Viva Brighton Issue #58 December 2017

MUSIC
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Ben Bailey rounds up the local music scene
FUJIYA & MIYAGI
Thu 7, Patterns, 7pm, £10.50
Ten years ago Dave Best
was working in Amex
on Edward Street when
a track from his band’s
record Transparent Things
got picked up for a Jaguar advert. It was around that
time that he was able to quit his day job and commit
to music. Four albums later Fujiya & Miyagi are
stopping off at their hometown as part of a twomonth
European tour. Now self-sufficient with
their own label, the band have honed and reaffirmed
their signature style of electropop. Inspired by
krautrock acts like Can, and with inevitable traces of
New Order, their music matches bare and driving
beats to whispered vocals, often with a cryptic scientific
turn of phrase. They’re back in town for the
ten-year anniversary of their breakthrough album
with an offer of a reissue on transparent vinyl.
EMMA GATRILL
Thu 7, Brighton Museum, 8pm, £8
Emma Gatrill has played with Laura Marling, Rozi
Plain and Broken Social Scene, but her solo stuff is
bewitching on its own terms. Her 2012 debut was
a collection of intimate songs inspired by her newfound
love of the harp. This year’s follow-up, Cocoon,
saw her palette expand to include strings, synths
and tap shoes. There’s a quiet intensity to Gatrill’s
music: it’s somewhat introverted, but also evocative
and tuneful, with songs roaming through themes
like Greek mythology and climate change. It’ll be
a pleasure to hear all this in the setting of Brighton
Museum at this Spectrum winter special, and as a
bonus there’ll be sets from local singer-songwriters
Sharon Lewis and M Butterfly.
THE FICTION AISLE
Wed 13, Hope & Ruin, 7.45pm, £8
Tom White’s latest single
as The Fiction Aisle sounds
like a forgotten crooner
classic from the 60s, with
lavish production and
flowing chords. It’s a sumptuous piece of pop, and
almost a world away from the guitar indie he was
known for making with Electric Soft Parade. Tom’s
brother and former bandmate, Alex White, also
makes an appearance with a new solo act which
apparently includes sea shanties, Irish folk ballads
and possibly some Todd Rundgren covers. London’s
Younghusband are on the bill too, as is Rose Elinor
Dougall. A founder member of The Pipettes, Rose
is now found making wistful electropop of her own
or collaborating with the likes of Mark Ronson and
Baxy Dury. This gig should be a fun reunion for the
Brighton noughties indie scene.
THE ELEVATORS
Sat 16, Brunswick, 8pm, £10
After 25 years of gigging, Brighton/Lewes blues band
The Elevators are calling it a day with a farewell
show at their favourite local venue. Fans of classic
bluesmen like BB King and T Bone Walker will
appreciate the band’s laidback pace, understated
guitar work and occasionally cheeky vocals. They’re
known for playing in the Chicago style, but much of
their sound comes via the British blues legends of the
60s. So don’t be surprised if they drop a few tracks
by Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton into the mix.
Tonight’s show sees the group in its big-band guise,
a line-up they call The Elevator Blues Orchestra.
You can expect a full horn section, special guests and
maybe even a sentimental send off.
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