P R E S E N T S
10 | 08 | 18
STEVEN PAGE - UNION CHAPEL -
| 18T 13 |LD 08OU SO
JOAN AS POLICEWOMAN
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE UK TOUR 2019
- OMEARA, LONDON BRIDGE -
29 | 08 | 18
BRAND NEW FRIEND
- THE WAITING ROOM, STOKE NEWINGTON -
F R I D AY 0 1 F E B R U A R Y
EVENTIM APOLLO HAMMERSMITH
12 | 09 | 18
JIM WHITE - THE LEXINGTON -
18 | 09 | 18
ERIKA WENNERSTROM - THE LEXINGTON -
26 | 09 | 18
FRANZ FERDINAND - ROUNDHOUSE -
06 | 10 | 18
G LOVE
- ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL -
09 | 10 | 18
DEATHCABFORCUTIE.COM T H E N E W A L B U M T H A N K YO U FO R TO DAY AVA I L A B L E AU G U S T 17 BY ARRANGEMENT WITH CAA
SASHA
- THE WAITING ROOM, STOKE NEWINGTON -
12 | 10 | 18
FENNE LILY - BORDERLINE -
17 | 10 | 18
JOHN BUTLER TRIO - EVENTIM APOLLO -
18 | 10 | 18
AADAE
- ARCHSPACE -
19 | 10 | 18
DAHLIA SLEEPS
- OMEARA, LONDON BRIDGE -
23 | 10 | 18
SOPHIE HUNGER
jenny lewis
- OSLO, HACKNEY -
23 | 10 | 18
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE - O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN -
TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018
KOKO
LONDON
24 | 10 | 18
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JENNYLEWIS.COM
- O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN -
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH X-RAY
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P R E S E N T S
30 | 10 | 18 - 31 | 10 | 18
| 11OU | 18T - 02 | 11 |OU | 11 |OU 01LD 18 T - SO 03LD 18 T SOLD SO “COME ON PILGRIM...IT’S SURFER ROSA” SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOR FIVE NIGHTS
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08 | 11 | 18
485C
24.10.18
- SHACKLEWELL ARMS DALSTON
ů : LONDON
14 | 11 | 18
COURTNEY BARNETT - O2 ACADEMY, BRIXTON -
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TEENAGE FANCLUB
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| 11OU | 18T- 16 | 11 | 18 15LD SO
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UK TOUR 2018
- THE WAITING ROOM, STOKE NEWINGTON -
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28TH JULY
4TH & 5TH AUGUST
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MARGATE SOUL FESTIVAL ‘FRINGE’
ANDY (808 STATE)
ZERO RADIO TAKEOVER
4TH AUGUST
10TH AUGUST
TROJAN SOUND SYSTEM
50TH ANNIVERSARY (EVENING)
DREAMLAND VARIETY
GOK WAN (DJ SET)
11TH AUGUST
18TH AUGUST
24TH AUGUST
ANA MATRONIC (DJ SET)
SARA COXOPRESENTS T D U JUST CAN’T SOL GET ENOUGH 80S
DREAMLAND VARIETY GET YOUR OWN BACK
WITH MARGATE PRIDE + BETSY
24TH AUGUST
THE RIFLES
25TH AUGUST
RONI SIZE ‘NEW FORMS’ LIVE (EVENING)
WITH DAVE BENSON PHILLIPS
25TH AUGUST
RAY KEITH AFTER PARTY (NIGHT)
for more info and the full event line-up
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WELCOME Most years August is a quiet month, everyone avoiding the festival season and keeping hold of their releases for the September deluge. This year, however, August is full of pure gold releases and we are all about it.
TIRZAH COVER STORY
We've been huge fans of Tirzah for what seems like forever so we're completely honoured to celebrate her debut album by putting her on the cover. We've also got previous London in Stereo cover star Mitski back in the pages for her triumphant new album and if you're not already onto Helena Hauff then move quick. It's been a month full of festivals and we've had the best time at Melt Festival, Rock Werchter and NOS Alive: great company, great food and so many of our favourite acts. Check out our top tips for your next visit.
PAGE 28
STAFF ON REPEAT
CHANCE THE RAPPER
the tracks we can’t stop listening to this month JESS: Christine And The Queens - Doesn’t Matter DAVE: Chance The Rapper - Work Out LOKI: Foxing - Nearer My God DANNY: BROCKHAMPTON - 1998 TRUMAN GEMMA: Haich - Conversations JACK: Advance Base - True Love Death Dream BETH: Walton - Koto Riddim LiS 05
SE P
08 AUGUST GREENE (ROBERT GLASPER, COMMON & KARRIEM RIGGINS) + VERY SPECIAL GUESTS O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON 4PM - 1AM Tickets: AFROPUNKFEST.COM + METROPOLISMUSIC.COM
CONTENTS 10
VISIONS PREVIEW
52
FULL AUGUST GIG LISTINGS
Guide to our fave London one day festival plus all your timings and map
16
68
NEW SOUNDS
Makar, Kirby Forest and more
20
24
EVENTS
Sweet stuff happening soon in London
71
IN LONDON with Girlhood
MITSKI 72
ON THE STEREO
LIVE REVIEWS
Fine times at NOS Alive & Melt Festivals
with End of The Road Festival
28
36
42
77
TIRZAH
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS by Hassan Anderson
HELENA HAUFF
ALBUM REVIEWS
IDLES, Anna Meredith, Dizzy, Anna Calvi, Iglooghost and many more
50
GIGS OF THE MONTH
Our pick of August’s best shows TIRZAH COVER STORY: PG 28
Editor: Jess Partridge jess@londoninstereo.co.uk
Deputy Editor: Dave Rowlinson dave@londoninstereo.co.uk
Online Editor: Beth Sheldrick beth@londoninstereo.co.uk
Sub-Editor: Loki Lillistone loki@londoninstereo.co.uk
Festival Editor: Katie Thomas katie@londoninstereo.co.uk
New Sounds Editor: Gemma Samways
Staff Writers: Danny Wright, Jack Urwin
Advertising sales@londoninstereo.co.uk
Photography: Tirzah cover story: Sebastian Nevols (sebastiannevols.com) Contributors: Emma Madden, Lee Wakefield, Stephanie Phillips, Rhian Daly, Grant Bailey, Hassan Anderson, Henry Wilkinson, Geoff Cowart, George O’Brien, Thomas Hannan. londoninstereo.com
@londoninstereo
LiS 07
SUMMER / AUTUMN 2018 ~ LIVE ~
22.08
The Regrettes /
06.09
10.10
Kadeem Tyrell /
13.09
Bad With Phones
06.11
Holy Esque /
26.09
Sola Rosa Soundsystem / Niji Adeleye /
Riscas /
23.10
The Gold
Cosmo’s Midnight
A Place To Bury Strangers /
29.09
30.08
07.09
22.09
27.09
Bxrber /
The New Coast /
11.09
17.09
23.08
12.10
03.10
Buck & Evans
Michael Nau 28.09
Beach For Tiger
Fil Bo Riva /
Indian Queens /
Stevie Appleton /
21.09
30.10
22.10
04.10
Lyla Foy
The Manatees
Noah Slee /
01.11
Mt. Joy
Boniface / 07+08.11 Jojo Mayer & Nerve / 20.11 Huntar 21.11
The Virginmarys /
23.11
Lucien Parker
Dates, times & tickets: w w w.hoxtonsquarebar.com
| HOXTONSQUAREBAR
VISIONS PREVIEW So, you’re going to... August is here, which means a number of important things: we can quote Pavement lyrics relative to alcohol consumption in sunshine, that awful (tiny) gap between the sainted World Cup and regular football season is over and there’s one last bank holiday. More than any of those, though, August in London now means Visions Festival and we could not be more psyched to have our very favourite one-day festival back. Obviously the line-up is another smorgasbord of some of the sweetest acts around: The ascendancy of Idles continues with a much-anticipated headline set, Girlhood are gonna win the hearts of everyone that sees them and we’re already in the queue for Black Midi. It ain’t all music though, so here’s your guide to best of the rest of Visions... Is the Dog Show back? Can we talk about dogs for a bit? When I (Dave, LiS Dep Ed) moved to London I already liked dogs, I’d grown up always having them around. But, I was sniffy about little dogs, or aggrolooking dogs or basically any dogs that weren’t a Labrador. It didn’t take long amongst the slog of London life, though, to treasure every sighting of every dog. Dogs make you happy. Science backs this up, just seeing one boosts the levels of oxytocin in your blood. So, yes, of course the dog show is back. We need this simple joy in our lives. Presented by Dogs Matter and our pals at Best Fit, our canine buddies will compete in a number of important categories including the coveted Waggiest Tail. Worried dog shows aren’t fair on the animals? Don’t be. I’ve researched this and the response is basically ‘dogs love doing stuff’. It’s going to be beautiful. The dog show was emotionally draining, where can we take a break? Okay, look, it’s just one day and it’s important to cram as much in as possible. But, also, yes you should look after yourself so if you need some downtime then maybe head to Netil 360, the rooftop with stunning views across London. There are DJs up there, too. Or maybe head over to Space Studios and Courtyard where you’ll find plenty of food and drink, plus important sporting activities like beer pong.
