Author: birminghamreview

Words by Matthew Osborne / Pics by Katja Ogrin

There are some legacies that are just dangerous to mess with; and, especially amongst hardcore music enthusiasts, Joy Division’s is perhaps one of the deadliest.

In the brief time pre-New Order, their music, lyrics and imagery struck chords that continued to resonate for decades; with many bands making waves today (see Savages and Iceage) owing more than a debt of gratitude to the Mancunian four piece.

The collective members of Scanner and The Heritage Orchestra must have known this before they embarked on their latest project, Live Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, but they went ahead and did it anyway. Judging by this evening’s gathered audience, which includes such local celebs as Laura Mvula, their bravery has, at least, stirred up a healthy curiosity in Birmingham.

Inside the theatre the first remarkable thing is the light show. It takes me a few minutes to realise that the orchestra is sandwiched between two thin screens, one at stage front and one at the rear. Both screens are having different images projected onto them and the result frequently perplexes my brain.

The music, however, is less remarkable. Rather than taking the Joy Division canon and creating orchestral cover versions, Scanner and The Heritage Orchestra have chosen to ‘reimagine’ the songs, taking key riffs and melodies and exploring the directions which they can go with them.

Sometimes it is a few minutes before I realize that I’m listening to ‘She’s Lost Control’ or ‘Dead Souls’. Although there clues are in the projections – particularly when Ian Curtis’ lyrics are scrawled out in front of us, as though we’re watching his ghost communicate through some kind of Ouija board.

But as clever as all this is, I can’t help wanting them to slide into neat covers. Heritage and Scanner’s ‘reimagining’ finds Joy Division forced into a post rock band; unfortunately it’s a fairly standard post-rock band, who know they have to hit a big crescendo at some point but aren’t always that inventive in building up to an eventual release.

I know that if I were to ‘reimagine’ Joy Division in today’s world, I would predict an embrace of the electronic revolution (one only need look to New Order for confirmation of my suspicions). And the repetition of certain percussive melodies combined with the visuals (including a fantastic caricature that resembles a hooded character moving with the same jerky movement of Curtis, his arms spinning magic darts which look like they form words as they hurtle towards us) is the show’s most successful feature.

As a production, Live Transmission: Joy Division Reworked is both more interesting and successful when the orchestra is overlooked – placing the focus back on the guitars, drums and electronics.

Finally, after an uncomfortable pause – where we all stare in silence, trying to work out whether the show has finished or just paused, the audience bursts into applause.

Then, as an encore of sorts, the unmistakable voice of Ian Curtis delivers the crushing lyrics from ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ as the strings and horns rise and swell, delicately keeping the tonality in the right key but not interfering too much with Curtis’ powerful, deep voice.

It is a poignant close to a show that lacked such moments; despite a good stab at a sizable task, Live Transmission: Joy Division Reworked left me wanting. And judging by the amount of toilet stops many of the audience around me made during its relatively brief duration, I suspect many others felt the same.

For more on Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, including tickets to its final production in Gateshead (Oct 2^nd), visit http://www.joydivisionreworked.com/live-transmission

For more on Birmingham’s Town & Symphony Halls, including full event listings, visit http://www.thsh.co.uk

Above image by Philippe Carly

This Saturday night (Sept 28^th) sees the arrival of ‘electronic composer’ Scanner and the Heritage Orchestra’s collaborative touring show, Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall.

Billed as a ‘totally unique audio-visual reinterpretation’ of the work of Joy Division, Live Transmission is a reimagining of not only the music of one of the UK’s most influential post-punk outfits, but also of their whole ethos as artists.

Early press releases hint at the show being less of a straight up set, consisting of orchestral cover versions of the band’s catalogue, and more of a ‘fearless dismantling of Joy Division’s visual and musical motifs’. This could mean that those going along in order to hear prettier versions of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and ‘Atmosphere’ may be in for a surprise.

Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked is built around Adam Betts and Matt Calvert, respectively the drummer and guitarist from noise-rock band Three Trapped Tigers, and Ghostpoet’s bassist – John Calvert.

