I've been creating 'content' for Independent Venue Week – the yearly celebration of the UK's grassroots venues – since taking over their social media on November 2016. We've interviewed a lot of the artist who've played and created bespoke 'blog' posts for the sponsors and supporter. Recently, I spoke to Shaun Ryder for them – …
Continue reading Q&A – Shaun Ryder on Black Grape, 100 Club & Fred Perry for Independent Venue Week
George Ezra is releasing a new album later this year. I interviewed him for Q in December last year while he was still in the studio and this is how he hoped it would turn out (originally published in January 2017, print only)... Hi George, before you wrote your debut album Wanted On Voyage your …
It's almost a biannual event, I get to write an in the studio piece with Baxter Dury for Q. It's a tradition I hold dear. Here is the latest installment (originally published print only in January 2017), although there's been some changes since the last time Baxter and I convened. Hello Baxter, your recent albums …
Continue reading “Prejudice is weakness” in the studio with Baxter Dury
This article originally appeared in MOJO and on MOJO4Music.com AS SONG SUBJECTS go, listing an old family recipe sounds tasty, but hardly artful. However, for French duo The Limiñanas, culinary instructions proved to be the starting point for their chic brand of garage-rock-infused psych. “We didn’t have any particular plan or ambition when we started,” …
Continue reading The Limiñanas: A Psychedelic Tour De France
Two Christmases ago – in 2014 – Leon Bridges part of the festive season in his local branch of Staples. The Fort Worth branch of the office supply story is not exactly the most festival place on earth, but the neo soul man was celebrating. As he recounted in an interview I did for MOJO …
Continue reading New Soul & Seasons Greeting with Leon Bridges
This article originally appeared on Qthemusic.com Having called time on LCD Soundsystem in 2011, main man James Murphy has been enjoying his retirement... as long as your definition of retirement includes producing Arcade Fire and Pulp, remixing David Bowie, building unique, vinyl-only Despacio Soundsystem with Soulwax, contributing music for films and Broadway plays, running the …
Continue reading Q&A: James Murphy on LCD Soundsystem’s long goodbye
Several times I've been invited to attend a music conference/ festival in Montreal. A showcase for both up-and-coming and established Canadian acts, the M Pour Montreal line-up is always varied and ahead of the curve thanks to its programmer Mikey 'Mikey' Rishwain. In 2014 among the bill was a celebrated hometown son Adam Cohen, son …
Continue reading Going to Leonard’s house with Adam Cohen (Archive Podcast)
This article originally appeared on Qthemusic.com Patti Smith's newly released album BANGA - her first since 2007's Twelve - is a record of much variety. Not just in terms of its subject matter - which sees the singer-songwriter touch on subjects topics like the Japanese Tsunami, Amy Winehouse's death, dreams and Johnny Depp's birthday among …
This year I've joined the team behind Independent Venue Week to manage their digital editorial and social media. The event, now in its fourth, is a little bit like a Record Store Day for live music. Every year in January (23-29 2017), IVW supports Independent venues across the UK, helping them to stage, promote and …
I vividly remember the release of Suede's Dog Man Star because it was the last time I saw a Flexidisc. These thin sheets of plastic, which could be played once or maybe twice on a record player, were cover-mounted to magazine or posted out in the late 80s and early 90s... except they weren't really …
Continue reading Flexidiscs & Dog Man Star by Suede (Archive Podcast)
Paul Stokes – Journalist 