On a cold, slightly damp Saturday evening in the heart of Bristol, who would have known what a special night we were in for. With the release of their new album Shoals last month, these boys brought their tour to the 02 Academy in Bristol for a night of good music, with support from Billie Marten.
Only one support for this show, coming from singer-songwriter Billie Marten. Billie, with the backing of her band, played us a few songs from their discography. Although the songs started very soft and quiet, come the end of the set they picked up, and more people became interested in what was going on on stage.
A really good choice for the opening band, with music that perfectly set the mood and was really enjoyable.
And then it was on to the main act of the night.
Although Palace aren’t one for big entrances and fan fares, the roar that greeted them as they came on stage showed they had some dedicated and appreciated fans at this show.
Although the first couple of songs took a while to warm up the crowd, by the 4th song they had them in the palm of their hand, with people across the venue singing and dancing along, everyone there having a good time. I could feel the balcony start to shake underneath me from the movement!
Not one for lots of crowd interaction, these guys just got on and played their music, playing a massive 16 songs throughout the night. It was clear that the music meant a lot more than just words and sounds to so many people at the show. From my position on the balcony, I could see friends dancing hand in hand, singalongs and even some happy tears. For many people this was certainly that gig.
In keeping with their restrained, laid back nature of the night, there was no walk-off-walk-on (and those who know me will know how happy that makes me), they just kept playing for us. And the crowd kept loving it.
Again, there was no big, over the top finish from the band, just a calm end to a set of good music. That isn’t to say the audience wasn’t going insane, and there was smiles and happy faces from everyone as they left the venue after what was a truly magical night.
Words and photos by Ted Stargatt (all photos are copyrighted to Ted Stargatt/TrueStyleMusic)
Released just over a week ago, we thought it would be a good idea to chat to Sarah and Sam about the music music and a host of other stuff.
Can you tell us a bit about Blue Violet? Where are you from and how did you start as a band?
Sam: Sarah is Scottish / French and I’m from Bristol, we started playing music with aech other a few years ago. Blue Violet came to life in 2021 when we decided to start a new project together.
What about the name, where did that come from?
Sarah: Those two colours portray the emotion of our music. Both melancholic and vibrant / uplifting.
If you had to sum each other up in one word, what would you say?
Va-Va-Voom
You recently released your new single Poster Girl, what does this song mean to you, as a band?
Sarah: It’s a song about fighting back. We liked the idea of having this strong female character in the narrative and in a way I kind of step into her shoes when we play it live. I like getting into that headspace when I’m performing.
Is this a hint at more new music on the way?
It’s no secret that we’ve been sitting on an album and we’re pleased to say the wait is almost over, we can’t reveal the release date just yet but we will be very soon!
Who produced this? Have you worked with them before? How was it working with them?
Rob Ellis, It was our first time working with him and we really enjoyed the process. We recorded it at Middle Farm Studios in Devon over the course of a month. We had a great team and it felt like a very natural meeting of minds.
Did you find that lockdown had an effect on your songwriting and music?
We wrote loads in the first few months and then did lots of demos. We were lucky enough to be living up in Scotland at the time in the countryside, and so had a lot of nature and quiet around us which is ideal for writing.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Never! “No ragrets”
We hear that you are playing a couple of live shows soon. What can we expect from these?
We like to mix it up and do acoustic, intimate gigs as well as full band gigs. We have a bit of both coming up and more announcements on dates very soon.
What advice would you give to those looking to make their own music?
Even though things have been hard recently it’s worth sticking it out, music is important and hard times make for good art.
Where can we find out more about you?
Get in touch on our instagram or head over to blueviolet.uk
Anything else you would like to tell us, or even ask us a question?
What’s your favourite album of 2021?
Well for us it has to be The Lottery Winners with Something To Leave The House For.
Released today across all streaming platforms, we thought it would be a good opportunity to chat to Lostboy about the new song and all things music.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from and how did Lostboy start?
I grew up in a tiny place in nowhere land called Wotton-under-Edge. It’s quiet there, school was about as you’d expect and outside of that there wasn’t much going on for the likes of kids like me. Music however, opened up doors to an escapism I had long craved – it all took off from there really. I met Robbo (Henry Robinson – Bass) and Eth (Ethan Reeves – Drums) at secondary, started pumping out shit covers interspersed with my first dodgy writing efforts, then relocated to Sheffield where Bezza (Lead Guitar) jumped on board and we started to find the sound.
If you had to use three words to sum up Lostboy, what would you say?
Eager, determined and loud
You’ve released today your new single Weight. What does the song mean to you?
For me it came about from my thinking about the metaphorical ‘weight’ we all carry around in some aspect. I think post lockdown and reflective I was able to see how things had affected me in a more objective way. The song kind of cries out for that weight to be left behind, for us all to start anew in this new year. To be honest I never know what they mean until after they are written, it takes some processing myself. More often than not my songs know me better than I do.
Were you expecting to find inspiration there?
I wasn’t really looking for inspiration as such; like with all my writing the best ones tend to come about when I’m feeling either troubled or elated – i do have lockdown and current societal pressures to thank for sure.
What is one thing you have learnt from making music, maybe something you weren’t expecting?
Probably that I don’t find myself alone in the way my brain works (or doesn’t). Everyone has experienced their own ‘weight’ over the past year and that’s unique only to them, but I was surprised to find the way that would affect those around me not to distant to my own experience.
I hear you are about to go on tour soon. What can we expect from these live shows?
We cannot wait for these shows. We’ll be touching places we’ve never been before and stretching our reach further afield – I can’t wait to see what energies the crowds bring.
How are you preparing for the tour?
We’ll have studio space booked for a good week or so to hone the set but to be honest it never takes the lads and I long to pull it back – although there are new tunes that may need some extra ironing.
What advice would you give those looking to make their own music?
Write about things you love, things you hate and things that make YOU feel. Don’t try and write about things you don’t understand to jump trends, the people who love your music will smell bullshit a mile off. Make it all about having fun and you’re winning.
Where can we find out more about you?
We have a website which is thatbandlostboy.com – everything you need is there
Anything else you would like to tell us, or even ask us any questions?
Nothing other than thanks for having me and for all you do with your platform to support artists this is class. I hope you enjoy the music and I hope you’re keeping safe. See you round.
I’d like to thank Max for taking the time to answer our questions and wish him and the band the best of luck with the new single and the upcoming tour. Hopefully we’ll catch up again soon!
With their new single Maybe I Could Tell You out now on all streaming services, we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to chat to Jacob, from the band Superlove, about the new single and all things music
Tickets to Superlove’s headline show at The Black Heart, London are available here.
Today, Frank Turner has shared his latest single – A Wave Across A Bay, taken from the new album FTHC, out 11th February.
The song, dedicated to Scott Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit, is one lots of us can relate to. A song of loss and sadness, but also one of hope, and the future.
The song got it’s first airplay on Steve Lemacq’s BBC radio 6 music show earlier today, and it’s now available to stream everywhere.
Unfortunately Frank’s UK tour dates have been cancelled, but the Europe dates, Lost Evenings V and a few other shows are still planned to go ahead. Dates and tickets can be found here.
We chatted to Frank about the new album and a host of other stuff at ‘The Gathering’ show in Frome back in August, check it out here.
Released at the beginning of 2022, Satisfy You made sure this year got off to a band. We chatted to the band about the new single and all other things music
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you all from and how did you meet?
We’re The Heavy North, a five piece garage-blues rock band from Liverpool and we’ve just released our latest single ‘Satisfy You’ on New Year’s Day 2022, taken from our upcoming debut album Electric Soul Machine.
The band is made up of Kenny Stuart (singer/songwriter & guitarist), Jose Ibanez (guitarist and producer), Andrew Horrocks (bass player), Ste Penn (keys player) and Mark Rice (drums).
The Heavy North started out in Summer 2018 when Kenny and Jose invited Ste, Andy and Mark to visit Jose’s 3rd Planet Recording Studios in Liverpool. A few of us had played in bands together before and some of us were mates who knew each other could play.
Blue22 Photography
Where did the band name, The Heavy North, come from?
The band name was one of the few suggestions we came up with in the early days that none of us laughed at! As our sound developed and things started to come together, we felt ‘The Heavy North’ suited our style of music.
We were originally thinking of themes around “loud”, “soul” and “northern”, and we stumbled across The Heavy North and it sounded ok! There’s also a bit of a vague Liverpool connection too because the word ‘heavy’ can be used to describe all sorts of things – good and bad! Like “a heavy one” and “heavy salad”.
If you had to sum each band member up in one word, what would you say?
Kenny: Soul Jose: El Jefe Andy: Cycling Ste: Dog Mark: Goth
You recently released your new single Satisfy You. What does this song mean to you, as a band?
Satisfy You was a bit of a surprise release for us that we put out on New Year’s Day without any previews or teasers or anything like that. It also means a lot to us as it’s the fourth single taken from our debut album Electric Soul Machine.
To mark the year that our first album is released, we thought what better way to kick it off than by releasing an unannounced single at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve!
Who produced it? Have you worked with them before? What was it like working with them?
We’re really fortunate that not only is Jose the band’s guitarist and songwriter, he’s also our producer and runs 3rd Planet Recording Studio in Liverpool. Jose has recorded everything for the band and plays a massive part in creating ‘The Heavy North’ sound.
Are there plans to play any live shows soon?
We’ve just announced our first live show of 2022 will be a free gig at the legendary Cavern Club on Wednesday 26th January in conjunction with BBC Introducing in Merseyside. This will be a great opportunity to play a handful of tracks from the upcoming album as well as our new single Satisfy You.
We hope to be playing a handful of UK shows at the end of February, followed by a run of our own headline gigs in April to support the release of the Electric Soul Machine LP.
Blue22 Photography
2020 and 2021 were difficult years for the music industry. What did you learn from lockdown?
We were quite lucky as a band to remain active during the pandemic, and when it all kicked off we were just preparing to release our first EP back in 2020 and we’d just finished filming some music videos and playing some live shows.
We also took the opportunity to write and record new tracks between lockdowns well as getting involved with some of the live streaming events and online gigs – including a live- streamed set from the M&S Bank Arena during the pandemic for the Liverpool Digital Music Festival in August 2020.
What advice would you give to those looking to make their own music?
All we can say is stick to your guns and be respectful of your fans and followers as well as other artists. Whether someone has 10 followers or 10,000 followers, if they’re willing to support you and your music make a point of thanking them and keeping in touch. As a band we’re really thankful for the support from our fans and followers, especially over the past two years during the pandemic!
Where can we find out more about you?
All of our releases, videos, merchandise, gigs and more can be found at theheavynorth.com, and we’re also across most of the socials @theheavynorth
Anything else you would like to tell us, or even ask us?
We’d just like to thank TrueStyleMusic for giving us the opportunity to talk about our new single and upcoming album. We hope 2022 will be a big year for us with the release of Electric Soul Machine and look forward to catching up soon.
Released last week, indie-pop-shoegaze band Nature TV’s new single Tell Me Something Good is one to watch our for. We chatted to the band about the new music and more.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from and how did you all meet?
We’re Nature TV, an indie-pop band from Brighton. Guy on vocals and guitar, Jimmy BV’s and guitar, Zal on drums and Josh on bass. Some of us met in music college, then Jimmy came in later on after our previous guitarist left to focus more on production.
Where did the name Nature TV come from?
From the guy who played guitar before Jimmy (Solo Major) in the band, he picked two words out of a book and there it was. It was a William Burroughs book so it could have come out a lot weirder.
If you had to sum up each band member with one word, what would you say?
You recently released your new single Tell Me Something Good. Can you tell us a bit about where this song came from?
The song comes from a place of irrational loyalty, to your friends, family or your lover. And even in times when they aren’t being too reciprocal or necessarily that appreciative, you’ve still got their back.
What inspired you to make this song, and what does it mean to the band?
It’s part of a larger EP and we took it in a different direction than most of our other songs, so we like the variety it brings, variety is the spice of life.
Is this a hint at more new music on the way?
It certainly is, we have 3 more tracks to come from this EP and hopefully something bigger coming next year.
Have you had the chance to play this live yet? Are there any (more) live shows planned?
We are too scared to play it live, but we’re building up to it. We may play it in Birmingham which is our last full band show of the year, but then also, we’re very scared.
What is next for Nature TV?
Becoming brave, and hopefully just playing a bunch more shows and releasing more music. We’re hoping to release our debut album next year…
Where can we find out more about you?
I would love to say wikipedia, but I don’t think that exists, our page, not wikipedia. Instagram is probably the best way to see what we’re up to. Oh and Turk’s tinder profile.
Rob Humm
Anything else you would like to tell us?
Did you know that lobsters are biologically immortal. Happy Holidays!
You know what, I didn’t know that.
I’d like to thank the band for taking the time to answer my questions and wish them the best of luck with the new single.
After the release of their new album Motorheart earlier this year, it was only appropriate for a UK tour to follow, with a massive 22 shows, all within the UK, supported by rock favourites Massive Wagons. We caught the show when they played at The O2 Academy in Bristol.
With only one opener for a band of this magnitude, Massive Wagons had a big job on their hands, getting this cold – albeit excited – Tuesday night crowd warmed up and ready. But they did it well, and if there were people there who somehow hadn’t heard of these guys, then they probably went away with some new fans.
Lead man Baz jumped and danced around the stage like a man possessed, getting the crowd moving along with him and the rest of the band. It’s clear these guys have great chemistry between them, all rocking out and vibing off each other throughout the set. Definitely a band worth checking out if you’ve not seen or heard them before.
And then it was onto the main act of the night. The lights went out, the intro music started and the crowd went wild, cheers and applause from all around the venue, everyone was excited to see the rock legends that are The Darkness.
Although the venue wasn’t quite sold out, the atmosphere was one of pure enjoyment and electricity. Playing us through a massive 19 song setlist, these guys treated us to everything, from the oldest to the newest music, with everyone hopefully enjoying it.
In true glam-rock style, The Darkness have kept wearing the same style of stage outfits since they first began, with massive flared trousers, one-pieces that don’t leave much to the imagination and the dance moves to match. When you come to see The Darkness, it’s not just the music you are coming for.
Throughout the rest of the night, frontman Justin kept the crowd and band as one, chatting to audience members and security, and even offering them to charge their phones at one point. And although one person tried to ruin the night for the rest us, security were brilliant at getting him out and The Band did a brilliant job of keeping the show going. At any show, we all know there is no space this to happen.
The Darkness are well known for doing more than just play their music, they were truly putting on a show for us all night. The non-stop dancing across the stage from all band members, even accompanied by a handstand from Justin near the end, these guys put in the effort to make sure everyone has a good time.
The first big finish of the night was of course going to be I Believe In A Thing Called Love, with some of the loudest singalongs I think I’ve ever heard, almost everyone hitting the high notes! And after a longer-than-usual wait, the team donned festive outfits to end the night with ‘The Christmas One’. A special mention to the Drummer Rufus for playing in a full blow up Christmas tree.
And that was the end of a spectacular festive night of rock and roll madness. Although The Darkness have been going for a long time, they still put on one hell of a show and if you get the chance to see them, then we can only recommend that you do. A massive thank you, as always, to all the venue staff and security for also making the night as good as it could be.
Review and photos by Ted Stargatt for TrueStyleMusic
Released last week, we thought it would be a good idea to talk to the band about all things music. Read our interview here
Can you tell us a bit about Salvation Jayne? Where are you guys from and how did you get to where you are today?
Hey, we are from Kent (South East UK) & Bexley (London). We got where we are today through sheer determination. We all love what we do and that’s what drives us.
If you had to sum up each band member with one word, what would you say?
Holly: Arty Dan: Dark Tor: Doodles Chess: Loud Erim: Positive
You recently released your new single, “A Mouth Of Magnificent Spite”. What does this song mean to you, as a band?
We are really proud of this one. Written in the pandemic when we could rehearse together again. It felt sooo good! It’s another spin off to people with narcissistic behaviour. This one focuses on the forced opinions shoved down your throat from people who love to manipulate & control, Emotional abuse. We can’t wait to play this one live next year on the album tour.
You’ve talked before about how this song comes from people trying to shove their opinions on you. Is this an individual incident or a cumulation of smaller events?
Chess wrote the lyrics. It started about a person in particular but actually looking at the bigger picture so many people do this. Chess just wanted to turn them all off to have a clear head to focus on what really matters and put it out there to others in the same boat as her.
What is your best advice for others who come across people like this?
Turn them the fuck down to 0 in your head! Fill your head with all the things positive you are working towards. Your opinion to yourself matters the most. That gut feeling matters the most.
On a more positive note, you guys went on tour with a few bands before. What are some of your favourite memories from these shows?
We recently supported Hands Off Gretal, the crowd was just awesome! That’s what it’s all about!
Any funny (so far) untold stories you would like to share?
Chess shouldn’t eat boiled eggs in a car full of people??
What’s next for Salvation Jayne?
Next for us is more music as always. So much more to come. We are focussing on putting a few more singles out before our first album which comes out on the 18th Feb! Followed by our album tour which we can’t wait for!
Where can we find out more about you?
We are @salvationjayne On all socials. We are a part of Patreon if anyone fancies supporting us further where you can get upcoming news early too. Also if you subscribe to our mailing list on our website you’ll receive updates on what’s going on from us… www.salvationjayne.co.uk
Anything else you would like to tell us?
A Mouthful of Magnificent Spite (the single) is OUT NOW. Please follow us on this mouthful of a journey.
I’d like to thank the band for taking the time to answer our questions, and wish them the best of luck for the future. The new album is out in exactly 3 MONTHS today! I cannot wait to have a listen!
Fresh on their first ever UK tour, London based Electric Litany brought their experimental mix up of sounds to the Exchange Basement stage for a Saturday night of good music and good times.
Opening the show was the fabulous No Feathers. A local band, these guys got the small, albeit lively, crowd warmed up and dancing along straight from the off. After their first song, I was slightly worried it would be a set full of sad hyperpop songs, but as soon as the second track started, these guys were rocking out hard. A brilliant combination of synths, guitars, drums and beat tracks made this a great opener to the show.
Up next were Nossiennes, another local band. Although a bit heavier than No Feathers, this three piece were certainly using every bit of energy they had to rock the little basement stage. These guys had short, simple, punchy lyrics, and twinned with some brilliant use of loop pedals made this experimental shoe gaze band one of my new favourites to listen to. I cannot wait to hopefully see these guys again one day.
Well done to the promoter for finding two awesome local bands to support, each with their own unique style but still perfectly accompanying each other and the main band.
And then we were on to Electric Litany. As I was watching these guys set up, I could already tell this was going to be a good show. As well as the standard guitar/drums/bass, there were two synthesisers, an electric keyboard and a weird table top stringed instrument on stage. A lot of instruments for a small stage.
From the first song, these guys brought their amazing mix-and-match style onto the stage and rocked it through the crowd. A clear group of very talented musicians, each bringing their own style and performance with them, and combining together to create the awesomeness that is Electric Litany.
As we got further through the set, the songs got heavier, more motivated, and the crowd were enjoying it more and more. For their first time playing outside of London/Europe, these guys had all the presence of a well-established touring band, and were holding their own on stage.
For the rest of the night, we were treated to love songs, political anti-establishment music, some heavy bass driven tracks and everything in between. Electric Litany knew how to keep a crowd, with each new track taking a new direction, before the big finish of the night. Enduring Days You Will Overcome, taken off the titled album, brought the night to a close, with one final showcase of the bands combined use of their instruments.
And that was the night. A showcase of three completely different bands, but each one complimenting the others perfectly. I’m sure everyone who came had a good time. A massive thank you to the venue and everyone who made this night happen.
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