Issue 83 / November 2017

ISSUE 83 / NOVEMBER 2017
NEW MUSIC + CREATIVE CULTURE
LIVERPOOL
SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER VILLIAN ARTISTS / XAMVOLO
REMÉE / HOWIE PAYNE / ZOLA JESUS

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Wed 1st Nov • £10 adv
Mr Eazi’s Life Is Eazi Tour
Thu 2nd Nov • £15 adv
Bury Tomorrow
Sat 4th Nov • £17 adv
ICW Fight Club
Sun 5th Nov • £17 adv
Y&T
Wed 8th Nov • £22 adv
Newton Faulkner
Fri 10th Nov • £15 adv
Absolute Bowie
Fri 10th Nov • £17 adv
The ELO Show
Sat 11th Nov • SOLD OUT
Nothing But Thieves
Sat 11th Nov • £12 adv
Antarctic Monkeys
Sun 12th Nov • £25 adv
Ride
Tue 14th Nov • £36.50 adv
Little Steven
& The Disciples Of Soul
Fri 10th Nov • £12.50 adv
The Spitfires
Sat 18th Nov • £14.50 adv
UK Foo Fighters - 10th
Anniversary Tour
Sat 18th Nov • £16.50 adv
Deaf Havana
Thu 23rd Nov • £15 adv
TNT Extreme Wrestling: Cold
Day In Hell 2017
Fri 24th Nov • £12.50 adv
The Doors Alive
Sat 25th Nov • £14 adv
Pearl Jam UK
Sun 26th Nov • £14 adv
Jagged Little Pill - A Tribute To
Alanis Morissette
Mon 27th Nov • £22.50 adv
Scouting For Girls
Thu 30th Nov • £11 adv
Hermitage Green
Thu 30th Nov • £22 adv
Mike Garson Plays David
Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’
In Full
Fri 1st Dec • £22.50 adv
Mark Lanegan Band
Fri 1st Dec • £14 adv
The Lancashire Hotpots
Sat 2nd Dec • £13 adv
The Smyths: More Songs That
Saved Your Life Tour
Sat 2nd Dec • £15 adv
Ian Prowse & Amsterdam
Sat 9th Dec • £12.50 adv
The Prince Experience
Sat 9th Dec • £18 adv
The Icicle Works
Fri 15th Dec • £7 adv
Monk
Sat 16th Dec • £7 adv
Christmas
At The Academy
Sat 16th Dec • £20 adv
Ben Nicky
Fri 22nd Dec • £21.25 adv
The Twang
Sat 3rd Feb 2018 • £12 adv
Cash - A Tribute To
The Man In Black
Sun 4th Feb 2018 • £18 adv
Rend Collective
Tue 6th Feb 2018 • £18.50 adv
Hayseed Dixie
Fri 9th Feb 2018 • £18.50 adv
Alestorm: Piratefest 2018
Mon 12th Feb 2018 • £30 adv
Natalie Imbruglia
Tue 20th Feb 2018 • £8 adv
High Tyde
Sat 24th Feb 2018 • £26.50 adv
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern
Jukebox
Sat 24th Feb 2018 • £11 adv
Nearly Noel Gallaghers
High Flyin’ Birdz
Wed 28th Feb 2018 • £14 adv
Electric Six
Tue 21st Nov • SOLD OUT
Mac De Marco
Fri 24th Nov • £27.50adv
Nelly
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Friday 30th June • £25 adv
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LIVE
IN THE
MAIN
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FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER
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Outsiders.
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WHAT’S ON
Liverpool Philharmonic
October – January
Wednesday 1 November 7.30pm
RAY MEARS: BORN TO GO WILD
Saturday 11 November 7.30pm
The Music of Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM
Tuesday 14 November 7.30pm
BILLY BRAGG:
BRIDGES NOT WALLS
Sunday 3 December 8pm
LAUGHTERHOUSE
Saturday 9 December 7.30pm
KATE RUSBY AT CHRISTMAS
Friday 26 January 8pm
DEAR ESTHER – LIVE
Box Office
liverpoolphil.com
0151 709 3789
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LiverpoolPhilharmonic
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Image Billy Bragg © Murdo McLeod

THE STORY OF BRITISH MUSIC
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CONTENTS
New Music + Creative Culture
Liverpool
Issue 83 / November 2017
bidolito.co.uk
Second Floor
The Merchant
40-42 Slater Street
Liverpool L1 4BX
Editor
Christopher Torpey - chris@bidolito.co.uk
Editor-In-Chief / Publisher
Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk
Media Partnerships and Projects Manager
Sam Turner - sam@bidolito.co.uk
Assistant Editor
Bethany Garrett - editorial@bidolito.co.uk
Reviews Editor
Jonny Winship - live@bidolito.co.uk
Design
Mark McKellier - mark@andmark.co.uk
Branding
Thom Isom - hello@thomisom.com
Interns
Georgia Turnbull, Jessica Greenall
Cover Photography
Mike Sheerin
Words
Christopher Torpey, Bethany Garrett, Jessica Greenall,
Matthew Hogarth, Richard Lewis, Will Lloyd, Sam
Turner, Lee Fleming, Georgia Turnbull, Paul Fitzgerald,
Tom Bell, Sinead Nunes, Maya Jones, John McGovern.
Photography, Illustration and Layout
Mark McKellier, Mike Sheerin, Robin Clewley, Tim
Devas, Jay Chow, Keith Ainsworth, Mark McNulty,
Philip Arneill, Hannah Cassidy, Michelle Roberts, John
Johnson, Michael Kirkham, Stuart Moulding.
Distributed by Middle Distance
Print, distribution and events support across
Merseyside and the North West.
middledistance.org.uk
The views expressed in Bido Lito! are those of the
respective contributors and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the magazine, its staff or the
publishers. All rights reserved.
9 / EDITORIAL
Assistant Editor Bethany Garrett calls for
a change in the landscape of power so
that women and oppressed groups are
afforded the same opportunities as men.
10 / NEWS
The latest announcements, releases and
non-fake news from around the region.
12 / SILENT BILL
How an underground street art movement
highlighted rifts within society and
local government via a very overground
collision of art and politics.
14 / REMÉE
From performing pop songs in her living
room to catching the attention of Positive
Impact and LIMF Academy, futuristic RnB
singer REMÉE fills us in on her story so far.
18 / MERSEYRAIL SOUND
STATION AT FIVE
The new music platform celebrates five years
of supporting new artists and delivering
music to the commuters of Merseyside.
20 / CAPTAIN BEEFHEART
– TOTAL ART
The Zig Zag Wanderer’s legacy as a total artist
is celebrated with a weekend of events across
the city, exploring his groundbreaking music,
writing and art, as well as his links to Liverpool.
22 / KINKAJOU POP-
UP JAZZ CAFÉ
Anti Social Jazz Club present a weekend
of homage to the jazz café culture of
Tokyo with a photography exhibition, and
a host of performances and DJ sets.
24 / XAMVOLO
The enigmatic, genre-defying vocalist,
songwriter and producer offers us an
insight into his forthcoming debut album,
still keeping his cards close to his chest.
26 / CELLULOID HEROES
Liverpool is fabled for its musical output, past
and present. But what about film? Sam Turner
investigates the organisations bolstering
the city’s presence on the cinematic map.
32 / SPOTLIGHT
We take a closer look at some artists
who’ve been impressing us of late: Dialect,
Cartwheels On Glass and Bisch Nadar.
34 / ZOLA JESUS
Georgia Turnbull speaks to the Wisconsin-born
noir-pop artist about the bruising compositions
and imagery found on ZOLA JESUS’ latest
album, Okovi, ahead of her performance at
the Liverpool Music Week Closing Party.
35 / PREVIEWS
Looking ahead to a busy November in
Merseyside’s creative and cultural community.
42 / LIVERPOOL PSYCH
FEST 2017 REVIEW
Two sets of eyes and ears recount
their experiences through the visual
and sonic assault that is PZYK.
44 / REVIEWS
Howie Payne, Loyle Carner, Lubaina
Himid and The Big Moon reviewed by
our team of intrepid reporters.
54 / THE FINAL SAY
The team behind Homotopia take on the theme
of Liberation 50 with a programme reflecting on
the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality,
highlighting that LGBT history isn’t just something
we should think about at convenient milestones.

www. themerchantliverpool.co.uk
40 Slater Street, Liverpool. L1 4BX

EDITORIAL
Over the past couple of years, a carousel of men in
high-powered positions have careered in and out
of the news in conveyor-belt fashion on account of
allegations of rape, sexual assault, harassment and
misconduct. The multiple accounts of film producer Harvey
Weinstein’s abysmal and horrifying behaviour have been the
most high-profile – arguably even more so than the women who
came forward accusing Trump of sexual misconduct before his
election as US President.
The more recent accusations of sexual misconduct by
former Real Estate guitarist, Matt Mondanile, however, have hit
much closer to home. A couple of weeks before the American
music magazine Spin published an article detailing Mondanile’s
serial instances of sexual harassment and assault, he played
the September Bido Lito! Social, the monthly gig we host. We
followed the news closely as it was being reported by Spin,
who drip-fed the story before revealing their full research into
the multiple accusations made against Mondanile. He has since
admitted to the accusations and expressed that he is “Endlessly
sorry for [his] inappropriate behaviour.” Reading the accounts
of the allegations made against him in the office, I couldn’t even
make it to the end of the exposé.
Over the past couple of years, our publication has made a
conscious effort to address the gender imbalance in our coverage
of artists and within our pool of contributors, with a hope that this
has a positive impact, however small, in the world of niche music
and culture journalism we occupy. We’ve written about misogyny
and harassment in the music industry, hosted an event about the
representation of women in music media and the wider industry,
have actively reached out to and worked with more women
writers, have launched an internship scheme that is geared
towards including the voices of more women, LGBTQ+, nonbinary
people and people of colour, and have tried to champion
and platform the work of women and trans artists and creatives.
None of this is intended in a tokenistic way. There is an
abundance of brilliant artists working on Merseyside and we
want to give due credit to them all. We also believe firmly that
including the work of people with a wide range of different
experiences strengthens our collective voice and makes that voice
more relevant to more people. It means the world to us that one
of our interns who identifies as a trans woman has just started
an MA in Journalism after working with us over the summer. And
it means a lot to me personally that one of our current interns
first got in touch about writing for us when she read a piece
of work I’d written last year about how music journalism being
dominated by male voices lends itself to reinforcing the male gaze,
“Women’s voices
are shouting
louder than ever
before but their
autonomy is still
being eroded”
impacting how we consume music and how we perceive women
artists.
As you can imagine, the thought of our publication
unknowingly platforming and promoting a serial sexual harasser
– bringing him to this city to play a show – puts a knot in my
stomach that sits there heavy as lead and uneasy whenever I
think about it. Which over the past week between the allegations
coming out and our magazine going to print has been often.
Partly, because it’s prompted me to think about my own
experiences, and the experiences of women around the world.
In a nutshell: I have been followed, flashed at, groped,
touched inappropriately, leered at, shouted at in the street
countless times. Sometimes the shouts are accompanied by a
racial slur. I have omitted from this list what I consider the more
‘serious’ instances. For some people reading this, this will come
as no surprise because they’ll understand the pandemic scope
of the problem. Others might be shocked at how routinely these
things happen. One of Mondanile’s accusers asked to remain
anonymous because she didn’t want her name to be connected
to that instance in her life – to always be thought of in relation
to her perpetrator, in relation to her sexual assault. The things
that have happened to me are not defining aspects of who I am.
The reason I’m sharing them is because I feel they have been an
inevitable and depressing part of my everyday life navigating
the world as a girl and woman, and I think that some of our
readership will be unaware of how entirely normalised these
instances are.
There are freedoms that come with voicing your experience
– for some, it is cathartic, offering a sense of relief; for others,
there is a strange comfort in knowing you’re not alone, coupled
with a sense of outrage that it happens to so many. It reinforces a
sense of solidarity, a sense that something can be changed, and
it educates those who haven’t experienced sexual assault – or
what it’s like to feel constantly threatened by sexual violence –
themselves. It’s equally important to acknowledge that victims of
sexual offences don’t owe anyone their story.
Personally, I feel tired that we’re still having these
conversations. We can shout loud and keep shouting, but,
ultimately, it’s not the job of survivors to educate people, and
only a very small proportion of people affected by sexual assault
have a place to talk about their experiences or will have their
voices heard at all. I absolutely commend the women who have
come forward – Rose McGowan’s refusal to be silenced, Ambra
Battilana Gutierrez’s decision to put herself in danger in order to
expose Weinstein, and Cameron Russell’s commitment to using
her own social media accounts to share similar experiences of
abuse and harassment within the fashion industry, to name but a
few. They are stupendously brave and selfless, and their stories
are vital, but I can’t help but feel that the revelations against
Weinstein – and those concurrent ones in the fashion and music
industry – represent the wealthy and primarily white tip of the
iceberg. Support networks and infrastructure aren’t afforded to
the people who occupy the lower parts of society’s echelons all
around the world; primarily the poor, but also members of the
LGBTQ+ community, women of colour and the undocumented.
Wherever there is a position of power, there is a potential
for abuse. This means two things: changing the landscape of
power so that women and oppressed groups are afforded the
same opportunities in employment, and the same respect in
public and private life as men. And changing the attitudes and
culture of entitlement, of toxic masculinity, that leads some men
to assume they are more powerful anyway, and, more crucially, to
convert that assumed power into actual power by exerting it over
others. It’s a monumental task. It calls for an upheaval of values
and gender roles that have been stewing for hundreds of years,
and that are pretty much the pinnacle of modern-day capitalism.
It has everything to do with class and race. It’s only going to
change through seismic shifts in attitudes and culture, through
education, through protest, through politics, through art, through
music, through film, through schools.
Women’s voices are shouting louder than ever before but
their autonomy is still being eroded. Worldwide, culture has to
change and, depressingly, it’s not going to happen overnight. !
Bethany Garrett / @_bfgarrett
Assistant Editor
9

NEWS
The Bido Lito! Journal:
A Year In Liverpool Music
Bido Lito! Journal: A Year In Liverpool Music
The very first Bido Lito! Journal is now available to preorder!
Collating and celebrating A Year In Liverpool Music, the
Bido Lito! Journal will bring together the story of 2017
in a deluxe, coffee table book format. Printed in a limited
edition run, the Journal will curate a selection of exclusive
commissions and reflections from artists we’ve covered
throughout 2017. It’s our way of reflecting on another
amazing year in Merseyside for new music and creative
culture, and to showcase the talent that makes this city
such a vibrant place to live, work and create in. It’ll arrive in
time for Christmas too so it’s the perfect gift for yourself or
for the music and culture loving pal in your life. From mid-
November, you’ll also be able to purchase a copy from some
of the city’s key independent retail hubs. Bido Lito! Members
who are signed by 1st November get a copy for free.
Radio Sweetheart
Having been delighting our airwaves since
the top end of year, the cats behind It Works
For Me Radio (or IWFM as it’s more commonly
known) are throwing their official launch party
and fundraiser on 1st December at Drop The
Dumbulls and you’re all invited. Fast becoming
a stalwart of the Liverpool music and creative
community, they’ve put together a cracking lineup
of artists and DJ sets, with ALI HORN and THE
FLOORMEN and more gracing the floor, while
IWFM DJs Cat Millar, Dig Vinyl’s Yvonne and Elliot,
and David Knopov will emulate their own shows
on IWFM by spinning some ace tunes. They’ve
got poetry and comedy lined up too. For ticket
info, head to iwfmradio.com.
IWFM Fundraiser
Sound City’s Coming Home
Liverpool Sound City
LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY have announced some exciting news for 2018. The festival is
relocating back to the city centre to showcase exciting musical talent in Liverpool’s more
intimate venues. Taking place between 4th and 6th May, expect a new feel and a host
of new venues for Sound City as they bring the best emerging talent and established
acts back to the heart of Liverpool. Applications are now open to play at the festival
as well – for 2018, they’ll be collaborating with an abundance of impressive curators,
taking in a host of festivals, record labels, new music platforms, promoters and more, so
it’s a great chance to get your music heard. Applications close on 19th January. Head
to liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk to find out more.
Winter Arts Market
Open Culture’s WINTER ARTS MARKET will set up home again
in the Anglican Cathedral on 2nd December. The independent
shopping experience brings together over 200 artists, designers
and makers under one magnificent roof for what is always a
heartwarming day out in the festive hustle and bustle. Whether
you’re looking for screen prints, photography, paintings or
homewares for yourself or for that hard-to-buy-for acquaintance, it’s
likely you’ll find something that fits the bill at the Winter Arts Market.
In addition to the main market, there’ll be craft opportunities for little
ones and live music throughout the day to keep your spirits high, as
well as a vintage fair and a food fair full of treats.
The French Film @ 25
25 years after Noé Productions’ cult TV documentary You’ll Never Walk
Alone aired, a one-off screening of ‘The French Film’ will be shown at the
BME on 22nd November, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A featuring
the film’s writer Evelyne Ragot and some very special guests. The film,
which captures life in and around Liverpool music of the early 90s, features
Ian McCulloch, Michael and John Head of Shack, Edgar Jones and many
other ‘faces’ from the city’s music scene. The Noé Productions team caught
Liverpool at a crucial moment in its history. Suffering from years of under
investment and neglect, the city was experiencing dark times. Amidst
that darkness, the film finds a burgeoning music scene as one of the true
backbones of Liverpool’s many strengths.
Don’t Mugstar Yourself
Mugstar - Ad Marginem
Bido Lito! members are in for a treat in February when psych
drone legends Mugstar dust off the reels for their production
Ad Marginem for a Special Event at the Philharmonic Music
Room. The band will provide the live soundtrack to the
2012 film which was written and directed by Liam Yates
along with the group. Shot around Merseyside, the film was
made in response to the music created by Mugstar, rather
than the usual process of a soundtrack reflecting the action
in a production. The black and white film, as well as the
accompanying soundtrack EP, are bleak, atmospheric affairs
described by the band as “a meditation on isolation and loss.”
Bido Lito! members will get the opportunity to see this rare
performance for free while others can get tickets from the Phil
box office and online.
10

DANSETTE
Carl Roberts of melancholadelia
five-piece GINTIS sheds some
light on what the group were
listening to while working on their
long-awaited, double A-side,
Dennis/Oh My Little Malcontent,
produced by Bill Ryder-Jones.
The Loungs
Radiate
Fresh Hair Records
Sweet Tooth
The Bluecoat with the International Slavery Museum
host acclaimed vocalist and movement artist ELAINE
MITCHENER in November as she performs her
experimental piece Sweet Tooth at the arts centre. The
production, which combines text, improvisation and
movement explores the relationship between sugar and
the transatlantic slave trade. Mitchener spent five years
researching the subject and brought together a trio of
experimental musicians to produce Sweet Tooth which
uses archives from various resource centres and material,
such as inventories of more than 2,000 enslaved Africans
owned by sugar baron Samuel Taylor. The performance
will be followed by a symposium at the International
Slavery Museum titled Bluecoat 300: Charity, Philanthropy
and the Black Atlantic on 24th November.
Liverpool Print Fair
Sweet Tooth (Elaine Mitchener)
Beautiful World
Celebrating 20 years of commissioning contemporary
art across the city, LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL’s 2018
programme – titled Beautiful World, Where Are
You? – invites artists and audiences to consider
the uncertain social, political, economical and
environmental state of the world. The festival has
announced the first list of international artists,
including French New Wave filmmaker AGNÈS
VARDA and American composer and musician ARI
BENJAMIN MEYERS. The full list can be found at
biennial.com along with artist profiles and examples
of their work. Launching in July 2018 and taking
place over 15 weeks, Liverpool Biennial works with
leading artists to bring free exhibitions and events to
both city residents and its visitors.
Print Is Dead (Good)
Beautiful affordable art is the order of the day for LIVERPOOL PRINT FAIR,
which takes place at The Bluecoat on 4th November. The joint venture
from The Print Social and Bluecoat Print Studio will be a family friendly
event celebrating traditional print methods in various forms such as screen
printing, linocut, etching and woodcut. It’ll be a great opportunity to sort
your Christmas shopping by buying from a range of independent artists and
designers. There will also be a new exhibition from the Print Social featuring
various artists’ designs on the theme of Print Is Dead (Good). Get there
early to get one of 80 goodie bags which include a print and other bits from
sponsor Awesome Merchandise.
THE LOUNGS have basically been the band equivalent
of being our big brother. They are from St Helens and
make absolutely perfect alternative pop. They released
our last album (Idiot Guides And Plans) on their label. This
song contains the line “I love yer bones kid,” which is a
turn of phrase that I love so much I used it in Oh My Little
Malcontent.
Pavement
Brighten The
Corners
Domino
PAVEMENT have always been one of our favourite bands,
and are a common ground with Bill Ryder-Jones. In fact, I
was wearing a Pavement T-shirt the night I met him. This
album of theirs is my favourite as those wonky guitars and
off-kilter vocals are perfectly executed all the way through.
The guitar work on Dennis takes a lot of inspiration from
this record.
Grandaddy
The Crystal
Lake
V2 Records
Wirral New Music Collective
Fresh from a wildly successful, locked-out launch show (where
Queen Zee and The Sasstones, Jo Mary and Bill Nickson played to a
packed out room in Birkenhead), WIRRAL NEW MUSIC COLLECTIVE
launches the next phase of its aim to nurture and promote new music
on the peninsula. Working with the Beautiful Ideas Company, the
WNMC will be responsible for administering a small fund to support
the staging of music events in Wirral, in chunks of up to £500 a time.
Applications can be made via a simple form at WirralNMC.co.uk. Built
around a collective of musicians, record producers, graphic designers
and other experts, the new initiative plans to bring together Wirral’s
artistic community to start a new chapter in its rich musical legacy.
We actually formed back in school because of
GRANDADDY, and this song specifically. Dave and I saw
it on MTV2 one evening and immediately realised that not
being in Gintis was rubbish and not being obsessed with
Granddaddy was fucking stupid.
Gorky’s Zygotic
Mynci
20: Singles & EP’s
‘94-’96
XamVolo
I Xam What I Xam
Liverpool’s neo-soul saviour XAMVOLO will headline
the final Bido Lito! Social of the year, presented in
association with our pals at Outsiders Store. The
gig marks a big year for the magazine as well as
the Decca Records signee. To show our gratitude to
our readers and mark the opening of our outdoorsy
neighbours there will be a limited amount of FREE
tickets available at Outsiders Store on Slater Street
from 1st November. To get one all you need to do
is sign up to the Outsiders mailing list in person.
The District show on 30th November will also host
performances from last month’s cover star GAZELLE
and Spotlight artist SUBBLUE.
Castle Music
It’s so obvious that we are massively influenced by
GORKY’S and Euros [Childs] that it is very difficult to
pick a certain record. We are obsessed with Gorky’s but
oddly enough, so is every other musician/band that we
ever connect with or work with. I like 20 because of how
out-and-out bizarre it is, whilst remaining utterly joyous
and tuneful. I also feel like I know every lyric on this record,
despite large parts of it being in Welsh (which I cannot
speak, despite being from Wales).
Head to bidolito.co.uk to read (and listen to) more of Gintis’
selections. Dennis/Oh My Little Malcontent is out on 30th
October via Popty Ping Records.
NEWS 11

“One person can’t
change the world,
but one person can
change the world
of someone else”
SILENT
BILL
12

The underground street art movement of the Secret Society Of Super Villain
Artists has sparked an overground collision of art and politics by shedding light
on the shady practices of the Sincura group. We ask The Urban Art Anarchist
how this translates to our view of art ownership.
There’s an abandoned concrete shell of a building on Brick Street
in the Baltic Triangle that has come to stand for more than
just the failed enterprise that it is. With rusting spikes of steel
reinforcements sprouting from its unfinished structure, the grandly
titled Baltic House site (part of the Gallery+ portfolio, between Jamaica
Street, Brick Street, Saint James Street and Norfolk Street) now serves as
a monument to deception and empty promises, which may well implicate
more than just the site’s owners, North Point Global. Similarly eerie sites
in Pall Mall and the nearby New Chinatown development have also been
shelved by NPG in the early build stages due to a failure of investment
to materialise – but what makes the botched Baltic House site more of a
damning tale is the slated inclusion of a “unique public art feature”, which
has disappeared along with a number of artworks.
The glossy demonstrations of the site were launched with a planned
street art gallery and museum as part of the residential and retail complex.
One of the initial partners on the project was Sincura Group, a concierge
and lifestyle management company, who have been busy amassing a
portfolio of “rare and exclusive artwork, from rare classics to modern
street art”, including a number of Banksys. With the recent removal of
popular Banksy pieces from Liverpool streets – including the Love Plane
on Rumford Street, and a less well known piece behind Lime Street – the
sense of disappointment at their extraction was tinged with hope at the
prospect of actually seeing the art on display in a dedicated gallery. Since
NPG pulled out of the project and left the Baltic and Berry House sites
deserted, all hope of seeing the iconic artwork again has disappeared with
them.
So, when a mural appeared on Jamaica Street in mid-August hitting
out at the “stealing” of Banksy artworks, our interest was, naturally, piqued.
While speculation raged that this was the iconic Bristol artist hitting back –
at both Sincura group, and Liverpool City Council for allegedly selling them
the land where the artwork was found – another group of people revelled
in the misplaced attention. A collective known as the Secret Society Of
Super Villain Artists were barely able to contain their mirth at the public’s
sudden interest and willingness to believe that the hand of Banksy had
bestowed upon them another piece of art, knowing as they did that the
mural was the work of two of their members. Never heard of them? That’s
understandable – but you’ve almost definitely happened upon some of
their work. Various pieces produced by branches of the SSOSVA have
been spotted at Glastonbury, Bloodstock, Jodrell Bank, the Lennon Wall
in Prague, outside the Cereal Café on Brick Lane, on a poster at Jeremy
Corbyn’s pre-election rally in West Kirby, even outside Banksy’s Walled
Off Hotel in the West Bank. In fact, once you open your eyes, you see
signs of them everywhere – and their stock in trade isn’t just limited to
graffiti and stencils. Stickers, posters, soap, chocolate bars, ceramic plates,
skateboard designs, Super Tuesday US election ballot papers (“Vote for the
most corrupt!’): there’s virtually nothing that doesn’t fall under their remit,
featuring iterations of their core skull and crossbones logo.
Artist Silent Bill, who is reticent to confirm or deny responsibility
for any work adorning the walls of Liverpool, is the SSOSVA’s de facto
spokesperson, having produced a number of books spanning the
staggering breadth of work the collective have produced. Operating under
an umbrella of anonymity, Bill and his fellow artists are free to make jokes,
satirise and criticise the world around them, for us to see and reflect upon.
Recycling Warrior, MisterAitch (AKA The Propaganda Minister), Silent
Belle, Rip, Angus, John Doh: these artists could be anyone, meaning that
the messages they convey represent an everyman viewpoint. They give
us a voice and a platform to question the structures of our society, while
simultaneously reclaiming public spaces that are awash with advertising
and signs telling you what you can and can’t do.
In many ways, the work that street artists like Banksy and the SSOSVA
do is a form of anarchist activism, deliberately asking provocative questions
of us and the state to find out where our place is in it. “For artists and
people alike: we fight the good fight,” runs the manifesto on the SSOSVA’s
website. “We are set on making a difference in the world while having a
good time doing it.”
After tracking Silent Bill down on the internet (which wasn’t difficult),
I set up a meeting to chat about the implications of his and the SSOSVA’s
work at the intersection of art and politics – and there’s so much to talk
about. Bill decries the Sincura Group – who list one of his own pieces as
an “authentic” Banksy on their website – as much as the “dickhead with
enough money to buy a house who’s bought [a Banksy] for his trophy
cabinet and it’s not what he thinks.” But he largely leaves the finer points of
drawing conclusions up to us – because there are no shortcuts to answers
to be found in his work, only questions for us to solve ourselves.
On building a guerrilla movement
“With the Secret Society I did it for the laugh! I sent out applications – and
then people started filling them out and sending them back, so I redirected
them to the Tate for a joke! When the Tate started getting nasty
with us because they were getting so many applications, I thought, ‘Shit,
this has got some momentum, we could do something with this’. And then
we started encouraging people to do stuff, and we’ve now exhibited round
the world: Australia, Miami, London, Liverpool. But we always do stuff for
the homeless, auctions and the like via Facebook. They raise a couple of
grand; we’ve helped with sensory rooms, we’ve helped kids with cleft lips,
we’ve done fucking loads – too much to remember. It’s got a life of its own
now. Everyone wants to be like a fucking superhero, don’t they?”
On appreciating the art
“To me, vandalism is mindless. Smashing stuff up in bus stops – it’s
disgusting. I like to have a message in my work, socio-political stuff. I’ll
have a little bit of a dig at something, because Liverpool’s not a place to sit
down and take it. I’m probably going to end up getting into shit one day.
It’s a risk, a dirty job, but I do it because it’s my only voice. I can’t go out and
change the world with my vote, but you never know with this.
“You’ll read people saying, ‘Oh, that’s vandalism.’ I know where that’s
coming from, but, at the end of the day, we all have to look at these
billboards we don’t want to see, we all have to swallow all kinds of shit.
Fucking do something! I always say that one person can’t change the
world, but one person can change the world of someone else. Like, stop
and chat to a homeless guy who hasn’t spoken to someone in weeks,
you know you’ll have changed that guy’s day. I, personally, can’t eradicate
homelessness – but, if every single person were to go out and do that little
thing, it would make a difference.”
On the rules of anonymity
“We don’t condone vandalism. We don’t want anyone vandalising people’s
work, bringing us into disrepute. That’s all we ask: treat everyone else the
same way as you’d want to be treated. It’s not lawless, there are unwritten
rules. You don’t give away people’s real names. Every artist we meet uses a
name – but they’re not our names.
“What you find is a lot of people think anonymous artists are cool – ‘Oh,
Banksy’ – but it’s not like that. What you’ll find is that a lot of us work in
a sector that’s involves a helping, caring environment: lots of us are social
workers and support workers. The very nature of it means that I can’t
be helping people that have just got out of prison, and then going out
committing crimes every day. The best way to subvert anything is to fully
understand it, and that’s why I think a lot of [our artists] work within these
sectors, and they fully understand it more than anyone. These people who
go looting and wear Nike, kicking in the windows, they don’t get it. We’re
from within and know what happens and gradually chip away; that’s the
way forward.
“So that’s the nature of the anonymous part. Nobody I know [in SSOSVA]
has done it because they think it’s cool: it’s a necessity. I could put my
name on thousands of pieces, pretend to be a tiger and say ‘Look at me,
I’m everywhere’. That’s why I don’t put my name on things, I don’t care.
The message is done. It could be anyone. There are better mediums to get
your message across, and I think this is the best medium I can work with.
My work gets seen by lots of people, the papers pick it up, it’s done. Once
you’ve seen it you can’t un-see it.”
On the ‘Banksy Effect’ of publicity
“Let’s say, for instance, that the piece [the mural on Jamaica Street] was
me, and that message was done: I’m happy with that message. Now, let’s
say that exact same piece, looking exactly the same, is a Banksy. What’s
the difference? The message is still there. I don’t care who’s done it. The
point has already been achieved, by a lot of people seeing it and a lot of
people reacting to it.
“That particular piece had a massive impact because of the nature of what
it was. To have massive impact, it’s got to get the reach, and it’s got to be
a good message. Every single artist, they’re lying to you if they say they
don’t want their work to be seen by as many people as possible; that’s the
whole point. I want that message to be seen, I want that message as far
out as it can go. And, sadly, a lot of the smaller artists like ourselves, we
just don’t get that exposure. The illusion of it does not fit the fantasy. The
romanticism far outweighs the reality.”
On value
“At what point does the value come on it? It’s all a fraud, the whole thing’s
a fraud. It’s like the stuff that gets taken from the walls: Banksy doesn’t see
a penny from that, so if they want them that bad, speak to his agent and
commission one. They’re taking it from where it was originally intended.”
On art in the public realm
“Once it’s on the street, it’s no longer yours. It’s in the public domain. Stuff
on the street is for the street, it’s meant to die on the street, see out the end
of its life there. In two minutes someone might spray over it, or it might stay
for five years, get knocked down with the wall… you can’t moan about it.
It’s only when it’s fucking stolen and sold that it becomes a problem.
“Some people say the only way you can make an impact is stunts. I don’t
really like things like that, I just like it to be my own thing. If I wanted, I could
go and print a palette load of fake notes and throw them off the roof of the
Pyramids and cause a riot. You’re selling your soul then, aren’t you, really?
You’re basically theatre. Like some art in installations where you’re the art,
you’re the theatre piece. And I’m not into that.”
On legacy
I think everyone’s really sensitive of what people think of them. I’d like
to think I’ve had a little go. I’m a lad from a council estate: if I was to die
tomorrow, I’d be very happy with everything I’ve done so far. It’s not much,
but more than I should have. I’m happy. Fuck everything else.
“I know the risks. In my book it says something like, ‘I read about the risks
of graffiti once – so I stopped reading’. You know what you’re doing in this
game, but is it worth it? Is anything worth it? The way I view it, it’s not
going to go out and write itself. But at the same time, it’s just paint on a
wall. That’s all it is. Paint on a wall.” !
Words: Christopher Torpey / @CATorp
Photography: Mike Sheerin / michaelsheerin.photoshelter.com
Artwork: Supplied by Silent Bill
ssosva.com
FEATURE
13

“As long as
there’s a handful
of people that
love my music,
I’ll be happy”
For new artists hoping to find their spot in Merseyside’s
vibrant musical community, Liverpool boasts an array
of creative spaces and organisations to support their
development. One of the freshest faces to thrive
from creative guidance and bring new tunes to the city is
singer-songwriter, REMÉE. Her talent caught the attention of
Positive Impact and the award-winning LIMF Academy; two
local organisations that recognise the exciting potential of
Merseyside’s younger generation.
Remée’s neo-soul vibes and catchy rhythms have been
slowly but surely trickling into the city’s venues since she first
found her voice. From EBGBS, The Jacaranda and the Epstein
Theatre, to open mic nights at Hannah’s Bar, you might have
stumbled across her enchanting vocals by happy accident.
Starting from a young age, Remée can recall exactly what
drew her towards music. “I was good at English in school and
started writing poetry. One of them got put up on the wall and
I remember thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I’m actually good at writing!’
So I started to experiment with songwriting too.” Along with an
inclination to write, Remée was often the star of her living room
with family members filming her covers of favourite pop songs.
“My sister watched the video back and was like, ‘You’re dead
good! Let me take you to singing classes!’, and that’s how it all
started. I went to Positive Impact, which is where MiC Lowry and
Taylor Fowlis started.”
Positive Impact – the performing arts training and production
company based in Liverpool – not only provided Remée with
the opportunity to experiment with her voice, but to also find
confidence and comfort in the stunning vocals she wasn’t sure
she had. From private singing lessons to having a poem put up on
the classroom wall, even the smallest gestures of encouragement
can have the greatest impact on a young artist. Remée was soon
able to recognise her own abilities and explore them further. “I
was self conscious at first, because I didn’t even think I was a
good singer, but I had one-on-one sessions with the teacher
and she helped me progress with my voice. We also did little
showcases and performances, but I performed covers. I wasn’t
ready to show anyone the songs I had written!”
Now proudly showcasing her own songwriting, Remée
recorded a version of her self-penned track Indigo for LIMF
Academy and Bido Lito! earlier this year at The Motor Museum
Recording Studio. Describing her style as “futuristic RnB”, Remée
finds a perfect balance of soul, RnB and electronic beats to
compliment her captivating voice. “I don’t play an instrument
14

