A Guide To: Brighton, courtesy of Willkommen Records

Here we have a guide to the lovely seaside town of Brighton, courtesy of the super talented double bassist/Willkommen Records extraordinaire Marcus Hamblett. Pay a visit to Willkommen here and take a peek at their roster.

Best music venue : There is a stupid number of venues in Brighton. I’ve most enjoyed playing in The Albert, because we get a good crowd there and they have a great PA and it’s really sweaty and intense. The Freebutt used to be a legendary sticky rock dive but unfortunately fell into the wrong hands and its reputation was somewhat soiled, but our friends at OIB Records have bought it now and under their leadership it should become as great as it once was, they’ve already redecorated and got a load of great shows coming up. There are some volunteer run places where you see the most innovative stuff – some of my favourite shows have been at Westhill, a beautiful old village hall in the centre of Brighton (and you can bring your own alcohol!). It’s also run by a great musician called Lianne Hall. Then I’m also really excited about a new place called Coachwerks which our friend Graeme has opened and is always improving. It’s a co-operatively run space for all the arts and there have already been some very memorable shows there, including a festival called Soundcurious which explored the links between visual and sonic arts including lots of live film scores and installations. Places like Coachwerks and the Westhill are the most crucial venues for nurturing talent and making scenes evolve, I absolutely love them and am so grateful to the likes of Lianne and Graeme for making them happen.

Best record shop: The best all round record shop is definitely Resident on Kensington Gardens. It’s a really great independent with friendly staff and they have a great selections with informative write-ups on a lot of them. They sell gig tickets too so it’s a great place to see what’s on and they’ve been fantastic supporters of Willkommen, stocking and recommending our releases and tickets since the beginning. Directly opposite above a clothes shop is a hidden gem called Edgeworld, it only stocks vinyl and it is stuffed full of amazing finds from the more experimental end of music. The guy who runs it also puts on so many ridiculously good shows in Brighton under the name of Tatty Seaside Town. His tall, thin, neon poster designs are an iconic stamp of quality.

Favourite Brighton bands: I could talk about great Brighton bands for a long time. Aside from being exceptionally proud of all the more well known Willkommen bands of which you’re probably aware – Sons of Noel and Adrian, The Leisure Society, Shoreline and The Miserable Rich – there’s a wealth of amazing music coming out of Brighton. I’m a big fan of Hamilton Yarns, which is a bit like a very English take on Gastr Del Sol type kraut-inspired eclectica featuring Alistair Strachan, the cornet player with Sons. Also there’s a great new generation of Willkommen related acts coming through, charming and astonishingly catchy lo-fi pop from Curly Hair, rip-roaring barn-storming folk anthems from Mariner’s Children and heart-stoppingly beautiful stripped back masterpieces from Redwood Red, Catherine Cardin’s solo project. I think Peggy Sue are unbelievably good and one of the most inventive and best live bands going at the moment. Plus they keep getting better and better. I’m also a huge fan of Dylan Nyoukis / Chocolate Monk and the free improv and noise scene he has been largely responsible for cultivating here in Brighton through his shows, his label and his incredible festival Colour Out Of Space. Similarly the regular Safehouse nights at Open House are invaluable for discovering fresh, exciting improvised music and jazz and Spirit of Gravity at Komedia showcases loads of enthralling experimental electronic music. There are shedloads more but here are a few other greats: Animal Magic Tricks, Robert Stillman, Caroline Weeks, Spoono, Mechanical Bride, Kristen McClement, Mary Hampton, Everyone to the Anderson, Colectress and look out for the mysterious Gesualda… 

Interesting Brighton fact: David Gilmour just bought a house around the corner from me. I have yet to run in to him in Budgens. You do often see a man dressed as a cowboy by the name of Nick Cave, though.

Anything else we need to know about Brighton?

In 1844, at the request of the Prince Regent, Brighton had a rib removed (near Lower Bevendean) so it could felate itself. This little known historical event, not long shore drift as popularly believed, is the reason one end of the beach is slowly creeping closer and closer to the other. The council installed defensive walls along the coast to stop this and called them ‘groynes’ as a cheeky nod to the events of 1844 (referred to in council documentation as ‘felategate’).

A Guide To: Halifax, Courtesy of The Superfantastics

The Superfantastics

Photo by Chris Smith.

The Superfantastics are a duo from Halifax, Canada. They have five London shows this November, you can see dates on their Myspace. I’m going to make an effort to pop along to a show. If you have no monies you can catch them at Flowerpot on the 18th, shows there are always free. Another reason why you should check them out is because they have a song called Triceratops, and dinosaurs are awesome…

Here Matthew gives us a guide to Halifax, which, for the less geographically inclined, is here.

Best music venue: The best music venue in Halifax would have to be the Seahorse Tavern. It is in a basement. The atmosphere is wonderful and there are seahorse statues with glowing red eyes.

Best record shop: The best record shop is TAZ records. They have tons of great used vinyl and the staff are superb.

Favorite Halifax bands: There are (as there has always been ) a ton of great bands residing in Halifax. Some of our favs are Sleepless Nights, Laura Peek, Share, The Beginners and Dog Day.

Interesting Halifax fact: Halifax is home of Theodore Tugboat. The popular children’s tv series hosted by the late Denny doherty of the Mamas & the Papas.

A Guide To: Seattle, Courtesy of Shenandoah Davis

By Kristin Tolliver

A couple of months ago I came across the wonderful music of the very talented Shenandoah Davis. She was in the UK but was heading back to the States very soon. I didn’t get to see her play but I had the pleasure of meeting up with her and she so kindly gave me her cds. They are beautiful. Listen to her songs here and also on Spotify, and make sure you come see her next time she’s in London. Here Shenandoah tells us about Seattle:

Best music venue: My favorite music venue in Seattle is hands-down the Tractor Tavern. They have the best sound guys in town, the entire staff is extremely laid-back and easygoing, the crowd is usually extremely appreciative (if at times a bit noisy), there’s a golden retriever that seems to be hanging out there most nights, and the green room is covered wall-to-wall in Sharpied alterations on band names replacing one syllable with the word ‘poop’ (i.e. the Poop Foxes, Margot and the Nuclear Poop-and-Poops, The Rolling Poops).

Best record shop: Sonic Boom…they have two stores and also do a lot of online sales, and really have their finger on the pulse of what is going on in every aspect of the local music community, from folk to hip-hop to electronica. They feature artists from the Northwest at the front of the store and on the listening stations, and have artists come in for in-store performances a couple of times a week.

Favourite Seattle bands: I don’t have the most unbiased opinions, of course, but I do have quite a few…The Maldives, KHV, Christopher Francis, Polka Dot Dot Dot, Damien Jurado, Widower, Husbands Love Your Wives, Betsy Olsen, The Whisky Swillers, Robert Deeble, Molly Rose, Sleepy Eyes of Death, Brittain Ashford…the list could go on, but I have a feeling that should be plenty for most people. But, as always, if you dig it, dig deeper.

Interesting Seattle fact: Everyone associates Seattle with the birth of grunge rock and Nirvana, but before that, it was a huge jazz town, and before that, a huge country town…I think the dismal weather encourages people to stay inside with their friends and fosters a good community of creative behavior. Regardless of genre or what is rising in popularity, all over Seattle you will stumble upon little pockets of like-minded, creative folks working on some fantastic projects together.

Anything else we need to know about Seattle? I don’t think so!

A Guide To: Winnipeg, Courtesy of The Perms

Have you ever wondered what Winnipeg is like? Of course you have! We already have guides to Toronto and Calgary, with Halifax and Hamilton on the way soon… yay, Cananda! Our friends The Perms give us a run down on what’s happening in Winnipeg…

Best music venue: The Cavern in the Osborne Village is a crowd favorite. Although, only a small venue (capacity is about 120) the energy in that place is really special. The Park Theatre is a favorite for all-ages shows. It’s an old movie theatre restored into a live music venue. This is a natural choice because of it’s location and affordability to rent if your putting on your own show. We used to do our all-ages shows in a community centre but we were asked to stop putting on shows because of underage drinking etc…

Best record shop: I typically buy my records at Music Trader in the Osborne Village. They also have alot of used stuff as well. They are also very suportive of the local scene and have put on many in store performances throughout the years. My second choice would be Into the Music in the Exchange District. Lots of artists to chose from. Lots imports

Favourite Winnipeg bands: Winnipeg has one of the best local scenes in the country. We often get asked why so much great talent comes out of such a cold climate. You’re usually one of two things if you’re from Winnipeg: You play hockey during the winter months, or you play in a band. That being said, my favorite bands in Winnipeg are the Waking Eyes, Filbatross, Floor 13 among many others.

Interesting Winnipeg fact: Winnipeg is the Slurpee capital of the world. Even though we are a frozen city six months out of the year, we consume an estimated 4000,000 Slurpees per month in Winnipeg.

Anything else we need to know about Winnipeg? Even though our summers are short and our winters are extremly long, Winnipeg is a great place to live. Lots of opportunity and great thing is if your a touring band, you are right in the middle of the entire country. Go east, go west. It doesnt matter.

A Guide To: Oslo, courtesy of Jæ

Here is a lovely singer. She goes by the name of Jæ, she’s a Dutch artist living in Norway. She tells us a bit about Oslo:

Best music venue: There’s nice little places. Like Sound of Mu, a cafe/venue/gallery. There’s also often nice concerts downstairs at Revolver, and for a more experimental evening go to SIC! concerts at Sagene.

Best music venue:  I’ve been told. I can’t tell you anything more about it unfortunately, I never go there. Since moving to one of the richest countries in the world I can’t afford buying fancy things like records anymore : I

Favourite Oslo bands: These are some of my favorite young bands: Sacred Harp : ), Streifenjunko, Lars Myrvoll, Minn Minn Lights, Moe, Rockettothesky, Petter o Hanna, Splashgirl…

Interesting Oslo fact(s):  

- In the parks there are special trashcans for one-time-use-barbeque’s. In the summers the parks are swamped with grilling people, every day that’s a tad sunny.

- Take the metro for 15 minutes and you’re in mountains and forests. A great Norwegian tradition is to go on outings into nature on weekends and in holidays.

-In the winter people walk around in the centre of Oslo with skis and snowboards in their hands all the time.

- It’s nice and safe here. Norwegian crime rates are not some of the highest around. So why not walk home at night, it’s calm and peaceful.

Anything else we need to know about Oslo?

- Byob, or rather, bring your own booze if you can. To the country. It is way expensive. Actually everything is way expensive, but alcohol wins. Don’t be discouraged by all this, come for the experimental music and for the magnificent nature. It’ll do you good!

- Best coffee is right outside Majorstua-metrostation, a place called ’Valkyrien Kaffe’.

You can hear some of her songs and download a couple of tracks on LastFm. She has lots of May/June dates across the United States, go to her Myspace for more details. Go go go!

A Guide To: Berlin, courtesy of It’s A Musical

Photo :: Sibilla Calzolari and MorrMusic

Robert Kretzschmar of It’s A Musical gives us a guide to Berlin…

Best music venue: There are alot of nice places to see concerts in Berlin. I mostly prefer to go to a smaller place in Ackerstraße called “Schokoladen”. They have many international musicians as well as really young starting Berlin acts and a well mixed style of music. I can also recommend a newly opened musicclub in Berlin/Kreuzberg called Live@Dot. They have a really nice sound there.

Best record shop: To be honest im probably the wrong person to ask about a favorite record shop. Most of the time I discover new music via myspace or friends. Than I already decided to buy or not and for this reason it is good to have a recordstore called “Freak out” around the corner.

Favourite Berlin bands: I like the new record of The Whitest Boy Alive alot but except from this there was not really a Berlin band in the past months that impressed me alot. I talked about this also with other people in berlin an they thought the same. Maybe I missed something.

Interesting Berlin fact(s): 

Its still cheap to live here.

Too much dogshit and broken glass on the streets.

Really small compared to London.

You can manage nearly all ways by bike.

Anything else we need to know about Berlin? Due to the fact that I love to eat, try the breakfast and cake at “sowohl als auch” (Sredskistraße, Berlin/Prenzlauer Berg) and the vegetarian Burger at “White Trash Fast Food” (Senefelder Straße, Berlin/Mitte)

The band’s debut album The Music Makes Me Sick is out now and there’s a cute music video for the single which you can see here. They have a few European dates on their Myspace, they’re alot of fun live- go see them!

A Guide To: Toronto, Courtesy of Forest City Lovers

Kat Burns of the lovely Forest City Lovers gives us a guide to Toronto…

Best music venue : For music any night of the week I’d hit up the Tranzac Club. They have two small rooms and a main hall so there’s a good chance you’ll catch a local act. I also like checking out shows at the Horseshoe – it has a good vibe and it’s got quite a history.

Best record shop: It’s a tie Soundscapes and Rotate This. Both carry a great selection of independent and Canadian music. Rotate This is more heavy on the vinyl section which is awesome, and Soundscapes has really great in-store performances (almost weekly) by local and international acts that are passing through. 

Favourite Toronto bands: There are so many to choose from! We are lucky to have a lot of talented friends in Toronto who happen to have awesome records out, some of them include: Ohbijou (www.ohbijou.com), the Wooden Sky(www.thewoodensky.com), Timber Timbre (www.myspace.com/timbertimbre), the D’Urbervilles (www.thedurbs.ca). 

Interesting fact about Toronto: We have a secret underground walkway! It runs for many kilometres underneath the city. There are shops and subway stops along the way. Apparently you can walk across the whole city without coming above ground!

Anything else we need to know about Toronto: Toronto is a very exciting place to be right now. I feel like is swelling with arts and culture happening in the city and we’re feeling pretty lucky to be a part of it.  It has a beautiful island that is pleasant in the summer to go swimming and exploring on, and gives you a fantastic view of the city from across the lake. 

The band are playing Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands in May, check their website for details. They also have a pretty nifty music video for Song For Morrie, go here to watch.

A Guide To: Melbourne, courtesy of Houlette

Photo :: Jacob Walker

Today, Felicity Cripps of the wonderful Houlette tells us a bit about Melbourne: 

Best music venue: Tough one, there are a lot of great music venues – The grandest in Melbourne I think, would be the Forum Theatre – it’s a gorgeous old Roman-esque theatre with a ceiling that resembles the night sky and a lavish interior, mezzanine, and massive stage with excellent sound. Second to that, as a more accessible venue could be The Toff in Town – it has a beautiful band room, with a great stage and it’s quite intimate with lots of style… It houses many amazing local bands, as well as the bigger names and international artists.

Best record shop: Mmm… There are many and it depends what you are seeking.. I like Title. It’s a little record store in Gertrude St, Fitzroy and it has a really varied and well thought out repetiore. Plus a great section on early sixties french folk and pop, which excites me. They have some amazing dvd music doco’s too.

Favourite Melbourne bands: If we can claim Nick Cave as Melbourne own, I’d have to say him and Paul Kelly. Both so utterly unique and un-compromising in their approach to music. They seem to do it purely for the love. 

Interesting Melbourne fact: Melbourne is home to lots of cute and furry possums. But you can’t pet them cause they’re likely to bite your hand off.

Anything else we need to know about Melbourne? Melbourne coffee is some the world’s finest!

I managed to catch Houlette on their stop over here last year, they play lovely folky music which is sometimes in French (yay!). Felicity has a beautiful voice and they have some lovely songs, listen on Myspace. The band are working on a new album, hopefully out this summer.

A Guide To: Calgary, courtesy of Woodpigeon

Today, Woodpigeon’s Mark Hamilton enlightens us about Calgary.

Best music venue: Broken City has the best vibe, although sadly they don’t put on quite as much music as they used to. There’s some interesting alternate venues that have sprung up, though — a group called The Summerwood Warren was putting on the most amazing series of all-ages shows at a venue called EMMEDIA, but they’re currently on hiatus. Next to Broken City, there’s a rather swell house show scene coming up through the cracks, and they’re typically packed with some amazing performances.

Best record shop:  I’ve always been a fan of Sloth Records, in no small part due to just how long it’s managed to stay open in such an expensive part of town. They’ve always got a great selection of stuff to sort through. For used stuff, definitely Recordland. Thousands upon thousands of albums — you can even find original Velvet Underground banana records here on occasion. When groups like the Herbaliser come to Calgary, they invariably spend the following day at Recordland (and Recordland shuts the shop for them). It’s a surprisingly good rock star spotting location.

Favourite Calgary bands: There’s a lot: Kris Ellestad, Knots, BRAIDS, Women, Chad Van Gaalen, Azeda Booth, Live Nude Celebs, The Consonant C, The Secret Brothers … The reason for all of them is the same: everyone’s doing something quite different, but it’s all incredible. I think a lot of people might be taking a little break at the moment, but I still think Calgary’s music scene can take on just about any other one going in terms of quality and excitement.

Interesting Calgary fact: I grew up in one of the rougher parts of town called Forest Lawn. Up until 1961 it was its own town, but Calgary annexed it and took it in. It’s always been known as a rather shifty area, though, in large part due to its initial building. Developers claimed there was to be a direct train line into downtown Calgary, and laid fake tracks down, ending once they crested over the top of the hill. (From this hill you see downtown off in the distance). Once every lot was sold, thanks in no small part to the direct train line, the developers disappeared never to be seen again. By this point, Calgary’s so huge (same land size as Greater New York City, with 1/7th the population), that Forest Lawn is pretty much considered inner-city.

Anything else we need to know about Calgary? The best thing about Calgary is getting out of it — drive straight towards the mountains and soon you’ll be in the paradise of the Rockies.

Woodpigeon make brilliant, melodic, folky music with really captivating lyrics. I saw Mark twice last year and he was fantastic both times, I can only imagine how amazing it must be with the full band. Listen to them and go see them live!

A Guide To: Karlstad, courtesy of Detektivbyrån

I’ve started a new feature. I was thinking about how well I know the London music scene but how relatively little I know about other cities. So for this A Guide To series I will try and get as many different musicians as I can to tell us a bit about their town.

For this episode Anders “Flanders” Molin of the band Detektivbyrån introduces us to Karlstad, Sweden.

Best music venue: Café August. It’s beautifully located and intimate.

Best record shop: Knastret. Legendary second hand record shop! Tore who drives it is nicest guy. Located very central.

Favourite bands from Karlstad: Sven-Ingvars. Legendary Värmland Rockn’Roll band since the 50’s, it’s genuine.. Also: Da Buzz, genius, I completly love this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0PBi4hGoFs

Interesting fact about Karlstad: It has the oldest stone bridge in the country. Also: The Beatles had their first show outside of England in Karlstad, except for the Hamburg period with another line-up and so on. The show was at Sundsta Läroverk (a school we actually went to some years when we grew up) 25 november 1963, the local newspaper wrote they sucked, and the same critic wrote many years later that I was a great bass player (after a jazzband show I was in) so I thought ”Oh, then I’m better than The Beatles?”

Anything else we need to know about Karlstad? People are friendly and you will probably think they speak Norwegian, it’s close to Norway.

Detektivbyrån make wonderful, rich, melodic instrumental music with accordion and glockenspiel and keyboards. A user on their LastFm page described them as ‘Yann Tiersen + Múm-ish’, that’s a pretty good combo if you ask me. They do, however, have their own distinct sound and look like they would be amazing to see live. Lots of great videos of the band on Youtube.