Planet Notion

06/10/2008

Britney Spears looks set to go the way of Jade Goody, Jordan and that woman who killed fat Barry in Eastenders, by releasing a fitness video. According to reports, Britney was inspired to get involved in the whole workout shebang after watching a legendary Jane Fonda session. "Britney wants to put out a series of workout videos,” a source said. “The idea was inspired by Britney's love of dance and how it helped her get back into shape. “It seems Britney found her mom's old Fonda tapes, popped them into an old VCR machine and got a big kick out of watching them." Britney recently dazzled crowds at the MTV Video Music Awards, winning a number of awards and sporting a new slim line figure. And although the Blackout singer has yet to confirm the workout rumour, a representative from her record label, Jive/Zomba, didn’t rule out the possibility. Britney’s new album, Circus, is due for release December 2nd.


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MOBO Awards 2008: 3 days left to vote!

03/10/2008

PANIC! PANIC! PANIC! ESCAPE! ESCAPE! ESCAPE! Followed by much excitement when October 15th rolls around and a selection of nominees are crowned winners of a selection of MOBO awards. But for now we should panic, because voting for your favourite nominees closes on Sunday 5th October. (2 DAYS AWAY!) This year’s MOBO Awards will be taking place at the Wembley Arena, with artists as large (huge) massive (enormous) and small (Lil’ Wayne) as Estelle, M.I.A, Dizzee Rascal, Akon, Rhianna and Jay-Z up for nominations. Co-hosting the ceremony will be Spice Girl, Mel B, otherwise known as The Frightfully Scary One. She’ll be joined by one of the all time legends of hip-hop, Run DMC founding member, Rev Run. Speaking of co-hosting the MOBOs, The Frightfully Scary One said: “I am really excited to be returning as host to this year’s awards ceremony. I can’t wait to return to the MOBO stage at Wembley Arena. “I have witnessed the rise of Estelle and Leona Lewis in the US, and 2008 has been an incredible year for Music of Black Origin on both sides of the Atlantic.” Alas, to cast your vote, visit mobo.com . Tickets are still available should you wish to attend the awards, priced at a mere £20. A nice suit or dress would probably set you back a good £200 – £1000, so it’s not that cheap really. But should you wish to purchase tickets, CLICK HERE . Nominees by category: Best UK Male Dizzee Rascal Jay Sean Sway Taio Cruz Wiley Best UK Female Adele Duffy Estelle Leona Lewis M.I.A. Best International Act Akon Alicia Keys Chris Brown Jay Z Mariah Carey Kanye West Mary J Blige Ne-Yo Rihanna Usher Best R&B / Soul Chris Brown Estelle Jay Sean Ne-Yo Usher Best Song ‘American Boy’ – Estelle ‘Dance Wiv Me’ – Dizzee Rascal ‘Lollipop’ – Lil ‘ Wayne ‘Low’ – Flo Rida ‘Wearing My Rolex’ – Wiley Best Hip Hop Dizzee Rascal Jay-Z Lil’ Wayne Lupe Fiasco Wiley Best Video in association with MTV Base ‘Kidulthood to Adulthood’ – Bashy “American Boy’ – Estelle ‘Bleeding Love’ – Leona Lewis ‘Stryderman’ – Tinchy Stryder ‘Heartbreaker – Will.i.am Best Album ‘As I Am’ - Alicia Keys ‘Shine’ – Estelle ‘Spirit’ – Leona Lewis ‘The Carter III’ – Lil’ Wayne ‘Here I Stand’ – Usher


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Xbox Presents: MyGig! Planet Notion presents Xbox prizes!

02/10/2008

Planet Notion figured we should bring an event to your attention. Partly because the event looks ruddy great and partly because we’re giving away tickets. We’re even throwing in an Xbox 360 and 12 months membership to Xbox Live for good measure. Visit our competition page or CLICK HERE to enter. But hey, before you enter, here’s some information on the event. Xbox Presents: MyGig will welcome luminaries including CSS, Florence and the Machine and The Mules, to London’s KOKO next Wednesday (October 8th). The event was put together by a competition winner, Francesca Roberts, with help from a panel of experts. They were: Rob da Bank (Radio 1 DJ and Bestival founder) Shaun Roberts (Co-founder of Manumission) Andy McKay (Fabric’s promotion manager) If you see a white feather floating from the heavens, that’ll be Planet Notion. Think of us as a Guardian Angel. We bring you sunshine when there is no sunshine. We bring you everything and nothing and everything again. We bring you toast when you have no bread. We bring you bagels when all you have is toast. We bring you all this and more at the click of a button. And that button is on the right-hand side of your mouse. And that click is HERE .


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Defected in the House needs YOU!

02/10/2008

Robbie Williams: Close Encounters of the Turd Kind!

02/10/2008

Bob Dylan and Oasis are streaming mental!

01/10/2008

London charity with 30 live bands and stuff! THIS SUNDAY!

01/10/2008

competition

Win a signed Howard Marks bundle package!

Win a copy of Crysis: Warhead!

Win an Xbox 360, Xbox Live membership and tickets to Xbox Presents: MyGig!

