#everisland

[ntebohelengwm]

Preview of the soundtrack to Infernia: A Journey Into The Embers

[lsradio]

Space Dimension Controller// Kitchen Street pop up/ 22.3.14

Before getting down to the Kitchen Street Pop-up, I had wondered how Space Dimension Controlled got his name. My question was answered by about midnight, as it became apparent that a five hour takeover was the best way to experience what SDC had to offer.

The small space was flooded by pulsating red floating orbs whilst a small crowd sat silent at the rear of the room. The orbs were an effect created by dim lighting and an abundance of thick fog, and the crowd was soon to be on their feet. The slow start matched the pace of the thin crowd, but SDC had only just begun. Building an atmosphere from the ground up takes time, I told myself, peering across the still flooded room at the DJ booth, invisible yet not five meters away. We languished in our newfound camouflage, our shapes indistinguishable from the empty space around, SDC disconnected from his audience, though his sound engulfed us and saturated into our heads. Impossible to dance, impossible to engage, I frustratedly scribbled in my notepad, sipping a beer that had left my wallet bruised and battered.

At this point the expectations I had in my heart were huge, but a flicker of doubt kindled, only to be extinguished as the room cleared of smoke and filled with dancers.

And that's when the night got awesome. Hip Hop, Soul and House music replaced the unseasonal fog, SDC effortlessly switching between the songs revolving round and round; obscure 80's gems mix well with jiving bodies. Throughout the night SDC kept true to his deep roots in electronica, though intentionally doing away with the clinical categorisation that genre implements; The Beegees spun next to T2+Jodie. Soon the sound became something that demanded attention, the crowd could only smile and wave to their newfound friends; dancing and smiling became as permanent as marker pen.

Jack Hamill, behind the decks, becomes The Controller. Manipulating Space using only sound, he does not ask for your attention. SDC takes you to another level, another Dimension, steering his craft through time, shifting your perspective on what music fits when. Time dilated to such a degree that the 3am curfew simultaneously seemed far off, but not far enough; an effect that almost certainly factored into the extra half an hour we were blessed with.

A night of mixed sonic and aural pleasures, it was fitting that Space Dimension Controller used both MP3s and Vinyl to deliver himself to the crowd. My first experience of a night long takeover went better than I could have ever believed.

/Jon Ferguson

[lsradio]

Inkarta #1: Shigeto, Dauwd and Jacques Malchance// The Kazimier/ 30.1.14

Liverpool adds yet another addition to a nascent underground electronic scene; but where most nights are pure hedonism (nothing wrong with that like, we all love a bit of it right?) Inkarta steps into the fray with a key difference, it throws a little dash of art and AV to the proceedings, thanks in part to the involvement of LSRadio alumni and the folks behind Fiesta Bombarda. Needless to say excitement is an understatement before the show.

Jacques Malchance enters to an already packed room for his one-off ‘arpeologie’ set, a behemoth of a compendium, full of avante-electronica assembled just for tonight. Bizarrely, and may I say excellently, he manages to capture that feeling only normally encountered in a dirty warehouse at the weekend and bring it to a Thursday night. Brilliant at the time, not so much in lectures the next day, but who’s going to complain, really?

 In a swoop worthy of his Ghostly International position, Shigeto sneaks on for what transpires to be his first Liverpool  gig. The mood in the room changes palpably, as everyone limbers up for a full on percussive assault (check out this video and you’ll see what I mean). Instead of going in entirely for the textbook, man-hunched over-synth tropes but not fully going for the cringe posturing some producers go for, he exists tantalising grey-area. Despite a slow start, Shigeto finally cuts through the headphone-oriented, downbeat fug as his set see-saws; a little bit of Bass here, a little bit of rappity-rap style Hip-Hop there and all blended up with a dash of jazz.  

Just as former Liverpool Uni student Dauwd prepares to take the stage, the tension building throughout Shigeto’s onstage tenure breaks at the perfect time. Word of mouth hype, built up long before his much-loved slot supporting Bonobo at the O2 a few months back, the excitement in the room for his return is tangible. Drawing on the ideas, aesthetics and textures from the full spectrum of dance, but always rooted in that catch-all Bass category. No matter how genius they are, many producers never entirely successfully take to the decks – but take to them Dauwd does superbly. Dropping everything at just the right point, holding back as and when was right and releasing as he pleased. His excellent live performance complements his trademark tense atmospherics and tricksy beats, resulting in an intense and memorable night.

/ Laurie Cheeseman

[lsradio]

Everisland: Hallows Ritual// The Kazamier/ 31.10.13

Halloween. Doesn't it just fill you with visions of skimpily dressed "Zombies", white face paint and slightly off taste pop culture costumes? Spine chilling. Yet on Halloween there was one place where we could all escape from the raft of promotional blood syringe shots, Everisland's Hallows Ritual, where a delightfully macabre evening was being prepared for us all to revel in, the Kazamier had been turned into a coven and we were promised druids, death and "Horror Punk". 

