Gentleman’s Dub Club and True Tiger at Outlook this week

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Venturing to Outlook this week? You won’t regret it…

Sun, sea, boat parties and dubstep.

Catch Gentleman’s Dub Club AND the True Tiger boys in gorgeous Croatia… And loads more to boot.

Heading out there and want to interview the chaps? Drop us a line… Hvala!

 

Ten Minutes with Charlie O’Neill

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Charlie is the latest chick to be brought to us by the Ambiel Music team. With tracks on the U.S. label hypemusic and getting lots of love from both sides of the pond, Raw Material’s Luke Marshall caught up with her for a chat…

1.      When and how did you first get into writing and performing music?

I have performed since I can remember. I was 5 years old and I was
sat in front of the TV watching Disney Movies and singing along which is when I
made my talents known. Since then I have always performed. I started out
performing as a championship disco freestyle dancer competing in dance
competitions across the UK Until the age of 16, where I also learnt to train a hip hop dancer. I then went on to study a national diploma in performing arts at Stratford-upon-Avon College where I gained various qualifications in many dance styles, acting and singing.

 A  year ago I was discovered by a local producer in Warwickshire
and since then I have been performing and recording. I have only been writing for about 10 months and have learnt so much. I never thought that I would be able to write my own music but it has proven to be a success and I now feel so inspired.

 2.     How would you describe your music style?

I would describe my style as being, urban and R&B. My voice is very soulful so this is the style of music I love to sing. I have also always been a fan of jazz music so I try to link my styles which will be portrayed in my first album.

 3.     How does your love of Visual Performance affect your style in creating music?

When I perform I like to include what i enjoy i like to dance so i feel a lot of my songs are upbeat and something that you can dance to. I feel it is important to connect with your audience and i am a different person on stage which relates to my music and who i feel i really am inside. I am naturally a very quiet person and i can find it quite hard to be loud and outgoing however in my music i am a different person and when i perform i live for the moment and i feel so confident in
myself.

 4.     Who are your main musical influences?

My main musical influences are Christina Aguilera, she has the most amazing vocals and range ability. She makes every song a hit. She has the real attitude for a female artist today, most female artists look upto her today. Again i like artists such as Beyonce for her urban flair and performance skills, Shakira for creating a unique cultured style of pop music. Also you may not believe it but i am a huge fan of Muse for their live music stage performance, nothing can beat the sound of a live rock band on stage. I also like The Strokes and their style of indie music.

 There are also artists from the past who i look upto such as Julie London who had a truly gorgeous low husky jazz voice.

 5.     Do these people have any connection your unique fashion style?

I love fashion! Doesn’t any girl. But i particularly love vintage and retro. You can’t beat having an unusual outfit that you know is an individual piece that no one else is going to have. High street is great and is improving all the time but being a new artist on the scene i feel fashion has become more important to me. I like to keep my style slightly urban and retro but at the same time still girly but in a different kind of way! But absoloubtly i do follow all artists i admire and their fashion!

 6.     Your fashion style is great? What are you three top high street brands?

Thank you! I have always been in to fashion. High street clothing is at the top of its game currently! My favourite 3 high street brands are Topshop, its quirky, slightly unusual and has a hint of an indie rock chick scene which i love, Also i really like allsaints, i could spend hours trying clothes on there! Lastly i like Warehouse, i actually used to be a brand specialist and visual merchandiser for this brand, its classy and good quality high street fashion that tells a story.

 7.     When you’re not writing or in the studio recording, what do you like doing?

I am a really down to earth girl, i love dancing so i like to go out with friends and have a good night dancing and none of us move from the dance floor the whole night! I do like to relax spending nights in watching Eastenders or Hollyoaks haha! sometimes it’s nice to just have that time to sit and relax. And watch tv as i don’t do it often. Fitness and health plays a huge part in my life so l like to go to the gym and i feel so much better for it afterwards.

 8.     What are you Top 3 London Clubs and Why?

I haven’t actually been out in London much as most weekends i am recording  and busy working on my album though the places
i have been have been amazing! I have been to China Whites which played a great selection of funky house music. I am celebrating my 21st this year
with a few close friends at Mahiki in London as i have heard that’s a great
place to go. Other than those two i am fairly new to the club scene in London being a girl from the West Midlands however i am sure i will get the chance to visit many other soon.

 9.     What piece of make up
could you not function without and what’s your favourite brand?

I could completely not function without my Mac Studio fix fluid foundation. I had very troubled skin from a young age and suffered being badly bullied because of it. This has only made me a better person today. I now only use health cleansing products on my
skin from health shops, i use no harsh chemicals. I use Jasons products which has a range of face and body washes and lotions etc. They are paraben free and i have never had a problem since.
Everyone looks different without their make-up. My skin is naturally
very pale and I have acne scarring but MAC is by far the best make-up brand I have ever used.

 10.  What festival, if any, would you love to perform at?

I would love to perform at either Glastonbury or Reading with a huge live band to rock out to on stage!
They are the ultimate festivals to perform at. It’s just a great vibe at these
festivals in the summer and a great chance to hear artists perform live!

