Feel the Rhythm by Stephen Innes

MUSIC?

IT’S

OUR

RELIGION.

RHYTHM FEEL THE

November 2013

Issue #1

The UK’s New Music Monthly

MILEY: WILD CHILD OR GENIUS?

PLUS! WIN A TRIP TO NEW YORK

AN EXCLUSIVE INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD’S MOST ICONIC RECORDING STUDIO

Contents 02 Mamma Knows Best 04 WIN! Trip to New York to see Tinie Tempah 05 The jewel in the industry’s crown: a tour of Abbey Road Studios 09 Bruno Mars - The Big Interview 13 Miley: Wild child or genius? 15 Stars of 2014 discussed

The Editor says... Welcome to our exciting new music magazine , Feel the Rhythm! If you are a pop music fan , you’ve come to the right place! Not only do we have an exclusive tour of the legendary Abbey Road Studios, but we’ll be catching up with international superstar Bruno Mars too! Mamma will be here to review this month’s biggest tracks, and you also have the chance to win a trip to New York to see Tinie Tempah - what more could you ask for? Enjoy!

Stephen :)

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MAMMA KNOWS This month’s hottest single releases, uniquely reviewed by our resident Mamma!

BEST 5

Lily Allen - ‘Hard Out Here’ (Parlophone)

/10

After four years away from the charts, mouthy pop sensation Lily Allen made a triumphant return earlier this month with her sweet, stripped-back version of Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ for that John Lewis ad. But just as we thought she’d gone all soft, Lily dropped ‘Hard Out Here’, an electro-pop stomper mocking everything she thinks is wrong with music in 2013. Look out Miley and Robin Thicke, Lily’s been watching you and she hasn’t enjoyed what she’s seen! Mamma Says: “It’s got a good tune and I can see she’s trying to be satirical but, to be honest, it falls flat. It’s too close to the bone – Lily’s lyrics actually emulate what she’s trying to criticise. And, gosh, she doesn’t need to be quite so lurid, does she?”

/10 Martin Garrix - ‘Animals’ (Spinnin’)

If you visited any of the party islands in the summer, you would have almost definitely raved to ‘Animals’ by Martin Garrix. “Who?” I hear you ask. Garrix is a 17-year-old (SEVENTEEN!!) Dutch DJ/producer and this addictive dance track, his debut single, has reached the top ten in over ten countries. Everyone here in the UK seems to be loving it too as it peaked at number one in our Singles Chart earlier this month. Mamma Says: “Turn it off! It’s synthesised, computerised rubbish. How that song got to number one is beyond me. I honestly cannot understand how young people these days get their kicks from drivel like this!”

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“Is this song all just about someone’s backside? I give up!” - Mamma

Mamma Knows Best

T-Pain featuring B.o.B - Up Down (Do This All Day) (RCA)

It’s been a while since T-Pain, the Florida rapper behind the eloquently-titled hits ‘I’m In Luv (Wit a Stripper)’ and ‘Booty Wurk (One Cheek At a Time)’, graced our radios with his inimitable presence. Now though, two years since his last album and with his trademark dreadlocks shaved, he’s back with a new single. And, you’ve guessed it, this one’s about strip clubs and female derrières too. A collaboration with B.o.B, ‘Up Down (Do This All Day)’ is a catchy hip-hop number that has all the makings of a crossover hit.

/10

Mamma Says: “Wow. I am in shock! The lyrics in this track (“Tatted up, ass fat enough / She a bad bitch and she already know it”) are incredibly sexist and degrading. Is this song all just about someone’s backside? I give up! You didn’t get that with the Bay City Rollers! But, although I have never liked rap of any kind, this is one that I could perhaps listen to again. The funky tune is the only saving grace.”

Gary Barlow - ‘Let Me Go’ (Polydor)

Gary Barlow, once regarded as the boring member of Take That and perhaps the poor man’s Robbie Williams, has changed public opinion in recent years. After successfully reuniting the boyband that brought him fame, Barlow has written numerous mega hits for them, and his talent and knowledge of the pop industry earned him an X Factor judging role in 2011. Going it alone for the first time in fourteen years, new single ‘Let Me Go’ is a heart-warming slice of folk-pop that jumps on the Mumford bandwagon but still remains quintessentially Gary Barlow.

/10

Mamma Says: “Now you’re talking! Finally something decent! This is a brilliant track. I love Gazza B – he’s such a talented musician and he certainly has the knack for a great chorus. What a lovely, uplifting song. This is a return to form for Mr Barlow. Gary, it’s a yes from me!”

- All of this month’s singles are available on iTunes - To suggest a track to Mamma, email mamma@ftrmagazine.com

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Start spreading the news...

WIN A TRIP TO NEW YORK!

