Travel, supposedly, broadens the mind. However, when your intrepid Clash scribe took three months ‘out’ to explore Europe back in the late twentieth century, all travel brought was an enormous overdraft and a lifelong sense of disappointment. As glittering cities were bagged in a criss-cross of roasting-hot train journeys, all was not well. I had hoped to experience a sparkling array of different cultures (that’s polite-speak for ‘I wanted to get over-familiar with ladies from as many countries as possible’) from the cafés of Paris to the beaches of Greece. Sadly, all that happened was 12 weeks spent sleeping in filthy hostels and the stark realisation that I wasn’t able to impress any female from any nation.

Thankfully, some people have greater aspirations. Isaac Emmanuel, the head honcho behind Young Magic, ensured that an epic globetrot from his native Australia resulted in the creation of ‘Melt’, the trio’s fascinating debut album. “I grew up on a small beach town a few hours north of Sydney but somehow it felt like I was from Pluto,” Isaac tells me when asked about his reasons for undertaking his year-long journey. “I wasn’t really travelling to record; I was travelling to travel as I wanted to see more of the world. I sold a lot of gear before I left; some amps, guitars, stands, books. I cleared out my room or gave things away, in fact most of my material possessions. I booked a one-way ticket out of the country and went travelling with just a laptop.”

Isaac initially journeyed through Europe, before hopping over to New York and working his way down to Mexico. Throughout his voyage of discovery, Isaac listened to and began to absorb a huge mish-mash of music. “My background is in the visual arts so through art school my first real interests were bands like The Velvet Underground and Talking Heads. I was getting into making music and spending every spare second feeding new sounds into a DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] and seeing where I could take it,” he reveals. “I wasn’t really thinking about making an album specifically, I was just travelling and if something caught my ear I’d record it to sample later, or play around with instruments that popped up along the way.”

Slowly but surely, Emmanuel began to create a set of songs, which, while in America, sparked the interest of within the music industry. “When I got to New York the [effortlessly cool] Carpark [Records] guys offered to put out an album and I started thinking of it more as something to do,” Isaac recalls. “It was weird to have a label and an agent before I’d even played a show. Then, when I was thinking about how it could be done live was when I got in touch with Melati and Michael.”

Indeed, while travelling, Isaac had kept in contact with two friends, Indonesian-born Melati Malay and an old school buddy, Michael Italia. Italia had also been globetrotting and capturing snippets of music of his own. “We all met up again at the beginning of last year in New York; Michael had come from Brazil and I from Mexico. We started working on it as a project for the first time, with the help of a good friend and super-talented producer T Gill (aka Galapagoose),” Isaac explains. “At the time I was solo and wanted to expand and collaborate. I wasn’t really into the idea of being that one guy onstage trying to properly represent and perform tracks that sounded more like a 20-piece percussive and choral group.”

However, when the trio of friends met up in the Big Apple, it appeared that cross-border, transatlantic alchemy had been at work. “When I heard the music Michael and Melati had been making I think we all realized it came from a similar space, and that we could work together,” Isaac says, still sounding somewhat agog. “The songs worked next to each other, like some weird concurrence of the stars. It felt like a highly synchronistic time, almost beyond my mental reach or explanation.”

As so ‘Melt’ was born. As an album, it references a dizzying array of musical styles and influences – West African rhythms, psychedelia, minimal electronica, ambient house, soul, and Mexican folk are all present and correct amid Young Magic’s twitching synths and roaming drum patterns. It’s an album born out of curiosity and a lack of boundaries.

“I kept a dairy during the last few years and we’ve just gotten around to writing it all down track by track, documenting the journey,” Isaac says when I ask him whether a certain song pinpoints a particular place. “‘Slip Time’ and ‘Drawing Down The Moon’ were from time spent in The House In The Clouds in Mexico, which was an intense and beautiful time. ‘Sparkly’ was the beginning of it all - recorded during a Melbourne summer in early 2010.”

Young Magic have, temporarily hung up their rucksacks and are based in New York. They will now see the world via an endless schlep of tour vans, cheap hotels and gig venues, but the notion of travel will always be a huge source of inspiration for Isaac. “Travel just seems to be one of things that nudges your head in heart in new directions, opens and unlocks understandings of yourself and moves you out of your routine and comfort zone in that subtle way. I find it a nice space for tapping the sublime and making new things.”

If only I’d know that all those years ago.

Words by John Freeman

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Young Magic’s ‘Melt’ is out now via Carpark Records.

Dr. John - aka The Night Tripper, aka Mac Rebennack, the cult New Orleans practitioner of fonk - offers his opinionation on all things musicalistic.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS
Right at the corner of my house there was a guy named Woo Woo, who used to play piano in F-sharp - it’s a very difficult key to play in. Every song he played was in F-sharp. And I thought, ‘Good God, I can’t do what this guy’s doing!’ He’s flying all over the piano and doing all this stuff. So I talked to my Uncle Joe and I said, ‘Uncle Joe, what’s with this guy? He plays everything in F-sharp!’ I could play in G or F, but I couldn’t play in F-sharp! My Uncle Joe says, ‘That’s what he does’, and he says, ‘You probably could never do that.’ And then I said, ‘I bet I couldn’t!’ I knew a lot of people like this, and these were people - the James Bookers, the Professor Longhairs - they did things that were completely different than somebody else was doing. In Professor Longhair’s case, he just learned in the streets, and then did whatever he did with it, which was completely unconnected, and that made it fresh. And if we don’t play music that’s fresh, it’s stale!

RESPECT ALL MUSIC
My last guitar teacher, Roy Montrell, turned me on to flamenco guitar players and all kinda different musics that I had never heard. It taught me to learn, as a recording studio musician, to respect all musics. And in respecting all musics, you play any music you’re given to play to the best of your ability. Don’t play over your head, don’t play under your head; play straight from your spirit. It works.

STAY ON TRACK
You can’t get anywhere in this world with a one-track mind going wrong. And I did that. And now, with twenty-two years away from all the drugs and everything, I feel like I do things better; I can pass things on to my children, I can encourage them to do things that maybe they wouldn’t do. I was a very close-minded, one-track minded, self-centred junkie, and now...I’m not. And it’s given me a lot of space and time to think about things and tell truths about things that people don’t like to talk about. And it’s important to share that - things that I’ve seen and learned from the life I lived - with kids so they don’t go that way.

WORK UPHILL
What did I get out of jails? Better connections for dope. I don’t think they teach you anything. And what you can learn in jails is not something that’s necessarily healthy - you can learn how to be a better burglar, you can learn how to be a better murderer, you can learn how to be a better safe cracker... But these are not positive things to learn. I was told by a Reverend Mother in a church of voodoo a long time ago, ‘Kid, while you’re young you’re supposed to be going uphill, and when you’re older you’re supposed to come down the hill. And you’re going downhill now. Just think how hard it’s gonna be to go uphill when you get old.’ Well, I’m old now and I got her point now, but it’s a little late!

ABOVE ALL...
Be open to all music. Be open to listening to everything you can to get a foundation in music. And then, as you find things that you love to do, you can lean that way. But still be open to all music, because music is broadening, and the more music you listen to, the more you have to draw from. It’s very important to learn how to make some money while you’re doing it. If you got a job that’s not paying any money, how you gonna live? And be the best at what you do.

Interview by Simon Harper

‘Locked Down’, the new album produced by Dan Auerbach, is out now. Dr. John plays the UK in July.

This feature appears in issue 74 of Clash magazine, out 3rd May 2012. Find out more about the issue HERE.

Tim Burgess knows a thing or two about festivals.

Lead singer of The Charlatans, the frontman has spent the best part of two decades entertaining crowds across the UK, Europe and beyond. Gaining more than a few memorable stories along the way, Tim Burgess recently put down some of his more intriguing anecdotes into an autobiography.

Logically titled 'Tellin' Stories' the book is available to buy at all good book shops. To celebrate, ClashMusic invited Tim Burgess to curate his Dream Festival - here's what he came up with...

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The first thing I was thinking when putting together the line up was how far to take this. Whether the 'dream' aspect allowed any band dead or alive. And then I saw the footage of the Tupac hologram at Coachella. Not only was the idea of someone having died, not being a barrier to me putting them in my line up, it seems like even in the real world, the inconvenience of death can't get in with way of the entertainment.

Anyway, I decided to go old school and only use those that were still living. Although, I did hear someone answer the question "Who would you have at your festival, if you could have anyone, dead or alive?" with the rather cruel "Bono. Dead" - so rule number one is that they have to be present in flesh and blood rather than technology but otherwise we'd have seen Elvis topping a bill that included Arthur Russell, T Rex and Louis Armstrong - with Jesus headlining the comedy tent.

Location wise, I was thinking a cross between a pick of some of the stages from Coachella and Primavera in Barcelona (weather of both included) but with the convenience of a trip up to The Lake District. Now we just need a name and we can start calling a few agents. Is Timstock a bit self indulgent? OK, we'll have that then.

Just glancing over to what I've been listening to most recently, there's a definite spot for Dexy's at Timstock - and Bill Callahan would be a must as he's never far away from my turntable. Jim O' Rourke would be on the same stage as Bill and, of course, so far none of these would clash. Timstock would be at least 5 days.

Bob Dylan, Factory Floor and Ariel Pink - I'm starting to think this might be real, just need to find where I put Bob's number and we could have something - The Brian Jonestown Massacre too, just so I could watch a lot of these with Anton and we could squabble about what to go and see next.

The Charlatans would naturally be on there too - we might as well have Paul Weller, Ronnie Wood and Johnny Marr reprise their roles as our special guest, additional members to make sure we get ourselves a decent crowd while all of this lot's going on around us too. I know this is all in theory, but, in my head this is happening next year, so there's some practical stuff to consider too.

David Lynch would be the usher and curator of the cinema tent and Larry David is in charge of comedy with John Cooper Clarke on poetry duties.

On the Friday (yes, I'm taking it that seriously now) an evening and an exceptionally cool tent would feature all of the bands that have appeared on our label, O Genesis - a bill topped by our special record store day signing The Vaccines with R. Stevie Moore, Blood Music, Joseph Coward, Electricity in our Homes and a solo spot from me.

