2020 = Y!KES!

Vibrant art punx, Y!KES! released hotasfuq new single and video, ‘PIROUETTE‘ – teasing their ‘MASS!VE’ EP (released 28th August). 

Earthlings, get this on your 2020 Bingo Card. . .

Photography; Kris Askey

It’s not every band that will star trek to space for the sake of entertaining you. (Better Y!KES! than that sky-hating twat ElonMuskRat or whatever…). Great MUSIC remains one of the very best ways to be out of this world. Calling all Earthlings, fluorescent spiky, classic ballsy rocking that rolls into your ears with love.

The ‘PIROUETTE’ video was made with Zak Taylor for the single, which is the dirty glammed up sleazepunk that every rebel planet needs. There’s a curled lip to the vocals and filthy guitar heroics driven by urgently thrusting rhythms. Hooky… 

…hooked. Having enjoyed the song and video like a virtual teen, I was drawn into finding out more from  
Y!KES! , The Anti-Pop ring leaders, themselves;

“‘PIROUETTE’ is about those times in life where you feel like you’re constantly going around in circles, be it in relationships, career moves or creatively. 

It’s about spinning so much everything just explodes into an awe inspiring ball of fire that demands the whole galaxy to stop and pay attention to what you’re doing. 

With the video we had spent a long time in lockdown and had the feeling of just wanting to get out, away from everything. So we built a spaceship in my garage (out of tin foil and bits!) and thought, let’s make a music video.

Fortunately our studio is in my house, so we were able to spend part of lockdown recording and producing our new EP ‘Mass!ve’, on which Pirouette is featured.

We are planning a frenzy of live dates when the world returns to normality, our most recent announcement being a slot at Nottingham’s Mind Festival in April 2021.” (Liam, guitar)

If that sounds busy, the band have additionally been creating like crazy in lockdown on their YouTube channel. Alongside their superb tuned videos, how can ya not fall for make up and drumming tips (or dance work-outs with Bear Frills, come to think of it)? I hear that they’ve already made another video…!

The EP itself is a musical siren of rock that made me shut down the emails, social media and other distractions to check it was as capitivating as it sounded. ‘MASS!VE’ sounds like multiverses colliding. Phonic harmonic washes fuse composition, production, vocals and charismatic skills into a car chased exhibition of anthem-dynamited ambition (topped with attention to detail – DIY written, recorded and produced by the band).

I hate this year, it’s callous, cruel and hostile. But… I mainly love this year, as alongside the friendships which are proving true, are quality escapisms: Surely some of the best releases in British and Irish musical history, present and future. 

Having started this doc when ‘Guitars Are Dead’ was the mono-minded mantra of the sofa critic, seeing so many scenes and textures blossom from rock music’s raw compulsion, is viscerally sexual and creatively stimulating.

Y!KES! are TJ Weston (Drums), Oli Long (Vocal), Liam Howard (Guitar), Matt Ford (Bass). There are actual electric sparks crackling off this band. Regular readers of TheZineUK will know how the madlands of The Midlands is one of our favourite music movements. Incidentally, Velvet Goldmine is a beloved movie for quite a few of us. They meet nicely here.

Listen to Pirouette on Spotify. Y!KES · Song · 2020.

Get it on your playlists! (added to #TheZineUK’s own #Newer Wave Rocksalready!) p.s. Thanks for helping out lads, best wishes from Planet Water where you are deffo already twinkling hard. Xx

Words: Caffy St Luce

THE DAN THE D (THE MUSIC, THE PHOTOGRAPHY)

Multi-talent-tasking Dan Donovan has created artbeat escapism weaving a desert blues, garage rock album – ‘Mojo Del Rancho’ (available. digitally via iTunes and Spotify). Music for modern lovers.

It was recorded (with members of Eagles Of Death Metal and Snow Patrol) at Rancho de la Luna studio; home to Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions.

The LP conjures a wigged-out house party biography with songs as chapters from musicians letting go like a festival set, in the wide open space to do so. 

