Oh I see (laughs...), they are most probably enjoying the sunshine having all the fun and I get left with the work.
This usually the case?
Yeah I’m the responsible one.
Anyway let’s move on, what is Shock Defeat?
Erm... that is a very abstract question. We are a group of friends who decided to start a band. We had never been in a band before but we liked the idea. We found that to our surprise that other people enjoyed it too. Pauses for more than 5 secs... I’m not being very articulate am I?
No its fine, but shall we move on to the next one... I hear you like to go to kids parties to get your ideas of acapella post punk progressive style, how does this work?
It’s my friend’s daughter 2nd birthday party this Sat. I’m not sure how many ideas we will get from this one. I think two year olds have a lot of energy and it’s the energy we try and challenge to transform through our performances.
Who has the obsession with cats? Me.... It’s an internet thing. Cute cat pictures, cute cat videos it just seemed appropriate somehow to pay our respects in some way... I don’t get the obsession personally..
You a dog lover? No, I have cats, but I never seem to find the humour in them, maybe it’s me..
Your music is intense but I can’t decide whether you are slightly eccentric or world class geniuses, what you reckon?
He made me repeat it three times...
I thought you said that but I just wanted to hear you say that a couple of times. I don’t know, we just do what comes naturally to us. If that’s eccentric then that’s what we are, we just do our own thing.... I guess a lot of the stuff we are into like Dezo, weird stuff from Talking Heads, if you think that’s eccentric then I guess that’s what we are.
I’m a fan of Talking Heads and speaking of fans, I like your music why is there not a lot of gigs happening at the moment?
Pure laziness, we have about six or seven in the next couple of months.
Do you think girls fancy you more because you are in a band, have you been successful?
Of course we do... laughs. All chicks love guys in bands..
Yes especially eccentric ones...
Laughs... yes I guess sex appeal comes with the territory. Well I think I will end this hear on that note, take care and all the best with everything!!.
Hello, who is Electric Child House? Our group of friends are very electric characters; we all have a lot to save for ourselves.
Well what have you got to say for yourself then? I suppose our biggest frustration is people who are happy just being average normal people, with no goals in life. We got a lot of soul.
What makes you different to any other psychedelic garage band out there? I think we have a bit more of a rock and roll edge to us, we really like the Rolling Stones, so we are trying to get more of a performance rather than pretentious, looking at your feet and that sort of thing. Were we want more of a rock and roll aspect to it.
Being four boys is there a lot of competition between you all?Joe (drummer) and I are the only two singles one, so there is only a fight between us for the girls.
The music front? When it comes to writing music there is a bit of democracy. If someone has something for the table we work on it .We all have an equal say but sometimes it will be one person vice versa
Who has really got the brains for the music? The guitarist Ronnie comes up with the structure, ideas and suppose he is the one with the vision musically and the lead singer writes the lyrics, I helped out with the lyrics. Joe drums away.
Main influences on your style of music?Bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Primal Scream, Black Angel, The Doors etc. All psychedelic American Bands.
What is your plan for the next upcoming months? Our singer is going away for a couple weeks, while we will carry on writing which takes time. After that we will be looking for some more gigs.
What inspires you to write? Obviously listening to music, we just get into a room and have jam sessions and see where it takes us.
Will this be different material? Yeah I say it’s more rocker edge to it, we like to keep our psychedelic sound intact but I think it’s going for more like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. But we like to still keep it tripping.
With your break, what are you hoping to achieve and what’s your biggest ambition? Our biggest ambition is that we want to be rock stars at the end of the day; I mean a proper big rock star that is the dream. Our plan is to get more followers, new music, more gigs and then take it from there really. So far so good, we have been gigging for over a year now and it’s been going really well with great feedback.
It may seem a strange contrast to fill up a night with a melodramatic rock band, a grime artist and a comedy sketch - but somehow this evening it works. Arriving on what feels like the set of Only Fools and Horses and being offered a cup cake, you immediately get the feeling that promoters Turn Off The Radio have pulled something special out of the bag.
Enough about the night through - let's talk Islington Boys Club, who are captivating from start to finish. Singer Andy Lovelee is unquestionably made to be a performer, and he reminds me of a young Brian Moloko. It's not entirely clear whether he's late on stage because (a) he's fixing his barnet or (b) he just wants to keep us in suspense - but as soon as he's onstage, the band are off on one.
Bursting with enthusiasm, it soon becomes apparent that this Victorian pub is far too small for where these guys are heading. Each band member has their own distinct look, yet they all work together to produce something quite stirring.
I can't quite make out the lyrics, but to be honest I sense it doesn't really matter - the power of the band's music is addictive enough on its own, filling up an absent crack in my musical tastes that's long been waiting to be fed.
Artrocker: Hello, North Atlantic Oscillation! Erm… What’s the story behind the name?
NAO: It's got 8 syllables. It's a decadal weather system. No other band is called it… as far as I know.
Artrocker: After all the years of hard work, your debut album is finally set for release. What can we expect?
NAO: Umm... 11 tracks of varying length, texture, theme and content.
Artrocker: You’ve been given some outstanding reviews, but they all struggle to describe your music. Can you give us some pointers?
NAO: What we want it to be is lush, dense, uplifting and strange. What people hear in it is up to them.
Artrocker: Your Callsigns EP contained an incredible cover of the 1959 Flamingos track, ‘I only have eyes for you’. How did this come about?
NAO: I first heard the song on George Lucas's film, American Graffiti, when I was a kid. It is instantly arresting, with its ominous, moody undercurrent lurking behind the superficial levity of the doo-wop sound. Terry Johnson's arrangement for the Flamingos is also musically fascinating (the song itself actually dates back to 1934). I completed our version over an otherwise boring weekend, largely as a way of getting the Flamingos' version out of my head - it was such an Ohrwurm it was driving me nuts. It worked. Artrocker: Any more covers up your sleeves?
NAO: No plans at the moment. I'm not normally keen on covers, so the Flamingos one was probably a one-off. But who knows...
Artrocker: You’re currently on tour. What have been your highlights so far?
NAO: The album tour hasn't started yet, but our touring highlight so far has been supporting Porcupine Tree in Wolverhampton, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. Amazing headliners, amazing fans, amazing gigs. Artrocker: Tell us something about you that we don’t know already…
NAO: The trestle table on which Chris (our bass and synth player) places his keyboards and laptop is called Colin.
New Cross’s latest five piece new rave pop sensations are more than just a band. Anna, the lead singer from the group aka the leader of the pack, lets loose and divulges their latest conquests of record labels, dirty habits and being best mates with no other than Andy Pence from New Young Pony Club. Holly Eells gets to dig that little bit deeper into the world of My Tiger My Timing... What does My Tiger My Timing mean? I find it really confusing.
(Laughs) A lot of people say that to us. It is actually a name of a song from a guy called Arthur Russell. He was a musician/songwriter from New York based in the 80s and we were really influenced by his stuff. It’s a song title and someone suggested it and we thought it was something different and it really stood out. Subsequently a lot of bands at the moment have the name Tiger in their name.
What other band’s have the name Tiger then?
Well everywhere I look I always seem to see bands with the name Tiger in it. Like Pull Tiger Tail, Three Trapped Tigers, I just see them all the time. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m uber sensitive!
Being the only girl, do you tend to rule the roost or does this lead you from being left out at times?
I don’t feel left out, I feel I’m one of the guys when it comes to the band. I have a brother in the band but I feel like all the boys in the band are my brothers. It's quite nice being the only girl as you get away with not carrying the equipment but you get the fun side as well. I’m definitely joining in on all the banter!
You mentioned you had a brother in the band. Does this cause rivalry and who’s most likely to go home and moan to mum?
(Laughs) That’s probably me. I do more of the moaning. We have a really good relationship, but you do have the occasional flair moments when we are away on tour. There was a time when he threw a drink in my face and I slapped him.
WHAT?
It’s what siblings are like, it’s healthy.
Who is the most irritating and has the worst habits amongst you all?
OMG, that’s a good question. The worst habits I think belong to Seb our keyboard player. When you meet for the first time he is very much a gentleman, very poise, but after a couple of drinks he is a rock and roll animal!! He is always the one ending in sticky situations but I can’t really repeat some of the stuff he has done. Everyone can have their annoying habits.
What other exciting things have you got coming up?
We have a lot of things coming up at the moment. We are writing new material which we are really excited about. We have been going for a couple of years and last year we spent a lot of time playing live and you don’t get much time to write. We are doing a small tour in Germany in May, we have a few festivals such as V Festival, Stag & Dagger and Isle of Wight Festival, so a few in the pipeline. The Summer is starting look really good for us as we are very DIY.
Well you have obviously made it because you are on Wikipedia!
OH? (Laughs) That is definitely news to me. Wikipedia is always that thing I go to catch up. I need to check it out and see if it’s all true. Please share something with us that you haven’t done already?
We used to run our own label called Snakes and Ladders and we are thinking of relaunching that. As we are based in New Cross, the label was just based in our local area. We were thinking about doing events as we have friends in bands and it could be something fun. That is something that most people don’t know about us. It will be good to make friends.
Cool, we will have our eyes and ears open for that one. Who is the most famous person you know then?
We have been working for a long period with Andy Spence from the New Young Pony Club. You don’t see him as well known til you see him on TV or something like that. He is really down to earth.
Peggy Sue are a young indie folk trio, who took the world by storm Monday night, well the ‘Relentless Garage’ that is. Swapping and grabbing any instrument possible amongst one another, they really managed to keep things in order. They are known for teasing the audience for a despicable encore. Heading on a European tour in the next coming month with Archie Bronson Outfit, this was nothing but good practice for the young brood
Ever since Peggy Sue merged out of the pipeline in 2005 I was never really a fan, if I’m being brutally honest. Changing their names from Peggy Sue and the Pirates to Peggy Sue and the Pictures, they have finally settled with Peggy Sue. I am first to admit it when I am wrong and I throw my hands up and surrender to the fact that these young folk have something special.
Selling out their biggest gig to date at ‘The Relentless Garage’, Highbury, this is a massive achievement for the trio who had permanent grins slashed across their faces while performing to the eager crowd. Packed out from door to door everyone managed to secure their spot to catch a slight glimpse at the headliners.
Playing various tracks from previous releases and giving us some tasters from their new album Fossils not Tantrums, they really went down a treat. Nerves were there but very well hidden. Their blues alternative jive is really addictive and the chemistry between Rosa Rex and Katy Klaw is incredibly intense as they have everything down to a key, making the goosebumps rise to the surface of my skin.’ Salt Water’ for me was my favourite example of this. Pitch perfect throughout the show on vocals and I have never seen a band with so many talents for a long time. Swapping the accordion, to a broken acoustic, and a ukulele on hand, plus adding a twist of a miniature string section to the act. What more could you want from a Monday night showing! All their tracks seem to be personal to one or the other. The dirty south rockabilly approach is distinctive compared to other recurring bands that have the same old drone throughout each track. Its edgy, it’s lively and they offer you humorous entertainment. Receiving a first ever encore from fanatical fans, they really pulled themselves together well from all the attention. Nerves never got the better off them and at the end they all joined forces to end the show on a phenomenal high. Their schedule is jam packed for the next couple of months travelling around Europe but be sure to catch this talented young bunch on their return.
There was a period when double denim was an ultimate no no on the streets of London even if you were nipping down to the local laundrette it was surely frowned open. It was a fashion trend that never seemed to be forgiven amongst the style conscious and many of these tragedies haven’t made an appearance since. But now Spring/Summer 2010 has had a dramatic change of heart and brought the natural disaster of the 80s back into full swing and turned it into the must seen look of this season. Well one of them anyway.
Being one of the most discomforting looks of the century, it has been advised to keep the fresh look alive, it must be worn from head to toe. Yes you heard that right. From Chloe adding the patchwork jean effect, to Twenty 8 Twelve keeping the soft tone to a minimal, and House of Holland is adding a hint of edginess with their ribbed and frayed touch to the collection.
Do you think this can really work? I believe so. Every designer has taken advantage of this DD frenzy and mixed it up with their own creational skills and given you every option possible to make this trend work for you. Starting off with a range of textures like thick, cotton, tencel, knitted denim and even as far as spandex denim, it’s all coming back.
However this hasn’t just been displayed on the cat walk, the important faces from all over town have been daring to sport this innovative development. Kayne West has been seen to be adventuring out in the most ultimate awful denim look of all time. Resurfacing the sky tone jean jacket and collaborating it with the good old regular jeans.With Zac Effron being a customary fan of the two tone and David Beckham always being top of his game has been taken in to this controversial trend also.
As for the ladies not wanting to miss out on the latest trickiest trend this summer has had to date, many have given the green light and given it a bash and not many have fallen.Alexa Cheug always being a trend setter in her own right, has given the look a few tries, with the classic shirt and jeans being one of the visuals. With Pixie Geldolf mixing it up a tad more with the denim crop top and thick dark denim jeans. No one can be seen to be getting this look wrong nowadays, the more denim the better seems to be doing the trick.
This denim configuration which was given snubbed looks and negative gestures ever since the early 80s formed this imagery, it has been turned into a genesis formation of work over night. Could this ever be wrong again? We will have to wait and see. But why not give this look a bash while you still have permission to do so, or you may live to regret it.
Brighton indie folk band Peggy Sue are about to embark on a European tour with the Archie Bronson Outfit. Last week Holly Eells managed to squeeze a few answers out of Rosa. Quizzing her on the growth of the band and also trying to put her on the spot about group dynamics. Rosa held her own and this was the outcome. Also do take advantage of a freeload the band made available a month ago on HERE. Their debut album Fossils and Other Phantoms is available now.
Who Is Peggy Sue?
Rosa: (Laughs) It’s kind of related to the Buddy Holly song, it was about a girl nick named after the song, but her name was Samantha? Which we named our band after, I know it’s very random
I went to your sold out gig Monday night at ‘Relentless Garage’ amongst all the other sweaty Betties in there, where you guys going to go from here?
Rosa: Well we are going on tour across Europe with Archie Bronson Outfit, who we love. Then we are coming back and playing the Royal Albert Hall, but downstairs and just around the country playing loads of shows. But we are not sure when our next big London gig is going to be. But we are pretty busy.
Did Archie Bronson contact you?
Rosa: I’m not really sure how it happened, I think we asked them and they literally said yes 10 minutes later!! That was exciting for us.
What do you take advantage of now you are becoming famous?
Rosa: (Laughs) I don’t think we are kind of famous just yet. (Laughs) I don’t think I am and don’t feel I could take advantage just yet. It’s nice people are taking an interest in us and Katy and I used to say to each other we know we have made it somewhere, when we wouldn’t be petrified that people wouldn’t turn up!
You used to play in coffee shops?
Rosa: When we first started, we never indented to be in a band. We were at university and we did it just for fun, but people were taking us seriously. Then we were playing with serious acts and we realised we actually loved making music and didn’t think we were able to be great and we were! We weren’t that good at playing instruments!
You are now! You had the ukulele out, the drums and the acoustic guitar.
Rosa: We worked very hard!
Being two females in the band who gets the most attention and is there any jealously between you both?
Rosa: Wow, we have never been asked that before, that’s a good question. I think most people are cleverer enough not express their obvious preference and me and Katy have arguments about the smallest things, but we are like sisters so its everyday things. But on the whole it’s never an issue; however I will let you know though!
Who do you think is the strongest vocally?
Rosa: Oh god, I don’t know. I wouldn’t like to say because I could definitely say Katy as that would be the polite thing to say but she has an incredible voice. People can decide for themselves.
But who gets the highest harmony?
Rosa: We both write the songs, often one would have written the core melody and the other would sing the harmony and decide if it’s higher or lower. Literally we both have similar ranges and it’s become more similar from the time we spend together. Some people can’t tell the difference. Katy has an amazing voice and fortunately I have had a voice since school. But I hope she would say the same thing about me.
Fossils and Phantoms is due for release soon, why should we go out and splash the pennies?
Rosa: I feel I have to have a controversial answer on this one because all my other answers were not. It is a really good representation of what kind of music we are making currently and if you like us at all as a band already I think it will be interesting because it is a bit of a change and for people who don’t [Like us], it’s a good album. I don’t have any better reasons than that!
Obviously you’re heading on a European tour, what will you miss and not miss about England?
Rosa: Really looking forward to going all the different places like Berlin and France. The one thing I won’t miss is the weather!
All of your styles are not bad, where do you purchase your garments?
Rosa: A lot of clothes I buy are from second hand shops; pass me downs and a hat, which I love that’s my granddads. However I have a pair of trousers from Top Shop that I have been wearing a lot recently.
If your band goes down the drain, (which I hope it doesn’t) what’s your back up plan?
Rosa: I luckily got to finish my degree. Being a set designer and being more involved in art. But we would probably stay in involved in music.
I have always had a bizarre fascination with Oriental Culture ever since I lived in Singapore at the age of 17. From the way I wear my hair in a high top to the obsession of sushi.
However I wanted to dig deeper than just ' Ikura' (Salmon Roe). I wanted to get lost in the land ofJapanese living and learn the ways of life over there. I feel I was snatched away too early and being made to move back to London was not the right time for me. So my partner and I decided to take atrip over the Christmas holidays and celebrate the turn of 2010 in Tokyo style.
We arrived at Narita airport on the morning of the 28th December, in total we had been travellingfor over 24 hours, but I got the sense it was worth it as soon as I stepped off the plane. The 12hrplane journey half way across the world brought us 9 hours ahead of London, so I was ready andwaiting for the jet lag to kick in. We had only booked a week as we both had commitments of work and college. It would have been ideal to have a bit longer to get over the tiredness but I couldn'tcomplain I was inTokyo.
We hopped ourselves on the Tokyo Sky Train, which was an incredible experience as it allowed us to see the whole of Tokyo from its rural to urban areas. It helped us get to the nearest metro station(Tube station) to reach our destination Akasaka, where we were staying. It was a challenge I mustsay the least as everything is in written in Japanese apart from the minor words in English but we gotby. Otherwise cabs would be the other option but they are a very expensive indeed
I felt like I had skipped forward 5 years in a time machine that I never thought would be possible.From the heated power seat of a toilet, that sings to you and cleans your private areas (if you wishso) to walking human robots. It made London look like we were living back in the 1980's. We got back to the hotel, dumped ours bags, straightened ourselves up and got back out on theroad to nowhere.
I was so excited and full of adrenaline with not knowing what was going to happennext, all these new experiences were so much to take in. We hit the town of Shinjuku, known for itsbusiest station in the world. Lucky for us it was the holidays so it wasn't so bad. After walking aroundhelplessly, getting caught up in all the madness we found a nice small conveyer belt sushi jointwhere we were greeted by the all staff and given a hand towel to freshen up. I found this overwhelming and embarrassing at the same time, as I didn't know if this was just because we weretourists or if this is the norm. We found this to be happening everywhere we went from theboutiques to restaurants but we realised long enough everyone was greeted this way.
After, we ended up in the corner of the gay district, of Shinjuku in the tiny drinking dens which holds a capacity of 8 people. The alleys hold so much life that you get caught up in all the excitement andthe time just flies by, the next thing you know its six in the morning. The drinking is practically 24hours everywhere and they all like to have a drink. But you don't see rowdy chavs on the street causing disturbance or trouble as everyone is very disciplined with manners.
However on a couple ofincidences we found a man collapsed on a flight of stairs, one crouched randomly in the middle ofthe floor and everyone rushed round him for the train. You would see people hanging over the barand they would be just left till they came round. The best moment was when we were walking in Shibuya one morning when a man fell out of the bush it was hilarious.
The Japanese take pride in everything they do from the cleanliness to their garments it has to be exactly perfect. You never see litter anywhere and they follow recycling very seriously as it’s not a chore for them. Queuing for the trains is a photographic moment, they would form a single orderlyline waiting for the train, but when they are getting on the train it’s all push and shove. It definitely takes some getting used to as you don't expect it. They are very helpful people and would willingly offer to help if you looked lost. However in the hustle and bustle you are every man to his own.
Ludwig, my boyfriend being 6 ft tall would overlook them all but would still managed to be pushedout the way by a four and a half foot old lady. It’s madness.
Over the next couple of days we crammed in as much as possible, we didn't want to miss anythingon this trip. We managed to get ourselves up at 5.30am to reach Tskukiji, a fish market that had tobe one of the main highlights of the holiday. It's the nation's fish market in full flight and it’s whereyou can enjoy fresh sushi for breakfast. The texture of the sashimi would just melt in your mouth, I
have never tasted anything like it, and we didn't know when to stop eating. I would highlyrecommend this if you were in Tokyo, as you would never have tasted sushi so fresh as this in yourlife before. (Tesco's is now out the window). Witnessing a single tuna of over 250 lbs, there has been bigger tuna than this, being sold. Only being 7am in the morning, there were queues of up to 100 people long waiting for their favourite 10-seater sushi house. Some coming from a night out (better than our kebab joints), or just having food before work. When you see the locals queuing that longfor something you know it must be good so we joined in.
Being a typical tourist we found ourselves up Tokyo Tower, being the world's tallest self supportingsteel tower beating Eiffel Tower at 333 m tall. It had some phenomenal sights and overlooking all theareas around. The observatory commands a 360 view of the whole Kanto region of Tokyo. I have to admit I looked more straight ahead than down.If you want to check the spectacular view at night itis open till late, which I would have rather preferred.
Nevertheless we did get to go 38 floors up in the ANA Intercontinental Tokyo hotel, which has thebest bar in town, known for its expensive cocktails and its 360 outrageous views. The skyline was phenomenal at night and is always that extra bit special as we got to witness Mount Fuji in the distance.
We hit some local markets in Tskukji, Ikebukuro and Ueno where all the haggling took place. China,Fruit, fish, sushi knifes you name it you could find it. It was so noisy and you could feel yourself getting lost in all the mayhem. Fruit is expensive as it’s really hard to get in Japan. A grapefruit is a delicacy and people would give these as gifts. They could cost around £50, very shocking. Strawberries were really big and oranges full of flavour. So our 5 a day was out the window.
A friend of ours recommended a place called Andy's Shinhinomoto in Ginza. Part of a side of restaurants located under a train track, you could feel the whole place move when one went past. They are quite hard to find as it took us nearly 45 minutes walking up and down but it’s worth it I assure you. Run by a man from Scotland, he was really popular with the locals and the expats. The place was packed from corner to corner leaving us a pre booked space at the back. The food was great having fresh crab from Tskuiji itself and a large portion of tempura. The sake kept on coming and you were high from the atmosphere in the place and it was not just the drink.
New Year is the biggest celebration in Japan, so to celebrate to 2010 we decided to go Electric Tribe.It was very pricey but everything on New Year is and we had been careful with our money so wewanted to celebrate the New Year with a bang. Based in Yebisu, they had djs from all over the world,it was really something special. Mix Master Morris, Laurent Garnier, DJ Krush, to name a few were allseeing us through the New Year. It was great, the crowd was very mixed and we got to mingle withthe locals, it was a lot of fun. People were coming in and going out all night and the djs kept thepeople dancing till the morning. Drinks were expensive and they served free food all night so peoplecould maintain their drinking on a reasonable level. The smoking ban doesn't exist in Japan, whichwas hard to get used to but they still had a smoking area in the club which is nice for us non smokersto dance in a smoke free environment. However smoking is banned down streets, they have locatedareas around Tokyo were they can smoke and nowhere else. Which I think is excellent.
The last couple of days were vital as I wanted to see as much as possible. So we decided to get aTokyo cruise which takes you on a tour around all the outskirts of Tokyo. Taking you down theSumida River Line, you get to see some fantastic sights; it’s very popular for the locals to get around too. It brought us into Asakusa where big celebrations were taking place at the Senso-Ji, The AsakusaKannon Temple. It is visited by 30 million people a year and is Tokyo’s oldest temple. It’s the Hatsumode period which takes place in between 1-7th January. People visit the temple at the beginning of the New Year to pray for their wishes to be fulfilled. It was crazy but an amazing experience for us to witness. The grounds were enormous with so many gates and halls for people to wander round. Inside there were lots of stalls selling food, trinkets and memorabilia.
We took a stroll in to Harajuku to check out the famous Harajuku girls that only parade on a Sunday. They are equivalent to our drunken Punks in Camden town, without the attitude, disorderly behaviour and happy for you to let them take a photo. They are famous for their unique style butrarely dress the same. Many prominent designers and fashion ideas have sprung from Harajuku and incorporated themselves into other fashions throughout the world. Most young people gather onJinju Bridge which is a pedestrian bridge, so they will be easy to find if you are interested in a look.
We ended the holiday by of course hitting the sales and being taken away by all the new moderntechnology that was on offer.We were persuaded and end up buying the latest video camera; wedidn’t feel too guilty as it was a very good price. They really cut their prices over there.You here of people going over there and never coming back, well maybe that will be me next time.
