In conversation with Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton ahead of the new release ‘The Dream’

Benjamin Forrest on 11 February 2022

Leeds-originated folktronica trio alt-J are set to release their fourth studio album, entitled The Dream, today. Ahead of the release, I spoke to keyboard player and backing vocalist (as well as past Gryphon contributor) Gus Unger-Hamilton to gain an insight into the production of the new album and to look back on his time within the group. 

alt-J formed as a quartet in 2007, at which time all members were studying at the University of Leeds. Gus explained, “Joe came to University with the express intention of wanting to start a band. Unbeknownst to us, he was kind of interviewing us in the first few weeks to see if we’d be suitable candidates to be in his band.”. Seemingly, the establishing of alt-J as a band happened pretty quickly after the four initially met, “We met at a party in halls on the first night of freshers’ week, then Joe met Thom and Gwilym on their course doing Fine Art. Joe started making music with Gwilym at first and then he asked me and Thom to get involved too. By the beginning of second year, we were fully up and running as a band.”.

Each alt-J album thus far has seemed very much like separate, respective projects – whilst there are similarities between them all, alt-J are certainly not a group which churns out the same album every few years. The Dream is certainly no exception to this rule. Asked about the musical evolution of the group Gus said, “We like to try keep ourselves interested in the band. I think because we’re all people with quite eclectic taste in music and quite inquisitive natures, we just naturally do end up constantly evolving. Innovation for innovations sake often doesn’t sound that good but I suppose we do talk quite a lot in the studio about trying to offer our fans new things here and there, to try to avoid falling into making a ‘clichéd alt-J song’ which we have, in the past, come close to doing before going ‘hang on, this sounds a bit like we’re repeating ourselves a bit here, how can we make this more interesting?”. There is not an abundance of groups which sound like alt-J, they have a fearlessly original sound. On the topic of influences, then, Gus gave an explanation for the recognisable and original ‘alt-J sound’ saying, “We all had a healthy love of Radiohead which was important, not just for the sound but also the kind of approach they had to making music, which was constant evolution and extreme musicianship, but with a very poppy finish with very good hooks and stuff. I think we’re a product of all of our musical backgrounds; me on the more classical side, Joe on the folky Americana side and Thom on the heavy metal side – I think that all those three things coming together create a sort of magic alt-J potion that you might not have expected to happen.”. 

The Dream is the fourth album from alt-J to be released on independent label Infectious Music. Gus spoke about how the trio’s relationship with Infectious was forged, “We had lots of major labels show and interest in us and come to Leeds to meet us, come to our gigs to watch us, come watch us rehearse and stuff and then they all kind of said the same thing which was, ‘We really like you, but we don’t know if it’s gonna sell’. So, in the end we got two offers from indies: Infectious and PIAS, and we went with Infectious.”. Although the label was acquired by BMG around the time of the band’s second album This Is All Yours, Gus explained that the band are still awarded the kind of creative freedom that comes with an independent label, “We were able to take that creative freedom and bring it into a more major label setup which we have now with BMG – BMG is still technically an independent label but Infectious, when we signed to it, was like five people in an office in Soho above Ronnie Scott’s, and now it’s a big office with hundreds of people. We have a licensing deal with Atlantic Warner in America which is a major major label, but they’ve had to accept the terms on which we signed our record deal which was ‘leave us alone, let us do our own thing’, so we’ve been quite lucky in that respect.”. 

Aside from the music itself, another thing which fans love about alt-J is the iconography and artwork employed by the group. The artwork for The Dream feels like a new artistic direction for the band in comparison to previous album covers. According to Gus, however, the chosen artwork was not the group’s first choice, “Our first choice was actually a Picasso painting called ‘The Dream’ but it was just gonna be too difficult to use a Picasso painting, we had set ourselves a bit of an impossible task, because you’ve got the Picasso estate, the owner of the painting, the gallery the painting is in – it’s just paperwork. We attempted to do it and pretty much immediately realised it was gonna be, what you might call, a complete fucking nightmare.”. The final cover is credited to artist Joel Wyllie, Gus discussed the process which led the group to this image, saying “We all owned some of his drawings and we asked him to send us some new work and he sent us some drawings, and this was one of them. We just really liked it, it’s quite an ambiguous image, this unspecified semi-human creature engaged in an unspecified activity. I think we liked that about it – it’s open to interpretation, a bit like the music.”. 