Conductor Jules Buckley is charged with keeping those three (and the sizeable force of the Heritage Orchestra) in check, with electronic augmentation being provided by Scanner.

Birmingham born artist and Beat 13 co-founder, Matt Watkins – who worked on the Gorillaz design team with Jamie Hewlett, will provide accompanying visuals for the show.

These descriptions make it hard to fully imagine what to expect, but give us enough to be sufficiently intrigued. Matthew Osborne will be there for a Birmingham Review.

For more on Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, including tickets, visit http://www.joydivisionreworked.com/live-transmission

For more on the Town & Symphony Halls, including full event listings, visit http://www.thsh.co.uk

Words by John Noblet

If you haven’t heard of Balkanic Eruption yet then you’re probably some kind of hopelessly deluded fool; or more likely, just don’t live in south Birmingham.

It’s been around for ages now, somehow flying the flag for a fairly obscure genre of music in an age where ‘The Birthplace of Heavy Metal’ (I mean Birmingham, obviously) no longer has a large weekly rock night. And if predictions are to be believed, Metallica will be panhandling on a street corner near you by the end of next week.

Although Balkanic Eruption deserves major cred points for being one of a handful of regular Balkan based nights in the country (and even bigger points for supporting traveller and Gypsy rights), it trades on being a damn good knees up – the kind of party you can rely on being fun.

However tonight’s openers, Damba – an offshoot from The Destroyers, are not exactly setting the room alight during their first few numbers. They’re performing as a duo, instead of their usual three piece, and it shows; despite being played well, their accordion and violin led tunes are in grave danger of becoming just background music for hairy hipsters.

Towards the end of their set Damba step up another gear and we see some of that chaotic energy that their parent band are so legendary for. They play a fiery footstomper, which they say is “a Canadian barn dance number” but sounds Irish or Scottish to me (as far as I can tell, their set is mostly traditional numbers from all over the global map).

For the last song, ‘Bella Ciao’, Damba get a couple of Italian friends to sing the lead vocal, and just as their set ends seem to have won the room’s attention (I mean, what kind of soulless sour puss doesn’t enjoy a well performed version of ‘Bella Ciao’???). I don’t know what the long term plan for Damba is, but I’d definitely like to hear them perform with their full line up and see if they generate the excitement implied by their ‘hot club/tango/klezmer’ tagline.

All that’s followed by the customary cigarette break, trip to the bar (or if you’re feeling particularly saucy, a session at the face painting stall to become a shiny butterfly or a cat) and tonight’s headliners, Gypsy Fever.

I can’t tell you where Gypsy Fever are based, but their members seem to come from all over the world – with only one (the guitarist) hailing from England. Their line up is bass, drums, guitar, two female vocalists up front and a woodwind player that alternates between saxophone and clarinet.

Although the opener only entices the audience, rather than grabbing them by the scruff of the neck, the crowd starts dancing soon enough. The bass, guitar and drums form a solid foundation, and it’s soon clear who’s fronting the band – with woodwind player, Ben Sellers, and female vocalist, Katarina Gadjo, up the front and making eye contact with the crowd, whilst the other members fade into the background.

Gypsy Fever’s set is made up mostly of original numbers, with a few traditionals such as ‘Mesecina’, ‘Bubermaru’ and ‘Gas Gas’ – a song apparently played at every wedding in Serbia. However this is not as repetitious as it might sound – such melodies have, what I have referred to in my more romantic moments as, an intrinsic magic when played with the right spirit. The can ignite any dance floor, usually leaving it reeling, breathless and sweaty – before the opening notes of another big hitter reaches round you like the embrace of an old friend.

This is exactly what happens tonight, with the rambunctious calls for an encore proof of what a good job Gypsy Fever have done; returning to the stage for what one cheeky reveller refers to as the “cuddle after the orgasm”.

And Gypsy Fever’s encore demonstrates the wide variety of reference points within their musical vocabulary, taking in part of Greek Folk song/Dick Dale surf guitar classic ‘Misirlou’.