David Bowie
The Flaming Lips
Kate Bush
Burt Bacharach
Killing Joke
Kurt Vile
Lambchop
The Breeders
Leonard Cohen
Minny Pops
The Rolling Stones
The Fall
New Order
Yoko Ono
John Maus
Adriano Celentano
Fleetwood Mac
Wu Tang Clan
Orange Juice
Wooden Shjips
Brian Eno
Dr. John
Chris and Cosey
PJ Harvey
Dinosaur Jr.
De La Soul

I don't want to get all Morrissey on everyone but there'll be no smells of burning flesh to taint the air, nothing is going to be harmed in the making of this weekend - and the toilets would be spick and span at all times. Once you'd put in your favourite bands on my yet to be invented interactive clashfinder app - the line up will be adjusted so you don't miss your favourites. It's not going to be one of those massive festivals where you spend most of your time yomping across moorland, the opposite way to where everyone else seems to be going. Nope, this will be me, you and 10,000 other lucky blighters. And it'd be £50. Yeah, it won't cover costs but don't you worry about that, Timstock's my treat to you, Bowie n'them are all showbiz friends of mine, so chances are they'd be doing it for the kudos anyway.

See you there, yeah, and don't forget your suncream!

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'Tellin' Stories' is out now.

After the bleak years dominated by news of endless record shop closures, the arrival of the first of Rise's four stores at the end of 2007 was a welcome signal of hope to music retailers and fans alike. Over the last four and a half years, managing director Lawrence Montgomery has established the youthful indie chain in Cheltenham, Worcester, Swindon and Bristol, where its flagship store occupies two floors and vinyl is given joyous prominence. ClashMusic caught up with Lawrence to find out how Rise continues to be on the up.

All four Rise shops are relative newcomers to the indie retail scene - how easy is it to establish yourself in these leaner times?
It is very tough, but we have a great team in each shop who get to know their regular customers and build up trade from there. We're an indie shop but a lot of things we do aren't seen as traditional indie record shop fare. We sell a lot of books including tonnes of kids books, cookery books and cult classic fiction and we sell lots of DVD too, mainly concentrating on World Cinema & Classics. We have to adapt our product offer to reflect the customers in each location and three of our shops are in shopping centres so we sell plenty of Adele CDs! But all the 'hardcore', regular record shop customers know that we have great ranges of CDs and vinyl across the genres and that we know our stuff!

Every year there seems to some national news article about the 'return of vinyl'. How popular is it as a format these days?
We are experiencing large increases in sales across all our stores. I think that the return to vinyl is a reaction to the disposable nature of MP3 culture. MP3s and streaming have their place in modern music consumption and are important formats, but vinyl is the purist's way to enjoy music. It is better quality, it is a tangible piece of art and buying it is often an exciting, engaging social experience. I was DJing the other night and I realised that for all the pros of technology that vinyl is the most trustworthy format and, if you learn how to treat it, it can be the best way to collect music.

Record Store Day has just been and gone for another year. How was it for you?
It was beyond words. The whole day was a little bit overwhelming! Where do I start? It was a record sales day for each of the four Rise stores but, beyond that, the atmosphere & camaraderie between staff, bands & customers was something special - everyone seemed comfortable and enjoying it. The shops were full of proper music lovers who appreciate good music whatever the genre or style. We had young kids who we had to refuse selling beer to, young professionals, middle aged couples, even pensioners, all revelling in a day-long celebration of music. I am still buzzing now and it was adrenalin alone that pulled us through a mammoth 15 hour shift - the whole team commented on how it didn't feel like work; they really enjoyed the work.

How important a day in the music calendar is it for you?
It is THE most important. Despite this, I want people to be aware that we are open 362 days a year and we have great records in every day! I hope that Record Store Day reignited a lot of customers love of record shops and that it showed them why they should be frequented. We've got lots more instore performances coming up, continuing the theme of the day. Record stores need to evolve to become relevant in this day and age but we challenge ourselves every day to do this and we hope we're succeeding.

Many of your staff seem to be pretty creative people themselves. Does it help to have music fans on both sides of the counter?
Absolutely. It wouldn't work if we didn't have such enthusiastic and creative staff. I was overwhelmed with the input from them this year - we had limited releases from three of the Bristol team, mixtapes, cakes and dream festival lineups across the stores. I am really proud of my teams of staff, and they should be proud to be part of something special.

Are all of your shops surrounded by thriving music scenes and how involved do you get with local bands?
As much as possible. Nothing gives me more job satisfaction than some of the success stories we've had with local acts. On the first week of the new Official Record Store chart, Jim Lockey was at number seven. Over 50% of the sales had come from an instore he did in Rise Cheltenham - we've been supporting him since we opened and Tom in the store did a great job of promoting the instore and the new album. In fact, Cheltenham had two weeks running where local acts were their bestselling albums! I realised earlier in the year that to be a special retailer you should make things yourself - I am buying a screen printing machine next month for us to make limited tees, tote bags and posters and, if I had the money, I'd buy a vinyl press and get all local acts to record in the shop and press it with us - that way we don't have to compete with Amazon or HMV on stupid discounting - we can create our own products with creative local artists.

As shrines for youth culture in the past, are 'the kids' still visiting record shops?
Yes they are, but not in the same numbers that they used to. 15 years ago, the only, easiest and cheapest way to buy an album was at your local record shop. Nowadays, it is cheaper, easier and more convenient to buy via iTunes/Amazon/Spotify, so it's no wonder we're not as busy and our clientele is becoming older. That said, I think vinyl is cool again - the kids see it as the antithesis to an MP3 - a novelty at first but then something they want to collect. 'The kids' have more access to music than any other generation and you could argue there is as much or even more passion than ever for great music. The challenge for me as a retailer is to make my shop relevant, so instores, good prices and diversification into different products are all techniques I use to achieve this.

Have any artists or even specific records come to define Rise's life to date?

Here's eight which come to mind:
1. Wooden Shjips debut - the first album we had big success recommending in Cheltenham five years ago.
2. The xx - the first instore we did in Bristol and the recipients of my infamous tip 'you're gonna get nominated for a Mercury!'
3. Mumford & Sons - the breakthrough instore in Bristol for launch of the album. And we've sold so many of this record it is unbelievable.
4. Hot 8 Brass Band - 'play this album and it WILL sell'
5. Bon Iver - For Emma - our first 'album of the year'
6. Caribou Swim - probably my favourite album of the last 5 years.
7. War on Drugs - our album of 2011.
8. tUNE//yArDS - I won everyone over to this one (eventually!)

Make a bold prediction about music retail in the future:
Record retail is dead, long live record retailing. There is no reason to be optimistic about record retailing in the future - sales are on a terminal decline and the industry is no closer to finding a decent model to get people paying decent money for music, so we're all doomed! Despite this, I am optimistic because I never consider my business to be part of 'the industry' and only partly music retail. I think to survive in the future a record shop will either be very niche and excellent in service & product (stores that spring to mind Piccadilly, Resident, Drift,) or part of a multi-sensory, diversified offer (Rough Trade, Urban Outfitters, Banquet.) I have a massive amount of respect for what the above retailers do, because they each have a different way of making 'music retail' work for them; there are parts of them that I admire greatly.

What lies ahead for Rise? Any plans you can tell us?
That'd be telling wouldn't it! We've just opened a vintage clothing concession in Cheltenham which is going really well so we're looking at options to do with that. I am also exploring the possibilities of introducing a different sort of retailing to our Bristol store which will include up to 10 different uses for the shop - music, film, books, events, art, coffee, food, fashion, booze, screen printing. A place that is really engaging and exciting every time you walk through the door; a place where as long as you love music/art/culture you can spend time and money in, even if it's not on a record!

Words by Gareth James

A truly great album doesn’t stop you in your tracks - it quickens the step, speeds the blood through the veins, and has a man feeling invincible while it dominates his senses. Such is the effect Death Grips’ second album ‘The Money Store’ has on this listener. It’s unrelenting in its energy, irresistible in its passion. It priortises inventiveness, isolates itself from commonplace influence and subsequently eschews any genre convention. It is, to the wrong ears, an unholy cacophony. It’s quite possibly the most important album of 2012.

Rewind a little. Last year, the Sacramento-based trio - Zach Hill and Andy Morin on production (drums and keys live, respectively), Stefan Burnett AKA MC Ride on bellowed vocals which leave ear drums flapping like blown-out tyres - released ‘Exmilitary’, a freely distributed collection branded a mixtape at the time but now widely perceived as the group’s debut album proper. It sent the ‘net into raptures, but hardly overnight. The collection, fronted by the single ‘Guillotine’ (“It goes, it goes, it goes, it goes…”), leaked slowly into critical consciences, and the rap community was divided over its legitimacy in their stylistic sphere.

Long story short (well, several arguments later): it’s not a rap record. Burnett rhymes, sure, but his delivery is something else. The music around him trades in motifs known to the margins of hip-hop, the slow-burn bombast of dälek for instance, but is rendered in a most singular fashion. This was - is - something entirely new. That alone is worth celebrating. That ‘The Money Store’ is so jaw-gapingly fantastic is a bonus, and one that not everyone might have foreseen.

For this set comes branded with the major label seal of approval, its Epic stamp a sign to some of a sell-out stance. But the same some will soon enough get their expectations shot to shit by an end product - three-quarters complete by the time the Sony affiliate came aboard - which compromises nothing. It gives not one inch; it walks miles in the direction of progression, and Death Grips have orchestrated near enough every aspect of its campaign up to the date this writer gets on the blower with Hill, eight hours behind British Summer Time on the States’ west coast.

“With or without Epic, this would be going on,” says the man who, before his committing to Death Grips as a sole calling, was best known as an eye-wateringly talented (self-taught) sticksman for Hella and Team Sleep, amongst several others. “I guess we’ll see how our integration goes over the course of this year, but we’re really excited about the expansion of our music into wider audiences.”

Expansion is the key word: what this deal means to Death Grips is a foundation which can support their cause while allowing the group to continue their established methodologies, in terms of both artistic process and manner of release. Following the precedent set by its predecessor, many tracks from ‘The Money Store’ were available to download, for free, ahead of the album’s commercial release. Just as with their debut’s YouTube-able cuts, said songs come accompanied by self-realised promo clips, lo-fi of feel but hardly lacking in potency. Death Grips have not been dressed to impress. They remain as unattractive to what’s understood to be the mainstream as they ever have - making the label involved that little more incongruous.

“We spoke to many labels,” says Hill, “and we’ve talked amongst ourselves about how no representation is better than the wrong representation. But Epic were clear at the very beginning that they would let us handle ourselves. They went into this deal already aware of the ideology that we’re driven by, and they’ve worked to help the team move forward. They’re actually learning from us, regarding how to work in a future business model - just recently we had the label sign up to a deal with BitTorrent, which was pretty much unheard of. Actually, some people at the label got in trouble over that…”

But enough about the business. Death Grips deal in something that can’t be analysed in quarterly meetings, or plotted on a graph for investors to take stock of. The trio trades in fire, in soul; they spit acid where others dribble a familiar froth. “We’re unfamiliar for some fans of rap,” says Hill, “because mainstream rap tends to concern itself with literal things. We’re coming to this beat-based music with a sound that’s almost more punk-orientated. Stefan’s words have total meaning behind them - but for us it’s as much about who is saying them, and how they’re doing so, as much as the explicit message. The words work as symbols, the emotion behind them really important, as is the musical foundation around them. The whole thing is a single vehicle - we make things we feel, and don’t make things we don’t feel.”

