Oddball funksters The Apples are set to bring their explosive live experience to fresh European audiences, after delighting thousands in the U.K., Belgium and their native Israel, celebrating their highly anticipated debut LP for London’s Freestyle Records, out now!!

Thousands more have been experiencing The Apples’ powerful sound on dance floors worldwide, as their relationship with Freestyle has to date yielded three compilation features and two popular 7” singles- 2006’s “Attention!” and 2007’s smash cover version of “Killing in the Name…”. The success of these singles also fuelled their recent sold out visits to Britain, including the London Jazz Festival and the Jazz Café in Camden. Surprised audiences are dancing and laughing from the first adrenalized downbeat. The Apples weave big band jazz into raw grooves and exciting scratch routines and into the mix they might throw anything from Ray Charles samples to traditional Jewish Kleizmer melodies. There’s always a sense of risk and adventure as the roles of solo and backing instruments change at the blink of an eye to any of the nine members. Initially a spontaneous composition ensemble, they’ve created an unusual blend of funk, jazz and electronic music, forgoing the traditional use of guitar, keyboards and vocals. Instead, they center around 4 turntables, flanked by a sharp horn section served up by thick double bass lines and steadfast drum beats, fed through an attentive sound console and organic effects.
Over the last six years they’ve claimed unprecedented feats for an Israeli instrumental live band, have inspired an avalanche of local groove artists, released two full length albums - "MITZ" (2003) and "ATTENTION!" (2005) - and have become the ones to look out for on the international live circuit.

Since the very first release on Freestyle (the highly charged “Attention!” taken from the bands debut album of the same name) interest has grown and grown in this fresh and unique band. Consisting of 9 members (including 2 DJs!), the band are a mixing pot of funk, hip hop, big band jazz, rock and turntablism – all delivered in their energetic and off-kilter style. Just check Youtube for examples of their incendiary performances.
Last year saw the release of their cover version of Rage Against The Machines ‘Killing in the Name Of’, which gained plays across the globe and support from DJs such as Annie Mac, Zane Lowe, A Skillz and Mr Scruff. To date, it is the largest selling single on the label showing that demand for the band is at an all time high. This demand is sure to rocket even further with the release of “Buzzin’ About” – 12 tracks packed with fresh ideas, dazzling showmanship, unique musicality and more sweat-inducing funk than you can shake a stick at.

Meze Lounge, Newport
Tuesday 2nd September
Doors 8pm

Labels: meze lounge, newport, the apples

An Arnolfini / Qu Junktions Presentation...

HAUSCHKA + MAPSTATION
plus Chipper

Cinematic piano recitals, fourth world electronics, ripped atmospherics all have their place tonight as three very distinct performers move the sounds of their beloved instruments (piano / laptop / cello) to new places by their highly imaginative and captivating methods and styles. A night of musical adventure.

Hauschka is the captivating Düsseldorf-based pianist Volker Bertelmann. Channelling minimalism and the spirit of John Cage, he opens up his instrument and performs public operations on its innards using guitar strings, gaffer tape and other bits of junk. Hauschka's live shows have great appeal and receive a rapturous reception where ever he goes. Whether playing grand piano or upright, he sets himself up so that the audience can see his preparations and the movement of the hammers as he hits each key, creating a hypnotic visual analogue to his music. He mixes up his own pre-determined compositions with totally improvised pieces, prizing out the one-off potential of new operations and instruments. He has toured the world where ever there are pianos, including a sold-out London show with Max Richter, a US tour with Múm and Japanese dates with Colleen. Eric Satie's mischievous miniatures, Indonesian gamelan and The Books all get a look in. He also is a engaging raconteur and his beautifully measured and his relaxed and endearing performance style made him a star of Venn 08.

Also from Düsseldorf, Mapstation (aka Stefan Schneider of To Rococo Rot) is an integrated fourth world/electronics project in the pioneering tradition of Can's Jaki Liebezeit or Brian Eno. A bold and evocative reimagining of African rhythms and textures by a electronic whizz kid. Stefan has also co-produced the St Etienne album 'The Sound Of Water', and has collaborated with The Pastels, I-Sound and Alexander Balanescu. Distinctly a one of a kind type of musician with a very signature sound and style.

Chipper is a solo cellist who envelops her playing in a shroud of electronics. Distortion, hiss and digital effects become parts of her instrument's vocabulary in extended compositions that are unique, moving and absorbing. A Bristol based musician and artist who is also a member of Crippled Black Phoenix and has played with Oxbow, North Sea Navigator among many.

Further reading:

Hauschka is the captivating Düsseldorf-based pianist Volker Bertelmann, who records on Fat Cat. His music can be microscopic in detail and quietly entrancing, or widescreen and cinematic in scope and feel. A suite of songs can take you on a journey into the world of the piano and all it can conjure for the listener. Hauschka performs beautiful post-classical chamber works drawing on minimalism and laced with the spirit of Fluxus. The results are startlingly original and vivid yet immediately accessible - Eric Satie's mischievous miniatures, Indonesian gamelan and The Books all get a look in. But what Hauschka does so eloquently is he also manages to channel the spirit of John Cage's prepared piano, opening up his instrument and playfully performing public operations on its innards using guitar strings, gaffer tape and other bits of junk in search of new colours and textures. The melodic and harmonic properties of the piano, so often dominant in piano music, are set against the homespun clicks, scrapes and rattles of the internal mechanisms when certain keys are played. Harnessing the percussive potential of the instrument and wrapping this around his keen melodic ear makes Hauschka an auteur of the ebonies, as well as an alchemist of the wood, string and metal.

