A huge thanks to The Mahogany Blog for a great live session at St Pancras Old Church last night. So nice to hear some acts absolutely able to belt out big acoustic sound in the usually-quiet surroundings. Here’s a little bit of what we heard.
George Ezra‘s voice is so powerful he turned the amp down at the start of his set. Completely captivating, both from a voice and songwriting perspective. I’m looking forward to hearing more from him.
I will love The Strokes unconditionally and forever; Julian Casablancas has a voice that makes me feel like he and I are clinging to each other on a precupice while the world rushes past us, and the lyrics always make me want to cry like a baby despite the catchy singalong guitar melodies.
So the prospect of a new album has made me feel giddy for a little while now, slightly fearful of one day a record from them (or Julian’s solo work) letting down my ridiculous expectations (it never does). Theirs is a formula that will always work though, and there’s nothing remotely un-Strokes-y about Comedown Machine.
For example, the lyrics on One Way Trigger
You asked me to stay
but there’s a million reasons to leave
Don’t take my word for it, you can listen to the whole thing in full now over at Pitchfork.
There’s also a taster of new single All The Time here
Whether it was written inspired by these moments or to inspire them, there is no doubt that there is something spine-tinglingly Balearic about Ursa Minor’s beautifully executed debut single Droplet Affection. As Little Bear/Gabby Cooke’s stunning vocals soar over the dreamy backdrop of synthy house beats, you can’t help but be transported back to that unparalleled feeling you get as you witness the deep red sunrise of summer.
Ursa Minor are Little Bear, Yoshee, Alex and Evee. They have been getting a lot of attention across the blog world recently and they are now ready to place themselves firmly on your playlists in 2012. With a remix from the excellent Robert Owens in the pipeline and upcoming collaborations with the likes of Jozif and Mikill Pane of Manchester’s Murkage crew, it’s clear that Ursa Minor and Little Bear are no strangers to the dance world either.
They will be taking to the stage in Finsbury Park this Friday to launch the single, so get yourselves to the Silver Bullet to catch them in action at Finny P’s Ugly Xmas Jumper Party.
Droplet Affection was let loose on the world yesterday through Invader Music and it’s up for grabs here via iTunes, or here on Amazon. There’s a free stripped back version available here via Snipe London: Ursa Minor – Droplet Affection (Stripped) by snipelondon
If you’ve ever frequented the dingy indie clubs of London town in recent years, I have no doubt that you will have seen these boys grace the stage in one of their previous guises. Their energy and sound has always been exciting. Their unique ability to get a new crowd singing along to their intelligently crafted and catchy hooks has never ceased to amaze me. They have an enviable knack of producing music that you love enough to believe, right there and then, that you’ve heard it a hundred times before. There is always an overwhelming sense of intrigue in the room and it is always complimented by a feeling that there are bigger things to come.
Now embracing all things electronic, I am excited to introduce you to their new project Enfant. They’re already creating a buzz on the scene, so we wanted to hear what’s what from them. They kindly offered us an exclusive interview and here’s what they had to say…
Introduce yourselves in your own words
We are an electronic music trio made up of twin brothers Robin and Ali Owen and Ed Ellis. Enfant only started this summer – but we all know each other from playing in previous bands together. We can’t really tell you who does what as we’re not really sure anymore; everyone writes and everyone plays. It’s a great way to work because you take the egos out and you come up with something that’s unique between the three of you.
What’s your sound and what’s coming up?
We’re definitely electronic and love combining pumped up bass lines with interesting melodies and big choruses. We’ve got several tracks in the pipeline that cover a few different musical bases; some are a bit darker, some more dance focussed and then some you can sing along to. We’re also into our electro, house and techno and will be exploring these sides of us. There are a lot of tracks that we know we want to make which will be different but shouldn’t alienate people who were into these first few tracks; we think that’s a really exciting place to be. We’re also working on a couple of remixes that will be available soon.
Can you tell us a little bit about your first single Waking Up the Sun? What’s the story behind it?
Waking Up The Sun is pure hedonism. It’s about letting go of the rigmarole of life and just saying f**k it, life’s not about work, money or responsibilities. We want the song to bring out the memories of those nights/weekends/weeks we’ve all had (or we hope you’ve had) where nothing else mattered apart from the here and now. For us it’s London, Glastonbury, Ibiza and many more. We’re just in the process of shooting the video for this track, so stay tuned for that too.
Can you each name a couple of people who’ve inspired you from the past and any who you admire now?
We have such a wide variety of influences between us it’s hard to pinpoint specifics, but if we had to then LCD Soundsystem would definitely be in there, as would the Chemical Brothers. Groove Armada’s Black Light album was a defining album for us. Then you’ve got the likes of Filthy Dukes and pretty much any French electro. We’re also really into Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Alex Metric at the moment.
When can we catch you in action?
We’re DJing around London at the moment and our live show is coming very soon. We all come from backgrounds of playing in bands so we’re taking our music to the stage in a way electronic music often isn’t. We grew up playing live and it’s where we feel most comfortable.
If we see you at the bar, what will yours be?
We’ll be having a lager, a Guinness and a Bourbon. Robin has a bizarre allergy to lager and Ed can’t go a day without whiskey!
Download: Foster the People – Helena Beat (Enfant Remix)
To follow what these boys are up to go to: Enfant on Twitter // Enfant on Facebook
Last weekend eased us gently into a marathon summer of music and drinking in the sun. In the way that Field Day successfully curates a summer’s day, Great Escape manages to sustain the pace for three. It is one of those festivals that appears to effortlessly cherry pick the crème de la crème of future big players in the game and scatter them smoothly across a plethora of spaces.
Twin Shadow
This year was no exception, and our favourites from the hundreds of bands, DJs and artists you could have seen will form the theme of this week’s Woody’s Roundup. First up for us was Twin Shadow. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida, George Lewis Jnr relocated to New York and worked at his take on 80s new-wave. This year has already seen him take the stage at Coachella festival in the States, as well as a stretch of European tour dates. If you catch him soon, keep a keen eye on the drummer; he makes the live show.
On a sunny Friday afternoon, we reluctantly squeezed into a pitch black sweaty studio to assess the live credentials of a band who have been subtlety bubbling away in blog world since last summer. Young Empires are threesome Robert Aaron Ellingson, Jake Palahnuk and Matthew Vlahovich from Toronto. They put on a lively, upbeat performance that really gets you moving; great fun and very Kitsuné. My other key observation was that their cheeky frontman doesn’t wear shoes, which in a way sums up their charisma as a band perfectly. You’ll probably have to go and see them to understand what I mean.
Ghostpoet
Now, how to describe Ghostpoet… hypnotic? Melodic? Going places? All of the above? I’ve heard the name ‘Ghostpoet’ dropped into conversation everywhere lately and he recently got a coveted Maida Vale slot on Rob Da Bank’s show – so he must be good. By far and away my favourite performance of the festival, Ghostpoet’s tone and rhythm gives a nod to the distinctive style of Maxi Jazz. In short, perhaps somewhat controversially, my feeling is that he could be this decade’s updated, grimier and dubbier answer to Faithless.
Saturday came around all too quickly and led us down the path to the depressingly named Irish alternative rock band, Funeral Suits. Now, don’t be put off by the idea of music to play in a mortuary – it’s not. Great Escape described their music as ‘a shared love of epic, distorted guitars, blistering harmonious pop, art and electronica’. As a guide, I would probably say take out the math rock rhythmic oddities of the Foals, add some more drums and turn up the bass, but keep the melodies that soar over the top of Cassius and you’re probably about there; really enjoyable and a much happier find than the rest of your “funeral suit” Google searches.
In the basement of Audio, whilst the sun was still shining, Becoming Real (a boy who has clearly grown up in a world that welcomed the beginning of dubstep) put on a best practice performance in the art of sculpting off-beat electro tracks on the spot with just a Mac, mini keyboard and a nano pad or two. He’s probably more of an acquired taste, but certainly one for fans of weird dubstep-driven electronica.