Notion magazine

albums


		Cold Fact 30/09/2008 60s/Folk/Rock/Psychedelic

		15 Years of Paradise 24/09/2008 House

		WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip 23/09/2008 Hip-Hop

		The Metaphorcast 04/09/2008 Hip Hop

features


		Deerhunter Interview! 24/09/2008 Thanks to a strapping young lad who works in the office, I’d been introduced to the music of Atlanta garage-rock band, Deerhunter a few months back. Handy, I'm sure you'll agree. Alas, captivated by the sound of new album Microcastle, which leaps delicately between ambient rock and the heavier sound of previous Deerhunter incarnations, I jumped at the chance to share a few words with (occasionally cross-dressing) frontman Bradford Cox. Hell, I’d interviewed close friends The Black Lips and Jay Reatard in the past and figured I may as well make it a God darn hat-trick. That said, the interview was to take place at the infamous Columbia Hotel, the very same Columbia Hotel in which I’d shared a few beverages with one Anton Newcombe. Ah, the memories. The Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman had threatened to hit me in a state of intoxication and I’d stood up to the challenge, fighting him off with a barrage of equally intoxicated abuse. Twas like something from The Bad, The Bad and The Fucking Ugly . Things did not bode well at this familiar haunt… Nevertheless, Bradford Cox proved to be a gentleman and a scholar; a charming man; an interesting man; a man of many words and many pauses… Here he discusses everything from solo project Atlas Sounds to Roxy Music, the death of rock n’ roll and how the Beatles wanted to be American cowboys. We kick-off the interview with Bradford munching on one of Prêt-a-Manger’s finest. If memory serves, it was a BLT. Words: Dangerous Dave / Photography: Barry Klipp Bradford : Do you mind if I keep eating while I talk to you? Dangerous: No, not at all… by all means… All right… Was it always your intention to perform from a young age? (Munching sandwich. Long pause) …Sorry… (More munching) …I bit off more than I can chew… (Hard swallow)… I guess I find it kind of, um, hard to avoid performing; I always have. It just comes naturally you know? I mean like even when I was at school I was always grand-standing and stuff like that, you know? It’s almost like a reaction against, um… a fear of boredom maybe? Yeah. I mean I interviewed the Black Lips and they’re obviously from Atlanta as well, and they said that the music was almost a form of escapism for them because there wasn’t a lot to do there. Would you agree with that? Oh, absolutely. I think that’s absolutely true. In what sense? Well, especially with us and the Black Lips. It’s like we both… we both had really confusing, shitty pasts. I mean like Cole (Alexander), who’s one of my best friends - the singer, one of the singers, well they all sing - but Cole and I, you know, we were very close when both our bands were kind of getting exposure or whatever; before we got too busy to talk to each other. But he was, you know, washing dishes in a diner and I worked at a photo lab; I thought that was what I was gonna be doing for the rest of my life. And I think he thought - honestly, in the back of his mind - in his head, he was afraid that he was gonna wash dishes for the rest of his life too, because nobody expected that anybody would pay any attention to us or care; you never expect that. I mean I guess some people expect it but… My intention is - relating to your first question, is that yeah, I’ve always felt like entertaining was very natural for me and it’s also something I thought would never get me anywhere; it was just something to make a boring life a little more fun. Let’s move onto the new album now (Microcastle) . It seems to have gone in a different direction to Cryptograms (Deehunter’s second album) in a lot of ways. Was it always your intention to develop your sound? You know, was it a conscious decision? Ahh, well I think there’s always an intention to move forward and not be to, um… repetitive! And I don’t mean that in actual musical terms, because I mean repetition is something we’re kind of obsessed with – musically, not in terms of repeating the same ideas. I mean in a song; repeating the same motives; you know, repeating the same chords and making stupid… you know what I mean? Sure… It goes without saying… I mean in terms of repeating greater themes of an album, I just find that to be kinda boring and bands that do that tend to be kinda very mediocre. I’d rather make an album that’s kinda awful but at least a challenge, you know? It was a challenge, I mean it was actually an easy challenge to change the style [on Microcastle] because I don’t have a very good attention span… Plus I mean… it was easy. It was just very natural. Sure, because with Cryptograms you seemed to be pouring your heart out; it seemed to have more, sort of.. Catharsis? Exactly! And the thing with Microcastle… ...well Cryptograms, you have to keep in mind, was made before anyone at all was ever paying any attention to us. I mean I’d hate to imply that… that I made Microcastle with any type of consideration for what anyone would think of it, because that’s not what I’m saying; but I didn’t… I guess what I mean to say, more than that, is that with Cryptograms I had no idea people were actually going to listen to it, so it was easier for me to just get like… naked, you know? Whereas with Microcastle… (Long pause)… I just sort of wanted to have a bit more dignity! (Chuckles) So was it [Microcastle] more a labour of love than Cryptograms in a sense? More… Wellll … I think Cryptograms was maybe more of a labour of love, and this is more a labour of, um… it’s more considered; more thoughtful. Cryptograms is really, I’d go as far as to say, a little embarrassing! I think there are a lot of people who’d disagree. Well I mean like embarrassing in terms of like, everybody seems to consider - and with the Atlas Sound record too, like a lot of people seem to really read into the emotional side of it. And what about Atlas Sounds… Do you think that working on that project helped to develop Deerhunter for the Microcastle record? I think that it kind of clarified what Deerhunter’s goals were in a way; because with Cryptograms - I’m very much interested in electronic music and ambient music and stuff like that, but I’m also like very much interested in just rock music. I’m kind of a traditionalist and I’m very conservative in a lot of ways about rock music. I like bands that experiment well, but I don’t like bands who just set-out to be experimental rock bands, do you know what I mean? I think Roxy Music are a band like that. They didn’t set-out to be, it was more that they were a rock band who had weird albums. You know what I’m saying? And I think now, with a lot of bands, because they have that past and [all] that music history to look at, it’s easier for them to say “We’re going to be an experimental band or an experimental rock band”; and I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d rather Deerhunter just be a rock band that has weird, interesting albums, but is a rock band… Atlas Sounds is just way more like, bizarre! I can definitely see that… You know like part of what I wanted to do with Atlas Sounds was kind of like… it was a Laurie Anderson kinda thing. I mean she made amazing pop records but they were just so fucking weird and so totally bizarre. And so doing that record [Atlas Sounds] made Microcastle a lot more easy to concentrate on… That’s why it’s kinda more straight and not so filler - full of concepts and ideas; more direct. But what about the concept of rock music; I mean traditional rock music; blues rock like The Doors and the Stones… Do you think that kind of rock music has died a death now? That what we’re seeing now are just manifestations of that kind of rock? Well… I think of rock music as a kind of tapestry that was at a peak and all around the time of the bands you mentioned. Like Dylan and one of my favourites is, you know, Van Morrison and Them - they did Gloria! And then going onto punk and you know, Patti Smith - Elvis before that, you know what I mean? The whole tapestry of rock was at its peak then and they were literally the prototypes, you know? The experimental research prototypes in a way. And then it became very easy to figure out what made those things successful and to emulate that; and then you had the 80s and there was a lot of mediocrity - a lot of Hughie Lewis and the News. But there was also a lot of 4AD you know? Like Cocteau Twins and… which I think in a way has a lot more to do with Elvis than Hughie Lewis and the fucking News ! (Chuckles) You know what I mean? Because it’s more in the spirit of like, I mean it sounds very cheesy, but it’s like, just being yourself and… (Fails to finish sentence) Do you think that kind of development in rock music is a positive thing? Well I dunno why I just said that whole thing that I just said because I think there are a lot of bands recently that have been evoking, you know, that original spirit of rock… Black Lips - and bigger bands too! The Strokes; White Stripes... You know, these bands are very successful and very - and that’s the other thing! Rock n’ roll wasn’t intended to be kept under the closet; to be kept under the ground, you know? Rock n’ roll is boisterous and it’s an American sort of capitalism. You know even the British groups, like the Stones and The Beatles, modelled or emulated the American big-dick-like swagger, because it was like “Hey yeah, we’re huge, we’re the biggest thing in the world.” You know that’s kind of an American, um… I mean like look at our president, he’s kinda rock n’ roll - in an awful way! But you know that’s the kinda mode, it’s the model, that whole swagger and the capitalism of it, which I think is very healthy. I mean I’d rather see someone act that way than artificially timid and like, you know - I hate false modesty! I love hip-hop, like Lil’ Wayne. These type of characters are just very like “I’m the best, I have so much money, fuck you!” They’re extroverts… Yeah! Kind of extroverted and that kinda bragger… that braggered (sic) kinda attitude - which to me, is really like more honest… more honest, even if it’s a lie! With Microcastle I kind of got the impression from the opening four or five tracks, that you’re kind of looking back, reminiscing about the past and looking at the present… Can you type that lyrically? Well… in the opening tracks, they seem to open with you exploring the past, looking back at your past and… Really? Yeah, I kind of got that impression, but… Well that’s good I mean, um, definitely I would think that that would be a good or a very valid interpretation… I dunno… …the past, but also looking at the present and how you’ve developed from then. Would that be a fair analogy? Well to be completely honest with you, I don’t think about the lyrics too much - and I don’t mean that in, you know, like a cheeky way, I mean that in a kind of… If I do think about them too much they just get kinda awful and brainy and too like trying to be clever and stuff. So I usually just throw the words to the music that fit the best and usually find that that’s the most honest way of doing it. And then usually I can say the most honest things. So if that’s what you get from it, I mean I haven’t really taken the time - honestly, to really analyse my own lyrics, because if I do that too much I get really self conscious and I’m like “Ugh!” You know like on Cryptograms, somebody pointed out to me - it’s been pointed out to me, that I’m totally self-conscious. They pointed out that I talk about being a teenager a lot, specifically I use 16 - age 16 a lot in lyrics; and I was like, “I do ?” And like when I looked back and saw that I did it, I was like, “OH! This is terrible, I’ll never use that again”… So I mean I very well could be kinda looking back on the past from the present; that could be a very good interpretation. But I haven’t… I honestly - when I start playing the songs on guitar like tonight at the show or something, I never forget the lyrics. I remember them. But like if you asked me right now what the lyrics to such and such were, I’d be like… I couldn’t think of them off the top of my head without hearing the guitar first, because the lyrics are very much written to the guitar first… like to the music. Right, so you’ll write the music first and then develop the lyrics from the music… Um, usually what I’m doing - sometimes I’ll do them all at once, but what I’m doing is I’m playing guitar and doing the singing onto a tape recorder, very much at the same time… Consciously, you know? Sure, but themes … I mean to write the music do you think of an idea or a theme and try to interpret that idea into your music? Occasionally I do, but those are like more… those are rarer moments where I try to experiment with something consciously, you know… Usually I feel less comfortable doing it like that. I feel more comfortable doing it all at once, not thinking - which I know might sound lazy to some people, cos’ there are other people that just sit there and labour over the construction of their work, with their words and their notepads and stuff; I’m just not like that… But then with Deerhunter, I think mood is probably more important to create than… Yeah mood is much more important to me than the delivery or… well, the exact words and stuff. Sure. And what kind of mood were you trying to get across in Microcastle, because it’s kind of split into sections really… It is sectional. It’s sectional… maybe a little hard to explain. I actually haven’t thought of that in a while. Honestly, I think it has something to do with, um… (Very long pause)… like… 50s and 60s America… (Another long pause) Were they major influences on you, those periods? Just for right now, yeah. Not like typically, but yeah. I mean I’m interested in that currently - or I was, especially during the making of [Microcastle] … Like JFK and Martin Luther King; Coca Cola… I think I keep this kind of cartoonish - I have this kinda cartoonish self-image of America that I really obsess over or enjoy. Maybe touring so much around Cryptograms made me a lot more happy about America or you know, home-sick? I tried thinking about, you know, American rock n’ roll; American sensibilities; American neighbourhoods… It’s a lot less emotional too, although the lyrics don’t seem less emotional but they’re like… I have a feeling there’s just far more traditional rock there, you know? Like “Oh baby, yeah, yeah, yeah,” you know, “I love you… oh yeah, oh yeah,” you know? Stuff like that is like less heavily considered. What about the track ‘Saved by Old Times’ with Cole Alexander [Of the Black Lips] . How did that come about? Well Cole just, um… we got him on iChat - the video chatting or whatever in the studio. And we plugged my computer into the mixing desk and I said ‘Hey Cole, go for it! Just like, freestyle over the song!’ Anyway, we kind of played it for him over the computer speakers and he just like freestyled. And then he did it twice, in the left channel and in the right channel. The left channel’s him doing some weird minstrel song about being a black alien or something; about being an old black man in space and time… And then the right channel, some of that was stuff that I’d written… Originally, when I wrote the demo for that song, it was very much a complete and total rip-off of The Fall. You know how Mark E. Smith would have these moments in his songs where he would just talk, like on Mere Pseud Mag. Editor, you know? On Hex Enduction Hour there’s that part where he just starts talking or he’d just start, not even talking, just ‘la-da-da-la-la’ and… So I was just like, if I got a speech part in the song during the breakdown I wanted to have - plus that was a big thing in the 60s too! You know like the girl groups and even earlier than that, the 50s with the black vocal groups where the singing would stop and someone would be like ’Baaaby, you know how much you mean to me.’ I wanted to do it in a kind of perverted, satanic way too. That’s how that came about. I mean me and Cole are basically the same creative spirit. I just think that he’s a little bit more like, anal and… what’s the word? Extrovert! More like anally retentive and more like sub-conscious. Cole’s just more like, rubbing his poop on the wall! Do you think Microcastle is quite a big journey from beginning to end? Do you see it as a journey from one place to another… I can see how you can see it like that and I don’t think you’re wrong. I think… but I don’t view it that way so much because... How do you view it? Well I mean, it’s boring… I don’t even want to talk about how I view it because it’s more like I view it how it was made; in pieces. And I don‘t want people to think of it that way. It’s like when you think of a movie you want people to think of it as a narrative from beginning to end, you don’t want to think about the fact that it was shot out of sequence, you know what I mean? Some of it was shot in 2004 and some of it was shot in 2006 and you know, it was edited together and there were computer graphics and… do you know what I‘m saying? It’s become more spontaneous? Yeah. I mean I want it to feel like a journey; I want it to build narrative… What about the development of your sound. Will you be developing your albums further; exploring new ideas? Oh, well I think every album will be a different experiment, you know? This album is experimental in the fact that it was so conventional, you know? The next album I think will be more, um, based on individual songs; it’ll be a lot less connected… I mean, you know like how Cryptograms flowed like one song - the songs never really stopped, they were always kind of melting into each other and stuff. And then Microcastle has that a little bit but also it’s more like, there are more individual songs. It’s more solid. The next one I think is going to go further in that direction of like - I think I want every song to be recorded in a different place, by a different person with a different instrument… I have a concept for the next album that I want to try, that’s based on like… I want the next album to be more like a documentary in terms of I want every song to be like a tribute to a certain era of rock music in the 20th Century or something. Like if you went to a used cassette store and got the cassettes out and started listening to one song from each one, you know what I mean? Just totally different atmospheres for each song. I mean like I don’t want it to blend together at all, I want it to be maybe like 12 or 13 or 14 individual songs from different albums and that sort of… And so that’s like my ideas and, um… but that’s very early and I’ve only written like a few pieces of songs. I haven’t even written a full… (Fails to finish sentence) Have you got any collaborations in mind for the album, because I know you worked with Jay Reatard on… I’m always thinking about that, you know? Like it would be cool to… And people contact me and they’re like ‘Hey, why don’t you come do this,’ you know? Like buddies and friends and… I’m into that, you know? I’m into that a lot because it’s just so funny to transpose different personalities. I especially like working with The Black Lips. They’re a fun bunch. Yeah. We just get along really well and have like, really a lot in common in terms of taste and… attitude I guess. It doesn’t look that way maybe; maybe we look more cerebral or artsy or something and they look more like traditional or masculine or something but… I mean I really rate them a lot. Fantastic. Well I know you’ve got a lot to do, so I’m going to rap this one up in a second… But are there any future plans you’ve got that are worth talking about? Um, I mean other than working on the next record and, um, touring and stuff... And what does Microcastle mean to you? (Long pause)… To me it’s just like, a very 50s, 60s like… I think it’s a tribute to like sentimentalist’s rock n’ roll, you know? Excellent… Cheers. Thanks Bradford. Great to meet you. It’s been a pleasure… Microcastle is released on 4AD/Kranky Records, October 28th. To visit the band’s MySpace page CLICK HERE .


		Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip! 09/09/2008 Dan le Sac and Scroobius Pip shoot the s**t. Extracted from Notion Magazine 34. Dan le Sac: The death of the music industry: People keep talking about the death of the music industry as if it were a bad thing, as record companies struggle to find the next big thing and spend all their cash on ways of protecting their investments, people will continue to find ways of getting their musical fix for free. The thing is live music will continue to grow, and in a sense music will move into a time of natural selection, only the best will survive. Its not about selling records anymore, its about getting bums on seat. Soup: Soup is truly fantastical, especially when it involves croutons. Any meal you can put into a thermos is alright by me. What I've never understood though is why aren't "smoothies" called soup? Or atleast fruit soup? Its just cold soup like gazpacho. Forgetting Names: Over the last year i have forgotten more names than i have remembered, I would like very much to walk away from a conversation and be able to answer simple questions like "who was that?" without saying "you know, he's in that band...the ones with the bagpipes and all the percussion." The only solution i can suggest is that everyone should speak in the third person, so when i walk in to a shop it would sound like this "hello, dan le sac would like pie and chips twice please" then "indeed, Johnny chipshop would like £4.95 in return please." Quim: I’ve never understood why the word quim isn't in greater linguistic circulation? Its cousin Cunt gets a decent amount of usage but why not quim? Its simple enough to use, means much the same thing as cunt but it also has the added bonus of being quite a bouncy lyrical word. Words of advice for young people: I dont like giving advice, although i do it alot. Generally when i give advice i just fudge things Trisha and Jeremy Kyle have said to me together, and then say them politely. SO my advice to you is dont listen to my words of advice. Scroobius Pip: Beards: The key to a good beard is persistance. That and Aussie non frizz conditioner. A Lot of people start a beard then bottle it as soon as they get to the "random hair shooting everywhere" phaze. This is a temporary phaze. Fight through and the rewards will be fruitful. U.S. Politics: Im not really qualified to give an ACTUAL guide to this but i have been thinking about it alot recently. In the UK and America governments have been trying to get young people to vote for years by getting celebrities to do cheesey adds urging young'uns to "rock the vote". Its interesting that what it has ACTUALLY taken to get kids interested in the political game has been someone to get behind. Barack Obama seems to have been able to ignite something that not even the mighty Justin Timberlake could. New Music: It amuses me that when something new comes along all the record labels start a frenzy to find the "new" version of it. The reason someone like Lily Allen made such an impact was because she was fresh and new so the "new" Lily Allen probably wont be a female singer songwriter! All though if that rush to find the new Lily or Amy is responsible for letting the world know about Kate Nash and Adele then its gotta be a good thing i guess! Suits: I love wearing suits. Its a fact. But they have to look good and the key to that is a good cut. Problem is i dont have much money so here is my tip. Find a reasonabley good looking suit in a charity shop, buy it for a tenner then take it to be tailored at your local dry cleaners. Mine Does the job for around twenty quid so you end up with smashing looking suit for around thirty pounds. Marvelous. Live Shows: Tooooooo many bands these days worry about looking cool and having a persona when they play live. This noramlly leads to boring, boring, boring live shows. What bands and acts need to remember is that people have come out to be entertained and have fun. They haven’t paid to come and be impressed by how cool you are. Words: Dan le Sac & Scroobius Pip Photography: Bartolomy

		Simian Mobile Disco interview! 11/08/2008 Simian Mobile Disco are one of those acts people who aren’t even into the club and party vibe have heard of. Probably. You see, as well as fast becoming a globally renowned DJ duo – created off the back of the now defunct Simian, James Ford and Jas Shaw have had their fingers in many a musical pie; very scrumptious musical pies; several in fact!!! Ford’s sticky pinky has produced number one debut albums for the Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, and Last Shadow Puppets – a band he also plays the drums in. Anyway, now Ford and Shaw are going to be hitting Tijuana in Mexico, for Simian Mobile Disco’s Sol Session on November 1st. You know Sol, right? That tasty lager that falls into the unisex bracket – meaning that bulbous ladettes are transformed into mildly-attractive ladies when they drink it and guys just drink it anyway. We caught up with the thoroughly charming James Ford to discuss the new SMD album, Mexico, and the art of seduction… um, well, production actually. You’re going to be playing a Sol Session in Tijuana; exciting stuff! Have you played in Tijuana before? Well, we’ve played in Mexico before – a couple of times; just in Mexico City and Acapulco. And yeah, like, to varying degrees of success really. I mean the Mexico City gig was amazing, but the Acapulco gig was a total shambles. It was just, like, really crazy down there – their organisation and stuff. But yeah, Mexico’s amazing; I’m really looking forward to it – to getting back there… And now that Simian Mobile Disco are so globally renowned, it must be fantastic to go around the world to all these different places and see all these different cultures? Ah, it’s amazing. Like, especially as I did a lot of production with Justice – on his own… And you know, we did like Singapore and Malaysia, and there were armed guards sort of wandering around with him and all this; they gave him a police escort and cleared traffic and shit – it was really entertaining. So you’re working on the new album at the moment, how’s that coming along? Are you taking things in a different direction from your previous material? Well, a little bit slowly to be honest - because as I say, Jas has just had a kid; but we’ve got a load of stuff on the go; I’d say we’re about halfway there. I’d say it’s definitely a lot deeper and a bit more psychedelic than our other stuff. You know, I’ve been listening to a lot of krautrock and that kind of thing. We’re still trying to keep the new stuff dance-floor and stuff, but maybe it’s just a bit more… broadened out I suppose. And you guys will be working your magic on production again – or have you brought in someone else? No, no, we’re producing it ourselves and we’re producing the mix – because we’re both producers in our own right, you know? I don’t think we’d ever get another producer in. Sure, sure. And on the subject of producing, are you proud that some of the bands you’ve worked with – Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Last Shadow Puppets - have achieved such success? Yeah, yeah, it’s great you know – but obviously, you know - I can’t take all the credit. Obviously they’re really good bands and whatever, but I just feel kind of fortunate to have been given the chance to work with them really. Having played in a band as part of the original Simian, remixing music must be a completely different ball game altogether? Um, well it’s different in every sort of situation really. Generally, as much as possible, I try to mix with a proper desk and, um, you know – I’m a great believer that there’s a certain magic you get from all the little boxes and all the cables and that; I’m not really big on all the digital world and that … I think just being in a little room – a room you know - and laying down the music is important; it’s quite an involved process – the build-up. Usually you get a really rough balance to start with and then go through the process of compressing every element until you’re happy with it. Any plans in the pipeline for a Simian reunion or working with the other guys in some capacity again; maybe the Black Ghosts or something? Probably not to be fair… no. We sort of; well - I’ve sort of enjoyed making music more since the band has finished. I don’t kind of regret the band, I definitely learnt a lot and enjoyed it and stuff, but I don’t think I’d ever want to go back there really. I think everyone who was involved is the same to be honest; we’ve all sort of done better in our own right since the band finished. And what about your plans away from SMD; have you got any exciting shows or production work lined-up? The Sol Session obviously; and I’m going to be playing live with the whole Shadow Puppets thing – Alex Turner – in October. I’m really looking forward to that because I haven’t really done any sort of live – playing with an instrument kind of thing - for a while. That’ll be fun. And yeah, there’s the new Klaxons record, and the new SMD record - both out at the end of the year, so I’ll be keeping myself busy with that. For further information on the Simian Mobile Disco Sol Session and to win tickets, visit sol-beer.co.uk

60 Seconds


		Royal Treatment Plant Interview! 02/10/2008 If I were to dissect Royal Treatment Plant and pull back the layers, I’d probably be faced with many things. But what ? With steel handle pressed nervously against my sweaty palm and secured against the base of thumb, I extend my index finger along the scalpel, ease my hand forward and - with the gleaming metallic blade, make an incision. As the blood slowly seeps, the first thing you notice is a tender and fragile heart beating at the centre; one of lyrical heartache and defiance. Underneath a confident and bolshy exterior, lays a fragile skeleton that has been broken before; now rebuilt and resolute. Through the veins pump elements of Throwing Muses’ ability to create shifting melodies, the rushing of Pixies’ quiet/loud dynamic and the poised, nonchalant elegance of The Duke Spirit. Royal Treatment Plant’s background is a little more unconventional than many bands. Singer and guitarist PP was brought up in New Guinea, an Island just north of Australia, to a devoted church going family. Studying classical music into her teens, she talks about her childhood, reflecting that, “my background was very religious, we wasn’t allowed to listen to any new music”. So, having been sheltered from the larger world, she decided to leave that behind and come to London. Here enters DJ. When he isn’t slapping the bass for RTP, he’s a teacher, dancer and Musical Director/Arranger, for the Phil McIntyre approved ‘Into The Hoods’ show. At 18, a career as an opera singer beckoned; until a stumbling block appeared: “There was something about having to wait until you were 27 to do it, so when I went to Uni I thought, ‘sod that’ and ended up trying lots of stuff out”. And thus, discovering Guns ‘n’ Roses and Nirvana was the fire in the belly needed to propel him into RTP. Beefing up the cannon is Sam on Guitar, Tommy T on Keyboards and Chris beating the heck out of Drums. XFM have jumped on their wagon, whilst the mighty rock titans at L.A.’s KROQ have been belting out RTP since they got their grubby little mitts on their debut single, Get Played. But the attention didn’t stop there, one Mike Chapman (Blondie) popped up into view, as PP explains: “(He) found us on MySpace - we thought it was a joke - and said he really liked us and just kept tabs on us. “ Having been sent rough mixes, Chapman worked his magic, producing ‘Hope Is Not Enough’ and ‘Undercurrent’ from RTP’s debut album ‘Hope Is Not Enough’. Musically the album sweeps from all directions, cascading with taught rhythms and boisterous melodies. ‘Get Played’ drips with sensual and fiery energy; unforgiving riffs charge relentlessly forward, stopping only to whiplash you into a painful jolt. Scornful vocals utter, ‘you didn’t come here to make a new friend’. Then you have ‘Hearts and Minds,’ where the tempo slows down into a dreamy and melancholic acceptance, ‘Undercurrent,’ a bittersweet frenetic journey, twisting through pinball melodies, and the punky new-wave of ‘Carry Me’. DIY to the core, the band put out their own records, direct and film their own videos, and book their own tours; like so many other bands, they’ve become disillusioned with some areas of the music business. The album title itself sums up their experiences and attitude to date, with PP softly saying: “Sometimes it’s true, hope is not enough; you can’t hope things will be ok”. Lee Puddefoot

