Sound InPhotos: Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip // KOKO

Two sold out nights at Camden's iconic KOKO meant real business for Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip so with guest appearances from support act Itch and the one and only Billy Bragg, these nights were really spectacular.

Braden was on hand with his camera to take pictures of the night.

 

 

Sound InPhotos: White Lies @ Camden Roundhouse

White Lies played an amazing show at Camden's iconic Roundhouse and Braden was on hand to take photos. There were lazers and everything.

Braden Fletcher

The Problem With … The Charts

Week two of Braden's column and whilst we still don't understand all of the pop-culture references from last week, he's promised that this week is slightly less confusing. At a quick glance, it seems that nothing's really changed but we'll see as he takes on the charts.

 From time to time, you’ll hear most music fans complain about the charts, say they don’t matter and/or later be surprised when their favourite artist makes the UK Top 40. We can throw the word ‘rigged’ around all we like but until that’s proved it has to be assumed that yes, there are that many people out there willing to forgive Simon Cowell for manipulating phone-lines, Pitbull for manipulating people into finding him talented or Chris Brown for manipulating the face of a young lady.

 Five years ago, you’d have found the worst offenders of these double standards sneakily hiding Limewire from their desktop and telling you how much their download didn’t matter in the grander scheme of things. Then came the Christmas Chart Battle of 2009 in which a Facebook campaign by Jon Morter led to Rage against the Machine going to the number one spot against The X Factor’s Joe McElderry. Not only was it a shock to the charts, but also it outlined that there’s still a place for ‘the alternative’ at the top of the charts when fans group together. It’s for this reason that ‘fringe’ artists such as Arcade Fire, White Lies and the XX have all had chart-topping records without once breaking the top 10 singles charts. Even Mumford & Sons have had a number one record without touching that golden half hour of radio on the UK Top 40's top 10.
One way to describe the alternative music scene to someone who doesn't understand where all the bands at Glastonbury they've never heard of came from, is in the style of drugs.
The majority of people stick away from them, preferring cigarettes and alcohol (Adele and One Direction for example); but many of us have a cheeky puff on a Foo Fighter every now and then. A tough shift at work or a chilled night of gaming could easily lend itself to a Dave Grohl special and let’s face it, he’s pretty unavoidable at major festivals.

That’s where most of us stop but others dabble further into different worlds, finding their niche; whether it be a Sigur Ros-hole, a tab of Tame Impala or a quick line of James Blake, the more you take, the further you go down the rabbit hole.
This is where you’ll find the route of complaints. You’ll hear my mate John from time ask why all the kids are listening to Alt-J whilst Dirty Projectors’ latest album only reached number seventy in the charts.
“They sound pretty much the same to me” he’ll say, staring like a puppy wanting the answer to be as simplistic as possible. Sadly John, there is no real reason or formula to define what will be successful. Much of it has to do with the way you market yourself (see Bastille and their mixtapes), the amount of years you’ve put in behind the scenes (see Frank Turner’s decade long solo career) and just having that right audible and visual aesthetic at the right time (see CHVRCHES and the1975.)

Honestly though, there’s no way to guarantee success, unless rumours about Coldplay’s secret blueprints are to be believed; but until we can all shout “FIX” and hope sure that Ant and/or Dec are there to verify the numbers, it’s probably not even worth contemplating that there may be a magic formula behind what makes people part with their money in order to own music. The only thing to do is make music from the heart and hope that your blood is as addictive as recreational drugs, or better still, Jack Daniels.

Braden Fletcher

Update: Icona Pop just went number one in the singles charts, we can all be happy for a week, even if Tom Odell did also go straight to the top in the albums chart,

The Problem With... Yeezus

 Once a week, Braden will be writing a new column for Sound Influx. Most weeks, it will be entitled ‘The Problem With’ and will feature a certain aspect of what’s been going on in music and culture recently. He’s described it to us as Ten O’Clock Live for a music website but he also describes burritos as family. It’s probably best if we let him take it from here with his first piece (which we’re dubious of) on Yeezus.

When your name is Kanye West certain things are true that are not if you’re my friend John Edwards. Most noticeable of these things will of course be that John isn’t an internationally famous, controversial, millionaire hip-hop icon; John works in a high street store in Leeds and he’s most famous for winning the pub quiz a few weeks back. It’s safe to say that John’s claim that he was a God that night was false.

