Interviews Archives - Page 6 of 16 -

July 28, 2017

INTERVIEW: David Baldwin – Shock & Gore Festival @ The Electric 28.07 – 10.08.17

Words by Charlotte Heap / Original pics by Ed King

Walking through Southside to The Electric, I’m struck by how Birmingham behemoth Grand Central now looms over the Art Deco cinema.

Claiming to be the ‘UK’s oldest working cinema’ the building has hosted films since 1909 – originally known as Electric Theatre, then as numerous incarnations (including as a less than salubrious pornographic cinema in the seedy 1970s) until the business eventually died in the shadows of the then decrepit New Street station in 2003. Restored by local entrepreneur and filmmaker Tom Lawes, the Station Street cinema was re-opened as The Electric in 2004, seeking to entice film fans into its monochrome foyer with imaginative programming and broader range of genres than the mainstream theatres.

I’m interviewing David Baldwin, The Electric’s General Manager and the man behind the cinema’s annual Shock & Gore festival – a special programme of horror films, resurrected for the seventh year between 28^th July to 10^th August. As I arrive and peer into the gloom, squinting against the bright reflections of Grand Central, the doors suddenly swing open and I’m ushered into the faded grandeur of the foyer by a bow-tied barman. After being briefly mistaken for a job applicant, I’m taken down a dark and narrow staircase into the bowels of the building… a suitably spooky place to discuss Baldwin’s devilish brainchild.

David Baldwin joined Tom Lawes at The Electric in 2009, having been “made redundant” from a journalism career that he was glad to escape from. “I could see the way the (newspaper) industry was going”, explains Baldwin. “Tom (Lawes) takes less of a front seat now; he has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies with his films and stuff. Sam (the bow-tied barman) and I do the programming and managing now.”

Since 2009 people’s proclivity for streaming films at home has increased, not to mention the opening of the Everyman and The Mockingbird cinemas, so there is a constant challenge to encourage people into The Electric. One way to tackle this is ‘inventive’ programming. Sitting on a plush velvet sofa, David Baldwin acknowledges the need for a seven year old Shock & Gore to attract the hoards – stating that while it would be easy to show “just zombie films and the classics, we don’t want it to be films you can just watch at home.”

So the pressure is on, as Baldwin and his team “mix it up with special events, Q&As and previews, to create something that’s a bit more inventive. Horror gets a bad rep because you can make it cheaply. There’s a lot of shit out there but there’s great stuff coming out and we’ve found the good stuff and put it in the Shock & Gore programme.” He is also particularly excited about a possibly unappetising feature of the 2017 programme: “The Wickerman showing with themed food and drink is one we’ve been wanting to do for a while; we’re working with Conjurer’s Kitchen and it will be particularly odd. There’ll be edible foreskins…”

Having picked up on the penis-related snacks in the programme, I’m glad David Baldwin raised this. It’s unusual to see food and drink teamed with horror, given that many people (ok, me) can’t contemplate eating while watching a gruesome film. Baldwin emphasises that “Conjurer’s Kitchen are artists and we’re adding a live element that can’t be recreated at home. They design food that makes the experience interactive, even for the squeamish.” Laughing, he does admit to “reining in” Conjurer’s Kitchen for this viewing: “the foreskin is my limit.”

But for those with slightly more squeamish limits, Shock & Gore promises a programme with “something for everyone.” A self-confessed 90s horror nerd David Baldwin is looking forward to the 20^th Anniversary Shindig for vampire slaying heroine, Buffy – an event that has, albeit unsurprisingly to Baldwin, sold out before the festival opens. “I know my Buffy fans,” he explains, “Buffy and I went to school and university at the same time so our lives have always been on the same track… although I’m not a vampire slayer. Not that I know about anyway. Sadly.”

Perhaps more surprisingly though, Buffy’s smart and slightly sanitised slaying is one of many features in the 2017 Shock & Gore programme with strong female leads. “People think it’s (horror films) just women getting chased by scary men. But there are so many great female roles like Buffy and Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. Horror is progressive – it subverts and surprises. I mean, in the 1970s no one would have thought Ripley would have survived. There are also a lot more female directors now and more meaty roles for women.”

For example Hounds of Love – an Australian serial killer horror scheduled for Sat 29th, shows the female ‘victim’ as “resourceful, using her brains and fighting back. There’s something satisfying about seeing a female character outwitting men… and causing them to die in horrible ways.”

Everyone means everyone though, and for families looking at the Shock & Gore programme this year David Baldwin recommends the 1954 original of Godzilla, “a silly monster movie”. There’s also Nicolas Roeg’s interpretation of the Roald Dahl classic, The Witches, which is still pitched at a family friendly audience despite my protestations that Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch gave me nightmares as a child. “It’s a PG,” retorts Baldwin, “and there are some pretty tough kids out there”.

