Rat Boy Interview, NSFW

It's late afternoon prior to Rat Boy's steaming show at the Guildford Boileroom. Spirits seem high but so does the tension between staff and Jordan's band. They've already got in trouble for leaving guitar cases across the venue, going through doors they shouldn't and bringing a mini moto and revving it in the beer garden. The tour so far has been riotous, with his show's gaining notoriety for being brutally youthful- complete with moshing, crowd surfing and thought out stage invasions during his final song 'Fake ID'. I spoke to Rat Boy and his band with the intentions of getting to grips with what they were all about, what followed was probably a masterclass is how NOT to do an interview...

What was Miley Cyrus like?

Jordan (aka Rat Boy):Nice

blackhamimages.com

Have you met anyone else that you’ve been starstruck by?

J:I’ve met Alex *points to his friend outside of the band*. I think I met all of Linkin Park back in ’05 and…

Harry: What about when Limp Bizkit came to your house and did that one off DJ set at your house?”

J: oh yeah when I was really ill

Your shows are getting known for being wild, is that purposeful or coincidental?

J: Nah the kids love it man! I don’t know, we have fun, we play and dance around, try to enjoy ourselves. Harry what do you think of the shows?

H: dunno, they’re alright. I was born ready weren’t I?

Anything really bad happened?

H-That girl broke her knee

J:Some girl broke her knee, Harry broke someones finger…

How did that happen?

J:They were being a cunt!

H: It was during Zibra’s set and I jumped in the crowd

Alex: Yeah I warned you about that you know, killin people

J:Was it Leeds where that one kid just fell flat on my pedal board and broke my guitar?

H- There’s been like two panic attacks, had some ambulances, fire engines, riot vans outside the gig at Leeds...

J:It was hardcore, naughty fans smashing up bus stops

You released a new song…

It’s called Wasteman, it has a few new influences in there. Just trying stuff out until something good happens. Got organs, trumpets, bit of moting in the background...

You did a cover of Cherry Bomb, getting the attention of Tyler, The Creator. You a fan?

J: Yeah, love him- got his shoes on *stands up a slams his Tyler, The Creator Vans on the table*

Did your font you use take inspiration from Golf Wang?

J:No *all of them laugh at him* I got it from the Greek yoghurts!

H- That’s a lie. You saw the yoghurts the other day.

J: I… just copied it cos it was the Thrasher font… *to me * You’re a cunt! *The band laugh at him* 

NB: At this point I realise that my intentions of doing a great interview that gets underneath what the band are all about have been splashed, I revert back to someone daring me to play Fuck Marry Kill with Rat Boy to see what happens...

Harry Koisser, Mary Berry, Idris Elba

J: Who’s Mary Keiln? What? *I explain the concept of the game with difficulty*

Harrison  fuck him

Mary Berry  I don’t know who she is, I’d kill her

Idris Elba Who? *band mates explain that Idris Elba plays Luther* oh I’d finger him

The X-Factor judges

J: I’d mot them, I’d mot them all, I love Tulisa

blackhamimages.com

H- She’s a bit of a sort, have you seen her video? *recreation of that Tulisa video*

J: Nah I like Tulisa, I like her and N Dubz. Do you like N Dubz?

Not really

J: Where’s your Sony Ericsson?

Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dappy

J: I’d kill them all, no wait I’d marry Dappy.

Ho99o9, New EP//UK Tour

It's no secret that Bleeding Headphones loves New Jersey punks Ho99o9 more than any new band in 2015. This Summer they made their horrific existence known with storming shows at Reading & Leeds, Visions, Pukkelpop and The Great Escape. The group have no intention of slowing down, announcing a new EP 'Dead Bodies In Lake' set for release a night before Halloween.

As if this wasn't enough, Eaddy and theOGM are bringing their aural assault back to the UK for five shows throughout December. If you're thinking of attending, hold on tight...


