To all our fans and followers…
Firstly, we’re very sorry that you’ve all had to witness more nonsense than usual over the last few days. We’ve been dealing with our beloved Langaland being cancelled and working on a replacement event, and then unfortunately someone chose this time to very publicly air a disagreement amongst the festival team, in an attempt to bring both ourselves and the festival into disrepute. We have tried to reach out and settle things privately, so as to avoid any more upset between parties, but sadly this has been turned down. As certain things have been said about us and how we work, we feel that at this point our only option is to present our version of events and hope that this all blows over, for the good of the other hardworking people on the festival team, and all the artists and audience for whom we have endless love for. We’ll keep this as brief as possible: After our second event in 2017, our original director of the Main Stage left and appointed Prizma Events as a replacement for 2017 onward. Initially, we were excited to work with a new team - anyone who knows us will know that we love meeting new people and learning new things. It soon became apparent that Prizma were not fully committed to the role, and had a very different approach to getting things done. They didn’t see us as an important part of the festival - despite being part of the original team and being responsible for founding and developing the festival into what it is today (this year notwithstanding, obviously). We have been a central cog in the running of Langaland since founding it with close friends in 2016 - and due to various reasons, the festival means a huge amount to us and we’ve dedicated 4 years of love, dedication and time to it. They were also consistent in expressing their doubt at our professionalism and our level of commitment to Langaland - despite our work bringing the majority of artists, audience and crew to the festival - as well as fundraising (thousands of pounds over the years), curating artwork, promoting (including two shows with BBC Introducing), providing paid opportunities for disadvantaged young people and overseeing the creative direction of the festival. Many of you will know that we’ve been working for over 5 years across the DIY arts scene, working on many successful projects and forming partnerships with promoters, venues, artists and organisations across the UK (including the Tate St. Ives, the BBC, Plymouth Underground, UK Young Artists and Bristol Museum among others). Since 2017, despite being bought in solely as programmers and stage management (alongside other teams who we’ve worked with for many years), Prizma have consistently questioned the direction of the festival (without constructive advice), expressing their wish to cancel it on numerous occasions and at times calling it a “f*cking mess”, among other things. Whilst it’s true that any DIY event can seem a bit all over the place, we always remained confident in our ability, and the commitment to the rest of the festival team, to problem solve and offer positive solutions - something which we felt was not forthcoming from Prizma. The feedback from artists and guests alike has been overwhelmingly positive, and it has been clear how much of the festival audience enjoyed the many acts, workshops, talks and performances we’ve programmed. One of our first major concerns with working with Prizma was the lack of diversity in their programming. After a conversation about the Main Stage in 2018, it became apparent that they did not value an inclusive line-up - programming largely straight, white, male acts. When this was questioned by us, we were met with aggressive and argumentative rebuttals and a lack of co-operation or compromise, even when we offered to help. One response from Prizma was that there were ‘no female acts’ in Devon to book, and that the few they knew of were ‘too expensive’. This still remains their view, although we know that it is wholly untrue. In 2018, we also stepped in to help programme the main stage (partly due to diversity concerns, partly due to lack of organisation), and provided stage management support taken from our own team. To this date, we have not been acknowledged or thanked for this. This year, it has become even clearer that Prizma not only do not share our focus for diverse artists and audiences (including LGBTQI+, neuro-diverse and equal representation of gender), they have also used derogatory language, describing it as a ‘circus’ and ‘la la land’ - an attitude that we feel is representative of the largely hetero-normative, sexist and queerphobic music scene in the UK which we have worked so hard to reject. We do, however, recognise their work in promoting cultural diversity in their lineups and this is something that we are focusing on this year more than ever. In conclusion, although our role (voluntarily, for 4 years and including around 50 team members) has been to support Langaland in any way we can, particularly in forming its creative vision and overseeing all the programming, this has been made hugely difficult by a consistent lack of communication, disrespect for our role and how we work, and some very questionable views on equal representation. We have tried time and time again to offer advice, make compromises and work with Prizma to no avail. Any constructive criticism was met