01 Lower East Side Story

The culture clubbing of South East London.

Beyond genre, gender, generation and other generalisations lives the supernatural human animal that sings, dances and creates. It’s probably why there is so much magick in our story telling. Think symbiotic eco system more than robotic ego

The Catford Cat

Moderner life may be rubbisher but still there are pockets of timeless to be found. Especially around Planet Earth’s deliciously diverse “Normal Island”.

Sure there’s the whole Hostile Environment safari that the fash coup twats heat the haters with, but TheZineUK documentary is amidst a palpable and consistent Fertile Environment, courtesy of DIY’s bombastic poptastic art party - exploding BombPop positivity, for balance.

The biggest adventure in space is in the living globe’s deep oceans.

If visiting aliens had any chronological concept, they’d probably head here, to the planet’s time keeping location (The Zone of Time, Greenwich)

In dayes of olde, Earth beamed ancient homing signals from Stonehenge and The Giant’s Causeway then, in more recent centuries, nautically timed the world from the meridian line.

It doesn’t matter whether you come to or come from the locality, London’s lower east side is a look and a sound for the DIY-chic freak confusion of fusion of multi-tasking-multi-culture that gave birth to Uniqulture.

Just when you thought you knew what punk, opera, pop, “urban” (rural?) and classic music LOOKED like, along comes reality pointing out that your ears can’t see and your eyes can’t hear.

The Playing Class

Friends and strangers as friends - diverse as a Star Wars bar scene, you can hear their arena-sonic visions in quirky grassroots music venues amidst lively communities high in students.

Like a futuristic steampunk rebel base in a historic nautical setting. The city’s S.E. postcodes often feel and sound like an intergalactic movie score when Jazz cats don’t live far from The Deptford Mice. who are centre cross river from The Isle Of Dogs now known as Docklands after kicking the dockers out, instead of Doglands. The Catford Cat laffs at this.

Planet Water dimension #SELondon

The Mercury Prize nominated album ‘Dark Matter’, by Moses Boyd is some introduction!

The musician is from nearby Catford, home to The Giant Cat! Does that make him a mewsician? That means that our poptastic fave, Michelle O Faith, is, also!

Nowadays the recognisable antenna of The Peace Dome at the Zone Of Time ensure rapid assimilation for visiting humanoids, guided to the emergence pad that is better known globally as The 02.

The non-flying saucer

Built by aliens at North Greenwich, The 02 saves the fuss of abduction bureacracy: “Observe humans at leisure, entering of their own free will.”

Some great events have happened there, too. Win win. Fun additional public transport (cable car AND river)? Another bonus.

Then, there’s the fairy’s gateway in London’s oldest royal park - Greenwich SE10, the stargate (London Eye, Waterloo SE1) and then there’s Hilly Fields astronomically correct stone circle near Vulcan Road (SE4 where lots of people still wear their hats to cover their ears!).

Vulcans, Klingons and humans dance together at Brockley Max Festival.

So what if some people are from another world?

As long as they live and let live, then they’re our neighbours.

Even the Earthlings.

It’s not surprising that South East London is a regular sci fi location, a stronghold of protest or the birthplace of uniqulture (new year, 2009, literally the lifestyle of unique culture)

New Cross Road’s tragic fire and The Battle Of Lewisham (seeya, nazitwats, off ye feck) are as much a part of this parallel dimension as the alumni of Goldsmiths.

A local motto “You Can’t Kill The Spirit” stays in the NXD (New Cross Deptford) air like a defiant guardian angel. There’s an NXDFFF (New Cross and Deptford Free Film Festival) too!

Moon Moon Moon.

Off the New Cross Road, Comet Street is where the Moon Faeries landed to be near Paradise/Pop Of The Tops club (for early Bloc Party, Art Brut etc gigs) in the naughties.

Musical supernature from these (2003-2004) tuesday nights was so cosmic that there were National Film Theatre screenings, Harry Potter stars endorsements, an NME album of the year and much more ensuing from from 2004’s “New Cross Scene”. A Music Tourist Board, for instance..

By 2005, Artful Festival celebrated any excuse to party, City Showcase Rocklands began in 2006 and the outdoor Rocklands Stage at People’s Day Festival began, too.

