Brum Notes Magazine - April 2013

1April 2013

2 Brum Notes Magazine

16-18 Horsefair, Bristol St, Birmingham, B1 1DBDoors 7.00pm unless stated • Venue box office opening hours:

Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm, Sat 11am-4pm • No booking fee on cash transactions

ticketweb.co.uk • seetickets.com • gigantic.com • ticketmaster.co.uk

Fri 5th Apr • £14 adv5.30pm - 10pm

Ill Niño + Sacred Mother Tongue + Magnacult + Malandra

Mon 8th Apr • £13 advEmmure + Chelsea Grin + Obey The Brave + Attila + Buried in Verona

Fri 12th Apr • £5 adv 10.30pm - 3.30am • over 18s only

Propaganda ft. Barry Fratelli (The Fratellis) DJ Set

Sat 13th Apr • £10 adv6pm - 11pm

‘Ones To Watch’ Showcase

Thurs 18th Apr • £13 advLuxtorpeda+ Lynchpyn

Fri 19th Apr • £33.50 adv 6pm - 10pm

Counting Crows

Fri 19th Apr • £10 adv6.30pm - 10pm

The Smyths Celebrating 30 Years of The Smiths Singles and B-Sides

Sat 20th Apr McFly

Weds 24th Apr Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

Thurs 25th Apr • £36 adv James + Echo & The Bunnymen

Thurs 25th Apr • £10 adv CrashDiet & Jettblack + Fallen Mafia + Hell in the Club + Sleekstain

Fri 26th Apr • £11 adv6pm - 10pm

Minus The Bear

Sat 27th Apr Peace + Superfood

Thurs 2nd May • £20 adv(seated show)

Colin Hay + Chris Trapper

Sat 4th May • £8 adv6pm - 11pm

‘Ones To Watch’ Showcase ft. Drive Through Therapy

Sun 5th May Alt-J

Sat 11th May • £17.50 adv The Twang & Cast (co-headline tour)

Sun 12th May • £18.50 adv Athlete

Sun 12th May Mon 13th May Lana Del Rey

Thurs 16th May • £6 adv We Are Lost Boys + The Ocean’s Eyes

Tues 21st May • £15 adv / £35 VIPBrian McFadden

Tues 21st May • £35 advWeds 22nd May • £35 advThe Specials

Thurs 23rd May • £17.50 adv A$AP Rocky

Tues 28th May • £17.50 adv District3

Fri 7th June • £10 adv 6pm - 10pm

Toro Y Moi

Sat 8th June • £5 adv 6.30pm - 10.30pm

We Are Saviours

Tues 11th June • £25 adv Jurassic 5

Mon 17th June • £20 adv Peter MurphyCelebrates 35 years of Bauhaus - Performing solely Bauhaus material

Mon 15th July • £15 adv Bam Margerafrom Jackass is F**kface Unstoppable

Thurs 15th Aug • £30 adv 6pm - 10pm

The B52’s

Tues 17th Sept • £8.50 advRescheduled show • original tickets valid

Janet Devlin

Sat 21st Sept • £15 advWorld Championships weekend ticket £25 adv1pm - 9pm

UK B-Boy Championships 2013Knock-Out Jam

Sat 26th Oct • £18.50 advThe Feeling

Mon 28th Oct Tues 29th Oct • £17.50 advJake Bugg

Mon 4th Nov • £17.50 advThe Toy Dolls

Sun 10th Nov • £17.50 advJake Bugg

Sat 16th Nov • £9 adv[spunge]

Sat 30th Nov • £28.50 adv /£50 VIPHoward Jones 30th Anniversary Concert

Sun 1st Dec • £11 advThe Doors Alive

Tues 3rd Dec • £12 advElectric Six

Fri 6th Dec • £11 adv 6.30pm - 10pm

The CompleteStone Roses

Tues 17th Dec • £26 advRevelations:The Mission & Fields Of The Nephilim

Sat 21st Dec • £22.50 advSleigh The UK 2013:The Wonder StuffPop Will Eat ItselfJesus Jones

Fri 24th Jan 14 • £20 adv6.30pm - 10pm

Within Temptation

Weds 3rd Apr • £8.50 advBluey Robinson + The Special K’s + Jackie D


Dumb + Wide Eyed + Youth Man + The Scribers

Sun 7th Apr • £6 advNext Big Thing Competition - Semi Final 1ft. The Mighty Young + Escape To Paris + The Nuclear Weasels + The Broken Rebels + The Harrowbricks + Lucid Uprising + Grace The Skies

Mon 8th Apr • £7 adv6.30pm - 10pm

Ourzone Found Tour 2013


Room 94

Sat 13th Apr • £7 advFearless Vampire Killers + Fort Hope + Obscure Pleasures

Sun 14th Apr • £8 advWith One Last Breath & Adept + Despite My Deepest Fear

Weds 17th Apr • £7 advMissing Andy

Sat 20th Apr • £10 advPatent Pending+ Erik Chandler (of Bowling For Soup)

Tues 23rd Apr • £7.50 advBleed FromWithin + Heart of a Coward + Aurora

Weds 24th Apr • £5 advLovats + Caves + Sugar + The Sunset Limited + Leopard

Sat 27th Apr • £5 advIHYM + Rise Of My Empire + Husk+ Kaizen & Emursia + Leopard

Mon 29th Apr • £7.50 advParlour Flames

Fri 3rd May • £8 adv6pm - 10pm

Old Man Markley

Weds 8th May • £7 advDick Valentine

Sat 18th May • £5 advModern Minds + Open to Fire + The Rebel Beats + SharksvBears + Salophia

Weds 29th May • £9 advRescheduled show • original tickets valid

Dizraeli & The Small Gods

Sat 22nd June • £7 advOrange

Weds 3rd July • £6 adv /£4 concessionsSchool Of Rock & Pop Charity Showcase

Sat 6th July • £8 advStereosonics (Stereophonics Tribute Band)

Sat 19th Oct • £10 adv8pm - 1am • Over 18s only

Quadrophenia Night

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3April 2013

CONTENTS

Regulars

News 4-5

Competitions 5

Hotlist 9

Live Reviews 22-23

Style 24-25

Food & Drink 26

What’s On Guide 28-30

Music and Features

Books: Ryan Davis 6

Fresh Talent: Friday Club/Dumb/Wide Eyed 8-9

Fresh Talent: Superfood 10

Fresh Talent: Heavy Waves 11

Peace 12-13

Luke Sital-Singh 14

BATS 16-17

Dinosaur Pile-Up 19

Edwyn Collins 20

All content © Brum Notes Magazine. Views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Brum Notes Magazine. While all care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of content, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses claimed to have been incurred by any errors. Advertising terms and conditions available on request.

Wide Eyed perform at a secret Birmingham house party. Read the review on P22. Photo by Andy Hughes.

Brum Notes Magazine Unit 12 The Bond 180-182 Fazeley Street DigbethBirminghamB5 [email protected] 0121 224 7363

Advertising0121 224 7363 [email protected]! 0121 224 7364

Editor: Chris MoriartyContributorsWords: David Vincent, Amy Sumner, Ben Russell, Jack Parker, Sean Mahon, Alex Cawston, Tom Pell, Bernard TowersContributing editor: David Vincent Pictures: Andy Hughes, Andy Watson (Drw-images), Sinéad O’CallaghanStyle editor: Jade [email protected] Design: Adam Williams, Andy AitkenCover illustration: Charlotte Audrey Owen-Meehan

ConnectTwitter: @BrumNotesMagFacebook: www.facebook.com/BrumNotesMagazineOnline: www.brumnotes.com


birmiNgham TO hOST iNTErNaTiONal b-bOy ChampiONShipS Birmingham will host the UK B-Boy Championship World Finals for the next two years, the first time the event will have been held outside London. The competition brings together some of the planet’s finest male and female break and hip hop dancers for battles in individual and crew categories and will take place at the O2 Academy on September 21 and 22. The move is part of a new partnership between UK B-Boy Championships and Birmingham-based DanceXchange, which will see the championships held in the Second City in both 2013 and 2014. David Massingham, artistic director of DanceXchange said: “DanceXchange is immensely proud of Birmingham’s reputation as a global centre of dance and through all of our work we strive to bring the best dance from across the world to the city.”Tickets for the UK B-Boy Championships are on sale now, priced between £16 and £28, from www.bboychampionships.com.

lONg-SErviNg rECOrd ShOp mOvES TO NEw CiTy CENTrE lOCaTiONOne of Birmingham’s best known record shops has moved to a new location in the city centre. Swordfish, which has been serving music lovers since 1979, has now opened the doors of its new store in Dalton Street, near to Birmingham Crown Court.The record shop, run by Gareth Owen and Mike Caddick, first opened as Rockers in Hurst Street before later moving to Need-less Alley 10 years later and changing its name to Swordfish, then moving again in 1996 to Temple Street where it remained until last month’s move. It is one of the few remaining independent record shops in Birmingham city centre and stocks a wide range of vinyl as well as new and used CDs. Shop bosses said the new location is has a “warmer and cosier atmosphere” than the previ-ous Temple Street site, with the new Swordfish in Dalton Street being decked out with vin-tage posters, photographs from down the years, a “funky fridge” and a reading station where

customers can relax and read music magazines and books while listen-ing to some choice sounds. Swordfish is located at 66 Dalton Street in Birmingham city centre, a short walk from both Corpora-tion Street and Dale End. A new website has also been launched at www.swordfishrecords.co.uk.

NEw livE muSiC vENuE TO lauNCh A new live music venue launches in Bir-mingham’s Southside area this month. The Hub will be based at gay superclub The Nightingale in Kent Street on Fridays, with acts already lined up to appear including reggae stalwarts Aswad, soul legends The Drifters and ska heroes Bad Manners. The Hub will open to music fans on Friday nights as well as providing a mid-week ven-ue for live bands. The rest of the week the venue returns to The Nightingale, Birming-ham’s biggest gay club.Venue bosses, brothers Lawrence and Dar-ren Barton, said the new venue was aimed at the “forgotten generation” of people in their late-20s through to people in their 60s who enjoyed the occasional night out. Lawrence Barton said: “The aim is to pro-vide a dynamic new music venue which of-fers a broad cross-section of affordable live music to appeal to a mix of age groups and music genres on a regular basis.“Hopefully this is an opportunity for an audi-ence that wouldn’t usually to start coming to Southside and see how much [the area] has to offer,” he added. The Hub launches on April 5 with a DJ set from pop stars JLS.

STaN’S CafE drama wOrk TO TakE OvEr flOOr Of CiTy CENTrE OffiCE blOCkBirmingham theatre company Stan’s Cafe will mark the 10th anniversary of its acclaimed show Of All The People In All The World with a special ‘homecoming’ stint in a shiny new city-centre office block. Straddling the lines between performance art, installation and theatre, the work consists of 23 tonnes of rice administered by various lab coat-wearing, clipboard-carrying boffins. With each of the 1.5 billion grains equating to one person, rice piles are used to represent various population statistics – from births and deaths, to local commuters. The work will fill the entire sixth floor of Two Snowhill (pictured).Over the last decade, the show has been seen in more than 50 cities worldwide, attracting 250,000 people. The free drop-in performances run from April 12-21 at Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham. Open Monday to Friday, 1am-7pm, Saturday and Sunday, 11am-6pm. For more information, visit www.stanscafe.co.uk.

