ISSUE 64 - Festival Season by The Essential Journal

CULTURE-LIFESTYLE-FASHION 64ISSUE 2022AUG 64 EWAN MCVICAR PAGE 58 LIONESSES: HEAR THEM ROAR PAGE 76 JAMES COCHRAN PAGE 90 ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK

ISSUE SIXTY-FOUR 7 THE EDITOR'S NOTE // 11-23 THE PRIMER 25-27 MEYBA // 29-31 ZELLERFELD // 33-35 JUICY COUTURE 36-37 LA SALAMI // 38-43 ARLO PARKS // 45-47 LOUIS BYRNE 48 NEIL PERCH // 49-52 SKIN ANANSIE // 54-55 WOODSTOCK '99 56-57 TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS 58-60 EWAN MCVICAR // 61 WILKINSON 62-63 ENTER SHIKARI // 64-65 TESSUTI // 66-67 DMR LIVERPOOL 68-69 CHRIS ROE // 70-73 SHEFFIELD DOC FEST 74-75 THE LAZARUS PROJECT // 76-79 WOMEN'S EUROS '22 80-81 THE DESIGN MUSEUM // 83 NEIGHBOURHOOD COFFEE 85-87 LA MARZOCCO // 88-89 REVOLVE LONDON 90-91 THE ESSENTIAL PANTRY // 92-98 THE COLUMNSISSUECONTENTSSIXTY-FOURThe Peanut Factory // Beth Bennett // Shuko Oda / KOYA // Riz La Vie // MEYBA // ZELLERFIELD // JUICY COUTURE // NEIGHBOURHOOD COFFEE // Louis Byrne // Neil Perch // Skin Anansie // Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs // Ewan McVicar // Wilkinson // Rou Reynolds // La Salami // TESSUTI // DAVID M. ROBINSON // Chris Roe // Ella Toone // Girls on the Ball // Alex Bailess // Rachel Hajek // Megan Glocker // Cal Smith // James Cochran // Rob Pratley // Emmy Hallahan // Rohin Johal ESSENTIALJOURNAL.CO.UK // @ESSENTIALJOURNAL TERMS & CONDITIONS Under no circumstances must any part of this publication be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher. Whilst every effort is taken, the publisher shall not be held responsible for any errors. Furthermore, the publisher shall not be held responsible for any advertising material/content. Please also note that the views and opinions written within this publication do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the publisher. All prices and details stated within this publication are correct at the time of print, however these are subject to change and the publisher shall not be held responsible for these. Third party contributors own exclusive copyright to their own material that they have submitted as part of the publi cation. All rights reserved. contributors THE ESSENTIAL JOURNAL STAFF partnership manager SAM DYSON s.dyson@essentialstudio.co.uk lead designer EVIE FRIAR evie.friar@essentialstudio.co.uk features writer BETH BENNETT b.bennett@essentialstudio.co.uk creative director THOMAS SUMNER t.sumner@essentialstudio.co.uk editor JAI MCINTOSH j.mcintosh@essentialstudio.co.uk published by ESSENTIAL STUDIO // ESSENTIALSTUDIO.CO.UK 5

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As the sun suspends itself in the sky for slightly longer than usual, the summer kicks off with a litany of festivals. For EJ64, we decided that the theme of the ‘festival’ was most pertinent to the time. Yet, what is a festival? For us, we believe it is a collective celebration, a space to indulge in the moment and engage with those around you. Festivals house various ideas coexisting in a non-judgemental space, they’re a place to reinvent, to reconnect. Ultimately, a festival is designed to facilitate interest and happiness, they’re the best way to spend your limited tokens of time.

JAI MCINTOSH EDITOR

INSTEAD OF HATE, CELEBRATE.

Prince THE EDITOR'S NOTE

INSTEAD OF HATE, CELEBRATE.

JAI MCINTOSH EDITOR

Prince THE EDITOR'S NOTE

THE COVER IMAGE pictured ARLO PARKS photographed by GABRIELLA HUGHES interview JAI MCINTOSH THE COVER IMAGE pictured ARLO PARKS photographed by GABRIELLA HUGHES interview interview JAI MCINTOSH

WITH YOU ALL THE WAY

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We linked up with London's finest, The Peanut Factory, and tasked them with finding five of the very best summer party tunes. Please, proceed with caution and two-step at your own speed. ROBIN S - SHOW ME LOVE (TONKA’S 2002 CLUB MIX) Even better than the original? WNDWSUN - SLEPT IN THE OCEAN Chilled, breezy, blissful, saxy goodness. AKUL - EVER FELT LIKE THIS Instant mood booster; great vibes. JULIO BASHMORE - BATTLE FOR THE MIDDLE YOU (PJ BRIDGER REFIX) Garage flip on a classic. PROZAC - PUMP IT Trust us, have a listen. THE PRIMER THE PRIMER FIVE IN FIVE @the_peanut_factory 1 11

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Pleasure is in UK cinemas and on MUBI now 13

Following the journey of Bella Cherry, portrayed tantalisingly by newcomer Sofia Kappel, Pleasure’s greatest trick is how it plays on our assumptions. What we expect is to see this naive-appearing, wide-eyed, blonde twenty-something being exploited, brutalised, and revelling in the discovery that this ‘sordid’ life could not possibly be for her.

Brutally honest. Clinically witty. A sucker punch insight into one of the world’s most polarising industries. Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature Pleasure is an eye-opening amalgamation of the director’s academic exploration into the complicated politics of the porn industry. We here at Essential Journal were able to attend an intimate showing of the film ahead of its release as part of Bird’s Eye Films Reclaim the Frame, accompanied by Thyberg herself.

Pleasure isn’t a black-and-white morality finding film, and Thyberg states of her own experiences understanding the industry when she was researching for the film; she grew from an anti-porn activist to realising the liberation and the enjoyment that women find in this line of work when it is done and maintained safely. We’re chaperoned with Bella to various locations around LA, to different types of shoots, and with Thyberg’s careful masterstroke of directing, we find ourselves arrested with every experience Bella goes through. We feel her safety. We feel her fear. This isn’t a documentary, however, the clinical nature of it feels ultimately real, furthered by the supporting cast (all except Kappel) being non-actors from the porn industry itself. Because of this, Pleasure will push you to challenge your own assumptions, and you’ll have a bloody good time doing so.

THE PRIMER THE PRIMER

Thyberg drops it in too; throughout the first act, Bella is warned against the vivacity of the other girls in the industry. You’d expect then, for these to be enacted, for these warnings to become reality. But they don't. Rather Bella finds close friendship with the other female performers, she finds liberation in being good at her job. Even after we see her beaten down in a harrowingly intense shoot (certainly go into the film cautiously), Bella uses this to push herself further into becoming the ‘next big porn star’.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING PLEASURE WORDS BY BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY MUBI

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The world’s oldest film festival is returning to the cobbled streets of Edinburgh this August. The inaugural Edinburgh International Film Festival boasts a plethora of exciting events alongside exclusive premieres of both UK and international films. In previous years, stars such as Sir Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor, and Kelly MacDonald have all had projects open at the festival. EIFF combines both the historical uniqueness of its host city with the tantalising excitement of the film industry over the 12th - 20th August to anyone who purchases a ticket, making this event truly unmissable. WE'RE LOOKING INTERNATIONAL - 20 August courtesy of EIFF

FILM FESTIVAL 12

2022 3 edfilmfest.org.uk Imagery

WHAT

FORWARD TO EDINBURGH

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Olive Oil INGREDIENTS SERVES 2 PHOTOGRAPHY

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Return the bacon and shiitake to the pan, placing them around the egg and cover with a lid.

Cook gently until the rim around the yolk is just cooked, but it is still runny and maintains its colour. Once the udon and dashi have been cooked as per the Koya Mail instructions, gently slide the contents of the frying pan on top. 2-4 Mail (Fish Dashi Omiyage Box) of Bacon Virgin KOYA LONDON Koya has been providing London with Head Chef Shuko Oda’s famous udon, donburi, and small for years. Have you ever seen an udon English breakfast? Well, now you have.

pieces222 Koya

THE PRIMER THE PRIMER WHAT WE'RE COOKING ENGLISH BREAKFAST UDON SHUKO ODA, KOYA METHOD

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plates

Cook each portion in separate pans simultaneously. Fry the bacon and shiitake in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat without any oil and turn when golden. Remove the bacon and shiitake and place on a sepa rate plate.

Add a knob of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, scraping off any bits stuck on the pan with a wooden spatula. Turn the heat to a minimum and gently crack an egg into the pan.

RIZ So my first show after quarantine was Lollapalooza, and I played three shows in one day. It is insane, man. We were told we were going to play this smaller stage called the Bud Light Seltzer stage be fore my main show, just an acoustic set. We came out, there were 1200 people, flooded into the street trying to get in. We played that show like we would never play another show again. It was so special. I love festivals, they’re a place to be present and connect with yourself, your surroundings, and people around you.

JAI Who would you love to collaborate with, either in music or another creative project?

RIZ The reaction has been amazing! It is pretty much about lights at night, the moon, the stars, big cities, all of that. Peo ple seem to want new music from me so bad and it never normally registers that people want it because I'm surrounded by my own music all of the time. It is crazy to hear that people want it, it is so special. This song is just a teaser for fans too, it felt right. Coming into summer, spirits are high, things are good.

THE PRIMER THE PRIMER 5

RIZ For me, it is not quite as apparent that my sound has evolved quite as much over time because I am caught in it. Yet, taking a step back, I think that I have a certain sound that I want to achieve, a sound that is the highest level I can reach. As I get closer to that sound, things will change and develop but the sentiment remains. I have grown personally, adapted to life, and understood who I am. Feeling at one with myself has certainly helped me engage with music cosmically. Touring has a massive impact too as you're able to meet people who think and feel the same way. My mum is so spiritual, she always has been. She used to take us outside when ever it was a full moon. I used to try and share these experiences with people when I was younger, but I got looked at like I was crazy. Imagine a young kid telling people about manifestation, not everyone will get it. So from there up to now, it has been a natural progression.

Governors Ball NYC was also amazing. It was one of my biggest sets ever, everyone knew the words, it was definitely the one. I gave away a jacket off my back! It has been my favourite show so far but we are keen to top it and keep the energy high. The goal is to headline either Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, hopefully both. thankyouriz.com WHO WE'RE TALKING TO RIZ LA VIE

JAI How has the reaction been to Nightlite?

RIZ I just know that it is forever. Some times I have to sit with something for a second to realise if it is forever or not, you know? I have released things that all feel like forever, so as long as I keep making things that feel timeless for me, then I’m doing the right thing.

RIZ The entire scene in Atlanta (laughs), I just want to work with everybody there. Oh, The Weeknd, actually.

JAI A lot of people found your music during lockdown. Due to lockdown, there would have been few festivals taking place, so how have you found the return of the festival and what has it been like?

JAI You tend not release music volumi nously, is there a reason why you’re so selected?

JAI Your music can be characterised as cosmic and introspective with a contem porary edge. What has inspired such a unique sound?

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WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO SUPERNOVA - NOVA TWINS THE PRIMER THE PRIMER 6 @NOVATWINSMUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY FEDERICA BURELLI 18

Teetering between grime and punk, the fierce Brit duo Nova Twins are fast on their way to becoming a staple of Brit ish music. Unapologetic in their style, their latest album Supernova perfectly encapsulates their manifesto of modern punk. From the slick Cleopatra to the explosive Enemy, the album is leading Brit rock into an evocative, exciting new future with all the bells and whistles of a damn good listen.

THE PRIMER THE PRIMER @KYSTYAMBLE

WHERE WE'RE EATING KYSTY Under the tutelage of Chef Patron Ryan Blackburn, Kysty, led by Head Chef Dan Hopkins, have created a seasonal menu full of dishes inspired by the Cumbrian landscape that sits right on the doorstep. Kysty pride themselves on their close work with small, artisan producers who source the finest local ingredients that populate their plates. Labelled as casual dining, Kysty is the sister restaurant of the Michelin starred The Old Stamp House, therefore, casual here means something different. Quality ingredients utilised by some of Brit ain’s finest chefs, Kysty is a northern gem, worth a visit if you ever find yourself ambling around Ambleside.

7 PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY JONES 19

“Elvis who?” was photographer Alfred Wertheimer’s response when, in early 1956, an RCA Victor publicist asked him to pho tograph an up-and-coming crooner from Memphis. Little did Wertheimer know that this would be the job of his life: just 21 years old, Elvis Presley was, as we now know, about to become a legend. Trailing Presley like a shadow, Wertheimer took nearly 3,000 photographs of Presley that year, creating a penetrating portrait of a man poised on the brink of superstardom. Extraordinary in its intimacy and unparalleled in its scope, Wertheimer's Elvis project immortalized a young man in the very process of making history.

Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll collects Wertheimer’s most remarkable Elvis shots from that magical year, along with a selec tion of his historic 1958 pictures of the star being shipped off to an army base in Germany. Each chapter is illustrated with a poster by Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest letterpress print shops in America, which created many early Elvis posters in the 1950s.

8 WHAT WE'RE READING ALFRED WERTHEIMER: ELVIS AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL EDITORS TASCHEN & Chris Murray Hardcover, 336 pages 22.4 x 31.6 cm Available now.20

AND HARRY BENSON. PAUL EDITORS TASCHEN & Reuel Golden Hardcover, 172 pages 24 x 33.3 cm Available now.

Harry Benson began photographing Paul McCartney in 1964, when The Beatles took America by storm, toured the world, and made their movie debut with A Hard Day’s Night. The legendary photojournalist was on hand to document it all. When the Fab Four came to an end, it was Benson who had intimate access to Paul and his wife Linda, as Paul forged a new path, creatively and Featuringpersonally.more than 100 color and blackand-white images, this collection is a window into the life of one of the world’s best-known recording artists, an icon who has remained enigmatic despite a lifetime in the Throughlimelight.Benson’s lens, Paul traces the evolution of its namesake from performer to icon, father and husband. We see the young musician at the height of his fame with The Beatles, in the recording studio with Linda and their band Wings, with the family, behind the scenes and on stage during the 1975–76 Wings Over America tour, partying with the stars, and at the couple’s quiet farm in the UK in the early 1990s. On the occasion of Sir McCartney's 80th birthday, Paul gives an all-access look at a life spent making the world’s most popular music. A must for any music fan.

PHOTOGRAPHY AMIR HOSSAIN 22

Dr. Marten has always been committed to platforming and sup porting young creatives. The Summer Shoes collection from SS22 is yet another testament to Dr Marten’s forward thinking and creative identity.. MARTENS

drmartens.com WHAT'S ON OUR FEET DR

SUMMER SHOES COLLECTION 923

To celebrate the Summer Shoes collection for the All Access Summer SS22 campaign, Dr. Martens championed four different creatives from four corners of London. The campaign showcases how these creatives collide and work together for the ultimate summer experience whilst in the latest 1461 Canvas, 1461 Suede, 1461 Iced Sole and Adrian Suede.

