** PLUS **
ST. VINCENT
LYNKS
PORIJ
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
KAMAL.
KENYA GRACE
DOWN WITH BORING.
GOOD NEIGHBOURS
+ LOADS MORE
ISSUE 87 · MAY 2024 · READDORK.COM
A. G. Cook
English Teacher
SNAP, AND
THE THE
CRACKLE BRITPOP
Djo
END OF BEGINNING
Luke Hemmings BOY
A A
CLASS C
T
BIG
DIVISION
Willow FEELINGS
English Teacher ThisEnglish CouldTeacher Be Texas The New Album This Could Be Texas Out Now
DIY
9/10
Loud and Quiet
NME
9/10
Uncut
Record Collector
Rolling Stone UK
Rough Trade “Album Of The Month”
Sunday Times “Album Of The Week”
Jo Whiley BBC Radio 2 “The fantastic and the everyday collide on this landmark debut - an adventure in sound and words”
INDEX.
BACK ISSUES! Want to complete your collection and grab Dork covers with all your faves? Get ‘online’ and head on over to shop.readdork.com and find our complete back catalogue, available while they last.
Issue 87 | May 2024 | readdork.com | Down With Boring
Hiya, Dear Reader.
As the seasons shift and the vibrant hues of spring emerge, so too does this May’s issue of Dork, bringing a fresh collection of musical mavericks to our cover. A.G. Cook stands at the forefront of musical innovation, crafting sounds that blur the lines between the digital and the human, reshaping pop music with his production mastery. He’s not just about pushing boundaries though — they are being erased altogether. So why, exactly, is his latest project called ‘Britpop’ - a cultural movement and relic of the past? As you’d expect, there’s more to it than some Dodgy tunes (ask your dad, etc). Djo, the creative persona of Joe Keery, infuses our cover with a dose of his uniquely psychedelic vision. His work weaves nostalgia and futurism into a tapestry that feels both familiar and utterly new. With ‘End Of Beginning’ going viral to the point where we cannot really remember any other TikTok sounds now, Djo is certainly way more than an actor’s side project. English Teacher have not only burst onto the scene but done so with a debut album that’s already being hailed as one of the year’s best. Their music combines incisive lyrics with robust, engaging soundscapes. Not only are they making a compelling case for the enduring power and relevance of indie-rock, they do it while scribbling outside the lines with a fearsome purpose. 5SOS ledge Luke Hemmings shares his journey of musical exploration on this month’s cover, stepping into a solo spotlight that illuminates his depth and versatility as an artist. His contributions delve into personal growth and artistic courage, challenging listeners to consider the paths less travelled. WILLOW, meanwhile, continues to capture the essence of artistic evolution, seamlessly integrating alternative pop with introspective lyrics to explore new realms of expression. Her commitment to evolving encourages us all to embrace our own transformations. This issue is a celebration of artists who are not just participating in the music industry but actively shaping its future. Dive in and get ready to be challenged, inspired and celebrate their true originality.
readdork.com Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler Contributing Editors Jake Hawkes, Jamie Muir, Martyn Young Scribblers Abigail Firth, Alex Ingle, Alexander Bradley, Ciaran Picker, Dan Harrison, Finlay Holden, Kelsey McClure, Linsey Teggert, Neive McCarthy, Rebecca Kesteven, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin
Top Ten.
Features.
4. 6. 7.
KAMAL. ONE STEP CLOSER HOPE TALA
8. 12. 14. 16. 18.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER PILLOW QUEENS STONE TEENAGE KICKS: KATE NASH A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... HOME COUNTIES
30. 36. 42. 46. 52. 58. 60. 66.
ENGLISH TEACHER DJO ST. VINCENT A. G. COOK WILLOW LYNKS LUKE HEMMINGS PORIJ
68. 69. 70. 71.
ENGLISH TEACHER MAGGIE ROGERS RACHEL CHINOURIRI NIA ARCHIVES
72. 73. 74. 74. 75.
RENÉE RAPP PANIC SHACK LAUFEY DECLAN MCKENNA BLEACHERS
78.
NELL MESCAL
Intro.
Festivals. 20. 21. 22.
DOT TO DOT LIVE AT LEEDS THE GREAT ESCAPE
24. 26. 27. 28. 29.
LIZZIE ESAU BLUE BENDY GGLUM MEG ELSIER OVERPASS
Hype. Stephen Ackroyd ‘Editor’ @stephenackroyd
Incoming. Get Out.
Backpage.
Snappers Bighit Music, Frances Beach, Guido Gazzilli, Jacqueline Justice, Jesse Glazzard, Mars Washington, Patrick Gunning, Richard Mukuze, Salomé Gomis-Trezise, Sarah Louise Bennett, Sinna Nasseri, Zachary Gray PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM
UNIT 10, 23 GRANGE ROAD, HASTINGS, TN34 2RL
All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.
INTRO. THE BEATING HEART OF POP NONSENSE.
DEJA TOMORROW X TOGETHER return with their
sixth mini-album ‘minisode 3: TOMORROW’. Both a throwback and a leap forward, It’s an exciting blend of nostalgia and innovation. by ABIGAIL FIRTH. photography by BIGHIT MUSIC.
8. DORK
INTRO
“IT’S SUPPOSED TO SYMBOLISE THE FUTURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO BUILD TOGETHER” HUENINGKAI
T
o be a fan these days is a long-term investment, and for those who’ve chosen to follow TOMORROW X TOGETHER, the payoff will be immense. Five years after the South Korean five-piece debuted, they’re returning with their sixth mini-album, the almost-eponymous ‘minisode 3: TOMORROW’ and picking up the Easter eggs they’ve dropped in that time. TXT’s story began in 2019, emerging as the first group to debut from Big Hit Entertainment since BTS (heard of ‘em?), with the peppy electro bop ‘CROWN’ that hides darker lyrics, as its Korean title translates to “One day, a horn grew from my head”. A perfect scene-setter with its balance of light and shade, it laid the foundations for a discography that’d bring very real experiences of adolescence into a fictional world worthy of its own Netflix series.
READDORK.COM 9.
FULL COVER STORY
ENGLISH TEACHER are living up to their undoubted potential, carving their own path with a remarkable debut album, ‘This Could Be Texas’. by NEIVE MCCARTHY. photography by PATRICK GUNNING assisted by DECKARD HURD. styled by MOLLY ASHMAN assisted by REBECCA EVANS WHITE. hair and Makeup by CHLOE ROSE using SAIE BEAUTY.
30. DORK
ENGLISH TEACHER
A
n age-old debate of absolute importance is consuming a corner table of a pub in Leeds. Lidl or Aldi? For English Teacher, there can only be one right answer, and of course, it’s Lidl. Naturally, the bakery is the deciding factor for the Leedsbased four-piece. “I really miss Lidl,” says Lily Fontaine, the frontwoman of the band. Thankfully, over the last year, English Teacher have seen their fair share of Lidls and Aldis – from currywurst sausage rolls in Germany to hot dogs in an admittedly “trash” Aldi bakery in Belgium, sold-out shows across Europe have seen them sampling the best supermarkets of the continent left, right and centre. It’s just one joy in a year that has seen the band busier than ever; from Jools Holland to the BBC 6 Music A-List, it’s been pinch-me moment after pinch-me moment. “I don’t think I’ve processed it still, especially Jools Holland,” reflects Nicholas Eden, the
READDORK.COM 31.
COVER STORY
As breakout smash ‘End Of Beginning’ achieves the sort of belated success that has us wondering if any other songs are currently available on TikTok, DJO is becoming far from a mere side project for Joe Keery. by ALI SHUTLER. photography by ZACHARY GRAY, GUIDO GAZZILLI.
36. DORK
DJO
D
jo’s nostalgia-fuelled ‘End Of Beginning’ is fast becoming the biggest song of 2024, despite being released 18 months ago as part of his twisting second album ‘Decide’. “It’s pretty unbelievable,” grins Joe Keery during a flying visit to London that sees him present the BRIT Award for Best New Artist to RAYE. “You always hope your music finds its place in the world, and it seems like that one has, in a really big way,” he continues, admitting ‘End Of Beginning’ has already reached more people than he ever thought possible. It’s racked up well over a quarter of a billion streams on Spotify, is still climbing the Billboard Hot 100 in America (currently at Number 11, sandwiched between Noah Kahan and Taylor Swift) and has gotten comfortable in the Top 5 of the UK Official Singles Chart. “I’ve just stepped back and watched it take on a life of its own.” “I wasn’t writing ‘End Of Beginning’ with the idea that it would connect with people, though,” he continues. “It’s a very specific song based on my own life and my own experiences.” Written about returning to Chicago, the city where Joe went to college, cut his teeth as a live musician and paid bills by waiting tables while auditioning for commercials, the song is bittersweet, anxious and driven by wonder. He believes ‘End Of Beginning’ is connecting because of how intimate it is. “My perspective is pretty clear. Going back somewhere, remembering a time, yearning for it, but also wanting to live in the present. Turns out that’s a very specific thing that is also really common.” “To see the humanity behind a bunch of people feeling the same way as each other is super rewarding,” he says. “The fact that other people saw themselves in something I made is thrilling.” With reflective lyrics and jagged musical chaos, ‘Decide’ is a very human album. While his debut record under the Djo moniker, ‘Twenty Twenty’, pulled heavily from escapist psychedelic rock and laidback pop, ‘Decide’ sees Joe embrace a little bit of everything. There are still nods to The Beatles, Tame Impala and Pink Floyd, but there are also echoes of Charli XCX, Daft Punk and Talking Heads. “I like the eclectic nature of it,” says Joe. “I think that there are no rules to follow, so why not just really dive into every angle that you’d like to explore? Why can’t a ‘pop’ record have that attitude?” he asks. Lyrically, ‘Decide’ tracks Joe’s progress from working part-time jobs as a waiter to becoming a globally recognised star thanks to his portrayal as empathetic, READDORK.COM 37.
COVER STORY
46. DORK
A. G. COOK
by MARTYN YOUNG. photography by SINNA NASSERI.
A. G. Cook
is one of few artists in the 21st century who can truly say they have shaped the future of pop. Daring, exuberant
and subversive, PC Music, the pioneering record label and collective he founded back in 2013, has been a constant shining beacon of questing experimentalism and pop brilliance that has defined an era, traversing through all manner of genres and wild ambition. It’s been a journey that has taken in triumph and tragedy and has seen the producer forge powerful and inspiring creative collaborations and reach the exalted heights of working with Beyoncé on ‘Renaissance’. Does the unassuming, softly-spoken, longhaired producer consider himself a star as he prepares to release his third solo album? “I don’t see myself as a pop star, but for the last decade or so, I’ve really enjoyed playing with ambiguity,” he smiles from a sun-drenched room in his home in Los Angeles. Ambiguity has always been central to the PC Music story and A. G. Cook’s vision for what music can be. ‘Britpop’ is perhaps the ultimate realisation of all that ambiguity, creative expression, and sheer bonkers escapism, but is it pop music? Does it matter? Like most things for A. G. Cook, the answer is it’s
anything you want it to be. “People can’t even decide what pop is,” he says animatedly. “Every year, it gets less and less clear with the different levels of what’s considered mainstream now. The whole argument about is pop popular or is it like classic pop, what does that mean? Is it a genre? Specifically, I feel like a lot of the music that I’ve worked on with different collaborators hasn’t been shying away from that conversation at all levels.” He cites 2016 song ‘Superstar’, the first to feature his own vocals and his first solo single, which would go on to be incredibly instructive in the journey of A. G. Cook, the artist. “That song, in the way I recorded myself and the way the lyrics are, and the whole tension of it, is very much a music producer taking centre stage and the awkwardness of that. It plays into a bit of a Napoleon Dynamite quality,” he laughs. The awkwardness is the charm, though, and that’s what makes it brilliant. The producer began to sprinkle his DJ sets with flashes of performance as he cultivated the vision of his own artistic career and how he might work within a pop space. “The idea is that we’re all documenting ourselves like pop stars in a way because of how socials encourage it,” he says. “I have a self-awareness of the
A. G. COOK, the visionary behind PC Music, has already redefined pop with his audacious and inventive approach. His latest project, ‘Britpop’, blurs genre boundaries, exploring the essence and future of pop through a blend of nostalgia, innovation, and a deep dive into British cultural identity. theatre of pop, and that’s the only thing really left in pop, more than the music itself, in a way.” Perhaps the strongest artistic and creative partnership A. G. Cook has developed over the years, certainly since he first started making music with fellow producer genius Danny L Harle in the proto PC Music duo Dux Content in the early 2010s, has been his visionary work with Charli XCX. Charli is a musical force of nature, and her boundless personality and genius with a hook has provided rocket fuel for all of Cook’s musical endeavours. Working closely with Charli, you can’t help but feel energised. “A lot of the Charli tracks we’ve done together have these outrageous outros where it’s almost like a kind of, victory lap is not the right word, but in my head, I’m like she’s nailed the hook, and it’s so
catchy we can go anywhere from here, and anything can happen.” Anything can happen: three words that perhaps encompass the entire A. G. Cook story and the philosophy that guides everything he does. “The way that someone like Charli does it is genuinely inspiring because of how much of the writing she can make work as well as her being someone who’s slightly more known in the mainstream and has this amazing stage energy. It’s really the hooks. We could be doing something really casual, and suddenly, she can give it the DNA of a big radio song, and then it can go back to something more lo-fi. She has the willingness to jump between those things.” As A. G. explains the joy of working with Charli, some of the principles of his creative vision emerge. The READDORK.COM 47.
COVER STORY
Symptom
LIFE
52. DORK
WILLOW
of WILLOW embarks on an exploration of self-love on ‘empathogen’, an album bursting with new-found confidence. by ALI SHUTLER. photography by SALOMÉ GOMIS-TREZISE.
READDORK.COM 53.
Luke wears: suit: Two point Two, vest: Holzweiler, rings: Rat Betty (red), Pyrrha (blue), Capsule 11 (yellow)
COVER STORY
60. DORK
B
BOY DIVISION LUKE HEMMINGS HEMMINGS LUKE
5SOS’ LUKE HEMMINGS bares his introverted soul on his new solo EP, ‘boy’ - a love letter to nostalgia and a quest for self-discovery. by ABIGAIL FIRTH. photography by SARAH LOUISE BENNETT. styled by CHLOE, FLO FASHION STYLING assisted by AMELIA CONNOLLY. hair and makeup by SANDRA HAHNEL.
READDORK.COM 61.