NEWS | 3
In this issue
2 24 hours cycle raises money for Breast Cancer Now!
Brunel’s Got Talent
Consider Youself One Of The Family
Amazon prime’s new series ‘Good Girls Revolt’
FEATURES Page 18
FEATURES Page 16
CULTURE Page 30
NEWS Page 12
‘The Hateful Eight’ Spoiler-free review
CULTURE Page 30
CULTURE Page 25
Editor’s letter NEWS Page 9
3D printer creates ‘made to order’ body parts with living tissue
Sport round-up
Brunel lose despite valiant effort at St Marys
Elections are nearly here... but how do they actually work?
SCIENCE & TECH Page 33
SPORT Page 36
SPORT Page 39
NEWS Page 4
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News: Elisabeth Mahase, Aaron Lowman, Marcus Stein, Yasmin Simsek, Stephanie Beaumont, Kalenina Tiliakou, Sana Sarwar, Kirsty Capes, Keith Coles Features: Adam white, Becky Collins, Lara Waterfield, Holly Barry, Elisabeth Mahase Science and Tech: Elisabeth Mahase Culture: Edward Sweet, Holly Barry, Jin Wei Wang, Jack Frayre-Reid, April Clayton, Stephanie Beaumont, Charlotte Davis Sport: Johannah Puustinen, Bradley Hayden, Lauren Norton, KC Swain, Jessica Wilson
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Dear reader, Thank you for picking up this edition of Le Nurb. Looking at the past month, this issue covers the amazing success of RAG week, which raised huge amounts for four charities, the excellent performance of Brunel’s sports teams at BUCS and the 3rd place win for the Brunel Blizzards at the cheerleading nationals. There are a hectic few weeks ahead of us. Elections are coming and this year varsity happens to fall right in the middle of the voting week. With these events comes a huge amount of stress and excitement for candidates and the media alike. As we did last year, Brumedia will be covering the elections across all platforms and interviewing all candidates to bring you a fair report on those running. In lighter officer news, the union corridor has seen some tension, with SU President Ali Milani blocking VP CHLS Aaron Lowman on twitter after football trash talk
escalated. At this point in time, Le Nurb understands that the block remains. Turning to varsity, this year’s event will be held at St Mary’s, so for those who are unable to attend, you can still keep up to date on the scores and highlights through Le Nurb’s twitter @le_nurbonline. We will have a team of students running around the Simmies campus frantically trying to keep up with the days events. Excitingly, the much anticipated varsity video will soon be released and all we can say is that it’s our favourite to date. VP SA Michael Darlow has put his humour to good use and we cannot wait for you all to see it! #yardbird #cricket As always don’t forget you can find us on Facebook by joining the Le Nurb contributors 2015-16 page. I hope you enjoy the issue! Elisabeth x
Photo credit: Alexander Short
8 | NEWS
NEWS | 9 Photo credit: Yamsin Simsek
This seemed to get students in quite a competitive mood as it proved to be pretty tough! No one actually was able to achieve all the correct matches, but our closest runner ups all bagged themselves tickets to the Valentine’s Mega Global! Wednesday saw a very successful step for Brunel Calisthenics and their first RAG event: REPS FOR RAG. With the pull-up and parallel bars out in the atrium and great prizes to be won, passerby’s and fitness enthusiasts alike couldn’t help but attempt the challenge at hand; how many repetitions could they do until failure, for pull-ups, dips, press ups with the longest squat hold. The individual with the highest cumulative rep count won free membership to the increasingly popular Brunel Calisthenics sessions! Each person paid £1 to participate, with many generously donating much more. The event itself raised over £60, and there are talks about Calisthenics running similar competitions around campus soon, so keep an eye out! The line of coins is a classic RAG event and it always attracts attention to the concourse. On the Thursday of RAG week we collected spare change from students which were placed down the middle of the Concourse. This event never fails to raise funds and spread the word of RAG! Alongside our line of coins we also had our hook a duck challenge and lucky dip for those who donated to our line of coins. We had some awesome prizes including mega global tickets, cinema vouchers and even meal vouchers!
RAG week success raises over £600 for charity Second RAG week of this academic year has now passed and what a success it was. A mixture of old and new activities and the first week with an expanded committee, the week truly got students involved with RAG and made more than £600 for our four charities! Yasmin Simsek Uxbridge
A special thank you to cheerleading, burners, tennis, netball and calesthenics for hosting events this RAG week! Therefore we are so excited to
annonounce that RAG week is gonna be back in term 3, in shape of a RAG takeover after exams. Like Ubs rag on Facebook for more details! The biggest event of the week was Brunel’s Got Talent and it was surely one that was not to be missed! The seater filler, hosted by our very own Blower, raised hundreds of pounds for RAG. After a series of auditions, the talent was narrowed down to the best of what Brunel has to offer. The talent ranged from a singing duo to a powerful poet to comedy! It was a tough decision for the judges, who included Benjamin Zephaniah to make as all of those who performed on the night were a force to be reckoned with. Well done to all who entered and especially to the winner of two Disneyland tickets and Brunel’s Got Talent 2016, HENRY STONE! Here are a few of the other things that went down that week: This RAG week we started a postcard sale. The concept is simple; decorate a card and write your
secret inside. Later these cards will be auctioned off so that people can buy the secrets, but no one knows who the secrets are from. This event has been a massive success and people have really let their creative sides out, decorating the cards to their hearts content. We will keep on selling the empty postcards and will be back with an auction. We can’t wait to sell the postcards in the future!
We also invited one of our charities, MERU to campus and they held ‘bugsie races’ using some of the electronic wheelchairs that have
been specially crafted by the charity to aid in childrens mobilisation. MERU also had a stall where students could make and design their own keyrings for a small donation. This was a fantastic day and it allowed students to engage with RAG and find out a little more about one of the charities they are raising for. On Friday we created a Wall of Love to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. We supplied pink and red paper hearts and a range of pens which individuals used to create their messages to add to the wall. There were some beautiful messages decided to partners, friends and family, but our favourites were definitely the messages of undying love for food or cats. We continued the wall at the Valentine’s Mega Global to spread the love even further which was a great success.
We ended the week on Valentine’s Day itself with the Sunday pub quiz in Loco’s. The quiz was based on the theme of love and included rounds such as music, film, celebrities in love and aphrodisiacs as well as a bonus round of ‘Name The Baby’. The prizes included a money prize and food vouchers for first place and drinks for second and third. We also had to give out a prize for ‘Best Team Name’ after discovering a team called ‘Quiz Khalifa’. The quiz was enjoyed by all and best of all, we raised £55.00 for our charities: Amnesty International, BreastcancerNow, Trinity Homeless Projects and MERU. All in all a great week and we can’t wait to have another week in term 3. Keep updated on Twitter and Facebook and remember to turn up for RAG!
Musical Theatre Society first ever RAG fundraiser!
After the success we had last RAG week, we decided to host Beauty Day once more! We had our committee members and ducklings (our volunteers) applying henna and ready to do nails. This event has been a great success as many people were familiar with this before and we had some very talented volunteers applying henna!
On Wednesday 17th February the Musical Theatre Society put on their first ever
Day two of RAG week held more fun and games, this time in the form of a mini quiz of “Guess the Union Baby”. This entailed participants having a go at matching up eight of our very own Union Representatives to their respective baby pictures.
Stephanie Beaumont
Musical Theatre have nonetheless taken part in countless performances in the two years they have been running including showcases, a flashmob and Christmas market carols. Chairwoman Laura Davey explained that the society wanted the fundraiser to be a more ‘casual’ affair than their usual spectacular showcases and give their performers the opportunities to show off their talents as soloists.
Uxbridge
Members showcased their musical talents and managed to raise £70 to give to charity in proceeds from a bake sale and their event. Photo credit: Stephanie Beaumont
Being a relatively new society,
Audience members were treated to musical numbers from Grease, Heathers, Sister Act and many more! Producer Lia Harlin said ‘Ragtime gave a taster of just how many talented members we have this year, and what’s to come in our showcase
on the 7th of March. It was the first time members could perform without auditioning so every act came as a pleasant surprise to all of us’. The committee also hope that the fundraiser will become a regular event for society in the years to come. Musical Theatre Society are holding their end of year showcase on the 7th March with performances from the musical adaptation of The Addams Family, Heathers, Dogfight, Pitch Perfect and much more! Please see Musical Theatre’s public Facebook page for more information or tweet @BrunelMTS.
12 | NEWS
NEWS | 13
24 hours cycle raises money for Breast Cancer Now! Uxbridge
better opportunity to raise money for a great cause.”
On Sunday 7th February, 20 students alongside two sabbatical officers took part in a 24-hour cycling event to raise money for Breast Cancer Now, as part of their London to Paris bike ride challenge.
When asked about the physical challenge, participant Mayoor Jobanputra responded, “It was tough! The final 10 minutes of my two hour stint really killed me, if you can’t sit properly you’re done for.”
Travelling over 1300 miles in total, the team raised £250 for the charity, while promoting the cycling and triathlon club here at Brunel.
Michael Darlow, VP Student Activities, who also took part, commented: “The 24-hour cycle really was a great success. Our objectives were to raise money for Breast Cancer Now and to raise awareness of the Brunel Triathlon and Cycling Club! I do believe we achieved both of those!”
George Ravenhall, who played a key role in organising the event, said: “It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning, afternoon and evening. There was tremendous support shown by the Brunel Student contingent.”
Kirsty Capes Uxbridge
“We raised over £250 for Breast Cancer Now and I would like to thank everyone who was involved! Special thank you to George Ravenhall for making this all possible!”
Uxbridge
The charity Mind has launched ‘Emoodji’, a free mobile app designed to help students to cope with the ups and downs of university life. The app has been developed closely with students and aims to tackle the multiple pressures they face, including the fear of admitting that they are struggling and having difficulty in accessing support services. ‘Emoodjis’, are selfies or photos with an emoji applied onto them to reflect your mood.
This year, the Festival will be returning on the weekend of Friday 7th to Sunday 9th October 2016, and is expected to host even more contributors than the 2015 effort. It will offer students a chance to get up close and personal with some of their favourite authors as well as writersin-residence from the Brunel faculty.
The Festival, which held its inaugural event last year, primarily in the Antonin Artaud building on campus, is a celebration of literature across all genres and styles. In October 2015 it played host to over thirty authors and contributors, and students. Guest speakers included Laura Dunnett, writer of the bestselling The Version of Us; Benjamin Zephaniah, Will Self and Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic
To stay up to date, follow @ HillingdonLit on Twitter and like “Hillingdon Literary Festival” on Facebook.
Will British universities be stronger in or out of the European Union? Keith Coles Uxbridge
Rather than sharing with everyone, you only send emoodjis to people you trust, keeping a private environment that allows people to express both their highs and lows. Over time Emoodji also acts as a mood tracker, helping students see how it has fluctuated based on whether the emojis they have chosen have been positive or negative. Mind identified that the social pressure of Facebook and other social networking sites were having a big impact on student wellbeing, creating a stressful environment. Research conducted showed that over half of students don’t feel comfortable admitting they’re
As British voters prepare for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, Brunel will ask a panel of experts what so-called Brexit would mean for the future of Higher Education.
Photo credit: Mind
Mobile app ‘Emoodji’ launched to help students beat stress Sana Sarwar
Marigold Hotel. Staff and members of the community enjoyed a weekend of talks, Q&As, workshops and activities.
There will be volunteering opportunities for work experience through Brunel Volunteers and plenty of interactive workshops and activities, in which students are encouraged to get involved. Festival organisers are expected to announce their first confirmed speakers and contributors over the next week.
Photo credit: Michael Darlow
“We couldn’t have wished for a
The Hillingdon Literary Festival has announced that it will be returning to Brunel University London and the local surrounding area in October 2016.
Photo credit: Elisabeth Mahase
Elisabeth Mahase
Hillingdon Literary Festival 2016 announced
On March 17, the second of Brunel University London’s Big Question events will tackle the critical issue before an audience of students, staff and the wider community.
struggling to cope.
Titled ‘Will British universities be stronger inside or outside the European Union?’, the event will give the floor to a panel of pro-Europeans and Eurosceptics from academia, industry and politics – each asked to consider what is best for British students, what is best for UK research, and what is best for British universities.
It is estimated that student counselling services are facing an annual rise in demand of about 10% (Samaritans ‘Talk to Us’ survey, 2015), suggesting that everincreasing numbers of students are in need of support. To address this gap in services, the app also provides tips on how to cope with the most challenging aspects of student life, including money problems, exam stress, homesickness and low mood. Emoodji is free to download and can be found on both the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store, as well as www.emoodji.co.uk
The debate is being held in partnership with Universities UK (UUK) as part of its own high-profile campaign to keep Britain in Europe.
Photo credit: blogs.spectator.co.uk
Chaired by renowned academic and former chairman of NHS London Professor Michael Spyer, panelists include Vice-President (England and Northern Ireland) of UUK Professor
Janet Beer, celebrated entrepreneur and CEO David Frankish, and director of referendum campaign group Vote Leave, Stephen Parkinson. To book tickets for the free event, please visit the Eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/willbritish-universities-be-strongerinside-or-outside-the-europeanunion-tickets-20943879708 The Big Question events form part of Brunel University London’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Two further discussions on big topical issues will be held later this year. To find out more about all the events the university has planned to celebrate its 50th, visitwww.brunel. ac.uk/fifty. According to UUK, which includes members from 132 Higher Education institutions in the UK, Brexit would cost tens of millions of pounds in funding and leave universities struggling to compete with the rest of the world. Staff, students and alumni are encouraged to register for campaign updates at www. universitiesforeurope.com.
14 | FEATURES
FEATURES | 15
FEATURES
*
DREAM OF CALIFORN-VACATION
*sing to the tune of Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Adam White Uxbridge
So I’d been in California for two weeks. In San Francisco we explored everything the city had to offer; from a local SF Giants game and riding the famous tram lines, to visiting the infamous, high-security Alcatraz. We spent four days working our way down the Pacific Coastal California State Highway 1, stopping at small towns along the way before hitting Los Angeles. In LA we visited the Space Shuttle Endeavour, walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and visited the beautiful Santa Monica and Venice beaches, among other awesome stuff! Having visited Universal Studios Hollywood the previous day, we were now heading out to Old
Pasadena to explore the town before heading to one of NASA’s centers, managed by the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (or JPL). Old Pasadena is a district of Pasadena often just referred to as Old Town. We walked around the local streets taking in the views of some of the old historic buildings there. Home to the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art (one of the first modern art museums in the US), this town began as a small farming community in early colonial and independent America. It was a base for many suffragette, pacifist, and liberal movements. With the introduction of drugs, bars, and pawn shops in the early 1940’s, it later became a home for hippies and soon entered into a decline. More
recently, the town has experienced a spell of revitalization. We stopped at a small café that my mum found on TripAdvisor and had some brunch that the reviews promised would be good. We jumped on freeway 210 to La Canada, where we would be taking a tour of NASA’s JPL facility. Passing through the heavy security gates and headed to the visitor’s reception to get our passes and meet the guides. Without passports and identification, no one was getting in. We were taken on a comprehensive tour of the facility, looking in the various buildings on site as well as an informative presentation. All this might sound very boring to you compared to visiting Cape Canaveral, but for me, an Aerospace Engineering student, it was brilliant.
JPL’s roots lie back in the 1930’s when a group of students from Caltech and some rocket enthusiasts starting playing around with bits and pieces of fancy tech. After an “unfortunate” explosion on campus, the group relocated to a remote site close to the mountains, which is where JPL remained today. In its early years, the group was funded by the U.S. Army to develop rocket technology in response to the threat of V-2 Rockets being used by Germany. In the Cold War-era, JPL built and launched the USA’s first satellite, but were beaten to the post by the Soviet Union’s Sputnik in October 1957. The following year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA to you and me) was founded and JPL transitioned from the Army to this
Inside the JPL facility we were shown replica satellites, lunar, and mars rovers, as well as the “clean” labs in which these feats of engineering are imagined and brought to life, and then we headed back to LA. We spent some more time on the streets of Hollywood before moving on to the Griffith Observatory, up in the Hollywood hills. The name might not ring a bell, but you may have seen the architecturally iconic observatory in many of the TV shows or films filmed in Hollywood. It is the backdrop to the appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 “Terminator”, sent back from the year 2029 by Skynet, to kill Sarah Connor. It features in both the “Salvation” and “Genesys” sequels as well as Michael Bay’s 2007 blockbuster, Transformers. As well as appearing in the hit series 24, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the observatory has also featured in several hit video games as well as being shown in 2Pac’s
music video “To Live and Die in L.A.”. At the observatory we watched a short film in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theatre and then went to the Planetarium for a “journey to the stars”. Both of these were awesome and definitely something to do if you’re ever in LA. Afterwards went back outside and up to the roof to watch the sunset go down over the city and the Hollywood sign behind us. Truly magnificent. A list of magical sights: the nights I spent on Mt. Kilimanjaro when I climbed it for Childreach International with my fellow Brunelian’s in 2012, the views over Chiang Mai (Thailand) from the mountaintop Buddhist temple, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, as well as visiting the Great Wall in China and Chichen Itza in Mexico. This LA sunset is now on that list! It is at this time in the evening the telescopes spring into life, and it’s possible for visitors to the observatory to have a look through them at the stars blossoming in the night sky. This was our last full day in LA, and it was certainly jam packed with lots of fun stuff to do! The following day we hit the road again, beginning our short journey down to San Diego for the final week of our Californ-Vacation! Photo credit: Adam White
new agency. Since then JPL has led the way when it comes to visiting and exploring the other planets in our solar system including missions to the moon, Venus, Mars, the Jupiter system, the outer planets, as well as deep space exploration. They also built the camera that saved the Hubble Space Telescope in 1994, preventing the failure of the whole mission.
16 | FEATURES
FEATURES | 17
Though it’s not all socials for the Arts Societies at Brunel! Upcoming projects for Arts Societies include a Poetry Open Mic session during One World Week, Dance Club’s annual show, Mix It Up!, on March 3rd, the Musical Theatre showcase, It’s a Fine Life, on March 7th, Physical Theatre’s devised performance, London A-Z, on 11th March, and several Arts performances at the Society and Media Awards on March 12th – for which Arts Societies have been nominated for seven awards.
Consider Yourself One Of The Family Arts at Brunel: What’s On? Becky Collins Uxbridge
Le Nurb met up with Emily-K Green at the beginning of 2016 to discuss the Arts Societies at Brunel, and their plans for term two. The ‘Brunel Arts Societies’ consist of Musical Theatre Society, Film Orchestra and Choir, Drama Society, Physical Theatre Society, Comedy Society, Poetry Society, and, Photo credit: Becky Collins
honourably, Dance Club. One notable increase in activity is the number of socials that the Arts have held, and plan to hold in the future. So far there has been two mass Open Mic socials for Arts Societies, and there are future plans for a Les Miserables trip, a Masquerade ball, an intersociety paintballing trip, an Arts Quiz Night at Locos and, most excitingly, a mass term three concert, in which each Arts Society can perform a small piece. After coursework and exams, this would be a wonderful send off for all final year committee members! The ultimate function of these
socials is simple: to get the Arts at Brunel together to combine ideas, collaborate on projects, to help each other out, support each other, and to network. These socials, simple or complicated, enable all of the above. What is surprising is that Arts Society socials were, before this year, entirely unheard of. This is something Green has fought all year for, and tells Le Nurb, “We’ve been labelled as competing societies for so many years now, bringing them together this year was completely a new idea.
As well as this, Green herself is at the helm of an intersociety variety show, including Film Orchestra and Choir, and soloists from the varying societies, to be held at Uxbridge Library on March 18th. This came about after the success of the Film Orchestra and Choir and Musical Theatre flash mob in Intu Uxbridge. Performed on Friday 30th October, this Halloween special made use of its members with an orchestral Nightmare Before Christmas medley and choreography from Musical Theatre. The event was a huge success and gained a lot of attention from Uxbridge residents, businesses, and the Heads of the University, who had previously been meeting with Green about Society involvement with Uxbridge Town Centre. Green explains, “From that meeting I sent a message out to FOCS, Film Orchestra and Choir, and asked them if they wanted to be involved, as I’m the conductor of the Choir. After that, Musical Theatre got in contact with me to say that they would love to as well. So that was two Societies, but Intu wanted to know about more. So I ended up going round to all the
Societies, asking “are you interested in working with Intu in any way?” From then on, everybody just wanted to meet each other, hence the first social, and somehow I’ve sort of ended up in charge!” It was the flash mob that sparked Uxbridge Library’s interest in Green and they contacted her about holding a variety concert for the Arts at Brunel. This was how Emily-K accidentally became the unofficial (but very efficient) Head of Arts Societies that she is. Forming an Arts community at Brunel has done far more than Green expected, however. On top of collaborations and successful performances, the Chairs of each Arts society meet to discuss recurring issues that they are having, and whether or not other societies are experiencing the same problems. After just one meeting, all societies were comforted to know that they were not alone in their obstacles, and, since the meeting, they have worked together with the Students’ Union to resolve these common issues. Among other things,
these Arts Societies have changed the room booking system in Antonin Artaud to be fairer in an already over-subscribed building, amended the C.A.S.E.S (Clubs and Societies Evaluation Scheme) to be inclusive of Arts Societies and their goals, and have made it possible for Societies to have a their own professional photographs taken. Previously only sports clubs were offered official
photos for their members, and societies had to go without. At the end of our meeting, Le Nurb asked Emily-K Green whether she would like to continue working with the Arts Societies at Brunel during her final year next year. “I love working with them all, they’re an incredible bunch of people. And we definitely have some interesting
conversation topics! It’s just amazing to get to know these unique individuals, who bring so much to the Arts at Brunel. I would definitely love to keep working with these people, and, if they’d like me to, I’d happily run more events like I have done, and keep it going for as long as I’m at Brunel.
Photo credit: UBS Nightlife
There was a lot of wariness from the societies but us coming together and uniting is a much needed thing, especially as a lot of our members and committees study the arts and could really make some fantastic collaborative projects. The arts shouldn’t be competing. We should be making the most of what we have now.”
18 | FEATURES
FEATURES | 19 Photo credit: Elisabeth Mahase
Interview with the winner: Henry Stone Henry Stone, winner of Brunel’s Got Talent 2016 spoke to Le Nurb about his influences, how he got into the world of spoken word and his struggles with mental health.
Brunel’s Got Talent
Elisabeth Mahase Uxbridge
Why did you enter Brunel’s Got Talent? “It’s funny, I wanted to apply. I heard about it a couple of weeks before and I said ‘I want to try that’ but for some reason I never did. I wanted to perform in front of a crowd at Brunel that I’d never performed in front of before. It was always in the back of my mind. “On the day of auditions, I saw Yasmin outside the Gaskell building as she was like ‘You’re auditioning for Brunel’s Got Talent’ and I said ‘Am I?’ she said ‘Yes you are, right now.’ So she did that and told me when to come. The audition went fine and obviously I went to the final and I won! Is a ‘home’ crowd more difficult? – If you consider this a home crowd. “Yes and no. No because obviously these are people you know. Yes on the flipside because it’s always easier to perform in front of strangers. I’ve been doing this for about over a year now and I remember I performed at Google in June and my sister was in the audience, the first time I’d ever invited her to any of my things. I was nervous because one, she was family and two, for some reason I felt this urge to not swear or do anything silly in front of her. “In terms of confidence I can say now it’s easier for me to perform in front of a home crowd than it was, say a year ago.”
On the 9th Feb, Academy hosted the final of Brunel’s Got Talent 2016. Elisabeth Mahase Uxbridge
Organised by the RAG committee, the event was a huge success with 7 great acts performing a variety of pieces from musical theatre to comedy and spoken word. The judging panel was made up of RAG chair Yasmin Simsek, SU President Ali Milani and the hugely talented poet Benjamin Zephaniah, a Brunel lecturer described on his website as’ a poet, writer, lyricist,
All the acts had been through rounds of auditions before the final and represented the amazing talent here at Brunel.
In the end however, the judges had to decide on the winners. Before announcing, Zephaniah said, “I think if we could we probably just would have given everyone £100 ... It was really, really difficult!”
Highlights of the night were live tweeted from the Le Nurb twitter account, including Zephaniah proposing to a singer because his voice was so good.
Third place was awarded to two acts: Millie and Lea who performed a song from Rent, and Jide who did a medley of songs from Disney to the top 40.
musician and trouble maker.’
Second place was given to Sam who covered Sam Smith ‘Writing’s on The Wall’. First place was awarded to Henry Stone who captured the audience with his powerful spoken word on mental health.
So where did it all start year ago? “Well I became a fan of spoken word in September 2013, this guy called Chosen came to the uni and said, ‘Hi my name’s Chosen and I’m a poet’ and I thought of so we’re going to talk about dandelions and love and shit. But then the way he delivered it, he made it accessible to me. I remember being in the crowd
that day, thinking what that guy did to this whole theatre of 200 people, I’ve got to learn how to do that. So I became a fan of poetry and I began to listen to it. Then about a year after that I thought I’m going to do this for myself.” “So I started writing and I remember my first ever performance. It was in a small dingy pub in London Bridge and I forgot my lines, I got so nervous about my lines I had to bring up my phone. They were patient with me and they actually really liked it. “From there I started doing open mics around the city, I don’t do them as much now but I still attend them because of a lot of my friends I’ve met on this circuit.” How did you end up performing at Google? I made a friend on the radio, he used to go here actually, he graduated 3 years ago now I think. He was there and I remember calling him to talk about poetry, I was trying to find a way to get myself out there. And he was like, ‘I’ll send some of your work to my old boss.’ So he sent it and gave me a number to call. This woman answers and is like ‘Oh yeah you’re Aaron’s friend, so basically we have this competition, send your stuff in and I’ll make sure it gets through.’ Deep down I really didn’t know what I was getting into. 4 months later I got an email saying ‘Well done you’ve got through to the final of this competition; it’s held on Google campus, would you like to perform there?’ And I was like ‘Yeah sure!’ I didn’t win, I came second but yeah it was pretty decent.” Who is your favourite poet right now? “It’s hard to bring it down to one. One of my favourite poets is George the Poet, he’s one of the ones who has probably had the biggest effect on me, very big early influence on me. But in recent times… you know what, there was a poet that caught my eye yesterday, her name is Hollie McNish; she writes a lot of poetry about motherhood. She wrote this poem about breastfeeding because she had a kid at 26 and she breastfed in a public toilet, because obviously there’s a stigma about breastfeeding in public. She thought that was bullshit because obviously you have the big billboards with women with massive breasts out, she thought this was a bit ironic. So she’s unfairly just shot into my top three and probably moved someone out. “So I’d say George the Poet, Hollie McNish and Kojey Radical. He’s making a lot of waves right now. He’s trying to combine high art, fashion
and spoken word into what he does, with quite interesting music in the background. He’s like an innovator in that sense.”
terms of your relationship with them, because you are there when things are rosy but when they weren’t you didn’t take it seriously.
You performed two pieces at Brunel’s Got Talent, the second one focused on mental health. Why that subject?
“It’s sad but when you’re going through times of adversity you realise who you can rely on.”
“I was reading something this morning, a statistic that was thrown out there, by I think it was Mind. It said 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health problem. “I’m repeating second year because of this. Around the tail end of 2014 suddenly everything just became difficult. I didn’t understand why, menial tasks suddenly became titanic. Little things like getting out of bed, not being scared of human interaction, they became difficult for me. “I remember feeling a lot of unexplained inner turmoil. I felt like I was falling into this spiral of despair. I started hating everybody and hating the world; feeling heartache over small things. “The word depression kept coming up, so I went on the NHS website, typed it in and looked at the symptoms. I had absolutely all of them, which is always fantastic. That’s kind of what my second poem was about. “I got diagnosed with depression and I was just doing terribly. I told my personal tutor. My personal tutor is the reason I’m still at uni, along with Marcus Stein of course. Going through all of those things and then like, I just wanted to speak about that issue, but I didn’t want to do it in a way that feels like I’m talking at you, because I realised good art doesn’t talk at you. So I always have to come from a personal place. “When I was telling some people, they almost weren’t taking it seriously, as though it doesn’t exist. But it does exist, because I’ve locked myself in my room for about 3 weeks, barely sleeping, eating habits upsidedown and bursting into tears for no reason, and no one is giving me an explanation as to why. “I didn’t feel like I was being taken seriously. I wrote a line, it was the first line of that poem I wrote, it happens like half-way through the poem, ‘When he’s out having fun, don’t act like you were the one who offered him a lung when he was running out of air to breathe’ and that’s kind of like, when somebody finally comes out of the darkness, unless you were with them whilst they were in that darkness, don’t now try and act as though everything is fine now, in
Photo credit: Elisabeth Mahase
Would you perform at Brunel again? “If anybody asks me, yes absolutely! I’m definitely up for that.”
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Dance is one of Brunel’s long established clubs and offers a great range of classes, welcoming students of all abilities to get involved. Brunel Dance won club of the year in 2010 and RAG club of the year in 2014 and continues to be one of the largest clubs on campus. It is a fun and lively club which offers many opportunities for students, from taught technique classes in a range of styles, memorable Christmas and annual shows, inter-university dance competitions and fun socials.
and jazz, plus a new student led class “Self-Image” which helps build members’ performing confidence. For the current timetable of weekly classes and more information about prices etc. find us online on Facebook or the Student Union Activities Sports Clubs website. The theme for this year’s show is “Mix It Up!” An aptly titled celebration combining the club’s varied dance styles, all performed to song covers and remixed tracks.
Our dancers have worked hard preparing for the show and hope it will be one of the best yet for the audience. It is always the highlight of the year in Dance Club’s calendar. Previously, the Dance show has taken place in the Howell building behind the Lecture Centre but this year the club are excited to be performing in the Antonin Artaud building as part of Brunel’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Come along to Mix It Up! on…
When? Thursday 3rd March- 7:30pm Friday 4th March – 7:30pm Saturday 5th March – 2:00pm and 7:30pm
How much? Tickets are £4 in advance/online and £5 on the door. There will also be a raffle for RAG and Brunel Marrow
with many prizes on offer, building on the success of our Christmas Showcase and raffle. If you are interested in joining Brunel Dance Club, please come along to try a class. Monday to Friday, Floor 1, Social Amenities Building, Isambard. Also, make sure you get your tickets to watch the spectacular Mix It Up! and see what you could be part of next year.
Dance has always been a great way to meet people studying a wide range of degrees in a warm family-like atmosphere. It provides members with a fun setting to try out new styles of dance and is a social way to exercise and tone (more so than going to the gym) while improving stamina and strength. Brunel Dance aims help existing dancers sustain and improve their technique and instil a love and passion for dance in its new members. Our classes include street, ballet, pointe, hip hop, tap, contemporary, salsa, belly, pole, contemporary
Photo credit: Adam White
Homemade Beef Ramen Adam White Uxbridge
Method
1. Grab two small boiling pans and boil the eggs and noodles separately. ~10 minutes prep Put the eggs on a soft boil. ~15 minutes cook 2. Get hold of a wok (if not, just Serves 2 another large saucepan) and medium <£10 heat the stock 3. Finely chop the chili and Ingredients coriander. Add to the wok and allow 600ml beef stock to simmer. 1tbsp chopped coriander 4. Meanwhile, prep the steak by 2 chili peppers placing it in a small frying pan on high 2tbsp soy sauce heat with a slash of sesame oil. 50g mushrooms 5. Cook the steak to your 1 pak choi preference (we did it medium-rare) 400g beef steak (~2 pieces) 150g noodles (~2 nests from pack) and then let it rest while you finish the noodles. 4 eggs 6. Add the soy sauce, some ground 1tsp sesame oil pepper, sliced mushrooms and 1tbsp Mirin
Stats
chopped pak choi to the wok, and continue to simmer. 7. Once the noodles are soft, add them too. Now it’s time to serve! Already! I know right?! 8. Slice up the now rested steak into thin slices. 9. Remove the shells from the soft-boiled eggs and add them, with everything else, to a large serving bowl. Enjoy! Chicken also works with this recipe, just replace beef with chicken and use chicken stock instead. The other ingredients remain the same. If you can’t get your hands on any mirin, an alternative is wine (red with beef, white with chicken) mixed with a little bit of sugar.
The Imagination Project
Lara Waterfield
Matthias Asiedu-Yeboa
Part of Brunel’s 50th anniversary celebrations
Uxbridge
Brunel Dance: Mix it up!
Second and third-year Brunel students have been working with staff to create Brunel’s third annual short story anthology, called THE IMAGINATION PROJECT. This anthology is the brainchild of none other than Bernardine Evaristo, but it’s the students that wrote, submitted and edited the stories as well as designed the anthology and organised a FREE launch night for it! The launch is on the 15th of March at Brunel University, in the Antonin Artaud building at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to FREE DRINKS and there will be readings from the anthology, which you can purchase for just £5! So come, show your support, and enjoy the night!
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Capturing animal cruelty: the selfie strikes again It certainly wasn’t how you imagine a day spent down by the sea to be. There were no lifeguards patrolling the beach or laughing children building sandcastles with the concentration of a skilled architect. Holly Barry Uxbridge
It all happened inside a mobbed frenzy which encapsulated this one being, so small you would have never noticed had you not been amongst the curious crowd. Shortly afterwards, Sky News confirmed a baby dolphin had been killed after being snatched from the sea for the purpose of a selfie. Claims are flooding in fast to
defend the backs of those who partook in parading the endangered dolphin above sea level stating that “the dolphin was already dead” before the tourists started taking photographs with it. But, disturbingly still the photographer whose photographs documenting the tragedy causing a viral uproar has said the baby Franciscan dolphin was one of many corpses that washed up on the beach. “The water was very hot, it was full of jellyfish and people were not going in the water”. Hernan Coria said. Unfortunately, Coria’s statement contradicts his own photography which captures holiday makers scattered across the shore, cooling off in the ocean. Whilst additionally clashing with the previous statement made by Argentina’s Wildlife Foundation Charity, who said the dolphin, was killed by tourists. As a mixture of allegations murky the waters concerning the truth behind the baby dolphin’s cause of death, our urges have yet to falter as humanity continue to capture selfie’s next to dead animals still remains
ever present in today’s media. Nothing seems to have improved since the world learnt of American dentist, Walter Palmer’s scandal when he paid $50,000 to hunt Africa’s most famous Lion, Cecil, in July last year. Yet, why did we spend weeks tunnelling our say into the domain of social media, or petitioning to have Walter Palmer fired from his dentistry profession when 18,500 tourists pay to go trophy hunting in Africa each year? If these activities were proving effective, we would not be faced with another cruel and shameful demonstration of animal mismanagement less than a year down the line. The death of this endangered dolphin has gained much media attention because of the outlandish motive behind hauling it ashore. As things stand, the most important reason for carrying out an act of animal cruelty is for the desire to post photos to social media. Just ask Cecil. It seems as though we are so obsessed with the idea of
gallivanting the most magnificent encounters on social media that we forget what is usually considered to be going against the grain. Questions you might have asked yourself before posting a selfie online when the ‘selfie’ hype had just emerged may have consisted of: “Do I look good in this photo… Really?”, “What will people think of me?”, “Will I get more than five likes, I really hope so…?” and “I hope it looks like I do exciting things like this all the time, I’m a super busy person…”. But, because our phones are used now as an overspill reservoir for informing the world of our latest activities on a real time basis, our ability to ask ourselves these questions before sending our selfie into the domain of social media is slowly evaporating with our senses of understanding barbarism. Dr Terri Apter, psychology lecturer at Cambridge University who spoke for the Telegraph online, says taking selfies is all about people trying to figure out who they are and project this to other people. “It’s a kind of self-definition.”
“We all like the idea of being sort of in control of our image and getting attention, being noticed, being part of the culture.” And that is perhaps the unspoken backdrop of the millennials and selfie taking today. The baby dolphin was just a decoy in promoting the individuals status and importance, whilst protruding a certain identity that others will endorse you for. Most of us will carry on to question our selfie uploading decision making, keeping our phones close and listening out for that first like notification. Maybe we will occasionally wonder whether the Valencia filter looked better than X-Pro ll, but our worries will not extend much further than that. And for the rest of those who believe in endangering the life of a majestic creature for a selfie, we will be waiting for that frenzied mob of dolphins to drag those people down into their watery depths for a ‘selfie’ and believe me, our camera’s will be at the ready. Photo credit: ibtimes
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‘The Hateful Eight’ Spoiler-free review “Move a little sudden, a little strange, you’re gonna get a bullet. Not a warning, not a question… a bullet.” Edward Sweet Uxbridge
Since Quentin Tarantino burst into the Hollywood scene in 1992 with his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, his films have tackled many different genres, from multi-layered crime epics to kung fu to drive-in schlocky B-movies to war movies and most recently westerns with 2012’s Django Unchained. Despite the differing genres, though, Tarantino has made his films in a style that’s distinctly his own, mixing slick dialogue, a dark and twisted sense of humour, anachronistic music choices, hardcore violence and style in spades.
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Gender-swapping and cross-dressing reverberate the question of identity raised in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, with an unnerving twist.
With his latest film, The Hateful Eight, Tarantino is paying tribute to the gritty spaghetti westerns of the 60s, and coupled with the film’s much-touted Ultra Panavision 70mm presentation, is set to recapture the glory of that particular era of cinema. Does it pay off or is this merely a case of a pretentious director inflating his ego?
Zayn Malik has got himself a new bad-boy image, and successfully transferred it to his debut number-one single ‘Pillowtalk’.
Set during a harsh winter in Wyoming shortly after the American Civil War, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) is headed to Red Rock transporting a fugitive, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who has been sentenced to hang for murder. Along the way, they come across Major-turned-bountyhunter Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), the purported new sheriff of Red Rock. A vicious blizzard forces them to stay the night at Minnie’s Haberdashery, where they encounter a wild bunch of mysterious strangers, including a confederate general (Bruce Dern), a hangman (Tim Roth), a cowboy (Michael Madsen) and a Mexican (Demián Bichir). It soon transpires that all is not what it seems, and that one of the lodgers is conspiring with Domergue to let her escape justice, leaving everyone to wonder who the traitor is and whether they’ll survive the night. While Tarantino’s last few movies were more sprawling in their locations (Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained) here the movie is aiming more for the same approach as Reservoir Dogs; set more or less
the whole movie in one room and let the writing do the talking as you see these characters bounce off each other before all hell inevitably breaks loose in spectacular fashion. Each of the characters is almost as enjoyably despicable as the last – the cast of characters is comprised of thieves, murderers, rapists, bigots, degenerates, some all of the above, and the interplay between each of them is both a huge amount of darkly comic fun and unbearably tense at points when it needs to be. It also helps that the characters all command a great screen presence and are portrayed by a phenomenal ensemble cast of Tarantino regulars and newcomers giving great performances, with a scene-stealing turn from Samuel L. Jackson giving possibly the best monologue since Pulp Fiction’s Ezekiel 25:17. in what may well end up being the film’s most talked-about moment. Jennifer Jason Leigh is really put through the wringer with an Oscar-nominated performance, and the rest of the cast do terrific jobs in fleshing out these larger-than-life characters.
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Tarantino has made his films in a style that’s distinctly his own, mixing slick dialogue, a dark and twisted sense of humour, anachronistic music choices, hardcore violence and style in spades. True to his promise of paying tribute to spaghetti westerns, Tarantino has enlisted the help of legendary film composer Ennio Morricone to do the soundtrack, who had previously given us some truly iconic music from films such as Sergio Leone’s Man with No Name trilogy, which marks the first time that Tarantino has incorporated an original orchestral score into one of his films, and it’s a great score, helping to build tension and mystery while also being hugely haunting and atmospheric. The same qualities can be attributed to the cinematography, with gorgeous yet foreboding landscape shots and while it may not make sense at first to shoot a film
that mostly takes place indoors in ultra-widescreen 70mm film, but it looks incredible, with some masterful angles and shot composition. I was lucky enough to see the film in its 70mm format, and it certainly deserved my fistful of dollars. That being said, the film’s general quality doesn’t diminish in any respect, and this is coming from someone who has seen it in both formats. True to Tarantino’s reputation, this movie is NOT for the faint of heart or the easily offended. Given the time period, the n-word is frequently thrown around almost casually and the language is as foul as you’d expect, and when all hell breaks loose the blood and gore is plentiful, brutal and uncompromising, with some of the most realistic gore effects for quite some time in a Tarantino movie. To give you an idea, the head of make-up here worked on the effects for The Walking Dead, Piranha 3D and Hostel, and if you’ve seen any of those you know what kind of level of nastiness this film deals with, and easily earns its 18 certificate, with the aftermath of the climax akin to a red river. One thing that may end up putting people off is the film’s largely unforgivable length – at almost three hours long (twice the length of Reservoir Dogs), it’s a big ask, and while most of the movie flies by due to how much fun it is, there are points where the pace drags to a screeching halt, and there are definitely one or two sub-plots that could easily have been cut and their absence would have made little to no difference, particularly one involving a letter from Abraham Lincoln, as well as some of the exchanges early on – we don’t get to Minnie’s Haberdashery until almost half an hour into this three-hour movie! Now that I’ve talked about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the movie, here’s my conclusion. While The Hateful Eight may not be Tarantino’s strongest film due to some clear pacing problems and an overblown run time, it’s rarely boring, and it’s hugely entertaining. With a fantastic ensemble cast giving great performances, a chilling and atmospheric score and Tarantino’s signature style oozing from every pore, this is one that Tarantino fans will surely love, but one that may be divisive among those less familiar with his work.
Photo credit: commons.wikimedia
CULTURE
Theatre review: cleansed
Photo credit: londontheatre1
From 16 February at the National Theatre, Sarah Kane’s Cleansed is as controversial as it was when it premiered in April 1998 at the Royal Court Theatre. Jin Wei Wong Uxbridge
Set in a former universityturned-concentration camp, the play explores the physical, sexual and psychological torture inflicted upon imprisoned characters by the sadistic ‘doctor’ Tinker. Gay couple Carl and Rod, a woman named Grace, her lover Graham, a nineteen yearold boy Robin, and a mysteriously unnamed woman. They are all in love. The playwright was inspired to write the play after reading Roland Barthes’ remark, ‘Being in love is like being in Auschwitz.’ The play however is not a mere orgy of grossouts; careful audiences would do well to look beyond the onstage atrocities, and see the overarching metaphor: the torturous element of love.
Theatre: Kinky Boots There is no need to be digging your heels in the ground on this occasion as this inspirational and sassy night out will be sure to kick start your evening with the feel good factor. Holly Barry Uxbridge
in
“It is one giant leap for mankind this sole reviving musical”
Kinky Boots, a musical based on a true story about a shoe factory in Northampton pulled out all the right stomps Saturday Night after a highly dynamic and extremely glitzy performance
staged at the Adelphi Theatre.
pretty place!”.
The story centres around Charlie Price (Killian Donnelly) who reinvents his late father’s shoe business to accommodate a niche market in manufacturing sturdier thigh- high boots for transvestite use after a chance meeting with drag queen Lola (Matt Henry).
The choreography, conducted by director Jerry Mitchell revealed the musical’s Broadway roots in what can only be described as explosive, daring and very tongue in cheek which was maintained throughout the duration of the show. Routines which feature Lola and her crew of fellow drag queens, known as ‘The Angels’ were simply impressive, as they exuded a high quality performance by owning the stage, PVC clad and sequin covered which had the audience toe tapping and wolf- whistling from start to finish.
Scripted with real feeling and heart, the musical heightens the parallels between witty humour and profound emotion as you are made to equally believe in Lola’s past life as a heavy weight boxer as much as you are in her present life as a Soho drag queen. Henry powerfully exerts the message through Lola that accepting people for who they are and not making prejudice presumptions about them is key to getting along with others which in turn helps to accept aspects of yourself. “Hand me glitter, feathers and a hot glue gun and I can make the world a
Although the show was ultimately powered by Matt Henry as Lola, Killian Donnelly as Charlie Price played an exceptional West End lead. His character - Charlie Price appears nothing short of ordinary, but as the son of a shoe maker who decides to reboot his father’s family business, ‘Price & Sons’, you soon begin to realise the depth of Donnelly’s character as he rallies up his co-
workers alongside Lola and her Angels to diminish the attitudes of gender discrimination and together produce “two-and-a-half feet of irresistible tubular sex”. Pop legend, Cyndi Lauper confirms Girls Just Want to Have Fun in this musical as she composes a mixture of sentimental ballads which invites the audience to step into the shoes of the characters in their most emotional scenes, whilst making you want to let your hair down by joining the cast on stage in her high energy, party anthems. So, dancing shoes required as you prepare to put your best foot forward in an evening filled with infectious ensembles and high energy performances that will be sure to knock your socks off.
Limbs, skins and even identities fall apart. And yet, behind all of the pain the characters are pushed towards a central question is asked: what power does love have over people in times of crisis? The play’s self-conscious rejection of naturalism is praiseworthy. Not for a moment are we passive voyeurs, but the audience are forced to endure harrowing depictions, taking us outside our comfort zones in the Artaudian tradition. But not only are we made to feel viscerally, but also to think harder because of the deliberate lack of realism, about its implications on love - achieved by messing with linear time, pared down dialogue, and uniquely poetic stage imagery, sometimes borderline surreal. Cleansed is also intricately crafted. Inherent within the play are allusions and clear influences from many of Kane’s theatrical and literary predecessors. Genderswapping and cross-dressing reverberate the question of identity raised in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, with an unnerving twist. Body mutilation and tongue removal are echoes from another one of the bard’s dramas, Titus Andronicus. It even utilises stage imagery that
reflects T. S. Eliot’s Waste Land, a poet whom Kane admired. Many more intertextualities are skilfully weaved into Cleansed. However, its shortcoming is that it risks getting too carried away being avant-garde. Some parts of the dialogue or stage directions, lacking clarity, seem pointless. Be prepared for a long scene in which the character Robin counts off an abacus. Equally, resolve yourself to having to watch a man moaning as he eats chocolate for a full 10 minutes, with no explanation. Another drawback is overuse of violence. Although most of the violence is symbolic, especially in the first half, as the play progresses one gets the impression that the impact is lessened because the violence is there for the sake of shock value.
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Behind all of the pain the characters are pushed towards a central question is asked: what power does love have over people in times of crisis? However, director Katie Mitchell’s interpretation compensates for all this. Mitchell includes masked men dressed in black that did not exist in Kane’s script, but she does this with great purpose - to use them first as henchmen, but also motifs of death, and to show the passage of time. She also decides to have the character Grace, who in the script does not appear in all the scenes, oversee every scene, which added a metaphysical dimension Kane’s play, heightening its theme of identity. Melanie Wilson’s sound design was flawless, faithfully bringing Cleansed to life with soundscapes ranging from eerie heartbeats to pounding music, from school bells to emergency alarms. Set designer Alex Eales materialised the setting with a vivid three-dimensional set resembling an abandoned hospital. Cleansed is not for everyone. That being said, if you feel prepared to have a harsh look at a harsh play, then it is a must-see. Minor weaknesses in the play are more than compensated for by the vision of the NT ensemble.
Photo credit: National Theatre
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This needs to be pointed out because Kanye West is a brilliant musician and has a lot going for him, and it’s criminal that he keeps tarnishing the beautiful music he makes with lazy, haphazard lyricism. On Yeezus, that a whole chunk of the lyrics were basically morally repugnant was an essential component of the album’s sonic architecture; if you’re going to have a beat as warped and hellish as I’m In It, you might as well have Ye saying he’ll put his “fist in you like a civil rights sign” and Jamaican dancehall singer Assassin bellowing semi-intelligibly about spraying you with bullets “like an aerosol can”. But on The Life of Pablo, where he seems to be in slightly more of a here-to-please mode, delivering bits of everyone’s favourite Kanye - the old Kanye, the new Kanye, and everything in between - there can sometimes be a dissonance between the joy-bringing human jukebox behind the decks and the lyricist who keeps returning to the same bitterness and spite; generally turned outwards, generally in the direction of women.
The Life of Pablo I am writing this review after my deadline in order to channel the spur-ofthe-moment spirit of Kanye West’s new album, The Life of Pablo. Jack Frayne-Reid Uxbridge
Don’t be surprised if, no sooner has this issue of Le Nurb materialised, than it has rapidly been pulled from shelves whilst I do some last-minute tinkering around the edges. I’m actually not even sure the version I’m reviewing is the final Life of Pablo at all. The edges could still be tinkered with yet further. Certainly, it’s the same album you can stream snippets of on West’s website, or the entirety of on Tidal, or download illegally like a normal person (it’s not available as a commercial release). But that version was not the same one he unveiled at Madison Square Garden three days prior. Nor was it the same album that he gave the beef-sparking title of Waves, before dropping the song Waves from
the tracklisting, then delaying the album’s release to bring it back at the insistence of Chance the Rapper. ...Pablo probably bears precious little resemblance to SWISH or So Help Me God, the two iterations of the album West appeared to be working on throughout 2014 and ‘15. His last studio album, 2013’s Yeezus, was harsh and abrasive. Music critics fell over themselves to compare it to various punk rock records, as their only hiphop reference point seemed to be “this sounds a bit like Death Grips,” by which they meant “harsh and abrasive,” because it didn’t actually sound much like Death Grips. Yeezus’ brilliance lay in the way that it was still recognisably pop music, but chopped up, stripped down, flying in the face of his previous album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s maximalist arrangements, any beauty that threatened to break through sullied by starkly confrontational lyrics. With only ten tracks and hardly a traditional rap banger among them, Yeezus could be a difficult listen, but it has held up as a cohesive and hard-hitting album, bereft of filler and prescient for the way it pointed to a heavier, more electronic, less sample-based future for hip-hop production. Sure, some people got there before Yeezus, but one of the
great services Kanye West provides to pop culture is that of a curator or a gatekeeper; he finds cool sounds where nobody else would and makes them mainstream. Having said he would release an album as early as Summer 2014, tracks that have surfaced from the initial sessions for his Yeezus follow-up (God Level, Piss on Your Grave) indicate a similar level of spleen-venting and synthesized vituperation. It seems, however, that West struggled to find as consistent an approach as the “nothing is sacred” Yeezus mentality. At one point, So Help Me God contained Only One (a delicate ballad about familial love where the only instrumentation is Paul McCartney playing organ), the soul-flavoured Tell Your Friends (released as a single by The Weeknd) and the psychedelic trap of 3200 (released by Travi$ Scott, who also bagged Piss on Your Grave for his Rodeo album, the lucky fella.) West even put out a collaborative single with McCartney and Rihanna (FourFiveSeconds) that was mostly notable for being thematically identical to Rebecca Black’s viral sensation Friday, but blander and with less rapping. The only Life of Pablo cut visible on a partially obscured picture of an early tracklisting is Famous or, as it
women who might want to engage with their art. There’s being a flawed, complicated character, and then there’s being a 38 yearold man with a loving wife and two kids, who still feels compelled to fire constant shots at the “bitches” he feels have crossed him. Whilst West has defended “bitch” as a term of endearment a la “nigga,” it seldom feels like one in the context of his verses.
was then known, Nina Chop. The song audaciously samples its erstwhile namesake Nina Simone (specifically her version of Jimmy Webb’s Do What You Gotta Do); the audacity largely coming from the way West only actually uses Simone’s voice for a few bars at the end, replacing her throughout the song with Rihanna singing the same parts. This is OK, however, because Rihanna is great. Abetted by a positively slamming beat that interpolates Sister Nancy’s dancehall classic Bam Bam to stirring effect, West utilises the three women’s voices in an extraordinarily beautiful way. Shame, then, that this song will probably best be remembered for the lines “I feel like me and Taylor (Swift) might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.”
On some of the tracks that are musically more coarse or acerbic, the Yeezus effect works wonders and his lyrics seem less sexist than simply about sex; notably on the absolutely nuts Freestyle 4 (god knows what 1, 2 and 3 were like) in which, amidst screaming about fucking on a dinner table, he exclaims “oh shit! My dick out!” as if he’s been caught unawares by a shock wardrobe malfunction, all over a sample of twee folktronica types Goldfrapp. The braggadocious Feedback holds similar trashy thrills, coming across as an answer to Kendrick Lamar’s jive-talking masterclass Backseat Freestyle as Ye hits out at gossiping bloggers and admonishes his doubters to “name one genius that ain’t crazy!” It’s a false equivalence, but it’s a good line, and so Kanye.
There is little rhyme or reason behind the inclusion of such shoddy lyrics (often quite literally “little rhyme,” unless you count rhyming “asshole” with “asshole” as such.) West’s misogyny is basically indefensible, given he has all the resources in the world to learn better, and he positions himself as the most important artist alive, at the epicentre of the culture. Ethics aside, the most important artist in 2016 cannot be misogynistic, because by being so they place themselves outside of any relevant discourse currently taking place, “othering”
Whilst these tracks hold up because they don’t have any pretentions of profundity (beyond Feedback’s Mike Brown-referencing “hands up, we just doing what the cops taught us / hands up, hands up, then the cop shot us”) the best ones - lyrically, at least - are where West drops the bravado and suggests that maybe, just maybe, everything might not actually be ok. The first track on the album, Ultra Light Beam, is maybe the most powerful, finding West working more as a conductor than a rapper, singing a bit over
the sparse, gospel choir-aided instrumental, but mostly giving the floor to The-Dream and Kelly Price to sing soulfully, Kirk Franklin to sermonise, and Chance the Rapper to deliver the verse of a lifetime; one that rhymes “Pangaea” and “Zambia” with “anteater,” in reference to the TV show Arthur. That he let Chance unfurl such an incredible tempest of bars on his first track shows that, for all the ego, if West thinks somebody can do better work than he can, he steps aside and lets them do so. If there’s anything important about The Life of Pablo (beyond the way its release strategy pours scorn on the very concept of the album as a complete, cohesive entity) it’s that West has begun to openly and frankly rap about his mental health, and I don’t just mean that line where he also calls himself a genius. When superstars like West admit to issues concerning mental health, it can help destigmatise it for “normal” people, and people can tend to sneer at someone like West without wondering how they’d cope in his shoes. The start of FML finds him introspective; singing over sparse synthesizer chords of how he worries that his flaws and temptations will drive him to “lose half of what I own.” After a gorgeous falsetto hook by the Weeknd, the drums kick in and ‘Ye starts rapping, confessing with a shocking honesty that “you ain’t never seen nothing crazier than this nigga when he off his lexapro” (an antidepressant) and alluding to a manic episode. In its bizarre artrock coda, eerie pitch-shifted vocals invite you to “see through the veil and forget all of your cares,” whilst Ye screams in tortured, strangled autotune; “don’t stop your loving! They don’t wanna see me love you!” It is a very particular type of genius. On the monstrously funky Madlibproduced No More Parties in LA, West’s rapid-fire three-minute verse is possibly his most autobiographical on the album; a breathless description of where he’s currently at in his life, warts and all. He confides that he has also been using the antianxiety drug Xanax (although he plays this for comic effect, in keeping with the song’s theme of exasperated party fatigue; “if I knew y’all made plans I wouldn’t’ve popped the Xans”) and that he has been seeing a psychiatrist, although he takes comfort in the fact he’s inspired their children to make music. Kendrick Lamar’s verse rollicks along on a typically immaculate flow, but all there really is to it is a series of sly, supremely quotable quips about hooking up in LA. It’s pretty great, but run of the mill by the standards of the greatest MC currently working. West’s verse is starkly personal in comparison and, what’s more, his flow is excellent; he knows that to follow Kendrick Lamar he’d either have to cede the stage completely, get the autotune out, and not even try to outdo the purveyor of such lyrical fire, or, alternately, simply rap
his ass off. He opts for the latter, acknowledging that “some fans thought I wouldn’t rap like this again, but the writer’s block is over, MCs, cancel your plans!” Given the sheer number of signatures on the various handwritten tracklistings he posted on Twitter, it seems half the MCs in the Western World (as in, the world in which Kanye lives) did cancel their plans for him, but it would have been nice if he had kept up this calibre of rapping on the rest of the record. The verse does, however, adhere to the unwritten rule that if you let Kanye rap for a certain amount of time, he will inevitably circle back to the subject of his penis. Somewhere towards the end of the colossal three-minute spit-fest, the intimate divulgences have dissolved into the (possibly more intimate) “she push me back when the dick go too deep / this good dick can put your ass to sleep!” Which, to the impartial observer, doesn’t sound like very good dick at all. I don’t mind that he doesn’t rap until the fourth track on the album. It’s 2016; autotune’s been kicking around for a while. It’s just that when he’s bleating away about a model’s bleached asshole, seconds after a deeply spiritual track with some solid bars on it (thanks, Chance) it can kill one’s buzz a bit. Father Stretch My Hand Pt 2 is a major step up from its bleach-stained predecessor because Kanye’s verse has my favourite autotune tone; panicked and desperate, as he first regrets that, like his father before him, his compulsive workaholism is keeping him from his family, then takes the listener through a concise set of bullet-points of his life thus far, not necessarily in order; crashing markets hitting his dad hard, his parents’ divorce, finding wealth, his mother’s death (“lost my soul”), the famous car crash that broke his jaw. “I’m coming back”, he assures us, before 18 year-old Brooklyn trap rapper Desiigner inexplicably appears to declare that he’s got “broads in Atlanta.” I don’t know about his “broads,” but if anything of Desiigner’s is in Atlanta it appears to be his whole musical style, which is basically that of Future. West seems to be using Desiigner’s part (sampled from another song) as just another musical texture; the fact that his lyrics are wildly unrelated to West’s seems unimportant, the same way that, on Yeezus, Assassin’s verses never had anything to do with the songs he appeared on. This patchwork approach of warring musical components that suddenly displace one another has been retained from that album, and must surely be alienating to those who favour the Kanye who made more conventionally songy stuff; the old Kanye, the chop up the soul Kanye. On the extremely self-aware a capella track I Love Kanye, he recognises that some fans prefer
that to the “new Kanye, the always rude Kanye, the bad mood Kanye,” but doesn’t indicate that the new Kanye’s going anywhere. Of course, there is a version of the song floating about online with an extremely “Old Kanye,” soul-sampling beat. It is a joy to behold. Given West himself is lyrically all over the place, you might find yourself gravitating to tracks on the album based on who else appears on them. Personally, I like Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd, so I’m big into No More Parties in LA, Ultralight Beam and FML. Someone else might find themselves gravitating towards Waves if they’re able to actually listen to Chris Brown without picturing the bloodied face of a somewhat more beloved pop star (who also appears on The Life of Pablo.) Waves is not a bad track, with shimmering ripples of synthesizer that sound like those watery things surfers ride on, but even with a lastminute verse penned for West by Chance the Rapper (“sun don’t shine in the shade / bird can’t fly in a cage”) the song feels weightless and a little incomplete. Real Friends into Wolves is a great segue, as the former’s beat dissolves into ethereality, high-pitched oohing continuing as Wolves’ cold stabs of bass cut through. I said I don’t mind autotune; it would be better if Wolves didn’t contain any rapping at all, and that’s not even getting into the whole business of the Kim Kardashian/Virgin Mary metaphor. Beyond a palpable bit of fatherly paranoia in its final bars, it’s full of corny lines that completely derail the song’s spectral bleakness, a haunting tone established as West sets the scene (“lost out / beat up”) over a minimal beat. It is a great shame that he cut the sublime vocals by Sia and Vic Mensa that appear in the song’s demo, but at least Frank Ocean sings prettily at the end (speaking of taking too long to make your album...) Real Friends, by contrast, features some of West’s best spitting in years; a choppy, locked-in, soul-bearing flow. It is a perfect track. Facts was one of the last minute additions of the album, presented here in the “Charlie Heat Version,” which has rather more pizzazz (read; in-your-face synths) than single version he released on New Year’s Eve. The song is a series of braggadocious statements about things nobody who isn’t an ultra-rich celebrity could possibly care about, spat over a carbon copy of Drake and Future’s Jumpman beat (the two rappers get writing credits). It’s hard to pick which socialite brag on the track is the most trivial; possibly his triumphant declaration that “Kimoji just shut down the app store,” which sounds like some sinister corporate takeover by a Japanese tech giant. He also asks “do anybody feel bad for Bill Cosby? Did he forget the names just like Steve Harvey?”
It didn’t appear sincere at the time, but what seemed like an awkward ripped-from-the-headlines couplet in the haze of the New Year now come off like some of the most repugnant bars of 2016 in light of that “BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!” Tweet. Given the female characters in West’s lyrics tend to go by the name “bitch”; it is entirely possible that he thinks it plausible that Cosby would forget the names of all fifty-seven of his alleged victims. Otherwise, I’m sure the veteran comedian would be happy to explain how it was all just a big series of strangely similar misunderstandings! I’m comforted by how, on the adlibbed outro of 30 Hours (which lasts for more than two minutes and could’ve fit a verse by Andre 3000, who Kanye explains he recruited to sing backing vocals as he “had to get the flyest nigga on this shit”) Kanye says it’s a bonus track, which implies that Facts is too, as well as the terribly boring album closer Fade. But that would also mean No More Parties in LA wouldn’t be on the record proper, nor 30 Hours itself, which is a pretty fantastic track despite the lack of a properly written second half. So much great music was recorded for this album. Why do I have so many complaints with it? Why were so many baffling decisions made concerning its contents? How can something that was worked on for so long feel so incomplete and last-minute? A demo of Highlights has surfaced, and components from both it and the released version, if combined, could make for a mildly less confusing, aimless listen. But opportunities were missed, and the dumb line about Ray J somehow made the cut. I suppose if you work on something for a long time, and keep going off to do other things, then returning to it, you might find it hard to find a clear through-line of inspiration for the whole project. Kanye West has unquestionably been recording a lot of music over the last few years, but he has a lot on his plate besides music. He recently reported that he’s 53 million dollars in personal debt. (Who keeps lending him all this money? It’s socialism for the rich, I tell you.) He is constantly trying to see his ideas fully realised in any number of areas, although fashion seems to be the one he has chosen to pursue with the same vigour as he once did music. Perhaps it should have been a warning sign that he released the album concurrently with his new fashion line, and seemed to prioritise both equally. There is every possibility he is currently under a great amount of strain due to what is expected of him and, perhaps even more potently, what he expects of himself. Plenty of music on The Life of Pablo proves West is still capable of brilliance in this particular area, but perhaps he no longer has the focus or drive to make the best records of all time.
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Photo credit: josepvinaixa
Zayn Malik ‘Pillowtalk’ Review
April Clayton Uxbridge
Zayn came from the sweet pop group One Direction. Even though they are the most visible boy band of the post-Backstreet era, what with their effortless good looks and cheesy (but good) lyrics, Zayn has already blown them out of the water with ‘Pillowtalk’ being the fastest selling single of 2016 so far. The song explores the act of getting it on (in other words, sex!). With lyrics like “In the bed all day, bed all day, fucking and fighting on, its our paradise and its our war zone”, the song oozes sex appeal. There’s a
lot of graphic imagery, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your own taste. Zayn brings vocal depth to the tune; with creative and vivid lyrics, you can see why the song went straight to number one.
Photo credit: StarFlash
Zayn Malik has got himself a new bad-boy image, and successfully transferred it to his debut number-one single ‘Pillowtalk’.
The solo singer has been in California and Las Vegas working on the rest of his album, Mind of Mine, which will be released in March. If it’s anything like ‘Pillowtalk’, fans can be in for something special.
Photo credit: trbimg.com
Josef Salvat ‘Night Swim’ Amazon prime’s new series ‘Good Girls Revolt’ Set in 1969 during the cultural revolution of the ‘free world’, Good Girls Revolt follows the story of a group of young women who ask for equality at their workplace; an American news magazine. Stephanie Beaumont Uxbridge
Inspired by the novel of the same name by Lynn Povich, this new series produced for Amazon Prime sees the likes of Genevieve Angelson and Anna Camp playing characters as forefronts for female empowerment and equality within the workplace.
Amazon extending the show for at least another ten episodes.
The series has been described as a ‘mad men wannabe’ but its attempts at discussing the issues of inequality and prejudices, although slapdash in places, puts it at an equal to its retro counterpart.
Overall the series has made a good start and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of women in the workplace or even would like to see how far (or not) we have come from the attitudes towards females in the 1960’s.
The first pilot episode, which is the only available to view at the moment, was released in November 2015 but its positive reception has led to
In the pilot the audience see the women grappling with important topics, some of which are still relevant to current society.
4/5 Stars
“Late night soul that tops tasteful electronica” – Evening Standard Charlotte Davis Uxbridge
From an artist that has seemingly emerged out of nowhere, Josef Salvat’s much anticipated debut album has been greeted with some fantastic reviews. After having the album on repeat all weekend I can now understand why. Australian-born Josef Salvat released ‘Night Swim’ on February the 19th and has since proved that cinematic pop is exactly the
sound that he should be going for. Although it is clear that Salvat is still experimenting with his sound, and his past love for classical and 70’s music has noticeably had some influence. Back in 2014 came the release of Salvat’s cover of ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna. Since then he has had multiple sold out European tours and a French number 1 with ‘Open Season’. This record is the perfect introduction to Salvat’s innovative sound, and ‘Open Season’, so far the biggest single on the album, is a brilliant track to start with. However, in my opinion ‘Paradise’ is the foothold of the album. Its upbeat tempo and soft vocals fit parallel to the catchy rhythm, creating a radiofriendly track that is a burst of fresh air to the music scene.
My only fault with this album is that some of the tracks lack that climatic feel that everyone loves when listening to a song. A stronger beat would work better on some of the songs but I’m sure there will be plenty of remixes from the singles on the album. ‘Hustler’ and ‘Punch Line’ are tracks that emanate drama, with lyrics that address love, lust, obsession and betrayal. While ‘This Life’, ‘Closer’ and ‘Secret’ are catchy and fun tracks that will be definite crowd-pleasers. Along with his soft croon and the catchy electro beats ‘Constant Runners’ contains lyrics that radiate romance and desire, which in turn has created a powerful and climatic song. The track features the ruminating swell of synths and percussion that give Salvat his signature sound.
‘Shoot and Run’, however, is a late night electro-soul kind of track about a woman who makes the most out of life, knowing that life is too short not to take risks. Though the album contains tracks that champion the likes of Years & Years, there are also the slower tracks on the record, for example ‘The Days’, ‘Better Word’ or ‘Till I Found You’ – These songs emphasise on the rich vocals but still contain this fun-loving electro beat that everyone seems to love at the moment. Electropop crooner Josef Salvat has done a brilliant job with this album. What a fantastic way to start his music career - with a killer debut album.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
3D printer creates â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;made to orderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; body parts with living tissue Scientists have managed to print human sized ears using a bioprinter, with living cells as ink.
A team of researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine at WinstonSalem in North Carolina, have been working on this breakthrough for the past decade, building the bioprinter: Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP). Using biodegradable materials and water-based gels containing living cells, the printer follows a CT scan blueprint to form the bespoke tissue shape, the US report which was featured in Nature Biotechnology explains.
So far the researchers have managed to print human sized ears, which they attached to the skin of mice, in order to observe how the tissue interacts in terms of blood supply and the formation of cartilage tissue. Additionally they have been running tests on rats, transplanting muscle tissue to observe nerve development and skull implants to detect bone tissue formation.
Elisabeth Mahase
The team were faced with the challenge of ensuring that the tissue survived long enough for it to be transplanted. To overcome this issue
This is a huge step forward in the medical world and could have a huge impact on the future of injured servicemen and women.
Uxbridge
they latticed the printed tissue with tiny channels, allowing the water, oxygen and nutrients to reach the cells, keeping them alive.
Photo credit: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
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Brunel Rugby League comprehensively beat Reading KC Swain Uxbridge Brunel Rugby League are through to the 3rd round of the BUCS Rugby League Cup after comprehensively beating Reading 36-10 on Wednesday.
The game was riddled with mistakes due to awful, muddy conditions – and it was these conditions which led to the teams trading tries in the early stages. Reading took the lead after a mistake and some poor try line defending from Brunel, but the Big Dogs hit back instantly when Josh
“
We really have a great chance to go far in this year’s competition.
Chapman broke the line and ran 40 metres to touch down. Aashik Guring then converted the kick, as he would for every one of Brunel’s tries in the game, to level the scores. With Reading pushed back by their own try line, Tim Elliott then extended the lead by smashing over the line powerfully. Cengizhan Ziyaeddin then scored
a third for Brunel after another long range line break, and all of a sudden it was 18-6 to the TFBig Dogs. Malikhi Lloyd-Jones cemented his position as Brunel’s top try scorer by going over near the posts, before Tim Elliott nearly picked up his second of the day from a huge sixty metre break – but he was brought down just metres from the line. Reading fired back after an excellent wide kick and catch to the right, but Brunel had matters firmly in hand. Shalom Jesusanmi showed his blistering pace by finding a gap as he converted after breaching the Reading line once again. Aaron Henry then powered over just to the right of the posts to give Brunel a
commanding 26-point-lead.
Rugby
The game was rough and scrappy at times, but Brunel kept their play simple and their large forward pack made the difference. After the game, BRL vicecaptain Lloyd-Jones said, “In tough conditions we played smart and ground out the game. We’re pleased with the win and recognise that we really have a great chance to go far in this year’s competition.” Brunel will play Bath in next week’s fourth round clash, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
Brunel lose despite valiant effort at St Marys
Photo credit: Brunel Rugby League
Brunel Rugby League’s chances of retaining their league title unfortunately ended on Wednesday 3rd February, after they lost to St. KC Swain Uxbridge
With St Mary’s undefeated at the top of the table, this was a must-win game for Brunel if they wanted to stay in the title race, but after a hardfought battle the score ended 36-26 to the Twickenham based side. The game began in explosive fashion when St. Mary’s scored the first try of the match within five minutes. Brunel replied just moments later, when winger Stephan Linton scored on his debut after a slick spread play out wide. Brunel then took the lead after a thunderous solo try from Malikhi Lloyd-Jones, who steamrolled past five St. Mary’s defenders before getting over the line. Aashik Guring converted the kick to make it 10-6 to Brunel. Cengizhan Ziyaeddin then scored a third try for Brunel, followed by another Aashik conversion, to give the Big Dogs a 16-6 lead.
The match was being played at an incredible pace, with both teams knowing this game would probably decide who would go on to finish as league champions. And the pace proved favourable to St. Mary’s during the middle of the match, as they scored four consecutive tries to take a 30-16 lead. Left-winger Chris Kerrigan kept Brunel in it by scoring after a smooth play, which included a great assist from Jake Yellop and it was 30-20 with 10 minutes to go. Malikhi then gave Brunel great hope, scoring his second try just outside the sticks after a smart linkup with captain Ibrahim Kabia. But the well-contested battle was settled with just a minute left when St. Mary’s touched down again,
finishing the tie with a 10-point advantage. The amount of heart put into the match from both sides was evident after the game when the teams – usually bitter rivals – showed much respect and congratulations towards one another. Try scorer Chris Kerrigan, a member of Brunel Rugby League’s committee, said, “It was a really tough match and we’re really disappointed not to win it and to miss out on retaining our crown.” “But this has been a transitional year, with a whole slew of new
players, so we’ve put in a good effort.” “It’s onwards and upwards from here with Varsity and hopefully a good cup run still to come.” As a result, it looks increasingly likely that Brunel will end the season in 2nd place after four wins from six matches. Their next game comes in the cup against Reading on the 17th February.
Photo credit: Brunel Rugby League
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LE NURB
SPORT
Photo credit: Brunel Netball
Double glory for Brunel Netball Jessica Wilson Uxbridge
It has been a fantastic start to 2016 for Brunel Netball, with both our first and second teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning their respective BUCS leagues! BUNC 1sts are officially BUCS Premier South Champions, following a 59-29 win over Exeter 1sts on February 3rd.
After a slow start to the game, which involved resilient defending from both teams, our first team pulled off some superb moves in attack, which meant they secured a famous victory. It was a fantastic effort from our first team, who ended their final league game with another win and the champion title! It has also been a successful month for BUNC 2nds, who won their
league with a 42-24 win over Royal Holloway 1sts at home.
a result, the side grew in confidence throughout the game and they ran out 42-24 winners.
On the 10th February, our second team headed into their fixture knowing they would win the league with 2 games remaining if they beat their rivals.
Congratulations to our second team for winning their league; all the hard work and dedication paid off in the end!
It was a significant match for the team, however great team cohesion and fantastic communication in defence meant there were a number of successful turnovers. As
As well as having great success on the court as a club, we have also been raising money for RAG and taking part in Good Deed Day; bag packing, face painting, litter picking, you name
it! We are also going to be taking part in One World Week hosting a dodgeball event on Monday 22nd February. We are looking forward to what the rest of 2016 will bring for BUNC both on and off court.