In May 2007 the punky “24 Hour Concrete Glastonbury” sprawled across anywhere that could open and revel in the SE8 and SE14 postcodes.

In 2008 RAR! club united 14+ music fans with a monthly punk and grime club that started with Pendulum (2008) and ended with Tinie Tempah (2010) while he was No.1 in the charts.

Here is Kae Tempest with a Jazzman John cameo from 2008’s Today Deptford community weekend of independence.

The Moonshot Centre at NXD’s Fordham Park, inspired Rocklands, “where Lover’s Rock meets Rocker’s Love” and is, of course on the Reggae Map Of New Cross which was a keen topic of conversation at Discussion Festival No.9 (April 2021).

How did I come to Platform 7’s digital lounge of Tuesday table hopping? Some years ago popping into a nearby cafe called Moonbow Jakes because it had the word moon in the title. Kismet and Karma reality nibbles.

Completely round the bend (of the River Thames - as seen on Eastenders BBC TVcredits) is a cross breeding wealth of artists, community, performance education, studios, venues and events.

Visually Cuba on Thames with art and working class budgets, the uniqulture quarter- a history of slavery and abolition/future of gentrification -v- communication - weaves gold and grrrr into the wider culture.

While mainstream media hunts for non-typical topical stories, they’re told every day, here. It’s best when London’s Lower East Side develops at it’s own pace in it’s own way. Then freshly inclusive ideas can explode freely without the cliche of clique.

Have you heard of the amazing and hard working DIY phenomenom, Nova Twins? The grime-punked and self stage-styled due are their own, beloved, one band scene.

Superb that their ground shifting 2020 debut album, ‘Who Are The Girls?’ has got an increasing number of people asking exactly that.

Desmond’s and Trotter’s Independent Traders blend it like Peckham and while the north bank of the River Thames has Westminster/Pestmonster, #SELondon has The Ministry Of Sound (home at one time or aother to Featured Artists Coalition, Music Venue Trust) and the Arts hearted South Bank.

We don’t know how this tapestry weaves but just focusing on the borough of Lewisham alone is a Haight Astbury’s worth of fertile Arts and Hearts environment.

A short walk from Deptford Fun City, TheZineUK formed at ArtBeat Amersham Arms monthly gig and music world socials.

The manager, Andy Palmer, is a cool musician in his own right, I saw him do a show at The Hospital Club and was pretty much blown away. Considering that his kind heart has helped so much, I’m truly glad that TheZineUK are back there often as this venue is on the interdependent events trail of the newer wave music industrial (r)Evolution.

It also inspired all the above. More to follow though.

LOW ISLAND 'If You Could Have It All Again'

Album review by Alan Neilson

What is interesting about my feelings towards Low Island, is that for each of their earlier single releases I was asked to review the songs, but never felt enough love for them until now, when I listened to the album in full.

And then it was ‘Hey Man’ the opening song on ‘If You Could Have It All Again’ that opened the door for me; it’s strange how indifference can turn to love by seeing something from a slightly different angle.

I think my initial reticence came from the band’s image and a feeling that this is just another group of young, white men from Oxford, who are not too dissimilar to that other band of white men from Oxford; with their falsettos, angular synths and raw, but tasteful guitars.

There is a whole, wider argument about representation in the music business, which I won’t go into here, but suffice to say my heart dies a little everyday when I keep getting asked to review another all male, all white band. Thankfully Low Island are doing something that is interesting enough that my prejudices have been put to one side.

I can’t think of another album where the first track is so different from the songs that follow. Thankfully that track ‘Hey man’ is of such originality and quality, it drew me into the music of Low Island, and although the songs that come after may not have been enough on their own to make me love their debut album at first, I listened to it through the experience of that opening track. It really is mesmerising, containing as it does a repeating note like Laurie Anderson’s ‘O Superman’ and frantic drums like late period Radiohead.

