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004

the britannia issue

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the team:Josef Pascoejosef@lickmagazine.co.uk

Will Morganwill@lickmagazine.co.uk

Amy Gathercolehttp://www.screen22.co.uk

Ben Allenhttp://mimmblog.tumblr.com/

Charlie Croft

Claire Meadowshttp://claire-meadows.tumblr.com/

Daniel Upchurchhttp://www.giraffepellyus.co.uk/

Imogen Storrs

Justyna Zielinska

Joe Marczynski

Logo Design: Max Neilsonhttp://maxwilliamneilson.tumblr.com/

the issue:

Welcome to Issue 004 of Lick Magazine,

2012 is the year when all eyes turn to the United Kingdom. Through sports, culture and heritage, summer brings events like the Olympics and The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations which means that most of the world will be looking to our tiny little islands to see how we British handle the media pressure to be great.

This issue, we’ve realised it’s our job to show you our ‘best of Britannia’. British to us, isn’t the silly bigoted view that the BNP puts out. Britishness, for us is multi-cultural, multi-talented and spans music, arts, fashion and self-expression. So, with that in mind we set out with Britannia in head and in heart, and this is the result. Domestic talents such as Matt Tolfrey, Tribes, Macaulay Collins and a myriad of independent fashion retailers supply the looks, sounds and eye-candy of the Nation. We’ve got more from honorary Brit, Seth Troxler (he’s here so much, he’s been on BBC 5 Live to talk about the queues at Heathrow) and tons of photography and illustration from both the team and special contributors.

Enjoy it, and be proud. True Britishness is creative and quirky, different to the rest. We’re special, and this issue is the beginning of the celebrations.

Illustration: Lou Lou Theroux

That time of year has come, forced out of our nonchalance by the truckloads of advertisements waved in our faces and billboards ready to flatten you if you don’t smack on a smile, 2012 is poised to be the year of being British.

In void of an impending World Cup to gush over, the powers that be have been told to market the Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics or face a public hanging. So far the British tradition of not really giving a shit is in full swing. It takes a freight train decapitating us at 70mph for things to affect us. Unless we stand to personally benefit, we just don’t care.

Buckets full of tourist investment? A worldwide platform to showcase the best of Britishness? New snazzy stadiums and a star-studded Diamond Jubilee Concert? Meh, who’s arsed.

The promise of thousands of visitors, red arrow displays and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to promote the UK? Half the country is already convinced we have an immigration problem. Any more ‘visitors’ and heart monitors will start flatlining nationwide.

Short of handing out £50 notes to people to whack on a bikini top and shriek about their excitement there was only one other option left to disgruntled government officials.

“We’ll give you the day off.”

And just like that, those six sweet words, we’re sold.

Give it a month, the sheer sight of David Beckham lording it around London in the guise of a mentally-challenged child and a sniff of an impending bank holiday weekend, and the British can be taught to care. Some are born interested, we have interest thrust upon us. A tug of war with the British National Party for the Union Jack is inevitable. The World Cup is usually heralded as the only time we can snatch back the flag from the racists. The Queen has sat on her throne for 60 years. The flag was on loan. We’d like it back.

First up is the Diamond Jubilee. If there’s one thing British stereotypes have taught us, it’s that we love a party. What better way to celebrate the Queen sitting on her arse doing nothing for 60 years than to endorse Elton John to parade around Central London snarling at everyone. All we need now is Russell Brand to don his la-di-da mockery and it’ll be a right royal affair.

Set against the spectacular backdrop of Buckingham Palace, June 4th will see a star-studded concert celebrating Her Majesty’s 60 year reign. The fact that almost nobody outside of Oxfordshire even likes the Queen is lost in translation. We are asked to forget that the royal family’s only redeeming talent these days lies in its uncanny ability to shapeshift into the outline of a cash cow. They also have the seductive ability to be able to encourage Chinese and American tourists to parade around outside

Britain, Britain, Britain.

Buckhingham palace, year-in-year-out, in the misinformed hope that Kate Middleton may just appear at a window and wave at them. Alas, in terms of revenue their worth is pretty sickening.

I personally consider the Jubilee celebrations to be a secretive ploy by the Windsors and Middletons to take over the world. Charles will host the party and the Middletons will supply the banners and bunting. As if they hadn’t already made enough money from idiots that last year bought out the entirity of their Union Jack tablewear for a bit of street booze and banter, they now get the monopoly over this year’s royal occasion. And thus is another great British tradition; moaning.

Second up is the Olympics. Thank the Lord it has finally arrived. London was selected to host the event in 2005. It’s now 2012 and nobody’s shut up about it for seven years. The pocket-money originally set aside to pay for the Olympic infrastructure was £5.3billion. It now stands in the region of £15 billion. £1.45 billion of this was spent on the strategic dumping of a new shopping centre at the gates of the Olympic Park. It’s like escalators in Primark. You can’t get out until you’ve walked around.

Admittedly, the bitching about the cost of putting on the Olympics has now become a ritual. It’s the bloody Olympics, it’s not going to be cheap. Also true is the fact that David Cameron doubled the budget for the opening and closing ceremonies to about £125 million. He has yet to publically acknowledge that this is to ensure that British fireworks ricochet off NASA’s International Space Station. Screw Beijing and screw America. When we do it, we do it good.

