Brum Notes Magazine - July issue

www.brumnotes.commusic and lifestyle for the west midlands

free

july 2010

kele:DANCING INSIDETHE BLOC PARTY FRONTMAN SPEAKS, AS HE PREPARES TO BRING HIS SOLO ADVENTURE TO BIRMINGHAM

THE DRUMS

CHAPEL CLUB

THE CORAL

your complete gig guide for july

AND:

plus:

MONEY OFF AT MOJO URBAN BOUTIQUE

WIN CONCERT TICKETS AND CDS

COOK YOUR OWN SOUL FOOD

NEWS4-5: Local rock legends plan their return and a drugs baron drops into town.FEATURES6: ProfileDJs and bookers of bands with obscure names, This is Tomorrow, reveal all. And give away tickets and CDs!7: The CoralEveryone’s favourite psychedelic Scousers talk up their latest evolution. Plus, win tickets to see them live!8-9: The DrumsIt must be hard being one of the most hyped bands around. But not for laid-back New Yorkers The Drums.

10-11: Chapel ClubThe Off The Cuff Festival headliners reveal their emotional side and their hatred of Kate Nash. Just don’t tell The Cribs.12: The Traps/The Arcadian KicksTwo of the Midlands finest share their plans for the summer. And there’s not a bucket and spade in sight. 14-15: KeleThe notoriously awkward Bloc Party frontman-turned-solo artist lives up to his reputation in a slightly awkward interview. 16-17: Birmingham International Jazz Festival

As the festival marks its 26th anniversary this month, we share the thrills and spills.REVIEWS18-21: LiveRap legend Jay-Z and beard legends Band of Horses, among others.22: RecordsNew offerings from Kele, The Coral and Bombay Bicycle Club’s acoustic venture. FOOD & DRINK23: Cider guide24: Recipe of the MonthMake your own churros, soul food style.LISTINGS28-31: Gig GuideWhat to see and where in July

contents

Brum Notes MagazineThe Moseley Exchange149-153 Alcester RoadMoseleyBirminghamB13 [email protected] advertise contact:[email protected]: Sean O’MuirContributorsWords: Tom Pell, James Collins, Richard Franks, Ross Cotton, Lyle Bignon, Rebecca CarlsonPictures: drw-images, Gobinder Jhitta, Katja Ogrin, Luke FaganDesign: Ryan Killeen, Andy Aitken, Chincherry Design

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.

Twitter @BrumNotesMagFacebook search ‘Brum Notes Magazine’

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Brum Notes Magazine: Issue 10, July 2010

Jay-Z live at the LG Arena, Birmingham. Read the review on p20. Photo by drw-images

newspage four

Two names synonymous with 1990s guitar music return to the stage in the Midlands this month. Terrorvision have reformed and will perform at the Robin 2 in Bilston on July 25. The Yorkshire rockers enjoyed 14 top 40 singles

between 1993 and 2001, including their ubiquitous 1999 smash Te-quila. Tickets are £17.50 in advance or £18.50 on the door. Visit www.therobin.co.uk to book. Meanwhile, Nigel Clark, front-man from breezy Britpoppers

Dodgy will perform a free show at Birmingham bar Poppyred. The Redditch-born singer will perform a selection of their hits, which included Staying Out For The Summer and Good Enough, at the venue in the Arcadian on July 30.

big money upgrade and new name for arena

NINETIES REVIVAL FOR TWO ICONIC BANDSTerrorvision and Dodgy in comebacks with concerts in the region

debut single for goodnight lenin

Nu-folk hopefuls Goodnight Lenin will release their debut single next month. The hotly-tipped band, who have earned a growing reputation for their live shows, will release Crook in the Creek on August 6 through Static Caravan. A limited edition run of 500 7’ inch vinyls will be available, also featuring b-side Ragged Schools. The Birmingham band will stage a single launch party at the Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath on the same day, with support from Young Runaways, Boat To Row and Jodi Ann Bickley.

One of Birmingham’s biggest city centre entertainment venues is set for a big money revamp. The National Indoor Arena (NIA), which welcomes crowds throughout the year for a range of sporting, entertainment, music and business events, will get spruced up public areas and a re-design as part of an upgrade which will also see it given a new sponsor name. A feasibility study is now underway to develop the concept and appoint an ar-chitect for the project, with a budget to be revealed once the study is complete. Work is earmarked to begin on the 13,000 capacity arena in summer 2011. The arena bowl itself will remain the same, but improvements are expected to take in food and drinks areas, entrances, hospitality areas, toilets and backstage facilities, while a new canalside catering

area is a possibility. The proposals follow the £29 million refurbishment of sister venue the LG Arena, based at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull. The NEC Group-owned NIA, which first opened its doors in 1991, has host-ed a vast range of international events, including more than 30 sports, Disney on Ice and concerts from the likes of Prince, Coldplay, Oasis and more than 50 appearances from Sir Cliff Richard. Gorillaz and Thirty Seconds To Mars are among those lined up to play there later this year. Phil Mead, managing director of arenas for the NEC Group, said:“Last year we launched the brand new LG Arena to critical acclaim, from pop stars to con-cert goers. We are now taking the first steps to propelling The NIA to the top of the UK’s premier arenas.’

Legendary Stourbridge rockers Ned’s Atomic Dustbin will be one of the first bands to play at the new HMV Institute when it opens its doors later this year. The iconic venue in Digbeth, a 100-year-old former church previously known as The Sanctuary, has been taken over and renamed by the HMV-owned

Mama Group and undergone a big money facelift, ahead of a Septem-ber re-opening. It will officially open on September 17, with Ned’s Atomic Dustbin lined up to play on September 25. It will be the only club show of the year for the reformed rock cult heroes, who will play their ground-breaking 1991 album God Fodder from start to finish. The record, which sold 60,000 copies in its first week of release, reached number four in the UK charts and cata-pulted the band to wider success, selling 400,000 copies in the USA. Neds singer, Jonn Penney said: “Back when we first toured God Fodder, we didn’t play in Birming-

ham and that’s something we’ll be very happy to address all these years later. We can’t wait to christen the new venue and set a new bar takings record.”Fans will be able to buy a limited VIP Party Ticket on pre-sale, including concert ticket, a signed poster and laminate pass for the after-show party at the venue. Check Myspace and Facebook for details and ticket links. Other bands already booked to play at the new 1,500 capacity venue and its smaller 600 capacity room known as The Library later in the year include Hurts on October 7, Stornoway on November 2 and The Drums on November 27.

news

Infamous former drug dealer, Ox-ford graduate and renowned writer Howard Marks will visit a Birming-ham pub this month to share his unique story. The ex-inter-national hash-ish smuggler, who spent seven years in one of the USA’s most notorious prisons, will appear live at the Adam & Eve in Digbeth on July 16. He was sentenced to 25 years in a US prison for drug importation but was released in April 1995 after serv-ing just seven years.He is now famous for public speak-ing and a number of books, including autobiography Mr Nice which has been turned into a film with Rhys Ifans and provides a large chunk of

the material for his live show. Mr Nice sold 750,000 copies in the UK alone. Since then, he has written two more books, Dope Stories and Señor Nice, and is compiling a third,

an anthology called Tripping.During the mid 1980s, Marks had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines and 25 companies trading through-out the world for his drugs opera-tion, which at its peak was believed to involve 10 per

cent of the world’s cannabis supplies.Audience members will be able to grill him in a question and answer session after the show. Live music and DJs will also be on until 4am as part of the show. Tickets cost £7 and are available in advance at www.theticketsellers.co.uk.

DRUGS BARON DROPS IN FOR A PINTSLEEPYDESIGN FORWEB & PRINT

print designweb designlogosbrandingadvertising

+44(0)7871 889 [email protected]://sleepy.me.uk

Pic by Luke Fagan

NEDS TO HELP OPEN REVAMPED VENUEHMV Institute to open doors in September after multi-million pound facelift

page six

profileWHAT: Promoters, DJs, bloggers.

WHERE: Most regularly Hare &

Hounds and The Victoria.

HIGHLIGHTS: Eye-catching

posters and always quality line-

ups. In their words: “Our first ever

show with Foals at The Sunflower,

Hot Club De Paris at Yardbird and

every Casio Kids show!”

DETAILS: www.thisistmrw.co.uk

Twitter @thisistmrw/Facebook.

Exploring the people and places that make up Birmingham’s alternative underbelly. This month, THIS IS TOMORROW, the alt-indie purist promoters, determined to keep cutting it on the cutting edge.

So, what is tomorrow?Tomorrow is Tuesday. No, Tomorrow is the day/place where all our favourite bands congregate to play.

Did you realise the initials of your name spelt out ‘TIT’ when you came up with it?Ha, yeah we did...It reminded me of Only Fools and Horses and we’ve always been a little tongue in cheek so we carried on rocking with ‘tit’ as our name.

