Staying High and Staying Focused: Fliptrix Talks 'Inexhale'

When we last spoke to Fliptrix nearly two years ago, he described the UK hip hop scene as being “in the best place it's ever been”. It was obvious why he was in a buoyant mood: in the space of 12 months, he'd worked with legendary producer DJ Premier on a track for his Four Owls project and signed chart-busting up-and-comer Ocean Wisdom to High Focus, the underground label he runs from London. But having released six stellar LPs over 10 years, the one thing he deserved more recognition for was his own music.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Tuesday, 21 August 2018

Life In A Whirlwind: Mt. Joy Discuss Their Startling Rise

Until a certain streaming service turned their lifelong musical fantasies into a reality, the members of folky Americana quintet Mt. Joy were on a very different path indeed. To retool an old saying, life as they know it happened while they were busy living other best laid plans.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 15 August 2018

Beginning, Middle and End: Ash's Tim Wheeler On Crafting 'Islands'

Once we had survived a punishing winter that would have made even your average White Walker cling to their hot water bottle, it came time to talk ‘soundtrack to the summer’. As ever, the conversation pretty much started and finished with Ash. Possessing a typically enchanting feelgood factor that belied the heartache at its core, the Northern Irish trio’s new album ‘Islands’ was tailor made to accompany bright blue skies and long lazy days topping up your tan.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 14 August 2018

'It Feels Like A Landmark Album For Us': Delta Sleep Discuss The Expansive 'Ghost City'

Photo: Paola Baltazar​ Much like prog before it, math-rock hasn't always appeared the most accessible of genres. As a form, it's designed to keep listeners on their toes, directing and misdirecting with syncopated rhythms, jagged melodic progressions and non-standard time signatures. That might not seem like a recipe for commercial success, but if there's one thing Brits can get behind it's art that's awkward, intelligent and self aware.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Friday, 10 August 2018

'I'm A Boy Staring Up Into Space': Jay Forrest Talks The Return Of Hopesfall

Photo: Natalie Bisignano Few bands have enjoyed a career as varied and colourful as Hopesfall's. Forming 20 years ago in North Carolina, they emerged just as metalcore and other forms of moody hard rock were beginning to take off. However, they aren't remembered for their contributions to the scene as much as how they subverted its tropes. Drawing from screamo and psychedelic space rock in equal measures, their releases 'No Wings to Speak Of' and 'The Satellite Years' to this day stand up as classics of the genre.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 08 August 2018

Birds of a Feather: How The Magpie Salute Flocked Together

Throughout our lives the majority of us will make meaningful and lasting connections, forging relationships that, at their most natural, seem impervious to time and distance. Paths can diverge and years fly by, but once we’re back in each other’s orbits the old rapport immediately returns. That’s something Rich Robinson, formerly of the Black Crowes, will certainly attest to after a one-off gig with some former collaborators swiftly turned into a brand new band with over 30 years of shared history.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 07 August 2018

Fresh Start Fever: The Evolution Of You Me At Six

A decade ago you couldn’t spend a night in a rock club without hearing Save It For The Bedroom. You Me At Six’s breakthrough hit arrived when UK pop-punk was about to crest its mainstream peak, with its bands sharing sweeping fringes and lofty ambitions with the emo groups who were also making their way onto the radio.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 02 August 2018

It's About Being Strong For Everyone Around You: Kyle Fasel Talks Real Friends' 'Composure'

Kyle Fasel chooses his words carefully. As well he might, because that’s how he makes a living. He plays bass and writes lyrics for Real Friends, the Illinois pop-punk-emo band who are helping close out Warped Tour for the final time.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Thursday, 26 July 2018

There's Something About You: The Beths Strike Pop Gold on 'Future Me Hates Me'

The Beths are learning Welsh. It’s a little after 10 at Le Pub in Newport, and the New Zealand indie-pop band are parroting back a few reliable words and phrases shouted from the crowd. They try cwtch and iechyd da on for size before Elizabeth Stokes draws a line under it. “We’re butchering this,” she says. “Let’s do a song.”

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 18 July 2018

On Writing: Ellis Jones Takes Trust Fund Into Reflective Waters With 'Bringing The Backline'

History tells us that writers love to write about writers, and writing, and cafés, and corner tables in dive bars, and coffee and whiskey, and notebooks and typewriters, and muses and boyfriends and girlfriends and crushes.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Download Festival 2018: Ageless Anthems And ​Stunning Sunshine At The Ultimate Metal Party

Photo: Matt Eachus So, Download is over for another year. After days of glorious sunshine (!), 100,000 people are now slowly readjusting to life outside the hallowed gates of Donington Park following another edition of one of the biggest rock, metal and punk parties in the world. Until we do it all again next summer, all that’s left to do is talk about the memories.

Written by: Jon Stickler and Dave Ball | Date: Wednesday, 20 June 2018

'It's About Departure; Burning Bridges And Not Regretting It': Zeal & Ardor On 'Stranger Fruit'

Photo: Manuel Gagneux A crow caws. There’s the sound of crunching and snapping. “I’m in a graaaaveyard,” says Manuel Gagneux. But he isn't really in a graveyard.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 13 June 2018

Can't Help Falling in Love: Patti Smith Captivates At Cardiff's Festival of Voice

Photos: Janire Najera It took almost 50 years to build St. John the Evangelist in Canton, a mile or so from the centre of Cardiff. Some parts of the church came together relatively quickly, including the nave and the aisles, but others took time.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 12 June 2018

New Kid On The Block: All Points East Enjoys A Winning Start

Photo: Rory Marcham The first staging of All Points East had a lot riding on it. A new London festival with a stellar line up, plus several similarly star-studded sideshows, it had to overcome an already stacked calendar of competitors and some inevitable teething problems. And it did. Helen Payne found some awkward stage timings to navigate during an otherwise perfect, if excessive, few days.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Friday, 08 June 2018

Hip-hop, Not Easy Listening: Lewis Parker On 20 Years of 'Masquerades & Silhouettes'

For people of a certain generation, English producer Lewis Parker is best known for working with Ghostface Killah and being sampled by Joey Bada$$. Flitting between London and New York, Parker has made his name as one of hip-hop's most respected underground heads, renowned for his impeccable groove-based beats.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 07 June 2018

Timing Is Everything: Davey Newington Talks Boy Azooga's Debut LP '1,2 Kung Fu!'

Photo: Stella Gelardi Malfilatre More haste, less speed. It’s a lesson a lot of us learn the hard way, and one that has shaped Davey Newington’s trajectory with his latest musical project, Boy Azooga.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 06 June 2018

Enjoy the Balance: Collective Soul's Will Turpin Shines on 'Serengeti Drivers'

Every now and then an album arrives from out of nowhere and instantly brightens up your day. Like rays of sunshine breaking through the clouds, ‘Serengeti Drivers’ – the debut solo album from Collective Soul bassist Will Turpin – is quite simply an unexpected treat. Bursting to the brim with a melodious mix of pop, rock, Americana, funk, soul and AOR, it’s the kind of record summer was invented for.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 05 June 2018

Loneliness and The Solo Artist: Jess Abbott Talks Tancred's 'Nightstand'

Photo: Shervin Lainez One of the enduring challenges facing any writer is making people feel as though they’re in the room, and experiencing things in real time. On ‘Nightstand’, the new Tancred album, Jess Abbott’s solution is to load up on specifics.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 31 May 2018

Journey of a Wild Heart: Introducing Kashena Sampson

She may have been mentioned by Rolling Stone magazine in the same breath as Stevie Nicks, and already had her music compared to Linda Ronstadt, Bobbie Gentry and Jim Croce, but Kashena Sampson is capable of standing on her own two feet. Her debut album, ‘Wild Heart’, showcases a singer-songwriter whose artistic authenticity and integrity is increasingly rare in Nashville these days.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 31 May 2018

'It's Like It Was When Korn Started': Jonathan Davis Strikes Out On His Own With 'Black Labyrinth'

Photo: J Weiner Photography “Boom na da noom na na nema, da boom na da noom na namena.” Twenty years ago, Jonathan Davis’s vocal breakdown in Freak on a Leash made perfect sense. Nu metal had almost reached its commercial peak and Korn were shitting out hits, blowing up cars in their music videos and always staying ahead of their imitators – so brashly that their 1998 album was named ‘Follow The Leader’.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 25 May 2018