the joy formidable – and so she thinks

LodeStar Festival

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:40:49 +0000

I’ve never been to Cambridge. Come 31st August, all that will have changed, as LodeStar kicks into gear. Held on vast flat fenland 15mins from Cambridge city centre on one of the best weather weekends of the year, LodeStar Festival provides a full weekend of entertainment, including live music, comedy, theatre, market stalls, quality catering and even sport activities. Full of variety for those who like more than one spice in their life, the festival is now entering its fifth year and has is by all accounts most relaxed and chilled boutique festivals in the UK and has been universally praised for its affordable prices and for the quality of the acts involved. The incredible The Joy Formidable will be playing, their epic and grand sets often worth a festival ticket alone, as well as buzz boy Mausi, London rocker Hatcham Social, and, amongst others Dragonette, El Perro Del Mar, Thumpers, Ryan Keen, Paper Aeroplanes, Kimberly Anne, Caracol, The Vestals, The Birthday Kiss, Flowers, Candy Says and Lonely The Brave. More are to be announced and mid priced tickets are available now from the festival website www.lodestarfestival.com.

The Joy Formidable – Wolf's Law

admin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:11:57 +0000

Released January 21^st 2013 on Atlantic Records.

As you might expect, it was with great joy that It’s All Happening heard the news that The Joy Formidable would be releasing their sophomore album. Having spent the last couple of years gathering rock celebrity fans with their intense and angsty music, they are back with Wolf’s Law, an absolutely stunning album, full of celestial grandeur and mountainous brutality.
Things kick off in traditional Joy Formidable style, with swirling orchestral sounds and crashing drums, bubbling up to an impressive and dizzy beginning in the form of This Ladder Is Ours. Second track Cholla was released as a teaser back in 2012, and its spectacularly fiery riffs and mixture of tempos and temperaments were not deceptive. The Maw Maw Song is an earworm if I have ever heard one, it’s syncopated beat and twang compulsive rollicking along, its dominant riff simplistic yet powerful. Coming just after the slower Silent Treatment, it marks the start of side 2, as the artistic packaging informs us. A beautiful end to the album comes in the form of The Turnaround, an immensely epic, brooding, yet unsentimental song, foreboding and formidable.
Ritzy, Matt and Rhydian have done it again.

A Sunday afternoon in Reading – Festival 2012!

admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:50:38 +0000

A little bit corporate, somewhat dirty, with its big wire fencing, dusty paths, and discarded chip trays, Reading Festival isn’t one I usually cite as one of my favourites, sometimes lacking the spirit and joie de vivre that percolates smaller festivals. However, with a big reputation, big bucks, and a big profile, it does attract some of the world’s biggest names and often has a line up glittering with long time stars and those rising up. This year was no exception, and with a Sunday day ticket and one heck of a hangover, we set out to Berkshire.

Django Django inspired some of the best dance moves of the day, with the jerking chicken dance coming out for Default, and some brilliantly synchronised Egyptian style moves for Cairo. At 2pm on a lazy Sunday afternoon, their slot probably wasn’t the best one for such infectious party music, but the NME tent still want off with a bang. In what can only be described as a Bolanesque sequined ensemble Johnny Lloyd, lead singer of Tribes, led the band in a vital and intense performance showcasing their new album Baby. Their rougueish spirit was evident, and Sappho and We Were Children in particular wrapped the crowd into their tearaway fold.
Next it was a dash to the BBC Introducing session, to watch the lovely Rachel Sermanni entrance the crowd. Rich and warm vocals, tantalising strumming, all enhanced by the ‘girls’ and their supporting strings, Miss Sermanni managed to captivate even the most unassuming members of the crowd just looking for a place to sleep off the night before, with one member of the audience articulating what everyone was thinking when he shouted out ‘I want to give you a cuddle!’ Selected by the BBC’s Ally McCrae, and about to embark on a European tour, Rachel’s debut album Under The Mountains is out on September 17th, and this performance will have driven a fair few new fans to purchase.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AWv7ATa34]
Those familiar with It’s All Happening will know that wherever The Joy Formidable are, we’re not far behind, and today was no exception. The fandom of a certain Mr Grohl has certainly done them no harm, and it was great to see thousands of people singing out long time live favourites such as Austere and The Greatest Light… From the first quivering notes of Whirring, to the final elongated feedback drenched chords of the set, Ritzy, Matt and Rhydian did what they always did – made one heck of noise, but also experimented more with volumes and tempos than previously, soothing and softening before another fuck off massive crescendo, creating glacial soundscapes that explode on a moment, perhaps a sign of what is to come from the forthcoming second album.

2:54 are dark, brooding and visceral to listen to and to see live, and Collette Thurlow’s warm and charming pleasure at seeing the crowd moved by her music made the Thurlow sisters performance all the more disarming. Kicking off with new single Sugar, they slinked and stomped through the set, all thundery skies and gritty basslines, their sweet and sinister songs proving a highlight of the afternoon.
‘Guess who’s next’ Dan asked, ‘I’ll give you a clue. It’s coming up in several months. ‘
Christmas?
My birthday?
Er, a holiday?
It was ‘winter’ and the band Zulu Winter. Dreadful game to play, brilliant band to watch. Swimming has been one of It’s All Happening’s tracks of the summer, introduced to us by the lovely Amazing radio, and its hypnotic halcyonic vibe is not alone in Zulu Winter’s live set. Bolshy and defiant drums underpinned smooth electronic feeling melodies, in what was something of a surprise stand out, full of refulgent splendour.
The respective members of Deaf Club don’t look like they should be a band, nor capable of emitting such menacing and mesmerising indie noir, but their lack of contrived image only serves to highlight the truth – that Jen Long has definitely picked up on of the UKs most talented new bands. Also on the BBC Introducing stage we caught the end of Dinghus Khan, an 8 piece band whose stage set up is almost confrontational, lining up in a row to face the crowd and deliver their raucous and rambunctious pop.
Ricky Wilson is always an entertainer, and The Kaiser Chiefs performance got any of the festival site who weren’t yet in the party spirit ready for a riot. A scratchy throat meant that some of the vocal delivery wasn’t as strong as it could be, but since the slight musical decline post their debut album, The Kaiser Chiefs are all about having fun and putting on a performance, and thus didn’t disappoint. Another band who whack up the fun factor are King Charles (and not just due to the questionable hair styles inspired by the band’s namesake) but a result of their shambolic sea shanty style tunes that had the whole of the Festival Republic stage tent bouncing and bounding.

Having gone through an image change with the release of last year’s album Skying, The Horrors played an epic charge of songs that brutally assaulted the senses whilst fully immersing and swooping you up within them. Somewhat alone in the current climate, they make intelligent and intense rock that absorbs layers from the musical canon, fused together to make their own original output. Watching The Horrors live feels like a natural negotiation, tugging and pulling at the gut and the heart, a tangle of bittersweet vocals, driving bass lines and bristling energy.

The Great Escape 2012 – Festival Special!

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:40:40 +0000

It’s that time of year again, when It’s All Happening, along with thousands of music fans, hundreds of bands and a good percentage of the music industry head down to sunny Brighton, for The Great Escape. I could wax lyrical about it, but I will just let our special edition zine do the talking…
In it you’ll find our opinion on the following 57 bands, as well as where and when they are playing, to help you plan your weekend around maximum musical pleasure …Cut Ribbons, Deaf Club, Among Brothers, Alabama Shakes, Dry The River, Common Tongues, Mujeres, Me And The Bees, Ninette & The Goldfish, Seward, Amics del Bos, Oso Leone, The Suicide of Western C ulture, Furguson, The Robbie Boyd Band, Wet Nuns, Sonic Boom Six, Swim Deep, Yukon Blonde, Bos Angeles, Toy, Alt J, Maximo Park, Mystery Jets, Chew Lips, Dakota Beats, The Front Bottoms, Shabazz Palaces, Pikachunes, Tripple Nipples, BOY, Emily & The Woods, Rae Morris, Slow Down Molasses, Tall Ships, Fanzine, The Switch, Worship, Concrete Knives, Mammal Club, Saint Saviour, Spring Offensive, Gunning For Tamar, Clock Opera, Hymns, Dems, Munich, Escaoists, Team Me, The Joy Formidable, Warpaint, Katzenjammer, Rachel Sermanni, The Manic Shine, Hatcham Social, The Temper Trap & Jack Savoretti.
As well as the IAH team (Dan, John, Greta, Caroline, Michael, Katie and Francesca) the lovely Jen Long (BBC Radio 1), Chris Foster (Pop Noodle), Jordan Thomas (Recharged Radio), Ellie Coden – (Fierce Panda), and Steven Boniface (Labelled Independent) have all written guest articles – thanks guys!

Open publication – Free publishing – More bands

Spector fall off the back of a van

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:31:17 +0000

Back in August It’s All Happening discovered Spector. In fact, they’re one of the few things John remembers from Field Day. The band have also just been mentioned in the BBC’s Sound of 2012 list – but don’t hold that against them. Joining some of our favourite bands, including Two Wounded Birds , Tribes, The Joy Formidable and Grouplove, Spector have hooked up with Bands In Transit to perform What You Wanted.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPTOy6F-DT4]

Guillemots, The Joy Formidable and Morning Parade..

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:13:35 +0000

It’s All Happening have made no secrets of our love for The Joy Formidable and Guillemots, so we thought we would treat you all to these lovely videos..

Guillemots – I Must Be A Lover

The Joy Formidable – A Heavy Abacus

We’ve also thrown in a fantastic track from Morning Parade..

Morning Parade – Us and Ourselves

The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:21:27 +0000

Atlantic Records
January 24th 2011

Francesca Baker

I feel that this will be like reviewing a child. Not just a child, but my child. How can you pass judgement on one whom you’ve watched grow, cherished their early sounds, and sung the praises of over the last couple of years, and are now being grabbed at by the big beasts, the likes of NME, Radio 1 and mainstream media. Ritzy, Rhydian and Matt would laugh at such molly-coddling: their epic grandeur and ferocity on and off record show that they have always been able to take care of themselves, and their debut ‘The Big Roar’ confirms this.
Characteristic clicks and rumbles open the album, erupting into ‘The Everchanging Spectrums of A Lie’, one of the album’s highlights. Ritzy’s yearning and wistful ‘love, love’ over the bridge is huskily anaesthetizing, over intense bass lines in this nigh on 8 minute long piece of head spinning psychedelic.
A reworked and revamped ‘Austere’ is meticulously executed, although long time lovers of the band may feel that it lacks some of the raw grazing that so authentically attack throughout the demos and live shows. Cradle, another live favourite, comes in late in the album, its chiming chords and chanting rhythm soaring boisterously. The sound of lustrous steel lulls us into ‘Whirring’, the song that defines the sonic mayhem and head spinning freneticism of The Joy Formidable, Matt’s whirlwind fingers dazzling behind Ritzy’s soaring snarl.
‘Buoy’ has a slower start, but don’t be deceived into thinking this will be a sweet ballad. Whirling bass sounds like being stuck in a ghoulish helter-skelter, combined with birds wailing in the background to a sense of filmic malevolence.
Rhydian comes to the fore on ‘The Big Roar’ more so than on the demos and EPs, taking the lead vocals on the atmospheric and intimate ‘Llaw=Wall’, but it is Ritzy who continues to take centre stage, a core of the fire.
The thunderous and chiming beauty of ‘The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade’ closes this glorious album, the sonic turbulence buzzing away to reveal an expansive vista. Somehow simultaneously reflective and acutely boisterousness, the layered tangents that flow and fold throughout The Big Roar show the band’s expansive talent. If you’re new to The Joy Formidable, you’re so lucky. Be prepared to be swept away. Wow.

Ones To Watch

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:29:06 +0000

It tends to take years, or at least months, for bands to form a following, to build a reputation and to get themselves heard. The arrival of January 2011 will not suddenly create a throng of new artists that until now have been hiding away, ready to form on New Year’s Eve and take the music industry by storm. That’s why the following list of artists are not necessarily ‘new bands’. You may have heard of them, they may already be huge or you may not have a clue who they are. But, either way, we love them and hope that they get the attention they deserve in 2011.

Wolf Gang – Electro indie pop genius. Recent single ‘Lions in Cages’ is an enjoyable, upbeat track that MGMT would be proud of. Wolf Gang AKA Max McElligott has a host of dates coming up in February and March, including a tour supporting popular Kiwi’s The Naked and Famous.

Yuck – Formed out of the ashes of the beautiful Cajun Dance Party, Yuck are a different animal altogether. The band fuse together a blend of grunge and shoegaze that creates a raw, scuzzy but downright fantastic sound. Singles Georgia and Rubber are two very different track which increases anticipation about the finished album, set for release in 2011. This promises to be a huge year for Yuck.
Trophy Wife – Trophy Wife became a internet buzz band in the latter part of 2010 with the exceptional single ‘Microlite’. The trio are set to build on this momentum throughout 2011 by seeing in the year playing with fellow Oxfordians, and influence, Foals at The Forum in London. Foals’ ‘Total Life Forever’ was one of the albums of 2010: don’t be surprised if Trophy Wife’s debut album gets similar plaudits.

Boy & Bear – Australian band Boy & Bear are the sort of band that leave you standing in awe, with the hairs on the back of your neck raised and a tingle down your spine. Debut EP ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ is an exceptional 5 track collection of indie folk. Having supported Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons in 2010, Boy & Bear are set to return to UK shores in the middle of 2011 with a debut album and a set of festival appearances. Don’t miss them.
Dry The River – In a similar vein to Boy & Bear, Dry The River produce beautiful songs with sing a long qualities. Songs such as ‘New Ceremony’ and ‘Family Tree’ start slowly and build in to a bubbling pace. 2011 looks likely to be a promising year for the London based quintet.
Cosmo Jarvis – “Yo-ho Sebastian, Let’s go far away, Somewhere where the captain won’t be mad. Yo-ho Sebastian, I want to love you good. We deserve much better than we’ve had” You need to be either a genius or a fool to write a song called ‘Gay Pirates’ about a homosexual pirate who loves fellow swashbuckler Sebastian. With over 540,000 views on YouTube consensus suggests that Cosmo Jarvis is. A genius, not a homosexual pirate.

Ross and the Wrongens – Ross has to be one of the nicest guys in the music business. Events conspired against Ross that meant the usual wrongens were unable to join him on stage to headline the November It’s All Happening gig. Not to be deterred, Ross was joined on stage by a part time wrongen and cracked out a fantastic set of upbeat indie pop. If Ross and the Wrongens are at a venue near you in 2011 then you must see them: they deserve great things.
Tall Ships – Tall Ships came on to the IAH radar in 2010 having released two brilliant EPs and an energetic live show that sees the trio pass instruments around like a hot potato. Part of the fantastic roster of reliable record label Big Scary Monsters and management Idle Hands Club, Tall Ships have a lot of talent and are sure to make big waves in 2011.
The Joy Formidable – Long term readers of IAH will probably be aware of our championing of The Joy Formidable. Debut full length album ‘The Big Roar’ is to be released on January 24^th 2011 and is set to be massive. The trio make an unfathomable layered sound that is so different from most bands in the current music scene. Having heard the promo copy, The Big Roar will be one of the best albums of the year.
Spring Offensive – Spring Offensive are a delightful band. They have a great ability of writing dark, but intelligent lyrics with unpredictably catchy tunes. With an EP and a mini album already under their belt, we’re expecting a full length album in 2011 from the Oxford quintet.
The Cast of Cheers – In all honesty, IAH don’t know what The Cast of Cheers have planned for 2011. New album? Tour? Split up? No idea. Hopefully it will be the former two because we have just had the joy of discovering 2010 debut album ‘Chariot’ and my gosh- it’s good! This Irish foursome have a Foals-esque brilliance about them: a calculated, jagged rock that wants you leaving more. Hopefully 2011 will be the year that everybody knows their name.

A Formidable Force

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:17:09 +0000

The Joy Formidable managed to find their way on to many ‘Hot Tips for 2009’ lists, and, despite the weather, this summer has proven to be a hot and happy one for Ritzy, Rhydian and Matt, playing their way across the festival trail as well as getting ready to support both The Editors and Passion Pit in the Autumn. Dan caught up with TJF at Hop Farm Festival in Kent.
‘I was amazed by people’s ability to dance on a massive cock!’ That’s not the sort of first answer you normally get when you’re interviewing a band, but then The Joy Formidable are no ordinary band. Matt’s response was actually in reply to a question about a gig they played at The Great Escape in Brighton when, for some bizarre reason, the dance floor had a rather phallic shaped podium right in the middle of it.
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!’ I can testify for this myself, having received a response directly from the band when I requested an interview. These guys really do practice what they preach. And it’s not just chatting with the band – this interview took place between the hours of 1am and 5am, and it’s fair to say was fairly alcohol fuelled.
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.
‘In Tricky Nixon it was me and the drummer that did the writing’ 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.’ Ritzy had been fairly quiet on the subject of Tricky Nixon, but now she 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. ‘When we headlined The Borderline we had Kite and The Citadels and we’re a lot louder than both but we really like them so we’re pleased they supported us. At our next show at The Garage we’ve got Twin Atlantic who are on the heavier side. 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 or categories. Why do people need them? Surely music itself is enough of a genre!’
In February of this year TJF released a mini-album entitled ‘A Balloon Called Moaning’ which was intended as a snapshot of their material so far, and can be downloaded for free from their website. Rhydian explains the thoughts behind it, ‘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…