with extreme over-reactions, and a lack of communication for weeks on end when decisions needed to be made. Every member of the Langaland team (and many of our followers) have always been enthusiastic and keen to offer positive solutions, but sadly this never seemed the case from Prizma (including one member of their team who seems to direct the most abuse and negativity towards us who we are yet to meet in person or understand how they’ve helped in any way). Unfortunately we’ve all been under a huge amount of stress - changing sites, changing dates and fighting the cancellation of the festival (on top of all the usual stresses of running an event of this scale). Whilst Prizma have been keen to point out that they’ve also been stressed, they were not forthcoming on any positive suggestions about how we might move forward, instead choosing some of our most difficult moments as a team to take things to a personal level and focus on themselves. Despite our best efforts over the last few days to draw a line under all of this; even offering a lengthy explanation about how we work, our connection to the festival, and an explanation about our mental health and personal details, our efforts to right any wrongs have been turned down. In a recent conversation, we were told to ‘keep our chin up’ and ‘act more professionally in future’ after offering these explanations. We have a growing reputation as a welcoming, friendly, creative and accessible arts organisation and we don’t take accusations of bullying or, to a lesser extent, lack of professionalism lightly. Although tensions have been running high this week, and things have been said in the heat of the moment, we hoped that we might be able to resolve any disputes privately. Obviously we are hugely disappointed that the festival we’ve all worked so hard to create with our friends of many years has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. It’s also been a difficult time for us due to struggles with mental health and a close friend being hospitalised in a critical condition. We’re disappointed that Prizma couldn’t have the grace to put disagreements aside in this difficult time, and that their last word has been to very publicly put Langaland Festival into disrepute and cause unnecessary upset across the board. We apologise for any mistakes we’ve made in the last few days and have nothing but love for everyone who knows how hard we work and how much love we have for the underdogs, outsiders, geeks and beautiful freaks across the South West and beyond. See (most of) you next year, WE ARE UNCOLLECTIVE AND WE LOVE YOU
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Julie Hesmondhalgh is an actor, writer and social activist. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Hayley Cropper in Corrie, more leftfield audiences will recognise her from twisted comedy Inside No. 9 and queer drama Cucumber. She's also the co-founder of political theatre collective Take Back, the creator of fundraising group 500 Acts of Kindness and patron of numerous social movements.
Recently, we politely accosted Julie to discuss breakfast, steampunk and the importance of being creative (and found out she's a strong contender for the nicest northerner on TV). Hi Julie! Out of all the roles you've played on screen and stage, what's been your personal favourite? You've started with a really difficult one... there's been so many! I'd say one of my favourites is a recent one, where I played the lead in Anna Jordan's adaptation of Mother Courage. For many different reasons, but one of the things I loved was that it was totally steampunk - I got to stand on an ice cream van, singing and dancing (and I really can't do either of those!) Nice! Ok, here's an easier one - what's the best breakfast of all time? That's not an easy one! That's harder than the last question! I'd have to say, in general... a full veggie breakfast with a big mug of tea. Very solid answer. So you're currently here in Cornwall (filming Glass Houses) - what's the biggest difference between North and South? Now that is a very loaded question [laughs]! I don't want to offend anyone... both are great in different ways. I'm going to say that the biggest difference is warmth. We'll leave it there! Very diplomatic answer! So our last question is perhaps the most meaningful. Uncollective is a platform for emerging artists across the UK - what two words of advice would you give to anyone starting their journey in the creative industry? Two words? That's tricky! I'd probably say... make work. Don't worry too much what anyone else thinks, just make! Thanks Julie! Julie Hesmondhalgh: A Working Diary is out now via Methuen Drama. You can keep up with Take Back Theatre via their website, and join 500 Acts of Kindness via Facebook. This interview was written by Tom Stockley - a writer, performer, producer and semi-professional purveyor of nonsense based in Bristol. PINT PIECES is an open platform, publishing monthly articles from young writers who get paid £5 for each piece they write. Contact Uncollective to publish your article!
Yesterday marked the 12th release from our old friends Tugboat Captain (and the Birthday of John Fitzsimmons from The Papers, an act that will go down in the annals of Uncollective history). Today, we give to you a potted history and semi-literate review of Be Strong, Smoke Less in the only way we know how.
