In my short time doing this column for Brightonsfinest, I’ve felt that without it, I would have missed some of the incredible music I’ve got to enjoy over these few past months. There have been venues I may never have been to, and bands I may have missed watching live. All my own fault, of course. I have said previously, Brighton stands strong in its showcase of live music. So my absence in these spaces, and of these performances feels criminal but I can only try and absolve myself with this column, and my new, incredibly strong fear of missing out. I say all this, because in February as I went to gigs, I just felt very acutely and with a great sense of relief that I was now no longer missing out on some of these live performances, with them being as strong as they were.

With this in mind, I have to talk about The Roebucks. I had been recommended to them by Telecom, a band I got to watch and talk to back in December. I had listened to The Roebucks work before attending their single release party at the Hope and Ruin. But if there is another thing I am finding really enjoyable about this job, it’s been gaining a greater appreciation for specifically live performance. The Roebucks were so electric live. Their sound combines this distinctly Americana music influence, with elements of rock and blues that makes for a contemporary, alternative country sound. It’s not a sound that is often circulating the Brighton music scene, so it’s immediately super distinctive and offers something really different for its audience. The gig at the Hope and Ruin marked the beginning of the band’s UK tour. It was also in the name of their new single being released: He’s My Man. The song is a really strong addition to The Roebucks work, the female vocal and lyrics are complimented so well by the upbeat rock guitar and drum.

At their live performance, having two guitarists, and a bass meant some incredible stacking from the guitar riffs and bass solos. Similarly I would be completely remiss if I also didn’t mention the drum work. Their drummer Sophie, was so naturally powerful on the drums, but also just had an immense amount of presence and performance to go with it. All members of The Roebucks displayed an insane amount of technical talent on their instruments, which with this style of music, made for some great moments. The crowd was literally pulsating and was certainly the most dancing I have seen from such a packed audience. Which was no surprise with the bands
technical ability and great performance style. With a new single out, and a UK tour currently happening, I think it’s a really exciting time to have your finger on The Roebucks pulse.

As I have established in my previous columns, a place to drink and eat is just as in abundance in Brighton as its music offerings and such a great element to an evening out. Consequently I was extremely excited to be invited to The Ivy Asia’s Chinese New Year celebrations. Admittedly, a much more decadent venue for me to cover than previous eateries I have written about, but I was genuinely curious to see what the night would be like. Naturally, as an event night, they were bringing out their finest food and drink for its guests. Without question we were being spoiled (it was my first experience with champagne upon arrival, I did my best to hide my relatively juvenile shock at this).

While the food and drink were both generous and highly enjoyable, the real stars of the night were of course its Chinese New Year performances. Particularly the traditional Chinese music played for the celebration. The troupe of five instrumentalists used a ‘DaGu’, a large Chinese bass drum, and two sets of ‘Xiachoa’s’ or ‘Chaguo’s’ small cymbals. The smaller cymbals produce a high pitched sound, and are paired in contrast with the drums’ deep and powerful percussion. The power and velocity behind the sound is rooted in the Chinese tradition of this music being played to produce positive energy or ‘qi’ as it is referred to in Chinese. It’s also used to drive away bad spirits in the advent of a new year. Upon learning about this particular history behind the music, I felt a greater appreciation for both the elements of volume and rhythm in their performance. They also performed a traditional dragon dance, similarly the dance is meant to bring good luck and scare away ‘evil’ spirits and the fact that The Ivy were able to do this in such a limited space and with so many guests in attendance was remarkable and visually stunning.

It was most interesting to see these customs and to be part of a celebration that is naturally, one of the most important in Chinese culture. The venue is incredibly opulent, the attention to detail in the design, makes it such a striking space. Although the food and drink were amazing, it was the stunning performances and its staff that stood out to me. It was genuinely brilliant to get to see authentic elements of the Lunar New Year from its performers. It was also an event with a super attentive and enthusiastic staff. As someone who has been no stranger to the hospitality industry, I was so impressed with how generous and charming their staff were in the face of such a packed venue. These events are so indulgent for its attendees, and we were certainly spoiled by The Ivy Asia, but also by the grace and charm of its staff and its performers and everything they did was really impressive. In them doing so, with such execution and flare, I believe its testament to both a wonderful celebration and an outstanding restaurant and venue.

This month I also attended an exciting new music venue, and definitely a new favourite at that. WaterBear Music Bar is a seafront music venue and club. It operates in conjunction with WaterBear College of Music. Previously The Latest Music Bar, acquired by WaterBear last summer, it’s a new addition for the college. With its music college element, the space hosts gigs, club nights as well as workshops, and teaching events. As a space it’s very well decorated, red lit drapery on the ceiling paired with the downstairs dance floor made for a genuinely cool atmosphere. I was there to enjoy the DJ set of Haseeb Iqbal. It was such an enjoyable set from Iqbal. It was this eclectic but also perfectly cohesive mix of dub, jazz, bossa nova, and deep/techno house. It was a set packed with great musical sampling from across the world that made for such a genuinely fun night courtesy of Iqbal. Music you could really dance to, not just nod your head at.

The sound system for the night was courtesy of Big Ears. A handmade, custom built high fidelity sound system designed meticulously by two brothers. Having their sound system at WaterBear meant the sound quality was genuinely impeccable, and testament to WaterBears attention to detail in all elements of music and the venue and will hopefully remain a feature of every gig at this venue with its music educational roots. A venue I will be looking forward to returning to.

I also got to talk with musical duo Charm of Finches this month ahead of their UK and European tour. No strangers to touring or Brighton, I was very eager to get their insight on both. They are a contemporary folk duo. Combining at times a sound that is fresh with its modernity, but also ultimately rooted in its classical folk influence. They combine such delicate, light melodies with a contrast of melancholy lyrics. But also incorporate these more indie rhythms to their music that does maintain their contemporary, more upbeat sound. Winning best Folk/Singer- Songwriter for their album ‘Your Company’ at the Independent Music awards 2020, the pair have clearly harnessed a sound that sets them apart. Sisters Mabel and Ivy, originally from Australia now reside in the UK and wherever they are I got the sense their passion for folk music and their craft is both deep and enduring.

I started by asking the girls where this mutual love for the genre came from. “We actually grew up in Steiner school which is where we heard a lot of English folk and Celtic folk songs” “It was a very creative way of learning, we had to play a stringed instrument from the age of nine” added Ivy. “So that’s how I think we got into the musical side of it and then you also study different mythologies and history.” “We also learned about all the English and Irish folk tales as small kids, and all of it comes into our songwriting, almost sub consciously to be honest.” Whilst it became clear that both of them had this style of music entrenched in their musical development, I wanted to know more about how they felt being sisters impacted on their work. “It is special that we get to do this together,” “I think it’s definitely helpful that we are on the same wavelength and have these shared experiences, I think it does come through in our songwriting”

With this being far from Charm of Finches first tour, and now four albums in their rotation, I wanted to know how they were feeling coming up to their performance in Brighton and the tour itself. ‘This is our fourth UK tour, we have a new single that we are touring at the moment (Meteor) and we are going to be trying out a lot of new songs that will be on our upcoming record.’ “So yeah very keen to play these new songs in front of people and see what they think’ In terms of performing in Brighton they said, ‘we did play the Folklore rooms last time, and we loved it so much, I think the fairy tale vibe just suited us so well. “So it’s really nice to be back there again.’

With two weeks of straight performing and only one day in between to break, the girls made it clear that whilst music was naturally front and centre, they would be looking forward to ‘some vintage shopping’ and also ‘finding some castles.’ along the way. In terms of what came next for Charm of Finches, Ivy said, ‘Well this year we are going to be writing and recording a new album for next year, and within that time we will also be touring parts of Europe.’ ‘Getting all the inspiration along the way to feed out on, so just lots of writing, lots of recording and lots of touring.’ Both Ivy and Mabel were incredibly warm and articulate when we held the interview. Whether it was from listening to their work or talking to them, I was left with a real sense that they are truly forging something individual and special together with Charm of Finches.

With that comes the end of another month for Up Close. It was a heady mix of basement dance floors, a night at The Ivy Asia, and some shoulder to shoulder dancing at the Hope and Ruin. With the promise of warmer days approaching, I can’t wait to see more venues packed and more music being performed in Brighton. Music available to stream from the artists featured this month will be included in February’s Up Close playlist.

Bella Munoz