Ooo, a handclap uncomplicated chorus is the hook in Lady Ladeโs latest offering of soulful pop. Itโs timelessly cool and snappy, but holds a deeper narrativeโฆ..
Released at the end of November, One of Us is an uplifting song of hope against the odds. Raised by her grandparents, Bristolโs sublime songstress Lady Nade often references losing them in her songwriting. Speaking about after their passing, she explained, “at times these years felt more like survival trying to navigate chaos. โOne Of Usโ was written from that time when I didnโt always feel safe. I was trying to make sense of grief, and find what it meant to belong.โ
โOne of Us is about trying to free myself from the toxic cycles and patterns that I now know only encouraged me to feel negative emotions and in turn held me back from trying to become a better version of myself,โ Lady Nade continued. But its beauty lies, not in the personal reflection, but the interpersonal effect, the value of others identifying with the words. โThis is not just my anthem song,โ she said, โit is for anyone who has ever had to rebuild themselves from the inside out, or is still on that journey of aiming to become the best version of themselves.โ
I donโt exaggerate nor flatter, even if she did give me a wonderful hug when she played at the Devizes Arts Festival! Lady Nade isnโt comparable to other singers on the southwest circuit, her extraordinarily deep vocal range rather puts her on par with Nina Simone, of whom she often pays a respectable homage to. She takes this soulful new single around the UK, then is debuting it in Kansas and Canada; we wish her luck, but on the strength of this single, I think itโs in the pocket!ย
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunesโฆ
Wiltshire Music Centre Unveils Star-Studded New Season with BBC Big Band, Ute Lemper, Sir Willard White and comedians Chris Addison and Alistair McGowan revealing theirโฆ
Daphneโs Family & Childhood Connection to Devizes Celebrations of Daphne Oram have been building in London since the beginning of December, for those in theโฆ
Part 1: An Introduction March 1936: newlywed French telecommunications engineer Pierre Schaeffer relocates to Paris from Strasbourg and finds work in radio broadcasting. He embarksโฆ
Yesterday Wiltshire Council published an โupdateโ on the lane closure on Northgate Street in Devizes as the fire which caused it reaches its first anniversary.โฆ
Join the St Johnโs Choir and talented soloists for a heart-warming evening of festive favourites, carols, and candlelit Christmas atmosphere this Friday 12 th Decemberโฆ
And so it begins, the build-up, the tension; come all ye faithful round yon virgins and three kings of orient are, spreading joy to the world while shepherds wash their socks and Batman smells. In which, in order to spread warm emotions of peace and unity for the one day, itโs obligatory to rush around like headless chickens for two months, verbally abuse drivers in traffic jams, inevitably cause accidents because weโre too consumed by what little Johnny wants this year to concentrate on our driving!
Or, how weโre still hungover from the work-do where we accidentally got off with the agency temp in sales who puked down her blouse before half four, and Gary fancied her, and now heโs going to be pissed with you. And ram B&M on black Friday, fight to the death anyone who might grab the last Labubu doll, and Grannyโs ditched us for some โgentleman friend,โ whoโs whisked her off to The Maldives, and well, if mum undercooks the pigs in blankets again Iโm off down the pub, where did they put the batteries, and who lost the end to the bloody sellotape?!
A pastiche of the RSPCA slogan about puppies as pressies, Bristol-based vocalist, musician and producer, Hannah Collins has nailed it in her new Christmas song with a spin, Love is for Life (Not Only for Christmas Time.) The simple premise; if we can be nice to each other on Christmas Day, why canโt we for the rest of the year? How smug, bar humbug, great song, though!!
For if it sounds like the basis of a bitter anti-Christmas punk song, itโs subtle, ironically uplifting, and contains a simple piano riff with seasonal jingly bells.ย Released on the 28th of November, Hannah says, โin a materialistic world, love is the greatest gift we can give.โ
Produced and mixed by Tim Oliver (Sinead OโConnor/Robert Plant) at Peter Gabrielโs Realworld Studios in Box, Wiltshire, featuring John Baggot (Massive Attack/Portishead/Robert Plant) on keys, and Eric Okafo on bass, it has a Motown lite sound and is reminiscent of a Mariah Carey singalongโฆ..argh, Iโm caught by the catchy hook, and Iโm putting my decorations up now!!
It will be available to stream on all platforms from 28th November 2025. There will also be an original music video released on YouTube on 21st November, created by Olivia Kennedy from OK! Animations.
Hannah is new to us, but tis said her, โinquisitive mind, creative spirit and interest in philosophy are overarching themes in her work; a golden thread flowing through her art, which is particularly resonant with the message of peace and goodwill at Christmas.โ The press release asks, โcan we keep the peace, love and charity going all year long, and not just at Christmas time?!โ Have they not heard of dry January, winters of discontent, and seasonal affective disorder, damn your spritely song, Hannah?!!
โI will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach,โ Dickens wrote, โfeel the magic in the atmosphere, I wonder why itโs only this time of year,โ Hannah wrote similarly, and maybe her song has a lesson too, a seasonal catchy pop lesson I happen to love!
This afternoon I find myself contemplating what the future holds for historical discovery and learning for all ages, fun and educational exhibits and events inโฆ
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs moreโฆ
Having to unfortunately miss Devizesโ blues extravaganza on Friday, I crossed the borderline on Saturday to get my prescribed dosage of Talk in Codeโฆwith aโฆ
No, I didnโt imagine for a second they would, but upcoming Take the Stage winners, alt-rock emo four-piece, Butane Skies have released their second song,โฆ
Featured Image by Giulia Spadafora Ooo, a handclap uncomplicated chorus is the hook in Lady Ladeโs latest offering of soulful pop. Itโs timelessly cool andโฆ
Bristolโs regular Johnny B Goode, Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue goes full on swing with a new single, a take on The Brian Setzer Orchestraโs 1998 album title track The Dirty Boogie.….
Another high-energy bout of rockabilly guitar divinity we love from Ruzz, but this time weโre transported back to 1920s New Orleans dancehalls for that big band swing sound; jazz hands!
The Dirty Boogie, is out today on digital download for a quid, from Bandcamp.
Thereโs a new single from Bristol-based Nothing Rhymes With Orange out tomorrow (Saturday 20th September) which takes the band to a whole new level, and it has got me thinking back to their Devizes rootsโฆ..ย
You know, I really cannot remember how this thing started, if they contacted me or if I found them. It was three years ago, at a time when local media seemed rampant with scare stories sensationalising teenage hooliganism. Folk jumped the bandwagon, naming and shaming wayward youth on Facebook like it was modern gallows, and making fearmongering sweeping generalisations, classing every child as a psychotic delinquent.
I figured this wasn’t the same picture I was seeing. That thereโs always been a handful off the rails, but in comparison to previous generations, most Gen Z were passive, thoughtful, and creative. So I set out to prove this wonky narrative wrong, and in doing so found many aspiring teenage bands to use as examples, but none so accomplished and motivated as Nothing Rhymes with Orange.
There was always something staunchly between the members of this Devizes School band, frontman Elijah Easton, Sam Briggs, Fin Anderson-Farquhar, and drummer Lui Venables, an unequalled camaraderie which combined their honing skills harmoniously. Their calculated sagacity writing painted a blithe picture of Gen Z, equal to how punk bands like The Newtown Neurotics summarised life for generation X, and it spawned a zeitgeist.
Image: Gail Foster
Moments after reviewing their debut single, Chow for Now, they launched an equivalently impressive EP called Midsummer. I figured it was overdue to check them out live, as they organised their own gig at West Lavington Village Hall. Divided between parents and youth I witnessed the birth of a local phenomenon. I dubbed it โBeatlemania in Devizes.โ Teenage fans chanted the chorus of Manipulation back at them, as Elijah jumped from the stage relishing in the moment.
I encouraged teenage budding writers and photographers to record this blossoming movement for us, as alongside bands like Melkshamโs The Sunnies, they were inspiring a new generation of musicians too. And for the adults, I wanted them to quit whinging about youth, by showcasing NRWO in an environment free from age division, where they could see for themselves this emergent youth fandom and the local band which created it. I urged our carnival committee that their annual โInternationalโ Street Festival in Devizes should showcase such a local act, and pride overcame me as I introduced them to the masses gathered in the Market Place, because alongside their excellent self-promotion, Devizine expressed with honesty that townsfolk should support this spectacular homemade band, and they did.
The lads released several new songs, all of which were tiny progressive steps to a maturity in their sound. At a gig at The Three Crowns in May 2024 Devizes-own BBC DJ and presenter, James Threlfall gave me constructive criticism regarding their production levels, suggesting it wasnโt quite to the level necessary and in comparison to upcoming bands across the southwest. I also worried at this time, moving along that adolescent rocky road generally was the make or break of a young band, usually the latter.
Delighted that they planned to study together in Bristol Uni, I finished off our local angled reporting of them with a parting interview, safe in the knowledge both the uni and bustling life in Bristol would open new doors for them and hopeful it would perfect their skills to the level James so honestly pointed out. A huge festival touring summer at Dot 2 Dot, Golden Touch, 110 Above and Camper Calling, returning to Studio 91 for the session which produced their new ear-invasive single, Shearwater, out at 6pm on 20th September across all streaming platforms, surely proves they have.
Image: Gail Foster
Shearwater signifies a hotly-anticipated next chapter, one of huge guitar sounds, jacked up drums and Elijahโs desperate vocals, evoking stories of fiery lust and explosive aftermaths. This is the single which will do for an international audience what Nothing Rhymes With Orange did locally three years ago. The spritely frenzy is replaced by the concentrated rhythmic flow and evocative ambience of the kind of timeless indie-pop anthem a multitude of audiences will shine their phone torches too. The layers are divine, the composition professionally crafted.
Iโve never needed to exaggerate my appraisal nor flatter NRWO for encouragement. I saw this potential, as did their local fanbase. And tomorrow you can hear the fruits of their labour in full bloom, a categorical advancement of Devizes export to the world, and it makes me feel proud to have backed them to this point, what the future holds is answered in this track, and it looks orange!
But donโt just take my word for it; chatting to James Threlfall just yesterday, I pointed out this single felt like the entry level we were talking about last May, and he agreed, telling me they’ve landed a featured artist spot on BBC Introducing South and West, which is live at 8pm tonight (Thursday 8pm.) The single will be debuting live at their upcoming headline show, 26th September, at The Old England, Bristol. Thereโs also an exciting word on the grapevine: an album is the pipeline. Oh, and donโt forget they’re playing our Wiltshire Music Awards on 23rd October here in Devizes, and will be at Devizes Arts Festival next summer like Bruce Springsteen returning to New Jersey!
For me, Iโll always have those early moments, like blagging a Sharpie from the sound engineer at street festival, so teenage girls could have their T-shirts signed (not by me, you understand?!!)
With their only UK shows of the year quickly approaching, the 1st and 2nd August will see IDLESโ and music festival Block Party take over Bristolโฆ..
Queens Square in Bristol will soon hold its first major live music event in 20 years. IDLESโ lead singer, Joe Talbot, promised โmusic we love for the people we loveโ and the two-day lineup will not and cannot disappoint.
Friday sees punk duo Soft Play take to the stage, after their thrilling comeback last year with critically acclaimed album โHEAVY JELLYโ, the Lambrini Girls, after the success of their debut album โWho Let The Dogs Outโ and a set from dubstep artist SICARIA.
Then Saturday continues the party with Spanish duo Hinds, Bristolโs โBlack + Queerโ pioneer Grove, Tash LC and leading the supporting lineup -also the band Iโm most excited about- is The Voidz, fronted by Julian Casablancas (lead singer of The Strokes!).
Both days will, of course, also see sets from the IDLESโ themselves, who have shot back to fame after their #1 album โTANGKโ โ which also led them to three (yes, three!) Grammy nominations. Theyโll be travelling all over the world on tour this year, but their only UK shows will be at Block Party.
So, two full days of live music โ from an undeniably incredible line up of bands and artists, with the addition of local DJs and food and drinks from Bristolโs favourites, whatโs not to love?
I really advise grabbing tickets while you still can, theyโre already running low and this definitely isnโt a party to miss.
IDLESโ future tour dates can be found here, and tickets to Block Party can be brought here
He might be between two worlds but he can also be in your home, in your very own ears, and that’s the best place for Ruzz Guitar to be. With a striking Funk-O-Pop styled cartoon cover, Ruzz Guitar has a new album out and yeah, just yeah!
Shadowing the Shadows with a belter of an opening track, Ruzz slips into Bo Diddley like a glove, then it’s off to those foot-tapping honkytonk ballads for a few tracks; oh yes, Ruzz is back and it’s a Gretsch-grappling beautiful monster.
There’s not a great deal I can say about this which I’ve not said about our Ruzz before; if it’s not brokenโฆ.
Ruzz Guitar is a tour de force, a sublime blues rocker meshing blues into a unique and prolonged ecstatic ride into the rock n roll formula of yore, it just jumps, jives, and doesn’t come up for air. And if he does, five tunes in with Forever Yours, it’s like standing in a burning sugarcane field; the sweetest air you’ll ever breathe.
Ruzz brings in stellar backing, with some mind-blowingly soulful vocals from Shannon Scott and Julhi Conlinn. Drummer Brian Fahey, both Chris and Steve PelletierSmith on bass, pianist Paul Quinn and special guest appearances from Tyrone Vaughan, Paul Pigat and Mike Eldred.ย
Recently he’s been two and fro across the Atlantic more times than Concorde, hence the title of this ten track whopper, but I never find myself wondering how he goes down on the other side, you know, delivering something they invented back to them. It worked for The Beatles, you simply know they’ll love him as deep down as Texas, because it’s impossible not to.
Right here though, we’re in Devizes and via the โMel Bush effect,โ the Hoax and now the Long Street Blues Club we’ve equally been conditioned with high expectations when we receive a blues dosage, but no one does it quite proper job like our Bristolian Johnny-be-Goode, Ruzz Guitar. He’s so good they named the guitar after him.
This is class in a tall glass, I was expecting it, it never disappoints. Thereโs a number of tracks weโve tasted before, revised and polished for the ultimate road trip soundtrack; itโs got a new version of Sweet as Honey on it, which for some reason always makes me go bananas!
Words by Ollie MacKenzie. Featured Image by Barbora Mrazkova.ย The creative process can be a winding, long, and often confusing journey. Seeing a project comeโฆ
Whoโs ready for walking in the winter wonderland?! Devizes sets to magically transform into a winter wonderland this Friday when The Winter Festival and Lanternโฆ
One part of Swindon was in perfect harmony last night, and I donโt mean the traffic circumnavigating the Magic Roundabout. Rather The Lost Trades wereโฆ
Raging expressions of angered feminist teenage anguish this month, perfectly delivered by Steatopygous via their mindblowing debut album Songs of Salome, I hail as theโฆ
If Whitney Houston set a benchmark for female vocalists many did before her too, but while others were influenced by them, they never felt obliged to attain a sound precisely mimicking them, as, it seems to me, many modern female singers striving for pop success do with Whitneyโs. And when they do, it sounds, well, manufactured and impassive. A Liverpudlian now residing in Bristol, Hannah Rose Platt releases a concept album tomorrow, Fragile Creatures, of which Iโd compare more to like of Kate Bush, whereby Hannah can weave beautiful tapestries, adapting her voice to reflect the sentiment of her narrative, mood and style of the track; and thereโs a lot going on in Fragile Creaturesโฆ.
It is undoubtedly a concept album, anatomising the complex relationship between women and medicine throughout history. It explores how antiquated myths and misconceptions in the pursuit of science have impacted female health, while creating countless injustices and inequalities. If this comes across sounding more akin to a poignant lecture, Hannah Rose Platt shifts between a collection of musical influences to imprint her wisdom, causing Fragile Creatures to be an altering and compelling journey of prowess and refinement.
It opens introductorily with a spoken word sample of Helen Andelinโs Fascinating Womanhood, a controversial sixties manual encouraging women to uphold their conventional marital role. Ataraxia is as calming as the meaning of its Greek philosophical title, ambiently floating over an acoustic guitar riff and drumbeat, musically reflecting on Diazepam-flavoured tranquillity, as if conformity to the sample will land us all in a world to make Aldous Huxley quiver. In this, Hannahโs voice is bitter, eerie, to convey the point.
But by the second tune, Curious Mixture, a drifting acoustic vibe, Hannahโs voice is as silky and smooth as Kylie, which shifts to a sharper more indie-punk feel as the songs progress. Thereโs a definite Bristol trip hop scene there too, causing me to consider Portishead as an influence. By the fourth tune weโre blessed with the most gorgeous ballad to Mary Magdalene, reminding me of Daisy Chapmanโs folk angle. Itโs at this conjunction I realise Hannah is reciting her deepest thoughts and observations on the theme, historically, and theyโre gender ecumenical rather than bitter stabs of feminist vendetta. I didnโt feel under attack as a guy listening to this, provided I ponder the meanings Hannah so poignantly expresses.
This is eleven tracks strong, melding myths of pseudoscience, superstition and patriarchy with medicine and chronicles of the resilient and defiant women who unyieldingly fought for equality and autonomy. At times itโs Kate Bush vocalising for Massive Attack, as is the tune The Yellow Wallpaper, at others, such as La Grande Hysterie, itโs a contemporary Alanis Morissetteโs Jagged Little Pill covered by Siouxsie and the Banshees. It ends playfully like musical theatre, but penultimately is horrific and beautiful in equal measure.
The album is a themed anthology. Each song has its own narrative, weaving into each other. From the tale of Anne Greene, accused of infanticide under the Concealment of Birth of Bastards Act, and pardoned after being revived from hanging to reflections on the health gap that lingers to this day. Thereโs so much more I still need to discover exploring its sheer brilliance as a concept and how the music compliments it.
Hannah explains the concept, โThis record is both an offering and a tribute to female pioneers in medicine; and an endeavour to honour, and give voice to, the unsung heroines in the history of our health. What struck me most during the research and creation of this album was the deeply ingrained, sinister nature of myth and misconception surrounding womenโs health, and the harmful, cyclical dismissal of experiences; decade after decade, century after century, often reinforced by outdated and dangerous practices. My hope is that listeners will not only be intrigued by these stories but also inspired to dig deeper and empowered to challenge the systems that have long ignored or misrepresented womenโs voices, as this dismissal remains so prevalent today.โ
At this I could agreeably sigh, like any poignant art which usually preaches to the converted those who really need to take heed of its message will likely overlook it. Nevertheless, if others cite Fragile Creatures as the work of an upcoming artist, Iโd favour to compare the depth and production of this fantastic album to Dark Side of the Moon. And with that the right audience might spare its lesson a thought. A high but deserved accolade, in considering it took Pink Floyd seven albums to accomplish this magnum opus, when this is Hannah Rose Plattโs second; what comes next will be astounding because Fragile Creatures is a sublime keeper.
The advance single Curious Mixture is out now.Full album is released tomorrow (April 25th) via Xtra Mile Recordings and mastered at Abbey Road, with production and playing from Ed Harcourt. Launch party is Friday 25th at Rough Trade, Bristol.
Itโs nice to hear when our features attract attention. Salisburyโs Radio Odstock ย picked up on our interview with Devizes band Burn the Midnight Oil andโฆ
In thanking everyone who supported this year’s Wiltshire Music Awards, Eddie Prestidge of Stone Circle Music Events revealed his intentions of continuing with the awardsโฆ
Featured Image: Lillie Eiger Frome Festival is launching itsย โ25 for 25โย fundraising campaign with a very special concert featuring three locally based acts:ย Tom Mothย โ best knownโฆ
Iโve got some gorgeous vocal harmonies currently floating into my ears, as The Lost Trades release their first single since the replacement of Tamsin Quinโฆ
Rolling out a Barrelhouse of fun, you can have blues on the run, tomorrow (7th November) when Marlborough’s finest groovy vintage blues virtuosos Barrelhouse releaseโฆ
In November last year I was mightily impressed with Bristol soul-reggae producer Kaya Street, and reviewed their EP The Soul Sessions, read it here for thereโs no reason to go back through rewriting it, everything I said stands, except for one sectionโฆ.
At the time I praised Kaya Street for the experimental fusions which seemed to switch from four-beat soul and jazz into offbeat reggae, simultaneously evoking sounds of Africa like soukous. I said, โitโs not the ingredients in Kaya Streetโs melting pot which makes it prominently interesting and beguiling, rather the way they stir it, the method in the composition and production.โ
Despite taking into account albums like Mo Waxโs 1996 Money Markโs Keyboard Repair Kit, which used short fragments and splinters of ideas deliberately juxtaposed to create a kind of musical mosaic, I did make a slight criticism about The Soul Sessions, and that was that they were underdeveloped and tended to end abruptly and far too soon. I stated at the time, โIf I am to find some niggly, itโs a lack of intro; the songs tend to jerk right in, but I guess itโs because I have the single edits here, and Kaya Streetโs impressive lineup is plentiful to convince me they know the formula to extend and polish.โ
I am glad to hear that has now been amended and extended versions of the radio edits have been uploaded to Spotify. Each tunenow runs at an average five to seven minutes, and sounds complete. Itโs now time to fully ingest the absolute magic of Kaya Street, in which youโre taken in smoother and played out satisfied by more wholesome versions of their interesting and wonderful fusions, and melting pot of influences, and, in turn, the journey is now complete.
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ben Swann and Ian Diddams Self-appointed โMoroseโ Mark Harrison was once again on totally top form at Komedia last Sunday entertaining us withโฆ
Wiltshire Council confirmed Blue Badge holders can park freely in council-operated car parks again, following a vote at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday 21 October; youโฆ
Featured Image Credit: Jamie Carter Special guests Lightning Seeds to Support Forest Live, Forestry Englandโs summer concert series presented with Cuffe & Taylor, has announced much lovedโฆ
Bristolโs regular Johnny B Goode, Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue goes full on swing with a new single, a take on The Brian Setzer Orchestraโs 1998 album titleโฆ
Wiltshire country singer-songwriter Kirsty Clinch released a Christmas song only yesterday, raising funds for the Caenhill Countryside Centre near Devizes, and itโs already racing up the iTunesโฆ
It was never just the fervent ambience created which made me go tingly with excitement about Melkshamโs young indie band Between The Linesโ demo single Fading Time,โฆ
A second track from local anonymous songwriter Joyrobber has mysteriously appeared online, and heโs bitter about not getting his dream jobโฆ.. If this mysterious dudeโs August invectiveโฆ
Itโs not Christmas until the choir sings, and Devizes Chamber Choir intend to do precisely this by announcing their Christmas Concert, as they have done since theyโฆ
All Images By Helen Polarpix Best part of a week since Stone Circle Music Eventsโ Wiltshire Music Awards and Iโm still at one thousand feet about whatโฆ
Developed in Devizes, blossoming in Bristol, as well as a snazzy new website, indie-punk phenomenon Nothing Rhymes with Orange released their next single, and itโs stepping up their spines … apparently!
A narrative of pending infatuation in the hope the feeling is mutual, Stepping Up My Spine is instantly lovable, projecting a more lenient and ubiquitous indie-pop sound than the bandโs raw punkier past; a direction they seem to have been progressing towards with each new release.
Image: Gail Foster
I cite many local bands like Talk in Code and Atari Pilot, reflecting a national indie trend to return us to an eighties pop-rock vibe, and this follows suit, but only slightly. It retains the โreal instrumentsโ rock ethos theyโve sworn to uphold, thereโs no electronica influence, thus maintaining the edge we know them for. Letโs call it a natural progression rather than a desire to follow a trend, not forgoing itโs still stylised to their sound and is bound to appease their maturing fans.
If weโve keenly watched Nothing Rhymes With Orange and their devoted fanbase evolve and proliferate, this new single reflects and preserves that continuation. And long may it be so!
Keep up the good work, guys! You catch NRWO at SwinterFest next Saturday, at the Castle.ย
In 1985 Tenor Saw toasted the lyric, โanother sound is dying,โ in Ring the Alarm. It implied his sound was the contemporary champion, yet while it’s true reggae is competitively progressive, this particular tune’s dubplate derived from the Stalag riddim created by Ansel Collins twelve years earlier, as did Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam and numerous others. I appreciate the ethos of dubplates, for a musician to lay down a track and various singers to interpret it, but favour, if you want a true contemporary champion sound, itโs not to regurgitate existing riddims, but to use past influences to create original composition; the more the merrier! I may have opened a Pandora’s box upon receiving The Soul Sessions EP from Bristol’s Kaya Street, but it’s certainly a refreshing and interesting original soundโฆ..
In a promotional shot advertising their latest single Wild Child, getting spun on Daniel Pascoe’s BBC Introducing show, Kaya Street’s main man, Kaya, is shown wearing a Trojan Records logo on his T-shirt, it connotes awareness of their roots. I beg to differ from their accompanying quote, โlike nothing we’ve heard before,โ while perhaps not recently, the fusions Kaya Street experimented with here, reggae, soul, and afrobeat, have indeed been tried before, in abundance.
I could cite bands from Misty in Roots to the Clash, and even Bristol’s own Massive Attack. I could point to the logo on the shirt and suggest many discs sought for distribution by Trojan in the sixties experimented in such a manner; take Lord Brynner’s 1966 single Congo War as one of many examples, or even predate this with the notion mento is rooted from African rhythms. Yet, it’s not the ingredients in Kaya Streetโs melting pot which makes it prominently interesting and beguiling, rather the way they stir it, the method in the composition and production. Either that, or I’m an ageing trainspotter beyond the years of all at BBC Introducing!!
The single Wild Child is an enchanting one-drop steppers march, steeped in conscious vocals akin to Marleyโs Get Up Stand Up, denouncing the violent crime epidemic in the UK.
It’s bravely brassy too. In an electric modern world taken for granted, it will wake you up to the roots of reggae, when brass sections ruled the day, something which trends throughout the EP. Iโm more than happy for the EP to flow throughout like this, but, imagine, a pleasant surprise when the second tune, Alfie proves Kaya Street are no one trick pony.
This is positively alive in an uplifting, paced soukous-inspired sound, while the last song Sway sounds more south than east African; funky township jive, reminding me somewhat of Thomas Mapfumo, with such a saxophone solo to rival Hugh Masekelaโs trumpet, least as near as dammit! The penultimate song Be Mine is more commercially western, the offbeat is slight, the theme is romance, the overall vibe is soul, with its silky backing vocals, and again with this consistent concentration of saxophone.
But the best example to highlight my opening point is Low.Low certainly wasnโt my favourite on the EP, to begin with. It starts very lounge jazz, again with the prominent sax and silky vocals, but then subtly and unexpectedly twists into a dubby rockers riddim, so smoothly I had to rewind just to identify when and how this occurred. This alone caused my first impression to alter from, โyeah, this is good,โ to โactually, this is a stroke of genius,โ and for me to take it back to the beginning and reassess it.
Kaya Streetโs sound, like anything progressive and experimental, is a grower, it creeps up on you. Thereโs narratives to each song Iโve yet to analyse fully, but the more you listen, the more you detect an element from this vast melting pot of cherry-picked influences, and comprehend the story behind each, and I love it for this!
Being I was digging into the archives to find examples of similar past fusions, a subject I could chew your ears off about, if Brynner’s Congo War is a specimen to skaโs African roots prior to the commercial blossoming of Rasta, as opposed to the more commonly cited jump blues influence, derived from US troops leaving radio masts in Jamaica after the second world war, try The Paragonsโ lesser-known If I Were You for soul train size. Itโs so funky it could be in the Stax catalogue, and is something Be Mine reminded me of; thereโs so much going on here.
Yet as many examples of where and how the melting pot has been stirred, none are apogees; it takes Jamaican born Bronx DJ Kool Herc to reach that climax, when he maintained the procedures of King Tubby and applied it to funk and soul to appease the multiculturalism of New York, and created hip hop. Bristol in the nineties was a kingpin to pioneering a UK hip hop formula, which returned influences full circle and incorporated reggae again. Kaya Street continues this Bristol epoch, reviving it freshly. The Soul Sessions is a revisit, recorded in three sessions in 2012 at Exeterโs Valvetastic Studios, with prolific award-winning producer and musician Jolyon Holroyd.
If I am to find some niggly, itโs a lack of intro; the songs tend to jerk right in, but I guess itโs because I have the single edits here, and Kaya Streetโs impressive lineup is plentiful to convince me they know the formula to extend and polish. It consists of Revelation Roots drummer Dan Salter, bassist Mark Lee from Hot Dub and Kolo, and that gorgeous sax is provided by Ray Beavis of The Clash, Suzy Quatro, and Katrina and the Waves. Kaya himself has previously worked with dub producers The Vibronics and Dubmatix. Herein is an insight to how the influences meld so professionally, so absolutely sublime.
And sublime is a word Iโll happily use to sum this up, save me waffling further! The initial project was a limited run of CDs for gigs, now for the first time, they are being remastered and released online. Wild Child was released 1st of November, the rest, I believe, will follow, and you need to be there to hear them when they do; Don Letts is raving about this, so hereโs the socials to follow.
If Devizesโ celebrated FullTone Festival is to relocate to Whistley Roadโs Park Farm for next summerโs extravaganza, what better way to give it the rusticโฆ
This afternoon sees the inaugural grand ceremony of Stone Circle Music Eventsโ Wiltshire Music Awards taking place at the Devizes Corn Exchange. Itโs a selloutโฆ
In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twentyโฆ
Devizes-own indie-pop-punk youth sensation Nothing Rhymes With Orange smashed the Exchange on Friday as a farewell to their local fanbase. They pursue a music course together at Bristol Uni; but is this goodbye forever, or just Chow for Now? (there’s a pun there, but only for ardent fans!) I met them at their rehearsal the day before to ask this, chat about their past, prospects, breakfast cereal intake, and Jennifer Anistonโฆ.
If you noted new songs on Saturday, why one was named Jennifer, if you observed the song Manipulation, once used as an encore, was pushed to the middle of the set, or if you’re generally wondering how they’ll cope living and studying together in one house, all will be answered!
Background first. A couple of years is all it’s taken Nothing Rhymes With Orange to build a phenomenon locally, the likes I once compared to The Hoax thirty years ago. I quoted myself to nightclub owner Ian James, who agreed, reminiscing about the Hoax playing Jools Holland’s show. They may not have reached that level yet, but this present conjunction is the make-or-break period. Many school bands fold here, as life takes them in different directions. Ergo, key to gauging their thoughts is to cast their minds to the beginning and discover how close knit they are.
So once we established the original lineup of frontman Elijah Easton, guitarist Fin Anderson-Farquhar, drummer Lui Venables, and bassist Ivor Ritson formed NRWO at Devizes school, Ritson being replaced by Sam Briggs soon after, I wondered if they were friends beforehand. โWe all knew โofโ each other,โ Sam and Lui confirmed, โkind of knew each other separately from Lavington,โ Fin added. โBut then we didn’t talk to each other!โ Sam completed. Elijah agreed, stating heโd known Lui since about twelve years old, โbut we didn’t speak until I was about sixteen,โ when they both joined another band.
Sam brought it to present day, โif youโd have asked us at the start, like five years ago, if you’d all be living in the same flat togetherโฆ.โ Which bought a round of laughs, I believe Lui bantered about Sam. โI would have been like, what are you talking about?!โ Sam completed. Youngest in the band, Fin, reminisced, โme and Sam used to play in a band together, when I was in year 7 and he was in year 9,โ then added โnarcolepsy!โ Iโm uncertain if thatโs the name of the band, or if he suffers sleep disorder!
Theyโre venturing to Bristol to study the same music course, residing at the same residence. Sam pointed out last year ago thatโs the furthest theyโd gigged. โThis year we’ve done everywhere compared to last year.โ Story checks out, alongside many festival bookings, they also made first steps in London, โyeah, Camden in two weeks,โ Sam replied. But when they get there, and people don’t know them, how does it compare to being in Devizes with fans singing back to them? And which do they prefer?
