This week I am housesitting for a friend in North London.

Last night I went to the Buffalo Bar in Highbury to see one of my very favourite bands Something Beginning with L.

I had heard their music online at their myspace but not seen them live yet. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. They were incredible. Their stage presence, lack of pretention and their tightness as a band is a rare combination.

Jen, Jon and Lucy play guitars and have amazing electro beats and sound fx backing them which Jon mixes live. Jen and Lucy skillfully warp their guitars and vocals through their immense pedal boards. Their very girly close harmonies create gorgeous textures and compliment the immediateness of their lyrics. Without any of these seemingly contrasting elements the music would not be as beautiful as it is, or as hardcore.

Jen has always been one of my very favourite singers and her ability to switch vocally from a childlike innocence to full on screaming rock is astonishing. Lucy’s harmonies are so well held and their timing is so accurate that you can’t hear any gaps between the two voices. Don’t get me started on all their guitar playing and Jon’s production. Wow.

You can buy their single Overcoat on itunes (you should). If you get to see one band this year, see Something Beginning With L.

The support from Small Gang was also a real treat. They are an awesome and very sexy band. Truly great music. You can hear more here.

The lovely Emily (who took the amazing photo above) took me to Lovebox on Sunday.

It was a funny start to the day, the weekend was a particularly difficult one with lots of decision-making and difficult life stuff.

First stop was the bowling alley where we got some fruity cocktails and looked at the line-up for the day. We headed over to the Gaymer stage and chilled for a bit listening to whatever was on. We missed the electro mayhem of the RGBs which was a blessing in disguise as I don’t know whether I could cope with the pang of jealousy whenever Claire gets to perform everywhere I want to play (this has happened a lot since they commenced their world domination a couple of years ago)! We caught the end of Raghu Dixit who is a bit of a comedian too, saw bits of Bombay Bicycle Club and Datarock (between bar trips and yummy veggie food) who were both great and drew big crowds. The rain came and went but didn’t stop us partying.

Now on to the biggies:

FILTHY DUKES: well, can I love the filthy dukes more than I do? I think not. They were absolutely brilliant. The sound was a bit rubbish, we could hardly hear Tim’s vocals at all which was a real shame particularly in the more ballady songs. I am very envious of their synths and would do almost anything to be sampled on one of their tracks. Olly, Mark and Tim have a really strong dynamic when performing and they get inside the music so it gets inside you.

One of the things I really love about them is that they don’t feel the need to wear gimicky clothes or have an ‘image’. Their music is so good that they don’t need to distract the audience from it by doing anything on purpose to ‘pretend’ to be artists, they just are.

GARY NUMAN: This was, frankly, just plain weird. I was not a huge Gary Numan fan when I was little – I wasn’t born when he started, still listening to nursery rhymes in the ’80s, then my later childhood listening was dictated by my older brother and sister’s tastes. However, I did have a vague image of how this was supposed to be: minimal, electronic, with that distinctive voice over the top. What happened sounded and looked as if your dad started a metal band, dressed up and got loads of tats, learned loads of Gary Numan songs and metalified them, then managed to get a gig on the main stage at Lovebox. There were synths playing the original parts, although they were really behind in the mix. Gary Numan did a good impression of being in a proper rock band and still sounded like him with a few growls and belts thrown in but I was here for some electronic stuff. It made me pine that I had missed Download and the real bands. It also made me want to just go home and put on some NOFX/NIN on the big speakers to counter the fraud.

GROOVE ARMADA: As expected. The crowd went wild and the laser show was amazing. SaintSaviour was a welcomed addition to their act, she brought her very own crazy vibe and did some of her signature dance moves. Groove Armada only played their own festival this year, I’m not sure what their plans are for the next couple of years but I think they are releasing a new album soon.

(Doves played between GN and the big GA, we were meeting people near here so had to stick around. I did not intend to see them and wish I hadn’t. They were boring and appalling all at the same time. Exactly as expected. I refuse to put a link here.)

There was a lot we missed, particularly the dance stage (there was a massive queue and we weren’t wasted!), I also really wished we’d spent longer at the Relentless Stage particularly for Simian Mobile Disco who I have yet to see live.

All in all a great day out which did manage to distract me from myself and the winners definitely are the Filthy Dukes, I can’t wait to see them play again.

xx

My Facebook page is looking a bit forlorn as it doesn’t have an official URL yet. Any of you lovely people who are on Facebook (yes you are, admit it) can become a fan and help the cause. I only need 100 fans to get the new name.

This week I have started getting back in training for the gigs and stuff ahead. My next one is at the Blang night at 12 bar on Denmark Street on 10th August and I’m really very excited!

The venue is pretty special to me; when I first moved to London I went there whenever I didn’t have anything to do and checked out randomly whatever was on. Sometimes it would be something dreadful and sometimes it would be something really quite magical and definitely gave me the opportunity to see some new acts I’d never have heard about otherwise. [I even had my only ever blind date there]

xx

Hi all

Just got back from playing a stormin’ set at the Marie Lloyd unsigned night.

The evening started a bit strangely, I was very nervous and didn’t know why. I think I instinctively knew that a lot of the audience there wouldn’t get my stuff. I warmed up early into it though and was pleasantly surprised at some great response.

The Marie Lloyd bar is a great venue situated in the heart of my manor. It’s a fairly big venue for a small pub-style gig and has a wine-bar feel which can be a bit weird from the stage. Some people are there just to have a drink somewhere local, some are visiting the Hackney Empire where it is based and some are specifically there to hear new music at their Signed/Unsigned weekly night.

I know that my music is an acquired taste so I was not at all thrown when a few people decided it wasn’t for them. All in all though, it was a supportive crowd and since the doors were wide open onto the street some people from outside started to wander in to listen as well. I battled a bit with the sound especially as it lacked any bass (not good when all your tunes are designed to be on phat clubby bass speakers!).

I caught the start of the next act who were a very tight, well rehearsed guitar band playing Kasabian-style stuff. Not really my cup of tea but they did a good job of it.

It was also great to meet Hannah from Blind Baby Animal www.myspace.com/blindbabyanimal.

Next gig Bull & Gate on 16th June. As it’s a longer slot I’m going to get the opportunity to play a couple of different tracks and I’m hoping to include a new song I’ve been working on as well! Very excited.

Signing out for now, gotta catch some zzzzzzzs, will upload photos later (please do send me any you have).

Thanks so much to everyone who came along.

Anna Madeleine xx

In my search for some inspiration I was pointed in the direction of some really really great artists:

James Yuill: myspace/jamesyuill who does these really sweet songs mixing electronica and acoustic instrumentation. Proper good photos too like geek-chic extraordinaire.

Holy Fuck: whose album LP on spotify is just amazing, insane, electro, rock. Hardcore band this.

——————————————————————————————————————-

I’ve also been re-listening to Metronomy on spotify, who really needs no introduction

and Gagarin (myspace/ggrn) who does weird electronic soundscapey stuff with beats and sounds – also is part of Raf and O who are great.

That’s it for now folks – happy listening!

xx

Tuesday night was the first (of many) solo gigs for me. I played a 20 minute set at Biddle Bros in Hackney to a mixed crowd of locals, friends and family. It was absolutely stormin’.

Biddle Bros is a really lovely small arty bar, with books you can pick up and read and a few beaten up leather sofas. The night itself was called MySpace or Yours and featured a range of artists from myspace. The crowd was great and the songs successfully stood up to their first airing.

Newer Entries »