Picasso’s ‘The Dream’ (left) was the original choice for the album cover

Speaking of the music, The Dream is perhaps alt-J’s most mature album thus far, and the single ‘Get Better’ stands out amongst the band’s discography as particularly heart-breaking. I asked Gus about the band’s initial reaction when ‘Get Better’ was proposed by lead singer Joe, “Joe played me that song and I had a very emotional response to it. I cried for quite a long time, which had never really happened to me before with any song really – let alone an alt-J song. I think it’s amazing that Joe was able to access these emotional depths without actually experiencing directly what the song is talking about, so that’s the real gift that he has I suppose.”. Mind you, you need not look far on this album for evidence of Joe’s extraordinary song-writing ability. Gus suggested that this ability might be thanks, in part, to the influence of psychedelic drugs, “Joe did have an experience at Uni where he took mushrooms for the first time and had a pretty crazy time, he thinks he experienced ego death. He’s adamant that he came back from that experience and his song writing ability had improved a huge amount. Before that, he was a good songwriter, but he came back from that and started writing really interesting, dark songs – Tesselate is the first song he wrote after that experience.”. Looking at the band’s early work, and particularly the album cover for debut album An Awesome Wave, it would be easy to assume that psychedelics played a large role in the creation of alt-J, but according to Gus “We’ve never really been into psychedelics… we used to smoke weed when we wrote but that’s not something we do anymore because we’re all boring and in our thirties now. I feel like there is a healthy background of mind-expanding drugs but it’s not a big part of our process nowadays.”

An Awesome Wave, the group’s debut album, earned them a Mercury Music Prize in 2012. Their third album Relaxer (2017) was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. It would come as no surprise then if The Dreamwas also to be shortlisted for the award this year. Asked whether the group attaches much importance to these awards and accolades, Gus responded, “We’re extremely proud of the prizes we’ve won. We would love to win the Mercury Prize again; I can’t deny that. It would be incredible, but prizes are a very arbitrary thing and ultimately you can’t really think about it too much. All we can do is do our best in the studio and hope that maybe some accolades will follow but we shall have to see.”. 

The Dream is released on the 11th February through Infectious Music/BMG and is available to order from local independent record stores Jumbo Records and Crash Records. The trio will also be returning to their spiritual home of Leeds for a show at the O2 Academy on the 9th May as part of their tour of the UK and Ireland which runs throughout May. 

Pragmatic Students Support Strike Action

Séamus O'Hanlon on 11 February 2022

ral student response to hearing about staff strike action is self-pity, a deserved and valid reaction to the broken promise that students at least for their own serious financial commitment, enjoy a complete academic year. There is no ideal response to strike action affecting students particularly when our educational experiences have been stunted throughout the nearly two years of the pandemic. There is, however, a right response to staff strike action, which is of solidarity and of pragmatism.

Community and Carnage: Turnstile bring ‘GLOW ON’ to the Refectory in Leeds

Rishi Shah on 7 February 2022

One of 2021’s most critically acclaimed albums, transforming the dream-punk of Turnstile’s ‘GLOW ON’ into a live environment posed a new challenge for the Baltimore hardcore outfit. As the band’s growth leads them into larger rooms, the ever increasing gap to the barrier makes the stage diving that is synonymous with their live shows all the more difficult. 

Yet, in the historic setting of The Refectory, which now serves as a University canteen with a balcony cafe, the room – and upper tier – was transformed into a diving board for fans and band members alike to launch themselves off the balcony into the raucous army of followers down below. Quite the upgrade from a chilled morning study space.

Opening with the dreamy, vibrant ‘MYSTERY’, the narrow yet extended room became one gigantic pit of chaos, as fans were treated to this new material live in Northern England for the first time. Nostalgic, older tracks like ‘Fazed Out’ and ‘Gravity’ were interwoven into the set, between a flurry of newer tracks that showcased the complexity and originality of ‘GLOW ON.’ A particular highlight was ‘UNDERWATER BOI’ and its unique structure, as the crowd figured out how to continually match the energy onstage with exact precision.

Whilst bassist Franz Lyons courageously wore a Manchester United shirt with the number 27 on the back, frontman Brendan Yates rapidly abandoned his t-shirt, clambering around the crowd with a hand on the balcony, the whites of his eyes there for all to see – focused as ever. With this album campaign, you really feel the sense of a matured, almost finished article at the height of their powers. Pride and joy resonated around the room, as they closed the set with the unifying ‘T.L.C.’ before departing our shores to tour the USA.

Turnstile headline Manchester’s Outbreak Festival in late June, and tickets are on sale here.

Disabled people risk being left in the cold in a sustainable energy future, University of Leeds researchers warn

GryphonEditorAdm on 13 December 2021

A new study reveals that disabled households in the European Union currently consume 10% less energy than other households, as well as being 5% more likely to experience energy poverty.

University of Leeds researchers warn that disabled people in the EU are already energy disadvantaged and therefore need greater consideration in planning for energy policy aimed at tackling the climate crisis.

The study, published today in Nature Energy, provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy use of disabled households in the European Union — including England — in various energy consumption areas, such as transport, leisure, food and health services. 

Using consumption data from 19 countries in the EU in 2010, Dr Diana Ivanova and Professor Lucie Middlemiss of the Sustainability Research Institute, show that while disabled people use less energy, it is not necessarily through choice and potentially it is at the cost of disabled people not having their needs met for energy and other resources.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people are largely invisible in environmental policy and practice, and rarely discussed as having particular needs or facing particular challenges. This is a glaring oversight as we try to move towards a more sustainable future.

“Following the Glasgow COP26 climate change conference, we are all thinking more about how our energy consumption should change but that cannot come at the cost of people with different needs.

“It is critical to understand how disabled people are consuming their energy, and if their current needs are being met. This will enable us to reduce energy consumption safely and in a way that allows disabled people to live decent lives.”

Disabled household energy use for basic needs and services, such as food, energy at home, water, and waste, is similar to other households. However, disabled households have lower energy use for leisure services, such as recreation, hotels, restaurants and travel services.

Disabled households also have lower energy consumption for mobility, both in air transport and motor fuel, and lower energy spend on education than other households – suggesting lower opportunities to access education.

It is notable that disabled households tend to under-consume transport and leisure activities even when compared to households with similar incomes.

Disabled households’ limited consumption of leisure services highlights an important inequality, suggesting that disabled people have fewer opportunities to engage in fun and relaxing activities that require energy consumption.

The similar consumption of energy for basic needs between disabled and non-disabled households of the same income is also a concern. Often, disabled people have a greater need for energy in the home: for life-supporting machinery or to keep warmer, or wash more frequently than others.

In the light of these greater needs, the similar consumption levels to other households suggest that energy in the home might be being under-consumed by disabled households.

To date, there is very limited research on the needs and experiences of disabled people in the environmental literature. This is despite the fact that disabled people are regularly supported by governments in developed nations (including EU nations) and seen as important targets of social policy.

Professor Middlemiss said: “Disabled people may also be more vulnerable to climate change consequences such as extreme temperatures or emergency relief being inaccessible.

“When we consider that of the 446 million people living in the European Union, around 100 million are believed to be disabled, disability is a topic that merits more attention from environmental scholars and policymakers.

“These findings also support our earlier call to include the energy poor, in all their diversity, in energy transition planning.”

The paper Characterising the energy use of disabled people in the European Union towards inclusion in the energy transition is published in Nature Energy 13 December 2021 (DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00932-4)

UCU Strikes continue on campus 

GryphonEditorAdm on 7 December 2021

This story appeared on the front page of The Gryphon on 3rd December 2021.

The University and College Union, one of the largest higher education trade unions in the UK, will continue industrial action for a third day in their fight for better working conditions for higher education staff. The University of Leeds is one of 58 institutions going on strike this week with 75.2 percent of its local UCU branch members voting in favour of taking strike action.

UCU’s dispute with University management is centered around four fights which according to their website are  “falling pay, the gender and ethnic pay gap, precarious employment practices, and unsafe workloads”. 

Speaking to The Gryphon on the picket line outside the Parkinson Building on Wednesday, Vicky Blake, the UCU President, spoke of her reasons for striking. 

“Over the last 12 years, in real terms, a 20% pay cut across all, we have huge inequality in pay as well. I think it shocks people to hear this – the gender pay gap is 15.5%, the pay gap between Black and White staff is 17%, and there’s a disability pay gap of 9%. We have huge levels of casualisation – so where people are on insecure contracts. So over a third of academics are on insecure contracts, and increasing numbers of academic-related professional staff are also on insecure contracts. A lot of people who teach in universities including this one are hourly paid, and often end up on zero-hour contracts as well, which I think surprises people because they don’t associate that model of employment with universities.” 

Pensions are also a key issue in the current strikes which continues the trend from the previous few years of industrial action in higher education. The UCU says that since 2011, university staff’s USS pension has effectively been cut by £240,000 and employers are proposing further cuts – amounting to 35% – to staff’s guaranteed pension.

Also on the Parkinson picket line, Mark Taylor-Batty, Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies and Deputy Head of School in the School of English, spoke of his despair at the current state of the university pension scheme.

“If you were to go to your parents and say, “would it be okay for you to lose 35% of your salary tomorrow and just live on that?”, they would say: “No, of course not!” But that’s what we’ve been told and what we have to expect after retirement.” He added: “Now the younger members of staff who are just starting out might lose 40-50%. Depending on inflation, they could lose 80%. That’s hundreds of thousands of pounds of our own money that they’re proposing to take away from us.” 

“Why? Because they’ve done an evaluation of the pension in the middle of Covid, so historically one of the worst times that you might look at the stock market to value forward, and they predicted that the value of the pension scheme won’t reach 80 or 90 billion until 2250. And on that basis, we have to have a cut in our pensions because that money is obviously needed to pay pensions in the future. But it’s worth 80 or 90 billion today in reality, not 2250, not in a century’s time. It’s worth that now, and all we’re saying is “can we have an evaluation based on reality?”

After the strikes were announced, UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said: “UCU has repeatedly asked employers to meet with us to try to resolve these disputes. But while we set out pragmatic solutions that could halt widespread disruption to UK campuses, university bosses refuse to revoke unnecessary, swingeing pension cuts or even to negotiate on issues like casualisation and the unbearably high workloads that blight higher education. 

A resolution to this dispute is simple. But if employers remain intent on slashing pensions and exploiting staff who have kept this sector afloat during a pandemic then campuses will face strike action before Christmas, which will escalate into spring with reballots and further industrial action.”

Tim Goodall, Employability Office for the Faculty of Biological Sciences, concurred adding that  “For some students, they see the change in higher education, and they understand that [the strikes] will benefit students in the long term. If we actually had decent workloads, we would have time to properly prepare our teaching and to give really detailed feedback that the students are looking for. I haven’t had time to do that this semester, and I feel awful.”

Throughout the three planned days of industrial action, UCU have invited a range of guests to address the crowds on the picket line including Leeds MPs Richard Burgon and Alex Sobel. Wednesday’s guest speaker John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington and former Shadow Chancellor, was unequivocal in his support for the striking students and staff.

“I’ve been on a number of UCU picket lines over the last few months. Everyone I talked to now has just basically said enough is enough,” he told the crowd. “They’ve had enough of pay cuts effectively, they’ve had enough of working themselves into the ground at times, and at the same time the insecurity. I was at the picket line at the Royal College of Arts and I was astounded at the number who are on temporary contracts at that college.”

He added: “What’s interesting for me is the scale of support that you’ve got. I’ve been talking to student unions, and students themselves have been supporting you, but in addition to that, I think you’ve got a large amount of support amongst their families in the wider community. They know what you’re up against. They know what you’re trying to do in terms of providing a good quality education to our young people and others and a lot of people have been given a second chance at education as well at a number of our colleges. They know what you’re trying to do and they support you and that’s why this dispute is so important.”

However, UCU has not found solidarity in all corners of campus. In a move that shocked many, Leeds University Union abandoned their traditional stance of neutrality to announce that they would not be supporting the UCU strikes

The LUU Student Executive said in their statement “the challenge we face as student leaders is that we don’t believe this current strike action is in the best interest of students, and our focus has to be what’s in the best interest of our members.”

They go on to describe the “added stress, lost learning and delayed teaching” that they claim the strikes will cause and further highlight that “those most affected by the strikes will be our marginalised students, specifically our disabled, international and working-class students.”

LUU’s stance was unpopular with many students and staff alike. Sharifah Rahman from the campaign group Leeds Student Staff Solidarity told The Gryphon: “We feel they made the wrong statement and that, in fact, our union as a student union should represent us and should stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the UCU.”

Rahman added that “LUU doesn’t work as a trade union; it works as a bureaucratic kind of organ and as a business and that’s what we don’t want. We want a democratically run student union that represents us. We will continue to put pressure in favour of the UCU. We recognise at the LSSS that the best interests of students are the same as the best interests of staff. It’s the same fight.”

The National Union of Students and the majority of other campus student unions have supported the strike. A poll of students conducted by the NUS this month found that 73% backed UCU’s action while 9% opposed it.

Upon request for comment, a spokesperson from the University of Leeds told The Gryphon: “Our priorities are to protect the interests of students, including minimising any disruption to them; retain the cohesion of our community; and protect the standards of Leeds degrees.”

“The future of the USS pension scheme (Universities Superannuation Scheme) can only be resolved at a national level. It cannot be solved by this or any other university alone, and we hope that all parties remain open to talking, despite the outcome of the ballot.”

“Many of the other issues in dispute are within our gift to address, and we are already taking action to address UCU’s concerns about workload and casualisation.”

How will the energy crisis impact students?

Séamus O'Hanlon on 20 November 2021

With the wholesale cost of natural gas reaching record highs, the UK is braced for a winter energy crisis which it is feared will wreak havoc on businesses and drive the cost of living up for households.

17 energy companies have so far been forced to close this autumn, affecting nearly 2 million customers. A rise in energy costs would be detrimental to all private customers, including universities.

The Gryphon spoke to the University of Leeds on how it plans to mitigate this increase and student housing charity Unipol on how students can reduce energy consumption and protect themselves financially this winter.

In response to question asking how the University of Leeds will be able to mitigate energy prices themselves, a University spokesperson responded detailing the relative strength of the University’s position in the energy market: 

“The University is modelling the impacts of the current commodity market price levels into financial forecasts and has taken steps to manage its exposure to rising commodity costs where possible. While the extra costs are significant, our financial position is currently strong enough to allow us to manage economic pressures such as those arising post pandemic and EU exit.”

The University of Leeds outlined how its own energy supply is designed to be secure regarding rising energy costs stating: “The university is not exposed to small utilities providers and security of supply (the ability to heat and power campus) is not considered to be outside of the usual range.” 

A significant area for the University’s energy consumption is their hall of residences. The University outlined their own “extensive measures in place” such as the installation of new more efficient boilers, the existing double glazing in modern properties alongside secondary glazing in older Victorian properties and the use of LED lighting “across the portfolio”. Included also is a joint energy retrofit project in Victorian properties alongside Leeds Beckett University for the 2021/2022 year. Within all hall residences, thermostatic radiator valves or push-4-hear controls have been installed which further reduce energy consumption. 

When asked if there will be any hardship grants as a result of the predicted increased living costs from the predicted rise in energy costs, the University’s reply signposted their own existing financial assistance. Registered students and PGRs facing financial difficulty can apply to the University Financial Assistance Fund (formerly the Leeds Hardship Fund) which covers help towards the payment of “essential living costs”. Leeds University Union at the same time offers an emergency Financial Assistance Fund to assist students with immediate financial difficulties. 

The University of Leeds does not offer themselves any bills-excluded housing contracts, though many students particularly after first year, will be in a bills-excluded contract meaning an increase in energy prices would directly affect student living costs. Unipol, a registered housing charity and itself providing not-for-profit direct accommodation alongside other advisory services, answered questions aimed at helping students in all accommodation save both energy and money. 

Unipol outlined how the majority of its properties are now offered on an “all-inclusive rent basis”, with the charity not requiring students to find guarantors and that “from this year onwards the majority of students renting with Unipol will not need to pay a deposit.” Unipol’s spokesperson also described the process they have in place to accommodate the rise in prices stating: 

“Energy prices have been rising rapidly over the last few months but this year’s students renting with Unipol will not see a large rise.  Unipol buys energy in bulk and has fixed tariffs in place.  Although over time it is likely that energy prices will stabilise, when setting all-inclusive rents these do need to reflect the real costs associated with energy usage.  Unipol’s Board of Trustees, that includes elected student officers at both Leeds Beckett Students’ Union and Leeds University Union, has oversight of the rent setting process.”

Unipol recommends students in bill-excluded contracts to “shop around and compare for the best deal” specifying using comparison websites to save money by switching providers – although this is dependent on your tariff as it might not the best time to switch. Default tariffs are protected by the Government’s Price cap “but might not necessarily be the cheapest”. All students can cut down on energy costs and Unipol recommends having your heating at the lowest comfortable setting, typically between 18-21°C. “Turning this down by just one degree can save you money.” In addition, Unipol suggests avoiding using electric heaters as these consume huge amount of energy. 

Unipol also answered a question about what students need to look out for in bills-included contracts. It is important when looking at bills-included contracts to look for clarification regarding whether the member (landlord) “retains responsibility” for payment of water charges, utility charges and Council Tax, or whether these charges fall to the tenants to pay.” Fair-use contracts refers to if in the letting agreement, the division of responsibility has any “fair use caps/limits” for energy use which must be accurately reflected. Students also should be aware of written receipts which can be issued for all monies demanded whether for rent, deposit, utility or service charges. Any transactions undertaken in cash will always involve a written receipt provided by the landlord or agent. 

Increasing energy demand is due to fossil fuel reliance and this is what causes the economically damaging high energy costs. Therefore, the University of Leeds’ response to increased energy costs is also part of their climate change response: chiefly their seven principles announced in 2019 aimed at achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and no direct carbon emissions by 2050. 

The University, landlords and the government all have a vested long-term interest in ensuring that energy prices are affordable to students. The pressing question is how high the prices will become.  The fundamental question is how long will the transition away from fossil fuel price dependence take.

Image credit: University of Leeds

University of Sussex to be investigated after freedom of speech controversy

Ellie Jones on 17 November 2021

Professor Kathleen Stock has recently resigned from the University of Sussex, after 18 years at the university, due to the high-profile debate regarding her disputed views on gender and sexuality. The University is now being investigated by the Independent Regulator of Higher Education due to uncertainty as to whether the institution met its obligations regarding freedom of speech.

After months of death threats, protests and online hate directed towards Professor Stock from students at the University of Sussex as well as other UK universities, due to her opinions that “womanhood and manhood reflect biological sex, not gender or gender identity,” the professor has resigned, despite insisting that she is not a transphobe. 

Whilst many students have been outraged by the Professor’s perceived transphobic views, claiming that her resignation was “a massive win for Sussex LGBTQ+ students,” the university has fiercely defended the right for all professors to exercise their academic freedom. This support was accompanied by 200 academics from other universities who signed a letter, confronting the alleged abuse from “trans activist bullies.”

Consequentially, the education minister for the House of Lords revealed that “an investigation into whether the University of Sussex met its obligations on academic freedom and freedom of speech is being launched,” grounded on the belief that no member of academic staff should have to fear for their safety when expressing their views. 

Whilst the debate originated as an issue at the University of Sussex, it has evolved into a wider, public reflection on an individual’s right to “discuss views about gender and sex without fear of intimidatory reprisals.”