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EP REVIEW: Thomas & The Empty Orchestra – ‘Let Go’

By
Frank
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0

There is a timeless quality to the songs on Thomas’s new EP, they don’t seem rooted in any particular time or indeed place. They sound like you’ve heard them before, that feeling that a song just makes sense, that feeling that this is something so good that it must, just must have been around for ages. The sound is pure, the singing is just quietly effective. I’ve said this before but I really like a voice that just quietly and gently tells us a story and yet conveys emotion, feeling and meaning in spades.

If you must know, and I guess it’s part of a reviewers job to tell you, the sound is Americana, it’s folk, it’s British folk singer/song writer, it’s Laurel Canyon singer/songwriter, and yet there are these things that mark out from the usual – the odd effect, the sudden introduction of drums, keyboards.

The thing about Thomas’s songs is that the words are incredibly important, and the words on these songs are carefully crafted and complex. I’ve been lucky enough to have access to these songs for quite some time and I was only in the beginning stages of getting the words. Even with recent access to the lyrics this only helped a little if I’m honest because there are layers of meaning. This isn’t to say that you can’t ‘get’ the songs on your first listen, you can, but they bear repeated listening because that allows you to really start hearing the words. And the more you hear the words the more moving the songs become.

I have this sense of what ‘In The Eaves’ is about but it is – in common with some of Thomas’s other songs – ambiguous. Is it about a turning away from spirituality, a descent into earthly pleasures? Or it could quite possibly be interpreted as being about leaving a relationship. Whatever it describes there is a return after a period. A period where somebody dies – that much is explicit. Musically it eases us gently into the EP. It’s just voice and guitar for quite some time. And then there is this sudden, although not abrupt, section with piano, organ and drums, it doesn’t crash in, it just sounds right. Look I could bore you with quite what happens musically but honestly I don’t need to. Instruments come in and out, adding to the emotions, the story of the song. It’s done with delicacy, a great sense of what of adds to the song, they never take away or overwhelm. The strange thing is that even though they should sound like they ruin the quietness of this track they don’t, it still has this calm feel almost wistful feel.

There is a more pronounced Americana feel to ‘Time Runs Out For Narcissus’, it’s the finger picking and the harmonica, it’s that shuffling rhythm. It’s the lovely catch in Thomas’s voice. This is a horribly catchy song, that tune will just lodge itself in your head. The beat will have your feet tapping. However listen to the words and it is a tale of a selfish, self-centred man attempting to find love and atone for his behaviour.

With ‘Blood Moon (No Friend)’ there is something that might bring it more up to date soundwise if it wasn’t for those wonderful backing vocals, the piano sound, the almost country feel which just lands us somewhere between the late Sixties and now, I really can’t be any more precise than that. I find the lyrics of this song both hugely fascinating and bewildering if I’m honest, it’s the sort of song where you think “ah so now I know what it’s about” and then you look again, you listen, and the sense you thought you had falls away.

And now to my favourite song on the EP. ‘Let Go’ is so delicate, it’s so sparse that for the vast majority of the song I found myself thinking of ‘Pink Moon’ period Nick Drake – just in the feeling, the mood – and then it just bursts, it swells, and then it’s back to being delicate, but more so, way more so. Musically this song is so achingly beautiful, it leaves you feeling wrung out. It’s a poignant song about a lost love, the words are (relatively) simple but their meaning is complex.

So how to sum up the songs on this EP? I could just say this is a set of beautiful and moving songs – which they are – but somehow when Thomas has so obviously spend time and thought on making them, that seems inadequate. The music is just so obviously right for each song, it complements and adds to the songs’ meaning and emotion. The words are deserving of really listening to them, really getting the words but even a first listen will give you a sense of the songs. I could say that if you like singer/songwriters who write meaningful and thoughtful songs you’d like these – and you will – but again this seems inadequate. I could tell you why you should listen to these songs but it would take – and given that I did this with a friend the other day I know – ages, if you spot me at a gig and have say half an hour to spare then I’d be happy to tell you why face-to-face.

So perhaps what I need to say is that I love these songs, they are beautifully arranged and the words are compelling, emotional and meaningful. But even that seems inadequate if I’m honest, sometimes you just can’t find the right words to say how good songs are. This is one of those times.

The Info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomasateo
Bandcamp: https://thomasandtheemptyorchestra.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thomasandtheemptyorchestra

FRANKS COLUMN: ‘Frank, your reviews can be a little, how do I put this, strange and weird’

By
Frank
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0

I’ve received a number of comments – some of which could be called blunt – telling me that my reviews are just strange and weird, peculiar or just frankly say that they were ‘clearly written when you were on something’. And while I’d happily admit to being strange and weird, I don’t write my reviews while on anything. I’m just like that normally, honest.

Apparently some people object to my use of the words beautiful, wonderful or fabulous (not music review allowed words apparently) to describe any sort of music, or that I might admit to feeling any sort of emotion as a result of listening to a song. They say that reviews should tell them what a new track sounds like, and that any list of ‘sound likes’ must refer to bands and artists they know about, not a list of bands from the past (say any time beyond five years ago) that they have to go and look up.

