[INTERVIEW] with... HONNE

HONNE are taking the music scene by storm, with a huge new single under their belts 'Someone That Loves You' in collaboration with Izzy Bizu, there is no stopping this incredible electronic-soul duo. We chatted to HONNE about SXSW, developing their sound as a full band and festival season. Check out the full interview below!

Hi there, so we see you’ve been pretty busy touring the US at the moment! How was that? 

Hello! Yep we were there for a load of our own gigs and SXSW. It was a really special couple of weeks and we had some very memorable shows. We can't wait to get back!

Talk to us about SXSW? It looked amazing this year! Which set was your favourite to play?

SXSW is a mad festival. We played 7 shows over a few days all over Austin.  I think our favourite set was probably at the Hype Hotel. It was at 1pm so we were expecting everyone to be in bed hungover to be honest! But just before 1 the place suddenly filled up. 

Any acts that stood out for you?

One act that stood out to us was Pumarosa. We saw them play a great set at the Fader Fort. We saw them at the Royal Albert Hall in London the other day too actually, their sound really suited that huge room.

We saw you play a year ago supporting Kwabs as a duo at Thekla (you were amazing by the way), and now you’ve headlined Thekla and the Electric Brixton with a full band to support you guys. How has this whirlwind of a year been for you? How has the development of having a full band affected your shows and music? What can we expect this year in terms of live shows?

Ah thanks. We've loved every minute of it. Ever since day one we always said when we played live we wanted to use a full band to make it really energetic and step it up a notch from the record. We've been playing as the same group of people for a long time now, so there's a real chemistry between us all. So people can expect smooth and sexy, but also bright, loud and exciting.

Let’s talk about your recent Valentine’s day release, Woman. What was the principal inspiration for it? 

Woman was written between International Women's Day and Valentine's Day last year. We wanted to write a track celebrating the women in our lives, and it's as much about friends and family as it is lovers. 

The video is great too, do you guys get creative input when putting the videos together?

Yep, we're really involved with anything creative. That video concept was sent to us by an amazing director in LA called Dori. We chatted with him and threw ideas around and the video was born!

So an album is on the way we are guessing from your Facebook posts. How does the album process differ from previous releases? What can we expect from the album?

It is indeed. We're just finishing it off as we speak. The album is a great opportunity for us to explore. It's got a few tracks that you'll already know, but the majority are new. We hope it's going to take people on a bit of a journey and show everyone some other sides to HONNE that they might not have heard before.

Lastly, you’re playing numerous festivals this summer, including the intimate Barn On The Farm Festival. What’s your favourite aspect about fetsival season? Any acts you’re looking forward to seeing?

We are, and we can't wait. Festivals are great. I think my favourite thing, other than the gig itself, is seeing the other artists who we bump into all the time. We often see Lapsley, Tei Shi, Shura, Tom Misch etc on the same festivals as us, so it's cool seeing them play and catching up.

What's your festival must-have?

A Festival must-have: A blow up bed. We're not roll-mat kinda guys.

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HONNE are playing numerous festivals this year including Barn on the Farm Festival, July 1st - 3rd in Gloucestershire. For more information please visit www.barnonthefarm.co.uk

 

[LISTEN] Royce Wood Junior - Honeydripper

London-based producer/songwriter Royce Wood Junior's new offering "Honeydripper" is an absolute certified scorcher. Opening with a super-sensual guitar solo and a lazy, stompy, almost dubby backing beat, you'll probably find yourself on the verge of walking to the exact tempo of the song, and maybe throwing in a few crotch grabs just for good measure, which might well cause a few odd looks...

However, if people could hear this song at the same time, then it would surely make perfect sense! Pulsing, grooving and, dare I say it, shredding through the verses before glitching and skittering into the first chorus, this is actually very sophisticated and splendidly off-kilter electro R&B music that will make you think about the instrumentation and question what it is you're actually hearing, and I happen to like that a lot.