An admirable attitude, so often summoned in interviewee rhetoric but, here, meant from the heart. All the evidence is there to hear in ‘The Money Store’, in the arrhythmic percussion and buzzsaw melodies that form a base for Burnett’s empowering preaching. Some will hear the band as angry - certainly, their frontman sounds like he’s been getting out of the wrong side of the bed since his first chin hairs sprouted (and the hirsute fellow has had a few since) - but this perception is one Hill can understand.

“We’re aware of how we can be seen as these three angry voices, and how our outward energy can obscure everything else. But we’re not like that at all. We all have our creative outlets - Andy’s an audio engineer (He’s also not ‘AKA Flatlander’ - “it’s basically subtext for Death Grips, so when we use that name it’s an alias signature for something that we all made together,” says Hill. “I don’t think anyone else has really stated that yet.”), and Stefan’s a very serious painter - which has enabled us to turn any negative energy into positives. If you stripped these outlets away, perhaps we’d all be living in different worlds, but we’re here because of this passion, which is crucial to Death Grips. It comes through in our music. We’re not caged, at least not in our minds, and it seems that a lot of that is connecting with people. They’re intuitively feeling what we’re feeling, through what we’re putting out.”

Words by Mike Diver
Photo by Nick Dorey

This is an excerpt of the cover feature of the new issue of Clash magazine, out 3rd May. Find out more about the issue HERE.

Despite its critics, the British festival season can still throw up some special moments.

The moments during a performance when the crowd just seems to filter away, leaving you alone watching something special emerge onstage. Every fan has one, a time when the setting, the music and the atmosphere coalesced to craft something far bigger than the sum of its parts.

With Camden Crawl fast approaching, ClashMusic tracked down a few of the names from the line up to ask them about their 'I Was There...' moment.

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Glasvegas (Paul Donoghue)
The first festival I remember playing was on the Isle of Skye. I can't remember the name but I'm pretty sure it was the "Isle of Skye festival. When we were driving round the island looking for it I remember James hanging out of his Dad's cars sunroof, praying we didn't eneter any tunnels and decapitate him. We went onstage in a tent that held about two thousand people but I think there was only about two hundered there to see us! Later on we got to see Echo and the Bunnymen for the first time though, so it's a fond memory for me.

This was very important to me as it was my introduction to them. I remember standing in the tent wondering how their music could fill every inch of it, as though it was being beamed down from another place. It was a great feeling and I would have missed out on so much if I hadn't been there.

Lady Leshurr
One of the most memorable performances was in London on the MOBO tour where it actually FELT like my own concert and I had people screaming my name it was awesome. I even noticed someone wearing my merchandise in the crowd singing along to every word, it was surreal.

Charli XCX
Most hilarious moment has got to be getting in the ball pond at Secret Garden Party at 10am after a big night, just to relax - only to find 2 naked people in there under all the balls having sex. Gross. But hilarious.

The Alpines (Bob Matthews)
As a fan, I think seeing Kings Of Leon at Benicassim 2007 was a pretty special moment. 'Because Of The Times' was an amazing album which had just come out and it felt like the world was theirs for the taking. Things seemed to go downhill from there though!

Fear Of Men
Bjork at Glastonbury 2006 was amazing.

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Camden Crawl runs between May 5th - 7th.

OK Liverpool, we’ve had a sucky few months for local music. The disappointing loss of both The Masque and Mojo inspired a variety of responses from ‘this is a tragedy’ to ‘big fucking deal’, but Static Gallery’s closure hit pretty hard. No, it wasn’t the best place in the world. Yes, it could’ve done with, say, a second toilet. But as a lovingly-operated arts centre, not to mention host to some of the best damn shows this fair city has seen over the last decade, it was pretty special. And even more recently, Le Bateau – home of the long-standing and much-loved Liquidation club night – joined the lengthy list of venue casualties. Happily, Liquidation has moved to pastures new in the re-opened Magnet, and they’re promising things will only get better. So let’s surrender to this wave of optimism and get fucking excited.

There’s been plenty of good news, in any case. April saw the inaugural GIT Awards take place – the self-dubbed ‘Scouse Mercury’ prize, designed to place the focus squarely on bands from our fair city. The panel deemed Loved Ones’ haunting folktronica (shit genre tags, eurgh) should pick up the gong, and the band duly treated all present to a live show alongside fellow nominees Stealing Sheep, Forest Swords and Ex-Easter Island Head. As the brainchild of local journo and music blogger Peter Guy, the GITs are a logical continuation of the fine scene coverage his site has provided over the past few years. It’s worth celebrating.

Similarly, Liverpool Sound City 2012 kicks off from May 17th, and the three-day festival looks set to be as action-packed as ever. Last year’s event saw mind-blowing sets from the likes of Three Trapped Tigers, Yuck and the mighty Chain And The Gang (this hack’s personal jaw-to-the-floor moment), which is a tricky precedent to follow. This time out the headliners include Professor Green and The Temper Trap, with Alkaline Trio, White Denim and The Wedding Present also among the star attractions. Of course the real joy of LSC is wandering between venues and catching as many acts you’ve never heard of as possible, so get a wristband and a timetable, and go explore. Awesomeness guaranteed.

Feeling spoiled? Hey, don’t think that Sound City’s the only thing to look forward to over the coming months – Blood Red Shoes and The Cast Of Cheers share a stage at the Zanzibar on May 7th, while the following day gives you a choice between Porcelain Raft’s daydream rush (Shipping Forecast) and the compli-coustic guitar wizardry of Chemikal Underground’s R.M. Hubbert (Mello Mello). There’s also chest-swelling dramatics to come from We Are Augustines (O2 Academy, 9th), which might well serve as decent preparation for Echo & The Bunnymen legend Ian McCulloch – the Epstein Theatre hosts Mac’s solo venture for two nights (10th and 11th). Those who prefer their songwriting doused in electronics might prefer to check out the Hood-tastic duo Houses (Mello Mello) on the second of those nights, and we strongly recommend that you do.

Few things make an audience wary like the term ‘charity gig’, but the Alder Hey children’s hospital fundraiser at The Dome (12th) is more than worthy of your hard-earned cash. The line-up is chock-full of local heroes like Ian McNabb, The Real People and Ian Prowse, and while that may not be the most forward-looking of lineups, it’s a thoroughly deserving cause. Maybe think about that if you’re currently sneering into your keyboard, eh? James Walsh is also down to play – are Starsailor still going? If so, when did they split up, and if not why not…?

Just enough space to mention the final few shows of the month – The Handsome Family’s winning harmonies visit Leaf on the 23rd, which should have alt.country fans trembling with joy. We’re also lucky to be faced with a visit from St Etiene (Kazimier, 24th), as they tour their first album in seven years, and the hotly-tipped fuzz-rock of DZ Deathrays (Shipping Forecast, 26th). See, Liverpool? We may have lost a handful of venues, but there’s still as much going on as ever. Onwards and upwards – it’s the only way to be.

Words by Will Fitzpatrick

Every DJ has one.

A night when everything that can possibly go wrong does - and it does so in spectacular fashion. ClashMusic brings you DJ Disasters, featuring some of the most respected figures in the dance world reminiscing about those moments when it all went badly wrong.

For our latest instalment, ClashMusic tracked down Manchester newcomers Shadow Dancer. Named after Sega's classic side-scrolling arcade game, the electro duo have a fun approach to DJing that he taken them across Europe and beyond.

Nabbing some high profile slots along the way, Paul and Al Farrier recently crafted their new Boysnoize endorsed EP 'Second City'. However even this couldn't keep them safe from a DJ Disaster...

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Back in 2009, we were doing a warm up slot for The Whip at the Manchester Academy. We discovered a few hours before we were due to start that the venue didn’t have a pair of CD decks, but as we were intending to get some ourselves we bought a pair from a shop in Manchester and went straight to the venue to set up.

When we did, we couldn’t get one of the brand new, straight out of the sealed packaging CD decks to work (we won’t mention the brand). It just had an error message on it and wouldn’t play CDs. The promoters (and the band?) started urgently ringing round to see if they could borrow a replacement deck.

The security staff shouted over that they were opening the doors, the replacement deck hadn’t arrived and we felt we had no option but to start. Thing is, we always burn one track to each CDR to give us maximum flexibility when doing a set, but this worked against us here. Every five minutes or so we had to eject a CD, plunge the venue into silence, load another one and press play. The gap between every track felt longer as the venue started to fill.

I vaguely remember towards the end of the set someone arriving with a battered old CDJ and plugging it in so we could at least end properly. Later on someone from the audience approached us and said that our mixing got better towards the end of the set. It's always easier with two CD decks.

- - -

'Second City' is out now on Boysnoize Records.

Apparently it was Spielberg’s 'Jaws' in the summer of 1975 that coerced cinema audiences to use the term ‘summer blockbuster’ and the rest, they say , is history. Year after year summer gets longer: nothing to do with fabulous weather but due to the release of a number of highly anticipated films . Here are the big ten to look out for.

PROMETHEUS June 1st

Originally conceived as the prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece Alien, through time and development it is now not directly connected to the Alien franchise. However Scott himself has said the film shares “strands of Alien’s DNA.” Yeah I know, what does that mean? Considering it was co-written by Damon Lindelof who co-created Lost, you know we are in for one hell of a ride.

Here’s what we do know in very basic terms: it’s set in 2085 as we follow the crew of the spaceship Prometheus in search of the origins of humanity. Shrouded in secrecy, there are stories of cast members only being allowed to read the script under the supervision of Scott’s production office, going so far as one crew member flying to an undisclosed location to watch over as a cast member read the script.

The cast for this is very exciting with so many fantastic actors: Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Rafe Spall and let’s not forget Michael Fassbender, who had trouble explaining to me what the film was all about. I’m particularly keen to see Logan Marshall-Green who I think is totally underestimated. It’s been a long time coming and hopefully worth waiting for.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES July 20th

Just seeing Christian Bale present an award at the Oscars recently sent me into a fury of fixation, the need and want to know as much as possible about Chris Nolan’s return to Gotham City. Set eight years after The Dark Knight, Nolan has cast Tom Hardy as terrorist leader Bane, a psychopath intent on pushing everyone and everything to their limits. But is it enough to draw Batman from his cave? Of course it is. The trailer, where the American football pitch implodes leaving a lone player looking back in search of his team as thousands of fans watch on, how amazing? And from his hospital bed, Chief Gordon pleading in what seems like his last breath to Bruce Wayne: “The Batman must come back.” He’s not going to say no.

