Amelia’s Magazine | Sons & Daughters @ Carling Academy

Alex Gene Morrison’s art can’t help but attract attention. Despite being displayed on a backward-facing wall, mind purchase the second I walk into the ‘The Future Is Now’ show, website like this my eye is drawn straight to it. He is exhibiting three large canvases; each of a painted face, buy more about but it is the middle one that I find most conspicuous. The head, body and hair are hidden under a dense layer of matt black paint, leaving only a set of menacing eyes in the picture. The larger than life size does nothing to mask the unnatural peculiarity of Morrison’s portraits either. My walk around, champagne glass in hand, takes me past the odd inspiring piece. Somewhere on a balcony above me I spy a tower of precariously balanced teacups that look fairly beautiful from afar. Still on the ground floor, however, I stop to admire a row of miniature portraits, skilfully painted in muted colours. Each displays a varying degree of abnormality – none of the delicate faces are by any means normal.

David Hancock‘s enormous, hyper-real landscape is definitely something to be seen. Vaguely reminding me of one of those children’s T-shirts with unicorns, hills and fairy dust on, the canvas depicts a fantasy mountain scene, with wonderful skies and a dreamlike river. Hancock has chosen to makes certain parts of the canvas 3D, presumably using something lumpy like mod-rock to create an unsatisfying surface you want to reach out and touch.The piece that really stayed with me that evening though was by Alexis Milne.

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Whilst scanning some art on the other side of the room I caught sight of Amelia and the crew hovering around a small, darkly painted shack. On closer inspection I discover that inside the hut is the scariest clown I have ever seen, complete with tarot cards and a fake American accent. Pinned to the walls are various masks of animals and child-like paintings. The clown (perhaps Milne himself?) is reading Amelia’s ‘tarot cards’ in his loud,phoney, and frankly creepy voice. He tells her that she is a horny schizophrenic. I decide I must also have a go while we’re there. He wastes no time in telling me that I am to end up a chariot racing, lap dancer with a fondness of eating.

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Hmm. He also makes me wear a creepy cat mask whilst talking to him, so I understand this is to be taken with more than a pinch of salt. On the whole ‘The Future Is Now’ show displays an array of style, quality and substance in the pieces they have chosen to exhibit. I am left feeling overwhelmed (it really is quite a big exhibition) but more importantly inspired.

Photography: Amelia innit!
Photo 1: Sophie, Anna, James and Tim

After forgetting to RSVP to the Young KnivesRough Trade instore, case some of the A-Mag team and I were sitting outside nursing ciders wondering whether it was time to try and sweet talk the doorman. Funnily enough, approved munching on some food next to us was none other than the Young Knives manager, who took pity and kindly put us on the door. Thanks Duncan!

After trying to scull the rest of our cider – yes, all class we are – we walked into Rough Trade to the sounds of the song The Decision, and an epic, Phil Collins style drum fill. Oh yeaaah baby. I, not having the vertical advantage of my companion’s six foot four inches, had to crane my neck from mid-way through the crowd to glimpse the thick rimmed geek chic of Henry and Thomas “House Of Lords” Dartnell and Oliver Askew, garbed up in what Tall James described as conservative shirts and ties, looking like they’ve come fresh out of their nine to five jobs at a real estate agent.

With mature, well-crafted indie pop songs, the Young Knives are musically tight like tigers. As has happened in the past from what I gather, Razorlight got a mention – as they have a song called Up All Night as well…incidentally, as do Unwritten Law, Lionel Richie, Boomtown Rats and the Counting Crows. Their vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Crowded House. Repetitive guitar riffs ran under infectious hooks, getting heads bobbing and a warm reception from the crowd.

With their easy stage presence and self-deprecating banter that conveyed their confidence and self-assurance at the quality of their own music; and whether they were sartorially splendid or committing fashion faux pas in their outfits, they could convince me to rent a property any day. And then I’d ask them to play at the housewarming.

It was the most incestuous night of music ever – though apparently every night at the Brudenell Social in Leeds is a musical pit of incest…

Besides being an opportunity for solo music makers to take their bedroom brainstorms out onto the stage, visit web MAN ALIVE! borne of Leeds artist collective Nous Vous, pharmacy included a number of other artist collectives showcasing and selling various works and bits and bobs.

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First up was Dinosaur Pile-Up, recipe popping his gig cherry with a two song set. With a hand injury in play and the first rehearsal with a band backing him up that same afternoon, performance-wise it was much better than some could have done under the circumstances. It sounds like commercial success to me. Love is a Boat (And We’re Sinking) is an infectiously catchy anthem for frustrated heartbreak and confusion at relationships enough for an entire American teen series (enter Ryan and Marissa).

Glaciers, one Nic Burrows was up next with a bumbling Mr. Bean-like stage presence that really charmed, to many female exclamations of “Aw How sweet!” One of his mates actually commented “That slick bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.” Musically, he certainly does. Plaintive, earnest and warm, Glaciers is lovely. Guest appearances by the darling she-beast Katie Harkin of Sky Larkin fame and Mike Payne aka Mechanical Owl in Melamine made it an onstage pow wow.

Vest For Tysso is Will Edmonds and is a one, and occasionally, a two man band. Glaciers’ Nic Burrows popped in and out of the set on various instruments. Sweet, rich and multi-dimensional, just like a hearty carrot cake, this was, amazingly his first and last gig before jetting off to play at Canada’s Pop Montreal Festival.

Star of the night though was Mike Payne aka Mechanical Owl, who surprised with some genuine pop gems. After some technical mishaps including a core meltdown on his MACbook, and a badly placed mobile phone (which resulted in the tell-tale interference of an incoming SMS – though in this context, it may not have been totally out of place), Mechanical Owl impressed with the well rounded maturity of his varied and well thought out songs – smile inducing, strong and melancholic.

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Then came Napoleon IIIrd, who never disappoints, with his heady mix of strummed acoustics, undulating synth, full of cuts and clicks, a triumphant trumpet section, and impassioned and ragged vocals. His is a set full of choruses that will march around in your head, with a broody, somewhat troubled, but ever hopeful Napoleon IIIrd fully in command of his electronic brigade.

Whether you like it or not, the royal family themselves are a result of inbreeding; as are most sovereign clans. Generally, this sort of family tree results in at the very least, mildly cross-eyed, buck-toothed, hammy-eared dolts. On the other hand, the MAN ALIVE! bill saw everyone having some kind of finger in everyone else’s pie; and instead of the usual weak specimens, gave birth to the rather uncanny result of an unfairly talented line up, despite springing from a small (and refreshingly un-skinny) ‘jean’ pool.

Flier by The Nous Vous Collective
Napoleon IIIrd Photograph by Christel Escosa
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One of my favourite artists at the moment, illness and one of my favourite London venues…. surely Bat for Lashes (aka Natasha Khan and co) at Camden’s majestic Koko would be fabulous, approved right? Of course it was. I missed the support because I was running late: I simply couldn’t decide what Natasha would want me to wear. When I finally arrived, mid the Bjork-esque Trophy, the quiet crowd were already mesmerized by the sound of Khan and her band. I couldn’t fathom whether the eerie, sombre silence and general lack of movement was good or bad – until the raucous applause at the end of the opener. Clearly the room was full of Bat fans, and it was a struggle to find any spot in the whole venue where a good view was to be had. I weaved in and out of folk until I found myself at the highest balcony, which was surprisingly only half full.

From here, a clear view of the stage was to be had. Winter trees framed the singer and her band, whilst a mystic moon hung creepily over the ensemble featuring interesting projections – available as a post card set for you to treasure after the gig.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing this incredible act live, and instead have only read a syndicate of reviews, by now you will no doubt feel nauseous reading the following words: eerie, scary, spooky, haunting, chilling, magical, bewitching. I’m afraid, dear readers, that only this compendium of descriptions summarises a gig like this. But what most reviewers often omit is that, beyond the monstrous melodies, this is a stunning woman – musically, technically, physically.

Natasha, dazzling as ever in a bat-winged glittered smock, leggings, long boots and staple headband, moved effortlessly from track to track – presenting her svelte frame sometimes at front stage centre, bells and all; sometimes taking time at the piano, or on one occasion brandishing her recently acquired ‘wizard’s stick’ for a reworking of classic track Sarah. Natasha firmly has her feet on the ground, and spoke short, sweet sentences in between songs – her timid demeanour shining through on lines sung bashfully – such as Taste The Hands That Drink My Body.

Seeing the gig from the upper balcony was a true experience – the crowd wore their complimentary Bat For Lashes paper masks (featuring Khan’s original trademark feather head dress) and witnessing them all lined up, facing the stage, heads tilted upwards – was a little disturbing. Feeling like a prize pervert at a strange cult meeting was not what I expected, but nevertheless it was entertaining.

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Songs like the dazzling Horse and I and crowd favourite What’s a Girl To Do? were given an more interesting up-tempo flavour; it was a huge shame the latter was let down with weak backing vocals. These tracks were interspersed with softer choruses such as The Wizard and the poetic Saw A Light, which were kept at their spellbinding best. A sweeter cover of Tom Waits’ Lonely was an attractive interpretation and would have gone unnoticed to all bar revellers acutely familiar with Natasha’s music. New track Missing Time was also showcased; it sounded great but stuck out like Natasha’s outfit might do at a funeral.

Last night saw the end of the Fur and Gold tour, an album that has lauded critical acclaim internationally. Let’s raise a toast to Khan and Co, and keep everything crossed that the follow up album will be equally as affecting as the debut.

Photography by Matt Bramford
Nate Smith and Pete Cafarella met years ago at university and played in a lick of bands together, page during which time Pete also starred in Nate’s student films. After uni they were reunited in New York and started as a duo in Nate’s bedroom in Queens. Shy Child was born.

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They don’t discuss references or influences, order as it is too difficult. As Nate states, ‘ How many tracks are on our ipods?’ They would like to go down as a modern-day Chas and Dave, and currently listen to Metronomy, SMD, Black Sabbath and classic Wu Tang, amongst many others.

This new-wave/electronic/techno/punk pairing are going down well here in the UK and had made it their focus for this year, and after the festive season they’re heading back Stateside to pick up where they left off there.

Saturday saw their last date in London, at the Carling Academy in Islington. Nice little venue. I had been banging on about this band for a while, so I took two friends along as they were keen to offer a listen. What I failed to tell them was that it was a MySpace backed night, beginning very early, and featuring the youngest crowd I have ever seen at a gig. Ouch. Now I know it’s a little while ago now, but at 16 I do not remember skipping everywhere. Honestly. And I have no real qualm with skipping, but it is really all that necessary? Maybe skipping is the new black, or the new new-rave, maybe. Hopefully not.

Anyroad, we arrived and were asked for ID. With 80 years between the three of us, I’m hoping as we enter that this isn’t going to be the only pleasurable part of the night / late afternoon.

Whilst in the UK, Shy Child have performed a number of gigs, appeared on Jools Holland and more recently teamed up with Stella McCartney for Swarovski Fashion Rocks, which saw them enjoying a little musical chairs action with the models. “It was really fun and different for us,” says Nate. “And what we did together was a lot more exciting than some of the other pairings.” Agreed. Such a gig has brought their music to the fashion set, and their synth-styled, new-wave beats have hit the right market (it is no haphazard coincidence they have supported the Klaxons, amongst many others). The true measure of this band’s phenomenon, though, is that they can appeal to such diverse crowds – from Stella’s shmoozers to angst ridden teens, whose parents just, you know, don’t understand. That sort of thing.

I bumped into a friend of mine from Vogue there, who had a tale to tell. She’d gone into the toliets with a girlfriend, and a young girl had run out of the toilet, sssshing anyone who entered. Politely, my friend asked “Why do we need to be quiet in the toilet?” Naturally, the girl remarked, “Because Leanne is in that cubicle on the phone to her parents, and they think she’s in Pizza Hut.” Classy.

The duo that are Shy Child, on record and on stage, sound much more than two guys with a keytar and a drum kit. They are innovative, exciting and raw. They’ve stripped what was a heavy, electronic sound back to basics. Painfully catchy Drop The Phone is an immensly funky beat and is a pastiche of all sorts of tunes. Other favourite tracks of the night were Astronaut which has a distinct Giorgio Mororder disco flavour. The superb Good and Evil also floated my boat and has an incredible reggaeton influence. All enjoyed by a huddle of excited teens bouncing at the front – as well as everyone 18+ tapping their feet at the back.

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A great night had by all, not least the kids. So it was time to head home, and play muscial chairs.

Photography by Matt Bramford
It’s a brand new kletzmer world!

The new Rough Trade superstore is cavernous and full of trendy young things casually perusing the flyers and freebie magazines near the coffee shop, viagra many on their own like me, website due to the stringent ticket conditions of this in-demand gig. Yes, visit this this is a gig to be accompanied by coffee or fruit juice only – beers to be had later in the bar next door.

At the back under a sign saying Dance CDs, a small stage had been erected and the racks shunted out of the way. Beirut is a cute teddybear of a man accompanied by his scenester hoodie crew. Only here will you see what looks like a new raver playing double bass to a new wave kletzmer soundtrack.

Beirut is discombobulated…he’s got jet lag and the mikes are having feedback issues that mean I spend most of the gig with a hand over the ear nearest the speakers – but that doesn’t stop a rousing set. Accordians, multiple ukes, a man playing a funny drum thing on the floor next to the cds, mandolin, violin, trumpet – all musical bases are covered. This is the return of the rock orchestra – people are bored with the traditional guitar, bass, drums combo, and everywhere I turn I’m seeing a move towards the instruments of an orchestra or big band. This is music that wouldn’t be out of place in Red Square in Moscow, but suddenly it is being feted as the next big thing. Not a bad thing I say.

I met Nancy at Thermal Festival in September. She’s ace. Wearing a very fetching grey jersey dress – that I am sure had more than a few men drooling over some carefully revealed chest – she sat down between guitar and harp.

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In her hair were some artfully arranged buttons (tip: she sews them onto hair grips) and on her lap she placed her harp. Nancy sings songs that touch your heartstrings. It’s just her, more about her pure sweet voice and a harp or guitar, nothing else. She peppers her uniquely modern folk songs with funny little Nancy-isms and anecdotes. “You’ve cheered me up. I get all flustered when I come to London; I feel all weird. I stayed on my brother’s sofa in Hackney and he told me not to leave the house today cause I didn’t have a key. So I stayed in on the sofa watching daytime TV. Not good!” Down to earth and naturally talented, Nancy didn’t disappoint. Not many people seem to know of Nancy in London yet, but with a multi-album deal sorted her reputation is bound to grow. Catch her while the venues are still intimate, where she can leap off the stage to sell her merch as soon as she finishes playing. “There’s albums over there for sale. By the way…”
Three years young and buoyed by the glowing acclaim heaped upon their second LP, approved 2006′s Yellow House, try Brooklyn’s own Grizzly Bear offer up something of a celebration of their talents with the release of Friend – a ten track compilation of covers, nurse collaborations, new material and reworked favourites. Having invited the likes of Band Of Horses, CSS and Zach Condon (Beirut) to contribute, Grizzly Bear have managed to avoid notions of ‘shameless cash-in’ and produced an offering of merit. Indeed there is lots here to enjoy.

Brooding, dirty guitars help define opener Alligator, an alternate take on a cut from GB’s debut release. It features the first contribution from Zach Condon, and though it plods and outstays its welcome slightly, a glorious choral burst midway through manages to save it from being the drab opener it threatened to be. Things take an upturn with a brilliantly dark cover of The Crystals smash He Hit Me. It’s sinister tone is offset by a vocal that tips it hat to the late 80′s new romantics, and the sporadic sonic explosions serve to create an unforgettable slice of haunting pop.

The middle of the record then drifts along in a pleasant enough manner, without really exciting – which is a bit of a shame. The bizarrely titled Granny Diner exemplifies the problem. Positively, things are kick-started again with an energised, disco version of Knife courtesy of CSS. It begins, rather unfortunately, with a sample that appears lifted directly from StereophonicsDakota, but soon recovers itself. Punchy, choppy beats and a wave of synths dominate, and the upbeat tempo is just what the record needs. Band Of Horses then take us from disco to country and western with a banjo led take on Plans. It doesn’t quite work, but there are enough quirks – a lovely honky tonk piano solo outro being one – to engage. The record ends in a melancholic way, with a rather dreary Daniel Rossen home recording entitled ‘Deep Blue Sea’. It’s inclusion ill-judged.

Despite it’s flaws there are some lovely moments on Friend. It is diverse, sonically ambitious and at times captivating, which is no mean feat.

Gigs like this, no rx epic ones, medical are always daunting. You want to see all the bands but you’re clearly not going to. At ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, pharmacy it works. It’s over a whole weekend and everyone is in the right mindset. So that is what made this gig kinda strange; as essentially it was all the same people you get at ATP looking slightly bemused.

With a line-up of bands like these, even though they are becoming big, you still like to think of them as your little secret. So when you see them playing at a venue like that of The Forum, the enchantment is somewhat lost, you wish you were seeing them at Barden’s or at a festival, or, most idealistically, your friends’ warehouse. Especially, ESPECIALLY, when at first you’re told you cannot leave the balcony (what is that all about?!) where I was confined to as I watched Black Lips. Who – besides being as far away as I could possibly be – were exciting. I missed Fuck Buttons and all but one song of Deerhunter, because I was putting my white face paint on. Which is a little unforgivable, as Fuck Buttons are one of the best dirty yet beautiful duos around of late. Though Black Lips, with their lo-fi garage punk and their sloppy vintage sound and sweaty little faces, was the perfect start for me. They did a very special cover of Thee Headcoats ‘Wildman’, which was the point when we got distinctly pissed off being stuck on the balcony so snuck downstairs, for Liars.

The Liars’ new album is strange. It is just really simple. Had it come first, before ‘They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top’ and two more equally as concept driven albums it would have made more sense. But ‘Liars’, self-titled as it is, is a key, not just as noise led or art like, like their set, which bar the old songs, resemble more of a 1970s garage band than that of the beautiful, sadistic nature of the Liars we have come to expect. Its like they’re doing everything backwards; digressing to a pared down, more simple punk sound. But they’re Liars, so in all probability just messing with us, so maybe we should just let them get on with it.