5April 2013

wiN £200 Of paSSES TO bElOw 8Th birThday wEEkENdErUnderground party starters Below celebrate their eighth birthday in style next month, with two days of huge events across all The Rainbow Venues, including the 4,000-capacity Arena. The stellar line-up over the weekend of May 4 and 5 put together by Below co-founders Adam Shelton and Lee McDonald will include the likes of DJ Sneak (pictured), Derrick May, Todd Terry and Inner City. To celebrate,we’ve got four sets of two-day passes to give away, worth £54.50 each, giving you access to every party across all the venues.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply tell us:

IN WHICH US CITy DID DJ SNEAK MAKE HIS NAME IN HOUSE MUSIC?

Send your answer, name, age and contact details to [email protected] by May 1.

COmpETiTiONSwiN TiCkETS TO Slam duNk fESTivalSlam Dunk Festival brings the finest pop punk, alt-rock and hardcore acts from across the globe to Wolverhampton next month.This year’s event heads to the hotbed of heavy metal, taking over Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall on May 27. The impressive line-up includes the likes of All Time Low, Deaf Havana, Kids in Glass Houses, Cancer Bats and many more. We have a pair of tickets up for grabs, including entry to the infamous after-party, plus we’ll throw in some goodies from post-hardcore Aussies House Vs Hurricane. For a chance to win, tell us: WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE LATEST ALBUM By ALL TIME LOW?

Email [email protected] with answers, name and age by May 10.


Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and many other rock stars have curiously bowed out at 27 years old. Birmingham author and musician Ryan Davis explores the rock and roll age of death in his debut novel 27. Based on the life of Jim Vale, lead singer of one hit wonders The Tyrants, 27 tells the tale of his failed suicide attempt and subsequent dis-appearance in a bid to generate enough publicity for his band to hit it big once again. Bernard Towers meets the author to dis-cuss the motives behind the book.

Q: You’ve played in bands around Brum for a few years, is the plot or any of the characters based on real people?A: Well…no, and yes. The idea behind the book and the title is based on the notion of 27 being the rock and roll death age. They call it the 27 Club. The people that I’ve met and worked with in the music industry have been really good people. Although there

have been singers, managers and band members of other bands that my band [Ad-venture Club] had played with over the years whose, shall we say, personality quirks, have found their way into these characters.

Q: The book is very vividly set in pre-millennial Birmingham. Was there much research involved?A: A lot of it was from memo-ry. Before Selfridges, there was an old car park next to The Royal George pub in Digbeth. For a long time it was this ghost ship of a building full of junk-ies walking in and out like zombies. I wanted to use it for a scene in the book and so I checked to see if it had been torn down. Thankfully it hadn’t. What’s the difference now? Brum used to be grey concrete, smoke-blacked with dark corners in the city centre. Now it’s shiny and open and has reinvented itself as a place to shop, rather than make things. It’s had a makeo-ver, basically.

Q: Why set the book specifically in this era and location?A: It was set in Brum because that is where I have lived and played in bands for a lot of my life. But, I also wanted to give Birmingham a place on the literary landscape, I think. We don’t have many cool Brummie protagonists do we? Jim, the main character, is older than

me, but he needed to be if I wanted him to be 27 at the turn of the millennium. It was an odd

time, when people thought all sort of mad shit was going to

happen – the millennium bug was going to bring the world to

a standstill. The world was going to end. I saw the city changing in

the same way as Jim was chang-ing. Everything he and the city used

to be was being taken away and turned into a shiny product. So the

time, place and age all colliding made it seem right.

you can buy 27 on Amazon and from all good book shops. Follow Ryan on Twitter @roymonde or like the Face-book page - “27” by Ryan Davis. Read more from the interview with Ryan at www.brumnotes.com.

For more information on the tour call 0121 224 7444, visit www.punch-records.co.uk or follow us on twitter @punchrecords

SOUL ACOUSTIC — A national tour featuring the UK’s finest soul artists, all performing exclusive acoustic sessions.

7th Liverpool12th Cardiff14th Nottingham

6th Inverness9th London 11th Birmingham

TERRI WALKER SHAKKA CALL ME UNIQUE SHEA SHEZARKOF

TOUR JUNE 2013

Books

ryaN daviS: 27

7April 2013


“Like...if Sex Pistols got a bit clever?” says Friday Club guitarist Joe ‘Davo’ Davies, reluctantly trying to sum up his new band’s sound. With only one live demo online and no ‘proper‘ gigs behind them just yet, describing them in detail is no easy task for an outsider. But that aforementioned demo, Fall Down Kids, is laced with plen-ty of 1970s punk spirit, all trashy guitars, hooky chorus lines and bags of attitude.

“I would say Fall Down Kids is a straight up punk song, recorded as it would have been in 1972,” continues frontman Josh Smithyman. “I think the vocal is a pop hook, so that song is more of a pop-punk, radio-friendly single.“Our set list is pretty eclectic, from grunge to dance music – I mean we have a seven-minute mash up track – everything is in there. I draw a lot of my influences from soul music, they are some of the best vocalists that ever lived; Sam Cooke and Otis Redding to name a few, but sound wise, maybe the Velvet Underground, Black Lips and The Strokes would be a little more accurate.”

“I don’t really know or wish to label it,” insists Davo. “We all listen to different stuff so we don’t try too hard to sound like anything, we all just add our bit, and you can really hear it. “We’re going after something new... but not thinking to hard about it. We don’t want to be a relic, if you get me.”

Come April 13 and you’ll be able to judge for yourselves, when the Birmingham-based outfit, originally from Cannock, play their first billed gig at The Sunflower Lounge, supporting Soldier. And one thing they can agree on is it’s an exciting time to be a new band in the Second City – but they’re determined to make themselves heard on their own terms.

“I’d go as far as saying the second wave of bands coming through

now are even better and the scene is going to get bigger. Friday Club don’t have that nice, washy B-Town sound, we are loud and direct,” says Josh, with refreshing confidence.

“We need to become a leading band on this scene and then we need to hit the road. We have a mission, we know what we need to do. Fall Down Kids is a great introduction, but I just can’t wait for people to hear what we can really do.”

Friday Club are live at The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham, on April 13. Listen to demo Fall Down Kids at www.soundcloud.com/friday-club.

www.facebook.com/fridayclubbandfriday Club

Words by Chris Moriarty

“We need to become a leading band on this

scene. We have a mission, we know what we

need to do.”

presents in association with One Beat Records

O2 ACADEMY3 BIRMINGHAMFRIDAY 5 APRILDOORS: 6PM / CURFEW: 10:30PM / £5 ADVTickets include free entry to Propaganda club night

brumnotes.como2academybirmingham.co.uk

Buy tickets now from:o2academybirmingham.co.uk0844 477 2000 (24hr)

Plus special guests:

Wide Eyed | Youth Man | The Scribers

9April 2013

The best new material from Birmingham and beyond.

hOTliST

Fresh from the living room floor of one of the house parties of the year (if not 10 years), Dumb and Wide Eyed bring their massive live performances to the mainstream. Formed from the ashes of young hopefuls The Carpels, DUMB are back with a brash-er and grungier sound and an explosive live repertoire. Expect rip-roaring percussion teamed with a raw vocal to create some re-ally killer tunes, not least their current sin-gle, Dive, which has received both Radio 1 and La Liga plays. Dumb are young and they are exciting – one of NME’s recent Radar acts and having played Club NME at KOKO last month, miss out on this band and they won’t be the only ones left feeling less than sensible...Drawing influence from Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Toy, WIDE EyED’S psychedelic instrumentals and 90s-hued vocals draw together to create something akin to baggy but darker. Among the most

exciting players in Birmingham’s up-and-coming new scene, they are seriously hot property right now. Check out Bleak to warm you up and be sure to catch these boys and some pretty pleasing garms as they provide main support.Riotous noise-makers yOUTH MAN bring a more shambolic edge to the eve with their Pixies-influenced setup. This young three-piece encapsulate everything exciting about Birmingham music right now with front wom-an Kaila Whyte sporting a reputation for the raucous. Youth Man’s ball-busting live show without exception leaves crowds with some-thing to talk about and will leave you feeling just like their instruments – spent. THE SCRIBERS’ live set meshes dark in-die with more upbeat pop tracks to create something pretty interesting indeed. Vocally they fluctuate from Jamie T to something al-together darker. Be sure to get down early to catch standout track Queen of Hearts.

The best new material, from Birmingham and beyond.

Opium lOrdThe Calendrical Cycle - Prologue: The HealerUnnervingly bleak and all-enveloping sludge metal on impressively dark de-but EP from Birmingham outfit. tdonrecords.bandcamp.com

Saf.ONE#SafDoneDisStatement mixtape from one of the de-fining voices of modern Birmingham grime, with 21 tracks highlighting some of the best rap talent from the city and further afield. Available on iTunes

ONly ShadOwSMany a MountainDebut track showcasing the high ener-gy, soaring indie from this new power-pop Midlands quartet. www.soundcloud.com/only-shadows

prEviEw ThE playliST

ONES TO waTChJawSAlready earning admirers far and wide for their jangling, scuzzy dream pop, Jaws have enjoyed high profile support slots but step out of the shad-ows for a rare headline show. Watch them: April 8, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

EpiC45One of the most inventive and atmospheric acts to come out of the Midlands in recent years, expect an idyllic blend of hazy soundscapes inspired by their native rural Staffordshire.Watch them: April 15, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

gypSy hillBalkan beats mash-up party, Balkanic Eruption, celebrates its fourth birthday in style by bringing rabble-rousing brass and beats eight-piece Gypsy Hill back to Birmingham.Watch them: April 19, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

ThEm wOlvESShouty, sweaty and down-right dirty noise rockers Them Wolves make a welcome re-turn to The Flapper, to support BATS. Definitely worth arriving early for, to warm the eardrums. Next gig: April 10, The Flap-per, Birmingham

Follow us at soundcloud.com/

brumnotes for more

dumb

The next Brum Notes Presents show takes place in association with One Beat Records on Friday, April 5 at the O2 Academy 3, Birmingham. Headlined by ex-plosive newcomers Dumb, support comes courtesy of Wide Eyed, Youth Man and The Scribers. Amy Sumner introduces the acts.


From the moment this band appeared un-billed supporting Peace at their legend-ary Rainbow gig last October, there’s been more than a bit of intrigue surrounding them. Then they were BABY100, subsequently they were JUNNK, they have no songs online and only 11 live performances to their seeming-ly ever-changing name. Now, however, they appear to have settled, and if their live perfor-mances are anything to go by then Superfood are something very special indeed.

