“I just try to let the tunes lead the way” – Miles Kane on his latest album, ‘Change the Show’

Benjamin Forrest on 21 January 2022

The latest effort from Birkenhead-born indie rock giant Miles Kane, entitled Change the Show, marks his fourth solo album since releasing Colour of the Trap back in 2011. I spoke with Miles ahead of the release, as he reflected on his previous work and gave us some insight into the production of this fantastic new album.

In many ways, Change the Show can be viewed as a departure from the heavy indie sound Kane became known for on his most popular tracks (such as ‘Rearrange’ or ‘Come Closer’). The new album tends to have a much more mature sound. Commenting on this development in his trademark sound, Kane said “I try to just let the tunes lead the way with it. Demoing it up and recording it, I was still doing tunes that were a bit more heavy or a bit more glammy, but then the ones that were a bit more in this world just seemed to sort of resonate more with me. It became clear to make it all like this.”. Whilst the album is not a million miles away from his previous work, Change the Show definitely has a more suave, classy style to it, with influences of soul and Motown present throughout. The inclusion of horns on tracks such as ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’ came as a welcome inclusion to the new LP, Miles commented, “It’s probably a bit less aggressive than the last one but it’s still upbeat and stuff. I think as a collective of tunes, the order of it and the way they go into each other it works really well.”. The record does very much feel like it is an album, as opposed to a collection of songs, it almost dictates that it should be listened to start to finish rather than dipping in and out. As Miles said, it flows very well from song to song and the journey through the album is a very pleasant one. 

Change the Show is the fourth solo studio album released by Kane, his first album Colour of the Trap was released back in 2011 on Columbia Records. Reflecting on his solo career, he said, “I’d like to think my writing process has changed a lot – but whether it’s this album or the last album, I feel like I have that same feeling as I did when I did my first album. Every album I make I feel like it’s my first one. This album compared to that one, I’d like to think it’s moved on a bit, it’s cohesive and it’s its own little world.”. Previous to his solo projects, Miles fronted the indie band The Rascals, who received critical praise in the NME and supported Arctic Monkeys during their 2007 tour, “When I was younger and I was in the Rascals and Flames, that’s how I learnt my craft”. Miles has seen some great success throughout his solo work, with two top ten albums in Don’t Forget Who You Are (2013) and Coup de Grace (2018) – with Change the Showlikely to add that list. In addition to his solo work, though, Kane has also witnessed success with other projects such as The Last Shadow Puppets; his duo project with Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame. Asked about what he likes about working on solo projects versus working with a band, Kane explained, “When we do the Puppets – that’s its own sort of thing, I love that – a duo – I like a partnership. Even the thing I’ve done with Corine [Corine Bailey Rae] on this record, there’s something about duos that I really like. Even if it’s just a song, that kind of battle between two people or the back and forth – that’s something I enjoy a lot. I mean I love writing tunes on my own and recording with people; I did this album with Dave and Oscar from Sunglasses For Jaws and they’re an amazing drummer and bass player so it’s almost like being in a band when you’re making it. It’s still that aesthetic, I guess, but just no nonsense really.”.

Change the Show album cover, image courtesy of Ian Cheek press

In addition to this new album, Miles also featured on ‘Dealer’, a recent single by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, “We did that tune a while ago, there was a few tunes done and I love that tune. I think it that was one of those tunes that felt so unique at the time.” said Miles of the track. Whilst he did say the pair have recorded more songs together, so far ‘Dealer’ has been the only one to see the light of day. The single has proved to be incredibly popular, with over 30 million streams on Spotify. On the reaction to their song, Kane said “Seeing the reaction it’s had, all the streams and all that,  it’s blown my mind to be honest.”, he puts the popularity of the track down to its unique nature in comparison to the rest of Del Rey’s work, “It’s an intense tune and I think where she takes that song – no one’s ever heard her sing like that before. She really lets go and rips on it and I think that’s what makes it, it’s mind blowing.”. 

For depressingly obvious reasons, Miles has been forced to postpone his UK tour to May, which will see him play 16 dates across the country. Speaking on how it feels to be back playing live shows after so long, the artist said, “I can’t wait, to be honest. We had a little taste of it at the end of the summer, we did a couple of little festivals and one little gig – so the carrot’s been dangled. I’d play anywhere right now.”. Known for his exciting and energetic live performances and armed with a brand-new album full of effortlessly cool tracks, the tour is certainly not one to be missed. Kane will be visiting the O2 Academy in Leeds on Sunday the 29thMay, tickets are available from the artists’ website. 

Leeds-based Yard Act do not disappoint with debut album ‘The Overload’

Benjamin Forrest on 21 January 2022

Leeds-based post-punk quartet Yard Act burst onto the local music scene in September of 2020 with their first 7” single ‘Fixer Upper’ backed with ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’. Since then, the group have taken the independent music scene by storm, with singles ‘Peanuts’ and ‘Dark Days’ cementing the band as a unique voice among their peers. The long-awaited debut album The Overload is finally here, after some delays due to a shortage in vinyl pressing plants, and it is already a serious contender for album of the year!

With deep roots in the Leeds music scene, Yard Act is comprised of James Smith who grew a name for himself fronting Post War Glamour Girls, Ryan Needham who saw some success as one half of the core duo which made up the criminally underrated band Menace Beach, joined by Sam Shipstone on guitar and Jay Russell on drums. Their debut album The Overload seems to cover every mood from the high energy, driving beat of ‘Witness (Can I Get A?)’, to the existential-crisis-inducing despair of ‘Tall Poppies’ because closing out with a message of hope in the form of ‘100% Endurance’. Truly, there is not a bad song on this album – track 8 ‘Quarantine the Sticks’ even features contributions from Tor Maries (otherwise known as the post-punk giant Billy Nomates) . The standout track, though, is surely ‘Dead Horse’, which is arguably one of the best pieces of artistic social commentary since fellow Yorkshireman J.B. Priestley wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’. A stunning indictment of current-day England and the shoddy state it finds itself in, ‘Dead Horse’ features the sort of brilliantly smart and sarcastic lyrics which Yard Act have become synonymous with. 

Smart lyrics, catchy tunes and a decent sense of humour – independent music has been begging for a band like Yard Act for far too long. The Overload is a triumph of a debut album. Released on the band’s own Zen F.C. label, and distributed via Island Records, on a seemingly endless volume of different vinyl editions of varying rarity (including exclusive editions released via Crash Records and Jumbo Records here in Leeds!), plus hand-spray painted CDs and two different variants of cassette tape – surely there is valid opportunity for everybody in the country to own a copy of this album, and quite rightly too!

Currently on a tour of the nation’s record stores, Yard Act will return to Leeds for a show at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen for the first time since their legendary Halloween 2021 set as part of Dark Arts Festival. Tickets are available via See Tickets, although they are likely to be snapped up very quickly so don’t hang around!

Bukky Leo & Black Egypt: The Legend of William Onyeabor – Live at Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen 10.10.2021

Benjamin Forrest on 17 October 2021

On Sunday night, Belgrave Music Hall was filled with the funky and infectiously joyous tunes of Bukky Leo and Black Egypt, as they performed their renditions of some songs by the great William Onyeabor. 

William Onyeabor was an incredible artist who produced synth-driven funk music in Nigeria in the 1970s and 80s. Very little is known about the life of Onyeabor, but his music was recently thrust into the Western mainstream when David Byrne’s record label Luaka Bop released a compilation album entitled Who Is William Onyeabor? in 2013. The compilation marked the first instance of Onyeabor’s music being reissued, and the album achieved widespread acclaim – NPR even listed it as one of the greatest albums of 2013. 

As previously stated, not much is known about Onyeabor himself but there is no shortage of rumours circulating online; one of the most widespread being that he studied film in the Soviet Union and brought synthesisers back to Nigeria with him, although Onyeabor told Eric Welles Nyström (who works with Luaka Bop) that he studied record manufacturing in Stockholmand purchased synthesisers in Italy –  nothing seems certain when it comes to Onyeabor, it is unclear what is fact and what is legend. One thing that is certain, though, is that William Onyeabor was an unbelievably talented musician who was far ahead of his time. To produce the music that he did, at a time in which synth-based music was still very much a new thing in the West, in Nigeria and moreover to record, produce and press that music with his own facilities is almost unbelievable. Much of Onyeabor’s work still sounds as though it is the future of music, even now, which is surely a testament to the originality and vision of his music. 

Onyeabor is said to have become a born-again Christian in the late 1980s, refusing to speak about him or his music again. After the Luaka Bop compilation was released, Noisy released a 30-minute documentary about Onyeabor in which he repeatedly refused to be interviewed. It was only in December of 2014 (37 years after the release of his first album) that Onyeabor took part in a radio interview for BBC 6Music. 

Tragically, the world lost William Onyeabor in early 2017. The music, however, lives on and will continue to do so thanks to people like Bukky Leo. The fantastically talented saxophonist who found fame among London’s acid jazz scene in the 1980s, now tours the country with his band Black Egypt celebrating the legend of William Onyeabor and introducing those funky tunes to a new audience. 

At Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Bukky Leo and Black Egypt took to the stage and performed their renditions of some of the best loved William Onyeabor hits – including ‘Fantastic Man’ which you may recognise as it recently featured on the soundtrack of the third series of Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’. Although the crowd was somewhat sparce given it was a Sunday night performance, the positive energy in the room was unmatched. Everybody was smiling, everybody was dancing, it truly felt like a celebration of great music and, of course, William Onyeabor. 

As you would expect from a band fronted by Bukky Leo, the musical talent onstage was palpable – every section of the band performed so perfectly, yet their performances also felt as though there was a sense of improvisation and unpredictability. The horn section, in particular, was something to behold; it felt as though every note was speaking directly to your soul. As is to be expected of a show centred around the work of Onyeabor, the synth was an integral part of the performance and it was played masterfully. The two backing singers/dancers were mesmerising and definitely set the tone for the concert, their dance moves would even put Saturday Night Fever-era John Travolta to shame. It would be an impossible task to be in the presence of such a band and not feel an overwhelming need to dance. William Onyeabor never performed live, even if he did you would probably only have a chance of witnessing it if you lived in Enugu, Nigeria in the 1970s, but it was a wonderful experience to hear these songs performed and shared within a live music environment. 

Bukky Leo & Black Egypt are releasing an album of their Onyeabor renditions at the end of October entitled Bukky Leo & Black Egypt presents The Legends of William Onyeabor, which was recorded live at the Jazz Café, Camden, in 2018. Advanced copies were sold at the Belgrave show which means the Gryphon can wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of the album upon its release, it captures not only the brilliance of both Onyeabor and Bukky Leo’s work, but also the absolute happiness conveyed by hearing those songs in a live environment. Onyeabor stated in his BBC interview, “I only composed the type of music that would help the world”, with the joy that his music has brought to the world, and the good times being brought by Bukky Leo and Black Egypt to venues up and down the country, there is surely a world of truth in that statement. 

Squid take you on a sonic journey through the Bright Green Field

Benjamin Forrest on 20 May 2021

Brighton-based quintet Squid have slowly been releasing tracks since back in 2016, with some notable highlights being the 2018 single ‘The Dial’ released on the cult label Speedy Wunderground – who would later release their incredible ‘Town Centre’ EP, and the 2019 single ‘Houseplants’ which received a lot of airplay on BBC 6 Music. More locally, Squid made waves playing a blistering good set at Hyde Park Book Club as part of Live at Leeds in 2019. With the amount of hype built up around the band, it was very possible that their long-awaited debut Bright Green Field(released via Warp Records) would feel somewhat underwhelming, but fortunately for us Squid delivered one of the most original and exciting albums we will see in 2021. 

Squid are one of the few bands around at the moment that never seem to sit still, constantly jumping from one sound to the next – just as you think you have gotten used to their sound, you are jolted in completely the opposite direction. This is perhaps why, with every new release, Squid seem more individualist and bohemian. Bright Green Fieldincorporates elements of jazz, punk, psychedelia, funk, post-punk, dub and everything in-between; it is a beautiful sonic menagerie and an excellent listening experience. 

The album kicks off with the atmospheric ‘Resolution Square’ which sets up the experimental tone of the album perfectly before blending seamlessly into the ‘G.S.K.’. The first track and its transition to ‘G.S.K.’ really signifies that Bright Green Field is not merely a collection of songs but a perfectly handcrafted album; a listening experience in which you are transported to this frantic and slightly weird world for just under an hour by the means of blaring horns and dystopian lyrics. ‘Narrator’ is a definite highlight within the album, the 8-and-a-half-minute epic encapsulating much of what is so brilliant about the band. The tempo can change on a sixpence, building to what seems like a climax before stopping dead in its tracks. The unpredictably chaotic nature of the track coupled with the contrast between the frantic vocals of Ollie Judge and the (initially) gentle tones of guest vocalist Martha Skye Murphy combine to form an exigently compelling track. Furthermore, the fact that ‘Narrator’ can exist on the same album as the experimental electronic track ‘Paddling’, the Krautrock influence of ‘Peel St.’ or the dream-like psychedelia of ‘2010’ and still have the album flow so seamlessly as though it were one continuous song is testament to the musical brilliance of Squid. That being said, Bright Green Field really works best as an album – none of the individual songs on the album would work particularly well as a single release, or at least they would not have the same impact as they do when listened to within the context of the full album.

Bright Green Field is a prime example of a genuinely exciting band at their very best. From the cover art to the mixing, there is seemingly nothing that could be improved on this album. The only worry is that it will be a difficult album to follow, but then again, if anybody can do it, Squid can! The band are set to play Brudenell Social Club on August 31st, it will be interesting to see how their new material is performed live but based on their Live at Leeds set from 2019, it will be a great show regardless. 

This is Telex: Belgian electro-pioneers receive the Mute treatment

Benjamin Forrest on 11 May 2021

Ask somebody about the early days of electronic music and people are likely to mention groups like The Human League or Depeche Mode who helped to popularised synth-pop in the UK. Some might mention Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, electronic experimentation in Jamaican dub music, or perhaps the early 1970s era of progressive rock. A music historian might even cite 1920s composers such as Joseph Schillinger. The origin and evolution of electronic music is a rich and varied topic, but one band that often gets left out of the story is Telex. 

Formed in Belgium, 1978, Telex aimed to create something entirely different from the mainstream music scene of the time. Determined to differ from rock music, Telex refused to incorporate guitars within their music, opting instead to use exclusively electronic instruments. Whilst this might not seem like such a revolutionary idea in 2021, in 1978 this really went against the grain of popular music. Electronic pop was often seen as a novelty and treated with suspicion. Electronic music was by no means a widespread concept- and received little mainstream attention. The electronic experimentation Telex were doing had not been done before, aside from a small handful of isolated artists. 

Despite releasing five albums between 1979 and 1988, as well as a reunion album in 2006, producing remixes for Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode and collaborating with Sparks for their 1981 album Sex; Telex never really achieved mainstream success. The band’s only commercial success in the UK was their slow, dispassionate cover of the rock n roll classic ‘Rock Around the Clock’, which peaked at number 34 in the UK singles chart in 1979. The biggest exposure Telex received over here was likely their Eurovision performance in 1980, in which they reportedly hoped to finish in last place with their deliberately banal and cliched song ‘Euro-vision’ (although the entry actually finished in 19th, thanks to 10 points from Portugal). 

Telex officially disbanded in 2008 after the death of band member Marc Moulin. A compilation album, Ultimate, was released in 2009 but received little attention and the band appeared to have been lost to obscurity. That was until legendary independent label Mute Records – whose previous releases include the likes of New Order, Depeche Mode, Inspiral Carpets, Yazoo, Moby and Wire, to name but a few – announced a compilation This Is Telex. 

The compilation features tracks from throughout the band’s career including two previously unreleased tracks: covers of The Beatles’ ‘Dear Prudence’, and ‘The Beat Goes On’ by Sonny & Cher. All tracks are newly mixed and remastered by the two remaining members of the group, Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers, and they sound utterly incredible! This compilation really goes to show just how ahead of their time Telex were, and hopefully with the distribution powers of Mute they will finally gain the widespread recognition they so rightly deserve. This Is Telex also excellently portrays the versatility of the group: from the moody post-punk atmosphere of ‘The Number One Song in Heaven’ to nightclub floor fillers such as ‘Moskow Diskow’, stopping in between for some wonderfully weird off-beat electro in ‘Dance to the Music’ and ‘Radio-Radio’. A punk attitude, disco tendencies and elements of experimental electronic music combine in order to form some of the greatest, most idiosyncratic tracks of the 1980s – and they still hold up in the 21st Century. According to Mute, This Is Telex is the precursor to a full series of reissues of Telex’s back catalogue. This is excellent news as many of Telex releases have not witnessed official reissues in decades and given how high quality This Is Telex is, we are definitely in for a treat! 

Women of Inspiration: Poly Styrene

Benjamin Forrest on 18 March 2021

Poly Styrene, in many ways, has fallen into a certain degree of obscurity since her band X-Ray Spex split in 1979. Prominent figures within the New Wave punk scene in the UK during the late 1970s , X-Ray Spex produced some of the greatest, most profound, lyrics of that era. Despite this, the music press only seems to remember the Sex Pistols – the punk equivalent of a manufactured boy band – and the likes of Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex are largely forgotten, or so it was thought. Clearly many people still remember the force of nature that was Poly Styrene (or Marianne Joan Elliot-Said, to use her birth name) as a documentary film, called I am a Cliché, telling her story was recently crowdfunded (before receiving funding from Sky) and aired on Sky Arts.

The film follows Celeste Bell, the only daughter of Poly Styrene, as she retraces her mother’s steps and tells the incredible, at points heart breaking, story of her life. The story is of the first woman of colour to front a successful rock band in the UK, a tortured genius, and undoubtedly one of the coolest people of the 20th century, but mainly of a mother and how her relationship with daughter Celeste progressed over the course of Poly Styrene’s career. The story of the documentary is told mainly through diary entries (voiced by Ruth Negga), personal accounts from Bell and interviews with fellow musicians and those who knew her. The visuals of the film are simply stunning; the shots of Celeste looking through her mother’s personal belongings are cut together with an unbelievable amount of brilliant archive footage, photographs and artwork – of which Poly Styrene created most. It truly is a visual treat to watch. 

The influence of Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex cannot be overstated, and this is shown within the documentary if only through the people who speak within it. Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill/Le Tigre/The Julie Ruin), Pauline Black (The Selecter), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Rhoda Dakar (The Bodysnatchers, The Special AKA) all testify to how influential the work of Poly Styrene was to them and the greater music scene – without her influence over Kathleen Hanna it is entirely possible that the Riot Grrrl movement would never have happened. The film also features contributions from iconic figures of the period, including Vivienne Westwood and Don Letts, interspersed between the monologue of Celeste Bell and Poly’s personal diary entries. 

A stand-out point within the documentary was the period of time which X-Ray Spex played a series of shows at the iconic CBGB club – famed for spawning such bands as The Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads to name but a few. Spending time in New York, the film reveals, Styrene was astonished by the huge prevalence of advertisements and consumerism. These themes were obviously prevalent within her lyrics (for instance, “It’s 1977 and we are going mad / It’s 1977 and we’ve seen too many ads”, from ‘Plastic Bag’). Many of the observations made in her diary entries, read aloud within this film, correctly predict how advertising has shaped or damaged the lives of people in the modern day. 

Thankfully, the documentary is not confined only to Styrene’s time with X-Ray Spex – though that section of her life is undoubtedly fascinating – it also deals with her childhood as one of the first waves of mixed raced children in the UK and how outcasted that caused Marianne to feel. The prevalent racist attitudes in the UK during 1960s and 70s with regard to the rise of the National Front and Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ hate speech are not often covered from a biracial perspective, however this documentary deals with the topic in a very informative way. It is an important story to be told in terms of the social history of the UK and is far too often glossed over. 

Her struggles with her own mental health, her unsuccessful (or rather: unappreciated) solo career, her dedication to the Hare Krishna movement, and her glorious early 00s comeback are all detailed within the film. Aside from being a story about a pioneering and gifted poet and lyricist, it is simply a very interesting and important story; the fact it is finally being told and Poly Styrene is finally receiving the credit she is due is a cause for rejoice. I am a Cliché is one of the most interesting and well put together music documentaries in recent time. If you are a fan of the band, feminism, music history or social history in general you will likely enjoy this film. As stated by Pauline Black in the film “The world is playing catch up with Poly Styrene, not the other way around”.