Journalism Portfolio: featuring words for Gigwise, Middle Boop Mag, FrenchEntrée, Mixmag and from a variety of my previous University's student publications
Chad Valley is an experimental bedroom musician, and is by far the brightest light from the Oxford based creative movement Blessing Force, which his band Jonquil is also a part of. His real name is Hugo Manuel and having released two EP’s, both of which were highly celebrated in the UK and the US amongst other places, it seems a logical progression for Hugo to bless our ears with a full-length album, that goes under the title Young Hunger.
Opener ‘I Owe You This’ lends vocals from American musician Twin Shadow, the track is bursting with emotion and longing, even sounding a little like Tears for Fears but an RnB twist. ‘Fall 4 U’ is very George Michael in his ‘Careless Whisper’ era. He teamed up with synth Siren Glasser on this track, her voice as soothing as his as they both fade in and out. Spotting a trend? Young Hunger is undeniably 80’s, but in the best kind of way.
‘My Girl’ is rather cheesy , it goes: ‘If you wanna be my girl//you gotta get with my friends’, the Oxford based band Fixers’ front man features on this one, but the vocals are overly auto tuned and honestly, it’s a little too silly. The album really does come into its own towards the end. ‘Fathering Mothering’ features the delectable voice of Norwegian singer Anne Lise Frøkedal. It’s perfect, delicate and encapsulating pop music. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or for less of a mouth full – Orlando) is an old school friend of Hugo’s, adds a gloss of expertise on the track ‘My Life Is Complete’ makes for another standout moment.
In its most excellent parts, Young Hunger is delightful and interesting low-fi pop. In others, it is a little too; ‘video gamey’ with too many odd little beeps and noises rattling on in the background. Chill wave seems to be the genre that Hugo has continuously had stamped onto his previous material. However, on Young Hunger he has ever so slightly curbed his infatuation with that surfer, west coast of America vibe, developing the best of that sound and melding it in with his love of 80’s synth pop.
San Cisco are a four-piece indie pop outfit, hailing all the way from Perth, Australia. Their blend of low-fi indie has managed to turn heads on the other side of the globe, and they have recently signed a UK deal with Columbia Records.
The band have blown up in their native Oz, scooping eight WAMI awards in the same night, the Australian equivalent to The Brit Awards. We caught up Jordi, Scarlett, Josh and Nick to discuss pre- show jitters, having a pint in a pub (somewhat or a novelty for San Cisco) and their dreams of one day recording at Abbey Road Studios...
Is there a great story to tell about San Cisco formed - or is it as simple as a few friends playing music together?
Jordi: It’s pretty simple, I was just playing solo, and then I got quite bored to be honest. I decided to start playing a few songs with Josh, and then we got really into playing duets. Meanwhile I was also jamming with Scarlett.
Scarlett: He was two timing me… but then I was two timing him too because I was also in another band.
Jordi: We won an award for our track ‘Rocket Ship’, and it was then when we recorded that song that we all came together. After that we started to play some live shows as San Cisco, and that’s when Nick was also bought in.
What’s on San Cisco’s bucket list to achieve as a band?
Jordi: To just be able to make a living out of this would be really awesome.
Scarlett: We’d love to record at Abbey Road. That’s something we all really want to do.
Nick: There are a lot of bands that we would love to tour with too like Collaborations and Tame Impala. They are from Perth where we are from; we’ve met Tame Impala a couple of times.
Having recently signed a deal in the UK - does it feel like a whirlwind of success or a long time coming?
Jordi: It’s been a long time coming really, but in terms of travel it does feel like a bit of a whirlwind. We’ve been playing together for three years, and so it’s not like our success happened overnight.
Scarlett: We want to take the music to the next level now though; we need all the help we can get for the overseas market, so this big deal had to happen for us.
Did you have a feeling that the track ‘Awkward’ was something special when you were writing it?
Scarlett: We didn’t have time to think – it all happened so quickly.
Jordi: We wrote it and I didn’t personally think it was very special – but our managers did. They gave it out to all the radio stations, and then it just completely blew up. That’s when we realised how good it was probably. While we were writing it though I just felt like it was an ordinary pop song.
How does it feel promoting your music so far away from home - and knowing that people love your work on the other side of the world?
Scarlett: It does feel like you’re starting all over again, like when you’re waiting for people to show up for a gig - we haven’t had that in a while, but there is obviously interest over here just not on the same scale…yet.
Scarlett - how do you cope being the only girl in the band?
Yeah it’s alright I’m just so used to it now – I’ve known the boys for ages and I’ve known Jordi since I was three. So we all just feel like brothers and sisters really which is nice.
Australia has a reputation for great pop music. What do you think it is about Australia that results in such great bands?