SO.

By Deerhoof I wanted to expect big things, a grand and innovative performance. It all began charmingly enough, but by this point and most of my friends were trapped outside because they smoke and I really wanted find two them to be there as Deerhoof are so magical you want to re-assure yourself its real. So I spent a good deal of time during Deerhoof’s set wondering around as a lost zombie, and the big venue meant I kept losing the sound and meeting more equally frustrated people who were leaving. So halfway though their set I did just that. Left. ATP do festivals best.

Gillan Edgar (yes, dosage that’s his real name) is a Scottish songsmith who has set up home in Manchester with his girlfriend, prostate their two dogs, rx and an cluster of instruments. His performances tend towards the retro; reliant on basic acoustic grooves, and he has a unique, happy-go-go-lucky sound. Imagine how today’s fix of troubled indie bands might sound if they actually had a smile on their face, and you’re half way there.

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On Monday, Gillan and his band put on a show at the Indigo2 – the new, lavish O2 arena’s cooler, alternative sister venue, housed in what was the Millennium Dome. Edgar is, at the moment, unsigned; but the clock is ticking for him to find his perfect match in the music industry. Bound for the pop charts with his boyish good looks, Gillan exudes confidence and is a completely natural show-off. I’m not usually one for crowd participation, but encouragement by Gillan to sing The Greatest Gift’s chorus (No no no no, no no no no) was met by myself and the crowd with excitement. This is exactly the kind of thing he promotes at his intimate gigs, which light-up the faces of his small but loyal following. In between marvellous melodies he connects with his audience with his laid back, witty persona and larger-than-life stage presence. I had been waiting for him to play in London for a while, so imagine my excitement when I heard the Bedford (the small Balham live music venue) were to host him here at the Indigo.

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Edgar’s music is exciting indeed – and can only be described as pop and rock sitting contiguously, providing heart warming lyrics and a musically ‘up yours’ to pretentious indie bands who have the attitude but not the substance. Gillan has the credentials to perform with his band in such a grand venue, and I’m sure seeing him play solo with his guitar at a cosy gig would be equally impressive.

It’s so refreshing to find a musician who combines honest music with good old-fashioned fun. Gillan knocks out quality tunes with a huge smile on his face. Hooks like Mr Inconsistent and The Eureka Song make you bounce with glee, whilst the more poetic The Greatest Gift and Victoria Has A Secret make the mind move instead.

Gillan’s music isn’t complicated, assuming or prescribing – it’s just effing good. I smile smugly at my compadres with a look of ‘I told you so’ as Gillan plays his last tune. A long awaited debut CD is in the pipeline (hurry up, man!) but until then, it’s back to his MySpace for a listen.

Photography by Matt Bramford
It’s the politest crowd of all time. People move out of the way without me asking them to. One skinny guy, site wearing glasses and a cardigan, sildenafil apologises for no discernable reason. This isn’t surprising. Nice people generally come to the Luminaire. Normally to watch nice men play quiet acoustic guitars, nicely. A bit like Gravenhurst’s first record Flashlight Seasons.

The first shock for anyone whose only involvement with Gravenhurst being Flashlight Seasons – an accessible, downbeat folk album – is that this is not just that one guy. It’s a four-piece ensemble onstage. Singer Nick Talbot wears earplugs, unnecessarily. He makes some Slint-y harmonics on his electric (!) guitar. Alex Wilkins on other guitar echoes it with warm swathes of gentle noise. The rhythm section is pounding, concise and unrelenting.

This is unsettling. Gravenhurst’s four excellent albums sound markedly singular, the product of one brain. But the band’s performance is crucial to their live sound; the instrumental moods build up, develop and fade. Talbot’s voice, when it finally arrives after a drawn-out jam, is fey and resigned. His voice is often the band’s main draw on record, but live it’s not quite translating. On The Velvet Cell, Talbot’s a pissed off computer techie, singing about murder “lying dormant in the heart of every man” with a touch too much passive relish. It’s great, but the harmonic guitar stuff at the beginning of the set led the songs better than his paper-thin voice, which was weedier and shyer than it should be.

The second shock is the music. It’s hard to think of a neater, more comfortable niche than “that band on Warp who do the quiet folk thing,” but to their credit Gravenhurst have moved closer and closer to total psych noise mania with every release. Hollow Men from new album The Western Lands is total Dinosaur Jr territory, without the solos. Talbot strums his guitar manically, making his right arm look like a crazed, live side of ham.

They get called “post rock” a lot. I guess that’s fair. The quiet parts are inventive and fluid. The loud bits are rocking, not revolutionary, but totally worth the wait when they arrive. That’s about the biggest plaudit I’m ever likely to give “post rock”. But it sounds more like bastard Kraut to me, anyway.

Occasionally the strumming, feedback, fragile voice and layered drums catch alight and it feels like everything is beautifully interlocking. Except, you know, in a non-stoned way. Talbot’s voice warms up and becomes the beautiful counter to the instruments’ tired, reliable funeral song. It’s weirdly welcoming, but it wasn’t what I expected.

When music editor Christel told me I was on the guest list for this gig, patient she was greeted with a week of agitated over-enthusiasm and stupid Devendra-related questions. Not only was I smitten for the Banhart, I was a recently converted Laura enthusiast too, after weeks of listening to her soothing melodic tones in Amelia’s kitchen. To say that she has featured on every one of my recent mix tapes is an understatement. (She’s made it on to each one twice.)

So finally the evening arrived, and with my floral maxi-dress and lace headband in place I met up with my +1 (boyfriend Jake) for a pre-gig beer in Camden.
I thought I might be a teensy bit jealous of Laura Marling before the gig – (she’s a 17-year-old singer/songwriter extraordinaire who gets to support folk legends for god’s sake!) but after watching her I was absolutely green. How dare she be so unfailingly talented and successful at her age! And her attributes didn’t even seem to end there: to watch, she was the cutest of urban nymphs: tiny, with somewhat scene (click on this, no really) peroxide hair, an oversized hoodie slung off the shoulder and an unassuming manner that found her mumbling graciously between songs. Though she looked like she might not be enjoying herself, she was making a lot of us in the audience happy. I sang along fanatically to the ones I knew, and enjoyed hearing some new tales from her latest repertoire. Unfortunately the set was pretty much over before it began – she slunk off stage after five prettily concise tunes (alas without playing my favourite New Romantic) but left me in high spirits.

Devendra kept an impatient audience waiting for half an hour after Laura’s set, while he probably did something cool like smoke a joint backstage with his bohemian friends. We were pretty heated up by the time he stepped out from the shadows (hey just ‘cos it’s folk doesn’t mean the audience don’t push and shove a little) but oh my god did he make up for it! The most beautifully enchanting man I have ever seen, Devendra practically seemed to shine in the light of his own velvet clad aura. He opened the set with a joke song that he deliberately mimed, and just kept the skillz coming and coming, somehow managing to be funny, talented and entertaining the whole way through.

His voice sounded quite different live, and I mean that in a good way. Maybe it was just to do with getting the whole Devendra Banhart experience. It would be unfair not to mention his band while reviewing the gig because they obviously play a big part in his live performances. I couldn’t stop looking at the guitarist to his left. I swear he had actually stepped right out of ’69, complete with a shoulder-length mat of centre-parted hair and three piece flared suit. Together they made a pretty marvellous bunch.

I left the gig with an even bigger crush than I’d arrived with and a desire to pick up the guitar and learn a few tunes… perhaps next time I’ll be the supporting act.

Aaaargh UPSET THE RHYTHM. What would I do without them? They make seeing the noisy and alternative acts so easy for me. Just pick up a long orange flyer from your local east end haunt and you’re pretty set for your spiky, here choice, information pills and intercontinental for most part of the month. I got to 93 FEET EAST, a relatively new venue for UPSET THE RHYTHM, (which sound wise I am fine with, but in terms of character I’m not so sure) in time for YACHT. Active is definitely the word. Bouncy, fun, epileptic dance moves bordering on ADHD. Formerly the second half of THE BLOW it is the best music for indie kids to dance to. Jona Bechtolt’s percussion is infectious with jerky legs and shoulder thrusting all over the show. I am willing to forget the Michael Jackson sample used as an intro and his public school boy style rambling, as he was much fun.

Then NUMBERS. Trios really work! CELEBRATION, GET HUSTLE, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED. NUMBERS are a no-wave-art-punk band of relentless drumming. They are coarse but ultimately captivating. They make a powerful noise, which, although better in previous recordings, makes you stop and fucking pay attention. Indra Dunis on drums and lead vocals is scratchy and piercing in the best possible sense. NUMBERS claw away at you, drawing you down and throwing you away. And there is a synthesizer. Need I say more?

Oh the anticipation! Toe twinkling, recipe shoulder shivering, check hand tingling excitement; the kind that reminds you of waiting for Christmas, or going on a ride in a hot air balloon. Though my evening shuddered to a start by being in a decidedly bad mood, the infectious promise of the night ahead soon took over, imbuing the pilgrimage to The Roundhouse with impatience at all manner of minor public transport issues (like waiting nine extra minutes for the tube – well I never!).

The crowd at the Roundhouse was eclectic, and as excited as I was; waiting anxiously for Beirut to get onstage with the boy wonder Zach Condon at the lead. When they ambled on, there was a warm roar of approval as the raggle-taggle gypsy mob began to play.

Zach has the quiet self-assured confidence of one having been around for a little while and knowing what he’s doing. With his brass (a flugelhorn to be precise) slung over his shoulder, baggy white tee-shirt and tousled hair, he is a rather unassuming figure…until he begins to sing. Condon’s undulating voice soars over the joyful raucous of the other nine musicians who make up the collective that is Beirut.

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It is a gorgeous din they make, warm and fresh. Their music manages to make the most jaded cynic feel like there’s still the endless possibility of many journeys to be had. Incongruously mature, yet still curiously innocent, the atmosphere that Beirut creates is simply a happy one. Uplifting and beautiful, the wide-eyed optimism of youth conveyed with well-travelled worldliness that is addictive to listen to. You just don’t want them to stop playing; even though the whole set sounds sort of like one long song with different variations on the theme – this is irrelevant, just like their image or whether they ‘put on a show’. Because it’s simply their sound, the purity of the music that absolutely holds you in rapt attention. Beirut is robust and swirling, just like snow and makes you feel like you’re seeing such a phenomena for the first time. Every song is epic, the soundtrack to the homecoming scene after the kind of adventure told in folktales, with a kind of refreshing joy and resolution that is ultimately satisfying.

For my virgin experience at the Roundhouse, I couldn’t have asked for a nicer time. And then came the after party in central Camden. The free bar made this buoyant Beirut fan a little more buoyant. The only vaguely eye-rolling thing was the opening few songs from the Djs – who I observed had a little trouble getting in at the door –making Liz (yet another tall companion of mine, who has the advantage of not having to crane to see ANYthing ANYwhere) and I raise our eyebrows. Ambient house at the Beirut after party? Hmmkay.

So we decided to make an exit a little while after the free bar dried up. Our timing was canny, as Beirut decided to make like trees (and leave) also. I caught Nick, the Beirut drummer, on the way out the door to tell him – like countless others had in the past no doubt of course – how much I enjoyed the gig. After a happily tipsy chat that I can’t actually recall very much of besides the fact that I flashed some blood (TRUST, click this) at him, my stomach grumbled and the best egg and bacon baps in London called my name. These are so good in fact, that Liz broke FOUR YEARS of vegetarianism to scoff a bit of my bacon a week ago. OH YES.

Nick decided that he too, could hear bacon calling him, and came with us. The lovely chap then proceeded to buy me an egg and bacon bap with BARBEQUE SAUCE! I had lost all hope that this condiment existed in the UK, and this event restored my faith in both rock stars and British condimentation. On that note, it was the perfect night…

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…And the bus ride back into East London was free too, innit. Hollaaaa.

{Somewhat dodgy) Photography by Christel Escosa
Despite their credentials and that Robot Man song, sickness the Aliens just aren’t cutting it. Black Affair, cialis 40mg Steve Mason’s new incarnation, doctor is at once audacious and amazing but probably won’t please the faithful. So what are those once enamored with and still lamenting the demise of perhaps the only British band of the last decade to actually be any, er, good, to do? I’m mean fans of the Beta Band, of course. Easy now. You’d do well to investigate this stone cold gem of an EP by Peter Hedley a.k.a. Beneath Fire and Smoke.

Sounding not unlike a Romanian folk band free-styling over the best bits of the Beta’s first three EPs, this has much to commend. No surprise then that Hedley is a sometime collaborator with whacked-out-folk genius, Voice of the Seven Woods. His music is shot through with the same rustic romance and bleary eyed wooziness…but it’s so much more. Opener, Smoke and Flames, is the finest cut. It uncurls, ebbs and flows over euphoric flutes and strings, electro-acoustic beats, monastic, loved-up vocals and down right cheeky Fairport’s style bass. Hot damn! Songs from a Slipway is how A Hawk and A Hacksaw wish they’d sound whilst The Iceberg Waltz deals in the same desolate and disconcerting piano led melancholia last heard on a Beach Boys Smile bootleg circa December 1966. Closer, So It Came To Pass, contorts celestial psychedelic string parts over minimalist bass and heart broken lyrics of unrequited love: So it came to be/That you and me will always be/Apart

Beautifully packaged vinyl courtesy of the bespoke Battered Ornaments label, this is what it’s all about. No downloads. No guerilla PR campaign. No hype. Music for music’s sake. And don’t doubt it, pal – this is fucking music.
Dearest Anarcho-Hillbilly Barn Dance Compadres, visit this

Cut-a-Shine are at it again, viagra buy hosting another rip roarer at the glorious Finsbury Town Hall. It’s going to be a bonafide hoe-down; themed as a Barn Dating night, click with plenty of lil dawgie roping, partner swapping, do-si-do-ing, gingham neckerchiefs and yeehaw-ing.

Couples, trios, doubles, groups, gay straight bi, tri, or try anything, come on down. Single as sliced cheese? You might just meet a sweet thing to take you off to the love parlour for a roll in the hay. If you’re feeling really lucky, you might receive a gingham beard (for the girls) or a pretty bow (for the boys), with a saucy love note attached. If you’re from the house of jealous lovers though, maybe stay at home, as it’s gonna be a mixing and mingling good old fashioned time, and we don’t want no fighting shenanigans going on.

Opening up the evening will be The Bona Fide Family Band, promising some hillbilly mountain music on a wealth of odd instruments like mandolins and banjos.

Cut-a-Shine are on 9pm-11pm with Amelia calling some dances, if you fancy meeting the lady herself.

After all that there’s Fat 45. Jump jivin’, jitter buggin’, rock’n’rollin 11-piece swing band.

Can’t get any cooler than a shindig like this one. And whilst you’re cutting a rug out there on the barn dancing floor, spare a thought for the poor old band stuck up there on the stage, and send us some love too (cider will do).

So long now, see you at the shindig this here Friday!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Huw Stephens – Radio 1 DJ (and all round good egg) have afforded the gig going hordes of the Welsh capital a real treat this weekend in the shape of a three day musical feast. It’s simple title (‘swn‘) belying the riches on offer. Aside from Sons and Daughters, more about tonight features the likes of The Cribs, stomach Beirut and The Duke Spirit scattered amongst a host of venues throughout the city. Over the course of the weekend there will also be the opportunity to catch anything from Two Gallants, viagra 40mg to DJ sets by Annie Mac and Steve Lamacq – these being just a handful of acts from the impressive 120 plus assembled by Stephens for the inaugural event.

The Scottish quintet arrive in Cardiff midway through a tour in support of new album This Gift, due early next year. Rather unusually, the bands online tour blog boasts of the pre gig joys of consuming Chinese green tea in Cambridge. So much for the Rock ‘n’ Roll excess then. But in the flesh they do a stellar job of presenting themselves as strangely stylish, sexy and diverse outfit. The striking presence is most welcome.

Style aside, so to the substance – and the songs. Or rather ‘song’ as it turns out. Tonight’s performance is so repetitive in nature that it almost feels like the set is one big song. From a very early stage in the set, songs blend into one another, and the absence of differentiation is stark with the overriding effect being one of tedium for long periods.

As a unit, the band kick and splutter without really going anywhere – even if at times they manage to create a surprisingly big sound. The lack of craft however often relegates this to mere ‘noise’. But, on occasion everything does fall into place. Cathy Come Home (a homage to socialist stalwart film director Ken Loach) has the necessary chorus, and said big sound (not noise in this instance) to resonate somewhat. Whilst new single Gilt Complex – which we are reliably informed is ‘about c*nts’ – recalls the wilder moments of Echo and The Bunnymen with some zest.

It’s all a little too late, but there are glimpses of excellence right at the end of the set. Chains is definitely the best new song on offer, it’s defiant energy and bite offering hope for the new record, and they end on Johnny Cash – with a bit of Iggy and The Stooges thrown in for good measure.

So much for the green tea eh.

It’s a Friday night and I’m in the SEOne club situated beneath London Bridge Station for an Evening with The Rakes. An interesting line up of new musical ‘talent’ including the likes of The Metros, sale We Start Fires, page Ghost Frequency and various DJ sets seems to have drawn in a mixed crowd for a Friday night knees-up south of the river.

Strolling between the two stages/bars (separated by a DJ room in which I thoroughly enjoyed some old school reggae) I caught bits and pieces of the support acts; none of which left a real impression on me – they weren’t bad, seek just not quite my cup of tea.

Not massively impressed at the new music on display, my ears pricked up when I heard the rumor that the special guests had “good shoes”. True enough half an hour later the Morden boys made an appearance on the second stage and ripped through the majority of their debut album Think Before You Speak as well as a new song for good measure. The fact that not only were they on top form but that all the scene kids were at the other stage awaiting The Rakes and guarding their “spot” only widened the grin on my face. That was more like it. With my clothes suitably ruined and my beer everywhere it was time for the main event (via the bar of course!).