My defence is that I do, and actually like to have, have some sort of emotional response to music. And isn’t trying to get an emotional response what the band or artist are actually doing when they write and record a track. This might be as simple as conveying ‘happy’ or as complex as describing a relationship breakup in a song. My emotional response may not be what the artist set out to provoke but art – which is what good music is – is open to interpretation. My response may not be your response but mine is as valid as yours.

In fact, and as you might have worked out, is that I am quite emotional. I do get very emotional responses to a whole lot of things (DIY SOS is almost guaranteed to get a lump in my throat for example, and yes I do know that’s sad of me) and that includes music. Recently I did actually shed a tear at a gig because the band I saw were just so good, although that’s the first time since oh quite a time ago. The last time was in the 80s and I’m not going to say who the band was other than to say I actually wept openly during a drum solo (and actually I’ve wept openly during two drum solos in my life). I might reveal who the band were recently if somebody twisted my arm.

And at times, my reviews aren’t reviews as such but my reactions to a track – basically ‘this is how it made me feel’. And that may or may not be useful to you. If it isn’t sorry, but I find it difficult to write entirely objective and logically structured reviews for some songs.

And I do try and include at least some sort of ‘sounds like’ list but this isn’t always easy. For music that draws on a whole range of influences that list may be vast. A short list will indicate that the music is very close to the bands or artists listed and while that may be what you want, sometimes original (and good in my opinion) music isn’t in a pre-existing niche. And bands and artists often listen to stuff from absolutely ages ago and that influences them. If I hear something, it may be just a hint, I’ll say that even if it dates back beyond ‘back in the day’.

What I will happily admit to is that some of the music I review I adore, love or think is quite quite wonderful and at times this can result in what looks like a ‘fanboy’ review, a torrent of praise, or just something that sounds like a gush of ‘I love this’. But reviewers are allowed to be fans, it’s in the rules, we are allowed to say this band are great/wonderful and you must listen to them. The problem with being a fan and a reviewer is of course that at some stage a band I really like might record something I don’t like, and quite what would I do at that point?

And at times my love for a particular track can result in the use of some rather – let us say – apparently overblown phrases. Recent comments have picked out:

‘And yes, it’s beautiful, beautiful in an epic bringing tears to the eyes way’
– ‘Beautiful, really? That brought tears to your eyes?’ the commenter said. Well yes I do think it’s beautiful and it did actually bring tears to my eyes
‘some utterly lovely vocals’
– somebody just objected to this, although quite why vocals can’t be utterly lovely I just don’t know
From my review of ‘Wax’ by Pepe Sylvia

‘an organ trill, something I have become addicted to, horribly addicted to, it’s just strangely thrilling’
– ‘How can an organ trill be strangely thrilling?’ I was asked. Why in the hell not.
From my review of ‘Judder’ by jellyskin

‘I almost couldn’t bear for this to end, when it ended I felt like something had been ripped out, there is only one solution, hit repeat, hit repeat again, and yet again. Annoy the neighbours by playing on repeat for ever, I don’t frankly care, I need this.’
– The comment about this was that I shouldn’t be telling you how I felt, but what it sounded like (which I had earlier in the review). And that frankly I was clearly ‘under the influence’ when I wrote it. I wasn’t
From my review of INK’s EP

These do come from reviews of things I had an immediate and very strong emotional response to. Things that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. Things that were written and recorded in order to have an emotional response from listeners. And I if get an emotional response I want to try and tell you, the reader, about that, so that you get a sense that this is music that is meant, well written and well played. Music that sets out to provoke some sort of emotional response, music that you can engage with on a deeper level. I’m just not going to apologise for responding emotionally.

And while I’m here I want to say that when I say I listen to things on repeat in reviews I do, sometimes over and over and over again. I can, and do, get addicted to what a song does to me, even if it makes me very sad. That’s just what I do. I don’t put it in for effect.

Other people have commented that my reviews vary in style – they might be emotional, they might be of the ‘this band kicks ass’ or ‘fucking rocks’ type, or they might be trying to be more analytical about the music. And yes, they do vary, my reviews reflect how the music effects me. It doesn’t mean that a non-emotional review means I don’t like something as much. There is some music that hits me deeply but my review will attempt to analyse the music in an attempt to try and work out why, and help you understand it. And sometimes I find really great loud rock music ‘beautiful’ but I’m not entirely sure that that’s what fans of that genre might want to hear, so yes I do tailor my reviews to the potential reader in some way sometimes.

But sometimes I just can’t do that, whatever I try and write all I can do is to say that things leave me feeling desolate or hugely uplifted, or that it was wonderful or beautiful. Reviewers can be left speechless by music sometimes, and whatever we try and do we can’t sufficiently explain how something made us feel or what this music is like or why it’s so good. It wouldn’t be entirely useful of me to say “well it’s great, because it’s great and I say so” would it?

So while my reviews may sometimes be strange and weird or sometimes gush, or sometimes read like I’ve lost it totally, this is what great music does to me. I am first and foremost a music fan, and I’m definitely not going to apologise for that.

THERE’S A WHOLE WORLD OUT THERE – BAND FEATURE teepee

By
Frank
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0

This ‘There’s a whole world out there’ features a band from Prague – teepee. I came across this band when attempting to listen to a track over and over again on YouTube from The Clouded Lights that I’m reviewing (this review will be published on 22nd May). The track that kept coming up after the Clouded Lights’ track and I had to ‘go back’ from was from teepee, and every time it started I listened to a bit more of the track, until finally I gave into what I was hearing and just let it wash over me.