Jordi: I'd say Isolation – being a long way from anything
Josh: I think because we don’t have direct influences, we only have the internet which is a mix of American music and British music, so Australia seems to create a whole new beast as a result of that.
Scarlett: It’s easier not to get stuck into one genre scene there, so bands like us tend to be able to experiment a lot more.
Which other Australian bands should we be keeping an eye out for?
Jordi: Snakadaktal, they are an indie pop band who is a bit like Foals. They’re form Melbourne. They won a competition which is called Triple J Unearthed which is on one of the major radio stations. They tend to surface a lot of the better acts I think. Ball Park Music There’s quite a few good little bands around at the moment.
What have you been up to since you've been in London and is there anything you really want to see or do?
We’ve done everything we wanted to do, going to Abbey Road studios has been the highlight. London is so very different from Perth – everything’s so much older and there is so much history. Having a beer in a nice little pub is just so cool to us. The little things like that that we’re enjoying.
For those who aren’t familiar with Tyler James, he was a runner up behind Leanne Mitchell on this year’s reality flop talent show, The Voice. Her winning single failed to even chart and the post show tour was cancelled, perhaps not the greatest launch pad for any singer’s career. However, Tyler was in fact one of the more exciting contestants on the BBC’s answer to the X Factor.
He released his debut album ‘The Unlikely Lad’ through Island Records back in 2005, which enjoyed a short-lived bout of success, but he quickly slipped off the radar soon after.
The London based soul man was best mates with the late Amy Winehouse, which does add a rather alluring string to his bow, along with his undeniably strong voice. He has been marketed as the new Justin Timberlake, because he can do that really high falsetto thing and is partial to wearing sharp suits and being slick and charismatic.
Lead single ‘Single Tear’ peaked at #28 in the UK, and is a polished, ‘Cry Me A River’ type song. The video features him getting hot and heavy with a number of ladies in the back of a cab. It’s a bit much, and the saying ‘sex sells’ sprung to mind, but in this case, it didn’t sell all that well.
‘A Place I Go’ has been released at an opportune time, with RnB creeping back into our view, good RnB though, which has, for the most part become almost vacant from the charts in the last few years.
There is nothing wrong with the album, but there is nothing particularly right about it either. His cover of ‘Higher Love’ is a highlight, but the rest of the tracks seem to blend into one another. Tyler has all the credentials of a pop star, but seems to lack the fluency and variety to instate himself as anything more than that guy who was a runner up on The Voice.
BIGkids is made up of Ben Hudson (Mr. Hudson) and singer Rosie Bones, with a talent for fun, carefree pop tunes. So if you’re sick of all the seriousness, BIGkids are the band for you.
Mr Hudson has been involved in high profile collaborations accross the pond with Jay Z and Kanye West, but feels this project is much closer to his heart. He has taken his production experitise and melded it into something new and exciting with BIGkids.
The duo has released their debut album this week (October 8th) titled Never Grow Up which features lead single ‘Heart Sing’. We caught up with the band to discuss their new album, what they miss about being a kid and how for Ben, it’s all about BIGkids now.
You say Bigkids is meant to be fun. Do you think grownups need reminding of how to have fun these days?
Ben: I think grownups do know how to have fun. I think the weekend’s abundance of drunkards rolling around in Kebab shops can vouch for that. I guess a lot of music can be quite boring though, like that shoegaze sh**, but, there is a lot of fun music out there too. I always think you end up making the music you want to listen to, that’s what’s happened with BIGkids anyway.
What would you say is the worst thing about being an adult?
Rosie: Taxes!!
Ben: I think it’s good as long as you stay from a real job for as long as possible.
What do you both miss about being a kid?
Rosie: I miss tantrums, and excitement. I miss Christmas mornings as a kid, or how excited you can get about stuff, that seems to go away as you get older.
Is being a member of BIGkids as much fun as it looks – or is there seriousness behind the scenes?
Ben: The functional elements can occasionally be a bit more grown up, but mostly it’s been a pretty carefree process and we haven’t really busted our balls as of yet. Well I haven’t busted my balls…
Rosie: I’ve busted my balls a bit.
Ben: Do you know what; it really has just been a lot of fun.
What’s more enjoyable being in BIGkids or hanging out with Jay Z and Kanye West?
Ben: It’s just different, BIGkids is about being back in London, being back on the street, being back in the pubs and getting back to my roots. Also it’s been more of a band vibe and less of a production thing here. I love being in America and I love working with those guys, but this is a big part of me as well.
Have you brought any of your work with hip hop superstars to BigKIDS?
