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Month: March 2012

Live: Feist @ Apollo

26th March 2012

Apollo

9/10

Making a big room feel intimate is less a trick and more of an art form as far as live music’s concerned. Maybe it’s her largely reserved musical style, perhaps it’s that she was playing the 300 capacity Academy 3 when she toured her last record, but for Leslie Feist, the Apollo seems absolutely cavernous.

All the more incongruous is that she plays her largest Manchester show to date in support of an album that seemed a little lost in the mire on release back in October of last year; minimal promotion saw Metals fail to make a major chart impact in Britain, as it did with a top ten placing across the pond. Not that it isn’t merited. Metals is comfortably her most adventurous work to date and is aired tonight almost in its entirety. The thudding drums of opener, ‘Undiscovered First’, the eerie refrain of ‘A Graveyard’ and ‘How Come You Never Go There”s riff-driven breakdown all seem tailor-made for bigger live arenas, making the Canadian’s concessions to the Apollo’s size all the more charming. Her seven-piece band are huddled in the centre of the stage so as to be as close to the crowd as possible, and so confident is she with the inter-song banter that she even makes an ill-advised reference to the evening’s football. Older tracks appear largely in reworked form, with mixed results; an unrecognisable ‘Mushaboom’ doesn’t land as she might have hoped, but a stomping, rockier rendition of ‘My Moon My Man’ certainly does.

The evening’s highlight is saved for the encore – a tremendous cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Sometimes Always’ with the supporting M. Ward – and as much as she might want us to think otherwise, rooms of this size are where Feist now belongs.

Feist – How Come You Never Go There

Live: Los Campesinos! @ Academy 3

Los Campesinos!
Academy 3
26th March
3 Stars

I’m definitely in two minds about Los Campesinos! On the one hand they’re just plain not my cup of tea – their quaint vocal melodies and their insistence on using xylophones really grates with me. On the other hand though, their songs are catchy and the words aren’t half bad, and it turns out their live performance is pretty impressive as well.

It’s not that the members of Los Campesinos! are especially good musicians – individually they’re pretty bog standard really. What impressed me was their group performance – with all the band members shuffling between various instruments throughout the show (first a synth, next a tambourine, periodically someone would be holding a flute) I had expected everything to sound a bit of a mess, but they put on a tight performance all things considered.

The crowd were pretty decent as well. I’d heard beforehand that this is one of those bands who have a fanatical horde of fans following them round the country in droves, and looking about the place there did seem to be plenty of gushing 15-year-olds who clearly knew literally all the words to all of their songs. You might think that sort of thing would be annoying, and I’d be inclined to agree with you except that everyone was also pretty keen on having a bit of a dance as well – in the end I joined in and basically bounced around with everyone else for the closing half of the show.

The only negative point I really have to hold against these guys is that their set would’ve benefited from a bit more back-and-forth with the crowd between songs – with seven people on stage you’d think they’d have plenty to chat about. Gareth made a few witty quips, and he earned a few Brownie points when he asked about the football score somewhere in the middle of the show, but honestly I could’ve done with a bit more…
I make this complaint about bands all the time, but it really can be the difference between having a great night and just having a mediocre one.

(Fans of NoFX will probably understand what I’m getting at here: They often get the chords wrong when they’re playing, and Fat Mike frequently forgets the words to their songs even though presumably he’s the one who wrote them in the first place, but none of that prevents them from being one of the best live bands there are, and that is because their performance involves a lot more than just playing songs. I mean just look at them!)

Maybe I’m splitting hairs though. At the end of the day the show was fun, and the band seemed like a good bunch of guys. If you’re a fan of twee pop music I’d recommend checking this lot out some time, but the night wasn’t exactly life changing.

By Your Hand – Los Campesinos (Official Video)

Preview: Spring Offensive @ The Castle Hotel

Spring Offensive
The Castle Hotel
Sunday April 1, 2012

It’s that time of year again. Revision and essays are in full swing and most students in their third year have started thinking about life beyond days spent in John Rylands and nights out in Fallowfield. Thoughts of upcoming internships and jobs add extra pressure to deadlines as well as the annoyance with the temptation to toss out work for an afternoon in the sun.

As stress levels rise, music offers a much-needed escape and one band are making just the type of sounds to grant that relief. With mentions from BBC Introducing on Radio 1 and 6 Music, Spring Offensive from Oxford will be making their way up to Manchester on April 1st for a headlining night at The Castle Hotel.

The indie five-piece released their latest single, ‘Worry Fill My Heart’, earlier this month, which gets right to the heart of life-after-university feelings. Amidst the band’s harmonies, the lyrics pair up to present conflicting feelings like “How’d I end up in a job like this?…Maybe tomorrow, I’ll go ahead and quit it!” Comparable to one of their influences Death Cab for Cutie, these guys are creating smooth indie rhythms with their own experimental feel.

The Sunday night put on by Red Balloon Music promises to be full of new sounds with the acoustic The Robin Pierce Band, as well as two of Manchester’s own, Stefan Melbourne and Matt Hiom also on the lineup. The cozy, dark pub vibe of The Castle Hotel will be the perfect setting to check out Spring Offensive during their visit to Manchester.

You can find out more information about the night on the Facebook event page.

Live: The Milk @ Deaf Institute

The Milk
The Deaf Institute
22nd March
4 stars

When you first hear a band name as dour sounding as The Milk, it’s easy to make rash assumptions that they will be a bland, middle of the road indie band, unequipped to capture their listener’s imagination. The band themselves though are ill-suited to these connotations, with a blissful live show that not many UK bands can boast.