On arrival it became clear that Everisland had once again pulled no punches in their themes. The Kazamier had been swathed in occult trinkets, the bar was staffed by skeletons, though I was sceptical of the house fortune teller who told me mine included having a good night. The crowd had taken a hint from the promoters and had arrived arrayed in all their finery, including a giant party robot with flashing lights (which I had the pleasure of seeing being reassembled in the bathroom after "operational necessities") an impressive alien headdress, myriad sugar skulls ( AKA "couldn't be bothered to get a costume") and an incredibly unpleasant burns victim. 

All of this costumed capering was being soundtracked by the pick of Liverpool's slightly more profane acts, Nadine Carina's loops and echoed hymnal vocals starting the evening before it progressed neatly into Sankofa's woozy and tripped out psychadelia, swirling the crowd neatly into a dancing spirit. As the echoes died away the crowd was greeted by one of Everisland's genuinely disturbing little tricks; groups of faceless black clad druids circled through the crowd before snatching a dancer and performing a  bloody shadow puppet sacrifice on stage. Bird cheerfully wipe the blood off their guitars and begin what was to be the highlight of my night. Hauntingly ethereal, their beautiful pop-noir perfectly merged with the vibe and left most of the crowd spell-bound to their achingly impressive vocals, voices rising clean and clear through the Kazamier's mist and the crowd's slightly drunken haze.

Hackles raised, Zombina and the Skeletones launch into a b-movie inspired punk pit. Fast paced and deferential to the evening they throw song after song of horror themed three chord tunes into the crowd, interrupted only by the arrival of the devil himself (possibly) and a massive dog headed demon who proceeded to dance his way through the rest of the set, culminating in an unlikely dance off with the party robot. When Lovecraft take to the stage for the final set of the night, everything was getting hazy again, a well formed fuzz drifting slowly before it dropped out into a more traditional bass driven melody, pushing through their occult referencing lyrics boomed in macabre basso.

As I later pushed out into the night,  I wandered past the remnants of those costumed casualties now lolling outside the chart spewing clubs of Concert Square. I was suitably uplifted in the dark night to know that there are some places in Liverpool that know how to bring off not just a gig, but an atmosphere.

/Louis van Kleeff

[bladefactory]

Friday.

[mangoneblog-blog]

Preview: Tighten Up! – Tropical Warehouse Party

SATURDAY FEB 4TH | THE BLADE FACTORY

Tighten Up! are teaming up with the folks from everisland & Waxxx to bring you a taste of island paradise for your Saturday night!

Converting a warehouse into a tropical haven, attendees will be treated to an evening of exotic visuals with music from the Caribbean, Africa & Latin America. Live music includes sets from White Bicycles (tropical pop) & We, The Undersigned (reggae heavy-hitters). A host of deejays will also be playing into the early hours of the morning, providing a healthy blend of ska, reggae, broken beat, calypso & much more!

8PM – 4AM | £5 ADV & £6 OTD

Advanced tickets are available from 3B Records & Bold Street Coffee.

You can also order them at this link:

http://www.fatsoma.com/tickets/tighten-up-tropical-warehouse-party/the-blade-factory/liverpool/e60507

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[mangoneblog-blog]

Interview: EverIsland Presents...

This interview nearly didn't happen! Here's what the plan was. Meet up with the EverIsland guys, Sam and Clarry, at Mello Mello. Simples. A sit down with Liverpool's newest and freshest promoters sounded right up my street and where better to see them than where thier recent jam packed Muto Leo gig took place?

Got there, Mello was shut. It's a long story so I'll save you the trauma but it involved a lonely sit down in LEAF, a broken phone, a sachel of sugar and an accidental cross of paths with the EverIsland guys captured on Slater Street by an unassuming Phil Macdonald, our photograpoher. It was a fluke I even found them but as long as they were in sight I could rest easy that night...

First off I want to apologise. Not only to you but to Mr Sam Garlick and Miss Clarry Mowforth. I was planning on posting a video interview but as all we had was my budget handycam things didn't really turn out too well. Sorry Sam, all that panic was for nothing. And to you, we'll get some videos up soon.

Anyhow. On with the show...

Joe ManGone: So, New kids on the block, EverIsland. With a strong image, good line ups and drawing quality crowds, where did you come from?

Clarry Mowforth: I came from Brighton originally, then I came up here to come to uni, then near the end I decided I wanted to stay here, then I met Sam because we both worked at Bido Lito,

Sam Garlick: Yeah, I think we both shared a love of the Liverpool Scene, we both wanted to see a lot more local bands more often. A lot of our favourite bands were playing but not necessarily on the same bill. So, rather than start to make money or make a living, we did it just to see bands play.

CM: And to gain the experience of doing this kind of thing

SG: Yeah, It’s a lot of effort but if we can carry on doing it for a while we will be more than happy to do that.

