Last year I named Majik in my annual Ones to Watch for 2016 list. Some people suggested that this was a bit too early, as Majik was still taking baby steps in the world of music. However, to a certain extent, that was my exact reason for naming them on that list. I felt it was worth keeping an eye (and ear) on those first tentative moves. Not that there’s anything tentative about new song Real. It comes fully formed, even if the lyrics are less sure of the world, questioning a relationship. “So can we turn this round or should we let this go?” Despite the mental turmoil, the music is a gorgeously smooth elixir of pop and blue eyed soul. It’s downbeat without ever sounding miserable. If songs were a season then Real would most definitely be autumn, moving into winter; it taps into the melancholy of that time. Captivating and beautiful. Majik - Real
When you cast your eyes over dance styles in the history of pop music, from jive to northern soul to disco to acid house through to modern r ‘n’b twerking and grinding, there’s one that’s often forgotten, and that’s the slow dance. Back in the 80’s, in provincial towns and cities across the land, neon lit nightclubs with names like Cinderella’s and Ragamuffins owned the slow dance. There was that always that point in the night when the upbeat dance grooves and beats gave way to the smouldering smoochies. At this point couples would follow the instructions of artists such as Phyllis Nelson who sang that everyone should ‘Move Closer’. The swaying with arms round waists should have been a beautiful romantic moment, but in reality was often just an excuse for a lusty teenage experimental grope. Some people even called it the erection section. I can’t imagine the slow dance making a return to today’s clubs; it now seems confined to the first dance at a wedding, unless perhaps if it was served with a massive dollop of guilty pleasure type cheese and a knowing wink. However, if it did and was irony free, Closer, the new one from London duo Majik would be the perfect soundtrack to the new slow dance scene. A non-careless whisper of a tune, this soft, atmospheric and velvety pop song is true seduction, taking the sentiments of Phyllis forward for a new age; “Move a little closer to me.” Following debut tracks Save Me and It’s Alright, it’s another demonstration of why, despite it being incredibly early days for the band, I named Majik as one of my Ones to Watch for 2016. Modern and gorgeous. Majik - Closer
No messing, no commentary on the event (you can find that on yesterday’s post), I’m just going straight in with 5 music makers that are on my list of possible (venue capacities permitting) acts to see at this year’s Great Escape festival, which takes place in Brighton city centre at a variety of venues between 19th and 21st May. Then I finish by tossing up a link to a recommendation for a band on the Alt Escape line up as well.
Here are my choices from the Friday line-up. (You can find Thursday's choices on this link here) If you’re going you can see all these 5 selections with no clashes (unfortunately my Alt Escape bonus pick does clash). If you’re a regular reader of Breaking More Waves none of these choices will in any way surprise you.
Note: You should also go and see Have You Ever Seen The JaneFonda Aerobic VHS? On Friday at the Queens Hotel at 14:30 because with a name like that and being from Finland they can be nothing but incredible. Also in between Black Honey and Declan McKenna at Wagner Hall there’s Loyal, an act that is very much loved by the blogosphere, so they’re going to be worth sticking around for. Don’t go to the bar instead.
Xylaroo 13:00 The Pop-Up Stage
If singing sisters are a thing (and the evidence suggests they are – The Staves, First Aid Kit, Haim…er…..The Nolan Sisters) then these sisters, one of two acts we’re recommending from the Sunday Best stable are another name to add to the list. I tipped Xylaroo as One to Watch for 2016 last year on the blog, so go on, take my advice and watch them.
Pleasure Beach 15.30 Spiegeltent
I’ve seen (and maybe in some cases written) words about Northern Ireland’s Pleasure Beach that compare them to Arcade Fire, War On Drugs and Bruce Springsteen. This is the point where I should say ‘but that’s just lazy journalism’. But it isn’t – because those comparisons have some basis of truth. It’s not lazy journalism – it’s accurate journalism. Lazy journalists are the ones who work for a couple of hours in a day and then call it quits to go down the pub / watch TV. Anyway, I digress. I have no idea what Pleasure Beach are like live, but if they sound anything like their recorded material they should be pretty marvellous.
Alice Jemima 19.00 Jubilee Gardens
The unsigned artist that I’ve posted the most about in the history of Breaking More Waves, but now she’s signed to Sunday Best. She recently released a rather clever tune called Liquorice. It went top 10 on the Hype Machine. She’s playing BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. It’s all very exciting. This is why you should catch Alice Jemima at Great Escape. If you see a man explode like a bomb in front of you – that’s me. The excitement got too much.
Black Honey 20:30 Wagner Hall
The band most likely to 'do a Wolf Alice' over the next year or so. Need I say any more? Rock ‘n’ roll with a nostalgic twangy cinematic twist. Breaking More Waves regulars.They’re the real deal and genuine contenders. If you haven't seen them yet, make Black Honey a must.
Declan McKenna 22:30 Wagner Hall
The winner of the Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition in 2015. Two fascinating, unusual and assured singles in the form of Brazil and Paracetamol. Another of Breaking More Waves’ Ones To Watch 2016. A young but rare talent doing something different in a crowded field of the singer songwriters. For once someone that isn't Ed Sheeran-like or r'n'b influenced pop
Alt Escape Bonus Pick: Majik 19.15 North Laine Brewhouse
When we cast our memory back across 2015 and think of all the new bands and solo artists we’ve listened to over the year, one time that instantly stands out as a bit of a eureka moment was last February when we first pressed play on a brand new London two piece called Majik and a song called It’s Alright. At the time we called the song a ‘beautifully tempered piece of modern soothing pop’, a description that still seems entirely accurate. Comparisons with Daughter, The XX and London Grammar quickly attached themselves to Majik; this was languid, sweetly mellow stuff with just a hint of soul about it. Since that debut there was nothing more than silence until this autumn when the group released a second piece of singular sublime chilled-pop called Save Me, a tune that, despite the deluge of new music that fights for our attention, has stayed with us the last few months. It's purely on the basis of these two songs that we're filing Magik as musical Ones to Watch for 2016. It's early days for them, but let's see how they do. Majik - It's Alright (Video)
