SINGLE REVIEW: TC & the Groove Family – ‘Let’s Start’

2 Oct 2020

The one time I’ve seen TC & the Groove Family play – and I sincerely hope it’s not the last – it was jaw-droppingly exciting. Truly one of the best gigs I’ve been to. The almost casual way they weave jazz, soul, afro-beat, hip-hop, and countless other things into something mesmerising, compelling, insistent and impressive was incredible. And that mix and rhythm just insists and compels you to move. It’s truly beautiful.

‘Let’s Start’ takes you on a journey, it twists and turns, surprising you from moment to moment. It changes tempo, mood, style seamlessly. One moment it’s mainly jazz, then it goes all afro-beat, then moody jazz building to something frantic, then all jazz-psychedelia. It is a trip.

But it’s coherent, the journey makes sense. At each change there is another player highlighted – a horn player, the most amazing guitar, the creamiest organ. And behind this the beat goes on – drums shifting and changing. And although an instrumental it tells a story, the piece has a meaning. The band say ‘Let’s Start’ is about moving forward as a stronger, unified society for all those who seek justice and peace, standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement’, and you can feel that in the way the horns provide the backbone to the piece. There is joy in the guitar section that comes out the jazzy psychedelic section that seems to signify confusion, muddied waters.

I may, and it’s entirely possible, be reading too much into the piece. But the thing with an instrumental piece is that you build your own story to the feel, the sounds and the mood. It opens up your imagination.

Alternatively you could just let yourself go and dance like there’s no tomorrow. For this is something that fills you with the joy of music, the joy of rhythm. A joy that insists you get up and get down. It says ‘come together and dance’ out loud.

And I’ve forgotten something, and that is to say that musically this is brilliant. The playing is outstanding, as you’d expect from something of a Leeds supergroup. You can focus in on a particular instrument and be amazed, hear the contribution it makes to the sound as a whole. But it’s the whole that has an impact way beyond the sum of the incredibly talented parts.

This, people, is cool. It’s cool sonically encapsulated.

The info

Inspired by the music of Fela Kuti, the band say their original composition “is about moving forward as a stronger, unified society for all those who seek justice and peace, standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement”.

TC & the Groove Family are a young 10 piece afro-funk/fusion ensemble led by drummer Tim Cook (TC) featuring musicians from some of the best bands in the city’s underground music scene (Necktr, Project Hilts, Mamilah, Long Legged Creatures). They make a powerful, joy-filled sound that takes in music from across the globe and unites it into one glorious dancefloor fusion; a tasty stew of Ghanian highlife, Nigerian afrobeat, Brazilian samba, Caribbean soul and Afro-Cuban rhythms fused together with fierce breakbeats and explosive basslines.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TCandtheGrooveFamily
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tcandthegroovefamily/

ONLINE NEWS: Music and moorland combined in groundbreaking digital project from Marsden Jazz Festival

LSF Staff Writers

30 Sep 2020

Marsden Jazz Festival is taking world-renowned musicians out onto the wild moorland above Marsden and recording them playing live for online audiences to enjoy!

Marsden Jazz Festival, one of the UK’s longest running jazz festivals, has found a way to entertain their audiences by bringing music into their homes, despite having to cancel their 2020 festival in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their new project is called Chronotope: Music in a Different Time and Place and it explores the ideas of music and its ability to transcend time and place. The project is recording and filming artists performing in iconic locations across Marsden Moor – bringing the countryside alive with sound and embracing the visual and sonic richness of the landscape

The project is designed to create a much-needed platform for artists, at a time when live music is difficult to stage, and to help Marsden Jazz Festival develop its digital programme.