Ho99o9 UK Tour dates:
Tickets on sale Weds 23^rd September at 10am
www.myticket.co.uk  // www.seetickets.com  
 
Mon     07-Dec-15      London                    100 Club      
Tue     08-Dec-15        Brighton                 Patterns      
Wed     09-Dec-15      Manchester             Soup Kitchen  
Thu     10-Dec-15        Leeds                      Brudenell Social Club    
Fri     11-Dec-15          Glasgow                 Poetry  Club


Stream Ho99o9's latest track 'Twisted Metal' here

Live Review, Mac DeMarco

Surveying the crowd of excited 16-20 year olds lighting up outside the Roundhouse; a uniform of 5 panels, rolled up jeans and oversized shirts, it is clear that Mac DeMarco has made his mark on UK youth. In his first London show since the release of mini-LP “Another One”, the audience were a powder keg of hormones and teenage ecstacy. The frenzy did not stop for the entire set as Mac and his now much larger band pleased crowds with a selection from ‘2’, ‘Salad Days’ and every single song from his new release.

Each song- despite it’s pace or mood, saw moshing and ignorant pushing. For a crowd made up of around 50% girls it was frustrating seeing so many people get trampled for such a laid back artist. Personally I was thrown to the ground and left to fend for myself as other punters desperately tried to get a barrier position.

As per usual, Mac had the perfect onstage banter. Years of touring and a natural comic timing makes a DeMarco show exceptionally well crafted and surreal. Unfortunately, The Roundhouse’s soundsystem was a let down- making all of the band’s efforts to entertain in between songs fruitless. The best crowd interaction was a stage dive by DeMarco lasting at least five minutes to the song ‘Still Together’. He returned to stage, shoe-less and bedraggled- but with a gappy grin, despite all the set backs he still can’t help but put on a good show.

Tyler, The Creator

I don’t like being overly personal in my writing, I prefer the monolithic guard of third person but some things require a first person touch. In the run up to Reading Festival I was extremely excited to watch Tyler, The Creator perform live on the NME/ Radio 1 tent. Then, just a week beforehand he tweeted;

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES I WONT BE PLAYING READING, LEEDS, BELFEST AND OTHER SHOWS IN THE UK. SUCKS AND IM SORRY. I LOVE YOU, SAVE THE HORSES -T

— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) August 24, 2015

My friends and I had no clue what the ‘circumstances’ could have been, I assumed it was overbooking or label arguments. When I found out the full story when I got home from the festival I was shocked.

Tyler had been banned from the UK by the home secretary Theresa May, citing his lyrics and branding him a “threat to public order and the public interest”. This was made possible by a set of guidelines of unacceptable behaviours for UK entry, most of the time this has been used to prevent terrorists entering Britain- to my knowledge this has never before been used against a musician. For the next five years- Tyler, The Creator cannot visit the UK.

After the initial anger at finding out the news I thought to myself ‘How far up did this message came from?’ Was it a Conservative MP who has a hard on for censorship, or was it Theresa May who actually sat down and listened to the albums and decided that he shouldn’t be allowed to play to consenting audiences across the country. Perhaps David Cameron caught his son Arthur rapping “I’m a fucking walking paradox” and thought that something must be done.

As I type men, women and children are dying- trying to find safe haven in Europe. Instead of trying to give any aid- the Home Office are too busy banning rappers from our shores.

When I first listened to Tyler, The Creator’s music I was about 13 years old. At school I wasn’t very popular and I didn’t have much going for me. Like most UK teenagers I was looking for somewhere to belong. Somehow I found a mixtape called Bastard and downloaded it, I knew of OFWGKTA but had never really listened or understood what they were all about. I listened to the tape, then went back to the start and listened again, then went back to the start and listened again. I had never heard rap music crafted with such emotion and anger.

Bastard was recorded by Tyler, The Creator in his late teens. Growing up with only a mother, shipped from school to school and suffering from depression and possibly undiagnosed ADHD. The album is an outpouring of emotions and dark fantasies, with frequent foul language and violent imagery. To someone who often felt comparable emotions, Tyler, The Creator immediately became my idol and an aspirational figure in my life. As a group Odd Future preached creativity and self-motivation, masquerading as satanic skateboarding punks- quickly gathering an army.

Listening to Tyler, The Creator snowballed my interest in music, learning more about the recording and writing process and the importance of artistry. The more I think about it, I sincerely doubt I would be as interested in music today without Bastard. The first review I ever wrote was for Wolf (Tyler’s third LP), and I can contribute certain aspects of my personality to the group- especially my penchant for white socks and Vans. Part of the flair and attractiveness of Tyler’s music is the taboo. It’s a bit embarrassing to tell you that some of my favourite songs are about rape and murder, it’s a bit embarrassing to tell you that one of my prized possessions is a 15cm ruler with a reversed crucifix carved into it and it’s a bit embarrassing to rate being spat on by Tyler, The Creator as one of the coolest things in my life. However I would truly doubt that this has affected my life to such an extent that I am a public nuisance or have “fostered hatred, leading to intercommunity violence”.

The mind boggles to think that a musician can be banned from a country for the content of his lyrics that he wrote when he was my age. Tyler would have been playing festivals and gigs that people paid to attend- therefore making them consenting to his peformances. As far as I am aware the rapper had no plans to stand in Trafalgar Square with a megaphone and preach homophobia (which Tyler is staunchly against- check his Golf clothing line). The reason why the Home Office banned Tyler is weak and almost comical, it seems that the buttoned up Tories running this country have forgotten their own youth- the thrill of being counter-cultural and offensive.

In my opinion, no matter what style or genre- music is art. One of the most successful book series of this century is Fifty Shades Of Grey, a book almost entirely soft pornography. On our screens is Game Of Thrones, a constant bloodbath and orgy. In 2013, The Wolf Of Wall Street was nominated for an Academy Award, it’s opening scene is a room of coked up bankers throwing a midget as a dart. As a country we openly celebrate freedom of the press and speech. However, when it comes to a black man from California wanting to perform his music this standard is thrown out the window.

Today the far right group Britain First will walk through Rotherham in an anti-Islamic march. Theresa May has sent no letters to them.

Finding out that the man who seriously affected your life for the better is banned from your own nation is quite upsetting. The next time I have the opportunity to see him in the UK I’ll be 22 years old.  Tonight I will pray that these are the dark days, and that the Government will never affect my taste in music again.

Live Review, The Libertines- Reading Festival

There was mimicking galore at the announcement of the three headliners at Reading & Leeds Festival this year but no one frowned at the prospect of welcoming Carl Barat and Pete Doherty back to the main stage. Not only are The Libertines musical legends capable of putting out quality gear to the masses (and into their veins

The band are back, clean and ready to right their wrongs from a dreadful 2010 slot and have a new album under their belt (I’ve had a listen and it’s flawless) and a childlike energy for live shows. The crowd was built up of those old enough to remember the 90s and a fair few teenagers that were too scared for the raucous Radio 1extra stage hosting BBK.  The band’s entrance exudes swagger and mirth, with Doherty’s first call into the crowd is “Are The Libertines cool in Berkshire?”. The answer is Fuck Yes.

The insanity began when lifelong pals Pete and Carl faced away from the crowd and slap out the beginning of ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’. After around five days of heavy, heavy intoxication not one camper at Reading can mutter a sentence without a splutter- during The Libertines’ set you would have no idea. As a whole, the band played with care and respect to their back catalog with well thought out vocals and riffs. The Libertines allowed the crowd to add the anarchy. Throughout the weekend a few well timed flares were let off, but none more appropriate than during Doherty’s messy band of brothers. The sky filled with red smoke as the sounds that saved millennial indie play to a vicious crowd.

Highlights of the evening were the select cuts from Anthems For Doomed Youth. Gunga Din, the glossy fuckabout is electric- clearly doing it’s job for a lead single. You’re My Waterloo, the only moment the band take it easy, was utterly mesmerising as Pete Doherty showed us despite the rehab, prison, addiction, fallouts and the implants, he still has it.

The boys finished their set with a full on version of Don’t Look Back Into The Sun. Drummer Gary (who looks like the main geez from Death Grips) piggy backed Pete Doherty and screamed “Never forget you are all Libertines”. It’s clichéd and filled with bravado, howeve

M3LL 155X, FKA Twigs EP Review

FKA Twigs truly defines a generation of pop star that does not colour within the lines. Her debut album ‘LP1’ (2014) pushed her listeners to a world of dark futuristic pop doused in sexuality. After a lengthy tour, including the career-defining sell out show ‘Congregata’ at London’s Roundhouse, Twigs has a new EP.

Titled M3LL155X, the Gloucestershire singer has gone to the darkest recesses of her mind flaunting her style, self-directing four original music videos for the EP. It begins with Figure 8, an apocalyptic flurry of ear splitting feedback and Twigs’ now signature flying vocals. The song grips you within the first beat, provoking feelings of female empowerment and fearful ecstasy.

FKA Twigs’ strongest  song of her career is I’m Your Doll. The word provocative really doesn’t cut it. Twigs is singing about being a sex doll, relinquishing all her sexual power. The brutal desire of I’m Your Doll sees FKA Twigs at her best. A sexually empowered, creative and mature woman encouraging sexual empowerment, creativity and maturity.

M3LL155X is a fantastic body of work. In Time utilizes surreal vocal effects and breaks to create a fantastically obtuse dance track. Working in accordance with a purely fantastic video including pregnancy, dancing and a male lead straight out of MIB- it is clear that her creativity knows no bounds. The penultimate track, Glass & Patron, is a tour de force inspired by New York vogue culture. The song places FKA Twigs as one of the weirdest, and greatest, female pop stars of our time (oops Gaga).

The EP finishes with Mothercreep, a track similar to the Mercury nominated debut . Interestingly, Twigs manages to sample then chop and screw previous lyrics and moments from the EP, the pastiche effect further solidifies her creative statement, and confusing the hell out me.

My Love Is Cool, Wolf Alice Review

In amongst the hype that London band Wolf Alice have courted for well over a year, a few wary voices began to formulate. Despite riveting bodies of work such as Creature Songs EP and Blush EP, many began to doubt whether they could 1) put out a full album 2) stick to their roots. The latter would always proved difficult as Wolf Alice have struggled to define their sound

Wolf Alice had to live up to high expectations, with a few dodgy singles and re-recordings of fan favourites, things looked grim. But expectations are something that Wolf Alice like to fuck around with. The album opens with Turn To Dust, a folky and floaty ditty- not what most listeners would expect from the same line up that wrote Moaning Lisa Smile. Bros follows a similar track, a cleaned up and refined version of Roswell’s past lyrics. Bros is as silky as a fabric conditioner, complete with off the wall ethereal harmonies.

The rest of the album follows suit, you get comfortable with a relatively clean sound. Wolf Alice yet again lull you into a false sense of security. Then, like the final thirty seconds of Eastenders; You’re A Germ provides a plot twist like no other. Overtones of the Pixies begin and Your Love Is Cool begins to prove itself. A fun filled reminder of what indie rock can be. As you slip in some grandiose atmosphere in songs such as Silk and Giant Peach, Wolf Alice have you believing that they’ve written a cult classic.

The production on this album by Mike Crossey (The 1975) makes me feel a little bit numb. Overdosed echo and multiple vocals tracks on songs such as Freazy leave me with rolling eyes, like a GCSE art student trying to bullshit their way through the course. My opinion is that Wolf Alice do things best when butt naked, using little more than their raw talent. However, the commercial success of this LP has proved Wolf Alice has the teeth to win in this genre, expect something stadium sized next.