The only shining light in the hype surrounding the impending games is that if a bomb were to go off, the British population would come off relatively unscathed. Despite getting up at the

crack of dawn, credit card ahoy and swallowing our pride in the recognition that opting for table tennis tickets was likely to yield a more positive result than trying for the 100m final, nobody got a ticket. We’ll all be down the road in the pub living out another Great British tradition; the art of getting shitfaced.

The final ship I attempt to sink in massacring Britishness is one that, coincidentally, plummeted to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean 100 years ago last month. Viva la Titanic. 2012 is also the year of British commemoration. Not celebration. Celebrating that 1,514 people, mostly poor, drowned in freezing waters after an unfortunate incident with an iceberg, may be deemed distasteful.

Instead, we heralded in a new era of British bandwaggoning by commissioning crap ITV dramas, Guardian montages and a remastering of James Cameron’s 1997 romantic epic so that we had the pleasure of watching people drown in 3D. That’s without mentioning ‘Titantic the Musical’ and exposés like ‘Titanic tune rouses comatose Bee Gee, Robin Gibb.’ Alongside this, ASDA is poised to announce record sales of inflatable rubber rings and iceberg lettuce. Coincidence? All in jest of course.

That’s another Great British tradition; a sense of humour.

- Claire Meadows

One of the main reasons I decided to come to a Nottingham university should have been based on the academia… But it wasn’t. It won me over with its reputable and diverse music scene. With new and old artists constantly circulating the city, it’s hard not to fall in love with a new artist each week. Let me introduce you to some of Nottingham’s finest:

It’s becoming more apparent that old Madge is slowly on the decline but it looks like the Midlands have something which might be of interest to the mourning fans of the eighties icon… Ronika. With help from Nile Rogers (who produced Madonna’s album, Like a Virgin), it looks like we could be re-visiting the world of big bows, lace gloves and shoulder pads once more. Even the artwork of Ronika’s new single Automatic (Released April 10th) seems to emulate ‘Celebration’. So, are we just being introduced to another Madonna imitator? Despite these similarities, Ronika does exude uniqueness in her sound along with a refreshingly infectious techno twang accompanying her. Disco has never been cooler, especially when a revitalised Odyssey track is used as a sample, fuel for Automatic’s success. This Nottingham artist combines sci-fi with disco and pop to create something genius - something which 2012 is desperately crying out for. Her recent collaboration with Hervé in How Can I Live without You (Make it Right)

has a distinct 90s sound that will re- welcome the baggy-pant-wearing crowds and could even be the summer anthem of 2012. It looks like her debut album is already anticipated to be something unquestionably irresistible. If you haven’t already heard her, I’d strongly suggest a listen. ‘BBC Introducing…’ found us The Tings Tings, Joy Formidable, Everything Everything, and more recently, Nottingham’s Navajo Youth. Back in 2010, Navajo Youth took to the BBC

studios and performed for their Midland audience. 11,000 Youtube views and an E.P later; the new single Heartbreaker stands as a result of just how much the artist has evolved in the music field. Watching the video felt like being taken back to a satisfyingly synthed Duran Duran concert, while channelling Adam Ant’s stage persona, as the frontman seems to sport the uncannily quirky look. There seems to be a trend forming amongst some of these budding talents. Is Nottingham trying to brighten up the dark Midlands skies with a little sparkle and punchy pop from the much loved 80’s? Navajo Youth’s embodies confidence which translates through his presence in the video – this is someone to watch out for.

Kappa Gamma, known on the local scene for their synchronized melodies and infectious indie hooks, are facing an impressive line-up of festivals and an EP due this autumn.

t h e s o u n d o f

n o t t i n g h a m

w o r d s : c h a r l i e c r o f t

Between prog-pop vibes like Minus the Bear and the electro-punk sounds from Late of the Pier, you’ll find Kappa Gamma somewhere comfortably in the middle. The Midlands band supported Django Django at Nottingham’s Bodega, in February this year, stealing the show. By also supporting aspiring talents, such as Dog is Dead and Swimming, Kappa Gamma are already gaining bigger recognition, especially in their hometown. If any of this takes your fancy, you can check out a preview of their debut single, ‘Just Another’ on Soundcloud and being released on vinyl soon.

The Petebox’s album Future Loops consists of many rejuvinated songs, such as MGMT’s ‘Kids’ and Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’ alongside an extremely effective loop pedal as his wingman. He should be credited for his ever growing success, performing in huge festivals such as Bestival, Reading, Leeds, and Glastonbury, already deserving of recognition for his ability to combine beat-boxing, singing, playing guitar and live mixing into something worth a listen – creating his whole soundtrack himself. Confidence comes with covering a track which already owns its distinctive sound and is respected worldwide. When I listened to Thepetebox’s interpretation of The Pixie’s ‘Where is my Mind?’ I heard something refreshingly cool and aloof. If I’m honest, it kinda blew my mind. He was scouted in 2005 when

he became champion of BBC Radio 1’s beat-boxing competition and his career has flourished ever since. As well as being released on CD, there are live studio performances of his up and coming album available on Youtube. It’s highly recommended that you give him a listen and a watch to get a real sense of how Thepetebox does what he does, and so well too.

