Let AMBER RUN’S latest offering Affection seep into your very bones. The chiller will make its way onto their third album, Philophobia, out September 27th. Furthermore, the band will be touring their new material worldwide from September to November.
The song, recorded earlier this year, as part of the album session, is one of the band’s most honest songs to date. Speaking about the song frontman Joe Keogh explains “I hope after people have heard the record they feel closer to the band. Gone are the days where we feel angry to the point of pushing people away. We want to draw people in and keep them close. In the hope we could have a shared experience.”
Whether platonic or romantic, unrequited, unconditional or ugly, every human experiences some kind of love to some degree. At its very best, love – whether from a parent or child or a partner – can give you purpose. It can make you feel more whole and complete than you ever thought possible. It can make life worth living. At the same time, it can totally and utterly destroy you.
That conflict – and the delicate balance between the two – is something that Amber Run explore thoroughly on the 10 beautiful, soul-searching songs that make up Philophobia, their third record. Yet while that aversion is the central focus the new record from the Nottingham trio – consisting of lead vocalist Joe Keogh, bassist Tom Sperring and keyboardist Henry Wyeth – its songs also explore the nature of love in all its many different, complex facets and forms to bring that complex tornado of emotions and feelings to life.
As such, Philophobia is a visceral yet philosophical exploration of the effects – positive and negative, damaging and restorative – that love of all kinds can have on a person. ‘Affection’, for example, soars with a beautiful grace, Keogh’s heart-torn, plaintive and ethereal vocals proclaiming that “love to me has been as bad as good” before later stating how “love can be as deaf as it is blind.”
You can catch the band on the following festivals in the summer and on tour across the following cities from September;
UK LIVE DATES – October
4: O2 Ritz, Manchester
5: Rock City, Nottingham
6: O2 Academy 2, Birmingham
8: Wylam Brewery, Newcastle
9: SWG3 TV Studio, Glasgow
11: Y Plas, Cardiff
12: SWX, Bristol
13: MK11, Milton Keynes
14: Junction, Cambridge
16: Lemon Grove, Exeter
17: The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth
18: O2 Academy, Oxford
19: The Roundhouse, London
I saw The Goa Express ages ago, absolutely ages ago, in The Golden Lion in Todmorden playing to a room packed with people that had come to see them. I was impressed then, really impressed. This single shows that since I saw them the band have been honing their sound.
This people is a blast, an urgent blast of 60s’ influenced psych R’n’B. But The Goa Express bring their own take to this, for under that raw abrasive choppy riffing guitar there is organ, there is frankly loose drumming, there are vocals that have something of a young Bob Dylan. There are backing vocals that are somewhat slightly chaotic.
And the sum of it’s parts is so fucking good, it’s addictive. It sits there saying ‘Go on, play me again, this time just that bit louder’. Music ought be like this, so loose it’s on the edge of falling apart, sounding like it was recorded in a living room while the band were rehearsing. It should be this urgent, it should have this rush.
This, people, is music to lose your shit to, it’s music to go wild to. Just go fucking listen to it.
The info
Teenagehood, brotherhood and a love for an array of alternative music, across the years, has closely united Burnley and Todmorden’s, The Goa Express. Although the intensity of their friendship has resulted in the occasional bust-up, along the way, it is outweighed by their chemistry, which the band offers collectively both on stage and on record. Together, James Douglas Clarke (Guitar + Vocals), Joe Clarke (Keys), Joey Stein (Lead Guitar), Naham Muzaffar (Bass) and Sam Launder (Drums), each contribute to a fuzzy wall of diverse sounds that become hard to pin down with their ever-changing, experimental sound.
Since coming to Manchester, The Goa Express have enjoyed support slots with international bands like The Murlocs, Moon Duo and Mystic Braves as well as performing live with domestic indie champions such as Cabbage, YAK and The Orielles. Whilst at university, The Goa Express have played headline shows at both Manchester’s Band On The Wall and The Castle Hotel, as well as slots at Liverpool Psych Festival and the Leeds based, Karma festival. Their live sets are raw, and with expressive, outspoken mindsets, the band transform the hyper-communication and speed of modern life through hard-hitting, relatable lyrics.
THE FUTUREHEADS RELEASE ‘GOOD NIGHT OUT’ / ‘LISTEN, LITTLE MAN!’, THE SECOND SINGLE FROM THEIR FORTHCOMING ALBUM ‘POWERS’
The Futureheads will release the single ‘Good Night Out’ / ‘Listen, Little Man!’ on 5th July. It’s the second single to be taken from their forthcoming album ‘Powers’, which is released on The Orchard on 30th August. ‘Good Night Out’ is a hedonistic white flag, while ‘Listen, Little Man!’ is a wonky stomp named after a book by controversial therapist Wilhelm Reich.
‘Powers’ is The Futureheads sixth studio album and their first electric guitar release in almost a decade. Recorded and self-produced at Newcastle’s First Avenue Studio, ‘Powers’ is a record that looks “at the balance of power in a personal, political and relational sense” and puts it to some of the most vital, invigorated material the band have made since their first steps.
Lead single ‘Jekyll’ received its first radio play on 1st May from 6Music’s Steve Lamacq and has since been played by Marc Riley, who recently had them in session, and Shaun Keaveny, who made it his single of the week. It has been played by Radio X’s John Kennedy who made it his X-Posure show’s ‘Hot One’, and when Felix White sat in for him, he interviewed the band. The band also recently did a 5 Live Session as well.
Having first emerged at the start of the ’00s amidst a burgeoning swarm of guitar bands, the Sunderland quartet, with their proud regional accents and spiky, playful sensibilities, stuck out from the off. Over the following decade The Futureheads – comprised of vocalists and guitarists Barry Hyde and Ross Millard, vocalist and bassist David ‘Jaff’ Craig and vocalist and drummer Dave Hyde – amassed five critically-acclaimed albums, headlined countless tours and earned an NME Single of the Year accolade for their iconic cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’.
Returning with ‘Powers’, the band’s aim is one of forward motion not nostalgia; though the quartet could probably rely on the successes of old to push them through the next couple of festival seasons, that isn’t – and hasn’t ever – been the point. “Obviously it’s an absolute privilege to come back and still have fans and that’s something to cherish,” Ross says, “but I also think we’ve got a bit of a job to do about letting people know that there’s more to this band than you might have thought.”
It’s a risky statement, but one that’s confirmed immediately once you press play. Across the album, the band push further, melodically and lyrically, than ever before; there’s no safety net here, but a band putting everything out there and driving it to the wire again. “I love the thing Bowie said about how an artist should be slightly out of their depth because that’s when you get the good stuff,” Barry affirms. “Or as David Lynch says, ‘If you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deep.’”
Cumulatively, it’s a record that kicks harder and more intensely than you might have ever understandably predicted. “The record we’ve made is a little off kilter and maybe a little more out of step than you might expect from four lads in their 30s. I think it might surprise people,” smiles Ross.
But if you were ever a fan of The Futureheads, or – just as importantly – if you were never a fan of The Futureheads, you should get the same thing from ‘Powers’: a record that sounds invigorated, with something important to say and an idiosyncratic, exciting way of saying it, made by four people here for all the right reasons. “There’s power and sophistication and simplicity, and it’s bloody hard to play, which I think will keep the shows interesting because we’re on the edge of our abilities with this,” grins Barry. “It’s musical audacity: that’s what this album’s about.”
The band, who have just finished a successful tour of the UK that included a sold out show at The Garage, London, have just announced a December UK tour that will kick off at the Electric Ballroom, London on the 6th. The tour celebrates 15 years of The Futureheads and will see the band playing their debut album in fullalongside new and old favourites.Catch them before that over the summer, where they will play festivals across the UK and Europe. Details below.
UK LIVE DATES
6th July Electric Fields Dumfries & Galloway
19th July Tramlines Festival Sheffield
20th July Latitude Suffolk
28th July Truck Festival Oxfordshire
2nd August Neverworld Kent
3rd August Coombe Weekender Coventry
25th August Victorious Festival Southsea
29th August New Slang Kingston
4th September Bonded Warehouse Sunderland
9th November 2Q Festival Lincolnshire
DECEMBER UK TOUR
6th Dec Electric Ballroom London
7th Dec O2 Institute Birmingham
8th Dec Beckett University Leeds
13th Dec Northumbria Uni Newcastle
14th Dec QMU Glasgow
15th Dec O2 Ritz Manchester
THE EARLY CLASSIC ‘VELOCITY GIRL’ IS REISSUED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ITS RELEASE IN 1986. OUT NOW ON 7” VINYL WITH THE NEW TRACK ‘BROKEN’
In just 82 seconds, Primal Scream’s ‘Velocity Girl’ became a landmark moment in the nascent indie scene and ignited a band who would become a pivotal part of British music culture. First released as the b-side to their second single ‘Crystal Crescent’ in 1986, ‘Velocity Girl’ reached a wider audience as the opening track on NME’s highly influential ‘C86’ compilation.
