Issue Fourteen
King Krule HMLTD The Horrors Baxter Dury Downtown Boys Insecure Men Girl Ray
Welcome to the third edition of So Young for 2017. Issue
Crossing back over the pond, we chat to Downtown Boys
Fourteen explores the most exciting crop of new sounds
following the release of their new record. They talk to
from the sticky floors of independent venues as well as the
us about becoming “more” punk. Instant Shit returns as
established and experienced noise from arenas around the
Georgie Jesson announces the arrival of Salford’s Starlight
country. Our cover is graced by HMLTD, the elusive 6 -
Magic Hour, stepping on a few heads along the way.
piece invited us over for dinner for this issue’s cover story.
Joining the above are London’s Hotel Lux and Yowl. Both
Not an evening we’ll be forgetting in a hurry... We also
dissatisfied with the world and both unafraid to tell it as it
speak to Faris Badwan of The Horrors who are arguably
is. We turn to Girl Ray for some teenage perspective, the
making their best and most important music for some time.
girls explain their pre show rituals which includes lavatory
We chat to him about losing the blurry photos, letting
visits and Korn. Sports Team round up the band features, a
outsiders in and working with new bands such as HMLTD.
group on the up who clearly feel the need for a feud. Who
Spoilt rotten, we stayed up late to speak to King Krule
Are You? is back too with our favourite new sounds. Expect
whilst he was in New York and he explains the roots of ‘The
introductions from Sweaty Palms, The Ninth Wave, Honey
Ooz’. Back to London, Saul Adamczewski lets us in on his
Hahs and more.
new band, Insecure Men and we chat to Baxter Dury at his rehearsal space to discuss his new record and getting Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods on board.
4 Hotel Lux
26 Yowl
5 What Next for London?
27 Who Are You?
The Last Hangman
There is no “So Young Scene”
Stray Dogs
Get to Know
7 Baxter Dury
29 King Krule
11 Instant Shit
33 Downtown Boys
14 Insecure Men
36 Superfood
15 HMLTD
40 Girl Ray
19 The Horrors
41 Sports Team
I’m the Sausage Man
The Starlight Magic Hour
Pebble-Dash Wonderland
Come Dine With Me
Uncanny Valley
The Ooz
A Wall
Bambino
Earl Grey
Camel Crew
Hotel Lux We all know this country has an obsession with the 1980’s
We still don’t feel at all like a ‘London’ band however,
and that it’s been going on longer than the 80’s existed. We
as Portsmouth and the South Coast as a whole impacts so
are bombarded with images of Club Tropicana, Lady Di,
deeply on Hotel Lux. More so than London.
people in suits shouting and making money, mobile phones the size of bricks, big hair and pastel coloured clothes. I
You have a track called ‘The Last Hangman’ can you tell
lived through the 80’s and trust me it was bobbins. I saw
us a bit about its subject and why you wrote it?
all that on the TV and in magazines but it said nothing to me about my life. My life was moving from job to job
The Last Hangman is our Ode to Albert Pierrepoint.
scrambling to pay the rent, blagging into gigs and causing
Pierrepoint was dubbed, although factually incorrect, as the
havoc with my leather clad, speed freak mates. I had fun
last official executioner of the UK. The song is about the
but looking back it was a bleak time – most of the country
dubious morality of Pierrepoint, the double life he led and
was still black and white, there were millions unemployed
his eventual guilt-ridden demise.
and we were a cultural desert. I imagine Hotel Lux were not even born in the 80’s but they sure as hell understand
Any highlights from the festival season?
what it was like – their take on it is not all ‘loadsamoney’ and stone washed denim, it’s an honest and brutal musical
Being able to play at festivals we’ve attended as punters
journey that somehow offers hope. Listen to their take on
before was quite surreal. The crowds were quite surprising
keyboard riddled swamp rock and join with me and them in
– like playing to a packed tent at half eleven in the morning
sticking 2 fingers up to the past.
at Truck was odd, I think the rain had something to do with that though…
You’ve been cited in a few magazines (including this one) as ones to watch but you have very limited online output.
How would you describe the music you make?
Is honing your live show the priority at the moment? We’ve had Shaun Ryder meets Megadeth before and I’d like I think it’s partly that, we jumped into playing shows as
to think that’s fairly accurate to be fair.
soon as we had enough to fill a set so the songs perhaps weren’t as strong as they could’ve been. I guess we’ve just
What non-music things inspire you? Writers, artists
been biding our time and creating a sound that we’re truly
etc…
happy with rather than rushing it. Film directors like Alan Clarke and Shane Meadows You’re all Portsmouth natives who’ve collectively
especially for their ability to portray the real world in the
migrated to London, how do you think that affects you?
manner they do - true descendants of the Kitchen Sink
Do you feel like outsiders?
works of the late 50s to the late 60s. Orwell’s dissection of Englishness is another, and the wit of Brian Clough.
I don’t necessarily think we’ve ever felt like outsiders and it’s certainly never hindered us. For a band that are largely
You’ve been bubbling under the surface for a while now,
influenced by what’s going on around us, drawing upon
what’s on the agenda for the next few months?
influences from both our time on the South Coast and our time in East London has only been a positive.
A new video and our first headline. All fun and all games.
Words by James Endeacott, illustration by Alex Gamsu Jenkins
4
?
The London of today is a city of contrasts. The country’s
But the rise of HMLTD, of Goat Girl, and in no small way,
richest and poorest placed shoulder to shoulder, to such an
over a longer period of time, The Fat White Family, has
extent that in the city’s richest parliamentary constituency
been a semicolon and not a full stop. In rising with a style
hundreds of people can burn to death in flammable tower
of music that is in some cases more imaginative, in some
blocks whilst others live lifestyles of capital excess that we
cases more energetic, in some cases more damn right filthy,
can only dream of.
these bands have cultivated a scene.
This divided city, despite turmoil, has become fertile turf
Whilst So Young are more excitable than most at the
for new artists to emerge. Enough has been said about the
mention of the so-called South London Scene, we’re mere
rise of grime in the mainstream, and through artists like
observers of a very intoxicated movement in British guitar
Factory Floor and Daniel Avery and labels like Diagonal the
music - there is no “So Young Scene”. What comes next is
city’s electronic output has been stellar.
not our doing, but that of a crop of highly talented, astute individuals who have turned time, place and circumstance
But at a time where guitar music as a whole has arguably
into great art. Several bands are soundtracking their own
receded, whilst a lack of local scenes seem to have
personal experiences of the city, and here’s just a few
achieved national press coverage, a scene of bands from
forging their own unique paths.
South London - well, from all corners of the city, perhaps converging in the South - has once more made the capital
The disjointed, evergrey city we have before us could
the hotbed for emerging guitar bands.
not be, one argues, better soundtracked by a band like Hotel Lux. A five piece that migrated to the city from
The majority of 2017 has been ruled by the likes of
the Portsmouth area about a year ago, their disjointed
HMLTD, Shame, Goat Girl, Dead Pretties and Sorry.
garage punk conjures images of a bleak, industrial place,
HMLTD’s mangled restructuring of Western Popular Music
a reality not so far removed from our own. Bleak social
has seen them raise in profile so quickly that they’ve
commentaries for the disaffected, Lewis Duffin’s vivid
sold out Scala off the back of their second single, whilst
lyrics of hangmen and of greed-fuelled bankers are married
Shame aim for world domination, ruthlessly touring the
with guttural, looming guitar lines that echo Saving Grace
US, Europe, the world. These artists too, have bagged
era Fall and The Birthday Party and an organ drone that, at
themselves excellent (in some cases major) record deals.
its most gung ho, recalls the barfly sleaze rock of Gallon Drunk.
5
Words by Cal Cashin, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
Of similar stock are Peckham’s YOWL; another London
And whilst Palma Violets may be but a memory, the
band whose experience of a grey city outside colours their
Lambeth pub rockers’ frontman Chilli Jesson looks to use
music with apathy and frustration. My Headache Likes To
the end of this year and the start of next as a springboard
Speak , their latest single, combines a looming urbane post-
for his new band, Crewel Intentions. Having played their
punk saunter with a narrative barked by a depraved Gabriel
first show at the recent So Young festival, their music
Byrde - think if Interpol, from back when they were good,
is a boozey rockabilly ride with singalong choruses and
were all bitten by werewolves and made to play every full
rambunctious guitar licks.
moon. Live, as well, this depravity is translated into boozy, romping sets so full of life and energy that it’s easy to see
London’s guitar music scene should be the envy of the
why magazines all around have latched onto them.
world; as HMLTD and Shame blow up, in their footsteps a legion of young gunslingers follow swiftly in their wake.
The music of this scene is seemingly fixated with taking the
In truth, there are too many bands to mention in one article;
dark, the bleak, and the grim, and turning it into something
we could go on about the scuzzy garage rock of Peeping
else. Madonnatron are a band who, with the release of
Drexels or Krush Puppies, or the pummelling noise that
their debut album at the end of July, mesh grotty social
gushes from the amplifiers of Bo Gritz. We could continue
commentary with witchy fantasia. A four piece, their music
about commuter belt cosmic slackers Drugstore Romeos,
is a very psychedelic strain of primordial garage rock;
minty fresh dream poppers Toothpaste, or the electroshock
drones and chanted lyrics make everything feel like one
therapy of Sex Cells’ live experience. But we’ll just say
spellbinding hex. Without a doubt, they’re South London’s
this; keep your eyes on the capital.
most underrated prospects, set only to grow in stature over the coming months. Stray further south of Central London, further south than you feel comfortable, further south than even the Northern Line goes, and you’ll reach your next destination; Go Chi Minh. A four piece with the same fucked-in-the-head sense of humour as The Butthole Surfers or The Fat Whites, this band are so intense live, oscillating synthesiser drones and Earth shaking freakouts come obnoxiously fast at you. Releasing the odd track here and there via their soundcloud, a cosmic quartet you really need to catch live to fully experience the wrath of.
6
Baxter Dury Sitting comfortably in the realm between kitchen-sink
Did you feel that you were channelling a specific, maybe
realism and Star Wars, Baxter Dury’s new album ‘Prince of
repressed, part of your own personality?
Tears’ musically and lyrically dips its toes into the sea of the absurd, but Baxter’s growling cockney drawl keeps the
It kind of comes out in a blur… it spills out, and when it
record’s feet firmly on solid ground. The emotional love
spills out I don’t really know where it’s from and it’s all
child of music’s great influencers: Heartbreak and Catharsis,
a bit Salvador Dali or something! So yeah it is surreal but
listening to ‘Prince of Tears’ makes you want to laugh and
in a way it’s kind of… bullshit? You know what I mean? A
cry, then cry and dance, maybe fly to Paris, drink some
little bit bullshit, but I like it, I like it a bit unorchestrated,
absinthe and contract syphilis… but mostly it is unafraid to
unguided, it’s an emotional ranting sort of thing.
be emotive, it calls itself out on its own bullshit, is acutely self aware but in no way premeditated. An unpretentious
But then to guide the listener you allow your female
look at the human condition, and the humorous sound of the
vocals to have this omnipresent quality, to point out
condition of being human. There really is a fragile, rugged,
these truths and untruths, I guess to call you out on
silver-haired, middle-aged man in all of us.
your ‘bullshit’... This seems to be a resounding theme throughout your music, does the female voice make you
It feels like you’ve stepped away from the romanticism
feel more secure? More comfortable?
of your last album ‘It’s A Pleasure’, it feels a lot more confrontational...
Yeah, I’d call it something of a melodic anchor, you know I’m floating off, mouthing off about whatever, and its a
I think it depends on what state of mind you’re in. I had
structural tent peg, its part of the dysfunctional cast and
these very quantifiable issues and I could use them to my
a bit symbiotic. But its about melody, mainly, trying to
advantage, even though it was unpleasant. You learn to use
counter my gruff tones. An old frenchie thing. If it was just
these experiences- even the cliched, heartbreak-y ones, so
one raw source of bollocks it would be too much. Its just a
that’s what I did and it turned out quite confrontational…
voice that’s necessary to colour it, to soften it, to appease
But then I added some strings to make it sound a bit nicer.
the twat…
So do you think having this very tangible nucleus from
...within.
which the album grew actually made it easier to write? Yeah, the twat within! Oh yeah, absolutely. The only time I’m ever effective is when I’m broken. Completely broken. And then you have to
Structurally, each song on the album is like a little
use something to survive. You know like, when you got no
vignette, a mini performance… Did this structure
choice is when you’re the most proactive, it’s not something
happen naturally?
that you’re trying to do, it’s something that you have to do. It just slowly became obvious, I think. It’s not a script, or a And in tracks like Miami, where you’ve created this
sequence of events, its just honest.
arrogant, lewd persona (‘Do you know who I am?... I’m the sausage man!’)
7
Words by Georgie Jesson, illustration by Daniel Brereton
Sure. And do you think that, five albums in, you need a
Do you think that’s purely because it was the most
concept or narrative within an album?
commercially successful one, or do you reckon you’ve had to work a lot harder to be seen as an artist in your
I enjoy having the feeling that, as we were saying initially,
own right?
it can be something I can use to transfer my thoughts into something else, I had a reason to write it, and to me that’s
Yeah, a little bit, I mean ‘famous dad’ and all that shit has
so important. Five albums in you’re either gonna get worse
it’s advantages and disadvantages... but I think ‘Happy
or better, and I don’t think you get consistantly better and
Soup’ and ‘Prince of Tears’ are just better records, and other
better and better, it comes in peaks and troughs. Musically
things are ‘efforts.’ I guess with music like mine, Sleaford
speaking, you can’t really control it. And although I’m
Mods or Fat Whites or whatever- not to group us together-
such an unspiritual person, I do believe that it tires within
there is a character that it relies on in order for it to work.
people. I mean you can hear when people make tired
It doesn’t matter how sophisticated it is, or how good the
music. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re gonna have
players are, if that character’s not gauged perfectly, that
a tired period. And for this album I happened to have a
kind of British-y thing, it doesn’t feel right and so you
clear musical period. I don’t really understand it, it’s a bit
begin to question it, and as soon as you question it, you’re
martial-arts-inner-third-eye shit, I dunno what the fuck it is,
wrong! You feel awkward with eccentric music if it’s not
but I knew what I was doing and I did it!
right. But if you’re listening to eccentric music and you don’t need to question it, you just get it, it’s the best! It can
You were totally self-assured about the exact album you
occupy all those things: it’s poppy, melodic, intelligent,
were going to make…
weird, but overall it’s natural. That’s what I’m trying to say in a convoluted kind of way, it’s natural.
Yeah and I knew exactly what it was gonna sound like and I’d never had that experience before. It’s weird when I think
And I think you can feel that naturalness. With this
about it really, there were very little obstructions. I really
album you’ve really stepped up your game musically,
like this album, and when I play it to people and they don’t
it feels a lot bigger, and the melodies more expansive,
like it I’m a little confused. Not at all in an arrogant way, I
bolder, and you’ve got the string section. It still feels
just feel that I made the album that I set out to make, you
weird and eccentric, but also effortless.
know? Yeah, I just wanted it to be different to be honest. I was How was it working with Jason Williamson (Sleaford
bored by the same shit so I wanted it to have a bigger
Mods)? How did that come about?
feel about it. I wanted to make life more complicated. I wanted to meet a different category of people.. Maybe meet
Do you know what, he’s a total sweetheart. There was a
some Welsh people with tweedy clothes, not just the same
song that someone played me ages ago, and it was quite a
audience. You know, the day we did the strings was the best
critical song, but it had my name in it, and I couldn’t really
day I’ve ever had. Turning your music into Star Wars is the
gauge the tone and I was like ‘oh, I bet they think I’m such
fucking best thing in the world. I know that’s not answering
a South-Ken Cockney…’ you know, probably what I am!
your question but I just wanted to change the goals and the
But anyway, he got my number and it turns out they were
venture, do something a bit different instead of just a silver,
fans. And so now we’re just buddies! We text each other
curly-haired geezer playing a synth.
