Music - Oxford Scene
How many people are there in the group?
It fluctuates around five or six - Ian on drums, Simon on bass and vocals, Mihir on guitar, Mark does organ and backing, Natalie plays cello, and Adri pops up unexpectedly with bongos, congas or whatever his mission requires.
What style of music do you play?
We call it psychedelic folk-punk, but I suppose that doesn't mean very much. Basically we play off the energy and clowning of punk against the artsy wannabe-orchestralness of hippy music in ways never previously imagined. The genre name is just something cool to say.
How did you all meet?
At college, as you do. it grew from just me and Mihir, and people dropped in one by one. We only discovered Ian last term wandering around New College, but since then things have gotten exponentially more interesting. We were worried for a while about being some kind of Spinal Tap drummer-eating cliché.
What are your main influences?
Well lots of bands have a huge influence on us without really showing up in the style or sound of what we do - 'influence' usually means 'who do you sound like?', but there's stuff like The Streets, Prodigy and some filthy drum and bass which teaches you a lot - but that doesn't mean you have to ape their sounds and stuff. Otherwise, the Doors, the Clash. Dylan is obscenely good - if God was going to write songs it's hard to imagine them being much better.
Have you done much recording?
Our first EP is just finished - we did it 'bedroom and computer style'. It's four tracks; older ones, mostly. It's called The Farcical Times EP, and really it's the tip of the iceberg as far as songs go - live is where it all happens for us. We're selling them for two quid each, so as many people as possible can have them.
What was your best gig?
Well the gigs just keep getting better and better. The best was the last one, in New College bar for a Tsunami benefit gig - we organised a band night and set all this stuff up and got other bands in, and then at the end we suddenly discovered we'd filled the place with drunk people. We had a few new songs to play, and this secret live cover which makes people go crazy. It was like playing live for the first time - something just clicked that we hadn't figured before. It was filth.
What do you think the future holds?
Well the future's always a great big mystery - but the songs certainly keep getting better and better, and we're moving away from typical indie structures and ordinary chords. We're also doing a bit of jamming, tightening up as a band. We're trying to get more adventurous without getting less enjoyable: like I said, everything is in whatever the opposite of freefall is at the moment - all happening quite fast, opportunities popping up everywhere.
Up-coming gigs: Thursday 3rd February 10pm @ Zoo Na Na
For more informaton: www.strangedays.fr.st
Recently, the classical music world has been a-flutter with the news of the 17-year-old violinist Nicola Benedetti's record deal with Warner Classical; on Saturday, Oxford welcomed an equally bright star in the form of Chloe Hanslip. Though only 16, she has established a huge reputation.
Hanslip's performance of Mendelssohn's violin concerto at the Sheldonian showed why: as well as being precocious, her playing showed real maturity. Before we got to hear her, the curtain was raised by the Philomusica with the Hebrides Overture. It's an evocative work - the programme notes suggested we could "almost see the basalt columns" of Fingal's Cave. I can't see the point of daydreaming about rocks when you've paid to listen to music, and there was enough to keep the listener occupied.
The lyricism of the overture's performance was carried through to the concerto, Hanslip opening with an assured, rich sound. It could be objected that maturity of performance can be achieved through imitation in this - such a standard of the violinist's repertoire. Certainly there were derivative moments; but the sensitivity of the second movement didn't appear affected. Her individuality was evident in the quick pace of the finalé - so much so that it seemed to catch the flautists out.
Such contrasts between sections are a favorite trick of director Papadopoulos. They could be heard after the interval in Schubert's 9th. The work's mood shifts - from sombre to dance-like - were well captured in the first two movements. Papadopoulos coaxed a huge dynamic range out of the players - the extra brass, joining at the interval, and aggressive percussion came into their own in the Beethoveniana of the 3rd. This energy was carried into the conclusion. It was satisfyingly strident, but you could sense that the audience was still thinking of the first half.
Unlike Hanslip, the Philomusica is always around to play to them. Mention should be given to the Oxford International Music Festival in relation to young musicians. Its raison d'être is to showcase up-and-coming talent, providing an opportunity to engage with audiences in intimate venues such as the Holywell music room. It's a noble effort, and well worth the listen.
3rd Feb 2005