Meshing all-American vibes with the super sounds of the early Britpop era, Superfood are reminiscent of early Blur and are 90s to the max. And yet, it’s 2k13 and this band are exciting. Already having worked in vari-ous musical projects and incarnations in the past, they’re still only five months in but are already looking, and most importantly sound-ing, very much the part together.

“Me and Dom had been talking about getting together and writing some songs for months,” explains guitarist Ryan Malcolm of the band’s formation, “and then after about a year we thought we should stop being lazy and do it. Emily was always just around so we taught her to play bass because she’s cool, and [drummer] Carl was a no-brainer.”

Lead singer Dom Ganderton continues, elab-orating on their choice of name: “The first song that me and Ryan wrote together was called Superfood and we just thought ‘yeah that’ll do mate’, ‘yeah nice one’. When we first started to write, we always said that our main

objective was to just have fun with what we are doing and write great songs.”

And that they’re doing very well indeed. The tune taken as their namesake is a gorgeous summer scorcher of a song which guaran-tees itself a niche in your brain. “Our music is fluffier than angel delight, but not as pink. It’s got zing,” they say, by way of explanation. However, you won’t find their music online yet and so the only way to check these guys out is to go to one of their incendiary live shows.

“It’s not been a deliberate decision to hold things back and create mystery, but the way it’s worked out has been cool. People have been drawn to us from watching us live and from what friends have said and that’s got to be a good thing, right?” Superfood are taking it back to the old school.

It’s no surprise that word is spreading fast though. “People tell us that they wished our sets were longer and that they were dazzled with our intense sonic imagery. But in terms of getting some songs out there, we’re itch-ing to unveil the beast. We’re putting a song up very soon that we have just finished recording.”

Things are happening fast for Superfood. Having only played a handful of Birmingham and London dates, in April they head out on a full UK tour with hometown buddies Peace. “Things are going to get crazy, have you ever met [Peace guitarist] Doug Castle?!” they enthuse. “We are all really good friends so

it’s going to be amazing just to be able to play gigs and party with each other outside of Birmingham…like in Preston. People should expect loads of pyrotechnics and pole danc-ers entering stage left/right on motorbikes. Emily gets a bit nuts when she gets into it as well – keep your eyes peeled for a foot tap.”

When asked why people should check out their music, Superfood reply simply “because why not?”, which is as good a reason as any. But the real reason that you should go see Superfood live and pounce on their new material when they set it free into the world is because they are one of the best bands in Birmingham at the moment, and that’s saying something. They’re going for their own sound true to the music that they love and they’re coming out the other end with songs that are just effortlessly bril-liant. So yes, check Superfood out because ‘why not’, but check them out also because they’re supercool and they might just be your new favourite band. Oh, and because they’re funny – “our favourite superfood is definitely the sweet potato… probably should have called ourselves SWEET POT∆TO.” Super.

Superfood are Dom Ganderton (lead vocals / guitar), Ryan Malcolm (vocals / lead guitar), Emily Baker (bass) and Carl Griffin (drums).

They are live at the O2 Academy 2, Birming-ham, supporting Peace, on April 27. Stay tuned at www.facebook.com/superfood-junk or on Twitter @superfoodjunk.

Mysterious, intriguing and effortlessly cool, Superfood might just be your new favourite band. Amy Sumner finds out more.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Formed in January in 2012 and playing their fi rst gig supporting Swim Deep that April, Heavy Waves were a pretty exciting prospect from the off. A year down the line, they’ve played London shows at Birthdays, The Old Blue Last and Camden Barfl y, plus some coveted Birming-ham dates, and have just fi nished recording new material which fuses their infl uences.

“I break the pattern because I don’t listen to as much guitar music as the others,” reckons drum-mer Matt Tucker of the band’s musical likes. “I was in metal bands before, and my infl uences lie there, whereas Ed [Taylor – guitar] listens to more rock.”

“And I’m super into indie,” adds lead singer and bassist Luke Morgan. “I’m basically a triangle when it comes to that! So we’ve all come at it from different places and we’ve made something which we never set out to make. I think at fi rst we wanted to sound like Foals, something a bit more tropical – that’s why Heavy Waves is the name. But it’s turned into a rawer, Cribs-type sound.

“I write about anything that rhymes. I think I often hide in metaphors, but it’s just whatever comes out of the haze of cigarette smoke after a long night. We like the live sound and the raw energy of a live set because it’s more natural, and that’s what we want to create.”

Heavy Waves’ sound is 90s and scuzzy and as lo-fi as it comes; it’s completely delicious, and live it’s even more atmospheric.

“We sound like pizza and cigarettes and sugary drinks,” offers Ed. “Actually that’s not far off,”

Luke continues. “Look at me, I can’t sit still. Musically, we’re pretty guitar-based because we want to be a guitar band. A lot of Birming-ham bands at the moment are more synthy and while we do have those elements, we’re a bit more garage rock.”

Heavy Waves are unequivocally a Birmingham band, incorporating elements of everything which is making the city so great for music right now. They clearly take inspiration from the Cali-fornian beach escapism prevalent in bands like Swim Deep and Jaws, but they’re drawing inspi-ration from the city itself as well.

“We did this photo shoot the other day,” explains Ed, “and my friend suggested that we do it at the beach. Birmingham is a really grey city but we love it and our music is defi nitely more infl uenced by it than the beach – we’d rather be here. I think we write from an escapist perspective but we’re very content, and you can’t help but absorb the sounds of what’s going on around you.”

“One of my lyrics is ‘my dreams are not beaches’,” concludes Luke, “because every-body is talking about the beach and escaping, and we kind of got chucked in with that, but I don’t feel like that – collectively we don’t feel like that.”

Heavy Waves headline the Brum Notes April Issue Launch Party, at the Bull's Head, Mose-ley, on April 4. Also on the bill are The Graf-ham Water Sailing Club, Laced and These Kings, plus a Hoopla Blue DJ set. Entry is just £3 on the door.

Want to know what Heavy Waves sound like? It’s fast food and fags, they tell Amy Sumner.

Appetising soundsTHE GRAFHAM WATER SAILING CLUBMeshing dark and industrial factory beats with electronica and a menacing vocal, The Grafham Water Sailing Club are catchi-er than their name would imply. Formed in Bedworth in early-2012, the four-piece present a dark menagerie of sound through their unusual and incendiary live perfor-mances and incorporate a range of infl u-ences from Joy Division to The Cramps.soundcloud.com/xtxgxwxsxcx

LACEDWith just two shows under their belts and still only three months into proceedings, Laced are one of Birmingham’s newest and most exciting outfi ts. Teaming a driv-ing rhythm section with a gorgeous dual vocal, Laced’s songs are well-balanced and impressively well executed for such a new prospect. twitter.com/lacedband

THESE KINGSThese Kings skilfully combine math and pop to create a really captivating live show. With some great tracks online and backing from the NME, the youngsters show real prom-ise. Check out Home and Trust Me On This to get an idea.soundcloud.com/these-kings

11April 2013

Formed in January in 2012 and playing their fi rst gig supporting Swim Deep that April, Heavy Waves were a pretty exciting prospect from the off. A year down the line, they’ve played London shows at Birthdays, The Old Blue Last and Camden Barfl y, plus some coveted Birming-ham dates, and have just fi nished recording new material which fuses their infl uences.

“I break the pattern because I don’t listen to as much guitar music as the others,” reckons drum-mer Matt Tucker of the band’s musical likes. “I was in metal bands before, and my infl uences lie there, whereas Ed [Taylor – guitar] listens to more rock.”

“And I’m super into indie,” adds lead singer and bassist Luke Morgan. “I’m basically a triangle when it comes to that! So we’ve all come at it from different places and we’ve made something which we never set out to make. I think at fi rst we wanted to sound like Foals, something a bit more tropical – that’s why Heavy Waves is the name. But it’s turned into a rawer, Cribs-type sound.

“I write about anything that rhymes. I think I often hide in metaphors, but it’s just whatever comes out of the haze of cigarette smoke after a long night. We like the live sound and the raw energy of a live set because it’s more natural, and that’s what we want to create.”

Heavy Waves’ sound is 90s and scuzzy and as lo-fi as it comes; it’s completely delicious, and live it’s even more atmospheric.

“We sound like pizza and cigarettes and sugary drinks,” offers Ed. “Actually that’s not far off,”

Luke continues. “Look at me, I can’t sit still. Musically, we’re pretty guitar-based because we want to be a guitar band. A lot of Birming-ham bands at the moment are more synthy and while we do have those elements, we’re a bit more garage rock.”

Heavy Waves are unequivocally a Birmingham band, incorporating elements of everything which is making the city so great for music right now. They clearly take inspiration from the Cali-fornian beach escapism prevalent in bands like Swim Deep and Jaws, but they’re drawing inspi-ration from the city itself as well.

“We did this photo shoot the other day,” explains Ed, “and my friend suggested that we do it at the beach. Birmingham is a really grey city but we love it and our music is defi nitely more infl uenced by it than the beach – we’d rather be here. I think we write from an escapist perspective but we’re very content, and you can’t help but absorb the sounds of what’s going on around you.”

“One of my lyrics is ‘my dreams are not beaches’,” concludes Luke, “because every-body is talking about the beach and escaping, and we kind of got chucked in with that, but I don’t feel like that – collectively we don’t feel like that.”

Heavy Waves headline the Brum Notes April Issue Launch Party, at the Bull's Head, Mose-ley, on April 4. Also on the bill are The Graf-ham Water Sailing Club, Laced and These Kings, plus a Hoopla Blue DJ set. Entry is just £3 on the door.

Want to know what Heavy Waves sound like? It’s fast food and fags, they tell Amy Sumner.

Appetising soundsTHE GRAFHAM WATER SAILING CLUBMeshing dark and industrial factory beats with electronica and a menacing vocal, The Grafham Water Sailing Club are catchi-er than their name would imply. Formed in Bedworth in early-2012, the four-piece present a dark menagerie of sound through their unusual and incendiary live perfor-mances and incorporate a range of infl u-ences from Joy Division to The Cramps.soundcloud.com/xtxgxwxsxcx

LACEDWith just two shows under their belts and still only three months into proceedings, Laced are one of Birmingham’s newest and most exciting outfi ts. Teaming a driv-ing rhythm section with a gorgeous dual vocal, Laced’s songs are well-balanced and impressively well executed for such a new prospect. twitter.com/lacedband

THESE KINGSThese Kings skilfully combine math and pop to create a really captivating live show. With some great tracks online and backing from the NME, the youngsters show real prom-ise. Check out Home and Trust Me On This to get an idea.soundcloud.com/these-kings


“We got back from SXSW yesterday…though it could have been the day before. Actually, I think it was the day before…” Peace’s lead singer, Harry Koisser, doesn’t sound convinced. “I’m back home now anyway and I’m in bed, living the dream.”