Having been a fan of The Rakes first offering Capture/Release and a critic of their second, far more commercial album, Ten New Messages, I was both excited and apprehensive to see what was on offer. Opening with lesser-known songs from the second album and a few new ones left the crowd somewhat bemused. However, The Rakes soon riled us all into frenzy performing riotous renditions of Strasbourg, 22 Grand Job and Retreat. The front of the room seemed to erupt into chaos as tune after tune from Capture/Release got a much-deserved airing. With Alan Donohoe twitching and jerking around the stage like he’s the secret love child of Ian Curtis on speed and the band drilling through their best material, I stumbled home with my grin still firmly in place…

It’s the end of the show already and the stage is dripping in red light. From where I’m standing, what is ed the perspiration in the room looks like blood. Two Gallants have just been on for over an hour, so the perspiration on the walls feels like blood too.

They have wrecked this place. Their blues, rock, folk, punk, loud, quiet, angry, sad mayhem has blown the place to smithereens. Adam Stephens‘ voice is cracked, rasped and broken. His heart is heavy, his songs are long, his words are laced with the worn down dejection of a hard life. The mouth organ can barely hold up for the rust and rot.

Tyson Vogel bashes his drums like he’s making up for a past deed. He has no crash cymbal, just high hat and ride. He provides the drama, the beard, and the mystery. There’s just the two of them. Named after a James Joyce short story, as you know, they are literate. They tell tales: “I shot my wife today/Hid her body in the ‘frisco bay”. That’s a tough gig. They repent: “If you got a throat/I got a knife”.

But they’re not depressing. They’re painting a picture, writing a novel, making you think. Amidst the almost White Stripe-y rock-outs and the down beat Americana they’re doing rustic graffiti on the side of an old wooden cabin. They’re drinking whisky and opening their heart to a best friend because things haven’t worked out how they planned and they don’t know what to do about it. And they do it every single song.

Long Summer Day is as controversial and opinion-splitting as ever, the Gallants belting out Moses Platt’s lyrics as if they were their own: “And the summer day make a white man lazy/He sits on his porch killing time/But the summer day make a nigger feel crazy/Might make me do something out of line.” It raises an eyebrow, provokes, and stretches boundaries. But as reckless and offensive as some might see it, that, compadres, is what it’s all about.

The five piece – three scrawny men, abortion one portly man and one petite woman – clamber onto the stage. Fashion doesn’t trouble them. It’s five-years-too-late skinny jean/tie combos for the men (great for squeezing the tunes out presumably) and a trashy silver cocktail dress for the girl. They pick up their instruments and play a pick ‘n’ mix selection of all the pop you’ve grown to hate (Wham!, pills Katrina and The Waves, Aha), but somehow they’ve jumbled, mashed, stretched and twisted it into something kind of… well…good.

Really good actually. These geeky kids can play. And for all the cruise ship Europop melodies (they’re from Denmark) and synchronised shimmying you can’t help but move your feet with them. Your poor old heart – smacked around by dull jobs, worn-out worrying over neglected friendships and Kasabian on the radio – starts to really kick again. A weird craving for Nerdz and Curlywurly’s and Dib-dabs creeps up on you. Suddenly you want The Beano and Live and Kicking on a Saturday morning. Look around and see a dark room above a pub in North London half-full of thirty-somethings dripping from the miserable weather all lost in similar reverie.

Before you know it lead singer Anders SG is introducing the final song of a far too short set. Alphabeat scamper into a note-perfect performance of their flagship hit Fascination – sample lyric: “fashion is OUR fashion” (that’ll explain the wardrobe then). Andres whoops, spins, shakes and slams his tambourine against his chest. His band skip around the stage bellowing “Super-duper!” in unison and beaming at each other with undisguised affection. Alphabeat are making that kind of giddy pop that makes you want to run all the way home and yell: “Mum MUM, I found this brilliant new band and they made me dance until my feet were sore and they sound like S Club 7 smacking the snobbery out of Arcade Fire and let me sing you their songs and I want to BE in their band and can I go and see Alphabeat again tomorrow night please please PLEASE!?”

And if she’s seen them, she wouldn’t be able to say no.

The way into our hearts here at Amelia’s Magazine, link is through our stomachs. Faye Skinner, treatment the clever little muffin, wooed us with cupcakes hand delivered to our door – these ones in fact:

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After worrying about whether they were actually meant to be eaten or not (admittedly, we were only briefly torn about it) and whether we wanted to digest the lovely little things, leaving only crumbs and paper cupcake wrappers as evidence that they ever existed, these three piglets couldn’t help but scoff the lot (with Amelia’s help).

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In one fell inhalation, all the cupcakes were gone, so we thought we might ask Faye a few questions…

Who were the illustrations of on the cupcakes?
They were a little bit of everything that influences me, queens, victorian children, dolly birds and female musicians.

Were the illustrations actually edible?
Yes, entirely edible. I painted them onto wafer paper using food colouring which work just like watercolours. I then stuck them on with the pink icing.

How do you feel about people eating your illustrations and them disappearing into the bowels of their stomachs?
I quite like the idea of eating very pretty food, like sugared rose petals! Mary Pickford used to eat flowers when she was a little girl in the hope that she would be beautiful when she grew up. It must be very good for the soul.

Can you tell us the recipe for the cupcakes?

Right:

5 oz (150g) Butter – softened
5 oz (150g) superfine (castor) sugar
6 oz (175g) self-raising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
drops of pink food colouring

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350oF (180oC).
2. Line a 12 cup cake pan, with cup cake papers.
3. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat lightly with a fork.
4. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.
5. Beat with a whisk for 2 minutes, until light and creamy.
6. Divide the mixture evenly between the cake cases.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch.
8. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Allow to cool fully before icing.

For the icing whisk together water and icing sugar and a drop of food colouring until slightly thick and runny, then dribble onto the cupcakes, stick on the wafers while the icing is still sticky.

You can buy packs of wafer paper which you can then directly paint onto with the food colouring and then cut out with kitchen scissors ready to decorate the cakes with.

Do you bake other things? Like what?
I do make a lot of chocolate cupcakes for my flatmates when I am having a domestic housewife kind of day. When I was younger I was obsessed with baking salt-dough fat mermaids.

Tell us some of your favourite things.
Some of my favourite things include Vivien Leigh, The National Portrait Gallery, The Electric Ballroom, pub quiz and kareoke on a tuesday, Katie Jane Garside, classic children’s novels, and shopping in and around Dalston’s £1 emporiums with my friend Victoria.

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Scrumptious. Find out more about Faye at www.myspace.com/fayedoll

Photography by Amelia
Photo 2, L-R: Jess Jayne and Christel
Photo 3: Jess

He’s come a long way has Dan Snaith aka Caribou. From the purer electronic instrumental cut’n’paste soundscapes of his Manitoba guise to this: the Odyssey and Oracle goes Pro-Tools psychedelic pop of his Caribou incarnation. Summer’s Andorra long player exemplifies just how a musician, medications given time to grow and develop creatively, can create beautiful art. That’s not to negate his previous works but Snaith’s most recent album is fucking light years ahead, marrying choral song-structures with a left-foot sensibility.

So, how to rock this complex and multi-layered beast in a live context. Get a bad-ass band together. Lap-tops, two drummers, vintage guitars, neck-ties, wigged out projections, Electric Prunes circa ’66 haircuts…Check, check, check….Oh man, it’s gonna so fucking rule. In truth, it nearly didn’t. Squandering triumphant nugget, Sandy, as first number was a shame. You could hear the band finding their feet and acclimatizing to the stage as the song thundered on in cack-handed fashion. No bad thing of course, but when it’s such an unabashed turntable hit as Sandy it kinda grates. Still, with Snaith finding his voice and his beautiful boys kicking up a psych-storm they lay waste to Brighton’s Audio with aplomb. Melody Day does that whole scorched earth thang leaving the audience mouths agape whilst She’s The One is just sublime, like Kieren Hebden producing the Beach Boys today. Desiree is heartbreaking; with soulfully strained harmonies seeping into our ears, glooping down like wild honey over a Midi-orchestra backing. Sweetness personified.

You rarely get to hear such celestial orch-pop made flesh. Vibrant, human…alive. Dan Snaith and friends know how to do retro and make it so fucking fresh. Tell that to the hordes of dim guitar slingers taking up space in this town or in the pages of the NME. This is how you do it, boys. Class dis-fucking-missed.

He’s come a long way has Dan Snaith aka Caribou. From the purer electronic instrumental cut’n’paste soundscapes of his Manitoba guise to this: the Odyssey and Oracle goes Pro-Tools psychedelic pop of his Caribou incarnation. Summer’s Andorra long player exemplifies just how a musician, information pills given time to grow and develop creatively, site can create beautiful art. That’s not to negate his previous works but Snaith’s most recent album is fucking light years ahead, prescription marrying choral song-structures with a left-foot sensibility.

So, how to rock this complex and multi-layered beast in a live context. Get a bad-ass band together. Lap-tops, two drummers, vintage guitars, neck-ties, wigged out projections, Electric Prunes circa ’66 haircuts…Check, check, check….Oh man, it’s gonna so fucking rule. In truth, it nearly didn’t. Squandering triumphant nugget, Sandy, as first number was a shame. You could hear the band finding their feet and acclimatizing to the stage as the song thundered on in cack-handed fashion. No bad thing of course, but when it’s such an unabashed turntable hit as Sandy it kinda grates. Still, with Snaith finding his voice and his beautiful boys kicking up a psych-storm they lay waste to Brighton’s Audio with aplomb. Melody Day does that whole scorched earth thang leaving the audience mouths agape whilst She’s The One is just sublime, like Kieren Hebden producing the Beach Boys today. Desiree is heartbreaking; with soulfully strained harmonies seeping into our ears, glooping down like wild honey over a Midi-orchestra backing. Sweetness personified.

You rarely get to hear such celestial orch-pop made flesh. Vibrant, human…alive. Dan Snaith and friends know how to do retro and make it so fucking fresh. Tell that to the hordes of dim guitar slingers taking up space in this town or in the pages of the NME. This is how you do it, boys. Class dis-fucking-missed.

When one thinks of Washington DC’s musical scene, website like this it evokes images of right-on punkers kicking up a politicised, ask Converse clad riot. Loud guitars. Soap box sermons between songs. Well, meet Washington’s Mark Charles, a.k.a Vandaveer, and prepare to swoon to a different beat. Or lack of beat…

There’s no shortage of neo-folkers right now and some might say we need another one like the world needs another epidemic of the Black Plague. But Vandaveer is something else. What he has is soul; and that genuine, bohemian restlessness that characterises truly great singer-songwriters. Seeing him play to six people in Brighton the other week did little to diminish his aura and captivating stage presence – it oozed into every nook and cranny of the venue.
Vandaveer’s debut album is a sonically stripped down affair that serves to melt the listener’s heart in slow motion. Its minimalism renders Charles’s voice the main weapon here. A good thing given that he sounds like a most pleasing bastardisation of Dylan and Donovan. These are appropriate musical and lyrical references too but, at times, Vandaveer seems even more archaic, beamed down from another place and time. The harmonies that caress the chorus of Grace and Speed are almost pre-Beatles in their innocence while the tumbling chords of Parasites and Ghosts will make the hairs on your neck stand up. Dark humour, too, abounds on Out Past The Moat, its mellifluous melodies couching disconcerting lyrics: “Got my guns, I got ‘em both/Now’s a good time as any, tell my brothers I love them both…”

There’s more to meets the eyes and ears then. All human life is here and then some. Not bad for a dude with a guitar. Clear all that Homefires Festival endorsed shit and make way for a talent that demands a place in your life.

Reckon you’ve got Sons and Daughters sussed? Think again. Over their successful five year career, cost the Glasgow foursome have released two addictive albums of lusty, rx ragged blues punk, ambulance but they are set to blow expectations skywards with forthcoming effort This Gift, out in January, which finds their trademark, dark and ferocious sound rubbing up against 1960s girl group stomp and straight-up pop with magnificent results.

Tonight in the normally clinical surroundings of the Islington Academy we are treated to a preview of this latest material as they mix songs old and new throughout a fiery and captivating set. But before they take to the stage, Foxface work their folky magic on an initially uninterested smattering of people, followed by an intense performance from Victorian English Gentleman’s Club who arrive sombrely to the sound of a single clanging bell and climax with ear-shattering howls, menacing basslines, scratchy riffs and the colossal impact of two thundering drummers when Sons and Daughters’ sticksman David Gow joins the Cardiff trio for a dramatic finale.

The crowd is clearly unsure of the second support act, but not so by our headliners who whip up a storm as soon as they kick into rhythmic opener Broken Bones, provoking a sea of flailing bodies and lobbed pints. The dapperly dressed band make for a striking sight – the boys boasting quiffs, braces, colourful shirts and skin-tight jeans and the girls in glittery gold tops and short skirts – and they have immensely grown in confidence since they last played the capital as they attack their instruments unabashedly, while bassist Ailidh Lennon skips and hops in time to the music and Adele Bethel prowls the stage, switching effortlessly between sweetly sung vocals, soaring choruses and blood-curdling shrieks.

Gilt Complex is a highlight, as are warmly received newies like Rebel With A Ghost, The Nest, House In My Head, The Bell, Darling and Chains, however, the most frenzied reactions come in response to the airing of fan favourites Taste The Last Girl, Dance Me In, Red Receiver, Rama Lama and finally Johnny Cash which sees the quartet bathed in flashing red and white strobe lights and ends with guitarist/vocalist Scott Patterson screaming into the front row astride an amplifier. Explosive stuff indeed, and on form like this, Sons and Daughters seem unstoppable.

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Lupen Crook

LFW David Koma Maria del Carmen Smith
David Koma by Maria del Carmen Smith.

Last Monday’s shows opened with a double whammy from David Koma and Holly Fulton, salve for sale which I shall review in separate blogs.

LFW David Koma by Maria del Carmen Smith
David Koma by Maria del Carmen Smith.

We wrote about David Koma as far back as his longer named incarnation when he graduated from his Central Saint Martins BA way back in 2007. His rise in popularity since then has been unstoppable, sales information pills clothing many high profile celebrities including modern day sweetheart Cheryl Cole – in a heavily embellished dress for the X Factor. It was an instant talking point.

His modern take on glamour owes much to an eclectic life, equally split between three countries where David has spent appreciable amounts of time and of which this 24 year old regards himself as equal citizen. He was born and spent his early years in Georgia before moving to St Petersburg to study classical drawing (and which is where he presumably met his Russian wife). He then relocated again to the UK, where he studied at Saint Martins under the expert tutelage of Louise Wilson, who he idolises.

LFW David Koma by Maria del Carmen Smith
David Koma by Maria del Carmen Smith.

For S/S 2011 his collection was inspired by The Mariinsky Theatre of Saint Petersburg, and memories of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. A series of pleated skater dresses in sugary colours moved swiftly through abstract monochrome tailoring, shades of lemony yellow and onto gold party pieces, all accessorised by sky high platforms and big metal knuckledusters courtesy of a collaboration with Mawi.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory

In official parlance this translates pretty much thus: Ballet silhouettes were combined with the more graphic shapes of cubist artist Fernand Leger to explore contradictions of fragility with physical and emotional strength.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
One cleverly cut dress even had me fooled that a model’s waist could be smaller than seems physically possible: I did an instant double take when I looked back at this photo.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory

I loved this collection, so was a bit discombobulated when I discovered that David had used copious python skin in his show. Where does python come from? Were they caught in the wild or farmed? It’s not an industry I know much about, so when I ran into David at his New Gen stand I decided to give him a bit of a grilling.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory

A quick question turned into a half an hour chat during which David was utterly charming the entire time. He’s determinedly upbeat about life and feels blessed to do what he loves the most; his precocious rise surely the result of much hard work as well as obvious talent.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory

So, back to that python skin. It comes from an accredited factory farm – for pythons and crocodiles are farmed much as mink is. I feel quite uncomfortable about this – I am okay with the use of leather for outer clothing and shoes, safe in the knowledge that it is very much the waste product of a meat industry that is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon.

Somerset House SS2011 David Koma
David Koma at Somerset House.

But I don’t buy into the idea that it’s ethically okay to farm animals purely to provide us with luxury goods – and no matter how accredited a farm might be on paper there are always going to be corners cut in reality on the factory floor. David’s take on it is that he is against fast consumerism, and therefore wants to create luxury garments that will be treasured for a long time. For this to be possible he wants to chose the best possible materials available – and if that means stripping a snake then so be it – that they will live on in a beautiful garment is enough for him. And he does not feel that fake fur or leather is a particularly ethical substitute, a fact with which I tend to agree. Another fair point he makes is that he would rather buy from a reputable farm than encourage any kind of black market. But this surely begs the question, how is a black market encouraged – except by the use of python leather in luxury must-have items? If you are able to remove questions of provenance from your mind all that gold python is very very beautiful.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
Knuckledusters from Mawi.

David also admitted that he is considering the use of fur in his next collection, but as we parted he said I had made him think a bit more about this. Whether my words have had any effect remains to be seen but I really appreciate that he didn’t balk under my questioning and seems genuinely to be interested in engaging in the origin of his materials: he’s a very talented and increasingly influential designer and I hope he’ll make educated decisions in the future. In the meantime enjoy our pictures… and forget about any real live snakes in cages if you can.

David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma SS2011 photo by Amelia Gregory
David Koma Gold Python on White By Fiona M Chapelle
David Koma “Gold Python on White” by Fiona M Chapelle.


Illustration by Gemma Randall

Christopher Shannon burst onto the catwalk in true and typical chavvy style to launch menswear day, information pills for me at least, and on Wednesday. His wasn’t the first show; we didn’t get tickets for Lou Dalton (a real shame, as I was really looking forward to that one) or Topman Design (meh). There’s a strange feeling in the air on LFW’s Wednesday – it’s eerily quiet, people are more relaxed and you could actually swing a cat around in the press room, should you desire, for the first time in five days.