		Keith Reilly has a natter about Matter! 19/09/2008 By now you’ve probably heard about London’s new super-venue, Matter. If you haven’t, I can only presume you’re a recently cured agoraphobic, or you’ve had your cock stuck in a coke can for the last two months or something. Everyone who likes their bass BIG, their nights MENTAL and their music supplied by the front-runners on the DJ circuit and live scene, has been talking about Matter. It’s going to be absolutely friggin’ HUGE! We’re talking an Elvis burger HUGE! We’re talking Dolly Parton’s latest breast implants HUGE! We’re talking a 32,737 square foot, 2,600 capacity venue - housed within London’s O2 - HUGE! We’re talking the same crew who brought you London’s Fabric HUGE! We’re talking a body kinetic dance-floor, a super sound-system and cutting edge visuals HUGE! We’re talking UNKLE, Ian Brown, Ian Astbury, Gavin Walker, Joel Cadbury, Late of the Pier, Iglu and Hartley, and Carl Cox playing across the opening 2 nights HUGE! We’re talking… we’re talking… we’re… we’re… Fuck it, we’ve done enough talking. We caught up with Matter’s founder Keith Reilly, so that he could do some talking and let you know just how HUGE Matter's going to be… Having been a co-founder of Fabric, how did the challenge of opening a venue like Matter compare? They were very different projects. Fabric was more difficult in the development stages because there were immense structural and engineering problems associated with the conversion of a structure so old and awkward. Matter has been built from a flat plot of land, so the problems related to design and the scale of the project; almost twice the size of Fabric. But to be totally honest neither of them felt like a challenge. They both felt like glorious opportunities to create the spaces we’d dreamt of. If you could imagine that you were redesigning your living room to install the very best sound and visual system available, would it feel like a challenge to you? Of course not. You’d be stimulated, excited, and enthused throughout. That's exactly how it feels to me. With so many huge clubs and club-nights scattered around the capital, it must be a pretty competitive market; especially if you're a new venue. How will Matter keep ahead of its game? Matter isn't there to compete, and we never make those market or benchmark comparisons to stay in or ahead of any thing or game. Matter is simply there to create. Both Fabric and Matter are almost experiments in self-indulgence. We do exactly what we want to do and what we believe in when it comes to music. If people love it we’ll pay the rent, if they don’t then we’ll fail. It really is as simple as that. That might sound clichéd or pretentious to some, but if you think about it, it’s entirely logical. Observing our self-indulgence ensures that the integrity and sincerity of what we do is never diluted or distorted to fit anything else, least of all market conditions or trends. If people love what we do, that’s fantastic. If they don't, there’s little value in us changing what we do because we’d be playing a guessing game, making things up as we go and adjusting it in accordance with external forces; and that’s not a game we could play well. The objective is not to compete with others. Many of them are doing wonderful things. The purpose here is to explore the perceived boundaries of what’s possible in terms of live performance and production levels and transcend them. These aspirations are based on personal fulfillment, not the desire to excel in any given market or supersede the efforts or achievements of others. By melding live acts and DJs with artists and bands, you're basically targeting two niches. What was behind the decision to include bands in what many conceive, perhaps wrongly, as being a club venue? How will the concept operate? Perception is very often misleading. Firstly, this is not a club venue… It’s a live music venue that is better equipped in terms of sound and visuals than any other that I’m aware of. Fusing live acts with DJ's is not new to us either. We’ve been doing it for 9 years at Fabric. There are nights at Fabric where we present anything from up 20 full live shows in one night. Matter gives us the opportunity to present very different shows and raise the production bar. I’m not sure I accept the premise that a split between live and DJ represent niches either. I’ve always loved and attended both and I think that isn’t too dissimilar to the outlook of others. The necessary distinction is between good music and bad music, not the style of performance. I couldn’t agree more… Okay, what about the technology and the travel to and from Matter? To put things into perspective, just how advanced is Matter compared to other venues? Sell it to us… Technology… This is a subject that most find boring or confusing. I could rattle out endless data regarding tech specs and innovative equipment, but to many that will be meaningless terminology and model numbers. It’s something you have to see and feel. The purpose of equipping the venue with cutting edge technology is not to impress people with stats and large numbers related to power, it’s to touch other parts of the psyche with its beauty and capability, and to leave people utterly breathless and overwhelmed by the moment. A tech spec can't do that; you really need to see how we use it in the performances we present. As for travel, there is nothing unusual here either - save the inclusion of riverboat facilities. We have always provided safe taxis which we operate ourselves at Fabric. The Jubilee line is a fantastic link. Drops you right at the door and only four stops from Bank Station. I really hope that people take full advantage of the river though. It’s a truly enchanting way to arrive because the river is so spectacular at night. It's a venue that many believe will be one of the biggest in the world. You've got UNKLE and Ian Brown playing the launch night, and DJs including Kissy Sell Out and Carl Cox in the opening month alone. Have you had any artists, DJs or bands personally approach Matter to play at the venue? How huge has the interest been? The interest has been amazing. Many of the artists have been incredibly receptive and supportive. Fortunately we have existing relationships that have been built over years between parties that respect and value each others respective commitment to music and promotion. It's usually more difficult with a completely fresh project of this nature. Most artists and agents prefer a suck-it-and-see approach, but our history at Fabric has made it much easier to communicate our performance productions objectives. David Levy is one of the most respected and professional agents in the business. He has had the courage and foresight to book a Deadmau5 show at the venue before it has even opened. David knows us well enough to understand that we’ll do anything required to ensure this venue will be everything we promised and that the show will be stunning. David visited the venue during its development and understood it immediately. It's encouraging that we have agents like him, with the experience and foresight necessary to bring all these things together. Although Matter's a completely different entity to Fabric and if the rumours are to be believed, do you feel that following Fabric's closure next January, supporters of the club will see Matter as their next port of call? I have heard this rumour several times recently. Let me make it clear that Fabric has no intention of closing its doors this January or any other. It will close when the party is finally over. I think this has been confused with the closure of The End, in January. Fabric and Matter will be doing different things and will be exciting alternatives to anyone who truly loves their music. Seeing Sasha or UNKLE at matter will be a different experience to seeing Sasha or UNKLE at Fabric. I see no reason why people who want to see this artist in Matter wouldn't wish to do so again is six months time at Fabric. There are a lot of people who’ll be well chuffed that you cleared that up for us. Finally, what plans has Matter got for the future? Any big names you can reveal who’ll be playing the venue or large celebrations worthy of note? No plans. I want it to evolve and find its own path, devoid of premeditation. It will blossom as fabric did, as a consequence of the collective contributions of the many artists we work with. It’s exciting and intriguing not knowing exactly what will happen. All we’ve created so far is a cradle in which beautiful things may grow. As for announcing future acts - you must be kidding! My press department will lynch me if I disclosed that. Matter opens its doors with a Live Launch Night on Friday 19th September, featuring the likes of UNKLE, Ian Brown, Late of the Pier and Iglu and Hartley. Saturday 20th September marks the venues Club Launch Night, featuring the likes of Carl Cox, Yousef and The Field. Everyone from Reverend and the Makers to Kissy Sell Out and Simian Mobile Disco will be heading to Matter over the next month. For further information, visit Matter’s website by CLICKING HERE!

