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5 question interview, interviews

Party Fears: 5 question interview

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The delightful Party Fears (of Berlin via Northern Ireland) releases lush new single ‘Time in Space’ today – a dreamy pop shuffle, showcasing Maggie Devlin’s honey vocals, and space age retro effects. She says:

“It’s a song about prioritising security over authenticity; not necessarily bad, but sometimes hard. This year has forced us to cling to whatever security we can find; sometimes against our deepest instincts. For this song, I did a bit of projecting, imagining selves beyond this self; maybe some of them more authentic than the me imagining them. It’s a weird year that calls for some light astral projection.”

We loved it so much we pinned the lovely Maggie down for a 5 question interview …

1. For anyone who doesn’t know already (fools!) tell us in your own words about Party Fears?
Party Fears is me making music mostly out of some weird compulsion I can’t control. Sometimes it’s happy and sometimes it’s sad and sometimes it’s angry and sometimes it’s joyous but most often it’s all of these smooshed together.

2. Tell us about Time in Space…
I first started Time in Space last year when I was daydreaming about how much I used to obsess with space as a kid. Then I sat with the song for ages cos I couldn’t quite work my way to a chorus that fit the song. Eventually, I arrived at something and then the song finally came together. But it took a lot of going down wrong paths first! I recorded it in my bedroom at the end of summer through a wee Steinberg interface and a c606 microphone, and it was mixed by the amazing lmtlase studios who also worked on the previous single, All Is Good. 

3. What artists are you most excited about/inspired by at the moment?
Great question! I really like what HAVVK have been getting up to, especially with their team-ups. Also from the South (of Ireland), I’ve been enjoying Denise Chaila and Fears. Lisa O’Neill is also amazing: my God, her voice and this, like, aggressive authenticity. Cherym is one of the most exciting bands on the go, writing absolute pop bangers. I love Careerist too. Under their former name, Hot Cops, they released this song Dumbbo that I obsessed over for about two years. Problem Patterns and Charmpit are great bands to have a bop around the house to, and Beauty Sleep remain one of my biggest loves. They are such a genuine joy and have a very special and abundant relationship with music that’s really contagious. I’m forgetting loads!
In terms of inspiration, I find that really hard to talk about as I usually don’t know! Like, for Time in Space, Babywoman’s Charlotte asked me for bands the song sounds like and I literally spent an evening going through my playlists trying to unearth some influences (landed on the Delgados and Judy Garland?). I think there’s always this kind of subterranean river of all kinds of stuff that sometimes overflows and that’s what ends up being a song. A big soup of piles of stuff!

4. What are your top 3 lockdown tips?
Oh, man. In the early days of lockdown I started eating like a queen. I have loved making big extravagant lunches! So cooking is one for sure. I can very recommend Rukmini Iyer’s Quick Roasting Tin cookbook! I’ve also rediscovered writing, which has been really nice. I mean music and text. I had horrible writer’s block for ages, which made me miserable, so it feels brilliant to be creative again! And then my ultimate tip is birds. Love me some birds. Birdsong is known to reduce stress, and in general, observing things in the natural world helps bring us outside ourselves and regain some perspective. I recommend just getting out there and trying to spot some wee fluffters bopping about the trees, living their lives and having their own wee wins and losses. I hear the sparrows come to my garden every morning and I always leap out of bed and run to the window, tear the curtain open and go, “Baybaysss!” which is a completely normal thing to do.

5. What kind of a party do you most fear?
The Tories.

5 question interview, interviews

Sara Wolff: 5 question interview

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Liverpool alt-folker Sara Wolff has a stunner of a debut single out today – ‘You Like Talking About Yourself’,

“a song about a person who loves themselves a little bit too much – to the point where they gobble up everyone in any room they enter. No one is spared.”

Oh don’t we all know that person.