Kanye West however, in his sixth album has passed through his registration, graduation and his ascension to the fantasy world via a short film in which he meets an angel and is now a higher power himself. To him, the shouts of “Illuminati” and “conspiracy” aren’t so much unfounded as they are insulting to his status as a deity. With all of the hype, THAT interview and the resulting online pandemonium, the focus has been as much on the music as it has been the character (and he is most definitely a character) that created it.

As such, that is both the problem and the genius of Yeezus. Most conversation requires mutual knowledge. If you were to attempt to talk to the cast of Made in Chelsea about the current problems in Syria, it’s doubtful that they’d be able to fully engage. Similarly if you were to try talk to a Syrian about how Jamie (the one that looks like the Milky Bar kid but is actually a McVitties kid) and the blonde one that looks exactly like his twin but actually fancies him, had a talk about ‘them’, they’d rightly tell you to go away. Kanye West’s sixth record doesn’t require this. At its core, there’s an album, which features some of Yeezy’s best and most average work. Surrounding that, however is an entire world of discussion, a surface level of heated debate and an atmosphere in which the omniscient Kanye West himself views it all from next to Miss Kardashian and fellow Lord and Patrick Bateman impersonator Scott Dickstick. Incidentally the first track sounds like it was written by someone as tone deaf as a Kardashian, as if West allowed all of them at his MIDI pads at the same time and simply rapped over it (Daft Punk produced, sadly awful).  Not to bring it up again, but has Kanye listened to State of Grace? Now that’s quite the album opener (if pop mixed with loosely narrative country is your thing.)

Perhaps that’s what it’s all about though. Hooking the fish in with the hype, pulling them in with the controversy, slapping them in the face with On Sight and turning them into tasty sticks whilst declaring your divinity for the rest of the record. The problem with Yeezus is that you don’t need to listen to it beyond this point to know if you like it. The rest of the record is West being West. If you like him, you’ll most likely like this dip into darkness. If you don’t, you don’t have a choice; you’ll be subjected to his words and sounds regardless. Turn your phone off (and/or/don’t turn someone’s grandfather on) and take a walk. If you’re out in Leeds on a Tuesday morning, you might even catch my pub quiz team and I having a celebratory breakfast, demanding our croissants.

Braden Fletcher

M83 - Live: Shepherds Bush Empire 16/02/12

I'm not sure why, but a strong proportion of tonight's crowd aren't dancing their faces off. M83 have just finished We Own the Sky and broken straight into Steve McQueen and still half of those in tonight's standing area gaze on in near stationary positions. It's not awe stricken paralysis, Gonzales and co aren't completely smashing it yet, but they're still being true to their records.

Tonight then brings M83’s European lap of glory to London. As fast as the city took in the likes of Midnight City, a few months down the line and it seems to have been all but forgotten. Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming may have been one of the best records of 2011, but it’s 2012 now and there’s new contenders to their crown. Shepherds Bush is tonight full to the brim with revellers but there’s only handfuls of people who look like they’re genuinely excited to be there. 

There's moments of genuine relaxation in which you could be in a James Blake or SBTRKT show, but the rest is pure dream-pop with a stunning dance floor outlook. It’s not all computers though. In a musical environment in which live music actually being played live is so important, they're a tight unit and as time progresses, those present start to realise that. There’s nods to their past as even their self titled album’s Sitting gets a play whilst Saturdays=Youth and Before the Dawn… tracks also feature. Perhaps the most interesting choices come at the end of the set. Midnight City, the track that everyone’s been waiting for erupts and even some people on the second tier of balconies can be seen dancing. This is followed by the distinctly post-rock A Guitar And A Heart as the band leave the stage for the accepted encore.

Returning to the stage with the atmospheric and newly freshened Skin of the Night you can tell why the band decide to play live. Vocalist and musician Morgan Kibby adds a huge amount of talent, depth and even glamour to Gonzales’ live show and in tracks such as Intro (vocals on record are Zola Jesus, but who needs her when you have Kibby) and Skin of the Night, she comes into her own and belts out a stunning vocal line. Closing the night with Couleurs, it’s not quite the dance party they might have hoped for, but for many, it’s perfection. Time and time again M83 pull it out of the bag and if you add a bit more alcohol and sunshine to the mix at the summer’s festivals, they could do it all over again.

Braden Fletcher