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Crossfire Chronicles: The New Breed of Rap

Illustration by Matthew Bromley

newbreed_of_rap_chronicles

Thanks to the rise of blogs, there are so many rappers that have peppered the web in the past few years yet it’s nigh on impossible to keep track of them all. So we have decided to give you guys the heads up on rappers that are coming through that you definitely need to keep an eye and ear out for. Sometimes all it takes is that one track to hook you, getting you to press the rewind button so you can learn all the words straight away and sometimes it’s more of a slow burn, letting the music wash over you, submersing yourself into it before something clicks and you declare yourself a fan.

The list below is by no means gospel, but amongst all the names that you’ll be hearing sooner rather than later, there are some rappers who stand head and shoulders above the rest, and they can be found here. You won’t see any mention of the likes of Tyler the Creator or Jay Electronica because they’ve already grabbed the mainstream’s eye but hopefully there will be someone below that will get you interested!

So, without further ado, here is a list of the top five rappers you need to get into:

Abjekt.

1. Yelawolf

Yelawolf is certainly the best new rapper out there at the moment. He’s not hit the mainstream quite yet, but with the ink drying on his contract with Eminem’s Shady Records it can’t be fair off if the talent he showed on his Trunk Muzik mixtape [and it’s re-released with additional track half-brother Trunk Muzik 0-60] is anything to go by. He can switch up to double-time at the drop of a hat or he can run it slow like he does on Pop The Trunk below. Lazy journalists will no doubt refer to Catfish Billy as “The New Eminem” but pay no attention to that, he’d much rather rap about Chevys and getting drunk than murdering his Baby Momma. Alabama is well and truly on the map thanks to Yela. Get involved.

Top Tune: Pop The Trunk

2. Fashawn

Already one album down, Fashawn is working hard on mixtapes having recently released Higher Learning 2 and Grizzly City 3 before releasing his sophomore effort. The Fresno MC might not be the brashest of rappers, but his smooth flow and beat selection are top notch. His debut Boys Meets World featured production by Exile, who provided the perfect backdrop for Fashawn to go in over, from sunny melodies to songs about suicide. If he continues the way he’s going, like he has over J. Cole’s beats, there will be a hell of a lot more people smiling their way down the street. If the track below doesn’t get you bouncing, you’ve got no soul.

Top Tune: Samsonite Man f. Blu

3. Phil Ade

Maryland’s Phil Ade has burst onto the scene in the past couple of years through his stellar Starting on JV and The Letterman mixtapes, showcasing his ability to rap over a diverse selection of beats before his Twitter-friendly #PhilAdeFriday tracks, which were released for free through the social networking site every Friday came to prominence at the start of 2011. He’s now put them into a mixtape of their own, with some tracks featuring him rapping over famous beats from the likes of Ice Cube and Mobb Deep and will be dropping his new album A Different World on July 12th. Check out the track below for some early LL Cool J influenced shit.

Top Tune: Always There

4. TiRon

LA’s TiRon is another rapper who gives the listener a big beaming smile, he just seems to be having so much fun when he raps and it’s that infectious positivity that grabs the listener. From songs declaring his love for food or trainers to tracks discussing the importance of having a Wingman when trying to bag a chick at a party, TiRon [and his running mate Ayomari] delivers perfect call-and-response style tracks which bump along nicely whether you’re in the mood to get hype or whether you want some beats playing whilst you’re cleaning your flat. The track below is a perfect example of what to expect from the guy that brought the world his MSTRD and Ketchup mixtapes as well as T&A, the prelude to the debut album Sucker For Pumps which is a collaborative effort with Ayomari.

Top Tune: What You Waitin’ On f. Ayomari

5. Stalley

Ohio rapper Stalley could have been a high-standard basketball player before injuries curtailed his sporting career. But the NBA’s loss is hip hop’s gain. He has got a fantastic flow, progressing from a backpacker delivery to straight up fire and back again with consummate ease and his beard shouldn’t be underestimated. His latest mixtape Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Bass Music) is the best example of why he’s such a competent and impressive MC, showing his dexterity over a number of different styles whilst all the while maintaining his own voice across the entirety of the 16 tracks. Check out Hercules below, the beat will get you immediately and once that’s hooked you’re in.

Top Tune: Hercules

Honourable mentions:

Big K.R.I.T.
Rockwell Knuckles
Erreon Lee
Ayomari
Danny Brown

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Features Music

Vault Tune of the Week: The Dickies Banana Splits

thedickies_banansplitsWhen The Dickies formed in 1977 and unleashed their spiky but catchy punk rock on fun seeking, Los Angeles audiences, a major label in the US music industry broke the rule books and signed their first Californian ‘punk’ band. Throughout 1978 The Dickies released 4 singles on A&M Records including “Paranoid” that hit #45 in the UK charts and “Silent Night” that also made the top 50 at #47 and kept radio waves buzzing with energy.