In a candid interview with the BBC back in 2010, Nottingham’s Liam Bailey admits “Before I knew it, I

went from nowhere to live, no money, to four record labels wanting to sign me”, regarding his offer from the world famous, Polydor. You may recognize his vocals in Chase and Status’ Blind Faith, released at the beginning of 2011, maintaining its popularity throughout a dance fuelled summer. With regards to Bailey’s solo career, unlike other Nottingham artists continuing the electro wave, Bailey introduces his touching take on soul to the music scene. He effortlessly exudes emotion from his fingertips which translates through his acoustic music, accompanying his poignant lyrics, as he does in You Better Leave Me. He released EPs in autumn 2010 and the following year produced his debut album Out of the Shadows with the accompaniment of The Fugees’ Salaam Remi. Currently touring with Rita Ora, this is only the beginning for the momentous Liam Bailey.

The urban landscape on my walk into Nottingham, down Derby Road, has changed dramatically over the past year. Half a dozen independent shops have shut down; it seems the only industry that has survived on the road is the particularly Nottingham phenomenon of mass up-market hair salons and vintage gear. The abundance of urban space left by the economic down-turn is, for other European cities at least, the opportunity to reinvigorate an area with commissioned public or street art.

One of Nottingham City Council’s responses to this issue over vacant public space was 2009’s ‘Windows of Opportunity’, a short-lived plan to install artwork all over the city in abandoned shop windows; for the council the scheme “stops areas looking derelict; it adds to the interest of the street and offers artists and others the chance to show their work. There are benefits all round”.

The majority of these windows haven’t changed for over two years; people’s enquiries for the spaces are left unanswered and their website is dustier than AskJeeves. It’s a trend that follows a lot of the Council’s counter-productive policies on art in the public space, such as the banning of legal graffiti. Even when they are pushing promising events (Jon Burgerman’s Papering Over the Cracks springs to mind), they’re sluggish and uninventive in

notts art scene: keeping it local.

words: ben allen

artwork: Ashes 57

their approach to promoting public art and, when they do, it’s temporary and away from the public eye. Let’s face it, if Market Square is anything to go by they’d rather cover the city in sand.

But this article doesn’t want to get bogged down in the drudgery of council gripes; it’s here to commend the individualism of the predominantly young, forward-thinking and independent art groups that make up the city. Whether it’s the work of Surface Gallery, 3rd Space studies, One Thoresby Street, or the Contemporary in terms of exhibitions, or street art and supplies through the Dilk’s Montana shop there’s a consensus that Nottingham has developed its’ own self-contained arts culture. It remains underground, as the One Thoresby street owner commentates ‘there seems to be a separation between what artists are doing for a city and what a city understands the artists are doing for a city’. This reflects the lack of artistic expression within the public space again yet gives a thumbs up to the exhaustive work of these artistic groups. In many ways we owe a lot of thanks to the students, particularly from Trent, who stay on in Nottingham in part because of the amount of cheap studio space- part of the leftovers from a recession. Locally, grants have in some cases been well distributed and community projects like Stone Soup deliver sound creative alternatives to sniffin’ Turps for the young. It’s evident that there isn’t a lack of drive to make these changes happen; it’s a lack of fluidity in allowing these changes to happen easily.

Whilst it’s all well and good having these pockets of activity, what makes a scene (for want of a better word) is the gelling process, providing opportunity and outlets for every artistic subgroup- the musicians, illustrators, tailors and graphic designers. ArtNot- another example of funded voluntary work, has provided us with a timely guide of what’s going on around the city and, when you break it down,

each artistic group is dependent on the other. Their collaborative efforts have also seen them utilise Nottingham’s abandoned warehouses, offices and unique spaces in resourceful ways and, given the success of pop-up events, it might be time the Council learnt to instil trust in these promoters.

Mimm’s owner, Nathaniel Wilson, knows more than most about the perils for independent business in these times of austerity, he also knows a thing or two about promoting local talent and giving people the platform to present their work on. The Mimm-curated Independent Creative Culture, with attendances topping the 400 mark, is fast becoming the urban farmer’s market for Nottingham’s independent creative brands- all set to the rhythm of house, techno, hip hop or whatever the locals bring. For Nate ‘It’s important to focus on more than one thing nowadays. You can’t rest on your laurels, and if you survive [the recession] it can only mean good things in the future for your business’.

In-store art exhibitions have become a regular feature for Mimm, turning things over faster than you can say ‘Windows of Opportunity’ since kicking things off last September with Swamp 81 and Obey affiliate: Ashes57. May 5th also saw the start of their latest exhibition which sees Philth redecorating the walls with curvaceous women and geometrics, followed by the equally mathematic refractive light work of George Evans in June. Teasers from the forthcoming art series dotted around this month’s Lick and our website, including exclusive work from Tribes, Ashes 57 and 16 year old Macauley Collins. And lastly, I’d like to apologise in advance for any groups, galleries or individuals that I’ve failed to mention.

Artwork, right: Macauley Collins

l e f t r o o m

Looking back to 2005, what drove you to set up Leftroom?

Matt: I was at a crossroads where I felt that if I finished my degree at university, then my DJ career would take a hit as I was building some momentum with it. I knew I could always go back and finish my degree at a later date, but you can’t just put an early DJ career on hold, then come back to it, as someone else will have taken your spot. With this in mind, and with the confidence to run a business (I had nearly finished by Business and Financial Services degree at this point) I decided to start

Leftroom. I was getting sent a lot of unsigned music from friends and producers I respected, but none of them were having any luck getting noticed at some of the more established labels they were sending demos to, so I decided to put the music out myself. I believed in it, I knew it was more than good enough, and it was a good feeling to know that we were all starting something together.