Dubbed on their MySpace page as ‘R&B’, they definitely embody this in the more traditional sense than in a Chris Brown kind of way. ‘B-Roads’, with a keyboard riff that gives the number a 90s hip-hop vibe, successfully sets the tone for a feel good evening. Released as a single earlier in the year, this will be at the forefront of a lot of people’s summer playlists.

Barely stopping in between songs and opting to not bother with a cliché encore, the set gelled together seamlessly and the enthusiasm of each band member never waned. At one point we are teased with a short instrumental of Dr.Dre’s ‘The Next Episode’ but the one cover they did fully commit to was ’54-46 Was My Number’ by Toots & The Maytals, a song I have danced to within these walls many a time before and The Milk managed to do it justice.

The band ended with the hand clap backed ‘Broke Up The Family’, although perhaps not the best choice for their next single, it was clear The Milk had succeeded in making sure the crowd had had a great time. Refreshingly this seemed to be the main priority of their live show and as a result their following will have undoubtedly increased during their current UK jaunt; let’s just hope it’s not too late for a name change!

The Milk – Broke Up The Family

Interview/ Live: Craig Finn @ Academy 2

Craig Finn
Academy 2
18th March
3 stars

“There’s not much left of us, because you left with him” was the sombre last line of Craig Finn’s tranquil support slot, a brutal reminder of that horrible sinking feeling we’ve all felt in the pit of our stomach, yet a line fans of The Hold Steady wouldn’t be used to being sent home with by their usually fist-clenched, positive jamming frontman. Speaking to Finn before the show however, this was a tone he wanted to explore with his debut solo record Clear Heart Full Eyes; “I was sort of feeling the need to do something that was a little mellower and I kind of leant on stories” he tells me, a little hungover after a St.Paddy’s Day in Glasgow with Frightened Rabbit.

His set was flowing with narratives, mostly telling tales of despair, yet ones I’m sure we’re all familiar with. ‘Balcony’ was the story of going to a bar with a date, going out for a smoke and coming back to see her with another guy, expressed by another hard hitting lyric “I looked up to see the moon, and I saw you and him out on the balcony, it was the same thing that you did to me”. Ouch!

With this energy being miles away from The Hold Steady, Craig himself even had concerns about the audience’s reaction. “At first I was like ‘Are people enjoying this?’” he laughs, going on to explain, “I’ve gotten used to it and it’s really actually nice”. This, to be fair, was exactly the case. The audience were attentive and simply listened to the lyrics, creating a nice smokey bar room style atmosphere with Finn’s backing band, Some Guns, supplying some chilled out rock and roll riffs with a pedal steel guitar really adding to the mellow vibe.

It is frustrating, however, watching Finn and expecting a big chorus to take a hold of him and see him properly let himself go. I asked him if he ever struggled getting himself up to speed each night for an energetic Hold Steady show and he admitted it was indeed hard. “I can always get there but that’s one of the reasons I wanted to do a solo record too because I feel some sort of responsibility to be positive and optimistic with The Hold Steady. I feel like it’s a different part of my person”. The different part of his person is interesting to explore and a lot darker with songs like ‘Rented Room’ focusing specifically on his divorce and having to move in with some annoying strangers in his mid thirties.

Even if this seems to the reader like a depression session with Craig Finn, the intimate atmosphere and narrative song style with stories we can relate to really does make for an enjoyable show. ‘Honolulu Blues’ and ‘My New Friend Jesus’ provided some upbeat moments and the main act of the night were the magnificent Felice Brothers, who belted out a joyous set and the bouncy, excitable Craig Finn that Hold Steady fans are more familiar with was on hand to help them out with a number.

Why Osborne was right to drop the 50p tax rate

Whatever your opinion of the 50p rate of tax, scrapped in the headline move of last Wednesday’s Budget, one fact is undeniable: it was a legacy of Gordon Brown’s doomed and dying government, desperately clinging on to its last few weeks and months of power. Adopted in 2009, this was a move that violated every principle of modern liberal economics – a philosophy that influenced both Thatcherism and New Labour – and it has proven to be fundamentally incompatible with British society. Taxing the richest is our society is a cancer that destroys entrepreneurship, discourages international investors and, ironically, lowers overall tax yields.

Many economically successful countries have found their models defined by a single crisis, often an economic catastrophe that provoked deep national embarrassment. The German obsession with austerity harks back to the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic that induced short-term national ruin and precipitated the onset of Nazism. Meanwhile, the emergence of low taxation as economic orthodoxy in this country has been dictated by the crippling effects of our flirtation with socialism in the 1970s. Britain was on the brink of disaster in 1976 when the International Monetary Fund was forced to bailout a bankrupt, post-imperialist backwater plagued by extortionately high taxes – an eye-watering 83% for higher earners. Its timing, a mere 31 years after the Western allies liberated Europe in 1945, only served to rub salt into the wound.

Subsequently, low taxation economics – widely considered to be a beacon of prosperity – became a central tenet of the British political status quo. Thanks to economic liberalism, successive governments have paved the way for London to flourish as Europe’s major financial centre. But over the past few years, the 50p tax rate has made a mockery of the progress enjoyed by Britain over the last three decades.

As argued not so delicately by historian David Starkey on Question Time earlier this month, the debate over the 50p tax rate is fundamentally “a war between the heart and the head”. The argument championed by Labour (and to a lesser extent the Liberal Democrats) dictates that during times of austerity, the rich should pay their fair share. This seems perfectly reasonable. After all, it would appear ludicrous for any government to prioritise the wealthiest one percent, thus violating the fundamental principles of egalitarianism.

