The Mic: Issue 40 - Refreshers '16 by The Mic Magazine

ISSUE NO. 40

INSIDE THIS ISSUE ONE TO WATCH

“NOTTS ANOTHER SEMESTER” GIG GUIDE

Laryngitis, Anxiety & Exhaustion 6 A Tribute to David Bowie 7

your one-stop-shop for every gig in Nottingham this semester

INTERVIEWS GALORE Enter Shikari Ludovico Einaudi KAGOULE

10 12 14

Mallory Knox Don Broco Lower Than Atlantis

16 18 26

Israel caught up with Cai, Lucy and Lawrence aka. Kagoule ahead of ‘Our City’

REVIEWS OF YESTERYEAR Ride @ Rock City Our Favourite Gigs of 2015

30 32

Jamie Lawson

INTRODUCING... TUSK

if you haven’t already heard of them, you’re about to ...

Spring ‘16 ADY SULEIMAN LITTLE MIX TWENTY ONE PILOTS Nottingham

ENTER SHIKARI

chris lorenzo FICKLE FRIENDS

FRIEND WITHIN LADY LESHURR STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

DEVVO

ELLIE GOULDING

TUSK

WET WET WET

patawawa redlight

rudimental

bonobo SLEEPING WITH SIRENS

Scan me to keep up to date on all the latest gigs

AS DECEMBER FALLS

HECK

“Laryngitis, Anxiety and Exhaustion” The Reality of the ‘Rock and Roll’ Lifestyle

ith as many bands and artists as ever discussing the mental toil that touring entails, can we really still idealise the “rock and roll lifestyle” as the epitome of all things fun and liberating? In the wake of acclaimed singer-songwriter Conor Oberst’s recent cancellation of his tour with the Desaparecidos due to ‘laryngitis, anxiety, and exhaustion’ it proves hard to view the glorification a life on the road as anything but a misconception. The punk band had just released Payola - their first album in 13 years - yet were unable to play over 20 dates across America. So at what point did punk rock become subordinate to the emotional state of a frontman? ...Well in some ways it always was. In the last 50 odd years countless bands have laid bare their experiences of isolation and homesickness while touring in the lyrics of their songs; regardless of the bravado of the music a group is producing, they are still subject to the mental toil that the lifestyle many musicians pursue entails. They are away from loved ones, and often living in a way that is neither remotely cost effective, nor as rewarding as they hoped. Especially now, many bands can barely cover travel costs with the money they earn playing

live; rather than getting through the Jack Daniels in the back of a tour bus you are more likely to be in a very cold van with some Sainsbury’s basics vodka that you’re saving for just before you go on.

depiction of profound mental instability on a record. As a prolific songwriter, Oberst likewise has written countless albums referring to depression and alcoholism, and if this most recent cancellation is anything to go by, he is hardly As a result of such conditions out of the woods. mental health becomes a major topic in the music of many The media does nothing to aid bands. In the past the likes this phenomenon. If an artist of punk band Black Flag have is going through a particularly written numerous songs relating rough patch, even if they are such issues; most notably their just looking a bit worse for 1981 record Damaged. Even wear, you can be sure that it will artists particularly known for be deemed worthy of comment engaging in debauched activity by some publication or other. acknowledged that this doesn’t Pete Doherty is one such figure. necessarily equate to happiness The media used to have a field and mental stability; as early day whenever he was caught in as 1966 the Rolling Stones, possession, throwing buckets a group known for their of water at cameramen - the list hedonism, released their single goes on. All press may be ‘good ‘19th Nervous Breakdown’ about press’ but it can only serve to a particularly wild girl who has make any unhappiness or angst psychological problems. to fester. Being perceived as ‘damaged’ or unhinged has also proved time and time again to create a persona that resonates with the public. Not sure if anyone has heard of Kurt Cobain but his well documented depression and deep seated ennui were arguably a major cause of Nirvana’s lasting legacy. People like to empathise with musicians, there is a certain catharsis that listening to the anguish exposed in some artists’ music - Slipknot’s Iowa is an extreme example of the

Are these artists living their dream? Most probably the answer is still that they are, the experience of playing live outweighing any potential drawbacks of touring. Yet in an increasingly difficult industry it’s worth sparing a thought for the state of your favourite musician when they cancel a show, rather than complaining to your mum and getting straight onto following up a refund. By Gabriel Burrow

None of us are invincible...

Photo credit: Jimmy King

It’s now official. Because if anyone could live forever, that person would have been David Robert Jones, one of the most talented, dynamic and, let’s face it, cool musicians the world has ever and will ever see. A man who didn’t care what other people thought, what other people said, what other people did. A man who was not afraid to be different.

they may be, are not a true reflection of the man. A reflection of his musical talent perhaps; a reflection of the adoration with which his songs were felt, most definitely. But statistics are not how David Bowie should be remembered, for they are a convention. And this was a man who challenged all convention in favour of his own beliefs. The man who turned down a CBE, then a knighthood, off the Queen because it went against his beliefs. The man who was far from just a musician: a painter, an actor, a producer, an innovator. The man who took on the world, and took much of the world with him on his journey in pursuit of doing so.

Changing his name following the success of Davy Jones from ‘The Monkees’, Bowie was propelled into stardom following the release of ‘Space Oddity’, which won him an ‘Ivor Novello Special Award for Originality’ (no, me neither), along with the commercial recognition a top 5 UK single brings. From that point onwards he became worshipped by many and adored by even more; he gave the world a reason why individualism was ok, and convention was to be challenged rather than followed.

