QuenchISSUE 139 - NOVEMBER 2013

Features 5 LGBT+ 11 Fashion & Beauty 16 Food & Drink 25 Travel 34 Culture 38 Video Games 46 Film & TV 50 Music 58 DR WHO: THE 50TH 8 PAGE SWN ANNIVERSARY 52 SUPPLEMENTINSIDE Cardiff Student Letting OWNED & RUN BY CARDIFF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' UNION TEL: (029) 20781525 | www.cardiffstudentletting.com.cardiffstudentletting.com NO agency There’s plenty of time fees

cardiffstudentletting.com QUENCH EDITOR’S NOTE THEQUESTION

It’s midnight. I need help. Every other page on the you care about. (Unless it’s cat videos on YouTube, or from me, having played through it in entirety just before magazine is finished except this one. Tom Connick keeps whatever.) Blockbuster went out of business. While the review of hurling a stress ball at the Xpress Radio studio window. Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent. What’s up? How the game is lukewarm, I really liked it; it deviates from We’re listening to the Warioland 1 soundtrack, eating are you? By the time you read this, I will have caught its spiritual predecessor, Heavy Rain, by being far less cold pizza, and shouting at each other. Welcome to the up on a sleep, and I’ll be quite chipper. Being serious, ridiculous (unfortunately, you cannot ‘press X to Jason’ dirty world of editor’s notes, and Quench by extension. we’ve done our best to make this one of the best issues in this one), although me and Matt Grimster have been This page - the first one you see - is the last dying cry of of Quench ever - and between exclusive interviews butting heads over this all month, so you might disagree. the magazine as it goes to print. If you want an insight with some of the Doctor Who staff, some of the best I’d also like to give particular regard to Sophie Lodge, into how a student publication is put together, it’s a bit writing this university has to offer in our features section, whose meteoric rise from ‘updating Mike’s twitter’ like the opening to 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the and some excellent coverage of the Cowbridge Food (something I don’t think she ever actually did) to my apes learn how to use tools and start smashing things Festival, I think we’ve created a magazine which will deputy editor is something of legends. However, while with bones. appeal to everybody. I’m dead proud of this issue, I’m equally proud of her; I thought I might be doing things wrong, so I’ve been she’s taken to our production cycle like a duck to water, observing the management styles other organisations So how do I influence and I’ll bet you anything this magazine would be a lot employ. I used to work on a sales floor, and their time people in this miserable worse without her. Shame about my twitter, though. in meetings yelling at people and each other (because Charlie Mock and Charlie Andrews have joined our nothing sells ad space like misery), but I’ve found that era? Apparently, take team as online editors, who are leading the steady nobody takes a dome-headed 5’6’’ man seriously. charge to modernise our website. There’s some really So how do I influence people in this miserable era? selfies and ask people great stuff there, so I’ve sprinkled QR codes throughout Browsing the internet, I’ve found that the consensus the magazine linking people to some of our more active seems to be that I should take photographs of myself and what the fox says sections. You can find all the content in the magazine in upload them to Instagram, make “jokes” on Facebook, a more shareable form at http://quenchmag.co.uk, so and ask people what the fox says. Speaking of festivals, our coverage of this year’s Swn feel free to take a gander online if you want to accelerate Alas, I have a piece of obsidian where my sense of festival is as good as it’s ever been. Thanks to the excellent the inevitable death of print. humour should be, so instead, I’ve found the easiest way Urban Tap House, we managed to get interviews with Just before I finish - Quench would like to offer forward is to just put together a really good magazine. the majority of performing artists, so if you’re searching congratulations to Xpress Radio, who won bronze in I’m doing my best, but mistakes are made; last month, for something to listen to, type anybody who sounds the best station category at this month’s Student Radio three pages were rendered entirely unreadable by print interesting into Google and track them down. Swn Awards, as well as best live event for their excellent errors, but nobody complained because we put Walter stands head and shoulders above everything else on coverage of the 2013 Swansea-Cardiff Varsity. We’re White on the front cover. There’s a lesson to be learned the Cardiff events calendar, so we’d like to extend our surrounded by really talented people in student media, there (I think). thanks to everybody who performed, organised and and we’re honoured to share an office with the guys I’ve never really seen the appeal of attempting to attended for making such an excellent event happen. who bought you Cardiff Unplugged, The Detective, and be all things to all men in an effort to please a few. Elsewhere in the magazine, LGBT+ have produced a whole host of other great shows. My favourite people in the limelight weren’t born SEO pages commemorate Trans*gender Day of Anyway, I think that’s everything - I can only fit in so ready; lord knows if Mark E. Smith grew up at the Remembrance, Travel examine interrailing and budget many acknowledgements, and I’ve got a shedload of same time as me and had a blogspot profile, the only friendly travel, and culture talk about Morrissey’s horrible work to do, but thank you for reading this far. I hope you thing he would’ve been famous for is hurling abuse at autobiography. I’ve glanced through his book, and I can enjoy the magazine, and, as ever, you can find me on everybody. If your defining characteristic is that you confirm that Morrissey is not a charming man. twitter or send me an email with my details on the next follow the crowd, and do what everybody else is doing, Video games have a review of Beyond: Two Souls page - I’d love to know what you think. then you’ll be alienated the moment you find something (pictured above), which comes highly recommended MOCD 3 Q TRAVEL @quenchtravel · [email protected] Emma Giles Travel editor @EmmaGiles94 QuenchIS BROUGHT TO YOU BY... Kathryn Lewis Travel editor EDITORS @KathrynLewis92 @quenchmag · [email protected] CULTURE Michael O’Connell-Davidson @quenchculture · [email protected] Editor Amy Pay @mikeocd Culture editor Sophie Lodge @YayAmyPay Deputy Editor Sum Sze Tam @splodge82 Culture editor FEATURES @sumtzenbumtzen @quenchfeatures · [email protected] VIDEO GAMES Andy Love @quenchgames · [email protected] Features editor Rhian Carruthers @andyluvv Video games editor Chloe May @RoutineEnvelope Features editor Matt Grimster @chloejayne_ Video games editor Hattie Miskin @MattGrimster Features editor FILM & TELEVISION @quenchfilm · [email protected] LGBT+ & COLUMNIST Leanne Dixon @quenchlgbt · [email protected] Film and Television editor Suryatapa Mukherjee @LeanneDixon17 LGBT+ editor Oli Richards @sugaryDEMON Film and television Editor Emrhys Pickup @ORichards93 LGBT+ editor Daniel Rosser Film and television editor Helen Griffiths Columnist, deputy controller @ CUTV MUSIC @_HelenGriffiths @quenchmusic · [email protected] FASHION & BEAUTY Tom Connick @quenchfashion · quenchstreetstyle · [email protected] Music editor @ginandconnick Jess Rayner Jimmy Dunne Fashion editor Music editor @jessie_rayyy @GrimmyBumm Jacqueline Kilikita Hannah Embleton-Smith Fashion editor Music editor @J_Kilikita @HEmbleton Jordan Brewer Fashion Editor SPECIAL THANKS @JordanAffairs Charlie Andrews, Jordan Brewer, Sarah Brunt, Rhian Sophie Falcon Carruthers, Tom Connick, Lizzy Clarke, Jimmy Dunne, Fashion editor Jacob Dirnhuber, Tom Eden, Emilia Ignaciuk, Chloe May @sophiefalcon1 (+ her excellent banana and chocolate cake) Charlie Mock, Jake Simkiss, all of whom went above and beyond the call of FOOD & DRINK command, and were instrumental in bringing the magazine to print @quenchfood · quenchfood · [email protected] on deadline night, as well as Vidya Brainerd, Gair Rhydd Sport, Politics and Opinion, Andy Williams, Banter, Emilia Ignaciuk Maximus Eshraghi, and Rowan Whittington. Food editor I’d like to take this moment to recognise Charlotte Wace’s Dylan Elidyr Jenkins contributions to the magazine, who exceeded my expectations at Food editor every opportunity. Char, you and your banner were the unsung heroes of freshers’ week, and we’ll miss having you in the office. Q 4 LIFESTYLE FEATURES These are the youth seeking sex education in a country following a syllabus so outdated that putting a condom on a banana while the teacher cringes in the corner GIRL MEETS is deemed adequate preparation for adulthood. It’s understandable then, that more and more young people are relying on porn to teach them what goes where or rather, as Caitlin Moran wrote in How To Be A Woman, “What could go where if you’re determined enough”. Our generation, those in their late teens and early PORN twenties who experienced the emergence of the internet and all its wonders in our early-mid teens, are perhaps the guinea pigs of porn as it is now. Sprawling and endless and free, porn is no longer a luxury reserved for those daring enough to Aimee-Lee Abraham examines the myths touch the top-shelf or go snooping for Daddy’s supply. Although porn has always been unrealistic and has never been innocent, the internet has accelerated the lack of pornography and the impact the industry of realism and lack of innocence with unprecedented and unpredictable velocity. In the sterilized, edited underworld where the shaved, stripped and oil-slathered is having on society and the student psyche lurk, sex becomes a mere show. As with any form of entertainment, a critical eye is essential in resisting the temptation to fall for it. Porn is rarely just the documentation of two people doing it. If that were the case, would admitting to watching it remain such a cultural taboo? And would it remain so irresistible and intoxicating to so many? The reason that porn is still embarrassing to talk about despite its prevalence in society probably has a lot to do with the nature of the material consumed as opposed to the existence of the material in itself. Porn pushes boundaries. Porn delves into the deepest and darkest fantasies we conceal at all costs. That’s why indulgence usually occurs in a locked room with the music up loud. Outside of the world of pub banter, far from the hesitant admissions to a partner asking what you want, porn consumption remains one of the last taboos. What happens when this private habit becomes an obsession that spills over into all areas of one’s life? What happens when porn becomes a destructive force with the power to derail an education or a career or a relationship? Channel 4 has been seeking these answers through its television shows; perhaps we should all be sparing a moment to do the same as sexually active adults of the Facebook generation. What happens when this private habit

This season, a housemate remarked, Channel 4 ‘has gone a bit mental becomes an obsession that spills over into with all the sex’. This is not coincidental; the broadcaster’s ‘campaign for real sex’ all areas of one’s life? is well underway, with shows like Date My Pornstar and Diary of a Teenage Virgin dominating post-watershed airtime. Channel 4 is no stranger to controversy. It is loved and loathed in equal measure for its willingness to cover what other broadcasters, In researching this article, I consulted online forums where those seeking help for forever fearful of Ofcom complaints and media outcry, will not. porn related problems lurk. There are women in their twenties, at the peak of their According to the accompanying press release ‘The Campaign for Real Sex aims to sexual prime, who are experiencing relationship slumps stereotypically reserved reclaim sex from the airbrushed, surgically-enhanced, depilated, gymnastic fantasies for middle-aged marriages. The relationship is not fraught emotionally and the and celebrate the joy of real sex’ through screenings of cutting-edge documentaries attraction remains outside of the bedroom but reliance on porn to relieve oneself aimed at understanding ‘the kind of sex that is actually going on in Britain’s bedrooms’. has become the norm for their partners, rendering real sex almost impossible to The usage of the word ‘reclaim’ implies that something that once belonged to us has sustain. Unable to compute how her supposedly besotted boyfriend would refuse been wrongfully taken away, stolen by an industry manufacturing plastic pornography. to satisfy her but was able to orgasm several times a day whilst looking at other Is this the case? Porn is sex documented and made publically accessible with the women on a screen, one user confided to fellow strangers that her body confidence intention to arouse and excite. So, in the diverse sea of sexuality, what exactly are we and sense of self-worth plummeted to a devastating low that trapped her in a trying to retrieve from the depths? sexless relationship for several years. Friends of mine have confessed to similarly Channel 4’s Sex Box, aired between the 10th and 15th of October (available on dire domestic scenarios in hushed room corners following too much gin. What 4oD), is a particularly resonant and watch-worthy series, mainly because its premise makes things even more tragic is that the men involved in scenarios like this one is a questionable one. The show, designed as an entertaining and daring way to get are often plagued by confusion and self-loathing. This is incredibly damaging real people talking about real sex, does just that by putting a couple in a box that for the self-esteem of both involved, leaving women feeling unattractive and men resembles a modern-art interpretation of a Doctor Who prop. In the soundproofed, inadequate. In Porn On The Brain, another of Channel 4’s projects in which an UV-lit confines of the box they have sex and emerge bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ex-editor of lad mag, Maxim, meets those directly affected by the material he once afterwards to discuss their actions in excruciating detail with a panel of sexperts eager published, we are introduced to Callum. Callum is a university student who leads to answer their questions. a seemingly normal life; he is young and attractive and his social habits are no While the supposed sentiment behind the show is admirable, its success in unveiling different to yours or mine. But Callum has an addiction to porn so overwhelmingly any groundbreaking new truths about the birds and the bees is debatable. Most of strong that he describes the experience as a kind of personal hell he cannot escape. the brave beings leaving the box remain surprisingly tight-lipped for people confident Decontextualized and alienated, it would be easy to misinterpret the subject matter enough to have intercourse on national telly. They appear flushed and forlorn as and assume that Callum is talking about a drug addiction. When asked how he Mariella Frostup probes them for dirt and deets. There are a few refreshingly frank deals with the urges that consume him constantly, he talks of his attempts to get revelations; couples admit that they were mere friends with benefits who fell for one rid of his smartphone and computer in a bid to lessen his chances of accessing another unexpectedly, one man admits that despite his herculean efforts, sex leaves material in moments of desperation. The images, though, remain embedded in his him so exhausted that talking about it to the panel is quite a challenge. These anecdotes consciousness and can be viewed at will whenever he wants. A screen is no longer are valuable and mildly humorous but they do little to dispel the myths of porn, as they required and public bathrooms have become a refuge. He looks mournful as he exist in a completely separate sphere of reality. Sex Box, uncomfortable to watch and admits feelings of worthlessness and greed following the ecstatic rush masturbation arguably useless, is not making a powerful enough statement to counteract the grip provides but remains a slave to the industry. The only way to recover from a crash, porn has on the most vulnerable members of society. in his opinion? “To do it all again”. 5 Q Porn’s danger lies in what it doesn’t show as well as what it does, in the things themselves on tables. It’s indistinguishable from most typical student parties. Except that porn spares no time for. All of these discarded pieces of narrative and missing people are shagging everywhere and some partygoers are carrying on with their puzzle pieces are directly leading to the creation of unsustainable, unattainable conversation as if nothing is happening. I’d love to know what they’re talking about; fantasy. Porn has no time for the clichéd post-coital cig reserved for the Don Drapers even the erect penis a mere thirty centimeters away from their faces isn’t enough of the world. Porn has no time for pillow talk, no time to fumble around the duvet to warrant a pause. Meanwhile, the bodies are akin to the furniture they are being for a misplaced garment, no time for strained discussion about what it all means bent over. They are just a part of the scenery. Shouldn’t we be worried about and where it’s all going. Porn stars never use condoms. The packet rustles and the implications surrounding the increasing popularity of material like this? Entire sounds horrible on camera, putting it on is a chore serving only to delay the act sites are popping up dedicated to the documentation of debauchery at university, and shatter the illusion of spontaneity and everyone knows that bareback is best with many offering cash rewards for the best submissions from amateurs. Such (or so the industry has taught us to believe). Porn stars never giggle or cry or say incentives could prove tempting when a loan simply won’t stretch far enough, with something they’ll later regret. potentially devastating consequences. The parties shown in porn do not provide an accurate portrayal of sex at Porn stars never giggle, or cry, or say university. Or anywhere. Unless you’re into orgies and are well acquainted with that sort of thing. Sometimes student parties descend into madness and chandelier something they’ll later regret swinging as seen in the porn world. The vast majority will not. In student housing in particular, there will probably be a pressure to keep quiet. Surely these rituals are what make sex real? These moments are snapshots Screaming like a banshee is an option but you will be bullied for weeks over of the relationship shared, whether that relationship is purely carnal or deeply breakfast. Mistakes will come and go. A friend still treads on the breadcrumbs meaningful. We are lacking insights into the people behind the bodies. It’s easy his mistake left strewn along the kitchen floor, over tea he tells me he curses her to forget that it is somebody’s daughter you are watching being ejaculated on for inhabiting his shower and his thoughts. I have passed other people’s mistakes by a gang of men. The men doing the deed are sons and fathers and lovers and on the staircase and smiled awkwardly. I have found that sex at university is no friends. Although we cannot expect the porn industry to focus on menial exterior different to sex at any other stage of life; it is diverse and it differs hugely from plotlines (after all, who gets turned on by finding out family history, for example?), person to person. we can expect them to work harder to diversify and add realism. In the elimination Being a student is just a component of an identity, as is sexuality. This is why of these factors and in the formulaic material that emerges when identical scenes of college porn in particular can be dangerous in that it can contribute to the perception identical bodies at identical angles is produced to meet supply and demand levels that university is an opportunity or excuse to have as much sex as possible with as comparable to factory farm targets, porn is selling us myths alongside our meat. many people as possible. Having lots of sex is not inherently a bad thing; we live in This is why Channel 4’s usage of the word ‘reclaim’ is not as dramatic or drastic as a democratic, liberal society and many would agree that consensual sex between it may initially appear. We are being robbed of reality. two adults who are both equally aware of the consequences is something that This is a student publication so context is called for. How does this apply to belongs in the private sphere. Only those involved can decide what feels right and university life? Is porn having a negative impact on students? Callum’s addiction it is not our place to judge them regardless of our conflicting views. The problem lies shows that people of all ages and backgrounds are not immune from porn in the assumed lack of consequences that accompany sexual freedom, alongside addiction. However, it remains that most people who watch porn will watch it the pressure to compete with porn stars who are pushed to their absolute limits. in moderation and will not become addicted in the same way, just as drinking There is a reason why many participating women feature in porn once and then socially or recreationally does not necessarily equate to alcoholism and a tendency leave. It is humiliating and degrading and off camera they are feeling humiliated to diet does not necessarily develop into an eating disorder. There are many social, and degraded. Jon Millward’s analysis of 10,000 porn stars and their careers, psychological and physical factors involved. As porn addiction is only beginning to Deep Inside, produced fascinating demographical graphs portraying the true nature be acknowledged by psychiatrists and neuroscientists as a clinical problem, current of the industry. An unsurprisingly high level of taboo sex acts were performed by research is in the toddler stage of development. What about the casual consumers? female porn stars during their careers, with 87% of his 10,000 sample taking Nestled amongst the lesbian schoolgirls and domineering madams, a whole facials, 62% doing anal and an astonishing 39% being doubly penetrated. In section of the industry is thriving off material submitted by university-goers willing to normalizing such acts, porn is changing societal expectations regarding sexual share intimate moments. The ‘college’ category is bursting at the seams with scenes behavior and developing a public appetite for what was previously deemed less of house parties gone wild and initiation ceremonies demonstrating how students appealing or commonplace. Consent and desire are once again paramount; such really study together for their classes. Studying uniformly consists of bodies writhing acts are not be condemned as long as those involved are happy with the situation. amongst the spilt beer and filth on the floor as fully clothed frat boys look on with What is not okay is the likelihood that porn’s portrayal of such acts is forcing hungry eyes, shouting and stomping as if they’re cheering on a sports team. Punch people to participate when they are uncomfortable out of fear of disappointment bowls overflow, music booms, people chat in quiet corners while others touch or a need to conform. Q 6 LIFESTYLE FEATURES