How did This Is Tomorrow come about?More than anything, just a lack of bands we wanted to see playing Birmingham. We found after only a few shows that lots of national bands avoided Brum, which still seems ridicu-lous. We also wanted things to be a little more conceptual than just some bands playing and hence the artwork, DJs and lineups that try and allow for lots of audience crossover.

It’s quite a roster of bands you’ve put on, what have been the highlights for you?There’s been lots. Casio Kids have absolutely smashed it everytime we’ve had them, having Jofo and Calories play two sold out shows together with us was amazing and also some of the lesser known shows have really stood out like when Liverpool’s Wave Machines played Island Bar.

You seem to have a penchant for acts with strange names, where do you find them?Hmmm...I think its more they find us. I’ve never thought about the names actually and I’m now looking at the posters there certainly aren’t many ‘the blah blah’ bands. I guess we’re just attracted to odd bands.

And what’s next for you?We’re dead excited about Toro Y Moi - he’s a total genius who’s part of the ‘chillwave’ movement, who’s full band live show is meant to be im-mense. To also have 35 Seconds supporting is pretty unreal. After that we’ve a free party at The Yardbird on July 23 with Scarlet Harlots and then we’ll see.

Any big ambitions for the future?Just to keep putting on interesting bands really. We’d like to put something on a slightly bigger scale, but never want to lose the intimacy of our shows, although we’ve been discussing some big plans for October time...

What local talent do you think we should be looking out for?To anyone that will listen we will always big up how amazing Calories are and their second LP will drop this year on Tough Love Records. Other than that Tantrums have a great sound, Savant show a hell of a lot of potential, as do Green Gables who manage to combine 80’s goth, post punk and disco pretty well!

What’s the landscape like for independent promoters these days?In a word, difficult. A lot of agents expect more money for bands now, due to no one making money from selling albums and people are more cautious about where they spend their money. Independent promoters need the support of local music lovers more than ever.

What one thing would you like to see hap-pening tomorrow?Sonic Youth playing a free festival in Canon Hill Park.

THIS IS TOMORROW

COMPETITION> To win two tickets to the next This Is Tomorrow show at the Hare &

Hounds on July 12, featuring Toro Y Moi, 35 Seconds and more, PLUS a copy of the Toro Y debut Moi album Causers of This, tell us where

Toro Y Moi is from. Email [email protected] by July 11Toro Y Moi

•The Coral play the Alexander Theatre, Birmingham, July 12. •Butterfly House is out the same day.

Two years to record an album? In today’s society? Who do they think they are, The Coral!? Oh, it is The Coral. And it’s delightful to see them back after a two-year hiatus. With 2008’s Singles Collection under their belt, the band, trimmed down to a five-piece having lost guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones, are now back in business with Butterfly House, their first studio album in three years. Butterfly House has seen the plucky scousers work-ing alongside legendary producer John Leckie, in the studio in South London and a cottage in South Wales. Now, no pressure on the album, but Leckie’s previ-ous reads as such: The Stone Roses, The Bends, Showbiz. Boom, no messing about. “He’s the hardest working fella I’ve ever met,” says keyboardist Nick Power. “He just delivers, he kicks your arse. He expects something from you, and you want to give it to him. You want to be as good as those bands he’s worked with. “He doesn’t take a job anymore unless he really wants to do it, and it only took one phone call and I think he was down within three days.”And down he was, kicking arses and taking names like a modern day Marsellus Wallace. But the band still managed to get distracted enough to visit an aban-

doned fairground. “Basically, there’s a theme of this abandoned fairground running through the album. And as an image, the butterfly house was this tarot card room, and the last place on earth where things couldn’t be disproven, and you couldn’t reach it with the internet or with CCTV. “The last bit of mystery left on earth, and you could only get there by falling asleep.”Dreaming of You it ain’t, but what can we expect from this new look Coral?“We wanted it to be an evolution,” continues Nick. “Every year you change and you get into new stuff, experience new things. There’s not like synthesizers or anything, but it is different. It’s something new from The Coral. We just keep writing songs all the time. We did one [album] a year for like four years, but I think you get a better all round result if you take your time a little bit.”The Butterfly House Tour starts on July 9, with no gig on the evening of the 11th. Nick claims, despite all evidence pointing towards it, that the boys absolutely, definitely did not plan their tour around the World Cup final so they could watch it. “Ah, (laughs) well, some people just have all the luck don’t they.”True, and hopefully theirs hasn’t run out yet.

COMPETITION> We have two pairs of tickets to see The Coral live at the Alexandra

Theatre in Birmingham on July 12 to give away. To win, simply tell us the name of their debut album.

Email answers to [email protected] by July 10.

national treasuresWith a prolific six albums in eight years, it is hard to believe THE CORAL are still in their 20s. After establishing themselves as one of the best-loved - and most influential - British bands of the last decade, Tom Pell finds out what’s next for the psychedelia-loving Scousers.

want to see what people are thinking,” says the charmingly down-to-earth singer.

“It [the hype] has just been like really weird for us. It’s a weird thing because we had the album pretty much done before any of this hype started so we didn’t have this pressure to go and make a great album.----------- Hype can be a fickle mistress. You spend months being tipped for greatness before imploding under the pressure when you hit the studio. But luckily for New York’s nu-miserabalist indie popsters The Drums, they had got most of their first record out of the way before the wave of anticipation swept them to the forefront of many taste-makers’ minds.

Not that they would have struggled. Their self-titled debut is one of the albums of the summer hitting the top 20 on its release, while their newly-announced November tour, taking in Birmingham’s revamped HMV Insti-tute in Digbeth, is rightfully one of the most anticipated

----------- Hype can be a fickle mistress. You spend months being tipped for greatness before imploding under the pressure when you hit the studio. But luckily for New York’s nu-miserabalist indie popsters The Drums, they had got most of their first record out of the way before the wave of anticipation swept them to the forefront of many taste-makers’ minds.

Not that they would have struggled. Their self-titled debut is one of the albums of the summer hitting the top 20 on its release, while their newly-announced November tour, taking in Birmingham’s revamped HMV Institute in Digbeth, is rightfully one of the most anticipated of the autumn gig merry-go-round.

Not bad for a band who only played their first live show just over a year ago.With all the expectation ahead of the their first album, frontman Jonathan Pierce admits it was hard to avoid reading their own reviews with pride when it was eventually unveiled.

“It’s interesting, we’re human and it is a very human thing to

“It was already done, we had already made an album that we loved. We didn’t know what we were doing and we still don’t really know what we’re doing. The album was all written in our bedrooms with a couple of guitars and a keyboard.

“There was no producer or anything like that.“More than anything that excites me, as it’s a testament to this new era, any kid that believes in writing songs can just do it.“It’s really cool, it’s the first time that kind of thing has happened in history and I think there’s a really great upside to it but a downside as well, that there’s so much stuff coming out and a lot of it is strange and weird.”

Unsurprisingly, The Drums have already been flooded with offers for high profile producers and recording studios to help them get stuck into their next album.But Jonathan says they have already resisted the temptations of big names and will be sticking to their DIY ethic and basic approach, while he also insists they will be no conscious effort to come up with a new sound for the follow-up.“We just want to do another album like this one,” he continues.

“We love the idea of bands that you can rely on to sound a certain way. Consist-ency is something we’re really drawn to.“While we have had the opportunity to go into a big studio and use a big name producer – that’s already been offered to us – but we’ve decided not to go down that route. We’ll probably just make this next record in the same way.”

“We played our first show just over a year ago to about 30 kids.“The best part is we’ve not had to compromise anything, that’s why we feel ok playing to all these people so quickly.

“Our album was done, we hadn’t done anything to conform to what people were expecting or compromise anything about how it should sound. It is what we did before anyone was looking and we haven’t changed that.

“Five months ago we wrote the last song

- the last song on the album The Future. It just felt like it wasn’t done until we had that last song.

“Every other song was written and re-corded in one day. To me there’s no joy in scheduling time to go write a song, it feels very unnatural.

“Pop should be very immediate and any song where you have to labour anything out of it isn’t worth it.I try not to write anything until it is literally bubbling out of me.” Scheduling time for writing may be pretty tricky for the band anyway over the coming months, with their timetable pretty much swallowed up by a summer of festivals followed by months of touring.

“We love New York but we’re homeless right now,” he explains. “We all lived together and we’ve given up our apartment because we can’t see any end in sight in terms of touring.

“When we started it was very small, playing small clubs and small bars. We started the band with a very hard work ethic playing anywhere and everywhere that would let us play. We just begged people and some would tell us to f**k off and some would say ‘alright.’

“It’s crazy to think we played our first show just over one year and one month ago to about 30 kids.”

With songs about surfing, lost loves and youthful memories, it is no surprise that their eponymous album has been brand-ed a ‘summer record.’ But for Jonathan, there are darker undertones that belie the coastal breeze feel.

“Some of the summer stuff that was left in there over most of the album was written in Florida, I went there from wintery, snowy New York so summer in Florida and that summer vibe weaves its way into the music in a very organic way. “It was very tongue-in-cheek, the subject matter is much more serious and the music has a much more serious tone overall.

