Xan Phillips » Southampton

The sound of Sotown

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:54:22 +0000

Published in the Daily Echo, Friday 16th July.

There are some people who think that Motown is just a style of music rather than the famous record label that came out of Detroit.

Whether the seeds of similar success are being sown in Southampton by Sotown Records has yet to be seen but the cause is a worthy one.

Sotown is based at Oasis Academy Lordshill as part of their personalised learning department.

They run courses about the music business with students gaining qualifications based on composing, performing and marketing their music.

It’s run like a proper label with the music uploaded and sold on iTunes.

They recently released an album called “The View From Here” ranging from Grime to Folk via Hip-Hop and Indie and featuring tracks by Tee MC, Lil Mike, Charlotte Jones, Daisy Wheeller, The Noobs and Youth Culture.

Sotown is aimed students who are in need of an alternative curriculum, Bernard Andrews told me: “The course keeps young people in education by providing a logical reason to stay engaged with society.”

The theory is that by learning to enjoy what they do they find a place in the business at a level they are comfortable with be it management, a technician or a musician.

“It’s up to them to justify their role,” Bernard continued, “you don’t want to fill people with X-Factor fantasies.”

It’s early days for this label but at the grass roots already the sound of learning sounds great. Bernard thinks they’ll be bearing fruit come January.

Portsmouth wall helps Southampton artists

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:45:24 +0000

While shooting an avant-garde rock video, a south-coast production company that mixes art with business has unearthed an ironic difference between Southampton and Portsmouth.

Southampton based Still Moving has recently started employing painters and artists to create images and navigation for company web sites.

“It is very important for us to be ethical in our approach to business and using an illustrator not only gives websites a unique look and feel but also helps support an artist,” explained Still Moving’s co-founder Martin Davis. “Following the reaction of our clients we’re convinced the paintbrush is mightier than the mouse.”

Nova & Isabel Amber Ewen

Their latest collaboration is an entry to a competition to make the video for ‘Fires’ the next single by Southampton rock group Band of Skulls: the most recent south-coast act to gain major recognition in Europe and America.

vist and vote at: http://genero.tv/watch-video/10194/

“This challenge is an ideal way of introducing art into the ‘Moving’ aspect of our plan,” confirmed the other half of Still Moving, Isabel Amber Ewen, “and although there are many great street artists in Southampton, once we saw Nova’s skull designs we knew who we wanted.”

Southampton street artist Nova uses stencils to spray multi-layered images on walls. Recently he was invited by the Portsmouth art collective P.A.M to add his creations to the alley-ways around Fratton Park.

“They have a much freer attitude towards street art in Portsmouth and they’ve opened up many walls,” he said “but the artists have to responsible and professional or this opportunity will disappear.”

Stencils and wall

The designs around the stadium have become so respected that Portsmouth football club is planning to invite P.A.M to create murals inside the ground.

With every creative aspect of this production based in and around Southampton the irony of shooting in Portsmouth is not lost on the video’s co-director Xan Phillips. “Although Southampton is famous for it’s walls, the city’s street artists have no where so public to express themselves.

Everyone who walked past Nova told him how good the art he and P.A.M have created. It definitely inspires rather than repels.”

Although the ‘Band of Skulls’ video competition has a £3000 cash prize and global exposure Isabel, who shot and edited the whole promo, is ambivalent about winning: “Every element of the project slotted into place so well that we’re already delighted with our achievement. The win would be very helpful but this video is already a great demonstration of how local art can work as a promotional device.”

NOTES

The video can be seen here http://genero.tv/watch-video/10194/

Closing date for public voting on the video – 11.59pm GMT, July 21

Winner announced: July 26, 2010

Example of a web site with local artist illustration: www.magpie-shop.co.uk

Nova can be found here: http://www.novaindustries.co.uk/

Still Moving: http://www.still-moving.co.uk/

Showcase UK: http://www.showcaseuk.tv/

P.A.M – the meaning of the acronym has not been released.

