Issue five Friday 10 May 2013

Interviews Playwright Joanne Hartley, Artist Shane GreenPet Sounds Vets in Guiseley play music to relax petsOpinions Is music going through a mid-life crisis?

Live at Leeds 2013

Visit us online atleedsnorthern.wordpress.com/features

In this issue:

Page 2Opinion

Page 3Playwright Joanne Hartley

Pages 4-5Live at Leeds Review

Pages 6- 7Artist Shane Green

Page 8Music for pets

The YV team

Editor

Sallie Gregson

Contributors

Jon Cronshaw@Jon_Cronshaw

Sallie Gregson@Salliex

Kate Russell@littletinykate

Tom Swain@tjoswain

@Yorkshire_Voice

Is the Top 40 having a mid-life crisis?Live at Leeds inspired our Yorkshire Voiceteam to debate the state of the Top 40.

I went to the doctors recently. While sitting in the waitingroom a local radio station was piped in through the surgery atan ungodly volume.I waited for almost an hour to see the doctor as the surgery

continued to pump out the deluge of musical sewerage. I re-alised that I was out of touch – I don’t get pop music.I don’t want to be one of these grumpy old men in their

faded Status Quo t-shirts whining about how they used towrite ‘proper songs’ – but the stuff I was hearing was horrible,homogenous, Auto-Tune soaked bilge.It’s not about preferring old music to new – I still seek out

emerging artists and innovative music. I just feel somewhatalienated from popular culture’s low standards.I’m not the kind of person who will take a disliking to some-

thing because it’s popular – I’ll take a disliking to something ifit’s not very good.The charts are clogged up with a slew of vapid, commercial

music that is transitory and artless – its value merely fleeting.Is it so wrong that I want music to be something that people

care about beyond the superficial and the economic?I prefer music to be something lasting and beautiful , some-

thing challenging and innovative, something that is meaningful.I’m not going to tell people what to like, but I don’t want to

be subjected to this rubbish when I’m waiting to see a doctor– or anywhere else for that matter.

Just look at the top 40 this week, it’s brilliant! Obviously Idon’t love every song on there. For example, Chris Brown canleave music altogether thank you very much and Psy at 18 isperhaps a little too generous, but most of the songs on that listare actually fantastic pop records.Ever since I can remember the radio in our kitchen has al-

ways been on, tuned to Radio 1 or whichever local music sta-tion. When we got Sky TV the music channels were the mostexciting thing to me and my sisters. Forget Cartoon Networkor Nickelodeon, we wanted to watch the video for Sisqó’sThong Song on repeat (big song in our house).Upstairs in each of our rooms you will hear Radio 1xtra,

Capital or BBC 6 Music, but in the kitchen or car, it is Radio 1– and we love it. Despite a difference in tastes and disagree-ments over many songs, it’s music that has brought us closerthan anything.And that is what music is about, bringing people together.

Whether it is at festivals, gigs or even just over the table, with-out the sense of community music would just be pointless.So let’s argue over what is good or not in the charts right

now (Daft Punk feat Pharrell deserves to be number one defi-nitely but Hey Porsche by Nelly is a little too ridiculous to bein the top 20) because music was made to enjoy. And whodoesn’t enjoy a little arguing?

JonVSSallie

What do you think? Let us know tweet your views to @Yorkshire_Voice or commenton our website leedsnorthern.wordpress.com/features

Turn to pages 4 and 5 to read our Live at Leeds review

The old adage that if something isn’t broken thendon’t start tinkering with it is one the London-based four-piece Wolf People seem to live by.

Their 2010 debut Steeple had its roots firmly planted inthe prog/folk scene of the late-60s/early-70s, finding influ-ence in bands like Focus, King Crimson and Rush.

With their Tolkienesque imagery, complex guitar riffs,and flute sections that could fit comfortable on anyJethro Tull record, it’s easy to dismiss them as throw-backs, but Steeple was a phenomenal album.

Fain, is no different. The band is still mining the sameera of history for their influences – but this is no badthing. Indeed, originality can come by looking to pilferwhere others have not.

Indeed, Australian psychedelic rockers Tame Impala

have made an art of emulating the Beatles at their mostexperimental, yet are the darlings of the indie musicpress.

Wolf People might not have shifted as many units asTame Impala, but if Fain tells us anything, it is that WolfPeople are superior song-writers.

Tracks like Empty Vessels and Hesperus are builtaround delightfully twiddly electric guitar noodling. Whenthe Fire is Dead in the Grate and All Returns harken backto the indulgent, driving rock that could only be heard ata biker festival during the early hours of the morning.

Fain is the perfect album to blast out of your wounddown windows on a summer afternoon whilst hurtlingthrough the North Yorkshire Moors in a 1969 Ford Mus-tang Boss 429.

By Jon Cronshaw

2

ReviewWolf PeopleFainReleased: Out Now on Jagjaguwar

Dogs Land, the latest play by playwright Joanne Hartley, has just seen itsdebut performance at the Square Chapel Centre For The Arts, Halifax. Made in collaboration with Mad Dogs Dance Theatre, Dogs Land is a chal-

lenging and exciting play that brings together the worlds of contemporarydance and experimental theatre. “Dogs Land is about relationships and the mistakes we make in love,” Joanne,

36, explained, “there’s some spectacular choreography. It’s raw, it’s emotional,it’s beautiful. Dogs Land isn’t a piece of work that’s designed to be read - it’s apiece that is designed to be felt.”Having been an experimental play-

wright for over a decade, it was surpris-ing to find out that Joanne had neverworked in dance before. Everyone in-volved found the experience to be in-credibly challenging and rewarding.Joanne said: “It’s been an organicprocess that has taken us in all mannerof directions that I couldn’t have fore-seen. The choreographer and I have come at this project speaking a completelydifferent language with completely different priorities. He’s got a completelydifferent process to me, he’s highly attuned to movement and visuals, and a lotof what he does is by gut feeling and instinct. Whereas I come from a placewith rules – story rules, narrative structures – they’re ancient and intuitive.“We’ve had moments in our process where we’ve struggled. There have been

times when the actor’s process, the writer’s process and the choreographer’sprocess have been at odds. It’s taken quite a long time to take three separateprocesses and make them into one. But the bits that get lost in translation areactually the bits that are the most interesting creatively because it has forced usall out of our comfort zones.”

Working alongside Mad Dogs Theatre has led Joanne to examine what herpriorities are in creating theatre. She said: “I’m interested in moving from anintellectual, wordy theatre into something more visceral – something that isexperienced, something that is felt. When it’s designed to be experienced andnot understood, it becomes more enjoyable for an audience.” Producing experimental theatre has its challenges for a playwright, espe-

cially when it comes to getting work shown in mainstream theatres. Joannesaid: “I don’t think that the mainstream would embrace the kind of work that Imake – that makes things tricky for me. I don’t think the work that I make

wouldn’t be enjoyable or accessible to amainstream audience. Perhaps it’s theway that’s sold, the way that it’s pack-aged, the way that it’s delivered.” Joanne’s relationship with the main-

stream theatre is an ambivalent one. Al-though she enjoys and respects a lot ofmainstream theatre, she feels that main-stream productions could benefit from

exploring and embracing new possibilities. She said: “I’m frustrated by theatrethat doesn’t push further than it could. Saying that, I’ve seen some really stun-ning mainstream theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, particularly the Ten-nessee Williams play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that was on last season - I thoughtthat was an absolutely astounding, beautiful work. But then I see a lot of the-atre that just looks like more of the same. I think there are new things can besaid in new ways, and I suppose I’m hoping to explore what that might meanand how that might work.”

Dogs Land will be showing at Stage@Leeds on May 14 (Box office: 0113 3438730).

Spotlight on playwright Joanne Hartley by Jon Cronshaw@Jon_Cronshaw

“I think there are new things can besaid in new ways, and I suppose I’mhoping to explore what that mightmean and how that might work.”

