Browsing Tag

Oxford

Oxford singer-songwriter Emma Hunter brought Latino Post-Punk to UK shores in her artfully augmented single, Guilty

If Iggy Pop is the Passenger, the Oxford singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Emma Hunter is the driver in her biggest single and battle of conscience to date, Guilty, which hit the airwaves on September 29.

With her artful sonic signature scribed through her Flamenco guitars augmented with a brashy and garagey high-octane post-punk energy that will ensnare fans of Siouxsie Soux and Debbie Harry, this guilt-riddled and demon-parading evolution is a far cry from her former releases which reach the epitome of affectingly arresting.

Hunter’s new-found strident approach to enticing listeners into her conceptually cunning creativity will undoubtedly put her on the right trajectory towards the reverence she’s deserved from the outset. As much as the industry maintains that it favours authenticity and talent, her absence from the charts is a damning testament to their appetite for melodic monotony.

Stream Guilty via YouTube and Spotify and keep up to date with Emma Hunter’s new music via Facebook and Instagram. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shaven Primates tell us all about their chirp-filled rocking 4-track release Birds Aren’t Real

Reaching into the trees and slicing off a piece of the bark to get the night started, Shaven Primates kindly had a chat with us all about their brand new 4-track release called Birds Aren’t Real. Informing us all about the vision, the local music scene and what’s next, we are educated about what being in a band really means.

Llewelyn: Greetings Shaven Primates. Thank you for joining us as we appreciate your time. 1st question. Please tell us about how the band started, who’s all involved (band, booking agent, special fans etc).

Shaven Primates: Mark started the band with creating the template for our previous album, “Child Of Dirt” which was all centered around his life story in traumatic events, including childhood abuse and losing his memory at 17. He used those song templates to round up the rest of us, starting with Neil who is our sophisticated keyboardist, found via joinmyband.co.uk who then connected up with Tom Clark, the guitarist, and then found Jarod Ganoe on gumtree (“bored drummer wants to make some noise”), and then finally Nick Letellier joined in 2018 after hearing our work and having worked with Tom before.
We aren’t currently working with a booking agent but this is immediately on the agenda and we connect with promoters directly in the UK so far. Playing across Europe will follow suit, we hope!
Special fans have all been our locals so far as our first outings were as local performers here in Oxford in order to test the waters and see who might listen to us – our sound is very individual and pretty hard to pin down, but that’s art rock for you. Bowie, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Mars Volta; they’re all self described as such due to sticking to their own sound.

Llewelyn: Who are the cleanest and messiest band members?

Shaven Primates: Cleanest, in terms of rehearsal time, would have to be either Nick or Neil, with their well-organised nature (and decidedly vocally so). Mark is by far the messiest, with his head in the clouds most of the time, we’d say. Him and cables, it’s quite a sight.

Llewelyn: Birds Aren’t Real. Let’s get into it. It drops on the 28th of July. What was the vision behind the project and where did you record it/are you happy with the outcome?

Shaven Primates: After spending 5 years writing the epic life story album that was “Child Of Dirt”, we needed to write something from scratch that was an introspective on the world, this time on “alt thought”, a spin on the mesh of madness spread across the world in war, propaganda, lies, slander, hate, denial, and conspiracy. We wrote 3 songs around this along with 2 more on a perspective on the suicide of someone close, and the experiences of growing up in school with a mind that isn’t compatible.

We recorded it at our own built recording studio, TAD Studios – that was a huge project as it was a matter of repurposing a rehearsal space that operates with multiple rooms. All of them are interconnected, and we get so much out of what was created as our musical hub.

Llewelyn: What is the pre-gig routine before jamming live?

Shaven Primates: Largely waving arms around madly, trying to sort out our in-ear monitors, but otherwise we spend a lot of it helping people set up. We’ve been running live streams with ours lately, so it’s been an extra big part of the work to rig that up too.

Llewelyn: What does it mean to be in a band? What are the perks and what are some things that make it harder?

Shaven Primates: First off, having a group of people who also we can also proclaim as friends who look out for each other and make our musical accomplishments, working out what does and doesn’t work creatively or technically, and generally enjoying the day-to-day living of it all. It can be particularly hard when working with people we care about and finding we have differences, of course, but we do what we can to figure that all out. Really, that’s part of the work, I guess.

Llewelyn: Please rep your hometown. Where are you currently and where are the best places to watch good music in your local area?

Shaven Primates: Oxford! Love the place – Mark grew up there, and saw the 90s live scene evolve into what it was, with Supergrass, Radiohead, and Rise all blossoming into the airwaves. On the other hand, it’s been sad to watch it devolve, but a few places still hold it, such as the Jericho Tavern where Radiohead first played, or The Bullingdon which Supergrass still frequent, and particularly the Port Mahon still stands as a decent venue to catch newcomers. There’s also Tap Social Brewery which is promising to be a decent new venue, and The Jam Factory has also taken on new owners promising to put on live gigs soon. It’s all still there!

Llewelyn: Last, which bands would you like to perform with and do you have any funny gig stories/fan interactions you can share with us?

Shaven Primates: We’d love to connect with someone like Mars Volta, Radiohead, even Gary Numan who might take us on given our synth work. You never know!

The first gig we ever did was to a Filipino gig festival inside the Jericho Tavern, where it was mostly families sat around the side eating food and wondering what on earth was going on with what was on stage with us performing. All gigs are worthwhile though! Still enjoyed it.

Turn this up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Tom Seth Johnson projected adoration through indie rock anthemics in Anywhere in the World Right Now

If indie rock n roll has a soul, it resounds in the magnetic sincerity of the latest single, Anywhere in the World Right Now, from Oxford’s prodigal son, Tom Seth Johnson.

With only an edge of 90s Britpop, there’s plenty of room for an Americana tinge that poured in the same foot-stompin’ vein as The Black Keys. So many postcards get sent to Britpop, but Johnson put his own swaggering stamp on his. Especially, through the sweeter-than-sugar line, “I’ve finally found a reason to play my guitar, ‘cos usually I’m down in Dixies midnight bar”. I legitimately shed a tear.

The rock n roll lifestyle is subject to prolific glamourisation; Johnson put that toxicity to bed and wrapped it up in soulful anthemics to prove all the vacuous sex and drugs in the world can’t parallel the high of coming home when it is a person that defines home instead of four walls.

Anywhere in the World Right Now is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dolly Mavies – I’m All Sugar: Get Your indie Anthem Fix

Oxford, UK singer-songwriter, Dolly Mavies, set the indie anthem bar impossibly high with her latest single, I’m All Sugar, which surges with the same rhythmic and vocal energy of Somebody to Love by Boogie Pimps in spite of the folky flavour.

Taken from her debut album, The Calm & The Storm, the stellar single from the artist who takes influence from the likes of Patti Smith, The National and Daughter, created a uniquely exhilarating listening experience that makes no bones about pulling you through an ardently visceral arrangement where a curveball lies on the edge of every progression.

If Dolly Mavies isn’t as big as Mumford & Sons by the end of the year, someone may as well scorch the earth of the music industry so we can start again. It’s punk as fuck, yet, Mavies still maintains that ever-addictive girl-next-door appeal.

I’m All Sugar will officially release on March 24th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emma Hunter portrayed vices as death incarnate in her cinematically western score, Morire

Never one to shy away from emotionally deep conceptuality, singer-songwriter, loop artist and instrumentalist Emma Hunter always leaves a profoundly artful impact with her lyrical themes that exhibit the darkest facets of the human experience.

After being introduced to her superlative talent via her music video for Here I Go, which narrated the disjointed monologue of a domestic abuse victim, it was hard to imagine a more sobering orchestration. Her latest tour de force, Morire, is an achingly succinct exposition of how our vices are the death-incarnating reapers. Especially for the way they allow the people around us to watch us as we get torn away from ourselves while being too numb to feel the cuts of the scythe.

With everything written between the lines and the Tarantino-ESQUE Western score amplifying the wrenchingly cinematic intensity, you can be damn sure I shed a few tears before working out how to do this filmic masterpiece justice.

Videographer Matt Trevor-Roper, undeniably succeeded in bringing the concept to raw life. Less of a run-of-the-mill music video and more of an epic short film, Morire, is a testament to Emma Hunter’s evocative chanteuse vocal harmonies that effortlessly gel with her flamenco guitars.

Morire released on March 16th; watch the official music video on YouTube or add it to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The End Of The World: Born Ideal urge us to gather around to witness the destruction on Inevitable

Reverberating in with a super catchy rhythm and tons of spark-filled energy to spare, Born Ideal tells us to wake up and smell the horrid fumes of disaster on their excellent new single Inevitable.

Born Ideal is a Bristol/Oxford-based indie alternative 3-piece rock band who are influenced greatly by Radiohead and Biffy Clyro.

They have been gigging around the south of the UK for several years, including performances at O2 Academies and other prestigious venues. After a couple of years off (due to Covid and member changes,) Born Ideal are back on the road.” ~ Born Ideal

Gliding through our emotions and taking us for a rather splendid ride, Born Ideal impresses with so much fire and vigour, pulsating a tremor through our eyes and waking us up within.

Inevitable from Bristol/Oxford-based alternative act Born Ideal is a mighty adventure which will cause many a shiver and electricity to bolt through our veins. Showing us the way from the jagged edges of our lost hearts, this is a stunner of a single that deserves all the love in the world.

When you know it’s over, everything changes forever.

Hear this fine single on Spotify. See more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Been Alone Before: William Cunningham shows us deep inside that devastating heartbreak on Fading (ft. Megan King and Vin Ro the DreamMaster of Lions)

Shepherding us through that empty time which is bound with overthinking and that energy-sapping pain, William Cunningham floats through space with a reminder that the romantic room has closed forever on Fading (ft. Megan King and Vin Ro the DreamMaster of Lions).

William Cunningham is an Oxford, UK-based indie pop and music producer and composer who constructs experiences that are truly world class.

”The single is a massive collaboration project with local artists and performers from around the world. His rapper, ‘Vin Ro the Dream Master of Lions’ based in America, was contacted over a Reddit page back in 2020.” ~ William Cunningham describing his vision for the latest single

Producing his own music since late 2020, after graduating from Oxford Brookes University, William Cunningham joins forces with Megan King and Vin Ro the DreamMaster of Lions, with exceptional results. The energy is sombre, yet the honesty shall soak your soul for the better, to urge us all to move past a cracked relationship that is beyond broken.

Fading (ft. Megan King and Vin Ro the DreamMaster of Lions) from Oxford, UK-based indie pop and music producer/composer William Cunningham is one of those rare singles you put on loud and let play all day. Laced with that reflective aura which might put you in somewhat of a trance, as you look back inside your own romantic history.

Knowing that you will be fine after a shattered moment is always the start of that much-needed recovery.

Check out this new single on Spotify and see more on his IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Oxford act Shaven Primates decimates those dark demons with inspiring single, ‘Answers’

After searching for help to rid the halls of those scary ghosts that can clutch onto you like poisonous sludge in the river, Shaven Primates join forces within and aim to heal from those mental scars which need to be remedied on ‘Answers‘.

Formed by Mark Elphinstone, Shaven Primates is an Oxford, England-based 5-piece dark-wave, art-rock, post-punk band. After a 17 year hiatus from music, Mark decided that he needed to fully heal from all the trauma from his tough childhood and has used music for therapy purposes, with results that are quite bone-tingling.

Our music is a narrative of human emotion and experience: fear, love and anger resonate through the orchestration, giving our audience a deeply cathartic release.” ~ Shaven Primates

Bringing us their vivid story to life while sending a groovy ear-booster with some aplomb, Shaven Primates show us that you can indeed retrain your mind and destroy all past memories that are holding you back from doing what you love in life.

Answers‘ from the Oxford, England-based band Shaven Primates, is a breaking-the-walls thunderbolt that gets your eyes to widen and your thoughts to break those rusty bars with your mind so you can regain control of your destiny. Blending in with dynamic forces that is almost superhero-like, this is a must-listen for all those who have suffered from disgraceful abuse growing up. Music heals if you join together with those who get it.

Hear this rocking new track on Soundcloud and see more via the IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Finding Simplicity: Oxford’s Mosa looks beyond the norm on ‘Grey Areas’

Released from Oxford indie label BigWhoop! Records, Mosa returns with his trusty dog Snoop by his side on the wonderfully hair-lifting experience that is his new single ‘Grey Areas‘.

David Ashbourne aka Mosa, is an Oxford, England-based music writer, composer, sound designer, indie rock/electronic singer-songwriter, and music producer.

With his ten-track album ‘Ruminations and Adaptations’ out on the 30th July, we are witnessing a confident artistic mastermind on top of his game, as he expands your mind with a superb vocal and lyrical performance of the highest order.

Mosa’s songs are travelogues of what it is to be human, from experiences, feelings and observations. The album circles themes such as love, desire, despair, passion, embracing negativity, absence, time, arrivals, departures, hesitance, grey areas
and dualities.” ~ Mosa

On a peacefully charming beat, this is an electronic melody which has your mind so fascinated by this rare creation which is such a peaceful listen. Each lyric has been carefully thought of and sung with that true meaningful glance, to always staying true to oneself.

Grey Areas‘ from the outstandingly multi-talented Oxford, England-based artist Mosa, is a tremendous track that shows us his incredible skill set and reminds us that life can be so simple if you want it to be. In a complicated world, the exception should be the rule in a place where so many try and copy others. This is a terrifically unique artist we need to admire for his out-the-box thinking.

Stream this new single on Spotify and find out more via his IG channel.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

AMOSA has released her ethereally dark electronic pop debut, ‘WALKAWAY’.

Oxford, UK-based singer-songwriter AMOSA has released her debut indie-pop single, WALKAWAY, which runs in the same moody vein as Billie Eilish and King Princess.

The stylishly arranged single flows through downtempo, reflective synth-led grooves in the captivating soundscape that delivers an ethereal atmosphere, direct lyricism, and swathes of emotion that captures the vulnerability in the admission that you want someone to stay who has already started to walk away.

It’s a stunning extension of compassion to anyone who has ever experienced holding onto toxic people, knowing that they’re bad, but feeling the physical addiction all the same.

At the age of 21, AMOSA is already proving that she’s got the contemporary sound and the matured talent to climb the indie-pop charts. We’re stoked to watch her ascent.

WALKAWAY is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast