SONG OF THE WEEK nr 9: Olympique - The Reason I Came

This weeks song of the week is "The Reason I Came" by Olympique. 

It's the first time I've chosen a song of an Austrian band. It's actually a shame that I hardly every pay attention to the Austrian music scene. The country is known for it's beautiful countryside but no one knows that there is actually a music scene with quite decent bands. Well hope you like the song. 

click here to find out more about the band and their live dates

LIVE: Catfish and the Bottlemen - Dingwalls

I was really busy the last weeks. Lots happened and I - of course - went on lots of gigs. One of the bands I really enjoyed were Catfish and the Bottlemen. 

the band: 

Catfish and the Bottlemen are a indie rock band formed 2010 in Llandudno, North Wales. The band consists of lead singer Van McCann, guitar player Billy Bibby, Benji Blakeway on the bass and Bob Hall on the drums. All the band mates are from different areas and got to know each other when they moved to Llandudno. They are signed to Communion Records since 2013 and released three singles: "Homesick", "Rango" and "Pacifier". 

In 2014, they signed to Island Record and the 4th single "Kathleen", produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Adele) followed and they are set to release their debut album in the end of this year. They are currently on tour and set to perform over 30 festivals in Europe including Reading, Leeds and Latitude. 

click here to see more pictures, read about the gig and watch their music video.

LIVE: Matthew and the Atlas - Dingwalls

I recently had the chance to shoot the sold out gig of Matthew And The Atlas.
click here to read more about him and the concert.  

LIVE: The Struts - The Kiss EP Launch Party

The Struts, I have heard lots of good stories about their live shows but always missed out on their gigs until last week. On Tuesday Morning, they posted on facebook about their The Kiss EP Launch Party taking place in The Monarch that night. This just sounded perfect to me as I live in Camden and planned to go for a drink with friends anyway. So I forced my friends to go to the gig and it was definitely the right choice. The gig was awesome. Especially the appearance of the band. In Luke Spiller, The Struts are blessed with a frontman who, in his own words states 'I was born to do this. And I'll die doing it."  

click to read more about the band, the gig, their live dates and more pictures

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 8: The Moons - Heart and Soul

This weeks song of the week is The Moons new single "Heart and Soul".

click to read more about the band, my opinion and their record store releasen  

LIVE: Dead Sea Skulls

I saw them last week at their single launch of  of their new single "I Wanna Buy A Rolex" at the Hawley Arms, Red Light Sessions. They clearly won over the audience and rocked the pub. One of the best new bands I've seen in a while. 

click here to read more about the band, the gig and their live dates

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 7: The Orwells - Dirty Sheets

This weeks song of the week is "Dirty Sheets" from an american band called "The Orwells".

click to read more about the band, the video and my opinion  

NME Awards 2014 - My Experience

 I had two weeks ago the chance to attend the NME Awards Show. I always wanted to be in the audience since I've heard the first time about but it unfortunately used to be an invite only event. Not this year, they put tickets for a public audience on sale and I was one of the lucky ones who got a ticket for the standing area. 

click to read more about the awards, guests, winners, my experience and pictures: 

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 6: Splashh - Feels Like You

hey guys, the song of this week is from splashh and it's called "feels like you". 

band: 

splashh is a psychedelic rock band formed in hackney, east london in 2012. it consists of sasha carlson (frontman + guitarist), jacob moore (drummer), toto vivian (guitarist + synth player) and thomas beale (bass).  although the band was formed in london the band members are from the uk, australia and new zealand. they played last summer lots of festivals and have received critical acclaim from nme, the guardian, the fly and bbc 6music.  they released their debut album "comfort" last summer via luv luv luv records. 

"Drowning in fuzz and feedback, these freak scenesters are the latest grunge revivalists to dive into the sound of Anytown USA. They've got one reverb-fest that suggests Washed Out in a blender with Dinosaur Jr and another with an air of menace that's like Lee Ranaldo wrestling in a sandpit with Brian Wilson"

The Guardian

video:

i've chosen this song because of the cute video. i really like the fact that a pink elephant walks or skates through the grey parts of london and brings colour in the szene. 

my opinion: 
i've seen them once live at macbeth and they were really good. you definitely have to check out their other song called "all i wanna do". 

hope you like it and let me know what you think 

xx 

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SONG OF THE WEEK nr 5: Skaters - Deadbolt

hey guys, this weeks song of the week is from a band called skaters. i actually saw them live last weekend and i am really impressed. i knew them before but they completely got me with their live show. well let's start from the scratch.

the band: 

skaters is a band from new york formed by singer michael ian cummings, noah rubin (drums - the dead trees, adam green, little joy) and guitarist joshua hubbard (the paddingtons, dirty pretty things) in 2011 - so they are quite know musicians. when their old bands started to wind down, the three got together to form the skaters. the result is a smart, dynamic punk band drawing inspiration from obscure genres and cultures what calls their genre "humblecore". deadbold is their follow-up to their first single "i wanna dance (but i don't know how)" and was just released a couple of weeks. their debut album "manhattan" recorded in electric lady studios NY is out 24th february by warner. the band supported deap vally on their UK tour and also played alread lots of sold out gigs.Their gonna tour again through the uk in next february/march 2014 so try to make it to one of their gigs. they are worth it ;) 

name:

the front man michael told T magazine that the band name doesn’t refer to their talent to skate...it doesn’t at all... no one of them can skateboard. It just reminds them of their youth and the way they felt listening to music and hanging out with friends running around the city being a hooligan.

my opinion: 
as i said i saw them live a week ago and i am really impressed. the club was packed with people who were just waiting on them to appear on stage. as soon they started everyone was just freaking out. they crowd was jumping, singing, moshing and you could see how much fun everyone had. the band was the same. michael, the singer, was stage diving and shared his bottle of tequila with the audience. he actually seemed quite wasted but you know...musicians... it seemed like a something specials happening in a small underground venue. well it was kind of special. i'd never seen the audience freak out like that in this venue before and trust me i've been to lots of concerts in there. it wasn't a long gig, they don't have that many songs yet, but it was really enjoyable from the beginning to the end. even the band members seemed to be really impressed and they proofed it with their tweet the other day:

"SKATERS ‏@skatersnyc

Last night @PurpleTurtleNW1 ... WOW. Maybe best skaters show to date??"

you guys should really try to make it to one of their gigs. they definitely deserve your support ;)

uk tour dates:

feb 27  bristol 

feb 28 birmingham

mar 1 leeds

mar 2 notthingham

mar 3 glasgow

mar 4 manchester

mar 5 london 

mar 6 southhampton 

hope you like them. xx

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 3: Young*husband - Silver Sisters

this weeks song of the week is "silver sisters" from younghusbands. it's their first single from the debut album called "dromes" what was released on september 16 by sonic cathedral. the album was produced by nicolas vernhes and features 12 tracks. 

the band: 
younghusband is a british band from london, uk. the line up consists of euan hinshelwood (vocal/guitar/keys), adam beach (guitar), joe chilton (bass) and pete baker (drums). they released their first single in june 2011 with the uk label too pure. this was followed by the ep "crystal" released in november 2011 by sonic cathedral. younghusband initially exists as a bedroom recording project by euan who put out an early single and two e.p's "the judas cow" and "idiot son" on small u.k. label culturedeluxe. shortly after this band was was formed to play the songs live. overtime the band started writing together and embraced a heavier psych filled sound, moving away from the lo-fi acoustic orientated sound of the bedroom output. in interviews the band have mentioned stereolab, the birthday party, the brian jonestown m massacre, yo la tengo, beach boy's, the ronnettes, broafdcast, wire and the cocteau twin's to be amongst their influences. source

my opinion: 
i saw them live a couple of weeks ago in a tiny little pub. i didn't expect a lot but they were really good. i love it when i am on a concert and i feel like i'm outta space and just focus on the band playing and this happened when i saw the young*husband. 

event hint: 
the young*husband are currently on tour and going to play their next london show on 24 september in the lexington. check them out and let me know what you think! (: 

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 2: Temples - Keep In The Dark

 this weeks song of the week is "keep in the dark" from temples. it's their third single after "shelter song" and "colours to life" and it will be released through heavenly recordings on 7 october 2013. so as it's really brand new. ;)  the track was self-recorded in the pyramid studios, the lead singers own studios, and mixed by claudius mittendorfer. the single also has a b-side "jewel of mine eye" and will be available digitally and also on limited 7". 

the band: 
temples are a young neo-psych group from the midlands, england. they were formed 2012 by singer-guitarist edward bagshaw and thomas edison warmsley. they uploaded some of their self recorded tracks on youtube and soon got the attention of heavenly recordings founder jeff barrett who shortly after agreed to release their first single "shelter song" (november 2012). they then completed the band with keyboard player adam smith and drummer sam toms and started to play their first concerts together what soon started to be sold out shows with famous attendees like liam gallagher. they supported bands like jets, kasabian, the vaccines, suede myster and just announced that their first UK headline tour will take place in october 2013. their music sounds a bit like the last 40 years of music never happened. their songs are rooted in psychedelia with a touch of 60s but focused on a modern perspective on recording. i am pretty sure that we can expect a really outstanding debut album.

the video:
the video was directed by abbie stephens. i really like that she experienced with smoke, shades, perspectives and geometric frames. i love the scenes where you can see hardly anything else then the contours of their faces because of the light in the background. the shots where the musicians got multiplied like in a broken mirror give the video this kind of 60s, LSD touch. the colours she used also increase this strange atmosphere what makes you feel kind of dizzy. to the outfits: i really like what edward bagshaw wears. this golden top on a guy makes him look like he's from outta space and not to mention his really nice curly hair. also the outfits of the others are a good choise. the polo neck of adam smith is quite simple but it's just his look and it looks really good in combination with his messy hair style.

my opinion: 
i discovered them through an article in a magazine. to be honest they got my attention because of their style and so i decided to check them out and well they immediately got me with their first single "shelter song". and as usual when i like a band i decided to go to their next concert. well to be honest it wasn't the best. it was quite obvious that they hadn't that much experience and they didn't really know how to treat the audience. but they made a quite good job despite of that and i am sure after some practice they will get better and then it's definitely worth to see them live.

event hint: 
if you are in london on sunday, 1 september 2013, pop into the lock tavern in camden for a dj set of them. it's free ;)

to find out more about the band click here

SONG OF THE WEEK nr 1: Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?

it's time for my first song of the week and i thought i'm gonna start with a more famous band what i can't stop listen to since years: ARCTIC MONKEYS. it is the first single from their upcoming fifth  album: AM what's going to be released on the 9 september 2013. the song is called "do i wanna know". it reminds a lot on their last single "R U Mine" the riffs are quite similar but the song is more downtempo. the lyric is about alex turner crawling back to a girl. he tells us how he was lying on the bed listening to a song what reminds him on her, how he is on the cusp to kiss her when he meets her,... it's just this kind of story what reminds me on my own life and well i think that's (despite of the guitar riffs, alex voice,...) what makes the song so good. i mean haven't you had a crush on someone who gave you the cold shoulder?

i am really looking forward to their new album. it will include this song,"R U Mine" and their newest single "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High". and i can't wait to see them live in october. i'm looking forward to this concert like a child to christmas. please let me know what you think about this song and should you know some other good bands feel free to comment. thank you.