DIY, September 2014

DIY

free / issue 33 / September 2014

diymag.com

INTRODUCING THE

FIRST EVER+

WHERE? WHEN? WHO?

ALL THE DETAILS INSIDE!

A L T

CATS!

MILEY!

ILLUMINATI!

CRISP PACKETS!

GARY BARLOW?

“ SOME PEOPLE FEEL THE NEED TO PUT OUT AN

IMAGE, BUT WE DON’T CARE.”

- J

PLUS

ROYAL BLOOD

DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979

PERFUME GENIUS

PARAMORE

AND JAWS

REVIEWED

GERARD WAY

KAREN O

JAMIE T

+ MORE

1

TOUR 2014

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DIY

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WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR?

EDITOR’S LETTER

That’s it then. Festival season is pretty much done for another year, the nights are

coming in - it’s basically Christmas now. But a lack of sunshine and a nip in the air

aren’t a reason to be downhearted, dear reader. As we get to the end of 2014 the

big beasts start to move - prepping albums for this year or next.

Alt-J are back, being all weird about crisp packets and licking. Royal Blood are

storming the charts, levelling the opposition with a wave of white noise. Even

Death From Above 1979 are back. You can read about all three, and loads more, in

this month’s issue. Really, things are just getting interesting.

GOOD Finally we can

reveal the first DIY Presents

Tour in association with

PledgeMusic. Don’t tell,

but the final line-up for the

London leg is a bit special.

“

QUOTE

OF THE

MONTH

‘I’ve spent like

an hour on this.

Cherlock MUST

be published’

“

Stephen Ackroyd

EVIL The power going on

Paramore’s co-headline

Reading set was especially

cruel, but don’t be

downhearted. They turned it

around in style. What a band.

GOOD

VS

EVIL

WHAT’S ON THE DIY

TEAM’S RADAR?

Victoria Sinden

Deputy Editor

GOOD Balls.

EVIL I didn’t get to break out my

yellow wellies at Reading this year,

there wasn’t a puddle in sight. Tragic.

Sarah Jamieson

News Editor

GOOD After seeing Paramore at

Reading, all I want for Christmas is

blue hair.

EVIL I can’t believe festival season

is over for another whole year. I didn’t

even get a giant Yorkshire pudding…

Louise Mason

Art Director

GOOD Alt-J’s paintings during the cover

shoot. Shame we didn’t keep them.

EVIL ”Um, Jesse, could you maybe not

smoke right now, when I have 2 litres of

lighter fluid in my hand?” (See left)

Jamie Milton

Online Editor

GOOD Grimes is bringing back

cowboy hats and I’m down with that.

EVIL Forgetting to take my

Macklemore coat to Reading.

Emma Swann

Reviews Editor

GOOD The crowd at this year’s

Reading was the best I’ve witnessed

in a decade. So much love for so much

music.

EVIL There being SO MANY bands to

see, missing out on Royal Blood and

Chvrches’ sets!

LISTENING POST

What’s on the DIY stereo this month?

CHARLI XCX - SUCKER

The best pop star in the world today. There’s no

doubting that one on the strength of her new album.

WEEZER - EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IN

THE END

They’ve had more than their fair share of haters, but

this time, they’ve got the answers. Welcome back,

guys.

3

6

36

44

52

76

CONTENTS

NEWS

6 READING & LEEDS

16 D I Y P R E S E N T S T O U R

18 AVI BUFFALO

20 MARMOZETS

23 CHRISTOPHER OWENS

24 R A E M O R R I S

27 #STANDFORSOMETHING

NEU

28 VAULTS

30 YUMI ZOUMA

32 SAINT PEPSI

34 SHURA

FEATURES

36 ALT-J

44 D E A T H F R O M

ABOVE 1979

48 JAWS

52 PERFUME GENIUS

56 TRANSGRESSIVE

60 ROYAL BLOOD

REVIEWS

66 ALBUMS

76 LIVE

Editor Stephen Ackroyd

Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden

Reviews Editor Emma Swann

News Editor Sarah Jamieson

Art Director Louise Mason

Head Of Marketing & Events

Jack Clothier

Online Editor Jamie Milton

Assistant Online Editor El

Hunt

Contributors: Aurora Mitchell,

Bevis Man, Carolina Faruolo,

Dominique Sisley, Henry Boon,

Hugh Morris, Huw Oliver, Kyle

MacNeill, Matthew Davies, Nat

Davies, Nathan Roberts, Stuart

Knapman, Tom Connick, Tomas

Doyle, Tom Walters, Will Moss

Photographers Carolina

Faruolo, Mike Massaro, Phil

Smithies, Sarah Louise Bennett

For DIY editorial

info@diymag.com

For DIY sales

rupert@sonicdigital.co.uk

tel: +44 (0)20 76130555

For DIY online sales

lawrence@sonicdigital.co.uk

tel: +44 (0)20 76130555

DIY is published by Sonic

Media Group. All material

copyright (c). All rights reserved.

This publication may not be

reproduced or transmitted in any

form, in whole or in part, without

the express written permission of

DIY. 25p where sold.

Disclaimer: While every effort is

made to ensure the information

in this magazine is correct,

changes can occur which affect

the accuracy of copy, for which

Sonic Media Group holds no

responsibility. The opinions of the

contributors do not necessarily

bear a relation to those of DIY or

its staff and we disclaim liability

for those impressions. Distributed

nationally.

Cover photo by Mike Massaro

4 diymag.com

5

NEWS

reading

&leeds

2014

Two sites, hundreds of thousands

of people - Reading & Leeds may

mark the end of the summer, but

with a whole load of amazing

bands, 2014’s festival season is

going out in style.

Photos: Emma Swann and

Sarah Louise Bennett

Power out. Paramore conquer technical

gremlins in their co-headline slot.

Setlist

Still Into You

That’s What You Get

For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

Ignorance

Pressure

Decode

The Only Exception

Brick by Boring Brick

Misery Business

Let the Flames Begin

Part II

Proof

Ain’t It Fun

6 diymag.com

Paramore

reign victorious

It takes a certain strength to look a headlining

slot at Reading festival in the eye and keep on

marching forward to meet it. It takes a whole other

level of steely determination to be faced with

problems beyond your control, in the middle of

that set, and still come out smiling. For anyone in doubt that

Paramore weren’t the right band for the job, tonight’s show

is enough to silence them.

For the most part, their seventy five minutes on stage are

seamless and slick. Bounding across the stage like nobody’s

business, Hayley Williams is the insatiable ball of energy fans

have come to know and love. Her turquoise hair bouncing

as she skips from one side to the other, there’s no doubting

her abilities as a frontwoman, as a leader. From the popinfused

fun of ‘Still Into You’ to the prowling menace of

‘Ignorance’, her powers know no limit. They’re mesmerising

to watch on stage.

Then, the first wave of technical issues hit. What feels like

the entire PA cuts off halfway through their ‘Brand New

Eyes’ track, but nevertheless - and somewhat blissfully

unaware - the trio continue on unfazed. Coming back to life,

they get through two songs without issue, but as suddenly

as it returned, the power cuts out once more.

The next few minutes are undoubtedly a little confused

- with even festival organiser Melvin Benn appearing on

stage at one point - but as Williams gathers her bandmates

to sit on the corner of the stage together before deciding

to play ‘The Only Exception’ a cappella, they transform a

could-be disaster into an intimate moment that most bands

wouldn’t dare dream of.

Plugged back in and back to full speed, ‘Last Hope’ is

intoxicating, ‘Let The Flames Begin’

powerful and its newer extension

“Paramore were

‘Part II’ incendiary. With Williams,

great, and I think

the silent part made silhouetted against their wall of

the gig better.” Ellie lights, on her knees in the middle

Rowsell, Wolf Alice of her stage, her bandmates

slamming drums either side of her,

they summon a potent intensity.

With ‘Ain’t It Fun’ they dance around like no one’s watching.

If tonight was about winning Reading over, Paramore are

leaving victorious. (SJ)

“Confetti

is our

ammo!”

amazing that we’re playing with Queens

of the Stone Age,” enthuses Hayley

Williams, speaking ahead of Paramore’s

Reading headline set, “that’s pretty cool.

There are some pretty cool bands on this

bill, and I don’t actually think we fit, but

“It’s

that’s what I like. I like that we are not with

our typical sort of bands that we normally play with.”

Sandwiched in between Vampire Weekend and Queens, it’s

an eclectic mix that’s not lost on them. “It’s very nice,” adds

guitarist Taylor York. “It feels like our perception is starting to

change in people’s eyes, and that’s cool.”

Currently fresh from a massive US tour alongside Fall Out Boy,

the band are at the peak of their powers, with their biggest

production set up yet up their sleeves.

“We’ve brought a lot of stuff from Monumentour with us -

the production, the lighting,” explains bassist Jeremy Davis,

“which is bigger than we’ve ever had over here and that’s

cool.” “It’s my favourite production that we’ve ever had,”

Williams adds, before Davis continues: “It’s awesome. We’ve

got a lot of confetti… we have way too much confetti! The

people cleaning up are gonna be hating us, like ‘I’m never

working another Paramore show!”

“Confetti is our ammo!” laughs Williams. “That’s the mark

that we leave in every venue and every city. I know that a lot

of bands do it, but every tour, we just try to do it more.” “And

now we have so much more than we had on Monumentour!”

Davis laughs, “We’ve done more than double, almost triple,

for this show because there are so many people so I’m pretty

sure it’s going to be snowing.”

As for what they hope to achieve with their sets - apart from

a tough clean up job - their intentions simply lie in inviting

some new fans to join the family. “Hopefully it’ll be cool,”

concludes Williams, “because fans that have never seen

us, that are here to just watch bands or that are here

for another band in particular, will be surprised. I think

that’s my favourite thing about being in this band: we

hear a lot of people tell us that we’re better live than

we are on CD and that’s the biggest compliment

anyone could ever give us, because we work

so hard to make the show great. Hopefully

we’ll surprise some people and excite them and

expand the community and keep it going.” DIY

7

the big review

reading

&leeds2014

GERARD WAY

brings ‘Hesitant Alien’ to Reading & Leeds

emember the zombies from 28 Days Later? The massed

screaming horde, mad-eyed and thirsty for blood. We’re ten

R minutes from Gerard Way’s biggest live unveiling yet, and the

Reading 2014 crowd are doing a passable impression as they leg it

towards the second stage tent the former My Chemical Romance

frontman has chosen for his proper solo hello.

Sure, there’s been that industry shindig Stateside, and a tiny warm

up in Portsmouth earlier this week, but Reading is an altogether

bigger beast. Thousands of people who aren’t only here for the one

set, with two songs they’ll maybe know, and an album full of Britpop

influences from before many of them were born - there’s no doubt

that this is the big roll of the dice.

But then this is Gerard bloody Way. He’s dodged the bottles of piss

before on the way to triumphantly headlining the Main Stage. He’s

one of Reading’s own. This may be a bear pit, but it’s one full of his

people; acolytes who fought the tabloids on the bloodied beaches

of emo. The screams say it all. There’s no way this is going badly.

“There’s so many of you here. I fucking love you,” he beams. It’s a

set filled with impassioned statements. Opening with ‘Bureau’, a

good portion of his debut solo album gets an airing. Ending with a

dial-tone to ‘Action Cat’, those two singles that have broken cover

(the other, ‘No Shows’ comes later) show that eventually Gerard

Way live will do everything his former charges achieved and more.

“I appreciate these are a bunch of songs you’ve never heard before,”

he sympathises. As it is, even without the familiarity, he can still mix

it.

‘Zero Zero’ has hairs on its chest already. ‘Millions’ sounds positively

anthemic. ‘Drugstore Perfume’ and ‘Get The Gang Together’ show

exactly what Way meant when he was name checking mid-90s

British guitar pop. Finishing with a cover of The Jesus and Mary

Chain’s ‘Snakedriver’, it’s hard to imagine Gerard and his ‘Hesitant

Alien’ won’t be spending more than a little time this side of the

pond. “I’m never going to forget this,” he admits. “We’re going to be

here a lot, so we’ll be seeing you plenty more.” (SA)

Setlist

Bureau

Action Cat

Zero Zero

Millions

Juarez

Drugstore Perfume

Get The Gang Together

No Shows

Snakedriver

8 diymag.com

Vampire Weekend ease

themselves into the

sunset slot

Running through the best parts of

their three records, it’s immediately

clear that despite the gems Vampire

Weekend fledge, they’re not quite

ready to make the step up to

headliners. It probably wasn’t on their

agenda anyway. The truth is, Ezra

and co. are best off this way. They

make delicate pop tracks suspect to a

sudden gust of wind - nighttime sets

can wait for another day. (JM)

JAMIE T finds his rhythm again

Five years out of the spotlight and the poor bastard could’ve been accused of

being a little bit rusty, and there’s a slight ounce of trepidation when Jamie T

takes to the Festival Republic stage and bit-by-bit asserts himself. For a guy

that’s just announced two nights at Ally Pally, this was always going to be oversubscribed,

but as he kicks off with an oldie and the drifting ‘Don’t You Find’,

things are at risk of not quite kicking off into full gear.

That’s quickly seen to. From new album ‘Carry On The Grudge’, it’s only his

sweeping return track and the more raucous ‘Zombie’ that make an entrance.

The rest is devoted to huge singalongs, reminders that here exists a genuine

star that’s chosen to shun the forefront for some time. ‘Sticks and Stones’ - the

set’s closer - cements the fact, and Reading’s going to be hard-pressed to find a

bigger unifying chant than the Stella-swigging ‘Sheila’.

Anyone willing enough to force themselves into this packed-out under-billing

witnesses a giant in the making. His return isn’t just down to a load of chatter -

from oldies to forthcoming new numbers, there’s something spectacular up his

sleeve, and the swagger in this returning gambit of a set confirms it. (JM)

Queens of the

Stone Age graduate to the top of the bill

here are the new festival

headliners, you’ll hear them

W cry. But headliners of major

summer blockbusters like Reading &

Leeds aren’t created in five minutes

- they’re grown over time. Biffy Clyro

knew it when they were called up to

top the bill, but if any band has done

their time on the climb to the summit,

it’s Queens of the Stone Age.

After all, they have the hits, but they’ve

been no overnight success story. ‘No

One Knows’ is hardly a wallflower.

‘Smooth Sailing’ is positively pesky in

its demands for attention. As a onetwo,

‘Feel Good Hit of the Summer’

and ‘The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret’

are peerless. They’ve brought lasers

too, just to make sure it definitely looks

like a bill topping set. But that isn’t it.

QOTSA have a gear - a groove - that’s

made for Reading.

Once they hit it, there’s a quality that’s

been long muscling its way to the

highest of highs. Josh Homme knows

what it takes to play Reading Festival.

He’s been here with Queens before.

He’s brought other bands too - notably

supergroup Them Crooked Vultures

a few years back. The top of the tree

isn’t a gamble here, it’s a graduation.

In Homme’s own words, “the first time

we played here was at 1 o’clock. Now

it’s 10 o’clock. That means we’re nine

hours better.” You can’t argue with that

logic. (SA)

9

the big review

reading

&leeds2014

ARCTIC

MONKEYS

close in style

W

hen is a band more than a band?

A lot of people are here to see

Arctic Monkeys. More so than

most headliners, even. Before the band even

take the stage, over-excited fans are being

dragged out of the pit. Yes, picking British

indie’s biggest band to headline one of its

biggest festivals is hardly rocket science, but

regardless, this is an event.

It shouldn’t be any shock. With ‘AM’ Arctic

Monkeys managed to go from the top

division to the world series. This, in theory, is

the end of their touring of the record. A two

night last stand before heading off for who

knows what: they’re going in style.

‘Do I Wanna Know?’, ‘Brianstorm’, ‘Dancing

Shoes’ - across their five albums Arctic

Monkeys have built up a set of material that’s

equally smart and robust. Though the sound

from the Main Stage might not be perfect,

with a crowd firing back every word it’s

hardly an issue. Flares pepper the masses, the

feeling that it matters little what the band on

stage does hangs in the air.

Thankfully, unlike many at the end of an

album campaign, Alex Turner and co. aren’t

phoning it in. Arctic Monkeys are

huge. They’ll stay huge. Some

things are just meant to be. (SA)

Gnarwolves cause carnage with

opening set

It’s been twelve months since Gnarwolves

packed out the Lock Up tent before midday. This

year, they’ve got a bigger challenge: opening the

Main Stage. Marking their second performance

at the weekender, you’d think they’d be boasting

nerves, but instead, those seem replaced with

glee. Muttering into his microphone, “this is

madness,” before kicking headfirst into their

opening track, guitarist Thom Weeks spends

most of his introduction laughing in disbelief.

Their time on stage is a celebration: a powerful

moment for a band who have more than put the

time in and toured the toilet circuit. Today may

have been a surreal part of the trio’s journey so

far, but there’s no doubting that it was one of the

most deserved. (SJ)

Alex Turner expectantly

awaits a shoe shine.

Peace play the Main Stage

in style

If you’re going to do the Main

Stage, you may as well do it

with flair. Harry Koisser has

come dressed for the occasion,

donning an all in one houndstooth

ensemble, holographic glasses and

a furry coat. Next year, everyone

will be wearing this.

They’ll probably have a second

Peace album too. There are hints

at it throughout the band’s set

- tracks we’ve already heard like

‘Money’, ‘Lost On Me’ and ‘World

Pleasure’ sit alongside the heart

of their 2013 debut. ‘California

Daze’ remains a woozy, summer

standout that could maybe have

done with a bit more sun in the

sky. There’s always one way round

that one, though. ”We’ll be back

soon, maybe it

will be night,”

Harry offers

before closer

‘Bloodshake’.

Stranger

things have

happened.

(SA)

10 diymag.com

Warpaint get

jammy

Warpaint make

music that is

echoey and

insular, woven out

of misted vocals

skating over the

top of vapoury lines of melody. It’s

music for losing yourself to completely.

Playing in the wide, cavernous expanse

of the ginormous BBC Radio 1 / NME

Stage, it’s hard to get lost in all the

unfilled space. Still, in a more jammy

sounding set ‘Disco/Very’ still sounds

intriguing, if a little less minimal and

more muddied. ‘Undertow’ is more

propulsive and almost as irresistible,

bathed in a litmus wash of blue and

red. ‘Love Is To Die’ skates along with a

leisurely groove and sizzles. Nothing,

though, ever seems to ignite and burst

into flames. Today, the tent just wasn’t

right for them. (EH)

MØ takes the Dance Stage to

another level

The Dance Stage is home to more

than just womping bass-lines and

breakneck beats. Pass by at any given

moment across the weekend and

there’ll either be a ‘Bound 2’ remix

flying out from beyond the pegs or

some kind of ‘banger’ worthy of raised

arms and all-out hedonism. Sometimes

the spot’s reserved for a pop act, or

someone from an alternative crowd

worthy of testing their music in a

Moving up

the ranks

Last year Chvrches

played on the

Festival Republic

stage, a special

moment for them.

Returning this year

to play near the top

of the BBC Radio 1

/ NME Stage’s bill

is another, says the

band’s Iain Cook.

“It’s not usual that

you get asked

to play the same

festival twice in

succession, so we

were delighted

to be asked back.

Tonight’s slot feels

like a really nice

progression.” DIY

different environment. Two years ago

it was Grimes’ time, and her absolutely

insanity-filled set seemed to be a

defining moment. Stepping up today,

MØ is ready to rise to the challenge. The

Grimes comparison stops there - Karen

Marie Ørsted projects a more primal,

beat-centric routine. A Spice Girls

cover’s thrown in for good measure,

and by the end of her Reading & Leeds

debut she’s adored by a flock of sweaty

- often topless - punters hunched on

each other’s shoulders. (JM)

Drenge play dress up

There’s a drummer with long hair, a sort

of dirty blonde frontman wrestling his

guitar. It’s at Reading festival. They’re

both wearing dresses. Can we all see

where this one may be heading?

At some point over the past year or

so, Drenge levelled up. They got

louder; tighter too. They already

excelled in the live arena, but all of

a sudden here stands an absolute

beast of a band. A couple of

months back they took on

Glastonbury and, from the

crowd stood in the tent to

those watching on the telly,

blew the roof off. At Reading,

they go up a gear again.

