So Young Issue Forty-Four

Issue Forty-Four

THE LAST DINNER PARTY

Also inside: Squid Cardinals Mandy, Indiana Floodlights Nabihah Iqbal Not From England Snõõper Lifeguard bdrmm

This Is Your Life, 2023. Snooker Table. Mitch Vowles and Jim Brook

With a slight name change (courtesy of Kamasi Washington’s Dinner Party return), a major label deal and some industry plant Twitter uproar, quite a lot has changed since we welcomed The Last Dinner Party to our monthly club night back in March of 2022. One constant from that evening however is that, now debut single, ‘Nothing Matters’ remains a banger. Ahead of an inevitable rise to big things, the band are on our cover and we discuss the aesthetic details that are so important to the band, handling social media accusations and how they’re aiming for the stars.

No strangers to So Young, Squid’s second album ‘O Monolith’ is now with us. Ahead of its release, Ollie and Anton welcomed our call to cover the use of the Fairlight sampler, the promotional game for single ‘Undergrowth’ and finding the balance between challenging subject matter and tackling the challenge.

One of our favourite albums of the year so far is ‘DREAMER’ by Nabihah Iqbal. Squeezing into her busy schedule, we manage to meet at her studio space at Somerset House to chat about the record, Thomas Hardy and Nabihah’s creative passion to redefine spaces.

Manchester’s Mandy, Indiana may be the world’s most forgiving band. During the most hectic week of their lives (we assume), in the lead up to debut album ‘i’ve seen a way’, the band agreed to re-do our interview following a bluetooth mishap. We are chuffed to welcome them back to our pages to talk about the record and their wariness of describing themselves as a ‘Manchester Band’.

Cork’s Cardinals had us very excited at our recent aforementioned We Are So Young night. Swells of The Smiths and The Jesus and Mary Chain are paired with traditional Irish sounds to create dark alternative pop songs. The band introduce themselves and their story so far inside.

Hull’s BDRMM will release their second album. ‘I Don’t Know’ at the end of June. With Shoegaze feeling a recent injection of youthful reinvention, BDRMM have become leaders of the pack and we give them a call to see what they have in store for us.

With Papier-mâché friends in hand, Snõõper are preparing to bring the riot to Europe via Nashville. The new signings to Third Man Records make high octane garage punk music and new album ‘Super Snõõper’ isn’t one to sleep on. The band invite us into their world to chat puppets, Henry Rollins and Lil Ugly Mane.

Staying in the United States, Not From England are LA based but are currently spread coast to coast due to studies. The Brit x Surf Rock on their self released debut album had us excited, so we reached out and they kindly took our call. Chicago’s Lifeguard have recently signed to Matador (Horsegirl, Water From Your Eyes, bar italia), and inside they tell us about the thriving scene they’re growing within and the importance of maintaining their youth.

To finish us off, Melbourne’s Floodlights enjoyed a stormer at SXSW this year and since then have released their second album, ‘Painting of My Time’. Ahead of a visit to the UK for End of the Road Festival, we caught up.

4 Snõõper The Mosh-quito

35 bdrmm Pulling Stitches

8 Nabihah Iqbal Dreamer

39 Mitch Vowles and Jim Brook This Is Your Life

13 The Last Dinner Party The Virgin Suicides

42 Lifeguard I Wanna Be Adored

20 Squid The Fairlight

47 Floodlights Australiana

23 Cardinals Parables, Hymns, Prayers

52 Truck Festival Warped Village Party

32 Not From England LA, New York and London

54 Mandy, Indiana The Wookey Hole

The trappings of modern life can be pretty exhausting,

C: Typically the audience is pretty responsive and they’ll

and it’s easy to long for the simpler times when things

just dance with them but we had one experience in New

get rough. You might want to lose yourself in fantastical

York City where the crowd just beat the puppet up.

worlds surrounded by giant bug monsters like you did in your childhood, pinging from a sugar rush and bouncing

Do the puppets have backstories and names? I’ve

around because you don’t know what to do with the

noticed that the mosquito is on the album cover, I was

overabundance of energy. I can’t promise that there’s any

wondering if he’s become an unofficial mascot for the

way to bring that back, but I can introduce you to Snõõper

band?

as the next best option.

C: He kind of has. With some of the more aggressive The Nashville outfit make music that comes complete

crowds the puppets have been destroyed over time - even

with all the above, creating high-octane punk played at

ones we really like. He’s the only one that survived

breakneck speeds. In their short lifespan, they’ve managed

throughout the band, so I guess he’s just like the icon.

to carve their way into a scene while abandoning all pretences and simply cramming all the fun you could ask

B: Recently someone commented on a post of ours and

for into 90-second bursts of noise.

they were like “the Mosh-quito!”. If we don’t have a puppet now people are disappointed and that’s a really

With their debut album ‘Super Snõõper’ out via Third

cool thing. For me it’s like my contribution to the band, I

Man Records in July, it was quickly established that

mean I love singing but I’m not a musician by any means,

this conversation wasn’t going to be like my others. For

so for me it’s more like “I made that and I’ll sing a song

starters, my enthusiasm for conducting the interview

for you if you look at it”.

was overshadowed by that of Blair Tramel and Connor Cummins, who were thrilled to be in a magazine that

Blair, am I right in thinking that you don’t really have

combines their two main passions of art and music, not

a huge amount of experience of being in bands prior to

to mention that the pair were remarkably chipper for the

Snõõper? Was that odd to get used to?

6:30am appointment. It was clear that I wasn’t here to simply learn about their origins as a band, but I was going

B: I was really excited to play music, but I was very

to be transported into the wild world of Snooper.

nervous about playing live. Our first show was with the rapper Lil Ugly Mane and I was like “he is not gonna like

We have to start by talking about all the puppets and

it”. I thought it was such a weird fit for our first show, but

props around the room, they’re a pretty big part of

he was so nice to us.

your show right?

He’s super knowledgeable and loves all sorts of Connor: They’re pretty large and you can’t see very well

different stuff. You wouldn’t think it, but then I’ve seen

out of them so we’re kind of nervous about them tripping

clips of him talking about Suburban Lawns and things

on stage or running into the audience.

like that.

Blair: I try not to look over because the puppets get tossed

B: He’s become one of our good friends ever since, he’s

all around. It takes a very brave person to be in there.

really changed everything for me.

Words by Reuben Cross, illustration by David Huang

4

Going into that show I thought he was gonna roast us, but

C: He had a lot of energy and excitement so that was great

if Lil Ugly Mane likes your music and is having a good

for the band, and then our drummer Cam was in another

time then it’s all good, right?

band with me called Safety Net. On guitar it’s Ian Teeple who used to be in Warm Bodies

C: I think in the beginning of the band, Blair just wanted

and he also does Silicon Prairie.

to make animations and I had been doing some recording during COVID. We never really expected to ever play live,

B: Sometimes we joke that we’re becoming a collective of

we just thought this will just be a fun recording project

people because Ian lives in Kansas City currently, but he

and we’ll get a couple videos out of it and then go back

does a lot of our cover art.

to other bands when COVID’s over. It all happened really quickly because of the Lil Ugly Mane show so we just had

C: All our friends who do art for Snõõper are sort of in the

to dive in. We also have to thank Billy who runs Computer

band in some capacity.

Human Records in Sydney, he offered to do the 7” that was released at the end of 2020. I don’t think we’d be here

B: Art is very important to us. In Nashville we have so

right now if he hadn’t offered to do that.

many bands, but it’s like four or five guys just standing there making the bare minimum effort, but we put a lot

How did the people you have on board now get

of thought into how we look. We also try to not stop

involved?

throughout the set so when they’re taking a tuning break or whatever we have samples that play between songs to

C: Happy, our bassist, is the youngest member of the band.

keep the show going.

He’s 22 and Blair had worked with him at the library when she was teaching like an after-school program and I

‘Super Snõõper’ is unrelenting in how one song ends

booked his first show when he was 14.

and it’s straight into the next with no gaps. Do you feel like this is the most honest capturing of the band so

B: Connor was like “no, what are you doing”, and I was

far?

like “no, you should absolutely put the kid from the library on the bill”.

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Snõõper

C: We could have spent longer on it and probably tweaked

What is the scene in Nashville like at the moment?

some things, but it has the intensity and the rawness and

Obviously it’s got a long history with country but

the energy of the live show, which to me was the most

is it more varied now – do you fit in or are you still

important part.

considered ‘out there’?

B: I remember when we did all the recordings originally

C: We’re definitely still out there. There’s not a huge

we thought they were so fast, but listening back they’re at

punk scene by any means in Nashville, there’s a DIY

half speed compared to how we play the songs live.

community but it’s very small and the punk bands in Nashville are on very intense sides of the spectrum.

You’ve also had quite a few big names singing your praises. How does it feel having the seal of approval

B: There’s a good art community here but I guess the

from the likes of Henry Rollins and Amyl & the

internet has been huge for us. We’re able to go places just

Sniffers at such an early stage?

because of people we’ve talked to online, but people here also really try to foster an underground community of art

C: It’s funny, one of my other bands played with Amyl &

and music and I think that’s so important.

the Sniffers in 2018 and there was like 40 people there.

With Henry Rollins, he bought some records off me online

One final silly question - people always say about how

and I sent him a bunch more stuff. He emailed me to say

their favourite album is perfect for doing a particular

thanks and I invited him along to one of our shows. He left

activity to because it’s a certain length, but ‘Super

before the headliner even played but I got an email from

Snooper’ clocks in at a mere 23 minutes. What would

backstage and he was like “great show, I really enjoyed

be the perfect thing to do whilst listening to your

the puppets”. It’s very surreal because he’s a hero of mine,

album?

but it happened so naturally that I don’t even think of him that way anymore. He’s just like a friend of ours who just

B: I would say going on a run - I mean our big track is

came to a show and emails us - it’s really strange.

called ‘Running’, but I wrote that at a time when we were running a lot because we had literally nothing else to do over COVID. What else? Maybe pulling a bank heist.

B: I think freaky people and art people attract each other and it’s been very seamless in getting to know each other.

@omguac

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Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ is divisive – many are enchanted

The first is about more abstract ideas, whereas the second

by his theatrical croons, others recoil. Such debate only

is a representation of everything I went through when

proves the power of listening to music together. Whatever

making it – it’s more personal, so my connection to the

your stance, this album is an example of how music

music feels deeper.

transforms when listening to it alone versus in company.

From a fan’s perspective, solo, it’s cerebral and sorrowful,

After my first album, a few people got tattoos. I was

yet with friends you can lament together and celebrate

DJ’ing in Indonesia and this guy came up to me and

this beautiful darkness. For Nabihah Iqbal, sharing music

showed me a picture of his leather sofa he’d painted with

underlines her many creative endeavours – as a musician,

lyrics from my song ‘Zone 1 to 6000.’ For ‘Dreamer’,

DJ, curator and broadcaster, her career is exemplary of the

you’ll have to check in with me in a year.

power of artistic support.

How does the new album represent the difficult life When Nabihah shared Buckley’s music with her younger

events you encountered during its inception?

sister a few years ago, this led to a rediscovery of his discography in technicolour and a curiosity surrounding

I was traumatised by losing my work and these

the circle of life. Coupled with John Keats’ poetry and

circumstances meant I had to work completely differently,

Thomas Hardy’s gothic dreamscapes, these ideas fuse into

so ended up recording these songs in Scotland. When

intricate synthesiser soundscapes on Iqbal’s sophomore

writing the album, I felt I couldn’t concentrate in the city.

album. Released in April, ‘Dreamer’ is not as it was

Trying to carve out time to make music is difficult because

originally imagined. When writing the album, the artist’s

you can’t make music in a couple of hours – you need to

studio was burgled. Forced to start again, she then got

immerse yourself in it and tell everyone else to get lost.

stuck in Pakistan during Covid with a guitar, harmonium

I was feeling overwhelmed with being so busy. I’m a

and the voice memos app. Yet these difficult events only

musician but I also do radio, talks and DJ’ing, all of which

added to the album’s thought-provoking nature – it’s an

I was balancing. So, I went to the remote countryside

inquiry into the fragile and fascinating state of human

which is undeniably inspiring.

life. Nabihah makes these ideas joyful, reminding us to go through life with an intent to celebrate the creativity of

I was reading so much Thomas Hardy and still am. His

those around you – a useful reminder in an age of social-

descriptions of nature inspired me to get more inside that

media fuelled competition.

world. One night I left the studio very late and witnessed the blackest night I’ve ever seen. It was so beautiful but

Congratulations on your new album ‘Dreamer’! How

scary too. You don’t get that in the city – every night’s the

would you describe this record compared to your first

same once the street lamps come on. That nuanced feeling

‘Weighing of the Heart’?

is implanted in my mind so strongly – nature made me look at life differently which in turn affected the music.

That first album was the hardest thing I’d ever worked on, but that’s been eclipsed by the 2nd album. That’s the normal trajectory, just like the jump from GCSE’s to A-Levels.

Words by Poppy Richler, illustration by Pierre André

8

Is there a book or passage by Hardy that’s stuck with

It’s what pushes us forwards! When I collaborated with

you?

different artists like Zhang Ding and Wolfgang Tillmans, I was watching other artists deep in their own craft and

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is the best book I’ve ever read.

arrived at something I wouldn’t have gotten to if working

‘This World Couldn’t See Us’ is about Tess. People who

alone.

know the book are confused because it’s so dark. The book’s about a girl who has an innocent desire to enjoy

Transforming spaces runs through your work. At your

life, be in love and feel good. But the whole world and

recent V&A show, you had people lying down on the

society is set up to make sure she can never have that. It’s

gallery floors listening to your album. What was the

an enduring and heartbreaking reality.

intended effect?

That song is the lead single from the album, and I only

I love the idea of re-appropriating and redefining space.

stumbled upon my fascination for Hardy because I had

Even with the first album, I held a party in an old

some time to kill in Devon where his house is. The girl

Victorian library, brought in a Function 1 sound system

showing us around was so effusively enthusiastic about

and had people dancing through the book stacks. My

Hardy and Tess. You know when someone talks to you

studio is based in Somerset House, and because it used

about something so deeply that it pricks your interest?

to be Navy headquarters, there’s an old rifle range where

I bought the book in the gift shop, and am now reading

soldiers used to practice shooting. I used to put ambient

every one of his books.

events on there to eradicate the room’s history of violence.

Sharing hobbies is a form of togetherness – a sentiment

The connection between music and art is key to So

that underlines your work as guest director for

Young. What does the cover of ‘Dreamer’ represent?

Brighton Festival this year, the tagline being ‘Gather ‘Round.’ Can you tell me more about this?

The cover is a zoomed in version of a passport photo I took the day I finished the album. I’d always intended

I’ve always loved bringing people together with music.

on doing this, and the eyes closed complements the title.

It was also humbling because my wish list ranged from

I was also wearing a Jeff Buckley t-shirt that day. I re-

friends to idols – Goldie, Dennis Bovell, Anoushka

discovered him when writing the album and didn’t realise

Shankar, Lunch Money Life – all of whom wanted to get

that the first time I’d listened to him was pre-internet. All

involved.

the performance footage allowed me to discover him in a new way.

With social media, the fact that everything’s in front of you is anxiety inducing. People get too competitive or

He died very young, just like my friend SOPHIE. I was

feel they’re not good enough. Those feelings can eclipse

also reading a lot of Keats who died at 23. When you

working with or supporting people. It’s important to

create art, what happens when it just stops? What does

remember that one person’s success won’t come at the

that mean? How do people just stop existing? These artists

expense of another. These negative thoughts become

live on through their work. ‘Sunflower’ is all about these

entrapping. Brighton was a reminder of how good it feels

thoughts I still can’t explain.

to share gratitude and excitement for art with others.

You can still live on through an artist’s voice – we didn’t The festival’s logo is a woven tapestry depicting

know Jeff but you feel so close to him which is strange.

a melting pot by Sofia Niazi. Tapestries embody a

Were those people so prolific that they did everything they

multidisciplinary spirit, representing a middle ground

needed to do? But what if they hadn’t died?

between artwork and carpentry infused with tradition.

What’s the importance of multiple art forms coming together?

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Nabihah Iqbal

That goes back to the power of music bringing people together – something your DJ sets strive to do. What are three songs that represent this feeling for you?

My most played song that everyone should hear is ‘Til’ Death Do Us Part’ by Aldous RH. He’s in my band! He’s this unassuming skinny guy from Manchester but when he starts singing it’s like Prince is in the room.

‘Never Let Go’ by Carlton & The Shoes. It’s a Lovers’ rock tune which I heard for the first time at one of Paul Simonon’s DJ sets. I hear so much music all the time which is great, but it’s very special when I hear a song which stops me in my tracks.

Finally, ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ by Deftones – one of the best songs ever.

@pierre__andre

10

Midway through April, a track was released that expanded

Abigail: I think we knew it was a great song, and that

the illusive circle of London’s most ornate and intriguing

there was a buzz and people were excited to hear it. But

band into a worldwide listening party. In characteristically

the rate and the intensity at which it’s been received

opulent and drama filled fashion, The Last Dinner Party

is very overwhelming and unexpected. And also the

had finally arrived.

think pieces and conversation that it sparked in terms of discussions, we weren’t expecting that. But um, it’s cool

Their story had not begun there. The Last Dinner Party,

to be a part of the discussion.

formally known as just The Dinner Party, had spent over a year prior to the single’s release playing across London

Georgia : Yeah, I think it’s cool knowing that it’s being

to an absorbed and adoring following. For individuals

heard internationally.

as lucky as myself, who caught them at The Finsbury a year and a half ago, it was unbelievable that such a

Aurora: Yeah, that’s crazy.

monumental band were playing such small venues. Word began to spread, and soon speculation began to build

G: Like we obviously knew that people in London know

around how their debut would be received once the world

who we are. But, you know, looking at the analytics

was invited to listen.

and seeing people in like, I don’t know, Tonga. (they all laugh) Really just… obscure places all over the world is

The track, ‘Nothing Matters’, exploded. Within a few

just incredible. I mean, I like getting played in Australia,

weeks it had accumulated millions of streams, an intense

where I’m from, it’s so surreal. So that’s one of the best

and dedicated fanbase, and triggered heated debate around

parts and not something I necessarily expected.

the nature of the music industry and the misogynistic critiques female acts are often subject to. At the core of

Lizzie: Yeah, like our biggest listenership is in America,

all the excitement are a band with a truly intoxicating and

which is so weird.

enigmatic sound. Their music pulls on a complex tapestry of inspirations, echoing aspects of everything from punk

Obviously, you guys have a lot of tracks that you’ve

to classic gothic, with swerving guitar and moments of

been playing for years. I saw you at The Finsbury I

pop infused tenderness. This is a band with an undeniably

think eighteen months ago. So why did you choose

exciting future unfolding ahead of them, and it feels like

‘Nothing Matters’ as the first track to release?

everyone is eagerly watching for their next move.

Ab: The album is very disparate, has a lot of range, and A month to the day since ‘Nothing Matters’ was released

it doesn’t really have like a genre that runs through the

and the band’s world changed, we spoke to them about its

album. So it wasn’t that ‘Nothing Matters’ is indicative of

reception, industry plant accusations and their intricately

the sound as a whole. But it’s a good representation of our

constructed aesthetic identity.

ethos and our approach to music, which is like maximalist, opulent, euphoria. I think that a good way of introducing

Today is actually one month since the single was

us to the world is through that.

released! Were you expecting the reaction it received?

13

Words by Eve Boothroyd, illustration by Martyna Grądziel

What does the standard songwriting process look like?

When we started playing it and recording it, I was like

Who starts it and how does it build?

“this is a great song, I love it”. But it’s taken on a totally different identity in my mind, hearing how other people

G: Well, so far, most of the time, it’s been that Abi has like

have responded to it and how it makes them feel. And I

a piano demo, or something. But our process these days

feel like the other songs will do the same. Once we put

is a lot more collaborative. It’s kind of one person will be

them out they won’t be the same songs even though they

like, oh, I’ve got this little melody, and then we build upon

will be the same songs. Hearing people’s opinions and

that. Or we sit down all together in a room and kind of

how it has impacted them gives it a whole new life I think.

make some weird noises and then add your own samples and stuff. So it’s very much like a collective process these

The music video, I thought was really interesting. It

days as we continue to write more music for album two.

really reminded me of The Virgin Suicides and that

Yeah, we’re still writing all the time.

kind of imagery. So I was wondering what kind of influences you guys are pulling on there?

Do you find that now that you have a reputation, and now that people are really eager to hear what you’re

Ab: The Virgin Suicides, so well spotted * laughs* It came

releasing next, it’s changed the way you approach

from an extensive mood board that we’ve been collating

writing, because it’s put pressure on it?

over months.

Ab: For me, it did at first, especially after signing to the

Was it a physical mood board?

label and having their input of what they expect for us and what they thought. I found it really hard to write on

Ab: No, it’s a PowerPoint, of like 65 slides *laughing*

my own for a while. But I think we’ve just kind of settled down. And the most important opinion is the one of the

G: Yeah, it’s kind of just an amalgamation of all of the

five of us within the band.

stuff that was on that document. Marie Antoinette was a big one and Mulholland Drive and The Virgin Suicides

G: We’re writing weirder shit than ever * laughs *

obviously.

Ab: Yeah, there’s not gonna be another ‘Nothing Matters’

Ab: Just like female gazey, Tumblr vibes.

for a long time. It’s gonna be all like, experimental, I love the idea of you going into this meeting, and when

fucked up shit.

they ask you what it’s gonna be about you’ve made an Au: When you’re in a group, it’s easy to get rid of the

entire PowerPoint.

noise. When you’re on your own there is so much noise.

Ab: Yeah, literally, I think that’s what won them over at It must be quite weird trying to launch the first album

the beginning, because we were just like, we know exactly

while writing the second one. Do you feel like you’re

what we want, don’t worry we’ll handle it *laughs*

still connected to the material?

G: It kind of shocked me a bit because I just wondered Ab: Oh, definitely. I think it’s grown kind of with us. It

what other bands are like, when they go in to talk about

doesn’t feel old yet. We’ve been playing it for a long time,

music videos. Like, obviously, we’re gonna have strong

but I think it’s taking on new meanings as we play it more

ideas. We’re gonna know exactly what we want. But then

and as we develop it.

apparently that was unusual. Apparently a lot of bands just kind of go into meetings and be like, okay, make a video.

G: Yeah, I think because ‘Nothing Matters’ for me, it’s taken a completely different shape in my mind once I’ve heard how people have responded to it as well.

15

The Last Dinner Party

I think it’s just part of the band, though, isn’t it?

G: I think also COVID helped, because we had such an

You’ve got a very elaborate kind of image that you’ve

incubation period where we could really think about

thought through. So I guess it’s kind of natural for you

how we wanted to debut and what our identity was, even

to approach it that way.

though obviously it was fucking terrible

G: Yeah, absolutely.

L: And it kind of had to be anything else but music

How did that develop? Was it just always there, or did

So you’ve always had this kind of elaborate image. But

you work on it?

that sort of persona that you have on stage - has that always been present?

Ab: It was very intentional from the beginning. When we sat down and started talking about what this band was

Ab: It’s not a persona *laughs* yeah, I guess it’s just for

going to be, 50% of it was always going to be the visuals

me personally, performing isn’t putting on a character it’s

and we want it to come out looking fully formed and

just being the platonic form of what I want to be and like

having a clear aesthetic and a clear vision and I think it’s

the truest form of myself.

funny now that people have commented on being industry plants. They’re like “oh that’s so perfectly styled like, how

G: Yeah and I just dress like that normally *laughs*

can they not be industry plants?” And it’s like, well, we did it ourselves because we care so much and we’re trying

You don’t need to do anything to adjust to get into a

really hard.

mindset?

Au: It feels like being in the band means that you have

L: We just really enjoy the music and playing. It’s just fun,

to only be a musician. Which is crazy because we’re all

playing to a crowd is really exciting.

from different artistic backgrounds outside of music and What are the most important lessons you think you’ve

obviously that plays into the band.

learned from playing live? Since you’ve played for so long before you had any music out.

G: And you know, some of our biggest influences are people who created an image, like Bowie for instance.

G: It sounds so simple, but enjoy it. You know, certain When it’s historical people say “how iconic” but when

bands have their image of coming up on stage and looking

it’s current they say…

super cool. But that’s, that’s just not us. Yeah, and just embracing the fact that we love doing what we’re doing

Ab: You’re trying too hard, you’re too well dressed,

and having a good time.

you’re clearly nepo-babies. We just dress really well, What’s your favourite show you’ve played?

sorry! *laughs* I think because we’ve always had ambitions beyond just being like an indie band on the scene. We’ve always been like - we want to aim higher.

Ab: Camden Assembly (the whole band agrees) Because that was the first time people that weren’t our friends

G: We had a game plan!

were singing the lyrics. The plan was to film and record the live version of ‘Nothing Matters’ at that show, and it’s

Ab: Yeah, we had a game plan, and that’s just because we

now unusable because all you can hear is me nervously

worked really hard, and decided to come out fully formed

laughing because it was such a shock when the chorus

rather than like having a sort of blossoming on the scene.

kicked in. And if you look at the video, you can see us just

We want to come out as you mean to go on, which is

looking at each other in shock.

really intentional.

@shy_mimosa

16

It was really emotional and crazy. It was, I think, a very

We were never like, you know, we just did everything

pivotal moment in our career because it went from being

on our own. We did at the beginning, like the first photo

one thing to it being a huge thing.

shoots and stuff we did all on our own or with our friends.

But then as soon as Island came along, we were like,

G: Yeah, it was like a catharsis, a moment of release,

who’s gonna turn down this opportunity? Why would we?

because we put out the single and obviously people were listening to it, but actually being able to play it was

G: It’s so hard for people to make it a career anyway.

amazing.

Just because we’ve been given a chance, we’ve been so privileged and so lucky, but we have to take it.

I do feel like people’s reactions are really strong as well. It’s not just people saying, yeah, I quite like this

And I do feel like most conversations about like

track. All the comments on YouTube like this is the best

industry plants and stuff, come from not understanding

thing I’ve ever heard in my life…

the industry.

Ab: Yeah, we only want violent opinions. Either despise

G: It’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the music

us or love us, it’s better to be polarising.

industry, because like record labels have existed for decades.

With the industry plant conversations, was that something you were kind of expecting?

Ab: A funny comment on the music video was like, “oh, the profanity is unnecessary and it’s all over done and over

G: Yeah, absolutely.

stylized. I’ll go back to my music from the 70s and 80s” And someone replied like, “yeah, the 70s and 80s where

L: Just from seeing what happened to Wet Leg and stuff.

everyone dressed really normal”, *laughs* famously a normal time for music.

Ab: They get so mad.

G: But if it wasn’t us it would be someone else... Like G: I knew 100% that it was gonna happen, but it still

come see us live, if you’re so curious.

doesn’t make it hurt that much less. Because it’s like, oh, you just don’t believe that women can do it, is effectively

Au: Just do one YouTube search.

what they’re saying.

It’s like “where have this band come from? I’ve never L: Also, it’s just lazy, because every single interview we

seen them” and from one search on YouTube there’s

do, one of the first questions is “how do you all know

years worth of shows.

each other?” And we tell the truth. Anyone that’s tweeting about industry plants, if they literally took 10 minutes to

Au: Not everyone can be Lou Smith.

read like one or two articles…

Ab: And we’ve never tried to hide being on Island [Records], we’ve never pretended.

17

The Last Dinner Party

L: Just because you haven’t seen us doesn’t mean we’ve come out of nowhere. Sorry you haven’t seen every band and every single gig.

Lou Smith is the only person who is allowed to comment.

G: Lou Smith has got a permanent guestlist spot to any gigs Ab: We’re gonna buy him a house one day *laughs* So what can you say about the album? Can you say much?

Ab: It’s happening, it’s in the trees.

Who produced it?

Ab: James Ford, the nicest man in music.

G: I think I’ve said this before, it was one of the best experiences we’ve had in music so far working with him.

He is phenomenal.

So what are your hopes for the rest of the year?

L: Keep going.

G: Yeah I think just keep going on the same trajectory that we’re on would be a dream come true. Keep experimenting, keep expanding, keep changing and meeting cool people. We’re just here for a good time *laughs* L: And a long time!

G: Yeah, a good time and a long time.

Martyna Grądziel

18

It has been just over two years since Squid appeared on

It made sense to do loads of interviews ahead of the first

the cover of Issue Thirty-One. Formerly supplemented

record because nobody had any idea who we were. It did

by the release of their critically acclaimed debut, ‘Bright

get quite tiresome. Purely because we had rehearsals and

Green Field’, it is now that we are offered a glimpse into

touring either side of everything. It’s more manageable

the vast new world that is ‘O Monolith’, their second, and

this time.

infinitely expansive full-length album.

You’re all in the studio most days now, right?

As we learn from Ollie Judge and Anton Pearson in this interview, the depth of this record is not found in

A: Yeah, we’re continually writing.

the minutia of one single theme excavated, but in the way each track touches on a plethora of different and

O: It’s a bit of a commute for me and Anton, as I’m based

sometimes conflicting ideas at once. ‘O Monolith’ may be

in Bristol and Anton in Brighton, the others all live in

praised by many as a kind of surreal masterpiece. Not for

South East London. Being in a band feels like a proper job

the five members of this increasingly pragmatic group,

now!

who retain that it is the power of a collaboration between several equally engaged individuals that continues to stir

A: We’ve been using different studios, and recently we’ve

their jazz fusion, hip-hop to post-punk potion.

enjoyed playing in some bigger rooms. It’s good for us to be able to spread out and use more gear than we usually

Ollie: Hey man, how’s it going?

would.

Hey Ollie. Ah, love the Twin Peaks calendar.

That really shows in this new record. There’s a lot more going on by way of experimenting with different

O: Yep, Harry Truman. It’s the hunks of Twin Peaks

instruments and synthesisers. I was interested to read

calendar from 2020. Super outdated but I’m reluctant to

about your use of the Fairlight.

throw it away.

A: So that’s more of a sampler. It’s an early sampler That’s a brilliant PR cue as you talk about Twin Peaks

which has a distinct tingling sound. Since working with

in the album press release…

it and using it on the new record, it’s very easy to spot elsewhere. Kate Bush records are the obvious ones, as

Ollie: Hmm yeah…

well as Peter Gabriel albums.

We’ll get to that later…! Have you guys been doing lots

Where abouts in a Kate Bush record can you hear it?

of interviews ahead of the release of ‘O Monolith’?

A: You can hear it on ‘Army Dreamers’ and Anton: We’ve done a fair few.

‘Cloudbusting’. It’s also most of the sounds on ‘Hounds of Love’.

Words by Leo Lawton, illustration by Amber Gyselings

20

O: The string sounds on that record are all Fairlight.

A: Definitely.

It’s funny, I’d always thought the strings on those arrangements didn’t sound like real strings, and it made

O: Yeah, when we’re writing together it’s slightly

sense once we discovered this cool machine. It’s quite

different. Everyone is equally involved, and it takes ages

an uncanny sound. Tingly sounding is such a good

to write each song; everyone has a lot of opinions. But

description!

once it gets to the recording process it’s freer. Everyone does what they want because you can always delete it

Kate Bush is so on trend, so this has all come at a good

afterwards!

time, not that you guys wanted to fabricate that or anything…

So, your second single, ‘Undergrowth’ has just come out, accompanied by ‘Undergrowth, the game’. Was

A: Just trying to put the events in order… Did we record

this your guys’ idea or have the Warp team pulled an

this album before that episode of Stranger Things came

absolute blinder?

out?

O: Probably Warp wasn’t it; I don’t think it was our idea…

O: We did, yeah!

Maybe we should lie?

A: So, our authenticity is intact. Having said all that, we

A: Should we lie? Yeah, it was our idea.

weren’t going for that retro thing, we weren’t trying to sound like late 70s, early 80s music. But the Fairlight

O: We were, believe it or not, actually really involved

felt applicable now, it really worked in a modern setting,

in developing the ideas behind it. It was super fun and

despite the fact that it looked like many crude depictions

effective to have something other than a music video

in old Science Fiction movies. We recorded it in a smaller

accompanying the song’s release. Also, you literally can’t

studio just across the river from the main one [Peter

lose the game!

Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Wiltshire], on a particular Yeah, I suppose you need everyone to complete it, so

day where me and Arthur weren’t needed as much.

they hear the full track. If you failed instantly each I feel like that always happens with recording. Once

time, you’d only get 5 seconds through the track, again

you’ve got the skeleton of a song down, there’s then a

and again…

load of time waiting around for others to finish their overdubs. I never know what to do with that time, but

O: And that’s not what we want!

it sounds like you were quite pragmatic in finding other things to experiment with.

It reminded me of the video for ‘Californication’.

A: Yeah, it was a good use of time to get two things done

O: I love that video!

simultaneously.

A: Depressing because it came out over twenty years ago O: They also had a ping pong table at the studio which

and their graphics are still way better than ours!

helped me avoid getting involved when other people were doing their thing.

The game feels very nostalgic, which feels right for this album which is interested in folklore and the

I think studio time is always more productive when

environment. How do you even begin to tackle such

you can step back and let other people make decisions

massive themes as the climate crisis through music?

in your absence, to not have too strong a sense of ownership over the project.

21

Squid

A: We didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves to ‘tackle’ things or deal with certain issues with a sharp focus. I think it’s important to be open with that stuff, and if something is interesting to us, we’re excited about how to include it in some way, but that doesn’t mean we have to be an expert on it or have to write music that perfectly represents a theme. All five of us are writing music together and chucking in different bits. For that to work we have to have small slices of different ideas all going into the mixer without choosing one thing solely.

We try to avoid putting one thing on a pedestal or creating a hierarchy.

O: Often that is the battle when I’m thinking about what to write about, you know, how am I going to get this ‘idea’ across. In reality, if the five of us know what it is that we are addressing, that’s the main power. I’ve never been great at communicating so that’s really the hardest part.

Ollie, I read that during the writing process for this record you were especially interested in this idea of ‘animism’?

O: Yeah. I was desperately fumbling for something to write about. At that time, I was working at the Rough Trade warehouse, and each day I cycled past this bin which was graffitied with the words, “not yet upset”. I imagined that the bin was a spirit that had been talking to me. I became interested in how spirits might inhabit objects, which is what is known as ‘animism’. David Lynch depicts it in ‘Twin Peaks’, and Studio Ghibli films often explore it. I wanted to challenge myself by writing about something which I have no expertise or knowledge about. Also, I’m coming at it from a cynical perspective.

Even the album title, ‘O Monolith’ suggests something inanimate, but ancient and with attached narratives. Is your album title a purposeful nod to ‘animism’?

O: Kind of. We love the album title because there are so many ways of understanding it. For the five of us, its meaning will change over years to come and that’s interesting for us. Monoliths seemed like oppressive things to me, objects which tower over you. That’s my interpretation of it anyway.

@amber.gyselings

22

The last decade alone has seen some of the most exciting

I was waiting to go into school because I had a drum

new music make its way through the Irish Sea to London’s

lesson. That’s how we started talking about rock and roll.

muddy Thames. From the likes of Fontaines D.C, Gilla Band, Just Mustard, NewDad, and Sprints, these lilting

How did talking turn into Cardinals?

laureates from Éire have provided the pillars for a dynamic post-punk scene, shifting the focus from an

E: We joked about it for a while. But Oskar didn’t think it

often insular London-centric landscape. Barely twenty

was a joke.

and from Kinsale, County Cork, a town on the southern coast of Ireland, Euan Manning (vocals), Oskar Gudinovic

Oskar: Unfortunately.

(guitar and keys), Aaron Hurley (bass), Darragh Manning (drums), Finn Manning (accordion), and Kieran Hurley

E: We met Aaron in Kinsale, we’re all from Kinsale but

(guitar), are next in line.

live in Cork. Aaron didn’t play bass at all but his brother was in a band. I was talking to him one day through a

At the end of April, Cardinals took to the stage at the

mutual friend and I showed him something that Oskar and

Sebright Arms for their first London show. Their eclectic

myself had been working on. Aaron liked it enough that he

gothic amalgam of shoegaze and folk makes for a dark

got a bass from a friend and started learning.

heady sound unlike any of their contemporaries. In the run up to what is sure to be a busy summer for the sextet, we

You’ve played Fred Zeppelin’s in Cork quite a bit, was

discussed their origins from Catholic roots, to a barefoot

that your first gig?

drummer, impersonating Elvis Presley, and their hopes for what’s ahead.

E: First headline gig.

Let’s begin at the beginning…

Aaron: First gig in a proper venue. Our first gig ever… I was in college doing music.

Euan: It started with myself and Oskar. We were in school together but I didn’t really know him. I didn’t like him

O: No, our first gig ever was at Euan’s ex-girlfriend’s

that much, I thought he hung out with the wrong kinds of

birthday party.

people. But we were sat outside school one day talking in the same group and everyone else left. So we were forced

A: Oh yeah. There were 10 people standing about 20 feet

to have a conversation.

away from us with their phones in our faces. Our hands were numb.

23

Words by Natalia Quiros Edmonds, illustration by Léna Martinez

What about Fred Zeppelin’s?

There was a point where Fred Zeppelin’s was a very cool little venue. A friend of ours was helping out with

E: My brother described it as a Jack Black fever dream.

the bookings so if he needed to fill a slot he’d ask you

There’s fire on the walls, everything’s painted black or

to make something up. I did an Elvis impersonation one

red, and AC/DC and Def Leppard are played so loud you

night.

can’t talk. They do sell Buckfast by the glass though which is nice.

Right…

O: It’s like a metal bar really, there’s a lot of washed up

E: A friend made a track that was kind of Elvis mixed in

metal heads just sitting there.

with grindcore music. I wasn’t too fond of the idea of just doing a normal Elvis impression. But when I heard that

E: Most bands in Cork start there because pretty much

mix, I thought it was really something. But that was just a

anyone can.

one off thing.

25

Cardinals

You played your first London show at the end of April, how was that?

E: Exciting A: It was weird hopping on a plane to a gig. It was all very new to us, bringing instruments over and stuff. It was fun.

What did you get up to in London?

E: We went to the Windmill in Brixton. Dan Carey’s band Miss Tiny were playing with Viji on support.

I’d heard about the Windmill before, it’s sort of an institution in that London scene in terms of black midi, BCNR, and bands like that so it was cool to be there.

What aspects of Ireland have made their way into your music?

E: Hymns is one. Ireland’s a different country now than it was 20 years ago, but we were all raised in a Catholic background that was very much Mass every Sunday. So that Catholic psyche has always had its place. Parables, hymns, prayers, and Mass have always been there, I guess it just seeps in.

O: Remember the song at the end of Mass that went, ‘Go in peace’ [clap] ‘Go in love’ [clap]?

E: That depended very much on the priest actually.

A: Yeah, my priest was boring. He was no craic. But then I went to one Kinsale Mass, and I can’t remember his name…

O: Father Robert.

A: Yeah, Father Robert! Oh he was good.

O: He always played that song at the end.

E: He was great, God rest him.

A: Did you say he got arrested?

E: No! I said God rest him. He’s dead now.

Photos by Emilyn Cardona

26

How about musically?

O: The more we spent time with him, the sooner we found out that whole shoe thing was because he’d been on a

E: There’s certainly elements of traditional Irish music

night out and fallen asleep in a ditch.

with the accordion. My brother Finn’s been a box player And Kieran?

since he was very young. There was this one song that I just knew had to have an accordion. So I sat down with him one day and asked him to write an accordion part for

A: Kieran’s my brother. We’d just recorded our first set

it. He did and then he sort of weaselled his way onto other

of demos and I was down at our home in Kinsale for an

tracks like ‘Amsterdam’. It’s become a bit of a mainstay

evening, I think it was my mum’s birthday. We ended up

in Cardinals.

drinking in the kitchen until sunrise. It was during that little thing we had going that I showed him the demos and

What can we expect from you next?

he was listening, you know, head full of vodka and all, and was like, oh, fuck, I think I can really do something with

E: ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘The Brow’ are good and we’re

these. And he’s still here to this day.

proud of them to a certain extent but we’re shooting for something slightly different in production. What we’re

Kinsale’s featured a lot in your story, summarise it in

working on now is certainly more pop leaning. And having

one word.

an extra guitar and an accordion means our sound has become quite diverse since those first recordings, we want

E: Dinos.

to express that.

A: It’s quite famous in Cork.

What for?

O: It’s a family-run chip shop, been going for ages. You E: I think one of the highest points you can reach being

always see Dinos wrappers blowing around town.

an artist is to inspire others to also create art. So that’s Noted. I’ll let you tend to your hangover now.

certainly one point. I’ve also heard music and seen films and somehow felt less alone. If I can do that for someone else, then that’s cool in my books. And I think we can

E: It’s a little bit fucking cliche isn’t it? I thought that I’d

because I think we’re good and I think we can write songs.

surely be fine by half six or whatever.

So cheers to that.

I’m a little hungover too.

Cheers to that! Tell me about the three other members.

E: I won’t tell So Young if you don’t.

E: Finn’s my brother and Darragh’s my cousin. Myself, Oskar, and Aaron were the original three members, then there was Darragh. We were looking for a drummer but I didn’t immediately consider him because I didn’t think he’d be interested. He played in jazz bands and orchestras, stuff like that. But on the bus up to our practice space, he came on and he had no shoes on. He kind of sat down and I was like, ‘Jesus Darragh, fucking longtime no see, what’s going on?’. We got talking and he showed interest because he’d been getting into rock and roll music. He came up to practice one day and he’s great, so we took him on.

27

Cardinals

Despite being formed in LA, post-album release, Not

L: It’s the truth! Beckett left our school but somehow

From England have found themselves scattered cross-

ended up playing drums for us at a school event.

country and across oceans. With DeRon still in Los Angeles, Leo and Beckett in New York, and Cass very

B: I pretty much learnt the drums for that show.

much in England - London in fact - the quartet are steadily riding the waves of their self-released debut album, ‘Guest

DeRon: They dm’d me randomly but there were no posts

House’.

on their account, it was super sus, so the middle ground there was to meet at a rehearsal studio.

When diving into their previous releases and subsequent music videos – for example, ‘Delivery on the Way’ and

L: That’s the only time we’ve ever been in a rehearsal

‘Something To Do’ – you can’t help but be reminded of

space. He didn’t even own a bass!

being out and about with friends in a very nostalgic and warm way. With nothing forced, and everything effortless,

D: I just wanted to be in a band, so I learnt how to play

something about their love of all things DIY and their

bass.

dynamic with each other gives Not From England the quality of feeling especially close to home. Embedded

In terms of your name, you’re not from a lot of places,

amongst those reflections is an appreciation for a sound

where did Not From England come from?

that relaxes into itself, but here, relaxed does not equal docile. Placing themselves somewhere between the surf-

C: How I remember it is we were in Leo’s kitchen talking

rock of the West coast and the harsher post-punk-inspired

about the Ramones and The Clash and stuff…

East side, Not From England are offering an antidote to the high-strung.

D: …the Ramones are not from the UK?

Joining our zoom call one by one, Cass makes an

C: Exactly! That’s the thing, don’t you remember this!

appearance from under a bridge in Shoreditch,

Did I not say ‘oh and the Ramones are from England

intermittently showing us the view - including a very

or something…’ and you were like, no they’re not from

grainy and distant look at a cat on a leash. The four of

England.

them fill me in on their coming together, touch on the dynamics of the LA music scene, and share their plans for

So, a bit of an aha moment? It’s a nice introductory

the coming summer.

name. Straight to the point.

Tell me a little bit about your history and how you got

L: It’s a pretty bad name, we’re all in agreement on that.

together.

D: We did have ideas for other names, I think one of them Leo: Me, Cass, and Beckett went to school together, but

was The Strokes? But some other band took that already.

we weren’t really friends with Beckett.

Beckett: Yo? I mean come on now…

Words by Amber Lashley, illustration by Cora Marinoff

32

Yeah, there must be another one of those somewhere.

B: See I wasn’t fucking around! They all think I’m the

Do you guys remember a moment you knew that music

greatest, what can I say?

is what you wanted to do? Or have you always known?

C: I actually didn’t want to hype you up on record.

C: Mine was music class. Me and Leo took a trial music class in high school and it just drew me in. I honestly

Your album last year, ‘Guest House’, was self-released.

hadn’t thought of music until I was like thirteen, but then I

How did you navigate coordinating a release when

was like - damn, this is sick.

you’re all based in different places?

D: I was also about thirteen when I started taking an

C: Well during the recording, for the most part, we were

interest in music as something I could do myself. I had

all living in LA.

a moment where I heard ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and a wave of nostalgia hit me. We’ve all heard that song

D: We were all in LA for the release too, it was right after

thousands of times, but in that moment, I was like I have

it came out that we all split off – but that meant that in the

to learn how to do this. So, I learnt how to play guitar and

lead up to the release they were all preparing to change

just ran with it.

their entire lives. It was very interesting.

L: I had piano lessons and guitar lessons as a kid. I kind of

C: It was definitely an unorthodox recording situation,

hated it honestly, especially piano lessons. But I remember

but that worked with this album, for anything next I think

seeing bands and thinking that’s sick, that’s more than just

we’d like to try a week of recording somewhere.

playing some piano chords.

L: We want it to be more consistent. Even just so it sounds C: When you’re fourteen it seems like it would be so

like it was all recorded in the same place.

cool. Now I kind of feel like a loser but it’s fine.

In terms of a self-release…I was listening to a podcast And for you Beckett?...

about Liz Phair recently and they were talking about the backlash she got after signing to a major – at the

B: I mean a lot of people say I was just naturally selected

time there were whispers along the lines of ‘sell-out’ –

for it, more like a god given talent, more like a gift. That’s

do you think there’s a kind of purity in people putting

what these guys like to say, I don’t say all that though…

their music out themselves?

Yeah, I understand, that must be quite a lot of

L: I feel like nowadays a lot of bands can put out their

pressure…

own music – even if they aren’t massive – it can make more sense if they’re able to do it themselves and they

B: I mean honestly, they’re more of a burden? But I try to

care about it more. Right now, that makes sense for us,

carry where I can. I didn’t have any plans to be in a band,

obviously we’re open to whatever comes our way, but it’s

they just kind of forced me into it.

nice to be able to do it ourselves. We don’t have to worry about making things sound a certain way or anything like

C: Early on Beckett was just drumming, but as it kept

that.

going he got into a lot of different types of recording. I feel like you’re growing a lot right now. You’re doing

D: I don’t really care how it’s viewed by other people,

a bunch of musical shit? I feel like you’re no longer a

it’s more for us and if it works for us at the time. We just

drummer - you’re a musician you know.

want people to hear the music, it’s about getting it out however that happens.

33

Not From England

L: I think people overuse ‘sell out’. There are a lot of

L: I think we fit very well in both honestly - we’re kind of

ways for bands to get bigger and they might need to use

the in-between. We have stuff that’s very surf but some of

those resources to do that, but then they might get called

our more recent stuff is a little more post-punk – I mean I

a ‘sell-out’ - I think it can be hard for artists to get bigger

wouldn’t call it that – but maybe in that territory.

when that’s the case.

D: I was happy with the crowd. Our scene is quite niche, C: I mean, that’s still kind of a thing in LA, but it’s getting

even in LA there’s a question of how many people will be

better!

at a show or how into the show they’ll be.

Well, I’ve never been to LA, but from the outside

In London a lot of scenes are based around venues, is it

looking in, it feels like it would be where a lot of people

similar in LA?

go to find and sign to majors? But if that’s the case then maybe then that attitude around ‘selling out’ is a

D: Venues like The Smell will have phases of having a

type of counterculture…

scene. I’d say the last one was Payback Records bands playing a lot, and then there were the aftershocks of that,

C: LA does have the label side, but there’s also a huge

bands inspired by it and playing The Smell. It’s mostly the

DIY scene, it was a little overwhelming in the sense that

DIY spots here that have a niche, but if you get out of the

there are so many bands self-releasing, but it’s awesome.

DIY, you’re just sort of bouncing around.

I saw you were recently playing in New York, is there

Can you share any plans moving forward? Will you

much difference between the East and West coast music

guys be seeing each other again soon?

wise?

C: Yeah, in summer! We’re going to try to record.

B: Um Leo’s stage presence! It kind of shifted for no reason on the East side. Aside from that, everything was

L: …And write a bunch.

great, Leo was just lost in it.

D: We’ve got some new stuff cooking.

He’s got that New York alter ego.

C: We’re just going with the flow I feel. Working when it B: Yeah, it was a little intense.

works, enjoying our lives but also enjoying the band, it’s chill.

C: The bands were super good! I feel like the East coast has more of a post-punk style, it was a little more aggressive, I enjoyed it a lot. LA has more surf-y bands.

@coramarinoff

34

Surprising yourself with your own success can cast a

J: ‘Bedroom’ is heavily based around texture and

daunting shadow, an ominous spectre that obstructs the

atmosphere; we wanted to see what we could do to

path ahead. For bdrmm, Hull’s post-shoegaze dream-pop

enhance that. Aphex Twin, Thom Yorke were still

heroes, the task of capturing an otherworldly beast for the

influences then, but we weren’t confident enough to

second time was no mean feat; embracing a brand new

explore them yet. It took a long time to figure out how

adventure with open arms beckoned towards uncharted

to approach a second record, but we’re so interested

realms.

in groove-oriented music that it felt like a natural progression. We’ve always been massive Portishead fans,

Once again ascending ethereal mountains, traversing

and we’d be stupid to say that Massive Attack wasn’t a

through guitar-laden mists, and beyond dream-weaving

massive influence, so we tried starting with one of Geoff

deserts, bdrmm found themselves bolstered by the

Barrow’s engineers.

confidence gained from their debut album, ‘Bedroom’.

This newfound assurance allowed them to push even

R: He came in with his dog… (In a Bristolian accent)

further, delving into murky swamps where relics of the

“Making some pop bangers then?” But there was this

past awaited transformation, dense jungles of intricate

naiveté: “We’ve done an album before; we know what to

stringed vines, and echoing caves where synthesised

do now”. There was a sense of second album syndrome,

melodies swiftly engulfed the mind.

and we soon realised there’s a lot more work. It’s not off-the-cuff like the first. Our incredible producer, Alex

Guided by the wisdom of Mogwai and their label, Rock

[Greaves], was a big part of it all.

Action, this 8-track odyssey has led Ryan, Jordan, Joe, and Connor to a cavernous lair—a captivating sanctuary

J: He’s got a real good analytical ear that can trim the fat

exuding mesmerising power. Their new album, ‘I Don’t

off and work stuff so it flows really nicely. He’s such a big

Know’, stands as potent and enchanting as their inaugural

part of the recording process now.

endeavour, ready for its release on the 30th June.

I imagine when you write, tracks start off 5–15 minutes Album two is almost here! It has been blessing my ears

long. Is there a desire in you to make a Boards of

as I’ve been running around these last few days; it’s

Canada-length record that goes on for one to two

really good!

hours?

Ryan: Oh man, thank you!

R: Oh yeah, it’d be amazing!

Jordan: At least we’ve got one! It’s like Christmas in June.

That must translate really nicely live.

There’s this heavy mix of ambience and shoegaze,

R: We have everything set up so it’s available for anyone;

similar to ‘Bedroom’, but it’s filled with elements of

it ends up a fucking free for all! Everything we seem to be

electronics and sampling. Have these always been loves

making, we all feel so comfortable jamming out and not

for you? And how natural was this transition?

care where it goes. It’s nice to play together, and we’ve been blessed with so much equipment to mess with.

35

Words by Will Macnab, illustration by Minho Jung

I’m seeing remixes everywhere at the moment, with

R: Autechre was a big one as well. I’ve gotten heavily into

artists like yourselves, Working Men’s Club, PVA,

sampling drums and making them sound disgusting.

Squid, etc. Is this a sort of new culture emerging?

What is it about remixes that does it for you?

‘I Don’t Know’ doesn’t just encompass artistic references or personal experiences, but also the

J: Everyone’s living online now, with a fucking entire

product of your environment. Where did you record

music studio on their computer, so it’s the perfect

the album?

opportunity for everyone to make a bit of money and to have fanbases crossover. Syd (WMC) made that remix for

R: We went away to this farm, somewhere in Wetherby,

us in a tour van, and it sounds fucking incredible. With the

for the first week of recording. It was nice to have this

development of different subgenres, it’s just interesting

seclusion. It’s one of those things that artists used to do:

for all these musicians to come together and develop

“let’s go away to a farm and record the album”, but it

completely different sounds.

really did help us get into that headspace where you felt it was worth it. We had a week getting smashed and writing

R: I hope it’s this new thing coming through because it’s a

the record, and it was as beautiful as it sounds. There’s

really interesting way to get into different avenues of the

a documentary that we filmed of us doing it all, which is

music world.

going to come out soon.

J: Those ‘Port’ remixes we did—some of the names

J: Coming off the tour with Mogwai, where every night

we got on them we never considered we could even

we were in a completely new city, it was nice to all be

explore. Daniel Avery, for example, is absolutely fucking

locked in one place together. We had always recorded

ridiculous. He’s the sweetest guy, with this incredible

everything in Leeds, so Alex took it by the horns and

optimism. It was really refreshing to see people we really

said, “We’re going to do this, and we’re going to go do

admired change something we’d done.

it somewhere completely new”, took us out our comfort zone. Being in the same place at one in the morning, to be

You’ve spoken a lot in the past about obvious

able to go record if we felt like it, just because we were

influences, Radiohead, MBV, what were some artists

all pissed and felt like we could fucking write the next ‘In

you were listening to that might be surprising?

Rainbows’.

J: Miles Davis.

R: It didn’t happen, unfortunately.

R: Charles Mingus, Steve Reich.

Could you paint a scenic picture around a few tracks?

J: William Basinski: All that high-concept minimalist

J: Yeah, we accidentally started driving through the Swiss

music I did at Uni and it became such an intense part

Alps…

of the way we were writing. There’s a lot in ‘Alps’ and ‘Be Careful’ where I’d use generative processing based

R: (Posh accent) We got lost in Switzerland.

on what Brian Eno came up with during his ambient series with Robert Fripp. It’s real nice to introduce these

J: …there was this massive Tyrannosaurus Rex with a

elements of high-concept music making, but they’re all

Tour de France hat on because it was the starting point of

within the background, and if you choose to listen to it,

one of the races or something. We were all sat there and

you can hear them rather than an intense focus point.

that was the conception of ‘Alps’, almost.

Something we just love to do.

37

bdrmm

R: ‘Be Careful’, — the shed in my garden, also where ‘Port’ became a thing.

J: ‘It’s Just A Bit Of Blood’, was the last track we wrote in our old practise room in Hull called Gorilla, where a lot of the first record was written.

R: The owners are ace as well, they’ve got a pet crow. The end of, ’We Fall Apart’, there’s a poem written by one of our good friends, Ashley. So it’d probably be his old gaff, where we spent many a night showing each other shit that we’d written in the week. I used to come from work with rolls of till paper, lyrics written all over.

J: ‘Advertisement One’, this petrol station in Germany, I did loads of field recordings there, and loads of those are scattered throughout the track. Actually, all the drums on that were made up from the drums that Connor did for ‘Be Careful’. It’s nice to reuse stuff on different songs. It was a really organic process.

R: ‘A Final Movement’… The Baltic Isles?

J: More like Aldi’s middle aisle. Get some serious bargains in there, mate.

Final question, in reference to your Spotify bio, who’s got the love for Tobey Maguire?

R: He’s just funny. I hate the thought of someone writing about how good you are or what you’ve done. Why not just let Tobey do it? He’s running out of parts these days.

J: The first VHS I ever bought was the first Spider-Man film, with Tobey and Willem Dafoe. I remember my mum said I couldn’t have it because it was a twelve and I was seven. I was crestfallen, Will.

How did you convince her to get it?

J: Started crying, always works. They’ll give you an extra scoop of ice cream, or an extra squirt of Ice Blast at the cinema if you’re lucky.

Minho Jung

38

Collective Ending HQ presents ‘This Is Your

Life’, a duo exhibition of artworks from past and

present by Mitch Vowles and Jim Brook, exploring the role of a father, toxic masculinity, male role models, snooker and the structure that brings

all these together; the English class system. The exhibition runs from June 9th to June 30th, with an opening on Friday 9th June (6-9pm), and is

accompanied by an essay from writer & curator Hector Campbell.

“Slate grey mornings crawling onto the bed, the place where all is resolved. (Psalms 139:7-10) Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Chuck them pints down marra, you live and learn. These are my riches; sorry I don’t want anything else from life. How many times do I have to do this just to get it right? I wonder how much I can say today, how far will this convo be allowed to go. All of this and I

Mitch Vowles, Untitled 2021. Levis Jeans and Wood Glue

haven’t even got to the table yet. I feel as natural as rain in these walls; bodies on slate, legs frozen to the floor. A solemn promise, a vow to be a better person than you were, as we turn the knife on everyone but ourselves. Another question skipped as half a John Smiths is sunk. They run because the ones before ran, but never again. It’s this almost beautiful love and hate with who we are, what we are and where we are, I’d never wish it on a single person; but I wouldn’t change it for the world. This isn’t even about snooker, but the people around us, the space, the ones we look up to, the place that holds us together by a thread, the place that lets us heal splinter-like wounds that have taken years to rise to the surface and be understood. This is your life.” - Jim Brook, ‘Slate Grey Days’

Jim Brook, Note To Self, 2022. LED neon, Acrylic.

Jim Brook, Dad at flush, 2021 (2023 edition) Screen-print on paper. Billiards chalk, Acrylic medium.

Photography and Edit by Megan Mechelle Dalton, megandaltonphotography.com

Mitch Vowles, step through, jerry can, joop jump, promise land, 2021. Snooker Table , Keys And Keyrings.

Chicago born and raised, Lifeguard are a noise-minded

Do you have other friends doing the same things as you

bunch of teens whose blend of hollering deadpan and

are?

impassioned art-rock have garnered them a blazing K: In Chicago there’s been a new-sound, or rather scene,

reputation beyond their city walls.

developing for a while with bands like us and Horsegirl…

Signing to Matador Records off the back of their debut

there’s a real youth movement happening.

EP ‘Crowd Can Talk’ (2022), the trio, formed of bassist/ vocalist Asher Case, guitarist/vocalist Kai Slater, and

Matador seem to have become a bit of an incubator for

Isaac Lowenstein on drums, share their label debut single

that scene too…

‘17-18 Lovesong’; a perfectly distorted dedication to adolescence, tumbling instrumentals, and ceaselessly

I: Yeah I think Horsegirl kicked things off, and then the

charismatic DIY.

rest of the scene’s uplifted by it. Matador have been inspiring a lot of people to start making things, and get

Between their love of youth-culture, Chicago, and Oasis

involved. It’s really exciting to see young, driven, people-

(“if it’s between Noel and Liam, Liam always wins” Kai

people like us - doing it.

claims), and fitting touring schedules around their school commitments, Lifeguard are in the right place at the right

I think Matador are a great example of creative

tim to start a revolution of their own propulsive design;

tribalism. You have the likes of Yo La Tengo, and Kim

in their own words: “taking it all in [their] stride, before

Gordon- which gives you that really special counter-

[they] grow up”.

cultural affiliation, and then simultaneously you’re carrying that same badge for the next generation.

Asher: We took a couple days off school to play SXSW. A: It’s cool too because with the bands we’re surrounded Was that your first time at the festival?

by, no-one for the most part sounds like each other. There are some scenes where every band has the same members,

Isaac: Yeah it was insane over there - I had no idea it was

and there’s loads of musical similarities, but when you see

that bonkers.

a show with recognisable names from the Chicago youth movement, you’re not going to see two hours of the same

I did my first SXSW this year and it was a similar

music.

experience. The band I was with were all underage too… there was a lot of sneaking in through back

K: I think the only kind of common thread you’ll actually

doors.

find between a lot of the groups being talked about from this scene, is there’s a guitar.

I: I thought it was great in contrast to how you take in cities on tour. Or lack thereof, of taking in cities on tour.

I: Maybe..

When you’re on the road you’re just loading in, loading out; it was great to be in Austin for a second. It’s nice to

K: Yeah maybe, you’re right- not even. It’s almost just

be in an environment where you can understand it.

like-mindedness. Even between the three of us we don’t listen to too much of the same.

Words by Al Mills, illustration by REN

42

Honouring individuality within the band infrastructure

A: Matador like who we are- they’re more concerned with

is equally as important as being like-minded. It keeps

the people than the music, which is super cool. They trust

things more interesting?

our creative ideas.

K: Yeah definitely. I think specifically though.. Lifeguard

K: We have a lot of freedom right now, which is a great

is absolutely a product of all three of us working together.

feeling to have when you’re young. I’m trying not to grow

It’s not a solo project.

up too fast… and when you’re signed, it can be a little scary to think of things as a career. But if you can hold on

A: It’s the opposite of a solo project. We all have very

to the young creative drive, if you can have that, then it’s

specific interests and ways we like to do things- so

not so scary.

whenever we do things together it’s the best compromise.

Ian MacKaye spoke about punk being construction, I: There’s never an “okay fine” between us. We all respect

and he’s the construction worker. I’ve always thought

each other so much as writers for the project, there’s this

that’s a pretty genius way of describing the industry.

mutual trust in the way we write together which is like: “okay, you’re probably on to something here”.

Asher: I love that analogy.

Are there any defining Lifeguard traits? Things you

K: I’d say take that analogy, and replace it with the youth.

know you can bring to the room which will get an immediate “yes”?

I: and Chicago.

K: I don’t want to say we go in without any clear goals.

K: It’s a good level of arrogance. How old was he when he

We always want to maintain an energetic, youthful spirit;

said that?

and the music should be exciting. We don’t ever want it to I mean it was Fugazi era… so he was older than

sound too ‘jammy’.

you. Going back to Lifeguard, you do provoke some A: All the interests that we have and play on, came from a

sense of nostalgia, touching on late 90s/early 2000’s

variation of phases and interests. Whether that’s a record,

underground reference points. You’re overturning the

or a cultural movement..

nostalgia whilst challenging the new?

I: We reference a lot of Britpop!

Asher: To me, there’s a lot of stuff in the early 2000’s that I like. I’m very tied to that as i’m from that time. It’s an

A: Yeah and the Mod movement. We’ll just talk about it a

era of music I didn’t experience when it happened, but

lot, and that’ll infiltrate what we’re doing when we’re just

I’m discovering it now. I don’t think I’m trying to bring

hanging out.

something back, but it’s a thing I can relate to in a way that people who liked it at the time can’t.

Do you feel like you have a lot of space for creative freedom?

Isaac: It’s spiritual right. We’re not nostalgic for the 90’s as we weren’t born, but we draw a lot from that time. I

K: Absolutely. From the get-go with Matador they’ve

have a soft-spot for the radio I grew up on.

been super supportive. We did a video on a camcorder at home, and they were totally cool with it. They have artists like Stephen Malkmus, who keeps that sense of discovery going with each record, so they kinda have to be openminded.

43

Lifeguard

Kai: I think the idea that there’s a desire for us to mirror

I think that’s great though! You’re wearing your

an old scene, isn’t quite the case. I believe we’re finding

influences on your sleeves, but you’re fucking owning

our own path - we do like these old bands, but it’s not

that song.

about nailing this feeling / sound from a different time. We don’t care about replicating, we just have those interests.

Kai: We all connect with that album. It’s one of the best songs of all time.

There’s many movements and old scenes we like, but I think that’s just people making music in one city or

Asher: But it’s also a bit like, come and get me Ian Brown.

whatever. That influence naturally happens. But maybe it

I don’t like you very much.

won’t for much longer… what with the internet. There’s always a want for it to survive; as in a scene that exists

Isaac: We love controversy. Ian Brown let us tour with

solely on face to face, and human connection.

you.

Asher: Chicago’s a big part of all of us. There definitely

Kai: No.. we don’t. That’s a part of the 90’s we can leave

was a historic Chicago scene, which we’re all into because

in the 90’s.

we live here but that scene has evolved into this scene. It never stopped, we grew up around it, and that’s how we’re

Kai: Shock punk.

part of it.

What’s shock punk…?

You do use the lyrics to ‘I Wanna be Adored’ in one of your songs. I’m not entirely going to let you get away

Isaac: It’s not a genre, but an ideology.

with saying you’re not nostalgic…

Kai: It’s being unnecessarily graphic or rude. Pissing Kai: Hmm what… no….

people off for no reason. It’s an asshole mentality.

Isaac: British people! They know too much.

Isaac: We take pride in being kind to people.

Asher: Well.. kind to the right people.

@drawren

44

Floodlights warming sound illuminates the connections

I know it’s a bit of a cop out answer, but we do seem to

between post-rock, indie, and folk. The band’s latest

get people from the city and then people from regional

album ‘Painting of My Time’ exemplifies their strength

coast spots. I feel like those guys can relate or identify

as a group in breaking the fourth wall between our inner

a bit more with our songs than city people. Even though

selves, and the increasingly daunting world around us.

nature isn’t a very common theme on our latest album,

Having a loyal fanbase across Australia and supported the

it definitely was on our first EP and with our song

likes of Pavement and black midi, they’ve set their sights

‘Nullarbor’, which is a beautiful part of coastal Australia.

on the UK and Europe, but not before they do one more

Because Louis has a pretty natural Aussie accent, I feel

victory lap of the lucky country. I caught up with their

like people from coastal towns really love that ‘Australian

bassist Joe for a quick chat.

sound’ but that’s something we don’t go out of our way to try and achieve.

You’re about to go on a national tour right? Are you feeling excited?

I guess it comes naturally to you guys…

Yeah, we’re starting next weekend, going to most of the

Yeah, and also through some of the guitar tones, they’re

spots in Australia apart from Tasmania. We went there

somewhat similar to older Aussie bands. But again for this

on our last run of gigs and it wasn’t that good of a show

current tour that we’re about to go on, we sold out this big

so we thought we’d give it a miss this time round. We’re

venue in Melbourne which we weren’t expecting to and

picking up a bit of shit for it though…

that’ll be primarily city people.

Were you touring your first album when you went out

Can you tell me about some music you’ve been

to Tasmania?

listening to recently?

It was meant to be but our first album was released at the

Yeah sure, there’s some overseas bands that we’ve been

start of the pandemic, so it was a delayed album tour.

rinsing; Black Country, New Road, their ‘Ants From Up There’ album we were really impressed with, we love it.

The coverage we seemed to get over here was that lockdown was over pretty quickly in Australia, and

You can hear that influence on your tracks ‘Something

everyone got back to playing gigs shortly after. Was

Blue’ and ‘Things you Do’.

that actually the case?

That’s not just a coincidence. We weren’t trying to sound No way! It felt like it went on for years, in 2021 you

like them, but when we were writing those two songs,

were able to do gigs here and there but at a very reduced

it was a bit later than the rest, and during that time we

capacity. I feel like we copped it pretty hard.

were all talking about songs off of ‘Ants From Up There’.

Naturally there’s going to be some kind of impact.

Hopefully this time round will be better for you guys.

What are your listeners or fans like as people? Is there a certain kind of person that listens to Floodlights?

47

Words by Charlie Brown, illustration by Hanna Norberg-Williams

‘Ants From Up There’ is a great record. Have you seen

Good to hear that you like that one, those ones in the

them live?

bottom of the album, especially in this day and age with streaming, they don’t get as much attention. Some of

No, I’d love to. Have you?

the songs are really collaborative, where one of us will bring in a chord progression or a riff, and over a rehearsal

Yeah I saw them at Green Man, they’re amazing.

it’ll turn into a song. But from memory, ‘Ramblings Of A Passenger’ was one where Louis brought more to the

They seem to have done so well considering the lead

table, he had a fair bit of it already. Getting the harmonica,

singer quit, but they’re getting around it and it sounds

drums and violin all happened after that, I showed a friend

so good from the ‘Live At Bush Hall’ record. But

of mine the track and we thought she should play strings

we’re liking Fontaines [D.C], going round that album

on it. Lyrically it’s about travelling round in airports,

like everyone else did. In terms of more underground

looking at all these people and imagining the stories they

Melbourne bands, I’d recommend ‘Beside You’ by Body

have.

Maintenance. There’s another good album which came out this year called ‘Spiritual Healers, Defence Lawyers’ by

It’s odd, when you’re in a place with so many people

the Sydney band Eternal Dust.

and you realise each person’s life is as complicated as your own.

I’ll check them out. What do you wish there was more of in your world?

Everyones on their own little mission, going off for some reason. If you’re bored in an airport it’s an amusing thing

I’d love to see more Hip-hop acts. Australian rap acts have

to do, try and create a narrative of what that person next

got nothing on from where you’re from. I like listening to

to you might be up to. I like that song too but I did worry

UK artists, because we’re lacking that here in Melbourne.

that it was too long, people have to be patient to actually

I know that’s a bit of a random answer.

ride it out.

No, it’s great. Listening to your new album, there’s

Yeah, but it doesn’t feel drawn out. I think occasionally

a variation in the songwriting but at the same time a

people should have to be patient or put in some

definitive sound holding it all together. If you could

listening work to get something out of the music.

cover a song live, in the style of Floodlights, what would it be?

It’s similar to some of our older stuff, that classic ‘Australiana’. Whereas our new stuff might not resonate

That’s a good one, I wish we had a few covers up our

with the older generation of Australian folk rock.

sleeves but we don’t at the moment. At one point I was trying to get the others to cover the Pogues Christmas

Is that how you would describe Floodlights,

song.

‘Australiana’?

Fairytale of New York?

Yeah, it does get thrown around a bit, that term. But we don’t want to be proud Australians, cause there’s a lot of

Yeah, let’s say that. We had a show around Christmas time

fucking backwards things going on in this country. We

and I was trying to get Ash and Louis to go back and forth

don’t want to be patriotic, because we’re not, at all. The

with the singing. If we’d had gone through with it I reckon

culture and the history and shit is nothing to be proud of,

it still would have been our own sound.

but Australian sounds are a natural thing that come out of us.

My favourite song off the new album is ‘Ramblings Of A Passenger’, can you tell me a little bit about that track?

49

Floodlights

I feel the same over here. You’re playing at End of the Road festival later on in the summer, who are you excited to see whilst you’re there?

For something like End of the Road, we’ll try and see as many acts as possible. This band that I should have mentioned before, because they don’t get as much recognition as they should do, are caroline, I’m looking forward to seeing them live, I’ve given their songs my time of day and listened to them a bunch of times and I’ve really connected with them. I saw Heartworms in Austin, and thought they were pretty sick so I might catch them again. Are you a fan of Jockstrap?

Yeah, they’re great.

We were so close to seeing them in Texas, we lined up for an hour and a half, got to the very front, they walked onstage ready to roll, and then this crazy hurricane started going mad in the sky and it got called off. They’ve played in Melbourne and Sydney too but we didn’t get to either of those. Have you seen them live?

Unfortunately not, I’d be interested to see how they match the energy of their songs when it’s just the two of them on stage. We’re looking forward to having you over here for some gigs!

We’re coming over on the second week of July, and we’ll try to be around until September. So that’s plenty of time.

The only problem is trying to figure out where to stay, doesn’t look too easy, it’s fucking expensive.

Real expensive! That’s all the questions from me, any final words from you?

I’d like to emphasise that we’re going to be in Europe for a few months, so keep an eye on us, and come check us out live.

@hanorbb

50

Continuing our annual traditions, we’re returning to

On watchlist for Friday are HighSchool, the Australian

Oxford to join the warped village party in Hill Farm for

goth-pop outfit with their tracks about real-life issues and

Truck Festival 2023.

troubled relationships, and Wunderhorse so we can shout out every lyric to ‘Purple’ under the sun.

As the first festival to invite So Young along back in the day, our roots in the field run deep. Our much anticipated

Saturday draws out our friends from Glasgow, Humour,

wait to get back in the swing of Truck life is just around

and London’s Deadletter who we’re gagging to see

the corner, starting on the 20th of July for a four-day

again after the eruption they caused at The Great Escape

event.

earlier this year. English Teacher go next with their Truck Festival debut and rounding us off are our Market Stage

Headliners for the weekend include The Wombats, Two

headliners Squid.

Door Cinema Club and Alt-J, as they’re backed by festival must-haves, The Vaccines, who we trust will get the

As we kick off Sunday, The Last Dinner Party, are about

crowd going with ‘Norgaard’ and ‘I Can’t Quit’. The alt

to share their alt-pop inside the big tent as they also make

duo, Prima Queen, also blend into this summery Truck

their Truck debut. The Irish garage-punk group, Sprints

main stage cocktail, followed by Mercury nominated, Self

will be closing down our party alongside indie legends,

Esteem.

Gengahr as we round off with a bucket load of rowdy madness.

Swim Deep arrive on Thursday with sing-along classics like ‘Honey’ and ‘King City’, because, let’s be honest, is it

It’s not all about the Market Stage, The Nest holds an

a festival without the Birmingham four-piece? And Wales’

unmissable squad across the week with Opus Kink and

The Bug Club are set to teach the crowd about their garage

Connie Constance in main support positions across Friday

rock ways straight after.

and Saturday, with Nukuluk and She’s In Parties making their way up the list as well.

Ready for the real fun? Spread across The Market Stage is the return of So Young’s Truck collaboration, including

Truck Festival takes place from 20th July 2023 – 23rd July

rising names like Red Rum Club, Courting, and Pynch.

2023. We’ll see you at the So Young Market Stage.

Words by Alicia Tomkinson

44

Released to near unanimous acclaim, Mandy, Indiana’s

Scott: Good crowds and reception. We didn’t get to see

debut album ‘i’ve seen a way’ seems destined to fly high

as much as we’d have liked. Marina Herlop was amazing

in ‘album of the year’ lists, having so definitively and

though!

instantaneously struck a chord with music obsessives and audio-freaks the world over - a deliciously dissonant and

Simon: The first show was possibly the smallest venue

deafening chord that is loaded up on square waves and

we’ve ever played and the second possibly the hottest, and

bass frequencies.

pretty much everything broke at some point or other. But they were both incredibly fun sets to play.

Playing on the abrasive, electro-distortions trailblazed in recent times by likes of Gilla Band, Scalping and Giant

How do you rate pebble beaches you get down in

Swan - Daniel Fox of the former, and Robin Stewart of the

Brighton compared with the more sandy variety found

latter assisting with the album’s devastating mix - ‘i’ve

elsewhere?

seen a way’ details an eclectic, labyrinthine descent into the grimy, digitised underlands of this fractured dystopia

Valentine: Those pebbles hurt like a motherfucker, but

we have found ourselves ham-handedly attempting to

then again sand gets everywhere, so I suppose there’s

navigate day by day. Like some Ballardian interpretation

really no winning with beaches. Personally though, I

of the frenzied dissociations and maximalisms of modern

prefer the kind without actual human shit.

life, Mandy, Indiana have beamed down to us a precious 40 minutes of stomach-churning, nerve-shredding

I have a confession to make. I have never seen Mandy,

immersion. Never resting on its laurels, not even breaking

Indiana perform live and I still carry this guilty burden

for breath - through such cunning interpolations of

with me on a daily basis. What am I missing out on?

harsh noise, ambient, rock, brutalising club beats and disembodied digi-pop - Mandy, Indiana zig-zag, zip and

Scott: We use volume and physicality to try to make the

dance from rhythm to rhythm, from texture to texture,

shows feel visceral, so people can feel liberated to move

hardly repeating themselves, always grasping for a heady

or just experience the sound in a more physical way.

new burst of electric experience.

Simon: A much more raw distillation of what we’re doing Loosely based around the city of Manchester - but with

on record that constantly teeters on the edge of chaos

vocalist Valentine hailing from Brittany in North Western

depending on the whims of our frontwoman or our gear.

France (and singing exclusively, and engrossingly, in

There’s definitely a thrill to witnessing live bands where

French) - such biographical details hardly seem to matter

it feels like what they’re doing is on the edge of what they

for a band so distinctly carving out their own musical

can control and that it might collapse at any moment and I

landscapes and cultures.With all this in mind, following

like to think there’s an element of that to our show.

their weekend away in Brighton for The Great Escape, we sent a few questions via email on the eve of the album’s

Congratulations again on the new album. For me,‘

release, with the hope that we might find some guidance to

i’ve seen a way’ is a disorientating listen. Feels like

help us better comprehend this fizzing universe of chaotic

I’m constantly in a process of becoming lost, found,

yet transcendental order.

then lost again. When I think I’ve found a groove to sink into it’s pulled from under my feet. What kind of

How was it down at The Great Escape? What was the

experience are you designing for the listeners who dare

reception like?

venture into this LP?

Words by Elvis Thirlwell, illustration by Diane Roussille

54

Scott: It all comes from personal experiences and feelings.

Valentine: probably just be Climax by Gaspar Noé.

I hope that people connect with it but maybe they won’t as there is zero compromise on the record. We haven’t

As Mancunians, where does Mandy, Indiana fit within

crafted this for anyone but ourselves and I think you can

the Manchester scene, and what is your relationship to

tell when you hear a record like that. I think it can be very

the city and its music?

rewarding for listeners who might take the time to really get to know it, but for a more casual listener they may find

V: I don’t think we do fit into that scene really. We sort of

it hard to engage with.

came up during lockdown, and then everything happened really quickly, so we never really got to do the Manchester

When you have such an open ended approach to what

circuit, so to speak.

can or can’t go on a record, where do you draw the limit? What won’t you do? What rules were there for

In terms of music, I think calling yourself a Manchester

making this record? Because while the music is being

band is quite charged, and people expect a certain type

pulled in so many directions, there’s this grit, this

of sound that has basically nothing to do with ours.

eeriness, that’s binding everything together.

Manchester has historically been known for a certain type of guitar music that I feel is diametrically opposed to what

Scott: We wanted it to sound like an album, like a

we do. The city also has a tendency to look towards its

complete experience, but otherwise there were no rules or

past quite a lot, which is not something we’ve ever had an

criteria. It didn’t need to sound anything like the EP did

interest in doing.

or what people might expect from us. It took shape mostly in a very natural way and was led by the experiences we

Simon: Valentine is French and hasn’t lived in Manchester

were having in our lives at the time. There were some

for seven months or so now, Scott lives in Todmorden

moments that were crafted more towards the end to

outside of Manchester so it’s only me and Alex who live

make it feel like the best version of what it could be, but

in the city still. We all have very different relationships

honestly saying that a piece of art is finished is a very

with the city not all of which are positive by any means

difficult thing to do.

and while for some of us our own personal involvement in what goes on in the city musically has been a big part of

I read that bits of the record were recorded in Bristol

our lives, when it comes to thinking of the band as fitting

shopping centres, at Wooky Hole, gothic crypts. Which

“within the Manchester scene” I don’t think we really do.

of these were your favourite to record in, and are there

We’ve got friends and people we’ve collaborated with

any spaces you hope to get round to next time?

in terms of locations for videos, recordings, photos etc. but we’ve never really played around locally. We don’t

Scott: The Wookey Hole cave was certainly the most

exist in a vacuum and so I’m sure there’s been some

exciting, memorable and challenging for me, so that’s

residual influence but we really don’t consider ourselves

my favourite. It was such a unique and otherworldly

a ‘Manchester band’ - plus as Valentine says there are

experience to record in there, it was like being on another

connotations with that that we are actively tired of and

planet or some strange film set. I’m sure there are lots

would prefer to avoid completely.

more locations we could record in down the line, maybe in In light of the recent coronation, what would you do if

the ISS or the Mariana Trench or something.

you were monarchs for a day?

You’ve made reference to how you employ techniques otherwise employed in film soundtracks when putting

V: Abolish the monarchy, distribute its wealth and turn the

this album together. Rather than asking anything

palaces into social housing.

interesting about that, I was curious: if ‘i’ve seen a way’ was a film, what genre would it be, and how would I expect the plot to roughly go?

55

Mandy, Indiana

Editors Sam Ford

Josh Whettingsteel

Writers

Artists

Reuben Cross

Mitch Vowles

Sam Ford

Poppy Richler

Eve Boothroyd Leo Lawton

Natalia Quiros Edmonds Amber Lashley Will Macnab Al Mills

Charlie Brown

Alicia Tomkinson Elvis Thirlwell

Printed By Ex Why Zed

Email

Josh Whettingsteel Jim Brook

David Huang Pierre André

Martyna Grądziel Amber Gyselings Léna Martinez Cora Marinoff Minho Jung REN

Hanna Norberg-Williams Diane Roussille

Cover Photo Tom Marshak

info@soyoungmagazine.com

Photos for Collage

Website

Katherine Cantwell

www.soyoungmagazine.com

News

@soyoungmagazine (Twitter)

SoYoungMagazine (Facebook) soyoungmagazine (Instagram)

Studio UJ

Emilyn Cardona Joseph Hayes

Mariana Belaval Harry Steel

Ian Laidlaw

Megan Loveless