Image: Gail Foster
As harmonious as they perform, they agreed they love playing both, Elijah complementing, โwhen you go to these places and then you see people enjoying your music as well, that’s a whole other experience.โ
Sam exampled a gig at Bathโs Komedia, balancing the two, โthat was half and half. Some people at the front who knew us. But then there was about 500 other people, which was mental!โ
On the potential pressures of communal living I used an example; an occasion when I woke up one morning to discover the pasty Iโd planned to take to work had a bite taken out of it, and was placed inconspicuously back into the fridge!
Fingers for such inconsiderate tomfoolery was immediately pointed to Elijah, with milk! He confessed heโs on about seven bowls of cereal a day! โBut I buy them,โ he reasoned. โI think that’s the difference. When we were at the start of Sixth Form, I didn’t really know what I was going to do,โ he furthered, โand I didn’t know I was going to Bristol. I had no idea what I was going to do with it.โ
Image: Gail Foster
Sam added, pointing to Fin, โI think I was the only one of us three, and maybe you, who knew you were going to do music at college, maybe…โ
โYeah, because I have no other option,โ Fin complemented!
Sam continued, โI was already going to do that before I even got in the band together, I injected that into you a little bit when I turned up.โ
โI think now we’re just throwing ourselves all in,โ Elijah said, โabout two years ago, we were doing it and not sure what we were going to do.โ There was a mutual agreement it was because, โwe love it.โ
Maybe they can deal with subtle musical differences, but when it comes down to breakfast cereal, that could be the limit which pushes it over the edge! Yet when citing their musical influences, they all wanted to say the Fontaines, even when I first opened the door to see Elijah bouncing around the hall with his guitar, Sam sitting picking his like it was made from diamond, Fin with the expression of motivated concentration, and Lui holding it together on the drums, it was like a gig without the audience, and all these elements indicates mutual appreciation for their common goal, drives an instinctive pledge, a motivation to bond and therefore to work harmoniously, and hard. As Elijah expressed, โwell, it’s like we’re brothers now.โ
While the guys were taking the interview seriously, there I was back on pastry products, implementing an unwarranted light-hearted angle, joking on the Greggs steak bake falling apart lyric from their song Monday, was his own fault for going to Greggs. Yet in this I was pondering those amusing themes of pitiful everyday scenarios like Lidl Shoes too, as all good punk should, against the balance of romantic themes, and this brought about how they tackle cliches in pop when creating a song, and methods they use to compose them.
Image: Gail Foster
โI’ll probably come up with some lyrics,โ Elijah revealed, โif thereโs a lyric that is unbearably cliche or, obviously, there’s something in it that you could make fun of or compare to another songโฆ If we make a song that sounds like a YouTube montage, one of us will bring it up, and bluntly say this sounds cringe. We just get rid of that. Looking back on our old songs, we sort of did. If you think Manipulation, when I listen back to that now, I think it’s a bit cliche, but part of cliche people still have a love for.โ
Manipulation was their crowd-pleaser and often used as the encore, I had previously noted it had been pushed to the middle of the setlist for tomorrowโs gig.
Sam theorised, โthereโs a familiarity in cliche. In some sense you can find beauty in it โcoz you can try hard to avoid a clichรฉ, and write with an ambiguous sense about something, but people still need to understand it, and I think itโs easy to go away from what people know. You know what you’re thinking, other people don’t. The hardest part is the balance of trying to write something people can understand and connect with as well as not thinking it’s cliche. That’s the difficult art to master.โ
Do they have a template when creating songs, or do they sporadically come together naturally? โThey’re all different, really,โ Elijah answered, โwe all do instrumentally. I’ll think of some lyrics, but it can change from song to song. The recent ones, we’ve been coming up with loads of new ones, and the new format is, we’ll think of some lyrics, we’ll cook it quietly, maybe get the first product ready, and then get the whole band in and finish it into this final product.โ
Image: Gail Foster
Eiljah praised Samโs input. โAnother thing that’s changed is having Sam in the band, because we’ve written differently compared to when we wrote Manipulation and songs like that and didn’t have Sam in the band. Sam’s changed the dynamic again with how the template is, and now we’ve got him playing guitar, we’ve got like three songs greatโฆ.โ
Fin added, โwhen we started, we were sitting down and going, โwe need to write a song,โ now itโs like, ooh, a new song come up, letโs do that, it’s less sitting down and going, โwe are writing a song right now.โโ
I could sense professionalism establishing through experience and understanding the natural passage of creativity is to recognise and develop when inspiration strikes. The new songs are patently more skilled than previous three-minute punker blasts, to concentrated and prolonged instrumental sections akin to prog rock, yet retaining edge, NRWO are crafting a unique style and are united in perfecting it. The gig at the Exchange confirmed this.
Sam said, โthat’s the most important thing to stay with when you’re writing a song. It’s to not write a song because you need a song, but it’s to write a song because you want to write a song. We’ve done it before. You sit down and you’re like, oh shit, we’ve run out of ideas. We’ve played all these songs a thousand times. Let’s write something new, but 99% of the time nothing comes out of that. It’s more likely to come out of just sitting down and you’re jamming or you’re sitting in your room.โ
Elijah added, โFor me, you know, the song starts as an emotional output, experience. We’ll have a week of not trying to write anything, and you have like, a shit day or, you go to a party or something and then, suddenly, you wake up about 3:00 in the morning, write this song and then go back to sleep! And then I’ll wake up in the morning. I’ll send Sam a voice-note on my phone singing.โ Like the song Monday, I reasoned, that happened, didnโt it? โI’m having a typical Monday, write a song about it!โ
Image: Gail Foster
โIt’s interesting the links you can find,โ Sam responded, โEli might have written some lyrics, and then a month later I’ve wrote some guitar parts, and I’ll send it to him. What I was feeling at the time I wrote that guitar part was the same as what he was feeling when he wrote some lyrics another time. And those two things end up being a song.โ
โI think we’re sometimes technologically on a wavelength as well,โ Elijah followed with, โwe’ll literally write a song on WhatsApp, we’ve done that on voicemail!โ
Thinking this has all gone rather serious, I asked the guys, โwhoโs in it for the music? Whoโs in it for the chicks? And who’s a bit of both?!โ And you should realise I cannot divulge full details, but some decided on otherโs behalf, few suggested they were spoken for, few opted for both, but when it returned to seriousness, the music was the overall winner. โI’m definitely in it for the music,โ Elijah claimed, then professed to writing a song about his fixation for Jennifer Aniston, whoโs erm, four years older than me, โwhen she was in Friends,โ he clarified! Fin hoped Jennifer might marry him off, but they performed the song at the Exchange, none of the female fans seemed to fuss!
Nothing Rhymes With Orange at Devizes Street Festival
We moved swifty onto the course at Uni. โWe’re almost all doing the same thing,โ Fin explained, but stressed there was differences. โThere’s production,โ Elijah added, โturning it from live music into songs, how to record and how to get all the right equipment and recording settings.โ
โIt sounds like all you’re going to be doing is playing guitar or drums or whatever,โ Fin informed, โbut it’s getting bookings, arranging gigs. There’s also business and event management in it as well. Yeah. So it’s kind of it’s the performance and โaround itโ as well as like just standing and playing shows.โ
โWhich is pretty good because I mean, we’re kind of been doing it for a year!โ conveniently led me onto my next question, if they could put forward what theyโve already achieved as a project? Elijah scrubbed the โhomeworkโ idea but welcomed the thought they would โhelp us achieve more and bigger opportunities, links into festivals and meeting new people and into new studios.โ Just being in Bristol alone is beneficial to this, surely?
โWe started to struggle recently with the fact that there’s only so much you can gain from being in a little town,โ Sam expressed, โthough itโs been nice.โ This took us on the angle of finding venues wanting original music over cover bands. โThat’s the thing,โ he continued, โyou often get, โooh, can you play covers? Which is fine. What’s been good, is to get such a strong fan-base. It’s been easy because there’s not much else around.โ Using a gig from May, at the Three Crowns in Devizes, where the usual requirement is cover bands, such is the reputation the boys have attained, fans will sing their songs back to them in much the same way classic covers will evoke.
โYeah, it’s just brilliant,โ Elijah smiled. โWe met loads of people, had amazing gigs in Devizes. I’d like to think this is the start; we’ve got this band now, and we know what we want to sound like, we know what we want to play like, and we know how we want to perform. So we’re just taking the same thing, and the main goal is trying to get it as big as possible, which is a bit crazy! Crazy, but I think the whole thing is a bit crazy, because if you’d have told me and Lui like what, five years ago, we’d even beโฆ.โ
โYeah,โ Luiinterrupted, โitโs mental where weโve comeโฆ.โ
And it is. I asked of their influences, but rather they concentrated on upcoming guitar bands like Wunderhorse, found solace in the smaller stages at Reading Festival, and stuck to their guns of analogue guitar music rather than experiment with tech. I pushed them on synths and backing tracks. โI don’t think we necessarily want it for ourselves,โ Elijah said, โbut I think it’s inspiring to see a band going into mainstream with just their guitars and nothing else because I think it’s rare now.โ
Fin expanded, โa lot of the people in the top ten are just one person,โ and we spoke of the depletion of mainstream bands. โA randomly inspiring one, because I could list 1000 bands which inspire me,โ Sam added, โthat’s the obvious thing to say, but besides that, like Reading the other day, we saw Georgia Smith, and itโs cool to see, not thatโs inspiring our music, but to see there’s a band playing behind her. If you listen to her on Spotify, there’s garage beats and it’s all produced and processed stuff; that’s coming round a bit more as well. You see these people who traditionally would have a backing track and a microphone, coming out with band behind them. Which is really cool as well, on the basis, one; it gives you different points of view on what you could go to as a band later down the line, and also the fact that there’s more room for itโฆ.โ
โItโs good to see music live,โ Elijah prompted a chat about smaller gigs versus the mainstream. โI will always love loads of fans, always,โ he suggested, โwhen you see like all those faces out in front of you, and it’s like geez!โ
We spoke of naturally maturing a sound but being uniformed against selling out or diversifying your style, ending with me supposing thereโs a formula you stick to for however long that roller coaster rides.
โIf you change in the right way, you can never be wrong,โ Elijah replied, โwe’ve probably got an album of songs now that we’d all be happy recording and releasing. But if we did another one, we stick to the same formula, but say, a third album, normally people get bored of it.โ
Sam added, โthere’s changing in style, which can degrade a band potentially,โ but turned the focus onto โa loss of energy,โ for the flailing attention of the public on a band. Sam figured it wasnโt the change in style of a band, โbut if you don’t retain that energyโฆ.one thing you shouldn’t do is not change your style and try and stick to the same thing, if none of you want to do it, because then it’s just going to sound like you don’t want to do it. And I think, personally for me, and otherโs might feel differently but I find it more important if you needed to do a little change in style to promote the fact that you like what you’re doing now, I feel like that’s better and I think to an audience that’s better conveyed if someoneโs enjoying themselves on stage playing what they like. That’s better to see than someone playing what you want but not enjoying it.โ
But Iโm going to twist the narrative to influences, because I believe the lads have been a contributor to encouraging younger locals to practise and form bands too, and wanted to ask them if they had any advice for them. Iโm unsure how true this is, they suggested they wasnโt aware of it, but were happy to hear of it. But the advice was definite and unified; โdon’t give up.โ โYeah, just do it.โ โIf you wanna do it, do it. It’s clichรฉ, butโฆ.โ
โEven if you got no idea what you want to do,โ Eljah added, โif you like something and you’re enjoying it, just do it! Because otherwise you can’t just be miserable if you’re not doing it. If you listen to people who say, oh, that’s terrible, don’t do that, stop, stop playing, what are you guys doing? Yeah, there’s no one to be doing anything, if everyone just listened to them, youโve just gotta enjoy yourself!โ
It seemed to me weโve a lovable, carefree frontman, lavishing in the moment, rightfully, against Sam, the articulate analysist, pinning their thoughts, and the whole band are tight, hardworking and motivated; thatโs a winning combo. Sam added, โdon’t compromise your originality for the sake of other people, I think is the biggest thing. Because at that point you’re enjoying yourself. And that takes me back to what I said earlier on, yeah? A band enjoying yourself is a band in its best place.โ And this made a perfect summary of NRWO, our town should be proud of what these guys have attained, but the killer question is after such a great gig at the Exchange, is this us parting ways, or just Chow for Now?!
Nothing Rhymes With Orange
โThe main thing is we’ll be back,โ Elijah promised, and went off rambling slightly! If I know anything about student life, theyโll be back when they run out clear underwear! But when they do, Confucius say, Nothing Rhymes With Orange will have attained vast advances beyond the sphere of knowledge here in Devizes, and if the Exchange gig was more refined than ever before, their return will be something else! Until then, we at Devizine wish them all the best with their studies and lives in Bristol; if you can call making rock music a study, I call it shirking!! That Ain’t workin’!!
by Ian Diddamsimages by Penny Clegg and Shakespeare Live โAntony & Cleopatraโ is one of Shakespeareโs four โRoman Playsโ, and chronologically is set after โJuliusโฆ
Unlike Buck Rogers, who made it to the 25th century six hundred years early, Devizesโ most modest acoustic virtuoso arrives at the 21st just shortโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Media and Ian Diddams Whilst probably best known for his editorship of โPrivate Eyeโ magazine and thirty-five years asโฆ
I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridgeโs Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill withโฆ
Chandra, Hindu God of the Moon, with his own NASA X-ray observatory named after him, and also frontman of a self-named friendly Bristol-based four-piece pop-punk band Iโve recently been introduced to; busy guy, I have to tell you about themโฆ..
This band has been together since April and knocked out five singles already. The latest, Lifted is as the same suggests. Itโs feel-good factors and amusing hooks immediately warm to you, but at the same time itโs an intelligently crafted grower, simply infectious! Chandra has put six tracks into an EP, titled Lifted too.
Chandra explained, โI spent a while trying to figure out my sound and what I wanted to write about. So the first few songs are very much me finding my way. Lighters To The Sky was a eureka moment and the song where things suddenly clicked.โ You can hear this as this track is on the EP, alongside Pretty, Smile and I’ll Be There, perhaps rawer by nature, prototypes, but this upbeat sound with hints to carefree merriment has been perfected sublimely. Lifted is so commercially viable Iโm going tingly, an elevating and uplifting anthem.
โI spent 2023 releasing singles in order to put a band together because literally nobody was interested in being in an originals band when I first started looking for people,โ Chandra told us, so band members are from Bristol, Patchway, Trowbridge and Chandra himself is from Berkeley. โWe’re a bit all over the place but Bristol is our common ground and where we play the most.โ
Only geographically all over the place, I might add, Chandra sounds polished. We chatted about the desire of local circuit venues wanting cover bands, a frustrating reality for bands trying to produce original material. โBristol is basically a hive of musicians who mostly play for two or three different covers bands,โ he expressed, โand that’s fine of course, but playing covers just doesn’t give me that buzz. Originals is a tough slog but I get so much satisfaction from the reactions. It means a thousand times more to me.โ
This led me to name-drop Trowbridgeโs Pump as a venue dedicated to original music and also promoting upcoming artists too. As I suspected theyโre on this, and play there on Friday 4th October with Ben Waller & The Tell Tale Signs. Closer by date, they support Laissez Faire at the Thunderbolt this Thursday.ย
The elevation to the latest single Lifted is bursting with potential, Smile (No Fox Gibbon) marks a milestone, thereโs contemporary pop-punk goodness of Blink 182 or Green Day, yet melded subtly with English charm, whereas Lifted is defined, idiosyncratically melodious and my new favourite thing. Iโm unsure where the final song Overload fits chronologically, but it is a moralistic acoustic chicken nugget, a gorgeous committed sound, displaying a more mellifluous side to Chandra.
The scope here is encouraging, but the compelling steadfast template theyโve created is simply irresistible already. If Chandra isn’t headlining by autumn I call for a national inquiry into why not!
As the excitement continues to detonate to an exploding point for our very first Stone Circle Music Events Wiltshire Music Awards on 25th October, weโฆ
by Mick Brianimages from Lauren Arena-McCann The playwright Tom Stoppard is probably best known for his work โRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Deadโ, his absurdist comedyโฆ
You might think it’s a laryngologist’s dream come true, this Lewis Capaldi-led decade’s penchant for the blue-eyed soul singersโ melismatic strain to cause Mick Hucknallโฆ
Nothing cruel about our George Wilding; with his perfect match and another local legend of local music, Jolyon Dixon, they’re knocking out great singles likeโฆ
Thereโs a new single from Bristol-based Nothing Rhymes With Orange out tomorrow (Saturday 20th September) which takes the band to a whole new level, andโฆ
A brand new festival will be coming to the South West countryside in 2025, from a husband and wife team with years of experience across some of the UKโs best-loved festivals…..
Homestead is the culmination of a decade of dreaming for Will and Jess Lardner, a Bristol based couple who have been running and working across many of the countryโs most revered and groundbreaking festivals. Having honed their crafts creating incredible experiences for others, they are now launching their own creation and taking everything they have learned to create the perfect balance of hedonism, escapism and relaxation.
Combining music, food, comedy and luxury camping, Homestead will be an intimate weekend, exclusively for those over 25, allowing attendees a rare opportunity to get away from it all and take time for themselves down in the beautiful West Country. For those that want to let their hair down, there will be an impressive lineup of artists to dance the weekend away, whilst those wanting to reconnect with themselves can attend mind-broadening talks and wholesome workshops. Food will play a central role in Homestead, with a roster of respected chefs offering up delicious creations that will make you feel truly looked after with every bite. Comedy will be a late night, rowdy affair with some of the UKโs best comedians coming along for the ride.
Speaking about Homestead, founder Will said, โWe are creating something for those of us who are growing tired of the suffocating crowds and the homogenised festival landscape. Homestead will deliver a highly curated programme of music, food and comedy with the added bonus of something not usually associated with a festivalโฆ great service and an intimate crowd. We donโt want to say too much for now, but we can promise Homestead will be full of personal touches and amazing experiences!โ
John Rostron the CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) had this to say, โItโs wonderful to see the green shoots of a new festival emerging, offering some hope for new energy and new audiences after one of the toughest periods for independent festivals that weโve ever known. There’s an enormous appetite for festivals in the UK and what drives that demand is the refreshing of ideas, new innovations, and the constant joy in creativity that festivals like Homestead offer to everyone.โย
Pre-registration for Homestead is now open, with more information being revealed over the coming months. To be the first in the know, sign up www.homesteadfestival.co.uk
The Wiltshire Music Awards are delighted to confirm a new headline partnership with Stone Circle Music Events, who will sponsor the Awards for 2025 andโฆ
Following the excitement and success of the first meeting of โYour Partyโ in Swindon, a second meeting has been arranged for 18th September 7.30 -โฆ
It’s been six months since Devizes-based young blues crooner JP Oldfield released his poignant kazoo-blowing debut EP Bouffon. He’s made numerous appearances across the circuitโฆ
There’s something to be said for the function duo route with universal appeal, you could be working somewhere hot! Powerhouse vocal harmony duo Reflections areโฆ
Formerly known as Judas Goat and the Bellwether, the now renamed band have announced the release of their latest single, โDrill Baby Drillโ (coming outโฆ
If the opening Friday evening of Devizes Arts Festival was amazing for lively pirate-punk craziness, Saturday night was too for precisely opposite reasons. Bristol’s soulstress Americana virtuoso, Lady Nade arrived, and in a word, was mesmerisingโฆ
I’ve put her ladyship on the highest pedestal since reviewing her lockdown album Willing, longing to see her perform. With a firm handshake she thanked me for the review at the interval, and I was truly honoured. Yet the grand venue was rather scarce on audience; you should take heed that I don’t do flattery for flattery’s sake, I’m aware it was a busy weekend for events, but you missed the single most mind-blowingly sublime gig in town I’ve witnessed in Devizes for a long time.
A few minutes late due to the unreliable bus service, at least one thing was reliable, the divine sound blessing the Corn Exchange, as Lady Nade stood in the middle of an archetypal country vocal and guitar harmony trio. I felt an immediate emotion rush through me, imagining I was witness to Nina Simone performing in her heyday, of the southern state persuasion of gospel artists like Ray Charles to record country, fuse Appalachian folk into jazz, and open the melting pot of pop.
Like a tour guide to her psyche, Lady Nade narrated her life story and innermost thoughts when inspiration struck. Her reasons for writing her pending songs gave clarity to the narrative, yet is often conveyed with wry banter. She referenced her influences too, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald, jokingly snapping at one chap getting up for a drink, just as Nina commanded. Through all the subject’s solemnity, from the state of today’s music industry to dealing with grief, splices of stand-up comedy were thrown in. Whatever the angle, whatever the art, though, they conveyed it astutely and professionally.
Even with all these perfectly delivered elements combined, none are more impressive than Lady Nade’s sublime vocal range, the expression and conviction of her own words, and the accompanying harmonies. The rarity of contralto, to border mezzo-soprano, and countertenor; hey, I’m no expert on such technicalities but the depth rewards them my โin a wordโ evaluation of mesmerising.
Dealing with the passing of her caring grandparents, to thoughts of mental well-being were the most touching. The audience took away a little part of Lady Nade and related them to their own stories, and that is the mark of genius. This communal experience came to a summit at the finale, when she unplugged her acoustic guitar and sauntered through the audience singing. As her songs flowed through me, I closed my eyes and saw my father, smiling back at me, forever grateful to anyone with the power to evoke such reverie through song.
Lesser emotional moments were equally as entertaining. Critical of the mechanics and monopolising of streaming music, the trio covered Gillian Welch’s Everything is Free, and the opening song to the second half was decidedly upbeat soul, akin to The Jackson’s I Want You Back. Yet the concentration overall was dulcet, euphonious and soulful vocal harmony, original yet reminiscent of the gospel-country fusion of yore, naturally spliced with Bristolian banter!
There is an unusual angle to Lady Nade’s creativity, she associates her songs with food, focussing a recipe relating to each song. If that sounds a tad bonkers, perhaps, but in this performance, like all her reasoning, the back story provides the logic!
It was a breath-taking performance, only Nina Simone between Simon & Garfunkel could’ve equalised. Signing in this year’s Devizes Arts Festival beautifully, in which there’s a fortnight of greatness yet to come. There’s two fringe events today, Sunday, seed detective Adam Alexander at the Peppermill, and loop guru Eddie Allen at the Bear for 7pm.
I know and accept the struggle is real, all promoters are at risk when putting food on the table is priority, but if you can, don’t overlook our brilliant Arts Festival this year, check out the programme and treat yourself, else we seriously face losing this opportunity in future, alongside others.
As it was, last night I had time to drop into the Southgate, to hear for the first time Salisbury’s The Duskers, an extremely proficient five-piece twisted folk roots ensemble, and they were euphoric in their fashion of elongated mellow-driven compositions. I could, and would have otherwise been there from the start.
Meanwhile: The Duskers at the Southgate
The pub circuit in Devizes is second-to-none for a local town this size, live music thrives here freely, yet while I know this is all awesome, organisers of annual events like the Arts Festival will bring superiority in sound, professionalism and variety of acts to our town our trusty pubs couldn’t. Last night with Lady Nade proves this, but unfortunately such greatness costs to stage, ergo we back ticketed events with equal gusto as those free pub gigs. I believe there’s room for all, but only if we support the ones funding themselves through tickets too.
Devizes Arts Festival looks to be a cracker this year. I’m still in awe of Lady Nade this morning, but there’s lots more to come!
Photograph byย Simon Folkard It’s been a rocky road for Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA) these last few years, and I didn’t mean the crushed biscuitsโฆ
What, again?! Another article about Talk in Code?! Haven’t they had enough Devizine-styled publicity?! Are their heads swelling?!ย Didn’t that crazy toothless editor catch themโฆ
Valedictorian graduate of Bates College in Maine, and with a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, neuroscientist Lisa Genova self-published her debut novel, Still Alice inโฆ
Swindon’s annual colossal fundraising event The Shuffle is a testament to local live music, which raises funds for Prospect Hospice. If you’re ever going toโฆ
One of many young indie bands which impressed me at Bradford Roots Festival, and proof thereโs more than the name suggests at The Wiltshire Music Centreโs winter convention of local music, Bristol-based LilyPetals released their debut EP this weekโฆ.
Firing on all cylinders, thereโs five three minute heroes and one slightly longer tune on this impressive introduction to an equally-gendered and equally promising four-piece. Contemporary themes imploded by two fierce opening tracks, Currently Unavailable and, particularly, We Want More, arch a punk flavour of punkโs heyday; and I like that a lot! Thereโs wailing guitars, echoing chorus lines, and emotion pouring out.
If weโre talking emotion though, the tempo lessens for the third tune, Thatโs What You Said to Me, proving LilyPetals is no one trick pony. Itโs a rolling ballad, with a euphoric element akin to a rock classic. If this tune will raise your eyebrow, note, Playwright reverbs with passion and fire, thereโs almost shards of glam rock meeting gothic in there too. But LilyPetals have mastered the hook, leading to a bridge via a finger click, is clever and beguiling stuff.
The four minute tune is the penultimate one, and it just drives from the intro. Break Your Mind is perhaps a magnum opus to date for this band, though I highly suspect from the concentrated and tight compositions of all these tunes, weโre going to be moving onto even better stuff from them in the near future. In principle then, this is encouraging, and it feels like punk is saved for a new generation in their indie passion. This is to Bowling For Soup what Reef is to The Rolling Stones, but the potential for improvement is gapping in their hands; the canvas here is ripped and ready to rock!
It finishes with Spaceman, mate, check this out, the hook is a sinker, it has all the elements of a classic, and, as weโve seen with bands like The Radio Makers, punk rock can evoke modern generations, and punk can live on through them. LilyPetals, arguably ironic namesake, yet the fervour is at a blossoming point, and this is a great and lengthy EP, verging on an album, and album worthy of your perusal.ย ย
There was a geographical population imbalance this bank holiday Monday in Devizes which risked the entire town conically sloping into the back of Morrisons; noโฆ
Whilst dispersing highly flammable hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere is not advisory, Butane Skies is a name increasingly exploding on local circuits. The young andโฆ
The excitement and hope generated by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announcing a new political party has reached Swindonโฆ.. A broad range of people haveโฆ
If I was bowled over backwards by Rubyโs teaser single last week, its title, Crowned Lightbringer, now also belongs to this five-track EP, released today,โฆ
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I do believe I got a taste of this new single when I saw Bristolโs premier symphonic grunge collective, Life in Mono at Bradford Roots, and was held spellboundโฆ..
And Iโm not usually in for Seattle Sound, but Life in Mono are the kind of layer-building specialists who could turn Bjรถrn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid into ripped jeans and flannel shirt-wearing grunge kid crowd surfers! In an Evanescence fashion theyโll take three minutes to build the ambience then bring the guitars crashing, and the result is sublimely encapsulating.
Filled to the brim with brooding noir drama and sensually immersive grunge, the secret is out, Life in Mono is gorgeously intertwined enchantment, and this is one finely-produced tune which expands to fill the room, as choranaptyxic as the Occamy, for want of a less Pottermaniac analogy!ย
Image: John Kisch Legendary songwriter and original Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwell has announced a run of UK dates this November, accompanied by special guests Theโฆ
Atmospherically anthemic and reinforced with that infectious rhythmic groove weโve come to love Talk in Code for, More Than Friends is chockfull of it, andโฆ
by Mick Brian With Sandcastles Productions marking its debut production with Charlie McGuireโs original play Glass House, the cast and crew behind this production are clearlyโฆ
Wiltshire Music announces a new season for Autumn Winter: and the first under the new leadership of Daniel Clark, Artistic Director and Sarah Robertson, Executiveโฆ
This Saturday sees Bristol’s Hip Hop phenonium, The Scribes bringing their Boombox show to The Pump, Trowbridge, and will be the group’s only performance in Trowbridge this year. Coming off the back of an incredible 2023 that saw the act perform at Glastonbury, WOMAD, Wireless, Isle Of Wight, Latitude and many more, this will be go off!
Arranged by The Village Pump Community Interest Company, this will be a great chance for people to see The Scribes’ Boombox in an intimate environment before they embark on their 60+ date 2024 tour, with support on the night comes from local up and comers Iggz, Jay Brooks and Origin.
The Scribes are a multi award winning hip hop act whose unique blend of beatboxing, off the cuff freestyling, crowd participation and genre-spanning music has created a critically acclaimed live show quite unlike any other on the scene today, with appeal ranging far beyond traditional hip hop fare.
They have consistently proven to be an impressive and engaging live act with recent festival appearances at Latitude, Isle Of Wight, Glastonbury, Wireless, WOMAD, Electric Picnic (Ire), Wilderness, Shambala, Boomtown, Bearded Theory, Beautiful Days, Great Estate and many more, and are proud winners of both the Exposure Music Award’s “Best UK Urban Act” and the EatMusic Radio Award’s “Best Live Act”. The group have also provided original music for BBC and Channel 4 television, and are featured regularly on both national and local radio and media including BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1 Introducing and BBC Radio 6 Music.
The Scribes are hotly tipped as one to watch, recently signing with Stimulus Management (Nas, Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, Busta Rhymes), and sharing the stage with the likes of Macklemore, Rudimental, Nathan Dawe, Wu Tang Clan, Dizzee Rascal, Kelis, Rag N Bone Man, Example, Lethal Bizzle, The Wailers, Jurassic 5, Sugarhill Gang, KRS One, Pharoahe Monch, De La Soul, MF DOOM, and Souls Of Mischief to name (drop) but a few, and are steadily establishing a growing following across the continent to add to their already significant fan base at home.
If youโve seen Jess Self performing at the Wharf Theatre, singing at the FullTone Festival or elsewhere Iโm certain youโll agree with us; Jess hasโฆ
It’s been a wonderful summer’s weekend, in which I endeavoured to at least poke my nose into the fabulous FullTone Festival, despite being invited toโฆ
Devizes annual orchestral festival, FullTone got underway yesterday afternoon with a showcase of local talent from Devizes Music Academy,ย and finalised Friday night with theirโฆ
A feast of Salisbury musicians have recorded the single Edge of Reason, a powerful tribute to the irreplaceable ThomโฏBelk, a champion of Salisburyโs music sceneโฆ
Devizes Food & Drink Festival launched their 2025 programme of events today. Running from Saturday 20th to the 28th September, the Box Office opens onlineโฆ
With your standard festivals two-to-a-penny, some consisting of not much more than a bloke with a guitar in a pub selling undercooked and overpriced hotdogs,โฆ
Contemplated headlining this โClash of the Titans,โ but that evokes the idea of a dramatic power struggle with fierce consequences rather than proof Devizes canโฆ
Bristolโs fine purveyors of idiosyncratic folk-raving, Ushti Baba, who if youโre in Devizes you might recall played Street Festival in 2022, have a new singleโฆ..
Chucking Fairport Convention a human beatboxer is probably not the best idea, neither would handing Mr C a concertina; herein lies the genius of Ushti Baba.
โA song about the brittle nature of art and of those creating it and the fragility of meaning; the stories we tell ourselves about who we are,โ the band describe it, from an idea originating back in 2015 while jamming with other musicians around a campfire outside squatted garages.
I would never advocate anyone covering Sparksโ This Town Ainโt Big Enough For The Both of Us, but if someoneโs life depended on it, and it was up to the Afro-Celt Sound System to save them, it might come off a tad like this! Though this remark might sound a smidgen critical, it really isnโt intended to be, because that would be one heck of a tricky number to effectively pull off, and while Ushti Babaโs sound is kooky, itโs avant-garde and beguiling, ergo apt for such a unnatural request. If anyone could make a good job of a cover like that, the Baba could, for which youโve got to hand it to them!
