Cloud Control

Left to right: Heidi Lenffer, Ulrich Lenffer, Jeremy Kelshaw and Alistair Wright.

Regarding the fact that I was about to undertake my first professional interview- there wasn’t a second I felt nervous about chatting to the four piece, alternative rock band Cloud Control. Summing up my research, I quickly realised that they were, very simply, a laidback group of friends who enjoyed making and performing music.

Led into a tiny room with boring white walls and nothing other than a sofa, chair and table squeezed into the middle of it- it reminded me of a school teacher’s staff room, rather than a sex, drugs and rock and roll, dressing room hang out.

Greeted by friendly smiles and handshakes, Heidi, Ulrich and Alistair all introduced themselves with their strong Aussie accents. Heidi, wearing no make-up, untamed hair and dressed in a huge, woolly jumper, (bearing in mind they’d be on stage in less than an hour), Ulrich slouched in a chair, playing with his stereotypical, long, scruffy ‘drummer boy’ hair and Alistair; the band’s front man, minding his own buisiness, fiddling on his Apple Mac. My expectations were exactly as I imagined.

I was determined to find out what differentiated this band from the rest of the thousands out there. Did they have that star quality, or were they missing that extra something that is so important in music today?

Bliss Release, the band’s first and only album, released last year, scooped up the awards; ‘Best Independent Album’ and ‘Breakthrough Independent Artist’.  As bizarre as it may sound, growing up in the Blue Mountains seems to have heavily imprinted their work as you can’t help but feel each melody and lyric was created around a campfire, adding a real sense of honesty to the music, with strange and dark- yet peaceful implications.

The foursome take to the stage and instantly grasp the audience’s attention with Alistair’s playful humour. He tosses a coin into the crowd for ‘good luck’ but then jokes at their expense by saying, ‘look at all of them scrambling for money’, before coolly adding, ‘yeah...moneys alright’.

As soon as they begin, the audience begin to critically assess and analyse them as they listen hard and bob their heads to the fiery beats. Only then did I realise that it is the band’s vocals that set them apart from other pop contemporys. Alistair’s trippy, pitch- bending synths is matched flawlessly and beautifully to Heidi’s gentle, jingly and day-dreamy sounds. They are effortlessly cool as they loose themselves in their own music, feeding off the audience’s subtle yet positive energy.

Needless to say, there is unquestionably something magical about Cloud Control. Their humble and relaxed approach, ironically, makes them exciting. It’s pretty evident this band isn’t even close in showing us what their really made of, and when they do- I’m sure it will blow us all away.

Interview below

How are you and how are you enjoying your tour with The Drums?

All together: Good thanks, yeah it’s been great

How would you say the audience responses in England in comparison to Australia because I can imagine people know your music more in Australia?

Heidi: Yeah they do, I mean they analyse us a lot more. You won’t get a lot of hype but that’s fine because you know their enjoying it when their just listening

Ulrich: The worst a crowd can do is talk over you, so yeah, listening is real good

You formed through a band competition you won and it seems it all went from there. Can you tell me a little more about that? It seems like a massive step winning a small competition to becoming the recording artists you are today.

H: Well it was a five year step, so it took friggin ages. I don’t think we even knew we wanted to be a band for about three of those years, we all had different career interests so it took a long time to evolve into a full time pursue. We’ve been a slow developing band but I think that’s advantaged us in a lot of ways

You were all friends a long time before you became a band. Was it difficult adjusting from being just friends to sitting down together for hours recording music or was it an advantage?

U: Well you know what’s funny, Al had never met Jeremy before

Alistair: They made me just pick him up off the highway and i was like...who is this guy. I had no idea...but he was alright! (All laugh)

H: We definitely weren’t a unit of four friends. We all knew each other in different ways but not everyone was connected. Like Ulrich and Jeremy knew of each other but they weren’t friends. I didn’t really know Al...

U: He was just a little turd from school...

A: A little turd...(All laugh)

H: But yeah it took us a while to develop a friendship

The music on your album, Bliss Release sounds a lot like other Australian bands such as Little Red and The Holidays. It that something you were consciously going for?

