The SPG (North West) Summer 2014

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SUMMER 2014

NORTH WEST ISSUE 27

INTERVIEWS

CARL COX

CLEAN BANDIT NICK MULVEY DAPPER LAUGHS PLUS

STUDENT DISCOUNTS FESTIVAL GUIDE SUMMER RECIPES FITNESS TIPS GAP YEAR ADVICE and much more... mo

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H E L LO

Ahhh…... Summer.......

My favourite time of year! It’s a season for my name is BBQs, festivals, parties, ice cream, sun and sand! We hope you have an amazing summer whatever you do, and to help you get the most out of it, we’ve put together a new Summer edition packed with tips and ideas to help you along the way. Some of the topics covered in this issue include Top Festival Tips, Cheap BBQ Ideas, and expert fitness advice on how to get a Hollywood 6-pack just in time for summer!

THE EDITOR

If you’re planning a big trip abroad anywhere, be sure to read our Gap Year Travel Advice. For those of you that are finishing your final year, check out our advice on How To Break Into The Graduate Job Market - a quick and easy guide to landing that dream job and to help justify spending three years of your life creating a mountain of debt. Another must read for any student moving out of your gaff this summer is How To Get Your Deposit Back - Practical ways to make sure you get all your money back.

And what better ways to spend your hard-saved dosh than getting tickets to some of the hottest summer festivals and watching your favourite artists play? Keeping things music related, we caught up with superstar DJ Carl Cox, who talks us through his 30 year career at the top of the Dance music industry. Captured on video we’ve got an exclusive performance from singer songwriter Nick Mulvey, Coolio singing the smash hit ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ with Preston students in their digs, plus an amazing (exclusive) SPGtv cover of Katy B’s Crying For No Reason, by the hugely talented Mila Falls!

Is there anything else inside I hear you ask? In fact, yes there is! We caught up with the social media comedy phenomenon Dapper Laughs who tells us his secrets on how to pull #Ssss. And he’s even teamed up with The SPG to give you guys the chance to win signed t-shirts! Plus we had a chat with band of the moment Clean Bandit, having just started a mammoth tour across the UK and Europe.

In return for all of this amazing stuff we’ve got on offer for you lovely lot, we ask from you a small favour! If this is the only thing you do for us all summer, please subscribe here to help support the cause. We won’t bombard you with spam.

Instead, we’ll just let you know from time to time when we’ve got new deals, competitions, and when the latest edition is out.

So until next time, enjoy your summer and stay safe!

Much love.

SPG xxx

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The Student Pocket Guide Ltd, EPIC Studios, 112-116 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JD. Tel: 01603 727768 Email: info@thestudentpocketguide.com Web: www.thestudentpocketguide.com All Rights Reserved Š The Student Pocket Guide Ltd 2014. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form. The publishers do not accept responsibility for any of the views or opinions expressed in this guide, errors or omissions which may have occurred, or accept liability for any services or facilities featured. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that all information is correct, changes may and can occur. The Student Pocket Guide is a trading name of The Student Pocket Guide Ltd.

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tions Everyone loves a freebie. That’s why we work hard to keep them coming for you lovely lot! Always keeping your best interests in mind we have a team of people speaking to companies each and every day, haggling, sweating and negotiating the best prizes for competition giveaways. Last year we gave away products worth over £10,000. This doesn’t include our Gabrielle Aplin house party competition which money simply could not buy.

If you head on over to www.TheStudentPocketGuide.com right now you can enter all of our competitions for free! Currently on offer is an abundance of cool stuff including signed Dapper Laughs goodies, Alton Towers tickets, festival tickets, Lee Stafford hair products, House of Marley headphones and as you will have already seen on the left, an amazing thumbsized speaker!

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Words: Jack Shannon

You did it! You actually did it! You scored tickets to the hottest festival of the summer! You have friends, booze and the cheapest tent you could lay your hands on. What could possibly go wrong?

As it turns out, lots of things. Like, an entire article worth of things, can in fact go hideously, hideously (and in some cases, hilariously) wrong. But never fear, The SPG is here to give you the ultimate festival survival guide for 2014!

So, what could possibly go wrong...?

MUD

Love it or loathe it, mud is a part of life at a festival. When you have tens of thousands of sexy young people jumping up and down in a eld, combined with the inevitable downpour of rain, the ground suddenly looks like a hippo’s face mask.

Before long, the mud is sucking your previously pristine trainers in like a dodgy landlord. You go to your tent to get away, but mud has got into there as well! Eventually, you go home and block up the shower drain after taking half the eld back with you.

There’s not much that can be done apart from keeping calm and carrying on TBH. But there are a couple of things you can do to minimise the muddiness: • Wellies are your friend. Don’t forget them.

• Shove two spare tent pegs in the ground to put your boots on while inside your tent. Stops Mud from getting inside.

• Keep your phone and wallet in a zip-up sandwich bag to keep them dry and mud-less.

• A bin bag with three holes for your head and arms makes a great improvised poncho.

• When mud-wrestling, it is generally considered bad form to use a steel chair.

CRIME

Good news: Last year, crime at Glastonbury was at its lowest ever (Source: The Metro).

Bad news: This won’t be much of a consolation if your phone gets nicked.

With any large gathering of dancing, happy people there will always be a few jerks trying to ruin it by stealing everything that isn’t nailed down.

The obvious answer is, don’t have anything worth stealing. Leave the MP3 player at home! You are going to a festival to listen to live music, non-stop for days on end! You don’t need it with you.

The same applies to passports, jewellery that isn’t made of plastic and your mum’s priceless Ming vase (what on earth were you thinking?!?)

>>

Unless your tent has a locking front door for some reason, it will be fairly easy to get into. Sadly, this is just a fact of life as unless you are willing to spend the entire weekend in your tent on constant alert, you are going to have to leave it alone at some stage. Festival thieves are not planning the sequel to Oceans 13. Most of the time they will be looking for quick, opportunistic things to nick. For that reason, it’s best to keep everything at least an arm’s length away from the tent entrance and hidden under something. It’s a brave thief who will grab a can of lager in exchange for touching your dirty underwear. Unless he is there to steal underwear of course...

So that being said, stay safe, and bear the following in mind: • • • • • •

If you can, leave valuables at home.

Take your phone and wallet with you everywhere.

Don’t leave anything on display, either in your tent or the car.

Take note of where the police and security are at the festival.

Let the police/security know if someone’s acting dodgy.

Drugs are bad Mmm’kay.

Festival romance can be a beautiful thing. Boy meets girl. Boy buys girl an overpriced cider in a plastic cup. Girl invites boy to meet her boring friends and eat supermarket own brand sausages cooked on a disposable barbeque. Boy plays some awful song he wrote on an out of tune guitar. Girl goes back to boy’s tent and...rest is history.

But unless you take some sensible measures, that summertime ing can have some unwanted consequences.

STIs and pregnancy can ruin an otherwise great weekend. To make sure the only thing you take back is a mobile number, and not a bright purple, itchy set of genitals, The SPG has got your back.

The obvious solution is, take precautions.

And no, that doesn’t mean making sure you have a big enough sleeping bag!

Condoms are a must. Although not every form of contraception is perfect, condoms can help prevent the spread of a range of nasties. And they don’t have to be boring! Ribbed and avoured Johnnys are fun for everybody. You can even get glow in the dark ones! At least she’ll never say “I can’t nd it!” ever again...

• Respect yourself and your body.

• Never let yourself get talked into something you don’t want to do.

• And while we’re at it, respect other people’s boundaries. Play nice.

• All together now: USE A CONDOM! If used properly, they can protect you against both STIs and pregnancy. Keep some near your sleeping bag and some in your wallet, depending on whose tent you go back to.

• If your method of contraception fails, or you forget, the morning after pill is available either free with a prescription or alternately, Levonelle can be taken up to 72 hours after sex and is available over the counter.

• If something looks or feels strange after unprotected sex, speak to your GP or go to www.thesticlinic.com for more advice.

You ate a dodgy burger from the burger van, and now you are in the portaloo from hell, holding your ankles while a chocolate shot-gun erupts around you. What went wrong?

Food poisoning is one of the quickest ways to ruin a good time at a festival. Vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps are a dead giveaway something disagreed with you.

Follow a few simple steps to reduce the chances of this happening to you: • Stay away from dodgy catering vans. Does the equipment look clean? Does the food look properly cooked? Has the chef used a roll to blow his nose?

• Ensure all food on a barbeque is cooked until the juices run clear and no pink meat is visible when cut open. Separate utensils for raw and cooked food should be used.

• Stay hydrated and pack plenty of water.

• Keep your food and drinks out of the mud.

• Remember, the coolest thing you can be - is free from food poisoning.

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On

GANGSTA’S PARADISE - COOLIO (Acoustic Remix)

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SPGTV

! ne to watch Gangsta's Paradise legend Coolio, raps and sings his smash hit ‘Gangsta's Paradise’ with Uclan students from Preston after a night out.

Exclusive acoustic performances from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Gabrielle Aplin, Kodaline and Lucy Rose, through to interviews with the stars including Greg Davies, Jay Sean, Chase and Status, Conor Maynard and Pixie Lott. Host to an array of competition giveaways (which in the past has seen subscribers walk away with signed merchandise, mini fridges, festival tickets and designer clothing).

If you’re not subscribed to SPGtv then you really are missing a trick.

On a rooftop, on a lake, in a tour bus or back stage, SPGtv are always in the right place at the right time. Our camera guys are at the ready to capture those intimate, exclusive one-off moments for you lovely viewers.

With 1.7 million views and 230+ videos to browse, there really is no excuse to be playing Candy Crush anymore when you’re bored. Head on over to SPGtv and don’t forget to subscribe!

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clean bandit Interview by Thomas O’Connell

The UK dance scene has experienced a recent revival, with artists like Disclosure and Rudimental dominating the charts. However, Clean Bandit are the name on everybody’s lips for 2014. The band’s combination of bashful basslines and emotive strings has already won a legion of fans, with single ‘Rather Be’ selling 800,000 copies in the UK alone! We caught up with violinist Neil to discuss their upcoming tour, debut album and being completely unaware of Joey Essex.

Debut album [‘New Eyes’] is out June 2nd.

Are you feeling nervous about its release?

I think we’re more excited than nervous.

It’s been such a long time in the making that it’ll be a relief to finally put it out there, and see what people make of it. We’ve been lucky with the reaction to our music so far.

Hopefully, the album will go down as well as our previous singles!

The band’s Jack Patterson [bass/sax/ deck] has produced the record. Has he been cracking the whip? Yeah, he’s a TOTAL slave driver! No, in the last few months of

finishing it there were a lot of people around us cracking the whip, but that is probably the only way you are ever forced to declare something finished. Otherwise, you just keep tinkering with bits and pieces and it’s never-ending. I think we’re very happy with it now.

The singles you’ve released so far have been quite diverse. So, will anything surprise us on the album? I really hope there will be some surprises in there! We work with different vocalists on every song, so each track takes on a completely different feel. For example, we worked on a song with the reggae singer Stylo G and the Jamaican influences in the instrumental are pretty obvious.

‘Extraordinary’ [the band’s new single] features up-and-coming talent Shana Bass. Have you received any pressure to use more famous collaborators? Not so far…but we are applying as much pressure as possible, to secure more famous collaborators (laughs). We would love to do something with Woodkid or Drake one day. Oh, and anything with Sean Paul would be a total dream.

You direct your own music videos. As a band, is it important to have control over your visuals? It’s really important for us to keep that control. We try and see each project as a whole – the video and music having equal importance.

I think Jack would find it impossible to relinquish control over either!