But a horror film festival will no doubt have certain expectations to live up to, no pun intended, and for those at the other end of the tough spectrum to me, “we’re showing a short film showcase,” tells Baldwin, “which is great because they’re punchy and inventive. Martyrs is from the New French Extremity genre and it’s pretty full on: flayings and extreme torture. But it’s a good film and the gore is part of the story; I’m not a fan of gore for gore’s sake.”

Pushed about a hardened horror fan’s gore limits, David Baldwin explains that a visceral, sweaty palmed, dry mouthed feeling is more what he loves about the genre, “when I was younger, The Ring remake, which I think is better than the original, screwed me up for a while. Nightmares and I actually felt my heart pumping, which is rare for me.”

Not often you hear of a remake surpassing the original; how are contemporary horror films holding their own against the classics? “Everyone always thinks it was better in their day,” tells Baldwin, “the 90s was my genre with the self-aware (horror) films, and then the torture porn era came along. It disappeared quite quickly apart from Saw”.

And what about the modern perception that, as a society, we are becoming desensitised to certain horrors and violence on film? Has the genre become more shocking to challenge our numbness. “It feels as though we’re going back to a more classical, subtle style,” explains the horror festival curator, “like It Comes At Night, which is definitely a psychological style horror. But as make up and special effects get better, and young directors want to make their name, there are shocking things happening.” Although a lot of films still rely on the fear of the unseen, like The Conjouring films. “They’re based largely around shadows and creaky floorboards. There’ll always be that, it’ll never change.”

But if anything, David Baldwin see the horror genre leaning more towards exploiting society’s biggest issues to shock its audiences: “We’re showing Genocidal Organ (a Japanese Anime production) and whilst Japanese films are known for being quite extreme it’s an interesting and intelligent film as well – it’s about genocide and how we have become disconnected from it. Like we hear about people being murdered in media and then just go, ok and go and get a Starbucks.”

How about the more mainstream studios; are there any ‘big releases’ in the genre pitching social commentary as horror? “Get Out, which was really low budget but made a huge profit because it appealed to such a wide audience, made a comment on race-relations and modern day America. Saw 5 was about the failings of the US healthcare system. You don’t expect that in horror.”

Also on the programme for Shock & Gore 2017 is The Ghoul – the latest sinister story from Ben Weatley, a contemporary filmmaker with a subtle fair for frightening his audiences. Plus one who’s no stranger to The Electric’s wider programme. “Ben Wheatley likes this place, our audience and thinks it’s a great thing for Birmingham,” tells David Baldwin. “It’s nice to hear that from people working in the industry.” A solid endorsement, something that no doubt helps in attracting audiences and industry alike to the Birmingham based cinema; Richard E Grant also took part in a recent Q&A at The Electric as part of the 30^th anniversary of Withnail & I.

But this creative approach to programming is what’s needed on the front lines of an increasingly competitive Birmingham film scene: “we thought Everyman might steal our audience,” admits David Baldwin, “but our audience is different. People who go to the Everyman are not necessarily film fans – they’re going for a night out. Whereas people love the history of the place here (The Electric) and want to know what we’re showing, what special events we’ve got coming up.”

Competition can also encourage growth, with Birmingham’s reputation in the wider film industry on a promisingly upward keel in recent years. And like most ‘in the know’, David Baldwin alludes to Steven Knight’s (Peaky Blinders) quest to build a film studio in the second city: “He is still really trying,” tells Baldwin, “and if he does that, it’d be huge. There’s a lot of talented crew here (in Birmingham) but they have to go to London and elsewhere because there’s not much happening.”

“We need a cheerleader and a champion for film in Birmingham and Steven’s in a perfect position. There’s much more going on. We’ve had Spielberg, Kings from the Golden Circles, Girl with the Gift filming here. Enticing film crews here is a great way to change the perception of the city and Birmingham City Council have finally seen the light.” But what are the chances of an actual studio being built, is it ambition or pipe dream? “He’s (Steven Knight) had people over from Paramount looking at the site; he’s doing it.”

As I’m leaving The Electric, talk turns to the recent death of George Romero – one of the masters of modern horrors. And despite his respect for modern offerings from the genre, David Baldwin will be watching zombie-classic Dawn of the Dead rather than cult comedy Shawn of the Dead at Shock & Gore’s traditional late-night film screening party.

“It’s a great film,” explains Baldwin, “and a commentary on capitalism and shopping; it’s stood the test of time. The best stuff does, and the rest just disappears in to the ether. George Romero, the director, died the other day and he effectively created the zombie genre with Night of the Living Dead. So it’ll be a bit sad.” But Baldwin jokes, “he always said as a big zombie fan he won’t stay dead.”

As I step back outside, once more into the bright reflection of Grand Central – our city’s own trance-like stomping ground, I can only hope Birmingham’s film industry has better odds at its own resurrection.