THE MODERN FAMILY Chloe May discusses the rise of the ‘YouTube Family’ and questions whether you can

really make a career out of filming your day-to-day life

Home videos: every family has them. The thought of my parents deciding that in an interview with an Irish newspaper. He claimed that in the mainstream my rendition of ‘When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney’, aged six, was worthy media, “the creator doesn’t feel the direct impact of the audience, whereas as of being posted on the internet is a bizarre one. An even more bizarre thought a YouTuber you’re criticised for everything you do, you’re vulnerable in that might be the prospect of thousands of viewers tuning in the following day to see sense’. Whilst looking through a selection of LeFloofTV’s videos, I came across what my six-year old self had been up to. a multitude of critical comments. One viewer claimed that because the family We are living in a world obsessed with reality TV shows. There is an increasing chose to document their lives, their audiences were free to judge and criticise demand for shows where the audiences witness ‘real’ people living out their them as much as they wished, in the same way that one would criticise a bad lives and seeing how they change and develop as time television show or a movie. The difference is that a passes. It is therefore no surprise that families can make movie director would never receive a torrid, unfiltered an income from posting daily home videos of their lives The couple were criticised stream of abuse from a reviewer, claiming that the on YouTube. Making a career from social media, or even actress he hired was ugly. YouTube, is not a new concept but earning a decent wage by an Irish newspaper for Whilst the criticism aimed at the family is obscene, simply through documenting your day-to-day existence is being ‘disgusting’ and critical comments are almost an accepted part of being a career that seems almost too good to be true. on YouTube, particularly as your audience increases. As I write this, I am checking the clock. At 6pm, Jonathan recieved messages from Although they have a seemingly huge amount of and Anna Saccone-Joly, a young Irish couple who post subscribers, LeFloofTV is a relatively small channel fifteen-minute snippets of their daily lives on their channel internet savages claiming when compared with the massive following boasted LeFloofTV, will be posting a video announcing the by the ‘Shaytards’ channel. With a massive 1.6 million gender of their second child. The couple have already they hoped their baby was subscribers, the Shaytards, or the Butler family, is announced that they have taken a video of the moment arguably the driving force behind this massive surge the sonographer tells them the sex of their second child, stillborn of families choosing to document their lives, having which they will be sharing with all 250,000 of their reached celebrity status through posting videos of subscribers. Their approach to sharing intimate and precious moments with so mundane day-to-day events as well as key moments in many people has been criticised in the past, particularly when they chose to film their lives over four years. They are also the brains behind a new documentary and upload the birth of their first child. Despite the film being taken in a very in production, entitled ‘I’m Vlogging Here’, which explores the lifestyle of those tasteful way (no blood or gore), the couple were criticised by an Irish newspaper who choose to make a career out of YouTube. for being ‘disgusting’ and were sent threatening messages by internet savages The Shaytards are probably the most distinct example of celebrity culture who claimed they hoped their baby was stillborn. moving into the online world. Their viewers begin to admire and see the family as It may be difficult to believe, but there have been many examples of internet their role models, in the same way that people admire film stars and musicians. trolls targeting their 13-month old daughter for being ‘fat’, ‘ugly’ and ‘slow’. While researching for this article I stumbled across a blog dedicated to the Although the parents may be able to develop a thick skin, is this stream of Shaytard channel. One viewer claimed that the Butler family helped her through constant criticism a suitable environment to raise a child? her depression and that they were ‘lifesavers’. Another discussed a difficult Jonathan Saccone-Joly commented on the relationship that a person who relationship with her mother and said that the female figures on the show felt like chooses to make a career out of YouTube, or ‘a YouTuber’, has with their audience mother figures to her. The audience for these shows tends to be quite young, and 7 Q many of these vulnerable teenagers and young adults invest a lot of time and consistency and reliability of using it as a career has to be questioned. As one emotion in these families. viewer of LeFloofTv pointed out in the comments, the views on the Saccone- Earlier this year, Charles Trippy, one half of ‘YouTube Couple’ CTFxC was Joly’s videos dropped dramatically a few months after their first baby was diagnosed with a brain tumour, after struggling with seizures for over a year. born, and since Anna announced her second pregnancy, the views have been He and his wife Alli decided to continue on with their daily vlogs and share gradually rising once again. But how long can this last? What happens if you everything from brain surgery to chemotherapy with their massive audience. decide you don’t want any more children? What happens if your children In an interview Alli said they felt a duty to share this with their audience and decide they don’t want their every waking moment to be documented? This claimed that they ‘had a responsibility towards these people who had become is without even beginning on the safety issues. The internet is a bigger place their family’. Despite criticisms that the couple secretly hoped that documenting than most of us would care to imagine and without any filter as to who can Charles’s brain surgery live would boost their subscribers watch your content there are many risks for all of the past the one million mark, the couple claimed that they family. The Shaytards have already announced that were doing it to commend the hard work of the doctors Making money from this year will be their last year as daily vloggers as and nurses that deal with this every day. Charles also they wish to focus more on the production of their confessed in one of the vlogs whilst he was in hospital, YouTube is not a new, nor documentary and no doubt they desire a break from ‘I know I’m talking to hundreds of thousands of people constant documentation. With 100 hours of footage here and it makes me feel a little better’. It is clear a particularly complicated being uploaded to YouTube every minute, it is clear that it is not only the audience that feels an emotional concept. As the number of that the potential for creating a career out of YouTube attachment. Many of these YouTubers give an impression is only going to get larger. As much as I admire these of welcoming viewers into their family every time they subscribers increases, so YouTubers’ creativity in earning a steady wage from post a new video. simply existing, constant exposure of children to the By involving other people so intimately within your own does the creator’s potential internet through regular documentation is something, lives there is a massive scope for celebrity culture. At call me old fashioned, that is just wrong. a recent convention for YouTubers in Los Angeles, the earnings However there is no denying the entertainment Shaytards were welcomed to the stage with a roaring value of these programmes. Despite the fact that most audience not dissimilar to that at a One Direction concert. television channels appear to be inundated with so- But surely a celebrity lifestyle requires a celebrity wage? called ‘reality’ TV shows, these programmes provide more of a ‘real’ insight to Making money from YouTube is not a new, nor a particularly complicated somebody’s life than the scripted, frozen personalities on ‘Made in Chelsea’ and concept. As the number of subscribers increases, so does the creator’s potential ‘The Only Way is Essex’. The official title of the programme run by Charles and earnings through the advertising revenue that Google, YouTube’s parent, creates Alli Trippy is ‘Internet Killed Television’, which seems to act as a premonition for on the site. Obviously gaining an audience takes time, but there are rumoured the potential YouTube has as a genuine entertainment platform. Having watched to be many six-figure salaries lurking amongst the amusing animal videos. This a few of these vlogs in preparation for this article, I can vouch for the fact that, in therefore creates conflict between the creator and their audience. How can you the same way you care for your favourite characters on a TV show, you begin to be seen to be the Everyman whilst making extraordinary amounts of money from care for these people because they are distinctly and definitely real. In a world your videos? of airbrushed Facebook profiles and edited photographs, I commend these Although YouTube has massive scope for creating a steady wage, the families for creating raw and real entertainment in a world that is so lacking in it.

Q 8 LIFESTYLE FEATURES It appears the energy drink market has managed to exhibit its class, middle-aged women slowly sip the beverage over a WILL presence pretty much everywhere. When you can take your catch up with an old friend. It’s clear that the quantity, purpose pick from half the aisle they occupy in Tesco, and even my and speed at which caffeine is consumed are very different in nan isn’t a stranger to shooting what she calls ‘jäger-bombers’ the media. But we all know that the media and real life are two THEY it’s obvious how easily available energy-boosting products are. very different things. In reality, students are known for drinking In 2006, the UK alone consumed 345 million litres of energy cup after cup of coffee in a row if that gets you through a night drinks. By 2012, this had risen to 630 million litres, proving of revision, and at the same time many ‘normal’ middle aged GIVE the market for energy enhancing products is definitely on people are opting for energy drinks for a quicker fix than coffee the up. Commercialised as a worldwide energizer, Red Bull in the mornings. dominates as leader of the energy drink market with 43% of YOU the market sales. Their cans boast the ability to ‘Vitalise the One 16-ounce can could Body and Mind’, luring consumers into purchasing their can of advantageous ingredients for a promising health benefit. So contain 54 grams of sugar, WINGS? what’s actually in a can of Red Bull? Well, it’s a cocktail of the approximate equivalent caffeine, taurine, B-group vitamins, sucrose and glucose and A promise of extra alpine spring water. It all sounds relatively harmless, and it’s of 14 teaspoons clear the world are obsessed with the buzz, so what are the energy, concentration and consequences? But caffeine isn’t the only ingredient in these drinks that heightened performance High sugar, high caffeine energy drinks have gained a lot boasts energy-creating properties. Taurine; an amino acid of bad press over the years. With the modern energy drink already found in our body and naturally in foods like meat, make energy drinks market being less than 20 years old, their long-term effects are and B-vitamins, which are essential for the conversion of food the perfect quick fix. not yet conclusive. Introduced to consumers with a larger dose energy, will both supposedly add to the rush. However there is of marketing than actual caffeine, the incredible growth of these little evidence to support this. Adding more B-vitamins won’t give Charlotte Lindsay products is unsurprising. However as an accumulation of death you more energy when the body is already producing enough scares supposedly caused by energy drinks has gradually itself, and as with many of the other ingredients involved, discusses the risks of come to light, it’s becoming apparent that the honeymoon taurine has little evidence of being much more than a fancy pumping yourself with period could be coming to a close. Their main buzz-inducing extra to fluff up the drink’s perceived nutritional value. Again, ingredient, caffeine, is a stimulant that raises heart rate and the image portrayed through advertising is not necessarily the drinks made with Britain’s blood pressure. It has been linked to cardiac arrest, seizures, reality. There is also a great lack of knowledge of the combined most socially acceptable insomnia and anxiety. Sure, this level of sincerity is usually outcome of the other ingredients involved, both positive and the consequence of excess consumption, causing the ‘it wont negative. Apart from caffeine, energy drinks are packed with drug, caffeine happen to me’ mind-set. But the truth is, caffeine is a drug that sugar, adding to the buzz. One 16-ounce can could contain 54 pushes your body into an artificial high, followed by a crash, grams of sugar, the approximate equivalent of 14 teaspoons. provoking a rollercoaster of highs and lows throughout the Used inappropriately in large enough quantities, you can see day as your body craves more. This, in many people, leads to how they can become pretty much obesity in a can. addiction. Consequentially, excess consumption is the outcome Further problems arise when mixing energy drinks with of addiction, causing the severe health risks stated above. alcohol. Combining a stimulant and a depressant, such as Caffeine is also a diuretic, so when energy drinks are used to alcohol, in one shot is going to cause obvious confusion for create a jolt before sport, you could get seriously dehydrated. your body. Studies show that the addition of an energy drink to alcohol makes people feel less impaired than from alcohol A fellow student, Tim, suffered consumption alone, leading to riskier behaviour such as drink driving. But when you can pick up a jäger bomb for 90p on cardiac arrest after drinking a student night, it’s clear that the people that actually worry too many vodka red bulls on about these effects are few and far between. This is going to affect your heart rate, which while being sped up by the energy a night out and was rushed to drink is simultaneously slowed down by the alcohol. A fellow student, Tim, suffered cardiac arrest after drinking too many hospital at the age of 21 vodka red bulls on a night out and was rushed to hospital. At the age of 21. But what’s the difference between energy drinks and coffee? It seems that the problem here is more in the media portrayal They can actually contain a similar amount of caffeine, and and the extremists than actual ingredients; people are a cup of coffee a day is often linked to health benefits. The encouraged to associate taking risks with energy drinks. With major difference, though, is their advertising. With names limited information into their long-term effects, combined with like ‘Monster’ and ‘Rockstar’ most energy drinks are made the constant scares that almost everything is bad for our health, to appeal to people with a taste for danger. Many of their at some point people just stop listening. It has to be noted that advertising campaigns are packed with high risk, high the death scares surrounding energy drinks so far have come adrenaline sport directly targeting impressionable young men, about in conjunction with other underlying health issues that the and often children. They come in supersize cans made only for individual may have had, not directly from the drink alone. The the brave, as well as the same contents being crammed into Food and Drug Administration has so far been unable to make a hard-core, super-quick 60mlshot. Red Bull’s website suggests a causal link between any of the energy drinks sold in Britain you drink their drinks ‘On the road, during lectures and study and the deaths in question, and if in the future they do, that sessions, at work, while doing sports, playing video games or drink will be ruled unsafe and withdrawn from the supermarket going out day or night’. So for teenage boys, it appears they shelves. Until then, the risk of guzzling energy drinks in large should be drank pretty much constantly, making clear that they quantities and mixing them with alcohol is something we should are Red Bull’s main target audience. These are the people, be aware of. Using them as a substitution to sleep or food is slightly stereotypically, that are most likely to go over the top also likely to cause you problems, but as the evidence currently and glug their products like water, can after can. Compare this stands, the answer appears to be everything in moderation. to the sophisticated coffee market, where supposedly middle- 9 Q MAKING WAVES Danielle Wickham reports on Cardiff Surf Club’s recent successes at the BUCS Surf Championships and why surfing may just be the sport for you

‘Haven’t seen this time in a while’, I thought, clambering out of with some novices just in there having fun, thrown in amongst the surf lodge’s triple bunk bed at 6.30am on Friday morning. some real seasoned competitors who showed competence and It was the opening day of the BUCS Surf championships, one flow on each of the waves they surfed. Alice Brown and Frankie of the biggest surf contests in Europe. The best thing about the Pioli both seamlessly sailed through to the next Round. Frankie contest is that it is a real eye-opener to competitive surfing, which in particular had a belter of a heat, scoring an 8.5 followed by has been previously overlooked in the sporting world. This year a 9.0, which was the highest scoring wave of the day. Frankie saw 348 competitors, along with hoards of other swell-seeking continued to wave goodbye to the competition all the way barrel-bandits, make the trek to take over the infamous Fistral through to the finals on Sunday, where she was the only Cardiff Beach for a weekend of surf, a little bit of sunshine, and Sailors’ trooper still standing in the competition. Pioli battled through Nightclub. a tough final, and was placed fourth overall: a great result for As the Cardiff convoy pulled into Fistral beach car park Cardiff Uni. at stupid-o-clock on Friday morning, the tired grumbles and Despite most of the team spending much of the weekend’s groans about overpriced car parking were silenced by the sight contest on the bench, the bright side was that Mother Ocean of perfect 6ft sets rolling in, groomed by a fresh offshore wind, was offering some tasty waves up and down the coast for us, which was luckily set to stick with us for the weekend. Everyone which the pros, beginners and body-boarders alike could lap was eagerly pulling on wetsuits in no time and Team Cardiff up. So the rest of the weekend was spent pulling on those was in the water within ten minutes, battling with hundreds of wet sandy wetsuits and surfing some really great waves. The other student surfers, and the odd grumpy local, to catch some BUCS weekend was a really good way for everyone in the waves before their first heat. It was safe to say the swell was club to surf together and get to know each other both in and solid, and the Cardiff team was looking on top form for the out of the water. I strongly encourage anyone to join the surf contest. To be honest, I think everyone was just excited to surf club at Cardiff, or at least just have a go if you’ve never surfed in some clean water. If you’ve ever been to Porthcawl in South before, because I can guarantee, and any other surfer will say Wales you will understand that being able to see the surf board the same, that surfing makes your life better. The benefits of the you are sat on is a real treat. sport are endless: getting a tan, building back and shoulder By 9am, Round 1 of the Men’s competition had kicked muscles without sweating it out in the gym, the buzz you get off, with the first few heats already in the water. The day’s after every wave, and not to mention that a beer always tastes conditions provided an excellent contest platform, so without a million times better after a surf. a doubt the judges were looking for some high-performance So after an epic few days of sick waves and Spoons’ dinners, power surfing. The Cardiff boys seemed to tick all of the boxes, everyone was surfed out and it was time to say bye bye to with most of the guys making it through to Round 2. Ollie Newquay for another year. Despite not achieving the best team White managed to fly the Cardiff flag the longest by breezing result, we had some excellent individual performances at the through to Round 3, until unfortunately getting knocked out by I can guarantee contest that everyone was stoked about. While the weekend’s some solid competition from the likes of Falmouth and Welsh that surfing pumping waves certainly provided a perfect stage for the rivals Swansea Uni. However without a doubt, the standout experienced surfers to showcase their talent to the crowd, of the day was the brave bloke who showed determination will make your the competition was also a fantastic opportunity for students and commitment (or maybe he lost a bet) by surfing his heat of all abilities to experience a prestigious surf event, or even wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts. life better. Any try surfing for the first time. The chilled vibe of the weekend With around 50 men’s heats, it felt like a long day waiting other surfer will attracts more and more student surfers each year purely for the around for the woman’s heats to get underway. However, after experience, which I think is really positive in that more people spending the day fueling up on pasties, we were all pumped to say the same. want to get involved in the sport and be a part of that laid back, get in the water. The standard of the girls contest was very mixed, sometimes-sunny, beach-bum lifestyle we all love to live, dude. Q 10 LIFESTYLE LGBT+ TRANS*GENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Members of the Cardiff University trans*community have come to commemorate Trans*gender Day of Remembrance, or TDoR. Here are a collection of anonymous pieces, written with the aim of fostering understanding of the event and the community at large REMEMBERING RITA HESTER

In 1998, an African American trans*woman named Rita Hester was murdered trans*community are most vulnerable to the rampant, almost casual violence at her home in Boston. Hester was a popular figure in the local community, that leaves so many injured or dead each year. Trans*women, and other and her brutal stabbing by an unidentified man prompted a huge outpouring gender variant people who were designated male at birth, are targeted of grief; that December, a candlelit vigil and a march were organised in her most frequently for a variety of reasons. They often find it difficult to ‘pass,’ memory in her neighbourhood of Allston. She was far from the first person in i.e. to blend in as women without drawing attention for ‘looking trans*’. the US to die as a result of trans*phobic violence and barely a week went by Trans*women are also more prevalent in the public consciousness than without news of another victim, but something about this particular tragedy trans*men, with the former finding themselves the butt of endless mockery in moved the hearts of trans*gender and cisgender people alike. mainstream media while the latter tend to go ignored. However trans*men, This was not to be the limit of Hester’s impact on the trans* rights movement. and other gender variant people who were designated female at birth, still The next year, around the anniversary of her death, activists in San Francisco end up on the receiving end of trans*phobic violence, albeit in smaller organised another memorial event dedicated to everyone who had lost their numbers. This year’s remembrance list includes Evon Young, a rapper from lives in trans*phobic attacks during the intervening year. This was the origin Milwaukee whose body was dumped in a skip by his killers. of the Trans*gender Day of Remembrance (TDoR). An annual opportunity to TDoR exists not only as a tribute to the dead of this and previous years, but raise awareness of anti-trans* hate crime while honouring its victims, TDoR also acts to highlight the attitudes that killed them. The individual murderers is observed around the world on November 20th, typically with evening in each of these cases share responsibility with a wider culture of ignorance vigils at which the names of the dead are read aloud by volunteers. The list, and prejudice against trans* people. The mindset of a comedian who invites which is available online, is chilling in both its content and its sheer length. audiences to laugh at the stereotype of a trans* sex worker with facial hair More than a decade after Rita Hester’s death, other trans*women of colour or a deep voice is not comparable to that of a client who beats and kills her, still make up a large proportion of those to be remembered, and like her, but it is easy to see how one dehumanising act prepares the ground for the many of the victims are reported to be sex workers. These sections of the other. A LEARNING EXPERIENCE TDoR is an opportune moment for trans*people to share leave scars. If a trans*person decides to show you their don’t tell you what it is then please respect that it is from their experiences and let you know exactly how the surgery results do not pass negative comments about a part of my life I don’t want to talk about. community would like to be treated. Obviously it does their scars. Scars fade, your words might not. It is never ok to ask a trans*person about their genitals. vary from person to person, but until you really know If a trans*person discloses their trans*status to you Ever. You should not ask people what sex they were someone and they tell you otherwise, here are some then you must never tell someone else about it. A lot of assigned at birth, what they currently have in their pants good tips to follow to ensure you’re respecting everyone. people prefer to live without others knowing their medical or any questions relation to their sexual organs. Think One thing to remember is that trans*people are just that history and it is not your place to tell other people about about a question before you ask it, if it was addressed to – people! Although there will no doubt be sensitivities it. It is 100% up to the trans*person about who they you and you think it would make you feel uncomfortable surrounding certain topics of conversation, overall they tell and how much the tell them. You must respect their then it is never ok to ask someone else that question too. are just like you or me. So treat trans*people as you choices about who they tell. Outing someone can cause If you are unsure on what someone’s pronouns are would anyone else: with respect! a lot of problems for the person, some of which you may then ask, do not just guess: people are happy to tell Every trans* person takes a different transition path. have not realise. If you don’t know if someone knows, you their preferred pronouns. If you accidentally use a Many may choose to live without any kind of medical or assume they don’t. wrong pronoun, correct yourself, apologise and move surgical intervention, this does not make them any less If it comes to your attention that I am trans*then please on. Never argue with someone about what pronouns of a man/woman/other. Transition is not as simple as don’t ask me what my ‘real’ name is. My real name is they use, or say that their pronouns aren’t real, or that a ‘sex change operation’, so please refrain from using the name you use to address me on a day-to-day basis they’re too hard for you to use. If you don’t know how that term. You do not need to know how someone is – what you are looking for is my previous name or birth to use someone’s pronouns, ask them how to. Pronouns transitioning, what surgeries they have or haven’t had name. If I decide to tell you what it is then you should are very important to many trans*people and using the unless they are happy to tell you. Many surgeries will never use it or talk to me about it unless I say it’s ok, if I correct ones makes a huge difference. Q 11 “As a woman I am sensual and sexy. As a man I am more... plain.” - Andrej Pejic (Non-binary model) Skinnies, shirt and jacket. Too masculine. Bit of eyeliner. Too feminine. Tie. and more people are realising sexuality is fluid, why is it that gender is so Boots. Gelled hair. Necklace. I give up. rigidly defined? Looking at yourself in the mirror and trying to see how the rest of the world I read someone’s opinion once that said people need to know someone’s will view you is something I face every morning. Having a non-female, non- sex/gender to know if they can trust, respect or be attracted to said person, male person look back at me from that reflective frame and trying to fit every which makes me wonder why we can’t just be attracted to who we are attracted aspect and the overall enjambment into male or female is both painful and to, or why not identifying as one of the binary genders all the time would make difficult for me. us less respectable? I get read as anything from a gay male, to a straight female; from a butch However, my opinion on the matter is that non-binary identities are less lesbian to a joke. I never get read as who I am; a non-binary trans*person. accepted because of the very nature of our language and the way society has The way our society works is by putting everyone in boxes, whereas I just don’t brought us up, as opposed to our rarity. Words we use in everyday life can be have one. very gendered, for example: He. She. Girlfriend. Father. Actress. Policeman. The majority of people think there are only two genders – male and female, However, I think with just a little effort we can stop gendering everything. They. but this is not the case. Non-binary identities include a whole range from a mix Partner. Police officer. Thespian. of male and female, to neither, to changing between them, to another gender This transformation of language and the way people perceive it has already entirely; the possibilities really are endless! While the percentage of people begun with the feminist movement. Society no longer automatically assumes who do not identify as male or female all the time is incredibly small (<1%), that doctors or mechanics are male, or that air stewards and nurses are should that mean these identities are forgotten about or ignored? female, and it is this sort of thinking that would help the non-binary acceptance I can assure you now there are people reading this thinking ‘this isn’t a real movement progress tenfold. gender’. I can also assure you that I’ve had that thought plenty of times. I have I would like to add that I’m not saying to always gender-neutralise terms tried my hardest to persuade myself I am male or female, to try and fit in with for everybody - as this exacerbates the problem and undermines people who the stereotypes or ‘gender roles’ of either of those two genders. No matter how do identify as the gender binaries! But I just wish to raise the point that these hard I have tried, I just cannot; I have learnt to accept that this is who I am. I words exist and thatw we should use them more; when you aren’t sure of have tried to change this, and so now I feel it is society’s turn. someone’s gender; when talking about a population; when someone explicitly Society accepts the concept of atheists and asexuals, so why not accept asks for these pronouns or terms. those who are agender? People who are bisexual at least receive serious I feel like if we all just open our minds before our mouths, then together we media representation, so are those who are bigender sidelined? When more can make a massive difference to people’s lives. Q 12 LIFESTYLE IN THE MEDIA LGBT+ ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

This TV series has made headlines with the number of boundaries it has pushed in the tv world. Suryatapa Mukherjee I watched the entire first season of Orange is the New and so do their relationships - same-sex or otherwise. commendable how the show depicts her journey, leaving Black in a couple of days. And I have to say, I’m There are people who make homophobic and little room for stereotyping. Her relationship with her wife impressed. transphobic statements, but those are not given much is very complicated and refreshing. They do not stop It does a very good job of representing women, credit. The homosexual, and transgendered characters being a couple even after Burset decides to transition - women of colour, transwomen and women of varying are made, if not always likeable, at least definitely her son is not as understanding, clearly hating her for it. sexual orientations. That, right there, is quite impressive understandable. They are not stereotyped, unnecessarily When, due to budget cuts, her exogenous estrogen for any single show to successfully handle. dramatized, or used for comic relief. dosage is reduced, she goes to great lengths for help; “If When the season starts off, it could have easily In spite of being constantly labelled ‘lesbian,’ ‘ex- I don’t get my medication, I’m going through withdrawal flown into the usual storyline of lesbian relationships lesbian’ and ‘straight,’ Piper never once identifies - hot flashes, night sweats, my face will sag, my body being portrayed as sexual deviancy. Piper Chapman with any of them. When her best friend says that she hair will start to grow back... I have given five years, could easily have become the ‘nice, blond lady’ who might turn gay again, she says, “You don’t just turn eighty-five hundred dollars and my freedom for this... I had a ‘lost-soul, post-college, adventure phase’ with a gay, you fall somewhere on a spectrum, like a Kinsey can’t go back.” No one understands. dangerous drug-importing lesbian who ultimately led scale.” Some might argue that it leads to bi-erasure, She says that she wants to see a doctor, saying, “This her into trouble. But it does not. as bisexuality is never discussed, but I’d give it time. It is an emergency.” The reply comes, “Ya, well, we don’t After she comes into prison, gay people continue looks like Chapman is finding herself - and as many of see it that way.” It portrays how transitioning is viewed looking menacing for a little while - as Chapman is stalked us bisexuals know, that takes some time. as a luxury, an option - rather than a necessity. Sophia and wooed by Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ - but so do straight Piper’s heterosexual relationship is sometimes directly Burset nicely expresses how much of a necessity it really people. There is Joe Caputo, the prison counselor, who pitted against her homosexual one - both on a physical is. It makes the viewers root for her, be hopeful that she’ll masturbates in his office and crushes on a much younger and an emotional plane - and the second never comes get her estrogen dosage, disliking each person who correctional officer. There is ‘Pornstache’ Mendez who off as lesser than the first. turns her down. It makes the viewers understand. sexually harasses prison inmates every chance he gets. The show’s transgendered character is played by And that is where OITNB really wins: It makes you The characters become multi-layered and complicated, a transgendered actor - impressive, again. It is highly understand.

Jack Oakley talks about the trans* character in Waterloo Road and where the BBC went horribly wrong I am going to admit to one of my guilty reasonable job of showing some of the me very angry. Robbie eventually decides BBC will be responsible for adding to the pleasures, and please try not to judge! I difficulties faced by a trans* person during that they are not actually trans*, and that it already horrific number of transphobic watch Waterloo Road. This school-based the early stages of coming out - from the was all a mistake. This didn’t annoy me as attacks that take place all over the country. drama has been on the BBC since 2006, difficulties with family, through to bullying much as you would think: after all, gender Gender identity can has won numerous awards and enjoys from some of the more ignorant members identity can be a very confusing twhing for a viewership of approximately 5 million. of the school. a lot of people, particularly when they are be a very confusing Over the years, the show has covered many They have implied that young. What really did annoy me was how difficult issues, but when they revealed this change of heart came about. Robbie is thing for a lot of people, earlier this year that one of their characters being trans* is a phase, attacked and beaten up, suddenly bringing particularly when they was trans*, I must admit I got very excited; on the “realisation” that they are actually after all this is the BBC and with its large and is something that can a girl after all. This is such a dangerous are young. viewership this storyline could have a great be beaten out of a person approach, and I hope the BBC realise impact upon people and their understanding exactly what they have done. They have I will admit, I had always expected better of trans* issues. However, the staff were very supportive, implied that being trans* is a phase, and of the BBC, and thought that they would This was to be the second time they and at first it seemed the BBC may have is something that can be beaten out of a encourage education and understanding followed the story of a trans* child, but cracked it and shown the public an insight person. This is of course complete nonsense, of one of the most persecuted groups in hopefully this time they would do it correctly. into the life of a trans* schoolchild. My and instead of the storyline encouraging society. But no, they would rather stir up The story followed Kacey, who came out as hopes were so high for this storyline, but trans* understanding and inclusion, it has further misunderstanding and potentially, Robbie, a transgender student transitioning then the BBC blew it, and managed to do it given its viewers dangerous ideas, and if even violence. Unacceptable behaviour, from female to male. The BBC did a in such a spectacularly damaging way it left even one viewer takes it onboard then the BBC. 13 Q STEPHEN FRY: OUT THERE

Sophie Lodge reviews Stephen Fry’s documentary on the status of LGBT+ people around the world, while also reflecting on their lives here in the UK. Stephen Fry has always been a prominent speaker in the LGBT+ Out There demonstrates how harmless and human these community; but this year, he explored more than just British communities are. They have families, children, and lives homosexuality by creating a two part documentary on the that have been destroyed by homophobic crimes. This is persecution of the gay community around the world, speaking important not only for those watching overseas who may to both the victims of homophobic crimes and the politicians ignore their own country’s homophobia, but also for us in the seeking to enforce homophobic laws again them. UK to see that victims of homophobic crimes are not faceless The overarching theme within the series is the ridiculousness anomalies. As Fry states, here in the UK we may have accepted of homophobia. From a grandmother in India who didn’t care the LGBT+ community in terms of legal rights, but it is society’s if her grandson had a relationship with a man or a woman as opinion that now needs to change. Research by Galop in long as they came from a good background, to the haunting August 2013 found that 98 homophobic and transphobic story of a fourteen year old Ugandan girl who was raped to crimes are reported each week in the UK, and this figure is show her ‘how to be with men’ - and consequently became doubled if you count crimes that haven’t been reported. If this is pregnant and contracted HIV. It emphasises the unprovoked the case in a developed, liberal, modern society like ours where and terrifying attacks many members of the gay community homosexuality is legal, it is terrifying to think of the conditions have had to suffer, and the ignorance of those in power, who LGBT+ members across the world have to live in. There were are in some cases helping this persecution. The laws in Russia, even countries the BBC were advised against filming in. It is for example, which make it impossible for young gay teenagers shocking to think that the cases Fry examines are not the most to seek any help or guidance in regards to their sexuality. extreme examples. What resonated with me was Fry’s comment that many In an interview with the BBC after filming Out There, Fry nations present the gay community as ‘sub-human’; I couldn’t asks, “Why do we take time off from what is already a difficult help but notice the parallels between this and the persecution business, that of survival, to group together to pick on, bully of the Jews in the 1930s and 40s. Many homophobes that Fry and marginalise people who can do us no harm?” This is interviews (most of whom are in powerful positions within their in essence how many people feel about homophobia, community) see the gay community as a threat that will take and hopefully Out There may encourage people to over society; that the gay community are trying to ‘recruit’, but support gay rights more openly. SPEAKING TRANS*

With the advent of social media, everybody can simultaneously produce and consume media. Lubna Anani looks at how this has helped trans* people represent themselves and reach out to each other through YouTube. from around the world, transgendered it is the emotional journey that is clear. others’ perceptions of transgendered YouTubers have formed a strong, niche In a 2010 video entitled “it gets better!”, people, and, by extension, avidly talks group among the growing community of he offers hope and support to viewers in about sexism and violence against women. vloggers. In this manner, they often feel like similar situations to his, saying, “Today I The multitude of trans-related videos a conversation between intimate friends, feel like I’m on top of the world...and my available on YouTube are not only casual and unscripted. Topics discussed soul is so happy…Just know that it gets a resource of useful information and range from serious heartfelt commentary better.” personal experiences, but have brought such as coming-out stories and dealing On the other end of the spectrum is Julie together an active online community made with feelings of suicide and discomfort, Vu (username: princessjoules), a makeup up of thousands of people supporting to lighter subjects such as makeup and artist and aspiring model whose videos on each other in their transitions. This support haircuts. It is essentially a safe space where YouTube have garnered her over 92,000 extends beyond words to include action. trans* people are given carte blanche to subscribers. Trans* YouTubers such as emqism and discuss anything. Vu began posting videos on YouTube uppercaseCHASE1, who looked to get Teenagers struggling with their sexual One of the most popular of those three years ago, revolving mainly around expensive transgender surgery but did orientation often find solace watching content creators is Skylar Kergil (username makeup tutorials, comedy sketches, and not have the means to pay for it, have set shows like The L Word and Queer as Folk skylarkeleven). Kergil began posting time spent bonding with her little sister. But up fundraising accounts. The outpouring which, while flawed artistically, present a videos on his channel in early 2009, as it wasn’t until a year later that she came of generosity from people held testament range of different storylines dealing with a way to document his medical transition out publicly as transgendered (M.T.F). to the power and influence of online real social issues in the gay community. from female to male (F.T.M). His first video, In a video entitled “Transgender”, she communities. Transgendered people, however, often taken the same day he was injected with declared, “I’m coming out to all of you as Traditional media is no longer the have a harder time finding resources with his first testosterone shot, shows the ecstatic a transgendered person…I see myself as dominant dictator of how minority hardly any trans* visibility in the media. teenager talking about the experience. a girl inside. I was born physically male people are represented to society. This Luckily, gone are the days of watching “This morning I injected testosterone into but I am one hundred per cent female is especially true for trans* people, who Oprah specials and dodgy documentaries my body. So today is my first day being on the inside.” Announcing her plans to have dealt with both negligence and featuring middle-aged men who – with a born, I guess,” he enthuses. “I’m an start transitioning to a female, Vu began distorted representations by the media. sudden dislike of all things virile – abandon Obama baby!” posting videos on the effects of hormone Nowadays, one only has to google the their sports in favour of their wives’ closets. Later videos document his physical replacement therapy (HRT) on her body, word ‘transgender’ and an endless list Trans* people across the gender spectrum and emotional changes on testosterone as well as other updates, among the most of YouTube videos will appear. Through have taken matters into their own hands, therapy over four years, his voice sounding popular being “Being a girl”, “My first putting their privacy aside and documenting using YouTube to document their transitional considerably lower in each video, his facial bikini!”, and “Lingerie Haul!”, depicting their transitional journeys online, trans* journeys and talk about the serious issues hair growing and his body becoming more milestones for many girls growing up. people exemplify the endless possibilities neglected by the media. muscular, culminating in “top surgery” Exuding confidence and femininity, Vu also available for one to lead a happy life, With thousands of videos posted and a hysterectomy. But more importantly, uses her platform to focus on changing however they identify. Q 14 LIFESTYLE COLUMNIST

seriously. And why not? You can do everything online these days, so COLUMN ROAD why shouldn’t that stretch to dating? I’ve personally never felt any desire to dive into the world of matchmaking sites, but a few of my friends with Helen Griffiths have ventured there. It’s actually worked out rather well for one or two of them. One friend, for example, went on a couple of dates with a guy she met through online dating and ended up seeing him for a really long time. So I don’t know, maybe they’re on to something. Just to take it one step further, the popularity of dating apps is also spreading like wildfire. Yep, you read that correctly, DATING APPS - because, of course, there is now an app for EVERYTHING. You may have heard of the likes of Tinder and Grindr – if not, as far as I can gather, they work on the basis of flicking through images of guys/girls and selecting the ones that catch your interest as you go. Kind of like a dating version of Instagram, except that selfies are encouraged rather than frowned upon! Again, I know people who have gleaned actual dates from interaction on these apps. There’s one for the grandkids, eh? “He liked my Tinder profile, and the rest was history”. And they say romance is dead.

