Audio Mill @ The Potteries Museum - Rob Pointon’s 48 Hour Portrait Marathon Auction. June28th.

Review by Steve Dean

Photo by Simon Bamford

Although Audio Mill were not my primary reason for being at this particular auction sale, they added very much to the enjoyment of the event. Specialising in ambient electronica, utilising state-of-the-art computerised keyboards alongside acoustic and bass guitars, they provided an atmosphere most worthy of the occasion.

An old friend, keysman Kieran Williams (aka ‘Sheep’ or 'Sheepstarr') has worked extensively with exhibitor Rob Pointon, providing well-corresponding musical scores for the artist’s animated feature films. He and singer/songwriter Gaz Abbott, another old pal, have collaborated to form Audio Mill in what is a relatively new venture, and from what I heard here this afternoon, I shouldn’t think it will be long before they make a real mark in that particular genre at the very least.

Electronic synthesized music has come a long way since Walter Carlos (now Wendy) gave its then distrusted frequencies musical credibility with ‘Switched-on Bach’ in the latter part of of the 60s. The likes of Kraftwerk and Gary Neuman first cracked the popular market back in the 1970s and gave the new medium a much wider social acceptance. This acceptance growing with each successive generation until the genre finally reached the quasi-ubiquity it enjoys today. Indeed, Audio Mill’s performance at the auction played very much the role normally associated with a lone pianist or a small jazz outfit at such functions.

The pair assured me that this is by no means the full extent of their repertoire though, intending to play rather more up-tempo and dance-inducing works once they are out and gigging proper. If it is anything like as good as the ambient, laid back, but very melodic material they played here today, they’ll certainly be gigs worth checking out. Interesting stuff.

As was Rob Pointon’s artwork; a collection of forty portraits in oils, most of them painted over a 48 hour period, hung all around and ready for to be auctioned off that afternoon. Featuring such worthies as Nick Hancock, Gordon Banks, Bill Bratt and elected mayor Mark Meredith, the paintings fetched over £3000; making a satisfactorily fine result after all of this driven young artist’s hard endeavour. Hosted by Radio Stoke’s Den Siegertsz, the afternoon was a great overall success, adding much in the way of kudos to all creativity on display, both visual and aural.

Album Review: Guti - Never Hesitate

Review by Stephen Harvey (A.K.A. DJ Fresh)

Guti burst on the scene early last year courtesy of BBC Radio Subculture with his much hyped mash up of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Sound of Silence". The track was the brainchild of the ever present Vacant Beats, who has been creating tracks for a couple of years now after emerging on the local scene as one half of local rap outfit The Chapter. It wasn't long before the lads were collaborating on their first shot at an album. What followed was the fantastic A.N.D album which was both original but with a familiarity that made it accessible to non-enthusiasts of rap culture

The latest album is mostly produced by Vacant Beats, but does feature another local beat maker of note who has been around for a long time and goes by the name of Mentalist. The sound created is a step forward in the evolution of the local hip hop scene, which until now has been drawing influences from various genres to create its unique localised sound. This album has achieved the same target but without the use of samples from other established artists. This has always been the one target of contention, and possibly root of critisism by other musicians.

The Never Hesitate album will not only push the boundaries and inspirations of the what can be achieved to the limits, but is sure to rattle a few feathers among other urban artists biting at the heels of the very successful Goon Squad Camp.

Guti has a very unusual hybrid of his native Zimbabwee and Stoke accent combined, which give his vocal talents that little bit extra on top of the other local emcees emerging on the scene.

Tracks like 'Chrome Black Microphone' which was recently played by Matt and Dave on Subculture and 'The Rotation' shows a side of hip hop culture that many people would not expect. Intelligent and thought provoking story telling and totally original beats and basslines provides the listener with something new and unexpected.

Guti has already featured on Forbidden Tongues album Konnekt which received a 4/5 in Hip Hop magazine with his mentor and soul mate Parradox, and is the artist that the rest of The Goon Squad have hailed as the one person most likely to break into the big world of hip hop. Hopefully this will become a reality in the near future, and I may even get credit for discovering him.

Favourite tracks

Chrome Black Microphone

Bodies in The Morgue

Lighter Fluid

The Rotation

The album is available for FREE DOWNLOAD for a limited time and I would urge anyone who calls themselves a music lover to give it a listen, but listen without prejudice and preconceptions.

Just go to:

Never Hesitate.zip

also:

http://www.myspace.com/housesofstone

The Vants/The Low Orders/Six Weeks Falling @ The Band Stand, Hanley. June 21st

Review and photos by Steve Dean

An unusual night at the Band Stand by the fact that every band on the bill was from out of town. Rock ‘n’ Rose Management of Lichfield are using the venue for a series of showcases and the three acts tonight were the first of these.

Wolverhampton-based The Vants are a well-rehearsed, confident group of players and it is a pity there were not more punters in to see them. Essentially heavy rock, they have a tight, clean sound and a wealth of good and at times commercial material. The standard of musicianship was high in general and it was interesting to note bassist Phe’s unusual, but effective right-thumb technique. Beginning with ‘Thrill Seeker’, they took the small, but appreciative audience through a never less than interesting and generally up-tempo eight-song set. The Vants; Dickens, Jenko, Phe and Blandy – lead vocals/guitar, lead guitar, bass and drums respectively, don’t seem to lean in any particular direction image-wise, but musically they have plenty of good ideas and the classic rock era of the 70s seems to be a fair-sized influence. By that token, I particularly liked the Sabbath-ish aspect of some of their numbers. I also enjoyed the use of musical light and shade in slower tracks like ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’. A fine opening act.

Due to their drummer breaking his leg, The Low Orders were reduced to a duo for the evening. Sitting on stools, Matty Prince on bass and singer/songwriter Andrew Heath foregoing his electric for an acoustic guitar, they gave a very acceptable performance of a set that seemed as if written for an acoustic act as such anyway. Beginning with a lively ditty called ‘This Old Town’ and following on with an interesting variety of songs, it soon became clear that Andrew has a creditable flair as a tunesmith in his own right. Although his engaging melodies are heavy with the influences of the likes of Noel Gallagher and Ray Davies at times, he sings his songs like he means them and their final number ‘England’s Glory’ is a fine example of his talent. How Lichfielders The Low Orders come across in their normal 3-piece incarnation, I’ve no idea, but as a hastily formed duo, they offered an engrossing half-hour’s entertainment.

My first impression of Ed, Coop, Al, Tash and Jon, the five members who make up Burton-on-Trent band Six Weeks Falling, was of a somewhat diluted U2 with faint simmerings of a not-so-Red Hot Chilli Peppers bubbling up here and there. Rather a motley crew in appearance, the band has no clearly defined image except guitarist Ed’s astonishing resemblance to a young Fidel Castro, complete with red star on his military-style cap. I don’t know if the likeness is intentional or otherwise, but the implied sight of the old revolutionary leaping around with an Epiphone is certainly an unexpected one. In the main, their songs have a tendancy to begin quietly and then very gradually build into something quite thunderous. ‘Thunderous’ being something drummer Tash does very well indeed. She certainly lays into that kit of hers and no mistake; and interestingly, her almost continual assault and battery on her well-clobbered skins is the onstage action, along with leaping Fidel, that one finds the gaze most drawn to. She laid down a cracking beat for a version of ‘Word Up’, that for me had the edge over everything else they played on the night; but then again, in fairness it was the only tune I was familiar with. On the whole, the presentation tends to be a little sloppy in places, but being a recently-formed band, this may well be down to lack of time playing together. It would be of interest to see them again in say, six months’ time.

It is always interesting to see bands from outside Stoke-on-Trent playing in the city and it would be nice to see Rock ‘n’ Rose Management do well with their venture.

The Police / Starsailor @ The M.E.N Arena, Manchester. 17th June 2008

Review by Chloe West

The Police could be described as one of the few bands to gain total international recognition; breaking the difficult American scene and promoting British culture - a culture of late 70s punk rock for the masses. Thirty years on The Police return for a worldwide reunion tour, commemorating the anniversary of breakthrough single ‘Roxanne’, stopping in Manchester for two consecutive sold out nights.

However, before the trio take to the stage, we are greeted by Starsailor, a soulful indie four-piece. Frontman James Walsh’s vocals haunt the by this point semi-filled arena, breaking into the thought -provoking ‘Alcoholic’, followed by a new track, ‘Tell Me Its Not Over’, taken from their so far unnamed forthcoming album. Further into the set, Walsh presents the band's only number one to date - a number one in France that is - the classic ‘Four To The Floor’. Another new track brings a country element to the set, before continuing with the hit, ‘Silence Is Easy’. To finish, Starsailor depart with ‘Good Souls’, a song ‘for all those Starsailor fans’ with Walsh cleverly entwining the lyrics from Beatles ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ into the end of the song.

Half an hour later and the M.E.N is full. 18,000 eager fans of all ages brimming with anticipation. As the lights fade we are greeted by a seated figure as ‘Bring On The Night’ fills the venue, with Sting on acoustic guitar. Stepping up the tempo, the unforgettable opening notes of ‘Message In A Bottle’ cry out and the crowd erupts to their first number one. It is obvious why The Police hold such prestige; their talents haven’t faded at all since their formation in 1977. It would be interesting to see today’s artists playing with the same momentum in their ‘senior years’! Another classic, ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ is introduced with Sting reminding the audience he used to be a teacher, although he has previously claimed that the track’s tale isn’t autobiographical.

He also apologises for the eight months wait many have experienced due to the original October date being cancelled. Now it is clear why that was necessary; with no throat infection to hinder him, Sting reaches every note, matching Andy Summers masterful guitar technique; while the now grey-haired Stewart Copeland shows exactly why he is a world renowned drummer. Sporting sweatband, glasses and white gloves, Copeland shows off his wide-ranging ability from fast frenzied beats to the gentler percussion rhythms. Crowd pleaser ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ follows the funky ‘Hole In My Life’, before the tone lowers with the more political ‘Invisible Sun’ - images of poverty stricken children filing the screens.

‘I guess this is our last goodbye’ Sting sings in the final number, ‘Cant Stand Losing You’; a poignant reminder that this is their last ever tour. They then return for the first of two encores, including the timeless ‘Roxanne’, ‘So Lonely’ and ‘Every Breath You Take’. Finally the trio grace us with ‘Next To You’, a feeling many women in the crowd surely had for a certain singer tonight! An overall amazing performance from a band whose legacy will definitely be prominent for another thirty years.