For more on the Shock & Gore film festival, visit www.shockandgore.co.uk

For more from The Electric, including a full film/event programme and online ticket sales, visit www.theelectric.co.uk

July 3, 2017July 27, 2017

INTERVIEW: Isla Aguilar & Miguel Oyarzun – BE FESTIVAL

Words by Damien Russell / Lead pic by Graeme Braidwood

I’m sitting in the Marmalade Cafe in the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) waiting to interview Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun – directors of the Birmingham European Festival, or BE FESTIVAL for short.

In this tumultuous political time, a festival of European art seemingly has no choice but to move beyond mere celebration and it has become in their own words, a responsibility. And bringing together performers from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Hungary, in styles incorporating dance, circus acts, puppetry, music, traditional styled theatre and more, BE FESTIVAL seems to be setting out to prove once and for all that we really are Better Together. As the festival programme says, ‘here, in the inclusive city of Birmingham, the multifaceted cultural identities and creativity of a continent will once again be celebrated through performance and art’.

Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun are lovely, approachable people, and our discussion runs to over 45 minutes – far beyond what my tired digits can type out in a single sitting. However, through everything we discuss their enthusiasm and passion are remarkable and heart-warming to see.

It’s a cheap start but I can’t help myself. I go back to square one and ask how the festival came to be. Miguel Oyarzun starts off, explaining “in November 2009 the Arts Council – in collaboration with the cultural sector in Birmingham, started a series of meetings and open talks with the idea of looking at how can we improve the scene in the Midlands. We had a friend that was from Birmingham, at that time we were living in London, and we said ‘why don’t we go to Birmingham and see what’s going on?’” So the birth of BE FESTIVAL came from interest outside of the city?

“At that stage we were thinking about setting up a theatre company,” continues Oyarzun, “and so we said ‘okay, well, we’ve never been to Birmingham, let’s go and see what the scene is like.’ We came to one of the open talks and it was a two day talk so after the first day we were saying ‘gosh, these people are great, they’re up for collaborating, there seems to be a good sector and they’re all talking about international work and saying there’s not enough. There’s not enough international work coming to Birmingham. At that stage the REP had just closed, or was about to close down to refurbish, so there was even less as the REP do bring some international work but even with the REP there wasn’t enough.”

“So we asked people ‘so when is the Theatre Festival happening? The International Theatre Festival?’ Assuming there was one. And they said ‘no, there’s no theatre festival. There’s a brilliant performance festival, there are festivals of music, festivals of cinema, but there’s no theatre festival.’ We were kind of a bit surprised by that really.”

“It’s (Birmingham) the second city of the country and it was kind of weird,” add Isla Aguilar. “In Spain almost every single city has a festival of theatre and here the tradition is much bigger than in Spain so we were, like, wow, this is kind of… awkward.”

And so through raising the question in an open talk with members of the Arts Council, the City Council and the wider artistic community, Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun became the organisers of this long standing event. I smile at how raising an issue in an open forum can so often lead to you finding a solution to it yourself. Some clichés do prove themselves time and time again.

We talk more about that first year; I ask how the programme looked for their debut. “We put out a call (for acts),” tells Miguel Oyarzun, “and received 67 proposals which at the time we thought ‘wow, 67’…” “…this is massive” adds Ilsa Aguilar, before Oyarzun finishes, “now this year we received 1070. So, you know.”

I know. BE FESTIVAL has certainly grown since it began and it seems to be an annual event that doesn’t sit on its laurels or stay in its comfort zone. As the directors themselves write, the event has ‘the ultimate aim of breaking down borders, that only serve to divide us’.

The programme is expansive too, with this year presenting a variety of shows and subjects from pertinent to the more playful. There’s Paula Rosolen & Haptic Hide Aerobics ‘recalling the ’80s-born trend for aerobics’ in Aerobics! A Ballet in 3 Acts (Tues 4^th / Germany), alongside The Sensemaker – Elsa Couvreur’s one woman dance show ‘to a quick-switching backing track’ (Weds 5^th / Switzerland) and Anatomia Publica – the story of a solider returning home after being presumed dead to find his wife remarried, ‘performed in an intense style that bridges physical theatre and dance’ as presented by Man Drake and Tomeo Vergés (Sat 8^th/ Spain, France).

So seven years later, with more than 15 times the production proposals coming in, how do Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun come to choose the acts at BE FESTIVAL? “The idea behind the programme has always been a kind of festival to cross borders so we programme work that does that,” explains Oyarzun. “The first criterion is the quality and then we programme work that does one of the following things; one, to cross disciplines. So work that is in-between dance, theatre, circus, puppetry, any kind of discipline.”

“The second thing would be that they cross the language border. So it’s work that is either not using words, so, communicating through physicality or through other means. A show that would fit into that is a pure theatre show where they use masks and there’s no words so we see everything that happens before the words are needed or when there’s not a need for words any more… Emotion and content come from a different place that is more touching, that is deeper than words.”

Quality is also key at BE FESTIVAL and “everybody has to do an application and goes through that application process” continues Aguilar. “It’s a way also that we will see a lot of people that have not necessarily made it onto the circuit yet. It’s a way to discover companies who are doing amazing things and it’s beautiful because each year we feel confident that we have companies that haven’t been seen in this country or haven’t been seen on many other festivals and we are giving them their first opportunity.”

“And that doesn’t mean they don’t have quality”, adds Miguel Oyarzun, “it’s an extraordinary programme of beautiful unique art. Some of the companies are world class companies. However, they may have not jumped into the stages of the UK yet or some of them are very big in their countries but haven’t come. Some of them are not big in their countries but have a lot of potential or are very good but for some reason they haven’t managed to get their art out.”

We touch on Britain leaving the EU (the referendum vote took place during BE FESTIVAL 2016) and as organisers of a festival celebrating European work it comes as no surprise that the political situation is a concern – one that changes the tone of our discussion to a more sombre one, tinged with sadness. But whatever their personal feelings, Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun are keen to see people come together at BE FESTIVAL and openly discuss their thoughts and apprehensions, “it takes a lot of work to bring people together,” begins Oyarzun, “it’s something that you build very little by little and then it’s very easy to break things apart. It takes much less work to do that… of course, we would want this to be open to people who think differently to us and hopefully seduce them that another Europe is possible and we can live together.”

BE FESTIVAL has also commissioned a new piece of theatre exploring the subject, with British Enough? showcased on Thurs 6^th, Fri 7^th and Sat 8^th July. A collaboration between artist/filmmaker Kristina Cranfeld and writer/director John Harrigan, this new production explores ‘the notion of becoming British’ through the ‘fixed, itemised cornerstones which are deemed critical by immigration officials for fitting into British society’.

The underlying messages are challenging perception, encouraging thought and providing quality – “making these (theatre) doors more accessible to the people”, tells Isla Aguilar, and trying to “make them feel comfortable in here. A way to cross borders”. Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun want there to be a healthy platform for debate and expression throughout BE FESTIVAL 2017 and both “expect this year to be particularly lively and energetic”.

Togetherness, diversity, quality and opportunity, these are BE FESTIVAL watchwords – an event that despite its best intentions of being a celebration of art, has become more than that. It’s become a celebration of people, open thought and communication, of hope and potential.

BE FESTIVAL 2017 – official trailer

https://vimeo.com/220815348

BE FESTIVAL runs at the Birmingham REP from 4^th to 6^th July. Day tickets are priced at £20-22 (with dinner) or £12-14 (without dinner). Weekly tickets are priced at £100 (with dinner) or £60 (without dinner).

For more on BE Festival, including a full event programme and online ticket sales, visit www.befestival.org

For more from the Birmingham REP, visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk

June 30, 2017July 27, 2017

INTERVIEW: Amy Smart – Flatpack: Assemble

Words by Heather Kincaid / Pics courtesy of Flatpack Film Festival

If you’ve ever struggled to catch interesting independent films in the West Midlands, you’re not alone. For all Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city, the region’s indie and arthouse cinema offerings have long been frustratingly limited outside of special events and festivals. But all that is now on course to change thanks to a new project from Flatpack Film Festival.

Launched in 2016, Flatpack: Assemble delivers a year-round programme of screenings and special events aimed at raising the profile of independent film in the region as well as supporting potential exhibitors. Following a preview of Hannes Holm’s irresistible Swedish comedy A Man Called Ove, project manager Amy Smart told Birmingham Review more about Flatpack: Assemble, its goals and its impact so far.

“About five years ago, the BFI set up the Film Audience Network, which was the first time any sort of serious money or support had gone into exhibition, because normally everything tends to focus on production,” explains Smart. “The network consists of nine film hubs scattered around the country, and each one has a lead organisation which is responsible for a given patch. When this started, the West Midlands was weirdly split between Film Hub South West and West Midlands, led by The Watershed in Bristol, and North West Central, which is led by HOME in Manchester.”

“Obviously that was a bit crazy, so Ian Francis, our director, had some conversations with the BFI about how Birmingham and the Midlands were quite underrepresented in terms of the number of screens and funding, and how it needed someone to champion the region. So in 2016, we got the funding from them to set up a sort of sub-hub, working closely with the Watershed in Bristol.”

Part of the difficulty of setting up a full hub in the West Midlands was the scarcity of decent-sized venues: all of the other nine hubs are based in relatively large, multi-screen independent cinemas, of a kind that just doesn’t exist here. Though Birmingham is home to the UK’s oldest working cinema, The Electric only has two screens, and without the safety net of being part of a subsidised arts centre like mac, it also has to remain commercially viable, showcasing popular blockbuster films alongside more unusual fare. As such, in Amy Smart’s own words, “Flatpack probably is the go-to organisation for film in Birmingham”.

To its credit though, Flatpack has managed to turn its lack of a fixed abode – other than its Custard Factory offices – into a strength, reaching out further and holding events right across the region. The next Assemble event, for example, will be an outdoor screening of La La Land in Rugby. The press and industry previews at the heart of its programme, meanwhile, take place at The Electric.

