Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
(Image: The Leisure Society playing in London) Ahead of their gig at The Bullingdon on 20th September, I caught up with The Leisure Society’s frontman Nick Hemming to discuss their latest album, Arrivals and Departures, his biggest influences, and the creative process that shapes his songwriting. Currently on the second leg of their biggest tour, […]
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‘Wu-Tang is for the children’. This is what Wu-Tang’s Clan’s Russell Jones, better known by his stage name ‘Ol’ Dirty Bastard’, proclaimed at the 1998 Grammys. Now, over twenty years later, on May 4th 2019, Wu-Tang Clan have had their very own district named after them, in their hometown of Staten Island, New York. Recognising […]
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On first listen, the soft-spoken melodies created by Australian rapper Genesis Owusu (born Kofi Owusu-Ansah) don’t immediately ring as political. Yet, his creative pursuits in both music and fashion speak out against racial inequalities and misguided preconceptions of his culture, with his lyrics consciously stemming from his own upbringing as a black person in the […]
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We’re all living in it. Or some did. Here. Eton Alive, the newest album from Sleaford Mods, is a fearful listen. Not least because in it we hear the lacerations that constitute a musical evolution. This is the least ‘Sleaford Mods’ album yet, and for exactly that reason it succeeds in demonstrating a band autonomously undermining […]
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“What was wonderful about going through some dark times,” confesses Katie Monks, lead singer and guitarist of rock band Dilly Dally, “was the fact that I had to turn inward”. Dilly Dally’s latest album, Heaven, might be read as a rallying, fiery expression of self-love and inclusivity. The record functioned as the band’s auditory toolkit […]
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David Pickard: choir schoolboy, Cambridge graduate, Britain’s leading classical music executive. For anyone interested in classical music, David Pickard is the man of the hour. He’s been at the forefront of the classical music scene for some time, leading notable organisations such as Glyndebourne, and has had stints with the European Arts Festival, the Orchestra […]
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Ahead of their recently-announced headline gig at the glamorous Freud bar on the 20th of February, I caught up with the student band Still Pigeon, who reveal the stories behind their latest lyrics and enigmatic band name. Their glistening and fresh take on R&B opened some big doors for them last year. With two Spotify […]
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Deftly hushed, confessional and yet timid, Cavernzz’ woozy bedroom pop sits on the fringes of collective security—drawn from the quiet, empty hours of the night, where shapes and shadows exist in ways you’ve never noticed before, in a unique and sometimes eerie strain of vulnerability. Sitting down to chat song-writing, Luke Bolitho seems conscious of […]
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James Blake’s mainstream popularity has always seemed odd. His naturally melancholic vocals, bleak and abstract lyrics, grating synths, jerky beats and overwhelming bass lines intertwine to create somber soundscapes that are often difficult to listen to. Assume Form doesn’t deviate too much from this surprisingly successful – if well-worn – rubric. But what is noticeably […]
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With the corporate hollowing out of the media now commonplace, music journalism is fighting back. The battle against commercialism, clickbait headlines and contemporary trends is well and truly alive and kicking. Online hoaxes, shoddy reporting and all things ‘fake news’, 2018 has truly made its mark as a media meltdown. In Britain, reached journalistic rock […]
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John Joubert, one of the most celebrated British composers of our time, died on 7 January at the age of 91. Born in South Africa, Joubert lived in England for most of his life, residing for nearly half a century in the city of Birmingham. He held professorships at the University of Hull and the […]
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Sunflower Bean arrived in Oxford following the release of their second full length album Twenty-Two in Blue. Hailing from Brooklyn NY they brought effortless cool to the Bullingdon stage, with glam rock and punk décor. I arrived post-Christmas Gaudy, jumping from a very different mood of carol singers to the pumped-up energy of their first […]
Continue ReadingThose who know the Jazz Society’s concerts at The Mad Hatter will know they’re always a good experience, but the 22nd of January was a particular treat. The evening’s guests were the Tori Freestone Trio, an internationally acclaimed group consisting of three of the UK’s finest jazz musicians. I caught wind there was some worry […]
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Every now and again we stumble upon an album that quietly evolves as it’s absorbed—its images, chord changes and melodies, gradually weaving themselves into the fabric of our own makeup until it exists, uniquely, for us. Adrianne Lenker’s album abysskiss enacts this very journey, a quiet display of subtle beauty blossoming from its brutal, emotional […]
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In 2018, there was one album I’d been waiting for: Anderson .Paak’s Oxnard. Dre was producing, “Tints” had the funky verve I’d been praying for. His live performance on SNL exuded polished and restrained swagger. Clearly he was someone who knew they were about to serve a rare and bloody steak to a blindfolded lion. […]
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Lacuna Common, alongside contemporaries Self Help and the Easter Island Statues, find themselves at the vanguard of a flourishing Oxford scene that has been rather busy of late producing punchy, lyrical and upbeat guitar music. Having recently received attention on the back of their new single ‘Lack of Knowledge’ – a gritty 3-minute slice of […]
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Image credit: Connor Thirlwell. Description: Hinds at the Bullingdon. I’m embarrassed by the number of times people have remarked that my oxblood DMs look new. Clean boots are no claim for pride. This is my belief. The more worn, torn yet crucially intact the footwear, the more authority and experience you will exude, and the […]
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Image credit: Jockstrap. Of all the new releases this year, only one band has really stood out for me: Jockstrap. This London-based duo sit somewhere between Stereolab and SOPHIE in musical style, the songs a fusion of Bossa Nova, 1930s Disney-esque orchestra, and coarse electronica. This is what makes them so refreshing; finally we have […]
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Images courtesy of Sports Team/Nice Swan Records/Holm Front Records. Description: indie sextet Sports Team, posing. By the time I meet up with Sports Team at the Cowley Retreat ahead of their last support slot on tour with the Magic Gang, they have only been professional musicians for two months. That these bunch of Cambridge graduates […]
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