As part of Maximo Park, Paul Smith was responsible for some of the biggest and most anthemic indie tracks of the noughties. Who out of us can say they haven’t been in a pub or club wailing along to ‘Apply some pressure’ or ‘Books from boxes’ at some point in their life? (Or is thst …

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Quiet is the new loud. You only have to look at the careers of artists such as Lucy Rose and Passenger to see that as a nation we have become lovers of the more sensitive and delicate acoustic tracks. Well here’s a new name that you may not have heard yet. If you want to …

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Recently classic albums ‘Screamadelica’ by Primal Scream and ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana celebrated their 25th anniversaries with special releases of their classic albums. Whilst it does make those of us who remember those albums so affectionately from the first time around, it is important to remember albums that shaped music in such a way. Whilst Tom …

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In 1993 I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Cracknell at a signing at an  HMV store. It was Sheffield sound city and the Saint Etienne were doing the signing ahead of their set. I took along my copies of  ‘Foxbase Alpha’ and ‘So Tough’. I had never really met any singers or bands before …

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At the start of each year there are the usual polls put together by the music press to tell us who we will be listening to over the next twelve months. It’s always interesting to follow the careers of the chosen ones, to see which out of them will measure up, and which will fade …

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My love for Tracey Thorn goes way back. From those early beautifully mellow ballads she did with Everything But The Girl, to the ultra-cool dance tracks such as ‘Missing’. and ‘Walking Wounded’. The thing that has always astonished me about her, is her ability to portray so much raw emotion in her vocals, without even …

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‘Nineteen-eighty five was a good year’ sing Passion Pit on the opening track of the new album ‘Kindred’. Is it me, or is there an enormous amount of nostalgia at the moment for the decade that fashion forgot? Well if it’s good enough for Swifty, then it’s good enough for me. The track I’m speaking …

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It would have been so easy for Seasick Steve to infiltrate the crowd of his own gig. For one night only, Sheffield 02 Academy was filled with men of a certain age, complete with beards and baseball caps. But that’s not to say it was only the older generation at this gig. The audience spanned …

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Every now and then, an artist comes along who confuses those music critics and fans that like to put music into certain boxes or genres. Ghospoet is undoubtable one of those people. Singer/songwriter? Rapper? Poet? Yeah, I guess you could say he falls into all of the above. There are elements of hip-hop, but with …

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For one weekend every year the streets of Sheffield fill up as it turns in to the venue for one of the UK’s most exciting music festivals. As well as the outdoor stages, pretty much every pub and club has a live act to be seen. And that’s not to mention the performers on the …

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