1920 x 1080 Tom Challenger. Credit Marsden Jazz Festival — Tom Challenger

The first artists to perform on Marsden Moor were Keeley Forsyth and Matthew Bourne on 8 July, followed by Tom Challenger on 31st July. Singer and actor Keeley performed pieces from her album Debris, which The Sunday Times described as “one of the most remarkable in years” by, and was accompanied by pianist and composer Matthew Bourne on a portable harmonium. Marsden-born Tom Challenger created a brand new piece of music called Geond, from the phrase ‘over yonder’ which used graphic scores and improvisation to draw attention to ancient and modern routes across the moorland from Roman roads, to an underground trans-European data line.

All the performances took place at a number of iconic locations across Marsden Moor, a Bronte-esque 5,683 acre estate on the very outskirts of Huddersfield, including a performance through an iron door into a ruined pumphouse which once served the Standedge Tunnel; performances in two quarries with 360 degree sound reverberation; and a performance stood atop a WW2 sentry hut on Pule Hill, with panoramic views over the moorland.

Interviewed on the Marsden Jazz Festival Official Podcast, another new avenue of digital content for the festival this year, Matt said, “it was nice to get something booked in the diary, and to potentially see light at the end of the tunnel”.

The audio for these performances was recorded by world-renowned sound artist Jez riley French and included not only the exceptional music by the artists, but also the rich and varied environmental sounds of the moorland itself. These audio recordings are combined with awe inspiring video footage from Marsden-based filmmaker Alistair I Macdonald who combines close up shots with stunning aerial drone footage. The result is a curiously intimate performance in a vast, wild landscape.

Barney Stevenson, artistic director at Marsden Jazz Festival said, “Witnessing artists performing first hand was a magical experience – I hope that this magic, along with the visual and sonic aspects of the landscape that Jez and Alistair bring to the work, comes across in the films”.

The Chronotope project by Marsden Jazz Festival, supported by Arts Council England’s Emergency Response Fund, will run until the end of the year, with regular video and podcast content from artists who will be performing on Marsden Moor being published throughout that time. This project is a brand new direction for Marsden Jazz Festival, but one which the charity hopes will give them some stability through this uncertain time.

Full length videos of all performances are available on the Marsden Jazz Festival YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEVvCNDO4H0QxXBX6p7O5Kw/ as well as via their website www.marsdenjazzfestival.com/chronotope

You can listen to the Marsden Jazz Festival podcast at https://marsdenjazzfestival.com/podcast or on the usual podcast platforms (Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon + Alexa, Google podcasts)

FESTIVAL NEWS: First artists revealed for GET TOGETHER Festival, Sheffield 1/2 May 2021

LSF Staff Writers

30 Sep 2020

Taking place at The Sheffield University Students’ Union, GET TOGETHER is a new festival that celebrates the best in music, food and drink over the course of the first May bank holiday in 2021.

In a year that has forced us to stay apart, and the majority of venues and festivals have had to shut their doors, GET TOGETHER, a new festival in Sheffield, looks forward to a time when music fans are once again able to share the joy of being in the same space and sharing the excitement of live music.

GET TOGETHER is proud to announce the first artists performing over the weekend, including The Murder Capital, Self Esteem, Working Men’s Club, The Orielles, Tim Burgess, Ibibio Sound Machine and many more.

FIRST ARTISTS REVEALED

SATURDAY 1 MAY 2021:

THE MURDER CAPITAL
WORKING MEN’S CLUB
TIM BURGESS
PILLOW QUEENS
BDRMM
TV PRIEST
ODD MORRIS
WALT DISCO
COACH PARTY

SUNDAY 2 MAY 2021:

SELF ESTEEM
THE ORIELLES
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE
BILLY NOMATES
HAPPYNESS
MARTHA HILL
BABA ALI
AILBHE REDDY
LYNKS

Plus many more to be announced

Saturday 1st May sees the return of one of Ireland’s most exciting bands – THE MURDER CAPITAL. Having last played Sheffield just before lockdown, their return offers a glimmer of hope that we will get back to a more familiar way of life. And their music couldn’t be more perfect for the occasion. While loud and striking, their songs are also an extreme vision of tenderness and beauty which has gained them fans amongst music lovers and critics alike.

Closing GET TOGETHER on Sunday 2nd May is one of Sheffield’s most outstanding artists. Having played in every venue across the city and toured the world with Slow Club, SELF ESTEEM (aka Rebecca Taylor) unveiled her debut album ‘Compliments Please’ in 2019 and unleashed huge pop tracks that any self-respecting star would kill to claim as their own. She joins the festival with the promise of new music, dancing and anthemic tunes to see the festival out.

WORKING MEN’S CLUB release their highly anticipated debut album on Friday 2 October. The band featuring members from Todmorden, Manchester and Sheffield have quickly risen up as one of the most important and thrilling new bands around. They first gained attention with their post-punk drenched debut single ‘Bad Blood’. Follow up singles like ‘Teeth’ and ‘Valleys’ saw a new line up and a more electronic demanding sound, which in turn saw their live shows rapidly sell out and grow a reputation unrivalled levels of energy.

Charlatan’s front man, record shop expert and hero of Twitter lockdown TIM BURGESS also joins the line-up. Tim’s latest solo record ‘I Love The New Sky’ came out on Bella Union during lockdown, and alongside his Twitter Listening Parties, Tim’s constant positive vibes are a shining beacon of optimism. Having not being able to play live yet, this will be one of the first opportunities to hear the record in the flesh.

THE ORIELLES released their second album ‘Disco Volador’ into the stratosphere in February. Cosmic, warped disco singles like ‘Bobbi’s Second World’ which channels Talking Heads at their funkiest, as well as the disco bopping ‘Space Samba (Disco Volador Theme)’ which positioned the band as one of the most danceable bands to emerge in recent years.

And no band knows more about dancing than IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE. With their jubilant mix of disco and ‘80s electro, as well as mixing Ibibio (the Nigerian language where they take part of their name) and English lyrics, IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE are driven by hypnotic percussion, groove and a whole lot of fun. They prove music is a universal language and can bring people together, which is exactly what GET TOGETHER is all about.

Each day, these ground-breaking artists will joined by a whole host of outstanding new artists, including BILLY NOMATES, MARTHA HILL, BABA ALI, PILLOW QUEENS, HAPPYNESS, ODD MORRIS plus many more to be announced.

On top of an abundance of brilliant music, there will also be the annual beer & cider festival situated within the grounds of the garden of the Students’ Union, which brings together an eclectic host of craft beers, real ales, pilsners, cider & gin to the weekend.

Alongside this will also be a vast array of the best independent street food traders offering a wide selection of food from across the world with vendors being announced nearer to the event.

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER, 10AM
Available from SEETICKETS.COM / SHEFFTICKETS.COM / LUNATICKETS.CO.UK
https://www.lunatickets.co.uk/event/get-together-2021/the-foundry/1629543

SINGLE REVIEW: The Ocean Beneath/Fran Minney – ‘Skin’

Frank

29 Sep 2020

One of the things I really love is when two artists or bands I really like collaborate. I say ‘love’ but there’s always that risk that there’s a mismatch. So the news that The Ocean Beneath – who I’ve been reviewing for while now – and Fran Minney – a recent discovery for me – had worked together on this single had me intrigued and wondering whether it would work. I thought it would, but you know, that risk is always there.

‘Skin’ is something special – thankfully, and not entirely unexpectedly. There is a distinct melding of The Oceans Beneath and Fran’s sound on this. There are those 80s’ synth sounds that you’d expect from The Ocean Beneath but they mix with a feel that you’d expect from Fran.

It’s a sultry, sensual thing with something of the feel of Japan at points – delicate runs of keyboards. It’s sparse, you can ‘hear’ the space in the track. Simple sounds are layered, weaved in and out. Fran’s vocals are so beautiful. Her tone is so wonderfully intimate. At times her voice drops to a fx’ed sound. If you can ignore the words, you can treat her voice as another instrument. But those words are hard to ignore. It builds to sections that are insistent,, that pulse, that reflect the words.

