It's All Happening!

It’s All Happening The Great Escape 2012

Hello!

We want to let you in on a little secret. We are big fans of The Great Escape. Biiiiigfans. It has everything. Whether you want beautiful, delicate melodies, enormoustrembling bass lines, staccato beats or exploratory synths, there’ll be a band ormusician ready to feed these to your ears n one of the multitude of venues and spacestaking part in this, the biggest European music convention. There have been cries thatthe daddy of ‘this kind of festival’, SXSW, has sold its soul, corporate image and hipsterscenes replacing that fundamental nucleus of a festival – the music – but Brighton’sstill got it, and if you haven’t found at least one New Favourite Band by the end, youclearly haven’t been listening.

In this here ‘zine we highlight roughly around 14% of the artists who will be playingthe Great Escape and it’s fringe The Alternative escape, but that’s not all! Oh no. Overthe weekend we are going to be busting a gut to cover every guerrilla gig, secrettwitter lead, industry convention shenanigan and after-party going - it’s a big shout,but someone’s got to do it!

Brighton has long been the destination of choice for Brits to ‘escape’ to, and it’seasy to see why, what with the grandeur of the Royal Pavilion, shopping in the Laines,fresh sea air, a thriving university, a bristling music scene, fish’n’chips, and the famouspier, and the country’s only Green MP working to ensure it remains this way. Is therea better way to spend the weekend than discovering new music in this seaside town?

Follow us throughout the festival, and after, on @IAH_music and on facebook,or drop us an email on [email protected]. We’ll be tweeting, interviewing,videoing, reviewing, listening and drinking all over the weekend – join us!

See you around,

It’s All Happening

Welcome

Say

Francesca Dan John

P.S Tune-in to Recharged Radio everyMonday in May for our TGE specialshow. We get drunk and talk aboutsome bands! Wahey

Printing by Blissett Bookbinders


Hello. I’m Jen Long from BBC Introducing onRadio 1 and I will have a stage at Great Escape thisyear for my Kissability imprint. I started the labelless than a year ago, run through the excellentguys at Transgressive. We decided to dosomething that was fun, and let us shout about thebands we love.

Our first release was brutal Brisbane butchersDZ Deathrays, closely followed by Llanelliheartthrobs Cut Ribbons who are currentlywrapping up a UK tour supporting Dry The River.

Cut Ribbons will play our stage on Thursday10�� at Green Door Store just before Australian TENpiece Inland Sea. I saw them at BIGSOUND inBrisbane last year and was blown away. With somany members, styles, and influences, they’re avery hard band to pigeonhole, but feel free to stopby and give it a go.

Opening the stage is Cardiff quintet AmongBrothers. They make a gorgeous racket akin toEfterklang and Anathallo.

And filling the bill are Deaf Club, one of themost exciting new acts in British music. ThinkBeach House calming Warpaint in a wave of heart-sweeping cool. They were our third release onKissability, and our first sell-out. Let’s do the samewith this show.

Thursday @ Green Door Store, from 7.15pm

Among Brothers

Deaf Club

Cut Ribbons

Inland Sea

‘Cos any magazine worth it’s salt needsa famous person writing…

Dan PinerJohn Leonard

Francesca BakerMichael Baker

Greta HoffmannCaroline Schmitt

Katie Stanton

Jen Long (Radio 1)Chris Foster (Pop Noodle)

Jordan Thomas (Recharged Radio)Ellie Coden (Fierce Panda)

Steven Boniface (Labelled Independent)

www.itsallhappening.co.uk www.twitter.com/IAH_music www.facebook.com/iahmusic

Our wonderful contributors


HOTTESTTICKETAre Alabama Shakes worthy of your time and energy this weekend?

For many last year at TheGreat Escape it was TheVaccines. 12 months on we canpretty much guarantee the‘hottest ticket in town’accolade is going to AlabamaShakes . Every now and thena band comes along that canseem to do no wrong;authentic enough to keep thecritics and hipsters happy(they’re signed to RoughTrade), but have enough of apop edge to give them airtimeduring daytime Radio 1(currently on the B playlist andrising rapidly), and at the timeof writing, a possible number1 album (Ed – they went in at#3…who is STILL buyingAdele’s album!?).

Since breaking out in thesummer of last year and withthe release of their debut EPin September, they’ve hadcritics and DJs - Radio 1’s HuwStephens in particular -foaming at the mouth withsuperlatives. They’ve takenelements of rock, soul, bluesand country, and melded

them together with leadsinger Brittany Howard’sbluesy / gospel vocal that theGuardian best described as, ‘avoice that enters through thepores, not the ears, thatfreefalls from growl totwisted whimper.’

It’s a sound that certainlyticks a lot of boxes and seemsdestined to carry on satisfyingthe demand for musicinfluenced by the Americansouth by the British media andpublic alike.

Having sold out 3 nightsat the unconventional BostonArms in Tufnell Park on theirfirst visit to the UK , it is livethat they’re said to come intotheir own. Their sound is givenan extra edge live, the musicbumped up with the weight oftheir punk roots (singer anddrummer were both in punkbands in their youth), meldedtogether with Howard’spresence onstage. As onecritic noted, ‘she howls, shegrowls, she croons, shesweats, she drops down on

that dirty stage floor andshreds … Part of the thrill inwatching Howard onstage isthat she reacts fully to thesurroundings, but mostly, toher own lyrics, as if she'smaking these confessions forthe first time.’It’s certainly an excitingprospect and if all the reviewsso far are to be believed,they’re a band not likely todisintegrate under the weightof the hype anytime soon. Thequeue for their Saturday nightshow at the 650 capacityKomedia is probably startingto form already so get theirearly, if nothing else, youknow they’re not likely to beplaying venues of this size formuch longer. It could be onehell of a way to end theweekend and whether you’rethere as their biggest fan orjust out of pure curiosity, thisis a band that seems unlikelyto disappoint. JL Saturday22:00 @Komedia,


It’s a tough time to be an English folk band. If you don’t sound like DryThe River (see below) or Mumford & Sons you’re doing somethingwrong, and if you do, you’re a rip off. Which may explain whyBrighton’s very own Common Tongues, despite being voted one ofBrighton’s Top 5 bands, have not yet broken through the musical glassceiling. With more of a country twang than the aforementioned, thefive piece combine gypsy-esque fiddle with strong rhythms anddistinctive vocals and multiple harmony layers. The songs are verymuch tales in their own right, and the claim of being influenced byrecords that their dads use to own can be heard in the vocals of trackssuch as Soldier, Pilot or Fool or the strong structure of debut singleJumping Ships. With an apparently mischievous onstage presence,and BBC Cambridge’s claim that there ‘is no greater feeling than beinglicked by Common Tongues,’ they could well be the surprise stumbleupon band of the festival. FB Saturday 14:00 @ The Queen’s Hotel

A�� seen the album cover of Dry the River’sdebut album Shallow Bed speaks volumes as it reflectsthe music of these five exceptional guys . It’s a striking

image that reflects the 11 tracks perfectly. In the gloomygrey-green sea the shark is waiting calmly for his prey, just tostrike all the harder at the right moment. The songs start off asrevelling, sometimes almost introverted tunes up to the pointwhen they explode with energy and pathos without eversounding incongruous. The interplay of pastoral chorals andclassical rock music, of strong metaphors and lead singer PeterLiddle’s high and wistful voice, all that makes their musicsomething so real that one almost wants to embrace it literally.Considering the fact that they only started playing musictogether in early 2009, their up-to-now oeuvre is remarkable.The quintet self-produced their first EP The Chambers & ValesEP in their house in East London, which unleashed a chainreaction and brought them attention, so much so that withtheir pop up gigs and residencies they almost became the GreatEscape 2011’s house band. With new album Shallow Bed undertheir wing, they are yet again set to astound the seaside town.GH Friday, 23.15 @ The Corn Exchange

f0lk

fashion

fashion

f0lk


Why is that the majority ofmusic we listen to is of Englishspeaking origin? Is it a virtue ofclosed mindedness, or the resultof a simple mathematical equationthat means we listen to most whatis being put out the most - andthat has the biggest marketingbudget. We forget the 196-257(the number differs greatly whengoogled) of other countries thatthere are with a creative output.Every year The Great Escapepartners with an internationalpromoter to showcase some oftheir sounds, and this year will bejoined by the Institut Rmaon Llullpresenting Catalan Sounds –music from Catalonia and theBalearic Islands.

Eight bands have beeninvited to play to the Great Escapeaudience, and keen to dismisspreconceptions and dispel fears ofa weekend spent with theVengaboys, we thought we shoulddo some investigating.

Hailing from Barcelona,where they took a career turnfrom cinema to music, Mujeresplay a mix of pretty mucheverything, punk, garage,rock’n’roll, blues, taking the bestfrom each into fast and furious funpackage. Having alreadyimpressed TGE in 2010, they’ve

been invited back toplay the Prince Albert onFriday at 13:00 andAudio on Saturday at21:15.

Me and The Beesboldly claim to makepeople happy uponhearing their songs. Theirmix of folk and alt-country oftenmanages it. Effectively Eli, Esther,Vero and Carlotto make the worlda better place. Let them bringmagic to your life at Psychosocialon Friday at 20:00, or in The Hubon Saturday at 6:00.

It’s quite likely that for mostpeople, seeing Seward play thePrince Albert at 2:00 and 21.15 onFriday will genuinely be the firsttime they have heard the sextet’smusic. With no Myspace,Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud orany of the traditional social media(is that a juxtaposition of terms?)they are somewhat elusive. Somuch so that we shall have to relyon some words from people whohave seen them previously, whichinclude the following: intense,overwhelming, chaotic, strange,histrionic and lunatic. Awesome.

Ninette & The Goldfish havea brilliant band name. Ninette &The Goldfsh make brilliant music.The pair of them also happen to

look ratherbrilliant. There is a theme here.Playing Komedia on Thursday at20:30 and The Hub on Saturday at20:00, giving you two chances tohear tracks from theirrecent...brilliant folk rock debutalbum, Life In A Bowlfish.

A band who say they exist tomake music for plants, but whoalso have a sense of humour,claiming to being equallymotivated by playing to humanvegetables - welcome Amics delBosc (literally Forest’s Friends).Hippy hooligans, their psychedelicrockabilly makes just as little sensein Catalan as it does in Spanish, butwhen executed with such passion,that’s rather irrelevant. Playingtwice on Saturday, at 17:00 at TheHub, and later at The PrinceAlbert, 21:15.

If you expect music fromwhat is primarily for many Brits aholiday destination to sound likesummer, then Oso Leone won’tdisappoint. With a mismatchmedley of sounds, laying their

Música catalanaviene a Brighton

Mujeres


lucid soft vocals over crashingrock architecture they havecaptured the Spanish alternativescene, and seek to capture you atPsychosocial on Friday at 19.15pmand The Hub on Saturday at 19:00. Add together some punk,skipping melodies, kraut rock,epic endings and instrumentalcadence and you get Furguson,the young guitar smashing, gingerbeer loving quintet who will beplaying Blind Tiger at 19:45 onThursday and Prince Albert at15:00 on Friday.

The Suicide of WesternCulture are a duo creatingelectronic music in the veinof their heroes, Mogwai,Godspeed You BlackEmperor and Disco Inferno,using equipment also rootedback in the day, like the TR505drum machine, along with aconvulsing convolution ofbuttons and pedals. Their

lyricless, dark, distorted crunchyelectronic pop has garnered theattention of the electronic scene,and resulted in them supportingthe likes of Orbital and Cut Copy.Let them brighten your afternoonup at the Prince Albert on Fridayat 15:45, or Sticky Mikes Frog Baron Saturday at 21:15.

The Catalan Sounds Tour of2012 has already exhibited theirwares at SXSW and CanadianMusic Week this year. The GreatEscape will be by far the best. FB

Ninette & The Goldfish

3 bands

5 words

The Robbie Boyd BandSaturday, 17:00 @ Dome

Folk-Pop. High Energy. GreatLive.

Wet NunsFriday, 21:15 @ The Hope

Raw Power. Amazing BandName.

Sonic Boom SixSaturday, 20:45 @ ConcordeDance. Punk. Exciting Live.

Catchy.

Three reviews that would fitcomfortably in a tweet. MB


Goodtimebands

For some unadulterated joyand seaside escapism head tosee Swim Deep, a trio oftwenty somethings fromBirmingham who don’t seemto have noticed the lack ofseaside in their local Midlands,creating coastal cruisingbreezy grunge pop. The veryday after this fine festivalfinishes sees the release oftheir first single on Chess Clubrecords. Evoking blissfulsummer days and carefreemoments, King City is a jauntyinsouciant tune, with its simplealmost tossed away chorus of‘with the sun on my back it’s a

nice day,’ drumming footprint,and its fuzzy warmth andthrilling pace it is certainly oneto put on repeat. On thesurface it’s an ode to Jerry LeeLindberg (the Warpaintbassist), summers lazing onthe beach, skating withfriends, downing shots andflicking through vinyl (as seenon the video by MarshallDarlings), and its beauty is inrealizing that it doesn’t needto get any deeper than that.Contentedness never soundedso good. FB Friday, 19.15@Psychosocial, 21:00 @ TheLoft

Swim Deep

Yukon Blonde

Beach Slalom was one of, if notthe, IAH tracks of 2011. It maybe all over in 2 minutes and 35seconds, but Bos Angeles’simple and youthful tale of abreak-up stirs memories ofteenage love and regret thathad us hooked from the firstlisten. From the simple 2 noteintro to the frenetic ending itencapsulates everything welove about discovering newbands. There’s nothing showyor over-thought, the recordingsounds live and unpolished,and it seems to achieveeverything it sets out to do

with minimal fuss. The guitarpart nods to Johnny Marr, thebassline’s got Peter Hook allover it and the hushed almostspoken vocals drift solemnlyover proceedings; portraying areal sense of introspection andapology to what is ultimately apost-punk salvo of a track. Theymay never write anything asgood as this again (weobviously hope they do),but Beach Slalom is as close toa genuine and honest guitarpop song as we could find in2011 and we love it. JL Thursday,20.30 @ Bund Tiger

Bos Angeles

If ever a band captured thesound of a moonlit fast driveto the coast, it’s YukonBlonde. Bleeding with catchyhooks over a churningbassline, pummelling along asit embeds its way into yourbrain as the sound of aneternal summer, latest singleStairway is a great firstintroduction to the YB family.Through sophomore albumTiger Talk the band flitbetween arena-esquegrandeur and teenagetirelessness, blurring togetherpowerful punk, aggressivepop and expansive country.Rolling with tantivity andrushing with an excess ofenergy, the live show fromthese guys should be a shaggyrock dream. FB Thursday ,20.30 @ Prince Albert


Yukon Blonde

So, it's that time of year whenfestival season kicks off and willrun through until late October.Chances are you’ll go to at leastone; these days,you're spoiled for choice. But isthis really a good thing? The riseof the 'boutique' festival seemsto have been fairly rapid, withupwards of 450 festivals takingplace last year, and one beginsto wonder if the point ofsaturation is close. With theneed to be ‘cool’ and go to thelatest 2-day extravaganza in afield, is it ceasing to be aboutthe music and more aboutbeing in the 'in' crowd?

What does this mean forthe bands who have to play thethings? With all the doors it hasopened, the Internet hasbrought about the downfall offilters applied to good and badmusic and until lately, festivalsused to be one of those filters -how could you get on a billwithout being good? Every clickonline takes you to a new band.Many of these bands soundsimilar... some pretty muchidentical. All come with ravereviews from such places asBBC Introducing/NME/etc.Many of these bands will goWest before the year is out.Many of them play a 'boutique'festival on the way through. Butdoes that prove their worth?

For every 'next big thing'band, there is a 'serious grafterband'. While the 'next big thing'will be chasing some daft dreamthat got fed to them bysomeone who (vaguely)remembered when mainstream

music wasn't purely dominated byglorified Saturday nightkaraoke affairs and recordcompanies actively perusedsomething interesting, rather thansimply generic, the grafters willhave given up on that a LONG timeago and just settled down to thebusiness of being in a band andseeing where it took them - andenjoying it. In my experience,relaxed bands make the best music.

These days though, thegrafters tend to get stuck lowerdown the bill at festivals while theNBTs get stuck somewhere a lothigher up, despite the fact theyprobably only formed the previousNovember. I went to a certainfestival in Cornwall last year andwas surprised to find the mostaccomplished and polished actsthere stuck on at stupid times ofday. One act was The Scratch, theother was La Shark. Both bands arefun, genuinely interesting to watchand musically challenging. Theaudience (that was there) seemedto think so too. Later on in theevening (when the punters weredrunk and merry) came the NBTs. Ican vaguely remember one ofthem... and that was purelybecause they played right beforethe headliners, The Subways. AndI was sober.

My point here, is that thismany festivals are living onborrowed time as they're not builton any substance. Instead of givingan opportunity to showcase theacts who genuinely havesomething to share with a largeaudience, the promoters/bookersof such things are just going downthe most obvious route of booking

whoever has amassed the bestindustry quotes in the shortestamount of time on their pressrelease. Come on guys - put somebloody effort in and actually THINKabout who you're going to book! IfI'm going to hand over my hardearned oyster shells for what isgoing to be, for the most part, ashot in the dark, I do NOT want tobe seeing the same sort of bandsthat populate 333 on any givenThursday or a band I could turn onXFM to hear. This is why I'm at thisbloody thing! I want tosee consummate performers whohave great music that aren'trepresented in many other places,not pretty boys and girls who shopin Camden market because it's ‘hip’and who XFM tipped for some kindofgreatness.

Which brings me to TheAlternative Escape. It's quitesimple. If you want to put on anevent you hand over your cash, youget a stage, you stick on an eventand it becomes part of the greaterfestival. It's due to this patchworkof events that the average puntercan wander around and get to seeand hear all sorts of bands withoutany obvious pecking order.It's incredibly liberating. No realagenda apart from a whole bunchof people dedicated to bringingyou GOOD music, performed well.So make your way down to theAlternative Escape nd explore thishuge variety of bands, hand pickedbecause the promoter likes theirmusic. I can guarantee that youwon't be disappointed. Also,there's PROPER, NON-SPONSOREDfish, chips and ice-cream. Whocould want for more?! JT

Curating a show - is it about ‘Likes’ or your likes?


The acapellavocal harmoniesbetween thelead singer of Alt- J Joe Newman andkeyboardist GusUnger-Hamilton are ofthe kind that leave roomshushed with expectancy,whilst the crashing chords ofdoom that open Tessellate dispelthe silence that reignssupreme in so many o fthe uber cool venuesAlt J have cast theirspell over.Debut album AnA w e s o m eWave, out onMay 28��,i s n ’ tw r i t t e naccording to any kind of rulebook- if it sounds interesting it seemsto go in. Xylophones, castanetsand tom toms are all used atvarious points throughout theirlive set to add to the layers ofsound, on Tessellate especially.

Newman’s voice is soulfuland forlorn as he sings about love,

s e xa n d

t r i a n gles being

h i sf a v o u r i t eshape…obviously. Hisdelivery is unique, not falsetto,but sometimes heading that wayand there are nods to the guitarsounds of Radiohead in theirplaying. Live Hand-made is a

beautiful track which floatsalong with its folk roots and

vocal harmonieswhilst Flood of Blood startsminimally enough, withNewman’s vocal weaving

around the swirling guitar line,before building again withUnger-Hamilton’s falsettobacking adding weight tothe xylophone melody andtribal drums. In contrast,with its dense bassline,jabs of la la las andNewman sounding like a

bluesman from the 50s,Breezeblocks is frenetic andtriumphant assault on the senses.The last couple of years haven’tbeen short on intelligent, earnest‘indie’ music, but where say WildBeasts skirt the fine line ofirritating pretentiousness, Alt – Jseem more accessible in their own

abstractness andimagery, but no lessintelligent orintriguing in theirperformance andsound. JL Friday,21.15 @ Blind

Tiger

Alt-J

Three of cool as fuck TOY wereoriginally from Joe Lean and the JingJang Jong, but (probably to theirdelight) their past band faded intolindie land irrelevance. TOY’s sound isfuzzier, less poppy and yet far moreirresistible, boasting a Talking Headsnostalgia that makes me want toattend an 80s prom, get rejected, thencome home and cry so I can listen tothis band to make myself feel better.The subtle reshuffle, a deeper, meaningful sound, and a friendship with the Horrors seemto be exactly what TOY need to start the road to full-blown success. Listen out for Motoring– one of the most arresting tunes you’ll hear all weekend. KS Thursday 21:45 @ PavilionTheatre


Alt-J ‘Most of all you need to be great and havesomething to shout about. You need to beblowing people outta their proverbial socksevery time you hit a stage in front of 5 men anda dog. Your songs better be good. And therecords you make of them better soundexciting.’‘Create relationships. Connect. Get out thereand push.’‘The belief that one’s art has a divine right to bepopular is indeed intoxicating. Any assessmentof why things ain’t happening is believable aslong as you don’t question the art itself.’

‘People like good music and good bands. Noone can force them to like something theydon’t like.’‘Music is such a cool thing. We can’t leave itsfate to people on talent shows.’Rather than look for opportunities to gainexposure, look for opportunities to get great atwhat you do. That way when you do get yourshot, you’re ready to capitalize on it.

The Animal Farm produce records, manageartists, run a label, are a booking agency andoperate a publishing company. A bit like It’s AllHappening, they have their fingers in lots ofpies, and it’s not because they are indecisive(or not only because of that) but because theybloody love music, want to get it in the marketin any way possible, and with twenty yearsexperience, have a good idea how to do it.With a huge slice of this year’s convention lineup being devoted to Doing It Yourself, fromthe best way to get attention, putting on theultimate gig, releasing records or making it inthe industry, we catch up with them for somewords of advice for bands looking to take it tothe next level. FB

Maximo ParkAlthough this lot have been pretty quiet since showcasing Banlieue in 2010,they are now in the process of building hype for their upcoming album, TheNational Health and as such could very well put on an amazing show.Thursday @ Brighton Dome

Chew LipsNow us guys are big fans of Chew Lips and so its not a big shocker that weare looking forward to see them playing. The album is out in September, butuntil then, listen to new single Do You Chew? Ahem, we don’t know what youmean Tigs. Friday, 21:00 @ Audio

Mystery JetsAs one of the biggest, if not the biggest, 'names' on the line up this is a no-brainer- of course we’ll recommend them. Can't state how excited we areabout hearing some new stuff off their upcoming album, Radlands. Thursday,23:30 @ Corn Exchange

Shopping list

Check out these acts,all with new albumsout. MB

Tigs Chew Lips - makes good music


You've drawn comparisons toJoy Formidable, The Smiths,The Strokes and The Libs. Onething that unites all thesebands is that they weresomewhat epoch defining. Isthat how you see yourselves?It’s a real honour to bementioned in the samebreathe as bands like these asthey all changed music in sucha real way for the better.Obviously though with thesecomparisons comes aninternal pressure to not onlybe the best that we can butstick to our own individualitywhich means writing whatmakes us happy and trying tofollow our own path. We havemore self belief than any bandout there; we certainly thinkwe can be the band thatchanges music from the stateit’s currently in. There needs tobe a band that comes out andbreaks the continuation ofrubbish music that the vastmajority of people are hearingon commercial radio thesedays and open the door toother bands, whoever that iswill be epoch defining andthere’s no reason at all whythat cant be us.

How was the reception toyour limited edition EP?The reception to the EP hasblown our minds a little.Getting positive feedback isalways good but we’re reallysurprised how far the EP hasreached and the people whohave listened to it and reallyloved it and believe in us. Itwas never our intention torelease an EP we just wantedto put something out their sopeople could get a flavour ofwhat we are about. And wethink that’s what we haveachieved. We launched the EPwith two shows (Slade Rooms,Wolverhampton andNambucca, London). Bothshows were so exciting andit’s really given confidence toknow that what we are doingis making people stand up andtake notice.

Tell us about 'Dakota BeatsPresents.' Rather than be incompetition with other bandslike some people seem to, youare actively supporting?We support the local musicscene in Wolverhampton asmuch as we can. Ourshowcase night Dakota BeatsPresents was our way to give

bands an opportunity to playin a great venue where theywould be treated fairly andsupported by us in terms ofgetting people through thedoor. The best thing we havegot from it is being able to seehow many great young bandsthere are about – there is somuch talent from 13 year olds!We are delighted to bring DBPresents to Brighton, we havesome of our favourite bandsthat we have played with overthe last six months on the billand anyone who comes downto the night is in for a real treat.

Wolverhampton's not wellknown for it's musicaloutput...?Wolverhampton is our localcity but we are truly a bandfrom the Black Country andDudley is the town we wouldcall home. We are very proudof Dudley, Wolverhamptonand The Black Country as awhole but its right to say thatthere has hardly beenanything musically creative tocome out of it for decades.The problem in our opinion isthat the area is stuck in 1995when it comes to music.People still love Oasis, Blur,

Dakota Beats


Stone Roses and all the classicbands from that era and it’srepeated in the music thatcomes out of the region. Playingin Wolverhampton cansometimes not just be a matterof having to be a great band, itcan also be about changingpeople’s opinion that musicdidn’t die when Be Here Nowwas released.

There are more than 300 bandsplaying over the weekend - whyshould people come and seeyou?I think people should come tosee Dakota Beats because weare a band with a real chance ofmaking a difference to what’sgoing on in this country in

regards to guitarmusic. We writesongs for peopleto enjoythemselves to andour live shows are full of energy,passion and excitement. It’s agreat honour to be playing onthe weekend along with 300other bands but we canguarantee that the people whocome and watch Dakota Beatsgo away from the festival talkingabout us. IAH & DBSaturday, 21:15 @ Volks

#142 - SHABAZZ PALACES, Thurs 18.45 @COALITION

#163 THE FRONT BOTTOMS Sat, 19:30 @

PSYCHOSOCIAL BASEMENT



These are the opening wordsof BOY’s debut album, MutualFriends, that somewhat sets amanifesto. BOY, that’sValeska and Sonja fromGermany, have been makingmusic forever but due to theinjustices of life were onlyrecently discovered by arecord label.

Nine years separatethem, which means theycover and communicate awide range of feelings andphases, adding authenticityto their delivery. Theyharmonize perfectly, yet theysaid in an interview that theyare unable to work on a songin the same room because the

way of how they approachthe lyrics, the rhythms and artgenerally are completelydifferent. That might be thereason why it took them twoand a half years to becompletely happy with everysingle song. BOY’s music isreminiscent of Feist; it feelslight and melancholic at thesame time. It could be thesoundtrack to any situation inyour life, it’s either happy orsad – however you want it tobe. The girls refuse to put alabel on their music - they arenot leading a very public life,and emphasis lays on theirmusic alone.

The music video to LittleNumbers, their firstnationwide success, filmsshort clips of growing plants,old men playing tennis, thesun tickling their faces, kidsplaying and jumping around,meaningful glances towardsthe camera and a wholeatmosphere of the beginningof summer, the start of whichwill surely be this year’s GreatEscape. Having alreadyfascinated not only Germanyand Switzerland, they look setto conquer the UK! CSSaturday, 21:00 @ UnitarianChurch

#44 TRIPPPLE NIPPPLES Thurs, 21.45 @ THEWARREN

#11 PIKACHUNES Fri 15:15 @ THE HAUNT


With an appearance atGlastonbury already under herbelt, Emily & The Woods is setfor big things in 2012. It is nosecret that Laura Marling hasrevived the ‘girl with guitar’scene, and Emily is likely to beone of the next female artiststo break through. She hasalready supported NewtonFaulkner and Ben Howard,whilst she has also performedon stage with Bombay BicycleClub. Emily has a strong andemotional voice so don’t missthe chance to see her in thisintimate venue. DP Saturday,15.15 @ The Hydrant

Every now and then someonecomes along who completelyblows you away. Rae Morrishas a voice that makes peoplestop and listen. Being a younggirl with a small frame, it wouldbe easy for her to be ‘lost’ on abig stage but, even duringpotentially difficult supportslots for bands such as Noahand the Whale and BombayBicycle Club, her incrediblevoice made people realise theywere witnessing a verytalented singer. If you don’tbelieve our verdict thenperhaps the fact that Rae hasrecently been signed byAtlantic Records will sway you.DP Friday, 16.30 @ QueensHotel & 21.15 @ The Warren

The Canadian 6 piece SlowDown, Molasses haveperfected a layered indie-folksound. Their slow, hauntingmelodies will easily fill the twoBrighton venues on Thursdayand Friday. The band are alsoplaying End of The Roadfestival in September. Chancesare that Slow Down, Molassesare going to have reallyexploded by this time nextyear. DP Thursday, 12.00 @Blind Tiger and Friday, 20.30 @Prince Albert

relaxSuggestions for when you just want to sit back,relax and be calmly captivated … and for those times when big bass;lines and banging tunes are all that will cut it


The sound of structured mathrock executed with thefreedom that allows a groove.Choruses that chime in just asthe repetitive beats begin towear, they combine the best ofguitar based dance withanguished indie. The simplefinger clicks and hand clapsthat muscle in amongst thecrackling electronic fireworksof their fizzing stage presencemake Tall Ships an enticinglyidiosyncratic live spectacle. FBFriday, 1:00 @ Pav Tav &Saturday. 22.15 @ The Horatio

They’re called Fanzine. We area fanzine. See the connection?Like Pains of Being Pure ofHeart and Yuck, both of whomthey have recently touredalongside, Fanzine put theglimmer of synth pop overlyrics telling the tales of errors,trips and slips of life, theundulating melodies and fuzzyreverb combining to create afeeling of gritty romance, asthough you’re watching aballoon fly to freedom whilstthe rain washes overhead.Latest single L.A. has just beenreleased on Best FitRecordings, and is doused in asmuch sunshine as itsnamesake. FB Saturday, 20:00@ Audio

London based trio The Switchare indie pop at its finest.Strong guitar riffs combinewith cutting vocals that will getyou singing and dancing beforeyou even realise it. Lead singerJustin used to be in the sameband as Arni Hjorvar of TheVaccines, and The Switch havejust as much potential. Regularreaders of It’s All Happeningwill know how much we lovethese guys. Go and see themand, chances are, you will lovethem too. DP Saturday, 20.00@ Fitzherberts

Just Do It

Suggestions for when you just want to sit back,relax and be calmly captivated … and for those times when big bass;lines and banging tunes are all that will cut it


So, once again, The GreatEscape has nailed anotherthrilling line-up! They’ve spenthours plotting the right balanceof both established ‘big-uns’ andbrilliant up-and-coming bands,many of whom are causing a rightol’ buzz in the industry at themoment. Just as exciting is theamount of jaw-dropping talentthat can exclusively found on thebill of it’s sister festival TheAlternative Escape...

This year The AlternativeEscape boasts more ‘ones-to-watch’ bands than it ever hasbefore! Some of the UK’s most‘in-the-know’ tastemakers,promoters and indie labels haveshortlisted the bands who arealready getting both the industryexcited and the media buzzed.The Alternative Escape line-up ispacked full of many great acts,some of whom you’ll certainly behearing much more about in thenear future but with so many actson offer, it’s tough to know whoto mark down as the ‘must-sees’in your gig-planners.

So, in no particular order,here are the ten acts we feel youreally should make time for thisyear at The Alternative Escape –we cannot stress how much youNEED to see these amazing actslive. They will make your lifecomplete.…

Worship Like your guitarbands with a massive drum sound,a double-dollop scoop of purevocal epicness and then toppedoff with light sprinkle of well-executed laptop/ synthy bassmagic? Ooooh, yes please Sir!Expect a fully-unique sound here,large enough to make your tummyrumble and your mouth dry in pureawe of what you’re witnessing.The Guardian describe them as‘sounding like a sonic cathedral’ .Spot on, that. They’ve got anabsolutely huge sound. Do notmiss them, folks! Friday, 22:00,JEAH stage @ LIFE club

Concrete Knives Having builtup a solid fanbase and findingthemselves already prettyestablished as a serious ‘Ones-To-Watch’ contender in their hometerritory of France, this energeticcrew make delicious slices of rawindie pop that feature boy/girlvocal leads - should appeal nicelyto fans of Johnny Foreigner andLos Campesinos. Expect your hipsto wibble-wobble to their upbeatindie rhythms and your noggin’ tocome out stuck with their

immensely catchy vocal hookstrapped inside of it. Lovely stuff.Friday, 15:10, Black and WhiteMusic + Monkeysuit stage @ Volks

Mammal Club This Newcastletrio certainly win this here writer’svote for the most impressive liveact at last year’s Great Escape,where they performed as a four-piece and fully blew everyone inthe room away. Expect to witnessextremely well-constructed techyloud/quiet indie riffage, somesynthy sounds and a vocal stylethat could sometimes beconsidered slightly akin toEverything Everything. They areincredible. They are amazing. ‘Nuffsaid! Go and see for yourselves!Friday, 17:30, Amazing Radio Stage@ Queens Hotel

Saint Saviour Do you want tohear one of the most enchantingvoices you’ll hear all year? Yes?Then you simply cannot miss BeckyJones, aka Saint Saviour, whosearty performance in a chapel atTGE last year left jaws left open insheer amazement. Her voice istotally unique and you may evenrecognise it from listening toGroove Armada. Come andexperience her experimental (yetaccessible) and alternative popmusic for yourself and you’ll seewhy she’s causing a stir right now.Friday, 13:00, JEAH stage @ LIFEclub

Mammal Club

Thebest of


Hymns How’s about seeing aheavier band armed with apassionate, pure and gritty rawsound featuring vocals that caneasily snap from a whimper to agrowl in a heartbeat? If that’s yourthing, do come and see the mostdiverse and interesting post-hardcore(-ish) band you’ll comeacross this year. With a vocal snarlwhich is more earthy than neat,you’ll feel the emotion in everyword projected onto you. A bandwho are fully worth your attention.Friday,11:00, Alcopop Vs BSM stage@ The Pav Tav

Spring Offensive Currentlywinning over many hearts andminds, this lyrically-engaging guitaroutfit is one that this here writer isproud to have worked with. Theirextremely dynamic and versatilesongwriting style is known tofeature brilliantly-executed vocalharmonies over driving rhythms,coupled with a perfect mix ofsubtle/quirky/loud guitars. Withsongs are brimmed full of passionand a live set that is simply

incredible you will certainly bethankful you went to see SpringOffensive. Friday, 19:00 JEAH stage@ LIFE club

Dems Is this the future ofbands we can expect to hear whocould be considered to beinfluenced by electronic and IDM?Let’s certainly hope so because thislot are absolutely stunning! Highlyworth seeing live to truly ‘get’ it, tthis lot are showcasing somegorgeous vocals over minimal IDMbeats and subtle guitar sections.With a reputation for beingextremely enchanting to witnesslive they are certainly worthmarking into your gig calendar tocatch before everyone else does!Friday, 20:00, JEAH stage @ LIFEclub

Gunning For Tamar Judgingfrom their mammoth glitchy post-hardcore riffs and addictive vocalhooks it’s easy to see why this newband are making impressive wavesin their scene! One of the louderguitar bands in this list that, if youlove your distorted guitars, youreally do need to make time for.When you see them live you’llunderstand exactly why their bigdrums, big riffs and generally bigeverything are generating heat.Bring a sports drink and stayhydrated - it might get sweaty!Friday , 15:40, Alcopop Vs BSMstage @ The Pav Tav

Escapists This London-based4-piece really are quite fantastic towitness and have been generatinga nice amount of buzz from theirwell-crafted catchy vocal hooksthat will stick in your head for dayson end. It’s their charm andsimplicity that is so refreshing at

the moment. Is this the next bigmainstream guitar band in the UK?Quite possibly - come and decidefor yourself. Friday, 15:00, JEAHstage @ LIFE club

Munich This Brighton-basedoutfit provide broad anthemic poprock songs that are both accessibleand catchy – certainly suited forthose who like a poppier twang totheir indie bands! Havingsupported some very large namesindeed recently, some may wonderif it’s only a matter of time beforeit’s their turn in the spotlight, so besure to catch them in an intimateenvironment now, because theymight not be playing these sorts ofvenues for very long… Friday,14:10, Black and White Music +Monkeysuit stage @ VolksCF

Gunning For Tamar

Spring Offensive

Their sound is something of a digital college, fusing broken edits, fragmented synths, juxtaposing rhythmsand filtered rhymes. From disintegrated forms comes a surprisingly cohesive sound, the multiple nuances andtwists creating a compelling rhapsody. Digital output can sometimes be lacking in some of the raw emotionthat comes with a guitar as an accessory, but the building blocks of magical memories and real scars merge wellfor Clock Opera creating a twilight zone beauty - one full of disco dynamism.

They join together a thousand sounds of yesteryear in a formation never heard before. If, as the doomsayerssay, all that’s good in pop music has been before then, why not break it up and rearrange? This is music that isindeed operatic, theatrical and dramatic epic, constituted of minute and intricate patterns. Timeless. FB Friday,21:00 @ Dome Concert Hall

Clock Opera Clock Opera Clock Opera Clock Opera Clock Opera Clock Opera Clock Opera


It’s a lovely sunnyFriday in March. We have arare day off work, and aresitting on the top floor of agallery in Victoria, watchingthe world go by and beingserenaded by Robbie Boyd.As always, Robbie is niceand chipper, the sunnydisposition of his musicevidently having its roots inthe personality of itscreator, despite a hecticschedule of gigs andpromotion.

A relentless performer,Robbie can often be foundstrumming away inPortobello Market,Spitalfields, or King’s Cross.You’ll be able to spot him –that crowd of peoplegathering around a soundof warm days and coolnights – he’s in there.

‘I don’t think of myselfas a street performer. Forme it’s all about trying outnew things, being a bitexperimental, and seeingwhat works and what getsgood feedback and aresponse. I still haven’texactly figured out mytarget demographic, so I’mnot going to restrict myself.‘ It seems to work as well,with gigs sometimes Cafeattracting people ‘who hadheard me in Portobelloabout a year ago.’

An urban folk song,rather than one with theusual campestralovertones, it is ‘A London

Reminition that tends to getthe best response fromthose Portobello Marketfans. ‘In fact, I got thegreatest compliment theother day. This guy emailedme, saying how him and hisgirlfriend love A LondonReminition, so much so,that he had written his ownwords and was going tosing it to her as part of amarriage proposal, so couldhe have the chords??! For asong to have that muchmeaning tosomeone…wow, just thebiggest compliment.’

Warm and familiar, TheRobbie Boyd Band createmusic that feels like findinga lost momento. Clearlyinspired by our fair city, ALondon Reminition is anobservational andgratifying ode based upondaily experiences. UnlikeAlaska.

‘Ha, this is a good story.I was very lucky to get thissong played on BBC Radio 2by Sir Tim Rice. Lastsummer he was doing ashow about music of theStates, and he requestedsongwriters send in songsabout Alaska, it not havingmuch of a music sceneitself. It was a strangeprocess, coming from abrief, but most of the timeit was just my first ideas andimages.’Following an off puttingincident in a school music


lesson, Robbie abandonedhis early talent, onlyreturning to musicseriously in the last coupleof years, having startedwriting a few years ago.‘It was on my gap year, inCentral America; that wasthe first ever creation of asong that just kind of camefrom nothing. Myself anda friend were walkingdown the street and tworandom guitarists fromUtah were improvising andjamming, and I just startedsinging words over thetop, which I’d never donebefore...then thisharmonica wielding patronof a local restaurant cameout of nowhere and did amiddle eight solo. It wasjust perfect. Then I startedsinging poems, and writingmusic to go with them.’

A sensitive soul to thecore, and clearly far morededicated to his new year’sresolutions than most,Robbie has been writing adiary since he was twelve,and it was only recently hediscovered that he waseven then writing inrhyme. A poet and hedidn’t…

The line up evolvesand revolves, availabilityand creativity meaningthat the live experienceand set list is constantlyand consistently originaland engaging. ‘It’s nice to

mix it up, have theoccasional sax player.Depending on the line up Ican choose the songs thatsound best with thatinstrument, so when Iplayed with It’s AllHappening and Russell wasaround, we brought backloads of old stuff.’ Mightyglad we were too.

Debut albumAutumn’s Flown is out thissummer, and if tracks suchas Amsterdam, Never NeverLand, Orion’s Belt andlatest single I Won’t LetYou Go sound as good onthe new record as they didupstairs in the sunnygallery it will be an enticingand mesmerising pieceof spacious folk, with hintsof nostalgia for days goneby, but an intensity anddirectness that keeps itfirmly situated in the now.Robbie Boyd: expect tosee him in a street orstadium near you soon. FBSaturday, 17:00 @ Dome

Great Escape is the place to fall inlove with bands. Here are some that wehave discovered at TGE over the years...

The Joy Formidable – TGE 2009. Aswe stumbled in to Revenge, Britain’sbiggest gay club, we weren’t entirely surewhat to expect. We definitely didn’texpect to end up dancing on top of apenis shaped dance floor whilst watchinga blistering sound of layered guitars andcaptivating vocals. The Joy Formidableentered our lives in style.

Warpaint - TGE 2010. Watching aband at the end of a pier always adds abit of atmosphere to a gig. However,whilst watching Warpaint at Horatio’s in2010 it was clear that the crowd wasbeing treated to a band on the brink ofbig, big things.

Katzenjammer – TGE 2010. In anattempt at repeating The Joy Formidablehigh we experienced in 2009, we went tosee them at The Great Escape again.However, the night was stolen by theband before them: Katzenjammer. Agroup of Scandinavian girls with a 50sinfluence, it came somewhat out theblue. Cue a whole lot of dancing. Goodtimes.

Team Me – TGE 2011. One of the bestthings about TGE is walking into a bar orvenue in the afternoon and discoveringan incredible band. Last year, we were inAbove Audio and Team Me blew us awaywith a great mid afternoon set. ThisNorwegian band have since has a slightline up change, but a tour that has takenin England, Europe and Japan suggeststhey are now doing alright forthemselves.

Rachel Sermanni – TGE 2011. IAHwere fortunate enough to bag aninterview with Rachel Sermanni at TGE2011. Her stunning voice and lovelypersonality led us to then booking her foran IAH gig with us later in the year. It wasour first completely sold out show. DP

Great Escapes of Yore



Rock band The Manic Shine claim tohave discovered an illness called'Sickotrashmusicitis'. Described as the'chronic feeling of lethargy and nausea whenlistening to music on mainstream radio', itseems to have only one cure. No prizes forguessing what that might be. It's a fun quote that does an excellentjob of signalling their intentions early - theyare looking to bring something different tothe table, a true alternative to popularculture. The question is whether The ManicShine can deliver on that promise. In a sense they certainly do. Many of thetracks on their latest album Blindsidercouldn't be further from the playlist materialof most mainstream and commercial radiostations, and they're all the better for it evenif they won't bust any blocks. The sound ofthe band is heavily driven by the rhythmsection, with the drums and excellent bassguitar parts weave in and out of one anotherwith great skill - this is technically proficientrock as played by skilled musicians, and thelengthy tracks often include musicalinterludes which arguably outshine the vocalled sections. The production values on the LP areexcellent by any standards, with each of themany musical layers shining through at all theright times, and the more you listen to thealbum the more you enjoy what's going onunderneath but it isn't one that makes amajor initial impact.

Live though, highlights include MyWoman as well as The Poet and the Lullabye,which has a marked electronica influence,and the reggae infused, slower Til YourPockets Glow offers a decent change of pace- reminiscent of Incubus in their heyday. Aswe discovered when they played for IAHrecently, The Manic Shine certainly havefound a cure in the form of strong rock,stellar bass playing and well written tunes. Analternative highlight. SB Friday, 19:00 @

THEMANICSHINE




Jack

savore

tti

THE

TEMPER

TRAP

HatchamSocial

Headlining this years Great Escape festival are Australian band TheTemper Trap. One of the highlights will surely be the performance ofSweet Disposition which almost resembles a hymn with its remarkable,punchy and passionate fractions that can sum up what life’s all about - amoment, a laugh, a dream, a cry, a kiss, our rights, our wrongs.

Formed in 2005, they seem to have found their niche right away.The Temper Trap might be categorized as a funky variation of indie, thekind that gets a club to dance - not because its the latest disco hit butbecause masses of people can somehow connect to their style.Surprisingly, that still doesn’t make them mainstream in any way whichgives reason to hope that more experimental and independentmusicians are rewarded for the things that are important tothem.

TThe five indie rockers have much more to give thanjust a couple of radio friendly mega-hits, that havesoundtracked adverts and teen dramas around the world.Listen out for the new songs, including their brand newsingle Need Your Love from their temper Trap album atthe Dome on Thursday.

CS Thursday @ Brighton Dome

#182 A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLENFri, 21:.00 @ ST MARY'S CHURCH

Hatcham Social return to thefray with a new album, arevamped line-up and a zestilyrewired leftfield pop attitude.The band recently releasedalbum About Girls and newsingle Dance With Me at thethe start of April. To celebratethe band headed to SXSW inthe middle of March andtoured the UK for the wholeof April, ending with their ownLondon headline show atCargo, and are now down inBrighton, sharing what theyconsider to be their partyrecord. The new album About

Girls sees the band embracea more guitar heavysound , which move s awayfrom the synth-dappled sheenof 2009's You Dig The Tunnel,I’ll Hide The Soil and is analbum that the bandthemselvesconsider to be‘lesslayered, withmoreconcise andplayful lyrics.’EC Friday, 15:00@ Green DoorStore


Jack

savore

tti

TEMPER

Amongst many of the excitingnewcomers for The Great Escape is theBritish singer – songwriter Jack Savoretti.With a mixture of classic English folkballads and early 60s Americanainfluences, his music – which he himselfrefers to as ‘continental folkabilly’ – hasalready brought him a long way on thehighway to fame. After the great successof his 2011 album Harder than Easy andseveral features of his songs in seriessuch as One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomygreat things are to be expected from the

release of his new album Before the Storm (out on 28th May 2012).‘It’s going to be a lot more edgy, more dark – and more fun’, Savoretti explains,

‘My music is mostly inspired by travelling, which gives it a sort of hobo or gypsy style.It’s a combination of the many experiences I made while travelling Europe and theStates.’ A certain lightness in their music is what he admires in the work of folk heroeslike Bob Dylan or Nick Drake: ‘I like music that has a certain open-mindedness anddoesn’t get stuck in one direction at some point of the album, music that redefinesitself with every note.’

With the album out just in time for the festival season, Jack has big plans for thesummer. ‘I’ll be touring the UK and Ireland in June and will be supporting JoolsHolland on his tour this winter. It’s all very exciting.’GH Thursday, 22.15 @ Komedia


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