A: Yeah totally. It’s just like anything, like if you see something and you really enjoy it and you like what it does to you, you try and re-create that in your own way

H: Mimicry is a great tool for song writing. It was really funny, when we all started writing we were all listening to Interpol and the first songs we wrote were a sounds cape to Interpol at the time. (laughs) but we’ve moved on from there...although Interpol is still a really great band

You’re playing at Field day in January and the NME awards in February. Any more shows or tours in the New Year?

A: Were doing some HMV show in February sometime.

H: In Birmingham!

A: Oh is it?

H: Yeah at the Electric Ballroom

U: Oh that will be awesome

A: Yeah that will be sweet, but other than that we haven’t got any tours planned because we’ll be writing our new album

So there will be a new album next year?

H: Yeah definitely. We’ll be spend the first three months writing and then really kill off the second album. Thats the goal right? Shoot for the stars!

And finally, what are your Christmas plans?

H: Awww, well Ulrich and I are going to Frankford! To spend some time at the Christmas markets with our parents

U: But Al’s leaving just before Christmas to go back to Australia and Jez is as well right.

H: Yeah Jez is leaving straight after this tour

U: Yeah so we’ll all meet up in Australia

Find out more about Cloud Control at http://www.cloudcontrolband.com/

Ceremonials

When Florence + the Machine first graced our ears with their cool and quirky first single; Kiss with a Fist from their mesmerising debut album, Lungs in 2009, it was clear that this band was no one-hit-wonder. Florence Welch’s empowering vocals teamed perfectly with her machines turbulent sounds, has created the most elegant, passionate and raw music to date- hurling them to the front of the race and making them one of the most popular bands in the UK. The excitement of their second album was only natural after a patient two year wait. Not surprisingly, the wait was worthwhile.

Ceremonials, released October 31^st 2011, includes all the deep, fairy-tale dreamscapes we loved in the first album. An explosion of twelve magical, brawny tracks the fiery red head belts out with her huge voice. A gothic romance with anger and beauty twisted all into one, making it truly captivating to listen to. The music touches on gospel sounds such as Lover to Lover and Leave My Body, as well as tracks such as Spectrum and leading album single, What the Water Gave Me, that resembles their older sounds.

Disappointingly, it does seem that Welch lets her ‘machine’ overthrow certain tracks such as Heartlines and No Light, No Light that, simply put- sound too busy; leaving you feeling exhausted and making it impossible to listen to the whole album at once.

Nevertheless, Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials doesn’t disappoint. A hybrid of indie, jazz, and rock music, creates a story of alluring but sinister romance Welch seems to be obsessed with. It is a talented and mature sound, seasoned off immaculately with the singer’s graceful voice- reminding us just how touching and beautiful music can be.



Diary of a Stoke Student

It’s pretty obvious that everyone knows Stoke-on-Trent isn't exactly the most inspiring and exhilarating place to live your student years, with competing cities such as London and Manchester that scream student lifestyle. Having already a comfortable and satisfying life in Birmingham, to then having to move to a town with pottery factories as its main attraction- I can openly admit I wasn’t feeling hugely optimistic.

It’s now the beginning of my sixth week here at Staffordshire University and if it’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s regardless of who you’re with, what you’re studying, where you are, and how you’re living it; student life is amazing.

What you hear about university is what you get. Freedom to do as you please, the easiness of making friends like you did at nursery, cheap student offers bombarding you everywhere, and most importantly; experiencing the craziest nights out of your whole entire lives. (I will never forgive myself for being in the state I was in at Carnage. Ever). Already I’ve learnt so much about myself, the people around me and how quickly food goes out of date. Funnily enough- the biggest challenge in my life right now is making sure those chicken fillets chilling in my fridge are eaten before their sell-by-date in attempt to avoid more food in the bin and endless takeaways that are now my answer to every failed cooking experience I’ve dealt with.

Realistically it won’t always be all fun and games once the work load kicks in but the entire aspect of university is a persistent learning progress. The experience of growing up fast- mixed with the emotions of never feeling so young and liberated is incomparable. One of the most valued lessons I’ve been taught already, is that having no prejudice is one of the most favourable qualities you can learn to have. Constantly being on nights out surrounded by people whose main concern is what shoes you have on your feet or what music you’re listening to on your iPod- it’s never been so refreshing to get away from it all and associate myself with people I would never usually make the effort with back home.
 