Yet this argument is fundamentally illogical. The very existence of the 50p tax rate advanced a powerful political message: Britain is not open for business. It discouraged entrepreneurship amongst individuals and companies alike and ensured that wealth creators became increasingly disillusioned with investing in Britain. Moreover, the policy presented Britain as a nation that deplores hard work, despises the wealthy and is fundamentally intolerant to the notion of success. This is a trademark Britain can do without: now that it is gone, we should applaud the government for removing what was a substantial barrier to growth and prosperity, capable only of tarnishing our well-honed international image as a business-friendly nation.

Perhaps most shocking was the detrimental effect that the 50p rate had on the tax revenues it was supposed to be bolstering. As highlighted recently by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the top rate of tax actually cost us money; “estimates range from between £500 million to £4 billion a year”, according to the Telegraph. In many ways this is not surprising. As Starkey also noted, when then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson cut the top rate of tax to 40 percent in 1988, he found that tax receipts from the rich “virtually doubled”. The success of Tory economics ensured that the policy was continued by New Labour in 1997, explaining why Tony Blair himself was, reportedly, vehemently opposed to the 50p rate.

It is only recently that the detrimental effects of this latest tax hike became clear. Notably, talent has been driven abroad. In an age where modern communications allow one to run a company based in London from a sun-drenched tax haven, the appeal of Monaco or Bermuda increases exponentially. Since the government relies on 14,000 millionaires for £14 billion in tax receipts, whilst sixteen of Britain’s twenty wealthiest people are foreign nationals, every effort must be made not to alienate the super-rich; alas, considerable numbers are already swapping rain-soaked Britain for the beaches of Dubai or the hills of Hong Kong.

Britain has become terrifyingly dependent on the elusive ‘1 percent’, and the 50p tax rate only served to rock the boat of an already fragile relationship. Whilst the media and the general public have been quick to pour scorn on George Osborne’s decision to cut the top rate of tax to 45p, it is quite clearly the right thing to do for the state of the British economy in the long term. Forget accusations of ideological dogma – if you cherish anything about the welfare state, it is impossible not to highly value the contribution of the super-rich. Far from being financially hammered, they must be rewarded accordingly.

Feature: Manchester University Music Society

The Manchester University Music Society (MUMS) is one of the largest and most active music societies in the country, with over 400 members and more than 55 concerts a year. At this time of year, most societies are winding down but we’re moving towards one of the more busy times of year. We’ve had loads of concerts before Easter and we’ve still got three concerts, the country’s largest student-run music festival and two international tours to go!

Last week, the String and Chamber orchestras dazzled us with music from the Czech Republic, a symphony by Haydn and Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta. The concert as part of the New Music North West festival also saw the premiere Kevin Malone’s Angels and Fireflies for String Orchestra and recorder, played by soloist John turner, an internationally renowned performer.

Last Friday, Ad Solem, our elite 27-strong chamber choir, gave a concert of pieces by English composers. From Renaissance works by Tallis to modern composers such as Philip Moore, the concert demonstrated the group’s versatility. Ad Solem regularly perform with professional groups like the Hallé orchestra and they will be touring Estonia this summer.

Following sharp on the heels of Ad Solem, the Manchester University Wind Orchestra (MUWO) performed on Saturday. The band is wholly unauditioned and as such is open to players of all standards who want to make music and have a good time doing it. Their concert this term was themed around Rome and they played works both written especially for Wind Orchestra and some arranged for the ensemble – such as Berlioz’s overture to Le Carnaval Romain. As well as making music together, MUWO is also about having fun and the band is off to Yorkshire this weekend to collaborate with the Sheffield University Wind Orchestra.

If that wasn’t enough, we’ve still got two concerts to go! Following on from successful gigs in Bristol, London and Club Academy last month, the University Big Band is returning home to the Martin Harris Centre on the 20th March. Under the direction of Patrick Hurley, the band will be taking the Centre by storm again with its full complement of saxes, brass and rhythm playing plenty of popular standards from the big band repertoire.

And finally, the Chamber Orchestra will be performing Mahler’s 4th symphony – arguably one of the best symphonies written in the twentieth century. The concert takes place on Friday lunchtime, for FREE. If you’ve never been to a classical concert before, this would be a great introduction so come along at 1pm to the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama!

After Easter, we’re collaborating with our sister society, the University of Manchester Chorus, performing Tippett’s Child of Our Time and Sibelius’ 7th Symphony on April 28th. The University Chorus is a 300-strong non-auditioned choir that has singers both amateur and experienced from Manchester. With more than 400 people performing, we have to move from the Martin Harris Centre and into the grand Whitworth Hall just to fit us all on stage.

Finally, we’d just like to tell you about our summer music festival, Estival. Estival is the largest student-run music festival in the country with 10 concerts in just 4 days – this year it takes place on June 5th-8th, the very last week of term. All of our ensembles and groups have a concert, and there’s everything from a newly-written opera to a grand symphonic symphony. A great way to finish the year and welcome summer!

If you’d like to find out more about MUMS, visit their website or go to their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Live: The Megaphonic Thrift @ Ruby Lounge

The Megaphonic Thrift
Ruby Lounge
11th March
2 stars

The Megaphonic Thrift, an indie shoegaze band from Bergen, Norway, haven’t drawn a massive crowd to their gig at Ruby Lounge. In fact, the headcount is probably around 15.

The male and female voices compliment each other as the echoey vocals harmonise over the rhythmic guitar riffs and, as many sounds mingle together and the stage lights begin to flash, the music becomes enjoyably disorientating. There is an enchanting precision in their deconstruction of guitar melodies but I can’t help dispute NME’s ‘face-meltingly intense’ assessment as they are, simply put, just not that radical.

