Synths and glam may have been part of my diet as an 80s child but I never totally fell in love with 80s music. It’s only now – and after the main revival of 80s chic has passed that am I coming to appreciate what the decade of decadence produced. Recently I went to Lovebox [...]
Denmark is home to the worst band on the planet – Alphabeat. Maybe thats why it took me longer than usual to open Veto‘s album Crushing Digits. Damn Alphabeat. The Copenhagen 5-piece, Veto, create electronic rock driven by massive hooks, synths, bleeps and pounding beats. With Troels Abrahamsen‘s soaring vocals lushly complimenting the textured landscapes. [...]
Basel, Switzerland – a town of culture, the pharmaceutical industry and permanent frowns. No one smiles in the birthplace of LSD. Basel was pretty, but my holiday was like a trip to a mental asylum. Clinical, regulated and dull. We needed to escape. To Germany. Freiberg, a beautiful town with great food and smiles, was worth the [...]
“I play drums in Babyshambles but don’t let that put you off.” Good thing it didn’t, because whilst I adore Marmite, I’m not a fan of Babyshambles. Adam Ficek, performing under the monicker Roses Kings Castles, is a DJing songwriting multi-instrumentalist whose talents would leave any baby in a shambles. Adam says Bletchley, Milton Keynes, where [...]
Major labels should know sounds that sell – with rosters full of great artists or at least great assets. So why was I so surprised at a gig featuring two singers signed to Universal and Warner? Because the two unsigned acts also playing put the big boys to shame. I don’t care if artists are [...]
Apparently I’m of “Generation Y”. This means I’m a geeky yuppie born after 1979. Yeah – can’t complain with that. It also means I lived through the 80s, but being brought up in Hong Kong I missed out on all the psychedelic British kids TV. Rod Thomas clearly got a fair dose as his video [...]
Is anyone else becoming addicted to Born Survivor with Bear Grylls? He eats caterpillars and cuts the heads off skunks. Double hard. I’ll never be that adventurous, but I’m always up for New Adventures. Especially ones destined to fill arenas around the world. The four men of New Adventures began playing together at university, but [...]
There’s not much music I don’t like, but grime? Hmm, still not convinced. One of the only commercially successful alternatives in British hip hop has been Mike Skinner (aka The Streets) but he’s not the only Brit producing hip hop that ain’t grime. Birmingham, Skinner’s home town, seems to be a hot bed of talented [...]
My colleagues think I lie. They don’t believe I was in Casino Royale. Maybe it shows I have a problem – that despite my recent 25th I’m still just a kid. I’d hope so anyway. Kids Love Lies – and these kids also love to fuzzy guitar your ears to heaven. Praise the lord for [...]
“Why don’t you post about female artists?” my friend asks. Well I have actually, when I rung about the glorious Bell. Gender, two genders or no gender – I don’t care so long as their music rings true. So, the fact that holeytonal features more male artists, or bands with male leads, is not the reason for posting [...]
Isn’t it awful asking to hear someone’s music, only to feel like you’re bleaching your ears? To my great relief James Marple’s music was more like a gentle clean. Under the pseudonym James and The Jewellery Store, Marples weaves burlesque lined tracks with lyrics encompassing “the courtly-love of the Romantic poets to the dust bowls [...]
Spontaneity rocks. I read a blog post, featuring a shop, featuring a band, went to the shop, watched the band then wasted money on CDs. Damn! It costs too. At least it doesn’t waste my time. The Brute Chorus were worth it. Well worth it. These East London blues punk rockers are on the verge [...]
