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Day: 16 April 2017

First thoughts: Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.

Written by Ben Lomax on . Posted in Music.

BANG.

At the end of the first track on his new album Kendrick Lamar is shot. The follow up ‘DNA.’ sees an animated Kendrick rap aggressively over dramatic vocal samples, reflecting on his life, past to present. It feels like a man spiralling into shock and over the course of the album, dreamy and sublime instrumentals give the impression of that life slipping away.

Trying to separate DAMN. from its predecessor is almost impossible. To Pimp a Butterfly wasn’t just an incredibly diverse and forward-thinking album — it received widespread acclaim almost to the point of instant classic status. According to Metacritic it’s still the best received rap album of recent times, having kicked Kanye West’s epic My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy off the top spot, no mean feat. Gone are the sprawling list of features, monologues and jazzy instrumentation, replaced by a punchier, more stripped-back sound. That’s not to say DAMN. lacks any of the ambition, from reversed hidden messages to left-field collaborations, there’s no sign of reeling too much in just yet.

To Pimp a Butterfly documented Kendrick’s struggles with depression, spurred on by systematic racism in America. Things since have hardly looked up since and he pulls no punches sampling Fox News and even mimicking Trump’s Time magazine cover, giving himself devil horns in the form of a red letter ‘M’ in the album’s cover artwork.

Far from the only nod to a devil, faith seeps into every part of this album, from titles like ‘PRIDE.’, ‘LUST.’ and ‘GOD.’ to a repeated motif of “Who’s gonna pray for me?” Lamar has recently said: “We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it’s almost in conflict with what’s going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system.”

Along with the near-endless references and likenings to Jesus on this album, it’s clear religion is something that’s been weighing heavily on his mind.

If it was hard to look at DAMN. without the context of its predecessor, it may be even harder to separate it from its successor. The video for lead single ‘HUMBLE.’ saw Kendrick sitting at the head of the table in a scene reminiscent of the last supper and with him dying on Good Friday (DAMN.’s release date), it seems more than plausible that he intends to rise again this Sunday. With questions posed like “Wicked or weakness? You decide”, and a closing rewind back to the start, there certainly seem to be a lot of unanswered questions for a complete project.

If the internet rumour-mill is to be believed, and it has a number of convincing arguments, we may hear more from K-Dot very soon. If so, then no doubt a lot more will unravel from this album, already so rich in layers of message and meaning.

Tracks of the week: 10th April

Written by Jacob Bernard-Banton on . Posted in Music.

Harry Styles – ‘Sign of the Times’

It cribs its title from the classic Prince album. It’s been compared to Bowie, Queen and Oasis. So what does Harry Styles’ debut single sound like? Weird; very, very weird. It’s a lurching piano ballad in the same vein as reported fan Father John Misty, albeit smoothed of any kinks and buffered up for radio airplay. The good news is that it doesn’t sound anything like the anodyne, sterile pop he was responsible for with One Direction. What remains is an outrageously overblown, lachrymose quasi-showtune that scores a handsome 9.7 on the Talent Show Over-Emoting Scale.

Enough carping, then; is it any good? The lyrics are searching (“You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky,” he sighs), in that they’re clearly searching for metaphor or meaning. The melody is fairly well-turned — a mournful if predictable slog that’s heavy on the minor chords — borrowing liberally from crowd-pleasing 70s soft-rock. The kitchen sink might not make an appearance but an obligatory choir does, as well as Styles’ bizarre American inflection on the word “here”. The full verdict? Not as bad as Niall rehashing the Plain White T’s ‘Hey There Delilah’, although not as posturing as Zayn’s strained “alt-R&B” reinvention. Which probably makes it just decent.

Beth Ditto – ‘Fire’

Beth Ditto always seemed to wrestle the spotlight from anyone else that happened to be in her orbit — sometimes from her own Gossip bandmates. It wasn’t just that she was a striking, strutting, proudly plus-size lesbian Southern riot-grrrl. Her voice was as arresting as her stage presence: she had an awesome voice that could strip paint from the walls. Her voice still erupts with soul and punk passion on her newest single, but ‘Fire’ is faintly and strangely underwhelming. Clicking, chugging guitars and an earthy bass grove introduce Ditto’s effortless vocals until its pummelling, churning rhythm kicks in, like a glam-rock stomper with Led Zeppelin oomph. No sooner does it get started that it ends, after some overwrought guitar soloing.

Ditto’s voice is fantastic as ever, though nothing shakes you quite like her goosebump-inducing hollering on the Gossip’s ubiquitous hit ‘Standing in the Way of Control’. It feels as if someone’s told her to keep it down because the Neighbourhood Watch have already threatened to get the police over for noise complaints. In any case, this reviewer would gladly welcome back the Beth Ditto on 2011’s slinky, New Jersey house homage ‘I Wrote the Book’ — if only to soundtrack another wave of voguing. There’s no fire on ‘Fire’; this is Beth Ditto on a low heat, and that’s never what she’s been about.

