We have been planning to make this post for a while now, but due to the outbreak of corona virus and subsequent cancellations of tours and concerts, we thought that independent artists need immediate exposure to help them. So over the next couple of days, we will be shining some light on artists that are operating far away from the mainstream, yet their music is so wonderful, so uplifting that it is a crying shame they do not get the recognition they truly deserve.
Normally all you have to do to discover a new artist, is to simply just walk into a pub or a dive bar. You will grab something to drink and suddenly the music coming from the stage will take you to a new exciting place. You will forget about the world, your troubles and after an hour you will be on your way home, happy with a new album in hand and maybe a new tee as well. In current circumstances, it is sadly not possible – but you can still discover new music, and you can do it online.
Sammy Zalta
So let us take you for a short journey to meet one of the nicest and most talented independent artists we have met in recent months. The gentleman’s name is Sammy Zalta, and he is usually seen shredding his guitar mercilessly on stage with New York based band Bambara. He is also an accomplished artist in his own right with three digitally released albums to his name.
Hidden under the alias of Nola Gras on Bandcamp, Mr Zalta has been recording solo material since early 2014. After a few experimental, self released projects that were distributed privately, Nola Gras’s first proper EP “Living In Darkness (Under the Covers)” was released in January 2015 and sadly is no longer available for streaming but you can read a phenomenal review of it right here: https://www.tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/premiere-nola-gras-living-in-darkness-under-the-covers-ep
Multi instrumentalist, balancing on the edges of several genres (alternative folk, psychedelic pop, shoegaze electronica, garage, punk and of course gothic revival), Sammy is not easy to squeeze into one musical box. But this is what we absolutely love about him. He is bold and daring, taking chances where other artists do not. You may not hear Nola Gras on the radio, but once you listen to his music, there is an entire musical landscape to discover. From short noise-inspired sketches of a song, to heart breaking renditions of Tim Buckley’s classics.
On 20th of March, for the next 24 hours, Bandcamp will remove any fees, to give the artists 100% of earnings from their music. If you’d like to support Sammy, please take a look what’s available to purchase.
“Paradiso Terrenal”
“Paradiso Terrenal” front cover
Full debut album by Nola Gras released in March 2015. It contains 12 songs, 10 original ones and two covers: very psychedelic version of Tim Buckley’s “Phantasmagoria In Two” and equally trippy, Jesus and Mary Chain flavoured “For You” by Big Star. “Paradiso Terrenal” translates into “Earthly Paradise” and it’s a very fitting title. If you love lo-fi psychedelia with a hint of western gothic, you will be in heaven listening to the tunes. Our favourite (except for the “Phantasmagoria”) is the title track that sounds like a cross between Elliot Smith and The Deep Blue Something. It is also the last song on the record and surprisingly very radio-friendly. Well maybe in a shortened version as it stands at nearly 9 minutes! The album was released in physical form on a cassette, but only in 40 copies and they are now all now sold out.
Released under a moniker of Like St. Joan, “O” saw the light of the day on June 5, 2017. The middle child of Sammy Zalta, is like a black sheep of the family – resembling no relative, including distant cousins twice removed. “O” is actually a very interesting entity – one look at the credits and we can see entire Bambara as a back up band plus Mike Hentz (Secret Flowers) and Thomas MacDonald (Plate of Shrimp). And the Bambara’s dark, unpredictable spirit is clearly visible in every track. It starts with “Her Patron Scum” aggressive and almost inhuman garage anthem of 6 minutes, quickly to merge with acid house inspired “Memoirs Of A Man Of Pleasure”. Title track “O” is a gothic revival masterpiece with chilling guitars and waltz-like rhythm. There are 7 compositions on the album and you cannot really call them songs – they are long, multi-level, broken into massive segments and frankly absolutely brilliant. If we were to write a short description for it, it would be Bambara meets King Crimson and recording with Trent Reznor locked up in a basement somewhere down in Georgia, no jokes about it. Almost radio friendly and punkish “Safe Spaces” could serve as the leading single, at 5:30 minutes, it is the shortest song on the album minus the instrumental “Quick…”. “Visions of You” take the listener back to the dangerous territory with a marching beat and poetic lyrics and “Egyptian Water Color” feels almost like a cut off from “Swarm” by Bambara.
In short – we cannot believe we missed it when it was first released! Maybe one day, “O” will be re-released on vinyl. One can wish…
“It All Ends the Same” is the latest album released by Nola Grass on March 25th 2019. It consists of 8 tracks written by the band (all originals) and was mixed/produced by Brooklyn based recording maverick, Ben Jones (AKA Constant Smiles). The album was promoted by a Beatlesque single “Ode To Ersa” and it came with a beautiful video you can see below:
“It All Ends the Same” is much different from “Paradiso Terrenal” and “O”. It is still a very guitar driven, psychedelic in nature but also toned down, melancholic in parts. Our favourite songs are “The Wings On My Shoulder” and nearly romantic “In the Dark”. Please pay closer attention to experimental, bit jazzy/western instrumental track “One Bright Pearl” and cinematic “Just Don’t, Please”.
Let’s not forget about the Bambara guys as well. Please support them as well through their BandCamp account or through their gift shop on their record label website:
Thank you and hopefully, when the dust settles, we will be standing in the front row at the nearest Bambara gig somewhere in the Northern Quarter handbanging like it’s 1989. And after the show, who’s ready for some pinball and pizza at the Crazy Pedro’s?
You all? Good, it’s gonna be a hell of an after party.
It is a privilege to support new music. Times may be hard, unpredictable and sometimes downright crazy, but the rock music is undergoing a real renaissance. Everywhere you turn, there is a great music flowing: from drum & bass, to garage punk, to house, dancehall and rave. We can complain about politics and social media becoming toxic, but we certainly cannot complain about the lack of good and ambitious music to listen to.
And today, we would like to introduce you to one of the unsigned, emerging bands that got our attention in the last couple of months – The Battery Farm.
Poet Boy single cover
Mancunia’s premier gutter punk four piece, The Battery Farm have recently rose to prominence on the indie scene, loudly screaming at the world and its ills. After releasing a string of well received singles (“97/91“, “I Am A Man” and “Crude Oil Water“), they are back with their brand new track entitled “Poet Boy” and it’s a proper sonic kick in the teeth.
The song starts with a thunderous beat and broken, fuzzed guitar riffs that are becoming their easily recognizable trademarks. I dont think there is anybody else on the circuit at this moment who can create such a depressive and somehow deranged atmosphere so quickly in their music, but the lads have a proper talent for this. And yes, their music is depressive and sad and angry and dirty but so is the reality surrounding us. This is what inspires them and this is what the band want to speak about. If you are looking for something pretty or shiny, go and listen to the BBC1. Here you will only find a justified anger, desolate tones and 10 tonnes of unhappiness.