Gypsy Fever can certainly move a crowd, and I’ve no doubt are well on their way to being regulars on the UK festival scene. However for me, whether they become known as one of the best at what they do, or as another very good Balkan based band, depends on what they do next. But currently one album in they’ve made a damn good start.

There’s rumours going around that Balkanic Eruption might not last much longer; with organisers promoting a world music night instead, giving them a much wider palette to choose from.

I for one will be sad to see it go, having had many great moments there over the years; as well as a few unforgettable, life changing ones.

However, part of me also feels it’s a big enough part of enough people’s lives to not go anywhere. And if it does come back in a different form, then well, that’s just evolution, baby.

For more on Gypsy Fever, visit http://www.gypsyfever.co.uk/

For more on Balkanic Eruption, visit https://www.facebook.com/balkanic.eruption

For further gig listings at the Hare & Hounds, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/

Words by Ed King / Pics by Jonathan Morgan

Noise is everywhere. In my head, in the air, sandwiched between each unsolicited silence; there is no escape.

Literally. I wake up every day with a song in my head, and go to sleep likewise. I don’t have to have heard them recently, they doesn’t have to be relevant; but they’re always there. And taking me from one to the next is the usual traffic and conversation; so much shouting, so much laughter.

But right now it’s a packet of crisps – and the obnoxious consumption of the man in the corner.

Ort Cafe is small venue, ‘intimate’ if I was writing an advert, and not a good place to be selfish. Tonight’s support act, Rhiannon Mair, with her deep reaching vocals explaining songs of frustration and love, has already thanked “you all for coming out to listen, being respectful and quiet” – but the message appears not to have fully sunk in. Deftly delivered though it was.

So I glare into the man, hoping he’s sober enough to feel embarrassed. Daisy Chapman is headlining tonight, and I’ve been pillaging her portfolio with YouTube and Spotify for a fortnight (iTunes reparations have been subsequently made). If my ears don’t get to reconnoitre unmolested there may be  a controlled explosion.

Ms Mair delivers another delightful velvet glove punch, a nod to the youthful front row table seemingly obsessed with a small plush toy horse; before enforcing a sing-a-long, selling CDs and introducing Ms Chapman.

Guitar gives way to piano (or Chapman’s ‘trusted touring Roland RD-170’ to be exact) and the Bristolian songwriter opens a cappella to silence the room, with ‘The Life of Mary May’.

It’s a little traditional and tired for me, a staggered demise through narrative verse, and a song I’d often skip when listening to Shameless Winter – Chapman’s second and most recent studio album. Skilfully sung though it is, by the second verse all I can hear is the sound our photographer, clickclickclick clickclick, and the strains of nervous guilt as I order another “large, please”.

‘Madame Jeneva’ introduces Sue on violin, helping to retell Hogarth’s dystopia and the disintegration of addiction. I grew up dotted around Moseley and Balsall Heath, and as Ort’s audience are warned of being “drunk for a penny or dead drunk for two” I hear the echoes of unfortunately formative years.

‘Jealous Angles’ delivers a mournful keys led lament, and allows Chapman’s voice to soar into the room (a word I don’t often use); before the vaudeville returns with a dark tale of patricide in ‘Oh Daddy’.

The endless rustle continues from the corner, and I notice Chapman’s eyes flick recognisance daggers at the front row table who’ve swapped talking for texting. Somewhere behind me a tray of pantomime glasses fall to the floor.

Chapman asks for “a bit more piano”, and begins the slow melody of ‘A Sinner Song’; incorporating loop pedal harmonies and violin accompaniment. ‘Does She Know What I Know’ follows the vein of minor keys, strings and beguiling introspection; before ‘The Gentleman in 13b’ returns the playful counterbalance to Chapman’s more difficult questions.

I’m suddenly very aware that I’m sitting alone, with my lens hidden companion currently squatting underneath the Foosball Table, and try to shift my driving sense to sight from sound.

The title track of Chapman’s latest LP is introduced, with a nod to the turning seasons making ‘Shameless Winter’ a more appropriate feature in her set. And as the nostalgic story of “mirage summers” and “luxury problems” gives way to the eponymous season, I watch Chapman’s hands dance along the keyboard like acrobatic spiders. 