It must be nice to have time to breathe. Peace have been touring pretty relentless-ly for over a year now, including bagging the opening slot on the NME Awards Tour 2013. They’ve just got back from SXSW, the new music showcase festival in Austin (“it went really well, the reaction was good – we did nine shows and we left happy”), and it ain’t long before they step back out

on the road again with their own headline tour. Then they’ll be hot trotting around the UK, before embarking on a US tour in May. There’s no rest for the wicked.

“The whole thing is going to be a learning curve and an experience because I’ve never travelled America before,” Harry says of the impending jaunt. “I mean, we went to LA and New York so it’ll be good to go back to those places, but other than that it’s all going to be new and exciting.

“We toured from the beginning of 2012 until now with only small amounts of time off – there have been no majorly big gaps so it’s

what we’re used to now. We’ve done tours of all different sizes so we’re ready for it.”

It’s been an incredible ascent for the Midlands four-piece. About this time last year, they were snapped up by Columbia Records after the hype machine had been sent into overdrive by online demos and legendary live performances. Since then, you’ll have been hard pressed to pick up any music publication in any month which hasn’t had them emblazoned across at least a couple of pages – Peace really are the band to be right now.

The really big news though is that Peace have just released their debut album. Attracting pretty much rave reviews across the board, In Love is a gorgeously accom-plished summertime stomper of a record which heads off in ‘a direction you wish more would follow’ (The Guardian). Including songs which are already fan-favourites, such as Wraith and California Daze, the album skilfully combines big and brash sounding tunes, with slower more refl ective numbers, to create one of the most assured debuts of recent years. Drawing in infl uences from acts the band have toured with since they began, it’s the record they’ve always hinted at being able to produce.

“I probably started writing the record when we formed the band around Birmingham [so] it’s been a few years in the making,” Harry explains. “And I guess you wouldn’t make the same record had you not done any of the things you’ve done – that’s the lead up to it. From what we’ve done as a band, everything has had an infl uence, from then until now and until we make the next record – everything has an impact.”

The album explores love in all its different guises, from affection to lust and back again. Its songs are simple, catchy, and effortlessly

anthemic. But isn’t it sometimes diffi cult to pen a song about, you know, stuff that’s close to the heart? “Naah, songs are always easy to write,” Harry dismisses easily. That’s that cleared up then.

The band have their biggest UK headline tour to date lined up for April, on which they’ll be playing some pretty impressive venues including, of course, a show in Birmingham. Taking fellow Brum-mies Superfood along with them as support, the tour will culminate in a four night residency at Birthdays – by all accounts, one of the hottest venues in London.

“The Birthdays dates are going to be a lot smaller than the rest so we’re going to play with it a little bit, make little set changes. And it’ll be really good to play with Superfood – I’m sure we’ll be getting up to some mischief,” Harry says.

All jokes aside, Peace really are living the dream – not only living what they dreamed they could achieve, but also they’re inspir-ing countless other acts around them to do the same. Talk to nearly any band in the city at the moment, and they’ll confi rm they’re going for it because of the attention on Birmingham which Peace have aroused, and because of what Peace have proven can be achieved.

So what was it like for them, four friends, from about town – Harry, brother Sam, bass, guitarist Douglas Castle and drummer Dominic Boyce – opening up the NME Awards Tour nationwide? “Everyone got on, it was a blast,” says Harry of the package that also featured Palma Violets, Miles Kane and Django Django. “It felt weird at fi rst being at the big venues but we got used to it after a few days and just got on with it. We were well looked after.”

Since forming, Peace have gone from playing to a handful of people in a pub, to signing a record deal with one of the majors and tour-ing America and Europe. There are even Japanese dates booked. That’s pretty mind-blowing, you’d think, but the quartet have taken it in their stride.

“I guess I don’t have as much time to do nothing now because we’re doing stuff all the time. But other than that it’s quite similar – we’re just having fun,” Harry muses of the past year. “Whether it’s tour-ing America or walking from Edgbaston to Digbeth, it’s the same thing, it’s just having a laugh with a bunch of lads.”

Which sums Peace up pretty well really. So get out to see them on this UK tour and look out for them playing at various festivals over the summer (inc Bestival and Leeds/Reading), because by all accounts Peace are on the ascent, and they’re heading higher than the sun…

Peace play the O2 Academy Birmingham with Superfood on April 27. Read our verdict of In Love on the BrumNotes website www.brumnotes.com/peace-in-love

“Whether it’s touring America or walking from Edgbaston to Digbeth, it’s the same thing, it’s just having a laugh with a bunch of lads.”peace & love

They’re the Birmingham band everyone wants. Just back from SXSW, Amy Sumner catches up with Peace to discuss their debut album,

and how they’re coping with the attention.

13April 2013

“We got back from SXSW yesterday…though it could have been the day before. Actually, I think it was the day before…” Peace’s lead singer, Harry Koisser, doesn’t sound convinced. “I’m back home now anyway and I’m in bed, living the dream.”

It must be nice to have time to breathe. Peace have been touring pretty relentless-ly for over a year now, including bagging the opening slot on the NME Awards Tour 2013. They’ve just got back from SXSW, the new music showcase festival in Austin (“it went really well, the reaction was good – we did nine shows and we left happy”), and it ain’t long before they step back out

on the road again with their own headline tour. Then they’ll be hot trotting around the UK, before embarking on a US tour in May. There’s no rest for the wicked.

“The whole thing is going to be a learning curve and an experience because I’ve never travelled America before,” Harry says of the impending jaunt. “I mean, we went to LA and New York so it’ll be good to go back to those places, but other than that it’s all going to be new and exciting.

“We toured from the beginning of 2012 until now with only small amounts of time off – there have been no majorly big gaps so it’s

what we’re used to now. We’ve done tours of all different sizes so we’re ready for it.”

It’s been an incredible ascent for the Midlands four-piece. About this time last year, they were snapped up by Columbia Records after the hype machine had been sent into overdrive by online demos and legendary live performances. Since then, you’ll have been hard pressed to pick up any music publication in any month which hasn’t had them emblazoned across at least a couple of pages – Peace really are the band to be right now.

The really big news though is that Peace have just released their debut album. Attracting pretty much rave reviews across the board, In Love is a gorgeously accom-plished summertime stomper of a record which heads off in ‘a direction you wish more would follow’ (The Guardian). Including songs which are already fan-favourites, such as Wraith and California Daze, the album skilfully combines big and brash sounding tunes, with slower more refl ective numbers, to create one of the most assured debuts of recent years. Drawing in infl uences from acts the band have toured with since they began, it’s the record they’ve always hinted at being able to produce.

“I probably started writing the record when we formed the band around Birmingham [so] it’s been a few years in the making,” Harry explains. “And I guess you wouldn’t make the same record had you not done any of the things you’ve done – that’s the lead up to it. From what we’ve done as a band, everything has had an infl uence, from then until now and until we make the next record – everything has an impact.”

The album explores love in all its different guises, from affection to lust and back again. Its songs are simple, catchy, and effortlessly

anthemic. But isn’t it sometimes diffi cult to pen a song about, you know, stuff that’s close to the heart? “Naah, songs are always easy to write,” Harry dismisses easily. That’s that cleared up then.

The band have their biggest UK headline tour to date lined up for April, on which they’ll be playing some pretty impressive venues including, of course, a show in Birmingham. Taking fellow Brum-mies Superfood along with them as support, the tour will culminate in a four night residency at Birthdays – by all accounts, one of the hottest venues in London.

“The Birthdays dates are going to be a lot smaller than the rest so we’re going to play with it a little bit, make little set changes. And it’ll be really good to play with Superfood – I’m sure we’ll be getting up to some mischief,” Harry says.

All jokes aside, Peace really are living the dream – not only living what they dreamed they could achieve, but also they’re inspir-ing countless other acts around them to do the same. Talk to nearly any band in the city at the moment, and they’ll confi rm they’re going for it because of the attention on Birmingham which Peace have aroused, and because of what Peace have proven can be achieved.

So what was it like for them, four friends, from about town – Harry, brother Sam, bass, guitarist Douglas Castle and drummer Dominic Boyce – opening up the NME Awards Tour nationwide? “Everyone got on, it was a blast,” says Harry of the package that also featured Palma Violets, Miles Kane and Django Django. “It felt weird at fi rst being at the big venues but we got used to it after a few days and just got on with it. We were well looked after.”

Since forming, Peace have gone from playing to a handful of people in a pub, to signing a record deal with one of the majors and tour-ing America and Europe. There are even Japanese dates booked. That’s pretty mind-blowing, you’d think, but the quartet have taken it in their stride.

“I guess I don’t have as much time to do nothing now because we’re doing stuff all the time. But other than that it’s quite similar – we’re just having fun,” Harry muses of the past year. “Whether it’s tour-ing America or walking from Edgbaston to Digbeth, it’s the same thing, it’s just having a laugh with a bunch of lads.”

Which sums Peace up pretty well really. So get out to see them on this UK tour and look out for them playing at various festivals over the summer (inc Bestival and Leeds/Reading), because by all accounts Peace are on the ascent, and they’re heading higher than the sun…

Peace play the O2 Academy Birmingham with Superfood on April 27. Read our verdict of In Love on the BrumNotes website www.brumnotes.com/peace-in-love

“Whether it’s touring America or walking from Edgbaston to Digbeth, it’s the same thing, it’s just having a laugh with a bunch of lads.”peace & love

They’re the Birmingham band everyone wants. Just back from SXSW, Amy Sumner catches up with Peace to discuss their debut album,

and how they’re coping with the attention.

TUESDAY 16 APRILBIRMINGHAM

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“That tour was amazing. By far my favourite tour I’ve done,” says a pumped singer song-writer Luke Sital-Singh of his recent trip abroad supporting Conor O’Brien’s Villagers. “So great to travel around Europe for the fi rst time. I did it all by train which is a great adventure. The Villagers guys are an incredible bunch of human beings. I miss them dearly. The show in Brus-sels was a great one. Big crowd all very quiet and respectful. Those are the best gigs.”

It’s easy to hear elements of Villagers’ sound in Luke’s only (so far limited) recorded work, though the songwriter does feel there is a distinctiveness.

“I love what they do but it feels very different from what I do,” he says. “Conor’s songwrit-ing is so rich in imagery and poetry, there’s so much to explore. I’m trying to get straight to the jugular of an emotion and keep hitting it as hard as possible.”

Like many newcomers, Luke has also been hoping to spread the word with a trip to SXSW, and headed out to Austin, Texas, as part of a British Music Abroad package.

“SXSW was incredible,” he cries, still clearly recovering from the experience. “Utterly nuts! So much going on! So much relentless noise! I had about eight shows to play so I was pretty busy and exhausted by the end. [Surprisingly] I didn’t get to meet many of the other British acts. It was fun to play the main British music venue but I had so many shows I didn’t get time to hang. I only got to see one act that I love – a guy called Joshua James. He’s amazing.”

Now back in Blighty, Luke’s preparing for the arrival of his next release, the lilting Old Flint EP.

“The four songs on the EP span a lot of time,” he reveals. “One of my oldest songs is on there and some of my newest are too. Initially I was worried it would feel disjointed but there was something about the time and space we record-ed in that helped to join the songs together. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”

Like his previous EP, the physical copy comes with a cover designed by his partner, artist Hannah Cousins.

