Shigeto - Ringleader

Shigeto's output thus far has been absolutely stellar; last year's 'Lineage' mini-album skirted between tender and being just downright impressive and intricate, as you'd expect from an artist on Matthew Dear's Ghostly label. And his remixes have been nothing short of jaw-dropping, my particular favourite being his beguiling reinterpretation of Sufjan Stevens' heartbreaking 'Futile Devices'.

Expectations are high (for me anyway) for his new record coming out soon on Ghostly, and this new track 'Ringleader' with its chopped'n'screwed beat and chimes, serves as a warm reminder as to just why Shigeto is so magnificent at what he does.

Toby McCarron

Parklife Festival 2013

Saturday

First on my list to see was Lapalux. After seeing the Essex boy and RnB bootleg advocate earlier in the year and being more than impressed I wanted to see if he could match that performance to a larger, younger, Levi cut off wearing, Mkat sniffing audience. All of this on top of a set early on in the day and a very large tent must have been intimidating, compliments to Now Wave.

Known best for his merging of RnB and synth that coincide with sublime future garage and deep house remixes Saturdays set wasn’t as I’d hope. The sound was poor, non of which was Stuart Howard's fault, and the audience (that were sat down) were even worse. I felt pity on the dude! Big tune and a personal favourite notably released on Fly Lo’s Brainfeeder label ‘Guuurl’ wasn’t received as highly you’d expect as the majority of the audience looked as if they were on a school trip and/or day release. Please, leave your bum bags and snap backs at home.

Parklife was a dire representation of Manchester and all the talent it houses. Although the variety and caliber of electronic music was on point, the crowds were not and never have I realised what impact this makes. A clear representation of this was Dusky's set.

After previously seeing the London duo at Sankeys, they delivered a similar set with new age anthems such as Calling Me, Nobody Else and Murial. With releases on Aus, Dogmatik, Aunjunadeep and the mighty School Records, its crowd pleasing, it’s a little cautious and it’s oh so Swamp 81. The tent was more so full than my previous visit for Lapalux and the light warehouse tech/bass soul connoisseurs ‘worked it.’ Recent released EP Vanishing Point was a favourite.

After a wonky wait to speak to a Parklife affiliate about using my camera in the pit without being looked at if I were a criminal and getting NOWHERE I decided to venture back to the Now Wave tent to see the infamous Four Tet grace his presence. As expected, expectations were high and like the whole weekend, a bit of a let down. Without blaming the genius himself, nothing could be helped from the poor sound nor the squalking 15 year old girls that kept asking the question ‘Is this Four Tet?’ This and the combination of large inflatable balls and riled up coke heads donning their wifebeaters jumping in all directions proved too much for not only me but the majority (and small selection) of the crowd. The sound picked up slightly towards the middle of the set and we heard the likes of Pyramid, Jupiters and Lion from the fantastic creation that is Pink. I was hoping to hear his recent remix of JT’s Suit and Tie but unfortunately 25 minutes was enough to send me under.

The majority of my Saturday was spent speaking to and getting nowhere with various members of staff, practically babysitting the amount of pissed up children that attended and trying to find somewhere to sit down. Can’t say this years festival was for me.

Becca Kennedy

Sunday

I hate students. You're always cheering and hollering about something. After a packed tram ride to Heaton Park full of said students and their stinking armpits in my face I made my way just in time to see my first act of the day, Action Bronson, who's spearheading the revival of the good old days of New York Hip Hop with the likes of Joey Badass and The Flatbush Zombies. His set is tight and very entertaining, singles from his new EP 'SAAB Stories' such as Triple Backflip and Strictly 4 My Jeeps get an airing and there's even an appearance from Danny Brown for their verses on ASAP Rocky's track 1 Train. The set comes to a close with Bronson taking his microphone out of the tent and walking around Parklife causing a near stampede of people trying to get back into the tent with him as he makes his was back to stage via the crowd. 

Danny Brown's on next after a short DJ Set from his DJ Skywlkr, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, Brick Squad will always be well received at a DJ set, even if you're a total joke of a DJ, so Guetta if you're reading this, take 
notes. Danny Brown's got a back catalogue to be proud of, tracks from mixtape XXX get an airing, as do singles produced by the likes of Araabmuzik and Flosstradamus, and judging by the couple of songs he played from upcoming album 'Old' the album's going to be a corker. There's moshpits and crowdusurfing galore, and despite the shitty sound over at the Hudson Mohawke tent, he has the crowd in the palm of his hands, at one point a fan gets a little too excited and receives a 
crack over the head by Danny's microphone and he doesn't even miss a beat, incredible. And then something strange happens, Action Bronson walks back out to let us know his iPhone has been stolen and there will be a cash reward for anyone who returns it to him, up jumps a kid (a little too fast, if you get what I mean) and hands him his phone, Bronson gives the kid £2000 as a thank you, lifts him over his shoulder and takes him backstage leaving the crowd with jaws wide open. 

Joey Badass has already started his set at the Ape Parklife Beatdown (I have no idea either) tent by the time I get there with the majority of his setlist coming from his debut mixtape '1999' the show ends with the song that made him an overnight star 'Survival Tactics' chaos ensues and there's a stage invasion, man of the day Action Bronson rescues Joey from the over-eager crowd, I think it's fair to say that hip hop's just got exciting again. On the main stage are one of the only acts in Hip Hop to always keep it real, despite its sudden taking over of the mainstream, Jurassic 5, who had a packed crowd grooving and grinning like cheshire cats in the scorching heat, there was even para-gliders dancing overhead 
to classics such as Concrete Schoolyard and What's Golden, a memory that will stick with me forever so thank you J5.

 I end the night back at the Hudson Mohawke tent to see the man himself along with Lunice, TNGHT, they play tracks from debut EP TNGHT and plenty of Kanye West songs, so much in fact that it was just short of an interruption from the man himself. Parklife have plenty to improve on for next year, there was no signal, the majority of the bar staff seemed not to be able to count, the stage times and map on the £6 lanyard were largely wrong and I ended up being kettled for 2 hours waiting for the bus home, but if they manage to keep the sun, incredible acts and get a lot of the students to leave their shitty LADish attitudes back at their shitty uni halls, they may just have a winning formula.

Aaron Lewins 

Lorde

Signed to Universal at the very young age of 12 thanks to a video of her singing at a talent show being noticed by their A&R, 16 year old Ella Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known as Lorde, has everything incredibly well put together. Having complete creative control over her material, writing and producing her songs herself and a debut single ('Royals') that's gone double platinum in New Zealand, it's hard to comprehend the amount of talent she possesses. The hip-hop inflected instrumentals paired with Yelich O'Connor's hazy vocals that make up Lorde's sound have predictably garnered comparison to Lana Del Rey. 

Not only are her two singles, 'Royals' and 'Tennis Court' brilliant but she's also recorded a sultry cover of Kindness' 'Swingin Party' which features on the Tennis Court EP.  In spite of everything, Yelich O'Connor seems incredibly grounded - not bothered by the perks of potential fame and having a sense of self-awareness, carefully thinking through the decisions she makes as a young artist. On 'Tennis Court', she sings "never not chasing everything I want" and that's clear as she's managing to become an overnight success, all whilst still studying at college. 



Aurora Mitchell

Gallery: Stagecoach @ Birthdays Dalston

"We've been a band for around 10 years, we didn't think we'd ever make an album" Luke Barham, front man of Stagecoach declares. Tonight is the release party for the Surrey band's debut record 'Say Hi to the Band' and spirits are high, even if we are in a basement in Dalston.

Recent single WorkWorkWork opens the evening’s proceedings in true pop-rock style and the act who have been compared to Weezer set off to a roaring start. Whilst the crowd participation is limited to singing along to previously familiar material such as We Got Tazers!, the mood is high and its clear that their time as an act has glued Stagecoach into a tightly knit live group.

Highlights include Threequel and new single Action before the willing crowd is permitted to a rare Stagecoach encore which features an ushering of Alcopop record boss JackPop to the stage to play mandolin. As the band themselves would say, Like Woah!

Photos and words by Braden Fletcher

Los Porcos - Jesus Luvs U Baby / Do You Wanna Live?

You will probably be hearing Los Porcos billed as the new band from former members of WU LYF. Los Porcos consists of three quarters of the recently disbanded group, no prizes for guessing who the absentee is. Also made up of members from FAMY, who supported WU LYF on tour, and solo artist Profondo, Los Porcos played their first show at the Salon Club in London’s Embassy Hotel in April. The new outfit, who wore matching t-shirts with ‘New Pork City’ printed on the front, played a six-strong-setlist, including two tracks that have been posted online, “Jesus Luvs U Baby” and “Do You Wanna Live?”.

The former is a slow, dreamy affair. Slinking guitar lines shift in and out, swapping time with the main vocal melody. The track doesn’t really go anywhere, and similarly to its compadre is repetitive. However, “Do You Wanna Live?” is one of the most infectious songs of the year. The falsetto vocal melody can be off-putting to the hopeful WU LYF fans, it effectively acts as a polar opposite to Ellery Roberts’ gruff, incoherent howls. It’s obvious that moving on from the past was the best option, and while this may be hard for some to accept, it has resulted in this catchy tune of, self-proclaimed, yacht rock.

Los Porcos might not be to everyone’s taste, especially the most devoted of WU LYF fans. However, it will be interesting to hear more music from both parties, especially if this new collective has anything to match the contagious shimmer of “Do You Wanna Live?”.

Calum Stephen

Gallery: Live at Leeds '13

We made a visit to Leeds the other week for the ever wonderful Live at Leeds festival. In the space of one day, Holly and Braden saw 15 bands between them. Here's the gallery from Braden's perspective and the writeup from Holly is here.
Enjoy

   

Braden Fletcher

Live at Leeds '13

The 1975 at Live at Leeds

Sound Influx started Live At Leeds 2013 with a visit to The Wardrobe on the Friday night to catch Bearfoot Beware and Wet Nun’s sets. Although Bearfoot Beware entertained, it was Wet Nuns who really impressed. The duo created a sound of a volume seemingly beyond their means. That sound was full of huge riffs and thunderous drums, and boy was it LOUD. Their blend of lo-fi blues/punk really must be experienced live to have its sheer power appreciated fully.

Wild Swim

On the Saturday, it was a long walk to the Brudenell Social Club (buses/taxis are cheating, apparently) to catch the end of Wild Swim’s set. Their emotional songs with Wild Beasts style keys and vocals were certainly worth the walk, especially closer ‘Echo’. Next, to the Faversham, where Swiss Lips’ energetic set surely won them some new fans. The band’s sugar sweet vocals, synths and drum machine beats are easy to hate, but after seeing them live, this cynical view might just have changed for some. The Manc popsters really did bring a fun atmosphere, and live, their sound is just much less, well…annoying. One band who didn’t need to convince anyone was Dinosaur Pile-Up. The local lads certainly know how to whip up a crowd and there were circles going from early in the set. But my god were they loud. Loud is to be expected and anticipated from this band, but ears ringing four hours and the lasting regret of forgetting earplugs isn’t. This was a bit of a shame as it meant the set wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been.

Swiss Lips

After a break for burritos (the ultimate festival food, probably), we got ourselves to the Stylus to see the fantastic MØ, who’s energetic stage presence combined with infectious pop songs made for a really great set. The use of projections as a backdrop was a nice touch, adding an extra dimension to the show for those at the back. ‘Pilgrim’ and ‘Glass’, with Singer Karen Marie Ørsted prowling the stage in a leopard print bomber jacket. From one definite highlight of the weekend and straight on to another, I managed to get to the front for Savage’s set. That renowned intensity wasn’t hampered too much by sound difficulties with singer Jehn’s mic. Once these problems were fixed the launched into a full on rendition of ‘Shut Up’, and there’s probably some irony to be found in there somewhere. The rest of the set, with rumbling bass, punchy drums and, of course, Jehn’s fierce, intense vocals made sure that savages’ performance stayed in my mind for a good long while. They scared and thrilled in equal measures and SI loved every minute.

Dinosaur Pile Up

After getting slightly lost, SI managed to arrive at the beautiful Holy Trinity church in time for Sóley’s sound check. Her set was beautiful, even despite a quite impossibly loud argument breaking out halfway through, which left a slightly awkward, embarrassed atmosphere lingering for a few songs. However this went away as throughout the rest of her set Sóley created such beautiful, haunting songs which had the audience in a sort of hushed reverence, befitting the church setting. ‘Pretty Face’ and ‘I’ll Drown’, with its echoing, sampled vocals, were the highlights of a truly captivating performance.

Embers were a last minute addition to the line-up, and although they clashed with headliners The Walkmen, they were un-missable, as a band who have played too few shows since they first burst onto the Manchester scene. And they didn’t disappoint, creating huge, reverberating songs that filled the tiny, boiling Nation Of Shopkeepers from wall to wall. It may have been the walking, or the heat, or the lack of sleep, but SI may have found ourselves getting a little emotional towards the end of their set. Embers’ blend of shoegaze and post-rock is immensely impressive live, and SI implores you to go and see them.

After realising that I had missed ‘The Rat’, SI is ashamed to say that we left The Walkmen’s set early. A whole day of intensive band watching, walking and getting lost in Leeds had taken its toll and we needed a bit of a sit down. As the Stylus was packed (and rightly so) for The Walkmen, we wandered down to The Mine to Watch Sky Larkin. To end the weekend with a band who have been a part of the Northern music scene for many years seemed fitting somehow, and was really quite special. It seems they have only got better since we last saw them all those years ago.

Live At Leeds, though exhausting, was a thoroughly fantastic festival with a great atmosphere. And, for this writer, who had never been to Leeds before, it also proved a fantastic tour around the city and some of its impressive venues. The only downside was missing so many bands due to clashes , walking or both. Honourable mentions go to The Crookes, The Staves, Micky P Kerr and King Krule. We’re sure that there’ll be plenty of opportunities to see this lot soon though. Roll on Live At Leeds 2014!

Words: Holly Read Challen
Photos: Braden Fletcher

Magic Eye - Japan (Space Echo Version)

Edinburgh four-piece, Magic Eye, made up of band-members Alex, Bek, Roma and Francis, first wound up on our stereos this time last year in the form of 11 track EP cassette, Shreddin’ On Heaven’s Floor. The EP, released on record label Animal Image Search, introduced the world to Magic Eye’s unique guitar-based brand of dream pop with tracks such as ‘Flamin Teenage,’ and their impressively experimental cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game,’ screaming psychedelic ambiance  Not unlike Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night, though with added poignancy created by palpitating drums and Roma’s captivating vocals, Shreddin’ On Heaven’s Door established the band’s synth-laden, atmospheric musical direction. Taking reverb and guitar riffs to the extreme, and featuring a touching level of melancholy sentimentality across the expanse of its tracks, the EP set the foursome apart among an ever-growing crowd of repetitive and hollow dream pop artists. Somewhat quiet since then, the quartet’s recent release of the Space Echo version of their three and a half minute long oriental wonder ‘Japan’, has whole-heartedly reignited love for the band’s ethereal, indie pop, ‘aquarium rock’ style.

‘Japan (Space Echo Version)’ is an elaborate development on the original EP version of the track, which takes synth-loaded reverberation and echoed byzantine beats to another level entirely. The re-working of this track, already powerful in its chiming orientalism, encapsulates the group’s quietly enigmatic melodies and striking meaningfulness. I highly recommend this awe-inspiring track, and the others featured on Shreddin’ On Heaven’s Door, which are available to stream on SoundCloud, and are guaranteed to give you that uplifting level of transcendence that only the best tracks can. So take a listen and renew your passion for the spiritual musical-stylings of this band, or if you’re a Magic Eye virgin, kick-start your obsession now. 

Rosie Ramsden

Drenge - Backwaters

If the bludgeoning 'Bloodsports' hasn't been enough to keep you tided over from Drenge, then new track 'Backwaters' should do quite nicely. After witnessing an incendiary set at last weekend's Great Escape in front of a packed Brighton corn exchange, it's hard to see how the DFA1979 meets QOTSA pummeling guitar/drums duo won't blow everyone's minds, and ears this year.

Toby McCarron

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires Of The City

Vampire Weekend have done it again. With ‘Modern Vampires Of The City’ they have created a beautiful, infectious and strange record. And ‘record’ seems the right word. It is the last chapter in a trilogy, a record of the lives of characters first visited on their self-titled debut in 2008. It is a chapter sound tracked by tracks laden with hooks, peppered with infectious rhythms and more measured harmonies and melodies. Singer Ezra Koenig’s voice is also shown off to a greater extent on this record than any other. And it really does sound effortless. 

As usual, their lyrical focus is intellectual and sometimes downright obscure to the average listener, especially on first listen. But that is the joy with Vampire Weekend; their music can be understood- or not- and enjoyed on many levels: the harmonies, the hooks and the strange percussion or the classics influenced, religious referencing and historical allusion heavy lyrics. And there’s plenty of both. There are the typical flashes of Vampire Weekend lyrical brilliance, like the fantastic ‘stale conversation deserves but a breadknife’ on the stately, harpsichord heavy ‘Step’. There are also moments of lyrical universality, for example on ‘Unbelievers’, ‘the world is a cold, cold place to be/ want a little warmth but who’s gonna save a little warmth for me?’ 

This album, though still having that quintessential Vampire Weekend sound, is definitely stranger than those preceding it, most notably thanks to the prominence of chopped, screwed and auto tuned vocals throughout. One of the teaser tracks for the album, ‘Diane Young’, a hyperactive stomp which is just plain addictive, uses this technique, as does the beautifully weird ‘Ya Hey’, with particularly manipulated vocals. (They will stick in your head for days and they are almost impossible to replicate out loud). Another new touch is the use of spoken monologues during the songs; ’Ya Hey’ and a particularly beautiful example of forbidden falafel shop love in ‘Finger Back’. And it works: it’s these touches which move the record on from the previous ones, while fitting the band’s signature commitment to intelligent, strange, slightly wonky pop music. 

In true Vampire Weekend tradition, the album is a mix of fast and furious tracks and slower, more leisurely ones. ‘Hannah Hunt’ and ‘Don’t Lie’ are examples of the latter, ‘Hannah Hunt’ being particularly beautiful. The piano-lead ‘Young Lion’ is also a slower number and at under 2 minutes, is a perfect, simple close the album. ‘Hudson’ is probably the strangest song on the record, a slightly menacing tale accompanied by broken up military tattoo drums. The verses of ‘Worship You’ shows Ezra spitting lyrics at a properly impressive speed, and follows on nicely from songs like ‘California English’ on the previous record. 

‘Modern Vampires Of The City’ really is a triumph. It is as infectiously strange as it is beautiful and it surely is a contender for album of the year (yes, already!) 

9

Holly Read-Challen