Popular award-winning artisan chocolate business Hollychocs has announced that its Beanery Cafรฉ will close on Saturday 23rd August, marking exactly two years since its openingโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Sandcastle Productions A very new addition to Bath based theatre companies, Sandcastles Productions brings their self penned piece of theatre toโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ian Diddams, Next Stage Theatre Company and Mike Stevens Florian Zeller is a contemporary French playwright and screenwriter, who received criticalโฆ
Rude to walk into an event sporting another event wristband but the welcome was friendly as ever at the Three Crowns in Devizes. It’s mid-afternoon,โฆ
If youโve popped into Wiltshire Music Centre recently; for a concert, workshop, screening orย even a meeting, you might have noticedโฏchanges in the foyer: recorded music,โฆ
Photo credit: David Leigh Dodd Pioneers of the indie-rock sound which would lead us into the nineties, Transvision Vamp lead singer Wendy James has announcedโฆ
By Ian DiddamsImages by Luke Ashley Tame of Acadia Creative Around 2 million women are victims of violence perpetrated by men every year, thatโs 3,000โฆ
The third single from Billy in the Lowground in as many months was released today, they’ve been ploughing their own furrow since 1991,been meaning to mention them, no time like the present….
No Chance for a Slow Dance sees no chance of slowing down for this Bristol folk rock collective, it’s a foot-tappin’ hoedown of Scrumpy & Western incorporating everything awesome with their live show. No doubt this the most up-tempo yet, arguably the best yet.
With comparisons to the Waterboys and the Levellers, thereโs a distinctive tone to this six-piece we love ’em for. Earlier this month’s release, Fallen Queen mellows the pace slightly, the first single since summer, So The Story Grows nips that bluegrass twang, and together they make a fine collection, hopefully a new album in the works; please check them out, you’ll be pleased you did.
Family run premier auctioneers of antiques and collector’s items, Henry Aldridge and Son announced a move into The Old Town Hall on Wine Street, Devizes;โฆ
By Ian DiddamsImages by Ian Diddams and Shakespeare Live Is it post watershed? Then I shall beginโฆ The etymology of the word โNothingโ is quiteโฆ โฆ
Amidst another packed summer weekend’s schedule laid that lovable large village Pewseyโs turn to shine; always a law unto itself, things went off; if itโsโฆ
Britpop icons Supergrass will headline Frome Festival as a fundraising event for grassroots community action group โPeople for Packsaddleโ who are fighting to save aโฆ
Another Triumph for WHO Andy Fawthrop Following the excellent recent production of La Belle Helene at Devizesโ Wharf Theatre back in March (see here), Whiteโฆ
It wonโt be long before the only Quality Street left in the tin are empty wrappers and those toffee pennies no one likes, youโre swapping your Santa hat for your festival jesters one and thinking what a mess you can get yourself into in local fields. Yep, bar humbug, for just a moment, thereโs the locally based big ones to think about spending your Christmas bonus on a ticket forโฆ.itโs festival time 2024!
Not hanging about, and if youโre thinking itโs likely to be a tad nippy for a festie in January, note the iconic winter Bradford Roots Festival is all under the roof of the fabuloso Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon.
Yet to reveal a lineup, but you need not concern yourself, I guarantee it will host the crรจme de la crรจme of local talent and many from further afield. The organisers say, โAfter the success of last yearโs festival,โ which it truly was a wonderful thing (you can read my tuppence on here) โweโre bringing Bradford Roots back bigger and better with a full weekend of events and activities. Roots is synonymous with community spirit, local talent and an inclusive atmosphere.โ And therein lies my surprise last year; the diversity of the program with lots of upcoming bands as well as ones in the spotlight. Ergo, Iโll leak Devizes-own Nothing Rhymes with Orange, Melkshamโs finest, the Sunnies, and the most wonderful Ruby Darbyshire are all booked, and hope I donโt get into too much trouble for doing so!
ยฃ22 for a Saturday ticket, ยฃ32 for the two-day pass, students or under 18 go half price. I cannot think of a better way to start your festive-filled new year!
27th: 7 Bands in 7 Hours, Calne
Calne Liberal Club plays host to this fantastic fundraiser on Saturday 27th January. Itโs a suggested fiver donation on the door and youโll get an hour each of Homer, People Like Us, Six OโClock Circus, The Chaos Brothers, The Real Cheesemakers, The Killertones and Mike & the Misfits.
February
2nd-4th: InCider Festival, Weston-Super-Mare
โItโs Weston-super-Mare, Eddie, Weston-super-Mareeee!โ Sand Bay Holiday Village plays host to this crazy goodie, established over for a decade, the InCider festival in Feb is only the beginning, with the Cursus Cider & Music Festival running from 24th – 26th May, and the main hoedown, the OutCider Festival from 1st – 4th Aug 2024.
OutCider Festival is an old school, no nonsense weekend of fantastic live music, cider and madness in the Mendips. Organisers clearly state, โno tribute bands. No X-Factor. No Carling lager. No tossers!โ
OutCider Festival features 30+ acts over two alternating, barn-covered stages. The mix of music is eclectic, energetic and definitely not anything mainstream. The camping field is lush and spacious and welcomes live-in vehicles.
3rd: DuckFest, Salisbury
Ducking fagic Salisbury Live fundraiser at the Duck Inn in Laverstock. Beggarโs Bash hosts this one-day introduction to the best of live music Salisbury has to offer.
15th-17th: Bath Bachfest, Bath
Bathโs 13th annual celebration of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. The festival was founded in 2012 as a complement to Bath Mozartfest and successor to the long-established Bath Bach Festival founded by Cuthbert Bates and later directed by his daughter, patron Elizabeth Bates.
17th: Devizes Festival of Winter Ales
Raise a glass and celebrate with DOCA at Devizes Festival of Winter Ales on 17th February at Devizes Corn Exchange. Renowned and vital DOCA fundraiser this, in collaboration with Stealth Brew Co. Another double wintery session with a hearty selection of ales and ciders from the countryโs best independent breweries, alongside music and entertainment.
This 18+ event comes in two sessions, Fraser Tilley provides music for the early session, 11am-5pm, and Manos Puestos at the late session, 5:30pm-11pm, plus cabaret from Able Mabel at both.
Tickets Available online at tinyurl.com/winterales2024 Physical tickets are also available to purchase at Devizes Books and the British Lion, Devizes.
April
21st: VW Campout, Stonehenge
The multi-award winning family run park, Stonehenge Campsite and Glamping Pods, situated close to Stonehenge hosts this gathering of all things VW!
May
The Magic Teapot Gathering, Mendip
This is a late addition to our listings, but looks so lovely I had to add it! Full preview Here.
11th: Westbury Food & Drink
Leigh Park Community Centre in Westbury hosts this inaugural free festie for all things foodie!
11th: Bradford-on-Avon Green Man Festival
A free one-dayer, the festival is organised by the town council, a vibrant, family-friendly community gathering featuring traditional dance, music, song, and folklore which runs throughout the town centre on Saturday 11 May 2024, from 9.30am to 5pm. We preview in full, HERE.
17th-26th Bath International Music
The Bath Festival returns for 2024. Click here to sign up to email updates and latest news.
Celebrating its tenth year, Shindig is the most contemporary festival of performing arts in the UK, and renowned for being gurt lush! It particularly focuses on dance music, lineup is yet to be announced but tickets are selling out already, based on the festivalโs first class reputation rather than acts, but I can say Sister Sledge, De La Soul and many other legends of disco and soul have graced the stage at the Dillington Estate in the past.
24th-27th: Chippenham Folk Festival
The 50th Anniversary for Chippenham Folk Festival Folk Festival thai year was an amazing success, enjoyed by huge audiences with talented performers from across the UK and beyond. Time is now running out to buy EARLY BIRD TICKETS.
Cursus Cider & Music Festival, Weston-Super-Mare
Continuing from the InCider for OutCider Festival, Sand Bay Holiday Village plays host to this second crazy goodie!
25th: Love Saves The Day, Ashton Court, Bristol
Massive names in pop and dance, Love does indeed Save the Day. Fatboy Slim, The Sugarbabes and Years & Years headlined 2023, how they top it this year time will tell!
26-27th:DevizesInternational Street Festival
Goes without saying, DOCA’s International Street Festival is over this Sunday and Monday bank holiday, it’s free, it’s officially the best day you’ll have in Devizes!
26th: Could Be Real Tribute Festival, Swindon Town FC
Swindon Town FC hosts ‘Could Be Real’ Tributes Festival, bringing together the UK’s finest tribute artists and bands for a huge all day festival to celebrate a whole era of music and culture and this family friendly festival will be available for those aged 12 years and older.
31st- 16th June: Devizes Arts Festival
Thereโs been a few leaks about acts at Devizes Arts Festival this year, my favourite so far is to catch the wonderful Lady Nade. But hold onto your hats, thatโs enough for now, being as this wonderful Arts Festival reaches mainly into June, weโll feature it again when we come back for the second half of this annual roundup of festivals type thingy, which I will bring you as soon as possible.
All links to all festivals are on our event calendar, and I am sure many will be added over the coming months. For now, hold tight and we will bring new of the big ones over summer and autumn, but I must say, 2024 is already looking rather special!
Five Have An Out-of-town Experience You canโt always get that live music experience you crave by simply staying within the walls of D-Town.ย Sometimes, andโฆ
By Ian DiddamsImages by Josie Mae-Ross and Charlotte Emily Shakespeare wrote several plays that were termed in the late nineteenth century โProblem Playsโ. These wereโฆ
Together in Electric Dreamsโฆ. at The Corn Exchange Fashionably late for Devizes Arts Festival, I’d like to thank Andy and Ian for informative coverage ofโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ian Diddams, Play on Words Theatre, and Devizes Arts Festival Who was paying attention in history at school when they coveredโฆ
Poulshot’s Award-winning chocolate studio Hollychocs is proud to launch a heartfelt charity campaign in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust UK, with a charming chocolateโฆ
Events with diversity, be they ethnic, cultural, or life choices, must be welcomed, encouraged and viewed positively as assets offering variety in our local calendarโฆ
What an electric and energetic night of dub-fuelled goodness at the Muck & Dundar in Devizes, with Omega Nebula; I need a historical rewind to express how much, and why, I loved it!ย ย ย
The Omega Nebula is between five to six thousand lightyears away, so I’m glad they came to us, as I was on foot, but it surely was an unmissable night in town. Now, I know you know I know you know I Googled that for the sake of the joke, I’m not professor Brian Cox. But what I can adlib is this: in 1989 Osbourne Ruddock was shot outside his home in Kingston, Jamaica. The gunman made off with his gold chain and gun, but the world lost a music pioneer, known as King Tubby.
King Tubby
What has any of this got to do with the tropical holiday-at-home Devizes rum bar The Muck & Dunder you may well ask to bid I quit waffling! I’m getting to it! For in an interim period between ska and reggae known as rock steady, where brass sections waned in favour of more economical vocal harmonies, Tubby noted people danced to the instrumental breaks. With this simple notion, his sound system and experimental sound engineering techniques created dub.
Tubbyโs echo delays, erratic pitch changes, and techniques like โrolling the stone,โ which predates drum n bass by twenty years, became the blueprints of modern pop. His influence on Kool Herc alone is definitive; a Jamaican immigrant to New York, who, fusing it with funk and disco, would create hip hop, the rest cascades from this point. Hence why the dub style of Omega Nebula was so thoroughly accepted and enjoyed by, mostly, conventional millennials last night, rather than the niche subgenre which has, for the past few decades, been recognised as a steady plod and penchant for the crusty hippy types. But, thereโs more to it than this.
Bristol husband and wife duo, Omega Nebula, play to steppers riddims, with all the offbeats, one drops and Tubby’s dub effects, pre-dubstep, yet cherry pick dubstep elements to retain a certain freshness. They turn dubstep on its head with these nostalgic dub traditions; itโs a win-win formula.ย
See, dancehall may chant โrewindโ but reggae rarely looks back, it faces progression headย on, often fiercely competitive to create the next sound. I love reggae for this neverending development, but for me, personally, of a certain age I find it difficult to take dubstep underwing. I’m stuck, groundhog day, in a bygone era whereby the trance-techno fusion of Zion Train and Dreadzone was my final frontier, at least I thought so until last night.
Talking final frontiers, I could suitably review last night at the Muck & Dunder as Mr Spock from Star Trek! โThere’s a sonic pulse coming from the nebula, Captain, transmogrificating into kinetic energy upon interaction with organic life!โ That kinetic energy was felt by all in attendance, it didn’t matter if you were the ageing hippy like me, or youthful enough to acknowledge Little Mix as influential! What Omega Nebula has crafted is simple yet incredibly beguiling, as is reggae in general.
Steppers remains the most upbeat of reggae drum patterns, ergo the Muck jumped, the vocals chanted encouragement, like an MC, yet were as beautifully delivered as dancehall greats Sister Nancy or Lady Saw. The result was the whole vibe was energetically stimulating, contemporary throughout with this nod to the traditions of dub; a truly lovely recipe, which made for a truly wonderful occasion.
But the bottom line is the most important, and that being, perhaps Omega Nebula is groundbreaking, or perhaps theyโre simply part of a bigger and blossoming scene in cities like Bristol, neither way matters when you’re an old nutter living in the sticks. Iโm not so far gone that Iโm unaware of Glasgowโs Mungos HiFi or the Gentlemanโs Dub Club from Leeds, but fear Iโd do myself injury clubbing as I once did! Here in Devizes itโs something altogether different, and it was immensely well received. For which, again, we find ourselves saluting the Muck & Dunder, and to James Threlfall for suggesting them, who, incidentally DJโd through to the end, for bringing us such diverse acts in such a hospitable and attractive setting, with piรฑa coladas and rum cocktails to die for; I donโt care if itโs November in Blighty, when in Romeโฆ..!!
Swindon Palestine Solidarity continues to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and for aid to be allowed to enter Gazaโฆ.. Their three recent roadside signโฆ
I want Devizine to be primarily about arts and entertainment, but Iโm often pathetically persuaded by bickering political factions to pass opinion on local politicsโฆ
Photo credit: ยฉ Rondo Theatre Company / Jazz Hazelwood A gender-queered production of William Shakespeareโs classic play, โThe Taming of the Shrewโ, will be performedโฆ
If our ground-breaking heroes of boom bap, the Scribes bring the noise during live performances and bless any venue with crowd-pleasing positive vibes, yet are exceptionally proficient at weaving conscious lyrics when the studio record button is pressed, one third of the trio, Jonny Steele has a solo track out today (Wednesday 8th Nov) called X1 to Netanya, and itโs so topical and poignant you have to hear it to believe itโฆ..
Yeah, so, theyโve sent me a lyric sheet with this press release, which I studied with fascination after the initial listen, breaking down each line in awe; this is a nugget of poetic genius, of the now, and this has guts and consciousness.
Under the stirring laid-back keys, soulful hip-hop backdrop produced by One Soul, X1 to Netanya sees lyricist Jonny Steele embarking on spoken word exercise providing a perspective on the perils of the ongoing crisis in Palestine. A dense piece of wordplay and lyricism that demands repeated listens but is content providing a clear and uncomfortable question of what actions weโre willing to accept from our government as we watch these atrocities from a distance.
The accompanying video showcases an isolated performance that highlights the self awareness of being able to wax poetic from the comforts of his location, armchair-theorising on the actions of governments whilst speaking into the ether. Iโll drop the video link below, which goes live at some point today. If you cannot view it yet, please do check back in, it will be two minutes of your life youโll be glad you set aside.
Next time we can see The Scribes locally? The Winchester Gate Salisbury on December 16th, and then nothing confirmed until April 27th when they play the Vic, Swindon.
The first full album by Wiltshireโs finest purveyors of psychedelic indie shenanigans, Clock Radio, was knocked out to an unsuspecting world last week. Itโs calledโฆ
Bradford-on-Avon Town Councilโs annual festival, aptly titled The Bradford on Avon Live Music Festival is back this weekend, championing local talent with an eclectic line-upโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Performing Sondheim isnโt the simplest of tasks. Or, rather, singing Sondheim isnโt the simplest of tasks. With his dissonantโฆ
The phenomenally talented Ruby Darbyshire is performing at Silverwood School in Rowde on 27th June. Ruby has kindly offered to support Silverwood Schoolโs open evening…..โฆ
Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, aka Thieves, the wonderful local folk vocal harmony quartet of uplifting bluegrass into country-blues has aโฆ
This summer David is returning with a brand-new show “Historyโs Missing Chapters”, a show made to uncover why, throughout history, some people and events haveโฆ
Okay, clever clogs among us Iโm sure will tell me the Eskimo Nebula is a bipolar double-shell planetary nebula, 6,500 light-years away which is surrounded by gas making it resemble a person’s head surrounded by a parka hood, hence its name. I knew that already and didnโt needyou to tell me, or Wikipedia, honest, but Iโm talking closer to home; the Bristol dub duo due to skank up Devizes on the 11th November. Quit the astronomical smalltalk, pass me a piรฑa colada, thereโs a good chap, weโre off to The Muck!
Yo, gotta love the Muck & Dunder, itโs like being on a Caribbean holiday right here in Devizes. I kinda fell out of there scanning the Brittox sulking, oh, it was just a dream, Iโm not maxing relaxing on Mullins Bay. But more to the point, they bring us diversity to our music scene, and I donโt mean a dance troupe. Weโve seen the likes of The Allergies, The Scribes, and Gardna, weโve bore witness to sporadic salsa street dancing outbreaks, but, itโs a rum bar, we need reggae.
This one, I believe, is down to our resident Vernon Kay and all-around good guy skateboarder, James Threlfall, who likely wonโt speak to me for weeks after that quip(!) as heโs featured Eskimo Nebula on his BBC Introducing in the West show, and for the record I love Vernon, it was a compliment. Thank you, James, Stuart and Shelly, for bringing them to the Muck, because I hadnโt heard of them, thought I was a nilly know-it–all about reggae, took one listen online and was like, thatโs up my street knocking loudly on my door.
Their agents, Diplomats of Sound, describe them thus: โEskimo Nebula are a husband and wife electronic duo, taking influence from Jamaican and UK sound system culture. Their music is a blend of hard hitting dub, high spirited reggae and powerful bass, all brought together by their own joyfully uplifting and recognisable sound. Multi-instrumentalists Adjua and Dean Forrest, who together fronted eight piece reggae outfit Backbeat Soundsystem on Easy Star Records, have joined forces to pursue their passion for electronic production. Their show is a live/electronic hybrid performance, where you can expect a dynamic fusion of synthesisers, dub sirens, huge bass, live instruments, killer vocals and trippy effects.โ
โRevered for having a captivating stage presence and for connecting with the audience on a deep level, Esikmo Nebula will leave you inspired, empowered and energised. With continuous support from BBC DJโs including reggae legend David Rodigan on BBC 1Xtra, this exciting new project is speedily on the rise and their live show is not to be missed!โ
Nuff said, if itโs good enough for good ol’ Rodigan, itโs good enough for me, and as for the rest of you, Iโll drop some YouTube and links below to convince you to join me, tickets are a brown one, get ’em HERE.
Good to hear The Scribes are back with a new single, Focus
Ah, now the hook on this is immediately snappy, with that repetitive ghostly dope beat, The Scribes demanding you Focus, and like any good boom bap, the lyrics take too much untwining to define appropriately, but I know what I like. Iโm trying to stay focussed, guys, straight up, but this captivating loop pounds your head, and the effect of this method lyrically the Scribes play off from each other is mesmerisingโฆ.
The single is from long-awaited The Scribes X Vice Beats – The Totem Trilogy Part 2 EP, the first part of which we reviewed here back in 2020, and since weโve been on a journey to find anyone half as good as the Scribes on the UK hip hop scene, but only so far come up with the ensemble who happened to have worked with the Scribes! This time around theyโve turned my attention onto smooth and dynamic, in a Rodney P manner, London-based rapper Donnie Numeric, who fits like a glove into this troop.ย
They rocked Devizes last November at the Muck & Dundar, theyโre coming to Salisburyโs Winchester Gate soon, where theyโre welcomed regulars, and the launch of this single sees them party at The Exchange in Bristol, the night this nugget drops; Friday 25th August. If I link the video to Focus below, you wonโt be able to preview it until tomorrow when it goes live, thatโs where Iโm the lucky one, but honestly, the wait is worth it. The video was filmed by Lloyd Ashman Media, and it functions as a visual cue to the skill of this tongue-twisting talented trio, and makes you shiver somewhat at how this rolls.
With a progressive disc of annihilating hip hop this fresh, it is easy to see how The Scribes have been centre of attention recently, as Exposure Music Awards Best UK Urban Act, and the EatMusic Radio Awards Best Live Act too. Theyโve provided original music for BBC and Channel 4 television, and are featured regularly on both national and local radio and media including BBC 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1 Introducing and BBC Radio 6 Music. But through all this, thereโs no pretentiousness when you meet them, no chip on a shoulder stereotypical of the scene, just fete perusal of where theyโre heading, added with a healthy slice of banter. The Scribes are the real McCoy, and this is just another shining example of why.
Under the new management, live music will be making a triumphant return to The Boathouse in Bradford-on-Avon and that Cracking Pair, Claire and Chloe ofโฆ
Always a happy place, our traditional record shop Vinyl Realm in Northgate Street Devizes is back in the game of hosting some live music afternoons.โฆ
One of Wiltshireโs Best by Andy Fawthrop Looking for something to do next weekend? One of Wiltshireโs biggest festivals is happening just up the roadโฆ
If weโve had a keen eye on Swindonโs Sienna Wilemanโs natural progression as an upcoming singer-songwriter since being introduced to her self-penned songs via herโฆ
One of Salisburyโs most celebrated acoustic folk-rock singer-songwriters Lucas Hardy teams up with the Wiltshire cityโs upcoming talent who’s name is on everyoneโs lips, Rosieโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages byย Chris Watkins Media One could argue that Anne Frank is possibly the most well-known civilian of the WW2 years, and certainly ofโฆ
Bristol-based The Radio Makers have laboured over their forthcoming album Lucky Stars (Got My Radio) for four years, and it shows; youโll find out for yourself how that toil has paid off on its release next Monday, 7th Augustโฆโฆ
Though decidedly new wave throughout, Lucky Stars begins as if weโre retracing steps from punk to the new wave era. Reverberating vibes of post-punk the album kicks rock straight out at you; Edible Hearts is borderline punk, but the followup, Echoes immediately signifies that change to the new wave movement. Weโve gone from something which wouldnโt look out of place on an eighties Joel Schumacher or Tim Burton soundtrack, to something perhaps more for John Hughes, in just two tunes. Going on this alone, Iโm slouching back in my chair in anticipation for a substantial slice of retrospective goodness, and I got it.
Then, Jo-Jo slows the tempo, with subtle hints of goth drone, weโre progressing through the era, with black eyeliner and a bottle of Chinazo, because thatโs the only booze the woman we asked outside the off licence would buy for us! Now, if youโve been there, outcast youth of 88, attired for the Batcave, all is not lost to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift; Song For Rainy Afternoons perhaps belts out the best hook so far, but by halfway through weโre still plodding on a steady goth tempo. Girl Who Looks Like You surely confirms gothic dominance, sitting comfy somewhere between Killing Joke and Bauhaus. Stands to reason, Lucky Stars is produced by Steve Evansson who has worked with Siouxsie Sioux.
Recorded at EAM and NAM studios in Wiltshire, the Radio Makers describe their album as โsongs about love, life and people,โ which fits like a glove into the kind of subject matter of the common prose of the genre. By subject, even if ironic, Iโm a Poseur chants back into that Bowie glam punk, particularly noticeable on this wonderful bridge and slam back in, if thereโs going to be a sing-a-long on this grower, itโs this.
And then the title track comes across as being in the period all these new waves bands realised they needed some more Chinazo and had to aim for chart success. Never could they have dolloped the toilet doings of modern day pop, at the time, but as The Cure developed into the near-acceptable face of goth-rock, this turn in the album suggests to me that it has not been overlooked either. Itโs no bad โselling outโ type thing, in fact it bought the subgenre crashing a tsunami over the defensible face of new romanticism slush of a mainstream 1986, and for those who may have listened to Duran Duran, were now turning to Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy.
Course, youโll be totally engulfed by the eighth tune to concern yourself with pigeonholing; I only do it in a best attempt to define a sound, so you’ll have some idea of what you’re getting. Though I often felt like a window-shopper in this general genre, at the time, The Radio Makers is one of those bands which makes you realise the worth of the depths of a epoch, and wish, if you could travel back in time, youโd be leatherman draped in velvet, with fishnet stockings and black painted fingernails! Talk About You, is a perfect example, a drifting ballad finale of precision and skill, and it polishes this moreish album adroitly.
A nimble and captivating pilgrimage to an era of yore, with compelling freshness; well played, indeed.
It will be available on CD and 12โ vinyl (from The Radio Makersโ BandCamp page) and on all digital platforms. A mini launch tour takes them to Le Pub, Newport – Friday 4th August, Hen and Chicken, Bedminster, Bristol for the official album launch party on Saturday 5th August, with Deadlight Dance in support. Then at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon on Friday 11th August, Bristol HMV, Saturday 12th.
They play Box Rocks Festival at The Queens Head, Box on Monday 28th August, previewed here. Party in the Park, Filton, Bristol on Saturday 16th September, and appear at Bath HMV, on Saturday 23rd September.
Wednesday, song of the week time, and itโs some smooth jazz from Bristolโs finest purveyors of looping rhythms and upside down chickens, Snazzback. Stokes Croft Sleep Clinic is from the forthcoming album Ruins Everything, and it gorgeously trickles over halfway, building layers until the evocative vocals of Tlk meld to complete the effect. So incredibly cool Iโm horizontal!
Trowbridge singer-songwriter and one third of The Lost Trades, Phil Cooper has actually been doing more than playing solitaire, heโs released a new solo albumโฆ
An effervescent musical, full of promising young talent Written by: Melissa Loveday Images by: Gail Foster After the success of SIX last year, Devizes Musicโฆ
A photo is circulating on X of Calne’s Reform UK candidate Violette Simpson, which for some reason doesn’t appear on her election campaign….I wonder why?โฆ
Big congratulations to Devizes DJ Greg Spencer this week, the creator of Palooza house nights at The Exchange nightclub, for he made the prestigious billโฆ
Bristol’s purveyors of emotive post-grunge verging on etherealwave, Lucky Number Seven get our song of the week today, for their latest burst of harrowing energy, Marker Pen.
It’s neo-goth come post-punk, relished in Bauhaus lachrymose and passion, yet twisted with Foo Fighters’ fervidity, tumbling like iced water over rocks, it’s a rollercoaster four minutes full of masterful poignancy, apt for a Breakfast Club remake earring swap scene; enjoy but mind gnawing your fingernails….
Opps, it didnโt occur to me until afterwards, we only had the lads play for us at my birthday celebration at the Three Crowns on Saturday. Not intentional, just the way the cookie crumbled, but itโs no coincidence that today, my actual birthday, falls on International Womenโs Day!
Like any other industry, the history of the music bizโs treatment of women may be questionable, but itโs fair to say as far as creative output goes, girls have been at the forefront since pop begun. There are so many talented females on our local circuit, so boys, go vegetate with your X-Box for a moment while we give a deserved roll-call to as many of our favourite girls on the scene as I can think of…โฆ(in alphabetical order so there’s no arguments or hair-pulling!)
Annalise
Oh, for the haunting vocals of Annalise, fronting Salisburyโs purveyors of folk-gothic rock, Strange Folk. So captivating, so evocative; think Amy Lee of Evanescence, and youโre not far off the mark.
Becca Maule
Promising Salisbury teenager Becca is an acoustic singer-songwriter who has been known to occasionally strap a band of friends together. Coming from a post-punk angle, thereโs some chatty punk-rock Kate Nash-fashioned vocals on some astutely self-penned songs and covers. Themes include contemporary teenage anguish, climate change and mental health.
Becky Lawrence
Drifted from the shores of the Isle of Man to anchor in Wiltshire, I first heard country singer-songwriter Becky Lawrence supporting the annual Female of The Species fundraiser. A young Becky started out in musical theatre, then trekked to London to attend London School of Musical Theatre. This training shows in her confident and accomplished solo show, and within powerful original compositions. Again, themes of maturing and relationships are key, and if you think this is somewhat clichรฉ, Becky puts her stamp on them with poise and exquisiteness. Her first single You Say reached the number 1 spot in the UK Country Music Charts on iTunes, her second gained over 90K streams on Spotify, but her latest my favourite, Loud and 17 is what kept me in awe of her performance.
Belinda Lee
Fronting Bristol soul four-piece Belle Day, this is a new one on me though theyโve been on the southwest circuit for some years, and Iโm happy to report being blown away by these breath-takingly powerful vocals, of the classic Stax-Motown era. Itโs smooth blues flavour is ballroom jazzy with a hint of R&B.
Charmaigne Andrews
Melkshamโs premier rock soloist, tattoo artist, and one-fifth of The Female of the Species, Charmaigne is a force to be reckoned with. Powerful, soulful vocals enrich either solo performances or her newfound rock covers four-piece, Siren.
Chole Jordan
Perhaps the odd one out amidst these pop performers, but when you hear music teacher and classically trained soprano Chloe sing, angels will come down from the heavens to listen, officially!
Claire Connor
Show me a female-fronted Muse trump card, and Iโll raise you Trowbridge based acoustic trio Be Like Will. Popular on our pub circuit, theyโve already got some originals under their belt, as well as their popular rock covers. Claire controls the lads, and will hold you captivated too! Book these guys.
Claire Grist
Formerly of People Like Us, Claire now performs with six-piece function band LiveWired.
Claire Perry
Self-described as โbarking!…daft…loyal…technophobic…achey chunk!โ we love Claire, for her outrageous onstage banter, and her contribution to Female of the Species. Find this devilish diva fronting Melkshamโs most popular cover band, Big Mammaโs Banned.
Evie Halpin
Iโm yet to catch Evie play live. Pewseyโs resident Joss Stone, she brings soulful vocals to her solo show, the like you wouldnโt believe; ergo, Evie is on top of my must-see-list. A singer-songwriter citing Billy Holiday and Nina Simone as influences, so expect some blue soul. You can find Evie regularly at the open mic nights at The Exchange in Devizes, often playing the Moonrakers in Pewsey.
Harmony Asia
Folk with a touch of soul for this knockout singer-songwriter and acoustic musician from Chippenham, look Iโll leave you a YouTube link from Mr Mooreโs days at Trowbridge Town Hall, and you can make your own mind up, but we think Harmony Asia is really something special!
Helen Carter
One half of husband and wife Devizes blues trio, 12 Bars Later, this wonderful couple can hold the kind of crowd spellbound which would usually take a six piece supergroup of legends!
Julia Hanratty
Frome-based Julia Greenwood is probably the vocalist of the Female of the Species Iโm least familiar with, but through her soul ballads she wows me every year. Lead singer from Soulville Express, it is as it says, Julia can hold the note of Aretha Franklin with remarkable ease.
Julie Morton
Ah, our Jules, jewel in the ska crown of Wilsthire. Train to Skaville is the longest-running, chugging along since 2011, bestest ska and reggae cover band in the county, and let the lord Walt Jabsco strike me down if it isnโt so. Also, key member of charity fundraising supergroup, Female of the Species, Jules skanks and we love her for it!
Katie Mills
Be it as a solo performer or with acoustic guitarist Sue in the duo Sour Apple, Katie commands any generation-spanning cover with all the power and finesse of the original. Breath-taking to think Katie will attribute a Whitney Houston set with certain ease, and her powerful vocal range I liken to Alison Moyet. Yet through her work in Sour Apple, the duo has set about creating many a sublime original, and works them into a set with equal passion. Prolifically gigging locally theyโre the up-coming name which can accommodate any kind of venue or pub, and bring their shine to the punters.
What can we say about Westburyโs finest musical export, Kirsty Clinch that we havenโt already? Concentrating on her childrenโs music school First Melodies primarily these days, on the rare occasion our wonderful country singer-songwriter and music teacher is performing, you need to be there when she does. Kirsty is prolific in releasing some of most beautiful songs to bless my ears, and is astute with her business plans, self-managed, self-promoter and recently launching her own brand of clothing and merchandise.
Lorraine
Chippenham based duo, David and Lorraine take tribute acts to the next level. Lorraine makes the perfect Blondie, but theyโll add popular two-tone ska covers in too, making for a highly entertaining show. Blondie and Ska will liven your pub up, and get everyone up dancing.
Lucianne Worthy
Plan of Action are the Wiltshire rock, blues and alternative band which pack a punch. Itโs loud and proud, and for every loud and proud rock band you need a killer bassist, the only girl in the group, Lucianne is the personification of rock bass!
Naomi
Lead singer with Salisburyโs nu-cool indie sovereigns, Timid Deer. Arguably the most underrated local band, Timid Deerโs unique sound is enchanting, Naomiโs vocals are stunning, and this band does to indie-rock as Morcheeba did to trip hop.
Nicky Davis
Last but by no means least, we come to our final contributor to fundraising supergroup Female of the Species, Nicky Davis. Whether upfront vocalist or behind her landmark red keyboard, Nicky is a powerhouse. Fronting function band The Reason and lifetime member of our celebrated covers band, People Like Us, entertaining our pubs since 2016, Nicky, we love you!
Sally Dobson
Havenโt heard from Sally for a while, I know she moves about a bit and believe she resides closer to Oxford. Still her wonderful acoustic sets a few years ago justify her presence on this here hall of fame, and her work with the gothic duo Strange Tales, which seems a little inactive of recent. Still, I never forget a talented musical lady when I meet one!
Sarah C Ryan
The Sarah C Ryan Band describe themselves as โmelodic low slung rock pop with a country/folk tinge,โ and I always feel they sell themselves down, unaware of how completely mind-blowingly fantastic they are. This, if you perchance to see them at a gig adds a delightful element of surprise. If the name comes over a tad โfunction bandโ too, you should take heed, theyโre far from run-of-the-mill. Recently did one of the best Visual Radio Arts features Iโve seen, I see if I can drop the link to it……
Sara Vian
Frome based Welsh hippy-chick singer/songwriter Sara Vian is in her element singing jazz, soul and blues with a fabulous sunny vibe which charms and disarms with a distinction all her own, and she rides this with bells on.
Collaborating with the Graham Dent Trio, Sara has also released a number of singles over the Lockdown, and wonderfully acoustic goodness they are too!
Sienna Wileman
Daughter to Swindonโs answer to Mike Oldfield, Richard Wileman, an incredibly prolific composer of pre-symphonic rock band Karda Estra, where there is nothing vertical or frenetic about his musical approach, the apple doesnโt fall far from the tree. Though where singer-songwriter Sienna differs is theme, we hear topics of adolescence, youthful relationships, and perhaps their collapses, in this angelic voice of reason. Siennaโs music is experimental too, easy-going, and ambient, and I predict great things from one the most promising young artists locally.
Sophia Bovell
Sophia & Soul Rebels
Swindonโs astounding and versatile singer of soul, Sophia has many guises, as lively five-piece soul, Motown, disco, and reggae band, Sophia & The Soul Bothers, formerly Soul Rebels, and more recently a jazz ensemble simply called Sophia Bovell โ Jazz. Sophia can hold that note like the great soul divas, and with skilled backing can put the funk into any event.
Sue Harding
I first met Sue as an interviewer at the now based in Devizes, Visual Arts Radio, but soon came to realise she is a magnificent Celtic and Americana acoustic folk singer-songwriter too, of the Wilts-Somerset border.
Tamsin Quin
Last in our alphabetical hall of fame, but certainly not least! One third of our beloved acoustic modern country vocal harmony trio, The Lost Trades, Tamsin is the stalwart female acoustic singer-songwriter on our circuit, and her flair partly the reason for me starting Devizine as this voyage of discovery into the mostly undocumented wealth of local talent we have here. It should be pointed out the combo was created out of their many collaborations with each other in the past, and each of them, Phil, Jamie, and Tamsin, have had and continue to pursue solo careers aside The Lost Trades. Since highlighting all the individuals of this fantastic trio, The Trades continue to go from strength-to-strength, and are bonded so specially I cannot now visualise life without their wonderful harmonies in it! And Tamsin is the connecting link between the guys, and long may be so.
I do ask Tammy about a second solo album, since the amazing Gypsy Blood debut, and while she never brushes off the notion, her dedication to the Trades is paramount; yeah, I totally get that!
Thatโs about all I think of, and I like thinking about girls! But I know a few are going to say, hey, you missed me out! Iโm sorry if I did, and can edit it if you let me know! Have a great International Womenโs Day, and to everyone listed on this โhall of fameโ just keep it up, girls, continue the amazing contributions to our music circuit, for without you the guys would probably just be hanging around a kebab van wondering if theyโre on yet, and asking where is the gig anyway!
Itโs been far too long since Bristol-based singer-songwriter Gaz Brookfield has had a mention on our pages, so hereโs a belated Christmas present from this amazing performer, a name-your-price download of a live album youโll be sorry to have missed out on otherwise.
Of course, I only say belated because Iโve failed to mention it between munching on Quality Street until only toffee pennies and empty wrappers remain, and putting batteries in things, for Gaz released this Christmas Eve. Itโs recorded live at Esquires in Bedford, back in November as part of a tour whereby his Patreon page members chose the setlist. So, expect a mixture of the best songs old and new, but be safe in the knowledge theyโre accomplished acoustically. Without backing from The Company of Thieves, here is Gaz, warts, and all, as he apologises for a sore throat but, as you could imagine if youโve seen this character before, still manages to pull a blinder.
I honestly didnโt expect to pick up on tracks Iโd recall, but was reminded of one particularly adroitly written chef-d’oeuvre, The Tale of Gunner Haines, a true story of a solider assigned to Somersetโs Brean Down Fort, who was reprimanded for reporting in late from an unauthorised leave, due to a flat tyre on his bicycle, and promptly took 5,000 lbs of gunpowder and blew himself and the barracks to smithereens.
If this comes across rather Ralph McTell or Eric Bogle, historical narratives are a scarcity in Gazโs repertoire, rather drawing influences from everyday observations and personal reflections. And to argue these subjects are clichรฉ, Iโd nod, but allow me thus, Gaz does it so incredibly well, the thoughts and observations of many others pale by comparison. So, as every good live album should, thereโs abridged chat, confidently amusing and relative, and then thereโs these ingenious prose pieces of aging and his youth, of medical issues, his affection for the ordinary from maps to gardening, and much to deliberate on the matter of being a musician on the road, self-deemed a “land pirate,” and particularly amusing when character assassinating drunks at his gigs.
Within it, Gaz states he follows a serious song with a โsillyโ one, but the lines between sentimental and amusing are blurred, you take what you want from each, for if a good sign for the performer who uses the tenet of personal reflection as topic is that you come away from listening thinking you know the person, Gaz will seem like your best mate. This open fellow is a lively Billy Bragg at his peak, a West Country Springsteen of storytelling, with the carefree attitude to pigeonholing of James Taylor and the coolness of Leonard Cohen. The sum of these parts is a highly entertaining show.
If this live recording shouldnโt be treated as comprehensive, but a teaser for you to explore more of his discography, I guarantee youโll come away from it wanting more.
Melksham & Devizes Conservatives released a statement on the 7th April explaining an internal audit revealed one of their candidates was โnot qualified by residenceโฆ
Last month we were pleased to announce our involvement with the new Wiltshire Music Awards in conjunction with Wiltshire Events UK, details of which areโฆ
And there was me thinking nothing good comes out of a Monday! Today local bistro Soupchick, popular in the Devizesโ Shambles opened their second branch,โฆ
Stuffed my dinner, scanned the brief, headlonged out the door, forgot about the road diversion into the Market Place, made a u-turn, arrived at Wiltshireโฆ
It was a fantastically successful opening night for Devizes Musical Theatre at Dauntseyโs School for their latest show, Disneyโs Beauty and the Beast, and Iโฆ
Renowned Devizes auctioneers and valuers, Henry Aldridge and Son announced today they are relocating their auction rooms to The Old Emporium, a Grade II listedโฆ
Another fantabulous evening at Devizes’ tropical holiday resort, The Muck and Dunder rum bar, where Bristol’s boom bap trio I’ve been hailing since day dot, The Scribes, came, saw, matchlessly interacted with the audience, and tore the place down with a riotous show of incredible skill and talent; secretly, it was foreseeable months ago……
Again, straw hats off to the Muck, just like previous evenings with the Allergies, Jimmy Needles and recently the BBC Introducing showcase, it’s the like we don’t usually see in our humble market town. Something I’ve been excited about before even leaking the scoop, hyping up here till the cows come home, and still, it exceeded my expectations. It did so with one most important element; Devizes showed their respect loud and proud, attending in full force for this sell-out show, and made me honoured to illustrate what Iโd hitherto promised to frontman Ill Literate, and even his dad, Literate senior(!); this is our hometown, it punches well above its weight in knowing how to party.
For if there are others of this calibre currently on the UK hip hop scene, I’m unaware of them. The Scribes, I find no quarrel in dubbing โour Tribe Called Quest,โ for the similar way they can lyrically interchange and bounce off each other, extend their presence further afield from the niche. They’re about spreading their love of hip hop and rap, using an exuberant and carefree east coast old school ethos, blended with contemporary rap techniques, blessing new audiences with what they’ve got, and aside their addictive and inimitable style, they’re having a heap of fun doing it. Just donโt do like I did, and try to capture a snap of them, they move about like Michael McIntyre on fast-forward!
Tunes played out were tricky to pinpoint, not while jigging and balancing my pina colada! Undoubtedly, they dipped into the vitrine of their latest EP, a forthcoming second in the series of the Totem Trilogy, and I did pick out my dub-inspired favourite, Mighty Mighty. Yet in rap no tune is ever precisely replicated, making an improv live show different every time. What was a highlight of the miscellany was the Doug E Fresh moments of drafting in the single-most amazing beatboxer this side of Barnard Star, which if youโve never seen the like of in good olโ Devizes before, it’s equally unlikely youโve seen the like of anywhere before, if you catch my drift?! What? Iโve had rum!
With the upmost respect for the influence Mel Bush left on Devizes, the legendary promoter who bought Thin Lizzy to the Corn Exchange, I find it fascinating the same year he did, 1973, across the ocean in a Bronx block-party, Kool Herc isolated percussion โbreaksโ by switching between two turntables via a mixer, to prolong the beat of the track. Yet to many here, what he fashioned that night is still regarded as new-fangled!
Albeit progress out of the ghettos of New York for hip hop was sluggish, at best not arriving on our shores until a decade later, hip hop culture is no new thing. So, while this legacy for electric blues and prog-rock is still felt today, through the likes of Jon Amor, who plays the Southgate this afternoon, Innes Sibun and whenever Robin Davey returns, and this marks a blessing on our music scene which I fully appreciate, rum bar The Muck and Dunder aim for diversity, for daring to present dance, club, and hip hop, perhaps reaching out to the twenty and thirty-somethings wanting more than a standard nightclub. And for this, providing theyโll accommodate my aging sorry existence, I cannot thank them enough!
For me, you see, I loved it since a nipper; the cuts of Grandmaster Flash, the moves of the Rock Steady Crew, the subway graffiti, and right through to Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys, so I believe Iโm conversant on the subject to assess the Scribes are the freshest on the block, and Iโm glad we showed them what weโre worth in Devizes. Because, hereโs my final point, and I feel itโs the most important one, at least in destroying an ill-conceived misconception about the genre which The Scribes highlight with bells on. And that is, the pretentiousness, the bling, guns, and chip on the shoulder stereotype is a product of commercialisation, and is more often than not, an unwelcomed division.
The Scribes circumnavigated the good ship Muck & Dunder prior to the hoedown, chatting enthusiastically with all. To talk with Ill Literate is to find a kindly fellow with definite goals, a positive agenda, and ardent in the direction he needs to take this. Take his recent solo EP, The Shipwreck as a prime example; hereโs a rap record on the level of concept album, akin to prog-rock, with a conscious narrative flowing throughout. This isnโt just rapping to make a noise, this is dedicated writing and production, though on a night like last night at the Muck, itโs also about appeasing the crowd, which they did, sublimely. I walked home in the pissing rain, smiling all the way.
by Ian Diddamsimages by Ann Ellison. What can possibly be better than watching a performance of โBlood Brothersโ by Willy Russell? Watching TWO performances ofโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Josie Mae Ross and Richard Fletcher John Hodge is well known for his screenwriting of โShallow Graveโ, โThe Beachโ, โA Lifeโฆ
One of Swindon’s premier grunge pop-punkers, The Belladonna Treatment released their debut single, Bits of Elation, with London-based SODEH Records earlier this month. I spokeโฆ
A second single from Swindon Diva Chloe Hepburn, Situationships was released this week. With a deep rolling bassline, finger-click rhythm and silky soulful vocals, thisโฆ
I’m delighted to announce Devizine will be actively assisting to organise a new county-wide music awards administration, in conjunction with Wiltshire Music Events UK. Theโฆ
In the distressing event of a relationship breakdown some take to drinking their sorrows away, others might venture off to โfind themselves,โ whereas creative types often channel their innermost moods into their art. Themes of love lost are commonplace, arguably clichรฉ, but where Phil Collins sang, โtake a look at me now, thereโs just an empty space,โ Bristolโs multi-award-winning hip-hop trio, The Scribes, geographically map that space, using the metaphor of being shipwrecked on an island, in a new four-track EP called โThe Journey.โ
We love the Scribes here at Devizine, but this really is frontman Ill Literate solo and on top form. It’s out today, 2nd September, folks, forming a continuous narrative over four tongue-twisting tracks, the first of which, The Shipwreck is out as a 7″ picture vinyl and has the perfect accompanying music video. Forget the Streetsโ Dry Your Eyes, this is a punchy boom-bap emblematic work of art, this is as if Wu Cheng’en teamed up with Emily Bronte and wrote Nasโ Undying Love after being dumped by TikTok video, perhaps add a dash of Robert Louis Stevenson on samples!
As said, the character associates their breakup with being shipwrecked, track one, waxing lyrical like the rolling waves, itโs knee-deep in similes crafted with perfection, and it moves onto the second tune, The Desert, with a snake-charming pungi the condition of lostness beats our poor character down. Then itโs onto the Forest, perhaps the darkest of beats on offer here, as the โpull yourself togetherโ stage takes hold, using a slice of Grandmaster Melle Melโs itโs like a jungle. The finale elements on โmoving on,โ rather than revenge, time is a healer, and the Return compiles the previous songs, headlong into facing the future positively. Yeah, he stuck on the island but heโs climatised.
Created with GIMP
This hip hop odyssey is both written and performed by The Scribes frontman Ill Literate and produced by digger and producer Risk1 Beats, from Pontypridd. The EP will be available on Spotify and online retailers from Friday September 2nd, and it is a journey worth making, the quality of hip hop is sublime, of which weโve come to expect, but the โconcept albumโ complement takes it to a whole new level.
Can You Find The Wiltshire Potholes From The Moon Craters?! Now, at Devizine Towers we are far too mature and sensible to mock Wiltshire Councilโsโฆ
Review by Pip Aldridge Last week, I had the privilege of seeing the Fulltone Orchestra perform at the beautiful Tewkesbury Abbey beneath the Peace Dovesโฆ
If many space-rock acts have more band member changes than most other musicians change their socks, Hawkwind are the exemplar of the tendency. There mightโฆ
The second single from Georgeโs sessions with Jolyon Dixon is out today, Isnโt She Lonely. With the vaudeville ambience of Queenโs later material and sprinklesโฆ
South Westโs resident Johnny B Goode, Ruzz Evans celebrates his thirtieth birthday with the release of a live album, Against the Grain. I caught up with him for a quick reminisce, and chinwag about the albumโฆโฆ
As suggested, it was recorded at Fromeโs Cheese & Grain on 19th June 2021, postponed due to lockdown. Such dynamic and regenerating conditions really breath atmosphere into this album, and it captures the mood of a band excited to re-emerge from isolation. Though by now, weโve come to expect excellence from Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revue as standard.
Featuring tracks from the band’s previous releases it also includes tracks from Ruzz Guitar’s recent video series โRG Sessions.โ It’s uniquely delivered blues, RnB, rock n roll fusion with feelgood big band vibes, often frenzied and danceable, lengthy moments of extraordinarily proficient jamming, yet, like Longing to See You on this album, thereโs always time for a concentrated ballad.
And oh my, if there isnโt Ruzz doing a sublime guitar solo of Louis Armstrongโs Wonderful World, then joking about breaking a fingernail, but the complimenting talent behind the man is second to none. Blues Revue drummer Mike Hoddinott, bassist Richie Blake and Graham Nicholls on rhythm guitar, with a horns section of Michael Gavaghan on sax, Jack Jowers on trumpet and trombonist Will Jones, and special guestsโ incredible vocalist and pianist Pete Gage, who is fast becoming part of the furniture, and breathes real gritty delta blues ambience into the collective, along with sublime harmonica by Jerry Tremaine, who simply wows on Baby, Scratch My Back.
Seriously, this is eight hard-earned pounds well spent. Iโd say itโs better than the previous live album, Live at the Louisiana, we fondly reviewed a couple of years ago; Ruzz agrees, a quietly proud perfectionist, I figure.
But I want to get deeper into the psyche of the frontman, find out what drives him, when and how he first picked up that instrument. Firstly though, on this new release, I had to compliment the aforementioned Wonderful World solo. โThat reaction is what I was aiming for,โ he replied, โI wanted to bring something new to the table and challenge myself. I’m really happy that it came across as I wanted!โ
Just checking this recording at the Cheese & Grain was the first live show they did after lockdown, Ruzz confirmed it was, โwe had done an online set back in August 2020, and one small gig before all the lockdowns came back in heavier. That show was our first, full band show since the Devizes Rugby Club gig in March.โ Ah, yes, what a way to go out that was!
Treated of a number of streams during lockdown, I asked if they considered continuing them. โDefinitely. I’ve been trying to think of the right events to live stream to anyone who can’t make it in person (I.e., my international audience). I want the streams to be more than just me sat at home with my guitar all the time,โ Ruzz chuckled. โI want it to be as much an experience for people watching the stream as for the people at the live event.โ
Jogged my memory of a great stream from his garden, and though it was strange at first, seeing musicians in their home, on their sofas, some even with washing on a clotheshorse in the background, some made an effort to avert from the standard; I recalled Jon Amor climbing out onto his roof like a 5th Beatle! Ruzz laughed, โJon had some great ones!โ
Jon Amor. Image: Nick Padmore
This is Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revueโs seven album, and out of them thereโs three live ones, including Visual Radio Arts in 2018. Does he think he projects best when live, rather than a studio?
โI love working on music in the studio, but yes,I think this sort of music is best experienced live,โ Ruzz answered, though I suspected as much. โIt wasn’t a conscious plan to do three live recordings but I can honestly say that this new one is my favourite by far. I feel the band is playing better than ever. I’m always trying to capture that magic on our recordings, whether it’s in the studio or live.โ
I wished him a happy birthday and counted it an ideal opportunity to trace his past and discover the very beginnings of Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revue.
โMy dad and youngest brother play music,โ he answered my family connection to music question. โI got my start into live guitar playing through my dad. Back when I was 16, he put a band together to feature me on guitar; I haven’t looked back since!โ
The first time he picked up a guitar? โWhen I was 15. I had started on bass and drums, around 14, but was shown a George Thorogood DVD and then taken to see him live. After that I decided to learn slide guitar, then Jimmie Vaughan and Brian Setzer came along, and the rest is history.โ
Ruzz at 20!
I wondered if they commonly had requests for clichรฉ rock n roll hits, imagining drunk punters asking for Heartbreak Hotel or Thatโll be the Day, but would Ruzz appease such appeals, and in that, did it start out this way. โI have played all of those in various rockabilly bands over the years; great tunes, but maybe not quite right for the current band!โ
Originals is what you get with Ruzz Guitar, outstanding ones, yet he cites the blues, RnB artists as influences; Dr Feelgood, The Fabulous Thunderbirds. โI try to take from many places,โ he laughed, โWilko Johnson, BB King, Reverend Horton Heat, Steve Cropper; to name a few.โ
Anticipated responses, so I thought Iโd throw a curveball for the finale. I use the urban myth of Hendrix taking his guitar everywhere, to my kids, as a testament to dedication, and how hard you must strive to perfect something, any goal you might have. It was reported Hendrix took it to the toilet. I asked Ruzz what drives that dedication in him, but not before inquiring if he too, took his guitar to the loo!
He chuckled at this, and for the record answered, โI haven’t gone that far!โ
โIn all honesty I don’t know. It’s just something that’s felt right since I started learning. It’s been the one constant in my life since I was 15. There’s nothing more enjoyable to me than learning more with it, writing my own music and standing up in front of a group of people and taking them on a musical journey with me… it’s just what I was meant to do with my life.โ
Well, at just thirty heโs certainly achieved it, this album is proof. He signed off with โhope to catch up in Devizes in March!โ And thereโs a thing, 12th March the Wiltshire Blues and Soul Club are indeed at the Corn Exchange with Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revue headlining, which weโve already previewed, here.
The live performance from the Cheese & Grain can be seen on YouTube for a limited time, here.
And Yes, Ruzz Guitar does feature on our compilation album, all in aid of Julia’s House; please download a copy here
A new music festival is coming to Devizes this July. Organisers of the long-running Marlborough based festival MantonFest are shifting west across the downs andโฆ
All images: ยฉ๏ธ JS Terry Photography An awards ceremony to celebrate the outstanding musical talent within the city, aptly titled The 2024 Salisbury Music Awards,โฆ
Monsieur, with these Exchange Comedy night you are really spoiling us, for usually comedy in Devizes is just what we make ourselves; laughing at visitorsโฆ
A drone operated by Wiltshire Hunt Sabs was attacked by a second drone, twice, while surveying The Beaufort Hunt, after it recorded them illegally huntingโฆ
Without sounding like a stuck record, itโs the same unfortunate news for Devizes Street Festival as it was last year; Arts Council England has notโฆ
Bussing into Devizes Saturday evening, a gaggle (I believe is the appropriate collective noun) of twenty-something girls from Bath already on-board, disembark at The Marketโฆ
Introducing Bristol jazzy Yiddish folk ensemble, Chai For All, whoโve got me reminiscing about how, pre-internet, we used to find new musical genres, much least, we tried!
Remember when record shops presented products alphabetically yet had separate sections for the more, shall we say, unusual genres? You know, for the peculiar customers?! Masses of rock and pop spread across the store, yet it was a quest to find tiny sections of blues, or reggae, even lesser so for jazz, and microscopes were essential to locate the โWorld Musicโ section. The remainder of the entire planetโs music stuffed into a five-inch gap and shoved carelessly in the corner with the worst dry rot!
Dare you even browse there, through fear of someone you know sauntering in and questioning your activities? Resistance is futile; conform to pop culture or be ridiculed!
Even Paul Simonโs attempts to make world music โcoolโ was unsustainable. Therefore, Iโd sneak into the public library whereby I could hire cassettes from around the world, and that was my introduction to music from outside pop confounds; my DIY Womad! Praise the internet, where now you can virtually trek the earth, privately browsing and obtaining more information than sleeve notes couldโve ever provided.
But the net has drawbacks. This week some over-zealous nutjob blocked me on Twitter for calling a band โmisfits,โ when by dictionary definition theyโre darn close, and it was far from the โhate speech,โ of which they accused me. Meanwhile, I was listening to Chai For All, because I crave the unusual, consider the status quo often tedious, and besides, in my honest opinion, the word misfit was used as a term of endearment, even the band themselves approved; itโs good to be different.
Chai For All, chai being Hebrew for โlife,โ are a Bristol-based multinational, multilingual ensemble, touring middle eastern and Jewish music sets, and music and spoken word performances both nationally and internationally. Through a tinge of jazz, they breath fresh air into Yiddish song, klezmer and middle eastern music. Itโs about as far reached from aforementioned pop confounds as possible, and I love it for that very reason.
Can I even say Yiddish, if I canโt say misfit?! Iโm certain someone somewhere will pull me up on it despite, aptly, itโs what the band use to describe their sound. You canโt please everyone; Iโve never felt the need to use the twisted trending word โwokeโ before, and refuse to start now!
ยฉ Claudio Ahlers
Exploration of burgeoning Balkan ska has prepped my ears for this sound, UK groups like Mr Tea & The Minions, The Boot Hill All Stars and the Bomo-Sapiens, inspired by the inclination yet fusing anything from West Country folk to Bavarian Oompah Bands into the melting pot. I donโt profess to be all-knowledgeable on the subject, but I know what I like.
Like, because it glides you to another place, or another time; good music transcends barriers, rather than pop blasรฉ raising them. As a restaurantโs background music embraces its cuisine and creates a fitting ambiance, the emotive middle-eastern folk and powerful Yiddish song of Chai for Lifeโs repertoire transports you to lands afar. You can visualise rising synagogues above sandy market places bustling with Kaftan-robed, camel escorting, traders when they play their accomplished and wholly entertaining old ballads of soulful, yearning and rousing dance tunes.
ยฉ Gina Tratt at Vanilla Visualsย
Never has it been more appropriate to recite the phrase โalso available for weddings or bar mitzvahs,โ as Chai for All concerts celebrate the rich Yiddish song and klezmer wedding and dance traditions. Its two most recent music and storytelling shows explored the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which led to the creation of the State of Israel, the Palestinians’ loss of their homeland and the unleashing of one of the bitterest conflicts of modern times. Weaving together Jewish, Palestinian and British stories, this is a riveting study of the complexities of history. Such is the subject of their album Longing, Belonging & Balfour, available to download on their website.
Yet singer Marianna Moralis is keen to point out to me this past storytelling album project is not really representative of their upbeat Yiddish set, combining swing, which they perform at gigs, and thatโs right up my beer-spilling street.
Overall, and to conclude, their beautiful sound is a magnificent musical journey from the haunted Eastern European shtetls, through the dimly-lit basement bars of tango-crazed Buenos Aires, to the vibrant neighbourhoods of swinging New York. Coupled with tongue-in-cheek banter and audience rapport, you have to admit, around these parts, itโs something completely different, and, I think, would suit a small-town arts festivalโฆ. this isnโt Prague or Warsaw, least last time I checked.
Unless, of course, you can locally think of another example of a music and spoken word performance, illuminating the many personal acts of Palestinian rebellion against Israeli repression, from reviving native seed stocks to preserving and promoting traditional music?
Once the demonic entity Spring-Heeled Jack entered folklore it became subject to many books and plays, diluting the once real threat of this Victorian bogeymanโฆ
Devizes singer-songwriter Jamie Hawkins, famed for poignant narrative in his songs and one-third Lost Trade, has always had a passion for filmmaking; Teeth is theโฆ
There are only a few tickets left for this yearโs Devizes Festival of Winter Ales, an important fundraiser for DOCAโฆ.. This year DOCA has teamedโฆ
A sublime evening of electronic elegance was had at Bathโs humble Rondo Theatre last night, where Cephidโs album, Sparks in The Darkness, was played outโฆ
Got my groove thang on at the Muck & Dunder, Saturday, with help from The Allergies; yeah, I can still cut a rug, just!…….
It was the standout track on Bath’s premiere funky groovers, Stardust Collective’s 2014 Shindig ‘Afterhours’collection which alerted me to the wonders of Bristol DJ duo, The Allergies.
Drenched with a classic Stax undercurrent, “As we do our Thing,” acts as a go-between, teasing unnoticeable changeovers from archaic soul, which is favoured by my Boot Boy Radio show audience, to modern breaks, which perhaps is not so favoured, but I love to josher. Iโve blended it in with everything from Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds’ Get Down, to Big Mama Thornton’s Hound Dog, and out into Skint’s big beat anthems from Cut La Roc, or Wall of Soundsโ Wiseguys. Itโs a tune which also turned Craig Charlesโ head at the time; nuff said.
Saturday night at Devizesโ one and only rum bar, the glitzy without being pretentious Muck and Dunder, and one half of the duo, Roy, aka, DJ Moneyshot had drawn the short straw, while Adam, or DJ Rackabeat, his partner in beats, browsed the exotic cocktails menu.
Lumbered with me waffling this in his ear, and expanding it into an Uncle Albert moment, Roy didnโt seem to mind, least humoured, my “when I was in the rave,” ramblings, on the grounds we had a mutual associate in Stardust organiser Slim Goodgroove, who I’ve not seen since art college.
If some in Devizes would shake negatively at a ยฃ15 ticket stub to watch two guys putting records on, when live music is the usual order of the day, they didn’t see what I and the punters of the Muck & Dunder saw. You know, here at Devizine we promote and celebrate live music, and I could go as far as suggesting for many in this area, DJ culture is somewhat alien. Yet hardly new-fangled, DJ Kool Herc delivered hip hop to NYC ghetto bloc parties the same year I was born, Grand-wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash and a handful of others turned mixing records into an art form.
And it’s very much in this ethos and spirt which The Allergies base this show on. Their skills on the wheels of steel are as spellbinding as Miles Davis with a trumpet or Hendrix with a guitar. If it was an honour and privilege to witness this magic here in our humble town, it was nothing compared to the irresistible urge to shake our booties uncontrollably for an astounding two hours, of which these magical master-mixers shaped.
After being smoothed in with RnB jams from Bathโs Graham the DJ, The Allergies went off on one, cutting and scratching with such proficiency they made it look childโs play. I’ve not got my groove thang on like that since the heady days of larginโ it with Norm, Brighton style.
Though comparisons to Fatboy Slim perhaps too meek, if there’s a difference, the squidgy 808s have waned, and the Allergies favour blending seriously intoxicating 45s of classic funk and hip hop with contemporary reworks. The result was an off-the-scale funky jam, the like old Devizes has never seen before, as the duo swapped and changed positions, sometimes passively battling, other times complementing, weaving their enchanted sounds as they used two turntables as a musical instrument.
If crowd-pleasers like Ini Kamozeโs Here Comes The Hotstepper raised the roof, brassy adaptations of Mark Ronsonโs Uptown Funk captured the imagination, but the melting pot was vast, and wrapped in their unique funk revival ethos, ending on a peak with a mashup of Ol’ Dirty Bastardโs Shimmy Shimmy Ya to the beat of The Specialโs cover of Message to you, Rudy; vinyl junkies would kill for a peek into their box of 45s.
Backward caps off to the Muck & Dunder for an excellent booking and most memorable evening’s entertainment, the like weโd usually need to trek to a city of cultural influence for. Here’s a comfy and hospitable lounge striving way beyond ramming a tacky nightclub concept and driving dance music events to Devizes with the matured and sophistication it by now deserves.
While it’s not so easy to review a DJ set as a band, I hope I captured the glorious moment. It needs mentioning, the Muck pulled off something I was interested to peruse the attraction of locally. It was adequately filled, and, as it was in the rave era, the crowd were there to party therefore left qualms and attitude at home. As it should be; dancing is about throwing ones cares aside for the moment, and if you witnessed me gyrating like Sonic the Hedgehog on a gyroscope, itโs because it was impossible not to!
They didn’t mind a joker rearranging letters on their menu board to spell out titillating alternatives, and for every tip you give bar staff comes the promise of giving Boris Johnson a wedgie! A quality night with the tastiest menu of cocktails; it’s a tropical holiday experience in your hometown! Yet while DJ culture will continue at the Muck, there’s a variety of events coming up, including live music Sunday sessions, the first on 19th December, with the brilliant Ben Borrill. Long live the Muck & Dunder, and all those who sail in her.
I caught up with an excited Jonathan Hunter, leader of Devizes Town Councilโs independent party The Guardians, and local loyal youth worker Steve Dewarโฆ
Experience the Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival, a vibrant, family-friendly community gathering featuring traditional dance, music, song, and folklore throughout the town centreโฆ
If Iโm considering reviewing worldwide music again, why stop with this planet?! Though Iโve reasoned two tenacious links to mention this madcap Scottish interstellarโฆ
The team behind popular all-day music extravaganza, My Dadโs Bigger Than Your Dad Festival, can now reveal that nearly ยฃ11,500 was raised for Prospectโฆ
By Ian DiddamsImages by Jeni Meade No aficionado of 1960s and 1970s horror films would have missed seeing โRosemaryโs Babyโ, a story of Satanicโฆ
With Andy gig-galivanting the Vizes this weekend, I trekked to neighbouring Trowbridge, to find mesmerising and enriching vibes at the Town Hall, via ร lesund and Agata; hold my hat, thereโs a good fellowโฆโฆ
Just as Jim Crow segregation laws spawned juke-joints, the twentieth century is littered with examples of mainstream music venues unable to stay in touch, and consequently underground scenes progressing and pushing musical boundaries. Itโs true for the Mods, frequenting coffee bars when pubs closed early and refused to play jazz, for beatnik outlawed psychedelia, and from Jamaican sound systems to bless ghettos of New York with hip hop.
Late eighties and early nineties Bristol reflected a different party from the paisley clubs of London. Leftover reggae sound systems merged dub back into hip hop, and a subversive scene of downtempo โtrip hopโ was innate, swamping rave chillout tents, and imaged by supplementary graffiti artists. If worldwide recognition for Banksy puts Bristol on the art map, I deliberate the music clearly rubbed off on a new generation, subsequently resulting in Bristolโs paramount cultural scene today.
I ponder this while a youthful Bristol-based four-piece fill Trowbridge Town Hall with blissful ambience. The band is Agata, based upon the Polish-born singer-songwriterโs name, and theyโre only the support act, apparently! Iโd blue-in-face argue this gig is a double-biller, not only from Agataโs proficiency to perform, but similarities to the headline, ร lesund, complimented them perfectly.
Itโs spellbindingly mellow, even if the sound is stripped of yesteryearโs trip hop beats it maintains shards of electronicaโs downtempo mellifluousness, of Massive Attack, and is governed with emotively powerful female vocals, riding me back to Portishead on a drizzly Glastonbury stage of yore. Drums prominent on these wholly and uniquely original pieces, bass and lead guitars sprinkle over the electronica soundscape, caressing Agataโs delicate but emotive and elegant voice. I love Salisbury’s Timid Deer for all the same reasoning.
Gavin Osborn, the town hallโs music and performance programmer is Bristolian, ergo heโs bringing a taste of the city to Trowbridge, which itself has a blossoming post lockdown gig map. Yet if the mass appeal of Gary Kemp deejaying eightiesโ dancefloor fillers at the reopened Civic this weekend wasnโt your cup of tea, make your Trow-Vegas sojourn the Pump or Town Hall. Thereโs a continuous programme of exhibitions, arts and music at the Town Hall and musicians queue orderly for bookings at the Pump.
With music performances set in a characteristic yet intimate setting, gigs are a convivial experience here, one easy to interact with the bands, and you come away feeling part of it rather than a face in the crowd. Agata though would make for a perfect Sunday festival act, and have played Larmer Tree, Dot-to-Dot and Simple Things.
Currently touring a lockdown inspired EP โA Thread in the Dark,โ ร lesund likewise, but the similarities donโt end there. Again, a Bristol-based four-piece creatively pasting natural soundscapes into a mellowed original repertoire, with upfront drums, female vocalist on keys, and bass and lead guitars adjoining them. The main difference is only a hint more professionalism than Agata, a tad more powerful voice commands, and more prominence on that mystifying Celtic folk-rock of say, Florence and the Machine.
Alba Torriset fronts the band, explained to me the Norwegian namesake is rooted to her fatherโs side. She cites Florence as a major influence, alongside Bat for Lashes, but she was eager to indicate Kate Bush to me too, as I nodded approvingly, thinking the same, and pointed to the preponderance of drums akin to Running Up That Hill. Also, her ability to use her voice as a musical instrument, results in a striking performance, as her naturally emotive soothing vocals carries you aboard her journey, equally as Kate Bush could.
On this particular occasion, in the usual drummerโs absence, an apt replacement was found, and boy did she give it her all, causing me to reason she must belong to a more hard-hitting rock band, later confirmed by sound technician Kieran J Moore. And in turn, this was a spellbinding performance. Hypnotically pleasing it cradled their new lockdown inspired songs, as Alba expressed her solace to the tranquillity of the moment, in the absence of industry and traffic she focused on the birdsong, and her writing reflected this, a song called Dawn Chorus particularly inspired from the notion, enthused with subtle birdsong samples in the background.
So yes, yes indeed, a memorable and most enjoyable evening at the Trowbridge Hall; both ร lesund and Agata less hip hop than predecessor Bristol scene acts like Massive Attack, less gothic than All About Eve, and less retrospective dejection than The Stranglerโs Golden Brown, or 10CCโs Not in Love, but equally capsulating, emotive and euphoric; just with an uplifting contemporary method, gaging and merging aforementioned influences, future-beautiful. If either of these bands play near you, youโd be a fool to miss them.
As for the Town Hall, next Saturday (20th Nov) night proves not to be so laidback, as another Bristol-based band, IDestroy plans to bring a riotous, all-female party-punk live show to Trowbridge. Kid Carpet, Larkhall, Katherine Priddy all lead up to the new year, when 22nd January sees Gaz Brookfield booked, and comโ ere, thereโs moreโฆโฆ
Another Stunning Week-End For Live Music Andy Fawthrop Normally Iโd be raving about just how good the live music was at The Southgate on Sundayย afternoon.โฆ
Developed in Devizes, blossoming in Bristol, as well as a snazzy new website, indie-punk phenomenon Nothing Rhymes with Orange released their next single, and itโsโฆ
Seems odd the perfect combination between Devizesโ only theatre, The Wharf, and one of the longest-running performance group, White Horse Opera hasnโt linked before, butโฆ
Featured Image Credit: Stewart Baxter Riot predictor Nick Hodgson formerly of the Kaiser Chiefs has a new band, the charmingly named Everyone Says Hi, andโฆ
Bob Marley sang โjamminโ โtil the jam is through,โ Jimmy Cricketโs catchphrase was โcomeโere, thereโs more,โ but it looks like The Southgate in Devizes isโฆ
With the recent announcement of two Comic Conventions both hopeful for a date in September 2022, Iโm wondering how the comic industry has been affected by the pandemic and what the future of these crucial events for the industry might look like.
Pre-lockdown comic cons became quite the trend, with elements of cosplay aside workshops and talks, itโs both fun and an essential business enterprise for all involved in the industry, from big publishers to those self-publishing โsmall pressers.โ Yet as the tendency boomed out of its niche market, lots of smaller localised events popped up, many without equal knowledge of the subject as theyโd let on, often organised by town councils and local libraries. The other side of the coin saw big event businesses cashing in, creating huge events which concentrated on the best method to collect as much money as possible, which is bringing TV and movie franchises with little relation to comics.
Of course, these attract a wider audience, but swamp the attention of real comics, and naturally, those movies and TV shows which relate to comic counterparts. Of the two recently announced events, as a wandering fruitcake once on the verge of the industry, I know the organisers of both are thoroughly and wholly dedicated to the subject, and will create the kind of large-scale events to bless comics with the attention they deserve.
Hopeful the conventions will re-breathe excitement into actual comics as a medium and not just movie spin-offs, wondering if the pandemic and lockdown have created the opportunity of returning to the basics with a clean sheet, perhaps to start again creating comic cons in the true spirit of the industry.
Firstly, ICE, the International Comic Expo, held annually in Birmingham since 2014 is an independently run comic convention which fast became the UKโs flagship convention, our own San Diego. After the fathomable year off, ICE announced its return for September 10th 2022, at a new venue, Edgbaston Stadium.
Event Director, Shane Chebsey, who previously helped to organise events like BICS and Comics Launchpad has been a lifelong enthusiast and devoted comic fan keen on promoting and marketing the small press in particular. Shane said, โwe believe in exposing our visitors to a wide variety of comics from the most exciting new superheroes to the coolest indy and small press books. Our guest list reflects this too with guests from both the big publishing companies and the smallest publishers. When you visit our events, you can also expect to see a wide variety of exhibitors, from those selling collectables to creators selling their own work.โ
โYou can expect to meet some of your favourite creators at special signings and maybe even walk away with a unique sketch from your favourite artist.โ Not forgoing the astonishing program of panels, talks and interviews running through the day featuring many guests, this expo is the true comic fanboyโs calling, yet equally the kind of eye-opener to the wealth and quality of the comic market every hopeful artist, writer or simply just follower of comics has to see for themselves.
And, for me, thatโs the nutshell, creating an environment to appease those with a mere fleeting interest in comics as well as devotees of the niche, inspiring budding creative types and in general, causing attendees to appreciate what the French call โthe ninth art,โ is far from the excessive polarized stereotype of superheroes alone, and as diverse a media as film and books.
“From what I can tell,” Shane enlightened me to the situation of larger comic cons, “most of the big media shows are resuming business as usual now that they are out of hibernation. I have not really seen any change in their approach towards comics related guests and events at their shows.“
“Of course, some of the medium sized media events seems to have disappeared altogether, unable to survive the lock downs. I personally know a couple of organisers who had to go and get a day job to feed their families and had to wind up their events businesses. But for every one of those we lost, their are new organisers starting up now who think they can give it a shot. So I suspect we will soon return tot he saturation point we were at before lockdown.”
“But right now we have the big shows who could weather the storm and the small shows who could just stop without a problem as they don’t organise events as their main business. So I foresee a slow start followed by a huge rise in events in Spring text year.”
“However, just before lock down there were certainly rumblings among fans and guests that convention fatigue was starting to set in, which multiple shows happening pretty much every week of the year in 2019 attendance was really starting to diminish at many events and I think fans are starting to look for unique conventions and festivals that offer something a bit different. Whether that’s more online content, more overseas guests or more carefully produced panels and workshops etc.”
“I think the days of just hiring a venue and getting a few cosplayers in, a few movie props, z-list soap actors and a load of Funko sellers isn’t going to cut it any more.“
“Comics fans want to see actual comics for sale at comic conventions and they want to meet artists and writers who they’ve never met before. They want that memorable sense of occasion that we used to get conventions before this huge increase in events. So it’s up to me and my contemporaries to deliver what they want in 2022.”
“I feel my team and I are up to the task and we’ll be pulling out all of the stops to bring the fans the best event experience they can possibly have within our budget.“
ICE happens under one roof in the vibrant city centre of Birmingham and costs just ยฃ10.00 when you book in advance. But for one closer to us, the trade magazine Tripwire announced theyโll be hosting a comic convention in Bristol, the weekend before ICE, on the 3rd to 4th September 2022.
Bristol always had a great convention throughout the nineties and noughties, which fell into disrepair, so itโs great to hear Joel Meadows of Tripwire will celebrate the magazineโs thirty-year anniversary by bringing a whole new convention to the city. Again, Joelโs experience and dedication to comics will ensure nothing but greatness for this event.
Guests are yet to be announced, when the website goes live, but it will feature the best in UK, US and European talent as well as editors from major US comic companies and film and TV artists as well. โWe are very excited about this event,โ Tripwire says, โand canโt wait to tell everyone more when we can.โ
As restrictions lift, plentiful comic conventions are popping up again, this month sees MCM Comic Cons in London and Birmingham, November has the London Film and Comic Con and Liverpool Comic Con, and many more. While theyโre all great fun, the connoisseur of all thingโs comics will tell you the place to head for is Kendal, for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival which is happening from 15th to the 17th of October. Though for the local of passing interest itโs a trek to Cumbria, these two in Birmingham and Bristol Iโve mentioned will be the crรจme-de-la-crรจme, take it from me, yeah kapow!
The second feature film for director Keith Wilhelm Kopp and writer Laurence Guy, First Christmas enters development, to be produced by Shropshire-based production company, Askโฆ
Image credit: Forestry England/Crown copyright. Forestry England Nightingale Wood invites dog owners to celebrate Walk Your Dog Month this January….. Walk Your Dog Month isโฆ
You remember being given some coursework, when back in higher education, with various objectives and your task was to choose one to complete? Not really wanting to do it, you go to the student at the top of the class, and ask them what theyโve done. They reply, โah, not much,โ and this gives you the cue to do absolutely nothing. Then, on the day of handing it in, theyโve unexpectedly produced the single-most awesome project, covering all the objectives in one ingenious combination, and you stand there with zilch, except a jaw hanging and an implausible excuse, which you made up on the bus coming in?!
Iโd imagine Onika Venus to be just like that. Now Bristol-based, Jamaican-born Onika plays Trowbridge Town Hall on September 18th, so, given reggae is cited as an influence, I thought Iโd check out her debut solo album, Everything You Are, which was released back in March.
The title track was chosen as Songsmithโs Song of the Year 2020, and itโs easy to hear why. Iโve not been this blown away by a female vocalist since discovering Minneapolisโs Mayyadda.
Immediately this pushed my buttons, but if this opening title tune is decidedly acoustic blues, with a distant harmonica resounding in the background, thereโs a truckload more going on than the first impressions here.
The premise from the beginning is as simple as, Onika Venus has the prevailing soulful voice to carry whatever genre is thrown into the melting pot, and drizzle it over you like hot sauce. It only leaves you pondering how far she will take it. The second tune I pigeonholed as RnB pop, a contemporary Macy Gray or Erykah Badu, aiming for chart success. When Iโm Broken carries this concept to a higher height, and is simply, the model formula of popular music every song should aim for.
Yet, three songs in and here comes the Caribbean influence. Friday Love has a clear mento feel, itโs immediately beguiling, a good-time chugging song in the face the despondent romance theme. This will occur again towards the middle the album with Whoโs Been loving You. Again, with Shotgun thereโs similar appeal, perhaps the most definable as โroots reggae,โ and, for me, theyโre the favoured sections.
But it swaps back to the mainstay for track four, steady soul with an orchestrated ambience; Everything has its Season, is the ideal equilibrium to bless that heavenly voice and compose this euphoric moment of bliss. After a surprising modern dancehall intro, weโre back to an acoustic guitar riff for the poignant The Storm, using sax to mitigate jazz. I Need You, though, has kick-ass funk, Ike & Tina Turner in their prime.
With only three tunes to go, just when you think influences have been exhausted, thereโs a duet with a male voice, supplied by husband, Mark, Mary, sounds classic Americana, as if Joe Cocker just walked into the studio and said, why donโt you try this?!
To keep you guessing what the last couple of tunes will hold, yeah, folk is strapped onto soul, Reaper Man aches of Aretha Franklin, but by this point you just know Onika Venus can carry this off with bells on. Raising the bar of comparisons is justified, believe me. For when itโs funky Iโd give you Randy Crawford, Chaka Khan, and when it levels with acoustic and folk, her voice dishes out notions of reggae heroines, of Phyllis Dillon or Marcia Griffiths, and the gospel finale, yeah, Aretha will be justified, if not Sister Rosetta Tharpe; it is this magnificent.
Yet, unlike all these aforementioned legends, the style here is not monocultured, neither does it jerk from genre to genre without consistency and flow. Onika Venus gives volumes to the eclecticism, and it moulds efficaciously into one melting pot, beautifully. Prior to this solo launch, in a band called Slyde, her voice customised their breakbeat, techno and house style, to great effect, and I can well believe it. The flexibility of her skill is captured here, Iโd imagine as comprehensively as she chooses personally, and just as the student who bursts in effortlessly, with the homework complete and to an exceptional standard, Onika Venus makes this look easy!
Salisbury acoustic singer-songwriter Rosie Jay released her debut EP today, taking its title from her first single from June this year, I Donโt Give aโฆ
I’m loving this new tune! Swindon’s upcoming reggae singer/DJ Silver-Star has teamed up with the legendary General Levy for a drum n bass golden nuggetโฆ
Somewhere just outside Westbury a sizable barn hosted the most memorable new year’s eve raves in the mid-nineties, but Iโd never have imagined then, thatโฆ
A Scooby snack-sized pinch punch, first day of the month came from Minety Music Festival this morning upon announcing their headliner for 2025, The Funโฆ
What would get your gamer relation, (because every family has one!) leaping out of their game chair, putting their controller on charge and aching to get out into the real world?!
Yeah, I know, right, not much, other than perhaps their favourite savoury snack, and then theyโll drift back towards the console, proclaiming thereโs a new level needs completing or something about NPCs trying to eat them. How about a trek to Bristol? Tricky, but maybe if you told them The History of Video Games has every console at hand, a truckload of vintage arcade games and an exhibition theyโd pass off a snog with Lara Croft for.
Running now and through the summer holidays until 12th September, on the ground floor of The Galleries shopping in Broadmead, a ยฃ12 ticket will gain you access to the video game heaven thatโll make your gamer explode into golden rings upon witnessing. And, I stress, gamers of ALL ages. One Facebook user asked if they had the Star Wars game, presumably they meant the 1983 Atari arcade first-person rail shooter. The answer a definite yes, but it was currently being fixed. Another asked what consoles they have, that answer was simply, โthem all.โ
Theyโve got everything from the Konami Dance Revolution to the Original Sega Rally, the like I could imagine Dads dragging kids kicking and screaming away from their Minecraft servers and forcing them to play Asteroids or Pac-Man.
Divided into three sections, History of Video Games, Replay Board Game Cafe and the Generation Games Exhibition, organisers advise to plan ahead, tickets sell out fast; theyโre like the easter egg in Adventure. The days are spread over three sessions with only a capacity of 65; you could be like Jet Set Willy trying to get out of the Attic, if you donโt buy in advance, or am I showing my age now?!
This is isnโt the favoured way to start a review, but this is idiot music for stupid people, if you think this is stupid then youโre a fucking idiot, and thatโs a quote, from the opening title tack, which ends on, โoh, there it is, up my bum; can I eat it now?โ
If Goldie Looking Chain is all too millennial, but hip hop, for you, should be served with massive chunks of deadpan sauce, west country tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and general silliness, Monkey Bizzleโs debut album, Idiot Music might just be the thing to pick off the menu.ย ย ย
Through the Pythonesque nature of Idiot Music though, wailing guitars, proficient drumming (from Cerys of the Boot Hill All Stars), and substantial dope beats means this is far from amateurish, and will rock the festival circuit. In fact, the Somerset five-piece sold out the album launch party at The Barge on Honeystreet a fortnight ago; I see why. This drips with Scrumpy & Western charm, like Gloucestershireโs Corky, Wurzels meets the Streets, the elements of โagriculturalโ hip hop make this apt for our local crusty scene. Yet with wider appeal, it is, simply, parental advisory fun.
Primates tend to be a running theme, a particularly danceable funky signature tune named Monkey Funk, a King Kong themed rap, another including David Attenborough samples. There are also drug references aplenty, the reggae-inspired Heavy, or Doves (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) needs no explaining, but in it, it mocks the chav culture in such a way you mayโve thought only Goldie Looking Chain could. Something itโll inevitably be compared to, but more so than the humour drafting this side of the Seven, what makes this so appealing is its nod of respect to hip hop rather than mocking it, is greater than that of Goldie Looking Chain, in a similar way thereโs was with Beastie Boy satirists Morris Minor and the Majors, if you get as old skool as I!
One thingโs for sure, Monkey Bizzle isnโt to be taken seriously, but for the most part itโs listenable to as a hip hop album rather than pure novelty too, unique rappers Skoob and James make this so, especially as the album trickles on, both CU Next Tuesday and Ha Ha Ha being particularly entertaining, Oi Mate ripples with The Streets’, Give Me My Lighter Back but under a ska riff.
Nothing here is going to become next summerโs banging anthem on Radio Oneโs Big Weekender, an honour theyโre clearly not bothered by or striding towards. To face facts, what you get is a full album of highly entertaining flip-flop and amusing lyrics of daring themes, wrapped by gifted musicians only playing the fools. And for which, Idiot Music has got my name all over it!
If I learned to take heed of Sheer Music chief promoter Kieran J Moore, when he Facebook posts about a new local discovery on a previous occasion, when I had the unexpected realisation outstanding Americana artist, Joe Edwards was virtually a neighbour, itโs paid off again.
The sounds of Daisy Chapman the subject this time, and itโs exquisite.
โHow have we only just discovered each other?โ Daisy responded. She may reside in Trowbridge but rarely gigs locally, concentrating on touring the continent. I listened fondly to the song he prompted, time for me to cut in on this dance.
Starter for ten, Daisy has an angelic voice of vast range. It could conjure enough emotion to make you tearful over a Chas n Dave cover, if she were to attempt it, which she probably wouldnโt, purely hypothetical!
Orchestral, at times, but dark, folk in another, if unconventional, thereโs a thin line between heavenly and infernal here, as a sense of generation X sneaks in too, through conceivably progressive writing. Coupled with poignant narrative in these nine original good luck songs, a waiver away from archetype instruments and riffs of country and folk, and bold genre experimentations and crossovers, makes her third studio album, 2020โs Good Luck Songs something of a masterpiece.
It opens lone on piano, this divine voice, almost liturgical, but layers are building, a trusty cello will become a trademark throughout the album. The title track preps you for something unique, something obviously wonderful.
Into the second tune, Home Fires, and the tender euphoria continues through piano and cello combination, whisking you on its journey, of nostalgic recollections annotating seasonal change, the wordplay is sublime. Neatly layered into the existing recipe, a gothic folk element slips neatly into play by the third tune. Daisyโs voice willingly commands you, captivating you, like a child mesmerised with a campfire fable.
Then thereโs Generation Next, a strictly country feel with a delicate fiddle, and brass, accompanying a tongue-in-cheek division, a tale which, despite the Americana sound, nods to gigging on a local circuit, from well-versed experts to the concept their advice is to be ignored by the younger upcoming performers. It is, quite simply, fascinatingly ingenious.
I used to own an Empire is another compellingly written emotional piece; on bonding to face a greater cause, articulated by a crusader boldness against aggrandizement. Through historic references it compares devastating impacts of political cuts, The Beeching Report, Minerโs Strike and even Custer and the Gettysburg Address to the ignorance of Icarus, as the wax of his wings melted from flying too close to the sun. An archetypal subject of leftism maybe, but youโve never heard such expressed with such academic prose and orientation.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do! The subjects of Good Luck Songs are concentrated, factual and tangible, emotionally expressed and divinely produced to an exceptionally high standard. But diversity makes it tricky to pin down, thereโs a moment, in the haunting ambient opening of The Decalogue, which sounds so soulful, held steady with military style drum riff, yet the following song Thereโs a Storm Coming has a drum loop and high-hat, akin to a contemporary RnB song, or the country-pop of Shania Twain. Feels like succumbing to commercialisation, but in this, thereโs a point; Daisyโs voice is so lithe, it could flex into any given genre or style, and finish on top.
Said versatility was first noticed by UK prog-rock band Crippled Black Phoenix, and since 2009, on and off Daisy has travelled as pianist/BV with the band on tours covering every corner of Europe as well as a short trip to China. Daisy was also chosen as vocalist on their cover of AC-DCโs โLet Me Put My Love Into You.โ With a penchant for prog-rock, Daisy shares lead vocals with ex CBP singer, Daniel Anghede in the group Venus Principle.
And anyway, Good Luck Songs finishes with a sublime cover of Tom Waitsโ Tom Traubert’s Blues, to confirm Daisyโs dedication to acoustic rock, but as expectable, it strips out the croaking vocals of Waits and replaces it with the pure silk that is Daisy Chapman. Believe me, if youโre captivated by strong female vocals, the kind that could bring a church down, but want for intelligent lyrics, this album will hold you spellbound from start to finish.
Americana folk singer-songwriter Lady Nade beautifully attributes her granddad for her traits, in the song Peace and Calm, citing his love of gardening as his mellowed happy place. Wonderfully sentimental, the boot fits, as is this stunningly crafted new album, Willing, released yesterday, and undoubtedly the reason why she plays to a sold-out audience tonight at St George’s in her hometown of Bristol.
Reviewing after just the one listen is usually dodgy ground, but when an album engrosses you as Willing does, itโs all thatโs necessary to reverberate the news to you just how fabulous this is.
If Lady Nade has a physical resemblance to Heather Small, she certainly has the deep and soulful voice to match, but any musical comparisons have to end there, unless either Mike Pickering is taken out of the equation or the nineties electronica inclination was mysteriously replaced by Nashville country. For pigeonholing this, it is soulful country, in sound and subject matter.
Written during the pandemic, thereโs a secluded ambience echoing through these eleven sublime three-minute plus stories of friendship, love and loneliness lost and found, reflecting the fact it was recorded in multiple studios and engineered by all the musicians in isolation. Yet to hear it will hold you spellbound in a single place, till its conclusion.
With a folk tinge the title track kicks us off, and sucks you in with a romantic notion of loyalty. The slide-guitar fills a tale of faith against missing someone follows, and, lighter, Youโre my Number One, trickles euphoria, warmly.
Indeed, mellow is the key throughout, Josette being breezily romantic, while Wild Fire offers a darker, moodier tenet. Whimsically spoken, One-Sided is perhaps the most beguilingly pop-like with a cannonball despondency you cannot help but be touched by. But if identification is what youโre after, Call Yourself a Friend has the sorrowful, trust vs cheating friendship, and accompanied by pedal-steel guitar-picking, traditional country music is honoured.
By Rock Bottom, as the title suggests, thereโs a slight rock breeze to it without defiling its roots, Tom Petty style. Then we have the aforementioned, Peace and Calm, an upbeat, jollily ironic Many Ways to Sink This Ship, and Ain’t One Thing makes for a perfect finale, by summing up the perfect person to be in love with. What a gorgeous sentiment to seamlessly end a captivating album from start to finish.
It often perplexes me, how Ray Charles deviating from the jazz-laden soul ABC Records necessitated as the key to his achievement, to release the double-album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was considered so shocking, when artists such as Nashvilleโs DeFord Bailey was fusing harmonica blues into the more acceptable country style forty years prior. Still, some may be surprised by Lady Nadeโs affection for Americana folk, but after one listen the surprise will turn into amazement.
As a form of healing from grief, Lady Nade started writing poems and songs, and performing locally, learning loss and sorrow isnโt something one can recover from alone, and with her music and recipes she creates a communal experience, a calling to connect with her fans on a deeper level. This shows in the sublime dedication she transfers to this, her third album.
by Ian DiddamsImages by Josie Mae-Ross and Infrogmation Tennessee Williamsโ quasi autobiographical drama โA Streetcar Named Desireโ was first performed in 1947 as the worldโฆ
Purveyors of perfect motion, house music promoters Palooza return to The Exchange in Devizes on Friday 20th December, for its grand finale of the yearโฆ..โฆ
Okay, so, Iโm aย little behind, recently opting to perfect my couch potato posture and consider hibernation, meaning Iโve not yet mentioned Kirsty Clinchโs newโฆ
With Black Friday just a few weeks away, Wiltshire based Blackmore Computers Ltd, is encouraging people to think pre-loved if theyโre planning on buying laptopsโฆ
If rural West Country had a penchant for trance in the happy daze of the mid-nineties, heady nights of fluorescent-clad crusties with eyes like flyingโฆ
Congratulations to Rosalind Ambler and Paul Snook from Devizes Writers Group… At the National Community Radio Awards held in Cardiff on 16th November Together!, theโฆ
Blagging biros and stationery from banks and post offices, we’ve all been there, but few driven to pen a song about it. It’s one valid reason to love the righteous but riotous simplicity of Bristol-based anarchistic vegan folky-ska-punk misfits, Boom Boom Racoon.
Those aware, who thought 2018’s album by the trio, Now That’s What I Call Boom Boom Racoon vol1 was off the head, newly released Songs From The Before Times & Some More takes it to a whole other level. Lockdown raw, rougher and more in your arrogant, fat consumerist face than ever before; put that sausage roll down and prepare to be barked at with a charming slice of satire and counterculture commentary.
Now reading that paragraph back makes it all seem so terrible, but under a blanket punk term, which only goes some way to pigeonhole the unpigeonholeable, irony is abound and Boom Boom Racoon are quite the opposite. This is nine three-minute plus enthrallingly exciting rides, and is undoubtedly entertaining to say the least.
Mixing rum and coffee, ie. turbo mocha time, Covid19-related Public Service Announcement 2020, are the lighter, comical subjects.
Whereas tightening border control in States and Nations, laboratory animal testing in Cages, human unecological practices compared to dinosaur extinction, and another anti-capitalist rant on how difficult it is to be sustainable in the modern era, are the more sombre and acute subjects, setting the world to rights.
And the way they work it, the words they’ve planned go against the homemade rawness of the sound. This isn’t off-the-cuff, there’s ingenious wordplay and poignant messages hidden beneath the fun attitude. The abolition, against the psychological effect of imprisonment and a need to sustain numbers by reforming laws to create criminals, for example, Boom Boom Racoon touch on radical notions or campaigns, and are fearless to state their core values.
Anthropocene it, Say it, Sorted probably carries the most poignant message, and is also the only track which has an amusing sample, unlike the previous aforementioned more polished album which has more, from The Simpsons to Harry Potter. And it comes in the shape of a rather stumblingly polite call from Kent Police regarding an animal rights protest, which is highly amusing.
The album ends hilariously on the most brilliant retort from taunts by your average knuckle-dragging homophobic bigot, I’m certain you know the sort, completing the overall contemporary leftism and reformist ethos which, if you tag the piffle term “snowflake” onto, beware, the unity here is compounded into a masterfully literate snowball, and it’s a brown one, and it’s aiming at your face!
Myself, I’d love for these raccoon pests to come trash the bins of our narrowminded community and welcome the opportunity of our more daring venues to book them for a live performance on the theory, well, on the theory, they’d steal the show.
Two of the county’s top retrospective cover bands meet for a double-bill of action in Market Lavington This Saturday. Calneโs indie rock five-piece Six Oโclockโฆ
Again we find ourselves congratulating and thanking young Chloe Boyle for fantastic fundraising efforts for Devizes homeless charity OpenDoorsโฆ. With friends and family she spentโฆ
Images: Chris Watkins Media It was lovely to spend Sunday afternoon at Devizesโ Wharf Theatre, to see how this yearโs pantomime Hansel & Gretel, isโฆ
Sheffieldโs DIY punk queer emo five-piece, Slash Fiction will be at the Pump in Trowbridge on Wednesday 20th November as part of their nationwide tour.โฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Playing Up Theatre Company When is a mousetrap not a mousetrap? When itโs written by Tom StoppardโฆIf you have seen โTheโฆ
Wiltshire Music Centre is delighted to announce the new appointments ofย Danielย Clark as Artistic Director, andย Sarahย Robertson as Executive Director.ย Danielย andย Sarahย join Wiltshire Music Centre in a new co-leadershipโฆ
Here it is, the moment youโve all been waiting for, I hope! The track listing and details of all our wonderful songs presented on our forthcoming album, Various Artists 4 Juliaโs House. Read on in aweโฆ.
3. Erin Bardwell โ (Like the Reflection on) The Liffey view
4. Timid Deer โ The Shallows
5. Duck n Cuvver – Henge of Stone
6. Strange Folk โ Glitter
7. Strange Tales โ Entropy
8. Paul Lappin โ Broken Record
9. Billy Green 3 – I Should be Moved
10. Jon Veale – Flick the Switch
11. Wilding โ Falling Dream
12. Barrelhouse โ Mainline Voodoo
13. Richard Davis & The Dissidents โ Higher Station
14. Tom Harris โ Ebb & Flow
15. Will Lawton โ Evanescence
16. Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective โ Dreams Can Come True
17. Kirsty Clinch – Stay With Us
18. Richard Wileman โ Pilot
19. Nigel G. Lowndes โ Who?
20. Kier Cronin โ Crying
21. Sam Bishop โ Wild Heart (Live Acoustic)
22. Mr Love & Justice โ The Other Side of Here
23. Barmy Park โ Oakfield Road
24. The Truzzy Boys – Summer Time
25. Daydream Runaways โ Light the Spark
26. Talk in Code โ Talk Like That
27. Longcoats โ Pretty in Pink
28. Atari Pilot – When We Were Children
29. Andy J Williams โ Post Nup
30. The Dirty Smooth โ Seed to the Spark
31. SexJazz – Metallic Blue
32. Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue โ Hammer Down
33. The Boot Hill All Stars โ Monkey in the Hold
34. Mr Tea & The Minions โ Mutiny
35. Cosmic Shuffling – Night in Palermo
36. Boom Boom Bang Bang โ Blondie & Ska
37. The Birth of Bonoyster – The Way I Like to Be
38. The Oyster – No Love No Law
39. The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show โ Ghosts
40. Julie Meikle and Mel Reeves โ This Time
41. Cutsmith – Osorio
42. The Tremor Tones โ Donโt Darken my Door
43. Big Ship Alliance โ All in this Thing Together
44. Neonian – Bubblejet
45. First Born Losers โ Ground Loop
Iโll tell you what though, kids. This has been a lot more work than I originally anticipated! Yeah, I figured, just collect some tunes, let the artists do all the hard work and take the credit! But no, mate, wasnโt like that at all. The most important part for me, is ensuring the artists are properly thanked, so, just like those Now, Thatโs What I Call Music albums, I wanted to write up a full track listing with sleeve notes and links. Please support the artists you like on the album by checking them out, following and liking on social media and buying their music.
But to list all 45 tunes in one article will blow the attention span of the most avid reader, and if, like me, you’ve the attention span of a goldfish, find below the first twenty, and then the next 25 will follow as soon as my writerโs cramp ceases! Just putting them onto the bag was tedious enough, but worth the effort.
To all the artists below, message me if links are incorrect or broken, or if there’s any changes to the details you’d like me to edit, thanks, you blooming superstars.
1- Pete Lamb & Cliff Hall โ Julie
Not so much that Julie is similar to Julia, there could be no song more apt to start the album. Something of a local musical legend is Pete Lamb, owner of The Music Workshop, producing and recording local, national and international artists. His career in music stretches back to the sixties, creating such groups as The Colette Cassin Quintet and Pete Lambโs Heartbeats. Yet it is also his aid to local music which makes him a prominent figure, Kieran J Moore tells how Pete lent him equipment for the first Sheer Music gigs.
Pete Lamb
A wonderful rock n roll ballad with a poignant backstory, Julie was written in remembrance of Peteโs daughter who passed away in 2004 to Non-Hodgkinโs Lymphoma. It was featured on an album for the charity Hope for Tomorrow. The song also features Cliff Hall, keyboardist with the Shadows for many years, playing piano and strings.
Cliff Hall
2 – The King Dukes – Dying Man
Formed in Bristol in April 2019, a merger of a variety of local bands, including Crippled Black Phoenix, Screaminโ Miss Jackson and the John E. Vistic Experience, The King Dukes combine said talent and experience to create a unique, authentic sound, dipped in a heritage reuniting contemporary slices of British RnB with a dollop of Memphis soul.
Dying Man is a prime example, taken from the album Numb Tongues which we fondly reviewed back in the October of 2019. The brilliance of which hasnโt waned for me yet, and isnโt likely to.
The King Dukes
3- Erin Bardwell โ (Like the Reflection on) The Liffey
One cannot chat about reggae in Swindon without Erinโs name popping up. Keyboardist in the former ska-revival band, The Skanxters during the nineties, Erin now operates under various guises; the rock steady outfit Erin Bardwell Collective chiefly, experimental dub project Subject A with Dean Sartain, and The Man on the Bridge with ex-Hotknives Dave Clifton, to name but a few.
(Like the Reflection on) The Liffey is an eloquently emotive tune, staunch to the ethos of reggae, yet profoundly unique to appeal further. It is taken from the album Interval, one of two solo ventures for Erin during lockdown.
Erin Bardwell
4 – Timid Deer โ The Shallows
My new favourite thing, after noting Timid Deer supported the Lost Trades debut gig at Trowbridgeโs Pump. Though self-labelled indie, I was surprised how electronica they are, with a nod to the ninetyโs downtempo scene of bands like Morcheeba and Portishead, hold the trip hop element. This Salisbury five-piece consisting of vocalist Naomi Henstridge, keyboardist Tim Milne, Tom Laws on double bass, guitarist Matt Jackson and drummers Chris and Jason Allen have created such an uplifting euphoric sound, hairs stand tall on the back of your neck.
Taken from the 2019 album Melodies for the Nocturnal Pt. 1, Iโm so pleased to present this.
Naomi Henstridge
5- Duck n Cuvver – Henge of Stone
Yes, enthralled to have the song frontman Robert Hardie of Duck n Cuvver refers to as โhis baby.โ This is Salisbury Celtic roots rock band so aching to film part of their video for Henge of Stone inside Stonehenge, theyโve campaigned for the funds to do it, ending with Rab breaking into the monument to promote the campaign!
With references to the importance of solstice and the pilgrimage to Stonehenge, what other song could be so locally linked?
Duck & Curver
6 – Strange Folk โ Glitter
A dark west country folk band in the realm of a beatnik time of yore, with a serious slice of gothic too, Strange Folk came to my attention playing the Vinyl Realm stage at the Devizes Street Festival. Hailing from Hertfordshire, band members also now reside in Somerset, Strange Folk is comprised of four songwriters; vocalist Annalise Spurr, guitarist David Setterfield, Ian Prangnell on bass and backing vocals, and drummer Steve Birkett. Glitter features cello by Helen Robertson, and is a name-your-price gift to fans during lockdown, a wonderful teaser which if you like, and I canโt see why you wouldnโt, you should try the 2014 mini-album Hollow, part one.
Strange Folk
7 – Strange Tales โ Entropy
With singer Sally Dobson on the Wiltshire acoustic circuit and the synth/drum programming of Paul Sloots, who resides in West Sussex, catching this duo, Strange Tales live would be a rare opportunity not to be missed. Though their brilliance in melodic, bass and synth-driven goth-punk is captured in the 2018 album Unknown to Science, in which our track Entropy is taken.
Their songs relate baroque cautionary tales drawn from the murkier corners of the human psyche, while retaining a pop sensibility and stripped-down, punk-rock approach. Fans of the darker side of eighties electronica, of Joy Division and Depeche Mode will love this. You can buy this album at Vinyl Realm in Devizes.
Strange Tales; Paul Sloots & Sally Dobson
8- Paul Lappin โ Broken Record
Imagine George Harrison present on the Britpop scene, and youโre somewhere lost in Lappinโs world. Paul hails from Swindon originally, but resides mostly in the Occitanie region of the south of France, where he wrote and recorded the mind-blowingly brilliant album The Boy Who Wants to Fly, released in October 2020. Our chosen track, Broken Record was a single just prior, in August, and features Lee Alder โ bass guitar, electric guitar, Robert Brian โ drums, Jon Buckett โ Hammond organ, electric guitar, Paul Lappin โ vocals, synths, Lee Moulding โ percussion, Harki Popli โ table.
Music & lyrics by Paul Lappin ยฉ2020. Recorded at Earthworm Recording Studio, Swindon. Produced & Mixed by Jon Buckett. Mastered by Pete Maher.
Paul Lappin
9- Billy Green 3 – I Should be Moved
Now Devizes-based, Bill Green was a genuine Geordie Britpop article, co-creating the local band Still during those heady nineties. Today his band on the circuit, Billy Green 3 consists also of Harvey Schorah and Neil Hopkins, whoโs talents can be witnessed in the awesome album this track comes from, also titled Still. Mastered and produced by Martin Spencer and Matt Clements at Potterneโs Badger Set studio in 2020, itโs wonderfully captures the remnants of the eighties scooter scene in reflected in Britpop.
I’m sure you can buy the album at Vinyl Realm, Devizes; I would if I were you.
Billy Green 3
10- Jon Veale – Flick the Switch
Marlborough guitar tutor, singer-songwriter and bassist of local covers band Humdinger, Jon Vealeโs single, Flick the Switch, also illuminated Potterneโs Badger Set studio in August of 2020, and it immediately hits you square in the chops, despite the drums were recorded prior to lockdown, by legend Woody from Bastille, and Jon waited tolerantly for the first lockdown to end before getting Paul Stagg into Martin Spencerโs studio to record the vocals. Glad to have featured it then, even more pleased Jon contributed it to this album.
Jon Veale
11- Wilding โ Falling Dream
What can be said which hasnโt about Aveburyโs exceptionally talented singer-songwriter George Wilding? A true legend in the making. Now residing in Bristol, George has the backing of some superb musicians to create the force to be reckoned with, Wilding. Perry Sangha assists with writing, as well electric guitar, loads more electric guitars, acoustic guitar, organ and weird synth things. Bassist James Barlow also handles backing vocals and cous cous. Daniel Roe is on drums.
The debut EP, Soul Sucker knocked me for six back in November 2018, as did this here latest single recorded at the elusive Dangerous Dave’s Den, mixed and mastered by Dan Roe, during October last year.
Wilding
12 – Barrelhouse โ Mainline Voodoo
One good thing about preparing this album is to hear bands Iโve seen the names of, kicking around, and added to our event guide many times over, but Iโve never had the opportunity to see at a gig. Marlborough-based Barrelhouse is one, and after hearing Mainline Voodoo, Iโm intending to make a beeline to a gig. Favourites over at their local festival, MantonFest, headlined Marlboroughโs 2019 Christmas Lights Switch-On, and right up my street!
Formed in early 2014, Barrelhouse offer vintage blues and rock classics, heavily influenced by the golden age of Chicago Blues and the early pioneers of the British blues scene, staying true to the essence that made these tunes great and adding their own style of hard-edge groove. Overjoyed to feature Mainline Voodoo, title track from their 2020 album, which broke into the UKโs national Blues Top 40.
Barrelhouse
13 – Richard Davis & The Dissidents โ Higher Station (R. Davies)
Absolutely bowled over, I am, to have Swindonโs road-driving rock band with a hint of punk, Richard Davis & The Dissidents send is this exclusive outtake from the Human Traffic album, out now on Bucketfull of Brains. We reviewed it back in December. Recorded at Mooncalf Studios. Produced by Richard Davies, Nick Beere and Tim Emery. If the outtake is this amazing, imagine the album!
Richard Davis & The Dissidents
14 – Tom Harris โ Ebb & Flow
Lockdown mayโve delayed new material from Devizes-based progressive-metal five-piece Kinasis, but frontman Tom Harris has sent us something solo, and entirely different. Ebb & Flow is an exclusive track made for this album, a delicate and beautiful strings journey; enjoy.
Tom Harris
15 – Will Lawton & The Alchemists โ Evanescence
Wiltshire singer-songwriter, pianist and music therapist Will Lawton, here with his group The Alchemists. A weave of many progressive influences from jazz to folk, Will recently surprised me by telling me drum n bass is among them too. The latest album ‘Salt of the Earth, Vol. 1 (Lockdown)’, is a collection of original poems embedded in meditative piano and ambient soundscapes. But weโve taken this spellbinding tune from the previous release, Abbey House Session.
Will Lawton
16- Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective โ Dreams Can Come True
Hailing from Essex but prevalent on our local live music circuit, with some amazing performances at Devizesโ Southgate, Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective offer us this uplifting country-rock/roots anthem, which, after one listen, will see you singing the chorus, guaranteed. It is the finale to their superb 2020 album, Do What you Love.
Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective rocking the Southgate last year
17 – Kirsty Clinch – Stay With Us
If weโve been massively impressed with Wiltshireโs country sensation, Kirsty Clinchโs new country-pop singles Fit the Shoe, Around and Around, and most recently, Waters Running Low and anticipating her forthcoming album, itโs when we get the golden opportunity to catch her live which is really heart-warming. This older track, recorded at Pete Lambโs Music Workshop, exemplifies everything amazing about her acoustic live performances, her voice just melts my soul every listen.
Kirsty Clinch
18- Richard Wileman โ Pilot
Incredibly prolific, Swindonโs composer Richard Wileman is known for his pre-symphonic rock band Karda Estra. Idols of the Flesh is his latest offering from a discography of sixteen albums, which we reviewed. Along a similar, blissful ethos Richard Wileman served up Arcana in September this year, where this track is taken from. While maintaining a certain ambiance, his own named productions are more conventional than Karda Estra, more attributed to the standard model of popular music, yet with experimental divine folk and prog-rock, think Mike Oldfield, and youโre part-way there.
19 – Nigel G. Lowndes โ Who?
Bristolโs Nigel G Lowndes is a one-man variety show. Vaudeville at times, tongue-in-cheek loungeroom art-punk meets country folk; think if Talking Heads met Johnny Cash. Who? is the unreleased 11th track from his album Hello Mystery, we reviewed in March, and weโre glad to present it here.
Nigel G Lowndes
20 – Kier Cronin โ Crying
Unsolicited this one was sent, and I love it for its rockabilly reel although a Google search defines this Swindon based singer songwriter as indie/alternative. Obsessed with the music and the joy of writing, Kier told me, โI once had a dream Bruce Springsteen told me to give it upโฆ So, this one’s for you Bruce!โ Crying was released as a single in March, also check out his EP of last year called One.
Thereโs something indefinitely old school punk about Salem, with nods to pop-punk, goth and rockabilly, hoisting them to the absolute top of their scene. No one in the UK are delivering this genre better right now.
This side project of Will Gould from Creepers and Matt Reynolds of Howards Alias is loud, proud and spitting; dripping with Siouxsie and the Banshees, laddered fishnet stockings and Robert Smith influences. Quite honestly, Kieran’s right, again; itโs knocking deafeningly at my front door!
They described their self-titled debut 2020 EP as โspooky, silly, romantic punk rock songs.โ Yeah, figures.
Today they announce their October UK tour, with Oxfordโs Bullingdon, Fromeโs Cheese & Grain, and Bristolโs Exchange included, and nestled between them, on October 16th, Sheer Music & Bandit present them at Swindonโs grandstand music venue, The Victoria.
Support for the Salemโs tour comes from a new solo project from Welsh former Holding Absence bassist, James Joseph; James and the Cold Gun. A playful twist on his name, James and the Cold Gun is named after a Kath Bush song. They promise to be something of a rock nโ roll blues revue, akin to former British rock nโ roll heroes The Computers. They signed to Gallows label Venn Records for the release of their debut album.
By Mick Brianphotos by Chris Watkins Media Disney aficionados will need no introduction to โThe Little Mermaid,โ Disneyโs 1989 film about mermaids falling in loveโฆ
Remember, remember, weโre moving into November; leaves, loads of โem! Being as we are no longer doing weekly roundups, hereโs some highlights of events inโฆ
The simple answer is yes, very concerned. Following the publication of an article in Melksham Newsโs last issue questioning the councilโs public notice policy, Wiltshireโฆ
Dumping pumpkins in the woods is bad for wildlife says Forestry England. As millions of pumpkins hit supermarket shelves and make their way to gardens,โฆ
If Phil Cooperโs 2018 โThoughts and Observations,โ was one of the first albums we ever reviewed here on Devizine, itโs been a while since Iโveโฆ
I could scrutinise my archives, like a minister’s accountant, but without doing so I highly suspect Lady Nade has had a song featured on our Song of the Day feature once before.
Futile to check, as if I’ve implimented a ruling of one song per artist on our feature, which I haven’t. And even if I had, I’m my own boss here, and have every right to override it. And for what? What purpose?
I’ll tell you, shall I? If only to share and spread the word, this is a gorgeous tune, with a video nodding to her home city, Bristol, and its hint of topical affairs, despite the conotations of the song not revealing a similar notion, rather a classic theme of romance.
But the soulful expertise of Lady Nade makes it look so easy, and in this beautifully executed breezy ballad, one can only gasp at her skill and wallow in its splendour.
And that’s my song of the day!! Very good, carry on…..
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs more … Continue reading “For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album”
Must have been about fifteen or so years ago, random folk in a pub told me they were off to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was surprised to hear it was still going, and had it in my head its writer, Richard OโBrien had passed away. I pointed this out, and they refuted the fact. Someone pulled a mobile phone out their pocket and, in a flash, proved me wrong. With a virtual reference library at oneโs fingertips the lively debate which wouldโve, in previous times, circulated around the boozer, was kaput, the potential conversation starter settled, and the pub fell silent.
In the interest of truth, provided itโs a trustworthy source, fact checking is no bad thing. Obviously, I wished no malice on Mr OโBrien, just an incorrect piece of trivia Iโd picked up. But it was the first time it occurred to me, sadly, as well as the art of spreading urban myths, we live in an era where any mystery is immediately solved. I mean, loads of money was wasted hoping to find the Loch Ness Monster, but if an Android app actually proves it either way, the myth is ruined. Bristol-based Nigel G Lowndes nails this unfortunate reality in the title track of new album, Hello Mystery.
But whoa, weโre getting ahead of ourselves. Mystery is the eighth track of this varied ten track show, released tomorrow (26th March 21.) To commence at the beginning, the direct boomer, Boring screams Talking Heads at me, and Iโm left thinking this is going to be an easy ride, one comparison to art-pop and Iโm done. But, oh no, far from it. And itโs all because Nigel is a one-man variety show. To conclude thereโs elements of tongue-in-cheek loungeroom and easy listening, akin to Richard Cheese or The Mike Flowers Pops, although there largely is, is not to have listened till end, where the finale Always Leaving London, is an acute folk-rock acoustic masterwork.
Track-by-track then is the best method to sum up this highly entertaining album. As Iโve mentioned youโll start by contemplating heโs a 21st century Talking Heads without the punk edge of the era. But the second song, Tell me Tomorrow would confirm this if it wasnโt so much more vaudeville than the risky titled Boring, (as all of it is far from boring) but itโs becoming clear not to take Nigel too seriously.
When a relationship breakdown, caused by the partnerโs affection for some critter-like pets he buys for her is the subject matter for the third, bluegrass parodied song, Furry Little Vampires, itโs become laugh-out-loud funny. Country and doo-wop merge afterwards, but the fifth track, Bubble, has a Casio keyboard samba rhythm with a floating romance theme. What are you doing to me, Nigel?!
As randomly foodie based as Streetbandโs Toast, weโre back to uplifting art-pop with the very British notion a cup of tea will sort all your problems out, even psychosis. But random as this is, White Roses, which follows, is a more sombre nod to Nigelโs appreciation of country. Stand alone, itโs a gorgeous ballad; Nigel recognises the need to know the rules in order to break them. As he does by the very next song; Shoes follows country-rock again, but with a sillier, nonsensical subject.
The album plays out on the country tip, its influence seems to build throughout. The aforementioned obituary to mystery is as wonderful in thoughtful narrative as a country classic, and then weโre treated to Always Leaving London. Despite its skipping variety, nothing on Hello Mystery will, as the beguiling opening track shouts, bore you, that much I can guarantee.
If youโre looking for dopily swaying while holding your elongated black and sapphire dyed fringe under your hoody, as a melancholic indie-rock icon miserably recites his teenage anguish with a whining semitone through his nose, then avoid this. For everyone else, Nigel G Lowndes is very worthy of your attention; a sparkly beacon of showbiz, more surprising than a contemporary David Byrne with a Stetson, and when it comes to diversity, it puts The Mike Flowers Pops back on the shelf in the garden centre. Hello Mystery is as it says on the tin, and for this I give it full marks. Johnny Cash pastiche meets Tonight at the London Palladium; love it!
Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts announced their upcoming project, YEA Devizes today. Made possible by a grant from National Grid Electricity Transmissionโs Community Grant Programme, the Youth Event Activity Devizes will be a youth festival areaโฆ
Alberta Cross, along with the up-and-coming local bands Something Moves and BroccoliBoy, will perform at a charity gig on Saturday 30th November at 23 Bath St. All part of a new generation of vibrant andโฆ
Chippenhamโs young folk singer-songwriter Meg, or M3G if you want to get numeric, will release her 6th single The Mist on Friday 18th October, and itโs got me thinking about the film Rain Manโฆ. Showingโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Media, Jeni Meade. It would be fair to say that once William Shakespeare found or invented a plot device, he wasnโt one to avoid using it again. And again.โฆ
Our very own illustrious orchestra, The Fulltone Orchestra, are staging live performances of Enyaโs 1988 breakthrough album, Watermark in Basingstoke, Bath and Cheltenham later this month. They promise to be symphonic celebrations of the bestsellingโฆ
Must confess it felt somewhat odd to return to The Crown in Bishops Cannings for my weekly ration of live music. The only pub in the village has been closed a short while, since verbalโฆ
Wiltshire Adele tribute Jodie Evans is all set to ignite the stage on Friday 18th October, at the Bear Hotelโs Cellar Bar in Devizes, with all funds made going to a Devizes School student hopefulโฆ
Forget the feud between Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, this is England’s West Country rivals The Skimmity Hitchers and Monkey Bizzle in a vicious rap confrontation which can only end one way; best guess, aโฆ
Despite summer being a fleeting memory, and time to batten down the hatches for our major events, even if there’s not โmuchโ going on in Devizes at night, there’s always somethingโฆ. Though tempted by gigsโฆ
Iโm sure itโll shock you to hear, I made a technical hitch, best described as a cock-up. It seldom happens, blame my masculinity; the wife often reminds me men cannot multi-task. We featured the indie-pop Bristol-based singer-songwriter Andy J Williams last month, as part of our Song of the Day feature, and I promised to review the whole album โBuy all the $tuff,โ which was released at the beginning of February.
Musicians you wait for like buses, then two come along at the same time, and accidently I mind-merged them. Even joked in our Song of the Day post not to confuse Andy J Williams with his namesake senior easy listening giant, then mixed him up with someone else, whose name is nothing remotely similar. The only parallel is theyโre both from Bristol, though many are, but being as the other artistโs album involved in this cock-up isnโt released until next week, both got put on the backburner. My virtual to-do-list saved the day; acts as my brain.
Extend a short story longer, hereโs an apology to Andy, and a belated review of โBuy all the $tuff,โ which is very worthy of not being missed out. To begin with his cohesive band firmly behind him, thereโs a Britpop feel, I sensed, vocally, a similarity with Trowbridgeโs finest, Phil Cooper, if Phil was aiming for pop. But thereโs a lot going on here, influences are wide but mould into each other exceptionally well; a tad tongue-in-cheek at times too. Itโs indie on the outer crust, but with a dynamite mantle blending of layers which incorporates funk, new wave post-punk, art-pop, and contemporary electric bluesy-folk, all with equal measure and passion.
Reminisces flood my neurons upon initial listening, of how eighties electronica fused funk into pop, a kind of โfunk-lite,โ avoiding the substantial seventies untainted funk vibe, and through post-punk new wave, rewrote the club-pop formula. Bands like Duran Duran and Roxette spring to mind, Iโd even go as far as Michael Jackson meets Huey Lewis, but while Iโm aware thereโs a bizarre subgenre called โfunk metal,โ pleased to report Andy doesnโt get that heavy! This is more like musical cubism, with a skilful composition akin to King Tubbyโs mixing board, and it comes out the other end as extraordinarily unique beguiling pop.
Donโt take the opening Britpop track as red, the next, Post Nup, opens up this funk riff, but no matter where it takes you, lyrically this well-crafted too, written with thoughtful prose. Thereโs topical subject matter amidst the archetypical romance, including the referendum and social media, but no theme distracts from the overall musical presentation. Night Terrors, for example, works opposite to Jon Amor, who uses Elvis Costello pop to create a more frivolous blues, Andy maintains pop by adding elements of electric blues. Then, piano solo, layered with subtle percussion. Andy rinses a fine ballad, undoubtedly the most evoking track on the album, Stay.
Buy This $tuff reaches an apex immediately after, Something to Believe in is masterfully danceable, bathed with handclaps and a funky riff, it is to Andy what Superstition is to Stevie Wonder. From here on, the album takes to this upbeat terpsichore concept. Itโs highly entertaining.
Ballads follow, Celia and Now Sheโs Gone are particularly adroit, but you know Andy isnโt going to end this with melancholy. Be Mine returns to rock as itโs mainstay. Radicalised equally comes in hard, with an electronica feel. And Your Truth Hits Everyone is anthemic, concluding thereโs a need to ponder what the Beatles would sound like if still around today, with Britpop, new wave electronica, and clubland techno at their disposal. Through this, I might provide a suggestion.
Itโs been a fantastic summer for Wiltshireโs indie-pop favourites Talk in Code. I think Iโve caught them live at least four times, and only onceโฆ
I was chatting to Josh Oldfield last week, a Devizes singer-songwriter I believe weโll be hearing a lot more of. Though this interview was pendingโฆ
by Ian Diddamsimages by Josie Mae-Ross Noel Coward is probably best known for โBlithe Spiritโ but he in fact wrote sixty-five stage plays over aโฆ
Comedy in Devizes is a rare thing, unless you count visitors turning right at the Shaneโs Castle junction, reading opinions on the Devizes Issues (butโฆ
Seems like an age since I last visited Bradford-on-Avonโs wonderful Wiltshire Music Centre, though Iโve been listing their vast range of events on our calendar.โฆ
Wiltshire Music Events UK has hosted tons of memorable events locally, from CrownFest and The Marley Experience at Devizes Corn Exchange, to more everyday gigsโฆ
Driving home through Devizes last week, itโs only 10pm but I contemplate, it could be three in the morning itโs deathly silent. Our once lively little market town, like everywhere else, has lost a sparkle due to the pandemic; hope it can rekindle is all that is left. And now, the Facebook memories fires a bittersweet reminder at me, for even if you paint only a rose-tinted view of your life on the social media giant, a memory still pops up which is kind of sad on reflection.
Musically, blues is apt.
Thought was fairly stable that evening proved wrong. That memory was a wobbly video of the absolutely blinding night when Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue blew, or blue, perhaps, the roof off the Sports Club, aided by a supergroup of Innes Sibun, Jon Amor and Pete Gage. It was in a word, treasured. The sadness being, at the time it was only speculation it could be the final night of live music, and I didnโt want or care to digest that notion at the time, but it was; way to go out with style, though!
Now weโve come around to the anniversary of that moment, with a prospective reopening light at the end of tunnel, primarily being only a possibility. Yet the world turns on its axis, and music has, like so many other arts, been forced to change methods of distribution. The live stream, the Zoom recording session, and, for an extremely short summer stint, an afternoon solo session in a socially distanced pub when we were disillusioned into believing the virus was on its way out, have become the norm.
As many others, Ruzz Guitar has adapted, and a Facebook group called the RG Sessions aims to launch a new style of assemblies, producing the exceptionally high-quality electric blues weโve come to expect from the Blues Revue. You can buy them a virtual pint, and you can grab this gorgeous name-your-price single, which features all the musicians as on that fateful night. And in a way, itโs so good it near makes up for the depressing notion of this live music loss.
With the expert gritty vocals of keyboardist Pete Gage, โIf You’re Going To The City,โ also features our homegrown guitarists Innes Sibun and Jon Amor, with Ruzzโs proficient Blues Revue members, drummer Mike Hoddinott, bassist Richie Blake and Michael Gavaghan on sax. And with that said, I donโt feel the need to review it, take it as red, theyโre the ingredients for perfection.
After the previous spellbinding single with Peter, Ainโt Nobodyโs Business, we live in hope this faultless coupling will be retained for more of the same. But what surprises these Sessions will magically pull from their sleeves next will keep us guessing; Iโd advise you follow the page for updates.
The “Business Fit For Future” programme has launched with startups across Wiltshire seizing the opportunity to participate in free online business planning workshops. This initiativeโฆ
Featured Photo: Forestry England/Crown copyright Planned timber harvesting is set to begin at popular walking destination, West Woods, from the end of September until Marchโฆ
Despite the population of Devizes throwing confetti and paint at each other in their most celebrated annual ritual, I believe I picked the right weekendโฆ
The newly drafted forest plan for West Woods and Collingbourne is open for public consultation until Monday 7 October. The plan outlines how each woodland willโฆ
If there’s been welcomed stand-ins for the monthly Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate in Devizes recently, Ruzz Evans and Eddie Martin, Jon โtheโฆ
Supporters of local live music know, least they should do by now, that Swindon is the place to head this following weekend, 12th-15th September, becauseโฆ
I caught up with Ill Literate, one third of Bristol hip hop trio, The Scribes, to chat about their new single, how they, and in general, writing a rap is composed, a bit of their backstory, on diversity and where theyโre headingโฆโฆ.
After the unnerving atmosphere of their mind-blowing previous single, Stir Crazy, Bristol hip hop ground-breakers The Scribes release Haunted House Party today, featuring Mr Teatime and DJ Steadi, which will act as a double-A-side with Stir Crazy. Somewhat slighter in neurotic ambience than its flipside, still it maintains a lingering disturbed undertone, an eerie mood weaved by the intensely hypnotic lyrical style which weโve come to expect from the Scribes.
Despite the haunting opening piano solo, thereโs nothing tongue-in-cheek with this haunted house, as might be wrongly perceived by clichรฉ pop songs with similar themed titles. The Scribes arenโt doing the Monster Mash, donโt even go into this expecting something similar!
But you know me, I showed my age with the trio, jokingly citing a lampooning track, The Haunted House of Rock from the debut EP of eighties hip hop trio Whodini. Why one third of the trio, Shaun Amos, aka Ill Literate agreed to chat is beyond me, but he did, and hereโs the awkward questions I threw at him, and his answers!
Hopeful heโd humour me, I went wrangling on a technicality with the groupโs name. I reckoned it should be โScribes,โ and not โTHE Scribes,โ as the first denotes a copyist, i.e., anyone who writes, prior to the printing press and can be traced back to ancient Egypt, whereas the latter usually relates to a particular group from biblical times who were largely critical of Jesus, probably contributed to his crucifixion. โWhatโs in a name,โ I asked!
โWow man, I’ve got to say I don’t think we’ve ever thought about it to that extent!โ Shaun acknowledged, โwhen we first came up with the name, we did have a list of possibilities, including some genuinely terrible ideas like “Guttersnipes”. When we settled on “The Scribes” we did quite like the vaguely iconoclastic undertones going with the main thrust of writing. We already knew we wanted to write music by our own rules rather than by going with trends or scenes.โ
Iโm glad he didnโt bite at my absurd logic, as likely it matters not one iota, rather there was reason. Being scribes are writers, it leads us into my intrigue at how they, and rappers in general go about writing and composing a track, if they have a set formula?
โIt really does vary hugely, we work with a lot of producers and the process of getting a track completed is different every time,โ he replied. โWhen I’ve composed the music, myself I tend to bring it to the rest of the group with an idea of what I want the song to be about, maybe even with a hook already written and recorded. Sometimes we’ve got a topic we want to write about and we’ll seek out music that will fit with it. Quite often producers will make a selection of pieces for us to listen to and mess around with and we’ll get a vibe off a particular track, sometimes by jamming it out in the studio, sometimes on the road between gigs listening to bits on the car stereo.โ
I see the writing process for a solo, say acoustic musician, usually being a lone affair. Whereas scripting an episode of the Simpsons, for instance, is a group affair, the best writers gather around a table and knock the jokes and narrative about, which is more how Iโd envision they work a song, because thereโs three of them and the subject has to harmonise, as they bounce lyrics off each other. Unless, one contributes an idea and the others adlib their parts?
โWe do bounce our lyrics off each other a lot,โ he confirmed, โchecking they make sense mostly!
Shaun Amos.
โWe do bounce our lyrics off each other a lot,โ he confirmed, โchecking they make sense mostly! Whichever one of the aforementioned routes we’ve taken to write the track, it’ll almost always end up with us all agreeing a hook together, that then tends to set the topic of the track in stone. We then go off and write our verses separately before coming back together to record. So, while the hooks/theming is generally a group effort, the verses are much more of a lone affair!โ
But what of adlibbing rappers freestyling, Iโm guessing theyโve set templates to fuse with a running theme, but usually this consists of a simple premise; boastfully bigging themselves, or criticising the opposing rapper. Yet tracks from the Scribes meld like crochet, tackling tricky subject matter, they weave in and out of notions, rather than repeating words or thoughts. How does this process start, with a subject, or with a set of words which flow?
โIt pretty much always starts with a subject,โ Shaun elucidated. โMaybe not even something as specific as a subject, sometimes it might just be a feeling or an emotion or a general statement. Either way it’s enough for us to aim our verses at, and I think doing the actual verses as individuals does mean we end up with maybe a couple of different takes on each topic, or at least a couple of different ways of expressing it. Having said that, in hip hop there’s always room for a bit of bragging wordplay and head nodding crowd pleasing!โ
That said, I guarantee The Scribes could freestyle the ass off most!
โThat’s not really for me to say!โ he laughed. โI think our freestyle game is pretty tight, we crack it out at most performances!โ
Does Ill Literate find a trio is, as De La Soul say, the magic number, when it comes to composing a rap? โWhere,โ I asked, โand when did it all start? I mean, were you all separate artists who assembled, or have you always been a trio?โ
โI don’t know if it’s the number of people involved that’s important, more that the people involved are on the same wavelength and get along well. Both for the writing process and for the amount of time you end up spending together on the road! Me and Jonny have been best mates since we were five, and have basically always rapped together, we met Lacey during the early days of gigging and he got onboard straight away!โ
While on the backstory, I asked Shaun for his first musical memory, particularly his introduction to hip hop, feeling it was time to remind him when I cited buying Whodiniโs โHaunted House of Rock,โ in, shit, 1983, though this was not my first hip hop record!
Ah, there it is! I remember it well; and owe it all to Mr Magic’s wand!
โWe do have some pretty old school influences,โ he chuckled, โthough Whodini may be a bit old school even for us! I think my first introduction to conscious hip hop, as opposed to mainstream hip hop which was very gangster back in the day, was through friends at school. We used to listen to records at each otherโs houses, a lot of the early Rawkus Records compilations like Lyricist’s Lounge and Soundbombing. Bristol has a pretty big scene for hip hop so there were also a few local records shops with a good selection of underground releases that we could dig through, though a lot of the time we’d just look for instrumentals we could rap to! I think that late 90’s boom bap hip hop sound is pretty much the backbone of all The Scribes’ tracks!โ
I confess; had to Google the subgenre boom bap, certain it wasnโt an explosive breast, as I originally fathomed! I discovered while unfamiliar with the term, many of my personal hip hop likes relate, pioneers like Marley Marl, and acts such as LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest. But Iโm going to throw Shaun off subject, ask him if he liked English Lit at school, if teachers accepted anything he mightโve have wrote as credible by their formal standards, and if he sees his writing as poetry.
โI never really liked it as a subject, but I have always read a lot, I love books! It’s probably the main thing I do outside of music. That and watching pro-wrestling. It’s a heady mix! I don’t think I ever showed any verses to teachers in school, not sure what the reaction would have been to be honest. I’ve never really found it important to label anything we do but I would personally say it is a form of poetry, just a very rhythmic and flexible one that’s written to be performed rather than read.โ
The Scribes
Iโve likened, in previous reviews, The Scribeโs sound, the way they intertwine lyrics and alter voices with accents and intonations to create a certain mood, be it fearful or humorous, to the Fu-Schnickens, but the way its composed, like the magic of Tribe Called Quest, as I reckon, they mastered this best. โThat a fair evaluation?!โ
โWe will always happily take ANY comparison to Fu-Schnickens or Tribe!โ
Shaun Amos.
โWe will always happily take ANY comparison to Fu-Schnickens or Tribe!โ Ill Literate contently responded, โthat’s good company to be in!โ
Yet nothing Iโve heard from their album, Quill Equipped Villainy, or the Totem Trilogyand singles, unless Iโm mistaken, use recognisable samples. Itโs an easy gimmick to include beats or a riff which people will recognise, whereas everything they seem to do is original. I asked him if I was right, and if so, if thatโs something important to them.
โI guess this is something that varies from producer to producer. I personally don’t use any samples in my production, I just play/compose everything myself in the studio on guitar/bass/keys. I know a lot of producers who pride themselves on using only incredibly unknown and niche samples, spending a huge amount of time digging through obscure vinyl to find tiny little elements. I also know a lot who don’t really mind how “known” a sample is, as long as they switch it up so much it ends up as something unrecognisable from the original. I guess including a sample that is well known, so that the song becomes essentially a hip hop version of the original track, almost like a cover, is an easy way to get a bit of traction. Same as if you sample a movie theme song and do a song about the movie. But having said that I’ve heard some great tracks that do just that, so who knows?!โ
On multiplicity, the album sees a number of collaborations; Akil from Jurassic 5, and Leon Rhymes. How far would they take diversity; โwould it be acceptable to you for a producer to create a drum n bass, or house track from your lyrics? What about a mainstream artist asking you to fuse a rap into some cheesy pop? Because itโs a tricky balance isnโt it, not being seen as selling out to the ethos and genre, but creating publicity and notice?โ
โWe’re always up for anything,โ Shaun replied, โI love hearing remixes people do of our tracks, be it Drum and Bass, Funky House or anything else. Even if someone did want to take our work and turn it into cheesy pop, I think I’d be cool with that. More just so I can hear what they do with it, rather than for any publicity or fame! I’m always interested in seeing what other musicians do and how they work and the different techniques used by different genres.โ
Haunted House Party is released today, and yeah, it rocks, but whatโs next for the Scribes?
โWell, hopefully we’ll be back gigging before too long, at least in time for the festival season this summer! Til then we’re working on keeping the releases and videos coming! Hoping to do a few more special one-offs on The Get Down Records, like transparent 7″ vinyl for “Stir Crazy”/”Haunted House Party.โ People can keep up to date by signing up to our mailing list at QuillEquipped.com and on all the usual social media bits, Facebook and Instagram. It also helps a lot if you follow us on Spotify so we can make sure you know when we drop new tracks!โ
Devizes-own indie-pop-punk youth sensation Nothing Rhymes With Orange smashed the Exchange on Friday as a farewell to their local fanbase. They pursue a music courseโฆ
Reports of another road traffic accident at the notorious Black Dog Crossroads near Lavington today coincides with Wiltshire Councillor for the Lavington constituency, Dominic Munsโฆ
For that certain some-Karen who drove through town last weekend, jumped on social media to waffle off the clichรฉ rant โnothing happens in Devizes,โ butโฆ
Trowbridge-Devizes finest musical export for a decade or two, acoustic folk vocal harmony trio, The Lost Trades, step out for a nationwide tour this September.โฆ
The Fulltone Orchestra has confirmed today that their annual festival will take place on The Green in Devizes from 25th โ 27th July 2025โฆ. โItโsโฆ
Reggae and ska’s association with trains tracks back to its very roots, that beguiling chugging offbeat replicates engine noise, ergo subject matter and band names suit.
Here’s hoping if Devizes does ever get a station, more reggae bands will stop here and bring their sunshine music. Prime example; I’d sure make a beeline for this Bath-Bristol seven-piece locomotive, with their lively blend of dub, ska and soul. Failing that, I’m trekking, have roots, will travel.
Offering an exciting live show, the Maitree Express has been in the recording studio and the effect projects onto wax; proof here, in the pudding.
Wait, did someone say pudding? My work here is done, that’s my song for the day. Very good. Carry on…..
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs more … Continue reading “For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album”
Nigel writes to confirm heโs from theย โDevizes side of Bristol!โย Had to laugh about the perceived strictness of an obnoxious aging school teacher, and feel I should explain. While Devizine does offer local news subjects, since lockdown weโve blown up our border control and now rampage internationally when it comes to featuring arts and music. So, it makes hide nor hair what side of Bristol you come from, or even if you come from Bristol Connecticut, if I like it or I think my readers will, Iโll mention it, and despite the title,ย Boring, yeah, I do.
Seems weโre alike, Nigel, least in the concept donโt judge a book by its cover, because this nugget of quirky art-pop reminds me of Talking Heads and is far from boring. Nigel explained the meaning, โ[itโs] written after spending time with people who only seem to like the sound of their own voice – warning, I may be one of them!โ Yep, me too. But if weโre not one of them, we all know one who is.
โThe song started off as a Stones/Pistols rant,โ he continued, โand has developed into a soft indie rock stomp, with an added lyrical twist at the end.โ
Itโs the first single from a forthcoming album,ย Hello Mystery, which I think we need to review nearer the time. Until then, thatโs my song of the day, very good, carry onโฆ.
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs more … Continue reading “For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album”
Ever just float around your favourite social media site with no objective in mind, to unexpectedly find something which pounces on you as utterly brilliant, and wonder why you’ve not heard about it before?
Took a second of watching this to establish it’s one of those rare occasions, and not just a pointless scrolling exercise for your index finger. You know the kind, where you only see your mate’s unappealing dinner, a wonky, windup political opinion, or video of a young prankster posing as a magician hoaxing eye candy on a Florida beach.
Took a further second to confirm it’s not to be confused with senior easy listening giant, Andy Williams, rather an indie-pop Bristol-based singer-songwriter namesake, but with an added middle J, a penchant for a funky riff and eye for a beguiling tune.
Check this cracking danceable video out, where one could ponder if the middle J stands for “Jacko!”
Not that I’m usually one to allow a cracking video convince me, even with dancing stormtroopers. So, you should note, he’s on his third album “Buy all the $tuff,” of which you can, here. I’m reckoning I need a window to review this fully in the near future. For now it came as big as a nice surprise as spotting an unidentified circular yellow object in the sky this morning, for a near halfhour! Amazing.
And that’s my song for the day. Very good. Carry on…..
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesy tunes … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโs singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโs debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโs more … Continue reading “For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album”
Sunday off, broke my promise to post a song of the day, everyday. Allow me to make up for it. Bristol’s Mr Tea & the Minions with a lockdown themed song. See how sublimely they fire a frenzy of folk and Balkan styled ska-punk into festival proportions. I think they’re the hottest bands around these parts, and fondly reviewed the album, Mutiny a while ago. Just a reminder today then, these kids have it.
I made enquiries, wanting to bring them to Devizes. It’s no cheap option and obviously currently off the cards.
The reservation is that just because I’m loving this style, it might too radical for a Devizes audience. So, I’d appreciate some feedback; would you have paid a purple one to see them play in our town?
Fingers crossed, we live for a better day. But I believe lobbying a large Devizes venue to bring contemporary music direct to us, just occasionally, is crucial to the culture diversity we should be delving into.
Have a lovely rest of your day. Very good. Carry on….
Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โEโ) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put … Continue reading “Rooks; New Single From M3G”
Iโve said it before, said lots of what Iโm going to say before, in fact, but I reserve the right to say it again. And you canโt blame me, itโs this Groundhog Day thing, this exasperating lockdown. I perpetually revert my mind back to the last night of live music I attended, Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue at Devizes Sports Club with Peter Gage, Jon Amor and Innes Sibun. How I suspected walls could come crashing down, but didnโt want accept it, neither at the time acknowledge it would be so soon. Still, optimistically, what a blinding night; least we went out with a bang.
I mean, I know and Iโm eternally grateful to everyone who acted to do what they could immediately after the first lockdown, the afternoon sessions at the Southgate, and our own outing for Devizes;IndieDay, but as good as they were, as Ray Charles said, the night time is the right time. Ode to the gig, the gathering and the celebration, how we miss it so. Are you with me? You are, right?
Faced with the unwelcome likelihood of the first anniversary of the occasion coming around and still, no live music, I have to ponder how far to the light at the end of this gloomy tunnel. And to rub salt into the wound, Ruzz has released a new track, featuring the very same blues legend Peter Gage! But as far as salt goes, upon hearing this tune Iโm like a halophile (a salt-loving organism; look it up, people) living on the back of a saltwater crocodile, basking at the shore of the Dead Sea.
A cover of Jimmy Witherspoon’s tune Ain’t Nobody’s Business, Ruzz explains, โwe’ve taken the B.B. King and Freddie King versions, mashed them together and added an RGBR flavour into the mix! Weโve been working hard on this track since Christmas and we’re all very excited to release it.โ
And so, they should be, itโs sublime, as ever. Habitually, I favour Ruzz and the Blues Revue when they work up a frenzy, but this is smooth, this is blues, the kind of blues you need contemplating the anniversary of the gig ban, and if you attended, it will remind you of it too. If not, it doesnโt matter, it just breezes over you, as all virtuous blues should.
I mean, right, the guy was from The Sloane Squares, headhunted by Shadows bassist Jet Harris upon them supporting Hendrix, and thatโs just the beginning of his extensive profession. Peteโs proficient vocals, gives it that edge of aforementioned BB King influence, the arrangement and tightness of this collaboration are like the chimes of seamless bellringing, hereโs the Blues Revue on top form, adding guests of calibre and concluding as perfection; quid well spent.
I decided some time ago to construct our westward boundary at Bath, as far as events are concerned. Reason being, Bristol is so vast in culture there’s not enough hours I can dedicate to comprehensively cover it. We do however review and feature Bristol acts, because it’s impossible to ignore the wealth of talent, burgeoning since the nineties downbeat triphop era.
So, Bristol hip hop outfit, The Scribes gained a mention recently when they played Salisbury’s Winchester Gate, and consequently they sent their EP The Totem Trilogy pt1 which I fell hand-over-heels about.
In a little under four hours time, The Scribes are going to unleash a new tune, Stir Crazy on YouTube, a link I’ll embed below, and encourage you to return here when it goes live. There’s not a second to lose, You. Need. To. Hear. This. Because If UK hip hip is taken with a pinch of salt over the pond, The Scribes will be the ones they cannot ignore.I’ve given justified praise of the Totem Trilogy, but Stir Crazy goes beyond what constitutes good local sounds, and I’d tip The Scribes to be the international breakthrough act of the decade.
Released on Get Down Records, Stir Crazy is a collaboration between Finland’s own boom bap beatsmith extraordinaire J-Boom and The Scribes.
This forthcoming track, which I’ve sneakily previewed is, without doubt, seriously dope, in the hip hop jargon, and emotivly powerful without! There’s an air of the Fu-Schnickens about the techniques of The Scribes, experimental and diverse adaptations abound in their lyrical play on, not just words, but sounds and emotions.
The Fu-Schnickens could amusingly deal out classic Warner Brothers’ cartoon characters as if Mel Blanc was Schoolly D, and in turn tracks like Visions (20-20) were nervingly concerning, borderline frightening. Stir Crazy adopts this tenet with bells on. It’s uncompromisingily edgy, and as unsettling as a musical Stephen King’s Shining.
Dealing with psychosis under lockdown this wrecks a schizophrenic nightmare, and is as psychologically disturbing as its theme, the way the rappers roll their vocals to suit the mood is as Edvard Munch used colour. Hence why I’m saying forget the southwest connection, I’m tipping them the best hip hop act I’ve heard since Pubic Enemy.
Anyway, I’ll drop the link here, and add some pasted details from the press release. Soz, but I gotta hit the hay. If I can sleep after watching that video!
The single will be available exclusively through The Get Down Records bandcamp page from December the 11thย as a digital download (With instrumental) and as a limited edition double A-Side transparent 7โ vinyl with second collaboration track โHaunted House Partyโ. The video for โStir Crazyโ will then be launched a week later on December the 18thย before the single is made available on all online streaming services/retailers from the 15thย of January.
“Stir Crazy” showcases J-Boom’s trademark MPC production at it’s effortless finest, pairing a haunting piano loop with hard hitting drums to create a moody, atmospheric soundscape fitting for these strange times. The incisive vocals, provided by The Scribes alongside dark alter-ego Mr Teatime, talk candidly about the feelings of isolation and helplessness brought on by the various lockdowns of 2020, documenting the artist’s creation of an imaginary friend who goes on to take over his mind.
The accompanying music video, with clothing provided by The Scribes’ sponsors Aekor Apparel and Bones Clothing, is a strikingly bleak visual telling the story of the track across a day in the life of The Scribes. The sinister presence of Mr Teatime gives the video an edgy b-movie horror feel, perfectly suiting the vibe of the project as whole.
Together the release provides a perfect and entertaining summary of the year 2020 and the claustrophobic environment that the world has suffered throughout the year and is certain to find fans both in the hip hop scene and beyond.
A message goes ping from that George Wilding, heโs got a new single out since when we reviewed his band Wildingโs last outing. Are they building up to an EP? I asked, and got the reply, this is a solo one. Then, nought, despite saying if you send it, Iโll bless it with some words. Thatโs our George, never too hot on a press release, and if I criticise myself for being a technophobe, Iโm Zuckerberg by comparison! So, I gotta go find it on these blasted streaming sites, but you know, and he does too, Iโm going to, even if Dave Franklyn got in before me with a super review. Blinking Loreal; he’s worth it!
I take the chance not to read anything Dave has written prior to scribing something myself, if itโs on the same subject. Such an expert with words, my penmanship pales in contrast. Still, I got to say a little something, George being such a popular charismatic and approachable guy, aside his natural flare and virtuosity, musically. ย ย ย ย ย
Encouragement and reassurance for a falling star, practically rather than spiritually, seems to be the subject for You Do You, a delicate resonance in such a fashion only George could execute. Perhaps the most melancholic yet, opposed to the bouncy country acoustic of some of his earlier classic bombasts, it contains no skilfully-placed vulgarity, itโs mellowed, inspired and stunning. Itโs crying out for an emotional upsurge, yet whispered with sincerity, the key to a great song, and George nails it, unsurprisingly.
The kind if performed live it would suspend the whole venue in awe, as if time suddenly stopped and nothing mattered other than counselling this lone girl. Everything moral spells this character needs help, yet by natural testosterone, perhaps her beauty distracts; a perpetual cycle of bad karma. Like any truly-written masterpiece, thereโs obviously a private connection with the author, yet the listener identifies by conjuring a similarity to a particular own experience, in this case be it a girl, your mind locates the ideal suspect. Yeah, I know that chick, you contemplate, least one too close for comfort!
Every need then, to check it out for yourself. George Wildingโs You Do You is out now, across all streaming platforms.
It doesnโt hang about, it doesnโt drift dreamily as some previous tracks on the Soul Sucker debut EP, unbelievably near-on a couple of years ago, but it is unmistakably Wilding, this beguiling new tune from George Wilding, back with his band after lockdown. As a frustrating era for all creative groups, it feels as if with โFalling Dreamsโ they concentrated all their het-up energy, impetus and vigour, directed it into a trunk, padlocked it for a few months, then smashed the deadbolt and channelled it direct into an adroit three-and-half minute explosion.
Excellence is a watermark of Bristolโs Wilding, what initially began as a backing band for our homemade favourite lead singer, George Wildingโs prodigious young solo career, I expected no less. Though, while itโs not excessively upbeat it rocks steady, but Falling Down is a grower, appeal increases with every listen. It fits their self-penned label, psychedelic Britpop, but what is more, unlike Hendrix and Joplin itโs not psychedelia lost in time, similarly with Britpop darlings Oasis or Blur, which are somehow suspended in nineties nostalgia, a more apt comparison would be the Doors, a band with jazz and classically trained elements, and wild frontman poet, their sound is timeless.
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If Soul Sucker received regular rotation on BBC Radio 2 from Graham Norton and burgeoning interest from major labels, here is a natural progression and a multi-layered detonation, compacted into one song. Writer and frontman George, multi-instrumentalist Perry Sangha, bassist James Barlow and drummer Dan Roe have shattered expectations and produced something here to refine their style. If this is a glimmer of what is to come, you had better watch out.
Why? Because, as I said to George, thereโs so much good music being released during this troubled time for musicians, if they can get some writing and production out to help fill the shortfall, itโs all good. โI suppose thatโs been the upside,โ he replied, โeverybody has so much time on their hands to create.โ
The theme of Falling Dreams is ambiguously defined, as any strong songwriter should allow audience interpretation. To me it feels bitterly like a broken romance theme, but George jests, โthey’re usually about girls, but ‘Falling Dreams’ is just about being fucking cool,โ adding, โit’s about me…โ Herein requires some prior knowledge to his character to fully appreciate, as far from egotistical, Georgeโs charisma lies with tongue-in-cheek witticisms shadowing a selfless good egg. But yeah, he is fucking cool too! They all are, this song verifies it.
To see what I mean, hold out for its release this Friday, 23rd October. If youโre used to George providing entertaining covers on our pub circuit and his sublimely succulent solo EPโs of dreamy indie, this will be a wonderful surprise, but as I said, its skill and catchiness is neither unexpected or unmistakable.
Who says men can’t multitask? I’m washing up and reviewing this forthcoming musical extravaganza…..
Ruling in my household, being the better-half does the majority of cooking, I therefore wash-up. And on sporadic occasions I cook, I still do the washing up. I know what youโre thinking; under the thumb, Worrow. I beg to differ, family are watching some revamped eighties game show; squeamishly sickening the first time around, or else a bronze lady of all teeth and earrings, in a buttery summer dress is assisting affluent chavs to relocate to a Mediterranean costa.
Meanwhile, Iโm preparing my chore. First task is not to clear the drainer of previously cleaned utensils, that comes after I Bluetooth my phone to the soundbar. Firmly of the belief washing up should be done to music, and such a law should be implemented nationally.
Those completed, time to fill the sink with hot water and Fairy. Cheaper varieties a no-brainer, you use twice as much for the same effect. Much like my choice of music, others donโt have the same clout. For retrospective genres, such as rock n roll, today largely consists of wishy-washy tributes and anodyne honours of a once dicey outrageous bravura. Else thereโs a disturbing scene fusing techno with swing to revamp classics which really donโt need or desire the wonky attention.
Let me be the first, I suspect, to compare Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revue to Fairy washing-up liquid. But if you want the job of recreating the true spirit of bygone blues styles done properly, accept no substitute. Add equal amount of Fairy as needed with a cheaper alternative and youโve got an Ibiza foam party in your kitchen.
Iโve got an advance copy of their instrumental album, โThe Instrumental Sounds Ofโฆโ not due for release until 6th December, but ready for pre-order; I strongly suggest you do. Because hereโs a Bristol-based rockabilly/blues trio, with three-piece horn section, who encompass everything once rousing and electrifying about musical styles ranging from jazz to rock n roll, originally, and with a benchmark of contemporary quality.
While Ruzzโs singing is passable, the guitar is his true calling; Gretsch agrees and endorses this, if you donโt take someone chained to the kitchen sinkโs word for it. In genres such as these, where one imagines and perceives the vocals to hold a deep Mississippi accent, to hear his Bristol enunciation is novel, but unusual. Ruzz Guitarโs Blues Revue have the astounding ability to stretch a song to the proportions of a space-rock band like Pink Floyd, but retain the frenzy of traditional rock n roll, which would once be over within three minutes. At that point, though, itโs nice to simmer it with occasional vocals, but itโs not their forte.
Here then, is what they do best; concentrated instrumentals, a collection of musical styles, based within the blues, that have influenced Ruzz throughout his career. A project Ruzz has been wanting to do, and lockdown has provided the time. Iโm strutting across the kitchen, shoving plates and utensils roughly back in the cupboards they belong in, while contemplating how I didnโt fully appreciate my dadโs obsession with the Shadows. For their instrumental goodness mayโve gone over my adolescent head, at the time. But this is a blinding upbeat opening tune, Hold Fast, with remnants of The Shadows’ slide-guitar. Yet itโs blaring horns make it like Hank, et al were in a big band.
Now to the main task, wrist-deep in foamy water Iโm timely scrubbing with brillo-pad, like the ivory of a boogie-woogie piano. Swing Thing maintains big band, but slides neatly into swing. Itโs spectacularly captivating.
Three tunes in and itโs mellowed to a sax ballad with Hawaiian guitar riff. Longing to See You drifts, as I causally dip dinner plates into their foam bath, and caress them as if theyโre sun-kissed skin of a beautiful seรฑorita! The Instrumentals Of album strides jazzily, continuing with a slight nod to that tropical guitar on the fourth track. But this is shrewdly quirky and experimental, Ruffled Up is as if Miles Davis joined a big band.
So many influences but so meshed itโs hard to pick it apart and balance washed up items on the draining board. Men can multitask, believe it. Now Iโm striding, Clint Eastwood style, to obtain a tea towel dumped on the breadbin like it was a six shooter. Duel at High Noon is as perceived by title; Ennio Morricone influenced Shadows.
Heating up back at the sink with some fiery jump blues to make Louis Jordan blush. Jump In does what it says on the tin; I’m doing Chuck Berry legs, rattling those pots and pans like glam rock never happened.
Mambo takes a hit next, Ruzz-style, added funk. Spag Mambo is like Starsky & Hutch doing the Charleston on a Cuban vacation. Gotta go barehand; Iโd look stupid doing jazz hands with marigolds, but Swing G-String is swing firing on all cylinders. Dishes done; I’m jitterbugging the sides down, soggy J-cloth in hand.
Opportunity to clear waste from the plug hole, never an appealing part of the process, nevertheless Iโm cool; Soulful Blues made it so. Itโs equably soul-blues, Ruby Turner could drop vocals, but it never strays from its ethos, yet saunters wonderfully between the variety of jazz and blues from 1940 to 60. Thereโs one more tune, but the job is completed.
Hammer Down polishes with dirty, deep Mississippi jump blues with a clunky rock n roll double bass. Like the rest of this sublime album, it’s irresistible and beguiling. It can’t end early; have to extend the task for five minutes. The floor may look wooden, but itโs lino really; ask Turbo B, or any break-dancer the value of lino; the kitchen is my dancefloor. Time to watusi with broom; the Mrs will be delighted. Even bending to get every last fallen crumb into the dustpan was a pleasure with this album playing in the background; blooming marvellous stuff.
Getting snowed under here at Devizine Towers, but speedily need to push this to top priority, ahead of tonightโs (Saturday 12th) gig at Salisburyโs Winchester Gate from Bristol hip hop outfit, The Scribes. I whopped up a quick preview of the event, but as I pressed publish an email popped up with their latest EP The Totem Trilogy Part 1, made in collaboration with Chicago raised producer Astro Snare. Should fans of UK hip hop hear it, theyโd be planning to head to the Gate for this free gig, by hook or by crook.
The Scribes are a multi-award-winning hip hop three piece based in Bristol consisting of lyricist/multi-instrumentalist Ill Literate, rapper Jonny Steele and beatboxer Maestro Lacey. In 2013 they signed with US label Kamikazi Airlines, co-owned by Dizzy Dustin of legendary hip hop act Ugly Duckling and released two albums, The Sky Is Falling and The Scribes Present Ill Literature worldwide to critical acclaim, garnering the group a sponsorship deal with ethical clothing company THTC, alongside artists such as Ed Sheeran and Foreign Beggars.
By 2016 they had signed with Reel Me Records, releasing a sonically challenging 16-track album which thrived on a perfected blend of poignant lyricism, A Story All About How, and the apocalyptic concept album, Mr Teatime & The End Of The World, winner of the UndergroundHH.com โConcept Album of The Yearโ award. Last year The Scribes received global recognition, upon releasing Quill Equipped Villainy, featuring Akil the MC from Jurassic 5, TrueMendous and Leon Rhymes from Too Many Tโs.
My personal affection for the genre though, goes back to the old skool. Prepped by Kraftwerkโs influence on eighties electronica, rolled with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotteโs production on Donna Summerโs I Feel Love, and still nothing equipped me for the eureka moment I first heard Afrika Bambaataaโs Planet Rock, on a journey to Asda in my Dadโs Cortina! Only lingering in the underground less than a year, the US hip hop and breakdancing movement swept the UK, and it was inevitable weโd develop our own brand.
As hip hop spread through the States it distorted to hackneyed fashion far from the original blithe ethos of revelry. Pretentious bling, hoes and pimping oneโs ride, and of course gangland rivalry were never on the original agenda. While some during the later eighties, like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, strived away from this tenet, recapturing hippy, carefree roots, the east-coast/west coast rivalry and vehement bravura dominated and hallmarked the modern preconception of hip hop.
Meanwhile, by a method akin to rock n roll some twenty years prior, the place to hunt for creative and innovative progression of the genre was neither east nor west coast, but here in the UK.
Because hip hop was never supposed to be uniform, shaped by urban multiculturism itโs naturally a melting-pot of genres and an experimentation in fusion, always has been. Given Caribbean roots and common affection for reggae, itโs inevitable those influences would have a profound effect on UK hip hop.
Full-circle in actual fact, considering pioneer of the genre, Kool Herc was a young Jamaican NY immigrant with a sound system, who altered from dub to disco and funk as residents didnโt favour reggae. And, in a nutshell, and to wrap up my waffling, thatโs precisely why I love this EP; itโs like The Scribes dipped a colander into said melting pot, and extracted only the very best ingredients.
Itโs a non-commercial, bundle of heavy beats not relying on a single subgenre. Opening with Iโm Back, for example, fresh, dripping with early east coast scratching and rapping. Yet Mighty Mighty follows, leaning on dub akin to Roots Manuva with brass, subs and a contemporary dogmatic theme comparable to Silent Eclipse, albeit this was divergent towards John Majorโs government (apologies for my archaic comparisons, itโs an age thing!)
By the third tune weโre back to nonchalant fun with Rock This; Iโm in awe, this is lyrically composed with a witty genius parallel to the Fu-Schnickens. Heart Breaks though swaps back to east coast; sublime rap harmony with a R&B slant, pensive piano chops and soaring strings with a definitive Bristol angle, as if a Tribe Called Quest came out of St Pauls!
Keep Bouncing ends the ride, and Iโm left pondering Dizzee Rascalโs influence, yet tougher, as Rodney P, this is fresh, possibly the most marketable sound given todayโs impact on the scene. The Totem Trilogy Part 1 is the first of a 3 EP series featuring the stunning artwork of renowned illustrator Chris Malbon. The absolutely gorgeous cover designs of the 3 EPs will link together to form one image of the titular totem. With guest vocals from both AstroSnare himself and founding father of the UK hip hop scene MC Duke, here, clearly, is something imminent, a rise of The Scribes, a method grasping an evolution for UK hip hop, yet firmly aware of its roots and unafraid to exploit them.
Described by The Evening Herald as, โraw and exciting, honest and sensitive, a soulful brand of rap,โ Bristolโs trailblazing hip hop outfit, The Scribes play Salisburyโs The Winchester Gate, on Saturday September the 12th.
The Winchester Gate is a community pub just on the out skirts of Salisbury city centre which heralds live music, particularly supporting reggae and hip-hop culture. The event is free, The Scribe planning to begin at 7pm.
The Scribes are a multi-award-winning hip hop trio, whose unique blend of beatboxing, off-the-cuff freestyling and genre-spanning music has created a critically acclaimed live show quite unlike any other on the scene today, with appeal ranging far beyond traditional hip hop fare.
The Scribes at BeCider Festival
They have consistently proven to be an impressive and engaging live act with 2019 festival appearances at Glastonbury, Wilderness Festival, Shambala, Boomtown Fair, Bearded Theory, to name but a few, and have toured extensively across the UK and onto Europe.
The Scribes are also proud winners of both the Exposure Music Award’s “Best UK Urban Act” and the EatMusic Radio Award’s “Best Live Act”, and have provided original music for BBC and Channel 4 television, as well as being featured regularly on both national and local radio and media including BBC 1Xtra and BBC Radio 1 Introducing.
Hotly tipped as one to watch, The Scribes have shared stages with the likes of Macklemore, Wu Tang Clan, Dizzee Rascal, Kelis, Rag N Bone Man, Example, Lethal Bizzle, The Wailers, Jurassic 5, Sugarhill Gang, KRS One, De La Soul, MF Doom, and Souls Of Mischief, and are steadily establishing a growing following across the continent to add to their already significant fan base at home.
Check out their new EP, The Totem Trilogy Part 1 here.
Discovering a thriving ska scene in South America is like England in 1979โฆโฆ
Studio 1โs architect, composer and guitarist, Ernest Ranglin proclaimed while the US R&Bโs shuffle offbeat being replicated by Jamaicans in their early recording studios went โchink-ka,โ their own crafted pop, ska, went โka-chink.โ Theorised this simple flip of shuffle took place during Duke Reidโs Prince Buster recording session mid-1959, added with Busterโs desire to include traditional Jamaican drumming, created the defining ska sound.
Prince Buster’s block party on Orange Street
Coinciding with the islandโs celebration of independence in 1962, the explosion of ska was eminent and two years later the sound found its way out of Jamaica, when Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, Prince Buster, Eric “Monty” Morris, and Jimmy Cliff played the New York World’s Fair. But if Jamaicaโs government revelled in the glory of the creation of a homegrown pop, behind the scenes, Kingstonโs downtown was using it as signature to a culture of hooliganism, known as The Rude Boys, and thwarted it. Through curfew and a particularly sweltering summer of 67, horns were lessened, tempo was mellowed and reggaeโs blueprint, rock steady, had formed.
World’s Fair, New York 1964
Forward wind fifty-five years and Jamaican ska pioneer, Stranger Cole launched album โMore Life,โ yet itโs released by Liquidator Music, a label dedicated to the classic Jamaican rhythms, but based in Madrid. Perhaps in similar light to Busterโs innovation, Jamaica doesnโt revel in retrospection and strives to progress; the last place in the world youโre likely to hear ska these days, is in Jamaica itself. Modern dancehall trends can be attributed closer to the folk music of mento.
But the design was set, and to satisfy the musical taste of Windrush immigrants in England, Bluebeat, and later, Trojan Records set to cheaply import the sounds of home. It was a combination of their offspring taking their records to parties, and the affordable price tag which appealed to the white kids in Britain. Thus, the second wave of ska spawned in the UK. By the late seventies the formation of Two-Tone records in Coventry saw English youths mimicking the sound.
Similarly, though, this has become today somewhat of a cult. Given the task of producing a radio show last year, for ska-based internet station, Boot Boy Radio, while aware of American dominated โthird gen ska,โ that there were few contemporary bands here, such as the Dualers, and Madness and The Specials still appeased the diehard fans, I never fathomed the spread of ska worldwide. The fact Liquidator Music is Spanish, it is clear, ska has a profound effect internationally, and in no place more than Latin America. Yet while Englandโs second wave is largely attributed to the worldwide distribution of ska, and waves the Union Jack patriotically at it, the sound of ska music spread to Jamaicaโs neighbours significantly prior.
Caribbean islands created their own pop music. Barbados had spouge, cited as โBajan ska,โ despite a completely different rhythm section more attributed to calypso. Columbia likewise saw a surge in cumbia during the early sixties, a genre derived from cumbรฉ; โa dance of African origin.โ
In South America though, ska was fused with their own sounds of samba, and particularly upcoming rock โnโ roll inspired genres such as โiรช-iรช-iรช,โ via Brazilian musical television show, Jovem Guarda. Os Aaalucinantesโ 1964 album Festa Do Bolinha predates Englandโs embrace of ska, the same year, in fact, as Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, et all playing the New York World’s Fair. At this point in time, through Bluebeat, English youth were only just discovering a love for Jamaican music, and Lee Gopthal wouldnโt found Trojan Records for another four years. This mesh of fusions gave birth to a creative period in Brazil, vocal harmony groups like Renato E Seus Blue Caps, and The Fevers followed suit, blending US bubble-gum pop with jazzy offbeat rhythms. It did not borrow from Englandโs mods; it followed a similar pattern.
Las Cuatro Monedas
Similarly, in Venezuela, Las Cuatro Monedas introduced ska and reggae as early as 1963, with their debut album, โLas Cuatro Monedas a Go Go.โ Through maestro arranger and composer, Hugo Blanco they won the 1969 Song Festival in Barcelona, and continued until 1981, when over here The Specials were only just releasing โGhost Town.โ Desorden Pรบblico is Venezuelaโs most renowned ska band, formed in the eighties. When frontman Horacio Blanco was still at school, he wrote โParalytic Politicians,โ an angry, anti-Hugo Chavez anthem which his fans still yell for. Although Chavez died in 2013, his protรฉgรฉ Nicolas Maduro has descended the country into political and economic crisis; one example where South American ska is equally, if not more, dogmatically defending justice as Two-Tone here in the UK.
Desorden Pรบblico
Chile trended towards cumbia through tropical orchestra Sonora Palacios in the sixties, therefore ska didnโt fully surface until the third-gen bands of the nineties. Even today though, Latin enthused bands such as Cholomandinga and reggae is favoured through bands like Gondwana. The modern melting pot is universal and extensive though, Iโve got a lovely cover of Ghost Town by Argentine cumbia band Fantasma, who cite themselves as being the first to develop a cumbia rap. And when upcoming, all-female Mexican ska band, Girls Go Ska sent me some tunes to play, a cover of the Jamโs David Watts was one of them.
Girls Go Ska
Allโs fair in love and war; undoubtedly the Two-Tone era of England has had a profound effect on the worldwide contemporary ska scene, so did their revolutionary principles. Peru commonly cites its scene commenced in the mid-eighties, when punk and second-gen underground rock bands emerged in Lima. Edwin Zcuelaโs band, Zcuela Crrada differed by having a saxophonist, and adopted a sound which bordered ska. Azincope and Refugio were quick to follow, not to the taste of the rock-based crowd who classed it commercialised pop. Psicosis came about in 88, the band to initiate the term โska bandโ in Peru, taking steps to eradicate the preconception. They won a recording contract through a radio contest, the jury expressed concern; the band were radicals within a pseudo-movement with libertarian ideas, and so the band refused to record.
Zcuela Crrada
With influences from the Basque ska-punk band, Kortatu, Breakfast continued the rebellious nature with ska in Peru, but discarded their discography. It will take us into the nineties to start to find orchestral flairs, when Carnaval Patetico and Barrio Pamara emerged, bringing with them the countryโs belated by comparison, second wave. Odd to see how punk gave ska a leg-up in this legacy, but the melting pot is bottomless.
Where some bands, such as Swiss Sir Jay & The Skatanauts, favour pouring jazz into their style, akin to how the Skatalites formed the backbone of Studio 1 through attending Kingstonโs Alpha Cottage School, others, such as the States bands like The Dance Hall Crashers prefer to fuse punk influences, Big Reel Fish takes Americana to ska, and one has to agree the tension of teenage anguish felt by eighties skinheads equalled that of latter punk-rock.
The Dance Hall Crashers
The rulebook is borderless and limitless, to the point there is no longer a rulebook, through an online generation one can teeter on the edge of this rabbit hole, or go diving deeper. If I said previously, Two-Tone is a cult in England, in South America ska is thriving. Some subgenres bear little relevance to the sounds and ethos of original Jamaican ska. Other than the usage of horns to sperate them from punk or rockabilly, off-shoots of skacore and skabilly tangent along their own path. Oi bands prime example, where a largely neo-Nazi tenet cannot possibly relate to an afro-Caribbean origin.
Again, the folk of a nation mergers with the sound, and there can create an interesting blend, such as the Balkan states, where the Antwerp Gipsy Ska Orchestra and Dubioza Kolekiv carve their own influences into ska. Which, in turn, has spurred a folk-ska scene in Bristol and the Southwest, bands like The Carny Villains, Mr Tea & The Minions and Mad Apple Circus, who add swing to the combination, and folk-rock bands such as The Boot Hill Allstars, confident to meld ska into the dynamic festival circuit. South America typifies this too.
Mr Tea & The Minions
Modern murga, a widespread musical theatre performed in Montevideo, Uruguay and Argentina hugs ska through carnival. Argentinaโs scene is as widespread and varied as the UK or USA, in fact it was former Boot Boy presenter, Mariano Goldenstein, frontman of The Sombrero Club who led me to the rabbit hole. If the name of this Argentinean band signifies Mexican, one should note, The Sombrero Club was a Jamaican nightclub on the famous โFour Roadsโ intersection of Molynes and Waltham Park Roads in St. Andrew.
Byron Lee @ The Sombrero Club
Journalist Mel Cooke recalls in a 2005 article for the Jamaica Gleaner, โalthough it carried a Mexican name, the senors and senoritas who stepped inside the Sombrero nightclub did it in true Jamaican style. It was an audience that demanded a certain quality of entertainment and, in the height of the band era the cream of the cream played there. โIt was one of the premier dance halls for bands, live music,โ says Jasper Adams, a regular at The Sombrero. โIf you capture the image of the dance hall in London at the time, you get an idea of what it was like.โ
Note the Wailers, bottom of the billing!
After the demise of the Bournmouthe in East Kingston, in a bygone era, The Sombrero was the place to catch ska legends, Toots and the Maytals, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. There could be no name more apt for Argentinaโs Sombrero Club, for within a thriving scene which mimics England in the grip of Two-Tone, their proficient and authentic sound is akin to our Specials or Madness.
The Sombrero Club
It is, however, through Marcos Mossi of the Buena Onda Reggae Club from Sao Paulo, perhaps a lesser known band outside Brazil, who have really spurred my interest in South American ska, through their sublime blend of mellowed jazz-ska and reggae, and through it I realise Iโm still teetering on the edge of the rabbit hole. Aside the aforementioned bands, Iโm only just discovering Brazilโs Firebug, Argentinaโs Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Calzones Rotos, Los Autรฉnticos Decadentes, Karamelo Santo, Cienfuegos, Satellite Kingston, Dancing Mood, Staya Staya, Los Intocables, and Ska Beat City, Cultura Profรฉtica from Puerto Rico and Peruโs Vieja Skina. Pondering if the list will ever end.
Bunena Onda Reggae Club
One thing this highlights, while ska is international now, with vibrant scenes from Montreal to Melbourne, Latin America holds the key to a spirit akin to how it was when I opened my Christmas present in 1980 to find Madness long player, Absolutely.
Tune into my show on http://www.bootboyradio.co.uk – Friday nights from 10pm till Midnight GMT, where we play an international selection of ska, reggae, rock steady, soul and funk, RnB, shuffle and jazz, anything related which takes my fancy, actually!
ยฉ 2017-2020 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.
One of the most intriguing blurbs to a local event to catch my eye on recent online travels, in this humble but perpetual quest to bring you news of happenings, has to be a new performance from a Bristol/South-West theatre group, aptly named the Modest Genius Theatre Company. โTruth Sluth: Epistemological Investigations for the Modern Age,โ is touring locally, and coming to Trowbridge Library on Tuesday 7th April, Warminsterโs on the morning of Wednesday 8th April, the afternoon at Devizes Library on the 8th and Calne on Thursday 9th.
Targeted at everyone aged seven and up, Truth Sluth is a choose-your-own-adventure comedy show that will make laugh, think critically and question everything. It explores contemporary issues surrounding fact and fiction, and asks โever wondered who you can trust? Ever read a blog and doubted its veracity? (Hummm; ed!) Is your newsfeed feeding you fake fodder? Truth Sleuth is on the case of fake news.โ
Pre- booked tickets are ยฃ5 and are available from www.modestgenius.co.uk or telephone 01249 701628. Tickets on the door are ยฃ7 (cash only for on the door tickets.) Then, be ready to โjoin Truth Sleuth to gather clues, make decisions and steer the action. Come on down to the birthplace of information itself, the oracle with a public toilet: your local library.โ
The Modest Genius Theatre company are fast becoming renowned for their innovative, dark physical comedy about social taboos. Based in Bristol and the South West, the company was formed in 2015 by graduates of the Lecoq, Gaulier and Dell’arte theatre schools, Tristan Green, Sidney Robb and Tess Cartwright. Using clown, mime, physical theatre, storytelling, movement and music they mesmerise audiences with poignant material that takes you on an emotional journey. โWe love the extremes,โ they tell, โand give our audience permission to feel how they feel.โ
Truth Sluth: Epistemological Investigations for the Modern Age is hot topical comedy, in collaboration with Canadian playwright Greg Cochrane, and Pound Arts. Using physical comedy, storytelling and clever wordplay, this is devised theatre that obliterates the fourth wall. I donโt know about you lovely lot; Iโm delighted to hear local libraries hosting something so intriguing and hope itโs the beginning of more such performances.
ยฉ 2017-2020 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.
Hibernation, like a bear, saving motivation and funds for Christmas, spent too much at the Lantern Parade? Ah, a bit of all three meant it was only to be a whistle stop at the Southgate Saturday night. When I shouldโve been at the Shamโs Assembly Hall for the Female of the Species, and I shouldโve been in Trow-Vegas for Sheerโs gig too. Without cloning technology, the pressure usually melts my enthusiasm entirely, and opt to I slob on the sofa cuddling a packet of digestives, chocolate ones, naturally. Yet if just a pint at the dependable local couldnโt persuade me,after reviewing the forthcoming live album from Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue I simply couldnโt resist.
And for all the thoroughly deserved lovely things I had to say about it, I propped this gig on a pedestal, but was far away from disappointment. The band started with Hold It, and blasted Baby Please Come Home, virtually replicating this live album. Best thing at the Southgate is the communal feel, beneficial to meet and greet the artists; I was a handshake away from Ruzz Evans and the band, which I did, and with it he explained they often begin with that formula and mix it up thereafter. The advantage though was not our quick chat, but the close inspection of Ruzz handling that guitar, as itโs something spectacular and I watched in awe.
Unsure if I got the ball rolling fittingly, as I mumbled, โyou make that look so easy,โ at the suited Bristolian caked in perspiration. Clearly, and as I expressed in our album review, blasting a lengthy and vigorous rock n roll chef-d’oeuvre like this takes stamina! I knew what I meant though, they did make it look like childโs play, the band equally as proficient as the front man.
So, a high-energy blast of traditional rock n roll blended with acute blues blessed the trusty Southgate, a never-ending foundation of great, free, live music in Devizes. Hereโs the twist; itโs the uniqueness of Ruzz and crew, amidst the conventional rock n roll clichรฉ of Elvis or Buddy tributes, passรฉ eighties rockabilly four-pieces, and nostalgic but substandard fifties cover bands, Ruzz simply doesnโt come off like that. Mostly fresh, original works; if there were covers, they were rarities, and delivered with the youthful energy and passion of an era of yore.
I canโt keep on this glorious new find, Iโm not even a rocker! But when stripped back to the roots, as authentically as this, all pop genres combine and thereโs no need to pigeonhole. Funny, in reflection, and considering diverse fifties artists like Buddy Holly, how close modโs and rockerโs tastes were, yet at the time, reason to fight. Look, just read our album review, will you, before I waffle on a tangent? Which, incidentally, is released February but available for pre-order today. Thereโre also two previous studio albums, and Ruzz returns this way in March at the Sports Club, (see poster) if not before.
ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.
A cheetah can achieve motorway speeds, but not long enough to get off the slip road; worthless trivia, unless youโre an antelope. I like to think cheetahs listen to rock n roll; no, hear me out. Akin to this feline fact, those RnB and rock n roll classics are one short burst of energy. Fortunately for the artists the 78rpm record lasted a maximum of five minutes, and for radio play theyโd cut it to little over three, any longer they surely risk congestive heart failure.
As the era passed to late sixties, psychedelia stretched recorded music to live and extended dimensions Little Richard could never maintain. Mellowing tendency matured rock, but arguably robbed its dynamism. Ah, come the eighties twelve inch single and the mega-mix, prompting the question; why didnโt Glenn Close choose the Jive Bunny to boil?
Rare then it is, to hear a frenzied traditional rock n roll sound encompass ten minutes; welcome to Ruzz Evansโ world. Embodiment of Johnny B Goode, Ruzz can pick guitar like heโs ringing a bell, for an astounding period too. Due for release on 10th February, but available for pre-order from December 1st, Iโve been adoring this album recorded live at the Louisiana in Ruzzโs hometown of Bristol.
Forgive me for sustaining the rock n roll pigeonhole, for Ruzz has the quiff and is photographed in a teddy boy drape jacket. With backing from an incredible band including drummer Mike Hoddinott and upright bassist Joe Allen, the panache of Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue straddles rock and its namesake blues. Since 2016, when they added an awesome horn trio to the roster, we can add big band jazz to their style. Thatโs my thoughts while absorbed in this, of what Miles Davis did to jazz, or Pink Floyd to prog rock, Ruzz does to traditional rhythm and blues come rock n roll; the result is breath-taking.
Bearing in mind his voice isnโt growling Tennessean, yet neither was Gene Vincentโs, rather quirky Bristolian, the vocals are sporadic, instruments reign. Thereโs an amusing conclusion to โUnder Your Spell,โ where 10 minutes of detonating electric blues is broken by a genuinely surprised thank you from Ruzz in said accent. This often amuses me, pondering, no, thank you, mate, I just clapped, youโve just held me spellbound for ten minutes, the pleasure is all mine!
In this instance Iโm not even there, merely listening on my headphones, but still entranced. While theyโre Bristol based Ruzz and his Guitar’s Blues Revue are no strangers here, and you can catch them at the Southgate (Nov 30th), White Swan Trowbridge (tonight 9th Nov) at the R&B bar in March at Devizes Sports Club. Iโm quivering, ashamed after hearing this that Iโve not caught them live yet; an offence I will rectify, you would too if you hear this.
Live at the Louisiana explodes from the off; the two, Hold It and Baby Please Come Home, for starters envelope all Iโve said, lively jump blues come big band rock n roll. Catchy, youโll be lindy hopping before your first sip. Yet if Movin On groovily notches to allegro moderato, Back Home to Stay boogie-woogies again, and Sleepwalk is as dreamy as it suggests. The last two tunes, Sweet as Honey and the aforementioned Under You Spell embrace all weโve so far said, making this release, I reckon, a treasure; fantastic!
With two self-released studios albums already under their big rockabilly buckles, and opening for Dr Feelgood, The BlockHeads, Kirk Fletcher and Bill Kirchen and Darrel Higham, theyโre stamping an authority of quality worldwide. Ruzz has been honoured by being officially endorsed by Gretsch Guitars, and thatโs what I perceive of him, the kind of obsessive guy who will turn any conversation to his labour of love, but when itโs this proficient, you cannot help but take heed. Iโm off to find out what they can do in the studio, but with such a formula I think this live album captures the spirit perfectly.
ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.
Put the kettle on; Balkan gypsy ska here in Bristol, Mutiny, the new album from Mr Tea & The Minions is a favourite for my best album of the year, with a top hat on.
Impressionable, I creaked the door on a near-expired student party, where a cocktail of Cinzano and shrooms polished off the amateur bassist, and he hung unconscious half off the edge of a sofa in his own puke. I witnessed scholar deprivation; comatose youth, crusty dreadlocks matted into a teetering Christmas tree, and a random arm draped over a guitar amp, howling feedback. I gulped, no partygoer standing, but an erratic noise of a โRed Roses For Meโ cassette whirling. Sounds blessing such a character-building eye-opener makes you reconsider your loathing for a particular genre of music.
Until then, my presumption of folk music was pruned from an overwhelming desire to hold primary school sweetheart, Trudiโs hand, and the only foreseeable method to achieve it; to opt for country dancing. Ever frustrated to find myself partnered with dowdy Emma instead, I guess it rubbed a revulsion for frumpy folk music, with its delicate romances of falling autumn leaves and daisies dancing in a spring zephyr. It can be nauseating, symbolic of my failure to caress Trudiโs nail-bitten digits.
The epiphany dusted, I bought the Pouges long-player, shaking my preconception solo until crusties like The Levellers came onto the scene, boiling the realisation folk doesnโt have to be frumpy, in fact, itโs an epoch, a peopleโs music, and the roots of all that followed owe it. But if that era of recklessly launching yourself around, knocking down parentโs ornaments and calling it dancing has come of age, and if the Pouges are now acceptable, seasonally, (they stole the best Christmas song slot from a band in tartan trozzers and platform shoes after all,) I say unto thee, Mr Tea & the Minions; itโs my new favourite thing.
Itโs not an awkward mesh of Despicable Me and the A-Team, rather a contemporary Bristol based, female-fronted six-piece ska-post-punk-folk Balkan-inspired riot, and their new album, Mutiny is beyond blooming gorgeous. Constructed out of lead vocalist and controller of โshaky things,โ Elle Ashwell, drummer Fabian Huss, guitarists James Pemberton, James Tomlinson and James (Fold) Talbot on bass, with manager Lucy Razz on violin, they formed six years ago through Jamesโ love of Balkan music. With the edges polished by collaborating with DJ Howla, and Jamesโ professed love of tea, Mr Tea & The Minions was born, a name which they say was โa joke that was never meant to go so far.โ
As Balkan, itโs fresh, electrifying and wonderfully danceable. Elleโs gritty shrill is apt and uplifting, the theme is often invitingly saucy, awakeningly tangible, sometimes metaphorically current affairs, but it hardly wanes in energy, and if it does you know itโs building to something. Mutiny is ten songs of splendour, drizzly evening enriching with a gypsy spin. Itโs a warm musky pub of yore, where a furtive crusty band jams and you spill your cider on a scraggy dog. It also riffs like ska, boils like The Levellers and rinses fresher than Shane MacGowan on his best hair day.
The Eye of the Storm, like the title track, and Pandemonium are the Fruit Pastels, breezier tempo tunes like the beautifully crafted The Spider and The Fly stun you in anticipation of the melody, but no single tune stands alone, thereโs a flow of prog-rock, and if it starts and ends with a little โmeow,โ itโs never completely nonsensical. Lyrics are sublimely executed, mostly evocative, but dashed with fun. Thereโs really nought bad I could say about this unique album, Iโll be dancing to it for the foreseeable future, maybe even look up Trudi on Facebook, she canโt still bite her nails.
Somebody local book these, pl-weaseeee; the Southgate or Barge would suit to a, pardon the pun, tea. Yet times are looking good for this madcap band, on the verge of another spectacular festival season and numerous gigs on tour, our closest to date is the Prince Albert Stroud Nov 22nd, Bocabar in Glastonbury on the 9th, or recommended homecoming at the Old Market Assembly, Bristol on 30th Nov. Failing this, try the Mutiny for size.
ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
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If you like your soul and blues with an authentic vintage feel, look no further than this new Bristol group, The King Dukes….ย
If Bristol wasnโt the birthplace of a โnew coolโ through electronic blues in the nineties, with the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, it certainly led the way. I have to take a deep breath, fetch my pipe and slippers; this is a new era of anti-pop, an era of retrospective tendency, where traditional instruments override our technological desire of the pre-millennium. An era where technology is used only to market, allowing sounds to hark back to a time before drum loops, rap, and the DJ as king.
The king is dead, long live this exciting renovation, and long live The King Dukes. Iโm honoured to give you the low-down, about their new journey. Formed in Bristol in April, a merger of a variety of local bands, including Crippled Black Phoenix, Screaminโ Miss Jackson and the John E. Vistic Experience, The King Dukes combine said talent and experience to create a unique, authentic sound, dipped in a heritage reuniting contemporary slices of British RnB with a dollop of Memphis soul.
Set to unleash their debut album โNumb Tonguesโ on October 25th, Iโve had a listen or ten, and can plainly see why itโs been picked up by UK label, Paratone, as well as French label QSounds Recording. Chatting to guitarist and frontman, Marc Griffiths, I asked him whatโs in a name, predicting it might relate to Duke Ellington. While pondering he sent a YouTube link of a track not on the album. This song, titled King Cyrille, is Hammond organ boss reggae, akin to Harry Jโs Allstars. Itโ a tribute to West Bromwich Albion player Cyrille Regis. โThe team used to come out to Liquidator,โ he explained, โitโs in conjunction with West Brom, for their podcast, so we did something similar.โ Momentarily contemplating the name possibly nods more to Duke Reid, Marc cleared it up, informing me they had a residency at the Old Duke in Bristol, โbut thatโs named after Duke Ellington.โ
I can see why, aside this one-off tune, Numb Tongues is not only dependent on a classic RnB sound, thereโs sprinkles of jazz, blues, yet formulated like Stax or dare I say it, Motown. It rolls out in a manner able to slip its tunes into a set of old-time soul unnoticed. Caril-Anne, for example, is up-tempo soul, beguiling through that recipe of yore, simplicity. Kid Gloves is another lively number, foot-stomping soul with a subtle nod to rockabilly akin to The Big Bopper. This one reminded me of Jack and Elwood Blues marching back and forth.
But if this four-beat soul formula rings through tracks like I Gotta Go, and Gone, Gone, Gone is stepping, handclapping doo-wop reliant, Rub You The Right Way hooks into a blues riff taking me to Howlinโ Wolf, and True, True, True nods to bebop. This one has a sublime vocal by April Jackson, who holds a note like Etta James. Generally, the vocals are as polished as the aforementioned soul legends, yet grittily Caucasian, like Jim Morrisonโs finest hour.
As a whole thereโs much going on here, but whether thereโs echoing vocals like the ballad, Dying Man, with a breezy jazz-come Otis Redding passion, or, like Marlo Cooper, itโs a blast of instrumental groove, comparable to Stax session musicians Booker T & the MGโs, itโs all stylised and flows superbly. In fact, it was mention of an Otis Redding post on their Facebook page which got Marc and I chatting; glad I did now.
With Marc and April, thereโs drummer Dan Clibery, bassist Mandrake Fantastico, Henry Slim owning that Hammond Organ and Harmonica, and a fiery three-piece brass section with Joss Murray on Trumpet, Rebecca Sneddon on Tenor Sax and Sarah Loveday-Drury handling the Trombone.
Together theyโre a force to be reckoned with. Throwing modern recording techniques aside and using methods for a fifties-sixties sounding album, such as recording a section with multiple instruments all at one time, and playing period-specific instruments, The King Dukes have captured perfectly this raw, vintage backline on โNumb Tongues.โ
Weโve seen a similar blueprint around our way with the brilliant Little Geneva, and if this is the trend then Iโm in, hook, line and sinker. Although, naturally, those olโ time classic soul songs never wane in appreciation, sometimes looking further afield to the rare grooves, like Northern Soul aficionados, often the tunes never make equal approval in production and quality. Numb Tongues meet this notion in middle; The King Dukes deliver fresh material with honours, and if heard in 1965 would surely be considered classics.
You can pre-save a copy of Numb Tongues here, thereโs an album launch on December 7th at the LeftBank in Bristol; Iโm keen to hear of anyone willing to bring these guys local for a gig. As you know Devizine doesnโt usually cover Bristol, too much going on and not enough hours in the day, but when itโs this goodโฆโฆ.
ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.
If Devizes folk have a love of blues, with a slash to rock, and all this I find a beautiful thing; Long Street Blues Club, the origins of Saddleback and of course our own legend Jon Amor, there have been occasions when a portion of visiting bands I take with a pinch. Thereโs clichรฉ, whereas roots of blues are strictly raw, these convey the conventional, an earnest shot to commercialise to a middle-aged tolerable market, which in a way is fine and dandy, thereโs clearly a thirst for it and historically such progress is natural.
You see where Iโm coming from? At a time, Elvis was unacceptable, was edgy, now the rock n roll audience is pensioner age, consider it classic. Marlboroughโs popular Jazz Festival fills with hoity-toity yet the rags of Scott Joplin at the time of their conception could only be heard in bawdy New York brothels. Similarly, I hear a once subversive, outrageous noise of nineties rave as a childrenโs TV cartoon theme tune.
From the crashing drums and thrumming guitar opening blast of โKey to Love,โ thereโs no doubt barriers have been stripped back. Echoes of raw energy from a time of yore rip through you, its two and a half minutes of screeching harmonica and growling vocals place you in 1967, under a blanket at an LA love-in. Little Geneva maybe newly constructed, but resonance images of The Animals, of Steppenwolf and the Stones with a truly proficient edge.
Putting my point to them, they agreed, โwe feel very similar to you mate, very similar indeed… which is why we made those recordings, and, in the stripped back/vintage way we did.โ
This EP satisfies retrospective mod-culture and beatniks more-so than contemporary indie fans, Iโd say; imagine punk didnโt happen. โAll Your Loveโ slides you into the smooth classical/jazz stimulus of The Doors, yet โYer Bluesโ harks the blues which wouldโve inspired these aforementioned legends. โSomeday After a While,โ again breezy melancholic blues sound of Cream or The Animals. Five tracks on this EP, but from the first note I was hooked.
Bristol-based, Little Geneva, name coined from a Muddy Waters track, only formed on the eve before 2019, conceived during a conversation between the Doherty brothers, Dave and Chris. Partisans of the UK contemporary blues scene for over a decade, they felt a need to get back on stage together, as part of a truly great live band; thus, Little Geneva spawned. Once the seed was sown, recruiting additional members didnโt prove a problem.
Chris, 32, and Dave Doherty, 36; both gifted guitarists, holding players such as B.B King, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton in high regard, headhunted Rags Russell, 32, (vocals/harmonica) who fronts the youthful and energetic band with an emotive and soulful vocal style. Zak Ranyard, 27, (bass guitar) and Simon Small, 33, (drums) provide the rhythm sectionโs high level of energy and power, driving the band.
Having completed this blinding EP, the band is set to record their first album at the beginning of March, as they look for clubs and festivals dates across Europe. But the bestest part of it all, the album launch gig is based right here, in Devizes. I had to ask them, the connection.
You may know already, you see thatโs where Devizine differs from being our townโs Time Out magazine, itโs a learning curve for me. Thereโs history behind this band, as individuals, Little Geneva members have opened shows for Ray Davies (The Kinks), John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Mud Morganfield and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Also sharing festival bills with The Red Devils, Jimmie Vaughan, The Hoax, B.B King and many others. But three members of the band began their musical relationship in Devizes, back in 2004. Chris, Simon and Dave went to Lavington Comprehensive.
โWe all lived in Devizes at the time our first band formed,โ explained Dave, โand we were quickly recruited by other older stalwarts of the scene. We helped create a thriving music scene at The Bell by The Green around this time and it was, for a time, a great little scene.โ
โThey go right back to the beginning of Sheer,โ Sheerโs creator Kieran Moore informed, โCheck out a band called Hitchmo; that’s where it started.โ
โThat early band came to an end around 2008,โ Dave continued, โand the three of us went our separate ways, musically speaking. We all met other musicians, worked with other producers in different genres and countries. Chris now lives in Cornwall, as does Zak. Rags lives in Bristol, as did I when I met him. Simon and I now live in Devizes, where we feel rooted. Bristol is the hub of our activities; it’s obviously a more connected place than Devizes. Devizes is our home though, and all three of want to come back here for our first show, and smash it out of the park!โ
Itโs Little Genevaโs deep respect for, and knowledge of what made those early British blues recordings so energised, and exhilarating, coupled with the soulful spirit with which all members express themselves, that will make an unmissable launch date at The Cellar Bar on Saturday 23rd March. Initial reaction to this retrospective goodness was wow, great booking Kieran, but I see now, whatโs news to me is a reunion, to a degree, for Sheer and aforementioned scene; indisputably making the gig even more poignant than simply this absolutely rocking sound.
I shit you not, it’s like being bought up with Neil Sedaka and suddenly discovering The Faces. Oh, and if you need more convincing, Jon Amor supportsโฆ. supports, I know, right!
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