Welcome to Uzinemusic
Recently uploaded: Photos of Shearwater and Queen Adreena; review of Calexico at the End of the Road festival; interview with The Accidental.
Forthcoming: interviews with Woodpigeon, The Young Republic and Shearwater.
Even though this time of year has never been my favourite (dark evenings, lack of sunshine, grotty weather and the dreaded C word looming upon us), some good gigs are at least on the horizons: Pendulum, Saw Doctors, The Delays, Alabama 3, The Levellers, Amy McDonald, James, etc… And for the sad news: English National Ballet principal Agnes Oaks is retiring from dancing at the end of the season. So, you’ll find me at London’s Coliseum on January 2nd, wiping away my tears as Agnes and Thomas Edur perform the emotional and tragic Manon.
If you share our passion for music and the Arts and want to contribute to articles/reviews to Uzinemusic do get in touch using the Contact section. If you just want to remain informed, check out the Noozinesphere in our Links page.
Au revoir et à bientôt.
+More articles and reviews
Interview with the Accidental at the EOTR festival - UK - September 2008
Review of Calexico at the EOTR festival - UK - September 2008
Review of Bon Iver at the EOTR festival - UK - September 2008
Review of Micah P Hinson at the EOTR festival - UK - September 2008
Review of the End of the Road festival at Larmer Tree Gardens - UK - September 2008
Interview with Flies Are Spies From Hell at Southampton's Joiners - UK - August 2008
Interview with Frank Hamilton at Eastney's Cellars - UK - May 2008
Interview with Yoav at Eastney's Cellars - UK - May 2008
Concert review of The Cure at London's Wembley Arena - UK - March 2008
Interview with Built To Spill at Reading's Fez Club - UK - 10 May 2007
Interview with Sophia at London's Spitz - UK - 6 May 2007
Interview with Russ Bestley (Punk in the Faraway Towns exhibition) at Southampton's Millais Gallery - UK - 3 May 2007
Concert review of Bright Eyes at Oxford Brookes University - UK - March 2007
Interview with Metric at Southampton's Guildhall - UK - January 2007
Concert review of Regina Spektor at Bristol's Trinity Centre - UK - 10 February 2007
Interview with Sparklehorse at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - UK - October 2006
Interview with Broken Social Scene at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms - UK - February 2006
Interview with Richmond Fontaine at Winchester's Railway - UK - July 2005
Interview with Lou Barlow - Oxford - UK - May 2005
Interview with Vic Chesnutt - Southampton - UK - May 2005
+ Schmoozinemusic
October 2008
So summer's well and truly over (did it begin?) and what more fitting way to see off the festival season than with a weekend at one of the best events of the year - The End of the Road festival. Check out the Envoyé special section to see the review and photos ... and for those of you (like us!) who missed Shearwater at this year's EOTR, you might like to know that they are back for three dates this November. We certainly won't miss them next time round! See our Events listing section for more details.
August 2008
Canada has many great indie bands, Arcade Fire, The Stills, Feist and Broken Social Scene to name just a few. Also worth a listen are Woodpigeon, Great Lake Swimmers, Crystal Castles and Stars. Woodpigeon will be at The End of the Road festival, North Dorset, this September. See our Events listing page for more information about the festival. They will also be supporting Calexico on their UK tour. Only a few weeks to wait!
December 2007
Last night, I was travelling in my car, and the shuffle on my ipod decided to take me a good 14 years back! It was a riff I recognised straight away and was surprised to find myself ‘shouting’ along as I drove: “Lost in a world with no reality, I’m frightened to move, I’m frightened to speak and I would kill for a good nights sleep, I’m feeling… I’m feeling dead”. 14 years, yep, Therapy? were releasing Troublegum, with the great anthems like Screamager, Nowhere, Turn , and Unrequited (the cathartic song that bullies you out of your malaise as you are forced to scream along). Back home, I switched on my PC and played all those tracks I had so much loved back then. And guess what? I love them as much now as I did then! With an album nearly finished… let’s hope Therapy? will be touring soon in the UK.
October 2007
October 2007 did not start too well. But so is life! On a more positive note, I watched an excerpt of the seminal Jazz on a Summer's Day film. I very much enjoyed Chuck Berry and The Chico Hamilton Quintet with Eric Dolphy. That was a real eye opener for me into the world of jazz. Until my mood improves why don't you check out the great Chameleons tracks: Don't fall, Monkeyland and Up the down escalator from the album Script of the Bridge: A classic album from a band who never made it to the top of the bill, although they deserved it (probably) more than some of their peers at the time. But so is life!
September 2007
Another summer has come and gone. The food, the wine, the sun I had to travel 2000 miles south to find and the excellent Paolo Nutini singing live in La cite of Carcassone are now fading distant memories. Oh and yes: 'Les chansons perdues' by 'Mick est tout seul' which is definitely my 2007 summer favourite album! Check out La cle des chants video here. Mick, from the French band Mickey 3D is a prolific singer songwriter. He has written many hits, for his French peers, but he seems to have kept his most intimate and personal songs for his solo project. I'm no expert in French popular music(!) but it's safe to say that Mickey's songs are comfortably leading the way in the modern 'chanson francaise' genre. His lyrics are an ode to melancholic reminiscence of past times. They undoubtedly remind me of my youth: being brought up in France and doing the sort of things that you just happen to do when you're a kid, such as visiting my grandparents. But as years pass by these, then insignificant, things become memories that you'll learn to treasure. I love the way that Mick so quirkily puts the words and the phrases together. They make me smile, they fill my eyes with tears, they make me remember and think.
June 2007
Mid June culminated with my first trip ever to the Royal Albert Hall in London, not to see a band but the production of Swan Lake by the English National Ballet, featuring Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur. It was spectacular, dreamlike and enchanting. Thomas Edur turned his physical strength into grace and with Agnes Oaks, his long-term dancing partner, they projected romantic elegance, passion and emotions that made the three hours well worth the expensive fee. Back to rock n'roll… I went to see the Manic Street Preachers at my local Guidlhall, I met up again with The Crimea and, after admitting losing the tape of the Crimea interview I had done last year, Andy (the guitarist of the band) and I agreed to meet up again in the near future for another interview. This will probably happen in Aldershot this August as the gig has been rescheduled. Supporting The Crimea at the Southampton Joiners, was a Southampton local band called SomaHigh. It was refreshing to see such an accomplished local band that played great stuff. Watch this space! I also discovered Nada Surf. I would particularly recommend earlier albums like 'The Proximity Effect'; Last but not least, I rediscovered Bonnie Prince Billy and his brilliant 'Ease down the road' and 'I see a darkness' albums.
March 2007
It's been an eventful month: travelling to Bristol to see the lately discovered and great Malcolm Middleton - and missing Sophia because they were stuck in Dusseldorf but I'm hoping to catch them at the London's Spitz on 6 May! Then it was the long awaited Bright Eyes concert at the Oxford Brookes University, which sadly was very disappointing. You can read the review somehwere on this site. I'm very slowly warming up to The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible as, at first listen it sounds like a parody of 'Funeral'. Harsh? Maybe. I found the soundtrack of 'Good Will Hunting' in a Charity Shop which I bought hoping to listen to some Elliott Smith song versions I did not already have! No new versions for me, however, I discovered the brilliant Waterboys' 'Fisherman's blues'. Better late than never! I eventually received my order from Amazon (again better late than never!) so I was able to listen to 'The magic position' by Patrick Wolf. I very much like it. It's got great tracks like 'the magic position' and 'Accident & Emergency'. It's a much more mature album than the two previous ones and holds the magic Wolf's touch: his electronic and his troubadour sides cohabiting superbly in his enchanting world that becomes ours for the duration of the album. The favourite album of the moment is 'A brighter beat' by Malcolm Middleton. Interview with Malcolm soon to be posted on Uzinemusic!
Interview with The Accidental at the End of the Road festival 2008
I discovered The Accidental back in March when they supported Malcolm Middleton at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford. I loved the gig. I loved the music straight away. The vocal harmonies (all four members sing on most songs) complimented well the two acoustic guitars and cello. I had a quick chat with Sam and Steve after their set, and bought the album, They Were Wolves, on the night. It had just been released on Full Time Hobby, home of Malcolm Middleton and Fujiya + Miyagi amongst others. Read More...
Review of Calexico at the End of the Road festival 2008
I’ve been listening for a few weeks now to my recording of Calexico’s magnificent live set at this year’s End of the Road festival. I don’t think I could have hoped for a better finale. The set, which lasted an hour and a half, had the right balance of old favourites, from Feast of Wire (Sunken Waltz, Across the Wire, Cuero Canelo, Not even Steve Nicks) and songs from the brand new Carried to Dust album (Man Made Lake, Two Silver Trees, The News About William, Writer’s Minor Holiday, Inspiracion, Slowness, etc...). Read More...
Review of Bon Iver at the End of the Road festival 2008
Bon Iver’s front man, Justin Vernon greets us with “Hey everybody. This is an incredible day in all of our lives”. The set starts with an epic, noisy and self-assured version of ‘Creature Fear’. ‘Flume’ follows: quiet, laid-back with an intelligent interlude recreated live. It’s with ‘Lump Sum’ and ‘Skinny Love’ that the vocal harmonies of the band members really come through, with Vernon’s falsetto reaching out straight into your heart and soul. The singing is sublime and mesmerising. Read More...
Review of Micah P Hinson at the End of the Road festival 2008
The opening song ‘Diggin A Grave’ sets the tone for the live experience to come as Micah P Hinson turns the full orchestral studio sound into an intimate, stripped out, raw electric live experience with his touring accomplices: wife Ashley comfortably sat behind a keyboard and Nick Phelps on drums or banjo. The beauty of the songs is challenged by Micah’s occasional sorrowful and raucous growls. After a collection of some sad, beautiful and majestic songs like ‘Beneath the Rose’, ‘Close Your Eyes’ and ‘Tell Me it Aint’ So’, the set enlivens with ‘When we embraced’. Read More...
Review of the End of the Road festival 2008
We’d heard that the End of the Road festival (now in its third year in rural Dorset) was ‘different’, but nothing had prepared us for the laid back tranquillity that we discovered in the beautiful surroundings of the Larmer Tree Gardens. I’d say this is a festival for musicians’ musicians, appreciative audiences and respectful artists. From my point of view one of the best things about the weekend was discovering a whole bunch of new favourite bands I’d heard little about before. Read More...
Interview with Flies Are Spies From Hell
I’d heard of Flies Are Spies From Hell through a mutual friend and, having checked out their Myspace, I arrived at Southampton's Joiners full of expectation. I went away having not only spent a great night immersed in heavy sounds and crafted melodies, but also introduced to the post-rock new wave scene that is growing stronger in England. Read More...
Interview with Frank Hamilton
What draws me to Frank Hamilton’s lyrics is their simplicity, freshness and youth. ‘Two kids’, for example is reminiscent of the early songs of Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. The same spontaneity about being young and in love filters through Hamilton’s songs. “Two kids just holding hands and walking, the sparks fly since the minute they got talking. And it wasn’t like he thought it through. It came to him right out of the blue. But it felt right so he said it”. Read More...
Interview with Yoav
"It's dark but it's beautiful. It's very deep and in music terms it's also very catchy. It hooks you right away, but there's a lot of depth to it." This is how Yoav describes Neil Gaiman's Sandman, and to be perfectly honest this is probably how I would describe Yoav's music. A unique concept of making dance music using an acoustic guitar has earned Yoav a fair amount of media interest recently. But Yoav, as a true artist and like his role models Radiohead and Bjork, is keen to evolve his sound. Read More...
See The Cure and die?
Very unexpectedly and at the very last minute I managed to get a ticket to see The Cure at Wembley Arena, having tried to get a ticket for the last few months. Needless to remind Uzine readers I am a devoted Cure fan, and have been since the mid-eighties. So you can imagine the state of euphoria I was in when Robert Smith got on stage. Though I only realized he got on stage by the sheer vocal explosion of the crowd. When the first chords of Plainsong filled the Arena... Read More...
Interview with Doug Marsch from Built To Spill
I discovered Built to Spill with their debut album ‘There’s nothing wrong with love’ back in 1994. The songs moved me one after the next, particularly ‘Big Dipper’, ‘Car’ and ‘Twins Falls/Some’. To me, this is a perfect album. The guitar lines are sublime and subtle and the melodies charming. The music draws on rage and softness; the informality of the production makes it an instantly accessible US indie record. Yet, listening to it fourteen years later, it still surprises me. Read More...
Interview with Robin Proper-Sheppard from Sophia
Robin Proper Sheppard, front man of Sophia, greets me with a "bonjour" when I reveal to him that Uzine was originally a French fanzine. Robin smiles at me and appears genuinely touched when I tell him that the three instrumental songs on Technology won’t save us us are in my mind some of the most beautiful songs on the album. Still, it is an album which I had great difficultly getting into. Robin acknowledges this very respectfully. Read More...
Punk in the Faraway Towns Exhibition
Before I went to see Russ Bestley's Punk in the Faraway Towns exhibition, I had listened to some punk records but never really given punk much thought. My brothers had listened to The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and some early Cure... and so did I when I reached my teenage years. At that time, punk had come and gone - I was only 6 when The Sex Pistols released God Save the Queen. It was, for me, just another genre and I felt more drawn to new-wave and gothic than punk. Read More...