From performing pop songs in her living room
to catching the attention of Positive Impact
and LIMF Academy, futuristic RnB singer
REMÉE fills us in on her story so far.
and the beats that I like are called future bass, and I feel like my
voice is soulful RnB, so I’d say futuristic RnB is the sound that
I’m creating. I’m still finding myself, but I like what I’m doing now.
I used to love pop, but once I started writing I realised that it
wasn’t my style.”
Remée searches for music that captures what she hopes to
create, finding herself drawn towards a more alternative sound
to the more mainstream loves of her childhood. “I like people
who are avant garde, like FKA Twigs, Billie Eilish and Doja Cat.
It’s people who catch my eye, or my ear, and are a bit different.
That’s what I like. I take points from their music and have started
trying to make my own beats. When I’m about to write a song, I
go on YouTube and type in ‘future bass’ and find ones that I like
then write my songs to the beat. When I go in the studio with
producers, I can show that as a template of what I’m trying to
create.”
Softly sweet, but also able to pack an impassioned punch, it’s
no surprise that Remée’s vocals have caught the ears of many.
Honouring LIMF’s class of 2017-2018, Remée performed on the
festival’s Academy stage this year alongside Gazelle and Mary
Miller. The stellar female trio were chosen as the Academy’s
three ‘Most Ready’ acts and gained a place on their Elite Talent
Development Programme, which works with the specific needs
of each artist. “At the moment, it’s just about finding the right
beat for my writing. I used to purchase my beats from YouTube to
perform with, but I want it to be brand new and fresh, and no one
to have heard it before, so I want to go in the studio and make
everything from scratch.”
Providing opportunities to perform live also played a great
part in improving Remée’s self confidence. “I just kept wondering,
‘Do people like my music? Do people not like my music?’, but
that’s why performing live has been the best thing. You can hear
people clap for you and see that they’re feeling your music. When
I’m just putting music out online, you don’t really know what
people think. It could get loads of views, but you don’t know if
people really like it, so it’s definitely gigs [that have] helped me a
lot.”
Set to perform at The Jacaranda in November, Remée is
currently writing songs and hoping to release an EP at the end
of the month, but her hopes for the future remain as humble as
when she first started singing. “I think – it probably doesn’t even
sound that big – but I think to sell out somewhere in town, like in
the Arts Club or The Jacaranda, and know that everyone is there
for me, then I’ll feel like, ‘OK, I’ve made it!’ As long as there’s a
handful of people that love my music, I’ll be happy. I just want to
get it out there. I feel like it’s the only thing that I’m good at and
that I want to do. I’ve got to this point, I’ve performed at LIMF and
other venues in town, I’m starting to believe in myself more and
more.”
Hearing how Remée has been able to prosper both
professionally and personally, it forces you to wonder how
many artists may have passed us by without creative spaces
that champion musical talent. The importance of sustaining the
abundance of art, music and culture that continues to bloom
beside the Mersey is perfectly summed up by Remée herself.
“Music is just life. We need music and we can all relate to it in
one way or another. Like, if music wasn’t here, what would we
even do? It’s so important, because it’s people’s stories. It’s what
brings people together.” !
Words: Jessica Greenall / @jessrg1995
Photography: Jay Chow / jaychow.co
soundcloud.com/remeecorry
FEATURE
15

Box office:
theatkinson.co.uk
01704 533 333
(Booking fees apply)
–
: TheAtkinson
: @AtkinsonThe
: @TheAtkinsonSouthport
The Atkinson
Lord Street
Southport
PR8 1DB
What’s On –
Autumn ‘17
Music Comedy Exhibitions
Grateful Fred’s
The Slocan
Ramblers
Wed 1 November, 7.30pm
Urban Folk Quartet
Fri 10 November, 7.30pm
Tide Lines
Sat 18 November, 7.30pm
The Stumble
Sat 25 November, 8pm
Phill Jupitus:
Juplicity
Sat 11 November, 8pm
Austentatious –
The Improvised Jane
Austen Novel
Sat 11 November, 8pm
Justin Moorhouse:
People and Feelings
Fri 24 November, 8pm
FREE ADMISSION
Culture Shifts and the young people
of Sefton Present
Positive Changes
Until Sat 4 November
Adventures in Egypt:
Mrs Goodison &
Other Travellers
Until Sat 10 March
Located: Southport
Sat 11 November – Sun 17 December
The Landing:
Steve Talbot
Fri 3 November – Fri 22 December
Artwork
for Sale

“Without a doubt,
Merseyrail Sound
Station has taken
me to the next level
as an artist”
MERSEYRAIL SOUND
STATION AT FIVE
The new music platform celebrates five years of supporting new artists
and delivering music to the commuters of Merseyside.
There are undoubtedly a great many of us who’ve been sat
on a train, bus or in another carriage of some description,
with our headphones jammed over our ears to dull out the
sounds of the rest of humanity. If not, picture it: a familiar
local tract or view flits past the window, and your choice of music
almost makes the scene romantic. Cinematically, you imagine
a camera panning over your shoulder, and the shot eventually
fades to black as the song you’re listening to ends. Soon enough,
you’ve arrived at James Street, or Chester, or wherever it is you’re
alighting and then it’s time to jump up, take off your headphones
and enter the fray.
For the majority of passengers around the country, this is
where your day’s soundtrack ends. You exit the platform, head
out into the world, and carry on amongst the usual bustle. But in
Merseyside, we do things differently. Whether you find it in the
underpass of Lime Street station, Southport station’s concourse,
or in the atrium of Liverpool Central, it’s clear to see (and hear)
that the North West is teeming with musical talent and, most
importantly, potential. Singers, buskers, musicians of all kinds
take to the pavements and streets of town centres, adding to the
polyphony of an age-old musical tradition. But what is a city to do
with it all? What can and should be done to nurture and protect
such a tradition? Enter, MERSEYRAIL SOUND STATION.
To sum it up, Merseyrail Sound Station (MSS) is an initiative
that brings together musical artists from all over Merseyside
and offers, quite literally, a platform of exposure to those artists.
The project exists to celebrate both the value and variety of local
musical talent, while underlining the inherent relationship between
a regional music scene and its transport infrastructure. Whether
it’s a case of the latter being used by gig-goers to attend live
shows, or by budding artists themselves to make it to their preshow
rehearsal or soundcheck, the synergy between Merseyside’s
music scene and its travel network is clear.
The project acts primarily as a ladder for many musicians from
the grassroots of their local scene as they look for opportunities to
be heard and get to the next stage of their career. For the past five
years, the project has served artists and bands across Merseyside
with opportunities to perform at a wide range of events, from
established events such as Africa Oyé and Sound City, to more
busker-friendly events like the annual Tickle The Ivories in
Liverpool One. The project’s own Live Tracks events also bring live
artists into a train station to perform as the trains arrive or depart;
by bringing the artist out of the more traditional live setting and
into the public eye, both performer and spectator alike can enjoy
original live music and a departure from the humdrum experience
of travelling from A to B.
Aside from these various opportunities afforded by the project
throughout the year, there is a careful focus placed on artist
development. Participants are also invited to enter the annual
Merseyrail Sound Station Prize competition that, while giving acts
the chance to bag a free year of Merseyrail travel, offers its winner
a multitude of invaluable tools for development through industry
mentoring. With festival slots at the likes of the renowned LIMF
and Liverpool Sound City on offer, plus studio recording time and
one-to-one advice from esteemed luminaries within the North
West arts sphere, it is a competition which receives a flurry of
entries each year. The competition culminates in a live festival
final (to be held this year in Liverpool Central Station having
moved from its original home of Moorfields) and is judged by a
panel of representatives from the likes of Liverpool Sound City,
Sentric Music, Pirate Studios and Bido Lito! – it’s a testament to
Merseyside’s scene that each year has seen the standard of the ten
finalists raised higher than ever before.
Back in 2013, SOHO RIOTS were victorious, sufficiently
impressing judges to take home the coveted prize. Lead vocalist
Andy Woodhouse is full of praise for the experience, which he
describes as “a genuine attempt to give a lift to artists that would
benefit from the exposure. It was definitely one of our highlights
and has led to some long-lasting connections and friendships
[within] the Merseyside scene.”
Keeping up the tradition of remaining in contact with fellow
Sound Station alumni, 2014 champion Daniel Sebuyange, AKA
BLUE SAINT appeared at this year’s Wirral Festival Of Firsts
alongside finalists Gazelle, The Shipbuilders and the winner of
the 2015 prize, Katy Alex. As a rapper, writer and producer,
Sebuyange performed a head-turning set at the Moorfields festival
in 2014, introducing the judges and commuters-come-punters to
a restless creative whose impressive CV includes comic artistry,
spoken word and performing at the Albert Hall with a heavy metal
band. “Being a part of the MSS project has had a long-lasting
and profound effect on me, both as a person and as an artist,”
Sebuyange remarked. Referring passionately to the industry
mentoring aspect of the MSS prize and how it has informed his
work, he also remarked that “artistically, [the mentoring] helped in
further developing and honing [my] skills, by giving me the tools
and resources necessary in order to do so, really pushing me to
experiment and try different things I’d always thought about, but
never actually applied.”
Another artist who appears to have lived and breathed the
accolade, using the title as a stepping stone to ever more ambitious
creative endeavours is Daniel Astles, known on stage as ASTLES.
Having come full circle since winning the MSS prize competition
in 2016, the Southport artist seems to have truly made the most
of all that the project offers. From working with producer Michael
Johnson (Joy Division, New Order) on his Live At The Nordic EP,
to organising his own launch night in an independent cinema to
celebrate the release of the record, Astles isn’t an artist you’ll find
resting on his laurels. While chatting to him about the amount of
activity that he has managed to cram into his 12 months as a prizewinner,
Astles reflected on the magnitude of his time within the
project: “Without a doubt, [the Merseyrail Sound Station project]
has taken me to the next level as an artist. It’s given me the chance
to begin to think about what my records actually sound like in the
studio, and how that’ll translate [into a] live setting. Really though,
it’s been about having the time and support to do just that. I’ve had
opportunities in the past year which have led to [writing] this new
EP, Full Of Wonder, which is a piece of art that means something
to me and will hopefully mean something to others as well.”
Astles is also keen to note the role that his local Southport line
has played in the grand scheme of his artistic journey. “Getting
the train to gigs and stuff has always been a big part of my actual
experience of being an artist. You know, sometimes I’d be on my
way into town feeling really nervous, and then other times I’d be
buzzing on my way home having played a boss show… I’ve even
written some songs on that train back, when it’s been an empty
carriage and I’ve just gotten the guitar out.” It’s abundantly clear
that Astles owes more than a little to the arduous but familiar
journey, as he suspects that he has spent more time on the
Liverpool-Southport train than anywhere else.
The long-running podcast, which has recently morphed into a
video session and has featured guests such as Hooton Tennis Club,
She Drew The Gun and The Vryll Society, is another product of the
project which aims to entertain train passengers while providing
a space for the region’s brightest talent to do what they do best.
Housed on the Sound Station website, which also serves to give
fans the latest news on the project and provide a what’s on guide
to gig-goers across Merseyside, the Merseyrail Sound Station
Sessions are a key element to the initiative.
Over the half-decade it has been in existence, Merseyrail
Sound Station has earned a special place in the hearts of up and
coming artists plying their trade in the region. The romanticisation
of the train journey by musicians harks back to the blues guitarists
of the Mississippi, and Sound Station proudly follows that tradition
by placing music alongside the transport mode. So, next time
you’re about to pop those headphones of yours on, why not keep
them stowed, and keep your eyes and ears alert. You’ll never know
what you could be in for, or whom you will discover. !
Words: Will Lloyd / @wjjlloyd
Photography: Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk
merseyrailsoundstation.com
The Merseyrail Sound Station Festival takes place at Liverpool
Central on Saturday 11th November from 3pm.
18

AN EXHIBITION
26.10.17
18.02.18
FREE ENTRY
FACT.CO.UK
AN EXHIBITION 26.10.17
FREE 18.02.18 ENTRY
FACT.CO.UK
26.10.
18.02
Statutory Exhibition Funders: Partners:
Exhibition Statutory Partners: Funders:
Statutory F

20

CAPTAIN
BEEFHEART –
TOTAL ART
The Zig Zag Wanderer’s legacy as a total artist is celebrated with a weekend of events across
the city, exploring his groundbreaking music, writing and art, as well as his links to Liverpool.
An artist whose influence on Liverpool music and
culture has impacted successive generations, the
work of CAPTAIN BEEFHEART continues to inspire
legions of Merseyside acts. While the UK as a whole
was far more receptive to his work than his American homeland,
sending Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby into
the album charts, in Liverpool especially, his music along with
that of fellow stalwarts Pink Floyd and Love are highly treasured.
Tracing a clear line from The La’s in the early 1980s through to
The Stairs at the beginning of the 1990s on to The Coral and The
Zutons at the dawn of the millennium (the latter deriving their
name from guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo), all have drawn inspiration
from the artistic output of the man born Don Glen Vliet. The same
trend has continued over the past decade too, with a.P.A.t.T., The
Cubical and present day noiseniks Rongorongo and Pale Rider
extrapolating the Beefheartian legacy in some form or another.
The multitude of genres these outfits scan and the devotion to
his records showcase how strongly Beefheart’s music permeates
Liverpool culturally.
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART WEEKEND, an upcoming celebration
of his work programmed by The Bluecoat in early November, will
see a handful of events come together in perfect synergy. Held to
commemorate the 45th anniversary of Beefheart’s first ever art
exhibition at The Bluecoat in 1972, the weekend coincides with
the venerable institution’s 300th birthday. Beefheart’s estimable
backing group THE MAGIC BAND also call at the Philharmonic
Hall as part of their last ever tour to round off proceedings.
In addition to celebrating his music, his art and his lesser
known work as a writer through poetry, a symposium titled
DIGGING BEEFHEART, exploring his work as a ‘total artist’ will
discuss his works and will doubtless explore just why Beefheart
is so popular in Liverpool. A meeting to tackle all the above is
convened with Bryan Biggs, artistic director of The Bluecoat and
independent curator Kyle Percy, who, alongside poet and writer
Chris McCabe, are organizers of the weekend’s events. “I got
into Beefheart in London as a teenager and then when I came to
work at Bluecoat I discovered that he had an exhibition here in
1972,” Bryan explains, sat in a room overlooking the arts centre’s
gardens. “We had a little bit of information in the archive, not
a lot, and I had tried to do an exhibition quite a few years ago.
What we’re doing is condensing it into a weekend, him as an
artist, musician, performer, writer. It proved difficult to do as an
exhibition cos the gallery that looks after his estate don’t wanna
play cos they see him as Don Van Vliet – painter, not as Captain
Beefheart – multitalented musician. We could do an exhibition of
his paintings exactly as they are without anything else, but we
couldn’t do this bigger thing.”
“Chris McCabe came to see me a few years ago and said, ‘It’s
45 years since he had the exhibition at Bluecoat, why don’t we
try and do an event?’ So, we talked through some ideas and then
we brought Kyle [Percy] in, who had previously contacted when
he was a student when he was doing his final dissertation on
Beefheart. So, the three of us met and we hatched this plan to do a
concentrated weekend that looked at Beefheart as all those things.”
The 1972 exhibition in Liverpool formed part of possibly
Beefheart’s most productive year. Alongside the event at The
Bluecoat, he toured and issued two albums, The Spotlight Kid in
January and Clear Spot that October. “The show he had here in
1972 was a bit of a freak really,” Biggs explains. “It was ten years
before he became an artist properly. Lucy Cullen, who was the
then artistic director of The Bluecoat, had seen Beefheart on The
Old Grey Whistle Test with his paintings when it was leading
up to his ’72 tour… he said he’d never shown his work and she
wondered whether he’d show it in Liverpool since he was doing a
gig here at The Stadium. It was turned around very, very quickly.
We’ve got some of the letters and telegrams with his agent in
Los Angeles and the work was shipped over to Liverpool. It may
have been shown in London after that, but Liverpool was the first
showing.”
“He occupies a weird position because he’s known principally
as a musician and I think the art world distance themselves from
him a bit,” Biggs continues. “The art world is mainly about fashion
and what he was doing was quite an old-fashioned approach,
expressionist painting, a bit after the event. What makes it
interesting is he’s got this wild approach, a bit like his music; it’s
untutored.”
While Beefheart is principally known for his music, art was
his first love, as Percy explains. “He could have had a scholarship
when he was a kid in Europe to study sculpture but his Mum
and Dad didn’t want him to go. He had a prodigious art talent,
without ever having any training, then he met Frank Zappa and
the rest is history. I think it’s that period in culture when ordinary
folks could get into the arts and do stuff, slightly outside of the
mainstream.” Like most, Biggs and Percy discovered Beefheart’s
artwork through his contributions to his album sleeves, Biggs
citing the back cover of 1970 LP Lick My Decals Off, Baby as the
first he remembers.
“It must have
an edge in
Liverpool
because that
is the nature of
the city”
Dave Keight, one of the founders of Probe Records with
Geoff Davies, who also met Beefheart, will be speaking at the
Symposium. “Probe Records is very, very important,” Biggs
stresses. “Dave was saying that Trout Mask Replica was the
‘Record of the Shop’, so if you associated Probe with one record
of that period it would be that. They were real proselytizers for
this music.”
“The Casual scene in the early 1980s was about finding
something different – clothes and music,” Percy continues. “A lot
of the fellas I know in their fifties who were around back then,
they made a point of looking out for more obscure music to say,
‘Look what we’re into’. It was a subculture of the city.”
Gig promoter and DJ Roger Eagle, a figure who was the
wellspring for scores of music scenes in Liverpool, was a crucial
element in Beefheart becoming popular in the city. Friends
with the Captain after booking him for a score of appearances,
Eagle’s influence continued when, after ceasing operations at
the Stadium in 1976, he founded legendary club Eric’s with Ken
Testi and Pete Fulwell just as punk began to surface. “Even at the
height of punk when all that music had been rejected, groups like
Can, Beefheart, Love, Mothers Of Invention were really popular
still with the DJs in Eric’s,” Biggs states. “People like Pete Wylie,
who went down there as a young disaffected kid into The Clash,
he got all this stuff about Beefheart and dub music from Roger,
so he’s really pivotal.”
Celebrating Beefheart’s oft forgotten work as a writer,
Liverpool-born poet Chris McCabe presents the Doped In
Stunned Mirages strain of the weekend. “Chris came up with the
idea to commission a poet to come up with a response to each of
the albums,” Biggs explains. “It’ll be inter-generational, featuring
performers from their 70s to people in their 20s,” he notes. The
youngest performer, Matty Smith, founder of the Jarg poetry
fanzine, will be also producing a special edition to tie in with the
celebration.
Beefheart’s backing group The Magic Band have kept the
weird flame burning since the Captain died in 2010, and they
make a fitting pitstop at the Phil on Friday 10th November as
part their final ever tour. The following evening then sees the
city’s denizens step up to the plate as Fast ‘N’ Bulbous takes
place at District in the Baltic Triangle. A stellar cast of Beefheart
aficionados spanning a smorgasbord of styles are slated to take
part, including Edgar Jones And The New Joneses, Strange
Collective, Dave McCabe, Psycho Comedy, The Cubical, a.P.A.t.T.,
Pale Rider and Karm, alongside a special appearance by former
Magic Band guitarist Gary Lucas. Rounding off the weekend at
the Invisible Wind Factory on Sunday, an exhibition of artists
inspired by Beefheart work’s titled Ice Cream For Crow will be on
show, alongside performances from music from Inland Taipa, The
Murmurists, and John Hyatt’s Plastic Reality.
When they formed in the 1980s, The La’s provided a window
for many into Beefheart’s music, ultimately inspiring renewed
interest in the Captain’s work. Solo musician and artist Mike
Badger, who is part of the Beefheart Symposium and co-founded
the group with Lee Mavers, takes up the story. “It was 1981 I had
gone to see a Wyndham Lewis Exhibition at Manchester City Art
Gallery and Beefheart was in the foyer swearing at his sketch
book as he drew. I thought I must talk to this guy, so I asked if I
could see his sketches, which were angular, freeform abstractions
but with figures and animal shapes. We talked for about 20-30
minutes and we hit it off. I was 19, he was sage, compassionate,
friendly and a character you could never forget.
“It was confirmation of those deep-rooted feelings you have,
it made me feel less isolated and that other people thought
outside the box too!” Badger continues. “I dug out all I could
read about the man, and his interviews, philosophy and thinking
was just as important to me as his music. He confirmed with me
a deep-rooted primal understanding that’s in all of us but was
latent.”
As someone who has seen Beefheart’s legacy continue in the
city long after he retired from music in 1992, Badger has a theory
on why he was such an impact on Liverpool. “It says a great deal
about the psyche of the city. It’s a melting pot Liverpool, as all
great ports are. We need something with depth and meaning
here for it to satisfy our needs. You could also say that about
another great Liverpool talismanic band – Love. Both Beefheart
and Love, though different in many ways, created beautiful
gentle music as well as fraught, cutting masterpieces. It must
have an edge in Liverpool because that is the nature of the city.
Remember Captain Beefheart writ large on a wall at the bottom
of Park Road in the 90s? I doubt you’d see that anywhere else –
not just in this country, but the world.” !
Words: Richard Lewis
Illustration: Tim Devas / @timdevas
Captain Beefheart Weekend takes place between Friday 10th
and Sunday 12th November at various venues across the city.
FEATURE
21