What was your ethos then, and how has it changed over the years?

Matt: There has been lots of different mottos and sayings attached to the label, but the main one still stands as ‘The Extended Family.’ Leftroom has always had a family atmosphere and it will continue to until the end. When it comes to signing music, it is very simple. The music that gets signed to Leftroom is what I am playing at that current time, there is no point in me signing music if I am not playing it week in week out. We will never be a label that signs a track just because we know it will be popular, or sell a lot of units. I have had some opportunities in the past to sign massively ‘hyped’ records, that went on to sell huge amounts, but I refused as I would not be playing them myself. Some of the artists were offended, but they understood in the end.

Talk to us about Left’d, and Leftroom Limited. How are they different to the main label?

Matt: Left’d started off life as a digital only label to give new artists a run at putting out

Matt Tolfrey created Leftroom Records in 2005 and has tirelessly worked to keep it a respected and cutting edge label representing British and international dance music. Lick got a chance to talk to Matt about his new album ‘Word of Mouth’, the music scene in Nottingham and how he’s managed to build such an impressive roster of acts for the label as well as a great solo career.

some of their music. I see it as a stepping stone to releasing on the main labels Leftroom or Leftroom Limited. If your tracks are well supported by the djs and press out there, and of course they sell, then we look into working together in the future. Some examples of artists who have started life on Left’d and have since released on Leftroom and/or Leftroom Limited are Laura Jones, Waifs & Strays, Matthew Burton, Nick Lawson, Mark Chambers and Julien Perez.

Leftroom Limited is not all that different from Leftroom in stature, but musically I would say it is more experimental. It has evolved the most out of the 3 labels over time, it started life as a label for ‘larger room sounds’ but that certainly isn’t the case now.

Nowadays, with sufficient technology at the disposal of the masses, it is commonplace for artists and labels to only attain a short stint in the limelight. What do you feel has been crucial to Leftroom’s on-going success?

Matt: Everyone has their ups and downs, Leftroom has nearly gone bust twice, and we have had five different distributors in six years, but we are on a good run at the moment. It is hard to openly talk about our success as I am not the one buying the releases, but it is safe to say that with the market being so competitive, you have to maintain a high level of quality control, and hope to god you have good taste!

With such a varied list of collaborators including Laura Jones, Insect and Glimpse, what do you look for when bringing someone into the Leftroom family?

Matt: I get a vibe off someone just from an email, and I am a pretty good judge of character, so I know very early doors whether someone fits our mould. I learnt from a very early stage that I wouldn’t be signing and putting effort into complete strangers any more as I have

been let down by a few artists in the past, who seemed 100% into the music, but then turned their attention to how much money they would be making very quickly. If you’re genuine and you’re in this for the right reasons, and are as passionate as I am about this, then your more than half way there...

Were there any people, parties, acts or labels that proved particularly influential along the way?

Matt: Crosstown Rebels was a huge influence at the start as this was the first label I released on. Damian supported me from a very early age, and I hugely respect him for that. At the time, Matt Styles was running Crosstown, and he helped me out with a lot of the things you just wouldn’t know when starting your own label, i.e. contracts, comp requests, remix fees, etc.

As label boss, you must have to constantly have one ear on the ground. How do you ensure that you maintain the connection with the developing grooves and evolution of the industry’s sounds?

Matt: I am a music addict, more than 1000 tracks pass through my laptop a week which are all listened to, so I can safely say my ear is buried in the ground.

How do you feel the industry/sound has changed over the 6-7 years of Leftroom?

Matt: As I mentioned earlier, Leftroom has always been a reflection of my music tastes at that moment in time. When it began, the sound was more in line with what got known as ‘minimal’ but over time it has evolved into a more mature house sound. I don’t want to get caught up in what some labels have been accused of, which is just putting out music that is ‘hyped’ or ‘trendy’ for that time period. We will continue to put out music that is moving us, and we’ll keep on supporting new talent all

the way. I truly feel that Leftroom has always sounded slightly different, a bit left of centre, and that is what has enabled us to stand out from the pack.

We hear that you’re working on your debut album and can’t wait to hear the results; can you give us an idea of what to expect?

Matt: The album is out at the end of September and is a collection of ten tracks. The first single is coming out at the end of June and features a Kenny Dope remix, and the second single will be out at the beginning of September. By the time the album comes out it will have been twelve months of hard work, but I am very happy with how it is turning out. There are two main vocalists, Kevin Knapp from San Francisco who appears on 4 tracks, and Jem Cooke from London who appears on 2 tracks, so there are definitely some lyrics here and there. Once again it is hard to explain as I have been working on it for so long, and it is my work, but the album is really reflective of me as a person, it tells a personal story, and it is something you will want to listen to again and again (so I have been told by early listeners.)

What do you consider your biggest achievement to date?

Matt: There’s been a good few musical/gig achievements, but recently I got engaged to my amazing fiancée Hayley, so that surpassed anything I have done in my career.

Who have you got your eye on as future stars?

Matt: I think the next couple of years are going to be bright for a lot of artists out there, but within the Leftroom family I would say Gavin Herlihy, Huxley, Sam Russo and Kate Simko.