Wolff’s got a voice that instantly draws you in, and a song you’ll be humming til teatime. Given the title of the track, we thought it would be apt to give her the opportunity to talk about herself …

1. Talk about yourself!
Sara Wolff started as a solo project back home in Norway. I’ve always loved writing stories, and when I taught myself to play guitar one summer I started mixing the two together and songs suddenly came out as a result! I really value great storytelling! I find Benjamin Clementine’s writing really inspiring – I keep coming back to his album “At Least For Now”. Its one of those albums you have to listen to in order from start to finish. I usually put it on and go for a walk and have a little cry – listening to it is like watching a musical, he puts such vivid images in your mind. Oh and I also love Cate Le Bon’s ‘Reward’ – its the perfect mix of understated songwriting and weird, unexpected bleeps and bloops. I listen to it when I need a bit of an inspirational kick in the butt – I really admire how Cate just does whatever she wants but in such a tasteful way. 

2. Tell us about the single.
“You Like Talking About Yourself” is a song about someone who loves themselves a little bit too much. We all know one – the person who enters the room hungry for blood. If you start a conversation with them you might get stuck in a whirlpool of THEM and you might not come out of it alive. This song is quite different from what I usually write. I have always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my music – I usually spend so much time thinking about my lyrics, the composition, making sure every word is the right one and that all of the chord voicings fit the song perfectly. Being a woman in a very male dominated music world makes it easy to get too self-critical. I have also always struggled with “taking up space” on stage – being loud and shredding licks. This song embodies all of that – it represents all of those qualities I want to build in myself – it’s rough around the edges, its got a very loud distorted bit, its a bit rude and its not very “thought through”. That is my goal – to get the unapologetic confidence of a white, straight indie-rock-boy. They are not gonna step off their stage anytime soon so we need to take our space ourselves, one guitar lick at a time.

3. What artists are you most excited about/inspired by at the moment?
Broken Down Golfcart is a project in Liverpool I find really inspiring. On top of being an incredible songwriter she also makes boss animations and stop motion videos. She is all about collaboration and DIY, which I find super admirable! 

Henrio is another artist I’m really excited about, he is one of the kindest people I know and he writes the most beautiful songs. His recent single ‘Together’ is about re-defining the preconceptions we have about love, and he made a beautiful video for it too! 
Loris and the Lion is a Liverpool-based duo who makes storytelling folk music that plucks your heartstrings and makes your whole being tingle! This is one of their songs, Waxwing, which tells the story about Jorinde and Joringel from Brothers Grimm. 


4. What are your top 3 lockdown tips?
Go for lots of walks! The park by my house has been my saving grace in this odd time, and I always find ideas for new songs when I’m walking.
Crocheting! There’s nothing more satisfying than keeping your ears warm with a cozy strange hat youve made yourself.
Soups and stews! It’s root vegetable season! Do I have to say more? 

5. Who are your top 3 people who like talking about themselves a little too much?
Me, myself and I 😉

Find Sara Wolff on campsite.bio youtube twitter facebook instagram 

5 question interview, interviews

Magazines: 5 question interview

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Dublin’s newest indiepop futurestars Magazines just dropped today their lush new single ‘Pink and Blue’. We caught up with frontwoman Catherine Leahy for a chinwag …

Tell us about Magazines
I’ve always been obsessed with music, and have always wanted to perform and be in a band. I used to write songs alone in my room. I did that for literal years. But then about two years ago I met the lads through mutual friends, and it all sort of just fell into place. We pretty much immediately started writing together and rehearsing. We had our first gig pretty quickly after we started rehearsing too. We all have quite similar music tastes, which helps. We draw a lot of inspiration from bands and artists like Wolf Alice, The Japanese House, The Cure, Clairo, and Smashing Pumpkins. So it’s definitely a mixed bag. But it works for us. 

Tell us about Pink and Blue
We wrote Pink and Blue a couple of months ago now. Before quarantine and lockdown even started. Then we recorded it with our friend Adam of Flaked Studios. Writing songs is sort of like a stream of consciousness, I find. It’s usually only after I’ve written a song that I can sort of sit down and think about what it means to me. I used to struggle with my confidence a lot, which played a part in the band then too because I was always embarrassed to show new songs, and even more embarrassed to get on stage and perform them. I was embarrassed because I didn’t really think I fit the part of “front woman of a band”. It took me a long time to realise that being in a band doesn’t mean you have to be one thing. Like, I’m a person, and just like anybody else, am multifaceted. Which seems like pretty basic knowledge, but it took me a long time to figure that out. So I guess Pink and Blue is just about that narrative I had going on in my head.  

