London
Interview: Amber Run
On Wednesday I headed over to East London to meet Amber Run before their gig at the Sebright Arms. I arrived a bit early so I took the liberty of enjoying a pint of Camden Hells in the bar while I waited for Will Driscoll, Tour Manager, to appear. Most of the way through drinking it a …
See: Fanfarlo’s video for ‘A distance’
I needed cheering up today. I had to go to the hospital and have a camera inserted into my stomach via my throat. I won’t bore (read, gross you out) with the details, suffice to say that my gag reflex is about the most healthy part of my body, or so it seemed. I was …
Live: Jezabels/Josef Salvat at Scala, London
Playing to a crowd warmed up by the debonair Josef Salvat, the Jezabels say thank you to London for their recording residence with a faultless show featuring scorching new material. First, Salvat. Wow. What an entrance. Flanked by shoeless drummer and heavily-bearded rhythm monster on bass, the elegantly attired singer was an instant sensation. Whatever …
New Single: Josef Salvat – Every Night/Till I Found You
London-based Aussie singer Josef Salvat releases his new single, more timeless (mainly synth) pop-soul in the form of double-A-side “Every Night” and “Till I Found You”. Out on December 9th on Fingers & Thumbs. We’ve met Josef before, back in April when we reviewed his previous single “Hustler” (you can read about it here). There …
Burning Condors – Last Train Home b/w Gambling Hearts
“Coz every night I’m out with you I’m always chasing that train home” I guess it doesn’t matter where you live – even though this IS, and feels like, a London thing; we’ve all been there, pissed as farts, sodden with autumn rain, fags all wet, pubs shut, no money for expensive clubs, the hideous …
Video of the Day: Little Death Machine – Velvet Skin
In early September we brought you the smack-in-the-face first single from London’s Little Death Machine. Following on from the attention-grabbing simplicity of the “Hit Me” light show comes “Velvet Skin” a disturbing black and white horror story. Our music-makers Daniel and Clare are blindfolded and bound, kept prisoner in a sparsely-furnished flat in a dilapidated …
New Music: The Hics, Little Death Machine, Steve Rich & The Hills
Rounding up some new sounds for you, first we have The Hics, a band manufactured in one of my old stomping grounds – the music factory that is… Pimlico, south London. This six-piece met taking the classical/jazz course at the quirkily-shaped Pimlico School and they release their first EP, “Tangle”, today on SQE. Mellifluous instrumentation …
The Provincial Archive – Common Cards (time-limited download…)
There’s a lot of music comes through the Backseat Mafia front-door mail flap, as you’d probably expect. Perusing the stack of titles I came upon The Provincial Archive and I was snagged with the name. That understated, everyday-sounding handle evokes secret societies with niche and/or subversive agendas; not so much the illuminati or opus dei, …
Interview: Goldheart Assembly
Just last week, we posed some questions to Goldheart Assembly, on the occasion of a new album and supporting tour. Jim Fletcher is their interrogator; John, James and Jake are the subjects. Backseat Mafia: Goldheart Assembly – how are things at the moment? John: Skittish. James: In limbo. BM: You’ve a new record out (“Long …
New Music: Daniel James – A Lonely Man
Northern-Irish singer-songwriter Daniel James has a new song out called “A Lonely Man”. The 23-year-old, now living in London, has recently been a featured artist on Radio 1’s ‘Introducing’ show. Daniel tells us that this soulful track aims to intertwine two stories – a more commonplace, everyday tale of struggling with day-to-day life and carving …