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JANUARY BLUES MUSIC BUT NOT BLUES MUSIC

Whilst i've been lying low and making a killing on just above minimum wage in a youth hostel - the one next to the Arnolfini, yeah the one you all come into in the summer for the toilets and wait in a massive queue - yeah that's the one. I've been there whilst all of these bands have been making some really excellent music.

The Evil Usses

Bristol boys and an Italian sax offender playing rocky notjazz, jazzy notrock, post-op pop, notmuch and a lot else.

Sleaford Mods

An angry duo from Nottingham with poignant points to make, drugs to take and minds to break.

Richard Dawson

Rolling Stone place 'Nothing Important' at no.3 in their Best Avant Albums Of 2014 and The Guardian gave it 5 stars in their music review. oo err. A fitting accolade to a fantastic songwriter.

Wenonoah

Music that expresses a multitude of emotions. Deep and dark like the ocean. Warm and light, like the ocean too. Wenohonaoh is curiously brilliant. Outstanding even. 'Fine flesh pop for abstracted humans' - Wenonoah .

Andy Watts

Andy used to play in a band called The Seahorses and now he drives around his country manor in his Skoda Octavia estate and cycles to the shops on his penny farthing bike. A great performer, always got a few jokes to crack and says things like "giv us a nag on yer tab mate".

Count Bobo

Hands down the best ska/rocksteady band in the south west. And the best pasty eaters too after going through £100 worth of pasties at their NYE gig in dorset. Not exactly the home of rocksteady but most probably the home of indigestion.

Eyes for Gertrude

Dartington graduates who have their album launch at The Louisiana (Bristol) on 24th January. £5 advance. £6 on the door.

Goan Dogs

Bristol regulars still going strong. Band member Sam Powell can allegedly run faster than a rabbit.

New Palace Talkies

Like this blog, New Palace Talkies seemed to disappear for a while. Thankfully they're back with a post-pop sophistication.

Olo Worms

When Art meets Sports Direct. Fantastically fucked-up.

Zun Zun Egui

NEW ALBUM THIS MONTH

Yas Clarke

Music making mad man. Debut Bristol gig on 26th Feb at Cafe Kino (Bristol).

Chuman

Very original, very funny and very honest.

Melt Yourself Down

“One of our favourite bands of the moment. We really love!” Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music. ** it's quite an old quote but i'm sure it's still valid.**

The Black Tambourines

Still flying the Falmouth flag. Still bloody brilliant.

#sleaford mods #richard dawson #the evil usses #wenonoah #andy watts #count bobo #eyes for gertrude #goan dogs #new palace talkies #olo worms #zun zun egui #yas clarke #chuman #melt yourself down #the black tambourines

Cornwall's coolest cool list

This time last year I decided to move from Cornwall to Bristol. A bright move full of new prospects and opportunities, I thought. Well, one year on and who would have thought that I would be in my office (bedroom), reminiscing about how I spent the best part of 2012 living in Bristol, in poverty, with three other idiots... at least the music's been good. So good in fact, that it's been hard to keep track of all the new(ish) Cornish bands doin' good over the last 12 months.

Last week I went back to Falmouth University having been invited there by the head of the BA(Hons) Popular Music course and former manager of The Specials and The Damned, the legendary, Rick Rogers.

If we put poor public transport and Pasty Tax aside, things in Cornwall aint that bad. It feels like the county has gone through a mini music revolution over the last couple of years. I saw so many exciting bands in Falmouth (some below) and they just keep getting better. Apart from the bands themselves going out and owning it. Credit has to go to Rick for injecting a syringe of diverse guitar music straight into the eyeball of Falmouth town. Credit is also due to the well respected promoter and all round nice guy, Frank Pellow from Duelling Kazoos for promoting so many new acts in the SouthWest and providing them with a very supportive platform to get themselves going. Be sure to see one of these bands soon. They're all very brilliant.

The Black Tambourines

Rafiki

The Red Cords

George Club

Hazards

Oliver Wilde

Lo fi and sounding effortless, Bristol-based Oliver Wilde's music is a throwback to some of the great '90s indie bands. A contemporary nod of appreciation to bands like The Beta Band, Beck and Sparklehorse. The latter, a band who Wilde considers 'God' as far as his musical inspirations and influences go.

That 'bedroom studio' sound being very sought after nowadays, even for those recording in plush studios, the want to create that classic, dated sound is more popular than ever. Lo fi is the new Hi fi. Like 20 degrees centigrade being the new 30 degrees centigrade for this time of year (couldn't find the little degrees centigrade symbol).

Wilde's sound is essentially high quality Lo fi. Its fizzy, tinselly sound gives his music an almost weightless quality about it whilst the incorporation of electronic sounds place it very nicely in a more contemporary setting. Hazy and dream like and very nappable. I even had a nap to this - and I never nap.

http://www.oliver-wilde.com/

Hedluv + Passman doin' the Fringe drekly

'Amazeballs' - Bud4Biking

If it's good enough for Bud4Biking then it's probably good enough for you. Cornish rap SENSATION Hedluv + Passman aren't too happy about being billed as a comedy act for their series of gigs at the Gilded Ballon during this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival - the venue have even expressed their concerns that their poster (above) may suffer alongside the 111 professionally designed posters - I doubt it.