Poet Boy advert with release date of 20/03/2020
Yet, there is a method in this madness. Despite the ugliness, broken melodic lines, scratching vocals full of fury and disappointment, “Poet Boy” has a therapeutic effect on the listeners. Once you dig through the upper layers of noise and disturbances, you will find a neatly composed song, with tempo changes, passages and nearly math rock precision. Pay attention to the lyrics as well – they are a very important part of the track.
“Poet Boy” is out on the 20th of March and once it is released, you will be listening to it on repeat.
Batter Farm live:
28th March 2020 – Off the Square, Manchester w/ False Heads 17th April 2020 – The Star and Garter, Manchester w/ tAngerinecAt 18th April 2020 – Ulltra Festival, Hull
15th May 2020 – The Globe, Glossop
17th May 2020 – After All Festival, Manchester
18th July 2020 – Ulltra Festival, York
28th August 2020 – Bank Top Tavern, Oldham
30th October 2020 – Deaf Institute, Manchester w/ DeafRobot
Please don’t show this review to Tom Ogden – for he will not be happy. Something is brewing on the winding streets of Manchester. Something wilder than a drunken escapade at 3 AM for a pizza slice and pinball at Crazy Pedro`s. Something sexier than the whole new season`s collection from Pop Boutique. Something more beautiful than a sunrise over the canals when you finally leave The Night People and head home to sleep. It`s unique, mysterious, ambitious and rowdy – just like Manchester itself. If you are even partly familiar with music scene up North – you will know by now what we have in mind.
Sleeve for Saytr Play new single “Future”
This band. They can`t be tamed, stopped or controlled. From the very first moment we met at iconic Jimmy`s on the Newton Street for few Polaroid shots, it was obvious that Saytr Play were going to burn their mark not only on Manchester scene – but on the music nationally (and maybe internationally).
In recent months, Saytr Play have released a string of incredible singes – “Second Hand Emotion”, “Honest Man” and now “Future”. They have signed to Lovers Music label and announced their debut EP “IN TRUTH I FEAR FOR THE HEART”. Their reputation grows by the day and it won`t be long before they are revered by crowds of fans.
And it will be deserved. Peel away the obligatory imagery of rock misfits and you will find young people who care a lot. About future generations, the homeless, environment. People`s band if you ever encountered one.
Saytr Play ready to see what the future holds
“Future” is a song that stems from personal experience. It’s a letter to a friend. We live our lives in fiction, pretending everything is okay; “It’s not our problem?” – says Fred Farrell, front man of the band – “I think it’s time to put the next generation first. It’s time to face reality. This song is an out-cry for the increasingly worrying number of familiar faces living on the streets. It’s an anthem for the youth, for the planet and for our future.”
“Future” is a melancholic and heart grabbing appeal to see something else than one`s own benefit – to notice another human being. “If this is what it feels like to be the future I feel so sorry for the youth” – observes Farrell in the lyrics. Musically the single could be described as electronic indie with a Radio 1 potential. But that would be off the mark. We won`t lie – this is a very radio friendly, nearly perfectly crafted pop record but with a heart and sincerity. Something that Top 40 is seriously lacking these days. It doesn’t feel fake or forced – like Blossom`s recent single “Your Girlfriend” for example.
We keep mentioning Blossoms. In 2016 we have seen Stockport finest supporting The Stone Roses – it took about 3 songs to win us over. To compare – it took ONE song for Saytr Play to make fans of us.
To give credit where its due – Blossoms recorded three incredibly good records and established themselves as leading figures on guitar scene in the UK. But you just wait till Saytr Play get to release an LP.
There you go – “Future” is out now. And we found you a new favourite rock band. You are very welcomed.
We are very, very, very (and did we mentioned VERY) excited to hear Saytr Play`s upcoming EP. Judging from the main single – it will be a strong contender to the albums/releases of the year for us at Vanadian Avenue. Times are hard but at least the music is brilliant.
M/R
***** Update 21/02/2020****
Small update as the single started on a high note with rave reviews coming in from every direction. “Future” has been premiered on X Radio by the leading champion of new music and broadcaster John Kennedy who described it as the finest offering from the band so far.
‘FUTURE’, the first single from our forthcoming debut EP ‘IN TRUTH I FEAR FOR THE HEART’ is now available on all major platforms!! . Massive thank you to @JohnKennedy for giving it a spin on @RadioX last night & for the kind words 🌸🖤🌸 pic.twitter.com/itOtE5JRKa
And if you want to know what other music blogs think (we encourage you to read and follow them – they are good friends of ours!), here is the list and we will be updating it as new reviews roll in:
Anyone up for a trip to Lincoln? This East Midlands town has a medieval cathedral, a Norman castle, a Roman gate and a stunning waterfront promenade among its many attractions. But wait till you hear about their local music scene! Vigilantes, Sükko or, the main subject of this blog, Who`s Misty? Now this is something we gotta tell you about!
Who`s Misty – your future superstars
About two weeks ago we received an email from a band that have not been on our radar. It read simply “So we have just spent the last hour trying to come up with a great opening line, but fortunately we are better at writing songs than emails!”. Straight to the point with sense of humour. We have to say the band had our full attention at that point. They were to release their debut single “Supernova” at the end of the month and were female led indie trio. The single has been attached to the email to make things easier. So we pressed play and then…something hit us but we still try to determine what it was.
It could have been the guitar hooks or the excellent melody line or maybe the vocals. Or just the fact that a young band sent us a single that should have been on BBC Radio 6 playlist. If we could not name one band from Lincoln before, after few days we were familiar with a good portion of the scene and we managed to gather quite a bit on Who`s Misty? themselves.
The core of the band consists of Donald Davis (drums/live guitar), Aidan Betts (bass) and Imogen Camplin (vocals), they occasionally become four piece for live shows. The trio have been gathering rave reviews across the spectrum: from BBC Introducing (“Absolutely cracking”- Jess Lord), BBC East Midlands (“Unlike anything else”- Hannah Fletcher) to blogs and magazines (“The band are set to rocket to the sky with their debut release. Ready for a silver screen, if the band have more songs like this in their back catalogue, they’re destined for greatness” -Chloe Mogg Reyt Good Magazine).
In a way it was encouraging that we were not the only ones who were absolutely mesmerised by “Supernova”. Who`s Misty? say they are ready to take 2020 by storm and in this case we will believe every word they say.
What Lincoln based trio produced is three minutes of upbeat indie song that could become one of Summers`s anthems. It has all the markings of a radio hit as well – from the catchy chorus to a melody line that is easily recognisable to a wonderful vocal duet at the end of the track. There is something of Wolf Alice, London Grammar, Echosmith and Sunflower Bean in them. But also a large quantity of their own stage presence and style. It is such a wonderful feeling for a reviewer to be able to see a young band at the very beginning of their career. And it`s not that we want to brag later on how we were “first to know them”. It is a rare privilege and a pleasure to witness how artists mature, develop and go on to conquer the world. We think we know how Steve Lamacq felt when he got that first demo from a band called Cold Play.