“We feel like we’re seen as almost a seasonal band but it’s a much more intrinsically serious album.” Serious or not, it seems The Drums have still produced the sound of the summer.

The Drums play at the HMV Institute on November 27. Tickets available through www.brumnotes.com.

“Whi le we have had the opportuni ty to go into a b ig studio and use a b ig name producer, we’ve

decided not to go down that route . We’ l l probably just make th is next record in the same way.”

“Pop should be very immediate and any song where you have to labour anyth ing out of i t isn ’ t worth i t .

I t ry not to wr i te anyth ing unt i l i t is l i tera l ly bubbl ing out of me.”

“ I t ’s crazy to th ink we played our f i rs t show just over one year and one month ago to

about 30 k ids .”

Debut a lbum The Drums is out now. Single Let ’s Go Surf ing is out on August 16.

B E L I E V E

TH

E

H Y P E

page ten

Honesty goes a long way in music. While the industry itself may be tarnished with an image of back-scratching, underhand dealings and soulless, made-for-radio compositions, it is still pretty easy for the eagle-eyed music lovers to spot a fraud.

For CHAPEL CLUB, honesty underpins everything they do, from the fragility of their songwriting through to their emotionally-charged live shows.The London-based band, who return to The Flapper this month to headline the opening night of the Off The Cuff festival, it is the authenticity and raw emotion of their live performances which has helped them build up a loyal following. Radio backing from the likes of Zane Lowe and Nick Grimshaw has helped push singles such as the francic fervour of Five Trees and the invigoratingly impassioned O Maybe I to the foreground, but it is still months until their debut album will see the light of day, leaving a monumental touring schedule their best tool for winning over admirers.

For 27-year-old frontman Lewis Bowman, his stage persona was driven as much by nervous fear when he first started singing with Chapel Club.“I’d never written song lyrics or melodies before and the first time I went on stage I was like ‘what the f*ck, what am I doing?’,” he explains.

“And then suddenly I realised there was no way out, I had to go through with it and the only way to do it was to stop thinking of myself as someone on stage and start thinking of myself as the songs on stage. People are there to hear the songs, you are just the vehicle for delivering them.

“Everything invested in these songs comes from me and my experience and my imagination. “As I’m singing I try to forget everything else and let the songs do the work and that’s why they are quite intense shows.” Despite basing his songwriting on the relatively mundane elements of adolescence and growing up, he is not self-obsessed enough to think that his life in itself is of much interest to the listeners, but more how they relate it to their own experiences.“It’s all about growing up and that period between about 15 and 25 where you find out the world is so much more confusing than you thought it would be, love and loss are never far away,” Lewis continues.“That’s the most dramatic period of my life that I seem to look back on, the transition from being a teenager and not caring about anything to being an adult, or some sem-blance of an adult.

“The main thing is the songs are honest. I don’t think my life or my experience is any more interesting than anyone elses but if I present it honestly enough then hopefully people will recognise some of their own experience within it, then it becomes interesting rather than self-indulgent.”

If he is humble in his attitude to his own life, Lewis is more confident in his ability to invest his creative energy heavily in

his lyrics – something which he insists is not a trait displayed by many of today’s more prominent musicians, hinting at an honesty which may one day get him into trouble.“I don’t think there’s many great lyricists in this country at the moment. I’m not saying I’m great but I’m doing my bit to help,” he says.

“NME had a list of the 50 greatest lyricists and people like Kate Nash were in there. I couldn’t f*cking believe it, who comes up with these lists?“How Kate Nash and someone like Joanna Newsom can be in the same list for anything is beyond me. “I put a lot of thought into the words and the emotional truths of the songs. If you don’t you will end up sounding like some of those people I despise.“If you watched some songs on the radio these days on television with subtitles then deaf people would think ‘what the hell is going on?’

“We had some feedback from some radio guy about Five Trees, but they said there were some complicated words in there, but the most complicated word in there is probably ‘dust.’ “But we’ve been really lucky with radio play so maybe that person didn’t know too much. “People like Grimmy and Zane have been really good. You’re never sure whether people like that will like your songs. Then you are always wondering if the fans will like the songs at gigs because they haven’t heard them yet as we haven’t had a proper album out.“You are always worrying what people think and there is always someone else to try and please, but at the same time you don’t want to do anything just to try and please people so it becomes a bit of a headf*ck – it’s like saying ‘f*ck you and please love me’ at the same time, that’s the game.“But we seem to be doing alright.”

As for the much-anticipated album, it is finished but is now in the hands of label A&M as to when it will be unveiled. “The album is pretty much done but there’s so much industry issues surrounding when albums can come out,” Lewis explains.

“No one wants to release anything in December because that’s Simon Cowell’s month and that sort of thing, so it will prob-ably be next year, like January, but we’ll see.“We’re just going

to tour. We’ve got a whole summer of festivals, people won’t really buy the album without seeing us live and I want people to see us live“I think it’s quite an intense and dramatic album, with some quite emotional aspects and people seeing it live might get a sense of the intensity of it all.”Despite what Lewis describes as a “quiet and reflective” name and an intimate aspect to their songwriting, Chapel Club are by no means a quiet band – as anyone who witnessed their incendiary shows at The Flapper or Wolverhampton’s Slade Rooms will testify.

“I was just listening to the final mixes of the album tracks today and it sounds so loud and heavy and there’s a hell of a lot of heavy bass and guitar.

“I always think of our songs in terms of vocals and melodies so I think of them as pretty songs with a melodic immediacy, but they always sound louder than I think – it made me think: ‘f*cking hell, we’re a pretty heavy band.’“It was pretty loud at The Flapper as well I remember. We’re not just a noise band though where we try to scare you out of your skin, there’s an emotional immediacy there.”Their return to the aforementioned city centre venue on July 23 is sure to be a sweaty affair, no matter what the weather outside during Off The Cuff. “It will be good, we’ll be playing quite a few of these city festivals,” he continues.

“We’ve just done Dot to Dot which was a bit like a larger version of Off The Cuff and it was really good fun.“You tend to get real music fans who really plan out their day at the city ones rather than open air festivals, in real venues where people have a plan of what they want to see.

“We played The Flapper a few months ago. It was one of the first tours and one of the first times we played outside of London so it’s nice to be going back after playing a few more gigs.“We had a really good gig that time. It’s a really old school venue which is nice, it’s almost like you are just six inches off the floor and it means hopefully people will be packed in and right up at the front.”

Chapel Club headl ine the opening n ight of the Off The Cuff fest iva l on July 23,

at The Flapper, Kingston Row, Bi rmingham.

Off The Cuff runs f rom July 23 to 25, wi th t ickets star t ing f rom £5.Vis i t www.off thecuffb i rmingham.co .uk

for deta i ls .

C L U B

TH

E

J O I N

Honesty goes a long way in music. While the industry itself may be tarnished with an image of back-scratching, underhand dealings and soulless, made-for-radio compositions, it is still pretty easy for the eagle-eyed music lovers to spot a fraud.

For CHAPEL CLUB, honesty underpins everything they do, from the fragility of their songwriting through to their emotionally-charged live shows.The London-based band, who return to The Flapper this month to headline the opening night of the Off The Cuff festival, it is the authenticity and raw emotion of their live performances which has helped them build up a loyal following. Radio backing from the likes of Zane Lowe and Nick Grimshaw has helped push singles such as the francic fervour of Five Trees and the invigoratingly impassioned O Maybe I to the foreground, but it is still months until their debut album will see the light of day, leaving a monumental touring schedule their best tool for winning over admirers.

For 27-year-old frontman Lewis Bowman, his stage persona was driven as much by nervous fear when he first started singing with Chapel Club.“I’d never written song lyrics or melodies before and the first time I went on stage I was like ‘what the f*ck, what am I doing?’,” he explains.

“And then suddenly I realised there was no way out, I had to go through with it and the only way to do it was to stop thinking of myself as someone on stage and start thinking of myself as the songs on stage. People are there to hear the songs, you are just the vehicle for delivering them.

“Everything invested in these songs comes from me and my experience and my imagination. “As I’m singing I try to forget everything else and let the songs do the work and that’s why they are quite intense shows.” Despite basing his songwriting on the relatively mundane elements of adolescence and growing up, he is not self-obsessed enough to think that his life in itself is of much interest to the listeners, but more how they relate it to their own experiences.“It’s all about growing up and that period between about 15 and 25 where you find out the world is so much more confusing than you thought it would be, love and loss are never far away,” Lewis continues.“That’s the most dramatic period of my life that I seem to look back on, the transition from being a teenager and not caring about anything to being an adult, or some sem-blance of an adult.

“The main thing is the songs are honest. I don’t think my life or my experience is any more interesting than anyone elses but if I present it honestly enough then hopefully people will recognise some of their own experience within it, then it becomes interesting rather than self-indulgent.”

If he is humble in his attitude to his own life, Lewis is more confident in his ability to invest his creative energy heavily in

his lyrics – something which he insists is not a trait displayed by many of today’s more prominent musicians, hinting at an honesty which may one day get him into trouble.“I don’t think there’s many great lyricists in this country at the moment. I’m not saying I’m great but I’m doing my bit to help,” he says.