Can we roll a dice and get a tattoo based on the outcome of that roll? No! Oh, wait. The answer, incredibly is ‘yes’. Go see Old Habits’ pop-up tattoo parlour. We‘re hungry, what’s on the menu? It’s good to recognise this: eatin’ is never cheatin’. Keep your strength up and party harder for it. Visions have got you more than covered here. Clapton legends Le Merlin are dishing up crêperie treats, Club Mexicana got you covered for vegan tacos, Harley Dogs are serving up sausages cooked in a bbq built into a motorbike and, of course, our absolute favourites, Lucky Chip are always at Sebright Arms armed with London’s very best burgers. We’ve seen all the bands, we’re still feeling good. Where’s the after party? Good for you. So, as I’m sure has happened in your life before, Yannis Philippakis has got your back. The Foals’ fella is curating MILK, a one-off night featuring live improvised performances from Yannis and his friends. Look out for Punk Rock Karaoke at the Sebright too, as well as the likes of Rough Trade DJ sets keeping us all dancing until we can’t dance no more. And, yep, your Visions ticket does get you into all the after parties. And after the after party? Dunno mate, I’m going home to bed.
LiS 10
IDLES
POPS
GUSTAVITO
PANCHO
SATURDAY 4TH AUGUST
MAP AND TIMINGS THIS WAY
visionsfestival.com @VisionsFestival
MARIKA HACKMAN
BLACK MIDI
LiS 11
SAMPA THE GREAT
OVAL SPACE DOORS 1PM
HANGAR
LFB THE ARCHES
11.00 - 02.00 AFTER PARTY
MILK. ROUGH TRADE DJs
NT’S
SEBRIGHT ARMS
11.15 - 02.00 AFTER PARTY
11.00 - 00.00 AFTER PARTY
WU-LU LIVE STRANGER THAN PARADISE DJs
PUNK ROCK KARAOKE
THE NUDE PARTY FREE ENTRY
WED 22 AUGUST
THE OLD BLUE LAST
THE COMPOZERS
CHE LINGO
MON 27 AUGUST
MON 10 SEPTEMBER
DINGWALLS
OMEARA
MASEGO FRI 14 SEPTEMBER
O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE
LES NEGRESSES VERTES
NINES
EDDY DE PRETTO
SOLD OUT
THU 20 + FRI 21 SEPTEMBER
TUE 25 SEPTEMBER
BUSH HALL
O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN
FRI 21 SEPTEMBER
THE PEARL HARTS
ROSS FROM FRIENDS
K-TRAP
BLEEDING KNEES CLUB
TUE 25 SEPTEMBER
WED 26 SEPTEMBER
THU 27 SEPTEMBER
FRI 28 SEPTEMBER
LIAM BAILEY
YUSSEF DAYES
HOLLIE COOK
TANK AND THE BANGAS
SAT 29 SEPTEMBER
TUE 02 OCTOBER
WED 03 OCTOBER
WED O3 OCTOBER
LYLA FOY
KELVYN COLT
KOVIC
THREE DAYS GRACE
FRI 05 OCTOBER
FRI 05 OCTOBER
Q&A WITH
DAVE LORY JEFF BUCKLEY’S MANAGER WED 19 SEPTEMBER
THE LEXINGTON
OMEARA
THU 04 OCTOBER
HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN
VILLAGE UNDERGROUND
SCALA
OSLO
ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL
ELECTRIC BRIXTON
SCALA
BORDERLINE
O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON
THE VICTORIA
ELECTRIC BALLROOM
SUN 07 OCTOBER
O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE
VISIT METROPOLISMUSIC.COM FOR TICKETS + TO SIGN UP FOR LATEST ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW SOUNDS BAKAR
by Gemma Samways
Looking back now, it feels apt that Bakar’s debut track was entitled ‘Big Dreams’. Less than 18 months on from its low-key release, the Camden-based singer-songwriter now boasts high-profile support from Skepta and Elton John. And as May’s mixtape, BADKID, continues to win over everyone exposed to it, significant success seems within very easy reach. Though loosely rooted in lo-fi indie-rock, the lean, 11-track collection is a whirlwind of ideas, all of which are executed expertly and effortlessly. On ‘One Way’, choppy guitar-pop is a vehicle for venting, tackling life under Tory rule in burns
like, “If the Government call, put my dick in their mouth / ‘Cause I’m back at my mum’s, I can’t even move out.” Elsewhere, ‘4am’ takes in DnB rhythms, ‘WTF’ offers woozy hip-hop production, and ‘BADlands’ melds spaced-out atmospherics with Bloc Party-esque post-punk, complete with clipped vocals that are reminiscent of Kele Okereke’s. He cites the latter as a key influence, alongside Jay Dilla, Madlib, Pharrell and Foals. Not that he’s in thrall to his heroes, you understand. Indeed, as he told Pigeons and Planes back in February, “I'm coming for all my idols”. LISTEN TO: All In @yeaabk
/yeaabk
KISSING BOYS
MUNA ILEIWAT BABY
SELF ESTEEM
GRAACE
(photo: Charlotte Patmore)
IN TEN: NEW SOUNDS
NONAMEDISCIPLE
TED JASPER
RAINBOW CHAN
ELLIE BLEACH
VIAGRA BOYS
BILLIE EILISH
JEVON
SELF ESTEEM
GODFIDENC
PROMISES
SPORTS
JUDAS
GO ON
LEAVE ME ALONE
YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
WRESTLING
FOLLOW OUR SPOTIFY ‘ALL THOSE TRACKS OF THE WEEK’ PLAYLIST FOR ALWAYS UPDATED NEW MUSIC
KIRBY FOREST by Jess Partridge
BAKAR
KIRBY FOREST
We're absolute suckers for sadcore beats paired with laid-back rhymes, so it’s no surprise that Kirby Forest has caught our attention with his brand new Space EP. Being brought up between London and Atlanta has given him a unique flow, and allowed him to hone his skills while building up a following on YouTube. It feels like Forest is on the precipice of something big.
LiS 17
LISTEN TO: Acid Jazz @kirbyforest
/@kirbyforest
interview
words:
photography:
emma madden
bao ngo
Yet “people in the music industry are confused by me”, she tells us in Dead Oceans’ London office. “I think people don’t really know what to think of me or what to do with me. People just cannot imagine this Asian girl who’s making weird music having any kind of appeal to an audience.”
he first thing you should know about Mitski Miyawaki is that she’s a true professional. She shakes hands like she means it. She seldom loses eye contact. She treats you like a candidate who is suitable for the job. Her last album, Puberty 2, was released two years ago to almost universal critical acclaim. Lyrics from it, like the epigrammatic adage, “My body’s made of crushed little stars” have been tattooed across torsos and stretched across sweaters which have sold out within hours on her website. Her talent for giving pain a punchline should make her an easy business investment. She’s toured with Lorde, Iggy Pop’s called her “the most advanced American songwriter” he knows of and, as of writing, she joins Drake and Cardi B in Spotify’s curated ‘Viral Hits’ playlist.
Mitski’s latest album, Be The Cowboy, was made largely in reaction to the way she’s been perceived. “I’ve been simplified to an unfair degree”, she says after a brief smile. “There’s been a lot of othering, and with this album especially, there is the fear of people not absorbing and immediately assuming it’s other, and seeing it as not something they can relate to.” Music is not only Mitski’s greatest love but her most important mode of communication. When asked what reaction she’d like from the album, she simply says “I just want people to relate to it”. In order to do that “all I can really do is make sure that what I’m expressing is as easy to understand as possible.” The relentless touring that’s required of Mitski, “because no one buys records anymore” and “it’s the only way to make money,” has continued the societal isolation she’s felt from childhood. “The loneliness of a touring musician is specifically the loneliness of being on the fringes of society,” she says. “There are so few people who can relate to your experience because you live such a specified type of lifestyle. You're on the outside of everybody.”
LiS 20
“Deep inside there’s just vast emptiness. But you still rally yourself, and you still be an adult, and you still participate.”
mitski LiS 21
as it is the desire to express “being a grown-up and having grown-up love.” It’s a sentiment that’s in contradistinction from a “music industry [that] is youth-oriented,” where “the songs which tend to succeed are about infatuation”. Adult fantasy, rather than a juvenile infatuation, underpins Be The Cowboy, where Mitski sings like a silver-screen star with new, kissable lipstick as she affirms: ‘Me and my husband, we are doing better’. It’s a fantasy formed from Mitski’s childhood, which she spent “just watching movies and assuming that’s how love is, and wanting that.” “That’s why a lot of this album is just about cinema, and the effect of watching a movie or being in a movie. Growing up a lot of my relationships were fantasies. I didn’t have a chance to get to know people or build real relationships. I don’t know what the draw of infatuation is, but I know that it helped me survive when I was younger.” But as we find in Be The Cowboy, “there’s more desperation in adult fantasy.” Mitski dreams of ‘just one movie kiss’, and when that impossible fantasy never arrives, she unfurls into a hysterical Tennessee Williams character, as she wails: ‘somebody kiss me, I’m going crazy!’
