Mercury Prize Blog

Monday 30th January marks the return of Barclaycard Mercury Prize Sessions, a monthly gig that applies the Prize’s wide reaching musical remit to live music. Every month two bands or artists visit The Hospital Club in Covent Garden for an intimate show with a specially invited audience. The Sessions have always championed the best in live music, with former guests including Jamie Woon, Gruff Rhys, Magnetic Man, Band of Skulls, Chapel Club, The Joy Formidable, Bombay Bicycle Club and dozens more besides.

The new season of Sessions roars into action with two acts who’ve quietly acquired a dedicated following over the past couple of years and release their debut albums in 2012: Django Django and King Charles

Django Django have always approached their music with a maximalist attitude, incorporating a huge array of influences into their infectious interpretation of Indie. Influenced in part by their time at Edinburgh Art School and their musical upbringing – drummer, producer and de facto band leader Dave Maclean is the younger brother of Beta Band and Aliens member John Maclean – Django Django’s unique sound has been causing a stir on the live circuit. The band have been wowing audiences over the past few months with their eye-catching stage sets and ear grabbing tunes, especially whilst supporting label mates Metronomy on their recent tour.

King Charles will be a familiar name to anyone with more than a passing interest in London’s vibrant singer songwriter scene. Having gone to school with members of Mumford & Sons, he was part of a community of musicians that counted Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale and countless others amongst the fold. Having spent the past few years touring with Mumford & Sons, King Charles took the opportunity to hone his sound and work on new material. As with his live show, the songs are charismatic, compelling and at times gloriously eccentric, all ingredients that go into making King Charles one of the most distinctive talents to have emerged from the said scene.

Barclaycard Mercury Prize Sessions will continue throughout spring and summer, bringing viewers a unique mix of internationally acclaimed acts and hotly tipped emergent artists. Visit the Sessions website where you can watch exclusive content from every single episode, and also enter exclusive competitions to win tickets for the events themselves.

“In an ideal world, records would be filed in record stores by title rather than by artist, as they are in video stores. I think it’s better to identify with the work rather than the people who make the work. You can put your faith in a piece of work, but not in a group of people you don’t know.”    Will Oldham

Will Oldham is a unique fixture in American music. Since his earliest releases he has been driven by change, be that a change of style, name of band. It’s a drive that’s kept him constantly creative and resulted in over 50 releases since the early 1990s, both under any of his own monikers or appearing with other people.

A whole generation of musicians have grown up with Oldham, and there’s no disputing his influence on today’s many acoustic artists on both side of the Atlantic; he was an indisputable catalyst of America’s Freak Folk explosion of the mid 1990s and one of the unifying influences on the more recent West London scene that gave the world Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons and Noah and The Whale.

Part of his enduring appeal derives from his almost meta-like approach to making music, playing with the conventions that define the ‘Artist’. His earliest albums were credited to Palace Brothers, Palace Music, Palace Songs and even just Palace, though the music was distinctive despite its many changing nom de plumes.

Later, once having established himself as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Oldham invited fans to chose their favourite songs from the Palace era so as he could re-record them with the relative studio sheen and musical proficiency that made Bonny ‘Prince’ albums distinct from their forebears. The project drew parallels with the early stars of Country stars, who would re-record popular Western favourites adding extra Nashville shine. It took the concept to a new level though, as essentially Oldham was covering himself.

The same playful approach is apparent elsewhere: on more than a number of occasions he’s essentially supported himself on whole tours, whilst Will Oldham has previously 5interviewed Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and visa versa. Oldham also interviewed another idiosyncratic artist, R Kelly, a performer whose career is maybe not as far removed from Oldham’s as one may originally think. Kelly’s song ‘The World’s Greatest’ often appears in Oldham’s live sets, but perhaps most impressive is his cameo in the mind boggling ‘Trapped In The Closet’, Kelly’s ambitious and unparalleled Operatic Hip Hop song cycle and feature film.