Shannon showed alongside JW Anderson in the BFC space, but even with these two heavyweights of menswear design presenting back to back, the venue still wasn’t full. It’s a shame that there isn’t as much interest in menswear, but the editors had all shipped off to Milan, I guess…

Shannon was up first and his show featured some of my favourite guilty pleasure tracks – Blu Cantrell, for instance. Tune! This kind of music sits hand in hand with his unique blend of street-inspired sportswear and edgy, boyish tailoring. The first looks were all crisp white numbers, featuring engineered t-shirts with geometric holes, multi-pocketed shorts and bucket hats, followed by sweaters with mesh details. I like Shannon’s fancy-free approach to menswear – it’s for young, hip individuals who care about style but not about stuffy suits.

Progressing into outerwear, the collection bore sports-luxe jackets, more mesh, and shorter shorts. Shannon’s garish but great rucksacks, a long-term callabo with Eastpak, made an appearance in similar tones as last season – pale greys and baby blues.


Illustration by Gemma Randall

Further in, Shannon’s signature camo-graffiti prints showed up, bringing a welcomed burst of colour in the form of pale blues. I like this print A LOT – it works on padded puffas, shorts and even bucket hats (although I doubt I’ll be seen in the entire get up – the pattern is intense and it needs breaking up a little, I think).

His scally charm shone through on more printed numbers, where sections had been cut away, and the reappearing camo print. Panelled trousers, though, displayed the menswear designer’s continual progression – sand chinos displayed oblong sections in luscious pastel colours made the move from teenage fashion. Vibrant yellows hinted at that ballsy appeal many of us were looking for.

Faces were painted like colloquial masks, apparently inspired by longing for a holiday, but I’m going to ignore this literal influence — as much as it looked fun, it fought to distract from some pretty sophisticated tailoring. All in all, a toned-down collection compared to what we are used to. As the chavvy charmer continues to grow up, so will – I hope – his collections.

All photography by Matt Bramford

Illustrations by Jamie O’Callaghan

I’m a fan of small, symptoms independent festivals and I’d pick one over Glastonbury any day. I’m not sure I can include Southsea Fest in that grouping just yet, viagra approved because, viagra as one organiser said, “we’re not the Great Escape love”. I don’t think they’ll ever be able to rival the festival that’s just 50 miles along the coast, and that lack of ambition is just one of two things that holds the one-day festival back.

The other is the organisation. Mix ups over guestlists, disputes over whether or not I had a plus one and general waiting around meant that I missed the first band I wanted to catch, which was Revere. They played in the stunning Kings Theatre, and would probably have been my highlight of the day, if I’d been able to catch them.

Instead, I headed over to the Fat Fox to check out Real Fur but they were running late – over an hour late – although I was determined to not miss them. At this rate, I’d been at the festival for a couple of hours without hearing a single note of live music. When we finally watched Real Fur, it was definitely worth the wait. They’re a rock band that are so much more exciting live. ‘Pride’ was the standout track for me, but generally the feel of Real Fur is that they’re a jangly, dancy rock band with the odd harmony and, as much as I hate the phrase, a groovy vibe.

I caught Montage Populaire after and I really enjoyed their set. I had no idea they were one of the local bands booked, and spent hours trying to remember where I’ve seen them before. I failed, but I’ll definitely be checking them out in the future. They’re an art-rock band, and it’s easy to see why they’ve drawn comparisons with Los Campesinos and early Blur.

I watched a couple of local bands after that, before stumbling across the Ruskins doing a street gig to promote their set, which I went to. So did the majority of festival-goers judging by the size of the crowd. The lovely London lads managed a couple of songs in the street before some security guards made them stop, but inside Little Johnny Russells they managed half an hour of their ska-infused rock. It was refreshing to hear something that wasn’t indie or acoustic, as the lineup was pretty swamped with it.

The next venue was pretty hideous, but home to two of the most exciting bands on the bill. I got there in time for Let’s Buy Happiness; it’s always exciting to watch bands you know are destined for big things play such a tiny venue. The vocals are completely disarming, the music has this beautiful swaying rhythm and Let’s Buy Happiness produce the most charming pop songs that I’ve ever seen played in Portsmouth. They just got featured by the Guardian, so it won’t be long until the rest of the press begins to gush about them. They are truly spectacular.

Bright Light Bright Light played a set of electro-dance-pop that wasn’t too interesting, so I’ll skip over that bit. After came Islet, who I was crazy excited about catching. They don’t bother with the concept of a stage, preferring to swap instruments and drag them into the crowd. In fact, when one guy in the crowd reached out to touch a guitar, he was handed it. When he wasn’t sure what to do, the guitar was gently led back to the stage. Islet are pretty weird, but they’re unlike any other band I’ve seen.

When I listen I have this internal fight between feeling they’re some kind of Emporer’s New Clothes, art-school weirdness that people sway along to because they’re fashionable, and genuine love for their uniqueness. It’s tiring watching them jump around the stage, share instruments and howl, made all the stranger by the setting. They’re a band everyone should see, even if just for the spectacle of it.

The closing set came from King Charles, back at the Fat Fox. I’ve been listening to his music for a while, so to be able to watch him with a couple of hundred other people was the perfect way to end the day. The harmonies are even more heart-stoppingly beautiful, the guitar riffs that little bit more exciting and the drums that bit more frantic when played live and on a tiny stage. Easily the most captivating performer, King Charles literally didn’t put a foot wrong, performing every track note-perfect. He drew queues outside, the size of which I didn’t notice anywhere else, and showed every other band how it’s done.

If Southsea Fest had a little more ambition, if it could decide whether it’s a festival in Southsea or a festival with bands from Southsea, and if it could book the same quality of bands as this year, it could be popping up on many more radars at the end of next summer. All the elements of a successful festival are there, and hopefully the success of this event will encourage the organisers to step it up for next year.

Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds by Faye West.

As I approach the North London pub where I’ve agreed to meet Lupen Crook, visit I’m surprised to find that he’s already there, sitting quietly at a table outside. He greets me politely and offers to buy me a drink. Not quite what I was expecting from the self-confessed “unmanageable” Crook, but then the 28-year old singer-songwriter and artist is a slightly different proposition these days. Having spent a couple of years out in the cold after an acrimonious split with his record company, Crook has returned with easily his best work to date, entirely self funded and released on his own Beast Reality Records. And whereas he used to stalk the unlovely streets of the Medway Towns in Kent, Crook has now moved to London and developed a muscular sound to match.

Recorded with his band, the Murderbirds, Crook’s eagerly awaited third album, The Pros and Cons of Eating Out, is a vaudevillian trip through the dark recesses of his vision of the “Dysunited Kingdom”. But the melodrama of old has been replaced by real drama, and instead of lyrics about toilet abortions and shaken baby syndrome comes beautifully crafted wordplay, with beguiling references to Enoch Powell and Schrödinger’s Cat. From the Love Cats-esque Lest We Connect through the Russian Cossack stomp of How to Murder Birds to the sub-low synth powered Scissor Kick, the genre-confounding album is the band’s most fully realised and accessible work to date. But in case anyone’s thinking that Lupen Crook has gone all mature on us, one look at the harlot-embarrassing hand painted album cover should reassure fans that the band shows no signs of pandering to the mainstream just yet.

Over the summer you played to big crowds at the Latitude and Wireless festivals and your new album is more accessible than some of your past releases. Do you think the band has the potential to cross over to mass audiences?
There’s been no conscious effort to make our music more acceptable to people at all – in fact we’re celebrating the freedom to do exactly what we want more than ever. But we’re not shutting ourselves off to the possibility of reaching wider audiences. We’re more comfortable in our own skin now and stronger for it, and with that maybe comes a wider appreciation. I feel like people generally are treated like idiots – like they’re not intelligent enough or emotionally deep enough to be able to understand anything further than just really crap music. And I think, well, if you actually give people the chance, there’s a whole wealth of brilliant music that would actually make them feel a hell of a lot better about themselves and that they’d enjoy.

Having released your first two albums on the independent Tap n Tin Records, you’re now setting an example for how bands can function as the industry changes, by being completely self funded and releasing your new album on your own label, Beast Reality.
Back when we were recording our second album Iscariot the Ladder, I’d always had this idea of Beast Reality Records – it’s always the daydream that you can release off your own record label. After our contract ended we recorded this album and thought “Right, how are we going to release this?” We had interest from labels and we considered it, but, as everyone knows, the industry’s fucked at the moment and, no disrespect to any of the labels, when we actually got through the door and started talking with them, we thought, well what are we actually getting from a record company? We’d financed and produced the album ourselves, so all we’d be getting from them would be manufacture and distribution.


Lupen Crook by Faye West.

Do you feel like musicians are, in a sense, starting to get their revenge on the more exploitative elements of the industry?
The music industry’s being returned back to the people who are actually creating the music, and now it’s up to them how they want to do it. One of the good things about the self-release aspect is that it can keep up with the amount of material we want to release. Industry people have this thing of “you can’t release too much”, but the whole thing with Beast Reality will be to get material out as much as possible – I’d like to be looking at two to three EPs and an album a year.

In the early days you were courted by the NME and were in the NME Cool List in 2005, but this always seemed to be at odds with what you were about.
It completely threw me – it made me retreat hugely. For one thing, the song on that CD [First single Lucky 6 was included on a free CD with the NME] opened my music up to so many people. But I was a far more insecure person back then and I didn’t have my gang and my band around me. I’m never sure how much I suffered from all that – I think to a certain extent it was good, but on the other hand it was a bit of a diversion. But I’ve got no regrets, it was just something that happened and was, quite frankly, out of my control.

Your music is often described in the press as alt-folk, and you describe it as “fight folk”. What does the work “folk” mean to you in terms of music?
Folk means people – it’s peasant music. I don’t think folk music is anything to do with “the fox ran over the moon in the pale night sky” and all of that traditional stuff – I don’t really care about tradition. It’s storytelling – but then at the same time I think we’re a punk rock band really. I like fight folk because it’s got that storytelling aspect to it but also it’s sort of aggressive and I think that’s kind of who we are as individuals.

In recent times the Medway Towns have become known as a kind of hotbed of creative talent, and you’ve often been portrayed as being very much rooted in the area, in the same way that Billy Childish is. Why did you recently choose to move to London?
I’d been in Medway for too long and needed to get out. I feel there’s always the potential for something brilliant to happen there but everyone and everything, and this is why I love it, has turned really feral. To say there’s a scene there is bollocks but to say it’s got the potential for loads of great bands is definitely true. It comes in fits and bursts. There are occasions when everyone decides to get their shit together and not sit in their bedsits drinking and smoking, and when they do actually make the effort, it’s great – there’s something really thriving and exciting, but it never maintains itself because there isn’t really the opportunity for it to go anywhere outside of Medway. I moved to London because I’d walked down every alleyway, I’d drunk in every bar and I’d kind of done it all. Medway will trap you – it’s in a valley – but you can really lose yourself in London.

Your music has lots of references to Catholicism and religion – the song Scissor Kick from the new album talks about “a sprained cath-aholic”. In light of the controversy over the Pope’s recent visit to Britain, what does Catholicism mean to you and how does it feed into your music?
I was brought up with it and it’s in me. I’m very much a Catholic but I absolutely detest Catholicism quite frankly. I just think it’s really outdated and so irrelevant to anything. I think you should have faith – but faith in yourself, almost like individualism – you don’t need a God. I don’t reject everything to do with Catholicism, but I don’t see the point in an organised religion. There’s so many people of a certain generation who still sort of feel this guilt for certain things – I’m completely stricken with catholic guilt and it’s terrible.

Your music has always been hard to categorise and it’s sometimes difficult to detect your immediate influences. What bands or artists have had an influence on you musically?
Someone told me there’s a theory that the interests and experiences you have when you’re around eight years old go on to form the core of the person that you become. When I was eight I used to make little recordings, multi-tracking my Dad’s guitar and my Casio keyboard, and I started a band with the kids down the road, and in a weird way I haven’t actually progressed since I was eight years old – I’m doing the same thing, which actually makes me happy. At that age I was listening to AC/DC, Bon Scott era, and my school uniform, with the shorts, was the same as what Angus Young wore on stage. And Bon Scott was singing songs about sex and fighting and everything that my teachers and parents would detest, which is why my band was called Devil’s Disciples – completely like “I’m gonna piss you lot off”. Then when I was about nine my babysitter brought a compilation tape round with Carter USM on and I just fell in love with it. I think they influenced my lyrics quite a lot – Carter USM’s really down-to-earth wordplay with Bon Scott’s love of the three basics – sex, drugs and rock and roll.

You mention you’ve been playing in bands from a very early age. Has this always been what you’ve wanted to do?
It’s not even a case of that I wanted to do it from an early age – it’s what I decided to do. There’s only been one time in my life when I seriously considered giving up music and just leading a normal life. It was after I broke up my last band and I just packed it in and had a job delivering parcels in a van. I still used to bring my guitar with me in the van so I could play it when I was waiting for deliveries or whatever, and then one day my boss saw it and said, “What’s that?” He said “Look, you make your choice now. You can dick about on the guitar or you can be a parcel delivery man” and I just had this moment of clarity and quit. Then on my way home I got a phone call from my girlfriend saying that Tap n Tin Records wanted to sign me and that was that.

You’ve spoken in the past about having schizoaffective disorder, and last year you released The Curse of the Mirror Wicked EP to help publicise the YoungMinds mental health charity. Does this feed into your creativity?
It’s hard to tell. The way I’ve learnt to understand it, in a crude way, is that it’s somewhere between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. I got told by a doctor when I was 19 that my obsession with music was actually making me more ill, and at certain moments in the past I’ve thought maybe they’re right, that it is a weird obsession. It’s kind of like a chicken and egg situation. But generally I think; I’ve made my bed and I’m lying in it. I have the occasional wonky period, but I feel lucky that I’m in a position where it’s kind of easier to live with than it might be for other people – because I don’t do a nine-to-five job and I get to write songs and paint pictures.

You make music, and also artwork, under the name Lupen Crook. Is this a character or is this really you?
I’ve always played around with names and I’ve always needed that. All my friends call me Mosh – that’s what I’ve been called since I was eight years old and I refused to be called anything other than that, even by teachers and my parents. I even called myself Jilted Jack Cann for a few years when I was in my last band, Bonzai Reservoir. Lupen Crook started off as a character idea, and now I kind of am that person. Names are almost nothing and everything, aren’t they? I’ve always liked the idea that you can set aside what you were before and, not invent a new persona, but find other perspectives within yourself to say “I’m not that person anymore, I’m this person now”, and that’s what I did with Lupen Crook.

“Right, home time”, says Crook, and with that, he disappears into the night. As I’m leaving, I’m struck by something he said: “I was a writer before I was a father and I was a writer before I was a husband. If I lost everything in the world, I’d still be a writer, because that’s the most important thing – to communicate, even if it’s just to myself.”

The Pros and Cons of Eating Out is released on October 4th on Beast Reality.

Categories ,AC/DC, ,Beast Reality, ,Billy Childish, ,Bon Scott, ,Bonzai Reservoir, ,Carter USM, ,Casio, ,Catholic, ,Devil’s Disciples, ,Jilted Jack Cann, ,Lucky 6, ,Lupen Crook, ,Medway Towns, ,Murderbirds, ,NME, ,Tap n Tin Records

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Amelia’s Magazine | Video Premiere: Best Girl Athlete presents new single Seven Seconds

Best Girl Athlete-Seven-Seconds-2
We first met 16 year old musical wonder Katie Buchan in this interview by Gemma Dietrich a few months ago. As Best Girl Athlete gets set to release her delicious new single, we are pleased to premiere the accompanying video below… Katie explains more.

The video for Seven Seconds came about through a project with the British Film Institute which put industry professionals together with young people to produce a music video. It was pretty cool to find out that Jim Brown, the producer who worked with me on the video, had previously worked on a James Bond and Superman film as well as making a video for George Michael!

Seven Seconds is probably the most up tempo and poppy song on the album, despite its lyrics. The song can be interpreted in different ways but it’s basically about missing someone and having barriers preventing you being together. The video obviously reflects this with me searching for someone after finding all the photographs. I am actually going through something like that at the moment so the song is especially resonating with me.

The track was actually a good bit longer originally and had to be cut down as it had three very different parts to it which gave it a feel of having three different songs in one. I like that idea but it doesn’t make for a very good single! My dad plays the guitar on the track and he won’t mind me saying that the instrumental outro is loosely based on the guitar part from the Chic song ‘Good Times’. I think he’s quite proud of that actually, haha!

Seven Seconds is out on 27th June via Fit Like Records.

Categories ,Best Girl Athlete, ,British Film Institute, ,Fit Like Records, ,Gemma Dietrich, ,Jim Brown, ,Katie Buchan, ,Seven Seconds, ,video

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Amelia’s Magazine | James Blackshaw – A Live Review

b&b-zolor.zigzag

On a self proclaimed “mission to print the world” Basso & Brooke’s SS10 collection Neo Pop is as enticing as bubble wrap. Popping it, website sales not wrapping yourself in it of course.

b&b-bright.short.drape

The Neo Pop collection was a vision of cascading silk jersey dresses. The collages of hot pink shatters, treatment more about linear cobalt striations, and purple swirls clung to the models’ figures. The designs gave a wide berth to the duo’s loose and girlie romp wear from SS09.

The collections’ imagery was inspired by the post modern 80′s artist Jeff Koons and the oiled up figures of legendary 90′s photographer Herb Ritts.

