Entertainment

By Mani Khawaja (@manikhawaja88) I've never really heard a rock band from Italy, much less a post-hardcore/indie-punk one, so I was pretty intrigued when I heard about LAGS and their debut album, Pilot. My interest was only further piqued, when I found out that the band's drummer was also an internationally renowned athlete who has represented his country on numerous occasions. The album kicks off guns blazing with the high energy track, aptly titled 'A Push and A Rush'. With...

By Rob Foster @futuresinfinite There’s no doubting that when it comes to political fashion, devolution is one of this Parliament’s essential items.  Following the Scottish referendum, the much-vaunted “Northern Powerhouse” schemes & the introduction of the Cities &Local Government Devolution Bill, the recent deadline for local proposals to be submitted to DCLG saw over thirty detailed bids put forward.  Cities, regions, counties & as yet unnamed combinations of local areas in England are bidding to assume greater powers & responsibilities from...

Rob Foster @FuturesInfinite interviews Simon Parker author of Taking Power Back Published by Policy Press Local Devolution in England is at the forefront of political thinking at the moment, although like all seemingly overnight sensations it’s taken a long time to arrive. Do you think its time has finally come, that genuine devolution really is going to happen? What would you say are the biggest obstacles? Well devolution is happening & it is real, & we’re seeing substantial powers going...

By Declan Roberts (@DeclanMR) Imagine a sunnier, tropical version of Wu Lyf or an up-tempo Copacabana Hard-Fi and Sun Club is what you get. Mixing Splashh melodies with booming vocals Sun Club’s The Dongo Durango promotes a paradoxically rebellious and systematic sing-along. ‘Summer Feet’ opens proceedings in exotic fashion. ’Worm City’ is quite something. Think Jonathan Higgs from Everything Everything teaming up with the surrealistic elements of Bowie’s Kingdom. Hard-hitting, extravagant and vibrantly interesting. ‘Carnival Dough’ rumbles accordingly but duller...

Strictly Come Dancing star and BBC presenter Jeremy Vine has hit back at fans telling him to quit the competition, vowing to give it his all until he's voted out. The Radio 2 broadcaster, who is keeping a diary of his Strictly journey on his official website http://jeremyvine.tv has posted a message from a Strictly viewer calling him a ‘bovine’ and suggesting he ‘MOVE ON’. In response, Vine posted a video in which he talks directly to ‘Martin’, the person...

By Kane Power (@ElHeavio) Among the plethora of ‘next big online music hub’ start-ups this year is a company that promises to ‘stand out from the crowd’; Stereotribes. A kind of Kickstarter/Bandcamp crossover, Stereotribes caters for artists or anyone with an even slightly music related project, providing a central site for media and integrated crowd-funding capabilities. I was invited along to the beta website launch on Friday night and I’ve got to be totally honest, my first impression was along...

By Kane Power (@ElHeavio) 23.10.15, The Hope and Anchor, London Ever since there has been a ‘man’ to rebel against, there have been rebels to tell other rebels that they aren’t rebels. Elitism in punk is old hand; overdone and over argued, but that it still exists in 2015 is actually a kind of comfort to me. When being a rebel is mainstream there’s little room for individualism and little cause for angst, so it’s up to groups within the...

By Grant Bailey (@GrantDBailey) It is important to note that before embarking on a career as a claymation animator you may be resigning yourself to an existence of long days, dark rooms and painstaking, steady progress. The fruits of that labour can be spectacular, however. If you are yet to experience the ragged, visceral joy of animator Lee Hardcastle’s claymation, we aim to fix that immediately. The Leeds native is getting everywhere lately, venting his twisted visions in music videos,...

Wix have joined forces with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for the launch of Wix Music 2.0. As part of this collaboration, the Seattle-based duo are creating a series of custom videos for Wix Music users to help mentor emerging artists and provide valuable guidance on how to succeed as an independent artist. Freeing musicians from the expensive and time-consuming task of piecing together the tools they need, Wix Music is a complete, commission-free platform, empowering artists to independently introduce, share, sell...