Music

By Jonathan Hatchman,music writer The August Bank Holiday weekend is almost upon us, once more, thus proving inevitable that thousands of people will descend upon Richfield Avenue in Reading, and Bramham Park in Leeds for three days of live music played across two of the nation's most popular music festivals. Featuring a lineup that hosts plenty of big names, including headliners Queens Of The Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys and Blink 182, as well as Paramore, Jake Bugg, Disclosure and more....

By Alex Lodge @alexlodgemusic  I could go on and on about racial stereotyping, drug references influencing children, overt sex references influencing children, the glorification of alcohol and guns, but I’m sure the outrage brigade will cover off all of these points soon enough. They don’t really bother me that much anyway as if they did I wouldn’t be able to listen to Mobb Deep ever again. What really bothers me about this heinous song / video combination is that it’s...

By Alex Lodge @alexlodgemusic  The image that always comes to mind when I think about Werkdiscs – the shadowy techno label run by Darren Cunningham - is the memory of his musical moniker Actress' show at St John's in Hackney last year. It was a fantastically claustrophobic and terrifying performance, during which he stalked the stage, hooded and fiercely mysterious, surveying the dancers before him swaying to the hypnotic whisper of his hissing beats. The Werkdiscs output is so dominated...

By Richard C Roberts I vividly recall the 2001 last night of the Proms. I remember the tears rolling down my 12-year-old cheeks as Leonard Slatkin conducted a devotional rendition of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings in memory of all those who had died a few days earlier in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 – it was almost certainly the first time I cried at a piece of music (though by no means the last). When set alongside the manifold...

By Alex Lodge @alexlodgemusic Everyone loves a back-story with their music – it puts everything in context – and as back-stories go, there’s nothing better than a rags to riches, underdog-takes-the-prize back-story. In today’s world of the relentless digital information tsunami, pop music has become much more this type of package deal, which is why everything you read about Tahliah Barnett aka FKA Twigs debut full length LP1 (Young Turks) plays on the fact that she began her career as...

By Jonathan Hatchman, music writer With Field Day, Wireless and last weekend's LeeFest having passed us by, the Capital's live music spotlight is now shining brightly upon this weekend's Lovebox Festival. Held in East London's Victoria Park, the event boasts two days of live music from a range of acts with a embracing a broad spectrum of, slightly more mainstream, musical tastes. Set to open its doors on Friday afternoon, we've compiled a handy guide of ten great acts that...

By Harry Bedford  The Union Chapel in Islington provides a stunning setting for a music concert, especially on a summer’s evening when the dimming sunlight shines through the stain glass windows and the chatter from the crowd resonates up to the rafters. The old wooden pews surround the stage allowing the entire audience a perfect view of the stage where the artists deliver their musical sermons. Tonight is the turn of country music songstress Caitlin Rose on the eve of...

Jack Peat reviews the musician’s musician at the 606 Club, Chelsea. There’s no better way of exposing the absolute mundaneness of everyday chart music than an evening with Bobby Wellins. Indeed, it is altogether impossible to fathom how such music exists when there is such a rich musical alternative readily available. Structureless in nature, but all the more intriguing for being so, tonight was the evening I fell back in love with jazz. The 606 Club in Chelsea is a...

By Jonathan Hatchman Not dissimilar to the assassination of JFK, it seems that everyone can recall exactly where they were when Michael Jackson was pronounced dead on June 25th 2009. Regardless of personal preferences and stances towards his music, there can be no denying that Jackson was, indeed, one of the most famous and iconic musicians to ever grace our planet. Dying tragically at the young age of just 51, it seems unbelievable that five years have passed. So tying...