In addition, where RWJ is so clever is in consistently returning to the refrain "It's only unattainable love I can't do without." This is a hook so smooth it caresses you, helping to round off and justify the excess across the rest of the track, especially the various solos! It almost feels like this section is what gives him the licence to go a bit nuts inbetween.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Royce is rumoured to be working with the likes of Kwabs and Jamie Woon right now, and with the support of Annie Mac and Huw Stephens on Radio 1, might we be hearing more of RWJ soon? Something tells me this track live, either in a Radio 1 session at Maida Vale or at a festival next summer, is not only something to look forward to, but inevitable.

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Introducing... Real Lies

Debut single, 'World Peace' by London trio Real Lies could not sum up a bands sound more accurately. Straight from the kick off, the border of 80s and 90s pop synth is crossed to create a melody almost too close for comfort to New Order; it's spot on.

Sounding just like the Italia '90 hit, 'World In Motion', Real Lies are instant controllers of their own destiny, slipping in clips of 90s football on a box TV and memorabilia strung across the walls in the video for the dance hit. It's almost a surprise that John Barnes didn't crop up with an irrelevant rap half way through. 

B-side, 'Deeper', is a throwback to Pet Shop Boys as Neil Tennant's mundane vocals echo are near enough present in every nook of the track. The effervescing synth still rings strong into latest EP, 'North Circular', which comprises more toned down and troubling vocals similar to The Streets. 'Dab Housing' on the other hand is dreamy and includes smooth tropical groove without getting too carried away. The track, perfectly suited for those dark and misty club nights is as intriguing as the band members, who choose to refer to themselves by their initials, KK, TW and PK. Don't expect them to remain strangers though, as the indie-dance pioneers bring it back to 2015.

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Bestival; The Big Preview

The summer's drawing to a close but there's still one more big festival penned into everyone's calendars; Bestival. It's almost routine now, that the Isle Of Wight will be swarmed by glitter covered, head-dress donning, all singing and dancing folk to Britain's most vibrant festival of the year.

As a newcomer to Bestival myself, I'm expecting something special, and if you've been before I'm sure you'll agree. Every year there's a theme and this year it's 'Desert Island Disco' so get rummaging for the most striking and out there outfits - pretty much anything goes. Don't worry though, you don't have to look like a human glitter ball to get by the festival, just feast your eyes on some of the acts playing. I've picked out the main acts you can't miss.

The Big Names
These two headliners can't be missed. For the indie public they'll be delighted to see Foals at the top of the pile on Saturday night. After their mind-blowing headline shows at Latitude last year, they're pretty much unmissable. As for the other headliners, Outkast have made a return this summer to festivals world wide and it's unlikely you'll get another chance to see them after their Friday night slot. Be prepared for the biggest crowd participation of the weekend to 'Hey Ya'.

The Indie Kids
Too cool for the main headliners? Check out the array of indie talent over the weekend. My tips would be to make sure you see Wolf Alice. Their live game is getting better and better and they're bound to tear up the festival. Glass Animals are also ones to look out for if you're into the kind of tranquil funky nature of Alt-J's vibes. Singer songwriter Bipolar Sunshine is also worth a visit for a dance to his upbeat indie-pop tunes as is Nick Mulvey if you're wanting more of a chilled out sing a long. Years & Years too will be bringing the party vibe to The Isle Of Wight with their dance infused indie concoctions.

The Slick Movers
Guitar bands not your thing? The dance acts on hand are equally as exhilarating to go and see live. Basement Jaxx have got so many hits it's going to be hard to top them this weekend but Major Lazer may just be able to. They've got one of the best live shows out there filled with zorb balls, twerking members of the audience and a range of remixes. Elsewhere Caribou is worth a watch with his infectious music new and old. If you're looking for some more retro dance music, SL2 are making an appearance for what could be an interesting set. The ever popular SBTRKT is bound to gather one of the biggest crowds of the weekend and who knows, maybe his latest work with Ezra Koenig will see the Vampire Weekend frontman make an appearance. However if you're looking for something fresh on the dance music scene then Tourist is your man, who's collaborated with Lianne La Havas recently.

The Disc-Jockeys
Not strictly indie, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Mainly aimed for the non-stop ravers out there, there's something new that can be found in Bondax ; the duo who will throw their catchy beats at you as they headline the BBC Introducing stage. My Nu Leng are more focused on the bass side of the things with acute remixes to create instant house classics. As for affirmed house classics, DJ EZ is on hand to provide some of the best old-school mixes of house classics.