Free-thinker TJ Sawyer was the Creative Director behind the vision for the campaign and shares insight into his direction: “The Summer Shoes campaign was conceptualised with the intention of reinvigorating the imagination and inspiration of Dr. Martens’ youthful consumer, presenting three of my most im pressive, yet rooted created counterparts embarking on the most extravagant of summer’s days, powered by myself and the very Dr. Martens shoes upon their feet.”

ONE THING DONE WELL MEYBA X LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH MEYBA X LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC ONE THING DONE WELL 25

You may recognise Meyba from the retro Barcelona kits of the 1980’s, but now they’re facing the future. The terrifying collage of Cruyff, Maradona, Koeman, Stoichkov, Guardiola, and many others have been seen sporting the iconic brand. Now, Meyba have stepped into the future whilst ensuring their history remains front and centre. The aesthetic of the vintage kit collides with as pects of footballing modernity which inform various pieces from one of football's original Thebrands.world welcomed Las Vegas Lights FC in 2018, bursting with vibrancy and colour indicative of the city. Teaming up with one of the game's heritage brands allows Las Vegas Lights FC to draw together historical knowledge, European football culture, and future facing confidence to create one of the better football shirts we have seen in a while. A new kit concept arises most days on social media, yet, few could argue with the significance of the Meyba aesthetic. The away kit, much like the home kit, pays hom age to the city’s infamous lurid lighting yet the away kit displays a uniquely patterned design to mimic Nevada’s dry desert and wind induced erosion contours. The growth of the beautiful game in Ameri ca has been seismic over the last three dec ades. A new way of thinking about the game has emerged, more inclusive and built on the paradigms of the contemporary. Mey ba’s step into the US game is a clear indica tion that, when the past combines with the present, the future is far more exciting. Find the best of the past and the present at meyba.com

FOOTBALLINGHERITAGEFOOTBALLINGMEETSFUTURE

NEW LIVERPOOL SHOWROOM OPENING APRIL 2022 LONDON LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER ALTRINCHAM

ESSENTIAL ZELLERFELDZELLERFELDINTRODUCTIONS WORDS JAMES ZELLERFELDINTRODUCTIONSBLAKEESSENTIAL 29

Zellerfeld receives the old pair and, based on the day-to-day feedback, various models are continuously analysed and subsequently improved with design up dates. This is an on-going process allow ing Zellerfeld to maintain optimal quality and adaptability, the aim here being to bring footwear design and creation closer to software development. With Zellerfeld, their shoe fit is perhaps the most bespoke trainer on the market to date. The fit isn’t constrained to a preconceived shoe size. Users can take a scan of their foot using the app, creating a more bespoke fit for each foot. The German start-up, named after Cornelius Schmitt’s university town, is arguably a software company rather than a fashion house. With the aim to put a 3D printed shoe on every foot on the planet, Zellerfeld is doing more than revolution ising footwear manufacturing. Acting as a platform for young designers, Zellerfeld is levelling the playing field for design ers entering the footwear industry. By reducing start-up costs, Zellerfeld is a tool that is empowering a new age of footwear designers through equality and equity, allowing more people to step through the Footweardoor.

T he application of 3D printing is vast, exciting and already happen ing around us. From the four walls we call home, to printing prosthet ic limbs, 3D printing is at the forefront of innovation across multiple disciplines. Our urge to improve and innovate has driven the development of 3D printing tech niques to tackle world issues on a rapidly impactful scale. Currently the world pop ulation sits at 7.7 billion, and continues to grow, along with the pressures of consum er demands. 7 billion pairs of feet; subse quently a lot of trainers. And let's face it, you probably have a few pairs of trainers, some more than others. I wonder how many pairs of trainers you have owned in your lifetime and what happened to them at the end of their life?

seismic waves in the footwear scene, bridging the gap between conscious production and contemporary design. Using 100% recycled TPU polymer, Zellerfeld has been able to create the world's first 3D printed shoe made from 100% recycled material. Typically, the pro duction of trainers is carbon intensive. The majority of trainers regularly consist of a traditional structure, the upper, midsole, outsole, tongue, heel and toe box. With each segment serving a different function and consisting of mainly synthetic rubber and plastic, the manufacturing process requires large amounts of energy to pro duce and is ecologically damaging. Roughly 25 billion pairs of running train ers are produced each year, and most are unrecyclable, which is a trajectory that, without change, is wildly unsustainable. 3D printing trainers allow the structure of the shoe to be streamlined into one material, creating an efficient production process. With digital printing, the possibilities are almost endless. Unique and intricate textures and silhouettes can be created through digital precision, allowing designs which were never before possible come to fruition. Paris Fashion Week saw Kid Super utilise the platform with the ‘heel you soles 1’. Printed in striking deep blue and featuring a morphed face as the tongue of the shoe, the futuristic take on the men’s dress shoe perfectly captures the capabil ities of Zellerfeld. This is just the start. The predecessor, Zellerfeld’s recent collaboration with Heron Preston, saw the birth of the Heron01. Released in orange, black, and white; the Heron01 is a trailblazer in the footwear scene. Having released a successful 0.8 beta, Zellerfeld has encouraged beta users to send back their pair in order to receive an updated version.

design has the opportunity to be led by experimentation and curiosity, rather than quotas set by footwear giants. Whilst the company is still in its infancy, the next decade holds promise as Zeller feld ups-the-ante in their production out put and material research. As more beta users and designers come to the platform, the shoes which Zellerfeld produce will only evolve and expand.

@zellerfeldofficial

Sneaker culture dominates popular culture. The trainer, initially conceived to aid exercise, has evolved into an integral part of any fit. Arguably a pinnacle point in trainer history was the creation of the Nike Jordan series. Seen as the first athlete endorsed shoe, the Jordan has a seismic cultural footprint in the sneaker scene. Since then trainers have gained a cult following, with increasingly daring designs taking centre stage. Advances in manufacturing have seen companies leave behind the traditional silhouette, gearing more towards the knitted sock. Most notably flyknit is responsible for some of today's most iconic sock shoes such as the Balenciaga speed runner. The age of Zellerfeld marks another pinnacle point in the rich history associated with the trainer, which promises to disrupt the future of shoe production, changing things for the Zellerfeldbetter.ismaking

WORDS JAI MCINTOSH & BETH PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS 32

GOTHOWTHEIRGROOVEBACK WORDS JAI MCINTOSH & BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS SUMNER WORDS BETHMCINTOSHBENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS SUMNER 33

Juicy Couture has been a brand caught in a web of time, stuck in the Y2K movement, synonymous with exclusive celebrity lifestyle. Now, they’re back. At EJ headquarters, we couldn’t resist finding out just what is going on behind the closed doors at the home of velour. So, we went on a visit…

Now, I am sure most of you will have a firmly cemented image in your mind as soon as you hear the words Juicy Couture. It’s a vibrant velour tracksuit with a dia mante tattoo that sits, provocative, on the backside of the bottoms. An icon in its own right, the Juicy Couture velour tracksuit became the desirable athleisure item of Y2K, firmly rooting itself in contemporary fashion and social history. Juicy Couture’s journey has been a remarkable display of turbulence; sales tumbling at a stark speed from 2009 as the world moved on from post-90s chíc before, then thanks to the advent of 2020’s nostalgic Y2K resurgence, finally coming back into the frame. In 2020, Juicy Couture was acquired by American conglomerate Authentic Brands opting to team up with designer Amy Gib son – now helming the throne of Creative Director – to relaunch Juicy Couture into the sphere of this century’s roaring twen ties and craft longevity in the name. Therefore, for our inquisitive minds, we had to go and find out more about how exactly they plan to bounce back into the collective consciousness of contemporary fashionistas. So, with our cameras and our apprehensions, we hitched a ride to Hox ton and into the home of velour. When you step into their office, you’re welcomed by a wall covered with iconic im ages from the Juicy hay-day. Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, JLO, and Rihanna are captured proudly on this wall. Scanning the entrance way you see the Juicy neon sign and a patchwork sofa made from recycled tracksuits that bear that diamond insignia which, in all honesty, is a pretty amazing way to homage their heritage. Taking a step forward, into the inviting and warm space, you realise that the Juicy Couture team consists almost predom inantly of young talented women–along with the token scouse man selling trainers. This is their world. And it’s a bloody lovely Theone. team is uniquely unified, working seamlessly in unison despite the slight ex citement of a few recording cameras and a question heavy journalist were waltzing around their office and showroom. They were welcoming, warm, and wonderful conversationalists, eager to talk about all things SpeakingJuicy.with Amy Gibson, you realise the brand is spearheaded by someone with a clear passion and focus, her very own Juicy tattoo is enough of a signifier for this. She speaks with a deep under standing of Juicy’s past successes and subsequent fall, and promotes a greater vision for Juicy that far exceeds the top layer thinking of the Juicy from twenty years ago. “What Juicy was back in the day and who it is now... it's something very different. Juicy in its heritage represented a privi leged girl. But now, it’s for everyone,” Amy “Itexplains.means self-love, comfort, and empow erment. We all have different bodies. We all have different tastes, but we all can wear Juicy in our own way and actually put our own personality onto it. We have a really fantastic representation and fan base through the queer communities. We see a lot of guys picking up our clothing, it shouldn't be limited to one type of person. Whoever wants to adopt Juicy should be able to and boldly do it and shout about it really. I'm very proud to wear Juicy be cause of Broadeningthat.”the product range and capital ising on the cyclical nature of trends is all part of the longer-term plan for the return of Juicy. I’ll be honest, when we went there, we didn’t know what to expect. We thought Juicy Couture was a brand struggling to re-emulate their youthful popularity. But what we found instead was a diverse team of highly-talented fully-committed individ uals tasked with the challenge of reimag ing a future at once attached and separate to the original Juicy identity. A tough task no doubt, yet, if anyone can do it? It’s Juicy Couture. Shop Juicy Couture at tessuti.co.uk

LA SALAMI LA SALAMIINTERVIEW&WORDS MCINTOSHJAI INTERVIEW&WORDS MCINTOSHJAI 36

LA I almost always prefer playing live over recording; live perfor mances are the truest form. Some songs of mine like Day to Day for 6 Days a Week, I have never properly recorded it, it has been record ed, but when I perform live, it is a little different, more of what I want. I am able to be more meticulous, more intimate, when performing live.

JAI Your music has always excelled lyrically. Where do you draw inspiration and how would you characterise your sound?

LA I used to be a big reader, but now I just don’t have as much time. When writing, I seem to have dormant words in my head that just pop up at random points when they’re needed most. The worlds I have thought of are exactly what I want them to be - I call it lyrically centred non-genre music. Reading poetry is nicer because it is more digestible. Poetry is full of cerebral language; the arrangement of sound to make a frequency, like prayer or chanting, is deep rooted in poetry. Listening to an emo tional frequency is a universal language, less about the writing and more about the stenography of feeling. There is a rhythm you can tap into. It is like fine art. Think of Picasso, he is able to freeze a moment of time in his own perspective, and has the ability to translate it to people through art. Trying to do this in music is the goal, but never easy. worlds I have thought of are exactly what I want them to be I call it centredlyricallynon-genremusic. 37

The

@lasalami

JAI For many artists, festival season is the best part of the year. What has your overall festival experience been like?

LA It only comes into play at certain times. I went through a phase, exploring the philosophy of spontaneity. It is about capturing mo ments. With this new record, I have been experimenting with it for a while. It involves a lot more tracking, placing genre elements, and more deliberate sounds. This record, Ottoline, is similar to The Prel ude (2014), each sound, each element has been deliberately placed - I had a sunset red colour in mind when composing the album.

LA Salami has been a peripheral figure on the British music scene. Having opened the Burberry Prorsum Menswear Spring/Summer 2014 runway show, LA Salami’s spectre has continued to rise. Back with a new album, Ottoline, due September 30th, we caught up with one of London’s finest musical poets… JAI 2022, been good?

JAI Having seen you live, and listened to your studio recordings, there is always a slight difference, as though you give yourself more licence when performing live, would you agree?

LA Things have been a little slow this year. I recorded the new album a long time ago now, it feels almost separate to me at this point – I’m in a different headspace now. I wish I could change a few frequencies, but that is natural when you go back to any project after a little bit of time.

JAI Lyrically and sonically, there seems to be an extra layer of me ticulousness present. Is this just part of the working method or does your approach vary?

LA In 2016 I became a musician professionally, meaning I have been slightly more involved in the festival circuit since. Honestly, I love it, even if the pace of things and the changeovers can be a little stress ful, especially as I like to be meticulous before performing. For me, festivals remind me of taverns and open-mic nights, which is where I came up, therefore, festival performances feel natural for me.

One of Britain's finest emerging artists of the 2020s, Arlo Parks has enlightened and delighted fans throughout the last few years. With a US tour about to kick-off and plenty of awards being won, we thought it was time for a catch up. years. With a US tour about to kick-off and plenty of awards being won, we thought it was time for a catch up. FUELLED BY FUELLEDDREAMS BY DREAMS WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY GABRIELLA HUGHES PHOTOGRAPHY GABRIELLA HUGHES 39

JAI Mercury Prize winner, Best New Artist at the Brits, as well as Grammy nomina

JAI First of all, you’re currently backstage getting ready to support Harry Styles in Dublin, how are you feeling?

Arlo Parks has emerged onto the British music scene as a wave of literary and considerate fresh air, capable of captivating audiences with her delicately woven yet strong lyrics and soothing melodies. Having stepped into the contemporary music foreground throughout the lockdown period, Arlo Parks has developed into one of Britain’s most exciting new artists.

ARLO Two things. The first thing is that I am definitely fazed but I just can't wrap my head around the enormity of everything (laughs). I am quite a restless person, I think it is more a lack of processing and just powering forward, playing shows, mak ing music. It still hasn't sunk in yet. It helps that I still have the same friends and sup port system, so they keep me grounded. I think reading, spending time by yourself absorbing things, can make you feel small and feel as though there is still plenty to learn, there is still plenty to learn. I am at the beginning of everything, and reading often reminds me of that.

Having won the Mercury Prize, Best New Artist at the Brits, and receiving two Gram my nominations in the last 12 months, it is clear that Arlo’s star is perpetually rising. Speaking to Arlo backstage as she gets ready to support Harry Styles on his world tour, you can sense a wave of calm emanating from her despite knowing she is about to play one of her biggest shows to date.

