Amelia’s Magazine | We Have Band – Interview

We Have Band could be the most interesting group I have ever interviewed for the sole reason that every question results in the three members talking over each other, medications treat telling jokes and generally launching into their own internal debate. This is hardly surprising when you consider that two of the members of the band are married to each other and the third member has unwittingly become part of that relationship. Regardless, viagra the London-based three piece are always hilarious and charming in equal measure.

The group has already been tipped by numerous music critics as the band to watch in 2010 and have their songs have been remixed by Bloc Party, site Carl Craig and DJ Mujava. It seems inevitable that We Have Band’s debut album, WHB, will thrust them into the limelight with the same feverish hysteria that surrounded Hot Chip’s The Warning, as their dance floor friendly electro pop is already getting some heavy rotation by some of the world’s biggest DJs.

Amelia’s sat down with Darren, Thomas and Dede to find out more about their debut album and the unlikely way the band came together.

Howdy, guys. How was the band formed?
Dede: Thomas was making music and he wasn’t feeling very inspired so I offered to make music with him. I came up with a concept name for the band and mentioned it to Darren. He liked the name and asked if he could join. He came round for dinner and then we formed the band.
Darren: Thomas and Dede are married so I am like the third member of the marriage. It’s quite weird because we don’t really know each other but we just experimented. On the first night we wrote WHB and that’s why we called the album WHB.

How long have you been together?
Dede: Just over two years. That first dinner was in late 2007 and then we spent about 6 or 7 months writing songs. Then everything just went crazy.

Why did you choose to work with producer Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Interpol) on this album?
Thomas: He actually just did additional production and mixing. We had done most of the production ourselves so we just needed someone to help us take it to that next level. We didn’t want to stray too far from what we had originally done but we wanted to give it that shine. He understood that. We wanted someone who would tailor themselves to the band rather than try to change things. We basically tried to capture the energy of the live shows.

You seem very polite and welcoming on stage. How true is this in real life?
Darren: It’s all a huge lie!
Thomas: Dede gets excited.
Dede: If everyone is enjoying themselves then you start enjoying yourself and you start getting excited by the atmosphere. We are quite relaxed.
Thomas: We all have our quirks but we are quite happy in each other’s company. As Darren mentioned, Dede and I are married so there is always something bigger than the band.
Dede: We all just go and have a cup of tea and a bag of crisps after a show.

Painting by John Lee Bird

What are you noticing about each other as you tour together and immerse yourselves in each other’s company?
Thomas: Darren has a laptop addiction.
Dede: He is also addicted to eggs

That can’t be very pleasant on a tour bus!
Darren: No, it isn’t! I tend to avoid Thomas and Dede until they have had a coffee in the morning.
Thomas: We can all be a bit short with each other but that’s fine. For the first hour of each day we just don’t speak and then after that we are fine!

You have been referred to as “part Hot Chip, part Talking Heads”. What do you think about this?
Thomas: Dede is banned from reading reviews but we’re fine with that.
Dede: That’s fine. It’s just not what we are.
Thomas: Yeah, it’s not what we are. Talking Heads were obviously an amazing band and we have only released a couple of singles so far but we will let them just say that and take it.

Piano is a very misleading first song on the album as it is nothing like the rest of the record. Did you have a theme or is the album just a bunch of songs that you were happy with?
Thomas: We were aware that they were quite stylistically diverse but they are all us. They are all produced in the same way with the same equipment. Plus, lots of bands have one, maybe two songwriters but all three of us contribute equally to the songs. We didn’t want to hide Piano at the end of the album just because it was a little different.

Categories ,david mcnamara, ,interview, ,london, ,piano, ,We Have Band, ,whb

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Amelia’s Magazine | Masters of Reality: Pine/Cross Dover – Album Review

Linder’s film Forgetful Green 2010
Masters of reality Pine

Masters of Reality return with their latest mind altered offering to master their, cheapest well, reality. Their sixth and latest record Pine/Cross Dover is a welcome return of the classic American desert kings who have many rock and roll fingers in many Palm Desert pies. Although released in 2009, the record is making waves over in the UK now. Presented as two halves, the question is Pine/Cross Dover, their first record in five years, any good?

As a pretty big Queens of the Stone Age fan, I was keen to dip my toe into the pool of rock and branch away from my Tension Head (a track which has incidentally been on my top five records for the last decade), let my ears broaden their taste and listen to fellow desert rockers Masters of Reality, which although I was quite familiar with them I hadn’t fully appreciated. Main member and founder Chris Goss has produced many QOTSA records, and so it’s a clear lineage many make associating the two bands together. To my bountiful joy I was pleased with what I heard in the shape of Pine/Cross Dover, kicking off with King Richard TLH, epitomizing from the outset the classic chugga chugga desert rock sound in a nutshell. This song makes me want to get up to get down, swing my limbs around the room and air drum to the max. Which, after doing so left me injured, but on a futuristic trip through nostalgia at the cusp of the desert rocking it’s best.

Chris Goss
Chris Goss – something of a character!

Aside from the belting opener, stand out tracks include the blissful Always, pounding with its repetitive drum beats and guitar riffs commonly associated to bands in the Palm Desert scene. The instrumental Johnny’s Dream, broadens the sound and style of Masters of Reality to something more then what many have said to be within the realms of stoner rock. Johnny’s Dream is pure end credit music and an awakening to the bands’ previous explorations. Further tracks to download include Absinthe Jim and Me, and the juggernaut Up In It, with Dave Catching playing guest guitar on the former – a fellow member of the desert rock scene and collaborator to many Josh Homme projects, including touring with Eagles of Death Metal last year. Masters of Reality, who add a dash of dark riff house blues to complete their newest record, are for anyone who has overplayed their Queens of the Stone Age records (which does happen) and are after a darker and deeper foray into the light of desert rock at it’s best. Due to tour the UK supporting The Cult in early 2011, if you’re into psychedelic, desert rock and dirty riffs, this is a band you don’t want to miss.

Categories ,Chris Goss, ,Dave Catching, ,Desert Rock, ,Eagles of Death Metal, ,Josh Homme, ,Masters of Reality, ,Pine/Cross Dover, ,queens of the stone age, ,Stoner Rock, ,The Cult

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Amelia’s Magazine | Alain Johannes: Spark (2010) Album Review

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, nurse buy which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, no rx it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, price the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, ampoule which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, for sale it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, here the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

PayneShurvell opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, viagra which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

PayneShurvell opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, ask which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, view it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

PayneShurvell opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.
Modern Times

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, viagra which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, pill it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

New Empire (How Crooked Are Your Branches)

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

New Empire Amnesia

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

PayneShurvell opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.
Modern Times

Andrew Curtis’s photography expose the fallacy of normality on which the construct of British Suburbia survives aided and abetted by local newspapers and the tabloids. In a time where British Suburbia has become the hotspot for floating voters. Where was Boris Johnson accredited with visiting in his challenge to become London Mayor, approved which Ken Livingstone was chastened for neglecting and it was subsequently claimed lost Ken the election? Why, it was the outer zones of Suburban London.

Suburbs have provided ample fodder for British writers, the most famous being a resident of Suburban London, JG Ballard and the photographs of Curtis continue to emphaise that not all is as it seems.

Continuing a British tradition of romanticising the life outside the city, potentially epitomised in Constable’s Haywain, (whose idyll removed all traces of the countryside’s unrest) life in the suburbs has been idealised. It being the world behind the facade, Curtis’ photographs aims to expose, potently the precise suburbia the artist, himself inhabits.

New Empire (How Crooked Are Your Branches)

Walking into the gallery, the viewer is greeted with large monochrome photographs, each (apart from a photograph documenting a crash) image dominated by the imposing presence of a tree picked out in heavy black gloss. On closer examination the surface of Curtis’ prints are dotted with printing errors, the type of which professional printers (the Artist’s day job –therefore we can assume these marks to be intentional) painstakingly iron out. These marks, are another layer added to Curtis’ undermining of the idyll, so painstakingly cultivated by the residents of Suburbia.

New Empire Amnesia

A role of the photographer, it could be argued is to challenge what it is we see on a daily basis, develop our visual language and challenge visual associations. In Curtis’ photographs, the unfamiliar is accentuated, the work that goes into maintenance is exaggerated. Never noticed monkey puzzle trees? which dominate suburban Britain? After visiting PayneShurvell, you will not fail to notice them. These remnants left over from the colonial plundering of Victorian Britain dominate the picture plane. Their forced presence in the British Landscape our a constant remainder of our less than spotless past are enhanced via tcareful application of dripped gloss paint .

Curtis’ photographs are an exploration into the psyche of modern suburbia fitting of Ballard, (whose words head the press release and introduce this article) and Amelia’s Magazine throughly recommend a trip to PayneShurvell before the exhibition closes on the 6th November.

This week as part of First Thursday, PayneShurvell are delighted (as are we) that Andrew Curtis will be hosting a talk on “Wild England”.

PayneShurvell opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.
Alain Johannes Spark

You might not know it, healing but you know Alain Johannes. Producer and artist extraordinaire, click having previously produced and collaborated with the infamous Queens of the Stone Age; No Doubt, PJ Harvey, Eleven, and toured with the super group Them Crooked Vultures earlier this year, Johannes is renowned throughout many rock circles for his mesmerising guitar skills, which in March of this year had me caught in a spell during a musical intermission of the Crooked Vultures’ intense set. Thinking Johannes was a brave man to compete with the likes of Grohl, Homme and Jones, I was left blown away by his talent and unequivocal sound.

Johannes Alain Tim Norris
Photograph by Tim Norris.

Making a stand in his own right, Johannes recently released his debut record Spark, co released with Dangerbird Records and Rekords Rekords, the latter label set up by fellow musical maestro Josh Homme of QOTSA and Them Crooked Vultures fame. This is definitely a family affair, and what an awesome family. Dedicating his debut record to his late wife and producing partner Natasha Shneider, fellow Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal collaborator, there is a great sense of magnitude, of heartfelt pain and strength that breathes through the tracks. First track and single Endless Eyes is a beautifully and eloquent tribute to Natasha, and sets the tone for the entire record. Johannes’ signature cigar box guitar creates such a definitive sound it’s refreshing to describe as innovative and enchanting. However stand out tracks include Return to You, which has an unashamed Beatles-esque tone to it, bringing an air of nostalgia and warmth to the record, which can’t be a bad thing.

The record stealing guitar crescendo of a masterpiece to my ears is the incredible Speechless, which builds with such classical and flamenco ferocity; it’s topped by Johannes’ elegant vocals that beautifully complete the ghostly track. Gentle Ghosts draws the record toward its close, but not without a trek through a sensory mind field that awakes the goose bumps scheduled for truly remarkable artists. There’s so much passion and raw emotion surging through Spark, its hard not to feel a greater sense of appreciation. Closing with Unfinished Plan, a classical guitar led cathartic and heartbreaking end to a brilliant debut. Spark shines and splinters through Johannes’ incredibly personal journey, and I’m pretty stoked to be along for the ride.

Alain Johannes’ Spark is for those who likes a bit of substance sprinkled over their desert rock desserts, a treat of a record that won’t turn sour the more you listen. Johannes brings light to the desert rock scene, which, though never fading, has now taken a new and brilliant direction.

Categories ,Alain Johannes, ,Dangerbird Records, ,Dave Grohl, ,Desert Rock, ,Eagles of Death Metal, ,Eleven, ,John Paul Jones, ,Josh Homme, ,Natasha Shneider, ,No Doubt, ,PJ Harvey, ,queens of the stone age, ,Rekords Rekords, ,Spark, ,the beatles, ,Them Crooked Vultures, ,Tim Norris

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