Of course it doesn't end there, and quite rightly, it's not all about the music. Feel free to check out the stand-up comedians, dance acts and some more intriguing events going on over the weekend.

Bestival takes place 4th-7th September this year on Robin Hill, Isle Of Wight. You can still buy tickets here.

By Joshua Shreeve (@JJShreeve)

Gig Review... Enter Shikari @ The Hippodrome, Kingston, 17th January 2012

Enter Shikari have had an official number 4 album in the UK, if that's not something, i don't know what is. A band signed to an independent label, anything but mainstream, singing about real things with the killer force of hugely powerful music behind it (yes- a real band!) beating the likes of Adele and Bruno Mars in the UK charts.
And to top that all off, I saw them live last week, and it was hands down the best gig I have ever been to in my life.

Then came Shikari, fresh from the release of the album just a day prior, they were up for a party, and so were the crowd. The album played a huge part of the set, they started off with the euphoric System... just to keep the anticipation to full level then thundered straight into the massive Meltdown, literally a face melter, following it all up with Gandhi, Mate Gandhi, politically anthemic with a "open their minds" bass worthy of destroying any speaker stack sending the crowd into one huge moving mess. After this they returning to the ancient, crowd pleaser Sorry You're Not A Winner, ventured in to single Destabilise including the tasty Rout VIP mix ending causing a stir, following up with Motherstep/Mothership that is the most stepfilled dance screamo version of a song in existence. Second single Quelle Surprise, well it was hardly surprising with the chant "if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything", turned the crowd into a unity of screaming voices against the system Rou Reynolds seems so lyrically keen on fighting.



Next came a breather straight from the new album in the form of Stalemate, as close to pop as Enter Shikari are going to get, complete with "Woooooaaaahs" worthy of a power ballad over a reserved synth backing before transcending in to the latest Adieu, Constellations,with glockenspiel and a guitar riff worthy of a lullaby while the lyrics sound something like that of Mike Skinner and a chorus and breakdown with longing whines of "we can explore space together forever/ I am lost, so lost/ you are the constellations/that guide me"

They then blasted out Juggernauts, causing madness, and returned to their might with Arguing With Thermometers, the latest single filled with the perfect mixture of Faithless-esque breakdowns and heavy guitars before uniting the crowd once again with Fanfare For The Concious Man, yet another political rant. Next they briefly fled the stage with a lack of conviction before returning amidst the chants to the incredible and aptly named

Hello Tyrannasaurus, Meet Tyrannicide and closing the set with a dubbed up version of most recent single Sssnakepit before spiralling into the real thing causing the crowd to descend into a pit of shoving and screaming people having the best time in the world.
Ending the concert on the words "Just push right back" seemed appropriate and fitting to end a crazy live experience filled with outrage at the world.
Enter Shikari are back, and this time, they've got even more to say.

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Written by - Daisy Edwards

It's All Indie Spotlight: Chrome Rainbow

Chrome Rainbow are from Nottingham, UK and they list themselves as Alternative-Electro, also they have influences from Foals, Dananananaykroyd, Errors, Three Trapped Tigers, These New Puritains, Good Shoes, Tubelord, Vampire Weekend, Tall Ships, We Have Band, and many more! Chrome Rainbow formed in the autumn of 2009 and are Ronan Charlton (Synth/Samples) Callum Ballard (Guitar/Keyboard) Callum McIntosh (Bass/Drums).



I have been sent very rough demos but you can tell that they can polish them up and make them into some chilling electro tunes. I gave 'Swords' a listen to and at the beginning sounds like electro coming from the depths of the night-time, distortion and synths play a big part in this with the melody coming from the solo guitar. Around the two minute mark it sounds a bit like a foals remix! Much of the same can't be said of 'Skarooven Blues', it too starts off with a dark synth but then follows a more guitar based song, and this does sound better I have to admit! The vocals are a tad too quiet for me but it's only a demo so they can be forgiven for it, and once again this does sound like a foals remix, good stuff here! I am adding 'Skarooven Blues' to my July Mixtape but I can assume you won't wait for that so below are a few links!

[MYSPACE]
Chrome Rainbow - Swords
Chrome Rainbow - Skarooven Blues