MUSIC

Music fans luck out with National Lottery tour

If you ‘know’ music, you’ll know just how important our grassroots venues are, and you’ll understand the devastation caused by the pandemic, with stages empty, bars quiet and doors locked.

Following the success of The National Lottery’s Revive Tour last summer, which contributed £1M to help the industry get back up and running after the craziness of Covid, a second wave of dates were announced countrywide at the start of December.

The Black Prince bagged two of the new year shows - and very tasty they are, too.

The Wytches will deliver 10 gigs as part of the tour for the Music Venue Trust, stopping off at the Northampton venue on night two of the schedule, on January 6. And the band is buzzing at the prospect.

“It’s an amazing thing to be a part of because these small venues are very close to our hearts,” bassist Dan Rumsey said, “They helped us become a band and find ourselves when we were first starting out. Without them there would be no bands. That’s why the campaign is so important, it allows musicians to go out and do what they love, and in turn keeps the grassroots venues open and running as they should be!”

Since coming together a little over a decade ago, The Wytches have issued three albums, and a whole host of ep’s. In the lead up to the tour the band has made its return to the studio, working on the follow-up to Three Mile Ditch, which was declared a release that ‘weaves seamlessly between gut-wobbling monster riffs, swampy rock, slick surf and finely tuned song craft.’

And there is a big audience waiting for more of that good stuff.

On January 25, Strange Bones and Calva Louise will co-headline the haunt as part of the same venture.

Last August, Blackpool’s Strange Bones delivered their debut elpee, England Screams, described as ‘a mutant creation spawned from a year of experimentation and pushing personal boundaries.’

The band of brothers (vocalist/guitarist Bobby, bassist Will and guitarist Jack) were joined in noise making by drummer Nathan Sanderson.

Bobby took care of writing, production, mixing and engineering duties which ensured ownership of the material, and no doubt kept the costs down too! A win-win.

The idea behind the album came from “trying to understand the relationship between order and chaos, the two factions that fly different flags but create balance when they meet in battle,” Bobby said, “I’m not afraid of taking things to extremes, which aligns with the highs and lows of not just songwriting, but life in general.”

There is nothing lightweight here; instead listeners can gorge themselves on a mix of punked-up angst and venom with distorted guitars and heavy sub-bass.

That potency only increases in the sweaty urgency of a gig haunt, of course.

“Strange Bones has never been driving in

The Wytches play The Black Prince on January 6

one lane, the whole f**king highway is open,” Bobby admits.

Eclectic trio Calva Louise will co-headline the show, and are sure to pull from their current album, Euphoric, which has been deemed their most multifaceted work so far.

The release was influenced by graphic novels and sci-fi movies: “Euphoric tells a story about the duality of the human being and the different perceptions of reality,” vocalist Jess Allanic shared, “The lyrics detail episodes of a dreamer’s experiences as an inner conversation with his other self, his counterpart, to experience freedom and have an encounter with the unknown.”

You know those nights out where you are left feeling a little bit cheated by the lack of urgency and substance?

This gig won’t be one of those.

Try for show availability by clicking to ticketweb.co.uk

Strange Bones also play The Black Prince on January 25

Pic: Derek Bremner

> Buying a ticket? You could take a friend to the shows for free so long as they can show that they are a National Lottery player. Simply show a physical lottery ticket, or show one on the app, at the door. Free tickets must be ‘purchased’ at the same time as the original General Admission ticket.

Even if you don’t win the lottery, you will have won a little bit of sound relief, and the value of music? That’s priceless, right?

Also at The Black Prince, Northampton’s Big Loss will top the bill on January 15.

It’s been a few years since the band members came together following introductions via various collaborations.

Back then, they took their cues from ‘90s Midwestern emo and ‘60s girl groups,’ and got busy with a demo and EP release in the first few months.

Northampton’s own Big Loss (left) appear at The Black Prince on January 15 along with Katie Malco (above)

Their most recent offering, Three Knots, was issued in October and let loose stories of loss, hypochondria and general anxiety about the world at large...’

BLOOD-VISIONS will bring their punk produce to the floor in support, and fellow ‘fampton girl Katie Malco will open the show armed with her telecaster and a voice of plenty, as heard on her debut album, Failures.

Despite not being a radical departure from the original, her version of the Kate Bush classic Cloudbusting is a real beauty in its own right.

Push the January blues away; tickets are a total bargain at just £4 in advance through skiddle.

A Whole Lotta Love from The Roadmender

Mange manage latin vibes on new release

The Roadmender eases into the new year with a late January gig by tribute types Letz Zep, who will play on January 28. If you are getting a feeling of déjà vu, that’ll be because we told you about this a few months ago – and then due to the fluid Covid situation, the gig was postponed. Fingers-crossed for this rescheduled date, then. The real Led Zep are impressed by those paying tribute: “I walked in, I saw me,” said Robert Plant. The band also performed in the presence of Jimmy Page who then met the guys and told them, “That was ambitious, but you pulled it off, You have captured the spirit of Led Zeppelin concerts. You really are very, very good.” Want to book? Click to theroadmender.com

Mange Le Funk Productions have issued a new track by The African Sunset Project, and label guy Suff Sakoor has delivered his own take on the track, Father. “I’ve gone for a Detroit Techno style vibe with some 808 and 909 drums in homage to the pioneers like Derrick May, and I have taken this emotive track into a deep ‘State of Mind’ journey,” Suff said. “This beautiful, melancholic and emotive work represents the connection and love between a father and son, or daughter.” Father has been the subject of several remixes in total; Delivering good things for fans of the deep and jazzy side, and the bumpy yet smooth garage jazz. And those partial to deep afro latin vibes will have no complaints either. The track has a particular poignancy for Suff, with The African Sunset Project dedicating his remix to the memory of his father, Mohammed Dil Sakoor. If you want to investigate further, click to FB @mlfproductions