Yet more good local new music for your eardrums – This week it’s Secret Sirens.
Secret Sirens are Narelle Frances and Andrew Siron. They both appear to have been knocking about in various different projects for a while, but this latest collaboration seems to have something a bit special about it.
Through the seemingly never-ending stream of guitar-guitar-guitar-boring-boring-boring acts that are always on the bubble, it’s nice to hear someone doing something a bit different… They’ve clearly spent some time building a nice atmospheric, layered sound.
New bands need to be told there’s no shame in sounding poppy!
Their new single, Black Heart, is out next month, so have a listen to a sample here:
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And if you’re in Leeds, they’re playing Elbow Rooms tonight at 8:30!
Friday bonus: Here’s a clip from the remix of the single, also available next month:
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The other day I posted the video for the excellent “Behind the Door” from Leeds-based folkster Gary Stewart’s new album, “Boy Cries Wolf”.
He’s a busy lad, our Gary, and quite disgustingly talented at all sorts of musical endeavours… not least drumming, which he does for Leeds band Hope and Social.
I stumbled onto Emily French’s blog the other day, and spotted something I knew had taken place, but had no idea was released – and SO GOOD.
So, here’s a video for Hope & Social, which should fill you with a warm Friday fuzzy feeling.
Wondering around, Jon, Gordy and I needed a bite to eat quickly, and we popped by Viva. Wondering if we had enough time to get a bowl of pasta, Gordy asked very nicely if they could rush us through as we had a gig to play… Quick as a flash we were sat down, some very nice bruchetta was brought out and, what seemed a couple of minutes after we’d ordered, a plate of very tasty pasta.
We were in and out in 20 minutes, had some really great food at a great price, and left (being waved and hand-shaken by pretty much the entire staff) really happy that this is somewhere like Viva in Leeds. Proper Italian hospitality.
If the true measure of a place is how they deal with out-of-the-ordinary requests, Viva has to be one of the greatest examples of customer service in Leeds right now.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the local music scene, and as soon as I’d posted it there were about 20 bands and acts I was kicking myself for not mentioning.
One of these acts is the hugely talented Gary Stewart – a fellow scot living in Leeds he’s been pretty big on the local folk scene. I feel cruel using words like “big” and “hugely” because he is, in fact, only around 4 foot tall. This might be a small exaggeration.
His début album – Boy Cries Wolf – comes out in a few weeks, till then check out this video from him featuring Ellen (from Ellen and the Escapades) Smith for Behind the Door.
I am a privacy advocate. I don’t buy the “if you’ve got nothing to hide then you’ve got nothing to worry about” argument, and the data protection act is one of the better laws we have.
In this case, some people seem to be mistaking this story for a privacy one. Mainly due to the tone that Yorkshire Evening Post are using. Others think this is an unwise way to spend taxes.
How are the council meant to know how well the recycling programmes area going, or how much money to put into waste management, unless they know what’s being thrown away?
This wasn’t “spying” on *people*, it was finding out how much they needed to focus on recycling efforts. They didn’t write down “mr so-and-so from number 58 threw away bananas…” they were working out percentages of whole neighbourhoods.
As a result of this, with less data to hand, the council will now have to guess how much to spend on refuse. And, through no fault of their own, will probably get it wrong, leaving taxpayers out of pocket and frustrated at the bin collections not being the right frequency.
Poorly reported into creating a sensational story where there isn’t one, this is irresponsible fear-mongering journalism that leaves the taxpayer unknowingly shouting to be worse off.
Hot town, summer in the city, it’s July’s Foxes and whether the sun holds out or not we’re putting on some bands that’ll keep you feeling sunny!
This month, old friend Chris Selman will be popping back across the pennines to treat us to another heartfelt acoustic set, playing amongst other things his new single “Headlights”.
There are a distinct lack of venues, less gigs and when there is a gig the attendance is shocking.”
Now, whether he was just trolling, or genuinely thought this, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’ve lived and worked in cities all over the UK, and can hand-on-heart say nowhere has a music scene quite like Leeds.
Venues & Gigs
I’ve been in March of Dimes for about two years now, and in that time the places we’ve had the opportunity to play has done nothing but grow – as has the competition for other nights. Running the Foxes and Convicts night in Milo simply wouldn’t have been possible two years ago because a small venue like Milo wouldn’t be able to take the risk of a monthly night putting on local acts. look at a gig listing for this week and you’ll see small nights like ours on all over the place.
Bigger acts get good homes here too – with dance club Creation giving way to live venue O2 Academy Leeds and checked-ben-sherman-shirt-no-trainers townie venue The Courtyard being taken over by achingly cool Nation of Shopkeepers, and even the Holy Trinity Church handing itself over to the odd band (some odder than others), it finally feels like live music in Leeds has everything in place to be one of the main forms of night out entertainment.
Of course, there are a finite number of people that are going to come to gigs. Turn a townie venue into a music venue and you’re not going to get townies realising the error of their ways, putting down their stella and stripping off their shirts, to replace them with Herman Dune t-shirts and picking up a nice cider, but the fact that there are so many venues out there, and they seem to be doing WELL, suggests that the audience is there, it just needs to be treated a bit nicer. Great though it can be to see a gig in a sweaty room with sticky floors, sometimes you want something a little less intense. Leeds now offers that.
Acts
Obviously the most amazing band in the whole of Leeds right now is March of Dimes, but that aside in running Foxes and Convicts for the past year or so I’ve been totally bowled over by the sheer number, variety and quality of bands on the scene at the moment.
Strumming, boring acts are ten a penny. They always have been and they are in every city. Especially in Manchester, oddly. But, take a wee look at what else is out there and you’ll be as stunned as I am by the incredible creativity and talent on offer.
Pairing up incredible vocalists and guitarists has given rise to people like Jack, and Gill’s Daughter:
And while it’s not strictly Leeds, Charlie Barnes is just up the road in Barnsley – and what a magnificent talent he is. If you ever get the chance to see him live, do, for one of the most intense but easy going shows you’ll see.
People are getting smarter about how to get their music out there too. Aside from the YouTube videos that more and more people are getting more and more creative with, local starlet-to-be Hannah Trigwell has been knocking out tunes on Briggate, and it sure has an impact – barely a week goes by without someone asking either on a forum or directly “Who’s that busker on Brigate?”. She’s also got the hang of web-cam bedroom broadcasts. Not like that. But hopefully that’ll bump up the search engine results for this article. Take a look here to see her in action. NOT LIKE THAT.
I could easily mention over a hundred acts that have caught my ear over the past year, but the best thing to do is tell you about…
Leeds Indie Radio
One of the most amazing things to come out of Leeds in the past 6 months is Leeds Indie Radio. Started by Adam Williams after popping along to one of our nights, he gives an opportunity for bands in Leeds to get their music heard. Any band in, or around, Leeds can get their music played on this online station, just by dropping him a line. The system is genius, giving more frequent plays to newer tracks, there’s always something great to listen to. I’m told avarage listening time is 2 hours, which shows that once you’re tuned in, people generally find something they like.
So, if you want to hear some of the amazing results of this brilliant musical environment, just tune in to Leeds Indie Radio for an hour. You will find something that makes you go “Ooh! That’s good.”
Sean Murricane is a Leeds based blogger, web marketer and musician.
Yet more good local new music for your eardrums – This week it’s Secret Sirens.
Sometimes, a place is just so nice to you, they deserve to be shouted about.