They’re almost like a window to other parts of the world. Is that influenced by the music? For sure, but I guess the relationship can go both ways. Sometimes a video idea will influence the music as well, which is what happened with our song UK Shanty [which stars model Lily Cole]. We wanted to make this sea-inspired video, with a kind of ethereal mermaid character, and so the song followed from that concept.

The UK tour takes place in April/May. Describe the Clean Bandit gig experience in three words? Carnival, dance, party.

The album will be released after the tour – are you worried about playing songs before people have become familiar with them?

Obviously, it would be cool to do the tour once everyone has had a chance to listen to the album. However, there’s also a lot of the music out there already. Hopefully, people will know plenty of the material, but tracks they haven’t heard before will still have a distinctive Clean Bandit personality about them. Either way, playing live is always an amazing experience for us, which never gets boring!

You’re known for your use of guest vocalists. How will that work live? Will you be bringing some people on the road?

We actually have two brilliant singers [Florence Rawlings and Elisabeth Troy] who front our live show. They cover the whole of our repertoire between them. We might also bring out the occasional guest vocalist from the album, but those appearances will be top secret…

This summer, the band will be playing loads of festivals.

Which one are you most looking forward to? Glastonbury there’s so much to see, and it’s the only festival that truly doesn’t stop all night long, so I can’t wait to be there again.

What has been the highlight of the last year; achieving your first UK #1, completing your last headline tour or featuring on Joey Essex’s compilation CD? Is Joey Essex actually a person? I didn’t know about that, so I guess that rules that one out! I think getting the #1 because it’s something, as a kid, you imagine only happens to other people.

Clean Bandit’s debut album [‘New Eyes’] is released June 2nd and can be pre-ordered from iTunes. The band’s UK tour starts April 30th.

Essentials Written by Jack Shannon

Here at The SPG, we know festivals better than anyone. We’ve been to more festivals than you’ve had overpriced, disappointing burgers, served by a guy with a sinister handlebar moustache!

So without further ado, here are The SPG’s must-have festival essentials:

Water-To-Go bottle Dodgy taps next to the porta-loos and mud and grime in EVERYTHING, are part of the festival experience! Coming down with a stomach bug, or missing your favourite band play because you’re otherwise occupied in the toilet shouldn’t be.

The Water-To-Go bottle works by a complex filtration system, ensuring the water you drink is pure, safe and just as good as the £5.99 bottled stuff they are flogging in the refreshment tent.

BONUS: Great for the gym afterwards!

Fried Egg Poncho When it rains, you won’t be caught with egg on your face! Get it? Because it looks like a massive fried egg?

Never mind.

BONUS: with e pull Go on th egg-based us rio la hi you like puns “Dogs hard your eg ? ile bo d”

This poncho is cheap, cheerful and will keep you dry. And at only £4.99, a bargain as well. Just make sure your mate doesn’t dress as a rasher of bacon, otherwise you’ll just look ridiculous and make a mockery of the whole thing.

Solar Powered Phone Charger Whether it’s sending a friend request to that cute guy you just met, tweeting that the last band sucked or taking the ultimate selfie, a mobile is a festival must have!

But unless you’re using your granddad’s old Nokia, your fancy smartphone is going to go through battery charge like a festival hot-dog through your digestive system. Quickly. And with similar results.

That’s why a solar powered phone charger is such a life saver! Simply plug in, sit back with a disposable BBQ in the beautiful sunshine, and watch those bars fill up! It’s a foolproof way to get your phone up and running again. Unless it rains of course. (Which is quite likely).

Let BONUS y bo our m : exchrrow it. ates In an drin ge for ks!

A Flag

BON Doub US: as a na les up pkin lunch. for

Right, picture the scene. It’s 4am and time to turn in for the night. You know exactly what your tent looks like.

It’s a bright green one you picked up last week at the supermarket because it was a bargain. Just like everyone else did. Now, in the middle of a sea of cheap bright green tents, you have absolutely no idea where your own tent, and more importantly, your sleeping bag actually are.

Take our advice and get something to mark it out with.

There is nothing better, or easier than a great big flag.

Halo Wipes

Staying clean and tidy can be a tricky job at festivals but luckily, Halo is here to help with a range of great value wipes to keep us looking and feeling well scrubbed up. From handy hygienic wipes to deodorant wipes, the Halo range will keep any festival goer feeling fresh, come rain or shine.

BONUS: eing d of queuwer, ea st In sho for a cold e little use thes ne wipe O numbers. ’re done! and you

Dry Shampoo

The Lee Stafford Dry ShaMPOO ORiGiNAL and Dry ShaMPOO Dark for brunettes are the perfect pick-me-up and necessity for girls on the go that need to mask unsavory roots, make hair smell fresh again plus give hair incredible volume.

BONUS: h was No need to you en and go wh and can apply ! stay dry

This little beauty enables you to get more days from your blow dry without having to rewash your hair AND to top it all off, the Original spray is also available in a mini size - the perfect product to have in your festival foolproof travel kit.

The formula is made with a special formulation of ingredients using corn starch instead of rice starch which gives a lighter powder consistency when sprayed into the roots, meaning no unnecessary excess powder left on your hair and even better results!

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Slip ‘n’ slide

A great way to enjoy a summers day with friends without spending a penny. This is assuming you have (preferably strong) bin liners, some tape and washing up liquid.

Tape as many dust bin bags as you wish in a long line and place them in your garden on a stretch of grass. Lather them in warm soapy water and hey presto, you now have your very own temporary water slide.

Camp at the beach

Choose a nice hot day and bundle in a car with a group of mates. Head to the nearest beach armed with a towel, swim shorts and your sunnies. Build sand castles, go for a dip in the sea, play frisbee on the beach and why not even find a camp site and cook up a BBQ in the evening. If you have a mate who plays guitar invite him/her too and enjoy music around a camp fire.

Picnic in the park

Pack a blanket, some food, drinks and why not make your way over to the closest park with some friends. Prepare some nice food beforehand and pack it all up in a hamper.

Explore the gardens/park - see if you can find an ice cream van and enjoy a 99 with a chocolate flake. Relax and enjoy the perfect summers day in the park with your mates.

This is also a great opportunity to study in a calm atmosphere, where you’ll get more revision time than at home.

Road trip

Something we often say but never do. Pick somewhere random that you’ve never been to before on Google maps, and with a group of friends go on a random road trip.

Be spontaneous and don’t plan anything. Just pick your location, drive there and see where the day takes you. If you have any friends from back home who also went to uni why not ask to visit them and save on accommodation costs. You can then return the favour and invite them to stay at yours, and if you pick a nice day make that garden slide again!

Festival

Why not treat yourself and budget for a festival ticket this summer. Although prices can be expensive, choose wisely and you could get yourself a bargain festival ticket, especially if you book in advance. Plan this properly and take things like cereal bars, water, toilet roll, a poncho and some paracetamol! Spend a little time thinking about what you’ll need to take and you’ll find yourself saving quite a lot of money.

Create your own festival

If you can’t afford a to go to a festival then don’t, create one at your student digs. Invite a load of mates and get them all to bring their favourite tunes on their phones, tablets, iPods. If you can, hook up different music in different rooms of the house. Instead of paying festival ticket prices try and get your mates to chip in £10-£20 each. Get some food and drinks in, get a BBQ lit, create your own mini bar, and if you have one, camp out in the garden.

Customise some old clothes

This idea is perfect for a rainy summers day. Plus it’s a great way of making use of those items of clothes that have been hanging up in your wardrobe for months without being worn. Get creative... Try cutting your old jeans into shorts, cut off and stitch pockets from a shirt to a t-shirt, dip-dye your old tatty converse trainers and make them one-offs. You’ll be surprised how creative you can get after a few attempts.

Make a scrapbook

Uni days are considered to be the best times of your life, so why not start a scrap book of all the important and memorable things that occur. Keep tickets from club nights, print photographs from your phone, write down all the funny things that happen. It’s a great opportunity to create long lasting memories and it’ll be a great thing to look back on in years to come.

Did you know you can get student and youth discounts on travel?

Start your search at www.StudentUniverse.co.uk to receive instant access to student and youth discounts on Flights, Hotels and Tours

If you’re a student or young person (18-25) you’ll be able to access travel discounts, rewards and experiences with StudentUniverse.

StudentUniverse negotiates student airfares with global airline partners and features discounted rates on hotels and tours all over the world. We believe that travel enriches education and that students should be able to explore their world without breaking the bank.

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Carl Cox Exclusive Interview

International Superstar Carl Cox is known as “the world’s greatest DJ”. His 30 year career has seen him remain a constantly influential figure, responsible for shaping the UK rave scene. Celebrating 13 years as a resident DJ at the number one club in the world (Space - Ibiza), Carl is a musical ambassador and a veteran of acid house and a champion of techno – you name it, Carl’s been there and done it. We caught up with the “three deck wizard” just before he jets off to Europe, to talk about why he believes that dance music seen has never been bigger, playing a DJ set 1500 metres up a mountain in an igloo and how he wants to host a party on a space shuttle for Richard Branson!

What are you up to at the moment Carl?

I’m back in Blighty; it’s been a pretty mad week being away. I was in Montreal doing a White Party called Bal en Blanc which was amazing. Then before that I was in Washington DC, doing an amazing club called Echo Stage, before that I was in Philadelphia playing at The Electric Factory, and before that I was in New York City playing at a club called Output.

So yeah back in Blighty, with 2 feet on the ground, the sun is shining and I’m enjoying my time off!

Busy! Relaxing until next week when your shows kick off again! Yeah that’s right, I’ve got this weekend off and start work again Wednesday. I’m doing a couple of clubs in Paris then I’m off to Romania, then back to England actually to do the Southport Weekender, which I’m really looking forward to. Then I’m off to Germany and New York again so it’s a bit to-and-fro at the moment until I start my residency in Vegas at a club called Light and then after that it will go into the Ibiza season.

What are you looking forward to the most this summer? I always look forward to my season at Space because it’s quite concentrated and what’s really good about what I do there is that rather than me going out to everyone, everyone comes to me. So if they wanna know what I’m doing, what music I’m playing, what DJs I’m supporting, the sound of the music that I’m supporting, then it comes out of Space in Ibiza, it’s the worlds dance-floor basically. This is my 13th year at Space as a resident and to see how we have been able to maintain what we do there at a very high level, still after all of these years, it still amazes me. Based on how hard we’ve been working towards making sure that it’s one of the best nights on the island.

Congratulations - How do you continue to keep it fresh? [Laughs] I don’t know the answer to that! I think because of my outlook on how I treat my opportunity to be able to do this season in, season out.

The DJs that I experience, the vibe from all of the clubs that I play to around the >>

world, and the people… If they really like that then they want to come to the halo ground of Space to see me do what I do.

I’ve got a great team of people behind me who are also on the level where I’m at, so the production, the lighting, the PR, everything works in unison with itself.

Over the years we’ve trained ourselves to know what we are about, as a unit. It’s not just about what I do, of course I am the end game, but I have a really good team behind me who enjoy the fact that I basically support one club on the island

and give that club the attention it needs 100%. People walk away and go “you know what, I’ve had a great night, and I wanna come back”. We’re doing a good job there. We have been doing that job for many years and it’s not easy. We still have Amnesia, Pacha and Privilege doing their thing and new clubs popping up all around us and we still remain the number 1 club in the world, based on what we do and what I’m involved in and that helps a lot.

Which do you prefer, big room sets with all of the production or smaller intimate crowds? I prefer smaller intimate crowds. If you speak to any actor that does movies or films, they will prefer being in a theatre. If you have a one on one, an affinity with the people who are coming to see you. People are coming to see you in a small intimate venue, it’s because they are coming to see YOU! Not

Carl Cox’s Top 3 tunes!