‘Hey man’ starts out sounding like Aqualung until the jagged drum rolls and single percussive hits crack open the sensitive shell of the song and reveal real gold. But just when you think it is going to start in an Elbow driving rhythmic style, the song ends and the temporary silence is followed by the pumping ‘What Do You Stand For’, which could not be more different, sounding as it does like a club track meeting Art Brut head on, with its markedly different vocal spoken/sung style against a pumping backbeat. Wickedly sharp lyrics and truly danceable beats show immediately the band are not a one trick pony.

‘Don’t Let the Light’ follows and again is like neither of the previous tracks, it has a foot in clubland, but a softer vocal and trance like vibe pulls it into a pop arena. The album‘s lack of a defining genre makes it almost lack a cohesiveness, but at the same time keeps the listener’s attention, even if it is just based on a feeling of what the hell are they gonna do next… and that next thing is a reprise of the previous track in ballad form; a prize for anyone who guessed that.

‘In Your Arms’ follows and features a stunning chord progression against another trance like groove, but this time with stunning ethereal backing vocals, complimenting the lead voice. The danceable rhythms and spiky synths continue through the next tracks, but there is a real humanity to the songs. The performances and production is practically perfect so you would be forgiven for believing this is all the work of robots, auto-tune and computer chips, but there is a beautiful soul to this music that reminds me of the stunning Broken Bells’ second album. Humans and machines can work together and Low Island balance the organic with the electronic exquisitely.

The album reminds me of when clubs had separate rooms for different music genres (do they still do that?). Each song has a different vibe to it and even on ‘Momentary’, which feels like the chill out room as the tempo drops and the voice softens, but then you hear drums coming through the wall, calling you back into the club. And then you are back in the dark sticky room, ‘Spaces Closing In’ eases you back in with its mid-paced tempo and rockier sound.

The final track ‘What the Hell (Are You Gonna Do Now?)’ again is in a different room, more withdrawn and indie and the spoken section at the end could almost be a conversation in the toilet before you walk home alone at the end of night, even down to the way the sentence is cut off before it finishes. The song does kind of close the album in an understated way rather than a blast of energy, but that is part of the album’s charm, providing unexpected turns and endings, jumping between genres, one moment gentle, the next forceful and brash.

Of course genre hopping is a double edged sword, particularly within the same album. I happen to love a contrast of styles by the same artist, but there are others who like a certain sound and want a band to be something tangible and remain constant, at least for eleven songs.

I understand Low Island are self-releasing ‘If You Could Have It All Again’ and that kind of tells a story of how a record label could not pigeonhole the band for the marketplace (or of course the band refused to be pigeonholed). But I do wonder if Low Island know who their target audience is: indie kids, club heads, or an older audience who recognise the artistry and references in the songs? This album could appeal to that whole cross section, but equally could end up alienating them all as well. I mean, what is Low Island?

The band asks the question in a roundabout way in their song, ‘What Do You Stand For’ and as John Mellencamp said, in the music industry as in life, “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.” In some ways Low Island are standing for something simply by being themselves, with all their contradictions, mistakes and conflicts, but still there is a slight loss in clarity in the signals they give out… in today’s music industry the package is more important than the contents, especially without a major label’s marketing budget. I only hope Low Island will reach glorious heights.

Released April 2021, the album is available now via the band’s own Emotional Interference imprint, through their official outlet:

1.Hey man
2. What Do You Stand For
3. Don't Let The Light In
4. Don't Let The Light In (Reprise)
5. In Your Arms
6. Who's Having The Greatest Time?
7. Feel Young Again
8. I Do It For You
9. Momentary
10. Spaces Closing In
11. What The Hell (are you gonna do now?)

The Future Fest ethos punches up!

“There are SO many amazing and exciting bands within the UK alone, if anything the hard task is narrowing it down!” says Ghost Road Fest, an exciting new addition to the independent rock music festival circuit that debuts this November. More on that to follow.

Ah, but mainstream festivals…

Generic fame reflects society at mainstream level - and sells tickets.  The pandora's box of pandemica exposed so much socially and politically, music industry included, that without change from the top, an eternal circle of conversations about rebuilding better, go nowhere. With fear and loathing in las plagus, we’re a nation that needs to party, sing and dance together. Tickets will still sell if some credible curve balls thrown in, enhance reputation.