Last but by no means least, Foster the People closed the festival for us. ‘Catchy melodies and hammering basslines’ we were promised, an even bigger performance by the boys from LA we got. With enough instruments to serve an orchestra, these boys are coming to get you. I’m expecting to see them on stage at every festival this summer. It’s happy, it’s sunny and it’s got mass-appeal, but it’s not the same old story… Watch out for the lead singer’s dancing feet, they’re captivating. They do a pretty cool t-shirt too.
It was an impossibility to see everyone, but since I got back I’ve been scouring the programme for any gaps in my repertoire. I’ve got a habit of believing the hype, because more often than not it’s founded. In order to avoid short-changing you here, I’ve also made sure the likes of Little Dragon, Florrie, Black Devil Disco Club, Lone, Beat Connection, Gang Gang Dance, Polarsets, Charli XCX, The Holidays and Suuns are all represented in a ZIP too.
The Great Escape 2011 - part 1 [GE2011.zip1]
Twin Shadow – I Can’t Wait // Young Empires – Rain of Gold // Ghostpoet – Cash & Carry Me Home ft. Kano (if you don’t like Kano, I’d buy the original…) // Funeral Suits – Colour Fade // Becoming Real – Get Hype // Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks (MNDR 4 – Track Remix)
The Great Escape 2011 - part 2 [GE2011.zip2]
Beat Connection – Silver Screen (Young Montana Remix) // Black Devil Disco Club – To Ardent ft. Nancy Sinatra (Grovesnor Remix) // Charli XCX – Stay Away (T.Williams Dub) // Gang Gang Dance – House Jam // Little Dragon – Feather (Fromwood Remix) // Lone – Once in a While // Polarsets – Morning // Suuns – Optimist // The Holidays – Moonlight Hours (Jonathan Boulet Remix)
What a week, we were looking to the weekend for a rest! There’s no rest for the wicked though. This weekend’s clubbing sees Riva Starr and Hannah Holland over at East Village, Basement Jaxx at Jamm, Brixton and Moshi Moshi Records take over Bloomsbury Bowl tonight. Tomorrow you can catch up with Nelski over at Plan B, James Blake at The Rhythm Factory, and, for those who can’t make it to Space this summer, We Love are throwing one of their oh-so-special parties over at Ministry of Sound, showcasing talent such as DJ Hell, the fantastic 2020 Soundsystem, Ralph Lawson and Paul Woolford. If you’ve still got anything left after that, Ketoloco have invited Ilario Alicante for their Sunday Summer Special at The Light Bar.
Sunshine songs and a bit of fun are always welcome when a rare extended bout of summer comes along. So, included in our happy selection today, we have a remix of a track from drummer, guitarist and songwriter Florrie which features on the forthcoming Kitsuné x Ponystep compilation (released on Monday). On the tracklist is a band you may have noticed us keeping a close eye on, MAY68 (My Ways is sandwiched neatly inbetween Lo-Fi-Fnk and David E. Sugar). Which links seamlessly to MAY68 at Koko tonight. We’ll be heading down to Club NME to catch them still buzzing off a week of media frenzy, following their performance on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury last weekend.
Florrie – Call 911 (BeatauCue remix – JBAG edit)
Ali Love – Smoke & Mirrors (Bottin Remix)
Pablo Calamari - I Bought My Wife On The Black Market (DCUP mix)
Aeroplane – I Crave Paris
AFFKT – Milongas (Uner Remix)
Ost & Kjex – Continental Lover (Pawas Dub Mix)
Quinten 909 – The Motions
This was my first time at The Great Escape and it seems I picked a good one. Now in its 5th year The Great Escape hosts over 300 new artists across a collection of venues in Brighton; pubs, clubs, buses, court yards, beaches…
I kicked off with a taster of Egyptian Hip Hop. The young Manchester boys donned fitting North African attire, strummed deep into their instruments and moved the room with their explosive live show. A very nice welcome to Brighton.
I finally got to see MAY68 live. Self-confessed cow bell addicts with an unwavering ability to move even an uneducated crowd, they should play big club venues and even bigger sound systems (sign them up now Warehouse Project!). Judy Wainwright’s captivating vocals along with her interaction with guitarist Jonny Sture fuels support for ‘ones to watch’ lists being much more than just a PR dream. MAY68 are a pleasure to watch.
