Get Involved Charabang - Rich Mix (8th May)

Arriving at Shoreditch’s Rich Mix for Get Involved’s Charabang Launch party, I was met with the unfortunate news that the breakdancing magician had to pull out.

That should give you an impression of the eclectic mix of new talent on show at the first Get Involved Charabang last Wednesday night. Magical Bones’ exclusion was a shame, and judging from his YouTube channel it’s a sight to behold, but the night showcased some of the best rising London acts around.

First to the stage was Arthur Lea, who channels the rootsy upbeat New Orleans Jazz of Dr. John with remarkable Jazz piano chops. 

Lea’s got that Delta spirit running through him, rooted in offbeat, bouncy riffs – but his lyrics tell his own story, covering topics from dealing with loneliness to wanting to be a superhero; the latter with audience-participatory zoom! and pow! sound effects. Check out 'Make Do' below.

Next up was the frankly unbelievable beatbox wizard ReepsOne. Reeps is a force of nature, and is able to exploit his vocal chords into producing an unstoppable frenzy of electronic music. He mentions onstage that occasionally he’s hired to play two-hour DJ sets armed with nothing but a mic and PA system, and you can believe it. Close your eyes, and you could be listening to some actually quite brilliant Dubstep, Electro and Drum & Bass.

That’s the most impressive thing – Reeps doesn’t just produce impressive sound effects and sit back for the applause, but moulds and layers them into music you would actually listen to. As he puts it, it’s not replication – it’s creation.

And in true variety show style, we go from the basements of 2010s London to the glamorous Boogie Woogie of 1940s Hollywood with self-proclaimed ‘vintage girl band’ the Tootsie Rollers. The Tootsies stormed through a dazzling setlist of contemporary classics, authentic 40s numbers and an original track that shows they’re past imitation – these girls are the real deal.

Rounding off the night were The Royal Organ Duo. The South East London natives play like Booker T & The MGs and banter like Chas n’ Dave; and use instantly recognisable pop classics as a platform to launch into all kinds of knockout jazz improv. Respective masters of organ and drums, the Royal Organ Duo don’t play covers as such – they take just enough elements of those songs we all know, from Jessie J to Led Zeppelin, and spin off into inspired and unexpected places. If you’ve never heard a lounge jazz play on Stairway to Heaven – now’s your chance.

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Laura Marling & Timber Timbre - Manchester Apollo (9th March)

★★★★

“You guys ready to rock n’ roll tonight?” Timber Timbre’s Taylor Kirk asks the steady collective murmuring of a restless support crowd. “…yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Kirk’s extraordinary brand of spooky swamp folk, sounding like a cross between age-old delta blues and the ghost of M. Ward, unfortunately failed to really capture the imaginations of the seated Apollo crowd. As a big fan, I spent most of the set sulking to myself about this, but the 3500-capacity hall was admittedly a strange environment for a sound that relies so heavily on its own macabre atmosphere and intimate boneyard charm.

Regardless, he kept up the enthusiasm and crooned his heart out, from the wonderful ‘Demon Host’ to a stomping stripped-down version of ‘Bad Ritual’.

Unsurprisingly, the mood was transformed at the entrance of headliner Laura Marling, who peppered new tracks and fan favourites in with songs from her latest album, A Creature I Don’t Know. Demonstrating a guitar-playing fluency well beyond her years, her on-stage presence is made all the more remarkable by her endearingly reserved and minimal on-stage banter. She seems comfortable, but predominantly humble about her clear success, and from asking each member of the band to provide a “fact for the day” to telling the unlikely story behind the name of her debut album, the atmosphere stayed relaxed and inclusive.

She demonstrates an impressive skill, as a musician as well as a songwriter, and the songs are personal, honest and at times, genuinely affecting. 

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The Twilight Sad - Ruby Lounge (10th February)

★★★★★

Having just kicked off the tour with a frenzied show in their native Glasgow, frontman James Graham reminisces: “…we came back to Scotland, and we played in a place called Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, and it was my Mum and Dad, and four of our friends that were at the gig, yet we were in New York the week before, playing to about a hundred-and-something people in a packed out venue”. The journey thus far has not been meteoric, but with steadfast honesty and a clear dedication, The Twilight Sad have gradually built up a die-hard and adoring fanbase.

Despite ditching the accordion because “it broke”, the new album does little to build on their trademark melancholy shoegaze, but this has never been a problem for Twilight Sad fans. In fact their consistency is their most impressive achievement, showcased in an ear-splitting and intensely heartfelt set. “One thing I’ve liked about what people have said about the new album is that it’s pretty much unmistakably a Twilight Sad album… I’m glad that it came across that way” says Graham. “People go through ups and downs, and you need to go through them to appreciate the ups, and I think dark music can be uplifting as well”.

Crowd-pleasers ‘And She Would Darken the Memory’ and ‘Cold Days from the Birdhouse’ from their stunning debut Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters blended sweet vocals and solid drums with a fiercely distorted and amorphous guitar that surprisingly loses nothing in their reduced instrumentation onstage. The set is fraught and monumental, though judging by the crowd’s reaction it seems like they’re preaching to the choir.

On the band’s growing popularity, Graham says “I thought that was quite a cool thing, that people wanted to know who the fuck we were. Worse thing is they still don’t know who the fuck we are.”


http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2012/02/21/live-the-twilight-sad-ruby-lounge/

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Marcus Foster @ Deaf Institute (25th November) - Mancunion

★★★★

“I guess I became a hunter quite young, I just for some reason became obsessed with it,” explains Marcus Foster of his love for discovering music. A lifelong fan of Tom Waits and John Martyn, Foster’s music belongs to a different time, and his on-stage presence borrows from an age of vocal theatricality and brutally honest performance.

When I caught up with Foster before the show, he described how his sound came about. “A few years ago I thought I wanted to make a kind of folky record, then Mumford came out and this whole folk thing started happening and I guess I naturally kind of found the electric guitar again.”

“I guess the kind of music I like listening to is primarily about the voice. The voice kind of carries everything, whether or not you play different characters... like the sense of someone just feeling it, the ability to tell a story.”

“I like honesty, people that just go for it. Music that just smacks you in the face, I like that.”

And go for it he does. Undeterred by an unfortunately sparse Deaf Institute crowd, and accompanied only by his own guitar, Marcus Foster holds no punches. His confidence is admirable, and certainly refreshing, but his insistence in pushing every song to its emotional limit makes for a slightly confusing experience.

Of his wide-ranging influences, Foster says “It’s dangerous to be so wide sometimes, it can be like you’re just trying to bring too many ingredients to a recipe, I mean ‘we’re just going to make beans on toast, put the pineapple away...’”, but he’s got nothing to worry about. His weather-beaten voice convincingly lends itself to the old Folk, Rock and Blues he channels, and for those of you still rifling through Oxfam for Alan Lomax compilations; Marcus Foster is well worth a visit.

http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2011/12/05/feature-marcus-foster-deaf-institute/

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Sonic Boom Six @ Moho Live (15th October)

★★

Teenage ska-punk gets a bad rap. Unfortunately, through all their pseudo-political rallying, and 'give yourselves a massive cheer' hyping, Sonic Boom Six didn't do much to dispel its reputation. The night was kicked off with an unexpectedly anarchic and brilliant support set from local hardcore ska-punk hooligans Stand Out Riot, who made good Moho Live's reputation for intense and intimate local gigs. The contagious enthusiasm and brutal confidence of lead singer and trombonist Francis Hunt translated to sheer hedonism in the crowd. In terms of a live experience, especially for a support band, it doesn't get much better.

After such an intense warm-up act, it felt strange to be apparently the only one let down by SB6, who played an enthusiastic but unconvincing hour of angsty, forced and pretty unremarkable tunes in uniform 'I Heart MCR' t-shirts and trucker caps. As a quick look at the crowd makes clear, it is music made for teenagers, designed to be frustrated over at home, then cathartically screamed and fist-bumped to live.

Between distinctly average songs, their on-stage presence consisted of repeated and shameless self-promotion, lazy crowd-pleasing soundbites (there's only so many times you can chant "sound of da police" without wanting to set fire to someone), and the odd manageably political outcry to get everyone all good and angry.

Despite all this, there is something to be said for the show. The introduction of each song sparked huge cheers of recognition, and letting the crowd choose from their back-catalogue was pretty well received. They're not changing the world, but anything that gets a crowd as enthusiastic and damn-near reverent as this Moho Live crowd seemed to be must be doing something right.

In their final song 'Back 2 Skool', lead singer Laila K preaches "...soon I know you never leave the playground", which was pretty unfortunately appropriate to a disappointing set.

http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2011/11/15/live-sonic-boom-six-moho-live/

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Clock Opera @ Sound Control (10th October)

★★★★
Playing an inexplicable second fiddle to Chapel Club’s flat-out uninteresting headline set, those who managed to arrive early enough were rewarded with a fierce and genuinely exciting half hour from experimental synth-rock titans Clock Opera.

Apart from a quick introduction, the band didn’t seem to be too interested in crowd interaction, but the all-too-short set contained enough diversity and raw power to draw their admittedly sparse audience in.
Frontman and songwriter Guy Connelly’s delicate voice bears a definite resemblance to Elbow’s Guy Garvey, but the thunder behind him points at something a hell of a lot more elemental. At times the painstaking sound manipulation on the pre-made samples brought to mind the wavy psychedelia of Feels-era Animal Collective, which only serves as a testament to their songcraft. Their over-reliance on these samples may have put some purists off, but the pot-bashing, crazy-dancing stage presence was more than enough to keep the audience hooked.

Samples aside, Clock Opera can also boast a pretty impressive musical proficiency. The drums were sprawling but thoroughly grounded, and Connelly’s voice was haunting and powerful in equal measure, expertly backed by precise and deep harmonies.

Closer and most recent single ‘Lesson No.7’ started off a with a spooky, chiming manipulated guitar loop and gradually built to a furious bass-heavy hurricane that drew the set to a pretty colossal conclusion.



http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2011/11/11/live-clock-opera-sound-control/

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