Corporate sponsors of the biggest events may see otherwise to the statements of good intent or presume that us DIY girlies ain't as good at entertaining or scouting.  The fact is, smaller festivals activate the cultural shift guidelines. “Cro Cro Land felt like a platform for tomorrow’s headliners to play a festival crowd. You know; the ones who haven’t necessarily come to see you but who fall in love with your band regardless.” (London In Stereo, whose reviewer fell for Nova Twins April 2019 - they play the main stage at Reading/Leeds Festivals this autumn)

There is often dismay at post lockdown bill announcements at a time when even next level talent is struggling. With up to three decades of the same names, old guard thinking looks dated without emerging star-turns injected as lifeblood. “Ironic there is a band on there called Scouting For Girls, which is how I feel every time I look at a festival poster.” noted Tiger Mimic of one event. This band (on the forthcoming Brits & Pieces II CD) are a face-the-stage commanding, alt-rock proposition who mix a little Queen into their tempo tangent punk. They play Jam On The Farm festival in July (tickets)

By 2021, when artists deserve acclaim for just surviving, the friction of mixing in a little risk invites extra thrill. Cosmic new discoveries please, or it's not a festival - it's just an outdoor concert in cosplay.

Impassioned independent media can decry, but still enjoy, major events. Mainstream journalists don't write/(know?) about art punky party love via a spectrum of scenes. True festival spirit is here:

Organic pioneers, the previously mentioned CroCroLand (2019, pix above), DecoloniseFest, Kick Out The Jams, This Feeling Club, Loud Women Fest etc. gift a (proven succesful) wealth of possibilities.

Eventually the “prickstock” mentality will go tits up as audiences change. “We are the future, stop fucking ignoring us”, Ms Mohammed told The Guardian newspaper (a clip from her set at the awesome and inclusively welcoming DecoloniseFest) - or, ignore and bore.

Bigger bookers, select your 2022 entry level artists with guitars from ground level curators. There’s wide acclaim to select. Hard work, talent (and (r)evolution) has EARNED it. #SaveOurVenues alumni contain (disproportionately fab) future heritage acts. Thank you John Kennedy (Radio X), a swathe of BBC Introducing/6 Music and a wealth of independent  music media who are getting this noticed.

Also take note of how the fresh scenes fizz femme power. Never mind the bollocks, here's all the genitals. At the skint bottom of some imaginary heap, largely being talked over. But… being talked about in crossbreeding spaces.  

Our voices are 4REAL. Agreeing to disagree, keeps it interesting, an all happening flourish of diversity in adversity amidst an array of achievements, often for good causes. Interdependence is where the true thrills-and-results-per-week exist. Says a DIY documentary of the action fraction.

Flavouring this surreal decade are affordable festivals with cracking guitars inclusion. Jam On The Farm (July 30th-31st) looks like a wow-some pick n mixed mix.

Autumn includes Wide Awake, (3rd September) Modern Age Music’s Soma Fest (4th) and before then, rad female fronted new ventures: ReclaimTheseStreetsFest in Sheffield on 7th August and No Man’s Land in Manchester on 14h August.

At #TheZineUK doc we are stoked to be involved in this Leeds and London weekender debuting in November…

“Ghost Road Fest was born out of an excitement to change how things are done post lockdown. I feel like with this much time off there's a real scope for change in how the industry is run. It's really disappointing there is still in 2021 an outcry for (god forbid) inclusivity within line-ups.

I've seen a few festival line ups released and it's still very male heavy - and it's not like there is only a handful of bands with female and trans representation that are 'good enough' to be playing these events! There are SO many amazing and exciting bands within the UK alone, if anything the hard task is narrowing it down!

Our festival has an 82% balance of acts with female or trans representation in - and I'd love to say I'm proud of that - but that should simply be the norm and not something to be highlighted. Alongside the festival we are also running a mentoring programme to encourage young adults to pursue their career within the music industry - something I think is very important - as they are the future of this industry and I strongly believe if you're educated within the correct surroundings then that is how you'll carry on that ethos.”

Lori of #GhostRoadFest

Written by a vintage West Indian rock chick who has promoted/booked artists and events at all levels, and is excited by the Fertile Environment.