fairsharemusic Blog

Zulu Winter are the latest London band with all the music buzz. Penned as the new Vaccines and this years potential festival phenomenen, these guys are making strides in indie. We were lucky enough to steal some precious seconds of Zulu Winter’s time to ask a few questions about their incredible debut album, kidnapping Glen Matlock and being chosen by Zane Lowe as ‘The Hottest Record in the World’. Take a look at what the band had to say:

• It’s been a brilliant and monumental rise from forming  Zulu Winter, to signing with PIAS and releasing your debut album. It must feel like you’re in the middle of a whirlwind?

A little yep because we’re pretty busy with touring but it’s the way we like it. We were working on the record for quite a while before we did any shows so it’s not been quite as quick as some people may think.

•           Double Denim is a great label. How did you hook up with those guys?

They posted a tweet asking for help packing some records and I replied… Always keen on free records and because I would be able to chew their ear off about the band I went down. We got on and they were into the band and asked to release our first single.

•           A sneaky rumour tells us that you tried to kidnap Glen Matlock whilst in The Next Pistols? Is that true?

Yes it is weirdly. That was an amusing 6 months. We basically went to a show with the sole purpose of kidnapping him and making him play bass with us at a house party later that night in a flat above a funeral parlour. Writing that I’m starting to realise how odd it is…

•           Your sound is very structured and multi layered. How does the writing process happen?

Lots of different ways. Some songs will come from Will with a chord structure, melody and basic structure and we’ll work around that. Others will appear very spontaneously from a jam and other will come from someone’s else idea. The layers normally come a bit later when we start demoing and recording as it’s much easier to understand where certain atmospherics parts will sit when you record them.

•           You’ve toured pretty extensively with some great shows to boot. Do you have any particularly memorable shows?

Playing the Ebisu Garden Hall in Japan was amazing. Something I’ll never forget. There have been many though. Our current shows as part of our first UK headline tour are pretty special. We’re all a bit taken aback when people starting singings the songs back to you.

•           As regular bloggers, are you guys ever surprised by the responses to your posts?

We’ve had pretty good responses and nothing too surprising really. Most of the posts are a bit more left field so any responses mirror that.

•          Will you be hitting the festivals this fear?

Yep we’ve got a very busy festival schedule coming up playing across the usual ones in the UK as well as visits to Australia, Mexico and Romania. Very exciting stuff.

•           Have you guys got any good / bad festival memories you’d personally like to share?

We haven’t played any yet so we’ll have to come back to you on this one but I’ve had the usual festival experiences of trying to get in the wrong tent, tents flooding and basically getting a bit spun out by the enormous swaying crowds.

•           ‘We Should Be Swimming’ was chosen by Zane Lowe as ‘hottest record in the world’. Congratulations! In this age of instant culture, hyping and the ‘next big thing’, did you find the endorsement an added pressure?

It adds a little pressure but I think the general population is clever enough to know that ‘hottest record in the world’ is not meant to be taken too seriously. It’s great to have the attention on the band and our music but it’s important to not pay too much attention as the spotlight will search out someone else very quickly and you’ll no longer be the flavour of the month.

•           So, own up. Who lets the band down in the fashion stakes?

That would be Dave.

•           Can you recommend one album, one film, and one book that our readers should check out?

Microcastle by Deerhunter. Another Earth directed by Mike Cahill . Memoirs by Kurt Vonnegut.

With a new album and a hit tv show, you can hardly say that Tom Jones is sneaking meekly into retirement. At 71 the welsh crooner seems just as busy now as he was at the beginning of his career, a mere 47 years ago. If you have caught any of The Voice then you will know that Mr Jones has worked with and formed close friendships, with some of the biggest names in the industry. From the likes of Elvis Presley & Tina Turner to Van Morrison & Stereophonics. His impressive career spans an incompressible array of musical genres, showcasing not only Jones versatility but also his passion for music as he sways easily between Pop, Blues, Country and the unforgettable dance hit You Need Loving Like I Do Don’t You with the beautiful Heather Small.

It is this ability to defy critics pigeon holing him that has defined his career. Originally part of a Beat group touring working mens clubs in South Wales, he was talent spotted by Gordon Mills and whisked away to London. Emerging in 1965 with the massive hit ‘It’s Not Unusual‘ and a strong partnership with Mills that continued until his death in 1986. The tight trouser wearing, chest hair bearing, Welsh heart throb had emerged.

