Please enter a search term to begin your search.
Gorillaz Video Screening
Gathered in a small studio in London’s Soho, you have to wonder what could possibly be so impressive about the new Gorillaz video that Britain’s journalists have been shepherded together for a screening. New single “On Melancholy Hill”...Read the full article.....
Frankie & The Heartstrings : Interview
.jpg)
Sometimes, (not often mind), you go to see a band with a vague sense of expectation, born from nothing more than early releases and odd pieces of press, only for, by some twist of fate, this band you considered “fairly decent” until now to prove one of the...Read the full article.....
Save BBC 6 Music : Consultation
As many of you will be aware Digital radio stations BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network are facing closure as part of a shake-up of the BBC. This proposal has caused general outcry amongst musicians and music fans alike...Read the full article.....
The Drums : Interview
Full of nostalgic charm, The Drums have taken the music scene by surprise in one of the most unlikeliest success stories this year. Harking back to a golden age of music, their surf-tinged indie pop...Read the full article.....
Acid Washed : Interview
Acid Washed are the Parisian duo of Andrew Claristidge and Richard D'Alpert, and although they have day jobs, after hearing their polished self-titled Record Makers debut album, you’d think they’d be full-time musicians... Read the full article.....
Gorillaz : Plastic Beach
What is a Plastic Beach? Is it a metaphor for the consumerist world and its destruction of the planet? Or is it a genius way of not getting sand in your swimming costume? It does not really matter, because... Read the full article.....
Kid Sister
Kid Sister has had a certain amount of notoriety for some time despite her long-awaited debut album only just being dropped after being pushed back over and over again. Such notoriety can be attributed to a number of things...Read the full article.....
Interview with Andy C (RAM Records)
Andrew Clarke, aka Andy C, has been the biggest name in UK drum & bass since it started hitting speakers back in the early 90s. Beginning his career as a producer, he then co-founded the UK’s biggest drum & bass record label to date, RAM Records...Read the full article.....
Hot Chip : One Night in Brixton
Walking through the corridors backstage at the Brixton Academy en route to meet my interview subjects never fails to stir up the musical sentimentality ingrained in me. There is always an air of excitement and adrenaline surging as...Read the full article.....
Beach Break Live 2010
This year sees the return of the UK's biggest student festival, and the ONLY place to be from 14th to 18th June: Beach Break Live 2010, set in the picturesque surroundings of Pembrey Country Park...Read the full article.....
Bigger Than Barry Records
“I was Dj’ing at Mad Decent events in Birmingham when I had this idea come to me...”, sounds like a line from the latest Windows advert. But instead of thinking of ways to complicate PC’s, Tom Short, aka Shorterz, was instead dreaming up his own record label...Read the full article.....
Delphic : Interview
Following a whirlwind 2009, synth masters Delphic show absolutely no sign of letting up. With the release of critically acclaimed debut Acolyte already stamped down as an early achievement...Read the full article.....
Still Flyin' : Interview
San Francisco superband, Still Flyin' have joyously bounded a long way since their joke fuelled dub and reggae infused early development. Their complete refusal to reflect the dark mood of the moment infecting the world...Read the full article.....
Shy Child : Q & A
After a three year hiatus, New York's Shy Child are returning in 2010 with a sound that's more lush, dense, intoxicating, and surprising than ever... Read the full article.....
Slof-Man : Interview
Listing his influences as Benga, Loefah and Skream amongst others, Slof Man makes no apologies for jumping on the Dubstep bandwagon. Despite entering the scene very late, Slof-Man has...Read the full article.....
Plastiscines : Interview
As one of the first signings of Nylon Records in New York, the Parisian all-girl guitar-wielding group Plasticines are back with their sound expanding sophomore record this year. The rock’n’roll of their former effort still exists... Read the full article.....
What or Who to watch out for in 2010
The Noughties are over and we have to say goodbye to the first decade of the Millennium. It is a shame because there was many zeitgeist breaking moments in the decade in the music world. The irony then, that 2009 was a pretty nondescript year, is not lost...Read the full article.....
Albums of The Decade : 2000 - 2009
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of seeing television programmes lamenting what a piss poor decade the so-called ‘noughties’ have been. I mean, a decade is just a period of time definable by the fact that it spans exactly ten years...Read the full article.....
Whats New?
My Awesome Compilation: Feature
It's been a while since most people have seen My Awesome Compilation, the release of 'Actions', their debut album back in 2005 should have been MAC's stepping stone into prominence.. Four years on it all seems to have stalled somewhat. It started so well with main single 'Put Up A Fight' getting a shed load of play and even making it onto the soundtrack of the Saints Row computer game, but things have since gone a bit quiet.
Their sophomore album, last years 'Frontiers', had a fairly low key release, something the band regret along with the three years inbetween releases. “If we could do it again I'm sure we'd have put it out a bit quicker, but we didn't want to rush the album,” Keyboard player, Woody Cobb, said after the band tumbled in from a pre-gig food trip.
'Frontiers' is definitely a heavier album, “Our shows are heavier so I guess it just happened like that”, and he's not wrong.. The clean cut production of the records is ripped to shreds into an intense and energetic punch in the gut of a live show. Cobb said they are in no rush for the follow-up but there are some songs written, and an EP could possibly arrive in the summer but MAC seem very relaxed about where the band is heading and when it might get there.
Tonight's Sugarmill gig is the only confirmed one scheduled this year so far after their local venue closed it's doors ten days before they were supposed to be playing. So it is the Sugarmill and Sugarmill only, but there is possibly a tour with MC Lars in the pipeline (“Nothings official yet but we should be”). The only reason they are playing The Sugarmill is that it's fairly close to their Leicester home and “We love it here, it's proper loud onstage” despite it being freezing cold even inside.
There are a few factors involved in their lack of activity that are out of their control. Drummer Andy Driver told of the peanuts paid for gigs now, “We get offered gigs in Glasgow and places but they are only paying like £50 so we're working at a loss with travel and stuff,” sat wearing a woolly hat and coat in their icy dressing room. They are even using their support bands' gear at The Sugarmill.
It's a long way from the sold out tour of Japan and Australia with Funeral For A Friend in 2006, “They love all the British bands in Japan, the crowds are crazy”. Hopefully the MC Lars tour, should it happen, will re-ignite their want to be playing every week, there is no question they are loving the ride and if they can match 'Actions', then the promise shown in 2005 just might be fulfilled.
Words: Jack Phillips
Images: Sarah O'Connor
Write a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.
-->