But the breakthrough track that won the hearts of millions worldwide at the time was their most famous hit “Banana Splits”. This unique tune made it all the way to the #7 spot and was also slowed down to valium speeds to be used as the theme tune to the most bonkers kids TV program of all time- The Banana Splits. This confirms that the LSD was still freely available and damn good at the time, if nothing else.

Over the years, 5 different members who have drummed, played guitar keyboards and sax have passed away from suicide, heroin, heart related and pneumonia problems. That aside, the San Fernando Valley punk rockers carved their name into the legendary punk rock books and will be remembered forever. They will also be in England on tour in July at the following dates so get out and see them:

15th July – DERBY OLD BELL
16th July – LONDON RELENTLESS GARAGE
17th July – NEWCASTLE 02 ACADEMY
18th July – LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB

Enjoy both sides of this Banana Split from these 2 videos- the more you watch, the sweeter it gets.

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Kerrang Awards 2011 photo blog

Last night we were invited to the Kerrang! Awards 2011 at a Brewery in the heart of London and DJed the after-party for a packed room of guests at the Garage.

What went down? 2 people in the audience got on stage to present an award without being invited to, 30 Seconds To Mars made a member of Puddle of Mudd eat his own words, Ozzy Osbourne won something legendary, as did Alice Cooper who high fived us on the way out and there was not enough booze on our table. The hangovers are now rife but here’s some photos from my phone as I forgot the camera like a douche.

We walked the Red Carpet with Enter Shikari as we arrived although Relentless Energy Drink had ordered a blue one this year.

Gallows’ Stu and our very own James Sherry ham it up for the camera. Dirty punks.

School was definitely out for Alice Cooper as he picked up his well deserved Icon Award.

Korn took their place in the Kerrang! Hall of Fame.

Our table mates The King Blues look on as most stupid looking band-of-the-moment Black Veil Brides came past to pick up an award for being nonces.

This girl really takes the cake…

Even the undead came out to party…

Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes had two good reasons why we should take his photo and won Best Album.

The view from the decks at the after party before we blacked out…thanks for having us again Kerrang!

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Band of the Week: Holy Show

So, first up what is Holy Show? Well, to quote a phrase from their twitter they are “Like a kid taking a shit in its own birthday cake.” They skate but only push fast, they have massive lips that wanna fuck people and they have a new video that has just dropped for what looks like a debut tune.

How did we find this band? Via Lucy Lawless, who is one of those tall, rock chick vampires who can be found with a JD and coke in her hand, propping up walls at our Crossfire Halloween Massacre parties. Lucy is flatmates with this lot and posted the video last night.

So, we know nothing about this band other than they have a pretty cool bass driven indie/punk sound, they have a new mixtape dropping on June 3rd, their singer Adam Powell directs music videos, they just happen to ride skateboards in their video and James from the band is probably having a BBQ with his nan somewhere.

Holy Show refuse to have a facebook page but stick to twitter so annoy them and give them some abuse as they love it. Watch the video for People Fuck People and spread the word by posting this video if you are feeling it as much as we are on first listen.

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Features Music

The Krautrock Chronicles

Written by Mark Beckett

The composition of Krautrock music is usually born out of endless drug-fuelled jamming sessions, where artists use anything from a keyboard to the smashing of a cricket bat against a trouser press.

The sound came to life when it introduced more electronic elements, swapping guitars for keyboards and the newly invented synthesizer, which had more knobs than a Kasabian gig. Nobody before was making electronic music, but in the late 60s Krautrock sprung to life.

Munich band Amon Düül II are credited as being the original Krautrock band. They took the Krautrock torch in 1968 when people were repulsed by their sonic, acid-drenched sound. Some people however, sat up and took notice. Berlin band Cluster were also influential, creating music that makes Ziggy Stardust look like an accountant.

Band’s like Can, Faust, Neu! and Tangerine Dream all flourished with this new style of music but it was another band from the town of Dusseldorph who took the title as kings of krautrock, that band was Kraftwerk.

Kraftwerk scrapped guitars altogether and consisted of four keyboard players, making the music purely electronic. They made the beat monotonous and the sound minimal, but the music was still melodic. To say they were ahead of their time is an understatement. To think that they were doing in the 70s what everyone was doing in the 80s, but better, is a testament to their innovation. They also became the first Krautrock band to bridge the commercial gap between Germany and the UK.

Krautrock went on to inspire the British post-punk scene that started in the late 70s and then the electronic boom in the 80s. You can hear its influence in modern bands as well such as, LCD Soundsystem, The Mars Volta, Deerhunter and Radiohead, who themselves cite Krautrock bands Neu! and Can as influences. Perhaps then we should give something back to the Germans. Do they like Razorlight?

Here are five tracks that define the genre of Krautrock…

Kraftwerk – Autobahn

At just under 23 minutes long, ‘Autobahn’ is littered with breakdowns and building melodies that pump through your entire body. The song is constantly changing in pace, replicating a journey on the Autobahn. The gleaming keyboards and pulsating beats fill you with vitality. A truly inspiring work of art.