ARLO I am super excited, I don’t think I have ever been in a stadium like this before–it's great! I feel like when you approach shows like this, you just have to be yourself, albeit in front of a lot of people, but just being myself, that's what I hold on to in these moments. Hearing all those voices singing the words louder than the artist is mind-blowing and the fact that this happens in every venue all over the world, it is wild. It is about hap piness, and that is really nice, I’m looking forward to it. JAI Ostensibly, you remain relatively unfazed at the rapidity with which success has found you. Do you think your literary influences have helped you maintain a sense of calm throughout the last few years?

I think when you start to gloss over the smaller beautiful things or moments, when your mind is focused on the big picture and you can’t zoom in, maybe it means you’re not sharp and aware of the world.

I am everything,thefazeddefinitelybutIjustcan'twrapmyheadaroundenormityofeverything.Ithinkreadingcanmakeyoufeelsmallandfeelasthoughthereisstillplentytolearn.Iamatthebeginningofandreadingoftenremindsmeofthat.

JAI You have spoken previously about 'the expansion of your sonic palettes and tastes' leading to a slight change in music you want to make. Is your new single, Soft ly, partly or entirely a result of this?

ARLO When you’re focusing on the little things there is a sense of being present; it means you’re noticing, you’re awake.

ARLO I am constantly changing. Softly was definitely a step slightly away from Collapsed In Sunbeams, I still think they share the same DNA in terms of having that thread of having quite a nineties sensibility, and the storytelling, and the observational sociographic writing style, but there is a lot of growth to do. I am still young and I feel as though I am discover ing things every day. I always talk about the fact that I want to make weird little side projects just for myself such as making an ambient album and not showing anyone but keeping it for myself.

tions and a myriad of other award wins and nominations. Does winning awards reaffirm a sense of doing something right with your music or do you find winning awards slightly overwhelming and odd?

ARLO It really is a bit of both. I think you should never get to a point where you feel blasé about winning or being nominated for big things, but at the same time, plac ing all your sense of self worth on winning that, you know. It is kind of nebulous how it even gets judged and music is so subjec tive. I think it is great to be acknowledged but also it is important to remain a little confused still. For me, the Mercury Prize was a meaning ful one for me. That was something that I kept up with and made a point to listen to nominated artists, it feels so genuine and always celebrates such a diverse range of music rather than being geared towards things more commercially palatable. It was a big deal to me, like, one of the biggest deals ever (laughs).

I noticed that a lot during lockdown when ever I went on a walk, looking at the sun and the sky. It is something I have always 41

JAI When discussing your writing and sub jects, you explained “the way that I write is about taking the mundane or the little things and transforming them into a more beautiful whole.” What is it about the little things that inspire you?

had, that sense of wanting to capture and describe the little things, which is why I think my songwriting is detail oriented. I feel like I am present when I am talking about the little nuggets of detail within the bigger picture.

ARLO I did a lot. In terms of personally, my friends and my personal community, we wrote a lot of letters and conducted a lot of phone calls, just checking in in small, consistent and meaningful ways. When it came to other artists or people whose work I admired, the internet was the best tool for that, even though I am not very good at it. I spent a lot of time messaging people on social media, talking to peo ple, which is a shared experience for a lot of artists in terms of lockdown, having everything stop, and not being able to do what we do which is perform. So yeah, I spent a lot of time on the internet, for better or for worse (laughs).

ARLO Yeah definitely. It is something close to my heart in terms of my own experienc es and people who mean a lot to me. It is something that a lot of people deal with and there is still a stigma of shame around it, a feeling of isolation and that you're the only person in this dark sludge when actually everyone struggles. Everyone has a mind to take care of. It has always been at the forefront of my mind, so I thought I could use my experiences, my empathy, and my platform to try and encourage conversations. The aim is to get people to be good to themselves and to each other, it naturally happened.

JAI Throughout various interviews you repeatedly mention your love of collec tivity and community. Having written and recorded Collapsed In Sunbeams almost entirely during lockdown, how were you able to manage your desire to engage with people and the process of isolated creativity?

ARLO Writing, for sure. It is the words. I grew up listening to audiobooks and being obsessed with words. My dad always used to play me these audiobooks which enabled me to discover how much I enjoy distilling complicated feelings into one phrase, word or idea and then I get to the point where I think “that’s how I felt!”

JAI In keeping with the mental health conversation, which part of your creative process do you find the most cathartic and helpful?

I was speaking to Ocean Vuong for Dream Fuel, and we were talking about those par ticular feelings you can spend a lifetime trying to explain, such as riding a bike as a kid, approaching your friends house, throwing the bike down, and running to your friends door. Like, how do you describe those feelings? When I work that out, it gives me a sense of release and I feel like I understand the world more.

JAI Having emerged into the collective consciousness of the quasi-mainstream throughout lockdown, how has your festival experience been so far as a performer?

concertcelebration,collectiveofbeingatafestivalorafeelslikethemostpresentyoureallycanbebecauseitisloud,youareremovedfromdailystruggles,thereissomethingmagicalaboutit.Theideaofcollectivecelebration,beingatafestivaloraconcertfeelslikeissomethingmagicalaboutit.42

JAI Consistently you have championed mental health awareness and done so through creativity. Was it a mixture of per sonal experience and lockdown craziness en masse that encouraged you to start working with Calm?

ARLO It has been, ugh, I can’t even explain it. The festivals I had played before, I was accustomed to a couple hundred people who didn't know who I was. It was fun, but circumstantial and I could see I was at the start of things. Now, the first festival we had back was Live at Leeds and the crowd knew my songs and were singing along, it The idea

JAI There is a strange sense that you have of being aware of the journey you are on from an early age. Has it always been mu sic as the priority or were you considering other avenues?

JAI Do you have any plans to expand your oeuvre beyond music and poetry into other creative worlds? If so, what would you like to try?

was crazy. The idea of collective celebra tion, being at a festival or a concert feels like the most present you really can be because it is loud, you are removed from daily struggles, there is something magical about it. It has been one of my favourite experiences to engage with that collective presence.

ARLO Loads of things, mate (laughs). I am doing a fair bit of foraying into acting and film. I think eventually I would like to do some things in music supervision, sound-checking, and scoring for movies. Also writing prose, poetry. I am just inter ested! My main interests are film and writ ing, and fashion too. I would love to make clothes or jewellery but I have to focus on one thing at a time so I am giving myself a lifetime to get it all done.

ARLO Okay, I need to visualise this one in my head. So I am with Harry Styles tonight, festival season including Glaston bury, I am supporting Billie Eilish at the O2. I am also going to Japan, Australia and New Zealand. I am doing a headline tour in the US and I am doing a couple of shows with Florence Welch out in Canada and then just working on a few tunes. Not that much on (laughs). @arlo.parks

JAI Like many others, I have been enjoy ing Dream Fuel. The conversations and music are of course excellent, but how have you processed the on-going experi ence of having your own show?

JAI Are there any festivals that you are yet to visit/perform that are on the bucket list? ARLO Primavera for sure. Lollapalooza would also be amazing, those are the two I really want to perform at, it would be amazing.

ARLO Well, I really wanted to write. I thought for a while I would be a journalist, maybe. I wanted to just write and talk to people. I knew that music would always be a part of my life but it felt like making it happen was such a rare thing, I didn’t even know how to tell people how much I want ed to do music, I couldn’t even tell myself. I thought I would do it for myself and do something in writing for my job. I couldn’t have imagined the way things have gone so quickly!

ARLO It has been a formative experience for me, actually. I have always been inter ested in conversation and curation at the same time. I guess there are two halves of the programme, there is the part where I am digging for music and I get to play whatever I like for a lot of people, and that taps into why I got into music in the first place, getting lost on Youtube and MTS, finding gems along the way. Then there is the conversation idea of things which is really interesting as well. I get to talk to people outside of the music world, people who are in fashion or acting, people who are interested in music but come from dif ferent fields. I think recording on the road, it was this little part of time where I could just sit with someone completely outside of my world about something we have in common, it's really wonderful actually. It’s been a journey.

JAI You have a seriously busy second half of 2022, what have you got on?

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STYLEDWELL Louis Byrne’s ‘I Can I Am I Will’ Brings Wellness Into Fashion WORDS BY BETH BENNETT Image credit: COLLABORATOR BEN WEST Author and mental health activist. PHOTOGRAPHER LIAM BUNDY 45

It’s a tired Wednesday morning in Soho when I sat down with Louis Byrne, accompanied by oat milk flat whites and an instant sense of comfort. Despite the early morning, his smile is bright and welcoming, and he sweeps me into his home with a gentle kindness that permeates everywhere. I can tell instantly that Louis is one of those people that you want to be around. Although he lives as a magnetic character in a busy, ever-evolving industry, there’s something solid about him. It’s clear to see why he’s a grounding friend to many of our favourite stars.

“She loved it!” He laughs. “Well, she told me when she didn’t love it. She was an amazing character, I used to see her as very strong but she was very sensitive at the same time.”

Louis & Emma Willis PHOTOGRAPHER JOHN GORRIGAN << 46

Pleasantries out of the way, Louis hands me his new book: The I Can I Am I Will wellness journal. It’s a thirteen week course to jot down your thoughts, reconnect with yourself, and remember why we all bother getting up in the morning. It asks you to make three statements: ‘I Can…; I Am…; and I Will…”. Inter-spliced with images and stories from his expansive clientele, the journal serves as a reminder that we all need to take time to just be with ourselves. Louis explains: “I’ve always offered a support system through my work as a stylist and hairdresser. I’ve always offered that sense of companionship. When I started to incorporate empower ment and wellness into my sessions, it felt a natural progression of what I was already doing. These celebrities got involved in the movement because it helped them, so they’ve become an integral part of growing I Can I Am I ButWill.”how did it start? When I ask this, Louis claps his hands and then takes a long, cen tring breath. And then he says: Let’s go back to the start. Born in Northampton in the early 80s; Louis’ dad left the family when he was two days old. His mum relied heavily on his Auntie Val and Uncle Les and he’d end up spending week ends and school holidays at their house. The fondness he holds for his Aunt Val seeps into the way he talks about her, of how he used to — at four and five years old — sit her down and do her hair.

He tells me that this is the first time he’s spo ken about it publicly, but that he’s managed to reconcile the shame and stigma of the diagno sis to be part of his story. “I’m asking people to share their truths, so I need to share my own. I take one tablet a day, which means it’s completely undetectable with me and I look after myself. I’m healthy.”

Louis & Vicky McClure COLLABORATOR VICKY MCCLURE PHOTOGRAPHER LIAM BUNDY << 47

“You can come out and tell people, but what does it mean for you, and how do you under stand it? It's quite difficult. […] I had so much shame and regret surrounding myself that I wasn’t able to be proud of myself, I wasn’t able to put it out there.”

Louis continued to feel himself move further and further away from himself as a two dec ade long spiral. “It all sort of culminated really in 2015 when I was diagnosed as HIV positive.”

“I used to wake up crying, when I was deep in depression and these negative cycles of behaviour, and I had a bit of a breakdown. One morning, I woke up and these words ‘I can, I am and I will’ appeared in my head. They gave me “Wellness,hope.”

This sensitivity was something Louis felt within himself. He explains how he had a stepdad who “just really didn’t like me being around”. Similar tensions existed for him at school, he details growing up as a boy who liked to cut hair in the throes of a small, working class town in the late eighties and early nineties.

manifestation, mindfulness… I’m a council estate boy from a working class town and all the talk about those things is hippy dippy and pretentious. So I used these words as a guide, as a perspective, and started to in vest in my wellbeing in a way I could relate to.”

“I Can I Am I Will has been about meaning, it’s been about intention, about connection and community. So the way I view it, if what I’m doing has all of those things, then I’m happy.”

Now, Louis is happy but, moreover, he’s con tent. And he’s bringing I Can I Am I Will into schools, into the corporate world and even having discussions with the government. Follow Louis @louisbyrneiciaiw Buy the wellness journal online at iciaiw.com and use the code 'ICANEJ' for £5 off. "

One morning, I woke up and these words ‘I can, I am and I will’ appeared in my head. They gave me hope. I am and I will’ appeared in my head. They gave me hope.

“Naturally, I was told that I was queer before I even knew what it was.”

It came to it then that Louis felt, by his step into adulthood, that disconnect between who he was being and his authentic self. It was the death of his brother that made him realise something in his life had to change. Yet, even when he moved down to London, came out as gay, and settled into his hairdressing career, there was this still this sense of disconnect.

Some may fear that the culture in which the sound system de veloped is being morphed into something far from the origins, and their worries may be well founded. However, post-pandemic society is slightly different as people are now searching for tangi ble experiences and human connection, both of which the sound system facilitates. The sound system in underground music has always been a shady yet essential character, destined to outlast any raver.

“The concept of the sound system was born in the Reggae and Dub scenes in the late ‘70s early ‘80s as an amplification tool for producers and a speaker for the various MCs aiming to get their lyrics heard,” explains Neil Perch. “Equally, sound system culture was born, in part, due to the DIY culture inherent in underground music more generally despite genre. You could, and still can, mix and play in one day on a sound system that you know inside out, this creates an authentic component required when making your own music I suppose.”

The sound system, then, looks subject to the same fate many mu sicians will succumb to, that being, playing at the control of labels and streaming services which ultimately hinder creativity and accessibility. The sound system represents each town and each city, it has the ability to bring people together to celebrate culture and humanity more widely. The rebelliousness stems from the anti-establishment nature of free parties and racial tensions throughout the final three decades of the twentieth century. A fact of which people remain fiercely proud of.

One thing is certain, the sound system is an underground icon and has almost certainly brought joy and freedom to anyone who has been lucky enough to listen to music through one.

THE SOUND SYSTEM: COMMUNAL REBELLION

In the UK, there is a general tendency, specifically from main stream media outlets, to lean towards London-centric everything. Yet, the sound system, the archetypal aspect of every rave, has found a home in every city throughout the UK, with London actu ally being slightly behind the trend at first.

Therefore, the element of risk involved stimulated a sense of rebelliousness that has followed the sound system for decades. Equally, the sound system was able to present the voices and experiences within various Black and West Indian communi ties throughout the UK. However, there have been a few issues, more specifically, there have been arguments suggesting that Black and ethnic minority music has been, and continues to be, commercialised to the point where it is unrecognisable from the original sound: “For fear of getting too deep,” Perch says, “I also think that, with respect to Reggae and Dub, Black music gets commercialised meaning the only way to access the world is by being wealthy enough to meaningfully perform or have decades of industry Socialexperience.”media and streaming services have also played a role in the present and future of the sound system. “Social media has democratised information which is always a good thing,” says Perch. “Yet, on social media and on music streaming services, there are gatekeepers. It is all about making money for faceless individuals who can dictate what people en masse listen to. I feel as though the love and essence of music is being slowly strangled by these music streaming conglomerates.”

wobblyweb.com/zt/abassi-hi-power

Duke Vincent Forbes, Lloyd Coxsone, Count Shelley, Jah Shaka, Fatman, and Neil Perch have played pivotal roles in expanding and celebrating the culture and music of reggae and dub. These are the foundational people and sounds that became inexorably linked to the sound system. The imposing, loud, and somewhat ethereal sound system belongs in a unique category of objects that rarely fail to entice and excite human beings. The foundational element for any event is almost certainly a sound system, yet, how did the sound system evolve from a tool of pure functionality to a symbol of togetherness, community, rebellion, and well, music? We spoke with Neil Perch of Zion Dub Train, Abassi Hi-Power System, Universal Egg, and Deep Root to help better understand the significance and symbolism of the sound system.

WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH & NEIL PERCH

When discussing the icon surrounding the sound system, Neil Perch states “I don’t think it has much to do with Dub and Reggae but it has a lot to do with the free party scene of the ‘90s and ear ly 2000s that platformed house and tech music. The iconic nature of the big amplifiers and DIY sound systems was that people were willing to risk their equipment to throw a free party in a liberated environment rather than being bastardised in clubs. Free parties subvert commercial events and festivals, this is how the sound system became an underground icon.”

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH 49

Skunk Anansie have occupied a strong and unyielding position in British music since their inception in 1994.

Lead vocalist, Skin, has never been afraid to speak her mind, now more-so than ever

WHEN YOU HAVE YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE GETTING INTO ROCK, LOOKING FOR BANDS THAT REPRESENT THEM, THEY FIND US AND KNOW THEY ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED AND LOVED.

JAI As a rock band with two black mem bers, yourself and Cass, how have your festival experiences as an artist changed over time? SKIN I think things have changed a little bit. I don’t think there are anywhere near enough female headliners and certain ly nowhere near enough black female headliners. They’re perceived to not be big enough, but they’re seen that way because they don’t get the support others get. There are these perceptions, black people sell less copies, black people are not as popular. This is clearly rubbish, you only need to look around to see that isn’t true. In America, they are so much better. But in the UK, they will put Arlo Parks in there - which is amazing - but then they leave everyone else. It’s like they want a flagbearer and nothing else. It looks really bad now if you lack diversity in your line up, but I still feel as though nothing is given, we still have to argue the case. Nicki Minaj showed this, she was given juice on her rider when she asked for champagne. She made a point of it and people asked her why she was making such noise, she replied saying that if she didn’t make a point, nothing would change for black female artists. It’s like we should be grateful for handouts. You look at festival line-ups, even Glas tonbury, what were we doing on the Other Stage? We played the same stage that Megan The Stallion was headlining when we should have been on the Pyramid Stage with all the rock bands. In the 90’s we were only seen as a rock band. Fast-for ward, and as a band that has sold over 5 million albums, we’re still not seen as a rock band. What band do you know after 25 years are still selling records, smash ing social media, doing a fucking sold-out tour, and headlining European festivals? There aren’t many. Pulp can’t do it, Oasis are split, Blur can’t. These are big British bands, who have deserved a headline spot at points, but they’re not doing it now. We are still playing but we’re not given the same respect in England. We don’t get asked to do any of the big British festivals outside of Glastonbury and the odd one or two. We are still outsiders and underdogs even though the numbers suggest other wise (laughs). In fairness, I am laughing because ultimately, I don’t care about this fucking shit, we still do our thing.

JAI So, the famous Glastonbury headline show in 1999 is arguably the defining show of your career - talk us through that experience?

Speaking to Skin, you gauge an unending passion for music and politics. Skin comes across as hyper-aware of domestic and international issues. Equally, the Brix ton-born singer is able to recognise the faults in the music industry, festival organi sation, and society more generally. With the theme of our issue being ‘festival’, we knew who we had to speak to.

Skunk Anansie has done it all when it comes to completing the rock band check list. Having headlined major festivals all over the world, topped charts, performed with some of the most iconic artists of all time, and repeatedly spoken up against societal injustice, the band's fierce vocalist, Skin, has been central to this.

SKIN It was interesting because we were so excited to play Glastonbury, then some publications like the NME had this usual wave of questioning credentials. I think they saw themselves as the arbitrators of cool. These negative comments really resonated with us, even though there was overwhelming support for us at the time. We went on stage questioning ourselves but actually the audience were incredibly positive and we had the best gig. All of the flags flying, the crowd signing, it went off! When we played there this year, we were told that it was the biggest audience they had seen in that tent at that time. They cut off the beginning of our set which was a Boris Johnson speech about loving Peppa Pig, so you won’t see that on BBC iPlayer. It went off, people loved it! Well, apart from the Guardian who said I came across like a metal Grace Jones. I think they think it’s an insult, but ultimately, what is wrong with metal and what is fucking wrong with Grace Jones? She’s incredible.

SKIN The clit rock thing came out because we were consistently asked about what it was like to be a Brit-pop band. We were not and are not a Brit-pop band, so I told them we were clit rock not Brit-pop. It was a joke but people took to it and we decided to roll with Whenit.I had my outfit made for Glasto this year, I wanted “Clit Rock'' written across the back in gothic letters. I actually heard that the BBC had blurred it out. Do you think a male metal singer with dick-rock written on the back would have been blurred out? Probably not. All of a sudden it’s about the female anatomy and people start to get annoyed and flustered.

JAI Was it an easy decision to accept the OBE?

JAI “We’re not Britpop, we’re Clit Rock”Talk to me about this now iconic quote.

PHOTOGRAPHY INDIA FLEMING PHOTOGRAPHY INDIA FLEMING 51

JAI Skunk Anansie are, ostensibly, back in the public consciousness. You have always remained committed to activism, proving people and systems wrong. Do you think that lockdown/covid culture and the UK/ US political turmoil has meant that your message is resonating with a younger audience?

SKIN People are certainly finding our message resonating with them; our music will always have a political edge to it. We are living in a world now where people are scared. Christian fascism is huge, look at the Roe vs Wade debate in the US. Young people are worried and are looking for music that has something to say.

We have maintained consistency over a 25 year period, and we have always backed ourselves and our messages. That is why TikTok is kicking off for us, as a load of young kids are resonating with the things we were saying all those years ago. You look at all that is happening in America, it will come to the UK eventually. Rock is back, in a different way, but it is back. People like Willow Smith are proof of that for the younger audience - I can see the Skunk Anansie influence in her music. So when you have young black people getting into rock, looking for bands that represent them, they find us and know they are always welcomed and loved. This has been really wonderful.

SKIN You know, five years ago it would have been an easy decision but now I have to think twice about it. It is this whole idea of empire that the Queen is insisting on and the word empire bothered me. I have educated myself constantly on the British Empire, so I know exactly what it means and all of its connotations. It’s challenging for black people all over the world to deal with that word, as it’s the bit that England always harkens back to. They’ve not had an empire for fucking years. Now, I know a couple of the people on the OBE committee. It is diverse and open. They decided that I should have one, and I am okay with that. I haven’t got much rec ognition from my own country. I see myself as fully British, and a representative of Britain when I am away from the country.

JAI Which artists today do you consider to be the flag bearers for the messages you have been supporting for the last two and a half decades?

@officialskunkanansie 52

SKIN Well, because I have a radio show I have access to so much new music. A few days ago I found a band called Catalyst [who are] really interesting and amazing. They’re trying to do something different. I am a fan of Greentea Peng, Jorja Smith and Enny too. The reason I think that Brit ish music is the best in the world is that, in America, they care about production and money making. Whereas in Britain, we are more than happy to create for the love of creating. We are not afraid to mix it up, we love doing something fresh. America likes to chase success. In Britain, we want to be new and exciting without caring about money.

I am proud to be a British person and I am proud to have an OBE, I will like it when they change the name of it. Also, it made my mum and dad very fucking happy, they felt they raised me right having come from a different country to the UK. Any award or any achievement is troubled. I think the way social media cherry-picks things distorts issues and makes things harder, but ultimately, being black and being British is troubled and maybe al ways will be. As black people, we have had to come to terms with our British identity. When I went to Jamaica, I saw myself as Jamaican, but hearing their patois, I hard ly understood anything, which made me realise that me being black and British is a real thing. Black people not being proud [to be British] is part of the racist frame work, like you’re not allowed to belong here and celebrate our own identity. We all built this country post-WWII, without people of colour and different ethnic back grounds, things fucking fall apart. This is our Britain, and we deserve to be here. No racist motherfucker will take that from me or any of us. Every nation has done trou bling things, but actually we just need to learn from the past and forge a new path.

For those suffering from the Millennium bug, Woodstock ‘99 would not have been a healing process. Riots, heatwaves, destroyed facilities, and Nu-Metal all played their role in the death of the nineties. WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH 54

“Holy shit it's the apocalypse now out there!” is the shout from Anthony Kedis as their set was interrupted by festival organ isers attempting to dispel audience mem bers from setting more fires. What ensued was cars and vans being tipped over and set alight, riots and violence against secu rity and police, multiple sexual assaults, theft and general destructive behaviour.

When you think of Woodstock, you think of free living, free loving people peppered around a field with the dull aroma of mar ijuana floating over the masses of dilated pupils. Harmless enough. This was 1969, the year Jimi Hendrix adorned the Wood stock stage with an effortless style and a slight acid wobble that has captivated the minds of millions since. Fast-forward to 1999, and things are very different in BillAmerica.Clinton was sitting atop of the execu tive as the shiniest lame duck, the dotcom bubble burst, and NASDAQ declined 76%. The fears of capitalist America are being realised. In the wake of this is the rise of Nu-Metal, with bands such as Korn, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit ushering in Metal’s first day in the sun. Sunscreen was definitely required. As Woodstock ‘99 rolled around, much in line with that year’s expectations, Nu-Metal was to have its time. Alongside the mellow tones one would expect from a Wood stock Festival, Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Rage Against The Machine were the standout Nu-Metal bands getting the opportunity to be flag bearers for the underground. However, Woodstock ‘99 failed to mate rialise into the opportunity for Nu-Metal that some had hoped it would be. Instead, Woodstock ‘99 became the catalyst for the increased vilification of Nu-Metal, with the devastation that ensued often being blamed on Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. In retrospect, the destruc tion and rioting at Woodstock ‘99 was ultimately down to poor planning, lack of resources and organisation combined with an underbelly of male American aggres sion that resulted in sexual assault cases, three deaths, and millions of dollars worth of Builtdamage.onaformer U.S Army base in Rome, New York, Woodstock ‘99 started with the groans of people unwilling to pay $4 for a small bottle of water. Given that tem peratures exceeded 38°C and people were sleeping under parked vehicles for shade, these groans seem even more understandable. Then the realisation set in that public facilities were clearly unable to handle the size of each crowd meaning that the majority of festival-goers had to trudge through a mix of whatever was dripping out. Combine all these aspects with general social discontent and the heavy bass of metal music and you quickly unveil the allure of en masse destruction that was simply too strong to avoid. As Saturday evening wound to a close, the palpable aggression in the air was thick enough that you could smell it over the leaky latrines. Social unrest, the recent Columbine shooting, and the looming chants for profit from the festival organ isers - it’s no wonder that the festival became dubbed Profitstock - culminated in unprecedented festival rioting that has never been replicated at a mainstream festival event since.

As the Red Hot Chilli Peppers took to the stage for their final song, the audience were issued candles to light as a vigil for those who had lost their lives in the Col umbine massacre. The band opted to play Fire by Jimi Hendrix as both an ode to lives lost and to the essence of the festival. However, if you have over 200,000 dehy drated, angry, and slightly delirious people in a confined space, giving them candles is ultimately going to end in devastation.

The mythology of Woodstock disappeared with the rising smoke.

THE DAY THE NINETIES DIED THE DAY THE NINETIES DIED THE DAY THE 55

DINOAURSEXTINCTENORMOUSTOTALLY

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ENORMOUSTOTALLY 56

JAI MCINTOSH Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has been incrementally increasing the amount of music he has been releasing over the last few years. With a new album set to drop later this year, we caught up with Orlando after a late night Ibiza show.

WORDS & INTERVIEW

TEED We’re going to try and do a special version of the album that contains demons and unreleased stuff from that time. It is a little tricky as it is under a different deal as it is signed to Polydoor which is Universal, so things have been a little slow. At the begin ning of 2020, I was just all go, not worried about all of the industry stuff and just enjoying the process.

WHEN I AM MAKING

JAI Lockdown proved difficult for many but also opened the possibility for more time to indulge creatively. You released two EPs and a Grammy nominated collaboration with Bonobo over lockdown, would you say that increasing musical output was your way of communicating and expressing throughout the lockdown period?

WHEN I AM MAKING MUSIC AND WHEN I AM IN THE MOMENT, IT IS PURE AND DIRECT. "

TEED I wanted to set the tone of the record. I think I wanted to put something forward that was quite serious in its lyrical content. The album itself was constructed from a lot of songs based on the same themes as Blood On The Snow. I could’ve done something pop/party but that would have surprised people when they real ised the actual album was a little sad (laughs). The second reason is because I really like the song, I don’t have any reservations or questions. I feel very strongly it is a good piece of music that I could back.

JAI This year also marks ten years of Trouble, which was released in 2012. Any celebratory plans?

JAI You have your first album in ten years, When The Lights Go, coming out September 9th with Blood On The Snow having already been released. What inspired you to release this song as the single and how has the reception been to it?

TEED Yes definitely. I knew I wanted to increase musical output because it is so stressful being sat on hundreds if not thousands of unreleased tracks. Lockdown was tough for everyone but I felt that it also allowed me to focus on music and some new projects I had wanted to work on for some time.

PHOTOGRAPHY JADE MAINADE @teedinosaurs 57

TEED I played at Coachella this year and when I was there I real ised I have been going to music festivals for twenty years now. It was strange, they’re not made for me. I love live music, but I don’t want to run around in a field with my friends anymore, we can do better things than that. My perspective on it is very much as a musician. It is about where I want to go and look at the crowd when I play music. Before, it was about the party but now it is just about the nicest places to play. There is an amazing positivity of getting everyone together and turning everything up loud. On a more critical side, I think things have gotten pretty boring with line-ups over the last four years. I can see that ticket-goers are quickly going to feel uninspired by their experiences. I think there is way too much DJ stuff going on right now, which economically makes sense. I think it is important for culture for these events to stay weird, to stay fruity.

WHEN I AM MAKING MUSIC AND WHEN I AM IN THE MOMENT, IT IS PURE AND DIRECT.