“NME had a list of the 50 greatest lyricists and people like Kate Nash were in there. I couldn’t f*cking believe it, who comes up with these lists?“How Kate Nash and someone like Joanna Newsom can be in the same list for anything is beyond me. “I put a lot of thought into the words and the emotional truths of the songs. If you don’t you will end up sounding like some of those people I despise.“If you watched some songs on the radio these days on television with subtitles then deaf people would think ‘what the hell is going on?’

“We had some feedback from some radio guy about Five Trees, but they said there were some complicated words in there, but the most complicated word in there is probably ‘dust.’ “But we’ve been really lucky with radio play so maybe that person didn’t know too much. “People like Grimmy and Zane have been really good. You’re never sure whether people like that will like your songs. Then you are always wondering if the fans will like the songs at gigs because they haven’t heard them yet as we haven’t had a proper album out.“You are always worrying what people think and there is always someone else to try and please, but at the same time you don’t want to do anything just to try and please people so it becomes a bit of a headf*ck – it’s like saying ‘f*ck you and please love me’ at the same time, that’s the game.“But we seem to be doing alright.”

As for the much-anticipated album, it is finished but is now in the hands of label A&M as to when it will be unveiled. “The album is pretty much done but there’s so much industry issues surrounding when albums can come out,” Lewis explains.

“No one wants to release anything in December because that’s Simon Cowell’s month and that sort of thing, so it will prob-ably be next year, like January, but we’ll see.“We’re just going

to tour. We’ve got a whole summer of festivals, people won’t really buy the album without seeing us live and I want people to see us live“I think it’s quite an intense and dramatic album, with some quite emotional aspects and people seeing it live might get a sense of the intensity of it all.”Despite what Lewis describes as a “quiet and reflective” name and an intimate aspect to their songwriting, Chapel Club are by no means a quiet band – as anyone who witnessed their incendiary shows at The Flapper or Wolverhampton’s Slade Rooms will testify.

“I was just listening to the final mixes of the album tracks today and it sounds so loud and heavy and there’s a hell of a lot of heavy bass and guitar.

“I always think of our songs in terms of vocals and melodies so I think of them as pretty songs with a melodic immediacy, but they always sound louder than I think – it made me think: ‘f*cking hell, we’re a pretty heavy band.’“It was pretty loud at The Flapper as well I remember. We’re not just a noise band though where we try to scare you out of your skin, there’s an emotional immediacy there.”Their return to the aforementioned city centre venue on July 23 is sure to be a sweaty affair, no matter what the weather outside during Off The Cuff. “It will be good, we’ll be playing quite a few of these city festivals,” he continues.

“We’ve just done Dot to Dot which was a bit like a larger version of Off The Cuff and it was really good fun.“You tend to get real music fans who really plan out their day at the city ones rather than open air festivals, in real venues where people have a plan of what they want to see.

“We played The Flapper a few months ago. It was one of the first tours and one of the first times we played outside of London so it’s nice to be going back after playing a few more gigs.“We had a really good gig that time. It’s a really old school venue which is nice, it’s almost like you are just six inches off the floor and it means hopefully people will be packed in and right up at the front.”

Chapel Club headl ine the opening n ight of the Off The Cuff fest iva l on July 23,

at The Flapper, Kingston Row, Bi rmingham.

Off The Cuff runs f rom July 23 to 25, wi th t ickets star t ing f rom £5.Vis i t www.off thecuffb i rmingham.co .uk

for deta i ls .

C L U B

TH

E

J O I N

sax appealAfter four years of endless gigging and growing plaudits, Kinver’s saxaphone-wielding rockers get ready to release their debut single during a hectic summer of festivals and touring. So are The Arcadian Kicks finally ready for the big time? We caught up with singer Becky and guitarist Tom to find out more about their big summer plans.

JUMP TO ITChirpy indie rockers THE TRAPS have been away from the live stage since they helped open the new 02 Academy last September. But this month they’re back, performing as part of the Hott Date all day extravaganza at the Hare & Hounds on July 10. So what have they been up to all these months?

So, it’s been a while since you’re last live outing, nervous?No we can eat gigs for breakfast.

What can fans expect, new material, a new cap perhaps?

Yes a new cap made of new materi-al. We wanted to give it a fresh feel, not only for us but for people who come to watch us. It’s been a chal-lenge to have written a complete new set with an evolved sound

What can anyone who’s not seen you before expect?Hopefully something a bit differ-ent to the other bands around in Birmingham, something that will be as fresh and exciting for them as it will be for us.

Why the long absence, what the heck have you been doing?We wanted to take the time out to perfect this set of songs. From our point of view, it’s definitely paid off. And we’ve been working on our label, Speech Fewapy Records

Why now?Because we’ve only got one month left to live

What next?As well as playing a load more shows, we’re going to record and release our first album

Visit www.the-traps.com.

You’ve been one of the hardest working bands around in recent years, does it feel like it’s starting to pay off?Tom: Definitely, it’s not really work though is it? When we’re not playing we’re in town anyway. Having fun is tiring but I can cope with that.Becky: Yeah it is starting to pay off, but it’s been a long and exciting road, we’ve met a lot of people along the way. We work hard and play hard and we’re not about to stop now.

The single must be exciting, what’s the plan after that?Tom: Things are getting bigger and bigger by the day so I think it’s important to have a plan but we

shouldn’t stick to it, we’re only going to restrict ourselves if we do. There’s going to be a few more big festival announcements coming up and the club nights are getting bigger and bigger. It’s going to be an inter-esting second half to the yearBecky: Everything you can think of really, just trying to jam pack as much stuff in as possible this summer. The single is a big step for us, but we’re just striving for more and more.

19 Days by The Arcadian Kicks is out on August 2 on One Beat Records/EMI. Visit www.myspace.com/thearcadiankicks.

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cess to music

KELE OKEREKE is not a talker. At least not today. Nor, it would seem with regards to interviews at least, has he ever been too much in the past either.He is a man keen to let the music do the talking. Despite his success with his band Bloc Party – now on hiatus - he has never been comfortable with the things that went with it. The constant interview requests and the questions that went beyond the music – sexuality and race being the two topics that the mainstream media have been seemingly most keen to probe, topics which he has commonly refused to be drawn on. Understandably so, his lyrics are personal enough and people can read into them what they like.If you want to talk about his

music that’s fine, anything else is not so easily up for discussion. The music which has got him talking now is his first solo offering in the form of debut album The Boxer, the strength of which suggests it is

much more than a side project, leading some to predict his previous guise as frontman of Bloc Party is set to become a mere footnote on his career as an artist.Whether that is true is anyone’s guess – it is something which he does not confirm or deny and

something which in all probability may not entirely have been decided. Bloc Party are on a break, he decided to do something else in the meantime and The Boxer is the result. Personal and triumphant, with a dance floor techno edge and an intimate listenable quality, all with a defiantly poppy sheen.And we can talk about it. Briefly. For Kele, business-like and vaguely courteous, this is an interview not a conversation.“I guess it’s nice people are interested in the record,” he concedes. “It’s a nice thing that people want to talk

about it.”The record itself, which like so many others these days has been ready for months before its release, has the feel of a breakout project about it, Kele’s own work in its entirety, aside

from the input of an engineer, free from the group songwriting approach taken with Bloc Party.Although, he is keen to point out that it is not a case of throwing off any shackles, as he never felt shackled in any way by his bandmates, that is not what The Boxer is about.“Has it been liberating? Well I didn’t ever think I was being oppressed in Bloc Party so it didn’t feel liberating at the time,” he insists.“But I guess retrospectively it was quite a milestone for me personally, so it has been liberating from that point of view.“With Bloc Party, most of the songs were band compositions with all of us playing along and writing the songs together.“With this, when I started it was just Logic and myself putting down little musical phrases and drum patterns so I could mould the process.”Having achieved this personal milestone of making a record on his own, Kele has already started work on a follow-up, but what that means for his future is a question which will have to be answered in the future.“I’ll tour, play some shows, meet some nice people, then we’ll see. The first thing is just to get out there and play the music live.“It’s not scary [going out on my own], I like touring. We did the first tour and it was brilliant, absolutely brilliant, so I’m excited about this tour.”

Any fears of an obscure live show with Kele on stage huddled behind electronic boxes can be put to one side, he tours with a band and is determined to make a show of it. Just don’t expect to see any guitars.“It is a band,” he explains. “It was important to me that it was a band, with a drummer,a synth and an all round electronic wizard kind of guy. I never wanted it just to be me on stage with some machines.”Aside from some tongue-in-cheek responses when asked what the rest of Bloc Party are up to (“Russell is growing a beard, Gordon has taken up mixed martial arts...etc”), there is little more to be revealed on

what the future holds.“We’re just planning on having a laugh and having some giggles.”The rest of us will just have to enjoy it while it lasts, however long that may be.

Bloc Party frontman Kele gets his dancing shoes on for his first solo offering.

BOXINGCLEVER

The Boxer by Kele is out now on Wichita/Polydor.

Kele plays at the O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, on July 14. Tickets at www.brumnotes.com.

“I never wanted it just to be me on stage with some machines.”

The Boxer by Kele out now

page sixteen

all that jazzThe sights and sounds of jazz music will be taking over Birmingham this month, with the first ever Mostly Jazz Festival in Moseley Park from July 3-4, followed by the 26th annual Birmingham international Jazz & Blues Festival at various venues from July 16-25. We caught up with the long-running event’s founder, Jim Simpson, to hear more about the state of jazz in the second city. Did you ever expect the festival to still be going after 26 years?When I first organised the festival, I didn’t give much thought to the future, there was no long-term plan. We had just organised a red hot swinging Jam Session with 12 of the country’s top jazz musi-cians led by Humphrey Lyttel-ton, recorded it for our Big Bear Records label and got Sunday Times Jazz Album of the year. That seemed to be enough at the time, until Humph encouraged me to do it again. So I talked to the city council and brewers Mitchell & Butlers and we agreed to make a six day festival the following year with Humph as festival patron, which he remained for 23 years up until his death. In 1986 we adopted our 10 day formula which has stuck ever since.

What do you put its success down to?I guess that’s down to the music which is ever inspirational and to the musicians who give so much and invariably get so little in return. That and a stubborn streak that seems to run in the family.

Like many things, the festival has been affected by the economy in recent years. Have you noticed any similar effects in 2010?In 2008 we had our first year without a major commercial spon-sor - that was precisely the time

this recession started to rear its ugly head. In 2009 we seemed to gain strength, and certainly the attendances were significantly up. This was partly due to the poor performance of the pound against every other currency known to man, rendering foreign holidays less attainable and forcing folk to look around the UK for attractive alternatives. Birmingham at Jazz Festival time offers bargain hotel deals, special restaurant offers and some 200 performances with more than 90 per cent free to the public. Still without title sponsorship for 2010, although we are in negotia-tion with a significant player, we are celebrating our name change to Birmingham International Jazz & Blues Festival with a record of 216 shows, still almost all free admis-sion, and a determination to have more fun.

Free music is always a bonus, that must be crucial to the mindset of the festival and trying to attract new audiences to jazz and blues?With so many people of the mindset that their entire social life is only accessible through a com-puter screen, the lure of great music without the obstruction of a ticket price is the only way forward for a festival of this size. Not that we don’t employ modern technology, the festival has Twittered for nearly three years, we use Facebook,

MySpace and YouTube, we blog, and for two years have had our own IPTV site - www.birminghamjazz-festivaltv.com.

Who are you most excited about in the line-up for this years festival?I’m excited about most of the programme this year, that’s why we booked them. However, Alan Barnes and Simon Spillett are world-leaders, James Morton’s Porkchop are a rare treat, UK first timers are always top of the inter-est-list. Moscow’s top tenor saxman Valery Kiselyov who sounds like Ben Webster, Italy’s Emanuele Fiz-zotti brings early Rory Gallagher to mind while Czech Jazzband Vel-ke Losiny, Munich-based Shawn Harvey & B57, Budapest’s Village Lizards, Hammond Funksters Pat Giraud Trio from Limoges in France, Chicago’s Drake University Big Band, US folk bluesman Otis Gibbs and Canadian Joe Fournier are all awaited with bated breath. A special treat will be Macon, Georgia’s Chick Willis, famed as The Stoopdown Man, who is one of the great living legends of the blues currently celebrating 50 years on the road. There’s a whole bunch more, too many to list, though we should keep a special lookout for Edinburgh’s Federation of The Dis-co Pimp and the terminally-nutty ex Bonzo Bob Kerr’s Whoopee Band.

Who would you recommend to a younger audience who maybe have been put off jazz or blues in the past?Chick Willis, James Morton, Fiz-zotti, Barnes, Digby, Disco Pimp, King Pleasure & the Biscuit Boys, Tipitina - anything that’s free is worth a look-in.

Do you think there’s a lot of exciting things happening in the genre at the moment, with the recent trend for cross-over and cross-genre projects?It depends totally on the integrity of the musician, the quality of the musicianship and the validity of the project. Fusion for fusion’s sake is invariably devoid of artistic value, extremely short-lived and little more than a fashionable gimmick. I know that a lot of people view jazz as a fashion accessory, but they

just don’t understand the music. I well remember the manager of a well-known pizza parlour wanting to book a saxophone player “be-cause it goes with the decor”! Some cross-genre projects produce won-derful music, but in a lot of cases it works better for applications for arts funding than it does for the music. I have to say that efforts to merge Norwegian folk music with jazz leave me cold.

What does the future hold for jazz in Birmingham?There never has been much of a future for jazz in Birmingham, and nothing has changed, but somehow it survives. Must be something to do with this wonderfully inspira-tional and life-enhancing music.

“There has never been much of a future for jazz in Birmingham,

but somehow it survives.”

View the full line-up at:www.birminghamjazzfestival.com

live

If you have ever wondered how the not particularly pretty Jay-Z managed to bag a woman as beauti-ful as Beyonce, go and see him in concert. He has charisma by the bucket load. Gripping the audience from the start, he powered through more than 20 songs from his record-breaking back catalogue. A gangsta urban poet stood centre stage and belted out hit after hit.It turns out Beyonce, who was watching from the side of the stage, is a very lucky girl.Before his grand entrance, a huge clock counts down

the minutes and seconds to the start and Jay-Z rises up on stage.Dressed in black baggy shorts and high top trainers, an outfit more befitting a child, this 40-year-old proved he can do what the hell he wants and he will make it cool.Run This Town, Big Pimpin’, and 99 problems all went down well, along with Empire State Of Mind and Forever Young, which saw him bring Birmingham’s own Mr Hudson on stage.And after getting the sweaty crowd to whip of their tops and shake them round their heads, he asked if he could be an honorary Brummie – yes please, we screamed - before he launched into Already Home.Words by Rebecca CarlsonPicture by drw-images

JAY-ZLG Arena, BirminghamJune 9

After support bands Black Fangs and Bad For Lazarus have finished messing with our minds (that’s a good thing by the way...check ‘em out), the 10-legged psychobilly groove machine that is The Eight-ies Matchbox B-Line Disaster ar-rives to finish off the job. Bigged up by the fickle music press back in the day, now (in my humble opinion) criminally underrated, you can always be guaranteed a brain frazzling live show and tonight was no exception. With their Shaun of the Dead featured track ‘Mister Mental’ quickly

THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTERHare & Hounds, Kings HeathJune 2

whipping a hardcore posse of moshers into a frenzy the pace was set for a frenetic run through tracks old (the Cramp-tastic ‘In the Garden’ and ‘Psychosis Safari’ were particular favourites) and new (a tasty selection from their highly recommended third album ‘Blood and Fire’). Of the new stuff ‘Love Turns To Hate’ really stood out, a pounding and impassioned track featuring a sing along cho-rus for the damned. Throughout lead singer Guy alternates be-tween that strange thousand yard stare thing that he does, looking for all the world like someone who’s waiting for a bus, and his demented preacher routine, delivering sermon after sermon from the Gospel According to Rock (that’s just after Genesis I think). Meanwhile bassist Sym paces the stage glaring at us while he grinds out some truly bowel churning bass lines. The moshers get sweatier, the music gets louder and Guy plunges into the mass of writhing bodies emerging with a still pumping human heart in his hands. Oh alright then, I made that bit up. It was a liver. Pure, primal rock n’roll don’t get much better than this.Words by Daron Billings.

PHOSPHORESCENTHare & Hounds, Kings HeathJune 5

As the day draws to an end with the heat still beckoning, the night ahead was prepared with an en-ticing line up of acoustic, soothing harmonies, to echo around a cooling Hare and Hounds.First to grace the stage, Rich Batsford brings his wispy, lounge and almost lullaby piano talent. His traditional, lo-fi sound pro-vided the perfect start to a chilled evening. He was followed by Forest Fire, mixing acoustic and electro, they were able to blend folk, indie, blues and country music to accompany Mark Thresher’s bohemian vocals like a cooling breeze.By this stage, the crowd had delved into a whimsical state, just in time for Phosphorescent to reveal their down to earth, atmospheric hums.As we enter the Texan sounding Los Angeles, the emotional and realistic effect is sustained.“I’m closing my eyes until the colours appear,” sings Matthew

Houck, as though he wants eve-rything to change for the better, and we believe him. A hard-hitting implication which has only previously been achieved by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.Jesse Anderson Ainslie surprises us with tear-jerking, guitar solos, made to fit the whole experience with a sense of fragility.It’s easy to see how the experi-ence gains reliance from the crowd, as simple sways match an alluring, sweet and gentle lap steel echoing sound, beautifying the band into a familiar Joanna Newsom’s ‘This Side of the Blue’.The Americana roots style is cer-tainly upon us, but in a way that gets a British audience through that hard, long day.“I don’t care if it hurts me,” sings Houck.Words by Ross CottonPicture by Katja Ogrin

Picture by drw-images

page nineteen

page twenty

BAND OF HORSESWulfrun Hall, WolverhamptonJune 14

Tonight, songs such as Is There A Ghost and the big hit Funeral displayed what Band of Horses do best - gigantic, poised, heartfelt choruses, oscillating verse melodies and, lets not forget, that magical treat to our ears that comes in the form of Ben Bridwell’s voice.Another feature of the evening was the striking montage of images used as a backdrop to the beard-biased band. Deers, pine forests, landscapes and photos of the gang on the road including what seemed to be their backstage antics at festivals were included in the visual accompaniment.The set itself was a pleasant voyage through tracks from all three albums, each offering feelings of love, loss and hope. But while tracks from Everything All the Time and Cease to Begin failed to disappoint,

new efforts from Infinite Arms were not as poignant and slightly lacked soul. However, there were still some beautiful moments from the new tracks such as Factory, which floated along prettily with waves of ethereal strings, its harmonized dual lead vocals and slow-building orchestral surge creating a bliss-ful, lullaby-like atmosphere. Compliments, the first single, was a catchy mid-tempo pop rocker which set the feet tapping in the crowd.With a set of 20-plus songs, including a hefty encore which ended with an old soul number, an organ based cover of Them Two’s Am I A Good Man, Band of Horses displayed they are capable of being anthemic and can effortlessly switch to offering gentle melo-dies full of heart - a truly memorable performance.Words by Sham Marawat

TANTRUMSThe Rainbow, DigbethJune 2

You can’t move in Birmingham for talk of Tantrums right now and tonight’s Champloo EP launch compounds this as the venue is absolutely heaving by the time the frisky five piece take to the stage. The young and fearless down the front immediately create a mosh pit as the dubstep intro of Barracudas rips into the humid air followed by its enormous stadium-prog rock guitar riffs. Tantrums have long ignored musical boundaries, fusing heavy electronica with giant size axe wizardry but now there’s a conscious effort to make the melee as accessible as possible. The Fleetwood Mac harmonies of Steal it Back and Mek Ya Feel Hype have daytime Radio 1 airplay written all over them, while still retaining an edginess in their filthy laptop manglings to keep pushing your naughty buttons.How apt too that their debut EP is to be the first physical release on Bigger Than Barry Records, an offshoot of the Brummie club night phenomenon that has never followed any direction other than that of pure upbeat party music – an ‘anything goes’ sound that Tantrums themselves have embodied. One minute it’s all Rusko digital squelch and bangs the next it’s giant indie-disco choruses like a supercharged, more urgent New Order. Tantrums absolutely nail it tonight and are threatening to become something much, much bigger than just another local buzz band.Words by Andy Roberts

For more live reviews and pictures visit:

FAITHLESSCivic Hall, WolverhamptonMay 27

And so he stands; clad in an open shirt and braces, head held high, arms aloft like a black Jesus, and he starts jumping. The crowd? Well, they go absolutely mental, because Maxi Jazz, friends, is a very cool man indeed.Maxi, live, heads up eight mem-bers of Faithless, providing an onslaught of sound in front of a constant wall of elaborate visuals

and text. After just one song the evidence is already there that this is a well honed act, an act which a loyal, varied crowd (aged from 16 to 60) are very used to lapping up. They play to their strengths, as during a mammoth two hour set list all the big guns are rolled out – Insomnia, Mass Destruction, new single Sun To Me - culminating in a three song

encore inevitably ending in We Are One.We Are One? Sure, go for it, as by this point, I’d have gone along with anything. I was so punch-drunk with noise and florescent visuals; it was like being in a cult. A highly recommended night out. Words by Tom Pell

Picture by Gobinder Jhitta

THE ADAM & EVEBradford St, Digbeth, Birmingham B12 0JD

CHIDDY BANGO2 Academy 2, BirminghamMay 25

As Chiddy Bang’s partner in “crime” Xaphoon walked on stage and perched over his drum kit, those who had been waiting patiently at the front of the crowd let out a scream almost deafening – so imagine the scream when Chiddy Bang entered the stage.It wasn’t just about the music, the band definitely knew how to work the crowd and get them involved – most notably by taking sugges-tions from fans of what Chiddy should freestyle about – with topics such as sex, toothpaste and Alice in Wonderland being thrown out. To his credit, he performed the freestyle impeccably. Their Ellie Goulding remix of Under The Sheets went down incredibly well, as did a Hot Chip

remix of One Night Stand, despite Xaphoon’s claim that Hot Chip themselves had labelled this version as “terrible.”After playing a couple of new songs and a few classics from the beginning, arguably the biggest cheer of the night came for their most recognised song, Opposite of Adults. Everyone down the front was bouncing and there was even a mosh pit in the middle of the floor. Ending on their new single, Truth, the pair showed their appreciation for a Birmingham crowd which was on top form, singing every word and moving to every beat.Words by Richard Franks

JuLy LISTINGS:

Every Monday: ‘Broken Amp’ - weekly acoustic evening hosted every Monday by the “inestimably lovely” Richie Chappell. Usually 3-4 acts. Free entry.

Thursday 1st: Slipstream + friendsFriday 2nd: Friendly Fire Band in full effect featuring Lion Art Pablo Rider, Natural Mystic and special guest PETER SPENCE. XTREMELY LIMITED £3 ADVANCE TICKETS: www.theticketsellers.co.uk, £5 on the door.Saturday 3rd: Fingers Crossed presents: The Coronation Gypsies + The Carpels + Rambling Pony. A night of new wave progressive Rock and edgy blues.Sunday 4th: DJs Jam fu + Rumblefish present a night of Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B.Tuesday 6th: The Seven Stone Mondays (Madchester covers band) + The VehiclesThursday 8th: Incoming: A night of upcoming local talent.Friday 9th: Whomanity presents Juggla Live. A night of roots, reggae and beats.Saturday 10th: The John Vickery Experience. Live music, DJs, MCs and live percussion. Not to be missed.Sunday 11th: DJs Jam fu + Rumblefish present a night of Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B.Thursday 15th: Dirty Score + more tbc

Friday 16th: An audience with Howard Marks aka Mr Nice. Mr Nice will be on stage for two 45 minute talks, a question and answer session as well as signings. Barnsey + DJ Dylan and THE TROJANS. Buy now to avoid disappointment! Tickets available for £7 online at www.theticketsellers.co.uk.

Saturday 17th: Big Stone Culture +1xtbc ‘What You Gonna Play Now?’- a night of Old Skool house and naughty noughties classicsSunday 18th: DJs Jam fu + Rumblefish present a night of Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B.Thursday 22nd: ‘Fingers Crossed Cabaret’ presents a night of comedians, magicians and live music. Harriet Dwyer Mohammed Jamil Crumbs Gabrielle Sutton and more tbc....Friday 23rd: Henry’s Children.Saturday 24th: ‘Pete Bennett and The Love Dogs’ Big Brother hero Pete Bennett is performing with his band at The Adam. Promoting their EP release, Pete and The Love Dogs will bring you the best of Electro Punk. Supports acts tbc.Sunday 25th: DJs Jam fu + Rumblefish present a night of Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B.Wednesday 28th: Popes of Chillitown +True Beat (Ten Tone Ska Tour) Thursday 29th: Slipstream + FriendsFriday 30th: Tempting Rosie ‘Pressure Drop’Saturday 31st: Punk All dayer

www.theadam.co.uk 0121 6931500

Retreating into an acoustic album may have seemed a strange move for a band hailed as one of the best new acts to emerge wielding electric guitars during last year’s electro-pop

BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUBFlaws(Island)

recordspage twenty-two

heavy landscape. But Flaws is both bold and beautiful from start to finish. The fragile purr of Jack Steadman’s love-em-or-hate-em vocals, is a sometimes heart-wrenching accompaniment to the surprisingly original melodic journey. Novelty album this is not, this is Bombay Bicycle Club at their best.

For younger listeners, the opening strains of More Than A Lover may seem reminiscent of those trendier purveyors of retro-pop, Last Shadow Puppets. But that Arctic Monkeys’ spin-off was

THE CORALButterfly House(Deltasonic)

just one of a host of acts influenced by the psychedelic stirrings of The Coral. With a prolific six studio albums, they seem to be standing the test of time, despite harking further back into it for their inspiration. Groundbreaking it is not, but they still produce some of the most crafted, beautifully layered pop songs around today.

Anyone who has caught Pulled Apart By Horses live in recent months will know full well these boys have quite a talent for making a noise. The big question was, whether or not they could recapture

PULLED APART BY HORSESPulled Apart By Horses(Transgressive)

that same raw energy and spirit. The answer is a resounding ‘Fuck Yeah!’.Opener Back To The Fuck Yeah sets the stall, sounding like The Offspring in a blender. With titles like I Punched A Lion In The Throat, it’s hard to believe this melodic metal hardcore hybrid isn’t some kind of sick joke. But it’s damn enjoyable one.

Let’s get one thing straight, this record is a lot more than just Bloc Party without guitars. Kele and his ‘other’ band are inextricably linked, and it is not hard to make the connection between

KELEThe Boxer(Wichita/Polydor)

the two musically. As well as his distinctive if flawed vocals, this is the direction in which Bloc Party were always edging. It is essentially a dance record, but Kele’s largely electronic offering is cleverly layered and intriguing. Single Tenderoni is the standout track with its inducing rave of a chorus. The start of something special?

page twenty-four

food & drink

Get into the spirit of...

Cider SeasonCiders of all flavours and varieties have become synonymous with festivals and the summer. Julian Rose-Gibbs, manager of The Victoria in Birmingham, takes a look at the ever-growing popularity and choice of the once-maligned tipple.

I remember a long time ago I saw cider as a vessel with which to propel myself and most of my friends towards inebriation. We would search out Woodpeck-er or Strongbow, because those were the only ciders available all that time ago, buy it in 2L bottles and mix it with 2L bottles of lager to make ‘snakebite’. Hideous I know, but it did the trick.

I am glad to say that 20 years on cider has come a long way and now is the time to celebrate that fact. Not only has the production of cider increased but coun-tries importing it and the styles of cider have exploded recently. There are still traditional ciders and scrumpy in production but now our market has been infiltrated by the fruit cider and everybody is at it.

Our own producers tend to divide themselves into East versus West of the mid-to-south parts of the UK such as Aspall, Thatchers, Westons, Gaymers, Bulm-ers and Brothers. The list is endless, not to mention the Swiss invasion of Kopparberg taking over our beer fridges with Rekorderlig hot on its heels. The latest one I’ve noticed from further afield is Savanna from South Africa, a dry cider to combat all the sweeter fruit varieties around.

Now it is not surprising that with so many people asking for ‘cider and black’, the producers eventually caught on and decided to add their own berry flavours, ranging from your usual pear and apple to ciders with all manner of berries, as well as lime infusions and blush ciders. I have even noticed the words ‘premium’ and ‘reserve’ creeping on to cider bottles just like with the spirit market years ago.

The marketing of cider has become more sophisticated from the tradition and heritage of the Magners cam-paign to the all out music offensive of Gaymers -they even brought The Twang to the Victoria a while back.

One thing is certain, with all the new flavours, styles, packaging and marketing, cider is going places fast and I intend to keep up - responsibly of course.

The Victoria and sister pub The Jekyll & Hyde in Steelhouse Lane host their Summer Cider Festivals from July 12-25, featuring a great range of modern and traditional cider and perry available throughout the fortnight including: Dunkertons, Thatchers, Addlestones, Brothers, Hogans, Aspalls and also barrelled cider from Moles Black Rat & Gwynt y Ddraig.

page twenty-fivefood & drink

Recipe of the month:Hot Chocolate and ChurrosBy Carl Finn, head chef for Soul Food Project, based at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.

Churros have been on my mind for quite some time to try and we finally nailed the recipe for a private function the other week.Churros, a Mexican dish, are half donut and half pan-cake, traditionally served with a thick rich chocolate sauce and a hint of chilli. We also put some apple in them for a nice warming treat. Try these to finish of any good meal or BBQ.

Ingredients: 250ml water75gm unsalted butter200g plain flour½ tsp baking powderSea salt1 egg

4tbsp caster sugarGround cinnamon Nutmeg freshly gratedVanilla extractApple sauce1lt of oil

Directions: • Place the water and the butter on the heat, once boil-ing remove and sieve the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, vanilla and freshly ground nutmeg (1/4 of a bulb) into the water. Leave to cool and add 2tbsp of apple sauce to the smooth batter. • In a separate pan, get the oil to 180c, (you can use a small piece of batter as a thermometer: once brown it’s hot enough). • With a teaspoon, spoon in the batter, when bobbing at the top then your churro is ready. • Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve with a nice rich hot chocolate (with chilli if you dare). Enjoy.

Image: flickr.com/multiget

Soul Food Project is a concept kitchen based in Kings Heath’s Hare and Hounds – the menu is inspired by Soul Food and diner food from America’s Deep South. For more information visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk or search ‘Soul Food Project’ on facebook / twitter.

Diary:July 4: Soul Food Project Independence Day SpecialCajun roasts and DJs from midday at Soul Food Project’s base at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.

July 16-18: Taste of Birmingham (pictured right)Sample food and pick up tips from the region’s finest chefs, producers and restaurants at Cannon Hill Park.Tickets from £12 adv, www.visitbirmingham.com/taste.

July 21: Butchery: Perfect Poultry with Steve RossiterHands-on demonstration of how to make the most of a whole chicken and create a range of dishes, with Bournville butcher Steve Rossiter, organised by Bir-mingham cookery school Loaf, from 6.30pm-9.30pm. Places cost £50 per person. Visit www.loafonline.co.uk for details or email [email protected] to book.

Aktar Islam of award-winning restaurant Lasan at Taste of

Birmingham

gig guideTHE REGION’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE MONTHLY GUIDE TO GIGS OF ALL SIZES

PICK OF THE MONTH:GIGS

CLUB NIGHTS

1. THE TOy HEARTS, July 6, Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings HeathInternationally acclaimed bluegrass favourites in one of their only hometown shows of the summer. Tickets £7 (£5 concs), www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk.2. BENTLEy RHyTHM ACE, July 8, Wulfrun Hall, WolverhamptonIntimate charity gig, with all proceeds going to Clic Sargent children’s cancer charity. Tickets £8 adv , www.theticketsellers.co.uk.3. BOMBAy BICyCLE CLuB, July 15, St Pauls Church, BirminghamUnique chance to see the talented indie popsters showcasing their acoustic side in a church.Tickets £13.50, www.seetickets.com. 4. OFF THE CuFF FESTIVAL, July 23-25, The Flapper, BirminghamStrong line-up for city centre mini-fest, with Chapel Club, 35 Seconds, Pulled Apart By Horses. Tickets £5-18 advance, www.wegottickets.com.5. HOT CLuB DE PARIS, July 26, Alchemy Bar, Wolverhampton Moshi Moshi signed Scouse art-rockers celebrate the 1st birthday of promoters Out of Step. Tickets £8 adv, www.wegottickets.com.

1. SuMMER STREET FESTIVALJuly 3, Rainbow VenuesBirmingham’s finest DJs and promoters take over Digbeth. Tickets £20 adv.

2. SEVERN HEAVENJuly 11, River SevernIbiza style boat day party in Stourport, coaches from Brum.Tickets £25 including coach.

3. GILLES PETERSONJuly 23, Hare & HoundsLegendary Radio 1 progressive DJ, joined by vocal whizz Earl Zinger. £11 adv.

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.

For latest information and ticket details visit:www.brumnotes.com.

While every effort will be made to ensure the accuracy of listings, Brum Notes Magazine will not be held liable for any errors or losses incurred from errors which may materialise.Be good kids.

page twenty-eight

MODIFIED TOy ORCHESTRASep 8, Town Hall£12, www.thsh.co.uk.JONSISep 9, O2 Academy£18.50, www.ticketweb.co.ukSuPERSONIC FESTIVALOct 22-24, Custard Factory£75, www.seetickets.comTHE DRuMSNov 27, HMV Institute£11.50, www.seetickets.com

BOOKING AHEAD

the free, monthly guide to music AND lifestyle across Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Pick up the latest issue from your favourite bar, pub, club, shop, venue or other cultural hotspot across Birmingham, Wolverhampton and around the region. Free every month.

THURSDAY, JULY 1KMFDM, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhamp-tonTHE PLIGHT, The Flapper, BirminghamPETE PRESCRIP-TION, FOX, TUSK, CITIES PREPARE FOR ATTACK, The Victoria, BirminghamSILENT JACK, CRIMSON JACK, HIGHRISE, MORE FOR ME, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamKILL EM DEAD COWBOY, OUR PEOPLE VS YOURS, Sound Bar, Birming-hamBLACK DOLLAR BILLS, SOUND OF GUNS, BARNESY, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathTHE PLIGHT, SEX-WOLF!, FOR EYES, FALLACIES, The Flapper, Birmingham

FRIDAY, JULY 2THE OSMONDS, DAVID ESSEX, LEO SAYER, LES MCK-EOWN’S BAY CITY ROLLERS, LG Arena, BirminghamCOHERE, AGAINST THE WHEEL, The Actress & Bishop, Bir-minghamTHE MANHATTAN PROJECT, DIRT-YSCORE, THE GRU-BER, The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

SATURDAY, JULY 3TONY BENNETT, Symphony Hall, Bir-minghamCHIPMUNK, Civic Hall, WolverhamptonTIGERTAILZ, The Slade Rooms, Wolver-hamptonV2A, Eddie’s Rock Club, BirminghamFRAMED, SICUM, WIARWAN, PROJ-ECT, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamSCIATTICA, The Robin 2, Bilston