“I love handmade things. I love great quality stuff. Hannah does everything by hand with just talent and elbow grease. In such an uber-digital world it’s nice to have artwork that has been crafted by hand. That’s important to me,” he says of the cover, adding that the design is a joint effort. “In terms or collaboration; I tend to have a rough idea of what I want and she makes it better and makes it work.”

Much has been made of the fact that Luke hails from New Malden, the south-west London birthplace of the late John Martyn and Jamie Woon, placing the newcomer in something of a tradition, though as Luke stresses, neither have shaped his music.

“I was exposed to John Martyn quite late on. I wouldn’t call either of them a direct infl uence

but it’s nice to share a home town. It’s not the most happening place in the world…”

Initially picking up violin, Luke traded it in for his brother’s guitar at around 11, later trying his hand with piano. As he began to devel-op his musicianship and songwriting, tenta-tive steps where made at performing under the name Fellow Stranger – on his own or with up to eight players – but he soon realised a new approach was needed.

“It was getting a bit lost and not connecting well so I stripped it all back and just went out as me. But the songs are all the same,” he says.

With his fi rst national UK headline tour starting this month, the new EP, and some post SXSW surprises (“I think exciting things are on the way because of SXSW,” he teases, “but it’s too early to say right now.”), things are certainly looking up for the man who’s also been labelled ‘The British Bon Iver.’

“It’s defi nitely a fl attering tag as I am a huge fan,” he blushes. “The comparison came with my song Fail For You which was directly inspired by my fi rst hearing Bon Iver. But other than that one song, we do very different things in my opinion.”

It’s a tag that’s certain to get ditched with the arrival of Luke’s debut album – currently being worked up.

“I want it to be the best record you’ve ever heard!” he declares confi dently.

Luke Sital-Singh is live at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, on April 25. His new EP Old Flint is out on April 15.

In such an uber-digital world it’s nice to have artwork that has been crafted by hand. That’s important to me,

Is rising singer songwriter Luke Sital-Singh really the British Bon Iver? David Vincent fi nds out more.

Bon vivantBon vivantBon vivant

15April 2013


Q: Your songs are all pretty highly charged with religious and scientifi c imagery, issues you clearly have strong feelings about. Do you see music as a good outlet for opin-ions in that sense, rather than singing about boats and hoes, for instance? A: Completely. I fi nd it so much more satis-fying to write about the important issues we humans face. The sinister creepings of super-stition need to be confronted and highlighted.

Contrasting this with the beauty and wonder of nature as revealed by science is just a fruit-ful topic to explore. I was so sick of hearing egocentric songs about individuals person-al lives and the vacuous trappings of selfi sh mammals. There aren’t enough songs about cosmology.

Q: Do you still believe in the power of a good protest song then?

A: I really do. But I hope we’ve been writ-ing protest songs of a different type. Cosmic themes as opposed to provincial political issues.

Q: What’s the reaction been like to second album The Sleep of Reason since its release last October? A: Very positive. The sophomore record is always a diffi cult one. We pushed ourselves

much harder. Experimenting with different sounds and exploring grander themes. We had such a good reaction to our fi rst album we were unsure if people would embrace this one as much. It’s a good bit more challenging and obtuse but still retains the BATS catchi-ness so I think we did ok. People seem to like it anyway.

Q: This is your fi rst time touring it in England, does that give the songs a new lease of life?Yes, knowing people will have heard the new songs on record but never live really gives us a buzz because live and on record is a totally different kettle of fi sh. Plus we’re better at play-ing them now!

Q: Stem Cells, Luminiferous Aether, The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters… not exactly your bog-standard track listing. Do you like the challenge of tackling topics that most bands wouldn’t bother with?A: I love it. Naming songs and choosing topics is one of my favourite things about being in a band. It can be diffi cult sometimes… ‘how do I get across this idea of entropy or quan-tum physics in a lyrical fl ow?’ But I think the more challenging it is the better it comes out in the end. I love music that creates a sense

of depth and space, music you have to work at and actively investigate in order to decipher the full meaning. Unfortunately most bands are unable or unwilling to do this.

Q: I had to Google ‘Luminiferous Aether’ to see what that was, but do you like know all of this stuff off the top of your head? A: Of course not. I’m passionate about science so I read a lot of books and watch docu-mentaries but once I pick a subject I’ll often have to go and read up about it. To more fully understand the subject so I can express it lyri-cally, but also to get inspiration for particular lyrics. Luminiferous Aether for example, was an early 19th century attempt at light wave theory. Back then it wasn’t fully understood what space was and they created the fi rst artifi cial vacuum in order to study the proper-ties of an area of space when you removed everything from it. They noticed that light still passed through it so concluded, wrongly, that there was a kind of aether that permeated space and it was this medium in which the light waves travelled. Ultimately they were wrong and the song is, on the surface, about that particular endeav-our, but more generally it’s about the scientifi c method and how it acts as a self-correcting

mechanism. Scientists revel in being proved wrong because that’s how understanding of nature progresses. Basically the exact oppo-site of religion.

Q: You don’t shy away from somewhat ‘confrontational’ topics in that sense. Has it ever led to any confrontations in real life? A: Unfortunately we’ve never had any confron-tations from religious types. I would actually love to get a debate going. I think the kind of people that listen to progressive music, especially metal-infl ected, are more than likely freethinkers anyway. So I guess we’re kind of preaching to the choir. Still, I think it can only be positive to present young people with a differ-ent perspective on science.

BATS are live at The Flapper, Birmingham, on April 10, with support from Shapes and Them Wolves. Second album The Sleep of Reason is out now.

Irish progressive noise-makers BATS pull no punches with their highly-charged blend of post-hardcore, post-punk and math rock. Nor do they hold back from their subject matters either, writing about all-encompassing human issues such as science, religion and cosmology. Frontman Rupert Morris teaches Chris Moriarty a thing or two.

“There aren’t enough songs about cosmology.”Bats out of Hell

17April 2013

BATSBATSWEDNESDAY 10TH APRIL THE FLAPPER, BIRMINGHAM£ 6 A D V A N C E F R O M T H E T I C K E T S E L L E R S . C O . U K

THEM WOLVES + SHAPES

18+

Q: Your songs are all pretty highly charged with religious and scientifi c imagery, issues you clearly have strong feelings about. Do you see music as a good outlet for opin-ions in that sense, rather than singing about boats and hoes, for instance? A: Completely. I fi nd it so much more satis-fying to write about the important issues we humans face. The sinister creepings of super-stition need to be confronted and highlighted.

Contrasting this with the beauty and wonder of nature as revealed by science is just a fruit-ful topic to explore. I was so sick of hearing egocentric songs about individuals person-al lives and the vacuous trappings of selfi sh mammals. There aren’t enough songs about cosmology.

Q: Do you still believe in the power of a good protest song then?

A: I really do. But I hope we’ve been writ-ing protest songs of a different type. Cosmic themes as opposed to provincial political issues.

Q: What’s the reaction been like to second album The Sleep of Reason since its release last October? A: Very positive. The sophomore record is always a diffi cult one. We pushed ourselves

much harder. Experimenting with different sounds and exploring grander themes. We had such a good reaction to our fi rst album we were unsure if people would embrace this one as much. It’s a good bit more challenging and obtuse but still retains the BATS catchi-ness so I think we did ok. People seem to like it anyway.

Q: This is your fi rst time touring it in England, does that give the songs a new lease of life?Yes, knowing people will have heard the new songs on record but never live really gives us a buzz because live and on record is a totally different kettle of fi sh. Plus we’re better at play-ing them now!

Q: Stem Cells, Luminiferous Aether, The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters… not exactly your bog-standard track listing. Do you like the challenge of tackling topics that most bands wouldn’t bother with?A: I love it. Naming songs and choosing topics is one of my favourite things about being in a band. It can be diffi cult sometimes… ‘how do I get across this idea of entropy or quan-tum physics in a lyrical fl ow?’ But I think the more challenging it is the better it comes out in the end. I love music that creates a sense

of depth and space, music you have to work at and actively investigate in order to decipher the full meaning. Unfortunately most bands are unable or unwilling to do this.

Q: I had to Google ‘Luminiferous Aether’ to see what that was, but do you like know all of this stuff off the top of your head? A: Of course not. I’m passionate about science so I read a lot of books and watch docu-mentaries but once I pick a subject I’ll often have to go and read up about it. To more fully understand the subject so I can express it lyri-cally, but also to get inspiration for particular lyrics. Luminiferous Aether for example, was an early 19th century attempt at light wave theory. Back then it wasn’t fully understood what space was and they created the fi rst artifi cial vacuum in order to study the proper-ties of an area of space when you removed everything from it. They noticed that light still passed through it so concluded, wrongly, that there was a kind of aether that permeated space and it was this medium in which the light waves travelled. Ultimately they were wrong and the song is, on the surface, about that particular endeav-our, but more generally it’s about the scientifi c method and how it acts as a self-correcting

mechanism. Scientists revel in being proved wrong because that’s how understanding of nature progresses. Basically the exact oppo-site of religion.

Q: You don’t shy away from somewhat ‘confrontational’ topics in that sense. Has it ever led to any confrontations in real life? A: Unfortunately we’ve never had any confron-tations from religious types. I would actually love to get a debate going. I think the kind of people that listen to progressive music, especially metal-infl ected, are more than likely freethinkers anyway. So I guess we’re kind of preaching to the choir. Still, I think it can only be positive to present young people with a differ-ent perspective on science.

BATS are live at The Flapper, Birmingham, on April 10, with support from Shapes and Them Wolves. Second album The Sleep of Reason is out now.

Irish progressive noise-makers BATS pull no punches with their highly-charged blend of post-hardcore, post-punk and math rock. Nor do they hold back from their subject matters either, writing about all-encompassing human issues such as science, religion and cosmology. Frontman Rupert Morris teaches Chris Moriarty a thing or two.

“There aren’t enough songs about cosmology.”Bats out of Hell

19April 2013

Two years on from debut long-player Growing Pains and northern rock combo Dinosaur Pile-Up look set to reach maturity with the soon-to-be-released second salvo, Nature Nuture. “It’s hard for me to say because I’m so close to it, [and] I’m so excited, but I think it’s defi nite-ly a more mature album than Growing Pains,” reckons Dino’ mainman Matt Bigland. “The fi rst album… I do love it, but it’s a bit of a stormer… I guess it’s more one dimensional. It was the fi rst record I’d done, and it was a learning curve. This one has more textures… more colours to it, it’s more varied, but it’s still got that energy of the fi rst, it’s a killer album, with these little subtleties,” he continues. “Like we were looking at 70s guitar sounds… refer-encing a lot of The Ramones, they were an infl uence, and Bowie, and obviously Led Zep and stuff like that.” Recorded in Oxfordshire with Band Of Skulls producer Ian Davenport, like its predecessor, Nature Nurture is essentially a solo album – though more by accident than design. “I did everything on this one mostly through circumstance,” explains Matt. “I’d really like to make more of the band for the third, but

the band weren’t settled for this record, the bassist had changed and [drummer] Mike was all over the place, times changed, and things were booked and I had to make it, so I had to step up.” Such a decision wasn’t too hard though as, well, he just loves recording. He really loves it. “That joy of writing something and seeing it grow. Now, it’s a huge amount of work, but I love it, I love being in the studio… I absolutely love it,” he laughs. “If I could be in the studio 100 per cent of the year… I’d love it!” Though rewarding, being a one-man-band is not without its pressure. “It’s quite intense… thinking you only have this much time left and you have to do this and this… the work is intensive. With three people, you do something and the other two are chilling out. But when you’re on your own, there’s no downtime,” he says. “There were times on this record when I thought, did I bite off more than I could chew? Looking at this huge wall of songs and thinking, ‘Oh my god! can I climb it…?’

