I don’t think it was a massive shock for anybody when they discovered Kele’s first album The Boxer was a dance album, especially after Bloc Party’s last album, Intimacy. It was always going to be interesting to see how Kele would transfer it live and in front of a loyal following of Bloc Party fans.

Before the gig starts, ‘Eye of The Tiger’ is played followed by ‘Chariots of Fire’, which instantly increases the height of anticipation for the already expectant crown.

Kele strolls out to ‘Walk Tall’ and plays with the light off his face. This gives the performance a feel of Gary Numan’s ‘Cars’ live, with its atmospheric sound and big beats along with a smoky dark stage. For ‘On the Lam’, Kele immediately removes his hat and jumper and is all smiles, saying that tonight is going to be “a good one”. The crowd are clearly beginning to enjoy themselves having spent a small amount of time with The Boxer, and this is to set the mood for the night. It’s so obvious a blind man can see Kele is exactly where he wants to be and now the spotlight is on him.

The next three tracks are a Bloc Party mega mix; ‘Bluest Light’, ‘The Prayer’ and ‘One Last Chance’. Having just been informed by Kele that he’s in another band, the crowd are whipped into a frenzy. In fact, every time there’s the slightest mention of the “B” word at least ten members of the audience pass out and are carried out on stretchers.

It’s not until after ‘Tenderoni’ that Kele introduces “his lovely new band”. He then takes the guitar and immediately teases everybody with an orthodox ‘Bluest Light’ intro. “Whoops, wrong band!” he says with a cheeky smile as another ten are carried away. ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ is beautiful and the performance of it live is amazing; the vocals are heart wrenching and the band play it out to the high standard which they’ve managed all night. There’s no more doubt about how the songs will play out live, they are near perfect to the album.

Kele’s next job after wowing everybody with Bloc Party tracks, Boxer tracks, a stint with the maracas and cracking out some dance moves is to try to schmooze the crowd by confessing how much he loves the Brummie accent (Kele how could you stoop so low?) This was another highlight of the evening; Kele’s ability to interact with the crowd who he seemed to have in the palm of his hand from the word go. The evening is wrapped up within two more encores including another Bloc Party remix, ‘Rise’ and ‘Flux’.

You can’t help but pick up some of the choruses and lyrics through the night with the likes of ‘I’m Getting Taller’, ‘We Will Go Over to the Other Side’ and ‘I’ve Been Waiting’. I think this certainly isn’t a short term style of music for Kele, but as with Bloc Party it’s a pleasure to watch Kele push himself and even more of a pleasure to see him do himself justice. Personally, I cant wait to see where the next musical installment from Kele is going to take us.

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Kele Okereke – Tenderoni

Brothers Chris and Anthony Grant formed The Grants in 2006 with long time friend and collaborator Sean Mcormick. They are a new and fresh band from Liverpool, a city with a long pedigree for producing great bands. All members are multi-instrumentalist, something that seems to becoming more and more commonplace, especially with bands from the north of the country. Since the band’s inception, the three friends have written and demoed hundreds of songs, and words of their brilliance have started to spread further than Merseyside. Former Creation records boss Alan Mcgee is a vocal champion of the band, waxing lyrically of their potential to conquer not only Liverpool but the world.

The band count Dylan, Neil Young, The Smiths, Carole King, Fleetwood Mac and The Band – who according to guitarist Anthony Grant “went on to make two of the best albums yet seen” – as their influences. The Grants cut their teeth in London as so many bands do, playing the Death Disco and The Queen Is Dead, as London is rightly or wrongly the place to be to get recognition.

The band’s Myspace page is a constant hive of song updates and views, along with some low budget, self shot videos. There are some real moments of quality. “To Cool To Die” is as good a place as anywhere to start, with Chris Grant’s distinguished voice sounding angelic while his brother’s guitar playing gives the song its heart and soul. Other special songs available are “Moonlit River” and “Ringing In The Wind”, the latter of which is a staggeringly beautiful song, piano driven and demonstrating the band’s abilities and creative impulses at their best. “Our Story”, “I am The One”…the list goes on. Most songs on the site are only at demo stage, but still sound incredibly strong.