Of Mice and Men

A funny thing happened when I was planning this column. Before I launch into storytime, you’re going to need a bit of background info. I do a show on Xpress Radio with Beth Lyons, which we’ve punnily dubbed “The Lyon, the Griff and the Wardrobe”. In the run-up to our first show, Beth and our producer, Kayleigh, made it known that they were planning a “secret If I want to make myself more attractive to the opposite feature” which I was to know nothing about. Sounds ominous, right? It gets worse. You can do everything All of this almost makes the humble art of texting seem outdated, but I online these days. why think we can still agree that it very much has its part to play. I think it’s interesting that texting has become such an integral step in flirtatious interaction; who hasn’t, at some point, questioned a friend about a shouldn’t that stretch to romantic interest and received the reply “well, we’ve been texting quite a lot…”? That’s usually the cue for excited “ooooh”s from any listening dating? parties. Plus, with both texting and Facebook chat comes the (digital) age-old dilemma of deciding how many ‘x’s to send/interpreting how I’d been toying with the idea of writing a piece on the relationship many you’ve been sent. Not to mention the virtual minefield of generally between dating and digital media for a while, so when Beth and trying to work out how messages are meant to be taken – was that Kayleigh revealed live on air that they had, to my dismay, created an sarcastic? Wasn’t it? It’s so hard to tell from behind a screen and online dating profile with my name and photo, the matter was settled. keyboard! Misinterpretation can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings, I’d always known that this “secret feature” was bound to be something and then things just get awkward when you have to try to explain what hideously embarrassing; my lovely co-host and producer had been plotting you meant. “The best laid plans of mice and men”, eh? (I wanted to and sniggering to themselves for a good couple of weeks. But I wasn’t shoehorn that one in somehow… mouse, computer mouse, get it?). expecting this. I mean, there’s no denying that it’s a cracking idea for Another peril (well, more of a faff really) of the digital age is that a radio feature, but bloody hell. I don’t think I’ve ever cringed so much having so many different mediums through which you can potentially in my life. They really went all-out with the profile, too – I’m still having contact someone can get really confusing! There’s a bit in the modern- nightmares over the “about me” section. It was riddled with Game of classic chick flick He’s Just Not That Into You where Drew Barrymore’s Thrones and Great British Bake Off references - which, fair play, are two character is talking about a guy who left her a voicemail, whom she of my favourite shows, but that doesn’t mean I want to be described as then phoned back, then he e-mailed to her Blackberry so she then texted a “hybrid between Danaerys and Mary Berry”! I believe this fake online him… and it all gets a bit out of hand really, until finally she cracks me also stated that her dream would be to open a “zoo-café”, so that she and says “I miss the days when you had one phone number and one could merge her love of dragons and baking. Can’t argue with that logic. answering machine!” I feel your pain, Drew, I do. Of course, that film Needless to say, I was at a complete loss as to how there could be was released a good four years ago, and these days we have even more ANY replies. But a few poor souls did indeed respond, thinking that this mediums to consider – before now, I’ve had simultaneous conversations profile was genuine, which (despite the fact that it made me question their with THE SAME person via text, Whatsapp and Snapchat. As Drew sanity) was rather flattering. It turns out A LOT of people take online dating concludes, “it’s exhausting”. 15 Q Whether it is small pendants, or oversized totes; accessories can Charlie Mock has been scouring the highstreet for your accessory essentails Accessory Spy

1. Vintage style Knot earrings 4 statement necklace hands. pricey (Micheal Kors watches start at . Though this pair is from Topshop, you’ll £170), you can guarantee that you’ll Perfect for nights out and an easy way be sure to find similar earrings in all 7. skull Midi Ring wear it to the very end. to add a bit of colour to an otherwise high street stores. The simple style goes We said it’s all about rings didn’t we? So with everything and can be used to why not cram on as many as possible 10. stegosaurus Ring dress up or down! with a midi ring or two. River Island’s If you’re looking for something that’s

5. Medicine Bag selection is wide and moderately a little different then take a trip

2. Croc Print Doc Martens As winter draws ever nearer, we’re priced. down to H&M. Cheap and cheerful Everyone needs a pair of Doc Martens making the move from our lightweight (mostly), with a bit of a twist on what in their wardrobe. Hardwearing and summer bags to a heavier, darker 8. suede tassel Boots you’ll find in the other high street incredibly comfy, they are very versatile number. Top of the list for us is a good It’s time to purchase a pair of winter stores. and look great with a cute pair of lace old medicine bag. Topshop have a boots. Don’t be afraid of suede! Get a socks. lovely collection (pictured bag is £40) good shoe protector from Clarke’s or 11. Vintage Chains but search around Cardiff Fashion the like and your new friends will stay Search around the charity shops 3 Casio Digital Watch Quarter and you’ll be sure to find a intact. and you’ll undoubtedly come across . We all love the 90s, let’s admit it. So why second-hand one with a bit of character. some treasures. These gold chains not add a bit of your favourite decade 9. Michael Kors Watch came to a total of £5 from Oxfam to your daily outfits. It’s black, it goes 6. eagle Ring Who doesn’t love an indulgent and are perfect with a patterned

with everything, you can’t go wrong. It’s all about rings. Rings with everything. accessory? There’s nothing better to collar. Available in Urban Outfitters and Argos. This cute little eagle ring is from Topshop splash out on than a reliable (and and is a great way to jazz up your incredibly beautiful) watch. Though Q 16 LiFestyLe Fast Fashion Fashion Fashion on the go: @QuenchFashion PRIMARK A/W TREND WATCH: TARTAN As winter draws near, the latest impact and originality to the look. fashion trends have been looking Pushing the look forward into towards the wild and windy the future, we also see the Club Highlands for inspiration. Whether Kid spin on the tartan trend, taking you wear it prim and proper or classic patterns and transforming punk pretty, tartan has become one them with clashing neon colours of the most versatile and dramatic and bright, bold embellishment. looks to surface recently. One One of the best high street of the most prominent takes on interpretations of this look has the tartan trend draws influence to be Topshop’s sequin check from gritty skinhead classic pencil skirt, a dazzling display This Is England, mixing traditional of contrasting blue, orange and checks with androgynous silver checks that dramatically silhouettes, washed-out denim, encapsulates this futuristic take on and, of course, a trusty pair of tartan. Emerging tartan accessories well-worn Doc Martens. Style appear to draw upon the innocence spots include cut up checked crop of childhood, reminiscent of tops, tight tartan pencil skirts and schoolgirl scrunchies and Rupert chequered dungarees dresses the Bear’s yellow checked scarf. paired with ripped fishnets. However it is worn, this new As well as this, the trend looks chequered trend provides a back to the prim pleats of the diverse and dramatic approach past, matching perfectly pressed to wintry textiles, so wrap up tartan skirts and fitted, cropped warm and walk into winter. jackets with bold and brash gold accessories to add some Francesca Gardner

MOVEMBER November is a month of Every morning of this grooming kits are available Alternatively, using mascara optimism. Halloween is month, men up and from the Movember website on your budding stubble done and Christmas is down the country will be (http://uk.movember.com) will help it look thicker and weeks away, but more staring intently into the that will provide you with more impressive, although importantly, it’s Movember. bathroom mirror, willing a comb, scissors and wax. it’s not as advisable to be To the uninitiated, their moustache to blossom The comb is important to seen applying it in public. Movember is, in their into a glorious mo’ to rival help straighten out the hair For those blessed with words, ‘responsible for Tom Sellick, Ron Burgundy and prevent it from curling, thick luscious facial fur, the sprouting of millions or Charles Bronson. making it look longer and Movember is yours for the of moustaches… to raise However, many of us end more prominent. An added taking. You are our role vital funds and awareness up regressing back into 14 positive is that there’s models, so make sure you for prostate and testicular year old boys who haven’t something inherently sign on the Movember cancer and mental health’. learnt how to shave. But masculine about pulling website and upload Movember is a fantastic fear not, as the Movember out a comb and sorting photos of imaginative way to raise money for movement grows year out your moustache as facial hair designs. Extra an important cause, on year (unlike my facial you walk down the street. bonuses for anyone willing but the stark reality is hair), there are now a The use of wax will only to sport a handlebar that some people grow host of options for the really help towards the moustache for the month. crap facial hair. I would facial-follickly-challenged end of the month when it know; I’m one of them. amongst us. Moustache comes to styling your mo’. Conor Brown 17 Q Should Sex Sell?

FaShion iS about Freedom and the choice to wear what we want; we Shouldn’t be conStrained by other people’S viewS

anne porter Via The sexualisation of fashion has Miley Cyrus), to leather, PVC, and If fashion is sexualised, then surely become an issue of great debate thigh-high boots that Puss in Boots this will give us more confidence as recently. I see it as a positive thing, would be proud of. individuals. Our fashion industry as we can interpret fashion in any Of course, some countries do not thrives on providing us with the way that we want to. As a nation, allow for such provocative tastes to choice to personalise our own style Britain loves sex. So now that our be a part of the fashion industry. (that said, Primark seems to do a fashion industry is becoming more For some, the burka or niqab, roaring trade among students, sexualised, why are people so amongst other religious dress, are making many of us look very shocked? everyday clothes. While some similar). Fashion is about freedom and women embrace the fact that they Arguably, we could be worrying the choice to wear what we want, must wear such dress, others feel over nothing here. According to the and what we feel good in. Surely resentment. We should be able to British Fashion Council, the fashion we shouldn’t be constrained by utilise our freedom to dress as we industry is worth £21 billion, so other people’s views on our own choose. surely there are bigger things to fashion tastes? It’s fair to say, us Our tastes in fashion are often worry about than how sexualised Brits love to dabble in sexualised influenced by feeling attractive. our fashion industry is becoming. fashion tastes. From underwear as We wear what makes us feel Saving our country from its current outerwear (as long you’re wearing good, or what allows us to create a debt might be a good place to start actual clothes - looking at you, certain impression about ourselves. – so let’s go shopping. Q 18 liFeStyle FaShion & beauty

Fashion is undeniably becoming more sexualised. With hemlines getting shorter and necklines getting lower, there seems to be a growing desire to flash the flesh. Is this new fad a confidence boost or is it promoting a warped and unrealistic image of beauty? Anne Porter and Olivia Thomas discuss the trend that has taken the fashion industry by storm.

there’S SomethinG Sad in the current belieF that barinG SKin iS the only way to looK beautiFul olivia thomas Via Crop tops, hot pants and bralets – themselves, is pretty important? The sexual attractiveness and raunchy without a doubt the past summer has fashion industry and media exert outfits than actual talent. But Miley been one of flesh-baring fashion. immense pressure on women to try isn’t the only culprit of smothering Sexualisation is everywhere in the and conform to what they define her talent in trashy outfits and fashion industry and although this as “beautiful” or “fashionable” bad hairstyles. In her new music issue isn’t a new one, it is growing – regardless of whether this video Pour It Up, Rihanna rocks a more prominent, with barely involves throwing decency and particularly revealing diamond bra dressed women splashed across modesty out of the window. With and denim thong whilst “twerking” every billboard and magazine trendsetters like Miley Cyrus and to a backdrop of strippers and cover, as marketers try to convince Rihanna battling to see who can pole dancers. Beautiful as she is, women and young girls that this is wear the least, girls are being fed Rihanna, as with so many other beauty. distorted images of what is actually celebs and models, has allowed Without going on a feminist rant, fashionable. her image to become centred there is certainly something sad in Miley Cyrus’ recent attempt at solely on sex appeal. the current belief that baring skin conveying a “bad girl” image The bottom line is: women need is the only way to look beautiful. through poor outfit choices and a reminder that less isn’t always But what’s the big deal? near nudity is a perfect example more and that fashion is about the Well, surely how women are of how the fashion (and music) clothes, not wearing as little as is viewed by men, and how they view industry is based more around legally possible. 19 Q The year of the Buffalo

It comes as no surprise that the majority of students have to shop with a restricted budget, but that does not mean our style has to be at a loss. Buffalo Boutique to revamp their style. Out with the old and in with the vintage… Quench Fashion spoke to Kay Russant of Buffalo Boutique about smart tailoring, independent brands and the Cardiff fashion community.

Firstly, Kay, tell me a little bit about to current trends. We also wanted to give new corporate shops still smothering the high yourself? brands a chance to get themselves out there too! street. However, there have been signs I do a bit of freelance marketing in events for fashion of independent labels becoming popular. in Cardiff. I’ve done stuff for Cardiff Fashion Week How do you find the designers and What is the future for independent shops, and Cardiff Fashion Quarter. But I’ve done loads stall holders who showcase at Buffalo in your view? of bits and pieces; working with Buffalo Boutique Boutique? (Do you scout them, or do they Independent shopping has been very popular we’ve worked with Puma, UO and Topshop – just come to you?) recently, with shoppers desperate to find something advertising their brands and bringing it to students It’s a mix, we get a lot of people emailing us after unique and different. The bigger shops are also I guess. coming to a previous event, or a friend suggesting trying to get a slice of this market, with Urban it to them. I spend a lot of time scouring Etsy, Outfitters having their own vintage (renewal) range, What was your reason behind starting ASOS marketplace and facebook looking for new and Topshop has also been opening their doors to Buffalo Boutique? designers or vintage sellers to refresh stock every new independent brands in their concessions. We wanted to offer a late night shopping event month and keep building the BB network. Being an independent is all about community and where you could come to socialise, drink and find working together; we all club together to help each a bargain. We encourage our sellers to keep prices It is very difficult to succeed as an other out and to get as many people involved to low and suggest stock ideas so that they can tailor independent shop, especially with help spread the word. That’s what makes things like Q 20 LIFESTYLE FASHION & BEAUTY

BS8 in Bristol and Cardiff Fashion Quarter in Cardiff lot of girls have beautifully collared shirts and the successful. Are there any independent brands we structured tailoring is very nice ‘Cardiff’ fashion. should keep an eye out for next year? How do you think Buffalo Boutique has I love These Folk, who do fun t-shirt prints with What lies ahead for BB? Any events we helped to showcase aspiring designers and cats, beards and Mean Girls quotes. They have should pencil into our diaries? stalls? (giving them publicity, networking, expanded to crops for the summer and hoodies for The next event is on the 2nd December which will be etc?) the fall; we’re super excited to see what’s going to a Movember special, with a focus on menswear (as I’d like to think that we have given them a platform come next from them. I should also mention that well as all the usual ace stalls for us girls!). The last to introduce themselves to the Cardiff fashion we have some amazing artists who sell prints too, one of the year is on the 9th December, where you community. We get a lot of bloggers at the event including Reunited Designs who do intricate patterns will be able to pick up tons of great Christmas gift who we encourage to talk to our sellers and to and bespoke designs. ideas for £20 or less. get involved, as well as all the shoppers who are desperate for something new. We promote What do you think about Cardiff fashion; CUTV covered the event for ‘Dressing the ‘Diff’ - everything online too, which has been really what is the statement Welsh style? check out their YouTube channel: CardiffUnionTV helpful with some of our custom sellers like Mati I think the preppy style is quite Welsh, I’ve got my Stuff, who does most of their work online. dungaree dresses and can’t get enough of it. A

Make sure to check out their next event: 2nd December at Buffalo Bar

21 Q BeautySpot

Make up trends have changed and developed somewhat over the years. Quench Fashion Kirsty Fardell contributor, takes you on a tour of two of the most prominent decades of the century..

Make up in the 1960’s was Today these looks are still all about the dramatic eye. A used but with a more updated strongly defined eye on both method. Lana Del Rey is 1960S the upper and lower lid with a almost always wearing a 60’s feline flick was essential, with inspired look with a nude lip Twiggy making the darkened and dramatically lined eyes, eyelid crease fashionable. but the dark crease line has False lashes became an been updated by using a dark important accessory for both eye shadow which is heavily top and bottom lashes and blended, so the definition is still white eyeliner was used on the there but appears more subtle. waterline to make eyes appear Katy Perry is often wearing larger. heavy eyeliner on her top lid Eye shadows were always with a perfect flick in the outer matte, often with white used corner as well as voluptuous on the upper lid to contrast the false lashes, but chooses bold dark crease line which was shimmery eye shadow colours never blended. Lips were kept over the matte look to contrast very pale in beige-pink nudes, her eye colour. The bold brow corals and peaches, which has taken off recently with help matched a pale blush on the from Cara Delevingne and Rita cheeks. Again, they were all Ora, and white eye liner is still made matte much like the eye used on the water line to widen shadows. the eye. A lot of people still Brows ranged from a strong favour a paler lip colour, but a and defined brow like Audrey pillar box red has become a lot Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor, to of celebrities’ statement look. a thin, softer one like Twiggy or Brigitte Bardot.

GET THE LOOK

Eylure Katy Perry ‘Oh My’ False Lashes £5.95 Boots

Revlon Matte Nude Rimmel Exaggerate Attitude, £7.49 Liner, £5.29 Boots Superdrug Q 22 LIFESTYLE 90S GRUNGE FASHION & BEAUTY

Whilst we were running around low maintenance style by wearing in tragic skirt / trouser combos blended smoky eye liner on both with our hair in pig tails, our older the upper and lower lid with a less siblings were embracing the grunge dramatic effect and a pale lip with music and fashion of the 90s much her hair kept slightly messy and to our envy. The crossover of music tousled. Rita prefers a more polished and fashion has meant that both still look with a dark red lip, keeping live on today - it doesn’t take long to her eyeliner clean cut and her hair notice someone wearing a checked in big messy curls. To recreate the shirt in lots of eye liner or for ‘Smells original look use a thick eyeliner Like Teen Spirit’ to dominate a pencil to line your lips and blend dance floor. The patrons of this upwards with an eye shadow brush. look were celebrities like Courtney Add a thin coat of mascara, contour Love and Alanis Morrissette who cheeks with a rusty bronzer and add pioneered the ‘heroin chic’ look. a dark red lip if you’re feeling brave! The look involved using smudgy Then throw on your Doc Martens, a black eye make up to make the eyes vintage shirt, ripped black tights and appear sunken and dark. Skin was a beanie to fully embrace what you kept pale with matte nude lipstick missed out on during your childhood. or a very dark red. Hair was left messy, matted and not straightened. The completed look made its fans look like junkies, much like their idols were in the music industry. Next Issue: Stylish stocking Alexa Chung and Rita Ora often channel a more updated version of the grunge look. Alexa keeps to the

GET THE LOOK

Rimmel Traffic Stopping Eyeshadow, £6.49 Boots

Nails in Bittersweet, £6 Topshop

NARS pure matte lipstick in Amsterdam, £18.50 Nars Cosmetics

Bourjois Effet Smoky Eye Pencil Sparkling Granite, £5.49 Superdrug

23 Q 20 13

cardiffstudents.com/movember #movembercsu

LIFESTYLE FOOD & DRINK COWBRIDGE FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL

Half an hour’s drive from Cardiff is the vibrant market town of Cowbridge, and this year it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its award-winning food and drink festival. The festival has grown and grown since it was founded in 2004, now attracting over 14,000 visitors to its multiplicity of stalls, exploring worldwide cuisines in locally sourced Welsh food, in one delicious weekend. The town takes pride in this now prestigious event, and there’s a strong local feel that drives the attendants and participants. Quench couldn’t resist but joining the flocks of locals and food lovers, and we’ve tried to compile the best of what we experienced for you to enjoy. So get your bibs on, and prepare to be hungry.