Egyptian Hip Hop – Rad Pitt
Egyptian Hip Hop – Wild Human Child (Radiant Dragon Mix)
MAY68 – The Duke Is Dead (Alex Egyptian HipHop mix)
MAY68 – My Ways (Acid Washed Remix)
Getting from place to place in time for your ideal line-up bears far too great a resemblance to the frustrations felt at The Camden Crawl, but then it’s all about accidental finds. So, taking me away from the beach simply by sound were Poland’s Kamp!, a three-man set up tastefully experimenting with their own brand of electronica. Leaving me out on the street through sheer popularity was Gold Panda, whose live show was described as ”a master-class in multi-tasking – samplers, keyboards and drum machines” by Sean Adams of Drowned In Sound. It sounded great – shame we couldn’t see it!
Delphic
Huge performances from Everything Everything and Delphic on the Friday night blew my mind. Everything Everything were my first taste of credible indie with three men harmonising, almost like choristers, whilst still keeping some grit. And for Delphic: take a spectacular backdrop (Sankeys’ lights at 45 degrees, or for those of a more artistic disposition think Dan Flavin) and then throw in stadium-worthy vocals from James Cook and no one can deny these boys are on a rapid ascent to super-stardom. Keeping the essence of their former years with beautiful, melodic, spine-tingling instrumentals, they just can’t get better at the moment.
Everything Everything – My Keys Your Boyfriend (Delphic Remix)
Delphic – This Moment / Sanctuary
Getting to everyone on Saturday proved tough. With only an endless stream of hearsay to go on, Wild Palms, Esben and the Witch and Lonelady were all first time viewings for me. Wild Palms are an excellent live band, with singer Lou Hill holding attention with the concentrated stare of a troubled soul and a voice that could challenge Brandon Flowers. Esben and the Witch were a sight to behold. They were as enchanting as their name suggests, with chilling, yet beautiful music. Earmarked by The Big Pink as an “organic Portishead” and performing in a pub on the pier that really has seen better days, they pulled a curious crowd and left with an army of converted followers.
Wild Palms – Over Time (sniTch Remix)
Esben and the Witch – About This Peninsula
Esben and the Witch – Marching Song
Thank you, Great Escape!
Great Escape Take-Away ZIP
MAY68 are from Manchester. They are on this year’s ‘ones to watch’ lists. They’re finishing up a UK tour and have just bagged air time on Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 show. Their ideal festival slot would be sunset on the Park stage at Glastonbury and when they aren’t gigging, remixing or DJing themselves you can find them partying at at Manchester nights Now Wave, Contort Yourself and Sex with Robots.
So, if all this sounds like your cup of tea, read on as Jonny from the band has spoken to us about their amazing UK tour dates including the opening FAC251, Manchester’s latest attack on the UK music scene and what’s in store for MAY68…
In the immortal words of Cilla Black, who are you and where do you come from?
We are… Camille (Drums / Vox) from Paris, Jude (Vocals) from Sheffield, Owen (Bass) from Runcorn, Matt (Keys / Percussion) from Frodsham and Jonny (Guitar / Keys) from Bradford.
Just scrolling through your website gives you a feel of the excitement and hype surrounding the band. Recently, there have been gigs with The Whip, Delphic, We Have Band, The Sunshine Underground, and at one of our favourite nights in London – Kill Em All, as well as Manchester’s famous In the City Music Conference. Have you got any highlights from that impressive list of shows?
It’s been a fast paced few months, we’ve had a great year playing live all over the UK with loads of great bands, the ones that stick out in our minds have got to be our gigs with The Juan Maclean at The Deaf Institute, The Drums at Night and Day for this year’s In The City, and playing at King Tut’s in Glasgow on the recent tour. In all our (small) touring experience no one’s been quite as welcoming and fun as the Glaswegians, we were first on but they still tore the place apart. That’s definitely been the pinnacle of the year.
Amongst those gigs was one of the opening gigs for Number One Charles Street, now known as Fac251, which was famed for being the home and head quarters of the Manchester’s iconic Factory Records. Can you tell us how you think Fac251 holds up as a live music venue? And a bit about what must have been quite a special date in your calendar?