A measured and engaging raconteur, Hauschka's live shows have great appeal and receive a rapturous reception where ever he goes. Whether playing grand piano or upright, he sets himself up so that the audience can see his preparations and the movement of the hammers as he hits each key, creating a hypnotic visual analogue to his music. He mixes up his own pre-determined compositions with totally improvised pieces, prizing out the one-off potential of new operations and instruments. He has toured the world where ever there are pianos, including a sold-out London show with Max Richter, a US tour with Múm and Japanese dates with Colleen. Check his myspace to see him perform, where there are a number of videos - www.myspace.com/hauschka

Hauschka's second album on Fat Cat 'Ferndorf' is out in early September and coincides with this tour, alongside a digital single and a video triptych by Japanese animators Overture (responsible for Múm's 'Rhubarbidoo' video). The new record retains the shivers and tics of his modified piano but now expands the texture to integrate lush string arrangements and some sweet, understated electronic touches.

Mapstation is the musical project of Düsseldorf-based polymath Stefan Schneider, a founding member of both Kreidler and To Rococo Rot. As part of To Rococo Rot, he co-produced the St Etienne album 'The Sound Of Water', and has collaborated with The Pastels, I-Sound and Alexander Balanescu. With mapstation he has recently moved towards an integrated fourth world/electronics project, invigorating his music with African textures and rhythms. Stefan is doing what pioneers like Can's Jaki Liebezeit or Brian Eno did in the 70's but in his own original way. He likes to move in all directions, making desperate elements one. His ear for sound composition and audio integration is formidable.

Stefan's work has long provided a bridge between the worlds of rock and electronica, now he has forged a sound involving former Fela Kuti percussionist Nicholas Addo Nette. Their record 'The Africa Chamber' is a collaboration and a distinctively German remapping of African rhythms and vocal patterns. The repetitive pulse of 303's and digital software create a deliberately unauthentic map of Africa, a kind of hallucination of the continent's world of sounds. A bold and evocative reimagining of tribal rhythms, like Shackleton or Asa Chang and Junray.

Recently Stefan released an album entitled 'Forest full of drums' on Staubgold, a collaboration with drummer Paul Wirkus recorded entirely in a forest nearby Düsseldorf. The two set up a drumkit and started playing between the beeches, admidst the birds, accompanied just by an occasional roar of an airplane above or the steps of some curious joggers. You can view a video of the making of the album here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAI7Rec7OCQ


A delightful evening takes place at Arnolfini, Bristol
Thu 18th Sept 2008 / 7.30pm / £8 adv

Tickets on sale at Arnolfini Box Office. In person or phone

Labels: bristol, CHIPPER, HAUSCHKA, MAPSTATION, QU Junktions

OMERTA MUSIC PRESENTS:

THE ANOMALIES
plus Habana Flex and The Rhythm Method

Hereford is more known for its apple-based alcoholic beverages than its bands. And maybe that's why The Anomalies, from Hereford, sound like a bunch of youngsters, crazy on cider and good times. Armed with a bunch of killer tunes, the band look set to take on the mainstream any time now. Hats off then to Omerta, who are bringing the band to Cardiff for a night of mayhem in September.

The band have recently gained plays from BBC Radio 1 and have just completed a tour with hip hop sensations, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. In their brief career they've also shared stages with Grandmaster Flash, Goldie, Sway, Lethal Bizzle and DJ Yoda. An impressive list for any upcoming hip hop outfit. Musically, the trio take in more than just rap influences. Anything from swing to big band and indie guitars get a look in on their rip-roaring, funked up sound.

Support comes from two bands. Firstly Habana Flex, a Cardiff-based six-piece who combine latin-inspired riffs, jazzy keys, piercing sax and all out head-nod hip hop. And secondly, The Rhythm Method, who veer from funk/soul grooves to indie and electro and have shared stages with Jimmy Cliff, Toots And The Maytals and Lee 'Scratch' Perry in their time.

Thursday 11th September 2008
Clwb Ifor Bach, Womanby Street, Cardiff
£5 in advance, 7:30pm - 2am

Tickets are available through Spillers Records (02920 224905/www.spillersrecords.co.uk), www.seetickets.com and Clwb Ifor Bach's box office (02920 232199) and are £5 in advance

Labels: clwb ifor bach, the anomalies

Influential 60s Weirdnik Beams Down To Cardiff

MIAW! MIAW! MIAW! PRESENTS:

SILVER APPLES plus DJ's Carl Forecast (B-Music) and Leon West

The late 60s was no stranger to weird and wonderful sounds. And whilst some of those sounds filtered through to the mainstream at the time, many were just too far out there to do that. Instead, bands like the Silver Apples found their influence was felt more keenly over the coming decades.

This New York duo, comprising Simeon (who played a self-made electronic instrument dubbed The Simeon) and Danny Taylor (drums), made two albums, one in 1968 and one in 1969. Their strange amalgamation of interstellar drones and hums, pulsing rhythms and electronically-generated melodies ended up pre-empting underground dance music, krautrock and even 90s indie rock.

Forming in 1967, the Silver Apples were most notable for Simeon's eponymous instrument, which comprised of nine audio oscillators, piled on top of each other and 86 manual controls to control lead, rhythm and bass pulses with hands, feet and elbows. Together with Taylor's driving, repetitive beats they crafted two albums (Silver Apples and Contact) that seemed beamed in from another galaxy. So far out were they that both albums sold extremely poorly. A year later and the band had disappeared, seemingly to have been but a blip on the musical landscape.

However, their brief output went on to influence and inspire way more than they did during their career as a band. They not only influenced bands such as electro-punk pioneers Suicide, drone rockers Spacemen 3 and electronic indie types, Laika but also entire musical genres. Their records became highly valued and, after the appearance of bootleg versions of both albums in the 90s, a resurgence in interest of the band finally came.

The mid to late 90s saw Simeon take a new band on the road and make new recordings before finally tracking down drummer Danny Taylor for a series of reunion gigs and the release of A Lake Of Teardrops in 1998. In 2005, Taylor passed away leaving Simeon to continue performing solo as the Silver Apples. This is a rare chance to see such an influential figure play live.