From our beginnings as a Cornish student collective through our relocation to Devon and our new home of Bristol, some form of the nautically-inclined brainchild of Alexander Sokolow has been with us every step of the way. With an extensive catalogue that begins with 2017's cover of the eponymous Galaxie-500 song and a subsequent two years worth of DIY hits including DWTOWUOMO, Ikea Mirror and Record Time - not to mention a choice selection of aural memes and a solo album on Uncollective Records. As Be Strong, Smoke Less attests, it's a catalogue that's far from it's final page.
Despite their humble beginnings as student side project Naked Lights, the Tuggers have risen through relative obscurity to become a fixture in the hearts and venues of indie communities across the UK. After a viral Reddit post propelled them into some sort of musky limelight, the (then) six-piece released a sophomore album and began a seemingly endless journey across London and the South West - partly due to frontman Alex (AKA The Captain) and his inexhaustible supply of optimism and capacity to send emails. This tactic has paid off, with the band increasingly occupying some prime spaces in the labyrinths of internet indie-dom. Recent highlights have included selection for Indietracks Festival and an exquisite collaboration with film-makers Grimshaw Mink.
But Be Strong, Smoke Less reminds us why we love the Tug - and indeed why we bother to do what we do. After several crew-mates received honourable discharge early this year (including Uncollective favourite Honeyglaze), the three remaining members recruited drummer Georgia (from Mothercanyouhearme), recording the latest single as a final farewell to the voyage so far. Inspired by a conversation with Alex's mother, BS,SL is dripping with the earnestness and honesty that we've come to expect. The faux-folk sounds of The Wave Pictures meet the sensibilities of Daniel Johnston in a three minute odyssey that will melt your heart and make love to yoursupermarginal gyrus. God knows we need an encouraging message at this time of year, as we drag ourselves from the final drizzly throes of Winter and set sights for Summer's horizons. The message? Be Strong, Smoke Less - and listen to your mum. Tugboat Captain embark on a 20 date tour of the UK this month, landing on the shores of Bristol on April 6th (hosted by Uncollective Records and Wax Music) - get your FREE TICKETS via Headfirst Bristol.
Tom Stockley is the Creative Director of Uncollective and Langaland Festival. He's also an artist, writer and performer - currently rehearsing for shows with The Hideous Trend.
"Goddess-worship, octopus birthing and Beckett-tinged woe-begottenness" - these were just some of the choice words from Edinburgh Fringe as they prepared to host multi-media theatre piece GIRL WORLD, the first full-length show from Frisky Arts. We came across the Frisky gang when producer and actor Lucy Mann bought her Theresa-May-themed-sex-education-participatory-dancing-show (you heard) S*XED to Langaland Festival last year. After witnessing its combination of sharp observation and sheer raucousness, we knew we wanted more. I was fortunate enough to accompany Young People from Bristol's Tobacco Factory Theatre to see GIRL WORLD at Off The Cuff (Herne Hill, South London) last year. We were pulled immediately into one of the show's central themes through collaborative drawing and party decor - childhood memories and the balance between its innocence against the cynicism and carnal urges of adulthood. Director Camille Dawson explains more in this article from Frisky's residency with Brainchild/Platform Southwark: "When I was eight-years-old, me and two sisters, Molly and Una Richards, found a big roll of wallpaper. Upon it, we began a drawing that came to be called Girl World." As the young artists grew, so did their perception of the world around them and the adult themes developing in the original, pictoral Girl World - whilst at the same time their brothers created a fictitious religion complete with a set of catchphrases, all of which are present in the show we see today. It may seem odd that so many concepts are lifted directly from the artists' childhood - and while there's a risk this could alienate some audiences, Frisky's experience so far has been of an overwhelming sense of connection, with audience members up and down the country sharing their own childhood versions of Girl World and relating to the show and its quirks on a hugely nostalgic