Issue 108 / March 2020

ISSUE 108 / MARCH 2020
NEW MUSIC + CREATIVE CULTURE
LIVERPOOL
THE ORIELLES/ BEIJA FLO LOATHE / FIVE/ LUNA
THRESHOLD ASOK / FESTIVAL SIMON HUGHES / COURTING

facebook.com/o2academyliverpool
twitter.com/o2academylpool
instagram.com/o2academyliverpool
Fri 28th Feb
The Big Moon
Sat 29th Feb
Bulsara and
His Queenies
Thur 5th Mar
Gabrielle Aplin
Fri 6th Mar
Mountford Hall, Liverpool
Guild of Students
Jake Bugg
Wed 11th Mar
Phil X & The Drills
Thur 12th Mar
Mountford Hall, Liverpool
Guild of Students
The Blindboy
Podcast - Live
Thur 12th Mar
Tragedy
All Metal Tribute to the
Bee Gees & Beyond
+ Attic Theory
Sat 14th Mar
Korpiklaani
+ Burning Witches
Fri 20th Mar
Tope Alabi:
Praise The
Almighty Concert
Fri 27th Mar • 6.30pm
Liverpool Rocks
Semi Final 1
Fri 27th Mar
The Slow
Readers Club
Sat 28th Mar
AC/DC UK
& Dizzy Lizzy
Sat 28th Mar
Becky Hill
Sun 29th Mar
Cigarettes
After Sex
Fri 3rd Apr • 6.30pm
Liverpool Rocks
Semi Final 2
Sat 4th Apr
Mountford Hall, Liverpool
Guild of Students
Circa Waves
+ Red Rum Club
Sat 4th Apr
808 State Live
Sat 11th Apr
ShowHawk Duo
Sat 18th Apr • 6pm
Jason Allan
Tue 21st Apr
Darwin Deez
Tue 21st Apr
The Fratellis
Fri 24th Apr
Larkins
Fri 24th Apr
Feeder
Sat 25th Apr • 6.30pm
Liverpool Rocks
Final
Sun 26th Apr
In Flames
Sat 2nd May
The Southmartins
Tribute To The Beautiful
South & The Housemartins
Sat 9th May
The Undertones
+ Hugh Cornwell Electric
Sat 9th May
Fell Out Boy
& The Black
Charade
+ We Aren’t Paramore
youtube.com/o2academytv
Sat 16th May
Nirvana UK
(Tribute)
Sat 23rd May
The Bon Jovi
Experience
Sat 26th Sep
Jamie Webster
Fri 2nd Oct
ARENA
Sat 3rd Oct
The Smyths
perform
Meat Is Murder
Thur 8th Oct
CAST
perform
All Change
& Greatest Hits
Sat 17th Oct
CASH:
Paying Respect To
The Man in Black.
Thur 22nd Oct
Black
Stone Cherry
Sat 28th Nov
Mountford Hall, Liverpool
Guild of Students
Oh Wonder
Sat 5th Dec
UK Foo Fighters
Wed 9th Dec
Electric Six
Fri 11th Dec
Heaven 17
Sat 12th Dec
Ian Prowse
& Amsterdam
FRI 28TH FEB 7PM
ZUZU
THUR 5TH MAR 7PM
ORLANDO WEEKS
FRI 6TH MAR 7PM
THE SWAY
SAT 7TH MAR 7PM
PINS
THU 12TH MAR 7PM
HAYSEED DIXIE
+ 8 BALL AITKEN
FRI 13TH MAR 7PM
CUT GLASS KINGS
SAT 147TH MAR 7PM
ASLAN
SAT 14TH MAR 7.30PM
THE K’S
MON 16TH MAR 7PM
JOANNE
SHAW TAYLOR
THUR 19TH MAR 7PM
SLØTFACE
SAT 21ST MAR 7PM
ALL WE ARE
WED 25TH MAR 7PM
PALACE
WED 25TH MAR 7PM
DARCY OAKE
FRI 27TH MAR 6.30PM
LIVERPOOL ROCKS
SEMI FINAL 1
SAT 28TH MAR 6.30PM
TOM CLARKE
(THE ENEMY)
+ CONLETH MCGEARY
SAT 28TH MAR 7PM
THE PEACH FUZZ
SAT 28TH MAR 11PM
BLACK PARADE
– 00’S EMO ANTHEMS
SUN 29TH MAR 7PM
WILLIAM DUVALL
(OF ALICE IN CHAINS)
SAT 4TH APR 9PM
EVOLUTION
- THE LAUNCH
SAT 11TH APR 7PM
THE CHEAP THRILLS
TUE 147TH APR 7PM
THE TWILIGHT SAD
TUE 14TH APR 7PM
FOLLAKZOID
SAT 18TH APR 6PM
THE ACADEMIC
FRI 24TH APR 7PM
THE CITY AND US
FRI 24TH APR 7PM
AN EVENING WITH
BIFF BYFORD
+ JOHN JAMIESON
SAT 25TH APR 6.30PM
BEARDYMAN
- SHEER VOLUME TOUR
SAT 25TH APR 7PM
JOESEF
SAT 23RD MAY 7PM
GAYE BYKERS ON ACID
SAT 3RD OCT 7PM
A BAND CALLED
MALICE – THE JAM
TRIBUTE
THUR 29TH OCT 7.30PM
WHYTE HORSES
TICKETS FOR ALL SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE FROM
TICKETMASTER.CO.UK
90
SEEL STREET, LIVERPOOL, L1 4BH
ticketmaster.co.uk
11-13 Hotham Street, Liverpool L3 5UF
Doors 7pm unless stated
Venue box office opening hours:
Mon - Sat 10.30am - 5.30pm
o2academyliverpool.co.uk

20 Mar - 14 June 2020
AND SAY
THE ANIMAL
RESPONDED?
FACT / 88 WOOD STREET
FREE ENTRY
Image: Demelza Kooij, Wolves from Above (2018). Image courtesy of the artist.

What’s On
March – May
Monday 9 March 7.30pm
Film Screening
Brief Encounter (cert PG)
Tuesday 10 March 8pm
Music Room
Parrjazz Presents
Sam Leak Trio
Sunday 15 March 8pm
Music Room
An Evening with Romeo
of the Magic Numbers
Saturday 28 March 7.30pm
Tomorrow’s Warriors Presents
Jazz Jamaica All Stars –
The Trojan Story
Saturday 18 April 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Wizard of Oz: Film with
Live Orchestra (cert U)
Friday 1 May 7.30pm
Julian Clary –
Born To Mince
Box Office
0151 709 3789
liverpoolphil.com
LiverpoolPhilharmonic
liverpoolphil
liverpool_philharmonic
Image Romeo Stodart

Sarathy Korwar
Sam Leak Trio
SARATHY KORWAR
SAM LEAK TRIO
CAPSTONE THEATRE
29 FEB
PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM
10 MAR
Sound City Plus
SOUND CITY+ 2020
BRITISH MUSIC EXPERIENCE 1 - 3 MAY 2020
SOUND CITY 2020
BALTIC TRIANGLE 1 - 3 MAY 2020
Sean Martin
Atari
SHAUN MARTINS THREE-O
ATARI TEENAGE RIOT
INVISIBLE WIND FACTORY
22 MAR
INVISIBLE WIND FACTORY
03 APR
Simple Minds
Creamfields
SIMPLE MINDS
M&S BANK ARENA
22 AUG
CREAMFIELDS 2020
WARRINGTON
27 - 30 AUG

S.J.M. CONCERTS PRESENTS
30 04 20
SATURDAY 23 MAY
MAIN STAGE
SUNDAY 24 MAY
BIG
Manchester,
UK
MANCHESTER-ARENA.COM
GIGSANDTOURS.COM
MANCHESTER
ARENA
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AARON
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SHED SEVEN
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THE MAGIC GANG
THE SHERLOCKS • THE K’S
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REVEREND & THE MAKERS
GANG OF YOUTHS • THE MURDER CAPITAL
THE BIG MOON • THE SNUTS
LOVE FAME TRAGEDY • THE LATHUMS • ZUZU
THE ORIELLES
THE MYSTERINES • THE REYTONS
AIRWAYS • THE GOA EXPRESS
BONIFACE • NOISY • THE HARA
SECOND STAGE
VIOLA BEACH STAGE
CASSIA
WORKING MENS CLUB • PHOEBE GREEN
DYLAN JOHN THOMAS • ALFIE TEMPLEMAN • LONA
LAURAN HIBBERD • TALK SHOW • GEORGE COSBY
PLUS
MILES KANE
TOM WALKER • LIGHTNING SEEDS
THE PIGEON DETECTIVES
FICKLE FRIENDS • BLOXX
PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT
SUNDARA KARMA • SEA GIRLS
ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER
INHALER • SPORTS TEAM • CAST
RED RUM CLUB • NASTY CHERRY
ON-SITE PUB • CORNERSHOP RAVE • GIN & TONIC BAR • VIP AREA
GOURMET FOOD & DRINK STALLS • FUNFAIR & MUCH MORE
NBHDWEEKENDER.COM
#NBHDWKND20
AN SJM CONCERTS PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PARADIGM
THOM YORKE
TOMORROW’S MODERN BOXES
presents
05/03 ARTS CLUB THE LOFT
PLUS SPECIAL GUEST
JAMES HOLDEN
plus special guests
friday 10th july
castlefield bowl
gigsandtours.com • ticketmaster.co.uk
an sjm concerts presentation
SAT 20 JUNE
O2 VICTORIA WAREHOUSE
SOLD OUT
E X T R A D A T E A D D E D
SUN 21 JUNE
O2 VICTORIA WAREHOUSE
Sat 18 AprIL
Arts Club (Main room)
JAKE BUGG
PLUS SUPPORT
ONR.
FRI 06 MAR
MOUNTFORD HALL
GIGSANDTOURS.COM • TICKETMASTER.CO.UK
AN SJM CONCERTS PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PARADIGM

FREE contemporary music and technology events - Spring 2020
6-7.15pm Saturday 14 March
The Riot Ensemble
Leggate Theatre, Victoria Gallery & Museum,
University of Liverpool
Virtuosic and spectral works by
Ferneyhough, Grisey, Hackbarth, Ianotta &
Pe’ery
5-6pm Saturday 21 March
Audio-Vision
The Hub, Gordon Stephenson Building,
University of Liverpool
Technology, visuals and sound collide in
a programme of international new music
experiments and collaborations
7.30-9pm Wednesday 18 March
Areas of Influence, with
Ensemble 10/10
The Music Room, Philharmonic Hall
Maxwell Davies, Reich, Collie, Harrison &
Thorne respond to influences ranging from
Purcell to Schoenberg
1-2pm Wednesday 22 April
Jonathan Aasgaard (cello)
Leggate Theatre, Victoria Gallery & Museum,
University of Liverpool
Renowned cellist performs a programme of
classic 20th century American cello works
plus a new work by Head of Composition
Ben Hackbarth
For full details please visit:
www.liverpool.ac.uk/music/events/opencircuit/

© Paul McCartney

Coming Soon...
ANTI SOCIAL JAZZ CLUB
BERNIE CONNOR
CARL COMBOVER
DON LETTS
ELLIOT FERGUSON
FRIENDLY FIRES
IDLES
JADE LI
JAMES ORGAN
JOSEPH KAYE
JUSTIN ROBERTSON
LOST ART SOUNDSYSTEM
NIGHTCRAWLER PIZZA
NO FAKIN DJS
PURPLE RAVE
SPEAKERBOXXX
SUPERSTITION
TIM BURGESS
40 SLATER STREET, LIVERPOOL. L1 4BX THEMERCHANTLIVERPOOL.CO.UK

COMEDY THIS SPRING AT THE
THU 12 MAR
ATHLETICO MINCE
WITH BOB MORTIMER & ANDY DAWSON
SOLD OUT
RETURNS
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FRI 13 MAR & SAT 14 MAR
PHIL MCINTYRE LIVE LTD PRESENTS
MARK THOMAS:
50 THINGS ABOUT US
THU 14 MAY
PHIL MCINTYRE LIVE LTD PRESENTS
ED BYRNE:
IF I’M HONEST
SAT 16 MAY
PBJ LIVE PRESENTS
ADAM BUXTON
RAMBLES...
SOLD OUT
RETURNS
ONLY
SAT 23 MAY
BROKEN ROBOT PRODUCTIONS & SO COMEDY
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH CURTIS BROWN PRESENTS
CLIVE ANDERSON:
ME, MACBETH & I
SAT 30 MAY
AVALON PROMOTIONS PRESENTS
AL MURRAY: LANDLORD
OF HOPE AND GLORY
BOOK EVERYMANPLAYHOUSE.COM 0151 709 4776

New Music + Creative Culture
Liverpool
Issue 108 / March 2020
bidolito.co.uk
Second Floor
The Merchant
40-42 Slater Street
Liverpool L1 4BX
Founding Editor
Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk
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Christopher Torpey - chris@bidolito.co.uk
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Cover Photography
Rebekah Knox
Words
Christopher Torpey, Elliot Ryder, Gary Lambert, Megan
Walder, Cath Holland, Charlie McKeon, Julia Johnson,
Daniel Ponzini, Vid Simoniti, Brit Williams, Gina
Schwarz, Clare Dodd, Glyn Akroyd, Matt Hogarth, Luke
Charnley, Rhys Buchannan, Conal Cunningham, Gus
Polinski, Lily Blakeney-Edwards, nil00, Joel Hansen.
Photography, Illustration and Layout
Mark McKellier, Rebekah Knox, Gary Lambert, Robin
Clewley, Mike Brits, Glyn Akroyd, Stuart Moulding,
Gareth Jones, Daffyd Owen, Shiwan Gwyn, Hannah
Blackman-Kurz, Paul Owen, Maise Delaney, Kate
Davies, Brian Sayle, John Latham, Kevin Barrett, Lee
Willo, Fin Reed, John Johnson, Tomas Adam, nil00.
EDITORIAL
Fail we may, sail we must.
As mantras go, you can’t get much more poetically
concise than this from Andrew Weatherall, the great
musical innovator who suddenly passed away in
February. A towering presence over the past three decades of
British music, Weatherall leaves more than life-affirming mixes
and production fingerprints on an era of
music where the boundaries between
bands/gigs and DJs/clubs began to blur.
He also leaves plenty of wit and wisdom
for us to pore over.
“If you’re not on the margins you’re
taking up too much room,” is another
quote attributed to Weatherall in many
of the warm, heartfelt tributes paid since
his death was announced – and in the
shadow of his passing the words feel
strangely apt. Apt for the musicians
of the alternative underground, who
Weatherall championed. Apt for us, the
rebel outsiders whose very character
thrives on being in the margins, trying
things that others won’t dare to do.
Liverpool’s fierce independent streak is one of its defining
characteristics, and is one of the things that makes it such
an exciting place to live and work. Politically, artistically and
culturally it is a step to one side, its identity aligned with a desire
to be different, to not want to fall in line. But the danger with
dancing to your own tune is that you need regular outside input
to know if that tune is any good. There’s something gloriously
freeing about not caring what anyone else thinks of us, and it
allows a great sense of togetherness to grow between those
inside the bubble. It’s a form of tribalism, which is fine when
you’re part of the tribe.
But, while admirable, that attitude is also a little problematic;
FEATURES
“The danger with
dancing to your
own tune is that you
need regular outside
input to know if that
tune is any good”
as a city that strives to be a leading cultural voice, we do
seriously need to consider what face we are presenting to
the world. I feel as thought we’re at a crossroads, and before
plunging down what may seem an obvious route, we shouldn’t
be afraid to ask ourselves what kind of city we want to be: for
artists, for outsiders, for ourselves. Caution and care need to be
deployed to ensure that we don’t get
so focused on our own image that we
fail to spot an incremental slide towards
complacency.
What we decide to do, musically and
creatively, often doesn’t stack up against
raw numbers. Art is so, so much more
than that; music, as the most tradeable
artistic commodity (not for much longer,
Brexit fans!. What we do with Bido Lito!
has always meant so much more to us
than what spreadsheets tell us, because
feelings – and a love for good music –
matter more than bottom lines. Andrew
Weatherall himself described what he
did musically as “a series of beautiful,
totally futile gestures”. There’s often only
a thin veil separating beauty and futility in art, even at the best of
times, but I’d take aiming for beauty over settling for mediocrity
any day of the week.
We were deeply saddened to hear further tragic news in
February, that music writer Mark Barton had passed away. Mark
blogged about and supported independent musicians for years,
and entertained so many people through his writing. He will be
sorely missed, and we hope that his family and friends can take
solace from the fact that he was so well liked and respected. !
Christopher Torpey
Publisher
Distribution
Our magazine is distributed as far as possible through
pedal power, courtesy of our Bido Bikes. If you would
like to find out more, please email chris@bidolito.co.uk.
Advertise
If you are interested in adverting in Bido Lito!, or finding
out about how we can work together, please email
sales@bidolito.co.uk.
Bido Lito! is a living wage employer. All our staff are
paid at least the living wage.
All contributions to Bido Lito! come from our city’s
amazing creative community. If you would like to join
the fold visit bidolito.co.uk/contribute.
We are contributing one per cent of our advertising
revenue to WeForest.org to fund afforestation
projects around the world. This more than offsets our
carbon footprint and ensures there is less CO2 in the
atmosphere as a result of our existence.
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.
16 / THE ORIELLES
The trio have broken through the liminal spaces of everyday travel
and escaped atop their own Disco Volador.
20 / LOATHE
“Every style of music creates a different feeling inside you, and
that comes out then in the music you create. You naturally pay
homage to the music that you hear.”
22 / LUNA
Graciously falling through the atmosphere with a dream-like aura,
LUNA returns home with tales from her most searching celestial
journey to date.
24 / THRESHOLD
Chris and Kaya talk all things dugnad, the spirit of collectivism that
has powered their grassroots festival for the past decade.
REGULARS
14 / NEWS
32 / SPOTLIGHT
36 / PREVIEWS
26 / MUSICAL TRANSLATION
“The great thing about music is that you don’t necessarily need
to know the ins and outs of lyrics to enjoy it.”
28 / PISTACHIO KID
“The songs were never created as a means of drawing attention.
The complete opposite. They were entirely my own.”
30 / THE REFRACTIVE POOL
“No matter how cheap the city is, if artists can’t make money
from their work then practice becomes unsustainable.”
35 / JULIA MINTZER
Mezzo-soprano and director Julia Mintzer speaks about the
potential of portraying historical roles with contemporary
feminist influences.
38 / REVIEWS
52 / ARTISTIC LICENCE
54 / THE FINAL SAY