The CD is accompanied by a limited fifty-two-page photo journal available via Moose Shack Merch. It is an exhibition blessed with Wild West beauty and fine design. Me? I dig it. My time travelled recommendation is written in Summer 2020. Lockdown feels a little like life in a desert shack sometimes, especially in sweltering heat but it is nothing like this musical adventure. Tracks like ‘Dawg Eat’ evoke a dirty-sounds jukebox playing over an impending bar brawl from any of the rock n roll years. With a rich history in music’s heritage (and already widely acclaimed), in 2016, acclaimed musician, Dan Donovan wove into TheZineUK tapestry via his photography.

Star Wars; ‘The Force Awakens’ movie landed in December 2015. Dan’s image of feminist rockers, DEUX FURIEUSES illustrates their iconic debut album, ‘Tracks Of Wire’ (released May 2016). Our moonful story felt like threads of creative rebels were aligning.

They were. 

In 2017, ‘Mojo del Rancho’ was recorded at the infamous Rancho de la Luna, Mojave Desert, California (a location for Iggy Pop, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age and it really feels like that).

As weaving stories go, it’s the perfect situation for a photo journalism tale. This love powered studio “in the middle of nowhere” is cited as weird, but functional with idiosyncratic recording gear (“Is it a mic? It looks like a grenade… You plug it in… find out if it goes off.” Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys). There’s an exceptional drum room and a raw, offwordly vibe to foil distraction.

Getting a swampy sound in a desert is no mean feat, but but Dan, the son of a Welsh preacher, has pulled it off. A variety of global sounds fused by Tom Waits tinted riff and rhythm rock outs, like ‘Baby Bomb’

From fronting the grungey Tribe of Dan to a string of press acclaimed albums and solo career, Dan’s prolific music-making keeps him in focus and on point. So ‘The Sit’ beat poem waltzes into the light and dark arena howl of ‘Sweet Gold’. 

There is blood and sweat on these tracks.

Art-rocked audiovision fusions of instruments, vocals, ideas, word layered, deconstructed but always reconstructed around the theme of SONG.

2017 THE DAN THE D aka Dan Donovan recorded at the infamous Rancho de la Luna, California (Iggy Pop, Foo Fighters, QOTSA, Arctic Monkeys, The Desert Sessions...

Being accompanied by Jonny Quinn of Snow Patrol on drums, Dave Catching (Eagles of Death Metal),  
Christina Reyes (Caxton) and Mark Ringer (Burning Codes) adds punky tangents that soundtrack the images of a virtual Hunter S. Thompson road trip.

Our Moon Tardis called into the DEUX FURIEUSES video shoot in Summer 2019. ‘Year Of Rage’ was directed by Dan Donovan and it was a beautiful day. As usual, with inspiring friends.

Madame So and Dan Donovan

Dan also directed the video for their second album’s title track; ‘My War Is Your War’ (released October 2019, yay, we attended the launch!) – for which his album artwork photography is, yet again, iconic.

One day, TheZineUK would like to see an ArtBeat exhibition/installation by any means necessary – our wealth of incredible documentarians, creating culture and counter culture alike, deserve it.

New images are conjured with each listen to ‘Mojo del Rancho‘s tribe of music world natives, to complement Dan’s photo journalism. Behold a formidable, cross breeding legacy being underlined.

Word: “Guitar axes chop under deep resonances and snake-rattling charms. This is vox-toxic bourbon on gilded splintered rocks. These are weighted Waitsian beat-poetic utterances with guttural Iggy swagger. The Dan The D glances through a glass darkly, iconic, ironic, embattled, brittle, squeeze- tight-till-the-bottle-breaks blues.

Social Links And Store/More 
via Dan Donovan‘s WEBSITE

Post script; Believe in the soul of this album. Time travelled to current positivity where Dan has set up a charitable page encouraging donations for The Red Cross (vital humanitarian, individual support for the most vulnerable through this crisis.

Words: Caffy St Luce

Passport Back to Our Roots

Artists announced to raise money for (and in!) grassroots live music venues. More t.b.c.

Passport: Back to Our Roots has partnered with Music Venue Trust to raise much needed funds to safeguard the futures of grassroots music venues struggling to survive the COVID-19 crisis. 

Faves of TheZineUK team, The Slow Readers Club, join Elbow, Everything Everything and Public Service Broadcasting as the first names announced. They’ll play one-off, intimate shows at Safety-First led dates (to be confirmed) in 2021, once physical distancing is no longer needed.