and personal level. Seeing Girl World for a second time (at Bristol's Wickham Theatre), I realised that far from wholly retrospective - whilst conjuring images and phrases from their past, the show is rooted firmly against the backdrop of current conversations around gender identity as well as a poignant portrayal of the experience of young women looking towards their future. All tenses are somehow covered, and despite the rightfully female overtones of the show, it's accessible to audiences of all genders and backgrounds - homage to Camille's concern that theatre "can often be pitched as a stuffy and unsociable form of art" In Girl World, Frisky have taken the sharp wit and genre-bending style of Tina Satter (see Ghost Rings) and unashamedly mashed it with the very British sense of anarchy and surrealist vision of the Mighty Boosh and Smack The Pony- with a little Pussy Riot and Grayson Perry aesthetics (courtesy of Ranya El-Refaey) thrown in for good measure. It's part musical, part improvised chaos, somehow sitting somewhere between a 90s sketch show (one of my favourite scenes sees the girls practising the lesser known 'crispy chicken' yoga position) and a kids musical gone terribly wrong. Oscar and Franklin (of South London band BOSS) provide a live soundtrack that falls somewhere between the Stranger Things soundtrack and a forgotten Mario Land theme tune. Despite the dripping layers of cartoonish nonsense permeating every corner of the show (this is a good thing, FYI), Girl World packs punches in the right places. Sadly, even in 2019 (and on International Women's Day) we still find ourselves surrounded by taboos around female sexuality and stunted by the lack of platforms women's voices are given. In this global backdrop of sexual violence, bigotry and the impending apocalypse, there's never been a better time to sing songs about vaginas and space hopper goddesses. Girl World continues to tour throughout 2019 - calling at Brighton Fringe with more dates to be announced. You can follow Frisky via their website, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Shinbonkin! Tilly: Camille Dawson | Inga: Serena Ramsey | Live music / Pony Boys: Franklin Dawson & Oscar Lane | Writer & Artistic Director: Camille Dawson | Musical Composer: Franklin Dawson | Rehearsal Director: Rebecca Hill | Producer: Beth Sitek | Designer: Ranya El-Refaey | Production Company: FRISKY | www.friskyarts.com
Tom Stockley is a smelly boy, living and working in Bristol. He's an artist, performer and producer of various things including Langaland Festival and upcoming shows as punk poet T.S. IDIOT.
The Importance of Artists Working Together (Plus a REMIX PREMIERE!)
Surrounded by artful clutter and a city covered in snow, in this month's Pint Piece we present a new collaborative remix from the Uncollective archives and reflect on the importance of working together as a wider artistic value.
We get various messages across social media platforms, ranging from all male cover bands (nope) to emerging artists looking to get involved in our anarchic vision of a cooperative artistic society (yes!). A few weeks ago we received an email from Djollie, director of Dublin-based project WOB! With a back catalogue of tranquillising electronica "...inspired by the beautiful landscape of the West of Ireland", we thought that the Serbian-Irish producer would be the perfect candidate to remix the latest single from GINS (kindly reviewed by our friends over at For The Rabbits). The remix embodies the rolling soundscapes, recycled samples and crooked basslines characteristic of WOB! With a healthy amount of critical acclaim under his belt (including from The Irish Times, Electric Picnic and BYOBeat), Djollie vigilantly mixes a classic UK D&B sound with touches of synths and harmonic vocals reminiscent of his Mediterranean experience. New single Where I Wanna Be oscillates along like a more inspired Disclosure, or Euro House without the cheese.
On the surface, it might just seem like another shiny pop-laced piece of House, but Djollie's commitment to cultural integration and artistic collaboration (particularly with female artists) makes us think that he's ahead of his game. Despite a background in DIY punk (once drumming for Jerry Fish), WOB! was formed after post-sound-test improvisations between Djollie and his guitarist at the time. Now a live quintet featuring Irish siren Dubh Lee, the band plan to continue recording and collaborating with a busy Summer ahead of them.