NEWS
PZYK 2020
Snapped Ankles
Making its return on 16th May, PZYK 2020 is
the new, 16-hour long incarnation of Liverpool
International Festival of Psychedelia. Picking up from
the event’s trademark boundary-pushing agenda,
PZYK 2020 aims to take the idea of an immersive
experience that bit further, in its new home of
Invisible Wind Factory (and other connected spaces)
in the North Docks. Grammy-nominated Anatolian
fuzz rockers ALTIN GÜN and punktronic oddballs
SNAPPED ANKLES lead the way on the bill for
this year, in what promises to be a continuous
hedonistic journey through the sounds of future
psychedelia. SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN,
THE LOVELY EGGS, KEL ASSOUF, W. H. LUNG and
LOS BITCHOS are a flavour of the global community
that will unite under the PZYK banner this year.
liverpoolpsychfest.com
The Station Is Alive With
The Sound Of Music
Calling all Merseyside musicians, bands, artists, bedroom producers and
wannabe Glastonbury headliners – the MERSEYRAIL SOUND STATION
artist development programme is back, and it wants to hear from you!
Over the past two years, the acclaimed programme has worked with some
of the region’s best talent (Yank Scally, Lydiah, Eyesore & The Jinx) over
a series of workshops and sessions, designed to help them improve their
understanding of how they can thrive in the modern music industry. This
year’s programme will run over a longer period, allowing the artists involved
to benefit from more studio, performance and mentoring sessions, led by
experts with years’ worth of experience in the industry. As well as helping
to equip Merseyside’s emerging musicians with the skills to succeed in their
careers, the programme also offers exclusive performance opportunities
throughout the year. To apply, head to merseyrailsoundstation.com now.
Merseyrail Sound Station
McCartney On Film
Linda McCartney
Featuring some images that have never been on public display before, a LINDA
MCCARTNEY RETROSPECTIVE exhibition opens at the Walker Art Gallery on
25th April. This major exhibition of McCartney’s photography includes more
than 200 iconic images, from the music scene of the 1960s, to family life with
Paul McCartney. Born Linda Eastman, she was an award-winning photographer
who captured a generation of rock stars before she married Paul, and her work
has long deserved a full retrospective. Running until 31st August, the exhibition
will reveal what a prolific photographer Linda was, and how her love for the
natural world, and an exceptional eye for capturing the spontaneous, gave her
work an inimitable style.
Our Lady Of Blundellsands
Deer Shed
Premiering this March is a new comic drama entitled OUR LADY
OF BLUNDELLSANDS, which has been written especially for
the Everyman by JONATHAN HARVEY, award-winning creator
of Gimme Gimme Gimme and Beautiful Thing. The production takes
place in our beloved Liverpool and follows the honesty and lies
surrounding this one very peculiar family. The story’s protagonist,
Sylvie, is frozen in time in her Blundellsands house, while inhabiting
a fantasy world that never was. Garnet, her older sister, may seem
wiser but has always fanned the flames of Sylvie’s fantasies. Who
knows where they would be without each other. It’s a birthday party
with a hidden agenda – and we hear it’s not going to be pretty.
The 11th instalment of North Yorkshire’s DEER SHED FESTIVAL hits Topcliffe’s
Baldersby Park this July and, quite frankly, this final line-up announcement has
knocked it out of the park. JAMES join STEREOLAB to headline the main stage,
along with performances by BAXTER DURY, CATE LE BON and the fantastic
spoken word lyricist KATE TEMPEST. SHOPPING join the bill, which also boasts
appearances by Mercury-nominated soul raconteur GHOSTPOET and disco nerds
INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP. Deer Shed prides itself on being a familyfriendly
festival, with plenty of activities and events taking place aside from the
music to keep the kids and adults happy. Anyone up for a game of swing ball?
They’ve got it! Last year’s festival sold out with record numbers in attendance, so
you better be quick to secure your ticket to this summer’s highlight.
The Future Is Birkenhead
Self Esteem
A new pop-up music venue is coming to Birkenhead in the summer, from the
team behind Future Yard festival. A run of shows, titled Near Future, will form
the initial programme of a new live music space on Argyle Street in Birkenhead,
eventually growing into a full music hub with studio and office space, plus support
for musicians. Special guests ORCHESTRAL MANOUEVRES IN THE DARK will
play a one-off, two-man show in the venue on 9th May (sold-out), the first time
they will have played in Wirral since August 1979. The Near Future run opens on
25th April with EVIAN CHRIST headlining an opening event that also features DJ
and tastemaker TOM RAVENSCROFT and a DJ set from FOREST SWORDS. A
closing party finishes the run on 20th June, helmed by WARMDUSCHER and SELF
ESTEEM, while SHE DREW THE GUN host their own Memories Of The Near Future
all-day event on 24th May, featuring SINK YA TEETH, DREAM NAILS and plenty
more. Full line-up details can be found at futureyard.org.
14

DANSETTE
Liverpool Band Vans’ Doug Wood
picks out a selection of songs that
have been a source of inspiration to
him on long journeys on the road.
Watch Us Wrexham The Mic
The latest wave of acts have been announced for this
year’s FOCUS WALES festival, and it looks like being a
bumper year for the showcase festival’s 10th anniversary
special. With over 300 live performances, the festival
showcases the very best new talent emerging from the
across the country, alongside established names and a
selection of exciting international acts. BATTLES and THE
TWILIGHT SAD join GRUFF RHYS, RICHARD HAWLEY,
FLAMINGODS, STEALING SHEEP and ADWAITH on the
2020 line-up, which will welcome over 15,000 people to
Wrexham. In addition to filling out a wide variety of spaces
and music venues, and hosting a full schedule of interactive
industry sessions, arts events, and film screenings, Focus
Wales continues to be the leading festival for emerging
talent. focuswales.co.uk
Continuing Education
Richard Hawley
Elrow’s Triangulo De Las
Rowmudas
An Elrow show is not your standard club show, that much
is for sure. The Ibiza staple is famed for its wildness, with
outlandish stage sets, DJ booths in spaceships, dancers on
stilts… you name it, they’ve tried it, all in a bid to be known
as the most colourful party around. The Elrow show make a
return to Liverpool on 12th April in partnership with Circus.
The setting of Bramley-Moore Dock will give them enough
room to make the show as epic and immersive as they want,
and with a great line-up booked – GREEN VELVET, RICHY
AHMED, wAFF, YOUSEF, TINI GESSLER, TONI VARGA
and a special guest TBA – this one looks set to reach the
dizzying heights of previous Elrow shows in Liverpool.
Further details and tickets at circusclub.co.uk.
Traveling Wilburys
Dirty World
Wilbury Records
I could have chosen any track
from the Traveling Wiburys’
country-bumpkin collection
of essential Dad Rockers,
but I’ve gone for this Bob Dylan-written love song to a
car. It has an unmistakable George Harrison vibe across
the production and really sounds like it could have come
straight from George’s Cloud 9 album. The ending is my
favourite; it features all five artists in a really lovingly
crafted call-and-response outro.
Kurt Vile
Loading Zones
Matador
Jumping from loading zone
to loading zone to avoid the
watchful eyes of the parking
attendants is a game our drivers and crew know all too
well. Sometimes you have to come up with some clever
tricks to ensure a smooth load in! Kurt Vile boasts about
his ‘free’ parking prowess on the streets of Philadelphia in
this blisteringly cocky stomp around the neighbourhood in
search of the right spot. We hear ya, Kurt.
Short courses covering a diverse range of subjects are available from this March, as part of the
University of Liverpool’s CONTINUING EDUCATION programme. Set up in order to provide short
courses, lectures and workshops that provide accessible learning for everyone, regardless of their
age, qualifications or experience, the scheme caters for a wide range of subjects through a flexible
timetable of daytime and evening courses. This includes creative writing, music, local history and
language classes. The popular CE Saturday courses also make a return, with March offering events
on Art During The Cold War, Jane Austen: A Life In Letters, The Reformation In Ireland and a whole
host of literary and local interest courses. Head to liverpool.ac.uk/continuing-education for a full
rundown of events.
Father John Misty
Total
Entertainment
Forever
Bella Union
Spring at Bluecoat
The Bluecoat arts centre is leaping into spring with a joint show launching
in March, presented by two fascinating artists. FRAN DISLEY brings her
exhibition Pattern Buffer to the city centre gallery, using multi-sensory
installations to repurpose the gallery space as a restorative environment.
The Liverpool-based artist, formerly a director at The Royal Standard, has
developed an events programme to run alongside work that comprises
an alternative mindfulness guide and the grid of the Holodeck (a device
from Star Trek The Next Generation). Running concurrently, between 13th
March and 21st June, JONATHAN BALDOCK’s FaceCrime exhibition uses
ceramics to investigate historical methods of communication that may tell
us something about the way we communicate today.
When we’re racing to get out of the smog and noise
of London or Paris in the early hours of the post-show
morning, this track from one of Josh Tillman’s darker
and more divisive albums often gets thrown on. His
trademark cynicism and booming orchestral crescendos are
perfectly fitting for a twilight escape from the neon bedlam
of the city.
Talking Heads
This Must Be The
Place
Rhino
Sweet Release(s)
Music, music, music – we’re served up a constant diet of it
here at Bido HQ, courtesy of an army of talented musicians
who are responsible for some great noise coming out of the
city. ESME BRIDIE’s latest, Say The Words, due out on 20th
March, is a deft torch song that has flecks of Karen Elson and
Fionn Regan about it. Bridie supports Chloe Foy at Studio2
on 10th March. ENNIO THE LITTLE BROTHER is priming for
an album (due in April courtesy on Mai 68 Records) with the
release of single Dungarees, which is the kind of downbeat
dream hop that you can listen to for hours. To round off, and
slightly out of our usual remit, is Galway artist EOIN DOLAN,
whose tune Superior Fiction was a surprise find, and a great
introduction to his world of BC Camplight-style songwriting.
Keep ‘em coming!
Esme Bridie
A general theme of all our
songs is the yearning for
home. The perks and lifestyle of the music industry don’t
often stretch to the crew or drivers on a production, so
the dream of home is often the most constant topic of
conversation. Released one year before I was born, this
song is a personal favourite and takes me home in so many
ways; to particular moments in time with people and in
places I love. David Byrne can make you laugh and cry in
the same measure. A true modern genius.
liverpoolbandvans.co.uk
Keep your eye out for more stories from the road as we
document more of the busy touring lives of Liverpool Band
Vans’ drivers and the artists they’re touring with.
NEWS 15

16

THE
ORIELLES
Spinning across a Northern Orion’s Belt
of Liverpool, Manchester and Halifax,
The Orielles have broken through the
liminal spaces of everyday travel and
escaped atop their own Disco Volador.
Trace the etymology of the word disco, following its
origins through discotheque – a library of records – you
come to disqué, a derivative of the Latin word discus
– further derived from the flat, spherical fish that lends
its name to the disk-shaped object that propels through the
air when thrown for sport. Alternatively, simply translate disco
from Spanish to English and you arrive at disk a lot quicker than
pulling up ancient Latin roots. But the journey isn’t a pointless
one. The enduring shape of CDs and vinyl is more than mere
coincidence.
Follow the literal timeline of the word disco back to its
Latin, Olympian roots and you arrive at a word defined by
soaring movement and joyous levitation, all held in a seemingly
effortless trajectory generated by human propulsion. Despite
millennium separating their inception, discus still perfectly
encapsulates the essence of disco music.
This ancient combination of energy and movement has
travelled through the ferevous 1970s and been plucked from the
sky by THE ORIELLES. The band have harnessed the dynamism
of the genre for their own brand of warped disco, manifesting
in the creation of their second studio album, Disco Volador.
Translated in to English as flying disk, the record is a luscious
blend of avant-garde groove and psych concocted in the north
of England.
“Disco Volador could be a frisbee, a UFO, an alien nightclub
or how you feel when you fly,” says vocalist and bassist Esme
Dee Hand Halford in the record’s notes, adding “it is an album of
escape; if I went to space, I might not come back.”
The desired resistance to gravity isn’t entirely conceptual
and abstract. The Orielles’ music and further members – Henry
Carlyle Wade (guitar), Sidonie Dee Hand Halford (drums/vocals)
and formerly Alex Stephens (keys) – have been in a state of flux
for much of their years as a band since forming around eight
years ago. Their journey together was launched from Halifax in
West Yorkshire, and has since drifted over to Leeds and then
down through Manchester before crash-landing in Liverpool’s
music scene, where it has resided for the last four years.
In recent months The Orielles’ airborne vehicle has
wiggled loose of Liverpool and settled in Manchester.
However, the band’s first album, Silver Dollar Moment,
and their most recent effort, were crafted while still
tied to their adopted home on Merseyside. The city
bore witness to their transition from garage rock trio
to technicolour purveyors of indie-psychedelia, more
recently spiced with samba sensibilities. Their continual
state of pinballing between West Yorkshire and Liverpool
only adding to the magnetic urgency of their music.
With a musical existence defined by travel, it’s only
fitting that a trip to Manchester is necessary on the
day we meet to talk about the journey towards Disco
Volador. Adequately fed and watered with kale pizza and
beer, both Henry and Sid begin to reel in the album from
its celestial reaches.
“It all felt really fresh,” Henry starts, when asked if
there’d been any overlap from their debut when looking
towards the second. “The first set of demos for Disco Volador
were in late 2018, so it was pretty quick after the release of
Silver Dollar Moment.”
The Orielles’ first album was released in early 2018 to much
adoration. In their eyes, however, the album wasn’t the defining,
coming-of-age expression many listeners marked it out to be.
“We realised
guitar music can
be just as
danceable as
electronic music”
FEATURE
17

“This record seemed
to explode from
constantly travelling
and waiting around”
“After it came out, we knew what we wanted to do and where
we wanted to take things musically,” Henry continues. “That
was the most exciting point. The turn-around was pretty quick
in focussing on the second album”, a record which he describes
as “bursting” out of their writing sessions – “we didn’t want to
lose the momentum.”
The sense of Disco Volador being a greater exploration
of the band’s talents is echoed by Sid. “A lot of the songs on
Silver Dollar Moment were written from the moment we started
taking the band seriously”, she agrees. “That’s why, in my view,
the record isn’t quite as fully formed. It’s more of a collection of
what we’d been playing live for a long time,” she says. “The new
record is the only time so far that we’ve written for a purpose,”
Henry reinforces.
Clicking into gear as a four-piece, adding Alex Stephens
to the established formation of sisters Esme and Sid with
childhood friend Henry, the band were presented with a fresh
canvas to colour with the support of Heavenly Records. The
resulting effort is a 10-track cinematic experience that’s more
homebound-daydream than full blown space odyssey. While
retaining the interlocked dynamism of drums and bass, the
songs do feel more considered, as the pairing suggest, with
Henry’s once angular riffs more layered, nestling in the warm
layer of keys draped across much of the record. Much like the
first album, however, the lyricism retains its DaDa-inflected
observations swirling through Esme’s stream of consciousness.
Leaning back towards the band’s beginnings, Disco Volador
does represent something of a quantum leap. A statement that
carries even more weight given they’re barely into their 20s and
already onto album number two.
Just over three years ago, The Orielles were more closely
aligned to garage rock, but played with the careful hands of
sincere indie. Casting back to this era and the band’s live shows
were watermarked by Henry’s wild head movements when
running through fuzzier numbers such as Jobin. Now there’s
suaveness to The Orielles’ demeanour that’s more sure-headed
than chin-strokey. Although I do ask if Henry is ever coerced
into redeploying his whirlwind on-stage behaviour. “No man,”
he responds, eyes widening as if to recall things he should never
have seen. “Our old tour manager said, ‘you’re not going to do
that forever, are you?’ I think I had to make an effort to stop at
that moment on, really.”
Coincidentally, the chat remains on head movements. As
it turns out, the departure from self-induced whiplash was a
watershed moment in their progression from rough-edged
garage trio to acid-dipped disco starlets. “The visual metaphor
of how we’ve changed as band is in how our necks move when
we’re practicing,” Henry begins, with Sid nodding assent with a
wry smile. “When we were practicing, back in the day, our heads
used to go like this…” Henry proceeds to replicate dialled down
Smells Like Teen Spirit headbang. “Now when we’re practicing
and writing new songs, our heads move like this…” – the guitarist
coolly elongating his neck back and forth as far as possible
with the elegance of a peacock’s strut. In this we see the band’s
internal metronome for rhythm, held together by the sister
pairing on drums and bass. “A lot of the rhythmic, danceable
style comes from Es and Sid”, Henry agrees, “just from how
locked in together they are. We make music that makes us want
to move. Music that keeps us locked in with one another. Have
you seen how built my neck muscles are now because of it?” he
adds, jovially.
Following the steps towards Disco Volador’s dynamic sonic
textures, it’s difficult to ignore the importance of The Orielles’
2017 single Sugar Tastes Like Salt. Where Disco Volador places
its palm on the first reaches of the cosmos, Sugar… was the
launch pad for everything that’s followed – an eight minute
kerosene drenched exploration in E-minor, with a scrap book of
interchangeable endings the band has added to over the years.
“If we had an idea for a song in E-minor, the phrase became
‘just stick it on the end of Sugar…’” the pair recall. Just as the
etymology of disco takes us back to the flying discus, Disco
Volador’s infectious grooves lean all the way back to their first
single release on Heavenly Records. A track that widens the
eyes and mind with its wild energy – no doubt a sensation felt
more keenly by listeners accustomed to their proceeding back
catalogue, It is arguably the band’s first pill moment.
“Sugar… really represents the change in our musical taste.
It was a point in time where we’d started to branch out and
listen to a lot more,” Sid explains, when asked what initiated
the moment of cerebral lift off. “ESG were a big inspiration for
me personally,” she continues. “When we were writing Sugar…,
it was the time when we realised guitar music can be just as
danceable as electronic music. I think that’s what pushed us to
go on to write music [that] people could hopefully dance to, on
record or in a live setting.” Equally, for Henry, hearing the 1982
disco dancefloor-filler Moving Up (by Toba) was transformational
for him as a musician. “The rhythmic guitar that I heared on that
track really inspired me to change up the way I was playing,” he
informs. “There was definitely more of an urge to play something
that made people dance.” On Disco Volador, Rapid I, Memoirs
Of Miso and the New York grooves of A Material Mistake are all
reflective of this ingrained focus on kinetic orchestration.
“It was never an effort to make our music danceable,” Henry
rounds off. The transition from post punk edge to baggy acid
grooves might seem a hard route to sketch out alone, but it’s
one that was aided by the late Andrew Weatherall, who even
weighed in on The Orielles’ world with a signature wonky remix
of Sugar Tastes Like Salt. Pull back the external instrumentation
of both post-punk and acid house and you find they both lean on
raw expression rather than narrative drama. For The Orielles, the
raw expression is located in a pattern of suppression and release
from the band’s travels in their formative years.
“When we were practicing for the first album tour with
Alex, I used to do Halifax to Liverpool on a Sunday, with rail
replacements in parts,” Henry starts, when asked if the band’s
separation across the north fed into the band’s indulgence in
a sort of in-the-moment hedonism. “For so much of our early
phase we were always travelling to one another across three
locations. I guess that pent up energy is captured in the record.”
Experiencing the long periods of separation, when granted
time to practice, the three/four piece had little time for balladry
and slow burners. Freed from their liminal spaces of travel
across the Northern Orion’s Belt of Liverpool, Manchester and
Halifax, The Orielles’ music burned like oxidised fire as soon as
the amps were switched on. But it was all too quickly snuffed,
often in full flow, when required to part ways. But it’s these
very constraints on time that forces their work through liminal
space and into a realm free from gravity, where it would remain,
spinning like a discus, until they were able to break back through
once again. This, the very escape Esme points towards.
“All of this record just seemed to explode from constantly
travelling and waiting around, whether that’s waiting in the
van on tour or waiting for practices and meeting up. I always
saw music as an escape from shitty life in a small town. I felt
like that’s what really spurred us on to keep travelling”, Henry
concludes. “We had to take the jump,” Sid confers. Veering high
up overhead with little desire to come down, Disco Volador
might be their furthest leap yet. !
Words: Elliot Ryder / @elliot_ryder
Photography: Rebekah Knox / @photosbyknox
theorielles.co.uk
Disco Volador is available from 28th February on Heavenly
Records.
18