'The most metatextual artifact to come out of Redruth' - The Times

'Absolutely loving it' - Radio 1

The authenticity of such quotes cannot be confirmed can now be confirmed as 100% genuine... Amazeballs.

A Brief gig and a brief encounter (over the counter) with Sharon Van Etten

Over the past few months, Rise Records - Bristol's biggest Independent record store - has had the likes of The Duke Spirit, Gravenhurst and Andrew Bird grace it's non-existent stage upstairs on the shop floor. Now, after four years, it's time for Sharon Van Etten's return to Bristol. I walk in unprofessionally (yet very fashionably) late, mid-music and at the back of the crowd. After finishing her first song Van Etten introduces herself to the audience. She’s ever so casual and as cool as an English summer, talking to the engaged lot in a very friendly, endearing and comical way.

A few subtle jokes and remarks later, Sharon asks the audience "can you even hear me out there? …or am I just not being funny?" It is these kind of humorous interjections that provide a genuinely lovely contrast between angst and happiness. Van Etten's well known for this kind of behaviour and she's mentioned in the past that if she tells a few jokes and adds a bit of humour in between her songs then it helps to reassure the audience that she's not going to slit her wrists backstage.

Her track All I Can off her most recent album Tramp (2012) brings a hush across the shop floor. Cutting a small, lonesome figure on-stage, she plays her acoustic guitar full of confidence and with a voice to match.

It's no secret that Van Etten's been through a tough time growing up, which, for lovers of her music, is fantastic! It's these moments of heartbreak, love-loss, despair and darker times that have provided the material for the Brooklyn based songstress to write such emotionally fuelled songs. Turning heartbreaking moments of her past into the most heartbreaking/heart-warming of songs in the present.

It's a short 20-30 minute intimate and relaxed set and towards the end of it, I find myself in the Interior Design and Erotic Novels section of Rise. I have the best view in the shop (of Sharon, not the books) as she finishes with a beautiful song entitled Leonard. This daytime gig is a taster gig, if you like, a sample of what's to come as she prepares for her gig at the Thekla - her first ever gig on a boat!

I met Sharon afterwards and we spoke more about comedy than music. Sharon mentioned that if she didn't take the music route then she would like to give the comedy a go, for a laugh. I wanted to leave her with a joke, ideally one about a boat that she could tell at her evening gig at the Thekla. My mind went blank and I didn't get to tell her any of my boat related jokes which did, in fact, give me that sinking feeling inside...

Brilliant Corners

A trio from Camberwell, London. I don't know much about the band and haven't seen them live but after coming across their videos online and hearing their Gotye-esque 'Our English World', with its subtle but clear jazz, afro-beat and pop influences, it's been on repeat with no objections from my housemates since. Live @ Ritzy Cinema, Brixton. 18th July.

VIDEO: You Steer Your Ship

VIDEO: You Dared Me

Richard Dawson

Newcastle based singer songwriter Richard Dawson seems to have mastered the knack of writing beautifully crafted, heartwarming folk songs. A real storyteller in songwriting form. Honest, modest and a pleasure to talk to. His album 'The Magic Bridge' was released with Pink Triangle (2011).

Website: richarddawson.net

New Palace Talkies

BIMM graduates. GOOD live.

Soundcloud

Alt J ∆

Try typing 'alt j' on a mac and this is what you'll see: ∆

Try listening to 'Tessellate' from Alt J's debut album, 'An Awesome Wave', and you'll hear the band singing about triangles being their favorite shapes. Contrary to popular belief, triangles aren't their favorite shapes at all. In fact, the keys player is actually indifferent to the three sided shapes. Or at least that's what he told me after their gig at The Cooler in Bristol.

Alt J have just signed to an indie label from London (my novice interviewing skills becoming apparent as I forgot to press the record button on my mobile half way through the interview, therefore forgetting the name of the label.) You can listen to it here:

#Alt-J #Bristol #The Cooler

The Dancing Dead

Debut single from Cornish Rock 'n' Roll band The Dancing Dead. Sensing big influences from The Subways and Queens of the Stone Age here. It's loud, gritty and in yer face!

Chew Magna

A couple of tracks from Bristol based Producer Chew Magna. Louis Thomson is his name and making big hip-hop beats is his thing. Above: A pop tinged, squeaky clean remix of Shut Her Down by Anneka. Below: A sublimely chilled, downtempo track featuring a sample from the 70's classic film, Eraserhead. Check him out here: Chew Magna

REVIEW: 2:54 * Chelsea Wolfe * Seasfire @ The Thekla

'Possibly the best bar and venue in Bristol' reads the slogan for The Thekla - Bristol's only venue/nightclub on a boat. And at £3.60 for a can of beer, that bit about it being (possibly) the best bar is debatable. Great venue though.