“But I love it. Looking back I can say, yes, I did all that on my own. It’s an achievement.

PILINGON THE

PRESSURERiff-hungry rockers Dinosaur Pile-Up have a busy month ahead with a prestigious support slot followed by their own headline tour. And there’s a brand new album too. Frontman Matt Bigland tells David Vincent why he revels in the pressure.

I’m really happy I did it. But as I said, it was more circumstantial rather than by choice. Next time I’d like to do it with the guys, get them more involved.” The Leeds-based musician, whose previous album garnered comparisons with Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters, entered the studio with 25 songs and recorded 17, of which only 11 made the album. “That’s a good place to be, but quite hard. There was loads of ‘actually, I love that song’ and ‘I can’t take that song off’, but that was really cool,” he says, adding the unreleased tracks will not go to waste. “The six songs that weren’t included might come out as an EP, but a couple might make it onto the next, third, record. They’ll defi nitely see the light of day, on a B-side or rarities [collection] even.” With lead track Arizona Waiting earning Kerrang! Single of the Week and Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record tags in March, and the album due next month, the band’s profi le is boosted further by headline dates and a support tour with Lower Than Atlantis. “They like Dinosaur Pile-Up a bit, which is nice,” Matt says of his fellow Brit-rockers. “I think they asked for us to support, which is cool, so even though we’ve not met, there’s a personal connection.” Of the difference between his forthcoming Wolverhampton show with LTA and Birming-ham headline appearance, Matt says: “You always have less time if you’re supporting, so it’ll be in/out, we’ll just play a blasting set, storm in and out sharpish, because they’re not as much your fans. But when you play a head-line show, they’re your fans, so you can show far more colour, it’ll be more of a varied set.”

Dinosaur Pile-Up headline The Flapper, Birmingham on April 26. They also support Lower Than Atlantis at the Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, on April 17. New album Nature Nurture is out on May 13 on SO Recordings.

“I did everything on this one mostly through circumstance… I’d really like to make more of the band for the third, but the band weren’t settled for this record”


Edwyn Collins’ 37-year career has seen some remarkable highs and tragic lows. Although never quite attaining the chart placings many would say he more than deserved, his work with Scottish indie heroes Orange Juice and subsequent solo career have continued to throw up many sweet surprises. He’s also been productive behind the mixing desk, produc-ing releases from acts such as The Cribs, The Proclaimers and Vic Goddard.

And while a debilitating stroke and cere-bral haemorrhage double-whammy in 2005 nearly concluded Edwyn’s story, his slow recovery has come with a creative bloom. 2010’s collaborative Losing Sleep was a confi dence-building step forward that’s been followed by the formation of his own label, AED, and fi rst full, completely post-stroke new record. Both stomping and refl ective, the life-affi rming Understated arrives in the wake of an Association of Independent Music (AIM) Award for Outstanding Contri-bution To Music. “Thirty years of rock n’roll independence! It’s where I started and I’m there yet,” he says of the win.

Q: Where do you keep your AIM Award?

A: On my kitchen shelf, with my Ivor Novello [Inspiration Award, 2009]… show-off!

Q: Looking back at your career, what ‘contri-bution’ are you most proud of?

A: Contribution? That’s not me really. Here’s the thing, young people. Some advice – keep going towards the next thing. The past is over, it’s time to get on with it.

Q: How was the process of writing and recording this album different from the last one?

A: Losing Sleep, the fi rst record after my stroke, it was a celebration I suppose. So many friends got involved. Understated felt like it was time to get down to work on my own. I was more assured, lyrics-wise. My language is improving all the time, and my confi dence in myself.

Q: It’s easy to read the song Forsooth, with the lines ‘I’m so lucky to be alive… I feel alive and I feel reborn’, as very much about how you feel…

A: Of course, it’s heartfelt. My life, this world, it’s amazing to me. I know how lucky I am, it’s a big deal, to be a living human. I want to tell people this.

Q: Returning to songwriting is clearly some-thing that’s been important to your ongo-ing recovery…

A: My songs are the key to me being able to live my life again…

Q: The album concludes with a cover of Ron McKuen’s Love’s Been Good To Me; why this particular song?

A: I love the Frank [Sinatra] version. Maybe 15 years ago, I used to play it acoustically, live. I loved to play the guitar on it, as well as the simple, beautiful words. So we had the idea to record it for Understated.

Q: You’ve co-founded your own label, AED – can you tell us a bit about some of the acts on the label alongside yourself?

A: Colorama, Linden, London Mississip-pi (coming) Gary McClure (coming), Char-lie Clark (coming). All hand -picked. Carwyn [Ellis] and James [Walbourne], Colorama and London Missisippi, are in my band too. They are the best, musicians, friends, geniuses. The rest is gorgeous music. I’ll be telling the world. AED is going full steam ahead. It’s my new Post-card [Records – seminal late-70s Glasgow label co-founded by Collins]. It’s independent, proper, we invest our own money. Ideas, energy and art.

Q: There’s a fi lm about you looming; In Your Voice, In Your Heart, is described as ‘blur-ring the line between fi ction and documen-tary’ – can you tell us a bit more?

A: James [Hall] and Ed [Lovelace] are making it all this year. It’s about me, my words, my ideas. They give me time, and patience, to talk and express myself as clearly as I can. I’m leaving the rest to them.

Q: What are your plans for the coming months? Any more releases? Production work? Drawing? Festival shows?

A: All that stuff. I like working. I like to be busy. I’m full of energy right now. So, see you in The Glee Club, my fi fth time there I think. My Birmingham home!

Edwyn Collins appears at The Glee Club Birmingham on April 21. Understated is out now on AED Records.

Life is SweetFighting back after his near-death experience, Scottish indie legend Edwyn Collins tells David Vincent it’s ‘time to get down to work.’

21April 2013

JAZZWhat’s on

Box office0121 345 0602www.thsh.co.uk

*£2.50 fee per transaction will be charged on all bookings except purchases made in person at Town Hall or Symphony Hall Box office.

Supported by

Jose James and Sara Colman

Sunday 14 April8.45pmThe Hare and Hounds£12*Part of the Jazzlines programme

Search ‘Town Hall Symphony Hall’ @THSHBirmingham Search ‘Spotify:user:townhallsymphonyhall’

Jazzlines programme funded by

Roller Trio plus Colin Mills’ Mendeleev QuartetWednesday 29 May 8.30pmThe Hare and Hounds£8*Part of the Jazzlines programme

Marius Neset

Wednesday 1 May8pmmac Birmingham£12*Part of the Jazzlines programme

BBC Big Band: Blowin’ Up A StormCelebrating a century of Woody Herman

Friday 17 May7.30pmTown Hall£13.50 - £22.50*

Nikki Iles and The Printmakers

Friday 31 May8pmmac Birmingham£12*Part of the Jazzlines programme

Django Bates’ Belovèd

Friday 14 June 8pmCBSO Centre£14*Part of the Jazzlines programme


Riding high on the success of their recent-ly released third album, Holy Fire, Foals sold out this show in an impressively short amount of time. And with good reason – tonight they show exactly how far they’ve progressed since their formation eight years ago. Their live show looks and sounds mas-sive, and being able to draw from a sol-id three albums-worth of material means that they can play tune after tune, and still not have time for everything. Highlights in-clude Two Steps Twice, Miami and Span-ish Sahara, during which the Birmingham crowd excels itself with a mass sit down. There’s a great feeling in the room – during most recent single (and one of the songs of their career) My Number, the floor is actu-ally bouncing, and towards the end of the set lead singer Yannis Philippakis leaps on top of the bar, breaking down any barriers a corporate venue like this can often impose. Tonight, Foals convincingly prove that they are one of the best and most exciting live acts around, and show exactly why so many are following in their musical footsteps.Amy Sumner

SIGUR ROSCivic Hall, Wolverhampton05/03/13

Despite a promise of being subjected to new material, this reviewer was still look-ing forward to seeing the glacial rock band famed for their epic hits. Sigur Ros’ last re-lease, the ethereal and hard to digest Val-tari, was met with mixed reactions. It wasn’t long after its release, the sixth studio album by the band, that members hinted they would

be taking a hard left turn – whatever that meant. However, after the initial violin bow-aided wall of white noise intro, all fears were quickly allayed.Once the curtain had come down the band launched into a series of new and not-so-new songs, with hardly a pause between each one for the next two hours. Ably sup-ported by a string and horn section as well as additional guitar, keys and drums, they got the mix just right between old and new. Fan favourites such as Hoppípolla, Sæglópur and Glósóli, with its pounding bass and fre-netic finale, all went down a storm. The new material, expected to be on a forthcoming album currently being referred to as #SR7, showed off an edgier, darker sound. Gone was the vast emptiness and lack of clarity of Valtari, replaced with almost sharp Led Zepp-style riffs and furious drums. As well as the incredible and emotional mu-sic, the show included a moving art installa-tion, dazzling lights and more than a passing nod to the theatrical. Put simply, Sigur Ros were amazing.Ben Russell

BRUM NOTES MARCH ISSUE LAUNCH PARTyBull’s Head, Moseley07/03/13

From the opening cacophony of Ghosts Of Dead Airplanes, it’s plain to see that tonight is about the angrier corner of Bir-mingham’s band-inhabited underbelly. The evening is not only entertainment for the eyes and ears, but also a showcase for the alternative scene to B-Town.

youth Man are next to take to – and tear up – the tiny stage. Lead singer Kaila Whyte is ferocious to say the least as she adds her trademark tone to their pummelling blasts of aural violence. And yet it hurts so good.Skull TV manage to follow Youth Man’s now legendary stage presence by leading the crowd into a lurching, and refreshingly driv-en, instrumental set. Songs bleed into one another; they are the pied-pipers of guitars and drums with the audience’s ears follow-ing their every musical move.It’s now down to Bombers to give this night its send off ... and they send it sky-high. Their songs burst at the seams with ear-worms for riffs and slogans for lyrics. Each song is a tight and catchy little package. Tonight has proven there is always another way to par-tay.Jack Parker