As a frequent party-goer in Nottingham the last few years, it feels like we are seeing a new surge of house music is taking the city. What

do you look forward to when you come back to Nottingham and how do you think the scene here has developed over the years?

Matt: I haven’t lived in Nottingham for a long time now, but it is nice to know that the house scene is picking up again. I remember when I started at Nottingham Trent University in 1999 and the Bomb was one of the best clubs in the country; we had a good few years there, but the super clubs, and student lead venues took over. I am part of the current Wherehouse family, I do all their bookings and am a resident there, which has been going strong for a while now. It would be cocky to say normally, but I truly believe that we really gave people, and still do give people in Nottingham, a completely different clubbing experience at the Wherehouse, compared to other city centre venues, and a lot of parties have followed our lead. It was a good lead to follow and I am glad that the Notts scene is definitely on the rise again.

And finally, which tracks have been stuck on repeat recently at Leftroom HQ?

Matt: As you can imagine I listen to a lot of demos in the office, but something I have been listening to to wind down at the end of the day has been Rae and Christian’s, Blazing The Crop mix they did for the Mixmag Live series years ago, it’s sheer class!!! Funnily enough this was released in September 1999 which is when I started at Trent Uni, spooky!

homegrownby jose f pascoe

mode l : ha r r y ha ins @ d1 photog raph ic a s s i s t ance : ann ika l e ives l y

s ty l ing : l aura mcg reg or & j ade howha i r : c ra ig indcox @ no 28 barbers

orange tee - mud fashion;skinny jeans - bleachers & co;

shoes - dr. martens.

this page:all clothing - hyena;

opposite: sleeveless studded jacket - hyena;

jeans - bleachers. & co

this page: jacket & studded knee jeans - hyena;shoes: dr. martens

opposite:customised studded tee - hyena.

seth troxlerinterview: daniel upchurch

Seth Troxler is a very busy man. He was voted as Resident Advisor’s number 2 DJ in the World 2011 and he also runs Visionquest. He relentlessly travels far and wide to share the music he loves with like minded people and certainly has a good time doing it. Whether he is playing solo or with his good friends and label buddies Visionquest, he plays everywhere from huge festivals to small dark clubs.

Stealth Nottingham played host to a heck of a party on Friday 4th May; Fairlight and Zleep combined to put on a quality night headlined by the man himself. I got a chance to catch up with him and talk British house music, fine burgers, old friends and smoking tea.

I broke the ice with new socks and fruity tea, something Seth enjoyed.

ST: Meeting the needs of the people, I like that. Meeting the needs of tomorrow.

I wanted to ask your opinion on British labels? You’ve worked with Crosstown Rebels and local lad, Matt Tolfrey’s label Leftroom.

ST: Matt is a really, insanely good friend of mine, I was actually at his place for dinner last night. Actually two people turned up for the dinner that weren’t invited, they come in, no introduction and they brought merlot.

Haley, Matt’s wife and I were talking about how much we love Twitter. I can type in and people can talk back, I’m like did you see this interaction I’ve been having today. I’ve got new socks. New socks is like amazing, really that’s like maybe Facebook worthy.

[One of Seth’s friends pops in with “What are you going to tweet about Nottingham?”]

ST: What am I going to tweet about Nottingham? Well so far, the gig was... but the

interview before? That was nice.

Now going back to Matt Tolfrey, he has a release coming out on Culprit soon.

ST: We’re all old friends, man. We used to hang out with those guys in LA. They had the Droog parties and we would sleep on their couch. It was kind of an old boys club. A group of celebrators.

You’ve played in Nottingham before, what’s your favourite city to play in?

ST: In England? I love London, playing Leeds is always great. Kids get fucking crazy, it gets wild there. There are cities in Italy I love playing in. I played to 7000 people in a pyramid by the sea. That was a Monday night.

You’ve got a project with Craig Richards, one in which you are incorporating the art?

ST: Yeah I have a couple of projects coming up. The art, the culture... music is part of everything and that’s something we really want to showcase.

You’ve got a very busy summer this year, I read that you might be grilling at Secret Garden party?

ST: Yeah, there could be a secret at Secret. [Upon discovering I live near the festival] I might actually be grilling at your house, chilling out smoking tea...Smoke tea is really good to drink, have you ever had that? The leaves, the special aging, the smoky flavour in your tea.

What would be in your ultimate burger?

ST: I like a burger with stuff inside of it, I’m not like a pure beef burger guy. It should be almost like a meatloaf (strong). I like to put a little onion, green peppers finely chopped, some bread, cream a little rosemary maybe. You get this aromatic burger when it’s like “hmmmm”.

There’s this great place in London at the moment called Meat Liquor that you have to go to. It’s one of the best burgers I’ve had in my life, everyone needs to go there. Beers, whisky drinks and burgers; it’s total dude night.

You’re used to playing massive crowds; do you still get the same buzz playing in small clubs like Stealth?

ST: I play small clubs quite a lot, it just depends if the people are into it or not. Sometimes you go to play somewhere and it’s just a bunch of kids. I’m not really compromising musically, so I’ll probably play some weird stuff, you know maybe the kids aren’t really into it; I stopped caring. I want to play some good music, well what I think is good music, if you’re into it then that’s cool and if you’re not then that’s also cool.