1. Joe Brunning – Soul Matters 2. Nicole Moudaber – See You Next Tuesday 3. Trevor Rockliffe – It’s Just A Party the whole of what surrounds you, which is great by the way. I have got no problem with that because it’s a celebration of what you have created and what you’ve achieved. But at the end of the day if you’re in a room playing to 400 – 500 people or less then it’s almost like playing to your closest friends.

Therefore in a sense, the music that you play is much more definitive

and more personable based on that they really want you to dig deep into your music vaults or crates of music to basically give whoever is in front of you the very best time possible. You can’t hide behind anything when you’re in a smaller room.

You’re right there with everyone. They can see the mistakes, they can see you sweating, they can see you choosing your music, and they can see you performing as a DJ more than if you were in a big room – they can’t see any of that. When I’m doing the Ultra for instance, when you walk in it’s spectacular, it really is, but you miss the things that I am doing that are so minimal and small, the touches and things, the loops, samples and things that I am creating – you miss all of that.

You hear it come out of the speakers but everything that I do is so intricate that it’s hard to follow what I am doing creatively as a DJ. But when you’re in a small room you see all of those intricate things. They can see that you’re working really hard to create the moments of music that you do as a DJ, and I really like that. People can look over at you on the turntables or CD players and go “Ah alright, that’s what you’re doing”.

How do you adapt what you’re doing for different sets across the world?

Ummm that’s kind of difficult because it’s not about adapting, it’s like I say - I’ve got 5,000 tracks with me, and a lot of that music goes way back, a lot of the music is for main time peak/stadium kind of sets, some are for dead underground kind of afterhours party music. There’s so much music in there that I can choose. I never pre-programme anything; I have no idea of what I’m going to play on the night. I just go on there, see the people, choose my music and go bang! And that’s how it starts! Then I kind of take the journey where I think the night should be and turn it into the Carl Cox kind of night and by the end of it all I’ve got an understanding of where the people are. So it’s something

that I’m tuned into. That’s something I’ve always been able to do, home in to what I believe people should be listening to or enjoying. I really enjoy the idea of not knowing where it’s gonna go.

What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done or played in a set to entertain your crowd? It’s quite funny because I did Snowbombing about 2 weeks ago up in Mayrhofen (Austria)….

So I’m on the line-up and The Prodigy are playing and I’m playing in a main room called The Racket Club. There’s a big sound system, lasers, a light show beyond belief and everything else that goes with it, and also I was playing back-to-back with Nic Fanciulli, but they’ve got a little place 1,500 metres up on the piste and they have created an igloo club. It’s only for 200 people and I went up there and I wanted to play Definitive (my schooling has been coming from 60s and 70s, playing Funk Soul, RnB music and into Hip Hop) so that’s what I wanted to play.

I said to the people that’s all I’m gonna do.

I didn’t want to waste people’s time, you know 200 people going up 1500 metres into coldness, in an igloo, so I told them and explained that it’s going to be special.

When we did get up there it was… cold [laughs], the igloo was freezing and there we are. Once you’re up there, you’re there for 3 or 4 hours – You can’t go back down, so you gotta make the best of it while you’re there. But because of the music I was playing (they have never heard me play that type of music before – well some had/some hadn’t), but I was just enjoying the music that I grew up with through my childhood. And I was able to play more or less whatever I wanted so I played Eddie Grant – Electric Avenue, I was playing Bee Gees – Should Be Dancing. It was almost like a wedding set. I was playing Kriss Kross [sings] “who’s gonna make you jump jump” and all sorts of things. It was just wonderful to be able to do that. And the people’s reaction was just great. They

>>

were having such a good time. It was so spontaneous! I was able to play what I wanted and show people that the depth of my music actually goes WAY back, nearly 30 years! Having people jumping around to this was absolutely amazing and that for me is probably one of the best, most spontaneous parties that I’ve ever done to date.

What’s your opinion on artists that compromise their sound for popularity? Well it’s easy isn’t it now.

Before, to get recognised, you had to work in the back rooms of pubs, wine bars or dirty warehouses, ya know? If you were in a band you’d be in your garage jamming out. Hopefully you’re gonna get spotted and you do all these demos and stuff to get recognised. Now if you make a video on YouTube and maybe a track that you’ve created in your bedroom and you get over 1,000,000 likes then someone will go “ah that must be popular, that’s really good, I’ll sign him/her”. So it’s a way of marketing and being able to get yourself in front of 50,000 or 100,000 people – so that’s the route! You know?

You’re gonna take it. And now everyone can see that route, everyone wants to take that way to becoming a pop star. You’ve got The Voice, The X-Factor and all that kinda stuff and I think people now take the easy route. They don’t really wanna have to do that hard work anymore, you don’t have to and the internet has allowed that. People can take a video of you and they say “this guy looks like he’s doing something really cool so I’ll follow him or her”. This is the way it’s going. Years ago we never had that aspect. It’s clear if you look at Martin Garrix for instance – 17 year old DJ who’s now DJing in front of 60 or 70,000 people at Tomorrowland, I mean that’s pretty amazing – He’s not even old enough to go into a nightclub!

This type of thing is happening and it’s happening BIG!

How do you think the dance music scene will continue to evolve in the future? To be honest with ya, it’s already evolving into our future because it’s the now-generation who are getting into people like Martin Garrix who’s 17 years old and the people that are going to see him play are 18/19 years old. These are the next generation of producers, DJs, co-ordinators. And there’s thousands of them. It’s worldwide. This scene is not going to slow down at all. It’s just going to get bigger, probably more commercial, but then you’ll see a divide by who goes right and who goes left.

Who’s new on the scene that you can recommend people looking out for? A lot of people now commercially wanna see the next generation DJs, in their commercial form. And someone like Martin Garrix (I know I’ve mentioned him 3 times already) but he is opening the door for the next generation of DJs/ producers coming through. If you wanna culture yourself then you can go and checkout Jamie Jones, Art Department or Eats Everything, these kinds of guys and hear a deeper sound and I think are just awesome anyway. For me they are really still connecting with the now-generation who wanna hear that little bit deeper and be involved in something a little bit different. These are the kinda guys that are doing what they are doing on the left hand side and obviously not on the more commercial side. These guys are still doing what they do in such a major way that it’s really difficult for another new DJ to come through but at the moment Martin Garrix is the next generation, so you’ll start to see more DJs of his calibre coming through.

You’ve achieved so much in your career, are there any goals or projects left on the Carl Cox to-do-list? [Laughs] At the moment Richard Branson is trying

to devise a way of being able to get people to travel out to a space station near the moon somewhere! If I really wanted to achieve something it’s to get on that spaceship of his or whatever it is he’s going to create to get to that space station and do a party on there! That is what I would like to have as my tick in the box moment.

What about life outside music, what do you get up to on your day off? [Laughs] Errr interviews! This is my day off! So there isn’t a day off for you really? No not really but I’ve got motorbikes and stuff and I actually get out there and have a look around where I live and just enjoy the fact that I’m able to have the freedom to be able to go out there and just be who I am as a biker. I meet my friends and my family of course and this is the only opportunity I get to do that so that’s the kind of thing that I like to do when I’m not making music.

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           Whether you’re taking your rst holiday abroad this year or you’re a Magaluf veteran and are thinking of going somewhere new, The Student Pocket Guide has your deenitive guide to 5 of the best party destinations around the world.

Words: Alex Paton

 This isle is well known for its dance music culture. Famous DJ’s from around the world play at Ibiza’s clubs every night. So, it is no surprise this is one of the most popular party destinations in summer.

Dancing all night in well-known clubs such as Space, Pacha and Amnesia are what makes Ibiza such an ideal party spot. However, do keep in mind that these venues are not cheap. Tickets for events typically cost £25-50 and once inside a bottle of water can cost up to £10.

 If you’re looking for a slightly more sophisticated holiday, then this destination in Spain is the place to be. Situated in the heart of the Costa del Sol, Marbella is considered the new place to be and be seen.

If you fancy dancing till the sun comes up, late night venue, Olivia Valere is open till 7 a.m. Celebrities such as Kate Moss and Maria Carey have been known to frequent this club. Olivia Valere does have a dress-code however, so ip--ops and shorts are probably a no-go.

        One of Europe’s top party destinations, Ayia Napa offers sandy beaches, blazing sunshine and clear waters. Famed for its grime, garage and RnB nights, this Cyprus clubbing capital regularly hosts artists such as Roll Deep, Tinie Tempah and Wiley.

With clubs open till dawn there’s plenty of time to dance the night away with like-minded party people. There are also a load of water sports on offer, so if you’re not too tired from the night before, you can try your hand at windsurrng, canoeing or scuba-diving!

 Originally the stomping ground for American teenagers on Spring break, this Mexican party hot spot is becoming more and more popular with British tourists.

With all-inclusive “party package” deals and DJ line-ups to rival Ibiza, Cancun is quickly becoming the party place to be in summer.

 This town on the island of Pag in Croatia is a reasonably new party destination but is already renowned for its happening nightlife. Novalja also has a beautiful cultural town centre which, if you’re not too hungover, can be enjoyed in the daytime.

If you fancy clubbing somewhere slightly different this summer then Novalja could be the place for you. Food and drink prices are extremely reasonable and the parties on Zrce Beach are unmissable!

Parklife Weekender

One of the UK heavyweight festivals Parklife is a brilliant weekend for outstanding music diversity with some of the most exciting artists. Taking place at Heaton Park in Manchester during 7th and 8th of June expect incredible performances from Snoop Dogg, The Foals, Bastille, Rudimental, Kendrick Lamar, Disclosure, Soul 2 Soul, London Grammar, Chromeo, Bonobo, Jamie Jones, Nero, Flying Lotus, Moderat, Carl Cox, SBTRKT & so much more. Parklife has got bigger and better with four new stages including the amazing Treehouse Stage and new VIP tickets with exclusive viewing platforms and parties making Parklife a must! Sunday tickets and VIP Sunday are still available www.parklife.uk.com.

Alt-Fest

Completely new crowd funded festival; Alt-Fest in Kettering, Northamptonshire (15th - 17th Aug) is full of festival exclusive performances. Amazing acts including Marilyn Manson “UK Festival Exclusive”, The Cult “Only UK 2014 show”, Gary Numan, Peter Hook & The Light, Arch Enemy and VNV Nation, this is set to be a massive festival. Weekend tickets start at £115. For more information please visit www.alt-fest.com/2014.

Wychwood Festival

Wychwood Festival is celebrating 10 years of family, folk and world music. Set in the beautiful location of Cheltenham racecourse from the 31st May - 2nd June, Wychwood is one of Britain’s best-loved family festivals. Legendary acts performing this year include The Boomtown Rats, The Strangler and The Levellers. Folk master Newton Faulkner and soul kings The Real Thing will also be featuring. The Big Top Stage will play host to the best emerging and emerged talent including Bipolar Sunshine, Wolf Alice and Glitches. The amazing Children Literature Festival and Roald Dahl museum is a must for all children. Weekend tickets start at £125 and can be purchased from www.wychwood.co.uk.

Sonisphere Festival

Legendary rock festival Sonisphere is back. Taking place at Knebworth Park over the 4th, 5th and 6th July the weekend’s line-up includes only the best rock heritage performers. Iron Maiden, Metallica “ONLY UK show in 2014”, The Prodigy, Slayer, special guest Limp Bizkit, Alice in Chains, Mastondon to name a few is set to have an explosive 2014. Knebworth Park is celebrating an amazing 40 years of music. Weekend tickets start at £180 and can be purchased from www.sonisphere.co.uk.

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Standon Calling In the late 1800s a process was invented

One of the UK’s best small Standon Calling in Hertfordshire has amazing called Vulcanisation.

Thisfestivals, gave shoe headliners.

Public Enemy, Frank The Sleeping Souls, Maximo Park, Clean developers the opportunity toTurner blend & fabric Bandit, Peace, Ella Eyre,itEliza and the Bear and with rubber, making possible to create the so much more will take place 1st - 3rd of August. theme this yearRubber is ‘Lostcompanies in Latin America’. Expect dog shows, a swimming earliestThe forms of trainers. pool and excellent fancy specialising in bike tiresdress. were Weekend the first totickets start from £119. For more information please see www.standon-calling.com. mass-produce trainers, which were originally called Keds. Due to the lightweight and comfortability of the shoes, trainers were eventually named Sneakers. The Converse Shoe Co. was the first to realise the sport Anbenefi experimental and incredible new created festival to take place in Somerset from 19th - 20th ts of the Sneaker when they July, Orchestival is seta to revolutionise the modern day festival bringing an exciting, Converse All Stars, trainer which radically engaging musical journey for all ages and tastes. Blurring the changedand thetransformative game of basketball. lines between Classical and other music genres, Orchestival is a true one-of-a-kind.

Charles Hazelwood this innovative Fast forward to theleads 1970s when trainersevent with The Unthanks, Squarepusher and Goldfrapp who will be piece recreating their own became an essential of footwear andand other work into something that have never done Full weekend tickets start from £25. For more information werebeen being usedbefore. by footballers, runners and tickets please visit www.orchestival.com.

Orchestival

Hideout Festival

One of the biggest festivals in Croatia, Hideout has made a huge impression selling out only weeks with resale of tickets that were made available in March. Set Inin the latetwo 1800s a process was invented incalled Pag, Croatia from theThis 30th June - 3rd July Hideout’s line-up is brilliant, showcasing Vulcanisation. gave shoe the best in electronic music. Artists announced developers the opportunity to blend fabric include Disclosure, Rudimental, Jamie Jones, Maceo Plex, Sasha, Loco Dice, Duke the Dumont, Soulclap, Gorgon City, Kidnap Kid with rubber, making it possible to create plus over forms 100 more.

This beautiful has incredible boat parties and this year earliest of trainers.

Rubber festival companies amazing VIP packages arewere available specialising in bike tires the fito rstmake to the perfect ‘Hideout Experience’. For more information please visit www.hideoutfestival.com. mass-produce trainers, which were originally called Keds. Due to the lightweight and comfortability of the shoes, trainers were eventually named Sneakers. The Converse Shoe Co. was the first to realise the sport benefits of the Sneaker when they created Gothenburg, music capital of Sweden plays host to the beautiful Way Out West Festival Converse All- 9th Stars, a trainer whichofradically from the 7th August.

Winner the Green Award at the European Festival Awards changed game offestival basketball. and top tenthe European to visit, Way Out West is a firm favourite. International acts performing this year include Outkast, Robyn & Royksopp, Pusha T, Joey Bada$$, Fast forward to the 1970s when trainers Queens of the Stone Age, The National, Janelle Monae, Shlohmo, Blood Orange, Little becameElla anEyre essential piece of footwear and£180 and for more information please visit Dragon, & more.

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Way Out West Festival

Tauron Nowa Muzyka

Tauron Nowa Muzyka in Katowice, Poland is set in the epic landscape of a disused coalmine that is littered with water towers for a unique location experience. Amazing credible artists including Chet Faker, Kode9, Dixon, Ben UFO, Mouse on Mars, Jackson & his Computerband, Kelela, and so much more. Four day tickets start at only £40. For more information please visit www.festiwalnowamuzyka.pl/en.

Unknown Festival

Unknown in Rovinj, Croatia is unlike any other Croatian festival. Bringing the best of live and electronic music to one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. From the 5th – 7th September Unknown’s music spectrum will include performances from Nile Rogers, CHVRCHES, Wild Beasts, Mount Kimbie, Jungle, Erol Alkan, Seth Troxler, TEED, London Grammar, Disclosure, Jamie XX and so much more. Beautiful boat, beach and forest parties, art installations and mystical adventure make Unknown the perfect festival experience. Weekend tickets start at £129. For more information can be found from www.unknowncroatia.com.

Photo: Eliot Lee Hazel

NICK MULVEY Nick Mulvey’s multicultural musical style is a little difficult to define.

His infusion of genres creates a sound palette which is intricate yet incredibly easy to listen to. Although mostly self-taught, Nick has had some quite interesting musical tutors; from a Congolese community in East London to disciplined Cuban artists in Havana, Nick’s musical background almost sounds spiritual compared to some musicians’ dusty “piano room” education…

How has touring as a solo artist been compared to being on the road in a band? It’s definitely quite different from being in a band. You don’t have the same camaraderie. And, obviously we were best mates and we lived together, so it was a very close project, Portico Quartet.

I’ve found it quite invigorating being on my own though. It’s quite refreshing and freeing going to different cities by myself.

To be honest it felt really good to make those changes, it was the change I needed, so it felt very rewarding.

Hi Nick, what have you been up to? I’ve been rehearsing with the new band I’m putting together.

Can you explain where your unique guitar style has derived from? I’m self-taught and I’ve always liked repetitive and hypnotic qualities within guitar playing. I did have some tuition at certain points. I went to go study in Havana, in Cuba. I also went to stay with a Congolese community in London.

What does ‘Cucurucu’, the title of your recent single, actually mean? ‘Cucurucu’ is essentially a meaningless word; it’s more of a sound. It’s almost something a mother would say to a child. It’s just one of those words that doesn’t mean anything beyond the sound.

I’ve heard quite a few radio presenters struggle to pronounce it… Did you hear Nick Grimshaw try to say it this morning?

It’s quite funny doing a song that people find hard to say.

Was there any particular reason for your split from Portico Quartet? It was time for me to take the steps I needed to as a solo artist. I have always written songs for myself and I wasn’t really doing that in Portico Quartet. We were being very creative and making lots of music that I loved, but it was only a matter of time before I needed to get back to my song-writing roots.

I’ve included flamenco and bossanova in my guitar technique, as I like to incorporate a lot of different styles. But, the most important thing for me has been teaching myself how to play, which I’ve done every day since I was a teenager. >>

How was living in Cuba? What was the lifestyle like? It was amazing. I went to a Cuban music school with about a thousand people, half of them Cuban, half of them international. It was called the Instituto Superior de Arte or the Institute of Higher Arts. It was a very high-level music school, so they were very strict on how you had to study and how you needed to approach music, which was quite difficult for me as I hadn’t previously learnt like that. It was amazing though. We would just drink a lot of rum, play music and dance all night, it was a wonderful time!

If you could play anywhere in the world, not necessarily a venue, but maybe somewhere picturesque… where would it be? Maybe an amphitheatre, no wait… the pyramids!

Where does the influence for your artwork come from? I always thought if

I could translate the finger picking of my right hand visually it would look good. So, I used a piece of paper with square grids, with each grid representing a pulse of the music. I marked on the top layer when my thumb hits, the middle layer when my index finger hits and the third layer where my middle finger hits. I came up with a graph of what my hand does when I’m playing a guitar. I then took it to my friend who’s a designer, and he worked out different ways of representing it visually.

What can we expect from you in the future? I’m just recording my album, so that will be out before the summer and other than that touring a lot!

Read the full interview online: www.TheStudentPocketGuide.com For more info on Nick Mulvey visit: www.nickmulvey.com

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  The UK summer festival season is a period in our social itinerary that we greatly look forward to. Each and every year, without fail, thousands of people of all ages, interests and nationalities, come together in a celebration of music, art and culture - whether it’s battling the muddy plains of Glastonbury or surviving the ear-bursting volumes of Download.

But it’s not just the big players in the British scene that have helped to establish our nation as the “go-to” festival state. Between the months of May and September, the popularity and our love of festivals is clear to see, with several smaller festivals on a local scale taking place across the country every weekend. They are the hidden gems of our carnival calendar and events we should be taking part in! That’s not to say that the larger festivals should be snubbed, however here are a whole host of reasons why you should take a step off the commercial track and try something unique this summer…

 The great thing about small and medium sized festivals is that they provide an opportunity for people to embrace and take pride in their local community. It can feel great knowing that something as exciting and appealing as a festival is right on your door step, especially not having known about it before - socially, it’s great too. The size of the smaller festivals naturally gives them added intimacy; you could have the nostalgia of seeing old friends and faces whilst also getting the chance to meet new people.

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 Festivals of any size do their bit to support their local community, whether it’s through hiring a nearby security firm or purchasing produce from a local supplier. The difference with smaller scale festivals is that you are more likely to see it. Festivals often celebrate the surrounding area, showcasing local business and trades, from arts and crafts workshops to delicious deli counters. On a larger scale, they also help boost tourism over a short-term period, injecting a bit of life into the local economy.

 The attraction of going to a smaller festival can introduce you to parts of your local area which you may never have ventured to before. Keeping in mind that you could be embarking on a whole new festival experience really makes for a time of ultimate discovery. Smaller scale festivals often have a strong identity or niche genre, whether it be jazz, folk or techno. They also have a strong focus on showcasing local artists, with large portions of line-ups being set aside for these performers.

Who knows, you could walk away having found a new favourite band.

 Finally, and arguably most important to some, there are the practicalities. The instant benefit of attending a smaller festival is that quite simply, it will save you money.

Firstly, there’s the ticket price (which is usually at least half the cost of major festivals). Then, there’s travel costs depending on how close you live, getting to a local festival could cost you minimal amounts, especially if you pitch up with mates. Plus, if you don’t fancy a whole weekend of it, you could easily pop down for just the day or evening. All in all: less stress, less expense, more options!

Photographer: David Chatteld Stylist: Jemelia Whitaker MUA and hair stylist: Inese Gertnere

MILA FALLS Mila’s career has taken her on adventures supporting Ringo Starr, writing her debut album with Grammy-Award winning producers, and becoming ‘Smash of the week’ on radio 1Xtra featuring on S.Chu’s ‘Oh My’. Her music has had support from BBC Radio 1, Kiss FM, Ministry Of Sound and nationwide BBC radio stations. Mila is set to play Glastonbury Festival, major label ‘Sony Music’ Showcase events and is going overseas to perform in Ibiza this summer.

Having already worked with Mila Falls previously, filming an exclusive rooftop performance of ‘Starlight’, we decided to have a long overdue catch-up to talk about the highs, the lows and her future plans…

How would you best describe your music?

I make dance music, I make pop music, I sing it all either to track, acoustically or with a live band. I like to explore different genres. Writing in lots of different styles keeps my song writing fresh.

In the past have you ever been compared to Jessie J!? Yeah I have been, it’s a great compliment! She’s brilliant! It’s been exciting watching her go from singing to 20 people to performing at the Olympics for the whole world to see.

Have you ever met / worked with Jessie?

Yes I’ve met her. I was actually backing for Thom Jules who is now Rudimental’s vocalist for their tours. We had a show in Brighton years ago and Jessie J supported us! And the same goes for Ed Sheeran, I watched him perform to a room of 20 people as an unknown support act. Crazy how fast things can change!

As an emerging new artist, what are the greatest barriers trying to break through into the music industry? I think getting How long have you been singing, writing press and national radio to take you and producing your own music? I’ve been seriously is a big barrier as a new artist. singing and writing songs since I was very There are thousands of great singers out young. At 15 I was in a girl band, we were there. You just have to go on YouTube to finalists on BBC1 talent show. My first see that. But getting your original music break into professional song writing was on national radio, your picture in the press when I landed a sync in the US film ‘Bring and getting nice money to play live takes It On’. Ever since then I have thought, ok quite a while to establish. I’ve had some let’s push this as far as I can! Since then I’ve great things happen over the last few been working with some top song writers months, getting AirPlay on Radio 1, Kiss and publishers for pitch, sync and releases FM, support from Right, picture the scene.

It’s 4am andBoy timeGeorge, to turn inJonathan for for myself.

Ross exactly and other celebs!

It’s been the night. You know what your tent looksbrilliant! like.

It’s a bright green one you picked up last week at the Can you tell us about your break into the because You’veitfeatured on a few tracks - are supermarket was a bargain.

Justhouse like everyone industry… My first break waselse meeting big house music fan orbright do you prefer did. Now, inyou theamiddle of a sea of cheap producer Tim Goodacre, he trained me youpop? started outnoinidea dance music. green tents, haveI absolutely where yourI bought up, taught me how to record vocals, how decksimportantly, when I wasyour 13 and started own tent, and more sleeping bagDJing on to work out harmonies. I wroteactually so many are. pirate radio UKG, DnB and house. My first songs before I was happy and ready to amateur release was with a DnB producer show the world. I eventually had set advice of Iand wasget atsomething college with called Metrik.

Takea our to mark it out with. He’s 8 songs ready to go. Then I started gigging worldthan nowawhich is great There is nothingtouring better, the or easier great big flag. to see. the songs across the country.

So my roots are definitely in dance music.

Best gig so far? Oooo I really enjoyed my music video release party last December.

It was great to play my new set with my band. I enjoyed playing all the festivals last summer to huge crowds and I loved performing on the catwalk for London Fashion Week in March.

What are your highlights to date? Having fans send me pictures and sweet messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s AMAZING to know that people listen to my music around the world. Hearing my music on all of the radio stations has really been magic!

Another highlight would be meeting my stylist Jemelia, make-up artist Inese and hair stylist Garrii. Working with them is a dream come true. I can get my visual ideas out of my head and onto camera.

HearWave and being given bags full of stage clothes from a long list of fashion brands. It is like Christmas all year round!

What’s next for Mila Falls? I’ve got lots of studio sessions in my diary, and I have some very exciting shows to prepare for including a tour of Ibiza in August.

I’m featuring on a record I wrote called ‘Heartbeat’ with Resistance, which was released in April. And my next solo release ‘Starlight’ will be out on 25th May 2014.

I can’t wait to show you all my music video for that one. I’m playing 6 different characters; I am wearing a special gift I got sent from a wig designer in USA in the last scene! ;)

I have seriously loved getting endorsements from stage equipment company

Watch Mila F alls and band perfor mK ‘Crying For N aty oR exclusively fo eas r SPG

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d her y B’s son’ Gtv!

atch Photographer: David Chatteld Stylist: Jemelia Whitaker MUA and hair stylist: Inese Gertnere

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   

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Artist: Xue Ruozhe Institute: Royal College of Art Description: In ‘White Painted Forest’ Xue created three little girls who are attempting to paint a forest with white paint. This is an absurd, futile effort on their part, as they can never recreate the vibrant colors of the forest using a single white paint. The name of the painting itself is also a pun, as the Chinese word for white also means “in vain”.

START UD ENT

Artist: Matt Dunn Institute: University of Portsmouth The Dog Description: This is a commissioned piece of work, using Tabasco sauce and coffee for a base layer to work on. Later adding water soluble crayons - working into the different dry textures of the coffee and Tabasco.

The Cat Description: This is also a commissioned piece of mixed media using pencil crayons, paint and coffee (as a base layer). Matt used a mixture of crayon colours that blend well together to give a vibrant approach to the well known cat.

Artist: Ben Li Institute: Loughborough University Description: Titled, ‘Memories (2013)’, this piece uses a mixed medium of markers, paint, ballpoint, pencil and watercolour. ‘Memories (2013)’ was created to visually express the reminiscing of ones past events and memories, through a surreal and abstract approach.

To showcase your work in START send your files along with your name, institute, description and contact details to: info@thestudentpocketguide.com

DAPPER LAUGHS

Exclusive interview with...

From 6 second Vines, to a stand-up tour, to a song release on iTunes, Dapper Laughs is a multi-talented comedian making a huge impact, with some Vines receiving more than 100,000 likes on Facebook! Having just announced his second stand-up tour ‘Socially Unacceptable’, following on from his tour ‘Proper Moist’, Dapper is certainly someone to look out for. We caught up with the social media phenomenon despite his busy schedule to talk about his attraction to fruit, the lessons his dad taught him, and his new TV show coming later this year!

Interview by Ben Farrin

What are you up to? We’ve literally just finished putting all the Vines up and stuff for the promo for the tour coz my second tour went live this morning so everyone’s buying the tickets online for that. We did Snapchats, Vines, an Instagram and Facebook posts. So we’ve been up early doing all of that, making it look funny and trying to get people to buy the tickets. It’s called Socially Unacceptable and it kicks off in October. Yeah I noticed everyone on your most recent Vine queuing up for tickets! [Laughs] Yeah man it’s all good fun.

Can you talk us through a typical day in the life of Dapper? Depends what I’ve got on really. Normally I do a lot of club nights. Last night I went to two nightclubs so usually I have a bit of time off in the morning. But I do a lot of personal appearances at nightclubs, a bit of MCing on the mic and pictures and stuff like that.

I’m doing a lot of writing at the moment for the tour so I’ll try and find somewhere good to do some writing. I’m usually just out and about trying to find funny things in public and trying to do a Vine.

I’ve read that you use your character to allow yourself to get away with things that you wouldn’t normally do… So you’re kinda using Dapper as a form of escapism? Escapism from what? Using >>

the character to enter into a world that you wouldn’t have usually entered into… I’ll be honest with ya, Dapper Laughs is an extension of myself do ya know what I mean? The jokes, the things I come up with, they come from my mind.

Dapper Laughs is a character, a character of comedy so we’re stereotyping a certain kind of thing. But yeah I guess you could say that – it does allow me to do things that I wouldn’t normally do and blame it on him.

I’ve always been Dapper Laughs, it was just a matter of putting it into videos and stuff.

they were like heavies and I was like “Hi is this the book club”? and one of ‘em chinned me. Like in pubs and that when I’m trying to do Vines at night. But you know what, it’s all part of the game. It makes it interesting.

I’ve got to ask about the guy in your Vines with the long hair, who you often refer to as a woman. Who is he? [Laughs] He worked in the office next to me and he was just a new boy that turned up once and I just started picking on him, do ya know what I mean? I was being a bit out of order first of all and after a while he started getting recognised on the street and that, so he knew what it was about. So I said to him if you ever wanna give me a slap feel free and then the next time I done it he proper whacked me! It didn’t put you off targeting him though did it? Nah man I still got him, I think I said “easy tiger” or something like that, “easy darling”. It’s the same guy in the Vine with the parking isn’t it? Nah that’s a different fella. But I’m used to getting a slap so that’s no big deal.

How was your debut ‘Proper Moist’ tour in February and how is ‘Socially Unacceptable’ in October going to be different?

It’s completely different! Proper Moist was all about sex. Pulling birds and you know… making ‘em moist. And ‘She knows’ and all that stuff that was orientated around the Vines I was doing back then. When ‘Socially Unacceptable’ is gonna be a little bit more in-depth. A little bit more based around the humour. More intelligent and a little bit more about the journey of being socially unacceptable. Pushing boundaries and the comedy associated with it. So it’s gonna step away from the misogynistic sexual side of things.

Your Vines must often put you in a lot of difficult situations - Does Dapper Laughs have any limits? Nah not really.

To be honest with ya, I’ve been getting into trouble since I was a kid. When someone gives me a slap now it doesn’t faze me. I think the worst that can happen is that I’m going to get a punch. It’s not really that bad and for the comedy, I love it. I’ve been knocked about a few times doing Vines. But I’ve never been slapped by a bird! So yeah I’ve had a couple of punches… I’ve always been the one with the big mouth. I done a Vine in Brixton a little while ago and there were four or five geezas standing there,

What’s your personal favourite Vine? It’s a really simple one and it makes me die every time… When I say “it’s not always easy having a massive penis” and then I try and open the door and it bangs into the door, then I look down and I’m like “Oh for f**k sake”. It gets me every time.

John asks on Facebook… What makes you moist? What makes me moist?... Proper peachy bums! Bums that look like boobs.

You promised your fans that if your song made it to the top 10 you would have a huge party with midgets, booze, naked people and invite 100 fans – Did this happen? We only got into number 15 in the UK charts. Oh I thought it went to number 7? Nah it went to 7 in the iTunes charts and only 15 in the UK charts - I still beat Beyonce and I’m hoping to do a little bit more with the music, and if I do I’m just gonna throw a party anyway.

What’s your best chat up line? “Alright girl, let’s have a go”. It works every time.

Ideal date? It’s just gotta be at the pub innit having a few beers. I never try and get too complicated. Normally I don’t even date I just Tweet.

Who’s better at pulling, you or your dad?

My old man does know how to pull a bird, I’ll give him that! But there’s no way he’s had as many birds as I have. He’s handed down some tactics to his son… Yeah my old man taught me everything about birds.

My old man taught me how to pull birds properly. He used to find it a hobby! When we’d go into the supermarket, he’d go “here watch this, I’ll make her laugh and get a bit of money off the shopping”. He’d do that everywhere. He was a legend and taught me quite a few actual techniques on how to bed birds that work. What’s your best technique? I always find that the naughtier you are and the cheekier you are when you’re speaking to birds the better. I always find I can pull a bird by talking about sex without actually talking about sex. And it would have to be within the first 2 minutes that you meet them and then they know, do ya know what I mean, then it’s just a matter of asking them back. Here’s my secret tips man [Laughs]. What’s your hit rate? Do ya know what, I don’t know. Because of all of this stuff now, I just say ok. I’m just like “yeah ok, you’ll do”.

Taryn on Facebook asked: Are you single? Yes man, constantly, always! There’s too much opportunity out there now.

When I was on the tour I tried to sleep with as many birds as I could and I think we done 15 dates. Out of that, 8 of the dates I had threesomes. I’m just trying to give back to the fans.

If you could give our readers any one piece of advice, what would it be? Be confident and have fun in life. Be confident with everything that you do. Be confident with women, with your work, be over confident, love yourself. That’s from the heart that one.

It’s strange because much like you, I am now finding myself asking you questions that I would’ve usually refrained from asking… So with this in mind, let’s play a game of Would You Rather!… So would you rather… Be sexually attracted to fruit?

Or have Wotsit dust permanently stuck to your fingers? Be sexually attracted to fruit.

What fruit would you go for? Melon.

Would you rather your head was twice as big or half the size? Hahaha oh mate.

Half the size! Hahaha a pea head. [Laughs] This is hilarious! Where did you get these questions from? Just a bit of Googling!

This one is from Grant on Facebook, he wants to know: Would you rather have a boiled egg as an eye or six inch nasal hairs you can’t cut? I’d have a boiled egg as an eye and wear an eye patch.

I think I should stop there. Finally what can we expect from Dapper in the future? My own TV show. That’s what we’re working towards mate, that’s what it’s all about. That’s what the Vines are about, that’s what the tours are about. When’s it coming out? We’re still working on a lot of stuff but we’re hoping for the end of the year or something like that. We’ve got the social media following now so we’ll take an audience with us that’s bigger than most TV shows get anyway.

That’s an amazing marketing plan! Yeah it’s all been planned out mate. Do ya know what I mean, it’s a huge tool. Social media is the way forward for everything. That’s what the single shows ya… We originally only did the single to prove a point, to get it in to the top 20. Without any money at all. No money was spent on marketing or promotion or anything, no record label.

