single

Amelia’s Magazine | Jack Penate: Torn on the Platform

by

Those of you who’ve seen Fame (you know the one, store information pills “Remember my name (FAME!)/I’m gonna live forever” and all that jazz) may remember the relatively small but significant character called Bruno. He hated playing in the strings section of the orchestra because he could electronically create an orchestra of sound and fury on his own, information pills healing resulting in much dancing in the streets and on taxis…

…The comaprison: Napoleon IIIrd Napoleon IIIrd. Why he hasn’t had more Fame action himself is quite beyond me. Though that said, I had heard on the grapevine that the man was touring with a full band and was hoping to see and hear such a spectacle in the flesh. But alas, whilst hoping that the brass section was hiding out in the toilets working up the saliva to play, the man himself emerged to take his place behind two microphones, that met above a keyboard, nestled between all manner of electronic and musical paraphernalia…and no band.

Never mind though, performing solo, he didn’t disappoint. Unexpectedly formidable, Napoleon is energetic and jerky as his music often is. One thing is that from the start, Napoleon is so believable. Without guile or pretensions, yet vaguely angsty and almost aggressive, not quite desperate but definitely hopeful, he is one man doing his own orchestral manoeuvres in the dark.

Like a proud band leader, pumping his metaphoric baton triumphantly, Napoleon IIIrd conducted his way through the set with a well practiced panache; twiddling with levels, blue-tacking keys, pressing buttons and bristling on his guitar. Completely comfortable but not complacent, Napoleon IIIrd played with abandon. With heavy industrial beats, crunchy glitches, big refrains, random samples and a pre-recorded choir of Napoleons to back him up, Napoleon IIIrd’s music is quite epic live. It’s all the more strange to match the sound to the scene when the guy is all alone on stage amongst his band of merry, electronically recorded selves.

So remember his name, because Napoleon IIIrd is dynamite.
Having studied graphic design, remedy I too had put on a show at my university and then made the journey to London to showcase my talents to industry moguls. My experience was, remedy well, pretty shit – but this was flawless. With over 50 stands showcasing talent, 2 fashion theatres and an orange-carpeted Moët bar for pre-show drinks, GFW supported by River Island (amongst other major players) really packed a punch.

Read more

Amelia’s Magazine | Beatrix Players describe the making of the video for Unpolished Pearl

by

Beatrix Players
Cello and vocals drive the melody in Unpolished Pearl, a gothic pop song accompanied by a stunning animated video in which the band members are caught up in a surreal world of bell jars and octopus arms. I caught up with the Beatrix Players to find out how this ambitious project came together.

Beatrix Players_UnpolishedPearl_1
The Beatrix Players formed two years ago and features Amy White (lead singer), Jess Kennedy (piano and vocals), Amanda Alvarez (cello and vocals) and David Alvarez (double bass and vocals). Unpolished Pearl was the first song that Amy and Jess wrote together, with the dark lyrics a cry for help to realise one’s potential or remain forever an ‘unpolished pearl’, set in deliberate contrast to an upbeat melody and driving rhythm. It was this song that sparked the imagination of Versus, a small design and animation studio based in East London, and led them to approach the Beatrix Players.

YouTube Preview Image
It all began one autumn eve in a lovely little coffee shop in Covent Garden. Tucked away at the back, Beatrix Players met Adrianna Gomez & Ana Carolina B, a.k.a. the masterminds behind what is now the video to the track, Unpolished Pearl. Not entirely sure what to expect, the band were completely taken aback when greeted with story boards and illustrations of burning pianos, cracked crowns and sea creatures. Amy: ‘I remember sipping on my mint tea, thinking crikey, these guys really believe in us to have put such time into understanding the song.‘ Not long after, the ideas grew and so did the production team.  

 Beatrix Players_UnpolishedPearl_2
Final storyboards were presented to the band and the studio booked for Christmas 2011. The video was then shot during just one day, in front of a ‘green’ screen. With clear direction from Adrianna, we were led to imagine ourselves in a ‘Beatrix World’, to be subsequently created by the animation team. Many months later, and after countless hours spent creating the animation, the final outcome is quite unique. Produced on a shoe-string budget, it was made possible by a strong belief in the project, and a coming together of many talents and ideas.

Beatrix Players_UnpolishedPearl 3
The Beatrix Players can currently to be found gigging around London, ahead of a single launch in the new year. 

Video Credits:
Direction & Animation: VERSUS
Producer: Ana Carolina Bernardo
Cinematography: Jorge Ojeda
Lighting: Sonia Rodríguez Serrano
Styling & Costume Design: Natalie Oldham
Styling Assistant: Ana Belén Cortes
Makeup: Camila del Monte
Hair: Adrianna Veal & Accessories: Pristine Smut.
 

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday December 10th, 2012 12:50 pm

Categories ,Adrianna Gomez, ,Amanda Alvarez, ,Amy White, ,Ana Carolina B, ,Beatrix Players, ,David Alvarez, ,Jess Kennedy, ,review, ,single, ,Unpolished Pearl, ,Versus, ,video

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Single and Video Review: Zebra and Snake – Sweetest Treasure

by

Zebra and Snake
I am seriously loving the video for Zebra and Snake‘s new single Sweetest Treasure – made by Sing J. Lee, a young award winning director from the North West – and featuring a fearless tribe of children who do battle with scary-toothed monsters in the woods. Zebra and Snake are Matti and Tapio, who hail from Finland and are currently settled in Helsinki, where their combined loves of synths and classical music has informed their own creation: fuzzy 80s influenced electronica with great melodies, of which lead single Sweetest Treasure is a great example.

YouTube Preview Image
Sing J. Lee said of making the video: ‘I had a great time working on Sweetest Treasure for Zebra and Snake. It transported me back to my childhood where I ran around my back garden pretending I was on some epic adventure.’ The idea began with the idea of incorporating children and monsters: Matti and Tapio wanted to include Nordic influences in the short story format, where a small kid is trapped by monsters, and Sing J. Lee added references to the games he enjoyed as a child. To keep the mood light hearted the monsters were made from balloons, the blood from powdered paint. The video was shot in various locations in South Wales and Epping Forest. Take a peek, it’s insanely moreish. Zebra and Snake go on a mini tour later in February, to support the release of their new EP on 100%.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday January 23rd, 2012 5:39 pm

Categories ,100%, ,80s, ,children, ,electronica, ,ep, ,Epping Forest, ,FInnish, ,Helsinki, ,Matti, ,Monsters, ,Nordic, ,review, ,Sing J. Lee, ,single, ,South Wales, ,Sweetest Treasure, ,Synth, ,Tapio, ,video, ,Zebra and Snake

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Joan As A Police Woman: Real Life

by

Velvet Voiced Joan Wasser pops up with new offering ‘Real Life’ following recent headline shows at Shepherds Bush Empire and an appearance at Lattitude festival. Having earned her salt as a band member backing both Rufus Wainwright and Anthony Hegarty – Joan As Police Woman have slowly accumulated a reputation of worth, aided no doubt by a relentless touring slog. This stealthy progress appears to have stalled somewhat however with the dissapointing ‘Real Life’.

Sparse, plodding piano features for the main part – and this would be fine if the lyric had something meaningful to say. But it doesn’t and this results in the instrumentation appearing lazy and tiresome. Sure, her voice is easy on the ear, pretty in fact, but it also lacks the substance needed to drag this out if the depths of mediocrity.
The final minute passes in a comparatively enjoyable fashion thanks to the much needed addition of strings that sit nicely under the mix in an understated fashion. But this is scant consellation really. A record that deserves little attention.

Written by on Monday July 30th, 2007 1:26 pm

Categories ,Joan As A Police Woman, ,Lattitude, ,Pop, ,Rufus Wainwrigt, ,Single

Similar Posts:





Amelia’s Magazine | Pyramiddd: Medicine: A Single Review

by

pyr

When bands start out bursting with energy and ideals and the prospect of tours and radio play seem remote, the bass player’s girlfriend might be heard to mumble, “What the heck, why don’t you call yourselves Starfucker?”

A good idea at the time when it didn’t really seem to matter, but career-forging reality appears to have kicked in for multi-instrumentalist Josh Hodges and his bandmates.

After consulting fans they’ve announced they are now to be known by the more polite and search engine-friendly name Pyramiddd.

Watching MGMT and Passion Pit whiz by in a blur of retro-future synthpop into the chart sunset – even missing out on a tour with the latter supposedly due to the sweary name – it seems Pyramiddd/Starfucker have thought, “Hang on, We fancy a bit of that”, or however they talk in Oregon.

Valiant attempts in interviews to fend off accusations of careerism haven’t been convincing, but who can blame them for wanting a piece of the action? Or wanting to discuss their band name with their Gran?
In a more candid moment they say they’d “Rather be like eating dinner and paying rent than being cool, You know”. Which is fair enough.

Medicine is catchy electropop, polished and radio-friendly. Not as effortlessly cool as previous single Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second (though that doesn’t sound quite so cool soundtracking a cloying American TV ad) they seem to have pulled the less-Hot-Chip-more-Cut-Copy lever, which is a shame.

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

With their sights seemingly set on cracking into the mainstream and freely admitting they’re making “simple pop stuff”, there’s a bit more sheen this time round, the expensive-sounding end result not unlike a poppier MGMT without Dave Fridmann at the controls.

Opening lyrics like “never remember your birthday, or anything you like” are not going to knock Dylan off his perch, but as my old music teacher used to say, nobody listens to the lyrics if you wear a nice hat.

This particular Medicine might not make you walk naked around the streets grabbing strangers by the lapels shouting “GET INTO PYRAMIDDD IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!” into peoples’ faces, but it’s a decent slice of pop Now. And I’ll bet they’re better live, when sheen usually drips off with the sweat.

If you like your rock’n’roll dark and dangerous then steer clear, but if you think what the world needs is a hybrid of Hot Chip, Cut Copy and MGMT then you’ll love it.

Last word to my flatmate – when I passed her the cans for an opinion, she listened for a bit and said, “I like your headphones.



Written by Tommy Tiger


Categories ,Hot Chip, ,mgmt, ,music, ,Passion Pit, ,Pyramiddd, ,review, ,single, ,Starfuckerss

Similar Posts:

Bookmark this:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • MySpace
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Technorati
  • LinkedIn

Amelia’s Magazine | The Go! Team: Grip Like A Vice

by

MenomenaFandFArt.jpg
Aided in no uncertain terms by a show stopping performance at Texas’ recent South By Southwest festival, order case Portland three-piece Menomena present their debut UK release. This is in fact the bands third release – with their two previous albums available in the US exclusively. School friends Danny Seim, mind Justin Harris and Brent Knopf have derived a creative process of much interest that has resulted in a work that is both experimental and forward thinking without being inaccessible.

The bands sound is essentially a combination of looped sounds which are selected from a computer programme called Deeler. The Deeler Sessions culminate in the layering of these looped sounds and vocal addition. The good news is that for the most part this results in songs of sonic density that are out of left field but rich in melody. It is a combination that makes ‘Friend and Foe’ a compelling listen.

Often the fragmented nature of the songs will result in a messy, disjointed sound to begin with. But cohesion arises from moments of inspiration that morph abstract noises into quasi – pop melodies. It maybe a gorgeous piano line, delicate vocal harmony or obscure drum loop. Whatever, these songs keep you guessing, and aside from the odd ill judged inclusion (notably at the tail end of the album) they are nothing less than enthralling.

There are echoes of Mercury Rev on the defiant ‘Rotten Hell’, whilst howling guitars and brooding Saxophone characterise ‘Weird’. Elsewhere Menomena take ‘Up’ era REM as a reference point on ‘My My’- A brilliantly structured song defined by its paradoxical use of warm keyboards and choppy, industrial beats. It is one of many gems.

It’s a shame that the record falls away so badly in its last quarter. The final three songs appear to be an afterthought – lumped on at the end to pad things out when there really is no need for their presence. It leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, but spin straight back to the start and all is forgotten. Friend and Foe deserves attention.

It’s always a danger to be overly vocal about your influences, ambulance it invariably leads people to compare you to those you have cited as inspiration, more about and with a band name taken from a Wilco song, dosage Cherry Ghost have set the bar a little too high. Thirst for Romance is positioned firmly in the folk/country influenced indie rock category and despite not being a spectacular record it has some nice moments, even if they are a little bit uninspired.

Read more

Amelia’s Magazine | Kotki Dwa introduce the video for new single Poison, created with Plastic Horse

by

Poison_kotki dwa
Poison is typically and beautifully Kotki Dwa – a jaunty, melodic bounce fest of a song based upon the theme of Poison…. I asked singer Alex Ostrowski about the clever video which accompanies their new release.

YouTube Preview Image
What is your poison?
Pineapple Juice.. Ahhhhhhhh

What’s going on in your new video? You’ve overlaid all sorts of interesting images. What effect were you hoping to achieve and how did you do this?
The song is quite all-over-the-place lyrically and we wanted to reflect that somehow. Our friends Plastic Horse made the video with us, they’re pretty bonkers. We looked a lot at the old title sequence for Roald Dahl‘s Tales Of The Unexpected – brilliant. I suppose the video itself is kind of hallucinatory and poisoned, that’s the idea. Bit delusional.

Kotki Dwa poison video lady
Kotki Dwa poison video
Explain: Canaries, mines, breaking waves, clowns, roulette, Saturn’s rings.
They used to take canaries down mines to detect toxic gases like methane and carbon monoxide. Because the little birds are more sensitive than humans, they’d get poisoned first, giving humans enough time to get out of there. Pretty sad. The waves are about a book I read called Night Haunts that explains what goes on at night in the sewers under the city to prevent these giant grease balls from blocking up the place. Imagine. Clowns = weekend leisure (check out Slava’s Snow Show when you have a minute). Roulette wheel is kind of for Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. And Saturn comes from the Planetarium, a personal favourite. Go.

Kotki Dwa poison video canary
Kotki Dwa poison video saturn
What has Kotki Dwa got planned for 2012?
We’re bursting with excitement about this year. We’ve been working on a new album for the last year and a bit, and we’re currently recording it. But there’s a pretty big twist about how we’re going to release it. All secret for now, but big announcements to make at the end of March! Album due this Summer :)

Kotki Dwa poison video police
Posion by Kotki Dwa was released on the 12th March 2012. Get your copy from bandcamp now!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday March 14th, 2012 2:04 pm

Categories ,Alex Ostrowski, ,Canaries, ,Clowns, ,Kotki Dwa, ,Night Haunts, ,Planetarium, ,Plastic Horse, ,Poison, ,Polish, ,review, ,Roald Dahl, ,Saturn, ,single, ,Slava’s Snow Show, ,Tales Of The Unexpected, ,video

Similar Posts: