Mick Jones: the rock ‘n’ roll public library
What are your musical influences? That’s the classic question from interviewers. The answer from Mick Jones of The Clash is this exhibition – the contents of a lock-up garage in Acton, West London.
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One EskimO album screening: strange and beautiful
One EskimO
It’s a sunny afternoon in London and we find ourselves sitting in Soho House in a 27 seat cinema for the viewing of an animation film that accompanies the album All Balloons from new collective One EskimO. This is an unusual concept and brings with it that tingling anticipation that this could be something rather special. We are far from wrong.
Who hasn’t got enough MySpace friends to fill The Roundhouse? Part Deux
Threatmantics – MySpace friends: 2382 (Cardiff, Wales)
Much is made on Threatmantics use of the viola in place of a guitar, and rightly so. Whilst the instrument has seen a renaissance in recent years with the burgeoning London folk scene and the likes of Arcade Fire using one on stage, here it’s used in a slightly different manner by the band. Instead of being an additional part of their sound it’s very much centre stage. So while ‘Get Out of Town’ sounds like it could snugly fit on The Wicker Man OST elsewhere they sound more like Fairport Convention or Creedence Clearwater Revival playing in the same room as Physical Graffiti era Led Zeppelin. The heavier, thrasher feedback friendly nature of their side is played up heavily on stage and it’ll not surprise you to hear the occasional bit of Welsh might be slipped in.
Alessi’s Ark – MySpace Friends: 4709 (London)
Alessi’s Ark is the stage name of Alessi Laurent-Marke, whose debut album Notes from the Treehouse is due out next month and was recorded with the help of Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes). Like the best pastoral folk music, Aleesi’s Ark seems to spend it’s time with a permanent sense of autumnal dusk. Augmented by Ohama’s finest strings, harps and brass which bring the best out of Laurent-Marke’s otherworldly songs, subject matter includes the weather, horses, kite-flying and freckles. There’s much to be enjoy here and plenty to look forward to with comparisons to a Cat Power fronted Thrills or even (though no less warranted) to Joanna Newsom or Syd Barrett’s wide-eyed, child like song writing being thrown up. She’ll be backed by members of Mumford and Sons this weekend.
Three Trapped Tigers – MySpace Friends: 1140 (London)
One of the more surprising acts to qualify for this list, we were sure they’d be above the capacity for The Roundhouse. Whilst comparisons to Battles can and should be made, the majority of their numerically numbered songs include moments that bring to mind the electronic pulse of Holy Fuck as well as some much calmer post-rock interludes. Like and good live act they don’t thrive on volume alone, the tonal shifts and gaps between peaks and troughs are what make it all so thrilling. Might be worth earplugs if you are near a speaker, we wouldn’t want you to step out in front of a car on Camden High St now would we.
Lion Club – MySpace friends 3967 (London)
It’s reassuring to hear a band that has a fantastic, powerful vocalist who really does bring each and every song he sings up a level through sheer brute power. Not just by being loud either, there’s a sense of direction and unleashing it when appropriate. Mixed in with some sky-scrapping guitar work and cacophonous drums it adds to a thrilling prospect. Setting their sights on the Big Music of Echo and The Bunnymen and thrashing din of The Jesus and Mary Chain does them no harm and even in demo form a call to arms like ‘Middle of The Night’ begs to be ringing in the ears of as many punters as can be crammed it to hear it. Think White Lies but better.
Copy Haho – MySpace Friends: 4280 (Stonehaven, Scotland)
It’s good to hear such a new band so in love with the sound of Young Scotland but not restricting themselves to solely aping Josef K and Orange Juice, recent EP Bred for Skills and Magic showcased not just a penchant for the styling of Postcard Record’s finest but throwing a dash of US indie in with nods to Pavement, particularly on ‘Bad Blood’, amongst others. They do the whole pared down; quiet introspectiveness as well as they do the choppy indie disco shuffle. One is tempted to point out that this is what early REM were so good at doing. Thankfully not really picked up in the crush to crown the next big thing at the start of the year, they’ve continued to tour hard in the first part of the year and we are eager to hear any new material they have to offer.
Your Twenties – MySpace friends: 1558 (London)
Your Twenties lead singer Gabriel Stebbing is currently best known as a sometime member of Metronomy, if his band’s forthcoming debut contains many more tunes like ‘Caught Wheel’ then that won’t be the case. Sounding like an electronic bubble fuelled 21st century take on a lost, blissed out Fleetwood Mac or even Crosby, Stills and Nash number if one can imagine such an aural treat. Other demos pride themselves in being catchy, hummable and full of swooning backing vocals as well as ringing, chiming guitar micro-riffs. Will be equally at home getting people to move their feet late at night or to have them wistfully dreaming of the warmer days just around the corner.
The Big Pink – MySpace friends 4285 (London)
As winners of the NME Phillip Hall Radar award many words have been written on The Big Pink already. Following in the footsteps of Glasvegas, The Twang (No, really.), The Long Blondes, Kasier Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand it’s clear there will be plenty more. With the current folky flavour coming through in a many a new band taking their name from the title of The Band’s debut album may lead people to expect a certain sound from them. Well don’t. Instead they mix the processed, out of this world, woozy electronic pulses with the stoned, drone rock familiar to both of Jason Pierce’s bands and add in the sound of John Cale’s viola to (them again) The Jesus and Mary Chain’s early shoegaze template.
Domino + Faber = Loops: a pre-launch event
Richard Milward
Loops is an exciting new project that comes out of a marriage between Domino Records and the book publishers Faber. It’s a bi-yearly journal that features the best from the worlds of music, art and literature. The first issue will have an extract from Nick Cave’s new novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, as well as a James Yorkston “influences” piece.
Who hasn’t got enough MySpace friends to fill The Roundhouse?
This year’s Camden Crawl, now brought to you by Gaymers, sees the welcome addition of The Roundhouse to the roster of venues. Doubly good because firstly the size of the acts that it has attracted as a result – Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Enemy play it on Friday, Little Boots, The View, The Maccabees and Kasabian on Saturday, The Fall, Madness, Echo & The Bunnymen, 808 State and Billy Bragg elsewhere. Secondly because come the last slots of the night, there’ll either be plenty of room to see the headliners under the domed roof or there will be about 4,000 people less on Camden High Street trying to get in something/anything.
With this in mind we here have decided to hopefully give you a nod in the direction of a few newer acts that we feel might be worth seeking out. With the self-imposed criteria that their official MySpace page doesn’t have enough friends to fill the Roundhouse (3000 standing and 1800 seated). Hopefully, with the mini-festival featuring the likes of Adele, The Automatic, Foals, Guillemots, Kate Nash, Ida Maria, Ladyhawke, Late of The Pier, Laura Marling, Noah and The Whale and White Lies in embryonic stage amongst it’s small venues in the past couple of years, you’ll be thanking us for giving you an excuse to play the “I was there” card within a year.
BLK JKS: MySpace friends: (As of 18/4/09) 2510. (Johannesburg, South Africa)
With the deluge of New York bands that sound like they are from Africa it’s only fair that we give the spotlight to a South African band that sound like they are from Brooklyn. The most thrilling thing about BLK JKS is that they don’t sound like the earnest elements of TV on the Radio’s output where they are striving to be considered as successors to Radiohead but more akin to the one those found on ‘Wolf Like Me’ The drums, the yelping multi-tracked vocals are only going to make you think of David Sitek and Tunde Adebimpe, but you can dance your arse as much as you can stroke your chin to it. They have just started their first UK tour but the loose tightness of the band on the Mystery EP from earlier this year can be put down to a decade of playing together. I realise that loose tightness is an oxymoron but the songs vary between arty sound colleges and close knit, rumbling, riff roller-coasters.) . On ‘Mystery’ they crash out like Purple Rain era Prince being backed by The Stone Roses’ Reni. The rhythm section is just as tight on their other songs fellow Manchester band The Smiths and on ‘It’s In Every Thing You See’ they bring to mind the gloomy hiss of Joy Division’s ‘The Eternal’ and the guitar guest work of Robert Fripp. Expect them to showcase material from their being worked on debut, After Robots which might sound more world music than Roxy Music in a live setting.
