AWDIO _ PLAY THE WORLD

Awdio is the manic brainchild of Frenchmen Vittorio Strigari and designer Ora-Ito come to fruition. Now a free membership service, Awdio asks you to come and ‘play the world’, enabling users to listen to real time DJ sets across the world, as they happen from the comfort of your own home. Clash music last reported that Shoreditch’s T-bar and Brixton’s Dogstar had signed up to the 100-venue strong service; now Awdio move into the future with new venues on the horizon, more interactivity between users and artists and a global vision of networked live music.

Hello. Please introduce yourself and your role at Awdio. How did you form the company?
My name is Vittorio and I founded the company two years ago with a friend. I studied graphic design but decided to quit for music. I had this crazy idea of listening to clubs all over the world in real time. I wanted to listen to clubs and see what was going on in places like Asia. It was from scratch, so I took it to my Vitto and he instantly supported me. I spent 6 months travelling the world, meeting with club owners and sourcing, and we also met producers, labels and artists. But we’re not just about your Pacha’s and superclubs, we wanted the cool bars and pokey underground clubs; all the places that effect our experience of music.

What is the ethos of the company?
For us the clubs and venues are tomorrow’s fresh labels. They have been producing, developing and helping many talents and artists. They’ve never really been acknowledged in this way, as a brand. They contribute in such a large way, and they don’t have their own media set ups to promote themselves and give platforms to artists. We are giving a voice for the underground, so they can bring to light their nights but also with the introduction of players so we can host music as well.


Digital technology has been critical in the evolution of modern musical experience, but also for communication hasn’t it?
There are many different music scenes going on right now, so we offer a new way to be able to listen in on these scenes and cultures without having to buy a plane ticket. What we are doing is giving a voice to the underground and bringing to life their musical programs and their shows; we are connecting the musical community on a level that can be maintained through digital technology.


Are the sets in high quality?
It is compressed MP3 format in good quality, 120kps per second for streaming. Sometimes we go to 150 and 160 but what with the internet and its constant evolution, we will be looking to further improve on this soon.

What is the plan for 2009?
We want to collect 350 clubs and sources by the end of this year to the existing list. We also want to sign up festivals, and we’re going to make a Myspace where signed up clubs and artists can manage their own dates and space. In April we going to give the artists the opportunity to manage and interact with their community. We are going fully interactive, so I guess we are going ‘Web 2.0’. We will also be going to Africa, South America, Jamaica. Not just for electronic music but other things like jazz and reggae. We are going truly global.

Listen up and get connected at www.awdio.com

Drums Of Death

Drumz of Death is not a DJ. He is a performer. Nor is he an actual real person, rather an alter ego of the one previously known as jazzy, electronica producer Kid Twist. However, with Drumz of Death, his techno meets bass heavy metal-dance music has been hotly tipped by the music bigwigs, with the release of a full-length album imminent and a hardcore following hanging off every 4-4 beat he concocts, including a deal at Hot Chips Greco-Roman label. Angry but emotional, energetic and twisted, the face-painted mask and Papa Lazaroo-esque stage costume are a frightful and often high-octane experience in itself. But far underneath the mask is Colin, a meek and friendly character. One of the softest-spoken people I’ve ever heard, Colin is exuberant, charming and down to earth, his enthusiastic dialect coated with a thick but decipherable Scottish accent. “This a character is super villain for Greco-Roman, but at the same time he’s a manic depressive guy. He’ll go from wild crazy rave bass abandon to piano and melancholic pieces. People will understand this person through the live shows” he cryptically tells.

Attracting characters from all ends of the spectrum, Drumz has a string of remixes under his belt, incorporating many mixed styles, from dubstep to grime, and electronica to hardcore metal. How did the young and no doubt polite Colin discover music?
“ I listened to tears for fears, Michael Jackson and loads of eighties stuff. When I was young, I remember you could send off for this tape,’ he amuses ‘I was more into animation and that.. I wasn’t into music until I got into Nirvana and more grungy stuff.” Colin even used to be in a Hardcore Punk band. “Oh Aye,” he agrees, ‘I was in a bunch of them. I love the attitude in the music, the energy, but I’m more focused on the fifteen-year-old feeling like that. I started producing music quite late, after being in bands” he confesses, “It took me a long time to write a song because I was scared of the process,” he says.
So, after discovering a love for electronica and a thirst for computer production, after a healthy career in punk bands, what possessed Colin to transform to Kid Twist – and then – onto the current demonic guise.
“It was stuff like Drop the Lime, and lots of laptop stuff’ he spurts, ‘more techno stuff, more people buying laptops and stuff. I was in a group in Glasgow called Measle. I was making all this electronica stuff in the vein of Venetian snares and stuff. But when I moved to London I wanted to make more upbeat, club music and put my hat in that ring and I want a show that goes with it. The reason I do what I do is because it takes me and other people out of their comfort zone. I wanted to make it more like a hardcore show, but with tones and textures more akin to Kraftwerk, or acid house and Jamaican bass culture, with a mix of grime. I wanted to something visually, something that in personally wanted to see. People are getting bored of clubbing; I’m not saying I’m the saviour of clubbing and live dance music, but I personally wanted to make it more exciting.”