Rosie: Yeah he definitely has. The main thing for me is that Ben produces as we write, he lays down the beats for a lot of the tracks and then we write on top of them. That is a method that I’m not used to. I would write a song and you get my guitar and then would start to think about how the band would fit around. BIGkids in comparison is made in a very hip hop way, but with live show sensibility. Most of the instruments are played by Ben and we don’t use guitars that much. We also record in mostly one or two takes.
Who parties harder: Kanye West or Rosie Bones?
Ben: I think Rosie parties harder.
Rosie: I do. The night we formed BIGkids I had drunk… a lot.
Ben: I think I was the Dezzy D that night - have you heard that phrase before? It means designated driver, I really like that.
Which current musicians do you draw inspiration from and can we hear any of these inspirations on your album?
Ben: We’ve been referencing bands like The Gorillaz to bands like The Muppets, Dolly Parton and Fleetwood Mac. There is some uncool stuff in there but we don’t give a monkeys. We’ve also been listening to the (Rolling) Stones; we’ve basically been listening to a lot of duets to give us creative inspiration.
What are your hopes for BIGkids in the future?
Ben: We don’t really have a plan, we never even planned to make an album that just kind of happened by accident. We’re going to do a tour, we’re going to promote the album and just see what happens.
Whilst I was at Gigwise I interviewed a band called The Other Tribe. Their track 'Skirts' is currently getting some R1 airplay, and they are pretty amazing.
Friday night’s Club NME at Koko played host to two of Australia’s most exciting bands. The first was San Cisco, a twee adolescent five- piece from Perth, the second: Van She - hailing from Sydney.
At the bar I got chatting to an Aussie guy who couldn’t contain his excitement for San Cisco of which he assured were, “absolutely massive back home “, using the word stoked to an excessive amount. It’s easy to see why this man was so hyped for San Cisco, and how they are doing so well – firstly their drummer is a girl, a winning trinket to the coolness of any band and secondly, their blend of low-fi pop is just incredibly easy to enjoy, requiring little thought or concentration.
They seemed a little daunted – but played well and if anything, their jitters made them even more endearing. The clear highpoint was their biggest hit ‘Awkward’, which has clocked up around two million hits on YouTube, a tongue in cheek, teenage ode to stalking your love interest.
Van She released their second LP ‘Idea Of Happiness’ a couple of months ago. Their show was brilliant, captivating the audience from beginning to end, and filling the room with tropical rhythms and sunshine, the perfect antidote to outsides rainy and blustery London. They were a mix of Friendly Fires and Foster the People – a great place to subsist for any band.
‘Calypso’ ‘Jamaica’ and ‘Idea of Happiness’ went down an absolute storm, uniting the crowd in chorus. Lead singer Matt Van Schie didn’t seem to be much of a mover, standing transfixed in one spot for nearly all of their performance. What tonight did best though was to reinstate just how on point Australia seem to be with their imaginative and interesting pop, long may it continue.
Fink is an indie folk singer songwriter from Brighton who is signed to the independent Ninja Tune label, along with other artists like Roots Manuva and Wiley. With four albums under his belt and 20,000 tickets sold across the breadth of 14 countries in Europe – Fink has decided to release a live album: ‘Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet’
A respected songwriter in his field, he has previously leant his talents to John Legend, Professor Green and Amy Winehouse, of whom he co-wrote the track ‘Half Time’ with.
Live albums for a lot of artists are often unnecessary, and sometimes even downright boring. This format hugely compliments Fink though, a renowned room silencer, his compositions are accordingly moody, emotional and sound even crisper and more commanding live.
He has compiled the most stunning moments of his recent ‘Perfect Darkness’ tour, mixing his latest album with supplementary crowd pleasers that are cherry picked from his lengthy career. His vocal style can be almost jazzy at times, this can be heard in lavish proportions on opener ‘Biscuits’.
‘Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet’ is a real treat for devoted Fink fans – and may even bag him some new followers. The album doesn’t differ much in the sense of tone though, remaining characteristically sombre and morose throughout, but in reflective and creative manner. Indie folk is a little oversubscribed, but he certainly packs more of a punch than Ben Howard ever could.
Superstar DJ Annie Mac is set to release her new compilation album Annie Mac Presents 2012 October 11th. It’s the same sort of thing as those Now CD’s, but the difference is, this is actually really good. A collection of the best party anthems of the year, stamped with the approval of Annie Mac.
Her self-confessed ‘glorified mix-tape’ features some absolute bangers this year: from Azealia Bank’s ’212’ to Hot Chip’s ‘Night and Day’. Annie has compiled an eclectic mega mix of 2012’s best tunes.
We recently caught up with the Radio One DJ to discuss her new compilation, just why Bestival is so good and how she’d never have the patience to actually make her own music, and would feel rather silly about doing so...
How did you go about selecting the tracks for your compilation album?