Although the band seem intent on world domination, they also find time for more tongue-in-cheek moments. Chris Grant’s delivery on a version of Jay-Z’s ‘Empire State Of Mind’ is brilliant. As a hip-hop fan I found it funny and invigorating for a band to show they listen to other types of music and they have enough confidence in themselves to share a more humorous moment with their fans.

The Grants not only want to one of the biggest bands in the country, they have an aim and hope to pass on a far more important and life-changing message beyond their songs. Living and growing up in Liverpool, the boys are more than aware of the gang culture which is becoming more commonplace in our cities. Liverpool has received much negative press in the wake of some high profile shootings; most unsettling was the death of 11 year old Reece Jones in August 2007. The band are taking a positive stance and pushing a message of ‘Guitars not Guns’. By trying to offer encouragement and belief to young people not only in Liverpool, but across the country.

Guitarist Anthony Grant recently wrote this piece to explain the message the band are trying to get across:

A guitar necks rests between your fingers and thumb, just as snug as a gun; the difference is that it doesn’t take lives, it saves them- and its aim is eternally fixed upon the hearts and minds of the people. We are not rallying for the entirety of the cities youth to pick up guitars instead of guns. That’s just our bag, our approach. Guitars could symbolise anything. Call it Footballs not guns. Paintbrushes not guns. Chess pieces not guns. It matters not; anything that doesn’t make headlines that end in …’shot dead’.

There used to be world beating bands in this cities press, now there’s just street gangs; It seems the kind of commitment, courage, loyalty and talent that young Liverpool lads once used to inspire and shake the world is now being used for a much more sinister purpose. Nothing good was ever said to our youth in the language of guns; someone tell the newspapers that it’s better to hear silence, than glorified violence.
We became musicians because we were born in the city of music, the gateway to the world; what fate then, awaits those born in the capital of gun-crime?

Feed the fire; ‘guitars not guns’, It’s up to you, what your city becomes – Anthony Grant

When I talked to Anthony about ‘Guitars Not Guns’, he was quick to play down any Chris Martin/Bono behaviour, saying it won’t be the official banner for the band to use, as they are concerned the band could be viewed with suspicion and any accusations of self-promotion could attract criticism. They understand their views could, as Anthony put it “be construed as a bold, preachy statement” from a band “yet to earn their salt.” I am impressed with this attitude towards such an important issue. It would be easier for them to only concentrate on ‘chasing the dream.’ Inspiration and hope to the lost youth of this country should only be applauded.

The song ‘Cowboys and Indians’ encapsulates all the band are trying to say with “Guitars Not Guns.” Anthony also feels frustrated at the lack of direct help and change that is taking place to fix this national problem, stating “We feel that the lack of balls and opinion in modern popular music is so alarming that we cannot wait around for labels, we must act now.”

The Grants are currently without a record deal, but they continue to record demos and play gigs at any given opportunity. Alan Mcgee said of the band “If there was a just system in music, The Grants would get signed”. I can’t agree with him more, and I encourage you to go to their site and listen to a band with whom world domination could become a reality and who seem to be producing songs on a different level to everyone else. They seem more than happy, in a typical scouse way, to be doing things their own way.

http://www.myspace.com/thegrantsrock

If you are into your music and have dipped your toes into the world of acoustic folk, most of the artists in this collaboration will have prickled the hairs on your neck at some stage.

The Burns Unit features: award-winning folk singer Karine Polwart; alt-folk royalty King Creosote and indie queen Emma Pollock plus Indo-Caledonian pop artist Future Pilot AKA; elegant multi-instrumentalist Kim Edgar; drummer/producer Mattie Foulds;  energetic piano-man Michael Johnston (both from Canada) and virtuosic rapper MC Soom T.

You may think to yourself strange bedfellows, but the great thing is that it gives the whole record a completely diverse feel. In a nutshell, this is genre-busting stuff! The opening track, “Since We’ve Fallen Out”, gives no clue to the full extent of the mix of world music to follow, although if the whole album had followed this path I would of had no complaints! The dual lead vocals of Karine and Kenny compliment the dreamy melody that drives the track.

You really get a feel of the collective for the first time on “Send Them Kids To War”. There are more rocky moments in the form of the simmering “Blood, Ice and Ashes”, where you can almost feel the murderous intent via the guitars as it builds. Other tracks like “Sorry” tackle issues that have affected the group personally. There is no box you fit this collection of songs in but it’s a very special record that you almost feel like you want to nurture and cherish. I so hope they find the time to take the concept on the road, but at the moment there are only the following dates lined up:

Sat July 31/Sun Aug 1   Cambridge Folk Festival

Wed Aug 4                   Glasgow ABC

Mon Aug 9                    Edinburgh Queen’s Hall

The album is available from August 2nd on their own label (Burns Unit)

www.theburnsunitband.com

www.myspace.com/theburnsunitband

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The Burns Unit – Blood, Ice and Ashes

Their 2002 self-titled debut was in a class and league of its own, as it showed a band not afraid to bend and change the rules at the expense of not getting on Top Of The Pops. The rules they followed have always seemed to be ‘THERE ARE NO RULES’, and by doing so they have offered up some real moments of psychedelic/pop genius. The band continued their exhausting write/record/tour process, releasing four albums between 2003 and 2007 alone.

Then unexpectedly in 2008 Guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band. A difficult decision for all concerned, as the band had grown up together spending hours practising at school and at each other’s homes in Hoylake, Merseyside. Speculation was rife as to the band’s demise, but they regrouped as a five piece and since 2008 have been working on a new album with producer John Leckie in Liverpool and London. It was with a great deal of excitement I made the short journey to Birmingham’s Alexander Theatre to listen to the band play new songs from their new album Butterfly House.

At 9.10pm promptly the band walked on to the stage to the sound of the Small Faces, and James Skelly applauded the audience and thanked us for coming out. They started the show with two new numbers from the Butterfly House album: ‘More Than A Lover’ and ‘Roving Jewel’, both songs drawing polite applause from the audience who, it seemed, were yet to familiarise themselves with the new material. ‘Roving Jewel’ especially came across well, melodic and lush it seemed to fit nicely next to old favourite ‘Jacqueline’. Then came a storming version of ‘In The Rain’, with lead guitarist Lee Southall seeming eager to take up the challenge left in the wake of the departure of Ryder-Jones.

After a quick guitar change they jumped into an excellent version of ‘Simon Diamond’ which still sounds as fresh as it did (a staggering) eight years ago. The band really started to hit tempo at this point as they pushed on into another two excellent Butterfly House songs, the Byrdsesque ‘Two Faces’ and ‘Green Is The Colour’. Next was the brilliant ‘Thousand Years’, which sounded just as good live as it does on record. Then we briefly stepped back to 2002 again with ‘Spanish Maine’, which seemed to end as quickly as it started without the band missing a beat and firing straight into ‘Who’s Gonna Find Me’.

After this the band got back to the more well known songs, including ‘Wildfire’ and a brilliant ‘Calendars And Clocks’, where the band departed the stage to, complete with guitars ringing out with feedback. After a short retreat into the wings, the boys returned to deliver fan favourites ‘Good Bye’ and ‘In My Room’, before bringing the show to a stop with ‘The Northern Parade’.

As s live act I found The Coral excellent, their strengh as indirvidual musicians was apparent. Keyboard player Nick Power and bassist Paul Duffy swapped instruments more than once during the show, and such musical competence is scarce in these days of 5 boys in makeup passing as artists. The band have grown up and seem to be moving into a new musical landscape, keeping all the quirkiness that made them so important. But now they, as a group, seem to have decided the direction into which they want to progress.

The show was also a testament to the confidence the band have in their new material, as a large percentage of songs were new. It could have been a more comfortable night for the band if they had done a greatest hits set, with two or three new numbers sprinkled in. But credit to all concerned, their confidence was rewarded with the standing ovation they received when leaving the stage.

The Coral are now a more polished band with a sound and a maturity that will hopefully see them continue to produce such nights as I experienced here, and albums as good as Butterfly House.

[See post to listen to audio]
The Coral – Simon Diamond

The whole thing really started to eat away at me after screwing up countless pieces of paper! I went way back to my teenage years when I used to compile these lists on a regular basis. I needed ten tracks for the show, so I thought I would share them with you. I would love your comments good or bad on these, but it’s the real deal with those closet tracks dusted off!!

#10)Prince – Purple Rain
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This simply reminds me of nights in with my now-wife when we lived in a small flat many years ago and is my love song choice.

#9)The Beatles – A Day In The Life
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Probably the hardest choice to pick a single song from the 60s – well impossible to be honest – but I remember playing my parent’s copy of Sgt. Pepper to death as I grew up, and this track was always my favourite.

#8)The Clash – London Calling
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I well remember dashing to the record store to pick up the gatefold double album that still takes a pride of place in my collection! This was a seminal record for me and a perfect way to sign off the punk movement at the end of an interesting decade.

#7)Echo & The Bunnymen – Zimbo (Live 1983)
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My choice for the 80s was another hard one but last year I saw Echo and The Bunnymen live for the first time in many years and it reawakened my love for this track and the late Phil de Freitas.  They really nailed the drums on this track and I love this live version from 1983.

#6)Oasis – Live Forever
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For me the 90′s belonged to Brit Pop we finally came out of the manufactured slump from the mainstream radio and this paved the way for the Indie resurgence

#5)Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)
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Arcade Fire kind of came along and blew me away at the same time reawakening my love for music. This track reminds me of Latitude 2007 with my 12 yearold son on my shoulders singing along. I recall thinking at the time what a first gig to attend and wishing I was twelve years old again!

#4)White Lies – Unfinished Business
[Ed's Note: Someone decided to hotlink the original file and steal massive bandwidth (20GB in less than an hour!), so I was forced to move this to YouSendit. Sorry folks!]
I well remember the first time I received a press release with the mp3 of this song attached. I was totally blown away. It’s a hard one to put in but I kind of know that in twenty years time it will still be right up there as one of my favourites.

#3)David Bowie – Life On Mars?
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For many years this was my favourite song of all time! I just love everything about it and it all seems so effortless. Plus it mentions my home county of Norfolk which as a kid I found cool.

#2)Small Faces – Tin Soldier
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Just a total classic of epic proportions from one of the best albums of all time.

#1)Joy Division – A New Dawn Fades
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The music of Joy Division touched my soul like no other band before or since, and this song is so personal that I can’t listen to it without crying every time. It’s timeless and lyrically Ian laid himself as bare as he could.

So onto the gig…first on the bill was the waiflike Lucy Rose. I was transfixed from the first note to the moment the last chord died away. Visually, she had the vulnerability of a young Sandie Shaw and a voice to match. This girl has the songs and the voice to be right up there with Laura Marling at the forefront of the folk resurgence in the UK. I had one of those moments where I felt as though I was present as a star was born. This tour will surely propel Lucy to new heights! You could of heard a pin drop in the packed auditorium, a fact that was appreciated by both the artist and myself. I would of honestly happily listened to Lucy all night and it was a real shame that her set was cut to four or five songs. You really should check out the tracks on her Myspace page.

If I am truthful, after Lucy main support Melodica, Melody and Me were onto a hiding to nothing as far as engaging me was concerned, as I was still buzzing from her set. The songs themselves were pleasant and well delivered, but at times they seemed to blend into each other. Having listened to them since I have to say that I should check them out live again, I also felt that they were somewhat restrained by the cramped stage.

Bombay Bicycle Club are unassuming rising stars that have smouldered just below the radar over the last couple of years. The new album Flaws takes the band on a different journey from the debut I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose. I loved the way they mingled in the beer garden at the venue prior to wandering over to take to the stage. Many less successful acts closet themselves in dressing rooms, and this all set the tone for an intimate gig that felt like a gathering of friends. As well as showcasing the new material, old favourites were given the acoustic treatment. ‘Dust on the Ground’ seemed to take on a whole new persona.

So what of the crowd? It was an interesting mix of both young and the not-so-young. To take on an acoustic tour at this stage of your career is a brave move, especially for a seated gig. However, as the evening progressed so did the crowd appreciation. Never a band to spend too much time interacting on stage, the complicated simplicity of the songs do the talking. Everything just seemed to work to perfection, and while I am sure this is all by design and sheer hard work mixed with a real talent, they deliver it with effortless ease.

With backing vocals provided by the amazing Lucy Rose, the delicacy of Flaws is heightened even more in the live setting. This and the more gentle tracks moved me more than the upbeat Mumfordesque single ‘Ivy & Gold’. Jack Steadman’s delivery of Louden Wainwright’s ‘Motel Blues’ is nothing short of stunning! For the younger elements in the crowd I’m sure it was maybe a first time introduction to this beautiful song.

Based on the crowd reaction the die hard fans have bought into this new direction and they have picked up a whole new crowd along the way. I would be happy to pay money to see these guys either electric or unplugged. It seems a lot longer than four years ago that they won the Channel 4 Road to V competition granting them an opening slot. Is this the future direction for BBC who knows? I have a feeling there is a lot more diversity to come yet as they mature as artists. What is certain is that BBC unplugged beats MTV unplugged any day in my book!

Many thanks to Steve Hunt for the photo’s and the beer !!!

http://www.myspace.com/lucyrosemusic

http://www.myspace.com/mmmelodic

http://www.myspace.com/bombaybicycleclub

[See post to listen to audio]
Bombay Bicycle Club – Motel Blues (Loudon Wainwright Cover)

Mark: Hi Jonathan! Where did the idea for Svengali come from?

Jonathan: It was Dean Cavanagh who came up with the concept of a band manager and naming it Svengali. I thought that was brilliant and christened him ‘Dixie’. We then sparred the idea back and forth and got our good friend and brilliant Director Phil John on board and then decided to just shoot one. My dear friend Roger Evans was perfect as Dixie’s nemesis ‘Horsey’ and we put it out and people went daft for it. Which was great.

Mark: Who decides upon the guest appearances?

Jon: We kind of have a chat about who we think would ‘fit’ into what Dixie’s world would be. Obviously because of the reputation we’ve built up we want the right people. So, if we had the choice over say Cheryl Cole or Kate Bush I think it’s pretty obvious to people now who’d we go for…and it wouldnt be the toilet attendant slapper, obviously.

Mark: Are you surprised at the way it has taken off?

Jon: Yes, a bit. I recently went to Wembley to watch Cardiff City in the play-off final and so many people came onto me about Svengali. Same when I walk through Soho. It seems Dixie is dearly loved. It’s also interesting how people pick up on lines and quote them back to you. It’s obviously something people watch over and over. It’s become that ‘cult’ thing that you can’t buy…long may it continue.

Mark: I was wondering how the short format could be transferred into a 30 minute series on T.V, would this mean fleshing out the episodes already shot well the concept of them?

Jon: Yes, it would obviously have to be fleshed out. We’d see more of his world and back story. We’d certainly take him back to Wales. Me, Dean and Phil talk constantly about this and it’s safe to say we’d keep it as close to the spirit of the online Ep’s as possible as people love it. I’d hate it to become too polished and turn into a typical sitcom. Curb Your Enthusiasm is the ‘mantra’ for us. We want that slightly chaotic feel to it. Punk Comedy TV if you like.

Mark: So we are up to number 8 any idea when number 9 will be shot?

Jon: Not sure really. Maybe August time. Depends on getting people in and availability. Thing is, it has to be good and have the right people in there. Obviously Horsey and McGee are returning so we’d like to do one with them again.

Mark: This new episode features both Martin Freeman and Boy George, how did those linkups come about?

Jon: Martin had seen it and loved it and wanted to be in the series. Obviously we were massive fans of his work so I was delighted to get him in. We had a mutual friend, Paolo Hewitt, who organised a meet for us and we just talked music, clothes, film, everything for about two hours. He’s a great guy and very clued up. Perfect for Svengali. A real ‘face’ too among the Mod community in London. Well respected and liked, which is no easy thing! haha. We talked about how difficult it is for anyone to break into that kind of group as ‘snobbery’ is a big part of it and so came up with the idea of him playing this fuckin ‘uber-Mod’ who Dixie would irritate no end. Dean loved the idea and came up with some fantastic lines. It seems Martin has personally ressurected the word ‘ticket’ as a term of abuse again!
George was taking my photo for the Hep C charity. (I was done up like Robert Smith from The Cure). We talked about Svengali and he said he’d love to be in it. I said we’d more than love to have him and there he was. I have to say he was brilliant too. A lovely guy to have on set, really good fun.

Mark: I love the kind of fly on the wall feel to the series so far, is this set to continue?

Jon: Yes, I think the character of it means that it has to be slightly rough and ready. I think it’s shot almost like Curb or The Thick of it. That’s why it works. It’s quick and pacy, the way comedy should be really.

Mark: Dixie is sacked in episode 8, will this maybe clear the way for him to work in a certain record shop in Camden town? (there is an extremely funny series of short clips called Rock Pete’s Totally True Rock’n'Roll Tales filmed in A Camden record shop)

Jon: Haha! Maybe…we’ll see. ;)

Mark: Is the rumour true that we will be seeing at least another three episodes before the end of the year?

Jon: Yes, I’ll endeavour to do that. we’ve had a couple of offers to put it out on DVD. Put them all together like. So we might just do that after a few more. Early next year maybe. But it’s very much an organic thing and it changes all the time so it’s very open at the moment.

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The Jam – Boy About Town

It was a rather surreal experience to watch La Roux debut on The View this morning. I’m not quite sure that this is their target audience, but thankfully they did not tone down their outfits (or hair) for the morning TV crowd. Elly even did her funky little dance between verses, which I am quite fond of. With ‘Bulletproof’ holding steady on a number of terrestrial radio playlists, maybe La Roux is actually on the way to cracking America? Stranger things have happened.

Barclaycard Mercury Prize Albums of the Year revealed
An important year for musical creativity and excellence is highlighted by the 12 Albums of the Year shortlisted for the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize, announced on Tuesday 20 July.

“This year’s Mercury list includes musicians from all stages of their careers and from contrasting parts of the British Isles,” says Simon Frith, Chair of Judges. “It features music that is urban and rural, light and dark, joyful and profound. The records have wit, an abundance of musical energy and their own distinct voices. There is music here to make you laugh, cry, dance and sing. Enjoy!”

The 2010 Albums of the Year are:

Biffy Clyro Only Revolutions
Corinne Bailey Rae The Sea
Dizzee Rascal Tongue N’ Cheek
Foals Total Life Forever
I Am Kloot Sky At Night
Kit Downes Trio Golden
Laura Marling I Speak Because I Can
Mumford & Sons Sigh No More
Paul Weller Wake Up the Nation
The xx xx
Villagers Becoming a Jackal
Wild Beasts Two Dancers

The Barclaycard Mercury Prize celebrates the year in music. The shortlist, chosen from an entry of over 200 albums by UK and Irish artists, was announced by Lauren Laverne. The event was hosted by The Hospital Club in Covent Garden, the club for the creative industries.

The overall winner of the 2010 Prize will be decided and announced at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show, which will be broadcast live on BBC Two on Tuesday 7 September 2010. Lauren Laverne will present the programme, with the Awards Show event itself hosted by Jools Holland.

As much as one can never speculate on these things as we tend to have rather bemusing results at times, I am pleased to see the talents of both Laura Marling and the Mumfords recognised in the short list. The one thing I enjoy about this award is that it brings a whole range of diverse music to the attention of the record buying public.

If you ask me to put my neck on the line and ask me to pick a winner it would have to be Laura marling over Mumford & Son’s, purely because I still feel her talents are not recognised to the degree they should be. This is one of the best albums of any year let alone the last twelve months.

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Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can

Hjatalin are from Reykjavik. I don’t know what it is about Iceland, maybe the long winter nights help throw up some of the most innovative and eclectic artists out there. It’s difficult to even try to describe the sound that this seven-piece create, as every track is a new experience. Some feel like showtunes while others are a wild cacophony of sound. Normally I steer well clear of the more complex orchestral incarnations out there, but this is something else.

Besides the regular guitar, bass & drums, the band also consists of piano, bassoon and violin. All this creates a rich sound that warms you and pulls you into the darker elements that abound on this album. Alongside those atmospheric outings are some pretty danceable tracks like ’7 Years’ that kind of attack all of your senses at once. From the soulful jazz vocal to the full-on dance breaks a la the Scissor Sisters.

For those of you looking for an album that will grab you as something completely different, this is the one for you. Having really played it to death over the last few days, it’s 2010′s equivalent of Funeral, both in terms of versatility and quality. This will without doubt be way up there on my end of year list! These folks are a band I need to see live sooner rather than later. A stunning, beautifully crafted record made with love that exudes from your speakers. That’s my sum up!

http://www.myspace.com/hjaltalinband

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Hjaltalin – Seven Years