“The whole album rallies the desperation of growing old against the aspiration of youth.” Despite her specific loneliness, Be The Cowboy describes a nihilism “that’s not just something musicians feel,” but “something everyone feels as they get older. Deep inside there’s just vast emptiness. But you still rally yourself, and you still be an adult, and you still participate,” she says, while doing all three at once. The album is as much a “reaction to Puberty 2 being described as ‘adolescent’”
"The whole album rallies the desperation of growing old against the aspiration of youth," Mitski says. And its most “opaque and quiet” song, ‘A Horse Called Cold Water’, “encapsulates the whole album.” It describes “a racehorse who was once known to run like a storm and just be so fast and the best, but that was when he was young.” Now, with his heart unstirred, he simply endures. "Time's up!" her manager calls. We leave the room. Mitski tucks in our chairs. She rallies through another day. LiS Be The Cowboy is released August 17th via Dead Oceans. LIVE: O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, September 26th.
LiS 22
@MitskiLeaks
KING TUFF THURS 16 AUG MOTH CLUB
SKINNY PELEMBE THURS 27 SEPT CORSICA STUDIOS
BC CAMPLIGHT THURS 25 OCT OMEARA
CAR SEAT HEADREST THURS 8 NOV O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON
ALEX NAPPING MON 20 AUG SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS
IDER TUES 2 OCT VILLAGE UNDERGROUND
LORD HURON FRI 26 OCT ROUNDHOUSE
PARQUET COURTS MON 12 NOV ROUNDHOUSE
EZRA FURMAN TUES 4 SEPT O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON
WASUREMONO THURS 4 OCT THE WAITING ROOM
GOLD STAR MON 29 OCT THE WAITING ROOM
LAURA JEAN TUES 13 NOV SEBRIGHT ARMS
(SANDY) ALEX G WED 5 SEPT ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL
MARTIN KOHLSTEDT MON 8 OCT ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH
SERPENTWITHFEET THURS 30 OCT ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL
FLASHER TUES 13 NOV THE LEXINGTON
JOSE GONZALEZ THURS 20 SEPT ROYAL ALBERT HALL
NEGATIVE GEMINI FRI 12 OCT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
ODETTA HARTMAN MON 24 SEPT THE ISLINGTON HALF WAIF MON 24 SEPT SEBRIGHT ARMS MITSKI WED 26 SEPT O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE JIM GHEDI THURS 27 SEPT ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH
GWENNO THURS 18 OCT ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL RINA SAWAYAMA FRI 19 OCT HEAVEN GIANT PARTY WED 24 OCT THE LEXINGTON SOLOMON GREY THURS 25 OCT UNION CHAPEL
LUCY DACUS WED 31 OCT ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL THE KVB WED 31 OCT CORSICA STUDIOS GOAT GIRL FRI 2 NOV KOKO INSECURE MEN TUES 6 NOV QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL CURTIS HARDING THURS 8 NOV KOKO
KELLY LEE OWENS THURS 15 NOV VILLAGE UNDERGROUND LUKE HOWARD TUES 20 NOV BUSH HALL THE WAVE PICTURES THURS 22 NOV KOKO SUBURBAN LIVING FRI 23 NOV SEBRIGHT ARMS HOOKWORMS SAT 24 NOV O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN
PARALLELLINESPROMOTIONS.COM
ON THE STEREO with
MOOR MOTHER
e’re gonna start with a hand-onheart declaration: we absolutely love End of The Road. Right at the end of the UK festival season it always wraps up the year in the most glorious and celebratory style. Everything from the beautiful site, to the unique on-site atmosphere to the always mesmerising line-up is the perfect way to sign-off from a summer of tents, tins and toasties (we’re coming for you, Cheese Truck). Obviously we can’t wait to see the likes of St. Vincent, Gruff Rhys, Tirzah, Hookworms, Big Thief, James Holden and Gwenno but there’s so much more going on beyond our already-favourites. So here, EoTR take over our stereo to give us the low-down on what to look out for when Late Junction, BBC Radio 3’s adventurous late night show, returns to the festival for a second year to curate Friday evening on the Tipi Stage, selecting five varied acts from across left field who will perform and host talks at the festival. LiS
MOOR MOTHER Moor Mother is the experimental music project of musician, poet and visual artist, Camae Ayewa. Using samples, spoken word and free jazz to bend definitions of rap and channel a new vision of the afrofuturism of fellow Philadelphia artist Sun Ra, Moor Mother’s electrifying live show bristles with energy, mixing protest and time-travel in a whirlwind of noise and poetry. A definite highlight of the Late Junction programme and the festival as a whole, you’re unlikely to witness anything else like it. THE SCORPIOS
End of The Road takes place August 30th - September 2nd at Larmer Tree Gardens. Info & tickets: endoftheroadfestival.com @EOTR
@EOTRFestival LiS 24
MULATU ASTATKE
POWERDOVE American multi-instrumentalist, composer and academic Annie Lewandowski is the beating heart of experimental pop outfit Powerdove. Accompanied by polymath Thomas Bonvalet on amplified percussion and banjo and Chad Popple on steel drums, they reference everything from the classical avant garde, 1970s prog folk, free improvisation and 1980s post-punk to deliver a taut live performance full of off kilter rhythms and surprises. POWERDOVE
MULATU ASTATKE As well as his main performance on the Garden Stage, Ethio jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke will be joining Late Junction presenter Verity Sharp for a talk on the Piano Stage on Saturday afternoon. From the village to the vanguard, Mulatu will trace Ethiopia's surprising influence on Western music from Debussy to Charlie Parker, Beyonce and beyond.
ZIMPEL / ZIOLEK
These two leading multi-instrumentalists from Poland’s fertile underground make their festival debut at End Of The Road. Fusing the modern jazz minimalism of clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel with Kuba Ziolek’s hypnotic guitar work, the duo’s self-titled debut is a masterclass in musicianship and will be equally astounding to witness it live.
THE SCORPIOS Topping the bill will be ten-piece psychedelic Sudanese ensemble The Scorpios. The band first arrived in the UK in the 1980s as refugees, fleeing Central Sudan’s fundamentalist regime for London. They are now an international affair, consisting of members from Ghana, Jamaica, Poland, Japan. Influenced by traditional Sudanese songs and 60s pop, they blend Western psychedelia and jazz with African songwriting and percussion and are guaranteed to end the night on a high. LiS 25
ZIMPEL / ZIOLEK
COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK
COMMUNION PRESENTS
TICKETS FROM COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK
interview
photography: Sebastian Nevols
words: Gemma Samways
Tir zah f the millions of musicians who’ve opted to discuss love in their art, the overwhelming majority have chosen to focus on the giddiness of that first flush of attraction, the dopamine-hit of the honeymoon period, or the gut-wrenching agony of heartbreak. As a storyteller it’s practically a no-brainer: extremes of emotion facilitate high-stakes drama. So it’s arguably far braver for an artist to attempt to unpick the subtler nuances of relationships, not to mention far harder for them to do so with emotional honesty while simultaneously keeping their audience engaged. Speaking on the phone from her home in Ladywell, South London, Tirzah admits to experiencing some trepidation at her choice of subject matter. “When I was putting [the album] together it was definitely a case of [me thinking] could this just be way too indulged? Like, how can I make this less indulgent?” she explains in her soft, Essex lilt, adding with a laugh, “But you have to just go with what you’re feeling at the time.” LiS 28
She downplays the record as, “Just a bunch of love songs; a whole heap of thoughts and feelings.” Self-deprecation is a defining characteristic of our conversation today, just as you suspect it is of Tirzah’s communications in general. She seems practically allergic to the concept of self-promotion, crediting her career path to serendipity and her artistic achievements in this collection of songs to the skills of her songwriting partner, Mica Levi, who she affectionately refers to as Meeks. Now 30, Tirzah met Mica at the age of 13 at Watford’s Purcell School for Young Musicians, where they bonded over “a mutual love and interest in music.” Tirzah studied harp and Mica viola, but their first collaborative experiments were born “messing around in the Music Tech lab” and were “quite sketchy and garage-inspired.” She adds, “Without Mica, I probably wouldn’t be pursuing music right now.”