Similar to Hussein Chalayan’s foam moulded, car crash inspired SS09 collection of bright swirling colours, Basso & Brooke pulled and twirled colours like taffy with the occasional appearance of a black and white zigzag.

b&b-pouf.text

The designers’ fondness for asymmetrical shoulders, occasionally present in fibrous strips returned with bravado alongside their wonderful application of draped silk to a structured bust. Statements that were not made in the tightly wrapped silk georgette were achieved in cinched organza constructed with a gathered bust.

b&b-cinch

An ankle length viscose playsuit deceivingly printed with sequins captivated entirely with it’s shimmery effect. Beading appeared as black and white swirls of baguette beads, surrounded by wavy ripples of Technicolor that stood apart from the digital prints hyper realism.

b&b-onepiece

One outfit stirred everyone within their seats. A blinding vision of golden foil mosaic cropped jacket atop black pleated trousers. It was an electrified ode to Futurism, and possibly Jeff Koons’ gargantuan metallic pink balloon animal.

b&b-gold

Tailors of a different species, Basso & Brooke (for AW09′s 18th century Baroque inspired collection) bend graphics to their will, using them to cut, shape and illustrate the form on seamless sheaths of fabric. For SS 2009 they loosened the reins and let the imagery spill out across the dresses with wild abandon. In some cases graphics trailed off and nude stretch netting filled in the rest of the garments.

b&b-sheer

Hair was as slick and stiff as the abs in a Herb Ritts photo and so very very 90′s. Deep burgundy lips kept the show’s edge well balanced with a dark matte feel.

Cubist heels had all the power of a Boccioni sculpture high stepping down the runway in blue suede, black pony hair, gold leather pumps and ankle boots. One shoe in particular with its white backward facing “rudder” made me wonder if it wasn’t inspired by the yacht Jeff Koons painted for a Cypriot art collector…you MUST see this thing.

b&b-lightening

It’s impossible NOT to remark on the eerie similarity to the rippling high-def prints on Mary Katrantzou’s SS10 catwalk. Saturated hues with a touch of black and white graphics, the fashion newbie also opted to sent out bodycon minis and cinched party dresses with Dale Chihuly like fabric undulations embellishing the front.

b&b-bright.short.drape

However all paths lead to Rome, and Amelia’s Magazine are happy to follow the pied pipers of print, Basso & Brooke.

All photographs by Sabrina Morrison

b&b-zolor.zigzag

On a self proclaimed “mission to print the world” Basso & Brooke’s SS10 collection Neo Pop is as enticing as bubble wrap. Popping it, health not wrapping yourself in it of course.

b&b-bright.short.drape

The Neo Pop collection was a vision of cascading silk jersey dresses. The collages of hot pink shatters, linear cobalt striations, and purple swirls clung to the models’ figures. The designs gave a wide berth to the duo’s loose and girlie romp wear from SS09.

The collections’ imagery was inspired by the post modern 80′s artist Jeff Koons and the oiled up figures of legendary 90′s photographer Herb Ritts.

Similar to Hussein Chalayan’s foam moulded, car crash inspired SS09 collection of bright swirling colours, Basso & Brooke pulled and twirled colours like taffy with the occasional appearance of a black and white zigzag.

b&b-pouf.text

The designers’ fondness for asymmetrical shoulders, occasionally present in fibrous strips returned with bravado alongside their wonderful application of draped silk to a structured bust. Statements that were not made in the tightly wrapped silk georgette were achieved in cinched organza constructed with a gathered bust.

b&b-cinch

An ankle length viscose playsuit deceivingly printed with sequins captivated entirely with it’s shimmery effect. Beading appeared as black and white swirls of baguette beads, surrounded by wavy ripples of Technicolor that stood apart from the digital prints hyper realism.

b&b-onepiece

One outfit stirred everyone within their seats. A blinding vision of golden foil mosaic cropped jacket atop black pleated trousers. It was an electrified ode to Futurism, and possibly Jeff Koons’ gargantuan metallic pink balloon animal.

b&b-gold

Tailors of a different species, Basso & Brooke (for AW09′s 18th century Baroque inspired collection) bend graphics to their will, using them to cut, shape and illustrate the form on seamless sheaths of fabric. For SS 2009 they loosened the reins and let the imagery spill out across the dresses with wild abandon. In some cases graphics trailed off and nude stretch netting filled in the rest of the garments.

b&b-sheer

Hair was as slick and stiff as the abs in a Herb Ritts photo and so very very 90′s. Deep burgundy lips kept the show’s edge well balanced with a dark matte feel.

Cubist heels had all the power of a Boccioni sculpture high stepping down the runway in blue suede, black pony hair, gold leather pumps and ankle boots. One shoe in particular with its white backward facing “rudder” made me wonder if it wasn’t inspired by the yacht Jeff Koons painted for a Cypriot art collector…you MUST see this thing.

b&b-lightening

It’s impossible NOT to remark on the eerie similarity to the rippling high-def prints on Mary Katrantzou’s SS10 catwalk. Saturated hues with a touch of black and white graphics, the fashion newbie also opted to send out bodycon minis and cinched party dresses with Dale Chihuly like fabric undulations embellishing the front.

b&b-bright.short.drape

However all paths lead to Rome, and Amelia’s Magazine are happy to follow the pied pipers of print, Basso & Brooke.

All photographs by Sabrina Morrison

b&b-zolor.zigzag

On a self proclaimed “mission to print the world” Basso & Brooke’s SS10 collection Neo Pop is as enticing as bubble wrap. Popping it, seek not wrapping yourself in it of course.

b&b-bright.short.drape

The Neo Pop collection was a vision of cascading silk jersey dresses. The collages of hot pink shatters, linear cobalt striations, and purple swirls clung to the models’ figures. The designs gave a wide berth to the duo’s loose and girlie romp wear from SS09.

The collections’ imagery was inspired by the post modern 80′s artist Jeff Koons and the oiled up figures of legendary 90′s photographer Herb Ritts.

Similar to Hussein Chalayan’s foam moulded, car crash inspired SS09 collection of bright swirling colours, Basso & Brooke pulled and twirled colours like taffy with the occasional appearance of a black and white zigzag.

b&b-pouf.text

The designers’ fondness for asymmetrical shoulders, occasionally present in fibrous strips returned with bravado alongside their wonderful application of draped silk to a structured bust. Statements that were not made in the tightly wrapped silk georgette were achieved in cinched organza constructed with a gathered bust.

b&b-cinch

An ankle length viscose playsuit deceivingly printed with sequins captivated entirely with it’s shimmery effect. Beading appeared as black and white swirls of baguette beads, surrounded by wavy ripples of Technicolor that stood apart from the digital prints hyper realism.

b&b-onepiece

One outfit stirred everyone within their seats. A blinding vision of golden foil mosaic cropped jacket atop black pleated trousers. It was an electrified ode to Futurism, and possibly Jeff Koons’ gargantuan metallic pink balloon animal.

b&b-gold

Tailors of a different species, Basso & Brooke (for AW09′s 18th century Baroque inspired collection) bend graphics to their will, using them to cut, shape and illustrate the form on seamless sheaths of fabric. For SS 2009 they loosened the reins and let the imagery spill out across the dresses with wild abandon. In some cases graphics trailed off and nude stretch netting filled in the rest of the garments.

b&b-sheer

Hair was as slick and stiff as the abs in a Herb Ritts photo and so very very 90′s. Deep burgundy lips kept the show’s edge well balanced with a dark matte feel.

Cubist heels had all the power of a Boccioni sculpture high stepping down the runway in blue suede, black pony hair, gold leather pumps and ankle boots. One shoe in particular with its white backward facing “rudder” made me wonder if it wasn’t inspired by the yacht Jeff Koons painted for a Cypriot art collector…you MUST see this thing.

b&b-lightening

It’s impossible NOT to remark on the eerie similarity to the rippling high-def prints on Mary Katrantzou’s SS10 catwalk. Saturated hues with a touch of black and white graphics, the fashion newbie also opted to send out bodycon minis and cinched party dresses with Dale Chihuly like fabric undulations embellishing the front.

b&b-bright.short.drape

However all paths lead to Rome, and Amelia’s Magazine are happy to follow the pied pipers of print, Basso & Brooke.

All photographs by Sabrina Morrison

b&b-zolor.zigzag

On a self proclaimed “mission to print the world” Basso & Brooke’s SS10 collection Neo Pop is as enticing as bubble wrap. Popping it, ampoule not wrapping yourself in it of course.

b&b-bright.short.drape

The Neo Pop collection was a vision of cascading silk jersey dresses. The collages of hot pink shatters, remedy linear cobalt striations, and purple swirls clung to the models’ figures. The designs gave a wide berth to the duo’s loose and girlie romp wear from SS09.

The collections’ imagery was inspired by the post modern 80′s artist Jeff Koons and the oiled up figures of legendary 90′s photographer Herb Ritts.

Similar to Hussein Chalayan’s foam moulded, car crash inspired SS09 collection of bright swirling colours, Basso & Brooke pulled and twirled colours like taffy with the occasional appearance of a black and white zigzag.

b&b-pouf.text

The designers’ fondness for asymmetrical shoulders, occasionally present in fibrous strips returned with bravado alongside their wonderful application of draped silk to a structured bust. Statements that were not made in the tightly wrapped silk georgette were achieved in cinched organza constructed with a gathered bust.

b&b-cinch

An ankle length viscose playsuit deceivingly printed with sequins captivated entirely with it’s shimmery effect. Beading appeared as black and white swirls of baguette beads, surrounded by wavy ripples of Technicolor that stood apart from the digital prints hyper realism.

b&b-onepiece

One outfit stirred everyone in their seats. A blinding vision in a golden foil cropped jacket atop black pleated trousers. It was an electrified ode to Futurism, and possibly Jeff Koons’ gargantuan metallic pink balloon animal.

b&b-gold

Tailors of a different species, Basso & Brooke (for AW09′s 18th century Baroque inspired collection) bend graphics to their will, using them to cut, shape and illustrate the form on seamless sheaths of fabric. For SS 2009 they loosened the reins and let the imagery spill out across the dresses with wild abandon. In some cases graphics trailed off and nude stretch netting filled in the rest of the garments.

b&b-sheer

Hair was as slick and stiff as the abs in a Herb Ritts photo and so very very 90′s. Deep burgundy lips kept the show’s edge well balanced with a dark matte feel.

Cubist heels had all the power of a Boccioni sculpture high stepping down the runway in blue suede, black pony hair, gold leather pumps and ankle boots. One shoe in particular with its white backward facing “rudder” made me wonder if it wasn’t inspired by the yacht Jeff Koons painted for a Cypriot art collector…you MUST see this thing.

b&b-lightening

It’s impossible NOT to remark on the eerie similarity to the rippling high-def prints on Mary Katrantzou’s SS10 catwalk. Saturated hues with a touch of black and white graphics, the fashion newbie also opted to send out bodycon minis and cinched party dresses with Dale Chihuly like fabric undulations embellishing the front.

b&b-bright.short.drape

However all paths lead to Rome, and Amelia’s Magazine are happy to follow the pied pipers of print, Basso & Brooke.

All photographs by Sabrina Morrison

Lemonade are Callan Clendenin, recipe Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, information pills three lads from San Francisco who brought their party to rock Brooklyn

You have an eclectic mix of sounds in your music, pilule which individual members have brought which elements to the table?

We just all liked all the elements, and contributed quite equally despite each other’s expertise. We began the group during a period of massive musical exploration, and were listening to so many new things, so a lot of different sounds and ideas ended up in the music. We used to say that Alex brought the Middle Eastern and Latin sounds, Ben brought the techno and house elements, and Callan brought the more conceptual and new age-y stuff but that isn’t really all that true because everyone brought everything really.

What do you feel is the perfect track length?

That is funny, because all of our songs on the record are quite long. When we wrote them we just wrote them for dancing, and we wrote until the groove climaxed or whatever and they came out long. As a band though we tend towards patient listening, long tracks, minutes of intro, like LCD Soundsystem’s E2E4.

Tell me about you in the studio…

We sequence electronics rather crudely on a laptop. It usually starts with one person’s idea, then everyone sorta messes with it. Once it’s done we have added all our own ideas. Then we teach ourselves to play to it, filling in the gaps with live bass and percussion and vocals. We then adjust the track around what we have written. Once it is barely ready we start playing it live on different systems. Then based on the reactions to it, we adjust it accordingly.

Which track of yours was the hardest to finish and why?

If they were hard to finish we probably dumped them. Usually if we like a track it writes itself. We can feel if it’s just flowing out of us and if its not flowing really quickly it doesn’t get far. Big Weekend was probably written in one session.

How and why did you form a band?

We formed the band when we were all in San Francisco and someone asked Alex “hey you are in a band, do you want to play a show?” We had a band name, so he said yes, and we played a show after just a few practices. It was pretty primal and there was a lot of excitement and wild dancing. We all have backgrounds in music so it was inevitable that we would do something somewhat serious with it, but the fact that it was Lemonade was a nice surprise to us all.

Which act did you aspire to be like when you were teenagers? Has that changed?

When we were teenagers we listened to indie rock and hardcore punk and stuff like that. We certainly didn’t think that dance music was cool and actually thought that ravers were totally lame. Nobody that we went to high school with expected us to end up playing club nights and writing epic piano breaks, though given our interests in extreme music and DIY communities, it kinda makes sense that we ended up at such antipodes.

Which current music acts are you particularly liking at the moment?

Brackles, Shortstuff, Joy Orbison, Delorean, Glasser, Girls.

Are there any particular individuals that you are thankful to?

We have had great relationships with the people at our labels- True Panther in the States, and Sunday Best in England. We are thankful for all that they have done for us. We are thankful to Chris Coady, who gave so much of his time to record us, simply because he believed in us. Also all the people who used to bug out and dance at all of our early shows and for those who still do.

What is the last gig you went to that you weren’t playing at?

Alex- random free jazz show at work last night- does that count? (yes)
Ben – I saw Twitch from Optimo DJ recently and that was pretty rad. Apparently I left before he played Human Resource “The Dominator”, which is a bummer.

What are you geeks about?

Ben loves snack foods and diet soda. All of us are record geeks, though some of us don’t really buy vinyl anymore.

Do you have any bizarre tour bus habits?

We make music on our laptops and text a question answering service really inane questions.

Describe your ultimate party…

The ultimate party is a place where everyone is on the same level, and everyone is communing with one another and sharing an experience. Your usual friends are there but everyone there is your friend too.

Which countries have the best party spirit and why?

The best party spirit is certainly not in the states, but that is what is so good about throwing a great party in America is that people really remember it, and it feels so different and new. Spain has the party. Brazil has the party. Latin and tropical countries are way more likely to have a street party with tons of drummers and dancers.

What are your aspirations as a band, short-term and long-term?

In the immediate we just want to stop working any other jobs that keep us from realizing our potential as artists… and to eat well whenever we want. In the long run we all want houses with decks and stuff like that, but I think more importantly we want people to have really meaningful connections to our music, even if it is just remembering a great party where they got really loose.

lemonade band by-andrew-eisberg

Lemonade are Callan Clendenin, ailment Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, viagra sale three gents from San Francisco who brought their party to Brooklyn shores, in search of dance music domination, toeing the line of eclecticism somewhere between oft-improvised Gang Gang Dance and !!!. Entrusted with wizardly producer, Chris Coady, who has previously twiddled knobs for TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the aforementioned !!!, the trio have made an album that’ll spread their rapturous spirit across to this continent, where they’ve already got Rob Da Bank‘s backing. The band speak to Amelia’s Magazine through the powers of electronic mail about studio time, aspirations and good old fashioned partying.

You have an eclectic mix of sounds in your music, which individual members have brought which elements to the table?

We just all liked all the elements and contributed quite equally despite each other’s expertise. We began the group during a period of massive musical exploration, and were listening to so many new things, so a lot of different sounds and ideas ended up in the music. We used to say that Alex brought the Middle Eastern and Latin sounds, Ben brought the techno and house elements, and Callan brought the more conceptual and new age-y stuff but that isn’t really all that true because everyone brought everything really.

What do you feel is the perfect track length?

That is funny, because all of our songs on the record are quite long. When we wrote them we just wrote them for dancing, and we wrote until the groove climaxed or whatever and they came out long. As a band though we tend towards patient listening, long tracks, minutes of intro, like LCD Soundsystem’s E2E4.

lemonade2

Tell me about you in the studio…

We sequence electronics rather crudely on a laptop. It usually starts with one person’s idea, then everyone sorta messes with it. Once it’s done we have added all our ideas. Then we teach ourselves to play to it, filling in the gaps with live bass and percussion and vocals. Once it is barely ready we start playing it live on different systems. Then based on the reactions to it, we adjust it accordingly.

Which track of yours was the hardest to finish and why?

If they were hard to finish we probably dumped them. Usually if we like a track it writes itself. We can feel if it’s just flowing out of us and if its not flowing really quickly it doesn’t get far. Big Weekend was probably written in one session.

How and why did you form a band?

We all have backgrounds in music so it was inevitable that we would do something somewhat serious with it, but the fact that it was Lemonade was a nice surprise to us all. We formed the band when we were all in San Francisco and someone asked Alex “hey you are in a band, do you want to play a show?” We had a band name, so he said yes, and we played a show after just a few practices. It was pretty primal and there was a lot of excitement and wild dancing.

lemonade3

Which act did you aspire to be like when you were teenagers?

When we were teenagers we listened to indie rock and hardcore punk and stuff like that. We certainly didn’t think that dance music was cool and actually thought that ravers were totally lame. Nobody that we went to high school with expected us to end up playing club nights and writing epic piano breaks, though given our interests in extreme music and DIY communities, it kinda makes sense that we ended up at such antipodes.

Which current music acts are you particularly liking at the moment?

Brackles, Shortstuff, Joy Orbison, Delorean, Glasser, Girls.

Are there any particular individuals that you are thankful to?

We have had great relationships with the people at our labels – True Panther in the States and Sunday Best in England. We are thankful for all that they have done for us. We are thankful to Chris Coady, who gave so much of his time to record us simply because he believed in us. Also all the people who used to bug out and dance at all of our early shows and for those who still do.

What is the last gig you went to that you weren’t playing at?

Alex: random free jazz show at work last night- does that count? (yes)
Ben: I saw Twitch from Optimo DJ recently and that was pretty rad. Apparently I left before he played Human Resource’s “The Dominator”, which is a bummer.

What are you geeks about?

