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THE SOUND-ROBIN A NEW, REGULAR COLUMN AT THE TURN-TABLE: OUR ALBUM THERMOMETER SHOWING WHATS HOT IN A PARTICULAR PART OF THE MUSIC WORLD. TOM HANNAN BANGS THE DRUM FOR ROCK MUSIC. Rock & roll and Margaret Thatcher. At the start of any year, certain groups of people rush to proclaim that both will be dead by the time the new one has run its course. With regard to the former, they take the shape of SOKO music publications clambering over themselves to declare that theres a I THOUGHT I WAS AN ALIEN revolutionary new post-bleep-bloop-core sound emanating from a bedsit in Swindon that finally signals the death of the guitar, and that anyone who ever tapped a foot to OK Computer should be reclassified as a dribbling luddite. BECAUSE MUSIC / FOLK/ACOUSTIC With regard to the latter, that group of people contains me, unfailingly putting money in some celebrity death sweepstake year upon year in the As this is the album signifying SoKos return to music, I was curious. But hope that the news of the Iron Ladys death will bring joy not only to miners within the first four songs Id relaxed so much that Id spread across three countrywide, but also to my barren wallet. Yet despite increasingly bleak seats on the tube, much to the annoyance of fellow passengers. With dreamy prognoses from experts in both fields, neither has yet had the decency to pop riffs and SoKos husky folk style of singing (or should I say serenading?), their respective clogs. this album took me out of the stale carriage and to a beautiful sunny day in a As 2012 settles in to itself, Im pleased to say that rock and roll appears in golden meadow. ruder health than Maggie. The pick of the bunch thus far comes from Leeds The familiar bass line of opening track I Want To Make It New With You, lads Pulled Apart By Horses; returning with the Gil Norton-produced Tough reminiscent of She Bangs by The Stone Roses, lures audiences into an album Love, its a record that sees them both refine and embellish the craft first of innocence and honesty. From the euphoria of falling in love to the sadness exemplified on their self-titled debut. Here, the in-jokes are louder, the riffs of love lost, SoKo holds no bars on emotions expressed throughout the record. are catchier, and opportunities for certain chorus lines to become playground The peaceful tempo and intimacy of For Marlon made me want to hug the catchphrases (When I was a kid I was a dick!) are never more than thirty nearest object, human or otherwise. seconds or so apart. Far from kids stuff however, Tough Love is a virulent As an album that revolves around heavenly and tranquil sounds, the arrival and angry record that despite wearing its sense of humour like a medal of the last track was somewhat surprising. You Have A Power On Me could still manages to kick like a pissed off mule. It feels somewhat peculiar to not be more different to the dulcet tones of previous songs. The haunting claim that an album produced by the same dude responsible for the Pixies repetition throughout making the song feel like it was composed by an angry Doolittle might be the best hope for rock music in 2012, but with Nortons able sixteen year old who has been let loose on a xylophone, rather than the assistance Pulled Apart By Horses have gifted the year its first really fine, cool French songstress. Bar the closing track, this album will make you feel fresh and funny record, one which at its most raucous sounds like trying to seriously glad that SoKo didnt give music up for good. --NT remove the ears from the side of your head using only a cheese grater which itself sounds like something these boys have definitely tried on a tour bus at 2am somewhere outside of Dusseldorf. Taking a less linear but no less cacophonous tact are Islet, a band who until quite recently displayed such a disdain for anything resembling press that THREE TRAPPED TIGERS the Leveson Enquiry was tempted to call them forward to get to the bottom NUMBERS: 1-13 of what exactly their beef was. Where online anonymity was once their USP, theyve since softened their stance (sold