Interview
Video: Backseat Mafia meets Cult of Luna
Last night, despite the heatwave engulfing London, I positioned myself in the hottest room in my house, closed all the windows and doors to shut out extraneous noise, and talked to Cult of Luna singer and guitarist Johannes Persson. The Swedish metal band released their sixth album in January and have been on and off …
Meet: Emily Ireland a.k.a. See Emily Play on Sheffield, new songs, performing and more
I nearly wore out my copy of Kate Bush – The Whole Story when I first started work. For some reason, I found playing The Man with a child in his eyes was just about the most soothing thing it was possible to listen to when I got home from those first steps into being …
Meet: Gerard Langley of The Blue Aeroplanes, plus new reissue / tour dates
I suppose I would have been about 18. I’d gone along to the Trent Polytechnic (in those days we had such things) to watch my then favourites, The Darling Buds. When I came away, I’d fallen for this band of Bristol artisans, who made this sort of jagged art-sunk indie, with this front man constantly …
Meet: Keida – Dancehall, Jamaica & Me.
I’m pretty sure I saw a glimpse of sun the other day, although I may well have been mistaken. It reminded me (well, sort of reminded me) that I once went (well, twice actually) to the Cayman Islands, and it was there that I really fell in love with Jamaican music. Basking in the hot …
Meet: Drenge
Drenge are made up of two brothers, Eoin and Rory Loveless who hail from the Peak District, not far from us (well, me) in Sheffield. They are a duo in the Black Keys / White Stripes way (as opposed to the Pet Shop Boys sort of way I suppose) with no bass, instead this raw, …
Meet: Memories and Broken Dreams – A Conversation with The Tennis System
Teenagers, was chock full of shoegaze and noise rock goodness. The stuff I fall for every time. Let’s be honest though, there’s a lot of bands attempting to cash in on that late 80s to early 90s sound bands like My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain perfected. They’re not all diamonds in the rough. …
Meet: Sweet Baboo, and his new album ‘Ships’
I don’t know why, but some of the best and most interesting music to come out over the last few years has been from Wales. Amongst this breed of creative people is Stephen Black a.k.a. Sweet Baboo. Under this moniker he has released some criminally undervalued records that mould indie, psych, country, Motown and plain …
Meet: Ty, and hear about his new releases, label and gigs
One of the best releases we have heard this year on Backseat Mafia came from UK Rapper, Ty and his Kick and a Snare EP. Born Ben Chijioke, he was born and still lives in London. More importantly, he has been at the forefront of UK Hip-Hop for over ten years, starting with his album …
Meet: Skillit – Rapper, Actor, Comedian
I blame it on my brother. I was happy with my music choices at the time. Me and Billy Bragg, The Smiths, The Housemartins, The Cure – we had this special thing going on. Then one day he (let’s not forget prior to this he had bought things by Bon Jovi and Europe) suddenly came …
Not Forgotten: The Family Cat reissue news and an interview with Fred.
I stumbled on The Family Cat. The record shops I frequented all had it. I picked it up so many times, mainly because it had something that appeared fantastic. The Family Cat is such a fantastic name for a band, and the artwork on debut mini-album ‘tell ’em we’re surfin’ is utterly brilliant. So I …