TuPac at Cochella was obviously quite controversial; if you were going to bring an artist back from the dead to do a tour or play a set with you may I ask who it would be?

ST: Ron Hardy...he’s a fucking genius. Just so I could see him play once, I would be like ‘God this is amazing!’ Ron Hardy for me was the boss of beats.

What’s your favourite animal?

ST: Horses, I used to ride when I was younger. I would love to go for a bit of horseback riding as a retreat [though the appeal of a Wild West Shoot ‘em Up could be more akin to Seth’s usual nights out]

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever Licked?

ST: My tongues been in a lot of weird places... Watch the full video interview at:www.lickmagazine.co.uk

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www.racketstudios.co.uk.

r a c k e t

Street Market was set up in the summer of 2011 with the objective of showcasing a steady flow of great apparel, art prints and accessories. Having initially partnered with Social Shopping site TheFancy, Street Market gave discounts for anyone who fancy’d buying one of the store’s products. As a result, this helped the store gain a foothold in the ever-growing e-commerce world. Street Market’s ethos is to marry different, creative impulses but continue to change a little each day: keep our eyes open for new and emerging talent. Right now, it stocks the rebellious tee designs from London-based Rum Knuckles, which has gained a cult following for its tattoo clad Snow White t-shirts. Street Market has also been working to bring to the UK the t-shirt designs of up and coming French brands Candy for Richmen and Coontak, which have both followed in the footsteps of well known brand Sixpack France and built up portfolios

of highly sought after t-shirt collections. In recent months, the store has teamed up with Burgerplex and has started to stock prints and merchandise from Nottingham’s very own doodle expert, Jon Burgerman. The store also has an exclusive limited print from UK-workaholic illustrator, Greg Abbott, as well as backstage fashion show portraits of top UK models Sid Ellison and Jay Coupe—taken by Nottingham-based photographer, Matthew Coupe. In coming months, the store will stock the unique jewellery of London’s Johnny Hoxton who creates pieces based on 80s TV kids icons. Moving into its second year, Street Market wants to continue to evolve and champion new local talent. It has also made sure that the store is accessible anywhere with complete site optimisation for mobile and tablet devices.

s t r e e t m a r k e t

j u s t y n a z i e l i n s k aJustyna Zielinska is a Polish-born, Nottingham-residing photographer who graduates this year from Nottingham Trent University.

With a Master’s degree in Ecology already under her belt, she came to NTU to combine her lifelong ambition for creativity with a medium which could combine all of her interests. Photography, for her, is the tool that allows her to explore her creativity and make connections between her passions.

The final series of her studies at NTU do just this. Her affection for both fashion and the environment are clearly evident in a vast collection of prints on display at BackLit Studios, Ashley Street. Along with over 100 photographers, the exhibition is part of Release, NTU’s 16th Annual Photography Degree Show.

Drawing inspiration from Guy Bourdin, Kerry Dean and many others, Justyna says the thing that most influences her is passion.

The work, Biotope of Fashion Photography, is provoked by her interest in placing fashion into an environmental scene. Urban surroundings house clean, linear garments and rock formations perfectly compliment the male silhouette. Justyna’s work is habitation in fashion.

We asked her the question that strikes panic into most graduates; what is the next step after university? She says she’s excited to get into the job market as well as gaining more photography experience. Like most creatives, she’s looking to move to London after the summer.

The power of British cinema is its ability to tell a decent story. Whether the audience is intended to be elated, moved or horrified, British cinema has proved consistently that budgets stretching into the hundreds of millions are not the benchmark of good film.

One of the main things that spring to mind when thinking of British film is honesty, and a clear source of uncompromising gritty storytelling can be found in the work of Shane Meadows. His first film A Room For Romeo Brass (1999), is widely considered among critics to be his best, although somehow has managed to become one of his lesser known films. Here we see Meadow’s own signature brand of British grit which will later evolve into the era redefining This Is England (2006), and the harrowing Dead Man’s Shoes (2004). Tyrannosaur (2011) containes a wealth of young talent, Vicky McClure and Andrew Shim give early film roles. It is also the directorial debut of Paddy Considine, who has also gone on to prove his prowess behind the camera as well as in front of it. Not for the faint hearted, Tyrannosaur explores the relationship between a violent, unstable alcoholic and an abused, timid charity shop worker, played by Olivia Coleman.

Another benchmark of British cinema is emotionally led storytelling which can reduce you to tears of happiness and despair in one sitting. Never is this more evident than with

Kes (1969). Ken Loach provides us with a tender story about a young boy’s love for his bird. Not only is Ken Loach’s adaptation of A Kestrel for a Knave one of the rare occasions a film is better than the book, this tale contains some of the most hilariously heart-warming scenes you are likely to see in any film ever. This film will move and ultimately devastate you, although you may need subtitles due the brilliantly authentic accents. Considering all this, it is worth noting Kes was created using a budget that wouldn’t buy you a round of drinks today.

The wit and sophistication of British humour is an aspect of British film that is instantly recognizable and easy to appreciate when compared to the seemingly endless supply of gross out, dumbed down comedy we are usually subjected to at the cinema. To this end, if the idea of political satire doesn’t make you recoil in horror, then Armando Iannucci’s razor sharp comedy In The Loop (2009) is a worthy addition to any comedy collection. A film adaptation of the critically acclaimed sitcom The Thick of It, will make it difficult to look at British politics the same way again.

