Author: bfadmin

Elli Ingram – The Doghouse

Last year Elli Ingram dropped the Sober EP on the market, and the market reacted very favourably, a spotlight suddenly being shown on this teenage Brighton prodigy, particularly via the excellent video and imagery of Mad Love, which depicted Ingram as an older looking, spooky looking suburbanite, wrestling with the demons of over indulgence and ‘mad love’. With some very natural vocal chops that takes a little bit of Adele, a pinch of Amy Winehouse, plenty of old school r’n’b inflections, and which overlays some startlingly inventive production work courtesy of Felix Joseph and Aston Rudi, Ingram has the the ingredients to become a home grown r’n’b starlet. Furthermore, and judging by her recent performance in Brighton’s newest live venue, The Bermuda Triangle, the sounds created here are being translated into a full band set up, a groovy and very capable r’nb, funk and soul outfit.

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Mike Rosenberg – Passenger – Interview – 2014

Looking for a heartening success story in the fickle world of rock and pop? Thinking it’s all about instant impressions and catering for nano-second attention spans in this era of reality, instant success TV? Then look no further than Mike Rosenberg aka Passenger, who after years of patiently chipping away has suddenly seen all that perseverance, talent and passion pay off.

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Hidden Brighton – Hidden Trail Records

Hidden Brighton - Hidden Trail Records

Hidden Brighton – Hidden Trail Records

Hidden Trail Records
We all know a lot of musical creativity resides in this fair city of ours, but even for, ahem… seasoned music journos like myself, it never ceases to surprise me how much there is. 20 years ago we were proud of the fact that The Levellers were from Brighton, and that some 'new wave of new wave' band called These Animal Men were our next big hope. Today, the list is almost endless. There is no scene as such, just lots of different musical tribes, collectives, families, friends and fans, exploring music for the innate pleasure it contains. But there is a friendliness about the musical scene that seems to encourage this large pool of creativity, this melting pot of influences that result in the, almost invariably, interesting and well-thought out creations on show via this compilation from a fledgling local label, and obvious big-time music fans.
 
Here you'll find some ace garage rock courtesy of Flash Bang Band, female-fronted indie in the form of one-definitely-to-watch Kill Moon, the Warpaint-esque Hella Better Dancer, the haunting shoegazing sounds of The Hundreth Anniversary, the harmony-drenched minimal acoustica of Self Help Group, alt-country flavours courtesy of both The Standard Lamps and The Raving Beauties (who feature Lucky Jim's Gordon Grahame), and the gorgeous indie-folk sounds of Woodland Blue.
Two highlights are the baroque folk textures of uber talented Ellie Ford, a harpist, guitarist, singer songwriter, and also artist: it is her beautiful artwork and design that makes up the gatefold CD version of this release; and the final track, a truly fabulous piece called Swamps, by Us Baby Bear Bones, a track that has already received plaudits for its audacity, it's clear musical vision, superb arrangement and structure, and above all it's drama.
 
You'll be doing your bit for Brighton music by spreading the word, even if it's just one track you like. Hidden Brighton is a nice idea – we all like to have our secret passions and personal delights – but much of this deserves to come out of the shadows… There is, after all, a big world out there!  
 
Profits from proceeds are going to Grace Eyre, a local organisation that supports people with learning disabilities.
 
Jeff Hemmings
 
and Resident Records: www.resident-music.com

Band & Track listing
 
1) Kill Moon – Shine
2) Hella Better Dancer – Sleeptalking
3) The Raving Beauties – Arrows
4) Flash Bang Band – Thinking Above My Station
5) The Standard Lamps – The Cracks
6) The Self Help Group – Kings (Alternate Demo)
7) The Hundredth Anniversary – Last Drive
8) Woodland Blue – Seventeen
9) Fiona Sally Miller – Chalk It Up
10) Ellie Ford – A Word to the Wise
11) tiNhearT – A millioN winterS
12) Kokopelli – How To Be
13) Us Baby Bear Bones – Swamp
 

Gypsy Disco – Interview – 2014

The whole idea of Gypsy Disco is that we want to bring people together and to make it something more than just a club night. We hope to create a sort of playground where people can explore and interact with the night as well as with people which is why we have created a variety of structures and areas for our audience members to immerse themselves with. Within the collective we emphasise a policy of ‘no ego’ whereby we are all the same regardless of what role we have, this we hope is then transgressed within the event as we show we don’t take ourselves too seriously which I think is important to make everyone feel comfortable and relaxed.

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Olivia Louvel – Bermuda Triangle – 7th Febuaray 2014

Olivia Louvel – Traumfrau Formerly known as the Zap club, I found myself in the newly opened ‘Bermuda Triangle’ – an ‘alternative club’ on the seafront nestled under the arches to see Olivia Louvel – an artist I only recently discovered.
 
Olivia Louvel is a French, Brighton-based alternative/electronic artist who’s live performance and innovative & quirky song writing brought me to see her at Tramfrau’s event.

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Gypsy Disco – Concorde 2 – 31st Januaray 2014

And so I arrived at the highly anticipated ‘Gypsy Disco’ at the Concorde 2 with high expectations from all the excited rumours spreading around Brighton. On approaching the Concorde 2, I could already catch glimpses of vivid colours, glitter, fire breathers and hear the faint whispers of gypsy melodies and thumping bass-lines. The queue outside was phenomenal as advance early bird tickets had sold out weeks before and everyone was attempting to get their hands on one of the last golden tickets. However, A Gypsy Disco queue is no ordinary queue as we were welcomed by the likes of fire breathers and a live, acoustic gypsy band to keep us entertained whilst preparing for the adventure ahead.

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2ManyDJs – Digital – 1st Febuaray 2014

I’d been looking forward to catching 2ManyDJs play ever since I saw them at Secret Garden Party last year. Luckily for me though, this time I wasn’t standing in the pouring rain with mud up to my knees attempting to dance in wellies and a sweaty rain mac! Unfortunately though, Digital is not one of my favourite venues in the world thanks to their sticky floors, crazy bar queues and an omnipresent, oozing stench of poo. However, a few drinks in and some great music – you soon forgive these irritations and can concentrate on enjoying the night.

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Kudu Blue – The Green Door Store – 16th Januaray 2014

Kudu Blue have to be one of the most exciting up and coming acts of 2014. Sparking similarities with artists such as Bonobo, Chinese Man and Massive Attack, Kudu Blue are set for big things this year.
They’ve recently collaborated with Yumi & The Weather (another band highly recommended by BrightonsFinest) with their track ‘Must I Wait’. Kudu Blue have done a brilliant remix of the track by putting their own stamp on it with horns, haunting samples and mixed with simple, yet effective beats.

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Peggy Sue – Choir of Echoes

Peggy Sue - Choir of Echoes

In line with the album's title, Choir of Echoes begins with the funereal voices of Rosa Slade and Katy Young, the two friends who initially formed Peggy Sue & The Pirates in Brighton in 2005, setting the tone for this slightly brooding yet mesmerising third studio album.
 
Having largely ditched the twee-indie-folk style that got them off running in the mid-nougties, as well as dumping The Pirates part of their name, and the Kate Nash vocal stylings before it got too irritating, Peggy Sue have quietly gone about the business of developing as songwriters, singers and musicians, culminating in this, their best yet; a mature reflection on life through their eyes, but also an album about singing and the art and complexities of communication. For the most part, they sing in unison, their reverb-soaked harmonies forged through years of singing together, and to each other… you can't imagine one without the other, such is their subtle chemistry.
 
This time around, the percussive work of long time third member Olly Joyce is given more prominence, and his energetic yet intricate drum work lends many of the songs a depth and dynamism that has sometimes been lacking. Where sometimes Peggy Sue would get overly maudlin, musically speaking, Joyce's drums makes it sparkier, although there are still moments (thankfully very few and far between) when they fail to rise above a rhythmic depression, drowning a little in uninspiring self-wallowing.
 
But, taking their cue from their Peggy Sue Play the Songs of Scorpio Rising album of 2012 (their take on the original songs that were included in the original soundtrack to the Kenneth Auger cult movie), their love of doo-wop and early rock'n'roll has inspired the raucously dreamy song Longest Day of the Year Blues. Another standout is the short and sweet and beautifully named How Heavy The Quiet That Grew Between Your Mouth and Mine, a stripped back country-folk song that perhaps points to the future for Peggy Sue, a band who are in essence as traditional as Buddy Holly and the aforementioned doo-wop; very little but guitars, drums and voices feature throughout, a master class of economy and song craft from this most unassuming of bands.
 
Out 27 Jan 2014
 
They play the Green Door Store, 3 April 2014

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