Wednesday 3rd September 2008, Clwb Ifor Bach, Womanby Street, Cardiff
£6 in advance, £7 on the door, 8pm, 18+

Tickets are available through Spillers Records (02920 224905/www.spillersrecords.co.uk), www.seetickets.com and Clwb Ifor Bach's box office (02920 232199) and are £6 in advance and £7 on the door

Gathered In Song have been a bit quiet of late but they return with a flurry of gigs this autumn (I'll pretend we had a Summer), the first of which is in Clwb and features two members of Wilco.

Wilco’s soft-psych subsidiary The Autumn Defense produce a shimmering haze of gentle tunes dipped in honey-sweet harmonies. Delicate strumming. Is that a Hammond? Neil Young and Cat Stevens. A stack of LP’s on top of which lie well-worn copies of Notorious Byrd Brothers, Forever Changes and Harvest. Fitting company for the unlikeliest of sunshine supermen – The Autumn Defense. You might expect John Stirratt, bassist for Grammy winning alt-heroes Wilco and country-punk forefathers Uncle Tupelo, to mine further the well-tilled twang-rock soil but the music of The Autumn Defense is closer in spirit to the pastoral vibe of Laurel Canyon, a groove Wilco flirted with on Summerteeth then left behind on the genre-defying Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

The Autumn Defense is essentially a collaboration between Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone who has produced records for the likes of Andrew Bird and Joseph Arthur and has since also become a mainstay in the Wilco line-up. They have released three albums of beautifully arranged, organic, wispy folk-rock and singer-songwriter musings. As HUGE Wilco fans, needless to say Gathered In Song are absolutely stoked to be hosting an intimate little gig for them at Clwb Ifor Bach. Get your tickets quick!

"Soft, dreamy and bittersweet” Washington Post

"Warming, gorgeous and delightful” David Fricke, Senior Editor, Rolling Stone

"Comfort music for the soul...4/5” Uncut

Support comes from Plush which is basically Liam Hayes. He appeared as himself in High Fidelity and his band Plush's long lost masterpiece 'Fed' is currently receiving rave reviews across the music press including 5/5 in Uncut, 4/5 in Mojo, Q, Plan B etc.

A regular collaborator with Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy), Hayes appeared on keyboards across the Palace era output, but his own tale is mostly concerned with the promise of new recordings, scrapped sessions, rumour and speculation concerning Hayes’ quest to match the songs in his head with the recordings in his hand. Despite being somewhat sporadic, the music that has managed to see the light of day has been received with cult-like adulation. Hayes has nearly completed the follow up to Fed, “Bright Penny” which will be released in early 2009. It promises to be his most accessible to date, an album that, according to Hayes, “reaches out to the listener, any listener,” still challenging the pop status-quo, whilst bearing all the hallmarks of his unique songwriting and arranging talents. It should be the album that finally sees him breakthrough in a big way, and this is a rare opportunity to hear a preview that is guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“the dazzling symphonic album he always threatened to produce” UNCUT 5/5

“a soulful symphonic masterpiece” ROLLING STONE

7:30pm | £9/£10. Tickets available from Diverse and Spillers

Labels: folk, gathered in song, the autumn defense

The sound that So So Modern produce is one that I find very difficult, especially when their music tends to leave you with a ringing in your ears. I can only describe them as an electro-dance band due to their synth-heavy soundscapes and their progressive 128bpm - 148bpm drums. The band from New Zealand will be visiting Clwb for one night only before finishing their UK tour and heading back to Wellington. Their music is infectious and has a strange magnetism to draw you in even though most of their songs do lack a sterling rhythm and that all important melodic catchiness that adds all the charm to your stereotypical electro act. Perhaps their appeal is simply the anarchy they churn up in each song and the boldness they portray in their pursuit to break the mold. A band like this comes along once every so often and then flutter away unnoticed as if they were not even there. Avoid missing them and keep them there by supporting them on there UK tour. Its excellent aural therapy that cannot be missed or lost. Find out more at www.myspace.com/sosomodern

OK, this is either a very good or very bad night depending on your ability to afford to pay for both and run up and down stairs.

We'll start upstairs where P4 Music present Micah P Hinson.
Micah P Hinson has known trouble. Raised in Abilene, Texas, as a teenager he became addicted to painkillers. In early 2000, he was caught forging prescriptions and sent to county jail, losing his car, his home, his money and all his possessions. By the age of 20, Hinson was a bankrupt ex-con, living in a motel and working in telemarketing. But as news of this gifted singer-songwriter began to spread on the strength of his 2004 debut album, …And The Gospel Of Progress, a tap on the back from a friend on a night out bizarrely resulted in a dislocated vertebrae – and more pain medication. …And The Red Empire Orchestra – his latest and greatest collection of sparse, yet beautiful country songs, delivered in his inexplicably timeworn burr – is the record that almost wasn’t.

The now-27-year-old returned from touring his second album …And The Opera Circuit, with chronic back pain from complications to his slipped disc and worsening health. Afterwards, it was clear something had to give – Hinson returned to Austin, Texas with plans to take a year off, writing new songs occasionally in between visits to doctors. As time passed, Hinson began contemplating his next move; the life of a touring musician was becoming a memory and, though he was concerned about losing his public, he was unsure when – or how – to make the next move. One day, a letter arrived from producer / engineer John Congleton (The Polyphonic Spree, Explosions in the Sky, Black Mountain, Antony and the Johnsons) expressing interest in working with Hinson, and it proved to be a pivotal moment for the Texan trouble man. “This letter pulled me out of the rut I had found myself in,” says Hinson. “Once I got this letter, something felt right and I knew the calling was there.” The artist and the producer started talking about how to proceed, agreeing to meet up for a week in Carrollton, Texas, where they pieced together ideas using recordings Micah had made during his year off as the basis for a new album. “In my mind, it was a strange experience,” says Hinson. “I wasn't used to being told whether I was doing a shit job or not. I would be in the booth, trying my damnedest to make a good take, and here would be this man in my earphones saying, ‘Ah hell, you can do better than that, I really didn't believe you there.’ It was a good thing. It felt as if we were making this record out of clear and pure intention.”