“JUST A BUNCH OF LOVE SONGS; A WHOLE HEAP OF THOUGHTS AND F E E L I N G S . . . ”
interview
In an interview with Pitchfork earlier this year, Mica described being taken aback on discovering that Tirzah could sing: “I couldn’t believe it. Your friend, who you’ve been having conversations with, has got this amazingly beautiful voice.” Listening to her supple, melismatic singing now, it seems incredible that Tirzah hadn’t capitalised on her talents all her life. Perhaps she didn’t realise how skilful a vocalist she was? “I guess it’s not something that you know unless you’ve tried it out,” she chuckles. Even now, she doesn’t rate her vocal abilities. “I guess because there are people around me who are technical singers, so somehow it feels like I can’t compare to that. You know, where your body is like a real instrument? Not that everything has to be technical, but because that’s the sort of realm that I came from I guess I maybe discredit [my talents].” When I suggest she’s suffering from imposter syndrome she laughs, “Maybe, yeah.” However, it’s not up for discussion: from the moment she first unveiled her voice to the public - on 2013’s universallyadored single ‘I’m Not Dancing’ - we fell deep under its spell. A string of acclaimed EPs followed, but it’s still felt a very long wait for an album. Tirzah credits the delay to holding down a full-time job as a graphic designer and to Mica’s successful career scoring the films Jackie and Under The Skin, which left them working in snatched moments at the latter’s house and in various London recording studios. “It was quite a slow process of trying to work things out, what we wanted [the album] to be,” she recalls. “It was about finding that balance of trying to honour what comes to you naturally, rather than trying to mould it into something else. But also you want to be generous with it.” In terms of the division of labour between LiS 30
her and Mica, she explains that “Over the years it’s hard to tell who’s who and what’s what anymore. You get in such a groove of how you do things and I think I’m able to relax a bit because we’re good friends. She’s managed to make very small, very quiet mumblings into something interesting.” The oldest song on the album is ‘Go Now’, which dates back from 2002, and is reportedly totally unrecognisable from its first incarnation: “It’s way simpler. We kept it as sparse as we could. I can easily overcomplicate things.” Simplicity has always been at the heart of Tirzah’s music, and on Devotion that minimalism helps emphasise the intimacy of the subject matter. On album opener ‘Fine Again’ mournful organ chords underpin erratic keyboard trills, while Tirzah’s coos act as a balm, promising, “Don’t worry about worries, I won’t let them get you.” Elsewhere, the loose groove of ‘Do You Know’ is driven by sparse percussion and looped guitar, while the haunting atmospherics of ‘Affection’ are distilled from just vocal harmonies and echoing piano. Vocal melodies are mostly improvised, “written after Mica has played me the beats and the loops,” she explains, adding, “It often feels hard to perform them like songs because they almost feel like recorded jams.” Despite previous work with SBTRKT, Nozinja, Mumdance, Bauuer and Tricky, Tirzah’s only other collaborator on Devotion is Kwes’ brother - and NTS-regular - Coby Sey. He appears on the title track, his Sampha-like tones intertwining with spidery, staccato piano arpeggios. Reflecting on her decision to keep album credits minimal she explains, “We did definitely talk about involving more people from Curl [Recordings], but it didn’t cross my mind to have anyone else other than who I knew. And Coby’s a great musician and a great friend so it felt really natural to just want him to be on there.”
“IT WAS ABOUT FINDING THAT BALANCE OF TRYING TO HONOUR WHAT COMES TO YOU NATURALLY, RATHER THAN TRYING TO MOULD IT INTO SOMETHING ELSE. BUT ALSO YOU WANT TO BE GENEROUS WITH IT.” LiS 31
This heart-on-sleeve creative approach extends to the lyrics, which are conversational in tone and thrillingly devoid of the sweeping statements and empty platitudes you often find in love songs. On ‘Devotion’ she skewers those clichés in the lines, “I want candle light and romantic notion, I want your hands around me and understanding, yeah / You can come to me with all your charms, you can come to me with those eyes.” Later she sings “I need all your attention / Sometimes I think that’s all I need / But most of all I want your comfort for me,” expressing a refreshing vulnerability not often encountered in song. In keeping with the rest of the album, this candidness is both refreshing and arresting.
As our time together draws to a close I ask for her thoughts on the album now, in one last attempt to coax an admission of pride from her. “It’s one of those things where you’ve done the thing, and now you have to live with it and perform it. And it becomes something else now once you’ve done it.” I’m about to admit defeat, when she adds at the very last second, “But I’m definitely proud of it.” Devotion is released August 10th via Domino Records. LIVE: Village Underground, November 19th FESTIVALS: End of The Road, August 31st
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@TirzahMusic
SOLD OU T SOLD OU T
interview
words: Katie Thomas photography: Fabian Hammerl
he weekend before we speak, Helena Hauff has played shows in Ibiza, Lisbon and Serbia. No stranger to playing three or four shows a weekend across as many countries, Hauff’s schedule is so jam-packed that she’ll turn down gigs that don’t allow for the requisite eight hours of sleep between exiting the booth and getting on the next plane. It’s a wonder, really, how she’s readied an album in the midst of relentless gigging; Qualm will be released via Ninja Tune on August 3rd. “I don’t know how I’ve done it,” she laughs, with a softness that makes me want to play our conversation on loop to fall asleep to. Hamburg’s Helena Hauff may be a master of gritty, fiercely-analogue electronic music, but talking to her is an altogether soothing experience. Since the release of her 2015 debut Discreet Desires, Hauff’s rise has been meteoric, her high-octane, esoteric DJ sets earning her a reputation as one of dance music’s most exciting artists. Spanning thumping techno, blistering acid and raw electro, Hauff is a force to be reckoned with both behind the decks and in the studio. LiS 36
Prior to starting the new record, Hauff had written the word ‘Qualm’ in a little book of scribbles that accompanies her on her travels, knowing she wanted to use it as a title for something. The German meaning of qualm translates loosely as ‘smoke’ or ‘fumes’, in contemporary English it’s ‘an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear’, and the traditional definition is ‘a momentary faint or sick feeling’. “I like the idea of
“You have to be so into it, a little bit obsessed, otherwise it’s not for you...” having titles that could mean several things,” Hauff tells me. Listening to the record, there’s murky unease in ‘Primordial Sludge’, ambient introspection in ‘Qualm’, and there are fumes to be found in the mechanics of the production. “There’s that kind of gritty feel you might have with the dirtiness of industrial smoke,” Hauff explains. That haze of smoke carries into the album art too - a portrait shot by close friend Fabian Hammerl. It’s a classic album cover in its portrait format, but it’s a little blurry, a little smoky; Helena Hauff gazes from the gloom, shrouded in inky green fumes.
Qualm has been a year-long labour of love, and a chance for Hauff to return to a minimal approach to music-making, inspired by artists like I-F, Unit Moebius and the rest of Holland’s Bunker Records crew. “It’s the machine thing,” she says, also nodding to Detroit duo Drexciya as a key influence, “hearing the machine working.” Speaking of machines, Hauff’s studio contains “the classics” - the Roland TB-303, TR-707 and TR-808. Moving away from the layers and textures of her last album, Qualm is stripped back, allowing space for the machines to do the talking.
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“I would probably say, ‘you’re not going to like it,’” Hauff giggles, talking about how she would describe her music to someone unfamiliar, “it’s rough, raw, and minimalistic whilst also being full on.” It sounds like the Dutch acid sound of Bunker Records that’s inspired her since the beginning. Early collaborations with local artists like RVDS and Phuong-Dan helped cement Hauff’s trajectory, and Hamburg label Smallville were instrumental too. Their offering of house and techno in the city was an alternative to otherwise fairly mainstream clubbing. Hauff names DJ Stingray, Lena Willikens, Nina Kraviz and Jeff Mills among her favourite artists, as well as Greek rising star Morah and Russia’s Nikita Zabelin, whose set she caught at EXIT Festival. “It’s quite bad, but I just knew I could be better,” Hauff shrugs, explaining how she went to a student house party, didn’t like the DJ, and decided then and there she would quite like to be a DJ too. A fascination with club culture and a growing obsession with music meant that degrees in Fine Art and later Systematic Music Science and Physics were cast aside for a career behind the decks. That obsession is crucial, says Hauff, speaking of making it as a DJ, “you have to be so into it, a little bit obsessed, otherwise it’s not for you”.
I would probably say, ‘you’re not going to like it...’
As our conversation comes to an end, talk moves to London clubbing. As a DJ, Hauff “The whole album loves playing in the capital for the the desperation open-minded rallies and energetic vibe on our dancefloors. As punter? She’s so sure. ofagrowing oldnot against “The bouncers seem strict, and you can’t theshe aspiration smoke inside!” says, “it’sofnoyouth.” Berlin, I love coming here but I feel like the clubs and promoters are struggling… And the drinks are too expensive.” Speaking of expensive drinks, my stratospheric vision of Helena Hauff joins me down on Earth momentarily as she laughs about the reasons she wanted to become a DJ: “I remember sneaking backstage at a party and there were all these free drinks,” she says, “I liked the idea of free drinks”. LiS
Qualm is released August 3rd via Ninja Tune. LIVE: Studio Spaces E1, August 10th. FESTIVALS: Houghton, August 12th. Lost Village, August 25th.
