Don’t forget that venues and stages do get very busy over the weekend. The Tramlines team recommend arriving early in order to stand the best possible chance of getting in to see your favourite acts.
Tickets
Advance tickets for Saturday at Tramlines are available via www.tramlines.org.uk until midday on Thursday. Saturday day tickets will then be made available to buy over the weekend, while stocks last. These will be priced at £28 and will be available from the box office at City Hall and on entry to the Main Stage only. The Friday, Sunday and weekend tickets have sold out in advance for the first time in the festival’s history.
All advance tickets must be exchanged in person for a wristband before entry to the festival. For the first time, attendees can exchange their wristband at the Main Stage at Ponderosa or from the box office at City Hall, The Folk Forest and Sheffield University Students’ Union. Opening days and times can be found at www.tramlines.org.uk/information
Travelling to Tramlines
Tramlines are advising all festival-goers to leave the car at home over the weekend. There is no parking available around the Main Stage and any cars found illegally parked in the local area will be towed. There are plenty of public transport options available, including Supertram, who are offering a discounted £3 ticket for unlimited daily travel throughout the festival circuit (Sheffield Station to Shalesmoor). Tramlines have also programmed a series of bands on the trams, each of whom will play acoustic sets to festival commuters. A shuttle bus will run between the Main Stage at Ponderosa and the Folk Forest at Endcliffe Park for 50p (with a Tramlines wristband) per journey. There is also a clearly signposted walking route from the city centre and from Shalesmoor tram stop to the main stage.
Getting updates
For updates to the lineup and stage times, visitors are advised to download the brand-new free Tramlines app. Search OverHear in the Play Store or App Store to download. Meanwhile, a dedicated page on the website (http://www.tramlines.org.uk/latest) and the Tramlines Facebook and Twitter accounts will be kept updated over the weekend with the latest stage time amends. The printed programme is available for free, another first for 2015. To find out where you can grab a copy visit the information page on the Tramlines website.
Venues
The location of all the official Tramlines venues can be found on the venue page of the website and in a map printed in the official programme. http://www.tramlines.org.uk/venues/
And finally
Tramlines has often been lucky with the sun. If that is the case this year, revellers are advised to stay hydrated and dress lightly. There is free water available at the main stage. Unfortunately, Tramlines can’t guarantee sunshine. There is always a chance of a summer downpour, make sure you pack your waterproof if the weather looks grey.
Please remember that the stages are in residential areas. Respect the neighbourhoods and please use bins provided for litter. Please use the safe walking routes advertised , and keep an eye on roads re-opening.
TRAMLINES FESTIVAL
FRIDAY 24 – SUNDAY 26 JULY
VARIOUS VENUES IN SHEFFIELD
TICKETS: £30+BF FROM WWW.TRAMLINES.ORG.UK
I like music. I mean, I like it a lot. I’d go as far as to say it’s one of my favourite things. Over my 34 years on this big old planet I have amassed a large number of CDs and tapes. There are over 4000 songs by hundreds of artists across hundreds of albums on my iPod. Spotify gives me access to millions of tracks that can be streamed directly through their app onto multiple devices. And just recently Apple launched a brand spanking new streaming service to compete with it, albeit slightly hampered by an attached 24 hour radio station featuring human foghorn Zane Lowe.
There is music from all sorts of different artists and from many different genres all there to be listened to and it’s all available at the touch of a button. Bearing that in mind, amidst all this choice and variety, I present to you the songs I’ve been hammering into the ground on a day to day basis, usually on the bus to and from work. These are the tracks I keep returning to when I switch on my iPod or load up Spotify. These are the songs that bear repeating.
First up, The Pogues. The legendary Tom Waits once described The Pogues as playing like “soldiers on leave” and that’s about the most on-the-nose description I’ve ever heard of a band. ‘If I Should Fall From Grace with God‘ by the London folk-punks is an evergreen regular on my iPod. Its manic bar-fight energy is highly infectious. And like, say, ‘Sweet Virginia’ by the Rolling Stones, it sounds like it must have been an absolute blast to record. Shane MacGowan is at his snarling best and the rest of the band thrash their instruments ragged, seemingly in a race to get to the end of the song first.