Our chat with Djollie came at the perfect time - with our resident artist GINS about to drop her first single of the year after developing a new, synth-led sound and a period of introspective musings on what we've achieved so far as a collective and what the future may hold. Collaboration has always been the focal point of what we do - whether it's the improvisations of The Hideous Trend, public residencies or recent projects in Bristol like last year's Future:Feast or various events with Do-IY. After 5 years we're still finding our feet across various creative platforms, but we know that we couldn't achieve anything without constant collaborations with an inspiring network of artists and organisations across the South West and beyond. In no particular order, these include: Newlyn Gallery & The Exchange, Red Van Records, The Fish Factory, Thrown Gauntlet Festival, The Word Zoo, Pink Ink, Major Leagues, Wax Music, Exeter DIY, The Spoils Collective, Tugboat Captain, Wyrd Ways, Protestival, Buoyancy, Do-IY and Quit Yr Job. We Are Uncollective and we love you! We'll leave you with the image below - an insightful tweet from Tugboat Captain that sums up the kind of artists that we NEVER want to be, and why we'll continue to collaborate and support the artists we love until porridge comes out of our cold dead eyes.
Stream the new single from WOB! here: smarturl.it/169495
Pre-order the new single from GINS here: uncrecords.bandcamp.com Tickets for GINS' single release event here: http://hdfst.uk/E51127 This article was written by Tom Stockley, a semi-professional moron, director of We Are Uncollective and occasional amateur writer of things: tomstockley.weebly.com
Back in early 2009, an unassuming musician going by the name of Steve Strong played his first show in Plymouth (now lost in the midst of time, but presumably as sweaty and sonorous as the rest). Nearly a decade later, and with more than 1000 shows under his belt along with a brand new album, Steve Strong has more to say than ever - despite a distinct lack of vocals on his work.
The words progressive and instrumental may conjure up thoughts of questionable 70s sounds from the likes of SKY and Tangerine Dream, but dad-rock this is not. In his latest album Turbo Island, Steve demonstrates why his name is known beyond his native Ocean City - now part of the furniture in Bristol's live scene as well as regular appearances across Europe (including a stunning Balcony TV Session in Chamonix). Far from being a master of hype, Steve sits steadily as an underground cult figure, progressing creatively through relentless gigging, recording and collaborations. Thanks to his tendency to pop genres like paracetamol, his chameleon clangour finds a home across math rock, post punk, hardcore, psychedelia, trip hop, experimental jazz and even folk. In the last few years he's played with Bristol geek-rockers Chiyoda Ku, Cornish folksters Haunt The Woods and Japanese punk duo RiL (FKA ROAR). We first met Steve when he played a Bristol show with violinist Claire Northey alongside hip-hop crew Split Prophets and Uncollective resident GINS, followed by a Main Stage set at Langaland Festival. It's Steve's ability to adapt and amalgamate across such diverse habitats, whilst having a steadfast dedication to the sound he's creating, that makes him something of an anomaly in the all too often online world of hyperbole and publicity that causes emerging acts to come and go at the click of a button.
If you really wanted to pigeonhole Steve Strong, you could do worse than imagining a cross-section of some of his influences - seminal post rockers Slint (if you haven't listened to Spiderland, drop everything you're doing and listen NOW) and the face-melting nonsense of Aphex Twin. There's also a rich vein of contemporary artists across both his native Plymouth and in Bristol (perhaps a second spiritual home for Strong) - School Disco, Tunnel Visions and others churn out psychedelic-tinged kraut rock from the former; whilst Bristol's Zun Zun Egui and Iceman Furniss are masters of improvised post rock. You can't help but think that these young artists must have come across Steve's genre-bending performances in the past, and vice versa. There's ancient history here too - it's no secret that psychedelic legends The Heads formed in Bristol, and Plymouth boasts perhaps a more unusual musical child: 'lysergic funk' pioneers The Monsoon Bassoon.