Maybe even two. Technical

difficulties may delay them,

but once they get going it

quickly becomes obvious

something amazing

is afoot. Everything is

coming up Loveless. (SA)

Chvrches cement

themselves as the real deal

A dazzling light show attacks from

all sides. The giant ‘The Bones of

What You Believe’ logo beams

forwards, glittering next to an

orange glow of a sunset that creeps

through into the BBC Radio 1 / NME

Stage. “All of our songs are dark,

lyrically, but sonically they’re always

up,” jokes Chvrches singer Lauren

Mayberry before introducing the

goosebump-inducing ‘Tether’,

and in a way she’s pointing out

that things shouldn’t be nearly as

euphoric as they are. But something

clicks. These dark, tense synth pop

songs from their debut take on such

a deft balancing act. At festivals, all

of a sudden, they sound like actual

anthems. The kind Ibiza might fall

heads over heels in love with, not

just adoring hardcore fans that fill

the tent tonight. Chvrches have

gone from a near-guaranteed

success to the real deal. (JM)

Pi-nipples.

11

the big review

reading

&leeds2014

THE

HORRORS

put Reading 2014

into a trance

B

efore their set, Faris Badwan

from The Horrors tells DIY

they’re better suited to tents

these days. “We can control the lights

that way,” he explains, and while it

sounds fussy at the time, it makes

perfect sense after they’ve finished

their biggest slot at Reading & Leeds

so far. Lasers and a dazzling light

show can’t do all the talking, but

they enhance the band’s to-and-fro

between krautrock, electronica and

all-out rock’n’roll to such an extreme

it’s like witnessing a completely

different band to one ending up

on outdoor stages. It’s just a bit of

pyrotechnics, but it goes a long

stretch. The Horrors have a way of

going about things that suggests

they’re in no rush. They take a

couple of years between albums,

and songs often linger beyond the

five minute mark. But there’s an

urgency here. A strange sense of

euphoria. Everything comes to life

in this environment: it’s perfect for

them. (JM)

BACK IN THE DAY

Faris recounts his first

experience of arriving at

Reading & Leeds as a punter.

“The first time I came, I arrived

without a ticket. They weren’t

so strict with the wristbands thing.

There were loads of good bands when

I first came: the Fiery Furnaces, Secret

Machines.” DIY

Disclosure live up to billing

with late night set

isclosure have gained such

a reputation of bringing on

D special guests at their shows

that it’s almost a guarantee for Aluna

Francis, Sam Smith et al. to join them on

stage. For once, on one of the biggest

sets of their career so far, they stick to

their own guns. And it works. Kicking off

with ‘F For You’, the duo launch straight

into ‘When A Fire Starts To Burn’. They

promise to “get the party started”

before ‘Grab Her!’, but by this point

the deal’s already done. ‘Stimulation’

backs up the rhythmic, house-nodding

routine, and bigger hits are scattered

throughout the set. Eventually they

hit their top stride, ‘Latch’ becoming a

defining moment of the weekend - but

they’ve eased towards it, lighting a

match exactly when it’s required. The

BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage couldn’t ask for

a finer closing set. (JM)

Howard from Disclosure can’t find

the drop. Where’s it gone?

12 diymag.com

I

ROYAL

BLOOD

come out of the black

n case of emergencies, against all logic, Royal Blood could probably make a stab

at headlining Reading Festival right now. Today. This instant. If an Arctic Monkey

stubs his toe, if Blink-182 decide actually, we’re alright, we’ve had enough - Royal

Blood could step up and not embarrass themselves.

Yes, their debut album isn’t out yet. Really this packed BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage

should only know a few singles, and yet here they are going absolutely mental for

every hundred mile high riff, singing back every word. The band say little, which

in itself says a lot. ‘Come On Over’, ‘Figure It Out’, ‘Little Monster’ and ‘Out of the

Black’ all sound massive. ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’ is even bigger. The circle pits rage so

fierce that, by the end of their set, you’d expect to find something approaching the

grand canyon sitting front and centre of the stage.

In just over a week, Royal Blood will be a much, much bigger band. On Monday,

they release their debut album. Seven days later, there’s every chance they’ll be

sitting near the top of the charts. These are all things we can measure - dates, sales

figures, near statistical certainties. And yet that’s not what it’s all about. This is: tens

of thousands of people going absolutely off the chain for a British rock band. And

what a band they are. (SA)

Wolf Alice and Metronomy arrive in

the same outfit. Awkward.

“We were really

scared, we played

right after Royal

Blood. Royal Blood

are the band. We

could hear people

screaming from our

dressing room. I

could hear everyone

while I was warming

up; I was singing

and I could still

hear them. I was

crapping myself! It

was cool though,

it was great.” Mike

Duce, Lower Than

Atlantis

Metronomy reminisce

“I really love

Reading,” says

Metronomy’s Joe

Mount backstage. “The one

that really sticks out [for

me] was when Prodigy and

Beastie Boys were headlining

[in 1998] and there was a big

kerfuffle about ‘Smack My

Bitch Up’. Like, Beastie Boys

said it was irresponsible…

Anyway, Supergrass were

playing. I remember sitting

and drinking cider,

watching Supergrass.

It was perfect.”

Wolf Alice live up

to the occasion

It’s not exactly a back catalogue they

possess, given the time Wolf Alice have

been around, but on their Reading &

Leeds debut they handpick brilliantly

between the (relatively) old and

the refreshingly new. All signs point

forward, too - it’s in the previously

unheard material that they cement

themselves as a fixture of this festival.

No doubt about it - this will be the

first of many appearances, and they’ll

only become bigger occasions along

the way. As it stands, the London fourpiece

still treat their mid-afternoon

set like it’s the biggest of their lives,

and despite Glasto triumphs and

a memory-etching UK tour with

Superfood and Gengahr, it probably

is. There’s no stopping this band, and

even if they continue to treat moments

like these like the finest of their careers,

they’ll be met head first by something

even more incredible. (JM)

Fun times

Joel, Ellie and

Theo spent the

first day of the

festival soaking in

the atmosphere.

“It’s good to see

it happening.

You realise that

if you look like

you’re having fun,

everyone else will

have fun too,”

says Ellie. DIY

You Me At Six pop up on the

Introducing Stage

“It’s nice to be back,” offers You Me At

Six guitarist Max Helyer, ahead of their

set on Reading’s Main Stage. “And,

you know, we might be darting about

on some other stages. Who knows?! It

should be good!” DIY

13

the big review

reading

&leeds2014

PRIDES’

road to Reading

F

rom announcing their first ever

headline tour to performing live

at the Commonwealth Games

Closing Ceremony, now is undoubtedly

a fun time to be in Prides. Returning

to the BBC Introducing stage, this year

they’ve not only moved up the Reading

& Leeds bill: they’re headlining it.

“It is a bit surreal,” starts frontman

Stewart Brock. “It seems like no time

at all since we were here last year. That

was really early on for us; we’d only had

the one song out, it was the first time

we had played outside of Scotland. So,

to come back a year later and headline

it is really weird. It’s very odd, but we’re

obviously very flattered to be asked!”

“I was thinking about it today,” joins

in drummer Lewis Gardner, “and I was

thinking about the songs that we play

in the set now that we didn’t even have

then. I thought, ‘Oh wow, we must’ve

played a really crap set last year!’”

“It is quite a nice way to mark it,” laughs

Stewart, “it’s a bit of an anniversary.”

With their set at the weekender

coming to a close just as the evening’s

headliners walk onstage, their

appearance also marks the second

time that they’ve played ahead of

Blink-182. Except last time, just a

few weeks ago, they were in Brixton

Academy, London.

“I don’t know, I don’t think it has,”

offers Stewart, on whether opening

for their teenage heroes has sunk in

yet. “Everything has been so busy over

the last couple of weeks, but it was

one of those shows that just landed

right in the middle of loads of stuff

happening...”

“I feel a bit like there was two gigs

on!” laughs Lewis. “That we did a gig,

and then Blink did a gig and it just

happened to be at the same place.”

“It was weird,” Stewart agrees, as

guitarist Callum Wiseman nods in

agreement, “but obviously it was

amazing as we’re all massive fans

of Blink, so it was awesome to be

anywhere near that line-up.”

The exciting stuff just keeps coming.

With 2014 now on its way out, the

band are already looking ahead

to their headline dates. “I am

actually really excited about

the headline Glasgow show,”

concludes Stewart. “I think

that’s another milestone for us,

especially coming to the end of

the year. By that time we’ll have

the album finished and ready

to go, we’ll have another couple

of singles out, so to end the year

on a high of a sold out hometown

show is gonna be amazing.” (SJ)

BLINK-

182

bring Reading 2014 to a close

F

or most attendees this weekend,

Blink-182 are here to conjure

up nostalgia. The trio’s music

perfectly epitomises youth, and therein

lies their power.

Having already played two intimate

warm up shows at London’s Brixton

Academy, they gave fans a taste of what

could be to come from their headlining

stints. As it turns out, they sold

themselves short. They’re no longer

the kind of band who can operate on

just a plug-in-and-play basis: they need

to be headlining arenas, stadiums and

festivals.

Tonight, there’s an unrelenting energy

from the word go: never have you

witnessed a happier crowd. Voices are

raised, everyone sings along with each

and every word.

There, of course, are the hits. Every

song that once soundtracked a

teenager’s summer day is thrown into

the mix. There are the new songs,

too, and they’re received just as well.

Tonight is a team game, with the band

and crowd aligned and while, yeah,

maybe it’s time for the

trio to hang up the

‘…your mom’ jokes,

they’ve still not

lost their charm. At

least, that’s what the

60,000-strong crowd

tonight would have

you believe, and

that’s no mean

feat. (SJ)

14 diymag.com

15

NEWS

flyte

DIY Presents

goes on the road with a UK Tour and London

all-dayer, in association with PledgeMusic

Flyte and Shy Nature are heading up an exciting run of shows.

This October, DIY’s going on the road with two of

the country’s best new bands. Headliners Flyte and

special guests Shy Nature are joining forces for a run

of six free entry shows on the DIY Presents Tour 2014,

in association with PledgeMusic.

For Flyte’s frontman Will Taylor, this tour offers a huge

opportunity for the four-piece to make a big next step. “It’s

our first as headliners. And it’s going to coincide very nicely

with the release of our EP,” he says, with the band’s only single

to date being the sweet, head-turning ‘We Are The Rain’.

“It really helps doing support tours, but you don’t want to do

that forever. We did the MS MR one at the end of last year, then

we did the Bombay Bicycle Club dates,” he explains. “Even on

the Bombay tour, it feels like you’re 70% doing a tour, because

it’s not yours. No matter what the nature of the venues are,

what the towns are, it’s your tour. You’re doing it - it’s 100%,

there you go. It’s very cool to be able to do it with DIY as well,

it’s wicked.”

Bassist / vocalist Nick Hill stresses that Flyte “learnt so much”

from support slots, but now they’re ready to go one further.

“Technically there was a lot for us to steal from Bombay.

Physically, too!” jokes Taylor. “We really got a lot out of it,

thinking ‘Well I would do this, but I would do that differently’

- I can’t wait for our band to be like that. It’s about feeling like

you’ve got a pact with the people out there. And no-one else

is getting in on it. They’re your people and you feel safe on

stage when they’re in the audience. ‘We’re alone together -

finally’. I want to have that feeling every night. Bring it on.”

That’s not all though. Once they’ve toured the country, both

bands are arriving back in London to join the bill of a special

DIY Presents in association with PledgeMusic all-day party

at The Laundry on 1st November, where they’ll be

joined by Telegram, Menace Beach, Blessa

and a whole load more amazing bands still

to be revealed. More than just a show, we’ll

be bringing all kinds of freebies, extras

and surprises down on the day, as well as

reporting live on diymag.com. A few early

16 diymag.com

Flyte

with special guests

Shy Nature

October

22 Bristol Start The Bus

23 Reading Oakford Social Club

24 Bournemouth Sixty Million Postcards

29 Leeds Nation of Shopkeepers

30 Nottingham Spanky Van Dykes

31 Banbury Also Known As

.............................................................

WHAT’S COOKING?

PULLED APART

BY HORSES

DIY Presents

London All-Dayer

in association with PledgeMusic

The Laundry, London

1st November

With

Telegram

Flyte

Shy Nature

Blessa

Menace Beach

Tickets on sale now:

pledgemusic.com/diy

bird tickets are on sale now for the reduced price of £10 - once

they’re gone it’ll be £15. For more details and a full rundown

on the tour, head to diymag.com/diypresents2014. DIY

Do you want to play?

Every night on the DIY Presents tour (including the

London all-dayer), DIY’s picking an exciting new talent

to join Shy Nature and Flyte on the road thanks to

Bandwagon. If you’re in a band, it could be you.

Interested? All the details can be found on

diymag.com/diypresents2014.

shy nature

The Leeds-based quartet reveal the recipe behind

their brand new album, ‘Blood’.

‘100%’ BY SONIC YOUTH

James Brown: “I was listening to that a lot when I started

trying to write some riffs and make some noises. It turns out

that was quite a big influence on some of my guitar playing;

that particular track.”

WHISKEY

Tom Hudson: “One of the days that we were recording, it was

my birthday and I got a bottle of nice whiskey for it. I finished

it, did a few takes and listened back - it was pretty bad...”

CABIN FEVER

Tom: “Normally the longest that we spend recording an

album is about two weeks, or just over, but this time we had

a month and a half. Towards the end of it, we all had in-jokes

that weren’t even in-jokes. We were just saying random stuff. “

Rob Lee: “It got really weird at the end of each day.”

FRIED CHICKEN

James: “Fried chicken played a large part in keeping us full of

energy. Quite literally!”

COFFEE

James: “At Greenmount Studio, they had this amazing coffee

machine, and I remember the first time we had a coffee there,

that was it. We were hooked!”

AMPS

Tom: “There was a lot of amps in the mix, a lot of guitar

amplifiers. There was a lot of feedback and noise.”

Rob: “James smashed a lightbulb and that’s actually on there

as well. He got carried away and just smashed it.”

Pulled Apart By Horses’ new album ‘Blood’ is out now

via Sony Red. They headline Southsea Fest on 20th

September. DIY

17

NEWS

Grab It By

The Horns

Avi Buffalo’s Avi Zahner-Isenberg is

casting off his teenage years, but that

doesn’t mean he’s all grown up. Words: El

Hunt.

Avi Buffalo’s self-titled first album was one

of 2010’s most promising debuts. Wistfully

romantic and packed with lusty, pent-up

frustration in equal measures, Long

Beach-based musician Avi Zahner-Isenberg was still a

young upstart fresh out of high school when he wrote

‘Avi Buffalo’. Four years on, and ‘At Best Cuckold’, the

long-awaited follow-up, might smell less of aerosol

deodorant and locker rooms, but there’s still the same

wide-eyed loved-up innocence right at its core.

It was a relief, agrees Avi with a muffled “mmhmm”, to

break free from the ‘straight out of school’ narrative

that dominated excitement around his debut. “I had a

lot of time between [‘Avi Buffalo’] and this album,” he

adds, while wrestling with various tiny sachets on his

sushi tray. “Time to have other real life experiences and

enjoy them, but still be in a really intense young-feeling

learning-all-the-time mode, you know?”

Having four years to take his time, says Avi, was hugely

important. “For my early stuff, I did everything at home

with cheap microphones, and I got a really personal

sound out of it,” he says. This time he wanted to expand

on that – “to mix it with high fidelity. But I tried to

keep it really minimal on this record, I didn’t want to

overwhelm the really basic good tape audio. This [time]

I really got the time to experiment with sounds on

my own, any hour of the day, by myself or with other

people; that was really really fun to do”

Avi Buffalo has always been full of stories, namely

stories about women that Avi has been romantically

involved with. “You just get involved with people,”

shrugs Avi while sipping from a mug bearing Paul

McCartney’s face. “You get emotionally connected to

them and then you think about them and write about

it.” While the first album seemed sort of angry, flustered

and pent up, like an espionaging semi, the second

album, says Avi, isn’t as pissed off. “I’m not angry,” Avi

says, “just sexually frustrated.”

Avi Buffalo’s new album ‘At Best Cuckold’ will be

released on 8th September via Sub Pop. DIY

“I’M NOT

ANGRY, JUST

SEXUALLY

FRUSTRATED.”

18 diymag.com

“If I didn’t have music,

I don’t know

what I’d do.”

Craig Nicholls has had his fair share of ups and downs, but now

The Vines are back with a new album. Words: Dominique Sisley.

It’s 2014, and The Vines are about to

enter their 20th year of existence. For

the majority of bands, that sort

of achievement would be fairly

impressive. For The Vines however, that

sort of timescale is jaw dropping. Their

two turbulent decades of ever changing

band members, police arrests and stage

storm-offs have been well documented: it’s

a miracle they’re still standing. Well - Craig

Nicholls is, anyway. “It’s pretty mad,” the

frontman muses in singsong Australian, “I

kind of feel like I did when I was 19, or in

my early 20s. It’s the same things that are

important to me. I just want to record and

write and then play some gigs now that

we’ve got some new songs.”

“Deep down, you know,

I’m just following my

instincts.” Craig Nicholls

Because they do have new songs, as it

happens. The Vines have returned this year

with ‘Wicked Nature’ - an independently

released double album that sees Nicholls

take the helm as producer. “I’ve always

been very involved... I co-produced the

first [album], second album and the third

one,” he remembers, “but definitely

more so with this one.” The lineup has

changed almost completely, too. Since the

band’s last release in 2011, Ryan Griffiths,

Brad Heald and Hamish Rosser have all

departed. When asked why, Craig remains

cagey - “It’s not the most comfortable

thing [to talk about],” he mumbles, “it’s just

a shame that it didn’t work out.”

It’s unlikely that The Vines will be doing

a massive world tour for ‘Wicked Nature’

– though it’s not necessarily being ruled

out. At the moment, the main priority for

Nicholls is to be somewhere where he can

keep writing and keep creating. “It’s so

much [a therapy for me]. If I didn’t have

the band or if I didn’t have music I don’t

know what I’d do... it’s really been the

thing that’s saved me.” His voice takes a

more urgent tone – “I cannot overstate

the importance of it. I always thought that

all these songs come from isolation and

desperation. There’s stuff which is like,

screaming, and then there’s nice

ballads,” he laughs again. “But

that’s kind of what I’m like, I

guess. Very extreme.”

Read the full interview

on diymag.com. The

Vines’ new album

‘Wicked Nature’ is

out now via Wicked

Nature Music. DIY

A Famy

Affair

The wait is over:

FAMY’s debut album

is here.

F

AMY

released

their

debut single

in 2011: now, three years

on and with ‘Dogg Dogg’ a

distant memory, the band

are finally in prime position

to reveal their first fulllength,

and they couldn’t

be more excited. “We’re

looking forward to getting it

out there!” laughs frontman

Bruce Yates. “We’ve been

waiting a really long time.

We made the album a couple

of summers ago, [the delay]

wasn’t the creative process:

everything around it just

took a while to fall into

place.”

With ‘We Fam Econo’ now

finally prepped and ready,

they’re in fine shape for its

release. Calling it an “honest”

album, Bruce hopes that it’ll

allow them to make their

own mark. “I guess everyone

our age grew up listening

to The Strokes, but there’s

an odd aesthetic spin on

the guitar music that we’re

doing.”

FAMY’s debut album

‘We Fam Econo’ will be

released on 8th September

via Transgressive Records.

DIY

19

NEWS

Marmozets’ chicken

impersonations need

improving

All Things

Weird&

Wonderful

As their debut album rolls around, Marmozets are stepping up a notch.

Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photo: Phil Smithies

When Marmozets kicked and screamed their way

into the limelight, tearing their way through

the British rock scene a handful of years ago,

they had an average age of just sixteen and

were met with wide-eyed awe. Their sets were carnage,

their energy was unharnessed and the focal point of it all,

frontwoman Becca MacIntyre’s vocals were ferocious. Three

years on, the two sets of siblings – MacIntyre is joined by her

two brothers Sam and Josh, alongside Jack and Will Bottomley

– may be a little bit older, but they’re that much wiser too.

“It’s out there for life…” begins Becca, during downtime on

their most recent video shoot. The five-piece thought it right

to take their time, perfecting their debut ‘The Weird And

Wonderful Marmozets’, rather than rushing out a release that

wouldn’t fully do them justice. “It’s our baby,” she continues.

“Sometimes you over think things, but I’m glad we took our

time with it.”

They’re also a band with a vision. “Half of the process has

been because of the artwork and getting that right,” she

explains, “and then the name, and all these other things. The

whole mixing process was an absolute shambles: we had to

go through quite a few different people until we were happy.

That’s why it’s been such a long wait. People probably think

we’re just really slow writers, but no, we had the album there. It

was just a matter of getting it perfect.”