Like loads of other bands, acts or performers, grassroots music venues were there to give us a stage when we first started out, so to be part of this cause to ensure they survive and thrive makes total sense. It’s the least we can do. 

We’re buzzin to be going back to Hebden Bridge Trades Club. Low stage, crammed in crowd, bouncing and sweaty…. proper old school. We can’t wait.” – The Slow Readers Club

Gigging 4REAL! Huge kudos to all who give back to the essential spaces.

Win win! Please donate £5 minimum to the campaign (1) to #SaveOurVenues and (2) for a chance to attend the show of your choice (plus a guest)!  Entry is via the prize draw which runs for two weeks from Monday August 17th 2020

via crowdfunder.co.uk/passport-back-to-our-roots.

Elbow will return to Manchester’s Night & Day, three decades after they first performed there. “This is a simple way of looking after the very roots of British music, and will result in some powerful, joyous shows when we can at last see each other again. I’m very proud to be involved.” – Guy Garvey. 

Jennifer Smithson of the venue (a recurring location thread of our doc) added; “We are thrilled and honoured to have Elbow returning to Night & Day.” 

“Like all artists worth their salt, we came up through smaller rooms and tiny stages, learning our craft as we went. So often these vital venues are run on a shoestring, but what they provide to their community socially and artistically is invaluable. 

The Back to Our Roots project is helping grassroots music venues back on their feet after these testing times. We wanted to come to Esquires [in Bedford] as it’s exactly the sort of gig we’d have done ten years ago, but actually never had the opportunity to. It’s our pleasure to be involved.” – Jez, Everything Everything

Small venues feed future heritage. Most are multi tasking community centres, too. TheZineUK (created in the Amersham Arms) bears witness.

“We’re delighted to be taking part in Passport: Back to Our Roots and taking the chance to play at The Amersham Arms. We never actually managed to play there when we started out so it’ll be great to do so, finally, and in support of such a good cause. See some of you there as soon as it’s safe – we can’t wait.” – J.Willgoose, Esq. Public Service Broadcasting

The #saveourvenues campaign:

“…has been very successful so far in raising funds and awareness to support grassroots music venues who have been hit very hard in recent months, but we are not complacent and are under no illusions that there still many challenges to overcome . 

There remains lots of work to do to safeguard the future of our venues and Passport: Back to Our Roots is an excellent and timely initiative that will help keep a spotlight on what still needs to be done while raising desperately needed revenue. 

Live music will be back and when it is we are going to make sure it comes back with experiences people will never forget.” – Mark Dayvd, Music Venue Trust Founder/CEO

80% of all money raised will go to the Music Venue Trust, who in turn will distribute half oto the host venue and the remainder to their Crisis Fund, benefiting all venues in need of financial support. 

The remaining 20% goes to Inner City Music, the charitable organisation that operates Manchester’s multi-award winning, not-for-profit, historic music venue Band on the Wall (which is responsible for the administration of the project and will cover its overheads).

Seeing established artists perform in an intimate setting that holds real significance for them, is at the heart of the Passport: Back to Our Roots campaign. It aims to capture the true essence of the live music experience and the unique bond between artist and audience. 

They say:

“It’s incredibly exciting to see artists supporting the grassroots venues that form the foundation of the UK’s live music industry, acknowledging their importance and celebrating the unrivalled experience of watching your favourite bands up close and personal, surrounded by friends and united in appreciation for live music in all its loud and sweaty glory.” (Sally Cook) 

“These shows will be awe-inspiring for those fans who are lucky enough to win the prize draw and also a joy for the artists who participate knowing they are helping keep live grassroots venues alive”. (Stephen Budd)

passportbacktoourroots.org

As a collective of artists and allies, TheZineUK team say, Freaking AWEsome (and much appreciation!)

VIDEO PREMIERE: ‘GEORGIA’ BY FAMILY JOOLS

Britain’s grooviest trip rock band, Family Jools, have a new single, ‘Georgia’ for the first of August 2020’s five weekends. They were set for this year’s SXSW Festival, perfect for their Wild West (Bristol) Americana sound but continue to forge new futures, with this dreambeat new release (and it’s cosmic lockdown video).

