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The Founder | Wednesday 26 October 2011
EXTRA
Arts & Music
Students battle it China Miéville out to represent The Scar Royal Holloway in Uni Music League Book Review:
Harun Musho’d Three acts from Royal Holloway are amongst the 59 from 21 London Higher Education institutions battling for the first Uni Music League prize. Jess Kinney, Elena Mowgli and Third Conduct will initially compete against each for the chance to represent Royal Holloway in this music competition. Only one will go through to the second league stage with a chance of performing at the ULU venue in Bloomsbury London. The winner of each league will compete in a final concert to win the main prize of recording a 3-track EP with Florence + the Machine and Kaiser Chief producer, Charlie Hugall. Singer Songwriter Elena Mowgli (real name Elena Barnard) is a first year Italian and Spanish student who sings to an acoustic guitar accompaniment. She says “Having had my heart kicked about I wrote lots of songs about heartbreak and what it’s like to live in my brain... Now I’m happy I write slightly haphowever, ‘Tthe Scar’ is a book that Tarli Morgan pier songs” (It’s not clear to which is engaging and unique. Miéville category the song on the Uni music takes the wheezing fantasy genre Every so often there will come a and beats the dust out - the book is league website belongs). Elena’s book both good and bad. Good gritty but not contrived, emotional been writing songs since the age because it’s, well, good. Bad because not melodramatic and epic without of eleven and performing around after that no other book will do. Egham for the last year. This is her being cliché. Moreover Miéville’s Like a difficult breakup after which naming scheme is, refreshingly, var- first music competition. everything is compared to an Music undergrad Jess Kinney is ied without feeling like a jumbled ex-lover, this book has been my another singer songwriter, with a box of Scrabble pieces. personal standard for a ‘good book’ piano accompanying her soprano Without spoiling the plot, ‘The ever since I was forced, sighing, to voice (or is it alto? Jess would Scar’ is a book about the sea. close the final page. Beginning on a river with a cynical know). “I like to try my hand at all This book is ‘The Scar’ by China heroine, the book evolves into a sorts of music,” says Jess. “From Miéville. It is the second book of phantasmagoria of locations: a city rock to baroque. I write my own the Bas-Lag series, though still a songs as well as doing various covmade of boats lashed together is standalone book. ers.” the main stage though there are Of course, no book is perfect. At glimpses of others such as a subYork rock band, Third Conduct, times Miéville labours under the aquatic city populated by the ‘Cray’ consists of third year Psychology weight of his own prose. Usually undergraduate Sarah Feehan (bass, – crayfish-mermaids. beautiful though often flabby, the keys, lead vocals) and her two At times febrile in its intensity, convoluted syntax and thesaurusat others chilling and solemn, ‘The sisters, Hannah (guitar, vocals) and munching vocabulary can become Scar’ challenges fantasy tropes on Kate (drums. vocals). They’ve been tiring. Most of us enjoy learning a band since 2003, have done well every page. In the world of specunew words but running back and in a number of other music compelative fiction, China Miéville is forth between war and a dictionary certainly a name to look out for – a titions, gig regularly and supported is not ideal. the Wombats in 2007. man with a distinctive voice and Despite these shortcomings, The Uni Music League was some powerful stories to tell.
The league winner will record a demo with Charlie Hugall who has produced for Florence and the Machine and the Kaiser Chiefs started by recent graduates Karol Severin and Daniel Zawadzki of Fatter Lane Productions, in partnership with ULU, to give musicians studying at university an opportunity to break through with their original music. “Our aim is to support healthy competition between universities in areas other than academics or sport. We also want to encourage universities to support their student talent to bring out their best in music.” The contest consists of three rounds. The, first, local round from now until December, will involve Jess, Elena and Third Conduct competing against each other with
original songs (covering songs by other artists is banned). You can listen to one of their tracks online and will soon be able to vote for the act that should represent the university at the League stage either online or at a special gig to be organised by SURHUL. The League stage, from January to April, will feature only one Royal Holloway act in a league with other universities and compete against each other at the ULU venue. The winner of each league is decided through public online voting. The final takes place later in 2012 and is again decided by a public vote at www.unimusiccontest.com