“Every little thing that we do has to be to the best of our

ability,” adds guitarist Sam, before his sister concludes. “That’s

what we work hard for.”

And have no doubt: this quintet are not your typical heavy

band. Whilst maintaining that energy and aggression they’ve

perfected, the MacIntyre siblings don’t want to channel that

anger into their lyrics too. “I think,” Becca offers, “especially

on this album, with the lyrics that me and Sam write, they’re

quite positive. We like to be quite positive and then, because

there’s a lot of aggressiveness, it’s almost like trying to get a

point across and getting people to just listen, to believe we’ve

written good things and maybe to help people.

“It’s one of those things, when someone listens to a song, or

sees something that they like, they put inside of them. They

make it a part of their own journey in life, and I hope people

can relate to it. This is our first album and we want it to be

right, we want to feel good! We feel so good about the album

and we just want to get it out there now.”

Marmozets’ new album ‘The Weird And Wonderful

Marmozets’ will be released on 29th September via

Roadrunner Records. DIY

20 diymag.com

When ATP’s Jabberwocky was

cancelled last month, the London

music scene got together to give

it a silver lining. Words: El Hunt.

Photos: Emma Swann.

ondon, for all its

funny social etiquette

L regarding eye contact

on tubes and talking to

strangers, has a brilliant

knack for pulling together

at the crucial moment. In

2012, when BLOC shut down

suddenly, the promoters of

London banded together

to put on artists from the

festival across the capital

anyway. Last month, ATP’s

Jabberwocky was due to go

ahead at the ExCel centre, but

was cancelled with just three

days notice. In true spirit,

the city worked its magic

once again. What became

known as the Jabberwocky

Fallout was born, and

impromptu gigs popped up

across London to turn the

debris into something else

all together. Oh frabjous day

indeed. At DIY’s last minute

bonanza at 100 Club, the

homemade signs expressing

disdain towards Jabberwocky

are the only remnants of the

almighty mess that led to

tonight’s dreamy line-up.

O

Frabjous

Day

Hookworms kick it all off in strange

and completely hypnotic style. MJ has

the presence of a length of cheese

wire inches away from being hurled

catastrophically into an engine pit

of cogs, slapping his microphone

away like a mosquito, and erupting

into screams that become part of the

psychedelic wall pummelling the room.

Live, Hookworms teeter between

being brutal, menacing and, strangely

soothing. “This is nicer than ExCel,”

declares MB to widespread cheers,

and although it’s clearly a shame that

Jabberwocky didn’t go ahead, he’s kind

of right. Hookworms, and the other two

bands playing tonight, are all made for

basement dives like this with tatty low

ceilings and no stage barriers.

Speedy Ortiz are next, and waste

no time in seizing hold of the bar

and raising it to similarly spectacular

heights. The venue erupts in response,

and becomes a sea of headbanging,

moshing chaos. Tonight is the kind of gig

that seizes everyone by the collars and

wrenches them into life. “This has been

lovely, despite... you know... the thing,”

says Sadie Dupuis, very tactfully indeed.

Lovely is an understatement. Speedy

Ortiz are unreal to watch.

Cloud Nothings are the final band on

stage, and things only get wilder and

sweatier from here on in. Lighting rigs

are in severe danger of being knocked

down by the flailing bodies hurtling

across the top of the crowd, and a hastily

assembled gaggle of security guards

hurry down to the front, to little avail. It’s

absolute madness, and Cloud Nothings

cement the show as the loud, cathartic

silver lining around the events that led

to tonight’s fantasy line-up. All things

considered, ‘twas completely brillig. DIY

21

NEWS

IN THE STUDIO

HOOKWORMS

Having released their latest record ‘Pearl Mystic’ just

last year, Leeds’ Hookworms are already back with the

follow up. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

ith their debut album, Hookworms emerged as one of the most

promising prospects in the land of psychedelia. A swirling mass of

W instrumentation, woozing and veering its way into brains across the

country, ‘Pearl Mystic’ marked the five-piece as stand-outs in their field. Noisy but

swooning, unpredictable yet comforting, wandering into its tracks was akin to

getting lost in a musical haze, and still craving more.

The challenge in releasing such an acclaimed first full-length lies in its follow-up.

“When we recorded the last album, we were just doing it for ourselves,” begins

bassist MB. “This time we’ve got a bit of an audience that we didn’t have before. We

didn’t think anyone would care about the last one, so the fact that there’s people

waiting for this one to come out... There’s definitely pressure.”

Inspiration for the band’s second album was sparked somewhat unexpectedly.

Following the release of ‘Pearl Mystic’ back in March 2013, they unveiled a

standalone single in ‘Radio Tokyo’. “We put that to one side,” MB explains, “but then

we realised, when we came back to writing the rest of the album, that that was the

song we were enjoying playing most. We used that as a bit of step towards the rest

of the songwriting.”

“[The album’s] probably a bit more upbeat,” he continues. “It sounds

like us but with the fat trimmed. The songs are still pretty long, but

they’re a bit more driving, a bit more direct. It’s all stuff that we

can play live; people react better to the more upbeat songs. We’ve

enjoyed that and fed off that. I think, at the end of the day, we are a

live band so we wanted to make it work as much live as possible.”

Hookworms’ new album ‘The Hum’ will be released on 10th

November via Domino Records. DIY

Are you afraid of

THE DARK?

King Tuff runs through the

supernatural TV shows and

movies that twisted his brain

“into the chewed up piece of

gum it is today.”

THE GATE

A portal to hell opens up in some kid’s

house. Little goblin dudes come to

party and the kid grows a sweet-ass

eyeball in his hand.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT

I’ve always dreamed of looking like the

crypt keeper when I’m old, playing a

guitar made of rat faces plugged into

an electric brain.

DOCTOR WHO

This show freaked me the fuck out

when I was a kid, mostly because I had

no idea what was going on and I didn’t

understand why his scarf was so long.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER

SPACE

This shit literally made me piss myself

but I couldn’t stop watching it.

THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD

1 AND 2

I like any movie with punks and

graveyards, and in part two there’s a

decapitated zombie head saying, “Get

the damn screwdriver out of my head!”

It’s the best.

GARBAGE PAIL KIDS

A very important film about embracing

ugliness.

PET SEMATARY

Aunt Zelda crawled into my

young mind and still screams

me to sleep every night.

King Tuff’s new album

‘Black Moon Spell’ will

be released on 22nd

September via Sub Pop

Records. DIY

22 diymag.com

“IF YOUR

INBRED

COUSIN

CAN DO IT,

ANYBODY

CAN DO IT.”

CHRISTOPHER

OWENS

A NEW TESTAMENT

for an old soul

Christopher Owens’ bunch of misfits are back, with a new album in tow.

Words: Nat Davies. Photos: Annie Thornton.

From the moment Christopher Owens’ new album

artwork appeared online there was a collective

furrowing of the brow. A no-frills group photo of the

album’s personnel, with Owens himself front-andcentre,

decked out in a leather waistcoat and pink cowboy

hat. The title ‘A New Testament’ is stated unequivocally

overhead. It’s a visual anomaly amongst a sea of abstract

geometry and monochrome portraiture and, well, it’s not

very fashionable. It’s brightly lit and crisp and they are all

facing the camera, and umm... smiling? The band stand out

like a pair of knock-off trainers at a high school sports day.

“The Guardian said we look like the Estonian cast of a reality

TV show, so that was fantastic,” laughs Christopher Owens, sat

in the courtyard of the Hoxton Hotel, London. “I really wanted

to do something anti-cool, y’know? I was sick and tired of

everybody formulating just the right cool image and then you

put on the music and there is just nothing there.”

Kicking against the pricks is something Owens does

instinctively. He is a natural and singular rebel: leaving the

Children of God cult at 16, joining the ranks of young men

under the wing of artist and billionaire Stanley Marsh III, then

running off to San Francisco

to play in Holy Shit with Ariel

Pink. These are the actions

of a man who is able to live

many lives consecutively,

or to using an overwrought

phrase, to reinvent himself

at will.

And the new record is

no less contrary than the

man. It is unapologetically

country, with pedal

steel, gospel singing,

finger-picked guitar, low

honky-tonk solos and

tub-thumping drums. It’s

a radical sidestep away

from his contemporaries

and a deliberate shunning

of what he calls “too many

90s throwbacks”. ‘A New

Testament’ is definitely

anti-minimal - songs like ‘It

Comes Back to You’ have the

full-throttle sentimentality

of a Dolly Parton

heartbreaker, something

Owens has been keen to

develop from the off.

“The idea to focus more on

the country-side was really

the only idea - and it’s not

really a new one,” he says.

“We tried to do it on the first

Girls album on the very last

song ‘Darling’. We tried to

do it on [Girls EP] ‘Broken

Dreams Club’ on that track

‘Titular’ - there’s a pedal

steel on that and, to me, it is

a country song. We always

kind of leaned that way,

but maybe it didn’t come

out too much. I brought it

out on this record with the

instruments. Songwriting

always seemed accessible to

me from listening to country

music. I mean if your inbred

cousin can do it, you know,

anybody can do it.”

Read the full interview on

diymag.com. Christopher

Owen’s new album ‘A

New Testament’ will

be released on 29th

September via Caroline.

DIY

23

NEWS

Unguarded

Rae Morris bares her soul on debut album, ‘Unguarded’.

“It’s a depiction of me,” she tells Huw Oliver.

24 diymag.com

For years the term singersongwriter

has conjured

images of hirsute men

wielding harmonicas,

ramshackle Spanish guitars and Bob

Dylan chord books. Today, however,

we’re witnessing the renaissance. Or

so reckons Rae Morris: “Nowadays

when you say singer-songwriter to

someone, it’s hard for them to make an

assumption that you are one certain

thing, because there’s such a vast

variety of people out there,” says the

sweet-toned Blackpudlian musician.

“Ben Howard springs to mind – he’s

a singer-songwriter, but he’s doing

something quite euphoric and

anthemic. There are so many different

ways to be a singer-songwriter.”

Starting out when she was 17 – three

and a half years ago – and signed to

Atlantic after an A&R got in touch via

Myspace, she’s currently on the cusp

of releasing her make-or-break debut

album, ‘Unguarded’. Renowned for

“I WAS GET TING

SLIGHTLY

FRUSTRATED,

I WANTED

PEOPLE TO

UNDERSTAND

WHO I WAS.” RAE

MORRIS

her oh-so dramatic live performances,

fluttering, feathery vocals, jangly piano

chords and a Disney soundtrack-like

knack for a ballad. Think Fiona Apple

but with added crossover appeal. She

certainly has it in her.

Sat on a bench in a pastoral part of

Wales, she reflects on her formative

musical years. She speaks of her

childhood Christmases when her uncle

would whip out his guitar and her

family would sit around and play old

Geordie folk songs. Next, her Dad’s

inculcation of Carole King and Steely

Dan classics, then short-lived stints in

high school rock bands, and finally her

late teens when she became obsessed

with Feist, Cat Power and Joanna

Newsom, “women who were doing

really out-there things, incredible stuff

which had a message as well.”

But the influence she speaks most

keenly about is televisual: Later, Live

with Jools Holland, and the time fellow

Blackpool singer-songwriter Karima

Francis bagged a slot on the show. This

is what made her realise it was possible

to get out and make it. Recently, as if to

cement her status as fast-rising talent

with a rosy future ahead, Morris sung

vocals for Clean Bandit’s ‘Extraordinary’

on the programme, an experience she

describes as “really,

really nervewracking,

probably

the scariest thing

I’ve ever done.”

‘Unguarded’ is

apparently a

coming-of-age

self-portrait

pegged with the

time-old doing-itfor-yourself

cliche.

But with Morris,

you do sense the

genuineness.

“It just felt like I

wanted to show

people who I am

and this album

is what I’ve been

working on since

I was 17,” she

justifies. “And I

think it’s just a

depiction of me,

and I just wanted

to try and keep it

simple and not try

and come up with a

cool title. It just felt

like, this is me, and

this is who I am.”

To record the album, she decamped

to LA to work with super-producer

Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim, Charli XCX, Sky

Ferreira), “exactly the type of person

[she] wanted to work with.” Principally,

he encouraged her to take a chill-pill,

and not to overthink anything. “I was

almost too much of a perfectionist,”

she explains. “I would almost kind

of do things for the wrong reasons

sometimes, because I was wanting to

make sure that it was the right thing

to do. But Ariel very much goes with

the flow.”

One tune enhanced by such an

approach was recent single and album

standout ‘Do You Even Know?’ “I wrote

that just before I went out to America,

to meet Ariel, and to potentially work

with him,” she says. “I think I was kind

of going through that thing that every

artist goes through, where there’s a

pressure to kind of meet the demands

of commercial music, as well as being

an artist. And I think I was kind of

getting slightly frustrated, and I wanted

people to understand who I was. I

was questioning whether anyone did

know who I was. It was an outpour of

frustration.”

Even if you haven’t heard Morris’

incredible punch as a solo artist yet,

you may well have heard her beautifully

wispy tones on recent collaborations

with Bombay Bicycle Club (three tracks

from ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’)

and Clean Bandit (‘Up Again’). “The

collaborations I’ve done have been

really eye-opening for me, and I’d

never expected that I’d be an artist that

collaborates when you don’t have a

big, like, pop voice. That’s been a really

amazing learning curve, and I think

writing with bands like Clean Bandit is

really amazing.”

Her biggest emblem of pride at the

moment is ‘Not Knowing’, the record’s

epic closing bang, “the best way to

summarise everything that [she’s] ever

done” and something of a clarion call to

other plucky youngsters stuck in the far

reaches of the UK. She wraps up: “I want

people to know that throughout all

this, I first and foremost write the songs.

I think there’s a difference between just

being someone who sings songs, and

being someone who writes them.”

Rae Morris’s new album ‘Unguarded’

will be released early 2015 via

Atlantic Records. DIY

25

NEWS

NEWS

I N B R I E F

FLYING HIGH

Flying Lotus has unveiled plans to

release a brand new album, titled,

‘You’re Dead’. Out 7th October through

Warp Records, the nineteen-track

album will feature the likes of Herbie

Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar,

Thundercat and Angel Deradoorian,

formerly of the Dirty Projectors, who

will all be making guest appearances.

Karen O finds out she’s

in Gryffindor.

JUST A LITTLE CRUSH

Fresh from releasing her debut solo

effort ‘Crush Songs’ this month, Karen

O has announced two solo shows to

take place in the UK this October. The

Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer will play two

dates on 4th and 5th October at West

London venue Bush Hall.

BACK TO THE FOOTURE

Foo Fighters have announced details

of their new album, ‘Sonic Highways’.

The band’s eighth studio album will

feature eight tracks and is set to be

released on 10th November. The record

was recorded in eight different studios

across North America - Chicago, Austin,

Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New

Orleans, Washington DC, and New

York - with each city providing a guest

musician.

‘MON THE BIFF

Biffy Clyro will play three shows at

Glasgow’s Barrowlands later this year,

during which they’ll perform songs

from two of their selected albums. On

5th December, fans will be treated to

cuts from ‘Blackened Sky’ and ‘Puzzle’,

on 6th December, it’ll be ‘The Vertigo

of Bliss’ and ‘Only Revolutions’, before

7th December boasts ‘Infinity Land’ and

‘Opposites’.

J

The Long Road To

Victory

Originally due out earlier this year, Lonely the Brave’s

debut is finally here. Words: Sarah Jamieson.

ust over twelve months ago,

Cambridgeshire five-piece

Lonely the Brave were still

relatively unknown. They’ve since

graced the stages of Reading & Leeds

Festival and taken on more high

profile support slots than you could

throw the horns at. The band were set

to unveil their debut album ‘The Day’s

War’ earlier this year. Due to land in

spring, everything was going to plan

until another unmissable opportunity

cropped up: a deal with Sony Records.

“It’s been a long time coming for us,”

begins the band’s Mark Trotter, as

they gear up to finally release their

full-length. “I can’t even begin to tell

you. We just wanna get it out and get

people to hear it.”

With the signing of their new record

deal came the difficult decision to hold

back the album’s release from June

until September. The band may have

been cautious at first, but now they’re

firm in believing that it was the best

choice. “When we signed to Sony,” he

continues, “those guys needed more

time to do what they do, in terms of

pushing the record as far as possible.

It was a real trade off for us because

we want as many people to hear the

record as possible. It was a really hard

decision, but we still think it was the

right one. We’ve been really lucky,”

he affirms. “Everyone’s been really

supportive. It could’ve been horrible.”

“It was a

real trade

off.”Mark Trotter

As for ‘The Day’s War’ itself, it’s

an album that bubbles with as

much emotion and power as its

title suggests. “There’s a definite

theme; not that that was a conscious

decision, it’s about things that

happen to people, things that have

happened to us since we joined

together as a band. It’s all about a

time and place, which is why we’re so

keen to get it out there.”

Lonely The Brave’s new album ‘The

Day’s War’ is out now via Columbia

Records. DIY

26 diymag.com

LONDON

CALLING

The London leg of

this year’s Dr. Martens

#STANDFORSOMETHING

Tour in association with DIY

will be taking over the punk

rock capital of the world, set

to take place at The Black

Heart in Camden Town on

28th November.

“The Black Heart are

thrilled to be leading the

charge in the Camden fight

back,” offers the venue’s

promoter Danny Black. “The

backstreets of Camden Town

are enjoying a bit of a live

music renaissance of late:

over the last year and a half

we’ve had some amazing

bands smashing it with

some awesome underplays

in our little venue. Sweat

pouring and ears ringing,

you can just feel the sense

of history oozing from the

walls at these shows.

“The sheer intensity and raw

brutality somehow makes

them feel so much more

worth it, like you’ve gone

in and come out the other

side of a battleground or

indulged in conquering the

most extreme of extreme

sports. It’s the proper, fullon

way to experience this

music we think, just not the

same in the larger venues.

It’s good to see Dr. Martens

recognising this and

bringing these bands back

to the environments where

these bands cut their teeth.

Let’s hope the bands love it

as much as we do!”

As for who’ll be playing,

we’re still keeping that

under wraps, but you’ll

find out soon enough.

Tickets for the London

show will be going on sale

on 1st November, with the

line up set to be revealed

that same day. Register

on drmartens.com/

standforsomethingtour to

be first to know. DIY

MORE SUPPORTS CONFIRMED

#STANDFORSOMETHING

TOUR 2014

It’s not long now until this year’s Dr. Martens #STANDFORSOMETHING Tour in association

with DIY kicks off, and we’re very happy to announce the remaining support acts for the

shows confirmed thus far.

Having already announced that Arcane Roots, Johnny Foreigner and Only Rivals are set to join

in the fun later this year (supporting We Are The Ocean, Los Campesinos! and Tonight Alive

respectively), we can now reveal that noisy upstarts God Damn will be appearing at this year’s

Edinburgh show, while Mazes will be joining proceedings in Cardiff.

“It’s absolutely mad,” offers God Damn drummer Ash Weaver, on what it’s going to be like to

play alongside Welsh five-piece Funeral For A Friend on the opening night of the tour. “When

we were contacted about the show it was a bit surreal. They’re one of those bands who were

really prominent in our teenage years growing up.”

As for Mazes, they’ll be reuniting with longtime friends Eagulls - with whom they released a split

7” back in November 2011 - but they’ll be keeping their wits about them for the show. “[That]

seems like a long time ago...” says the band’s Jack Cooper. “[It’s] cool to see how well they’re

doing. Last time we played with Eagulls, they stole Neil’s shoes. Nice guys, but we can’t afford

to lose shoes.”

Have no fear: we’ll be completing each bill soon, with the opening acts for each night set to be

revealed shortly. Keep updated at diymag.com/standforsomethingtour2014

and drmartens.com/standforsomethingtour for all the news and line up announcements.

DIY

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR,

GOD DAMN?

“Honesty.”

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR,

MAZES?

“I literally have no idea, we’re not

the Manic Street Preachers...”

THE DATES

04/10/14

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

+ God Damn

Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

11/10/14

EAGULLS

+ Mazes

Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

25/10/14

WE ARE THE OCEAN

+ Arcane Roots

The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

22/11/14

LOS CAMPESINOS!

+ Johnny Foreigner

The Flapper, Birmingham

28/11/14

TBA + TBA

London, The Black Heart

05/12/14

TONIGHT ALIVE

+ Only Rivals

Cluny 2, Newcastle

27

NEU

Vaults

I t ’ s m o r e

t h a n j u s t a

p r e m o n i t i o n

- t h i s L o n d o n

t r i o ’ s a s c e n t

i s a l l b u t

c o n f i r m e d .

W o r d s : J a m i e

Milton.

Vaults try to feign shock at their success.

28 diymag.com

Vaults isn’t the first

experience of being

in a band for any of its

members, but it might

as well be. Vocalist Blythe Pepino,

alongside gadget-heads Ben Vella

and Barney Freeman, all have

googleable musical pasts which

aren’t a million miles from this

current project. But together they

click. Their collective sound is one

of simple, affecting songwriting

linked with dramatic but not

overbearing backdrops. Every song

they’ve released so far sounds like

a hit, and for everyone involved

this looks like the beginning of a

bright new chapter.

It started with a cursory upload

of the song ‘Cry No More’, an

arpeggio’ed, bell-chiming debut

that led - within weeks - to a record

deal. “It was bizarre,” admits

Vella, “but we just knew there was

something a bit special happening

between us.”

“ I t ’ s a r e l e a s e f o r

m e - t h a t ’ s p r o b a b l y

w h y I ’ m w a v i n g m y

a r m s a r o u n d l i k e a n

idiot.” Blythe Pepino

By this point, Vaults had half

a dozen songs waiting to be

unveiled, but Pepino cites ‘Cry No

More’ as the game-changer, “the

one that came alive”. She says that

from that point on they’ve created

“these songs that share this world

- If you have a central image or

feeling and you keep going back to

that, you have a body of work that

has a certain continuity.”

Songs unveiled so far share a very

similar space. There’s melancholy

and triumph walking hand in

hand, in a strange, beautiful

dance. ‘Premonitions’ is - without

any hyperbole - the closest thing

to Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrops’

that’s arrived in years. New

single ‘Lifespan’ is slightly more

introverted at first, but then in

sweeps the kind of chorus that

couldn’t be any more expressive.

Despite Freeman’s claims that

they’re still “fine-tuning” their

album in a studio with zero

daylight (“there’s a skylight to

a room above. It’s a shadow of

a window,” he jokes), they’ve

clearly arrived with something

fully-formed, ready to share. “It’s

like a concept album but with no

real concept,” says Vella. “There’s

just a feel to how the songs work,

the intricacies, the bells and the

strings. It’s sped off from there.”

Early singles have shifted in with

most of the work, but it’s live where

things get taken up a notch. Pepino

throws shapes, surrounded by

string players, a live piano, with her

bandmates collectively plugging

away at obscure wood instruments

and a sea of electronics. Think a

more chart-friendly Portishead, in

structure and shape. “To be honest

I’ve gigged for years,” begins

Blythe, “and I’ve got to the point

where getting on stage in front

of people is about

expressing and

showing people a

certain authenticity

that you have in

yourself. At the same

time there’s always

a moment where

you go, ‘Maybe they

think I’m a twat...’ But

that’s what you’re

facing. Half of the

time I don’t know

what I’m doing, but

it’s a real release

for me. That’s probably why I’m

waving my arms around like an

idiot.”

The live show was always going

to be the ultimate end-point,

for Vaults. Strings were essential

(“right from day one, we were

gonna make it hard for ourselves,”

Ben jokes), and proof of all the

effort they’ve put in, it clicks. Their

festival debut at Latitude remains

one of the live highlights of the

year. It’s rare and exciting to see a

band arrive this fully-formed - what

happens next will only affirm this

great beginning.

Vaults’ new single ‘Lifespan’ is

out now. DIY

29

NEU

NEWS

YUMI ZOUMA

Ready new material

After delivering one of the year’s defining EPs, this

i n t e r n e t - f o r m e d t r i o a r e r a c k i n g u p n e w s o n g s ( a n d t h e

Winter’s

a charm

Something in Yumi

Zouma’s debut

worked its charm

in the beginning of

2014. Bittersweet

dreampop arrived

at the perfect

time, claims Kim.

“Some people are

saying it’s warm

and summery and

I think you guys

were having a

terrible winter in

the UK and that

EP took them

to someplace

tropical. It’s cold

in some ways,

as in some of

the lyrics are

bittersweet. We’re

pretty complex, as

humans. There’s

an ability to feel

multiple emotions

at once, and it’s

a bizarre thing.

Life’s pretty

complicated.”

air miles). W o r d s : J a m i e M i lt o n . P h o t o : P h i l S m i t h i e s .

he name Yumi Zouma (given home with Cascine. A few months later

to Kim Pflaum, Charlie Ryder out stepped a self-titled EP, rinsed in

T and Josh Burgess’ project) was bright ideas and a novel take on pop.

chosen because “we needed some

It’s a record that ignores the thousands

kind of name for our gmail account,” of emails and rough ideas exchanged

says Pflaum, who pens the lyrics and to make it happen. When the project

fronts the band. That sums up how this started, Kim was in New Zealand, with

whole thing kickstarted. One night

Josh working in New York and Charlie

Kim decided to lend lyrics to one of studying in Paris. “Our gmail accounts

several tracks Charlie and Josh had

are a mess, pretty much,” jokes Kim.

been working on. The latter called it a “We were all on different time zones

night, while Charlie stayed up and sent and different schedules. I was studying,

‘A Long Walk Home for Parted Lovers’ to Charlie was studying, Josh was working.

a few contacts, just “for kicks” says Kim. But we managed to do it somehow.”

The next morning he was calling up his

bandmates saying, “‘We’re in a band and Since then, attention’s turned to

we’re famous - we’re signed.’”

translating a blog friendly beginning

into something tangible. Debut gigs

By that point they’d found an immediate in the UK turned heads in unison, and

these shows have served as a short

break between songwriting sessions.

The tracks are ready for EP number two,

Kim confirms, and the three of them are

already considering what it’ll take to put

an album together. She cites “skeletons

of songs” as the starting point. “There’s

a whole lot more of those,” she says.

“Some are a lot worse than others!”

2015 will see at least one further release,

and the logistics are slowly being solved

when it comes to getting three different

people in separate countries to become

a band. “Charlie and I will be finished

studying soon, which’ll make it a lot

easier.” DIY

30 diymag.com

LIVE

R E P O R T

NEU

NEWS

IN BRIEF

Photo: Phil Smithies

SWEET

SALVATION

After locking the doors and

committing everything

towards a debut album,

Josef Salvat’s come out the

other side with a sweeping

new single ‘Shoot and Run’.

Listen on diymag.com

GEORGIA

The Waiting Room, London

ollowing stints drumming for acts like the similarly-breakout Juce, Kwes and Kate

Tempest, GEoRGiA is finally taking centre stage, and comfortably so. A rapt audience

F awaits at the Waiting Room in Stoke Newington, prior to the second stint of her two

week residency at the venue. Huddled together, the crowd raise themselves - and each

other - onto chairs and the venue’s steep stairs to catch a glimpse of this rising star, and

rightfully so.

Her five song set that formally unveils the excellent debut EP ‘Come In’ - which is performed

in full alongside a pointedly new track - shows great promise for her undoubtedly

limelight-hogging future. ‘Be Ache,’ the first of her tracks to surface, is a primal tour-deforce

in the flesh, anarchic drums colliding with blaring psychedelica while the room moves

against a flurry of flashing lights.

With further EP highlight ‘Hard Lie This’, it’s evident that the exuberant, tongue-in-cheek

spirit of Mike Skinner’s The Streets has modernised whilst passing down a generation,

emphasised even further by GEoRGiA’s playful and engrossing stage presence. Though

musically more reminiscent of an M.I.A. or a Santigold, it’s hard to deny a quintessentially

British attitude, as well as a performer on stage who looks like she’s having a lot of fun

simply being herself. It’s a short and sweet set that suggests GEoRGiA’s cracked a formula

all of her own making. (Nathan Roberts)

KEEP WALKING

London newcomer Kwabs

is releasing a new single,

‘Walk’. Out 28th September,

it packs simple piano chimes,

military drums, as well as the

most immediate chorus to

be bellowed out from Kwabs’

distinctive voice so far.

HEY QT

A. G. Cook, head of the PC

Music camp - this year’s

defining new label - has

started a new project with

enigmatic producer SOPHIE.

Together they’re calling

themselves QT, and their

debut single, ‘Hey QT’, is out

now on XL Recordings.

WE ARE READY

Liverpool bunch All We Have

have finished mixing their

debut album, they’ve told

BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens.

In a Maida Vale session, they

also debuted two new songs,

‘I Wear You’ and ‘Stone’.

Listen on diymag.com.

31

NEU

Saint Pepsi’s allergies are put to

the ultimate test.

saint

pepsi

I

t all started when clued up musician Ryan

DeRobertis left his instruments in school

during “winter break” and decided to try

something new. Saint Pepsi, a “joke thing”,

arrived in the form of some cursory uploads. It

ran against a more serious project at the time

that’s since been “buried, left for dead”, and

since then this prolific producer hasn’t had a

chance to look back.

He’s about to head off on his first break for

several months. In between now and his ‘Gin

City’ EP from 2013, he’s been whisked off to an

“overwhelming” SXSW, compared to Toro Y

Moi, inked a record deal and opted to become

a “proper songwriter.” Initially he was seeing

success with releases on Bandcamp, but Paypal

wasn’t getting on board and he was unable

to actually sell his music. He gave everything

away for free. “It sucked, because I was trying

to explain to my parents that people were

actually interested in my music when I didn’t

have any revenue to back that up. For a while

people thought I was living in this fantasy land

where I’m my own superstar.”

Beyond early productions, a real breaking

point came when Ryan shared a remix of

D o s e d u p o n T w i t t e r , P C M u s i c a n d

e v e ry t h i n g g r e at t h e i n t e r n e t ’ s

e v e r g i v e n u s , t h i s b l o g t r i u m p h i s

stepping out into the real world.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s ultimate earworm, ‘Call

Me Maybe’. It arrived in good time, but the

New York-born musician claims he “grew

up around a lot of pop music.” He’s keen

to say that “people don’t need to refer to

songs as guilty pleasures anymore. There’s

no superior intellect that they’re trying to

defend or anything like that.” Already in his

initial string of songs, there’s this welcoming,

all-encompassing, universal quality to what

he’s doing. Cynics and snobs aren’t welcome

here - it’s very much the sound of someone

who’s absorbed the past decade and a half

of music, readily projecting everything

he’s learned in the most scatterbrained,

excitable way possible.

First on the agenda is this wellearned

break. “I’m in this point

where I’ve exhausted myself to

the point where I feel like I don’t

have any original thoughts left

in my brain,” he sort-of jokes.

“Having a good week to get away

will hopefully rejuvenate some of

that. If it doesn’t, then I’m done! I’m

gonna have to work in fast food for

the rest of my life.” DIY

THE WORLD

ACCORDING TO

SAINT PEPSI

Ryan DeRobertis

gives Neu a run for

its money when

it comes to music

recommendations.

Here’s a selection of

his favourites.

SOPHIE / PC MUSIC

“They take the

arrangements and

they bring it super

leftfield. You can take

one of their songs and

make it sound like it’s

by Selena Gomez. But

they wrap it up in very

different foil, I guess.”

CHARLI XCX “She’s

super cool. Her first

album was really good

and I love how she

talks about changing

her sound in the future.

It seems like she

has a really good

idea of her career

trajectory.”

RICKY EAT ACID

“His music is the

work of a net

artist, but you

can also see

him live and it

transcends the

pejorative term

that comes with

being one of

those.”

32 diymag.com

RYN

WEAVER

F o r g e t t h e

e n t o u r a g e ,

t h i s p o p

s e n s a t i o n

b o i l s d o w n t o

one brilliant

individual.

A good deal’s been made about

the people Ryn Weaver’s working

with, and not the plain-sighted

fact that she’s responsible for

some of the biggest pop songs

this year’s had the pleasure

of witnessing. Yes, Michael

Angelakos and Charli XCX have

had a hand in the process, but the

title-track on her ‘Promises’ EP

goes one step further. It captures

the giddy energy of someone on

the up and it soars towards the

skies. Ryn delivers hard truths in

the form of glossy, glitter-doused

songwriting. ‘OctaHate’ might be

about really despising someone,

but it still comes off as triumphant.

This is striking, undeniable pop

music - there’s zero breathing

space, and that’s the best part.

LISTEN ‘The ‘Promises’ EP is

out now.

FOR FANS OF Robyn,

emotional roller

coasters.

NEU RECOMMENDED

MYSTERIES

FORMATION

KERO KERO

BONITO

Faces are masked, identities hidden:

it’s with good reason that new trio

Mysteries have landed themselves with

this band name. A debut LP on the

horizon, they’ve arrived a fully-formed

act, giving the impression that there’s

been a flurry of activity behind the

scenes, a perfectionist streak. The

band’s label, felte, still claims to not

know a single thing about the band’s

beginnings or the names behind the

project. A debut full-length ‘New

Age Music is Here’ comes out on 28th

October, and it’s being led by the

hypnotic, attention-swerving ‘Deckard’.

LISTEN ‘Deckard’ premiered on

diymag.com.

FOR FANS OF The Acid, Cluedo.

South London duo Formation released

their debut ‘White Label’ EP this

summer, and it’s already an essential.

The slick siblings have a habit of

bringing together alt-pop staples - DFA

pads, LCD-nods, the odd bit of Hot Chip,

too - and making near-decade old gems

sound fresher than ever. They’re keeping

things physical too - the new video for

‘A Friend’ sees a record player perched

next to scribbles of all the places likely to

stock the EP. It’s a band planning the first

steps of their domination.

LISTEN Stream ‘White Label’ on

frmtn.com.

FOR FANS OF Everything James

Murphy puts his name to - even

the coffee.

Reference points that link up to

make Kero Kero Bonito’s sickly, giddy

Gameboy Colour pop are fairly obvious.

Crap consoles, J-pop, PC Music - throw

it all into a pot, put it in the hands of a

South London trio and it’s a winning

formula. ‘Sick Beat’ - a highlight from

the newcomers’ debut mixtape - can

even be traced back to early M.I.A. But

approaching KKB in a standoffish, seenit-all-before

way saps out the magic.

Sarah Bonito’s vocals hop-scotch from

Japanese to English like the two were

designed to combine: a big, exciting

prospect.

LISTEN ‘Sick Beat’.

FOR FANS OF The original

Pokemon series, PC Music.

33

NEU

shura

H o n e s t y ’ s t h e b e s t p o l i c y f o r t h i s r i s i n g

p o p s ta r i n t h e m a k i n g . W o r d s : E l H u n t. P h o t o :

Charlotte RutherforD.

were really hot that week,” concludes Shura, on the runaway success

of breakthrough single ‘Touch’. It started out as a quietly self-released

demo. The video was a group effort made with friends, mainly serving as a

“Snogs

processing tool to get Shura through the break-up that inspired her song.

‘Touch’ ended up on radio waves and being whistled by total strangers on the street;

completely out of nowhere. It’s probably because Shura’s music taps into feelings that

everyone can recognise: honesty at the centre, with a treatment of delicious, straight-up

pop gold. Love might be a popular topic, but Shura isn’t into laying it on with a trowel of

vapid, poetic faffing. She’d much rather tell it how it is.

“I think I am quite matter of fact,” agrees Shura without hesitation. “I’m not flowery. The

whole mystery thing wouldn’t work for me. Talking about how shit relationships are; that’s

just a boring fact. Maybe it is the directness of me as a human, or the bolshiness of youth

- assuming people want to hear what you say. My directness is the hangover from that.”

Love has been Shura’s topic of choice since she played open mic sessions as a teenager

”talking about love as if I even knew what it was,” she says. “I wrote loads of love songs,

like, ‘Isn’t my life shit’, but then that’s the kind of music I was listening to: PJ Harvey, Patti

Smith, Alanis Morissette – all the music any teenage girl listens to.”

The idea of being interviewed and photographed, she openly admits, still bemuses her

no end, and Shura also hesitates to call herself a musician. “I don’t know if I believe it yet,

that’s the thing,” she says. Talk turns to the future. “I’m still writing [my debut album],” she

reveals, and it’s due for release “definitely next year. Autumn or Winter, so I can do the

tour in my puffa jacket. There will be shows this year, too. I’ll be doing a lot of travelling,

adventuring, exploring. I’m excited for it. I guess it’s the spy in me.” DIY

Are

You

Shura?

Given her interest in espionage,

we put Shura’s lying skills to the

test. She had DIY completely

fooled.

FACT 1

I spent one month tied to a puma

in the Bolivian Amazon.

TRUE “The puma I was looking

after grew up in captivity. I walked

him every day for a few hours. It

was like Tomb Raider.”

FACT 2

My mother’s pregnancy with

me and my twin was blessed by

Pope John Paul II.

TRUE “My Dad was making a

documentary with the Pope when

my mum was pregnant. That’s

obviously why things are going

well for me. I am not religious.”

FACT 3

I used to play football for

Manchester City Ladies.

TRUE “I was left back. I had a

mean slide tackle. I’d slide for

miles.”

FACT 4

I got an A* in every single GCSE

that I took.

LIE “I got a B in Maths.”

34 diymag.com

LITTLE

LABEL

Neu takes a look at the record labels responsible for

breakthrough releases, big or small.

ADRIAN RECORDINGS

THIS MONTH IN

EPS

September hits the

spot when it comes to

brand new acts releasing

their first mini-release

before angling their way

towards January’s ‘Sound

Of’ excitement. DIY’s

highlights of this month,

mind you, arrive from

lesser known gems. Here’s

our pick of the bunch.

Cloud Castle Lake

Dandelion

Anyone remotely absorbed by the click-clack percussive

blast of modern day Radiohead will find ample distraction

in this debut from Dublin’s Cloud Castle Lake. ‘Dandelion’

is meticulously constructed, obsessed by its own

experimentation. It packs huge tunes, ‘Sync’ being the best

example. It’s out 22nd September on Happy Valley Records.

FOUNDED: 1999

KEY RELEASES: Alice Boman, ‘II’ (2014),

YAST ’S/T’ (2013)

Sweden’s musically best known for dark

and pensive Scandi-pop, or the ilk that

dives straight towards the charts. But in

slightly quieter, more unassuming corners, there sits Adrian

Recordings, a label that brings out more unlikely sounds

from the region. Most notable is Alice Boman (pictured),

one of this year’s breakthrough names - her drifting folk is

just a tiny flavour of what the label’s offering. They claim to

be “as interested in minimal dark electronic business as in

an acoustic guitar. It doesn’t matter.” Answers from Magnus

Bjerkert.

What’s the biggest challenge in helping Swedish acts

break out internationally?

The biggest problem with running a label in Sweden is

actually just that it is in Sweden. I feel more and more that

I need dedicated people all over the world that live in the

territory and can be present in person. You should not forget

about that perspective. Internet is all good but still it’s nice

to have a beer with someone. If someone reads this: we need

label managers in different parts of the world!

Apart from the foundation of the label, what’s been the

most exciting moment in the Adrian Recordings’ history?

It’s a very hard question, since I rarely look back. For example:

I forgot the ten year celebration! I am also bad at collecting

items, press material and other staff related to the past. I look

forward. So the answer must be that they lie ahead of us.

Adrian has just signed two new artists, and I’m very excited in

getting to work with that. You should check out RA and Hey

Elbow. DIY

B e n Z e l

men

This production duo first billed themselves as mysterious

Japanese girls with a dab hand at penning blog hits. Turns out

they’re relative veterans: Ben Ash (Two Inch Punch) and Benny

Blanco. Aside from being chief producers on the new Jessie

Ware album, they’ve set aside time for their bleep-y bloop-y

first work, ‘Men’. It’s out now via PMR / Friends Keep Secrets.

Spring King

Demons

Tarek Musa’s hit a prolific stride - in the last issue of DIY, the

Manchester producer promised two whole full-lengths for

2015. Let this serve as a taster. ‘Demons’ boasts a rowdy, gang

mentality: the kind of raucous rock’n’roll only the Black Lips

tend to get away with. This

packs a similar charm,

coming off like a

rogue wantaway

in need of a

cup of tea.

35

cover

36 diymag.com

Different Strokes

A l t - J a r e n ’ t r e a c t i n g t o t r e n d s ,

bending to popular demand, or trying to please

sniffy blog boys: they’re just doing their own

t h i n g .

Words: El Hunt. Photos: Mike Massaro.

37

cover

Picture this scene. There’s a slushy romantic film on the telly,

probably involving montages of reunited couples jumping into

each other’s arms in the airport, along with Colin Firth taking

up a new role as a stuttering, awkward Englishman in love. He’s

probably eating blue soup, omelette and marmalade with an

American woman who has inexplicably decided to holiday alone

over Christmas in a cottage in the Home Counties, and it’s the

clichéd scene at the very end where he has put his heart on the

line. Taking her by the hand, shaking, he looks into her eyes and

says: “I’m gonna bed into you like a cat beds into a bean bag. Turn you inside out and lick you like a crisp

packet.” The credits roll. Everybody in the cinema cries.

Only a band like Alt-J could direct a romantic comedy this strange, soundtracked by spliced five-way vocal

duets, wonky, slightly sordid declarations of love, a Miley Cyrus sample and a gaudy, twanging Southern

Rock anthem called ‘Left Hand Free’ for good measure. There are slow, plaintive, weirdly lust-filled laments,

and even a lyrical nod to KRS-One’s ‘Sound Of Da Police’. Not only have Alt-J ignored any outside pressure

to stick to a template; they’ve gone a step further, and totally defied it.

Repeatedly, Alt-J are adamant that far from being removed from their debut sound, their second album

‘This Is All Yours’ isn’t taking them to a drastic new place; experimenting has always been in their blood,

and a number of songs on the record have been kicking around for several years. The bat-shit crazy lyrics

to ‘Every Other Freckle’, for example, have been floating around frontman Joe Newman’s cranium since the

early days of playing local pubs in their university town of Leeds. “Thom was talking about how a spider

was bedding into his brain,” explains Joe, gazing across the park. “I was like… wow, bedding. I was telling

my ex-girlfriend about this song two years ago, because it was written then, and she said it reminded

her of this poem [‘I Wanna Be Yours’]. ‘I want to be your park bench, I want to be your heater while you

sleep’ - that one. So, anyway, it sounds like I took that idea and went in a different direction, but I didn’t. So

actually,” he laughs, “I’m as good as [John Cooper Clarke]”.

Since the early days of faceless press photographs and their wily, evasive approach to genre that persisted

38 diymag.com

“ B e i n g a b l e

t o d o w h a t w e

from the very start, Alt-J have been a band that escapes

concrete definition. It’s given them the freedom to follow

up the Mercury Prize-scooping ‘An Awesome Wave’ with the

weird, unpinnable, ‘This Is All Yours’.

“People can’t define our sound, so we play with other

people’s uncertainties,” Joe says, sipping coconut water on

a bench. “Not coke,” observes his band mate Gus Unger-

Hamilton, laughing, “just coconut water.” “Being able to do

what we like is the best position to be in,” adds Thom Green,

“because you don’t have to prove anything.” In contrast to

the countless bands that push forward a strong persona, but

have very little to say musically, Alt-J prefer to let their music

do the talking. One of the band could politely bump into

you on the street without raising a flicker of recognition,

and indeed, the only person to notice Alt-J today so far is a

small child intent, not on commending them for their latest

single, but on getting past them and into the park.

l i k e i s t h e b e s t

p o s i t i o n t o b e

i n . ”

...........................................................

T h o m G r e e n

39

cover

With a record that has a personality as varied and unpredictable

as ‘This Is All Yours’, it’s certainly music able to make a statement

alone. “It was kind of a statement,” agrees Gus, referring to the

first new song the band released from the record, ’Hunger of the

Pine’. “We went with it because it was an unexpected thing to

start the ball rolling with,” says Joe.

Unexpected, of course, because of a certain sample provided by

a young woman best known for riding giant metal demolition

balls and rolling down sculptures of wagging tongues. “It’s quite

funny,” says Thom, who initially started talking to Miley Cyrus

through remixing work that he was doing outside of the band.

“We’ve met her once and I speak to her now and again.” Sampling

Miley, say the band, was natural; they liked her vocal hook, so

they used it. “If we all loved the song, that’d be the case with any

band,” says Joe. “If Gary Barlow came up to me and was just like,

‘I’ve written a song’, I’d be like, alright Gary, calm down, but email

it to me. If I liked it, I’d be in.”

The triangle association found in Alt-J’s keyboard-shortcut styled

name has always attracted a few rumours, and the connection

now shared with Miley has only added fire to forum speculation

that the band are members of the Illuminati, the shady, and

perhaps fictitious secret society that supposedly manipulates us

all through popular culture to move towards a New World Order.

It’s an accusation that amuses Alt-J no end. “Is that even a thing?”

asks Gus incredulously. Joe, however, plays along. “I’m not going

to say yes, I’m not going to say no. You know, fuck it, I’m not going

to say if it’s true. I might be in it. I might not.”

“ W e ’ r e n o t t r y i n g t o

s u b v e r t a n y t h i n g . ”

...............................................................................

G u s U n g e r - H a m i l t o n

Moving from conspiracy theories to illumination, ‘This Is All

Yours’ could have easily been an album to come from a place

of drama and tension, but for Alt-J, a change in their line-up

proved productive. The departure of one of a band’s original

founding members can often lead from ripe to ruin, but when

Gwil Sainsbury left the band, there was little time for squabbling,

apparently, and in fact it all went down very amiably. “There’s no

ill will or regret,” explains Joe. “[Gwil’s] completely happy with

the decision he’s made and the life he’s living without the band

looming over him.” Gus agrees. “He knew he was leaving at a

good time that wouldn’t disrupt us,” he adds. “If he’d left now

it would be hugely confusing, and we would’ve felt a lot more

resentful; financially, emotionally, all kinds of fuck-ups. This way it

was easy to draw a line under his involvement and move on.”

F a m i l y

Business

Who would be your

dream person to join Alt-J

for one song?

Joe: Gwil? Nah, I think my

dad would be the fucking

best, playing his guitar in

the way he plays it, slap

guitar.

Gus: All of our dads. All

of our dads are musical

so that could actually

happen. It’d be really

good.

Joe: And all of

our mums just

dancing on

stage.

Riding on the momentum left over from the massive, runaway

40 diymag.com

Alt-J bed into each other like a cat

beds into a bean bag.

41

cover

“ I f G a r y B a r l o w

c a m e u p t o m e a n d

w a s j u s t l i k e ,

‘ I ’ v e w r i t t e n

a s o n g ’ , I ’ d b e

l i k e , a l r i g h t

G a r y , c a l m d o w n ,

b u t e m a i l i t t o

m e . I f I l i k e d

i t , I ’ d b e i n . ”

...............................................................................

Joe Newman

success of ‘An Awesome Wave’ made

that transition easier, no doubt. “We

felt vindicated by the success of

the first album,” nods Gus. “I think

it gave us the right kind of boost

of confidence that didn’t tip into

cockiness,” adds Joe, “and I think that

made us play better together. We

refined our chemistry, and it matured

into the second album because we

understood that people liked what

we’d done.”

The process of inducting the band’s

new touring guitarist Cameron is

currently underway, and Alt-J agree,

unanimously, that he’s fitting in rather

swimmingly, and if anything, he’s

pushing them even harder. “He’s got

a better work ethic than everyone

else,” laughs Gus. “He’s trying to not

look lazy, but he’s probably shitting

himself, to be fair. He’s going straight

into playing Ally Pally and doing

American TV appearances, so it must

be absolutely bizarre. It’s terrifying

enough for us!”

Alt-J might have healthy levels of

self-belief, but their second album

does come with one extra swaggering

anthem, too. It sticks out, noticeably.

It sounds like Alt-J if they were the

sort of band who made headlines

for inciting riots and slagging off

other bands constantly in interviews,

42 diymag.com

and it is derivative and

cock-sure almost to the

point of satire. “We’re

not trying to subvert

anything,” states Gus,

but despite his insistence

otherwise, ‘Left Hand

Free’ sounds like a song

that knows exactly what

it’s doing, from its almost

tongue-in-cheek sense

of twanging swagger, to

the cliché-riddled music

video that comes with it.

“We really don’t do that

intentionally,” insists Joe,

“we really just go with

what feels right when

we’re playing together.

‘Left Hand Free’ was a

leap into a completely

different world for us, but

we were enjoying it, so we

kept doing it, we thought

it was funny, we thought

we could play characters.

That’s what we do with

all of our music, we do it

because it sounds good.”

Mention of the record

label’s supposed

involvement in pushing

it forward as the lead

American single however,

receives a less cheery

response. “We wouldn’t

have necessarily chosen

‘Left Hand Free’ as the

single,” answers Gus,

choosing his words

carefully. “We just sent

everything to the record

label, and they said,

‘That’s the single’. But,” he

adds, suggesting it wasn’t

quite that civil after all,

“we’ve patched things up

with them now.”

Despite the irresponsible

lake jumping and

campfire dancing in the

video for ‘Left Hand Free’,

Alt-J say that they’re wellbehaved

in comparison.

“You don’t want to end

up like The Stone

Roses,” laughs Joe,

glancing down at his

rather eye-catching

socks bearing bright

green marijuana

motifs. “I think we

enjoy recreational

drugs just as much as

anyone else…” he starts,

“but we’ve agreed that

we don’t talk about it in

interviews,” finishes Gus

with a pointed look. “I’d

so much rather that was

our reputation than the

opposite.”

“We’ve got a good life

where we write music but

we never get recognised,”

says Joe, and, he admits,

“we’re not one of those

bands that likes being

involved in interviews.

They’re a good thing for

us, of course, but it’s not

why we make music. We

just really love writing the

songs that we write, we

love working together,

that’s the joy of the whole

thing, the core of all it is

that we do and who we

are.” Thom agrees. “We

don’t want to make a

point of having a persona.

There’s no point, it’s

only ever been about

the music that we make.

Some people feel the

need to put out an image,

but we don’t care.”

Alt-J prefer to keep the

limelight firmly on their

music, and persistently,

it’s an approach that

appears to be winning

out. ‘This Is All Yours’ is a

record that absorbs and

plays with traditional

genre, like a cat toys with

a mouse, before mangling

it out into a painty spew

with little regard for

convention. They might

insist that nobody can

define them, but still, the

same misty, triangular

essence that shrouded

their debut floats round

their second album.

Playful, experimental,

and ever so slightly arch

in places, only Alt-J could

write an album quite like

this.

Alt-J’s new

album ‘This

Is All Yours’

will be

released

on

22nd September via

Infectious Music. DIY

43

dfa 1979

U

n F

i

n i

s h e d

Business

DFA don’t seem to know how to

barbecue chicken drumsticks.

44 diymag.com

Ten

years

ago Sebas tien

Gr ainger and

Jesse F. Keeler

released

an

album of near

perfection. Now

they’re back,

risking it all

with a second.

A legacy hangs

in the bal ance

with a pressure

to deliver that

would crush

mos t others, but

then Death From

Above 1979 aren’ t

jus t another

band… Words: Tom

Connick. Photos:

Mike Massaro.

45

dfa 1979

There’s that special aura of the modern classic

that surrounds Death From Above 1979’s

sole LP to date. It’s trickled down through a

generation, feeding an offspring of younger

musicians with its influence and leaving

elephantine footprints across music fans’

collective consciousness. Whether it’s the

record’s brazen stampede of influences that have defined the

last decade’s foray into increasingly bent genre boundaries,

or simply their stripping down of members to a band’s two

key rhythmic components; once their impact is noted, it’s

impossible to miss.

“I’ve never really noticed that phenomenon actively,” claims

drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger. “It’s flattering if

I think about it objectively, in the way that we’re on a level

with the bands that influenced me - that’s how I relate to it.”

Indeed, in spite of their now well-publicised disbanding, the

sounds that Sebastien crafted alongside his bass-wielding

partner Jesse Keeler on 2004’s ‘You’re A Woman, I’m A

Machine’ brought them not only a gold album status in

their native Canada, but also an abundance of famous fans,

with almost every rising band since claiming to have taken

inspiration from the record at one point or another.

They seem such unlikely figureheads for a borderline cultural

revolution, these two self-proclaimed “weirdos” who interject

their wistful ponderings on their work with equal parts

giggling and “looking at boobs on the internet.” But it’s an

artistic pairing that they each seem destined to be a part of,

despite their less-than-amicable split. “There was part of me

that was just ignoring what we had in common for so long,”

confesses Sebastien when quizzed on the inevitability of their

couple’s reunion after five years of the cold shoulder. “Maybe

“The band exists separate

from us: we didn’t want

to do anything that

would take away from

that legacy.”

Sebastien Grainger

there’s certain things that

happen in your life that send

you down a certain path.

When you’re a musician

type you go through a long

phase of your life looking

for the people that you

relate to. You think you

have them when you’re a

kid and then all of a sudden

all these people turn out

to be normal. If you still

keep being weird past the

age of nineteen, twenty,

twenty-one… it’s harder to

find the weirdos. It’s kinda

the search for the lost tribe

in a way - you’re looking

for your people. We were

from two different sides of

the city, and two different

social circles, but we were

both weirdos. It kinda makes

sense that years and years

later, we go ‘oh yeah, you’re

weird’, ‘oh, you’re weird too!’

“You get into some funny

stuff, just because you’re

comfortable being your

own person and you’re

comfortable having ideas

that no one else around

you might share, and you

live like that for your entire

adult life. And you get real

comfortable with your own

decision-making process - it

creates a type of confidence

that I guess is a punk thing,

that ‘I don’t give a shit’

attitude. I would never

normally put it into those

words, but that’s part of

where it stems from: being

comfortable not included.”

Of course, this outsider

ethos is somewhat at odds

with the band’s nowlegendary

stature, but they

remained cautious once

the bridges were rebuilt

and the 2011 reunion tour

announced. “We needed

to see if there were real

fans out there; real, active,

excited people, and not just

people talking about us

on the internet,” continues

Grainger. “It was sort of an

experiment initially,” says

Jesse – the first of many

occasions in which the

band refer to their actions

as experimental. “When we

started playing together…

does anyone actually want

to see us when it’s possible

to, or is it something people

just talked about? We didn’t

know. We were just sort of

following along and seeing

what happened.” And once

the reunion proved to be a

success? “We knew we could

just keep playing the same

songs!” he jokes. “At that

point we’d just be the best

Death From Above covers

band ever; not an actual

living band, making music.

We wouldn’t have been

interested in continuing

if we weren’t making new

music; if the band still wasn’t

a living thing. I wanted to

make more music. There

was an unfinished business

creatively.”

But the duo were hardly

creatively void in their

half-decade apart. Sebastien

fostered a relatively

successful solo career,

and they both dabbled

in electronic and dance

music, most notably with

Jesse’s work as one half of

MSTRKRFT. “For me, one of

the greatest things in terms

of the evolution of this band

is that we’ve gone off and

done different things and

had separate compartments

for those ideas,” admits

Sebastien. “When you’ve just

got the one outlet, there’s

this desire to bring all those

different ideas into the one

package and lose focus.”

Jesse agrees: “It keeps Death

From Above pure in a sense,

because we’re not gonna

contaminate it with all our

other impulses – those

impulses have other homes.

So Death From Above can

retain this pure form.”

Maintaining the purity

of Death From Above is

something the pair seem

to see as a duty. Sebastien

sows the seed: “After all that

time, and having so many

people tell us that the record

that we’d made, it meant

so much to them, what we

really learned when we did

this reunion tour of sorts

46 diymag.com

is… the band exists separate from us, and we have evidence

in all those years that that was the case. So then, when we

were working on this new record, the pressure – if there was

any pressure apart from the pressure we put on ourselves in

general - was that we didn’t want to do anything that would

take away from that legacy. We didn’t want to do anything

that would cheapen it or ruin it for people who cared so much

about it. In a sense they cared more about it than we did,

because they kept going with it when we hadn’t. Maybe that

was us realising that the band is this other thing.”

So as Death From Above approach the release of their second

record ‘The Physical World’, they speak of their legacy as if

they’ve taken on another member. ”In this era, the script is

kind of half-written. The feeling of it is very different - like we

mentioned before, the concept of the band being a third,

separate thing. But also, people trust us. The labels we work

with and even the fans. We were a weird band - there weren’t

a lot of other two-piece bands going around when we started,

even The White Stripes were out of my consciousness. So this

band has always been a bit of a fight for us, and now we don’t

have to fight so hard.”

“The benefit of time on the

perception of what we’re

doing now is massive,”

continues Jesse. “If we had

released this record and

had never gone away, I

don’t know if it would have

been received as it is now,

which is incredible for us…

but I’d prefer not to have to

go away in order to keep it

interesting!” he laughs.

“I think it’s a matter of also

continuing to be objective

about it,” Sebastien muses.

“There’s a lot of bands that

just should have stopped a

while ago. And then there’s

bands like Spoon that keep

putting out records, and the

records are always good. If

we can do that, that’s cool.

I’ve seen bands since our

reunion take our template

and go ‘fuck, can we do

that? Can we break up for

a few years and then come

back bigger than we were

before?! Let’s try it out!’” he

concludes, finally allowing

admittance to the band’s

influence in perhaps the

most cynical of ways, “but I

don’t think you can replicate

this experiment.”

Death From Above 1979’s

new album ‘The Physical

World’ will be released on

8th September via Last

Gang Records / Caroline /

Fiction. DIY

47

jaws

Fix

Up,

Look

Sharp

JAWS are jumping hype band

hurdles to release an almighty

debut album in ‘Be Slowly’. Words:

Jamie Milton, Photos: Emma Swann

From the outside, Birmingham

band JAWS are as laid back as

it gets. They collectively coin

lazy day songs about being

“bored”. Early days saw them pegged

in as “tropical”, sporting “beach pop”

like that was some natural instinct for a

group coming out of the Midlands. The

truth is they’re four guys wanting to

escape. They’re in debt to this frustrated

urge to break out of a pattern of dead

ends. And it’s this spirit that’s gradually

developed their recordings, from an

initial batch of easy-on-the-ear indie

pop to the grungy, fuzz-fused leanings

of debut album ‘Be Slowly’.

In this gradual process of going from

chirpy to charged, they’ve also become

48 diymag.com

more expressive and honest as

songwriters. One song on the record,

‘Home’, is about frontman Connor

Schofield suffering a panic attack the

moment the band’s tour van parked

up in Sheffield for a show. “I thought

‘I need to go home’,” he recalls. “With

anxiety, you have to get through it

no matter what. So I just wrote some

songs about it.” That same night, JAWS

dressed up as Star Trek characters for a

Halloween gig. They’re the type to pull

through difficult circumstances with

beaming smiles on their faces.

This time last year they weren’t

exactly embroiled in trouble, but they

were on the brink of being struck

by the ‘hype’ curse. Initial chatter

had them talked up to the heavens,

tag-alongs to a B-town scene that was

only beginning to bloom (it swiftly

deflated, in some senses, because its

stars departed the city at the earliest

opportunity). JAWS have avoided the

London life, for starters. They’ve also

ridded themselves of a ‘hype’ tag,

either by default or through sheer will,

depending on who you ask. “When

you’re a hype band you’re trendy at the

time, and you don’t just wanna be that

band at that time,” says bassist Jake

Cooper. “You want people to connect

to you and follow your music. You don’t

want to be old news.”

The past twelve months has witnessed

this transition, from bigged-up

Birmingham boys to a mini-national

treasure. Every time these guys tour,

the crowds get bigger, the atmosphere

more intense. “The difference is we can

play in London, sell loads of tickets and

it’s all our fans, not a load of blokes that

do A&R,” sums up Connor.

‘Be Slowly’ tops off a period that’s

seen a shiny selection of songs given a

new spin. Gems from their early days,

like ‘Gold’, haven’t been scrapped,

but they’re jostling for space in a

new environment that contains more

amped-up, frenzied takes. At times

they could be compared to a US

college rock band. A sense of longing

lines the seams in songs about girls,

dreams, quick escapes. “When we first

started, the idea was to do Smashing

Pumpkins-style music,” says drummer

Eddy Geach. “That fuzzy sound.

Borderline grunge. And I don’t know

what happened, we kind of just bought

a synth,” he jokes. Today they verge on

linking up with Brooklyn fuzz fiends

DIIV and Beach Fossils, especially on

the title-track. And Connor is a selfprofessed

fan of hardcore music. It’s a

49

jaws

curious concoction.

With this debut it feels like they’ve just

about landed on the sound they’ve

been seeking, but it’s still a journey

that’s developing. “We’re writing

new songs at the minute, jamming

through pieces we’ve got together.

And immediately it seems different to

anything on the new album,” claims

Jake. “We’re changing the way we

play.” Connor admits the album’s been

a long time in the making. It’s been

completed for so long, “we didn’t

realise it was happening,” he says.

“It’s been in the back of our minds

until recently.” The speed with which

it’s come along might not have been

possible without a good chunk of PRS

for Music money that they received at

the tail end of 2013. Similar schemes

in other countries assist with giving

bands an international platform, but

this one simply gave JAWS a chance

to get to grips with recording. “We’d

released ‘Gold’ as a single and then

it was like, ‘What’s the next step?’ We

had a few songs and a few demos, but

not really any money to do an album,”

Connor remembers. “I always had a bit

of an anxiety about us having all this

build-up, getting a few fans and shows

and then the band having to stop,

because we couldn’t afford to carry on.

PRS let us carry on basically, gave us a

chance to do an album.”

“I don’t know

what happened,

we kind of

just bought a

synth.” Eddy Geach

‘Be Slowly’, as a title, insists that taking

time’s the best way to go (“A lot of

people live in a constant rush, and

you need to sit for a second,” says

Connor), but last year the band were

at a crossroads. “We had to make a

decision either way on whether to

rush it or not,” recalls Jake. “At the

time [debut EP] ‘Milkshake’ was still

going, we were still touring. It was a

matter of time until we had to make an

album.” This first work, in that sense,

carries an urgency. It’s the sound of a

band fighting past initial hype status,

shunning hyperbole, ignoring pressure

and simply becoming an actual band.

A group with fans and something

tangible to hold onto. “Releasing an

album is refreshing the hype, but it’s a

different kind,” claims Eddy, and there’s

a definite sense that JAWS are riding

a wave of their own now. It’s one free

of “beach pop” nonsense, and it’s one

that has a long way to go. Perhaps

they’ve been surfing it this whole time.

JAWS’ debut album ‘Be Slowly’ will

be released on 15th September via

Rattlepop. DIY

50 diymag.com

51

perfume genius

52 diymag.com

SCREAM

if you wanna go faster

Be afraid, be very afraid, says a newly

enraged Mike Hadreas. Perfume Genius - a

project known for its tear-jerkers - has just

become fully-charged. Words: Jamie Milton,

Photos: Emma Swann.

The obvious route, for anyone

sitting down to make slightly

more commercial music than

the kind they made before, is

to lock themselves in a room

and scream. There’s a moment

in Mike Hadreas’ third album

as Perfume Genius, ‘Too

Bright’, when things go from powerful and ecstatic

to all-out frenzied. ‘Grid’ - a terrifying standout on

the LP - gives the game away that this isn’t the same

songwriter that broke hearts with his stories on a

piano. Elvis-style delivery (“Maybe baby,” he turns, in

a like-for-like impersonation) is interjected with the

kind of high-pitched siren sound that tends to rattle

a war zone. It pierces and flies by far out of sight. And

it’s a sharp call to arms that belongs to Hadreas. All

this without mentioning the “goblin-y sounds”, in his

words, that arrive within the same song. Previously

Perfume Genius’ music could be equated with

whiskey, tears, heart-to-hearts, sudden pangs that

life might be a little tricky - not anymore. Through

sheer force, a different side’s emerged, and it barks

and bites at anyone who so much as stares oddly in

its direction.

It’s funny that things turned out this way, considering

the initial aim of this third album was to soften things

down a touch. Compromises weren’t necessary, but

a polite word in Hadreas’ ear had him encouraged

to change the subject slightly. Songs from the first

two albums didn’t shy from tough realities. ‘AWOL

Marine’ is about a homemade pornography scene

where one of the men tells the other that he’s

53

perfume genius

getting medication for his wife. Other

tracks carry a little more hope, but

all the same - they’re tackling deep,

troubling subjects that sometimes

brought a strange comfort. This wasn’t

poorly-intentioned advice that he

was receiving. “It was like, ‘If you did

this, if you toned it down, or talked

about more pleasant subject matter,

so that it’s just pretty and has less of an

unsettling undercurrent...’,” remembers

the 32-year-old. “And I’m getting older

- this is all I have going on, my music.

I thought I would have to take it more

seriously. But I just ended up having

to take it more seriously in a different

way.”

An initial goal of softening things down,

creating more commercial music, isn’t

totally outlandish. In their own very

different ways, both St. Vincent and

Future Islands have gone from niche

concerns to Really Big Deals in 2014,

despite retaining every speck of their

individual extremes - if not more,

actually. The same goes for Perfume

Genius. Even if he wound up rebelling

against his original aim, cinematic

elements creep in, and this does sound

like his biggest-sounding, perhaps

biggest-spanning record to date. “I was

more just rebellious about worrying so

much about what other people think,”

Mike claims. “It was rebellion against

overthinking.”

Then came the screams. On the album,

‘Grid’ links into ‘Longpig’, which boasts

a devilish, X-Files-style synth line and

tribal chanting. “When I was recording

it, I didn’t know if it was good enough.

But I just let myself do it anyway,” he

remembers, citing the running thread

between every song on the record.

Fearlessness is the biggest factor. The

real breakthrough moment came in

‘I’m A Mother’, where Hadreas’ vocal is

hushed but heart-breakingly pained.

He sounds like a previously dead spirit

emerging from the ground. It’s the song

that “broke the pattern,” he says. “It just

felt right. I was infinitely more inspired

by the weirdness and the darkness of

that song than what I had been doing

before. It just was much more exciting.

And there was a wild feeling about it - it

just felt really creative. I felt that thing

you want to be close to. I finally felt

trustworthy of it. And then I just started

going in [the studio] every day. I made

tons and tons of music.”

This dark-as-sin breakthrough moment

gave away to a prolific streak, not

that it’s evident on ‘Too Bright’. Three

minutes of ‘I’m A Mother’’s silent

screams were cut, Mike claims (“It

went on for a while!”) and the rest of

the record has this strange ability to

bring completely wild ideas together.

A cinematic theme rings true, but each

song comes off like a different scene

in a film. Hadreas cites himself to be

a very visual songwriter. “When I first

started making music, I would make a

song and then immediately make my

own video for it,” he remembers. And

with ‘Too Bright’, not for the first time,

he considered every element around

the record, from striking imagery to

the oddly euphoric video for ‘Queen’. “I

wanted to take every element around

the album very seriously. I wanted to

step up a little bit. So I was a lot more

thoughtful this time about videos and

the press photos. I had this idea of a

woman dressed as a man - that kind of

look. I liked that toughness. I thought it

was interesting.”

In ‘Queen’’s make-up strewn video,

Hadreas stars alongside a cast that

break into secret rooms, rip up office

papers and wreak terrifying havoc. It’s

a powerful song to the extreme, an

undoubted highlight from ‘Too Bright’.

“That song says that everything you’re

scared of is true. It’s

me. I’m coming for you!

There’s humour in it.”

It’s the most forthright “ I ’ m g e t t i n g

account of his own

homosexuality that

o l d e r - t h i s i s

he’s penned to date.

a l l I h a v e g o i n g

Not only is it him being

more upfront, it’s also o n , m y m u s i c . ”

the sound of Perfume

Genius seizing the P e r f u m e G e n i u s

agenda. With every song

on the record, there’s “a

catharsis”, he says. “Some of the songs

require a lot more performance now.

And there’s a lot more songs where

it’s just me singing. I’m not behind the

piano. I’m standing up,” he pauses.

“I might need to think about it more

though. Because I’ve been playing

these new songs and I completely freak

myself out - I have these adrenaline

rushes and then I’ll go to sit down

and play a really quiet song, and I’ll

54 diymag.com

be shaking and

wigged out.”

By turns

industrial,

bass-heavy and

electronically

charged, ‘Too

Bright’ also

possesses the

same piano-led

beauty displayed

in previous

records. The

heart’s still firmly

on the sleeve,

only this time, the

rest of Hadreas

is breaking into

action, forcing

himself into

the spotlight. “I

think a lot of this

album was about

trying to gain

some confidence.

And I’m not

fully there yet,

so I had to pull

from acting as if

I was confident,”

he says. “Even

though the root

of me feels the

way that I do,

the roof of me

believes that

I’m as good as

everyone else,

in my daily life

I don’t really

feel like that

fully. This album

is demanding

respect and

acceptance

instead of just

looking and

hoping for it.

I’m giving it to

myself.”

Ever get the feeling you’re being watched

by A GIANT FUCKING PEACOCK?

Perfume

Genius’s new

album ’Too

Bright’ will be

released on

22nd September

via Turnstile.

DIY

55

transgressive

Here’s To The

Transgressive Records turns 10 this year. Home to Foals, Dry the River and a

new breed of names, its founders are celebrating by looking ahead.

Words: Jamie Milton. Photos: Emma Swann.

“The moment

you’re at a

comfortable

stage, you

produce your

worst work.”

Toby L

The story of Transgressive is “well documented,” admit

founders Tim Dellow and Toby L, but it’s one worth

repeating. With a combined fund of two grand between

them, in 2004 they joined forces to put out 7” singles from

some of their favourite bands because nobody else was doing it. The

Subways, The Pipettes, Mystery Jets - these names run off like a who’s

who list of the bands blue-tacked to teenagers’ walls circa-2005 in

the form of giveaway posters. Little did they know at the time, but

both founders were immersed in a wave of

excitement that was running straight off a

New York scene, diverted towards London.

“The 7” singles just kept selling,” remembers

Toby. “My cat was living on them at home in

High Wycombe and then suddenly the next

week they were gone. We had press interest

saying we were the next Creation Records and

stuff like that - we just found it hilarious.”

Since then, the label’s ambitions have

changed. No longer chancers frog-hopping

their way from one release to the next,

they’re more interested in a narrative and

the career of an artist. Ten years probably

feels like forever for both involved, but in the

grand scheme of things it’s no time at all. Still,

they’ve successfully managed to oversee the

good times and the bad with bands like Foals,

The Noisettes, Johnny Flynn and Dry the River.

“To start with, I was obsessed with records,

physical records. But as you grow, you get two types of people in

the music industry, and the best labels are the ones that care about

people and the bands,” says Tim. “Very early on we did a few one-off

56 diymag.com

Transgressive’s

Proudest Moments

Asked to whittle down their top three highlights as a label,

Tim and Toby enter quite the discussion.

123

FOALS’ Radio

1 Maida Vale

session, 2010.

Tim: “In between

tuning up they were

jamming because they

just play non-stop.

Zane was like, ‘This is

incredible. Is this a new

song?’ He suddenly

put the guys on air,

said, ‘What are you

doing now? Can you

just have a bit of a jam

for us?’ It obviously

ends up sounding

amazing, Zane was

broadcasting to the

nation saying, ‘This is

what bands should

do’... They know each

other so well, there’s

so much chemistry

and they can start

making music

just by messing

around. So many

bands will go in

and be stiff and

scared.”

Johnny

Flynn at

London Scala,

2009.

Tim: “Now he’s

gone on to headline

Shepherd’s Bush and

beyond, one of the

greatest moments of

realisation was when

Johnny Flynn played

the Scala. It’s the first

one, as management,

where we put on a

show in a big venue.

People were singing

back the songs. It was

magical.”

FLUME’s remix

of Arcade Fire’s

‘Afterlife’, 2014.

Toby: “A lot of my

proudest moments

are from the last

few weeks because

it’s most of what

I can remember.

Even a week ago,

we got all of our

Flume and Arcade

Fire records. It’s

such a progressive,

challenging piece

of music, both by

his own repertoire,

also for remixes,

also for Arcade Fire.

I was just thinking

‘Fucking hell, what

an amazing

record.’”

57

transgressive

“We as a

music culture

and we as

an industry

aren’t patient

enough.”

Toby L

singles and we thought it was great,

but we saw bands that we loved going

off and being ruined.” Toby agrees.

“These bands were being chewed

up and spat out the other

end - they were ending up

disillusioned or making albums

they didn’t want to make. And

we were into an ideal, ethical

approach to making music.”

It’s no surprise that these two

are in no mood for looking

back. They’ve a handful of

exciting new artists on their

books - the likes of Gengahr

and Marika Hackman - and it’s

this faith in ‘what’s next’ that’s

held them in such good stead.

“You sign bands you love. You

hear stuff in formative stages

and you think about people

losing their shit over it,” Tim

declares. “We never try and

sign the same thing again.

We never want one band to

be an imitation of another on

the roster. We started and we

were all about being a punk

label - that changed as soon as

we saw The Pipettes, thinking

they were the best pop band

around.”

PARTY TIME

No Transgressive birthday goes off without

some kind of party. This year, they’re going

the whole hog. “Some people celebrate their

anniversaries with one day on one party,

but we’re just having a year of parties,” jokes

Toby. “We’re going to do more events but we

wanted to put the Barbican out there as this

centrepiece for now. It felt like a big posh

thing to do. It’s so proper and prestigious,

and when we approached Barbican they

offered to promote it themselves,

put everything towards it, which is

amazing.”

Anyone taking notes on how

to start a label might not be

fortunate enough to get an

early run as rich as the one that

struck Transgressive. They’re

also sitting here celebrating

the big one zero for a reason. Before

the label, Toby was running club

nights under RockFeedback. Tongue

placed firmly in cheek, he’d make

ludicrous offers on the off chance

he had a decent response. Graham

Coxon attended one of his nights

when he was just seventeen, post-

Blur’s split. “He was out the press,

God knows what was going on with

him,” Toby remembers. “I cheekily

said ‘Oh it would be amazing if you

ever wanted to do a secret gig at my

club night,’ he was like, ‘Yeah alright’.

I gave him my email address - the

next day he emailed directly and he

played there the next month for our

1st anniversary. The first night he’d

Johnny Flynn, Mystery

Jets, Marika Hackman

and more play London

Barbican on 30th

September. DIY

58 diymag.com

ever played without Blur. He debuted ‘Freaking Out’.

That was that.” They eventually ended up putting out

2009’s ‘The Spinning Top’. It’s this kind of outlandish but

deadly serious ambition that’s been a running thread

in their run of form. When speaking about how bands

work best, Toby claims that “everyone learns more

and works better when they’re out of their depth. The

moment you’re at a comfortable stage, you produce

your worst work.” And that’s an ethos worth applying to

a label - aim big, prepare to fail and act against adversity.

Then the results come. Often

they’ll sign bands due to chance

happenings, friends of friends.

One of the few “disappointments”

they’ve encountered, they say,

is the lack of good music

submitted through a form

on the Transgressive site.

“Oh yeah,” stops Toby.

“Except the time At The

Drive-In wrote in saying

they wanted to re-release

‘Relationship With

Command’ via our label.”

So there you go.

“We as a music culture and

we as an industry aren’t

patient enough,” says Toby

about the nurturing of new

bands. “We need to be a

lot more fucking patient

and supportive.” Tim cites Radiohead’s rise to the top as

an example. “They made a perfectly good debut album.

They then made an incredible second album. A groundbreaking

third album, an even better fourth album.

They were nearly dropped. The same with Blur. Those

albums nearly didn’t happen.” Gengahr, he says, were

signed “because of the band they’re going to become.”

It’s worth taking note of this leap of faith, because a

lot of bands are still left hung out dry before they’ve

even made a first step. ‘Sound Of’ polls and January-led

expectation place pressure on a group for it to be ‘their

year’, for a debut to be their ultimate statement. Given

the long-term ascent of Foals and the gradual growth of

Johnny Flynn and Dry the River, there’s little doubt that

Transgressive aren’t the types to judge everything on

the present day.

Toby says it was “idealism” that motivated them in

the early days. Now Transgressive oversee several

companies, with management, promotions, publishing,

live streaming all on the agenda. They’re not small fare,

but they’re also avoiding being tarnished by businessoriented

ambition. “With indies you have idealism but

you don’t have the resources. With us, we’re getting

further to having the idealism, the ambition and the

means to build on it. That to me is so fulfilling. To go

from speculation to actual attainment,” he continues.

Back in the day it was “papercut central,” where records

were being hand-stamped, printed and sent out to

plucky, excitable punters. That’s still going. “Every

record that turns up, you get that glow. But it’s all

momentary. The pride comes in succession.” All eyes

ahead, Transgressive’s 10th Anniversary is less a means

of looking back, more a reason to press on. DIY

2015

WHAT’S COMING UP

Transgressive’s guide to things to look out for.

Marika Hackman

“She’s grown up in public. She’s done a mini-album,

two separate EPs. She’s just finished the full-length with

Charlie Andrew. It just stands alone as a brilliant record.”

Gengahr

“I [Tim] met with them and we got on really well.

They’re massive film geeks. One of them has a

history of playing in crap Ska bands. Straight away

these guys were great. We saw them at the London

Scala [supporting Wolf Alice] and it was astonishing.”

Songhoy Blues

“We’re doing the album. It’s not like a world music

record, it’s a great fucking rock record.”

59

royal blood

60 diymag.com

R o y a l B l o o d a r e s t o r m i n g

v e n u e s a n d f e s t i v a l s

w o r l d w i d e , b u t t h e y ’ r e n o t

h e r e t o r e s c u e r o c k ’ n ’ r o l l :

“ I t d o e s n ’ t n e e d s a v i n g , ”

explains Mike Kerr. W o r d s :

Sarah Jamieson.

t’s been a little under twelve

months since Royal Blood

unleashed their first offering. A

thrashing, brutal effort that saw

heads turn and eardrums explode

on all fronts, their opening

mark on the world was one of

deliberate intent. This was a band

unafraid to sound huge, and their

progress has followed suit. It

should come as no surprise really;

from their homemade t-shirt that

Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders

donned for the latter’s headline slot

at Glastonbury, to their acceptance

across all realms of rock’n’roll, theirs

has always been a future destined for

massive stages. The speed at which

they’ve covered ground, though, is

something no one could’ve predicted.

From incendiary sets at SXSW, to

headline shows across America; from

causing frenzies in the city festivals

earlier this year, to somehow managing

to sound blisteringly loud even on

the radio, there’s nothing Royal Blood

can’t do.

“It’s been overwhelming,” offers

one half of the band, Mike Kerr. He’s

currently in the midst of a run of

US headline shows that land in the

middle of a summer of huge festival

appearances. “It feels like every other

day, we’re doing something where

we’re on the other side of the world

and we’re playing a huge show. If

anything, right now kinda feels like the

first UK tour that we did; we’re playing

in a bunch of towns and cities that

we’ve never played in before, and we’re

putting in the groundwork here. We’re

having a really good time.”

Royal Blood do the best Walter

White impressions.

It may be less than a year since they

embarked on that first set of headline

shows, but there was more than

enough preparation in the lead up.

For the Brighton duo, it took time to

perfect their techniques. There was

no rushing out of the gates, or getting

too ahead of themselves. With every

track they’d release came the utmost

precision and effort. Their sound

had been practised, perfected until

they were really ready to let all hell

break loose. Then, with ‘Out of the

Black’ – their first single, released back

61

royal blood

in September 2013 - they did. Locking

themselves away in the studio, they

began work on what would be their

current ‘greatest hits’; tracks were written,

recorded and re-recorded. With every

burst of sound, the duo worked hard to

make it louder, stronger, more powerful.

“The album took us from when the band

first started to about three weeks ago

today,” Mike assures, with confidence in

his voice. “I feel like we wouldn’t have

closed the lid on it if we weren’t 100%

ultimately satisfied and happy with what

we’ve made. There are no real nerves,

because however it’s received by anyone,

that’s their job, you know? That’s not our

responsibility. We’re happy with what

we’ve done and what we’ve made, and I

hope that it’s a good enough release, but

we’ve done it.

Taking their time to get things right

was key for the duo. “It’s just a matter

of quality control,” he explains. “It feels

like the latest song we write is better

than the one before, so I think it’s been

important to write the material from as

early as possible to as late as possible…

With this being our first record, the only

real agenda that we had for it was for it

to capture what we sound like as a band.

It wasn’t like we had a huge concept for

the record or anything; that all felt too

contrived. We just wanted to write the

best songs we could, whatever they were

or whatever they sounded like, and to

make sure that the best songs went on

the record. It’s as simple as that really.

“There’s always that thing, particularly

with a two-piece where there are

obviously fewer elements and [it’s more

difficult] to get things to have more

dynamics, or slower moments, or pauses

but that felt contrived and it felt like we

would be doing that for the sake of doing

that. I think the way that it’s come out just

comes from the fact that we didn’t really

have an agenda, and we just wanted to

capture the best songs that Royal Blood

have in this moment in time.”

The band’s simple approach to writing is

something that’s been cemented through

their relationship. Having known each

other for years before even beginning

the band, both Mike and drummer Ben

Thatcher share a connection that’s hard

to describe: their writing always begins

instinctually. “Absolutely,” agrees Mike.

“I mean, there’s always going to be

something quite primitive about two

people writing and playing together, so

instinctual is definitely the right word.

62 diymag.com

“The crowd

stamped a hole

in the floor, and

we’d never even

played there

before…”

Mike Kerr

63

royal blood

“I t h i n k fro m t h e

beginning up until

now, i t ’ s b e e n

ov e rw h e l m i n g .”

Mike Kerr

It’s the same way we write music; we’re in the same room

together and we just have fun and play around until we

stumble across ideas that we find funny or interesting but

also have some worth in a song somewhere. Then we keep

building from that.”

As for their unmistakable sound, as something that has

taken them time to hone, they have clear intentions when

it comes to laying down the songs themselves. “We’re quite

hands on with the recording process. We have a very clear

understanding of how we want each element to sound. Ben

knows what he wants and we just, in quite an old school

traditional sense of recording, don’t really hit record until it’s

going to sound how we want it to. We’re so used to playing

and recording with the two of us in the studio that it’s just a

well-oiled machine. The last time that we went in the studio

we were in there for two days and we had the drum sound

ready to go in about two hours; everyone’s on the same page.

“You know, again with there being two of us, it’s important

to us that everything sounds true to our band live. I don’t

think there’d be anything more heartbreaking than someone

liking our band and coming to the gig to find out that there’s a

backing track, or there’s extra members, or that we don’t add

anything but it just sounds rubbish. To me, it was a no-brainer

that the record had to be a true representation of what was

possible live, and that’s why it’s like that.”

Needless to say, the ferocity that the band possess has won

over fans and critics alike during the past twelve months,

but if anything, their presence is only going to grow. Having

already been named ‘the saviours of rock and roll’ back during

their appearance on the BBC Sound of 2014 poll (“That, to me,

is mental. It doesn’t need saving!”) before going on to perform

in front of 50,000 people at Finsbury Park back in May, it’s all

been a bit of a whirlwind. As they finally hit the home straight,

with a slew of European festival appearances and release of

their debut in sight, the duo are beginning to embrace the

madness.

“Like I was saying,” he says, “every other day, something

very surreal happens. There’s a point where you do start

taking it in a bit more and that’s when I think you properly

start to enjoy it. It was great to play on that stage and it was

a real memorable experience. The festivals have been very

enjoyable too; we’ve got to go to countries that we’ve never

gone to before. For me, a personal highlight was Poland.

That was a great experience: the crowd stamped a hole in the

floor,” he concludes, with a hint of nonchalance. “And we’d

never even played there before…”

Royal Blood’s self-titled debut album is out now via

Warner Bros. DIY

64 diymag.com

plus guests Alvvays

Monday 20 October

Sunday 26 October

Cambridge Junction 2 Newcastle Riverside

Tuesday 21 October

Tuesday 28 October

Liverpool Kazimier Brighton Komedia

Friday 24 October

Wednesday 29 October

Birmingham Institute London

Saturday 25 October

O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

Leeds Brudenell Social Club Tickets: seetickets.com

New album ‘Atlas’ out now on Domino realestatetheband.com

SOLD OUT

65

A LT - J / AV I B U F FA L O / B E A C O N S / B A N K S / C H R I S T O P H E R O W E N S

GNARWOLVES / GREEN MAN / INTERPOL / JAMIE T / JAWS / KAREN O

/ M A R M O Z E T S / M A Z E S / O F F / P E R F U M E G E N I U S / P O S I T I V U S /

eeee

DEATH

FROM

ABOVE

1979

The Physical World

(Fiction / Last Gang / Caroline)

The ballsiest move imaginable.

he perfect band. That’s what you’ll hear those bloodshot-eyed veterans say. It

may only have been ten years since Death From Above 1979 unleashed their

T classic ‘You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine’ upon the world - not so long ago none

of us can remember it - but it feels like a lifetime ago. In musical terms, it is. Since then

we’ve seen countless bands step up to take their throne. None of them really did.

Instead, the chair lay empty. Waiting, like the sword in the stone, for the true kings to

pull it free. It’s no slight on others to say they never scratched that itch. Death From

Above 1979 were - and evidently are - special.

You’ll know the image well. Jesse F Keeler and Sebastien Grainger, hand drawn, black

on white, back to back, blank eyed with trunks. The bat signal for mayhem, shine it in

the sky and the devoted will flock. So why risk it? Even stepping back into the front line

to play live shows in 2011 felt a gamble for DFA1979. In their absence, they’d grown.

Unable to disappoint, the story was passed down - this was that band, the one who

could save us all. They needed to be harder, louder, more intense than ever. A second

record would be the ballsiest move imaginable. It couldn’t not be a disappointment,

could it?

66 diymag.com

/ D E AT H F R O M A B O V E 1 9 7 9 / FA M Y / F L O W / G E R A R D WAY /

/ K E N D A L C A L L I N G / L O N E LY T H E B R AV E / L O W E R T H A N AT L A N T I S

RYAN ADAMS / SBTRKT / THE DRUMS / THE VINES / TRUCK

TRACKLIST

1 Cheap Talk

2 Right On, Frankenstein!

3 Virgins

4 Always On

5 Crystal Ball

6 White Is Red

7 Trainwreck 1979

8 Nothin’ Left

9 Government Trash

10 Gemini

11 The Physical World

You can put that one down right away. One blast of ‘The

Physical World’ and BANG, the doubt is gone. Opener ‘Cheap

Talk’ emits a snarl before hitting the beat, coupling that

trademark fury with rapid-fire cowbell. Disco punk wielding

a satanic chainsaw, DFA1979 have evidently been grafting on

limbs of the dismembered Rapture. ‘Right On, Frankenstein!’

goes even deeper into the underworld. “I don’t wanna die but

I wanna be buried, meet me at the gates of the cemetery,” the

refrain demands. This monster has no intention of staying six

feet under for another ten years.

But it’s what comes next that really sets out what’s changed.

‘Virgins’. A traditional, huge rock riff; a chorus that demands

to be sung back - whisper it quietly, but this is a band who

could actually take the mainstream. In a world where Royal

Blood tear up Radio 1, the harder, cooler, classic equivalent

has invested in some tasty new flavours. Take ‘White Is Red’. If

someone had told you Death From Above 1979’s new album

would feature a ballad, you’d quite rightly deem them the

missing village idiot. But this - slower riffs, echoing sentiment,

building momentum - might fit the bill. It’s even sort of

moving, in its own weird way. Everything is relative.

But as ‘The Physical World’ hits its mid point, it audibly tenses

up. Stiff back, rock stance, ‘Trainwreck 1979’. The temperature

drops, flames rise, eyes narrow. “I want it all, I can’t get

enough,” it demands again and again. From here, it’s business

time. ‘Nothin’ Left’ drops right back into the trenches, stalking

for prey. A claustrophobic horror show, ‘Government Trash’

plays to strength too before giving way to ‘Gemini’, echoing

‘Pull Out’ with its squealing riff. As the title track moves from

beeps and bombs to its almighty doom laden, city levelling

refrain there’s barely a beat been missed. Time may have

moved on, but Death From Above 1979 remained in constant

motion with it. Two for two, flawless victory - this is still the

perfect band. (Stephen Ackroyd) LISTEN: ‘Virgins’, ‘Gemini’

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reviews

Wonderfully

intimate.

eeee

MARMOZETS

The Weird and Wonderful marmozets

(Roadrunner)

Marmozets’ Becca MacIntyre’s voice is gloriously smooth,

and pitch-perfect. When not occupied by guttural

screaming, it soars over her bandmates’ brilliantly energetic

riffs, creating a killer combination that’s at its best when creating great big

anthemic pop-rock choruses, like those on opener ‘Born Young and Free’, or

follow-up ‘Why Do You Hate Me?’. It’s a mixture that’s most potent during the

danger-tinged ‘Is It Horrible’ and ‘Love You Good’ – both employing the same

dual vocals and post-punk rhythms as Blood Red Shoes, albeit with a little more

sheen. ‘The Weird and Wonderful’ is bold, confident, accomplished – and most

importantly, fun. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘Is It Horrible’

eee

CHRISTOPHER OWENS

A New Testament (Turnstile)

With this second solo record, Christopher Owens is bold and

uncompromising, setting a wildly different tone to either

Girls or debut ‘Lysandre’ from the off. The short and sweet

‘My Troubled Heart’ is a rip-roaring, old school call and

response affair that thoroughly ruffles the feathers. It also sounds, at times, like the

kind of music from which the Coen Brothers could hinge a plot, a track like ‘A Heart

Akin In The Wind’ coming instantly to mind. While a fun record, one issue remains,

the fact that it’s often hard to connect with something so unabashedly honest;

Owens all-too-frequently sounds as if he’s singing tongue in cheek, and it’s hard to

tell if you’re in on the joke or not. He’s a consistent master of his craft, but does he

want to show that off, or hide it under artifice? (Nathan Roberts) LISTEN: ‘It Comes

Back To You’

eeee

KAREN O

Crush Songs (Cult Records)

Demos are funny things.Microcosms

of what was, will, or might be, and

even what never transpired. Evidence

of potential realised and others lost.

A bit like crushes, if you will. So in a

world where it’s possible to create a

studio ‘proper’ with little more than

the right computer software and

a decent microphone, it’s apt that

the “bedroom recordings” of ‘Crush

Songs’ share so much more with those

scratchy sketches of songs than the

work of producers who just happen to

work at home. So this doesn’t feel like

a solo debut. Not least because Karen

O’s unmistakeable vocals are one of

the most iconic of the 21st Century

– but also because they’re snippets,

like a sneak peek in to her songwriting

process. And because they were

recorded as long as eight years ago.

‘Crush Songs’ is, essentially, charming.

The scratchy recordings suit the

dreamy 50s-lite melodies; the guitars

are rough, the vocals imperfect; these

are pretty, sweet, gorgeously simple

songs which have come, been and

gone. A bit like crushes themselves,

really. (Emma Swann) LISTEN: ‘Body’

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eeee

GERARD WAY

Going for

gold.

Hesitant Alien (Warner Bros.)

Gerard Way has it all to lose. The former My

Chemical Romance frontman, a tabloid-baiting,

main stage-stalking superhero, this first solo album

is firmly on his own terms. All lo-fi and packed with

magpied influence from the best of 90s alternative

music on both sides of the pond, there’s every

chance the majority of Gerard’s existing fans won’t

be old enough to draw the line from ‘Hesitant

Alien’ to somewhere inside Camden’s Good Mixer

circa 1997. ‘Get The Gang Together’ has snarl and

edge, ‘Drugstore Perfume’ is all falsettos, strings

and kitchen sink tales - when Way goes Britpop, he

does it with a love and knowledge most revivalists

lack. It’s not all Steve Lamacq’s greatest hits, either.

‘Millions’ is a huge FM pop juggernaut, ‘Juarez’ a

screaming, rumbling beast of a song. Unashamed

scuzzy brilliance, the risk was worth it. (Stephen

Ackroyd) LISTEN:

‘Get The Gang

Together’

eeee

MAZES

Wooden Aquarium (FatCat)

After the release of a mini-album last year,

Mazes are now back with their most polished

effort to date, ‘Wooden Aquarium’. Recorded

to thick two-inch tape with Parquet Courts-affiliated producer

Jonathan Schenke, it’s without a doubt the trio’s most triumphant

LP to date, and sees frontman Jack Cooper mostly returning to

his off-kilter pop roots. The one-two punch of ‘Astigmatism’ and

‘Salford’ is up there with Parquet Courts’ ‘Master of My Craft’ and

‘Borrowed Time’, whilst the immediate swan dive into ‘It Is What It

Is’ channels the best krautrock-y bits that ‘Ores & Minerals’ nailed

so well. Whether you come for the hooks and melodies found on

the stampeding ‘Stamford Hill’ and ‘Letters Between U&V’, or the

rougher jam sessions of ‘Explode into Colo(u)rs’ or ‘Ripp’, Mazes

confirm themselves as one of the most exciting British bands

around. (Tom Walters) LISTEN: ‘Astigmatism’

69

reviews

Beautifully

batshit.

eee

FAMY

We Fam Econo (Transgressive)

Until late 2013 it looked as if Famy had dropped off

the map. A vow of silence lasted over 12 months,

while Bruce and Arthur Yates diverted their attention

to more of a joke project, the equally hype-gaining

Los Porcos. That big chunk of nothing that defined Famy’s output last year

might have damaged them in the short term, but if as suspected they

spent their time perfecting ‘We Fam Econo,’ it was time well spent. This is a

collection of spirited songs that given their gung-ho mentality sometimes

come out flawed, but charming all the same. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Ava’

eee

LONELY THE BRAVE

the Day’s War (Columbia)

Powerful: if there was one word that encapsulates

the debut effort from Lonely The Brave, it’d be

that. From the band’s musical talents to the songs’

lyrical content, this is an album which bubbles

with frustration, anger and passion, threatening to burst through its seams

at any moment. Recorded around the same time as their initial offering, the

‘Backroads’ EP, the newcomers might not be treading much new territory

with their full-length, but they are pinning their colours to the mast. This is

a band unafraid to try to move people, and they succeed. (Sarah Jamieson)

LISTEN: ‘Trick of the Light’

eeee

ALT - J

This Is All Yours (Infectious)

With ‘This Is All Yours’, Alt-J have

become even odder. Blame it on

second album pressure, cabin fevered

recording sessions, their obsession with

crisp packets - something’s clicked, and

they couldn’t give one flying fuck about

being a big deal. The obvious route

would’ve been for them to pen a crop

of instantly memorable numbers that

run hand-in-hand with their success.

Instead, they make crazed claims like

“I’m gonna bed into you like a cat beds

into a bean bag”. Not even Radiohead

went this weird when they had

hundreds of thousands waiting on their

every move. Behind every batshit idea

is a wealth of beauty, and given this was

the vital appeal of ‘An Awesome Wave’,

Alt-J have struck gold second time

round. (Jamie Milton) LISTEN: ‘Warm

Foothills’

70 diymag.com

THE COLLABORATORS

Ezra Koenig’s vocal contribution

on ‘NEW DORP. NEW YORK’ is great

– but we already know him, Jessie

Ware and long-term collaborator

Sampha. Who are these others on

‘Wonder Where We Land’?

Caroline Polachek

Best known as the vocalist for

DIY faves Chairlift, Caroline’s also

released experimental stuff under

the name Ramona Lisa, and both

wrote and co-produced Beyoncé’s

‘No Angel’.

Koreless

Having already worked with fellow

Young Turks labelmate Sampha

(it’s one big love-in ‘ere), Welsh DJ

Lewis Roberts released his debut EP,

‘Yügen’ back in May last year.

A$AP Ferg

As his name gives away, Ferg

(that’s Darold Ferguson, Jr.) is

part of Harlem’s A$AP Mob,

having befriended A$AP

Rocky in high school. He

released debut album ‘Trap

Lord’ in August 2013.

Raury

This young Atlanta

singer-songwriter is

already mashing up

influences from 2Pac to

Death Cab via Bon Iver

and Linkin Park – and gets

to support local heroes

Outkast at their giant

homecoming festival this

month.

A blindingly

brilliant album.

eeee

SBTRKT

Wonder Where We Land (Young Turks)

Aaron Jerome is something of a maestro when

it comes to sampling different genres. Not much

has changed on ‘Wonder Where We Land’ in this

respect – his hands are constantly snatching

at multiple influences like he’s been given five

minutes to cram down dishes in an all you can eat tapas bar. He’s also got a talent

for selecting the right guests to help him out. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig is the

perfect match for the strange, jittering jazz-beat backing of stand-out ‘NEW DORP.

NEW YORK’, while Denai Moore brings liberal helpings of soul to stuttering ‘The Light’.

Chaotic, experimental, but oddly refined, SBTRKT has released one of 2014’s

most exciting albums. (El Hunt) LISTEN: ‘New Dorp. New York’

eeee

LOWER THAN

ATLANTIS

Lower Than Atlantis (sony red)

If ‘Lower Than Atlantis’ was a plane, it would

be a bomber – a B-52 in a world of model

spitfires. Not only have Lower Than Atlantis put together one of

the most brilliantly conceived releases of the year so far, they

have done so in such a way which comprehensively retains your

belief in every single note they sing and every middle finger

they stick up. And that’s the real joy here: that LTA have made

their most commercial album to date, but done so without

compromising any of the attitude that sets them apart in the

first place. (Tomas Doyle) LISTEN: ‘English Kids in America’’

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reviews

eeee

INTERPOL

El Pintor (Soft Limit)

Within a minute and a half of ‘El Pintor’, Interpol find a gear

they’d not risen to in over a decade. Paul Banks’ lyrics have

found a directness and storytelling eloquence that sees

some of his fondness for linguistic absurdity left behind.

The now trio have mapped out a stunning marriage of the intensity and depth

of the first half of their career with the grandeur and drama of the second. The

strongest vocal performance from Banks is perfectly showcased in the chorus for

‘Same Town New Story’ which offers possibly the most delicate chorus the band

has ever created. The band who could once do no wrong returns, doing a hell of a

lot of things exactly right. (Matthew Davies) LISTEN: ‘Ancient Ways’

eeee

BANKS

Goddess

(Good Years / Harvest)

At the core of Banks’ sound is a lyrical honesty that colours

every cool, trickling twist with unmistakable ownership.

While the strongest songs on ‘Goddess’ remain the ones

we’ve already heard; ‘Brain’ lurks in the shadows, skittering and smouldering, and

‘Waiting Game’ burns in slow-motion like a fuse slowly crackling towards final

implosion, the more minimal moments show her in a different light; it’s clear Banks

shares as much in common with the likes of Feist and Fiona Apple as she does with

smooth-operating pop sheen. A bewitching, and

surprisingly diverse debut, it looks like Jillian Banks

more than lives up to the hype. (El Hunt) LISTEN:

‘Waiting Game’

Bewitching,

and

surprisingly

diverse.

BANK ON IT

With this page alone boasting

records from the completely

unrelated (as far as we know)

Jillian of the mononymous

Banks and Paul Banks of

Interpol, here are some other

Banks of note.

Azealia Banks

Was there ever a

point we wondered

whether the New

York rapper’s oft-postponed

‘Broke With Expensive Taste’

was also going to feature on this

page? Er, no.

Carlton Banks

The world’s bestloved

prep, smartass

and undefeated

(and undefeatable) king of

dancing alone to Tom Jones,

Carlton also single-handedly

designed Vampire Weekend’s

stage attire. Fact.

The Banks family

from Mary Poppins

The best-behaved

mischevious

children in film, their angry and

aloof father and suffragette

mother all failed to laugh on

camera at Dick Van Dyke’s

‘Cockney’ accent. Amazing.

Banks. You know,

the ones on the

high street.

With slow queues,

overdrafts and charges, and pens

on chains for all those cheques

that still exist.

72 diymag.com

eeee

PERFUME

GENIUS

Too Bright

(Turnstile)

For his third album as Perfume

Genius, Mike Hadreas seems

to have found what the

fragrance-marketing people

might refer to as his Signature

Scent. Heady and potent, ‘Too

Bright’ is an astonishingly

brilliant album. There’s an

intoxicating power to it, which

is especially apparent in

‘Queen’, his haughty, sashaying

anthem about possessing

an identity that causes

destruction by simply moving

through the world. Lairy

post-punk clatters and drizzles

through ‘Grid’, while ‘Longpig’

is euphoric and musky. The

title track is so delicately

constructed that it seems to

float on air with papery wings.

‘Too Bright’ is a diverse, multifaceted

and all-absorbing

slice of sheer mastery. (El Hunt)

LISTEN: ‘Too Bright’

An allabsorbing

slice of sheer

mastery.

eee

RYAN ADAMS

Ryan Adams (Pax-Am / Columbia)

‘Ryan Adams’ is very much a

continuation of the path last trodden

by 2011’s ‘Ashes and Fire’, a heartening

mix of sombre country rock (the

desolate sounding ‘Shadows’) and the

catchy Adams of old featured on the

lead single ‘Gimme Something Good’.

Thematically this is the Ryan Adams we

have grown to love, all dusty highways,

smoky bars and moments of gentle

personal introspection spread across 11

tracks. Yet comforting familiarity aside,

occasionally it sounds as though Adams

is on cruise control, with brief flashes

of rehashed older melodies from his

back catalogue making an appearance.

Equally, whilst there are no real lows

on the album, the highs are equally not

of the sky-scraping variety. (Bevis Man)

ee

THE DRUMS

Encyclopedia (Republic of Music)

The Drums’ past few years have, with

label and line-up changes, been a

little turbulent. Though liberating in

some ways, the hardships this brought

formed the basis for their third fulllength,

‘Encyclopedia’. It treads largely

the same boards that The Drums have

become accustomed to, albeit with a

slightly darker edge to their now-token

summer vibrancy. They sound torn,

split between the success of their

early years and where to head next.

Their changes have knocked them

fractionally off course, and while it is

only slight, it is noticeable. This is the

sound of The Drums trying to find their

feet once again, an endeavour not yet

fully accomplished. (Will Moss) LISTEN:

‘Face Of God’

73

reviews

A welcome, if

mixed, return.

eee

JAMIE T

Blood (Sony/Red)

Only the second most eagerly

awaited comeback of this month’s

issue, Jamie T seemed to have

disappeared completely following

2009’s ‘Kings & Queens’. Five years

later, ‘Carry On The Grudge’ shows

the twenty-something south-west

Londoner is back - and best when

at his most vulnerable. There’s

standout ‘Mary Lee’, taking more

than a small cue from the solo

output of one Graham Coxon’s,

the prettily sweet (and not a Steps

cover) ‘Love is Only a Heartbeat

Away’ and the glorious pin-drop

moment in waiting that is the

stellar single ‘Don’t You Find’. But

then, nestled among Jamie’s nowstandard

early-hours inner-city tales

(‘Turn On The Light’, ‘Limits Lie’)

falls the bizarre and confusing ideas

dump that is ‘Trouble’: brass, gospel

backing, kitchen sink (probably)...

An undoubtedly welcome, if mixed,

return. (Emma Swann) LISTEN:

‘Mary Lee’

eeee

JAWS

Be Slowly

(Rattlepop)

The depth of ‘Be

Slowly’ proves

that JAWS

slack about as much as a full-time

lawyer that hates oversized shirts and

music from the 90s. Opener ‘Time’,

for example, has been injected with

a new dimension through staccatoguitar

hooks and ‘Reflektor’-esque

bongos, while closer ‘NYE’ feels

suitably elephantine with its thick

coating of reverb and carefully crafted

guitar pieces. ‘Filth’ slinks through

grimy guitar hooks and trash-cans

of fuzz, and ‘Home’ fizzes with its

acidic plunge pool of a chorus, before

culminating in a guitar onslaught.

Sure, those looking for 24/7 simple,

saccharine sun and smiles may be

jarred in a few odd points; but the rest

of us can enjoy the added punch and

intensity that ‘Be Slowly’ brings to the

table. (Kyle MacNeill) LISTEN: ‘Time’

eee

THE

VINES

Wicked

Nature

(Wicked Nature

Music)

With sixth outing ‘Wicked Nature’, The

Vines are back on form - for the most

part. Right from the opener, punchy

riffs and catchy choruses snap weary

heads to attention. From slow grungy

musings to electrified rock anthems cut

up by characteristic, tantalisingly short

blasts of energy, ‘Wicked Nature’ is

both exhausting and exhilarating. This

could be a flawless garage rock album.

Unfortunately while there is one of

those hidden away in here somewhere,

it’s buried within an unnecessarily long

double album constituting of 22 not

dissimilar tracks. At least ten too many.

There are very few instances in which

a double album is necessary and this is

not one of them. (Henry Boon) LISTEN:

‘Metal Zone’

74 diymag.com

eee

AVI BUFFALO

At Best Cuckold (Sub Pop)

‘At Best Cuckold’ is intended as a hopelessly romantic

album. It’s hopeless in that the lyrics read like exerts from

a scribbled diary hidden under a mattress, and there’s

something deliberately overwrought about the amount of

lofty texturing going on at every turn. While ‘Avi Buffalo’ was a creepy, frustrated

and self-indulgent debut in a way that felt believable, its successor doesn’t quite

sit right. The crackling lo-fi unease is largely ousted in favour of a cleaner, more

confident sheen, and the offshoot is that ‘At Best Cuckold’ is so highly polished that

it feels a little lacking in the kind of blindsided naivety that comes hand in hand with

romance. (El Hunt) LISTEN: ‘Overwhelmed With Pride’

eeee

GNARWOLVES

Gnarwolves (Big Scary Monsters / Tangled Talk)

It’s weird to think that Gnarwolves are only now putting out their debut album.

Since the release of EP ‘CRU’ back in 2012 they’ve been one of the hottest bands in

UK punk. Now they’ve finally managed to find time enough to record an album – and

boy, is it a good one. Sure, there’s nothing on ‘Gnarwolves’ that exactly tears up the

rule book – but what it lacks in originality

it more than makes up for in execution.

From the first seconds of opener ‘Prove It’

there’s barely a chance to stop and catch

a breath. What really impresses, though,

is that they’ve managed to more or less

capture the essence of the live shows on

which they’ve built their reputation. 28

minutes of thrashy, unadulterated skate

punk that’s a knockout from start to finish.

(Stuart Knapman) LISTEN: ‘Day Man’

Q&A

Gnarwolves frontman

Thom Weeks discusses

their debut with DIY’s

Sarah Jamieson.

You returned to The Ranch

in Southampton to record

‘Gnarwolves’: how was the

recording process?

Max completed Assassin’s

Creed while were there! We

spent a lot of time feeling a

little bit lost, in the middle of

nowhere, because it rained

a lot so we were stuck in

the barn a lot of time. But it

was awesome. Lewis [Johns,

producer] made us feel really

comfortable and we didn’t

have to rush, and we’ve

never been able to not rush

before. I think it shows in

the recording quality. It was

great, it was really nice.

If you could have listeners

take anything away from

the album, what would you

hope it to be?

I’m still trying to work

it out for myself at the

moment. I’m hoping that

the overarching theme is the

freedom to not necessarily

have everything worked out

and the freedom to be able

to feel and think what you

want, and not be judged for

it. DIY

A knockout

from start to

finish.

75

Photos: Carolina Faruolo

76 diymag.comlive

-Darkside of the

gloom.

beaty

heart

Beacons

Heslaker Farm, Skipton

daughter

A

stone’s throw from

Skipton, a quiet market

town recently voted the

best place to live in the

UK, Beacons sticks out like

a sore thumb. Forward thinking and

eclectic, the site is a vibrant microcosm

of new music nestled amongst the

sleepy rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales. While British Sea

Power gently stir their surroundings with a live soundtracking

of coastline documentary ‘From The Sea To The Land Beyond’,

it’s Nai Harvest who ultimately serve as Friday morning’s

wake up call. The duo storm through initial tech problems

to showcase half an hour of earworm indie-pop, the hazy

melodies of latest single ‘Buttercups’ a perfect antidote to

the bleary-eyed aftermath of Thursday’s bitterly cold night.

On the Noisey stage, the mounting technical difficulties delay

East India Youth’s arrival, but he eventually brings forth a

set that - while perhaps less fluid than most in his jam-packed

summer schedule - is no less impassioned a presentation of

a debut that’s surely a definite for Mercury Prize nomination.

Later, Daughter’s flawless, shimmering soundscapes are

a little lost amongst the chatter of those who’ve come

straight from the surrounding tents’ house and techno.

Saturday brings with it the sun, and a perfect soundtrack in a

supporting cast of indie-pop high hopes. It’s JAWS who take

the early afternoon crown. Instilled with a clear confidence

by the hype surrounding them, they recut their own material

seemingly on the fly – a particularly frantic version of ‘Gold’

the standout – and drop their biggest hints yet that their

upcoming debut full-length is one to watch.

A last minute cancellation from Charli XCX leaves the pure

pop vibe solely in Years & Years’ hands, and they take

to the role on the DIY stage with aplomb. Soundtracking

the warmest rays of the day, their silky R’n’B is remarkably

accomplished for a band so new. Hookworms, on the other

hand close out the day with a searing white heat. From the

moment they take to the stage, their furious psychedelia

incites mania, the frantic screams of enigmatic frontman

MJ a million miles from the sun that greeted the morning.

It’s a fury that’s carried through to the festival’s closing

day, as Hurricane Bertha takes aim at the site. Tall Ships’

crowd is sparse as a result, but the newly expanded fivepiece

are every bit as unstoppable as the carnage outside.

65daysofstatic’s usually mind-bending post-rock is a little

flatter by comparison, and as they present almost solely new

material the Sheffield quartet make little impact. But as the

winds pick up and the site begins to collapse around itself,

it’s Darkside who close out proceedings in the most fitting

manner. It’s a far deeper offering than on record, with tracks

from last year’s ‘Psychic’ holding less of a swagger and more

of a techno feel, but it suits the festival’s end perfectly – a

kaleidoscope of influence which echoes even the furthest of

Beacons’ corners. As the duo evacuate and the hurricane tears

through the site - taking tents along with it - the festival’s slate

is wiped clean, the hills return to their slumber and Skipton to

its usual idyllic state. The best place to live in the UK? For one

weekend a year; absolutely. (Tom Connick)

77

LIVE

KENDAL CALLING

Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria

Mint (cake)

frankie and the heartstrings

woman’s hour

Throughout its nine-year existence, Kendal

Calling has shaped up to be more of an

experience than the regular warm-beer-powered

festival, from a special on-the-move acoustic

performance by Jimi Goodwin on the Kendal

Express train to the exciting yet intimate stages

and tents plus a few secret sets, 2014 was a

milestone in terms of line up, size and identity. By

the time Suede are due to close Friday evening,

everyone’s been fighting with mud and rain for

twelve hours, but none of that matters, with

the sea of hands pointing at the lively as ever

Brett Anderson during the chorus of ‘Trash’, or

by the energetic mosh-pit for ‘Beautiful Ones’.

But it’s really the encore with an acoustic version

of ‘She’s in Fashion’ that brings the biggest and

most sincere cheer of the evening. The place to

be during the weekend was of course Tim Peaks’

diner, with their late night music entertainment

and delicious range of food. The daytime line

up of bands isn’t too bad either with Frankie &

The Heartstrings making a stellar appearance

on Saturday, playing songs from both of their

albums plus some brand new tracks instantly

captivating their fans and steaming up the cabin’s

windows. Happy Mondays might just be the

ultimate festival band. While nothing particularly

exciting happens on stage, bar Bez’s ridiculous

dance moves, the atmosphere of the whole field

changes into party-mode only a few songs in with

people dancing even from the top of the ferris

wheel. Sunday is all about the DIY stage, starting

with Hull indie-punk newcomers Life, whose

familiar sounds fall somewhere between Skaters

and Parquet Courts, Jake Isaac’s charisma and

folk pop songs make him future

main stage material, but it’s Breton

who brought the biggest crowd

and collective bounce of the day.

Woman’s Hour’s polished songs

and stunning stage set up are then

the ethereal calm before the storm.

While Example and some serious

fireworks close the weekend at the

main stage, we stay indoors for a

heart-warming performance by

Frightened Rabbit. Opening with

the soon-to-be-a-classic new track

‘Holy’ the Scottish band keep the

energy flowing during their entire

career-spanning set, and show that

it takes more than heavy rain to put off Cumbria’s

music enthusiasts. (Carolina Faruolo)

78 diymag.com

MØ decided to embrace the

state of the portaloos.

mø

Belle & Sebastian

OFF

Katowice, Poland

I

magine the following scenes: Andrew WK is blasting out

what sounds like a CBeebies’ theme song as rain comes

tumbling down around his party-goers. Jeff Mangum is

playing solo; gearing everyone up for a solemn tearjerker in

‘Oh Comely’. Belle & Sebastian play a headline set that’s like a

joyous stroll through the field of their greatest hits. The prices

are beyond reasonable (although this boils down to the Polish

economy, ultimately), the curation is eclectic and exciting

(You want to see Cerebral Ballzy and Perfume Genius in the

space of a couple of hours? Sure, go ahead) but most of all the

atmosphere is utterly electric. These are just a few highlights

of many at OFF - Poland’s most unsung hidden gem - and after

this year’s scenes, it deserves to be one of the biggest festivals

on the planet. (Tom Walters)

POSITIVUS

Salacgriva, Latvia

S

ituated on the Latvian coast in

Salacgriva, a two hour drive from

capital Riga – the Positivus site

is a forest/beach combo, perfect if you

want to swim in the stunning Baltic

Sea in between bands. And after a

brief walk around the site on arrival, it’s

time for Laura Mvula’s pre-sunset slot.

There’s no doubt that Mvula’s technical

vocal skill and slick, velvet tone are

enviable and her majestic stage

presence complements it, commanding

the audience’s attention fully whilst

barely lifting a limb. The intimacy

grows even stronger as Baltimore’s

Future Islands grace the stage as a

fitting end to the night, undoubtedly

the most anticipated performance of

the whole weekend. Samuel T Herring

ducks, dives and grinds on the stage

– alternating between his ferocious

chest-thumping and signature dance

moves. On Saturday afternoon

Daughter provide an apt mellow set

that’s goose-pimple inducing, with

Elena Tonra remaining a seemingly shy

but decidedly powerful force. Later, the

time comes for Positivus’ attendees to

sport their 3D glasses and get into the

Kraftwerk mindset. Reunion shows are

oversaturated and often embarrassingly

disappointing at this point but

Kraftwerk reside in the middle, their live

show isn’t a triumphant masterpiece

but it’s not snooze-inducing either.

After it having rained heavily during

the day on Sunday, everyone is having

mud wrestling matches by slamming

each other into the murky pond formed

by the main stage instead of hiding

inside the cinema tent. One of those

getting involved in the mud dancing

is the bratty child of Scandi pop, MØ.

Her silky, piercing vocals are offset by

an odd but entirely engaging stage

presence, clunking her limbs around

in staccato motions, with ‘Maiden’ a

particular highlight. A festival more

about atmosphere and feeling rather

than the music works in the right

setting, and it’s not hard to see why

people come from all over to enjoy the

seemingly never-ending sun, beautiful

sunsets by the Baltic Sea and a lounge

in a hammock in the forest amongst

admiring Kraftwerk. (Aurora Mitchell)

79

LIVE

FLOW

Helsinki, Finland

A

s one of the most highly anticipated

festivals in Europe this year, Finland’s

Flow Festival has an extraordinary

weight on its shoulders as it opens its gates

on Friday. Described as an urban haven

that delivers on its design and food as well

as its music, the expectations are that it’s a

refreshing and original festival. Thankfully,

it’s immediately clear passing through the

festival gates that this isn’t just any other

festival - this is Flow, and it’s without a doubt

one of the most unique experiences in live

music today. Set in an old power plant in

the centre of Helsinki, the site is raw, gritty

and unlike anywhere you’ve ever seen live

music before. Pusha T, Jessie Ware and

Mos Def all provide entertaining moments

throughout Friday’s shorter evening, but it’s

Darkside’s midnight slot that really defines

the day. Playing in a smoke-filled Lumia Blue

Tent that’s low-lit and looming, the brooding

duo of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington

are mesmerising to watch despite there

not being much to actually see due to the

fog. Saturday is absolutely sweltering, and

it’s hard not to feel woozy inside the Black

Tent’s tropical climate when How to Dress

Well takes to the stage after a morning of

excellent Finnish acts (Siinai, Shivan Dragn

and Mopo are ones to check out). Despite

a few volume issues the set is soon in full

swing, and Krell sways charismatically on

stage, sending chills down otherwise boiling

spines with ‘Face Again’ and the beautiful

‘Words I Don’t Remember’. The National

go on to give a trademark show in their

headline slot with a performance that’s far

from disappointing, but is lacking in the usual

energy and oomph that they’re known for.

Sunday beckons clashaggedon. Real Estate

are bewildered as they walk out on to the

Balloon 360 stage, which is essentially an

amphitheatre situated underneath a giant

balloon. Running on over to the Lumia Blue

Tent for the end of Blood Orange, things

are in full swing. His band’s performance is

so tight and his performance so serene that

it delivers serious goosebumps, and those

who opted to stay rather than running to

Jungle’s exotic Black Tent performance

are truly rewarded. Röyksopp and Robyn

confirm that Flow fans are all about the beats

this weekend, as the Blue Tent is absolutely

rammed by the time they come on to the

stage. the lasers and lights are as amazing

as they say, and for those indulging in this

two-hour marathon, it’s without a doubt the

highlight of the weekend. Not even Outkast

pull a bigger crowd, and while the Main Stage

still fills out for their headline set, the majority

of people are enjoying it from afar. Donning

a weird white wig, André 3000

is right at home up there next

to Big Boi, and the pair deliver

a crowd-pleasing set that’s

littered with the odd cult

favourite or two. The great

thing about Flow is that it

doesn’t feel like you’re

at a festival. You’re at

an event that feels

exclusive, and above

all else, exciting.

(Tom Walters)

Röyksopp and Robyn

Outkast

Go with the

flow.

Royksopp’s own attempt to

make Google Glass doesn’t go too well.

80 diymag.com

Photo: Chris Blizzard

TRUCK

Hill Farm, Steventon

Keep on

truckin’.

peace

It may come as a surprise

but this year’s Truck is

the festival’s 16th outing.

Founded in 1998 on the same

farm in Oxfordshire it has been

held on since, it’s a fine-tuned

operation, growing in ingenuity

and strength year after year - yet

still manages to exude a sense

of youth, energy and innocence.

The site is small and walked from

end to end in minutes, taking

in a number of stages and tents

in the process, so there are no

20-minute dashes to mitigate line

up clashes or forgotten booze.

Everything is done at a stroll. The

same sense of calm could not be

said of the crowds. Band after

band on the main stage on Friday

is met with eager whooping and

dancing. As the vicious sun loses

its smart in the early evening,

Kids in Glass Houses harness the

crowd’s eager sense of liberation,

kicking out an array of supercharged

adolescent ballads,

before Peace adopt a cheerier

line of Friday night party tunes. At

this point, watching the unbridled

joy and freedom of the crowd is as

much fun as watching the bands.

The bands sense it, too, and give

all in return. This is certainly true

of headliners The Cribs who tear

through an hour set of punchy

anthems. More of the same on

Saturday, with impressive and

well-received sets from Swim

Deep and Stornoway on the

main stage. Elsewhere, a brilliant

and varied line up in the Barn

curated by Big Scary Monsters

and Alcopop! labels provides a

breathtakingly beautiful acoustic

performance from Kevin Devine,

frenetic garage rock from Johnny

Foreigner, and the most insane

and unexpected stage show

a field in Oxfordshire has ever

hosted – Andrew WK. (Hugh

Morris)

GREEN

MAN

Black Mountains, wales

ou know you’re at the right festival

Ywhen the first must-see act is a

man in the literary tent matching beers

to bands. He’s 2012’s top beer writer,

apparently – and he’s currently claiming

the local Growler ale smacks of London

band Toy’s sweet melodiousness.

Whatever, nestled in a cwm in the

Brecon Beacons is this microcosmic idyll

– Green Man, or ‘Dyn Gwyrdd’ – and

it’s brimming with madcap bookings.

“Waaassuuup”, he bellows, bumbling on

stage in a Simpsons tee and swigging

from the bottle. It can only be Mac

DeMarco, who brings his exhilarating

live show to the Far Out tent. Swerving

carelessly from warmly bedroom

synth-pop to charging garage funk (or

“jizz jazz”, as he’d have it), replete with

glammy guitar solos, bumpin’ bass and

the trademark loveable slur, Montréal’s

Ought, meanwhile, are the most

exciting new band we see, and the most

triumphant set of the weekend comes

courtesy of First Aid Kit. Four years on

from their appearance on the modest

Walled Garden stage, Johanna and Klara

play to the biggest crowd the main

stage welcomes all weekend. As the

notoriously cranky Jeff Mangum puts it

a little later: ‘[Green Man] is a beautiful

festival. Very humane.’ (Huw Oliver)

Brecon

(not) bad.

mac de

marco

Photo: phil smithies

81

INDIE DREAMBOAT

Of the Month

SAM

MCTRUSTY

Twin Atlantic

NICKNAMES Trusty, baby

Sammy, the Skipper.

STAR SIGN Libra.

PETS All cats belong to me. I am

their zen.

FAVOURITE FILM One Flew Over

The Cuckoo’s Nest.

FAVOURITE FOOD Rowntrees

fruit gums.

DRINK OF CHOICE Right now -

Red Stag. Usually Budweiser.

FAVOURITE SCENT Fresh

laundry.

FAVOURITE HAIR PRODUCT

Red Dax Wax.

SONG YOU’D PLAY TO WOO

SOMEONE Dante’s Inferno.

IF YOU WEREN’T A POP STAR,

WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING

NOW? I AM A ROCKSTAR! An

artist, a painter.

CHAT- UP LINE OF CHOICE

“Hey honey... Brilliant choice of

location. Do you like eggs?”

DIY

82 diymag.com

84 diymag.com

alt-J

THIS IS ALL YOURS

a celebration of everything

but normality ★★★★Q

www.altjband.com

84 diymag.com

DIY, September 2014

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