Despite the track’s renown, Primal Scream have never reissued ‘Velocity Girl’ or included it on any retrospective albums… until now. The track is now available on 7”, streaming and download along with the brand new song ‘Broken’. This limited edition, single run release is available exclusively via your local independent retailer.
To coincide with its re-release, Primal Scream also share its first official video – some 33 years after the track was first released. It weaves between frontman Bobby Gillespie’s performance of the song with footage of the iconic actress and model Edie Sedgwick in ‘Ciao! Manhattan’, a film that was completed and released in 1972, a year after her death.
“I had an Edie Sedgwick type character in mind when I wrote ‘Velocity Girl’,” says Gillespie. “I read Jean Stein’s biography about her and I wanted to meet a girl like that. Hanging out with Warhol, The Velvet Underground , Bob Dylan and shooting speed whilst looking absolutely fabulous. Super hip and beautiful. She was the muse. I love her.”
The video was directed by filmmaker, cinephile and musician Douglas Hart, who first worked with Primal Scream on the ‘Screamadelica’ film in 1992.
‘Velocity Girl’ features on Primal Scream’s ‘Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Singles’ which is out now via Sony. A celebration of a band with a killer collection of singles, it evolves from rock ‘n’ roll infused with gospel and soul in ‘Movin’ On Up’, to the Stonesy strut of ‘Rocks’ and industrial-funk in the shape of ‘Kill All Hippies’. And that freewheeling attitude never stopped, as evidenced by the anthemic garage-rock meets vintage R&B of ‘Country Girl’ and the creativity of the songs taken from their most recent album, 2016’s ‘Chaosmosis’.
Last month Primal Scream announced a full UK and Ireland tour which spans November and December. The dates, listed below, include a London gig at the O2 Forum Kentish Town and culminate with a homecoming show at Glasgow’s Barrowlands:
NOVEMBER
19th– Oxford, O2 Academy
20th– Southampton, Guildhall
21st– Brighton, Dome
23rd– Cardiff, Great Hall
24th– Liverpool, O2 Academy
26th– Manchester, Albert Hall
27th– Norwich, UEA
29th– London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
DECEMBER
1st– Coventry, Empire
3rd– Nottingham, Rock City
4th– Hull, University – Asylum
6th– Leeds, O2 Academy
7th– Newcastle, Boiler Shop
9th– Dublin, National Stadium
10th– Belfast, Ulster Hall
13th– Inverness, Ironworks
14th– Aberdeen, Music Hall
15th– Perth, Concert Hall
17th– Glasgow, Barrowlands
In addition to the headline tour, Primal Scream’s summer festival schedule includes UK shows at Latitude (July19th) and Edinburgh Summer Sessions (August 10th).
Sheffield’s Tramlines Festival has announced that its Main Stage will be renamed to ‘Nulty’s Main Stage’ in honour of the late Festival Director, Sarah Nulty who passed away just three weeks before the 10th Anniversary in 2018. Tramlines 2019, which takes place at Hillsborough Park from Friday 19th – Sunday 21st July, will see the return of ‘Nulty’s Bar’, and on sale will be new ‘BeMoreNulty’ merchandise, designed by Sheffield artist, Tom J Newell. All profits will go to Cavendish Cancer Care and Weston Park Cancer Charity who provided vital care and support for Sarah and her family during her illness.
Tramlines Festival Organiser, Danielle Gigg commented, “Sarah was the driving force behind the festival, so it felt completely fitting to rename the main stage in her honour and as a memorial for everything she’s done for us. We will continue to raise money for Weston Park Cancer Charity and Cavendish Cancer Care who both helped her so much.”
Sarah Nulty
Sales from the backstage Nulty’s Bar and from the hugely popular BeMoreNulty merchandise and t-shirts, designed in association with Dropdead Clothing, were worn by hundreds of festival goers and band members alike in 2018, resulting in £30,000 raised for Weston Park Cancer Charity and Cavendish Cancer Care. Tramlines aims to raise even more funds via these streams in 2019, including new rainbow-coloured BeMoreNuty designs, to help fund resources and crucial research carried out by the Sheffield-based charities.
Sarah, who was director at Tramlines from 2013 – 2018, was a well-loved, galvanising force in Sheffield and as such, her death at the age of just 36, provoked a huge response with festival fans and industry alike.
Since her passing, Sarah has posthumously received several awards. These include the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Association of Independent Festival Awards, the Outstanding Contribution to Festivals Award at the UK Festival Awards, and a Civic Award from the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Magid Magid (now MEP). A memorial plaque was also unveiled on the original site of the Tramlines’ Main Stage on Devonshire Green in Sheffield city centre. Additionally, a new award category titled the ‘Sarah Nulty Women In Festivals Award’, was established by the UK Festival Awards in 2018 to recognise the achievements of women in the festival industry.
Tramlines organisers continue to honour Sarah’s legacy in and outside of the festival. As well as on site at Tramlines 2019, the BeMoreNulty merchandise can also be purchased from the Dropdead website: http://bit.ly/BeMoreNulty-Merch.
Tramlines Festival 2019
Friday 19th – Sunday 21st July
Hillsborough Park, Sheffield
The Award-winning Marsden Jazz Festival has launched a funding campaign and needs to raise £10,000 by 21 July to secure the festival for this October.
The 28th Marsden Jazz Festival will take place from Friday 11th – Sunday 13th October welcoming thousands of visitors to the iconic village of Marsden, set right at the edge of the picturesque Yorkshire Pennines.
One of the unique aspects of Marsden Jazz Festival is that three-quarters of the 90 or so events taking place on the festival weekend are completely free to attend, including the much-loved festival parade and street band battle.
To keep these events free, the festival, which is a registered charity, has to raise significant funds each year.
Barney Stevenson, artistic director of the festival says, “The competition for funds gets keener every year, so we have to work harder and harder to secure funds for our festival. Luckily we have a fantastic network of supporters who have donated and adopted gigs in the last few years, and this has contributed significantly to the survival of the festival.”
In 2018 the festival launched it’s very first crowdfunding campaign when funding was cut, and they raised an incredible £12,000. Last year’s festival included the premiere of a new suite by Shepley-born composer Jonny Mansfield, which set to music five poems by Marsden poet Simon Armitage, who is now Poet Laureate.
The 2019 festival will feature performances by award-winning composer Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble and 2018 Ensemble of the Year the Alison Rayner Quintet, which features renowned guitarist, Huddersfield-born Deidre Cartright.
The festival partners each year with community groups, schools and organisations working with young musicians, providing a platform for performance and education.
The festival aims to meet its £10,000 target by Sunday 21st July.
“It’s key that we raise the £10k at this stage because we’re in the middle of programming,” Barney says, “this is when all of the free events are planned, artists are booked, and venues come on board. If we fail to reach our target, then it’s likely we’d have to make cuts to the number of events we can programme.”
Marsden Jazz Festival really needs your help and support – any donations are gratefully received whether large or small, and can be made by visiting marsdenjazzfestival.com/donate.
The Civic, Barnsley have announced the launch of Thursday Lates this summer; a monthly opportunity for visitors to experience the gallery programme after hours with a series of themed artist talks, alternative art workshops, live music and theatre.
The first Thursday Late will take place on 15th August with a unique evening celebrating British nightclub culture with best-selling writer and former Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam, who will be in conversation, in front of a live audience with Barnsley based psychotherapist and former music industry creative of twenty years, Chris Madden.
Future Thursday Lates will include Alternative Life Drawing classes, with themes including drag and a showcase of musician writing songs about the North.
Writer and broadcaster Dave Haslam DJ’ed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJ’d internationally. He has written for the New Musical Express, The Guardian, the London Review of Books, and The Times, and has published five critically acclaimed books, including Adventures on the Wheels of Steel: The Rise of the Superstar DJs, Not Abba: the Real Story of the 1970s, Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues, recent best-seller, Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor and his latest release A Life in Thirty-Five Boxes: How I Survived Selling My Record Collection.
Barnsley’s DJ Jon Tunni will provide a soundtrack of soul, disco, funk and house throughout the evening.
This event is inspired by The Civic’s summer exhibition Visible Girls: Revisited.
When Melbourne punks Press Club released their debut album Late Teens, it was received as a cacophonous battle-cry, resonating with fans far beyond their native Australia. Marked out as a band to keep an eye out for very early on, their music was singled out for its honesty and integrity, and the band praised for their social awareness, calls for self-improvement and powerhouse live performances. Today, the band announce their anticipated follow-up album, Wasted Energy, along with new single Thinking About You.
Pre-order Wasted Energy HERE
Listen to Thinking About You HERE
Press Club’s sonic calling cards are all present on Wasted Energy; the fuzz-addled, kicked-in speaker bass of Iain MacRae, the thick guitar tones of Greg Rietwyk, the merciless drumming of Frank Lees, and the emotionally charged vocal deliverance of Natalie Foster. On new single Thinking About You, amongst the climactic clatter of the band giving it everything, is Foster recounting her experience with a stalker. Never one to shy away from what is uncomfortable, the song embodies a freak’s tongue, cooing unbridled down the phone line; abrupt, uninvited, and out of the blue.
In contrast to Late Teens, lyrically, Wasted Energy approaches the microphone through a lens of extrospection. It examines the negative behaviours in the world around us and how we’re all learning to exist in today’s ever-evolving socio-moral landscape. Wasted Energy is broadly about change, and life’s watershed moments that change its course. These shifts are laterally represented lyrically and sonically in many of its songs. Sweeping about-faces and musical departures are an expansion of the musical fibre that make up the Press Club repertoire.
Don’t miss the band in August as they embark on their biggest UK headline tour to date, including performances at Reading & Leeds Festivals. The full list of upcoming shows is as follows.
Tour dates
Thu Aug 22 – The Parish, Huddersfield
Fri Aug 23 – Reading Festival, Reading
Sat Aug 24 – Leeds Festival, Leeds
Sun Aug 25 – Greenbelt Festival, Northamptonshire
Tue Aug 27 – Redrum, Stafford
Wed Aug 28 – Bodega, Nottingham
Thu Aug 29 – Surf Cafe, Newcastle
Frid Aug 30 – Broadcast, Glasgow
Sat Aug 31 – Night People, Manchester
Tue Sep 3 – Annie’s, Worcester
Wed Sep 4 – Bermuda Bob’s Hi-Fi, Norwich
Thu Sep 5 – New Cross Inn, London – VENUE CHANGE FROM THE BORDERLINE
Fri Sep 6 – Prince Albert, Brighton
Leeds based Monomyth is home to two of my favourite bands – Purple Thread and Venus – and has had some great releases that I’ve loved. So when Bob Brazill – Monomyth’s founder – cheekily proposed the idea of a feature I said yes straight away.
I sat down with Bob in one of the Leeds Beckett recording studios – Bob’s ‘day job’ is a senior lecturer at the School of Film, Music & Performing Arts where he lectures on the Music Production and Performance courses – to have what turned out to be a rather wide ranging chat rather than an interview as such. Much of that conversation very definitely isn’t for the feature but I really enjoyed meeting him. His enthusiasm for the bands on the label, and music in general is infectious. Although I had some questions prepared, I never actually got round to them, just talking to Bob left me with a huge amount of information, way more than I needed to be honest..
With his ‘day job’ hat on the establishment and running of the label is also the subject of Bob’s PhD project. As he said this makes things that go wrong or don’t work as expected a learning opportunity, and good chance to analyse why it didn’t go quite as expected, The two things work together.
Bob Brazill
The set-up
I’d always been intrigued about the name of the label and as we got going he went straight to that. At that stage I’d forgotten to actually start recording the chat (technology fail- Ed) but luckily it was such an interesting origin that I remembered it (sure I had to go and look it up to check I’ll admit) and here it is:
‘Monomyth’ (or the hero’s journey), is the common template of a broad category of tales that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed, you can read more about that on Wikipedia (). It’s fairly easy to see how that might be applied to the label.
Monomyth is a not-for-profit label, that acts as a collective – both the label and artists working together. Bob explained who else works on the label
‘Ed (Heaton) came to work for the label after about 14 months of it’s existence and generally helps with most aspects of the non traditional way we work. He is really good at the backroom stuff that needs to be done in terms of understanding and navigating the modern practices of the music industry. Up until recently he was sending all of the press releases out to various parties. Grace Kelly (of the band Venus) now looks after that as well as working on our various social media profiles. Grace was also responsible for bringing Purple Thread to the label as we wanted to give her a live project to work on and not just have her sat doing admin. But both Ed and Grace a really supportive in lots of other ways and it really is a fluid team effort. We have the wonderful Liam Dickman who is actually part of Peace Frog working with us too, Liam is a brilliant hard working producer and engineer who has worked on projects with Cat Una, Venus, Tranqua Lite and Purple Thread as well as his own band. We also have my long suffering brother Mike Vale who at this point has financed everything we have done’.
The bands and artists get paid, obviously. Artists signed to the label don’t sign a contract, they sign an ‘uncontract’. Bob explained if bands get an offer from a bigger label, they’re happy to see them move onto bigger things.
Grace Kelly
The Monomyth way of doing things
Bob saw and sees the label as curating music, presenting the best of what’s out there – ‘Monomyth ploughs it’s own field, it doesn’t look over the garden wall to see what other labels are doing’.
As well as offering bands and artists the chance to develop what they do. A big part of what the label does is to advise and mentor artists – offering advice on gigging and other ways of monetising their music, for example.
The pillars of the Monomyth way for bands and artists, Bob explained, are streams, radio and press, social and live, if they work together then it’s more than the sum of it’s parts. To help develop bands they look at how they doing on each of those pillars.
Starting the journey
The journey to setting up Monomyth started with Cat Una – who ended up being the label’s first signing. Cat recorded her songs initially solo, and then Bob got a band together to see what came out of that. The resulting material Bob presented to Freddy Laine Fox, who suggested Bob just went ahead and did himself. ‘And then we just launched into the whole world of digital marketing and digital distribution, making physicals’.
Signing more bands
Bob explained that being based in Leeds Beckett is ‘kind of in the best place for A&R, getting a steady stream of students doing amazing stuff’. Peace Frog and Space Dolphin signed as a result of spotting them at Leeds Beckett.
Tranqua Lite came to the label through Bob’s daughter Holly (who is the singer in Artio). Holly knew Toby from the band, and a relationship developed that ended up with the band signing. Uncle Buzzard came about because one of Bob’s students is in the band. Purple Thread were a band that was chosen by Grace.
Venus came to be signed because Artio supported them at a gig, and Bob approached them (the first time he’s ever done that) to have a chat about doing stuff with them. Bob explained that for Venus now, it’s case of developing their gigging profile, and there’s definitely a buzz developing with big promoters showing interest in the band.
The band have something coming out on Come Play With Me – check CPWM’s Facebook for details of of release dates.
Artio
Artio are releasing the ‘Sedative’ EP in this month on 12th July (LSF is reviewing the EP, watch out for that). I can reveal that the tracks on the EP are huge. The EP is to be launched with a gig on 12th July Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds with Dead Wax and Allora.
Peace Frog
Peace Frog release a new single in July. I’ve heard this, and this is what I’m saying about it ‘Banging tune. Kinda almost like a 70s’ ITV TV theme. Sounds strange really works’.
Paradaeis
Paradaeis has an EP due for release in August. I’ve heard a sneaky preview of the EP tracks and they frankly in stopped me in my tracks, I had to ask Bob rather sharply to stop talking to me! It’s kinda electronica, kinda psych folk influenced in places. The EP will be launched with a gig at The Oporto, Leeds on 4th August with fellowship label artist Joe Garrett and Manny Bianco supporting
Joe Garrett
Joe is Monomyth’s latest signing He has a release due in August. This is dreamy singer-writer stuff – with Cocteau Twins influences. Great vocals. It’s a real drawing you in thing.
Bob also hinted at a Monomyth Christmas covers album.
Artist Roster
Artio
Artio
Artio are a synth pop act from Leeds, UK. Made up of Hol Brazill, Ieuan Jones and Matty Hambling, being described as having a sound that leads you through rich sonic textures and haunting vocals, Artio have an overall unique and fresh feel to their music.
Paradaeis
Paradaeis
Originally from the Lake District, Paradaeis often wrote songs whilst staring out across the moving scenes of her home province. Since moving to Leeds she’s plugged in to the mains and supercharged her music with synths, sub bass and beats to create soundscapes that draw you into her world of spirituality, nature, heartbreak and strange dreams.
The Mike Lee Sound
The musical journey of Brother Lee began when he formed and fronted the pop psychedelic magpies that were The Prescriptions. Fez-wearing neighbour Mick Stuart was guitarist and chief xylophone botherer and by the time of “Psychedelicatessen” their wayward 1993 LP for Target Records, the group seemed destined for great things. However following the band’s demise, and after a short spell in a bizarre religious cult, Lee came to the realisation that an instrumental career was the next logical step. Rumours that this decision was triggered by an excess of LSD and too many Burt Bacharach albums are largely unsubstantiated. But the pair collected up their Hammond organs, Wurlitzer pianos, sitars and wah-wah pedals along with their maracas and assorted percussive fruit and headed for the big city which they found further down the A19. At this point they came up with a cracking bunch of soundtrack inspired funk tunes that formed the basis of the “Mike’s Bag” album. To add a little bit of brassiness they imported saxophonist/fluteist wiz Daniel James Allen and kinky French horn specialist David Milner to give the tunes a good seeing to. The entire album was recorded in Lee’s apartment onto cassette on a shonky old Tascam 424 portastudio and the production was suitably tarted up at the mixdown stage by studio legend Willie Deans, whose work with Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai is quite rightly revered. Rumours abound that his nervous twitch and still raging Nurofen habit were triggered by a single day in the studio with The Mike Lee Sound but this is largely unsubstantiated.
Tranqua Lite
Tranqua Lite
Idyllic and melodic, a hypnotic blend of guitar driven alternative music. Their eclectic sound, and explosive palate of fruitful synth and bold bass, has made inroads into the music scene and is quickly becoming their trademark. Having released two critically applauded singles, the band continue use experimental nuances and time signatures in a pop context to compose a delightful mix of addictive songs. With an intricate and intelligent set of writing skills, they continue to excite and engage audiences, delivering a vibrant and energetic live show.
Cat Una
Cat Una
Cat Una has blossomed from a humble solo acoustic singer-songwriter into a mature act, adding new members to her band that have each perfected their instruments thus giving her live shows a new depth and excitement. “CAT has a voice that will sing you to sleep and then stab you in the heart”…” With that comes a whole new sound that is reminiscent of the smooth band you would find in a 1920’s smoke-filled jazz bar; and it’s a breath of fresh air against the hoards of alternative-indie bands that dominate the Leeds music scene. Following on from recently supporting the BBC 6 Music favourite Tom Williams on tour, Cat Una has released three e.p.’s on Monomyth Records and in turn gained support from BBC Introducing resulting in a live session of her own as BBC Introducing’s Artist of the week June 2018.
Uncle Buzzard
Uncle Buzzard
Hailing from the majesty of Teeside and now residing in the urban metropolis of Leeds, Uncle Buzzard are a four piece who have branded themselves with the self created genre of Daddy Jazz. Blending floating guitars with a solid rhythm section and crystal like vocals , the “Buzzard” are making waves in the local music scene and are a must see act on the live circuit. Think King Crimson and Unknown Mortal Orchestra for a starting point on and you won’t be disappointed.
VENUS
VENUS
Venus are a 5-piece all girl rock band from Leeds advocating women in alternative music. They strive for a safer, diverse music scene, and are consistently aiming to bring a positive energy of feminism and activism through hard hitting punk rock influenced music, with an electronic and astrological twist.
Peace Frog
Peace Frog
Peace Frog, are a four piece indie band formed at Leeds Beckett University in 2016. Drawing influence from artists such as Paul Simon, Little Comets and Bombay Bicycle Club, their unique and colourful sound has created a buzz in the local scene within the last year.
Space Dolphin
A hip hop, jazzy jam experience, Space Dolphin aims to bring people together through the love of live music. Born from a mutual love of groove and improvisation, Space Dolphin have been playing up and down the U.K., collaborating with a plethora of talented musicians and MC’s expanding their sound, ensuring each performance is as unique and bespoke as the tastes of each collaborative member. 2018 has seen Space Dolphin perform with the likes of Fold for the launch of their new E.P. ‘Written In The Sky’ and the likes of Motormouf, and Phenician Gold with their monthly hip hop nights ‘More Than Soul’ and ‘Beats & Bars’ hosted between Nottingham and Leeds.
Fran Bundey
Fran Bundey
Fran Bundey is a Leeds based electronic vocal looping musician who likes to make a massive noise. Through the use of 2 iPads and a TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch Fran layers up beats, harmonies and sounds creating groovy beats and vibey, euphoric choruses. With influences like Kimbra, Imogen Heap, Grace Savage and Daft Punk, Fran aims to challenge the status quo, act as an innovative sonic explorer and add a human element to electronic music. This is why all Fran’s tracks are recorded live in one take, celebrating the imperfections which add interesting nuances to the groove of the music.It is important for Fran as a solo female artist using technology to make lots of noise, occupy space and build platforms to champion and inspire others.
Purple Thread – with Bob on the far left
Purple Thread
Purple Thread are a 4 piece glitter-drenched rock n’ roll band from Leeds known for their eclectic brand of blues infused guitar pop. Leading their audiences through a genre-defying sea of gritty, groovy noise, the band have rattled their way through blistering live performances up and down the country. Prone to the odd mid-song poetry break, mean riffs, and inescapable hooks, Purple Thread are rapidly forging a name for themselves as one of the most energetic and captivating live bands on the circuit.
Christopher Brain
Christopher Brain is a singer songwriter hailing from Yorkshire. With comparisons ranging from James Taylor to Woody Guthrie , Chris is a true master of his craft. He is at home in the folk clubs and equally on the streets of numerous European cities where he has spent many hours developing his wonderfully melodic and honest songs.
GULA
GULA
Gula make strong and intelligent dance music . Their first single “Monolith” is deceptively simple and addictive giving us a tantalizing glimpse into their future. Gula are on a mission to leave the computer behind and go off on a full hardware bender in pursuit of perfect synth gold.
The debut EP from Leeds’ based music project MOONFLEET is something of an epic thing. It sets out to connect the philosophies of the late 60s with modern times through both the music and lyrics, and is inspired by the Woodstock Festival.
So it’s covering some big topics, the music is equally as big. It uses pieces of announcements and other sounds from the festival itself. The music itself has something of a late sixties feel to it, but with an up-to-date feel going on. It’s slightly folky in places, sometimes it has a jazz feel, and sometimes it’s post-rock. It’s rich and layered, there are orchestral instruments. Musically it’s incredibly accomplished and rich. You should also be warned that the three tracks on this EP last around 8 minutes each – each track is a movement of the piece as a whole.
For anyone who’s seen the documentary film of the Woodstock Festival, it follows the story of the festival from the start to the thunderstorm. But it uses those as a jumping off point, an inspiration.
The EP’s opening movement – ‘Biblical, Epical’ – starts at the beginning Woodstock wise with the crowds making their way to the festival, abandoning their cars, all done through announcements and radio excerpts. Musically it starts off sounding rather folky in an orchestral way, before turning seamlessly to something of a jazz feel, but that folky motif returns, to be replaced with something that oddly reminds me somewhat of The Polyphonic Spree in a kind of post-rock mode. To end with ‘found sound’ of Woodstock locals turning about the festival goers. And the announcement that ‘it’s a free festival from now on’.
So we’re one movement in and my senses are all ready overwhelmed. So onto the next movement ‘We Tore Up The Plan’. This again starts with excerpts of speech from festival goers before moving into something of what my friend described as a rather ‘plinky plunky lovely sounding’ intro. It shifts moving from something folky to something rather ‘subdued rock’ and hugely layered orchestral sounding sections. The thing with all three of the movements is that they shift feel all the time, they shift instrumentation. Somewhere in the middle of the movement the rather memorable line ‘like a duck in the middle of a storm’ rather caught my ear.
And so onto the last movement – ‘Thunderstorm’. This of course takes the well-known thunderstorm at Woodstock as it’s jumping off point. Excerpts used include the famous massed ‘no rain’ chant from the crowd. ‘Thunderstorm’ is huge, there are layers of sound at the start moving to a piano and voice section. And suddenly there are strings – they sound somewhat cello-ish to me. And I’m going to stop describing it there, the thing is that this is so big – it’s 9 ½ minutes long that describing it would just take vast amounts of text, so let’s just stick with largely layered and textured musically.
With ‘Biblical – Epical – Thunderstorm’ MOONFLEET have produced something that is absolutely incredible. It’s not background music, it deserves to be listened to closely. Musically it’s lovely, the playing and production are spot-on. It’s the sort of thing you can listen to again and again and again and spot something new every time. The way the movements shift in feel is mesmerising. And as whole the three movements hang together so well.
The EP is available on most major streaming and download platforms.
The info
Though MOONFLEET started out as an instrumental solo project, the goal has always been to form a large ensemble post-rock band with heartfelt lyrics and powerful crescendos.
With a passion for orchestral instruments and a political drive that would smash the windows of the houses of parliament, MOONFLEET’s songs comprise of musical movements that aim to bring something completely different to the Leeds & Yorkshire music scenes.
After a short stint as a performing band and in May of 2019, releasing their debut EP Biblical – Epical -Thunderstorm MOONFLEET composer Jake Wilson has refocused his efforts towards the future of the project.
The info
Space Dolphin