Everything Everything: MySpace friends: 2547 (Manchester)
Named after the Underworld lyric from ‘Cowgirl’, Everything Everything dip their toes into so many genre rivers that twiddly art-rock disco doesn’t begin to do them justice. On demo ‘Weights’ they alternately sound like The Beach Boys hanging out at Studio 54 then The Futureheads via the more childlike rhymes of the Aphex Twin then The Beach Boys again via Daft Punk. On ‘Photoshop Handsome’ they mix a glorious new wave hooks full of video game references with post DFA guitar sunbursts. For anyone looking for a math-rock band who have heard some records this decade, sing like they mean it and allow you to move your feet (if you can lift them off the floor, it is Camden) this is the band for you. … Continue Reading
Corona’s Save The Beach
Save The Beach
December 9th, 2008
Who would have thought to bring summer to Hoxton’s cavernous Circus Space on a brisk December eve? Those crazy sun-soaked kids from Corona is who, along with an entourage of models, A-listers, and one very chilled-out Australian.
Mercury Music Prize: Quotes
Muso’s Guide hung out on the red carpet, the balcony, the smokers’ haven, the toilets – not just for fun, oh no, but for the chance to catch up with a few of the nominees.
We’re dead glad Elbow won, for what it’s worth – and since Awards night, we’ve been listening to The Seldom Seen Kid over and over, and it’s seeped into our bloodstreams. 17 years in the making, their fifth album is arguably their finest, combining the symphonic quality Leaders Of The Free World with the question-posing omniscience of Cast of Thousands – and it was a tad the musical versin of watching Kelly Holmes finally win gold, and do it twice.
Enough gushing, here’s the night in quotes.
Rachel Unthank
On celebrations and gaieties: “We’ll celebrate with a little dance on the dancefloor.”
British Sea Power
On what they’d spend the money on: “Hamilton (bass) and Abi (viola) are moving up to the Isle of Skye soon, they’re moving up to a little crofter’s cottage that hasn’t got a toilet in it – just a tin roof that leaks. So if we win we’ll chip in. It’s right next to the North Sea so even if they haven’t got a toilet they can get by for a bit.”
On their posse: “It’s less strange for us (being nominated) because we’ve got some of the London Bulgarian Choir with us today and one of them just flew in from Canada. She’s off her head at the moment, so you just look at her and laugh. She thinks she’s in Tesco – ‘where’s the bread?’.”
Neon Neon’s Gruff Rhys
On winning: “We’d explode with joy.”
On his white suit: “er… I made it myself.”
On their upcoming performance: “The audience can expect to explode with joy. Just the usual handstands, pyrotechnics, blood, sweat, tears – an emotional rollercoaster.”
On the background to Stainless Style: “It was approached by Boom Bip here, to write some lyrics and some catchy melodies for the music he’d been creating and I had a listen and it was extremely glossy and energetic. We had to come up with a theme that fitted those kind of beats, and my life story didn’t really fit in so instead we wrote a biographical album about the car manufacturer John DeLorean which reads like a Greek tragedy in a very colourful way.”
Neon Neon’s Boom Bip
On Neon Neon: “It’s a blast and it’s a perfect project for the two of us, we’ve set up a way of working together and created a template of how we want to work, so we’re really looking forward to the next one. We have some good ideas on where we’re gonna go with the next project. Tonight we’re gonna sit back and enjoy the other bands playing and have a good dinner and probably get wasted. So that’s what you get out of it.”
On the future of the band: “We’ll spend the holidays with our families and get back together at the beginning of the year and try to work out the ideas and start drawing inspiration and start writing. We’re definitely going to work together again. We definitely have future plans. How many albums that’ll be, we have no idea. It’s a very easy, very natural way of working so we’ll see how it goes.”
Estelle
On hearing she’d been nominated: “I thought I was dreaming. And then I came to London and they said ‘no, you really are nominated’. I was like ‘wow, ok, wicked!’. What can you say?”
On what she’d do if she won: “I danced on the tables at my album launch, I’d probably dance on buildings at this point. I may get arrested, I don’t know.”
On the future: “My aim next is a Brit and a Grammy.”
On playing corporate gigs like this: “I give it the same energy every time. My thing with performing live is that I always get on and do my best. I’ll go out there and really kill it. I do that every time, or at least I try to.”
On her US influence: “The names on it are American, but it’s still me. None of the songs feel like big American productions – I don’t think ‘American Boy’ sounds anything like an American song. I don’t think ‘Shine’ sounds anything like a Swizz Beats song. They all sounds like me, and I’m from west London.”
Adele
On whether she’d ever stop being so down to earth: “My mum won’t let me disappear into fairyland.”
The Last Shadow Puppets’ Miles Kane
On being nominated: “We’re very honoured. We’ve written some tunes just for being mates about a year ago, so we’re very pleased.”
The Last Shadow Puppets’ Alex Turner
On whether there will be a second album: “I’d like there to be, certainly. We don’t know when, but it’ll definitely happen.”
On who’d get the trophy if they won: “It’s a touchy subject. We’ve already fell out about it a couple of times.”
Jools Holland
On music, generally: “I don’t have to judge any of these, it’s not my job – I can just listen to them. When you turn on the television, there’s a load of actors or a load of politicians – but when you see people playing music they’re telling the truth. They’re telling their truth. And that’s why music is really great.”
On Burial: “I thought Burial’s album was fascinating. Well I would say that, because I am Burial.”
On this year’s shortlist: “I think this it’s great. It’s a brilliant set of nominations, very eclectic, very mixed. And it reflects how people are much more open to different sorts of music. There used to be a time when people thought, ‘I like this sort of music,’ or ‘I like that sort of music’. And now, people have realised that they can like any sort of music, and it’s great that there’s established artists and brand new artists. And there’s fantastic singers too, like Estelle and Adele.”
On the perfect Later… guest: “You’ve got to be great at playing the music that you play, and be completely committed. And that’s got to be your world. And also, the ability to communicate your music to other people.”
Elbow’s Guy Garvey
On being nominated: “It’s an absolute pleasure, an absolute honour. It’s an award I follow every year, I always buy a couple of records on the back of it and that’s what it’s about.”
On the shortlist: “I’m rooting for any number of the bands. I really, really don’t mind who wins. If you were to ask who I’d like to win, it could be any number of them – Neon Neon, Last Shadow Puppets, Rachel Unthank, Laura Marling, Radiohead.”
On the night’s performances: “They were all brilliant. The only thing I heard live that I didn’t really know was the Portico Quintet. Quartet? Quintet? Quartet. I’m gonna go and buy that.”
On Elbow’s future: “We’re starting album six, we’re already a few songs in. We’ll probably spend next year doing a little bit of touring, so hopefully it’ll be ready by the end of next year.”
Mercury Music Prize: Gossip
So, Muso’s Guide’s hung out on the balcony at Grosvenor House watching the 2008 Mercury Music Prize, just to keep you entertained. And here’s the lowdown:
Laura Marling evaded the red carpet press run, preferring to saunter off sneakily down the side.
Alex Turner and Alexa Chung, a.k.a. Alex(a), were spotted canoodling on the stairs in a non-attention seeking fashion. Earlier (pre-red carpet), Alex (alone) was spotted looking a tad lost and confused in the hotel lobby. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t s’posed to have arrived yet? Alex might also have a slight bipolarity, with the more affable side verging on friendly.
Adele looked lovely. We like her hair like that.
The food on the tables looked lovely. In perfect complement with the wine, which totalled around two bottles per seated guest. Or twenty. It looked boundless, endless, omnipresent.
A lot of journos didn’t do their research: “is that Rachel Youthank,” was heard at one point of the evening, without even a hint of embarrassment let alone irony.
We’ve got a bit of a thing for Gruff Rhys and Guy Garvey. And a particular thing for the bling/lego mash-up that Gruff, Boom Bip, and Har Mar Superstar were decked out in…
Your mum would love the Portico Quartet. Equally, Rachel Unthank and The Winterset would love the Portico Quartet.
Jools Holland must have nerves of steel – the audience showed little love or attention for his between-song chat.
A larger percentage of said audience members at the Mercury Music Prize smoke than the comparable percentage of the population.
Robert Plant isn’t camera shy, nor as press shy as reported.
Burial? Bah, he’s yesterday’s news.
Not a lot of people know the names of anyone other than Guy Garvey in Elbow.
Conor McNicholas wore a grey suit. Lauren Laverne wore one of the most stunning dresses we’ve ever seen or are likely to see.
The respect between artists is real. They’re all genuinely humble/humbled.
If you attend the ceremony, you get to find out who the not-so-secret judging panel comprises. There’s a fact.
Mercury Music Prize: Review
Dressed in our, ahem, Tuesday best, Muso’s Guide got to hang out on the balcony at London’s swanky Grosvenor House to watch the Mercury Music Prize 2008. We spent most of the night looking down on the back of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ collective lion-esque mane.
You’ve seen our preview, right? If not, here it is: http://www.musosguide.com/musos.wp/?p=136
We said we wanted Elbow to win, but we stuck our tenner on Laura Marling. And damn it, we should’ve had more faith in the panel.
So in similarly concise fashion, here’s a rundown of what we thought of the night’s performances. Yep, that’s right, the stuff that wasn’t on TV. In order of how we saw it, a little like this:
The Last Shadow Puppets
With a 15-piece orchestra and a conductor, Kane and Turner look like they’ve been swept in on wave from the 1960s. The sense of grandeur is enormous as they play ‘The Age Of The Understatement’. But it’s still not innovative, merely charming. Merely, she says…
Neon Neon
Complete with a cameo from Har Mar Superstar, Neon Neon go all out with a medley of ‘Mystery Girls’, ‘I Told Her On Alderaan’, and ‘Trick For Treat’. And it’s super-schmaltzy, far more accessible and hook-laden live than listened to through headphones. Hell, even Cate Le Bon makes an appearance.
Rachel Unthank and The Winterset
To say that Rachel Unthank has a piercing voice would be to underestimate the charm of The Winterset; ‘Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk’ is timeless, sparse folk which entirely fails to come across on the television. The way that the parts collaborate to make something larger is rare, a real visual gift.
British Sea Power
Playing ‘No Lucifer’, BSP step up the gear a notch or fifteen. They make a statement without being markedly traditional, controversial, or innovative – and that’s a massive compliment. At the time, we feel it might just be their night – the performance is esoteric, HUGE. And the London Bulgarian Choir add a cherry on the top.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
The first non-live performance, a version ‘Gone Gone Gone’ is streamed onto the large screens. It looks like a studio recording. The crowd don’t seem to give two pigeons about this, and we can’t blame them – it’s timeless only in the sense that it could’ve been picked up with a magnet from a number of eras. Dull stuff, sadly.
Portico Quartet
‘Cittagazze’, as we already told you, is way way way far from the token jazz entry that pigeonholing’d have you think. It’s focused to the point of OCD, and in spite of being relocated as far as possible from their home on the South Bank, Portico Quartet go down a real treat. We’ll be keeping our eyes open for the latest from this lot.
Burial
As if it was ever going to be conveyed any other way, any anticipation is silenced by a ‘Ghost Hardware’ video clip. Is it really that special, we wonder… one thing is for sure: it sounds a lot like the late 90s’ mainstream garage/dubstep crossover. And it’s creeping and seeping and all that, but just not special enough.
Estelle
With a post-red carpet outfit change, ‘Pretty Please’ shows off the way that Shine mixes Estelle’s distinctive voice with a truly polished glitz. Robert Plant nods along (we haven’t got a one-track eye), and this US-tinged modern soul is far from just the mainstream option. She’s dynamic and eye-catching live, to boot.
Laura Marling
We’ve already talked ourselves out of financial gain from the £10 we gave to the bookies, and this does and doesn’t help in equal part. It’s half-Carole King, understated ditty, and half-nervous, anachronistic teenager. ‘Night Terror’ perpetuates the confusion over whether Marling is nervous, happy, delicate, or otherwise.
Radiohead
A studio version of ‘Nude’ is played out, and Muso’s Guide has an epiphany as to Radiohead’s continued success: it’s because they siphon out the mediocrity from your favourite bands. The soaring woos in the finale are ever dramatic even from behind a screen, and they’re constantly pushing forward.
Adele
An acoustic version of ‘Crazy For You’ is played out, and the Londoner is wearing glittery eye make-up similarly to what we’ve decked ourselves out in. This track is spine-tingling in a way that 19 never even gets close to conveying. She’s effortless, but ever-quickly approaches overwrought as the song continues.
Elbow
‘The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver’ is the pinnacle of Elbow’s 17-year career, and Guy Garvey is built for GQ covers. A hearty, masculine performance with stirring vocals makes this a true finale of a performance – the song’s lull lures you into a sense of calm only to soar over and over into a hugely uplifting crescendo. Sublime.
To say ‘that was that’ again would be blasé; the performances are mostly phenomenal tonight, and the patterned carpet et al act as the perfect foils. The nominees are a fantastically broad representation of the UK music scene, and they all get their idiosyncrasies across live in spite of the corporate feel of the bash.
Mercury Music Prize: Preview
On what basis can any sort of panel decide if the once ‘Banksy of dubstep’ is better than the Carole King of the 21st century, anyway? We’re not all that convinced they really can, but if we cast that doubt aside, we’re left with the following train of thought…
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