Somehow and for some strange reason the track just grabbed me, no idea why, it’s just not entirely the sort of music that I usually go for. Maybe it was the simple but oh so beautiful arrangement, maybe it was the voices which are just incredible. Right at that moment I was so moved by this music that I started to explore their other tracks, find out whether they had a Facebook Page – they do – and message them. Thankfully they were nice enough to reply to this strange message from a music website based in Yorkshire and tell me where I could find their music.

So what do I know about teepee – very little really. The duo are Teera & Mason and as I said their hometown at least as far as their Page tells us is Prague. Their first album ‘Albatross’ was released in 2016, an EP in 2017 called ‘Mirrors’, and their new single is ‘Running Around’. They’ve never played in the UK but hope to!

What I found when exploring their other music is that I found the same qualities – beautifully arranged and played music with those voices. And if you haven’t clicked play on the video at the top of this piece then do that right now. Nice eh, I guess you could draw comparisons with The Civil Wars voice wise if you had to, if you really had to. But actually not really in some ways if I’m honest.

Musically they’re sometimes folky, sometimes country, sometimes indie, sometimes electronica. But the voices and the honest emotions are common.

I think what took me with this music is that it’s so obviously honest, it’s real and it’s meant. It’s full of understated emotion and it is, and I’m going to say it, beautiful.

Some highlights

So what to review? I could review the album, the single or just pick out some highlights. On reflection let’s just pick out some highlights and I can leave you to find your own favourites on their various streaming sites.

So let’s start with ‘Mirror’ (available on Spotify and the video above on Youtube) the song I kept hearing. This is one that builds and builds, it’s voices over gentle guitar, gradually that guitar builds, there are simple keyboards, and then it drops out, it swells – that swell will grab at your soul – and there is sudden rush of guitar, it’s strident, it’s just simply wonderful. The thing about this track, as with a lot of teepee’s music is that it’s simple but simple is really hard to do well. They do it exceptionally well.

‘Paintings’ is taken from their debut album and is at heart a sort of folkish/country song but it’s clever. The thing I really like about this song are the words, the music is really great, but the words are fabulous.

And now for something different ‘Running Around’ – the current single – is slightly country tinged in places, but it keeps changing, it is suddenly the most wonderful piece of pop electronica I’ve heard in a long time at one point. It is the most ear-wormy thing, I keep finding myself singing the chorus at the most inappropriate times (in the queue at the Post Office today for example). And it ends on this lovely piece of acapella singing. Again it’s simple, it’s honest, it’s full of understated emotions.

Again from their debut album ‘Raining’ is just the most disturbing song, it sounds like it’s the title song to a film about a world destroying event. It’s part weird cabaret, part gothic country. It leaves you feeling desolate. Quite what is raining down, whatever it is they want to be ‘hiding in their shelters tonight’.

‘Albatross’ the tile track of their album is one of those deceptively simple songs, on the face of it it’s those voices and a guitar. There’s some bass I think in there somewhere but it’s all kept low-key. It just swells vocally, and as it swells, you feel optimistic (this is going to make sense if you actually listen to the track honest).

I know of you are going to be thinking ‘but hold on here a minute, isn’t there enough great music that is from here, or the UK, or even those bands that are well-known from further afield’. To which I say probably yes, but sometimes it’s worth taking what’s offered to you as a related track or video on streaming sites. Sometimes you come across something really worthwhile, that you’re never going to find shared by your friend on Facebook or Twitter, that isn’t going to pop up on some music blog. In my case I can do that, I can say I think I’ve found something worth a listen and I think you should listen to it as well. And no, unless you pester your local promoter or venue, you might not actually ever get to see this band (there are some live videos on YouTube which look great) but you can listen to them at the very least.

The info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teepeeband
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teepeeband/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoYOxviBiHo0RkhIxP76R7w
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/teepeeband
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4uU11t5hm7AkOVgiO2IbgA

And finally

So I’m going to finish this piece with a challenge – if you’ve found a band or artist on your travels across the internet or just found out about them somehow and you think people should know about them, write a piece about them telling us why other people should listen to them, email it to us and we’ll consider it for publication. We might ask you to rewrite it a bit before we publish.

You need links to their streaming sites, Facebook Page and website if possible. You’ll need to include some sort of comment about their music like I have in this piece.

The band or artist doesn’t need to come from Yorkshire – that’s what ‘There’s a whole world out there’ is about – but if they do then that’s cool. The main thing is that they need to be relatively unknown (if none of your friends have heard of them then that’s enough).

This review is one of our ‘There’s A World Out There’ features in which we will choose things to review – albums, singles, gigs – that we like and feel are worth a listen – but are not made or played in Yorkshire. It’s as simple as that.

TOUR NEWS: Tears For Fears forced to postpone UK & Ireland tour, dates rescheduled for early 2019

By
Frank
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0

Tears for Fears have been forced to postpone their forthcoming sold out UK & Ireland arena tour due to unforeseen health concerns and on doctor’s orders. The tour, due to start April 27th in Leeds, and finish May 12th in Brighton has been rescheduled for early 2019.

