music – Page 3 of 5 – The Orbital

‘Warning Explicit Content’: Is Censorship Needed in the Music Industry?

9Jun

By Natasha PhillipsNo Comments

Opinion

‘Warning Explicit Content’: Is Censorship Needed in the Music Industry?

Censorship is a hotly contested issue and one with a long history of misuse and authoritarian control, but does it still have a place in a 21st century society? Izzy Swanson and Natasha Phillips debate the need for censorship in music. Izzy: against censorship A quarter of the current top 40 singles on the official UK music chart contain explicit language. As a result, these songs are censored when played on the radio. According to Ofcom, the government-approved regulatory body for broadcasting, the reason for this censorship is to ensure that “under-eighteens are protected” from being exposed to “offensive and harmful material”. While the majority of listeners would argue that skipping out or replacing swear words is warranted on the radio, in a wider context, music censorship can ...

13Apr

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Coffee House Sessions: Sonia Stein

The Orbital’s Arts Editor, Joanne Archer, reviews Sonia Stein’s performance at Coffee House sessions. If you are still unfamiliar with Coffee House sessions, you need to rock up at Tommy’s at 5pm on a Monday, order yourself a burger, sit back and enjoy. Each week, a new, up-and-coming artist sets up their makeshift stage on the staircase in the SU. You may not know these artists now, but with most signed to major record labels, they are bound to get big. The brand that organises the intimate gigs, Coffee House Sessions, promise to serve up “a fix of #newmusic ones to watch, & live acoustic tours”. To give you an idea of what this means in the industry, the likes of Izzy Bizu began their careers by touring universities with Coffee House Sessions. This month, Sonia Stein graced...

21Feb

By Rhona ReedNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Music

‘La La Land’ and The Vintage Revival

Rhona Reed delves into ‘La La Land’ and the controversial topic of modern-day jazz. Should it be an experimental reinvention, or purely replicate the past? If La La Land proves anything – beyond the fact that Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is genius – it is that we cannot frown at today’s reinterpretations of classic trends. Purchasing a remastered vinyl or an overpriced imitation of a vintage dress may make many purists grimace. Yet, every season reinvents a classic trend from past decades. Do we really want to just repeat history, rather than alter it? The predicted revival of 2017 is the controversial kitten heel and, while you may scorn now, this is the perfect opportunity to see how our reinvention of a retro trend may actually make a dated style fashionable and enjoyable. T...

25Jan

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

McFly: It’s All About Egham

Four-piece boyband McFly have been spotted in Waitrose Egham during their writing trip. Joanne Archer charts the recent developments of the band. In September 2016 I saw McFly play their anthology tour in London. Watching the boys play every song in their discography over the course of three nights was a delight. I was even lucky enough to catch Tom Fletcher’s guitar pick. The band had been joint at the hip with Busted for three years, forming super-group McBusted. Many fans, myself included, enjoyed the novelty of McBusted, a blend of their childhood favourites, but found that this soon wore off when McFly faded out of existence. There was no new McFly music and no McFly tours. That all changed in 2016 with the announcement that Busted would be touring alone with the likes of Emma Blac...

19Dec

By SumibalNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Coffeehouse Sessions: Lee Rasdall-Dove

Sumi Bal drops by Coffee House Sessions to check out Lee Rasdall-Dove This week Tommy’s Kitchen welcomed singer songwriter Lee Rasdall-Dove for the weekly Coffee House Session. At only twenty, he has performed over 150 gigs in one year alone. If this wasn’t impressive enough, some of these venues include festivals such as Bestival and V Dub Island Festival. Lee’s earthy voice coupled with the smell of burgers wafting through the air makes for a delicious combination, fit for a scene taken straight out of Central Perk. How refreshing it is to see an artist accompanied by only his guitar, leaving the soul focus on his strong vocals and guitar rhythms. Lee’s recently released EP, ‘Head in the Clouds’ is definitely worth checking out. Paired with a nightmarish yet emotive music v...

5Dec

By Ruby_rogersNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

The Carnabys

Ruby Rogers chatted to indie rock band The Carnabys after their gig at the Students' Union. “Do we think that Jack could fit into your skinny tights?” asks Ben Gittins, guitar player of up and coming indie rock band The Carnabys. We never did find out the answer (maybe next time?) but I quickly realised that my pre-interview nerves were almost totally unwarranted. Chatting to Ben and lead singer Jack Mercer after the gig felt more like chatting to your significantly cooler mates at the pub, mates who’ve toured with Blondie (“Yeah, you’d just sit down and have a bit of soup with Debbie [Harry]”) and played gigs at the Roundhouse. Playing at the Students’ Union as part of the tour for their debut album ‘Too Much Never Enough’ on Saturday 5th November was the third time I had seen T...

A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.

26Nov

By Georgia BeithNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

A Triumphant Team Effort at the ‘Winter Concert’.

This year’s Winter Concert was a lovely collaborative effort between two of Royal Holloway’s many choirs: the Gospel Choir and the resident A capella choir, Absolute Harmony. Set against the simply stunning backdrop of the Chapel in Founder’s Hall, the two choirs treated the audience to a selection of songs, both new and old, traditional and contemporary, to create a special evening of live music. Topped off with a traditional Christmas carol, performed by both choirs together, it was a great way to get into the festive spirit. Perhaps some questions could be raised over whether some of the song choices were quite appropriate, considering the particularly religious venue, but I’m sure no one would have changed the setting for the world. Besides from being visually beautiful, the high ec...

3Nov

By Joanne ArcherNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music

Interview with Quarterlights

Orbital’s Joanne Archer caught up with up and coming band, Quarterlights, a group who originated from Royal Holloway. Meeting and interviewing Quarterlights with my Deputy Editor, Beth Carr, has to be one of the highlights of being the Arts Editor for the Orbital thus far- it’s only been a few months but still! Although I was only able to meet three out of four of the group, I could get a real sense of what this band is all about. Quarterlights, made up of three RHUL alumni and one of their friends, got their start playing in the Forester’s Arms. The pub, which is situated in Egham, allowed them to build a small following which later lead to their success playing at Summer Ball in 2015. Originally the band went by the name Cardboard City, a name which they pointed out was also shared wi...

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 ...

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...