22
KINKAJOU
POP-UP
JAZZ CAFÉ

Anti Social Jazz Club present
a weekend of homage to
the jazz café culture of
Tokyo with a photography
exhibition, and a host of
performances and DJ sets.
This November sees the Anti Social Jazz Club
launch their inaugural temporary space
dedicated to highlighting jazz and its connected
genres in Liverpool, through an experimental
event programme combining music, art and culture.
Located in Buyers Club, Anti Social Jazz Club present
KINKAJOU, a Japanese-influenced pop-up jazz café
inspired by the country’s history of jazz cafés, kissatens
and dance halls which date back to 1933 when Chigusa,
the oldest jazz café in Japan, opened.
The Kinkajou Pop-Up Jazz Café will present a
well-considered blend of live music and vinyl-only DJ
sets by disc jockeys from Liverpool and the North of
England across four days from 2nd to 5th November
at the Hardman Street venue. The first of its kind, the
temporary jazz space by Anti Social Jazz Club is a nod
to the Liverpool jazz scene in the 1940s through to the
60s, which included the The Exchange Hotel, The Majorca
Bar, The Jacaranda Coffee Bar, Mardi Gras Jazz Club,
the Iron Door Club and The Cavern Club. The pop-up’s
name is a hat tip to a former jazz club which, if research
serves us rightly, was opened by Chesterfield-born
painter and printmaker Robert Percival, who spent over
40 years in Liverpool having studied at the Liverpool
School of Art for five years. After this, Robert spent a
year in Paris for a scholarship
in painting Académie de la
Grande Chaumière from 1949
“Japanese jazz
cafés and bars
are often hidden,
insular worlds
where time
ceases to exist”
to 1950 and frequently visited
the Parisian music and jazz
clubs at the time – including the
Existentialist Club of Jean-Paul
Sartre – before opening The
Kinkajou Club on Slater Street.
The opening night of the
run features a TOKYO JAZZ
JOINTS photography exhibition
in collaboration with Weavers
Door and Edwin. Founded
in 2015 by Northern Irish
photographer Philip Arneill and
American writer and DJ James
Catchpole, the Tokyo Jazz Joints
photography project chronicles Japan’s hidden and rapidly
disappearing world of jazz bars and ‘kissaten’ coffee
shops. Arneill explains the ongoing Tokyo Jazz Joints
photography project:
“Japanese jazz cafés and bars are often hidden,
insular worlds where time ceases to exist, spaces
removed from the speed and chaos of the modern urban
landscape. Tokyo Jazz Joints is a visual chronicle of this
world; an attempt to capture and preserve, if only from
our perspective, the transient beauty of these spaces.”
The jazz café culture in Japan grew organically in the
years after WWII, as venues where fans could gather
and listen to the latest records from the United States
and Europe. Imported records – let alone turntables and
speakers – were a luxury few could afford in those days
of recovery from the war. The act of going to a café and
listening to a new release in a social setting became the
norm for a generation of urban Japanese. At its height,
areas like Shibuya and Shinjuku in central Tokyo had
dozens of these cafés and bars scattered around the main
station plazas.
Slowly, the cafés began to disappear as economic
development continued and listening to music at home
became the norm. Some establishments transformed into
night-time only bars when it was no longer profitable to
open for coffee-time. Fewer and fewer customers would
spend leisurely afternoons immersed in jazz, books and
coffee. As of 2015, there are approximately 130 jazz
cafés and bars spread throughout the Tokyo Metropolitan
area alone, a huge number compared to most cities, but
down from the peak of more than 250 in the early 1970s.
“Year by year, the old jazz joints around town close
their doors as the men and women who own them age,
with their children moving on to other more ‘legitimate’
or lucrative occupations,” Arneill says, drawing from his
extensive research into a world hidden in plain sight.
“Tokyo Jazz Joints is our attempt to let you into this slowly
vanishing part of Japanese culture. These are small,
sometimes tiny, intimate locations where you can lose
yourself in the world’s greatest music.”
Alongside the Tokyo Jazz Joints exhibition launch,
visitors will be entertained by Barcelona-based jazz duo
Fishprint, a new outfit from Nick Branton (who recently
relocated to Barcelona from Liverpool), and Catalonian
Pere Xirau. Fishprint’s harmonious blend of folk, noise and
free jazz will be complimented by DJ sets by Black Lodge
Brewery’s Paul Seiffert, Al English and Anti Social Jazz
Club residents ASJC Lee, Tony Seasman and Tiz.
Friday 3rd November is a vinyl-only affair with jazzinspired
DJ sets by Keith Marley, Andy James and Danny
Fitzgerald of Grooveyard, Dig Vinyl’s Carl Emery and
Andy Smith, while Jacques Malchance of Upitup Records
takes us into Saturday morning. The headline DJ set has
been curated in honour of Ritchie Barton (see column
opposite): Barton was one of the Cunard Yanks who
sailed between Liverpool and New York on the Cunard
ocean liners during the 1950s and 60s. Barton, now 85,
fell in love with jazz music during his time at sea and fully
immersed himself in the New York
club scene, seeing the likes of Louis
Armstrong, Miles Davis, Count
Basie and Nina Simone perform.
Over his time spent in New York,
Barton collected vinyl which
returned with him to Liverpool. To
relive the good old days in New
York, the ASJC x Ritchie Barton DJ
set will be presenting Barton’s vinyl
collection (the majority of which
remains unplayed), selected by
Barton himself and spun by ASJC
Lee for an evening of New York jazz
vibes.
Saturday 4th November
sees a selection of DJ sets in
the Buyers Club bar, while
upstairs is an evening dedicated to live music with
exciting performances by Blind Monk Trio, who will
be showcasing music from their forthcoming album,
plus Harambe Maoni and the launch of the Anti Social
Jazz Band, an experimental outfit with special guests
lead by Liverpool-based musicians James Warren and
Luke Bennett. DJ sets in the Buyers Club bar include
Liam Flanders, Roger Williams and John Clement (Tuff
Love Soul Club), Mick Jones (Madnice/No Fakin), James
Zremba and Josh Aitman (Melodic Distraction) and Elliot
Hutchinson (Dig Vinyl).
The final day of the Kinkajou Pop-Up Jazz Café takes
visitors on a musical journey from jazz to world music and
everything else in between, with DJ sets from Alfred Lion
Appreciation Society, Melodic Distraction and Sisbis. They
also bring Manchester-based jazz duo Skeltr (Sam Healey
and Craig Hanson) and their high energy, electrifying jazz
to Liverpool. Sunday ends with a takeover by Liverpoolbased
Wide Open, with DJ sets by Dr Harvey, Louis
Gardiner and Josh Cherry Disco, plus a live performance
from Ranga. Headed by Wide Open’s Ranga, it’s the
evolution of his Ranga & Harambe project. The DJ
and producer, who has produced remixes for Afriquoi,
Nuybian Twist and Flamingods is the perfect fit to bring
proceedings to a close at the Pop-Up Jazz Café. !
Words: Lee Fleming
Photography: Philip Arneill
antisocialjazzclub.com
Kinkajou Pop-Up Jazz Café takes place from 2nd to 5th
November at Buyers Club
FEATURE
RITCHIE
BARTON
The founder of Anti Social Jazz
Club, Lee Fleming, speaks with a
personal hero and inspiration for a
whole thread of the Kinkajou Popup
Jazz Café series.
Every now and again you meet someone who fascinates
you, a colourful character with so many stories to tell
you’re scrambling for a pen and paper to make sure
you don’t miss out on any of the details. This happened
recently for me when I met born and bred Scouser RITCHIE
BARTON, a former merchant seaman and jazz aficionado.
Introduced by a mutual friend because we’re both ‘jazzers’, it
didn’t take long for Ritchie and I to find common ground in the
form of the New York jazz scene during the 1950s and 1960s. As
a personal fan of Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck and Stan Getz
to name only a few it was easy listening when Ritchie described
his time as a Cunard Yank, sailing the Cunard ocean liners
between 1952 and 1962.
Ritchie, now 85, has never smoke or drank, meaning that
when he and his fellow sailors docked into New York, Ritchie
opted for the theatre, opera and live music over the bars and clubs
of New York. As we sit at the Naked Lunch Café on Smithdown
Road, Ritchie explains how most of the jazz he likes is from the
late 1940s through the 1950s into the 1960s. Big bands are
particular favourites of his and he names great soloists such as
Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw and Count Basie. For
Ritchie, the key is keeping the melody, something which couldn’t
be said for many of the other jazz men at the time.
Amazingly, the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles
Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins didn’t interest
Ritchie, though he saw some of them in New York – he much
preferred the cool West Coast jazz by the likes of Dave Brubeck,
Gerry Mulligan and Shorty Rodgers. During his time at sea, which
spanned over a decade, Ritchie was sailing in and out of New York
each week between 1958 and 1962. When in the States, Ritchie
visited iconic jazz venues including Birdland, The Blue Note, The
Hickory House, Metronome, Basin Street and The Apollo.
At the same time, a nascent culture for jazz cafés sprang up
in Liverpool as forerunners of the skiffle (and then beat) scene,
of which The Kinkajou on Duke Street was just one. It is with this
history in mind, and partly as a celebration of Ritchie Barton’s life
and passion for jazz, that this series of pop-up events has been
put together. And who knows, we may even inspire the next
generation of jazz pioneers right here in Liverpool.
Photography: Hannah Cassidy / @hannahcassidycreative
Friday 3rd November sees Ritchie Barton selecting some of his
all-time jazz favourites to perform in a two hour ‘vinyl only’ DJ set,
as part of the Kinkajou Pop-Up Jazz Café.
23

24

XAMVOLO
The enigmatic, genre-defying vocalist, songwriter and producer offers us an insight
into his forthcoming debut album, still keeping his cards close to his chest.
“I
never thought about making money out of music, I
never even thought about playing live before I moved
to Liverpool.” We’re walking along Crosby Beach with
XAMVOLO. It’s a disturbingly warm October morning,
the sun glares obtrusively from clouds that barely obscure its
unwelcome glow. The sea breeze offers glimpses of solace from
the uncharacteristic mugginess. Though the day is still young, it’s
been an early start for XamVolo, who has been working in the
studio prior to our meeting. It seems as though he never stops,
despite his calm, cool and collected demeanour. It’s only been
two years since his last interview with Bido Lito! but an awful lot
has changed.
Quite unlike any other artist on Merseyside at present,
his sound is one that encapsulates the spirit, soul and pop
sensibilities of the greats and marries that with his love of welljudged,
outlandish experimentalism. It’s an amalgamation of an
eclectic set of influences, diverse as RnB and hip hop all the way
through to indie and rock. A songwriter, a producer and rather
the enigmatic figure, his lusciously recorded blend of passions
is one that has captivated audiences from the very first tracks
that he uploaded to SoundCloud, made on his laptop. Becoming
obsessed with music in his teens instead of going to lectures, the
architecture student spent his time watching tutorials on mixing
and recording tips.
Already an artist standing out from the crowd, in 2016 he
signed a deal with Decca, part of the Universal Music Group.
“They’re quite different to the way that most major labels work
in that they’re quite keen to push the weirder, more leftfield stuff.
It’s not really been about creating a product for a certain person.”
Working on a debut album with the label, the full-length medium
has allowed him more space to experiment and spread his wings.
Though keeping his cards close to his chest on the full details of
the project, he delves a little deeper into what we can expect:
“I can’t say too much, but what I can say is that it has a lot to
do with desire and ambition and what people would do given
a chance. So, I set my focus on that and gave myself a primary
character along with a few others. All with paths interwoven.”
Playing around with concepts seems bold ground for an artist
making their debut but XamVolo isn’t any ordinary artist. He
pushes the boundaries and takes risks. “One of the reasons why
I feel that people don’t give music their full time and attention
– and I’m not saying this about everyone – is that some writers
don’t really care about adding anything new to the table. They’re
too hung up on their precedents, and names and pigeonholing
the music. I feel that a lot of people who have resonated with me
are artists who have tried to push boundaries or been sonically
weird, bringing something new to the table.” Some of the
greatest artists of all time have played around with the concept
album, with everyone from The Beatles
and Bowie to Kanye and Frank Ocean,
experimenting with the format. It’s not
a pursuit for the faint hearted.
“If you see someone writing a
concept album around themselves then
it barely is one. I could go online and
figure that out rather quickly. Even if I
do use the word ‘I’ on occasion in the
album, it’s not about me. There’s so
much more to talk about in the world
than us.” In a world where privacy
no longer seems a human right and
where our every move both physically
and virtually is tracked, XamVolo’s desire for distance between
himself and his music makes perfect sense. It also adds to his
mystery as a performer. Today, as he says, when you can find out
almost anything online, sometimes less is more and the flickers
of light in the dark are more desirable than a full blast of bright
white light which exposes everything. It adds texture. “My truth
isn’t so important that it needs to be etched into vinyl. Instead,
this project can be interpreted by anyone in any way that they
want to and I’ve always written like that. We see more than we
are.”
Much like his previous output, his new material has seen him
work predominantly by himself, though he takes the opportunity
to receive feedback and to collaborate seriously. The chance to
fly to L.A. to collaborate with producers and songwriters seems
to be have had a profound effect on him. “I’ve learned a lot from
a lot of people in the past 14 months.” The time spent alone
nurturing his talent appears to have been just as beneficial for
him. “Recording and producing by myself has been great. I feel
like I’ve learnt a lot just being in that room. If I was to talk to the
person I was two years ago, I would teach him some serious
tricks. All that time experimenting is great and you’ll be learning,
learning, learning and then there will be that one trick which just
revolutionises everything.”
With the industry less willing to hand out money to emerging
artists, those signed to majors have become fewer and fewer,
and this is a notion which has definitely embedded itself in
XamVolo’s head. “I don’t think I’ve spent this long on anything
before. I’ve spent 14 months on it. I’ve been thinking about how
albums have a long shelf life rather than being a flash in the pan.
If this was the last piece of music I ever made, what would people
think of me? This is something I wouldn’t have been comfortable
with before but, now there is a body pushing me, I have to think
about how myself and my music will be perceived. I don’t know
how many chances I’m going to get to create a project under
“My truth isn’t
so important
that it needs
to be etched
into vinyl”
these circumstances again so it’s kind of
[about] how to best take advantage of
that.”
The influence the Internet has had
on the distribution of music over the past
ten years alone has been huge, and the
opportunities to record an album with the
backing of a major label are few and far
between. Despite SoundCloud opening the
door to the music industry for him, the rise
of the streaming platform also means that
music is more accessible than ever before,
making it that little bit harder to become
noticed, to stand out, for your music to
make a difference. As you’d expect from an artist so considered,
XamVolo is not taking any chances on being missed. “People will
go and see a film about pretty much anything, but with music it
seems a lot harder to gain an attentive audience. So, I’ve tried to
take elements of what draws people to the other art forms and
apply them to this album.”
It’s rare to find an artist taking such a wide-angled approach
to how best to survive in one of the most ruthless industries on
the planet. Trying to learn from other artistic forms and finding
out their secrets to captivating an audience creates a lineage
between XamVolo and some of pop culture’s most visionary
artists who’ve drawn inspiration from film, art and literature.
It also shows his determination to stand out. To grab the
opportunity proper, he has had to think outside his own artistic
medium and thrive for success.
As our walk ends we are still not entirely certain as to what
to expect from XamVolo’s debut but with the little he’s told us
we anticipate it eagerly. His signing to a major hasn’t seen him
become complacent: it’s obvious to see that he’s still keen to push
boundaries and propel his music forward. Reluctant to let his
music fade into obscurity, it appears he’s still trying to break the
mould. A true renaissance artist, he’s considered every aspect
from the art through to the business, fighting and kicking to
stand head and shoulders above the rest. Looking back at his
past catalogue and having chatted about his plans for the future
today, we’re sure that XamVolo is a name that won’t be lost. !
Words: Matthew Hogarth
Photography: Robin Clewley / robinclewley.co.uk
Clothing supplied by Outsiders Store
xamvolo.com
XamVolo plays the Bido Lito! Social in association with Outsiders
Store at District on 30th November. Feels Good is out now.
FEATURE
25