What artists are you most excited about/inspired by at the moment?
We are all big fans of the Irish music scene at the minute. There are some really cool bands coming out of Ireland at the minute, like Soda Blonde, NewDad, and milk. We also really love Beabadoobee’s debut album at the moment, but she isn’t exactly a new artist.

What are your top 3 lockdown tips
I think it’s most important to keep your mind buzzing. I spent the first few weeks of lockdown just glued to my laptop, on YouTube. Not very healthy. So my word isn’t exactly gospel. But I would say try do something creative every day. Try exercise every day. And make sure you’re reaching out to friends and family. Get a good symbiotic relationship going. 

If you could publish a magazine, who would be on the cover?
Probably Robert Smith. Not that he’d ever be on any publication I’d written!

Find Magazines on instagram twitter facebook bandcamp

5 question interview, interviews

PETSEMATARY: 5 question interview

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Out now, ‘Heady’ is the stunning new single from London/Oxford band PETSEMATARY, on Beth Shalom Records. Frontwoman Gaby-Elise says the song is about:

‘owning your gender and sexuality, but also feeling drained at times when trying to fight for it.’

Innit though. We cornered Gaby-Elise for a quick 5 question interview …

1. Tell us about Petsemetary.
Petsem started off as a solo project. I released PETSEMATARY VOLUME I a couple years ago along with my pal Luke Allmond, which was basically a bunch of really embarrassing breakup songs…Surprisingly people really liked the songs, so I asked Luke to join on bass as well as Casper Miles and Jack Kendrew to join on drums and guitar. Our songs are slightly less embarrassing now I think.

2. Tell us about Heady.
It’s about taking ownership of your body and your sexuality, and how exhausting and frustrating that entire process can be. It started off as a dreamy kinda guitar riff I kept playing over and over in my room. I’ve always been into experimenting with soundscapes and guitar sounds, so it was really cool to dig deeper into that on this track. We worked with Chris Barker of Premium Leisure who worked with us on our debut single Get Away With It. He’s an incredible songwriter from Oxford and a bloody dream to work with, and really helped us shape the sound of the track.

3. What (new/peer) artists are you most excited about/inspired by at the moment?
I’m absolutely loving Porij at the moment. They’re a four-piece from Manchester and they make this incredible jazz/RnB/experimental pop music. They cross a lot of different genres but every song is just so well crafted and amazing. Truman Dinosaur are another band who are super inspiring to me. The songwriting at the heart of their songs is just super on point, evocative and uplifting, so their stuff has been a real blessing during these depressingly weird lockdown times. 

4. What are your top 3 lockdown tips.
Honestly at this point my only advice is to just listen to every single one of your carnal desires and give in to them (within reason – no murder/crime pls). It’s so easy to become overwhelmed and feel like your life is losing meaning with everything going on at the moment so I just really think we need to listen to our minds and our bodies and be kind to ourselves. Eat the food you wanna eat, read a book, listen to music that inspires you, talk to your mates etc. Anything that’s going to spark the serotonin in your brain. Also be okay with not being okay. I still haven’t managed to nail any of those things but I’m cool with knowing that everyone else is in the same boat and that it’s all a work in progress.