Ben loves snack foods and diet soda. All of us are record geeks, though some of us don’t really buy vinyl anymore.

Do you have any bizarre tour bus habits?

We make music on our laptops and text really inane questions to a question answering service.

Lemonade

Describe your ultimate party…

The ultimate party is a place where everyone is on the same level, and everyone is communing with one another and sharing an experience. Your usual friends are there but everyone there is your friend too.

Which countries have the best party spirit and why?

Spain has the party. Brazil has the party. Latin and tropical countries are way more likely to have a street party with tons of drummers and dancers. The best party spirit is certainly not in the states, but that is what is so good about throwing a great party in America is that people really remember it, and it feels so different and new.

What are your aspirations as a band, short-term and long-term?

In the immediate we just want to stop working any other jobs that keep us from realizing our potential as artists… and to eat well whenever we want. In the long run we all want houses with decks and stuff like that, but I think more importantly we want people to have really meaningful connections to our music, even if it is just remembering a great party where they got really loose.

Lemonade’s self titled debut album is out now.

lemonade band by-andrew-eisberg

Lemonade are Callan Clendenin, help Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, medicine three gents from San Francisco who brought their party to Brooklyn shores, in search of dance music domination, toeing the line of eclecticism somewhere between oft-improvised Gang Gang Dance and !!!. Entrusted with wizardly producer, Chris Coady, who has previously twiddled knobs for TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the aforementioned !!!, the trio have made an album that’ll spread their rapturous spirit across to this continent, where they’ve already got Rob Da Bank‘s backing. The band speak to Amelia’s Magazine through the powers of electronic mail about studio time, aspirations and good old fashioned partying.

You have an eclectic mix of sounds in your music, which individual members have brought which elements to the table?

We just all liked all the elements and contributed quite equally despite each other’s expertise. We began the group during a period of massive musical exploration, and were listening to so many new things, so a lot of different sounds and ideas ended up in the music. We used to say that Alex brought the Middle Eastern and Latin sounds, Ben brought the techno and house elements, and Callan brought the more conceptual and new age-y stuff but that isn’t really all that true because everyone brought everything really.

What do you feel is the perfect track length?

That is funny, because all of our songs on the record are quite long. When we wrote them we just wrote them for dancing, and we wrote until the groove climaxed or whatever and they came out long. As a band though we tend towards patient listening, long tracks, minutes of intro, like LCD Soundsystem’s E2E4.

lemonade2

Tell me about you in the studio…

We sequence electronics rather crudely on a laptop. It usually starts with one person’s idea, then everyone sorta messes with it. Once it’s done we have added all our ideas. Then we teach ourselves to play to it, filling in the gaps with live bass and percussion and vocals. Once it is barely ready we start playing it live on different systems. Then based on the reactions to it, we adjust it accordingly.

Which track of yours was the hardest to finish and why?

If they were hard to finish we probably dumped them. Usually if we like a track it writes itself. We can feel if it’s just flowing out of us and if its not flowing really quickly it doesn’t get far. Big Weekend was probably written in one session.

How and why did you form a band?

We all have backgrounds in music so it was inevitable that we would do something somewhat serious with it, but the fact that it was Lemonade was a nice surprise to us all. We formed the band when we were all in San Francisco and someone asked Alex “hey you are in a band, do you want to play a show?” We had a band name, so he said yes, and we played a show after just a few practices. It was pretty primal and there was a lot of excitement and wild dancing.

lemonade3

Which act did you aspire to be like when you were teenagers?

When we were teenagers we listened to indie rock and hardcore punk and stuff like that. We certainly didn’t think that dance music was cool and actually thought that ravers were totally lame. Nobody that we went to high school with expected us to end up playing club nights and writing epic piano breaks, though given our interests in extreme music and DIY communities, it kinda makes sense that we ended up at such antipodes.

Which current music acts are you particularly liking at the moment?

Brackles, Shortstuff, Joy Orbison, Delorean, Glasser, Girls.

Are there any particular individuals that you are thankful to?

We have had great relationships with the people at our labels – True Panther in the States and Sunday Best in England. We are thankful for all that they have done for us. We are thankful to Chris Coady, who gave so much of his time to record us simply because he believed in us. Also all the people who used to bug out and dance at all of our early shows and for those who still do.

What is the last gig you went to that you weren’t playing at?

Alex: random free jazz show at work last night- does that count? (yes)
Ben: I saw Twitch from Optimo DJ recently and that was pretty rad. Apparently I left before he played Human Resource’s “The Dominator”, which is a bummer.

What are you geeks about?

Ben loves snack foods and diet soda. All of us are record geeks, though some of us don’t really buy vinyl anymore.

Do you have any bizarre tour bus habits?

We make music on our laptops and text really inane questions to a question answering service.

Lemonade

Describe your ultimate party…

The ultimate party is a place where everyone is on the same level, and everyone is communing with one another and sharing an experience. Your usual friends are there but everyone there is your friend too.

Which countries have the best party spirit and why?

Spain has the party. Brazil has the party. Latin and tropical countries are way more likely to have a street party with tons of drummers and dancers. The best party spirit is certainly not in the states, but that is what is so good about throwing a great party in America is that people really remember it, and it feels so different and new.

What are your aspirations as a band, short-term and long-term?

In the immediate we just want to stop working any other jobs that keep us from realizing our potential as artists… and to eat well whenever we want. In the long run we all want houses with decks and stuff like that, but I think more importantly we want people to have really meaningful connections to our music, even if it is just remembering a great party where they got really loose.

Lemonade’s self titled debut album is out now.

lemonade band by-andrew-eisberg

Lemonade are Callan Clendenin, cure Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, three gents from San Francisco who brought their party to Brooklyn shores, in search of dance music domination, toeing the line of eclecticism somewhere between oft-improvised Gang Gang Dance and !!!. Entrusted with wizardly producer, Chris Coady, who has previously twiddled knobs for TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the aforementioned !!!, the trio have made an album that’ll spread their rapturous spirit across to this continent, where they’ve already got Rob Da Bank‘s backing. The band speak to Amelia’s Magazine through the powers of electronic mail about studio time, aspirations and good old fashioned partying.

You have an eclectic mix of sounds in your music, which individual members have brought which elements to the table?

We just all liked all the elements and contributed quite equally despite each other’s expertise. We began the group during a period of massive musical exploration, and were listening to so many new things, so a lot of different sounds and ideas ended up in the music. We used to say that Alex brought the Middle Eastern and Latin sounds, Ben brought the techno and house elements, and Callan brought the more conceptual and new age-y stuff but that isn’t really all that true because everyone brought everything really.

What do you feel is the perfect track length?

That is funny, because all of our songs on the record are quite long. When we wrote them we just wrote them for dancing, and we wrote until the groove climaxed or whatever and they came out long. As a band though we tend towards patient listening, long tracks, minutes of intro, like LCD Soundsystem’s E2E4.

lemonade2

Tell me about you in the studio…

We sequence electronics rather crudely on a laptop. It usually starts with one person’s idea, then everyone sorta messes with it. Once it’s done we have added all our ideas. Then we teach ourselves to play to it, filling in the gaps with live bass and percussion and vocals. Once it is barely ready we start playing it live on different systems. Then based on the reactions to it, we adjust it accordingly.

Which track of yours was the hardest to finish and why?

If they were hard to finish we probably dumped them. Usually if we like a track it writes itself. We can feel if it’s just flowing out of us and if its not flowing really quickly it doesn’t get far. Big Weekend was probably written in one session.

How and why did you form a band?

We all have backgrounds in music so it was inevitable that we would do something somewhat serious with it, but the fact that it was Lemonade was a nice surprise to us all. We formed the band when we were all in San Francisco and someone asked Alex “hey you are in a band, do you want to play a show?” We had a band name, so he said yes, and we played a show after just a few practices. It was pretty primal and there was a lot of excitement and wild dancing.

lemonade3

Which act did you aspire to be like when you were teenagers?

When we were teenagers we listened to indie rock and hardcore punk and stuff like that. We certainly didn’t think that dance music was cool and actually thought that ravers were totally lame. Nobody that we went to high school with expected us to end up playing club nights and writing epic piano breaks, though given our interests in extreme music and DIY communities, it kinda makes sense that we ended up at such antipodes.

Which current music acts are you particularly liking at the moment?

Brackles, Shortstuff, Joy Orbison, Delorean, Glasser, Girls.

Are there any particular individuals that you are thankful to?

We have had great relationships with the people at our labels – True Panther in the States and Sunday Best in England. We are thankful for all that they have done for us. We are thankful to Chris Coady, who gave so much of his time to record us simply because he believed in us. Also all the people who used to bug out and dance at all of our early shows and for those who still do.

What is the last gig you went to that you weren’t playing at?

Alex: random free jazz show at work last night- does that count? (yes)
Ben: I saw Twitch from Optimo DJ recently and that was pretty rad. Apparently I left before he played Human Resource’s “The Dominator”, which is a bummer.

What are you geeks about?

Ben loves snack foods and diet soda. All of us are record geeks, though some of us don’t really buy vinyl anymore.

Do you have any bizarre tour bus habits?

We make music on our laptops and text really inane questions to a question answering service.

Lemonade

Describe your ultimate party…

The ultimate party is a place where everyone is on the same level, and everyone is communing with one another and sharing an experience. Your usual friends are there but everyone there is your friend too.

Which countries have the best party spirit and why?

Spain has the party. Brazil has the party. Latin and tropical countries are way more likely to have a street party with tons of drummers and dancers. The best party spirit is certainly not in the states, but that is what is so good about throwing a great party in America is that people really remember it, and it feels so different and new.

What are your aspirations as a band, short-term and long-term?

In the immediate we just want to stop working any other jobs that keep us from realizing our potential as artists… and to eat well whenever we want. In the long run we all want houses with decks and stuff like that, but I think more importantly we want people to have really meaningful connections to our music, even if it is just remembering a great party where they got really loose.

Lemonade’s self titled debut album is out now.

jamesblackshaw3

London-based 12-string guitarist, medicine James Blackshaw, viagra dosage is known for his compositions possessing of a subtle complexity beyond his twenty something years. The Hanbury Ballroom inspires a hushed reverence as you enter and provides the perfect setting to showcase Blackshaw‘s talents. The Ballroom may be not as grand as it sounds but there’s certainly an aura of opulence that prevails. Fitting then for tonight’s solemnization of sound, although this transpires to be far from any freak-folk shindig you might expect. Both Blackshaw and Mat Sweet of Boduf Songs are Englishmen recording for revered American labels who both make music often tagged ‘folk’ but there’s a world of difference between them and it made for a compelling performance.

jamesblackshaw

Boduf Songs take the stage as the Ballroom begins to fill out nicely. The first time I heard Mat Sweet’s music was a few years ago on his debut for Kranky Records. A largely acoustic affair, interspersed with field recordings, which I expected the same of tonight. Instead, Sweet wields a Fender Jaguar with quietly vicious intent. The set is tense and seethes with the same bottle-up-and-explode bitterness as Elliott Smith. Sweet’s hushed, melodic vocal inflection belies the inherent darkness of his music, punctuated by sparse, minimalist percussion. His ostensibly fragile sound design is disconcerting and eerie like the ominous, quiet rumble of summer thunder. By the time he’s finished, I’m exhausted, in a good way.

JamesBlackshaw_sitting1

James Blackshaw is well on his way to attaining cult status as evidenced by the packed audience and move to Young Gods Records. My only qualm with his recent album, The Glass Bead Game, is that it often drifts into coffee-table-lit, augmented as it is by tremulous vocals, strings and cascading pianos. Tonight, Blackshaw plays unaccompanied and loose. In this context, his new material is imbued with passion and urgency. Cross becomes something akin to a wordless incantation as Blackshaw shreds his 12-string with dexterous and delirious abandon. As Bled plays out in its entire slo-fi splendour, it aches and yearns on ascent to the ballroom’s painted upper limits. Indeed, it’s in this sweaty, spontaneous setting where Blackshaw works best. Here’s hoping he suffuses the subsequent solo works with this kind of relentlessness. After all, it’s obvious this talented artist will be gifting the world plenty more albums.

Categories ,boduf songs, ,brighton, ,elliott smith, ,gig, ,james blackshaw, ,mat sweet

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Amelia’s Magazine | TV On The Radio – Concrete And Glass

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Hello, treat treat Katie!! featured in our latest issue, prescription as part of the New Brasil section. It’s the vision of Hisato, who Amelia described as ‘a small portly man with the slightly pallid demeanour of someone who lives for the night”. He’s a very well respected DJ, and I think this says a lot about the key idea behind his latest EP, ‘Girls’.

Opener ‘Don’t Panic (That’s The Way It Is)’ is drenched in the atmosphere of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ – famously the highest selling 7″ of all time, purely because of it’s popularity with DJs. Vocals come in the form of some super cool sounding girl, who I imagine to look exactly like the type you see standing in front of DJ booths in the hope of grabbing attention. It’s a song that I guess comes from Hisato’s time spent hanging around the super cool, Djing fashion shows and stuff like that. Considering the band is named in honour of Kate Moss herself, this is perhaps something to be expected.

My favourite track is ‘Female Moustache’. It has the feel of a soundtrack from a high octane action movie, building and plateauing, only to return to its peak moments of drama once again. You can imagine some bald guy with stubble diving between trains to it, or something like that anyway.

It finishes with ‘Today’s Tomorrow’s Breath’, something of a respite compared to the rest of the album. The vocals sound almost scary, sung by Hisato himself in what sounds like a cave.

The EP comes across like a party in your ears. It has all the aspects of really fun party music that has put Brazil on the musical map in recent years.

Having interviewed the girls who will be featuring in issue 10 of Amelia’s mag (keep an eye out for them), click I was keen to make a pit stop to their preview of their exhibition, look ‘in bed with the girls’.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the bubblegum pink Beverly Knowles Gallery in Notting hill is the burst of colour within all the photos. Cramming 12 years worth of staged portrait photography, capsule self portraiture and performance pieces in one smallish room gives their work an intensity. A few faves are the performance piece where a naked lady is adorned with various sweet treats such as: swiss rolls, tarts, custard creams. The performance piece reminded me of the oldsy english countryside picnics that now looks like a novel practice. With a priest sat next to her this set to unnerve the viewer.

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Also the smurfette pieces were cute and kitsch.

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Most of their work is playful, set with lavish sets, however I also like some of their black and white shots particularly Dungeness which are actually tiny.

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With so many different sets designs and images, these reflect two varied, bubbly personalities. They reference pop culture, the idea of Englishness, gender roles, nostalgia and desire in a fun yet also subtly dark way. So there really is something for everyone.

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Perhaps you’d like a pair of wizard boots? A caterpillar? some skeleton string? or a monster forest? Inventory of Parlour, ed an Australian designed jewellery label, more about offers treats for the imagination! A range of delectable pieces with intricate and distinctive designs that originate from another realm.

Katia, who studied textile design at RMIT University in Melbourne, was introduced to the wonderful world of jewellery when she spent some time living in London interning with the infamously unique Tatty Devine. The influence is clear – treating jewelry as a piece of art, creating something personal to illustrate the wearer. Katia’s own inspirations draw from the Parlour rooms of the 1800′s and the curious happenings within them. The pieces themselves are made mostly out of collages using text and vintage imagery from periodicals, catalogues and encyclopedias.

“A world of alakazams and abracadabras.. demented delights and a menagerie of oddities..”

Intrigued? Want to see more? Unlock the cabinet of goodies on the their blog and get a new lace for that neck!

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inventory%20of%20parlour_catapiller.jpg

inventory%20of%20parlour_earings.jpg

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Photo: Dan Spinney

Despite my obsession with These New Puritans (we’ve all read the inspiring reviews from music boffs across the globe so its not necessary for me to rationalise this passion), medical neither time nor cash had granted me with a chance to witness them live, prescription until their set at the Amersham Arms. Perhaps it was dangerous levels of excitement which left me doubtful (or the fact that Derv from Amelia’s team wouldn’t stop chatting in my ear), but I couldn’t help but feel that I was left half empty.

There’s something about the intensity of delivery by lead vocalist Jack Barnett which just didn’t hit me as hard as my 5 year old Woolworth’s headphones. Its not that I’m not accusing them of being poor live performers, ‘Colours’, ‘Infinity ytinifnl’ and ‘Swords of truth’ resembled the album versions to a T, but all that intellectual equation and science stuff just seemed that little bit more magical without the hustle and bustle of a pub. Naturally These New Puritans took the opportunity to drop a few new tracks, which if this occasion is anything to go by, prove to be bordering on bland or atmospheric depending on your perspective or the volume of your glass.

Micachu and The Shape’s set wasn’t as enthralling as it should have been, mainly due to the venues poor sound. Teamed with a crowd that seemed preoccupied with having a chin wag, their music almost seemed to take a back seat. When I’ve seen them before, crowds are usually silenced by their magnificent performances, but I think most people were too preoccupied with drinking at that stage of the night. ‘Golden Phone’ did seem to divert people’s attention, and it’s definately still her standout track. She’s an artist destined for much bigger events this time next year.

Next we headed over to The Tavern to finish our night with sets from Loefah and Benga, and were subjected to some very garage heavy selections, which delighted some, but for me it just wasn’t too exciting. Soon after they had taken to the decks though, the speakers blew. It was announced that the line-up would be moved to the nearby Goldsmith’s Student Union Bar.

Benga%20Louis%20Hartnoll.jpg
Photo: Louis Hartnoll

We followed the crowds round the corner to where there was already a sizeable queue forming. I hate situations like this, when a mass of people is trying to get into a venue and the venue’s security sees it as an excuse to exercise their power by just being weird and annoying. Eventually they decided everybody had waited long enough an allowed us in. The choice of venue was strange, and didn’t really suit the music. Nevertheless, everyone was there to have a good time, and it’s difficult not to enjoy yourself in that type of environment.
So this morning I received an email shouting about NOISE, erectile an online arts showcase funded by the Arts Council & NWDA. The idea is to showcase art, ask music and fashion all conjured up by creative beings under 25. The curators include acclaimed industry professionals such as Badly Drawn Boy for music and Norman Rosenthal for fine arts. This month NOISE festival will cherry pick the crème de la crème for your viewing pleasure. Here’s a few things I spotted:

The talented miss amy brown, prescription who designed the cover of amelia’s mag issue 8 has her portfolio on here. She says that an average day consists of replying to e-mails, tea drinking, drawing, and wiping paint off my kitten Millie-Rad. She also comments that she has always loved drawing and just hope that people get as much enjoyment from looking at [her] work as [she]does making it! Have a peek at her work.