At around the same time of his first meeting with Kels, Oldham also cropped up on Kanye West’s website appearing in an alternative video for ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ from West’s 2007 album ‘Graduation’. The tongue in cheek clip saw comedian Zach Galifianakis – who more recently has found fame starring in The Hangover – lip syncing to the track whilst posturing in Idaho’s corn fields.

His ease in front of the camera stems from an acting career that existed prior to from his musical career and began with his role in historical drama Matewan in 1987, and has continued to appear in a number of American Indies, including Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy and list year’s New Jerusalem.

All of which would add up to a unique career, where it not just the tip of the iceberg. Such is his tireless productivity and passion for music, writing and performance, Oldham really is unlike any other artist currently active in the American underground. He visits the UK for two very special shows at the end of the month, playing to a sold out Hackney Empire before traveling to Glasgow for an appearance at this year’s Celtic Connections festival.

James Murphy’s decision to disband LCD Soundsystem came at the very height of the group’s success, a decision that whilst certainly surprising was completely in keeping with the band’s inventive and idiosyncratic manner. The announcement came with news of their last ever show, a huge show at New York’s legendary Madison Square Gardens that would serve as an epic tribute to their impact on a whole generation of music fans.

Running for nearly four hours, the show was as comprehensive as any fan could have wished for, taking in every chapter of the LCD back catalogue from their impulsive breakthrough hit ‘Losing My Edge’ to smashes like ‘Drunk Girls’ and ‘Pow Pow’ from their final album ‘This Is Happening’, a set the band famously recorded in cult like conditions in LA.

James Murphy

The atmosphere inside the Gardens was highly charged and emotional from the outset, no surprise give the way LCD and Murphy in particular had given voice to a generation – not just in their native New York, but all over the world. As with all the best passings though, Murphy ensured the show was a celebration of everything that had gone before rather than mourning what was to come. Writing on the band’s website days before the event he implored fans “If it’s going toe a funeral, let’s make it the best funeral ever”.

Band members Nancy Wang & Al Doyle (Hot Chip)

The show quickly achieved folkloric status amongst those present – no mean feat considering touts were selling tickets for $1500 in the days beforehand. To the millions of fans around the world unable to be there in person, Pitchfork ensured no one missed out by streaming the show in its entirety. Now, thanks to Pulse Films an even more involved document of the event will be available by way of the feature length documentary ‘Shut Up And Play The Hits’.

The film was directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, who also go by the nom de plume thirty-two. Cutting their teeth making videos for the likes of Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and The Kills, the band established themselves as filmmakers of true distinction with their first feature length documentary ‘No Distance Left To Run’, an epic film that focused on Blur’s massive comeback shows in Hyde Park.

An emotional fan paying tribute to the Drunk Girls video

The film will premiere at Sundance Film Festival at the end of the month, one of many musical highlights amongst this year’s programme. Elsewhere on the bill music fans should also look forward to: Search For Sugar Man, a long overdue documentary on the mysterious career of soulful Seventies rock musician Rodriguez; Under African Skies, a film that follows Paul Simon on his return to South Africa twenty five years after his album Graceland sparked political crossfire in the country; and Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, Ice T’s accomplished feature length debut as director that asks a glittering list of contributors to examine the art form that typifies contemporary American culture.

For more information on Shut Up And Play The Hits visit the film’s website

As readers of Recommends will have already seen, Abbey Road will be offering music fans a unique opportunity when they open the doors to Studio Two this coming March. The event is part of the studio’s 80th birthday celebrations, and promises to be an incredible experience for anyone with even the vaguest understanding of just how important a role the room has played in the evolution of modern music.

Opening in 1932, the first professional engagement at the studios saw Edward Elgar conducting an orchestra during a recording of some of his most memorable works, which was surely a first in Classical music. The studio was host to another first in 1958 when a young Cliff Richard recorded ‘Move It’, arguably the first ever European Rock & Roll single and forerunner to six decades of artists recording monumental music in Studio Two.

Of course, the room and indeed the studios themselves became synonymous with The Beatles, who spent most of their recording career working with Sir George Martin in the studios in St John’s Wood. The first time they auditioned for Martin was in June 1962 in Studio Three, recording four tracks and starting a relationship that changed the modern music forever.

Two men who have probably forgotten more about The Beatles and Abbey Road than most will ever remember will be leading the tours in March. Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan spent years working on Recording The Beatles, an unparalleled account of the band’s recording sessions in Studio Two, with interviews with many of the engineers and technicians present. As well as hosting the tours, the pair will also give a talk and audio-visual presentation detailing the history of Abbey Road Studios.

It’s easy to forget that The Beatles were just one of thousands of bands who’ve recorded at Abbey Road, such is the intrinsic link that exists between them. Pink Floyd were also regular visitors, recording most of their Sixties to mid-Seventies catalogue there including the seminal Dark Side of the Moon. Kate Bush, Duran Duran, Radiohead, Oasis, Kanye West and Lady Gaga have also booked in sessions, whilst the all the scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter films have been captured in the hallowed room.

Birmingham based artist Annemarie Wright demonstrated just how massive the list of artists is with a specially commissioned work (above) that now hangs in the studio’s entrance. A closer inspection will show that rather a case of simple shading, the picture is composed of handwritten lines featuring the names of all those who’ve who’ve recorded at Abbey Road. Though not as comprehensive, the Wikipedia list is similarly illuminating

Tickets for the two tours are now available from the Abbey Road website where, thanks to webcam technology, you can also check out what’s happening on the zebra crossing immortalised by The Beatles. For those of you unable to make it you can soak up some of the atmosphere thanks to this 360∘ panoramic image taken by photographer Tom Hurley.

2011 has been an incredible year for music, not just in Britain and Ireland but all around the world. Regular readers of Recommends will know just how much great new music has appeared over the past twelve months, with all manner of styles and genres cross pollinating thanks to new generations of artists, acts, producers and DJs leading the charge.

It was a great year for Barclaycard Mercury Prize as well, with the Albums of the Year competition proving to be one of the best yet. The twelve albums displayed the UK’s wealth of musical talent, with titans such as Elbow and PJ Harvey standing alongside thrilling new acts and artists like James Blake, Anna Calvi and Everything Everything. It also illustrated the continuing evolution of Urban music, with Katie B and Tinie Tempah’s debut albums joining the dots between the streets and the charts.

2011 Albums of the Year winner PJ Harvey

The 2011 Albums of the Year also included Adele’s second long player ’21′, which has since gone on to earn plaudits all over the world, and Ghostpoet’s startlingly original ‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’, an album that’s cropped up in many End of Year lists. Fellow shortlisted artists Metronomy have also featured in a number of said lists for their accomplished third album ‘The English Riviera’. As always the Barclaycard Mercury Prize offers an equal platform to lesser heard albums, and this year two enchanting examples came via pianist Gwilym Simcock and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins.

It’s also been a hugely exciting year for Barclaycard Mercury Prize in other ways, with Sessions gathering momentum throughout its amazing second series highlighting the best live bands performing around the UK. This year there were fantastic performances from Band of Skulls, Magnetic Man, The Kills, Gruff Rhys, Jamie Woon, Miles Kane and countless others, all performing in the intimate surroundings of The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. Visit the Sessions website for exclusive content from all the shows.

A brand new year is just around the corner, and by the looks of it there’s even more excellent new music awaiting. Until then, everyone here at Barclaycard Mercury Prize would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and thoroughly enjoyable New Year.

Last week The Vaults beneath Southwark Playhouse premiered a brand new production of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ to great critical response. The production is strikingly inventive, using huge projections to great effect. What’s also notable is the original music courtesy of Guillemots main man Fyfe Dangerfield, who was first choice of Bristol based directors Davy and Kristen McGuire. The pair first met Fyfe when they made the Guillemots video ‘I Must Be A Lover’ earlier this year.

The video, the second to be taken from the band’s most recent album ‘Walk The River’, was full of all the imaginative imagery and clever projection work the McGuire’s have become known for. It also heralded the start of a new working relationship that has given Fyfe the opportunity to experiment in new areas of music. “I’ve been into all sorts of music since I was a kid and I’ve always loved instrumental music, so its just been about finding the right chance to do something” Fyfe explained during a BBC interview.

Fyfe Dangerfield

The opportunity first arose when Fyfe was at Davy and Kristen’s base in Bristol sitting in on an edit for the Guillemots video, when talk turned to forthcoming projects. At that time the pair had just finished work on The Icebook, a beautiful show that featured a relatively tiny set constructed to A3 size that had live action projected on to it. The project was an instant hit with Dangerfield. “I’ve always loved things that are really immersive, so The Icebook really appealed to me” he told Radio 4′s Front Row recently.

The play slowly began taking shape once the pair decided to adapt Howl’s Moving Castle. Rather than the enchanting animated film by Studio Ghibli this version draws directly from the lesser known but equally fantastical book by Diana Wynne-Jones which first inspired Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. Fyfe, though having seen the film, had never read the book, but saw that as a creative strength rather than any kind of oversight. “In a way I didn’t want to [read the novel], it was partially a conscious decision because I’ve seen the film and this is so different and it’s the same with the book. I just wanted to take my inspiration as directly as I could from the script.”

Davy & Kirsten McGuire

His sentiments are shared by Kirsten McGuire, who had a similar experience with the animated film “We read the book and then we watched the film but Davy stopped halfway through and said: ‘I can’t watch the rest because I want to make something new.” Despite this, animators from Studio Ghibli have got involved with the new adaptation and have illustrated some of the projected footage.

At the start of writing Fyfe approached the project a traditional manner, working on themes for the individual characters, but it became clear that the music should heighten the mood, rather than offer clear signposts to the audience. “With the music I found that it wasn’t necessary to try and bring key moments  to life, but rather pick up of the general mood of things” he explained, and described the score as evolving from “a mixture of the magical and childlike, but also with aspects of darkness and weirdness”.

Writing for the project had more in common with a cinematic production than a traditional play, something Fyfe was happy to explore. “It’s much more like a film score, and the whole production is like a film: the set is projected as are some of the main characters” he told Front Row. He explained that writing film scores is something he’d dreamed about long before forming Guillemots, and that he hoped to explore creative avenues outside of the band. “It would be like being a chef and  only being allowed to make pasta dishes. I love songwirting, but I love it all. I only started singing because I couldn’t find anyone to sing my songs. It’s strange because I’m now known as a singer but I’ve always thought of myself as a musician primarily”.

Hopefully Howl’s Moving Castle will be the first of many such projects. The play, which also features narration by Stephen Fry, runs until January 7th and offers Londoners a truly original alternative in Panto season. For more information visit www.howlscastle.com

All Tomorrow’s Parties have carved out a unique niche for themselves, having spent more than a decade catering for more adventurous tastes and doing everything they can to provide a real alternative to more mainstream music events. This year has been particularly notable for the team, with Animal Collective taking the curatorial helm for the event in May and Portishead wowing audiences at the first I’ll Be Your Mirror – an city-based event that shares the same format as traditional ATP but without fans having to stay overnight. The year closes with one of the most impressive line-ups in a decade long history as Nightmare Before Christmas returns to Minehead Butlins.

Les Savy Fav

This festive function owes it’s eclecticism to three separate curators, all of whom share ATP’s appetite for music of an underground, avant gardé or experimental bent. The first night is orchestrated by Post Hardcore heroes Les Savy Fav, stalwarts of the American underground and much loved for their engrossing live performances – of which larger than life frontman Tim Harrington is a vital ingredient. The band are no strangers to ATP, having been chosen to play in 2007 for a weekend curated by the fans, then again in the following year when duties fell to website Pitchfork.

As one might imagine, Les Savy Fav’s selection veers towards loud guitars and Punk spirit. Topping the bill with band from Rhode Island are the recently reformed Archers of Loaf, whilst elsewhere the billing there’s a definite emphasis on the sounds of today: No Age, Wild Flag, Marnie Stern and Surfer Blood all feature. There are some stylistic surprises too though, thanks to a DJ set from Simian Mobile Disco and a turn from New York’s Afro-Funk revivalists and Dap Tone affiliates The Budos Band

Battles

Saturday sees Battles take the reigns, and who better to bring a massive spectrum of music to the Somerset coast. The band first played an ATP at the invitation of Post Rock icons Explosions In The Sky, and also topped the bill when the festival celebrated its 10th Birthday in 2009. Widely regarded as one of the most exciting live bands currently playing, Battles bravely took their kaleidoscopic sound in new directions on their last album Gloss Drop, and their frenetic live performances are all the more engaging because of it.

Their round up for Saturday night is brilliantly broad, with Brainfeeder kingpin Flying Lotus sharing top billing with Synth Pop pioneer Gary Numan. Japanese instrumentalists Nisennenmondai bring their infectious music to the floor, as do Washed Out, Cults, the irrepressible Matias Aguayo and Walls. There’s also a very rare outing from legends of Detroit Techno Underground Resistance, who present their live project Interstellar Fugitives.

Caribou

Sunday sees Caribou take control, and given the ease at which Dan Snaith moves through musical styles he’s excelled in his roll as curator. His own live outfit Caribou Vibration Ensemble will be headlining, providing fans with a rare opportunity to catch this monstrous outfit. Snatih first put the 15 piece band together for an ATP event in New York, and in doing so he brought together a mix of peers and musical heroes. The band features four drummers, a full horn section and a choir, with guests including Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, Kieran Hebden a.k.a Four Tet, Stone’s Throw’s in-house psychedelic specialist Koushik and plenty more besides.

Unsurprisingly there’s a great convergence of Dance music and Jazz on offer come Sunday night. Free Jazz legend Pharaoh Saunders hits the stage before the Ensemble, following on from a special set by formidable Dutch instrumentalists The Ex, who are joined by Getatchew Mekuria , a true titan of Ethiopian Jazz. Theo Parrish plays for four hours, which on it’s own would be enough, but there are also live sets from Junior Boys, Toro y Moi, Connan Mockasin and proto-synth heroes Silver Apples.

And as if this little lot wasn’t enough to whet the appetite, I’ll Be Your MIrror returns to London next year, and in a way ATP comes full circle. Mogwai, the first band to take on the roll of curator at the first proper event in 2000, return. They bring with them Slayer, Guided By Voices, Mudhoney, Yuck and a whole heap of others.

Find out more here

The Independent Label Market launched earlier this year, and straight away it found a place in the music buying public’s heart and unreserved support from the industry. Its first incarnation took place on Berwick Street, the seminal Soho strip that’s been home to generations of record shops. An roaring success, the market saw the heads of dozens of independent record labels take to the streets and man their own market stall, selling their wares direct to the public.

The First Independent Label Market in Berwick Street

Not long after that the market was invited over the ocean, with New Yorkers desperate to replicate the idea in Brooklyn. The market was, once again, a massive success, with some of the best loved indies in the US making their way to Willamsburg: DFA, True Panther, Fool’s Gold and Secretly Canadian were all in attendance, as well as a Brit contingent that included Young Turks, 4AD and Domino.

Music fans shop for exclusives beneath the blue skies of Brooklyn

With christmas just around the corner high streets all over the UK are setting up some kind of seasonally themed market, and ILM in association with AIM are joining in with the festivities. Unlike the standard christmas market fare of bratwurst sausages and models of scooters made out of Coke cans, the stalls at ILM will be laden down with the signature selection of exclusive vinyl, sought after CDs and one-of-a-kind merchandise (and more than likely a couple of glasses of mulled wine). The location is also pretty special, as Spitalfields plays host. It’s the first time a market has been held in the hall for over a hundred years, so what with all the decorations that have recently been erected there should be a thoroughly festive feeling .

The Invisible’s Dave Okumu and Jarvis Cocker on Berwick Street

As well as being a yuletide celebration there’s another theme to this latest market, and it’s one that many of the people in attendance would probably rather choose to forget. The market will be made up entirely of labels affected by the disastrous fire that ripped through the PIAS/Sony Warehouse this summer when London was beset with riots. The fire, which was started purposefully, tore through the massive warehouse in Enfield, taking with it pretty much all the stock for 165 independent labels. To call the fire a catastrophe would be something of an understatement, given how hard life can be for independent labels at the best of times. The resilience of all those involved was evident almost immediately, and as such the market is as much a celebration of the determination displayed by those affected as it is anything else.

Joe Daniel, the head of Angular Records, dreamt up the idea for the market whilst running the merch stall for Angular band These New Puritans on their European tour, so knows as well as any how much of a blow the warehouse fire proved to be. “We’ve spent the last couple of months getting back on our feet and I hope this market will be a chance for the labels to recover some of the ground lost in August and September when we had no stock” he said of the forthcoming event. “It will also be a great way to celebrate independent music in 2011 whilst wearing a silly hat and enjoying some nice mulled wine.”

The Independent Label Market: Spitalfields in association with AIM takes place on Saturday 10th December. The following labels will all be present with a stalls full of special stock, so if you’re looking for Christmas presents for the yourself or the music fan in your life, where better to head?

Accidental
Angular Records
Big Dada
Brownswood
Recordings
Chemikal Underground
Domino
Double Six
Fabric
Lucky Number
Memphis Industries
Ninja Tune
Rekids
Sonic Cathedral
Soundway
Southern Fried
Stolen Records
Weird World
Xtra Mile

More labels are expected to be announced nearer to the time, for more information visit the Independent Label Market’s website

Conductor Charles Hazlewood formed his All Star band in 2008, performing at that year’s Glastonbury Festival. The line up at the time included Squarepusher, Gabriel Provokiev and Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory (pictured with Charles above), who’s since become a regular collaborator with Charles, performing with the All Stars at Charles’ own Playing The Field event and at the Bristol Old Vic.

When Will teamed up with Portishead’s Adrian Utley in 2007 to create a score for the silent film He Who Gets Slapped, Charles was the first choice when it came to the conducting, and did likewise last year when the pair were asked – once again by Bristol’s Colston Hall – to write a score for The Passion of Joan of Arc. The subsequent show was a huge undertaking, with a big band joined by the Monteverdi Choir.

Charles Hazlewood conducting the score for The Passion of Joan of Arc

They teamed up again this Summer for what might be their most ambitious undertaking, a live revival of Mike Oldfield’s multi-million selling album Tubular Bells. The project came about after Utley and Gregory worked on a concert celebrating the work of Minimalist composer Terry Riley, whose Rainbow In Curved Air was an enormous influence on Oldfield… so much so that Utley began to research Oldfield’s iconic album a little deeper.

During his explorations Utley discovered footage from the only ever live performance of Tubular Bells, and in doing so uncovered the works roots in Minimalism. The 1973 concert took place in the Southbank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and featured a number of well known musicians; as well as Oldfield the group comprised Steve Hillage (the ambient pioneer behind Gong and System 7) and Mick Taylor, then guitarist of The Rolling Stones.

Adrian Utley

Utley was convinced that the live performance deserved revisiting, and approached Charles who, according to an interview with The Arts Desk, was initially quite amused by the idea. “When I had finished rolling around the floor laughing,” the conductor says, “I thought, why not? It does rumble on as one of the distinct parts of the UK’s musical DNA”.

Charles hadn’t originally been a fan of the album. “I thought of it as something that geeks listened to, the people who were nuts about Rush and early Genesis: all the things I sneered at, or guys who would chin on about which turntable they were using or what woofers were in their speakers.” He also plays down the recording’s links to Minimalism piece. “It isn’t really, it just wears some of the clothes of Minimalism. It’s incredibly cheesy, with some fairly execrable sections in it, bits which, to be fair to Oldfield, he’d created when he was a schoolboy. But once I’d seen the live version, which was quite different from Oldfield’s multi-tracking, I was convinced.”

Mike Oldfield in 1973

A preview of the All Star’s take on Tubular Bells in Bristol was met with huge acclaim, not just for the performance but also Hazlewood’s programming of the evening. In an attempt to help frame Tubular Bells – or at least this interpretation – the composer selected accompanying pieces to offer some kind of context. Not surprisingly the evening opened with with piece that proved to be the catalyst of both the original album and the current project, Terry Riley’s groundbreaking work from 1969 A Rainbow Curved In Air. Riley’s influence is also apparent in the pieces that followed at the Bristol show, namely two works by the inimitable Steve Reich; the intense Four Organs and Piano Phase, a piece cleverly reworked for harp by Ruth Wall.

In a wonderful nod to the album’s origins and the televised performance in 1973, the role of Master of Ceremonies – originally filled by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’s Viv Stanshall, who introduced the instruments – will be taken  up by Tony Staveacre, who directed the BBC show Second House which broadcast the perfromance. In another case of the work travelling full circle, the Charles Hazlewood All Stars will perform Tubular Bells in London and once more at the Queen Elizabeth Hall will play host.

The Queen Elizabeth Hall

Fore more information on tickets visit the Southbank website

Glasgow has long been recognised as one of the UK’s, and indeed Europe’s, most important cities where exciting, independent music is concerned. Ever since Postcard Records set out a blueprint for shap-edged, soft centred Indie in the ear Eighties, the city has become synonymous with forward thinking music, be it the charge led by Franz Ferdinand during the mid 2000s or the current crop of labels and collectives like Lucky Me! or Numbers. As with any other city of its size and student population, Glasgow is not short of bars and clubs, but one special venue sees in its 20th birthday this year and the city’s musical community is gathering round to help celebrate.

Nice N Sleazy opened in 1991 on Sauchiehall Street, now one of Glasgow’s principal thoroughfares for those on a night out. At the time the scene was slightly different: there was no Centre for Contemporary Arts, no Garage and the ABC was still operating as a cinema. Opening as a bar with an intimate venue downstairs, Sleazy’s started with a train of thought that’s been consistent over the past two decades. “There were so few bars that you could go into where you knew you were going to hear good music” said music booker Mig in an interview in 2008. ” Most of them just had a chart CD behind the bar. When we first got a jukebox we told the company we didn’t want any of their CDs and put all our favourites in instead”

The same approach applied to the type of bands that were booked to play at the venue. From the outset Sleazy’s set out to provide a platform for bands that mightn’t have got much of a look in anywhere else in town. This soon kickstarted an community of musicians who’ve held Sleazy’s close to their heart ever since. In an interview with Scotland’s foremost music sheet The Skinny, Franz Ferdinand’s Paul Thomson told of his earliest experiences at the venue ““I’ve been coming to Sleazy’s since I was seventeen, which is about eighteen years ago. I went to see AC Acoustics, and John Peel was there too. I’d only recently started listening to Peel as he played a lot of hardcore, like Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror, and through his shows discovered The Fall, the Wedding Present, Captain Beefheart, King Tubby and hundreds of other artists that never really fit into what was fashionable at the time. In a way Sleazy’s has always been that way – venues and bars come and go, but Sleazy’s continues, and hopefully will for another twenty years.”

(photo courtesy of Lisa McCartney)

As listed in this week’s Recommends, Arab Strap will reunite for one night only as part of the birthday celebrations. The duo were a massive influence on subsequent generations of Glaswegian bands, so it’s fitting that they should take to the stage. There are a lot of other special surprise guests booked, but the venue is keeping tight lipped about any further details. What is for sure is the amount young local talent who are on board for the celebrations. Django Django are currently on the road in support of their new single, the infectious ‘Waveforms’. They’ll bring their run of shows to a close at Sleazy’s at the end of the month. Fat Cat alumni The Twilight Sad also take to the stage for a sell out show on Friday 19th. FOUND, the Fence Collective favourites who featured in Recommends some months ago after pressing their new single on an edible chocolate record, will play with Over The Wall, and hotly tipped locals Meursault (pronounces Murr-So) set the wheel in motion this week.

Happy birthday to Sleazy’s, here’s to another Twenty!