This year, more than ever I tried to make my compilation a reflection of my live DJ sets. CD 1 is pretty much what you will have heard if you’ve seen me at any festival this summer, and is very indicative of what I’ve been playing. It’s songs that I have personally cherry picked that I just love to hear in a club. CD 2 is the tracks that you would find me playing in more of a back room setting basically; it’s a much deeper house sound of which I have been really, really enjoying this year. It’s been a real pleasure to be able to mix them, and be able put them out on ‘Annie Mac Presents’.
Are there any songs that you wanted on the compilation but couldn't sort out?
Yes there were two, basically Jay Z’s label Roc Nation don’t like compilations one little bit so Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ was a complete no go, it is annoying because that is my favourite pop song of the year. ‘Paris’ by Jay Z and Kanye West was also not allowed. No matter how hard we tried or how many times we asked, it was just a complete no which was a massive shame. I shortlisted and licensed so many tracks, but they were the only two that weren’t allowed.
Is it just like making a glorified mix-tape for a mate - and do you wish that practice still existed? A few MP3s on a USB stick isn't quite the same...
It’s very much a glorified mix tape; quintessentially that’s what it is. I put out a mix earlier this year called ‘The Sunshine Mix’, simply for the fact that I love making mix-tapes. I released it as a free download and just had a massive response. That was what made me change the outcome of this year’s compilation, because I thought - just treat it like a mixtape, treat it just like something that you would do for fun in your own time. That concept has worked really well, and I couldn’t be happier the outcome. The mix-tape the most beautiful medium of sharing music, and hopefully it will live on for many years.
Who have been your favourite new artists of 2012?
I’ve loved Disclosure this year, I think that they’re super talented musically, and have enjoyed watching them come through and become really popular, really fast. I’m a big fan of Azealia Banks too, she’s crazy but that’s what you want in a pop star, plus she is a super skilled rapper. AlunaGeorge, now she is bloody brilliant and they are amazing live.
We're approaching the time of year when people will be making predictions for 2013. Do you have any names you'll be tipping for success next year?
Mele, he is a little producer from Liverpool, I hope that he will break through and do really well next year. There’s also a guy called Maota from Ireland who’s really young, he’s only 18. He makes really nice ambient electronica, so I hope that he’ll make an album next year and I reckon he’d do really well if he did.
How was Bestival for you? What is it that makes the festival so special?
Bestival was amazing, it’s always amazing. I don’t really get to see much of it though, apart from my tent and that’s where I hang out all day. It was just brilliant, the sun was out and there were some really nice moments on stage like when Jessie Ware came out and sang a song with Disclosure, it just felt like the tent was packed in the middle of the afternoon, and it was really emotional for those artists and everybody involved. I was standing with their management and they were all having a freak out.
The thing about Bestival is that it feels personal; there is no corporate feeling to it – which sets it apart in so many ways. I think that’s because Rob Da Bank, its organiser puts such a lot of himself as well as time into the festival. His wife José acts as the Art Director, and she’s got a really unique vision, she’s so good at making Bestival more than just an audio event, it’s a really visual experience and it’s got a completely unique look and feel… the fact that you have to take a little boat to an island gives it even more of a magical feel as well, it’s such an adventure.
Which was your best festival experience of 2012?
There’s has been loads of really good ones. I really enjoyed Hideout Festival in Croatia. That’s a relatively new festival, it’s only in its second year and it’s a complete mission to get there. But, it’s just really fun because it’s one of those festivals where all the DJ’s that play there have the time of their life. It’s very much a UK crowd, but they’re very clued up, it’s in a really beautiful setting as well.
Have you ever been tempted to start making music yourself or are you strictly a DJ?
I have been curious to yeah, but I’ve never really followed through with it. I’ve taken lessons in terms of how to make beats and such, but I just do not have the patience to spend all day finding that right sound. I’m too much of an impatient person, I like things to happen fast. If I were to ever make music I would have to work with someone who could do the nitty gritty, boring stuff – then I could do the more exciting things. The thing is that I am known firstly and fore mostly for being a radio DJ, I don’t like the idea of going round and announcing to people, ‘hey I do music now’. I’d much rather be known as a curator, I am more than happy with that title
Watford punks Lower Than Atlantis are soon to release their third studio album Changing Tune through Island records after scoring a major label deal. This marks a big change for the band having left the days of smaller labels and self-releasing far behind.
Gigwise recently caught up with Mike & Ben J from the band to discuss their rise to rock stardom. They shared their thoughts on You Me At Six, how they’ve now ticked just about everything off their bucket list and hanging out with Blink 182...
How does being released on such a major label as Island compare to the release of Far Q and World Record?
