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Friday, 05 December, 2008

PLANETNOTION TELEVISION!

CAMERA-FOLK AND FILM EDITORS WANTED!

Planet Notion is looking for guys and dolls to film and edit features for its new TV channel, PNTV. Accompanying Notion to artist interviews, gigs, fashion shows, festivals and international events, you will be skilled, passionate and full of ideas about how to produce shit-hot video content. Camera-folk will be experienced and ideally have their own equipment, or at least access to equipment, while editors must be able to turn projects around quickly, and with stylistic flare. If you can both film and edit content, we would especially like to hear from you! These casual, unpaid positions would be ideal for those looking to develop their showreels, and to get the chance to travel, film major artists and top events.

Please email lucy(at)musichqmedia
(dot)com if you’re interested in getting involved, cheers!

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Gossip

Idle talk is not something you’d associate with Gossip (formerly The). Certainly not frontwoman Beth Ditto, whose straight talking lyrics are teamed with sharp, punk pop music of danceable intent, pricking up the ears of anyone who hears it. As a band that has been on tour with, and befriended, the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, you know to expect something special – and their sharp pop sensibilities are now being carried by word of mouth. As the band’s biography begins, “Gossip is young and full of blood.” That they can make this statement after seven years together says a lot for the spirit in the band. Ever-presents Beth and guitarist/bassist Bruce Paine are out of Arkansas, while drummer Hannah Blilie is from Washington. Naturally Ditto is the focal point of the band, but anyone who sees them live will testify to the fact that Paine and Blilie aren’t exactly innocent bystanders Sadly I don’t get to meet Beth in person, which is a shame as her striking looks and sharp dress have already marked her out as a distinctive and interesting character. She’s great conversation on the phone though, and her surprisingly sultry tones are still laced with mischief as she picks up at her Portland home, even at the very un-rock n’ roll hour of 10 in the morning. She’s just got up. “I’ve got a friend visiting from Bristol at the moment, so today we’ll be doing some shopping downtown, and going to a rock n’ roll camp for girls who want to play instruments. It should be cool…but I have to say I’m sorry if I sound like I’m talking out of my ass, it’s early here!” The band may have been together a while, but while public awareness has been a little slow in coming they’ve had a ball while waiting for it to happen. “Gossip started when we moved out of Arkansas in 1999. There was a circle of about 15 of us, and when it was us – several bands – sticking together, it was easy to enjoy. At the time there were just two in Gossip, but we got a new drummer so now we’re a three-piece.” And have they changed much since the early days? “Well, I’m not 20 years old any more!” she sighs. “I’d say it would be impossible not to change, you start writing songs that are about different subject matter, maybe not about yourself. A lot of people think our style has come about because of bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs being our main influence, but they opened for us when we first met them. We were friends in that band way, the same with the White Stripes. Actually I think Karen O is really really good, and I really appreciate her. People are quick to think that we would have grown up with them, but we listened to bands like Bikini Kill, Sonic Youth and all the 90s riot grrrl stuff. We’ve got loads of people who’ve been influential on us and not just music either.” For one of the band’s primary objectives is to make people throw themselves around. “People who don’t know say “hey, you’re a dance band now” but we’ve always been a dance band, we were all about movement. We came from Arkansas where there wasn’t even a scene! It was like something out of Footloose, you know! It was bad to dance there, and when I was 17 I remember my brother even had to get a petition together to put on a dance, it was something they hadn’t done in 40 years or so.” These stark beginnings put the UK’s relative glut of bands and venues in a different light altogether, an observation Beth is quick to take up. “You guys don’t even know what you’ve got in the UK. Sometimes you seem so…I dunno… disinterested. But this record has an approach to dance that makes you move. You should have attitude, and that’s what we continue to have. Dance is so expressive; it’s about using your whole body.” The record Beth refers to is the recently re-released second album ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’, featuring a hot single of the same name that looks set to break them further in the UK. Tongues have certainly been wagging about