MGMT Sorry The Magic Gang Parquet Courts Hookworms Sunflower Bean
Hello 2018, Sorry grace our first print cover of the year.
Since releasing their debut single via label faves, Hate Hate
We caught up with Louis and Asha in a London pub as they
Hate, the band have embarked on a year of copious drinking
bid to overcome the South London tag plus discuss how
and developed an infectious sound. Trekking up north to
they aim to weave electronic music into their guitar heavy
Leeds, we grab a few moments with Hookworms who have
live set. We then make two calls to MGMT, one to Ben and
made their successful return this year with the incredible
one to Andrew. The duo have released some of their finest
‘Microshift’. Bassist, MB, took the time to talk about the
work in new record ‘Little Dark Age’ and we gave them
response to the new record. Staying in Leeds, newbies
both a call to discuss it as well as their passion for cooking
Drahla have been turning heads as they visit the nations
and keeping a strong identity. The Magic Gang release their
small venues. They tell us about their formation as well as
self titled debut on March 16th. We lured them to a pub to
the great sounds coming out of the city at the moment. And
discuss the long overdue first record and their intention to
if that wasn’t enough interview for you, Gengahr return too!
rid of musical genres. Swooping over to New York City, we
We spoke to frontman, Felix, about capturing performances
chat Danger Mouse and artwork with Parquet Courts, who
in the studio and keeping things personal. On page 29
release their new record ‘Wide Awake’ in May. Sunflower
you’ll find out about the amazing Femme Collective. Ugly,
Bean have returned with a run of triumphant singles from
Sistertalk and Black Midi are three of our bands to look out
new album ‘TwentyTwo in Blue’. We talk united cities and
for in 2018 and finally, Who Are You? returns including
the power of social media with the band. Back to London
chats with Nilüfer Yanya, Stella Donnelly, Touts and more.
via Ireland, whenyoung have been pricking up the ears of the underground over the last 6 months.
3 whenyoung
28 Black Midi
8 MGMT
29 The Femme Collective
12 Gengahr
31 Sorry
15 Sunflower Bean
36 Parquet Courts
17 The Magic Gang
37 Who Are You?
25 Sistertalk
39 Drahla
26 Ugly
42 Hookworms
Pretty Pure
When You Die
Where Wilderness Grows
Damned Love Children
Golden Years
Suit Up
Switch
Too Tangible To Ignore
Guardian Angels
Home Demo/ns
The World is a Vampire
Get To Know
Fictional Decision
Microshift
Opposite, So Young Illustration Competition Winner, Danny Miller (Chuck Berry)
So Young Illustration Competition 3rd Place, Bo Matteini (The Beatles), opposite, 2nd Place, Nan Lee (John Lennon)
Sorry Sorry are a band from North London and probably the
Louis: We didn’t really wanna sign a deal, if anyone else
most exciting outfit to come out of the city in a long while.
had offered and Domino hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t have
Asha, Louis, Lincoln and Campbell have been tagged as the
gone for it.
‘Grunge’ revivalists out of an already successful scene of guitar bands, but since signing to Domino sometime in 2017
Asha: I think it’s quite risky, if you’re making that kind of
they’re proving that they’re far more than that. The release
music. You can easily become something where you don’t
of their ‘Home Demo/ns Vol 1’ Mixtape in October put
know what you’re talking about anymore.
them firmly on the radar as they rejuvinated the stale demo release process. Tapping into their angsty Hip Hop youth
Now that you are signed and there’s ‘competition’
and eager to weave their passion for electronic beats, Sorry
around you, are you analysing what you’re doing more
are likely to redefine the guitar band, or at the very least
than you used to?
expand its boundaries. We caught up with the understated songwriters of the group, Asha and Louis, for a chat in a
Asha: It is a bit more pressure when you look up...it’s more
West London pub.
pressure in that you wanna do well and you want your songs to shine so I guess in some way you keep everyone else’s
The standout topic that comes up whenever we talk
songs in mind. It’s not like a game, there’s just a lot of other
about you guys is the relationship between you two in
things you think about.
particular. Did everything with Sorry start with just you When we spoke last, you mentioned taking your music
two?
in a different direction and furthermore, trying to do Asha: Well, we just played together.
that live too. Was the mixtape a way to say goodbye to a previous way of working?
Louis: We weren’t really a band…We had always played Asha: They were all mostly new songs on the mixtape
music together in school.
anyway, and we do really like those songs. And now we’ve Did you post your own solo material/ demos up?
got the electronic stuff, we are trying to make the live stuff a bit less ‘rocky’ and more like corresponding to the
Louis: Yeah, well that’s actually how it all really started.
mixtape. Hopefully when we record the album it will be like that as well.
Asha: Louis made beats and I really wanted to make beats as well. So then we both just posted things on soundcloud.
Is that how you see the future of Sorry then?
Talk us through signing for Domino…
Asha: Yeah! Well I quite like having two seperate things because it is fun to go to a live show and it’s a bit different.
Asha: I saw that Alex G was on Domino and I emailed them my Soundcloud and no one ever saw it. But then by chance, they came a year later to our show at The Windmill. Then they just kept coming to the shows. We didn’t wanna speak to any major labels or anything.
31
Words by Sam Ford and Josh Whettingsteel, illustration by Clay Hickson
A lot of ‘new’ bands run with the story that there was
Louis: I think it’s generally just doing things for the
nothing else out there for them and they didn’t like any
right reasons. Not just making music so that we can be
new bands so they had to make their own. But, you guys
something.
do like your guitar bands… Asha: Like even if you get credit, you can still be really Asha: Ah yeah, We love Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies,
shit. Everything is so rigged so it doesn’t really matter if
Nirvana. All the classics. We love all the people that we
you’re good or not. We don’t want to rush anything at all
play with as well like Goat Girl, Jacob Slater’s band…
and that’s why we’ve been waiting to think through what we wanna do with the album.
Louis: Shout out Shame. I suppose we can mention the South London thing as That tour with Shame was your first proper tour right?
I saw your tweet today which read “we’re from North
What did you learn?
London okay guys”. You’ve always made quite a point that you’re from North London and downplaying that
Louis: *whispers* To sesh
association…
Asha: They have great stamina, they’re pretty admirable in
Asha: I think it’s just like a way for people to group all of
how much they can tour. Their live show is always real fun
those bands together.
as well. Louis: we don’t really mind being in ‘The South London Do you like playing live to an audience, do you look
Scene’. It was just because someone was like ‘South
forward to it?
London Rock outfit…’ and I was like this is too much. I get why they call it that though because of The Windmill.
Asha: Oh yeah, it depends if it goes well. I get upset if it Is that scene disappearing now that the majority have
doesn’t.
been signed and are touring etc? Louis: I always need a poo right before we play. I don’t really get stage fright, I just always need a poo.
Asha: Well there’s a new wave with bands like Black Midi.
Are there any bands who’s career you’d like to emulate
Louis: There’s so many bands there now. It’s hard to keep
or even use as a blueprint for longevity?
up with.
Asha: Elliot Smith. Frank Ocean. Definitely wanna change
Are there any new bands that you’re really into?
it up and rearrange the band thing. Louis: Umm, Black Midi are really good. Great Dad as Louis: We’d like to make each album different and keep it
well, you should check them out they’re really good.
interesting. So you’ve mentioned that you haven’t recorded your What do you see as success then?
album yet...what’s the plan from now? Do you know where you’re heading to do the album?
Asha: Making a song that you think is good and if it is good that it does still shine. If people like it and get some sort of
Asha: We have got another two singles. I think these will
fan base and have people care about what you’re gonna put
probably be on the album. We are still deciding on the way
out.
we wanna do it. Me and Louis might just make them at home and then bring them in and mix them.
33
www.clayhickson.com
Ugly
Calva Louise
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and
about the music you make?
about the music you make?
We are Ugly/a band, from Cambridge and its surrounding
We’re Jess, Alizon and Ben and we come from Venezuela,
counties’ leafy sheltered suburbs; comprised of 4 or 5
France, New Zealand and England. We make distorted
people depending on which day you catch us. We have
music with a pop twist.
Harrison Jones on the lead axe, Brodie Weir on ye olde bass (most of the time), Mr Harry Shapiro on keys/bass, Charlie
Can you tell us the story behind one of your songs?
Wayne on the pigskins and myself (Samuel Goater) on the less important guitar and I also do some whines, yelps and
A lot of our songs deal with the quest for identity and
gargling noises. Our music is a little bit of this, a little bit
where do we really belong. The idea for our song ‘Getting
of that, sometimes jazzy but never jazz - fairly varied but
Closer’ came to me while having a little break down and
wholly unoriginal, however we hope people can forgive us
thinking that I am ‘running out of time’ and feeling the self
and blindly follow us regardless of that fact.
inflicted pressure of failure. I then realised that none of this really matters, that if we’re going to fail at least let’s
Can you tell us something that you collectively really
risk everything we have doing something we really enjoy
love?
and truly enjoy it too and to try to be the best version of ourselves while doing it. It doesn’t cost us anything really.
We enjoy the simple things. A nice mid practise cup of coffee or the occasional peanut butter and jam sandwich comes to mind. Yum!
37
Stella Donnelly Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make? I am Stella Donnelly from Fremantle, Western Australia and I write and play songs on guitar. Can you tell us the story behind one of your songs? I have a song called Boys Will Be Boys which is definitely
Vinyl Staircase
one of my more serious songs. I wrote it about what I had seen around me when victims of sexual assault came
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and
forward to their friends, authorities or family members
about the music you make?
about their experiences. I saw again and again, the victims of these assaults being questioned on their whereabouts that
We’re Vinyl Staircase from Dorking. The music we make
night, what they had been wearing, how drunk they were,
covers the full spectrum of human emotion.
why they went home with the person in question etc. This culture and attitude around rape has to stop and we need to
Can you tell us something that you collectively really
start directing our questions to the perpetrators and to stop
love?
making excuses like ‘boys will be boys’ for MEN’S actions. We all love hot wings, it’s kind of a pre-show ritual to shove as many of those babies down our gullets as possible. Also Steve Coogan... A-HA! Nilüfer Yanya Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Touts
I’m a song writer/ singer/ musician from London. The
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and
music I make changes style quite a bit, at the moment I’d
about the music you make?
say I’m making throwback grunge/punk type tunes. We’re TOUTS. We’re a three-piece punk band from Derry, What’s special about where you’re from? Has it inspired
Ireland. The tunes are just all our ideas coming together,
your music?
we’ve written about everything from the refugee crisis to our fat friend that loves getting his hole.
I think London is special because it being such a “major” city means the ability Londoners have to constantly keep
What’s special about where you’re from? Has it inspired
re-writing history. I like to think that constant evolution is
your music?
part of my sound/music. Derry is class. There’s no place like it. We all love it and we think as a band you can tell immediately where we’re from, and we’re all proud of that. Living in the north inspires a lot of the writing, we live in an uncomfortable situation at times, and the political background inspires a lot of the songs, but even the basis of our songs about less serious subjects come from here.
38
NICE MOVER A CROSS BETWEEN A CLUB NIGHT AND AN ART INSTALLATION SURPRISES AWAIT YOU EVERY 4TH SATURDAY OF THE MONTH AT VOGUE FABRICS IN DALSTON (NEXT ONE 24/03) FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EVENTS LOOK UP NICE MOVER ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM OR YOU CAN TEXT ME ON 07425890838 BECAUSE I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU EITHER
Artists
Josh Whettingsteel Danny Miller
Chiara Dal Maso Nan Lee
Bo Matteini
Alec Doherty Esther Lara
Marie Watanabe Julia GR
Sam Taylor
Editors Sam Ford
Josh Whettingsteel
Writers Dan Pare
Rob Knaggs
Callum McCormack Harley Cassidy Sam Ford
Josh Whettingsteel Elly Watson Cal Cashin
Grace Goslin Dani Ran
Rhys Buchanan
Printed By Ex Why Zed
info@soyoungmagazine.com
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Valat Ampavat REN
Clay Hickson Aysha Tengiz CarlĂn DĂaz
John Molesworth Aina Fontich
Clare Rosean
Andrew Foley
Rosie Vermeiren Sandy Wang
Tim Alexander Holly St Clair
Kylie Leuthold Wan Wai lu Jo Mendel
Jenice Kim
Paul Lannes
Philip Lindeman Charlie Johnson Alex Patrick
Photos for Collage Holly Whitaker
Art Direction
www.joshwhettingsteel.com
Special Thanks Samuel Huxley Cal McRae Jamie Ford
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