CELLULOI
Liverpool is fabled for its musical output, past and present. But what about film? Sam Turner investigates the
organisations bolstering the city’s presence on the cinematic map.
The recent Museum Of Liverpool exhibition Reel Stories
explored the city’s film heritage. It declared Liverpool
to be “a filmmaker’s dream… a city of storytellers and
performers, writers and entertainers, musicians and
poets”. It’s true that while music may be the artistic medium we
are most famous for, film is also an important part of Merseyside’s
cultural history. The romantic streak of the Liverpudlian, the
grand backdrop of the Mersey and its skyline, as well as the city’s
tumultuous social history, all contribute to a rich vein of storytelling
which many a filmmaker have tapped into.
Filmmakers and writers like Terence Davies, Frank Clarke and
Willy Russell have all made films which have positioned Liverpool
as a filmic city, but how is this tradition being upheld? Clarke’s
1985 film Letter to Brezhnev is cited as the high watermark
for Liverpool filmmaking, a romantic comedy which explores
popular themes such as class, unemployment, sex and the sea.
Lynne Saunders, manager of LIVERPOOL FILM OFFICE sees the
production as kickstarting a very important cultural export for
the city. “[Letter To Brezhnev] was universally highly-acclaimed.
It was a low budget feature film, many people on that had never
worked on a feature film before,” Lynne told me at the Office’s
Cunard Building base. “It was hugely successful but I think what
it did was put Liverpool on the map as a location. The city looked
great in that movie but also the talent in front of the camera and
behind, so it really made the industry sit up and take notice of what
was going on in Liverpool.” The city’s innovation came at a time
when it’s public image had been waning: “In the late 80s there
was a huge recession and Liverpool itself was struggling. The city
was looking at creative ways to create revenue without spending
much and meanwhile the phones were going and there’s all these
filmmakers going ‘Can we film in your empty factories and your
empty warehouses and empty tower blocks?’”.
Today, Liverpool Film Office provides this service, facilitating
the search for locations, organising road closures and ensuring
the city’s myriad visual assets are readily available to the
big productions which are using Liverpool more and more.
Blockbusters such as Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
and Captain America have made Liverpool famous in the industry
as a desirable location either as a workable double for New York
or London, or a period setting for high end TV dramas like Peaky
Blinders. The work of the Film Office has helped make the city
the most-filmed UK location outside of London and generates an
annual of income of £20 million.
This is undeniably a boon for Liverpool and its cultural capital
but is it beneficial to the next generation of homegrown filmmakers
and those wanting to earn a living in the
industry? Saunders acknowledges that
there are gaps in support now that the
Film Council is defunct, but the incoming
productions certainly serve a purpose to
those with film aspirations. “The idea is if
you can attract more large-scale feature
films and have a constant conveyor belt
of production coming in, that’s where the
opportunities are and I’ve seen many,
many more who have gone in at various
departments and have progressed to
become producers and directors and
writers,” Lynne tells me of the important role
outside productions play.
The development at the former
Littlewoods building on Edge Lane is also a positive sign for the
city’s industry and independent filmmakers. While the chief aim
will be to attract more outside productions and keep them in the
city for longer, it will provide a hub for homegrown independent
creative businesses who can support such projects. Postproduction
companies, prop makers, casting agencies and the
myriad other enterprises that are required to assist feature films
and television series will all be given space to set up shop at the
‘Pinewood Of The North’.
Homegrown talent development is the main aim of production
company FOOT IN THE DOOR who are reimagining the movie
“You’ve got
so many new
technologies
that we can
all learn from
each other”
development model with various projects which feed into their
vision. Founded by Paul Morrissey and Michelle Billington, the
North Liverpool-based CIC look to provide opportunities to young
people and adults who find barriers to education, volunteering
and employment, while creating feature films made by cast and
crew from Liverpool. Billington herself experienced barriers to
getting into the industry but has managed to work on a number of
critically acclaimed and award-winning films such as Be All And
End All and Don’t Worry About Me, which stars David Morrissey,
the brother of her fellow director at Foot
In The Door, Paul. Now through initiatives
such as the Veterans Project which looks
to provide opportunities to former military
personnel who are struggling to get back
into employment, the company is looking
to create opportunities for people to get
into an industry which is notoriously hard
to break into. The hope is that a feature film
will be in production next year as a result of
the Veterans project.
Another company which has been
flying the flag for Liverpool film for years
is HURRICANE FILMS, a celebrated
production company responsible for
the likes of Under The Mud, Of Time
And The City and Sunset Song. Funding is obviously a large
barrier for independent productions and Hurricane Producer Sol
Papadopoulos and business partner Roy Boulter have had to
travel to ensure their films were made with the requisite bank
roll. “A fund specific to Merseyside would be a boon. We’ve made
our last three films all outside the UK for financing reasons; tax
breaks in Belgium, funders in Luxembourg wanting to invest, etc.
We’re hoping to make the next one here!” Papadopoulos told me.
“Filmmaking is an international business so our work is done at the
markets in Berlin, Toronto, London, Los Angeles, etc.. Most people
assume, of course, we’re in London.”
26

D HEROES
The capital may be the hub for international interest, but
Liverpool’s not without its own film-orientated centres. A familiar
creative hub for film fans, FACT also plays an important role in
providing knowledge, networking opportunities and showcases
to filmmakers, and is now host to the FILMMAKERS MEET-UP,
a new regular event ran by Ryan Garry. The evening invites
guest speakers to talk about various aspects of filmmaking, from
getting chosen at film festivals to picking the right music for
your soundtrack. Garry recognises
FACT and others’ roles in nurturing
Liverpool’s film scene. “Liverpool has
a number of institutions which are of
use to filmmakers in the city and the
first resource I would turn to would
definitely be the Liverpool Film Office.
They’re billed as a one-stop shop for
productions, and, from my experience
at least, will give the most independent
film the same attention as the larger
ones. FACT have also been very
supportive, not only in helping put
together the Filmmakers’ Meet, but
also in having a very positive attitude
to developing and encouraging local
talent.” Garry tells me following the
inaugural meet-up in July, “They are
also responsible for the annual Film Night in November – which
showcases filmmakers’ work from across the North West.
Earlier this year I would’ve also included the LIVERPOOL SMALL
CINEMA in this list – their open attitude to screening work by local
filmmakers made it a great place to get shown. Sadly, it’s now
closed down.”
As a place to showcase independent productions as well as
a space to meet up and talk all things celluloid, Victoria Street’s
Small Cinema has indeed been a loss to the city’s indie filmmakers.
However, events such as LIVERPOOL FILM NIGHT at FACT aim to
“You can make a
really, really bad film
with really, really
good equipment or
you can make a really
good film with really
bad equipment”
go some way to fill that void. The annual event invites filmmakers
based in the city to submit their short films (under 15 minutes in
length) for a showcase of films made by people working in the city.
Demelza Kooij (filmmaker and Senior Lecturer in Documentary
and Fiction Filmmaking for Film Studies at Liverpool John Moores
University) is this year’s judge, charged with putting together the
programme for the Film Night. “I hope I can build some kind of
journey, it would be really nice if I could pull the audience through
a journey,” Kooij tells me when I asked
about how she will go about making
the selections for November. “The best
film programmes that I’ve seen are
the ones that are very diverse, so ones
that mix slow cinema with animation
with upbeat film with something that
keeps you on your toes as an audience;
those are the best films. I want to get
all genres, I love it all. If the film didn’t
get in, it may have been that it didn’t fit
with everything else or maybe it was
too similar… or maybe it wasn’t good
enough!”
As a filmmaker and lecturer who
is new to Liverpool but has been
entrenched in filmmaking circles
in other cities like Edinburgh, Kooij
believes that, while there are efforts being made by organisations
like FACT, more needs to be done to bring filmmakers and
creatives of all disciplines together to encourage collaboration:
“You’ve got arts festivals, you’ve got music festivals and I think
that, if there is a film festival in the future, there should be some
kind of week-long thing running up to the festival where creatives
of all direction should make something – doesn’t have to be film
– so they can start working together. So, the musicians don’t just
group with the musicians and the filmmakers don’t just group with
the filmmakers cos the world is changing, right? You’ve got so
many new technologies that we can all learn from each other.” It’s
an enticing vision. While areas like visual arts and music get much
of the limelight in Liverpool, it makes sense for filmmaking to join
the party and get the attention it deserves, while simultaneously
providing encouragement to aspiring directors.
Talking more about her criteria in making her selections, Kooij
points to what she calls ‘authorship’ as the most important quality
to filmmaking. She elaborates: “A persona in film form if you like.
Some kind of passion or conviction or a clear identity. It can be a
comedy, a documentary, a mockumentary, fiction, horror, sci-fi, I
like it all as long as there is authorship in there. People are often
worried, like: ‘Oh my god the picture quality isn’t that of a Arri
Alexa movie camera. But you can make a really, really bad film with
really, really good equipment or you can make a really good film
with really bad equipment and programmers will always choose
the latter because in the end all they care about is the story itself
and how you have used your means to make that story happen.”
Across disciplines, authorship always stands out and it’s
those films, as well as songs, plays and poems, which have
gained Liverpool a reputation of creating great art. The likes of
Hurricane Films, and Foot In The Door are doing their utmost to
ensure filmic voices are being heard and events like FACT’s Film
Night also provide a valuable platform. As Letter To Brezhnev
was created out of one of the city’s darkest periods, with the
support of these organisations, we can hope that today’s cruel
socio-political climate will give rise to other classics and place a
spotlight on Liverpool as a place where culture is created, not just
manufactured. !
Words: Sam Turner / @samturner1984
Photography: Mark McNulty / markmcnulty.co.uk
liverpoolfilmoffice.tv
Liverpool Film Night takes place at FACT on Wednesday 22nd
November.
FEATURE
27

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MEMBERSHIP 31

SPOTLIGHT
DIALECT
“A loose constellation of musical and non-musical sounds.” Andrew PM
Hunt, the mind behind DIALECT, muses on latest release Loose Blooms.
“The dream is
to have creative
unity across
your life”
“A
sense of place has been very important to all the
music I’ve been involved in no matter where I’ve
been living, from the Outfit records to DIALECT,
I’m very influenced by my surroundings.” The
third and latest full-length release from Andrew PM Hunt under
his Dialect moniker, Loose Blooms, continues in this vein of
dealing with place and the environment: “I suppose the main
thing [this record] says about me is that I’m obsessed with rocks!
Specifically, it’s inspired by landscapes and how we as people
shape them and how they in turn shape us. It’s my attempt to
make a kind of musical monument to the power of nature and
the interconnectedness of it all.” Available on a limited edition
cassette, Loose Blooms was inspired by trips to contrasting
environments; the desert border states of the American south
and the remote Scottish Highlands.
Though Hunt was inspired by different natural extremes on
Loose Blooms, the urban environment has weaved its way into
his past release with 2015’s Gowanus Drifts inspired by his time
living in New York: “When I was living in NYC, I made a record
all about the area I lived in, which had a lot of similarities to
Liverpool actually. It was like a love letter to the neighbourhood.”
Based in Liverpool again, the city has become an ideal backdrop
for continuing his work: “Liverpool is great because it’s cheap
enough to have free time to make music and the city is small
enough to feel like a community but has enough going on not to
feel like you’re out of the loop in some backwater town.”
Though Liverpool is often referred to as a city of songwriters,
songwriting is the tip of the iceberg of what Hunt does as a
musician. “When I was doing Outfit, I would write songs in
a relatively traditional manner but with Dialect it’s a much
broader thing. It doesn’t have to be a particular shape or even
‘do anything’ necessarily.” Taking on a more holistic approach to
his work, Hunt elaborates: “There’s more of a collage approach
going on that allows me to bring together a lot of different
sounds and influences which is really satisfying.” Working with
other mediums and on other projects also helps to diversify his
creative outputs: “I work in radio too and when I’m putting a
show together or just listening to music, it all feels part of the
same project, like research or something. I also work as a session
musician which keeps me on my toes. I’m not a specialist in any
one thing, which is a blessing and a curse.”
As for the future, Hunt endeavours to “just keep on listening,
playing, refining and staying open to new ideas… The dream
is to have creative unity across your life.” With a spoken word
collaboration with MC Farhood in the pipeline, as well as further
work with the Dunes label he set up with his wife earlier this
year, it seems that vision isn’t too far off being realised.
Photography: Dan Croll
dialect-trax.bandcamp.com
Loose Blooms is out now. Bido Lito! Members can hear an
exclusive track from Dialect in this month’s digital bundle. Head
to bidolito.co.uk to find out more.
32

CARTWHEELS
ON GLASS
CARTWHEELS ON GLASS mix
dark humour and stark reality to
create “manic depressive pop
music”. Vocalist and guitarist
Craig Sinclair gives us an insight
on the world of the five-piece.
“I like writers
who can be funny
and tragic at the
same time”
How did you get into music?
I started out as an unbearable Joy Division/Radiohead-obsessed
teenager with dreams of being famous. The unforgiving years
ground those dreams to dust and now I’m just happy to play
toilet venues to a handful of enthusiastic thirtysomethings.
What’s the latest song/EP/album you have out – and what does
it say about you?
Up The Dosage is our current single. I think it says a lot about me
personally – that I have a string of failed relationships behind me,
that I struggle with mental health problems and that I’m a low-level
functioning alcoholic. But when I sing about it, it’s funnier than that.
Did you have any particular artists in mind as an influence
when you started out? What about them do you think you’ve
taken into your music?
Speaking for everyone in the band I’d say we all share a love of
The Smiths. For me personally, these boys I’m working with are
so clever that it’s just a dream to be able to get them to arrange
my songs and hear them play. I love doo-wop and 50s/60s
heartbreak pop music – it’s like listening to ghosts.
What are the overriding external influences on your music –
other art/surroundings/experiences?
For me, films are a huge influence. I love the past and wish with
all my heart it was the 1950s. I like writers who can be funny and
tragic at the same time like Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood.
What are you ambitions for Cartwheels On Glass?
We have no ambitions at all beyond continuing to make music
and enjoying doing it. I hope people like it but I’ve stood at the
screaming precipice of success before and the brown glare from
the bullshit damn near blinded me, so we won’t be playing the
game. I should stress it’s lovely when people are positive though!
What do you like doing away from music?
Collectively speaking we like watching films and good TV,
photography and filmmaking, writing and making each other
laugh. Comedy is a huge thing for all of us. I cry from laughing so
hard when I’m around the people in this band.
cartwheelsonglass.bandcamp.com
BISCH
NADAR
Alt-prog-pop-rock outfit BISCH
NADAR blend a heady mix of
genres to make “big fun, big riffs
and big beats.”
“The more
beat downs
the better”
How did you get into music?
Anthony: I probably got into music through skateboarding. As a
kid, it was all I did and naturally I got sucked into the cultures that
come with it. When I was 13 I wanted a drum kit. My mum was
like ‘fuck that’ and bought me my first guitar instead and I haven’t
stopped since then. I guess she’s the sole reason I’m a guitarist
today.
George: I broke my leg playing football at 16 so I bought a bass,
listened to my dad’s record collection and started smoking. 12
years later, I am here.
What’s the latest song you have out and what does it say
about you?
A + G: We released Häyhä our first single with a video in
February and have a four-track EP and new single coming out at
the end of the year. Häyhä was a good song to represent who we
are and what we are about.
How does where you are from affect your writing, if at all?
G: I guess it does for me. Being from the edge of London and
Kent, the music scene I was exposed to down there was very
heavy and metal-y and I would say that rubbed off on me. I like
the heavier stuff. The more beat downs the better for me.
A: I’m from down the road in friendly Widnes. The town has
always had an ‘indie’ scene but I’ve always edged towards
heavier, more epic stuff.
How do you see your career progressing from where you are
now (in an ideal situation)?
A + G: Play more gigs. Write more music. Record new music.
See new places. Meet new people. Hope we can do that enough
times that it funds the next time we do that. Do it so much and
so well that we start to make a profit from it and then can spend
that profit to make it better each time... Something like that.
bischnadar.bandcamp.com
Bisch Nadar’s self-titled debut EP is out on 8th December. Bido
Lito! Members can hear an exclusive track from it in this month’s
digital bundle. Head to bidolito.co.uk to find out more.
SPOTLIGHT 33

PREVIEWS
“In the end it’s not
about breaking
through shackles…
it’s more just about
finding peace with
what reality is”
GIG
ZOLA JESUS
Liverpool Music Week Closing Party
@ Invisible Wind Factory – 04/11
Shafts of brilliant white light
pierce the dancing shadows
of ZOLA JESUS’ noir pop
compositions, landing on
moments where redemption and
catharsis take centre stage in the
Wisconsin-born artist’s bruising
compositions. Georgia Turnbull
speaks to her about the imagery of
Jesus’ latest album, Okovi.
Toting a sound that straddles pop, goth, classical and
industrial, ZOLA JESUS’ noir pop eclecticism is the
perfect accompaniment to the darkening autumn nights.
Born Nika Roza Danilova in Wisconsin to parents of
Russian, Slovenian and Ukrainian descent, this prolific singersongwriter
and record producer has been a truly intriguing and
widely-praised act within the alternative scene, creating this
dark yet melodic world of her own. Her career began in her home
state of Wisconsin in 2009, with her debut LP The Spoils, which
was released on the highly regarded label Sacred Bones, before
going on to work with the likes of M83, touring with Fever Ray
and the XX, and landing a place in NME 2011’s Ones To Watch
list. Even though later albums such as Taiga, which was released
on Mute Records in 2014, and Conatus, which was released on
Sacred Bones in 2011, showed a more melodic pop side to Zola’s
work, every album since The Spoils has always held a magic,
Gothic atmosphere. Her voice and style of work, comparable to
Siouxsie Sioux and Lydia Lunch, still retains a truly unique value
and becomes unforgettable to any listener, even after almost a
decade of creating music.
Her latest release, Okovi – a Slavic word for ‘shackles’ –
sees Danilova return to her hometown in Wisconsin where she
says she “built a little house just steps away from where my
dilapidated childhood tree fort is slowly recombining with the
earth,” which became a retreat after dealing with depression and
dark times. Even if you aren’t aware of the story between this
record and its predecessor, as soon as you hear Okovi you can
feel the rush of catharsis in its haunting melancholia. It feels like a
true snapshot of the darker side of the human condition; and how
one can come out of such a stark feeling of misery and trauma
feeling stronger.
Released once again on longtime label Sacred Bones and
produced by Alex DeGroot – whom Danilova describes as “the
closest group of people I’ll ever have to a blood-bound family”
– Okovi represents a return to the heavier, avant-garde sound
of her debut LP, exploring sonically that feeling of loss and
sadness unlike many contemporary artists have to date, but
still brings through this empowering message of the light at the
end of the tunnel. As Danilova states about Okovi, the album
has a “sympathy for the chains that keep us all grounded to the
unforgiving laws of nature.” Georgia Turnbull investigates further
into this still mysterious album, chatting to Danilova about the
emotional release within Okovi, going back home and further
discussing her feelings during writing and recording, the visual
imagery and the choice of the word ‘okovi’.
You said recently about how you went back to Wisconsin
where you were raised, and how the album came from a dark
and traumatic place. Dealing with such dark matters, what did
you want the end product of Okovi to evoke within the listener,
and within yourself during recording?
I didn’t really think about that too much when I was making it, but
I knew I wanted it to feel like a journey and to go through all the
different shades of what I was going through in the past couple
of years, coming out of it stronger. It was important that I left the
record on that note, which I think I do.
You also mentioned the title meaning ‘shackles’: was the task of
recording liberating from your perspective, like shackles being
broken, or the opposite?
A little bit of both. I think in the end it’s not about breaking
through shackles, it’s more [about] understanding that we have
shackles and that we’re chained to something and to find peace
with those chains, not to feel like they need to leave because
there are so many aspects of life, circumstances that can’t be
changed. So, it’s more just about finding peace with what reality
is. That’s something I definitely had to go through during writing
and recording this record.
The artwork within your back catalogue has felt like a literal
snapshot of you during that period of time, Okovi’s being
particularly dark, menacing and like a death mask. Was this
intentional? Tell us more about that artwork and visual process
While making the record, I was finding a lot of inspiration through
visual art and there was one artist in particular I was really
inspired by called Jesse Draxler. I was lucky enough to meet him
and we bonded. We’re from the same state of Wisconsin so we
formed a connection, and I asked him to do the album artwork, to
which he agreed. It feels so perfect because I feel so inspired by
his work. We tried a bunch of different options, but this particular
piece that he made really resonated with me because it felt like
the chaos, the external chaos happening around me but also with
only the eyes visible. It felt like this thread to the core; the eyes
acted like a human anchor in that complete and utter mania and
chaos that was growing around me, so it felt very representative
and expressionistic of the album.
You’re playing Liverpool Music Week this year, sharing a lineup
with such a variety of artists, from Chic to emerging artists.
What are your thoughts on that?
I’m looking forward to returning to Liverpool, I haven’t played
there in a long time. I enjoy sharing bills and that spirit with a
wide variety of acts – it’s nice because so many musicians have
common ground in different ways, such as you need to work a
little harder and organically. It may not be as obvious what we all
share, but we can share so much.
Words: Georgia Turnbull / @jurrjurrturnbull
Photography: Jesse Draxler
zolajesus.com
Okovi is out now on Sacred Bones Records. Zola Jesus plays
the Liverpool Music Week Closing Party on 4th November.
For full details on the extensive Closing Party line-up, head to
liverpoomusicweek.com.
34

Under Cinema
EXHIBITION
Under Cinema
FACT – 26/10-18/02
FACTs latest exhibition opens this month with typically ambitious
scope and intriguing subject matter. UNDER CINEMA is a new
solo show from filmmaker, artist and performer Wu Tsang who
has worked with FACT and Warp records to put together a
series of audio-visual pieces which explore how artistic practices can be
positioned to challenge, rather than conform to social norms.
The exhibition will include the world premiere of Tsang’s new
commission Under Cinema, a site-specific video installation (positioned
in FACT’s Gallery 2 – located underneath a cinema venue) featuring
American experimental electronic artist KELELA. The film arrives shortly
after Kelela dropped her debut album Take Me Apart which was released
on Warp in October to much critical praise. It’s a timely collaboration
between two artists who push boundaries and meld genres and media to
explore new territory.
Massachusetts-born, Berlin-based Tsang has forged a glowing
reputation in the contemporary art world while exhibiting at museums
and film festivals around the world including MoMa (New York), Tate
Modern (London) and SXSW (Austin). The trans artist deals with themes
of community, culture and sexuality, all of which came to the fore in her
breakthrough film Wildness which looked at the mixed fortunes of an
LGBTQ club night of the same name in LA as it grew in popularity in
2012.
In Under Cinema, innovative film making methodologies investigate
themes of voice and representation with Kelela as its subject. Another
UK premiere in the exhibition, We Hold Where Study, uses a twochannel
projected film and a choreographic approach which continues
to provoke a feeling of immersive other-worldliness created by Tsang’s
techniques.
FACT is the perfect venue for this investigation into cinema’s
relationship between documentary, activism and imagination. Make sure
you go along to experience innovation and artistry celebrated through
cutting-edge techniques.
Jane Weaver
PERFORMANCE
Immix Ensemble
Presents: Jane Weaver
and Sam Wiehl
Lutyens Crypt, Metropolitan
Cathedral – 09/11
After releasing one of the most critically acclaimed albums of
the year so far in Modern Kosmology and off the back of series
of phenomenal festival sets over the summer, JANE WEAVER
teams up with classical music collective IMMIX ENSEMBLE
and visual artist SAM WIEHL for an exclusive performance in the Crypt of
the Metropolitan Cathedral. Kosmologie Ancienne will draw on Weaver’s
Modern Kosmology, extrapolating on her sublime psych-pop songwriting
to form a multidisciplinary adaptation of the album.
Signed to acclaimed modern classical label Erased Tapes, Immix
Ensemble are no strangers to collaboration, and the piece with Weaver
and Wiehl follows work with a longer line of visionary artists in Liverpool,
including Bill Ryder-Jones, Ex-Easter Island Head, Stealing Sheep
and Luke Abbott. In this instance, Weaver’s songs and use of vintage
synthesisers will combine with Immix’s classical instrumentation and Sam
Wiehl’s signature groundbreaking live visuals. Wiehl has been working
with Weaver throughout this year, providing visuals for her live shows and
this reimagining of her album in a live setting presents grounds for further
experimentation between the two artists.
Housed in Lutyen’s Crypt – a remnant from the original plans to
build the world’s largest cathedral designed by inventive architect Edwin
Lutyens on the site of the Metropolitan – the Crypt is the perfect nod
to a visionary past in which to house this future-oriented performance.
Support comes from Immix’s Composer in Residence for 2017, Dialect
(Andrew PM Hunt), while lysergic crate-digger Andy Votel will DJ
between sets. Tickets are merely £5 a pop so there’s no reason not to
miss this postphenomenological treat. As part of Immix Ensemble’s
commitment to making new music accessible, there is also a free
allocation of tickets to those claiming JSA. To find out more, contact them
on info@immixensemble.co.uk.
PREVIEWS 35

PREVIEWS
GIG
Lucy Rose
Stanley Theatre – 12/11
Lucy Rose
Honouring the release of her latest album Something’s
Changing, LUCY ROSE brings her soothing sound to
Stanley Theatre. The album marks her newfound selfconfidence
after an eight-week acoustic tour of South
America, which was free to attend for audiences who
organised and hosted the gigs. Travelling only with a
guitar and backpack and staying with her fans along the
way, Rose filmed a short documentary to accompany
Something’s Changing to celebrate the transforming
experience. The work points to an exciting new chapter for
Rose and a stronger sense of self that has reinforced her
comforting music and mellow nature.
GIG
Blick Bassy
Philharmonic Hall – 25/11
The folk-Afro-blues mash-up of BLICK BASSY graces the
Philharmonic Hall in November. Born and raised in Yaounde,
Cameroon, the local rhythms that first inspired Bassy to begin his
music career are ever-present in his current work. Sung entirely in
Bassa, his native language brings its own colour and richness to
the dreamlike melodies. Bassy’s latest album Akö pays homage to
Mississippi bluesman Skip James, and delivers a unique blend of guitar,
banjo, cello and trombone. As part of Africa Oyé’s 25th anniversary
celebrations – and in collaboration with Mellowtone – Bassy will share
the sounds, rhythms and stories of his beloved Cameroon.
Blick Bassy
GIG
Ride
O2 Academy – 12/11
It’s been two years since RIDE announced their long-awaited
and anticipated reunion, after their split in 1996. The world tour
that followed was the first time the band had played together
since 2001, and proved a triumphant return to the weighty rock
tracks that helped establish the shoegazing era. Returning this
year with Weather Diaries, Ride will be performing their newest
work at the O2 Academy, to be heard the only way their music
should be heard: at maximum volume. Intending to pick up right
where they left off, this marks a steadfast and promising new
era for Ride.
FILM
Sin Bin Of The City
Constellations – 08/11
Using first-hand accounts and ITN’s newsreel, James Arthur Armstrong sheds
new light on the 1981 Toxteth riots in his latest documentary SIN BIN OF THE
CITY, screening at Constellations on 8th November, accompanied by an exhibition
of newspaper excerpts, photographs and more unheard audio interviews from
the people who feature in the film. The film itself will explore the political and
social climate that lead an over-policed and under-valued community to uprise.
Armstrong aims to bring honest and personal accounts to the forefront of his
film, allowing the perspectives that got lost amongst the noise of the press to
be heard, and points to the events’ relevance in a contemporary society that is
experiencing familiar tensions.
GIG
Lorenzo Senni
24 Kitchen Street – 10/11
Lorenzo Senni
Hitting 24 Kitchen Street with trance anthems, the Italian experimentalist LORENZO SENNI
returns to the UK with his latest work The Shape Of Trance To Come. The record explores
Senni’s love of punk hardcore and rave culture that results in his progressive dancefloor tracks
that push digital audio to its limits. Harmonic and hyperreal, Senni aims to take his audience on
a euphoric rave with trance synths and repetitive melodies. Detroit techno legend DJ STINGRAY
will also be performing on the night, bringing his equally experimental mixes that capture tense,
dystopian moods to the dancefloor.
FESTIVAL
Dead Good Gathering
Various venues – 17/11-19/11
The folks at Antipop Records have pulled a few treats out their bag for their
mini festival Dead Good Gathering. A festival for the socially-conscious
spanning a host of genres, Friday 17th November sees things kick off at
Maguire’s Pizza bar with THE ROUGHNECK RIOT and HABITS, while the
action moves to Constellations on the Saturday with OI POLLOI, QUEEN
ZEE AND THE SASSTONES, THE RESTARTS, PETE BENTHAM AND THE
DINNER LADIES, BOLSHY and more. After Saturday night’s riotous line-up,
they promise that the Sunday will be a more chilled affair, when they take over
Liverpool Social Centre with WADEYE heading up proceedings. With advance
weekend tickets only £20, it’s easy to get in on the action.
Dead Good Gathering
36

FESTIVAL
International Guitar
Festival Of Great Britain
Floral Pavilion - 26/10-30/11
The 29th INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL OF GREAT BRITAIN graces
the Wirral again for a month of top guitar talent. Welcoming all genres
of music, from classical and jazz to rock, soul and blues, the festival will
celebrate the versatility and range of the guitar throughout history. Both
international and homegrown artists will be providing the tunes, including
ROY WOOD and JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR as headliners, supported by
some festival favourites and familiar faces. Liverpool Guitar Society will also
be performing at the Williamson Art Gallery and guitar workshops will run
at KGB in Birkenhead, to accompany a celebration of diverse guitar artistry
and encourage more people to pick up the instrument.
GIG
DJ Format & Abdominal
The Magnet - 02/11
Since first collaborating in Music For The Mature B-Boy
back in 2003, DJ FORMAT & ABDOMINAL have been
inseparable ever since. The infamous hip hop duo return
to Liverpool to showcase their first full-length album
together, Still Hungry. The record features the evereclectic
beats of Format, taking on a grittier delivery
of classic hip hop, however still packed with feel-good
funk and intelligent rhythms. Abdominal provides the
charismatic lyrics that flow and click with Format’s beats
as the pair effortlessly collaborate both on stage and in the
studio. Head down to The Magnet next month to witness
their old school style and infectious tracks.
GIG
Peggy Seeger And Family
Philharmonic Music Room – 28/11
Liverpool Philharmonic welcomes singer songwriter, folk
and feminist icon PEGGY SEEGER to its Music Room.
Alongside her late husband and collaborator, Ewan
MacColl, Seeger is one of folk music’s most influential
artists and helped lead its revival in the 1960s. Fastforwarding
to 2017, her UK tour coincides with the
publication of her memoir and accompanying CD, First
Time Ever. Her most treasured songs will be performed
alongside readings from her memoir that recounts her
remarkable life. Known for her fervent stage presence, wit
and rebellious nature, the night will certainly be an emotive
and nostalgic celebration of her extraordinary career.
THEATRE
Lefty Scum
Everyman Theatre – 09/11
Jonny & the Baptists, Josie Long and Grace Petrie have combined
their satirical artistry to bring us LEFTY SCUM, an evening of
witty and unashamedly political performances. Expect music,
comedy and revolutionary socialism as the three artists find
humour in a right-wing age. Each act has been celebrated for
their rapport with audiences, infectious enthusiasm and tenacious
drive for change. Although welcoming audiences of all political
persuasions, they will “probably take the piss out of you if you’re
a Tory”. Sounds good to us. Grab your tickets quick if you want to
catch this limited 10-date UK tour stop off at the Everyman.
Lefty Scum
GIG
Astles
District – 23/11
Astkes
LIMF Academy ‘One To Watch’ artist and 2016 Merseyrail Sound Station
Prize winner ASTLES releases his second EP, Full Of Wonder, with a special
show at District on 23rd November. The Southport teenager impressed
with his Live At The Nordic release at the beginning of the year and is
bookending 2017 with a selection of songs that show a real evolution for
the singer-songwriter having collaborated with electronic artist Joseph
Mott and Pure Joy’s Matt Freeman, who will also act as support for the EP
launch. The EP has been preceded by single Death Is Love and is available
to buy along with a ticket for the launch party for just £5.
ART + DINING
Eat Me
The Royal Standard – 04/11
For an evening of divine and deee-lightful drag, dinner and art, look no further than EAT ME at The Royal
Standard. Promising to bring together a tongue tickling array of the finest drag artists rounds these parts,
matched with heady cocktails, tasty tapas and coquettish canapés, you’re bound to find something to satisfy
all tastes. The team behind the Eat Me + Preach night at Invisible Wind Factory are also inviting you to
appreciate the work going on in The Royal Standard, inviting guests to ‘sneak behind the beaded curtain’ and
view the art in their private diner’s club. We’re not sure what that entails but we’re excited to find out.
Eat Me
GIG
Algiers
The Magnet – 23/11
Algiers
Delivering politically-charged and darkly soulful tracks, ALGIERS continue their
restless fight to tackle social issues with music. Their second album The Underside
Of Power, delves into and confronts oppressive forces, whilst offering a palpable
sense of hope amongst the chaos. Industrial punk, experimental rock and gospel
come together to drive their rebellious messages with intense beats, call and
response, and the impassioned vocals of Franklin James Fisher. Algiers have been
recognised for their uplifting and energetic performances – which they’re sure to
bring to The Magnet – delivering their songs with the same urgency that they carry,
hoping to ignite the inner revolutionary.
PREVIEWS 37

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10 Artists
competing for the Merseyrail Sound Station Prize at the
MErsEYrAiL sOUND stAtION FEstIVAL
Live from Liverpool Central Station - Saturday 11th November - Free entry from 3pm
The final winner of the Merseyrail Sound Station Prize will be chosen by a panel of expert judges at the event. The successful artist
will receive one year of professional music industry mentoring, recording studio time and free train travel with Merseyrail.
Get There By Train
merseyrailsoundstation.com

AEG PRESENTS & DHP FAMILY, IN COOPERATION WITH X-RAY & THIRTY CENTURY MANAGEMENT, PRESENT
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Introducing…
bido lito! journal 2017
A YEAR IN
LIVERPOOL
MUSIC
A deluxe coffee table magazine looking back at
12 months in Liverpool music and creative
culture with exquisite photography, extended
features and other exclusive content.
Free to Bido Lito! Members
who sign up by 1st November
Available in selected stockists
from 13th November
Go to bidolito.co.uk for more information.
Opens 13 October 2017
#LGBTtales