out), gotten a website and are finally set to release a splendid debut album in the shape of Illuminated Peoples. BLOOD & BISCUITS / INDIE ROCK Given that All Tomorrows Parties festival is over a dozen years old now, is it appropriate to start talking about the influence the once-great event has Just as a warning, dont make the same mistake I did of playing the first had on a whole generation of bands? If so, Illuminated Peoples is the sound track of this album with the volume turned up to the max, because your of kids who did ATP correctly getting up early on the Sunday for the Wolf ear drums wont have time to defend themselves against the guitars that Eyes gig despite having danced themselves silly to Le Tigre til the sun came literally EXPLODE out your speakers. up, rounding off an evening previously spent shouting along to every word of Numbers: 1-13 is an amalgam of digitally re-mastered tracks that were a Sonic Youth greatest hits set. If it manages to keep going another 10 years, initially part of TTTs sold-out EP trilogy. Now you may ask what the point Islet are on this evidence a good bet for future headliners. is of returning to all the old stuff. Well, consider Numbers as a chronological Theyd likely get on great with Cloud Nothings, whose bracing Attack On music map of their enigmatic career thus far, necessary to show how their Memory features one of the more uncompromising engineering jobs that Steve sound has grown both collectively and within the tracks themselves. (Of Albini (sometime leader of ATP house band Shellac) has laid to tape in a good course if you just missed out on getting their EPs, I guess you could just say while. An album so different from their decidedly fluffier previous works that this is a sweet way to get what you couldnt before.) frontman Dylan Baldi considered retiring the Cloud Nothings moniker for it Whats fascinating is that with Numbers, you can rediscover re-hear, if you entirely, its title reflects the idea that this is a record focused on obliterating like the purity of this unconventional sound. Nothing is ever predictable as everything folks thought they knew about his band in times gone by. As soon as you get comfortable with the electronics, they shatter, making way for reinventions go, its not total there are still melodies here, guitars being guitar chords or syncopated synths. Despite seemingly jumping around like a strummed, emotions being worked through but the likes of the caustic No rabbit on crack, everything is somehow pulled together which such precision, Sentiment and brooding opener No Future/No Past represent a punkish and in a remarkably non-haphazard way. New melodies emerge without nihilism that shouldnt suit them anywhere near as much as it turns out to. reason but with purpose, intent on bringing everything together in as fearless Needless to say, theyre a much better band now. and audacious way as possible. No, I cant quite believe a brief summary of the most exciting rock in 2012 has And it doesnt matter that they havent given the tracks actual names; youll included the words Gil, Norton, Sonic, Youth, Steve and Albini. Just just be calling them all FUCK YEAH! anyway. --CC trust me when I say it all sounds far more relevant than that suggests. --TH 093 Notion L I G H T & D A R K , R I C H & A U S T E R E : H O W D U A L I T I E S C O N S T I T U T E T H E niki & the dove THE POWER OF TWO TYSON X MARGOT BOWMAN SEX IS ABOUT POWER PAINTED TRUTHS COLLABORATION KINDNESS BLOG-POP STARS ACCEPTABLE INTERRUPTIONS NZCA/LINES SYNTH HEROES TAKE US BETWEEN THE LINES A Daimler Brand The new M-Class. Big on power, small on fuel. Seldom do words like 4x4 and fuel efficiency appear together. However, with our new 4-cylinder diesel engine, the ML 250 BlueTEC Sport is every bit as powerful as its predecessor, but 38 more fuel-efficient. In fact, delivering 44.8 mpg m 38.7 (7.2-6.3), extra urban: 42.2-50.4 (6.7-5.6), combined: 39.2-44.8 (8.2-7.3). CO2 Emissions: 165-194 g/km. delivery, 12 months Road Fund Licence, number plates, new vehicle registration fee and fuel). Prices correct at time of going to print. 