The album was finished in another week and a half, this time in Oak Cliff, Texas, in a studio built in a converted funeral home. Strings are an integral part of Hinson’s sound, but here was a problem: Hinson’s regular arranger Eric Bachman was unavailable, so they relied on Congleton’s contact book, recruiting members of The Polyphonic Spree, The Paper Chase and The Drams and a veteran of the opera circuit Nick Phelps. “These characters came in over the length of a few days and they proceeded to destroy my songs,” says Hinson. “I knew in my heart that we had something on our hands. The Red Empire Orchestra had finally turned into a proper monster, which in my mind, needed to be reckoned with.” It’s here, then, that we find Micah P. Hinson in 2008, confidence restored and life back on track – he even proposed to his girlfriend live on stage at Islington’s Union Chapel in December 2007. The wedding took place at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene on 6th April 2008. “Damn right I am happy. I have won! the race is over! I truly have found the love of my life and a woman who loves me unconditionally!” “I find myself ready to take on the world again, and show them what I have up my sleeve,” he says.

Support comes from the wonderful Absentee who I witnessed opening the first End Of The Road festival. If lovetorn tunes and baritone vocals are your thing (do you flick between Leonard Cohen and The Tindersticks on your itunes?) then you'd best get there early.

Doors 7:30pm | £9.50/£10.50. Tickets for this one available in Diverse for the people of Newport. Spillers in Cardiff and probably somewhere online for those of you that hate record shops.

And now on to downstairs where Shape Records are putting on an equally good show. Headlining is Yacht.

YACHT is a lot of things. It’s kind of a band, but it’s mostly a genre-and-media-spanning life project founded and led by Jona Bechtolt of the Northwest’s very own Portland, Oregon. Bechtolt (and new member Claire L. Evans) make anthemic power jams, play them backwards and soak them in nearly-psychedelic cherry cola. YACHT’s heart is the shows: uncluttered, inspiring sessions of damaged dance moves and synchronized crowd-waving, backed by constantly changing elements -- PowerPoint presentations, audience Q&A sessions, and shamanistic video environments.

Support comes in the form of The Jelas and Zissou. A special mention to Zissou as they've played at Joy twice and I've really enjoyed them on both occasions. Think quirkly, upbeat indie pop, Flaming Lips being possibly the most mainstream reference point I can think of. Again, get there early. In fact, always go to gigs early, you're paying your money, go see as many bands as you can!!

Doors 7:30pm | £5/£6

Labels: clwb ifor bach, joy, micah p hinson, shape, yacht, zissou

Friday sees more high quality stuff from the Music Events Wales camp. The gig is at Clwb and is headlined by Black Lungs (featuring Wade & George of Alexisonfire).

Inspired by such wide-ranging influences as folk, punk, classical, soul and country, Black Lungs crafts fiercely literate lyrics and strikingly uncomplicated melodies with a raw intensity that comes from the heart and hits the listener point blank in the chest. Black Lungs’ architect, Wade MacNeil, is no stranger to the music scene. In addition to extensive touring all over the world, MacNeil has earned a #1 debut on the Top 200 Soundscan, 2 Platinum records, 1 Gold record, and a JUNO for New Group of the Year as vocalist and guitarist of Alexisonfire.

Black Lungs’ originated when MacNeil found himself amassing a collection of songs so introspective and personal, he wanted to sing them himself. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Billy Bragg, MacNeil seamlessly weaves folk sentimentality with punk ideology. While the studio album features Ian Romano (Attack in Black) on drums and old-friend Sammi Bogdanski on piano, MacNeil recruits a revolving line-up of likeminded musicians-friends including members of Alexisonfire, Attack in Black, Cancer Bats and Moneen when taking Black Lungs on the road.

On ‘Hold Fast’, the first single from the album, MacNeil delivers a nostalgic message with anthemic conviction. On the track ‘Fire and Brimstone’, MacNeil croons provoking lyrics “Will you let me go to hell however I choose�” juxtaposed by strings and classical piano lines. Black Lungs is “the soundtrack for punk rockers, hip hoppers, pill poppers, young ladies and show stoppers” offering something for every disenfranchised music lover. Far removed from the attacking sounds of his band Alexisonfire, MacNeil’s crude guitar lines and harsh whiskey-drowned vocals lend a new complexity to traditional 4-chord punk. Black Lungs’ debut album “Send Flowers” will be released May 20, 2008 on Dine Alone Records.

Support comes from The Loyalties and This Hidden Switch
7:30pm | £7.50 / £8.50

Labels: alexisonfire, black lungs, clwb ifor bach, punk

This is less of a review of the bands playing at the festival and more of a moan about the human races slow slide into despondency and desolation due to neon cheek paint, trilby hats and hilarious superhero costumes. Do not get me wrong, I do not have hatred for Reading or Leeds, in fact I went to Reading for three years consecutively when I was a wee kniper (17) and it shaped my very being.  However in the last year of reveling I realised that I was too old and too cynical to see people throwing beer cans on alight tents which were near my face. I realized that I did not enjoy camping anymore or being so dehydrated in the morning after a heavy night that I considered licking the dew from the grass to re-quench myself. In short I was old and boring. 

