Iron Deficiency by Y!KES

Y!KES hit 2022 running

New Single, Video and Hometown Headline

Produced by Jim Pinder (Bring Me The Horizon/While She Sleeps), ‘Iron Deficiency’, the second single release of this year continues the momentum of a raucous band building up a head of steam, steadily, with every move.

Y!KES have certainly coloured the last couple of years brighter in TheZineUK’s documenting of newer wave rock. It’s always a tonic to catch up with the latest instalment of their unfolding story

There is smart spectacle in their “DIY-plus” major band ripple effect that is infectious.

All the sounds and visions focus, geared towards iconography and bigger stages.

Lyrics loosely inspired from an article highlighting various torturous methods of practice still undertaken on animals today, and anaemia induced blackouts. What’s not to like? (Y!KES)

So much to get excited about, to be honest. Like a rock-monster Duran Duran, The ‘Iron Deficiency’ vdeo is an on-brand grand bandstand - but never too distant from an obvious following of genuine friends and fans. These kind of musicians propel our rock n roll dreams.

”We Are A One Off” (Y!KES)

They actually are a one off. That’s not easy in a world with decades of glammed maverick influences across the arts, ideas and styles - but nobody has ever “seen it all before”, as these last five years bear witness.

It seems unreal that a high proportion of Zeenagers (faves, cast, crew, future picks etc) from the posts and timelines of TheZineUK doc, keep evolving to twinkle brighter as stars. Situationism as musical alchemy? Witness the amount of adventures you can only imagine when starting out. Y!KES are definitely another case in point.

The Darker Ages are terrible. Crave the Anti-Pop chaos: Y!KES play their first hometown gig of the year on 8th April. Birmingham’s Sunflower Lounge is sounding like the place to be with special guest, the multi talented Ace Ambrose, (also on a deservedly rocketing trajectory) and DnB DJ, Tommy Conflict. The headliners have put this party together with an iron EFFICIENCY! Get tickets now at https://fatso.ma/VFV1 before they're all gone, and if you’ve not already given Y!KES your “likes”, get on it while you can get near…

https://instagram.com/yikes_band/

Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3h9nUqV

YouTube https://youtu.be/dG05pIVO0Qo

https://facebook.com/yikesofficial

https://twitter.com/yikes_theband

Don’t stop starts the Music People Party

Cue BUGEYE’s ‘Don’t Stop Reset’ remix by FERAL FIVE

Download or stream via https://kycker.ffm.to/dontstop * Lift your heart and soul - maybe with some glam disco moves.

The following was inspired by hearing this song which (for me) evokes images of a space ship in bright Bugeye grrrl colourful riot shades. It hovers above parks where humans are allowed outdoors, at main stage level and the band travel around lighting up hearts and souls into their brightest moves and shapes in their least-lockdown-look gear. It’s not more improbable than what passes for real life. Taken from their 2020 world class debut album, ‘Ready Steady Bang’ (Reckless Yes) and given a Duranesque feral energy of beats that turn your speakers or headphones into your personal nightclub. The LP is a year old this month. It’s a home grown classic in every sense.

If you want an entry point to the kindness, collaboration, gifted musical activism, artbeat and multi talent tasking that has made all the difference to the last few years, then newer wave faves, Bugeye, are your arts initiative point of call.

Download the song and all profits go to The Magpie Project community who help parents and young children at risk of homelessness. In a rich country, go figure. Poverty is something that more than a few of us can relate to.

Uniqulture: ‘Don’t Stop Reset’ Remix by Feral Five. Mastered by Paul Tipler. Art by 31% Wool.

Alongside founding involvement with Cro Cro Land (how to festival) and their always engaging Rock Pop Rambles podcast (recently endorsed by Radio X’s ace John Kennedy in Clash Magazine) there is a whole remix album to follow on July 9th! Bugeye are one of TheZineUK story fuelling power points - with stem-level tunes and musicality.

Inspired by the above (further doc update below)

June 2021: Started the next picture book diary, recording a tiny fraction of TheZineUK interactions from mid April when lockdown started to unlock. Even in these few months it’s so obvious that misgovernment HATES music, musicians, music venues, music fans, music socials, music festivals, music education (for us “povs”), music tourism, live music and music festivals. It’s time that “hands in the air”, “singing along”, “buying music/merch” and “moshing” became sports. Music Fan Olympics are GO. As we emerge from our virtual yellow submarimes, far queue, blue meanies! *(Alien hearts ain’t too keen on women/womxn or even the planet, to be fair).

After the sold out Polarized Eyes headline, June 2021. Access All Ages Amersham Arms - Generation Tremorists power.

We are so obviously on our own, the parallel dimension where the biggest arts movements are soundtracked in the smallest venues. A genuine starmaker circuit that the selfservatives attempt to cull, consistently, for years now. In the last six years new possibilities and hopes have seeded against a backdrop of climate emergency. In the last five years kindness has proven itself a super power as hate multiplied five fold since the brexshit “win”.

School children see through the bullshit of Murderoch’s propaganda empire. (What has he GOT on the hisstablishment?). Adults who have “Seen/Done It All” ain’t so bright. I’m vintage and I think we are often just twats. Note how teen media editors Scarlet of Mash Zine and Arlo of Pint Sized Punk ain’t hung up on which decade musicians are born (that is SO last century!) but are inspirationally clued up on the music that they make. I dig that Punk Word Legend, Bruno Wizard said “punk is dead, let’s start something new” at Dizzy’s Bowie night (in, erm, Amersham Arms a few years ago), Gwan Generation Tremorists, all…

Kerrie & Angela Bugeye, with inspiring friends (including Kat Five of remi(n)xers, Feral Five) out in support of Kick Out The Jams, monthly music social June 2021. Amersham Arms is part of a nationwide grassroots circuit renaissance. Thank you Music Venue Trust.

Time travel

2017’s rock n roll zeitgeist - where we shrugged off seeking interest, let alone approval, from the mainstream for a newer waver wave of generation tremorist graced, genre/gender fluid music industrious (r)evolution. Yeah, guitar bands ARE back. So what if they’re virtually banned from day time TV this century and the streets aren’t as clothing bright with music tribes - children got YouTube and don’t all see lying bully bigots as role models. The audiences are more reflective of the 21st century than profile artist/events based Arts Desks have experienced.

TheZineUK Punk Takeover of St Paul’s. The Blinders/485C after party AFTER party at Abbie McCarthy’s Good Karma Club and a cast and crew party on This Feeling Stage at Isle Of Wight Festival.

In all the noise we romance and giggle. It’s almost as if Earthlings are animals connected to a living organism planet that communicates with them through music and more, while celestial forces inspire water beings who also have weather (moods). Up yours, alien hearts.

Stick with the Zeenagers, we are hell bent on having FUN and may be as imperfect as any band, cos we are natureal - but we mean well and have LOVE at heart. ArtBeat heartbeat.

There is room for us all. Interdependent media support the artists that this new, skint, diverse, friendlier and rebelliously fun community recommend. We trickle up the talent, baby. Interdependent. Collaborative. Multi talent tasking. The #MusicPeopleParty years were born when Dizzy Spell used working class woman power wonders to learn website tech etc fro m scratch.Our allies complete the cast and crew picture. December 2017 first Party. Our friends, The Velvet Hands and Katie Owen topped and tailed the live music/DJ hosting).

Season 2 of TheZineUK doc (2018 onwards)

laid some surreal, apocalyptic foundations …but so many wonderful campaigns and creations had pumped kindness and hope into the either, also.

A 2018 trip to Genesis Cinema (Eastenders Land) to see sparkle queens, Bugeye, play a Genesisters event with Lilith Ai and more at the L7 screening added a whole new tangent. In 2019 another musical trip to the movies with Simon Baker for his movie ‘90 Minutes’ produced by Rio Ferdinand and soundtracked by MOSES. Was it watching the Star Wars finale triple until the early hours, there, or their Chadwick Boseman display outside that endeared them? Either way, TheZineUK started 2020 with a collaboration of the Velvet Goldmine film, cocktails and photo session.

Season 3 of TheZineUK doc begins as humanity is adapting to the trauma of 2020 and 2021 Planet Earth (also on line, if they can afford it).

Ha, when you started a situationist tapestry about how good gigs can propel great potential and it turns into The Dystopian Rocky Horrow ShitShow.

Would always rather SEXit that Brexit. Compassion and courtesy are SO attractive that I fancy you all (good people). Onwards darlings, onwards, stay strong, we got this. Together. Don’t Stop.

July 2021: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Hallo Bright Pink Catwalk.

It’s the 21st year of the 21st century and we’re trying everything to Revive Live amidst a barrage of bad news, environment fears, financial stress and then our mind/spirit-medicine; gigs and festivals, cancelled, postponed, cancelled, postponed, cancelled, postponed while the crime ring continue their herd immunity eugenics.

There’s more of a war cancelling culture and being aware, than there is (the destruction distraction of) “cancel culture”. Ain’t having it. Gotta ROCK, Gotta DANCE, Gotta LAUGH. Can’t hug? No problem. We’ve got a friend who is (literally) named Massive Hugs! amidst a cast, crew and story who often sound made up.

So we spend last month inspired by movies, by the live streams unification of Balcony Festival last year and having Music Venue Trust as our actual government since 2014. The force is strong in all of us and we have the very best tunes and pop stars. Yeah, you heard me, STARS. I don’t know the name of every bint in the sky but they still all twinkle. The Music People Party will be a multi dimensional December and we have no idea how it will need to be staged but as a Twitter survivor I know we will try to find a way to share JOY. come with. Don’t Stop.

Music Tourism: “The brilliant thing about a Bugeye tour is that no stage style is too glam to wear while shimmying to their sparkling Top Of The Pops/BBC Later-worth alternative art rock disco punk!” @TheZineUK tweet 29th June. Truth.

Tickets are on sale - NOW! Ready Steady Bang! https://linktr.ee/bugeye - photography by Keira Cullinane (bring your own spaceships)

Bachelor - 'Anything At All' (Latest single)

Bachelor - ‘Anything At All’

Single review by Alan Neilson

Bachelor is Jay Som and Palehound’s new joint project, and their first song ‘Anything At All’ is out now and it is stunning. Blessed with an almost perfect groove from a deceptively simple opening bass and drum combo, the song slowly develops adding synths and vocals until it practically bursts from your speakers with a dirty lead guitar break.

Just when you think it is going to follow convention and do the repeat chorus and groove to the end, they instead go for a maelstrom of guitar feedback and synth noise, which just when you think it is fading gets louder and louder.

And then when you think the song has finished the bass and drum groove returns but cut back more than when it came in… and then when you don’t expect it to finish, it does. Boom.

The first time I heard this I was mesmerised from start to finish and found its twists and turns and individuality captivating. The contrast between the funky groove, the beautifully filthy overdriven guitars and the angelic vocals is beguiling and the partnership of Melina Duterte and Ellen Kemper is already a perfect match.

The only negative is the artwork for the single. When you look at Jay Som and Palehound’s previous releases, there is a sense of style, whereas as the ‘Anything At All’ cover looks like the first image you’d get with a inserting random images and text into a Word document. As this image is the first thing potential listeners see before hearing the magic behind it, I fear it might not grab their attention. But those who pass will be missing out big time.

I am so excited to hear what they release next.

Bachelor’s single ‘Anything At All’ is out now from all download stores.