As you may have noticed by now, Music That Made Me is not an erudite list of classic songs, nor is it just a compilation of my favourites from over the years, but records that have in some way influenced my tastes, for better or worse. There are probably certain periods of our lives that our musical preferences are influenced more than others; my teens and my mid-twenties probably stand out as defining periods, although I continue to be excited by discovering of the new even now. Yet one of the most important periods, hardly touched on in this series, is early childhood. I’ve mentioned my first single purchase and early camping holidays in France, but before that much of my earliest exposure to music came from my parent’s record player.
There was something very sturdy about that record player. It was a solid brown box with a hinged lid that was fixed down with two golden coloured clasps. You would place the records on a central spindle from where they would drop onto the deck with a satisfying ‘clomp’ before the arm swung slowly across and rested itself onto the vinyl grooves.
My parent’s singles were kept upright in a wire rack, which ensured that any possible warping of the discs was kept to a minimum. It was a mix of their teenage rock ‘n’ roll favourites, from The Everly Brothers to Eddie Cochran but interspersed with some children’s records that they’d purchased for me – recordings of Teddy Bears Picnic, (How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window and this, the bizarre Puff The Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary.
Although the writers of the song denied its references, the allusion to ‘puffing’ a joint, chasing the ‘dragon’ and ‘Little Jackie Paper’ - a possible relation to rolling a spliff, caused an outrage amongst the moral masses when it was first released in the 1960’s and was adopted by the flower-power hippy scene at the time . Yet to this young listener, sitting at home in his parents lounge with its patterned brown wallpaper and white fake leather sofas – the epitome of cool in the early 70’s – this song was a sweet, magical and innocent song.
If our love of Queen of Hearts music was a real relationship, we’d have probably got to that ‘starting to get to really know each other but not fully’ stage now. We’ve drunk enough of her tempting charms to fathom her, yet she remains exciting and still slightly mysterious – we still don’t even know her real name.
Now comes that moment of introducing this relationship to the world at large – because Queen of Hearts ‘arrives’ on the October 3 with her debut EP – Arrival. It's taken 9 months to nuture this baby since she first appeared on Breaking More Waves, but the most important ingredient of all things tasty is time. The EP will feature the previously blogged songs Freestyle and Where Are You Now, plus the unheard Black Star and Shoot the Bullet (the titles of which sound suspiciously like heavy rock anthems – although somehow this seems highly unlikely) plus this cover version of Foals best song – Spanish Sahara.
This version turns the sweaty indie boys moment of expansive calm into a sultry and very feminine piece of electronic pop music, which should bring this lustrous song to a whole new audience. For now it’s free to download by clicking the arrow below – why not do so and then introduce your friends to the Queen. Soon she could have more potential lovers than she could care to choose from.
Southsea Fest is a fully independent, budget price, multi-venue festival that from small beginnings in 2007 has gradually evolved into a one day event of real merit, with the 2011 line-up unquestionably being its best ever. Throughout the bill you’ll find a strong card of emerging bands as well as the cream of local talent, plus the likes of past Mercury award nominated folk singer Fionn Regan and indie rockers Johnny Foreigner to give some weight through established acts. Previous years have seen the likes of Eliza Doolittle, The Joy Formidable and Pulled Apart by Horses play tiny 100 capacity stages at the event. This year will be no different with the vast majority of venues being pub sized with only Portsmouth’s hard serving music venue the Wedgewood Rooms (400 capacity) and the elegant and seated Edwardian Kings Theatre (capacity 1600) providing more breathing space. Then when the music finishes various after parties crop up in the area including the official Club NME after party at the Wedgewood Rooms with local DJ’s Rob Troubadour, Phil Harvey and a very special guest. To buy tickets use this link here.
Set on just one road in Southsea, Portsmouth, Southsea Fest is probably the least demanding festival you’ll ever experience in terms of distances to travel between stages – with virtually every venue being within a stone’s throw of each other. It’s this convenience and price (tickets being only £16) that Southsea Fest scores high against other similar events such as Great Escape, Dot to Dot and Camden Crawl.
Of course, like any multi venue festival, army style discipline is required if you want to ensure you see every band on the 100+ bill that takes your fancy, but these best laid plans can often go somewhat awry – every year you’ll inevitably see a number of paralytic local music lovers stumbling their way down Albert Road as the evening progresses, completely forgetting their carefully planned timetable. Talking of planning, the organisers include a ‘catch up break’ in the middle of the day to ensure that the better known bands in the evening do run to time. You can see this on the timetable in advance of Southsea Fest inside Portsmouth’s first edition of XYZ magazine which is located in the venues involved.
So to the music – as usual with our festival previews, we’re recommending some bands for to you see at Southsea Fest in audio and visual form. It may come as no surprise that of the 10 bands we’re suggesting 8 of them have been previously featured on the blog, and given the high quality line up this year some of them inevitably clash.
Kal Lavelle (The Fat Fox) 14.20-14.50
Fresh from supporting chart-star Ed Sheeran on his UK tour and due to support him again in Ireland later this year, this London dwelling girl born in Ireland produces acoustic folk songs brushed with huge dollops of emotion and soul. Get to Southsea Fest early and catch this captivating songwriter.
Local dark and stormy alt. folk rockers The B of the Bang hold a special trophy – they’ve played every single Southsea Fest to date. Following a number of summer shows including a local support slot to The Walkmen the group are currently recording their second album, the follow up to the warmly received Beginning Middle End. The track Alaska, streaming below, is taken from that debut.
Winners of this year’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition (where Breaking More Waves acted as one of the long-list judges) and signed to Communion records, the label founded by Ben Lovett (Mumford and Sons), former Cherbourg bassist Kevin Jones, and acclaimed producer Ian Grimble these country-soul-rockers will release their new single It’s About Time the day after Southsea Fest. Expect exquisite harmonies and spot-on musicianship.
Brighton’s Fear of Men play hazy, fuzzy indie pop like your dad used to like. It’s a little lo-fi, a little d-i-y (as in self-produced not purchased from B&Q or Homebase) but there are melodies that swirl around in the mix in a rather glorious way. We’ve already given the band the thumbs up for their single Ritual Confession, released in August here (video below) and the band have been getting tongues wagging on some of the best UK new music blogs besides this one.
Formed from the battered remains of previous band Holdfast, Curxes blend of female vocal synth-noir sounds like Depeche Mode climbing into bed with Zola Jesus and all sorts of big voiced rumpy-pumpy going on. Despite having released just a handful of tracks they’ve already found blogs from the U.S.A, Spain and the UK falling absolutely in love with them and the buzz is almost sure to build further as this duo demonstrate how accomplished they are in the live arena as well as in the studio.
Foe is one Hannah Clark from Fleet, Hampshire, previously a member of the band Arthur. She has recently signed a record deal with Mercury imprint, Vertigo records. An album should see the light of day next year. Her recent single Deep Water Heartbreaker is a trashy, dirty, slashy sounding mix of guitars and electronics that sounds a little like the band Garbage with an undercurrent of attitude laden pop.
Making only their second appearance outside of London Pris are inspired by knee high boots, Manic Street Preachers, vodka, Courtney Love, bright red lipstick, Kenickie, leopard print, Jilted John and mascara to name but a few. Having had their indie-punk-pop demos noticed by Everett True (the ex NME/Melody Maker journalist who wheeled Kurt Cobain on stage at Reading) and a handful of leading Brit music blogs such as Von Pip Express, Just Music I Like and this one, the band have released their debut single The Better You Look The More You See, received play from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music and got listed on the Music Week playlist. Likely to tear up the stage with pouting, glamour and tons of self-belief, Pris are a must see racket.
Worship (The Loft) 20.40-21.10
If you fancy something a little more musically polished that Pris, then Worship may be your thing. Having first featured on this blog near the start of 2010 this Berkshire based band play absorbing and epic indie rock with modern beats that throw a small nod towards Radiohead. Last year the band played a session for Rob da Bank’s Radio 1 show before heading to Norway to record new material. This year they’ve played the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury, been featured as The Guardian’s new band of the day and found their song Collateral, which we blogged last year (here) being play listed on Radio 1.
Some of the things we’ve said about Clock Opera over the last 2 years. “Like a wonderful drug it makes every day sound perfect. Go take some. (2009)”.“One of the finest pieces of music you’ll hear this year. You’ll never forget this.” (2010). “A stimulating and rousing piece of work that is worthy of every ounce of praise we can load onto it.” (2011) Clock Opera are a glorious band. They take electronic samples, chop them up and splice them together again to create wonderful mini-symphonies. It’s their second time in Portsmouth having previously supported Yeasayer at the same venue. If you missed them then, don’t waste this opportunity.
Bringing Ibiza to the world of indie with clattering tropical rhythms, plenty of cowbell and a carnival sweatiness Geordie dance-pop three piece Polarsets will make you consider dancing your pants off. And why not, it will almost be the end of the night after all? Just make sure, even if you did end up naked, skinny dipping on Southsea beach at the end of the night that you're not too hungover in the morning. Talking of Morning....
There are 2 major music festivals on the Isle of Wight. The first, is referred to by locals or 'caulkheads' as they are sometimes known as simply 'The Festival.' The second as 'The Bestival.' There's a big observational hint in the names as to which one is superior.
Exciting, eclectic, eccentric, Bestival (to give it its proper name - there is no 'The') is undoubtedly Breaking More Waves favourite festival in the UK. Rob Da Bank’s crazy village fete / rave / gig on the Isle of Wight is a ‘must do’ date on our calendar. From the first sparsely attended event in 2004 where we watched reggae band Ori-Jah-Nal battle with wind, cold and rain to a crowd of no more than 30 people on the main stage to the 2011 spectacular where 50,000 people will descend on Robin Hill Country Park and its surroundings to witness the likes of The Cure, Public Enemy, Bjork, PJ Harvey, Mogwai and Fatboy Slim (who incidentally appeared at the 2004 event), Bestival has come a long long way.
Bestival has demonstrated how it’s possible for an independent festival other than Glastonbury to increase its capacity, sell-out and still maintain plenty of character - an endearingly madcap music show – against the corporate behemoths such as Reading and V Festival. We mention Glastonbury because there’s no doubt that Glastonbury has inspired many aspects of Bestival. In fact if we were pushed for a succinct description of Bestival we’d describe it as a smaller, less mainstream version of Glastonbury. For example this year you can, like the previous two years, witness Glastonbury stalwarts Arcadia and their stunning arena – an industrial looking 360 degree DJ stage which shoots giant 30ft flame balls from its spire and is surrounded by 12 fire breathing lamppost tree sculptures, this time located in the far reaches of the campsite.
New for 2011 there’s also the Swamp Shack, which organisers describe as “a ramshackle Louisiana bayou juke joint, topsy turvy on rickety stilt-legs and wreathed in dry ice populated by an interactive cast of True Blood-style Deep South vampires, fading Southern Belles and a host of other unwholesome night-crawlers. The venue will also play host to some of the best bands and DJ sets from the UK underground, headline appearances from some very special big-name acts and late-night live drumming old skool Jungle sessions.” It’s created as collaboration between Glastonbury Trash City co-creative director Ruby Blues and Block 9, the set-design pioneers behind the legendary NYC Downlow Gay bar.
Add to this the new roller disco area ,the Rizlab arena where Friendly Fires will experiment and collaborate with artists that have influenced them both past and present, the Psychedelic Worm and Sailor Jerry’s Ink City hosting some of the best new bands (some of whom have appeared on this blog), and many more stages (we haven’t even mentioned the Main Stage or the Big Top the two biggest arenas) and it’s easy to understand why so many people are now choosing Bestival as their festival of choice.
As always with our festival previews, we’ve posted a few musical recommendations below in audio and visual form – all the choices are some of the smaller acts that may not be so well known.
If music isn’t your thing there are plenty of other attractions to keep you busy. From crazy golf, chilled treats in the ambient forest, a freesports park, comedy and cabaret, the tomorrows world area, the W.I Tea tent, heavenly healing areas and free tea for all (subject to picking up some litter) the list is endless. Even though it’s much smaller than Glastonbury, it’s simply not possible to do and see everything on offer in the four days that it runs.
Oh and we haven’t mentioned the now traditional fancy dress on Saturday which brings a stupidly happy vibe to every Bestival. This year the theme is pop stars, rock stars and divas – it’s going to be rather strange watching The Cure play to a field of Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley, David Bowie and Robert Smith lookalikes.
Until you’ve been to Bestival it’s difficult to appreciate the sheer chaotic brilliance of it all. If you’re not going this year, we highly recommend you grab yourself a ticket as soon as they go on sale for next year. You’ll have the time of your life.
We recommend….
The Sunday Best Forum Allstars (Big Top – Thursday)
OK, we’ll admit this is a bit of a cheat. The Sunday Best Forum Allstars is a DJ ‘crew’ in which the author of Breaking More Waves is a major participant. Formed by a bunch of reprobates from Austin - Texas, Scotland, London, The Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, the Allstars were created on the forum of the Bestival website and opened the festival in 2010 with a joyously shambolic set that possessed no ‘proper’ DJ skills, but plenty of big tunes that got the party started (see below). Our aim for 2011 is simple – to do it all again.
Lucky Elephant (Polka Dot Tent – Friday)
Back in 2009 we named Starsign Trampoline by Lucky Elephant as one of our top ten albums of the year. Now with a new album on its way there’s a chance to see this very special and unique group in the intimacy of the Polka Dot tent on Friday night. Charming, beautifully crafted songs they’re a treat for your ears.
The third of our recommendations, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis like Lucky Elephant are signed to Sunday Best records, the label arm of Rob Da Bank’s musical output. Taking 50’s rock ‘n’ roll, swing, ska, Hawaiian styles and even disco on Messing With My Life this young brother-sister-sister trio keep it in their family with mum and dad on bass and backing guitar. Their sound is so authentic that if you close your eyes you really will believe that you’ve been transported back 60 years.
Whilst essentially a pop act, former Danish ballet dancer Oh Land’s live performances carry a punchy grit and energy that has endeared her to audiences across the globe, receiving rave reviews for her shows. If you haven’t seen her yet here’s your chance.
There are 3 bands on the Bestival line up that we would kill to see. The first two are the Saturday and Sunday headliners – The Cure and Bjork, the third is The Unthanks. If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know that the sad miserablism of their gorgeous folk music is some of the most bewitching we’ve ever heard. A complete contrast to the hi-energy vibe of much of the rest of the festival, expect clog dancing, songs about babies dying and the most beautiful Geordie voices you’ll ever hear.
Bestival runs between the 8-11th September and is completely sold out. Stages and day information for the recommended acts are correct at time of publication.
Check back here shortly after the event for a review of all the important bits that make a festival, and the music as well!
