By Antonio Tzikas

Porcelain Raft is the new project from Italian born Mauro Remiddi, a man with a vast and eclectic musical background ranging from scoring films and fronting indie bands to working with traditional music in North Korea. His debut ‘Strange Weekend’ has been garnering acclaim the world over after its release in January is currently being toured throughout Europe. He talks to Musos Guide’s Antonio Tzikas about the success of his release and life on the road.

Let’s start from the beginning. How long ago did you begin recording under the name Porcelain Raft, and did you have any specific sound or vision in mind when you began the project?
I began the project almost 2 years ago but I’ve been always recording at home since I was 15, with my portable cassette recorder. The image I have in my head changes, it develops constantly like a big construction site, a kind of work in progress, where the structure is there and it’s up to you to imagine how it’s going to look once it’s done. The image I have in mind leaves space for you to see what you want to see.

Strange Weekend has emerged as one of the most promising early contenders for album of the year, how long was the record in the making and how did you find the challenge of recording a full length?
I composed and recorded the album at the same time, there was no pre-thought material. The idea was to create a snapshot of me at that moment; I had just moved to New York and so much was happening. I wanted to compose on the spot because I wanted the album to sound like me at that moment in time. I wanted brilliant moments with laid back, almost tired vocals, but also some moments of insecurity as well. I didn’t want the album to be all strong and shiny, I wanted it to be a portrait.

You recorded ‘Strange Weekend’ in a basement flat in Brooklyn. What was it like recording in a basement environment?
Well, upstairs was my house and in the basement were my all instruments and mics. Being in the basement meant I could be loud when I needed to be, I could play drums and sing properly without waking up my loved one. I wouldn’t call it professional, trust me!

Recording away from a traditional studio environment has seen the record placed under the ‘bedroom pop’  umbrella and it’s been likened to M83 and others under the ‘shoegaze/dream pop’ banner. What do you think to comparisons and categorisation of the record and how would you personally describe your sound?
I think writers and people in general have fun categorising things and describing them and there’s nothing wrong with that. The more invisible something is, the more fun it is to describe it, it’s like tracing directions on a map. Whatever you want to call my music is fine by me. Anything that is written about it right now will be forgotten in a couple of years anyway. The only thing that lasts – if it’s meant to be – is the music.

There is an eclectic mix of styles and genres running throughout the record. Which bands or artists have had the biggest influence or impact on your sound on this record?
I think my influences are unconscious ones. Things I heard when I was small. Those are the things that stick with you forever. My father had this album called Phantom of the Paradise, it was a soundtrack, lots of different styles in it. I use to listen to that a lot when I was small. In general I don’t think I ever went “Let’s make this song sound like this band I’ve heard”, that would be so boring. I’m not a carpenter that makes chairs and wants to imitate your chair. I work on a building site and I need to wear a protective helmet, things fall down sometimes.

You’ve been touring across the US, UK and Europe so far this year and have more planned in the months to come. How has life on the road been treating you and how has the response to the shows been so far?
The response has been great, people come earlier to see my shows and the venues have been sold out. I’m touring with M83 at the moment and they have been very welcoming. It’s hard work but when you are surrounded by great people it makes the experience all the more worthwhile.

Do you feel the sound of the record translated into a live setting well and do you like having the freedom, if you wish, to tweak and change songs night by night whilst touring?
The interesting thing is that the songs on the album really start to develop while on the road. I recorded them in a hurry, on purpose, to catch a moment. So when I began touring them they felt so new to me. It’s only now that I’ve started to digest them and begun to understand them properly, so yeah, the arrangements do change a bit and my vocals as well…it’s like something that grows right in front of your eyes.

Are there any UK festival appearances planned for the summer months?
I’ll be at Bestival and End of The Road for sure…

What does the rest of 2012 have in store for Porcelain Raft?
You should ask 2012 that!…Please let me know if you ever get the chance to interview 2012!!! I can tell you what Porcelain Raft has in store for 2012 though, more songs!

And finally…do you have your eye on any emerging bands or artists that you can recommend we take a listen to?
I like Oupa (the solo project of Daniel from Yuck), I also like I Break Horses and Julia Holter. I should listen to more music but I barely have time, you should be recommending something to me!

Thank you for talking to us Mauro, and good luck with the tour.
You are very welcome.

Porcelain Raft will be appearing in London on the 26th March at The Lexington, before departing for the US and Canada until the end of April in support of Youth Lagoon.

By Charlotte Gay

Doug Stanhope has been doing stand-up comedy for over 21 years. The American’s style ranges from “true-life” graphic perversion to “volatile social criticism”, but whatever he chooses, you can guarantee it will be an alcohol fuelled evening for both Doug and the audience. Before hitting the road, Doug took some jet lagged time out to speak to Charlotte Gay about his upcoming tour.

Hello, how are you?
I’m not sure if I’m drunk or just over tired. Speaking of drunk, we need more ice and Schweppes bitter lemon.

[After getting his drink]

Right. Now we’re good, we’re cooking with gas as they say – no one says that, but I said it.

Well that makes it all OK then, I’m ringing from Bournemouth and I was just wondering – have you ever actually performed here before?
No I don’t even know exactly what you said, “Ball-mouth”? No I’ve only performed in like Manchester, London and Liverpool.

So this is going to be a pretty extensive tour for you then?
Oh yes, I said my goodbyes to my friends and family in case I don’t make it back, that’s how extensive it is. Just remember me… I always loved you…

Well you said you’ve never played Bournemouth before, but I’ve heard you really hate London – why do you hate it so much?
Yeah I hate London more than anywhere in the world. I’m just claustrophobic, it’s the same reason I hate New York, it’s just too many people crammed into too small a place… overpriced… shitty… It’s terrifying.

Luckily for you this is a seaside town, so I don’t know if you like the beach?
I can’t imagine a beach here I like. I cannot imagine a beach in the United Kingdom that in March that I go “Ooh it’s a beach”. I live in Arizona so we just left 80 degrees in February.

You’re just making everyone jealous now. So whenever you’re over here I guess you’re wrapped up as much as you can be.
Yeah, but I love small towns and I am really excited to do this tour. There are places that even my manager who’s from here hasn’t even heard of! I think we’re doing like 38 different towns and if you suck, you get out of that town immediately the next morning – you’ll never see those people again,
that’s what the road’s supposed to be.

Are you hoping to collect some interesting stories along the way?
By the time I have finished at the Apollo Hammersmith, late April, I better have a whole new act off just this tour.

So what’s it like being an American Comic to a UK audience? What’s the reception usually like?
They’re a lot more polite. I don’t even think I like that. American audiences are as dumb as shit, they’re just clapping monguloids, screaming and yelling but you know they like you right away by their response. Here it’s like doing dinner theatre. You have to acclimatise to the audience. You just think you’re dying on your ass, sweating bullets and everyone’s just staring at you blankly and at the end you get a standing ovation. Then you’re like why are you doing that now, why didn’t you show me you liked me during the show?

Give you some confidence at least?
Yeah, they’re more polite people but I’m not accustomed to polite people.

So would you prefer it if people become hecklers?
Not over here because I usually don’t understand what the hell they’re saying!

Like speaking in riddles?
Yeah, you don’t know if they’re on your side or what. But they are smarter, definitely a smarter audience so it’s a challenge and it certainly makes you work harder!

So you prefer performing over in America then?
If I only worked in America I’d just be a tool! Over here it makes me work. Like New Year’s Eve – I’m going to go on a diet and join a gym and that’ll only last a couple months and then you’ll get fat again. That’s what I do over here. I come over, I work really hard to try to be funnier – actually stare at notebooks and put effort into my act – and then I go home and get fat off of stupid American audiences.

I think everyone’s going to love hearing that over here! So you’re known for having a drink in your hand when you’re performing, do you have a particular ‘performance’ drink?
On stage I drink beer normally, just because I know how much alcohol is in it but at home or offstage, like right now, I’m drinking vodka because I like it. I like a mixed drink but you can’t do that on stage. You’ll be like ‘Gimmi a vodka soda’ and then they put 9 shots of vodka in it, and all of a sudden you can’t speak 30 minutes into an hour show.

Have you had that happen to you a lot then?
Yeah I’ve learnt not to do that now, but my fan base is very forgiving, my audience knows I am a reckless drunk, so if on some occasions I am too drunk to talk they think it’s funny. I could just go up on stage and soil my pants and vomit and I would get a standing ovation for it.

When was the last time you did a sober gig then?
The last one I remember was around 2003, it was like a mixed bill, I only had to do about 20 minutes and it was at a college. They weren’t drinking because they were only 18/19 years old.

Now for us over here that would be legal, they would be straight on the beer.
There is nothing worse than playing for a sober audience. I remember that show specifically going ‘Wow I can’t remember the last time I did comedy without drinking’. Now I make sure that they can drink too!

Is that going to be the only requirement from an audience, make sure you’ve had a few drinks in
before you get there?
There have been a few shows where I’ve walked out. There was a theatre, which I guess you would say was posh, they could drink before and afterwards out in the lobby, but they couldn’t have alcohol. So then I come out with three beers under my arm and a tub on stage and I realised after a few minutes – what’s wrong here – and then I realised no one is drinking and I just started handing out all my beers like some Red Cross going ‘Oh please someone, I can drink and you not!’

I’ve been on your site a few times and am I correct in seeing that you did a bit of paedo baiting after talking to people on chat rooms?
Yeah that was hilarious! Someone had a site where they had done it and after someone sent me a link, I never laughed harder in my life than reading that stuff. So I emailed them and said ‘Hey if I tried this would you put this on your site?’ and they said of course. It’s the only stuff I have ever done where I have laughed at my own shit.

So do you still do it?
No, now I look back and go where did I have that kind of time? Because it would take you so long just to get one good thing, I used to spend like 14 hour days baiting paedophiles. Back then I had the time. Now I go when did I have 14 hour days just to sit around doing nothing.

[He coughs loudly and apologises]

I’m Val Kilmer from Tombstone, that’s a little bit of tuberculosis coming at you.

So a lot of people in the UK probably know you best from featuring on Charlie Brooker’s Screen Wipe, what British comics do you admire?
Now you’re just setting me up because I am going to forget one. Glenn Wool, but then he’s not even in the UK any more. Jim Jefferies, he was an Australian who I met in Edinburgh but he now lives in Los Angeles – I’m missing England completely. Nick Doody – I dunno if I’ve ever seen Nick Doody’s set. Reginald Hunter D. is very funny. I’ll tell you who I hate.

Ok let’s go for the hate then.
Matt Kirshen, he’s a brilliant comedian but we had a personal falling out, where my girlfriend and Matt Kirshen… umm… well enough said. It almost came to a… well it did come to blows but it almost came to arrests. That was the last time I was here in August at the Leicester Square Theatre. I’m not a fighter, and he isn’t either but we were drunk and something happened and we got bloody and then the cops came. I think they let me go just because I am American and it was too much paperwork. But if you wanna put out the olive branch, because I haven’t spoken to him since and it was really ugly. Matt, what happened between you and my girlfriend and our physical violence… I forgive you and I hope we can be friends again because [you are] a brilliant comic.

I hope he gets your olive branch. That’s clearly a very personal thing to reveal. Is your stand up filled with such personal stories?
Probably as much stories as I have some nit-wit opinions which I blather on about. I’m not a big fan of my comedy, you have to know that.

So you wouldn’t watch yourself if you didn’t know who you were?
Oh fuck no!

Ah, that’s not the best promotional selling point now is it?
Nah I wouldn’t. I’ve been doing it for 21 years, I’m just kinda bored with it, and I’d rather see someone else. If you haven’t seen me for 21 years then yeah come to the show. Maybe you’ll be amused, me – I’m kind of tired of it.

Doug’s tour starts today! Dates are as follows:

Friday 16th March – St George’s Concert Hall, Bradford

Saturday 17th March – The Winding Wheel, Chesterfield

Sunday 18th March – The Lowry, Salford

Wednesday 21st March – Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent

Thursday 22nd March – Pavilion Theatre & Ballroom, Bournemouth

Friday 23rd March – The Alban Arena, St. Albans

Saturday 24th March – Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

Sunday 25th March – Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

Tuesday 27th March – Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh

Thursday 29th March – Aberdeen Music Hall, Aberdeen

Friday 30th March – Kings Theatre, Glasgow

Tuesday 3rd April – City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds

Saturday 7th April – Portsmouth Guildhall, Portsmouth

Sunday 8th April – Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol

Tuesday 10th April – St David’s Hall, Cardiff

Wednesday 11th April – Orchard Theatre, Dartford

Thursday 12th April – Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea

Friday 13th April – Anvil Arts, Basingstoke

Saturday 14th April – Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge

Monday 16th April – The Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

Tuesday 17th April – The Engine Shed, Lincoln

Wednesday 18th April – Reading Concert Hall, Reading

Thursday 19th April – Dorking Halls Theatre, Dorking

Saturday 21st April – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London

By Charlotte Gay

Folk singer-songwriter Seth Lakeman, most famous for his Mercury nominated album Kitty Jay, has returned back to the scene with a new found freedom from corporate record companies. His soon to be released album, Tales from the Barrel House, is something quite different, with the recording of one track taking place in the heart of a coal mine. The Devonian musician took some time out from his bow shredding antics to chat to our own Charlotte Gay before his upcoming gig at The Old Firestation in Bournemouth.

So Seth, you’re playing The Old Firestation in Bournemouth in the next few weeks, have you played there before?
Yeah we are, never played there before, I have to say I went there when I was a bit younger about ten years ago when it was a club, I dunno if it is still is.

Ah yes it is still a club, but often welcomes different bands and artists to its stage. So what kind of reception are you expecting to receive, have you got a regular fellowship who usually come along?
We play a kind of high energy acoustic folk music with lots of banjos, fiddles, guitars, double bass and percussion. So it is quite high energy but it should suit the venue quite well and we don’t play in Bournemouth very often so it’s a good chance for us to get there.

You were saying about performing a high energy performance I’ve heard you’re apparently quite good at some bow shredding, I love that phrase.
There is quite a lot of bow shredding I guess, there are a few strings that break on stage as well but generally it’s just something that if people like to have a drink and enjoy a bit of a dance they can come along and just check out what’s going on with five pretty fully on acoustic musicians. It’s an exciting evening definitely and the tour’s been going really well.

This tour is obviously overlapping with the upcoming release of your new album, I grabbed a copy the other day and it’s really good, I’ve been listening to it whilst out and about. I’ve noticed you’ve gone for a much more back to basics feel, what made you want to strip back to this vibe?
I think it was more the way it was directed. When I started writing the songs, they’re pretty much stories about professions and people who work with their hands and I kind of felt that I wanted to record it in a location in a place that suited those stories and subjects. The concept happened with me recording all of it with one microphone in this workhouse called the barrel house in this old heritage centre on the Tamar valley in Devon and Cornwall. Because of that, it sounds pretty stripped back because I did it all myself, kept it quite singular as an idea and approach.

It definitely sounds unique, where about’s in Devon and Cornwall was it recorded?
It was in this place called Morwellam Key. It’s literally how it was left, is it bizarre the way the record has evolved. I used all sorts of percussion in the surrounding room, so in the song called ‘Blacksmith’s Prayer’ there is an anvil [and] a pick axe, and also in the song called ‘More Than Money’ I actually went down into the mine and recorded it there in a chamber about 500 meters into the ground.

I was going to say, I bet it was a health and safety risk assessment nightmare with all these axes and anvils around.
It kind of was, but it was ok. We didn’t take too much down there, well we couldn’t physically. We went down there for a quick recording for an hour and then came back and listened to it through these speakers we had set up in a workshop and it sounded really good, perfect for the style and the theme.

What was it like actually working down there; I mean there must have been lighting, but was it weird to actually be recording down in a mine?
It’s pretty spooky; there is no doubt about that. Everything was documented on videos and there is stuff hitting around on our website, people have actually documented what we were doing because it was quite unique and left field. It’s worth checking out actually. Being down there was of course quite a spooky experience and something I enjoyed, but it was also good to get out when we did.

Was it your idea or something that was put forward to you?
No, it was all conjured up by my eccentric self.

I’ve also heard you’ve performed at Dartmoor prison? So not quite the same as the disused mine but was that weird or just like any other kind of audience?
Yeah I have, back when my career kicked off really with Kitty Jay so that would have been about six years ago. It was a very daunting prospect for me and I almost freaked out and I couldn’t do it but I got through it and they all really enjoyed it because one of the guys, one of the inmates, was actually joining us for the last few songs so that was quite a bit of a surprise and we got them on our side.

Oh that’s good, what was it in particular that you were nervous about?
Performing in Dartmoor murder base in front of inmates of the prison is just an uneasy sort of situation.

So you were saying that this album was very much based around capturing the tales of others, what made you want to tell their stories rather than your own?
It’s just something that I am interested in. I’ve always been fascinated by the way people work and the way they dedicate themselves and how sometimes that has been lost. It was almost to pay tribute to them and also I am quite interested in local history, so not to sound too much like a geek but it’s something I quite like.

Do you think it is something people should be proud of, their local history?
Absolutely, I think it’s incredibly relevant today. With the way technology is moving on people are [becoming] more impatient, moving quickly through life, forgetting the past so much, and I think it is important to reflect. [T]he past is almost as important as the present.

We were talking earlier about Kitty Jay, which of course was nominated for a mercury music prize - quite an accolade – but do you feel it has set quite a high bar for yourself?
It’s not something you should and you can worry about. Obviously it is a wonderful and flattering thing that helps your career but generally it’s not something you can use as something to head for. You can’t use it as a direction, you’ve just got to go with it and kind of accept the way people see that and make music that feels natural afterwards. I think music can sound contrived when you are trying to meet commands of others, and the way they perceive you. It’s a weird one, I’ve definitely done that before but that’s why I feel ...Barrel House is having a new breath of wind, it is a bit more natural and people seem to like that.

Do you think splitting from your old record companies like Relentless and Virgin Records has helped you feel less contrived?
Definitely, I know that Virgin Records would not have released this record, they wouldn’t have liked it, and it’s not commercial enough. I think the biggest thing for me is was when I signed with EMI I was working with Relentless and they were a small company pushing hard on folk music and being brave with the genre. But then I was transferred over to Virgin – I didn’t have a decision on that. Unfortunately you have to compromise with a pop label. Suddenly being on this massive pop label with Katy Perry and Gorillaz, it was a massive team which was spread and didn’t understand what I was doing. So it was very nice to get out from that because it definitely wasn’t the right place for me. But sometimes you are tied in and I was definitely tied in for that record. The fact they let me go is a really good prospect and certainly without that I wouldn’t have made the Tales from the Barrel House.

What are your thoughts on the last few months’ resurgence in the popularity of folk and country music? Do you think overall it is quite difficult to get people interested in this type of music?
I think it is pretty mainstream now, I have to say it is very much electro pop or acoustic, like Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling, Ben Howard, Frank Turner. I really think it is one or the other, for guitar bands it’s not really their time right now. Investment certainly from big companies is going to the electro pop or acoustic singer songwriter world. I would say it is probably the most exciting time for folk music.

Do you think that is going to bring your music into the limelight a bit more?
It’s opened doors for me, I’m doing a gig with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which is something I think I’m pretty privileged to be able to do, and the last people who did that were Elbow. It’s going to be quite exciting. I don’t think I would have a prospect like that if there wasn’t so much light and attention on what this genre is achieving.

Have you ever worked with any orchestral music before?
This is a new one and unique for me. I had a rehearsal with them and it’s something that 90% works, it’s just quite epic.

What is the last 10% that’s needed?
It’s very nearly there. It’s 30 minutes of music so it’s quite a lot to get together.

Before you embarked on solo work, you used to be in a band with your brothers, the Lakeman Brothers, what made you want to breakaway and do your own thing?
I think it’s just directions of where you are writing, we’re all pretty headstrong and the way we all write is quite different. We’ve all got different ideas of how to make music. We still work together every now and then, Sean, my older brother, is on the road with me and he’ll be playing in Bournemouth. When we grew up we were in a similar headspace and playing off each other but obviously as you get older you like to make different kind of stuff. The song writing I was going for was slightly different to what they wanted.

Do you find having a musical family is helpful for your writing?
Definitely, all I get from them is critique. But I think it is important, you’ve got to be as critical as possible because that is the only way you’re going to get better, right? That’s what I’ve always thought – cruel to be kind I guess! I am massively hard on myself when recording but you have to be don’t you? But also as well as that you don’t want to make anything that is too sterile and too thought about, so there is a process of just leaving it to breathe a bit.

Seth and his band will be touring the UK throughout March:

20 March – Bournemouth – Fire Station

21 March – Cambridge -The Junction

22 March – Sheffield – The Plug

23 March – Cardiff – Coal Exchange

24 March – Leamington – Assembly

We Are Augustines by Julia Stryj

By Julia Stryj

I arrive at the Picturehouse in Edinburgh to interview We Are Augustines just after their sound check for their gig as support to Frightened Rabbit. When I meet the “lovely and beautiful” (I am sure that is how bassist Eric Sanderson described her very correctly in an interview I listened to) Arwen, their manager, she apologises right away and tells me that everything is running behind schedule. The band hasn’t even started their sound check yet. Billy McCarthy (vocal/guitar) comes up to us to say hello and to offer me to help myself to a drink from their room. Arwen and I talk about the band and other music related matters and watch the sound check. The band had to borrow some equipment from fellow support band Fatherson as a lot of their own gear is in a van on its way from Brussels to Milan (two of the places where they are supporting the Maccabees), so a good sound check is crucial. Bringing the gear over to Scotland would have been too expensive as they already had lots of excess luggage. This is one of the signs where the band stands financially. But missing an opportunity to perform live wouldn’t have been an option.

Shortly after Arwen shows me the band’s dressing room, Bill enters and I find myself asking him the first of my questions as we are talking about accents and picking up regional dialects, him as a Californian in New York and me as a German in Scotland.

Where do you call home?

BM: At the moment I have a really difficult time with that. I don’t feel a spiritual, intellectual or physical connection at all with NY. It’s a very savage, obnoxious place.

So, you are planning to move?

BM: Yes, I am trying to. I think I needed a challenge in my younger years. I value authenticity and I wanted the struggle. But now that I am working so hard things like stamina are really important…

The rest of his answer gets drowned in the squeaking of the door opening when Rob Allen (drums) enters the room.

Have you got any idea of where you want to move to or is that what you struggle with?

BM: I thought of maybe doing some writing in other places. I actually like Scotland quite a bit and I’d love to do some writing here. I moved to New York to be near Europe. I was like “oh, it’s only 6 hours”. But I didn’t realised I’d be so poor all the time.

It is an expensive place to live.

BM: Yes, it is, it is the most expensive place in our country. 

Introducing myself to Rob brings us back to the subject of picking up accents.

BM: My theory is that when you want to be understood, when you want to make your point without any issues or problems, you start adopting the quickest way to get your point across. That is what happened to me in New York. In New York instead of “this party is ridiculous” they’d say, “fucking ridiculous this party is”.

After Eric Sanderson (bass) also joins us I ask them how the tour is going: Their own and the one supporting the Maccabees on part of their European tour and whether they prefer supporting another band to being the headliner.

RA: Both have their pros and their cons. The pros of headlining are that you get to play longer and the people are there to see you. But the good thing for me personally about supporting, especially bands like the Maccabees who are really nice people, is when you go up to play first you get a little bit more time to see the city that you are in and can talk to the people.

BM: And also I think, that physically you can last longer. You can have longer tours. It is only 30 minutes every night, when it is an hour and 30 minutes your body starts to ache, like you get elbow problems… It is just the instruments hanging on your body every night.

ES: We like to move around when we are playing.

Do you still have any contact with the other members from Pela?

ES: Yes

BM: One of them had children. That is one of those things in life where you are so happy for them. But unfortunately they had to move to a different state…. It is hard, it is really hard, because this thing (WAA) is starting to take us away for a long period of time. And we personally have to accept that friendships kind of have to wait right now. It wasn’t easy discovering that or figuring that out. But I guess this is what we are doing at the moment.

And you are obviously doing it well.

BM: We try.

You must be really pleased. From what I have been reading, you show it on stage and I can see it just now. You have huge smiles on your face; you must enjoy what you are doing. Where do you get your motivation from to continue and not to give up?

ES: From People! People writing us, who have seen us or have heard the music. We get letters everyday from somebody. We just got a letter today from Guatemala. A lot of the letters are very inspiring. They give us energy to carry on. Especially at the early stages of the band, when there was little to no momentum; those letters coming in from people to tell us to carry on and keep on moving. That is where we got the momentum from. And now there is a lot of momentum, but the letters feel just as good. But we also get to play live and that is where people can come and see us and talk to us. That makes it all worth it.

BM: I think also the record, the songs mean everything to us. And I think sometimes when you either have an incredible good or bad year, it is momunental in either way. There was a pretty big moment in our lives and I think we were just trying to respond to it. And I think one of the ways that we dealt with everything that was going on was by focusing (on the record). It is really funny: In America there is a thing called Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Basically if they endured some kind of tragedy through people driving drunk it allows them some instant community. They can talk they can network. It gives them a focus in their lives. And that is the record trying to be like.

ES: Yes, absolutely

BM: It is like a central healthy place for us to focus our energy.

The record sounds great and I am really looking forward to hearing it live as I heard and read that it is a completely different experience. It must be hard to play those personal songs live again and again. I know Billy said it is like “shouting out your journal in the middle of the street”

BM: That is probably the closest thing I can describe it as.

I know you feel strongly about issues like homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse. What do you think the government could/should do to help with those issues?

BM: That is a very big question. You know we were just in Holland and I was looking for a sleep tablet, as I hadn’t slept in 2 days. And you know in America you can buy them at a gas station. And they said it was illegal in Holland you had to go to the doctor. And I thought “wouldn’t it be nice to go to the doctor”. In America it is a fact that none of my friends can go to the doctors. We don’t have healthcare. I was injured a couple of years ago and I think it was 700$ just to be seen, not even to get medicine. But if you are a drummer, or keyboard player, or trumpet player or poet, you don’t have 700$. That is your rent. And that are able-bodied people who are working. Imagine you are disabled and you live in a project or a ghetto or you have a drug problem and live on the street. What I would like the government to do is value these people. If you don’t have upward mobility or you don’t have mobility and you are stuck, be it in your mind with a mental illness or disability. It is very sub-standard health care and help for them. They don’t have an easy time and I wish our government would change that.

We just had an email from Canada and it was a guy talking about mental illness in his family. And he said it was mental health awareness day in Canada – Amazing! We can learn from other countries on how to live and help other people and not just earn money and have two cars.

ES: That’s the thing. When life is that hard and there is no resources or opportunities it is very easy to turn to substances. I mean you can’t go to the doctor to get drugs, so you find your drugs on the street. And those drugs are highly addictive and un-regulated. Next thing you know is you are starting that downward spiral. That is very easy to get involved in.

BM: The numbers aren’t that clear, but I think there are 200,000 homeless people in Los Angeles.

That is a lot of people. And it could be worse; you could be in Sao Paolo or something with crime. But in a first world country that is unacceptable.

That brings me to drug addiction (including alcohol). Obviously prevention is key, how do you think that could best be dealt with to work against this downward spiral?

BM: There are different levels of drug use. There is college drug use, there is someone sitting at home, quietly smoking a joint, like they are doing in Holland. But then there are those that Eric was talking about. Those who are sick and not well and who are using it as medication. I don’t know if there is anything that you could do about it. In California they recently de-criminalised marihuana. So a lot of people who are terminally ill can get it. It used to be that if you had Aids you could get access to it. It seems like, now if you are sick you can get it, so it is not a big departure. I mean nobody is getting killed over there, so…

ES: It is so tricky though, because the minute a government force tries to step in they can create as many problems as they are trying to solve. One thing that Billy has talked about a lot and I thought about a lot is on a human level, not on a government level, but on a human level.

It is like recognising that homeless people, people with substance abuse. That it is not necessarily that they choose to be there. They are not bad people. And I think a lot of the times people look at poor people, people without much opportunity, or people who have lost themselves to drugs. They look at it as if it was their fault. And most of the times it is not their fault. They were given a bad hand in life. And it really takes an exceptional person to overcome the struggles that they are faced with on a daily basis. A little bit of humility and compassion can go a long way. Passion can go a lot longer than government policies.

Yes, and the average person walks past any homeless person and thinks get up and do something.

BM/ES simultaneously: Get a job!

BM: It is really true. I guess in closing on that subject: It is somebody’s son, brother or father. It is somebody’s mother, sister, daughter or aunt. If you look at it that way, have a little more humanity for that situation.

One thing I am not 100% sure is where and how you met Rob? I guess you met him in the UK?

RA: No, I live in the states, I live in New York. It is funny before when you asked about Pela and whether we still kept in touch. Well, I basically know the old drummer, Tom. I have known him for a long time. We lived together. And that is how we met. They were doing a duo and they needed a drummer. So we did an audition and rehearsals and within two weeks we were playing London. It was that quick. That was about a year ago. I think they have been counting the days.

ES jumps in: 357 days

Laughter from all of us

Where does the eighties influence come from in some of your songs (like ‘Chapel Song’)?

BM: I think the eighties were a very melodic time. I remember all the jingles, I remember all of the TV show songs, I remember the radio. And I think it was the one-hit-wonder era. We were talking about it today. You could be The Fine Young Cannibals and have one song that was good and the whole album was shit. And they would sign you and you would go on tour.

So you wish you were a band in the eighties?

BM: What I like about it, in a weird sense it was absolutely poppy. But there is also like two different eighties. There is the as we know the eighties, like Cindy Lauper. But then there is also an underground eighties, which is very important. It’s like the nineties; there was the Nirvana nineties and the Squirrell Nut Zippers or Creed… Terrible… Creed….

If you did anything else apart from music what would that be?

ES: You mean happily?

Yes, I am not asking what would be your worst job. Is there anything else that you feel passionate about apart from music?

RA: I’d say nothing. If I can’t play music I’d be a tour manager or a tech. I’d do something that was at least involved in it.

ES: This is what I do and if I am not performing or be in the studio I’d be somewhere. May be teach, don’t know. Never tried it.

BM: I’d probably work with people somehow, probably with people that needed support. I was working with disabled people a little in the last couple of years. I enjoyed that. Also, I am very passionate about immigrants and their lives and what they go through.

I know Eric said that We Are Augustines was named after your own personal August theme, but that he had looked at some of the quotes of St Augustine, which were very powerful. Is there any one that stands out in particular?

ES: To be honest I am not very good at quotes. But I think the general consensus that I saw, which I really liked is that it had a lot to do with consciousness and humanity. And those are two themes of ways of beings that are very important to the band.

Do you have a motto in life as a band or as individuals?

BM: Eric was saying something to me. Whenever things are very difficult and you don’t know what to do. Eric and I have sort of developed our own vocabulary. He said: Just be the best version of yourself that you can be. You don’t have to be perfect; you don’t have to work miracles.

ES: Just try.

BM: It’s like when you are not doing well, that is not a good version of you. But you should strive for that.

ES: And it is amazing because that is something that Rob shares whole heartily as well. We try to do that as much as we can. You always get tested when you are in difficult situations or you haven’t slept or you are in a stressful situation.

BM (slightly angry at the fact that Fatherson were still sound checking): I’d like to point out that we didn’t even get to play one full song and they have already played four. Sometimes you are too nice, I can’t figure this out. Like I am an arsehole and that doesn’t work. I am nice and that doesn’t work.

And you guys don’t even have all your own gear, so you should get extra time.

ES: The middle slot is always the hardest. Because these guys (Fatherson) will have everything set up and once everyone is cool walk off.

BM: If they play another song it is there fifth song, we played three half songs.

RA: We don’t know what their setup is…

BM: You drive or fly to a place and then you only get a half song to sound check. I don’t understand this environment at all it doesn’t make sense. Sorry…

He then adds with a big smile: And again be the best version of yourself and if people wanna walk over you, I guess that is what they are going to do.

ES: Or sometimes just standing up for yourself.

BM: Yes, I did that the other night with the hotel (looking at Eric), you know the four Euro ice water. I tried to explain how I didn’t think that was fair. I don’t think he agreed.

ES: We asked for ice water and we got tiny bottles and they were four Euro and he didn’t tell us before that they were four Euro.

BM: The thing is the one before that had free internet, beautiful breakfast

RA: Corner window

ES: And it was the same price

BM: Yeah, and this one: You have to pay for Internet. I don’t understand that

ES: We are struggling with Internet service right now. We are used to having it on our phones. And it costs a fortune.

I know, I don’t understand that either, how it is so different from country to country and hotel to hotel.

BM: But in England specifically it is like £5 for 5 minutes in a hotel that you have paid for

ES (laughing) to me: This is what you want to talk about right?

Ok, let’s go back to my questions then. Who inspires you musically or in life in general?

BM: I think this year Charles Bradley. He is a 62-year-old singer, who just put out his first record this year with some people in Brooklyn called The Daptones. They did Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse I believe. They are very like Soul guys, true to the art form. He does this really beautiful soul. He was a cook. He’s had a bit of a tough time. He was in a James Brown cover band when they found him. He is an amazing performer and he is one of those guys. I enjoy movies or stories or things in life that make you look, I feel like people are all in their own bubbles and if you look inside their bubbles Charles Bradley really does that. He makes you look at 62-year-old cooks differently. Cause you are like WOW.

And you know usually we have this kind of youth worship in the entertainment industry.

ES: But then he comes our and he makes those kids look like kids.

How did you come across him? Is he quite big in the states?

BM: He is picking up some popularity now. But it’s like I admire him and I also admire the people that believed in him to put money into his career. Those are the silent good guys.

Ok, I’ll just ask one more question to let you get some time off. What is your biggest achievement in life so far?

RA: I can say it: Being here with these guys. Hands down.

ES: I have one, but I am not too sure if it is too personal… Fuck it, I’ll say it. When we started recording this record we borrowed money from a lot of people. The record was recorded twice. We had an initial plan and then we re-invented ourselves and we had to do it again and again, so the money kept going up and up. And one of the people that gave a tremendous amount of money was our old drummer Tom that we talked about earlier. And after the band broke up we essentially made a pact and promised him to pay him back with the work that we would do to put the record out. He is an outstanding man and he believed in us. And he patiently waited. A couple of months ago we met up with him at a legendary drinking hank and we gave him a cheque of the full amount. It was a very emotional day.

BM: I think what is it you are happy that you have achieved? I am very proud that I got myself around the world and that I am a world citizen. That is the biggest achievement. Where I am from there is nothing wrong with the people that I grew up with but I don’t think that they had any desire to go anywhere outside of the region that they were from. There was no consciousness that it was ever spoken about that we were part of a larger global community.

And without any education and without any money I got myself around the world and I learned about the world through meeting people and I am really proud of that.

Well done to all of you and as I said before, best of luck to what is lying ahead of you! But it sounds great and promising. And I can’t wait to get my hands on the album (Rise Ye Sunken Ships). I already asked Arwen why we have to wait so long for it to be released here.

RA: Not too long now.

ES: What’s today’s date?

RA: February 10^th. Less than a month.

BM: Thank you for your time, I hope I didn’t seem too grumpy in between. I do get grumpy sometimes.

When I ask Billy for a personal favour after the interview the other two are starting to take the piss out of him and laugh. But I couldn’t have asked for a nicer reaction from Billy to my request of writing his motto down to hopefully inspire a teenager in care. Even more so as it meant keeping Bill from his girlfriend (who he hardly sees while touring and was desperate to spend some time with) a bit longer. I could have chatted to the guys for hours and they certainly never gave me the impression that they wanted to stop.

Sondre Lerche

Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche has been releasing albums now for over a decade – since 2001′s Faces Down, he’s released six albums plus a soundtrack for the film Dan In Real Life. Earlier this year, he released his latest, self-titled LP. He recently took some time to answer questions from our very own Charlotte Gay – he discussed the musicians who helped him bring his newest record to fruition, early inspirations and his song-writing process.

For those out there who haven’t heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

SL: I have tried many times but never quite got it right. My easy answer is that it’s pop music but to most that might seem misleading. It’s old school, juicy song-writing but the sound of that can be so many things. I give up and leave it to others to describe. I probably won’t agree with that either.

You’ve recently moved to the States. Do you think that this move has affected your latest album?

SL: I’ve actually lived her for 6 years so it’s not a recent thing but this is the first album I’ve recorded in New York where I live so it was a real kick to stay close to home and make use of some of the talented friends I’ve met here through the years.

Your new album is out now, how do you feel it has turned out? Do you feel that you’ve found a definitive, ‘realised’ style?

SL: I’m very proud and connected with it and I’m glad I have an audience scattered around out there, who are invested in what I do and who try to get into it even though I make it difficult sometimes. It’s a very candid album to me, so maybe it’s not so tricky to access as some other ones I’ve done. I wouldn’t know.

What made you self title this new album after already creating many albums?

SL: I couldn’t find a title so I left it open and/or self-titled. It wasn’t supposed to be a big statement but I feel it fit the album and the narrative, so what the heck.

The new album was made with a little help from Midlake, Spoon and Regina Spektor’s band. How did they contribute? What were they like working with?

SL: Well, it was made with members and of these bands, not the entire bands. That would be cool but excessive. And Jim from Spoon doesn’t actually play on the album, but we worked together on some really cool songs in his studio that may see the light of day sometime as part of something else. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to. He also introduced me to Nicolas Vernhes who co-produced and recorded the album. As for the guests and players, they all contributed a great deal to the album, whether they are in famous bands or not. If not I would have taken them off the album. I’m pretty cold that way. But I’ve got some really amazing performances from these people. It’s a blessing.

After finding out a little bit more about you, it seems that your song writing process is solitary process. Was this a process you adopted for your latest album too? Do you think you could ever work in a band where song-writing is a shared part?

SL: Yeah, song-writing is something I do all alone. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to include anyone else into that process. Mind you, there are other ways to compose a song and I may take part in that for other purposes but for my own stuff it’s a ritual of loneliness and it’s very frustrating and ultimately very rewarding, so I’ll stick with it.

I was surprised to find out that you thought of MTV as an inspiration for you as a child. It seems that usually MTV has a negative response from musicians about its influence. What about it did you particularly enjoy or find inspiring?

SL: When I started watching MTV it was November 1989 and I was like the fat kid invited to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Music was my only interest and at this time MTV played actual music all day. Some of it was great, some of it was terrible. I wanted it all, it was so exciting. They played Nirvana side by side with the new Donald Fagen video, then some Euro dance trash and then Prince. It was awesome.

You’ve written for not only yourself but for film soundtrack Dan In Real Life. When writing for film, did you find you had to go on set or similar to absorb the atmosphere of scenes?

SL: I spent a great deal of time with the actors on the set, and it really helped the process of composing the score and the songs. It was quite an adventure as I hadn’t composed music for film before so I took it all in.

Breton

Breton have been impressing us with EPs and live shows since 2010 and the band are currently gearing up to release their debut album early next year on Fat Cat and embark on their first UK headline tour. The South London-based act a little more like a collective – living and working together, creating film and visuals to go alongside their music – in both instances, they seem to overflow with ideas. Jane Corcoran recently put a few questions to band member Roman Rappak for us.

Muso’s Guide: How would you describe yourself and your music to people who haven’t heard you yet?

Roman Rappak: Our music is the product of listening to lots of hiphop, and going to see live bands no one has ever heard of in tiny, broken down old venues in London. Also going to squat parties where the sound-systems could go much louder then is legally allowed – to the point where you can’t hear anything.

We also have always made films, for ourselves, for indie film festivals and for other bands. We are obsessed with music and films, and why things work the way they do – I guess these songs and films are our way of trying to get our heads around things. I still don’t know why a chorus works – or why certain moments in films make me feel the way they do, but I guess that’s what makes it a fun thing to explore.

MG: You’ve got a really unique and interesting sound. Who influences your music and who are you listening to at the minute?

RR: I hear music from lots of different sources. Some of them are musicians, and other producers, some are kids that run blogs, some are journalists, and various other people that just listen to shitloads of music.

Everyone talks about how technology has changed the way we write music, but one thing I feel isn’t often highlighted is the revolution in journalism, and how music is written ABOUT. At one time you had to have a job in the music business to be plugged into new music – your reward for working as an AnR for a massive label, or writing for a big magazine, was that you got sent new music all the time, and a steady flow of vinyl though your mailbox meant that you knew exactly what was going on.

Now you can be a completely isolated from all that, but know as much about what is happening in music as the editor of a music magazine, just by owning a laptop and having a sense of curiosity about music.

That’s where the Internet has changed things. It’s changed journalism, which is the main point of communication between artists and people that want to listen to music.There are blogs I check every few days that have probably about 20 subscribers, and through them I have discovered the most amazing music.

I have a playlist of Sun Glitters, really rare Hudson Mohawke and some Plaid, but have been listening to old Talking Heads tracks, and Cabaret Voltaire.

Breton – the Commission by bretonlabs

MG: You’re touring with Ghostpoet at the minute, what’s the reception been like?

RR: It’s been amazing. People who are into Ghostpoet seem to be really open to new music, and a lot of his fans are the people I mentioned above. They are really switched on and seem to be able to get what we do quite easily. It’s a real pleasure to play in front of an audience like that – they are genuinely curious about what we do, and seem to be able to get into it pretty quickly.

MG: What can we expect from your live shows?

RR: We try and make the shows a snapshot of everything we do. Each track has its own short film that our VJ edits live – not abstract “screen saver” psychedelics, but actual short films and documentaries we have shot.

We also use lots of found-sounds and field recordings. I like the idea of driving into a town to play a show, and sampling the sounds that are specific to that area, like trams or the dial tone of the telephones, and using them in the set that night – it means there is a sense of familiarity with the music, and a connection between the sounds we work with and the audience we are playing to.

MG: Do you use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to keep in touch with fans? Do you think the accessibility to social networking makes it easier or harder for artists to increase their following?

RR: Twitter and Facebook highlight something about music which I love: exciting music always has a very personal quality to it. You listen to a piece of music and you engage with it on such a personal level. You take your own interpretations and meanings from it, and they are just as important as anyone else’s.

In that sense this social media thing is an extension of that. You can hear some music, absorb it in your own way, and talk about it publicly in whatever way you want – people create their own landscape without being drip-fed recommendations from big magazines and TV networks, like they once were, they can make their own interpretations of the music and lyrics. It’s a cliche, but people who listen to music have a lot more freedom at the moment, and word of mouth has more power then ever.

MG: In one way it makes it easier for people to find out about you but on the flip side do you think it increases the competition because most bands/artists use it as a way of putting themselves out there?

RR: I’m not really that concerned about competition. All I ever wanted for this band was a platform to show people what we do, and to be able to write a song and get it to lots of people. I don’t see us as “competing” with other artists. Everyone’s opinion and work is just as valid as our own, no one is “better or worse”. The only thing an artist ever has to worry about is if their ideas are effective or not.

MG: Which track of your own is your favourite? Any track that you most enjoy playing live?

RR: ‘Edward The Confessor’ is really fun to play live, and also seems to work really well with the visuals we have shot for it.

MG: Any favourite pedals or machines?

RR: Native Instruments Maschine honestly changed a lot for me. I try to never start a song the same way. So on the album I tried to use a variety of starting points. A couple I started on Maschine and then got the band to learn them. Writing electronic music and then getting humans to play it can sometimes have really interesting results. Ian in the band makes synths, a few of these appear on the record.

We recorded in Sundlaugin, which is a studio in Iceland owned by Sigur Ròs. It’s also where they recorded nearly all of their albums, and all their equipment is there. I found an old Mini Moog and recorded lots of extra parts that I then took back to London.

MG: Who would you most like to collaborate with?

RR: DJ Premier, Battles, Flying Lotus, James Murphy. I could probably go on forever. I always feel like I learn a lot when I collaborate with other musicians.

MG: You’ve toured in Europe. Do the crowds and reception differ to the UK?

RR: When we played in Paris recently we played in La Gaiety Lyrique, which was amazing. The audience all sat on the floor waiting for us to come on, then as soon they saw we were starting, they stood up and came to the front. It was a bit like an indoor festival, French crowds take their music very seriously.

MG: Your debut tracks on Fat Cat were recorded at Sigur Ros’ Sundlaugin studio in Iceland. How did that come about?

RR: Alex who runs the label thought it would be interesting to take us out of the Lab, where we record and live – the idea was to take the songs to a different part of the world, and see what kind of an impact it would have on them.

It has been really interesting watching them grow. Some of the songs have synths that were recorded in the vaults of a disused London bank, then vocals and drums that were recorded in a converted swimming pool in Iceland, then a string quartet recorded in Berlin, and finally the whole thing was mastered in New York.

MG: When can we expect the album?

RR: Late February – as soon as we are back from the US dates.

Find Breton on Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo. Breton’s AA single ‘Edward The Confessor’/'Kensington System’ is out now.

Jono McCleery

By James Blake

An air of anticipation fills the charming basement venue at the Queen of Hoxton in East London. Soaring strings silence the audience as Jono McCleery takes to the stage to launch his new album There Is. The crowd have already been soothed by Jess Bryant and treated to a rare bluesy-acoustic set from fellow singer songwriter Jamie Woon. Before excitement levels had reached this climatic peak, I caught up with Jono to discuss how the album was put together and what the future holds for the London based artist.

This is your album launch and your first headline slot you’ve done in London. How are you feeling and what have to done to prepare for tonight?

I’m really excited. We’ve got Jess Bryant band and Jamie Woon supporting and they’re both musicians that I love so I’m really looking forward to playing. I’ll also be performing with a full strings section for the first time so that we can recreate the tracks as closely as possible to make them sound like they do on the record.

How did get to work with Ninja Tune and start producing There Is?

I got signed to Ninja Tune because they heard a remix that Fybe had done of one of my tracks and loved it and suggested that we should collaborate for an album. Once we got going I wanted to add strings and my live band to the album so it became quite ambitious but we eventually got to a stage where we felt ready to release it and tour with it as much as possible.

While you were working with Fybe (Greg) and Matt Kelly did you ever struggle to fit everything you wanted in some of the tracks? Was there anything you had to compromise with?

We all had a really big creative impact on the album. I’d have little ideas that I’d send to Greg who would add beats to them, we’d send them onto Matt to arrange the strings on the tracks. All the time we’d try to put our own different perspective on things without each other’s input then we came together and added the live band to create the set of tracks we ended up with.

How have you found translating There Is from studio to the live setting?

That’s probably been the hardest part of all really. Greg did certain things with my guitar that have been tricky to replicate, it’s taken nearly a year to learn how to play the songs the way they sound on the album. It took a long time but I’m really grateful for it because it meant I’ve had to become a better musician to be able to perform the tracks well enough.

The album seems like a natural progression from your previous work. Was the writing process intense or did you let a body of work build that you were happy with before heading to the studio?

Well most of it was written for the album so it was quite an intense thing, it took a couple of years to do but I really wanted to be inspired and motivated to put together new work rather than relying on old material.

There’s a lot of that sort of thing going on at the moment like James Blake and Jamie Woon, whose supporting you tonight. Were you conscious to put your own stamp on the electronic singer songwriter brand as it were?

Well I didn’t go out aiming to add to that scene. When we started making the album those guys hadn’t released their stuff and we thought we were onto something a little bit different but it’s ended up being in part of this new genre which has annoyed me a bit to be honest!

Then again, I’m really happy that we’ve got loads live instrumentation on there which does set it apart form a lot of that stuff.

What is it about this genre that you think works so well and has found itself slipping into the mainstream recently?

I think it’s the intimacy. There’s a lot of intimate electronic music out there that suits the moods, and the atmospheres of a normal singer songwriter just possibly adds something that you can’t achieve with a guitar, harmonica or piano.

You’ve managed to combine so many influences into the album. Vocally you go from Bill Withers to Jeff Buckly to Gil Scott Heron while Nick Drake is heavily referenced by your guitar playing. Did you have any trouble combining all these styles into the album?

No not at all. I’ve been listening to those guys’ work for such a long time know that it just seems to come naturally to me. I listened to a lot of soul music when I was young so there’s always been that aspect to my voice but it took me a while to be able to merge other influences.  I’m sure there was a time when I sound like just one of them, like Nick Drake for example. Now though I’ve got to an age where it’s become a lot more natural for me to do. I’m really pleased when people can pick out all these different inspirations.

You supported one of these influences in Gil Scott Heron. How was it and did he pass on any words of wisdom?

No! I would have loved him to but we only really got to say hi to each other because he was so busy. I’ve kept in contact with his agents since and hopefully I’ll be heading over to America in 2012 to do some shows because of it. It was a lifetime ambition to support him and I was really lucky to do so. I’ve always concentrated on the next step rather than the big over all goal, so it wasn’t something that I ever actually envisaged doing. It was an incredible achievement but it also came as a big surprise.

So what is the next step after tonight’s album launch?

We’re booking a tour in France for around 15 dates, they’re receiving the album really well over there so I’m looking forward to that. Also, we’re getting some good radio play in America at the moment so I’d love to get out there and play some shows. I’ve never been to America but we’re getting a really good reception over there so I can’t wait to see to how our live shows go down over there.

Jono McCleery’s There Is is out now and he plays London’s 100 Club on November 30th.

We caught up with the brilliant, brilliant CocknBullKid at Latitude festival, to talk about her writing for popstars and her own album, Adulthood:

Muso’s Guide is working with Vodafone VIP across festival season, be it live-blogging, video-interviewing artists, Tweeting (we’re at @musosguide) or reviewing weekends in handy snapshot form.

Vodafone VIP is part of the VIP programme for customers, and Muso’s Guide is taking on official music blogger status at some of the summer’s hottest festivals. There are currently competitions running to win tickets to Latitude, T in the Park and Wireless, with more to come over the summer.

The Vodafone VIP experience extends further too – there’s a Vodafone VIP area across fashion, festivals and Formula 1 over the summer, a viewing platform giving customers shelter and brilliant views, a recharging truck capable of charging 2,000 phones at once and selected apps allowing festival-goers to see what’s on and where, locate their tent via GPS and plan schedules for their weekends.

Visit http://www.vodafone.co.uk/vip to find out more.

EDM

By Charlotte Gay

EDM – the band formerly known as Early Day Miners – release their new album Night People on September 5th on Western Vinyl in the UK and Europe. As they geared up to release a record that has seen not just a name change, but also seemingly a change in approach to the way they write and record their music, the band answered a series of questions from us via email.

For those out there who haven’t yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound and set up?

EDM is primarily a 4 piece group.  We have a drums set, a couple of electric guitars and a bass.  There is singing and sometime synthesizer.  We tend to expand the material in recording and we like to collaborate with different people.

The sound of the music is not simple to describe.  We tend to draw a lot of influence from English music of the ‘70s and early ‘80s.  That sensibility is well integrated into our personal backgrounds in post-Seattle American punk culture of the ‘90s.  On a subconscious level, we all bring some of the traditional musical energy from  where we all grew up in the USA- the midwest, the southern gulf shore states and the soutwestern desert, respectively.

What are you currently up to at the moment?

Preparing for some performances to support our new record Night People.

Before, and during the beginning of EDM, lead singer Dan Burton: you used to be a part of band Ativin, and now your drummer Glenn Kotche is a part of Dreamers of the Ghetto. Do you feel that side projects have any kind of interference on the work of EDM?

Dan is in school right now, and he lives in Baton Rouge and the rest of us live in Indiana, so there are periods of inactivity with EDM.  Our different creative projects are not so much of a limitation for us.  I think we’ve encountered more problems arising out of personal issues involving resources, family, careers, relationships, etc…

Glen Kotche is the drummer for Wilco.  Dan has worked as an engineer on recordings by On Fillmore, Glen’s group with the great bassist Darin Grey from St. Louis.   Marty Sprowles is the drummer for EDM, and he plays in Dreamers of the Ghetto.

Stereo / Video by EDM (formerly Early Day Miners) by western.vinyl

You’ve been working together as Early Day Miners since 1999 and have brought in many different band members over time. I believe you described it as ‘musical cooperation’. What do you feel are the positives, and negatives, of having many contributors?

This has worked best when Dan works on recordings and then puts a band together to play them.  You benefit from a solitary vision of the recording of the material.  It gives a certain focus to the project that carries over in to performances. The Offshore record was a culmination of this approach.  Afterwards, Dan wanted to bring more of a collaborative energy to the initial creative process.  We started work on the next record, The Treatment by taking the core group into a recording environment, with little or no material, and began experimenting.  This really opened up a whole new musical palette for the group , but it was also a challenge to figure out what to do with all of our new discoveries.  Having four cooks in the kitchen during that phase of a project can be complicated.

Do you feel that having rotating members has affects your output, or do you think you retain a similar sound regardless?  If not, does EDM like having lots of different variations in style?

We have been a pretty solid core for the last two records and most performances for several years.  Regardless, I think as artists we tend to be influenced by people who grow and develop while maintaining aesthetic unity throughout our work.  We tend to look pretty deeply into the fundamental components of music.  From that perspective, I think there is a lot of continuity in what we do and it’s easy to hear.  I think we are at a point of extreme disposability in music culture.  Lots of music is made that tries to reference particular styles in a way that is ultimately superficial.  People consume music in an unconscious way, responding more to media and marketing than the actual soul contained within.  Like I said, EDM is a group of pretty intense record collectors and recordists. I think similar minded people recognize the group’s aesthetic as being consistent and individualistic, but they also appreciate the expansive and experimental nature.

What are three musical influences?

Brian Eno, Section 25, Spacemen 3

What are three non-musical influences?

Bourbon, Cormac McCarthy, David Lynch

In previous interviews you commented that you enjoyed listening to bands such as Bon Iver. Who else are you listening to?

I have actually not heard Bon Iver yet, but I’ve heard a lot of good things.  I haven’t been following a lot of current popular music in the last few years.  There are so many great artists in Bloomington and it makes it hard to get excited about a lot of the ephemeral releases that seem to come and go in popular culture.  The group Fat Shadow is probably the best band in Bloomington.  Their self-released record The Foot of Love is one of the best records I’ve heard this year. I also liked Dylan Ettinger’s New Age Outlaws a lot. I’m excited to hear upcoming albums from Tammar and Racebannon, too.

There has been a lot of reissues popping up of the last few years so I’ve been revisiting a lot of old faves:  Spacemen 3, The Cramps, Galaxie 500, La Dusseldorf.  I have enjoyed seeing the Sublime Frequencies label evolve over the last several years.  I have also been listening to a CD compilation my friend John Terrill (drummer for Indiana’s late ‘70s Beefheart worshippers The Dancing Cigarettes) of Giorgio Moroders pre-Donna Summer bubblegum production relentlessly for a couple of years.

EDM - Night People

You all seem to be into having really creative album covers; I see you came in the top ten of NPR’s album covers. Where does your inspiration come from?

The current record cover is basically an homage to Section 25 and the packaging used by Factory Records.  Placer Found, All Harm Ends Here, and The Treatment all used photos that were already taken. We use an obscure and mystical process to psychically link with the responsible artists and fulfil our creative destiny.

Your new release via Cargo is coming out in the UK and US this month. Tell us about the project.

We had some demos of songs we’d worked on over a year or so.  Dan was home from grad school for  holiday break and we went to the studio and recorded and mixed a full length in five days.  We actually used a couple of old recording from sessions that had been on the back burner for a while, also.

Do you have a favourite track on the new release?

My favourite track is ‘Milking the Moon’.  It’s actually about getting a hand job in a bowling alley.

How does the new release relate to your debut, Placer Found? Are there any similarities or have you changed and developed?

In some ways, it is very similar.  Placer Found was recorded on an 8 Track tape machine.  We recorded this album digitally, but since we wanted to do it quickly, we took a more analog approach to the production.  We committed to sounds and arrangement during recording, instead of throwing down every single idea and then doing a lot of editing and automating.

I think the biggest change since the older records is the shift from having drummers that have some background with jazz techniques and using Marty who is basically self taught and has a very metronomic style.  This was a conscious decision to make the rhythm function as the foundation of the music, where before I think the drums floated on top of things a little more.

How has the balance of working a full time job and being part of EDM affected you? Do you all work alongside the band now?

Dan is in grad school in a different state right now, so that’s been a physical barrier.  We all work at jobs to live.  I have a full time job at Indiana University at the Archives of Traditional Music but they’ve been pretty flexible.   Marty and Jonny have flexible jobs. Jonny and Dan both have children, so that adds another layer of complexity to peoples’ needs and resource issues.  EDM has at best broken even over the years, but it has mostly been a labor of love.

How do you feel about your music being used on several TV shows / series? What’s your opinion on being considered mainstream?

I’m not sure of the details of what songs have been used, but I don’t think any of that exposure has yielded much fruit in terms of the public consciousness.

I think the idea of a “mainstream” is beyond myth in peoples’ minds, maybe to the point of being a mental illness.  The idea that there is some real “mainstream” or “normal” culture is a delusion.  I think people want to simplify individual behaviour into these categories and media projection is a manifestation of this.  PR and marketing are the best tools to manufacture a consensus of what is “normal” in public consciousness, and if you look at all the efforts to do so, you see it’s rarely successful. I look at all the emotional energy spent by people on how they identify as either mainstream or not, and I see that as a very convoluted way of being an individual.

After Wikipedia misinformed people that you had spilt up when in fact you had only cancelled a few gigs, how did that make you feel?

I think there were some rumours floating around locally that we had broken up, and a promoter in town who was doing one of the shows we cancelled had posted something about the band breaking up on some social media. Then it showed up on Wikipedia.  I think it was an interesting combination of small town gossip and high tech media.  I don’t think anyone was too upset, but it was a good demonstration of what sucks most about those two things, and how similar they are.

You commented on the Wikipedia mistake on your blog. Do you like to keep your fans in the know as much as possible?

Yes.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what/who would you want to be stranded with?

I would take a stopwatch, a sheepskin and a head covering.  That is assuming food and sex are taken care of.

What’s next for EDM?

Destiny.

By Charlotte Gay.

By Paul Brown

For a few months now, I’ve been excitedly looking forward to Slow Down, the debut album from Hyde and Beast, the North East super-group of sorts, comprised of Futureheads drummer Dave Hyde and former Golden Virgins member Neil Bassett. The record came out on August 15th, and as Dave tells us, has been a long time in the making: “We’ve known each other for twelve years or something, and we’ve been pretty good friends for a while, but a few years ago I was really busy with the Futureheads and kind of lost contact. We were doing our own things for ages, and then a few years ago, he was running a studio in Sunderland, and it seemed pretty perfect ‘cos I just lived round the corner from it!, We never intended to do an album at all, it was just that I’d had these few songs for years and years that I just wanted to get down.”

The songs, then, are almost entirely Dave’s, and as such reflect his own musical loves, and would appear to mark a bit of a departure from the furrow he ploughs with The Futureheads: “I don’t really listen to lots of modern music to be honest. Just old music a lot of the time… There’s quite a seventies format to the way the album sounds, it is quite old-sounding. I’d like to think it does have a little bit of something else to offer, but I understand that a lot of my influences are old, so it’s gonna probably sound like that, yeah. It’s great though, me and Neil are really pleased with what we’ve done”.

The band have started to build up some pretty positive press around their live shows of late too, and one particular gig in Manchester recently garnered a pretty sizeable chunk of attention, a large part of which was because of the unlikely support act they managed to rustle up in the shape of Lee Mavers: “It was very weird! I enjoyed his set, his guitar sounded amazing. He’s quite a legend, so it was a bit nerve-wracking to go on after him. It didn’t make sense to me at all, but it was good.” The band have announced some more shows in support of Slow Down, one of which is a slot at Sunderland’s Split Festival, an event running on September 17th and 18th which is pretty close to Dave’s heart: “Aye, it’s a festival we (The Futureheads) are running, we’re working on the day. It’s our festival. It’s our third year, we’re really excited. We all have different jobs, and mine is basically hospitality. Ross is pretty much the guy for the bands. He books all the bands. I’ve got it easy, like!”

With a line-up including the likes of Mystery Jets, The Charlatans and Frankie and the Heartstrings, Dave’s hoping to get a little time off his work duties to see some of Ross’ choices, “I’d like to see a bit of B>E>A>K, The Drums, Leatherface, Charlatans, there’s a few. It’s a pretty great line-up”. There’s a bit more to Split than just the bands though, especially for a family man like Dave: “We’ve got an acoustic tent and a kind of music playgroup, every hour there’ll be a fifteen minute lesson for kids, because there’ll be a lot of them about at the festival, so they can learn a few things whilst they’re there.”

It seems a bit early to be talking about the next record when the debut’s not even out yet, but it seems like Dave and Neil aren’t going to hang about in following up Slow Down: “We’re dying to make another one. We’ve got a whole new album on Neil’s phone, like a lot of these little ideas. We plan to put another one out relatively quickly but it’s just finding the time to do it.” Of course, there’s the little matter of the day-job to contend with too: “There’s loads of Futureheads stuff going on, we’ve got an a capella album coming out in the Autumn, so I’m going to be really busy”. He’s not kidding…