Mike: We’ve still got a say in everything we do, but there’s just like this vice behind us. The good thing about it is that these people have been there and done it all before, they have the experience to say don’t do this mate. There’s been a huge team behind us on this record with regards to just about everything. We sit back a lot more now, we’re a bit like the yes men.
Ben: The big difference is the financial side of things, as we're self-releasing everything before and had to pay for all of it. It’s a weight off not having to worry about that stuff anymore, and just to be able to concentrate on the music, getting to record in a studio as prestigious as Rock Field was pretty sweet too. We’re not driving round in solid gold limos or anything though, or with like diamond encrusted toilet seats… all im saying is that we have the money to do exactly what we want to do.
Your sound is very different now to what it was in 2010, what's happened in the last couple of years to change it?
Ben J: We’ve always listened to rock music, even when we were doing that we’ve never really listened to that heavy stuff, we’ve just grown up a bit I guess.
Mike: We do listen to everything though as cliché as that sounds, who knows what the next album might be, could be a jazz one?! Jazz- punk –Christian- death metal or something…
The 'Love Someone Else' video is set in an American diner - but was filmed in the UK. Would you have preferred a trip to the US?
Ben: No not at all, but I’ll tell you something that has annoyed me, like so much. People have said to us like ‘hey why is it shot in an American diner man you’re from Watford. Are there many American diners in Watford’? I just feel like saying why does our music video have to be set in the place where we are from?! That is just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Idiots man -think about it!
You once said that 'playing live was the hurdle to jump before you can get drunk'. Is this still the case as you prepare your October tour?
Mike: No we really love it, It’s not like supporting where I can get quite nervous sometimes. It’s more nerve-wracking because you can go up there and everyone is like ‘who are these idiots, what the hell is this rubbish?’ But now we headline tours and we headline shows. You can judge by ticket sales it they’re going to be half decent. So yeah we really enjoying playing live these days a lot more.
Ben: I’m not gonna say any names but there are a lot of bands that play gigs and the whole thing just looks shit, boring and bland. We try and take pride in playing live, especially in the past year we’ve put on a really good show. I watched a KISS documentary the other day, they put on a mental show, like flying across the audience on a zip wire type shit, I’m not saying that is going to happen, but one day maybe… You might see us spitting blood that’s on fire at each other, and spitting wasps out.
There seems to be a wave of new bands growing huge amounts of support. Which bands do you think are leading the return of rock?
Ben: We are the biggest rock band on our scene, and then there are all the other little ones. We’ve kind of moved up in the grand scheme of thing, we think anyway. So apart from us i'd say Deaf Havana, Young Guns, You me at Six are like the biggest though. They're out of our scene a bit now, their actually doing pretty well in the more mainstream scene which they get a lot of stick for.
Mike: I’ve never listened to them or seen them play live or had even heard of them before they blew up. I don’t know who would be giving them stick. I say fair play to them mate. I hate that, people are always trying to support bands in doing something like buying the T-shirt or going to see them live, and then when they get big people tend to stop listening to them because it doesn’t feel like their little band anymore. They need to realise that you wouldn’t for instance start a business with the hope of staying at the same level the whole time and not progressing would you? Not that our band is a business… that’s gonna get picked up somewhere now isn’t it?
What did you learn from your time supporting Blink 182 - and did you get to spend any time with the guys?
Mike: We got to hang out with them a couple of weeks before those dates and we were in Marks dressing room, we had a chat about music and he said that he’d been given our album, but hadn’t listened to it yet. Eddy was talking drums with Travis too which was pretty cool.
Ben: We really need to write a new bucket list man, we’ve done everything on it now! The only things left are to play Brixton Academy and tour with Foo Fighters, they are our remaining goals. Not to sound big headed but if there was one band who would suit it (touring with Foo Fighters) from the UK, I would pick us!
Mike: We’re just generally all round good blokes and we’re a right on good laugh
The Lumineers hail from Denver, Colorado. Their soft-folk sound is impossible to dislike an have been favourably compared to bands such as Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters & Men. Their self-titled debut album peaked at No.11 on the US Billboards back in April, and No.13 in Canada. The lead single, the delightful ‘Ho Hey’ peaked at No.1 on both the American alternative and rock charts and they release their debut album in November, 2012.
We recently caught up Neyla Pekark, Wesley Shultz and Jerimiah Fraites in East London to discuss the need for organic music in a world of David Guetta and Calvin Harris, why they don't believe bands who claim to party hard all the time and going hat shopping on Brighton beach...
Bands like Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters & Men have scored huge success over the past couple of years. Why do you think there has been a revived interest in folk-inspired music recently?
Welsley: Well I think popular music just cycles, and there have been so many bands that have been doing this stuff for years, so I feel that’s helped prime peoples ears over the years to get down with this kind of music. I think that Mumford and Sons and Of Monsters & Men and even we are capitalising on that.