British cinema peels away the synthetic gloss and gimmicky world of Hollywood, creating stories that are not only timeless but beautiful. What’s truly inspirational about British cinema is its success when competing with the Hollywood production companies. Rather than churning out vapid CGI laden sequels, British film makers have instead sought to create something with real grit, real emotion and genuine humour, qualities which are undeniably and quintessentially British.

the power of british cinema

words:joe marczynski

The 90’s belonged to America, really. These were the glory days of Clinton, when even his salacious affairs seemed to only add to the excitable feeling of liberal optimism, sex and creativity. Women were going crazy for Sex and the City and Friends; Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had become household names and the emergence of hip-hop into mainstream American culture had by then cemented irrevocable effects on global music, culture and style. Thus, as the US economy boomed, as did the transportation of American fashion and culture into Britain. By the beginning of the Noughties, big US brands like American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger were still saturating the UK market with their American Dream whilst Britain looked back and cringed at our primary global export of Girl Power and glittery Union Jack dresses.

Britain was facing something of a desolate sartorial landscape. Granted, we were doing grunge with enthusiasm, but by its very definition this required a kind of nihilism, a forced nonchalance and rejection of any careful structuring or

tailoring. Under the strain of American economic competition, the successful 1980’s brand Boy London buckled and fell into liquidation in the late ‘90’s. Meanwhile, the patriarch of classic British design, Burberry, became a national laughing stock as the now infamous picture of Daniella Westbrook (of Eastenders fame) dressed entirely in the brand’s print, complete with baby and pram in tow, began to circulate in the tabloids, simultaneously sounding its death knell of credibility.

However, the last decade has seen Britain enjoy something of a creative influx and fashion resuscitation. Fed up with its country’s artistic stagnation, Fashion Forward was set up six years ago by the British Fashion Council. It provides funding to talented emerging designers and its past winners have included Scottish born Christopher Kane and London based Erdem. Fashion Fringe followed in its wake, set up by fashion writer Colin McDowell in 2003 to coincide with London Fashion Week and tempt original, British talent away from the design shores of Paris or

british fashion:are we leaders of the pack?

words: imogen storrs.

New York. Meanwhile, Christopher Bailey took over Burberry in 2001 to transform it into the credible label that it is today, with its latest campaign fronted by Eddie Redmayne and face of the moment Cara Delivigne. 1980’s brand Boy was, meanwhile, re-found in 2007 in the form of store ‘Sick’ in East London and can now acclaim the ultimate label of 21st Century success after its logo has been seen making the rounds on “celebs” like Jessie J and Rihanna.

London fashion week in March showcased the evidence of this new tide of fortune, with young British talent displaying original vision combined with our own specific brand

of British eccentricism. Two of my personal favourites included Henry Holland and Meadham Kirchhoff. Holland describes his prints as “bold, colourful, irreverent”, and, true to the British resurgence, designs with a “London girl” in mind. In his latest A/W collection, Holland offered us leather bell bottoms, dog-tooth print twin-suits with long leather driving gloves and red lips. The overall effect was that of juxtaposition between a youthful, modern aesthetic and an ironic nod to ‘1970’s housewife’. Design duo and alumnis of London’s Central Saint Martins, Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff also took inspiration from the same era with burnt oranges and browns combined with large, clashing prints, fluid shapes, coloured wigs and mad-cap face paint. The combined effect was refreshingly light hearted and resembled an Alice in Wonderland tea party which has ended up at a ‘70’s disco. With these exuberant and creatively ostentatious collections, these young British designers embody the antithesis of the 90’s preoccupation with rather dull minimalism.

With new, artistically creative and witty designs such as these, London has slowly clawed back its dignity and status as a global epicentre of fashion. Moreover, Britain’s place in creative fashion can be said to be superceding that of America. You only have to look to the plethora of American celebrities falling over themselves to showcase new British designers, and the global hype surrounding the darling of the British high-street Topshop, in order to see that British fashion has managed to turn itself into a true success story. The Noughties are all about Britain, really.

Left & Middle:Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff.

Right:Henry Holland

Joss Whedon is a name that has been known to the cult fan geek-sphere for years, responsible for creating and giving us wonderful TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel and Dollhouse. With Avengers Assemble he took on way more than ever before and has created one of the greatest superhero films of all time, finally uniting Earth’s mightiest heroes in an extravaganza of a film.

It scored the biggest opening of all time in America, it’s broken box office records around the world and we got to see it first in the UK where it will be packing out cinema audiences for months to come. Blockbuster season is well and truly upon us and recently our friends over at Screen 22 got to meet the cast and ask a few choice questions, with a superstar super-cast that includes; Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth. Here’s what Amy V Gathercole unearthed:

There have been 500 Avengers comicbook issues over the last forty eight years so how and where do you start?

Film Producer Jeremy Latcham: Well part of the putting these movies together, especially on this one, is taking everything that existed in the movies that we had done and having to be faithful to the movies that we have already put together. At the same time, going back to

the comics as well and having to be faithful to everything in comics. So it is a challenge trying to find the right source material and the right inspiration.

Luckily Joss Whedon, our writer and director extraordinaire is really really good at assimilating all that material and he goes, “oh, you just do it like this”. Oh, oh that’s much easier.

Mr Downey Jr., I wonder at what point during your evolution of Iron Man you realised you’d be taking part in an Avengers series of movies, and secondly and more trivially, did you get to keep the Black Sabbath T-shirts?