		The Shapeshifters Interview! 14/08/2008 The Shapeshifters are Max Reich and Simon Marlin, the DJ duo that catapulted themselves to the dizzy heights of stardom in 2005 with their No.1 hit: Lola's Theme. Now they’ve signed to Defected, they tell us about their new single ‘Chime’, why a change of record label feels good, why Knuckles and Morales are such good mates and why mixing the next in the ‘Defected In the House’ compilation series makes them feel. “ Chime - a few people may have felt you cannot touch that record, it is sacrilege, but Orbital love it and that means more to us than anything else ”. Max Reich. You’ve known each other for a long time - I bet you feel like brothers now, but what was life like before the Shapeshifters got together? Max: I didn’t have a life (laughs). Simon: He didn’t know anybody before he met me! No, it’s funny, I guess we do have a brotherly relationship. We work and travel well together, but we have our own set of friends and lead our own lives without being in each other’s pockets. It’s a pretty good balance actually if I think about it. Max: It’s a healthy balance and probably a testament of why we’ve been together for twelve years. The life before the Shapeshifters we were fairly successful individuals, I was releasing a lot of Techno and Electronic music and we were both DJing over in Europe. So it’s not like we came from nothing and then suddenly did Lolas Theme. What’s the pressure like for you now that you’ve had various hits? Are your intentions always to make big radio records for your fans? Simon: We’re just going to make the records we want to make. It’s that simple. If something slips over into the more commercial side of things, that’s fine. We don’t knock commercial success, because what is commercial success? It just means it’s something popular that people in their thousands enjoy; but for some reason in dance music it’s frowned upon. I do believe that there are people out there making records for the masses… that’s not we want to do but if the masses end up liking what we do anyway then that’s very cool with us. That’s pretty much how it was with Lola… we didn’t set out to make a huge record…. We just knew it was good. Max: We feel that if we do something in the studio, that has commercial potential, Defected is capable of delivering it. If we do want to do something like Chime, just for the DJ and the dancefloor, the label can also deal with that scenario as well, so it’s perfect for us. Simon: Pressure wise I don’t think we’re under much pressure today – if you are going to be releasing good dance records we don’t need to make tracks with a format song, verse, bridge, chorus - it’s just going to be a good dancefloor track. We love writing songs, but after writing so much over the past few years, it’s natural for us to go the other way for a while and it’s in our time rather than the record company’s. Saying we need this track now for the radio is when it starts to become wrong and you begin to think: “Hold on a second who are we making these records for, us or the company?” And having your own record label enables you to have that scope? Max: What it enables you to do is get stuff out and have the freedom to choose whatever you want to release, because it’s your own choice to sign whatever artist you believe in. Simon: In terms of opening up avenues, you look at labels like Defected, Toolroom and CR2 - they have the 360 model; but for us we just want our label to be a vehicle to push the music which we hear and like. You’ve said many times that Frankie Knuckles and David Morales are big inspirations to you, do you look at their careers in order to guide your own? Simon: Ironically, Frankie has partly helped from a guidance point of view and is more of an inspiration to us. We love what both of them have done and you just have to look at some of their achievements; it’s mind boggling. Not many people have done more for the scene than those guys have, so to have a friendship out of it by default is great and we feel very privileged. You recently remixed Orbital’s ‘Chime’, of all the big rave tunes why did you choose that particular record? Simon: We’d been toying with the idea for a while so one day we just did it; then it turns out to be twenty years of acid house this year. I believe that record sums it all up; it’s euphoric with a great hook and a great record to remix – one of our favourites, which made it an easy choice to make. Max: On the whole the reaction has been brilliant and more people are beginning to recognise it now. In the beginning, when we first played it, I think people thought: “Yes this is a good record”; but now, each time, you get more and more reaction and I think it’s because more people are playing it. A few people may have felt that you cannot touch that record, that it’s sacrilege; but Orbital love it and that means more to us. You’re mixing the next in the compilation series ‘Defected In The House’, does that make you nervous? Simon: We only to want to do a great job, but then you always want to do the best you can, however sometimes it’s down to what material is available and what you can get licensed. We’re very happy with what we have now and we’ll have it finished this week. I believe the compilation sets out our stall as to where Shapeshifters are at right now, musically, and the groove we are on; for that reason alone, I’m very excited about the release. Max: There are three CDs; one is up-tempo, one deeper and the third is a reflection of tracks that have inspired us. You must have some selections that particularly stand out in the new compilation? Max: There’s that ‘ATFC bad habit 2008’ remix; it’s a brilliant mix which we’re pleased to have and also the ‘Fedde and Funkerman’ track that is a big peak time dancefloor record. Also, we’re quite proud of the remake we’ve done of Lola’s theme - Lola 08. I hear you had difficulty getting some of your inspirational tracks for CD3? Simon: There were a lot of records we couldn’t have, which was disappointing. When you start thinking about tracks you love and were inspired by over the years, the list gets pretty long and you want to share them with other people. Your inspirations are like a window to your own soul, so to miss out on certain ones, like Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean’ - one of the first records I ever brought - was a shame; but hey, there are still some great records on there. We got the likes of ‘Look What You’ve Done To Me’, Al Green; it’s just one of my favourite, favourite records - the soul in that record just jumps out of you and sonically it’s stunning. There’s also Tears for Fears’ ‘Head over Heals’, which was from my school days and I just love the piano line in that record; it’s phenomenal. Max: The one thing I should say and will be mentioned in our sleeve notes, is that EMI won’t let us clear the Original Johnny Taylor: What About My Love . Obviously that was the basis for Lola’s theme, so we’re very disappointed about that and I think people will see our inspirations and think: “Where is it?” For the record, we tried it and it was first on our list, but due to politics and red tape it doesn’t look like we’re going to get it. What does the future hold now for the Shapeshifters? Simon: Does anyone know what the future holds? All we know is that right now it feels good and it’s funny because it’s kind of been quite a seamless transition into our new home with Defected. We feel more inspired now than ever before and we’re looking forward to getting back in the studio doing some more work. Words: Toni Tambourine

who the f**k?


		The Transpersonals 01/09/2008 The Transpersonals’ music sounds like the kind of thing you’d find if you carved open the mind of a 60s free-love-and-fucking, Acid-popping freak and were drowned underneath a kaleidoscopic stream of musical notes. Only The Transpersonals’ music is a bit more, well… now? A tad more current. You know; good for 2008? The Bristolian band’s back-story paints an interesting picture, not least because it’s neither now, current or 2008; in fact, it’s the kind of tale you’d associate with the psychedelic and experimental 60s Summer of Love. We’re talking Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys when he went through his whole mind-frazzled ‘Smiley Smile’ faze; Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones before he was found face down in his swimming pool; the wide-eyed Syd Barrett before he became a recluse and made book-shelves out of baked bean cans. We’re talking about gorging on more hallucinogenic drugs than a fat kid eats candy bars and a fly nibbles fresh shit. The Transpersonals’ lead-vocalist, Timothy Hurford, was homeless and expanding his mind by dropping just about anything that would send him on a far-out trip, man. Maybe it was the sheep playing poker and drinking Blue Nun, or whatever crazy images were flying through Hurford’s neuro-transmitters, but he eventually found himself locked away in a mental institute. Thankfully, he’s okay now, although it’s apparent from The Transpersonals’ music that Hurford’s psychedelic experimentation and spell in mental-captivity has left a long-standing mark. Despite a notable psychedelic theme to The Transpersonals’ music, with subtle undertones of the 90s Indie vibe, debut EP ‘Evolve or Die’ is an eclectic four-track collection. ‘Hello Hello’ is a psych-tinged Surf-Pop ditty and a mighty catchy little number, whilst ‘Silver Star’ features the fantastic Katey Brooks as guest-vocalist. Instant comparisons to Nico (she of Velvet Underground fame) will no doubt be made. And it’s the fact that few bands have delved into the kaleidoscopic realms of psychedelica in 2008, that makes The Transpersonals a sure-fire bet to carve a name within the niche. Go check out their MySpace and order their EP now. You’ll be pleasantly surprised… Words: Dangerous Dave