He once said ‘I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.’ A more accurate reflection of his persona us mere beings can only agree with.

We could talk about Bowie’s statistics all day. Over 140 million records sold worldwide, nine platinum album certifications, an induction into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 1996. But these, as astonishing as

David Bowie, RIP. One of a kind, one of us. By Archie Banks 7

INTERVIEWS GALORE... Check out these killer interviews from some of the hottest acts around.

+ many more! 9

ENTER SHIKARI

Discuss the busy year ahead

By Gabriel Burrow and Nick Harvey

nter Shikari have a busy year ahead with an upcoming European tour whilst working on their 5th album. Our very own Gabriel Burrow and Nick Harvey were lucky enough to grab some of their time and interview the band. Enter Shikari will be playing at the Motorpoint Arena on 20th February 2016. In February next year you will be embarking on your biggest headline UK tour to date, including playing to 10,000 fans at the famous Alexander Palace in London – is this something that excites you or is the idea of that many people watching you play nerve-wracking? It’s extremely exciting! I haven’t been nervous

about going on stage for a long time as our fans have always been so supportive we feel right at home with them. In the past we have done multiple nights in the same venue so it’s going to be great to be able to see all our fans in the same room. I think there’s going to be an amazing energy in the room, if only we could some how harvest and store it somehow. Being Enter Shikari, 10

you are known for taking on certain social issues within your songs such as the NHS, capitalism and climate change. Do you think there’s a place in the charts for songs that deal with these issues as opposed to songs that merely focus on girls, sex and getting drunk? Absolutely. Art should always be a reflection of the world around it. There is always a time for music just for the sake of music with no

deeper meaning than what is on the surface. But, there is also always time for music to be social commentary, to voice opinions and anger of an otherwise voiceless people, take a stand against injustices and gather and empower the masses. Music is also an excellent educational tool. Continuing from this, do you guys think of yourselves as first and foremost a political band, or more a ‘rock’ band with politicised lyrics. At the end of the day we are musicians not politicians. We have strong values and ideologies which we like to share with others but if someone wants to listen purely to the music and not think much on the lyrics that’s fine. we are just reflecting what is going on around us, we talk about the things that you will see in the papers or on telly or hear about in the pub every day, so to be honest I don’t see why we should be depicted as a ‘political band’

at all, just because we talk about current social issues that affect us all. On October 30th you released your collaborative remix album with drum and bass legends Hospital Records called The Mindsweep: Hospitalised. Is it strange hearing people completely chopping and changing around the songs that you as a band took so long to finalise and perfect? Our music lends itself very well to being remixed. We have always been fans of all types of dance music, when we were younger we’d grow up hearing two or three different versions of any electronic song that came out, it’s fun and exciting how malleable and fluid and evolving music can be. From our very first releases we have had remixes done of our songs by other people and ourselves. Often if we get bored with a song we have played for a long time live we will chop and change it to keep it fresh and new. 11

Anyone who has watched your studio diaries knows the sheer number of songs you guys have prepared for a record that don’t make the cut. Are there any tracks that didn’t end up on The Mindsweep that might see the light of day at a later date? Nothing really left over, but we are always working on new stuff. It never stops cooking in the Shikari kitchen. Apart from your UK tour, what does 2016 hold for Enter Shikari? Any plans of starting work on album 5? We have a European tour announced out there already and we’re working on dates for the USA and Canada for a little later in the year, and then at some point we’ll be starting work on album number 5 so it’s sure to be another busy.

Read the full interview at www.themicmagazine.co.uk

An insightful interview with...

ust days after the release of his new album, Elements, I was lucky enough to catch up with the Italian composer and music maestro Ludovico Einaudi. Famous for his expressive melodies and emotive minimalism, his work has been used in film and TV countless times. If you don’t know his name, you’ll have heard his music. Hello, Mr Einaudi, how are you? I am well, thanks. I’m about to leave the UK to go to Madrid. But it’s

not a holiday – I’m doing another day of interviews and then I go back to Italy tomorrow night. It’s been a very busy week but I’m happy with everything; everything is going really well.

“I was so sad when I heard that he was not alive anymore that I said I wanted to write something” That’s good to hear. I suppose a busy 12

lifestyle is what to expect when you’ve just released a new album… Yeah, yeah, the moment of release is always exciting, and of course it’s exciting when the people embrace your work and they love it. It’s a beautiful moment that comes after a lot of work! Elements was released on the 16th October. Can you tell us a little bit about that: where you got your inspirations from and what you hoped to achieve? The inspiration was around the idea of the elements and I want-

Ludovico Einaudi By Erica Halley

ed to focus on the idea of the musical elements. I started to read in other fields: in books about the arts – I was reading Kandinsky’s writing about the function of the elements of arts; I was reading about the periodic table of the elements in science, in chemistry; I was reading about the creation of the world in Greek mythology. So it all came back into a sort of organic flow of music, but in some moments my mind was lost into a strange world…I don’t know, but it was fascinating. On your album Elements, there is a

very beautiful piano piece called Song for Gavin. Who is Gavin? This is the last piece on the album. I wrote it in memory of a friend who passed away this year and his name was Gavin Clark. He was a singer-songwriter that I met a few years ago in the UK and we became friends. He was coming to my concerts and we were doing little collaborations together. I was so sad when I heard that he was not alive anymore that I said I wanted to write something, and this came out. I’m happy about the fact that I can remember him and share this

memory in honour of him, and that other people can start to know his work through mine, because it is beautiful. I guess that’s the magic of music: it can mean different things to different people. Okay, a little bit of fun for the final question…if you had to be a musical instrument, which would you choose and why? I think I’d like to be an instrument like the cello, because it’s made of wood, it’s deep but also it can sing. And it’s vibrant. Everything is about how you take out the vibration from that piece of wood and make it sing.