TEED I don’t think you’re wrong (laughs). I am somehow disconnected. When I am making music and when I am in the moment, it is pure and direct. But then, when I am operat ing on stage or within the industry I am slightly dissociated from the situation, I don’t think it is a quality at all, it is like a system error I have. I was just saying to someone that I don’t think people come to my shows to listen to me, I think they must be there by mistake. I can’t grasp it. So when I am at the Grammys it's like a fun immersive theatre trip, I am just sort of viewing it. What I did take away was that the big artists, the really big artists, are so much bigger than all other musicians. Billie Eilish, Ander son Paak and Bruno Mars, anyone that gets to perform on stage at the Grammys, it is so fucking huge, you see things on a scale this large and you see the amount of people involved, and I real ised I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Sitting down with Orlando of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs was definitely interesting. Hailing from the same place as I, there was pre-existing common ground. What I ex pected from TEED was analysis, introspection, and a unique awareness of industry coupled with covert musical passion. It is worth adding here now, that if you’re after film suggestions from TEED, which of course you are, then today is your lucky day. TEED’s top three rom-coms are Ten Things I Hate About You, How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, and There’s Something About Mary. To quote the man himself, “They’re fucking good films.” Anyway, onto the music…

JAI Once When The Lights Go is released, what does the rest of 2022 look like for you?

TEED I can’t tell you because I’ve got some surprises coming.

JAI We are focusing on the theme of the Festival this issue. I have read you have a soft spot for Bestival, but which other festivals are your most enjoyable to play and experience?

JAI You also went to the Grammys, congratu lations. I have always thought of you as slightly abstract and analytical, so I imagine being at the Grammys was a slightly bizarre experience for you?

STAND OUT STORIES STAND OUT STORIES WORDS MCINTOSHJAI PHOTOGRAPHY BENNETTBETH&SUMNERTHOMAS A•BREATH OFFOFRESHAYR•ABREATHRYAHSERF 58

Ewan McVicar is rapidly ascending the DJ world, selling out shows all over Europe and performing with some of the scene's legends. Yet, behind the on-going success is a delicate story of loss. We spoke to Ewan about this, setting up raves in the woods, and mixing tunes in the back of his car…

EWAN I was four years old when I found out properly and I was able to compre hend it. My mum showed me this book where she had like all the newspaper cuttings of the tragic events and stuff.

And I think, you know, as much as I wouldn't wish it on anyone – it is a kind of weird way to grow up – but, my mum gave us everything we wanted as kids. She's been unbelievably supportive to this day. Having that strong bond from my mother has been central. It's been so good to be able to put a smile on my mum's face as well after everything she's been through. You either sink or swim. I could have been like 'Oh, this has happened' and been down in the dumps about it, but I've just let it push me from within to create this whole thing that I'm now building. It's cliche but there's no stopping how far I want to go because I have that much ambition and I'm so determined; I was in the charts and playing Sub Club! JAI So, moving forward; you were studying primary teaching at university. During this time you had gone from PR-ing for a club to running your own nights, Ten, in Ayr. How did you get into DJing and how significant was it to end up getting your own night?

Ewan McVicar is widely considered to be the outstanding young DJ in the UK. We not only wanted to speak to Ewan, we wanted to watch him perform. So, to Sub Club we went!

EWAN I was in uni and I was skint all the time. I needed a job. I was 17 when I started PR-ing as well for the local club: Furys in Ayr. Then I was standing in the pissing rain one Friday and I was like, 'What am I do ing? I'm getting paid peanuts when I could be in warm, playing tunes.' I wanted to learn how to DJ. So I asked the DJ at the club how he got into DJing and he gave me this shitty like £100 metal mixer. I had a HP Mini for uni, just for all my studies but it was used for mixing. It cut out every time I was DJing, don't get me wrong, it was horrendous. But I just set the ironing board up, got the PC speakers, and then I just started playing tunes in my room for months and months. I just wouldn't leave my room. I always did have an interest in music, but it was never my passion, it was always education. And then I just got obsessed. I get obsessed with stuff and don’t stop until I am at a serious level. I started working Tuesday nights at Sub Club. They changed how I viewed the industry and taught me so many things I still use to this day. I drove up from Ayr, just drank water. I would stand by myself, I never took any pals. I would do PR and cash desk til about midnight. But then I'd come in and just lis ten to Optimal, George Fitzgerald, so many amazing DJs and selectors that broad ened my knowledge of music and made me want to perform.

JAI Before we talk music, we are here to talk for the first time about your early life and the challenging circumstances that affected your family as your father was murdered just before you were born.

EWAN Ayr is home. There hadn't been anything of high quality in Ayr and I was feeling it. I was playing at these commer cial clubs and I was playing shit music, but I was like, 'Why? Why does no one try anything in Ayr?' So we started a night called Ten. And Ten was named after the month my dad died.

JAI Ayr is clearly a special place for you and your involvement in the UK music scene. How significant is Ayr to who you are and how has the reaction been from people there to your growing success?

I wasn't expecting, 'Oh, we're going to get thousands of ticket sales.' It's not what I was in it for, I was in it to create culture in my town, my hometown, which I care about so much. I can honestly say if it wasn't for Ten I probably wouldn't be where I am today. I've got massive plans for Ayr, I want to do a festival in Ayr next year hopefully.

Search TESSUTI EWAN MCVICAR on YouTube.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION ARE AMAZING... BUT SEEING PEOPLE TOGETHER HAVING A MAD TIME IS WHAT IT’S ABOUT.

He died on the 1st of the 10th 1993 and I was born on the 10th of the 1st 1994 – like conspiracy theory shit, man, mental. And then my papa, who had been there throughout my whole life, he stayed with us for a full life, he died on the 10th of December. So this number ten was just a recurring theme in my life and I wanted to change it into a positive and celebrate it.

JAI In 2020, you released the Street Rave EP and then a year later Tell Me Some thing Good dropped and exploded. How has the reaction to both of these projects been and how have things changed in your career following these projects? EWAN Honestly, mental. It is something you can’t properly prepare for. Like I said, I was in the charts but still playing smaller club nights, which, in all honesty, is some thing I think I will always do. The support from everyone has been incredible, every time I play I see people singing along and dancing to my tunes, it’s unreal man. Awards and recognition are amazing, and mean a lot, but seeing people together having a mad time is what it’s about.

JAI Lastly, IRN-BRU or Buckfast? EWAN Easy, both (laughs). "

WILKINSON In the UK, Glasto is the one. Parklife this year was incredible as was Creamfields South. I must shout out a lot of the independent festivals like El Dorado that have such a special vibe. Internation ally, for me, Beats For Love and Let It Roll in Czech Republic are amazing, as is Dour in Belgium, for example. But New Zealand’s Rhythm & Vines is like a home fixture for me. Beautiful location out on the far east coast of the North Island and the crowd are next level.

JAI Drum and Bass has always been an underground genre, but in the last decade, the genre has increased its audience massively. To what extent do you think festivals are responsible for this upsurge in popularity?

WILKINSON As a DJ – like I said headlin ing Rhythm and Vines and Hidden Valley Festivals in the past are real stand out mo ments. Reading Festival, which I’ve done 4 times–goes off! But as a fan I just love messing about at Glasto and places like Wilderness. Seeing John Hopkins on the Arcadia stage at Glasto was a vibe.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY SAM NEILL wilkinsonmusic.com 61

JAI Domestically and internationally, what are your favourite festivals to play?

Wilkinson has not only topped charts, but he has remained a constant presence across the global festival scene. We want ed to know why Drum and Bass has taken over plenty of festivals, so who better to ask?

JAI Both as a DJ and as a fan, what festival moments will you remember most fondly?

JAI What does the process of choosing who you want to feature on a track look like? WILKINSON Honestly it's different every time. Sometimes I will make a record with a particular artist in mind and other times it’s just an organic process with a vocalist in the room. Often, the palette of sounds I’ve used creating an instrumental will determine the type of voice I want for the track.

JAI We’re here to talk festivals, and you have been a regular on the UK festival circuit for close to a decade now. How has your festival experience evolved over this time? WILKINSON Well the main change for me is the stages I now play on. I started on the tiny little stages around the back of the toi lets with 100 people in the crowd. Now, it’s main stages and massive tents – amazing! Due to the nature of summer touring I’m not often able to hang about too long and soak up the vibe. We’re usually in and out and off to another show. With Glastonbury, it's different and I try to take that week end to inspire me and fanboy some of my favourite artists! The festivals in New Zealand are some thing else. The locations they have down there are incredible, overlooking stunning coastlines, in vineyards and nestled in mountains. I’m very lucky and fortunate to do what I do, and I often feel like playing these big festivals is the reward for grind ing away in the studio and all the work that comes with that.

JAI Firstly, congratulations are in order with the release of Cognition earlier this year! How has the reaction to the album been? WILKINSON Ah, thank you! It’s been incredible, especially during the weeks around the album release in February and my Brixton Academy show. I have to say it’s been overwhelming at times. I put so much time, energy, effort and detail into every aspect of the album and nothing guarantees it’s going to resonate with fans. The response from my fans and my peers has been incredible and has definitely made it all worthwhile.

WILKINSON Yeah, it's true. Festivals have been key to our music’s success and sustainability, especially in recent years. At the end of the day, when you’re at a festival, there are moments when you want and need to go nuts. Drum and Bass just has the energy to enable you to do that. Also, as a genre, we have so much fresh new talent coming through and bringing new ideas and styles that relate to the younger audience. The media always talk about how our music comes in and out of fashion, but honestly, it’s just not true! It’s always been strong and you only have to look at which festival tents are rammed, to see how consistent it is as a genre. The D&B tent is always a roadblock!

ROU It is awesome to be able to do them, it is so nostalgic. It is something that is now almost like another world, the small music venues are struggling, nationwide and worldwide. It makes me feel a renewed gratitude for my upbringing and my local scene, we were just totally spoiled. There is nothing like that right now. It is super difficult for new artists coming up now. It makes us question what we can do and how we can help. As well as the lottery funding events such as this, the Music

SEASONSFESTIVALSHIKARIENTER:

JAI Firstly, congratulations on winning Best Live Artist at the Heavy Music Awards. Feel good? ROU Hey, thank you! Throughout our ca reer, I changed my mind on which awards I would like to win. For the first half of our lifespan it was always the live performance awards that I wanted to win because live music is where you prove yourself. Over the last few albums, I've become more comfortable and enthused by the studio, having moved into the production role. Now that I understand the studio environ ment from that side, I feel more impas sioned. After the last few years of receiving zero validation and human connection, to be able to win an award for live music feels amazing, it reinforces that we are actually good at this.

JAI Earlier this year, you guys spent some time on the Revive Live Tour, a National Lottery funded tour for artists to return to the small venues that helped build the foundations to their career. How did you find it?

JAI You have often spoken about the declining popularity of local music venues. Festivals often provide a strong platform for smaller bands, but what more can they do?

ROU Good question. It is a sign of the financial times. People would rather save and pay to watch loads of bands over a weekend rather than being a local at a venue. Bands and artists could always do warm-up shows at smaller venues prior to festival season, which always helps rein vigorate a community around the venue. I think that is what has been lost, the com munity of live music. Half of the reason we love live music is the connections we make with other people.

JAI Do you think the fast-paced consump tion that these media outlets encourage is damaging to music?

JAI How do you think the digitised way of consuming music has impacted the sub-genres Enter Shikari belong to?

ROU I think technology has a long history of affecting art. My favourite composer is Stravinsky, specifically his Serenade in A. In order to fit everything on the recording, each piece had to be three minutes long, which had never been done before, classi cal music was quite lengthy (laughs).

ROU As a person who grew up on albums and as a person who is in a band who creates albums, it is frustrating. There is only so much breadth you can include in a few minutes. I have always loved the idea of a whole album as you can access and experiment with so many different sounds. We pride ourselves on musical agility, that is what excites us. Everything appears fragmentary. It feels unhealthy. I imagine there will be a backlash at some point as you can only Enter Shikari are on tour in the UK, Europe, Australia and North America in 2022. All dates and tickets available at entershikari.com get shorter for a certain amount of time. Psychologically as well as politically, these platforms won’t build a world of depth, it can only really be surface level. I feel like we need slow, measured conversation, not just soundbytes. It is interesting the way in which culture chooses its direction.

JAI Political criticism is consistent across certain social platforms, but what do you see for the future of politically engaged music? ROU I suppose it is going to be harder not to say anything, and that is exemplified by non-political artists not being afraid to address certain issues. You can only write so many love songs before you seem a bit Equally,ridiculous.there is a lot of poor, surface level political commentary. It is like things are not real, as if someone is taking political music to commercialise it, to take advan tage of young people who are just getting politicised. I usually say the cliche, only write what you know, so I never think artists should be expected to address political issues, but I do think that, when climate change really begins to seriously affect migration, and there are water scar city issues - twenty years from now things will be so different. Things move fast and I imagine that music will begin to address this more and more.

JAI For Enter Shikari, how have your festi val experiences evolved over time?

Venue Trust is doing awesome things every day.

I think that TikTok is just the most recent version of technology changing art. People think more visually now. One of the things that TikTok does, interestingly, is that people think how music can be used, how it can aid in creative video making. People are having to think a little more collabo ratively. I know I will be influenced, I try to consciously direct myself, but for us, we just focus on the sound that we enjoy and go with that.

ROU I don’t think our experience has changed a great deal really. For us, the festival circuit is the best thing about be ing in a band. Festivals really are the only place left where we can come together indiscriminately and celebrate art and life. I feel such a great deal of gratitude and power, the fact we are able to wield these tools of unity, it is so reifying when you look out at a mass of people knowing that they have come from all different walks of life, and they’re being brought together by music.

Fearless live performances coupled with a unique socio-political awareness, Enter Shikari have always been themselves. Speaking to singer and producer, Rou, you get the impression that things have only just started for the St Albans boys. 63

64 MINDOFSTATESUMMER>>MINDOFSTATESUMMER>>MINDOFSTATESUMMER>>MINDOFSTATESUMMER>>MINDOFSTATESUMMER>>MINDOFSTATE64

A festival does not just mean a three day event across a certain weekend in the summer months, a festival is a coming together of people to celebrate. There are certain places dotted throughout the world that can be called festivals in themselves. The first that comes to mind is Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Medi terranean Sea off the east coast of Spain. A gem of an island, Ibiza is able to culti vate a summer mentality with ease. Home to the underground rave culture for five decades, Ibiza boasts a collection of the world’s truly iconic venues. Amnesia and Pacha were the first clubs to open in the 1970’s, followed by the Ku Club (now Privilege), Space, Es Paradis, Eden & DC10. Today, the island boasts two of the top ten clubs in the world in Ushuaïa Ibiza and Hï Ibiza, ranking 6th and 1st respectively. From the advent of the early club culture to the present day, Ibiza occupies a unique spot in the collective consciousness of the underground music scene. A free space for expression and coming together, this iconic club scene is set on the backdrop of 65

breathtaking mountainscapes and water so clear you begin to question it. Yet, this all but adds to the attractive mystique that surrounds the island. Straight out of the office and into that summer state of mind, our friends over at Tessuti have been spending their summer months in Ibiza with some of the world’s biggest brands. In Ibiza, every night is a Dillyfestival.Gill, Fashion Marketing Executive at Tessuti “Tessutiexplained:capturesthe history of Ibiza using key landmarks known for partying such as Festival Club and The Rave Cave. This cam paign follows a group of friends on their journey around the island. The campaign's creative idea attempts to provide a sense of escape and freedom for the coming summer, they radiate hope that the past is in the past and that there is optimism in the months ahead.” To shop Tessuti’s summer collection, visit: tessuti.co.uk

@tessutiuk@tessutiuk@tessutiuk

WORDS JAI MCINTOSH WORDS JAI MCINTOSH appointments and content creation. The new showroom also has a dedicated 1,130 sq.ft Rolex showroom, in addition to an IWC e-space and offers expanded jewellery and watch workshops for the showroom’s Master Goldsmith and Master Watchmaker. Told you it was good, didn’t I?