Well fair play, I really appreciate you calling and I wish you the very best of luck. No worries man it’s been good fun!

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GRADUATE RECRUITMENT 11 & 12 June 2014 10.30am–4.00pm

The Armitage Centre, Manchester Graduates from any subject, any university welcome More exhibitors than any other UK graduate jobs fair DIFFERENT EXHIBITORS EACH DAY – ATTEND BOTH DAYS Hundreds of graduate jobs for 2014 and some postgraduate course places Over 180 exhibitors, local and national, from a wide variety of sectors Free entry and free fair guide Free coach to the fair from Piccadilly train station

Register at: www.manchester.ac.uk/graduatefair Organised by the Careers Service

Part of the Universities' National Summer Fairs Programme

eak into How to br the graduate job market!

Words: Jack Shannon

Hello, and welcome to How To Break Into... a brand new series of articles

by The SPG helping YOU to get into the graduate career you want.

In this article, we’ll be taking a general look at finding your first “proper” job after graduation. Be prepared to have some of your preconceptions about job hunting challenged though. Which reminds me...

1. No-one owes you a job.

Throughout school and college you were spoon-fed the idea that once you get a degree, you can walk into any job you want on a great salary, with enough for the occasional night out down the wine bar with all your new, fancy business friends.

This sounds harsh, and it is. But don’t worry, because things aren’t as bad as you think they are because The SPG is here to help! First things first:

2. Figure out what you want to do with your life...

For the next 18 months.

This is by far the hardest thing on this list to do. Yes, you know what you actually want to do is to write an award winning novel while frontlining a JLS/ Death Metal fusion tribute band, but just in case that doesn’t pan out - you might want to get a “normal” job as well.

There is an old saying that you should find out what your passion is, and then find a way to get paid for it. Which sounds great, except most people are passionate about sitting around in their underwear, eating cheesy snacks while watching funny cat videos on Youtube.

While you are trying to launch your music career, it is perfectly acceptable to have a job to pay the bills as well.

In order to have a CV that doesn’t look like a patchwork quilt, you will need to stay in your first job for AT LEAST 18 months. You don’t have any prior experience to fall back on. If you get a job and quit/get sacked/accidently burn the place down straightening your hair at lunchtime after 8 weeks then you’re back to square one, with a big sign hanging around your neck to future employers saying “QUITTER”.

You don’t have to marry your first job, but it does have to last for 18 months.

Ironically, more than most celebrity marriages.

>>

3. Networking is easier than you think.

Networking. The word conjures up images of powerful middle aged men in suits, like that guy from House Of Cards on Netflix, doing shady deals playing the old boys network, or getting a job from your dad’s golfing mate.

Networking isn’t some magical secret.

Chances are you have started to network without even realising it! Once you have an idea of what you want to do, grab a sheet of paper, a pen and write down the names of everybody that you know who knows something about the industry you want to break into. They could be old teachers, old housemates, people you befriended on Facebook and then forgot about.

people you actually know in real life. Then, have a look and see who they are connected with and if they can arrange an introduction. It might not be for a job, but knowledge is power.

4. Agencies are your friend.

Unless they’re NOT. Recruitment agencies are companies that make commission by finding the right person to fill a role.

Recruitment agencies tend to be specialised in some way, either by industry (for example, SPG Creative specialise in Design, Marketing and Media) or by seniority (graduate recruitment specialists all the way up to director level).

Agencies can help by providing advice on your CV, arranging interviews and putting you in touch with people who ultimately might give you a job. They have a vested interest in getting you interviews and getting you into employment.

That being said, it is their priority to get you a job. It is your priority to find a job that makes you happy. If an agent tries to push you towards a particular role that you’re not keen on, be assertive and say no thanks. They will respect you for it and are more likely to get you interviews doing things you want to do.

Then, when you have done that, write how they could be able to help you. There! You’ve just started networking!

LinkedIn is great for networking - if you use it properly! Drunk 3am messages to MDs of companies you have just Googled don’t impress anyone. Start a connection with

As a final word of warning, if any agency tries to charge you money to represent you - walk out. No respectable recruitment agent will ever try to charge you money for their services.

They make their money from the guys doing the hiring. Not from you.

There are some great agencies out there, like www.spgcreative.co.uk for example. But don’t be afraid to ask tough questions like “How

many people did you secure roles for last year?”, “Can you verify that people you have previously placed at this company have been successful?” and “Do you really need to keep touching my knee?”

As well as agencies, another organisation worth speaking to is your careers centre, because...

5. A degree is for life, not just for Christmas!

Your university will have a careers centre.

Chances are it will be run by pleasant, middle aged women who remind you a little bit of your mum. That being said, they know exactly what your situation is, have years of experience and most of all are completely free to access, even after you have left uni for several years.

If you ask nicely, they can point you in the direction of paid internships, graduate schemes and local graduate level jobs.

They will not however, tidy your room or make your tea for you.

Even if you ask nicely.

6. Other top SPG tips:

• Go to job fairs on campus. At least you can stock up on free the very pens.

• Know your rights at work. If contact your Citizen’s Advice in doubt, Bureau.

• Don’t call your boss Mum by mistake.

• Especially if it’s a bloke.

• Graduate schemes take a whil apply for, but they generally e to come with a fat stack of cash, so it’s wor out those forms in the end - Ith filling promise.

• If you are doing a Science deg a year in industry placement ree, looks impressive as hell to employe rs and shows you are serious.

• If you can afford to, be picky.

You spend most of your waking life at wor sure you don’t hate it TOO Muc k, make h.

• Stick with it. Job hunting pret ty soul destroying sometimes, butiseven tually it will pay off.

• If all else fails, and you are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel - ther e’s always teaching.

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A well written cover letter can be the secret to success when applying for a graduate job. It is a great way for you to stand out in the crowded world of student job applications. Here are StudentJob’s Do’s and Don’t’s to the art of writing a cover letter.

StudentJob @StudentJobUK

Do’s

Relate to the vacancy - Ensure you have mentioned how your skills match what is required in the job vacancy.

Proof read! - Get a friend to read over your application. The smallest grammar mistakes can prevent you getting to the next stage of the application process.

Be original - Avoid repetitive application words like I am ’passionate, hard working and enthusiastic’. Give examples of how you have shown these traits.

Research, research, research Companies love when applicants have put a little extra time in to learning more about the place they want to work. Your cover letter should relate to the company and why you are suited to work there.

Dont’s

Give information overload - Keep your cover letter to a four paragraph maximum.

Be informal - Even if the job description has a friendly informal manner putting smiley faces in the text is a no-no!

Send duplicate cover letters – Dedicate time to writing a new cover letter to each job vacancy you apply for. Changing the name of the company in a ‘send to all’ cover letter is obvious to employers.

Be desperate - ‘I really need this job’ doesn’t make your employer feel obliged to hire you.

We are currently recruiting students to join our head office in Amsterdam! Visit Studentjob.co.uk or contact D.Eddy@studentjob.co.uk for more info.

Pass it on: Give your unwanted items a new home

There are local services in your area where you can donate your items as well as services that will collect your items for free.

To find out more visit www.recycleformerseysideandhalton.com

Written by Jack Shannon

It’s the end of term. You have your graduation gown ordered, the exams are (FINALLY) over and you’ve got your eye on a shiny new graduate job in the city.

There’s just one thing. The elephant in the room. Your deposit. And you’re not going to get it back if you don’t get rid of that stupid elephant. What were you even thinking?!?

Whether it’s money for a new house, a suit for interviews or start-up money for that poodle wrestling business you’ve been planning - you need that cash back. And lucky for you, The SPG is here to help.

1) Your landlord is not your friend This should be fairly obvious. Your landlord might be a nice guy, they may have even got you a new washing machine after you tried to make mashed potatoes in the old one and blamed it on burglars. But your landlord is not your friend.

It might sound harsh to say, but when you move out, your landlord has one thing that they care about, and that is getting more people

into the house with the least amount of work. It sounds harsh, but no-one becomes a landlord out of the goodness of their heart.

However, you can use this to your advantage - make it as easy as possible for them to go “Yep, everything is fine here.”

Which brings us on to our next point...

2) Get the formalities right!

Your contract will require you to give a certain number of weeks notice before leaving the property. Make sure you know how long this is and that you give the exact date when you will have left your house by.

Do this in writing. This cannot be stressed enough. In any type of conversation with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (the guys your landlord must legally give your deposit to for safe keeping) a chat you had with your landlord down the pub or a casual text message doesn’t mean anything.

Do yourself a favour and send a formal email to your landlord, followed up by a phone call to make sure they have received it.

3) Light bulbs Let’s imagine for a second you are going shopping for a few basics. A few light bulbs, Hoover bags. You know, the type of thing a landlord would leave for you.

Now let’s imagine you’re not spending your own money, but someone else’s.

Most students don’t mind sitting around in the dark, but before you leave make sure all the light bulbs work. Unless you want your deposit back, minus the cost of half a dozen cripplingly expensive eco-bulbs.

4) You are not a DIY expert Ok, something has broken. The ancient wooden chair has finally fallen apart, the doorknobs have fallen off, your housemate’s weird Goth friend with the eyelid piercings spilled red wine on the carpet. At least you hope it was wine.

Know your limitations. A lot of the time trying to fix something and hoping it turns out for the best can often make the damage worse and can even be dangerous if you don’t have the proper tools and know what you are doing.

>>

Make sure you know exactly what your responsibilities are in the house.

Scrubbing to get a stain out of a carpet is one thing, but fixing a fence that blew over in the wind while your mate repairs the guttering is another.

In general, if you caused the damage, it’s up to you to fix it. But sometimes it’s best to just take this one on the chin and pay for the damages rather than risk life and limb repairing it. Be honest about any damages when asked. That being said, the old rug over a stain on the floor is a classic... Know your limits and stay safe.

5) Take your stuff with you As much as you think the next people to move into your house would love the copy of Subo’s last album which Auntie Val got you for Christmas, your landlord might disagree.

Hodge-podge kitchen stuff and weird tat is part of student life. Leaving the knives and forks you don’t want any more in the cutlery drawer is probably fine. However, a bag of your old clothes really isn’t. And your landlord really doesn’t look as good as you think they will in your hotpants.

Charity shops are a classic way of getting rid of the various junk that can accumulate over the years of student living. Or if you are too lazy to even do that, a big box with the words “FREE STUFF” on it should help a bit. Www. uk.freecycle.org is a great way to have a clear out and to generate some good Karma. Just don’t get distracted by all

the shiny FREE things! Remember, you are trying to get RID of stuff, not get more of it.

Don’t forget, it’s all fun and games until you get a bill with the words “waste disposal fee” at the top.

6) Don’t leave it until the last minute You will leave it until the last minute.

I know it. You know it. Your landlord knows it. But just for a second, let’s pretend you won’t.

If you can, give yourself a few days devoted towards cleaning the house and packing up your stuff. It is a lot easier to pack up a house when you are not living in it, so if you can crash somewhere else, that’s a plus.

7) Be there for the inspection If you possibly can, be there for the inspection of the property. It’s a lot easier to justify small stains on the carpet, or point out that the lampshade has always been at that wonky angle (you did take pictures at the start of your tenancy, right?) if you are there in person.

8) Know your rights Finally, and most importantly - know your rights as a tenant. You have paid good money to live in that dump, money which could have been spent on beer.

If it all goes pear shaped, speak to your student advice centre. You won’t be the first student this has happened to, and you won’t be the last.

SUBSCRIBE TO SPG FOR FREE

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It’s essential to plan well before any big trip abroad especially one that could entail months away from home.

Arriving in a foreign country is always exciting but it can be daunting. So when it’s all so unfamiliar it’s important to do a little preparation before you go.