‘The Piano’, another track from her debut album, The Green Eyed, comes as penultimate – adding a uniformed hand clap to the looped harmonies and “uninspired, uninspired, uninspired.” To me, this is Chapman at her best – a skilful pianist, creative performer and gifted vocalist. And as the sonorous circles wrap themselves around the room, and the spiders settle into another determined march, I rest happy and complicit.

“…TIME ARE YOU GETTING YOUR BUS?” booms out from the corner of the room; possibly drunk, definitely ill considered, and wrenching my ears back into the driving seat. Even the mouthful of crisps feels compelled to issue a warning.

Chapman follows Mair, and offers a “thank you for listening and being quiet” before closing on ‘Better Me’, a “semi autobiographical” jibe at having to support her artistic endeavours by waitressing.

We are robbed of an encore, but I understand why; and as Chapman’s set still hangs in the air, the background cacophony muscles its way back into prominence. It all feels a bit rude.

Both acts tonight deserve much more attention – from both the Ort Café audience and Birmingham’s live music circuit; I’d like to see Daisy Chapman on the Glee Club stage or at the Moseley Folk Festival.

And whilst I steadily fall for the Ort Café, seduced by its considered musical offerings (Chris Cleverley 19^th Oct), film nights, wobbly tables and seemingly eternal welcome, I wanted to bull whip tonight’s crowd.

But I don’t, and as I head back into town I remind myself how perfect parts of tonight were; the evening’s scales and melodies become my lasting impression. Frustration dissipates, appreciation grows; and as my head hits the pillow I hear “…and they’ll find their way, through solid ground.”

And when I wake up, “Call the Captain boy… call the Captain boy…” Two for two. God bless digital downloads and the survival mechanics of my mind.

For more on Daisy Chapman, visit http://www.daisychapman.com

For more on Rhiannon Mair, visit http://rhiannonmairmusic.tumblr.com/

For more on the Ort Café, including listings of all events and activities, visit http://ortcafe.co.uk

For the last few years one local event has been bringing the flavours or Eastern Europe to Birmingham; Balkanic Eruption has long been a showcase for all things Balkan, Klezmer and Gypsy, and the next event should be no different.

Balkanic Eruption’s residency at the Hare & Hounds in King’s Heath continues on Friday the 20^th September (aka tonight). The evening’s format will be in keeping with the formula of previous events; a couple of bands will start the festivities, followed by DJs who will endeavour to keep your dancing feet twitching long into the night.

This time round the live music will be provided by Gypsy Fever and Damba.

Gypsy Fever are an international band consisting of members from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and even Birmingham. Fresh off the back of Festival Season, including slots at Boomtown, Bestival and Secret Garden, Gypsy Fever have been treating audiences across the UK to music that ‘spins a web of intricate and unrelenting Gypsy magic’.

Their sound is described as a fusion of Balkan-ethno roots with Swing, Gypsy Jazz and Folk-Rock, combining the rhythms of Balkan weddings and the street-music of the East, and will be hoping to raise the roof on the Hare & Hounds this weekend.

Supporting act Damba may seem familiar to those of you who are fans of The Destroyers. It will not surprise those people to learn that this local duo consists of two of their number, namely Louis Robinson and Dave Adams, who will be playing violin and accordion respectively in a bid to warm the crowd up on what promises to be a cold Friday night.

Damba made their first appearance at Balkanic Eruption last February where their mix of Klezmer, Hot Club, Tango and traditional Romanian Gypsy tunes were warmly received.

The evening will be rounded up with the Balkanic DJs, including but not limited to Will Itsasecret, who will be hoping to pick up the baton passed to them by the bands and run with it into the wee small hours.

Our man on the inside, John Noblet, will be there for a Birmingham Review.

For more information on Balkanic Eruption @ Hare & Hounds on Fri 20^th Sept, including tickets, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/event/?eventID=10028023

For more on Gypsy Fever, visit http://www.gypsyfever.co.uk/

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For more on Balkanic Eruption, visit https://www.facebook.com/balkanic.eruption

For further gig listings at the Hare & Hounds, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/