shelleyhanveywriter's Blog

Songlines magazine will announce the Top 10 UK Summer Festivals in its June edition, on sale April 27th, 2012.

The list includes the following: Africa Oyé, Big Session Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, HebCelt Festival, Larmer Tree Festival, Latitude Festival, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Rhythms of the World, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and WOMAD Charlton Park.

I had my best ever festival experience at Cambridge Folk Festival in 2010 and I think it will always hold a special place in my heart; the people, the atmosphere, the artists, the fact you could park right next to your tent.

Cambridge Folk Festival takes place at Cherry Hinton Hall from July 26th to 29th, 2012. Full festival tickets cost £125 (including booking fee) and day passes range from £21.50 to 54.50 (including booking fee). Artists this year include: Seth Lakeman, Joan Armatrading, Karine Polwart, The Proclaimers, Dry The River and Benjamin Francis Leftwich.

I also visited Sefton Park, Liverpool’s Africa Oye festival in 2010 and very much enjoyed the bright and colourful experience. Africa Oye is a celebration of African music and culture and features African artists and bands, arts and crafts, African cuisine, traditional instruments and a funfair. This year, the festival celebrates its 20th anniversary. The festival is free and open to all and takes place over the weekend of June 23rd and 24th, 2012. The festival site is open from 12:30 pm till 9:30 pm.

I highly recommend both festivals. You won’t be disappointed!

www.songlines.co.uk / www.africaoye.com / www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk

shelleyhanveywriter

International indie-rock favourites, The Temper Trap, have been confirmed for 2012′s Liverpool Sound City festival.

The three-day festival takes place on Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th May 2012 and wristbands cost £30 per person. This admits you to every gig, across all three days. This represents amazing value for money considering the artists on the billing and the likely cost of a ticket to see those alone. A full festival pass costs £120, which gives you access to the gigs, panels, masterclasses, seminars and workshops.

To purchase tickets or to find out more about the festival, please visit www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk.

shelleyhanveywriter

Liverpool Sound City returns for three days and nights from Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th May, 2012 and will be held across multiple venues in Liverpool’s cultural quarter.

The annual event has helped to launch the careers of the likes of Delphic, Black Lips, Crystal Castles, Everything Everything and Metronomy and includes an unsigned festival, featuring performances from more than 400 new artists and bands from all over the world. The festival also gives smaller, independent labels the opportunity to showcase some of their biggest names and rising stars.

Confirmed acts to date include: Professor Green, White Denim, Death In Vegas, Michael Kiwanuka, Mystery Jets, Alkaline Trio, Slow Club, Ghostpoet, ∆ (ALT-J), Niki & The Dove, Willy Mason, The Jezabels, TOY, Forest Swords, Charlie XCX, Yukon Blonde, The History of Apple Pie, Bear In Heaven, Folks, The Computers, Still Flyin’, Bleached, Jonquil, Shields, Towns and PINS.

This year, the city’s Echo Arena plays host to two new festival additions: the Sound City Expo and the UK Music Student Awards. The Expo features a mixture of live demos, master classes and discussions with performers and speakers and is an event for consumers and music/digital professionals alike.  The Awards, which are in collaboration with Access To Music and will be held on Thursday 17th, is a celebration of new talent within music education and is now in its eighth successive year. Launched by George Martin, the Awards will this year be hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Edith Bowman. For more information please visit:

http://www.accesstomusic.co.uk/news_article_uk-music-student-awards-17th-may-2012-25

Festival wristbands are priced at £25, which allows entry to all Liverpool Sound City branded gigs on a first come, first served basis, subject to the venue’s capacity.

For more information on the festival and to buy tickets please visit:  www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk.

shelleyhanveywriter

Brit award-winning folk wonder Laura Marling has premiered the first single to be released from her third solo album. The track, ‘Sophia‘  will be available to download instantly (in the UK), to those who pre-order the album on iTunes from July 26th, 2011, as well as an individual download. The 4:54-second track begins gently with Marling’s unmistakably reflective and hushed vocals, before she is complemented and accompanied on her journey by acoustic strings and ethereal background vocals. When the bell tolls 3:00, the track takes a marked shift towards a perhaps more  traditional folk sound, with definite country elements creeping through. ‘Sophia‘  could be described as a musical antonym to the terms, ‘repetitive’ and ‘predictable’. It would be fair to say that I am somewhat in love with this track at the moment.

The track is taken from upcoming album, ‘A Creature I Don’t Know‘ which is released on September 12th, 2011 in the UK and September 13th, 2011 in the US.

Marling has also announced a new Autumn 2011 tour to support the album. The ‘When The Bell Tolls Tour’ kicks off in the US and Canada, as follows:

• September 17 – San Francisco, Bimbo’s 365 Club
• September 18 – Los Angeles, Masonic Temple
• September 20 – Los Angeles, Troubadour
• September 22 – Chicago, Lincoln Hall
• September 23 – Toronto, The Great Hall
• September 24 – Montreal, Corona
• September 25 – Boston Brighton Music Hall
• September 27 – Washington DC, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
• September 28 – New York, Webster Hall

The UK tour is as follows:

• October 14 – Exeter, Exeter Cathedral
• October 15 – Winchester, Winchester Cathedral
• October 17 – Guildford, Guildford Cathedral
• October 18 – Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral
• October 21 – York, York Minster
• October 22 – Sheffield, Sheffield Cathedral
• October 24 – Manchester, Manchester Cathedral
• October 25 – Bristol, Bristol Cathedral
• October 26 – London, Westminster Central Hall
• October 28 – Liverpool, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
• October 29 – Birmingham, Birmingham Cathedral

I reviewed Noah and the Whale at Manchester Cathedral last year and it will probably go down as one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to; the venue was sublime as was to be expected, but the atmosphere and reaction to the band were just as heavenly. I can’t wait to see Marling perform tracks from what I’m sure will be her equally as successful third album, in such peaceful and serene surroundings.

Tickets for the tour go on general sale at 10am local time on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at www.seetickets.com

www.lauramarling.com / www.twitter.com @lauramarlinghq

shelleyhanveywriter

On a random personal note; I’ve recently moved out of my family home and in to my own house and was surprised and a little perturbed to discover several good habits that I appear to be developing. Gone are the days were I was quite comfortable having never touched a Flash wipe or indeed the bin on collection day; now I delight in such menial tasks! I feel a certain pride being the queen of my own modest castle, but alas, with great power comes great responsibility and it would also appear that I don’t seem to have a lot of the latter, particularly when it comes to ‘Sex and the City‘ re-runs on Comedy Central. I may have seen these episodes thrice times over at least, yet I cannot miss that double bill at 11:30 pm and I think my boss would agree that the subsequent 1:00 am naptimes are starting to affect my timekeeping…though said naptimes are often translated in to more appropriate work-speak, such as “traffic“, or “non-televised motorway pile-up.”

One just such memorable episode was aired last week; Season 4 Episode 18, ‘I Heart NY.’

I had never seen this particular episode before and I think it would be fair to describe it as a significant turning point or realisation in the previously rocky relationship of Carrie Bradshaw and Mr Big. Big announces that he’s leaving New York the next day to move to California and proceeds to play an old vinyl of ‘Moon River‘; the song his parents used to play before they went out on the town. He highlights the lyric, “two drifters, off to see the world” and in that moment, it becomes clear that the inclusion of the song in this episode is rather poignant; Carrie and Big are the drifters, currently on different paths yet destined to remain interlinked. I’ve always loved ‘Moon River‘ for its magical and mood-elavating properties, in fact most of the tracks that I feel a particular connection with share these attributes; I might relate them to a specific stage in my childhood (‘Michelle‘ by The Beatles and Sundays at my Nan’s house), or perhaps a memorable family film (‘Summer Holiday‘ by Cliff Richard and the Hanveys all sat around enjoying the sunny exploits of Don, Barbara and the gang), either way the song strikes a chord and induces emotion.

An artist with the capability to do this, without so much as stepping foot on to a London Bus, is Madeleine Peyroux.

Peyroux is a French-American singer-songwriter, with an unquestionable talent for Jazz and Blues. She is often compared to Billie Holiday and the similarities are quite striking, I have to agree. Releasing her first album ‘Dreamland‘ in 1996, Peyroux gained widespread attention and rave reviews; surprising many therefore, when she decided to take a step out of the spotlight and busk for the next six years around Paris…oh the romance and bohemia of it all! The first video that I have linked to here is for ‘This is Heaven to Me.’

Building quite a following in and around Paris, Peyroux went on to release a further three solo albums, ‘Careless Love‘ (2004), ‘Half the Perfect World‘ (2006) and ‘Bare Bones‘ (2009). ‘Standin’ On The Rooftop‘ is her soon to be released fifth solo album (June 7th, 2011) on Decca Records. To coincide with the album’s release, Peyroux will be performing a selection of live shows in the UK, including:

May 4th, 2011 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (www.liverpoolphil.com)

For me, Peyroux’s voice echoes all the fragility and wonder of Hepburn’s on ‘Moon River‘; and on ‘The Summer Wind‘ (linked above), I can just picture Carrie and Big on that buggyride through Central Park, both aware of the romance and importance of it all, yet both unable to acknowledge it for their own reasons.

As long as there is music like this being made by such captivating artists as Madeleine Peyroux, some people will settle down, some people will settle, but I will refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies.

www.madeleinepeyroux.com

I found myself attributing the title of ‘my modern-day Shakespeare’ to Charlie Fink this week. I have a great respect and admiration for both wordsmiths and as a writer; I find each to be a great source of personal inspiration.  It was the great Bard of Avon himself that once said:

When griping grief the heart doth wound, and doleful dumps the mind oppress, then music with her silver sound…with speedy help doth lend redress. (Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Sc 5)

I think it would be fair to say that we have heard both griping grief and the contents of Fink’s oppressed mind in the music and lyrics of Noah and the Whale’s second album, ‘The First Days of Spring’ (August, 2009), which to some came as somewhat of an unwelcome shock after the peppy folk-pop delights of debut record,‘Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down’ (August, 2008); what comes next however, is a sound as equally unexpected as it is gratifying; as deviating as it is habitual.

And with latest album ‘Last Night on Earth’ (released March 7th, 2011), what redress indeed doth Fink lend.

The Petty, Reed and Springsteen influences on this record have all been well documented, but for me what truly stands out from these tracks is the evolution of Fink’s songwriting style. An avid lover and maker of film; Fink has always described himself as a visual songwriter, likening each track to a particular scene or location. On this record, his ability to depict lives and landscapes so intimately, makes you wonder whether these fictional characters and metaphorical recollections are in fact the very real contents of Fink’s predisposed cinematic mind…and if so, what an intoxicating life he doth lead. Enough of the blatant misuse of prose methinks…

I do feel that lyrically it was a leap forward for me. It was writing out of my comfort zone, writing in a new style, with new subjects. It opens up a whole new world to write; once you’ve opened up the third-person narrative it means you have to rely less on your own life and it’s more fantasy and fiction. (Charlie Fink speaking to The Guardian, February 24th, 2011)

I consider the third-person narrative to be the most challenging in which to write; having to take yourself out of your own thoughts and experiences and put yourself in to the mind of another. Can you ever really leave your own personality behind or will every ‘fictional’ character bear some hallmark of your own self?  This previous penchant for first-person profound prose was the very quality that drew me to the temple of Fink and his compadres a couple of years back and they appear to be getting very comfortable with the status of higher musical beings; opting to record ‘Last Night On Earth’ in a synagogue in Bethnal Green. There were of course the obligatory trips to LA jotted around too; not a perk that your regular run-of-the-mill deity gets to partake in.

So, to the record itself.

1. ‘Life Is Life’

…and it feels like his new life can start and it feels like heaven.

I couldn’t have put it better myself. For Noah fans of old, the opening track shocks you with synths as the band experiment with a new and rather eclectic soft rock sound. It becomes apparent after the first few chords that this record is a million miles away from their second album; channelling an air of hope and possibility for the future, as opposed to disillusionment and negative self-worth. The band has returned refreshed, with a new outlook and creative inspirations; Fink appears mended and as a fan, I can’t help but feel rather proud. ‘Life Is Life‘ raises your spirits and your expectations for those tracks which follow.

2. ‘Tonight’s The Kind Of Night’

…tonight’s the kind of night, where everything could change…and tonight he’s not gonna come back home.

This track has more of a pop rock feel to it; echoing the life affirming and positive sentiments of the album opener. Fink sings about being open to the prospect of change and the idea of venturing out at night, not knowing what experiences await you and not being afraid in that regard. The character which the track focuses on, decides that he’s not only going to welcome change, but he’s also going to shed the safety net of domesticity by never returning home. I enjoy Country music in the same regard; tracks often speak about leaving your small home town and embarking on a journey to a more exciting, more liberating place. That place may simply be the nearest city, but the message remains the same; sometimes you have to take yourself out of your comfort zone in order to truly discover what you are capable of. The harmonies and vocal accompaniment on this track deliver an almost gospel-like performance, which helps to solidify its position in the Noah and the Whale catalogue of  classic rousing riffs.

3. ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N’

This track was the first single to be released from the album and the band started performing it live last year. I had the pleasure of reviewing one of these shows, in the most spectacular venue you could imagine – Manchester Cathedral. Hearing their tracks performed live in such an intimate and visually stimulating environment, was an experience that I will never forget. I remember hearing this track at the close of the set and thinking that it sounded very distinctly different to their previous releases; clearly a taster of what was to come with this record. This beautiful and addictive example of melodic folk-rock, focuses on the lead characters of Lisa and Joe. Both are small town drifters, working in a bar and living out of a case respectively. This track is about the power of the individual; it says that life isn’t about what you’ve got, rather what is in your soul. The simple instrumentation and violin and string accompaniment just make the lyrics of the track all the more effective. ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N‘ is the heart and soul of this album.

Charlie and Tom recently spoke about the music videos which provided inspiration for the album tracks, these were by such artists as Tom Waits, Lou Reed and Tom Petty. I have included a link to this piece below:

4. ‘Wild Thing’

For me, this track is a merging of two cultures; electric-stringed americana, with a soft yet unmistakably British electro synth-pop styling. The track is soothing and ideal to kick back to on a lazy weekend, or perhaps the soundtrack to a spectacularly scenic road trip…to be fair, any situation which requires a little bit of soul.

5. ‘Give It All Back’

This track opens with an almost Hawaiian feel to it, marrying cool xylophone sounds with the electric guitar. Fink recounts the summer of ’98, living in the suburbs and planning his escape. He describes the band’s first live performance at a school assembly where he had felt nervous and awkward, yet the passion remained ‘real and profound.’ Fink continues to appear slightly nervous I think when performing live, yet never crosses that line into ignorance or complacency towards the audience; which I might add, I have experienced on a couple of occasions with other perhaps more well known traditionally folk acts.  The track is reflective throughout and speaks about the forming of close friendships, likening his band to soulmates. I can’t imagine Fink and his band mates ever changing; their appeal in part lies in their modesty and almost aversion to the bright lights. This is definitely one of my favourites.

6. ‘Just Me Before We Met’

This would be perhaps the most typically folk-sounding track from the album, with a glorious performance by Tom on the violin. It speaks about looking through old photo albums, perhaps whilst in a new relationship, and laughing at who you once were. Fink tells us not to be shy and to be proud of our past, embarrassing as it might be. Clearly he hasn’t been subjected to my last year of Junior school photo and the notorious half up-half down hairdo. Jane Harris (aka Plain Jane Superbrain) of Neighbours fame has a lot to answer for.

7. ‘Paradise Stars’

This track is a 1:30 interlude, with trademark Noah and the Whale atmospheric keys throughout. The track grabs you and pulls you in, in the same vein as ‘Instrumental I‘ and II on ‘The First Days of Spring.’ I’d love to know what’s floating around in Fink’s head when he composes such pieces; much beauty and splendour I expect.

8. ‘Waiting For My Chance To Come’

By this point in the album, it is clear that the band has more than successfully managed to merge both folk and rock influences on this record; we have the ever brilliant Tom providing his staple sensory overload on the violin, whilst Fink snaffles our attention with his characteristic vocal voodoo. This track speaks about the true meaning of being independent; choosing to be with another person, yet not needing them to make you happy. Fink muses that it takes ‘…real guts to be alone‘ and ‘… it’s hard to feel like you’re worth something in this life.’ The message of the track being that it doesn’t have to take another person to quantity your worth; if they want to and you’re happy to hear it then great, but only you can ever know your own true value. Fink does speak of a ‘love interest’ in the track, but it’s unclear whether that love is a person or his renewed sense of self; either way, I’m happy!

9. ‘The Line’

This track focuses on the crossroads that we all reach in life at some point; whether to stay or whether to leave. The female protagonist of the track looks out of her window and tries to decide whether her life is the line between heaven and hell. The window analogy brought me to mind of the band’s second album, on which windows feature recurrently. The analogy couldn’t be more different however, as in this case the protagonist is still hopeful of something better to come; the focus instead being on her own decision as to whether she wants to change things. On ‘The First Days of Spring‘, the emphasis was more on the fact that Fink couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, instead just seeing his own reflection and not liking what he saw. The track flows gently in a synth-laden melodic fashion, never giving even the slightest hint of gloom, choosing instead to teeter on the edge of the emotional waterfall, as opposed to diving right in without your goggles.

10. ‘Old Joy’

The final track on the album showcases the raw emotion ever-present in Fink’s vocals; to think that he wasn’t even going to perform his own tracks, deciding instead to write for others rather than have to perform on stage. Fink delivers a magical performance accompanied by piano and choir; the impact of both being powerful and poignant. He says that day by day, the old joy comes back and tells us not to dream of yesterday. And what a note to conclude this Noah and the Whale love-in on.

Noah and the Whale are touring the UK, including the following North West dates:

Weds 30th March 2011, 7:30 pm - Deaf Institute, Manchester

Tuesday 3rd May 2011, 7:30 pm – The Ritz, Manchester

Monday 9th May 2011, 7:30 pm – Stanley Theatre, Liverpool

For tickets and more information, please visit: http://www.seetickets.com/Tour/NOAH-AND-THE-WHALE

www.noahandthewhale.com

www.myspace.com/noahandthewhale

The UK’s biggest indoor winter music festival kicks off on 29th October, running through November; welcome to Liverpool Music Week.

The Scouse showcase spectacular began in 2003 and has steadily grown in reputation and stature, to become a nationally recognised event and highlight of the live music calendar. Similar to Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool Music Week features headline and big name acts, whilst also giving a performance platform for emerging talent; indeed, a number of such acts have subsequently gone on to great things after showcasing their wares at this event.

The format is a combination of free and ticketed shows at various venues across the city, including: the Stanley Theatre, O2 Academy, Mountford Hall and The Kazimier.

Headline acts this year include: iconic electronic outfit Leftfield (25th November, Mountford Hall), electronic-dance rising stars Chase & Status (13th November, O2 Academy) and highly acclaimed indie pop-rock stalwarts Efterklang (7th November, O2 Academy). Tickets are available for these shows at the following link: www.liverpoolmusicweek.com.

10 free shows have also just been announced including: Sleigh Bells, Field Music, Egyptian Hip Hop, O Children, Chapel Club, and Los Campesinos! all taking place at MOJO between 29th October – 15th November. Also at MOJO is what will be one of the most anticipated of these free shows; Miles Kane will make his Liverpool solo debut, since his international success with The Last Shadow Puppets. More details on these can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialLiverpoolMusicWeek.

The act I am most excited about however, visits Liverpool fresh from his much deserved Mercury Prize nomination; that act being Villagers. Conor J. O’Brien plays The Kazimier on the 11th December and I am sure that it will be a performance which people talk about long afterwards. With his hushed tones and evocative lyrical imagery, I am certain that you’ll be able to hear a pin drop as he performs tracks from his debut album ‘Becoming a Jackal.’ I will definitely be there, poised and preened ready to hear and catch said pin, before taking it home to savour the memory of being present at one of this amazing artist’s very first shows.

The North West and Liverpool particularly, is brilliant at supporting and showcasing fresh talent from the area and beyond; I think this is so important in the current climate of acts getting signed off the back of one catchy track, then getting ditched when they fail to set the radio waves alight. How is this ever going to be achieved without the support and commitment necessary from their label, their pr office, even their fans? I have recently seen several dedicated and highly talented singer-songwriters be overlooked in favour of the next big thing; should they not deliver the dividends within the allocated timeframe. We need a better and more dedicated live music scene across the UK, to provide a platform for these artists to gain a following, experiment with their sound and be given these kinds of opportunities to perform that are so often reserved for those “in the right place, at the right time.” Rant over!

So if you’re around the beautifully cultured and cosmopolitan Liverpool area in October/November, please pop by and show your support not just for the acts but also for the organisers, the tour managers, the event staff and so it goes on. I guarantee that you’ll have a great time.

Cream celebrates its 18th Birthday in Liverpool

Everyone’s favourite Queen of Clubs, Cream, celebrates its 18th Birthday on Saturday 9th October 2010. I’ve spoken to the brand’s Online/Student Press representative Lucy Andrews quite a bit of late, having recently reviewed the epic electronic dance weekend that is the Creamfields Festival.

Lucy kindly provided me with a veritable This Is Your Life style account of the clubbing institution which began life as a 400-capacity club night, located in a Liverpool backstreet. Few could have guessed then, that in a few short years the brand would be well-known and well-respected on an international scale; being synonymous with cutting edge line ups, style and legendary production.

To celebrate this landmark birthday, the team at Cream have gone back to where it all started; to Nation, the clubbing arena based in Liverpool, for a huge party the likes of which it has never seen before. An all-star line up of Cream legends and breakthrough artists include: In the Main Room, Cream Ibiza resident Paul van Dyk, who will be performing a 3-hour set alongside Adam Sheridan, Gareth Wyn and Rob Harnetty. The Courtyard will be hosted by man of the moment Laidback Luke who will be joined by Afrojack, Anthony Probyn and Lee Ellis. Funkagenda will be heading up the Annexe and joining them will be Deadmau5 label mates Chris Lake and Michael Woods. Plus lots more.

Tickets are on sale now, priced £25 (plus Booking Fee) and can be purchased at the following link. For more information on the event itself, please go to www.cream.co.uk. The website is great and provides information and galleries of all the Cream nights across the globe, as well as DJ/artist tour details. If this year’s Creamfields Festival is anything to go by, the 18th Birthday celebration proves to be every bit as hectic and heady.

http://www.ticketline.co.uk/cream-birthday-tickets