3

Theatre on the edge

After an eight–week stint of touring andrecording in the USA, Leeds lads The Dun-wells touched down in the UK just in timefor Live at Leeds. Guitarist and vocalist Joseph Dunwell, 25, said:

“It’s nice to be home. This will be our first gig backin the UK – we’re really looking forward to it.“We’re signed to an American label so we’ve

been focussing on the US – it’s gone really well,but now we’re back to concentrate on the UK.Live at Leeds is the main reason we came backwhen we did.”Formed in 2009 and signed to Playing in Traffic

in 2011, the boys’ experience of the wider UKmusic scene is limited, but bassist Rob Clayton,30, likened Live at Leeds to huge American 10-dayfestival SXSW: “It’s got a real buzz about it and it

seems to get bigger every year – more bands, morevenues, people playing in the street.”And people playing in shops, too. Live at Leeds

Takeover brought live music out into public places,like the shop Pretty Green, where Joseph’s brotherMatthew Dunwell’s band City Lights played an en-ergetic set.Joseph said: “It’s good that it’s not only music

venues that are getting involved - it’s a really goodway for new bands to get better known. Thesesmaller venues can be the best ones – especially ifyou’ve gone in there not expecting much. It’s awe-some.“The venues in Leeds get better and better – we

love playing here. The Leeds scene has certainlydone good by us, anyway!”The Dunwells’ new single Follow the Road is out

27 May.

4

Local bands are an important part of the festival, we spoketo The Dunwells who love playing in their home city

by Kate Russell@littletinykate

Ruban Nielson of Un

known Mortal

Orchestra onstage at

The Cockpit

Orange wristbands cov

ered

the streets of Leeds

Prodigal sons return The Dunwells are back in Leeds

Queues round the block: crowds gather early for wristbands

Now in its seventh year Live at Leeds (LAL) had hold of the city on theSaturday, the festival went bigger and better with more bands than ever be-fore.An alternative to expensive major festivals Live at Leeds has built up a reputation

of being at the forefront of UK metropolitan festivals. The streets were littered withpeople wearing orange wristbands, it seemed every other person in the city was ontheir way to the next gig.The LAL Takeovers were a new addition to the event that brought shops such as

Pretty Green and Dr Martens on Briggate and the Everyman cinema in Trinity to-gether with intimate sessions from a collection of bands and artists.

The day started at Leeds Met Uni where The Concetines played a short but sweetset, it was good to start with a new band to remember what this festival is about;discovering new bands to love.After much running around at 2pm Jack’s Attic preformed upstairs in Pretty

Green, one of the #LALTakeovers happening throughout the day which perhapscould have been better publicised, as the room was hardly brimming.Then there was time for a quick break to get a drink and head up to Leeds Uni

Refectory to join the crowds gathering to see the much talked about Charlie Boyerand the Voyeurs. Debut single I Watch You released last year got the crowd singingalong as the band found their feet towards the end of the set.The stages seemed to be organised to keep bands with similar styles at least near

each other so audiences could see as much of each band they wished. But there isalso the possibility that by wandering from room to room you might see somethingunexpectedly brilliant and discover a new favourite band.This was best displayed at Leeds Uni where Post War Glamour Girls (PWGG)

played in the Stylus. A Leeds band through and through, lead singer James Smithtook a break from playing to tell the huge crowd that had assembled they could seethe all local bands playing LAL anytime, for free! Their set was that good it made mefeel ashamed I hadn’t seen them before, the set was filled with raw energy andpower which makes them exciting to see live despite the dark tone of their music.Back upstairs to see another treasured Leeds band Dinosaur Pile Up playthe Re-

fectory, which was a disappointment as the much talked about band proved to benothing exciting . Next it was the turn of the energetic and comical Castrovalvaplaying their home show downstairs at the Mine.Running all the way to the other end of town to Holy Trinity Church to find a

massive queue waiting to see Londoner King Krule would have been infuriating ifthe weather hadn’t been so beautiful. When eventually allowed in he did not disap-point, his chilled, bluesy, minimal sound suited the spiritual venue and Saturdayevenings warm weather.Down the road to The Cockpit to see The 1975 to see queues all the way round

the venue and no room to breathe inside, for a band that do not even have an debutalbum out it was quite a big deal to fill The Cockpit room 3. Despite the squashed

conditions, the venue suited their chaotic indie pop, only the people outside wereleft disgruntled after their performance.Next on at The Cockpit were brummies Swim Deep whose debut album Where the

Heaven Are We is due to be released in July and previous singles King City and SheChanges the Weather being huge crowd pleasers.Finally, find of the day goes to Unknown Mortal Orchestra who were one of the

accidental bands just over heard whilst having a pint that made ears prick up andtake notice. Soulful singer Ruban Nielson transformed the early 70s psychedelicsounding tracks into something more beautiful and passionate.There is no doubt that Live at Leeds is great value for money; with such a variety

of acts playing, finding something new to admire is easy. Putting up with the queuesand running from venue to venue was all worth it to catch that one band that madethe whole day feel worth more than £22.50.

Queues seemed to go on for miles, venues werepacked and bars were impossible to get to. Saturday 4 May saw music takeover Leeds.

5

“There is the possibility that bywandering from room to room you

might see something unexpectedly brilliant.”

by Sallie Gregson@Salliex

Lone Wolf were first on at

Milos for Live at Leeds

Scream and Shout: Castrovalva giving it their all

Crowd-pleasers: The 1975

Shane Green is an art teacher at PrinceHenry’s Grammar School in Otley, but isprobably better known for his substantialwood carvings that can be seen all overthe Chevin. He is described by some as alocal legend, but a collection of brandnew artwork is something a bit different.For the month of May, Shane is displaying

his collection at The Old Grammar SchoolGallery in Otley.The collection is made up of paintings cre-

ated specifically for the exhibition, entitledThe Still Life and Other Stories, and features ab-stract, cubist and colourist influences.Shane said: “The pieces are pretty tradi-

tional, but there’s other stuff like poetic lyri-cal dreams, and escapism.”He explained: “These paintings are influ-

ences by the first set of abstract artists really.

There are references to the cubism of PabloPicasso and Georges Braque, and some of thedreamscapes are influenced by Marc Chagalland Franz Marc.”

The exhibition features a lot of traditionalstill life work, but with an interesting subver-sion of expectation and perception. Manypieces focus on still life, but through the lensof a particular hue, and a particular angle ofview.Shane said: “I’ve taken the idea of still life,

but revisited it with child’s eyes.“I’ve played with the idea of scale and the

magic of objects and lightings and how cer-tain objects can, with a twist or turn of thehand, take on new characteristics.”In a number of the pieces on display, Shane

has looked at the same scene but from differ-ent perspectives.He explained: “It’s like pulling the rug from

under your feet, to make you feel like you’refalling, so the viewpoint is always changing.“Quite a lot of contemporary art is premed-

itated, and the artist works in reverse. Thisexhibition, and how I’ve always worked, is aminute-by-minute dialogue with the materialin front of me.“I think the looseness of these pieces, the in-

completeness, is because I can’t stand stillwith them, I jump around while I work. But Ithink the incompleteness invites people tofinish the piece themselves, and trigger their

The Still Life of Shane

“I’ve taken the idea ofstill life, but revisitedit with child’s eyes.”

Shane Green at work on hiscollection of still life paintings

6 Credit: Ben Statham

e GreenWhat happens when an artist best known for his wood carvings is asked to put together an exhibition of hanging art for a local gallery? Tom Swain speaks to ShaneGreen to discuss the proposition.

imagination. Connotations are hovering inthe background.”But since Shane’s carvings are what he’s

best known for, how will people react to himworking with a different medium? Thewooden carvings are robust and rigid,whereas the paintings in Shane’s exhibitionare free-flowing and dynamic.

Shane explained: “I think there will be gen-eral surprise at this exhibition, because thegeneral public have seen what I’ve done onthe Chevin.”But Shane remains self-aware, pointing out

the fact that his works might not be the com-plete package.Shane said: “I feel they’re a bit unusual –

people might ask ‘what’s the purpose ofthem, what’s the meaning?’ If one of my stu-dents did this, I’d say ‘it’s not enough, what’sthe political context, what’s the social con-text?’”