56 CONTENTS 44 COVER 044 / NIKI & THE DOVE THE POWER OF TWO 32 How dualities contain 068 / SORAPOL COLOURS ON THE MAST 54 038 / TYSON X MARGOT BOWMAN PAINTED TRUTHS An extension of our series of uncategorisable new label Sorapol explains her stirring debut collection 082 / AZEALIA 56 MASTHEAD EDITORS LETTER Were all tired of going through that same hoary old convention: no, not the editors letter, but rather lists of tips for the new year. Endeavouring as ever to offer something a little different, weve teamed up with some of our favourite new stars and offered them the oppor If you were to attempt to fulfil the old book/ cover adage and guess the contents of Gang Colours debut record by looking at its packaging and song titles, you would probably get the wrong impression. The front image is a homely- hued picture of an upright piano with some family photos on top of it; Dialogues Some brief accounts of our recent encounters with artists and other interesting people of note. me is almost like a script for the album. Ill show it to the guys at the label, and theyll be like, Ok, thats great, but how about actually writing the music? I like the way you make a film and FRONT OF BOOK A SELECTION OF IDEAS, IMAGES, INDIVIDUALS AND ITEMS WE HAVE RECENTLY THOUGHT INTERESTING, NOTEWORTHY, OR APPEALING, OFFERED UP FOR YOU APPRECIATION. WORDS: Sebastian Law (SL) / Bronya Francis (BF) / Ailie Robertson (AR) / Frances L. Beene (FLB) / Danielle Webber (DW) / Sean Adams (SA) OVER EXPOSED WWW.DIESEL.COM To many (i.e. me) jeans will always be associated with old Diet Coke adverts; rugged labourers wearing little more than their oiled denim, gulping carbonated soft drinks to the sound of Etta James... Unfortunately builders in dirty jeans are rarely this sexy IRL, but at l OP-ED: ROCKNLOLS FRASER MCALPINE SCORNS THE PO-FACED ROCKERS OF TODAY, WISHING FOR A GENERATION OF GUITAR MUSIC THAT KNOWS HOW TO HAVE A LAUGH Consider this a plea to making up what it meant rock in the late 60s, wave of actual comedians sharp one-liners, the all precious new guitar to be a British FOB LOOK INTO MY CRYSTAL MALL WWW.TOPMAN.COM Were not quite sure how theyve done it, but Topman LTDs designers seem to have been looking directly into this writers brain for the next season. Everythings a looser, more relaxed fit, especially the trousers you heard it here first: weve had it with sk GREEN AS PEAS WWW.GOLA.CO.UK Were having a bit of a green moment at the Maison Notion. Why, just the other day, practically every member of the editorial team turned up wearing a green item of apparel. Thats subconscious colour-channelling right there. Want in? Try these lovely suede kicks from Gola FOB FUTURETRO WWW.FILA.COM I think its pretty clear that were looking at a major influx of old-school sportswear as the 90s-trend reaches tipping point and boils over in a sea of neons, zips and chunky soles into the Great British High street. What you need though, is something to differentiate your / LAYO & BUSHWACKER / Notion MUSIC GIRLS Girls released the follow up to Lust For Life, second album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, back in September of last year. A lot has changed from one album to the next most noticeably, I went to a half-full gig at the Scala around 2009 only to be flabbergasted a FOB H E ATHE SHINS S H MY P E DFLUTTERO C K S R T - MAKE A MISERY S AWAY OR WHY Ive often been perplexed by those people queuing in the cold outside of venues. The instant the doors swing open theyre running in and clinging to that rusty barricade. Others have tattoos of lyrics or album art. Some ev ODE TO A MUSICAL MOTIF #2 THE WHISPER Continuing our look into those recurring little tics that were seeing in music right now, SEB LAW returns with a style of pronunciation thats straight out of stage school pantomimes and harks back to a golden age of chansons...via Björk, of course. Its pretty se FOB ABOUT ME:WILDEFLOWER WILDEFLOWER.CO.UK MY NAME IS MAX, IM 23 AND A SINGER AND SONGWRITER FOR THE BAND WILDEFLOWER. Whilst writing at university I realised that Id made a departure from what I was playing in my band at the time (probably as