The whole is an incredibly beautiful piece of electronic pop – for yes while it has the structure of a song, somehow it’s more than a song, it’s more of a sound piece, an expression of mood, of atmosphere, of feelings.

I’m going to keep this short because I don’t want to delay you hearing the song. So do that now. Sink into the magic of it, let it wash over you, take you to a beautiful place.

The info

The Ocean Beneath

The Ocean Beneath is the brainchild of Leeds based musicians Matt Burnside and Rich Blacker. Together they create an 80’s inspired mixture of powerful analogue synthesis, melodic sweeping vocals and huge grooving percussion alongside collaborators such as Fran Minney, Nath Jackson and Keeper of Bees. This is electronic music with heart.

Fran Minney

Fran Minney creates a dreamy indie electronica soundtrack to the colourful woodland world she mentally inhabits. For performing live Fran uses the limbs at her disposal to create a full band sound as a soloist by use of Ableton, looping and midi controllers.

VIDEO LAUNCH: Keep Back Ivy’s ‘Make It Right’

Frank

29 Sep 2020

Ever since I reviewed their single – ‘Read All About It’/’An Introvert’s Guide to Partying’ (now available on the Keep Back Ivy Bandcamp https://keepbackivy.bandcamp.com) – Amaku Miru have been a favourite of mine. Andy and Emma’s music was, and continues to be, clever, sometimes witty, thoughtful and exceptionally well put together. A while back I had seen that they had changed their name and I was intrigued as to why. Putting this together gave me an opportunity to do that and you can read the answer to this and other questions later in the piece.

‘Make It Right’ is guitar-y, somewhat out-there guitar-y in places, frankly there is some wonderful guitar work on this track. It sounds (and I have my helpful friend to thank for this, so don’t have a go at me) kind of grunge-y, kind of folky/Americana, and weirdly like later period Pink Floyd. With Emma’s voice, that pure pure tone she has, it’s compelling musically. With words that are so worth taking the time to listen to properly.

Lockdown has meant that bands and artists have been finding new ways to be creative, and Keep Back Ivy are no exception. The video for the single was filmed in a collaboration with a filmmaker Dory Valentine from Brighton, who they have yet to meet in person.

I got the scoop from Andy and Emma on the name change, the song and the video via an emailed interview – in these times of lockdown sometimes you have to admit that face-to-face interviews or Skype aren’t the best way forward – where I posed my usual slightly awkward questions, and they were kind enough to answer them brilliantly.

First up, let’s ask you the obvious question. Why the name change? Is it reflecting that your musical direction has shifted?

Emma: I think everyone’s been doing a bit of reflecting this year and 2020 has really given us the time for it! Our old name meant ‘take it lightly’ in Japanese and was a reminder to not take things so seriously. That being said I’m not sure how appropriate it was for two white people to name their music with.

Andy: In terms of musical direction the change in name isn’t a sign of a major shift. In fact, ‘Make it Right’ is a song that has been a big part of the band for a while and one of our favourites to play live since we wrote it. We were thrown off a lot by the lockdown in terms of creativity and we have both found it hard to write new material over the past few months. We are just starting to throw some new ideas around, inspired by being able to go to the rehearsal space and practice again.

To be honest we have never really had any set idea or dictated direction that our music will take, we just play or write together or separately and bounce ideas off each other. It’s always loosely guitar music with an electronic undercurrent but apart from that we absorb ideas from all over the place and just see what happens.

Is there a story behind the name – Keep Back Ivy – it sounds as though there might be?

E: Sort of. I have an on again off again relationship with anxiety in that it’s mostly under control but sometimes it creeps up on me and I realise I need to do some work to cut it back again. Writing songs has always been part of my way out of bad periods.