The strobe lights continue intermittently but the stage remains more or less in darkness which, together with the smoke machine, means we are hardly permitted a glimpse of the band’s faces. This impersonality begins to irk me somewhat, the band simply going from one song to the next with barely a pause between them, a “thank you” if we’re lucky. I’ve always thought the perks of a sparsely attended gig were humour, real engagement and an increased rapport with the band. The Megaphonic Thrift offer us none of that. While some think idle chatter on stage is gimmicky and detracts focus from the music, I am wholly of the opinion that a good dressing room anecdote never undermined anyone’s musical talent.

For me then, although the standard of their pleasant melodic patterns stays constant, their performance lacks excitement. Save for the sole drunken man dancing at the front, band and audience become akin to boys and girls at a school disco, awkwardly evading interaction and gazing, predictably, at their shoes.

The Megaphonic Thrift – Tune Your Mind

Album: Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball

Bruce Springsteen
Wrecking Ball
Columbia Records
4 and a half stars.

Seventeen studio albums in and Bruce Springsteen is still delivering first class albums – does age have no effect on this man? Wrecking Ball is perhaps Springsteen’s angriest album yet, grappling with themes of injustice and economic decline so those expecting tales of long summers night are in for a shock. Not only is there a change in tone lyrically (take the song ‘Jack of all Trades’ for example: “If I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot ’em on sight”) but musically we’re also in very different territory from Working On A Dream.

The album showcases an eclectic mix of songs, from Irish flavoured folk tunes like ‘Shackled and Drawn’ to the trademark Springsteen anthems in ‘We Take Care of our Own’. There is of course a sad, but fitting, reminder of the passing of Clarence ‘The Big Man’ Clemonts in the song ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’, featuring his last contribution on record and what a contribution as he plays the trademark sax solo, the type of which has come to define the E Street band’s sound.

It’s amazing that Bruce still sounds, and performs, as if it were 1975, but even more remarkable for me is the fact he can produce an album of such relevance and vitality at 62. Believe me, this is no half-hearted, run of the mill piece of work. For most fans, a classic artist’s new material is not necessarily something you want to see on a set list, but come May I will be looking forward to hearing these tunes delivered by the sheer magnificence of the legendary E Street band.

Bruce Springsteen – Jack of All Trades

Album: School of Seven Bells – Ghostory

School Of Seven Bells
Ghostory
Vagrant Records
3 stars

The third album from School Of Seven Bells finds them on more streamlined form than ever. Gone are the tribal influences which made their debut, Alpinisms so compelling, and the album is also a track shorter than their sophomore effort Disconnect From Desire. However the most obvious absence is third member Claudia Deheza, whose departure during the touring of that album may account for the band’s newly pared down sound. Her sister Alejandra makes an admirable effort to compensate for her absence however, with heady, polished vocals that are never anything less than commanding, and, on standouts such as current single ‘Lafaye’, genuinely ethereal.

On previous albums, the band have seemed overly concerned with chasing the meditative bliss/mysticism which the shoegaze scene is often parodied for, whether in the eastern-tinged guitar excess of ‘Sempiternal/Amaranth’ or with vague mantras such as  ‘Allow yourself to be relieved’. Here they are guilty of no such indulgences, with tracks rarely exceeding a comfortable 4:30 length, and Deheza at her most direct lyrically. The band have described the album as a series of conversations between the character of Lafaye and the ghosts of her past, and while this might sound like a recipe for tedious introspection, the results are pleasingly straightforward. Lines like “You take my love and leave me empty/And all you feel is a fist of draining sand” aren’t going to set the world alight, but are all the more appealing for their simplicity. Long-term fans also shouldn’t fear that their latest incarnation is bereft of the beats that made them such an intriguing prospect in 2008. Sonic maestro Benjamin Curtis’s rhythms are more propulsive than ever, particularly on album closer ‘When You Sing’, which somehow carves out its own unique take on the slow burning template established by My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Soon’.

School of Seven Bells – Lafaye

Lemn Sissay: Let there be peace at University Place

Ruth Dacey meets renowned poet Lemn Sissay this week and discusses his new work Let There Be Peace

Lemn Sissay (MBE) award-winning British author and broadcaster last Tuesday unveiled his two-storey-high work entitled ‘Let There Be Peace,’ a poem which had been meticulously hand-painted over five days by signwriter Gerard Brown. The piece adorns an inside wall in the University Place building on Oxford Road; appropriately for a place of study, the piece extols the virtues of peace and quiet.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, president and vice chancellor of the university who introduced Lemn Sissay on the day said: “We hope this uplifting poem will provide inspiration as well as academic, creative and intellectual stimulation to the many students and staff who see it.” The work is the latest in a string of poems by Sissay to decorate the streets and buildings of Manchester in his Poems as Landmarks Project. These include ‘Hardy’s Well,’ written on the pub found on the corner of Dickenson Road and Wilmslow Road, ‘Rain,’ on the side of Gemini Cafe at the corner of Dilworth Street and Oxford road and ‘Flags,’ which stretches over a mile inlaid in the streets from Market Street (near Debenhams) to Oldham Street.

Lemn Sissay gave an enigmatic off-the-cuff speech in Tuesdays unveiling and delighted the large crowd with a reading of the actual piece itself. The Mancunion were then able to catch up with him after the event to find out more about the project as a whole and the Manchester poet’s upcoming projects.

Could you tell us about how your ‘Landmark Poetry’ project began?

The beginning of the process started back in the 1990’s with ‘Hardy’s Well’. This was produced after a conversation about what we could do with the wall space between myself, the landowner and a friend of mine. I decided to take it seriously as a commission although it was done for free so I wrote the poem, laid it out and then presented it to them and it is instrument to the owner of Hardy’s Well at the time who put it up. He took the money out his own pocket, he paid for it and put it up on the wall and it’s a landmark that students can remember for their whole lives- they remember the pub and they remember that landmark and that means the world to me.