Feel the Rhythm are giving away two tickets to see British rap star Tinie Tempah live in concert in the Big Apple! We’ve covered flights, accomodation - and we’ll even throw £500 spending money in too!

Just answer this question...

Q. What was the lead single from Tinie’s latest album ‘Demonstration’? A) ‘Trampoline’ B) ‘Treadmill’ C) ‘Exercise Bike’ Enter online at www.ftrmagazine.com/competitions. The competition will close at 12pm on 16 December 2013. This publication has the right to change the artist and location advertised as the prize at any time. Entrants must be available at all times during the months of June, July and August 2014. For more terms and conditions, visit the website.

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The jewel in the industry’s crown It’s the most famous recording studio on the planet and has played host to music royalty like Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder and, of course, The Beatles. Stephen Innes gives an exclusive insight into the magical world behind the doors at Abbey Road Studios. If you were to stop any average Joe Bloggs in the street and ask them to name a recording studio, the majority would almost definitely say: “Abbey Road Studios”. It is, after all, the most renowned music recording facility in the world. Frequented in the 1960s by a little-known Liverpool four-piece called The Beatles, the building at number three, Abbey Road, London has also been the studio of choice for everyone from Burt Bacharach and Ella Fitzgerald, to Robbie Williams and Adele. So you can imagine my excitement, as a lifelong music and popular culture fanatic, when I was given the chance to visit this holy place - and actually record one of my own songs there. An independent music production company that works within Abbey Road run four-day workshops with unsigned musicians where they help to develop a track and then produce it to industry standard. This was an opportunity far too thrilling to miss out on.

Aged seventeen and rather un-streetwise, my father accompanied me on my pilgrimage to the big city. As a musician and loyal Beatles fan himself, it would be an exhilarating personal experience for him too. We hopped on a plane south to London and when we arrived, it was straight to the studio for our one p.m. appointment. To describe the walk from the bottom of Abbey Road to the top as “surreal” would be an understatement. The only communication we had received from the studio people was one or two emails and a rushed phone call. My Dad joked that we would turn up and be told we had been conned and that no such workshop existed at Abbey Road. Hidden underneath my laughter was a very slight fear that maybe, just maybe, he was right. It did seem too good to be true after all. Abbey Road Studios is a large building on a busy street, with a small car park shielded by a fenced wall at the front. As we approached, I was amazed by the crowds of tourists - most of them Asian

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- hovering on the street, taking pictures and rejoicing in the shadow of the legendary structure in front of them. The wall at the front is a captivating sight in itself. It is covered from head to toe in permitted graffiti. Hundreds of messages of Beatles devotion, written by visitors from all around the world, can be seen. The wall is painted over every three months, but the mere fact it is completely filled in that short space of time cements the popularity of Abbey Road as an essential tourist destination. We walked through the gates and the flock of spectators we had just been a part of started pointing and photographing us, in one of the strangest experiences of my life. Clearly, in their eyes, anyone who entered Abbey Road Studios was of some sort of importance. Little did they know how unimportant this over-excited father and son duo from Scotland really were. (cont. overleaf)

Did you know? • The Abbey Road Studios building was orginally constucted as a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse in the 1830s. • The studios only got their name AFTER The Beatles called 1969 album ‘Abbey Road’ after the street. • The soundtracks for the ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Star Wars’ franchises were all recorded at Abbey Road. • As it is a historic site, the British government has made the studios a Grade II listed building.

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The guestbook at Abbey Road Studios proved interesting reading. A quick scan through the previous week’s entries identified a few familiar names. Emeli Sandé had visited, Katherine Jenkins had popped in. Perhaps it’s sad, but I couldn’t think of anything better than a day working my way through years of Abbey Road guestbooks. Imagine the pop royalty hidden amongst them! I met my tutor and producer Rob Cass - a very nice Irishman who thankfully turned out not to be a con artist - and we were about to get to work when he looked me in the eye with a cheeky smile and asked, “fancy a tour?” Luckily for my old man and I, it was a national holiday when we visited Abbey Road Studios and we were allowed to sneak around the building on a guided tour with Rob and not just stay in the small recording studio his production company rented out. The first port of call? Studio One. An enormous room where orchestras from around the world come to record classical scores and film soundtracks. The room had clearly been abandoned

the previous day. Music manuscripts were littered all over. I had a glance at one and saw the identity of the untidy musicians in question. Studio One had evidently been playing host to Katherine Jenkins and her orchestra, who had been recording her upcoming Christmas album. Classical musicians they may be, but there was no class when it came to keeping such a special room neat and tidy! (Don’t sue me, Katherine.) The next stop on our tour was, for us, the most exciting. Studio Two, where The Beatles recorded all of their albums between 1960 and 1969. It was an extraordinary experience. So many classic songs - indeed, some of the best songs ever created - were born in this very room and now, for ten whole minutes, I was standing in it with my Dad, soaking up the incredible atmosphere together.

choose to recite? ‘Yesterday’. My Dad played ‘Yesterday’ to perfection in the room it was originally recorded in. I never thought I’d ever be in a position to write that sentence! There is something rather other-worldly about Abbey Road Studios. As you walk the corridors and look at the black-andwhite images of the long-gone performers who played there, you get the feeling their spirits never actually left. I am extremely blessed to have had the chance to visit Abbey Road Studios and discover for myself why this building, steeped in pop history, is the jewel in the music industry’s crown. S.I.