What’s your debut release as Keep Back Ivy – ‘Make It Right’ about and what inspired the song?

E: It’s about how we should all be on the same team when it comes to gender equality. There’s no room for hate if we want progress and we should all want to make it right.

A lot of the lyrics I write are about me processing and trying to make sense of the world around me. I wrote ‘Make It Right’ after an experience with other women online who I thought were on the same ‘team’ as me until all of sudden they started shoehorning some really vile, transphobic rhetoric into the conversation. I called them out on it and they turned incredibly nasty. But I knew however an unpleasant experience it was for me, it was nothing compared to what trans and non-binary people must feel, especially with people who pretend they are safe and call themselves feminists when they are not.

The video for the release was filmed during lockdown in a collaboration with a Brighton based filmmaker – Dory Valentine. How did you come to link up with Dory?

E: I already followed Dory on Twitter through friends of friends who are also in bands. Our friends DUCK are on Hell Hath No Fury records and so is Dory’s band, Brazen Hussy. They are heavily involved in music in all ways – photographing and videoing live gigs as well as music videos and their work is gorgeous.

I’m intrigued about the creative process for the video. Did they come up with a set of shots they wanted after you had agreed a concept? Did you end up filming each other under their direction?

E: Yeah – the concept was all Dory. They came up with an idea and originally they were going to come up to Leeds and we were going to shoot a video in The Old Red Bus Station in April……

After a few weeks of mopiness Andy proposed we ask if there was a way to do a video long distance. We gave Dory free rein because we wanted our work to promote theirs and vice versa. Dory re-worked the concept to being about how we are all part of nature and recorded that part from their end and gave us a list of shots they wanted us to get. I had some gear at home but it took us about 5 or 6 days to get the right shots because we struggled to contain the natural light in our living room. Our landlord does not have good curtains and every day we recorded we had to climb up and tape up all the windows. We had to go back and forth with Dory offering solutions where we went wrong and re-doing shots they needed and eventually we got there!

A: Yeah the video shoot was a bit brutal. It’s hard when you are working from home full time to spend all your day off in a dark room especially when it’s sunny outside. As soon as we started getting the shots back from Dory our faith in the project was restored and it all started to come together. We are looking forward to one day actually being able to go and meet and work together in person.

And lastly the old chestnut, feature plans for Keep Back Ivy? I understand you have a couple of singles in the pipeline.

A: It’s an interesting time. We would like nothing more than to be back playing live but it’s hard to say when that will be possible at the moment. We had started to host our own events based around the idea of getting slightly left of centre electronic and guitar based bands and artists together and hosting gigs that we really wanted to see and be a part of. I really hope we can get back to that in the not too distant future.

Although we have been struggling to write during the lockdown period we have been recording a few existing songs which we plan to put out over the next few months. It feels a bit like clearing the decks. Recording the first batch of songs we wrote for the project and starting to write and record more and see where it takes us.

Because we probably won’t be gigging the songs immediately I quite like the idea of writing songs in the recording process and then figuring out how to play them live after. I am also intrigued by the possibility of some collaborations. We have met loads of really talented musicians while we have been gigging and it would be great to work alongside some of them. Have them guest or remix a track or maybe even at some stage to do a couple of gigs with an extended band. Just as an exception though. I prefer being a duo. it’s much easier.

So it sounds as though there’s some really interesting stuff to come from the duo. The events that Andy mentioned are something I would love to see back. I attended one of these and there was an incredible mix of artists, it was a really great way of seeing music that was new to me. and I probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. Definitely something to look out for once gigs are back.

Keep Back Ivy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepbackivy/

<a href="https://keepbackivy.bandcamp.com/track/make-it-right">Make It Right by Keep Back Ivy</a>

SINGLE NEWS: Archie Baker drops ‘If You Love Me’

LSF Staff Writers

25 Sep 2020

‘If You Love Me’ is the second single from Archie’s debut EP ‘Adult Fiasco’. The track is a soulful, reggae-rock style song inspired by Aussie-rock artists such as Sticky Fingers, Ocean Alley and Tash Sultana.