Who`s Misty? gigs have been described as electric.
Who`s Misty? may be a young band with barely a year under their belt but they have already been performing on larger stages. Last year the band was invited to play at 2Q Festival in Lincoln. If you find yourself debuting on the same bill as The Blinders, Avalanche Party, Yonaka or Calva Louise then this is a clear indication where this band will go in five years from now.
We don’t know who is the Misty (the bands bio answers cryptically “god knows…”) but we are certain that the Lincoln trio will be a force on the circuit quicker than you can say The Newport Arch. And we will not be surprised if record labels will keep on knocking on their door. Actually, if any label is reading this – do yourself a favour and sign the trio and mentor them in the right direction. You can thank us music scouts later.
We will be keeping our eye on the bands progress. And so should you. Now we are off to find our jaws – they should still be somewhere in the house. Maybe under the sofa…
Every year at Indieterria, we celebrate Christmas in an alternative way. Be it by bringing a festive cheer to a mosh pit (have you ever brought big slabs of chocolate to a gig to share with fellow gig goers and bands? You should try it!) or by supporting worthy causes. And this year presented us with a most magnificent cause there can be. After the recent elections, Brexit and years of austerity some incredible people decided to end the 2019 with a song that sums it all – Jarvis Cocker`s “Cunts Are Still Running The World”.
Their campaign to bring a 13- years old single to the top of charts just in time for Christmas took over so quickly that even the best marketing experts were surprised. But it gets better – all proceeds from the single are going to charity so you can not just sum up the people in power with the song, but also take part in a very peculiar Band Aid like exercise. All you need is to buy the single or stream it (or even share the campaign).
We had to meet up and speak to people who came up with this absolutely brilliant idea. Please meet Michael Hall and Darcie Molina – geniuses of marketing and we mean it.
Michael Hall: The group is run by myself and Darcie Molina. We were so down at the election results on Friday morning (Friday the 13th). We were expecting disaster from the exit polls but it was worse than anything we could have imagined. It just occurred to us that it would be magical to get Jarvis Cocker’s “Cunts Are Still Running The World” to number 1 in this country. And then we realised, it would be the Christmas charts that week so we decided to give it a try. We expected to have a fun little group with a bout 20-30 like-minded people but then it really connected with everybody and they built this amazing Facebook group and made the campaign global.
We think it’s a fantastic choice, but we have to ask: why this particular song? Have you considered other tracks before settling on “Running the World”?
Michael Hall: I’ll be honest – it was the song that gave us the plan, not the other way around. Since then though, we’ve had suggestions from people for a lot of songs. My favourite suggestion so far has been “Mother” by IDLES for its anti-Tory lyrics.
It took only couple of days for the group to go viral and attract 27.000 members. That’s more than AF Gang, the popular fan group for IDLES. Have you expected such a great response?
Michael Hall:Michael Hall: We had no way to know it would get this big. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we’ve received support from some surprising corners. Speaking of AFGang, we are using the way their moderators run that magnificent group as a blueprint for how we run this one. They are an example of how to run a positive, inclusive group and we hope to emulate them briefly here. We love AFGang, let it be known!
Detailed guide for fans how to get the song to number 1
The campaign has been featured by Guardian, Observer, BBC, Clash Magazine and NME. Did you expect such an incredible media coverage for this effort?
Michael Hall: Absolutely not. The Evening Standard and some of the other Tory rags are getting involved now too! Every member of the press I’ve spoken to has been kind and supportive so far – nothing like what you might expect.
Jarvis Cocker has responded on social media saying he was very happy about the campaign. But have him or his representatives been in touch with you?
Michael Hall: Yes, he has a big surprise for us up his sleeve today. That will make things very interesting later in the day as the race draws to a close. We started without label or artist involvement but they are fully on board now.
All the proceeds are now going to Shelter which gives the campaign a new charitable dimension. You basically formed this year’s Band Aid. How does that feel?
Michael Hall: Well that’s a very kind thing to say indeed! This is just a small protest that a community of wonderful, good-hearted punk rock humans have made into a “thing” that now helps the homeless. Finding out that the proceeds would go to Shelter brought tears to my eyes. It’s a beautiful gesture from Jarvis and we all know how important it is to support our nation’s ever-increasing homeless population.
Where does the campaign stands now? Are we close to the official number 1 spot?
Michael Hall: We are Number 2 on Amazon, Number 2 on iTunes and Number 1 on 7Digital. Also, the song is now at Number 3 for UK downloads on Google Play and Number 1 on iTunes Alternative Charts!
If everyone in our group downloads the song today we’ll be in the charts tomorrow. The Official Number 1 is a long shot, of course it always has been, but we are going to do absolutely everything we can to make it happen. We haven’t slept since Monday so we’re not going to give up now!
The charts statistics are closing on Thursday 19th of December at midnight. What can people still do to help?
Michael Hall: Download, download, download and stream, stream, stream. Every download helps a homeless person and tells this government what we think of them. #jarvis4xmas
Detailed information about the single: Release: 13 November 2006 Numbers: RTRADCD340/RTRADLP340 with RTRADS340/RTRADDA340 / RTRADCDP340 Formats: CD/LP with bonus 7″/Digital Download/Promotional CD Sleeve: The Designers Republic & Jarvis Cocker Highest Chart Position: 37 (UK) More information:http://www.acrylicafternoons.com/disc-jarv.html
After the singer and the record label officially acknowledged the fan effort to bring the song to the top of the charts, magazines, celebrities and fellow musicians voiced their support on social media for the campaign. We managed to find several examples:
Make 2019 a Christmas to remember – get Jarvis Cocker’s song to number 1 – Cunts Are Still Ruling The World. As well as being a swearingly good song, proceeds will be donated to @Shelter
Oh! Also! Talking of Jarvis. Cunts Are Still Ruling The World aren't they. Let's get it to number one. Downloads count more than streams. Merry Christmas! #jarvis4xmas x https://t.co/BWa1sJroBu
C**ts Are Still Running The World by Jarvis Cocker would be a very suitable Xmas No 1 for 2019. It needs to be bought by Thursday – it’s already at no 29. Please share. https://t.co/Fs3jq7UAFS
And the singer had a fantastic surprise for the group that has been working tirelessly. He prepared a special, acoustic version that was delivered to the group members on the last day of their campaign. The song was accompanied by a message:
“So here’s the story: about a month ago the Kaiser Quartett sent me a recording of their arrangement of “Running the World” & asked if I’d consider singing on it. So I did. The song will feature on one of their upcoming record releases but – given the current campaign – we thought you might like to get a sneak preview right now. Merry Xmas! Jarvis xx”
If you still haven’t had enough, you can also see a rare live performance of the song from 2009:
From a crazy idea of just two people, to a Facebook group of nearly 35.000 people in less than a week, the campaign surpassed all expectations. Nobody even thought it would be possible to engage such a big crowd. And the effects are simply mind blowing. We have been collecting articles about the idea and in just under 2 days, we managed to collect over 60 links to the biggest newspapers from all over the world. Including The Times, Guardian, Rolling Stone magazine, The Independent, BBC and others. Please take a look at the articles as even professional PR house wouldn’t be able to brag about such powerful and successful campaign.