Zack Whitehead, gallery manager at TheOld Grammar School, is excited to be host-ing such a renowned artist, and in only thefifth month of being open.He said: “He’s the biggest artist we’ve dealt

with, he’s so well known, and I’m sure lots ofpeople will come and see this exhibition outof curiosity.”But exhibiting Shane’s work does represent

a departure from the norm for Zack.“It’s interesting because everything else

we’ve had here at TOGS is what I like andwhat I would choose, but I’ve not really had asay on what Shane has done for this exhibi-tion.”Another aspect to the story is that Zack was

once a student of Shane’s art department atPrince Henry’s Grammar School, and it is in-teresting that the two should meet again inthis new artistic capacity.Visit www.togs-gallery.com for more infor-

mation on The Old Grammar School Gallery.Shane Green’s exhibition The Still Life andOther Stories runs until May 31.

“I think the incompleteness invites people to finishthe piece themsleves, and trigger their imagination.Connotations are hovering in the background.”

Part of Shane Green’s The Still Life andOther Stories exhibition on show at The

Old Grammar School Gallery in Otley

7

By Tom Swain @tjoswain

Visits to the vet can make for scaredy cats and doleful dogs, but aLeeds-based veterinary group are taking the stress away by playingspecially composed chill-out tunes to their four-legged friends.

Patients at the White Cross Vets in Guiseley are some of the first in the UKto hear the ground-breaking new sounds, aimed at speeding up recovery byreducing nervous behaviour in pre- and post-op pets.

And it’s not just some dreamy soft-touch stuff – the music has been de-signed based on the findings of pioneering research into how dogs’ nervoussystems respond to sound. It tunes in to key trigger points in cats and dogsand is twice as effective as traditional classical music in keeping creaturescalm, says clinical director Craig Harrison.

He explains: “By implementing this forward thinking development we aretaking another step that will enable the much loved pets in our care to be

CoolforCats(andDogs)

8

Stressed pets haveone less thing to fretabout. Kate Russellfinds out how White

Cross Vets are takingthe worry out of visiting the vets.

“It’s a bit like what you mighthear at a spa, but with almosta purring sound over the top”

more relaxed. The calmer a pet is then the less likely they are to become dis-tressed in a new environment and the smoother their recovery process willbe.”

The music for dogs was written by a psychoacoustic expert, who is also anexpert in dogs, and it sounds a lot like classical piano music but slowed downand lowered in tone. The cat music was composed using a specifically de-signed sonic computer program in collaboration with the Japan School ofMusic Therapy and Azabu Veterinary University and “sounds like what youmight hear at a spa, but with almost a purring sound over the top” says mar-keting manager Justin Phillips.

“We often have six or seven cats in here at a time, and if one of them startsmaking noise the others soon join in which can add even more stress. The aimis to reduce vocal stress behaviours like barking and whining and to have morerestful behaviour.

“At the moment, the only evidence we have from our practice is anecdotal,but it seems to be having the right effect.”

Tess, a six-year-old Golden Retriever, seems to agree – she hasn’t had herappointment yet, but she doesn’t look like she’s worrying about it much.She’s very calm, neither concerned about nor especially interested in the newpeople that have come to see her.

And Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Finbar, also six, is able to sleep in peacewhile he recovers from his dental operation – no barking, no whimpering, justblissful, uninterrupted, healing sleep.

But, as anyone who has had the radio on around Christmas time will know,hearing the same songs over and over again can be extremely annoying. “Weput the CD player on shuffle and keep changing the CD,” explains Justin,“otherwise it can become an irritant.”

The original practice in the now eleven-strong chain, Guiseley White CrossVets makes do with a CD player each in the separate dog and cat wards. Butnewer buildings can expect to have speakers built into the walls, turning eachward into a real chill-out room.

So perhaps it’s not barking mad, after all.

“At the moment, it seems to behaving the right effect.”

Nothin’ but a hound dog

Chilled out pup