Photography: Anne Porter, Alice Rebecca Fairbanks A FESTIVAL Sarah-Jane Salmon FOR FOODIES Food writer gives an account of the richness of

Nestled in the heart of the Vale of Glamorgan, right up my street. Judging from the people jostling Cowbridge is nothing less than a wonderfully to get their hands on them, I’m clearly not the only wholesome and rustic little market town. one with a troublesome penchant for ice cream. It’s also home to the award-winning Cowbridge Churned from the Fablas cows at Michaelston-le- Food and Drink festival, now in its 10th year of Pit, the Jersey milk used to make the ice cream success as people from all over flocked to showcase leaves a silken smooth texture which is then an event to remember. With its concoction of local impregnated with flavours to set your tastebuds arts, culture, live food demonstrations and most alight. The passion for their produce and their importantly, a plethora of delicious eats, it’s truly creativity shines through their flavours of sea refreshing. salted caramel, toffee fudge, banoffee and bounty Armed with hungry appetites, we made our coconut. Some brave but aspirational mixes were way through the bustling marquees dripping with gin and tonic, turkish delight, orange whiskey rich smells, ready to tantalise our weak resolves and even christmas cake. I plumped for a taste and set our bellies roaring. My purse strings were sensation of ferrero rocher, vanilla and snickers. quivering already. After all, it’d be rude not to sample all three! Arriving at the street food courtyard, It was rich, incredibly light and just like creamy mouthwatering smells danced in the air and the velvet in your mouth. If you’re feeling extra atmosphere bristled with energy. Everything naughty, Fablas offer an impressive display of you could imagine was being dished up. From lavish toppings like crumbly chocolate flakes, sticky succulent sausage baps, crispy chicken peanut slivers and so much more. A must for sugar satays, to rich, smoky beef patties, stacked with magpies, you’ll certainly find something to satisfy sweet caramelised onions, oozing with flavours your sweet tooth! of satisfaction. Temptation led me towards the The Chocolate Brownie Company attracted pulled pork burritos which were parcels of utter a mammoth amount of interest throughout the perfection! Nestled in a punchy sauce of juicy entire day. All I could see was a sea of heads flavour and beautifully naughty in all the right and greedy hands, reaching for their anticipated ways, they were down right fun, delicious and hamper boxes. Deciding it was about time to messy. Just how life should be! find out what all the fuss was, I wandered over Traipsing to the middle marquee and guided by to behold the impressive selection on offer. Made a hungry belly, I felt like I was setting foot into with dark Belgian chocolate, they had everything Santa’s grotto. Rows of chocolates, glistening imaginable up for grabs. From honeycomb, ginger fudge, plump organic vegetables and chunks whiskey, orange chocolate crunch, salted caramel of home crafted confectionary teased both my to peanut butter and a fearless chili and lime mix, willpower and budget with their playful winks. there was something for everyone. Clutching my I unearthed an assortment of organic baked boxed beauties and not being able to resist a breads infused with different spices, herbs cheeky taste test, they were gooey, chunky and and flavours. Caroline’s Read Bread Company utterly moreish. specialise in fresh, healthy ingredients to produce As time slipped on, we eventually found ourselves plump, natural breads. My eyes were drawn in the big, jam-packed cheese marquee. Scurrying towards a striking Mediterranean medley and with through the stalls stealing sneaky nibbles, it was only one of them left, I had it tucked snuggly under hard not to be blown away by the extensive range my arm before I knew it. Focaccia made of an on display. The atmosphere was filled with a tangy Italian flatbread base, imbued with basil, portly and explosive aroma which only got us more cherry tomatoes and olive oil, I simply couldn’t excited to get our cheese fix on! wait to tuck into it for dinner. Light, airy with a The winner was hands down the Snowdonia crisp buttery golden crust, it was fabulous warmed Cheese Company, presenting an extensive, full- through in a piping oven. bodied range of Welsh farmhouse cheddars. Next up was Fablas Ice Cream. Anything cold, Tasty, fresh, original and enough to get us all in a 26 creamy and charged with flavour will always be fluster, I had my poor purse whipped out before I Q a winner in my eyes and this stall was definitely could finish my samples. LIFESTYLE FOOD & DRINK

Leading up to the festival, I read on the “campaign for real ale” website how ales can be paired with food, in a similar way to wine. There seems to be a buzz in modern cuisine where the Great British Drink up! Pub, and the quality beers within it, is becoming Behold my chosen top three! Green thunder, Sean Bagnall explores the boozy trendy and appreciated once again. On such an ale infused with garden herbs and heady garlic, stand, Tudor Brewery from Abergavenny, fronted by bouncing berry, laced with ripe succulent berries delights of Cowbridge managing director Jaime C. Devine lured me in with & ginger spice. The latter is a medium cheddar Cowbridge Food Festival. To a native of the middle of their impressive array of real ales. I was given an which when sliced, reveals soft chunks of stem England (like myself) this festival is hardly as famous insight into how real ales can work with great dishes ginger nestled within the cheesy base. Striking a as the likes of Glastonbury, but being a food loving, and we later discussed how British ales are becoming magnificent flavour punch and delicious mopped aspiring amateur food writer, it was only right that a fashionable, quintessential part of modern British up with some orchard apple chutney and crackers, I visited this charming little town to see what it had cuisine. Snowdonia cheeses succeed in both style and to offer. My mission though, was not to look at the substance. wonders and delights of fresh Welsh gourmet foods. Q: Can real ales be paired with food/dishes? Final word of advice? Next year, get yourself No, my mission (as instructed by my Quench Editors) A: “We have seen first hand how the number of down to Cowbridge food and drink festival and was to drink. I wasn’t about to complain. high-end restaurants, bistros and other eateries prepare to relish the charming town at its most To try and paint a picture, it seemed like the entire have embraced this emerging culture and not only vibrant. It’s a must opportunity to mingle, taste and village lived for this weekend. Even the thunder, gusts use ales as a flavouring in their creations, but as an learn about some scrumptious food and then wash and slightly-too-heavy-rain wasn’t enough to dampen accompaniment to the courses being served. Just it all down with some quenching tipples .You won’t its spirit (pardon the pun). Stepping into the main like wine, different blends lend themselves to different be disappointed! food area was like stepping into a savoury Willy Wonka factory - just replace the oompa lumpas dishes. In my own experience, there is nothing better with passionate fine food lovers, all of which oozed than a fully hopped real ale, with a crisp, fresh and friendliness and impressive expert knowledge. A citrus undercurrent alongside a piece of white fish. warming atmosphere. Like a true soldier, I kept my eye on my mission Q: Ok, so what are the rules of thumb? objective and made sure to try out as many drink A: “For beer connoisseurs, the rules of thumb are stands as I could. If you fancied a lengthy drink - similar to those of wine drinkers. The hoppier the ale, real ale was in abundance. Perry and scrumpy the livelier the dish should be, so the flavours of the cider stands stood at the ready to fill your glass. food are not drowned out by the taste of the ales. For A pint of Norman cider from the Gwatkin Cider red meat dishes, look to the maltier, toffee mouthed stand felt like a (very well tasting) time capsule in beers, usually stronger in ABV, which can hold their a glass. Alternatively, one could take an aperitif-like own against the earthy tastes of dark meats. This is beverage, such as damson gin from Tipsy Fruit Gins nothing new; you have heard of steak and ale pie, Ltd or blackcurrant brandies and a framboise from I am sure. the award winning British Cassis - an alcoholic fruit mixer company. There were of course fine wine stands Q: Could you give me an example of how one of and even a champagne lounge (cue jazz music). I’m your ales compliments a dish? also pleased to say I lost both my elderflower wine A: We use our own Blorenge Pale Golden Ale for and spiced mead virginity (both delicious). At 21, I curries and spicier food as it cleanses the pallet, thought it was about time… whilst complementing the ingredients on the plate! It would be naïve to think the only drink one could find at Cowbridge this weekend had a percentage So, it seems we could be at the early stages of a beer value on its back label. Plenty of stands sold quality renaissance! I was completely taken by this idea and tea and coffee, including all the extras. The flavoured ended the day by spending my final pennies on a coffee syrup shots were of particular interest to me, few bottles of Tudor Brewery’s own Skyrrid beer - a but in honesty almost every stand had me hooked. fantastically hoppy, dark ale, full of flavour, which I There was so much to see and try and nibble and enjoyed with a slab of Snowdonia mature cheddar. sip, I just wish my wallet was a little deeper at the A match made in heaven. Welsh food and drink time! And despite everything I was experiencing at its finest, found in the small, but charming and and learning, my main interest of the day was still totally impressive Cowbridge Food Festival. Mission unanswered... accomplished.

Q 27 Elm Tree Farm pies - highly recommended Fablas icecream

Tortoise Bakery sourdough breads Gary's Fudge Q 28 LIFESTYLE FOOD & DRINK

Snowdonia Cheese Company, with a whisky cheddar that's to die for

Dessert wines from Cwm Deri winery British Cassis boozy fruit mixers

Stonebaked pizzas on the go Surprise tapas 29 Q the T H A I FOOD diaries

Words and photography: Lucy Twaite When I knew I was going to be teaching English often incorporating unusually clear vermicelli- in Thailand on a six week internship, the first like noodles, which is also served with rice. thing that struck my mind was the food! I was A particular favourite of mine was the papaya to live with the Thai people, a people who take salad, ‘Som tam’. The papaya’s perfectly pride in ensuring that guests trying something complimented the sharp flavour of the chilli and new every hour of every day. Like many other saltiness of the pork, combined with the crunch cultures, eating is a ritualistic pleasure. of the peanuts and spring onions; a complete At the school where I worked, the teachers explosion of flavour. I struggled with spiciness brought in a wonderful array of food that was at the beginning of my stay, breaking out in shared around the table. You took a spoonful of sweat when trying each food, but coming back each dish, sampling different flavours, flavours to sausage and mash have left me craving that kept me going back for thirds, fourths, even chillies. fifths, ensuring I experienced everything…it was I was also amazed at the variety of fresh heavenly. They thoroughly enjoyed watching fruits, which were found in abundance in me (often struggling, but always willing!) to any Thai garden. There is the very interesting Papaya salad get through mountainous amounts of food. durian, which emits a strong pungent odour The lunch break lasted for hours, as the Thai when cut open. On the other hand, there’s the teachers chatted; bonding over a selection of kiwi-like dragon fruit, which smells and tastes gastronomic delights. much more appetising. I was living in a rural area and we visited One ingredient I haven’t touched on is the market every day. Fresh, plentiful vats of coconut milk. A staple for curry dishes, it’s fragrant curries, pork skewers, and barbequed also a core ingredient in desserts…a particular fish steaks were just a small selection of what passion of mine. My host soon realised my was on offer. Meat, especially pork, was penchant for sweet foods, and made sure I tried frequently seen as street food, and was a something new after every meal. I absolutely staple in the meals I had with my host; I ate loved the street food, ‘kanom krop’ made in a pork for breakfast nearly every day. There were cast iron pan. It has a cakey yet crispy crêpe- Kanom krop only a few foods I didn’t grow accustomed to; like exterior, filled with luxuriously soft coconut I still haven’t gotten my head around roasted custard. Extremely moreish, I enjoyed these scorpions. every time we went to the market. It was also hard to comprehend the amount of However, beyond the realms of gorgeousness rice available… sticky, egg fried and coconut was ‘khao niao mamuan’, sticky rice cooked rice; rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner! in sweetened thick coconut milk and served However, rice was just the accompaniment to with ripe mango. We usually ate it for dessert, other dishes. Thailand is known for its strong but I’m salivating thinking about it as a bed- flavour combinations: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, time treat right now! I was so in love with this spicy, sometimes combined into one dish; and I even made it for my family at home. It’s such always tasting sublime. a simple recipe: steam some sticky rice, mix If you enjoy eating an overly sweetened Thai together some coconut milk, salt and sugar and Green Curry from the local takeaway, then bring to the boil. Set aside to cool and then Different curries on offer you must taste the real thing. The incredible pour the warm coconut milk over the top. Voila! aromatic flavours from the kaffir lime leaves and This won’t disappoint! ginger, the saltiness of the Nam pla (fish sauce) Cardiff has many Thai restaurants to offer, combined with hints of chilli and sweetness iCookthai on Crwys Road and Thai Lounge from the coconut milk, is just to die for. in Whitchurch Road being two I would highly Or how about the formidable ‘Gaang recommend. But if this article has tempted you massaman’ curry, a rich creamy dish with to discover some of these tantalizing treats for a peanut based, cardamom infused sauce, yourself, then the only option is to go there. It’s added to chicken and potatoes - just glorious! an experience that can only be encountered As much as I enjoyed the curries, Thai cuisine when in Thailand, and was one that has definitely has more to offer. Chicken, pork and transformed my taste buds for good. fish is served as the base of soup-like dishes, Q 30 LIFESTYLE FOOD & DRINK

Aspiring student chefs have quite a wealth of books to choose from, so how does “The Hungry Student” COOKBOOK EXTRAVAGANZA by Charlotte Pike measure up? Quench Food & Drink had three different writers review this new series to see how it fares on the market of student cookbooks The Hungry Student Cookbook is an all- over, such as vodka pasta (I’m pretty sure something I would have been happy rounder; a little bit of everything, ranging there isn’t a student on earth that would doing on a standard day at uni. When from the basics to more ambitious recipes. buy a bottle of vodka to cook with). I I eventually got round to eating, the dish Charlotte Pike’s experience in university also found some of the dishes a little too tasted great. However, call me fat, but ensures that her recipes are student- ‘cheffy’ for student life and so maybe there just wasn’t enough on the plate. I orientated, not only on skill, but also on a little inappropriate for the audience, cooked for myself and my housemate, comedy, labelling chapters with titles like especially considering they will not have because the serving was for two; but I ‘the morning after’. the time, the money, or in some cases, the could easily have eaten both portions. If this piqued your interest, I’d advise culinary skill, to make them. If you believe yourself to be the next you to read the introductory section at the In order to practically test their quality I Jamie Oliver, I would recommend this beginning of the book, as I found it really decided to make the one that appealed to cookbook - it has some great ideas useful - with helpful hints to save you money me the most, orange and lemon chicken. (vodka pasta aside) valuable to someone and keep you eating well. Each recipe Cost-wise it was cheap, disregarding who is passionate about cooking, and it’s The Hungry Student Cookbook has individual comments, appealing to the fact I already had the majority of not exactly breaking the bank at £7.99. the Gordon Ramsay wannabes among ingredients required. Making the chicken However, if you’d rather stick to the Words: Tessa Wright us, on how to make the dishes snazzier. was easy, although time-consuming as basics, I would suggest a simpler book. I had to read some of the recipes twice you had to marinade it, which is not

The expectations one has from a student nice recipes. Favourites include some of the buy only if you’re likely to make a lot of cookbook for vegetarians are that the stir-fries which use tahini, sesame oil, fresh one certain cuisine, but I feel it could add recipes inside will be a) cheap, b) not orange and ginger. It’s also an introduction more; for example, why not include advice too complicated or time-consuming, to some potentially new ingredients such on freezing chopped fresh ginger, chillies c) nutritionally balanced and d) more as pad thai noodles, bulgur wheat and a and garlic into ice cube trays? imaginative than you are yourself. range of curry powders, and teaches how The book has the imagination which some The Hungry Student Vegetarian to make a real risotto with minimal effort. vegetarian students lack, as it goes beyond Cookbook offers some of these essentials The book has an emphasis on using wine, the “meat substitute, beans and potatoes” but unfortunately has issues as well. The spices and fresh herbs in recipes without route. It also steers clear of relentless book’s informal tone verges on patronising being too insistent. This is positive because quinoa, spelt and pulses. The recipes aren’t at times, talking about your ‘mates’ these additions can make you feel like always cheap but are affordable if you rather than friends, and ‘veggies’ rather you’ve really had a tasty, hearty meal. plan your meals. I suspect that relying on than vegetables. Student cookbooks are Seasonality in any vegetarian cookbook this book would result in limited skills and unfortunately major perpetrators of this is key and sadly The Hungry Vegetarian not understanding the seasonal nature dumbing-down of students; I refuse to Student doesn’t show much awareness of being a skint vegetarian. However, The Hungry Student: believe this many parents send their child of this. It also asks you to spend on little if you have a friend who is a hungry Vegetarian Cookbook off to live on their own without telling them extras when, in reality, most students just vegetarian student then do buy them this how to bake a potato or fry an egg. don’t feel like they can add those to their book. They will get inspiration from it and Words: Felicity Holmes-Mackie Thankfully, once you get down to the shopping. The book does suggest which of be introduced to original, well-composed cooking side of things there are some very these additions are valuable and which to flavour combinations.

I recently had the pleasure of taking that delicious flavours can be produced sweet from savoury – and both my home The Hungry Student: Easy Baking by techniques which are, well, easy as girlfriend and I found it easy to follow cookbook from the Quench office. Being pie. My girlfriend was as surprised as I and to understand. I managed to produce a student, and an often hungry one at was at how easy it is to make your own three of its recipes – the pear tarte tatin, that, it seemed ideal for me. caramel, and we were truly impressed by a loaf of soda bread and mozzarella The book claims to be the first of its how good it tasted in our attempts at a and tomato pastries. All three were kind - a baking book for students, and pear tarte tatin. surprisingly easy to make, and didn’t this certainly appealed to me. Baking Most of the bakes caught my eye, lack in flavour whatsoever; in fact they has grown over the past few years and there’s a huge variation, from puffy actually turned out pretty well, and by the into a fashionable, talked about and strudels to homemade loafs, fruit pies to end I was filled with a certain cockiness fundamentally British pastime. This rise in pizza pies. The only fault I can truly give is driven by my new-found expertise in popularity is down to BBC2’s now most- its lack of photography, an aspect which baking. watched programme, The Great British for me plays an important role in choosing I’ve always enjoyed cookbooks and Bake Off. The book comes as a follow-up whether to buy a cookbook, and picking this one didn’t disappoint. I’m left with The Hungry Student: to this craze, and it’s a great time for it to recipes once it’s mine. But what the book a new-found urge to bake (Cardiff Uni Easy Baking be on the shelves. lacks in photographic generosity it makes founded a baking society this year, and It’s a straightforward book that teaches up for in clarity, practicality and an I’m now quite tempted to join). At £7.99, Words: Dylan Elidyr simple baking techniques, presented overall sense of fun. Its advice is friendly I see this book as a fair investment that in an approachable manner. The book and doesn’t patronize. will bring hours of enjoyment to anyone explores adventurous tastes, when it It’s well organized and nicely put who’s eager to start baking. So rise to the comes to baking at least, but proves together – separating pastry from cake, occasion, and bake. Q 31 NOVEMBER

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every october, cardiff city centre plays host to one of the most vibrant and exciting celebrations of music in the country. now in its seventh year, s n festival converts each of cardiff’s many music venues into a different stage, and attracts a myriad of up and coming musical talents.

Quench took to the streets (and the bars) to offer a comprehensive account of the weekend.

