Rap battle: can music instigate political change?
Music and politics often prove to be a volatile mix, but can political music be transferred into action?
Continue ReadingAuthor: Calum Bradbury-Sparvell
Rap battle: Coldplay, just an easy target?
Are Coldplay shit or only slightly shit? We see the ‘for’ and ‘against’ of Britain’s most maligned pop band.
Continue ReadingRap battle: Coachella holograms – too sinister?
Otis Graham and Calum Bradbury-Sparvell lock horns on Coachella’s ghostly Tupac cameo.
Continue ReadingAn introduction to Punk
Stephanie Ho delves into the world of safety pins and anarchy.
Continue ReadingThe first kooks
Matt Reynolds tells us why Hunky Dory is still groovy today.
Continue ReadingGive it away – Chilis tickets up for grabs!
Want to experience RHCP live? With our latest competition it really couldn’t be simpler…
Continue ReadingAn introduction to…Dancehall
Dancehall music, a derivative form of reggae and sometimes considered the predecessor of rap, is a genre of urban folk music that often consists of the layering of speech over pre-recorded music. Think reggae meets relaxed rap. This musical style native to Jamaica first became popular in the ‘70s before becoming the dominant music of […]
Continue ReadingRap battle: Cheese – a necessary evil?
For (Oli Mckean) I honestly don’t know where the music industry would be if cheesy music didn’t exist- in tatters, probably. I don’t know about you, but when I think about cheesy music, my mind immediately conjures up the image of a group of 4 (used to be 5- awkward), middle-aged (used to be young […]
Continue ReadingReview: Florence + The Machine, Ceremonials
Round two for Florence + The Machine doesn’t disappoint. Phew.
Continue ReadingInterview: Noah And The Whale
Vincent Wild talks to Noah And The Whale’s frontman Charlie Fink about breaking America
Continue ReadingInterview: Submotion Orchestra
Rebecca Chapman talks to Submotion Orchestra’s drummer and songwriter Tommy Evans about dubstep, their influences and performing live
Continue ReadingReview: Laura Marling, at Gloucester Cathedral
The wafts of myrrh in Gloucester Cathedral were like an olfactory invitation to another world. As a music venue it’s both intimate and grand: the softest noises go soaring through the rich acoustics of the vaults, bouncing around the stone. Clever you, whoever devised Laura Marling’s ‘When the Bell Tolls Tour’, performed entirely in cathedrals. […]
Continue ReadingAll hail to the Whale
Noah and the Whale’s front man Charlie Fink on gigging, The Beach Boys and breaking America
Continue ReadingReview: Submotion Orchestra
Filing the room with a live fusion of dub, bass-driven grooves, ambient electronica, jazz and complex rhythms; Submotion Orchestra immerse the crowd with their unique and powerful sound. The stage is spread with a keyboard, trumpet, guitars and drums, encircling singer Ruby Wood, whose soft, soulful voice flows effortlessly over the dense textures and deep […]
Continue ReadingReview: Laura Marling, A Creature I Don’t Know
Jack Powell and Thomas Blackburn are here to explain why it’s worth getting to know this creature.
Continue ReadingReview: Those Ruffians
Something about their shiny new strings, the graphic t-shirts and the ambitiously open guitar case told me that the buskers playing a bar chorded version of “Valerie” on Turl Street were directing a feel-good movie starring themselves. I see it as a cross between Walk the Line and Superbad. In their head the movie would […]
Continue ReadingWhy haven’t you bought a ticket to see MF Doom?
Outraged to discover that MF Doom’s 10th November show in Oxford isn’t yet sold out, Rex Pester is here to tell you why you should be going.
Continue ReadingBeirut: The Rip Tide
Ashley Cooke and Tom Blackburn explore the latest folk/indie/gypsy/eastern-tinged/gibberish/whatever-you-want-to-call-it album from Brooklyn one-man-band Beirut.
Continue ReadingInterview: Wild Beasts
Amy Faulkner speaks to Ben Little of Wild Beasts about their rise to the beautiful darkness of their latest album, Smother
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