Band of Skulls www.bandofskulls.com

The single Fires will be released September 13th 2010 see http://www.nme.com/news/band-of-skulls/51147

CHAOS for Southampton’s Art Community

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:02:37 +0000

First published in the Southern Daily Echo, Friday 9th July 2010

There was a little bit of chaos in Southampton’s Bargate shopping centre last Monday morning.

Well, to be more precise, it was CHAOS the first meeting of the Creative, Heritage and Arts Organisations of Southampton.

It was hosted by SoCo the not-for-profit community music project.

They’ve turned an empty shop unit into a ‘Creative Hub’ that will allow budding musicians and artists a place to meet and perfrom.

This inaugural meeting of CHAOS drew representatives from various youth organisations and arts bodies.

From community radio station Unity 101 to the printers from Red Hot Press; from Sotown Records of Lordshill to Romsey Beggars Fair (Sat 10^th July).

Over coffee and muffins we discussed how SoCo’s new venture will help people discover their creative side but also advise artistic bodies how to ride the turbulent waves of the financial cutbacks.

And with no sense of irony it was noted how art funding is the first to be cut even though it’s an inexpensive way of making people happy and connected to the community.

Over the coming months there will be art seminars and meetings in the Bargate along side gigs and displays from new bands and artists.

But most of all get yours hands on a musical instrument.

Soon SoCo will be starting a scheme where the musically curious can sample a wide array of equipment from electronic drum kits to synths.

As co-founder Matt Salvage put it: “We’ll be coaxing people to put a guitar in their hands and have a go!”

Subgiant announce Southampton festival

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:59:38 +0000

This weekend the Isle of Wight festival is on our doorstep and no doubt Sunday’s headliner Paul McCartney will be giving many jovial thumbs-up to any mention of ‘ticket to Ryde’.

But if you don’t do tents even the Island can seem miles away.

So to taste that excellent festival vibe, but have a short journey home, keep Saturday 4th September free!

Sunnyfields Farm, just to the South of Totton, will be hosting the Pulse festival: a great day of music, food and entertainment for the children.

All in aid of the Children’s Heart Unit at Southampton General Hospital with profits going to it’s supporters Wessex Heartbeat and Friends of PICU,

Saturday Sept 4th

Pulse is being organised by ‘Subgiant’s‘ Olly Maw and Mark Ward from ‘Heathward’

Both have children who’ve needed treatment at the unit, which is known as Ocean Ward, so they are putting every effort into a brilliant day out for Southampton.

This week they announced that Vula (Basement Jax) will be headlining the second stage.

Subgiant and Heathward are deservedly on the bill along with other local stars like: Science of Eight Limbs, Pronghorn, Lousia Osborn, and Woven Bird.

They’ll be spread across two live stages alongside a classic Sunnyfield farmer’s market with fine food and beer.

Naturally the children (who get in free) will also be well catered for with bouncy castles, face painting, tractor rides and a few surprises thrown in.

More big names will be revealed soon and at £12 per ticket demand will be high! www.pulsefestival.org.uk

This article was printed in the Daily Echo on Friday 11th June 2010

The Real Raj through the window

admin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:50:12 +0000

A favourite pastime for some office workers is window gazing: peering through the glass, letting the mind wander to the weekend or beyond and of course studying any passers-by.

One such pedestrian piqued the interest of Southampton singer/songwriter ‘The Real Raj’.

He regularly saw a woman holding a bunch of flowers and then returning empty handed a while later.

Soon he realised she was visiting the local cemetery and this, he told me, inspired him to write the song ‘Sway’: “I put a back story to how it must have felt to be in love with someone for 40 or 50 years and to loose that person.”

I heard ‘Sway’ for the first time on Monday night in the Soul Cellar. In fact it was the last song of his set and it really touched the silent audience.

Any earlier we would have missed it as the noise from evening’s crowd was so loud that only someone with a very keen ear would have picked up the melody, let alone the words.

The Real Raj has about five hours of similar material as he pointed out: “all of my songs are about something. I write songs that touch me or someone I know.”

But there is no CD for sale, just a button badge to modestly hand out: “I feel as if I’m giving something back to people for taking a moment out of their time to say thank you for a song.”

www.myspace.com/therealraj

First published in the Daily Echo Friday 11th December 2009

The Family are electric blues

admin — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:09:18 +0000

Manchester has ‘Elbow’, Sheffield ‘Pulp’ and Southampton has its own band who’ve stuck at it for many years before getting a deal: ‘The Family’ (picture by Stephanie Ross)

Formed over ten years ago they’ve slowly morphed from a psychedelic band to, as guitarist Ash told me, “a blues band with pedal steel guitar as lead.”

It is the strength of friendship that keeps this band together and ‘The Family’ are back on the circuit following a six month enforced lay-off and looking for a deal.

Its not that they aren’t handy with all the marketing tools available in this ‘MySpace age’, they just: “Want a deal!” bass player Aiden told me, and his reason: “The people in the company know what they are doing.”

Sharing music and influences is what ‘The Family’ love best and they would rather spend their time making and performing their excellent music instead of dealing with the promoting and managing that band’s are expected to deal with these days.

However they have never been short of a good descriptive quote from a journalist and my favourite has to be: “swaggering, bourbon-drenched, cosmic country”

But someone will have to come up with a new tag line for ‘The Family’ as they are shifting their sound towards the British blues of the 60’s which the Stones and The Who are famous for.

Add a manager and the band could be quickly back to their habit of selling out The Joiners and Soul Cellar and filling 52 seat coaches to London.

Hear The Family here: www.myspace.com/thefamilyonline

SoCo win People’s Millions

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:55:55 +0000

Congratulations to Matt and Jon from SoCo on Monday’s victory in the People’s Millions competition.

The win is a massive boost for the Southampton music scene and in a few years time we’ll no doubt be listening a brand new group of musicians inspired by SoCo’s project.

By then we might also know what ‘making it’ actually means in this internet age of MySpace/YouTube/Spotify

As Paul Campbell, the founder of Amazing Radio, pointed out in a recent blog, “The musical world has shifted on its axis, and the shockwaves have destroyed the traditional music industry.” (Bringing Home The Bacon)

This ’shift’ has left the old companies focusing on their back catalogue while new bands, with all the music making and marketing tools at their finger tips, struggle to shift their creative mind to a business head.

But within this conundrum Northern Irish singer Eamon Nancarrow has highlighted a different side to ‘making it’.

Now I must confess a personal interest in this next part as I am the publisher of his autobiography

‘Holywood Star: The life and times of a rock and roll misadventurer’. It’s a very funny book about his attempts to make it during the 1980’s.

However, during an interview with Maurice Boland on ‘Talk Radio Europe’, Eamon gave us another reason for being in a band: “The music was the passion but deep down it was all the friendships that we made, and the relationships that we had, which far far exceeded any success we had with the music.”

Links

SoCo
Amazing Radio
Eamon Nancarrow

LST: The postive rapper

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:11:22 +0000

This Monday we’ll be voting for SoCo in the People’s Millions. If they win, Thornhill wins a new £50,000 arts centre giving Southampton a brilliant opportunity to involve more people in the making of music.

One area SoCo tries to have an influence is asking youngsters, who are inspired by the UK’s Grime scene, to write positive lyrics.

As good as they were at rhyming and flow, they find it hard not to fall into that scene’s stereotypical subjects of violence, guns and drugs. This is why SoCo should meet Shirley based MC and lyricist ‘LST’.

LST is a vocalist who thinks his approach is right: “I’m there to get into your consciousness and make you see that there is a right way and a wrong way and hopefully you pick the right way.”

This positive attitude inspired local film maker Andy Jones to create a mini documentary around LST which was recently shown at the Falstaff International Film Festival.

The film is named after the LST track ‘Cherish Life’ which was written following the tragic shooting London teenager Michael Dosunmu. “When I saw that I felt there’s got to be something I can do.”

It was not only the grief of the family that got to him but the nagging feeling that the negative messages in the UK’s grime scene needed a positive counter-point and LST was going to provide it.

He’s made a great start, on a long journey but, as his album title suggests, it’s time to “Change the Game”.

Links

LST on MySpace

Michael Dosunmu

Demo Cellar in the Soul Cellar

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:55:03 +0000

On Monday November 2nd ‘Demo Cellar’ is the new name for Monday nights at the Soul Cellar in Southampton. It might be a change of name but not of attitude as it remains one of the few places in the UK which only plays recordings made by unsigned artists.

Formerly know as ‘Showcase UK’ the night, hosted by Xan Phillips, has demonstrated a fantastic commitment to the south coast over the past five months. It has not only played artists demos and new releases but also given new acts the opportunity to perform in public without the pressure of bringing an audience.

Monday November 2nd sees the beginning of ‘Demo Cellar’s’ end-of-year season of performances by established and new artists from the South Coast.

NOV 2 JIM CHORLEY
NOV 9 NICK TANN
NOV 16 JAZICA (singer Frankie + guests)
NOV 23 CHICAGO 9 – blues band
NOV 30 THE WIDOWMAKER
DEC 7 THE REAL RAJ
DEC 14 THE VISITORS
DEC 21 XMAS PARTY with THE FAMILY

ABOUT SHOWCASE UK
However ‘Showcase UK’ has not gone away. It is now the backbone of projects initiated by Xan Phillips, the broadcaster and journalist whose passion for bringing the UK’s new talent to the public’s attention has propelled him the world of book publishing.

Wednesday, November 18 see the publication of ‘Holywood Star’ the autobiography of singer Eamon Nancarrow. A boy who grew up in Holywood, County Down dreaming of becoming a rock star and a man whose journey to fame and fortune brought him in contact with some of the most strangest of characters and amusing situations that have graced the lower levels of rock and roll. Eamon is a great singer and the reason his talent didn’t receive the wider acclaim it thorough deserved will be revealed quite quickly in the first five chapters. But in those pages you will begin to realise Eamon has a fantastic knack for observational humour and an uncanny ability to remember all the funny moments he has witnessed. This is a book to buy as will as give and is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk.

Holywood Star: The Life and Times of a Rock and Roll Misadventurer
Paperback: 356 pages
Publisher: Showcase UK; 1st edition (18 Nov 2009)
ISBN-10: 0956390005
ISBN-13: 978-0956390004
Price £9.99 or less

Southampton to hear ‘Music in the City’

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:17:33 +0000

Southampton’s regularl revellers already know that this city has a wide and varied selection of venues, putting on live music.

Those inclined to lounge at home, and forgo the lure of the night, might well believe that the city was culturally and artistically dormant.

If that is the case then they should be forgiven because what the ear doesn’t hear, the heart won’t rave over.

However help is at hand thanks to Southampton City Council who are planning a very interesting afternoon of music on Saturday 12^th September.

At a meeting on Wednesday Councillor Linda Norris and Jane Mielniczek discussed “Music in the City” a mini festival bringing live music to the public, in places you wouldn’t expect to hear musicians.

Venues such as St Michael’s Church in Bugle Street, or a unit in East Street Retail as well as Southampton’s Medieval Vaults.

With a few more ‘rooms’ to be confirmed it is hoped that the day will have a multiple effect on the perception people have on the arts in Southampton.

People who haven’t experienced a gig can enjoy the songs of our best musicians, these musicians will be able to reach out to potentially new followers and the therapeutic benefits for both parties can be assessed .

And, by mixing these together, it’s hoped people’s creative and cultural juices will be stirred in preparation for a much bigger event next year: stay tuned for more.