Jerimiah: It’s interesting though because on the flip side, you have people like Bassnectar and Skrillex who making tons of money and playing festivals worldwide. Maybe it might have something to do with the iPod generation of listeners. People might want a break from that sort of thing.
You've been compared to Mumford & Sons. Are you happy with the comparison?
Neyla: Yeah they’re a really great band, we got the opportunity to see them a couple of weeks ago out in Denver, their live show is really, really exciting. They opened a lot of doors for this kind of music.
Jerimiah: I don’t think we're sad about the comparison (laughs).
Wesley: I don’t think you can ever choose the band you’re compared to, you just make the music that gets you high and that gets you going.
A lot of people are less keen on being compared to such massively successful bands...
Wesley: Yeah we joke that we dislike Mumford and Sons, but there really is something great about that band. They’re doing a great job. But I do think that it’s a very easy comparison to make.
Do you think that in a world of David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Chris Browns, people are in need of something a little softer and a little more organic?
Jerimiah: Yeah I have thought that before.
Neyla: I think going to a live show and seeing people actually playing instruments is almost a novelty to some people. Growing up in an age filled with pop music and pre-recorded tracks, it’s almost a novel idea to see someone play live.
The Lumineers have risen to success through word of mouth. Was this part of the plan, or just how things worked out?
Jerimiah: We didn’t really have much of an option of a choice. Our piano player Stealth kind of showed us the way with his band at the time, they were doing the same thing. They were touring all the time and relentlessly going out there, playing house shows and sleeping on people’s floors and living the grimey lifestyle, but doing what you love. We didn’t really know any other way to do it without a lot of money, so that’s what we were doing for about two years.
Wesley: We tried to play once a week, and keep just learning from our mistakes. There was one time where we played two or three times in one week, and it was just way too much. Then when we met those people in Denver like Jerry was just saying, they taught us how to really ride it out and hit the touring circuit.
Who would you say are three of your key influences? Are you inspired by any modern artists, or are your influences more retro?
Jerimiah: Were pretty varied, for me one of the most influential artists are the Felice Brothers. I went to a show with Wesley in Kingston New York, it was in the middle of nowhere in an old church that was converted into a bar/venue. The way they communicated just blew me away. They got a really emotional response from the audience and I think there was something none musical that I took away from that show. I just thought ‘wow that’s really important’. Not only playing instruments, that’s like the bass line that has to be good, but doing something none musical is also good for the audience
Neyla: I listen to a lot of kind of different music, at school I sung in a barber shop quartet...
Jerimiah: She won internationals!
Neyla: I wasn’t really listening to anything that was contemporary; I listen to a lot of jazz. I grew up on stuff like Dylan as my dad loves him.
Wesley: Tom Petty and the Heartstrings are a huge favourite of mine.
What's the most unlikely song that you might play on the Lumineers tour bus, or would find on your iPod?
Wesley: One band we really like are Y La Bomba, we toured with them on the West Coast of the United States, they have a great new record out that really is fantastic.
Jerimiah: I really like Kid Cudi, we listen to a hell of a lot of Kid Cudi I think it’s safe to say. It’s a nice release because we wouldn’t want to listen to the kind of music were making all the time, it’s good to change it up.
Neyla: We actually don’t listen to a lot of folk, like any.
Wesley: Yeah I’ve never even heard one Fleet Foxes song, I’m not even that familiar with Mumford’s catalogue.
As a band who make generally gentle, folk-inspired music, when was the last time you went clubbing, and who parties hardest in the band?
Neyla: I don’t think we really go clubbing, but we went bowling after one show which was yeah… pretty rowdy (laughs). We all tend to work pretty hard and we find that it’s really difficult to party a lot on the road because you have to wake up the next day, were kind of finding that balance.
Wesley: I think sometimes you find that if you party too much, and you try to do cool things after the show you find that feeling good and being healthy is a lot cooler than going out and getting f*cked up.
Neyla: It’s such a commitment as well, to be hungover the next day, because we always have a million things to do.
Jerimiah: With our schedule, there really isn’t an opportunity time to go out and get wasted, you’re the only one that’s going to feel it so you’re kind of shooting yourself in the foot. For instance Drake, he is always talking about how hard he works and how he just never goes out, and I totally believe it. I don’t believe the people that say things like ‘hey man I just wrote these lyrics on a pizza box’
You're heading on tour across the UK in October and November with the Civil Wars. Is there any part of the UK that you are most looking forward to visiting?
Neyla: I haven’t been over here at all before this trip, so everything will be new for me.
Jerimiah: I’m really looking forward to going back to Brighton Beach, I bought a hat there five years ago and I’m definitely in need of a replacement.
What can we expect from your live shows?
Wesley: Our record is more cinematic, but our live shows are more primal. We were talking about David Guetta before, it seems his goal with live shows is to create something that’s glossy, perfect and larger than life. I think one of the things that we try to do live is to let it all hang out, so quite the opposite. We don’t try to be perfect at all.
Matchbox Twenty have made a victorious comeback recently with their new album North, earning them their first ever No.1 on the US Billboard chart, topping the Australian charts and debuting at No.14 in the UK earlier in September.
The ‘Unwell’ band have been making music since 1996 and have enjoyed huge success in the US, Australia and New Zealand. They had a five year break during which they released a greatest hits album and had a slight change of line-up, a change of bassist.
Gigwise recently caught up with frontman Rob and lead guitarist Paul to discuss how it felt to finally bag a No.1 album,why frontman Rob Thomas would never resort to appearing on Dancing In The Stars and how the British fans are way ‘too hip’ for them.
Was it a conscious decision to take such a long break between your third and fourth albums?Paul: We never said we were gonna take this long to do it. It was more a case of life just happened. When Rob finished his first solo record, he was ready to go with Matchbox but I wasn’t ready, I think there was also a point where Kyle wasn’t ready. We just had to figure out how to line it up.
How did it feel when the album hit No.1 on the US Billboard chart? Was there ever a worry that your fans might have moved on in your absence? Rob: It was amazing, it’s our first No.1 record. Even with all the success that we’ve had, you keep telling yourself that a number one doesn’t matter, but then when you get one your like, oh yeah it totally matters. We did a greatest hits record five years ago and we toured some of the biggest places we’ve ever toured so we knew that the base were there. But to be sixteen years on, and, our story is that that we’re still moving forward. We debuted over here in the UK at No.14, which is a huge. That is the biggest we’ve ever debuted so for us. All we want is to continue to move forward, and not to slide backwards. I always said, if we ever made two records that nobody cared about, I’d quit.
Now you're back on tour, are you wishing you'd done it sooner?Paul: No the timing was perfect, the way everything’s worked out is good because we love what we do, and we wouldn’t want to do everything else because. There are other things in our lives besides the band. If we would have toured sooner, those things would have suffered.
How was your headline performance at the iTunes festival? Rob: It was amazing, flawless. Paul: Yeah it was fun; it was only our second show so were still working out some kinks…but energy is always better than perfection. I’ve got to say I do find when we come here that there are fans that we would just never see in America. It’s like; you’re entirely too hip to be listening to us dude, this is Matchbox Twenty didn’t you realise?!
Is the buzz still as strong? And how have your backstage antics changed - are you more mellow now? Paul: Well I don’t know about you but I stumbled to my bed at 6.30 this morning. So no I don’t feel mellower to be honest. Rob: But then, we’ve never really had backstage antics, we’ve always had after show antics. Paul: Yeah our backstage is relatively quiet. Rob: We’ve always been very serious about the gig, like before the gig everyone is warming up and stretching out to get ready for the gig. We’ve never wanted party it up then. Paul: We did this tour with Sugar Ray and when we walked past their dressing room they had a road case, and it folded out into a bar, it had a TV that was non-stop porn and there were masses of people in and out the whole time, we were like, ours is not like that one bit.
What's been your worst ever show? Paul: I thought our iTunes Festival show wasn’t great, I felt I had had a bad show, but then I watched it and I was like nah it wasn’t that bad. For me though, one of my stellar moments was back when I played drums at the American Music Awards, we played ‘Disease’. And I for some reason thought it was a great idea to wear bell bottoms. I’m playing and then my drum stick gets caught in my pants and I go down to get it so then I dropped my other stick and I nearly fell of the chair, and I just look like, give me a clumsy guy?
A lot of mainstream artists are releasing a new album every year. Do you think this is a good way to work, or will it end up in a case of quantity over quality?Rob: I think our career says no, and I think this is a good example, but I’m gonna end up sticking my foot right into my mouth here: one of my favourite artists is Ryan Adams. He releases 20 records a year man and I think that if he just put them all together that he could pick out the best stuff and then each year he would put out one of the greatest records ever made. So yeah, I think that sometimes people are too prolific for their own good. Rob: was it a struggle at all sharing writing duties more fully with the band? At first it was, it’s just not the way I was used to working. I think to be frank, it got a lot easier once I realised the quality of the stuff we were putting together. When I hear the song ‘Overjoyed’, that is better than anything I have ever written alone. I don’t care where it comes from as long we can sit down and write songs like that. You realise that you are flexing a different muscle, but you’re still being creative.
