Feel the love: Rudimental

Teetering on the edge of the underground but ready to blast into the mainstream, Rudimental are already commandeering the airwaves.

‘Spoons’, a house tune they produced in a couple of hours, is played repeatedly on Kiss FM, has received bountiful airtime from Radio 1 and was rapturously supported by fellow band The xx.

I met three quarters of Rudimental – Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden and Amir Amor – for a coffee in Shoreditch. Leon Locksmith, AKA DJ Locksmith, unfortunately couldn’t make it.

Reluctant to brand their music or adhere to one genre, the foursome are producing tunes that can be loosely labeled dance music.

“We’ve been annoying labels and journalists who want us to fit neatly into one category,” admits Amir.

“We come from a London, UK, electronic background but we call it bass music because nowadays garage and drum & bass have morphed. And then we have soul music as the connecting factor between all of us. We all listen to soul and blues, from the 60s and 70s, so it’s bass music with soul.”

As well as producing electronic music, they each play instruments: Amir is a guitarist, both Piers and Kesi play the keyboard and Kesi also dabbles in percussion and writing lyrics.

Their next single, ‘Feel the Love’, features vocalist John Newman.

“Usually the vocalist will come up with their own lyrics, but for this one Kesi wrote them,” says Piers. “Basically, Kesi met a girl, he was really happy, it was a sunny day…” Kesi cuts him off, embarrassed.

Their song-writing process varies but most often they start with a few chords, a melody or some lyrics. Once they have the core idea they move to the computer and take it in turns to work on the beat and add to it.

“’Spoons’ is a good example of how we work: Piers played some keys, Kesi added kickdrum to it and I played the spoons on it,” says Amir. “We started thinking of top lines and vocals and then MNEK came in because he works from the same studio. He came through, wrote some lyrics and it all happened like that: one, two hours. The best songs happen that way.”

Piers, Kesi and Leon grew up together in Hackney and met Amir later on.

“Growing up in inner-city London was not easy,” explains Piers. “I was hanging out with the wrong crowd and could see how easily people take the wrong path. But music played a big part in pulling me onto the right tracks.” Amir and Dryden nod their heads in agreement.

“I wasn’t great in school,” he continues, “and growing up as a young boy, music or football are your only options. If you don’t have a music centre and the opportunity to get involved and get creative, that can push you in the wrong direction.”

Fortunately, he hooked up with Kesi and Leon playing football and they soon realised they had a shared interest in music. They started DJing together on pirate radio, then bumped into Amir at their studio and “suddenly it was like ‘click’,” says Piers. Rudimental was formed.

They get excited about the prospect of playing alongside Jay-Z. I ask them who else they would like to collaborate with and Piers informs me that most collaborations on their wish list are dead. Amir quickly reminds him that Lauryn Hill or Cee Lo Green would be quite good to work with.

For their first album they are aiming to use only lesser-known artists. Eager to discover new talent and not just rely on collaborations with established artists, they pluck vocalists from bands they have performed with. This is how they met John Newman, the vocalist on Feel the Love.

In a few years, when Rudimental are firmly established, they would like to do more work with young people. “We’ll open up the Rudimental Academy,” Amir jokes. Piers steps in with a more serious tone: “It’s close to our hearts, we were like these kids.”

Rudimental will be judging the Hackney vs Harlem talent show at Hackney Empire in June and will offer three days in the studio to the winner. They will also be touring throughout the summer, playing Creamfields, Outlook Festival, Lounge on the Farm and a few dates in Canada.

So what are their goals? Playing Jools Holland would be nice, they agree, but only if he plays piano with them. Otherwise the ultimate aim, at the moment, is Glastonbury main stage: a massive show. “Thousands of people singing along to your song,” says Piers, “that’s the dream.”

For more go to Rudimental.

MCs Flinty Badman and Deman Rocker AKA The Ragga Twins at LOK 2011. Photograph: Tim Sullivan

Longer days, rising temperatures, and blooming trees can all only mean one thing: the festival season is upon us.  Hackney music lovers could hardly ask for a better way to kick it off than Dalston’s fourth annual Land of Kings festival.

On Friday 4 and Saturday 5 May, Land of Kings will transform the Kingsland High Street area into a celebration of local music, cinema and theatre.

With over fifteen venues and more than forty acts on offer, festival goers will have to choose between live bands, loft parties, film screenings and interactive theatre performances.  All of this will take place not only in the area’s flagship bars and basement venues, but also in re-purposed gardens, rooftops, and school halls.

While focused primarily on showcasing up and coming talent, Land of Kings has also managed to book some big name acts for the weekend.  The beloved Sheffield duo Slow Club anchors the lineup, offering the kind of exuberant indie-folk songs perfect for ushering in the summer.

Post-industrial electro-rockers Factory Floor are also sure to bring both a devoted fan base and a fierce dance party.

On the other side of the bill, Hackney’s own TOY will demonstrate why they’ve become one of the most widely tipped bands-to-watch in the city. And, of course, each day will end with the club nights that have made the area famous, with DJ sets from the Horrors and Trevor Jackson, among others.

Music may drive the festival, but it would be a mistake to miss out on its other offerings. This year, there is a larger art and interactive programme than ever before.  Highlights include sunset screenings from the Hackney Film Festival and a one-to-one immersive performance experience, Live Art Speed Date, staged by Stoke Newington International Airport.

For more information go to Land of Kings.

Emi Wokoma as Tina Turner and Chris Tummings as Ike Turner in Soul Sister, at the Hackney Empire

Consolidating thirty years of history into just over two hours of crowd pleasing song and dance, Soul Sister introduces Emi Wokoma as Anna Mae Bullock (renamed Tina when she began performing with Ike Turner), who has done well to lay down sturdy foundations for a glittering career ahead.

Wokoma’s characterisation of the Queen of rock ‘n’ roll is seamless in its mimicry; she’s got the voice and the moves down to a T, but transcends mere Stars in Your Eyes frivolity on account of her convincing ability to tell a story.

Although elsewhere acting plays second fiddle to the music, Soul Sister is by no means narrative-lite.

The ups and downs of Ike and Tina Turner’s turbulent relationship run parallel to key social movements like the Civil Rights Movement and feminism, serving up historical soundbites which add weight and context to the storied life of this storied singer.

The curtains open to a sequined adorned Turner in the 80s; the final click in the chain of a show which spans three decades of music making – perfectly executed by the band and Ikettes backing singers – ensuring every taste is catered for.

Wokoma belts out an enthralling, lung blasting rendition of ‘Private Dancer’, before the clock winds back to the 50s and we see a young Turner fleeing her hometown of Nutbush for the bright lights of St.Louis.

It’s in St.Louis that Tina meets Ike (Chris Tummings) – who quickly snaps her up as the frontwoman in his band – and she accordingly becomes his wife.

Turner maintains her love for Ike even as he falls prey to drug use and domestic violence and we watch as he spirals out of control and their marriage falls apart.

The soundtrack moves through 60s hits like ‘River Deep – Mountain High’ – which comes with a cursory warning from producer Phil Spector who urges Turner to leave her husband – 70s megabolts like ‘Proud Mary’ before rounding things off with a newly emancipated and empowered Turner in the 80s, who gets the audience up on their feet for final banger ‘Simply The Best’.

It’s a show-stopping end to a visual sonic feast which leaves little to the imagination but cares a lot for the soul.

For more info go to the Hackney Empire.

Field Day. Photograph: Errol Rainey

Hackney Citizen readers can get their hands on free tickets to two of London’s hottest festivals – Field Day and Apple Cart.

Victoria Park plays host to both – Field Day on Saturday 2 June and Apple Cart on Sunday 3 June.

To enter the draw for two free tickets to Field Day, tell us:

Who is headlining Field Day 2012?

To enter the draw for two free tickets to Apple Cart, tell us:

What comedian and star of Never Mind the Buzzcocks will be performing at The Apple Cart?

Send your answers to editor@hackneycitizen.co.uk by Friday 4 May 2012.

Trim The Barber. Photograph: Elyssa Iona

Digital media has usurped the real and the tangible. The government ring our necks and bleed us dry and conflicting feelings stifle the breeze as East Londoners prepare for the Olympic onslaught.

Weighing up emotion and politics in equal measure, Trim the Barber are an ironclad four-piece with a social conscience. Refusing to pander to trends, where their chosen moniker may be misleading – a jovial attempt at namechecking dub master King Tubby –their anger fuelled, effects laden outpourings are by no means frivolous and ably channel the sense of despair felt by many in these strange, unsettling times.

They cling fast to hefty, snarling sonics and thread melodic Wire-esque post-punk grooves through the aesthetic clout of A Place to Bury Strangers. “Words for rainy days,” offers guitarist/vocalist Ramsay Cooper, an idea quite at odds with the current sunny spell but one which nonetheless depicts the band’s uncompromising mien.

Bassist/vocalist Matthew Potter and guitarists Patrick Banks and Ramsay Cooper are school friends who fled the Home Counties for London to flex their creative muscles. They met drummer Jonas Duus last year “late one misty evening” and he was impelled to leave Copenhagen and come on board as the final percussive piece in the Trim the Barber puzzle.

Much to the dismay of their neighbours, they now reside and practice together in a “cosy” house in Lower Clapton, where Ramsay says they “share a wholesome love of chatting complete and utter gibberish for extended periods of time.”

On Monday 9 April the band will self-release a new, eponymous, four-track EP which has been a long time coming. And they’ve got a serious axe to grind, with song titles like Occupation, Digitalis, Reality and Autocue. On the surface it’s a stark, utilitarian record, which yokes the minimalism of post-punk with a florid, psychedelic core and where whirring clouds of Swervedriver ready distortion and delay set your teeth on edge at ear-splitting volume.

Not surprisingly, they hold Cocteau Twins, Coil and (just to throw a spanner in the works) Felt, in high esteem. They’ve been playing sweatboxes for nearing a year – including a recent Widowspeak support slot in Hoxton and a chaotic show at Biddle Brothers on Lower Clapton Road – and their live carry-ons come with a wall of sound which is not for the faint hearted.

Next up on the agenda is recording the album but what is their ultimate goal, according to Matt? “To create a strong body of work that lasts. Oh and the slightly sadistic notion of destroying peoples’ eardrums with treble is also quite appealing.”

Trim the Barber play Fierce Panda’s Bamboozled night at the Bull & Gate (Kentish Town) on 18 April.

Wallis Bird

Wallis Bird, the self-titled third album by the Hackney-based Irish songwriter, is a study in contrasts.

Across eleven songs, Bird alternates between political anthems and personal confessions, defiant growls and dissolving falsettos.  In a matter of moments, the roaring taunt “who’s listening now?” gives way to the soft spoken admission that “I sing songs about loving my life, but today I just don’t have the energy.”

This range of emotion is matched by Bird’s diverse musical style.  Drawing inspiration from acts as varied as Ani Difranco, Tom Waits and tUnE-yArDs, Bird ensures that each track is a surprise.   The influence of Dilate-era Ani Difranco comes through with particular clarity, as the percussive strumming and confrontational vocals of Ani classics like ‘Shameless’ echo throughout the album.

After two albums and just as many Meteor awards, Wallis Bird showcases an artist reflecting on the complexity of success.  On the album’s haunting opener, ‘Dress My Skin’, and ‘Become What I’m Supposed To’, Bird begins with an audible sigh.  Although its lyrics suggest trouble with a lover, ‘Dress My Skin’ could just as easily be about her struggle to maintain a private self behind an increasingly public persona.  In one striking moment, Bird splits the song’s first line — “you don’t know shit” — into two parts, with others’ shouting “you don’t know” and her shutting them all out, sharply saying “shit.”  And so even as she asserts her privacy, Bird seems to fear that, shit, she has already given away too much.

Moments like this are spread throughout the album as Bird’s layered production rewards close listening.  Additional voices and ambient noise flesh out the emotional texture of each track.  At the same time, the production repeatedly drops off and, without warning, reveals Bird’s voice standing alone, as if drawing the listener too close and then catching them in the act.

What unifies Wallis Bird is the sounds of the city.  Primarily written and recorded around the summer’s riots, it is an album of urban energy.  Sirens, crowds and traffic all seep into the tracks.  “It was all I wanted to write about,” Bird told me, “this idea of hoping for a change, waiting, then exploding.”

Although that energy has now been suppressed, Bird still finds a lot to love about being a musician in Hackney.  “Hackney is a major creative hub for the city of London,” she explained.  “It has more opportunity for the young entrepreneur than anywhere else in London.”

For more go to Wallis Bird on facebook.

Play for today: TOY

Hackney-based five-piece band TOY are on the rise with psychedelic, punk and post-rock inspired music and it’s going to be a busy year for them. Fresh from completing a residency at the Shacklewell Arms, they are going on a UK tour in April, while writing and recording their debut album, due for release in September.

So far, they’ve chosen a retro approach to the release of their debut singles ‘Left Myself Behind’ and ‘Clock Chime’ by releasing them on 12” vinyl. Jenny Soffel meets TOY’s guitarist Dominic O’Dair.

Q: The NME listed you as one of the most exciting new bands to look out for in 2012. How does it feel to have acquired so much fame so quickly?

We’re so grateful! I mean, obviously it’s what you want as a band, for people to take interest in and like your music.

Q: You, Tom (vocals) and Maxim (bassist) were previously in the band Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong. What’s the difference between that band and TOY?

The last band wasn’t really our thing. We joined when we were quite young and then, you know, we went along for the ride and had a great time. But we wanted to do something with our music. We wanted to write the songs.

Q: TOY spent most of 2010 writing songs. Who does the writing?

It’s very collaborative and we write songs that we would like to listen to even if it wasn’t our band. Usually, there’s someone who’ll write a riff, or sometimes songs start with a drumbeat. We tend to make recordings around that.
Then we go to the studio and then we all start adding sections.

Q: Is it all very harmonious or do you sometimes quarrel over songs you write?

I don’t think that we’ve ever quarrelled about it actually, no, it’s still very harmonious. This band is five people that have pretty similar taste in music so it makes the song writing process very easy really. It’s a joy.

Q: How far have you come with your debut album that’s coming out in September? Have you started it yet?

Oh no, we’ve not started it yet, but I think we’re going to be recording it next month or so.

At the moment we’re just talking about which songs are going to go on the album. We’re still writing songs, because we’d like there to be some new songs that we haven’t played in our live shows yet.

Q: Who do you look up to most when it comes to your style, genre and writing?

People like Lou Reed, Brian Wilson, Mick and Keith (Rolling Stones). Oh, and Tom Verlaine from Television.

Q: You’ve all lived in Hackney for the last five years. Would you say you get inspiration from living in East London?

Without question, living in Hackney definitely inspires us, living in a metropolis and being in the East.

Q: Everyone seems to be obsessed with your hair, because you all have it long. Why is that and do you share shampoo tips?

No, we don’t share any tips. We’ve all had long hair since we were about fifteen. Actually I think we had it short for a while, when we were in our old band, but apart from that we’ve always had it like this.

Q: And finally, would you ask permission before you cut your hair?

Would I ask permission from the rest of the band to cut my hair? No, definitely not.

More at Toy Band.

N-Dubz Faser rehearses with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Maida Vale Studio 3. Photograph: © Mark Allan

The return of the BBC Urban Classic takes place on Saturday 3 March.

Billed as “a unique mash-up of musical cultures,” the Urban Classic pairs some of the UK’s top hip hop artists with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The one-night-only event will go down at the Barbican and feature performances by Fazer, Ms. Dynamite, Devlin, and Skepta. Fresh off his collaboration with Basement Jaxx, genre-pushing composer Jules Buckley will be conducting the orchestra.

Although it risks being seen as a novelty event, the Urban Classic is a continuation of the cultural remixing that has defined hip hop since its creation.  In fact, you don’t need to dig too deep to find orchestral compositions already chopped up into beats; famous tracks by the Streets and Nas, for example, make use of iconic classical pieces.

The Urban Classic is being put on in partnership with Biggafish, a Hackney-based non-profit that uses hip hop to engage young people.

The event is part of Music Nation, a UK-wide weekend of performances that mark the official countdown to the 2012 Games.

As one of the Olympic host boroughs, Hackney will be seeing many more cultural events in the coming months, including Radio 1’s massive Hackney Weekend, 23-24 June.

Power Lunches: a hub for musicians. Photograph: Joel Mittleman

If it weren’t for the sign in the window advertising ‘Rehearsal Space Slots from £15′, you could easily walk past Dalston’s Power Lunches Arts Café without noticing it for what it is: one of the fastest growing hubs of the Hackney music scene.

Once inside, though, all becomes clear. Despite the full menu of fresh food and drink, the real passion here is music. With gig posters covering the walls, stacks of vinyl adorning the bar, and a miniature record store in the front, Power Lunches is designed to be a place that Hackney’s music community can call home.

“I’ve been a musician for years,” explains Sian Dorrer, the café’s owner, “and even though there was always a really good music scene in this area, there was never a place that was run by musicians, for musicians.”

Since it opened in July, Power Lunches has sought to change that. In the day, it operates as a café upstairs and a rehearsal space downstairs. At night, the rehearsal space becomes a music venue, hosting local bands mostly, but also acts from around the UK and beyond.

The response has been fantastic. Although gigs were originally planned for only Friday and Saturday nights, the demand from artists, promoters and fans has been so great that Power Lunches will soon be hosting live music four or five nights a week.

Dorrer attributes this success to the sense of community her team has worked to build. “Yes it’s a business,” she says. “It has to make money to survive, but that’s not the priority. The priority is to keep a community of musicians going.”

That community is reflected in the staff itself. Dorrer performs with two local acts and her staff members are active in the same scene, whether by performing in bands, working with labels, or both. “It’s a bit incestuous,” she admits, “but we’re not cliquey.”

With that in mind, Dorrer wants the space to be open to all varieties of artists and fans.

When I popped by, I had the chance to watch New Noveta, an experimental noise and performance art duo, as they were recording. The two discovered Power Lunches at a gig, but quickly came to appreciate it as a space to rehearse and record. “There’s nowhere else this cheap,” they said.

Dorrer’s vision for the place is clear: “I want people to dance and have fun,” she says. “If you’re at a hardcore punk gig, I don’t expect you to sit quietly and enjoy your chamomile tea.”

Power Lunches
446 Kingsland Road
Dalston
E8 4AA
020 7988 1997

TOY: The Shacklewell Arms played host to yet another thrilling band from Hackney

TOY made the walls of the Shacklewell Arms’ shiver on Wednesday night with their psychedelic punk rock.

The five-piece band are the latest local outfit to make it to the pages of the NME and are lauded by the music paper as one of the 20 most exciting new bands of 2012.

Swimming in blue light, with Greek-profiled singer Tom Dougall staring coldly out in the audience, they show that they have a coherent sound.

Charlie Salvidge plays his drums with unexaggerated passion and bassist Maxim Barron proves his skills during ‘Clock Chime’. Unfortunately, the same song doesn’t do singer Tom any favours – he can barely be heard.

Formed in 2010, and consisting of four guys and one girl – all equally long-haired – they accompany their great music with reverb and slight banging of their heads.

The best moments during the eight-song concert are the instrumental breaks.

The sound of TOY literally explodes during the vocals free interlude in the last song, ‘Left myself behind’ – leaving the audience in awe. It’s amazing, and will surely contribute to the band making it all the way to the top.