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@helenahauff
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ALBUM REVIEWS Photo: Ania Shrimpton
IDLES JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE
RECORD OF THE MONTH IDLES seem to have been in our lives forever, including an Alternative Escape stage we put on with them, Wolf Alice and Fear of Men about five years ago. So that they’re only on album two is a surprise. What’s not a surprise, though, is the huge anticipation building for this record. So Danny Wright’s brought together LiS Idles fans Stephanie Phillips and Grant Bailey to talk all things Joy As An Act Of Resistance. Was Brutalism the first time you heard Idles? What did you think? Grant: Yeah Brutalism was my entry point to IDLES. It’s bloody savage, still spin it to this day. I think the first time I paid them real attention was a video from their Maida Vale session and they were just killing it. Stephanie: I think the first song I heard was ‘Mother’ from Brutalism. It’s still one of my favourite songs of theirs and works well with the stripped-down drums and bass-centred
released August 31st via Partisan Records @idlesband
sound that defines them. Brutalism felt like a frantic, minimalist take on class differences and masculinity, so to me Joy As An Act Of Resistance feels like the second chapter in that novel. So Joy… feels like a continuation? Grant: This feels like the hangover from Brutalism. It’s darker for sure. Brutalism had energy and snark – and Joy... does too – but the tone feels different. This is brooding, higher stakes, more serious. On side A in particular, they sound sore. The thing feels like it’s got bloodshot eyes and a headache, like there was probably some discomfort getting these songs out. Stephanie: For me Joy... does feel like Brutalism part two. It feels like they’re trying to unpack masculinity and unravel it from being intertwined with nationality, racism, and class. But I think it’s made for a different listener to me. It’s brooding and dark and cathartic perhaps, if you’re a straight white man, but as someone who’s not that I struggle to see myself. But the
LiS 42
sound has developed and where they once relied on that bass and drum combo, now it feels bigger, more chaotic - almost like they're taking over your headspace. Grant: For sure, the whole thing is low strung as hell, no more chirruping guitars. There isn't a ‘Rachel Khoo’ equivalent, for example. Breeziness is not their remit on this one! Stephanie: Yeah it feels like it's all about emotion or getting that release. No time for slow numbers. Joe has obviously been through a lot in his personal life while, at the same time, his politics also shine through. Does it feel a more personal or 'state of the nation' record? Grant: My vote’s for personal. I think Joe’s looking at changes small scale. He’s looking at his family, his support network. ‘June’ – while I think I’ll find it a tough track to cover off on every play through just because of the subject matter and the frankness with which he tackles it – does kind of find itself as the focal point of the album. When I was first listening through, the whole first half of an album is kind of destabilising, heading towards this terribly personal moment. Stephanie: Hmm, it ricochets between both. It feels like the mission was to create a record that opens people up and gives them that release. From that perspective it’s personal and I think it works better when they approach it from the personal angle and the personal is political. The moments where they bang the drum and get on their soapbox are my least favourite because they feel forced. I was surprised to find out ‘Danny Nedelko’ is about a real person as the lyrics literally list off random stereotypes with no aim whatsoever. It's a shame because obviously you can hear in their work they can push forward and I think ‘Samaritans’ is an example of the band hitting the nail on the head when it comes to finding the right tone to talk about an issue. So what do you think is the best track? Stephanie: ‘June’ feels like the culmination of the band’s mission with the album; to be able to unravel masculinity and be open and lean into pain and release in your darkest moments. For that reason it’s definitely the
Photography: Mille Juno
most powerful track on the album. I’d says ‘Samaritans’ and ‘Colossus’ are up there too because to me they sound like Idles at their most political and relatable Grant: Looking at it purely from the song which gave me that raw, physical reaction, of thinking – “yes, if this comes on in a room full of people I am ready to go” – ‘Never fight A Man With A Perm’ is killer. After ‘Colossus’, which is a bit more expansive and brooding, it just feels scathing and direct and I love it. But then ‘Samaritans’ is close behind and ‘Television’ sort of completes that three-song run. Er, I've cheated there and named a lot of songs. I’ll allow it! And finally, what three words would you use to describe the record? Stephanie: For me the album is about masculinity, exploration, and emotional release. Grant: Let's go with raw and redemptive. If you need a third just put PERM in all caps. Because that song is an absolute banger.
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IDLES HEADLINE VISIONS FESTIVAL ON AUGUST 4TH, AT HANGAR
ANNA MEREDITH // ANNO Moshi Moshi // August 17th
Also available as a binaural recording, allowing the listener to experience the space in the composition, Anna Meredith’s latest release is a collaboration with Scottish Ensemble, a famed string collective whose genre-bending performances effortlessly blur the boundaries between styles and periods of music. Anno sees Meredith’s new compositions interspersed with Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Each season is split into a number of pieces, with evocative titles indicative of the landscape. Summer, for example, combines Vivaldi’s newly named ‘Heat’ and ‘Thunder’, and Meredith’s ‘Haze’, where soaring string progressions, rich with warmth, convey the shimmering heat of high summer air. Anno is a complex listen that demands absolute attention from the listener in its frantic strings and dramatic crescendos. Meredith’s contemporary workings blend effortlessly with the Vivaldi originals, despite being composed centuries apart. Initially, the classic twangs of the harpsichord are the key indication you’ve moved from one composer to the next. With Scottish Ensemble on board and the original Four Seasons written as a four violin concerti, it’s not until ‘Bloom’ that Anno feels contemporary, with rippling electronic keys that signify the leaves falling, beginning to furl as Summer turns to Autumn. Delicate ‘Stillness’ sees Meredith conveying the crisp quiet of the year’s later months, before the grandeur of Vivaldi section ‘Chase’ feels more ballroom dance than Autumn’s day. Staccato strings in Winter’s ‘Embers’ make way for chiming synths and a stretched-out, dissonant diminuendo in ‘Solstice (Light Out)’ as Anno comes to a close, the pale winter sun melts below the horizon. Katie Thomas
MENACE BEACH
SZUN WAVES
Memphis Industries August 31st
Leaf Label // August 31st
BLACK RAINBOW SOUND There seems to be a kind of electronic renaissance going on in Leeds at the moment, with Menace Beach’s third record following the example of Hookworms’ sure-to-be album of the year contender Microshift. While not as much a departure as MJ and co’s, Black Rainbow Sound, as the name may imply, is more unhinged than previous efforts. Don’t be deceived by the opening post-punk guitar work, this album is synth-heavy and psych-laden; a post-apocalyptic fairground ride of influences with the automaton march of drum machines never far away. Throw in some Broadcast Haha Sound melodies and Jagwar Ma loops though, and you have a record that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Black Rainbow Sound is Menace Beach’s dystopian vision, and it’s weirdly infectious. Henry Wilkinson
NEW HYMN TO FREEDOM This glorious second album from Szun Waves shares the same musical DNA as the crystalline and melodic jazz that hailed from the German ECM label in the 70s. Electronics fiend Luke Abbott (Earlham Mystics), saxophonist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet) and prodigious Aussie drummer Laurence Pike sound like they agreed some loose parameters to guide their adventurous extended romps – and then pressed ‘record’. The result? Six tracks, no edits or overdubs, and some stunning modern music. Abbott provides the brooding sonic ballast with his synthesizers, while Wyllie and Pike thoughtfully duck and dive around each other. It’s certainly less raw than their 2016 debut. Yet the epic 12-minute title track redeems their more polished effort through its powerful cosmic jam and profound playing from the trio. Geoff Cowart LiS 44
“...A rare long player that captures the sheer fearlessness of its creator..”
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Lee Wakefield on Marquis Hawkes’ The Marquis Of Hawkes
ANNA CALVI HUNTER Domino // August 31st
MARQUIS HAWKES
THE MARQUIS OF HAWKES Houndstooth // August 24th
While it may only boast a slight eight tracks, The Marquis Of Hawkes still resembles something of a trip and is all the more remarkable for its kaleidoscopic approach. It should come as little surprise; anyone that has followed Mark Hawkins, better known as Marquis Hawkes, will wax lyrical about his genre-spanning live sets and how it’s a tricky skill for recorded output to have the same effect. Lead single ‘Don’t U’ oozes across crowded dance floors thanks to a sultry, enticing Ursula Rucker vocal and deep cut ‘Sunset’ deserves repeated plays at all-nighters across the land, with ‘Tough Love’ channelling punchy, big room techno in direct contrast to ambient opener ‘Beton Theme’. A rare long player that captures the sheer fearlessness of its creator. Lee Wakefield
She took her time, but it paid off. Hunter - only Anna Calvi’s third record after a five year break - is a delight of an album, a sensual, defiant and exploratory work that’s a rewarding reintroduction to an artist we didn’t know we missed so much. On a record of refinement rather than reinvention, the corners are darker and the brightness more dazzling than before. Its triumphs are numerous, but here’s just a selection; the fascinating gender deconstructions in ‘As a Man’ and lead single ‘Don’t Beat The Girl Out of My Boy’, the spellbinding title track (simply the finest thing Calvi has ever laid to tape), and the surprising, borderline Nine Inch Nails-isms of ‘Indies or Paradise’. You’re in for a wonderful, bewildering treat. Thomas Hannan
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
THANK YOU FOR TODAY Atlantic Records // August 17th
“Please don’t change / Stay the same” Ben Gibbard pleads on ‘Gold Rush’, the lead single from Death Cab for Cutie’s ninth studio album. Evolution was clearly playing on the band’s mind in writing Thank You For Today, as longtime touring members were introduced into its creation. ‘You Moved Away’ describes, with typical Gibbard poignancy, a friend leaving their hometown of Seattle, nostalgia flows heavily through closer ‘60 & Punk’, while the aforementioned single battles with gentrification and over-development. Sonically, Thank You For Today is a treat: Plans can be heard in the classic, emotional Death Cab hue of ‘Your Hurricane’ and ‘When We Drive’, while the frenetic, hypnotic rhythm to ‘Summer Years’ will please Postal Service fans. 20 years on from their inception, Death Cab may have changed but their brilliance has stayed the same. George O’Brien LiS 45
DIZZY
BABY TEETH Communion / Royal Mountain Records // August 17th
Does environment affect creative output? For Dizzy, who've described their hometown of Oshawa, Ontario as "quiet and secluded", it certainly seems so. Baby Teeth sounds like it was made for drifting down deserted suburban streets in that weird half-light before dawn, full of yearning. It could easily be an indie movie soundtrack about going back home from the big city, quarter-life crisis in tow and emotions complemented by the fragmented xx-esque guitar lines of the likes of 'Calico' and 'Pirouette'. "I never quite loved the taste of sadness, but we learned to love it in time," sings Katie Munshaw on 'In Time', relenting to the mood, while 'Joshua' has the four-piece bringing subtle hooks to their beautiful despair. Cinematic, crisp and cool, Dizzy's debut is the perfect summer bummer. Rhian Daly
HER’S
INVITATION TO HER’S Heist or Hit // August 24th
Her’s have long established themselves as prolific purveyors of beat-driven jangle rock, churning out single after single and even a near album-length EP last year. Now, their official debut delivers more of the same glistening goods but ramps up the playfulness in the band’s DNA. ‘Harvey’ opens the album and signals it’s to be filled with singable toplines and an element of the surreal, with a backing beat that feels as if one is being introduced to a vintage gameshow. This marrying of authentic and kitsch is a theme that continues throughout the album. ‘Carry the Doubt’ does it with Ratatat-style guitars, confessional croon and bossa nova drum patterns, as if someone is pouring their heart out to another in an elevator. And, if this proposal doesn’t entice, the way Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading weave their guitar and baselines together, as on ‘She Needs Him’, is something no one will fail to be affected by. There really isn’t another band in the UK that can make the plastic plod of a drum machine sound so dreamy. Hassan Anderson
IGLOOGHOST
CLEAR TAMEI EP / STEEL MOGU EP Self-Release // August 8th
Seamus Malliagh has set himself to mapping the Iglooghost universe. To fresh ears, the scope of these two EPs – Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu – and where the tracks could theoretically go next feels limitless in the way only chaos can. While his frenetic sound signature remains consistent with debut Neō Wax Bloom, Malliagh’s now expanding Iglooghost’s sonic language. This is relentlessly dense, playful, cartoonish drum and bass, which whirrs and winds in the gravity of its own technicolour planet. As with Neō Wax Bloom, there is something narratively bigger at play here, following Malliagh’s celestial, chirruping chibi characters in a high-concept adventure. Beyond the glorious candy-tangle of his mixes, it’s a kawaii collision of prog and relentless imagination which steers just beyond self-parody onto something fresh. Grant Bailey LiS 46
+++++ Q +++++ The Guardian ++++ The Times ++++ MOJO
LET’S EAT GRANDMA
I’M ALL EARS THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW
++++ NME
++++ The Observer
++++ The I
++++ DIY
saturday 28 july | 12:00
wednesday 19 SEptember | 7:00
sunday 29 july | 7:00
FRIDAY 21 SEptember | 7:00
WONKFEST BARRIER
wednesday 15 august| 7:00
A NIGHT IN TEXAS
thursday 16 august| 7:00
SADISTIC INTENT
saturday 18 august| 7:00
DAMIEN DONE
tuesday 21 august| 7:00
FRONTIERER
wednesday 22 august | 7:00
HOCKEY DAD
thursday 23 august| 7:00
ASHESTOANGELS friday 24 august| 7:00
ANGELMAKER
FRI-sat 31-1 aug-sept| VARIOUS
READY FEST
sunday 2 SEptember | 7:00
FIZZY BLOOD
tuesday 4 SEptember | 7:00
CAMP COPE
wednesday 5 SEptember | 7:00
RAVEN
thursday 6 SEptember | 7:00
CHRISTEENE
friday 7 SEptember | 7:00
AARON WATSON
wednesday 12 SEptember | 7:00
ESPIRIT D’AIR
saturday 15 SEptember | 1:00
LOUD WOMEN FEST sunday 16 SEptember | 6:30
DEMILICH
FOREVER CAME CALLING FIZZY BLOOD
monday 24 SEptember | 7:00
CHELSEA GRIN
monday 24 SEptember | 7:00
DANISH DEMOLITION
thursday 27 SEptember | 7:30
LA LUZ
thursday 28 SEptember | 7:30
JIMOTHY LACOSTE
friday 29 SEptember | 7:00
EVERLAST
friday 29 SEptember | 7:00
HAYMAKER
thursday 4 october | 7:00
LAUREL
friday 5 october | 7:00
NIGHTMARE OF YOU saturday 6 october | 6:00
BLOOD & BISCUITS 10TH BIRTHDAY (FEAT. THREE TRAPPED TIGERS) tuesday 9 october | 7:00
BAKAR
wednesday 10 october | 7:30
AMBER ARCADES
thursday 11 october | 7:00
PRIMAL FEAR
thursday 11 october | 7:00
WHENYOUNG
friday 12 october | 7:00
BAD RABBITS
saturday 13 october | 8:30
ROZALEN
GIGS OF THE MONTH
Our pick of the best upcoming shows around London
O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON
THE USED + LOWLIVES
LIZZO
August 31st £17.50adv // @o2sbe
Shepherd’s Bush
August 24th £10adv // @O2Islington
Angel
SERVANT JAZZ QUARTERS ALEX NAPPING August 20th £6adv // @ServantJazz
Dalston Junction / Kingsland
THE DOME
LIZZO
HOCKEY DAD
THE LEXINGTON
August 22nd £10adv // @DomeTufnellPark
Tuffnell Park
NOVA TWIN + SHITSTICK + I, DORIS
TIANA MAJOR9
August 18th £8adv // @thelexington
Angel
THE LOCK TAVERN YASSASSIN + DANCEHALL + UNDERWATER BOYS August 12th FREE // @thelocktavern
Chalk Farm / Camden Town
THE CAMDEN ASSEMBLY
THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
JIGSAW FESTIVAL: TIANA MAJOR9 + RICARDO WILLIAMS + BOADI + JAMILAH BARRY
CLAW MARKS
August 27th £4adv // @CamdenAssembly
Chalk Farm / Camden Town
Dalston Junction / Kingsland
BRIXTON WINDMILL SUMMER WEIRD SIN ALLDAYER: BAD NERVES + THE SCANERS + PUSSYLIQUOR + MANY MORE
BOSTON MUSIC ROOM FRONTIERER August 21st £10adv // @BostonMusicRoom
August 17th FREE// @shacklewell Arms
Tuffnell Park
August 18th £8adv // @WindmillBrixton
Brixton
PAPER DRESS VINTAGE
MOTH CLUB KING TUFF + SASAMI
MEAT CANDY + MUR-MAN + HUSBAND + HOTEL August 3rd £5adv // @paperdressed
Hackney Central
August 16th £12.10adv // @Moth_Club
Hackney Central
THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB
BUSH HALL PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH + FOXING + KAMIKAZE GIRLS August 9th & 10th Shepherd’s Bush Market / Shepherd’s Bush £17adv // @Bushhallmusic
STEVE CONTE August 8th £12adv // @slaughteredlam
Farringdon/ Old Street
THE REGRETTES
JAZZ CAFE THE 2 BEARS August 25th £5adv // @TheJazzCafe
Camden Town YOUNG M.A (photo: Ebru Yildiz)
HOXTON SQUARE BAR & KITCHEN THE REGRETTES August 22nd £8adv // @HoxtonSquareBar
Old Street
THE WAITING ROOM LOS BITCHOS August 29th £5adv // @WaitingRoomN16
XOYO
O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN
YOUNG M.A August 28th £15adv // @XOYO_London
PRINCESS NOKIA Old Street / Liverpool Street
ARCHSPACE JENOVA COLLECTIVE + TALLULAH GOODTIMES August 8th £6.50adv // @Archspace_Ldn
Dalston Junction / Kingsland
Haggerston
August 20th £22adv // @O2ForumKTown
Kentish Town
OSLO SHOPPING August 11th £10adv // @OsloHackney LiS 51
Hackney Central
FULL AUGUST LISTINGS
LONDON’S GIG GUIDE Your full listings guide to all the best shows happening across North, East, South and West London this month.
