Quench Issue 154

Quench October 2015

Issue 154

tinder loving care netflix & thrill want to volunteer in costa rica?

tou-can!

Also in this issue: LIam mower interview: why it’s okay to run with scissors p.20

Looking for casual or part time employment while studying at Cardiff University?

Jobshop is a free student employment service run by your Students’ Union

Temporary and part-time work that will fit around your studies, giving you valuable work experience. Stay up to date with the latest vacancies online at UnistaffJobshop and CardiffJobshop Ground Floor, Students’ Union

029 2078 1535/6

Jobshop@cardiff.ac.uk

C O N T E N T S 24

30

F E AT U R E S

6 8

Tinder Loving Care

Tinder an app that allows you to swipe away commitment. This month we are going to tell you a little more about the realities of the app.

Feminism

How are the realities of feminism different to the ideas held by an average male student?

C O LU M N I S T

11

Mind your Manners Columnist Maria Mellor asks the question: are manners still important?

44

FA S H I O N + B E AU T Y

20

Ever wondered how to look good whilst working out? Alexander Jones and Emma Riches tell you how.

22

16

Art and Nightlife

Sophie King shows us all the ways that partying has changed over the years.

Literary Revolutions We are taking you back and showing you the revolutions in literary work.

The Style Edit: Womenswear AW15 This month we will tell you exactly how to follow the trends of the season.

T R AV E L

24

Travelling with a conscience- My time in Costa Rica

VIDEO GAMES

40

28

The Thrifty Traveller

Ever wanted to travel the world? We tell you how to do it on a budget.

MUSIC

30

Bring Me The Horizon’s Next Big Step Music Editor Jack Glasscock tells us what the band have been up to.

36

Top 5 Bands @ Simple Things

Jack tells you what’s hot to watch at Simple Things Festival.

The Savvy Student Gamer

Editor Tom Morris shows us what to do to save money.

Super Mario Maker 41 Review: The highs and lows of the new game.

FILM + TV Netflix and Thrill

44

With Halloween coming up Film and TV take us through the the move of horror from film to TV.

46

Interview: Inside Out

Louis Browne gives us an insight into his volunteering trip to Costa Rica.

C U LT U R E

14

You are what you wearGym Edition!

39

Interview with Pixar’s Paul Oakley gives us a look at new film Inside Out.

FOOD + DRINK

52 54

The Fuss about Frankenfood Telling us a little bit about the new craze and pointing us in the direction of where we can get some.

Very Lazy - Trial and Review This month Food and Drink will be reviewing a selection of Very Lazy products.

3

Quench EDITOR Emily Giblett

EDITOR’S NOTE

editor@quenchmag.co.uk @QuenchMag

DEPUTY EDITOR Hollie Cambridge FEATURES Emily Jones

features@quenchmag.co.uk @Quench_Features

COLUMNIST Maria Mellor

@Maria_mellor

CULTURE Beau Beakhouse George Caulton

culture@quenchmag.co.uk @QuenchCulture

FASHION & BEAUTY fashion@quenchmag.co.uk @Quench_Fashion Amy McQueen Jamila Gandhi TRAVEL Alice Dent Lucy Pierce

travel@quenchmag.co.uk @Quench_Travel

MUSIC Jack Glasscock Erin Gillespie James Ivory

music@quenchmag.co.uk @QuenchMusic

VIDEO GAMES Tom Morris Saman Izadyar

videogames@quenchmag.co.uk @QuenchGames

FILM & TV Eleanor Parkyn Sadia Pineda Hameed

filmtv@quenchmag.co.uk @QuenchFilm

FOOD & DRINK Zenn Wong Daisy Lane-Murley

food@quenchmag.co.uk @Quench_Food

HEAD OF DESIGN Olivia Thomas

design@quenchmag.co.uk

DESIGNERS Bryn Evans Eleanor Duffy Alyssa Alamillo Jasper Wilkins Sadia Pineda Hameed Georgia O’Brien

@MantaRayBryn @eleanorduffy

SPECIAL THANKS TO Bryn Evans for dedicating a large amont of his time to drawing toucans for this issue, Louis Browne for his inspiring travel saga that inspired the toucans, Elaine Morgan for being the fairy godmother and agony aunt of student media and all the wonderful people who gave up their evening to proof-read this issue.

‘This year I WILL try harder’ and other stories...

October. The hungover lie-ins, 241 drinks vouchers and branded lanyards have fallen away and it’s dawned on me that I actually have work to do. I’m sure I’m not alone in having high hopes for myself this year (for high hopes, read: going to seminars, reading the reading material and cooking vegetables), but I’m taking that one day at a time. We can do this together!

This month, Features takes on Tinder. Unless you live under a rock, it’s likely that you have the app, or have at least borrowed your single mate’s phone in a bid to swipe them toward their future spouse. Bit of a bleak outlook for modern dating. We want to hear your funny Tinder stories, so tweet us @QuenchMag. After the pizza-fuelled whirlwind of Fresher’s Fayre, there are plenty of societies for you to get involved with. If creative writing is a talent of yours, and you’d like to see your work printed in Quench then turn to page 13 for info on the English Lit Society’s Short Story and Poetry competition, which is launching now. If print journalism is more your idea of fun (and why wouldn’t it be?) then make sure to sign

up to our joint Quench/Gair Rhydd Give it a Go Session on 19th October. We’ll give you a behind-the-scenes insight into the blood, sweat and tears that go into putting these publications together*.

Elsewhere, Louis Browne shares amazing photos from his summer volunteering in Costa Rica (pages 24-25). Gap-yah envy is a guarantee. Flip to the food section to be enlightened as ever. This month our editors tackle the weirdest edible craze on the Internet - frankenfoods (two or more foods that are combined to give a whole new meaning to the term superfood). If you have ever wondered what Turducken, Cronuts or Bacones are and where to find them in Cardiff, then now is your chance to find out.

We really hope you enjoy this issue! As always we welcome your comments, feedback and suggestions via Twitter (@QuenchMag), Facebook (Quench Magazine) and email (editor@quenchmag.co.uk) Happy Reading!

- EMILY

GIBLETT

FEATURES

tinder

AND THE RISE OF

TECHNOSEXUALS As Tinder and a spawn of similar dating apps rise to new heights of popularity, Ciara Gillespie takes a look at how this app has taken the world of love, sex and dating to new and controversial dimensions.

D

ating. Defined by Urban Dictionary as “The modern day battlefield of romance where hearts are won and broken; the not-so-quite version of chivalry and wooing; the progressed game of cat and mouse. Dating is an extremely exciting, scary, nerve-wracking delicate practice.” For better or for worse, we’ve all been there; in that crazed obsessed state of awaiting text messages and craving the thrilling sexual tension that exists at the start of a new potential relationship. And whilst the dating scene is crammed with painful rejections, embarrassing moments and sweaty interjections, we always go back for more. It seems unsurprising then, that a chance of dating without all that initial embarrassing and awkward eye-contact across a room full of drunken 20-somethings is an opportunity that the majority of us have charged towards in leaps and bounds. Welcome to the world of online dating.

Tinder, You’ve probably heard of it; maybe even had a few swipes on the app itself, or been given a demonstration from your excitable single friends on the wonders of this new app that is dominating the online dating scene. Essentially a socially acceptable app version of “Hot or Not”, Tinder burst onto the scene in 2014 and has been a hot topic of discussion and debate ever since. Many of these debates critique whether or not Tinder is an app solely used for the purpose of hooking up rather than finding “The One”.

Suddenly, gone is the stigma attached to finding a love interest or a hook-up online; replaced by an air of excitement and expectation that you should at least join the bandwagon before you knock it as ‘beneath you’. And if you’re too principled or too committed in a relationship yourself, you have probably at least enjoyed having an unashamed swipe through your single friend’s list of potential matches. Dating has never been so easy. And if most of us are being completely honest, as an app that allows us to fraternize with the opposite sex without so much as leaving our student hovels, Tinder is the best thing since instant noodles.

Tindering (yes, it’s a verb) has become a social norm; an inescapable part of our generation’s quest to occupy ourselves with sex, flirtation and heartbreak over and over again. It offers a world with endless possibilities, excitements and choices; where we can be whoever we want to be with whomever we want to be with. Most popularly described as the ‘Mcdonalds of sex’, Tinder has almost become a dating version of online shopping; demoralizing the act of courtship to nothing more than absent-mindedly scrolling through ASOS for that perfect pair of shoes. But is the use of and engagement in Tinder actually healthy? With the aim of creating a safe and

6

FEATURES In today’s world, we want fast, nononsense love affairs that occupy our minds yet ensure little commitment; and if rejection is still a possibility, at least its sting is softened behind a screen that contains plenty more fish non-threatening environment to meet people, Tinder offers the perfect solution to young, career driven graduates who are way too immersed in killing themselves for a career to be wandering around coffee shops, hoping to catch the eye of someone special to live happily ever after with. In today’s world, we want fast, no-nonsense love affairs that occupy our minds yet ensure little commitment; and if rejection is still a possibility, at least its sting is softened behind a screen that contains plenty more fish. Yet, whilst the casual and game-like demeanour of Tinder can make for an excellent passage of time whilst on the way to work or in a lecture, along with an easy way to elicit some no-strings attached company for the night, it also has a darker side.

Appearance is everything. Biographies, personalities, interests and hobbies are secondary to how attractive you are, yet it seems that sometimes even that is irrelevant.

Scott, 22, says “Admittedly a guy is less picky than most girls; many guys will not look past the first picture, and there have been times where I have liked loads of people without even looking at any of them; quite literally just swiping right…it is a numbers game after all.” (This is known by afficionados as powerswiping). It is a numbers game; we are no longer satisfied talking to one person, we want options, and lots of them. Steph, 19, tells me ‘‘It’s so much fun, but it's the shallowest thing I've ever encountered.” Tess, 19, tends to agree, “It can be derogatory and puts people in a bad mind set as you're playing ‘hot or not’ with real people. They could be amazing as a person but you just don't know it because you've judged them on their appearance. Putting it literally; judging a book by its cover."

Yet we crave gratification and compliments from strangers in order to increase our own sense of self-worth; it offers a constant

and addicting source of self-validation; users are only notified of approved matches, never if you’ve been discarded, keeping selfconfidence sky high. And thus the endless swiping on Tinder can turn the best of us into shallow and cold hearted creatures, but the lack of feeling involved does not seem to keep many of us from playing the game.

It seems that Tess is not the only person who shares this view. In a recent Vanity Fair article, writer Nancy Jo Sales emphasised the blatant devaluing of people and sex in apps such as Tinder. She argues Tinder has made sex much more accessible and thus has made finding real, genuine relationships harder to find. The article chronicles several men who seem completely uninterested in forming relationships through Tinder due to their newfound ability to get sex from it pretty much whenever they fancy as long as the female is consenting. This high demand of sex and reciprocation has been criticized for its devaluation of women into nothing more but a booty call. Is this fair? Vanity Fair seems to agree, but Scott continues, “The majority of guys are normal people like me; on there to find someone they actually like...yes this may mean having one-night stands or flings and all guys do use it for sex, but this doesn't mean a guy is only looking for sex. This does not devalue women and make them victims; girls are in control of who they talk to on Tinder, many are on here for sex too, and judge and reject guys according to their own standards”.

It seems clear that no one knows exactly what Tinder is for other than to connect with people you would be interested in physically and sexually. There exists an ambiguity that can lead to confusion and disappointment for some, and seedy, sexual and completely inappropriate messages towards females are unfortunately all too common, fuelling the fire behind the idea that Tinder is killing modern love. Others describe it as the same set-up as meeting people at a bar. As much as Tinder is slated as being all about looks and physicalities, ultimately we would ‘like’ a match just as we would ‘like’ someone across a room with an approving glance at their appearance, with no prior knowledge of who they are

or what they’re like. It’s our human nature to be somewhat physically attracted to someone we want to be getting involved with. If you’re not on Tinder, essentially you’ll be doing the same sort of thing in your head in a bar anyway.

Tinder acts as the bridge between online dating and real life dating. It lets its users receive instant gratification by the endless amount of profiles and matches, with average users checking their profiles at least 11 times per day. Although some people are happy for this instant and constant stream, some are still concerned about the stigma attached with Tinder. Sam, 19 says: “I think there is nothing inherently bad about dating apps like Tinder, but I'm not sure I would want to meet the love of my life on it, simply because it’s currently still an embarrassing thing and I wouldn’t want to tell the kids that’s how I met their father. But hey, that mentality is disappearing in time.” And it’s true, there is still stigma attached to meeting your boyfriend on an app, yet Tinder does bring people together from all walks of life and it does create meaningful connections. Whilst criticisms of Tinder as superficial and devoid of any of the real emotion that defines real life dating may hold truth, Tinder gives people so many opportunities to find something real and beautiful. Even if it does begin behind a screen, it can become so much more than that.

It’s safe to say that Tinder has worked and is working for many young people today.

Nour, 19 says: “Without Tinder I never would’ve met my boyfriend. We matched a year ago and we are still together and extremely happy. I would’ve never had this opportunity without the app” A lot of people find comfort in always having someone to talk to, even if they are complete strangers sometimes. It can provide a confidence boost on a bad day, a chance to meet new people and step out of your comfort zone. But to properly enjoy and indulge in Tinder you need to be aware of what it truly is; an app mostly used for casual hook ups and meet ups, based pretty much on appearance alone. As users swipe, judge and prowl the Tinder waters for mzultiple hook ups, flirtations and no-stringsattached fun, the app may not the first place to turn to for Prince Charming; but then again, you’ll never exactly know who you’ll find in the Tindersphere, you might even find The One. —Ciara Gillespie

7

F

THE

FEATURES

H

In an unapologetic account, Sanya Budhiraja and Elis Williams discuss the realms of gender equality and what it really means to be a feminist.

8

WORD

ere’s an idea: next time you’re at the pub on a lecture-free Wednesday afternoon, bring up the topic of feminism and watch everyone cringe.

The stigma that has existed around feminism in the past has caused a wave of denial amongst women and men alike in identifying themselves as a feminist. The reality though, is that feminism is often poorly understood. The Oxford dictionary defines ‘feminism’ as the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. But in a poll conducted by Huffington Post in 2013, only a third of all individuals identified themselves as a feminist, whereas most of them believed in the equality of sexes. And they aren’t the only ones; in a recent interview, celebrity and fashion-icon Sarah Jessica Parker opened up about being a ‘humanist’ rather than a feminist. This seems more than a bit ironic, as feminism is about equality of the sexes; thus following that one believes in gender equality but not feminism is like saying that one believes in the apple falling from the tree, but not in gravity.

This difference between what feminism is and how it is perceived is due to the negative images associated with it. The empowering feminist connotations of strength and gender equality associated with the suffrage movement has depleted over the years as women across the world have gained more and more rights. In western society, women have every freedom to make of their lives anything they wish; causing a solid belief that there is no gender inequality anymore. It’s not true. We’re not nearly there yet.

Feminism isn’t about whining and stirring up a fuss about nothing. It’s not about shaming stay at home mothers or demonizing husbands who

remain the sole breadwinners for their financially dependent wives; it’s about choice and it’s about freedom. Women shouldn’t have to decide between having a family and a career and men shouldn’t be taught that ‘real men’ do not show emotion and weakness.

Lauren Southern, whose video ‘Why I’m not a Feminist’ has knotched-up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, makes the point that feminism that doesn’t include men’s rights is not a movement for equality. And whilst feminist writer Lauri Penny states quite rightly that ‘Of course all men don’t hate women’, feminist women, don’t actually hate men either. Feminists acknowledge the fact that both men and women do not get equal rights in our society and work on making sure that both the sexes have equal representation and protection. The gender wage gap and lack of female representatives in government are as important feminist issues as the lack of safe houses for men that have been victims of domestic abuse. In fact, it was a feminist foundation that led to the FBI changing their definition of rape to include men as victims.

Support for feminism is continuing to grow, connotations of the concept as a dirty word are clearing, and a vast array of both male and female celebrities have begun to accept and embrace its true meaning. Yet there is still a massive imbalance between the distribution of power and protection between genders in this world and it will not be fixed without feminism.

Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2015, was shot on her way to school by the Taliban for daring, as a young woman, to pursue an education. Malala’s fight for equal educational rights and freedom from oppression

for females in the Middle East and across the globe, shines as a fresh and positive image as to why feminism is not redundant.

Such image acts in contrast to the social media wave of ‘Women Against Feminism’ Facebook selfies that depict messages abhorring what they believe third wave feminism stands for; “I don’t need feminism because ‘female empowerment’ implies that I am currently weak…because I can own up to my mistakes… and do not have to blame them on the completely fictional patriarchy”. Are such anti-feminist movements misplaced, or do they make their own irrefutable point? That the ‘victim mentality’ associated with modern day feminism is causing more harm than good; by reaffirming female weakness as opposed to celebrating female strength and female independence.

However, the wage gap is not imaginary and sexual objectification and domestic violence does exist; women are denied education and many young girls in the

FEATURES

third world are forced into violent marriages.

And since we do not live in an imaginary idealistic society made up by the likes of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr; sexism is still pre-dominantly present in our society.

Teens such as Amanda Todd take their own lives because they are slut shamed and abuse survivors like Elizabeth Smart are made to feel dirty and ashamed because of sex that they didn’t consent to.

Feminism is still required because we do not live in an equal society. The USA has not yet seen a female president in the White House and many men still think that the only way to express their masculinity is through violence, for men’s imprisonment rates rise 14 times higher than that of women.

But our society has come a long way; women can pursue high flying careers and men can proudly take on the role of a stay at home dad. And after all, a better-informed society is synonymous to a better functioning one, so if you’re wondering ‘how’ to become a feminist,

writer Caitlin Moran has two rules for you:

treat men and women equally and don’t be a dick.

American Hustle, but I digress; if Women seem to have a lot to say about feminism, you were to ask but do men feel just as passionate? Do they run any executive why this was the case, miles at the very mention of the word in fear they wouldn’t be of putting their foot in their mouth, or are able to tell you. there more male feminists out there than we tend It’s just how it is.

Inequality is so to assume? Elis Williams offers a refreshing ingrained in our society that gaps account of what feminism means to him. of thousands of dollars between It’s quite difficult to explain male and female what feminism means to me as a salaries are just accepted. man. Although I do consider myself Don’t get me wrong, us lads a feminist, it’s hard to feel terribly aren’t the only ones who can be dicks passionate about something that, by about feminism; there are many name at least, excludes you from being women who don’t understand what a part of it. Despite popular belief, feminism means. These are the ones feminism is a movement for equality, who confuse female supremacy with not for women to be supreme rulers equality. I am definitely a bona fide of Earth; that, my friends, is what feminist, having read Caitlin Moran’s one would call “female supremacy”. books I respect her unapologetic, cut Many a man, and woman for that the crap approach to feminism in the matter, believe that feminism means 21st century. the latter; largely spurred on by guys It’s not as objectionable for a such as those behind that “menimist” man to be seen as a feminist as it used twitter account. I mean, come on to be. Even a few years ago, if a man guys, men’s rights aren’t that much called himself a feminist, he would of a thing. We’ve got it good. Just get the piss taken out of him forever think of Jennifer Lawrence; a victim more. Now, though, no self-respecting of probably one of the greatest acts man in this day and age would of female objectification in many object to female equality. Benedict years: “the fappening”. She and Amy Cumberbatch is an ardent feminist, Adams were both paid 2% less than and in an interview for ‘The Imitation their male co-stars for their work in Game’ he took absolutely no shit

Only a third of all individuals identified themselves as a feminist

from a reporter who commented on how tired his co-star Keira Knightley looked. He rightfully emphasised the point that women’s looks are concentrated on so much more than their work in the entertainment business.

“What does feminism mean to you?” is such a difficult question to answer, I believe, because it’s such an integral part of today’s society that we couldn’t really do without it. No modern-minded man would deprive a person of their rights just because they were implanted with a different set of hormones in the first few months of their mother’s pregnancy. Anyone that still thinks women are inferior to men are utterly backwards and idiotic, to be honest.

Does anyone remember that episode of Friends with the male nanny? When Ross says “it’s like if a woman wanted to be… (very offended look from Monica)…king?” Well the end-game of feminism is for situations like that not to exist anymore. So really, it’s in all our best interests, male and female, to support feminism.

As usual, Friends said it best. So to answer the question of “What does feminism mean to me, as a man?”

It means everything. Due to the inequality still present today, it’s not zvvreally a level playing-field. So come on, let’s make it a fair fight.

9

Welcome Students!

F F O 0 £1

*

D N E P S U O Y W HEN E N I L N O E R £ 25 OR MO ONLINE CODE:

DELIVERING UNTIL

DELIVERING UNTIL

CDFUNI10

5AM

Type in code when prompted at the checkout

DELIVERING 7 DAYS A WEEK UNTIL

COLLECTION

OR

DELIVERY

62 Crwys Road, DELIVERING DELIVERING DELIVERING Cathays CF24 4NN UNTIL UNTIL UNTIL 02920 229977

Opening hours: 10am – 5am, 7 days a week

www.dominos.co.uk

/dominos.cardiff

28

@CardiffDP

Call

dominos.co.uk

Click & Collect

Tap the app

*£25 minimum spend excludes drinks, ice cream, 14 &21 portions of chicken, and combos. Collection or delivery – delivery areas and minimum delivery spends may apply.

Offer only available at Participapting stores. Offer cannot be used with any other offer. Redemptions online only at www.dominos.co.uk. Subject to availability. To order on the website, you must click on the meal deals section and order from there. Full T&Cs see Competitions and Offers at dominos.co.uk. Offer expires 30th June 2016.

COLUMN

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE

MARIA

I

am not a polite person.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fairly nice person, but you’ll often find me forgetting my Ps and Qs. You may think I’m rude, but social conventions get me in a knot. I’m sure you’re not supposed to think about the ‘whys’ of it all because when it comes down to it, none of it actually makes much sense.

I know that there are certain important rules in our society that help us all to get along. I won’t punch someone in the face just because I don’t like what comes out of their mouth, and I’ll always try my best not to interrupt other people when they’re talking.

Being kind and considerate in my mind, is very different from our silly rules about being polite. For some reason I just cannot wrap my head around how people I’ve known my whole life will get so offended should I dare to forget the ‘magic word’.

What is even the point of a ‘please’? We find this funny little word in multiple languages that doesn’t even have any real meaning or definition.

I remember as a child being so confused when I’d ask for something and say please, but be denied what I wanted. What’s the point of the magic word if it isn’t even magic? There have been times when I’ve asked someone to pass me something, and rather than reaching the two inches to hand it over, they’ll point out that I didn’t say please. I’m sure life would be easier if I had remembered to say please in the first place, but it would be even easier if we both hadn’t been left feeling irritated after the interruption.

Don’t even get me started on school teachers. “Can I go to the loo?” you’d ask after very politely waiting for them to

respond to your raised hand, the uppity teacher would respond with a comparatively rude lecture on the difference between ‘can I’ and ‘may I’. In this day and age, it’s clear what you wanted from the beginning, and the difference between the two is frankly insignificant.

Stop. Just stop. I can confidently say that teachers who do this are either looking for something to relieve their boredom or powermad, and trust me - no student has ever appreciated it.

There is one thing in particular that inspired the topic for this column. I am a self-confessed sneezer. With hayfever and an allergy to pretty much every furry creature, I sneeze a lot. I sneeze when it’s cold, and I sneeze when it’s dusty. What then follows almost all of those sneezes are two words. “Bless you”. WHY do we need to bless each other after every sneeze? There’s not any special phrase to offer after a cough or a yawn, but society feels that it is still relevant to impart blessings should the bodily function involve your nose. Apparently it’s polite to bless people when they’re spraying snot, and you’re then expected to thank the person who blessed you. Yes, random person, thank you oh-so much for helping me to avoid the plague, I had forgotten that we still live in the middle ages. I can see literally no reason why I need to be blessed so much, except to perhaps keep demons from setting up camp in my nostrils.

Supposedly, manners maketh man. I want to know if table manners included in that saying, because people can get seriously stroppy about the silliest traditions. Table manners can be some of the weirdest forms of traditional politeness

around - don’t put your elbows on the table, hold your fork in your left hand and knife in your right, don’t wear a hat at the table. It’s utterly absurd that little things like these can appall certain snooty-types. What’s so bad about eating with the W wrong fork, or putting wine in the wrong glass when overall it will have no effect on anybody eating. Rules that will do for a meal in McDonalds just won’t do for afternoon tea at The Ritz, and while it may be nice to keep a few little traditions for the fancier festivities, I would prefer to just have one set of politeness principles that apply to all.

I’m not asking for mass rebellion against the rules.

Instead, don’t sweat the small stuff, I say. There’s absolutely no need to get your knickers in a twist over one missing word.

Your actions are supposedly selfless, yet you’re willing to make someone else feel like crap by yelling at them about their moments of mindlessness.

When nobody is hurt or rightfully offended, I can’t see what the problem is. Ditch your ingrained notions of social norms and try to think about the bigger picture.

Please.

what’s the point of being polite?

Maria Mellor examines society’s odd rules and wonders why should we mind our manners?

#

SORRY NOT SORRY 11

CULTURE

a single moment

This month Beau Beakhouse finds ecstasy in the everyday moments that make life beautiful

It is possible to be busy all the time. Even when you are sat still you can be busy.

You can be purposely occupied or you can be unwittingly wrapped up in thinking about the next thing you are going to be doing, who you are seeing, what you have to finish, the things that are worrying you. It is easy to forget that at that exact moment you are doing nothing. In fact at any moment. That you don’t have to be anywhere; you don’t have to be doing anything.

In the 21st century, and perhaps at anytime, it is easy to be in a constant state of detachment. A feeling of removal from everything, an unsatisfied abstraction. It is a mood best exemplified by the feeling of scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, not fully reading anything, not committing to clicking links or finishing sentences, just scrolling past things of minor interest, things you feel you should be interested in. Cities are another example. In a city of any size it’s easy to become trapped in solitude. So many people passing, hearing only tiny snippets of conversation, inhaling advertisements wherever you go, bad music, leaflets about disease, death, war and overpriced drinks. Instead of choosing and committing yourself to any one thing, it’s possible just to drift through hypothetical ideas, entertaining none of them. It’s often just a passing mood.

But it only really passes when something happens.

A typically modern scepticism seems to come when everything is summarised and removed by a number of degrees. When you aren’t having direct experiences it’s easy to judge. Social networks once again claim the prize for this, but any fast paced technology can achieve it. Combining an overload of information with summaries of conversations twice-z and lining them all up alongside each other; there in a second, gone in a second, terrorism, poverty, art, your friends, all as inconsequential and annoying as each other. It’s like a loop that it feels impossible to get out of without

12

a superhuman effort, which is in itself categorised as not really worth doing. But if you break out of this, strange things can happen.

Connection Some things can break monotony. There are these moments that feel more real, more intense, than other moments. Ones in which you are more aware of yourself and what is happening, where everything seems heightened and more intense. Direct experience can create these moments.

They can be anything. Seeing something naturally beautiful, a scene or a person, a memory remembered from childhood, the moment you realise you are in love with someone, a conversation. They can be like Joyce’s ‘epiphanies’, or Woolf ’s ‘moments of being’, or triggered by a memory or beautiful scenes as in Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. ‘The sublime’ is yet another different expression of this feeling; a heightened experience that can be extremely intense: beautiful and horrifying in equal measure.

But they can also be created by people with fiction and art. A poem, or a film can connect up ideas, moments from your experience, thoughts, things you’ve seen in places you love, and capture everything you want to be in a single moment. Art can break down logic with beautiful images and express things personal to you in ways you were unaware of. When this happens the internal world of plot and character seems to stretch out from the page, the screen, the stage, the canvas. Time is turned into something non-linear. Pinpointed moments from past, present and future that are connected regardless of the span of time between them. What this is exactly is unclear. But what it does make completely apparent is that in the end the connection is between people. Art can join people in any time and any place, where for single moments you unquestioningly understand each other.

CULTURE

cardiff uni english lit society POETRY AND SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2015 Everyone’s got a hidden talent. Are you a closet E.L. James? We hope not, but if writing is a passion of yours then LitSoc has the ultimate challenge for you.

This year, in order to raise funds for the National Literacy Trust, the English Literature Society will be holding their annual short story and poetry competition, with the winning entry featured in the culture section of January’s Quench Magazine. If you’ve always dreamed of seeing your name in print then this is your chance.

Now for the nitty gritty: Word limit is 1000 words for short stories, and 100 lines for poetry. As long as your piece abides by these guidelines, it can be formatted in any way you choose. Creative pieces can be of any genre or theme. Entry fee for Lit Soc members is £3, and it is £4 for non-members.

Fees can be paid online. There is no limit to how many entries you can send in, but the fee is per entry. As well as featuring in Quench, you will also win Blackwells vouchers amongst many other goodies. Include your name and student number as the file name when you submit your written piece so we know who you are.

Because we are very curious to know what inspires your individual creativity, we’re hoping that you feel like sharing your secrets. To accompany your poetry or short story, we’d like you to show us your inspiration.

This could be in the form of a photograph or piece of music or even just a meaningful quote that ignites your creative flair. So if you want to you can attach a file alongside your literary piece to show us what encouraged your writing.

Entries will close at 11pm on Monday 16th November 2015 so make sure to pay online and ALSO email in your creative writing pieces to JenningsP@ cardiff.ac.uk before then.

Good Luck!

13

CULTURE

ART

+ NIGHTLIFE For many of us, students especially, our weekends consist of partying all through Friday and Saturday night, whilst sleeping in the day.

Our social life revolves around the night time, whether it be at a party or at a club where the average arrival time is 12am and most of us usually end up getting home in the early hours of the next morning. Many of our conversations are based upon dramatic events that happened on previous nights; ‘you’ll never guess who threw a drink at who’ or ‘that other night was so funny because we all got so drunk and…’ The aim of a night out these days is often to make yourself look as good as you can and to attract a partner, however after consuming too much alcohol the image of someone wanting to dance with you becomes a faint memory. In discussing how people have changed in the way they ‘party’ it is clear that there is a substantial change from 100 years ago, but there are questions as to why artists often use nightlife as a focus point in their work.

14

JANE AUSTIN

Sophie King explores a number of films, books and artists that have been at the centre of their own social scenes.

In the days of Jane Austen, parties were often balls, where men and women would, like us, get dressed up with the intention of attracting someone of the opposite sex. However drinking was far less central to the fun, the music was live and they would dance together, but quiet enough so that people could converse in light hearted conversation.

But where does this urge to go out on the weekends, drink and party all through the night and have horrific hangovers the next day come from?

And how does nightlife affect our art? Art (literature, movies, theatre, music, paintings) have had an impact on our style, our attitudes and our social life. It can often influence our ideas on love and passion, and give us hope to be able to escape from the negative, challenging times the real world can bring.

The 1920s created a huge shift in the social life of many people in America, which quickly influenced the UK and other countries around the world. It is argued that after the distress and pain caused by the First World War, many people wanted to ‘let their hair down’. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a hugely influential writer of that time and is considered by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. One of his most famous novels, The Great Gatsby, is a book centred around parties and socialising. Fitzgerald used his own experience in life to create extraordinary stories. His characters engulf themselves in the party scene. Influenced by his own personal life, Fitzgerald created a fantasy about the night, the glitz and the glamour and the sense of magic caused by the night time. The protagonists’ Gatsby and Daisy’s affair is largely centred around them meeting at night; Gatsby throws his glorious parties just so that he can spend time with Daisy. Beyond all the lavish food and the great music, there are two heartbroken people who only want to make up lost time with one another.

Fitzgerald brilliantly sets the scene of each party that Gatsby hosts, allowing the reader to dive deep into imagining what it would be like at a post-war dance; ‘There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden, old men pushing young girls backward in eternal, graceless circles… By midnight the hilarity had increased. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers, people were doing “stunts” all over the garden’. Gatsby, could be perceived as the ‘artist’ who, in the novel, makes all these parties happen, however his presence at his own party if very limited. He seems to be a character who ‘creates’ these spectacular events, however does not indulge in them himself.

There is a subtext beneath all of this. The extravagant nature of 1920s lifestyle compared to other periods leads to the question: why do people feel the need to drink now? Why do they want to gather and party surrounded by a huge number of people?

It seems that the only clear answer is to escape; to free their mind of all that is wrong with the world and to discover great fantasies and dreams.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY - MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD - THE GREAT GATSBY

CULTURE

Ernest Hemingway is known as one of the most profound writers of the 20th Century. He had his own personal opinion on socialising and nightlife, and he was also known to like a drink or two.

In the film Midnight in Paris, the protagonist Gil, who is an aspiring writer, finds himself travelling back to the 1920s every day at midnight, ending up at parties or bars, magically surrounded by the ‘real life’ artists and writers of that era.

Subsequently, he meets and befriends the elite of Paris art and culture at the time, including Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Ernest Hemingway is one of those writers, always with a drink in his hand. His presence in the film creates a very surreal but serious tone. He was once known to have said “There is no night life in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not night life. That is delaying the day. Night life is when you get up with a hangover in the morning. Night life is when everybody says what the hell and you do not remember who paid the bill. Night life goes round and round and you look at the wall to make it stop. Night life comes out of a bottle and goes into a jar. If you think how much are the drinks it is not night life.’ I believe that this attitude is depicted within the film; the actor creates a very serious yet sarcastic tone to each scene he is present in, often owning the room, even though he does not say an awful lot. His character seems to be lost, he seems to be a man who does not interact much, but when he does speak, everyone listens, and what he does say has an impact on everyone who listens, mirroring his powerful works.

It is clear, that nightlife and art are linked, whether as a metaphor for escape, to set the scene or even as the place where artists themselves gather, it is very significant. Looking at today’s nightlife, it too has evolved. The way we dance, talk and behave is extremely different to the 1920s. We presume that then, it was to escape, but are we still trying to ‘escape’ now?

Are we still shattered by the past that being in a fantasy world, after midnight is so much more desirable?

- SOPHIE KING

15

CULTURE

Literary Revolutions Literature and art are often at the centre of revolution. They can spark change within a single person or within whole societies.

Mads Banfield explains some of the most prevalent literary movements and asks whether innovation and revolution can take place in the 21st century.

Throughout recent centuries there has been a range of different literary movements which have revolutionised how language is presented and engaged with.

Movements like the Beat Generation and Modernism were innovative because they experimented with different forms, structures and content. They rebelled against the current traditions through exploring new and original techniques to present language.

Other movements directly opposed the characteristics of previous ways of writing and contemporary events such as war and industrialisation, which led to a reversal or at least a rejection of old principles.

16

Romanticism As the Augustan age idealised order and regulations, some felt the frequent use of blank verse and regular rhythm limited the expression of emotions.

In reaction to this, prevalent artists and writers of the period responded with the Romantic movement. This directly refuted the previous era’s repression of identity by stressing emotion and imagination.

Romantic writers were able to embrace their individualism, rather than continuing the Augustan characteristic of undermining imagination and enforcing strict societal expectations on identity. Indeed, beyond the Augustan ‘Age of Reason’, the Romantics explored the realm of the supernatural

and gothic within their writings to suggest something beyond reality.

At the time the Industrial Revolution resulted in mass migration to the cities where there were more opportunities.

But the Romantics favoured the natural world, and thus criticised the urban society that they felt corrupted and exploited the individual. In many respects they were also revolutionary in their attitude towards the less fortunate, because they actually exposed the cruelties of the urbanised world and engaged with humanitarian values.

CULTURE Beat Generation, rebelled The Beat against the restrictions of these conformities by Generation undermining the conventions of the materialistic society.

After the Second World War, many felt an underlying fear of nuclear war and terrorism. Thus the American identity stressed the importance of conformity and capitalism.

However, in the 1940s in New York and San Francisco, a group of writers, known today as the

Effectively, it was a group of friends that met up, talked, drank, took drugs, and wrote. The term ‘beat’ was meant to imply people who were down and out; citizens that had been exploited by the Capitalist society and left to fend for themselves. The Beat Generation was antiauthoritarian in this respect,

Modernism Nearing the end of the 19th Century and continuing into the early-20th, the Modernist movement incorporated music, art and literature.

It was characterised as a movement which completely rejected the different revolutions of the past and stressed experimentation and originality. Indeed, they opted for an abstract approach to life rather than a realist one.

Writers like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf rejected the Victorian novel, which did not seem to be relevant in

because it openly challenged the establishment and its repressive nature. Within this movement there were no taboos; sexuality and drugs became widely explored.

Founding writers like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady rejected the formalities of social expectations and forced their consciousness beyond everyday reality. Jazz, the music genre that was thought of as threatening to society, was heavily interconnected with the Beat Generation.

Similarly to the genre, the erratic rhythm and fastpaced nature of the stream of consciousness became integral to the movement.

Jack Kerouac, for example, wrote one of the first drafts of On the Road on a 120 foot long, continuous scroll in just three weeks, so as to not interrupt his train of thought.

This manuscript epitomises the Beat Generation because of its fast paced, irregular rhythm and unpredictable thought process.

“writers like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady rejected the formalities of social expectations and forced their consciousness beyond everyday reality.”

their constantly developing society.

Instead of focusing on content, Modernism favoured the innovation of form by developing new concepts and structures. After the atrocities of the First World War, society was left in a sense of disillusionment and isolation. Modernism rejected Capitalist, communal society and instead embraced the individual and its subconscious by focusing on the stream of consciousness.

PostModernism

The characteristics of Postmodernism reject Modernism entirely by suggesting that no idea is original anymore, because it is impossible to be completely innovative.

Becoming more popular in the middle of the 20th century, it is still apparent in culture today.

It breaks down the boundaries between the past and the present and blends techniques, forms and themes. Postmodernism has stripped the conventions of literature and challenges the expectations. It utilises paradox and parody to create the suggestion of multiple readings.

Indeed, concepts like meta-fiction are utilised in Postmodernism to make the reader aware that

what they are reading is fiction, it unsettles the reader, thus creating a whole new experience in its reading. Subsequently, Postmodernism proposes that it has become difficult to create a completely original idea. Indeed, it seems that literary revolutions may no longer be able to be entirely ground breaking, but will instead seek to explore ideas and forms that already exist and to take them one step further.

Additionally movements like the Spoken Word, where writers perform their work, are becoming increasingly prevalent. Language is a lot more than just words on a page, the importance is no longer constrained to just content, but instead an array of aspects like structure and rhythm are explored and experimented with.

17

1 in 3 top companies can’t fill

GRADUATE VACANCIES 1st Year students

Fresher? Make sure your communication skills are top notch! Learn the best ways to make a presentation, learn how to actively listen, learn how to negotiate your first student house or new part-time job.

Make sure you communicate with customers successfully.

2nd Year students

Learn how to motivate youself better, improve your time management skills, network successfully at University and employers’ events, and more.

3rd Year students

Last year at University? Learn to become an effective and successful leader before you start your Graduate job, get ahead of the crowd!

the above is available to ALL cardiff students during your studies for FREE

Cardiff Nightline

CardiffNightline @CardiffNL CardiffStudents.com/nightline

FASHION + BEAU T Y

you are what you wear.

N O I T I D E GYM

Waiting for a sign to start that workout routine you’d been putting off? Alexander Jones and Emma Riches will tell you how to look your best following this seasons styles while burning calories.

You’re at university and you have that sudden urge to get fit and healthy, better yourself and become a ‘new you’. Whether you’re returning to continue your degree or just arrived in Cardiff, you want to get in good physical shape and you need gear. It’s not some half-hearted New Year’s resolution, this time you’re serious. Catering a range of different budgets and levels of enthusiasm, Quench Fashion is here to help kick start your body goals!

·

Nike Air Max 90 Men’s Running Shoes.

New Balance Ice Graphic Tunic £30

Nike Training Kit. £19.99

20

Adidas Tentro Pes Mens T-Shirts. £17.99

Thanks to Cardiff Healthy People Society for these tips!

H&M Graphic Sports Shirt £11.50

While sports bra shopping, look for wider straps and moisture absorbing fabrics to dodge the back and shoulder pain!

H&M Graphic Sports Shirt £9.99

·

Nike Indy Sports Bra £15

Wear out your trainers until you’ve got your soles in your right hand and the rest of the body in your left. In a toss up between spending money and injuring a joint, there is one clear winner.

H&M 2-pack hairbands £3.99

Avoid cotton anything! This may be your comfiest option but prepare for extreme sweat patches, skin irritation and body breakouts

Nike Studio Wrap 3 £31.99

don’ts

£25< Adidas Graphic Shorts £26

Tie your hair back & get rid of any accessories for optimum comfort

H&M Sport Leggings £19.99

·

> £25 Under Armour Printed Sports Bra £18

Obviously as a must keep your clothes on. I mean we all love to see perfectly sculpted bodies at some point in a day but not when we are trying to attempt the perfect squat.

MI-FIT Ebe 5” Woven Shorts. £15

·

> £15 Reebok Essential Men’s T-Shirt. £10

Invest in quick-drying synthetics that are help show off your shape and form

Doymos Fit+ 7/8 Slim Fit Leggings £8.99

·

> £10

LA Gear Muscle Vest £6.25

dos

FASHION + BEAU T Y

highBROW

Whether you’re inspired by Cara’s bushy power-brows, bleaching a la Kim Kardashian, or are embracing the latest Insta trend; #EyebrowSlit (why?!).

This issue we are bringing you the complete low down so you can optimise your brow game.

WHERE TO GO?

BOLLYWOOD BROWS

LOCATION: Queen’s Arcade Cardiff, opposite the entrance via Queen Street

BENEFIT’S BROWBAR

1 2

PRICE RANGE: Certainly student-friendly, treatments start at just £5 WHAT’S AVAILABLE? Traditionally, this small and local salon specialised in eyebrow threading and tinting.

However following its expansion, Bollywood Brows now caters for both male and female body-over threading, including (but not limited to) the upper lip, hands, arms and chin. If you have a special occasion on the cards, then package deals such as an eyebrow shape and tint are on offer for just £22. The service is hassle-free with walkin appointments available at your leisure.

4

3

As a warning: threading can be a little painful, especially when done at the speed of the beauticians here.

5

LOCATION: Boots or Debenhams in the St David’s Centre PRICE RANGE: Slightly more upmarket, between £15-20 for the majority of treatments.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE? The signature ‘Benefit Brow Arch’ is the most popular treatment on offer at the bars, consisting of; a brow wax; tint (custom colour to suit your skin tone and hair colour) and tweeze to tidy up and stray hairs. It is done professionally and promptly by the team, but booking in advance would be highly advisable as there is often only one beautician available. The bar also offers facial waxing, alongside tanning in certain branches.

As a perk: Make sure you sign up to the Benefit BrowBar Loyalty Card scheme to get your free treatment after making 7 trips, and whilst you’re at the counter, make the most of their free mini-makeovers and make-uppers using Benefit products.

SO WHATS WHAT?

Recommended Products

Mapping: To gain that perfect arch, line up a pencil from the corner of your nose to your inner eye, middle and outer eye to find your proportionate angles.

1.

2.

Waxing: The most common technique to shape brows, waxing involves applying a warm wax before stripping it off – the results usually last a couple of weeks.

Threading: An ancient technique originating in the Middle East, threading uses cotton thread in order to pull the hair follicles from the root giving a precise finish - the results usually last a few weeks.

Tinting: Effectively just adding a bit of colour to your brows - for those of us struggling with fairer hairs

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Benefit’s Brow Zings 3.

4.

5.

Mac’s Brow Gel

Loreal Paris’ Brow Artist Shaper

Soap & Glory’s ARCHERY 2-in-1 Brow Sculpting Crayon and Gel

HD Brows: A technique to gain brow definition, using a combination of waxing, threading and tinting the brows

21

FASHION + BEAU T Y

THE STYLE EDIT: WOMENSWEAR

A/W 15 Autumn, the season that puts an end to our responsibility free summer.

This month we will be trying to brighten up the season by showing you the gorgeous new trends AW15 has on offer.

22

FASHION + BEAU T Y

HIGH-WAISTED TROUSERS

As the temperatures drop, the waistline of this season’s pants is reaching a new all time high. This autumn, the high-waisted trend that never went away gives you the perfect chance to make your legs appear longer than ever. Highwaisted trousers are a staple piece for your wardrobe this season as they can suit both smart or casual and are totally figure flattering. For a complete evening look, simply match them with a pair of heels and a tucked in blouse and you’re ready to go.

EMERALD GREEN

FUR

This autumn fur makes it’s comeback as one of this season’s top trends.

From gilets to headbands, fur is everywhere and we love it far too much to not sneak it into our wardrobe. It’s hard to pull off an oversized furry coat as casual wear, but it is definitely not impossible.

Add fur to any outfit and you can have a cosy, yet chic outfit, all season long.

THIGH-HIGH BOOTS

PLAID

“Plaid is back” but really, did it ever leave? From shirts, to coats and trousers, the check pattern dominated the catwalk; and it’s got a new makeover. It’s brighter. It’s bolder. And it’s diverse in shape.

If you’re wondering what to wear with plaid, leather is the answer.

These two go way back; whether you’re sporting a plaid school skirt, or channelling your inner grunge kid, you can never go wrong with a leather jacket or, if you’re feeling brave, leather trousers. Just don’t make like Ross in Friends and get stuck in them!

Just because the leaves are turning brown this season, doesn’t mean your wardrobe has to. The statement colour is best worn by matching it with soft colours or white, which can create a look perfect for any occasion. For those wanting to test the trend before totally embracing it, adding an emerald green accessory to any outfit is a great way to give it a go without full commitment.

Thigh high boots are without question the trend of the season.

Skinny jeans tucked into flat suede boots reaching your mid-thigh and asymmetrical tops layered with a warm coat are a perfect combination for staying chic and cosy. For the evening, you can pair your boots with a loose dress and thin belt around the waist to slim your silhouette. Keeping your look monochromatic works well, since the boots make enough of a statement themselves.

23

T R AV E L

TRAVELLING WITH A CONSCIENCE -

Waterfalls. Sunsets. Selfies with koalas.

We’ve all experienced this scattering of gapyah decadence while scrolling down our newsfeeds, and there is no escaping it. “Yes, I love university…”, I would remind myself after stalking yet another Bali 2015 album, “who needs Cambodia when you can have Cathays?”

It’s difficult to stay enamoured with your rainy UK town all the time. Every picture would create a mosaic of whimsical, sun-kissed wanderlust in my mind, a desire for hedonism, freedom and adventure shooting into me like a drug. I would be teased and tempted by this dichotomy of lifestyles; surely I’d enjoy this Blake poem a little bit more if I were sitting on a beach, right?

So I gave in. My second year was ending soon and the impending four-month summer hung there like a swelling black void. I sprawled the Global Opportunity website at Cardiff, submitted a few applications, spoke to some people and then suddenly I was going to Costa Rica.

Before I knew it, I had been to a training day, bought my gear and was in a heated discussion with my mother after she suggested wearing my new hiking boots into town to

24

soften them up. Not my style, mother, I’m sorry. However, soon enough I had landed in San José, met the people I would be living with for the next five weeks and finally embraced the jungle aesthetic—my beige trousers could not just offer sublime waterproofing and airy comfort, but even be unzipped to become shorts. I was a changed man.

I volunteered in Costa Rica with a charity called Raleigh International. They are a global organisation that have been going for over 30 years, and work to promote sustainable development among some of the poorest and most remote communities in the world. My project was only five weeks (they offer 7-week and 10-week projects too), which included a trekking phase, some extra in-country training and a community phase.

It was the best thing I have ever done.

It was everything I had hoped it would be, everything that I had imagined when daydreaming about it at the back of a lecture hall. For me, I didn’t want to aimlessly make my way around Asia, not because that doesn’t have its merits, but it just wasn’t me. I wanted a challenge, to take myself way out of my comfort zone, and have a real lasting impact on wherever I visited.

T R AV E L Our community project was a tiny school called Escuela Koiyaba, situated deep in the mountains of Costa Rica. The school redefined my understanding of ‘remote’ – it took an eight-hour trek through jungle and rivers to get there. Local men, women, and even children helped us to carry our bags, giving directions and offering support along the way. This was my first real introduction to the indigenous community, and their presence was humbling. They gave up their entire day just to help us, to make us feel safe and welcome us into their community. It was generosity unlike anything I’ve seen before.

To put it in perspective, I remember that just making it to our destination seemed like a victory in itself. I was soaked through, exhausted and the bag on my back felt like a small house, but as a group we were elated.

This was a different type of happiness, a raw viscerality that you rarely find in suburbia.

You were at one with the world, at one with yourself.

It’s difficult to describe the location of this school with words alone. There was no angle in which the view didn’t stagger me, not a moment when it felt normal to look at. We could wake up, cook, work and clean in front of a sea of green; jungle and distant trees were scattered across the valley, throwing blues and blacks and browns on to our remote Costa Rican palette. The school felt like our secret: untouched, organic and undistorted from the outside world. Everything flowed at a slightly slower pace; the rain was thick, the air pure, and even the chickens that roamed around seemed content and at peace.

In our time at Koiyaba, we built a kindergarten, which added to the classrooms built in the previous year, also by Raleigh.

It was the local people’s warmth, desire and passion for life that reminded us all why we were there and helped us break out of the monotonous daze that shovelling mud could pull you in to. Their homes, scattered across the mountain, made the children’s walk to school long, treacherous and a challenge in itself. The kindergarten means that younger children can now come to school with their brothers and sisters, and start education that little bit earlier.

You see, it is possible to travel with a purpose. Yes, you can still ‘find yourself ’, bathe in waterfalls and make incredible friends, but you can come back knowing you’ve had an impact on a community thousands of miles from your own. My lust to travel has been satisfied at least for the moment, but regrettably I’m now one of those annoying people on your newsfeed too. Sorry.

Photos by Louis Browne, Illustrations by Bryn Evans.

25

We are celebrating

MALALA YOUSAFZAI Youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.

VISIT CARDIFFSTUDENTS.COM TO FIND OUT MORE

T R AV E L

For many, I’m sure that the end of summer means we self-diagnose ourselves with an oncoming bout of ‘SAD’, the shorter, colder and wetter days giving us a lack of desire to get out and explore. Although the weather in the UK may be mildly depressing, why not look further afield, I want to highlight some of the wonderful things occurring in autumn time in an attempt to brighten up your day, starting with the mystical Northern Lights in Iceland, which are currently in season!

This spectacular natural phenomenon requires clear, dark skies and gives a second to none show varying from an ethereal green glow gracefully hovering in the distance, to pulsating scarlet streaks illuminating the sky much like a natural strobe, but better! However, to view this celestial wonder you need good luck, good planning and perfect weather conditions!

Iceland is such a dynamic country which really caters for a broad audience; a geologist’s and an explorer’s idea of heaven; a land of fire and ice. Volcanoes bubble under a layer of snow, ready to erupt whilst the geysers don’t contain their excitement as well, spurting out boiling water followed by plumes of steam.

Delve into the depths of volcano’s chambers, meander through the subterranean caves and crevasses and enter the magma chamber, aflame with colours ranging from azure blue to gold. Compare the similarity of the lava fields to Dante’s inferno; inhale the sulphur, examine the tar-black rocks and acidgreen pools of frothing water. Climb through ice caves and marvel at the diverse icescapes and breathtaking views of the hidden valleys from the inside or follow the footsteps of the Night watch; Game of Thrones enthusiasts will recognize the landscapes of the Northern Vatnajökull National Park as Westeros’s wild northern reaches!

But don’t forget your swimmers! Although you may now be picturing something from a sci-fi film, every town in Iceland boasts natural geothermal baths. Blue Lagoon namely, located near the capital Reykjavik is the perfect place to relax, the water is said to soothe your skin, to be a cure for wrinkles and the silica mud masks from here exfoliate and nourish your skin.

TWICE AS ICE TWICE AS ICE

“A“AGEOLOGIST’S GEOLOGIST’S AND AND ANAN EXPLORER’S EXPLORER’S IDEA IDEA OFOF HEAVEN” HEAVEN”

27

T R AV E L

THE THRIFTY EXPLORER HOW TO TRAVEL ON A BUDGET

- MORZINE -

- Marielle Wilkinson

“having “havingananopen openmind mind isiskey keytotoyour yoursurvival” survival”

28

I consider myself a pretty experienced traveller.

I have learnt from my voyages that experiences, and not novelty fridge magnets, will count as true memories to cherish. But to go on great voyages, you need the money. It can sometimes be a pain to plan and budget, but you will definitely feel prepared to embark on your trip, as well as confident, and most importantly – safe.

First of all, DO YOUR RESEARCH. The thought of going out for a long adventure with no ‘adult’ restrictions is very exciting, but I cannot stress enough how valuable research is before going on a trip, especially one that’s very prolonged. Research the country, its culture, laws that you should know, the historic sites you should visit (as well as good pubs, bars and clubs, of course), etc. It is very important to look up any laws that you may need to know about the country to avoid getting yourself into a sticky situation that was easily avoidable.

These include drinking age, driving age, and customary traditions that foreigners must respect. Personal experience of a friend of mine that learned the hard way who wore shorts during Ramadan in Marrakech, and got spat on. Research well, plan ahead, think smart.

Look up hostels before getting to your destination. Don’t expect an empty bed or room when you arrive at a hostel without booking. Sleeping in the main square of a busy city is a doomed choice for those who fail to find a place to stay for the night, and clearly not safe at all. Under a budget, hostels will become your best friend. There are thousands of hostels around the globe that offer a variety of rooms, many charging you as little as £7 per person per night. You can choose to have your bedroom to yourself or share a room with random, fellow backpackers. The latter tends to be a popular option with budget travellers. On trips like these, having an open mind is key to your survival and meeting other backpackers is both fun and eye-opening, as you get to learn about each of their own countries and travels.

To avoid ill-kept hostels, try looking up ratings and reviews on each hostel on websites such as TripAdvisor, where you also get to read about past guests’ personal good/bad experiences.

The closer to the date that you decide to book a ticket for either plane, bus or train – the more expensive it gets. This is why it is important to plan ahead, especially if you are on a budget. Buses tend to be the cheapest choice when travelling abroad, and are also

T R AV E L the more popular choice of transportation in countries where trains are not an option. If you are thinking of leaving the UK in a bus, try buying tickets with Mega Bus, who, for example, sell one way bus tickets for ONLY £27! Of course, dead cheap prices come to the cost of comfort, and this is something you have to suck up and accept. If you decide to leave the country by flying, try booking flight tickets with low-priced airlines such as Ryanair or EasyJet, but again very importantly booking these in advance as airline prices are very unpredictable and can suddenly change from one hour to another. Train prices tend to be as unpredictable as airline prices, but outside of Britain, especially within mainland Europe, there tends to be a lot of packages available for backpackers that enable you to travel to a number of countries in a certain period of time, for a very reasonable price. Also, having a 19-25 student railcard helps a lot and discounts a sensible, and sometimes life-saving, amount out of the original price.

If you decide to avoid public transportation and opt to rent a car (or bus or van or motorcycle or quad or tricycle), you will have to, again, research first. How much will it be? Am I able to drive on the other side of the road? Is it legal for me to drive in

“Research “Research well, well,plan plan ahead, ahead,think think smart.” smart.”

another country? What are the speed limits?

Believe me; driving on German motorways is not for the faint of heart, as there is no speed limit and it is very, very, very scary. Don’t try to be Senna and go full speed on roads like this, a foreign A&E room is the last place you want to end up.

This leads to another point – insurance.

Using handy sites such as Comparethemarket. com and Moneysupermarket.com will find you very cheap health insurance deals. Many of you may have an EU insurance card which enables you to get the national health care, but this may be different in different countries and some treatments may be not be available for you. So please, do get a good insurance. You will be very grateful for the extra £10 you spent for health insurance if you break a bone, instead of paying the tourist and uninsured rate of €1000+.

Most importantly, try to budget for everything. Keep a journal, and write your expenses, as well as your savings. Avoid eating out every day and night; you can survive on pot noodles for a week in exchange for an amazing trip. Also, this will probably come as a shock to many, but many countries in the world don’t speak a lot of English, if any at all. So don’t assume that they always do. Local people tend to treat you better and, many times, not overcharge you when you try to speak the local language. This will allow you to stay within your budget throughout the holiday.

Take care of yourself in your future trips.

The value of your life is far more than your belongings. I always say this to friends and I’ll say it again now – think smart and you’ll stay safe.

29

MUSIC

Bring Me The Horizonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Next Bring Me The Horizon have never had it easy, and their latest offering is a confident middle finger up to their critics as they ironically infiltrate the mainstream.

30

C

t Big Step - Jack Glasscock

MUSIC

ast your mind back to 2008; Kid Rock are and did it themselves. “We know how we want our songs covering Lynrd Skynrd, The X Factor is to sound. We wrote the songs, we don’t need anyone’s help. pretty much at its peak and Katy Perry has We’re confident of them, we know that they’re good and taken a residency at the top spot in the UK we don’t need anyone’s input. If we think something’s shit singles chart. It’s a pretty bleak time for mainstream or needs changing then we’ll do it”. States drummer Matt music. Yet it’s also the year that Bring Me The Horizon Nicholas confidently. released their breakthrough sophomore album, It’s this uncompromising attitude that has gotten the ‘Suicide Season’. You just have to look at the title to stubborn Sheffield lads where they are now. If you’ve been know that this isn’t the kind of music that’s going to anywhere near involved in music for the last few months, go down well with the masses, especially in 2008. you’ll know whatever they’re doing is working. Totting up What is now a seminal album, within its genre, was close to 300 plays on BBC Radio One with their huge single, even shunned by the rock and metal scene in its time. ‘Drown’, and sitting pretty on the A list with the other It was incalculably heavy, obscenely dark and by no singles they’ve released. They’re a household name now, a means designed to be accessible. But, that’s exactly domestic band that are being embraced on a much broader what Bring Me The Horizon wanted to do; “We had scale than they’ve been used to and Nicholls doesn’t think one thing on our mind. That was to make some heavy this is just a coincidence; “The style of music helps. Our old songs for people to mosh to and that’s all we wanted to stuff was really extreme and we were kids that just wanted do” says drummer, Matt Nicholls. to be as metal as possible and as heavy as possible. But, you Ask anyone now if they would have been able to know, we’ve grown up and stuff. I guess it’s just the cleaner predict the trajectory of Bring Me The Horizon, and sound that a lot more people won’t turn their nose up to. they’ll say “never in a million years”; if they don’t, If you played our band 10 years ago to the general public, they’re lying. Who’d listen to a song called ‘It Was they’d be like ‘what the fuck is this?’. Whereas nowadays, I Written In Blood’ or ‘Death Breath’, with lyrics like “So guess, it’s more suited to a wider audience”. tie a rope around my neck, pull it tight till it breaks.

It seems that Bring Me The Horizon have calculated You can’t kill us, we will never fucking die” and think a move to something huge with this album. Not only are that within 10 years everyone and their mum would the mainstream radio plays doing the talking here, but so be a fan. Even the band would have struggled to are the ticket sales for their recently announced UK tour. comprehend how things have turned out, “I think we’d “Honestly, we were just blown away. We thought it would just be like ‘are you having a laugh?’. I don’t think we’d sell out, but we thought it would take time. I mean we be completely like ‘fuck off ’, but I think we’d be like obviously didn’t think it would take 3 hours to sell 10,000 ‘nah, don’t think so mate’”. tickets in London, that’s crazy! It took like 8 or 9 months to As time went on and as history shows us, Bring sell out 12,00 tickets for Wembley (in December 2014). I Me The Horizon orchestrated the most incredible guess, you know; I can’t explain it man we were just blown narrative arc in contemporary music. away. It was just insane. I think we did From the deathcore band that everyone “All we 22,000 tickets in the first day. It’s fucking loved to hate and through a hugely daft”. expansive, experimental period, which care about It’s not just the UK going nuts for saw them release some of the most them either; it’s everywhere. Bring Me creative albums ever recorded in heavy is writing The Horizon are taking over the world. music, through to the point where “We’re going to Russia and they’re putting they’re staring down the barrel of a good music us in a 15,000 people stadium thing and number 1 album in the form of latest it’s just crazy for us. We’ll play wherever, output, ‘That’s The Spirit’. “We’ve always and playing we’ll play to 100 people, we’ll play to changed it up a little bit. This time it’s 100,000 people; but it’s pretty crazy. I just been changed a little bit more than shows. know Paris has been upgraded because it usual. I think this is the kind of music sold out pretty much instantly and a lot of we’ve always wanted to write and since Everything others are getting upgraded; it’s the same Jordan (Fish – electronics and keys) in America”. joined the band he’s been able to bring else comes as Yet when asked whether or not that forward a bit more. So, I guess that they’re looking to step up and headline enabled us to step up our writing a bit a bonus” major UK festivals, following their recent more. I guess it is a bit different, but I demolition of Reading & Leeds, Nicholls think it’s different for the better”. remains humble. “We’ve always just taken things as they There’s a fleeting hesitation in Nicholls voice come. We’ve never set ourselves any goals or any limits. that suggests their constant morphing is something All we care about is writing good music and playing shows. that some fans give the band stick for. But Bring Me Everything else comes as a bonus. If it happens that’s The Horizon have never made any apologies for who awesome and if it doesn’t, that’s fine. I’m happy with what they are and who they want to be. “One of the main we’ve done and what we’ve achieved. We’ll just have to wait things about the band is that we want to progress. We and see”. don’t ever want to stay still and stay doing the same From what was a turbulent beginning, both in terms thing. I just find it a bit boring, and a bit shit, when of how they were received by those around them and how I see bands that have been going for like 10 years and they sounded, Bring Me The Horizon have bitten, kicked they’re still doing the same shit. I don’t want to do and spat their way to the top tier of British rock music. It’s that and I don’t think any of us want to get stuck in an incredible story and it’s by no means the end of the last our comfort zone. We’re not all about that. We’re all chapter yet; if anything it’s just getting to the good bit and about progressing as a band and as people. We want to the boys are rightly pretty happy about how things are right appeal to every music fan, not just metal fans or heavy now. “It’s just a good time for the band. It’s just exciting music fans”. mate, I’m right content and we’re all right happy. We’re just Whilst it’s clear that Bring Me The Horizon stoked at the minute. It’s just good times for the band”. have always pushed the boundaries, and shattered them. There’s a noticeable level confidence in their Catch Bring Me The Horizon decimate the latest venture, a confidence that was even apparent Motorpoint in Cardiff on 27th November. throughout the recording process, as the band declined a big-name producer and just went ahead

31

October/Hydref

Andy C All Night

Gabrielle Aplin

Years & Years 22/10/15 - SOLD OUT

Marina And The Diamonds 28/11/15 - SOLD OUT

Bowling For Soup

Killing Joke

Happy Mondays 29/11/15, £28.50 ADV

Fun Lovin' Criminals

27/11/15, £13 ADV

25/10/15, £22.50 ADV

Catfish and the Bottlemen 29/10/15 - SOLD OUT Treatment Presents: Halloween Party

December/Rhagfyr The Story So Far 01/12/15, £14 ADV

30/10/15, from £16.50 ADV

Kodaline 03/12/15 - SOLD OUT

Jess Glynne 31/10/15 - SOLD OUT

November/Tachwedd

The Temperance Movement 26/01/16, £14 ADV

February/Chwefror

Slaves

15/11/15, £13.50 ADV

Treatment Presents: Annie Mac

Public Service Broadcasting 26/11/15, £20 ADV

@CARDIFFUNION

March/Mawrth 03/03/16, £15 ADV

17/03/16, £12 ADV

The Stranglers

18/03/16, £26 ADV

Boyce Avenue

19/03/16, £25 ADV

April/Ebrill

Neck Deep

Funeral For A Friend 05/04/16- SOLD OUT

KERRANG! Tour 2016 ft. Sum 41 & more

Funeral For A Friend 06/04/16- SOLD OUT

05/02/16, £13.50 ADV

20/11/15, from £18.50 ADV

Stiff Little Fingers

28/02/16, £18.50 ADV

PVRIS

07/11/15, £17.50 ADV

08/11/15 - SOLD OUT

City and Colour 19/02/16 - SOLD OUT

Ash

January/Ionawr

Foals

18/02/16, £23.50 ADV

Theory Of A Deadman

12/12/15, £22.50 ADV

03/11/15, £15 ADV

Everything Everything

14/02/16, £20 ADV

Scouting For Girls

14/12/15, £17 ADV

The Staves

12/02/16, £16.50 ADV

11/02/16, £18.50 ADV

CARDIFFBOXOFFICE

CARDIFFBOXOFFICE.COM

All tickets subject to booking fee Codir ffi archebu ar bob tocyn

NEW

MUSIC

NEWYDD Young Monarch

Ciaran Lavery

This Irish singer-songwriter will save your mid-terms.

The Emerald Isle is famous for nurturing musicians whose songs are carefully crafted outpourings of emotion, and County Antrim born Ciaran Lavery is testament to this tradition. In last years ‘Kosher’, an EP that’s had over 6million listens on Spotify, Lavery proved that it can be done with an instrumentation that’ll get you itching to rebel against anything.

He was a part of local alt-rock band ‘Captain Kennedy’ for 6 years before going solo and releasing his debut album ‘Not Nearly Dark’, which has a slow, heart-aching sonic spirit that could be likened to Tom Waits or Damien Rice.

His music is the type to listen to when you feel like giving up with that dead boring essay, or being stripped to your barest thoughts of suffering. His dulcet tones and cleverly crafted accompaniments will soon make you realise that everything’s not lost, that you refuse to be overwhelmed by despair and will find hope (in coffee and an all nighter in the ASSL if nothing else).

For fans of: Tom Waits, Damien Rice.

Download: ‘Shame’ Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/ciaran-lavery Facebook: facebook.com/ciaranlaverymusic

- ERIN GILLESPIE

Life In Cold Climates Guitar fused popfunk? Yes Cardiff!

Life In Cold Climates are a self-professed “unashamedly radio friendly” band.

It’s nice that you can always rely on a Cardiff based band for honesty. However, their willingness to admit that they’re a group that wouldn’t feel out of place in the mainstream doesn’t detract from the quality of their music. Their latest single, ‘Say This’, was released over the summer and saw Gwdihw play host to its single release via Animal Farm records. It’s a track that that encompasses the band’s guitar-fused pop whilst incorporating funk tones. Singer, Eve Goodman’s vocal performance is light and clear, bringing a voice to the catchy pop melodies that you’d expect from this outfit. Her voice is matched by the guitars fuzzy funk style and together they produce the sound of Cardiff ’s brightest pop prospect.

- JACK GLASSCOCK

For fans of: John Mayer, Norah Jones.

Download: ‘Say This’ Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/lifeincoldclimates Facebook: facebook.com/lifeincoldclimates @LICCofficial

f f i d Carased B

This is talented College.

what happens when 6 music folk meet at

Young Monarch are a brand spanking new band that have come together in Manchester over the past year, thanks to each member’s respective attendance of the Royal Northern College Of Music. Their 6-piece line up allows for an extensive set of instrumentation, including strings, saxophone and keys, to interlace and build beautifully. This tapestry of sound and beautifully clean production creates the perfect foundation for the powerful vocals of Rebecca Lewis that completes the ambient soundscape. Their only available track, ‘Gold’, just hints at what this young band are capable of and makes the prospect of a couple of new tracks between now and Christmas, followed by their debut EP release at the start of next year, a very exciting prospect indeed.

- JACK GLASSCOCK

For fans of: London Grammar, Daughter.

Download: ‘Gold’ Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/youngmonarchband Facebook: facebook.com/youngmonarchband @YoungMonarchUK

Signals ‘Math Pop’; love it or hate it.

you you

The basis of ‘Math Pop’ is like marmite. For some, the untimely, irregular changes and bizarre time signatures provide the perfect sonic experience. There are others that seem to go along with it because it is the musical genre which literally defines what it means to be indie/hipster, and then there are those that think it is just a little bit pretentious and weird.

However, Signals have created a sound, which you cannot help but tap your foot to, even if you do fall into the last category. Lead singer Ellie Price’s vocals seem to rest between the sincerity of Elena Tonra (Daughter) and the grit of Florence Welch (Florence And The Machine). Yet the most inviting thing about Signals is the way their songs are written; the bare bones of their sound is built on the foundation of honest lyrics about love, loss and everything in between. Add to this the catchy unique math melody and you get enticing three and a half minute pop songs every time. Since ‘Square Wheels’ (their debut EP in 2012) their sound and following has only grown, making Signals a band to watch in the not so distant future!

- JAMES IVORY

For fans of: Everything Everything, Manchester Orchestra.

Download: ‘Sleep Talk’ Bandcamp: http://signalsuk.bandcamp.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/signalsuk @Signalsofficial

33

ALBUM

MUSIC

R E VIE W

WHAT WENT DOWN FOALS Oxford-based heavyweights, Foals, return with fourth album ‘What Went Down’, as they try to find the middle ground between the math-rock on debut album ‘Antidotes’ and the more refined indie pop on follow ups ‘Total Life Forever’ and ‘Holy Fire’.

There’s a promise that Foals are going to get a little bit nasty, starting off with the booming title track ‘What Went Down’. Frontman, Yannis Philippakis, recently said in an interview with The Guardian that he “wanted to explore the extremities, the darkest crevices of my mind”, and this is where Foals are at their best on the album; killer riffs, storming percussion and aggressive vocals. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between; tracks ‘Snake Oil’ and half of the following track ‘Night Swimmers’ are the only real hard-hitting instances of Foals getting darker.

Elsewhere, the album is more or less what fans have come to expect from the band. Following on from 2010’s ‘Total Life Forever’ and 2013’s ‘Holy Fire’, Foals have found their niche; funky, dreamy pop music that borders on the synth pop trend that has become more prominent in the UK’s indie scene. The majority of the tracks could have been slotted into one of their previous albums and not feel out of place. While sometimes it’s beneficial for a band to just build upon their current sound, the tiny bit of evolution that is then taken back on the tracks inbetween makes listening to the album the whole way through uneven.

‘What Went Down’ will surely elevate Foals up to the ceremonial ‘arena rock band’ stage of their career, thanks to the added layer of polish to the already high standards they have established over the years.

However, it has to be said that this album feels slightly incoherent and could have done with more consistency.

34

JACK BOYCE

ANTHEMS FOR THE DOOMED YOUTH THE LIBERTINES

...AND AFTER THAT THE DARK THE ECHO AND THE ALWAYS

Making a comeback album is never easy. Comparisons will always be drawn to previous work and working under increased pressure/scrutiny doesn’t help. For the Libertines you have to add to this the detriment of one half of the creative force recuperating from one of the heaviest drug dependencies in rock and roll history, along with having to repair a working relationship that was torn to pieces by its sheer destructive tendencies.

An eerie, mysterious introduction to ‘History of Trees’, the opening track on ‘The Echo and The Always’ debut album, encapsulates the excitement that has surrounded this band for some time. With its haunting lyrics and soaring trumpets, it makes for an epic start. Hancock’s vocals sit above a rich blend of instrumentation and dynamics, soft and versatile, providing a gentle contrast to their powerful sound. Despite an aggressive mix of electric guitar and thunderous drums in the chorus, there is enough room to make out the subtleties of Muir’s keys, and it’s these recurring intricacies that make the album special.

Despite every fan rooting for this to be album of the year and bucking the trend, it certainly doesn’t. Now, it certainly isn’t horrendous but there are quite a few flaws from the get- go. This album doesn’t have the same punch that made their first two records such hitS; they just pass you by. In one ear and out the other.

The lead single ‘Gunga Din’ is a prime example, the ska-like offbeat instrumentation doesn’t really fit the contents of the lyrics, which are about dealing with a heroin addiction. It just doesn’t make much sense.

This happens in a few cases across the LP and it does tend to ruin the songs.

However the album does have some really good parts such as ‘Glasgow Coma Scale Blues’, which is a loud, rousing belter with swagger and a sing-along. The closer ‘Dead For Love’ ends things on a high note with an intro sung by Carl with minimum accompaniment much like ‘Begging’ from ‘Up the Bracket’ and is a touching outro to the album.

This album does have a fair bit wrong with it but there’s still a reasonable amount of good stuff to show that the Libertines are capable of producing something of note.

MATT CORY

Evident again in the infectiously catchy ‘Go Easy’, ‘The Echo and The Always’ manage to flawlessly combine complex melodies, power and drive, without ever feeling cluttered or overdone. Each individual part is well constructed, clearly a product of collaborative song writing and intensive rehearsal, and helps create an album of consistently high quality. There is no filler; each track could feasibly stand alone as a single.

As the album develops, tracks become heavier, tainted with a gritty texture that removes their songs from the confines of manufactured pop. The Echo and The Always are devoid of superficial lyrics or pretentious songwriting. Each musical detail feels intentional, a necessary accompaniment to the story. At no point does the album feel like a negligent copy of music in the charts.

Instead, songs are steeped with integrity; The Echo and The Always remain honest to the sound they want to produce.

This winter promises exciting things for Welsh music, but if you make time for anything, get down to Clwb on 30th October and celebrate this band’s debut release.

TOM REEDER

MUSIC

LA DI DA DI OLIVER RICHARDS

BATTLES

DOUBLE DOWN DARWIN DEEZ

OLIVER RICHARDS

KEEP THE VILLAGE ALIVE stereophonics LUCY MARTIN

face-off instrumentation on offer here is astounding.

Opening track ‘Last Cigarette’ is an early indication of a return to form for the New York City, indie-pop outfit, Darwin Deez; fronted, somewhat confusingly, by Darwin Smith. The band’s third record begins with a typically jagged upbeat rhythm and Smith’s vocals at their nonchalant sweetest, recalling early number ‘Bed Space’. As the track, and record, goes on, it is clear that the band have assessed their back catalogue and found a comfortable place between two distinct styles. ‘The Mess She Made’ compiles another sweet vocal melody with a complex picked acoustic guitar loop filling the background, this groove eventually morphs in to a guitar led wig-out reminiscent of the best sections of 2013’s lackluster ‘Songs For Imaginative People’.

This formula of combining the busier instrumentation of their second album and the twee sensibilities of 2010’s self-titled debut provides the backbone for a solid third outing. On lead single ‘Kill Your Attitude’, the shifting backing lets Smith’s lyrical and melodic idiosyncrasies shine to great effect, producing at once a joyous jangly indie-pop tune and a typically self aware, over thinking response to relationship issues. Such issues have always been central to Darwin Deez records and ‘Double Down’ is no different.

Smith, however, seems sharper here and receives bonus points for the line, ‘So get the fuck out of my face. No, I don’t care to meet your Parakeet. Give me time and give me space, oh all you ever do is stare at me’, on the eccentric ‘Lover’.

‘Double Down’ contains the band’s most exciting and unpredictable material yet, as well as some of their sweetest. ‘Melange Mining Co.’ and closer ‘The Missing I Wanna Do’ slow things down and let the band’s easygoing nature ebb and flow nicely. If it weren’t for a mid album lull, ‘Double Down’ would be a clear statement from a band who have never quite made the limelight. As it stands, on their third outing, Darwin Deez seem to have found a comfortable space to write in.

Nothing here is game- changing but ‘Double Down’ is about as pleasant an album as you’ll here this fall.

After starting off as a small Welsh band from the Rhondda Valleys, Stereophonics have now just released their ninth studio album ‘Keep The Village Alive’.

Thirty seconds in to the album and you’ll know that Stereophonics have a potential number one record on their hands.

Instantly thrown in to the up-tempo, feel good single ‘C’est La Vie’, it immediately proposes that Stereophonics are going for a different vibe to their most recent album ‘Graffiti on the Train’.

to go back to their classic sound that includes deep meaningful lyrics, mixed with distorted guitar riffs, accompanied with fast paced drums and Kelly Jones’ distinctive, raw vocals. Third track on the album, ‘Sing Little Siste’, is stereotypical of this classic Stereophonics sound that the band have used to dominate the music industry with for almost two decades.

With funky guitar riffs and a catchy chorus, there is no doubt that once this song gets stuck in your head you will not be able to stop singing it.

The comparisons can be made through the slow-tempo verses and meaningful lyrics that dominate the song. Stereophonics continue to grasp pure emotion in the beautiful ‘Into The World’ as it shows off Jones’ exceptional song-writing skills and emphasises the lyrics with the violin accompaniment in the chorus.

Regardless of its succes, ‘Graffiti on the Train’ had a slightly different feel to the classic Stereophonics sound that we all know and love. Many fans may be pleased to know that the ‘Phonics have decided If you were placing bets in January on a band to release a second album of effortless evolution and undiminished quality FIDLAR (or “Fuck It Dog, Life’s a Risk”) likely wouldn’t have been top of the list. Sometimes it feels great to be wrong. ‘Too’ is a raucous, at times infectious, punk record which sees the band grappling with their “Wake, Skate, Bake” lifestyle as it grinds against the pains of growing up, rehab, and turning their band into a full-time job.

TOO FIDLAR DILLON EASTOE

particularly on the bouncy ‘Dot Com’.

In a video diary/preview of their third album ‘La Di Da Di’, aptly titled ‘The Art of Repetition’, New York’s Battles offer an insight into what shapes their effervescent sound: fun and seriousness. The band’s newest offering is certainly full of the former. On its surface ‘La Di Da Di’ is as chaotic as it is catchy, proving that the band needn’t rely on the vocal samples that shaped some of best moments on their 2011 album ‘Gloss Drop’. The amount of effort is also evident on ‘La Di Da Di’. Whilst the song structures ebb and flow smoothly over interlocked looped guitar and keyboard phrases, the sheer amount of intricate yet blow-your-

Opener ‘40oz on Repeat’ is a calling card for the record, abrasive yet wickedly catchy, with Zac Carper lamenting being broke and strung out on drugs and alcohol alone in his room. The guitars scream until the chorus

Within ‘The Art of Repetition’, the band discussed the difficulty in making their stylistically left-field and futuristic sound more human. This is where the characteristic drumming of John Stainer comes in, anchoring Ian Williams and Dave Konopka’s pandemonium of effectladen noise. After 4 minutes of intricate building on ‘Summer Simmer’, Stainer assaults the cymbals, driving the track to a conclusion. This is a formula repeated a few times on ‘La Di Da Di’ to good effect, helping solidify the band’s dynamics,

Jones’ vocals grasp pure emotion in the second track on the album ‘White Lies’ which could be compared to Stereophonics’ chart topping single ‘Maybe Tomorrow’. welcomes a cleverly out of tune acoustic to accompany Carper’s whine that “everybody’s got somebody, everybody but me”.

‘West Coast’ is a definite highlight, a reworked 2012 demo that sees FIDLAR ditch school and hit the road on a wild bender as the band surf over a delightful hook. It’s joyous escapism and grotty debauchery, all wrapped up in a perfect summer song.

Elsewhere the lazy slide guitar of ‘Why Generation’ mimics the apathetic subject matter and ‘Sober’ contains some crafty Taylor Swift-parodying, cue ‘”Oh my god!” before a defiant chorus, “I figured out as I got older, that life just sucks when you get sober”.

Battles’ music is often seen as math rock, and the combination of overtly technical musicianship and unorthodox rhythms on ‘La Di Da Di’ (see opening track ‘The Yabba’) will do nothing to distance them from this scene. Yet ‘La Di Da Di’, in its cyclic repetitive nature, is as propulsive and hypnotic as the kind of music found on neon-lit dance floors. Battles continue to do what they are best at on ‘La Di Da Di’ and over 12 solid tracks manage to drain every convulsing spasm of energy from the loops they reshape and rework in the space of each piece.

If you are partial to a bit of Britpop, then the second release off the album, ‘I Wanna Get Lost With You’, is the track to listen out for.

This song will make a perfect live anthem, which you could experience first hand as Stereophonics’ embark on their UK tour and play two nights for their homecoming gigs in Cardiff this December.

After the fuzzy punk of ‘Leave Me Alone’ and ‘Drone’, the slow, ominous ‘Overdose’ treads new ground sonically, while describing in gruesome detail the physical effects of going too hard.

Blasting out the tail end of the record are ‘Stupid Decisions’, a blistering apology to an ex who OD’d while Zac was on tour, and ‘Bad Habits’ which manages to twist the self-loathing of the lyrics into a chorus that’s strangely euphoric. It’s a cathartic shout-a-long that will go down a treat live, rounding out a fantastic punk record, which adds melody and nuance to their brand of 90s-inspired punk without losing the frenetic energy and attitude of their debut.

35

MUSIC

TOP 5 BANDS TO SEE Quench’s Jack Boyce takes a look at the Simple Things line-up and tells us his top picks for the weekend.

Formerly a festival known for specialising in dance music, Simple Things is a Bristol based festival held near the tail end of October (23-24th). It takes place at a variety of venues across the city, which includes everything from the larger O2 Academy down to the smaller music venues like Lakota. Despite having a legacy that includes securing huge dance artists like Caribou, Jamie XX and Moderat as the festival headliners, Simple Things have changed up the last two years to include a wider spectrum of artists from different genres, such as punk and post-rock.

Savages

Dean Blunt

Maximum Joy

Savages are a band that are very vocal about their stance on returning to the good ol’ days of punk music. They will put on a nongimmicky, hard-hitting show teeming with anger in the same vein as classic English punk bands that have preceded them. Like Siouxsie And The Banshees? There’s a good chance you’ll like Savages.

Another artist known as much for their live performances as their records; Dean Blunt has the tendency to mess with the crowd as much as he entertains. Past antics include sending a random stranger to collect an award for him at the NME Awards, manipulating smoke machines and strobes to disturbing effect and playing a Kevin Hart DVD for fans waiting for him to start his show. Certainly one to watch; if only to tell your mates how absolutely mental it was.

Cult favourites, highly regarded by the legendary John Peel, Maximum Joy will be reuniting to play their first performance for 25 years, in their hometown. Consisting of members from other Bristol legendary acts, The Pop Group and Glaxo Babies, Maximum Joy are certain to put on a spectacular performance with their unique blend of postpunk, jazz, reggae and funk.

36

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Battles

Opening the festival at Colston Hall as the only act on Friday, Canadian post-rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor will be filling the large shoes left by of post-rock heavyweights Death From Above 1979 and Mogwai at the festival last year. GY!BE are known for their expansive, orchestral approach to their craft. Their live shows are as glorified as their studio work, which includes the landmark 2000 album ‘Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven’, and the sheer scale of their performances point towards this being as much theatre as it is a concert.

Simple Things have made a coup by luring the elusive mostlyinstrumental, math-rock trio, Battles, to headline the Saturday bill. They don’t often play live, but when they do, they’re known to flip and switch the structure of their album recordings on the fly to contribute towards what will surely be a mind-bending performance. New album ‘La Di Da Di’ is set to follow the formula for eccentric, electrifying math-rock and give the trio more material to meld into their unique show.

MUSIC

TOP 5 BANDS TO SEE

Cardiff’s favourite festival is back for more.

For the uninitiated, Swn is a Cardiff city festival that was co-founded by Radio One’s Huw Stephens. It’s quite possibly the most highly anticipated music event in Cardiff ’s music calendar and is held, this year, on the 7-8 November. It’s a music festival for music lovers and prides itself on providing a platform for the best unknown and, as of yet, unappreciated bands. If you want proof they know what they’re doing, look no further than the list of bands that have previously sat amongst the bill: Alt-J, Ben Howard, The Vaccines to name but a few; all acts that are now more accustomed to a venue the size of the Motorpoint.

Get hold of your wristband through dice.fm, which will grant you access to all the venues taking part.

Also, be warned that Swn seem to have something special planned for Friday night, so keep it free.

Plastic Mermaids The Plastic Mermaids represent the epitome of what it means to be in an indie band. Their creativity is multi dimensional: artistically designing, building and executing their own videos as well as music. Furthermore, they have pretty much made it in spite of being born and bred on the beautiful, yet listless, Isle of Wight; a notorious no man’s land for aspiring musicians. The Mermaids, use an amalgamation of electronics, vocal harmonies and stringed instruments to create an almost psychedelic embrace to otherwise standard catchy pop songs, combine this with the effortless ability to go from dance floor fillers to heart wrenched ballads and you get a must see band for Swn! - James Ivory

The Big Moon

The Big Moon are a four piece guitar band lead by Londoner, Juliette Jackson, and further comprised of Soph Nathan on guitar and vocals, Celia Archer on bass and Fern Ford on drums. Jackson once stated that her frustration with making music in amongst the recent indie climate was swept away and becoming inspired to start song writing immediately. They’ve only been together for a short while but The Big Moon’s relatively small bank of material is already proving fierce and budding with potential, being compared to 90s new-wave rockers Elastica and PJ Harvey. Their newest and most refined track, ‘The Road’ is a sublimely moody and brash threeand-a-half minutes, which never feels like it’s being too pretentious. Now is the time to catch The Big Moon before the momentum firmly propels them to the top of their game. - Allanah Williams

Clean Cut Kid With only three songs released on Spotify, to most it would seem unusual to then embark on a headline tour this November. But then, Liverpool’s Clean Cut Kid are no stranger to surprise. Their first single, ‘Vitamin C’, was played

by Annie Mac earlier in the year and was put straight on the Radio 1 playlist. A concentrated dose of summery vibes, wrapped in a disjointed beat, announced proudly the four piece’s arrival to the music scene.

Their latest single, ‘Runaway’, carries on where ‘Vitamin C’ left off. Influences by Haim and early Vampire Weekend, Clean Cut Kid have an interesting yet familiar grounding.

Upon hearing their small catalogue, you’re left hungry for more and waiting for the next surprise.

- Mark Sweeney

How I Faked Moon Landing

The

Cardiff based, post-punk conspiracists, How I Faked The Moon Landing, will feel comfortable and at home on this years line-up.

Having been signed to Jealous Lovers Club, a label that has pumped out some of Cardiff ’s favourites that include Kutosis and Houdini Dax, How I Faked The Moon Landing will revel in this local, supportive atmosphere.

Their debut single, ‘The Small’, is steeped in haunting keys, staccato guitar and hypnotic repetition. Their Swn performance will mark an introduction to the release of their debut EP that is expected for release early next year.

- Jack Glasscock

Hooton Tennis Club Hooton Tennis Club are the band to see after watching a mellow acoustic act that’s made you fall in love because their debut album, ‘Highest Point In Clifftown’, is entirely ridiculous and insane. You’ll need to be past your sleepy second cider to go sick to the band’s 6music playlist single ‘POWERFUL PIERRE’. Hopefully the set will cover the best ones from their debut that was produced by fellow Wirral-ite, Bill Ryder Jones, where lo-fi glossy pop is used to describe the minute details of antisocial lives acted out just a hop across the Mersey from the greatest city on earth.

- Erin Gillespie

37

VIDEO GAMES

WHY METAL GEAR SOLID KICKS ASS.

EDITOR’S PICK

I feel sorry for The Witcher 3.

If it was released any other year, then it would have easily been the game of the year. Unfortunately Geralt of Rivia’s sword has to cut through Big Boss’ prosthetic arm first. I’m always surprised by the lack of people I’ve encountered that have played a Metal Gear Solid game. Hopefully that will now change with the release of the marvel that is The Phantom Pain.

Newcomers can thank Kojima that they won’t need to know as much of the confusing MGS story to enjoy this instalment, however hardcore fans do still get rewarded with little quirks from time to time. You’ll find the review for the game on the next page but perhaps you’d like to know what makes Metal Gear great first.

The original Metal Gear Solid (1998) popularized the stealth genre and served as the benchmark for stealth/action games to follow, e.g. Splinter Cell, Hitman. But it was so much more than just a stealth game. We’re talking about a game that incorporates a crazy cyborg ninja going toe to toe with a huge bipedal tank mech. It was THE game that made me realise: “Holy shit, videogames are actually the most beautiful art form ever to have existed!” It radiated unmeasurable amounts of charisma. Thankfully, Hideo Kojima stayed faithful to the formula and directed six more games with the same charm as the original.

Pick up any MGS game and you’ll be pretty confused straight off the mark. Are you playing a video game or watching a film? The cutscenes are exceptionally long. So long in fact that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) holds two world records: the longest cutscene ever in a videogame at 27 minutes and the longest

38

Was it safe to let Saman write about his favourite gaming franchise?

No, probably not. But we let him do it anyway.

sequence of cutscenes ever in a videogame at 71 minutes. Over 9 hours of the game is comprised of just cutscenes! You either love this or you hate it: Marmite Gear Solid, anyone?

“A PERFECT JUXTAPOSITION OF HUMOUR AND SERIOUSNESS.” Such cutscenes are essential in explaining the extremely convoluted plot, which to this day, I still don’t comprehend fully. Albeit, it’s the only franchise that has actually made me verbally exclaim WTF?! And I’m gonna ‘fess up and say that I may have shed a tear or two during the epilogues of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) and MGS4. So, yes, the story is pretty good considering I’ve been compared to the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz in the past.

Accompanying the stupendous plot is the breathtaking musical score (notice how I am running out of adjectives). The orchestral pieces enhance the emotional cutscenes, whilst the electronic techno music gets adrenaline pumping through your veins when you get spotted by the enemy. It would be a sin to accredit the soundtracks to any one person; hundreds of talented people have been involved in creating them over the course of 28 years.

The main theme of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) in particular is so catchy that it sometimes takes over the music that usually plays in my head, which is the Game of Thrones main theme. How many other games give you an in-

game iPod/Walkman with a majority of all the franchise’s best songs on? As the end credits of MGS1 roll, you hear “The Best Is Yet to Come” – a beautiful song laced with the powers of clairvoyance. Everyone has a different favourite MGS game but there’s no denying how much each game has improved on its predecessor. Is The Phantom Pain the best? Only Kojima knows.

There is one thing, however, that MGS arguably does better than everything else. Boss fights. The word epic was invented just so it could describe these battles. They start fairly easy and get tenser as you go through the game. You experience such a wide array of characters, from a 100+ year old sniper to a vampire-like knife wielding creepy guy called Vamp, to a massive shaman carrying a minigun and even an actual astronaut.

And of course, there’s the huge bipedal tank mech I mentioned earlier, the monstrosities that the franchise is named after, Metal Gear.

My personal favourite has to be Psycho Mantis from MGS1 (look out for him in The Phantom Pain), a psychic with telekinetic powers who demonstrates his abilities by reading your memory card and commenting on the amount of times you’ve saved. He also asks the player to put their controller down and makes it vibrate to show off his psychokinesis! He even manages to return in MGS4, despite being dead, in an equally hilarious cutscene where he fails to find the nonexistent memory card and subsequently explodes.

Breaking the fourth wall always makes me cringe but I found this so cool and funny; it just sums up the whole Metal Gear Solid franchise: a perfect juxtaposition of humour and seriousnesness.

Saman Izadyar @Samanizadyar

VIDEO GAMES

PROS

REVIEW:

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Superb combat mechanics at 60FPS

(Available now on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC)

OLIVER LEIGH gives us his review of the highest rated game of the year...so far!

Set in the 1980’s, it follows the story of the legendary hero Punished “Venom” Snake, the leader of the newly minted private military group known as Diamond Dogs.

After the destruction of Mother Base, the death of his comrades and awakening from a nine year coma, he seeks to rebuild what was taken from him and exact his revenge, taking him from the vast cliffside regions of Afghanistan to the marshy borders of Angola – Zaire.

or go in with shock and awe, riding on your armoured horse with a machinegun as your support helicopter provides air support, blaring ‘Flight of the Valkyries’ as it pummels your foes with a barrage of artillery. Your options are limitless.

Another mechanic which has seen a noticeable improvement is the enemy AI. Dispose of enemies with too many headshots and they will utilise helmets more frequently. Like to use smoke grenades and the cover of darkness to combat your foes? Gas masks and night vision goggles will be dispersed among your adversaries making them highly adaptable and challenging.

“THE FREEDOM YOU ARE GIVEN IS DOWNRIGHT IMMENSE”

Whilst previous Metal Gear titles had a greater emphasis on story, Kojima seems to have focused more on gameplay mechanics this time around and it shows.

Missions follow a formulaic pattern of: extract this piece of equipment or dispatch this commander. However the freedom that you are given to execute your orders is downright immense.

To begin with the player finds themselves within the extensive expanse of Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, here we are given free rein of how we approach a mission. Scouting the enemies’ position helps you coordinate an attack, utilising binoculars to mark targets and interrogating enemies to gain precious intel. It is from here the player can choose their strategy for example, exploit the dynamic weather system and wait for a sandstorm to sleuth their way to the target,

However one downside is that aside from a few film like cut-scenes, story content is buried under in-game cassettes which are optional to listen to. A shame as this is where Kiefer Sutherland’s (Snake’s) voice is predominately heard. Whereas the gameplay has seen many improvements, the story itself has taken a hit and focuses around the reconstruction of your Mother Base in your quest for revenge.

Whilst it might sound tedious, your Mother Base will prove to be the foundation of the increased tactical liberties you may explore within the game. Rebuilding Mother Base is done so by airlifting resources from the battlefield to construct new platforms which in turn allow you to increase your development opportunities. Reconstruction of your base is crucial as it provides you with a place to spend an in-game currency known as GMP. This currency is easily earned after completing missions which can be used to upgrade your arsenal and expand your base. Moreover, alongside story missions there are also over 100 side-op missions which provide you with additional currency, specialised soldiers and optional story fragments. Mother Base also is a physical place you can visit, providing showers where Snake can wash

away the gore of battle giving him a health boost or even interact with individual soldiers he has extracted all providing a refreshing pace of gameplay.

Soldiers can be air lifted back to Mother Base and be assigned to divisions based on their skills such as an R&D platform, allowing for more advanced weaponry and gadgets to be developed. This is crucial as it broadens your tactical capabilities like providing a long range sniper rifle that shoots tranquilizer darts or even the option to attach a chain gun to a bi-pedal walking robot of death you can ride. In addition to the men, vehicles and resources that can be extracted, animals too can be air lifted away back to your base in the prospect of creating a zoo (contributing towards your GMP). Whacky elements such as these are welcomed as they bring an equilibrium to the heavy themes The Phantom Pain explores such as the use of torture, child soldiers and the trauma suffered by those in war.

Two exhilirating online modes

Beautiful world with dynamic weather

80s music!

Overall whilst aspects of the story have been sacrificed, it was only for the advantage of creating a game that plays like no other.

CONS

Oliver Leigh

Story buried under in game cassettes

Image credits: Konami/LinkR2 (DeviantArt)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain can truly be considered Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus.

Freedom of approach

Keifer Sutherland underused

final score

10 10

39

the

savvy student gamer

- Illustrations Bryn Evans

VIDEO GAMES

£ level complete! you’re ballin!

Your friendly neighbourhood games editor looks into ways you can save money on your video game shopping.

Remember when you were younger and about 90% of your limited income went on video games? But now you’re a student, only slightly better off than you were as a kid, but you have to buy pizza, cider, and… like, textbooks or something, I think… too? All that superfluous stuff really cuts into your gaming budget.

Here’s four ways you can get round the pressures of Uni and get some games in your systems- if you can find the time…

#1: Don’t buy the hype- be a Patient Gamer There’s a great XKCD about this one. You don’t need to lag five years behind, but sometimes a year or two to wait on something isn’t too bad. Think to yourself, do you honestly need to play this game right now? Unless it’s online focussed, where you may find that in six months time everyone who played so enthusiastically on launch has now left for pastures anew, or a Nintendo game, in which case it will either stay in print forever at the same price or stop being produced and become a collector’s item. I don’t know why that happens, but it does. Patience is extra valuable nowadays as many games are released with major bugs, and get patches later. There’s a great subreddit for this (Patientgamers.reddit.com) that might be worth a look. Being a patient gamer also means looking out for sales. Steam is notorious for sales- in which people often spend more money than they would have otherwise. The best thing to do is not to look at the deals, but add games you definitely want to your wish list before the sale and snap them up when you get an email informing you they have decreased in price. You can do a similar trick on Amazon, and most consoles’ online shop functions. Also worth checking out (though mainly for PC gamers) are Good Old Games and the Humble Bundle, both great sites worth supporting. On the Humble Bundle, you can sometimes get deals on books and the like as well, so it is definitely worth a look. #2: Convert old games into cash You might be tempted to give all your finished adventures into GAME for nextto-nothing prices, and still end up paying a ton on your way out. Never trade in games to game shops! They’ll literally never give you a fair price. An eBay or Gumtree account is simple enough to set up, and you could even sell on Amazon if you have enough to sell to make it worth coughing up the startup fees. You could also sell to friends or people in common groups on Facebook. Perhaps one of your mates at the gaming society is looking into buying Fire Emblem, and he will certainly be happy if you give it to him for £10 cheaper than he can get it online.

#3: Shaving the pennies off new game purchases Sometimes you absolutely HAVE to have that new game. You hopefully already know that bricks-and-mortar stores love to rip you off, and know of the wonders of Amazon. You may not have heard of some alternative methods, though. For starters, try using Flubit.com to get a few pounds off regular Amazon prices- they even have a browser extension for easy use. There is also HotUKDeals.com where you might be able to grab some Amazon voucher codes if you’re lucky. You could even consider stepping away from Amazon and trying some fresh alternatives such as Play.com or Base.com; which is where I got Super Mario Maker (reviewed this issue!) for £10 less than its Amazon asking price. In addition, there are several Twitter accounts that will notify you of good prices from a range of sites on games new or old, such as @UKVGDeals. #4: Contribute to Quench Games.

We get review codes sometimes from developers, and give these out to contributors. If you’re a student at Cardiff University, it’s worth a shot. Send an email to videogames@quenchmag.co.uk or Tweet us @QuenchGames, and we’ll get you started.

“Never trade in games to game shops! They’ll literally never give you a fair price.” “You could even consider stepping away from Amazon and trying some fresh alternatives such as Play.com or Base.com” “Think to yourself, do you honestly need to play this game right now?”

Do you have any tips for students who want to feed their pixel-flavoured cravings? Tweet us @QuenchGames and we might print some of the best next month.

- Tom Morris @tomverse

40

VIDEO GAMES

PROS

review: SUPER MARIO MAKER

EFFORTLESS CREATION

Nintendo hands the keys to their fortune Initially, Mario Maker doesn’t look like much to write home about. The last two Mario platformers released on WiiU were basically “more of the same”, and, were it not for the “Maker” part in the title, you might have expected this latest title to continue down that route. Thankfully, Nintendo’s latest and greatest community creation based game (following in the footsteps of Mario Paint, Flipnote Studio, the Mario vs DK series and WarioWare DIY to name a few) manages to deliver… even if it does deliver in small packages spread out over several days.

That last line was a reference to most people’s big gripe about this game.

When reviewing Mario Maker, it’s best to get the few bad points out of the way to start with, before focusing on the many good ones. The game features an unlock system- it was patched a day or two after launch so that if you play a lot you will unlock new items, or you can just come back the next day for it. It’s a noble attempt at preventing that overwhelming feeling many people get when they start using a new computer program: “So many options! What do they all do?” It’s part of the general message that, in this particular level editor, creation is not tedious, but fun. The other big thing that seems to have been sacrificed in the name of simplicity is more complex configurations for many of the game’s items, enemies, platforms and level themes.

The game has four themes based on four games: Super Mario Bros, Mario 3, World, and the New series. They are not reproductions, they are just themes. The older games no longer have their original physics, and many

new sprites have been introduced (such as a standalone Bowser, sans car, in the World theme) which tend to be pretty ugly. Due to the ability to quickly change between the four themes, many important features of the newer games, such as slopes and deserts, appear to have been cut back to compensate for the presence of Mario 1. Important game-design features such as checkpoints and triggers, which for instance unlock doors when a boss is defeated, seem to be missing entirely. There are more little gripes with the game, but mainly they come down to inconsequential issues- the kind of thing you’d see Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons complaining about (and me, of course).

Despite its bad points, this is the best game on the WiiU in my opinion.

Everyone who’s ever played a platform game has got Mario to thank- and anyone who’s played a Mario game knows the feeling of one day wanting to design their own level. They’ve probably sat down with a game engine like Stencyl or Game Maker, or even a different custom level game like Little Big Planet- but no matter what they did, they would only be aping Mario.

Now, though, Nintendo has allowed anyone to make Mario- and it just… works. As mentioned, the editor itself will have you dumbfounded, placing objects and listening to their names (“Brick!” “Block!” “Koopa!”) sung out in time with the classic Mario music. Playback of changes is instant, and a trail of onion-skin Marios appear after you stop playback to see exactly where you should place those extra blocks.

WiiU games are often slow, with

complicated menus and long loading times, especially for online features.

Not so here. In Mario Maker, creation mode is just one tap away, the online modes load instantly, and levels never seem to download before playing. The game also comes with a beautiful little art book and electronic manual, where you can input codes from the book to view tutorial videos (very retro, I know). Though I think it’s unfair to mark the game down for this, it is important to note that you rarely find good levels via the built-in rankings, as the game was aggressively marketed via YouTubers and as such most people uploading levels seem to be their audience: illiterate seven year olds. Thus, most levels are usually of pretty low quality when playing the “100 Mario Challenge”, which serves up between 8-16 random online levels for you to try beating with up to 100 lives- a feature many were no doubt looking forward to as it would mean spending money on future Mario titles is no longer required.

As such, I would recommend these two sites for finding better levels to play: mariomaker.reddit.com and nintendolife.com/super-mariomaker.

INSTANTANEOUS FEEDBACK

SEAMLESS ONLINE

CONS IRRITATING UNLOCKING FEATURE

Play this for: the chance to create your own pitch-perfect platformers.

“The editor itself will have you dumbfounded, placing objects and listening to their names sung out in time with the classic Mario music.” “Most levels are usually of pretty low quality when playing the “100 Mario Challenge”,”

SEVERAL LIMITATIONS

9/10

Here’s the code for one of my best levels, “Thwomp’s Delivery Service”: 3354-0000-002E-2B4C. If you have any good Mario Maker levels to share with us, why not tweet them to @QuenchGames? We’ll definitely retweet the best!

Tom tomverse

Morris

@

41

FILM + TV

SPOTLIGHT:

TIM BURTON

This month’s director spotlight focuses on the dark comedy horror of Tim Burton, just in time for Halloween!

Tim Burton is well known for unleashing the gothic fantasy worlds created in his mind onto the big screen. Burton’s films often fall into one of two categories; stop motion animation with dark colour palettes and themes, or live action creations with equally imaginative and unique plotlines. Perhaps his most well-known and best loved film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, was inspired by a poem written by Burton which he then produced as a film for Halloween or Christmas; we’re not sure which, so it’s best to watch it on both occasions! The Film & TV editors were left feeling betrayed by the fact that Tim Burton didn’t direct The Nightmare Before Christmas, leaving it ineligible for review in this section for directors.

Another crucial aspect of Tim Burton films is the inclusion of actors Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. If one or other of them isn’t in a Burton film we may collapse in shock at the unfamiliarity of the situation. Burton has many other similarities throughout each of his films that really make them stand out as his own.

One common theme is the use of extremely pale, deathly white skin contrasted with dark eyes; think Sweeney Todd, Edward Scissorhands and Jack Skellington, amongst others. Burton also appears to be a fan of ‘alternative’ women as heroine, with the likes of Lydia Deetz, Sally and Emily appearing in some of his best loved films. If you aren’t accustomed to Burton’s magical worlds or if you want to revisit them, Quench is here to show you some of the best!

- Eleanor Parkyn

42

Be

et

le

) jui ce (1988

Weird and creepy yet hilariously delightful! Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice follows a recently deceased couple Barbara and Adam (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) and their alliance with ‘bio-exorcist’ Beetlejuice in order to remove a new family from their home. On the way, they befriend the daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) and turn a formal dinner party into a dance fest!

The first and most striking thing about this movie is the flippant attitude that the main characters have towards their death. Neither of them once show sadness for being dead. Burton applies this flippant attitude towards death further in the portrayal of the afterlife

as an office-like setting.

In doing so, Burton mocks the traditional conventions of a horror film. This is emphasised further in one particular scene where Lydia approaches the attic with an eerie smoke around her created by the redecorating of the house rather than a purposeful dramatic effect. The introduction of the character of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) brings a new wave of life to the film, presented as a raunchy, eccentric and insane character who blurs the line between hero and villain. Audiences fall in love with his energetic character at first as he brings a breath of fresh air to a storyline that was otherwise going downhill. However, our perceptions of Beetlejuice change when his meddling history is revealed. His actions towards the end of the film consolidate his ambiguous status as the villain.

Burton’s mixture of hilarity, fear and fantasy takes audiences on a rollercoaster journey through this film and leaves them feeling delighted by the end.

Beetlejuice is a greatly enjoyable film, filled with irony, mild horror and a heap full of Burton’s fantastic imagination - this is a film that is not to be missed!

-Emma Riches

FILM + TV

Big

Fis

h

(2

00

3)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Burton’s thirteenth film sees him wade into the murky, and rather bloody, streets of Victorian London. Directing a musical for the first time, having written and produced others, he handles the material with confidence and efficiency.

Sweeney Todd follows the story of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) a barber returning to London to enact revenge after fifteen bitter years of false imprisonment. With such a plot and visual potential it is hard to imagine anyone else other than Burton at the helm.

As one might expect, the film is dripping with a Gothic aesthetic as shadows loom and darkness enshrouds. Although, there is a noticeably sinister element that distances the film from Burton’s usual tone. Splashes of colour do not come from Christmasland, but instead as gushes of crimson from the demon barber’s victims. In fact it’s the gore that is particularly enjoyable, adding a sense of visceral grit that effectively juxtaposes the musical interspersions in the narrative. Those of which are embraced by an excellent cast that also includes the Burton regular Helena Bonham Carter. The dialogue is ripe and some of the performances have a pantomime sensibility but it works in the film’s favour by bringing humour to the table. However, even though it is undoubtedly one of the better films Burton has made in recent years, it never quite reaches the heights of his earlier achievements. Yet there is still a charm to the film and seeing Depp prowl murderously on Fleet Street as the blade-wielding evil counterpart to Edward Scissorhands is very entertaining. It certainly comes recommended to those who enjoy the collaborations between Burton and Depp; not quite Ed Wood or Edward Scissorhands, but fun nonetheless.

- Jordan Watkins

Director Tim Burton seems to go by the theory that real life is somewhat less exciting and interesting than the fantasies we live out in our own peculiar heads. From Edward Scissorhands to The Nightmare before Christmas or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we cannot help but be drawn into the magical and frightfully weird imagination of the now legendary director and all round artistic auteur. Yet is seems strange to think that Tim Burton’s filmmaking spanned a good decade before making this undercurrent plainly obvious to us all.

Big Fish ultimately tries to convey the importance of storytelling and a bright imagination. A touching father-son story, the film follows an old and dying Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) telling his estranged son his extraordinary life story and all the colourful characters he met along the way. Ewan McGregor portrays the much younger, charming and love-struck Edward Bloom; a man who sees the world for all its beauty and eccentricities. It’s difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, separate the man from the legend, but that’s the whole point. He believes that an ordinary life isn’t worth living and Edward Bloom’s final feat is to try and convince his cynical son of that very sentiment.

Despite its unusual characters, Big Fish draws heavily on emotional poignancy and a wider subtext rather than relying on pure wacky content and typical Burton finesse. And for whatever the film may lack, this certainly makes up for it. Perhaps one of Burtons best films since the acclaimed and outrageous Ed - Allanah Williams

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands tells the haunting tale of an artificial man, played by Johnny Depp, with a heart and a brain whose inventor (Vincent Price) died before his creation was finished. The man is left incomplete and alone in his inventor’s dark mansion. He is a man with scissors for hands and his name is Edward.

Despite assumptions that the mysterious mansion is haunted, Edward is one day discovered

by Avon lady, Peg (Dianne Wiest). He is taken home to live with her suburban family where he falls in love with their beautiful daughter Kim (Winona Ryder). The desperately fascinated housewives of the suburban neighbourhood quickly warm to Edward as he dazzles them with his variety of skills in topiary, hairdressing and dog grooming. But as a result of Kim’s egotistical boyfriend, the gossiping housewives and Edward’s difficult behaviour, the tale takes a turn for the worst. This leaves the audience to question whether someone like Edward could ever survive in such a prejudiced society.

Johnny Depp maintains an intense performance throughout with a convincing persona of a gentle man who is capable of love despite his previously isolated life and lack of human contact as well as his physical differences.

The film kick-starts the perfect partnership between Johnny Depp and Tim Burton which has led to great success and notability. Depp captures Edward’s gothic and quirky, yet loveable, character upholding the romantic dark fantasy theme of Burton’s renowned work. Edward Scissorhands is undoubtedly one of the best fantasy films ever made.

- Megan Sylvester

Corpse Bride (2005) Tim Burton’s dark humour and gothic flare are truly brought to light in Corpse Bride. The film is a stop motion musical which follows the story of young Victor Van Dort whose current anxieties lie around his arranged marriage to Victoria Everglot.

However, Victor inadvertently finds himself in the Land of the Dead and married to a heartbroken corpse, turning the idea of ‘Til death do us part’ on its head.

Notions of life and death are also subverted, with Burton capturing the essence of life in the Land of the Dead with vibrant colours and presents the Land of the Living as a lifeless place without colour nor happiness. In making death and the afterlife more appealing, Burton creates an atmosphere of irony throughout the film which enthrals audiences and lightens the gothic tone present from the outset. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Tim Burton film without the voices of Johnny Depp as Victor and Helena Bonham Carter as the corpse bride, Emily. It is therefore no surprise that Corpse Bride was Oscar nominated for ‘Best Animated Feature Film of the Year’ in 2006 and won 11 other awards shortly after its release. Corpse Bride is just one of the many films that makes Tim Burton such a renowned director in today’s film industry. Are you dying to watch it yet?

- Emma Riches

43

FILM + TV

&

NETFLIX THRILL

With Halloween on the way, Film & TV explores the recent shift from horror movies to horror TV

44

J

ust a few years ago the thought of watching horror films and television shows was non-existent for me. An episode of Midsummer Murders was about the level of thrill and fear I could handle without enduring sleepless nights with the light left on. Now, with the rise of the TV horror genre, I, like many others, have watched through my fingers as the gruesome scenes depicted in shows like The Walking Dead and American Horror Story unfolded.

The compelling storylines and depictions of imaginative, yet horrific, bloodbaths are perhaps what appeals to our generations’ love of watching things we don’t want to, yet can’t help but look at. Any horror movie fan will be well aware of the genre’s love of a sequel or prequel film. What is now becoming increasingly common is for these sequels and prequels to be transferred from the big screen to the small screen.

The television shows can’t just copy the film’s premise, as fans would already know the outcome, leaving the show predictable and less successful. The use of sequels and prequels helps to draw out the television shows’ potential and longevity.

During the rise of 90s parody horror, such as Scream, one of the first truly successful horror film sequels for television was created in the form of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While the 1992 film of the same name is not held in particularly high esteem by viewers, the Buffy series was a long running success with critical acclaim and is definitely worth watching. If you can cope with the 5 minute long cheer routines and copious amounts of denim, then you may not find the Buffy movie as appalling as some do either.

Hitchcock’s Psycho, considered by some the benchmark of modern horror, is one film that has been developed into a television prequel in the last few years in the form of Bates Motel. The prequel is brought forward into a modern day setting, appealing more to modern viewers, and follows a young Norman Bates as he battles with his mental state, girls and most importantly, his relationship with his mother. As everyone knows that Norman will one day kill his

FILM + TV

mother, leading to a series of events that will take us up to the famous shower murder scene; the show is a great way of detailing how Norman ended up that way. It plays greatly on the psychological concept of nature vs. nurture; was Norman born a killer, or did the experiences shown within the television show turn him into the Psycho we know him to be.

Similarly, NBC’s Hannibal acts as a prequel of sorts to horror classic Silence of the Lambs. Unlike the film, Hannibal is yet to be imprisoned and so reveals to the audience the monstrous things he has done to get himself incarcerated. Hannibal Lecter from the film, played by Anthony Hopkins, is only actually present on screen for 16 minutes of the film, so the television show gives us a much more in depth look at his character.

Despite the name, the main character in Hannibal is actually not the man himself, but Will Graham, a man who works for the FBI and helps to catch an awful lot of serial killers. The first few episodes of Hannibal are fantastic, with the most inventive and gruesome murders I have ever witnessed in horror TV, but then it begins to focus more on the characters and loses what makes it really great. It is clear what has led to its cancellation, and for me it is the overwhelming feeling of annoyance that these people who can solve the most baffling of cases almost instantaneously can’t seem to work out that Hannibal, the man whose name is literally one letter off Cannibal, is the one behind the murders involving the removal of edible organs.

What seems to separate the film and the tv is emotion. The longer overall run time of tv shows allows for characters to be developed into those we truly love and feel for. Hannibal isn’t just about murder; it’s primarily about the psychology and mental stability of protagonist Will Graham.

Likewise, Buffy isn’t just about slaying, it’s about love and family, leaving us with the capacity to become quite emotionally attached to certain characters. Films don’t allow us a long enough glimpse into the characters lives; the scenes are established but not developed into something more

wonderful. However, the focus on this emotional connection with characters that TV has, as well as the fact that TV is trying to appeal to a wider variety of people than viewers of cinematic horror, perhaps makes the shows less scary than their movie counterparts.

- Eleanor Parkyn

“The compelling storylines and depictions of imaginative, yet horrific, bloodbaths are perhaps what appeals to our generations’ love of watching things we don’t want to, yet can’t help but look at.”

45

FILM + TV

INSIDE Following the release of Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’, Eleanor Parkyn interviewed former Cardiff University student Paul Oakley who has been working as a Lighting Technical Director at Pixar for the last 5 years.

How did you end up working for Pixar?

I did my fine art degree and then I went travelling for a long time and met someone who worked in film and they suggested I pursue a career in visual effects. I started off by getting a job as a runner, making tea and coffee for the film Gladiator, and then I trained myself up. I ended up doing ten years of visual effects for films like Harry Potter and Avatar, and I was working in places like London and Toronto. My producer on Avatar at the time introduced me to a recruiter for Pixar and I was flown out for an interview and that was that!

Which Pixar films have you worked on?

I’ve worked on everything we’ve made at Pixar since I got here 5 years ago, so Brave, Monsters University, Cars 2, Blue Umbrella, Inside Out and Lava.

What does your job involve?

I work directly underneath the director of photography, and they specialise in lighting and the aesthetic look of the film. I specialise in the lighting department, which is responsible for creating the aesthetic for the film. The art department creates the overall visual elements of the film and then the lighting department takes those and produces them in CG.

You’ve been working on the latest film, Inside Out, how long did it take you to complete your work on that?

There are different crews of people for the film

46

INSIDE OUT

that are involved at different times throughout the production of the film. For myself I was working on it for 6 months, but a director of photography can be working on it for around two years. There is a lot of preparation that goes into the final product.

What is the process of making the film for you?

The director writes the film, the storyboards are made and then it is blocked out in animation and then there is modelling and set design. When it comes to me, it’ll be partly animated, modelled and created and 3D shading has to be added. I am responsible for taking something that is not lit, in a CG sense, for example it won’t have a time of day or mood or an atmosphere and I’ll then proceed to add the light. It’s an interesting concept, it’s like you have something that is flatly coloured, without any kind of idea of a mood or time and then I put this 3D light onto surfaces to make it look like its part of that particular time of day or atmosphere. Lighting in CG terms is a very abstract concept, it’s like walking into a room where all the lights are off and you know the set exists there and you know everything is coloured but you can’t really see anything until the light has been turned on, and that’s what I do.

What was your favourite part of this film to work on?

I did a whole bunch of different sequences, but a fun sequence I did was the ‘disco dancing party unicorn’ sequence and that was fun to do. That was quite interesting because it touches people and makes them laugh. But I also did the end of the film, a scene between Joy and Sadness, and there is a multitude of different emotions and each one has its place. It was

an incredibly important moment in the film, and I think it was quite beautiful. So that I think was my favourite part to work on.

Pixar films are commonly thought of as children’s films, but many critics have argued that Inside Out is more adult orientated, what do you think about that?

Something I think Pixar does well is that they create an amazing world and a cohesive story that really enables you to get past the general fluff of it being a CG children’s cartoon. It’s something that is hard to convey in CG feature films and I think it’s what separates Pixar from the rest. The film gets to touch people, no matter whether they are adults, or small children. You can go and see the film, and no matter who you are you will take something really great away from it. It transcends just being a cartoon or a CG feature film and it becomes art.

Inside Out is a very thought provoking film, have you learnt anything during the making of the film about your own emotions?

It is incredibly thought provoking. When I saw it in the board stages, when it wasn’t even animated yet, I came away thinking ‘when I get home tonight I have to be a better father, or I have to at least

“It made me want to be a better person, and that’s a pretty powerful thing to take from it.”

FILM + TV

“I think the emotion of Pixar films is what separates us from the rest of the pack; it’s our ability to create an entertaining story but also cut to the matter and have this emotional core.”

Who would you say is your favourite emotion or character from the film?

understand my children for being their own people and their personalities and really make the best of that’. It made me want to be a better person, and that’s a pretty powerful thing to take from it.

What do you think is the secret of this film’s success, in comparison to other Pixar films?

It’s an incredibly complex subject that has been dealt with and that the studio has tried to convey. They convey it in an eloquent but very simplistic fashion that I think is cohesive and direct to the point. Trying to convey such a complex message in such a simplistic way is really, really difficult and I think that is one of the great things about it.

“It transcends just being a cartoon or a CG feature film and it becomes art.”

A lot of people have found the film very emotional, were there any parts you cried at when you first saw the film?

I think the first time, when some of her happy memories become tinged with sadness, I think then I started to shed a bit of a tear; maybe because it reminds me of times when I wasn’t the best person I could be. But what is kind of cool about that is the end, because it gives you the understanding that all the emotions have a place within you and help the other emotions to build and develop, and it made me feel alright in the end!

I like the whimsy of Bing Bong, I know he’s not an emotion, but I like him because I’m kind of creative and I like his abstract nature. There is a soft toy of Bing Bong available and his tummy smells like candyfloss, it’s great! If I had to pick my favourite emotion it would be Joy. All of my children like Sadness though, I guess because she’s so hilarious.

What has working at Pixar been like throughout the making of Inside Out?

I came into work one morning and the entire atrium was filled with giant inflatable coloured balloons. The balloons were probably about eight foot tall, and in red, blue, yellow, purple and green; the colours of the emotions from the film. There were about 60 of them and they were everywhere, and that bought a real smile to my face, it was quite a joyful moment.

Was there any particular reason for this?

No, that’s just kind of what Pixar does! Pixar does anything it feels like, whenever it feels like it wants to do it.

Throughout Inside Out we see inside people’s minds and learn that some people have certain emotions ruling them, like for Riley, it’s Joy, which emotion would you say is in control in your life?

I think it depends in what stage of life you ask that question, now that I’m a father it’s all kind of changed. But I think I’m quite playful so I guess if I chose, I would be a sort of mixture between Joy and Bing Bong. Or at least I try to be!

At the end of the film we see the installation of the new emotions control panel with the addition of the ‘puberty’ button, is this a hint at the potential of a sequel?

You know, I think that’s just Pete Docter (Director of Inside Out) being incredibly funny.

He’s just a funny guy, there are so many gags throughout the film that I think are just hilarious.

Can you tell us about any future projects you’re going to be working on?

I’m working on Finding Dory at the moment, but I can’t reveal any more than that. I imagine you can probably guess that it’s underwater and involves fish!

How has Cardiff University helped you to get where you are today?

My first introduction to CG and 3D was when I did my fine art degree, and there was one lecturer, called Tom Piper, who specialised in print making and he introduced me to 3D and without him I probably would not have gotten into CG and I would love to thank him for that.

I heard you also worked on the short film accompanying Inside Out, Lava, can you tell me about that?

Yeah, I did a time lapse sequence for it and that was interesting to make. James Murphy (Head animator for Pixar) who wrote and directed Lava spends a lot of time in Hawaii and I think it was inspired by his love of the islands, as well as the cultural history and music of Hawaii. So he wrote this romantic piece about it. Like Inside Out that was very emotional as well. I think the emotion of Pixar films is what separates us from the rest of the pack; it’s our ability to create an entertaining story but also cut to the matter and have this emotional core.

47

FILM + TV

F IL M IN

Technicolour

Problematic portrayals of race in the 21st century

A

Think that the days of Laurence of Arabia and Mr Moto have long passed?

Think again. Quench Film and TV are here to remind you that even 'blackface' still occurs in 21st century film.

midst the whitewashing of past and c u r r e n t cinema, seeing a person of colour on our screens is refreshing. Yet, from makeup to putting on accents, the film industry still goes to great lengths to avoid employing actors of colour in the 21st century; because why bother casting a black actress when you can settle for Angelina Jolie with a perm?

It’s not hard to spot a film that has disregarded a character’s melanin level when picking the actor to play them.

Disney’s The Lone Ranger stars not Native American Johnny Depp as Tonto of the Comanche tribe. Despite the producers having a cultural adviser on hand, the mere casting is problematic; there’s just something not quite right about white America first seizing the Native Americans’ land and livelihood, then going on to commandeer their representation in film also. Although the performance was respectful, an actor who uses the common defence of

48

‘but Acenstry.com suggests I’m 1/24th Cherokee, maybe!!’ and mispronounces native words isn’t the authentic portrayal that most had in mind. Other, perhaps more damaging examples of misguided casting have been not black Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart, not Korean Jim Sturgess in Cloud Atlas and not-Iranian Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia (wherein actor and actual Prince of the Persian Zand Dynasty David K. Zandi was passed up for the role). Sure, big stars fill cinema seats, but gluing racist eyelid prosthetics onto a white man instead of casting a popular Asian actor is surely taking the piss.

Sometimes it just takes context to reveal how problematic a portrayal is.

Emma Stone in Aloha plays a quarterHawaiian-quarter-Chinese-character.

I suppose it’s not so bad at first glance - an actress of this specific mixed race would be hard to find; but the issue goes beyond this. This film, set in Hawaii, has an entirely white cast. Incidentally, white people only make up a minority of about 25 percent there. Yet, on this rare occasion that a Hollywood film spotlights the beauty of the Hawaiian islands, it does not do the same for its people; there are no Polynesian or Pacific Island actors - just a slightly tanned Emma Stone. It’s all feeling a little Out of Africa here.

Even when films do include actors of colour, Hollywood is often still unable to find their chill. Avatar: The Last Airbender, for instance, features white actors as the protagonists (Asian or Native American in the Nickelodeon cartoon of which the film is based on) yet the antagonist is played by brown actor Dev Patel. I can’t decide which is more offensive, this casting choice or the quality of the film. In fairness, some films have had a good go at subverting such racial bias. In Iron Man 3 the racist caricature of Asian villain The Mandarin from the comic book series is in the film

portrayed as a white man from Miami pretending to be a foreign threat to America. This is a clever commentary on the way society often practices Orientalism, connoting foreignness with evilness by way of not being Western and familiar, and worked well in diffusing the racist design of the original character.

Some argue that certain roles are given to particular actors based on their merit and star status; however this can’t be so when there is an abundance of talented actors of colour continually overlooked. And others reason that a little extra bronzer simply makes the race of the character more apparent. In actual fact this only reiterates harmful and frankly outdated stereotypes. Although increasingly more subtle and infrequent, problematic portrayals still exist; and if you need proof of its damaging effect, then just walk down Greyfriars Road on Halloween night. Count how many blackface costumes you see in the queues for clubs and you’ll feel a distinctly spooky chill down your spine. No, that’s not the ghostly October air; that’s the feeling of wild disappointment.

- Sadia Pineda Hameed

FILM + TV

The

ruleS oF SPoilerS Spoilers suck. Plain and simple. No matter how much you try to forget that he dies, or pretend that it’s an elaborate hoax, there’s just no escaping that knowledge and the sour, sinking feeling of watching the episode you’ve been waiting all week for, knowing it’s all building towards a moment outlined an hour earlier in some Instagram comment. They’re called spoilers for a reason.

Spoilers come into two categories.

First is the immediate spoiler, where you know you’ll be watching it tomorrow or something. These are fairly easy to avoid – just don’t talk to anyone, it’s too risky.

However secondly, over a prolonged period of time, avoiding a spoiler for a show you’re saving until the time is right becomes another matter entirely. Short of wearing a sandwich board emblazoned with “I haven’t seen Breaking Bad yet” and staying away from the internet until you’ve seen every piece of film and TV released, there’s no sure-fire way of avoiding spoilers. So, to save ourselves requires trust and cooperation.

As important as avoiding spoilers is, not spoiling them is equally important.

Just don’t be that guy. When someone vaguely mentions a film, don’t say “Oooh is that the one where this happens?” and then go on to outline the whole plot until someone breaks their rage-filled silence to tell you they haven’t seen it yet. When you watch an episode that’s not out in the UK yet, don’t take to social media to express your shock that “OMG he died!!”

Easy. Of course, some things it’s assumed people have seen. Everyone surely knows that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, and that Snape kills Dumbledore. If you didn’t, well…sorry. But these are the kind of things you really should know, and are fine to talk freely about.

Then again, perhaps spoilers don’t matter. If you can convince yourself of this

We’ve all been crushed by a spoiler before, but is there a time when they are acceptable? Greg Barradale discusses

then you’ve given yourself the ultimate protection against spoilers. You might find comfort in repeating the mantra “it’s the journey, not the destination”, and maybe there’s some merit in this.

Perhaps it is true that if something can be ruined just by finding out what happens at the end, then it wasn’t worth watching anyway. Similar criticisms have been levelled at Game of Thrones; where previously no character was safe from sudden death, the show is now teetering on the edge of doing things for shock value, relying more on the what than the how. Let’s not forget literally anything

by M. Night Shyamalan, the director of the Sixth Sense often criticised for plots defined by their twist, highly vulnerable to devastation by spoilers and far weaker for it. And of course, there are films where you already know what will happen, and they’re still great. You don’t need to see Titanic to know how it ends (spoiler alert: it sinks), and that was the highest grossing film ever until 2009.

As convincing as that side of the argument may be, come on, it’s not fooling anyone.

Don’t get spoiled.

49

FILM + TV

T R A V E L T I M E Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis (1985)

Time Travel Theory:

Time Travel Method: The use of a highly modified car, a DeLorean DMC -12,wzwwwwz outfitted with a Flux Capacitor allowing time travel when a speed of eighty eight miles an hour has been

50

Dynamic Timeline – Whereby if a person alters events in the past, then the future is impacted, e.g. interrupting your parents’ first date in the past, preventing your own birth and eventual trip back to the past. As a result you also never interrupt your parents and are born again, only to repeat this process creating a time paradox. Confusing huh?

Back to the Future is a film that needs little introduction, but for those of you who haven’t seen it, shame on you. This film follows teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he is thrown back into the 1950s where, after disrupting a younger version of his parents first date, he must secure his existence by making them fall in love.

Whilst the scope of time travel here is not as grand as curing a historical disease, the film does explore the interesting notion of disrupting the past. Another plus point the film boasts is that, out of all the possible time travel methods, there is nothing more sophisticated than travelling about in a modified DeLorean. Forget bulky pieces of machinery; if it’s high performance and high style time-cruising you want then look no further. The only flaw of BTTF is that neither parents recognise Marty from the past when they interact with him in the present day - it seems a little too convenient. Not to mention a tiny change in the past can create a radically different future.

FILM + TV

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

James Cameron (1991)

Time Travel Method: Use of Time Displacement Equipment or TDE which allows living tissue to be sent forwards and backwards in time.

Time Travel Theory:

“Out of all the possible time travel methods, there is nothing more sophisticated than travelling about in a modified DeLorean”

Multiverse – Alternate timelines exist.

Therefore travelling back in time creates a divergent timeline separate from the original, because of this the person who has travelled back can do what they want without consequence as only the new timeline will be affected.

Another film which utilises the concept of time travel in a way that poses interesting possibilities is Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This sequel follows a young John Connor (Edward Furlong) who is the key to mankind’s victory over a future robot uprising but also a target of a shapeshifting assassination robot. Fortunately he is protected by a modified T-800 robot, but you probably know it as Arnold Schwarzenegger…

An interesting aspect of this film is that it raises questions such as the

use of time as weapon for both good and evil, as well as the implications of giving machines artificial intelligence which supersedes our own. In relation to time travel itself, the machine used comes with a lot of pros and cons. The TDE is not portable and therefore can be exploited by those who would use it to cause harm, or in this case the enslavement of mankind. It also renders the user totally naked, making them a clear target and awfully exposed to gusts of wind. However it is a reliable form of time travel as it allows the user to alter the past with no consequence to themselves.

Overall it boils down to a question of style over reliability. Personally I know which I’d choose. All I have to say is ‘hasta la vista, baby’.

51

FOOD + DRINK

The Fuss about

N E F O S R F A K N O D Let’s be frank- the franken-foods that have intrigued the world You might be unaware of the phenomenon of BACONE CRONUT

so-called ‘franken-foods’, a term previously used to refer to big, bad genetically modified food – doesn’t sound particularly appetising, does it? However, recent years have seen the term taking on an alternative meaning, referring to newly-invented hybrids of existing food. See: cronut, bacone, ramen burger etc. No idea what that string of words even meant? Get ready to delve into this weird and wonderful world of compound words and fantastic flavours.

See: cronut, bacone, ramen burger etc. No idea what that string of words even meant?

Get ready to delve into this weird and wonderful world of compound words and fantastic flavours.

TURDUCKEN 52

FOOD + DRINK

Where you can find them

CRONUT

Cup & Cake Bakery

Cup & Cake Bakery is a market stall that operates at the St Mary Street Market on Saturdays, and the Riverside Market on Sundays.

Amongst the dazzling array of tempting goodies such as cupcakes and brownies are the must-try Kronuts (spelt with a K, presumably to avoid trademark issues). These buttery treats that come in flavours like salted caramel pistachio, sticky toffee crumble and crème patisserie are handmade by local owner/baker Matt over a three-day-long process, justifying their £2.50 price tag.

We’ll start off with the one that started the craze - the cronut. This hybrid of the French croissant and the American donut was created

by French chef Dominque Ansel in 2013 in his bakery in New York. Picture a flaky croissant combined with a glazed sugary donut, first proofed then deep-fried in grapeseed oil. After this, the sweet is triple finished in deliciousness, undergoing a process of sugar coating, cream filling and lastly glaze topping.

This new compounded pastry generated havoc amongst those with a sweet tooth, causing crowds to queue outside Ansel’s New York bakery at 7am, desperate to procure one of these elusive delights. Ansel works on a first come first serve basis, allowing a purchase of only two cronuts per customer. Not to mention that there is a set limit on how many are churned out per day (350 if you were guessing), making the Cronut both greatly sought after and in short supply, adding to the hype.

Greggs or Little Waitrose

On occassion, Greggs on Park Place by the city centre and Little Waitrose on Queen Street also sell their own versions. Greggs’ Greggsnuts are £1.25 each and come in two flavours, summer berry & creme and caramel & pecan, whilst Waitrose’s Yumdoughs, £1.49 each, come in flavours such as lemon and butterscotch.

BACONE

Bagel and Burger Kitchen

These decadent delights can be found in the heart of Cathays at Bagel and Burger Kitchen on Salisbury Road. Their Krispy Kreme Burger not only promises those branded doughnuts, but also gives you a choice of beef or spicy bean burger (shout out to vegetarians!). At £6.95, this valuefor-money indulgence is great for when you can’t decide between savoury or sweet. This spot opens till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and offers attractive meal deals, ensuring optimum studentfriendliness.

Now if you’re more inclined to sway towards the savoury option, in particular a meaty one, then a ‘bacone’ may just tickle your fancy.

American inventor Christian Williams created this intriguing almost breakfast – essentiallly a bacon-shaped cone filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns and cheese, covered with a layer of country gravy and topped with a crunchy biscuit.

This may sound like too much of a mouthful, but it may just be the perfect substitute for a fry up in the morning if you need your breakfast onthe-go. Another plus is that it very surprisingly falls just under 500 calories!

TURDUCKEN Our next specimen comes in the form of the Turducken – a massive meat feast of turkey, duck and chicken that originated from America (the traditional English version is a Gooducken – with goose in place of turkey).

The bizarre name brings with it a tripling of deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, lastly stuffed into a deboned turkey, an indulgent seasonal dish. When you just can’t decide what bird to choose for your Sunday roast, bear this intriguing hybrid in mind.

The Smoke Haus

RAMEN BURGER

2013 saw 35 year old Keizo Shimamato, writer of the blog ‘Go Ramen!’, bring the sensational ‘ramen burger’ to the table.

Shimamoto ditched his career in finance to focus on the craft of ramen cooking, luckily for all the ramen connoisseurs out there! It can best be described as East meets West, offering cooked ramen-style noodles pressed and fried into patty-shaped discs in place of burger buns, with a beef patty in the middle. This is combined with a super-secret shoyu sauce (made from Japanese soy sauce amongst other ingredients), along with spiced spring onions and rocket. The marvellous creation can be bought mainly in America, with few adaptions in the UK (so far).

In the city centre, The Smoke Haus on Mary Ann Street also serves up this indulgent dish. The Donut Burger (single £11.95, double £14.96) adds bacon and sweet sauce to the diner’s signature cheeseburger, amping up the sweet-and-salty quotient of the doughnut-and-beef combination.

With fries and slaw included, you’ll be sure to have a hearty meal worthy of boasting about.

53

FOOD + DRINK

The Review: Chopped Ginger and Chopped Chilli

Ginger is a common ingredient in Asian dishes – almost as common as garlic. As an Asian food lover myself,­I was thus very excited to find out that Very Lazy do a ginger ­version of their chopped garlic in white wine vinegar that I’d heard about before. The first thing I tried was to us­e it in a fried rice dish­in place of fresh ginger. This yielded somewhat disappointing results, as the sourness of the white wine vinegar seemed to overpower the ginger’s spiciness­. If I had added more of the chopped ginger, the dish would’ve been way too sour, but if I’d added less, I wouldn’t have been able to taste the (already mild) ginger. Confused, I went to the Very Lazy website to search around for a recipe that could give me more instructions on how to use the ingredients more effectively. I decided to try the Roast Chicken with Chilli, Ginger and Lemon recipe – mainly because it only required five ingredients and could be done all in one pan #studentlife – which actually needed Very Lazy hot chilli paste and ginger paste, as opposed to the chopped versions I had, but I decided to give it a go anyway, halving the recipe as well. Within 1 hour (preparation AND cooking), I had a chicken dish for two, which tasted like it took longer to prepare than it actually did. The chopped chilli in white wine vinegar was especially potent, making the chicken spicier than I expected, slightly reminiscent of chilli oil served in Chinese restaurants. Again, the taste of the white wine vinegar was noticeably sour, but it seemed to go well with the lemon juice used in this recipe. As for the chopped ginger in white wine vinegar, it still seemed not gingery enough, but the sourness was complementary to the dish this time. If I were remaking this dish, I would probably add more of the Very Lazy chopped ginger and less lemon juice to add on to the ginger flavour whilst balancing out the sourness. All in all, I would recommend getting these ingredients if you are willing to experiment with the recipes on the Very Lazy website, tweaking them to your liking.

If you are looking to use them as replacements for fresh ingredients in your cooking, bear in mind the acidity of the white wine vinegar – you can’t just add more chopped ginger without adding more vinegar.

- ZENN WONG

54

Very Lazy

We’d all love the culinary skill of Michel Roux Jr, but not everyone enjoys ‘garlic hands’ or the very possible perils of chopping chilli. Very Lazy come to the rescue with their prechopped ingredients, but are they worth the hype?

Chopped Garlic

Garlic - the base ingredient for every interesting dish. Classically prescribed as medicine, this member of the onion and shallot family delivers a boost to the immune system, and lowers high blood pressure. However when it comes to preparing garlic in the kitchen, it seems to become one hell of a task, and one that personally I try to avoid. It is firstly the potent smell that seems to linger on your hands, and under fingernails that I find unpleasant. But most of all, the irritation of such a task lies in the sheer length of time it takes to finely chop the cloves and the arm ache that results from this performance. Thankfully, the jar of ‘chopped garlic in oil’ from Very Lazy solves these issues and is now one of my favourite ingredients to use when cooking. From once spending up to ten minutes changing technique, attempting to condense the garlic into as small grains as possible, all I have to do is spoon out as much garlic as I want. Ideal. Ultimately, this is the perfect time saver, and the jar surrounded by oil can be kept in your fridge or cupboard with no worry of spoiling. Whether you are preparing a pasta sauce, risotto or marinating meat, all you need is the measurements and voila, the rest is done for you.

- DAISY LANE

(serves 3) Warm yourself up on colder days with this cosy hot chocolate with a kick! If you’re not a fan of chilli you can swap it for other flavours such as orange or mint!

You will need: • 3 cups milk • 1 cinammon stick • 1 red chilli • 150g dark chocolate • Whipped cream (optional)

P U M P K I N S P I C E D L AT T E

QUeNCH

All you have to do is heat up the milk, cinnamon stick and chopped chilli in a saucepan. This should take about 5 minutes. Then, just put it to the side for about 10 minutes to let that chilli flavour soak in! Once that’s done, strain the mixture into another saucepan, throw out the solids and put the mixture on low heat. Do not allow the milk to boil. Then just add in the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, pour into your favourite mug and top with whipped cream. You now have a hot chocolate with a chilli twist!

your thirst (get it?)

(serves 1) Bring some brightness to the dark days of winter with this groovy cocktail comprised of fruit and vodka; the perfect combination! A simple recipe to follow but some ingredients may be difficult to find so make sure you shop around!

You will need: • 1/2 a Kiwi, peeled and quartered • 60 ml Vodka • 15ml Aperol – a bittersweet Italian aperitif • 30ml tangerine syrup • 30ml soda/lemonade Simple muddle the kiwi, ice and vodka in a cocktail shaker with the Aperol and Tangerine Syrup. Then strain into a fancy glass filled with ice and feel like you’re in the Bahamas!

COOKIES AND CREAM MILKSHAKE

S U N B U R S T C O C K TA I L

C H I L L I H O T C H O C O L AT E

FOOD + DRINK

(serves 1, feel free to double, triple or more!)

Get in to the halloween and autumn mood with this pumpkin coffee delight.

Yes, there are a lot of pumpkin products and access to a microwave is a must for this recipe.

You will need: • Coffee-mate pumpkin spice creamer – comes in a tub like instant hot chocolate; look online if you can’t find this.

• 1 cup of really strong Coffee • ¼ cup milk • 1 tablespoon canned pumpkin • Whipped cream (optional) To get started, find yourself a microwavable tub, cup or container.

Pour in 1/4 of a cup of milk then add 4 tablespoons of the Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice Creamer. Also add a tablespoon of canned pumpkin and whisk until everything is mixed together. Put the mixture in the microwave for about a minute. Whilst that is heating up, boil the kettle and make half to a whole cup of strong coffee. Take the mixture out of the microwave and put it into your favourite mug. Then add the coffee to fill the rest of the cup. Top with whipped cream as an optional cheeky extra!

(serves 1) There is nothing quite like a cookies and cream milkshake. But why pay a fortune for one out in town when you can easily make your own at home?

You will need: • 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream • ¼ cup milk • 5 Oreos – everyone loves Oreos!

• Whipped cream (optional) To start, just put the Oreos into a sandwich bag and crush them. Then add the ice cream, milk and almost all the crushed Oreos into a blender and blend until fully mixed together. Pour into a pretty glass and top with whipped cream and the leftover Oreo crumbs.

Big night in? here are some recipies to liven up your evenings as Autumn Approaches.

Words by Emma Riches.

55

Illustrations by Bryn Evans