The lyrical theme explores the resentment and hurt that is felt in an emotionally unbalanced relationship – with a chorus that reflects the anger felt by both parties. The chaotic climax of the song aims to bring the dialogue to an explosive head with sax, guitar and vocal energy all peaking in the last chorus.

The track showcases his distinctive guitar and vocal style, but this time with a rougher tone and more grit than his previous releases have demonstrated.

SINGLE REVIEW: Twist Helix – ‘Vultures’

Frank

25 Sep 2020

This is the last single from Twist Helix before they release their second album in November. The last release from the band I reviewed from the band – ‘Frida Kahlo’ – was, let’s call it quirky. This isn’t as quirky as that, but it’s… I’m trying hard to come up with a way of putting this that doesn’t sound like I’m damning it here. …It’s quite out there is what I’m sticking with.

It sounds like a cross between early Human League and OMD played at a madcap speed – those heavy heavy synth sounds, those skittering sounds that pop up now and then. With a vocal that has hints of Toyah (kind of ‘Four From Toyah’ period), Siouxsie Sioux, all kinds of alternative female singers of the late 70s/80s. It’s a heavy duty stomping dance-y – very dance-y – thing, something to go crazy out on a dancefloor to. It just never, and I mean never, let’s up.

But not only is this a stonkingly wonderful thing musically, it’s about something. The band explain, “‘Vultures’ specifically deals with those in the music industry, whose relation to creatives resembles that of facultative predators and scavengers. With this single we wanted to say that as an artist you’re in an inherently vulnerable position that makes it very easy to be preyed upon. There are ‘Vultures’ out there who want to feed off of you, your talents and then leave you with little to show for it. From our point of view the music industry exists to extract works from creatives whilst divesting them of a sense of their worth and their feeling of agency. Too many good bands burn out or cease to be because of dodgy management deals, paltry streaming revenues, and a broader architecture designed to place power in the hands of everyone but the artist”.

Having not seen this quote until after I’d listened to the song, and read the lyrics, I initially kind of misinterpreted the song – I’d read it as being about those sort of predatory men in a general sense. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve completely got the wrong end of the stick song topic wise, and definitely not the last. I think – and this is very much a personal opinion – the words have enough ambiguity to leave you to see it either way, in my defence.

The whole is a blast of bloody joyous sound that’ll have you thrilled and throwing yourself around from the very start. But, and crucially, in no way, shape or form is this conventional. It has the unexpected that provides that thrill, it has twists to how you expect it to unfold. It’s that that makes it so good.

The band released this as a teaser for the album, to show us what to expect from that. And frankly this leaves me on the edge of my seat for the release. It’s fantastic, simple as.

SINGLE REVIEW: Luna Pines – ‘She Can’t See Me’

Frank

25 Sep 2020

I always look forward to new releases from Luna Pines. Their songs are always compelling musically, and there’s always a story with their lyrics and song subject. Sometimes this may not be obvious, you need to let the words sink in and let their meaning reveal themselves. Admittedly this may take some time, and I haven’t had that time, but I have had some information about the song to refer to, so that’s been useful. But I’m looking forward to further revelations as time goes on.

The thing is that you could just listen to the song, and while getting that the song is about something and you may get some of that, and just enjoy it as the beautiful slab of dreamy alt-pop that it is. But I think you get more if you take the time to listen to the words, and try and get what the song is about.

Broadly speaking the song is about being in love with somebody who doesn’t think of you as being right for them. It’s about that feeling of being not good enough for somebody. There’s something here about lack of self-esteem and not having confidence in yourself as a person. This is something I can relate to personally.