Thursday 2nd August
Wednesday 1st August Friday 3rd August
visit londoninstereo.com for all the latest listings, & to sign up to our Gigs Of The Week email
LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo
Saturday 4th August
Sunday 5th August
WeGotTickets.com | Simple, honest ticketing
FULL AUGUST LISTINGS Monday 6th August
Tuesday 7th August
Thursday 9th August
Wednesday 8th August
find us on Spotify at London in Stereo to keep up with our weekly new music playlists
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Saturday 11th August Friday 10th August
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Wednesday 15th August
Monday 13th August
Thursday 16th August Tuesday 14th August
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Friday 17th August
Sunday 19th August Saturday 18th August
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FULL AUGUST LISTINGS Monday 20th August
Tuesday 21st August
Thursday 23rd August
Wednesday 22nd August
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Saturday 25th August
Friday 24th August
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FULL AUGUST LISTINGS Sunday 26th August
Wednesday 29th August
Monday 27th August
Thursday 30th August Tuesday 28th August
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Friday 31st August
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SEPTEMBER LISTINGS Saturday 1st September
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LONDON TICKETS: WeGotTickets.com/LondonInStereo Wednesday 5th September
Friday 7th September
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SEPTEMBER LISTINGS Monday 10th September
Saturday 8th September
Tuesday 11th September
Sunday 9th September
Wednesday 12th September
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Friday 14th September
Thursday 13th September
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SEPTEMBER LISTINGS
Sunday 16th September
Saturday 15th September
Monday 17th September
Tuesday 18th September
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Thursday 20th September
Wednesday 19th September
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EVENTS new things in London you just don’t want to miss out on
A BRIXTON TAKEOVER FESTIVAL THING AFROPUNK Afropunk has been part of the London festival landscape for a few years now, bringing a welcome slew of acts rarely found on a lot of UK line-ups and a diversity that’s as welcome as Afropunk’s core message of inclusivity - long story short: no bullshit will be tolerated. This year they’re mixing things up with a week-long takeover of Brixton. We’re talking art shows, workshops, club nights and, a real highlight, Grace Jones’ Bloodlight & BAMI film showing at the Ritzy. It culminates with a live show From August Greene (Common, Robert Glasper & Karriem Riggins) at Brixton Academy. WHEN: September 1st-8th. WHERE: Various Brixton Venues INFO: afropunkfest.com/london // @afropunk
A JOYFUL INDEPENDENT FESTIVAL THING BSM’S BIG DAY OUT It’s not much of a surprise, considering the good humans behind BSM, but this is as heart-warming and positive a festival as you could hope for. Signed-up to the Keychange project aiming towards gender balance on festival line-ups, partnering with the likes of Safe Gigs For Women, Heads Above The Waves and Hackney Giving and all for a really reasonable ticket price - BSM’s Big Day Out is a real future festival template. That the acts picked to play across Moth Club, Paper Dress Vintage and Hackney Empire Bar are a fizzingly-fresh assortment of the labels favourite bands is really just a bonus. Plus, Doe are playing, and where there’s Doe you’ll find us. WHEN: September 1st. WHERE: Various Hackney Venues INFO: bsmrocks.com / @bsmrocks // Tickets: £17
AN ICONIC AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER THING DOROTHEA LANGE: POLITICS OF SEEING For evidence of photography as politics, you need not look further than this survey of a hugely influential photographer, which takes in poverty, race and social change. The Great Depression saw Lange switch from San Francisco studios to a passionate need to document and effect reform. What you’ll find is a comprehensive and compassionate take on an era-defining crisis. WHEN: Now until September 2nd. WHERE: Barbican Art Gallery, EC2Y 8DS, INFO: barbican.org.uk // @barbicancentre White Angel Breadline, San Francisco, 1933 © The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California
AN INTERACTIVE SOUND SYSTEM THING GAIKA x BOILER ROOM PRESENT: SYSTEM If you caught Gaika’s interview in our July issue you’ll know that a) he’s a man with a plan and b) he doesn’t rest on his laurels. Despite having an album just out, he’s joining up with Boiler Room to create an interactive sound system installation at Somerset House. SYSTEM marks 70 years of Windrush and seeks to address perceptions of Carnival by concentrating on the positive and under-represented stories and characters behind the event. WHEN: August 1st-26th WHERE: Somerset House Studios INFO: somersethouse.org.uk // @SomersetHouse
Courtesy of Steve Shaw
A NY-STYLE SLICES AT LDN PIZZA LEGENDS THING FRANK PINELLO COMES TO YARD SALE PIZZA Yard Sale have probably featured in these pages more than anyone - and for damn good reason. This time’s double exciting as the man behind Brooklyn’s Best Pizza (a classic New York-confidence name, that) is coming to London to not only put one of his signature creations on the menu, but also to dream up a collaborative effort with Yard Sale. Pizza, you’ve gone and done it again. WHEN: August 6th-31st. WHERE: Across all Yard Sale restaurants INFO: yardsalepizza.com // @YardSalePizza LiS 69
08—18 MOTH Club Valette St London E8 Wednesday 1 August
ELECTRIC FIELDS Friday 10 August
THE SHAKERS Thursday 16 August
KING TUFF Thursday 23 August
TIJUANA PANTHERS Wednesday 29 August
Lanzarote
lanzaroteworks.com #lanzaroteworks
Programming
The Waiting Room 175 Stoke Newington High St N16 Thursday 9 August
LOS BITCHOS Friday 10 August
IL BOSCO Saturday 11 August
CAPABLANCA Sunday 26 August
ANA HELDER Wednesday 29 August
WHITE DENIM
BRAND NEW FRIEND
Shacklewell Arms
The Lock Tavern
71 Shacklewell Lane London E8 Friday 3 August
HELICON Wednesday 8 August
DJ. FLUGVÉL OG GEIMSKIP Wednesday 15 August
FIRST HATE Thursday 16 August
HILANG CHILD Saturday 25 August
PELUCHÉ
35 Chalk Farm Rd London NW1 Saturday 4 August
BABA NAGA Sunday 5 August
GHOST CAR Thursday 9 August
CHARISMATIC MEGAFAUNA Friday 24 August
JERSKIN FENDRIX Thursday 30 August
SABA LOU
IN LONDON
PHOTO: PHIL SHARP
with GIRLHOOD
@thisisgirlhood
Why do you live in London? Chris: I reckon Tess would be pretty pissed if I decided to relocate now. Plus, my piano would be an absolute nightmare to move. Tessa: I love London but I'm not really sure what brought me here... work, music and living somewhere new to me, I guess What are your go-to places to eat and drink? Chris: Pop a couple of fish fingers in the toaster and crack open a warm K Cider is my bag. It’s summertime in the city - how are you dealing with life in a heatwave? Tessa: I prefer to be sweaty and sliding against people in the sun than being cold so... I’m hot but happy. Chris: The frazzled grass situation is making me a bit sad, but my windowsill allotment is positively thriving. Do you have any favourite outdoor spaces? Chris: I spent a lot of my summer evenings in Clissold Park last year, but the goats died recently from kneeling down to eat the grass too much and got infected knees, so that’s super tragic. I haven’t been able to go back. Tessa: There are too many good ones to choose from... but I reckon Alexandra Palace’s park is pretty insane at any time of the day or night. What’s the worst thing about London? Tessa: There's very little air.... Chris: Greedy landlords.
@gurlzinthehood
Does living here influence your music? Tessa: It does and it doesn't. The city and its moods do inspire me with words and ideas but mostly they just provide a backdrop. Chris: Yeah, avoid privileged hipster downtempo laptop-trap high-hat misery-core R&B nonsense. What’s the best stretch of London canals to moor up at, and why? Chris: Little Venice, you can just absorb the local wealth whilst living the opposite life. Tessa: If you go to Hampton it's super quiet and peaceful, plus it’s right by Bushy Park so you can go look at deer... and try to collect any antlers they've shed... What's the best way to spend one good day? Tessa: Find a massive park (I like Tooting Common) get some friends, a lil’ speaker, drinks and smokes and LOADS of fruits like strawberries, raspberries, cherries etc (cause they're delicious) and CHILLLLL. Chris: Get on a canal boat, head towards London Fields, continue north and sail the fuck out of here...
GIRLHOOD PLAY THE NT’S STAGE, 5.30PM
LiS 71
LIVE REVIEWS NOS ALIVE PASSEIO MARÍTIMO DE ALGÉS, LISBON, 12th-14th JULY You probably already know this, but Lisbon has reinvented itself as the uber cool city of Europe. So when we were invited to a festival with a stellar list of acts, sunshine and a ride on a funicular, well, we’re not going to say no are we? Here’s our seven-point lowdown.
NOS Alive words: Danny Wright Live photography: Arlindo Camacho
CALL THE MARTINI POLICE… The Arctic Monkeys’ headline show on the first night of the festival is a triumph. It was hard to imagine how Tranquility… songs would work with the old material but their new lounge lizard music slots in seamlessly alongside the hits with Alex Turner dressed like a drug dealer from a 70s B-movie. He also delivers the line of the weekend: “This is a song from 2004. When we wrote it, it meant very little to us,” he says before ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’. “Tonight it means even less.”