Tears for Fears apologise to their fans and are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused.

They look forward to working on finishing material for their first new album in fourteen years, with the hope of releasing it this autumn.

Tickets for 2018 remain valid for that city’s rescheduled 2019 show, except for Glasgow and Birmingham where the venues have changed and customers will be issued with new tickets by their point of purchase.

For all shows if you are unable to attend the rescheduled date, please contact your point of purchase for a refund by Sunday 13th May 2018. Head to www.tearsforfears.com for more info.

Note Tears For Fears appearance at the Bath Festival 26th May has also been cancelled.

Tears For Fears rescheduled dates are as follows (with Alison Moyet remaining as a very special guest):

January 2019
Thu 31st Ireland, Dublin, 3Arena

February 2019
Sat 2nd Liverpool, Echo Arena
Sun 3rd Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
Mon 4th Brighton, Brighton Centre
Wed 6th London, The O2
Thu 7th Bournemouth, Bournemouth International Centre
Sat 9th Leeds, First Direct Arena
Mon 11th Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
Tue 12th Birmingham, Genting Arena
Wed 13th Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena

www.tearsforfears.com

FESTIVAL NEWS: Doc’n Roll Film Festival 2018 – the debut Manchester edition

By
LSF Staff Writers
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The UK’s Music Documentary Festival arrives in Manchester for the very first time from 23rd to 28th May 2018.

Taking over an array of venues in the city including the HOME arts complex, Gullivers, 3MT and Plant Noma – the festival will be bringing a programme of eleven premiere films to the city throughout the week.

A huge local draw for the Doc’n Roll Film Festival Manchester edition this year is surely the World premiere of a music documentary about one of the city’s most beloved talents: Badly Drawn Boy. About A Badly Drawn Boy tells the story of the Mercury prize-winning album that would take him to stardom: The Hour Of Bewilderbeast. (26 May @ HOME).

A city renowned for its supreme heritage of dance music, Mancunian audiences will also be rewarded with a film celebrating exactly that, as the Doc N Roll Festival presents the city’s premiere of Manchester Keeps On Dancing. After the screening, director Javi Senz will be accompanied by DJ royalty Krysko, Ruud Whiting (Metrodome/Levelz) and host Dave Haslam for a Q&A to truly take viewers behind the scenes of the film plus an after-party at Gorilla. (26 May @ HOME)

As part As part of the festivities, Doc’n Roll will be showcasing a series of sublime films focusing on subjects from: fierce pioneers of American grunge punk L7; the extraordinary Ella Fitzgerald; the bubbling underground Techno scene of Iran; a highly topical insight into the lack of female representation in the music industry; a unflinching insight into the world of troubled post-punk songwriter Adrian Borland & The Sound; the twisting tale of unsung Merseybeat heroes The Big Three; a long overdue exposé on the originators of extreme metal: DEATH; a visceral, immersive dive into the hazy black hole of Doom rock (featuring Black Sabbath); plus a celebration of the infamous Ealing Club in London, a venue dubbed “the Cradle of British Rock”.

Tickets on sale from 18 April 2018 via http://www.docnrollfestival.com/films/

Film and listings information

Walking In The Opposite Direction: Adrian Borland & The Sound
19:00 WEDNESDAY 23RD MAY – 3MT – 39 Oldham St, M1 1JG
** Manchester Premiere **
Director Marc Waltman, Netherlands, 2016, 96 mins

This is a tale of headstrong talent and dark despair: English singer-songwriter Adrian Borland, whose poetic lyrics, passionate vocals and compelling guitar work fuelled the critically lauded, Stooges – and Joy Division-hued post-punk band The Sound, battled mental illness before taking his own life in 1999. This haunting music documentary, by turns troubling and tender, was made in the Netherlands where Borland found his greatest acclaim. Via insights from those who knew him best, it turns an unsparing eye on an artist’s fierce creative vision and fearless determination to pursue his muse, even at the cost of his peace of mind.

L7: Pretend We’re Dead
18:30 THURSDAY 24TH MAY – HOME
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Sarah Price US, 2016, 82 mins

Fierce pioneers of American grunge punk, L7: Pretend We’re Dead is an engrossing time capsule told from the perspective of L7, these true insiders who brought their signature blend of grunge punk to the masses. Culled from over 100 hours of vintage home movies taken by the band, never-before-seen performance footage, and candid interviews, it takes viewers on an all access journey into the 1990’s grunge movement that took the world by storm. Charged with lyrics that had political bite and humour which proved irresistible to the disenfranchised, the marginalised, and the punk, they helped define grunge as the genre of a generation.

Chronicling the early days of the band’s formation in 1985 to their height as the ‘queens of grunge,’ the film is a roller coaster ride through L7’s triumphs and failures – a classic tale of rags to riches to rags. Featuring exclusive interviews with Exene Cervenka (X), Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Shirley Manson (Garbage), Louise Post (Veruca Salt), Joan Jett and many more.