Who was 'She’s So Mean' inspired by? Paul: Everyone knows that person; we just thought that it would be a fun song to write. Rob: We had the melody but with no lyric and only the line ‘She’s So Mean’, we decided writing a story about how even intelligent people can do things that they know are bad for them, and once they’ve triggered that its bad for them they continue to do it, especially where either love or sex are involved, emotionally everybody is on the same level. You hear these stories of genius, titans of industry meeting a really hot waitress and their whole life falls apart.
What's still on the list to achieve in Matchbox Twenty? Rob: Another record, Paul: I’d say we just want to carry on moving forward. There are a lot of people that will look in from the outside and try and tell us what to do. But we don’t want to do that, we want to do what we’re doing now and we want to continue improving. Rob: You can’t listen to other people because somewhere in this world there someone that thinks Matchbox Twenty are the greatest band that’s ever lived, and there someone else that thinks we are the biggest piece of sh*t that they have ever heard and that we should die. So the only people we are going to listen to is ourselves. I mean I’d rather listen to the first one, because I’m a realist.
You may remember Mr. Hudson from his high profile collaboration with Kanye West on smash hit ‘Supernova’ back in 2009, or Kanye and Jay Z’s recent hit ‘Why I Love You’ taken from their latest album ‘Watch The Throne’. Mr. Hudson has also previously teamed up Kid Cudi, Dizzee Rascal, N-Dubz, Tinnie Tempah and Caspa, so you really should remember him from somewhere.
Mr. Hudson is nevertheless back in a different guise, this time with new outfit and Camden born BIGkids. The band is comprised of Hudson on piano and vocals, and Rosie Bones on vocals. The pair treated us to an energetic, albeit slightly odd show, last week in London.
Rosie Bones has a very rock ‘n’ roll, husky voice, and with it an undeniably strong stage presence. As she knocked back Champagne straight from the bottle, wrapped herself around the mic stand and gave ‘come to bed with me’ eyes to the audience, one couldn't help but to wonder if Mr. Hudson and Rosie Bones were more than just friends. At times, they were singing so profusely into each other’s eyes, you rather felt that it might be a good idea to just skedaddle and leave them to it. ‘Band chemistry’ aside, the show was a brief blast of finely tuned pop with more than a touch of cabaret.
It’s hard to work out who exactly BIGkids are targeting with songs like ‘Superhero’ and ‘Drum In Your Chest’. A little too twee for the 18-25’s, and a little too developed for the teen market who would be the ones that'd buy into the more acquired pop stuff. The look on most people’s faces present seemed that of mild enjoyment, and the band kept the audience's attention by keeping their set, like their songs, short and sweet.
Deadmau5, formally Canadian Joel Zimmerman, was ninth to occupy the stage at the iTunes Festival last night, held at the Camden Roundhouse. His appearance featured support from drum ‘n’ bass/hip hop outfit Foreign Beggars. The frequently outspoken musician has repeatedly made headlines recently evoking sizeable comment through his use of Twitter, to which Madonna came under fire for her blatant drug reference whilst touring her ‘MDNA’ album. Controversy aside, Deadmau5 has effectively stationed himself as somewhat of an icon on the electronic house scene. With five studio albums, copious remixes and singles, a collection of compilation albums and awards under his hat, or should I say mouse helmet, there seems to be no stopping this super-star DJ. Three-piece act Foreign Beggars (who are signed to Deadmau5’s Mau5trap label) are also set to release a new album, and treated the crowd to an exclusive first play of their collaboration with electro house/dubstep duo Knife Party, with track ‘Appex’. It was clear that Foreign Beggars had masses of adoration from the crowd, and served as a spectacular warm-up for the main man. Deadmau5 opened with ‘Sometimes Things Get, Whatever’, which is taken from his 2008 album ‘Random Album Title’ and served as a fantastic choice to open with. His set featured an eclectic mix of mainly album tracks from a variety of years spanning his extensive career. He did however; fail to play many of the crowd pleasers. With his imminent album release it is understandable that he would want to push his new material, but only playing five seconds of his monster tune ‘I Remember’ and absolutely no sign of ‘Raise Your Weapon’ was rather disappointing. His recent, more twee tune ‘The Veldt’ was received by a rapturous applause, and was followed by the equally agreeable Tommy Trash Remix. Deadmau5 also played an amazing, albeit unexpected cover of the 2009 number one track ‘Killing In The Name Of’ by Rage Against the Machine. Concluding with the best possible ending ‘Strobe’, (potentially one of Deadmau5’s most loved tunes) the track begins with a beautiful four minute instrumental which features some classical piano, and then transcends into the chunkiest of house beats and trance elation. The performance was complimented by some incredible themed visuals. I think everybody involved would wholly agree that Deaudmau5 put on a sterling show.