@QuenchmusicQuenchmag.co.uk

interviewers: reviewers: joe ainscough henry boon tom connick tom connick amy endacott jimmy dunne alec evans hannah embleton-smith francesca gardner liam mcneilly simeon goldstraw charlie mock liam mcneilly india thomas jack meredith charlie mock special thanks to staff PhotograPhers: urban taP house for their hannah embleton-smith hospitality over the weekend helen griffiths and kait mordey for her india thomas photography. EvERYTHING THURSDAY 17 OCTOBER EvERYTHING

EVERYTHING EVERYTHINGGREAT HALL GHOSTPOETANGEL HOTEL Everything Everything have evolved their live show. Gone are the grey boiler suits and stoic stage Within seconds of taking to the stage, Ghostpoet’s manner of their 'Man Alive' tour; the band walk on in what look like utopian IKEA uniforms, but they bassy soundtrack tears down the stage’s S n Festival walk on smiling. The most notable change is in singer Jonathan Higgs, who emerges from behind the backdrop. This, coupled with the poet himself (Obaro synth to play the part of frontman with relish, handing deliberately tricky lyrics over to the crowd while Ejimiwe to his mother) being shrouded in darkness, he peacocks the stage. Some manage to keep up with the rapid high notes of opener 'Undrowned', but forms perfect metaphor for the subsequent hour and a most content themselves with filming it on their iPhones. half. This is not about the festival, this is not about the More songs from second album 'Arc' follow, and are met with the same fervour as old favourites. 'Torso man; this is all about the voice. Warped and muddled of the Week', in particular, prove the band still like to jam as many melodies into one single as decency by an array of pedals to Ejimiwe’s right, it takes on a allows. Responding to appeals for ‘one more song’, the band take an encore, Jonathan clears his throat life of its own among the ornate surroundings of the into the mic, and they perform an exhilarating 'Cough Cough' to a rejuvenated crowd, pounding drums Angel Hotel. As the crowd sways and bobs before to the largest cheers of the night. JD him, it soon becomes clear that Ghostpoet is in fact OUTFITGREAT HALL DUTCH UNCLESGREAT HALL less a poet, more a priest, and tonight’s performance “Thanks for coming early!” Frontman Andrew The vocals get higher and the dancing gets stranger is a borderline religious experience. TC Hunt and his band Outfit are tasked with opening as Dutch Uncles respond to Outfit’s opening set with not just the evening, but S n itself. Launching into CHLOE HOWLANGEL HOTEL their own brand of oddpop. 'Flexxin’' and 'Slave 'House on Fire', a curious crowd becomes an to the Atypical Rhythm' provoke the exact response At just 18 years old, Chlöe Howl writes the sort of excited one, drawn closer to the stage by beautiful, you’d expect from such titles, as happy gig-goers brutally honest lyrics about what it is to be young skulking disco numbers. One angular pop shed inhibitions and get down in hilarious fashion. that you’d expect from someone who’s lived through melody after another rewards the earlybirds, and Frontman Duncan Wallis leads proceedings, it. Her synth pop talent was clear from the outset, after the tightest of sets, they end on album-closer interjecting bursts of song with spasmodic jerks with opener 'Rumour' from the EP: a tight 'Two Islands', and even those merely reserving and shimmys. As exhausting, and fun, a show arrangement set the tone. Halfway a space for later felt sad to see them go. JD as you’re ever likely to see outside of punk. JD through, the tempo slowed as Howl confronted drug issues with FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGSCLWB IFOR BACH a performance that showed serious promise for her future. The slot ended Sporting a new, sharper look, frontman Frankie Francis has matured, maintaining what comes across as on her new single 'No Strings', genuine enthusiasm but having put aside many of the unnecessary theatrics of 12 months ago. Although delivered with a resounding vocal the crowd isn’t quite as up for it as the band would have hoped they don’t allow it to detract from their and riffs harking back to ’80s pop, performance, which is lively and animated throughout. The band play their way through a selection of leaving the crowd convinced of her material from their two previous albums, which doesn’t offer much in terms of variety, but displays the place on the British scene. HES sort of jangly guitars and catchy choruses that we have become accustomed to, with Frankie’s regional vocal giving it the Heartstring seal of approval. LM JOHN ROSTRON: SWN CO-CREATOR TOM CONNICK GOT THE LOWDOWN FROM THE FATHER OF THE FESTIVAL For the uninitiated, can You co-created the festival fun; its packed with brilliant Swn has played you explain what Swn alongside Radio 1 DJ Huw bands; and it’s now managed host to some artists Festival is and why Stephens. How did the by a small team who all whose careers have they should take note? idea for Swn come about? came to our attention through skyrocketed following S n is a 4-day multi-venue Huw and I were at the SXSW volunteering on the festival. It their performance, new music festival which takes Music Festival in Austin, feels like it’s owned by Cardiff with Alt-J playing place in Cardiff. You buy either Texas in 2007. We’d been and everyone who comes. Dempseys in 2011, and a day or 4-day wristband, then there before and loved it, but AlunaGeorge playing go and see as many of the 200 that year we found ourselves As festivals like Swn show, Buffalo in 2012. bands as you possibly can. wondering ‘why not do a small Cardiff has a fantastic Anyone from this year’s There’s also music industry version of this in Cardiff?’ music scene. What does line-up we should be seminars in the daytime during We came back and put the the Cardiff scene – and keeping a close eye on? the week; a record fayre; first S n on that autumn. indeed, the wider Welsh I think Chloe Howl is clearly music bingo, films and quizzes scene – mean to you? going to be as big as and a whole bundle of other The festival has gone I guess S n also came about Aluna George next year; stuff all happening too. from strength to strength because Huw and I were and I’d add Nick Mulvey, over the years. This always talking about what Waxahatchee; Fryars, year is your biggest yet great music there is from Fist Of The First Man, Plu – would you like to see Wales - that is indisputable. and Marika Hackman as this growth continue? We see that every year as the must-sees. But I’ll also We had about 500 people judges for the Welsh Music be down the front for come in the first year. Last Prize get their albums and are Land Observations, Dan year we had 6000! S n is always introduced to new acts Bettridge, Ellie Makes Music now here to stay - it’s always that they are impressed by. and about another 100 acts! Francesca Graham speaks to Leeds' Sky Larkin. SKY LARKINCLWB IFOR BACH The Leeds-based trio are back together from How have you found Swn so far? Kate: S n is such a great festival and Cardiff is such a great separate projects. Regulars in Cardiff, they city - it’s a match made in heaven. We played the first year returned for their second set in a month following so it’s really nice to come back; it felt like a family affair. their UK tour for the release of album 'Motto' in September. This time, Sky Larkin were slow You’ve been together eight years; how have you progressed? to start but things picked up with upbeat single Michael: We had a break after the second record, so for me it feels like 'Loom'. Beers in hand and a faultless unity starting all over again, but with the benefit of touring before. throughout, the band attracted growing cheers Kate: All three of us have a lot of touring experience. In the best way possible, with each song. The whole gig had an easy vibe it’s taken the drama out and means that we’re good at coping in a crisis! with every member giving a straightforward, quality performance. Sky Larkin have honed What can we expect from the new record? rich, resounding instrumentals and the right Kate: I set goalposts of wanting to make something that was arresting balance between addressing the crowd and but not aggressive, and beautiful but not permissive. playing a great set. HES Michael: I think it’s direct but not rushed, not hurried, not forced. GULPCLWB IFOR BACH RADSTEWARTCLWB IFOR BACH S n saw Gulp, current project of Guto Pryce (Super Furry Jack Meredith & Joe Ainscough talk to Gulp. Radstewart is a fresh offering from Animals), return to the scene of their first gig. Gulp’s brand What do you think of Clwb's plans to Cardiff, with a knack for poignant societal of synth-psychedelia saw Clwb packed out. Lindsey Leven’s promote Welsh culture more? commentary and jarring chords. They vocals are captivating and sincere, delivered in a way that Guto: It’s a great club, and it’s totally bilingual – the played Thursday's set to a full crowd, who invites the audience into the melodic opening of the set. way it should be in Wales, it shouldn’t be separate were laughing at singer Jac’s witticisms Following two unreleased tracks, the droning synth of Game and all held in a museum. It should be a vibrant, as much as appreciating their musical Love kicks in, signalling the beginning of the hazy 3 and working, all-inclusive society. skill. The set featured tracks from the EP half-minute journey through the band’s debut single. The duo including 'Arabesque Bedouin' and crowd combine electronic and experimental influences to create a Following single 'Play', is there a full- favourite 'Hot Damn', as well as exciting unique sound, owed in part to Leven’s delicate vocals, and length nearing completion? new material. Jac’s brilliantly awkward bring an extra dimension to their live performance, with Guto: Yes, we’re working at it, slowly. I know people vocals are key to Radstewart’s originality, trippy visuals creating a fitting atmosphere. The set closes who have had babies quicker than we’ve finished a but it’s their individual talent and collective with upbeat dance floor-friendly 'Diamonds', leaving an song. We spend a lot of time on the instrumentation coherence (or deliberate incoherence) that audience likely expecting much more from this band. LM and arrangements. seals their potential. HES FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER Jack Meredith & Joe Ainscough meet Isaiah Radke(y). Upstairs in Dempseys, three brothers from Missouri ripped up the venue with Does it help that you're brothers? frenzied hardcore punk stemming from Isaiah: It makes it really easy actually. We were the ’80s. The delivery was exceptional homeschooled so we are abnormally close. and polished. We would never have guessed that the oldest has no more Was there a specific reason you chose to release than 20 years to his name. Dee’s vocals EP Devil Fruit on vinyl? resonated with angst as his brother vinyl’s really cool, it sounds better. Everyone wants to hear plunged into an eager crowd, writhing themselves on vinyl, so it’s cool that we finally got to. around with the bass and a slightly When can we expect a full-length album? unhinged demeanour. Meanwhile, the Hopefully in April. We still have to write it, but we’re gonna littlest Radke brother was trying to keep get two weeks off after this tour so we should hopefully up on the drums like his life depended write it all then. You don’t want to take too long with that on it – and he did, bless him. At this stuff. You want it to feel cool. stage they’re a definite band of brothers, but their sound has the potential to be What can we expect from a Radkey live show? up with the big names in punk, and It’s gonna be loud, it’s gonna be pretty sweaty, it’s gonna probably will. Ones to watch. HES be messed up, man. It should be fun.

Setting up, the awkward duo looked incapable of Taking to the stage clad entirely in black, Heavy living up to their name. Fortunately, appearances Petting Zoo’s uniform forms stark contrast to can be deceiving: their post-punk material is the white suited dancer they’ve brought along minimal and unforgiving, with heavy bass lines, with them. Deftly filling the gap in the crowd monotone vocals and the odd atmospheric yelp consistently formed by those either too cool or too from guitarist Rosie. Sure, it was weird at times, shy to move forward, their snowy shape-thrower but in a progressive kind of way. After a shaky perfectly compliments Heavy Petting Zoo’s darkly start of forgotten lyrics, the pair won over the swaggering rock ‘n’ roll. Downtuned and bassy, crowd with cheeky subject matter and a little self- the set soon takes a turn for the weird as a conga deprecation. At one moment the duo would be breaks out around Clwb’s infamous mid-floor pole seemingly unaware of having an audience; the while HPZ continue to churn out their tremendously next, they’d be moving through the crowd and wall-quivering riffs. A brisk end-of-set undressing grimacing at press cameras. Totem Terrors gave from the band’s alternative answer to Bez puts a a quirky performance with a parting message to full stop on the previous half hour's madcap antics, match: “We’ve been Totem Terrors and you’ve and solidifies this as one of the most interesting – if been… a bigger audience than expected”. HES incongruous – sets of the weekend. TC RADKEY You will have heard Lucy Taylor - a.k.a. Pawws – before; you just might not know it. Voice of Kele’s ‘What Did I Do’ and flute section of MGMT’s ‘Electric Feel’, Taylor is now releasing her own pop gems com solo. It is a high, delicate voice that gives us songs about relationships sung with fragility. Latest number ‘Outside’ would sit comfortably alongside the Drive soundtrack with its shimmering Euro synth and murmured chorus. Onstage Pawws is a demure figure, swaying slightly but otherwise not venturing from behind the microphone, looking over the PAWWS audience as she bares her soul. The irony is, after a 40 minute set detailing the numerous strains and tragedies of relationships, you’ll be hard pressed not to fall a little bit in love with her. JD when I was growing up and getting into Indie rockers Wolf Alice popped in for a vinyl, they just look cool. chat with ahead of their set Ellie: It’s more of a collector’s piece, a North London’s Wolf Alice were certainly one of the less bit of memorabilia. want for Christmas talkative bands to grace the stage in the cosy upstairs room of Joel: It’s like a t-shirt; you don’t really Clwb Ifor Bach during this year’s S n Festival, but my, did they listen to it. get away with it. Drawing the crowds in from the streets and away from the festival’s six other venues as the Friday night powered towards its climax, lead vocalist Ellie filled the room Joel: Well, I like it. with her sweet sounds ranging from the haunting ‘Blush’ to her Joff: We’ve had some really nice press and transformation into the Cherrie Currie of this decade in the stuff; people have been very, very kind. chorus of ‘Fluffy’. The growing hype surrounding Wolf Alice has Joel: It got streamed with the Guardian, which by no means been without reason; it’s clear that it wasn’t just the is very, very cool for any band really. NME Joel: I was so proud. I bought it. Everyone has torrential rain that kept people watching until the very end. like it. an opinion on NME, but I don’t care. Theo: It got a strong seven. Theo: It’s really cool, it’s massive. They’ve been very nice to us, we’re very grateful to them. Let us not be fooled by appearances. Of course, being separated from the facial expressions of the band by a thick barrier of jet black hair was slightly disconcerting. And yes, not understanding a word they were saying did detract from the enjoyment of the music in some sense. There was also the worry that the excessive arm movements was some form of hex Joel: Album. We’re going to get an album for being put on the slightly stunned crowd. But you’ve got to hand Christmas. it to Japanese four-piece Bo Ningen, they brought something Joff: To be honest, the label only puts out Joff: Dear Santa, one Wolf Alice album. Make to the upstairs room of Clwb Ifor Bach that was rivalled by through vinyl. If I’m completely honest I’d much it mixed and mastered. none across the entire weekend of S n Festival. What that rather have it on CD. It’s probably a bit silly Joel: It needs to be eight in NME as well. We something was, we’re not quite sure. What we are sure of, is that we didn’t do it on CD. want to smash next year. that the quartet are definitely worth a watch. Joel: It’s just a cool thing. I remember Emerging amongst great industry optimism at the turn of the decade, The Broken Vinyl Club seemed destined to go from By this point, the rain hammering on Cardiff was almost strength to strength, endorsed by no other than Liam Gallagher. biblical, prompting many to seek refuge in the nearest venue A debut album later and the band found themselves in an early to hand. This meant that by the time Beard Of Wolves took to evening slot at O’Neill’s, perhaps not the sort of show that the Jealous Lovers Club Stage in the impossibly hot Four Bars, might have been predicted two and a half years ago. the place was crammed to the rafters. With the instrumentation TBVC draw heavily on classic rock n’ roll outfits, with elements stripped down to a bass and a drum kit, and the accompanying of more contemporary indie and Britpop also evident to a vocals on the loud side of shouty, BOW channelled the spirit lesser extent. However, after the opening couple of tracks, it of scene heroes Death From Above – that is, if DFA had opted becomes clear that nothing about this band is going to come for ditties about the brilliance of blowjobs and the manliness of as a surprise. The enthusiasm that they display for bygone eras the moustache. The simplistic pleasure offered by BOW made shines through in their own music ever so strongly, meaning for the perfect antidote to the drizzle outside, and ensured that that on occasions their introductions could be mistaken for that those who came in soggy left both steamy and smiling. of a cover, resulting in a rather underwhelming display. There’s a sense of trepidation floating around Four Bars as the clock strikes 11. Cardiff’s prodigal sons Samoans have returned from an almost yearlong absence, bringing with them arguably the South Wales scene’s most anticipated debut album. They shuffle onto the stage with all the nerves of someone introducing their new spouse to a gaggle of drunk mates. Wall-to-wall, Four Bars is packed with friends and family of the Cardiff four- piece, and as they kick into a set solely comprised of new material, eyes are wide with pride. Frontman Dan Barnett’s vocals struggle slightly due to an incredibly unfortunate loss of voice, but this matters little when the material being debuted is of such a high quality. Channelling their wealth of math-rock experience through a bombastic, anthemic sensibility, perfectly tuned for stage far larger than this. A promising look to the future of one of Cardiff’s most exciting new bands, this is both a mission accomplished and the start of a new chapter not only for Samoans, but for the South Welsh music scene as a whole. Clouded since the summer by former Labour MP Tom Watson’s ‘look at me I’m so hip’ declaration of fandom, Drenge had a lot to prove by the time they took to the upstairs of Clwb. But let’s put political point scoring aside for one second. Drenge are a formidable beast, emerging at just the right time to blow away the cobwebs of over-production and stale songwriting that were starting to plague popular guitar music. Channelling the same energy that first brought grunge kicking and screaming into the limelight, brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless crafted a furious debut album that seems screaming to be let loose of its recorded confines and into the live arena. Tonight the duo’s stage time is set just after one in the morning, and yet the queue that snakes its way down Womanby Street hints at the fervour that surrounds one of the year’s most promising new bands. Emerging from the backroom clad in Primark pyjamas (a cheeky nod to it being way past their bedtime), the brothers Drenge threw themselves straight into a selection of all the finest cuts from this summer’s eponymous debut album. Predictably loud, the boys barely stop for breath throughout the course of the hour-long set – a gargantuan ‘Bloodsports’ proving to be the highlight. Sadly, the obnoxiously late stage time leads to one too many people having consumed one too many drinks, as evidenced by the awful excuse for a mosh pit that emerges at the front of the room. However, as the morning creeps ever closer and the grins on the Loveless brothers widen, its clear that nothing could taint this experience for the pair. Small though S n may be, this is the first festival headline slot Drenge have held. On tonight’s evidence, it surely won’t be the last.

PALOMINO PARTY

After an excruciatingly particular soundcheck, Flamboyant five piece Palomino Party brought their is ‘a show’ rather than

Hail! The Planes were ready to play and once theatrical vibes to O’Neills. With frontman Linford just us playing. We make they began the reason for all this fine-tuning was Hydes bedecked in a string of pearls and a fur an effort and bring props made abundantly clear. One of those bands coat, one would assume that the band’s focus is and costumes. that think about every last detail of their sound, on aesthetics alone. This is far from true. Basked Linford: In a way, that’s this accumulated into a hypnotically beautiful in the venue’s pink glow, their brand of upbeat the way we’ve known, performance. A combination of great on-stage indie earned enthusiasm from the amassed crowd, Linford: Anything from so we’ve applied that chemistry and lead singer Holly Müller’s delicate who seemed as engaged by their funk-infused theatre, to art. It’s steeped to a gig sense. We’re vocals had the suitably large crowd crammed into tracks as by the quintet’s high energy performance. in everything we did thinking about set, about Fuel lulled into a slowly swaying silence. Costumes and dancing aside, this is a band whose before we went off to costume, about audience The six-piece slipped effortlessly from track to track songs are strong enough to stand up independently. study - we were all in a members’ enjoyment - from their forthcoming EP ‘Send A Signal To Me’ Foals-esque ‘Deseo’, and contemplative ‘Scarletta’ theatre company. they should enjoy is as and finished on their mesmerising two track EP from were particular highlights of their set. Palomino Sam: We try and make it much as they would a earlier this year ‘Brother, I’m Sinking’. Party prove that well-composed and considered a spectacle - every show theatre show. Well worth checking out. tracks remain the best part of an artist’s show.

Olympians are a band that clearly love what they do more than anything, a Officially a five-piece, Among Brothers took to the trait portrayed best by their live performances; they were fun, entertaining, and stage eight members strong, a number you would had an infectious energy that swept through the crowd, making for one of the expect to seem crowded in the tiny venue that is most enjoyable shows of the weekend. Their insightful and often quite bleak Fuel. This, however, couldn’t be further from the lyrics of recent EP ‘Adventure Gun’ are counteracted by a constantly amusing truth; Among Brothers were, as usual, flawless. and light-hearted rapport with the crowd. With instruments including trombones, violins and Barely Regal Records rarely present a band that don’t impress, and Olympians obscenely bass-heavy drum-pads, Among Brothers are no exception. The London/Norwich gang delivered an impressively deliver a unique sound like no other, ranging from complex sound in a both widely entertaining and stunningly beautiful show. contemporary experimental electronica to delicate, hushed vocal harmonies. The set spanned across their whole back-catalogue and onwards, with a few tantalising new numbers from what is setting Adam: Yep! I was one Matt: It’s a brilliant Among Brothers talk up to be an astounding follow up to ‘Homes’; their of the film section editors festival, it pulls everything Quench and Cardiff debut album released earlier this year. for like, two years. in Cardiff together. It’s with Despite the quality of their performance however, Alex: And we had a everything all in one Among Brothers drew a disappointingly small terrible radio show. place; it’s such a brilliant crowd. It cannot be stressed enough here; if you Matt: I think we had five feeling. get a chance, go and see this band! listeners once. Alex: You can be in a place and literally Matt: Definitely. We every single one of were actually talking your friends in this one about how Adam used room at once, which is to work for Quench. really cool. Photo by Kait Mordey Charlie Mock speaks to the duo something every weekend. Every Since the 90s, the emo/punk/indie-rock sounds adopted by Sheffield’s Nai about their busy schedule Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Harvest seem to have come full circle - from being on-trend, to off-trend and last two months has been rammo for now back on - meaning that there seemed to be quite a lot of buzz surrounding You’ve hit numerous festivals us. We’re just doing our jobs and uni their set, and Fuel was packed to its tiny rafters with all the coolest people S n over the last few months, as well and then it’s like a weekend party, we had to offer. It is safe to say that this buzz is not misplaced, as the Sheffield look forward to it. duo delivered a strikingly touching performance surrounding the questions and problems that arise in the mind of a twenty-something modern day punk, drawing mostly from their latest album ‘Whatever’, released earlier this year. Ben: Yeah, we played London the If critique is to be made, however, it’s that as a performance Nai Harvest left other day as well! a little to be desired. While the audio was spot on, the visual side of their Lew: We’re nervous. I don’t know if show was virtually non-existent as the pair slaved away melancholically, hardly we can keep up with them! moving or looking up from their instruments. Although this may not make for Ben: They’re just crazy guys! There’s the most exciting performance, it is a style fitting to their genre and therefore Ben: We have weekdays off! But, free beer at all the shows as well so I shouldn’t detract too much from what was a passionate and engaging set. since September we’ve been doing don’t know what’s going to happen!

speaks to a two directions and had to Cardiff’s returning heroes choose one. It’s a poppier, When I think of a one man band, I imagine grainy Kutosis ahead of album two. surfier sound. 1970s Top of the Pops footage of an old man with a Jim: We stopped with the drum strapped to his waist, bells on his ankles, and jagged guitars, and the probing, a harmonica braced onto his jaw, working himself Ian: It gave us a little boost! It shouting call-and-response. Now to the bone to create an amateur skiffle noise. Theo was nice to know that our first we feel like we’ve written eleven isn’t really like that; he plays heavy math-rock in album, that had minimum PR, or twelve actual songs. It’s quite the vein of Maybeshewill and 65daysofstatic, solo, managed to filter through to a a lot different to our old stuff. without vocals, and definitely no bells on top. lot of people. When we went into the studio, He walks out to a small crowd in a tiny room. It’s Ian: We went to a couple of we already had in mind that we always cosy watching an act in Fuel, but Theo – real gigs on Thursday and Friday- I were going in to do something name Sam Knight – packs more electrical equipment like Radstewart! They’re really different to before, so there than any band I’ve ever seen, and space is at a good. I hadn’t seen them before was some apprehension there premium. He takes centre-stage with guitar in hand, but they were great. because we were like, “what and begins a simple riff, distorted and looped Jim: Heavy Petting Zoo were happens if no one likes this new into a beat. We watch as he casually discards quite interesting! stuff!? We might just disappear!” his guitar, the riff still ringing out, and wanders Ian: When we started writing I feel a lot more confident with it, over to the drumkit as if bored while shopping for the new album [‘Dream It though. I’m hoping it just gives for instruments. When he starts hitting the drums Away’] we kind of went down us a platform to become bigger. the sound is palpable, I feel every note crackling through my hair and pressing against my clothes. I’m able to pick out the single I Am Destructor, but just barely; the set blurs into one six minute electric catharsis after another. The crowd leans in and out as one, dipping heads appreciatively in a modest approximation of a headbang, until the static rings out and it becomes apparent the set has finished. Theo gives a little smile, his first expression in forty minutes of playing, and takes a few seconds to take in applause before beginning the long, long process of packing away his kit. LM KuTOSIS Photo by Stereoboard.com

Hip-hop trio Clipping talk to Daveed: I think it’s a good ahead of their label to work with in general, weekend-defining set. they’re really good people. Jon: We thought it was a weird pairing first, too, but, Sub Pop actually doesn’t have a unified sound. What they seem to get excited about, which is great, experimental music is a is just letting it blend and letting us do exactly what we want, Daveed: Well, I think we there’s no creative control certainly owe a great debt coming down from the label. to all the early gangsta rap pioneers; N.W.A definitely is CLIPPING a huge influence on us, King T, it come more from “It’s Clipping, bitch” - the motto, mantra, and introduction to the stage of this L.A industrial all of the folks that Dr Dre was hip hop act. Quite unlike any other band at Swn, Clipping lay lightning verses over beats working with around that time. almost shredded beyond recognition. Often you will stare open-mouthed at MC Daveed Diggs, wondering at the inner-metronome that can keep tempo to a track that sounds like knives in a Will: It was a reference to digital ceiling-fan. But keep tempo he does, spitting his assorted stories of the streets for the good people clipping, audio distortion. of Cardiff. A trenchcoated hipster stands in front of me, arms folded, a pillar of scepticism in an Jon: LA Clippers was in the list otherwise sound room. He clearly doesn’t expect the next song to be performed inches from his of names we were discussing. face, mic held in a three-finger grip by the breakneck Diggs, who stands and watches the young Will: I’m glad we didn’t call man squirm for a good couple of minutes. Poor bastard. JD ourselves that, we’d be sued…

Aled Rheon represents what Swn Fest is all about. Performing his carefully written songs in both Welsh and English, the musician broadly appeals to all while standing up for his heritage. Peaceful and soothing melodies filled The Hayes during his performance on the circular stage. Reminiscent of Dallas Green’s side-project, City and Colour, Rheon demonstrated how minimal production can, in some cases, make a maximum impact. Rheon’s heart-warming songs and Welsh lyrics aided him in standing out from the highly talented line-up. The singer is proof that Welsh-speaking acts still have something to offer the music industry today. ALED RHEON The trio fronted by a confident Maddie Jones Performing a mix of crowd pleasing covers and The pleasure of closing the festival, at Clwb in any captured the attention of passing crowds on Sunday original material, Ellie James took to The Outdoor case, fell to the capable hands of Kettering 4-piece afternoon at Swn Fest. Packing more punch than her Stage on the Sunday of Swn Fest. Hordes had Temples. Being able to produce a distinguishable contemporaries, Maddie’s powerful voice can be gathered in The Hayes to witness the 19 year old’s sound in a market immersed with young British guitar as soft as Norah Jones’, or stronger and attention sweet, acoustic songs. bands is something that many have found difficult, but grabbing on tracks like the band’s cover of Billy Jean. Delivering her whimsical musings with a stronger Temples’ psych-heavy, colourful pop sound provides Green and Blue saw the folk act take a seemingly voice than most performers on the circuit; Ellie’s folk- gives them a much-needed edge. popular, jazz-infused turn. Regardless of their (often tinged sound was far from passively appreciated. You shouldn’t allow the bright sparkly tops, the permed changed) instruments of choice, Maddie Jones and A cross between Nina Nesbitt in her early YouTube hair or the glittered eyes to fool you; Temples are a her band were easily the most natural performers covers, and Gabrielle Aplin; the audience lapped up band up for a lawless show. “This one’s called Prisms, of the day. Determined since a young age to avoid each and every one of her songs. Having made her now let’s have it” adjures front man James Bagshaw the monotonous 9-5 grind in favour of following debut live performance at Swn Fest back in 2009, it’s before the band enter in to the kaleidoscopic b-side her dreams of musicianship, Jones seems to finally clear that the event aids up-and-coming talent rise to from the band’s debut single. be getting the recognition she deserves. Without a the top. Expect more good things from Ellie Makes That debut was released just one year ago, and such doubt, a highlight of the festival. Music in the near future. has been Temples’ significant rise, Bagshaw seems to forget where the band have played, declaring the show their first in Wales despite performing to an impressive MADDIE JONES crowd on the banks of an estuary at Portmeirion’s Festival No.6 just a couple of months earlier. Part way through the set it becomes clear that the crowd isn’t quite as up for a lively one as the band are. “If you can’t dance, dance… and if you can dance, show off” encourages Bagshaw before the rumbling bass of Ankh kicks. It’s not that the audience isn’t digging it, but perhaps the effects of four days festival-ing have set in. The set moves through a drop in tempo as Temples draw the crowd in with the hazy ‘Move With The Seasons’, before bringing proceedings to a close with ‘Colours To Life’ and finally, their debut single ‘Shelter Song’. It’s the debut that may serve as a benchmark, but on the evidence of this performance it’s one that Temples are more than capable of reaching for years to come. LM

camping festivals are a little bit of a talks to Childhood about The week before gracing the stage at S n, Childhood were paraded by different vibe and you don’t really Guardian praise and the festival circuit. NME as part of the ‘Young Britannia’ feature. Being cast in what seems to know what you expect to get when to be the never-ending tirade to convince the nation that a handful of ‘fair to walk into, as such. good’ guitar bands are the most exciting thing to happen to British music since The Beatles, might be seen more as a hindrance than help by some. Childhood needed to bring something to the table in a live setting. From the outset it’s clear that they’re incredibly tight, with front man Ben Romans Hopcraft delivering every line with considered enthusiasm Dan: They’re both good, they’re very against the backdrop of the dreamy guitar hooks and infectious bass different. lines that are indicative of Childhood’s sound. Their releases to date have Ben: I think it’s impossible to really been notable for echoed vocals and use of effect units, but everything categorise the big ones, ‘cause you go Dan: We’ll find out if it’s a classic. translates incredibly clearly in a live environment. to Reading and it’s completely different Ben: I call everything classic in a way, Having drawn their set to a close with a rapturous, stretched out rendition backstage, the vibe is different at up- I guess it’s one of the things people of latest single Solemn Skies followed by their debut Blue Velvet, the band and-coming festivals. Every festival is say these days that doesn’t have the left the stage having made quite an impact of the Clwb crowd. Murmurs completely different. meaning it used to have. Hopefully at the bar and in the smoking area spoke fondly of their tight delivery Dan: These ones feel a lot more like Paul Lester was right, potential classic. I and live credentials, suggesting that Childhood might just have what it a gig because there’s three bands on don’t know if it’s a classic yet. We really takes to find their way to the top of the pile of ‘fair to good’ guitar bands at the venue and we’re just playing appreciate support from The Guardian, previously mentioned. LM with them, which is cool, but maybe they’ve been really nice to us. As the weekend draws to a close, Tom Connick talks to Katie Crutchfield, the head and heart behind Waxahatchee

Swn is modelled quite heavily has tons of equipment, so we kind Despite the fact that your on South By South West, of have a great set-up, practically sound is quite personal, you which you played for the first a studio set-up in our house. I like move away from the personal time this year. What do you doing that because you don’t have in that you don’t go under find the main differences are a time limit and it’s free, so you can your own name – what’s the between city-based festivals just experiment for as long as you motivation behind that? compared to field-based want to. I think that’s really cool. I don’t know, I liked the idea of ones? Is there a different And also, like you said, the personal calling it Waxahatchee more so than vibe, do you prefer one or the connection. When we recorded my I just definitely didn’t want to call other? album it was just like all my best it my name. I wrote and recorded I guess I’ve never really thought friends helping me do it and that’s all the first songs at Waxahatchee about that; I like both. The only really nice. Creek in Alabama It’s just been a drawback of a city festival is that it’s big part of my life throughout my impossible to not schedule bands at Your new album ‘Cerulean childhood and everything, so I just the same time so there’s just conflict Salt’ is more polished than thought it would be a cool thing to there. But I do like that you can go [debut] ‘American Weekend’ call it. to a festival in a city, and you get was. Was that a conscious to see all of these different venues, decision; to move away from Obviously ‘Cerulean Salt’ has and you get to really experience the really lo-fi sound on the been really well received. the town. A field is kind of a drag debut? What’s next for Waxahatchee, because it’s always hot and it’s just Not entirely – I actually recorded and what’s next for Katie? kind of gross. You’re just outside all a whole version of ‘Cerulean Salt’ It’s all the same now! My whole life day, and sometimes that’s fine but… recorded exactly how I did the first has been doing this music stuff, like no showers, urgh. Yeah, I think I one which I did myself, and I just the past couple of years. But I’m prefer city festivals. didn’t really think that it serviced almost finished with touring for the the songs; it was a little too blown- year, and then I’m just going to start You’re touring alongside your out. The outcome of ‘American working on the next record – that’s sister in Swearin’, and both Weekend’ was sort of a surprise – I the big plan. your albums were recorded didn’t know what I was doing and it in two different family homes. just sort of ended up sounding like Straight back into it – it’s two Is it quite important to you to how I wanted it to. But then with the records in two years, are you keep that personal connection second record, I don’t know how to hoping to get another one out with the music? mic drums or anything like that, so next year? Yeah, I really like home recording. it didn’t sound very good. We just Probably, I’ve always worked really We kind of have a really good scrapped it and re-did it. I kind of fast, so pretty much since I’ve started set-up now because Kyle from warmed up to the idea of having a writing music I’ve pretty much put Swearin’ went to school for audio more polished record as we were out a record every single year. I engineering and he’s kind of a working on it, because originally I wouldn’t be surprised if I do another nerd when it comes to that stuff. He didn’t really want to do that. one next year.

Katie Crutchfield is an unassuming presence. Among the lavish arches of Westgate Street’s Angel Hotel and under her Waxahatchee guise, she takes to the the stage alone, and can seemingly barely bring herself to make eye contact with the room-filling crowd she has drawn. Solo, Crutchfield is an endearingly slight figure. Strumming forlornly at her guitar, the audience is granted an insight into the girl who crafted such an unashamedly raw and open debut album tucked away in the bedroom of her parental home. However, it is undoubtedly this year’s sophomore ‘Cerulean Salt’ that will define Waxahatchee. A runaway critical success, the album expanded on the stripped back ambiance of debut ‘American Weekend’, adding more complex instrumentation without losing the personality of Crutchfield’s solo bedroom recordings. Such a change is echoed tonight as Waxahatchee transitions from solo performance to full-band bombast. Exploding into life with a one- two of ‘Coast To Coast’ and ‘Misery Over Dispute’, the grungier, sludgier aspects of Crutchfield’s output take hold. The alternation between quiet, soulful introspection and brash, ferocious snarl perfectly personifies the S n weekend’s diversity. Something for everyone is offered throughout the four-day extravaganza, and as Crutchfield closes the weekend, she herself reflects this wonderfully vibrant bout of escapism. We’ll see you next year. Interview and review by Tom Connick

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1 Excludes drinks, and ice creams. Valid on delivery or collection orders over or to the value of £25. Not valid with any other offer. Valid at participating stores only. Available online only at dominos.co.uk. 2 At regular menu price. Free pizza must be equal or lesser value than the first. Available on medium and large pizzas only. Premium bases, crusts and additional toppings charged as extra. Not valid with any other offer. Collection only. Offer expires 31/07/14. INTERRAILING: THE ONLY WAY TO EXPLORE EUROPE As term descends and students grow ever restless for a summer holiday, Anica Whitmore and Desna Lespinoy explore the rise of interrailing and give us an insight into why interrailing is growing ever popular with travellers, especially student travellers Whatever the nature of the trip, whether it’s a drawn in by the diversity involved in such a short summer holiday or a month exploring, trip. InterRailing truly allows you to tailor-make InterRailing is becoming increasingly popular your own adventure, choosing from exploring with those seeking adventure. One ticket which bustling capital cities one day, to visiting allows you to freely hop on and off Europe’s charming cultural villages, relaxing on sunny trains appears to be a perfect getaway, as Mediterranean beaches or embracing snowy well as an ideal way to see a world outside alpine landscapes. It is perfect for those of Britain. The ability to freely travel a whole interested in understanding different cultures, continent is definitely something which and interacting with new people as well as appeals to me, and I would even argue this places. There is no limit to the experiences you kind of trip seems much more worthwhile and may encounter, with one ticket to a thousand rewarding than a boozy yet expensive, week destinations. away on a girls/boys holiday. InterRailing can be desirable for groups The affordable packages make InterRailing of old friends eager to embark on a journey InterRailing truly allows together, as well as catering perfectly for the lone traveller, as it thrives socially. Exploring you to tailor make your the continent by train allows fellow travellers to cross paths and share stories and experiences own adventure on a daily basis, which is also true of the buzzing hostels around Europe, perfect for perfect for students. With each country in youngsters. Hostels are basic, but they are often Europe being priced at 1 of 4 levels, it is the most affordable form of accommodation, possible to devise a trip which completely suits as well as a lively yet safe environment to your individual needs. By either purchasing a meet groups of like minded people. Shared ‘single country pass’ for as little as £30, or dorms offer party-like atmospheres, similar to opting for a ‘global pass’ starting from just student experiences in university halls, helping £161, you can ensure the package fits your to create new friendships and new directions personal budget. Not only this, but tickets also to adventures. include many additional discounts on things What better way to travel than on a relaxing such as ferries, museums and hotels, which are train ride which takes you to the heart of each bound to be of use along the journey. After a location? The convenience of getting dropped hectic university year of scrimping and saving, in the midst of the action, coming and going at as well as endless deadlines and exams, these your own pace, with no time limits other than packages seem all the more enticing as a ones you set yourself, sounds like anybody’s summer break. dream vacation. As well as such fantastic prices, I was also RISE OF THE RAILS