FEATURE
19

LOATHE
Gary Lambert speaks to the five-piece metalcore band who’ve caught the attention of Deftones
with their genre-defiant second album. Things are about to get a whole lot bigger for Loathe.
It’s the dream scenario for many bands. You start the year with people tipping you as a must
watch. You follow that up with a critically-acclaimed album, touted as the defining record
within the contemporary stable of your genre. Throw in a raucous hometown album launch
show in front of hundreds of people as well as a similarly wellreceived
nationwide tour, and you’d think it’s time to sit back and
let it all sink in, right? Not for LOATHE.
The Liverpool metalcore band have, instead, decided that
the best thing to do is to thank all of their original fans who have
backed them from day one, playing an intimate gig in Liverpool
at Kazimier Stockroom, one week later, for free. All this, and
convincing MTXS and God Complex – bands who have headlined
far bigger rooms in Liverpool – to be their support acts, as well as
getting one of Liverpool’s up-and-coming metal scene starlets,
False Hope, to open the event.
Sitting down with the band before the show, the forthcoming
gig and the reasons behind it are an obvious place to start. “Before
we were Loathe, we were a band called Our Imbalance. We
recorded an EP, played a few shows with it, but the last show of
that project and the first show of Loathe was in Maguire’s Pizza
Bar. We thought it would be nice to come back to Liverpool and
do a show that was like those old days,” guitarist and vocalist Erik
Bickerstaff explains.
Their biggest hometown show the week before, at O2 Academy, hadn’t been without a hitch.
The fire doors of the venue couldn’t be unlocked leaving hundreds of people waiting in the street until
“Every style of music
creates a different feeling
inside you, and that
comes out then in the
music you create. You
naturally pay homage to
the music that you hear”
an electrician turned up to correct it. “We wanted to do something to say thank you to the people who
waited for us,” says lead vocalist Kadeem France, “those who had to run for the last train home. We
thought that doing this little, free gig at the last minute would just be something cool for them.”
As I wait around the venue, there are fans arriving as early as
4pm just to have a look in the window of the venue door, laughing
in disbelief that they are going to see Loathe somewhere so
intimate. There’s a real back-to-basics feel to the show; a complete
contrast in approach for a band said to be in the slipstream of
behemoths Deftones. “To be honest, this is mad. I know it’s free
entry, but the tickets sold-out in less than 20 minutes without any
announcement that they were going to be on sale,” replies Erik.
“It’s crazy to think that happens to your band. We’ve wanted to be
able to do something like this for so long, and now we’ve got the
chance to do it.”
This show was the culmination of just over a week’s worth of
non-stop gigging to support their second album, I Let It In And It
Took Everything, a wide-ranging exploration of metal, distortion
and doom-laden shoegaze. “We’ve had the most amazing week
this band has ever had. We released the album on 7th February
and since then we’ve been playing all over the UK. They’ve
probably been the best shows we have ever played. Last night, a
sold-out show in London, was the best show we have ever played. Genuinely,” says Kadeem. “We
had people getting up on stage for the last song, and literally the entire room was singing along.
Erik didn’t even sing the chorus: he started to, stepped away from the mic, and just let them get on
20

with it. Sold-out 400 people in London, yeh, it’s definitely a highlight… It’s really cool to see at every
gig, knowing that you’re not the support band any more, that these people are here to see you,” he
adds.
Over the last few weeks, watching Loathe from the outside, as they built up to the launch of the
album, I got a feeling that things were about to get a lot bigger for the band. Kerrang!, for example,
listed Loathe as one of their Hottest Bands of 2020 alongside the likes of Polly and Yungblud,
covered their recent tour of Japan, and gave a massively positive review of the album. However, in
the days of social media there was one piece of unplanned publicity which truly hit home for the
band. “It’s surprising the reaction we’ve got from the critics over the album,” Kadeem starts. “When
we released Two Way Mirror in the build up to the album release, Chino [Moreno, lead vocalist of
Deftones] shared it, which was surreal and started to send things a bit crazy. It doesn’t actually feel
real to this day. Him sharing it was massive.
“Having the reaction we have had feels like a blessing. Especially considering how long it has
been since we released some music. To still have that dedicated fanbase just gets you buzzing. It’s
been nearly three years since our last album, so it’s nice to know that people are still interested in
you, and still willing to listen to your work. It feels like we’ve been in a deep sleep, and we woke up
from that deep sleep in Liverpool, headlining our biggest, sold-out show with our album released
that day.”
Erik continues: “When we recorded the album, it felt at times like we were in this neverending
loop of having to record, mix, and edit all these different bits of stuff; to finally get to the
end is great. It took the four of us 451 days to record the album, from the beginning to the point
of submitting the album to the label. That’s why we named a song 451 Days. We are so certain of
who we are now. I’m not saying that we weren’t ready for The Cold Sun, our first album, but I feel
like with this album it’s like a coming of age record.”
I Let It In And It Took Everything is an alluring listen, even if heavy music isn’t to your usual
taste. The album is made from many different textures and sounds. For me, Two Way Mirror is the
most Scouse psychedelia song I’ve heard in years. There is no doubt in my mind that, musically,
Loathe wouldn’t be out of place at an event like PZYK 2020, while also being on the bill at
Download. “Our music is made up of so many styles,” Kadeem agrees, adding, “that all comes from
listening to different music and taking it in. Every style of music creates a different feeling inside
you, and that comes out then in the music you create. You naturally pay homage to the music that
you hear. If it means that our heavy music is inspired by, say, some indie music from the 90s then
that’s what it is.”
Harry Rule, lead singer of God Complex, concurs. “Part of the reason why Loathe are getting
so recognised is their ability to expand genres, doing anything that sounds good and sticking
it together on the album.” This feeling is shared by Grant Watling, promoter of Halfway Home
Promotions and unashamed Loathe fanboy: “They just seem to have thought of everything in their
music. The moment they started playing tonight and last Friday, I stopped being the promoter of
the night and was just a crowd surfing kid.”
As the gig finishes, I step back into the Stockroom to capture some images of the band. The
residual heat in the room is like a bonfire. While the lads from Loathe are looking forward to getting
back to ordinary things, like their dogs and their own beds, I cannot escape the feeling that, for
Loathe, ordinary no longer exists. !
Words and Photography: Gary Lambert / @glamgigpics
loatheasone.co.uk
I Let It In And It Took Everything is available now via SharpTone Records.
FEATURE
21

22

Graciously falling through the atmosphere with a dream-like aura, LUNA
returns home with tales from her most searching celestial journey to date.
Everything about of LUNA is subtly mesmeric. From the
elemental depictions of her form in her photographs,
to her very own productions, the combination is
striking. So when Kate Hazeldine steps into the Baltic
Roastery to talk about her upcoming EP, Hello Earth, I’m half
expecting the glittery, spectral aura of LUNA to follow closely
behind and pull up a seat.
The dream-like production of her pop-tinged tracks paint
an image of someone in constant motion. While Kate’s feet hit
the floor, LUNA walks on air. They are individuals with the same
origin story; one Kate credits to her “being a bit of a lone wolf”
in her home of Cheshire. Surrounded by abundant nature and
an almost ever-present Kate Bush soundtrack “blaring out of the
speakers in [her] house”, LUNA was born.
Mining songs from person experience of relationships, LUNA
incorporates indie dream-pop with electronic sampling and an
impeccable voice. Combining heartache
and healing, Kate becomes LUNA. Kate
describes her musical counterpart as one
laced with “confidence and sass. Way more
so than I am in real life.” The girl who sits in
front of me, cradling her cup and talking so
eloquently about her upcoming vision and
goals, doesn’t seem like someone who’d
need to lean on an alter-ego. Yet, LUNA is
what has brought us to this room and has
allowed Kate to have the voice she does.
A nod of understanding is shared between
us. Kate explains: “LUNA helps me to see
things in a different way. A stronger way,”
she quickly corrects. “It’s cathartic to get
emotions out through writing,” she continues. “If people like the
eventual product of the way I’m feeling, then that’s even better.”
As we continue, it seems as though LUNA is a lifeline for Kate;
a healthy coping mechanism for the chaos of the world. Kate
laughs, “I’ve got this thing to turn to, essentially. I don’t just go
out and get smashed all the time.”
On 5am, a piano ballad released in 2018, Kate opens the
song with the assertion “I don’t recognise myself anymore”.
Hearing this, the earlier chat about LUNA offering a lifeline
swings towards a broad assumption. However, in person, Kate
reaffirms her control of her artistic counterpart. As we talk, it’s
revealed that Kate is far from lost. She clarifies the lyrics for
me, explaining that “5am was written in the middle of a very
destructive relationship, which I didn’t see at the time. The song
observes the feeling of losing yourself in a relationship, because
you’ve become so all consumed by a feeling – one you know isn’t
good, but you’re no longer in control of.” Despite the track having
been a part of LUNA’s catalogue for a while, it is one of her
“LUNA helps me
to see things in
a different way.
A stronger way”
favourites and deserves its place on her upcoming EP.
Alongside more established songs, the EP features new
tracks such as Wind. As Kate informs, it observes the same
turbulent relationship recalled in 5am. The elemental song
is a masterpiece of a metaphor. “The still verses reflect the
good parts of a relationship and the raucous chorus are where
everything whips up around you,” she explains. The carefully
curated wall of sound is testament also to LUNA’s ability as
a producer, something she attributes to participation in the
ReBalance production programme.
At the annual stage where festival line-ups are released
and ridiculed, and the PRS Foundation’s ambition for 50:50
representation of women feels uncomfortably unattainable, Kate’s
experience of being elevated by a women’s only production
programme is refreshing to hear. Co-run by PRS and Festival
Republic, ReBalance is a scheme that has allowed Kate to gain a
greater understanding of production and
offered the chance to record and mix with
a mixing engineer. But her production
journey didn’t start there, as she goes
on to explain. “Since I left university I’ve
taught myself production on Logic. For
the past three years I’ve been honing
in my production skills.” While her own
command of production is as strong as
it has ever been, Kate opens up about
her keen appetite to collaborate. “It’s just
been me in my bedroom for so long and
I feel ready now to actually socialise with
other people doing the same thing – not
be such a hermit.” It’s understandable for
someone as self-sufficient as Kate to protect their creation, but
collaboration may just be the next step for LUNA to project herself
in a way previously unimaginable.
While Kate has been limited in her collaborative efforts
with other producers, her creative vision has been executed
beautifully alongside photographer Robin Clewley. “I love
working with Robin,” she spurts out, once we begin to touch
on the visual strand of LUNA. He’s the man behind the camera
for her new video for Night Drive, which they only wrapped up
filming two days before we speak. It’s clear the creative energy
is still flowing, and the excitement of the upcoming releases is
palpable.
It’s not just the music videos that inspire this level of
excitement; the same energy is emitted from the press shots
intertwined with the upcoming EP release. “[Me and Robin],
we were just on the same page,” explains Kate. “We went to
a disused slate quarry in North Wales. There we composed a
different scene for each track on the EP.” These scenes are all
inspired by the songs they represent. “For Lay Like Stars, we
wanted to create an image laying down, exactly what it says on
the tin, really simple. But we put fairy lights in front of the lens to
make it look like little stars.” Robin’s work highlights the ethereal,
Stevie Nicks-esque aura of LUNA. My favourite image from the
collection sees Kate surrounded by an alien light and captures
the movement of the wind through fabric draped over her arms.
Landscape and artist complement one another beautifully.
Taking cues from an obsession with Kate Bush and Björk,
the otherworldly backdrop is a homely space for LUNA. Her EP
title, Hello Earth, is similarly wired into this aesthetic. Though,
Kate explains, she was “struggling on a title for so long”, but
the artistic compass of Kate Bush once again showed the path.
“I was listening to Kate Bush and she’s got a track called Hello
Earth which is one of my favourites. I was cautious it would be a
little bit cheesy, but it just makes sense.” And it does. The EP is
Kate’s first love letter to LUNA, introducing the character to the
real world surrounding.
Through the EP, we are being welcomed into LUNA’s
universe, but it is not solely the recordings that we can gain
access to this world. Her upcoming performance at St Bride’s
Church on 13th March is one that Kate cannot hide her
excitement for. “I’m planning the lights, the décor, the acts. I’ve
got some really exciting support acts that I’m not announcing
just yet. There’s a lot of thought and time that has gone into it
and I want it to feel like when you’re stepping into St Bride’s,
you’re stepping into LUNA’s world.” The location, a beautiful
neoclassical building in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter, already
projects a complimentary atmosphere without LUNA having to
step over the threshold. It’s not your typical venue, nor is it going
to be your typical gig. The support artists on the night will all be
female, with Kate making her decision very clear. “I’ve not got
anything against men, but there’s still such an imbalance despite
it being 2020. I just want to try and collaborate with as many
women as I can.”
The EP and performances are followed by a coveted slot
at The Great Escape. From there, Kate is ready to “crack on and
keep making music”. We end our conversation in a place of
positivity, as Kate closes with the mantra “self-belief, self-love.
I feel ready now, I’ve overcome a lot of personal anxiety and
setbacks; I’m in a good place now to tackle this head on.” !
Words: Megan Walder / @M_l_Wald
Photography: Robin Clewley / robinclewley.co.uk
sheislunamusic.bandcamp.com
Hello Earth is available from 13th March. LUNA plays St
Bride’s Church on Saturday 14th March with full support to be
announced.
FEATURE
23