Gorillaz – ‘Let Me Out’ (feat. Mavis Staples & Pusha T)

The current barometer of anticipation for Gorillaz’s forthcoming album has officially broken. The latest single to be dropped, after the exhilarating quartet of tunes that debuted a fortnight ago, is a brilliantly affecting, short-circuiting slice of electro-rap. On the surface, it might seem like a gruff though bullish state of intent. But, dig deeper and a definite unease emerges: the collision of hefty beats, distorted handclaps and Mavis Staples’ reliably powerful vocals works supremely well in a way that’s less life-affirming than anxious and brooding. Pusha T, experiencing something of a career highpoint at the moment, raps gravely about police brutality: “Tell me that I won’t die at the hands of the police/ Promise me I won’t outlive my nephew and my niece.”

It doesn’t help that Damon Albarn does his usual melancholic mewling before ominous massed vocals and futuristic synths swarm together for an enormously overwhelming coda. It’d be awfully churlish to dismiss ‘Let Me Out’ on the grounds that it doesn’t do what Gorillaz tracks have typically done in the past and set the tone for the summer: everything from 2001’s downcast ‘Clint Eastwood’ to 2010’s ‘Stylo’. After all, a sense of unease is very 2017. And in the end, the track is astounding. Bring on the album!

Desiigner – ‘Up’

If Migos’ masterful ‘Bad and Boujee’ proves anything, it’s that regardless of trap’s shortcomings (a lack of lyrical dexterity and imagination, finessing the art of saying very little besides a load of old bollocks), what cannot be denied is that it is a generous wellspring of unlikely, musically adventurous pop. Desiigner’s ‘Panda’ was such a tune: booming, addictive and brimming with charm. His newest, ‘Up’, is a major disappointment and continues his staggering decline. It has the standard pneumatic, plonking bass but none of the sheer hydraulic heft and entertaining craziness of ‘Panda’.

Auto-Tuned mumbling can sound euphoric and relatable, even philosophical — Future and DJ Khaled are by no means Plato and Aristotle, but their robo-voiced homilies will last forever or, at the very least, until the global appetite for trap diminishes in one fell swoop. Rap doesn’t have to be cerebral to be enjoyable (just look at A$AP Rocky), however there’s only so much guff about getting rich or tearing up the club, decorated with expletives, in a shaky computerised warble over cookie-cutter thumps and cracks one can take. This is garbage, the kind of cartoon-rap that even Lil Yacht would be embarrassed to have his name attached to.

Tinie Tempah – ‘Find Me’ (feat. Jake Bugg)

There could not be a more dispiriting state-of-affairs that hearing a British rapper bravely pronouncing the word “route” in a confidently American accent. The mild French intonation of the original “r’ou-t” sound is eschewed in favour of the harsher, bluntly monosyllabic “rowt”. It’s an ugly, clumsy sound that doesn’t flow well with the rest of Tinie Tempah’s unmistakably British verbal sparring on his new single. Yet, despite that — and indeed, despite the unfailingly irksome figure of Jake Bugg essaying a reedy folkish countermelody — ‘Find Me’ isn’t entirely awful. In actual fact, it is almost good.

Tempah has fallen upon a style firmly nestled in the Wretch 32 Camp of Sub-Gritty London Pop Rap. It works better than last we saw him, trying to convince the world he was the UK’s answer to Drake as he did on ‘Text from Your Ex’ and ‘Chasing Flies’. Does it sound retrograde in the era of grime’s second renaissance? Of course. Does it get the job done? Pretty much, which means dated, thudding beats and Radio 1 aspirations.

The lyrics? Well, Tempah finds time to voice his opinions on the current social and political turmoil of recent times by informing us that 2017 is “more crazy than the Eighties”. Laboured rhyme aside, you can’t really disagree: this is to be the year of Falklands 2.0, what with all the nonsense surrounding Gibraltar. Or maybe it’s just a lacklustre line from a rapper not as clever as he thinks he is. Go figure.

Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival – Day One Shorts, Part One

Written by James Gill on . Posted in Film.

On March 27, the Lift-Off Global Network brought its film festival to Manchester for the first time using the wonderful Texture in Norther Quarter as a venue. The Festival, which has nine other iterations worldwide in cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris, prides itself on supporting grassroots filmmakers to make it in the film industry. Day one saw 11 short films and one feature length film on display — six of those shorts will be covered below.

Man on Layby 52

Man on Layby 52 was the first documentary short on show at this year’s festival, shining a light onto the life of Charles Ingram. Charles rose to prominence for occupying the titular layby on the A9 in Scotland, one of the countries’ busiest roads, for three years. Directors Ruaridh and Beth captured his stories about losing his business, losing his mother, and his unique way of life.

Based upon the opening few minutes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was a strong contender for the Best Short Documentary category at this season’s awards. The introductory ariel footage backed by music transitioned superbly into Charles sharing his tales with the audience. From there however the quality quickly diminished. A lack of direction led the film to become aimless, wandering in search of the next stage of the narrative, which culminated in the immensely disappointing ending. A needless and petty dispute over a girl which left neither side looking favourable — a poor finish to a short with such high initial promise.