Musically it’s dreamy as I said, it sounds hazy and out of focus, like it’s the sonic equivalent of a cloud through which you are trying to reach out to somebody but can’t get there. Perhaps I might be accused of reading too much into the sound and feel of the song but that’s what I get. But somehow the sound of the track disguises the inner turmoil that a person in the situation the song describes will be in. There are hints of that soundwise – the sound says it’s something that’s hard to admit to, and you hold it in, but sometimes you just can’t help it coming out. .

This is a truly beautiful song that addresses a difficult subject brilliantly. The words are sensitive and full of meaning, and I think there’s more layers to this song that we can all discover over time. This is yet another wonderful release from Luna Pines.

SINGLE REVIEW: FUDGE. – ‘Money To Be Made’

Frank

25 Sep 2020

September is turning out to be a good month, there have been some wonderful releases, and this is one of them. It’s the lead single from the band’s upcoming live EP ‘The Town Hall Session’ – recorded at Leeds Town Hall naturally. See how casually I dropped that factoid into the review. Yes, an EP of songs recorded live, in FUDGE’’s natural environment, playing live.

From Cam’s opening blast this song is angry, fucking angry. While FUDGE.’s songs frequently comment on things, this song protests. Cam explains:

“‘Money To Be Made’ expresses my despising of the formidableness and greed of those at the top with power and money. I see it a lot of the time as billionaires hoarding money and wanting to keep on making it, disregarding employees below them and the magnitude of hours they work for very little pay. I understand that they worked for it and they earned it, but surely there comes a point where you want to help the world around you and enough money is enough? The song was inspired through working on minimum wage for the past six years and expresses the desire for more from life and for everyone in the same boat or worse off. I was also inspired by the corruption of elections and the involvement of media, as well as disasters such as Notre Dame burning where millionaires piped up for that but not for famine, poverty and to support those in need. I’m not sure if you can tell in the song, but we sound pretty pissed off. When it comes to writing songs like this, I let multiple things build in my mind and write a general song surrounding it”

So there’s a lot to unpack in the words of the song, and shit there are a lot of words to get your head round. But, as Cam as indicated, the words encapsulate the sense of outrage at the way those at the top treat us in their bid for power and money, in their greed.

Musically the track reflects the subject of the song. While it may start – and by the way end – like you’d expect a FUDGE. song to do – it’s dance-y people, it’s the blast and sheer aggression of the middle section that does that. It’s hard, it’s fast, it urges you onto your feet and out into the street. Live – and I always come back to that with the band – this is going to be an all out riot.

Otto (guitar) says this about the song’s musical style and approach:

‘Although we definitely have a specific genre that we write in and that we play, most of us in the band rarely listen to hard rock. We all have it and we all love it, but we listen to so many other things as well, and this is where the dance feel and the strange time signature came from for the beginning and the end of the song. I was also listening to a lot of QOTSA at the time, you’ll hear the influence I’m sure. I like the idea of not knowing what’s going to come next in a song and being surprised by a section change, so I wrote this one as a song for me, something to play around with and something I would genuinely love. I personally think this song is the best on the EP, if not a close second to one other that will be released later this year’.

So does the whole capture the feel of FUDGE. live? Well, yes and no. Yes in that it captures the power of the band that you hear when you see them live. But no, it doesn’t capture the feel of being part of their gigs. I’ve seen them enough to get that when I listen to this, I can imagine it if you will. But maybe I’m being picky, you can’t really expect a recorded live track to do that, can you? And perhaps it’s because they are one of the bands I’ve really missed seeing in this period of lockdown. Hearing this makes me miss the atmosphere of their gigs a fuck of a lot.