constantly, you know with that kind of gluten-free rhetoric Do you think you’ll carry on in this direction of
of mature men?
upscaling and exploration? Reading up on other articles and interviews, it’s strange that people seem to pinpoint ‘Happy Soup’, your third
Yeah, we’ll see. I feel quite confident about it. I like looking
studio album, as your debut in a way.
forward to doing something really quickly, straight away, even…
9
Baxter Dury
Put your middle finger forward, followed by your index
If your music isn’t thought through, if it isn’t making an
finger, snap your thumb down and pull the trigger. Point
impact, making an audience really feel anything other than a
your anatomical gun. Utilise your ability to hate, to sneer,
light foot-tap and a head bang, what’s the point?
to scope out the scum. Why are we so afraid to hate? HATE, Hate, hate, the word has evolved- no- devolved, because
Hate has become something to fear and that ain’t hate.
now hate is glamour, it’s fashion, it’s trending, part of this
Hate is disgusting, its squalid, its having a wet dream about
never ending cycle of the commodification of politics,
your mum and then comfortably watching her change your
of ideas, of human rights, of fucking feelings. Look at
sheets. ‘New Music’ feels like some sort of indie porn site
music, we lament the so called lost years of guitar music,
as we grow and grow and grow into a self-induced climax
the castration of rock ‘n’ roll. But it’s not all our fault, we
and then, as our seed is spilled, comes the wave of regret.
were celibate for so long, listening to the Strokes whilst simultaneously crying and wanking, so now, anytime some
But if squalor and darkness could shine, I mean really
knob with good hair gets a sanctified slot at the Windmill
become autoluminescent- almost toxic- it would take
we can’t help but get an instant hard-on. We sigh and say,
the form of The Starlight Magic Hour. Pariahs of the
‘Well, at least something’s happening’... THAT is our feat?!
Manchester scene, expelled and excluded by the Northern
THAT is our revolutionary cry?! With so many incredible,
promoters for being ‘too fucked up’ to listen to or ‘too
young and driven bands that have emerged over the past
fucked’ to book, have seen that London’s borders are
couple of years, that have created something untouchable
open, and we welcome the chaos, in fact we need it- we
due to not only having different tastes, styles, sounds
need a reality check, a good kick up the arse. With 19
clashing beautifully on the same line up, but on top, all this
members having passed through their doors, it feels like
is solidified by genuine friendship and solidarity- it seems
wrecklessness follows them like a deranged shadow.
that now if you dress well, play guitar and have watched a
Shambolic but jaw-dropping live performances with so
couple of Mick Jagger performances on youtube you can
many instruments and members on stage you can’t tell
write a song about Ashton Kutcher and get your slot.
which is which.
This is not about exclusivity, it never has been, the music never discriminates, unless the music you’re trying to bring to the table is inherently lacklustre, boring, resembling the still-born child of The Wombats and Mark E. Smith.
11
Words by Georgie Jesson, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
It’s like some sort of royal orgy- with everyone having a go
Their music fuses an electronic and a heavy punky sound to
on everyone else’s instruments. But, as the best performers
create an effect that feels extremely immersive and emotive,
always are, it’s impossible to believe this band is as chaotic
but they are firm believers in disbanding this idea that a
as it might seem- and this is constructed chaos at its finest.
band must simply have one sound, one style, one influence.
They’ve already written a 14-track album, part of a 5 album
They are paving the way in attempting to reimagine what a
plan complete with 2 novels in 2 parts and a musical theatre
band should be. Rather than having the sound be distinctive,
production to go alongside it-
they want distinctivity to be the sound. Keep your eyes and
which they have already begun to cast. The concept behind
ears, but mostly your minds, open. The Starlight Magic
these albums follows a malevolent tale of sexual abuse,
Hour is looming.
psychopathy, murder, torture, but this is more than just a gimmick, an instantly gratifying electric shock system or tactic. This idea is clearly a labour of love and an intense psychological exploration unravelling the theme of nature vs nurture, of born evil or bred evil, exploring the basic human need to feel love from the perspective of those who have never been taught or shown what it is. And what I’ve seen and heard about it so far is beautiful, in its own twisted way. What is so important about The Starlight Magic Hour is that the music is hard hitting and feels totally honest, right to its core and conception. In some ways it’s extremely selfindulgent and insular, there’s a sense that this band couldn’t give two shits about whether people like it, whether people get it, regardless of what people think about it they aren’t going to change their plan of action. But, at the same time, there’s something so far-reaching and rebellious in what they are setting out to do.
From the darkness: autoluminescence
12
Insecure Men After revealing to us at the beginning of the year that his
I’ve seen that you make illustrations etc… Did you read
new group, Insecure Men wasn’t just a covers band making
any comics or fanzines when you were growing up?
lo-fi versions of songs like ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ and ‘Streets of Philadelphia’, Saul Adamczewski is on the verge
When I was a kid I used to buy punk fanzines like
of releasing the first single from a completed album that is
Maximum Rocknroll or the London equivalent... then I
a far cry from early Fat Whites tracks… Insecure Men live
bought the NME. I love comics and always have. Especially
ranges from a one-man band touring working men’s clubs
Crumb.. who doesn’t love him?
to a 10-piece arena busting extravaganza featuring Sean Lennon… and everything in between. We had a chat with
Who are your favourite visual artists?
Saul to see what was what… I’m a Georgia O’Keeffe man through and through. Also my We spoke about this briefly in issue twelve but how did
friend Ben Edge from the band The Electric Pencils is an
the idea of a new band come about? Was it to explore
amazing painter. He’s my favourite right now!
different genres and influences? How do you feel about the South London scene that has The idea of a new band really came about after I was kicked
formed and the vast amount of new bands citing Fat
out the Fat Whites.. funnily enough. I’d been writing these
White Family as an influence?
songs for years and me and Ben were playing together in I’m not sure if they do cite Fat White Family. It’s a good
Warmduscher so it just made sense.
scene. A little bloated and without any real good music. But You seem to spend a fair bit of time travelling,
it’s going somewhere.
considering a lot of your songs have an underlying Britishness, do you find it easier writing/recording away
Will we be able to catch Insecure Men live much? Do
from home?
you plan on touring?
I don’t know if it’s easier. In London I tend to get a little
I have a few gigs in September and I’m playing Scala in
lost. But I’ve been away a bit and writing a lot. So maybe
November. I won’t tour much because it’s boring and makes
it’s true.
music bad.
How long have these songs been around? I really like the
When can we expect the first singles/videos and the
lyrics in this collection of songs, particularly the line, “in
album?
a pebble-dash wonderland”. First single this month and the rest comes after. I think.... These songs have been floating around for ages. It wasn’t until I started playing them with Ben and Nathan that it became a thing. I’m glad I’ve got them out of my system. Pebble dash wonderland is a line that Lias wrote about his Mum’s house. True story.
Words and illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
14
HMLTD Organising an interview with HMLTD is not an easy task.
Henry: We’ll always want to do more but at the same time
From getting them all in the same country to the singer
I think it’s a matter of respect to your audience to not go
going missing for days at Bestival, which, according to the
half way but if people are coming to see you then you’ve
band, is part of a string of incidents they feel is the curse of
got to give them something and you’ve got to respect your
their new single, ‘Satan, Luella and I’. On the penultimate
audience and treat them well, but also it means that we can
day of arrangements we are told to head to their studio,
present what we do in a much more fully formed manner.
Fortress, but for a last minute text inviting us over to their Peckham flat for a late lunch and that they’ll be cooking
How do you feel about your online presence or lack
for us... We’re greeted by two thirds of Brockenhurst &
thereof?
Sons (HMLTD’s main collaborators) who are working on projections and costumes for the band’s upcoming Electric
Henry: There’s still definitely an online presence to us
Ballroom show. They’re both undressed and covered in
because the virtual realm and the physical realm aren’t that
paint… there’s a full two minutes where we consider
disconnected, you know, they’re grounded in eachother.
making a break for it but then the familiar faces of HMLTD walk one by one down the stairs to the tune of classical
Duc: There’s actually a lot more than most people can see,
music in full uniform and we finally sit down to eat.
its just hidden.