REACHING THE
THRESHOLD
Grassroots and the dugnad spirt: Chris and Kaya Herstad Carney talk about the can-do spirit at the heart of
the Threshold family, which culminated with their festival’s final outing in April.
There’s a quote inscribed on a cor-ten wall at the end of Old Hall Street, which you
probably glance at when you’re driving along the Dock Road and sweep up to Leeds
Street. The sculpture sits at the point where the city’s old dock wall would have run,
looking out to the sea and the New World beyond, as well as presiding over the starting
point of one of the busy ship canals that was key to Liverpool’s maritime trading status. The
quote, attributed to a writer for the Liverpool Daily Post, Michael O’Mahoney, reads “Liverpool –
threshold to the ends of the Earth”.
While its symbolism is fairly easy to decipher, the link with this quote and the naming of the
grassroots music and arts festival, THRESHOLD, is slightly less tangible. O’Mahoney’s quote is
one of a few things that Chris Herstad Carney, festival producer, mentions when I ask him about
the festival’s origins. He and artistic director Kaya Herstad Carney also mention the lowest hearing
threshold for human hearing as a possible source of inspiration for the name; but I prefer to settle
on the first answer they give, that their event represents a threshold for artists making their way in
the industry, the first rung on the ladder. It fits.
For the past 10 years, this husband and wife team have been at the heart of a wide group of
volunteers, promoters, artists and fellow music obsessives who have brought together Threshold
Festival Of Music And Arts. The Threshold Family have worked together tirelessly to put on events
that have embraced a spirit of togetherness that is best summed up by the Norwegian word,
dugnad. Mucking in, helping out, getting things done, it is a term that is rooted in a very civic act of
unpaid, voluntary, orchestrated community work.
“It’s the work, it’s not the pride,” explains Kaya, smiling as my eyes light up at a term that seems
a perfect fit for Threshold’s ethos, but one that now seems thoroughly baked in. “It’s like, you have
sports teams doing up their clubhouse and stuff like that. That’s dugnad. That’s how Norway was
built.”
“Threshold is a little bit dugnad,” agrees Chris. “It’s basically everyone working together to get
the job done. We have had so many friends, every year, just coming down and going, ‘I’ve got a
few hours free, what do you need doing?’ Then just coming and mucking in. You’re more likely to
see it at the festival as, like, the drummer walking in with his kick drum rather than standing there
watching the technicians setting it up. Because they care. They give a shit about what we do.”
The strength of the team is a huge part of what has kept Threshold going for the past decade,
and helped them all get over the hurdles that have presented themselves. As an entry-level,
grassroots event, Threshold has always relied on the local gig-going public on turning out and
taking a chance on some new talent, often artists who are performing for the first time. As such,
ticket sales don’t cover the full running costs, so they’re reliant on other forms of support.
“The Arts Council have been great with us,” says Chris. “We’ve not always been successful, but
we’ve always had a good relationship with them. They recognise what we do. But they are almost
unique in recognising that.” In 2017, Threshold didn’t secure any funding, so the festival looked
like it wouldn’t be able to go ahead. But thanks to the generosity of the local community, and the
sterling work of a key member of the Threshold Family, Kate Stewart, a successful crowdfunder
campaign was set up, which secured them the funds to make sure the festival could happen as
planned.
Laura J Martin (Mike Brits)
Paddy Steer (Glyn Akroyd)
“I was panicking, but it was Kate who said, ‘You guys have got the clout, the energy, the fun, the
love [to pull this off],’ and she put this plan together,” Chris says about the campaign. “We smashed
the target. It was an amazing show of love.”
“We really needed that,” continues Kaya, of what felt like a vindicating moment for them. “The
passion that has been given to us, for doing something great, the time and effort, and the ideas, is
just priceless,” continues Chris. “It’s unbelievable.”
“It’s a bit mushy, but I do feel it’s like, ‘Hate divides and love multiplies’,” Kaya adds.
“Volunteering and sharing projects has a ripple effect. It inspires you to go and do other things. By
inspiring someone to do what they wanted to do, but didn’t dare to do, they will definitely inspire
you. It becomes this kind of positive monster.”
There’s an element of dugnad to this reaction of Threshold’s audience, which even stretches to
the artists performing, many of whom will take the chance to do something a little bit more risky at
Threshold then they would for a normal show. It’s a chance to be creative, as they know the crowds
aren’t going to be vast – but they know they have the backing of Chris, Kaya and the team.
This came to the fore in 2019, when the BBC Radio 6 Music festival landed in Liverpool, slap
bang over the same period that Threshold was taking place. This was another hurdle to overcome,
the annual problem that threatened to derail plans. But you’d have been hard-pressed to notice if
you were at the festival last year, as the whole event played out as usual, and the fans, artists and
musicians went about their business as they always do: with open minds and generous hearts.
“We say we try and put on the festival we’d love to see,” Kaya says. “If you’re excited about it,
and truly want to tell people this is going on, other people will be excited about it too.”
Threshold X, the tenth edition, takes place in the festival’s playground of the Baltic Triangle on
3rd and 4th April. But this year will be the last time Threshold appears as a festival, and Chris, Kaya
and their volunteer army have vowed that this year will be their swansong.
“It’s not the end of Threshold,” Chris clarifies. “I think we’re going to keep it going, but for less
regular things, like guest stages. We want to maintain the community that’s there. But the annual
events we both think has served its time.”
“Ten years is a good run,” continues Kaya. “It’s about creating something together, and yes, it’s
going to be an anti-climax on 5th April, going, ‘Oh that’s that’.”
Chris Herstad Carney: “I don’t feel any regret. I feel like it’s the right decision.”
Kaya Herstad Carney: “The Baltic isn’t what the Baltic was when we started. If we wanted to
continue, we would have to go to the North Docks, but then we would have to start over again and
it would be a different beast. So, yes, ten years feels like a really good round number.”
So, six weeks before your last festival, how are you feeling? Are you happy, excited, sad? Are
you relieved?
KHC: All of the above.
CHC: We all had to come together as a team, to all feel like that was the moment. We haven’t
always been 100 per cent on the same page about where we’re going. It was when we both
thought ‘Yes, this is it, we’re ready’. It’s been a successful festival, but we’ve had hurdles that
24

Photo by Stuart Moulding
have prevented it from being more. We don’t want to be the people that say there’s always
something, but every year there’s been a hurdle. So, there are mixed feelings in that way.
KHC: The area’s changed so much, and what we were passionate about was to create that
platform for the people who weren’t the buzz bands or the next big thing. The ones who are
the next big thing, if they were allowed to grow. That’s always been our passion. The people
who want to do collaboration and test performances. A bit more avant garde, a bit more
quirky.
CHC: There’s so often a band that blows up that we couldn’t get 50 people in front of!
KHC: Like Louisa [Roach] coming and giving me a massive hug the other day saying we’d
given her her first solo gig, when it wasn’t even She Drew The Gun then. We’ve always
championed the underdog. It’s definitely a passion, finding the ones who don’t have all the
support.
CHC: We see potential. We’ll put you on, and we take away that pressure of saying you need
to have this many people in front of you otherwise you’re not getting a gig again. The artists
we’re pushing might not have the best profile in the world, but we think they could actually go
somewhere. It could be an Eleanor Nelly, who could end up on Decca, you know.
KHC: There is literally no money in putting on somebody’s first gig, and we can only cover,
like, expenses and festival ticket and food for those artists. But that could literally get them
their next gig, that might be a payer, eventually. But if you don’t get that first chance, you don’t
get the second one.
You guys were one of the first people to the Baltic, and now there are lots of events:
Sound City, Baltic Weekender, Positive Vibration…
CHC: It’s a perfect fit for them, certainly for Pos Vibes. It was always a perfect fit for the
Baltic. We did our first Threshold in the CUC, we just filled the building with music and
art. Then Mike [Deane] put on the Liverpool Music Week closing party there. It was always
supposed to be that great fit for us. We knew that Ropewalks’ days were numbered. The
docks was never the best fit, even though Bramley-Moore was good. This is where it was
always going to be, so it’s almost like it’s fulfilling its destiny. A lot of organisers came to
Threshold and were like, ‘Oh, this works’.
Do you feel a bit pissed off that people have come in since and the area has changed so
much?
KHC: We weren’t the only ones here. Phil Hayes and Jayne Casey had The Picket already,
they’ve been here for much longer.
CHC: The big respect needs to come to both the creative and the board of the Baltic Triangle
CIC and the likes of Jayne Casey and A Foundation, and some people from the council as well.
The people who had that vision, to make it what it was. We were kind of like guinea pigs for it,
but we didn’t start to be that. If we hadn’t put on those first events, if Jayne and Phil weren’t
doing those first things, and A Foundation, then it’d still be a wasteland.
You have mentioned passing the baton on to the community. Would you care to elaborate
on that?
CHC: The intention is for Threshold to remain, as a CIC. We’re going to shift its focus, as a
resource. All the communities we’ve built, of artists, promoters, venues, we’re able to connect,
and continue to connect – but we won’t be producing the festival itself. If we can see the
potential in something, then if someone wants to run with it, it should go on.
We’ve known for at least five or six years that Threshold’s bigger than us. It’s an important
thing for a lot of people, and those people tend to be the creatives. It’s important for them
that it still goes on. Our road with this goes to here, but Threshold should and will carry on. It
almost feels like throwing down the gauntlet!
KHC: There are two ways for that to happen. One is that we are happy to mentor somebody
who wants to start up something, as we have done. If somebody actually wants to continue
with Threshold, we’ll have to create a board. It might just be a production company, or a bit
like an agency. If that pot of money comes in, we’ll put that towards a project that will be going
towards the community.
CHC: The team all have their own careers, they’re all moving in different directions. We
haven’t found those new people yet, or they haven’t found us, but the message is out there.
Hopefully somebody will pick up that gauntlet. !
THRESHOLD
FAMILY
We asked members of the Threshold Family,
who have produced, promoted and performed at
the festival down the years, for one memory that
sums up the essence of Threshold…
“The secret stage we did for Drop The Dime.”
Sally Nulty
“Well, of course, Mark Monkwaa Ross laying on the floor at the front of the stage holding a
mic in the air as we’d run out of mic stands on that first crazy year at the CUC!”
Ema Quinn
“The cheeky Creaky Bones crowdsurfing caper that resulted in one of our best ever photos.”
James Kirkham and Andrew AB
“Teamwork. No other event seems to bring the Liverpool arts community together quite like
it.”
Simon Hewitt (Silicon Dreams)
“When I couldn’t make it to the Black Mountain Lights set so they came and played for me
in the box office. Most special moment ever.”
Hannah McLachlan
“Threshbees (the knitted bees that were everywhere in 2013).”
Karen MacFarlane
“One of the things that really sums it up is being in the crowd with the guy who just played
on the other stage, with the guy who’s about to play on the other stage, watching the guy
who’s on the stage. That doesn’t really happen at a lot of events.”
Chris Herstad Carney
Words: Christopher Torpey / @CATorp
Photography: Mike Brits, Glyn Akroyd, Stu Moulding, Jack Thompson
thresholdfestival.co.uk
Threshold Festival takes place across multiple venues in the Baltic Triangle on 3rd and 4th
April.
Jazzhands (Jack Thompson)
FEATURE
25

Adwaith (Gareth Jones)
MUSCIAL
TRANSLATION
In February, Welsh Language
Music Day dropped by the BME
– the festival’s only official
UK event outside of Wales –
for an afternoon platforming
contemporary artists currently
making music in their native
dialect. Picking up from the gig,
Cath Holland traces the growing
popularity of Welsh language
music by speaking to those at the
heart of its latest resurgence.
It’s DYDD MIWSIG CYMRU (or maybe WELSH LANGUAGE
MUSIC DAY to you), but Adwaith (Reaction) are not
celebrating in Wales in front of a familiar home crowd.
They’re in Liverpool instead, inside the iconic Cunard
Building, a somewhat sterile room away from the warmth of the
populated city streets. It is raining
after all, so the original plans to stage
the event on the Pier Head have been
sidelined, moving indoors to the British
Music Experience. Yet, it’s apt for
them to be surrounded by artefacts
belonging to musical icons today
because the time we’re living in is a
truly golden age of all contemporary
Welsh music, with these three young
women at the forefront. Today’s
lunchtime gig by the trio, Hollie Singer
(vocals, guitar), Gwenllian Anthony
(bass, keys) and Heledd Owen
(drums), is not only their debut in
Liverpool but another sign that music
made in the Welsh language is being
embraced more and more outside their
home country.
Adwaith’s Welsh Music Prize-winning debut album Melyn
(Yellow), recorded almost entirely in Welsh, encompasses far
more than the post-punk tag attached to them. Released on the
ambitious Libertino Records, the vinyl edition sold out in under
a fortnight. Adwaith’s journey over the past two years has seen
them tour the UK with Gwenno and the Joy Formidable, deliver
“The great thing
about music is that
you don’t necessarily
need to know the
ins and outs of
lyrics to enjoy it”
Dylan Hughes
a tremendous BBC Radio 6 Music session and perform abroad,
taking in Canada and Italy. Yet, headlining the first leg of a threepart
UK tour last autumn – organised by Welsh distributors PYST,
aiming to introduce Welsh language music to new audiences
and promoters – marked a turning point. Manchester’s YES on
that damp September night, busy
with people from across the north
– Yorkshire and Liverpool as well as
the local Manchester contingent – left
Adwaith stunned.
“I literally could not believe it.
People singing along in Manchester,
in Welsh!” says Gwenllian.
And yet it wasn’t Welsh I myself
replicated that night, but instead an
approximation of lyrics. It’s excellent
to learn Adwaith appreciate creative
interpretation from us non-Welsh
speakers.
“Welsh language music,
in general, is very open to
interpretation,” starts Hollie. “You can
listen and come up with your own
story in your head about what you think the song’s about. I think
that element of wonder, of mysteriousness, to our music and all
Welsh language music is definitely an attraction.”
Welsh music recorded in both Welsh and English is enjoying
a surge of popularity across the world. One of the contemporary
cohort, Alffa, now own two of the top three most streamed
Welsh language songs on Spotify, with listeners as far as the US,
26

Brazil and mainland Europe. The internet, in reducing gatekeeper
roles, plays its part by feeding new music direct to fans. Free
spirited presenters and producers at BBC 6 Music offer precious
airplay when they can; latterly, the likes of the Guardian have
taken good note of grassroots music journalists and blogs around
the UK and world, and responded accordingly.
Schemes and initiatives and homegrown festivals including
FOCUS Wales – who enable emerging artists play festivals
around the globe – provide opportunities for fresh talent. Hana
Evans, who performs as HANA2K, benefits from BBC scheme
Horizons – she appeared at Manchester’s Off The Record due to
them – and the Forte Project.
“The opportunities we have now, compared to 10 years ago
when you perform in Welsh, are insane,” says the pop-urban
artist, who sang in a Cardiff shopping centre for Welsh Language
Music Day. Her English language song, Daydreaming, was
playlisted on BBC Radio 1 daytime in January, courtesy of the
support and promotion she received from BBC Introducing.
“It’s nice to get the exposure you get with English music,
[because] when you write in Welsh it brings more attention to
it because the English stuff is already out.” Independent Venue
Week 2020 saw Papur Wal – winners of the Best EP gong at
this month’s Y Selar Welsh language awards – return to a busy
room in the North West once more, confessing from the Liverpool
Jacaranda stage “we didn’t expect this many people”.
Independent Venue Week recruited BBC Radio 1’s Huw
Stephens as Welsh ambassador, but he refuses to blow his own
trumpet over Welsh Language Music Day, his co-founding of the
Welsh Music Prize, or championing of Welsh music on national
radio.
“It’s about the creativity of the artists, to be honest. Welsh
language artists are fearless now. They’ve got nothing to lose
and everything to gain. The world’s become a lot more diplomatic
in terms of music, I think, so you can sing in Welsh anywhere.”
Back at the BME, a Welsh Language Music Day playlist
plays the title track from Cotton Wolf’s latest album Ofni (Fear),
released by Cardiff’s Bubblewrap Collective, featuring Hollie
Singer’s vocals coursing through the loudspeakers.
“It’s amazing to hear this, playing in a room in Liverpool,”
Huw says with a big grin, before rushing off excitedly to
introduce Adwaith from atop the stage.
Such playlists smash the old cliché, that Welsh language
music is confined to folk and male voice choirs. Horizons Festival
alumnus and teenage blues-rock duo Alffa (Alpha) – now based
in Liverpool for university – received wider recognition when
songs Gwenwyn (Poison) and Pla (Plague) clocked up three
million Spotify streams. Yet the real story of Alffa’s success is
the people turning up to their shows. Drummer Siôn Land and
bandmate Dion Jones found themselves unexpectedly playing to
a full house at the End Of The Road festival. “Before that, we’d
gig where we were from [in Wales] so we pretty much knew
every person,” says Siôn. “I remember looking at the crowd
thinking, ‘God I’m in probably the furthest away I’ve ever been
gigging, and it was packed’. Insane. The venue was one in, one
out.”
Signed to local indie label Recordiau Côsh Records, Alffa
never expected to break out of the Welsh language music scene
back home. “The fact that we’ve crossed the border to people
who speak different languages to Welsh brings a sense of
confidence, and you’re confident in what you’re doing regardless
if it’s a Welsh or English song.”
Dylan Hughes, formerly of indie band Race Horses, reemerged
with his new dreamy, psych-glazed project Ynys (Island)
last spring. With two singles released on Libertino and a session
for Marc Riley under his belt, he played the second leg of the
PYST pilot tour along with Bitw and SYBS, taking in Glasgow,
Manchester and London. His first appearance as part of the INES
talent programme – which enables promising artists to drive
their international careers forward by performing at European
showcase festivals – is at Liverpool Sound City in May. He credits
1990s bands like Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals
and Catatonia for helping build the confidence Huw Stephens
speaks of, and the difficulty making a living as any sort of
musician these days, he believes, delivers a sense of creative
freedom. “People maybe feel like, ‘I can do anything, I can get
stuff on Spotify, I’m not worried making it to the next step’. Or,
‘Once we get this support slot NME are quite keen’.”
In a step towards inclusivity, Dylan shared English
translations of Caneuon (Songs) and Mae’n Hawdd (It’s Easy)
upon release, a move influenced in part by Gorky’s, who
provided titles in English.
“If I’m listening to a song or album in another language
it’s quite nice to refer to the song title in a language you
understand. The great thing about music is that you don’t
necessarily, or at all, need to know the ins and outs of the
lyrics to enjoy it. For things like literature or poetry you need to
understand the language to be able to appreciate it or have an
amazing translation.”
In Wales itself, artists are well served by radio BBC Radio
Cymru and Radio Wales, and dedicated television programmes
Curadur and Lŵp on Welsh language channel S4C, supporting
both established artists and those at a more embryonic stage.
“So, if we ever get to play in England, the other side of
the border, we’ve got a bit of practice, we already know what
it is to play a radio session and we’re not kind of shitting
ourselves,” says Carwyn Ellis, who records in both Welsh and
English with his band Colorama, and delivered the wonderful
Bendith album in 2016, a collaboration with folk siblings Plu.
“It’s a big opportunity. The more you get under your belt, the
more you learn your craft.”
Ellis’ solo album Joia! (‘Enjoy’ in Welsh, ‘Groovy’ in Brazilian
Portuguese) was recorded in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian
musicians, but is sung in Welsh. His most well received album
to date was made on the suggestion of Chrissie Hynde –
Carwyn also plays with The Pretenders, and Edwyn Collins – and
Joia! is international, musically and conceptually. Conceived,
recorded, and released during the aftermath of the Brexit vote,
it is outward-looking and far reaching in nature – an antidote of
sorts.
“[It’s] something different, some sort of medicine or balm for
the soul for my people,” he grins. “Enough people listen to it that
don’t speak Welsh for me to think there’s an abstract musical
essence there that seems to appeal to some people, which is very
nice.”
Carwyn sees the popularity of Welsh language music as
cyclical. Like flares, coming in and out of fashion. He points out
that the current surge is lower key than in the ‘Cool Cymru’
1990s.
“Anything to do with music or films or whatever, most of
these things come and go in circles. I’ve seen it before, seen dips
where it’s receded and it comes back again. The Welsh language,
again it comes and goes. One week it’s being bashed, a month
later there’s no sign of it anywhere. The month after that it’s
being praised to the roof. We live through this constant thing of
it being a bit of a football, our language and identity. It’s kind of
strange.”
Returning to the ever moving and expanding world of
Adwaith, it’s only been a few weeks since the Liverpool show
and, even as I type, announcements around the band come thick
and fast. There are trips to SXSW in Texas and Russia, and a
headline date at Rough Trade East all in the coming weeks. Right
now they’re writing a follow up to Melyn. The possibilities for
them and those in their wake, it seems, are endless, with Welsh
Language very much coming to the fore of their contemporary
music. !
Words: Cath Holland / @cathholland01
HANA2K (Daffyd Owen)
“We live through
this constant thing
of our language and
identity being a bit
of a football. It’s
kind of strange”
Carwyn Ellis
Alffa (Shiwan Gwyn)
FEATURE
27

THE
PISTACHIO
KID
28

Singer-songwriter Charlie McKeon guides us through the
nostalgic fields of his latest album, Sweet Remedies, released
under the pseudonym THE PISTACHIO KID. Comprised of
forgotten recordings unearthed years down the line, McKeon
likens their contemporary existence to releasing the nostalgic
haze wrapped in the frame of old family photographs.
I
never thought Sweet Remedies
would be a record. It definitely
is now, unless I have gone
completely mad.
The recordings come from a
period of isolation in West Yorkshire
in 2012, just shy of Barack Obama’s
re-election. I was living mainly off
raw Crunchy Nut. I had bought a
microphone and a cheap recording
interface. I would go to sleep at six in
the morning and wake up at four in
the afternoon. In between these hours
I would write songs about fruit and
bicycles and ignore texts and missed
calls, until they stopped coming. Back
then I lived a secret musical existence;
I wrote things for no one and played
them to no one.
Years down the line, in what
felt like a different life, Violette
Records came across them on one
of the hundreds of thousands of
SoundClouds that cloud the internet.
At that time, I had over 60 tracks
recorded. They picked out 10 that
they wanted to release – all across
quite a wide spectrum of genres and
styles, and with different qualities
to their recordings. Bicycle Thieves
was recorded on my iPhone, resting
on my lap as I waited for the kettle
to boil; Sweet Remedies came as
a spontaneous mantra against
depression, improvised in an early
morning haze; Soreberry Tree, the long
electronic trip on the second side of
the record, I have literally no memory
of making.
None of them were written with
a destination or goal, or on the same
day or even month. There was no plan. The only thing that links
them together is their innocence. They were all done with one
microphone and in one take, and they were never touched,
redone or edited again. I like the idea of standing by the first take;
even though it wasn’t a deliberate decision, it results now in a
certain honesty. They were never created as a means of drawing
attention. The complete opposite. They were entirely my own.
All contemporary music has the opportunity to be overproduced
or even over-thought. Sweet Remedies isn’t a concept
album, but each track remains in its conceptual form. Its rawness
is reduced by the undertaking of the listener. At that time, getting
a recording set-up was like getting crafts and paints as a kid.
They were toys. In a world were everybody’s trying to sell you
something, I was just sitting on the mat with my crayons.
Nowadays, for me, the songs are like looking back at an old
family photograph. You cannot remember the day, being there,
“The songs were
never created
as a means of
drawing attention.
The complete
opposite. They were
entirely my own”
or all of the faces around you, but
you can see it is you – in your hand
is the evidence. The memories are
caught in a haze of nostalgia.
In fact, I feel like these recordings
were made by a younger twin
brother. Phillipe Agrunto, I
sometimes call him, other times
Cardinal Krutworth, or the Pistachio
Kid. When I think about them, or
listen to them, they feel like his
rather than mine. I feel related to
them, they’re something there’s
evidence of me doing, but I’m
almost sure it was Phillipe, as he
has littler legs than I do.
When I was first asked to
release Sweet Remedies, I was
resistant to putting it out. I felt it
was too personal, the recordings
were like diary entries or private
phone calls. It felt like it was only
destined for me. But Violette looked
into the strange window they
came out of and saw something
they believed in. One day it arrived
at my house on a beautifully put
together vinyl. I unwrapped it and
put it on the player and watched
it spin round. I could hear four in
the morning, I could hear my old
kitchen, I could hear my old self.
Violette somehow saw the
story behind the album without
me ever telling it to them, and
they reflected it in the artwork.
The adventurer pictured on the
record sleeve attempts to locate
the exploration the music embarks
on, and the playful youthfulness
behind it as well. The Bob Dylan
cover at the end of the album was the last song I made during
that period, and they placed it as the final track without that
knowledge. It was recorded just before I left Yorkshire for
good on a Transpenine Express train, coach C seat 43; I had a
Boots meal deal and we had to stop at Stayleybridge because
someone had booted a telly on the track. The end of an era.
The title in truth was just a flippant suggestion I came up
with, a way of explaining the distance between myself now
and myself then. Though I guess it was Freudian in a way
calling it The Pistachio Kid, finally coming out of the shell. !
Words: Charlie McKeon, as told to Elliot Ryder
Illustration: Hannah Blackman-Kurz / @Hbkrz
facebook.com/charliemckeonmusic
Sweet Remedies is available now via Violette Records.
FEATURE
29

THE REFRA
Having attended The Refractive Pool painting symposium at Liverpool Hope University in February, Julia
Johnson reports back on the attitudes toward Liverpool as destination for practising artists, not just a
destination to exhibit established art.
It is in the interests of many parties for Liverpool’s
reputation to endure as a creative and cultural hub. It’s
in the interests of the city’s marketing boards to be able
to point to a legacy from a Decade of Culture, and to
educational institutions looking to attract students with the
lure of a vibrant experience. And, as Donal Moloney – artist
and senior lecturer at Liverpool Hope University – exemplifies
during his introduction to THE REFRACTIVE POOL symposium,
in governmental interest, too. At least, the apparently
associated economic growth is.
But it’s important to ask what this actually looks like for
individual artists. Between Tate Liverpool, the Bluecoat and
various venues of National Museums Liverpool, the visual arts
do have a highly visible presence in Liverpool. But what does
this actually mean for the city’s painters? Does this focus on a
cultural economy consider the sustainability of the environment
for the city’s grassroots and independent artists?
The Refractive Pool project has been masterminded by
artists Josie Jenkins and Brendan Lyons to give the many
talented painters in Liverpool the recognition they deserve.
“We want to shine a light on these artists and to give them a
platform to show their art – and, just as importantly, to allow
the people of Liverpool to discover and enjoy it,” explains Lyons.
“We want to document the artists and their activity as part
of the city’s cultural fabric and heritage which has not always
happened over recent decades, and for them to be given some
sort of recognition and acknowledgement.” Beyond this survey
of the current scene, the project also looks to the future with an
aspiration to “build links between artists, studio groups, local
institutions and the public in a way that will hopefully benefit all”.
The Refractive Pool has chosen to focus specifically on
painting. When scrutinised, it becomes apparent that painting
actually occupies a strange place in the cultural fabric. It’s one of
the first art forms associated with ‘culture’, yet the pathway to
being able to make a career as a painter is a muddy one. While
it’s wrong to say that the city’s major galleries don’t support local
painters, it’s also true that the majority of their programming is
based upon exhibitions of artists who have already ‘made it’.
Which begs the question of how and where, exactly, one does
‘make it’? The answer in part may hinge on being able to be
much more than just a painter, but also an exhibition curator
and publicist. Yet Josie Jenkins contends, to the audience full of
artists that painters whose work is based on “knuckling down
in their studio, shutting off from the world”, that finding this
balance is particularly difficult to achieve. That the assertion is
not contested by either participants or audience speaks volumes.
The symposium is described by more than one attendee
as an “indulgence”: a valued opportunity to spend a whole
day talking about art. A full survey of the scene would take
much longer, but the event certainly acts as a snapshot of
attitudes towards what it means to be living and working as a
painter in Liverpool. And to most of the speakers, that would
seem to be a positive experience. Local artist Gareth Kemp
describes the ecosystem of painting as “vibrant”, adding “there’s
lots of galleries and artist-run spaces”. Just as important is
that it’s affordable – a point agreed upon by other panellists
including chair Donal Moloney, who says Liverpool offered him
opportunities for creativity London never could. “It came to
a point of ‘I can stay in London and I can work five part-time
jobs to pay for a studio that I store paintings in, but never make
paintings’. It was a no-brainer: I moved up north, and I can make
paintings.”
This ability to actually make work pays off both for the
artists and us, the consumers, who are able to enjoy the fruits of
a broad range of attitudes and approaches. This is borne out in
presentations by three local artists – James Quin, Gareth Kemp
and Joana de Oliveira Guerreiro. These three were selected,
according to Josie Jenkins, to “present a variety of perspectives
and artists from different backgrounds, in terms of their journey
to becoming an artist and being at different points in their
careers”. They certainly do that. Their styles are highly divergent,
and their approaches to establishing artistic careers range from
the academic to the self-taught. If it’s sometimes not clear from
the city’s high street retailers that Liverpool painting extends far
beyond representations of the skyline, it is here.
This variation of approach also pays dividends for the
future of the city as a creative hub. Having recent Fine Art
graduate Zahra Parwez as a voice on the afternoon’s panel is
important – she provides a perspective on what makes Liverpool
so attractive that can be missed by those of us who are longer
established here. “This is a place I can be fully creative and have
that support system. I’ve built up a network of people to talk to
about art, I know what’s happening around the city.” Parwez
believes that her painting practice has developed as it has in part
because of the strength of its artistic community – a community
whose development is in no small part due the city’s specific
conditions of being small and affordable.
So, Liverpool is certainly not a city devoid of inspiration. But
what about that question of being able to “make it”, and finding
a way to really succeed? The afternoon’s panel discussion invites
30

CTIVE POOL
questions from the audience, and the points that they bring into
focus suggest that the city may present as many obstacles as
opportunities. One of the first questions addresses an essential
issue, though often awkward to confront: how to sell work.
Presenting a focus on creativity above commodity, the art world
can seem to airbrush such questions
out of its self-image. No matter how
cheap the city is, though, if artists
can’t make money from their work
then practice becomes unsustainable.
Though positive about their Liverpool
experiences, none of the panellists are
naive to these concerns. Indeed, there
seems to be a tacit admission in some
panellists’ responses that the difficulty
in finding buyers might make Liverpool
more of a stepping stone than an
end in itself. For this, Liverpool’s
small size may actually be a boon.
Joana de Oliveira Gurreiro is candid
that moving to Liverpool offered her
the opportunity to be more than the
“drop in the ocean” of a big city. With establishment comes
opportunities – then connections and opportunities further afield.
So, where could these collectors come from? Social media
can play a part: several panellists describe their relationships
with platforms like Instagram as necessary for reaching
audiences, if sometimes awkward and detached. To those of us
with one foot in the arts scene and following these accounts,
it seems to work – there’s always a great number of events
“No matter how
cheap the city
is, if artists can’t
make money from
their work then
practice becomes
unsustainable”
and exhibitions being promoted. But is it reaching beyond this
bubble? Apparently not: one member of the audience comments
towards the end of the day that from all the discussion about
practice, “I haven’t got a handle on where the public can actually
come and see your work”. Other audience members chip in with
similar observations that excellent
exhibitions don’t get marketed,
or that spaces are too difficult to
discover and access.
One event highlighted as
a success by panellists and
audience members alike is 2018’s
Independents Biennial, in particular
the A Long The Riverrun exhibition
which formed part of the programme
in George Henry Lee’s. The event
certainly seems to have addressed
many key concerns: its city centre
location made it widely accessible,
which in turn led to artists selling
significant amounts of work. That A
Long The Riverrun’s curators John
Elcock and Paul Mellor are in the audience to be able to give
further context is a helpful coincidence – but they readily admit
that “the stars collided” for the opportunity in a way which
unlikely to be repeated. The George Henry Lee’s building is now
under redevelopment, an opportunity too good for commercial
interests to pass up. It’s yet another demonstration that for all
the official political statements that “the region’s cultural offering
will be a major driver for new investment” (as Moloney quotes),
this means little on the ground. To produce an infrastructure,
to make it mean something, is currently left to the artists, and
panellist Anna Ketskemety explains that “It takes an awful lot of
energy to try and do something outside the studio, and... energy
is a big thing,” especially if you’re already making the body of
work. Despite the strong overall feeling that artists need more
support, there seems no obvious answer to where this will come
from.
In the best tradition of these events, The Refractive Pool
symposium raises as many questions as it answers. There are
clearly reasons to feel positive; Liverpool comes across as an
exciting place in which to paint, home to a community that is
cherished and valued. But success is predicated on more than
enthusiastic production – there must also be an audience, and
the access to space and support that creates visibility. The
Refractive Pool has made a thoughtful start to setting an agenda
for sustainability, and organisers Jenkins and Lyons are certainly
pleased with the passionate responses to the event. “We were
especially pleased at how the panel discussion was taken up
by the audience; so many people had so many great questions
and thoughtful points to make,” says Lyons, “which made for
a stimulating debate and gave us valuable material for our
research.” It will be fascinating to follow how they uncover more
about the city’s painting scene, and what ideas emerge to ensure
its future flourishing. !
Words: Julia Johnson / @MessyLines_
Illustration: Paul Edwards / @osmpaulart
FEATURE
31

SPOTLIGHT
“Please don’t
take us too
seriously”
COURTING
Meet the Liverpool post-punk
four-piece leading a charge
against socio-political norms,
with lashings of cowbell.
Between cavorting around stages across the North West,
gaining a first play on BBC Radio 1, planting a two footer into
footballing obsession and likening love to noisy Northern Rail
Pacer, COURTING have been remarkably busy in an effort to gain
your attention.
Made up of Sean Murphy-O’Neill (vocals, guitar), Sean
Thomas (drums, vocals), Sam Brennan (bass) and Michael
Downes (guitar), Courting’s sound is difficult to define. There
is no clear common structure between both of their singles Not
Yr Man and Football, besides smashing guitar riffs and echoing
reverb, which all adds to a cluster of noise which climaxes as
sonic brilliance. It is for this reason that they really are a one-towatch.
Offering some self-analysis, “Cowbell-core” is the first word
uttered by Sean Murphy-O’Neill when asked to give his soundbite
on Courting’s distinctive style. This isn’t a surprise – yes, really.
Anyone who has attended their live shows so far knows exactly
where he is coming from. Each time, around halfway through
their set, O’Neill can be seen parading a cowbell above his head
and chanting along to their newly released single Football – a
track that sprints ahead on its bassline, is then forcibly shoulder
charged by jagged guitar and piercing vocals, all the while
offering damning statements on societal issues. All this in less
than two minutes of injury time has generated a deserved buzz.
Ironically, Courting admit that the song is concentrating on
the basic principle of football being an “omnipresent feature in
British society”, while also drawing on complete rejection of a
traditional ‘pop-star’ trajectory of creating music in an attempt to
(in their own words) “solely make their family rich and famous”.
Their opinions on societal dilemmas are refreshing, but are
easily lost in the field of artists which suddenly assimilate to
the same liberal mush. The true colours of Courting’s ideology
lie somewhere between rejection of the banal everyday and a
cordial acceptance of impending doom.
And yet, breaking through the expansive, grey Brutalist
construct in which Courting reside, there are flickers of
Romanticism. You can observe this in their onstage commitment,
with present shades of the same ‘love and loss’ conundrum every
band seamlessly tends to flirt with. With the two single releases
behind them, Courting concede “It’s very difficult to write a song
about love or loss in a way that hasn’t already been done.” The
softer guitar riff towards the end of their debut single Not Yr Man
(ignore the rest of the song for a minute), these few seconds
could easily soundtrack a first dance or a final conversation. Here
is the first breadcrumb that leads to a mellower Courting, one
that can and should be followed. But don’t be fooled for too long;
the four-piece will come crashing back into reality with lyrics
such as “Let me be your Northern Rail I wanna let you down” –
ironically, a line that’s always on time when hurled forward by
O’Neill.
Courting outline Pavement as one of their most telling
inspirations – O’Neill states that “I love a lot of [Pavement’s]
stuff. I always feel as though they can hit an emotional nerve
without sounding dire or depressing.” Perhaps the epitome of
Courting’s songwriting lurks somewhere near to this comment,
simultaneously delivering both crashing riffs and tongue-incheek,
observational lyricism.
As a closing sentiment, O’Neill asks “Please don’t take us
too seriously,” adding: “Life would be a bit boring if we all just
discussed economics. Music tends to make me feel happier
than market conditions do.” While a witty response, there is a
contradiction in this. Label-less, they’ve consistently publicised
their own gigs, traversing the music scene alone. A support slot
alongside Coventry rabble Feet back in October may be their
biggest achievement to date. The trials and tribulations of surfing
the industry wave are just the first hurdles for Courting to clear.
And clear them they have. After creating their own merchandise,
posters, or pin badges, when all is said and done, O’Neill
acknowledges “Life without art would just be a bit shit.”
The messy, hazy image of Courting still refrains from loading
clearly. At this moment, what can be seen is a colour splashed
four-piece, determined to attack the poignancy of existence with
goofy lyrics and crashing guitar riffs. The perfect medicine to
any problem we should encounter – all while smashing a few
cowbells. Long may it continue. !
Words: Daniel Ponzini
Photography: Maisie Delaney
facebook.com/Courtingband
Courting headline Phase One on 28th March.
32