On the 20th of December, the official UK charts statistics became available. The group admins released the following statement:
“The Chart positions are in.
UK Download Chart: No. 2
Scotland Overall Chart: No. 6
7Digital: No. 1
iTunes: No. 3
Amazon: No. 3
Google Play: No. 3
UK National Chart: No. 48
Over 225,000 Streams!
This is absolutely, insanely incredible. We started this for fun and out of disappointment and discontent 7 days ago – we didn’t get admins or the nod from the label until Monday. That’s just 4 days. You took a 13 year old song that a few people remembered very fondly and turned it into the rallying cry of a mini-movement”.
Few hours later another, longer announcement was issued:
“This is absolutely, insanely incredible. We started this for fun and out of disappointment and discontent 7 days ago – we didn’t get admins or the nod from the label until Monday. That’s just 4 days. You took a 13 year old song that a few people remembered very fondly and turned it into the rallying cry of a mini-movement.
There are now 33,000+ now us. This community has taken a little bit of civil disobedience and turned it into a huge campaign, a community comforting one another and offering hope and humour where it’s most needed. A community that has dedicated it’s time, money and energy to helping the homeless and giving agency to the voiceless over this week.
We’re immeasurably proud of you, the people in this group who have achieved such huge strides in such a ludicrously short amount of time.
It’s been a delight to receive positive coverage from The Guardian, The Indy, Clash Magazine, The NME, Les Inrockuptibles, Radio Ireland, God Is In The TV, Under The Radar, PopBitch, Roliing Fucking Stone and many more. It was a thrill for a bunch of fan-humans to get support from The Lemonheads, Richard Hawley, Shaun Keaveny, Tom Robinson, AFGang, Stuart Maconie, Maxine Peake, Spillers Records, Nick Wallington, Fat White Family, Pam Hogg…and so many more. THANKS TO THEM!
That all aside, everything positive that has happened is because of you, this community – not the record label, not the press, not a celebrity, not a politician and not even our beloved Jarvis himself. You have come together and made a difference. You have helped homeless people in the UK at their most vulnerable time of year and offered a strong voice of protest against injustice and the rise of the right.
THANK YOU. YES, YOU THERE, SPECIFICALLY.
“I learned a long time ago there is something worse than missing the goal and that’s not pulling the trigger” Mia Hamm
We on the left are used to all manner of defeat. Sure, we hoped for a higher National Chart playing – about 47 places higher as it goes – but the odds were stacked and you did great work. We don’t see this as a defeat but as a phenomenal first step. We don’t want ANYONE here to feel like this was a waste of energy or time – we will Keep Fucking Going.
We’ll be moving forward with those who would wish to stay with us as a cultural fundraising, campaigning forum and organisation group which we can help steer towards positive outcomes. We envision this as being a place to arrange and promote REAL WORLD change-making – projects and fundraisers large and small from all parts of the group, from all corners of the world. But we started this for fun and plan to keep it that way. Keep your good humour flowing and music recommendations flooding in.
We plan to start using the mentoring facility on Facebook to offer more vulnerable group members someone to reach out to in times of need.
We will be here for each other.
We are here to unite, never to divide – and all clear thinking good-hearted people are welcome here. We admins will try to live up to your standards.
We’ve listened to all the suggestions being made in the group and we will continue to do so. It won’t be anything like the same intensity from us this week – but don’t expect us to slack and don’t you even think of that either.
Here’s some things we all need to remember:
OUR REAL WORK IS TO BE DONE OUT IN THE WORLD
ALL IS LOVE – NO NEGATIVITY
THIS GROUP HAS A ZERO CUNT POLICY (apart from me, obvs)
We’ll rename the group after the weekend – suggestions would be great.
So – community leaders, musicians, artists, fundraisers, campaigners, charity reps, non-cunts – towards what shall we next steer this unwieldy beast?!
Cunts ARE still running the world…but not for long…
You can find all charts screenshots in the gallery below:
Charts summary
Number 1 on 7 Digital
Amazon Downloads – Number 3
Google Play Charts – Number 3
iTunes Download Charts – Number 3
UK Official Charts – Overall Downloads Number 2
UK Official Charts – UK Singles Top 50, Number 48
Offcial UK Charts – Scottish Charts Number 3
On 21st of December, an urgent announcement was posted on the group, providing more information about the mid-week position:
“HUGELY EXCITING UPDATE!!!
RUNNING THE WORLD NOW AT NO.2 IN THE OFFICIAL UK CHART
We have insider info and are beyond thrilled to tell you that the song is now at #2 in the national day-by-day charts!!
The full UK charts. The proper charts. The one we were #48 in yesterday. You kept downloading this song for charity and saying you wanted a #1 this week instead. And we went up 46 places overnight. What do you think about that?!
Thank you, inflight WiFi. Please pass the tissues.
We’re cancelling Christmas. We’re going to get this song to number 1 – the first Number 1 single of 2020. We’re doing this. Join us???
Join and share on every platform!!
Twitter & Instagram: @jarvis4january”
If you haven’t downloaded or steamed the song yet, please do so – the group is fighting to keep the song in top 10 for next week and maybe give it a number one in the first week of January! Whatever happens – when the community comes together, amazing ideas come true. Thank you!
All sales proceedings from the song throughout the festive period will be donated to Shelter.
What a time to be alive (despite the poverty and politics of hate).
Please keep on giving and supporting, you are doing amazingly well.
On 13th of September, we had the pleasure of reviewing “El Dorado”, a second single by Avalanche Party promoting their upcoming debut album “24 Carat Diamond Trephine”. And now a month (and few days) later, we are presented with another single entitled “Rebel Forever”. This is the third promotional single released since July, the first being “7” and probably the last one before the album hits the shelves on 22nd of November. As two previous singles, “Rebel Forever” also comes with a fascinating video – in true AP fashion, it is dark, cinematic and quite beautiful.
Writing the previous review, we reached the conclusion that “El Dorado” was the best song written by the band so far. It was experimental, bold and sublime. Having listened to “Rebel Forever” over 200 times in the last 24 hours, we have now officially changed our mind. The new track is now our all-time favourite, vastly superior to previous releases and (we have to say it) extremely radio friendly at the same time!
There is nothing wrong with the radio-friendliness, mind you. “Rebel Forever” is a catchy (again, a compliment), addictive song that will get stuck inside your head for hours and the chorus is a true masterpiece. The lyrics are linking “Rebel” to the second single when the front man, Jordan Bell sings: “Make a golden bird/ It flies over the mountain ranges/It flies over the seas and across the world/Till it reaches the El Dorado”. Should we take it as a hint that the songs on the upcoming album might all be linked somehow? Is “24 Carat Diamond Trephine” going to be a concept album? We will have to wait to find out but judging by the musical company the band keeps and their own releases, maybe risking a statement that we have a renaissance of concept albums in the North, is not too far stretched?
Standing at 3 minutes and 36 seconds, “Rebel Forever” can easily be placed in the middle between “7” and ” El Dorado”. Not only because of the length of all three songs (“7” is just two minute long while “El Dorado is nearly 6 minute), but also because of the videos that illustrate all three tracks. “7” is a nightmarish visualization of somebody (in that role, truly convincing lead singer of Strange Bones, Bobby Bentham), being tortured and injected with a poison, clearly as a part of some horrific Russian/KGB experiment (there is a word “shell” on the syringe written in Cyrillic if anybody has any questions or doubts). The injections causes not only foaming at the mouth but also hallucinations and intense pain to the subject. It ends with the subject destroying the interrogation room and stabbing pictures of the Avalanche Party members with knives.
The video to “El Dorado” is like a quiet break between two outbursts of anger. It reminded us of a road movie, it was quiet, almost melancholic, idyllic but with an undertone of danger in it. And “Rebel Forever” takes us back to some strange location again, another experiment cell or maybe a motel room? There is not much furniture except a mattress in the middle of the room, a bottle of absinthe on the floor and strange collection of artworks and curiosum: taxidermied bird and a pair of moths, small goat figurine in an ornate glass jar, a picture of an bleeding ear, a skull and a statue of a Greek goddess without hands. A young man is laying on the make shift bed, clearly delirious from the drink or maybe something else as well. As usual with AP video clips, it’s hard to find straight answers. We can only wonder if the man was drugged against his will and left in this remote place to die or has ingested the drink himself with the intentions of getting high. Whatever the reason, he’s experiencing a vivid, almost kaleidoscopic swirl of images and visions. Sometimes he seems to be drowning in water, grasping for air, in another moment he is looking calmly at changing colours stretching out his arms. There are two references to “El Dorado” in “Rebel Forever”. At the beginning of the video, we see a recording of the cowboy walking through the plateau known from “El Dorado” and there is a framed picture of him shooting a gun. We have a sneaky suspicion that the unnamed cowboy and the hallucinating man somehow know each other and will meet up at some point.
“Rebel Forever” came with a PR note attached and it is as cryptic as the video itself, but it provides us with a bit of background information about the shoot and it’s location:
“The video was filmed over the course of a few days in deep, dark Berkshire. It shows a trip through time and the great outdoors and has two main stars. Django is a scaly fiend of the reptile family Chamaeleonidae who spends his time eating rump steak and shedding his dark and succulent past. Ron is a horrible WMC toilet of a cat who would rather the world left him alone. This broadcast was made possible by Welsh wizard Kyle ‘Eagle Burger’ Howells and his unflinching vigour, boundless generosity and eye for a mood. Rebel Forever.”
It seems that the new song made a strong impression not only on us, but on other reviewers as well. We have found some fantastic opinions so please read on:
“Hard-touring underground rock outfit Avalanche Party simply refuse to stop. Capable of sustaining lung-bursting, multi-national spells on the road, the five-piece give 100% each and every night. And with With another massive UK tour on the cards, Avalanche Party have shared their bolshy, bruising new single ‘Rebel Forever'”. https://www.clashmusic.com/news/avalanche-party-share-bold-clip-for-rebel-forever
“The garage punks knock out a belter of raucously melodic evocation on ‘Rebel Forever’, which may surprise some of their fans, as this feels almost ‘pop-ish’ compared to some of their earlier more heavier numbers. It’s still dark – aided by nightmarishly constructed images in its accompanying video – but both the style and production sound better than ever” http://littleindieblogs.blogspot.com/2019/10/track-of-week-avalanche-party-will.html
“Avalanche Party’s delirious ‘Rebel Forever’ was made for gloomy, gray days (much like this one). Calling to mind the dark decadence that lent itself to the Berlin of Iggy and David, the song’s razorblade riffs and ever-so unhinged vocals lend an elegant, somewhat controlled violence to the band’s sound” http://www.logicfuzzy.com/2019/10/video-of-day-avalanche-party.html
It is always with a great pleasure that we introduce you to an emerging talent. And seeing the artist progressing, growing, going on tours, recording and generally becoming better and better at their craft, is one of the reasons we continue writing and keeping this blog.
In June this year, we interviewed The Kecks, a young four piece indie rock band that grabbed our attention with their music, unique stage image and being innovative in a genre that sees hundreds of bands playing very similar tunes. We promised to keep an eye on them and we are staying true to our word.
The Kecks on Tour
2019 has been a very successful year for The Kecks and yet they are far from sitting down to rest. When every other band is now preparing for Christmas, the lads from Kecks are hitting the road to play UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The tour will commence at the famous Molotow Club in Hamburg on 26th of October (just in a couple of days!) and will finish on 17th of January at Cassiopeia with a massive show alongside the Talk Show.
To celebrate their success over the last ten months, the band prepared a special version of “All For Me” for their fans which debuted on their Youtube channel on 24th of October.
The band even released a small statement alongside the video: “Making a last grasp effort to cling on to the summer sunshine The Kecks took some time out from a studio session deep in the East German countryside to capture a raw, intimate and personal one take stripped back acoustic version of future single ‘All For Me’. This stripped back version shows a completely new dimension to the band and is a huge departure from fiery debut ‘Stick In My Throat’ which was released in June of this year via AWAL. The snarling, simmering and emotionally charged debut complete with a weird and wonderful trip of a visual filmed and directed in collaboration with the bands close friend Carlos ‘Mexi Kravitz’ Andres was what originally grabbed the attention of the likes of Radio X , BBC Introducing, NDR and FKP Scorpio”
If you have a chance, please come and catch The Kecks playing live before the end of December. 2020 is looking like a breakthrough year for the band and they will be playing much bigger venues. There is magic in the smallest, most intimate places, where you can stand next to the band and see every drop of sweat on their faces.
And nothing in the whole wide world can replace this feeling.
Throughout the summer months, we tried to cover as many festivals as possible, where the Blinders made an appearance. We have attended several events ourselves and in many cases, we have teamed up with our special correspondents. Hopefully, this allowed fans to enjoy the experience and feel “as they were there” in person.
Having spent several weeks in Belgium, we were lucky to see the band perform at Kliko Festival, Valkhof Festival and recently at Leffingeleuren. It was a great pleasure to see the trio spread their wings on completely unchartered territory. Leaving dedicated fan base hundreds of miles away and facing the unknown can be a scary but exciting opportunity. We can tell you straight away that the band returned home with shields in their hands. If you are looking for a short description then, it was a triumph of an European tour, no doubt about it.
Leffingeleuren Festival is a respected event that has been going on for 40 years. It is not the biggest music festival around, but has the opinion of “quality over quantity”. Only the best selected acts are invited each year and if a band makes the bill, it is universally acknowledged that the music industry in Belgium has taken notice. The Blinders played quite an early slot on Saturday, 14th of September (3:30 pm) but their gig was packed so tight that many didn’t make it into the Zaal De Zwerver, the biggest stage of the festival.
Digital polaroids from the performance
Zaal De Zwerver has the capacity of 750 and is a state of the art musical venue. It has everything a venue should have – a perfect sound system, massive entrances on both sides with a wheelchair slopes, a cloakroom, merch tables, an outside and inside bar, a balcony, large and secure floor and clean toilets with onsite cleaning crew! You will never run out of toilet paper even if there are 13.000 visitors walking around. There is a separate loading bay with its own dedicated street at the back of the venue and secured car park for tour buses, artists changing rooms etc. It’s nearly 10 years old but it looks like it was built yesterday. If we tell you that it has been funded by ERDF grants courtesy of European Union, it will sound like a political statement, and it kinda is (Bollocks to Brexit). Thinking of our beloved, threatened and underfunded venues back home, we felt a bit jealous. Maybe one day, one can dream and hope for the best.
As usual, the Blinders arrived on stage with the sirens blazing and blinding lights. First thing that we noticed was lead singer Thomas Haywood wore his iconic “Johnny Dream” make up in a different way, which was a surprise. Instead of having the war paint smeared down from his eyes onto his neck and chest, the black paint created Adam Ant-like line across his face. They started off with “Gotta Get Through” and almost immediately merged into “40 Days & 40 Nights”. “Brave New World” followed and the room was dancing and bouncing up and down. If new fans didn’t notice anything, we have seen The Blinders so many times live to quickly realize that there was something going on, which was not right. Thomas’ voice, although clear and raspy, was breaking down at times. During “Free the Slaves”, he had to resort to a whisper, skipping several lines to take a deep breath and to continue. “ICB Blues” and “Something Wicked” gave him a bit of a respite from shouting but he looked irritated and greeted the crowd with bare minimum of words. His frustration grew further when he was unable to play his guitar at the beginning of “L’Etat C’Est Moi” and he signalled his irritation to Charlie and Matty by raising his hands and shaking his head. Luckily, the third go was a success and the concert continued without any technical glitches to the end.
A new track “Rage” signalled second part of the show which was stunning. The band played tight and flawlessly, rampaging thorough “Hate Song”, “Rat In A Cage” and then “Ramona Flowers” that was greeted by a loud cheer from the audience. The ode to Scott Pilgrim came with an extended outro and the rhythm section showed what the band was capable of. Matty is known for keeping an intense gaze throughout the performance but this time his stare was as powerful as the deafening beat. Charlie whirled like a force of nature from left to right, using his bass as it was a machine gun he was about to shoot into the crowd. A journalist standing next to me sent me a half-frightened/half-amused expression, but kept nodding his head in clear approval of the chaos happening on stage. “Brutus/Et Tu/Berlin Wall” closed the set with 9 minute cacophony of distorted guitars and powerful drumming. However, after extended “Ramona Flowers”, it became apparent that Thomas was exhausted. He was completely covered in sweat, hair wet as he had taken a dive into a pool, shirt drenched. At some point, he clung to the microphone stand, with his head lowered for more than a minute, alarming Tom Castrey of Saytr Play (a fellow Mancunian band, who supported the Blinders on tour as a tech). He nearly came on stage, but Thomas managed to pick himself up and finish the performance with flying colours. The usual chants of “Down with Big Brother” were replaced with “Long live the European Union” and the band was gone.
It took several days for us to find out the reason why Thomas struggled. A serious infection and tonsillitis forced the band to cancel their performances at Indiestaad in Paradiso (the Netherlands) and Waves Vienna (Austria). They also moved or pulled out of several domestic festival in order to give the lead singer time to fully recover.
Despite the technical glitches and illness, the Blinders played a fantastic show that brought them universal acclaim and won them many a fan in Europe. As one of the reviewers noticed, they are outgrowing middle size venues. Next stage is large festivals and 1000+ capacity places.
If you haven’t seen them live yet, don’t advertise it, but buy a ticket. Your next chance to see them live will be on the 12th of October at the Alexandra Palace in Manchester (Neighbourhood Festival).
Set List: “Gotta Get Through”
“40 Days & 40 Nights”
“Brave New World”
“Free The Slave”
“ICB Blues”
“Something Wicked”
“L’Etat C’Est Moi”
“Rage”
“Hate Song”
“Rat In A Cage”
“Ramona Flowers”
“Brutus/Et Tu/Berlin Wall”
Time: 60 minutes Stage Times: 3:20-4:20 CET Stage: Zaal De Zwerver
Schedule: 14 September 2019 (Saturday)
Saturday schedule
The Blinders – set
The Blinders – set up on stage
Matty Neale on drums
Charlie McGough on bass
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar and Charlie McGough on bass
Matty Neale on drums
The Blinders playing and Leffingeleuren
The Blinders playing and Leffingeleuren
Matty Neale on drums
Charlie McGough on bass
Charlie McGough on bass and Matty Neale on drums
Matty Neale on drums
Thomas Haywood on guitarThomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Charlie McGough on bass
Charlie McGough on bass
Charlie McGough on bass
Charlie McGough on bass
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Thomas Haywood on guitar
Media Reviews:
“As with every festival, you had to make some hard choices to see all your favourite artists, but with such a good line up and fine weather, in the end it was a great day. Our highlights included seeing The Blinders, Crows, The Germans, Mystic Braves and Willy Organ” – Niels Bruwier for Dansende Beren https://www.dansendeberen.be/2019/09/10/tien-acts-om-te-ontdekken-op-leffingeleuren-2019/
“The Blinders played a tight set dressed in black and full suits. Their influences come from early Arctic Monkeys but you can hear the echoes of Queens Of The Stone Age in the distance as well. In short – this is a sharp rock and roll with courage and allure. They display the right attitude on stage that enhances their performance. There was a nice balance between slower and faster songs, allowing some respite for the audience, but it has to be noted that each of the ‘softer’ compositions has an edge and dark aggression lurking in the music. The band is changing on stage right before your eyes – sometimes they are melodic, sometimes they are fury and a storm of angry riffs with a lot of tempo changes. The Manchester based trio are not overly innovative but they play convincingly and with precision. You can tell they are on the brink of breaking through outside of their native Great Britain. Fans of dark indie rock can add a new group to their must-see list now”- Niels Bruwier for Dansende Beren https://www.dansendeberen.be/2019/09/15/leffingeleuren-2019-dag-2-niets-meer-aan-te-doen/
“An early party, why not? We saw The Blinders playing at Zaal de Zwerver. This Manchester based, British trio bring great punk rock supplemented by psychedelic poetry. They released their debut album only last year and toured a lot. And it shows as they are definitely the stage creatures. They remind us of The Stooges with influences from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The band played ‘L’Etat C’Est Moi’, ‘Gotta Get Through’, ‘Rage’ and their latest single, Rat in A Cage’. The closing number ‘Brutus’ was a nearly 10-minute ode to rock and roll, clearly inspired by Jim Morrison. It consists of three shorter parts entitled ‘Brutus’, ‘Et Tu’ and ‘Berlin Wall’. Talking about Brutus – it was a lucky coincidence that a Belgian band with the same name was to perform later in the day. As for the Blinders, seeing them live is highly recommended” – Trees Rommelaere for Luminous Dash blog https://luminousdash.be/festival/leffingeleuren-dag-2-14-09-2019/ https://luminousdash.be/category/live/fotos/page/3/ (photos)