This year however  I returned as a performer type person with the band that I am in (Los Campesinos!) venturing along to play on the new and excitingly named One Republic stage. This was previously known as the Carling stage but they do not sponsor it anymore, apparently democracy does. But I was excited about playing Reading, due to my vested history and fond childhood memories of the festival. After all it was the first place I gave out drunken free hugs, skanked around a sound desk and got my breasts fondled by a passing total stranger. Some of these times I cherish more then others.

Anyway before arriving on site we realized we had more guest passes for Reading then friends so we decided there was only one thing to do, tout our day tickets and divide the rewards between the band and crew.  The credit crunch has hit us hard so we need to save up as much money as can for ruffled shirts and blue cardigans or whatever it is us twee bands spend our money on. Anyway I managed to make enough to buy my food for a week including something nice from the Tesco finest range (it was about 15 quid.) 

When we arrived on site I went to watch a lovely band I have had the pleasure of befriending  called Fight Like Apes (as much as you can befriend other people in bands you see every four weeks at festivals inbteween promo and sound checks.) Fight Like Apes hail from Ireland and were playing on the same stage as us, they were as usual very awesome and I even got a little shout out which made me put my hand up and wave enthusiastically.  From a outsiders perspective it seemed as if I was trying to alert the audience to the fact that I Ellen from Los Campesinos! was standing in their midst….. it was however more a “MY NAME GOT MENTIONED YES!” kind of thing. I am well aware I am not that one out of Black kids, or the Subways or the Ting Tings (but more on them later.)

Before we played I decided to venture out to the festival itself to meet up with my sister and try some of the local delicacies, I have a real soft spot and love for festival food, I have tried to be friends with Pieminister’s everywhere I go, sadly Reading has less in the way of square pastries with yummy fillings and more in the way of sausages. But still the food gets a 8 out of 10 for honest over priced but strangely delicious food. On this brief venture out I got barged into about five times, I saw some people with “anti emo squad” jackets on, everyone was wearing neon face paint or those stupid bloody army hats and I felt like Reading had been replaced with a Weatherpoons in Camden. I can’t help it, I am not a snob but I remember people caring a lot less a couple of years ago, everyone looked really hideous and smelt bad but it didn’t matter. Everyone here had good hair and hole free tights which I couldn't even manage and I was staying at a holiday inn (premium as well! Free breakfast and a copy of the independent!)

I had some whisky with ice in an attempt to stop drinking so much teeth destroying diet coke and immediately got paranoid about my level of drunkness…. Would I peak too early? Not peak enough? I thought I had balanced it well however and we went on stage to find a rather enthusiastic audience, who knew words and even opened up a mosh pit. I know we are not the kind of band who incites mosh pits,  so its always nice and alarming to see. In fact I think it was one of the best audiences we have ever had....

During the set Gareth mentioned that it was extremely lovely of the audience to see us instead of the Manchester band “The Ting Tings” who were playing simultaneously at the NME tent. This comment however resulted in the audience all chanting  “fuck the ting tings,” with a large amount of enthusiasm. Half an hour after the set Tom received a Google alert which informs us that NME has published a story on its website which reports on us joining in and encouraging this chant whilst “beaming.” Firstly, I do not “beam” I smile in a wondrous manner, and secondly if 600 people are shouting “fuck the ting tings” at you, then yes you would smile, don’t NME get the surrealism of that kind of situation? A time when you thought you would be working in a office you’re on stage with people shouting profanities at you in a weird kind of collective consciousness chant? And of course we didn’t join in, its between songs, we were tuning up.  Also they deemed them our rivals, they were playing a far better stage and have sold like a billion records and have these songs that go on adverts and you hear in the off license and tescos, we can’t touch them.

Post gig I watched Foals, and also ended up watching this drunk middle aged man dance around whilst trying to place his skanky old trilby on other peoples heads. It was the dance and moves of a man who is still looking for reassurance that he is the life and soul of the party, that he is bringing the good time to the tent, that despite his aging Trilby, he does still have one and therefore is still cool. This manifested itself in him looking around every five seconds to see if people were giving him attention, when in fact people came to watch the bloody band. He then preceeded to do a poor imitation of me watching foals (i.e arms crossed straining to see their foppish hair, but dancing inside with eyes that are on fire with joy) whilst looking around to see if anyone was laughing at his desire to still be the class clown he was in 1952. I wanted to punch him. But foals were stupidly good, and their crowd was immense.

I then lost everyone, found some cigarettes and went to see Alkaline Trio in the lock up tent so I could pretend I was 16 again and try and shake off this old lady cynicism. Waiting half an hour in a tent for a band who play lots of new songs, rubbish old ones and ignore the “festival set” rules does not help. Also there was these two couples in front of me, with both the girls trying to do sexy dancing in the middle of a completely packed tent, with their boyfriends protecting their dancing area at all times. They were not the fucking pussy cat dolls, and their boyfriends were gurning due to drug use and pretending to know the words. I watched them more then the gig due to the fact I wanted there to be some kind of wall of death opening up in which I could rush at them both with my soggy beer cup and see how much damage I could do.

Then we went back to the travel inn and slept for a good eight hours.

We ventured to Leeds early to see Lovvers who we have toured with before, and they had new hair and new pocket watches and sounded very immense despite the fact we only caught about two songs. It was sunny and I got to take off my hoody several times to bask in the sunshine. The line up was the same as yesterday so I had more chat with Fight Like Apes and then went to catering on my own, which made me look like a looser amongst the Ray Ban wearing untouchables. I had some nice lime cheesecake though so I didn’t feel like a looser.  I felt cooler then the people in the guest area, (which is where the guests go to have their drinks which are more expensive then on the actual festival site), they were all heat inspired straining faces all desperately looking for Brandon Flowers or that one from Editors. Some even looked at my backstage pass when I walked past to see if I was anyone significant, then muttered to themselves when they realised I wasn’t.