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patrick gildersleeves, aka wowow is inspired by the people of the world, patterns, paper, animals and plants. He likes to work with a pencil, felt tips and paint. His biggest influences are Inuit art, Ancient South American culture and drawings from the Far East.

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heres a cool image of promo shots for the electric circus band by ‘paul’
promo%20shots%20for%20the%20electric%20circus%20band%20by%20paul.jpg

6 by rae:
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clockface by chimere:
clockface%20by%20chimere.jpg

brunch from brunch series by shauba:
brunch%20from%20brunch%20series%20by%20shauba.jpeg

So if you want to inject a little brightness to your day or are seeking some inspiration go and check it out.

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It’s been a busy few days – I’ve been up early again with the Suffragettes to try and persuade city commuters that they should join the Climate Rush on Monday.

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getting ready in the station

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Tamsin sandwiched by commuters

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I’ve learnt that the amount of technical devices attached to your body is a direct indicator of whether you are likely to engage with a piece of paper coming your way. Commuters plugged into ipods are in their own little world and noone is going to disrupt that other place… and if you also have a mobile in your other hand you are doubly likely to ignore anyone else. Interesting, this site how we disassociate from the real world around us. Also a trend I have noticed that disheartens me – people with bikes are also more likely to ignore people who are flyering. Very saddening that – all the more I think because as a fellow bike rider I always expect people who ride to be on our side.

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flyering aplenty

That said, remedy many flyers were given out and since then the Suffragettes have been out every day all over town to try and raise awareness. I will be joining them on Friday afternoon in Soho (5.30pm in Soho Square if you fancy coming along) The more the merrier – we’re quite an arresting sight amongst all that grey.
On Saturday we’re going to be making more sashes at my house – if you fancy joining in email us. I am in east London and we plan to go out on the town afterwards dressed as Suffragettes, so come meet us and join in the fun!

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shaking a fist for the cameras

Then yesterday I hotfooted it over to Newham town hall in East London (well, more like District line slowfooted it. How slow is that tube line?!) to meet up with the Flashmob, there to oppose plans to expand City Airport.

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I love this golden light…

The council was meeting to make the final decision on whether expansion goes ahead and local group Fight the Flights directed a flashmob of about 30 people in a chant for the ITV cameras. Everyone was wearing distinctive STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION t-shirts. It was all over very quickly and I then had to slowfoot it back into town to do my jewelery class for the evening.

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flashmobbers still need lipstick

Unfortunately I have since found out that the council has given the go ahead to the expansion, but the evening was not without its drama. I’ve just spoken with Leo from Plane Stupid, who was one of some 25 people to present objections during the meeting, and it sounds like the locals put up a great fight. There were about 75 objectors in the audience who were “kicking off left, right and centre,” so that by the time the meeting drew to a close some hours later a lot of people had been removed for causing a ruckus. Leo was eventually removed for throwing paper airplanes.

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looks like Ken, of Barbie and Ken fame. is actually a highly groomed ITV reporter.

Apparently the local group will be taking the council to court on the grounds that there was no proper consultation – even though up to 13,000 people will be affected by increased noise pollution there have been no new measurements of noise since the year 2000, and only 10,000 letters have been sent out as part of a mandatory consultation.

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A local teacher explained that his students had been processing field data which showed that the noise levels are frequently reaching 85-95 decibels, and not the declared 57 decibels, over which the government considers noise to be a nuisance. Funny then, that the airport owners have forgotten to take new measurements in the past 8 years.
Leo described the yellow tie wearing owner as being totally complacent, safe in the knowledge that his plans would get the go ahead. In fact he was looking so smug that the locals even had a pop at him about it. I wasn’t there, but I can picture him in my mind’s eye. I bet he would have wound me up too.
The airport expansion may be mooted to go ahead, but don’t expect it to happen without a fight…

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sporting an E.On F.Off badge in a hairband. Lovin the look
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We think we may just have sparked a bit of a trend with the USB we gave away free with our last issue. Mr. Scruff has made a pretty tasty looking; tuna shaped stick that has his new album ‘Ninja Tuna’ on it – and it’s the first thing we’ve seen similar to what we did in the UK.

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Now you may think that such fancy packaging may be compensating for something, look but I assure you that the album is equally as good. It has all the jazzy hip hop stylings you expect from Mr. Scruff, but with a few forward thinking surprises thrown in for good measure.

The high point of the album for me has to be Roots Manuva’s cameo on ‘Nice Up The Function’. It’s a far cry from their previous collaboration ‘Jus Jus’ on Scruff’s second album ‘Keep It Unreal’ – something of a standard Roots Manuva tune (if that’s possible).

Scruff has a philosophy behind his music, in which ‘drinking tea holds mythological status and where it’s always music that gets you high’ – which lead me to believe that perhaps he’s just a little bit too much free time lately to be thinking about these things. It did mean however that a tin of organic tea bags was also sent to us. I’ve now listened to the album when drinking tea, and when I have not been drinking tea. My verdict is that the tea makes no difference to your listening pleasure, but is quite nice.

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Every year at two different creative cities in Europe, buy more about Illustrative International Art Forum displays the best in graphics and illustrative arts. This year is happening at Zurich and displays over 400 works from more than 60 artists. This two week long festival aims to exchange ideas, treatment promote emerging new talent as well as rediscovering current trends. With conferences, film programs, book art, illustration and concept art added to the mix, the festival promises to titillate the creative senses. At the end of the festival a Young Illustrators award will be presented to the best young talent. Why not have a peek at the talented bunch’s work. You might even pick up some inspiration. Here’s a few bits of art that tickled my fancy:

heiko windisch:
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dave prosser:
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olaf hajek:
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keith jones:
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andrew hem:
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tara gschwend:
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I walked along to this gig not expecting anything particularly unusual, viagra little was I to know that I would walk away from it wondering whether it may have actually been the best thing I had seen all year.

It was the last night of the tour, which always kind of suggests that you’re in for something special. Jape take to the stage and announce that they’re most excited about the fact that they’ll soon be able to go home and wash their clothes. Their set however suggests they’re a bit more excited than they let on. The singer is literally leaping as he thrashes his drum machine.

As a support band they more than fit the bill. They’re a band not a lot of the people in the room would have known of before the gig, but they manage to get a pretty good reaction. I can’t help but think that their songs don’t seem to have quite enough body to them though. They make Tom Vek styled electronica that could be brought to life by laying off with the use of backing tracks and adding a couple of band members. In my opinion you just can’t beat doing things live. Obviously some bands are great using purely electronics and sampler, but I think Jape’s style of music just doesn’t quite suit it.

Friendly Fires have been a real favourite of mine for quite some time. They have the same chic, funk sound LCD Soundsystem mastered, but with a little more swagger and panache. Lead singer Ed Macfarlane demonstrates some of this panache by strutting and wriggling around the stage like a man possessed.

They open with ‘Photobooth’; one of their songs that I think is slightly overlooked. Out of all their songs I think it has to be the best demonstation of their songwriting skills. But then it was the song that first got me interested in them. So perhaps I’m a little biased.

I expected the crowd to be standing through their album tracks, waiting for them to play the hits. I was sorely mistaken though. Not that they have any bad album tracks, I just thought they would be hard to make enjoyable live. I was sorely, sorely mistaken. ‘White Diamonds’ and ‘Strobe’ were perhaps some of the highlights from their set. The band took them to whole new levels, and the light shows that went along with it more nothing short of dazzling.

Understandably ‘Paris’ and ‘On Board’ seem to kick the crowd into a frenzy, and it’s at this point that they let off confetti launchers. Usually I’d say this was pretty gimmicky, but I’ll let it pass, it was the last night of their tour.

They finish their set with recent single ‘Jump In The Pool’, and about half way through some Brazilian drummers and carnival dancers appear on stage. From then on the song just builds and builds until everyone in the crowd’s faces are awestruck. Ending your tour with a miniature carnival works, and as the stampeed of everybody trying to leave the building began, the only words on people’s lips were “Wow!”

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The Climate Rush is tomorrow, for sale Monday 13th October, order and the modern day Suffragettes have been busy preparing.

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getting ready in Soho Square

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Alice in Old Compton Street

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discussing tactics outside Les Mis

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We flyered the Friday night drinkers in Soho Square, buy information pills culminating in some chalking outside the Private Eye offices and the offer of a free haircut for Alice from The Soho Salon. I managed to wangle myself a complimentary up-do for my appearance as emcee at the Climate Rush, and a quick look at their website also tells me that they specialise in ‘boyzillians’ – that’s male waxing to you and me! Boyzillions are described as a “must for every discerning man” – so now you know! (or maybe not… what are they talking about?) Anyway, I anticipate a suitably Edwardian pin-tucked hairstyle to go with my not very suitable cobbled together probably a bit too plunging neckline and ruffled petticoat Suffragette get-up.

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now who would like a free haircut?!

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what kind of haircut would madam require?!

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foxy Alice modelling her new do from the Soho Salon (done in remarkably quick time)

On Saturday I frantically tidied up my house in anticipation of a Suffragette beer-swilling bake-off.

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Anna mixing up vegan glories

It was a roaring success – we knocked out dozens of colourful fairy cakes, coconut yoghurt cake and vegan banana bread. Expect these lovingly baked delights to be handed out at the rally with a nice cup of tea. With ten suffragettes in the house we also made light work of pinning all the sashes, which are going to look absolutely magical.

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messy red food colouring…

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Tamsin and I double icing

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ooh, look at them colours!

Aside from the odd paranoia dream where hardly anyone turns up to the Climate Rush – and those who do have forgotten to wear period dress – I’m now really looking forward to tomorrow.

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pinning sashes

I hope it will be the start of a new era of direct action, so please do come along to Parliament Square from 5.30pm and remember, Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History

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Monday 13th:
Tate Modern, Cildo Meireles‘: Until Jan 09
Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Cildo Meireles creates mysterious and atmostpheric installations which invite the audience. A new version of Fontes that includes 6,000 carpenter’s rulers hanging from the ceiling, a thousand clocks and thousands of vinyl numbers is included.

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Tuesday 14th:
YFBS gallery, Pivot Points: Turkey England Turkey, New Photography by Helen Sheehan: 15th-18th October 08
207 Whitecross St, London, EC1 8QP: 15-18 October, 930-5pm
In ‘Pivot Points’ Sheehan showacases narrative photomontage work which focuses on two individuals James and Zehra. James comes from a well-off background yet his value systems ensure he is involved in campaigning on oil and social justice. Sehra’s family have been persecuted for political reasons in Turkey. Sheehan explores the intensely delicate territory of integration, loyalty, longing, alienations and belonging across two landscapes that shape her subject’s realities.

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Wednesday 15th:
Bournemouth, ‘Postcards’: ‘Ishihara’: Emily Draper, Charlie Gates, Rebecca Johnson etc: All day-12pm
An all day exhibition of instillations, video, interactive and
wall-based artwork, accompanied with live elctronica and djs in the evening.
Ishihara is here to feed your eyes, ears and dancing feet with the talent of
current students and recent graduates, as well as music from Bournemouth’s
best kept secrets. Ishihara doesn’t end when the bar closes, with
afterparties and opportunities for all of you to get involved and exhibit in
future Ishihara shows.

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The old brewery, ‘NEW SENSATIONS’:
The old Truman brewery, T2 Space, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL: 15th-19th October:11am-6pm
Taking part in the Frieze Week in October are 20 shortlisted artists as well as four finalists chosen by judges in this exhibition showcasing new exciting talent. The four finalists of the competition will be given £1000 bursury to make new work. There will be 2 winners of the new sensations 08 competition- one will be decided by the public and one by the panel of judges. So if you want to check out the latest and newest ‘sensation’ then stroll along for this free show.

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Thursday 16th:
Regents Park, ‘FRIEZE ART FAIR’: 16th-19th Octobe
Frieze Art Fair focuses on contemporary living artists with a line up that is packed with talks, artists’ commissions and film projects, many of which are intereactive or performative and encourage visitors to engage with art and artists directly. 11 commisions curated by Neville Wakefield, a New York based curator, critic and editor. With talks including ‘passages of light’ by yoko ono, and ‘the aesthetic responsibility’ by Boris Groys, this is one to write in your diary. Tickets from £21.75

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Brown mountain Festival of Performing Arts at Slade Research Centre, ‘Brown Mountain Festival’: the dolly mixtures, goodipal, grand theft impro, emma hart and others: 16th-18th October
Slade Research Centre, Woburn Square, London WC1
Why not indulge in your drama queen tendencies for a bit of performance art action. With collaborations between artists, producers the range of pieces promises satire, wit and optical ingenuity.

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Friday 17th:
The Hayward, Robin Rhode: Until 7th December
Southbank Centre, London SE1 8EZ
South African artist Robin Rhode presents inventive performances, photographs and drawings. Charcoal drawings and witty performances as well asanimations makes him a jack of all trades. Animations include two-dimensional representations of everyday objects; he draws a candle and tries to blow it out. His work comments on urban poverty, the politics of leisure and the commodification of youth culture.

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Saturday 18th:
V&A,’Cold War Modern’: Until Jan 11
Cromwell Rd, London, SW7 2RL
The Cold War is the cite for inspiration for an exhibition which shows over 300 objects that reflect both the fears of nuclear devestation and the fantasies of space flight (an Apollo Mision suit). All this characterises an anxious era, from brutalist architecture of the Eastern bloc to the futuristic designs of Dierter Rams.

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Tuesday 14th October

The Aliens and Sisters Of Transistors – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, cialis 40mg London
Beggars – 100 Club, London
Shred Yr Face – No Age, Los Campesinos and Times New Viking – The Portland Arms, Cambridge
The Chap, Barringtone, Nattcu – White Heat at Madame Jo Jo’s, London
José Gonzalez, Horse Feathers and Wildbirds and Peacedrums – ULU, London
Cut Off Your Hands, Divisions Of Laura Lee, Sounds Like Violence and When Gravity Falls – Monto Water Rats, London
The Streets – 53 Degrees, Preston
Maps and Atlases and This Town Needs Guns – Barden’s Boudoir, London
Jeremy Warmsley – Night and Day Cafe, London
Esser – ICA, London
Dirty Pretty Things – The Roundhouse, London

Wednesday 15th October

Indian Jewelry and Gentle Friendly – The Luminaire, London
Blood Red Shoes – Cockpit, Leeds
Holy Fuck – Bodega Social Club, Nottingham
Styrofoam, Sportsday Megaphone and Artha and Martha – Club Fandango at 229, London
Hot Club De Paris – The Other Rooms, Newcastle
Screaming Tea Party and Collapsing Cities – The Barfly, London

Thursday 16th October

Towers of London and The Pack A.D – ULU, London
Dead Kids, Math Class and Pre – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
of Montreal, Eugene McGuinness and Wave Machines – Koko, London
The Rivers, The Situationists and Toy! Toy! – The Fly, London
Foals, Holy Fuck and Dananananaykroyd – Brixton Academy, London

Friday 17th October

Hot Chip, Kate Nash, Tilly and The Wall, Florence and The Machine, James Yuill and Slow Club – Matter, London
Johnny Flynn – Nice N Sleazy’s, Glasgow
The Pipettes
Golden Silvers – Bronze Club, London

Saturday 18th October

Selfish Cunt and SCUM – The Enterprise, London
Roots Manuva – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
The Correspondants, Disappears and Man Like Me – Sassoon Gallery, London
Maths Class, Messengers and The Reunionists – Artful at New Cross Inn, London
Chas & Dave – Broadway Theatre, London

Sunday 19th October

Blood Red Shoes – Cafe Drummond, Aberdeen
James Yorkston – Joiners, Southampton
No Age, Los Campesinos and Times New Viking – Rough Trade East, London

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Well, this we did it. 100 years after the Suffragettes bravely confronted a government that was failing them, sildenafil we have done the same! Last night was as brilliant as we dreamed it could be. Chanting “Deeds Not Words” almost 1000 people marched up to the gates of parliament and demanded to be let in. Of course we weren’t allowed, sildenafil but we made our presence felt.

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The crowds started to gather in Parliament Square from 5pm – with most people, women and men, young and old – having made an admirable effort to dress for the occasion. Once everyone had donned a red sash we certainly looked a colourful and formidable presence. Tamsin arrived even earlier than expected, having left her MA exam an hour early. I don’t know how she could possibly have concentrated anyway! I came into Westminster on my bike via the Soho Salon, who had kindly been volunteered (by me, cheekily, on our Friday night flyering mission) to construct an Edwardian type updo.

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We started off the proceedings with some music from Mark and Theo Bard (accompanied by a random and somewhat out-of-time bongo player) and then I climbed atop our rickety stage to introduce the four speakers, all of whom gave hugely inspiring speeches. Just briefly, feminist Rosie Boycott spoke of the importance of women standing up for what they believe in. She was followed by the pink-lipped, pink-suited Joy Greasley of the WI (apparently the Women’s Institute has undergone a bit of re-branding where its name is concerned!) I think that it is a real sign of the times that the WI are willing to lend a voice to direct action. And am I sure they approved of all our beautiful cakes. Solicitor Ismet Rawat spoke of her concerns about our future for the sake of her children and then lastly the wonderful Caroline Lucas took to the podium.

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Caroline is now leader of the green party, and she spoke of how our government is failing us. How our government is willing to spend a fortune bailing out the banks (who in their folly have been lending money that does not exist) and yet it can’t see fit to invest in renewables. A government that pays lip service to Climate Action whilst still planning airport expansion and new coal power stations.