Directed by Ruaridh M Turner and Beth Woodruff

Strongboy

Fantasy is an understatement for Keon Hedayati’s Strongboy. It surrounds legendary fighter John L Sullivan as he plunges into madness after rejecting his powers. A messenger of the gods then approaches John, and helps him to regain focus. This short climaxes with a fiery duel between John and another, surrounded by the Masters of the World.

Hedayati is seemingly a jack of all trades in this, his second directorial effort, displaying directing, writing, producing and acting skills. Fortunately he does not buckle under the weight of all these roles, and the result is a remarkably polished short. Perhaps a little too surreal for some, it is an intense assessment of our society, increasingly reliant on technology and losing touch with reality.

Directed by Keon Hedayati

Nan’s Army

Nan’s Army consists of a collection of interviews with several women who lived in Bristol during World War Two. The women went into detail about their lives during the war, the lasting effects it had upon them in the subsequent years, their view on current day wars and a look to the future. The stories are interwoven with animation, differing in style depending on the emotion the story conveys.

Films like this, I feel, are a necessary part of the documentation of war and its effects, but also in its prevention. Hearing first-hand experiences of bombings, evacuations and the fear of death from the mouth of those present is a poignant reminder of an event relegated to the history books. One of the women made an interesting point about how we should be thankful that war occurs far from us in the present day. I would extend that to a deep-rooted apathy for conflict far away, caused by the over-saturation of today’s media from the internet and other technological advances. Any conflict happening beyond our own borders is quickly forgotten, and it is only until an internal conflict arises that we truly begin to feel. This is in essence the message of Nan’s Army, to avoid history repeating itself.

Directed by Lucy Werrett

Hope

An interesting twist on the well-established zombie genre, Hope’s zombies lack the taste for human flesh. Instead they are condemned to wander the Earth for eternity, purposeless. We follow as Karl, our focal zombie, is leered at and attacked several times by the unwelcoming uninfected, eventually being buried alive by a couple of prepubescent female thugs.

Karl’s story does not end there, as he is saved by another zombie, and the two fall in love. We watch as they dance and laugh together in a local park before sitting down on a park bench. It is here that the world, once again, changes. The two girls who buried him alive return and shoot Karl’s girlfriend in the head prompting him, and all of zombie-kind, to seek revenge. Fleshy revenge.

This short took me completely by surprise, ending up as my personal favourite of the shorts programme of night one. Zombie films of late tend to lack originality, fading away after the initial hype disappears. Hope distinguishes itself from the crowd in this respect, a unique premise commandingly executed by director Adam Losurdo.

Clear parallels can be drawn to director Edgar Wright in terms of comedic style with Losurdo emulating his comedy techniques such as the humorous entering and exiting of the frame and the use of music synchronised with on-screen action. The latter is seen towards the end of the film during a brilliantly shot standoff between the girls and Karl. References to Spaghetti Westerns are peppered throughout this scene, from through-the-legs camera angles to the backing soundtrack. Overall this was a fantastic short with immense replay value, a must-watch for all zombie fans.

Directed by Adam A. Losurdo

Body Language Zone

Body Language Zone was by far the most left-field, off-the-wall short on display during day one. It explored, inevitably, human body language in an office environment and was split into four ‘zones’: Body Language Consult, Touching Instructions, Body Language Management and Guaranteed Free Flow. Each zone involved the lead actress completing a dance routine with voice over instruction layered over.

After finishing this short, you will probably be left feeling one of two ways. Either you’ll think ‘Wow, what an incredible depiction of how, with the increase in touchscreen and other electronic devices, the use of using our bodies for communication has disappeared. The exacerbated dance routines by Kim Saarinen humorously serve as a guide to the next generation, who will fail to understand body language as an art.’ Or ‘what the hell was that?’ A short as polarising as this one is sure to have fewer but much more passionate fans, which is evident by the large amount of awards it has won.

Directed by Kim Saarinen

Spaceman

Rupert Madurski is a young man with a dream. To become an astronaut and go into space. Except there is no manned space shuttle program anymore, and hasn’t been for some time. This does not dampen his spirits however, if anything it spurs him on to be the reason they bring back the program. In his mum’s garage we watch as he endures a ‘rigorous’ training regime of lunges and curls, in order to be ready the exact moment NASA requires him. It is for this reason that he, apparently 24 hours a day, dons several dubious looking jumpsuits, as he never knows when his time will come.

After filming his own training video, he somehow manages to convince Lucille, a school teacher, that he is indeed an astronaut in training and to let him speak to her students. Whilst some believe him, most, rightfully, do not. This leads to mockery when he tries to assert his ‘first-hand’ knowledge on a film set he again manages to blag his way into.

Scott Nelson is a revelation in this it seems, his first role of any kind in cinema. It would be a crying shame if this was his last venture into it, and I hope we see more of him soon. The opening scenes where we watch Rupert’s fantasies acted out before soberingly returning back to reality as his mum shouts him were hilarious. One of the more realistic portrayals of human fantasy seen in recent times.

There is a clear influence from Wes Anderson in several parts of the film. The art style of his fantasies, the jumpsuits he wears and fast paced dialogue are all reminiscent of Anderson. Spaceman is a highly original short but at just 18 minutes in length, it is just a little too short.

Directed by Christopher Oliva