Fac251 seems to have torn everyone into two camps. There’s people who are still mad for it and people who seem to really detest its very existence. We found our experience at Factory to be a good one. We we’re treated very, very well, other promoters could learn a thing or two from them (VIP treatment all night…)! We played in between Lonelady and The Whip both of which were fantastic, there was a real buzz in the crowd, the line up was perfect for an opening party and got everyone in the mood. The venue itself is great for live bands, it had a lot of money spent on it but they seem to have put it into the right things, it looks great and the sound is amazing. They’ve not sterilised the soul out of it which could have easily been done.
It was a special date for us and we were honoured to be asked to play at the opening weekend, but in terms of talking about Factory’s legacy and its supposed return, it’s not and never will be the Hacienda. The city is far more cosmopolitan now, it’s been diluted, where once there was only the Hacienda to experience new music there are now hundreds of venues and thus a whole lot of crap doing the rounds. It’s going to take something more than a new club opening to put Manchester back on the musical map. (Luckily there’s a shed load of great bands around to do that!)
On a theme here, there’s bound to be intrigue surrounding what is being hailed as the next Manchester music boom, and MAY68 are likely to be caught up in the speculation. Do you think this boom exists or is it just a coincidence?
There’s definitely a boom now but its more a case of people waking up and taking notice of what’s going on in Manchester. Its kind of like Manchester has been harbouring these bands for the last year and now its setting them loose on the rest of the world and it’s only now with a few big breakthrough acts such as Delphic and Hurts that people are looking to see what’s going on. There are some great bands around at the moment and we are definitely caught up in the speculation of the next Manchester explosion, I reckon people are starting to get quite excited about how the bands develop and breakthrough in the public eye. There’s a lot of potential but people need to give it a chance.
How’s everyone feeling about getting on to so many ‘ones to watch’ lists?
We’re enjoying the attention! It’s all based on work we’ve been doing last year which is great because we think that personally we’ve developed a lot as a band the new material should continue to make some waves. I guess the pressure is hoping that people feel that the hype is justified…
If you could give everyone one track to listen to now which sums up what MAY68 are all about – which one would it be?
It would have to be our debut single My Ways out on Hit Club and Silver Music Machine (shameless plug) but we chose that to be our debut for that very reason. It sums up completely what we’re about at the moment. If you want a listen you can stream it at our Soundcloud or Myspace. If you like what you hear and fancy a copy it’s out on the 15th of March and is available at Puregroove / iTunes / Beatport.
Finally, can you sum up what 2010 holds for the band?
Well we’ve recorded singles 2 & 3 already. We keep demoing new tracks for the album and lending our hand to remixing tracks by our friends. We’ve got a whole lot of musical output up our sleeves that we’re itching to put out for everyone, then we’ll be carrying on with our live adventure across the UK and hopefully further afield before the years out! Keep watching we’ve got a lot more in waiting!
You can still catch MAY68 in both Manchester and London - we have it on good authority from the band that “you can expect relentlessly tight rhythms, infectious melodies and a shit load of cowbells, all the makings of an explosive party!” So go and check them out:
27th Feb @ Proud Gallery, Camden with French Horn Rebellion
10th March @ Deaf Institute, Manchester with Errors
13th March @ 93 Feet East, Shoreditch, with Ezra Bang & Larry Tee
27th March @ Retro Bar Manchester SINGLE LAUNCH PARTY!
My Ways is available to buy from 15th March on Hit Club (limited 7” pre-order here) and Silver Music Machine (digital – itunes link here)
Grab your download of The Duke is Dead (Demo) here and the MAY68 February mixtape here.
“Boy-girl harmonies, jangly guitars and wistful lyrics, which all combine to create a dreamlike soundscape”
Young And Lost Club on Photobooth/Weightless, March 2009.
Pete, Laurel, Chris, Brooke and Danny are The ExLovers, and they’re about to embark on a UK tour, their first as headliners.