Einaudi plays Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on Saturday 19th March 2016 as part of his UK tour “Ludovico Einaudi2” by Presidenza della Repubblica. Licensed under Attribution via Wikimedia Commons 13 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ludovico_Einaudi2.jpg#/media/File:Ludovico_Einaudi2.jpg

Kagoule Interviewed by Israel Bucko

agoule, made up of Cai, Lucy and Lawrence, are a three-piece band from Nottingham. They played at Rock City’s event, “Our City” on December the 4th alongside Saint Raymond, D.I.D., Indiana and many more. Israel Bucko got a chance to talk to Lucy ahead of the celebration: Hey! So you’ve got the new album out, Urth, how does it feel to have released your first album? Obviously it’s really exciting. We’ve been waiting a long time. Actually, we recorded the album about a year before it was released, so we kind of felt like we’ve had an album for a year already when it was released which was quite odd! But it was so exciting to see it in the shops; when we went into Rough Trade in Nottingham there

was a little stand with our CD’s and vinyl’s on, which was quite a weird feeling but was really great. Do you have a favourite song? I don’t know. I mean, probably ‘Adjust the Way’, which is one of our oldest songs but I just really enjoy playing it live and I love it. I don’t really know why, I just really like that song. It’s the song I don’t get quite as upset about hearing. If I ever hear the rest of the album I’m like, “No turn it off ” and get really embarrassed.

“I think of all places to be a musician, Nottingham is definitely not a bad place” 14

How would you describe your sound? I find it very difficult to describe our sound. I usually rely on other people; if I get asked that by someone up there I usually ask them to describe it, because we don’t really know what we’re doing. We don’t have an aim to make a certain genre of music. So it ends up just sounding like this or that; so I don’t really like to label it. So let me reword that – who have been your greatest influences, as in, do you have a particular artist who you are inspired by? So Cai is the songwriter of the band, but as a musician myself I’m obviously inspired alot by the cool, 90’s chic musicians, you know. Like Kim Gordon is basically my idol because she is amazing, and really cool; I would love to be

Kim Gordon but I’m not. How did the band start? The band started through school, we all knew each other, all in the same year. I was really good friends with Lawrence’s twin sister, and I met Cai in a music classroom in our school funnily enough, neither of us were playing any music at the time, probably just messing about on the keyboard because that’s what you do in music lessons at school.” What’s it like being a musician growing up in Nottingham? Was it difficult to break into the music scene? I think of all places to be

a musician, Nottingham is definitely not a bad place. It’s reasonably active and has a good music scene at the minute. There are both commercially successful and underground bands here. We were welcomed early onto the scene when we started. Lots of people accepted us and were willing to support us. There are lots of people with lots of different genres here so someone will probably like your music. It’s better than London because there is not as many of us doing it. I can’t imagine doing it there because it will be very difficult to get anywhere. There are lots of bands

trying to make it big and I have the utmost respect for them because I would not be able to handle that. Are you excited about the event at Rock City showcasing all Nottingham’s talent? Yeah it should be really fun. We don’t normally play with these kind of bands. They’re not really the same kind of genre so it would be nice to see what everybody else is up to. Have a chit chat and a mingle!

Read the full interview at www.themicmagazine.co.uk

Mallory Knox front-man, Mikey Chapman, discusses tours, new music and world domination

Interviewed by Brydie Youngman

irst of all, please describe to all of us Vans Warped Tour dreamers, what it was like to actually be on the stage performing at every date of the USA’s most established festival tour? Were there any moments when you felt utterly overwhelmed to become a part of the history of the Warped Tour? Fulfilling the dream of heading to the States to play Warped gave me a buzz every day, playing to brand new potential fans gave me new energy each day despite the sometimes blistering heat or being dead tired. You certainly get out of Warped what you put into it and that was a really refreshing experience.

across the UK (including Nottingham’s own Rock City!) with your Homecoming tour in September and October? Which cities were your favourite and how did it compare to the American audiences? The headline tour was amazing in so many ways, it’s always hard to pick a favourite but the roundhouse in Camden was a dream checked off the list. Rock City is always a lot of fun too! The UK/US fans are very similar; both passionate and loyal, the difference between the headliner and Warped was just how many dedicated fans were at the headline shows, it really takes your breath away.

How did it feel to return home after a crazy summer in the land of Stars and Stripes, gracing cities

You were even featured on the front cover of Kerrang! magazine in September, something you described

as “surreal” on your Instagram – does seeing yourself on the front of a magazine which has featured no end of rock’s biggest and best really make you feel like you’ve ‘made it’? I’ll never feel like that, which I think is both a good and bad thing. It gives me the drive to strive for that next achievement and I think it keeps me grounded in a way. Sometimes I’d like to be able to switch that off and just enjoy the moment though! Tracks from your second album, Asymmetry, which was released in the UK in October last year and the U.S in June of this year, boasts repeated airtime on BBC Radio 1; is this something the band has become used to or does it never get old? Do you ever tune in to give your videos a cheeky watch on Scuzz music channel? Radio 1 have been so good to us; were over the moon they like the stuff we put out and more importantly feel it connects with their broad audience, not a lot of rock bands get that opportu-

nity so there’s never a time I catch one of our songs on the radio and think ‘oh that’s normal’. It continues to blow me away and I don’t see that changing any time soon! We started this band with the intention of writing music we like to hear, and as such I think it’s important to tune in to a TV show or whatever just like fans do to get the same experience and see how it makes you feel. Besides the obvious excitement I think it’s a good way to gauge how you’re coming across to your audience. What’s next? Will you be planning your next mission for alternative rock world domination? Haha, world domination is always an ongoing effort for sure! 2016 has a few cool tours and shows in the pipeline, most of which I can’t even talk about. But it’s also full of excitement for our new record which we are writing at the moment and hoping to release some time late 2016, but I can’t make any promises. [This] year for sure will be another busy one for us, which is just how we like it.

An interview with

Don Broco By Jake Walker

spoke to Don Broco’s lead singer Rob Damiani about their new album, upcoming tour and all things in between. Rob and drummer Matt Donnelly lived in Sherwood Hall during their first year so have a real attachment to the city. Hi Rob, firstly, how does it feel to have a new album out and a tour to go with it? Yeah great, we can’t wait for the tour. We just started getting to grips with the album in practice. You cut the CD and then until you have to play them live you don’t really think about them. So it makes practicing fun, because you know, it’s pretty boring when you’re doing a song that you’ve played so many times.

I guess it helps make the live shows more fun too, after all the Yeah Man [track from first album Priorities] crowd participation? Yeah, totally. It’s super fun still doing that live, and you get a massive buzz off that. Yeah Man is a really good example. That was one of those album tracks that was one of our personal favourites. When we first started playing it live, it turned out to be a real crowd favourite. I don’t think we would have ever guessed it would have been when we wrote it. So it’s going to be really interesting getting to see which new songs have that vibe, that atmosphere. Yeah, that’ll be interesting to see. So what do you think is the inspiration for your new album, 18

Automatic? The inspiration was lyrically from my view. It’s about, as well as all the doom and gloom and things wrong in day to day life, it had more of a positive outlook. It was only after we had written it that I realized that quite a few songs were about living life for the moment and not dwelling on things, and if things are going well just embracing them and carrying on with them. Once we’d actually given the band a go and we were realising that we’d taken a chance on a slightly dodgy career path. We didn’t regret it and we wouldn’t change anything in the world because we’ve had some incredible years, being in a band and actually getting to live that dream. I think a lot of people don’t take those chances in life, it’s very easy to go to school,

go to Uni, get a job in London. We saw that you recently did a house party in Nottingham. Can you tell us a little bit about that? That came about so last minute. We were actually on the way to Leeds, to do a house party One of my brothers mates goes to Uni there and he’s got a house, and it was all set to happen and I don’t know exactly what happened. I think either it was his housemates pulled out, or he maybe saw some photos and some videos from the night before. What had happened to the house the night before? It was all very secret because we didn’t want word getting out too much. Because the British are ones to go a little bit mental, the police ended up coming and there were hundreds of people who couldn’t get in the house, physically there was no room for them. We felt a lot of people had come who had heard about it and

they’ve made the effort but they couldn’t see us. So we wanted to keep it super secret. But then, once we announced that it was in Leeds we got a load of tweets through. Someone in Nottingham said ‘oh, don’t do it in Leeds, come to Nottingham’, and when we found out that Leeds wasn’t going to happen, we just tweeted her back and said ‘alright, we’ll come. We’ll do it in Nottingham!’. So we just drove to Nottingham, literally it was about four hours before we were going to start playing, you can’t go too late because the police have got complete rights to shut you down. So we rushed, we got there as quick as we could, told literally a hand full of people. At the service station on the way in there was a whole bunch of RAG raiders coming back and they recognized us as we were grabbing a quick Burger King. We felt too bad not to tell them about it. I think they were from Broadgate Park, but they were obviously first years. They were wasted, 19

covered in face paint and snot dripping down their noses, they were absolute disgraces. Yeah definitely, now my last question, is Thug Workout going to stay for this new tour? Oh, big time! It’s one of our favourite songs to play live. It’s one of those kind of weird, just weird crazy songs that doesn’t really make any sense. But, when it comes into a live environment it just takes on a life of its own. It’s got such an energy to it, for a lot of people it’s probably still one of their favourite songs live. So it’s a lot of fun to play as well. It just works in the set when you want to mix things up a little bit and, it’s quite interesting now working out our set list and fitting it into the other songs in our set and getting the flow right. But, if you time it right, when you hear that rift drop it just sounds, absolutely massive. Read the rest of the interview online at www.themicmagazine.co.uk.

The Mic’s Nathan Quinn caught up with Bloc Party’s Russel Lissack a few weeks ahead of the release of their new record Hyms. How has early 90s’ trance music influenced your writing?

Brilliant question, no one has ever asked me that before! I think that trance music from that era was very melodic and really focused on melodies and that’s always been very important to me. Playing those sounds is 20

a key feature of my guitar playing. That music also has association with euphoria, which is something that I also try and get across in the music we do. Listening to early trance music growing up was a period of our life

A R E B AC K . By Nathan Quinn

that both both that

was influential on Kele and I and we try and incorporate into what we do.