"Treasure this cosmic heat...it sounds like sunset on a summery outdoor festival day" - THE ZINE https://open.spotify.com/album/7M7QmGFuwCRN4elD0AO0YC

Having startled last year’s Sound City and The Great Escape in 2019, Family Jools were in festival demand this year, pre Covid. Alongside a few select live sessions, the band have been writing steadily. ‘Georgia’ is the first track from those writing sessions.

Support for the band has come from all directions including Fresh On The Net, Radio X and BBC Radio 6 with Steve Lamacq noting that their sound “sets it apart from a lot of things happening now.”

They have already been compared to various greats including The Band and Gram Parsons. As critics attempt to classify their impassived live shows, The Beatles, Big Star and the vibes of classic Northern Soul have been mentioned. I have been so lost for words having caught them quite a few times, that I said they sounded “High Purple and Orange”.

I imagine that in a parallel universe, Carole King and James Taylor are blissing out together while listening to funky ‘Georgia’. Gorgeous pop that fans of the Beta Band can appreciate, it sounds like sunset on a summery outdoor festival day.

Our last Family Jools live joy moment was in November. This is one of the back stories of TheZineUK doc – where artists develop into something spectacular, organically while rising under the radar. We are not a Fertile Envoronment in name only. Treasure this cosmic heat:

Listen to Georgia on Spotify. Family Jools · Song · 2020.

Words: Caffy St Luce

FONTAINES D.C. – ‘A HERO’S DEATH’

‘A HERO’S DEATH’, the second album from Fontaines D.C. is out now on Partisan Records and it’s a heroic legacy

For many, maybe nearly everyone, the perception of time has changed rapidly in the last year. Everyone’s going through their own paces visibly, and behind the scenes. Yet again, in the face of adversary, a loss in income, security and earnings, many artists are using that as fuel to continue creating, to continue sharing their gifts with the world. That is very much the case, for the Irish band, Fontaines D.C.

They haven’t just jumped out from the music scene, but since the release of their debut album ‘Dogrel’, their visibility has expanded exponentially. From a world tour (which sadly – but understandably – has been postponed in some places, to receiving a Mercury Prize nomination, the legacy this band is creating has a solid and stoic foundation.

I think most of us can agree, that when a debut release from an artist has amazing success, there’s pressure (from within and without) to carry on maintaining that standard. There are many one hit wonders on the scene, and Fontaines D.C. are anything but. Their second album ‘A Hero’s Death’ has taken a new direction, evolving the poetry, the messages, while weaving in aspects of their solid signature sound. 

This album is explosive.

‘A HERO’S DEATH’ is currently in a chart battle with Taylor Swift’s latest LP, again, solidifying their mark. I think it’s hilarious, that some of Taylor’s fans (not fair to assume some of her listeners don’t listen to other genres), will be getting irked, seeing this dynamic punk band making Ms Swift sweat by the hour, realising she has serious competition. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the work Taylor has put into her work as an artist, but the messages conveyed in the songs from Fontaines is more honest, more potent, more direct. 

Considering the unstable, unusual and transformative time period that we’re all currently living and experiencing, I think many are seeking music that will be candid about the human experience, our perception of the world and psyche; wholesome, but with lots of hope, potential and possibilities. 

Whether you’re sitting indoors listening to the rain and reading a book, or seeking some nature and sunshine, this is definitely an album that encapsulates all the elements and factors that have led us to where we currently are. 

Side note: this is displayed in their recently published manifesto. So profound, you can read it left to right, vertically down, or vertically up, revealing a new layer of comprehension each time.

‘Dogrel’ was the album of initiation. ‘A HERO’S DEATH’ is the album of introspection; what you’d expect to perhaps hear on the pilgrimage of one’s soul. The band’s heritage and their pride for it certainly shine through. Their ancestors have heard the call. Don’t be surprised if you feel your own ancestors around you, when you listen too. It’s time we rise. Together. As one. 

I promise you, buying a ticket for their upcoming tour will be worth every penny. And remember, life ain’t always empty.

‘A HERO’S DEATH’: I Don’t Belong, Love Is The Main Thing, Televised Mind, A Lucid Dream, You Said, Oh Such A Spring, A Hero’s Death, Living In America, I Was Not Born, Sunny, No – Buy/Stream: https://www.fontainesdc.com/ahd/