cool music & things

Student living in Oxford using this blog to share the music I enjoy through recommendations, news about gigs & tours, album/single releases, reviews etc. Also the odd gig photo!

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NEW BLOG

I’ve decided to move this blog to blogger and host it myself over there, so you can find the new blog here: http://www.coolmusicandthings.co.uk

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Matt Owens - Songs For An Empty Room

After a successful run and four brilliant records, indie rock band Noah & The Whale announced a split of sorts a month ago. I'm a huge fan of their music, particularly favouring their second album The First Days of Spring, and naturally I was pretty gutted, but glad to know that the band were all continuing to make music. Lead singer Charlie Fink has hinted at solo work with a new website and Soundcloud, while Fred Abbott is working on a solo record, and Tom Hobden tours with Mumford & Sons.

Matt Owens (AKA Urby Whale) is also releasing a solo record, which I was lucky enough to get my hands on and absolutely adore. He’s currently playing tons of London gigs with an impressive band (interestingly entitled The Delusional Vanity Project) comprising of Tom, Fred and Michael of NATW, with George Leigh on bass and Tom Figgins on guitar. Last weekend I went along to a show at Proud Camden (a slightly surreal club experience but I won’t go into that) and they played a superb set, showcasing the range of the record, which goes from rough rock (think I made that up) to stunning violin solos within moments. After the set I introduced myself to the band who were all lovely guys and pretty shocked that I’d travelled from Oxford for the show, and with whom I got to chat with before dashing for the last train. 

Matt’s record is titled Songs For An Empty Room, a hint at the difficulties involved in starting over again, though I must admit that I admire that he hasn’t chosen to use the NATW social platforms to get an instant, large response to his music, instead building up a new following in his own right. In our discussion last weekend he told me about the interesting process of recording the album live over a couple of days, with much of the album being authentic to its original recording. This comes across on the record in a fantastic way, allowing for the brilliant songwriting and arrangements to be foregrounded without being overshadowed by fancy effects. For me, a highlight of the record is its range, going from the slow Everything’s Got It’s Place (listen on the album sampler above) with it’s beautiful violin solo two minutes in, to the lively The Harbour In Kinsale. A particular favourite of mine is Jack Does Hollywood, which is what you might call a murder ballad, sung from the perspective of Jack the Ripper, which sounds strange admittedly but works and is catchy in its own haunting way. 

Overall, the album is refreshing and a favourite of mine so far this year, showing promise for the other upcoming post-NATW releases. You can listen to a sampler of the record above and take a look at the upcoming gigs here (mostly in London) - can’t recommend enough that you go and see the guys live if you get the chance! 

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In all my excitement I forgot to post about this... but better late than never. The superb American folk-rock band Dawes have a new album, titled All Your Favourite Bands which is set to be released on June 2nd (info.) I was first introduced to the band through Mumford & Sons, as they supported them on their UK tour at the end of 2012, playing a superb set, and I’ve been desperate to see them live again ever since playing a show in their own right. Taken from the record is the first single Things Happen, which on the exterior is a fairly sad song and video, but culminates in a pretty inspiring moral - ‘things happen, that’s all they ever do’ (so get on with it!) I can't wait to hear more from this new record and hope that the band include the UK in the album touring schedule!

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When they released new track Distant Past, I already had high hopes for Everything Everything’s new record, Get To Heaven (out June 15th.) These hopes were realised when I saw the band play a superb set in London earlier this month, playing 7 or 8 tracks from the new record. One of these tracks was a song called Regret which was pretty impressive live, oozing single material and showcasing the diverse singing style of the band’s lead, Jonathan Higgs. The track premiered last night on Radio 1, and you can listen to the audio above. 

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Last Friday, Sofar Sounds hosted a wonderful evening full of poetry, beatboxing, double bass, brass and beautiful music at the Hatch. 

Guests were treated to a range of music; Rex Domino, Bellatrix, Dizraeli and The Slow Show. 

Check out this facebook page for more information.

All photos © Megan Seekings

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Very cool to have my photos used on the blog for the venue where we hosted the last Oxford Sofar Sounds that I attended.

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I am so glad that one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve ever heard finally has an equally stunning video to accompany. The track is The Nile by the lovely Sivu featuring Rae Morris, and the video, though incredibly simplistic, is fantastic. Give your ears and eyes a treat.

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I’ve recently rediscovered my love for photography, and have been taking photos at the local Sofar Sounds shows. I am keen to gain more experience with gig photography so I took my camera along to the Communion New Faces show in Oxford on Friday evening. It was a brilliant evening seeing a range of new talent in the form of Frances, Tenterhook, Charlotte OC and Freddie Dickson - an indicator of the calibre of these nights is that the last tour had Amber Run, Kimberly Anne, Fyfe and Pixel Fix on the bill, who are all now going from strength to strength with tours, albums and the like. I’m pretty chuffed with how my shots from the evening turned out, and you can see them all in an album on my Flickr here.