REVIEWS
Träd, Gräs Och Stenar (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
Songhoy Blues (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
Liverpool International Festival Of
Psychedelia
Camp and Furnace, District – 22/09-23/09
Two of our reporters attempted
to explain the PZYK phenomenon
by experiencing as much as they
could over the two days. The
80-something bands and myriad
visual experiences on offer left
these indelible marks on their
minds. Here’s what Tom Bell and
Georgia Turnbull made of it.
When entering Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia,
there are a few things you need to know: expect the unexpected;
expect an interactive, mind-blowing weekend; expect to discover
so much new music you never knew was out there, from all over
the world; expect to enter a completely unique environment,
surrounded by the most interesting characters you can imagine.
Every year, Psych Fest opens my eyes to the ever-changing
face of psychedelia, revealing iterations that can sometimes
be forgotten. On the Friday night within Blade Factory, I
reacquainted myself with NOVELLA, an East London fourpiece
well established within the shoegaze spectrum of neopsychedelia.
Playing a selection of songs from their two LPs Land
(2015) and Change (2017), their live show truly encapsulates
the hazy, girl group psychedelia that you hear on record, with
striking visuals throughout the set adding to their dream-like
noisescapes. And there are more than just bands warming the
stages: within the nearby tents there are some amazing DJs
to catch, such as Finders Keepers Records’ ANDY VOTEL’s set
spinning only Turkish disco tunes, an unexpected highlight of my
Psych Fest weekend.
Friday night is topped off with a groove-laden headline show
from SONGHOY BLUES, the Malian desert blues heroes proving
that there’s more danceable groove to be found in this genre
than you might at first assume. This is stretched further in ACID
ARAB’s late-night showing in District, where the Parisian DJs
stretch out their North African beats in a thrilling techno party.
On the Saturday, I make my way to the shimmering Furnace
stage – dominated by video walls suspended from the ceiling – to
catch L.A. wanderers COSMONAUTS, who describe themselves
as “too psychedelic to be punk, too punk to be psychedelic”.
It’s dark, it’s booming, and it gets you hooked: just like superior
shoegaze should do. I turn around at one point away from the
stage to see someone dressed as a panda dancing with random
punters on the front row, which can tell you a lot about the
spontaneity and madness of Psych Fest (or PZYK, whatever you
want to call it).
Outside District, a queue is forming for PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS
PIGS PIGS PIGS, who I’ve heard a lot about but never properly
listened to. I manage to catch a few songs of their set, and it’s
enough: a doomy juggernaut of sound hits me when they get up
to full speed, the Newcastle five-piece kicking, screaming and
half-naked as they take PZYK for a trip into the heavier side of
psychedelia, bordering on doom and stoner metal.
Later on in the evening things take a turn towards the mellower
end of the spectrum, in the company of Chilean dreamscape
lords THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE. Like most bands on the Sacred
Bones label, they certainly don’t disappoint. The Latin duo create
an ethereal soundscape of noise that hypnotises you from the
first chord, and stays with you forever. This is followed by the
long-awaited appearance of THE BLACK ANGELS at this festival,
which comes in the charged atmosphere of the Furnace, a setting
purpose built for their earthy-yet-trippy rock aesthetic.
Just when I think I’ve seen all the festival has to offer, I poke
my nose inside the Bold Street Bedouin Boudoir tent to catch a
secret set from ACID HOUSE RAGAS (aka Rishi Dhir, sitar player
from Elephant Stone). Comprising a traditional Indian sitar jam
session set to otherworldly drones within the Moroccan shishatent
atmosphere, this is a breath of fresh air from the assault of
sound coming from the festival’s four stages.
And then, like that, it disappears, leaving you wondering if you’ve
imagined it all.
Georgia Turnbull / @jurrjurrtbull
42

There are people in this world who say you can’t put pineapple on pizza, but who can really say for sure? How do the rest of us learn
their rules, do they even want us to, and are they happy now? It’s the kinda thing that can stalk a niche-fest reveller, rarely more than
here, this time, which seems to take a more serious breed of dough-head to truly master the toppings. Margherita psych, despite going
down pretty well last year, is not on the board.
Which arguably is where the field levels and all things are possible again. First case in point: an accidental sortie into some chugging,
swirling mountain bop or other. Now, we’d probably fall somewhere between the Psych For Fuckwits textbook and being safe to roam
the streets of Camp, Furnace and so on unaccompanied, and it’s briefly got us running for the hills: we don’t know what it is, but we feel
we’ve seen it somewhere (here) before. This time, it turns out to be the exception that proves the consistently flouted ‘rule’ (we think).
Second case in point: TRÄD, GRÄS OCH STENAR. Too old to be facsimiles, too lengthy of track to form a pattern, too locked-in to fit in.
Having yet to complete the ‘prog’ chapter of the set text let alone sit the module on jazz, we take those terms in vain - but impressions
are nonetheless made. These ever-evolving Swedes (per second-hand ‘knowledge’) build their world around you, no map provided, no
sense of direction, to a beat rendered with a physicality that suggests playing backwards while being reversed in real time. It’s glorious,
and new around here. Maybe to know more, to know even what, would be to feel less.
If that’s lesser-trodden terrain, IL SOGNO DEL MARINAIO speak a zombie language. Their intra-band roleplay, skew-whiff vocalising,
not-of-this-parish mannerisms and, again, originality of physicality (the bass is attacked like a drum) are a fruity twist for the palate,
a moment of sweet Aloha. But, why?
Out we spit, towards Blade, towards the flame, at some point before or after. Therein, masked figures stare us down – faces melted
of flesh, who played too close to the fire, who came to show a picture of tomorrow when the wind could change. White noise
encircles these porcine avatars. It’s a battle of wills, abominable feedbacked scarecrows vs folk who enjoy nightmares, with delirious
consequences. This was GRIM BRIDES – no, still is. No one’s playing but no one’s twitching. Maybe these statuesque onlookers are too
scared to run, too psyched to “psych”. It isn’t “psych” (per assumptions), so much as a lesser-trodden pathway in psyches. Some people
out there are iffy about seafood on pizza but more would balk at adding human flesh, which is more or less what we’re assessing. It
isn’t some accepted, tasteful genre-tick. Grim Brides’ masks become them, or put a lens on our eyes, or offer a way of seeing.
By all means keep in mind the great mistakes of
PZYK cuisine, for instance, that held sway
game – the path of least resistance was
things come to those who commit to a
isn’t dead time. Things that matter
in that corridor of uncertainty
worthwhile. Issues from genres
in history for a former star of the
seen here psyching away.
You once knew – or at least found
to be a repository for all your
been depleted uranium, scrap
all your worst traits in ghastly
vocalist, they’re enunciating the
contorted shapes they threw last
we hurtle through as they stand guard
your Meatball Feast. They’re laughing
rattling the cage, yet you feel so small that
them louder, but never so imposing. Gnod are a
end of. The zombie linguists, however, are about to
your life up to now. There’d been an approach to
at one time: that of the quickest fix. Mug’s
undercooked and overrated. No, no: good
long-player, which on days like these
are chopped and cooked. Analysis,
between Furnace and Blade, is
past are resolved. We find a place
American Hot scene, who we’ve
uptown 18 months ago – GNOD
mistakes and regrets. They’d
metal, all your waste product,
proximity. Now, with a different
space surrounding the painfully
time. They’re blasting a black hole that
unwilling to help. They’re overloading
attendants of a gruelling torture-ride,
the rattles are distant tremors. You’ve heard
towering house of hollows you’ll never hear the
be rationalised.
Three different players are teaching
the malleus, incus and stapes to
multitask. Keys manipulate your innards.
Squiggly motifs have you seeing stars
and samples of memories.
Oh, but there actually are, earlier, stars
about your bonce, birds tweeting and
space hurtling by. You’re interacting in the
PZYK PRYZM, cowering from yourself.
There are suckers on your forehead like a
retro time machine.
Snares rap the outers of the innerspace
Gnod show(ed) you in your past/future.
THE COMET IS COMING, reads the
programme. Ain’t it just? All that you
see in a lamp shone on your closed eyes,
you’re told, is yours - this cosmic mania
is yours. Your brain powers the visuals,
and the readings boffins are processing.
Mentally we’re clinging on – life seems
fast.
The sax is your spirit chimp, charmed
by woodwind overtures, floating like
the simian shaman you ‘are’ on each
dancefloor you disgrace. There’s a point
where we’ve a sense of standing outside
of ourself, looking at the back of our
head. We’re wowed but pray for it to end.
Afterwards, they’ve the gall to say the
data showed a tranquil mind.
.eseehc eht fo tuo yldlob ,erehwon ruoy otni ,aniter ruoy hguorht thgir sedirts – seltitbus tuo gnippat uoy dniheb gnidnats ,namsdubmo
lanretni ruoy ro donG fo dlihc – tlem-ecaf fo erugif a dna ,edalB otni nrut nehT
And wake.
So, you’ve got the base and you’ve got tomato and whatnot: they’ll always be around. But to change your ways, to go beyond, you can
and should put near as hell anything and everything on pizza.
Tom Bell / @WriterTomBell
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
Jane Weaver (Michelle Roberts / sheshoots.co.uk)
REVIEWS 43

REVIEWS
Howie Payne (John Johnson / johnjohnson-photography.com)
Howie Payne
+ Lee Southall
+ Mel Bowen
Harvest Sun @ Buyers Club – 12/10
It’s always heartening to see the return of a much-loved son
of the city to his old stomping ground. It’s an even sweeter
experience when that person is HOWIE PAYNE, performing with
a band again after a couple of solo tours, and armed with a brace
of fine, sunblushed new material from his stunning new album
Mountain
The experience finds him well too. “Yeh, I’m really digging
it. I haven’t played the songs with a band for a while, or some of
them ever, so it’s very fresh and exciting.”
Following Howie Payne’s social media over recent years, and
watching him go about putting the Mountain album together, we
find a songwriter who’s not only happy to engage with his fans,
but one who fully welcomes the experience and understands
the power it places in the hands of artists. “When I put out
Bright Light Ballads eight years ago, social media was still quite
new… What I was attempting then was to do what is pretty
normal now, to release music directly to your followers – not so
much that you couldn’t do that before, but the concept of that
is normalised now and the tools to do it are readily available to
anyone. Think about that man, that’s phenomenal.”
Before he takes to the Buyers Club stage, the evening gets
underway with MEL BOWEN’s own brand of North West soul
songs, fresh from his new Every Day’s A Holiday EP. Bowen is a
prolific writer and performer and a gifted guitarist, as comfortable
with Bert Jansch-style picking as he is to play around with the
time signatures. His is a characteristically strong EP, picking
up on late 70s New York folk and soul flavours. The melody of
Squaring The Circle, for instance, could easily be taken straight
out of the Gil Scott-Heron canon. Given extra colour here on
electric piano and the warmth of close harmony by Emily Valerio,
it makes a great opener. Another highlight from the set, and the
EP, It’s Not Easy adds to the New York vibes with its be-bopped
bossanova grooves.
“To me, the songs are
more harmonic in a lot
of ways, and my love of
soul and psychedelia is
maybe more upfront”
LEE SOUTHALL has talked in the past about making a
journey between two worlds. And those two worlds couldn’t
really be much more different. From life as a member of The Coral
to the world he occupies now as a solo singer-songwriter, on
the heels of the release of his first solo album Iron In The Fire, it’s
certainly been a brave journey that has also seen him settle in
Yorkshire and become a father. In Accordance is an all-out, eyesclosed,
blues-folk slow groove, John Martyn-flavoured, deep and
almost religious until the leap to some intricate double speed
picking. Spread Your Wings may be a message of hope to his
daughter, and is an absolute highlight of the set, with the classic
songwriter imprint of Townes Van Zandt or Jimmy Webb. The
reverent mood in the audience throughout his set is more than
deserved, this is another son of the city making a most perfect
return.
From the ringing out of the first chords of the stone cold,
Dylanesque classic When The River Rolls Over You from The
Stands era, the warmth of the crowd and the smiles on the
faces of the devout and the devoted welcome Howie Payne
home. And we can tell he loves being home, as he told us later,
he misses the place. “Oh yes, especially my family and friends.
I come back up all the time, and it’s really cool to see so many
positive changes in the city, and especially to see how much cool
new music there is, and how there’s a real community around
that.”
Based in London with regular trips to Los Angeles, Payne
has crafted together, with this new record, a set of songs that
speak, both musically and lyrically, of a confident maturity and
of the wisdom of his time. The knowledge of the road, the years
journeyed to get him here, and his sheer gift for melody combine
to create a piece of work which could well go down as a classic in
the city’s musical history. “Well, I’m excited for everyone to hear
it so I want to get it out as quick as possible. To me, the songs
are more harmonic in a lot of ways, and my love of soul and
psychedelia is maybe more upfront,” he says.
The set at Buyers Club features a handful of songs from
Mountain, such as The Brightest Star, a sparkling country pop
gem, fed over shuffling skiffle drums, insistent, immediate and
absolutely infectious. Holding On is a sweet soul ballad which
highlights Payne’s voice – scratched with a slight crackle – the
melody both pleading and uplifting, and the chords, barely
touched on his Gretsch guitar, lending their sparse support. The
crowd absorbs these new moments, these fresh new journeys,
welcoming into the fold them as new friends, forever to be held
close.
Set amongst and around older Stands favourites from All
Years Leaving in this set (strangely with nothing from their
underrated second offering Horse Fabulous), the songs from
Mountain highlight a real step forward for Payne’s writing.
There’s added depth and clarity in the writing, and in the
intervening years, his voice has picked up a richer, more soulful
tone.
Howie Payne should be regarded as one of greater
songwriters, up there with Head and Mavers, and that much
is plain to see as the band strike up a glistening, shimmering
versions of Here She Comes Again. An absolute classic, without
doubt, delivered with the air of a man who knows it is. Following
this with understated new song Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer
shows that soul in his voice well, with all the earthy feeling of a
mid-70s Lennon, or Jeff Buckley’s Sketches For My Sweetheart
The Drunk album.
With final nod to All Years Leaving, performing the title track,
Howie Payne leaves the Buyers Club stage to grateful cheers and
with a gracious thank you to the crowd for their support. A truly
effortless performance from one of our classic songwriters, in
every true sense of the word.
Paul Fitzgerald / @NothingvilleM
44

Loyle Carner (Michael Kirkham / michaelkirkhamphotography.co.uk)
Loyle Carner
Arts Club – 30/09
Known for his unique brand of “confessional” hip hop, random
acts of kindness (offering tickets for sold out shows to any fan
who can find him a vintage footy shirt) and loving his mum (who
guests on his latest record), it turns out LOYLE CARNER is pretty
great live too.
The theatre-style bleachers are packed as we move from the
bar, down the sloping floor and into the centre of the space at
Arts Club. The room is bustling, filled with young faces eager for
a glimpse of their favourite rising star. Carner takes to the stage
amongst screams and whistles; having done his time playing
support to Nas, Joey Bada$$ and MF Doom, Carner finally has
his own headline tour, and a Mercury Prize nomination for best
album under his belt.
The South London hip hop artist arrives wearing the colours
of his favourite team, LFC. Though sport can often divide our city,
the red shirt-wearing, scarlet scarf-toting Carner gives a cheeky
grin as he asks the room for “unity” tonight. His debut album,
Yesterday’s Gone, opens with Isle Of Arran, a track infused with
spine-tingling gospel vocals and ecclesiastic clapping, which also
serves as his opener tonight. It’s a brave move; at once a wellknown
track, and yet jarringly introspective. The staging mirrors
this invitation into Carner’s world, with a stripped back setup not
dissimilar to a family living room, a comfy chair sat at centre stage.
The crowd is young, energetic and loyal to Loyle – more
than half the room enthusiastically chant his lyrics back to him
throughout the set, as he runs through candid tracks Florence
(an ode to the sister he never had), and the double bill of BFG
and Cantona, both written for Carner’s step-father, the man who
raised him and passed away last year. Each song is preceded by
a short introduction by Carner: “Do you mind if I tell you a quick
story?” Endearing, open and ever-eloquent, each interlude makes
us feel a little closer to the man on stage.
Mid-set, Carner introduces his producer and beat maker
REBEL KLEFF, and asks the room if we’d like to hear him rap.
We cheer, and Carner and Kleff explode into an improvised a
capella mini-set, spitting beats over one another to rapturous
appreciation.
Back to the catalogue of sensitively-written verses;
Carner plays a couple of his more upbeat numbers Damselfly,
Stars & Shards and the bluesy, brassy tones of Ain’t
Nothing Changed. The pairing of chilled out jazz refrains
and stripped-back hip hop drum beats works beautifully,
providing a soft backdrop for Carner’s sharp-edged lyrics.
The set draws to a close far too soon, as Carner
announces his final track of the evening the room is clearly
hungry for more. Shrugging “why not?”, Kleff lines up the
rocky bassline for what is perhaps Carner’s best-known
track, NO CD. We weave our way to the front of the stage
as Carner launches into the opening refrain: “Oh please, we
ain’t got no Ps/Because we spent all our money on some old
CDs/We got some old Jay-Zs, couple ODBs/Place ‘em up in
perfect order ‘cause my OCD”. Carner’s heaviest, funkiest
track launches straight in, the room goes wild, and offers
another opportunity to share the mic with Kleff; a fitting end
to a deeply personal set.
Sinéad Nunes / @SineadAWrites
The Big Moon
+ Get Inuit
+ The Mysterines
EVOL @ The Magnet – 6/10
Following their unexpected Mercury Prize nod earlier this year,
London four piece THE BIG MOON’s star seems to be in the
ascendant. Still, it’s perhaps a measure of the precarious nature
of indie music that a band who should be very much in the public
eye are playing downstairs at The Magnet.
It’s a packed-out venue that awaits the headliners, but
there’s a sizeable crowd early on for the local support, THE
MYSTERINES. And they’re well-rewarded. The trio are nononsense
rock ‘n’ roll, kicking things off in an MC5 garage-style.
Lead singer/guitarist Lia Metcalfe is a ready-made star, with a
voice that mixes Wanda Jackson grit and Courtney Love howl
and guitar licks sitting at the centre of each song. There’s even
something of the deadpan delivery of Aubrey Plaza in the way
she introduces tracks Sticky, THC and 50s Knifefight. Already
being backed by Skeleton Key, The Mysterines are set to be
another of Liverpool’s essential live acts in the city’s full-tobursting
roster.
Touring support GET INUIT are a marked change. Fitting
somewhere between Blue Album Weezer and the noughties
indie-lite of The Hoosiers, their set is daffy and silly, if self-aware.
The lead singer has plenty of patter, but comes across more Timmy
Mallett than Rivers Cuomo. The group’s sense of making the most
The Big Moon (Stuart Moulding / @oohshootstu)
REVIEWS 45

of it is shared by the front few bouncing rows of the crowd, if not
some of the older curmudgeons at the back. Ho-hum.
The headliners enter to Robbie Williams’ Millennium. It’s an
appropriate tune for 90s revivalists and The Big Moon’s opener,
Silent Movie Susie, could be straight out of the Sleeper backcatalogue.
Live, their persona is a mixture of nervy stage-banter,
as each member talks excitedly over the other, followed by
note-perfect renditions of tracks from debut album Love In The
Fourth Dimension. They’re an indie pop band in a more literal
sense, although there’s an element of cool Long Blondes edge
amongst the AOR harmonies. The foursome are happy to milk the
affection of a youthful crowd that, seemingly, know every lyric
– even to tonight’s cover of Total Eclipse Of The Heart (styled to
sound more like Where Is My Mind?). It’s a self-consciously kooky
choice by a group whose youthful naiveté – bassist Celia asking
the audience if anyone’s on a date, lead singer Juliette taking the
mic into the crowd during Bonfire after telling an anecdote about
a man eating a ham sandwich – is their secret weapon. Slowie
singles Cupid and Formidable prompt arm-waving and the
standard ‘dickhead waving a lighter’ before things are brought
to a close with Sucker and a stated: “There’s no encore, that’s
it.”. Later, there’s a sufficiently hardcore number of fans to form
a long queue, keen to meet the band as they sell merch. One
devotee is heard to confess: “I feel totally star-struck right now.”
It’s hard to say if it’ll get much better for The Big Moon, but right
now, it must feel like they’re in fixed in the firmament.
John McGovern
The Mysterines (Stuart Moulding / @oohshootstu)
Oxide Ghosts: The
Brass Eye Tapes
FACT – 16/10
Putting on an event relating to a cult comedy show is like
shooting fish in a barrel. Fans of exquisitely written series from
The Simpsons to Peep Show are willing to go to anything which
allows them to express their appreciation and take rare leave
from their crisp-strewn sofa to share reference points with likeminded
souls. That isn’t to say, however, that such events cannot
be done well and reflect their source material with the love and
creativity they deserve.
Brass Eye is rightly attributed to the man Michael Cumming
self-reflexively refers to as the “one-off man mental” Chris Morris,
making anything which harks back to this televisual perfection all
the more difficult to create without appearing a tactless cash-in.
Luckily, OXIDE GHOSTS: THE BRASS EYE TAPES was made by
the same hands which helped Morris realise the original series
back in the mid 90s. Cumming’s fingerprints are also on Brit Com
classics Rock Profile, Snuff Box and Toast Of London.
Here at FACT we are in the privileged position to hear from
the director and see footage which otherwise would have been
left on the cutting room floor (or more precisely, on VHS tapes in
a locked box). Anticipation fills the air as people sporting ‘Nonce
Sense’ T-shirts and other referential apparel take their seats in a
sold-out Screen 1.
Knowing laughs ring out as a barrage of familiar Brass Eye
quotations emanate from a screen showing distorted clips from
the original series, before Cumming is introduced by friend and
collaborator Matt Berry in a recorded message. Our host pays his
respects to some of his Liverpudlian heroes, “growing up just up
the A6 in the Lake District, this was a city where dreams were
made,” and tells us a little about the background of his film.
It’s somewhat of a relief to learn that Oxide Ghosts has
been given the Chris Morris seal of approval and in the Q&A
afterwards, Cumming himself admits to feeling nervous when
awaiting the enigmatic maverick’s verdict. The film itself is
thoroughly reverential to Morris, using oblique terminology to
relay some of the daring scenarios the star of Brass Eye got
himself into in order to secure footage. There’s notorious gangster
Reggie Kray endorsing a bogus animal charity called AAAAAS,
Morris wearing a nappy and space hopper for a hat asking real
life drug dealers for Clarky Cat and feeling DJ Bruno Brooks’ ire as
he vents his spleen on Right To Reply.
The film retains Brass Eye’s desert dry demeanour,
presenting previously unseen material almost as evidence which
fleshes out the story behind famous scenes while also charmingly
cutting in deleted takes of the seemingly unshakeable Morris
corpsing. For all of Brass Eye’s acerbic observational humour
which ripped apart media tropes of the time, it’s the outlandish
use of language and the perfectly ridiculous writing which set the
tone of British Comedy’s golden age.
The film will not be released generally, with Cumming
instead preferring to keep screenings to special occasions like
tonight. He sees this as an antidote to the throwaway culture
the internet has bestowed on us and wants the film to force
people out to cinemas and experience events rather than watch
distracted on smartphone screens or the odd scene extracted
and plopped onto YouTube. Everything about the evening makes
you appreciate how much consideration went into Brass Eye,
the journey that the team went on in making the series and how
we’re unlikely to see anything of its kind again. No matter how
much we need it.
Sam Turner / @samturner1984
Lubaina Himid: Meticulous Observations And Naming The Money
46

Shame
+ The Rhythm Method
+ Mincemeat
Harvest Sun @ Buyers Club – 13/10
If your finger’s on the pulse of the indie world, then there’s no doubt you’ve heard of
SHAME. There’s also little doubt that you’re in attendance tonight, Friday 13th no
less, for their latest wrecking ball of an outing in Liverpool. Part of the South London
punk scene that also includes Goat Girl and Meatraffle, Shame are unapologetically
bringing politics and satire back into the alternative music scene, with singles such
as Visa Vulture (a love song to Theresa May, penned when she was Home Secretary)
and Gold Hole standing out as examples of their unashamed intent. It’s easy to see
why people love Shame: they’re somewhat refreshing after having to endure years
of publicly apolitical bands; but it’s also easy to see why people think it’s exactly
what came out of indie 12 years ago, just repackaged slightly different for the new
generation.
First of on tonight’s line-up are Scouse outfit MINCEMEAT, who set the tone of
the night perfectly. Kicking off wonderfully with a ballsy mix of post-punk and punk
itself, they’re certainly a band to keep an eye on within the rising North West punk
scene. Next band on are THE RHYTHM METHOD, and I’ve never seen anything quite
like them. The only way to describe them is like a punk Phoenix Nights-esque karaoke
style, with song titles such as If You Voted Tory, You’re A Nonce. They command your
attention, make you laugh, and leave you thinking ‘what the fuck did I just see?’.
With Shame, you get exactly what you expect: a shouty, aggressive sweat-fest,
teenage boys bashing into each other as lead singer Charlie Steen loses his shirt
halfway through. Instrumentally, they’re even tighter live than they are on record and
it’s amazing to see a band perfectly nail that simplistic post-punk sound. It’s a sound
that is gradually being ushered back into the forefront of indie – yet, I still get the
feeling that something’s missing; that, lyrically, lines like “The four chord future” and
“You’ve got a gold hole, sugar” make me laugh rather than enthuse me to snarl and
fight the system. Maybe that’s the intention and I’m missing the point, as my friend
completely loved them after hearing them for the first time. Divisive they may be, but
they’re a band that you can’t really judge until you’ve witnessed them for yourself.
Perhaps that’s the point all along, whether it’s Shame or any other band. And that’s
nothing to be ashamed of.
Georgia Turnbull / @jurrjurrtbull
Lubaina Himid: Meticulous Observations And
Naming The Money
Walker Art Gallery – 07/10
On the walls of the café in the Walker Art Gallery, Turner Prize nominee LUBAINA
HIMID writes: ‘Now I find myself in dialogue with Edmonia Lewis’. She is speaking
of her latest project, Meticulous Observations, which begins with Lewis’ – a
pioneering 19th Century African American sculptor with Native American heritage
– sculpture of Henry Longfellow (1872). In response, Himid has chosen ten pieces
of artwork by women artists, alongside her own Scenes From The Life Of Toussaint
L’Ouverture (1987). The pieces complement one another, and together they depict
the extraordinary detail of everyday life. Dialogue – particularly that between women
artists, past and present – is central to Himid’s work.
Scenes From The Life Of Toussaint L’Ouverture is a series of watercolours
depicting the heroic life of former slave turned military leader, Francois-Dominique
Toussaint L’Ouverture. Himid juxtaposes historical military events with everyday
occurrences; her focus on the ordinary brings this legend-like figure of black history
to life. Her work asks the audience to consider those who have not made the history
books, the women integral to, yet overlooked by, L’Ouverture’s famous story. She
educates the reader through an accessible mixture of painting and text, but is careful
to distance herself from the role of historian: she writes, it is “an artist’s view, for
historians to use and share”. Again, Himid pushes for a dialogue to extend beyond her
work and continue to tell black history.
Naming The Money originally encompassed 100 life-size figures painted with
affluent, vibrant clothes. They are revealed as African slaves; their appearance is a
way for Europe’s elite to display their wealth and gloss over the reality of slavery.
Each figure is named twice, their black, individual identities persisting against the
homogenous mass of slavery. It is worth seeing in its entirety (at the International
Slavery Museum) to feel the impact of the full installation.
In the Walker, Naming The Money takes on a new meaning. Himid places 20 of
the figures around the gallery and invites the audience to draw links with specific
paintings. In the Sculpture Gallery, the blues and greens of Rashida’s skirt provide a
marked contrast with the classic, marble white statues. Ever more poignant is this
display of black identity amongst the Gods, kings and upper classes traditionally
represented in the marble statues. It is not hard to imagine that the latter are the slave
masters.
As visitors are taken on a chronological journey of European art, Himid’s figures
are a stark reminder that slavery has always been present. The installation is
immersive, but the relative ease with which you can bypass the figures is a comment
on our collective complicity in the slave trade. Her exhibition marks an important event
in Liverpool’s Black History Month: both a celebration of Himid’s achievements as an
artist and a woman of colour, and a reminder of the struggles of many before her.
There is hardly a better time to visit the Walker Art Gallery. Whether you’re
familiar with Himid’s previous work, or are looking for an accessible and powerful
exhibition, Meticulous Observations and Naming The Money, which runs until 18th
March 2018, is not to be missed. Her exhibition offers an exciting glimpse into the
contemporary art scene, and proves that Himid is more than deserving of her Turner
Prize nomination.
Maya Jones / @mmayajones
REVIEWS 47

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Thursday 2nd November
The Travelling
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Saturday 4th November
The Magic Band
PHILHARMONIC HALL, LIVERPOOL
Friday 10th November
Sold Out
John Smith
PHILHARMONIC HALL, LIVERPOOL
Saturday 11th November
Sold Out
ROB HERON &
THE TEA PAD
ORCHESTRA
THE MAGNET, LIVERPOOL
WEDNESDAY 22ND NOVEMBER
Peggy Seeger
PHILHARMONIC HALL, LIVERPOOL
Tuesday 28th November
Nick Harper
The Magnet, Liverpool
Friday 1st December
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Union Chapel, London
Thur & Fri 25 & 26 January
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Arts Club, Liverpool
Tuesday 13th March
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SAY
THE FINAL
Homotopia takes on the theme
of Liberation 50 this year
with a programme reflecting
on the anniversary of the
partial decriminalisation of
homosexuality. Here, the team
behind the festival highlight
that LGBT history isn’t just
something we should think
about at convenient milestones.
“A free society is
one that allows every
individual, without
fear or censor, to be
able to share their own
experience”
Visibility is important, with or without an anniversary.
Anniversaries give us a chance to reflect.
The theme of this year’s Homotopia festival is
Liberation 50, citing the 50th anniversary of the
partial decriminalisation of homosexuality as a moment of both
celebration and reflection. But it shouldn’t always require an
anniversary for us to have a conversation around shining a light
on the darker elements of our history, and to give everyone a
chance to tell their story.
Creative resistance and rebellion are an important part of
fostering social change. Through art, we are able to creatively
engage the mind and to discuss stories that may be difficult to
discuss through other platforms, whether in the news, in music
or popular culture. The artists Homotopia work with, locally,
nationally and internationally, have, in some way, used their art to
tell their own history in a way that society may not empower or
enable them to. Art provides freedom of expression, equality and
power.
2017 has seen stories shared of discrimination, of fear, of
celebration, of battles fought and won, of lives lost and love
found. For Homotopia, it’s a privilege to continue this in Liverpool
with a month-long series of events. With this year’s festival, we
want to provide a moment to stop and reflect on the year, giving
both audiences and artists the opportunity to explore, reclaim
and present our shared histories. But we have to learn a valuable
lesson from this year as well. When we allow people’s stories
to be forgotten, or dismissed, our lives are all diminished. When
we allow a section of society to be ostracised or undermined, the
impact affects every individual, no matter the colour of their skin,
their age, gender identity or sexuality. A free society is one that
allows every individual, without fear or censor, to be able to share
their own experience. When we do that we find solidarity, we
find hope.
Many of the stories presented at Homotopia in November are
deeply personal stories. There will be over 50 events, covering
visual art, performance, theatre, film and more. Diamond,
performed by David Hoyle and directed by Mark Whitelaw
is an unforgiving queer performance of sexuality and British
culture, exploring LGBT history from 1957 to 2017, through
the personal biography of avant-garde performer David Hoyle.
Weaving together intimate personal accounts and landmark
events, Diamond, which will be performed at the Unity Theatre
on 11th November, charts David’s rise from a gay adolescent
in Blackpool, through famous Channel 4 anti-drag queen cult
phenomena Divine David, to the performer he is today.
Covering art, theatre, club nights, dining and more, there is
something for all tastes at Homotopia. Creative Rage, which runs
from 27th October to 12th November at The Gallery on Stanhope
Street, is a group show of radical artists including David Hoyle,
Jeffrey Hinton, Sadie Lee, Trojan, Derek Jarman and John Lee
Bird. The show explores anger, bravery and trailblazing nonconformity,
and is set to be one of the highlights of Homotopia’s
art programme.
Elsewhere, Tales From The City, at the Museum Of Liverpool,
explores LGBT+ stories from Liverpool while over at The Royal
Standard, Notes On Queerness presents an exhibition denoting
aspects of what it means to be queer.
Throughout the past 14 years, Homotopia has provided
a platform to champion artists in places where their voices
cannot be heard and in places where it might be dangerous
to air those voices. For example, our Pansy Project, where
flowers are planted on the sites of homophobic abuse, provides
a visual documentation of how important visibility is for LGBT
communities around the world. We can look to the violence and
intimidation abroad but we know there is still much work that
needs to be done at home.
While 2017 has been a welcome opportunity to see
a discussion of LGBT+ culture, history, artists, voices and
performers, Liberation 50 reminds us that while people may have
been free, they haven’t always been heard. Across half a century,
art and culture has often marginalised queer voices, expecting
them to fulfil certain roles, or to tell a certain perspective.
We are on the eve of an important year, for both Liverpool
and for Homotopia. The festival was formed in 2003, as part
of the preparations for the city’s year as European Capital of
Culture in 2008 and next year’s Homotopia marks our fifteenth
year. We’ll be in a celebratory mood and we want that to start
with this year’s festival. We want to reflect on the artists we’ve
worked with, the work we’ve done across the world and the
stories we’ve shared. In Liberation 50 we hope to provide, if not
a full stop to 2017’s re-examination since the Sexual Offences
Act, then certainly a comma exploring self-expression, cultural
identity and the right to write one’s own history.
But let this self-examination and platform continue once the
50th anniversary of partial decriminalisation has passed. Let it
be part of a determination by those who have platforms – be it
the media, curators, artists, funders, programmers and more – to
remember that we have a responsibility to give everyone a voice
every day of the year, not merely because a date in the calendar
tells us to do so. Let us give every community a megaphone,
every individual a leg up, and remember everyone has a right to
be heard. !
Homotopia takes place between 26th October and 1st December
at various venues across the city. Visit homotopia.net for more
details.
54

THE
SOCIAL
WITH
OUTSIDERS
STORE
XAMVOLO
+GAZELLE
+SUB BLUE
with Tom Lye DJ set
(Melodic Distraction)
30/11 - 7PM
DISTRICT
Limited free tickets available
instore at Outsiders Store, Slater
Street. Free entry to Bido Lito!
Members, £5 non-members

INVISIBLE WIND FACTORY - LIVERPOOL
FRIDAY 10TH NOVEMBER. ENRG PRES:
ZENO'S ARROW FEAT:
TALE OF US / WOO YORK (LIVE) / BLEHRIN
FRIDAY 17TH NOVEMBER. ENRG X CHIBUKU PRES:
QUANTUM WEIRDNESS FEAT:
GREEN VELVET / BEN PEARCE
JAMES ORGAN / BLEHRIN
FRIDAY 24TH NOVEMBER. ENRG PRES:
SPATIAL TEMPORAL LOGIC FEAT:
BEN UFO / CALL SUPER / BLEHRIN
FRIDAY 8TH DECEMBER. ENRG PRESENTS
GOLDILOCKS PRINCIPLE FEAT:
JON HOPKINS - DJ SET
MIKE SERVITO / BLEHRIN
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YOUSEF PRESENTS...
27.12.17
christmas special
revealed soon...
Camp & Furnace, 14:00 - 23:00
Tickets Available: circus.eventgenius.co.uk