MONDAY, JULY 5THE BLACK KEYS, O2 Academy, Birming-hamPOLLY & THE BIL-LETS DOUX, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

TUESDAY, JULY 6THE TOY HEARTS, Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings Heath

THURSDAY, JULY 8THE SIN KINGS, KARMA SUITE,

DREAMERS NIGHT-MARES, CHANGING PLACES, COURT LANE, O2 Academy3, BirminghamBENTLEY RHYTHM ACE, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathEYES OF THE RA-VEN, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamBOWLING FOR SOUP, Kasbah, Cov-entry

FRIDAY, JULY 9SICK CITY CLUB, O2 Academy3, Bir-minghamDUTCH COUSIN, MINOR HIGH, EVILWITCH, BELLA DIEM, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamSCIENCE WILL SAVE US, The Sun-flower Lounge, Bir-minghamLONG GRASS LIVE, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathEMMA SCOTT PRES-ENTS: GUNDOGS, CRIMSON JOY, NO

AMERICANA, The Slade Rooms, Wolver-hampton,HOT MONOCLES, LITTLE L, The Flapper, Birmingham

SATURDAY, JULY 10ONE TON BULLETT, HEADTRAP, FIRE-LIGHT, FATBWOI 5, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamHOTT DATE SAIL-ORS & PIRATES ALL DAY EXTRAVAGANZA WITH IGNORAMUSS, THE TRAPS, BOAT TO ROW, THE CASTIL-LIANS, SWAMPMEAT, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

SUNDAY, JULY 11HIGH SPY, The Robin 2, Bilston

MONDAY, JULY 12ROBERT CRAY BAND, Symphony Hall, BirminghamANDY FAIRWEATH-ER-LOW, Symphony Hall, Birmingham

The Toy Hearts, July 6, The Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings Heath

THE CORAL, Alexan-dra Theatre, Birming-hamTORO Y MOI, 35 SECONDS, Hare And Hounds, BirminghamCHAOS ACOUSTIC CLUB, The Victoria, Birmingham

TUESDAY, JULY 13CONVERGE, O2 Academy2, Birming-ham

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14DEAN FRIEDMAN, Kitchen Garden Cafe, BirminghamKELE, O2 Academy2, BirminghamSCARLET HARLOTS, Bulls Head, MoseleyEVE SELIS, The Robin 2, Bilston

THURSDAY, JULY 15BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB, St Pauls Church, BirminghamFIRST AID KIT, GOODNIGHT LEN-IN, MR BONES & THE DREAMERS, Hare & Hounds, Kings

HeathSEA FIELDS, THE SCHOLARS, CIRCLE CIRCUS, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathJODIE AND THE JET PLANE, THE NIGHT BEFORE, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamBITE THE KERB, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamGIANT, FIGHTS AND FIRE, Sound Bar, BirminghamMALPAS, Bulls Head, Moseley

FRIDAY, JULY 16[SPUNGE], O2 Acad-emy2, BirminghamTHE WEDDING PRESENT, The Slade Rooms, Wolverhamp-tonONE NIGHT ONLY, O2 Academy3, Bir-minghamTHE LOVELY EGGS, FEVER FEVER, HOT-PANTS ROMANCE, The Victoria, Birming-hamTHE LUCKY 27s, Is-land Bar, Birmingham

TALLULAH FIX, BROKEN WITT REBELS, OLD IONS, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamLOOCA, HEATHEN ZOO, SUB-LIMIN-AL, The Sunflower Lounge, BirminghamFRIENDLY FIRE BAND, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathDEGRASSI (EX-IDLEWILD), Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

SATURDAY, JULY 17SEPULTURA, Wulfrun Hall, WolverhamptonSTEPHEN DALE PETIT, O2 Academy3, BirminghamA CELEBRATION OF DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS, The Flap-per, BirminghamCIRCA SURVIVE, O2 Academy2, Birming-hamHALOS, O2 Acad-emy2, BirminghamRFX, THE WICKED MESSENGERS, PURPLEPHISH, THE EMISSARIES, The

Actress & Bishop, Bir-minghamPURPLE HEARTS, SQUIRE, THE SCENE, J60, DC FONTANA, THE UNIVERSAL, THE VISITORS, Sound Bar, BirminghamNU:TONE UTAH JAZZ, JENNA G, STANZA, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

SUNDAY, JULY 18BASSHUNTER, SA-SHA, DANCE NA-TION, O2 Academy, BirminghamRAY MANZAREK AND ROBBY KRIEG-ER OF THE DOORS WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, Civic Hall, WolverhamptonJOE O’DONNELL’S SHKAYLA, Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings HeathDE’BORAH, BOAT TO ROW, TOM PEEL, Hare & Hounds, Kings HeathJAMESON RAID, The Robin 2, Bilston

MONDAY, JULY 19NAS & DAMIAN JR GONG MARLEY, O2 Academy, Birmingham

TUESDAY, JULY 20MAX RAPTOR, RASE, The Flapper, BirminghamJODY HAS A HIT-LIST, O2 Academy3,

Pulled Apart By Horses, July 24, Off The Cuff Festival, The Flapper, Birmingham

BirminghamBIRMINGHAM JAZZ PRESENTS: THE BRYAN CORBETT QUARTET, The Jam House, BirminghamTHE SMITTENS, LIME CHALKS, JAM ON BREAD, The Vic-toria, BirminghamMAX RAPTOR, RASE, HINGE, The Flapper, Birmingham

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21EARTH WIND & FIRE, National Indoor Arena, BirminghamPETE BROWN AND THE VOLUNTEERS, The Robin 2, Bilston

THURSDAY, JULY 22WILLIAM CON-TROL, The Flapper, BirminghamBIRMINGHAM IN-TERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL: THE JIVE ROMEROS, The Jam House, Birming-hamTHE COYOTES, THE TIDE, THE TWO N EIGHTS, JUPITER ATE, CAPTURE KEN-DAL, O2 Academy3, BirminghamWILLIAM CON-

TROL, OCTANE OK, ELMO SEXWHIS-TLE, The Flapper, Birmingham

FRIDAY, JULY 23OFF THE CUFF FES-TIVAL, The Flapper, BirminghamJAMESON RAID, O2 Academy2, Birming-hamZAPPA PLAYS ZAP-PA, Civic Hall, Wolver-hamptonKID BRITISH, TEMPTING ROSIE, THE CITY LIGHTZ, The Slade Rooms, WolverhamptonCRYER, The Asylum, BirminghamBROKEN WITT REB-ELS, THE LUCKY 27s, BOLSHIE, SEV-ENTH SYNDICATE, DEAN JAMES, Island Bar, BirminghamDIAMOND BLAKK, CRIMSON JACK, RAGDOLL, The Ac-tress & Bishop, Bir-minghamROMANS, BLUE NATION, THE JACK-DAWS, The Sunflow-er Lounge, Birming-ham

SATURDAY, JULY 24OFF THE CUFF FES-TIVAL, The Flapper, BirminghamROOM 94, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamCARLO, DINKY, HALCYON DAYS, ROSLER, The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham

SUNDAY, JULY 25OFF THE CUFF FES-TIVAL, The Flapper, BirminghamTERRORVISION, The Robin 2, Bilston

MONDAY, JULY 26HOT CLUB DE PARIS, Alchemy Bar, Wolverhampton

TUESDAY, JULY 27EMMA SCOTT PRES-ENTS, O2 Academy3, BirminghamPAGE 44, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamACOUSTIC SES-SIONS WITH BEN DRUMMOND, The Jam House, Birming-ham

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28HEAVENS BASE-MENT, O2 Academy3, BirminghamSTEVE CONTE & THE CRAZY TRUTH (EX-NEW YORK DOLLS), The Robin 2, Bilston

THURSDAY, JULY 29ME VS MONDAY, 4 QUESTIONS ABOUT

WHAT?, KISS CO-RONA, THIRD WAY FORWARD, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamALL OR NOTHING, KIDS CAN’T FLY, TELL IT TO THE MA-RINES, MAYCOMB, OCTAVE OK, Sound Bar, BirminghamGLASS, Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

FRIDAY, JULY 30DODGY, Poppyred, BirminghamJAH WOBBLE & THE NIPPON DUB EN-SEMBLE, O2 Acad-emy3, BirminghamBEYOND DREAMS OF GRANDEUR, SA-TORI, The Actress & Bishop, BirminghamCOHERE, ONLY SHADOWS, The Sunflower Lounge, BirminghamJUPITER ATE, BURN THE NEGA-TIVE, JACKDAWS, Sound Bar, Birming-ham

SATURDAY, JULY 31LEON JACKSON, O2 Academy3, Birming-hamBLACK MARKET EMPIRE, The Victo-ria, BirminghamOPEN TO FIRE, DADDY DELUX, HOODOO FIFTIES, TEQUILA LIPS, The Actress & Bishop, Bir-mingham

First Aid Kit, July 15, Hare & Hounds

Brum Notes Magazine - July issue

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Transcript of Brum Notes Magazine - July issue