Daily newspaper “Het Nieuwsblad” publishing an article on Monday 15.09.2019 with a picture of The Blinders taken by Trees Rommelaere
“The Blinders played a solid rock show and they have a good singer (and guitarist) whose singing style is a reminiscent of Jim Morrison. Musically they are a cross between Stone Temple Pilots and Rollins Band in one moment then Nirvana and Jeff Beck in another. Their composition ‘Hate song’ draws inspiration from Joy Division. It was a good performance by an experienced band”- Koen Asaert for Snooze Control zine http://www.snoozecontrol.be/reviews/8725/
“We were immediately blown away thanks to The Blinders. Old-fashioned rock/punk with a great stage presence. We hear influences from Queens of the Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys, the singer reminds us a bit of Alice Cooper because of his make-up. Their music is excellent. Those three Mancunian lads were a nice opener if you ask us” – Pieter Bouckhout for Brothers in Raw https://www.brothersinraw.com/single-post/2019/09/15/Festivalverslag-Leffingeleuren-2019-op-zaterdag
“What a great thing to see a band giving their best at half past three in the afternoon! The Blinders put their most powerful songs – ‘Gotta Get Through’ and ‘Brave New World’ at the beginning of their set and it brought a lot of crowd into the Great Hall. The British trio plays a certain type of rock music that many bands had attempted to play in the past before them, yet the charisma of Thomas Haywood, the lead singer and the threatening structure of their songs, make them stand out from the rest. They presented quite a show at Leffinge Festival. Are we going to see them playing much larger venues soon?” – Christophe Demunter for DA Music Magazine https://damusic.be/live/leffingeleuren-dag-2–geen-wafels-wel-tiengangenmenu-4143.html
Videos:
“Something Wicked” and “L’Etat C’Est Moi”
“Rage”
“Free the Slave” and “ICB Blues”
“Gotta Get Through” and “40 Days & 40 Nights”
“Brutus/Et Tu/Berlin Wall”
After Movie. You can see Charlie (and Matty in the background) rocking on stage at 1:27 minute mark:
Although we could only attend for a single day (Saturday), it was a fantastic, small and family-orientated festival that it’s worth visiting. They do not have the massive stars other festivals have, but this is not a bad thing. We actually liked their alternative attitude – the organizers are booking bands they personally like and the line up is varied. We have seen Brazilian samba rockers, Belgium’s raising stars (pop, dance and hard rock) and international artists of great esteem. Also, we have had a word with the festival volunteers and we were told that organizers put a huge emphasis on having artists of colour and female musicians on the bill. This is greatly appreciated and many UK festivals could learn a thing or two from them. It is possible to have 50-50 male to female artist ratio and to give females a prominent positions on posters.
In short, well done!
We will post a longer review shortly so please pop in a bit later.
Till then,
Rita and Malicia
PS. Rita would like to thank Trees Rommelaere and Luk Dufait for their assistance and rock and roll moments we shared in the pit. Dank je!
Vanadian Avenue is on a mission to shed a light at the girls in the music indystry. We call it “The Girls Who Can” and we try to introduce you to the amazing women who makes things happen. They write, they book, they build stages, run lights, think of marketing campaings, sell tees and tickets at the doors. They are reps and managers, promoters, bookers and everything inbetween. Yet, despite doing a stellar job, having successful careers, they not always receive a fair share of attention and recognition. And we want to change that.
After speaking to Sahera Walker in May this year, we now had the pleasure to sit down with Elly Bailey, a photographer and journalist extraordinaire to discuss recent opportunities for women, her brand new photo-zine Why Generation? and photographic equipment. Please read on (and share) and Elly raised several very important points in her interview and gives a sound advice to all young girls thinking of entering the business professionally.
Photographer, journalist, promoter and a writer – that’s a very impressive resume for a 22 year old. Please introduce yourself to the readers of Indieterria. Every career has to start somewhere.
Elly Bailey: Thank you! My name is Elly Bailey, I live in London. As you said, I am a photographer and journalist, mainly focusing on music. I write for sites such as The Zine, Gigslutz and This Feeling. I starting taking photos in 2016, originally shooting on film and then in 2018 I moved onto DSLR or digital photography.
Tell us what inspired you to chose this particular career path? Was it a certain gig you attended or an album you listened to? Or maybe something completely different?
Elly Bailey: I attended the Academy of Contemporary Music, studying Music Business. ‘I think it was being surrounded by so many musicians and also attending so many of my friends gigs that made me want to start taking photos. I’ve always been very into documenting everything I do (I currently have over 29,000 photos on my phones camera roll!) and it was great to be able to document doing what I love best, e.g. attending gigs.
Elly at work
Music business is very male orientated but recently the tide is turning and women are getting noticed and praised for their contribution. There are also more opportunities for young females who want to enter the music business professionally. Last year you took part in the Music Venue Trust and PRS “Fightback Grassroots Promoter” for women. In your opinion, how important are schemes like this? Do they offer any real chance to learn the skills needed in this industry?
Elly Bailey: Taking part in the MVT and PRS venue fight back scheme was amazing as it gave young women the opportunity to put on their own live music event without having to worry about the money, as the scheme completely covered any costs, such as hiring the venue or equipment. I think schemes like this are incredibly important as they help to give young women the confidence boost they may need to take that first step into the music industry and also helps to give them hands on experience whilst making sure that they will be successful.
As a journalist you have worked for the popular GigSlutz website, The Zine and you run your own Youtube channel. If you could offer a piece of advice for girls who would like to follow in your footsteps, what would that be?
The cover of first issue of Why Generation zine
Elly Bailey: Websites such as Gigslutz, The Zine and many others are always looking for writers, so if you’re interested then just email away and ask! Taking that first step towards doing what you want to do can always seem incredibly daunting, but once you’ve done it, then that’s it, you’re on your way! Also everyone I’ve ever worked with have all been so lovely, which makes it so much easier to talk and network with people and find new work.
2019 is a ground breaking year. You have covered Wilkestock and Reading Festivals, interviewed The Sherlocks, False Heads, Sleaford Mods among others, reviewed high profile events such as This Feeling tours. What was the best gig you have seen so far?