DENIO
Delectable, sun-kissed indie pop
quartet rolling steady with the
Mersey waves.
“Once we started
writing our own
music we just never
really stopped”
Why is music important to you?
Music can have a nostalgic and emotional connection but can also
just be something to dance to and it is at the centre of our social
group. We’re always sharing new tunes and artists with each
other; being able to create our own music makes it even more
important to us.
Have you always wanted to create music?
We started playing music together when we were around 15/16
years old and just started off learning covers and getting the
parts right. Once we started writing our own music we just never
really stopped.
Can you pinpoint a live gig or a piece of music that initially
inspired you?
We went to Glastonbury 2013 together. alt-J did a surprise set
at the William’s Green tent and it just blew our heads off. We’ve
been lucky enough to go to Glastonbury every year since and it
always influences and inspires us.
Do you have a favourite venue you’ve performed in?
Highest Point Festival was class. We played to a lively crowd who
had never heard of us and the music seemed to go down well.
Locally, we really enjoyed our gig at the Arts Club recently. The
sound was immense and we had a bit of a light show going on
which spiced things up.
Do you have a favourite song or piece of music to perform?
Your newest material is always the most exciting and fun to
play and most artists probably feel that way. We always think
we’ve written our best song, then something better comes along
the week after and it just goes on like that. We’re particularly
enjoying playing our new songs such as Dreaming, but we’re
excited to play There, I Said It as we’ve just released it.
What do you think is the overriding influence on your songwriting:
other art, emotions, current affairs – or a mixture of all
of these?
Current affairs and what is happening in our lives tends to be the
theme. We’re in that post-university point in our lives where we
are skint and trying to find the balance between jobs, working
on our music and paying rent each month – so that tends to filter
into the songs in some form. Mike writes the lyrics so that aspect
is all him and his life, but the majority of the band live together so
we go through very similar experiences in our day to day lives.
If you had to describe your style in a sentence, what would you
say?
People have compared us to 80s bands such as Talking Heads
and The Cure. Whether that has anything to do with our music
or because we wear our kecks up high remains to be seen. We
generally love artists with a big sound and try and put ourselves
in that same ball park.
Photography: Kate Davies
denio.bandcamp.com
There, I Said It is out now.
LAZ
BERELOW
Warped glam rock and serrated
psych emerges from the fingertips
of this idiosyncratic songwriter.
“Whether it’s a
funeral march, or a
song about signing
on, music can make
any aspect of life
seem important”
If you had to describe your music in a sentence, what would
you say?
Better than pirate metal.
How did you get into music?
I first wanted to create comic books. I later discovered comic
books didn’t fly through the air, enter some holes in your body
and change your life.
Can you pinpoint a live gig or a piece of music that initially
inspired you?
I saw the 1980 Flash Gordon film when I was 11 or 12 and was
awed by the soundtrack. I went silly with the zip-a-dee-doo-dah
of it all. It’s fun, though.
Do you have a favourite venue you’ve performed in? If so, what
makes it special?
Haven’t performed enough to say, but YouTube has some good
applause simulators.
What do you think is the overriding influence on your
songwriting: other art, emotions, current affairs – or a mixture
of all of these?
I think I’d like to manifest the unpredictability of the age and my
personal life through music, but that might too heavily depend on
life being a farce. All I know is this: be authentic, and hope you’re
interesting.
If you could support any artist in the future, who would it be?
Monty Python.
Why is music important to you?
I think it’s the best thing around. It’s the most life-affirming
thing and the thing which most closely resembles actual magic.
Whether it’s a funeral march, or a song about signing on, it can
make any aspect of life seem important. I think that’s the point.
Can you recommend an artist, band or album that Bido Lito!
readers might not have heard?
Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso – favourite album.
Photography: Laz Berelow
lazberelow.bandcamp
An Entertainment by Laz Berelow is out now.
SPOTLIGHT
33

TWO MONTHS OF LIVE SHOWS SHAPING
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SARA WOLFF PISS KITTI HIBWORD MIG 15 PHILLY MOORE
ABBY MEYSENBURG +MANY MORE TBA
FOR FULL DETAILS VISIT FUTUREYARD.ORG

JULIA MINTZER appears on my Skype screen. Her
hair is still wet from the shower; the café in Cardiff’s
Millennium Centre is in the background. It’s 9am and
Julia has just come back from the gym. It reminds
me that opera singers are athletes as much as they are artists.
Julia is preparing for the titular role in Carmen with the Welsh
National Opera – first in Cardiff, then on a tour that includes
Liverpool. The role is a physically demanding one, including
several fights, plenty of dancing, and, of course, she has to
project her voice over the full 19th-century orchestral score.
“Hey, thank you so much for fitting me into your schedule,”
says Julia in her warm Pennsylvania tones, even though the busy
schedule is clearly hers. We’re here to talk about the upcoming
role, the ability of opera to tackle contemporary political concerns
and her unusual double life as an opera singer and director. First,
I want to know how it feels to be doing her ninth Carmen.
“Oh, this one is quite different,” she says, “in part because
the director, Jo Davies, deliberately stays away from the
conventions. The production is set in a favela in Brazil. The
stereotypical Carmen is wild, fiery, to the point that she’s out of
control – that’s some of the romance of her. In our production,
she lives in the moment, but she’s actively making the choice to
employ her sexual charisma as one of the tools she can use to
survive. Sometimes, what she needs to do to seize agency can
be quite dark, even sociopathic. And the fights are much more
brutal than I’m used to!”
We quickly get into a discussion of the tropes of femininity
that she comes up against as an opera singer and director.
Carmen, of course, is opera’s great ‘femme fatale’. Complete
with a flamenco dress and a rose in her hair, Carmen is – next to
Wagner’s horned-helmet Valkyrie – opera’s most iconic female
lead, but also one that is inescapably associated with being an
object of erotic desire. Would it not be tempting, I suggest to
Julia, to subvert that type and play Carmen as a feminist figure?
“When we remount a canonical work,” Julia reflects, “we
sometimes have an ethical obligation to situate it within the
political current to which it seems most obviously connected.”
But she does not think that the character of Carmen’s best use is
as a feminist icon. “Carmen does not have the luxury of thinking
outside of herself; she is not concerned with changing a culture.
She is trying to navigate the dangerous world she inhabits,
minute to minute. The production can – and does – make
interesting points about how she is forced to operate beneath
the gendered gaze that permeates her world, but she herself
isn’t a force for feminism.”
What Julia appreciates about the WNO production is the
complex psychological characterisation, and the corresponding
close attention to detail that the conductor, Harry Ogg, pays
to the way text is set in the score. “There are also many other
political issues at work in Carmen”, Julia suggests. “There is
Carmen’s racial and cultural otherness, and that she is part of
a group that operates on the edge of the economy. There is
the military setting, the exploitative relationship between the
occupier and the occupied.”
Creating compelling theatre out of 19th-century classics, it
seems, depends not so much on grafting on a political message,
but scouring the libretto and the music for such revealing details
within.
Unusually for her profession, Julia encounters such staging
dilemmas both as a singer and director. Opera singers have
historically been musicians first and foremost, concerned
primarily with their instrument, and so the cross-over into
directing is far rarer in opera than in theatre and film. For Julia,
however, directing was her first passion. “I spent much of my
high-school years in theatre, which included making some
horribly pretentious work out of my teenage angst,” she laughs.
While studying voice at the Juilliard School in New York, she also
studied Anthropology at Columbia University, and kept directing.
In fact, I got to know her work as a director first, initially through
her performance art piece Pizza Parlance at the 2015 Venice
Biennale, then through her surprisingly amusing production of
Heinrich Marschner’s Der Vampyr for Gothic Opera, showing in
London this past autumn.
“Part of the fun with Der Vampyr was that you cannot
actually take it seriously,” she
muses. “You have to embrace
the ridiculousness of this being
a German grand opera about a
nefarious vampire.” Some of Julia’s
production was downright farcical.
When the heroine dismembers her
father (an added directorial twist),
an extraordinary number of organs
spill out – a refreshing sight in
opera, for sure.
While Julia’s work as director
is certainly nonconformist (her
all-female version of La Bohéme
was set in the Occupy Wall Street
movement), she does not see the
operatic canon as something to
be simply toppled. Perhaps it is her experience as a singer that
leads her to understand operas, instead, as complex, openended
texts. “With the works that come to us from another era, a
lot of the interpretation comes from the question of who we trust
to be the reliable narrator. Do we go with what the composer is
telling us, or the librettist, or one of the characters, who may not
necessarily be the protagonist?”
OPERA
“Carmen does not have
the luxury of thinking
outside of herself; she
is not concerned with
changing a culture”
PREVIEWS
JULIA MINTZER
Liverpool Empire – 26/03-28/03
Ahead of starring in the title role in the Welsh National Opera’s latest
production of Carmen – a world-renowned 19th-century French tale
– mezzo-soprano and director Julia Mintzer speaks to Vid Simoniti
about the potential of portraying historical roles with contemporary
feminist influences.
With Der Vampyr, for example, this resulted in a surprising
but compelling interpretation. “With
the three ingenues, I thought –
they’ve got no agency to fight their
way out of their oppressive present,
so their best option is to wait it
out… which might take forever. So
immortality as a vampire becomes
a very appealing option.” 19thcentury
village girls may not have
been able to conceptualize that,
but Julia gets around the problem
precisely with the humorous staging:
the improbable seems more natural
when it is funny.
Indeed, some of those rare
moments of cathartic self-criticism –
which, we might think, all dramatic
arts aim to encourage in their audiences – may be more easily
reached through laughter than tragedy. The other directorial
construct of Der Vampyr was that the vampire anti-hero needed
to obtain consent before biting. “At some points,” remembers
Julia, “the audience giggled uncomfortably at the word ‘consent.’
The idea was to catch the viewer off guard with extremely dark
humour, then let them be shocked to realize what they’d laughed
at – to hold a mirror up to the process of desensitisation
that’s become the norm in so much popular media.”
Julia’s approach in both directing and singing roles
seems, to me, to capture one way out of the predicament
that I have always felt exists with restaging classics, be
they opera or theatre. Classics can be layered, compelling,
beautiful works: that is why they have survived the test
of time. But they are shot through with political distance
that makes them especially hard to watch ‘in public’. In the
auditorium, our elation, tears and laughter become a matter
of public knowledge. We feel duty-bound to challenge the
moral flaws of previous centuries, lest our fellow-watcher
should mistake our silence for complicity; but, on the other
hand, heavy-handed adaptations can soon feel clumsy and
sanctimonious. Letting the politics bubble to the surface
through humour, or through complex characterisation, seems
like a better way forward. !
Words: Vid Simoniti
juliamintzer.com
Carmen by the Welsh National Opera shows at the Liverpool
Empire, Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th March.
PREVIEWS
35

PREVIEWS
FESTIVAL
OPEN CIRCUIT
Various venues – 14/03-22/04
Open Circuit
OPEN CIRCUIT FESTIVAL has announced four events which will again be exploring
the bond between music and technology through artist discussions, panels and live
events. Curated by members of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and
Technology (ICCaT) at the University of Liverpool, and based in their prestigious
Department Of Music, the centre specialises in research investigating the depth of sound. Their
ethos sees staff and PhD students working together to explore how music composition and
sonic artforms relate to new technology, performance, and perception.
The new season will kick off with international group THE RIOT ENSEMBLE on 14th March,
testing the boundaries of conventional chamber music with a programme that lives up to their
name. Centred around BRIAN FERNEYHOUGH’s virtuosic Liber Scintillarum (Book of Sparks)
and GERARD GRISEY’s spectral masterpiece Talea, this programme explores the extremes of
contemporary ensemble writing. Four days later (18th March), Open Circuit presents Areas Of
Influence with the return of ENSEMBLE 10/10, conducted by CLARK RUNDELL in partnership
with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The concert will feature works that are in some way linked
to Schoenberg’s seminal piece Pierrot Lunaire. American minimalist STEVE REICH reinvents
Schoenberg’s classic instrumentation in his Pulitzer Prize For Music winning Double Sextet. These
two classics frame a performance of work inspired by Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire poetic cycle by
Liverpool-based composer EVE HARRISON, and new work by post-graduate composers BRITTANY
COLLIE and DANIEL THORNE.
On Saturday 21st March, the emphasis is turned to experimental audio-visual work. OLI
CARMAN and Manchester-based composer and audio/visual artist MARK PILKINGTON make
use of hand drawn sketches combined with electronic gestures and patterns derived from human
vocal sounds. Wrapping up the programme on Wednesday 22nd April, the university’s Lunchtime
Concert Series team up with Open Circuit to present internationally renowned cellist JONATHAN
AASGAARD in a programme of classic 20th century American cello works by GEORGE CRUMB,
GITA RAZAZ, STEVE REICH and BEN HACKBARTH.
Further event details can be found at opencircuitfestival.co.uk.
EXHIBITION
AND SAY
THE ANIMAL
RESPONDED?
FACT – 20/03-14/06
Species extinction and the human destruction of animal habitats has been a
growing concern for the last decade. Studies have shown that animals not only
feel emotion, but have their own personalities and ways of communicating
with each other. How has our intrusion on their habitats affected these
species, and to what degree has human activity destroyed them? In response to a
global crisis, FACT enter 2020 with the launch of their Year Of The Living Planet
programme.
It begins with a brand-new exhibition, AND SAY THE ANIMAL RESPONDED? which
brings together a group of artists working on the cutting edge of technology, art, and film
to collaborate on the pressing environmental and ecological issues in our world. Works by
ARIEL GUZIK (Mexico), AMALIA PICA (Argentina/UK), RAFAEL ORTEGA (Mexico), KUAI
SHEN (Ecuador), DEMELZA KOOIJ (Netherlands/UK) and ALEXANDRA DAISY GINSBERG
(UK) knit together a necessary story, giving a voice to those who cannot speak.
Visitors will be immersed in the sonic lives of animals, from the soft interactions
between wolves via a drone camera, to the hydrophone recordings of an ocean choir of
whales and dolphins. The collaboration between these artists asks an important question:
what would animals say to us if we listened to them? Elsewhere in the gallery, a living
colony of leafcutter ants can be heard ‘scratching’ music, as well as a live performance
where gestures used by gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees will be performed.
The exhibition will run from Friday 20th March until Sunday 14th June.
More information can be found at fact.co.uk
And Say The Animal Responded?
EVENT DISCOVERY PARTNER
ticketquarter.co.uk
36

GIG
Caribou
Invisible Wind Factory – 01/04
Somehow it has been 10 years since CARIBOU’s legendary Kazimier
gig. The solo project of Canadian musician Dan Snaith takes to the
road after a five-year hiatus (although very busy with his dancefloor
focused Daphni project), bringing with him his full live band. Blending
electro-pop with nostalgic house, Snaith captures the essence of the
new electronic generation while acknowledging its past. Caribou will
arrive on the back of new album Suddenly which is due to be released
on 28th February. Single Never Come Back premiered as Annie Mac’s
Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1 and shows the steps the Canadian has
taken to develop a more dancefloor-conscious sound.
Caribou
FESTIVAL
Doc’N Roll Film Festival
FACT and British Music Experience – 26/03-29/03
Music and film, together in unison – surely there is no greater combination? One of our
favourite purveyors of independent cinema, DOC’N ROLL FILM FESTIVAL returns with
five documentaries that shine a light on musical figures and the pioneers who continue
to prove the art form is a universal language of hope and inclusion. The Liverpool leg
of the national festival showcases a range of films from several different genres. We
will witness the births of two major movements in the country’s musical heritage: UK
Drum & Bass in The Rest Is History and synthwave in The Rise Of The Synths. The
more overtly political side of music is captured with the energising film White Riot,
charting the vital London protest movement, Rock Against Racism. There is also a
chance for movie buffs to travel to Zambia for the resurrection of a forgotten rock icon
in W.I.T.C.H. docnrollfestival.com
W.I.T.C.H.
GIG
Shaun Martin’s Three-O
Invisible Wind Factory – 22/03
From his work with Snarky Puppy golden days to his solo releases to
his production work with Erykah Badu and Kirk Franklin, Grammynominated
artist SHAUN MARTIN has brought his signature style,
grace and versatility to all that he has touched. Live, Martin’s virtuosic
skills on the piano – from delicate riffs to dance party rhythms – are an
expression of the comfort and power that a master musician finds in
his art. Joined by Matt Ramsey on bass and Mason Guidry on drums,
Shaun Martin’s Three-O will be a riot of ecstatic jazz fusion. Get your
tickets now from ticketquarter.co.uk.
GIG
Cigarettes After Sex
O2 Academy – 29/03
Stopping off in Liverpool during a massive tour of the UK and Europe, Texas-based
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX will arrive after a whirlwind few months having just
released their second album, Cry, on Partisan Records. Some of you may remember
the band’s initial debut Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby, which became somewhat
of a YouTube sensation in 2012, and has today gained over one hundred million
streams. A lush, cinematic meditation on the complex facts of love, their newest effort
Cry tells a complicated story through the eyes of frontman Greg Gonzalez. His lyrics
take their inspiration from films by Éric Rohmer and the songs of Selena and Shania
Twain, blending filmic artistry with pop amusement.
GIG
Yorkston/Thorne/Khan
Philharmonic Music Room – 14/03
Yorkston/Thorne/Khan
Indian classical music, jazz and the Scottish folk tradition combine in stunning fashion
in the improvisational hands of JAMES YORKSTON, JON THORNE and SUHAIL YUSUF
KHAN. Since meeting by chance bcakstage at a show in 2015, the trio have worked
together on some truly inspiring music that has seen them explore their own diverse
musical heritages. The night will consist of two sets: the first to explore their new LP
Navarasa: Nine Emotions, which takes in Robert Burns and Sufi poetry; and the second
set allows the trio to take a leisurely trip through varied back catalogue of spidery
compositions, ragas and genuine exploration.
GIG
Bido Lito! Social w/ Aimée Steven
26/03 – The Zanzibar
After a little break, a chance to re-charge the batteries, the Bido Lito! Social is back.
And we’re scoring a first for our regular Social by taking the roadshow to the newly
spruced up Zanzibar for the first time. For this show we’re going to be joined by
Scouse guitar star AIMÉE STEVEN, who’ll be bringing some Gallic-flavoured noir pop
to the top of the bill. We’ll also have plenty more groove on the night, courtesy of the
dreamy ELI SMART, whose gravelly new song Deep Inside Your Garden is a stonecold
winner. The same can be said of the wonky guitartronica of BORTH’s new single
Something’s Happening. As usual, Bido Lito! members go free – find out more about
our Membership at bidolito.co.uk. Accept no imitations.
Aimée Steven
PREVIEWS
37

REVIEWS
Dance Of Malaga (Theaster Gates)
“Dance Of Malaga
is deeply affecting,
oscillating from life
to death and love
to pain through its
blend of imagery”
Theaster Gates: Amalgam
Tate Liverpool – until 03/05
Mankind is capable of doing terrible things. At the turn of the
20th Century, a small, mixed-race community living on a 42-acre
island called Malaga, situated off the coast of Maine in the USA,
was forcibly evicted by the state with less than a fortnight’s
notice. The uprooting of this community was driven by abhorrent
proponents of the eugenics movement (deeming some islanders
to be “intellectually unstable” because of their interraciality), and
the lucrative prospect of a Coney Island-style tourist destination.
To this day, however, the island remains deserted.
A leading light of the art world, THEASTER GATES straddles
many a métier; artist, ceramicist, urban planner, university
lecturer, community organiser and band member to list a few.
At Tate Liverpool, for his first solo exhibition in the UK, the
Chicagoan polymath presents a breadth of sculpture, artefact
and a film inspired by the small island of Malaga: a harrowing
and widely unknown splinter of American history.
Taking up the entire top floor of Tate Liverpool, there’s a lot
to decipher in Amalgam. Gates’ response to the island’s tragic
truth explores the hybridisation of art forms, a metaphorical
depiction of the island as an amalgamation itself, with its
variety of non-native trees, unique microclimate and the mixedheritage
community who lived there. Neat piles of fused artistic
practices are arranged around the space: planed blocks of wood,
compressed earth and rocks are deftly stacked. Bronze masks
sink in tar, and huge cement blocks push out metal rods. Glass
cases of artefacts are presented in a museum like fashion, with
archival intent.
A black slate wedge staggers out of the ground like an
island itself, a reimagined home of Malaga. Next to it a pile of
broken roof tiles, with a spinning neon ‘Malaga’ atop, glows with
implied destruction. Behind, a visible chronology is scrawled on
a blackboard situating Malaga among the wider history of black
and interracial people in the US and UK. From civil rights laws
to the transatlantic slave trade its chalk notations provide an
inextricable connection to Liverpool’s slaving history.
Dance Of Malaga (2019) is an evocative narrative gleaned
from old photographs, footage and music. The 35-minute film
is deeply affecting, oscillating from life to death and love to
pain through its blend of imagery. The lithe and sensual shapes
of choreographer Kyle Abraham in the dark mossy forest of
Malaga is spliced with crassly sensationalised news reports
of mixed-race families living their normal lives. Conceptually it
explores ideological hybridity and poses questions about what
we know about interracial communities. As a chilling interlude of
Douglas Sirk’s 1959 film Imitation of Life gives way to a lulling
a cappella from a member of Gates’ own musical collective, The
Black Monks, it is apparent that racial identity is much more
complicated than the language used to ‘define’ it.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a propulsive sound
piece which ebbs through each of the final three rooms. The
haunting score is a swelling lament of sounds; lapping waves,
chiming bells, futuristic gospel. A totemic forest of ash trees,
whittled down to squared off spikes, are stood in rows, some
displaying bronze casts of African masks. The raised floor in the
boxy space suffuses us in reverb – an unburdening, electrical
surfeit of emotion and a lasting, empowering testimony to the
community of Malaga and the emancipation of an untold history.
An accompanying quote seemed to resonate profoundly well
with the final room; “Somewhere in the death of a tree is the
truth of its strength.”
Gina Schwarz / @gschwarz
HMLTD
EVOL @ Arts Club – 13/02
A crack of light bursts across the stage revealing a flash
of blue lipstick, a shimmer of plastic crocodile-skin trench coat
and the radiating glow of a white suit paired with bleached hair
(moustache included). In case you were in any doubt, HMLTD are
here to put on a show.
The strutting thud of LOADED kicks in and with it HMLTD’s
debut album tour bursts into being with the twisted inferno style
that brought the band so much hype back in 2017. Back then,
the music press was salivating at their feet, proclaiming them
rock’s latest saviours and hailing their early singles as glam-punk
crowd-crazers.
But then all went quiet. LOADED tells us why: “I sold my soul
to the devil tonight/And I’m still pretty fucking poor/But my gun
is fucking loaded.” After signing to Sony, in a tale as old as time,
HMLTD realised they had lost control. Things went south and
it’s only now, two years later, they’ve managed to release their
HMLTD (Brian Sayle / briansaylephotography.co.uk)
debut, West Of Eden, under indie label, Lucky Number.
Formerly infamous for their theatrical, custom-themed live
sets, tonight there are no alien tentacles hanging from the ceiling,
or semi-naked wolf ladies whipping up the crowd. Away from
their London home, HMLTD are laid bare before a sadly sparse
Liverpool audience.
But as the 64-bit arcade sounds of Music! strike, it’s obvious
this genre-bending band will deliver, be the crowd 80 or 800.
The strong, close-knit band has a big, dramatic and swerving
sound. And frontman, Henry Spychalski, seeks constantly to build
and intensify his relationship with the audience. It’s climactic.
The band’s older, darker tracks drag us deeper. The soulstirring
Satan, Luella & I has us reaching out and begging along
with Henry, “Luella, won’t you marry me now”. And the darkest,
densest, most disturbed of all, Death Drive and Where’s Joanna?
has the raggedy mosh pit slamming at full tilt.
Peppered throughout, though, are songs like Blank Slate,
which is more dreamy 80s electro-pop. Think a little Depeche
Mode, a little Pet Shop Boys. Similarly, new track Mikey’s Song
reaches for emotive soft-focus synth jangle, and falls a tad short.
It’s here, they lose us a little.
From label laments to losing their synth player three days
before going on tour, HMLTD have suffered some hard knocks.
When you contrast tonight with their first-round heights, the
impact is mixed. On the one hand, it’s knocked them off course,
leaving them more genre-confused than genre bending. And the
set waxes and wanes in confidence as a result. On the other, it’s
knocked a grating pretension out of them, leaving a charismatic
and vulnerable personality that’s hard to resist.
At their best, HMLTD still have the promise of something
great and truly different. The cleverest tracks veer and subvert
like set crescendo To The Door. Pivoting from galloping western
to writhing synth ecstasy and back, HMLTD take us on a glorious
ascent to a captivating frenzy. And it leaves us fervent fans
frustrated and gagging for more.
Clare Dodd / @Claredodd
38

Psycho Comedy
Phase One –15/02
In celebration of their debut album Performance Space
Number One, Liverpool’s own art collective PSYCHO COMEDY
gather with friends and family in a room heightened by genuine
prowess.
Their debut projection may have been five years in the
making, but time feels irrelevant in the presence of artistic
dedication. You can feel the energy in the room. A mere concept
brewed in the mind of Shaun Powell, the Psycho Comedy guise
reflects the inner workings of his psyche. His art collective has
reached a higher level. We are here to witness its elevation.
As the group take to the stage plotted within a sold-out
Phase One, Powell emerges wearing a collar dotted with tiny
lights. The band rattle through their first few tracks including the
self-titled Psycho Comedy, a gritty number that serves as our
first introduction to the group’s resident poet, Matthew Thomas
Smith, another local creative who has been on our radar recently
with his book of poems, Songs, released in November.
Bursting through their alluring single Pick Me Up, the rest of
the band are anchored by the driving, stutter-step drum patterns
of Jack Williams, as guitarist Lydia McGhee guides the band
through Standin’ and I’m Numb.
Need we mention the endless list of influences to which
Psycho Comedy send their praise. The set breathes through the
lungs of New York punk, yet this shouldn’t define them – there
is plenty of originality aside from the comparison to their idols.
Judging by the crowd here this evening, there is endless support
for the raw talent which flows through the veins of our city, the
very same energy that has illuminated so many before them.
Confidence shines through the lyrics in I Am The Silver Screen
and it becomes all the more obvious that it’s Psycho Comedy’s
turn in the spotlight.
Finishing with an encore, the raucous nature of Michigan
State echoes in our eardrums while the band bow in unison to
a crowd quite literally shouting for more. I can rest assured that
tonight was not only the result of creative dedication, but the
beginning of something exciting for a band who have attracted
our attention more than once.
Brit Williams / @therealbritjean
Psycho Comedy (John Latham / @mrjohnlatham)
Fatoumata Diawara
Band On The Wall @ Leaf – 06/02
Having wowed critics with her debut album Fatou in 2011, it
took seven years before FATOUMATA DIAWARA released her
‘difficult’ second, 2018’s Fenfo (Something To Say), to even
greater fanfare and a couple of Grammy nominations, adding
elements of pop and electronica to the more traditional Malian
folk and desert blues. She explained her restrained recording
output and album title in a 2018 interview with OkayAfrica
magazine thusly: “Don’t sing just to sing. Sing to change things,
to make things better. That’s why I can’t have a song every four
months… because I know many people will be listening to my
lyrics.” However, she has not locked herself away during her
search for quality over quantity, she has continued the acting
career that pre-dated her professional involvement in music and
has seemingly never been off the road, performing with her band
all over the world, and collaborating both live and in the studio
with the likes of Damon Albarn, Paul McCartney and Herbie
Hancock.
The room at Leaf is buzzing, standing room only, as a sell-out
crowd are already taking up position before the empty stage. No
support tonight, so not long to wait; the band members appear
and begin a slow, gentle introduction. Sustained cymbal splashes
wash over the crowd as Diawara, in striking sapphire turban,
guitar in hand, makes her way through the crowd. She walks on
stage, smiles that smile, and lays down some bluesy licks over
the rhythm, before the band hit the groove of Don Do.
She addresses the crowd before the second song, Kokoro,
and lays down a template for the evening; a mixture of cultural
celebration and protest – let us rejoice in the music, theatre,
community of Africa, let us rail against its injustices, its crimes
against women and children.
Timbuktu (“where we cannot play music today”), from the
2014 movie of the same name, is introduced as a paean to
children suffering, not just in her homeland but around the world.
Her anguished vocal does justice to the subject, underscored by a
soulful keyboard groove by Arecio that could have come straight
out of Muscle Shoals. The set is embellished throughout with his
masterful jazz/blues/soul-inflected playing. From its soulful roots
the song develops via a blistering guitar solo from Yacouba Kone,
to a rocky finale as drummer Jean Baptiste works the whole of
his kit.
The rhythm section of Baptiste and Sekou Bah (bass) is
funkier than a mosquito’s tweeter, as they drive us at varying
tempos through the night, stop-starting in immaculate fashion,
maintaining a subtle, irresistible groove, and individually
demonstrating their virtuosity; Bah with a Jaco Pastorious style
solo, Baptiste in a teasing vocal-drum challenge with Diawara.
Diawara and Kone fire solos and rhythms off each other, the
coolest guitar-slingers in town, as the band effortlessly segues
between rock, desert blues, highlife and Afrobeat. When Diawara
solos she arches her back, face skywards, eyes closed. She could
be anywhere, but she’s here with us, a symbiotic relationship
growing by the second as the jam-packed Leaf audience moves
as one. At other times she is wholly in the room, making eye
contact with audience members, smiling at them in an intimacy
felt by all.
Throughout the evening she praises her musical heroes,
her muses – among them Fela Kuti, Oumou Sangaré and Nina
Simone, whose version of the spiritual Sinnerman is triumphantly
covered, Fatou unwinding her turban and allowing it to fall free,
covering her face and torso – “I ran to the Lord”, singing veiled,
the band cooking, her vocal more and more intense – “I said Lord
hide me, please”, until she pulls the veil away and, dreads flying,
proceeds to orchestrate the wide-eyed crowd with a dance of
possessed, uplifting intensity – “Sinnerman, you ought to be
prayin’, ought to be prayin’, Sinnerman”.
The deep intensity of the middle section gives way to the
more upbeat bounce of Sowa (the only song from her debut
album) and Bonya, both ripe with the possibility of crowd
interaction, but not the forced, crowd-control freakery of the
insecure; this is a mutual bonding, Diawara and the band
are smiling as widely as the audience, clearly revelling in the
crackling atmosphere. The crowd are singing choruses, clapping
rhythmically along, and, under the conducting arm of Diawara,
crouching lower and lower before leaping for the sky and
continuing a bounce reminiscent of a Maasai Adumu ceremony
(or of pogoing to X-Ray Spex in Eric’s circa ’78 to those of a
certain vintage!).
The small setting has proved a success. Diawara retires to
the side of the stage while the entire crowd chants for more. As
the encore, Anisou, gets into its stride she smiles at someone
in the front row, extends her hand, and pulls him on stage.
Before long about 10 crowd members have been invited to join
them. They dance and worship in a joyful, exuberant finale that
cements the togetherness of the occasion. Diawara, meanwhile,
jumps down from the stage and makes her exit, orchestrating a
series of whirlpool like circle dances that moves her across the
room amidst the whooping crowd. The band plays on. No one
wants this to end.
Early February. Too early, I know, to speak of ‘gigs of the
year’. But the bar has been set. Follow that.
Glyn Akroyd / @glynakroyd
Fatoumata Diawara (Kevin Barrett / @kevbarrett)
REVIEWS 39

REVIEWS
Sinead O’Brien
+ Egyptian Blue
Get It Loud In Libraries @ Birkenhead
Library – 02/02
For me, libraries have always been places of
subversion. Just like the time my mum walked into
my room, aged eight, to a tirade of “fucks” emitting
from an audiotape of A Curious Incident of The
Dog In The Night Time. Or aged 11, trying to get
my head around a borrowed copy of Ginsberg’s
Howl, to little avail, leaving my imagination tripped
out on lysergic disorientation from the tiny pocket
copy – its themes of peyote trips, sexual liberation
and 60s counterculture flying wildly over my head.
The awkward exchange when asking for a copy
of Ka-tzetnik 135633’s House Of Dolls, aged 13,
after becoming obsessed with Joy Division, before
retracting my interest after being told I’d have to
order from The British Library. Birkenhead Library is a
building that shaped me: its content and staff opened
entire new worlds for me.
My library card has been lying dust-covered
in a drawer for some time, but now, upon entering
once more, I’m hit floods of nostalgia. This is quickly
broken, however, by EGYPTIAN BLUE. From southern
shores, but with the harsh industrial bleakness of
late-70s northern towns, they cut through the quiet
conversations that hum throughout the room, like a
knife. Angular trench coat post punk reverberates
through the room, deep Gothic baritones colliding
with the clash of Vox Phantoms. The four-piece’s
gaunt faces and sepia fashion juxtapose with the
vibrant colours of the children’s book display that’s
emblazoned behind them on the wall. Young children
with bright blue ear defenders run wildly between
stage and bookcases, while the intense wall of
sound builds, bold and powerful and tight. The band
observes the societal norms of libraries and keeps
conversation to a minimum, instead letting their
sound say everything they need. It’s a short, sharp
shock, and then they’re gone, vanishing without a
trace back amongst the shelving units.
As a storm brews outside the window, grey skies
hang heavy over Wirral; but among the books we
are safe as SINEAD O’BRIEN takes the stage. Smiles
and “thank you”s for coming quickly fade from her
face as she enters a transcendental state, poetry
flowing out of her. Her Irish brogue swoops and soars
between tight riffs and drum rolls. It’s a captivating
performance. Hypnotic, in fact, with the aural
concoction leaving the audience in a trance-like state.
Musically, it’s quite unlike anything that’s currently
happening. Eyes fixed and ears tuning in and out of
focus after each song, O’Brien seems to return to her
personable self, offering for children to come and
dance with warm grins. In a room of a million words,
from Joyce to Welsh, the crowd stands fixed, focusing
merely on hers.
It’s a day which offers up a golden haze of
childhood memories, while also cementing that the
future is bright for music, literature and libraries.
Maybe I should dust off my card.
Sinead O’Brien (Lee Willo / @lee_willo_)
Matt Hogarth
Sorry
Harvest Sun @ EBGBs – 08/02
There’s always a risk that running through most of your debut album before its release will alienate your audience, but SORRY make it
work for them. After a couple of years of hype-inducing live shows and mixtapes, followed by an abrupt disappearance and just as abrupt
return late last year, the London post-punk four-piece – headed by the dual vocal talents of Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen – are finally
dropping debut album 925 at the end of March. On a blustery Saturday night in the packed-out basement space of Liverpool club EBGBs,
they let everyone know why we should be counting the days until we can hear it in full.
While they keep audience interaction to a minimum, the crowd is more than happy to make as much noise as the band, starting
immediately with them opener (and lead single from 925), Right Around The Clock. Its interpolation of Tears For Fears Mad World turns
heads, even those loitering at the bar, and provides an unusual singalong to kick off an evening mainly defined by head nodding.
There’s very little question of coming up for air for the first part of the set: despite the mood set by their on-record performance, the live
version of Sorry has a distinctly punk mentality. Things are kept simple, and changeovers between songs are kept brief, all the better to keep
up the show’s momentum.
While things inevitably lag slightly during the unheard cuts from the album, they crescendo during the one-two punch of Starstruck and
Rock ’N’ Roll Star. The former, being the irresistible slice of indie-pop that put their name on the map, gets a very warm reception from the
hardcore fans in the small pit that forms in the crowd, while the latter skewers the figure of the predatory ‘washed up rock ’n’ roll star’ at the
same time that it elevates Sorry to their own level.
The last leg of the set runs through a few fan favourites – including highlights from their run of 2017 singles, such as Showgirl and, as an
explosive set closer, Lies. While many bands in the new wave of British punk music have chosen to eschew more conventional songwriting,
Sorry’s take on pop-rock is one that fits perfectly, in spite of the band’s relative youth. If they’re putting on shows this polished and energetic
without even an album out, we can only imagine what they’ll be doing only a year from now.
Luke Charnley
Sorry (Fin Reed / @Finlayreed)
40

Alex G
I Love Live Events @ Phase One – 07/02
ALEX G is something of a pioneer in his field of complex,
lo-fi grunge. The Philly artist recently released his fourth studio
album House Of Sugar (though four more bedroom efforts
lurk in the crevices of the internet) and it is another jewel in
his catalogue. Experimental and glimmering, yet carrying an
expectedly beautiful ruggedness.
It’s the first night of his UK tour in support of said record as
he rolls in to Phase One. A tough job lies ahead. Even though
this show was quick to sell out, you get a feeling that the packed
room might have misjudged how they wanted to spend their
Friday night. Conversations are loud, beers are being consumed
and there’s a strange rowdiness in the air for a night which
promises to be draped in detail, nuance and colour. After-all,
though, Alex G is a masterful outlier who has played more than
his share of tricky rooms over the years.
He plays favourites new and old this evening, and it’s
refreshing to see the figure on stage and in his element again.
Through the consistent output of his unique emotive bedroom
grunge, Alex G has become a cult figure in the eyes of his
listeners, and with tracks like Bobby and Kicker on display
tonight, it’s easy to see why. Newer songs like Gretel and Walk
Away also sound the part. In these moments, the band muscle
through the weird energy in the room and receive spirited
applause from the crowd.
Despite all this, nothing seems to truly hit home in the
way you’d expect it to. Some of the strange album breaks and
interludes make for a disjointed listen and the set never really
seems to find its flow. Maybe it’s because it’s the first night of
the tour, or perhaps the time and place just don’t click on this
particular occasion. Either way, you come away with a slight
sense of disconnect between those onstage and those in the
audience.
Although tonight’s show lacks that magic spark, you still
leave with a huge amount of respect for Alex G and his band;
it certainly won’t deter us from pulling our headphones on and
delving into his remarkable catalogue. You also can’t deny the
constant brilliance of the man as a songwriter and musician. For a
boundary-pushing artist of his stature to be selling out a UK tour
like this should not be overlooked, and in itself speaks volumes of
his artistic merit. Tonight, unfortunately, there is just something
amiss.
Alex G (Stuart Moulding / @OohShootstu)
Rhys Buchanan / @rhys_buchanan
Inhaler
+ FEET
EVOL @ O2 Academy – 12/02
With long hair and moustaches aplenty, FEET take to the stage like they’ve
walked straight out of the 1960s. Within seconds the five-piece are prancing
and dancing about, barely standing still throughout their half hour set. They’re
eye-catching and impressive, with their tunes living up to their on-stage energy.
With unconventionally blunt song titles such as English Weather, Dog Walking
and Petty Thieving, it’s clear that the band do not operate within your typical
flowery songwriting boundaries. This, nonetheless, is part of Feet’s appeal; quirky
and eccentric songs about the mundane that oscillate from the jangly heights of
Britpop to the head-banging indie-rock à la Shame and Fontaines D.C. Their songs
are certainly more vibrant and energetic than they are on record, which perhaps
undervalues their talent as a tight-knit, energetic live band. Their short set was
everything a support slot should be; compelling the crowd to take note and making it
almost irresistible to not join in on the fun.
If you have already heard of INHALER – tipped by the BBC as one of the
upcoming Sounds of 2020 – it is quite likely that you have heard that lead singer Eli
Hewson is the son of Paul Hewson, i.e. Bono. Whether you see this as a help or a
hindrance for a young band trying to make a name for themselves, it is inevitably a
talking point that catches people’s attention and curiosity. Questions are instantly
posed of the band; are they any good? Do they sound like U2? Are they better or
worse than his dad’s band? For now, with only a handful of songs released, it is
perhaps unfair to make a sweeping assessment on these questions. In response to
the family connection, Hewson (junior) has stated that it has only driven the band to
want to be better, to prove themselves and the reject the naysayers. They certainly
look the part as they brazenly swagger around stage – albeit with a lot less energy
and enthusiasm than their support.
From their first song, new single We Have To Move On, it becomes clear why
the Dublin four-piece have garnered a reputation and fan base that warrants
their Academy booking, despite no album yet to their name. The majority of their
songs are catchy indie-pop, full of big choruses that seem almost designed to be
sung in unison with an adoring crowd. Nevertheless, the Bono-shaped cloud that
hangs over the band comes more and more to the forefront as the gig continues.
The big choruses, the easy-going melodies and even Hewson’s vocal delivery and
mannerisms, distinctly mirror U2 and his dad. Ice Cream Sundae could very well
be With Or Without You, without the lyrical muscle. Similarly, My Honest Face is a
ringer for Beautiful Day – these, just two examples.
Inhaler are clearly a talented band with a knack for writing a great pop song. As
their 2020 tour schedule sees them playing their own gigs and festivals across the
globe, they undoubtedly seem to have the drive to succeed. Their songs, perhaps
unconsciously, seem written with a desire to be sung back to them in arenas and
stadiums in years to come. Nevertheless, with the weight of one of the world’s
biggest rock stars an inescapable shadow over the young band, for now, it is my
hope they are slightly more adventurous.
Conal Cunningham
Inhaler (John Johnson / @John.Jono)
REVIEWS
41

Isobel Campbell
Harvest Sun @ Philharmonic Music Room
It’s both surprising and endearing to witness ISOBEL
CAMPBELL’s unease as she segues from one beautiful track to
another. The Scottish folk singer could be considered an indie
icon, with 25 years’ experience collaborating and fronting some
of the most enduring projects from either side of the pond. Yet
she struggles to raise her head as she talks nervously about
tuning up and anxiously awaits her three-piece backing band to
ready themselves for the next number.
Once a track starts, though, it is clear why Campbell’s music
is so highly regarded. Whether it’s guitarist Andrew Pattie
picking the opening notes of Vultures or violinist Nina Violet’s
strains to ring in Seafaring Song, the solace and appreciation in
the Music Room is palpable. We are treated to a set which spans
the full scope of her career, but it’s the songs from this year’s
releases which feel like a realisation of self-confidence.
Another track from her 2020 output, National Bird Of India, is
exquisitely rendered tonight. The delicate harmonies, hushed
vocals and beatific melody are deservedly the centrepiece of a
recent eponymous EP release, and the packed auditorium tonight
greet it with requisite enthusiasm. From the same EP, the driving
psych of Tom Petty’s Runnin’ Down A Dream proves Campbell
has more than one gear, something she has done throughout her
career with the various projects she has lent her talents too.
When Campbell sits down with her cello, it’s a joy to pick up
every nuance of the frayed notes in the Music Room’s perfect
acoustics. The sparse instrumentation of each track, particularly
Mark Lanegan collaboration Saturday’s Gone and newie Rainbow,
is hungrily consumed by the seated devotees in the room.
It’s a comprehensive set, lasting well over an hour, and
a sweet note is ended on with Is It Wicked Not To Care. The
Belle and Sebastian number represents a good three or four
chapters earlier in Campbell’s career, but she pays it the respect
Isobel Campbell (Tomas Adam)
it deserves. And respect is something we aren’t short of here on
Myrtle Street tonight.
Gus Polinski
The Lathums
Arts Club – 12/02
The lights go down, the music fades, but the excited
murmurs of the crowd remain. It seems that nothing can
suppress the buzz as THE LATHUMS take to the stage.
Only forming around two years ago, the Wigan-based group
have sky-rocked to new heights of local indie-rock adoration.
Selling out tours, and perforating the radio waves, the group’s
music mixes the best qualities of predecessors such as The
Smiths and Dire Straits, all while adding a 21st-century twist.
The result is an engaging, electric sound that seems to have
attracted fans from all over. Even in the midst of dreaded storm
Ciara, different ages, accents and faces all make up the audience,
all awaiting the group’s set. But as mixed as the crowd may be,
as the night gets started, the array of people seems to come
together, united in their excitement for a band that have been
tipped for greatness.
The group kick off the night with Villainous Victorian, an ideal
opener to show off their infectious charm. An already ecstatic
crowd is launched into a frenzy from the riotous guitar riffs, as
frontman Alex Moore belts out the quick-witted lyrics to the
manic masses. It’s rare that vocals translate from record to live
performance as well as Moore’s do, but the young singer belts out
the notes with ease, doling out some of his cheeky charm to the
front of the crowd, the impressive backing remaining in groove.
As the set continues, what becomes particularly striking is
how equally matched the dedication between crowd and band is.
Few bands can truly connect people together through their music,
but it seems that The Lathums have no casual attenders in the
crowd tonight; each individual seems as obsessed with the band
as the next. An infectious “Up The Lathums” chant starts after the
track Fight On. Here, the band seem genuinely taken aback by the
audience’s word for word rendition, despite only releasing the song
two weeks earlier. From then on, the chant becomes an echo to
every song of the night, with the band, humble as ever, responding
to the adoration with grateful shouts of “Thank you”.
The group end the night in a blaze of glory with the track
Artificial Screams, reigniting the crowd to come together and
thrash about one last time. Becoming as frantic as the crowd,
the group seems as lost in their music as the audience, and seem
to leave everyone in the room with a genuine gratitude to have
experienced this night of outstanding music in such an intimate
venue. However, as grand as this feeling is, it’s one that won’t be
had for long. It seems that already The Lathums are outgrowing
their niche-indie status, and becoming something much bigger.
A phenomenon? Maybe. Indie icons? One day, if their trajectory
remains the same.
Lily Blakeney-Edwards
The Lathums (John Latham / @mrjohnlatham)
Swan Lake
Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet
@ Storyhouse – 30/01
One of the most iconic ballets graces the stage at
Storyhouse tonight as we welcome the young stars of the Saint
Petersburg Classic Ballet to Chester.
Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, SWAN LAKE – a ballet that was
originally snubbed by audiences when it first premiered in 1877
– continues to entertain with its timeless tale of love and loss. A
doomed princess and her maidens are put under a treacherous
spell by a sorcerer named Rothbart and damned to an eternity
living life in daylight as swans on a lake filled with their own tears.
Under the expert direction of Marina Medvetskaya, founder
of the Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet company and former prima
ballerina, it is no surprise that the performance is flawlessly
choreographed. The set, simple yet elegant, glows behind the
dancers, a small castle sitting atop a striking group of mountains.
In true celebration of the artform, a live orchestra complements
the performance, adding classical purity to this traditional
Russian staging and heralding the eventual dramatic conflicts.
From its opening sequence, we are introduced to our
protagonist. Perhaps the most pivotal sequence of the entire
performance, and one that young ballerinas worldwide dream
of undertaking, is the princess Odette/Odile lead role. The
room falls silent as the elegance of Odette, portrayed by Alina
Volobueva, sweeps across the stage. Not only is her presentation
stunning, with white feathers placed delicately on her crown,
but she carries a world of emotion in her eyes; the true sadness
of what has happened to her can be felt by the audience as her
fate is kept in the hands of her one true love, Prince Siegfried.
Her role as both black and white swan shows a high level of
dedication, true expressiveness. The acting is breath-taking.
The performance throughout is filled with a cast of other
light-hearted characters, such as the irresistibly amusing jester,
astounding us with his charm and perfectly-timed pirouettes.
Most intimidating, however, are the piercing white eyes and stark
make-up of Rothbart, which heightens the deviousness of his
character as he dominates the stage with terror.
As Swan Lake celebrates its 143rd anniversary this month,
the timeless piece still brings delight to new audiences around
the world with its glimmer of magic. The Saint Petersburg
Classic Ballet have brought their own innovative approach to a
much-loved tradition. Simple, yet powerful.
Brit Williams / @therealbritjean
REVIEWS
43

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ARTISTIC
LICENCE
This month’s selection of poetry is taken from visual artist nil00’s
work Gulf, a project which combines music and poetry with glitch
art extracted from Google Earth. Written as a longing love letter to
Iran amid escalating US tensions, the Scouse/Iranian artist riffs
on the heartbreak of homeland separation and the hollow stasis of
reconnection through satellite imagery.
Gulf is a heartbreak poem I wrote, longing for Iran one morning in January, a few days after the military strike that
spawned a wave of callous WWIII jokes.
I had plane tickets for Iran – I was supposed to go on 15th January and stay for two months. I decided to postpone
the trip because things have been so volatile.
The US has been meddling with Iran for decades – all the way back to the CIA’s 1953 coup d’etat, which toppled
democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh, and sparked a chain of events that ended with the 1979 revolution. When I
think about the political games they play with our sanity, our lives, it’s anger first, then raw grief. It’s the way the people making
these decisions have simply decided to put compassion aside. It’s a hollow, powerless feeling – a solitude that absorbs you in a
room full of people.
Missing Iran is visceral, too big a feeling to engage – it sinks beneath my consciousness and splits me into different sorts of
frenzy. I wrote this poem and created its adjoining video, of which screenshots are featured, because I needed it – I felt was really
starting to lose Iran.
Iranians have a tradition where we open a book of Hafez’s poetry at random, and interpret the verse that appears as advice
or commentary meant for us. We do this on special occasions. This winter solstice, Hafez told me “the trip you take to Shiraz is
enough – the trip you take in your mind is more important”.
To make the adjoining video for the poem, I visited all the places I wanted to go see in Shiraz this month, only via Google Earth.
The cursor speeding across continents that day was my aching heart, meandering among Shah-Cheragh’s dazzling lights and
Persepolis’ ruins.
Words and imagery: nil00
youtube.com/watch?v=H15HvuiDy5k
Gulf
Wake up scared
Something like loneliness
Crying with longing
Is this the beginning of exile
Will I see you again
It’s been such a long time since I felt you
Will I now cry for you every day
Will I speak your name with lowered eyes
What misplaced pity will I endure
What guilty eyes will flit about, all fleeing
I wake up in my lovers arms craving another darling scent
your dust in the morning
Rain on the way to school in Shiraz
Each time I kiss you goodbye is forever
I know you’ll be changed next time
Won’t feel your streetlights on my face
I’m afraid you won’t be shining when I see you again
The rumble of taxis and the grumbling people
Waking up to silence, longing for the salesman’s insufferable chattering
The air tenses, normality stretches and bends
My annoying darling cousins won’t
tag along
I won’t hear the new songs on car radios
The children will grow tall and serious without me to witness them
They WhatsApp me their homework
I don’t have time to do it
I am crying
I am crying
There are sights I had in mind
Will u still be mine
Will u still be mine
52

ARTISTIC LICENCE
53

SAY
THE FINAL
“Let’s start working
on relaunching news
on a grassroots level
and start to take notice
of democracy in our
neighbourhoods”
In December 2019, Britain’s longest-running community newspaper, Scottie Press, relaunched with editor
Joel Hansen at the helm. With the paper retaining a commitment to its hyperlocal focus on Vauxhall and
North Liverpool, Hansen argues for a greater engagement with community journalism as means of making
change from the ground up.
As we painfully get to grips with the results of
December’s general election, for many of us, the last
two months have left us fearing what’s to come from
the next four-year drag of Tory reign. Alongside the
lingering cynicism for the future, Labour supporters throughout
the country have been left stumped, questioning, ‘How did this
happen’?
There are a myriad of answers out there; people will tell
you it was down to Brexit, or it was the Labour Party fractiously
fighting against itself. They may be right. For me, one thing was
clearer than most; the billionaire-backed biased media turned
it up to 11 to ensure their Eton-educated boy became Prime
Minister.
As the editor of SCOTTIE PRESS newspaper based in North
Liverpool, my career as a journalist is just beginning. I took on
the role three years ago, aged 23, on a mission to save the
publication from going out of print. Even without formal training
as a journalist, my duty to be truthful, accountable and objective
is the most fundamental part of my job. And I didn’t need a
degree to know that either. It’s as simple as choosing to do right
or wrong, having integrity and also a conscience. I know this,
but today’s news climate now seems to have become devoid of
journalistic standards and humane morals.
It was no shock that the usual suspects reeled off the
expected nonsense in the lead up to the election, as the
tabloid media campaign to discredit Jeremy Corbyn became a
vindictive witch-hunt absent of fact. But what did concern me
was the coverage from BBC News, whose series of ‘mistakes’
conveniently seemed to endorse Boris Johnson, leaving serious
questions surrounding the neutrality and credibility of our
national broadcasting service.
So, what now? We are seemingly headed in a downward
spiral in to a post-truth world and areas across the country
are left feeling helpless to further government cuts. Unjust
policies and attacks on the freedom of the press lay on the
horizon. While Labour strongholds such as Liverpool become
marginalised, isolated and ever more powerless under the
serving government, the vital reforms needed for working-class
communities seem farther away than ever.
Although I think it’s important for everyone to engage
in political discussions, it can become easy to get caught up
in discourse that almost becomes a self-perpetuating echo
chamber full of self-assuring opinions and repeated statements.
We can’t change the outcome of the election but we can still
focus on what’s happening on our doorstep at a time when it
feels like we’ve lost control, have no voice and feel detached from
national politics and media.
As a democratic society, it isn’t just what’s happening on
a national stage, it’s in our city, it’s in our community and it’s in
our streets. Ensuring accountability through all elected roles is
democracy – that means local council positions and your ward
councilors.
The number of people I hear who engage themselves in
politics nationally but have no regard for their elected councils
is shocking. I see problems in communities and regularly voice
issues raised by residents in wards across North Liverpool that
could be mitigated through better communication, organisation
and accountability on a local level. Yet a feeling of apathy
towards local politics prevents any change from happening.
When faced with national political divisions, a distrust in
mainstream media and no real prospect of a political revolution
anytime soon, I see it as necessary for the resurgence of
grassroots media. Let’s take back control of the news in our
communities; this can be the first step in shaping media
platforms that people can trust, while also engaging the public in
local politics to create a more equal society from the ground up.
Trying to reduce issues that affect our day-to-day lives can
at least give us a glimpse at reforming systems locally through
knowledge, awareness and engaging content in the places
we live and the institutions that locally govern us. It can teach
us how a local government operates, helping people better
understand policies and bring accountability to all elected
officials.
Independent forms of media aren’t just starting to arise on a
regional level but also on the international stage, with access to
the internet alternative mediums are beginning to draw viewers
away from the mainstream as they offer a more relatable, reliable
and honest source of information. The online world has opened
up platforms that don’t have to conform to ideology forced on
them by big business; they allow people the freedom to talk
about what they want without having to be silenced on matters
that don’t support the agendas of the billionaires financing their
news organisation.
This is a new beginning for media and potentially a new
era for politics, so let’s start working on relaunching news on
a grassroots level and start to take notice of democracy in our
neighbourhoods. This could be the start of a paradigm shift the
creates a better world for us all. !
Words: Joel Hansen
scottiepress.org
54

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HEDDA
Starring David Hoyle
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by Jen Heyes
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