JM: But what is EverIsland?

SG: Ever Island is basically a promotions company with intention to show off local talent and try and get a vibe going.

CM: It’s a way to give bands a chance to perform and to meet other people in the industry

JM: What was your favourite Ever Island show?

CM: Mine was our first one which was Raw City, 26, Battleships and…

SG: That was it.

CM Was it? Well we didn’t expect the reaction we got and a lot of people came. It worked really well and because it was the first one we like ‘Yeah, we want to do this again and again and again’.

SG: My one would be the Minion TV, Muto Leo one with Valet Duke and Carousel. I just think it was a great line up, great bands, great support. And with instrumental bands there tends to be big breaks in between sets but the bands seemed to transfer well.

JM: You're second gig was fairly unique. You did a gig with vocals kept to a minimum. Did you think that was risky?

SG: I think, stylistically we try and keep the line up quite similar and I think the bands kind of mirrored headliner, Minion TV. We wanted the line up to keep to their kind of ‘style’ and muto leo, carousel and valet dukes fit in  quite well.

CM: I don’t think not having vocals was a risk at all. As long as the music is going then that’s what people come for.

JM: The city is short on Promoters… What are the highs and what are the things to look out for?

CM: The highs are definitely the amount of people you meet, and meeting people who are eager to work on different projects with you is good. And lows…?

SG: I think one of the lows is because we charge a low price on the door for the gigs because we’re not interested in making any money is we put 40 hours in to a gig and not make anything from it. It’s enough for us, well personally for me and I’m sure I speak for clarry, it’s enough just to meet the bands, make new friends and get involved with the scene.

CM: Yeah, There’s very very very little financial/personal gain but it’s early days.

SG: But yeah, you are right about the scene in that there needs to be a few more people putting on nights to make things interesting.

JM: With recent venue closures, as promoters, what do you we need to boost the scene?

CM: I think I’d like to see more people go to gigs really, even gigs where they don’t know the bands. Just going because, I don’t know, they want a night out or something.

SG: I think there are a lot of good promoters out doing stuff, like obseanic, Speakeasy, people like that. The bands are great, there’s no problem with the bands. This is one of the most diverse cities but I think there’s not that much of an audience and I think the way to counter that is to make bigger line ups. I don’t the deal with o2 or the echo arena but I mean maybe get people like them who are not necessarily part of the scene but to generate interest.

CM: Also, I think we need a few more big names coming in to the city because everyone does Manchester and other cities but Liverpool gets missed out of that. I don’t think it should. Local bands could support them.

SM: More gig posters… with maybe… Porn on them?

CM More tits on posters.

*general folly and laughs*

JM: There’s been a big up rise against Pay 2 Play in the city just as things started to crumble. It seems as though blame has been put on that to a certain extent. But is pay to play as common as people make it out to be? And what are your views?

CM - I’ve not even come across that many Pay2Play. I know there’s that thing where the band pays a deposit and if they don’t reach that on the ticket sales…

SG - Some people say it’s a bit dodgy when they get bands to sell tickets and they get a small commission back but that’s not too bad. That’s fair enough. The bands get more money. We did that with Tighten Up and the Warehouse Party. But I haven’t heard that much. Pay2Play promoters are just our for the money and I think they get a reputation, especially with such a well connected scene, word spreads.

As Tall As Trees by Battleships

JM: What are the local bands to look out for in 2012?

SG: My favourite band is either Muto Leo or Battleships. Muto Leo are some of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I’m doing a bit of booking work for them now as well. Their music isn’t necessarily rooted in any one location. It’s just nice matty post rock. Battleships, what they’re doing is making really really good music. It’s great quality.

CM: My favourite band at the moment is the Loved Ones. They’re playing for us 13th January. I just think they’re stunning. And not only the best band in Liverpool but one of the best bands I’ve ever heard… And I’ve heard a lot!

JM: What's next in EverIsland's line of fire? What are your future pans?

SG: Our next show is ‘Thirteen’ at Kazimier. We’ve got Capac, Loved Ones,Sun Drums along with the Hive. They’re doing a surreal visual thing.

CM: We wanted it to be more than a gig so we’ve got short films playing at the beginning, the hive will be doing their thing, we’ve got djs as well as line ups. Because it’s Friday 13th we kind of played on that fact and made it a little bit spooky. Hopefully it will be a surreal experience.

SG: This one is a risk for us. We’ve put a lot in to it, my uni loan/Clarry’s work pay, so if it’s a great turn out then perfect! But if it doesn’t go as well as we think it might do…

CM: …Then we might take a little break. But we’ll be back!

Check out EverIsland's next show, 'Thirteen' at The Kazimier on Friday 13th of Jan (This Friday). Click here for more info. 

Words: Joe ManGone

Photography (if you can call it that): Joe ManGone

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/everisland

http://www.facebook.com/events/255392307856991/

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