After a decade of hits, and a few tv shows, Jones saw his popularity start to wan, so he swapped the crooner sound we all knew him from, for country music. He then transformed again in the late 80s, working with the Art of Noise on a cover of Prince’s ‘Kiss‘ for which they won an MTV Music Video Award.By 1999 Tom Jones‘s status as a mega star had been cemented and artists were clambering to work with him, leading to the duet album Reloaded which spawned 5 top for hits from Sex Bomb to Burning Down the House. He then transformed his sound again with 2010′s gospel Praise and Blame.

His new album Spirited In The Room sees him return to his more familiar pop roots, and potentially could provide Tom with a hit record for the 6th decade in a row. There seems to be no stopping everyone’s favourite Welsh man.

Was the making of ‘Mid-Air‘ an organic process?

It seemed to have a life of it’s own,  -  I just followed it and tried to protect that.

Again, I didn’t add or subtract from the arrangements which suggested themselves and expressed the emotion and story of the song..

I wasn’t conscious of referring to other work. Of course music you hear stays with you, but I thought it was important to stay with the moment and not reference outside that.

Largely in a hallway!

The emptiness of the original ideas seemed true, so I really didn’t want my thinking to interfere with that.

Thank you. I hope that somehow songs express certain feelings better than I can always articulate otherwise, probably because themes in our lives tend to entangle.

Since we each have our own feelings and reactions to music, I just did my best and hoped it would mean something to each listener individually.

It’s true I found that book in a bookstore and it seemed applicable..I suppose I felt out of time. “Mid Air” was the first song and the real starting point though.

Yes, it has changed, in some ways it seems better, in some ways not.In the end, it’s people’s reactions that matter though, however you hear of them.

We were, and always regarded ourselves as very fortunate.We tried to live up to it, sometimes we managed, maybe sometimes not, but we always tried. I don’t know that it was liberating or daunting – unusual and new, with everything that entails.

I honestly don’t know: of course it would depend on each of us.

It’s probably a case of a few dates rather than a full blown tour.

Pre-Order ‘Mid-Air’ by Paul Buchanan for just £7.99

Formed by twins Craig and Charlie Reid in 1983, the brothers first came to the public’s attention in 1986 after a fan gave a demo tape to The Housemartins, who loved it so much they offered the brothers a support slot on their 1986 tour. This national exposure landed them a January 1987 appearance on landmark music television show ‘The Tube’, performing ‘Letter from America’. A resounding success, it launched the Gerry Rafferty produced single up the UK charts, peaking at number 3. A re-release of their debut album ‘This is the Story’ with the hit single added, hit the shops in June 1987 and achieved Gold status. It would later be voted ‘Second greatest Scottish album of all time’ in a poll by The Scotsman newspaper.

‘Sunshine on Leith’ followed in August 1988. Packed to the brim with anthemic, Celtic ballads, and political folk-rock, it was a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and firmly established the Reid twins as household names. It features three of their most well known songs: ‘I’m On My Way’, ‘Sunshine on Leith’ and their unofficial theme tune ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’. This proved to be a genuine career peak, with only their 1990 ‘King of the Road’ EP troubling the upper echelons of the singles charts, reaching number 9.

Since 1990, they have become much more politically active, and are heavily involved in a number of high profile campaigns and charity organisations, playing shows on behalf of ‘The Lighthouse Foundation’, ‘AICR’, ‘Drake Music Scotland’, ‘500 Miles’, and ‘Reprieve’. They also campaign on behalf of the Scottish Socialist Party. In March 2007 they recorded a new version of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” for Comic Relief, with Matt Lucas, and Peter Kay, which hit the number one spot.

To date The Proclaimers have released nine studio albums, with their latest release ‘Like Comedy’ available from 6th May 2012. The lead single ‘Spinning Around in the Air’ features a video directed by Matt Lucas. The brothers continue to play sell out shows across the UK and Europe, reaffirming their cult status.

You might recognise this chap’s voice from the latest Internet Explorer 9 Advert floating around on television at the moment, in which his single ‘Too Close‘ is featured.

Alex Clare is a London musician with plenty of swoon and a whole load of soul. After the release of his debut ‘Lateness of the Hour‘ in July last year, this eclectic singer landed a number 1 album in Germany and was potted by Reggie Yates as his ‘Song of the Day’ for a cover of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry‘.

From jungle rhythms to innumerable Jazz undertakings, Alex Clare has both a resonating sound and a crease-less demeanour. Tracks like ‘Treading Water‘ and ‘Up All Night‘ do well to highlight Clare’s ability to merge his mahogany vocals with a drum and bass modernity. Showcasing an interesting ability to mix both the soulful with the youthful. Download ‘Lateness of the Hour’ for just £5.99.