John Robinson, the managing director of DMR commented: “We are delighted to be creating a totally new luxury experience in Liverpool, the city where our journey began. This vast new showroom incorpo rates dedicated space for our luxury fine jewellery brand, along with a large Rolex Theshowroom.”choiceof Liverpool ONE for this new concept is an homage to the brand’s home city, reaffirming their commitment to retail in the city. Alison Clegg, Managing Director of Asset Management at Grosvenor explained, “As one of our original tenants, their growth is an excellent endorsement for Liverpool

Longtime friends of EJ, DMR have been one of the national leaders in fine jewellery and luxury watches for over half a century. Back in their hometown, DMR have overhauled their Liverpool showroom to something rather spectacular… ONE and signifies the ongoing demand for physical retail, as well as the expansion of our luxury-focused offering. The premium experience is a key aspect of our retail strategy for Liverpool ONE, and we look forward to working closely with David M Robinson as they broaden their offering.”

DMR LAUNCHES

Following years of specialised training and acceptance into the British Gemmologi cal Association, David M Robinson (DMR) opened his first eponymous shop on North John street, Liverpool, in 1969. Despite expanding to key locations in London, Cheshire and Manchester in more recent history, their roots have remained in the North West. The latest project, a refurbishment of their flagship store in the heart of Liverpool, is DMR’s largest expansion to date. Introduc ing the first new concept showroom for the brand, DMR are able to combine their in-house expertise with the very best of client service. Quite frankly, the upsizing this refurbish ment has undertaken is astounding. Not only has the space increased by over 70%, the new showroom presents multiple instore VIP spaces, including a private dining room for 12 guests, champagne bar, as well as a sound-proofed media room equipped with state-of-the-art cameras for virtual

NEW SHOWROOMLIVERPOOL

JAI What is the significance of this refurbish ment to both DMR and Liverpool as a city?

AD We have lots of exciting plans to host our clients in the showroom and lots of new prod ucts set to launch over the coming months, so there is a lot to keep an eye on in the world of DMRDMR…have been champions of unique quality and craftsmanship from the very beginning. With their enhanced space in Liverpool ONE, DMR will continue to set precedent for the rest to follow. Visit davidmrobinson.co.uk@davidmrobinson

JAI What is the in-store plan for the rest of 2022?

To find your nearest showroom visit davidmrobinson.co.uk » 67

AD This latest project is a testament to DMR’s commitment to client experience and ensur ing that our customers are welcomed to the finest spaces as soon as they step into our showroom. The addition of a new champagne bar on our mezzanine level and an exclusive private dining makes it a truly unique offer for retail in Liverpool.

AD Definitely! The showroom has been designed with the client in mind. We want to ensure that a visit to DMR isn’t just an oppor tunity to view our exclusive product range, but is a chance to do it in style. What better way to do it than to enjoy a glass of champagne or a cocktail whilst overlooking our beautiful new showroom.

AD We’ve had some absolutely fantastic feed back since we first lifted the shutters again earlier in the summer. Our customers were overwhelmed by the scale of the expansion and what it has allowed us to do with the space. It is safe to say that we still aren’t tired of hearing customers say wow as soon as they step through the door!

JAI A champagne bar is a nice touch, right?

Upon a brief visit, we spoke with Alisha Duffy, Showroom Manager at DMR Liverpool.

JAI What has the overall reaction been to all of the changes?

CHRIS ROE WIRES & STRINGS WORDS BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX KOZOBOLIS CHRIS ROE WIRES & STRINGS WORDS BETH BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX KOZOBOLIS CHRIS ROE 68

BB Was music something that you grew up with or was it a later in life thing that you fell into?

CR Music has always been a big part of my life. I started playing piano when I was young, and there was always music in the house. Both my parents, they're not professional musicians, but they're really into their music. I got into jazz music at quite a young age, I loved the freedom of improvisation. I'd always watch the behind the scenes things on DVDs and they'd often have something about the score on there as seeing the musicians recording in the studio and bringing it to life was eye opening. So composing felt like a natural progression.

CR For a show that centres around a bomb squad, I started thinking about the EXPO team, and how wires are really important for them — it's a life or death situation. That got me thinking about the different types of musical ‘wires’ or strings and how we could record them differently, and so I landed on the Ebow. You hover it over a piano string and it makes quite a fragile, delicate sound that’s always different every time you do it. That fragility and tension really made sense for the project.

BB Do you have a favourite project that you've worked on so far?

I first stumbled into Chris’s impressive body of work after seeing, or rather hear ing, his score for ITV’s Trigger Point earlier this year. Most often, when I find myself watching film or TV, the score is never the first thing to jump out at me, as I find I’m more naturally drawn to visuals and cinematography. However, I wasn’t expect ing the sharp manipulation of strings to send a chill down my spine while watching another formulaic police procedural. Each scene, the score jumped out as the star of the show, building the tension and warping with each twist and turn of the story. It was a new experience for me, and a completely new take on the sound for the genre as a whole. So I just simply had to get to know the man behind it.

CR I always start visually. It’s one of the reasons that writing music for film and TV appeals to me, that visual way into music. I always come up with some kind of con cept first in my mind, then imagining how that translates into music.

Do you have a preference when it comes to working with fact or fiction?

CR They all mean different things to me, but I think After Love. The process of working with Aleem Khan as a director, we worked really closely on it. The film itself has gone on such a journey. With the soundtrack, I feel like that's one of the most personal films I've worked on. In ten years, when I look back, I’ll think of After Love. @chrisroemusic “I don’t know if a little music ain’t about the nicest thing a fellow can have,” wrote William Faulkner in As I Lay Dying. Music is, and I don’t think it’s outlandish to say, an important component to everyday life.

BB What film scores have influenced you?

BB You’ve worked on a variety of different genres, both factual documentaries and fiction, and of course you did the score for the fantastic After Love which Joanna Scanlon won a BAFTA for this February.

BB So when it comes to your own craft: when you’re given a project, what’s your starting point?

CR The one that springs to mind is The Village score by James Newton Howard for M. Night Shyamalam’s film. I can remem ber it now, the way he uses a solo violinist to represent the central character. It fits with the landscape and the feeling of the film so well. Another score that linked with my love of jazz music and big band was ac tually the first Incredibles film and Michael Giacchino’s score on that. There's a great feature on how he recorded the big band and embraced this almost James Bondlike world of the film.

BB Trigger Point is one of your biggest projects to date, how did you find the par ticular concept for that show?

CR I don't really have a preference. I think with any project, I always try to get into the mind of the central character and portray that. So in After Love it's all about Joanna Scanlon's character, Mary, and the way her world is falling apart. So for that project, I was really focused on the concept of a world crumbling and we created a full piece of music and then fragmented it throughout the film. That’s my process; whatever project comes up just trying to get into the mind of that central character whether it be fact or fiction.

This is why I was so excited to get the opportunity to chat to an innovator of composition. Known for his work scoring films and television, Chris Roe boasts a wealth of talent that has British producers hankering to work with him.

That’s why we find ourselves always hungry to seek out stories beyond the realm of the Vanilla Factory we call home. So when the opportunity came up to pop over to Sheffield and experience the UK’s biggest documentary film festival, we were eager to hit the road. Sheffield Documentary Festival boasts more than just a broad brethren of docu mentaries. It’s a buzzing hive of immersive art experiences, lively discussions and eye-opening debates. Motivated by their core values — creativity, empathy, free dom, inclusivity, and internationalism — the festival ensures that it champions even the quietest voices and allows them to step in the celebratory limelight.

‘WHAT MAKES A STORY WORTH TELLING?’ Here at EJ, we like to think we’ve spent a decent enough while trying to figure this out. To us, a story should hold a weight to it, an evocative moral or allegory. A story should challenge us, educate us, inspire and encourage us. But mostly, a story should push us into the unknown.

For more information on the films and Sheffield Doc Fest, visit: sheffdocfest.com

SHEFFIELD DOC FEST

“I was worried that people wouldn’t want to watch this film - it’s not about addiction, it’s about recovery and that’s just not as gory to audiences. You’re not seeing people at their worst, you’re seeing them trying to get better.” This was filmmaker Paul Chambers’ biggest concern when cutting together what would become his feature documentary One Day At A Time, a stylish yet uncompromising film made in partnership with Damien John Kelly House for addiction recovery and his longtime collaborator Sam Batley. Paul met Sam around a campfire at Loch Lomond and the two have been creative partners since. During Sam’s battle with addiction, he was writing poetry that Paul would turn into experimental visual pieces. It was during production of one of these other experimental pieces, Three Bull-Mastiffs in a Corner Kitchen, that was filmed with Sam and other men going through recovery, that Paul became interested in finding out more about these ‘actors’ and the centre that helped them get back on their feet. One Day At A Time was filmed alongside this piece, blending the fiction of filmmaking with the very real struggles of the men participating in the film. It’s a touching tribute to the Liverpool-based recovering centre that originally opened to significant opposition back in 2019 but managed to place itself in the hearts of the Liverpool community through the use of art to help men heal. Paul says there’s no city really like Liverpool in how community exists at the heart of the city and it was important to him to honour that. Unlike other films at the festival, One Day At A Time was produced entirely organically with Paul and Sam at the heart of it and receiving funding from the centre and various mental health charities, therefore, there were no producers to fight to appease. The end result is a stunning film, combining digital film with 35mm, that invites you into the men’s lives, their struggles, and their victories while retaining that all important idea of home.

This Is National Wake is a deeply visceral portrait of a punkrock dissident group, National Wake, who’s lives intertwined against the racist apartheid regime of South Africa. A racial ly-mixed band who’s name is derived from a two fold attack against South Africa’s National Party, their first and only record was banned by the legal system and the group was forced to disband out of fear for their safety.

WORDS BENNETTBETH WORDS BENNETTBETH

THE ESSENTIAL VIEWINGS

Two films stood out to us as true marvels of the documentary. As you know, our search is for those outside of the mainstream, looking directly towards supporting independent filmmakers and exploring stories that are rarely seen.

For more information, visit: paulchambersfilms.com/one-day-at-a-time

Follow filmmakers Paul and Sam on the socials: @chamberspaul @sambatley THIS IS NATIONAL WAKE (2022, Mirissa Neff: South Africa/USA)

Yes, this is a film about a band but it’s also about the power of people, of freedom, and revolution; and how the trials of such can be just as modern today as they were decades ago. For more information, visit thisisnationalwake.com Find Mirissa on the socials: @MirissaNeff 71

ONE DAY AT A TIME (2022, Paul Chambers and Sam Batley, UK)

In this documentary, Mirissa Neff joins the only surviving member Ivan Kadey as he returns to South Africa for the 40th Anniversary re-release of their album and reconciles with everything that happened. It blends this contemporary footage seemingly perfectly with comprehensive archival Super 8 footage of the band.

Speaking with Mirissa after the film’s premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest, she spoke highly of the found footage and described how, when compiling everything together, she wanted the audience to “feel the same way [she] did when [she] first saw this archi val material.” The energy, the fun, people of all races dancing together, having a good time despite the overbearing shadow of apartheid. A personal film in some regard, Mirissa, as a black woman in the United States, found that making the film allowed her to recognise and relate to some terrifying similarities be tween South Africa’s apartheid movement and current events in her own country.

With a checkwesmallcountries.135comprisedsixschedulecomprehensivespanningoverdays,thefestivalwasofawhoppingfilmsfrom55Here’sjustasampleofthefilmsgottheopportunitytoout... A FILM ABOUT ELECTROPHONIQUESTUDIO (2022, James Taylor: UK) The story of Studio Electro phonique is one of humble begin nings that became a springboard for some of the most iconic British bands of the 80s and 90s such as Pulp and The Human League.

James Taylor’s intimate cele bration of one of the UK’s most influential but rarely recognised music studio based in the heart of Sheffield is an unmissable evocation.

01 72

LYRA (2021, Alison Millar: UK and Ireland) Alison Millar searches to understand the abhorrent murder of her close friend and investigative journalist Lyra McKee, who’s death became a part of a dark history of Northern Ireland. The film blends this extremely personal and touching tribute to a fallen friend with a complex review of Northern Ireland’s political history. At a time when the Good Friday agreement is being threatened, this film serves a stark, smart, and shocking reminder of its importance. 73

GEAMĂNA (2021, Matthäus Wörle: Germany)

Not only detailing the cultural challenges, the film explores the political change that happened as punk pushed Australia from the elitist conservatism it had fallen to.

Second-born child Louis Hothothot was born during the height of China’s one child policy. In this evocative and informative documentary, Hothothot revisits the mem ories of profound guilt as he returns to China to reconcile with his loved ones.

AGE OF RAGE (2022, Jennifer Ross: Australia) With a masterful stroke of archival mate rial crossed with contemporary interviews, Age of Rage articulates the anti-establish ment anarchy of punk's arrival in Australia.

FOUR JOURNEYS (2021, Louis Hothothot: Netherlands, China)

Following the story of Valeria, a lonely woman who lives on the cusp of the village of Geamăna, this short explores how Valeria reconciled with being forced out of her home as a lake of industrial sludge will eventually bury her house.

LAZARUSTHEPROJECT THE ESSENTIAL JOURNAL PRESENTS "HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SAVE THE WORLD?" WORDS BY BETH BENNETT WORDS BY BETH BENNETT 74

It’s modern, it’s now. Even set against the vast landscape of a science fiction tale, the trials and tribulations of the show’s characters feel current and osten sibly real. The show grounds itself in the very real stress of world-ending anxiety that we, the Information Generation, are exposed to daily. The onslaught of news, opinion, in amongst everything else, can make every day feel like the end of the world and that anxiety is what The Lazarus Project takes hold of and runs absolute ly wild with. With bullwhip wit, the show breathes a unique life into a genre that is bogged down with hero celebration and asks of itself, ‘how would a real person react to having to save the world?’