		Reemer 23/07/2008 Reemer: Dave Hunter (Vocals), Nick Murray (Guitar), Dan Evans (Drums), Max Redfern (Bass) Reemer may have the sort of name you’d associate with a guy who enjoys licking arse out, but they’re actually a pop-punk band from Manchester. It’s true. Their name has nothing to do with anilingus at all; they took it off a guy from cult film ‘Baseketball’. Think Busted, dunked in a blender with a blotter of LSD and a bottle of fizzy pop, and you’re almost there… almost. Anyway, Reemer are so popular in Manchester and the North-West that a recent gig at ‘Sonic Boom’ was oversold by like, 200 tickets. Everyone stormed the stage like a scene from Zulu, and then, get this… they kidnapped Reemer’s bass player, Max Redfern! Mental isn’t it? Reemer even featured in everyone’s favourite C4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, which has storylines including teen-junkies and a guy who’s faked his own death. The band repaid the favour by roping in Leah Hackett, who plays Tina McQueen in the soap, to star in the video to new single ‘Maniac’. Tina McQueen’s latest storyline was giving birth to her boyfriend’s brother’s baby for her ex-jailbird sister, who goes out with her boyfriend’s brother… or something like that. It’ll all end in tears. In fact, so popular are Reemer up North, that Johnny Vegas is set to ditch the knitted tea-drinking monkey to star in their next video! Alas, Reemer have recently been asked to contribute a track to the Mighty Boosh podcast, have an extensive upcoming tour schedule, and are set to release a debut album on ‘Reaction Records’. This suggests that they’re going to explode like a liquid fart! The upcoming album, Snakes and Ladders, is being produced by Andy Macpherson and Chris Kemsey, who have worked with the likes of Blondie, The Cult, New Model Army, The Who, and The Rolling Stones! Anyway, you can check Reemer out on their MySpace . DD New single ‘MANIAC’ is out now on ‘Reaction Records’. Debut album ‘SNAKES AND LADDERS’ is released September 2008. Check out the video to Maniac starring Tina from Hollyoaks:

		Detroit Social Club 16/07/2008 From an area of the North East more recognizable for producing adolescent soaps than generating musical talent, there is now emerging one of the most promising bands of the modern era. Detroit Social Club, a six piece only formed just prior to Christmas, has already been astonishing music lovers and A&R personnel alike with their heavily-distorted, dirty-bluesy riffs, profound bass, thudding drums and powerful, soul-inspiring vocals. Although singer/songwriter David Burn, 27, has exhausted a hefty quantity of the past year in his personal studio vigilantly assembling his songs and mastering a unique sound, only recently has this incorporated some of Newcastle’s finest musical talent – including long term friend, Chris McCourtie, Davids Green and Welsh, along with prodigious teens Bondy and Dale Knight. Despite the solitary beginnings, this crew around Burn have become vital ingredients of his vision to “Bring back the feeling”. Burn explains further: “It’s not just about making something sound nice… but also getting something from someone and getting something out of it, where you listen to something and you believe it”. This deluge of spirit is encapsulated in the quite simplistic yet brilliant ‘Black and White’; likewise, in the swaggering vibe of the formidable ‘Sunshine People’, through which even the most passive listener is transcended into a world of alternative realities. Burn, self evidently the band’s clear leader, speaks of Detroit Social Club as a “schizophrenic band” in seeking to maintain a boundary between the recordings and the live performance. “Recordings-wise, there’ll be a lot of soul - it’s gonna be about the colouration of the tracks, a lot more about the vibe and different sounds we can implement”. He continues, “live is very much about dragging you by the balls from the back of the room! You’re gonna be fuckin’ jumping around, not even realizing. Getting to the end of the gig, they’ll be like, how did I get here? It’s gonna be like two different things; by keeping your live presence and your recording separate you’re always gonna surprise people”. Already evident is how much this young band offer, and so it comes as little surprise that a growing amount of record labels, including several majors, have been eager to be associated with a band that is breeding so much enthusiasm. This has led to what Burn defines as a “stroke of luck” – by chance, a demo landed on the desk of Artic Monkeys manager Geoff Barrowdale one Saturday afternoon. By the Sunday morning contact had been made and within weeks he had became their manager. Happenstance shines on the deserving! The initial “excitement”, in Burn’s words, has now been replaced by “apprehension… apprehension to stop talking about it and start doing it”. With a tour of northern cities announced recently, and the album recording set to commence in September, it has been a hectic, tumultuous journey for a band that non-existent but six months ago. With a number one single in the metro charts, “the best manger in the business”, Razorlight’s engineer collaborating with Burn in his production, a host of top bands clambering for them as tour support, there is no doubt that they are in good stead for an extremely promising career. What cannot be denied is that the management has enabled the process to be accelerated. Nevertheless, nor can it be ignored that this has only been possible due to the implausibly good collection of songs that Detroit Social Club has amassed. Talent shines. It is little wonder that there is so much exhilaration: finally, in Detriot Social Club, a band has emerged eager to challenge that hangover the industry has been nurturing since the demise of the Libertines; the hangover the precedes the ebullient, transcendental presence of a defining rock’n’roll band. Richard Duncan

future gigs


		Levi's OnesToWatch. The Old Blue Last. October 8th. 03/10/2008

		Sony Ericsson Run To The Beat. Throughout London. October 5th. 01/10/2008

		Smirnoff Electric Cabaret. Manchester Academy. November 27th. 30/09/2008

future clubs


		Desert Lounge. Marrakech. October 17th - 18th. 06/10/2008

		Mulletover Halloween Special. Secret Location. November 1st. 03/10/2008

		Twisted Licks. The Last Days of Decadence. October 3rd. 23/09/2008

gig reviews


		Bestival. Robin Hill. Isle of Wight. 16/09/2008

		The Harder They Come. Playhouse Theatre. London. 09/09/2008

		Goodiepal/Shit and Shine/Faust. Cargo. September 2nd. 04/09/2008

club reviews


		Clubland Goes To The Dogs! Pure at The Printworks! 30/07/2008

		Friends and Family featuring Guilty Simpson 20/02/2008

		AREA51 Launch Night 08/02/2008

film & tv


		Max Payne (Cert. TBC) 08/09/2008 Guess what... there’s another movie based on a computer game coming out. Oh joy! But here’s the thing, it actually looks okay. I know, I know, mental isn’t it? Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) tells the story of a cop whose wife and kid are killed. So Max goes a bit crazy and starts hunting down the perpetrators so he can shoot their arse full of lead and kill the demon that haunts him. Well, you know, metaphorically speaking. I mean, the demon of seeing your wife and kid lying dead on a bed and stuff... I guess it's kind of like when I stole a sherbet lemon from the Woolworth’s pic ‘n’ mix. I couldn’t sleep for like, 14 hours, which is quite some time for a twelve year-old kid. I needed to sort the situation out. So rather than shoot people and dive around like Ross Kemp in that SAS programme, I went back into Woolie’s and brought some sherbet lemons and then I quickly put one back. I felt better after that. My conscience was clear. I could sleep easy. Then I went and stole some flying saucers and they were well-good! Shat all over the sherbet lemons. Anyway, Max Payne goes all maverick and slightly psycho, his search for the killers taking him deep into the criminal underworld. But being 'Max Payne' he keeps going, deeper and deeper on his search so that he can put the whole sorry mess to bed! And get this, there are like, these big flying demons he encounters. Real demons. Not dream demons or nightmare demons or “I stole from the pic ‘n’ mix” demons. Obviously there’s the token good-looking gal (Mila Kunis) thrown into the equation too. It kind of looks like the Matrix minus the pretentious lingo and with a plot you don't need a calculator to figure out. Check out the trailer below. Director: John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, The Omen) Cast: Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, The Italian Job) ; Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, That 70’s Show) Release Date: November 14 2008 Certificate: TBC

		Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Cert. 12) 21/08/2008