Since that starting point the project has grown so much that in 2008 Desmond Tutu unveiled my landmark poem ‘Guilt of Cain’ which recognises the horror of slavery in the city of London and now there will be a poem at the Olympics which will be revealed shortly after this one in Manchester this week.

How does it feel to be back in Manchester for the launch of your landmark poem ‘Let there be Peace?’

I am very excited to be back in Manchester for the launch because this place is always with me where ever I go, so even though I left seven years ago for love not money. It is one of the most incredible cities in the world and I wouldn’t be where I am now if it hadn’t been for Manchester! It has not left me and one of the first things I did when I became artist in residence at the South Bank Centre was put on a club night called 24 hour party people which paid homage to my home town as Manchester was at the heart of everything from the range of DJs to the spoken word performances. And you know this is because I don’t believe that if you leave somewhere you lose that sense of what you were in that place before, I believe it becomes greater.

‘Let there be peace’ is going to be displayed in the heart of Manchester student campus, what do you want people to take away from the visual poem?

I’ve written the poem with my own reasons in mind however people take what they want from poetry and so it can be interoperated in many different and unique ways. I don’t want to predict how people will engage with it, for me I just want them to connect with it. The importance and key to the poem is that it is in public because this draws people to environments that they otherwise would not engage with and the beautiful wall that the poem has been written on would never have been looked at in the same way. I hope it brings peace but peace is only something searched for in the midst of disruption and movement but also anarchy so the two things kind of go together.

How important is the visual aspect to your work?

A lot of poetry is read privately and there is beauty to that as two people will not read the same word in the same way as each will bring a totally different experience to a given poem however I find that process very static, you know between the pages of a book. That in itself is a very closed medium but by writing on walls and creating visual dimensions to my work I see it as opening books for people- it’s a window and a portal into who and what we really are. For me poetry should be in public and I think people may sometimes forget that poetry is all around us. It’s used in adverts to try and sell us car insurance and on Valentine’s Day for loved ones. We can also see it on statues to remember those who have died in wars and on grave stones, for instance Morrissey wrote songs walking round the graves of South Manchester. So actually poetry is around us all the time but a lot of people may not see this.

Olympic Project

With the Olympics just around the corner Forward Arts Foundation along with the Olympic Delivery Authority, announced series of commissions for the 2012 Olympic Park. Lemn Sissay responded to his commission by producing 3 poems; Spark Catchers and two untitled pieces. For Spark Catchers, Lemn was first inspired by the danger of death signs that are mandatory on the electricity transformer enclosures. His research and thoughts led him to the Bryant and May Match factory, which sits at the bottom South West corner of the Olympic Park and is a major architectural landmark. Lemn researched into the history of the factory and into the story of Annie Besant (1847–1933), a feminist and a socialist, who when she heard about the high profits of the Bryant and May match factory, as opposed to the pittance paid to their labourers, she published a series of articles that led to a public boycott and a successful strike of the match workers.
The landmark poem ‘Spark Catchers’ is written about a very specific group of women but what is the wider message that can be taken from the poem?

The universal message that’s written into the poem is that if something is wrong you have to fight for your rights. So yes even though the poem looks specifically at the women from the Bryant and May match makers factory (which is still part of the Olympic sight- it’s now a block of flats) it should be read universally as they inspirationally stood up for their rights led by feminist and later suffragette Annie Besant. Also the whole world has spark catchers at the moment, there is an energy happening, a vibe, a conversation, a standing up of people which should be recognised just as much as Olympic spirit.

Super Hero project

One of Lemn’s most inspirational community projects is his involvement as artistic director with colleague Caroline Bird in The Superhero Project which is a series of poetry workshops and art activity for look after young people in care in Ealing. The Superhero Project was launched nationally by Michael Rosen this summer.

How valuable is the experience provided for young people in care?

My job with the project is to inspire but also to be inspired and I have seen amazing work produced by people in care. They have created really brave things; I would describe it as poetry with guts. But you know what has come out of the project is also awarding winning material from these inspirational youngsters. For instance a couple of nights ago I was having dinner with Michael Morpurgo, the author of Warhorse who presented an award to Robert Marston who won the Foyles Young Poets Prize and we also have two other youngsters from the workshop shortlisted for The Wicked Young Writers Award. Myself and Caroline have learnt so much from these young people, they have taken this opportunity and produced excellence.

What did you yourself take away from the Super Hero Project?

The figure of fostered, adopted or parentless children is something that can sometimes be overlooked in our society today. But I know of guitarists from famous bands, famous actors and TV presenters, top lawyers, brilliant poets, television executives, magazine editors, national journalists, famous singers, millionaires, star novelists and Olympic medallists who were all looked after children. And then there’s the fictional ones, Harry Potter, Superman, Spiderman, Cinderella , The X men, Oliver Twist , Matilda, James Bond, Lemony Snicket, Celie from The Colour Purple, Moses…..the list is endless. I just think that there needs to be a radical rethink on what young looked after people are. Young looked after people employ extraordinary skills to deal with extraordinary situations. I myself see it as the sky is the limit. The work I was able to be a part of was extraordinary and the idea to send the poems from The Superhero Project workshops to competitions was originated and pursued by my peerless colleague Caroline Bird. We are both very proud to be able to say that a book, The Superhero Project, published by First Story will be launched on November 24th at Horizons in Ealing.

Tracing his roots

What was the experience like trying to trace your roots and find your family?