INSURANCE Make sure you get comprehensive travel and medical insurance before setting off. Shop around and make sure that your insurance is the right one for you. Think about any activities you may be doing, even spur of the moment ones, and make sure you’re covered for these. Your policy also needs to cover any medical costs, including an air ambulance. If you do not take out proper insurance, you will have to pay the costs of any emergency yourself, including expensive medical bills.

• •

If travelling within the European Economic Area or Switzerland get a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) You can apply for an EHIC on-line at NHS Choices, by phone on 0845 606 2030 or at post offices. This will entitle you to reduced or free emergency care - but you will still need travel insurance

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS When it comes to alcohol, keep in mind if you have an accident when you’re drunk you probably won’t be covered by your insurance. Check the small print. Different countries have different penalties for people supplying or possessing drugs, and sometimes they can be really severe. Being British won’t help you get out of jail.

In ass ociatio n with CON SERV ATIO N.

EDUC ATIO N . EX PLOR ATIO N

Some other things to think about

• • • • • • • • • •

Personal liability for injury or damage to others and their property Your cancellation cover which starts as soon as you make a booking Cover for all your possessions - money, tickets, passports etc Personal accident cover which will pay out for death or permanent disability Cover for legal expenses to help you get compensation or damages Exemptions - look carefully at what you’re not covered for Keep a copy of your insurance policy details saved in your secure email account as back-up. Keep any paperwork, such as tickets, receipts, medical bills, police reports, etc, in case anything goes wrong If something goes wrong and you need to make an insurance claim, you should be aware that your insurance policy could be invalidated if you are deemed to be under the innuence of drugs or alcohol Make sure you have the name of your insurance company and their 24-hour international emergency telephone number. Consider programming it into your mobile phone with your policy number, and tell your family and friends too Check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice pages for country speciic travel advice. If you go to an area which the FCO advises against travelling to, make sure your travel insurance will be valid

STAYING HEALTHY Make a visit to your GP as soon as possible before you depart and nd out what jabs you may need. Take any prescribed medicine with you and keep it to hand.

• • •

Make sure you have adequate supplies of any medicines that you normally take and pack it in your hand luggage Check with the nearest embassy of the country you are going to (which may be based in London or another European city) that your medication will be legal in that country. Inhalers and other common prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines are banned in some countries If you need to take medication, you should ensure that you have a note from your doctor and that the medicine is in its original packaging

FIRST AID KIT This is vital. You can get rst aid kits to cover all eventualities and budgets. The type of kit you choose will depend on where and how you’re travelling.

GAP YEAR PROVIDERS If you decide to organise your trip with a gap year company, research the company thoroughly before committing yourself. Find out how long they have been operating and how many people they have taken abroad in the past. It’s a good idea to speak to past gap travellers who have used the company to nd out about their experiences.

You could also check whether the company complies with British Standard ‘BS 8848’which speciies operational requirements for organisers of adventurous and educ educational activities abroad including university and academic eldwork, gap year experiences, adventure holidays, charity challenges and research expeditions.

BOOK YOUR FIRST NIGHT’S ACCOMMODATION At the very least, make sure you have booked your rst night’s accommodation in advance. You are at your most vulnerable when you rst arrive in a foreign country. You are likely to be tired and unsure of your surroundings, so it’s worth planning ahead.

WORKING ABROAD Working while you travel is a great way to help nance your trip, allowing you to stay away for longer. If you are planning to earn a bit of extra cash abroad, make sure you have the correct work permits and visas. Also ensure you properly check out any potential employer before your interview and let friends or family know where you are going and who you are meeting.

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EDUC ATIO N . EX PLOR ATIO N

VOLUNTEER Many gap year travellers want to make a contribution to a community abroad and volunteer for some or all of their time overseas. Voluntary work can be very rewarding although the same factors which can limit the value of gap years generally, such as language and cultural barriers, apply here too. Volunteering projects require careful structuring, planning and support, and volunteers will get more beneet the longer the project and the closer it matches their skills.

GAP YEAR LOCAL LAWS AND CUSTOMS Get a good guidebook and carry out a bit of research into your destination before you go, including its laws, customs and language. This will help you avoid offending people or breaking local laws however unwittingly.

You don’t need to become a native overnight, slaving over research about a country when you want to be having fun. But a bit of local knowledge can go a long way to enhance your travel experience and earn you respect in the country you’re visiting:

• • • • •

Before you head off on your gap year, make sure you familiarise yourself with your destination and its local laws and customs It’s a good idea to learn some key phrases and words of the local language. This can make a huge difference to your trip and the reception you get and might help in an emergency Reading up on local laws and customs and nding out a bit about the local culture can also prevent you from offending people or breaking local laws Try to blend in to the local community - be conscious of any religious dress codes and dress accordingly. It’s important to be respectful when you are visiting someone else’s country Get a good guide book and read up on your destination. Make sure you know about local laws and customs, especially those relating to alcohol and drugs. Your guide book may also have the layout of the town or city you are visiting which can prove very useful!

GAP YEAR MONEY Before you go abroad you’ll need to think about how much money you’ll need, what format you’re going to take it in and where you’re going to stash it (you can get your travel money through your local Post Office branch).

The following tips should help you when thinking about cash on your gap travel:

• • • • • • • • • • •

Check the validity, expiry dates and cash available on your credit or debit cards ahead of your trip - it’s best to know your spending limits before they run out!

With a worldwide ATM network you can withdraw cash from hole-in-the-wall machines in most places abroad Check with your bank prior to going abroad whether you can use your debit/credit card in the countries you are visiting and any card usage charges that may apply. If you plan to get the bulk of your funds in this way, be sure to keep your cards safe Take at least two cards, making one your emergency reserve and make sure you know the PIN numbers for both debit and credit cards - keep the emergency card somewhere safe. You may wish to make use of 0% introductory rates to lessen the cost of using the card in any emergency Make a note of your credit / debit card details and the 24-hour emergency numbers and keep them separately Make sure you have back-up funds such as travellers’ cheques, some cash (sterling, Euros or US dollars) or a credit card you don’t intend to use except in emergencies.

It’s often better to over budget in case of emergencies Have a return ticket, or enough money to buy one. It’s worth noting that if you don’t have a return ticket, many countries will refuse you entry unless you can prove you have enough money to buy one Be aware that British consular staff can’t pay your bills or send you home if you run out of money Always have some change in the local currency for when you arrive in case you need to make a telephone call. It is also advisable to have some local currency in small bank notes to catch a taxi or get something to eat or drink on arrival Make sure you have at least two forms of payment - take a mixture of cash (sterling and dollars), travellers’ cheques and credit cards. Don’t keep them together in one place in case you lose them or they are stolen Jot down your travellers cheque numbers and an emergency telephone number for them should they get lost or stolen

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When carrying money around with you, use a wallet for loose change and your day-to-day spending. Wear a secure money belt under clothing for your valuable documents and money Work out your budget before you go. Some pre-trip research will make it easier to work this out and try and stick to it. Think about how much you’ll need on a daily basis - such as food, accommodation and any additional activities - and then work that out for the number of days you’ll be away You’re likely to be away for a long time so make sure you’ve made arrangements for any credit card bills to be paid - or your card may be stopped If you want to, you can give someone the power of attorney to look after your nancial affairs in the UK, while you’re away

VISAS AND PASSPORTS If you wish to travel abroad you need a passport, even for a day trip. Apply in good time.

You can get advice from the Identity & Passport Service website or call them on 0300 222 0000 (calls are charged at your network provider’s standard national rate).

Some countries have an immigration requirement for a passport to remain valid for a minimum period (usually at least 6 months) beyond the date of entry to the country.

STAY UP-TO-DATE Keep updated while you’re away by subscribing to the FCO’s free email notiication service which will alert you to any travel advice updates for the countries you are visiting. For more info visit FCO Travel. You can also nd them on Facebook andTwitter.

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The race is on...

100 teams from all over the world were selected and had just seven days to travel across Europe using only cans of Red Bull as currency. Teams visited checkpoints and shared photos and videos, whilst gaining support from followers back home. Starting their journeys with just 24 cans of Red Bull, teams had to rely on their bartering skills to trade for everything they needed – food, a place to sleep, and transportation.

It was a journey of wit and strategy that left one question: “Can you make it?” We caught up with Ryan Lovejoy who was representing the University of Surrey and his team ‘What’s the Consolation Prize’, having just returned to the UK from what he describes as the most exciting adventure he’s ever been on!

What was the selection process? Thousands of students from across the world had to make a 1 minute application video, and I got told about the whole competition by my teammate Rob. He kinda just messaged me out of the blue on Facebook, explaining about the competition and asking if I was up for it. And I was like “yeah of course”. So I went and stayed with him in Guilford where he lives for a week and in that week we bashed out an application video. I filmed it, edited the lot in a matter of hours and sent it off.

>>

What did you do to prepare yourself once you knew you’d been selected?

[Laughs] I probably should have prepared myself a little bit better perhaps, rather than preparing the night before I left! It took a while to hit me. It all kinda felt like a dream.

How did you decide on what to pack? I was just trying to think that I need to travel light because we are gonna be shifting a lot of weight. It turned out I was the delegated team member to carry all the Red Bull cans every single day. At one point I was carrying all of my luggage, my sleeping bag, my clothes and 70 cans of Red Bull!

That was extremely heavy. So when it came to packing, the one thing I regret was not packing enough socks.

Travelling Europe in just 7 days can’t have been easy… There were definitely low points, some really low points and I think this was the same for every team that we’ve spoken to. At some point in the journey every team

felt like they absolutely hated each other. But that means when you come out of it at the other side that you are all so much closer. You’ve bonded so much in such a short and intense amount of time. Being on a low point means that when there is a high point, its super high and you just feel amazing!

What was the highest point for you?

One really cool time was when we were walking around Brussels, looking for a place to sleep for the night and we spotted the university campus. We thought we would go there and see if we could find a place to sleep. We climbed this fence and immediately smelt BBQ and saw a load of smoke, so common sense said let’s just follow that.

We walked around the corner and all of a sudden there was a load of German and French students having a party and a BBQ. So I was like “Helllooo” holding up crates of Red Bull. I said “would you like some Red Bull everyone?” They were like “yeah sure” and we ended up having a BBQ and stayed the night in this amazing student accommodation with 3 lovely German girls so that was really nice. We had a memory foam mattress for the night as apposed to leaves or being on the roof of an airport!

So you did have to sleep rough a few of the nights then? Yeah! There was this one time when we slept under a load of boats with an American team.

They were these 3 American girls we got on with quite well. That was in Frankfurt. There was one night where we tried to get on a plane from Cologne to try and get somewhere, but it didn’t work and then we tried to hitchhike out of the airport and we couldn’t actually get out, so we ended up having to stay the night on the roof of a building at the airport! There was only one night where we got to stay in a hostel.

Can you tell us about the teams…

Did you all have to start from the same point? There were 100 teams and 4 starting check points. There was one in Paris (where we started), there was one in London, one in Vienna, and one in Milan.

So you crossed paths with other teams quite often? Yeah it was really funny whenever we crossed paths, it was brilliant! There was this one time that we were on the corner of this Autobahn in Germany and we had been there for a while trying to catch a lift. Then all of a sudden walking down the road, there was the American team that we had slept under the boats with in Frankfurt! They could’ve been anywhere in Europe and there they were just walking down the road!

Did you ever go hungry? There were moments where we would go hungry but for some reason I had this skill for selling Red Bull for food!

What was your best trade? Our best trade was probably just a crate of Red Bull (and we tried to get rid of all of it just because I was carrying it all and it was so heavy) for the BBQ and drinks at the party in Brussells where we met all the students and got a place to stay for the night. They gave us breakfast in the morning. They really looked after us!