it in the US, not only for its forthright musical language but for its hatred of George Bush’s stance against gay marriage. “The reaction’s been amazing,” gushes Beth, “better than I ever expected. I didn’t do it to get a reaction; it was a really personal statement, but having said that a lot of people have tapped into it.” And what of its observations? “Well thinking about that, I reckon people aren’t necessarily quick to judge, but I think they’re not keen to make a judgement, which can sometimes be just as bad. With all the war making that’s been going on it’s really good that the mid-term elections are coming up in November. I really think the Democrats are going to get in this time. Everyone is holding their breath.” When talk turns to the man at the helm Ditto’s mood changes noticeably. “I just can’t think about him, I get so upset. He really fucks with people’s lives. The best way I can think of describing it is like when you’re 18, and you go away to college maybe and you have room mates that have everything provided for them, and don’t know what the meaning of the word “need” is. They just get everything done for themselves and don’t do anything for anyone else. Imagine that, a rich kid like that running the country. You wouldn’t even trust him to look after a cat! Gay marriage, war crime, rights of prisoners, I could go on – but I think it’s a really scary time to be living in America with all that stuff going on. And then they say that the people haven’t spoken, well there’s been a lot of demonstrations over here with literally millions of people in the streets, so how can you say that?” Considering her homeland’s plight has brought pertinent issues to the surface. “I’ve been thinking about things, not just the present day, but what was the underground doing in the 40s and 50s, did they just leave? Did they do enough… and am I doing enough now? What do you do about it?” The ensuing pause on the other end betrays this as a frequent preoccupation for the singer. She makes clear that she doesn’t dislike the country itself, more the people who are running it. And while acknowledging that some pretty odd stuff goes on at government level over in the UK, she feels it has plenty going for it. “I feel it’s way more open to music than America, and as we’re not a very conventional band I think people seem to understand us better. I have friends in the UK that I’ve known for a while now. We started coming over here in 2001. Glasgow was the first show – it was amazing, a show of completely eye-opening madness! The best show I can remember though was in Hull; that was one of the best gigs I can remember us doing.” She speaks with such enthusiasm that I have to ask if she would consider moving over. “Well I think I probably would in some ways. I love Brighton, it’s so rad. I feel like I have more friends in the UK in that music way as well. Maybe I will move over, but I think I need to get married or something for that. Hey, how about it – do you fancy getting married?!” Whilst mulling over this shock proposal (it wouldn’t work – she’s taken, in any case) I ask her to consider the immediate musical future. “We’re back in the UK very soon. The future’s really exciting right now, we’ve got loads of options – and we’re not even knowing which ones to do. After seven years we’re getting pay-off which is great, and we’re all really exciting. We only really came into this because it was something we loved doing, we didn’t ever expect to be making a living out of it, although we believed the music was good enough. I guess now a guide to how well it’s going is when your parents see what you’ve been up to and start talking to you about it, like “Oh, I’m always seeing you in some magazine!” or something. And if your parents are hearing about you, you know there’s something’s going on!” No doubt their increased exposure will take in more TV appearances, especially after the Gossip’s cameo on Jonathan Ross, where they played ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ and chatted to Russell Crowe. “He was really, really nice, and he gave us one of his CDs,” says Beth enthusiastically. And he leaned over and said to us “I’m not so much a musician as a poet,” which was, like, quite far out.” She’s almost ready to go now, the town beckons, but she sounds a bit distracted. “I’m just getting my eyeliner straight right now but it’s difficult to do it while I’m on the phone. It’s black, and I’ve got pink eye shadow pencilled in but I can’t get it straight.” A couple of seconds later she’s happy and ready to go. “I just don’t feel dressed without my make-up on, you know?” ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ is out now on Back Yard recordings. The band are on tour in the UK in November. Check www.gossipyouth.com for details. ‘Jealous Girls’ from the album will be released as a single in January Words: Ben Hogwood

tags: | gossip | beth | ditto | ben | hogwood | white stripes | yeah yeah yeahs | bruce | paine | more...

The Long Blondes

The Long Blondes

Sheffield 's immaculately styled and wonderfully named The Long Blondes have made an impressive start to their fledgling career. Having forged a reputation as the hardest working unsigned band in showbiz, the five-piece signed to Rough Trade in April and now find themselves sitting on the most eagerly awaited debut album since, well, the Arctic Monkeys. The band are eager to distance themselves from lazy comparisons to the Monkeys' My Space bothering teenage juggernaut, with singer Kate Jackson insisting it's purely coincidence that two critically hyped groups have emerged from Sheffield’s music scene in under a year. "A few bands from Sheffield are doing well right now," she says. "But there's an age gap between us and the Arctic Monkeys, and our sound is pretty distinct." Indeed, the escapism fuelled ' Someone to Drive You Home' is at first listen a million miles from the gritty, kitchen-sink vignettes of ' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I’m Not'. A swaggering, glam and gloriously pop record, The Long Blondes' debut is also fittingly literate for a band partly formed from ex-Sheffield university library staff. "We want to write classic pop songs," explains the group's foppish guitarist Dorian Cox. "We're part of a lineage that started with Elvis and Dusty Springfield, and went through everything from 70s disco to Stock, Aitken and Waterman. We want to be as good at writing hit songs as Abba were." This might sound like a new band's attempt at being fashionably arch and gaining some column inches in the process, yet ' Someone To Drive You Home' does go some of the way to fulfilling the group's manifesto of forming, they say, the "ultimate fantasy pop group: Nico, Nancy Sinatra, Diana Dors, Barbara Windsor." In fact, the real Long Blondes are all brunettes. "We think it's subversive to write a really good pop song, when the story behind it is not necessarily particularly cheerful," says Cox, who co-writes the often rather introspective lyrics with Jackson . Early single ' Giddy Stratospheres' is a dancefloor friendly case in point, offering a barbed warning to an ex-lover's new girlfriend in a sugar-coated, hook-laden package. In this sense, a more accurate pointer to their influences would have to include those other Sheffield purveyors of seedy glamour, Pulp. If it's hard to imagine Pete Waterman and co penning a hit with lyrics that make reference to Anna Karenina, as The Long Blondes do during ' Lust In The Movies' , it's certainly less of a leap to imagine Jarvis Cocker doing the same. The group often appear keen to avoid naming obvious influences (their website features a list of who their influences definitely aren't, which includes both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), yet it's surely significant that the album is produced by former Pulp bassist Steve Mackay. The band must be hoping that Mackay has done a good job; being unsigned critical darlings has proved a poisoned chalice in the past, just ask Gay Dad. If the pressure of an incessant industry buzz and a precocious fan base that used to turn up at the band's places of work wasn't enough, winning the prestigious Philip Hall Radar gong at February's NME awards certainly confirmed the group as everyone’s one to watch - previous winners include Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs. "We’re lucky to have had the attention," shrugs Cox. "I do believe we've got the quality and staying power to survive any backlash." It's a testament not only to the group's joyful music and iconic looks that they’ve made it this far. Their speedy rise through the indie ranks since they formed in February 2003 has also been aided by typically Northern qualities of commitment, hard graft and tenacity. In between holding down full-time day jobs in surroundings as glamorous as Sheffield University , a Leeds art library, and the media studies department of a Rotherham college, the band managed to support Franz Ferdinand at a sold out Alexandra Palace , play New York and Sweden , and fit in the 340 mile round-trip to play regular London shows. It was left to sole driver Jackson to take the wheel of their humble tour bus. Despite the twin pressures of their musical and working lives, the group resisted the temptation to sign the first deal that was thrust at them by the hordes of hungry A&R men circling in the Blondes' waters. "It was like leading a double life," says Jackson . "But it was important that we held out for the right deal. Not getting one straightaway was good for us. When Rough Trade came in for us we were ready." "We didn't want to jump into anything headfirst," agrees Cox. "We had to make sure that we made the right decision. Complete artistic freedom was important to us. So was cash." Signing the deal has of course freed the band from the monotony of the nine-to-five grind, meaning an end to turning down gigs because of early starts and pulling sickies in order to play New York . Now that The Long Blondes are full time musicians, looking the part isn't doing their marketability any harm. "We used to see each other walking around the city. We were already the coolest people in Sheffield , so we obviously had to from a band," says Jackson, who sold vintage clothes on eBay for a living during their unsigned days. Jackson provides a striking and iconic focal point for the band's energetic live performances, and is the most photogenic member of a group that includes two other stylish females in guitarist Emma Chaplin and bassist Reenie Hollis. "Looking good doesn't do any harm," she says. "But I don’t like the suggestion that a band must be style over substance just because there are girls in the band." That she lost out only narrowly and rather incongruously to Madonna as Sexiest Woman at the NME awards illustrates how far her own star has already risen. She has drawn flattering, if obvious, comparisons to Blondie's Debbie Harry, for both her vocal style and her attention grabbing presence. While Jackson insists that she looks up to nobody in the rock frontwoman stakes, it's a refreshing prospect to have one of the first truly memorable female singers in indie since the days of Elastica's Justine Frishmann and Sleeper's Louise Wener. "I had posters of Justine Frishmann on my wall when I was younger," says Jackson , "there aren't enough girls in bands that make it to a decent level." With Jackson and the girls garnishing much of the attention afforded to the band, it's easy to imagine Cox and drummer Screech Louder (named by hippie parents, who may or may not have been ' Saved by the Bell ' fans) feeling left out. Yet Cox insists that they love shopping "as much as the girls do." The Long Blondes show a healthy wariness both of the attention they have already received in their short existence, and of being lumped in with an arguably non-existent Steel City scene (along with the ubiquitous Arctic Monkeys, and the less well known likes of Milburn and Razor Stiletto). "Sheffield is not some kind of musical Mecca ," insists Cox. "But since there’s not much going on there at times, young people can concentrate on rehearsing and writing songs." The city's educational establishments may have brought the group’s members to Yorkshire, but it was the cheap, youth orientated and easy going lifestyle it offered that kept The Long Blondes in Sheffield and allowed their music to emerge free of the pressures more fashionable locations might have exerted. "Being in Sheffield kept us out of the public eye long enough for us to develop, it gave us the freedom we needed," says Cox. It has been a suitably singular development so far for a band that formed "almost by accident," but if The Long Blondes debut album is anything to by, it sounds as though Sheffield's newest industry, imaginary or not, is doing just fine. The album 'Someone To Drive You Home' is available now Words: James Hurley

tags: | the long blondes | kate | jackson | rough trade | arctic monkeys | sheffield | james | more...

Wolfmother

Who ever said rhythm and blues was dead? It's alive, and kicking some serious indie ass in the form of Aussie trio Wolfmother. Riding high on a wave of success including a nearing platinum debut album and global sell out live shows, Wolf-mania has taken hold. Notion caught up with the leader of the pack backstage at this year's Reading festival to talk about the Jackass boys, spreading Wolf love and how they're coping with their newfound fame... Sprawled outside the press tent on the grass, lead singer and Wolfmother spokesman, Andrew Stockdale looks every inch the 70s rock star. All big hair, flares and waistcoat he's reminiscent of a present day Jim Morrison, without the heinous alcohol addiction of course. So how was the Reading experience for the band? "It's been really good," drawls Andrew. "Yeah I like it. The festival seems like it's got a bit more of an artistic feel to it. Loads of interesting bands playing too." Wolfmother being one of those bands. Plenty of festival goers were adorning Wolfmother t-shirts all over the site, and their tracks were blasting from many a stereo back at the campsite. Their live show at Reading was pretty impressive too. Taking the slot just after midday on the main stage they pulled a monstrous crowd of everyone from middle-aged Slayer fans to under-aged scenesters. Their stadium rock sound is accessible to pretty much everyone. But how did Andrew think it went? "I got woken up in my bunk and it was like two hours til showtime, so I quickly had something to eat and a shower then walked onto the stage, but I think we managed to get the ball rolling!" That they certainly did. Within seconds they had managed to whip the baying throng of fans into a frenzy. Do the band get nerves before playing in front of these huge crowds? "Yeah I was a bit nervous," admits Andrew "I really wanted to do a good show. I wanted it to go well and come across the right way..." But there’s a cure for those pre-gig jitters, "Just drink a lot!" Andrew laughs "And hang out with the guys, crack a few jokes. Try to relax a bit and then just kind of go for it!" But life wasn't always about album sales, beer and gigs. Each of the Wolfmother threesome had respectable responsible jobs before the band formed. Drummer Myles was a graphics whizz, bass player and Hammond organist Chris worked in all things digital whilst Andrew was a successful exhibiting photographer. So how did Wolfmother come to fruition? Andrew muses, "I kind of lost interest in what I was doing with photography. Like creatively I ran out of options and things to do. So I started playing the acoustic guitar at home and recording some tracks. I did a demo of acoustic songs, and for me that was like a trip just to record a song, all the lyrics and the vocals. I was like - hey check this out I've written a song!" The whirling riff-infused rock anthem 'Woman' was on that said demo, and attracted the interest of a friend who offered Andrew his first gig, "So I rang up the guys and said "look I've got this show coming up - do you want to learn these songs?" We had two weeks! So we got together and did it, that was two years ago." Pretty good going. "Like we were all jamming before, but that was the transition. As when you jam there's no rules. But that was the first experience we had as a group." Wolfmother was born and the band quickly released an independent EP that won over friends and fans alike. An A&R frenzy ensued and the band signed to Island, which they now call their home. Rave reviews, packed out shows and worldwide praise quickly followed. But with all this fame beckoning and a gold album under his band's belt does Andrew think he's changed at all? "Erm. For some reason I think that maybe I'm a little bit more at peace with myself because I’ve done something I want to do. And also I've had a lot of time to think to myself, like on planes and driving and things like that... you have a lot of time to work out what you’re about y'know. And I think maybe before I had so much pressure to do other things I couldn't do that. Any time I have spare now I use it to get ideas for music and songs." Ahh, the sweet life of a rock star. There must be some cons to this lifestyle though? "It's just like anyone else’s life," ponders Andrew "Sometimes you wake up and you’re like "I don’t want to go to work." You can't want to do it every day of the week. It's kind of like a discipline. You've got to have that drive, and you've got to want to do it. So you force yourself to do it sometimes and when you finish you’re like yeah that's fucking cool, that’s great." Both press and fans have readily made comparisons to legends Led Zeppelin. With their stadium sounding guitars screaming out rolling riffs over an organ backdrop these three rock gods are the modern day version of that Page and Plant supergroup. But what does Andrew think of the association? "I think they're a great band and it's a good reference point to be compared with." Not half. However Wolfmother are already rock gods in their own right. And are being championed as such, "It's a great honour to have that label bestowed upon us, hopefully we can do it justice and live up to it!" smiles Andrew. Well if 2006 is anything to go by they're definitely living up to the name. So with one very successful debut album on their side the future's looking bright for the band, and they’re already busy writing new tracks for the next one. Many bands choose to go down a more experimental route after a few albums, for example take Radiohead who after 'OK Computer' totally changed direction and started using samplers and computers to create their sound. Is this something we might see happening to Wolfmother later down the line? "Maybe, but not too much. I do like Radiohead and I like the Beatles and the way they reinvented themselves. But I also like bands like AC/DC where every album for the past 20 years is like another variation of the same riff," Andrew laughs. "That's cool too you know. Because there's so many possibilities, infinite possibilities within a guitar." And Andrew makes use of his instrument in the best possible manner on stage with Pete Townshend-esque windmills and guttural feedback. There's no limit to the guitar sounds and noises that infiltrate Wolfmother's tracks. Anyone who has seen them live will know that the band are the epitome of rock and roll on stage, but how do they fare off stage? Any rock star antics to speak of? "Hmm," muses Andrew, "let's see what happens. That's a spanner in the works I think." Watch this space then. The group also recently teamed up with MTV legends Johnny Knoxville and Steve-O from Jackass. Latest single 'Joker and the Thief' features on the new Jackass movie and the lads are also in the track's video. "They were cool," smirks Andrew "They're living the dream! The cool thing with those guys is that like nothing would embarrass them. The first thing Johnny said to me was "Steve-O is a very famous premature ejaculator" and Steve-O's like "I figure it's a compliment to the woman," laughs Andrew. "And the Wee-man he's cool too. He bought out a birthday cake for me for my birthday in Sydney. He was great." And how does it feel to have the prestiged lead track on the new Jackass film? "I think it's perfect. It’s like 'The Joker and the Thief' is almost meant to be for them. They're like jokers y'know, like the jesters of the modern era so the song fits in perfectly." So not only content with mega-sized album sales, Wolfmother are now taking on television, they truly are bona fide rock stars with their fingers in all the pies. And good luck to them, their music is epic and their live performances enigmatic and that's two very important boxes ticked in my book. But what’s the final word from Andrew to his fans? "Keep spreading the wolf love!" We will Andrew, we sure will. NEW SINGLE ' LOVE TRAIN' IS AVAILABLE NOW. SEE THEM LIVE TOURING THE UK IN NOVEMBER. WORDS: EMMA EDMONDSON

tags: | wolfmother | band | rock | music | festival | jackass | steve-o | mtv | led zeppelin | more...

Tilly and The Wall

Tilly and The Wall

Since releasing their first album 'Wild Like Children' two years ago, Tilly and the Wall have been quietly taking over America with their unique and raucous shows, and now have their eyes firmly set on taking on this side of the pond. Gate-crashing their first day off in weeks, most of the band are found relaxing amongst their many shopping bags (Jamie is asleep) as they prepare to finish off their European tour which has already seen successful appearances at the Carling Weekender in Reading and Leeds and Rob Da Bank's Bestival on the Isle of Wight. Many bands are given the "unique" mantle, but Tilly and the Wall really are a one-off. Formed in 2003 in Nebraska, Omaha, by friends Neely Jenkins, Kianna Alarid, Derek Presnall, Nick White and Jamie Williams, they have created a travelling road show packed with dancing, energy, music and is, as Kianna puts it, "a helluva a lot of fun." Let me explain... Tilly isn't laid out in the usual band way. For a start they all stand in a line on the stage (no big frontman stealing the limelight), they pretty much all have a hand in the singing, although Kianna and Neely take on most of it, their music seems to have influences from absolutely everybody, from early pop and folk to German industrial, and they don't bother with a drummer. Who needs one when the glamorous Jamie can do just as good a job with the percussion by tap dancing on a metal plate? Eight months after their conception, they were signed and Tilly and the Wall have been touring around America and Europe ever since, slowly building a legion of dedicated Tilly fans across the globe from their headquarters slap bang in the middle of the United States. "Omaha is kind of a slower paced place, which is so nice when you get back from touring." Says the effervescent Kianna, "There are a lot of those really long trains you see in films passing through. A lot of trains and a lot of music in Nebraska. People have the wrong idea of Omaha, they think that it's the kind of place where we don’t have soap and stuff like that and it's all farms, but was one of the first boomtowns and was known as the gateway to the West. It became a pretty big city." "Although when Derek and Nick first moved there," Neely laughs, "they did have a chicken living under their house and they thought that was normal behaviour for folk from Omaha - that everyone has a chicken." Their name comes from the children's book Tillie and the Wall written and illustrated by Leo Lionni. The band explains, "It’s a really cute story about a mouse and has really pretty artwork which is all kind of like cut-outs and collagey - which is a bit like the way we view ourselves, as a collage of different bits. In the end it made perfect sense. We had a show coming up and that was the name that we all agreed on from the list we'd made." Jamie's more matter of fact about it, "Well we had to put some kind of name on a flyer for our first show, and we thought that it was pretty cute, so we went with it and it stuck." If you've not been along to see one of Tilly's shows, then you should pop along next chance you get - you're in for a treat. "The Tilly shows are a total party," Kianna enthuses. "We try to make them as fun as possible. We always like to make sure that the crowd are just as much a part of what we're doing as us. We like to give them back what they're giving to us, so we kind of feed off each others' energy." Neely continues: "Although when they don't give us anything it can be kinda hard! But we try and give them something even if they are being like that. When that happens you can’t help but take it a bit personally - it's like 'WHY? Why are you being like that? Do you hate us? Give us some help! It's weird because we always have people come up to us after the show and are really comfortable talking to us, and I only know like, a couple of bands where I'd feel like I could do that and not be a bit intimidated. We love it when people come up to us though!" When asked about their festival experiences here in the UK, their faces light up. Kianna picks up the thread: "The Reading and Leeds one is so different to other festivals - you can tell it's a lot more corporate, which I don't mean in a bad way but I've never seen anything like it. There was just this huge mass of people. It was so cool. And people were just off their rockers for the whole weekend." Derek looks up from his cup of tea to conclude, "It was really different to Bestival which was really pretty and colourful and more refined in the way it was laid out - it was more like a fashion show than a festival!" So they made it through their first lot of British festivals without having bottles of piss thrown at them? "BOTTLES OF PISS?" Neely is incredulous, "Is that what they were throwing? It’s weird because we had some friends from Omaha over for the shows and they were looking at people throwing cups of beer around, and they were like 'Why would you throw your beer? It's really expensive!' But if they were throwing around bottles of pee? That's gross! I was watching the Arctic Monkeys and I saw this guy throw an open umbrella across the crowd, I grabbed it and said to him 'THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA' he was all sorry but I was shouting 'BUT WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!' it was broken and wouldn't shut so I had to crunch it down and then walk through the crowd and throw it away." Kianna interjects, "Neely was a fourth grade teacher by the way!" I was in total mum mode - I just went all responsible - He was really drunk and he could have poked out 12 people's eyes with that," Neely responds. After bouncing backwards and forwards over the Atlantic on numerous tours this year, is there much difference between touring at home and in foreign climes? "The main difference is that we drive ourselves everywhere at home," Neely explains. "We usually drive to our shows when we're in the States and that means that two people have to stay up or get up early to drive places, and that's really hard. We have a tour manager when we're here and that's something we never have in the States and it really makes such a huge difference. He organises everything for us and has absolutely everything down and tells us where we’re going and we follow what he says." "It's so cool touring here but even though when we're touring at home we drive everywhere, to me it feels a lot less tiring than when we are in the UK. It's probably because we're only over here for a short amount of time so we have to pack all of our shows into that time whereas at home we can space it out a bit," Jamie adds. This Christmas sees them taking two months off to concentrate on putting together their third album, which gets us onto the subject of Jamie's tap dancing - how do you write songs for feet? Kianna answers for the napping Jamie, "She's very instinctive when it comes to rhythms and beats, but it's very similar to writing for a drum part - there are bridges and there are parts when you want it slowed down. Everything she can do just like a drummer." Derek adds, "It does take lot longer to write those parts though as she'll say "I think it should be a bit like this (does a kind of beatbox of someone tap dancing) and you're like "what does that mean?" so you've got to try and get your head around that part of it. And we also have to think of the bass drum beats to go with it. We are getting to know the names of a series of steps and moves and timings now though so it's getting a bit easier." "We write a little differently to other bands I've been in before, in that we all go away and write independently and then come back and then whoever wrote it directs how that song should sound - we don't sit around in a garage jamming hoping to build something out of one riff," Derek explains. Tilly and the Wall are always going to be seen as a bit unusual, as would any band that decides they don't need a drummer when someone tap dancing on a metal plate is just as good. The best thing about them is that they are making their music because making music is fun, rather than with an eye on record sales and their bank accounts. If you get a chance, get yourself to their next gig and dance yourself silly. THE ALBUM ' BOTTOMS OF BARRELS' IS AVAILABLE ON MOSHI MOSHI RECORDS NOW. WORDS: JOSH JONES

tags: | tilly and the wall | bottoms of barrels | moshi moshi | band | music | festival | piss | more...

Peter, Bjorn and John

Peter, Bjorn and John

Peter, Bjorn and John used to be simply Peter, Bjorn and a drum machine and apparently made "some shit records." It wasn't until 1999, after meeting John and discovering their mutual appreciation of similar music, that Peter, Bjorn and John came together as a proper grown up band, with proper grown up songs. And it's only now, after the release of their third album, 'Writers Block', that the UK has decided to take notice. Talking to a Swedish man through a crackly mobile phone is not an easy task. Although Bjorn's English is far better than it has any right to be, I am struggling to make myself heard and understood through the torturous bleeps and whizzes my phone is inflicting on the ears of the both of us. Fortunately, Bjorn is relaxed and unconcerned about such potential interview halters as not being able to understand each other. Speaking from a Stockholm recording studio, Bjorn is happy to tell me all about the band he has invested nearly 15 years in. Or at least that’s what I think he said. Either way, I decided to continue with the interview until he hung up or my phone decided enough is enough and stopped working all together. It was difficult, but we both took one for the team. The current new interest in the threesome is due in no small part to the release of their gorgeous single 'Young Folks'. Featuring the sublime vocal talent that is Victoria Bergsman, now formerly of fellow Swedish group The Concretes, 'Young Folks' made the playlist of Radio One and MTV. A duet in the fullest Sonny and Cher tradition, it is a track that has drifted into everyone’s head throughout the summer. A song about growing up and finding love, 'Young Folks' also features the whistling skills of Bjorn, something that has given the tune that unique quirk sometime needed to make a song stand out in the saturated world of indie-pop. Thankfully, it's catchy as well. I ask Bjorn whether there was any commercial motivation for working with Victoria; whether the fact that The Concretes have already been a success in the UK influenced their decision to utilise her unique vocal? "No it was not," comes the defensive reply, "we could have got someone else in if we wanted that, maybe someone like Jay-Z." However, surly Swedish sarcasm aside, Bjorn does admit that Victoria's presence on the single may have helped a bit, especially in the UK where the identification of a voice so unique and recognisable has forced people to sit up and take notice. As such, exposure has steadily increased throughout the year and Peter, Bjorn and John are having to consider the possibility of giving up, or at least spending less time, on their regular day jobs. For Bjorn, as a producer, little has changed, except that he's working a lot more with his own band than with other people's. However, for one member of the band, touring Europe as opposed to simply touring Stockholm could come as quite a shock. "Peter is a librarian," explains Bjorn, "it wouldn’t be a surprise if he has to stop that soon." Nevertheless, although playing live is a virtual necessity to commercial success, I get the impression that perhaps Peter, Bjorn and John would be happier playing the odd little gig in their home city rather than taking their show on the road for the enjoyment of the wider world. I put it to Bjorn that he prefers spending his time in the studio environment. "Yes I do, very much, but it is nice to get out and play a bit. It is also getting more fun now that the audience know your stuff more. Maybe my feelings will change." Hopefully for the sake of his sanity they will. A series of gigs in the UK and throughout the rest of Europe has already been planned for the next few months and Bjorn admits that he has ambitions to take the band further afield in the near future. "The priority is the album, but we'd like to go to places like Australia and the US, places we haven't been before." For the time being though, the band are rightfully focusing on promoting their new album. The first of their three albums to be released in the UK, 'Writer’s Block' is a self-produced group of songs that evoke the same wistful sound achieved by bands like Kings of Convenience and The Concretes with the arrangement and production style of a 3 EPs-era Beta Band. Recorded in a similar fashion to their previous two releases, in that the album was funded and recorded without the aid of a record company, Peter, Bjorn and John eventually attracted the attentions of V2 who snapped up the rights to 'Writer’s Block'. Bjorn is quick to rebuke suggestions of selling out though. "It's not about the money," he insists, "it's all about people hearing our songs, it's all about exposure." Essentially your traditional guitar-based pop, 'Writer's Block' is produced in a manner similar to many other Scandinavian albums. With the vocals low down in the mix, the listener is immersed into the entire song; they are not simply following a stand-out melody. The tracks are catchy and easy to listen to, but that is not to say they are simple. On the contrary in fact, there are plenty of little noises and sub-melodies to keep the listener hooked for much longer than on your average LP. It is also wistful and floaty, evoking the Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' at times, but it never becomes complicated or in any way a chore. It is an album for sunsets and stolen kisses, for loving and dreaming, but never for fighting. I bring up the Scandinavian "style" and the affinity apparent between the UK and Bjorn’s homeland. Is there some kind of special musical relationship between the countries, one of mutual appreciation and respect? "I think we like UK stuff more than maybe we like American stuff. It goes back a long way. The Beatles came here first, well it was the first country after Germany, and since then I think there has always been a migration of music." What is it about Scandinavian bands that strikes such a chord in the UK? A mutual appreciation of the guitar, of clever songs and engaging tunes, along with the guts and an environment suitable for pushing the boundaries appears to be the mutual consensus. Why then don't we have a similar affinity with the French, for example? Why are we drawn towards Scandinavia more than our other neighbours? "They don’t have good rock bands," is the blunt reply, "it is the same with countries like Holland and Belgium, they have nothing." This may well be true, but the ability of Sweden's rock bands to sing in English and without an accent means that their music fits seamlessly into UK music scene. Lyrically, the complicated, but universal themes of confusion, longing, love and ambition float across their work. Anyone can relate to what they say. As such, however complicated Peter Moren, Bjorn Yttling and John Eriksson may well be in their heads, when they come together on record they are simply Peter, Bjorn and John. THE SINGLE ' LETS CALL IT OFF' IS RELEASED ON WICHITA ON OCTOBER 30TH . WORDS: SIMON COOPER

tags: | peter | bjorn | john | lets call it off | wichita | scandanavia | sweden | v2 | more...

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