It’s taken most of my adult life to search for my family so I believe it’s been everything to me. It is incredibly important to me and it is now part of who I am and if you ever need to find somebody you should do it. I’ve found my father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, cousins the full works and I am so thankful for that. It hasn’t been an easy journey in at any parts of the process, but I am happy to have done it.

Do you feel that you have changed through the process?

It has you know, I mean it took most of my adult life from leaving the children’s home at 18 years till the age of 32. I have travelled all over the world in the process, and put everything into finding my family. I always had my priorities from the very beginning; I never wanted to be on television or in books and things like that. Of course I am fortunate that I have had these opportunities to be but my main goal was to find my family, because ultimately there is no point being successful if there is no-one to be successful for. Finding my family has inspired me, I do write less now but I write with more focus.

What future projects do you have in the pipeline?

I have an offer to go to Ethiopia for the Dickens festival later on in March and I may be going again later on in September to perform in a play out there. I also have an exhibition going up concerning the Olympics in March which co-insides with the unveiling of the landmark Olympic poem ‘Spark Catchers.’ I do have a lot going on at the moment but always at the heart of my work is the integrity of the poetry, and I will only do what I believe is good to do. I don’t like to be running around doing lots and lots of different projects because it’s important to have a direct focus and do things well. Also for me it is crucial that I approach projects positively as this will lift other people’s spirits too.

Make sure to keep your eyes open for Lemn’s works and there may be many more on the way as he commented “I would like Manchester to be the poem city of Great Britain and the World. I would like there to be poems on all the buildings!”

New Year, New(ish) You

After inhabiting the same legging and jumper combination through the entirety of exam period, failing to wash my stringy hair as it progressively accrues more and more grease and developing a perverse aversion to the shower, I am now gladly rejoicing that revision’s reign of terror has at last been usurped.
Attempting a return to semi decent dressing and personal hygiene routine in the wake of the New Year is not, however, always the blissful occasion of my expectations. Highlighter stained tops and ancient slippers have become habitual, and, sadly, habits are notoriously hard to break. Looking horrendous has become the student’s badge of pride in an utterly paradoxical way- it lets the world understand just how hard we have been slaving. It tells of midnight runs to the dodgy local shop for a caffeine (or, in my case, chocolate) fix. It accentuates the manic look in our eyes and the dilated pupils that show how long we have been staring at a glowing laptop screen and, most importantly of all, it lets us openly declare the fact that we cannot be judged on our appearance: this is but a temporary measure, and before too long we will be wowing everyone with our dramatic return to civilized society and adhering to the ascetic that it demands of us!

A cursory glance through one’s wardrobe, however, often fails to ignite the burning inspiration that seems to seize the mind in a fitting room. With that in mind, and also considering that the arrival of a new semester’s loan brings the internal justification of purchasing a couple of new bits to reward the slog of incessant cramming, I have selected a few pieces to bring prolonged sartorial pleasure throughout the coming months. This tan Zara bag (£39.99) is simple yet chic, and fresh enough to career any wardrobe into spring.

Uniqlo are brilliant for basics at a fraction of the cost of some of the larger high street chains, and a few lovingly layered cotton shirts and sweatshirts are a pragmatic alternative to the chunky winter coat for the men folk. (Cotton Crew Neck in Dark Grey, £19.90)

 

In keeping with the layering theme, this H&M short sleeved, form fitting dress would be perfect underneath that eternal tran- seasonal classic, the trench coat. (Scoop Neck Deess, £7.99)

 

Topman, whilst in many areas being wildly overpriced, are nonetheless good for well designed, good quality bags. This navy satchel bag (£38.00)is versatile and relatively smart without straying into briefcase territory.

 

Avoiding the poverty that inevitably strikes as term comes to an end is always a battle, but a little something means going forth into the new semester relatively guilt free and armed with an exciting new purchase to let the world know that, despite your temporary lapse into tramp- chic, you are back with a zeal for personal style, and, in the case of half of the universities population, a much missed face full of make- up.

Loving and Loathing

Loving: Spring’s new nail shades

With the new season’s trends comes a new palette of nail colours, a relatively inexpensive way to channel Spring’s aesthetic without the perils of a trip to Topshop. Floral hues, playful greens and tones reminiscent of sunrise are all an appropriate injection of colour to help coax out the bourgeoning transition from winter’s endless monochrome.

 

Loathing: Louis Vuitton monogram mania

One an emblem of wealth, sophisticated and a penchant for decadence, the Louis Vuitton monogram has been mercilessly overused and duplicated to hawk the tackiest of tack by market vendors globally. The latest monstrosity  to be adorned with the logo is the work of a Range Rover owner in Bournemouth, who has used the trend of ‘vehicle wrapping’ to proclaim his/her love of Vuitton and lack of taste to the nation.

Live: Laura Marling @ Apollo

Laura Marling/Timber Timbre
Manchester Apollo
9th March
4 Stars

“You guys ready to rock n’ roll tonight?” Timber Timbre’s Taylor Kirk asks the steady collective murmuring of a restless support crowd. “…yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Kirk’s extraordinary brand of spooky swamp folk, sounding like a cross between age-old delta blues and the ghost of M. Ward, unfortunately failed to really capture the imaginations of the seated Apollo crowd. As a big fan, I spent most of the set sulking to myself about this, but the 3500-capacity hall was admittedly a strange environment for a sound that relies so heavily on its own macabre atmosphere and intimate boneyard charm. Regardless, he kept up the enthusiasm and crooned his heart out, from the wonderful ‘Demon Host’ to a stomping stripped-down version of ‘Bad Ritual’.