5. In the Stephen King novel Pet Sematary, a grief-stricken father ill-advisedly buries his child in an animal graveyard with magical, re-animatory powers. If you could bring one dead musician back to life for 24 hours to record an album with, who would it be?
Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith for sure. They’re my favourite songwriters of all time and their music is endlessly inspiring to me. I mean I probably wouldn’t try and resurrect them on a burial ground though, especially if you know how it turns out for the guy in the novel…


Find Petsematary on Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp

5 question interview

KILLDREN: 5 Question Interview

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Rave punx Killdren – best known (and loved) for being kicked off the Glastonbury bill for inciting violence against Tories – are bringing their explosive show to LOUD WOMEN at the Hope & Anchor on 8 Feb and we can’t wait to see what happens! In the meantime, Killdren’s Efa answered our 5 question interview …

1. What  can we look forward to on 8 Feb?

Electronic-rave punk full of satire, politics and positive nihilism… fronted by folk-punk grrrl Efa Supertramp and strange noises made by Nick Ronin!

2. Fill in the blanks…

“Our sound is like the lovechild of MONSTER ZOKU ONSOMB and DEAD KENNEDYS with a bit on the side from ATARI TEENAGE RIOT (if they were less serious)”

3. Give us your band/artist manifesto in no more than 20 words

Take the Piss, Annoy Tories, Destroy Capitalism and Laugh ‘n Dance While The World Falls Apart. 


4. Who’s your favourite band/artists playing on the DIY circuit at the moment?

Petrol Girls are the best band in the universe, full stop. 

5. Draw us a picture.

This is not our lead singer, despite her hair being similar to Boris Johnsons…. :-/

5 question interview, Gigs

Anarchistwood: 5 Question Interview

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Pioneers of prank rock Anarchistwood are bringing their technicolour punk circus to LOUD WOMEN at the Hope & Anchor on 8 Feb and we can not wait! In the meantime, we asked mastermind Funkcutter 5 pertinent questions …

1. What  can we look forward to on 8 Feb?

The first date of our Bitch’n’wooD tour. Anarchistwood embark on a convergent / divergent tour with T-Bitch. This might be the only one where we all have voices (possibly not funkcutter, unless they shut up in good time), limbs attached, nervous breakdowns shusshed, hearing intact (except Scarlet Carsen – wood drummer – who is deaf as a post-punk, “Eh? Pardon?!”) and don’t all want to kill each other. Date two is in Lancaster on Valentines Day in the St Valenstein’s Day Massacre Weekender part one with the Crippens and Slug Butter and we’ll have to be loving on that day shurley Shirley?

2. Fill in the blanks…

Our sound is like the lovechild of your worst nightmares and CIA torture with a bit on the side from Zappa, Crass, Gang of Four (according to the review in Razorcake magazine of The Nasty Album)

3. Give us your band/artist manifesto in no more than 20 words

Omnia Sunt Communia 

4. Who’s your favourite band/artists playing on the DIY circuit at the moment? 

Without a doubt The Crippens totally flip my wig, float my boat, tenderise my meat. Every member has hep to-die-for skills – the bass is whoppingly solid and rhythmic, vocals have a perfect timbre, width and density, guitar riffs and solos are beyond sublime and the drums – the drums, oh the drums – are excessively precise and give me mega goosey moments. The Cravats tickle us pink especially as their new album is about to be released and we are supporting them at the launch. yum yum yum…. also have to shout out to the marvelous The Sinictones with whom we have several 2020 gigs. First spotted at Griffstock featuring AJ and Nat Sinic of Kiss Me Killer, plus the previously unseen (to my eyes) Jodi Super-Mare on bass, they delivered absolutely blinding music and performance. Recently shared floor space again in The Chelsea Inn in a fund raiser for the Bristolian – their permanent drummer Abi showed superb skill and tricksy little rolls that make your belly butterflies do back flips. We have rocked and rolled by P.I.G. (Perish in Glory) but not enough – we want more please! so were playing our last Bitch’n’wooD tour gig in Southend for World Kidney Day with then and also Sarah P.I.G. and funkcutter’s birthday doo back in Bristol with another firm favourite – Kiss Me, Killer their very selves! Oh frabjous day! As ever, Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something pull and stretch our ears and heart strings – we are totally and utterly on their dick.