Nolan has said that sequels don’t live up to the preceding film because people go into it with an attitude it has to be bigger and better than the last one. He’s right, and I don’t want it to be bigger or better, I just want it to be as good. For me it’s not even about Batman; it’s everyone else around him that I think will make this film the perfect way to conclude Nolan’s trilogy. With an amazing cast, I can’t think of a film I have wanted to see more.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN July 4th

The word ‘reboot’ just makes me think of my computer when it’s crashed, waiting anxiously to see if my treasured words and photos have been wiped, or if in fact it’s done its job and left me with everything I need. In a way I really hope that The Amazing Spider-Man leaves me with everything I need from Marvel’s most iconic and popular character.

Andrew Garfield is going to be awesome, and the fact they haven’t used loads of CGI for stunts but opted for stuntmen doing it for real has me sold. Also important is Marc Webb in the director’s chair: not just for the name relevance, but I adored (500) Days of Summer and if he can bring that brilliant story-telling to the visual kaleidoscope of Spider-Man then I think he might have nailed it. There are more great things that are a win-win situation for me: I have a slight girl crush on Emma Stone where my emotions can range from envy to sheer adoration in a breath, while Rhys Ifans as the archetypal Spider-Man bad guy will, I think, finally convince the cynics of his brilliance.

And my final point on Spidey is, if the rumours are to be believed, when Garfield first donned the red and blue lycra, we’re talking tears, real tears. A superhero in touch with his inner emotions, that’s what I’m talking about.

MEN IN BLACK 3 May 25th

Do we really need another Men In Black or is it a test to see whether Will Smith is still the most bankable star in Hollywood? He hasn’t been part of the summer party since Hancock back in 2008, but he is back as Agent J, time travelling to save his partner. Back To The Future with aliens? Sounds like it. Josh Brolin is cast as the young k and when you see shots of them on set suited and booted, he could very well be related to Tommy Lee Jones. Jones, Smith and Brolin aside, there’s one thing and one thing only that I find appealing about this film: no, not the idea of a revamped Skrillex version of the title track. It’s Jemaine Clement from Flight of The Conchords cast as badass Boris. Please tell me he sings!

ROCK OF AGES June 15th

Tom Cruise in mullet alert: this could either be really really bad or really quite brilliant. I’ve not seen the stage musical that the film is based on but I’m a big fan of hair rock so I think this might be right up my street. A waitress and busboy fall in love during the rock music era of the Eighties and try to make their dreams come true. In the same way he blew me away in Magnolia, professing “obey the cock”, Tom Cruise might just be mind blowing as Stacee Jaxx, lead singer of rock band Arsenal. But it’s not all about him, or is it? We will have to wait and see.

THE BOURNE LEGACY August 17th

No Damon? No Greengrass? The fourth in the Bourne series stars Jeremy Renner, not as Borne, but as Aaron Cross/Kenneth Gidson. It’s not a reboot or a prequel but it’s been described as a ‘sidequel’. It’s what we would describe as a spin-off, with a new character, another agent in a CIA programme, whose adventures play out within the same timeframe as Bourne’s.

Written and directed by Tony Gilroy who brought us the fabulous Michael Clayton, Gilroy and Renner could be another one of those wonderful creative movie marriages like Scorsese and DiCaprio, McQueen and Fassbender, and Damon and Greengrass before them. Two men who have credibility and ability, and who could well pull this off nicely.

MOONRISE KINGDOM May 25th

Wes Anderson is a genius. As the man behind Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr. Fox to name but a few we wait with baited breath for his latest, Moonrise Kingdom. No-one makes films like him, no-one can really explain his sense of humour and that is why I treasure his vision and choices.

A few Anderson regulars return - Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman - and there’s also Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand. Set in the Sixties, it tells the tale of a young scout who abandons his troupe to run away with his girlfriend. Hot on their trail are the rest of the scouts and scout leaders. Welcome back Wes.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN June 1st

Let it be known in all the interviews I have ever done, never have I witnessed a voice quite like Chris Hemsworth’s. It must register on a Richter scale somewhere in the world, so it feels fitting that he was cast as the huntsman in this dark and effects-driven take on the old fairytale.

I think it’s safe to say don’t expect the typical lame Snow with her singing rabbits doing her chores, not when you see Kristen Stewart armoured up to the nines on her stallion showcasing some exceptional swordsmanship. There’s an evil Queen played by Charlize Theron, there’s an apple, there’s a kiss, there are dwarfs. Well, kind of. Nick Frost and company are not your average dwarfs, just better at swearing!

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH August 29th

Anything with Richard Ayoade in I will watch, anything he is attached to I will watch. How the hell did he end up in a dude comedy with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill? The story of an unlikely group of men who are members of a neighbourhood watch and uncover an alien invasion, I think this is going to be one of those breakout comedy hits. It’s written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by the man who brought us the cult classic hot Rods as well as some of the best Saturday Night Live skits, Akiva Schaffer. I really hope this is like the bastard love child of Attack The Block meets Dodgeball. Fingers crossed.

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED October 19th

Our American friends will get to see this in the summer, but we’ll have to wait to see the gang’s latest desperate bid to get back to their beloved zoo in NYC. Where do they end up this time? Europe of course, and to distract growing attention they become part of a travelling circus and much hilarity ensues. I would be slightly embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve watched the first two films. They’re not perfect but they make me laugh. Chris Rock as Marty is, I think, one of the best voiced characters ever. Just please don’t let will.i.am anywhere near ‘I Like To Move It’ ever again.

Words by Edith Bowman

The Month's Goings-On In Dancehall and Reggae...

NEWS
The Star Bwoy is stepping up in style. Mavado will have a starring role in the film 'Shottas 2', the long-awaited sequel to the 2002 cult classic that starred Kymani Marley, Spragga Benz, Paul Campbell and Louie Rankin. Director Cess Silvera reached out to Mavado, who previously appeared in the cinematic video for Drake's hit single 'Find Your Loving'. This will be the first big-screen role for the Gully Gaad, who sounds confident as usual. "Fans can expect what they always get from me," Mavado said, "keeping it real."

Respect Jamaica in the UK: You already know this is going to be a hot summer in London with Usain Bolt looking to break some new world records and bust some new dances too. In keeping with the yard flavor of this year's games, the Indig02 will be showcasing 12 nights of reggae this summer starting July 25th. Headliners include Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley, Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Junior Murvin, Yellowman, Big Youth & Tappa Zukie, Toots & The Maytals, Freddie McGregor & Luciano, Monty Alexander plus Ernest Ranglin and Sly & Robbie, and many more.

Stephen McGregor is reported to be producing a track for Nelly Furtado's new album, 'The Spirit Indestructible'. Other producers on the project include platinum-status Grammy-winning heavyweights like Salaam Remi and Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, so Stephen is in good company. He's also the only Jamaican beatmaker on the project. I guess that's why they call him Di Genius, innit!

RIDDIMS
The #TNS riddim is riding high at the moment, and my faves include Elephant Man & Spice's extra-spicy tune 'Crosses'—plus Kartel's basically got the girls covered with every brand of 'Lip Gloss' under the sun. Also Supa Hype's Juicy riddim has some big names including voicings from I-Octane, Popcaan, Tony Matterhorn, Demarco, Khago, Busy Signal, and Potential Kidd.

As usual the Portmore Empire is going in hard on the Double Trouble riddim featuring Kartel's 'Death Row' and Popcaan's 'Step Like Dead'. On a (much) lighter note, Kartel's 'Dweet We A Dweet' is catchy catchy—"everywhere we go gal a say we smell sweet."

TRACKS
This month I had the privilege of hitting the streets of Kingston JA, where they set the trends that the rest of the world follows. After scouring the studios, the dancehalls, and even the nail salons, I can report that these are the top most popping tracks that have got everybody movin' in da town:

1. KONSHENS 'Gyal a Bubble'
2. CHAM 'Back Way'
(Where's O in that video? Shopping I guess?)

3. MR VEGAS 'Bruk it Down'
4. POTENTIAL KIDD 'Yah So Nice'

Notice a common theme here? Yep, you guessed it—once again, it's all about the GIRLS.

Some big collabs that dropped this month: Hip hop's favorite Barbie girl Nicki Minaj is showing off her rude gyal side as she pairs up with Beenie Man, the King of the Dancehall himself, for 'Gun Shot'. Despite its title, the song is actually less of a gangsta cut than a sweet selection.

Elephant Man and Lady Saw got together for a blazing combo called 'Siddung' produced by Jazzwad. Saw is already riding high after tearing up not one but two tracks off Truckback's ultra-hot 'Sex Tape' riddim (and yes, their studio really is in the back of a truck). Selectors take note—this is the song to get the party started.

And on the UK front, Stylo G gets on a track with Chip called 'Dash Out'; It sounds like another winner from the man who brought us 'Call Mi A Yardie'.

ALBUMS / EPs
Romain Virgo's new release on VP Records is called 'The System' and it's another strong piece of work from one of reggae's brightest rising stars. Got to love a youth who sings from his heart.

And if you haven't already picked up Singing Melody's 'They Call Me Mr. Melody' you're missing a whole lot. His new single 'Reggae To The Bone', a collaboration with Limey Murray, is a personal favorite, along with 'Must Be The Girl' featuring Stacious, who sounds like she's in rare form. Apparently Mr. Melody knows how to work with the ladies.

UPCOMING GIGS
In case you missed his appearance at SXSW, Jimmy Cliff will be playing the Indig02 (UK) on the 19th. Also this month sees the Skatalites UK tour—check out their website http://www.skatalites.com/tags/uk-tour/ for more info on cities and dates.

AND TO WRAP UP:
As Busy Signal got busy in the legendary Penthouse studio in Kingston town during the run up to the release of his latest album, "Reggae Music Again" he reassured his loyal fans that although he's turning his talents to reggae he is not about to give up on the dancehall front. The boy has been working hard—gaining props from reggae veterans like Beres Hammond and Marcia Griffiths. But he also let me know that he's planning to release a new dancehall album this summer called 'Lyrics Museum' - we'll keep you posted! For the full interview with Busy check out: http://www.boomshots.com/index.php/2012/04/busy-signal-drops-reggae-musi...

See ya next month!

Words by Reshma B
http://www.reggaegirlabouttown.com

I once interviewed a Fleet Fox. He started every reply by saying “What’s interesting is...” before rattling off an anecdote which, quite frankly, was anything but. Happily, I can report that Josh Tillman (although technically an ex-Fleet Fox - he announced his departure from the Seattle-based beard-troupe in January) is not cut from the same cloth of banality. “I’ve been preparing since the sun came up with a ritualistic interview ceremony,” he says, when I ask him how his day has been. And on whether I am his first interview of the day? “Yes, I’m not that sought after,” is his comparatively hilarious reply.

We decide to deal with his decision to leave the Fleet Foxes first. Tillman had released several albums as a solo artist (including 2009’s excellent ‘Year In The Kingdom’) during the four-year period covering his time in the band, so what fuelled the finality of his recent decision? “You know, you can only put a narcissist behind a drum-kit for so long,” he admits. “Anyone who is a writer wants to write and you want to devote your time to that. Playing drums in Fleet Foxes took up a lot of time. So, it wasn’t something that was emotionally tenable to me, to keep putting my own endeavours in the outer reaches of my life.”

I make the mistake of describing his solo albums as ‘side projects’ and the phrase is firmly, and politely, jumped on. “It is hard for people to get their head’s around, but I have always identified myself as a solo artist. Fleet Foxes were so much more quantifiably successful that what I was doing, but, for me, Fleet Foxes was a new thing on the perimeter of my personal exploration of being a writer. All I did was play drums in that band – pound-for-pound, I wasn’t doing much. I’m hoping that people can see my other endeavours as the main event in my life.”

Tillman’s latest endeavour is a sparkling new album, ‘Fear Fun’ released under the moniker of Father John Misty. The album was born out of a middle-of-the-night flit followed by weeks spent living in a dilapidated tree-house with only spiders for roommates. “It was four o’clock in the morning and I threw all my shit in the van and just left,” Josh explains about the difficult circumstances that kick-started ‘Fear Fun’. “I had this moment of clarity. At some point you reach an impasse in your life which becomes either mobilising or immobilising. I was at the end of one of those long arcs of depression, which became so ingrained I wasn’t aware of how functionally unhappy I was. It had reached critical mass and I released something had gone terribly wrong and I had to get out.”

Tillman needed to ‘reset the dial’ and the results are pretty extraordinary. ‘Fear Fun’ sounds fresh, playful and is packed with a sense of, ahem, fun. I suggest to Josh that the album sounds nakedly honest and wonder out loud about whether ‘Fear Fun’ is a true representation of Tillman’s psyche. “You are absolutely on it, dude” he says (I so love being called ‘dude’.) “In terms of my own music under the name J. Tillman, I asked myself in a very honest way ‘is this J. Tillman person you?’ I suspect he is not. I suspect this J. Tillman thing is a way of cultivating and projecting a version of oneself that is impenetrable or romanticized and which is, ultimately, an alter ego. I realised I’d made records for ten fucking years and not really said anything honest about myself.”

Engineered by long-time friend Jonathan Wilson (“I wanted it to be clean-sounding – just well-played instruments in a good room. The recording was laid back and fun. We laughed a lot through the whole session”) and mixed by Fleet Fox luminary Phil Ek, the genesis of ‘Fear Fun’ ensured the set of songs were free from previous baggage. “When I was writing the songs I was just enjoying it,” Josh reveals, which is unsurprising on listening to the album. “I knew I had majorly jumped into the dark. It was songwriting for the sake of songwriting. It wasn’t going to go on a J. Tillman album and it didn’t have to relate to the J. Tillman catalogue or have any context. But, the songs kept coming and I began to think they were quite nice and something should be done with them. I had those excited, scheming impulses that songwriters have; the hustle. I thought the songs might sound way more fun to people than anything else I’d done.”

Fun: it’s not a word that is normally associated with anything surrounding Fleet Foxes. ‘Fear Fun’ may just be the sound of a man wiping the slate clean. “I would say that the album is a symptomatic of needing a rebirth every seven years, or something. The language is treacherous, I know, but I’m going to get really heavy-handed here – but anything in the universe gets destroyed before anything can get made and I am not so complex that I am exempt from that. It’s just law. That’s what happened, even if it is a cliché. People are so glib about musicians having personal lives that are susceptible to the same laws of nature as they are, because with musicians it is somehow clichéd or put on.”

So, I finally get to speak to an interesting Fleet Fox, even if it did take a monumental life jolt to trigger the riotously humane ‘Fear Fun’. As we say our goodbyes, Tillman signs off with a sound bite that actually should have been preceded with “What’s interesting is...” “You know, ‘Fear Fun’ was about Josh Tillman hitting 30, having some experiences and blowing shit up - and having a lot of fun doing new shit that he couldn’t do before. The record has some fucking soul.”

Words by John Freeman

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‘Fear Fun’ by Father John Misty is out now via Bella Union.

Riann steele maintains the best way to hone your craft is to be lucky enough to work with a company such as the RSC and to observe actors attacking their roles in a fearless fashion, “the quest to really get behind a character and the guts to just go at it”, appearing in heavyweight productions such as Coriolanus and Hamlet has certainly helped her do that.

Her introduction to acting may have been via treading the boards but she’s become a recognisable face through TV’s Holby City, Pete vs. The World and Death In Paradise, all of which are far removed from her first major screen turn in Treacle Jnr. As Aiden Gillen’s girlfriend, she portrayed an abusive, manipulative character and whilst this proved challenging she admits playing someone so heightened was “a great deal of fun”. Clearly a humanist, she’s quick to recognise we’re all just doing what we can to get by.

Her biggest film role to date has been in Nirpal Bhogal’s Sket as gang member Shaks, a role she initially had trouble connecting with. Doubting she could do it justice she broke it down and discovered that she’d been through similar situations, just made different choices. She’s not about ‘the method’, her talent is instinctual, a display of empathetic, emotional intelligence. She’s just finished working on an exciting UK production Kodak Cowboy which stars Clarke Peters (The Wire’s Lester Freeman) and claims that watching him was inspirational, that she fed off his enormous energy.

She clearly relishes a challenge: “Working with new writers, new directors, new projects or taking a play that’s been done a million times and doing it a completely different way”. Admirably she doesn’t seem to care so much about the medium, all she cares about is the work.

Words by Anna Wilson
Photo by Samuel John Butt

DENIM JACKET BY LEE, DRESS AND PEACOAT ARE RIANN ’S OWN

See Riann Steele in Sket (out now on DVD and Blu-ray)

'Marley', the new documentary—premiered in Kingston last week and now released to the world—shows just how large one particular issue was in Bob Marley's music (and life), even till after his death: race.

Marley's decision to aim for success in rock music instead of the U.S. black music scene caused producer Chris Blackwell (who prompted it) to be vilified by other members of the Wailers, even to the point of calling him "Whitewell."

And the film sheds new light both on Marley's father— a white Jamaican who got the black daughters of plantation workers pregnant—and on the love affair between the result of one of those pregnancies and a future Miss World.

Speaking at the premiere of the new film, the first ever with backing of the Marley family, Neville Garrick (longtime friend and artistic collaborator to Bob Marley and the Wailers, who designed their album covers and live staging) told me "the essence of Bob Marley" was that "through the colour of him skin he get persecuted." The young Bob was called 'red boy' and 'half caste' ''But that just make him stronger" he said. His full interview is below.

Race loomed large even after his untimely death, from melanoma (a form of skin cancer that usually afflicts light-skinned people who suffer damage from the sun). The film contains the allegation "it was Bob's white side that killed him".

That white side was his father, Norval. A white military man whose family came from Sussex, he was a plantation overseer who did a good job of overseeing—and impregnating—the black daughters of plantation workers. One such was a sweet voiced gospel singer called Cedella Booker, who was the daughter of a respected local figure, and eighteen years old. Norval was in his fifties—and had got another black plantation girl pregnant at about the same time.

Although providing some financial support, Norval pretty much absented himself and died ten years later, leaving Cedella to bring up the child up alone. Although her family were supportive, as observant Catholics they disapproved, and she found herself having to move to Kingston—Trenchtown to be exact, the area named for being built over the ditch that drained the city’s sewage.

There Bob Marley was bullied for being half white. Colin Grant's recent book about the Wailers included an interview with Bob's 65-year-old widow Rita who said Bob "longed so much to fit in, he used black boot polish to make him appear more African".

Rastafarianism, the heart of his future music, which he encountered through Cedella's lover's son—Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer—was the answer. There, young Bob found a home in Africa, which Rastas believe is the origin of mankind. To Rastas Bob’s white side didn't matter. The philosophy, as his song 'One Love' would put it, was “Let's get together and feel alright.”

Bob Marley's desire to be more black, and for Jamaicans to be accepting of their black identity, contrasts with some modern dancehall artists who seem to be telling young Jamaicans to be more white. The recent controversial use of skin-lightening creams by Vybz Kartel (e.g. 'Cake Soap') shows the racial tug-of-war that still goes on today on the island, between the Americanisation and the Africanisation of Jamaica.

Even Rita Marley herself admitted it wasn't ideal for a black woman to marry a half-white man - at one point in the film she says ''as a black woman your ideal man was tall, DARK and handsome''.

The film's premiere was held on Thurs 19th April at Emancipation Park, Kingston. As I arrived, the audience for the eight o'clock screening was flocking in - and it was only six! Of course there was a little sprinkling of JA rain, but impressively the VIP's did not move. It was clear when Rita Marley entered the park—it looked like a queen had just arrived, from her outfit to her flag-waving entourage.

The movie is a brilliant—but long—look at a man we thought we knew. After interviewing Nevile Garrick and Cindy Breakspeare, who were both very close to Bob, it was clear to me that “Marley” is a true representation of Bob and his story. The film show the flaws in his character—the legend as a human being. He faced dilemmas in his life—just like anyone—although they may have been contradictory to his beliefs.

As anyone who's seen him speaking at Reggae events knows, Bunny Wailer doesn't like Chris Blackwell very much. And this has been confirmed by the movie's director Kevin MacDonald.

Back in the day, Blackwell thought Bob Marley and the Wailers should position themselves as a rock act, rather than aiming for the US Black music market. This strategy was vilified as “making Bob less Jamaican,” although in reality, because of the nature of the US Black music industry at the time, it was making him less likely to “perform in a bow tie.”

As Blackwell said during an interview with Andrew Perry for the Telegraph in 2009: "He trusted my instincts, which were that he should go after being a rock star, rather than a star on black American radio. His music was rough and raw and exciting, but all black American music at the time, other than James Brown, was very slick and smooth. Bob trusted me on that—he was as keen as I was. He was with me in the studio when we did all the overdubs."

But as the director Kevin MacDonald said in an interview for the Independent, "Bunny Wailer hates Chris Blackwell. He feels like he took Bob away from Jamaica, that he broke the Wailers up. I don't think it's really true, but from Bunny's perspective it is. Also, there is this residual resentment of the white man who has profited to an unseemly degree (as he would see it) from the labour of the black man."

Peter Tosh was similarly anti towards his onetime producer Blackwell, who at one point in the film is referred to as "Whitewell."

After years of litigation and accusations, it now seems as though Blackwell and the Marley family have made lasting peace—but with Bunny Wailer carving a path of his own. And, who knows? Maybe with further accusations and litigation to come.

One last, and lovely, thing to come out of the new movie, was the incredible connection between Bob and Cindy Breakspeare (the reigning Miss Jamaica and later Miss World, his girlfriend and mother of Damian Marley). But Bob and Cindy were different in one big respect — he being the Rasta, she the beauty queen. Makeup represented Babylon! At one point in the film Cindy was saying she used to get back in the evenings and rush to take off her makeup. One day she was a little late and he came in and said 'I caught you'. It was all in jest of course—one thing there's no doubt about is that they really loved each other.

The fact that Cindy and Rita could peacefully share the premiere night showed that Bob Marley created a sense of "one love" in more ways than we know.

Words by Reshma B
http://www.reggaegirlabouttown.com

Stream the full interview with Neville Garrick below...

Is that the time?

April 30th is fast drawing to a close, with May snapping at our heels. Just out of sight, the festival season is lingering with the summer set to promise week after week of live music and heady memories.

The release schedule is already accelerating. Gazing at the singles pile this week, it somehow seems larger than ever. Young hopefuls, returning heroes... they're all in their waiting to be assessed.

So let's dive in.

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RM Hubbert ft Aidan Moffat – Car Song
RM Hubbert is a true star in our eyes. An incredibly gifted musician, the Glasgow based artist’s output has won him numerous fans – not least Aidan Moffat, who kindly agreed to lend his voice to ‘Car Song’. Pretty much everything Moffat touches turns to gold, and this single is no exception – a beautiful, lingering piece of music which seems to exemplify everything we love about both artists. A perfectly formed, beautifully executed song which unravels with each listen ‘Car Song’ comes with an affecting video which features none other than Esperi – another Scottish artist worth picking up on.

RM Hubbert ft Aidan Moffat – Car Song

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...and the rest

Keane – Silenced By The Night
Pick up the new Keane single. Press ‘play’ on the CD player. Let the inoffensive songwriting drape itself around you, until a solitary finger begins tapping on the table. The sun beams its way through the window, blinds cutting the light into panels on the floor. You switch off. ‘Silenced By The Night’ comes to a close, the CD player goes silent. You’re still staring at the wall, snapping back into the real world after a few moments of quiet, solitary introspection. The tune ? Well, it’s good to fade out to. No idea what it sounds like, mind.

Patrick Watson – Into Giants
The first slice from his new album, ‘Into Giants’ finds Patrick Watson on imperial form. All slow building, interweaving melodies and thoughtful orchestration, the track manages to be both bombastic and understated. A wonderful return, upcoming full length ‘Adventures In Your Own Backyard’ is surrounded with promise and expectation.

Lower Dens – Propagation
A rather magnificent Baltimore based collective, Lower Dens are undoubtedly best served in album form. That said, ‘Propagation’ is a pile driving assault barely containable within the grooves of a seven inch single.

Dan Mangan – About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All
Expertly crafted, folk infused songwriter Canada’s Dan Mangan produced one of last year’s most understated (and under-rated) long platers. ‘About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All’ provides a good catch up for fans: smooth of voice and playful with it, this is about as helpful an introduction as you can get without actually forking out for the entire album.

Flats – Country
With Dan Devine heading into prison sponsored rehab this morning, it’s perhaps fateful that Flats release one of their most pulsating, ferocious sonic assaults. Starting at 100MPH and accelerating from then on in, ‘Country’ is a nostril flaring, blood quickening update on the Hardcore template.

The Rosie Taylor Project – Every Morning
Gentle, breezy indie pop. Sure, there’s a lot of it about but The Rosie Taylor Project seem to come with a simple, unpretentious air which makes ‘Every Morning’ impossible to dislodge.

Photo Credit: Luke G Joyce

A relentless torrent of innovation, each new album from Squarepusher can be an intimidating experience. ‘Ufabulum’ - Tom Jenkinson’s latest work – definitely sits in this lineage; ideas swarm around the producer like electrons around a nucleus, buzzing a path which is both beautiful and at times difficult to comprehend.

Departing from his recent work with the bass guitar, Warp have billed ‘Ufabulum’ as a return to ‘pure electronics’ - the technical divorced from the physical. “You’re right to pull me up on this because it’s very much a thing I said at passing to one of the guys at Warp and I didn’t realise at the time that I was possibly being monitored for a possible catchphrase!” he jests. “As it happened, I said this and now it’s coming back to haunt me”.

Not that the phrase is entirely without meaning. ‘Ufabulum’ finds Squarepusher located firmly in front of a computer screen, leaving his bass shredding antics – at least temporarily– in the past. “In a very loose way, what I was trying to say is that this is music which doesn’t contain any live performance as such. It’s music which is generated purely from programming. There’s no live guitar or drums, there’s nothing in it which is live, really. At all”.

A definitive break from a creative process lasting almost five years, ‘Ufabulum’ seems to employ the certainties of technology to supply an upgrade. “Time for the habit to be broken, time for a total revision of priorities, a re-think of the way in which I’m working” he insists. “The other thing to say about it is that live, the way in which I have been working – particularly on a record like ‘Just A Souvenir’ – is where I’m performing all these live takes, I’m the instrumental performer but also the engineer and the writer. At the same time you’re switching between what I feel are two very different mindsets: the mindset of a performer and the mindset of an engineer. From my experience, you make a conscious switch when you step from one set of shoes to another. It’s actually consequently very demanding, it’s very hard work”.

“I’m old school in the sense that I will also get very good live takes rather than chopping together bits of performances to make one hyper-real perfect tape” the producer muses. “I’ll just play one song all the way through until I get it right. It’s a lot of work. I want to get back to doing something.. Again if you’re play a live take on the spur of the moment then everything you do gets recorded, consequently if you’re recording and you fuck up then everything’s fucked up. If you make music in a recorded fashion then you’ve got all the time in the world. If you don’t like something then you just re-arrange it.”

Ironically, though, ‘Ufabulum’ is set to be accompanied by one of Squarepusher’s most dynamic live shows yet. An ambitious mangling of light and sound, the visual element of the concert experience was seemingly drafted in conjunction with the record. “I’ve tried to make a very clean break – as clean as I can make it – with live shows in the recent past, and try to make it.. I’m trying to avoid getting trapped into playing older tunes” he says. “The other thing to say is that of course the two are linked but when I was making these pieces the music was tied to the visual elements which are going to become part of the live show. The visual elements I saw them from the outset as being displayed on massive screens. I don’t want this to be seen as something you see on a TV screen I was it to be seen on something which is five metres wide. So I kind of ended up stuck really, at the end of it. I thought: do I release the music without the pictures? The process in the studio, I was doing my best to try and integrate the two. Does the music work without the pictures? In the end, I was of the opinion that it did. It stands in its own right”.

Squarepusher - Dark Steering

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Kept under wraps, Squarepusher recently hinted at the properties of his new live show with the video for ‘Dark Steering’. A stunning, complex work it featured the producer clad in vivid LED clothing. Seeming inspired by a dream, the track has a near apocalyptic urgency spurred by Jenkinson’s own visions of nuclear rockets searing through the sky. Seemingly, this is far from the first time that Squarepusher’s unconscious mind has flooded the gates of his creative faculties. “It’d odd though because in something like this case there’s a very easy transition to make between what I saw in the dream – rocket tracers in the sky – and a computer generated image which replicates them. It’s easy to make that transition” he explains. “Then there are more difficult transitions to make, where you might hear something in a dream. Something to do with the nebulous nature of dreams obscures the details of what happened, you might be grasping back towards that memory and yet actually I think probably in the end what you do is start filling in the gaps. At the end of the day rocket tracers in the sky is something which you can look at film footage of – it’s a thing which we’ve all seen in the news at some point. If you like, it’s a stock image. If you’ve imagined a sound which you’ve never heard before you’ve got no reference points, as such. You’ve got that single memory of a sound in a dream which you are trying to reach back to and re-create. I don’t think it’s a particularly easy thing to be doing and of course naturally you fill in the gap, improvise and sketch over the bits that you can’t remember so well. It’s still the case – some of the most memorable and vivid dreams I’ve had contain music”.

Looking back, Tom Jenkinson ponders a particular dream which has returned to his slumber time and time again. “I’ve got this particular recurring dream where it’s essentially about a perfect piece of music – I hasten to add that I know how ridiculous that sounds, and I don’t really even endorse the concept or even the possibility that a perfect piece of music can exist” he says. “But simply it’s a track I’ve but written but then lost, and I’ve found it again in this dream and it unifies my work”.

“I look at my work quite critically, I see it as a very splintered, quite messy – specifically with reference to my recorded output which spans 18 years now. It’s a great, big fucking mess. In this dream, this one piece of music is the final part of the puzzle which makes sense of the whole thing. The thing is, I’ve been having this dream for years and the painful thing on waking up is realising that the piece of music actually doesn’t exist. Yet it acts as an inspiration for me a lot, you think: I actually want to make that piece. And of course you can’t. You never really quite achieve the sense of completeness that it seemed to have in the dream. But still, it’s a valid inspirational force.”

‘Ufabulum’ is set to be released on May 14th

The road linking José Martí International Airport to central Havana is a shock for the senses. Relics from Detroit’s 1950s automobile industry drift by - Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Dodges - all modified to remain just about roadworthy with the use of spare parts taken from everything from Ladas to tanks. Billboards extol the virtues of the socialist ideal and celebrate the revolutionaries of the past. And then in the Plaza de la Revolución, the most surreal sight of all emerges as two tower-block high tributes to Che Guevera and Fidel Castro light up the night sky.

It soon becomes apparent that communist Cuba has no product advertising or branding. There is, however, one notable logo that adorns bars and the backs of bicitaxis: that of Havana Club, the rum which is surely second only to the iconic image of Guevera as the country’s most famous export.

Havana Club supports Havana Cultura, an initiative that aims to increase the exposure of Cuban culture to the world at large. Currently best known for the compilation albums and events curated by Gilles Peterson, Havana Cultura’s first foray into film is 7 Days In Havana. The film sketches a portrait of the Cuban capital through seven interlinked stories crafted primarily by Cuban novelist Leonardo Padura and helmed by directors including Benicio del Toro, Gaspar Noé (Enter The Void) and Lauren Cantet (The Class).

“I’ve been an actor for twenty years,” says del Toro, whose last directorial project was the 1995 short Submission. “I’ve studied all the directors that I’ve had a chance to work with, so the transition was not so hard. I was dealing with actors and I understand that process. What was a little bit harder was the post-production, the editing, trying to make the story move. That was new for me but it was a lot of fun. Directors never tell you that.”

Del Toro’s chapter follows Teddy (Josh Hutcherson), a young American tourist who falls into every tourist trap that Havana has to offer. “My character was not a far stretch from me,” he begins. Hutcherson is about to become an official Big Deal with a lead role in The Hunger Games, which possibly explains why he’s wearing sunglasses indoors. “Teddy was an American actor coming down to Cuba for the first time. I was an American actor coming to Cuba for the first time. There were a lot of similarities. Language barriers and all that. It’s a culture shock, very different to the United States. I love it down here though. Even though times can be tough, they’re all in it together. I think that’s something a lot of countries lose.”

7 Days In Havana will surely be compared to similar omnibus films such as New York, I Love You and Paris Je T’aime. Not that Cantet acknowledges much similarity: “The film about Paris was like a fairytale. That’s not a picture of real Paris at all. We tried to reflect the real Havana. It’s our job to look at the world and to make an account of its complexity.”

All of which would mean nothing if 7 Days In Havana failed to impress, but it’s an immensely entertaining view of a place rarely examined in film or media. It’s eclectic too. Pablo Trapero and del Toro deliver fish out of water tales rich with farcical humour, Elia Suleiman’s deadpan comedy fires huge satirical stabs at Cuban bureaucracy, while Noé depicts a ritualistic ceremony performed on a schoolgirl to halt her attraction to other girls. But isn’t this rather controversial for such a controlling state?

One man who knows more than most is Juan Carlos Tabío, who delivers the most personal segment of 7 Days In Havana. The director is best known for his film Strawberry And Chocolate - the story of a friendship between a gay artist and his homophobic classmate - that earned an Oscar nomination in 1995.

“A copy of 7 Days In Havana was shown to the president of the ICAIC [the national film body] and they didn’t say that we had to change anything. There have been a few movies that the Cuban government have not approved of,” he explains through an interpreter. Asked if there’s complete freedom for filmmakers, he almost ducks the question. “There’s censorship everywhere,” he shrugs. “I produced a film in Mexico where I wasn’t allowed to use the word ‘orgasm’.”

The biggest obstacle proved to be the myriad stack of permits needed before any shooting could take place “Every morning we had the feeling that we’d have to save the movie and every night the movie was saved,” laughs producer Gael Nouaille. “The next day we’d have to do it again. It was an adventure.”

That night, 7 Days In Havana premieres at Cine Charles Chaplin. The interest is phenomenal, although thankfully it’s short of the rumours concerning the recent premiere of another Cuban movie, Juan Of The Dead (supposedly five thousand people turned up and the excess crowd was dispersed with tear gas). The locals roar wholeheartedly at every joke, the intense tribal drumming that soundtracks Noé’s short seems to hypnotise the audience and del Toro - obviously best known here for his Che movies - is greeted like a returning hero. The reaction mirrors Cantet’s statement: “Cinema can give a voice to those who rarely have one. Internationally, I don’t think Cuba has a voice all that often. So providing a portrait of this city is a good thing.”

Words by Ben Hopkins

7 Days In Havana will be released in the UK this summer. More info at www.7daysinhavana.com and www.facebook.com/HavanaClubUK

When the Brits invaded America in the 60’s and 80’s there was unprecedented media hype, blanket airplay and fainting girls. These were orchestrated, ostentatious and above all very masculine affairs. In contrast, other types of music don’t so much storm into our consciousness as quietly seep in, gaining momentum and popularity until we think they’ve been there all along. Just look at the growing proliferation of African sounds courtesy of Tinariwen and Afrocubism. Something similar could be happening in the form of a Norwegian velvet invasion - as slow as an iceberg but maybe just as inevitable.

Until recently, Norway’s musical distinction in the eyes of the world was scoring the most nil points in the Eurovision song contest. But last year an experimental, concept album by Jenny Hval made it into Uncut’s ‘Top 50 Albums Of the Year’, Ane Brun’s quirky folk album 'It All Starts With One' garnered rave reviews and this year Hanne Hukkelberg’s Featherbrain was critically acclaimed across the board. What makes this so surprising is that Viscera and Featherbrain are not ‘easy’ listens: Hukkelberg utilises modern jazz, discordant arrangements and alternative instruments while Hval combines elements of spoken word, sound installation and the avant-garde. So - what are they putting in the Norwegian water? Hval says:

“For the past 10 years there’s been a lot of focus on pop and rock music and some people have started saying, ‘I’m going to Europe and playing other places.’ And then there’s a strong jazz scene, and musical education, and there’s money, cause’ we have good arts funding. We also have this huge new thing happening which is the festivals and the industry coming to Norway for the first time….’

Hval is talking about by:Larm (meaning ‘city noise’), which is both festival and conference for the Norwegian and foreign music industries. Its original aim was to showcase emerging artists and has been responsible for launching popular Norwegian bands Madrugada, Beskeby and Kaizers Orchestra. With the current wave of experimental artists making small but significant waves this side of the ice floes, it’s easy to imagine the festival as a sort of avant-garde utopia. It’s surprising to hear that this isn’t the case: “Well this is the thing, I don’t think so, and I think that’s a problem because the strongest music in Norway is really individualistic, like people doing art, with a really strong mind, creating their own stuff…”

So who is championing Norway’s less commercial artists? One man is Rune Kristoffersen, founder of Rune Grammofon, the independent label which put out Viscera and which has signed artists as diverse as contemporary composer Arne Nordheim and ambient- techno pioneer Biosphere. Kristoffersen cites Nils Petter Molvaer, Bugge Wesseltoft and Supersilent as the forefathers of experimental music in Norway: “Back in 1997 [they] started to mix jazz, improv and electronics in new ways and this has continued with a younger generation of musicians who seem to not care about genres and are willing to mix everything into what they're doing.”

Kristoffersen believes that this originality appeals to the British market, which is still viewed as the epicentre of popular music – ‘artists make it a priority to try to make some impact there.’

Of course, success in the UK comes with a caveat - that is, to make it in the mono-lingual British market, you must sing in English. Successful Norwegian artists such as Ana Garbarak, Silje Nes, Susanna Wallumrød , Hukkelberg and Hval all record predominantly in English. Cue the arrival of Siri Nilsen, alt-folk artist who refuses to bend to this convention and whose last album was recorded almost entirely in Norwegian:

“When I was younger, I missed being able to hear music from my own time in my own language, so it felt natural for me to start writing my songs in Norwegian. I feel that I can express more nuances in the language I use in my everyday life. Some people might say that Norwegian is not a very musical language, but I think that's an advantage, as it lets me concentrate more on the meaning of the words rather than on the sounds themselves. I think each language has its own way of being poetic. And I think Norwegian is very beautiful in its own way.”

Despite awed reviews from those sections of the British press brave enough to take on the album, Alle Snakker Sant (‘They All Speak The Truth’), Nilsen is pragmatic about finding success outside of Norway: “There are still a few more people speaking English than Norwegian in the world, oddly enough! But I've been surprised to see interest from all corners of the world, though, so maybe it's not impossible to have an audience outside of Norway.”

For Nilsen, it is a particular combination of the environmental and the social that is responsible for the recent burst of creativity in her native land: “We have long, dark, cold winters, so either you get depressed or you write songs - or both. And a lot of people go out to concerts to listen to live music. We have a very high ratio of concerts in relation to our small population…the scene is very diverse. I do think there's a sense of young Norwegian musicians forming a new identity now, being more confident in their own voice and style. There's a lot happening.”

There certainly is, and one of the striking things about what’s happening, from a British perspective, is how it seems to be spearheaded by women. Is this true?

“There are many interesting male musicians as well! Like Jens Carelius, Kråkesølv, Jarle Bernhoft, Lidolido and so on. But it might be a reaction to a long period of time when there were very few women appearing as solo artists in Norway. I know that I missed music to identify with when I was younger, and that's why I started to write my own. Probably other Norwegian women did as well.”

Interesting times indeed. It seems that a growing avant-garde scene in Norway and burgeoning confidence among female artists has dovetailed with a growing appetite in the UK for music that isn’t ‘easy’ or instantly accessible. Having grown accustomed to hearing music entirely in English, it might be time to realise just how much we’re missing out on. Perhaps we Brits are finally ready to be invaded.

Words by Theresa Heath

Husky have the sort of sound which is difficult to place.

Soothing, honey tinged harmonies and acoustic guitars which melt out of your stereo, the band's output has a hazy, sunset feel. But then, no matter where you are on the planet you're going to find a sunset...

If you insist on details: Husky are a four-piece from Melbourne, Australia. Sub Pop have won their signature, with debut album 'Forever So' due to be released on May 28th.

With anticipation rising, the band recently breezed into SXSW. Writing a quick tour diary, Husky keyboard player Gideon Preiss reveals a little of what its like to travel to Austin, Texas as almost complete unknowns.

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My first impression of Austin Texas was that of a woman in a hot pink dress holding a hot pink sign above her head with large stencilled letters that read ‘HUSKY’. This was Ashley, our host, who would be putting us up for the next 6 nights during our stay at the famous South By South West (SXSW) music festival. SXSW is a festival where bands from all around the world come to showcase their songs often in the hope of gaining exposure and getting in front of industry folk. Some 8,000 bands come to play at the festival which apparently attracts around 400,000 punters over its duration. It feels like the city shuts down as hundreds of venues dotted around the streets host bands of all different sorts.

We arrived at Ashley’s house on our first night to find couches and mattress’s scattered across the living room floor, our beds for our five nights in Austin. For most of our time there it was the four of us, Ashley, Ashley’s roommate Kendra, Ashley’s boyfriend Dave (who I’ll talk more about shortly) and Ashley’s cat Baby Sister. Ashley often had friends popping by also. It Felt like we we’re gearing up to begin filming a new season of big brother.

