London
The Provincial Archive – Common Cards (time-limited download…)
There’s a lot of music comes through the Backseat Mafia front-door mail flap, as you’d probably expect. Perusing the stack of titles I came upon The Provincial Archive and I was snagged with the name. That understated, everyday-sounding handle evokes secret societies with niche and/or subversive agendas; not so much the illuminati or opus dei, …
Interview: Goldheart Assembly
Just last week, we posed some questions to Goldheart Assembly, on the occasion of a new album and supporting tour. Jim Fletcher is their interrogator; John, James and Jake are the subjects. Backseat Mafia: Goldheart Assembly – how are things at the moment? John: Skittish. James: In limbo. BM: You’ve a new record out (“Long …
New Music: Daniel James – A Lonely Man
Northern-Irish singer-songwriter Daniel James has a new song out called “A Lonely Man”. The 23-year-old, now living in London, has recently been a featured artist on Radio 1’s ‘Introducing’ show. Daniel tells us that this soulful track aims to intertwine two stories – a more commonplace, everyday tale of struggling with day-to-day life and carving …
Comic: Monsters of Rock by Sally-Anne Hickman
Some time ago I proudly announced to Jim that I was also going to write a bit about comics and graphic novels. Since then I have done absolutely nothing on either. With the approaching promise of a family holiday, however, I took a trip to London’s two greatest comics stores to see what was on …
New Music: CatBearTree – Let’s Share Hearts
CatBearTree are a south-London threepiece made up of Zoe Konez (guitar), Claudia Mansaray (bass) and Sarah Smith (drums) who released their debut EP on Friday 2nd August, launching it through a multi-act bill at the Finsbury in Manor House, North London, up near my neck of the woods. They’ve been together since 2011, practising and perfecting …
Video: Backseat Mafia meets Cult of Luna
Last night, despite the heatwave engulfing London, I positioned myself in the hottest room in my house, closed all the windows and doors to shut out extraneous noise, and talked to Cult of Luna singer and guitarist Johannes Persson. The Swedish metal band released their sixth album in January and have been on and off …
Interview: Tift Merritt
“I’m gonna be Molotov !” (none of the images contained in this article were shot in my house…) It’s just as well that Tift Merritt came round for dinner. Worrying about the cooking stopped me being so nervous about talking to her. How did this come about ? Well, it’s a tale of jetlag, Oliver’s …
Live: Secret Cinema presents Laura Marling – Cardinal Pole Lower School, Hackney, London
ON A WEEKEND in which some of her fellow folk revivalists were busy dividing opinion at Worthy Farm, Laura Marling was finishing a run of unique, ‘immersive’ nights in a world far removed from the easy, egalitarian vibes of Glastonbury. Marling, now LA-resident, is ploughing a furrow very much independent of the likes of the …
Tift Merritt and Simone Dinnerstein: Live at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre
Tonight I’m at the Purcell Room in London to see Tift Merritt and Simone Dinnerstein playing their 2013 album “Night” (plus some additional tracks that we were lucky enough to hear). I don’t know that there’s a duff arts venue in the whole of the Southbank Centre. The BFI quickly became the only place I …
Track: Rotty – Introducing Rotty E.P.
Citizens. It’s times like these we have to be vigilant. If you happen to be in the vicinity of a nightclub, soundsystem, or even radio, never mind on the internet, you might get offered something. Like all these things its a short term fix for a long term problem, to make all those worries go …