And the answer is they’d do it in a complicated, messy, evocative and humorous way. What has fast become the signature flair of Barton’s writing is a vibrant, thud ding heart in each and every character. No matter how small the role, they coarse with a brightness that can only be crafted by a writer with a deep appreciation for humanity and all its humility. He allows his characters to be awkward and cringe-wor thy when necessary — never overdone — and celebrates the small interactions that relationships are built on. The end result is a perfectly succinct, character-driven story that never asks for your empathy, but you find yourself powerless to give it. All episodes are currently streaming on Sky and NowTV.

A propulsive thriller from friend of EJ, Joe Barton, The Lazarus Project follows George (Paapa Essiedu) who finds himself trapped in a time loop and discovers a secret organisation that works to prevent global catastrophe by resetting time.

The" show breathes a unique life into a genre that is bogged down with hero celebration. courtesy of Laura Scrivano and Sky.

Imagery

The Lazarus Project was created by Joe Barton and directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, Akaash Meeda, Laura Scrivano.

WORDS BY JAI MCINTOSH

Little did Ella know that she would go on to be one of the breakout stars of the tournament, scoring one of the greatest international final goals, and winning the competition. Yet, for Ella, she expected Lauren Hemp to be key for England, “She is really exciting and every time she gets the ball she makes something happen. She’s a nightmare for every defender she comes against!”

England are European Champions. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses have gone that one step beyond. We spoke with Ella Toone, Girls on the Ball Podcast, and Alex Bailess to understand the significance of the tournament, feelings in the camp, and hopes for the future. The Women’s Euros may be a year late, but actually, it has come at the perfect time. England’s Lionesses found them selves in a position of strength being considered as serious contenders to win the tournament. With expectations set to break almost every domestic viewing record, and England looking strong, the Women’s Euros is set to be the biggest one to Priordate.to the tournament beginning, we at EJ spoke with Manchester United and England star Ella Toone who expressed that: “The feeling is great in camp at the minute, everyone’s very excited and buzz ing. Training is really competitive and we just can’t wait until the first game. We’ve all got a goal in mind and we just want to keep working hard and push ourselves everyday so we are prepared for when the tournament starts.”

THEMHEAR

It is easy to overly romanticise what Eng land have done. The poetry, the victory of the narrative, the overcoming of the obstacle, this is what the Lionesses have done. As most will be aware, the English FA banned women’s football in 1921, a ban that was to last for 51 years. The fact that the Women’s game was still banned when England last won a major trophy only makes the Lionesses victory that bit sweeter, highlighting to an even greater extent what a foolish and ignorant decision that was. Yet, the Lionesses victory, Russo’s back heel, Sarina Wiegman’s unbeaten record, and even Jill Scott’s colourful outburst have all contributed to the unification of a nation around the women’s team, the nation’s team. Unprecedented, but this is just the start.

This" win isn’t just a victory for the Lionesses; it’s a victory for person who has ever played, funded, coached, or women’s football.

every

SOPHIE DOWNEY AND RACHEL O'SULLIVAN GIRLS ON THE BALL PODCAST SOPHIE DOWNEY AND RACHEL O'SULLIVAN GIRLS ON THE BALL PODCAST 78

supported

Sophie Downey and Rachel O’Sullivan from Girls On The Ball Podcast felt the same; “Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly are certainly players to watch out for. When they are on the pitch, they completely light it up. Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood will also need to be on top form as they will have a busy time defending against the top sides.”

volunteered,

Ella Toone clearly understood the gravi tas and importance of England having to compete on home soil, “It’s massive that the Euros is being held in England and on home turf. It's massive for women’s football and the growth of it because we will get so many more fans involved and get so many more people watching and being at the games. It’ll really help us to try to inspire the next generation and to make the nation proud.”

@GirlsontheBall@ellatoone@alex_bailess

"The legacy of this tournament is the change in society. We've brought people together and got them to games… We want them [fans] to come to WSL games, but the legacy of this team is winning and this is the start of the journey.”

This calls to mind the interview that Eng land and Arsenal Captain, Leah Williamson gave following England’s 2-1 victory over germany in the Final, where she told the

Having gone that step beyond, having achieved success at the highest level, the Lionesses are poised to demand change and create a lasting legacy, one that dra matically shifts the future of the women’s game. The WSL needs the support of the people, but so do the grassroots clubs, the local women's game needs just as much support as the WSL does. To ensure their legacy lasts, participation is vital. Watch a few games on TV, get yourself down to a couple of local games, play a part. The greatness they have achieved already speaks for itself, but the chance to truly become global leaders in the world’s big gest sport is there, it is now up to all of us to make it happen.

ALEX BAILESS FOOTBALL CONTENTFOOTBALLCREATOR CONTENT CREATOR ALEX BAILESS FOOTBALL CONTENT CREATOR 79

Speaking to football content creator Alex Bailess, she expressed that, “This win isn’t just a victory for the Lionesses; it’s a victo ry for every person who has ever played, volunteered, funded, coached, or sup ported women’s football. There’s still a lot more work to do, both in football and other women’s sports, but now we have shown what these athletes are capable of given the right resources, and that there is a demand to watch it. Young girls now know that they can achieve the highest stand ards, and that they will be supported.”

“I will never ever forget the roar of the crowd when the final whistle went. I won’t lie, the post-euro blues are real, but we have the restart of the WSL and the USA game to look forward to, and the World Cup next year! In Sarina we trust - she turned the Lionesses into European Champions in under a year. World Cham pions seems like the obvious next step.”

“We rarely ask what we can learn from the women’s game, but the game is so diverse and open,” adds Sophie, “The attitudes within it, both on the pitch and off, are slightly different to the men's game. It has been great to watch the game grow, but now it is reaching the size where women’s football now has a major gravitas, espe cially in the WSL. It is a hugely exciting time for the game.”

Discussing the outcome of the women’s game in England, post-Euros, both Rachel and Sophie are hoping for a shift in atti tudes, “Hopefully, the women’s game won’t need to consistently prove itself in the way that it has to currently,” highlights Rachel. “Hopefully people will be able to see the quality of the game and women’s football won’t be compared to men’s, it will just be normalised. That is the goal.”

"WeBBC:talk and we talk and we talk and we've finally done it. The kids are alright. It's the proudest moment of my life until the day I have kids so I'm going to lap it up.”

The most recent exhibition, Football: De signing the Beautiful Game, has been on display at the Design Museum since early April and finishes at the end of August. Chronicling the rise of football from its humble beginnings to the overlord of world sport, the exhibition contains some of football's most iconic memorabilia such as the original 1930 World Cup Final ball and Pele’s 1958 Brazil shirt.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY THE DESIGN MUSEUM 80

FOOTBALL: DESIGNING THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Football is always on display, and yet, in terms of intellectual musings, football intel lectualism is often limited to statisticians and the tactics board of the overly vocal individual with a coaching badge or two. This exhibition, however, has displayed a new way of understanding the cultural sig nificance of football. In typical EJ fashion, Football is without doubt an art form. The combination of technical skill, mental problem solving, and physicality make it one of the ultimate spectacles. So, when major aspects of footballing history went on display, we couldn’t resist a visit…

Football belongs to everyone. A slightly odd, overly tribal game in which 22 people chase a ball around a field with the two aims in mind: score a goal, do not concede a goal. It is brilliant. Clearly, the Design Museum agrees.

RH It costs almost nothing to play football. It doesn’t depend on expensive equip ment and can be played anywhere. The only essential requirement is a ball, and this can be fashioned from any number of humble materials. This is one reason for the game’s immense popularity. Secondly, fans have been and continue to be hugely important in making the sport such a significant part of our cultural landscape. There is a level of fan engagement in football that you do not get in any other sport. Finally, the establishment of tourna ments such as the FA Cup and World Cup, form the backbone of the industry and are the source of its wealth, impact and reach. They function to draw audiences and even have the capacity for nation-building.

RH Football possesses an extraordinary power to connect and bring people to gether. It allows fans to dream, inserting themselves into the field of play. Design has created numerous opportunities for this beyond the game itself, through stick er collecting, tabletop games and e-sports. In this sense, these designs allow for us to play and think about the game in multiple ways.

RH We have around 500 objects in the exhibition so it is nearly impossible to say what is a must-see, but there are many ‘star’ objects. I think the two balls used in the very first World Cup final in 1930 are quite special. As is Pelé’s shirt from the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and the large-scale banners created by Peterdesignmuseum.orgCarney. 81

we went and spoke to the assistant curator Rachel Hajek to find out that little bit more about this endeavor.

JAI How did football evolve into such a sig nificant part of our cultural landscape?

RH The popularity of football as a spectator sport puts specific demands on stadiums. Sightlines, acoustics and flow are impor tant, as well as a sense of procession, ritual and communion. Architects have increas ingly seen the stadium as an opportunity for experimentation and architectural expression, exploring the relationship between the stadium and its surrounding landscape. Remarkable stadiums have been built by renowned architects, adding another layer to the experience of going to a match. For example Allianz Arena in Munich by Herzog & de Meuron, San Siro in Milan, adapted by Ragazzi and Partners, and Braga stadium designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura.

JAI Football has always transgressed its on-field boundaries, a game bigger than 90 minutes. Yet, how has the development and popularity of football games influenced the way in which football is perceived and played?

JAI How has the development of stadia en hanced football’s role as a major sporting spectacle?

JAI What are the three must-see artifacts on display?

ESSENTIALSTUDIO.CO.UK CREATED & PUBLISHED BY

While employees continue to drink in the joys of working from home, landlords and employers are exploring new ways of bring the workers back to the office... Move over water-cooler, there's a new kid in town.

A PERK OF THE JOB

WORDS NEIGHBOURHOOD COFFEE

A PERK OF

@neighbourhoodcoffee

83Ah coffee. The catalyst for the competent Monday morning. Well okay, every morning. Coffee culture has remained a central tenet of society for centuries now, yet, in recent years, the emergence of accessible spe cialty coffee has changed the way in which people think of and consume a good brew. In a post-covid world, offices have downsized as people have warmed to working from home, meaning employ ers have had to improve their working environment in order to encourage people back into the office. Speak ing to Dave Roche from Relish Concessions Ltd, he explained that, “Post pandemic landlords and employ ers are looking for reasons to get people back in the office and not working from home. Having a food and beverage offering within the office space is a big part of their plans.” With thanks to manufacturers, quality cof fee machines are now widely accessible, meaning the specialty coffee world has stepped out of the specialty coffee space and replaced the office water-cooler. The accessibility of quality coffee and coffee machines has demystified any preconceptions surrounding the black art of coffee creation. The bean-to-cup machine has found its way into the home, into work spaces, and communal areas. Ultimately, the idea that we at Neighbourhood Coffee and others are pushing is very simple; nobody wants bad coffee, so let’s make good coffee “Previously,accessible.onlyworking in the events sector, cof fee was always a bit of an afterthought for clients.” explains Dave Roche, “Since opening in The Royal Liver Building and securing two further sites in iconic buildings in Liverpool, coffee, local coffee at that, has become a huge part of our business.” Ultimately, Dave managed to perfectly encapsulate the increasingly important role specialty coffee is playing in the adap tation of office and home life; “Coffee has become a massive part of what we do.” For us, this certainly rings true; Coffee is what we do. There are few pleasures in life that rank above the morning coffee, the start of the shift coffee, and the long night coffee. The goal is to improve this experi ence by creating accessible channels for discovering a specialty coffee that suits you.

exploring new ways of bring the workers back to the office... Move over water-cooler, there's a new kid in town. THE JOB 83

where you go? will

To kick off the 10 year anniversary of their UK team, La Marzocco celebrated in style with a trip back to where it all began, accompanied by those they've shared an espresso or two with along the way 85

@lamarzoccouk@lamarzoccouk@lamarzoccouk

The community isn't just around us. It's around every one in the industry. And I like the fact that, you know, standing here and looking at people that are here, a lot of them have been in different companies during their personal growth and now they own their own companies or they've moved up the company struc ture. I love that. I think when we opened the office in PAUL, COULD YOU TELL OUR READERS WHY COMMUNITY IS SO IMPORTANT TO LA MARZOCCO UK?

The event was a place for connection, celebration, and ed ucation. An opportunity for La Marzocco to come together with partners, baristas, and people in coffee - sharing passion, ideas, knowledge, and a chance to look back over the last 10 years of La Marzocco UK, whilst soaking up all that Accademia has to offer. We grabbed a quick word with a few familiar faces to hear their thoughts, memories and highlights of the La Marzoc co community in the UK.

PAUL KELLY - LA MARZOCCO UK WORDS + INTERVIEW MEGAN GLOCKLER PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS SUMNER June 2022 saw Accademia Del Caffe Espresso, the home of La Marzocco, host the UK team, alongside friends, col leagues and partners, forming part of the ’10-years of La Marzocco UK’ celebrations.

2012, it wasn't an office, it was a space. It was a space of people coming together, brainstorming, talking about challenges around people or sustainability or running a business. I think having Accademia now is a bigger space and a bigger statement. We want an open door policy for everyone to feel inclusive, whether you’ve got a La Marzocco or not. We want to hear your challenges. We want to hear your opportunities and we want that feedback so we can future proof our partnerships and connections going forward.

The events! They're not so much about the machine they're about the community as a whole. A lot of the events that La Marzocco host, make it easier for either coffee shops or baristas that are not so well established to feel like part of the community.

MARTA KRUSTEVA FORTS Marta, what do you think makes La Marzocco UK different?

Keep up to date with Marzocco UK's 10 anniversary at @lamarzoccouk

MICHAEL BELL ORIGIN COFFEE ROASTERS Michael, what's your favourite thing about working with La Marzocco?

I think my favourite thing is the realisation that it's really a people focussed company. When I started in coffee many years ago, it was the first machine manufacturer I ever used and it kind of just brought home the idea of making coffee as a job rather than just something you do. The more I've understood it, the more I realise how peo ple focus and the understanding of why the company does what they do. And it's entirely around people, hence why we're all here today.

Keep up to date with La Marzocco UK's 10 year anniversary at @lamarzoccouk

JAMES HENNEBRY ROSSLYN COFFEE James, what makes La Marzocco UK stand out in the industry? The thing that stands out to me is how much they contribute to the coffee com munity. It's not just a case of contributing to those who specifically have La Mar zocco machines, they contribute to the wider industry. It makes things a lot more inclusive rather than exclusive, which is a great, great thing.

Keep up to date with La Marzocco UK's 10 year anniversary at @lamarzoccouk 87

KENT BAKKE FORMER-CEO OF LA MARZOCCO Kent, you've be involved with La Marzocco since 1978, could you tell us of a memory from your time in the UK? 30 years ago this year, I had my first trip to London and I was reflecting today on that first visit to London, and how it was pretty hard to find a decent espresso, if you could find one at all. So even though 30 years still seems like a long time ago, it's been a remarkable journey in the UK. A journey of rediscovery in coffee and I really want to applaud the members of the UK team for everything they've done for speciality coffee and for taking such excel lent care of La Marzocco’s local customers and our culture.