Mustn’t forget the chunky growls of Poisonous Cxnt, especially as we have just co-released the album “Make me a Sandwich” by them on our label Ex Gratia Recordings and the huffin, puffin, gruff Jesus Hooligan who’s side project Natural Noise Natural Chaos CD/DVD we also put out. Other grand bands I could mention are the exceedingly good line up we have for our Spring Subterfuge 2020 on the 16th May with Blank Milk – Industrial-Rant-Rave with cyber sounds from Deex on the knobs and vocalist John Lee Bird, Igam Ogam – sublime psychedelia from South Wales, plus the not even publicly announced yet (shhhhh!) Army of Skanks – knickers were almost wet when this mega power trio was confirmed.

5. Draw us a picture.

Artwork by “The Wife”

Catch Anarchistwood live at the Hope & Anchor on 7 Feb with Killdren, Petty Phase, T-Bitch and I, Doris

5 question interview, Gigs

T-Bitch: 5 Question Interview

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T-Bitch are the loudest, sparkliest, most FUN, and most important bands on the DIY punk scene right now – LOUD WOMEN hearts them big time. So how blimmin excited are we that they’re coming to play our next gig! 8 Feb at the Hope & Anchor, joining a riotous lineup of Killdren, Anarchistwood, fellow Southenders Petty Phase, and our ‘house band’ I, Doris. A night not to be missed – grab your tickets quick! And have a read of T-Bitch’s 5 question interview while you’re at it …

1. What  can we look forward to on 8 Feb?

Enterfuckingtainment.

2. Fill in the blanks…

“Our sound is like the lovechild of The Clash and Nirvana with a bit on the side from Minor Threat“

3. Give us your band/artist manifesto in no more than 20 words

Make up, make noise, dress up, be pretty, fuck the patriarchy…

4.Who’s your favourite band/artists playing on the DIY circuit at the moment? 

I, Doris

5. Draw us a picture.

Catch T-Bitch live at the Hope & Anchor on 8 Feb for LOUD WOMEN – tickets £8 in advance, £10 on the door.

5 question interview

Gaptooth: 5 question interview

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Photo by Keira Anee

Gaptooth is our very favourite electro-riot-indie-popstar and she’s coming to play our Christmas party on 14 December at the Hope & Anchor (come!). In the meantime, we asked her 5 questions …

1.     What have you been up to since we last saw you (at LOUD WOMEN Fest 4!)?

Well the main piece of news is that my second album, Sharp Minds, Raised Fists was released in October, so I’ve mainly been busy doing press for that. Doing PR is my least favourite thing about releasing music but it’s really nice to have it out there in the world finally for everyone to hear. The response so far has been great!

2.     What can we look forward to from you on 14 Dec?

Our usual combination of shouty feminist rants, slightly chaotic musicianship, keytar stylings, distorted guitars and dancey electronic beats. And one song from the new album that’s turned out to be a fan favourite but which we haven’t played live yet. It will be the day after the General Election results so we’ll probably be either drunkenly celebrating or drunkenly commiserating. Oh, and we’ve also got sparkly Christmas outfits.

3.     You’ve got a band now! How’s that working out? More fun? More logistics to work out? Change in your sound?

All of the above! Playing electronic music live is difficult as a solo act because you end up having to have quite a lot of stuff pre-recorded. Bringing in Kim and Georgia as guitarists has made a massive difference in terms of the punkier sound but also bringing much more energy to the live set. My new album is a lot more guitar-driven than the last one so having live guitarists makes it sound much more powerful.

4.     What are your plans for 2020?

Gigs! We’re playing for Get In Her Ears on 13th March with Ghost Car, The Other Ones and Minimals, and we have one or two out of town gigs in the works as well as applying for festivals in the summer. I’ve been intending to scale things back a little bit because I really need to finish my PhD thesis (!) but I’m already having vague ideas of maybe releasing another single or two…

5. Have you been naughty or nice this year? What’s top of your Christmas list?

The state would say naughty, my cats would say nice. What I’d really, really like Santa to deliver is a Labour majority in Parliament and Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10. Failing that, new socks.

Come and see Gaptooth and her band on 14 December, along with I, Doris and friends at the Hope & Anchor