So Drumz, in his humble manner, has stated that he’s not the saviour, but does he hope to change the perception of laptop DJ’s, to blend the visual aspects of performance with clubbing sonics?
“I think ill change peoples perceptions of Scottish guys who wear make up,” he laughs. “ I don’t know, it’s a bit of an unknown path. Its down to all dj’s to change the perception of what they do. The nature of what I do is becoming less dj. I play my own stuff and when I play it’s an all Iive show. There’s version’s of tracks, samples and patches and bit and bobs that are special; it becomes less programmed and more spontaneous. There’s a lot of club music that I play that will never be released because I want it for the live show” he states.

Drumz definitely earned his name by churning out high profile, well received remixes blending recognisable tracks with a mixture of dark, light and meaningful sounds, attracting a deal with Greco-Roman. Does drums owe these remixes part of his success? Were they instrumental in his development?” I guess they have been, but I’m lucky to have been able to do what I want with them” he agrees. “It’s been good to do something different and I’ve tried to make each mix have its own feel. They have been very important to get me out there though and I’m grateful!”

“All the tracks on my EP are part of a mix tape that friends were handing round. Joe from Hot Chip got his hands on it. They put out some songs and asked me to do an album. That first 12” is more about dance-floor stuff, more of a hip-hop electro thing, which nods to Egyptian Lover: he was – and is - a big influence. The forthcoming album is going to be more fun to play, with more of a song structure though. Some of its pop music, but some of it is really full on, but not all of it ‘cause that would be boring” he whispers. “But,” he promises glefully, “they’ll be plenty of bangers on there!”

The Major event! - Skream / Serge Santiago @ The Star Bethnal Green - a DJ mag party

Yes yes, alright then, it may be the last movement at bar rumba, but across town tomorrow night something very interesting is going on. Our lovely cohorts at DJ mag have decided to treat those of us with wiry nerve receptors to a tasty cosmic/italo disco set by none other than stalwart Serge Santiago (!), and modern bass-bin botherer Skream!





To catch them in action head to the star in Bethnal Green, 9pm tomorrow night and feel the pair's unique take on far out sounds, disco claps and a unique partnership.

Down on the Underside: The return to Holland

Noorderslag / Eurosonic 2009
14/15/16 January, Groningen, Holland

After the Xmas blow-out, and the world sleepily moves towards a cold and dark Winter, the relatively small and low key City of Groningen bursts to life with music industry movers, wild-eyed music obsessed teenagers, and the cream of Europe’s musical talent. Similar to The Great Escape, with its roaming, spoilt-for-choice ethos, over 200 bands played across the city amongst the historical, the raucous and the down right bizarre (ever eaten a Febo - draw twinky? Don’t.).

For three days we cavorted and jaunted across the tiny city, hungry for music and fresh experience. In typical Dutch fashion, the whole thing seemed relaxed and open. The queue’s – in comparison to recent disasters at The Camden Crawl - were better than expected, although there was absolutely no way we were getting anywhere near Vera for Fight Like Apes. The drinks prices were reasonable too, but the festival USP was an electrifying atmosphere. Sure, their dances are wonky, they eat chips with Mayonnaise and everyone rides a bike, but at night the cobwebs are shaken off as you fluctuate between the Spacious hall of Grand Theatre, to the dimly lit bar of Huis De Beurs through sprawling and buzzing streets. Hell, we even saw Rolo Tomassi play an unscheduled TV session in a fake wooden pub in the middle of the city’s main square.

Clash picked two favourite venues in amongst the thirty strong list, one being Vera, the historical home of the city’s connection with live music. Once home to a rising and unknown Nirvana and a cheap 5-gilder U2 gig, the venue itself played host to Lowline offering their heavy, ballsy, Northern twang to a packed room of eager and fresh meat and Baddies showed us what the hype was about. Other acts at the Mecca included Fight Like Apes, Firefox and uber-cool, all-girl electro pop trio Le Corps Mince De Francoise, who showed us how to remain sassy even in the face of a confused and rather warped out crowd.

Clash’s other favourite venue was the Simplon Youth Hostel, located a fair way out from the main city, and host to some stunning acts. A youth hostel/arts centre, it’s two floors played host to Vice and Warp records, devilishly treating us after a long schlap to core alternative music, including Hudson Mohawk, Tim Exile, Beardyman and Esser, although Clash gleefully looked forward to a strong line up on the second night. Elsewhere, In assorted venue’s, we were treated to Hellsongs dark and unashamed death-folk and Dinosaur Pile Up’s post rock.

The low-point (and it kills to say this) had to be the third and final day, Eurosonic, a showcase of Dutch artists, housed under the space-age Oosterpoort centre at the top of town. With droves of cramped revellers, paranoid security and enough Orange semiotics, Grolsch advertising and festival logo’s to choke upon, I felt the feeling of mellow freedom and spontaneity melt away as we were mashed-up in amongst the lunatic fans. Luckily though, The Death Letters, and new epitaph signing zZz created an energetic break from a lot of other twee Dutch folk artists, such as the dreadfully dreary Wouter Hamel and the nausea inducing Masses. In fact, we were possibly the only British journalists in the building and after battling through Dutch speaking pop music, we ended the weekend with something that we knew required no talking whatsoever; we got our ‘cloggstep’ on to bass-baiting 2562 for smooth, techno inspired sub bass, followed with a tearing Caspa and Rusko style set from DJ Gomes as a nice little nightcap. That’s if you consider a sledgehammer round your cranium a nightcap to be fair.

Dutch music itself may be slightly damp and a bit squalid, and there may have been bemused foreigners and language barriers hanging off every chord and band, but fortunately, the festival remains one of Europe’s best, friendliest and - most importantly – cheapest. It offers great value for money and a scene away from the clutches of the global US market. And they definitely know how to put on a good party too!! In fact i got completely fucking twated. Here is what i remember:

Hits:

Buraka Som Sistema: No matter where Portugal’s’ Buraka go, they start the party fire with a bottle of Kerosene, a box of matches and a sinister grin.

Rolo Tomassi: Fresh, young and certainly not naïve, the shredding guitars and singers insane growling scared the wits out of us.

2562: a refreshing alternative to the day when Holland’s pop music comes together in what traditionally focuses upon jazz, blues and twee indie.

The Rakes: Playing a few new songs and all their favourites didn’t matter to the curious crowd, who after a flat start warmed to The Rakes’ twitchy post-punk indie.

Dinosaur Pile Up: A triumphant show from brave English post rockers. Every tune sounded like it had been plucked from a broad spectrum of tastes. Exuberant stage presence.

Shits

Firefox – Low-end grunge blues sounded strong, solid and rounded. Unfortunately, the crowd were just passing and the set fell flat after three songs and the band looked like wounded guppies for nthe next half hour.

Fight Like Apes – Hugely hyped Irish band. Clearly, the hype had spread far and wide, as it was the only band of the weekend that we were turned away from. Not worth a toss anyhow.

Filthy Dukes – Unfortunately, our geeky electro rock brothers played a full on, high-octane set that no one was around to witness. During the last two songs the venue started to fill – but is was too late after seeing them play ‘Messages’ and ‘The Rhythm’ to a virtually empty crowd.

John and Jehn – thistly crap that bored me – and everyone else – to tears. Bland, flat and not pop memorable, but pop annoying.

The Blow UP: The death Set

(They're on Ninja Tune ya know! Bye bye dinner jazz!)

Presenting ‘The Death Set’: loud, unruly kids, from Australia and now residing in Baltimore, US. They roam around with makeshift instruments, packing a punch into electronic music by ‘punking’ it up to its utter limits. Loud, abrasive and sickly fun, they compare to noise stalwarts Tiger Force pumped up on Love Hearts, the excitement and energy seeping through their sweaty pores and instruments in a tangled, hyperactive unison. But it seems, as I call up Jonny Sierra, one half of the spazzed out duo, I’ve caught him at the worst of times.
‘Hi. I’m Jonny Sierra, and I’m really hung-over right now’ he burbles politely when asked for an introduction. ‘Let me go and splash my face with water’. Meanwhile, on the other end of the line I shuffle my notes and chuckle; what a way to break the ice so commonly reserved for us lowly music hacks. On his return, we chitchat idly about alcohol, bands, and the Baltimore rock scene.
‘I guess it’s really good’ he suggests. ‘It’s changed since I moved here (from oz). There was a crazy warehouse scene, and people were doing loads of mad shows. There’s a lot of spirit to it.’ The conversation flows as we chat about fellow BA noise merchants such as Dan Deacon.

Taking the DIY ethos literally, the band have shed sweat and tears, relentlessly touring and recording 3 eps and many collaborations; Jonny’s got every reason to feel worn out. But since Counter Records, Ninja Tunes rock offspring label picked the band up, the workload is easing off.

‘We haven’t had much strong label support or anything up until now. We did everything ourselves, y’know what I mean? That DIY ethos is sort of ingrained in us and our music (the band offered their homemade synth for sale on their myspace) from touring and putting on our shows. Yeah, playing shows with Dan Deacon in Baltimore to like four kids!’ he snorts gleefully.

And it seems Jonny’s excited to be among the first on this fresh, breaking imprint. ‘I’m totally psyched. This record’s been planned for such a long time, and to have someone help us push it is amazing. I’m generally psyched about everything, and its great to get help from our label!’
The conversation drifts into struggling bands without label backing, relentlessly playing out of love and hope, so I appropriately ask how he felt to support legends Suicide a while back.
> ‘Oh it was so weird’ he laughs. ‘We were playing in the financial district of Manhattan. It was cool, but it was weird to see them on this big stage in the middle of Manhattan with families walking around and suits and stuff!’ he quizzes. ‘Obviously, you can’t turn down the chance though.’



If he thinks it’s weird to find Suicide in Manhattan, imagine what it must’ve been like to hear a noisy band screaming and shouting their vocals at the passing traffic. Is this hybrid sound more of a concentration on dance or on punk music?
‘First and foremost, we’re a punk band’ he says proudly. ‘Obviously we have that big electronic element. The reaction we usually get is like kids going to punk rock shows rather than out clubbing’ Jonny slowly muses. ‘We’ve played shows with 100% dance acts like Bonde Do Role, but we’re punk all the way’ he states

So what makes the elements of a good punk show? Mad energy? Crazy attitude? Or simply just youth having fun (take note reformists)? In some circles, DS are known for serving up high octane, fever pitch shows, where kids literally run riot; blood, sweat and sticky booze. Surely Jonny has seen some insanity whilst touring.
‘Its usually kids man’ he grins, ‘its getting harder and harder to play on the floor. They’ll try to help by holding the mic stand and they’ll thrash out, smashing you in the face. It’s all fun, but those Brooklyn shows are especially badass’ he pauses, as he gulps a mouthful of liquid (presumably water!). ‘We played with Dan Deacon at this one venue, and there was asbestos everywhere and kids were hanging on pipes made of it and stuff…scary shit, but the crazier the crowd the more fun it is. It’s hard to play high energy music to three people with their arms folded. We feed off each other, the audience and us’ he says admiringly.
>
> And punk music’s core lies within the audience’s interaction, seemingly a strong part of the bands success. On inspection of the myspace site, it’s refreshing to see that the band give away song accapelas for people to download and make remixes of. After all, we live amongst the ‘free market’.
> ‘I guess it’s really the idea of ‘the more versions of our songs out there, the better’ and it’s good for feedback’ admits Jonny when quizzed behind his thinking. ‘We’ve been getting some really good ones lately, id love to hear them in a club someday!’ he laughs. And, I wonder, what with the more high profile mixes?
‘I really like the Dan Deacon remix, but my favourite has to be the Bonde Do Role one, its completely rad!’ he gushes.

The only way to finish this interview is with Jonny’s line about the forthcoming album: ‘It’s totally mental’. Clocking in at 25 minutes over 18 tracks, it’s a short, sharp cardiac burst of colourful mayhem. Go grab the ‘MFDS’ ep and prepare yourselves!


Words: Joe Gamp

official! more to do in Holland than just smoking weed

Really? What's all this i hear about Northern Europes Biggest Breaking bands showcase? (My ear actually looked like this)


>> Fear not music lovers, for a place exists that’s cheap, friendly and still rocking in the gloomy winter months. The Noorderslag/Eurosonic festival started as a battle of the bands between 10 Dutch and Belgian outfits. It’s now grown into Northern Europe’s largest showcase for breaking new music, attracting industry types and record labels from across the world. If Europe ever needed a platform for showcasing their wares outside the American Market, then this was the place to do it.
>>
>> At one point, when travelling by train across Holland to the city of Groningen, I cursed myself for not bringing ‘hard-wearing’ shoes and foolishly choosing slip-ons. With over 220 bands, acts and showcases, crammed into three evenings across 30 venues in the city, I realised I had my work cut out. In the following piece, it’ll become clear how I damaged the ligament in my Knee whilst attempting to make a dent in it all.
>>



>> Thursday
>>
>> After spending the day chilling around the student City and settling into my hostel (!), chaos broke at Dam square’s immense Grand Theatre for Swedish superstars I’m from Barcelona, who in amongst the contemporary walls of the theatre, opened up the festival positively. Queen samples and melancholic lyrics bubbled over orchestrated, big band party music. When the balloons and the clapping started, I realised shots were needed to sedate them, before I choked on ecstatic happiness.
>> A short walk away lay Vera, Groningen’s favourite rock venue (apparently, Nirvana got spotted there and U2 once played for 10 guilders), the basis for British urban-country stalwart Lightspeed Champion to display his talent in a tight and eye-openingly deep set (elsewhere, The Ting Tings played). After getting lost on route, I caught the tail-end of Austria‘s Killed By Nine Volt Batteries, who peddled sludgy shoe-gaze rock, with heavy feedback in the vein of Kyuss, at Shadrak, a poky venue down a tight alleyway. Two tracks later, we were running back to Grand Theatre to catch the crazy sine wave, Go! Team-esque Alphabeat, who raised the roof with their funky, 80’s influenced disco in a sea of aural pleasure. Half way through, I hobbled off over to Muziekschool for hotly tipped Swedes The Kleerup who failed to disappoint even though slotted at the same time as France’s Zombie Zombie and Britain’s Ripchord. After watching a rather hair-raising show, where the country bluegrass and trip hop eventually became a geeky man in lens-less glasses shout-rapping, the sweat was pouring and my calf’s were niggling. Defiantly, I shot back to Vera’s for The DO, a dischorded, wailing and strung out grunge band, peddling minor chords and obnoxious, angst vocals. Pity it was in French.
>> Alarm bells rang. I ran, well, limped toward the electronic Dutch whiz-kid that EVERYONE spoke about; Adept. It was a 20min walk to the Simplon where they played. Luckily, I jumped in a taxi with some Italians en-route. We were lucky enough to catch the last ten and boy, it was worth it.

'Urgh, where my contacts?'




>> Heading back, I split my time between 7 venues in the space of an hour; I glimpsed 5 minutes of Krakow, playing acoustic melodramas in the upstairs of a lovely, quirky pub (De Speigel). I moved swiftly to see rude-bwoy rapper De Kraan to lift my spirits, with boom-bap beats and a super smooth, Dutch spoken flow that would impress MC Solaar. Then, after 10 minutes of Calvin Harris’ neon disco, it was off to see Iceland’s Bloodgroup, a disappointment as people were turned away. Instead we subjected to chart botherer’s The Hoosiers, who surprisingly played a tight set, the mostly European crowd lapping it up; on the way to see Friendly Fires, I got lost again. I gladly saw the dirty, nihilistic and vitriolic Blood Red Shoes instead, whose set was awash with filthy riffs and nagging feedback. On the way, we witnessed The Dykeenie’s literally destroying a small pub; they were heard at the end of the street.
>> Playing next to my Hostel, Does It Offend You, Yeah? concluded many a bemused Dutchman’s evening in a raucous, high voltage show, that literally blew everyone away.
>>
>> Friday
>>
>> Friday night’s action was immense, with a further ten venues opening up across the City. Unlike the Camden Crawl, the venues were all within walking distance; except you had to walk loads and often up bastard hills, avoiding hurtling cyclists.
>> I kicked off with locals Nine Volt, a snappy, incubus like emo-core band; inexperienced, young and full of hope. Next it was Holland’s Get Well Soon. Nihilistic, drawn out and monotonous, the defeatist instrumentation and eerie presence reminded of early Interpol. Afterwards, I found myself watching sludge metalheads Kruger, strangely, in a bright white art space, with a sombre crowd of 20 moody long hairs. I quickly exit to get over for the Curtis Mayfield meets Hendrix vibes of The Heavy, one of the best bands of the weekend, with their dirty southern blues and raunchy, stomping drumbeats making a lasting impression. On my way toward Vera, I pop my head in for Miss Platinum, a Danish Ms Dynamite; quite awful, hideously generic and a touch boring. Two tracks later, I scarper for Sweden’s Taxi Taxi, whose eerily playful chimes and innocent vocals didn’t help before going to see the well established, mesmerising Cult of Luna, blending progressive rock and metal seamlessly.
>>
>> I scuttled back to Grand Theatre for Dutch heavyweight duo Pete Philly and Periquiste, who dazzled with the aid of live looping technology; the flowing rap of Pete and the jazz breaks combo fit perfect for a Ninja tune release.
>> New Killer Stars played at a cramped venue, the Oi punk sound needed to catch more attention and The Dirty Shambles, Britain’s continuation of Placebo style post rock made sure they were known. I forced my way into the seething mess of fans cramming into see Who Made Who at Vera; this time it was at breaking point, such was the case later on when attempting to watch Chrome Hoof. We ended up watching Pete and the Pirates after a short taster of jazz metal action.
>> The most triumphant gig, however, belonged to The Futureheads, who made a triumphant return previewing new material, and playing a blasting set of favourites. My knee was swollen, and I was drenched in beer and sweat. Time to go home.
>>
>>
>> Saturday
>>
>> The Eurosonic section of the event closed, leaving Noorderslag, the proud jewel in Groningen’s crown, dedicated to the best of popular Dutch talent, broadcast across Europe.
>> Based In the multi-venue capacity of De Oosterpoort, Groningen’s cultural centrepiece, the modernised and well facilitated structure held a large capacity of people, a whooping 8 largely sized stages, a maze of corridors and a wide range of artists. Kicking off in the middle was Wouter Hamel, a popular modern folk musician who combines jazz and funk to his pop structure, and I was treated to a slice of his ambition whilst I through the building.
>> Holland’s love affair with Jazz and Blues constantly shows within their pop continuum. A tradition upheld by Room 11, who mix the sounds of Paulo Conte, Miles and classic finger-snapping, bar room jazz. Watched in a large concert hall, I moved due to the filling crowd size and struggling air conditioning.
>> Beforehand, I’d been treated to David Gilmour Girls, darlings of the Dutch scene and favourites of the British press, who made a great impression to the bustling crowd. When they finish I hear, behind them in another venue, the sounds of synths twitching and bass-cones firing up; Parra Soundsystem, Holland’s answer to SMD, unleash pounding techno beats, dirty stabs and rave pianos.
>>
>> Other bands worthy of taking note included Amsterdam’s Hospital Bombers, with their tweaky, weezer type rock; brat like, ska-tinged punk band All Missing Pieces and popular, indie rock outfit Moke, the formers well polished, articulately pronounced sounds grabbing the crowd in its British-like intensity (apparently Paul Weller loves them and invites them on tour), sounding like its straight off the stamping streets of London.
>> Other standout acts included Lolly Jane Blue, singing deep, throaty country tales of bittersweet love and life, and Voicst, possibly Holland’s hottest commercial, progressive rock outfit, playing a set that’s expertly executed through an exhilarating set.
>> Finally, a short stint in the Hip Hop stage unearthed conscious, dub reggae influenced GMB, mixing Dutch and English rhymes with full fat, rounded beats, which followed spaced out, thug type Space Kees; outer worldly beats on a more militant tip than Dr who Dat’s futurist sound.
>>
>> And with that it was time to travel back to Amsterdam, and then (eventually) onto Home. With my Knee hanging off, a scummy pad of notes and a backpack full of dirty washing, my head was buzzing from the energy and discovery of new music.
>>
>> Make sure you’re fighting fit and up for a good mission, because at 50 euros a ticket, and enough music to choke a horse, Groningen should be your first port of call next winter. If you’re up for going to a tucked away location to catch bands of a likewise nature, then you really can’t do much better. So many bands played, it was humanly impossible for me to catch them all; next year, go find out for yourselves.
>>
>> By Joe Gamp.
>>

Interview: These New Puritans

These New Puritans

These New Puritans are a bit of a quasi-enigma. They have no particular form or shape, and often find themselves lost within different spheres of space and time. Creating a storm with an angular, trancey and mathematical pop formula, they’re proving to be one of the most exciting and promising bands in a short while. I caught up with singer Jack for a more insightful approach to the music, especially when it comes from someone who ‘really likes My Bloody Valentine, The Walker Brothers, Danny Weed, and Vybz Kartel’ and is currently listening to the likes of ‘Balinese chant. I'm also listening to Rolf Harris, he's very underrated’ admits Jack. Hmmmm........

There’s a fair few towns in this country with a youth scene; a small, close knit group of musical appreciators who stay focused on their love, while not much else around them happens. How does Jack feel about the music spawned in his hometown, Southend? ‘The Southend Scene almost existed. It definitely doesn't exist anymore’ he says. ‘I suppose we really should have exploited it as a media tag type-thing, but I think that would have been destructive and all destruction is evil. So we didn't and will not. Southend is just a vacuum. That is what is good about it; Southend is nothing really.’
And to have gone from playing the local haunts of Southend’s relaxed musical scene, to writing a soundtrack piece for a ‘Dior Homme’ fashion show must have been a surreal experience. ‘It was a great furious piece of creative energy.’ reminisces Jack, ‘lots of amazing studios, staying in a top-floor flat in a Paris side-street, trying to communicate with French engineers, nineteen hour days.’

It must have seemed a world apart from the usual milieu that bands find themselves wading through in search of a leading edge. Not least because it was an international fashion show, but because the whopping 17 minute soundtrack was a far cry from 3 minute simplicity and hasty art punk.
‘That was the whole point - to lose our sound!’ assures Jack authoritatively. ‘We'd never done a song longer than 3 minutes, now we had to do a 17 minute one. It's good to sound different to yourself - the music I'm writing at the moment is for mallet instruments and a choir and will be recorded live in the countryside. So that's different to the album and the album is different to the EP. All we want to do is be something else, and then something else, and then something else. All we want to do is forget ourselves.’ The Puritans are purely more than just style over substance.

Bands with such an immense intensity are bound to change and progress, especially when you take into account the punishing and prolific work schedule ahead. ‘We're touring in Europe and the uk in February and March, to support our album which is out in January’ states Jack. We’re also re-releasing 'Elvis' in January as well.
TNP are leaders in their field. Far from being content with three minute shoe gaze perfection, Jack explains how the band are striving forward to meet new goals, un-chartered and undiscovered; they’re achieving this in anything but a linear fashion and, as Jack explains, the album reflects countless new adventures in their sound.
‘Our EP was recorded by candle-light in 24 hours and was fuzzy and our album was recorded in harsh light over more than 24 hours and is pristine and electric’ muses Jack, ‘It's still harsh and compressed though. The whole time we were making it I had two phrases in my mind: "HYPER-FAVELA" and "WAVE".’The album has, I've been told, a bit of an electronica / dancehall / shoegaze / pop feel. I've managed to get over my obsession with distortion - distortion is easy.’
The new single, ‘Numbers and Colours’ has just been released; a hyperkinetic, enigmatic fusion of electronica, jerky, piercing riffs and hollow space like bass, show that the band crave something that most haven’t even thought of. They take the mundane and average observations of life, and forge an existential, parallel meaning from it.
‘Numerology is meaningless but it's good to take something meaningless and make it meaningful rather than take something meaningful like love or life and make it meaningless.’ quips Jack, who’s obviously spent many an hour pondering the worth of aesthetic gains. ‘Most bands try to make their music seem meaningful by referencing stuff but we've invented our own form of numerology that you can hear about in the song numbers.’

And this remains to be the spirit of the band; an entity of their own, lead by the often dictatorial and commanding Jack, who shouts and leads his band on stage, they shift between form and structure, normality and abstraction, linear and arbretary motion. Described as cryptic by some, I wonder if this symbolizes a longing to be whisked away to another world, without rules and constraints. Has the bands own experiences influenced their decision to not follow the beaten path?
Well, we had to re-map Southend into something meaningful, rather than something empty. These New Puritans is a mystery and I'm looking for the answer myself. I feel that we have something in common with dubstep but not in an obvious way.
We don't want to just re-create this world; we just want to make our own. In the words of Freddie Mercury: "are you ready for a brand new beat?’

http://www.myspace.com/thesenewpuritans

www.thesenewpuritans.com

Thanks to Beth at Toast fo the solid effort