Brilliant! Are you gonna be staying in touch with those guys? Yeah yeah! It’s really cool because a lot of the people we even hitchhiked from asked us for our names on Facebook before we left the car so that was really cool.

What was the party like at the end?

The party was insane! We got to the hotel in Berlin and that was such a relief to get there after tramping it for the whole week. It was a five star hotel, had an underground swimming pool, and the most amazing bed! Then we were

all told to get down by the lobby for 10.30pm for the party. None of us had any idea of where the party was going to be. Red Bull likes to keep secrets and surprises like this. So we all got down and there was a load of coaches outside the hotel waiting for us. Not even the coach driver would tell us where he was taking us. I don’t know the name of the building but it’s basically Berlin’s tallest skyscraper [Fernsehturm Berlin]. He just pulled up outside and we were all crammed into a lift and taken straight to the top floor.

We got up there and it was just the most amazing, insane party I have ever experienced in my life. Clubbing will never be the same again! It had the top Red Bull DJs with Red Bull break dancers.

It was the most insane party ever. It was such a good atmosphere. Everyone was so happy and relieved to be there. In a normal club if you bump into someone, they might turn around and give you

party. When we got down there he just walked us to a boat, and we had a boat party on the river in Paris underneath the Eiffel Tower. That was incredible. Red Bull really knows how to run events and make you feel like a millionaire and when you’re at their party they really look after you.

It sounds amazing. And to think that all of this took place in just 7 days!...

Yeah, more happened every day than what would usually happen in several months! So even though we were only away for a week, when we got back it was weird, because that was our life. It was a culture shock just to get back to normality. Now I feel like we should just be travelling somewhere. We covered so many miles on foot every day. Every day was an unknown adventure. It was absolutely brilliant. I’m already planning to get the ferry later this year and hitchhike down to Italy. I have no plans.

I’m just going to go down there, do it and just live!

trouble. But if you accidentally bumped into someone at that party they would just turn around and hug you and be like “yeah we made it”. All of the drinks were obviously free. Then when we got back, we went to the underground swimming pool at the hotel and that was awesome.

The first night in Paris when we had flown out from London Gatwick, before the starting line we went to a 5 star hotel.

And we didn’t have any idea as to what to expect. Then he said get down in the lobby for 7.30pm, and we’ll take you to a

Given the opportunity would you do the race again, and if so, would you do anything different? I don’t think I would do it again. The reason being is because I already feel like I’ve gained everything from it that I could possibly gain. It was so fulfilling and eye opening that now I just wanna make my own adventure using the skills and everything I’ve gained from it. It was an absolutely incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity but I’d like to leave it like that and take everything that I’ve got from it and make my own story next.

I wanna do something else, something new and see another part of the world.

CLICK HERE to read the full

story about Ryan’s travels - How a team member traded just 8 cans of Red Bull to travel in a private jet and the situation Ryan was in whilst trying to travel across the Czech Republic border!

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Scott Laidler’s

Hollywood 6-Pack Workout With fitness selfies (aka ‘Healthies’) becoming increasingly popular, A-List celebs including Liam Hemsworth and Owain Yeoman are using the craze to show off their toned, muscular physiques; leaving many of us wondering ‘How do they do it?’ ‘Can real people achieve these results too?’ Well, luckily for us, the answer is YES!!

We caught up with Owain’s Personal Trainer, Scott Laidler to get an exclusive look behind the scenes of Owain’s workout. Here are Scott’s top 5 abdominal exercises for sculpting a Hollywood 6-Pack in time for summer.

THE WORKOUT Complete the circuit that follows 1-2 times per week: 25 kettlebell swings, 6 ab wheel rollouts, 10 around the world’s (in each direction), 30 seconds Russian twists, and 1 plank to failure.

(For beginner, start with 2 repetitions of the circuit. Then, as you get fitter, build up to 3, 4 and even 5 repetitions).

>

The Plank The plank is the quintessential abdominal/core exercise.

It’s a key staple in any workout regime and is brilliant for strengthening and toning the whole body.

How to: 1) Begin the exercise on your hands and knees, go on to distribute your weight between your toes and elbows keeping your body completely straight.

2) Brace your abdominals (pull your stomach in), whilst keeping your torso perfectly straight.

3) Do not allow your hips to move to the side, drop or raise.

4) Hold the position for at least 30 seconds, or until loss of form.

Too easy? Try moving from a straight arm position down onto your elbows and back up again. Take care not to allow your hips to move from side to side.

The Kettlebell Swing If I could only recommend one exercise, it has to be the Kettlebell Swing. This is fantastic for helping to generate power, burn fat, increase aerobic capacity and muscular endurance. Although it’s not an abdominal isolation exercise (it actually works your hamstrings, glutes, quads, lower back and shoulders too), I’ve included it in this ab workout because it requires the abs to be in their natural, braced position; and, the movement places significant demand on your abdominals throughout the exercise.

How to: 1) Stand with legs shoulder width apart.

2) Swing the kettlebell behind you with a straight back and braced abdominals.

3) Swing the kettlebell forward to chest height and repeat.

4) The power must come from firing your glutes, and hamstrings, not the lower back.

Ab Wheel Rollouts This is the most advanced exercise in the workout. The following day is rarely fun after a good set of ab wheel rollouts but the results speak volumes. I love them!

How to: 1) Start on your knees, bring weight over your shoulders with straight arms.

2) Keep your back straight and brace your abdominals.

3) Roll forward on the ab wheel without flexing your hips.

4) Go as far as you feel comfortable and return to the starting position.

Top Tip: The difficulty is in the amount of movement you are able to achieve with good form whilst still being able to draw yourself back to the start position. If you find yourself struggling to get completely flat, consider working on your laterals, which are required to be strong as your range of motion increases. Standing pull downs on a lat pull machine are a good way to start.

Russian Twists Russian twists target your obliques (the muscles next to your abdominals). Developing these muscles will give your torso a well-rounded and muscular appearance. Plus, on a functional level, Russian twists will help you develop better rotational power - great for boxing, golf, tennis and hockey!

How to: 1) Start in a sit-up position with your feet flat about one foot in front of you.

2) Lean back, maintaining a straight back.

3) Rotate through a comfortable range of movement with your own body weight side to side.

4) Then repeat with a weighted object (dumbbell, kettlebell etc).

5) You can make this exercise more challenging by lifting your feet off of the floor.

Around The World

This is the second kettlebell exercise in the workout, which again works your abdominals from their natural braced position. It will also work muscles in your upper body including the lats and rhomboids.

How to: 1) Begin with legs just wider than shoulder width.

2) Pick up a kettlebell, and swing it around your body with wider and wider circles passing it from hand to hand.

3) Keep your abs braced and hips straight throughout the movement.

4) Switch direction.

Remember… Exercise + Healthy Diet = 6-Pack As much as we’d like it to be, exercise alone isn’t enough to get lean. If done regularly, these exercises will not only develop your abdominals, revealing 6-pack abs, they will also strengthen your entire core, and help to develop strength through your shoulders and posterior chain.

However, you’ll need your body fat to be around 10-12% before you see those abs so that’s going to take some discipline in the kitchen as well as the gym. It’s definitely worth it though so give it a go!

Follow Scott on Twitter @Scott_Laidler / www.scottlaidler.com

By Louise Lewis, London

Banana & Peanut Milkshake Ingredients • 6 pieces of frozen banana • 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter • 125ml chilled milk • Honey Instructions 1. Put the bananas into a blender.

2. Add the peanut butter and milk and blend until smooth. Add honey to taste.

3. Blend again for a further 5-10 seconds.

Variations Try adding a few chopped cubes of fresh pineapple or over ripe pear to the above recipe. Vary fruits as much as you like. Instead of the peanut butter, berries such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries work well.

For more of a smoothie texture use apple or orange juice instead of milk. Experiment with other milks such as almond milk, rice milk, goat’s milk or soya milk.

Head on over to TheStudentPocketGuide.com for more mouth watering recipes...

Chicken and Bacon Skewers with Chinese Dip If you want to push the boat out, cubes of beef filet would be good wrapped in bacon, as would roasted new potatoes, and for anyone who loves seafood, scallops and prawns work well too.

Prep time: 25 min Cook time: 15 min Makes 16 500g chicken breast cut into 2cm cubes 5 rashers of streaky bacon Cocktail sticks For the dipping sauce: • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tbsp honey • 1 garlic clove, crushed 1. Preheat the grill.

2. Stretch the bacon using a large knife then cut the slice in half about 10cm x 3cm lengths. Wrap a piece of bacon around a cube of chicken and thread onto a cocktail stick. Repeat with the remaining bacon and chicken.

3. Heat a frying pan until hot and add the chicken and bacon skewers, brown on both sides for 2 minutes, then remove and place on a lined baking tray.

Cook under the hot grill for a further 8 minutes or until cooked through.

4. Meanwhile, mix together the marinade ingredients and serve immediately.

To freeze ahead: Complete the recipe up to the end of step 2. Lay on a flat tray and freeze until solid, then gather them up and package in airtight container and return to the freezer for up to 3 months.

To use: The skewers can be cooked from frozen. Complete the recipe and allow 5 minutes longer cooking in the oven.

Head on over to TheStudentPocketGuide.com for more mouth watering recipes...

How to Have a

Cheap BBQ

Supplement with a side! Salads are a great way to compliment meat at a BBQ and are usually cheap to do. Potato salad is a great way to get some good carbohydrates in you, giving you lots of energy for summer activities, and it is reasonably inexpensive to make. A fresh leaf (spinach/rocket/lettuce) and bean (butter bean/chick pea) salad will get protein and vitamins you need in your diet and, like potatoes, will ll you up, so you’ll be using less of that pricey meat!

Be neat with meat. If you’re deciding to stick with the classic - burgers, sausages and

chicken - there are many ways you can cut the cost of your BBQ and still have some tasty food. Instead of buying pre-made gourmet sausages, cut some cheaper ones in half, add some interesting lling (try pesto or roasted pepper) and then wrap in bacon so they hold together when on the BBQ. If you want a decent burger as opposed to unappetising frozen ones, buy yourself some mince and make them yourself. Also, stuff the burgers with cheddar. This will add some great cheesy avour to your burger and will make the meat go fu much further!

One handy hint about chicken: buy it on the bone, it’s so much cheaper than buying breasts, and it tastes just as good. Also, don’t buy pre-marinated, you can make marinades very easily and cheaply yourself. Be creative!

Make your own sauces. Most sauces can be made quite easily with a foundation of

ketchup plus other ingredients you can nd in your kitchen. There is a great selection of D.I.Y. recipes online, many of which taste much better than their bottled counterparts. Don’t think you have the ingredients for a sauce? Ring a friend. They will surely come running to help you if you offer them BBQ food… who wouldn’t?

Save money on fuel. Although buying a disposable BBQ may seem like the quick and

easy option in the summer, they are a massive waste of money. Buying a small portable one and a bag of charcoal is a much cheaper option. Also, don’t use too much charcoal on the BBQ. It will take longer to light and you can always add more if needed. You’ll also be reducing your carbon footprint, and everyone knows it’s good to be green!

Befriend your butcher. A lot of the time there will be certain cuts of meat which are cheaper than others due to the season. So, it is a good idea to get friendly with your supermarket or local butcher. For example, lamb neck tends to be a lot less pricey than other lamb cuts, but it’s still just as delicious.

One nal bit of advice – learn how to be a grill master. Far too much food gets wasted on a BBQ simply because it gets burnt and is then inedible. Check out some videos online. There are loads of great step-by-step tutorials on how to get perfectly cooked meat every time.

Happy grilling!

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