WIDE EyED, DUMB, GOD DAMN, BAD MOON, LACEDSecret house party, Birmingham15/03/2013

Ever been inside a living room not big enough to swing a cat? Try accommodat-ing crowd-surfers... Perceived and executed in three days, the line-up is secret yet has attracted revellers from across the Midlands to Birmingham’s outskirts and the house of Jack Parker, student radio DJ and one of the region’s most proactive new music ad-vocates. Students never get their house de-posits back anyways, right?Three months and one show into proceed-ings, only two of Laced’s songs even have names, but their set comprises dynamic

FOALSThe Institute, Birmingham06/03/13

FOALSPhoto by Andy Hughes

livE

BASTILLEPhoto by Andy Watson

23April 2013

tunes, delicately draped with a vocal mellow-ing it to the core whilst retaining an impres-sive energy. Bad Moon follow, their grungy and electronic psychedelia building teasing-ly and deliciously into pandemonium. Vocals drawl lazily over tracks Quinton Expressway and Drowned, highlighting effortless talent.From the home of heavy metal, God Damn are next to take to the laminate. A rip-rol-licking thrash of an affair, they mesh ad-ditional elements of grunge and prog into one of the performances of the evening, and stand-out Half Soaked Shuffle lays the foundations for One Beat Records’ Dumb to continue the frenzied ascent. We Wanted To Be The Sky and current single Dive boast driving drums underpinning Dylan Williams’ exceptional performance, and it’s all inter-twined flawlessly with a dripping guitar...and a cheese grater.Sometime into the early hours, Wide Eyed lead the night to its shambolically fitting cre-scendo. Psychedelic-hued toy instrumen-tals team with expansive vocals to create highlights Feel Free and Bleak and as a barrier of bodies forms to shield them from the mayhem, the night’s mood is captured perfectly when singer Jake Bellwood leaps into a crowd which carries him completely.Tonight there is a real sense that something is happening. If B-Town was conceived by Peace and Swim Deep et al in the back al-leys of Digbeth, this scene is its brother with more friends – the sound of the suburbs and the sound of next gen Brum. It’s a movement; prepare for round two.Amy Sumner

JOHNNy MARRThe Institute, Birmingham16/03/13

It has been 30 years since Johnny Marr first burst onto the British music scene with gen-eration-defining indie legends The Smiths. Since then he has dabbled in many differ-ent genres with The The, Modest Mouse and The Cribs. But 2013 has seemingly started as well as any year for Marr, collecting a God Like Genius award from NME and releasing

a well-received solo album. At The Institute, the sixth stop on his tour, he greeted the packed crowd armed with his familiar white Fender, maintaining his effortless cool with his mop top haircut and snug-fitting jacket. The set predominantly featured tracks off new album The Mes-senger, his first solo outing in 10 years, with opener The Right Thing Right displaying his band’s sharp and tight sound, while Europe-an Me and Upstarts were great examples of Marr’s seamless knack for finding melodies and pop hooks. I Want The Heartbeat and Generate! Gen-erate! were energetic and up-tempo pick-ups, woven in between the contemplative New Town Velocity and title track The Mes-senger. The dozens of fans decked out in Smiths t-shirts were treated to renditions of Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before, Bigmouth Strikes Again and the immense encore of How Soon Is Now?, before Marr ended the night with an-them There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, the ultimate curtain closer.Sean Mahon

BIFFy CLyROLG Arena, Birmingham21/03/13

Embarking on their largest tour to date in support of number one album Opposites, Biffy Clyro took to the LG Arena stage and launched into their set with the uplifting and anthemic Different People. The song choic-es seemed every part as methodical as their atmospheric lighting and stage show that accompanied the performance. It was a per-formance that took the crowd on a journey, from the explosive start then moving to the slower, more heartfelt songs such as Ma-chines and God & Satan ending on a high with sing-along classic Mountains.Their career has spanned more than 10 years during which time they have been consist-ently recognised as an exceptional live band within the British rock community. Their re-cent crossover into the mainstream through major radio airplay has made the band a lot more accessible and was a springboard for the success of this tour. Headline slots at Reading and Leeds festivals await this sum-mer and on this evidence it is a task which they not only deserve but are most definite-ly ready for. Alex Cawston

BASTILLEThe Institute, Birmingham09/03/13

Bastille frontman Dan Smith suggested,

after being told that album ‘Bad Blood’ had gone to number one last month, that, “If it’s true, then it’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” At the time, the humble four-piece were probably right. That is, until they went on tour.Fans were literally screaming come the 9pm stage time. Not clapping, not chanting, but full-on, Beatle-mania screaming. Smith’s ar-rival, wolf t-shirt and all, and the opening bars and reggae tempo of Bad Blood mo-mentarily contented the fervent bunch, as hands were raised aloft and the evening’s sing-a-long started. Lights were dimmed for Overjoyed and the delicate ‘Oblivion’, whilst highly credible covers of Rhythm is a Danc-er and City High’s infamous What Would You Do? were greeted like old friends. Lat-est single Pompeii left more people sing-ing repetitive ‘Eh-Ohs’ than in the heyday of the Teletubbies, and Get Home finishing proceedings, as Smith crooned, ‘…this is just another night, and we’ve had many of them.’ All night, every ‘new’ song had clearly already been sought out and devoured by the attending Bastille buffs. The encore consisted of Flaws, sang whilst Dan marauded through the crowd, up the Library stairs, across the balcony, down the stairs, and back onto the stage. Folks were grabbing him, ruffling his hair, and subse-quently tweeting such gems as ‘OMG, I TOUCHED DAN’S ARM’. Whether nights like this are indeed regular or not, it appears Bastille-Mania has only just begun, and the boys know a few more tactics than they think for coping with it.Tom Pell

See more photos at www.brumnotes.com

BASTILLEPhoto by Andy Watson

BIFFY CLYROPhoto by Andy Hughes


STylEEDITOR'S PICKS

OASIS£30.00

EDITOR'S PICKSIt seems nobody can predict what the weather is going to be like over the coming month, so here’s just some cool, new stuff on the high street rails...

TOPSHOP£65.00

FOR HER

DOROTHY PERKINS

£12.50

KELLI McGUINNESSKelli McGuiness is a 24-year-old Fashion Design gradu-ate from Tamworth whose colourful and mixed texture de-signs are what immediately caught our attention when on the look-out for young fashion talent in the Midlands.

Her most recent collection, Wired, was exhibited at Graduate Fashion Week in London and was inspired by the internal workings of com-puters, with their integral wiring, layering of components and colours inspiring a technical collection of eye-catching details and abundant textures. This gifted young designer was also featured on the cat-walk in Milan earlier this year as part of her involvement in the Inter-national Fur Trade Federation’s new programme entitled Fur Futures.

After such a great start to the year, she is currently working on a new collection and creating a new website that will allow peo-ple to not only view but also buy her designs – Kelli is anoth-er great creative talent from the Midlands to keep an eye on.

you can find Kelli’s work on facebook.com/kellimcguinnessde-signer and @kellimcguinness on twitter

FOR HIM

MISS SELFRIDGE

£28.00

MANGO @ ASOS

£34.99ASOS£8.00

TOPMAN£12.00

BURTON£42.00

TOPMAN£23.00

Fashion Focus

25April 2013

EDITOR'S PICKSbirmingham street styleBINH, 20, STUDENTBinh is wearing a knitted Topshop jumper, Hol-lister shorts, a Prada bag and Ugg shoes. She has her own personal style and is influenced by the people around her. Her favourite place to shop in Birmingham is Selfridges.

CHARLIE, 20, BARISTACharlie is wearing shoes by Vans, a vintage car-digan, H&M bag and leggings, and a charity shop scarf. Her favourite place to shop is Topshop.

GREG, 21, ACTORGreg’s shoes and jacket are from Topman, his jeans and shirt are from Jack Wills and his shoul-der bag is Ted Baker. Greg’s style icon is Eddie Redmayne and his favourite retailer is Jack Wills.

KARL, 23, VISUAL MERCHANDISEREverything Karl is wearing is from Zara, which is his favourite retailer in Birmingham. His style is influenced by David Beckham and Johnny Depp.

TASHAN, 21, PHOTOGRAPHERTashan is wearing a Topman jumper, Gap jeans and Timberland boots. He idolises no-one’s style as he thinks it is important to be individual. His favourite retailer in Birmingham is the boutique ATOO.

LISA, 23, CASHIERLisa is wearing a Russell & Bromley bag, a Top-shop coat, shoes from eBay and a colourful Zara scarf. Lisa’s style icon is Alexa Chung and she regularly reads fashion blogs for inspiration. Her favourite retailer is Zara.

photography by Sinéad O’Callaghan


rEd wiNE COCkTailS fOr bEfOrE aNd afTEr diNNErWith an early Easter having just flown by, my thoughts about cocktails were leaning to-wards using leftover chocolate or even egg in cocktails. I am a fan of both and we all like to indulge during this holiday – and after...

Instead, my attention was brought to the equally indulgent and celebratory red wine, its use in cocktails and also the large part vermouths and fortified wines play in dining.

Many cocktails were created with the foundations of strong spirits (vodka, gin, whiskey etc) but let’s not forget that wines and vermouths can and have been playing a very important part when mixing drinks since the 1870s, perhaps even earlier. They are also a perfect ac-companiment to your supper – before or after.

Aperitif and digestifs commonly involve fortified wine to complement your dinner; for ex-ample, a dry vermouth could stimulate your appetite before your meal and a port or sherry would be a perfect choice afterwards to aid digestion.

I have two classic wine cocktails with an ever so slight twist that would go down great with your supper and are ever so simple to make. The ‘before’ drink, Devil’s Cocktail, uses lemon juice to whet your appetite and the ‘after’ uses red wine and chocolate for a perfect way to wind down after a meal.

fOOd+

driNk

after: ChOCOlaTE marTiNiIngredients: 50ml Cabernet Sauvignon20ml Marie Brizard Creme de Cacao1 dash of Mozart Chocolate Bitters

Directions: Stir and strain into a chilled glass edged with chocolate flakes or powder.

By Danny Pope , The Jeky l l and Hyde , Steelhouse Lane , Bi rmingham c i ty centre . Call 0121 236 0345 or visit www.thejekyllandhyde.co.uk.

before: dEvil’S COCkTailIngredients: 50ml Graham’s port20ml Lillet Blanc15ml lemon juice2 dashes of Bob’s Bitters: Orange & Mandarin

Directions: Stir over ice and strain into a chilled glass with an orange twist garnish.