Then we did our little giggy thing, which was the last one of the festival season so it was a bit sad, Gareth tried to get in the audience and the view from stage was much like watching a man being eaten alive by flesh eating zombies. I jumped on a drum riser and then wondered what I was doing on the drum riser and looked at my feet, I also got up on a monitor but only coz everyone else did, and then I looked above the audience. We then left, and  I brought some wine for the journey and spent the four and a half hour journey back discussing the circus we would open compered by me in which Ollie would pole vault using his penis. I love my band. That was the end of festival season.

Ellen 

 

Electronic music has changed a hell of a lot since the days of Human League and the likes of those New Order boys, but one thing it has always maintained is the simplistic principle of the pursuit to make you dance! No other is more aptly able to get you grooving than Telemitry. The Nashville Remix/Dj duo have recently released remixes for the likes of Bloc Party and Coldplay (in which they actually manage to make Viva La Vida sound good! Even though they may have found that very hard to achieve, not to mention tediously boring). Now Telemitry have taken their brand of electronic remixes to none other than pop legend and household name, Mr Michael Jackson. Yes, the king of the playground himself has now been chopped up and pasted all over this purely energetic dancefloor filler! Smooth Criminal is by far their most enjoyable remix to date and fulfills any man or woman's desire to cut loose and sweat it out at the disco-tech! This track is securely locked in my music collection and will be coming out to play this Saturday when I Dj at the Meze Lounge, Newport. If you want to have a pre-listen then just click on the link below I have kindly added. To hear more from the duo visit... www.myspace.com/telemitryMichael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (telemitry.mp3

Zombie Disco Squad hit Cardiff fresh from their adventures at the V Festival on Sunday 24th August. They are playing at Ten Feet Tall and I will be there as they are not to be missed. They have been described as 'Zulu House' but I'm not to sure what that is? I hear its banging on drums. Its congas and cowbells. Its a relentless kick drum. Its rythm. Its jacking till you sweat. Its old and new. Its rude. Its that low down wobble you sometimes feet. Its fresh. Its bass. Its ZOMBIE DISCO SQUAD! Be sure and check them out! They also have loads of free mixes available to download from their website, www.zombiediscosquad.com Its worth a visit to Ten Feet Tall this bank holiday weekend. Have a listen for yourself.... Straightboy.mp3

The Nottingham four piece have triumphantly managed to produce an energetic, riff changing, synth filled and joyous debut album. I first stumbled across the band over a year ago and since then have eagerly awaited the debut offering after purchasing it at Diverse Music I rushed home to listen to it. From start to finish the album offers many a surprise to the listener's ears with some very clever and unusual use of pace changes. The album kicks off with an 80's synth filled introduction that Elton John would have been proud of, had he only managed to intricately submerge it with his yellow brick masterpiece. After the introduction comes to a halt we are the jilted forward into the near perfect catchiness of 'broken'. Already tapping my foot I am looking forward to the near 43 minutes musical offering playing though my speakers. I get through the first minute of 'broken' and soon realise that my head is now moving up and down uncontrollably. I like this album, but how will it pan out? I am then thrusted headfirst into into the weird and exciting world of late of the pier. 'Space in the woods' boasts a catchy bassline that reiterates their obvious abundant love of David Bowie. Again my feet are tapping. Samuel Dust's vocal temperarment is paced perfectly to the melodies and rhythm backing his vocal quaintness. I move on whimsically enjoying the additive of well paced percussion to 'the bears are coming' and immediately want to grab my headphones to enjoy more precisely some of the beeps, bleeps, burps, swirls and da da da's the song has to offer. Moving on through the album it becomes clearer it becomes clearer that late of the pier want you to listen! They want you to have fun and they want you to dance! 'Heartbeats', the latest single, starts like christmas and ends after giving you just enough time to hit the dance floor and spin around like an epileptic. I hit 'whitesnake' and chill out for about 5 seconds before the progressively paced drums kick back in. Following this up with an instrumental that only reinforces the decision of sparsness to Dusts vocals. A few more tracks pass and 'Mad dogs and Englishmen' begins, which if for me one of the stand out tracks on this album without forgetting the playfulness of 'Bathroom Gurgle' (the B52's meets the Klaxons). In conclusion if you want to listen to an album which gets your feet tapping, your hips shaking and your head bopping the sure to pick up your copy. For more info visit www.lateofthepier.com or check out their myspace. 

Riot Act! Promotions gig #2. This one is on Saturday 30 August in Le Pub and is headlined by...

Flight Of The Phoenix
Over the past few months Flight Of Phoenix have clocked up some miles on the road, recorded in the comfort of living rooms & bedrooms, chatted to some of the best in the industry, been broadcast on radio, played to crowds up to 400 strong and become a tighter unit.
After just hitting the 1 year mark, Flight Of Phoenix have a lot more lined up for the next few months, with extensive gigging, writing, promoting and the release of their debut album.
They're not limited to one genre and their tracks flow seamlessly from one sound to another. Their live shows are 110% energy. Flight Of Phoenix has landed.