Neu! – Super

The bands first single in 1972 epitomized their early sound. The beat described as ‘Motorik’ by journalists and ‘Apache’ by frontman Klaus Dinger is both mechanical and punchy, whilst the guitar is riddled with fuzz. This accompanied by the ghoulish wailing vocals makes for a uniquely brilliant track that makes you want to batter the nearest object in time.

Amon Duul II – Phallus Dei

The title track from their groundbreaking debut album, which translates as ‘god’s penis’, is a 20 minute long eruption of sound. There is a sense of spontaneity with every change in tempo that just feels right. It’s experimental in every sense of the word and contributes to the very album that created Krautrock.

Tangerine Dream – Stratosfear

Tangerine Dream were one of the bands that managed to bring Krautrock to England, playing in cathedrals and sometimes in complete darkness. This 1976 instrumental showcases their elaborate use of electronics. At this point in Krautrock history the synthesizer was being mastered and Tangerine Dream demonstrated on this track that some extraordinary things could be done with one.

Faust – Krautrock

Well we couldn’t really compile a list of Krautrock songs without putting this one in could we? Despite later distancing themselves from the term, Faust must have once been caught up in the Krautrock movement to name a song after it. That said, it really does encompass everything the genre stood for, it’s as far detached from Germany’s preceding pop scene as anything will ever be.

If you think Mark missed any classics from this latest Chronicles then let us know in the comments below.

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Top 5 Anti-Royal Wedding Tracks

Written by Mark Beckett

Everywhere you turn at the moment your eyes simply can’t hide from the hoards of royal wedding memorabilia; Plates, mugs, badges, bumper stickers, keyrings, pencil sharpeners, pencils, pencil cases, suit cases, suits, trousers, shirts, football shirts, football boots (sorry got a bit carried away there), all depicting the bland faces of prince William and Kate Middle-of-the-road. Why – with all the coverage that the wedding is already generating from TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, flyers, town criers, carrier pigeons (I’ll stop now) – would I want to mop up the last traces of gravy from my Sunday roast to reveal the face of a sickeningly clean cut prince and some girl staring back at me.

So come the 29th April, the date in which they will ride the awkward ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ moment and proceed to get drunk at the reception, which necessitates the return of Harry’s Nazi costume and a best man speech documenting Williams first sexual experience in front of a drunken Queen Elizabeth II, I will not be celebrating it.

I will however be celebrating National Persian Gulf Day, International Dance Day, the 9th day of the Ridvan festival, the 95th anniversary of the end of the Easter Rising and the birthday of tennis legend Andre Agassi. On top of this I will be listening to the following Anti-Royalist songs to give me a glimmer of hope that there is more to British culture than a certain pompous family.

List your choices in the comments section below.

CRASS – BIG A LITTLE a

I think it’s fair to say punk rockers Crass weren’t big fans of religion, government or the royal family. Here they combine all three in a huge two fingers to the establishment. The stand out lyric being their message from the Queen:

‘My prisons and my mental homes have ever open doors
For those amongst my subjects who dare to ask for more
Unruliness and disrespect are things I can’t allow
So I’ll see the peasants grovel if they refuse to bow’

SEX PISTOLS – GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

This list wouldn’t be complete without a contribution from Mr Rotten, you don’t need me to tell you the Sex Pistol’s influence on anarcho-punk. From the moment he stepped onto the Lesser Free Trade Hall stage shouting his sentiments to the future of British music to the moment he stuck it to mainstream butter by advertising Countrylife, there is no questioning his dedication to the anarchic cause. A song disclaiming the Queens status as a human being peaking at number two in the charts, genius.

THE SMITHS – THE QUEEN IS DEAD

A sample of Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty, thunderous drums and mesmerising guitar courtesy of Johnny Marr provide the perfect backdrop for Morrissey to imagine ‘her very lowness with her head in a sling’ or Charles on the cover of the Daily Mail ‘dressed in his mothers bridal veil’. The peak of the tracks comic imagery comes with Morrissey’s witty exchange with her majesty.

‘So, I broke into the palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner
She said: “Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing”
I said: “That’s nothing, you should hear me play piano”’

MANIC STREET PREACHERS – WE HER MAJESTY’S PRISONERS

This Generation Terrorists era B-side is a huge stab at the royal family and the imbalance of British society at the time. It contains all the passion and confidence of early Manics records and is a good one to dig up every time you hear about how special the royal wedding is going to be. The lyrics touch on the futility of attracting tourist to the gates of the palace when we don’t know where the money is going. A real fist clencher and a commemorative plate smashing anthem.

STONE ROSES – ELIZABETH MY DEAR

A 53 second track from their debut album politely asking for the monarch to step down. There is nothing more to this track than John Squire’s beautiful arpeggios and Ian Brown’s soft vocals as he states ‘I’ll not rest till she’s lost her throne’. If punk was the bully beating up kids for their dinner money, this track is Oliver innocently asking for more.

BONUS TRACK! – KUNT AND THE GANG – FUCKSTICKS

Kunt and the Gang is back with the biggest dig at the Royal Wedding ever heard so take note as it could cost you your shit job if played at work. Certainly not safe for work and unlikely to be number one this Sunday but get in. Fucksticks is utterly ridiculous but well worthy of a bonus track! Screw you Royals. – Z-Ed

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The Camden Crawl 2011 preview

So it’s that time of the year again as you will probably know, Crossfire have been invited back to this year’s Gaymers Camden Crawl as one of the 20 curators. This year’s Crawl taking place on the Bank Holiday weekend of April 30th-May 1st is set to be one of the best ever with some great artists playing in North London’s most creative spot for music. Watch the video of the good times at last year’s Camden Crawl here and reminisce on last year’s carnage before being introduced to what’s coming up.

We are back at The Barfly on Sunday May 1st and will kick the night off from 6pm downstairs with the CROSSFIRE SOUND SYSTEM packed with a mix of punk rock, hip hop, psych-garage, classic indie and rock tracks. We will also see guest DJ sets from our female guests this year kicking off with SWEET DREAMS (pic below) who will bring a bag full of filthy hip hop and for the grand finale we welcome West London’s Dub Step slayer RITA MAIA.

sweetdreamsDjs

Rita (pictured below) is a founder of Badmood, a collective championing new bass-driven music in Portugal. Based in London she hosts the Saturday night electronic music show, ‘Sine of the Times’, on the critically-renowned Resonance FM, playing bass-heavy music from all around. So expect hammers until close at 2am.

We will be announcing our venue line up in the next week so look out for the news of who has been picked to play this year from the list of acts confirmed below. You will not be disappointed though as our headline act will be exploding in your faces at 10.30pm as you would expect. For those who know us well, you will be aware that we love skateboarding and hardcore so there’s only band on this list that actually fits the bill. Work it out from this list below and look out for the announcement in our news section. There will also be an amazing post-punk band, a well known hip hop set from a Ninjatune act and an indie band playing on the night. All to be revealed next week.

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Until then, check out this year’s line up across the Crawl, enjoy Tom Halliday’s shots from last year’s party at Crossfire and get your tickets now before they all sell out from here.

THE LEMONHEADS / BRITISH SEA POWER / KILLING JOKE / TINCHY STRYDER / RAZORLIGHT / GRAHAM COXON SAINT ETIENNE / GUILLEMOTS / SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL / THE VIEW.

BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH * BO NINGEN * CATE LE BON * COCKNBULLKID DANANANANAYKROYD * DINOSAUR PILE UP * FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS GHOSTPOET * GIGGS * HADOUKEN! * HUDSON MOHAWKE * THE KING BLUES KONG * LETHAL BIZZLE * LITTLE COMETS * MILES KANE * MNDR THE PHANTOM BAND * PVT * THE QEMISTS * SBTRKT * SLOW CLUBTHOSE DANCING DAYS * TODDLA T * ULTRASOUND VILLAGERS TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS * WOLF GANG * YASMIN * 2:54 * THE AGITATOR * ALICE GOLD * ARCANE ROOTS * BANJO OR FREAKOUT * BEAR’S DEN * BEAR DRIVER * BECOMING REAL * BEN HOWARD * BETH JEANS HOUGHTON * BIG DEAL * BONES * BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT * CEREBRAL BALLZY * THE CHAPMAN FAMILY * CIVIL CIVIC * CLOUD CONTROL * COMANECHI * THE COMPUTERS * CREEP * CROWNS * D/R/U/G/S * DAM MANTLE * DELS * DIVORCE * DRY THE RIVER * EAGULLS * ENGINE EARZ EXPERIMENT * FEVER FEVER * FICTION * FILMS OF COLOUR * FLATS * FOREIGN OFFICE * GABLE * GALLOPS * THE GOOD NATURED * HAWK EYES * HEDONIACS * HIGH RANKIN * THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE * HOLY STATE * HOUSSE DE RACKET * JAPANESE VOYEURS * JOHN & JEHN * JOHNNY FOREIGNER * JONQUIL * KING CHARLES * LET’S BUY HAPPINESS * THE LINES * LU LU & THE LAMPSHADES * MARA CARLYLE * MARQUES TOLIVER * MARTYNA BAKER * MAVERICK SABRE * MAZES * MERCEDES * MIRRORS * MOSS * THE MOUNTAINS AND THE TREES * MUMS OF DEATH * MZ BRATT * P MONEY * PARIS SUIT YOURSELF * PEGGY SUE * PINEY GIR * POLARBEAR * RAINBOW ARABIA * RANDOM IMPULSE * RD * RISE TO REMAIN * ROMANCE * THE RUSSIAN FUTURISTS * S.C.U.M. * SARABETH TUCEK * SICK OF SARAH * SISSY & THE BLISTERS * SOUND OF RUM * SPECTRALS * STAR SLINGER * THE STAVES * TEAM GHOST * TEK-ONE * TEETH * TOM WILLIAMS AND THE BOAT * TRANSFER * TREETOP FLYERS * TURBOGEIST * TURBOWOLF * TWO WOUNDED BIRDS * VARIOUS CRUELTIES * VAULTS * VERONICA FALLS * VISIONS OF TREES * WARRIOR ONE * WE ARE ANIMAL * WILD PALMS * YOUNG DREAMS * YOUNG LEGIONNAIRE.

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letlive. interview

letlive.Epitaph have always had a nack of picking the next wave of punk and hardcore so when letlive. where picked as their new signings last year the buzz started to grow. Why? Because not only are they balls out on record, they can make an audience explode just as good, if not better than the best of them.

This February the Los Angeles 5-piece graced our shores for a few introductory shows and blew the roof off of the Underworld in Camden and a secret show at the Old Blue Last in Hoxton leaving those lucky enough to see them blogging wildly about their new favourite hardcore band. So with the trail of aural destruction left behind we decided to get the inside scoop with singer Jason Butler and bassist Ryan Johnson to find out what makes this time bomb tick so loudly.

Welcome to Crossfire lads. So, you recently made your first visit to the UK. How did those shows compare with the first shows you played together on your home turf in LA?

Jason:I suppose since our first shows in the UK were in venues with PA systems that worked and the attendance wasn’t fully comprised of people we knew I’d have to say the disparity lies within the level of punkness.

Ryan: I’m not sure how to say this without discrediting our home support, but, the UK was certainly more attentive and accepting of our idea. The accumulation of recognition we have received in the UK has been unreal. We definitely didn’t expect any of it…

Your live show is raucous to say the least. What’s the worst damage you’ve ever done (to yourself or your surroundings) during a set?

Jason:I like to think of myself as somewhat of a forward thinking gentlemen. I try to keep my eyes focused on the future. With that being said, I think I will one day answer your question with a youtube link to our testimony in court when being charged with arson, in “the people vs. letlive.”

Ryan: We definitely have countless mics and speakers that are left useless – which can get a bit costly… But thankfully we haven’t done any serious damage yet. We have had some sprained limbs and minor gashes – accompanied with the occasional guitar head stock to the face…

Do you think your unique performance skills can translate to bigger stages? Are there any massive production ideas you have in the back of your mind for further down the line when you have more resources available to you?

Jason: Yes. Burning it down.

Ryan: Actually, when we are blessed with those larger stages (it certainly isn’t very often), it seems as though we are given a little more freedom to let go. Although, smaller stages can lead to some pretty exciting situations as well. Production for us hasn’t been a constant conversation, but, I’m sure as it comes in the future, it will be minimal. Definitely don’t want to pull too far away from the fact that people are there to listen to your music.

What is the best musical talent coming out of LA at the moment (apart from yourselves of course)? You previously mentioned knowing Tyler from Odd Future when you guys were younger. Any funny stories about him?

Jason: I don’t want to give the impression that I’m making mention of the young man in order to exhibit relevance, but I will say I really do back what they’re doing. It’s almost as if Odd Future (Wolf Gang Kill Them All) are breathing some new life into that shock aesthetic that alternative culture that has surely been waiting for with bated breath (two metaphors involving breathing; see what I did there?). As for Tyler and company, we all come from the same area. They rep the “Dirty Ladera”, I’m Inglewood all day. They fuck with LA skate culture, I worked at 9star LA. We have few degrees of separation. So to Tyler and Odd Future I say “STAND UP” X “SWAG”. Holla at me.

Ryan: Los Angeles is a difficult place. Other than Odd Future, whom Jason had a loose relationship with, we have a few friends bands such as Touche Amore and Dangers – both of which we enjoy quite a bit. But, the entire culture is a bit lacking as of late…

What would you say the biggest influences on letlive. are – both musical and non-musical?

Jason: letlive.. Please bear in mind, this does not mean the 5 individuals that make up this band; so yeah… letlive.

Ryan: To be frank, a lot of our influences come from moods that we capture from each other, surroundings, and even conversations about current readings. It’s more so channeling the feeling of inspiration. There really haven’t been many defining moments where an artist was mentioned while playing music. We all have our individual inclinations which range from James Brown to Radiohead to Bob Dylan, and Smashing Pumpkins, but not very directly do those artists come through as strong as an influence. We kind of feed of each others mistakes and ideas while playing, and hope it comes out all right.

Photo: Maryam Hassan

letlivejasonlive

‘Fake History’ is getting a proper UK release though Epitaph this week, with a few bonus tracks. Are those songs indicative of further future material from the band? How are you getting along with writing for the next album – or is that not happening quite yet?

Jason: Well, not necessarily. The first two tracks are actually 2 alternate tracks that were tracked within the FAKE HISTORY sessions and were opted to remain unattached for the initial release, which, in turn, worked out quite well for the re-release, wouldn’t you agree? As for the final track, this was a more impromptu approach we took when creating, playing, and recording it. We had spoken with Mr. Brett Gurewitz about doing a song together as somewhat of an ode to the rite of passage, so to speak, with our induction into the Epitaph family. With this came limited time to do so granted we have been touring rather heavily this past year. So what we did was go into the studio for two days with a riff we had written just before entering and tracked an ode to whimsical studio sessions. We feel it’s non hyperbolic essence is certainly endearing.

Ryan: Well, the bonus tracks include two b-sides, and one new track. The b-sides were actually the first two songs that we wrote as a band, which is far off from future ideas, and the last track was basically a last minute fluke while preparing to go into the studio with Brett. I wouldn’t say it is a direct foreshadow of what is to come, by any means. We actually currently beginning to write the album for the next month or so, considering it is the only time we are going to be home all year, and we are pretty excited with the way things are going thus far. We are definitely in a better place than we ever have been, musically – considering the amount of time we have spent together and growth we’ve experienced.

Who have been your Top 5 Epitaph acts in the label’s history?

Jason:1981 – present day. Take your pick.

Ryan: I’d have to say Descendents/ALL, Gallows, Converge, and certainly Refused.

How does it feel to know that you are now listed alongside them?

Jason: Like 20ll.

Ryan: It is unreal. Still hasn’t really hit any of us yet. Sometimes when you speak of the bands dealings with others it becomes a reality, and you’re kind of beside yourself. It’s incredibly strange to conceptualize.

You’ve been nominated for a Metal Hammer Award. What would you say is the most metal thing you’ve ever done?

Jason: Being nominated for a Metal Hammer Award.

Ryan: Perform a black mass ceremony.

Any plans to top that at the awards ceremony?

Jason: Yes. We plan on burning the venue down. For sacrificial purposes in the name of the homie Lucifer, naturally. 666777888

Ryan: Hopefully commit to round two amongst the crowd.

Do you ever take your skateboard on tour with you?

Jason: Yes I ever.

Where are the best spots in the world that you’ve encountered for skating?

Jason: Los Angeles, California and that big 5 stair set in Paris, France.

Any favourite up and coming skaters?

Jason: I’d like to shout to my young friend Elijah Berle from LA who recently won Tampa Am. He’s one of the young bloods turning real life skateboarding into “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater”. Good shit, Elijah. As for my favorite skater, that position is taken, unshakably, by Andrew Gallagher of the First Family.

If you could invent a new skate trick, what would it be called and what would it involve?

Jason: Not to sound like an asshole, but…I did. It was aptly dubbed the “Butler bump”. Best explanation for this maneuver would be a switch (or nollie, which I prefer) heelflip underflip. Best pulled from the bag of tricks at a clutch moment during a game of “skate”. A show stopper, if you will. Ask Elijah and Drew.

What can we expect from the band in the next year?

Ryan: The re-release, a lot of touring, and a new record.

Fake History is out now on Epitaph Records, find letlive. at www.thisisletlive.com

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Malachai interview

malachai interview

Malachai Bristol has been the gateway to many DJ’s, live bands, art scenes and downbeat vibes for years and in 2011 it seems nothing has changed. The West country will always be laid back especially if the music scene continues to look back in time and remix every flavour on offer to create a new ice cream for the stoned ears of the UK’s sweet music scene.

Malachai is the collaborative work of both Gary (Gee) Ealey and Scott Hendy who have spent their lives trawling music of every genre to magically fuse their own take on what can be found from the classics of old to the futuristic and psychedelic sounds of new. Following the release of the second Malachai album in February Mark Beckett caught up with Gee down in Bristol to discuss what makes this blend work so well.

So I guess we should begin with the obvious question of wow did your musical tastes developed to inspire you to create such a distinct sound when you were growing up discovering music, what was on the decks at that time?

Not to give our ages away but what was around then is now getting its revival haha! It’s funny ‘revival’ because it always seems to focus on the blah stuff. 80s to most people is legwarmers and neon and at the time it was everything we hid in Hip Hop to avoid. On the decks we had a lot of militant Black Power rap, London Posse’s first 12″. I was learnin’ me chops as an emcee then and Scott was playing with early bits of kit, still wide-eyed to the world with a good dose of anger.

Did you ever pick up a skateboard back then or even now?

It was my introduction to Bristol. A guy came from here to my town in ’89 to run a branch of Rollermania, I met a lot of people through him and ended up in a band here, which caused a permanent move. The local Hip Hop scene always ran parallel with the skate scene so I’ve met plenty of you crazy bastards in my time.

Any good skate stories from back then?

As a Bboy I was in one of the Bristol 411 vids doing windmills at night down College Green. This other time a little kid wound me up one day, I’d always seen him skating round, chatting to my mates and for some reason he said something that pissed me off, maybe it was his way, kind of ‘too cool’ about shit, I don’t mean like a poser but detached in a way that said “I don’t need you”. As it was a small town mentality it felt kind of undermining to have this little kid with a plaster on his forehead looking coldly at me, so I made myself look big and stepped to him, I towered over him and said “do you want me to smack the fuck out of you?” giving my meanest eyes and he just looked up and shrugged his shoulders and said “you can if you want, it isn’t gonna change anything, shit happens.” I laughed so hard, I could see it in his eyes too, he wasn’t scared of anything and I remember the respect I had for him that day and to this, my boy Paul ‘drown ya’ Carter, PROPER!

Ha, we were not expecting that. OK let’s talk about the album. In the writing process for your latest one Return to the Ugly Side did you have initial ideas for the songs that you tried to capture or is there more experimentation?

It’s a mixture of both really, brainsperm trying to punch its way through the egg of boredom to fertilise something that doesn’t grow up to be a tubby letdown.

malachai

Amidst all the dark imagery and morbid tones, lyrically your new album sounds like an uplifting album that is burying its past. What was the catalyst for this feeling?

Well a lot of music I was doing leading up to Malachai was quite introverted and melancholic and I felt I wanted to break through it little and challenge myself to be more upbeat so Ugly Side of Love is kind of (hopefully) putting a few things to rest. As Return to the Ugly Side was shaping up it did seem to feel the way you called it so it seemed fitting to tie the two together. I don’t think I’ll ever get fully away from that reflective thing though, it’s just part of my make up.

Did you lock yourself in your studio or did your allow yourself time for inspiration and reflection?

For me and Scott it’s a generative thing, we keep each other excited about it, we keep in touch daily and try to keep producing stuff that feeds each others enthusiasm. If it’s not meant to be it won’t be, we don’t hammer away at it but we try to keep ahead of time so we don’t chase our tails. we impose our own deadlines and hit them with enough room around it to feel spontaneous. It’s a lot of work nowadays, you have to be everything: writer, performer, press officer, artwork administrator etc but in another way it’s cool cos you’ve got a handle on every last detail, there has to be some discipline involved though to keep it ticking.

What were you listening to in-between the two albums?

I think Scott was getting into stuff like Griz Bear, Bees, Deerhoof and Elvis (in the car) and I was converting old reggae soundclash cassettes to mp3 in between watching Loose Women.

Is it exciting trying to capture the sound at live performances? And how does it go down?

We tried it live with instruments and it didn’t feel right really. The problem is there’s a lot of de-tuned stuff in our set which is murder for musicians, or when you correctly tune what we do it sounds too safe and normal. We’ve got it going now with MPCs/keys/effects so it sounds a lot more honest, no click-tracks, and lots of freedom. It’s only recently that we’ve got it going so we’re looking forward to playing it out. We did 3 tunes to camera in the shed which will be up on youtube or wherever soon and it sounds heavy.

Bristol keeps on churning out innovative music, does its music scene feel like an exclusive club?

Like a dark smokey cellar with Tricky in a red dress draped over a piano singing ‘Je Nes Regret’? ze Breestol rezeestonce! VIVE LA TREEP HOPE? noh? No the truth is we’re all tucked away doing our thing so by the time it sees light of day it’s very different to next door, so it really isn’t that ‘club’ mentality, just a wide spectrum of people trying to do something interesting. There’s plenty of ‘doers’ among the ‘talkers’ and peeps work hard here.

Where are you planning to take your music conceptually in the future?

Neither of us are that calculative about it really, it’s just as it comes. Staying out of the pigeon-holes works against you in this game, people like you to pick a lane and stick to it but not doing so gives us free reign to go where we like, whatever suits.

Finally, who has the most punchable face in rock and roll?

Well ‘the Huck’s too obvious isn’t it?! Personally I’d go for the ‘inbetweenies’ the Fearne Cotton’s/Jo Whiley’s. Instead of interviewing or doing links, various struggling bands could just come along and slice bits off them. I’d go for the top lip just to see the comedy effect it would leave as they try to shape the bits left to make the words understandable!

Malachai’s album Return To The Ugly Side is out now on Domino Records

Categories
Features Music

Top 10 Most Punchable Faces in Rock and Roll

punchable facesFlicking through the music press this week I started to get anxious and could not work out why. I pondered on whether if it was related to the weekend of carnage that just passed or the sheer audacity of fake rock stars that are pouring into print these days as there seems to be a barrage of people that annoy you so much that sometimes you would like to punch their lights out.

So, after contacting our freelance writers and having a huge discussion on who will make this list, we present you with this month’s, (yes, this may have to be done again if you get involved at the end) Top 10 Most Punchable Faces in Rock and Roll!

10. DARWIN DEEZ

It’s hard to know where to even begin with this plum. He wears a fucking stupid headband that’s made from a mouldy doily, has a moustache that wouldn’t look out of place on a sexual deviant and wears jeans so tight they make me feel infertile just by looking at them.

Oh, and his music is pony too. Log off, Darwin.

9. TOM CLARKE

It’s perhaps slightly redundant to include The Enemy’s Tom Clarke in a list of punchable faces, mostly because it seems somebody has beat us to it. They say pictures speak louder than words, and this idiom rings emphatically true in Clarke’s case. Just look at him! He’s like a living metaphor for the ugly duckling, except that’s not fair, because the ugly duckling wasn’t in a shit band. I mention the ugly duckling not as a throwaway insult, but because his features quite literally resemble that of mother goose. It’s a shame to gloss over Clarke’s music to judge him on looks alone, but his face is so distracting I couldn’t begin to delve into the horror that is The Enemy’s music.

8. FARIS BADWAN

Talking of the horror, nobody likes a student wanker especially when they look they crawled out of a scene from The Munsters and are influenced by copycat Nugget’s wannabies The Fuzztones.

Faris Badwan, lead singer of The Horrors has been on so many covers of magazines since the band broke through the indie circuit back in 2007 that he probably is single handedly the reason why people don’t buy them anymore!

7. IAN WATKINS

You could have picked any of the 5 members of Lost Prophets for this list, in fact they should be lucky we have only picked on singer Ian Watkins but I guess if you want to front the ‘most fake rock and roll band of all time’ then you deserve to be in the Top 10.

Lost Prophets are the worst styled rock band since Slade and have tried their hardest to be everyone else apart from themselves from day one musically and fashion wise. They just never seem to have their own style, look at this shot to the right, girls tee shirt and a smelly glove? Also, the fact their music sucks harder than the latest Dyson creation zooms Mr Fake ass Watkins straight in at number 7.

6. DRAKE

If ever there was a face in the rap world that deserved a punch, it’s the one on the end of Drake’s neck. It’s hard to know where to even start – possibly the fact that he keeps wearing turtleneck jumpers like some kind of shit painter from the 1970s, the irony being that he sounds like he IS turtlenecking, the talentless prick.

And what about how his mouth looks like some kind of bastard child of a 15 year old MySpace trout-pouting girl and a retarded chipmunk with a coathanger in his gob? He can’t sing, he can’t rap and it’s high time he pulled the neck of that jumper up over his head and slinks back to the cesspit he came from.

5. PETE DOHERTY

This pasty faced utterly un-talented drug bore has a face that even his mother can’t love. His drug bloated boatrace is just asking for a rotten kipper slapped right across his chops.

He’s not rock n’roll or glamorous, his face is a scab pit, his music is the most boring drivel to have been released in years and he’s just rubbish. And he’s got really dirty finger nails and his little fat face is just asking for a punch. Can I go on?

4. LIAM GALLAGHER

There’s no denying that Liam is a proper rock star and back in the glory days of Oasis he couldn’t be touched for drop dead cool and arrogance, but that same arrogance has got the better of him with his new Beady Eye band. He was at his usual ‘we’re the greatest band in the fucking world’ best in the lead up to the music being unleashed on the world, claiming they were going to be bigger and better than Oasis.

The records came out and the world went mild. Somewhere in the background Noel is rubbing his hands together and laughing. Wipe that arrogant sneer off your face Liam, you ain’t all that. We’ve got our Beady Eye’s on you.

3. JOHNNY BORRELL

Johnny Borrell could be cited as the biggest cunt of all – if he’s not prancing about in his staple white denim half naked on a stage looking like a z-rate Iggy Pop, he’s gallivanting with the latest flashy C-listers or indeed protesting about green issues to add to his already lacking rock n roll credentials. Dare I say more?

Already the prize winner of the most vainest twat in pop this ex- Libertines loser and current singer of Razorlight could very well be the most punchable face known to man.

flats cunts2. DAN DEVINE (aka Daniel McGee)

Excuse me if we appear precious about our punk rock here at Crossfire, but we really fucking hate this Flats band that are currently sneaking into the music press as ‘the band to make punk rock dangerous again’. Claiming you are inspired and from the same ilk as eighties punk legends like Heresy, Discharge and Crass when you are actually a bunch of floppy haired indie twats with a frontman called Dan Devine, the son of ex-Creation records boss Alan Mcgee is wrong on every level.

Not only is the music total garbage, but Flats are nothing to do with the underground punk scene they claim to be so inspired by with their indie publicist, rider requests and touring with Mark Ronson (how very hardcore!). You can just see them now, turning up to the squat gig with their industry guest list and fashion clad, public schoolboy mates. These guys are total fucking knob-ends, don’t believe the hype.

1. LEE NEWELL

So here we are at the end of the line. The cocky frontman of Brother needs a punch in the face if for no other reason than to end his ridiculous facial expressions every time he’s in front of a camera lens. His attempts to clone the swaggering attitude of Liam Gallagher are limited to a pathetically artificial scowl and ambitions to be ‘the biggest band in the world’.

As for his reaction to Liam’s slagging of his band, he claimed to be more concerned with what his sibling Noel thinks about the band. Who are you trying to fool Lee? We all know where you got your inspiration for being a talentless twat with a gob bigger than his brain. Congratulations you dickhead, this will probably be the only Number 1 you will ever get in your career!

IF YOU THINK WE HAVE FORGOTTEN ANYONE FROM THIS LIST, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW OR ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND WE WILL INCLUDE THEM IN ROUND 2.