A last word from the band from Angus (drums):

‘I think most people can relate to this one. It’s shining a light on the feeling of powerlessness and the stress that comes with little financial income whilst seemingly having endless outgoing responsibilities. This is our way of expressing how angry we are with the structure of capitalism and that doing what we love with the people that we love, and to the best of our ability, is how we overcome or at least circumnavigate the unhappiness associated with working a mindless job. Get angry but have love with this one, I guess that’s pretty much what we stand for. We recorded these tracks live at Leeds Town Hall, which I think is the only way we could have captured the energy associated with this song. It’s an unrelenting beast that keeps you on your toes with its erratic structure. This one is pure expression for us, so enjoy our unrestrained sound. And if you do like it, come to a gig, man’.

Like ‘Not A Threat, Just A Warning’ this song did something to me, feeling the anger in the song made me angry – or perhaps I should say more angry, yep more angry definitely. This is a fucking call to action, the soundtrack to protest. And right now is the right time to release this, right now the things the song is about are out in the open, they don’t even try to hide it any more.

This is a song that we all should play, that we all should have our own ‘small socially distanced group of six’ freakout to, do that until you can’t do it anymore and then sit down and listen to the words, understand the words, and if you feel the need to, act on the words.

This is one hell of a song, it’s FUDGE. in a nutshell – the excitement of the band playing live, fine fine words about a subject we can understand and relate to. And look, even if the song isn’t something you can relate to, the music is fucking great, it’s a bloody riot. As a teaser for the EP, it’s left me way beyond excited for the release of that, can’t come too soon as far as I’m concerned.

Play loud and proud.

The info

‘Money To Be Made’ is the first release from the second FUDGE. EP, appropriately titled THE TOWN HALL SESSION. Born under the rafters of Leeds Town Hall where the band recorded the epic single live, captured and mastered by local producer Kane Whitelam, MONEY TO BE MADE and the EP are rooted solidly in the city and represent the trials of a life lived on minimum wage in the nearby terraces. The song expresses the anger shared amongst the working class of Britain and the frustrations of constantly working for faceless corporations. However, as FUDGE. constantly provide, the single empowers those who relate to this frustration and encourages them to channel it in a positive way. FUDGE. are saying it’s good to be angry but we need to be active, to stand up and face whatever is oppressing us.

The band pride themselves on their live performance which, repeatedly, is eulogised by those who find themselves caught within the chaos of a FUDGE. gig. Their epic live performance has now met head on with the majestic and iconic venue in which they recorded THE TOWN HALL SESSION. Unfazed by the eminence of the building, the boys and the team captured their hectic performance in stark polarity to the splendour of the venue. You wouldn’t think to pair the two, but it works. Live videos will be released throughout the remainder of 2020 alongside each of the three singles from the EP..

SINGLE REVIEW: Ava in the Dark – ‘Delete Us Forever’

Frank

25 Sep 2020

When I saw Ava in the Dark – supporting Artio some time back (read the review) – I was somewhat on the fence about them. I just wasn’t sure where I fell – whether I liked them or not. But sometimes it just takes one thing to change your mind about a band, and with Ava in the Dark it’s this release.

What we have here is in essence alt-synthy sounding pop with an 80s’ feel. I could leave it there but I’m kinda missing out the good bits. A lovely sometimes breathy, sometimes angelic, vocal from Kiera – her voice is quite quite fantastic, guitar that rips from Harry, a beat that just MAKES you get up and shake your thing.

But wait there is more – yes, more of that good stuff. This song does the dropout thing – breathier vocals over a synth wash and a pulse that is to die for. The first time this happens it’s a tease (and I love a musical tease) for the second that drops out further and then the guitar rips in. And then in the build at the end the drums positively pound, in a strangely rock way that is so so yummy.

And if that wasn’t enough – the sound of this thing is so so good, it’s beautiful, there’s not a sound out of place. It has that 80s’ pop gloss feel. It soars to die for. And I’m saying 80s’ pop feel because while it has that old-school thing, it also has that ‘of now’ sound. It’s taken the really good bits of 80s’ pop and melded them with the best of now. And this my friends is a lovely thing.

I love a great pop song, I love a perfect pop song even more. This I love till it hurts, it’s that good.