Live Music Review: Soul Rebels @ The Wardrobe, Leeds

Soul Rebels is a night of live music at The Wardrobe Leeds.

  Pé serves up a refreshing dose of Hip Hop and Soul. This band is very confident on stage and they deliver impressive, tight arrangements with flair. It’s evident from the size of the audience that has turned up early to see them, even considering the short time they’ve been playing together, that they will be causing a stir on the Leeds music scene in the coming months. The set finishes with an encore, which is rare for a first act at this event and someone shouts ‘Oh my God, that was only the first support band!’.

  The main support act, Homecut, unfortunately doesn’t live up to the same standard. His set is well conceptualized, bringing rap and beat boxing together with funk and soul samples but it doesn’t really deliver. Homecut’s freestyle rapping is quite impressive and his banter with the audience is entertaining enough. Vanilla beat boxing and out of tune singing mean that he could be replaced by a DJ without losing much from the act.

  Abstract Hip Hop Orchestra is a 16 piece big band comprised of session musicians from around the UK and they go on stage all guns blazing with a hard-edged, aggressive sound. Abrasive hip hop grooves are interspersed with flourishes of funk tinged improvisation from the various horn players. It would be easy to overdo the jazz element, but the playing is very tasteful and super-tight when the entire ensemble plays together. The band seems to have somewhat a cult following and it’s easy to see why. There’s something here for everyone. The guest vocalists range from buttery soul to full tilt belting and rapping. Anna Uhuru’s songs are a highlight. Her voice is so expressive and it glides smoothly over the band. There’s a healthy dose of interaction with the audience who mostly seem to know what’s coming up before it happens anyway. The sound of 13 horn players is so heavy that it’s guttural in some moments. The mix isn’t the most flattering on the Wardrobe’s pokey stage and occasionally, bits of the ensemble get lost. Even so, the feeling of raw power at this volume is really breathtaking.

Record Label 'Nonclassical' Reaches 10 Years

Nonclassical is a record label owned by London based electro-acoustic composer and DJ Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev that explores the underground scene of the contemporary classical genre. This year the label has reached its 10th birthday and will celebrate with its first UK wide tour, ‘The Art of Remix’, which will include artists featured on the album of the same name. The label will also release a crowd funded book entitled ‘We Break Strings’ alongside the tour which chronicles the evolution of alternative classical music. 

During the last 10 years, artists signed to Nonclassical have performed in spaces very different from the traditional concert hall setting associated with classical music including pubs and clubs as well as more unusual venues: car parks, warehouses and living rooms. During this time the label has enjoyed a large increase in popularity. Between 2004 and 2007, London club nights ran bi-annually before changing to once a month. At the heart of the movement, says Prokofiev, is a desire to find a new audience for contemporary classical music, away from the traditional performance space. ‘A lot of people see classical music as something for older generations’, he explains in the campaign video for the new book’s kickstarter page, ‘a kind of historical museum art form, where as in fact, there are some very exciting composers and young musicians out there performing but not necessarily reaching an audience they could be reaching.’

The book ‘We Break Strings’ contains a collection of photos, interviews and essays which document the history of Nonclassical and showcase some of its most exciting moments. Author Thom Andrews says that the book’s text will be ‘part history, part cultural commentary and part fanzine.’ It is hoped that book will help open up the underground movement to a wider public.

‘The Art of Remix’ album explores the electronic music technique of using elements from a recorded piece of music to create something new. Nonclassical imposes a rule that only material from the original master recordings may be used, meaning that remixers must be resourceful in order to create certain sounds. The label has attracted attention from big name artists including Hot Chip and Thom Yorke who have both remixed for the album.

Joining Prokofiev at club nights in London, Leeds, Manchester and Durham is three time world champion DJ, Mr Switch, who became the first DJ ever to have been featured at the BBC proms after performing Prokofiev’s work ‘Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra’ in 2011. 

Dates:

15 October
Manchester (Kraak Gallery) 

16 October
Leeds (Belgrave Music Halls) 

18 October
Durham (The Hub, Barnard Castle) 

20-26 October

London (Residency @ Red Gallery)

Evolve or Die?