 

 

 

 

Ten Minutes with… Stolen Peace

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We had a chat with rockers Stolen Peace, whose album is out this month.

How did you guys meet?
Myself and Joe are brothers, After he had seen me learning to play guitar. Joe’s sibling competitive instinct kicked in and he decided to take up the drums. . Turns out he is one of the most naturally gifted drummers you could ever hope to play with… I am almost certain he got good just to spite me. Ste was my best mate and next door neighbour growing up and we learnt to play guitar together. Liam was the new kid at school. We were introduced to him through our then Keyboard player and once we had heard his voice there was no doubt in my mind he was going to be our singer.
 
How did the name come about?
There is still some discussion about this. One thing for certain is it was again Janine our then keyboard player that had an uncle who owned a farm called Stoney Place. As far as I remember it I came up with Stolen Peace after we toyed with the idea of Stoney Place although I am pretty sure this will be disputed by everyone who was in the room at the time. We’ll go with the flaming pie dream… Has that been done?
 
Who would you count as your main influences?
Led Zeppelin became the one band we could all agree on. Outside of them we have pretty eclectic tastes. Mid nineties Indie was obviously a massive influence on us but we quickly outgrew it musically. Joe and Ste definitely side on the more metal end of rock these days where as me and Liam are really influenced by song writers like Jeff Tweedy, Bowie and oddly enough Bruce Springsteen at the moment. You want to try picking the music when we are on our way to the gig. We usually ‘aint talking by the time we get there.
 
How long has the album been in the making?
The album really came together quickly in the end. We had the songs built up through our live set but never really the ability to pull them together in to something resembling a tight arrangement and album. Once we started working with Martin Byrne our manager he managed to focus us on getting the best out of the songs to get them ready to record. We have really come on in the last 2 years and the quality of the stuff we are writing at the moment is really exciting.
 
 How would you describe yourself in three words?
 I was going to go with, “Really quite good” but I think you’re maybe asking me to think a little harder. Heavy, Sweet, Chaotic
 
 If you play any stage in the world, where would it be?
 For me personally, the Apollo Manchester. I know that seems like quite a small aspiration but that’s where music happened for me growing up. That’s where I saw the best gigs, the best bands and where I dreamt of playing one day. Looking further ahead you would have to think headlining Glastonbury would be the ultimate gig in England… Also Old Trafford, It’s a bit Bon Jovi but to walk out at the theatre of dreams would pretty much end it for me!
 
What would your homecoming gig be?
Right now the Queens in New Mills but to be honest we ‘aint left there yet…. We played there a few weeks ago and it doesn’t matter where you go, if you can pack out your hometown pub like that with all your mates and family in the crown it always feels a bit special.
 
 What’s your favourite song to perform?
 I think we love playing ‘Start Walking” at the moment. It is a newer song but it is easily the tightest 3 minutes we have ever written and always gets a great reaction. Off the Album though Blankhead is always fun and Parasoul.
 
> Stolen Peace run the country for 15 minutes, what would you change?
 Sod it if we are fantasising… The weather.
 
 Tell us your best joke?
 Hahahaha you couldn’t print it. Personally I like the one about Mickey mouse divorcing Minnie. When the Judge questioned Mickeys motive for the divorce on the ground Minnie has buck teeth Mickey replies “No your honour, I said she was f**king goofy”
 
Why should we buy the album?
Because you like you music loud… To quote godlike genius Josh Homme ‘Hard enough for the guys, sweet enough for the ladies’…. That has pretty much become our philosophy.

To request an interview or review tracks of the album, drop james@raw-material.co.uk a line

Gentleman’s Dub Club

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Everyone’s lovin the new dandies about town and we have a sneak excerpt from their forthcoming interview with DV8 Magazine…

seeing dub-ble

How did you get together?

We were all based in Leeds in 2006, a few of the guys had basement loaded with a sound system, so we gradually came together on Sundays to jam out some tracks. the basement was also host to some pretty serious house parties, and we started playing at them, it just evolved from there really…

Describe your sound?

Its direct. When we play live we don’t like to let the energy drop at all. Its loud and bashy but it grooves. It sounds like we’ve all been backstage eating Nescafe out of the jar with a shovel. In the studio we vary the tracks a bit more. Our upcoming album has a pretty good mix of wild and crazy as well as some more rootsy tracks. So I guess the sound is based in dub, with the energy of a rock show, we hope!

Who would you say are your musical influences?

That’s a big question!! There’s 9 of us, so there’s lots of influences flying around. On a dub/reggae tip we’re big into Irration Steppas, Twinkle Brothers, Nucleas Roots to name a few. Then there Is everything else, we like to mix it up, Bobby Caldwell, The Police, The Beat,  Deftones, Mala, EST, Jay Dilla, Stevie, Marvin.. we could go on like this all day so we’ll leave it there for now…. (Read more in next month’s DV8…)

We be dubbin it…