‘Electric Worry‘ by American rock stalwarts Clutch is probably my most played song of the moment. It’s a supercharged partial-cover of an old Mississippi Fred McDowell blues song with some extra lyrics and a whole additional barrel of kick-ass along for the journey. “Bang bang bang /Vamanos vamanos” hollers lead singer and personal beard hero Neil Fallon. It means nothing of course, but by god it’s exhilarating. This song is the musical equivalent of riding into town on a Harley to face your arch enemy with the entire Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club behind you. It sounds like Jason Statham fighting The Rock whilst driving a muscle car into the sun. It is sure to enliven any journey even, as in my case, the number 50 bus route into town.
As a lifelong Bruce Springsteen fan (as a child I often dreamt of working in a blue collar factory somewhere on the outskirts of New Jersey) there was no way on earth I wasn’t going to love ‘Red Eyes‘ by The War On Drugs. Even though singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel sometimes sounds like the ghost of Ryan Adams trying to sing at you through a bee keeper’s mask, the general ‘Bruceness’ of the track is enough for me to overlook that. A constant driving drum-beat and rhythm guitar propel the song along like a freight train as the reverb-heavy lead guitar picks out a snaking melody. Big 80’s synths bring the Dire Straits/Springsteen feels. And if you don’t get goosebumps whenever Granduciel lets out a big whooping battle cry midway through the song and the drums suddenly kick in with extra gusto, then we probably wouldn’t get on socially. Ah now, that was harsh of me. You seem ok actually, I’m sure we’d get on. After all, you’ve read this far.
If I am left alone with access to Spotify for long enough at a social gathering, it is somewhat inevitable that I will attempt to play ‘Lawyers Guns & Money‘ by the late great Warren Zevon (Incidentally, Zevon’s ‘Werewolves Of London’ is one of my favourite songs ever, but that’s another article entirely). If I’ve had a few I will then go on about how much I love the last verse and the line “Send lawyers guns and money, the shit has hit the fan”. And if I’m really drunk I might even try to explain the slick opening sequence to the non-existent HBO crime drama that I often imagine this song appearing on in my head. I don’t get many invitations to social gatherings.
Alabama Shakes are having a tremendous year, so far with a storming new album and a very successful tour, which I can attest to, having had the pleasure of witnessing their live show in Manchester recently. They will also be very pleased to hear, no doubt, that the song ‘Dunes‘ from the new album has been a regular fixture on my playlists of late. This psych-soul stunner has a lovely faded retro production and features a full range of vocal delights from the wonder that is Brittany Howard. If that’s not enough it also has a great big descending guitar riff, soft soulful strings, and a blazing psychedelic drum break fade out at the end. What more could you ask for?
https://youtu.be/j5U_xV9X3YU
R’n’B genius D’Angelo also played an amazing gig this year in Manchester touring his very long awaited comeback album ‘Black Messiah’. His first in fourteen years no less, this was thankfully as good as we’d all hoped. This song is not from that album, it is a spot-on cover of Prince’s ‘She’s Always in My Hair’ that, bizarrely enough, I found on the soundtrack to the horror sequel ‘Scream 2’. The riffs and drums are clipped and tight with D’Angelo’s multiple layered vocals dancing all over the snapping rhythm, nailing those harmonies that only Prince can come up with. A combination of the genius tune-smithery of that funky wee man Prince with the top-notch musical skills of D’Angelo, this is a song which cannot fail.
https://youtu.be/ZZC158e79LI
The track ‘I’ll Be Creepin‘ by Free is big, stompy and sinister, like a creepy Godzilla in a denim jacket and leather trousers, strutting through 70’s Tokyo. If you can look past the slightly disturbing lyrics (yes he appears to be singing about stalking his ex), it’s a brilliant distillation of their sound. The ‘gargles with sandpaper and yet also silky smooth’ voice of Paul Rodgers, the impeccably restrained blues guitar of Paul Kossoff with signature vibrato present, the thumping muscular bass from the sadly recently departed Andy Fraser and the… eh .. the drums of Simon Kirke. The spine tingling chorus and my repeated Ill-advised attempts to sing along with it have led to many sore throats and probably sore ears for those unlucky enough to witness it. To be fair though, there are plenty of other seats on the bus, and you don’t HAVE to sit beside me.