VIEW FROM THE AFTERNOON
Arctic Monkeys
‘Lisbon is the new Lisbon’ says some street art daubed on a shipping container at the city's Village Underground. But, you know, parts of it also feel really like Berlin. The Village Underground has double-decker buses doubling as bars and the The LX Factory’s restaurants and rooftop bars are are a dusty, pretend-run-down, exposed brickwork delight. The views across the river and 25 de Abril Bridge as you drink a piña colada are sublime.
LOVE IS THE DRUG Bryan Ferry is 72 (seventy two!) but his show here proves he still has it. This was a set that underlined that the Roxy Music frontman’s legacy is assured. He played ‘Avalon’, ‘Virginia Plain’, and ‘Love Is The Drug’ and the songs feel as vibrant as they always must have. More saxophonists in bands please! (Actually, maybe not.)
PASTEL DE NATA ARE ALSO A DRUG Pastel de natas are quite moreish, you know? Pastéis de Belém or Manteigaria serve the best ones we’ve ever tasted and we may have over-indulged a bit too much. LiS 72
Pastel De Nata
ROCK BORES IN THE FREE WORLD
INSTA LISBON
We are not on this planet long enough to see Pearl Jam and Jack White playing a 47 hour long version of ‘Rocking in the Free World’ together. Nor to see Eddie Vedder do a cover of ‘Imagine’. They had to be told they couldn’t play any more.
FRANZ FERDINAND SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE ‘Matinee’, ‘Michael’, ‘This Fire’, ‘Take Me Out’. Alex Kapranos and the band are having fun and they make sure the crowd are too. These songs feel as intoxicating and fresh as when they were released and it’s a set that reminds you how good they can be.
The Bica funicular
AND MATT BERNINGER ORDERS HIMSELF A BEER… “I watched the news this morning. That was a bad idea, but this is helping,” Matt Berninger says. “I hope this kind of thing spreads.” There’s a joy to The National’s set here, a perfect balance between elegantly falling apart and elegantly wasted. And they use the power of quietness (an idea that Pearl Jam The National have seemingly never contemplated) to cut through. Of course, there’s also the furious ‘Mr November’, during which Matt Berninger starts his usual walk through the crowd only to spot a bar, order himself a pint and stumble back on stage.
Ground Burger @ Time Out Market
Bar Rio Maravilha @ LX Factory
AND HONOURABLE MENTIONS TO THE REASONS WE HAD THE BEST TIME. WE’LL DEFINITELY BE BACK NEXT YEAR: Waterfront strolls, Yo La Tengo, Future Islands, Sampha, SOPHIE, Wolf Alice, Ground Burger, Nine Inch Nails, Sardines, Sangria and the best damn funicular we’ve ever been on. LiS 73
Village Underground
LIVE REVIEWS MELT FESTIVAL
words: Kate Rockwell Photography: Woodywoodsn & Stephan Flad
FERROPOLIS, GERMANY, 13th-15th JULY
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ANY TIME OF DAY IS GOOD FOR DANCING It doesn't matter what time you head there, Melt's Big Wheel stage is always packed out. With a stage high enough to actually see the DJs (I know, shock horror) a perfectly curated line-up including the likes of Nina Kraviz, Honey Dijon and The Black Madonna, the crowd keeps moving day and night. And if you want to keep it going? Head to the Sleepless stage for upcoming talent and a never ending party.
3 YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN THE FOREST All the best festivals have places to really explore, a place to get away from the weekend of huge stages, large crowds, and humidity. With the forest, Melt provides the perfect respite: you'll stumble across all kinds of wonders, our highlight had to be stumbling across a bunch of incredible Goth drag queens blasting Alanis Morissette's ‘You Oughta Know’. Expect the unexpected.
FERROPOLIS ITSELF IS QUITE SOMETHING You can't really go to Melt festival and not mention the site. With festivals all over Europe touting similar headliners and just as carefully-curated stages, in some ways the site is the star of the festival. Located in a museum for huge industrial machinery, these behemoths of industry are used to stunning effect; flames, mirror balls, and brilliant lighting bring the festival together and really ensures that you never forget where you are.
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RUSSIA 2018 = A WORLD CUP & KEDR LIVANSKIY
THE CAMPAIGN FOR FEVER RAY AT EVERY FESTIVAL STARTS HERE
Melt’s smaller stages are where you really get to (literally) feel the festival's dedication to a stacked out sound-system and we saw no one use it to greater effect than Russia's Kedr Livanskiy, her soothing vocal intertwining with the steely beats to create what might just be the highlight of the whole festival.
Our favourite of the headliners, Fever Ray just understands how to put on a show. If you haven't seen those exuberant outfits in the flesh yet, we can only implore you to make sure you do. No other act could have suited this unusual setting quite so perfectly. It's just a shame more of the crowd weren’t there to witness her fiery renditions of the biggest tracks from 2017's Plunge, which have never sounded more suited to a huge stage LiS 74
This month we headed to Ferropolis - an unusual place an hour outside of Berlin that plays host to a number of huge festivals over the summer. Joining 20,000 other revellers here's what we learnt from a weekend at Melt Festival.
LiS 75
PRESENTS
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS UK Drill, and the debate surrounding it by Hassan Anderson The debate about whether or not UK Drill fuels gang violence is raging at the moment and at the heart of it is a question that won’t be settled easily: does the violent content of UK Drill merely reflect a long-entrenched social reality, or is it glamorising the negative aspects of that reality and thus causing them to get worse? This is not something that can be properly addressed in such a confined space, but one thing that seems to be getting lost in the debates is the positive effect that UK Drill is having musically. The delivery and wordplay of popular groups like 67, Harlem Spartans and many others are unlike anything the UK has heard before. Their songs have pushed things forward sonically (and visually, with the forward-thinking video-making accompanying popular singles). One example of this global impact is the fact Drake recently cited Loski (a member of Harlem Spartans) as being one of his main influences for his record-breaking new release, Scorpion. This is where the attraction of UK Drill lies for the majority of fans and artists, it’s striking and forward-thinking. It’s also why the majority of fans that attend UK Drill shows are predominantly white and middle class: they can relate to the music because it’s banging, refreshing and nothing else sounds like it. Like always, however, blood sells. The headlines boasting of establishing a link between a surge in knife crime and UK Drill (Sunday Times, April 2018) ironically channel the same kind of gravitas that Drill MCs are aiming for when they document their violent surroundings in their verses (be it from the position of perpetrator or reporter, it’s the same fascination that the spectator has with death and destruction that is at play). The frustrating thing is that UK Drill only started to get proper mainstream attention when it was being persecuted for being evil rather than being noticed for its merits. Now that it’s in the limelight though, perhaps the debate should turn to whether or not it is right to reduce the entire work of a set of new, young artists to a societal question that has been a problem for decades. Hassan Anderson is a music journalist and TV researcher who has worked for the likes of Channel 4 and MTV. Find Hassan on Instagram at @hass.anderson
LiS 77
PRESENTS
Spiritualized® Live
Eventim Apollo, London 21.09.2018
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK
PRESENTS
SONS OF BILL O H G O D M A’ A M T O U R + CARL ANDERSON
TUES DAY 14 A U G US T O MEA R A
STRANGER FRUIT TOUR 2018 SUN 02 DECEMBER ELECTRIC BALLROOM
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT MYTICKET.CO.UK
S.J.M. CONCERTS PRESENTS
ALI CE M E RTO N PLUS GUESTS
08 SEP / ELECTRIC BRIXTON 10 SEP / THE GARAGE
PLUS GUESTS
01 11 OCTOCT / VILLAGE UNDERGROUND / ELECTRIC BRIXTON
PLUS GUESTS
2611SEP OCT/ /HEAVEN KOKO
THE EARLY MIXTAPE SONGS. EVERYTHING BEFORE ‘SCUM’.
19 15OCT NOV/ /PRINTWORKS OVAL SPACE
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. 2018 AND BEYOND.
THE ‘SCUM’ ALBUM.
23 16 OCTNOV / EVENTIM APOLLO / BUSH HALL
SOLD 26 17 / 27 OUT OCT / ALEXANDRA PALACE NOV / ELECTRIC BRIXTON
YOU DECIDE! THE MOST POPULAR SONGS GET PLAYED, MAYBE EVEN A COVER?
07 NOV / THE GARAGE 18 NOV / ELECTRIC BALLROOM
KU RU PT F M PLUS GUESTS
21 NOV 21 / O&2 FORUM 22 NOV /KENTISH THE O2 TOWN
SG LEWIS PRESENTS
PLUS GUESTS
1407DEC APOLLO DEC/ EVENTIM / PRINTWORKS
PLUS GUESTS
SOLD SOLD 14 DEC / O ACADEMY BRIXTON 02 OUT / 03 OUT / 05 / 06 / 072 FEB / O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON