great escape – and so she thinks

Bushstock!

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 10:54:07 +0000

A festival in Shepherd’s Bush you say. Only 10 minutes down the road. Curated by the guys at Communion. I’m there. Except, thanks to a particularly riotous IAH Friday gig to see in the Queen’s Jubilee weekend at The King’s Head (thanks Mishal Moore, Abi Murray and ScenicLife) I found myself with an inability to sit upright for more than 2 mins and so very nearly wasn’t. Eventually, loaded on carbs, we braved the 207 and made our way down the long and winding Uxbridge Road to Bushstock 2012. I would imagine that most people reading this will be familiar with Communion, but in case not (or if my Dad has decided to read this) the Communion label is home to Lucy Rose, Daughter, Mumford & Sons, Marcus Foster and Rachel Sermanni – in other words perfect music to sooth a storming head.

One of those wrist band affairs, Bushstock spans four venues, of which the Sunday Best (yes, it took place on a Saturday) at the Defector’s Weld hosted the strongest line up, but an unfortunate layout and poor sound made for a frustrating experience. When Rae Morris took to the stage early in the afternoon the room was already packed it, her strong voice astounding many, its power even more startling in contrast to her huskily quiet stage banter and the commonplace surroundings of a local pub. Whilst it is the lungs of Rae Morris that captured the room, Alessi’s Ark thrives on understated simplicity, the clipped diction and careful fretwork beautifully accentuated her wistful and smooth folk songs, and the cries of ‘I love Alessi’ and whispers of ‘wow’ suggest the crowd were just as enamoured by her short but sweet set.

We may have delusions that folk music all orginates from frolicking in fields musing on life, but today ‘where is my life going and what does it mean’ thoughts are for more likely to take place at 3am with a thumping head slumped in the club toilets, and so the converted public conveniences of Ginglik were not as odd a venue as you may think, particular highlights being Oh Burgundy and Gabriel and The Hounds.
As venues go, St Stephen’s Chutch ticks many a box. Ornate windows, tall white columns and acoustics to rival heaven, this was the perfect setting for the moody melodies of Daughter and frenetic fiddling of Bear’s Den, as well as a place of sanctuary when the summer skies opened upon us. It was Lanterns On The Lake who were the highlight – lush strings, powerful drumming, vibrant vocals and passionate delivery, combining to create something akin to an experience. Given that each of their soundscapes stretches in at least half a dozen minutes, the set was not big on quantity, but did not leave wanting on that other q. Their recent hit (in my small circles where Amazing Radio is the equivalent of the Top 40) A Kingdom was spellbinding but it was Not Going Back To The Harbour that left me with a tear in my eye, and allowed me to momentarily forget the hellish hangover. Epically beautiful and hauntingly intense, this is a song that quietens the voice and rouses the heart even on record, taken to its emotional peak in such a setting.
Other bands of note include Let’s Buy Happiness, whose were a shot of adrenalin to an until now sedately soundtracked day, and the husky vocals of Sarah Hall ensured that the boyfriend and I both left with a crush. In recent months Leicester based Silent Devices have muddied up their once slightly well trodden sound into a fast and frentic dense collection of melodies, intensely ambient atmosphere punctuated with driving rhythms. See them, and Alessi’s Ark, at a festival near you too. headlining the day were the consistently brilliant Mystery Jets, showcasing songs from latest EP Radlands as well as inducing whoops and wails for the hits.

Depending on your frame of reference, at £30 a ticket Bushstock is either expensive (the 3 day Great Escape festival in Brighton for £35) or stupidly cheap (£198 for a Reading Festival ticket anyone?), but for bringing 35 bands to a West London and carving out a space of its own in the musical landscape, and for curating a more compelling line up for the bank holiday weekend that the longstanding Field Day can’t be knocked. Chuck in the laidback feeling, impeccable timing and easy stumbling distance, and I’ll definitely be back next year.

Sykur @ Above Audio/The Great Escape 2012

admin — Tue, 22 May 2012 01:00:02 +0000

11/05/2012
Review by Sophie Kostrowski
From the first moment you hear Sykur you will be left with one question – Why have I not heard this band before?! Everyone you know will think they have the latest band that you need to listen to, but from the moment I heard Sykur I knew that they were real deal. How did I know? Well it helped that their catchy sound and happy beats nestled deep into my mind and I couldn’t stop singing for the rest of the day.
I have been to many gigs over the years but Sykur brought an energy to the stage that that was as infectious as their electro pop beats. Having first seen them at the Camden Barfly, where they created a cloud of happiness that penetrated into the core of everybody, I couldn’t wait to see them at Above Audio. I have to say they did not disappoint and they definitely kept the audience entertained. Their music has elements of great classic 80’s electro, think Human League and Dead or Alive, and then add to the mix Agnes’ energetic vocals and you certainly have one of the sounds of 2012.
With the band coming from Iceland I am not too sure when they will be back in London but as soon as they are I will definitely be there. A band to watch for sure!
Check out Sykur‘s track Curling below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWSHfiYoqs?rel=0]

It's All Happening speak to David's Lyre

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:55:36 +0000

There is little known about David’s Lyre, the current project of Paul Dixon, with the myspace, website and facebook sites all taking a minimalist approach. It’s All Happening set out to discover some facts about his at this year’s Great Escape Festival in Brighton. Watch the video below to find out everything you need to know about the act that is about to explode on to the mainstream..
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCTAtMB4kkg]

Moddi chats to It's All Happening…

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:59:42 +0000

On a sunny day in Brighton at The Great Escape festival, It’s All Happening were lucky enough to chat to Pål Moddi Knutsen, more commonly known as Moddi. Sat at an idyllic location on the beach in front of the pier Moddi discussed growing up in Norway, the process behind his writing and performs two beautiful songs..
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYB3VgJK2mo]

It is what it is… Why Brother's simple lyrics sum up the deepest feelings.

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:40:04 +0000

Francesca Baker
Not content with providing our favourite quote of It’s All Happening’s Great Escape preview zine, Leonard, frontman of Brother also treated us to a stellar soundbite during the inter-song soundbite that stuck in the mind and caused some musings. Having firmly lowered the eyebrows of even the most sceptical industry bods, with his guitar gripped tightly, glint in the eye, sweat glimmering, he ended the ‘million selling smash hit single’ ‘Darling Buds of May’ with the words ‘Some people say that song doesn’t mean anything. But it’s fucking good isn’t it.’
Firstly, I didn’t put a question mark cos it’s pretty clear that this was a rhetorical statement. Brash, bolshy and confident, a lad band to the max, Brother aren’t waiting around for anyone’s approval.
Secondly, I take issue with this statement, or at least the first half. It is fucking good. But not being about anything…it’s about that feeling, the feeling of love and bliss, adoration of the perfect person. ‘Her birthday’s in May!’ Well so what says anyone else, but to you, that’s amazing, because it’s her. ‘And when you walk, and when you walk, I feel better now.’ I don’t think that it’s because the subject the song has a particularly spectacular style of walking, traversing on their hands balancing food parcels on their toes to deliver to third world countries and sprinkling fairy dust in their wake. It’s because it’s her, and he loves her, and everyone in love knows that the love of their life does walk better, laugh better, sleep better, sit better than anyone else, and that they are the. Best. Person. In. The. World. Fact. And thus by association you do feel better.
In this line of work, being able to articulate a sentiment or a notion clearly in words is crucial. You may want to reserve judgement on that one. In a musician’s line of work it’s all about articulating that same sentiment through the medium of the note. ‘Darling Buds of Bay’ perfectly encapsulates that heady and heart throbbing, solid and safe see saw that is love. That’s a pretty good meaning. It is what it is. And it’s fucking good.

It's All Happening interview Team Me on Brighton beach..

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:50:33 +0000

Team Me are a Norwegian 6 piece who It’s All Happening have been following for a while (check out our EP review here). They’re an excitable bunch who take over the stage with a grin and ensure that you will have a good time. It’s All Happening were lucky enough to get all 6 of them together and have a chat on Brighton beach. Unfortunately the interview was curtailed by a local youngster coming off his bike whilst attempting to cycle down the steps from the promenade to the beach. He was fine (his bike less) so but at least you now know why the video ends rather abruptly!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8XYVQG7trw]

Rachel Sermanni performs for IAH at The Great Escape!

admin — Sat, 21 May 2011 19:13:41 +0000

At Great Escape Festival 2011 It’s All Happening were lucky enough to spend a sunny evening in Brighton with Rachel Sermanni.
This page features a series of videos that were taken during our chat, including Rachel performing three songs with her outstanding voice.
First up Rachel discusses the names of her guitars, how she got started in music and the story behind her writing..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQcwOPeUWFM]

The following video is a stunning performance by Rachel. Please excuse the sirens at the start of the video, despite being sat in a tranquil park next to The Royal Pavilion it turns out the road was the other side of the hedge..!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNpG6C9VQSo]

It’s All Happening then chatted to Rachel about her Scottish roots and her love of home, followed by a song..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn9vUjUeVNY]
Last, but by no means least, Rachel performs The Fog as the IAH team watch in awe..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVswuFHOMGY]

The Great Escape 2010

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:14:11 +0000

At last, the event we’ve been waiting for since 16th May 2009, when we arrived back exhausted and exhilarated, sand still in our shoes. The Great Escape is back! TGE 2010 looks set to be the biggest and best yet, with a line up that includes established acts such as Chase & Status, Broken Social Scene and Groove Armada as well as upcoming artists like Chew Lips, Chapel Club and General Fiasco. Add to this industry darlings that include Ellie Goulding, Darwin Deez and Marina & The Diamonds, and you realise that these three days are going to be action packed, fun filled, venue dashing, musical madness in a city crackling with excitement.
This special edition of It’s All Happening will guide you through the bands to catch, as well as interviews with artists that are performing over the next three days. At Great Escape 2009, It’s All Happening accidentally discovered The Joy Formidable (amongst many other bands..!). Having seen them a further seven times, we know that it is this ease of unearthing a new favourite band at The Great Escape is what makes it so brilliant. If you are reading this whilst queuing for a venue then stop. Leave the queue. Find the next venue and watch a band that you’ve never heard of before. Expand your mind and discover. You may just fall in love.
This year’s Great Escape is in partnership with Sounds Australia.. fingers crossed that they’ve brought the weather from a summer down under to leave Brighton balmy.
If you discover any bands that get you in a fever be sure to let us know, and we’ll get them in the magazine and on the website, as well as on our radar.
All that’s left to say is enjoy – it’s guaranteed to be three days jam rammed full of uninhibited soundscapes across the whole sonic spectrum that will leave you invigorated and excited about music.
The Great Escape 2010 – you won’t want to leave.
Dan and Francesca xx

The Joy Formidable, ahead of The Great Escape 2010

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:22:51 +0000

Saturday
21.00 @ Coalition
One of the most impressive displays of The Great Escape 2009 came from the trio of Ritzy, Rhydian and Matt: The Joy Formidable. An energetic performance on the 2nd floor of Revenge has seen the band asked back once more, this time as support to The Sunshine Underground at the Coalition. The layers of exceptional sound and extended riffs create a sound that the band found difficult to capture entirely on mini-album „A Balloon Called Moaning‟. However, live album „First You Have To Get Mad‟, recorded at a headline gig at The Garage in London, excels from start to finish. Regular readers of It‟s All Happening will know that we are pretty blinded by their brilliance and head over heels in love with the band, and can guarantee that their gigs are worth running over a lollipop lady to reach. The Joy Formidable live is a mesmerising experience not to be missed – we‟ll see you there!
The first time I saw TJF I was amazed by their intensity and raw power, but how does a band from the historic town of Mold in North Wales generate such a sound? ‘Mold is quite a repressed place and music is a great way to escape and I guess to rebel against the repression…but not necessarily in a conscious way. There isn’t really an obvious scene in North Wales which means that anything goes and so the writing hasn’t felt restricted for us.’ states Ritzy, and Rhydian agrees completely.
‘We don’t have to follow a legacy. Like if you grow up in Manchester then you listen to and follow a particular type of scene, such as Oasis. We had a mixed bag and so there were no rules for us. It would be nice if we could put North Wales on the map as South Wales has a large metal scene, Mid Wales has bands such as the Super Furry Animals and then North Wales is just lumped in with Liverpool.’
Throughout the conversation it is clear that a youth in Mold played a huge role in the music that they produce today. This sense of belonging to a small town rather than a huge city has also impacted their strongly independent stance. ‘We aren’t signed up to a permanent label. Financially it is a struggle but it has its pros and its cons…we have very strong opinions about where we want to take this and so being independent allows us to do that, but it would be pretty nice to be able to have a budget so that we could maybe push things a little further. But if you have a look throughout the history of music then lack of resources always brings creativity.’ explains Rhydian. ‘Yeah, we have to pay for everything ourselves but we don’t really mind. It’s about the creative side and not the money. In modern music a lot of bands don’t have a connection with the fans, but bands wouldn’t be there without them.’ Matt adds. Ritzy follows on seamlessly from the end of Matt’s sentence, ‘Absolutely, we are truthful about everything we do. The process isn’t watered down at all…you don’t really have to go through many people before you’re actually talking with the band!
However, for a band the size of The Joy Formidable it’s simply not possible to do everything between the three of them. Fortunately for TJF they receive fantastic support from their band manager, Joel. ‘He really is our fourth member. He’s been involved from the start and I know it’s a cliché but it feels like a family. All of us have a real love of the band and the music and that’s all that should matter. There are so many levels within the band and Joel wants to look after the band in a business sense but importantly he gives a shit and we all get on really well.’ explains Ritzy.
Rhydian adds, ‘There is so much more to it than money. It’s been a long road which has been slow going and involved a lot of hard work and if Joel was just in it commercially then he’d have dropped out a while ago! We have all grown together and we’re constantly building on the fan base, by which I don’t just mean the number of fans. A fan base is a natural process and we just get our heads down and believe in what we’re doing and people connect to that. The downfall of bands is where they are concerned about money and the amount of fans, but we believe we’ll get fans by just switching off from trying to attract people and just sticking to what we do.’
This certainly is a refreshing approach to hear and a long way off from massively publicised ‘manufactured’ bands of today that seem to grace the radio stations, TV channels, magazines and whatever else on a near constant basis.
Whilst speaking to the band it is clear that Matt has fitted in perfectly since replacing Justin as drummer. Matt doesn’t like us talking about it but for a moment Ritzy gets a little bit sentimental: ‘It would have been so easy to have not got this extra level of dynamic from anyone else. Matt is crazier and more surreal than anyone of us but I can’t imagine anyone else having joined us…it’s just been so easy and natural.’
The strong relationship that is present between Ritzy, Rhydian, Matt and manager Joel is a stark contrast from what Ritzy and Rhydian went through in previous band Tricky Nixon. The conversation takes a bit of a different tone when talking about Tricky Nixon – evidently it really was a difficult time for the both of them.
Rhydian explains, ‘Ritzy was the latecomer to the band so she wasn’t involved with the writing, but over time it became clear that neither of us were happy with the situation. Basically, the drummer in that band was a very controlling character, and was obsessed with Ritzy so the whole thing disintegrated. Ritzy and me felt a connection but because she joined late it was a really difficult dynamic. It became evident that we needed to do it ourselves, and it became clear through his actions of violence that we had to screen ourselves from him and move back to Wales. We almost had to get an injunction against him, but looking back on it now it was so obvious we should have got out before we did.’
Usuallly quiet on the subject of Tricky Nixon, Ritzy adds ‘We can see the injustice now, but it wasn’t really clear when we were actually in the situation. In the long term I guess it’s been good for us and it definitely helped us to mature’. Rhydian makes it clear that that is all in the past now, ‘Yeah, we’re quite controlling about things now and we’d never let ourselves get in that situation again. We won’t be fucked about anymore.’ This sad past obviously hit Ritzy and Rhydian hard, but the clean break was what they needed and allowed them to strike up a creative writing relationship together, as well as their own personal relationship.
Rather than becoming self centred and introspective about their own music, TJF get excited talking about discovering new bands, and have had some stellar support. Not confining themselves to scenes, like their own music, I get the feeling that their iPod playlists border on exploratory.
‘I don’t like the side of things now where there just seems to be so many scenes. It’s evident from the path we’ve taken that we’re not concerned about being part of a new scene, we just get on with it. People keep telling us that they have problems trying to fit us in a genre, but that’s a compliment to us because all of our favourite artists are dynamic’ states Rhydian.
Matt follows on with his thoughts, explaining that ‘We really don’t like labels. categories or labels. Why do people need them? Surely music itself is enough of a genre!’
Last year TJF released a mini-album entitled ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ which was intended as a snapshot of their material ahead of the release of an album in 2010.
‘We try not to be orthodox. It’s good to be different and creative in the way that we record and the way we put material out there. I guess we’re against doing the usual!’ So how do they think that their new album will differ from A Balloon Called Moaning?
‘ABCM has a particular feel about it and I don’t think that the new album will be a massive change from it but I think it will be a bit more dynamic. That’s the way I feel about it anyway,’ states Rhydian. Ritzy has a similar view ‘ABCM was pre-Matt and he has brought a lot to the band and I hope the new album will capture that. With the new album I don’t want a massive change either, just a natural progression. There will be some overlap with the new album and ABCM. It was for the fans so that they could have something substantial and the new album will be an extension of that, but there will be a little bit of a twist and a few changes’.
With the full length album in the pipeline the future is looking good for The Joy Formidable, maybe it won’t be too long until North Wales is known for a band of its own…

Chew Lips

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:20:17 +0000

Euphoric and uninhibited eighties pop, if ChewLips were a packet of sweets, they’d be Refreshers. Tigs is a buoyant frontwoman, embodying the pulsating rhythms and smooth vibrations of tracks like ‘Solo’ and ‘Salt Air.’ Seductive and stimulating, ChewLips are an effulgent part of what is quickly becoming a saturated genre..Whether shadow boxing, doing the rope or simply singing sweetly front woman Tigs alone is a sight to behold onstage, but with her boys backing up with a variety of samples, guitars, keys or bass, Chew Lips are definitely worth checking out. The debut album is packed full of electronic wonders, but live there’s also the chance to hear the older fans favourites such as ‘Solo’ and ‘Salt Air’ which rival anything on the debut. If you want to get your groove on this is definitely the place to be. Amazing voice, sweet beats and much fun to be had.