“Assemble is a bit of a beast,” laughs Smart. “Over the last twelve months, we’ve been doing a real range of different things – audience-facing activities like short films and pop-ups, and previews here for the professionals who don’t necessarily get chance to trot off to London to see new releases every other week. It’s also a great chance for press and bloggers to help shine a light on new films. The main thing we’re hoping to achieve is to encourage people to take a chance on indie films more. There are so many films being released every week that often things get lost, and something like [A Man Called Ove] might not even get a screening in the Midlands at all.”

Amy Smart, who previously worked as mac Birmingham’s cinema producer – putting together its screening programme, knows first-hand how tricky it can be for exhibitors to get to London on a regular basis.

“Often people who are working in the industry here end up programming blind – they’re having to go on recommendations and reviews rather than seeing things first, so it’s great that we’re doing these every other month,” explains Smart. “We knew that there was definitely a demand for this amongst distributors. I work with one other programmer from the Midlands who does go to London and see previews, but the others generally don’t, so I think it was quite important from that point of view.”

Flatpack’s criteria for selecting films is far from fixed, however: the only real stipulation is avoiding blockbusters and any films that aren’t likely to need help getting noticed. Of course, sometimes films will defy expectations and end up surprisingly commercially successful – both Moonlight and Hidden Figures received Assemble previews here in Birmingham. More often though, they’ll be much more low-profile picks: powerful documentaries like Notes On Blindness, or foreign language films like the superb Iranian horror Under the Shadow.

“It has to be British and/or independent, and we’ve tried to use different distributors each time so we can build up relationships with different people and get more variety. We’ve also tried to vary the genres, so we’ve done horror, comedy and documentary – we want to make sure it’s not just one kind of offering. But essentially it’s just stuff we want to see in Birmingham and we’re hoping people will trust Flatpack’s suggestions.”

How much take up there is for each screening seems to depend on the title (there have been attempts to vary days and slots with little apparent impact) but audience figures have remained pretty respectable since the project’s inception, particularly considering the Assemble previews are only open to those in the Flatpack network, rather than to the general public.

“With these things you never really know how it’s going to be received, but I think the lowest number of people we’ve ever had was about 40. Our best one [Moonlight] booked up completely.”

As well as bringing films to the people who might help to raise their profile or run future public screenings of them in Midlands venues, Assemble also offers professional training and networking sessions for those involved in the local film scene.

“In terms of training and development, we’re quite keen to offer things exhibitors want, so we’re quite open to talking with programmers and projectionists and marketing teams – and not just in traditional theatrical venues. It could be a festival, a pop-up, a community cinema or a film society – anyone who’s exhibiting films in some way.”

“For example, as part of Flatpack 11, the festival just gone, we had an industry day called Film Camp which was a mixture of workshops and panels on things like screening films with a live score. There’s quite a lack of quality children’s programming in the Midlands, so we had a workshop called Build Your Own Family Screening. We also ran a workshop called DIY Driving, where families made big cardboard cars and parked them up to watch a film, which was great – something a bit different from just going to the cinema and watching Frozen or Cars 3 or whatever. We’re quite interested in making events more special and interactive.”

Those looking to get started on new projects like community cinemas or local film nights can take advantage of the specialist advice, training and cheap equipment hire Assemble has to offer.

“We’ve got a project called Build Your Own Film Night that we’re really proud of, which is essentially a workshop to give people the skills, tools and knowledge to put on their own film night legally. We take them through property rights and creating playlists and selecting features, as well as how to promote it and put it on technically.”

We’ve also got some kit that we hire out to people through Cinema for All, which is a national organisation for championing community cinemas in the UK. It’s amazing – there’s a projector, speakers and a 12ft screen, and we’re hiring it out for £25. That gets a lot of use because one of the biggest barriers if people want to put on their own film night is that they’ve got to get kit from somewhere, and if you’re hiring it from a private company, it can cost you about £100.”

“While Assemble is predominantly industry-focused, ordinary film fans and audiences should be equally excited about these developments. With so much support available, we can hope to see a significant expansion and improvement in film offerings in Birmingham and beyond over the coming months and years.” Asked whether she’s optimistic about the future of film in Birmingham, Amy Smart’s response was emphatic: “Absolutely! I think we engaged with just shy of 40,000 people last year, so hopefully it’ll just keep growing and growing.”

“I think film is the most accessible artform, really,” she adds. “Some people wouldn’t necessarily walk into a gallery because they think it’s not for them, but pretty much anybody can walk into a cinema, so we’re just trying to build on that.”

For more on Flatpack: Assemble, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/flatpack-assemble

Flatpack: Assemble will be screening La La Land in Caldecot Park, Rugby on Sat 1^st July – in partnership with Rugby Festival of Culture. Attendance is by direct invitation from Flatpack Film Festival.

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For more on Flatpack Film Festival, including full details on the Cinema For All and Build Your Own Film Night initiatives, visit www.flatpackfestival.org.uk

Flatpack will be screening American Werewolf in London at Dudley Castle on Sat 5^th August, with tickets priced at £10 (concs £8). For direct event info, click here.

June 2, 2017June 8, 2017

ALBUM: No Desire – MUTES / INTERVIEW: James Brown

Words by Ed King / Pic by Aatish Ramchurn / Video by Trapeze Film

On 2^nd June, MUTES release their debut album, No Desire – out in the big wide world thanks to the Birmingham based FOMA Records. And for anyone in the 0121 there’s a launch gig at COW vintage clothing (Digbeth) on the same day: doors open at 7pm, admission free, click here for more info.

Birmingham Review caught up with MUTES‘ front man and founder, James Brown, at Blotto Studios in Digbeth – to check out our full interview click here or on the Youtube link below. Watch out for the solo performance of ‘Blood’ at 26mins 36secs.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The first release from MUTES as a band, No Desire is a ‘sprawling’ nine track endevour that works ‘through urgent noise-fests, slow-burning drone sequences and seductive siren songs with assured ease.’ Well, yeah, kinda… I wouldn’t want to write a press release for it either.

Kicking off with perhaps the most obvious track, ‘A Burial’, the first word that comes to mind is Nirvana – as in SubPop grunge and not the end game of Saṃsāra. Nothing wrong with sounding like Kurt Cobain or dying your hair blond, I’d even forgive an awkward morning with Courtney Love… just don’t make a habit of it.

Fast, frivolous, only two minutes long, ‘A Burial’ will probably be the soundtrack to some self indulgent teenager as they raid the kitchen draw to make those all important marks for school on Monday. But it’s not the best No Desire has to offer. Neither is ‘Knotting off the Vein’, the second track on the album, but grab something objective and in under four minutes you’ll be onto the more appealing main course.

(James Brown has been curiously, candidly disparaging about No Desire’s opening two tracks – citing the decision to open with ‘A Burial’ was more “to get it out of the way”. They’re not bad, they’re just not the best representation for No Desire as a whole; the album steps up once you’re a safe distance away from the start.)

Rabbit punch percussion and affected vocals launch ‘Primrose’, as the psychedelic spangle guitar that will be your guide trough this LP starts to embed. Raucous, then reserved, this is heading in a better direction. Makes me think of…

Then we have seven minutes of distorted sound fuzz; in a Spritalized haze we float through the middle of the album before a twenty second six string kiss leads us into ‘Dust’. Beginning as a shoegaze affair extraordinaire, ‘Dust’ picks up halfway and throws itself into a Smashing Pumpkins ‘Starla’ supernova with just over 1 ½ minutes to go. For me, this is where No Desire makes its mark. This is also where I stop picking the album apart track by track.

The beauty of No Desire is a dichotomy of extremes. There’s some ‘noise rock’ fluff, some short hit quick fixes, but those handful of minutes become an acceptable background to something much bigger. To something much better. It’s the marriage of the heavier rock (for want of a better expression) and the circling opiate haze that makes this LP memorable.

Nailed in only three studio days (can’t quite get my head around that) the man behind MUTES claims they don’t have ‘a sound’ but I beg to differ – I think they’ve got three. And when they’re all rolled into one, long, ooze… glorious, even without Lou Reed in your veins.

No Desire, to this set of ears, feels like a step up for MUTES – a more crafted ensemble of songs that are best listened to in their entirety, although the bottom’s not going to fall out if you began from track three.

An album, all the way through, who has the time?!?!?!? Don’t worry, it’s only 9 tracks long. The above word count is 626. The interview below is about 20mins long and No Desire will take you under three quarters of an hour from start to finish. YOU MUST CONSUME EVERYTHING WE CREATE.

But there’s an easier way to get your chattering teeth into this new body of work from MUTES, just listen to the title track first. Or you could always get to the MUTES Album launch gig at COW and see it first hand – either way the clue’s in the title.

MUTES’ front man & founder, James Brown, talks to Ed King for Birmingham Review @ Blotto Studios 01.06.17 – watch out for the solo performance of ‘Blood’ at 26mins 36secs

‘A Burial’ – MUTES (from their debut album, No Desire)

MUTES debut album, No Desire, is out on general release from 2^nd June – with a launch event at COW vintage clothing in Digbeth, click here for more info.

For more from Mutes, visit www.mutesuk.bandcamp.com

For more from FOMA, visit www.wearefoma.bigcartel.com

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May 20, 2017May 20, 2017

INTERVIEW: Richard Franks – Counteract

Words by Ed King / Pics Rob Hadley

Interview conducted at The Sunflower Lounge on Saturday 22^nd April.

Richard Franks started Counteract seven years ago. Seven years ago today in fact, on his birthday. Which along with World Earth Day, Record Store Day, and what seems to be the warm up for Pride marching past The Sunflower Lounge, makes April 22^nd a pretty red letter date.

Having “kind of” studied journalism at Birmingham Metropolitan College and then again at University in London for “only a couple of months”, Richard Franks took his career into his own hands and out of the classroom. After scaling/banging heads against the brick wall of being an unknown freelancer, Franks picked up his ego, accepted his fate and did what all honourable men do in the face of professional adversity. He set up on his own.

Seven years later and Counteract is the leading online music magazine in Birmingham, with a monthly readership and reach that can impress and intimidate the publications around them. A regional reality I know only too well.

“I didn’t really do my A Levels,” admits Richard Franks, “and I started writing about music online pretty much straight away, as I left school at sixteen. So all I have are GCSEs and AS Levels; I’ve done all the things that I’ve done without the need for a degree. I made a lot of things up in terms of the way I do things; a lot of guess work. Like learning to make a website. It was never built on ‘I want to copy them’, I just thought right I want to make a website, Googled ‘how do you make a website’, then did it.”

World’s largest library at our finger tips. But some publishing houses, especially those behind the mainstream broadsheets, still ask for a degree at interview – do you ever regret not having that piece of paper? “Not so much, because through the things I have done that’s how I’ve got other jobs. My employers always found it interesting that I’d started the website; it shows a self starting attitude, it shows you’re quite positive.”

“You’ve only got to look at what I’ve done to see that it is possible to do what you want to do,” continues Franks, as I ask the ‘any advice’ question no self respecting interviewer should ask, “to follow a path you know you want to follow. I’m very much an advocate that you don’t necessarily need education to do what you want to do. There are a lot of people I know – in bands or who write – where it’s gone from a hobby to their full time job. That in itself makes it clear you don’t need an education.” I’d argue this with some professions, but the national curriculum has never impinged on my working world. “Obviously there are pressures from all types of angles, from parents, from friends and from the general working life. But I think you’ve got to follow what you think is right and if you’re happy with what you’re doing then so be it.”

Are you happy with what you’re doing? “Yep, sure. I am. There was a time when perhaps I wasn’t, jumping from job to job, thinking how the hell do I make a career out of this? But over the past six months I feel firmly settled. I’m not saying that had I got a degree and then went and got a job I’d be any better or worse off, you don’t know do you. But I felt this way would develop; for different people it’s different things, isn’t it.”

“I don’t think qualifications are so important anymore,” Franks continues, as the afternoon bubble of tired shoppers begins to burst at the bar. “Especially the way online journalism and copywriting and those areas are developing. I think you’d be more likely to get a job now, in an online sector, probably if you have more experience than if you have a degree.” So imagine the scenario, two candidates walk into Counteract HQ for the same salaried position…

“It’s a bit of a double edged sword; how do you get experience if you’re not offered experience in the first place? That’s the kind of thing I struggled with so early on. I was sending reviews and my CV off to places like the NME and The Guardian, but I was either getting knocked back or I wasn’t getting a reply whatsoever. That hurt me, and because of that, I think, I’d be more inclined to give something to someone who didn’t have experience.”

At points, I couldn’t agree more (excluding surgeons, airline pilots…). There was a time whilst recruiting for an entry level position at a PR agency that I stopped interviewing graduates: a blanket ban on university brats. I ended up employing a woman who had worked in a clothes shop since she was sixteen, a few years later she became regional MD.

But I’m not here to pay lip service to the old guard approach of garrulous opinion (think Hunter S Thompson meets a Raymond Chandler character) it’s Counteract’s seventh birthday and the line up to their self promoted party is too strong to ignore, with The Mother’s Earth Experiment, The Hungry Ghosts and newcomers The Dream Collective all on the bill. There’s even a special guest: a bastard child of the B-Town “baby boom” who have been teased out with the Spielberg adage, ‘we’re going to need a bigger boat’.

Speaking of B Town…

Certain coattails are more fashionable than others and the toilet walls of this venue plot point various rising B Town balloons. But Counteract was one publication, one regional publication, one readable publication, which was there before any widespread interest. How did the national media land grab make you feel as a regional editor?

“I was glad at the time that they were getting the kind of publicity they were getting,” explains Richard Franks. “I know all of the bands that were in that circuit, one of them are playing tonight; Harry Koisser used to message me on Facebook asking, ‘we’ve got this new song, can you put it on Counteract?’ This was in 2011/2012, something like that. We always had that little personal relationship with the bands. But I think…” So often does this subject create an uncomfortable pause.

“The term itself, B Town, while it was good at the start it just became a bit of a joke. I don’t think people here, the people that were involved in the music scene here, liked it after a while. It became a parody of itself. And all the bands moved to London. So you’re talking about B Town, you’re talking about Birmingham, but Peace, Swim Deep, Superfood all moved to London.” How does that make you feel, again as a regional editor – one who championed these artists when there was no NME in sight? “It annoys me but you know why they do, because there’s more there.”

What about the promoters and labels who are still in the city. Should they have picked the up mantle with a firmer grip? “It’s money isn’t it; it’s London. How do you compete with London? But the B Town thing I could talk about that for days. I’m happy it happened; I’m disappointed they all moved – because it killed it. But in the same way it spawned so many new bands that wouldn’t have ever thought about coming in to Birmingham. The shows were busier. It was like a baby boom, just in music.”

It is both ironic and encouraging that the seemingly impenetrable wall that once compelled Richard Franks to build Counteract, is now a less of an obstacle. Here we sit, discussing national interest subjects that were once kids reaching out through the Counteract Facebook page.

So now you’re captain of your own ship, with some significant landmarks behind you, what sends you out across the waters? “Seven years ago there wasn’t such an impetus on online content,” explains Franks, “places like Buzzfeed weren’t so prominent. Whereas now it’s a little bit different because I’ve got in my mind that I’m creating the content to try and reach as far as it can, that I have to write it for an online audience.”

Extrapolate that? “What I mean by ‘online audience’ is ‘user friendly’,” Franks continues, as The Sunflower Lounge moves into the DEFCON 3 of a Saturday afternoon. “So all the buzzwords you need to use to try and hit the search engines, all the techniques you need to use to improve your website’s visibility online. All these things are in my mind now. I guess for me there’s been a big change, because of the way the online market has developed.”

“In kind of a roundabout way of saying things, and this may sound a bit bad or naive of me, but it’s now less important for the journalistic quality of the writing as opposed to the way it’s presented on the website for search engine optimisation. In those seven years it’s developed quite a lot, to the point where I like publishing the posts more than I did seven years ago. One, I know they’re going to a good audience because we’ve built up this following on Facebook, Twitter, the mailing list and all those kind of things. And two, I know that when I’m publishing the posts more work has gone into it because you’re making sure it’s set up well for an online audience. It’s more technical now than it was seven years ago.”

I didn’t expect that. There are dangers, in my mind, with being over concerned about clicks, hits and page views; I think writer first, journalist second. An embarrassing attempt at designer third. But marketing comes with a paycheck. And I’ve been running PR campaigns for over twenty years. I start to stumble around a question I would want someone to ask with more confidence.

So… in your priority list, where does the quality of a… maybe that’s the wrong word, what about the story’s… “Integrity?” offers Richard Franks. That’s the word. Where does integrity come in? “Probably not as much as I’d like. But that’s down to two things, one me not having enough time, and two, that it takes more time to publish them – because of the SEO elements of the world. In terms of the integrity of the written content itself, it still ranks pretty high.”

As both an editor and a consumer I have my issues with overzealous content, I don’t believe it. And I’ve known writers jump from one ship to another over precisely this debate. But Richard Franks is in a different place, professionally speaking, and Counteract has its own approaches and agendas. As all publications should. What about straight out bad copy – have you ever not been able to publish someone’s work at Counteract?

“I’ve had to say to people (contributors) but sorry, this is not what we expect. And I never want to do that, I hate doing that, because I want to give everyone a chance. But if they’re rubbish writers, in a roundabout way, we have to be honest. So it’s not me saying the quality of the content, the written work, is not important. It’s just me saying when we publish it the quality of the written content, while it’s just a bit more important than SEO and making sure it’s set up right it’s still not miles ahead.”

The upstairs at The Sunflower Lounge is starting to fill up; we’re pushing ‘high readiness’. And the background noise is putting a strain on my frighteningly fickle voice recorder. Plus the bands are staring to arrive now, DEFCON 4, and whilst The Mothers Earth Experiment have been wrestling with lights (and possibly lava lamps) for a few hours, there’s still some left to sound check.

As we end our interview, me putting down my pen to play ‘punter’ and Richard Franks dusting down the responsibilities of ‘promoter’, I wonder if it’s all worth it. I like Richard Franks. I wasn’t sure if we’d get on (I wasn’t even sure he’d agree to an interview) and God knows not every publication makes it to seven candles. Plus he’s given me some serious food for thought.

But the man is open, honest, and certainly knows his way around a search engine. Digital marketeers of the city beware. And whilst I disagree on some of his style sheet and publishing policies, I respect what he has achieved with Countertact. Seldom has any single person, any music journalist or publisher, done more to celebrate the music in this city; Richard Franks is to be applauded. But probably without him noticing to save an awkward moment for both of you; even whilst celebrating his publication’s seventh birthday, the biggest ego at this table is still most likely mine.

But will we be sitting here in three years time facing double figures? “The gigs are very time consuming,” Franks replies, “and I don’t like to say ‘never’… but for now it’s more important for my energy to go into the website.” Never indeed, Counteract is bringing Alex Ohm to The Victoria on 20^th May – for all intents and purposes, the last in the publication’s recent flurry of live gigs.

“I’d like to get back to the place where I can give everyone a chance,” surmises Richard Franks. “The website is more important and I’m just too busy to reply to everyone right now. But never say never. Once you stop enjoying something, then stop doing it.”

I’ll make us both a note then, April 22^nd 2020. Remember to buy a card, candles, a balloon in the shape of the number 10…

For more on Counteract, visit www.counteract.co

For more from The Sunflower Lounge, visit www.thesunflowerlounge.com