Classical Music’s image problem.

Recently, I went to a Nonclassical club night in Leeds for the first time. If you’ve never experienced one before, it’s a little like going to a rock concert, but instead of the usual crunchy guitars, the performers wield a more traditional choice of axes: flutes, cellos and recorders are a mainstay. These nights are a far cry away from traditional however. Never before have I been to a classical concert, and stood with a pint in one hand while ten foot speakers shake the rafters. The night showcased contemporary classical pieces, mainly a combination of acoustic instruments accompanied by or manipulated with some form of electronics, interspersed with quirky DJ sets comprised of remixes of pieces from the label’s back catalogue. It wasn’t quite like anything I’d seen before. It was certainly unapologetic and it suited perfectly the Belgrave Music Hall’s gritty gig room. This is the mantra behind Nonclassical: to deliver contemporary classical music in an environment away from the concert hall.

  Compare the experience to watching a symphony orchestra play at Leeds Town Hall for example. Simply the age of the audience says a lot. Complete silence is kept during the performance. You could hardly cough without being met with disapproving side glances. I like the music! Why am I not allowed to clap when I want? I’ve also been to see Lieder recently. A beautiful soprano in a red dress sang a few songs before coming on and off stage seventeen times and being presented with a large bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine. 

  I should point out that I am in no way against classical music itself, or indeed its typical audience. It’s been a large part of my musical education since I started learning the trumpet at age 11. There are works of almost unimaginable beauty in the classical repertoire. There’s passion, drama, heartache and definitely excitement if you look in the right places. But the music has a serious lasting image problem. (Take the recent Lexus advert for example.) But it isn’t cool, and the tailcoats aren’t helping.

 Part of the problem is that classical music seems to give off an unpleasant aroma of elitism. Perhaps this is because music lessons are typically a fairly expensive pursuit leaving them only open to the middle classes. The typical performance space of a concert venue or recital room tends to give off an air of unfriendliness too. Max Hole, the CEO of Universal Music Group really nailed down what it is about this kind of performance that has this effect when he said of a recent concert, ‘There were no screens to show the musicians up close, the conductor had his back to you, he didn't speak to you. I thought this was all wrong.’ Hole has come up with a concept to try and counter this at the Bristol Proms, using lighting, video screens and other technology to enhance the experience. This of course isn’t anything new, rock music caught onto it a long time ago. 

  It’s possible to go the other way as well. Take the classical brits for example. It’s so dressed up in schmaltzy bullshit that it isn’t really about music at all anymore so much as appealing to the X-factor loving 3 minute attention span of the general public, or so it would seem. Then again it has a tenuous relationship to classical music at best anyway, pushing it aside in favour of giving the stage to Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber. No, this just isn’t the way forward. If anything, it probably only serves to confirm to people who might have become interested in classical music that there is indeed, nothing here for them.

  There certainly are examples of how classical music can be presented differently without cheapening it. Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood is a bit of a crusader for live classical music. He’s written several pretty successful works with orchestras around the world and recently said in an interview for Radio 5 that classical music concerts have had the excitement ‘squeezed out of them’. Greenwood has also said that classical music needs to be performed in different places that are less ‘uptight’, that setlists need to be less rigid and that people should be able to show their appreciation during the performance instead of the standard frosty silence.

Classical music has to embrace change to stay alive. Nonclassical and Johnny Greenwood are proving that we can present classical music in an accessible way without ruining its integrity.

Revisited Album Review: The Darkness, Permission to Land

It’s been just over ten years now since The Darkness burst through the tightly sewn spandex seams of the rock industry with their over the top début Permission to Land. When comparing the band to other releases at the time, it’s not difficult to see why The Darkness captured the imagination of the public so easily with their glittery catsuits and cock rock reminiscent stage show. Take for example, the heavy electronics in Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief. Even though that album does revisit some of the guitar sounds from Radiohead’s early music, the style is minimalist and understated, introverted, you could even argue. The lyrical themes explore right wing politics and terrorism. It’s a pretty long way from good times rock ‘n’ roll to say the least. Similarly, Muse’s offering Absolution was heavily arranged, the songs bursting with string sections, synthesizers, a multitude of extra vocals and percussion, not to mention the dark lyrical themes. Like Permission to Land, Absolution is undeniable larger than life. But Matt Bellamy takes himself so completely seriously, preaching big ideas of religion and politics. A quick glance at the ‘making of’ video for the album, or indeed any other interviews from the time confirms this, right down to the clip of a straight-faced Dom Howard submerged waist deep in a swimming pool, donning only speedos and a pair of orchestral bass drum beaters. It’s certainly true that in 2003 there wasn’t anything quite as ridiculous available in the mainstream as The Darkness. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the main criticisms of the band; Hawkins unfashionable falsetto, outfit clichés borrowed from Steven Tyler, not to mention Spinal Tap levels of parody, actually served to make the band more popular. Indeed, if Permission to Land hadn’t been such a convincing rock album, it would be easy to dismiss The Darkness as a joke. But, spoiler alert, it’s pretty damn good.

  Black Shuck opens at full tilt, the driving guitar riffs accompanying the folklore legend of a devil hound that is said to roam The Darkness’ home town of Suffolk. Hawkins sets the scene with frequent animalistic grunts, gargles and screams. He even narrates part of the story in a seriocomic style reminiscent of Vincent Price. It could so easily be cheesy, but the attention to detail of the musical arrangement tips the balance between frivolous and serious towards the latter, albeit very cheeky at the same time. 

  Slightly weaker in its conception is ‘Get Your Hands off my Woman’. After a promising tense opening of idling bass guitar followed by an almighty wail from Hawkins, the song kicks into a fairly stock sounding metal riff and doesn’t really shift gear again to keep the interest. Somewhat a filler on the album, this song would be much more at home in a live situation where raucous and sweaty fans can go hoarse together shouting various profanities: ‘You’ve soiled my obsession/ you cunt!’ and ‘Get your hands off my woman, motherfuuuucker!’ It’s all good clean fun.

  Growing On Me and I Believe in a Thing Called Love follow the tried and tested formula for commercially successful rock songs. Both boast instantly recognisable chorus hooks and living room air guitar moments. It’s a sound that any of the arena rock giants of the past would envy. The Hawkins brothers’ solos throughout the album are impressively musical and their two pronged lead guitar attack shows a level of sophistication that isn’t always present within this genre. 

  Permission to Land also boasts a couple of strong power ballads. Love is Only a Feeling is tender and heartfelt. The arrangement is powerful: 12 string acoustic verses help the choruses to have maximum impact. It’s very satisfying. If Love is Only a Feeling shows The Darkness at their most sincere, Holding My Own is quite the opposite. Hawkins sings with tongue in cheek humour of an ending relationship which is a thinly veiled metaphor for masturbation. ‘I don't need your permission/ To take this matter in my own two hands/ 'Cause I'm holding my own’ It’s slightly crass, but still well written and performed and it evokes all the right sentiments of nostalgia in spite of the double meaning.

  Givin’ Up is quite a charming little ditty. You could almost listen to the end without noticing that it’s about injecting heroin. Stuck in a Rut briefly returns to the theatrics of Black Shuck and sees Hawkins babbling and cackling. Both songs come off as middling album fillers though they move along at good steering-wheel-tapping tempos.

  The Darkness set their standard really high with Permission to Land. Since Hawkins’ clichéd and ultimately inevitable decline into Heroin addiction, they’ve never quite managed to capture the same combination of downright great rock songs and witty lyrics.

Artist Profile: Greg Spence

  Greg Spence is one of Australia’s leading commercial trumpet players. He plays lead trumpet on Dancing with the Stars Australia and has toured with international multi-instrumentalist James Morrison. But he’s also one of the most charming and humble musicians you’ll meet. 

  Greg started to play the cornet at age 13 in the local brass band after hearing the bagpipes as a child. ‘I said, gee that sounds cool and my dad said there is no way you are going to play the bagpipes!’ Greg took to the instrument easily and progressed quickly in the local brass band. In his teenage years, one sleepless night, Greg turned on the radio and by chance, heard Maynard Ferguson’s Fireshaker. From that moment he decided that the cornet was going out in favour of jazz trumpet.

  Greg is well in demand as a session player in Melbourne. His recent work has seen him called to all sorts of gigs from backing Olivia Newton John to playing on the advert for a new Hyundai car and leading the trumpet section at the Logie awards, Australia’s television industry ceremony. It’s an interesting life as a commercial trumpet player, as you have to be ready for any gig that presents itself. Television work for something like the Logie awards for example can often involve playing material that hasn’t been rehearsed at all. The band preparation for this particular job involves a lot of sitting around waiting for camera and lighting people to do their work instead of rehearsing. Greg says this kind of playing life, where he has the opportunity to do many different types of work suits him the best. Aside from shows that only run for a couple of weeks at a time and the occasional work as a dep, he avoids musical theatre. ‘The idea of sitting down and doing eight weeks in the theatre just does not thrill me one bit.’

  Greg says, however, that even more than the amazing playing opportunities he has been given in his career, teaching is the facet of his work that he finds the most rewarding. His website mysterytomastery.com has become an international success, gaining the approval of several big trumpet names, including Wayne Bergeron, Allen Vizzutti and Eric Miyashiro who have all lent it their endorsements. ‘If I never played another gig, it actually wouldn’t worry me. I’ve done some amazing things. Where my future lies is in imparting knowledge and helping players that are struggling.’ Greg’s approach to teaching the trumpet is based on problems that he encountered while learning that lasted well into his professional career. He is now able to recognise these problems in others, having run into them himself for so many years. Greg’s method advocates the use of ‘wind products’, tools which enable players to experience and develop new sensations away from the instrument and then incorporate those feelings over time into their normal playing habits. Greg says that bad habits on the trumpet stem from misunderstanding the physics behind how the instrument works and how sound is created. ‘There are innate traps that only the lucky few avoid when beginning their trumpet playing. Overblowing and lip pinching are the primary problems I see in 99% of my students.’ Greg teaches all kinds of different students from all over the world on skype, including beginners, professionals and even comeback players as old as 87. ‘There’s nothing more satisfying than imparting knowledge that I’ve learnt and sharing it with someone and seeing them get benefits from it.’

  Greg’s advice to young musicians is to play at every opportunity, not to be afraid of sharing your music with others and to be proud of what you do. ‘Understand that there’s always someone better than you, so leave the ego at the door. Be honest and true to the music, dedicate yourself and be as good as you can be.’

  Greg also advises not to place too much importance on nerves. He recalls a story of depping for a production of Jesus Christ Super Star where the ensemble didn’t get any rehearsal time. ‘You’re out there in front of 20, 000 people and it’s just sheer terror. You just have to back yourself and play to the best of your ability. Wherever you get to with your playing, you’re there for a reason.’ Greg recounts another occasion where he had to play the Penny Lane piccolo trumpet solo on stage at a much faster tempo than the original, off a hand written chart in the wrong key. Turning to the trombone player next to him, he said ‘it’s just a matter of how bad this is going to be!’. It was a disaster, but Greg recalls how the experience was empowering in helping him to come to terms with nerves during performances, because the situation was completely out of his control. ‘At the end of the day, we’re just playing trumpet, we’re not saving lives!’

  Key to success as a freelance musician relies on personality as well as playing ability. Flexibility and willingness to attempt anything without an ego are qualities that Greg looks for when hiring a musician. Different gigs require different levels of reading, improvising and even sitting around so anyone who’s difficult to get along with doesn’t get booked. ‘I’d always book a player who is genuinely interested in the gig, who may be a lesser player than some gun who has amazing chops and thinks they’re too good for it.’

  In May 2015, Greg embarks on a sellout European tour, teaching masterclasses and private lessons in nine different countries.