What’s on the menu tonight?
Henry: There’s a lot of hidden stuff on the internet. There’s songs which we’ve released that people don’t realise we’ve released… and some people know where it is, some fans
Henry: Mussels
have found it and the same with certain videos for certain Mussels aren’t my favourite but I’ll enter the circle of
songs which are unreleased. A lot of them will be properly
trust, mussels have haunted me in the past.
released later but a lot of them currently exist online, some of the fan’s favourites even. So it’s more a matter of finding
Tiger (Brockenhurst and Sons): These ones will kill you.
it and how dedicated you are to that… If you really want to then you can find it…
Henry: Yeah, this might be the latest in the curse of ‘Satan, I don’t think HMLTD is particularly synonymous with
Luella and I’.
London, you’ve fallen into this South London thing but So what can we expect from the Electric Ballroom show?
there’s nothing that ties you to that.
Duc: Bigger venue, different theme...
Henry: We all moved here from elsewhere but London is really just a vehicle, a facilitator and its how we know
A lot of bands we’ve spoken to have spoken about that
each other and our collaborators, what we do is actually
Scala show. Wolf Alice and more recently, The Horrors,
more universal. Its not like you need to be from London to
who were really taken back by the amount of time you
understand it or listen to it, its grounded in a more universal
put into everything. When people spend £10/£15 on a
experience.
show, that’s almost what they should expect from every band.
15
Words by Josh Whettingsteel and Rob Knaggs, illustration by Sac Magique
How do you feel about the South London Scene?
The first live performance we did, we were all quite nervous about it because he’d never actually sung into the
James: I think there’s certainly many good bands in the
microphone before and he came out and just absolutely
south London scene, I find it quite bizarre that we’re being
perfected it, really nailed it. In fact, he was probably better
grouped together but I guess that’s just a temporal thing, we
than he is now.
just came out at the same time. Henry: There’s something to be said for naivety Henry: And inevitably you know each other and are friends with each other because you play the same venues. I believe
Are you going to release an album? Because maybe the
most of them are all from London originally. Shame, Sorry,
most HMLTD thing to do would be to never release an
Dead Pretties, Goat Girl are all from London, definitely. So
album. The songs are starting to build up on Spotify etc
in that sense we’re kind of outsiders but we’re happy to be
now but is it important for you to release something that
here. It’s a nice community.
is called an album where you get this big vinyl?
So it doesn’t aggravate you that you keep getting lumped
James: I think people really overstate the importance of
in with these groups?
an album, as you said we’ve released an EP’s worth of material but for some reason people aren’t satisfied with
Henry: Musically we’re not similar but we’re not
that. Whenever we release a single it’s, “when’s the album
aggravated by it at all, we’re all friends.
coming out?” As though a collection of ten songs in one go is more satisfying than ten songs over a period, I don’t
Were you all musical before the band? All in previous
understand that.
bands? There definitely seems to be songs you’re saving… Some fan favourites from the early shows and through your
Duc: Everyone apart from Henry
social media presence, ‘Where’s Joanna?’ for example. Henry: I was never in a band, I’d never done any music, I’d never performed anything, nothing whatsoever. I always
Achilleas: Our best songs haven’t been released… And I
wanted to do it but there wasn’t the opportunities and
would say our best songs haven’t been played live yet
there wasn’t the people to do it with who made me feel comfortable.
Henry: People have a lot of sentimental attachment to some of the old songs, which is obviously relevant and its
So how did you get into doing it with these?
important, at the same time we’ve definitely written a lot better songs than some of those older ones which people are
Henry: Because I met 5 people who I felt comfortable with
attached to and most of those haven’t been released.
and who were on the same wavelength as me. At first it was me, Duc, Nico, Zac and an old drummer who moved
There seems to be a lot of fake news related to you.
to Hong Kong. After that we got Achilleas, and James had joined just before our old drummer left. So it was the first
Duc: It’s entertaining
time I really felt comfortable in terms of being able to perform in front of people.
Zac: Sometimes it’s just very annoying
James: For the first few months, when we were together,
Henry: Some things are completely fictitious and you just
Henry would not actually speak into the microphone, he
wonder how on earth they arrived at it.
would sit in the corner and we were like, “Henry, are you going to sing?” and he’s just like, “no, I will in a minute”.
17
HMLTD
Zac: People used to say we play to a backing track, someone
Henry: Life’s a performance
said their friend left because we were playing to a backing track.
Duc: The place I feel we’re the truest is when we’re together doing what we do, that’s what makes sense, the rest
Henry: A lot of people have accused us of copying them.
is just chaos.
There’s that one band that vaguely resembles you from
Do you think you’ll ever support bands again?
the 80s and people love to compare you to them in a very lazy way… Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Duc: When we do a gig we want to show our world, we want to show our universe.
Henry: Yeah it is. Again, it’s sort of the lowest form of journalism or criticism is by comparison, it’s journalism by
Henry: We never want our world to be compromised, if we
analogy. It doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just an endless
could do that in such a way that it wasn’t then we would.
regression. I don’t really know what the end point of it is.
You’d have to find a band that would give you that room
But it’s interesting looking at the different comparisons
and respect.
we get. Only because they’re so different. One person will say we’re ripping off this band and another person will say
Are remixes something that you want to pursue? Because
we’re ripping off a different band. It’s entertaining to read
that could expand your world...
what people write about us I think. Henry: Get us into the clubs Where do you feel the performance ends for you? Now people have started recognising you at gigs etc do you
James: Absolutely
feel like you have to expand that performance past being on stage? Do you consider different parts of your life as
Henry: We want to be played in clubs, I think a lot of our
a stage now?
music does make sense in a dance music context and I think that’ll come down to the producers we work with and also
Henry: Things are performative rather than performance.
who we want to remix our music.
Once you get into the realm of performance things become quite problematic because you’re not being true to yourself,
Finally, what’s the main message you’d like to portray
but I think we just lead our lives in quite a performative
now you’ve got a platform?
way, to the extent that there’s not really a disconnect between what we present in our output and who we actually
Zac: For me it would be encouraging anyone who’s into us
are as people. I think there’s a big disconnect between those
to be the most extreme versions of themselves and to not be
two things.
afraid to embody those characteristics as much as they can.
Duc: I don’t think there’s a moment where we stop and
Henry: I think it is about encouraging self expression and
think about what we do in that way, it’s quite simple.
individuality and for people to realize their identities.
Achilleas: When you go back to your family, there’s an
James: We’d never encourage people to dress exactly like us
element of being more grounded. There is a big difference
for the sake of it.
when you go back home Henry: Idolisation is very problematic in that regard Henry: Yeah, it’s important to stay grounded
because you can demote yourself through idolisation. Whereas we don’t want to do that, we want people to be
Zac: For me, when I go home, that’s when the performance
themselves. We don’t want to tell people what to do.
starts…
www.sacmagique.net
18
The Horrors Four albums deep The Horrors are revving up for what
I think that it helped a lot in separating this record from the
might be their biggest release to date. Album number five
one before, because there were quite a few changes in the
is due in September, and it marks the first time they’ve
working method.
worked from start-to-finish with a producer; Paul Epstein, better known for his work with chart-toppers like Adele. We
Paul Epworth is better known for producing massive,
called up frontman Faris Badwan to talk recording, HMLTD
pop records than bands like The Horrors. What drove
and why the collapse of the music industry might be a good
you to work with him?
thing. First of all, we signed to his label, and second he really Hey Faris. To jump straight in, I saw an interview
wanted the opportunity to work on a record that gave him
recently where you were talking about how this album
the chance to push things and experiment more. So I think
would be a return to your early ‘dark vibe’.
we shared quite a lot of common ground in the way we like to experiment with sound. Because it was his label we really
I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if particularly that would
had complete freedom. We didn’t have to have anything in
be what I said.
our head except making a really cool record that we were excited about. So it was the perfect situation really. I think
I think the exact quote was maybe ‘”weight”…
we felt confident that the process was a new chapter for the band. And I think that comes across in the music itself.
