Music – Page 5 of 7 – The Orbital

Coffee House Sessions brings free live music to Tommy’s Kitchen

25Oct

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Coffee House Sessions brings free live music to Tommy’s Kitchen

A revived, rebranded SU seems like the perfect place to kick off the brand new season of Coffee House Sessions, and, ignoring the lack of coffee house status, Tommy’s Kitchen provided a near perfect setting for the first of these. Sharing a name with our founder (and therefore the venue), Tom Walker stepped naturally into his second show of the day and performed a stunning original set - the audience may have arrived hungry for a Colossus burger but I certainly left with a hunger for more of Walker’s original songs. The set was fresh but full of cultural references, including Katy Perry, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Spotify: it provided something to relate to even though you were hearing completely new content. We sat down with Tom Walker before the set to discover more about his ba...

21Oct

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Warner Newman: Runaway

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF ABUSE Catchy yet harrowing, Runaway brings the deep issue of domestic abuse to the urban-pop scene. This is the debut single from Warner Newman and one that promises great things for his debut album, The Death of Warner Cornish, set to be released in March next year. From the first verse it is clear that this song was born out of personal experience and Warner’s gritty spoken word is perfectly juxtaposed with a beautiful female vocal that brings food for thought to the listener. Despite the deep, haunting subject matter, there is a glimmer of hope to be found from the song: themes of running away, as the name suggest, and victims as fighters permeate the lyrics. It is a song that demands to be heard and the message stays with you long after the first ...

5Aug

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Orbital Introducing: masses.

This week Orbital checked out up-and-coming band ‘masses.’ The 4-piece band, based in Leeds, is made up of guitarists Cain Cookson and Jacob Corr, bass player James Grover and George Van Renselar’s electronics. The band have described themselves as ‘a melodic earful of guitars, synths, samples, and affecting four-part harmonies; lyrical disdain and proper songwriting; masses.’ What makes this band so unique is the fact that all members produce vocals, resonating haunting tones. You may wonder what is so diverse about an all-singing boy band, but this is certainly no One Direction. Each member has experience as a professional music producer and just as much expertise with their instruments. The tracks are produced entirely by the band at Peak Studios. The result is a truly unique sound that...

Chase & Status release their latest track ‘Spoken Word’ ft. George the Poet

24Jun

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Chase & Status release their latest track ‘Spoken Word’ ft. George the Poet

The catchy and uplifting sampling of Rozalla’s 1990s song, ‘Everybody’s Free’, demands dance floors to be filled, whilst George the Poet’s words transport ‘Spoken Word’ to its own genre. Rozalla’s rave tune paired with his inspiring, echoed words, can only really be described as a bit chalk and cheese; a combination that will almost definitely peak in the charts regardless. The track, which is third to be previewed from their latest unreleased album, was first aired by Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 show as a ‘World First’ on the 16th of June. It’s clear to see why Zane chose this track, with its modern poetry and old school vibe creating a blend that feels entirely new. Some listeners, however, feel that the song is not all that revolutionary, citing its likeness to Chase & Status’ previ...

17Jun

By Nebiu SamuelNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Krept and Konan, A Night to Remember

Krept and Konan are one of the biggest names in rap at the moment since the success of their mixtape 'Young Kingz' in 2013. They have worked tirelessly, producing hit songs known across the country. On April 1st, the pair promised a night to remember with the first performance of their spring tour at the O2 Academy Brixton and they certainly delivered. After Ty Dollar Sign had warmed up the crowd, the lights went out, phones were out with Snapchat and Instagram ready, the anticipation of the Duo’s grand entrance grew among the crowd. The screen covering the stage fell to reveal a London underground tube carriage across the stage, followed by the sound of the very familiar underground voice-over which was used throughout the show to introduce special guests. Then the vocals from Konan’s tra...

16Jun

By George SomersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Fifteenth Annual Eden Sessions Kick Off

‘See world-class bands and artists perform in front of our beautiful biomes with the amazing acoustics created by our natural amphitheatre’. The Eden Project, a conservation project nestled within an abandoned quarry in St Austell, Cornwall, attracts over a million visitors per year. While the tropical bio-domes and artificial subterranean atmosphere attract the eccentric tree huggers and renewable energy enthusiasts, the Eden Sessions have become a hub for rockers and appreciators of quality music throughout the south. While the miniature festival’s initial years saw fledgling recognised names such as Elbow and Supergrass grace their stage, Eden has now boasted some of music’s greatest artists over the course of a decade, including Amy Winehouse, Grammy award winners Muse and 80s deity...

Kygo triumphs with debut album Cloud Nine

7Jun

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Kygo triumphs with debut album Cloud Nine

There hasn't been an album in recent years that has surprised me as much as Cloud Nine, the debut album of Norwegian DJ and songwriter Kygo. Having risen to prominence with his single Firestone in late 2014, it is hard to believe that this is only his first album but it is well worth the wait. It captivates from the very beginning with a minimalist track Intro, full of building emotion and repetitive themes that leave you longing for more. More is exactly what the album brings, showcasing his production talent with 14 collaborations with artists including Tom Odell, Kodaline and Labrinth. The quality persists throughout the whole album with each track bringing a different vibe but reflecting the consistency of Kygo's technically complex but audibly pleasing style. A surprise highlight w...

Savoy Kicks Off Half-Centenary with ‘Pirates Of Penzance’

21Mar

By George SomersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Savoy Kicks Off Half-Centenary with ‘Pirates Of Penzance’

"Everyone we capture says he's an orphan. The last three ships we took proved to be manned entirely by orphans, and so we had to let them go. One would think that Great Britain's mercantile navy was recruited solely from her orphan asylums — which we know is not the case." With Holloway’s oldest society celebrating its golden anniversary, it seems fitting for Savoy to open 2016 with one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best-known operettas: ‘Pirates of Penzance’. Brilliantly witty, self-mockingly fickle and proposing possibly the most ingenious ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card in theatrical history (when in doubt, declare your adoration of Queen Vic), ‘Pirates’ has everything we’ve come to expect from a comic Savoy production: superb vocals, charming silliness and Will Davidson’s amusing variety of...

24Nov

By Nebiu SamuelNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Music

‘Amy’ Documentary Review

Many documentaries struggle to find a cinematic style and voice which warrants it to be released in cinemas however in the case of ‘Amy’, it delivers on giving you an emotional, cinematic and musical experience. The documentary focuses on the rise of Amy Winehouse, through her time in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and singing in blue clubs in North London to her international success, her problematic personal life and her tragic death. The main feature of ‘Amy’ is how director Asif Kapadia (Senna) and editor Chris King uses Winehouse’s poetic and autobiographic lyrics from songs like ‘Stronger than Me’, ‘I Heard Love is Blind’, ‘What is it About Men’, ‘Rehab’ or ‘Back in Black’ to build the narrative around and is able to make it seem Amy has a voice in the film. Through the documenta...

26Oct

By George SomersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

For The Record: Is Vinyl Back To Stay?

In the not-so-distant future, our children will be jealous beyond belief of our VHS videos and the battered cassette tapes we find in the attic. It's not as bizarre as it may seem. With the surprise resurrection of vinyl, and record sales rising swiftly from the horizon, the ancient relics of our parents' teenage rebellion years are now selling for far more than they were originally worth. The quirky, counter-culture markets of Portobello Road and Spitalfields in London are now dominated by typewriters and polaroid cameras, while indie fashion trends are subtly creeping their way back into mainstream life. How have those retro devices suddenly surged in popularity in our hyper-technological and interconnected era? 'The Guardian' reports that sales are at an 18-year high, which make u...