Do you listen to any modern electronic music? Yes, I like a lot of mod-

ern electronic music. Stuff like Major Lazer, that sort of thing. Especially in America, EDM (Electronic Dance Music) is a little less appealing and the whole presentation isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so great but when you step away from 21

that there is a lot of electronic music that is very interesting and creative. Electronic music producers are very interested in wanting to do something original, as well as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pushing things forwardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which is very appealing to me.

How did the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne influence your writing? It’s not something that I would say was a direct influence. Anime in general was something I watched when I was a little younger and could be very emotional. That, for me, is a very important aspect of music - to stimulate an emotional reaction in someone. I like to make music that evokes some sort of feeling, the sort of hairs standing of the back of your neck feeling, which is quite hard to achieve but when you get it, it’s an incredible feeling. Are you a fan of any of the Bloc Party remix songs; particularly Burial’s remix of Where is Home? and Crystal Castle’s remix of Hunting for Witches? Yes! I’ve heard both of those and when I DJ I often play the Crystal Castles remix. Have you made any other remixes apart from your remix of Kate Nash’s Pump-

kin Soup in 2007? Yeah I haven’t much in the last year or so. In the past 5 years, I did quite a few remixes. What music did you listen to during the Bloc Party hiatus and has this had an influence on the music you wrote for Hymns? As I said before, I listen to quite a lot of electronic music and I was definitely listening to predominantly electronic music, whether it be singles or albums or even on the radio during the hiatus. When listening to those sounds my aim was to, as a guitar player, try and interpret what I was hearing with regards to what we do. How did growing up in London influence what you do? It had a large influence on Kele as a lyricist, especially in some of our older records such as Weekend in the City. That record can translate to many cities in the world but for us it was a record about growing up and being in London. 22

Has the song writing process changed with the addition of Justin Harris and Louise Bartle? No, I don’t think it’s changed. We are working with different people now but there has never been a set way that we wrote music. A song can come from anywhere; it can start with a guitar riff, a drumbeat, a vocal melody, so in that sense it hasn’t really changed. What is your favorite album of all time? Hmmm… Pinkerton by Weezer is defiantly a favorite and a record that is very aspiring and meant a lot to me when I was younger, but its very difficult to chose a specific favorite. Are there any new bands that people should be looking out for? At the minute, Everything Everything are my favorite band, even though they’re on their second record so may not be considered as new. I am looking forward to getting out on tour, as it’s a great opportunity

to discover new music. There haven’t really been, for me anyway, any exciting new bands but I am hoping to discover something new next year. What was your favorite ever gig that you played? We sub-headlined for Radiohead at Reading Festival in 2009, which was a great gig with a gigantic crowd. Reading was a festival that I used to go to as a teenager the most so it will always have a special place in my heart.

I saw Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in the late 90s at The Shepherds Bush Empire in London. I waited outside all day so I could get a spot at the front by the barrier. It was a really tense experience and it was recorded by MTV so I taped it on VHS and got to watch it back.

Which festivals are you playing this summer? We’re playing Bennecasim which we’ve never played before What’s the best ever so will be cool to play gig you’ve been to? there for the first time.

What personal advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue a career in music? I think things have really changed a lot in the music industry in the last 10 years. Its hard to do things now that we did when we were breaking through, the whole traditional playing in the pubs round London, get a record deal. Now you can make your own path by putting your music on the Internet but now its harder to get noticed. But above all, if the music is good the cream will rise to the top.

ntroducing the NME tour with great success was upcoming grime MC Bugzy Malone, who immediately connected with the audience through a showcase of new and old material. From the off, he impressed the crowd with his display of intricate lyrical creativity as well as an astounding ability to freestyle in his technical and fast-paced rhythmic style. Cheers of delight rang around the room when Bugzy Malone treated us to a rendition of his biggest hit ‘Watch your Mouth’, and it became obvious why this single was seen to instigate ‘grime revival’ and move the UK music scene away from purely commercially oriented talent. Next to the stage came emerging talent Ratboy, described by NME as Indie’ s ‘cheekiest new upstart’ on the UK music scene; as soon as he started to perform in his upbeat and confident manner, it became clear how he has earned this title! His fun-loving character and brutally honest attitude was displayed perfectly through the chaotic barrage of sounds, while the rap material displayed lyrical wit and an almostcomical youthful perspective on growing up in suburban Britain. With one upbeat track following another,

this was a set which the audience fully embraced and the reciprocal enjoyment was obvious to all. Following an impressive musical display by Drenge, Bloc Party rose to the stage to perform their highly anticipated headline slot. Competing with huge cheers from the audience which reverberated around the venue, Bloc Party began their set by showcasing new track ‘The Good News’; the second single on new album ‘Hymns’. Despite the album being released only a few days ago, it was clear that the crowd were

big fans of the new material as they sang along to every track performed by the band. The set featured an impressive display of both new and old songs ranging from all of their studio albums, with particularly joyous responses to older hits such as ‘Mercury’ and ‘Helicopter’, which had the entire audience dancing to the upbeat melodies. Bloc Party’s eclectic talent in terms of their ability to produce both melodic and meaningful self-reflective slower tracks as well as fast-paced ‘dance’ anthems was really encapsulated during their headline performance.

This was perfectly displayed through the well-chosen selection of material for the encore, which featured the older ‘ballad style’ song ‘This Modern Love’ before closing with arguably their most well-received track of the night, dance-hit ‘Ratchet’. The positive energy exhibited by Bloc Party was reciprocated by the crowd’s clear delight at this final hit and it was certainly a memorable closing moment for the audience and band alike!

By Bethany Munley

An interview with

Lower Than Atlantis’ drummer >>Eddy Thrower<< By Luke Morenas-Jones

t’s been a while since Lower Than Atlantis played Nottingham so it’s only fair that we caught up with their drummer Eddy Thrower before hitting the main stage in Rock City for the first time in their history…

Think I remember that – heard you guys ended up doing Karaoke in Rescue Rooms after? [Laughs] Yeah that was bad, we’ll probably end up there tonight as well. What do you think of Nottingham in general then? In general I love it. It’s my favourite place to play. The town is sick, the people are always up for a laugh and this venue [Rock City] is amazing as well. We started off in the small room here, moved onto Rescue Rooms and now the main room in Rock City in that order as well.

So then Eddy, how’s tour been so far? Good mate thanks, only had two dates so far but they’ve both been quality. It’s good to back in the UK. You’ve been up here quite a lot haven’t you? Yeah yeah, last thing we did here was A Day To Remember. 26

So obviously your Black Edition has been released recently; it’s got a lot of covers and b-sides – which I really like by the way – but having listened to you guy growing up the latest album is a bit of a change from what I think is a normal sort of sound; moving from very early Bretton to Far Q…it’s obviously getting slightly less…in your face as it were. Yeah well we don’t really listen to heavy music any more. It’s cliched but it was just a natural progression. It just happened, it wasn’t what we set out to do but especially on this album, if it was pop, rock, hip-hop, indie – whatever it may be, if it was good it was good, whether it was a specific genre or not, we didn’t think about it too much. We just did it, and if it was good it stayed on. We’ve got Ain’t No Friend on there and then we’ve got like Damnation…

Yeah two very different things, because Ain’t No Friend is quite electronic? Yeah exactly, that’s all it is.

“We grew up on heavy music, so it’s going to be that influence” Obviously Mike’s been writing for some other bands, he wrote for 5 Seconds of Summer didn’t he? Do you think that influenced you guys? Yeah he wrote a song for them, but the song he wrote for 5 Seconds of Summer was a rock song anyway; but because its 5 Seconds of Summer every-

one looks at it as being pop but it’s just a rock song really, so it’s what he normally does anyway. In terms of the actual writing of the music, it’s not a straightforward sound – whenever I’ve tried to learn it on guitar it’s not your bogstandard run-of-the-mill chords… how would you encourage a young musician who wanted to replicate that? Yeah yeah, they’re very different, especially chord-wise. I think it comes with personality and what you’re used to doing and what music you like as well. We grew up on heavy music, so it’s going to be that influence and stuff, not necessarily just major chords, it’s going to be a lot of minor chords and a lot of variations. It’s like drumming as well, there’s a lot of heavier aspects in there but at the same time we all love pop music now – we always have, but we listen to it more now…it’s just combining the two.

“learn everything, every genre of music, be nice to people, meet people, be positive”

cliched question but, if I were to next year join a band or whatever, what would your advice be? Just listen to everything. Like, learn everything, every genre of music, be nice to people, meet people, be positive, go out and meet people. Especially with social media. You can meet people without even meeting them if that makes sense. I’ve chatted to people, musicians and stuff who I know quite well but I’ve never met some of them, it sounds quite weird but just use everything that you can. Turning to touring, you were in the USA before this? Yeah yeah, and Australia. And before that you would have had the summer festival run…time for a little break after this? After this tour we’re having a little break for Christmas, but then we’re back out in Europe like February or March. And then yeah it’s straight back out to America. Keep going, fair. Obviously you’ve released the new edition recently but any new stuff planned? We’re always writing, because we’ve got our own studios so there’ll be new stuff soon.

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So what would you say to, it’s a 28

REVIEWS OF

2015 29

Ride return to Rock City By Shaun Gordon

1990

Most likely before any of The Mic members were born. An important start to a decade which, musically, was defined by the rise of Britpop. The year saw the emergence of Tim BernersLee’s World Wide Web. And big events such as Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, the reunification of Germany and the downfall of the Soviet Union, UK’s Poll Tax riots and the end of Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister. On a less grand scale, but still significant, 1990 saw the launch of the Hubble space telescope, which is now changing

the way we understand the Universe, the beginnings of the globalisation of McDonalds, with stores opening in Russia and China, and, heartbreakingly, Gazza’s World Cup. And on 15 October 1990, two more things happened: Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts in bringing about (for the time being at least) the end of the Cold War. And UK indie / shoegaze band Ride released their first album, Nowhere, on Creation Records. It was quite a year – ask your parents about it! And over the next four years or so, Ride recorded three more studio albums, Going Blank Again, Carnival 30

of Light and Tarantula, before going their own ways in 1995. 25 years later, Ride are back in a near sell-out in Nottingham’s Rock City, celebrating the anniversary of the release of Nowhere. Providing their own support with a stellar setlist drawn from their other EPs and albums, the band push back an early 7.15pm start for fifteen minutes or so, to allow more fans to get to the venue on time. Opening with a near 10-minute version of Leave Them All Behind, Mark Gardener (vocal / guitar), Andy Bell (vocals / guitar), Steve Queralt (bass) and Loz Colbert (drums / vocals) got into the stride and moved seamlessly into Like a Daydream. Half a dozen more songs followed over the next 45 minutes or so, including the wonderfully upbeat Twisterella, and the first set finished with a powerful rendition of Mouse Trap. After a short turnaround, Loz Colbert led the band back on stage, opening the Nowhere set with Seagull. The album’s original playlist was maintained throughout; highlights being Polar Bear, and the album’s original last track, Vapour Trail. Three more songs on the CD version, Taste, Here and Now, and an incredible performance of Nowhere (not on the original version of the album in spite of lending the album it’s title) ended the second set.