Yeah, I think that even when we’ve written songs that are more, uh, you know, euphoric or positive we’ve
The first two singles we’ve heard go really different ways
always wanted them to have a certain kind of weight. An
sonically. Which would you say is a better indication of
emotional depth, I guess. But I don’t know, on this record
what we can expect?
it wasn’t really such a big conscious weight but rather that instinctively we thought we wanted a little more aggression,
I’d say it’s a pretty diverse record to be honest. It might be
because our live shows have always been quite aggressive.
our most diverse. Because we tried so many different ways
Even the recent ones, and I just think we wanted a bit more
of writing songs this time. That was the biggest difference
of the rawness that we get from playing live.
with this recording process. We did so many different ways of starting ideas and finishing them, that the results were
I saw as well that it’s one of the first of your records that
quite diverse. It would be hard to pick a song that summed
you’ve really worked with an outside producer on?
up the record in any way. The reason we released Machine first really, was that it felt so different from what people
Well, I mean, we’ve worked with Geoff Barrow from
would expect us to release, as a first single that made the
Portishead before. And we worked with different people
whole thing feel new and exciting.
on the first one. Quite a few different people. But in terms of working with a producer from start to finish, who was
You’ve also done a bit of producing for other people
creatively involved almost like a member of the band, this is
recently right? I know you’ve worked with HMLTD,
the first time we’ve had one. And I think it’s cool.
who we’ve written about a lot. How did you come across them?
19
Words by Rob Knaggs, illustration by Jamie Wolfe
6
With Happy Meal, I kind of came across them by accident.
She was a German folk singer and she had this cameo in a
I think it was at the Sebright Arms, quite a while ago.
film called ‘Alice in the Cities’, which is a really great film
Maybe a year ago. I went to see this band called Catholic
too. And she did this record for herself, and the song writing
Action and they were playing, and just had something really
is really amazing but she, yeah, she disappeared and never
special. They have a really great live presence, and they
really got heard until a few years ago when someone found
have their own world. For a new band, they think about
it and pressed it to record. I always think about that. That
every aspect of the experience. When they played Scala,
there are constantly loads of records disappearing. That
they turned the whole place into their own set. The main
come back.
thing is they have fun. They’re enthusiasts, but they want to push themselves as well. They’re ambitious to make really
One thing that feels immediately striking about the
daring, big songs. I see a lot of new bands, and there are a
campaign around your new record is the artwork. The
lot of good ones, but I think Happy Meal, they have a spark
fleshy, hyper-real heads and Japanese lettering...
of something that you don’t see very often. Those heads were designed by Erik Ferguson. I really Have you come across any the rest of that crop of bands,
wanted to do some 3D head scanning. A lot of the themes
that “South London Scene”?
on the record are related to simulation and things that are almost human but not quite. I guess with the 3D head scan I
Yeah, I saw Shame play in Peckham a while ago. And Goat
wanted to see how close it would actually come to looking
Girl. I haven’t seen them live actually, but I’ve heard their
real. I like the idea of the ‘uncanny valley’. That point
records. There’s another band called Sweat I think are quite
where things get more grotesque the more they approach
good. Another band called Education… It almost feels
looking like a human face. I think, on the most basic level
like the music-world is going backwards, it’s quite hard to
it’s also just very different from what we did in the past.
discover things at the moment, because no-one really knows
I think we were just ready to move away from the whole,
where to look. But there are still things out there under the
mysterious blurry photo thing and do something a little
surface.
more… grotesque.
Yeah it feels like there’s been a big change in how people
With the last albums it was almost like you could
come across new music, like the gatekeepers are gone.
anticipate what they would sound like from the artwork
No-one’s going to make you famous overnight, there’s no
alone. Like that they would be Horrors-y. But with the
NME, there’s no equivalent.
new artwork there’s a real sense of ‘what is this’?
No, there isn’t and it’s weird. I think The Horrors just got
Yeah, I would agree with you: it’s like it was at a point
in the door before all that kind of stuff went away. And now
where you could imagine what was coming next, or what
there isn’t one place to look. And it’s very hard to tell how
was the obvious thing to come next was and the thought of
big a band is as well. But, on the other side, it’s quite easy
that makes me feel a bit uneasy. It started to feel a bit too
to start a band and get a record made.
comfortable. So I had to push against it.
Maybe it’s one of those moments where there’s a lot of
It sort of feels like this record could introduce you to
change, and that can feel negative. But maybe for the art
a new audience. Are you interested in how people who
itself it’s a positive thing.
don’t know you from the early days react to it, and you?
Yeah, I think so. I mean you hear about those records,
Yeah, it’s hard for me to kind of predict how people are
amazing records, which are lost and then come to people’s
going to react because I feel like at this point I lose all
attention 30 years later. The one I always listen to is by a
perspective of what the record is like. At the end. Because
singer called Sibylle Baier.
we’ve been working on it so intensely, and probably… I probably won’t ever listen to the record again. I’m sure at some point of my life, for some reason I’ll come across it…
21
The Horrors
Yowl It is tempting, when confronted with such genius as
you don’t have a real singular drive behind your music-
YOWL, to try and search for some greater narrative, some
do you feel pressured to bow to the trends of the time?
transcendental nuance, holding the key to understanding their message. But more than trying to find some grand
Well I would never want to put down anyone who makes
‘higher meaning’ behind them, it is possible they are so
political music, I think that it’s great, and necessary. But
brilliant because they are contained within the reality we all
I don’t think I could ever write from an overtly political
have no choice but to live. Their music speaks universally
place. That’s not to say it’s in no way political, everyone
to those who feel like they’re drowning, slaves to dead end
has a result of politics inherently within their music. It
jobs, trying to balance base survival with scraping around
sounds cliche to say, but this generation has the internet,
for enough artistic hunger to create. When questioned on
and so everything and anything are accessible- there’s no
the source of the inspiration behind their writing, “We’re all
progeny of a scene that’s just one thing going on in one
equally unhappy” is the response. This mordant humour is
particular area. Everyone’s interested in politics when
ubiquitous to their work, and leaves them writing anthems
politics is ‘big’, when there’s a vote or a referendum. But
for the disillusioned, but with enough wit about them to
for most people, the everyday nature of politics is not what
provide an escape hatch of individual meaning. On the back
they’re interested in. In-between elections, people have
of their brilliant single ‘My Headache Likes to Speak’, on
other shit to worry about. People need escape, that removal
the brink of a tour with label mates LICE, and with new
from reality. We’re not trying to pull down the pillars of
material on the horizon, it is time to lend your ears to a
reality, but it’s impossible to not put into the songs that
band who truly encapsulate what it means to be young and
we’re pissed off about something. Being stuck in shit jobs is
struggling in 2017. Just please don’t try and pigeonhole
not an inherently political thing- it doesn’t matter who wins
them
an election, we’ll still be stuck in shit jobs, that’s just the way things work. We’ll take a pistol with a silencer over a
Lyrically, you approach some more ‘heavy’, but still
shotgun in a fight.
incredibly universal topics, whilst it remains very tongue in cheek. Do you find that caustic delivery important in
You’re going on tour with LICE in October- they’re
presenting your songs- removes pretension?
proudly not a classic ‘London band’, who don’t want to get sucked into the London scene completely. Do you
Definitely. If you come at it from an angle where you’re
think the unavoidable nepotism and industry incest
trying to lord it above everyone, and dictate how a
of that ‘scene’ can be a definitional prison of it’s own
particular sensation- for example, the 9-5 monotony,
making?
feels, then it immediately becomes unrelatable. But if you approach it from an angle where you ask ‘Oh, doesn’t this
As to the whole ‘scene’ thing, we just don’t really know
feel shit’ or whatever, people will be much more on board
anyone from it. I don’t think necessarily anyone is
with what you’re saying, when you’re not doing it in an
overly enthused about being dubbed a ‘Windmill’ band
overly preachy way.
or whatever, because no one likes to be pigeonholed. It’s given far too much attention, and to be honest, I think it
It seems so fashionable in the current climate for a lot
just makes a lot of people’s jobs easier, because they can
of groups to spit aimless, politically charged hatred, and
just categorise bands geographically - we’re just stray dogs
call that a song. Comparatively,
trying to do our own thing, grafting.
Words by Dan Pare, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
26
Sweaty Palms We’re a bunch of grotty bams from Glasgow that sound like they’re ‘at the wind up.’ attempting to balance popular sensibilities with not as popular abrasiveness. Honey Hahs How did you find each other? We are the Honey Hahs! We are called Rowan, Robin and Emerging out of a former cult stability program it was
Sylvie and we are sisters from Nunhead. We write songs
advised to us from our mutual passion for music that we
about everything and nothing and we sing them with
should try making some together. Helping us to reintegrate
harmonies.
with the wider populous. What led you to form a band? A particular happening or mutual love for a record or sound? The Ninth Wave We have always sung in harmony and have been inspired by Haydn, Elina, Lewis, Louise. We’re all from Glasgow apart
so many amazing artists. We have been busking ever since
from Elina who moved over here from Finland 3 years ago.
we were small and so have always kind of been a band!
Our sound has been in a constant state of change since we
We can all agree when one of us loves a song so we have
started playing together about a year and a half ago. We take
similar taste.
a lot of influence from 80’s bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode and Fad Gadget
Can you tell us something that you collectively really love?
Can you tell us something that you collectively hate? We love Spain and learning Spanish and talking to strangers Minions
27
and foreigners.
Fur
Mush
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and
We’re Mush and we’re from Leeds. Individually we are
about the music you make?
Dan, Nik, Ty and Phil. The music is good but essentially derivative guitar/artrock sort of stuff. We are like musical
Murray, Harry, Tav and Flynn from Brighton. Music for
dinosaurs, but we have long necks and can eat from the tall
heartbroken dads.
trees.
How did you find each other?
Can you tell us something that you collectively hate?
Somehow we found ourselves at this tacky club on the
‘Post-rock’
beach and Flynn didn’t remember joining the band the next day. Boy Azooga DAMA SCOUT
Hey my name is Davey Newington and I write the music of Boy Azooga. Myself and the rest of the band: Daf Davies,
We’re Eva, Lucci and Danny. I’m (Eva) from all over the
Dylan Morgan and Sam Barnes all live in Cardiff. We make
place, Lucci and Danny are from the Glasgow place. We’re
psychedelic pop music with some weirdo samples and heavy
all now nestled in the armpit of London Town. The music
bits thrown in.
we make hopefully walks the line of idiosyncratic and the kind of pastiche we like...
What led you to form a band? A particular happening or mutual love for a record or sound?
Can you tell us something that you collectively really love?
The record is inspired by so much music that I couldn’t list here. Everything from Black Sabbath to Kelis to The Beach
Karaoke, podcasts, cats and negronis.
Boys to Henry Mancini.
28
King Krule
concretetribes.tumblr.com
King Krule, aka Zoo Kid, aka Edgar the Beatmaker, aka
The other thing with it. I’ve said this in nearly every
Archy Marshall is in New York. We catch him late one
interview I’ve done for this album, because it’s important, is
evening, over a crackling phone line a few months before
the concept of it, of ooze:
his second studio album as King Krule is due to drop
You have all this protein constantly growing, creating nails.
to talk South London, recording the new album and the
You have shit coming out of you all the time. You’ve got
significance of ‘the ooz’.
piss. You’ve got come. You’ve got sleep coming out of your eyes. You’ve got gunk in your nose... It was always
We’ve just been sent a preview of the record, and what’s
about refining that unconscious ooze that we all have. That
striking immediately, compared to the last KK album, is
subconscious ooze. About refining every piece of that every
the artwork. Is it still your brother doing it?
day.
Yeah, always. It has to be.
The album talks a lot about stories that are monotonous. Mundane. Like waiting for a train. But then there’s this
One thing that came up researching the title, was an
deep dark anxiety within that. A lot of the stories on the
exhibition you did together in I think 2014...
record are mundane, but then there’s this darker bit seeping through behind it...
It’s actually the anniversary. Two weeks ago. That was a very amazing project. We got given this huge space, and
There seem to be a lot of references on the record to
I created maybe four hours of music for it and my brother
travel and transience. Trains, the vapour-trail artwork...
created these huge pieces. Props to everyone involved in
where were you when you were writing it?
putting it on. He actually did his own show there, later on in the same space. I think it’s been sold now. That seems
I’d been living in my own place during the end of the last
to be the way shit’s going... That show was called ‘Inner
tour. I was stupid to try and keep paying rent on a place
City Ooz’. We were sitting down at my granny’s, to eat. He
when I was away. It was too expensive. So I moved back
put this record on, and he talked so passionately about it.
home. I started to sleep in the position exactly where I was
Marvin Gaye’s ‘Inner City Blues’. That’s where ‘Inner City
born, and I started to write these songs. I had these songs
Ooz’ came from originally.
and for two years I didn’t like them. Most of those songs aren’t on the record. I was in a place, lost within myself,
Was that also where ‘The Ooz’ came from?
and I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to portray. Then all of a sudden it clicked and I was always writing,
That word, ‘ooz’ is really me and my brother’s word. And
and I spent way more time on my instrument...
Jacob Read [Jerkcurb]. It’s something we’ve always said and used, from when we were young. The first time we
So did you feel when you we’re putting this album
came up with it actually, we were playing with words,
together that it was a collection of songs you were
and Zoo Kid backwards, turned into Dik Ooz, which was
finished with, or more of a...
perfect. Then we were trying to create a thing called ‘Ooz Comics’, which never really happened... That’s where ‘A
Up until now, I’m still writing so much stuff. I never felt
New Place 2 Drown’ came from.
like the record was just done. Even when I was in the last days of mixing I was making changes. A lot of the tracks
So have you had that name for a while?
that aren’t on it, I’ll maybe use for something else. I feel like I could get another record out quick. I don’t know. You
I was going to call this record ‘Man Alive’. Man Alive
got to hate it sometimes, but sometimes it clicks...
with an exclamation mark at the end. Like a statement: Man Alive! Then I found a CD my uncle made, and it was called Man Alive... Then at one point I was going to call it ‘Paradise Ooz’.
Words by Rob Knaggs, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
30
When you were writing, were you thinking about the
The Montague has been plagued now with bands doing
songs in a live setting? Because so much of it feels so
these launch shows, coming for the image. Sometimes I’ll
intimate, it’s almost hard to imagine on a big stage.
go down and I’ll just want to sit for a quiet pint and its just full of these kids, and it’s £5 to get in and it’s like...
I don’t know really. We’ve been playing quite a lot of it live already. I played a lot of keys on the record though. I really
But as you say, South London feels like it’s escalated into
liked the tonality and texture, and what they added, but I
this world wide thing. There’s house music, and jazz, and
don’t want to play keys live. I want to move away from that.
it’s a community I breath with... Obviously I don’t like
Like, I never thought about playing the keys. I don’t just
some shit, but I never felt like I was above it... It’s never
want to sit down. The only thing I know about is singing
going to die like that.
and playing the guitar. It’s interesting now as well to come to Los Angeles, or come I have Connor on stage doing delays and dub effects, I have
to New York and meet these young musicians and see their
a saxophonist... The skeleton of most of the songs I could
things and their places.
play live for days. Did you collaborate with any of those guys in the record. So it’s not just a case of reeling out the album, hit by
Or was it all with your band?
hit? My main work was with the band. The record is very much You get gigs sometimes, where you don’t get a sound check,
about myself, but other people were very involved. Even
and the best way to play it is just to feel it out onstage...
if not on writing the songs. I have the engineer Andrew
I’ll always treat my live shows like that. I spoke recently
Ramsay, who’s very close to my heart, he was the drummer
with my band about doing some shows super ‘muzak’, like
of Stereolab at some point. Mount Kimbie introduced me to
elevator music, and maybe on other days really punk.
him... I was working with a saxophonist called Ignacio. He messaged me one night with a video of him playing under a
I like the idea of heavy stuff dropping down into
bridge in east London, baritone sax. I told him to come to a
monotonous stuff, with mundane delivery and lyrics. When
spot we were playing at, and we just played through a lot of
I was younger I’d play these weird lullaby things straight
stuff that night. He singlehandedly was such a big influence.
into something with heavy guitars. Distorted... So it’s all been organic, the people you’ve worked with? We cover South London and the new crop of bands coming out of the area a lot now, are you able to keep in
I don’t like the idea of features. I like to eat with the people
touch with everything going on there? Do you like it?