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Check out this stunning new video from The Sea & I for their track The Great I Am. I was lucky enough to go to a preview of the video in a quirky space in East London, followed by a short performance by the band (see photo of me looking chuffed to be there). Both were great and I heartily recommend a watch! 

The band have an upcoming residency at The Islington, playing shows on 14th May, 11th June and 25th June (tickets here, £5 for each show or £12 for all three.) The first time I saw the band I was mesmerised by their performance which also featured London Contemporary Voices and London Chamber Brass, and I expect that the upcoming performances will feature equally brilliant collaborations. 

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Somehow managed to evade Stornoway until I met the bassist, Oli, at Sofar Sounds Oxford which he co-runs. They’ve been about for a while and released a few records, an impressive back catalogue including tracks such as Zorbing, I Saw You Blink and Fuel Up. They’ve just released a new record, Bonxie, which reached number 20 in the album charts last Sunday. As a local Oxford band they played an unplugged acoustic instore at Truck Store just up the road from me for Record Store Day. I couldn't see much as it was so rammed but what I could hear (most importantly) was beautiful. A couple of days ago I went to see them again down in Reading at Sub 89. Traffic issues aside it was a superb night, with the band playing a quiet diverse set with really rock-y elements shining through from their ‘alternative indie folk’ (Wiki) roots. A highlight for me was the unplugged performance of Josephine, a track taken from the new record. 

Stornoway remain on tour through to the beginning of May, dates here.

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Megan Seekings Youtube

Would love if you could check out my Youtube (link above). I usually try to record a couple of songs when I go to gigs and put them up on there, so alongside this blog it is the go-to place for the artists I love. 

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Behold the new video from The Maccabees for their track Marks To Prove It. Looking forward to their new record quite a bit.. gutted that their intimate London gig in March clashes with exam time!

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Last night I saw the brilliant Everything Everything for the first time, playing a fairly small and quirky East London venue, Oval Space. After discovering the band through a live-stream of their performance at Glastonbury a couple of years back, I bought their second record, Arc, which quickly became a favourite. Their first record is just as great, and the set was interspersed with favourites from those, but was dominated by new tracks from upcoming Get To Heaven, including the already released crowd pleaser Distant Past. The new tracks went down a treat and for me, the record, out mid-June, can't come quick enough!

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Nottingham based Sam Beeton (sambeeton) plays a support set at Notts Glee Club tonight, and his debut record, In The Yard, is released digitally tomorrow (for physical releases, go here.) Check out this video of Sam performing a new track, Hundred Reasons, exclusively for Female First.

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A few days ago I went to this month’s Oxford Sofar Sounds, events that I’ve been photographing recently. It was hosted at Worcester College Chapel, with Tom Lowman, Gill Sandell, CoCo and the Butterfields and Emily Barker performing. It was once more a superb evening of live music, if a little less intimate than normal - but a beautiful venue regardless. You can find some of my photos from the evening in the second half of the album on SS Oxford’s Facebook here.

The highlight of the evening for me was folk hip-hop band CoCo and the Butterfields. Having heard them practicing outside before the show I was looking forward to their set, and when they rocked up on stage with violin, guitar, double bass, banjo, saxophone and a beatboxer.. my high hopes were ready to be realised. They played a really fun set and the audience seemed to enjoy it, particularly their opening track, a cover of Gym Class Heroes’ Cupid’s Chokehold. They’re touring across the UK in April/May, dates here, I implore you to take a listen!

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Bringing these guys back, Canadian indie rock band Half Moon Run performing Unofferable for The Wild Honey Pie. After buying their record Dark Eyes on a sale-related whim, I was quick to fall in love with their beautiful sound, particularly the harmonies. Really looking forward to hearing the new music they’ve been working on, and the next time they play some shows in the UK - consider me there!

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The “incredible” Sam Beeton got the first radio play of his new track Belong on his local BBC Introducing earlier. Take a listen here at just after 12 minutes. His debut album, In The Yard, is out on the 23rd of this month digitally, and a week later on the 30th on CD and vinyl! 

Love this shot I got of Sam on a photoshoot we had together a couple of years ago for a coursework project I was completing at the time. Hoping to get an opportunity to shoot with Sam again soon! 

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Had a wonderful chilled evening last night seeing Sivu at the Oxford date of his Feb/March tour, with support from local musician Cameron A G, (whose set was a pleasant surprise, a sort of indie Jake Bugg). Performing with guitar and keys player Lucy, Sivu’s stripped back set included a range of tracks from his debut record, Something On High, as well as a couple of non-album tracks, including my favourite, Cold Hands (video I took). I realise I post about this guy a lot, but his album really is one of my favourites of all time, and his live set is something to behold, always hitting the mark in the various situations I’ve seen him play (support slots at small and massive venues, and a headline London show). More than that, he’s also an incredibly humble musician, and I can’t recommend enough that you take a listen to his record or go and see him at a show!

Sivu contines touring until the end of the month with dates in Nottingham, Coventry, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Bournemouth, Ramsgate and Brighton, and what promises to be a superb London show on the 24th March. Tickets and info for all the shows here.