Some Other Guys – The Story of the Big Three
19:00 THURSDAY 24TH MAY – GULLIVERS
** Manchester Premiere *
Dir. Todd Kipp, Canada, 2017, 100mins

A look back at Liverpool’s vibrant music scene in the 1960s, centred around the rise and fall of The Big Three. How did the Beatles rocket to stardom when their rivals The Big Three vanished from the music scene just as the British Invasion was beginning? Just like the Beatles, The Big Three were part of the exploding music scene in the North of England in the ’60s, they spent their early days playing at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, and they shared the manager who made the Beatles stars, Brian Epstein. Where they differed, however, was The Big Three’s loud, raucous live shows, their penchant for drinking, and their refusal to sell out. Although they enjoyed a brief period in the spotlight, the band cut ties with Epstein and ended their careers in a legendary fist fight. Through in-depth on-location interviews with many of the movers and shakers of the time, Some Other Guys looks into many never heard before behind the scenes stories as well as the myths and legends that have evolved into lore. Starring Brian “Griff” Griffiths, Johnny “Gus” Gustafson, Johnny “Hutch” Hutchinson and many others from the early days of British rock and roll!

Raving Iran
18:30 FRIDAY 25TH MAY – PLANT NOMA – Dantzic St, M60 0AB
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Susanne Regina Meures, 2016, Switzerland, 84mins

Anoosh and Arash are at the centre of Tehran’s underground techno scene. Tired of hiding from the police and their stagnating career, they organise one last manic techno rave in the desert, under dangerous circumstances. Back in Tehran they try their luck selling their illegally manufactured album. When Anoosh is arrested, there seems to be no hope left. But then they receive a phone call from the biggest techno festival in the world. Arriving in Switzerland, they are overwhelmed by the realisation of their own dream. The response from radio and newspaper interviews and the acclaim of millions of ravers and other DJs catapult them into another sphere.

Play Your Gender + Q&A
18:15 FRIDAY 25TH MAY – HOME
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Stephanie Clattenburg, Canada, 2017, 80mins
Q&A (music industry panelists TBA)

Just 5% of music producers are women, even though many of the most bankable pop stars are female. In the entire history of the Grammys, only six women have been nominated for the Producer of the Year award, and no woman has ever won. In Play Your Gender, Juno Award-winning producer Kinnie Starr embarks on a quest to find out why this disparity exists by speaking to music industry stars and veterans about the realities of being a woman in the recording studio. The documentary features interviews with Sara Quinn of Tegan & Sara, Melissa Auf der Maur of Smashing Pumpkins and Hole, Patty Schemel of Hole, Chantal Kreviazuk, and many more of the music industry’s most talented women.

About A Badly Drawn Boy + Q&A
15:30 SATURDAY 26TH MAY – HOME
*** World Premiere ***
Dir. THE MITCHAM SUBMARINE, 2018, UK, 72mins
Q&A with the director

An in-depth feature film all about the boy himself Damon Gough and the legacy of his Mercury Prize winning album The Hour of Bewilderbeast, eighteen years after its original release in 2000. Damon talks about his musical upbringing, the mix tape cassettes his mother made him, the first record he bought and the first concert he attended. The story continues with Damon meeting his future creative collaborator and business partner Andy Votel and how together they founded the Twisted Nerve record label in Manchester in the late 1990’s. We hear of the influences Damon brought to the recording of the album, the songwriting process and stories behind the songs, musicians, producers and album artwork.

The film features exclusive new interviews with Damon and acoustic performances of songs from the album filmed in the Gough family print factory in Bolton and his home in Manchester, alongside previously unseen archive footage and photographs, animation and lots more. Includes contributions from Andy Votel, musicians Jane Weaver, Ian Smith (Alfie), Jimi Goodwin (Doves), Guy Garvey (Elbow) and Ghostpoet. Damon’s big brother Simon Gough, producer and member of Mum and Dad Joe Robinson, Grammy award winning producer Ken Nelson, XL Recordings Richard Russell, film director Garth Jennings, journalist Luke Bainbridge, radio DJ Pete Mitchell, 2000 Mercury Music Prize judge Fleur Sarfaty, Square One Studio’s Bob Little and Artist Joe Simpson.

Manchester Keeps On Dancing + Q&A, plus After-Party
18:00 SATURDAY 26TH MAY – HOME
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Javi Senz, 2017, UK, 90mins
Q&A with the director, DJ Krysko, Ruud Whiting (Metrodome/Levelz), hosted by Dave Haslam

A new feature film that documents – in exceptional detail – the arrival of House music in Manchester from Chicago in the 1980s, through to the Acid House explosion of 1988 and a further 30 years of its phenomenal impact. It is a truly remarkable social study of a subculture that helped put Manchester on the worldwide music map. Digging deeper than the story of the famed Haçienda club, this documentary presents archive footage that has never been seen on film, alongside in-depth interviews with local and international DJs, to explore how House music arrived in the city and take viewers on a journey through its memorable stories. The timeline begins pre-Haçienda and features contributions from each ensuing decade’s most respected DJs, producers, promoters and social commentators including Greg Wilson, Mike Pickering, Dave Haslam, Andrew Weatherall, Marshal Jefferson, Carl Craig, Eats Everything, Krysko, Laurent Garnier, Todd Terry, Seth Troxler and many more.

The after party at Gorilla is to show case the current rave scene in Manchester, with ones to watch for the next 30 years, featuring a host of DJs and producers from Bad Dun DJs, Gina Breeze, Bitzer Maloney (Bakk-Heia), Cervo (Banana Hill), as well as Warehouse Project residents Krysko and Greg Lord and Zutekh.