A lone grand piano sat in the corner of the room - I bet there are a few good stories that instrument could tell! My Dad, a multi-instrumentalist himself, could not resist walking over and playing a tune. But which song did he

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Music fans rejoice.

Introducing a multi-room music system to stream your favourite songs.

Bin the CD collection.

All you need is the little black box.

SONOS Find out more at www.sonos.com

MILEY This year, the whole world hasn’t stopped talking about controversial pop sensation Miley Cyrus. But is there an ulterior motive behind her crazy antics? THE MOP CHOP This was where it all began. In August 2012, Miley set the wheels of her major image overhaul in motion when she posted a picture to Twitter of a newly-cropped short, blonde ‘do. It was a far cry from the neat brunette we had come to know as the star of hit Disney kids show, ‘Hannah Montana’. She said at the time that she’d “never felt more me in my whole life”, but was this dramatic image change really just a way for the teen to express herself and claw back some much-desired freedom? Of course not. The internet went into meltdown after this particular stunt and that’s exactly what Miley would have wanted. She needed to do something to introduce her transformation from cheesy child star into mainstream pop artist and a shocking hair moment was the perfect choice. Britney Spears was actually having a real-life breakdown when she famously sheared her blonde locks, but it was all part of a bigger picture for Miley Cyrus.

THE TWERKING Earlier this month, the word “twerk” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The dictionary people said the word had been around for over twenty years but there’s no denying that Miley Cyrus brought “twerking” to the world stage in 2013. If you aren’t familiar with the dance move, it involves a female gyrating her hips up and down, causing her derrière to shake. If you desire a visual demonstration - and, let’s face it, who wouldn’t? - just pop on to YouTube and search for Miley’s ‘We Can’t Stop’ video, where she twerks ferociously in very little clothing throughout the track. That video, by the way, has been viewed almost 300 million times online and cemented Miley’s new image as an overtly sexualised pop force. Again, the world was talking about Miley Cyrus. The mere fact that “twerk” was runner-up in the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 proves Miley’s influence on popular culture. But, when she decided to twerk it out on the ‘We Can’t Stop’ video shoot, did she really know just how significant that dance move would be to her career? Probably.

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WILD CHILD OR GENIUS BUSINESSWOMAN? THE FOAM FINGER Picture the scene: the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Katy Perry, Kanye West and Lady Gaga were all performing, but whose performance was the most controversial of the evening? You guessed it! Miley joined Robin Thicke for a crass performance of Thicke’s mega smash ‘Blurred Lines’. She stripped down to a latex two-piece and grinded against the singer, touching his crotch with a giant foam finger. The MTV VMA’s are widely known for headline-grabbing performances, but this one seemed to be the most shocking of all time. Did Miley’s antics have the desired effect? Well, if she wanted column inches she would have been pleased. The world’s media were talking about Miley the following day, with the majority of reviews slating her performance for not only the over-sexualised dancing but for her poor vocals as well. However, this was arguably Miley’s career highlight to date. It was the most tweeted about event of all time, with 360,000 tweets about the event per minute. It not only increased Miley’s record sales but it also, at last, officially put Hannah Montana to bed. Even the man who created the foam finger expressed his disappointment in Miley Cyrus. Result!

THE WRECKING BALL Everyone here at Feel the Rhythm were big fans of ‘Wrecking Ball’, the follow-up single to Miley’s summer hit ‘We Can’t Stop’. A haunting ballad, this track felt like a refreshing departure for Miley Cyrus, showing a more vulnerable layer beneath all the twerking and foam fingering. But 2013’s hottest pop star clearly could not release a music video without causing at least some controversy. The ‘Wrecking Ball’ visual was revealed in September, and saw a completely naked Miley swinging on, of course, a wrecking ball. She then proceeds to randomly lick a sledgehammer, showing off her abnormally large tounge to the world. Again, this video did not signal a meltdown and a stint in rehab - it was all part of the strategy. ‘Wrecking Ball’ has been viewed almost 400 million times on YouTube, has spawned countless parodies from all over the world, and the track topped the charts in both the UK and Canada, reaching the top ten pretty much everywhere else. A wild child or genius businesswoman? Decide for yourself. But no one can deny that the world is watching with excitement to see what Miley Cyrus will do next.

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