If you haven’t seen them live (which you might well have done, they’ve had a pretty gruelling touring schedule since they began in 2008) you should; Pete and Laurel’s voices produce an ethereal harmony and the band’s acoustic, stripped-down performance makes you feel like you’re part of something secret and intimate. Here’s a pretty stunning example of their work:
ExLovers – Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
We had a word with singer Laurel Sills after their superb gig at The Old Queens Head in Angel last month.
Congratulations on a brilliant set on Wednesday – we loved it! Great atmosphere too, have you played there before? What’s your favourite venue you’ve played?
Thank you! We hadn’t played there before but we all really liked it, the sound there is really good and the crowd were lovely.
I think my favourite ever was Shepherds Bush Empire when we were supporting Pete Doherty. It is such an amazing venue, with the different levels rising up in front of you. It makes it feel quite intimate actually, I thought it would feel all huge and scary. Not like Barrowlands, which actually is very big and scary!
You got together in 2008 I think – how did the five of you start playing together?
We all knew each other through mutual friends. Pete had a load of songs and suddenly a tour booked. He was like, “I need a band!” So we got together and in less than a month we were on tour. It was pretty full on.
What was your favourite track of your set this week?
I really like our two new songs, Moth Eaten Memories and Starlight. The opener and the closer actually!
Who are you listening to at the moment?
Personally, I can’t stop listening to Bat for Lashes.
Would you consider other covers, now that Wicked Game has been such a success?
We have so much fun playing Wicked Game, I love singing it. I don’t think we have another one planned, Wicked Game would be pretty hard to beat but who knows?
What are your plans after the next tour?
Just get writing and recording I think. We just recorded some demos over Christmas and it got us all a bit excited about our new songs.
What is your next release?
Not sure at the moment, it will hopefully be quite soon…
You Forget So Easily from exlovers on Vimeo.
ExLovers UK Headline tour:
20 Feb 2010 – Quarterhouse - Folkestone
22 Feb 2010 – Joiners – Southampton
23 Feb 2010 – Cavern Club - Exeter
25 Feb 2010 – The Plug – Sheffield
26 Feb 2010 – West End Centre – Aldershot
27 Feb 2010 – Moles – Bath
28 Feb 2010 – Roadmender – Northampton
2 Mar 2010 - Fibbers – York
5 Mar 2010 – Cooler – Bristol
6 Mar 2010 – The Jericho – Oxford
7 Mar 2010 – The Hope - Brighton
9 Mar 2010 - Adelphi - Hull
10 Mar 2010 – The Lexington – London
13 Mar 2010 – The Cockpit – Leeds
You Forget So Easily is out to buy now on Chess Club records.
Bertie Blackman first arrived on our radar towards the end of last summer. Having tackled another rather hefty clubbing weekend, a friend played us the superbly beautiful Mike Newman remix of her track Town of Sorrow. Here Newman has created a powerful introduction to both her musical talent and excellent remixability, as the soothing vocal breakdown sends you floating away before it returns with a simple, friendly house beat bringing you safely back down to earth.
Town of Sorrow comes from the 2009 release of Bertie Blackman’s third album Secrets and Lies (released in May 2009 on Forum 5 Recordings) which follows her 2004 folk-infused debut Headway and her ‘sexier’, ‘grittier’ 2006 album, Black.
Off the back of Secret and Lies Bertie Blackman secured a nomination for a J award for Best 2009 Album (through Triple J radio back in her homeland of Australia), sell-out tour dates in Sydney and Melbourne and festival appearances alongside UK pop sensations La Roux and Little Boots.
London now plays host to an imminent series of intimate gigs which begin tonight at one of my favourite small venues in the capital, Monto Water Rats:
16 Feb 2010 – Monto Water Rats, Grays Inn Road
17 Feb 2010 – The Flowerpot, Kentish Town
18 Feb 2010 – Madame Jo Jo’s, Soho
19 Feb 2010 – Koko, Camden
22 Feb 2010 – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, Hoxton Square
27 Feb 2010 – Barfly, Camden
As well as Town of Sorrow, album track Black Cats has been getting around on the remix roster. You can find the Shazam remix for free download on the Bertie Blackman website or the Calling in Sick mix right here.
Secrets and Lies is available to buy from all the usual places (iTunes/Amazon).