This will be a free party from 11pm-4am with a suggested £5 on the door as a donation for local charity, Thirty Pound Gentleman, who deliver music production masterclasses for young aspiring music producers in the City.

Suburban Steps to Rockland: The Story of The Ealing Club
14:30 SUNDAY 27TH MAY – GULLIVERS
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Giorgio Guernier, 2017, UK, 89mins

Inspired by American touring blues acts such as Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and with the help of a 19-year-old student from Tehran, in 1962 guitarist Alexis Korner and harmonica player Cyril Davies opened the Ealing Club, London’s (and Britain’s) first rhythm and blues venue. Soon young music fans from all over the country began attending Alexis and Cyril’s shows and sit in during their sets. The list of those who learned the blues at the Ealing Club includes Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Paul Jones, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Dick Taylor, Jeff Beck and Eric Burdon, to name just a few.

The Ealing Club, “the cradle of British rock” (Mojo magazine), was a dingy and smoky concrete-floored basement barely mentioned in music history books, and it would last only three years. However, its pivotal role in fostering a golden generation of classic rock musicians and kick-starting the British blues movement remains undeniable.

The Doom Doc
17:00 SUNDAY 27TH MAY – GULLIVERS
Manchester Premiere
Dir. Connor Matheson, UK, 2017, 90mins

Made on a crowdfunded shoestring budget, The Doom Doc is a visceral, immersive dive into the hazy black hole that lies at one extreme of the musical spectrum. Doom, whose foundations were laid on Black Sabbath’s debut album in 1970, is a genre of heavy metal that is all about crushing riffs played at sluggish tempos through huge amps. It has experienced a resurgence in popularity of late, and in this documentary, Sheffield filmmaker Connor Matheson follows the story of Holy Spider Promotions, a DIY collective in his city who battle to put on doom gigs, vying for space and attention on behalf of an extreme and polarising form of music. Using the lens of doom, Matheson explores issues such as drug use, mental health and gentrification, and speaks with scene luminaries including Bill Ward, Black Sabbath’s original drummer, and members of Conan, Crowbar and Primitive Man.

DEATH by Metal
19:30 SUNDAY 27TH MAY – GULLIVERS
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Felipe Belalcazar, 2016, Canada, 109mins

DEATH were an American death metal band founded in 1983 by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. They were one of the most influential groups in heavy metal and a pioneering force in their genre. Their debut album Scream Bloody Gore is widely regarded as the first death metal record, while Schuldiner, the band’s driving force, is acknowledged as the originator of extreme metal. DEATH’s burning speed and ferocity was only matched by their leader’s unbending determination to bash out the most boundary-crushing interpretation of heavy metal. Presenting exclusive interviews and archive footage, this epic documentary brings the story of Schuldiner and his work and legacy to film for the first time.

Pure Love: The Voice of Ella Fitzgerald
16:00 MONDAY 28 MAY – HOME
** Manchester Premiere **
Dir. Katja Duregger, 2017, Germany, 52mins

Focusing on the phenomenon of her extraordinary voice, this film pays tribute to The First Lady of Song – Ella Fitzgerald – on what would have been her 100th birthday on 25 April 2017. Fitzgerald’s voice is a phenomenon and unrivalled to this day. With absolute pitch and perfect intonation, her voice spanned three octaves, her phrasing seemed effortless, and the odd moments in her nearly 60-year career when she sang off-key were few and far between. There is almost no style of music in which she did not excel, and her numerous – now legendary – recordings of the Great American Songbook with pieces by US composers such as George and Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington remained a benchmark for the interpretation of those songs for generations of singers. Ira Gershwin is rumoured to have said: “I didn’t realise how good our songs were until Ella sang them.” Duregger unravels the secret of Fitzgerald’s voice via insights from singers Dianne Reeves and Dee Dee Bridgewater, jazz drummer and producer Terri Lyne Carrington, jazz violinist Regina Carter, author Tad Hershorn and the eminent jazz critic Will Friedwald, among others. They describe the impact her voice had and continues to have on their lives.

 

EP NEWS: One last Ocean release ‘Here We Stand’ 24th April 2018

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LSF Staff Writers
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One Last Ocean are four alt rock lads. Since forming in 2017, they’ve been blasting tunes and creating their debut EP. The band takes influence from the likes of Muse, Radiohead and RHCP.

Having had a sneaky peak listen to the EP tracks I can tell you that it’s hugely impressive. You’ll need to wait until launch day people to check out the tracks on their Soundcloud Page.

One Last Ocean – EP Launch
24 April at 19:30–23:00
The Parish, 28 Kirkgate, HD1 1QQ Huddersfield
Tickets: https://parishpub.co.uk/product/tickets/one-last-ocean–ep-launch

The info

The band are

Ben Ault – guitar and vocals
Toby ‘Tone’ Renwick – bass
Mark Fabian – synth
Joe Zbos – drums

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/onelastocean
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneLastOcean/

GIG NEWS: Peter Hammill plays The Stoller Hall Manchester 25th April 2018

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LSF Staff Writers
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Founding member of the iconic and esoteric 70s outfit Van Der Graaf Generator – PETER HAMMILL – is to perform at Manchester’s Stoller Hall on 25th April 2018.

The revered Prog Rock titan and singular vocalist has just released his new solo LP, From the Trees, and he will be out on tour throughout the Spring, stopping off at this magnificent new concert hall in Manchester along the way.

Peter Hammill was born in London in 1948. His career began as the singer and songwriter for Van Der Graaf Generator, the chaotic, scary and highly influential underground group of the Seventies. The adventurous attitude which they brought to their music remains a feature of Peter’s work to this day.

By the time the group folded in 1978 Peter had already recorded seven solo albums, covering numerous lyrical and musical bases in the process. If one did not know otherwise the proto-punk of “Nadir’s Big Chance”, the full-blown emotion of “Over” and the scatter-gun arrangements of “The Silent Corner” could well have been the work of three entirely different artists.

Peter’s work has always been independent and uncompromising and it is perhaps because of this that he has been cited as a major influence by so many other artists. In their respective contexts he is happy working with pure sonics as he is with fully orchestral songs, with three-chord electric guitar “tricks” as with piano ballads.

In addition to his “normal” output of twenty-nine solo recordings of songs (and several live albums) he has also written music for ballet, film and television. He continues to tour throughout Europe and many other countries world-wide, both under his own name and latterly with the reunited and stripped-down VdGG trio. VdGG, too, continue to release records with some regularity.

Peter survived a heart attack in December 2003. His appetite for writing, recording and performance appears undiminished after this intimation of mortality.

He continues to subscribe to the idea that it is more important to apply literacy, intelligence and passion to the making of music than to chase after commercial success. Onward, then, whistling a – strange and singular – tune…

More recently, Peter has also collaborated with Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley) and in February 2014 they released their album Otherworld (EANTCD1026). The majority of the recordings are produced by Peter and Gary’s guitars (and FX!) and Peter’s vocals, with a couple of pieces of found sound in the mix as well. They have also successfully translated their recorded efforts into live performances of sonic adventure.

PETER HAMMILL WILL PERFORM LIVE @ THE STOLLER HALL, MANCHESTER – 25 APRIL

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Peter Hammill

ALBUM NEWS: Savvy, AKA Asaviour, has released ‘The Battle For Hearts & Minds’

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LSF Staff Writers
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The album features guest appearances from a range of artist & musicians including Aisha Zoe, DJ IQ aka Luke Storey, Lisa Luxx, Ben Maron, Malcolm Carson, Therealdemo, Dj Madhandz, Joh1st and Jade America

In Savvy’s words: “It’s a look at the state of the world: at our battle for power, control, for sanity & clarity. “ I guess I’m questioning: what’s your battle? What are you dealing with? Why’s this the case? …The lyrics in the tracks relate to these questions in complex ways. They’re split between logic and emotion.”. Interestingly the album marks a return to hip hop, after years of a love and hate relationship with it.

Savvy will also be appearing at Vinyl Tap Records Huddersfield on Record Store Day 21st April. More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/100284094144224/

Tracks

01. INTRO
02. T.B.F.H.A.M
03. ONLY WAY I KNOW featuring Malcolm Carson
04. IN THE PURSUIT OF…
05. CHANGE featuring Aisha Zoe
06. THE ABYSS
07. MIND OVER MATTER
08. CLIMAX
09. SAVING GRACE featuring Luke Peeters
10. A WARRIOR KNOWS
11. FORFEIT
12. THIRD TIMES A CHARM
13. THE HOUR OF THE WOLF
14. DIVINE RESOLUTION featuring Jade America
15. SURVIVAL
16. ENDURANCE
17. GOODNIGHT
18. OUTRO
19. REFRESHMENT – Bonus track

Album info

All tracks recorded & mixed by Savvy at Saving Grace Studios
Mastered by Savvy at Saving Grace Studios, Huddersfield
Cover art by Abigail Anderson
Executive Producer: Savvy, Tone from the Hudd
Co-Executive Producer: Tone from the Hudd, Benaiah Matheson
Cat. No. SAV017 / P & C Saving Grace Music 2018

Getting the album

You can purchase the album from the following outlets
Saving Grace: https://bit.ly/2qxzJ05
Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/2phhuug
Itunes / apple music: https://apple.co/2HCuhAk
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2qwG7nv
Googleplay: https://bit.ly/2IWNM6e
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2vhKLLL

ALBUM & TOUR NEWS: Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage new album ‘Awake’ May 11th via Sungrazing Records, tour dates Spring/Summer 2018

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LSF Staff Writers
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Two years ago, Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage stirred the folk and acoustic world with a stand-out debut album and there’s been little slumbering since. Now they are set to release an arresting second studio album, ‘Awake’. The combination of Hannah’s outstandingly pure, clear voice, their perfect fit harmonies and Ben’s exquisite dobro are the rock-solid foundations of this rising duo, first witnessed in the 2016 album, ‘Before The Sun’.

When Hannah’s folk family travels across Europe and sojourn in America ended and she returned to her native East Anglia, a chance meeting at a Cambridge folk club with The Willows band member Ben was the start of something special. Ben went on to produce Hannah’s solo album ‘Charms Against Sorrow’ before they ventured into duo territory uncorking a beguiling, intricately woven, ethereal sound all their own.

Once again, they have returned to Toronto, putting Grammy-nominated Canadian producer David Travers-Smith (Madison Violet, The Wailin’ Jennys) at the helm for this album crafted with infinite care. The 11-track release has six strong originals alongside innovative arrangements of traditional songs and captivating covers from the Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie cannons.

Alongside Hannah’s trademark mountain dulcimer and Ben’s delicious dobro, they both play guitars on the album. Adding their magic are guest musicians from both sides of the Atlantic – from the UK Jon Thorne on double bass, Evan Carson on percussion and Norwich singer songwriter Jess Morgan, Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts on additional vocals and from Canada Chris Coole on banjo, David Travers-Smith on horns and organ, Burke Carroll on pedal steel and on vocals, Vancouver-born American-Canadian alt country singer songwriter Suzanne Ungerleider who performs under the name Oh Susanna.

UK LIVE DATES 2018

4th May Roots Music Club, DONCASTER
5th May Wath Festival, WATH
6th May Todmorden Folk Festival, TODMORDEN
11th May Golden Hind, CAMBRIDGE
15th May Heath St Baptist Church, Hampstead, London
16th May Biddulph Arms, STOKE ON TRENT
17th May The Musician, LEICESTER
18th May Greystones, SHEFFIELD
19th May The Hive, SHREWSBURY
20th May The Cut, HALESWORTH
25th May Ireby Festival, IREBY
26th May Florence Arts Centre, EGREMONT
1st June Ashcroft Arts Centre, FAREHAM
2nd June Caryford Community Hall, CASTLE CARY
3rd June Matthews Hall, TOPSHAM
27th June Arts Festival, SOUTHWOLD
29th June Limelight Theatre, AYLESBURY
30th June Courtyard, HEREFORD
7th July Folk Festival, KIMPTON
20th July Downend Folk Club, BRISTOL

Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage: Website

SINGLE & TOUR NEWS: Benjamin Lazar Davis releases ‘Choosing Sides’, tour May 2018

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LSF Staff Writers
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0

Benjamin Lazar Davis (Okkervil River, Cuddle Magic) has released his new single ‘Choosing Sides’; the track will appear on his forthcoming solo debut album ‘Nothing Matters’.

‘Nothing Matters’, which also features the previously released singles ‘A Love Song Seven Ways’ and ‘Right Direction’ is out May 4 on 11A Records and is available for pre-order now.

Benjamin Lazar Davis will be on tour this May in the UK and Ireland in support of Anna & Elizabeth.

May 3rd: Forest Arts Center – New Milton
May 4th: Quay Arts – Newport
May 5th: Marisa Jack & Davy – Bedfordshire
May 9th: The Sugar Club – Dublin, Ireland
May 10th: Howard Assembly Room – Leeds
May 12th: Sage Gateshead – Gateshead
May 13th: Traverse Theatre – Edinburgh
May 14th: Old Mill Gallery – Castle Douglas
May 17th: Cecil Sharp House – London

The info

Benjamin Lazar Davis is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and producer based in Brooklyn. His forthcoming full length album Nothing Matters – his very first as a solo artist – came out of an extensive period of touring followed by a difficult break up. To make the record, Davis spent all all of his money on instruments and recording gear, including drums and drum machines, both nylon and steel string acoustic guitars, an electric and an upright bass, a pump organ, a mellotron, a Moog, and an upright piano. He worked on the record every day, for 30 straight days, in his childhood bedroom at his parents’ house in Saratoga Springs, and once finished, he mixed it back in Brooklyn with his high school friend Luke Moellman (GGFO).

Although there are no other performers on the record, many collaborations went into the writing of the album, including co-writes with Kimbra (“Right Direction”), Alex Toth of Rubblebucket and Alexander F (“Love Song Seven Ways,” “Life Is Dangerous,” and “Choosing Sides”), Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive (“Somebody’s Speaking For Me”), singer-songwriter Taylor Ashton (“Brass Tacks”), award-winning poet Michael Gizzi (“Acquitted”), and his brother, a brilliant lyricist, Tim Davis.

Benjamin Lazar Davis writes, records, and performs with Cuddle Magic, Joan as Police Woman, and Okkervil River, and he has worked with Anais Mitchell, Kimbra, Luke Temple, Jesse Harris, Henry Jamison, Wild Belle, Delicate Steve, Star Rover, Sam Amidon, Markus Acher (the Notwist), and Margaret Glaspy as a co-writer, side-musician, arranger, producer, studio musician, touring member, and band member in the past. While Nothing Matters grew out of Davis’s desire to make music on his own in a life where he has been a chronic collaborator, the album evokes inspiration from all of these artists, and he considers it a culmination of his life’s work.

As he began work on the album, Davis found a photo of his father lounging beneath a hand-written sign that read “Nothing Matters,” which eventually became the album’s artwork; “It was taken in 1969 in Malawi Africa where he lived at the time. He taught me music growing up, and I think seeing that picture right before recording the record gave me a sense of letting go of all of the baggage that comes with making music and being in a relationship. When in the midst of the meditation of making the album, nothing matters. Just let the tape roll and the ideas flow…”

Benjamin Lazar Davis: Website

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