were subconsciously
though the time is ripe for their emergence onto a larger
influenced towards delving deeper into what we felt we
stage. We caught up with the band over Zoom to discuss
were good at, which is just really taking our time.
the writing process, the pros and cons of press shots, and What I think we’re really seeing is a lot of bands
what we can expect from the new album.
really coming out of the woodwork and finding sudden There’s been such a spate of bands playing in a really
attention as a result of the pandemic slowing down the
frantic, post-punk vein. What drew you guys initially
more established acts. How’s stuff been for you?
towards the grander, slowcore sound you have? We’ve actually had a pretty busy year to be honest - we It’s quite easy to talk about the London guitar scene being
recorded and released the EP, went on tour with Black
a load of post-punk bands, but the biggest bands to come
Country before everything locked down. In a year where
out of it like sorry, black midi, Black Country, New Road
everything stopped, deathcrash didn’t stop, which has
aren’t that style. At the beginning when we were back at
been an absolute lifesaver for us - just having that one
uni we were playing sort of krautrock style stuff and then
thing to constantly be thinking about.
it just got slower and slower as time went on.
49
Words by Dan Pare, photos by Kaye Song
In today’s particular era of social media, it feels
In my head, it’s very much a continuation of everything
like bands are expected to broadcast so much about
we’ve released so far in some sense is out on this album,
themselves - with every development and process
but fleshed out more. On the EP for instance, we had a 15
requiring some form of broadcast. You guys have
minute track, and there probably won’t be any of that on
affected this form of quasi-anonymity, comparatively
the album but it will be on a similar track, but expanding
speaking, which I feel actually leaves quite a lot to the
on what we do. After that, we may change loads, but for
imagination. Is this choice a conscious one? Or just the
me at least this album feels like a nice culmination of how
way to best frame your music?
we’ve written songs over the last three years - and I’m really happy with how it’s going but there’s still a lot more
The one thing that we’ve always decided is that we love
we need to finish off.
to release music - and that’s now our online presence, just releasing music. We’ve never held back any material that
You guys mentioned putting out music as soon as it’s
we’ve had ready, and if you’re always putting out a new
ready and not holding anything back - has it been an
track, you don’t have to include a picture of your faces
enjoyable process working on something that is a bit
really.
more long-form, that you can inject more concept into?
We also like the nice landscape shots as well, which we
I sort of feel like it’s a lot harder, in the sense that it’s
use in lieu of press shots. Also, when writing those first
gonna be a big album, in terms of runtime. The last EP
deathcrash songs, they were all quite instrumental so it
we put out had quite a nice balance of quieter and heavier
felt it fit a more anonymous image, rather than being our
moments, and it’s difficult to keep control over what the
faces. I also suppose we’re quite shy, so we don’t really
album is going to be when it’s such a large project - it
like having our photos taken - I think it could be as simple
feels more significant than an EP, and I think there’s more
as that.
pressure now it seems it’s not just our mums who are fans!
You guys have an album coming out this year - what can we expect from it?
There is more variation in an album, there’s more space to
There’s also a lot of bedroom stuff that goes on - someone
put in amalgamated ideas and different types of songs, but
might take a voice memo from a rehearsal home and that
it’s been really fun working on the more technical parts
might spark an idea for something that they then bring
of sound. It was almost daunting to think about ‘writing
back to rehearsal, and it then bounces back and forth. We
for an album’ - there was a phase of just referring to it
do have a tendency to go in and say ‘oh, this one’s going
as ‘a collection of songs’ - very ‘don’t mention the war!’
to be a short one’ and then suddenly that 30 second bit is a
y’know?
7 minute song.
You mention the 15 minute track on your recent
A feature of your songs is lyrical content that can be
EP - something I’ve really enjoyed is the way you
quite bleak and quite raw. What informs that writing
guys do move off the beaten track, and are willing to
process?
experiment with sampling and the like. When writing, are there particular musical features or ideas you pick
If I was writing lyrics now, I think they would be quite
to showcase your ideas? Or is it just the natural result
different to the stuff we’ve put out, and the content of the
of experimentation?
album. It’s generally influenced by friends and family, and all of our collective experiences since we’ve been
It must just come from experimentation. It’s really easy
a band. A lot of ideas will come from conversations and
to forget that with the tracks we put out, it does develop
thoughts I’ve had about myself, or what people I love are
quite naturally, but each track will have many different
going through, trying to make it personal but also feeling
iterations, and in that sense it must be down to some kind
universal. Being part of a band, even if I’m currently
of experimentation.
the one saying the words, it needs to reflect all of us - if I wanted to be incredibly specific to myself, that would
Playing live is also a massive part of development - if
have to be a solo thing, which this isn’t. It comes from
you’re on tour and the way you play a song changes
personal stuff, but hopefully stuff that the four of us will
slightly each night, that is key to fine-tuning an idea.
have related to, or would have been a part of.
48
Artists
Josh Whettingsteel Matthew Palladino Andrew Tseng Joe Cruz
Anna Boulogne
Darren Shaddick
Editors Sam Ford
Ollie Silvester Joost Stokhof
Pamela Guest
Josh Whettingsteel
Sam Moore
Writers
David Huang
Will Reid
Sam Ford
REN
Laura Pegler
Niv Bavarsky
Rhys Buchanan
Kaye Song
Josh Whettingsteel
Cover Photos
Al Mills
Sarah Fabre
Sammy Clarke
Lauren Doughty
Phoebe Scott Brad Sked
Harley Cassidy Emma Flynn Dan Pare
Printed By Ex Why Zed
info@soyoungmagazine.com
Website
Steve Gullick
Photos for Collage Mishael Phillip
Marieke Macklon Oracle Sisters
Maxime Imbert Steve Gullick
Art Direction
www.joshwhettingsteel.com
www.soyoungmagazine.com
Special Thanks
News
Harley Cassidy
Jack Reynolds
@soyoungmagazine (Twitter)
Jamie Ford
soyoungmagazine (Instagram)
Cameron JL West
SoYoungMagazine (Facebook)
Dan Pare