Pedigree aside, what may truly draw the eye to Revolve as a choice destination is their fast-approaching summer events series. A perceptive list of promising and vouched for Miche lin-starred talent entrusted to impart their skill and culinary talent within Revolve’s four walls. The likes of two Miche lin-starred Gareth Ward, rising star John Javier and fusion pioneer Anna Hasen MBE are all set to grace East London in the coming months.

The resulting dishes range from a delicately acerbic Worces ter sauce Beef Tartare to an English broad bean, pea, and morel risotto, placed next to French stalwarts such as Coq au Vin, various Tarte Tatin and Côte de Boeuf. In doing so, com bining classic cooking with a modern distinction.

EC2MLiverpoolBroadgate@revolve.londonwww.revolve.london100,St,London2PP

Nestled on the cusp of London’s vibrant E1 postcode and the towers of The City, lies 100 Liverpool Street. An energetic hive, home to the city’s largest pedestrianised neighbour hood as well as East London’s present mass of construction sites. Here the immaculate Revolve Brasserie sits, tucked away on Broadgate Circle. Revolve marks the first outing for hospitality group Adamo, the lovechild of the vastly experienced Andrew Fishwick (Truscott Arms), Tristram Hillier (Corney & Barrow) and Romain Pottier (KOKO London). Consequently, Revolve aims to pair Parisian classicism with a gilded New York brasserie style. The interior owes itself to Hillier’s smart eye for design, a clear time-honoured brasserie ambience coupled with subtle nods to the contemporary, the late British abstract expressionist John Hoyland’s paintings lining the walls. The RA would most certainly approve. Head Chef Arran Smith, previously of Scott’s Mayfair, pre sides over a carefully curated menu of timeless French dishes which lend themselves to celebrating produce from across the British Isles. Smith’s inventive modern tweaks add a certain elegance to choice dishes ensuring the conceivable danger of an enervated menu has been avoided.

WORDS CAL SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY REVOLVE

FRENCH REVOLUTION

WORDS BY JAMES COCHRAN PHOTOGRAPHY LATEEF OKUNNU ESSENTIALPANTRYCHICKENTHIGHSJAMESCOCHRAN Welcome to the Essential Pantry, a place for some of the very best chefs to place their favourite ingredients and a recipe around them. 90

THE OG BURGER Buttermilk fried chicken, blue cheese mousse, bacon crumb, scotch bonnet jam, and lettuce. This burger put us on the map when we launched Around the Cluck. It was my first creation and the positive responses to it were incredible. Making these has kept me going through lockdown, and I’m so glad it brought a moment of joy to people when we couldn’t do much.

ChickenINGREDIENTSthigh marinade 4 chicken thighs (skinless boneless 125-150g) 250g buttermilk Brine 100g of salt 1 litre of water 1 head of garlic 1 bunch of thyme Make the brine a day before brining the Bringchicken.allthe brine ingredients to the boil and Oncechill.brine is chilled, pour over thighs and brine for 4 hours. Drain thighs in colander for 10 mins and then mix with buttermilk. No minimum time required for buttermilk in chicken because it’s been brined. Set the fryer at 165°C and coat the thighs in plain flour (PLAIN FLOUR!!) Fry for 5 mins, then drain well. Blue cheese mousse 200g of buttermilk 200g blue cheese 2g of agar agar Bring everything to the boil. Once reached 100°C, chill, set, blend and pass. Bacon crumb 200g smoked minced streaky Bacon Cook at 200°C for 20 mins and drain off the fat. Reduce temp to 130°C and cook for a further 6 hours until it becomes a crumb. Drain on blue paper. Garnish My Scotch Bonnet Jam – now available nationwide at Sainsbury’s BriocheBlueBaconLettucecrumbcheesemoussebun Assemble 1. Toast bun 2. Add chicken thigh 3. Blue cheese mousse 4. Bacon crumb 5. Lettuce 6. Scotch bonnet jam on lid and enjoy 91

"Chicken is a staple product domestically and burgers."Iofthigh.thebeatfanchicken.or,tosworld.fromtoperfectaffordable.Versatileinternationally.andIt’safoundationexpressflavoursallaroundtheOneofmygo-isdefinitelyaphoofcourse,roastWhilstIamaofthewing(can’taMorley’s!),bestcutistheIt’sjuicy,fullflavour,andwhatuseinmysignature

ESSENTIAL

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I sit in a place of somewhat privilege as I write this. In the UK, not one day after the United States Supreme Court has voted to repeal Roe vs Wade. Millions of peo ples’ bodily autonomy has been snatched from their hands as the right to abortion becomes a state issue, leaving Bible-belt States and beyond with the power to with draw the ability for victims of rape, incest, or simply just un-planned and unwanted pregnancy, to have an abortion. The right to choose is gone. More people, children, will be pushed into poverty, into crippling hunger and debt. Mental health crises will spike even more so in the Great Land Of The Free. I sit in the other Great country, said with tight-lipped irony, and know that abortion is accessible for me. And yet it wouldn’t be surprising, if such government decisions came here. On the decision, Jia Tolentino wrote for The New Yorker: ‘We’re not going back to the time before Roe. We’re going somewhere worse.’ And that’s theisn’tthing,it?

British media has been all over a supposed ‘return to the 1970s’ as a rail strike hits the nation, a Royal Mail strike looms, and a pre-Thatcher era inflation hits the bank accounts of everyone. Well, almost every one. In my A-Level film class we studied the 1973 film The Wicker Man, a folk horror tale I’m sure most of you are aware of. The film signifies the end of the swinging sixties, when that post-war boom finally ended and Britain became indebted to itself. It’s a soulful analogy, The Wicker Man, of a community obsessed with the old times, of the old Gods, and the old practices that it creates a wholly more dystopian environ ment than ever there was before. I wonder if Robin Hardy had any idea that his small story would retain relevance. We’re so obsessed with this idea of return ing to the past, of being a Great Britain once more, that even when we’re at our absolute worst we have to relate it back to the past, and be greater. A constant one-up-man-ship of ourselves. Only there is no way to go back, not really, not after years of progress and liberation and peo ple finally starting to feel like they belong in the damn country they’re born in. Not when you take away what was given, not when you thrust your population into a deeper disrepair than the post-war years. And what’s more, when was Britain ever actually Great? Right now, certain MPs are discussing whether we should judge the US for their decision because these certain MPs aren’t wholly sure if they believe that pregnant people have the right to bodily autonomy because, according to certain MPs, there’s another body involved, isn’t there? These MPs, of course, sit on the same benches as the party currently in a shambolic state of disrepair after a particular implosion and now they’re all far too concerned with petitioning for their own grasp at the crown that they’re not even thinking about the cost of living crisis. As I said before, it’s not even a shock. This Western world has been crumbling, so steadily and so perfectly, for years now, longer than I’ve been aware of it, probably.

It’s only the past few years that people have noticed, as the bricks that build our houses have started to disappear and let in the cold draft of reality. Now that you can see it, will you carry on doing that good ol’ British thing, and let them lead you, and the rest of the country, blindly up that hill and into the fire?

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However, the chance for the women’s game to bring football home has altered perceptions dramatically. Even the most ardent denier of the sport would have smiled at the passion and charisma pouring out from the stands. Already, it’s undeniably a massive success. This tournament will be incredibly impactful because it represents the past and the future.

When Leah Williamson led England out against Austria at Old Trafford, it repre sented a profound paradigm shift.

Previously, women’s football had been shunned and shut away on the major in ternational stage in the United Kingdom. It was treated with a bemused countenance, and keyboard warriors and social media critics derived it from the comfort of their armchairs. In almost every case, they didn’t even try to engage with the sport, or even give it a chance.

In terms of the past, it is a testament to the sacrifices and endeavours given by so many to raise the profile of the sport. It also highlights the utopic future of women’s football. Packed stadiums, pas sionate crowds and elite sporting specta cle. Growing interest will result in higher investment, leading to greater levels of competition and a more cohesive, cogent footballing infrastructure. Euro 2022 is especially empowering to the next generation. They are growing up with frequent references to female role models in football - something that was unheard of even ten years ago. Fran Kirby’s triumph through adversity. Ellen White’s sporting longevity. Lucy Bronze’s worldwide star dom. All of these narratives intertwine in the Lioness’s squad, and have been dis cussed at length in the run-up, and during the Theretournament.isalsothe pomp and majesty of a major international football tournament. The glitz and glamour of worldwide stars. Europe’s best and brightest tussling to determine who comes out on top. The atmosphere is electric, without being un welcoming or hostile. Indeed, it is the exact Fansopposite.ofall nationalities come together in one melting pot of inclusivity and positiv ity. Tickets have been priced sensibly to fill up stadiums. Players are ever-willing to engage with fans and show genu ine thanks and gratitude. Through the accessibility of Euro 2022, young women, men, girls and boys are growing up seeing women’s football as mainstream entertain Thisment.level of visibility will only serve to engage more and more people. What was previously pipe dreams of professional football will become reality for the lucky few that have the commitment, hard work and passion to make it happen. Even for those not in that position, they can still appreciate and enjoy as the sport leaps from strength to strength. The real significance of the tournament will be seen on school playgrounds. Kids won’t all be dreaming of copying Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford or Harry Kane. Some will be longing to imitate Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Hannah Hampton for example. Which is proof if anyone needed it: it’s now truly her game too. 95

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As the culture of social media and what we consume has shifted, so have those we consume from. The clear divide between real life and what used to be curated by specific magazines and dominated by celebrities is now cracked wide open. A teenager in their bedroom, talking about what it takes to be That Girl, is as likely to come up on whatever feed you happen to be mindlessly scrolling as much as a celebrity. In fact, in most cases, more. You could choose to exempt yourself from caring about this. But now, even not caring has become commodified. You have to not care so much that you care enough to post about just how much you don’t care. Ask any girl who self identifies as a Crusty Girl (or messy, dirty, the list goes on). A Crusty Girl is a girl who does not care about her appearance and level of cleanliness to an almost parodical level. She falls asleep in makeup, relies on dry shampoo, and chips her nails easily. This is all relatable at first glance, but some times there are items on these lists that make you look twice. I mean, surely people aren’t going online and bragging about how infrequently they shower? Right? This is a direct response to the internet’s latest iteration of the It Girl. The Clean Girl (also known as That Girl, who was techni cally her predecessor, but more on that later) is a green juice/12-3-30/Olaplex bun/ claw clip/Aritzia/off-duty model girl. She has a twelve step skincare routine that grants her skin so glowing and flawless she barely needs to apply her no-makeup makeup after her daily workout (with a matching gym set, obviously). Whilst the Crusty Girl and her ilk were spawned in retaliation to this gargantuan level of effort that just screams internal ised misogyny, this idea of self styling as a Kind Of Girl is nothing new. Often, this stems from something as seemingly innocuous as taste in fashion. A Y2K Girl, to name a popular example, is usually a girl who has a flat enough stom ach to get away with low waisted jeans, and the know-how to pull off a matching Juicy Couture tracksuit without looking like Elle Woods post-breakup in Legally However,Blonde.

there is something slightly insidious about an endlessly curated list of brands, media, and Stuff You Absolutely Have To Buy being the defining features of the latest niche communities. Our aforementioned That Girl, the Clean Girl’s conjoined twin in consumerist culture, is if anything even worse. Whilst a Clean Girl is ostensibly all about taking care of their body - eating healthy, exercising, living by a routine - That Girl has her entire life together. She performs well academically/ is a total girlboss at her job, she has a rich social life, and not a second of her day is wasted - of course, she follows the Clean Girl’s mantra and routine too! Everywhere you look, the very idea of being the best possible kind of girl - one who buys certain brands, consumes cer tain foods, adheres to a certain aesthetic (which, let’s face it, is incredibly biased towards slim white girls), and even dec orates her room accordingly - is spelled out in a tantalising how-to guide that may as well be written in neon lights. Only, this time, it’s not coming from the mouth of a celebrity who’s getting paid for it, it’s being perpetuated by millions of ordinary people in their bedrooms, promising that you can be just like them if you only buy the same product.

branding, vintage football shirts not only look suave but can also evoke that emo tive nostalgia within the club’s community. Few items of clothing are able to have this impact. When it comes to the world of vintage football shirts, celebrating history is Weessential.seethis plainly when looking at the newly released kits by Nike and Adidas that homage the classic prints and retro designs of their respective clubs. You need only look back a few seasons at Arsenal repping the iconic bruised banana kit or Chelsea’s celebratory FA Cup kit. With the rapid growth in the second hand market thanks to increasingly reliable selling apps and websites like eBay, Depop, and Vinted access to these shirts is easier than ever. Yet, try to avoid the circling sharks who are more than happy to flip a fake for a few quid. With festival season in full flow, nothing hits quite like the billowing sleeves and opulent colouring of a vintage football shirt. As the world of fashion begins to shift into a more sustainable front, there has never been a better time to invest in a retro football shirt, it is summer after all. Equally, they’re now almost permanently in vogue, meaning that a well kept classic shirt is What’severgreen.more, another, and probably the most important, beauty of this vintage shirt resurgence, is that there are a plethora of second and third division teams from across Europe that are now back in con versation. It’s beyond rediscovering just an aesthetic, it’s rediscovering a narrative too.

Football shirts continue to play a defining role in contemporary, vintage, and sports fashion. Around the globe football remains one of the most popular sports, a universal language. Football is festival, and the shirt is the ideal representative, perhaps more so than anything else. It’s not surprising or particularly evocative for us to state that football shirts permeate mainstream culture. Whether it’s Drake wearing the 2015 pink Juventus third kit, Tyler the Creator’s Golf Wang inspired kit or brands like Balenciaga and Y3 styling a football shirt for the runway, it is abundant ly clear that the love of the football shirt is heavily ingrained into street culture and fashion. However, nothing competes with the enticing mystique of the vintage shirt. From varying aesthetic differences and colour patterning to the old sponsorship OUT WITH THE NEW, IN THEWITHOLDCOLUMNWORDSROHINJOHAL

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ISSUE 64 - Festival Season

Articles inside

REVOLVE LONDON // 90-91 THE ESSENTIAL PANTRY

NEIGHBOURHOOD COFFEE // 38-43 ARLO PARKS

THE DESIGN MUSEUM // 85-87 LA MARZOCCO

DMR LIVERPOOL // 70-71 CHRIS ROE // 72-75 SHEFFIELD DOC FEST

ENTER SHIKARI // 64-65 LA SALAMI // 66-67 TESSUTI

MEYBA // 29-31 ZELLERFELD // 33-35 JUICY COUTURE

LOUIS BYRNE // 48 NEIL PERCH // 49-52 SKIN ANANSIE

WOODSTOCK '99 // 56-57 TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT