Haiku Salut, who describe themselves as ‘Baroque-Pop-Folktronic-Neo-Classical-Something-Or-Other’ might have had all the right intentions when they decided to publish their series of backstage Haikus in book form. Japanese Poems Steal Brains is charming and well-made as a physical object, but…
What do Bryan Ferry, Johnny Marr, Ronnie Spector and Flea have in common? Oh, and Mark Knopfler, Todd Terje, Nile Rodgers and Maceo Parker? That’s right: they all made this record. Avonmore might have Mr Ferry’s name on the front…
Against everything that your ears might tell you, Wild Smiles started making music in Hampshire. In a garden shed in Hampshire, to be precise – not, as their beach-spun sound might suggest, on a wooden jetty in Orange County, California….
If you spent any time in west London in the early 90s you may have come across two extraordinary street musicians. Known to commuters simply as ‘The District Line Buskers’, this duo were recognisable for just two distinctive songs: ‘This…
Rating: Nostalgia’s not such a bad thing sometimes. It’s not ultimately going to take you somewhere new – you might not end up with that tattoo or piercing you secretly wanted but were too afraid to follow through with –…
Rating: Thursday. Shoreditch. I remember dancing furiously, freaking out in a raincoat to a man playing a saxophone, basking in the promise of a fresh and energetic new band, reaching out, out into the rum-addled darkness of the night. I…
Rating: You’d be forgiven for raising an eyebrow if I said I spent Wednesday night reviewing a gig for little-known artist Laura Doggett at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Forget the stuffiness and pretension of the main arena: guests for…