https://youtu.be/_BrITP7DZjE
My friend and LSF colleague, Olly, pointed me towards this James Brown song and I’m very glad he did. I mean, it’s called ‘People Get up and Drive That Funky Soul‘. With a title like that, for god’s sake, it’s already won. From the opening seconds where you can hear him singing out the brass riff for the band to follow, to the various shouts and screams keeping everyone on point, James is all over this epic track. A perfect example of the tight, stripped down efficiency of Funk, James Brown literally sings out the various star signs over a single 9 minute groove and is still funkier than a thousand Bruno Mars and Mark Ronsons, each having attended a 3 year BA ‘How to Be Funky’ Course at The Bootsy Collins Funky Fresh University. I mean James was probably just reading stuff off a newspaper but with that band backing him, it works a treat.
The track ‘Ta douleur’ by French singer Camille was first introduced to me by my girlfriend Rachel. I have no idea what Camille is actually singing but it’s an absolutely great tune and she has a fantastically slinky voice. I can often be found wandering around my house singing French-sounding gibberish along to this very catchy track. Apart from the bass and trumpets, the rest of the music is Camille herself using her voice. Which is pretty cool now isn’t it? You’ve got to love someone who builds a song from recordings of herself making really strange noises with her mouth. That’s why people like Bjork, right?
The multi-talented producer of the most recent Alabama Shakes album, Blake Mills, has himself released a belter of a record. This track, ‘Gold Coast Sinkin‘, from the ‘Heigh Ho’ album that came out last year is a beautiful weird beast of a song. Definitely one for the headphones this, the slowly building and growing mixture of voices, harmonies and shimmering guitars is absolutely intoxicating and that’s before the big swampy guitar stomps all over the place towards the end. Best heard whilst sitting out on a balcony on a warm night overlooking the glittering cityscape of Los Angeles or, you know, whilst sitting on a bus slowly trundling down the Kingsway in South Manchester on a unseasonably cold Wednesday evening.
As any idiot will tell you, no playlist is complete without a Danish instrumental track and ‘Building Snowmen‘ by the Vestbo Trio is mine. The song’s sweet melody is picked out on a jazzy electric guitar whilst the double bass and drums cheerfully bob along in the background. It sounds like a group of childhood friends going on a summer adventure in the countryside. It gives you that feeling of coming home to a roaring fire on a cold winter’s night. It will make you feel nice basically. And that seems like a good note to end on.
Long Division is a music festival held across six venues (with eight stages) in Wakefield. Having never been to Long Division, let alone Wakefield, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Unity Works’ Major Hall held the opening event – British Sea Power with The Grand in support. I was impressed with the sound in the Major Hall, the space, and viewing capability (as well as the choice of beer), although it was sweltering.
British Sea Power at Unity Works
I attended a fair few of the venues on the Saturday and enjoyed them all for their different atmospheres and styles. All had great amenities and generally the sound was good – with a few exceptions.
A massive plus for me was the proximity of the venues. At most, you need to walk for four minutes in between places. This means that if there is a clash on your schedule, you can peg it from one venue to the next and catch both bands…which is virtually impossible at bigger festivals. Another thing that really impressed me was the punctuality of the set times. This may have been true only for the bands I watched but every single band I wanted to see started on time (wow!). This is mainly down to the programming of half hour sets but for me, having shorter sets is a valid sacrifice for efficient running of the show.
The festival is a few minutes’ walk away from Wakefield Westgate train station which makes accessibility from Leeds very easy (10 minutes). There is also parking available nearby.
Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this friendly and enthusiastic little festival to you. I would absolutely encourage the Manc contingent to travel over for it. The quality of the music I experienced was of an outstanding quality across the board. There is a variety of music to suit most tastes and if you particularly enjoy discovering new talent then this is definitely a festival for you. This is an event for musicians and music lovers alike. Seeing so many bands chatting and hanging around after their sets to support each other, sums up the supportive and friendly spirit of this festival.
I for one feel like I came across an attractive-looking stone that turned out to be a real diamond, and will certainly be attending next year. For such a young festival, it is doing things the right way… with punters and artists in mind, rather than profit. Long may it continue!