Ride may have reformed as recently as April 2015, with a gig in hometown Oxford’s O2 Academy, followed by short US then UK tours encompassing at least Coachella Festival, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Glasgow, Manchester and London, but it didn’t show. They were on form in Nottingham, and delighted the frenzied crowd with a seemingly never-ending Drive Blind, with an amazing light show by top lighting engineer, Dan Hardiman. Chelsea Girl, the opening track on their first EP release, closed a fabulous 21-song gig. After the gig, I chatted with Ride bassist, Steve Queralt, and asked about the seemingly decreasing age profile of people at gigs that I’d seen over the last six months, since the Oxford and Manchester gigs, with lots of students attending. Steve agreed: “I’ve been amazed at the number of people at the shows who are clearly too young to remember Nowhere from 1990. Some were not even born when the album was originally released which is hugely satisfying for us to see. You just have to scan the first few rows each night and you’ll see all sorts of people who are not just curious onlookers but fans who have fought their way to the front. Perhaps there is a future for our music after all”. Check out Shaun’s other amazing photographs like the ones in this article @_SGphotography

“ A m ber Run are one of those rare bands that have produced a first-rate studio album, yet somehow sound even better live. ‘I Found’ was ethereal expressed through a calming piano and mesmerizing vocals, while ‘Good Morning’ produced nostalgic guitar riffs giving a sense of throwback as everyone waved their arms side to side. ‘Hurricane’ had snappy, treacle-like drums suitably supporting a pop-rock song, while ‘Spark’ provided an ample entry song into which they ignited a night on fire.” - Israel Bucko - Amber Run, Rescue Rooms, December

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“Next the crowd were treated to back-to-back fan favourites, ‘Indecision’ and “2Shy”, which really started the party. Singing from behind a blond mop of messy hair, Shura played guitar, sound machines and synths with passion. Following this was my personal favourite out of the new tracks played on the night- drum led ‘What Happened’, more upbeat and poppy than other tracks, but still uniquely Shura. - Grace Pownall - Shura, Rescue Rooms, December 32

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“A l though it seemed that Krept and Konan were starting to dial down the performance with slower, more heartfelt songs such as ‘My Story’, they sparked the crowd’s fuse again. Lethal Bizzle, who was due to play Oceana later that night, made a guest appearance and performed his hit ‘Fester Skank’ alongside the duo. From there the pace picked up, as they played the track one group of men had been screaming for since the opening act. ‘Don’t Waste My Time’ boomed through the venue, as the room shook and the people roared along to the lyrics.” - Matt Waterton - Krept and Konan, Rescue Rooms, November

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“Finally, the moment that everyone had been waiting for arrived – Ady Suleiman was about to take to the stage. With a trumpeting fanfare from his six-piece band, he casually bounded onto the stage and went straight into his first song, ‘Why You Running Away’. His confident swagger, the curl of his lip as he sang his soulful tunes and his effortless dancing proved that he was incredibly comfortable up on the stage and reveling in the adoring gaze of the crowd. The energy in the room was electric.” - Betty Owoo - Ady Suleiman, The Bodega, November 33

“A s t h e show unraveled, so did Andreya Triana. After two songs she had removed her jacket, after three her shoes. Walking round the stage bare foot, she talked and joked with the audience, creating an inclusive atmosphere that felt more like she was performing in your front room than in a 300-capacity theatre. By song four it felt like everyone in the room were friends – people were out of their seats and dancing in the aisles, which, by the end of the show had grown into a small crowd by the fire exit, the only clearing in the room, all having a mini party.” - Tushara Rose - Andreya Triana, Nottingham Arts Theatre, November

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“ A s Izzy Bizu came on the lights dimmed and turned blue, highlighting the stage. Her set was short but sweet as she started with ‘Diamonds’ and aired a couple of her more popular songs including ‘White Tiger’ and ‘Give Me Love’. Judging from the crowd, not many people seemed to know her initially but by the end of set the atmosphere was upbeat and the reaction overwhelmingly positive.” - Olivia Redmayne Peacock - Izzy Bizu, Rescue Rooms, October 34

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“... the crowd’s iPhone torches and lighters lit up the entire arena. It was a sight never to be forgotten, which swiftly moved into the performance of a close second favourite ‘Tompkins Square Park’. Towards the resented end of the show, and after a crazy cry for an encore, the band took to a secret stage within the crowd in order to perform the quiet and beloved songs ‘Timshell’ and ‘Cold Arms’ which eventually led them to perform their final song ‘The Wolf ’ which went off in a complete and utter blast. - Ashley Kippax - Mumford & Sons, Capital FM Arena, November

““Any freshers in tonight?” asked Murph, to which small pockets of new students vocalised their approval. “We’re really jealous of where you are in your lives right now” he continued, in a seemingly wistful wave of nostalgia to the debut album, which elevated their status through its seemingly effortless identification with the nation’s young people. It would be impossible to say that the first, second and third albums are not entirely different – indeed the contrast between ‘1996’ and ‘Be Your Shadow’, played back to back, is obvious to all. Yet the band seemed to have matured as performers over time, gradually developing their shows to the point where the crowd is literally eating out of their hand!” - Archie Banks - The Wombats, Rock City, September

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ONE TO WATCH IN 2016 By Siobhan Hartley

You can get Jamie’s self-titled debut album now, featuring the huge 2015 hit ‘Wasn’t Expecting That.’

amie Lawson played to an unsurprisingly sold out crowd last Monday. He has recently been touring the UK with his self-titled album, which reached number 1 in the UK charts in 2015. I first saw Jamie Lawson play when he was supporting Ed Sheeran on tour last year, and it’s safe to say I fell in love with his music from the first song. Jamie’s music has a unique edge to it which leaves you captivated from the moment he starts plucking the guitar strings. The support acts, Richard Walters and Lauren Aquilina were both appropriate support acts for Jamie, with Richard’s haunting talents and Lauren’s enchanting voice they warmed up the crowd well for what was quickly becoming a very enjoyable night. Jamie’s album is his fourth album to date and we were lucky enough to hear some of Jamie’s songs from previous albums. As well as these, we were treated to a number of songs off Jamie’s current record such as ‘The Only Conclusion’, ‘Ahead of Myself ’ and ‘Sometimes It’s Hard’. I was personally hoping for an appearance of ‘Cold in Ohio’ - a particular favourite of mine ever since that first time seeing Jamie play. Luckily, it came not too long into the set; I was happily singing at the top of my voice – and joining in with the rest of the crowd when Jamie left it to us to sing the chorus back to him. Jamie performed

it faultlessly and reminded us that ‘Cold in Ohio’ is his latest release, so if you haven’t heard it yet, have a listen! I’m sure you’ll be as impressed as I am. Jamie played with the help of a band, which I didn’t expect. The band consisted of drums, a bass guitar, backing vocals and a keyboard, adding even more depth to how his songs were performed. As Jamie continued through his set he made the occasional joke, noting that although there aren’t many songs you can dance to, ‘Someone for Everyone’ was probably your best bet for a bit of a dance, which he then executed delightfully. The gig was enjoyable all round, from the first act. It’s clear that Jamie is a very down to earth kind of guy, and this really comes through in his music and performing style. He mentioned that the Rock City crowd was the biggest crowd of people that had ever come out to see just him to date, which isn’t surprising as Jamie is continually becoming more and more well known and listened to. He didn’t disappoint on Monday and he fulfilled all promises of an enjoyable night, listening to good music and having a good time. With both young and older people there to watch him perform, it’s safe to say that Jamie Lawson is a very popular man right now, with only bigger things to come if this gig was anything to go by! 37

Initially as a two-piece consisting of guitarists Alex and Seb, it’s taken the best part of a year and a half to fully craft the current Tusk lineup. Luckily bumping into bassist Jamie back in November of 2014, things finally turned up a notch when vocalist Ned joined in the following Summer. After playing around with different genres and getting to grips with each other’s styles, tracks began to take shape and a path towards a defined image started to pave itself. Mid-December arrived along with a Facebook page - you know a band’s serious when you wake up one morning to a ‘Suggested page: Tusk’ alert next to your cornflakes. Add a couple teaser videos, a mysterious profile picture and a cover photo of four people looking bewilderingly into the distance and it’s as legit as it gets What better way to christen the new year than with a debut demo (recorded in Seb’s very own university bedroom) in the form of ‘Dull Ache’. Making light work of 4,000 plays on Soundcloud, the emails and fangirls came pouring in. “Just last weekend, a band emailed asking if they could support Tusk”, Jamie told us. In just one month, Tusk have transformed from a meer spec in Mark Zuckerberg’s virtual world to a sought after, hotly-tipped local talent. What better way to celebrate than to recruit a full-time drummer in the form of Jack. Tusk are now ready for the real world and you can be a part of their voyage too. Their first gig arrives on 5th March at Suede Bar before setting sail to London, The Bodega and beyond. Don’t forget to catch them supporting Habitats at Hockney on 24th March as well. If you can’t wait ‘til then, head on over to Tusk’s Soundcloud to hear their exciting follow up to their first demo, ‘Cold Air’. Watch this space. 38

By Luke Matthews

...with special thanks to The Committee: Anna Nicklin (Co-Editor in Chief) Brydie Youngman (Publishing Director) Gabriel Burrow (Co-Editor in Chief) Heather Silcock (General Secretary) Irini Kounoupias (Treasurer / Communications Secretary) Luke Matthews (President) Nathan Quinn (Communications Secretary) Contributors: Archie Banks Ashley Kippax Betty Owoo Bethany Munley Brydie Youngman Erica Halley Gabriel Burrow Grace Pownall Israel Bucko Jake Walker Luke Morenas-Jones Matt Waterton Nathan Quinn Nick Harvey Olivia Redmayne Peacock Shaun Gordon Siobhan Hartley Tushara Rose Photographers: Shaun Gordon (www.shaungordon.photography) Sponsors:

And to all labels, venues, managers, promoters and PR companies who provided us with gig, interview and promotional opportunities. We look forward to meeting you all in Welcome Week! Our next magazine (Issue no. 41) is due for release around Easter time! Send any articles to themic@themicmagazine.co.uk Join The Mic for one year for just ÂŁ4. For any review, gig or interview requests, email us at themic@themicmagazine.co.uk.

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