Robert Downey Jr: In reverse order of importance, I walked off the set with one of the Black Sabbath T-shirts… Do you know where I put it? I’ve mis-located it. It’s like mis-remembering.

And from five years ago when we did the first Iron Man to today with all these folks you see here today, it couldn’t have gone any better. All three franchises that we’ve launched so far had to work and if this didn’t work it would affect all the previous franchises extremely adversely.And there’s also the potential for additional franchises based on how strongly people are reacting to Jeremy, Scarlett and Mark. I really don’t understand how everything has gone this well but in this one instance in my life that seems to be the situation.

s c re e n 2 2 p re s e n t s :t h e a v e n g e r s

Having to embrace the nature of these films, and getting to be a kid again, indulging in childhood fantasy, what was your favourite fight move in the movie, and why?

Mark Ruffalo (Hulk): There’s so many!

Chris Hemsworth (Thor): My favourite fight move was when you (Hulk) slammed Loki repeatedly back and forth.

Mark Ruffalo: That’s Loki’s favourite as well.

Tom Hiddleston (Loki): It is actually. Partly because some strange small person called Tom had to do most of that himself too. Hurling myself into the air and throwing myself on the floor repeatedly, I must have looked like a lunatic, which kind of describes Loki quite adequately.

Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man): My favourite move? Tony’s favourite move? Well you know, probably how I can fall out of buildings and survive because of my tech. You notice that fight move involves no one but me and my stuff?

Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow): My favourite fight move or Natasha’s favourite fight move would probably be that…thigh grips…what do you call it? The master thigh…hold?

Jeremy Renner (Hawlkeye): To be choked out by your thighs would be a good way to go.

Robert Downey Jr: That’s my favourite move too.

Chris Hemsworth: Probably the summoning of the lightning and the cracking on the ground and the ripple effect that it has on the earth which we didn’t do in this movie but we did in Thor 1. Maybe in Thor 2 I’ll do it again.

Cobie, what about you?

Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill): I like anytime that Hawkeye is looking in one direction and shooting in the other.

Clark Gregg (Agent Colulson): Generally Agent Coulson’s weapon consists of one thing which is a snide retort but in this movie he does what any sane human does when faced with this threat – he reaches for the largest gun you can possibly imagine.

Scarlett and Cobie, when working with Joss Whedon (who’s well known for creating strong female characters), was that something that really came across in production of what is traditionally seen as a male-dominated genre?

Cobie Smulders: Joss was very hands on from the beginning in terms of creating the character, in terms of costuming…he was very hands on with dialogue and always there for you.

Scarlett Johansson: When we first met Joss, he met with each of us all individually to talk about what we wanted to see from our characters and we did talk about my character’s plight and her dark past and all of those things. But never once did he say anything about my character’s gender at all and we never talked about it.

Cobie Smulders: I think Joss is gender blind in some way. He wants his female characters to be dynamic and competitive and assured and confident and that has nothing do with anything but the fact that he just celebrates those kinds of female characters. He’s just a charming fellow that way.

Scarlett Johansson: Yeah we decided that we would rather be skilled because your super powers may disappear. Is that what we thought?

Jeremy Renner: Sure. If Thor lost his hammer, he’d still probably kick my ass but at least it would give me a fighting chance. I still have a skill set.

Chris Hemsworth: I found the fight scene between you guys was one of the most satisfying because it was grounded in the most reality, this incredible choreographed hand-to-hand sequence which was hugely impressive.

stockists:Bleachers & cohttp://www.bleachers.co.uk/

Dr Martenshttp://www.drmartens.com/

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whats on:25th May - 3rd June: NTU Degree Shows @ Various VenuesThursday 31st May: Twisted Hearts Karnival @ Dive, Market BarThursday 31st May: DJ Marky @ DogmaFriday 1st June: Dollop’s 1st Birthday @ StealthSaturay 2nd June: Submotion Orchestra @ SounddhismSunday 3rd June: Industry @ Gibb St WarehouseSunday 3rd June: Dot to Dot Festival Sunday 3rd June: Ooko @ Mimm Secret PartySunday 3rd June: Matt Tolfrey, Sam Russo @ WherehouseMonday 4th June: Phoenix @ Red Bar and LoungeWednesday 6th June: Boddika & Mele @ Dollop, Stealth and Rescue RoomsThursday 7th June: Martinez Brothers, Crazy P & more @ 808, EscuchaThursday 7th June: Machinedrum @ Lost Boyz Club, BodegaThursday 7th June: Pinch @ DogmaFriday 8th June: Lee Foss, Danny Daze @ Fairlight, Stealth Martyn @ Zleep, Stealth Legowelt, Happa (live) @ Wigflex, StealthMonday 11th June: Gin & Juice, EschuchaTuesday 12th June: Tim Westwood @ Fuck Hip Hop, Market BarTuesday 12th June: Euphoria @ EscuchaTuesday 12th June: George Fitzgerald @ Skelter, BodegaFriday 15th June: Artful Dodger @ GGF, StealthMonday 18th June: Kids Can’t Fly @ BodegaFriday 22nd June: Kate Nash @ BodegaFriday 29th June: Detonate @ Stealth and Rescue RoomsSaturday 30th June: Adam Shelton @ Wherehouse