a result of the albums I was getting into). I wanted to SORTING THE TWEETS FROM THE SPAFF IN THIS NEW COLUMN WE BRING YOU A ROUND-UP OF WHATS BEEN GETTING THE MUSIC BIT OF THE INTERNET AS FAST AS YOU CAN SAY SHIT GIRLS SAY. JUST IN CASE YOURE ALLERGIC TO TWITTER. This month, Black Sabbath announced that they are reforming to play a number of live shows t LUCKY BUGGERS ENTERING COMPETITIONS BY TEXT We will not charge you to enter any of our competitions, just text the keyword to the number stated. Your standard network rate for sending a text message applies. BY EMAIL competitionsatticlondon.com stating the issue number (eg 40) of the magazine where nzca/LINES NOTION FEATURES WORDS: Bronya Francis PHOTOGRAPHY: Rajan Wadhera PICTURE EDITOR: Rebecca Bull Between The Lines Bronya Francis gets a lesson in electronic music from Michael Lovett AKA NZCA/Lines, and producer Charlie Alex Marsh I nterviews are boring. Lets face it, meant to sell yourself nzca/LINES NOTION FEATURES cool collection of original equipment an it decays to a lower level, for how long it recalls a time when he sneakily deleted analogue polyphonic Moog synthesizer from maintains at the same level, and how quickly Michaels version of the new single. Lovett the 1970s, an ana ka nzca/LINES NOTION FEATURES If youre out tonight, Im formatting my hard drive / Into FAAT-32, but baby we could maybe play with the cables time as The Beatles, and he made music that 32, but baby we could maybe play with the album: I knew it would lead me here to you, sounded as modern as minimal Ger NOTION FEATURES Kindness A short few months after his debut track Cyan dropped onto the blogosphere to rapture and delight, Adam Bainbridge is back with his brilliant full-length debut, World, You Need a Change of Mind. With a luscious texture and the ethos of musical connoisseurship, the album has KINDNESS 034 Notion NOTION FEATURES List of acceptable reasons to interrupt recordings : Hangover Holiday Children Girlfriends/ Boyfriends Lunch Afternoon sugar crash DJ gigs Illness Computer melt down Kanye West Beyonce Justin Bieber ka KINDNESS Why Kindness? My Breath by Destinys Child. Why by Carly I was looking around for a name, and it seemed Simon. to be the most contrary concept to everything these would have sounded like they were being else that was happening at the time. As beamed in from another universe the first an artist name i Margot Bowman X Tyson NOTION FEATURES Margot Bowman, 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY: Sarah Brimley MODEL: Tyson Painted Truths An extension of our series of collaborations with the artist Margot Bowman, in which she selects and paints a quote onto the brilliant disco-nouveau artist Tyson. T yson: black-clad, sha Margot Bowman X Tyson NOTION FEATURES N: Thats why Dancing on my Own works, right? gay, Asian, man, woman he KNEW that he sunrise... I sound like him, dont I? Im a Thats her. Shes that psycho dancing all out, made a bridge between everyone. Everyone mimic, I can mimic anyones voice. Im good alone i Margot Bowman X Tyson NOTION FEATURES record, they will know for a fact that its N: What came first? The decision to go wrote is on bass. I dont use anything Tyson. I dont want them to be confused. falsetto, or the decision to pursue that else. Then I add a chord, a sound. But 80s aesthetic complete NOTION FEATURES the power OF two On location in Stockholm and a freezing forest just to the north in the depths of the Scandinavian winter, we meet internet darlings Niki & the Dove for a special cover collaboration. As the BBC Sound Of placed electropop act ready there astonishing debut LP, we unpick the dualities Niki & The Dove NOTION FEATURES P aradoxes and binaries are Sweden, it may not surprise you to hear, With the increasing attention came well, subjects which come up a lot is cold during winter an insidious slow- yet more attention, or at least the sort of in conversation with Niki & growing kind o Niki & The Dove NOTION FEATURES with the passage of time. The meaning selfish or whatever... but theyre creating o-clock numbers that grab you by the ear of their moniker remains a mystery, something which, if you go into it, you with incredible choruses and satisfying for instance, beyond the fact Niki & The Dove NOTION FEATURES - be on piano and vocals, more traditional. whatever means whatever it is you want to Its very different from song to song. express, that you feel you want to express, I hope I havent given the impression without knowing how to describe it. What we that Gustaf and Mal 060 Notion GREAT SCOTT! The words Jeremy Scott for Adidas put excitement and lust in the hearts of the Notion fashion cupboard; even more so when preceded by the words New Season. The American designers aesthetic embraces bold graphics, pop-art prints and bright colours and were BLOODY EXCITED about the latest 060 Notion 060 Notion SHIRT / Paul Smith TIE / Burberry TROUSERS / Givenchy BELT / Dents WATCH / Gucci GLASSES / Ray Ban BRIEFCASE / Hermes All at Selfridges (Opposite Page) SUIT / Tiger of Sweden SHIRT / Mr. Start TIE / YSL CUFFLINKS / Lanvin BRIEFCASE / Valextra BELT / Tullum & Holt SHOES / Grenson All at Selfridges ME 061 Notion ACQUISITIONS SHIRT / Ralph Lauren TIE / Lanvin SUIT / Yves Saint Laurent COAT / Hugo Boss All at Selfridges (Left Page) BOXERS / Calvin 063 Notion Klein SHIRT / Mr Start VEST / Zimmerli BOXERS / Calvin Klein SOCKS / Falke BOOTS / Loake All at Selfridges (Right Page) SUIT / Givenchy SHIRT / Paul Smith TIE / Lanvin BELT / Dents GLASSES / Ray Ban All at Selfridges 064 Notion VEST / Zimmerli TROUSERS / Tiger BELT / Hugo of Sweden Boss SOCKS / Falke SHOES / Richard James (Right Page) GLASSES / Thom Browne 066 Notion sarapol NOTION FASHION Colours On The Mast The theatrical talent behind uncategorisable new label SORAPOL explains her stirring debut collection to KATHRYN DUNCAN. PHOTOGRAPHER Alexander Jordan STYLIST Alexis Knox HAIR AND MAKEUP Alexis Day using Nars cosmetics and label.m haircare MODEL Isabell sarapol All clothing Sorapol 071 Notion interview Sorapol INTERVIEW Kathryn Duncan F alling madly somewhere in the KD: Your designs hold many elements and influences, entering dreamweavers realm of couture realms of couture womenswear design also with strong elements womenswear, and practically of costume design; in what genre do you see Sergei Grinko NOTION FASHION From Russia With Amore Sergei Grinko has the ultimate in international fashion design pedigree: Born in Russia, trained in haute couture in both London and Dubai, and now showing on the catwalks of Milan. His designs appeal to all the elements of a woman strength, indep Sergei Grinko Sergei Grinko Sergei Grinko INTERVIEW Seb Law Is there a strong music influence on your work what tunes are his theory about the influence of our a strong personality and, importantly, a you loving now? decisions over our lives, and the way our cultured background. I always start each collection w The Real Zoolander NOTION FEATURES The Secret Male Model The second instalment of our new series of exclusive real(-ish) life tales from the pen of someone whose face is all too familiar from editorials, billboards and TV spots across five continents. PART 2: WOULD YOU LET YOUR KIDS DO THIS? I sit a me to breath, I find this a strange request, all out for the cameras, Once theyve seen relieved from the torturous embrace that I will and then he asks me to pull my trousers down a it, they wont want you anymore! Her words sadly never be lucky enough to own again. My next bit. I comply. swill aroun BACK/EN D We hop e you; re enj oying much a this b s wer it of e enjo the ma ying p ever, g as utting its a it tog sweet ether. mix of review As s with short interv those iews a releas music, nd ing wo film, rks of litera brilli ture a under ant nd wha that m tever agical else f , elus well a alls i b/e interview Azealia Banks Who The Fuck Am I? Are you going to ask me why I like rapping about sex so much? Ive actually nothing of the sort in mind. After all, if you know anything of Azealia Banks, you know that shes not afraid of the physical act of love. Her breakthrough single 212 is ridden w b/e interview Gonjasufi The Beautiful Shit G: Yeah I just been chopping up drums and working Shifting in and out of focus, theres his voice: a man with a message he wants to tell, yet holding back for your own good, as if hes unsure you can handle the force of his truth. If GONJASUFI seems to you m and pushing myself beyond the parameters that darkness something you have to recognise to be now and those two songs will go together on a I might set for myself, forcing myself into a in the moment do you think? record. Its just piecing puzzles, you know, different space, and... once I come home, a 086 Notion scenes: - Groningen: Eurosonic Noorderslag - Words: Chris Beanland Photography: Sander Baks The first must-attend date on every new music addicts annual calendar is Eurosonic Norderslaag, the multi-venue talent showcase that pre-existed behemoths like SXSW and The Great Escape. Our wandering journo 088 Notion scenes: - Bugging Out - A Weekender in Bognor Regis WORDS: Lauren Down PHOTOGRAPHY: Sonny Malhotra Happiness is... losing yourself in the dizzying, stuttering beats of Hudson Mohawke at 1 in the morning? Discovering yourself in the warm swelling bass of 90s house revivalist The 2 Bears? LAUREN DOWN TEST DRIVING ROCK N ROLL IS DEAD? NO IT ISNT. JUST AS EVERYONE GOT A BIT TOO CAUGHT UP IN THE BEST NEW Bronya Francis (BF) Seb Law (SL) Frances L Beene (FLB) Luke Morgan Britton (LMB) Charlie Clarkson (CC) Michael Lewin (MCL) ELECTRONIC ACTS THAT 2011 HAD TO OFFER, THE TURN OF THE NEW YEAR HAS SEEN Xiu Xiu ALWAYS BELLA UNION / ALT-POP/EXPERIMENTAL The terms art-rock, left-field, avant-garde and experimentalism can be same kind of melodramaticism for which Stewart is dearly loved and as equally bandied about so often that half of what is being described could so sufficiently the source of baff GOOD SHIT / BAD SHIT Charlotte Gainsbourg STAGE WHISPER ITS 2012. NO MAN IS AN ISLAND. EVERY PIECE OF MEAT IS ATTACHED TO EVERY OTHER PIECE OF MEAT BY AN INEXTRICABLE LINK OF EXCLUSIVE BECAUSE MUSIC / ANGLO-FRENCH POP CONTRACTS, SOCIAL MEDIA TIE-INS AND FRIENDS. EVEN MUSIC; THAT SACRED COW OF CREATI THE SOUND-ROBIN A NEW, REGULAR COLUMN AT THE TURN-TABLE: OUR ALBUM THERMOMETER SHOWING WHATS HOT IN A PARTICULAR PART OF THE MUSIC WORLD. TOM HANNAN BANGS THE DRUM FOR ROCK MUSIC. Rock & roll and Margaret Thatcher. At the start of any year, certain groups of people rush to proclaim that both will be S W E AT B O X I N G CLUBS EDITOR KARA SIMSEK OUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS DIDNT LAST LONG. BUT, IF YOURS ARE STILL HANGING BY A THREAD, LET ONE OF THIS LOT HELP YOU THROW YOURSELF OFF THE WAGON. KAMIKAZE STYLE. BUT, IF YOUR WILL IS STILL STRONG... WELL, YOURE REALLY NOT NORMAL. Snowbombing 25 Hour Par moh-teef Tempoclash Relay, London Corsica Studios, London 25 FEBRUARY 23 FEBRUARY When we heard that the team at Cable were opening a sister The super-cool Tempoclash crew are out in force to help LA club, Relay, we were thrilled. When we heard they were flying beat maker Eprom launch his new album. FILM EDITOR / MATT HARVEY PROFOUNDLY MOVING PRESENTS THE Greetings Reel Dealers!!!! Good news, the long cold winter is nearly at an end. Spring is just around the corner. Before you know it, the clocks will go forward and then summer will be here! Though after a while, of course, it will be winter a Contraband Headhunters In Darkness CINEMA / WORKING TITLE FILMS / RELEASED MARCH 16TH CINEMA / MOMENTUM PICTURES / RELEASED APRIL 6TH CINEMA / METRODOME FILMS / RELEASED MARCH 16TH So, first of all, Id just like to reproduce The world of recruitment consultancy seems In Darkness tells the true story painted truths End Paper Every thing in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power -Oscar Wilde A very special Painted Truths #6: chosen by Margot Bowman for Tyson Photography: Sarah Brimley Subject: Tyson Margot Bowman 2011 I chose this quote for Tyson because the first thing that stru NOTIONMAG.COM Digital Delight! Notion Magazine Available in Print from WHSmiths, McColls, and All Good Independents Notion Magazine Is Now Available Digitally: read a free sample at Notionmag.com www.notionmag.com Subscribe Electronically via Credit Card or Sms www.planetnotion.com Complete Access T