I’d been told stories and read things about SXSW and how hectic it can be but I gotta say, my experience there exceeded any expectations I had…

The first time Ev met Dave:
When Dave (Ashley’s boyfriend) returned home we had all been anticipating his arrival. We’d heard a lot about him. At the time, Ev had locked himself in the bathroom as the door handle which had been deteriorating over the past few days finally gave up. Ev, from the inside conversed with Dave, who up to this point he hadn’t met, and after trying to remove the handle with a screw driver Dave thought it better kick the door down. I’d never heard a big southern man kick a door down. Sounded a bit like this.. “I’m a gonna kick that door down in three, two, one.. Crack! And then they embraced. A nice way to meet I think.

We did five shows over the festival and caught some really memorable gigs. Gary Clark Jr, Dr John and The Robert Glasper Experiment some of the highlights. At Every moment at that festival there was some wild gig going on somewhere, some freaky musician who I’d never heard of. Music and people poured out from every street corner. Even the guys busking in the streets were great. People from all walks of life paraded around proudly sporting their tats, bling, cowboy hats, cowboy boots, fake boobs, cut-offs, pets, Rockerbilly haircuts, piercings, flannel shirts, short shorts, horses and whatever else. We became accustomed to carrying our gear through swarming, drunken streets, jumping up on stage without sound checks, smashing out our tunes and hoping for the best. It was tough as one band amongst thousands of others but we managed to do ok I think. Our third and best show was part of the Sub Pop showcase and it was humbling to be included amongst the other great acts on the bill.

It’s our last night here in Austin and everyone’s drunk and exhausted. Husk is having a good old chat with Dave about George W Bush, Americans, the great songwriters and how Aussies supposedly have a reputation of being tough in the states. “Aussies are the one’s no one wants to fuck with” says Dave in his bellowing voice that resonates in my ears as I try to sleep on my couch only a few feet away.

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Husky are set to arrive on British shores next month:

May
10 Brighton The Great Escape (Festival Hub 4pm)
12 Brighton The Great Escape (Coalition 7:30pm)
13 London Cargo (Aussi BBQ)
15 London Kentish Town Bull & Gate
17 London Brixton Electric
28 London Rough Trade East

Oberhofer is led by 21 year old Brad Oberhofer, former resident of Tacoma, Washington, now a New York Brooklynite and up-and-coming musician who creates shambolic yet melodic indie anthems.

Sipping on a cup of hot tea and honey, Brad Oberhofer is trying to wake himself from a well deserved nap after a very long day two days of promotional activity and a recent long haul flight from Coachella (which he - after a quick stint in Paris - will be returning to). He sits back on the sofa in his Letterman jacket, glad to hold something warm in his hands after his cold kip in the tour van. But, being in this dreamlike state does not halter any sort of interesting conversation. Today’s topics: being hit by cars, dying on his bike, freestyle rapping and how he’s already got the next three albums in the bag...

Jamie: Your new album is called ‘Time Capsules II’ and is supposed to encapsulate moments in your life. What moments has this album captured?

Brad: Everyone’s sad sometimes. It’s all just moments from life. There are sad moments too and there are other moments that aren’t sad at all. But, I’m never really actually sad, more just feel sad or think that I’m sad. But at the end of the day I’m really lucky to have everything, so I’m not anxious out of anything.

J: What has brought you into making this certain type of music?

O: One day, when I was ten years old, my friend came to school and was rapping. I was like “man, what’s that!” He’s like “oh it’s Big Tymers, its rap music, its cool.” So I got into that, I got into Outkast, got into freestyle rapping. That’s how I got into music, then I started making beats.

Really what happened, when I was twelve/thirteen years old, I got hit by a car and I had a pretty bad concussion. I had already been rapping but I had never written melodies before. So I was recovering in my parent’s house and all of a sudden I started humming this melody that I had never heard before. I don’t know why, but it occurred to me that no one had written that melody before. It felt familiar, but no one had written it. So I went to the piano and I played the melody and that was the first song I ever wrote. That was when I first started writing music, when I had this concussion.

I’m inspired by...I ride my bike a lot, and I love that feeling. I could die riding my bike. If I rode my bike down a hill really fast and got hit by a really huge truck, I wouldn’t mind going that way. I’m inspired by death a lot, a lot of the songs that will come out are about death in some capacity. I also love my friends and I meet a lot of girls that I’m inspired by. It’s a different kind of inspiration when it’s someone who your romantically attracted to, of course. I’m inspired by creative people, I’m inspired by being treated unfairly, I’m inspired by aloneness and when it’s sunny outside.

J: Your music sounds very theatrical - would you ever put on a musical?

B: I’ve never really been into musicals, I don’t think I would ever put on a theatre or any sort of theatre performance, but I do write orchestral music. I started writing a symphony, but that’s about as theatric as I get.

J: Why symphonies?

B: I started writing hip hop instrumentals when I was young and that turned into writing orchestral music, then I sort of got into music theory.

J: If there wasn’t love in the world, what do you think you’d be writing about?

B: I don’t even know if they are about love. I don’t think you can always explain your feelings, when you write music you can’t really explain what you’re writing about all the time. You can’t really articulate it, that’s why you’re writing music...you write music because you really don’t have that much of a way with words. So I think if there was no such thing as love I’d probably still be writing about similar things, because I don’t know if they are about love.

J: Most people your age are singing about drinking and general debauchery, where as your music is quite reserved, innocent and meaningful. What separates you from them?

B: I just end up writing songs about other things. I do write songs about that, I just don’t talk about things directly. People look at these songs all the time and they’re like “this is a relationship song, this is about a girl” What if I have a relationship with everything in life that’s similar to that? What if these songs are about my bicycle or just the way I feel about the clouds? The way people only write about girls, I just sort of write about the way I feel about everything. There are songs I have about having a really good time or being really happy, and those songs are effectively about drinking and just enjoying things. I don’t think there’s much of a difference at all, people are still ecstatic when they’re writing about having fun and partying and drinking, and I am too...I just articulate it differently.

J: Future stuff - what’s it going to sounds like?

B: I’ve got the next three albums written. People listen to this record and they think it’s about girls and heartbreak and love and generic thing here and generic thing there, and it’s funny because those things don’t feel like generic feelings to me because they’re just how I felt. I wasn’t thinking about it, I wasn’t thinking like “oh man, I’m writing this thing that all these people can relate to.” I hear people that are like “he wrote that song about some girl he was going out with.” Like, man, it sounds so lame when you talk about it! That was just a feeling that I had, I don’t think about it in those terms. I think about it as this specific moment in time, I guess. People are confusing it, maybe. Some people think since pop music is all about love, this is too. Maybe it is, but at least it’s meaningful. A lot of the songs that are probably going to come out are probably uncontrollably similar in that way, because they’re coming from me, a person that feels things, and people almost are pretty much the same. All the songs I’m ever going to write about are feelings that I have. Maybe they won’t be the same feelings and maybe I won’t seem like I feel the same way about those feelings, but all the songs that I’m going to write and all the songs that are on the next three albums are just about feelings that I have. That’s it.

J: If you were to actually put something in a time capsule now and bury it, what would go in?

B: I’ve actually thought about that before. I’d probably record a tape. I know that’s cheating, but I would record a tape where I hit the record button and make up a story. Just me telling a weird story, I think that’d be the craziest thing to find in twenty years. You don’t know who it’s from, you don’t know what the era really felt like, someone’s just telling this random story that makes no sense to you.

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This diverse and manic chat translates into their London show, as the gig at CAMP Basement is uncontrollable. Knocking over amps, jumping on the bar, bringing the mic stand into the middle of the crowd along with his wireless guitar - Brad turns the place into a circus. It’s nothing short of a miracle that he doesn’t hit one of the screaming girls in the front row with his violently shaking guitar (which he tells Clash he has done before).

If you weren’t at this show, make sure you’re at the next, because soon there won’t be room to swing an instrument. Let’s hope there’s no unfortunate bike accidents in the meantime.

Oberhofer play Manchester’s Deaf Institute Monday 21st May and London’s Hoxton Bar & Kitchen Tuesday 22nd May. ‘Time Capsules II’ is out now.

Words: Jamie Carson

As a founder of The Small Faces, drummer Kenney Jones learned the hard facts of music fast in their short but brilliant career. These are the guidelines that saw him then survive The Faces and The Who.

MUSIC CAN SAVE YOU
I grew up with kids in the East End. We were constantly storming up and down Roman Road and causing havoc, generally being horrible. It was only when I discovered drums that I didn’t want to do that anymore. I was so encapsulated in teaching myself how to play drums...it was all consuming. When my friends used to come round knocking on the door saying, ‘Coming out?’ I’d say, ‘No, sorry.’ They kept doing it and then eventually they got fed up with me because I didn’t really want to do that. I was literally hooked on my drums. And it saved me, otherwise I don’t know where I would have gone.

KNOW WHO TO TRUST
In those days we were brought up as kids in family environments to trust, because that was the right way to be, naturally. But when you go into any kind of business areas, especially the corrupt music industry at that time, you believe all the shit that comes out. You know, you do trust people; unfortunately that was our first big mistake.

WATCH THE MONEY
When you have a manager his job is to manage you. So you listen to your manager. Don Arden was a great guy - he was father-like in a sense; he put his arm round you and tried to guide you, but he was taking the money and there was nothing we could do about it. He got us on all the TV programmes, radio, we got a hit record, but the money was going in Arden’s account. So get your share and put it in your own bank. Check that all the expenses are legit, and the percentages in what you’re getting. You need someone professional to negotiate your contract on your behalf and to do the best deal that they can get.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR
I was only fifteen and, of course, we were impressionable and experimental. The fashion in those days was you made it up as you went along and that’s what we did. We had an account in the only three shops on Carnaby Street in those days. We just mixed and matched and played around, and that’s how we created our look. All of us individually, completely by accident, because that’s what we were: young people experimenting with clothes. We weren’t only experimental with our music, but we were with our fashion. Fashion to us was a good thing - we used to like to look nice and we used to like being creative with it - that’s what a mod was all about.

THE BAND IS A BUSINESS
You never get a perfect band; there’s always going to be some kind of ego trip that someone’s got. One thing I liked about The Who was that they invested in theirselves, and they were very businesslike when it came to doing things creative in that area. The Small Faces weren’t, because we didn’t stay together that long. If you’re a band, you don’t just spend money and piss it up the wall and drink it and drug it to death. You’ve only got one shot, you’re lucky to be in that environment and get money for doing something that you love, so just invest it wisely.

MY FINAL RULE...
Be yourself, play yourself, and be as honest as you can be within your own creative environment. And be a part of the band and stick with it. That’s the secret. The secret to success is never give up.

Interview by Simon Harper

Deluxe editions of The Small Faces’ four classic albums for Decca and Immediate are released by Universal Music Catalogue on May 7th.