27April 2013

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KEY TO LISTINGS:M = LIVE MUSICCN = CLUB NIGHTC = COMEDYwhaT’S ON

Monday, Apr 1

M Swans The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Mapenda Seck and Group Takander

Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Tuesday, Apr 2

M Kodaline The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Jim Lockey & the Solemn Sun


M Kevin Mark Trail: Unplugged


Wednesday, Apr 3

M Bluey Robinson O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Life & Limb The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Heinz-Sight The Yardbird Birmingham

M The James Hunter Six


M Ewan Mclennan Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

Thursday, Apr 4

M David R Black The Asylum Birmingham

M David Ford Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Traditional Song Session

Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

M Brum Notes April Issue Launch Party with Heavy Waves, The Grafham Water Sailing Club, Laced + These Kings

Bull’s Head Moseley

C Live Comedy Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

C Martin Mor The Glee Club Birmingham

C Manilla Road Comedy

The Victoria Birmingham

Friday, Apr 5

M Ill Nino O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Dumb + Wide Eyed + Youth Man + The Scribers

O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Maximum Zero The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Jeff Scott Soto The Asylum Birmingham

M Wrapped In Plastic The Flapper Birmingham

M John Smith The Glee Club Birmingham

M British Sea Power The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

CN Propaganda O2 Academy Birmingham

CN Breakthru The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Shuffle The Victoria Birmingham

CN Absolut Reggae Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Le Lieu Presents Maribou State


CN Freestyle Bull’s Head Moseley


Saturday, Apr 6

M Secret Oktober The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Foxxes The Asylum Birmingham

M Hope Street The Flapper Birmingham

CN It’s a Jungle Ting Suki10c Birmingham

CN FACE The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Funk Fusion The Victoria Birmingham

CN Savage Rehab Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN The Source 3rd Birthday


CN Shadow City Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Apr 7

M Master The Asylum Birmingham

M Scott Matthews The Glee Club Birmingham

Want your gig or club

night listed in our monthly guide? Send

details to:

[email protected]

All details correct at time of going to press.

Check with venues before

setting out.

BIRMINGHAM: O2 Academy, Horsefair, Bristol St B1, 0844 4772000; The Institute, High St, Digbeth B5, 0844 2485037; NIA, King Edwards Rd B1, 0121 7804141; LG Arena, NEC, Solihull B40, 0121 7804141; The Flapper, Kingston Row B1, 0121 2362421; The Victoria, John Bright St B1, 0121 6339439; Hare & Hounds, High St, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4442081; The Actress & Bishop, Ludgate Hill B3, 0121 2367426; The Sunflower Lounge, Smallbrook Queensway B5, 0121 6327656; Symphony Hall, Broad St B1, 0121 7803333; Town Hall, Victoria Sq B3, 0121 7803333; Kitchen Garden Cafe, York Road, Kings Heath B14, 0121 4434725; Alexandra Theatre, Station St B1, 0844 8472302; Bull’s Head, St Marys Row, Moseley B13, 0121 2567777; Island Bar, Suffolk St B1, 0121 6325296; The Jam House, St Pauls Sq B3, 0121 2003030; Ort, Moseley Rd, Balsall Heath, B12; The Asylum, Hampton St, Hockley B19, 0121 2331109; The Rainbow, High St, Digbeth B12, 0121 7728174; Adam & Eve, Bradford St, Digbeth B12, 0121 6931500; The Rose Villa Tavern, Warstone Lane, B18, 0121 2367910; The Yardbird, Paradise Place B3, 0121 2122524; The Glee Club, The Arcadian, Hurst St B5, 0871 4720400; MAC, Cannon Hill Park B12, 0121 4463232; Nightingale, Kent St B5, 0121 6221718; Scruffy Murphys, The Priory Queensway B4, 0121 2362035; The Wagon & Horses, Adderley St, Digbeth B9, 0121 7721403; Lab11, Trent St B5, lab11.co.uk; The Moseley Arms, Ravenhurst St B12, 0121 7668467; Air, Heath Mill Lane B9, 0121 7666646; Artrix, Slideslow Dr, Bromsgrove B60, 01527 577330; WOLVERHAMPTON: Civic Hall/Wulfrun Hall, North St WV1, 0870 320 7000; The Slade Rooms, Broad St WV1, 0870 320 7000; Robin 2, Mount Pleasant, Bilston WV14, 01902 401211; WEST BROMWICH: The Public, New St B70, 0121 5337161; COVENTRY: Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, CV4, 024 7652 4524

29April 2013

M Free Love Club The Sun on the Hill Birmingham

M Dale Hanson The Yardbird Birmingham

M Four Oz of Groove The New Inn Harborne

Monday, Apr 8

M Emmure O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Eureka California Scruffy Murphy’s Birmingham

M Sectarian Violence The Asylum Birmingham

M Jaws Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M The Little Unsaid Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

Tuesday, Apr 9

M Oscar Denihan The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Imagine Dragons The Institute Birmingham

M To Kill A King The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Matt Woosey Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

Wednesday, Apr 10

M Her Dark Embrace O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M BATS The Flapper Birmingham

M Stann Webb’s Chicken Shack


CN Aural Imbalance Bull’s Head Moseley

C Laughing Cows Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

Thursday, Apr 11

M Raven-Face O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Rival Sons The Institute Birmingham

C Laughing Goat Comedy Night

The Asylum Birmingham

C Steve Gribbin The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Apr 12

M Room 94 O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M None So Blind The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Into Valhalla The Flapper Birmingham

M Aswad The Hub Birmingham

M The Fratellis The Institute Birmingham

M Comanechi The Victoria Birmingham

M Black Market Karma


CN Lucha Libre Bodega Birmingham


CN Soundwave Croa-tia Launch Party

The Rainbow Birmingham

CN DJ Royale The Victoria Birmingham

CN Garden Festival Get Together with Norman Jay




Saturday, Apr 13

M Fearless Vampire Killers


M Micky Greaney Band

The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Unfathomable Ruination


M New Killer Shoes The Flapper Birmingham

M Soldier + Friday Club

The Sunflower Lounge Birmingham

M Page 44 The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

CN Dush Lab11 Birmingham

CN Random Xcitement Subway City Birmingham


CN 10:31 x Food Music The Rainbow Warehouse Birmingham

CN Beatamax The Victoria Birmingham

CN Aber Covna Wagon & Horses Birmingham

CN Bruk Up! Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN LTJ Bukem Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN Killer Wave Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Apr 14

M With One Last Breath


M Acoda The Asylum Birmingham

M Man Down Festival The Flapper Birmingham

M I Am Kloot The Institute Birmingham


M Nina Baker The Yardbird Birmingham

M Pistol Pete The New Inn Harborne

M José James Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M White Hills Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Bohemian Jukebox feat Jayne Powell

Bull’s Head Moseley

Monday, Apr 15

M Bromheads The Rainbow Birmingham

M Epic45 Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Tuesday, Apr 16

M Sonata Arctica The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Duke Special Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Josephine Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Wednesday, Apr 17

M Missing Andy O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M The Leisure So-ciety

The Glee Club Birmingham

M Boss Caine The Yardbird Birmingham

M The Front Bottoms Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Thursday, Apr 18

M Luxtorpeda O2 Academy Birmingham

M Star & Dagger O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M And So I Watch You From Afar

The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

C Live Comedy Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

C Jason Cook The Glee Club Birmingham

C Katherine Ryan The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Apr 19

M Johanna Mac Birmingham

M Counting Crows O2 Academy Birmingham

M Loveless Luck The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Selfless The Asylum Birmingham

M Wiley + Skepta The Institute Birmingham

M EchoTape The Rainbow Birmingham

M Balkanic Eruption presents Gypsy Hill


M Freestyle Bull’s Head Moseley

CN Supersonic Vague Gatecrasher Birmingham


CN Kanyini: PSY Trance All-Nighter

Suki10c Birmingham


CN Live Forever The Victoria Birmingham

CN A Tribute to Guru of Gang Starr



C Josh Widdicombe The Glee Club Birmingham

Saturday, Apr 20

M McFly O2 Academy Birmingham

M Likewise The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Revolver The Asylum Birmingham

M Against The Wheel The Flapper Birmingham

M So Solid Crew The Institute Birmingham

M The High Cascades The Sunflower Lounge Birmingham

M Mardybum The Victoria Birmingham

M Hustle! IX with Red Bulls


CN Chuckie & Pendu-lum (DJ Set)

Gatecrasher Birmingham

CN Education in Sound

Island Bar Birmingham

CN Liquid Sessions Lab11 Birmingham

CN FACE presents Hot Creations


CN Jazzifunk feat Cantaloop


CN This is Tmrw Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Apr 21

M I Am Giant The Flapper Birmingham

M Edwyn Collins The Glee Club Birmingham

M Daughter The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham


M Saint Raymond The Yardbird Birmingham

M IOEarth Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Dan Whitehouse Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

Monday, Apr 22

M Oceans Ate Alaska The Asylum Birmingham

M Fossil Collective Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Tuesday, Apr 23

M Bleed From Within O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M World Party The Glee Club Birmingham

M Hadouken The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

CN Soundkitchen pre-sents Mopomoso


Wednesday, Apr 24

M Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

O2 Academy Birmingham

M Lovats O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Low The Glee Club Birmingham

M Canterbury The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Honey Ryder Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

M Hope & Social Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

Thursday, Apr 25

M James O2 Academy Birmingham

M CrashDiet O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Vinny Caruana The Asylum Birmingham

M Luke Sital-Singh Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

C Imran Yusuf The Glee Club Birmingham

C Tony Law The Glee Club Birmingham

Friday, Apr 26

M Minus The Bear O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Zero Amigo The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Cure For The Mourning


M Dinosaur Pile-Up The Flapper Birmingham

M Lotte Mullan The Glee Club Birmingham

M The Drifters The Hub Birmingham

M The Antics The Rainbow Birmingham

CN Lucha Libre Bodega Birmingham

CN StewPigity 2nd Birthday

Club PST Birmingham


CN AUM presents Billy Nasty


CN Just a Groove The Victoria Birmingham

CN Curious Orange Hare & Hounds Kings Heath



Saturday, Apr 27

M Afro Mio Mac Birmingham

M Peace O2 Academy 2 Birmingham

M Silence the Weak The Actress & Bishop Birmingham

M Grind showcase The Asylum Birmingham

M Luminance The Flapper Birmingham

M Rudimental The Institute Birmingham

M Frank Hamilton The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Bleech The Sunflower Lounge Birmingham

CN Serial Killerz Suki10c Birmingham

CN UK Bass Music Payback Special

The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham


CN Forward Daytime Party

The Wagon & Horses Birmingham

CN Detroit Swindle Hare & Hounds Kings Heath

CN UTC presents Blue Daisy


CN Jam Hott Bull’s Head Moseley


Sunday, Apr 28


M Sweet Baboo The Yardbird Birmingham

M Bobby Woods The New Inn Harborne

M Gilmore & Roberts Kitchen Garden Cafe Kings Heath

C Patrick Monahan The Glee Club Birmingham

Monday, Apr 29

M Parlour Flames O2 Academy 3 Birmingham

M Free Love Club The Adam & Eve Birmingham

M King Charles The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

M The Apples The Temple @ The Institute

Birmingham

Tuesday, Apr 30

M Paul Rose & the All Stars

The Library @ The Institute

Birmingham

M Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express


31April 2013


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Institute Brum Notes 25_03 Advert PRINT.pdf 22/3/13 16:48:12

Brum Notes Magazine - April 2013

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Transcript of Brum Notes Magazine - April 2013