Hobgoblin
Originalty the band was formed in Newport 1995 by Tim Gough and Gray Noone with Dave Strawbridge, Phil Lemon and Dean Pool, a strange mix of punk rock, with tunes and undecipherable lyrics, and titles like “Uranus is bigger than ma`s” “legalised murder” and the inevitable scream of “Oi Oi Oi” and a habit of every gig having a theme, ranging from, fishing, traffic accidents, and nuclear fallout, with mops and buckets for mike stands, the band soon acquired a rather large but shy following, people would never admit to liking the band, but the Gigs where always packed out, well that was back in 95, now the band are back together with the original line up, bar Dean Pool, who has been replaced by Andy O. What the profound said... Kerrong! - “What the fuck was that.” Ray Cathode - “Definitely a great band, and a fantastic live band, but I can’t understand a bloody thing they are saying, and I’m not even sure where the verses, choruses, or come to that the songs end or start, power to them though great fun to watch.
“Hailed as the only true great rock band to come out of Brecon”
With No Regards

Cooked Breakfast
It's hard to believe now, but it all started one late Friday night in a pub whilst drunk, trying to convince some lady people that we were in a big rock n roll band called "COOKED BREAKFAST". and so we came to the conclusion that we should actually become rock n roll Gods, so eventually we did. These days, though, we take our work a lot more seriously. We, as Cooked Breakfast, employ philosophical meanings into our teachings. We wrap them up in metaphorical tissues that have already been used by the noses of wisdom and this is what makes our band the best in every Universe. Peace.
Cooked Breakfast are a three-piece garage rock band from Newport, South Wales. They fuse a raw and gritty sound with abstract and, sometimes, humorous lyrics. They have played in various pubs and clubs in Newport, Cardiff and Swansea.

Tickets£3.00Adv - Door£5.00
Tickets Available From: Diverse, Rockaway, In Exile, and www,wegottickets.com

Two Riot Act ! Promotions gigs in seven days and one of them's free!! The first is on Saturday August 23 at Le Pub and is headlined by....

Bosch
A pocketful of moons ago, reaching back to the tonsils of this millennium, a couple of fair fellows formed an experimental music unit named after a cat, which in turn was named after a mobile phone. Around this loose notion of a band grew a rough modus of stern operandi that stipulated every note played would be improvised and unrehearsed. Soon enough, some common time unravelled and the spaces it left were filled by members large and small, tall and wide, male and not male. As gigs came and went personnel attached themselves to the cathartic collective experience of the Bosch band. Members rolled onboard from as far away as Japan, Georgia and the United States of America and sounds made came in many forms from whistling blades of grass, twanging saws and opera singers. As the operation now stands the Bosch experience is a multi media one with keen as custard emphasis on performance artistes and the video projectionist as well as a legion of sound makers. .

Martinez the Pig
From the spawn of ‘77. (a bit) Younger and a lot prettier than the Sex Pistols.
We’ve got wonderfully uplifting songs about Lust, Sex, Betrayal and Death.
Pedigree punk music. Rockier than Porthkerry beach, punkier than a punk thing on a “Sat’ day night in the city of the dead” (sic. Jon Foxx)
Support your local Rock Band

Hundred Cannons
Formed from the remaining members of Dress Up! While on an indefinite hiatus due to pregnancy. Hundred Cannons are loud, shouty and a bit of a mess... a mix of post-punk, post-rock and post pretty much everything else.

Entry is free of charge and doors are at 8pm.

We weren't going to have a Joy in August because the students had buggered off home but we couldn't pass up the chance to put on these 2 amazing touring bands. We even had to use the venue next door. You'd better all appreciate it. We're still only charging 4 quid too. Could we be any nicer to you? Anyway, the bands:

Tubelord
If you look below you'll see a very odd You Tube clip. The tune is Tubelord, the people in the video aren't. They're not smoking dwarfs but they are a little bit unhinged. They make jerky, post punk mixed with a little bit of post hardcore. They sound like no other band I've seen, alternating between quick, awkward guitar one minute and huge falsetto choruses the next. If Muse weren't such a bunch of pretentious twats and just wanted to have fun, they may have ended up sounding more like Tubelord. They'd've been fucking better for it too. The bands' own myspace says,

'We just want to fall over and wreck ourselves (a simulated generation of difference). It kind of feels real when we do those sort of things and makes us smile when we royally bugger it up. Just learn to smile with us and you'll feel the fun tingle up inside of you. Raaaaaagh fuck just give us some more gigs please. We get bored easily and have very short attention spans. Feel free to join the ride and become pedantic bastards with the rest of us.'

They're the hyperactive kids running around the playground with their hoods over their heads, pretending it's a cape, and who doesn't secretly wish they were still one of those kids? Just me? Shit. It's also the singer's birthday so come out and be nice to him. Buy him cake or something.

Blakfish
'Fuck this, we're all a bunch of pretentious pricks' and so begins the final track on Blakfish's new mini album. I like swearing, I really do. I also really like this Birmingham band, they combine lots of different genres, normally in one song. I guess the easiest reference point would be At The Drive-In with their stop/start hardcore but like Tubelord, they never lose sight of a good melody and a damn fine chorus. Enough waffling from me, here's some professional writer's opinions:

"It's heartening to see good ol' fashioned DIY ethics infiltrating their way back into rock music, and to see the bands at the center of it start to get a bit of a following across the country (and beyond). Big Scary Monsters continue the trend by bringing us Birmingham's fresh faced noisenkis Blakfish, an exciting proposition if ever there was one. Fantastic in name and sound, 'Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man' underpins mini-album 'See You In Another City' perfectly with its skewed rhythms, gut-wrenching energy and satisfying choruses. The next minute they're instructing you to 'Make Your Bed And Lie In It' and be warned, by the end of the song you'll be wishing you had!" - 8/10
Rock Sound

"The tightness of Blakfish's eccentric high-energy offbeat stop-start hardcore is an intoxicating blend of elemental forces, with reggae breakdowns and hip hop interludes lightening the mood amidst scalding, paint stripping riot rock topped by alternately melodic and throat-ripping raging vocals. For fans of Converge, Spy vs. Spy, Mogwai, Fugazi and At the Drive In, this is the sound of intelligent intensity with serious musicianship and a unique party vibe, so cheer up kids, Blakfish are here... life's not so bad!"
Salvo magazine

Enough for you? It's not often we get the chance to bring down two bands like this to Newport in one night. Enjoy it while you can.

The Novocaines
If the two bands above weren't enough for you, we've got The Novocaines opening the show. We thought they were brilliant last time they played for us and they're from Cwmbran which automatically gets them brownie points. They have a lot in common with the other bands on the bill, an ear for a big tune while still managing to sound taught and discordant. Think Bloc Party, think Editors, think Joy Division, think indie music with an edge. They wear their influences on their sleeve but this band are about as 'now' as it gets. Here's what Kruger had to say about them:

Clearly nobody was watching the table that The Novocaines were keeping their drinks on. Someone's slipped the speedy stuff in their vodka tonics and now their music just won't stay still! From the urgent, punk pop pogo of Digital Disco, the growling bassy thrust of Ultra Violence or Lycra-Crises disco-drive, these are some tunes to get toes, feet shifting and heads banging (and subsequently hands reaching for the AlkaSeltzer cos you've overdone it the night before). But it's on the Empress of Russia that the rocks really come off (so to speak) and the band settles into an urgent, stamping, shouty groove, perfectly judged and exquisitely executed. Likely to incite your local indie disco to a low key riot, it's nice to see The Novocaines have stepped up the pace. Let's hope they can keep it up. KRUGER - ISSUE 17. MAGAZINE REVIEW

If you've not seen these guys before, now's your chance before they go onto bigger things (if there are bigger things than gracing the Joy stage, obviously). They'll be on at 9pm, make sure you're front of stage.

Doors are at 8pm and it's Mojo, remember, not Meze. Once more, Mojo. Four quid on the door.

God Is In Tv Zine & Engineering Consent presents...

Secondsmile / Caesars Rome / Dirty Goods

Following the critical acclaim heaped upon Secondsmiles impressive debut
'Walk Into The Light And Reach For The Sky' it was always going to be
hard for five young lads from Dorset to top it, let alone emulate it.
But progression is a wonderful thing and 'Years' is a more than worthy
successor that sees Secondsmile pushing the musical boundaries even
further.

'By turns tranquil, soaring, visceral and triumphant, it's an early
indication that 06 is going to be a killer year for great British
music... This debut full length confirms beyond doubt that the quartet
are one of the UK's finest young bands... This album drips in smart
songwriting class' ROCKSOUND

'The Dorset boys hold anger and big jagged riffs way back, tricking
listeners into a false sense of security before smacking them round
the head like rock gremlins exposed to the sunlight' KERRANG

http://www.myspace.com/secondsmile

Caesars Rome are a Four piece band from South Wales. They've already
supported the likes of Funeral for a friend, and Innerpartysystem.
"Currently working towards a full length album, the band's accessible
blend of melancholic hooks and spine tingling guitars evokes a blend
between U.S. college rock and Britrock sensibilities" -Tuned Magazine

http://www.myspace.com/caesarsrome

Newport's Dirty Goods formed in May 2008 from the ashes of Jump the
underground and are currently working on material for their debut
album.

http://www.myspace.com/dirtygoods


Ten Feet Tall
Cardiff
Wednesday 20th August

Not the usual type of thing we write about on this here website but he's a bit of a Welsh legend and wrote some quality songs. If you don't know who Andy Fairweather-Low is, he was
born in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales, and was a founding member of the 60s pop band Amen Corner. The band found fame and chart success in the late 60s with a run of four successive top 10 hits in the shape of Bend Me, Shape Me, High In The Sky, (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (which reached number one) and Hello Susie.

Throughout the 70s Fairweather-Low had a hit with his band, Fairweather (Natural Sinner) and recorded five solo albums, which spawned the top 10 tunes, Wide Eyed And Legless and Reggae Tune. He also worked with George Harrison, Roger Waters, The Who, Eric Clapton and Joe Satriani among many others. In this decade alone, he's worked with Billy Preston, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Bill Wyman and Joe Cocker. Clearly, this is a man with music in his blood.

Now, Andy returns to the live circuit. His latest release was 2006's Sweet Soulful Music, which predictably galaxy of stars and prompted Uncut to say "impossible to dislike". Andy will play songs from his latest album plus tracks from right the way back to 1967 when he visits The Point.

If you want anymore info, ask your Dad.

£16 in advance/£18 on the door 7:30pm

P4 Music presents Indie bright young things Cajun Dance Party on 6th October in The Point

The band have really hit the ground running, with plays from Steve Lamacq two months before their debut release. That record, The Next Untouchable, was given track of the week by indie taste-makes, NME, and also piqued the interest BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe. The band have just released their debut album, The Colour Of Life, which was released on XL and was produced by none other than Suede's Bernard Butler. If you want a clue to their sound, just take a look at some of these press quotes:

"Liable to make confirmed grouches dance like loons…worth the fuss," The Sunday Times

"Precocious indie-pop…compared to Belle And Sebastian and The Arcade Fire," MTV2

"Enchanting, innocent, flush-of-youth indie-pop," The Guardian
Rumoured to be releasing a second album late in 2008, this might just be a chance to catch some new songs before anyone else.

Tickets are available through Spillers Records (02920 224905/www.spillersrecords.co.uk), Ticketline (02920 230130) and The Point (02920 460873 /www.thepointcardiffbay.com) and are £9 in advance and £11 on the door.

As a personal rant, if you live in Newport and find it a pain in the arse getting tickets, please ring up The Point and ask them to send some to Diverse, I've tried my hardest but without luck. Venues in Cardiff forget the people of Newport go to gigs (except the lovely Clwb Ifor Bach - thank you Clwb). Rant over.

Gig of the week #2

Everyone always wants to be there at the beginning. Well, now you have the chance. Shake off your hangover from the Future Of The Left gig the night before and get yourself down to Barfly for a world first, a silent battle of the bands. This promises to be the most surreal gig of the year.

6 Bands! 2 Stages! No Noise!

On Wednesday 13th August, SilentArena in conjunction with Cardiff Barfly, will present the world’s first Silent Battle of