So even without the trendy nights out and immaculate city centre Birmingham has to offer, it seems the ‘two decades behind’ and ‘bleak’ city has proved itself wrong and has established just how fufilling student life truly can be, even without a Nandos here...

RIP Camden's finest

Amy Jade Winehouse

14th September 1983- 23rd July 2011

 

There's always a great sense of loss and sadness when an artist we admire and grow up with passes away- but there was something different about discovering the death of Amy Winehouse that triggered true distress and grief to the public when the news was first announced. Throughout most of her musical days, her talent was mostly swamped by consistent headlines of her drink and drug problem. Continiously being the media's bull's eye for bad press, she never failed to cause a fuss when stumbling out of a bar completley addled...yet above everything and beneath the bad girl image she so often portrayed, Winehouse was no doubt the quirkiest, most soulful and eccentric artist of our time.

Frank; the singer's first debut album was immediatly a great success in the UK, which was then followed up by her second album Back to Black in 2006. The album was the third biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom, scooping up an impressive six Grammy Award nominations- making her the first British female to achieve five favourable wins. The first single released from the album; Rehab, gained her further attainment in the categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Although her career was souring, it was also an abiding battle when dealing with her drug and alcohol abuse as her violent and self destructive behaviour always seemed out of control, leaving her family, friends and fans all disappointed. Her pernicious relationship with her former husband (Blake Fielder) introduced further complications resulting in him serving prison time in 2008. She was faced with a series of health problems that threatened both her career and life that eventually, but not surprisingly, resulted in her putting down her microphone and taking a step back from the music industry she was so clearly unstable for.

With such promising talent, the public were always left hopeful for a comeback from the instantly recognisable singer, (not forgetting her trademark beehive hairdo) yet her frail and unfit state meant she had to pull out of her return just last month. Instead, she was found dead in her London flat days ago with the case described as 'unexplained'.

Whether it was the drink or drugs, she was undoubtedly a true icon. What made Winehouse so special, was her ability to create music that really spoke to people. In a time where music is so highly competitive, she managed to become the best, proving anything can be achieved. Her unparalled voice and lyrics made it possible for her fans to see past her tribulations and grow only to adore and respect her- despite the numurous occasions in which she couldn't give her everything. She was the voice of a generation with down right raw talent, challenging pop music with her inspiring jazz and blues sounds, as well as becoming the most iconic and exceptional artist of our era. If its anything she's left behind, its knowing that there really won't ever be another quite like Winehouse.

'My justification is that most people my age spend a lot of time thinking about what they’re going to do for the next five or ten years. The time they spend thinking about their life, I just spend drinking.'

'I was expecting it to be cynical because I'm like that myself.
 I wouldn't want it to be all roses because life isn't like that.'

'I only write about stuff that’s happened to me.. stuff I can’t get past personally.
 Luckily, I'm quite self-destructive.'

'It's not important to me to make other people at ease.
I am difficult, but that's because I don’t really give a fuck.'

Little Mons†er Loving

“She has the fashion, the performance—the entire vision,”

Officially becoming the most powerful female in the world on May 19th, having overtaken Oprah Winfrey; shows how phenomenally talented Lady Gaga truly is. She's the leading lady of pop culture with a massive 23 million albums sold worldwide, as well as being the most downloaded artist in history. Whether she's arriving to Grammies in a 'vessel' or recording herself fully dressed in a bath tub, this artist is always causing controversy and its exactly what's made her the superstar she is today. With her third album 'Born This Way' released just hours ago, I couldn't think of a more relative and appropriate time to blog about the most influential artist I admire and adore in pop music today.

The History
Born Stefani Germanotta, she didn't always have it easy becoming the legend she is nowadays. Her dream of becoming a favourable and sucessful artist began when she dropped out of college to be the lead singer of the 'Stefani Germanotta Band'. Performing to a handful of people in grotty New York clubs, it wasn't exactly the take off she had hoped for. She then began performing go-go dances on neo-burlesque shows, half naked on stage with her fellow band member Lady Starlight. Agreeing with her Dad that she'd go back to college if she didn't suceed in her career, things for Gaga weren't looking too hopeful. Playing the piano at just the age of 4 and having the dream of headlining Madison Square Gardens, not surprisingly she wasn't about to give up just yet. Always having the natural ability to song write, she began writing songs for artists such as Britney, the PussyCat Dolls and the Black Eyed Peas up until Akon noticed her singing ability and signed her to his record label, Konvinct.

Her first album 'The Fame' was released in 2008 with her debut single Just Dance catapulting Lady Gaga straight into the limelight. It was quickly followed by her second successful single Pokerface, which again soared to the top of the charts and straight away became N0.1 in 9 different countries. Her fortune wasn't about to end there as her second album 'The Fame Monster' included more massive hit singles such as Bad Romance, Alejandro and Telephone. She then went on to perform her staggering 3 year 'Monster Ball Tour' with a total of 201 performances and a gross revenue of $22.4 million.

The Style
Not only has she taken the music world by storm, but the fashion world as well as Lady Gaga's image has became just as important as her music. Wearing 'normal' clothes isn't in Gaga's books as she never fails to create a stir in the media industry with the outrageous outfits she steps out in. The difference between Gaga's fashion influence is that she isn't afraid of embracing a bold and eccentric look, standing out from the rest of the crowd and being the centre of attention wherever she goes. Dressing to please the eye of others isn't of her concern, nor to look attractive, sexy and appealing to men. Instead, she would rather look ridiculously bizarre, taking high fashion to a whole new level and gaurenteeing all eyes on her at all times...not forgetting that meat dress and those body implants. Her fashion is something I adore- not that you would ever see me parading down the streets of Birmingham in a flammable bra and a slice of red meat attached to my chest. The point is, is that she has no fear of being slated, disliked or critisised for what she wears which is what fashion is all about- taking extreme to the extreme. She is able to go from simple outfits, to ones that most would consider to be wild and out there. Revolutionising the meaning of fashion, she provides nothing but a visual feast, expanding the boundries further and offering nothing less than expected every single time.

'I would rather die that have my fans not see me in a pair of high heels'

The Art

The choreography of Lady Gaga's music videos are a breakthrough from anything we've ever seen before since the days of musical legends Micheal Jackson and Madonna. Again, she doesn't for a single second hold back in expressing her articulate and extraordinary talent through film, creating a whole new era and meaning to pop through music videos. Whether she's lounging in latex, sexually abusing gay men in stilletoes, poisoning her boyfriend or being auctioned as a sex slave in a bath house, she causes dispute and talk in whatever she creates. Lady Gaga's work always has a deeper meaning which is what a lot of the public misunderstand-particularly those who dislike her. It would be crazy for such a creative and gifted artist to not have the ability in metaphorically expressing her feelings through her work. She is very smart and very crafty. Her series of gobsmacking, entertaining and down right abnormal videos, leaves the whole world wanting more with an eager wait for her next cinema extraordinaire. But of course, there was only one nine-minute epic promo created with video genius Jonas Akerlund, for the ground breaking song Telephone. Also starring Beyonce, the video featured graphic violence, nudity, expletives, a lesbian kiss and mass murder all tied into one; making it purely brilliant to watch. With a grand opening of the line 'I told you she didn't have a dick' to the cringy shot of a transvestite prison guard, browsing the website 'plenty of fish'..it was truly unforgettable. Every detail was thought through enormously, from her cigerette shades to her soft drink hair rollers, rat poisoning sandwiches and quirky Beyonce dance routines. Reaching 109, 921, 190 views on YouTube and being the talk of everyones mouth's for months, it was definitely a music video that made pop history.

'There's certainly always a hidden message in my music videos. But I would say most predominately, I'm always trying to convolute everyone's idea of what a pop music video should be.'

 
The Love
10,278,998 followers on Twitter, 34,647,195 likes on her official Facebook page and the most viewed artist on YouTube ever to be known. Statistically, its quite obvious that more people love Gaga than dislike her. The fact that she has a huge voice, plays the piano and the stand-up bass, and wrote every lyric and melody herself adds to the sense that you are in the presence of a true artist who only has just begun to show the world what she's made of. Despite your opinion on her music, there's something to be learned from her marketing skill and the usage of social media to interact with her fans, calling them 'Little Monster's' and constantly declaring her love and appreciation she has towards them. She is unbound, unbridled, and completely without fear as all of her work is proof of that. Songs such as Speechless show her depth, strength courage and vulnerability alongside the rest of her creative capability that makes us realise that Gaga is well and truly ahead of her time, gutsy enough to do whatever she pleases and living the dream shes always wanted. If I could ever be as unique and iconic as herself, proclaimed to be freak or a 'weirdo' would definitely only be a complement in comparison to what the bigger picture really is here.

--<3--

"Peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no trouble, noise, or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

"They can't scare me, if I scare them first."
    

"People will always talk, so lets give them somthing to talk about"

"A girl’s got to use what she’s given and I’m not going to make a guy drool the way a Britney video does. So I take it to extremes. I don’t say I dress sexily on stage - what I do is so extreme. It’s meant to make guys think: ‘I don’t know if this is sexy or just weird."  

"Sexuality is half poison and half liberation. What’s the line? I don’t have a line. "

"Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are."  

"I used to walk down the street like I was a fucking star... I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be - and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth."

Wounded Rhymes

Being a huge fan of Lykke Li, I should have been excited for her new album Wounded Rhymes, which was released exactly a week ago on iTunes...but I wasn't. When tuning into her first album last year, Youth Novels, I instantly fell in love with her and couldn't stop listening to her music repeatedly for months on end. With such an amazing album first time round, I was worried her second wouldn't live up to my high expectations and everyone else's standards. Happening so many times before with other amazing artists and bands, I really was biting my tongue and crossing my fingers, in hope that my unbelievable amount of love for her wasn't going to end anytime soon. And it most definitely didn't! Downloading Wounded Rhymes just a few days ago, I'm still in disbelief of how much she's blew me away (once again) and how she hasn't failed to remind everyone how stupidly talented she is.

The album still has the same incredible elements Youth Novels did, but with a more mature and deeper meaning to it. Along with the same quirky, bass-heavy sound she always produces, her lyrics show that she has  developed further. With lyrical utterances such as 'I'm your prostitute..you gonna get some' (from her single Get Some) and supplementary emotional songs such as Sadness is a Blessing and Unrequited Love, it demonstrates how her music has changed from being girly and day dreamy-like, to a more serious and tense focus that draws you in and allows you to concentrate only on her voice and words.

Not only has her sound and lyrics improved, but her style has changed in her videos showing a more artistic, thoughtful and twisted side to her. From a 24 year old who has the ability to write a whole song simply about crying (it's called Let it Fall if you want to hear it) it really shows how gifted and brilliant this girl bloody is. Simply put...download her. You'll thank me forever! I promise.

21

 Im sat here on this blogger because I feel ridiculously obliged to tell all of you just how amazing Adele's new album is and how much I'm in love with it already (but I'm guessing/hoping all of you lot already know this!). '21' which was released on the 19th January has definitely captured everyone's attention, has became the new talk on all music channels and relieved all Adele fan's that she's finally back. After her gospel and disco-like single 'Rolling In the Deep' it's no wonder everyone was stupidly excited to get a hold of her album, and not suprisingly, it didn't dissapoint.


So far, its the most honest, beautiful and simple album I've heard in a very long time and her unbelievable voice makes it a million times better. There's a sense of truth in each song, something only Adele could master, with BBC Music describing it as "simply stunning" and "genuinely brilliant". 


Right now its the only thing im listening to and I'm without a doubt going to rinse it like the rinsing it bloody deserves. 'Someone Like You' and 'Don't You Remember' were the first two I listened to when she performed them on Radio One Live Lounge, and again, her immense voice just blew me away (as well as made me cry, a lot.) 'Rumour has it' is also another of my favourite as well as 'Set Fire to The Rain'. I'm wrapping it up here because I shouldn't be convincing any of you to listen to this, for one this is already late, and secondly, its Adele, everyone loves a bit of Adele.

'Half heart-wrenching, half uplifting. It's nearly good enough reason to break up with someone, simply so you can mope in it' The Guardian.