More than an Arc Tangent wet dream though, Steve Strong has a story to tell - chronicled through witty wordplay, cultural references and social conscience - all present on Turbo Island. The sophomore album feels sharper than 2013's Three Hands Tall, the product of an artist who's honed his trade and pushed his own perimeters. Opening track Gravel Gardener is a blistering mathsy intro, cutting out abruptly and leaving the listener wanting more after peeling back the lid of this sonic chocolate box. Lando's House and Drones Over Clifton edge towards a Four Tet-tinged acid ride with Steve's signature guitar licks, but after a brief interlude the pace picks up on the eponymous track. There's an intensity building, and a narrative being sewn through sound alone. Life After Post Rock is tongue in cheek introspection, whilst Sensible Skeletons samples Charlie Chaplin's Great Dictator speech in a clear move towards some much needed social commentary. Although you'll have to wait 'til Thursday to hear the album in full, we can confirm that fans of previous material won't be disappointed, whilst first time listeners will find a gateway intro the strange world of Steve Strong they won't regret. You can listen to Drones Over Clifton (at the top of this article) ahead of the release, or head to Fecking Bahamas tomorrow for a full premiere. Steve plays a hometown show on the release date, joined at Plymouth Underground by an ear-aching line up of local support from the likes of Phaedra's Love and Palores. Bristol folk can catch him at the end of the month at psychedelic mecca The Old England. Clearly not a man to do things by halves, Steve plays a third release show in Cardiff on the 24th. As we move into the new year, preoccupied with troubles, tribulations and triumphs, Turbo Island is the music we need right now - astrophysical sounds for troubled times that exist beyond our differences. Although Steve seems more at home behind mountains of pedals than he does in front of the camera, his music speaks for itself whilst open to interpretation and individual perspective - perhaps emanating the words of his wrestling namesake: "A magician can never say anything about his magic... I'm not going to deny or say that there isn't anything there because there could be. There could be." Turbo Island by Steve Strong is released via Sapien Records on January 17th. Pre order your digital copy on Bandcamp, along with physical copies and merchandise.
Tom Stockley is author of this article and the founder of We Are Uncollective. He currently lives in Bristol where he dabbles in journalism, visual art, performance, artist management and event production. He's the Creative Director of Langaland Festival 2019.
www.tomstockley.weebly.com Wobble your baubles and slap your sprouts! It's time for a very festive edition of Pint For a Piece - our monthly(ish) think piece covering theatre, live music, philosophy and other nonsense. This month, we were lucky enough to catch up with Britain's premiere nativity-themed drag king comics, Shesus and The Sisters - AKA Shesus, Sister Mary Berry and Sister Pauline Hollywood The London-based trio are bringing their critically acclaimed show The Gift of Presents for a run at Bristol's Tobacco Factory, and gave us 60 seconds to discuss such hard hitting topics as wet wipes, vegan gravy and seasonal flatulence. Let's talk nativity - the wise men traditionally bought Gold, Frankinsense and Myrrh. If the messiah was born from my child baring hips right here and now, what three items would you gift her? MB: Coconut oil... PH: ...wet wipes... S: ...and the gift of divine interconnecting balance. As three intellectual voices of our generation, we thought you might be able to tackle a time old metaphysical question - just how does Santa get around so quickly on Christmas eve? S: We live in multi-dimensions, and like any divine being Santa is omnipresent. Mariah Carey famously said "All I want for Christmas is you". This poses some serious modern slavery issues, so aside from a living person - what do you all want for Christmas? ALL: To not work and get paid anyway MB: ...and some pyjamas from COS! Summarise your show in three words S: Ballsy! MB & PH: That's one word ALL: Expect. The. Unexpected. One word each! S: I'll take 'The'. It's a solid word. Best part of Christmas dinner? * This question was answered after a well timed, and glorious, Christmas fart from the messiah herself* S: Sorry! That was quite Christmassy though... MB: Stuffing PH: Christmas pudding, definitely S: My mum's vegan gravy And finally, a slightly more serious question - what advice would you give to young artists as they look towards 2019? S: We're in this time of post-comedy; an umbrella beyond just humour - coemdy now can be almost any form of emotional release, and that’s exciting! There's a lot of femme and queer people out there bringing that to comedy. It makes it more embodied, more honest – for artist and audience. MB: Be brave, but sensitive! Have consciousness around your ego and keep it in check. PH: Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. Be proud and have heart! S: Finally, remember that you, as an artist, are only 50% of the show... f**king digest that! Shesus and The Sisters are performing at Tobacco Factory Theatres until December 30th. Tickets and more information can be found here: www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/the-gift-of-presents/ You can keep up with Shesus and The Sisters via Facebook and Twitter, and read a proper interview from Bristol 24/7. Tom Stockley is author of this article. He's a Tobacco Factory Young Prodcuer and dabbles in journalism, design, performance and bouts of millenial neuroticism. As a performer he's received such acclaim as '...awful' and 'the worst thing i have ever seen'. To subject yourself to future works of intellectual integrity, click THIS LINK RIGHT HERE. BY TOM STOCKLEY Welcome back, readers, to another ill-thought out and mildly inebriated piece of journalism from your favourite dilettantes. This month, we were felicitous enough to catch the latest show from "mid-sized television personality, failed jazz musician and 1990 East Leinster under 14s triple jump bronze medallist" David O'Doherty at Bristol's Tobacco Factory. Known for his brand of erratic, often musical, occasionally otter-based comedy; we caught up* with David for 60 seconds of unbridled journalistic lunacy. *wandered into his dressing room unannounced and slightly drunk, and were more than courteously obliged despite placing him in a situation that many would refer to as irksome at best. Here's what we asked him (Pullitzer Prize imminent): HI DAVID Why are you here and what do you want? * some time elapses in which we pretend to be proper journalists and garble some nonsense about an interview, to which David graciously consents * 1. MARMALADE OR JAM? Neither. Fruit should not, under any circumstances, be cooked. 2. BRISTOL IN THREE WORDS? Excellent. Bicycle. Shops. 3. FAVOURITE QUICHE? I'm very consistent in my views. Tomato, as a fruit, should not be cooked. So no quiche. 4. IF YOU WEREN'T YOU, WHO WOULD YOU BE? Ernest Shackleton, the famous (and dead) explorer At this point, we really should have asked why, and revealed some candid life philosophy from a brilliant comedian. Unfortunately, we were still thinking about quiche. 5. A PIECE OF ADVICE TO YOUNG COMEDIANS? Don't listen to old fuckers like me. We know nothing and we're very boring. 6. FINALLY, WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT BETWEEN YOU AND CHRIS O'DOWD? Well, he's a good friend and a very nice man. We were both quite athletic when we were younger but he's much fitter than me now - so if it came to it he'd probably pulverise me. THANKS DAVID! I'm going to find my friends now... David performs You Have To Laugh once more at Tobacco Factory TONIGHT, before continuing his tour across the UK. More information HERE, and we recommend a peek at his wonderfully shambolic website HERE.
Tom Stockley is an incredibly average writer, poet, artist, organiser and turtle connoisseur. The last time he attempted anything remotely similar to David O'Doherty was when he performed an hour of poorly prepared musical comedy to a crowd of middle class goths, receiving such high acclaim as '...awful' and 'the worst thing i have ever seen'. To subject yourself to future works of intellectual integrity, click THIS LINK RIGHT HERE We like our niches here at Uncollective HQ, and 2018 has gifted us with one of our favourites to date - South/East London Nautical Themed Weird-Pop. Pleasure Barge take pride of place as alumni of this group including Tugboat Captain and Living Island. The latest band on our radar; London/Manchester quintet Pleasure Barge share Tugboat Captain's bassoon playing, crimp-haired, often nude band member Buddy Caderni (AKA Sloppy Guiseppe), and that was enough to get us interested. Although it's fair to say that Pleasure share an esoteric humour with their London cohorts, new single Electric Ride has seen them veer drastically away from Tugboat's Pastel-tinged folk or Living Island's sharp stylings; prancing like jockeys on Dressage day, displaying a breadth of influences that would make King Crimson blush. Two self-proclaimed idols of the group are Frank Zappa and Death Grips, with wider sonic foundations including classical piano, gabba and the 2014 East Croydon rave. Further stones unturned reveal an affinity with the Madchester scene and its modern equivalents - it's not impossible to detect the ghostly energy of Shaun Ryder and co in Pleasure Barge's latest track, something which crystallises in their live shows. Electric Ride has a refreshing edge compared to previous single Start Up, with a heavier nod in structure and style to both modern House and Madchester, conjuring up thoughts of Hot Chip and Happy Mondays respectively. Accompanied by a computer-generated video and a very apparent amount of care in production, it's this song that's put Pleasure Barge on our watchlist for 2019. Let's just hope they don't share the Happy Mondays lax approach to televised antique auctions.
Tom Stockley is author of this article and the founder of We Are Uncollective. He currently lives in Bristol where he dabbles in journalism, design, performance, artist management and event production. He's the Creative Director of Langaland Festival 2019.
www.tomstockley.weebly.com Today, we’re immensely proud to make our first full-length release on Uncollective Records - and it couldn’t anything more worthy (or moomin-related) We first met Alexander Sokolow at an open mic affair we were running during our time in the sunny (yet creatively cyclical) climes of Falmouth. Fronting what was then known as Naked Lights, their idiosyncratic recitals of life among supermarket shelves and cheap watering holes struck a chord with an embryonic Uncollective. It was clear that this was a refreshing counterpoint to the pretentious nonchalance that prevailed at the time. Fast forward through the years to their first appearance at Langaland Festival (2016) to a triumphant return under shiny new moniker Tugboat Captain (2017) and a year of the shows, schemes and questionable fashion obsessions we’ve had the pleasure of sharing with Alex and his nautically endearing sextet. And now we present dedicated 2 u - the lowercase littered, emotional, ocean-based outburst from The Captain himself. We could review each track one by one, but there’s 16 tracks (plus a lovely cover by GINS) and we’ve got to meet our mum for brunch. By way of introduction, here’s a statement from the artist: “At the beginning of May I quit drinking and swiftly wrote, recorded and mixed an album in a delirious flurry of musical diarrhoea” Tugboat Captain share much of our creative ethos - work hard, be nice, occasionally get naked. But as well as irrepressible positivity there’s always been a sadness in their tales of seaside romance and ikea furniture. The debut release from the man variously known as The Captain, that guy outside with the flasher coat and now the groke sees Sokolow build on this bittersweet reputation and assemble a one-man rom-com opera on a Daniel Johnston-esque scale. We managed to catch the groke on his first live outing since writing the aforementioned ‘musical diarrhoea’. Taking to the stage in an unusually early slot before contemporary nice boy Elliot Brett, the sanguine face of Tugboat Captain seemed apprehensive as he delved into 76 second singalong Favourite Things - one of a few Tugboat songs specially curated to suit his solo semblance. The Crofters crowd were also treated to some of the most succulent slices of the album; including i’m still in love… (a jingly advert for sobriety), record time (the sound of sorrow on speed) and engine room (a Disney moment of dejection and delour). The self-effacing troubadour also packed in the ‘proverbial banger’ Don’t Want To Wake Up On My Own, a rendition of Car Seat Headrest’s Destroyed By Hippie Powers and a newly formed (and as yet unreleased) ode to oat milk. All in all, the album stands alone as an irreverently unique but universally relatable chunk of loss and love from a human shaped bag of bones. Although Tugboat Captain are a voluptuous phonic force when fleshing out their glacé pop as a six-piece, there’s something about taking a lustration in this intricate creation (yes, I am a poet) that we know will leave you crying tears into your Weetabix, wondering what this cruel world is all about but knowing that, somehow, it’s all going to be ok. You can stream the album on Spotify and Soundcloud
If you have firmer morals you can even buy it on Bandcamp, Amazon and iTunes, and thanks to our mate Jay-Z, you can also find it on Tidal. Also available on other peculiar platforms like Savvn and Pandora. the groke invites you to “what promises to be the worst album launch of all time. With the blessing of The Joiners Arms (Camberwell) I have at the last minute decided it might be something resembling a good idea to play some of these songs live without the endless thump of my out of time drumming. I will be supporting a Welsh Electro-Pop band and in lieu of having any merchandise or physical copies of this album I will instead be holding a small jumble sale of my assorted personal items.” You can catch him and his merry band at various locations through the Summer, including: Tugfest (June 19th), Indietracks (July 27th) Mr Wolf's (July 31st), Plymouth Underground (August 1st) and the ‘most esoteric fest in the west’ Langaland Festival (August 4th). You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp... ... Whilst more discerning readers can join The Tugboat Captain Fanclub for a mere shilling. Thank you to Alex (the groke), thank you to Tugboat Captain and thank you to everyone else for your love and fluids. We Are Uncollective and we love you. Music © Alexander Sokolow Artwork © Anoushka Sokolow Photo © Grimshaw Mink Released by Uncollective Records, 2018. All rights reserved. Invite your Nan. |
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August 2019
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