Charlie Padfield at The HopNARCS at The HopTwo Man Cuppy at Players Bar
Twin operas by Tim Benjamin tell the stories of two different characters. Each singer is solo with the backing of a small music group – Charlotte Dowding (violin), Alistair Howes (cello), Simon Passmore (fortepiano), Chris Brannick (percussion), and Lynda Robertson (flutes and piccolo), conducted by Antony Brannick.
The first part is inspired by a Chekhov story (Life in Questions and Exclamations), but for this opera it is set in the future and titled ‘Rest in Peace’. We see a 2024 election poster for Putin, which is already as depressing as you can get. Then Ezdeyev (James Fisher, bass) emerges from a sleeping bag. He tells his life story in an impressionistic way, quoting rather than narrating, and acting out his bullying father’s interrogations of his younger self, reminding the audience that some homeless people may have similar tales of failure, drink and gambling. This story was brought to life by Fisher’s rich voice and expressive acting.
The next part, ‘Silent Jack’, set in 1724 and written by Anthony Peter and Tim Benjamin, has more plot to it. Amy Beddoes (Taylor Wilson, mezzo-soprano) has been deserted by her husband and left to cope with his debts. She survives by becoming Silent Jack, a highway robber whose pistol does the talking. Wilson gives a realistic, gripping portrayal of a woman on the edge, beautifully sung, as she tells us about Silent Jack’s last outing.
What is the connection between the two stories? There is one gesture that is common to them both. Ezdeyev scatters a pack of cards in disgust, Amy Beddoes tosses around her husband’s worthless share certificates. Both of them possibly link to the present day, when people mistake speculation for investment.
This performance was a one-off for Todmorden, but Tim Benjamin has produced an opera a year for three years running, so look out for one in 2016.
Tramlines is one of the UK’s biggest inner-city festivals where, for one weekend, 100,000 people descend upon Sheffield to turn the city centre into one huge festival site. Now in its seventh year, Tramlines continues to bring genre-spanning legendary acts alongside breaking new talent to its stages. Headliners for 2015 include The Charlatans, Basement Jaxx, and Wu-Tang Clan, with support from the likes of Billy Bragg, Buzzcocks, Martha Reeves, Neneh Cherry and The Sugarhill Gang.
Another first for 2015 is a brand-new scheduling feature on the festival’s own website. The page lists the order of every act with the time and location of their set. It’s never been easier to plan your weekend at Tramlines and with over 200 acts appearing, festival-goers are recommended to start sooner rather than later! This is the link for that http://www.tramlines.org.uk/lineup/
Weekend tickets are still available but are likely to sell out in advance of the event. They can be purchased from www.tramlines.org.uk for only £30 + bf. There are also a limited number of day tickets available (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), priced at £23 + bf.
For up-to-the-minute information about Tramlines 2015, visit www.tramlines.org.uk or follow Tramlines on Twitter @tramlines
2015 LINEUP
The Charlatans / Basement Jaxx / Wu-Tang Clan
Billy Bragg / Buzzcocks / Martha Reeves / Neneh Cherry / The Sugarhill Gang
Anathema / A Guy Called Gerald / Basement Jaxx (DJ Set) / Best Friends / Camo & Krooked / Charlotte OC / Craig Charles / The Crookes / Dutch Uncles / Erol Alkan / Evian Christ / Fat White Family / Ghostpoet / Gilles Peterson / GoGo Penguin / Honeyblood / Hooton Tennis Club / Horse Meat Disco / Inga Copeland / James Holden / Jimmy Edgar / Joe Carnall Jr / Joker & New York Transit Authority / Kate Tempest / Lapalux / Loadstar / Marika Hackman / Melle Mel + Scorpio / Mike Skinner (DJ Set) / MJ Cole / Mr Scruff / Rolo Tomassi / Roman Flügel / Romare (DJ) / Roni Size (18 year DJ Set) / Slaves / Slow Club / Submotion Orchestra / Surgeon / Tom Demac / Tuff Love / We Are The Ocean / Werkha / West Street Mob
A-Kid / 20 Hz Soundsystem / Alcest / And So I Watch You From Afar / Andy Clark / Andy H / Ant TC1 / Aquilo / Awooga / Balkan Bandits / Bang Bang Romeo / Bartholins Glands / Beth Frisby / The Big Moon / Bjørn Torske / Billie Black / Blanck Mass / Blessa / Blood Sport / Blossomer / Bodyjack / Braiden / The Broken Oak Duet / Bruising / Buffalo Skinners / The Ceiling Demons / Central Processing Unit / Cervo & JVC / Chris Cooper Band / Cleft / CPU / Crisjn / Cypria (DJ) / Daddy Freddy / Daniel Whitehouse / Danimal Swainger / Dead English Gentleman / Dead Slow Hoot / Dedication Audio / Displace / Diagrams / DJ Q / DMK / The Downtown Roots / Eastern Seaboard Radio Station / Ekkah / Emily May / Errors / ES.Q / Ezra Furman / Fallen Trees / Floodhounds / Fokn Bois / Formation / Fred V & Grafix / FURS / Ghost Culture / Goat Head / Gnod / Gulf / The Half Earth / Hannah Lou Clark / Hey Sholay / Henry Wu Duo (live) / Hidden Orchestra / High Hazels / Hot Diamond Aces / Inherit The Stars / Jagaara / Jim Ghedi / Josey Rebelle / Jus Now / Kamera / Kid Wave / Knifeworld / Kog & The Zongo Brigade / Kris Wadsworth / Leroy / LewRey / Liberty Ship / Linnemann / Lone Wolf / Lonelady / Lo Shea / Luca Lozano / Magpies / Mak & Pasteman / Man of Moon / Mark Sweeney / Martelo / MC I.D. / Meadowlark / Mella Dee / Mighty Moe / Mungoes HI FI feat. Cheshire Cat / Nai Harvest / Nao / Nat Johnson / The Natterjacks / North Prism / Nozinja / NYTA / Omega III / The Payroll Union / Pedram / Pev n Kowton / Polar Bear / Polo / Portico / The Ratells / Rawschac / RedFaces / Renegade Brass Band / Revolva & Leona / Robyn Sherwell / Rodney P & Skitz / S-Unit / Sayid Silkhands / Saif Mode / Scott Matthews / Serocee / Set2 / Seven Tors / The Sherlocks / Shopping / The Slow Revolt / Small Ideas DJs / Smorsli / Smutlee / Soul Jam / Ste Roberts / Stealing Sheep / Sticky / Story / Sumochief / Sunship / This Is The Kit / Trash / Triple Point / Tropic of Youth / Tropics / True Fiction / U / Ultimate Painting / Walls / Werkha / WheresNorth? / Youngman / Zero T / Zoax / ZoZo
The Drink are a three piece band from London – Dearbhla Minogue (Vocals, Guitar), Daniel Fordham (Drums) and David Stewart (Bass) – who are usually put into that indie-folk niche. Having played their album ‘Company’ to death before seeing them I thought I knew what to expect – hints of folk (both English and Irish), a fair spattering of Warpaint, bits of African finger picked guitar, Dearbhla’s voice sometimes veering into Brit-pop territory.
However I was frankly shocked (in a good way) by Dearbhla’s guitar playing. What we got was some fierce blues-tinged finger picking. I really found myself thinking ‘well why isn’t there more of this on the album, it really adds something to the songs?’. When you hear this you really understand the band members’ shared love of Captain Beefheart. I don’t know whether The Drink ever feel the urge to ‘jam’, but if they do I’d love to be there.
The songs themselves are dark and intricate with lyrics that are really worth listening to. Dearbhla’s voice slips effortlessly between different styles – sometimes English folk, sometimes Irish folk and sometimes just her own unique style – but you can always hear the words which is really important for these songs.
Daniel Fordham
Also, I can’t fail to mention Daniel and David’s playing – which was faultless. I loved David’s drumming which weaves it’s way through the complex tracks with ease, while Daniel provides a really solid base.
I was in the difficult position of reviewing the gig and taking photos so I can’t comment on all the tracks in their all-too-short set, but frankly I could have stood and listened for hours. This band simply can play! It felt to me that I was experiencing a group of musicians who just happened to land in a bar, had some songs and just played them in the order they felt was right at the time. The secret of their performance was that there was no performance as such – it was just all so incredibly relaxed.
David Stewart
Set stand outs for me included ‘Demo Love’, with its soaring vocals and a catch beat rhythm section that I really loved and ‘Playground’ which started with African finger picking and went into, what sounds to me, like a real Brit-pop thing – I keep thinking of a hint of Sleeper whenever I heard it.
‘At The Weekend’ – which opens with the line ‘It came to me in a blood transfusion’, (yes really) – has this really nagging bit with the lyrics ‘internally’ ‘externally’ going on, which ought to be really irritating but was actually hypnotic.
Before their final song, Dearbhla announces that her mother came from Halifax, although she’s never been there before. May I suggest a return visit is in order.
If you’re a fan of dark folk-tinged songs with some weird arrangements, I’d recommend buying the album, and then seeing The Drink live for that added extra of the fierceness of their guitar sound.
Henry Carlyle Wade & Esme-Dee Hand-Halford
Playing second on the bill were The Orielles – a scarily young and accomplished band from Halifax. Their garage surf influenced psych is already creating quite a stir.
Esme-Dee Hand-Halford (Bass Vocals) Henry Carlyle Wade (Guitar Vocals) and Sidonie B Hand-Halford (Drums) tick the psych boxes – effects drenched guitar, that sweet sounding female singer – but bring to it something else. I got hints of pscychobilly, punk and post-punk (the bass is really featured on a lot of tracks), plus the surf thing.
Sidonie B Hand-Halford
I’m going to mention two tracks in particular. The first had a title that was something about a Chinese girl and I’m fairly sure it had the word pink in there somewhere. I do wish I’d written that title down at the time. Anyway, take my word for it that the song title already marked this out as something interesting, and the song didn’t disappoint.
My other favourite was their set closer – a new one – starting with a doomy bass this moved into choppy guitar (an almost Siouxsie and The Banshees sound) and moved into a guitar effects fest with Henry staggering off the stage and into the gap in front of the crowd. Sid’s drumming on this was really utterly fab.
The Orielles are one to catch soon, if you haven’t already.
I also want to mention The Stray, another young band from Halifax, who opened the gig that night. They gave us a solid set of Indie-rock, but included a a stand-in guitarist which may be the reason some of their songs had endings which rather lost their way and fizzled out at the end. I may be going out on limb here, but I’m guessing they may have been influenced by early Jam. I was startled by them covering ‘Psycho Killer’ – a bit risky some might say because it’s an iconic track. It was slightly faster and definitely rockier and fuller than the original, but really worked. The other highlight was ‘Byrons Boots’ (available as a free download) which is bit shouty and punky in a good way. This type of Indie rock isn’t really my thing, but they clearly have a loyal and enthusiastic following.
We had a fabulous time interviewing Stop Drop Robot at Long Division because they’re so enthusiastic. These guys are so much a unit that sometimes they all contribute to the same sentence – so where we couldn’t identify just one speaker we’ve attributed it to the whole band ie. SDR
LSF: Nathan, you have the role of engineer and producer, as well as bass player in the band. How does that work in a recording session? How do you separate the roles?
Sam: Nath’s in charge!
Nathan: I’m actually more comfortable recording than the person being recorded. I hate sitting down and recording myself.
LSF: Does it cause any arguments?
SDR: No, because we all have our own input and write our own parts and give feedback to each other’s parts. For the most part, we’re definitely a jam band. We’ll jam something out and then everyone writes their own bits and feeds back to each other, then Sam channels it vocally.
LSF: So in the future is there a possibility that you may adopt that role and acquire a new bass player, Nathan?
Nathan: Nooo!
SDR: He loves playing live too much.
Nathan: I like to be on stage playing bass. There was a time when I was using synthesizers a lot but I just wanted to rock out with my bass.
LSF: At what point does the electronic aspect come into it?
SDR: Either at the very end or right at the beginning.
Dan: It’s either an electronic idea that we build from the start or a band idea and we’ll add the electronic sounds later. We went through a transition of being a punk band then I got the click and started playing to it. It was really weird playing to a click at first, but I got used to it.
LSF: Sam do you write all the vocals? Where does your inspiration come from?
Sam: Yes… I’m from an ‘arty farty’ background where I like to go to weird dark places; usually they’re metaphors for other things. Definitely weird and ‘out there’ in a good way.
LSF: How did you meet?
Dan: Sam and I were in bands when we were 13…
Sam: They’re three people I met at different points in my life and then pulled them all in together. I met Matt at university and was running gigs in Sheffield where I met Nathan while promoting them.
LSF: You are supporting some pretty big bands such as Alabama 3 and Heaven 17. How did those gigs come about?
Sam: Gift of the gab… I’m good at blagging stuff. I do fall naturally into that kind of management role. After a while you get to know people. We have got industry infrastructure in place – we have a publishing contract and they bring a lot to the table. Once we have decided what gig we want, they set it up for us. I make sure the rest of the band can do it – spending long hours in an office environment emailing to get there, basically.
LSF: How did you come to work with 3x Grammy nominated producer, Karl Helibron?
SDR: Through social networking; we are social media savvy. We really put the time in on Twitter and Facebook about two years ago and tried to connect with new people. We approached him asking him to check the band out and he asked if he could do some production for us.
LSF: He’s produced Soundgarden, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Rage Against The Machine – that’s an impressive CV!
SDR: It was TLC that clinched it for us! Seriously though, he’s worked with Pearl Jam, Snoop Dog, Rhianna, Jay-Z, Jeezy, the list goes on…
LSF: How did you find working with another producer, Nathan?
Nathan: We got all the electronic synths sorted out and got the band recorded and sent it all through to him and said he can add what he wants or change what he wants. Bit of back and forth. We’ve done about four songs with him so far. It’s an ongoing relationship. The next producer we’re working with is Sheffield-based and was a Human League producer. I still imagine it will also have some back and forth production.
LSF: What advice would you give to kids starting out in a band?
SDR: Give as much support as you can to other bands because it comes back to you; be as social as you can and get out there, get in touch with other bands. And practise, practise, practise!
LSF: What’s your opinion of the industry, do you think it is enough to be good at what you do, or is there an element of networking needed too?
SDR: There is a certain element of networking needed. You might not get picked if that promoter doesn’t know you. But also you need to rise above the rest and be tight at your craft. We sent out over 750 festival applications for this summer and we got 10 approved. If you only apply for 10 then it’s doubtful you will get one approved. You can’t have a defeatist attitude. You come back stronger each year with positive testimonials from the festivals and carry on.
LSF: After the festival season is over what are your plans? New music?
SDR: We squeeze that in between gig appearances. We have a few songs ready to record.
LSF: Album?
SDR: No, an album has to be the one. You only get one debut album, so it has to be right.
We’re planning more gigs. We’re already building the next tour and planning where we’re going to go. We have a lot of international fans in Russia, Japan and Croatia – we’re hoping to play there at some point, as well as the States.
Stop Drop Robot is a band from Sheffield consisting of vocalist Sam Christie, Nathan Bailey – bass, Matt Ross – guitar and Dan Battye on drums. They have been together for three years and are starting to make an impact on the live music scene with their own blend of electronic rock. They are a hugely ambitious, hard-working band with big plans.
They are attacking the gig and festival circuit with a determined ferocity this summer. We caught them at their Long Division appearance at Players Bar whilst on their third tour – The ‘Maps’ tour, in support of their newly released single (of the same name). Stop Drop Robot have more festival appearances coming up this summer, as well as slots supporting Heaven 17 and Alabama 3 in July.
Stop Drop Robot play a seven song set during the half hour scheduled for bands at the festival, combining 90s nu-metal with indie-rock and classic metal strewn with synths to create a futuristic rock sound. The band’s recorded sound is more controlled and is heavier on the electronics, but live, they sound different; the sound is more alive and urgent. Their music has doomy, eerie undertones which make for an exciting atmosphere.
Drummer, Dan plays to a click which makes for a tight rhythm that carries the frequent tempo changes swiftly. The combination of Nathan’s driving bass, Matt’s soaring guitar riffs and Sam’s confident and controlled vocal, creates a powerful sonic experience in a compact venue.