I work with. Drink with them. Breath with them. Sleep with them. But I do have people I’ve worked with. People
Yeah. I mean, there are a lot of bands I don’t like in London
like Eyedress, he’s speaking in Tagalog, he’s speaking a
and then there are a lot of great musicians. The London jazz
poem really quietly in the background of one of the songs.
scene is out of this world, and then there’s my connection to
And I have a girl called Beatrice from Barcelona speaking
more abstract bands like Sorority, Jerkcurb, the band Horsey
the same in Catalan. Then you have the same in Russian.
my brother is in...
The only reason I’ve done that is for the mystery, to have something you hear and don’t know what it is immediately.
We grew up there, me and my brother, and our friends.
That you can listen to but not understand...
That’s where we’re from. All my first gigs were in bars around there. When I do unannounced shows still, they’re
Though, most motherfuckers don’t know what I’m saying
at the Montague and I put it on for £3 because that’s where
anyway.
I’m from, you know?
31
concretetribes.tumblr.com
Downtown Boys If you go on YouTube and type in ‘Joey Quits’ you’ll
Do you feel like you’re finding your voice more than ever
find a viral clip of Downtown Boys member Joey La
after three albums?
Neve DeFrancesco giving notice on his hotel job in their hometown of Providence, complete with marching band,
There’s definitely a lot more confidence in it this time.
furious manager and an elated bunch of friends.
When we recorded a few years ago there wasn’t as many
This moment itself is not only very satisfying to watch, but
friends in music who were shouting more and yelling more.
it also proves that this isn’t a band who are about to simply
But after going on tour and seeing loads of incredible
lie down and take shit. They’ve already been generally
groups like Sheer Mag who just go for it and put their
accepted as one of the most exciting punk voices in the US
singing on the line, it’s really inspiring to be part of this
right now, and the recent third album ‘Cost Of Living’ does
collective group of people who are trying to be as raw as
nothing but back up such weighty claims. We caught up
possible.
with the bunch on the day that the album dropped as they prepared for a hometown launch show in the scenic area of
What key messages are you trying to get out now you’ve
Rhode Island.
got this platform?
Congratulations on the record, how does it feel to have it
There’s many messages on the record. ‘A Wall’ for example
under your belt?
has the now very direct message of the Trump border wall. Our fans have been taking that very literally and that’s fine
It feels so great for it to finally be out there. This is how
because it’s a very pressing and violent issue in our world
some people feel about getting married where it’s all this
and country right now. So there’s that which we want to get
planning and then it’s just a massive party. So it’s been a
out there but at the same time we try to find wider meanings
really long time coming.
like how oppression interacts with people on a personal level. There are lots of other meanings behind that track as
This record feels a lot heavier and more out and out
well though. There’s a multitude of meanings there.
punk… As young American’s it must be impossible to resist Thank you for using the word more because it is more.
shouting about Trump now?
There’s more variety in it, there’s more nuance as well. Every song is like an accordion, where you stretch it more
As musicians who are overtly political, there’s very little
in certain moments and then crush it really deep in other
space to talk about other issues we need to be talking
moments. We were trying to reflect an emotional spectrum
about right now. There used to be more news in the
that we have all gone through as well. Not just in the lyrics
mainstream media about student debt, wages, worker power,
but in the music. It’s on a much wider spectrum really. A lot
Guantanamo, Syria. Right now though everyone is obsessed
of people expect a very high intensity, fast, loud sound from
with talking about how lazy this oligarch is. That’s fine but
us all of the time but I think we’ve restrained what people
we have so many other priorities we need to be discussing
wanted and went with what was inside of us. That naturally
now. We’re trying to use this little platform we have to
gave it a heavier feeling.
make these other priorities relevant.
33
Words by Rhys Buchanan, illustration by REN
Superfood Superfood are a band reinvented. Since moving to their
There’s a feeling you can transfer onto your own tracks by
new label ‘Dirty Hit’, the band have expanded their sound
sampling the air that was moving in the room that day. We
and explored new territories, shaking off that britpop tag.
sampled a part of the song that has this really cool melodica
We asked the band to talk us through their new record
line and gives off a disjointed, almost spooky vibe. The
‘Bambino’ track by track.
track is written about the period where I first moved into London on the back of a dragged out break up.
Where’s The Bass Amp?
I was really hitting it hard, as was everyone around me and when I sat down to write the lyrics this is just what came
This song started when we sampled another song to make
out.
the piano hit that goes throughout the whole song. The song is written about panic attacks and how sometimes when
Natural Supersoul
we struggle with anxiety we ignore it so we can party and deal with consequences later. The spoken word samples we
My 9 year old niece came home from school crying because
found on YouTube when a group of kids had come back
her hair was curly and she wished it was straight, it was
from a summer camp and are in the front room showing
so heartbreaking. I have a younger sister that had similar
their mom everything they have learnt, I love how you can
insecurities at a really young age and I couldn’t quite
transfer energy from different sources using sampling. The
understand at the time. She told our mum she wished she
title of the song is an ode to a good friend who somehow
was white like her classmates with straight blonde hair.
managed to lose a 6ft bass amplifier, mental?
It’s pretty obvious to me that media in our society doesn’t do enough to celebrate or appreciate people’s diversity or
I Can’t See
individuality and it’s definitely having an effect on young people’s insecurities about their image, it’s mad. My niece
I was listening to a track by Ronald Russell called ‘Rhythm
is beautiful, way smarter than me, funny and charismatic
Hips’ and decided to record it in and have a mess around.
so I wanted to write a song with the message ‘don’t be
The beat came together quite quickly and then we started to
ridiculous, you’re wonderful’.
think about vocals. The song is written about a year I was at Glastonbury with an ex and some friends and those feelings
Need A Little Spider
you get when you’re a little bit frightened about what you’ve just put on your tongue and need your hand held a
This was the first song that we wrote for the album way
little bit. We really wanted to get a gospel choir in on this
back when we started and I think that’s quite telling with
one but we had no quids. Maybe one day…
the overall vibe of the song. We wanted something that swung with a bhangra rhythm but had a 4/4 kick keeping it
Unstoppable
pumping. The lyrics were written quite a while ago during the election in May 2015 and just speak of the overall
‘Unstoppable’ followed suit with ‘I Can’t See’ in the way
frustrations that governments put on people to not let them
that we were sat listening to a track one day in our flat
live life and be free. I feel like the lyrics still resonate with
and decided to play it into the computer and have a tinker.
the current political climate and although we’ve never
When these old dub records were recorded they were played
wanted to delve in too deep on this subject yet this is a song
through broken amps into ancient mic’s and warm desks.
of freedom and the ability to be able to move as you please.
Words by Sam Ford and Superfood, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
36
Raindance
We’ve never really written songs that draw on such personal experiences before and I’m excited to see how long they
This is a song about the memories and dreams I have of my
stay relevant to us while singing live, I feel like the stronger
Dad and how they have become valuable tools that I use
connection you have with a song, the longer you will want
to find peace in his loss. My dad passed away in 2013 so
to play it. Danny Ward from Gengahr also played drums on
when I dream about having a pint and a chin wag with him
this, thought I’d shout him out cause he is a gangster.
it’s amazing. Most people have dealt with loss and every body will at some point, so I wanted to write about how it
Clo park.
feels to me. The feeling of waiting hopefully for something to change and knowing it won’t. When we first recorded
The day we wrote this we were in our flat over looking
the demo to this song it got to about 4am and we wanted to
Clissold Park, sun was beaming into the front room and
record vocals but knew we couldn’t because of neighbours/
this came out. This was recorded at the end of the whole
flatmates. We gathered all of our recording equipment and
process of the album and think we kind of used it as bit of
went and stood under a tree in Clissold Park, these are the
a reset button after all the stress we went through making
final vocals that made the album.
it. My favourite part of the record is on this song when we went into an office to record some ambient sounds of
Double Dutch
keyboards clacking, people chatting etc. When we got back to the studio and laid it over the song we listened through
When we lived in our flat there were always kids outside
and heard this fax machine go off completely in time,
in the car park screaming and shouting playing games.
completely in key with the song. Never before on a project
One day we heard them chanting and tried to record them
have I had a track called ‘FAX MACHINE SOLO’ and don’t
but failed, this set off a bit of a quest to find a sample on
think I will again.
YouTube exactly like it. We finally came across an old double dutch instructional video by a group called the ‘Stan Pepper Steppers’. They are still going today, we got in touch with the main man Stan Pepper but he just seemed more confused than anything. Shadow This song was written during a time when I was feeling very sore from breaking up with an ex. It talks about the way you try to work things out but its always too late and how now we are constantly reminded about them every time we look at our laptops or phones. This was the first song that we used strings in, we recorded violins and cellos one at a time over and over in Ryan’s front room until we had what sounded like a make shift string section. Witness Like ‘Shadow’ this track was written about the same break up but now at a time where I had accepted it and knew that there was nothing more I could do.
37
Opposite, Lucas Dupuy
Girl Ray People really don’t give teenagers enough credit. Usually
Yeah, it’s a bit fucking weird. We all had miniature
stuck in a position of misunderstanding and confusion
breakdowns in some sort of way. We always wanted to get
with a general identity crisis, it’s easy to forget that
out of the routine of school but now that we’re out of it, we
they’re constantly going through the process of figuring
get really wriggly when we have nothing to do. It’s insane
out life, themselves and their surroundings and if there’s
that the band is doing so well. We’re still loving everything
any band capable of gratifying the teenager’s intelligence,
about it though – always screaming when something
it’s Girl Ray. The Finchley trio’s talent at wearing their
exciting happens.
emotions on their sleeves and understanding the bugbears of adolescence has lent them a helping hand when it comes
What were some of your formative musical experiences,
to distinguishing their sound. For a better understanding,
like first concerts, first CDs, that kind of thing?
listen to their recently-released debut, ‘Earl Grey’, a record of invention, humour and ambition constructed by the most
Poppy: Technically my first concert was Busted. I was in
delicate of melodies. To celebrate, we chat to the girls about
love with all of them and also wanted to be in their band
pre-gig poos, leaving school and eating shitloads of pasta.
so badly. I think I was 6. My first proper concert was the Arctic Monkeys though – Mystery Jets were supporting.
Congrats on the release of your debut album! What do
Was a cool show! I can’t really remember my first CD...
you hope your fans take away from listening to it?
probably a Now That’s What I Call Music, who are we kidding.
Thank you! I guess all we’d want is for it to connect with them on some level. If it makes someone have a cry or
Iris: My first CD was a mix tape of Nirvana and Arctic
boogie then we’ve nailed it.
Monkeys that my granddad found on the street in a portable CD player and gave to me. First proper concert was seeing
I think as a teenager, you’re constantly going through
The Specials with my parents at Ally Pally, turned out
a period where you’re trying to figure yourself out and
Sophie was also there, but with people our age.
figure life out in general, has that been the source of You’re headlining the Scala in a few months, which is
much of your creative output?
a great achievement, how do you prepare yourself for I suppose it has. Maybe people who are older don’t have
a tour and a slot like that? Do you have any pre-gig
such major overreactions to everything – they just chill out
rituals?
on their Scandanavian design sofas watching Forbrydelsen. We’re having meltdowns over here, OKAY?!?
Rehearsing!! Pre-gig rituals include eating a lot of pasta or listening to Freak on a Leash by Korn. Or doing a little pre-
How did you cope with the transition from leaving school
show poo to let free some of the nerves and bad vibes.
where everything is so formulaic to suddenly being in a band that is garnering so much attention and where
Finally, can you give me three people, dead or alive,
exciting things are beginning to happen?
you’d invite to a dinner party?
Feels like you’ve been reading our minds a little bit here,
If you’d allow us 4 we’d just invite the whole of ABBA. But
So Young. Freaky.
3, all of them minus Bjorn.
Words by Harley Cassidy, illustration by Alex Buccheri
40
Sports Team Sports Team, a band name ready made for the 2013
Pavement. Pulp. Haircut 100. Steely Dan. The Family Cat.
breakout sounds of skate and surf inspired garage. But don’t be misled. Subscribing to the Viva Brother approach of
Your online output is limited but those that know you
declaring greatness, head held high and no sign of a smirk,
may know you best for the track ‘Camel Crew’, can you
Alex Rice and his Sports Team mean business. The band
tell us about it?
have been all over London in previous months, touring alongside The Orielles, supporting Childhood, and making
It’s a track that’s been knocking around for a while. We
their debut at Green Man Festival. They’ve also found
lived in Westbourne Park until just over a week ago. There’s
themselves a twelfth man in producer Dave Mccracken (Ian
a Portuguese ex-pat club tucked away behind the station,
Brown, The Rifles, Scissor Sisters), fair to say there may be
which we had walked past a few times but never gone into.
proof in their outspoken pudding. Confidence aside, there’s
It’s a strange place to spend any amount of time. This is
a likeability factor to Sports Team which rose tints the
from the brochure:
lug holes before the boys step upon minor stages, but the music is there. The songs are there. Tracks, ‘Camel Crew’,
‘A single steak tower is often enough for two at Sporting
‘Ashton Kutcher’ and ‘Beverley Rose’ deliver an indie
Clube de Londres. Dine with family or friends and enjoy the
intensity which has been somewhat lost in this post Fat
dulcet tones of resident pianist, Bruno. Afterwards, why not
Whites era, and for us it’s very welcome. Expect over the
stay a while? A friendly photographer is close at hand, ready
top front man-ship, general potential to ‘lose your shit’ and
to fulfil your every wish.’
pop shots at your other favourite bands. We sent the group At some stage we wound up going fairly regularly, and
some questions, read on...
‘Camel Crew’ grew out of that. Sports Team, tell us a bit about how you came together and how you’ve managed to find yourselves on the
When people catch ‘Camel Crew’ live, they’ll be invited
posters of many a good gig in London recently?
to listen to a track “about the South London Scene” with tongue in cheek, what’s the beef?
The band kicked off a couple of years ago, but we’ve been friends for longer than we’ve been able to play our
When linen stains, you can’t wash it out. It’s a speciality
instruments. In terms of gigs, people seem willing to forgive
fabric.
a lot if you look like you’re having fun. What’s the Sports Team ambition… What’s the band life I’m led to believe that the band has been bubbling away
all about for you? Career or fun? Both?
beneath the surface for a long while now. Why was now the right time to go public?
If you have an office crush, you’ll never work a day in your life.
If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. If you give a fish a hundred grand...
What can we expect from you in the next 12 months?
Are there any records or bands that you mutually love,
Drop two singles, sell out Scala, and try to find that big pop
ones that you think helped to form the band?
hit for the boys upstairs.
41
Words by Sam Ford, illustration by Josh Whettingsteel
Editors
Artists
Sam Ford
Josh Whettingsteel
Josh Whettingsteel Jill Senft
Writers
Alex Gamsu Jenkins
James Endeacott
Daniel Brereton
Cal Cashin
Sac Magique
Georgie Jesson
Jamie Wolfe
Josh Whettingsteel
REN
Rob Knaggs
Lucas Dupuy
Dan Pare
Alex Buccheri
Sam Ford
Michael Cox
Rhys Buchanan
Photos for Collage
Harley Cassidy
April Arabella
Printed By
Waj Hussain
Ex Why Zed
Olive Parker Rhi Harper
info@soyoungmagazine.com
Rowan Allen Jono White
Mikael Ă…strand
Website
www.soyoungmagazine.com
Art Direction
concretetribes.tumblr.com
News
@soyoungmagazine (Twitter)
SoYoungMagazine (Facebook) soyoungmagazine (Instagram) soyoungmagazine.tumblr.com
Special Thanks Harry Wade Cal McRae
Rob Knaggs
Opposite, Aylesbury Learning Centre by Michael Cox, 2016-17, oil on canvas, 97 x 71cm