Unsurprisingly, the mood was transformed at the entrance of headliner Laura Marling, who peppered new tracks and fan favourites in with songs from her latest album, A Creature I Don’t Know. Demonstrating a guitar-playing fluency well beyond her years, and with a stunning voice, the potency of her stage presence is undeniable.

This presence is made all the more remarkable by her endearingly reserved and minimal on-stage banter. She seems comfortable, but predominantly humble about her clear success, and from asking each member of the band to provide a “fact for the day” to telling the unlikely story behind the name of her debut album, the atmosphere is relaxed and inclusive.

She demonstrates an impressive skill, as a musician as well as a songwriter, and the songs are personal, honest and at times, genuinely affecting.

Laura Marling – All My Rage

Live: Rise To Remain @ Academy 3

Rise To Remain w/ Heaven Shall Burn
Academy 3
14th March
3 stars

You could be excused for thinking Rise To Remain were punching above their weight. A cheeky rendezvous with Facebook tells me that they are only third on the ‘like’ scale out of the five bands playing, yet top of the bill. Some may immediately point the finger towards vocalist Austin Dickinson’s links to showbiz via father Bruce (Iron Maiden), but I’m going to give them a bit of credit here. They may have been all over the underground metal scene like a student on Kony ‘12, but on this evidence I expect they have pulled their finger out at each show and are having a fucking good time with their army of followers in the process. Ultimately though, there was always going to be that anti-climatic feel to their set since Heaven Shall Burn proverbially blew the roof off.

Main support came from the politically driven Germans, famous for their aggressive sound and thumping riffs. Ironically, next door on the third floor was some form of religious meet-up – I’m pretty sure they’re still there now, praying for their headaches. Anyway, what I respected most about them was that they were enjoying the moment, along with the packed-to-the-brim room, and had the accompanying epic tunes. Vocalist Marcus Bischoff incited frenzy for each song and the masses obliged, opening the venue up in either a giant circle pit or a ‘wall of death’, leaving the remnants for RTR.

By the time the London-based metalcore act took to the stage, half of the crowd had left – presumably because they only came to see the support and not because Chelsea were playing Napoli in extra-time downstairs. Further issues the band had were the unexplained replacements of two members – the bassist and the drummer – and a few vocal issues that seemed to be resolved with occasional shots of squeezy honey (who knew?) Nonetheless RTR thrashed out some great songs to the remaining zealous adolescents.

There was a buoyant reception as they played songs spanning over their short career, predominantly taken from their debut, solitary LP, City Of Vultures. The scene was set with 2007’s ‘Illusive Existence’ with more frantic scenes resulting from top tracks such as ‘The Serpent’. As we have come to expect from him, lead guitarist and virtuoso, Ben Tovey, led the front line, boasting fine solos and licks. Further highlights came from the jump around to ‘Power Through Fear’, Austin’s stage climbing and the group hug and head-bang in the encore. All-in-all, an effort to be proud of.

Rise to Remain – Illusive Existence

Live: Dog Is Dead @ Deaf Institute

Dog Is Dead
Deaf Institute
13th March
4 stars

If I had a teenage daughter, by way of some Marty Mcfly style tampering with the fabric of time and impregnating your mum in the past (what can I say, she was hot), the members of Dog Is Dead are exactly the type of wholesome looking lads I’d be happy to have round for dinner and light conversation. Their youthfulness spills over into the performance, visibly enjoying themselves with smiles all round as they launch into opener ‘River Jordan’.

They may look like your average indie boys but as the set darts, ducks and weaves through unexpected twists and turns, it soon becomes clear that these guys are gifted songwriters. Instruments are swapped and the songs show high levels of craft from a band that have been on the road for almost two years now, honing their skills whilst supporting the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club.

Vocal harmonies abound, most notably on ‘Young’ with the line “Hold your breath and count to ten, we’re losing touch, we’re losing friends”, capturing the audience by the throat as the words resonate strikingly into the revered quiet of the room. New single ‘Two Devils’ throws up snapshots of ideas like photos taken from the window of a speeding car and there was even a Pink Floyd-style saxophone lead jam later before throwing the audience sharply back into the main tune.

After a bagful of catchy choruses, Dog Is Dead wind up their set to an appreciative reception from the 120 or so fans that made the trip to the Deaf Institute – a great turnout for a band who are yet to release their debut album. With material that is meaningful without forgetting how to be fun, they produce a feel good vibe that will hold the band in good stead for the coming festival season.

Dog Is Dead – Two Devils

Live: The Answer @ Academy 2

The Answer
Academy 2
13 March
4 stars

Addressing a sea of comb-overs, wrangles and leather jackets, The Answer have certainly found favour amongst rock’s old guard, providing many with music like “they just don’t make anymore”. Although an appreciative and dedicated audience, for those of us under 45, the gig’s atmosphere was somewhat lacking for a band with such energy and passion. Despite this, frontman Cormac Neeson did his up-most to ignite the crowd, using every ounce of his Irish charm.

With a lengthy set from support act The Union, fans were treated to one of today’s finest classic rock acts. Playing a healthy mix from their three studio albums, there’s no doubt that these guys can write a good rock song – and I don’t just mean some rehashed 70’s rubbish. It is with some reluctance that I mention the Led Zep connection because these guys are great in their own right, but don’t get me wrong – sounding a bit like Led Zeppelin isn’t a bad thing!

Now, I’ve been to enough Deep Purple gigs to know this genre of music is unlikely to make a mainstream revival and restore rock back to the glory days of the late 60’s/early 70’s. What The Answer do bring however, is the spirit, charisma and determination to bring a much loved sound to those who are crying out for new bands to emulate the iconic bands and save guitar music from the pits of limp wristed acts like The Vaccines. Each individual member is crucial, with Cormac and Paul Mahon dazzling audiences with amazing vocals and good old fashioned guitar wizardry. It’s the rhythm section, however, that really propels the band along, with Bonham-esque fills and pumping bass lines giving the band a sound much bigger than one would expect from such a simple line-up.

The Answer’s talent and song-writing are unquestionable. Whether they can branch out to a younger audience still remains to be seen.

The Answer – Comfort Zone

‘Twisted’ waves to ease radio-band congestion

St Mark’s square in Venice will forever be marvelled as the scene of one of the most important moments in science. The place of Galileo’s inspired telescope display some 400 years ago has now witnessed a rival remarkable demonstration in the exact same spot. The demonstration of a radical new technology has unknown repercussions for the future of wireless communications.

Using the electromagnetic spectrum for data transmission has become so vast and pervasive in scale that the number of available frequencies to transmit data is dwindling. In wireless data transmission, a range of frequencies is assigned to a specific channel and these frequencies have a limited bandwidth (a limited data-carrying capacity).

This new technology involves ‘twisting’ radio waves; a technique that could resolve the pressing worries over increasingly congested communications traffic. This seminal approach to enhancing the data-carrying capacity of radio waves has the potential to ease these anxieties; concerns wrought by ever expanding wireless traffic.

The demonstration, held in such an auspicious setting, was the result of research from Bo Thide, of the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, and a team of colleagues in Italy.

“For me it was obvious this would work” Thide said. “Maxwell’s equations that govern electromagnetic fields are… the most well tested laws of physics that we have.”

The demonstration showed two waves transmitted on the same frequency, but encoded using different states of orbital angular momentum. This quantum physics topic is comparable to the sun-earth system: the earth spinning on its axis is its spin angular momentum, whilst the earth rotating round the sun is its orbital angular momentum. So far we only modulate the spin momentum of waves, but Thide theorised that the orbital momentum of waves could be modulated in a “radio vortex”.

Thide and his Italian colleagues have transmitted two signals at the same time, on the same frequency, over a distance of 442 meters (1,450ft).

By varying the twist, many data streams can fit in a single frequency spread, as opposed to just the one with current-day techniques. A twisted wave, which can be visualised as a corkscrew, can be created by simply employing a twist in the dish that transmits the data.

This technique could be applied to Wi-Fi, television and radio; allowing more data channels to fit on one frequency range.

The technology’s potential impact has lead to fast-paced demanding research, as discussions have begun with industry to develop a more advanced system that can transmit more than two bands of different angular momentum. With overcrowding in the airwaves becoming increasingly concerning, the research team might hope their research can have an impact as profound as that of Galileo’s telescope.

What will the future Earth look like?

Scientists at Yale have recently identified a new supercontinent, which will form in the next 50 to 200 million years. The Americas and Asia will meet over the North Pole, causing the Pacific Ocean to disappear, forming a supercontinent named as Amasia.

The last such supercontinent to exist was Pangaea (Greek for “all lands”), which came together 300 million years ago. Pangaea was located around the position of modern day Africa and broke apart to form the seven continents of today, with the birth of the Atlantic Ocean 100 million years later. Over a billion years ago there was an ancient supercontinent called Rodinia and another called Nuna 1.8m years earlier. The forming and breaking apart of supercontinents has been a cyclical process in the Earth’s 4.6 billion year history.

The original term of ‘supercontinents’ was coined by Alfred Wegner in 1915, who proposed that at one point in the past, all of the Earth’s continents had formed a single continent known as Urkontinent. This explains how the shape of Earth’s major landmasses resemble jigsaw pieces that fit together.

Amasia was discovered by scientists at Yale through a process called orthoversion. This is where latitude and longitude can be found using the magnetic properties of rocks. The theory states that each succeeding supercontinent forms at a 90 degree orientation to preceding ancient supercontinents. This theory contrasts with the ‘old theory’, which stated that supercontinents form either 0 – 180 degrees away from the previous supercontinent; a theory that would place Amasia on the opposite side of the globe instead of the North Pole.

Dr David Rothery, a geologist from the Open University, believes this new research offers us a better insight into the history of the planet. He concluded by saying, “predicting into the future is of far less of a concern than what happened in the past”.

 

Asthma in premature babies- the chicken or the egg?

A recent study has found that the more premature the baby, the higher the increase in the chance of the child developing asthma. The number of children diagnosed with asthma is on the rise. On the face of it, this may not seem that surprising, but dig a little deeper into the study and you find that babies just a few weeks early (usually considered to be a safe time to deliver) actually have a 2 percent higher risk of asthma than those born at full term.

Experts were keen to stress that this modest increase in risk should not be a cause for concern to parents. However, what this study really highlights is that the health risk to babies increases with increasing prematurity and this risk continues right up until full term. This contradicts the widely held belief that babies born after 37 weeks suffer no more health problems than those born at full term.

But is the fact that these babies are a few weeks early really causing these asthma issues? The study also showed that babies were more likely to be born earlier if the mother was of low socio-economic status, or if she smoked. Smoking during pregnancy is strongly linked with both asthma and prematurity in babies.

If smoking is, in fact, the cause of the increased rate of asthma; then perhaps the real message to come out of this study is that doctors and midwives need to do more to help mothers-to-be with giving up smoking. It was recently reported that in Scotland there has been a massive 10 percent drop in the premature birth rate since the smoking ban was introduced in 2006, with the number of pregnant women smoking dropping from 25 percent to 19 percent. If this number could be reduced further, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK, then there is a real chance that the number of babies born prematurely, or with asthma, would drop significantly.