6 minute read
MUSIC
Torus set sail for success
Our first gig of 2022 was spent watching the progression of MK heavies Torus who showcased a live confidence to match the power of some tempting material, writes Sammy Jones.
It was a great night of riffs and belief from those on the stage, while stage front we were all left buoyed by the performance of these ‘ones to watch.’
The band might be young, but there have been a few hard-hitters so far, and that night in January at MK11 was also the first gig for the latest in a succession of drummers.
“It’s mental really,” frontman Alfie Glass told me, “We’ve played with about six different drummers. Since Eleanor Lawrence left it has been hard to find the right one and we are very picky as you can tell, but I do believe we’ve found the right guy now with Jack Orr – he’s a rare find.
“I think the band has progressed a lot over the last year,” Alfie said, “We have written a lot of new music which has helped, and Harry just keeps getting better at mixing.
“I feel like we’ve upped the quality of everything recently, it’s exciting.”
The band – completed by aforementioned bassist Harry Quinn – recently issued the single Sail, and things really are charged just now; Torus has just been on the road supporting Green Lung and another single, Did it Again, will be released in April, followed in the summer by a four track EP via the MNRK label.
Whispers of an album have already started too, but the band is taking everything in its stride.
“There seems to be a buzz about the band now, but no major pressures yet,” Alfie promised, “We are just super happy that we’re getting to do what we love.”
The Sail EP – track by track:
Sail Sail is really a paranoia song that came out of lockdown, and spending long periods of isolation. It started with a few riffs and turned into an anthemic sounding, big rock song that we are all quite proud of.
Did It Again About running away from things and how they’ll always come back to you – the track just fell into place and turned into a catchy, pumping, ‘hitting the road’ type of song.
Hurt You It’s punky and it’s angry. It’s about knowing that someone you care for has been hurt badly and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Clone Our interpretation of a big heavy ballad. Instead of writing about love and heartbreak, we made this song about social media taking over your life and ripping your personality and soul out with the beauty standards of today, and the fake lives that people end up living. It’s damaging.
Meet the Bishop at MK11
He’s certainly not a new name on the hip hop scene, but he is a distinctly cool and clever creator, and that’s why Markel Scott has been up in lights at shows alongside the likes of Nas and Kendrick Lamar.
Those of you who tip your ears to rap won’t recognise the name Markel, but will possibly know him better by his stage moniker Bishop Nehru.
His debut mixtape, Nehruvia, was cut loose when he was in his mid-teens and soon afterwards, the Bishop inked a deal with Nas’ label, Mass Records.
That was the best part of a decade ago. There have been plenty of musical deliveries in the time since, including collaborations with the late MC MF DOOM, and a solid body of solo albums, including Elevators: Act I & II in 2018 which saw Rolling Stone magazine salivating; ‘a hip-hop Pet Sounds with a penchant for wide-eyed lyricism,’ they declared.
He didn’t stop there, and in 2020 gave fans something other than a pandemic to focus their attention on – the album Nehruvia: My Disregarded Thoughts.
The New Yorker will be bringing his vibe to MK11 in Kiln Farm on March 18. Others on the bill include Dale May and Har-Q with more to be announced.
Rest assured the Bishop’s music is way catchier than the link for tickets: skiddle.com/e/35997142
The great thing about artists is their creativity, of course. Take MK’s Craig Hudson, for example.
He didn’t want to meet with friends to enjoy cheese and wine during the lockdown, he ‘just’ wanted to play music, and that wasn’t allowed.
So he decided to park up his alter-ego Billy Nomad, and went electronic with Coda Rushing in 2021 on the absolutely banging track, Skills. It was one of our top numbers of the year, and the good news is that another CR release is planned for 2022.
Now though, Billy is back from hibernation with a new album planned for the summer with his band The Common Army.
What can we expect?
“A lot of what I’m doing at the moment is clean cut, acoustic rock songs,” he shares, “I’m also revisiting past material to make the tracks more commercially accessible, so that people don’t just go ‘that sounds weird,’ but that they appreciate the song!”
Currently, Billy is on a worldwide media tour from the comfort of home. It’s easier than dragging amps around, that’s for sure: “I’m going on lots of radio shows and podcasts,” he explains, “I’ve just been in Alabama and Tennessee...I’ve got one coming up in Connecticut,” he says, scanning his itinerary.
“I’m touring the world in my dressing gown with my Mr Noisy mug in one hand and my guitarlele in the other!”
For a man more used to hitting up live venues, this is a new way of operating. But it wasn’t just Covid that forced it: “It was Covid and my mental health stuff,” Craig explains, “There was a lot of stuff I wasn’t dealing with before the pandemic, so when Covid
Craig Hudson as his alter-ego Billy Nomad
happened, I thought ‘I’ll deal with it now’ and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I’ve come out the other side.
“I’m looking at the shape of my life and the form it takes moving forward and I definitely want to get back to gigging, I really do.” 2022 looks like being crammed full with Nomad noise, and Billy and Craig will be side by side for the journey...
“I see Billy as this kind of inextricable part of my character,” Craig says, “It started off
Get in early...
> Reformed 90s pop players Steps are heading this way!
H, Claire, Lisa, Faye and Lee will deliver pop smash-hits like 5, 6, 7, 8, Tragedy and Stomp before bringing things up to date with material from their most recent elpees, What The Future Holds Pt 1 & 2 when they come to Campbell Park on July 29.
“We will never forget the past with Steps, it’s what made us, but we’ve got to look to the future too,” said the band in a statement.
Click to Skiddle and search for tickets.
> A little further afield, The Specials will play Bedford Park on June 3. Famed for as a way to hide my anxiety, but very quickly became this other person that I was allowing myself to be onstage.
“It has become more than an alter-ego, it’s more like an alternative personality.” > Keep in touch on all things Billy on FB and Instagram @thebillynomad
The Specials play Bedford Park in June
smashes including Too Much Too Young and Ghost Town, the band issued a new album of covers in 2021 and showed that they’ve lost none of their appeal; Protest Songs: 19242012 debuted at No.2 in the album charts.
Enjoy yourself: Tickets are £45 – book them at bedfordparkconcerts.co.uk
