By Jon Milton
Earlier this week I posted in social media about there being quite a few excellent charity compilations out there now, supporting NHS Charities and other causes such as #saveourscene. The subject of that post was ‘Owed Summer’, a fantastic compilation of 10 very promising bands from Manchester, which you can buy here. Today marks the release of two more quality compilations ‘Stay Home: Independent Musicians Against Covid-19’ and Group Therapy Vol. 1. Both bring together a substantially larger collection of artists, with the former the debut release on the Fishbowl Events label, and the latter one that I’ll cover separately in its own right at a later date. The ‘Stay Home’ album straddles a wide range of alternative music genres, including indie, punk, psychedelic, pop and more, bringing together unreleased material, live performances, demos and old releases. For a paltry £8 (digital) or £15 (CD + Digital), you get a massive 42 tracks and exposure to some excellent new artists, and most importantly you’ll be helping NHS Charities at the time when they most need you, as all profits from the project will be going their way. Five established artists that immediately catch the eye are Helicon, Kundalini Genie, Black Market Karma, Psychic Lemon and Black Doldrums who all contribute excellent tunes, but there is also a veritable feast of other quality psychedelia to gorge yourself on in Ghost Dance Collective, Hey Bulldog, Vulpine Smile, Dorothy Vallens, Frankie Teardrop Dead, Snakes Don’t Belong in Alaska, Ghost Patterns and Eastwood’s Eye. Other highlights include the art rock of Sherbert Files and the lively indie of Sophie Kilburn, Pet Hates, Daniel Armstrong and Dorcha. The album also has the good sense to end with some experimentation from Forest Mourning. At a guess there must be over 3 hours of tuneage here, which is an absolute bargain. Here’s the bandcamp link, what are you waiting for?
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Just ahead of their excellent new single 'Mr Motivator' being released this week, Mark Glenister asked Mark Bowen from IDLES about how he's finding life in lockdown... Firstly, how are you? How are the rest of the band as well? I’m very well thank you. As far as I know the rest of the band are good too. Do you have a daily routine, are you learning anything new as everyone else seems to be? I am looking after my kid as my wife is working, so I am very envious of people with the opportunities to learn new things. My daily routine is getting up at 06:30, exercising, looking after my daughter, cooking, then once she goes to bed I make a terrible attempt to write new music, do interviews, band stuff and try to learn French, I’m in bed by 21:30 most nights. Are you seeing this lockdown as a time to be creative? And has it changed the way you view the industry? All time is time to be creative. I guess we have to be more creative as we try to find ways to get our music out there that aren’t the normal touring, interviews and being able to meet people face to face. Seeing our fans in the eye is important to us. The industry has changed, forever, the damage done by covid-19 will be profound and long lasting. As a band are you doing anything for the fans? A lot of online gigs and Q&As seem to be the norm for a lot of bands, how easy or difficult is that for you as a group? We are always trying to do something for our fans, we have to, it is important for them it is important for us. It has changed things, as we normally focus on touring, playing live is the most important thing for us, now we have to adapt and stay in charge of the ways in which we can communicate with our fans that we still have some control over: releasing music, social media, other forms of content. With no apparent end to the lockdown, does that effect plans for tours, singles, albums? Yes, there will be no touring until we are allowed to, as soon as we are allowed to tour, be sure we will be on the road. Our album is finished, we are not the kind of band to sit on something like that, we always want to move forward. As a fan I know how much I miss going to gigs, for the music and for the social aspect, is this something that you miss as well?
Playing gigs is one of the most important things in our lives. We usually play north of 150 gigs a year, I have no idea how to do normal life without them. How important are your fans at this time, I know and I speak from experience, a lot of merch is being purchased to help bands, and I know you have a great connection with fans generally so are they an important aspect of getting through this? Hugely important, it is how we are surviving. Our fans by and large are wonderful, generous people. We want to do all we can to give them material/content/whatever you want to call it that they deserve. Despite horrors of this pandemic, the lockdown seems to have a created a lot of really positive community action, and for once social media is being used mainly in a positive manner – Do you want life to return to normal once this is over, or would you like people to be using this time to evaluate their lives and start be part of communities and positive social change? It is a tremendous opportunity to change the entire way society operates, it should be a big reset button, that changes the world for the better. Unfortunately, we have a quick fix incompetent tory govt in power. We’re fucked. We can, however, change on a community level, within our families and wider community to effect real change Next up: Mark speaks with Sit Down In our Bands in Lockdown interview today, Mark Glenister speaks with Connor, Toby and George of Saint Ivy Firstly, how are you? How are the rest of the band as well? Connor (front man) - Hey, were all doing as well as can be, hope you are doing alright . We’re staying positive and optimistic for the future and can’t wait to get back into writing new material and playing shows again. Do you have a daily routine, are you learning anything new as everyone else seems to be? Connor - As for a daily routine that has gone out the window , I’m pretty much spend my days / nights writing new songs and lyrics for the band ! I think this lockdown will definitely effect the whole lyrics writing process with the isolation affecting how I write and head space . Toby (drummer) - As far as daily routines go they have somewhat gone out of the window, it’s different for all of us as we live in different areas around Cheshire and obviously can’t see each other at the moment. Most days are spent trying to be as creative as possible, finding inspiration though means of films and documentary’s and trying to improve musically. Writing without the full band is hard but we have all been creating and noting ideas as-well as sharing them over video calls. Other days are spent just relaxing and enjoying the time off with the family I have around me. Motivation to be creative comes and goes and that’s just how it is. · Are you seeing this lockdown as a time to be creative? And has it changed the way you view the industry? Connor - Yes 100% I’ve been recording demos of songs we’ve had for ages but haven’t I had time to fully focus on , and I’ve been writing new music most days too ! I’m finding it pretty difficult to find inspiration to Lyrics at the moment without the day to day normal life and socialising, but I do think this lockdown will have an effect on how I write I miss going to gigs and supporting the local scene around Manchester. George (bass) - Yeah definitely, it helps to see it as a time to be creative. We’ve got this unlimited time frame to do everything you wouldn’t normally have time for if you’re going to work every day. Even though we’re inside it’s like this freedom to get new stuff and start experimenting. The main focus is music but it’s not just that. It’s reading new books, hobbies and whatever else you find yourself doing to pass the time. It has changed how I view it in a way, but it’s for more of a positive than anything else. I used to think of the music industry as this unstoppable machine then something like this comes along and put things to a halt quite easily, but everyone’s been able to adapt live performances by doing online gigs instead. People need music and this shows it, it brings people together in times like this. so I can’t wait to get back to it. Photo by Joe Berisford
As a band are you doing anything for the fans? A lot of online gigs and Q&As seem to be the norm for a lot of bands, how easy or difficult is that for you as a group? How has this impacted your side projects? Connor - Fans as well as friends and any other type of support is always the most important thing and it’s what drives you and keeps you going. Obviously it’s harder to engage and entertain our fans at the moment but by keeping our socials updated with photos and videos and talking to our fan base we hope they understand and stick with us until we can all be together again Toby (drums)- We have recently done a few acapella/multitrack videos of some of our already realised song so maybe in the future we might possibly release some new music this way. The shared band room is still being used as a studio to track demos and ideas and maybe from there some more music for our fans will be produced during lockdown. It’s quite hard for us to do live stuff because we’re all separated, and everyone’s equipment is there With the lockdown being extended, does that effect plans for tours, singles, albums? Connor - Yeah 100% we’re meant to be recording new music and releasing a new EP with Nile Marr in Manchester which has now been pushed back along with all gigs which have been cancelled but everyone’s in the same boat at the moment really But I feel we’re going to come out this stronger as a band. George- It’s definitely affected our plans. We wanted to have some new music sorted and released before the end of the year. We had quite a few gigs booked up until September but they’ve been pushed back, so now we’re not sure if we’ll ever play them. It’s like a waiting game because nobody knows when the industry will be back to business as usual. As a fan I know how much I miss going to gigs, for the music and for the social aspect, is this something that you miss as well? George (bass) - Yeah I massively miss gigs. It’s one of the best things ever and something to look forward to all week. I miss seeing my mates and playing music with them, and the social aspect. You get to meet loads of new people and make news friends. That’s all part of it and it’s been taken away. We just keep on until it’s all back to normal. Despite horrors of this pandemic, the lockdown seems to have a created a lot of really positive community action, and for once social media is being used mainly I a positive manner – Do you want life to return to normal once this is over, or would you like people to be using this time to evaluate their lives and start be part of communities and positive social change? George (bass) - I want there to be a new normal. I want the industry back, but this online community spirit has to keep going. It’s brought everyone together even when we’re so distant, so it shows what good is achievable through social media platforms. Next up: IDLES We welcome a new writer to the site, Ian Smith - a lover of anything psych, from the '60s to present day and a music maker in his own right with his band Vanishinglines. To open his account with the blog, Ian met with Halo Noose, who have recently released their 'Magical Flight' EP. Maybe I’m biased but this sound has found favour with me since 1989. Lou Reed once said ‘One chord is fine. Two is pushing it. Three chords and you are into Jazz’. Halo Noose, hailing from the garden of England, have grasped this concept and this is their first offering. This EP sounds like a very personal concern and is all the better for it. Opener ‘Magical Flight’ sets out the EP’s stall with treble-heavy power chords, fuzz, reverb and repetition. ‘Cinnamon Garden’ takes up the baton and runs with it while ‘Fire’ adds melody to the mix. Loop would appear to be the most obvious influence but this is not pastiche. There is an Eastern feel to the vocals of The ‘Noose and each track flows nicely from one to the next. ‘Kaleidoscopica’, ‘Rollercoasting Your Mind’ and ‘Slow Motion’ are the final three tracks and the best to this writers’ ears, loose tremolo grooves based around simple structures. It takes balls to try and plant your flag in this genre and this EP is a fascinating start. I caught up with the driving force behind the band, Stuart Moorish, to find out more about the EP and the background to the band. Your name will be a new name to a lot of people. Please tell us a little about the history of the project.
A couple of years ago, I converted my attic for a 32-track Home recording studio and started writing and recording when I found the time. I wrote a dozen or so songs and things started to take shape. Halo Noose emerged. ‘Magical Flight’ EP is my debut release. I feel an affinity with the sound and I’m hearing a late ‘80’s influence. Let's get the ‘impossible to answer’ question out of the way: How would you describe your music? I’m a big fan of the late 80s independent music scene and late 60s psychedelia. Heavy Psych Rock would possibly be the genre, but there are so many sub-genres these days so I'm not too sure.The sounds of Halo Noose has a downtuned unique blend of hypnotic grooves throughout with fuzzed out progressive rhythm sections,psychedelic vocals and flowing lead guitar. How and where is the music recorded? As a solo musician, you have to have a plan and stick to it. A lot of time is spent on trial and error as I have to work out all the parts. Intro, verse, chorus, bridge, turnarounds, breaks, lead sections etc etc. When the song begins to emerge, I work on blending the rhythm, lead and vocal sections together. Sometimes I listen to the track the next day and throw it out as it doesn’t seem to feel right. I have a 32 track studio in my converted attic and that is where I do my recording. I also mixed and mastered ‘Magical Flight’ as I wanted to learn each stage of music production. ‘Magical Flight’ was recorded on a low budget allowing my own total control. This release is available on Bandcamp and people are allowed to name their price. How has this been going for you? Very good thanks, Ian. I’ve had quite a lot of donations and feedback since the release. I've been asked for physical copies, but I need more requests before I can remaster the EP for CD or vinyl. I’ve met some really good people on the way so far. A big thank you to them. Unconditional. There is also a lot of support from all major social media platforms and YouTube sites promoting the EP. .All the feedback has been positive so far so that’s a good thing. I'm not a big social media user and I'm not in it for the money.I just want to write music and connect to peoples lives with my sound. It’s a music thing, man. It feels good as a listener when you put a song on that feels the same in you. Do you have plans to play live (Lockdown permitting)? I would like to take Halo Noose on the road if there is a need for it.That would be a great time for sure. I've been in bands and studios, so I know what it takes to play live. I’ve had offers to play gigs. Right now the project is in its early stages but it would be fun to see how playing live pans out. What are your plans for the future? I’d like to do a record company-funded full on studio recording. An album or two maybe with my own engineer. I reckon it could work out fine. Due to having a lot of time on my hands right now, I’ve started recording a new 6 track EP, which hopefully will be released later this year. The obligatory coronavirus question. How is it for you? Not very good, is it. Good and bad days for me and mine, Ian. Things will never be the same. Hopefully we all go back to what we are REALLY here for. Only time will tell. I remember the good old days of being under constant threat of worldwide nuclear annihilation. Now we have Covid19. Everyone will find it strange to adapt as I believe we all have a personal situation to harbour during and after the lockdown. In today's Bands in Lockdown interview, Mark Glenister talks with Joe from Avalanche Party about Lockdown life, getting on with writing album number two and his views on celebrity sing-a-longs. Firstly, how are you? How are the rest of the band as well? Greetings! As a group we’re good. I’m personally good. I share a house with my brother Jordan but obviously not seen the other guys in a long time. Infact I think this is probably the longest we’ve all collectively been apart. Some of us are still getting paid during this from our day jobs, some of us are self-employed so it’s weird, but collectively we help each other out if needs be. Surreal times to be in but we’ll pull through. Heave-ho. Do you have a daily routine, are you learning anything new as everyone else seems to be? There is a lot of DIY and French going on. Make of that what you will. Are you seeing this lockdown as a time to be creative? And has it changed the way you view the industry? Absolutely, and in more ways than just trying to write music. Because we still work day jobs I’m personally pretty used to trying to use whatever free time I have in between shifts. I work in a pub/hotel so it’s fairly long unsociable hours. To have more time to use, whether it is writing, or being able to watch more films, read more, paint more, cook more, exercise more, whatever it is, is great. For us it has been nice to have that extra time to use however we like. We’ve got work to do. But also I feel it is important to add, in a reference to one of your previous questions, is that it is also ok to just chill. I personally know a lot of people who work sometimes seven days a week or whatever, and work hard at it, and that is what they’re used to. It is also fine in this current climate to go from that to literally just recharging and relaxing. Reflect on a fruity cider if you must. Whatever you want. Industry wise it doesn’t really change how I view it, which is that it is an already tough, every changing, surreal, mental, brutal, everyone kinda makes it up as they go along industry, other than it’s gonna be tougher. We’re friends with, and have played a fuck load, of really great small, independent venues which are really gonna struggle during this. I think that is, personally, the main worry. We as a band, and countless others, will be around after all this but if there is no venues for us to play we’re all fucked. So it’s fucking important we all support those venues and ventures and pull through collectively. As a band are you doing anything for the fans? A lot of online gigs and Q&As seem to be the norm for a lot of bands, how easy or difficult is that for you as a group? How has this impacted your side projects? We are writing album two. Maybes three as well. Who knows. No plans to do any Lennon covers however. But again, who knows. We might do a full band stream but with us all playing different instruments to normal. Folks often wonder why people call Glen “The Octopus” and once you see him play drums you realise, that is indeed, one of the reasons he goes by that alias. Photo by Jason Ferdinandho
With no apparent end to the lockdown, does that effect plans for tours, singles, albums? Not especially. It’s also a bit early to say if they’ve reeeeeally been affected. Touring can always be rearranged. We’d set aside some time this year to write the next album anyway. Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to record that this year. The only real thing was festivals over summer, loads are being cancelled and it is highly unlikely any at all will go ahead. We only released our debut album last November so would’ve been nice to play some of that at the festivals for the first time. OH WELL. Giddy up. We’ll still be a band after this has passed, and right now there is more important shit going down, so who gives a fuck about our plans. They’re on ice next to the margheritas. They’ll happen when they can. And when there is no more margheritas. As a fan I know how much I miss going to gigs, for the music and for the social aspect, is this something that you miss as well? Absolutely. We always try to go to as many gigs as we can when we have the opportunity to do so. It’s a prime social for us, whether it’s just us going to a gig as a band that we’re not playing, catching mates play, the promoter, the guys who run the venue or whatever. Kinda goes back to what we mentioned before about supporting all these people when it is finally safe for us all to do so. Gonna be needed. The last gig I went to before this lock down was god dang it bladdy awful too, so the slate needs cleaning. How important are your fans at this time, I know and I speak from experience, a lot of merch is being purchased to help bands, and I know you have a great connection with fans generally so are they an important aspect of getting through this? They’re vital pandemic or no pandemic! Lots of bands like ourselves use the money earned from selling merch, records etc to fund further projects within the band. That can be touring costs, a new video, new recordings etc. But yeah of course when bands aren’t able to earn playing live the support from fans is much appreciated. Speaking of, you can buy our album from www.avalancheparty.com. Thank you very much. Despite horrors of this pandemic, the lockdown seems to have a created a lot of really positive community action, and for once social media is being used mainly I a positive manner – Do you want life to return to normal once this is over, or would you like people to be using this time to evaluate their lives and start be part of communities and positive social change? It’ll be interesting to see what normal will be after this. It’s clear the last normal was a crock of shit and there is lots that could be discarded or amended for the greater good. Hopefully a sense of community will last once this blows over, maybe it will. There has been a great rallying call to support each other around music. Maybe Joe Public will hold to account the murderous incompetence that has been a constant farce throughout it all. Fuck knows. The sooner however that we can be done with simpering, posturing and patronising celebrity sing a longs on Instagram the better. Do a duet with HMRC you berk. Next up in this series, Mark speaks with Saint Ivy |
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