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As Caroline finished her speech the crowd began to filter out past the crowd barriers towards the entrance to the Houses of Parliament. And we kept right on walking until we were practically at the doors, at which point the police started to play their usual aggressive games. I was standing right next to Caroline Lucas as they pushed and shoved to the extent that the crash barriers fell, crushing one of my fellow Suffragette’s foot. It is now broken in three places and she must take time off work while she recovers. As usual we were there to peacefully protest and the only violence was perpetrated by the police. Caroline was utterly shocked by their brutality. I could see that Tamsin was pinned up against the doors of Parliament and then she vanished from sight – arrested for breaking bail by standing on the steps.

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My interns had carefully boxed up and brought along all the wonderful cakes we made at the weekend, and I hear that they were enjoyed by those who were lucky enough to eat them. Unfortunately I never saw them again!

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For an hour we chanted and sung, and demanded that our government listen to us. And the media certainly have – even though they have struggled to pinpoint just who or what Climate Rush is. What they fail to understand is that we are no one thing – Plane Stupid, Climate Camp, Stop Stanstead Expansion, Wise Women, WI members and many other campaign groups took part in this event – for we are all united in our desire to be tackle Climate Change. And we know that direct action is necessary in times of crisis – for as the Suffragettes proved it can influence crucial decisions.

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Many more people will have become radicalised by this event, which is brilliant because we can make a difference before it is too late: before we descend into Climate Chaos.

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The protest ended peacefully with a rousing song and a great little speech from Leila. Then we all went to the pub.

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Well, information pills we did it. 100 years after the Suffragettes bravely confronted a government that was failing them, we have done the same! Last night was as brilliant as we dreamed it could be. Chanting “Deeds Not Words” almost 1000 people marched up to the gates of parliament and demanded to be let in. Of course we weren’t allowed, but we made our presence felt.

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The crowds started to gather in Parliament Square from 5pm – with most people, women and men, young and old – having made an admirable effort to dress for the occasion.

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young

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and old…

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Once everyone had donned a red sash we certainly looked a colourful and formidable presence. Tamsin arrived even earlier than expected, having left her MA exam an hour early. I don’t know how she could possibly have concentrated anyway!

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Tamsin with her mum. Tamsin’s mum wears spotty pink socks. She rocks

I came into Westminster on my bike via the Soho Salon, who had kindly been volunteered (by me, cheekily, on our Friday night flyering mission) to construct an Edwardian type updo.

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the up-do!

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and another sort of up-do! not sure if it’s strictly Suffragette but I’m likin it alot

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matching red lippy, oh yea

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what a couple!!! really too odd for words…

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organising the stewards

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Jody rocks the Suffragette meets 40s war widow look

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Leo Murray from Plane Stupid

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Olivia Chessell from Plane Stupid

We started off the proceedings with some music from Mark and Theo Bard (accompanied by a random and somewhat out-of-time bongo player) and then I climbed atop our rickety stage to introduce the four speakers, all of whom gave hugely inspiring speeches.

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Mark

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Theo. He’s not posing, honest.

Just briefly, feminist Rosie Boycott spoke of the importance of women standing up for what they believe in. She was followed by the pink-lipped, pink-suited Joy Greasley of the WI (apparently the Women’s Institute has undergone a bit of re-branding where its name is concerned!) I think that it is a real sign of the times that the WI are willing to lend a voice to direct action. And am I sure they approved of all our beautiful cakes.

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Rosie Boycott

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Joy Greasley

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these beautiful creations really put ours to shame!

Solicitor Ismet Rawat spoke of her concerns about our future for the sake of her children and then lastly the wonderful Caroline Lucas took to the podium.

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Ismet Rawat

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Caroline Lucas

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Caroline is now leader of the green party, and she spoke of how our government is failing us. How our government is willing to spend a fortune bailing out the banks (who in their folly have been lending money that does not exist) and yet it can’t see fit to invest in renewables. A government that pays lip service to Climate Action whilst still planning airport expansion and new coal power stations.

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As Caroline finished her speech the crowd began to filter out past the crowd barriers towards the entrance to the Houses of Parliament.

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the crowd heads towards Parliament

And we kept right on walking until we were practically at the doors, at which point the police started to play their usual aggressive games.

I was standing right next to Caroline Lucas as they pushed and shoved to the extent that the crash barriers fell, crushing one of my fellow Suffragette’s foot. It is now broken in three places and she must take time off work while she recovers. As usual we were there to peacefully protest and the only violence was perpetrated by the police. Caroline was utterly shocked by their brutality. I could see that Tamsin was pinned up against the doors of Parliament and then she vanished from sight – arrested for breaking bail by standing on the steps.

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a girl tries to reason with police

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Caroline, just before she got jostled by the police

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flying the flag for Climate Camp

My interns had carefully boxed up and brought along all the wonderful cakes we made at the weekend, and I hear that they were enjoyed by those who were lucky enough to eat them. Unfortunately I never saw them again!

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remnants of tea and cake!

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the police get overexcited

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and Robbie gets a big old cut under his eye

For an hour we chanted and sung, and demanded that our government listen to us. And the media certainly have – even though they have struggled to pinpoint just who or what Climate Rush is. What they fail to understand is that we are no one thing – Plane Stupid, Climate Camp, Stop Stanstead Expansion, Wise Women, WI members and many other campaign groups took part in this event – for we are all united in our desire to be tackle Climate Change. And we know that direct action is necessary in times of crisis – for as the Suffragettes proved it can influence crucial decisions.

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this police officer looks absolutely petrified. I have no idea why, maybe he’s scared of his fellow officers. I feel sorry for him, perhaps he should be on our side – after all, we don’t condone or practice aggression.

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maybe he should hang with this happy fella! although I think that might be a fist raised there.

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the FIT team filming us…

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cos that’s how scary we are!

Many more people will have become radicalised by this event, which is brilliant because we can make a difference before it is too late: before we descend into Climate Chaos.

The protest ended peacefully with a rousing song and a great little speech from Leila. Then we all went to the pub.

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what a beautiful sight!
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It was to be the first gig TV On The Radio gig in the UK for two years, and which was to coincide with the first ever Concrete and Glass festival (a multi-venue art and music event). Everybody was expecting something extra special. After all why had they been avoiding our shores? What the Dickens have they been up to? Why have they returned for this Concrete and Glass festival thing?

The queue outside of Cargo was almost biblical in size. It took us over an hour to get in, viagra 60mg but we were safe in the knowledge that it would be well worth it. The crowd inside was pretty ridiculous. The gig had been scheduled to be held in a nearby car park, buy but had been moved to a smaller venue at the last minute. Cargo’s back room was so full once you were in the crowd, getting out just wasn’t on the cards.

They appear on stage and receive an almost deafening welcome. They seem almost too relaxed to begin with; I think it’s to be expected though. If any band fits the bill of New York cool it’s TV On The Radio.

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The one thing I was hoping for most about this show was that they wouldn’t play a load of tracks from their new album ‘Dear Science’. Guess what they did. They played it pretty much in full. Which was kind of great, they played brilliantly and sounded fantastic. The wait for something recognisable in such a cramped, sweaty venue made it kind of hard to enjoy. Though when ‘Wolf Like Me’ started up you really wouldn’t have wanted to be in any other situation. The crowd was literally writhing.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of ‘Higher Than The Sun’. Honestly, it was the reason I stuck out the queue for so long. A fantastic rendition of ‘Dreams’ kind of made up for it, but for a crowd that was obviously of people who had been desperate to see them, it seems a little odd not to play what is obviously their best song.

I walked away almost wondering whether it had been worth it. Frankly they were pretty good, nothing more though. I don’t know whether I felt like this because of how much effort it had all been, or if I had just expected too much from them.

Categories ,Cargo, ,Concrete and Glass, ,Live, ,Review, ,TV on the Radio

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Amelia’s Magazine | Green Man Festival: The Festival Preview Series

This Saturday, information pills pill The Land Is Ours collective will occupy some disused land near Hammersmith. An eco-village will take root, viagra sale peacefully reclaiming land for a sustainable settlement, and getting in touch with the local community about its aims. In a year when nearly 13,000 Britons lost their homes to repossessions in the first three months, eco-villages point the way to a more down-to-earth lifestyle.

Back in May 1996, the same collective took over a spot on the banks of the Thames in Wandsworth, in a land rights action that grew up over five and a half months into the Pure Genius community, based on sustainable living and protesting the misuse of urban land. Here are some photos from that project.

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The Land Is Ours channel the spirit of the Diggers , a group of 17-century radicals who picked out and dug over a patch of common land in St George’s Hill in Walton-upon-Thames back in the day. They were led by Gerard Winstanley, who thought any freedom must come from free access to the land.

Here’s a little more from ‘Gerard Winstanley’ about this weekend:

What’s the first thing you’ll do when you get there?
Have a meeting. One of the first priorities is to leaflet the local area in order to inform the local people of what we are doing. Another priority is the construction of compost toilets.

Do you have lots of plans for sheds, vegetable patches and compost toilets?

Yes. Due to the nature of the site (ex-industrial) we will likely be using raised beds to grow vegetables and buckets for potatoes. It being London, there should be a good supply of thrown away materials from building sites and in skips. Compost toilets are pretty essential.

?What kinds of people are you expecting to turn up?
All sorts. Hopefully a mixture of those keen to learn and those willing to teach. ??

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?I read the Chapter 7 manifesto. Have you notified the council or planning authority of your plans, or are you keeping to the idea that once you’re there, with homes under construction, it’s difficult to evict?
We haven’t notified the council yet- but we have a liaison strategy in place for when we’re in.

On that note, how long do you hope to be there?
The longevity of the Eco-village depends on how committed its residences and just as crucially how the local urban populus respond to our presence. If we receive the support we need, the council will likely think twice before embarking on an unpopular eviction (at least that’s the theory!).

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Could this realistically become a permanent residence, or is it more likely to be valuable simply as campaigning?
Hopefully it can be both. There is no reason why this site cannot sustain a core group of committed individuals and serve as a brilliant awareness raiser to the issue of disused urban land, lack of affordable housing and the a sustainable way of living that is friendly to people and planet and liberating.

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?Can I come along?
Of course, we are meeting at Waterloo Station at 10AM this Saturday (underneath the clock).

What might I need to do?
Bring a tent, sleeping bag and some food and water. You may be interested to read an article written by a journalist from the Guardian concerning the eco-village.

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So dig yourself out of bed this Saturday, and go discover the beginnings of London’s newest eco-village.
If the dark shades of under-duvet hideouts dominate the colour of your Sundays then you need to wake up and get greened. Arcola Theatre in East London hopes to be the first carbon neutral theatre in the world and has been appointed as the secretariat for the Mayor of London’s Green Theatre plan, this which aims to deliver 60 percent cuts in theatre carbon emissions by 2025.

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Illustration by Faye Katirai

As part of this environmental drive, the first Sunday of every month is a Green Sunday at Arcola Theatre. June’s event is part of Love London, the biggest green festival in Europe and looks at ethical consumption, promising ‘entertainment and inspiration for the ecologically curious’. From 3pm there’s a swap shop market plus cakes and tea to take you through the evening of Senegalese percussion, cool short and feature-length films, starting from 4.30pm. As the afternoon turns to evening, there will be a discussion with Neil Boorman, author of Bonfire Of The Brands, an account of his journey from shopping and brand addiction to a life free from labels. As part of the project, Neil destroyed every branded product in his possession, incinerating over £20,000 worth of designer gear in protest of consumer culture. This will be chaired by Morgan Phillips.

Neil and Morgan will later be joined by Richard King from Oxfam to talk about their 4-a-week campaign- encouraging shoppers to do their bit for sustainability each week.

Then at 7pm – Feature length film presented by Transition Town Hackney
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

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I spoke to the sustainability projects manager at Arcola Theatre, Anna Beech, to find out more about Arcola’s arts world-changing philosophies:

All at Arcola must be extremely proud that a theatre founded only 9 years ago – and on credit cards! – is well on the way to becoming the first carbon neutral theatre in the world. Can you tell us a bit about how and why you made the decision to lead the green theatre movement?

Since 2007, Arcola has launched many high-profile green initiatives (including the pioneering use of LEDs and the on-site installation of a fuel cell to power bar and stage lighting). There are a number of reasons for this – because it contributes to reducing Arcola’s carbon emissions and resource use, because it makes financial sense – reducing energy bills; because it supports funding applications; because it integrates Arcola into the local community; allows Arcola to reach a wider audience and stakeholder base; and provides an effective platform upon which to publicise the name ‘Arcola’ – as a hub of creativity and sustainability.

Sustainability is part of Arcola’s core unique business model, alongside professional theatre and our youth and community programme.

Have you found that arts and science professionals are eager to integrate and come up with exciting ideas and actions or has it been difficult to bring the two fields together?

Arcola’s ArcolaEnergy has had considerable interest from technology companies and brokers, including the Carbon Trust. As a reocgnised innovator in sustainability in the arts, Arcola has been able to broker extremely advantageous relationships with private sector companies – who have provided the theatre with free green products, including LED lights – as well as other theatres and arts organisations (National Theatre, Arts Council, Live Nation, The Theatres Trust), and Government bodies like the DCMS and Mayor of London’s Office. Arcola’s reputation as a sustainable charity has created these partnerships and allowed them to grow and develop into mutually advantageous relationships. So this demonstrates that the arts and sustainability worlds can come together to form mutually advanteous relationships. However, there is plenty of work to be done.

So far, what has been the most successful pioneering energy practice you’ve introduced?

The installation of Arcola’s fuel cell in February 2008 made the venue the first theatre in the world to power its main house shows and bar/café on hydrogen. The Living Unknown Soldier gained reverence as London’s most ecologically sustainable show, with the lighting at a peak power consumption of 4.5kW, a reduction of 60 per cent on comparable theatre lighting installations.

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Previous Green Sunday events at the Arcola Theatre

Arcola’s ‘greening’ goes from the stage to the box office. Among other things, we produce ‘green’ newsletters for staff, we recycle, we provide free tap water to audiences (to lessen use of bottled water), we serve fairtrade, organic and local produce wherever possible (including organic vodka and whiskey!), we host Transition Town meetings, we installed a cycle enclosure for staff in 2009 and try to incentivise both staff and audiences to use public transport more and their cars less.

How do you think the technical creativity of sustainability has significantly shaped any of the plays Arcola has produced?

One example of the ‘greening’ of Arcola’s shows and working closely with production companies took place during the pre-production and staging of ‘Living Unknown Soldier‘ in 2008. The production explored the use of more energy efficient lanterns, including LED moving heads and batons (see Fig. 1) florescent tubes and some other filament lanterns such as low wattage source 4′s and par 16s. The crew tried to travel by public transport wherever possible, use laptops rather than PCs, limit phone use, source sustainable materials and managed to keep energy requirements low in order to use Arcola’s fuel cell to power the show.

‘‘The idea is that once you expose people to this stuff and they know you for doing it, they’ll gravitate towards you. Ultimately we should end up with some really good art about sustainability and some really good ideas about how to do art sustainably.” – Ben Todd, Executive Director and Founder of Arcola Energy.

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Illustration by David Elsley

Why do you think its particularly important for the arts to become more involved in green issues?

Because the arts have the power to influence behaviour change. Whilst the theatre industry itself has a relatively small carbon footprint (2% of total carbon emissions in London), and thus its capacity to deliver direct carbon emission reductions is relatively small; the power of theatre and the wider arts/cultural sectors to rapidly and effectively influence public behaviour and policy makers to drive significant indirect carbon emission reductions is very large (entertainment related activity accounts for up to 40% of travel emissions).

However, theatres and other arts venues must first address the ‘greening’ of their venues and practices in order to communicate climate change and environmental messages to audiences effectively and with impact.

Green Sundays is a great idea, how do you hope to see it develop in the future months?

We have a variety of themes in mind for future events, including a focus on the climate talks in Copenhagen in December, a water theme, ethical business, natural history and a Green Sunday programme tailored to children and young people.

So get over your hangover, get on your bike and cycle down to Dalston on Sunday to help spread the word about arts and sustainability coming together to communicate environmental messages to your local community.

To find out more about Green Sundays and the Arcola Theatre go to:

www.arcolatheatre.com
Continuing our odyssey of festival previews, page I bring you the amazing Green Man!

I don’t keep it secret that I’ve had a crush on Jarvis Cocker since I was 10 and first heard Common People, I suppose announcing it on a blog was just the next logical step in my snowballing lust for the bespectacled one. Imagine my delight when I saw he was headlining as a solo outfit at this year’s Green Man Festival.

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Green Man 2006

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Jarvis Cocker

All the other festivals will be green with envy over Green Man’s line-up, one of the most exciting and diverse of the summer. Alongside Jarv, Animal Collective will also be headlining and having seen them a couple of times over the past few years they are really not to be missed live, their shows can only be described as being in an underwater topsy-turvy world where you can feel the rhythm wash over you in waves.

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Animal Collective

Green Man is in no short supply of indie darlings and big names, with Wilco, Bon Iver, Gang Gang Dance, the delicious Beach House and Grizzly Bear; who I’m gagging to see live after finally getting a copy of their amazing second album Veckatimest. Not to be transatlantically out down; Green Man boasts an impressive array of home-grown talent- including Four-Tet, national treasures British Sea Power, and to woo the romantic in you; Camera Obscura.
Ex- member of my favourites Gorky’s Zygotic Mynki Euros Childs, Andrew Bird, 6 Day Riot and James Yuill also stand out as bands (as well as the above mentioned) not to be missed.

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Beach House

Whilst Green Man has managed to pull in such an awesome line-up, it has a reputation for a boutique-y intimacy and a friendly atmosphere. Green Man is most definitely a festival for music lovers, and one that I won’t be missing!

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Green Man Festival 2007

Green Man Festival takes place amidst the Breacon Beacons from 21st to 23rd August. Click here for ticket information.

Thumbnail by Roisin Conway

Categories ,Electro, ,Festival Preview, ,Folk, ,Indie, ,Pop, ,Summer

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