Seasfire started the gig with their polished, moody, sophisticated pop. Creating a big full sound with credit to the synth player. The performance had very little interaction with the audience which made it feel as if you were watching a rehearsal - a very good one at that, but it seemed to lack the thrill and energy of such an exciting young band. Clearly Seasfire are going for a spacey, atmospheric, quite profound sound but it didn't feel as though they pushed it as hard as they could have, or maybe should have. Very impressive, but not as epic as I'd have hoped.

Chelsea Wolfe was next, cutting a commanding figure on stage. Dressed head to toe in black, amongst a tangle of cables and foot pedals, the band blasted into their intro/first track with the energy and power that Seasfire seemed to lack. St Vincent comparisons spring to mind instantly, female alternative noisy guitar with an essence of goth. Great goth, good goth, good god I've said goth too much. I was hoping we'd get a chance to hear an acoustic song or two, but the noisy band dynamic stayed the same for the whole set - not a bad thing, it just means you'll have to watch the video below to get your stripped back, Chelsea Wolf hit.

2:54 - the headline act and probably undeservedly so. After a solid performance by Seasfire followed by an excellent Chelsea Wolf set, 2:54 didn't really cut it. The London sisters Hannah and Colette Thurlow make the kind of gloom-and-doom-pop that couldn't be further from their angelic appearance (bar headbanging). My eyes were glued but the ears did seem to wonder, drifting out, on a boat, into a sea of noise. A thoroughly mediocre performance from what was a very enjoyable gig.

Dorovio Bold

Some tracks I tumbled across (via pocket-fluff.tumblr.com) from Syd Arthur's Raven Bush. If you like this then you have to check out his brilliant 30 minute Mixtape featuring Syd Arthur, Zoo For You, Liam Magill, Speakers Corner Quartet and more. It's a free download too! (http://vibesandstuff.podbean.com/)

Seasfire

Bristol based Seasfire will be playing live @ The Thekla on 10th April with support from 2:54 and Chelsea Wolfe. Until then, here's a moody ballad. Post-James Blake style.

Out and a scout

"I don't mind a bit of dubstep, as long as I'm not in a room where everyone is off their face" is my reply to Ollie Hodge (A&R Manager for Sony/Columbia) as we have a drink in a posh pub in Clifton. We've met to watch a showcase at Factory Studios. A female singer/songwriter - very talented, but I can't give too much away just yet...

The conversation turns to Bristol. The city, the venues, bands, promoters, nightlife etc and having been here for a few weeks now, I'm starting to build that network of essential muso friends. Ollie tells me names of people who I should meet and Bristol based dubstep outfit Koan Sound is one of them.

I've been meaning to see Koan Sound for a long time now but the thought of being surrounded by people who take horse tranquillizers for recreational use kind of puts me off a bit. Sad really. Or maybe I'm the sad one for not partaking?

Koan Sound are young lads who love making music and, judging by their popularity online - not to mention their tour of America - they're steppin' in the right direction! (Shameful pun, sorry).

The NorthEast of the SouthWest

Having made the move from Cornwall to Bristol, it's comforting to find that I'm still surrounded by people with strong regional accents. I'll now be posting relentlessly about music things going down in Bristol town. Starting with this gem... Oh yeah, did I mention I work with his cousin? Probably not worth mentioning...

#Bristol #Buggsy

The artist is first, the music is the primary goal and the scene is king

Self Made Scene is a Falmouth based collective whose main aim is to establish a means to create and share music via methods that support the local music scene. With no specific sound, aesthetic or branding, the image of Self Made Scene will be crafted by the scene that surrounds it. The project was thought-up by artists Ashley Hampson (Hampster Productions), Rob Heath (Chinese Sky Candy) and Sam Stacpoole (The Black Tambourines) who have all played a part in shaping the current Falmouth 'scene' and with the help of other local musicians and bands willing to volunteer their services for the benefit of the Self Made Scene, they're helping the music community to help themselves. "This is not for monetary gain" says founding member, Ashley, "by producing something that excites people, we can make enough money to continue doing what we love. It's purely to help set up a network of people who can share their music and help promote good music that needs hearing".

With music more accessible than ever in this digital age, Self Made Scene argue that it is this accessibility to such vast amounts of music that we, the consumers, have lost the context in which this music was made. Self Made Scene's gripe is not with the Internet itself, but the dislocation between context and artist that occurs once music is uploaded onto the web. Stating, "the context of music is as powerful a language as its harmony, rhythm and lyrics and such a vast archive of music is not conducive to the appreciation of music on a personal level".

The Internet is undoubtedly a truly remarkable tool for consuming music. But, it is also full of distractions. There's so much to choose from, billions of songs vying for attention. Self Made Scene believes that having a limited record collection is good and knowing these records inside out is something that, by being part of the 'Global Vilage' we are all losing out on.

The Philosophy behind Self Made Scene sounds great. It's basically a self sustainable music ecosystem. It's not a record label, or a select group of people. It's an ethos. It's a place where every individual does their bit, as part of a larger scene, a Self Made Scene. With exclusivity playing an important part in today's consumer culture - especially within music consumer culture - Cornwall based artists, musicians, promoters, publishers, distributors etc can all get involved with Self Made Scene. It has a geographical exclusivity, and a very interesting one at that.

selfmadescene.co.uk

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