The band delivers their newest single release ‘Maps’ mid-set and, for me, this was the stand-out song. Kicking straight in with heavy drums and bass, it grabs your interest immediately and holds it tightly until it’s over. It’s an anthemic track that would not be out of place on a larger stage.
Before introducing their penultimate song ‘Cerebral Eviction Notice’, Sam asks the audience to give him feedback after the gig. One punter delivers it to them there and then, “Best band so far!” he shouts. This is quite a compliment for these Sheffield boys in view of just how many quality Wakefield bands are on the line-up at Long Division. This belter of a track marries all the band’s individual efforts seamlessly, in particular Nathan’s bassline, and Matt’s singing guitar riffs. They both come to the front of the stage and let rip an electronic tirade.
The band members are very much individuals that come up with their own ideas and then skilfully unite them. The symbiosis between them is evident – both on stage and in conversation with them. They feed off each other’s energy and ideas and work with them fluidly.
The band’s music is very enjoyable live. The only slight criticism I would make is that the songs came across as formulaic but on the flip side, this works to quickly make the crowd feel included….You know when the chorus is about to be dropped in, and when the tempo changes come in – so it is danceable music, despite being complex in terms of rhythm. There are plenty of other well-known bands who know their formula works, and stick to it.
These Sheffield boys are slickly mapping their arrival on the national and international music scene and are well worth seeing live. Click here for their forthcoming tour dates.
Stop Drop Robot’s new single ‘Maps’ was released on the 16th June with a B-side remix from Karl Helibron.
‘Maps’ and Stop Drop Robot’s previous singles can be purchased via iTunes
The concert opened with Shostakovich’s ‘Festive Overture’ and went on with Ravel’s ‘Pavane pour une infante defunte’ – pavane for a dead infanta. The beautiful but sad music certainly goes with this title, but apparently Ravel chose it because he just liked the sound of the words.
The first half closed with Bruch’s first violin concerto, a triumph for soloist Martyn Jackson, who played it as if he had written it himself.
Incidentally, the interval featured delicious free cupcakes, a kind gift from the orchestra, which cannot be expected every time.
The second half featured several British composers. ‘A celebration for orchestra’ by local composer Lawrence Killian showed different kinds of celebration, with a romantic ‘Anniversary’ coming in between ‘Birthday Treat’ and ‘Jubilee’.
Malcolm Arnold’s ‘Four Scottish Dances’ expressed that composer’s vitality and ability to create great tunes. There was also his sense of humour, when the bassoon seems to get sozzled in the second dance. The third dance blew us away with its surging melody, and the set finished with a vigorous Highland fling.
The most typically English work was ‘By the banks of green willow’ by George Butterworth. Butterworth does not mess about with the two English folk tunes that he arranges here, but gives them a serene setting.
You can find all sorts in Todmorden market, which is where local composer Arthur Glover found the anonymous march ‘Royal Visit (Bacup 1913)’ – a rollicking work well worth saving and arranging.
Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ concluded the concert. Here Russian tunes contend with the Marseillaise, symbolising the invaders. In the end the Marseillaise is cut short, as Napoleon fails to finish what he started – the bells of Moscow celebrate his departure and thundering cannons punctuate the final triumphal march. We went home invigorated.
I suspect Haydn of being Antony Brannick’s favourite composer – most of this concert was by him, and Antony Brannick played all the piano works.
It began with a lively sonata (Hob XVI no 44, for those who know this numbering system for Haydn works) followed by a variation on two themes (Hob XVII no 6). It ended with a type of music less associated with Haydn – an operatic aria, ‘Scena di Berenice’, performed by soprano Stephanie Stanway, an emotional and demanding work in which Berenice fears for the man she loves. (Spoiler alert – the singer admitted to me that the opera ends sadly.)
Two songs by Haydn, including a sensitive setting of ‘She never told her love’ from ‘Twelfth Night’, began the second half, followed by a sparkling sonata (Hob XVI no 40). The final set of six Elizabethan songs was by a living composer, Dominick Argento, and Stephanie Stanway here showed her ability to handle variety, as the songs expressed different moods, ending with a hymn to the moon.
Sadly, this will be the last Antony and Friends concert for some time, but look out for one in September. Contact email: acb@wrigleyclaydontod.com.