Elly Bailey: This has definitely been a crazy year for me, so far I’ve somehow managing to attend 11 festivals, and still have more to go! I was feeling pretty low at the beginning of the year and also got pretty sick, so seeing FIDLAR at House Of Vans at the beginning on February was the perfect cheer up for me, seeing one of my favourite bands in such an intimate setting was the best. Festival wise, The Great Escape was so much fun, I discovered so many new bands that weekend. Also Download Festival was just non-stop laughter from beginning to end, the bands were amazing and the weather was horrendous and we had a sick time! And of course Truck Festival, my hometown festival, was a lovely weekend, surrounded by so many friends, I think we all really enjoyed it.
We need to ask about your new enterprise – a photo zine called Why Generation? You have teamed up with three other female journalists and photographers to create it. Tell us more about it. How did this idea come to be? Who are your co-workers? Is Why Generation a single issue release or are you planning to turn it into monthly/bimonthly magazine? Are you planning to keep it in this format or extend it to contain reviews and interviews in the future?
Why Generation editorial team
Elly Bailey: After I got home from Truck Festival, I went to an exhibition by Nan Goldin at the Tate Modern and saw that she started off making photo-books of her work and decided that I wanted to do something similar. I decided to stick with film photography to give the zine more of a niche and also felt that I have some great 35mm photos that I wanted to print. I contacted the other three photographers, slightly on a whim, and after the positive responses I got from them on the idea, I just jumped in head first and decided to just got for it!
When I first made the zine I wasn’t sure where it was going to go but I know now that I would like to do another issue with articles alongside the photos this time, and also potentially create my own website. After years of working for other people, it’s been great and also slightly scary to be completely in charge of what I’m doing, so who knows what will happen!
There is a launch party scheduled for 23rd of September to celebrate the release of Why Generation. Who is playing and what can we expect? Are tickets still available?
Why Generation? Event launch poster
Elly Bailey: Yes! It’s a free entry gig on 23rd September at The Monarch with three amazing bands playing: Ric, SPIT and Scary Lemons. Each are guaranteed to put on an amazing show. It’s definitely going to be something to liven up your Monday evening.
The famous last question – let’s imagine you can get your dream photography kit absolutely for free. What equipment is going into your shopping basket?
Elly Bailey: I do love my camera and have managed to get so many great photos out of it, but I will be the first to admit it’s nowhere near the best model on the market. With shooting gigs, you’re not allowed to use flash photography in bigger venues or at festivals, so you need a camera that lets in a lot of light, and annoyingly the best cameras for this are the more expensive ones, so one of those would definitely be going into my shopping basket.
Also a lens with a better zoom would be amazing, I’ve done a lot of standing on my tip-toes trying to get closer to the artist playing to make up for my lack of zoom.
Big thank you’s to Elly for answering the questions and if you are attending the event tonight, please send us your pictures or videos. We will gladly update the entry with your snaps!
2019 seems to be the year of The Gulps. Whatever they do, they do it perfectly, wherever they go, they win new fans. When they participate in an international competition, they easily win it, leaving their competition behind. And each of their tracks released so far is a real banger. If they continue on this stride, next year might see them going right to the top. And frankly, this is what they deserve.
Lucky break has nothing to do with the results this London based quintet is receiving. They are one of the hardest working people we have met, and at the same time they are down to earth and just genuinely nice. We sat down with The Gulps’ guitarist, Charlie Green to speak about the band, their influences and the new single entitled “Lola Cola”.
Official bio:
Based in London and hailing from all different parts of Europe and the Middle East, The Gulps come together with a shared idealism for our times. Playfully reviving the original roots of rock and roll, they are a new wake up call and speak our truth, with enjoyment and optimism.
Lyrically informed poetry, sharing tales from our cities and experiences. With raw energy, The Gulps are a unique take on classic alternative pop, fuelled by the drive of rock music at its best.
Please introduce yourself to the readers of Indieterria.
Charlie Green: The Gulps are a band of vivacious raconteurs who immigrated to London with a Mediterranean ferocity and an uncompromising skill for good music. We are a multi-various quintet who met at the intersection of smoke fuelled house parties and university, where the raw Gulp product was harnessed and the good times played.
Where are you based and who is in the band?
Charlie Green: We are a London based band hailing from different parts of Europe and The Middle East. Harry All is the lead singer, Charlie Green and Francesco Buffone are the guitarists, Simon Mouchard is on the bass and Raoul Khayat is the drummer.
Tell us something about the project – are there any goals that you managed to achieve to date?
Charlie Green: This has already been a huge year for the band, with the recording of the EP and touring. We secured a spot at Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival thanks to the votes of our fans and had the opportunity to play at the Truck Festival. We now have our sights on Space Mountain Festival in Granada and the recording of our first album.
What inspires you? What artists or genres had the biggest influence on you?
Charlie Green: Each of us bring our own biographical discography with us to influence the sound of The Gulps. Primarily, we draw upon the inspiration of rock’s household names such as The Strokes, Rolling Stones and The Clash to ground our compositions.
It`s all about the music – and we want to hear your tunes and how they have been written.
Charlie Green: You can hear all our tunes on Spotify, Soundcloud and watch our amazing videos directed by Sandra Crilo on Youtube. Also, we released the EP on vinyl earlier this year. Most of our songs start with an interesting riff or composition, then either Harry or me pen together the lyrics, based on what is stimulating us at the moment. After that, we take the new material to rehearsals and try it out with the whole band to test its potential.
Name your best song. What can you tell us about it?
Charlie Green: Our best song would be “The Kings House”. This song is about the old apartment where Harry and I used to live in London, on Camden Street. It’s where the magic happened, where we got into trouble with huge house parties and long smoky nights. It is a calling for freaks everywhere to celebrate their opulence, in a space opened to all.
How do you create your unique sound and write the lyrics? What gear are you using?
Charlie Green: We aim to write lyrically informed poetry, sharing tales from our cities and experiences. As for the equipment, we use different guitars and bass pedals, playing with distortions, delays, reverbs, to make our sound distinctive from others.
All in all, the marriage of guitars, Simon’s methodical bass, Raoul’s seamless drumming and Harry All’s energizing voice, allows us to celebrate our unique and youthful sound.
Are you touring? Where can we see you play live?
Charlie Green: We have a number of shows lined up and you can catch us on:
Sunday 29th of September, Camden Assembly (London)
Friday 11th of October, Space Mountain Festival (Granada, Spain)
Saturday 2nd of November, Notting Hill Arts Club (London)
And from the 11th to the 15th of March 2020, The New Colossus Festival (New York)!
Squad goals – where do you want to see the band in five years time?
Charlie Green: This is a good question! We want to be touring around the world and playing big festivals such as Glastonbury, Coachella, Reading etc. We also want to go to studios to record new music and make The Gulps a new religion.
If any bookers or promoters want to get in touch – what is the best way to contact you?
Charlie Green: They can contact us via email at thegulps.london@gmail.com, or just send us a message on one of our social media pages, they are listed below.
Imagine you can record an album with any producer, dead or alive in a studio of your choice. Who would be on your record?