34 Q LIFESTYLE TRAVEL Planning a European holiday may seem overwhelming - after all, you’ve only got so much time and a whole continent to Interrailing explore. With so many tempting destinations, narrowing the list down becomes a heart-wrenching task. To save your interRailing adventure from becoming a trainwreck of a trip - Hotspots check out Sarah Davis’ guide to the five top cities in Europe. TOP 5 Prague, Czech Republic: With a backdrop of traditional Czech street music and fairytale style architecture, it is near impossible not to fall in love with Prague. Located in the heart of Europe, Prague radiates an authentic, medieval feel that makes you feel as though you’d Rome, Italy: Rome is a classic traveller’s travelled to another era. The Czech favourite, and for good reason. The ‘Dolce cuisine is ridiculously underrated (- I Vita’ mentality permeates the city, with the recommend the goulash and potato quaint cobbled streets and the stunning pancakes!) and the buzzing nightlife views providing the perfect setting for makes sleep become an annoying hin- any getaway. No need to tell you of drance. If you lose yourself down the the utmost importance of gelato to winding brick streets, and remember to the Italianate culture, and the jovial visit Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, then Campo de Fiori alone makes the you’re guaranteed an enjoyable stay. Well whole trip worthwhile. Rome hosts worth czech-ing out! (sorry). a range of popular landmarks - the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps may be the first of which come to mind, and all are definitely worth visiting. But if you want Barcelona, Spain: Barcelona is the to get a real taste of Rome, then make sure idyllic location in Europe for any sun-starved you head over to Monti, where you’ll find students. The Gaudi-designed aesthetic that endless gems of fashion stores, architecture blankets the city provides explorers with a and restaurants tucked away. constant view of distinctive architecture. Gaudi’s famous Catalan cathedral masterpiece, the ‘Sagrada Familia’, is a definite must-see. With the thriving cities just a walk away from the sandy Berlin, Germany: Perhaps the most beaches, Barcelona accommodates well-known European city for its trendy, for all types of travellers. The enticing artistic lifestyle is Berlin. It boasts some tapas bars are ubiquitous in Barcelona, legendary clubs and bars to suit all tastes, but I recommend for you to try the local from the electric beat in Tresor to the delicacies from the boisterous La Boqueria ‘Matrix’ style dancefloor in Berghain. market. And, of course, Barcelona is well- This dynamic, vibrant city has a known for its lively nightlife scene, hosting plethora of coffee shops, vintage the worlds top DJs and is the perfect place boutiques and beautiful gothic for lovers of electronic & jazz music. architecture. Berlin’s not only a pretty face, though. Immerse yourself in the city’s fascinating history as you traverse down the colourful murals on the East Side Gallery, and find authentic Paris, France: Paris is the ideal city to sections of the Berlin Wall scattered over the kickstart your interrailing trip. The exciting city. The electric cultural scene in Mitte is yet beautifully elegant aura of the city lets always worth a visit, as well as the evocative you engage in the sophisticated Parisian landmarks of Checkpoint Charlie and the lifestyle; whether you’re lingering over your Brandenburg Gates. third pain au chocolat in a picturesque café, or meandering along the streets of Montmartre. Although it’s known as an expensive city of haute couture, if you wander down the seductively fashionable area of Champs-Elysèes, you will find yourself marvelling at the sights of the Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame and (of course) the Eiffel Tower. For a truly French experience, try venturing over to find the overwhelming view from the Sacre Couer, and to indulge yourself in the red light district with the Moulin Rouge. 35 Q I WARSAW

This month our travel journal presents one of Eastern Europe’s best kept secrets, Ashley Bebbington give us his personal insight in to Poland’s capital, Warsaw With the cost of being a student higher beautiful area is a fantastic experience that it makes a welcome change from looking over than ever before, more and more students anyone visiting Warsaw should not miss. my shoulder for flying rodents that are far have begun to explore Eastern Europe to cut In addition to this, there is also a museum too accustomed to humans. Something you travel costs. It was with this in mind that I dedicated to the failed uprising against the should definitely try in Poland is traditional decided to visit Warsaw, Poland, managing Nazis. The museum provides an extensive Polish soup served in a bread bowl, the to secure flights, and two nights in a hotel wealth of information and artefacts relating perfect thing to warm you up on a cold day. for under £100. From London, the flight only to the two-month resistance against Nazi The public transport links in Warsaw are takes around two hours. To top it all off, the rule in 1944. I ended up spending over two great, the infrastructure having been greatly hotel was four stars, and when I arrived I hours here soaking it all up, and left feeling improved in the run-up to the Euro Cup in discovered it had been the home to a number inspired by the ultimately doomed plight of 2012. They’re also cheap, meaning getting of football teams during the 2012 European these people who risked and lost their lives around in Warsaw is no problem at all. Football competition. Definitely a good start. to fight for their freedom. It’s an ideal location to go as a student Sports fans will definitely want to head over Another thing you’ll want to try in Poland strapped for cash to the national stadium which is a short walk is the vodka. Even if you’re someone who from the city centre. Built for the Euro Cup despises vodka (I’m one such person), you’ll The language barrier can be a bit taxing, finals of 2012, it is now home to perhaps love it the way the Polish do it. My favourite so I would definitely recommend purchasing Poland’s most famous club, Legia Warsaw. was Wodka Zoladkowa Gorzka, a mint a Polish phrasebook (or smartphone app) The stadium is a master class in architecture, flavored vodka that goes down remarkably before jetting off. It’s a tough language but it’s difficult not to notice the run down easily, and that I’ve tried to no avail to buy to get your head around, but a few choice area that surrounds it, and the fact that the in the UK ever since! And the best part? It’s phrases will prove invaluable, as the majority stadium is enclosed in a cast-iron fence. only 5 Euros a bottle. Seriously. Smokers will of people you’ll come into contact with won’t Sports fans will want to head over to also be happy to know that a pack of 20 speak a word of English. Mostly though, the filter cigarettes comes in at a little under 2 Polish are a very kind people, who, more the national stadium Euros. Just be wary of the fact that you can often than not are elated that you’ve chosen The city has plenty to offer for history buffs, only bring 200 back to the UK! to visit their home (97% of people living in as the impact of Nazi occupation in the Something else I noticed was the cost of Poland are Polish, and tourism isn’t exactly 1940s can be quite clearly seen today. The eating out. On my travels I’m accustomed to booming). majority of the city was bombed during the buying some bread and filling, and trying to Warsaw, then, is an amazing juxtaposition German invasion of 1939, meaning that the assemble some kind of sandwich on a park between the pre-war traditional, and the post- centre is a sprawl of modern architecture. bench somewhere – I once tried to do this in war industrial. It is truly amazing to see the Take a short stroll north, however, and you’ll Museumplein in Amsterdam and got attacked contrast between the old and the new, and find yourself in the Old Town, the only part by a horde of hungry pigeons. Not ideal. with cheap flights, accommodation, food, of the centre that predates 1939. The Old I managed to avoid doing this in Warsaw and – most importantly – vodka, it is an ideal Town is something of a tourist hotspot, so because you can pick up a decent sit-down location to go as a student strapped for cash. you may want to avoid spending too much meal with drinks for 5-8 euros. Okay, I was Just remember to pack warm clothes! money there, but taking a walk through this ordering the cheapest items on the menu, but

Q 36 LIFESTYLE TRAVEL TEACH THAILAND

Last summer I travelled to rural Thailand for six weeks to teach children with AIESEC: a youth led STUDENT IN organisation run by university students in over a hundred countries. Arriving in Bangkok, we spent three days being taught about the AIESEC project with eighty other interns. Here I met people from Mexico, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, France, Italy, A STRANGE Canada, USA, and Lithuania. The cultural nuances Students are I had been expecting suddenly felt cavernous, but at the same time we quickly got to know each other, all increasingly being searching for a seam of common ground. given the opportunity After the training, I headed to Chaiyaphum, in LANDto undertake their studies or teach in a north eastern Thailand. I was staying with Me Tuk, a female Thai teacher, and Mitha, a fellow intern, foreign county, advancing their CV whilst from Indonesia. Me Tuk kindly let us stay in her spare experiencing a different culture. Travel room during our time in Chaiyaphum. Sleeping in writers Alexandra Brown & Lucy Twaite the same bed; Mitha and I certainly got to know each other quickly! On my first day of school I was shed some light on their time abroad greeted with stares of wonder, most of my students had never met a fair-skinned European before. The desirability of my pale complexion was an amusing contradiction to my usual quest for a suntan! The students would come up and ask for autographs, photos and phone numbers; the adoration they had for Mitha and me made the demands of teaching a pleasure. Although teaching children from ages seven to fifteen was at times difficult, it was always rewarding. Nervous at first, it was wonderful when classroom worthwhile. Despite our busy itinerary, we the students repeated English sentences back to me; I made the most of being in such a famous province knew their confidence had grown. I hoped that they of China. It wasn’t hard to see why the district was would be inspired and would have the courage to labelled by Marco Polo as ‘heaven on earth’. From continue learning English. visiting the famous West Lake to trekking up Mount Although weekdays were spent in school, the Mogan, we definitely made the most of our stay weekends were free allowing us to travel around in Zhejiang. Our exploring wasn’t just restricted to Thailand. This experience was probably as valuable appreciating the natural beauty of the region; the city as the teaching. All the interns bonded quickly, of Hangzhou came alive at night. From bustling street whether it be from visiting temples and markets, markets to trendy clubs and bars, we enjoyed the white water rafting, paragliding, trekking through cheap drinks and experienced Hangzhou’s nightlife the jungle, or discussing the aftermath of many well... even if this did often make attending our 9am drunken nights out in Bangkok! Like Me Tuk, my host, mandarin classes or 8am morning exercise classes every Thai person I encountered was welcoming, more of a challenge! hospitable and friendly making the experience truly We also arranged to stay in the dynamic city of memorable. So if you’ve got next summer free, why Shanghai at weekends where we spent our time not consider an AIESEC internship to Thailand? I exploring shops, temples and rooftop bars. After don’t think you’d be disappointed! our three weeks in Zhejiang was over and after an emotional leaving ceremony with teachers and other Lucy Twaite students, I travelled to Beijing with some friends to spend my last few days in China. From riding Tuk STUDY CHINA Tuks to eating the world famous Peking duck, the capital didn’t disappoint. I even got to visit the iconic Study China is a programme open to UK Great Wall, which was incredible. undergraduate and postgraduate students which is As one of the world’s most influential superpowers, designed to grant successful candidates a unique understanding Chinese culture and learning Mandarin insight into China, its language and culture. Funded has never been more relevant or interesting. Study by the Department of Business and Innovation, Study China offers students a unique insight into the China offers successful applicants 3 weeks tuition country’s fascinating history, amazing cities, people and accommodation at a Chinese university as and culture. I couldn’t recommend the trip enough to well as organising a selection of cultural trips and any student who has a desire to experience a new activities for participants. I, along with around 80 culture. Many universities have grants and funding other British students, were based at the prestigious available for students to help with the costs of the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. programme - even more reason to apply! With 40 scheduled hours of language tuition our academic itinerary was intense. Despite the Alexandra Brown difficulties getting to grips with the language, the excitement of a local understanding our broken attempts at Mandarin made all our hours in the 37 Q PHYSICAL THEATRE: MORE THAN DANCEY ACTING?

The stage: traditionally a foundation for acting, singing or dancing. Then, physical theatre came along and integrated the disciplines, the primary idea being that performers tell a story through physical means. What is it? Where does it come from? How is it put together? This month, Sophie Barnes unravels these questions

s physical theatre’s Like every performance discipline, it is Apopularity grows, so influenced by the whole world. Opera carries does its following. Italian influences, ballet carries French influences This is owed to the increase and physical theatre carries multi-cultural in media interest, putting influences. The earliest origins of physical theatre choreographers into the can be linked across the Channel to the French spotlight, including the likes of development of mime and ‘clown schools’, Matthew Bourne and physical particularly in Paris we all know and recognise theatre group DV8. The style the stereotype of the French mime. Either way, has also attracted younger the mime is used to show emotion and expression audiences as professional shows without speech. Many of the French elements of toured the UK, Europe, and beyond this are still linked to physical theatre today. to bring physical theatre to the world There have also been influences from outside stage. of Europe. For example, the Japanese ‘Noh’ The A-list of physical theatre continues theatre tradition uses every aspect of the stage to grow annually. Having first wowed and a ritualistic, dance-like movement style. audiences in the early twentieth century, Balinese theatre intrigued Artaud with its energy, classical practitioners such as Barrault, use of space and unique make-up and costume. Stanislavski and Artaud pushed at boundaries It is claimed that Artaud rejected using scripts and challenged tradition by establishing a in performance to dispel the metaphorical distinct difference between mime and physical barrier between performers and audience. theatre. Barrault is of particular relevance; he Artaud’s influence on physical theatre has led to rejected the idea that mime should be silent and performers having a more direct relationship with made way for the dawn of a new performance the audience. style. This was known as ‘total theatre’ and went Modern physical theatre also owes much of its on to lay the foundations for physical theatre. movement to contemporary dance, in particular It made way for future pioneers of postmodern the work of Rudolf von Laban. Laban looked physical theatre in the years that followed, with at creating movement for actors as well as for the likes of Motionhouse and Clod Ensemble dancers, integrating three aspects of performing bringing the style into the contemporary era arts: dance, drama and music. Laban made it through the use of social media. acceptable for others, including world-renowned The performance style is being introduced Pina Bausch, to look into the relationship between to a new generation of dancers as a major dance and theatre. part of the A-level and GCSE Performing Arts You may not realise it when you are watching, curriculum, allowing students to develop but pantomime is a form of physical theatre. Its expression in performance. It also introduces use of movement while acting or singing (or all boys to the marriage of theatre and dance, three together) is a key feature of the performance which can be off-putting on account of genre. it being ‘too girly’. Physical theatre So, what is physical theatre? There is no right requires no specific dance style from or wrong answer to this question; physical theatre its performers – it is the freedom to is simply the most bodily expressive style today. express emotion in performance Remember, the next time you are shouting “oh no whilst integrating various acting it isn’t!”, you are engaging with a contemporary and dance techniques. form of physical theatre. Q 38 ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE

CLOD ENSEMBLE: AN ANATOMIE Making a piece of physical theatre is a complicated, lengthy process; Culture editors IN FOUR QUARTERS Amy Pay and Sum Sze Tam spoke to Tracy Gentles, the producer of upcoming physical theatre production An Anatomie in Four Quarters, to find out how such a complex work of art comes into being

Photos: Hugo Glendinning, Manuel

An Anatomie in Four Quarters is showing I would think every process differs dependent on the soon in the WMC. Can you tell us a little bit approach of the director and the cast. With Clod about it? Ensemble the process is very collaborative, although An Anatomie was originally commissioned by Sadler’s the structure and concepts are given and shaped Wells Theatre in London as a site-specific piece for by our Artistic Directors. We work with a range their main house. The piece leads an audience to of physical performers who each bring their own draw parallels between the anatomy of the human experience and movement vocabulary to the table to body and the anatomical make-up (architecture) of create the piece in collaboration. a theatre. This time round we are reimagining the piece for What qualities do you think are the most the Donald Gordon Theatre, and joining up with the important for an actor looking to go into Sinfonia Cymru. physical theatre? I think it’s important to be open. The best physical It’s been branded as a really different kind performers I have worked with possess an openness of show. What can the audience expect? and willingness to learn and explore. Every Well, I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s quite performer working on An Anatomie, be they from a a ride! It is unique in the sense that each member of dance background or trained in physical theatre, has the small audience is central to the piece. With the a sense of exploration and a willingness to share, show split into four quarters, the audience alter their practice and develop, to find new ways to explore viewing positions within each. During each quarter ideas non-verbally. parts of the theatre’s inner workings are exposed, What’s in the pipeline for Clod Ensemble’s its guts, its mechanisms revealed, many of which an future projects? audience may not have seen before. The theatre is We are currently working with Sarah Cameron, who turned inside out as they move closer to the bodies of appears in An Anatomie, to adapt a novel she has the performers. written for the stage, The Red Chair, . Also we’re

Tell us a bit about Clod Ensemble. What working to remount an old piece, Red Ladies, which does your job as producer involve? is a piece for 18 identically dressed women who Clod Ensemble is led by Artistic Directors Suzy descend upon a city or town to perform a series of Willson, and composer Paul Clark who writes all of outdoor interventions before congregating indoors to Clod Ensemble’s music. They’ve been making work present a one-hour theatrical demonstration. If you’d for almost eighteen years now and I’ve been with like to keep in touch with what we’re doing please do them for the last five. watch this space: www.clodensemble.com My role as Producer at Clod Ensemble is concerned with supporting our Artistic Directors, distilling ideas and putting together the elements in order to make things possible. This can be anything from building relationships with venues, finding financial support or artists to work with. An Anatomie in Four Quarters is showing in the Donald Gordon Theatre, WMC, from How does the creative process in physical 29-30 Nov. theatre differ from straight theatre? 39 Q Land art: making the environment relevant again? via Dan Tucker

Q 40 EntErtaInMEnt CULtUrE if i really wanted to upset the Daily mail, i would probably - and ioS 7 users seem to so dislike. But it’s a bright often said that art is what distinguishes people from call up tracey emin and ask her if she would be willing yellow piece of plastic with the nestle logo emblazoned animals, and despite the inescapably anthropocentric to collaborate with greenpeace. “green” seemed to be across that makes me realise how i’ve missed the whole nature of such a judgement, i do feel that the desire to the big buzz-word of the pre-recession zeitgeist, but in point of this beautiful mass of colour. For me, Cragg craft, to shape, and to nurture are all at the very core of a time of austerity, the environment sadly seems to have is making the point that these titular new Stones, no the human experience. taken something of a back seat, retreating once more into matter how appealing, are rapidly replacing “newton’s of course, the accessibility of land art should not be the composting bins of eco-hipsters. environmentalism tones”, and i think Cragg wants us to react strongly to his construed as it suffering from a deficit of artistic merit. has started to appear as self-absorbed, and at its worst, pretense of naturality in his presentation of these objects. an attitude does persist in the British cultural mindset self-congratulatory; i can’t help but think of the joke like John latham’s “Derelict land art: Five Sisters”, a that conceptual art somehow lacks the refinement about the Prius driver with one hand on the wheel and documentation of the disposal of waste from oil shale or the rigour of mediums such as sculpture, or oil on the other patting his own back. Serious concerns about extraction, the piece serves as a direct challenge to canvas. i think that this is part-and-parcel of our “small-c” humanity’s future on this planet have become muddied society’s rather blasé attitude towards the planet. in a conservative culture in Britain; our inability, or more with branding and commercialism and the debate has world where the media is obsessed with throw-away correctly, our unwillingness to depart from the comfort of been hijacked by insincere point-scoring by career stories, and the profits of international corporations are traditional mediums. if you find yourself sceptical of more politicians. But British environmentalism may have found fueled by throw-away products, art that has remained unconventional mediums, then take the time to enjoy an unlikely hero for its cause. Uncommon ground: land roger ackling’s night and Day. the medium is exquisitely art in Britain 1966 – 1979 is an outstanding collection land art is one of those rare areas innovative - “sunlight on wood”. Yet despite the abstract of works from some of the most iconic names in British of art that anyone can “get”, sounding description, this medium is immediately land art, such as tony Cragg, richard long, antony familiar to all of us; ackling sketched his image using a gormley and David nash. Following developments in because there is nothing more magnifying glass to burn a smooth wooden block. the land art through the two decades that birthed modern human than wanting to participate fact that he considers one of his works to be “a country awareness of numerous environmental issues, this sketch in the vale of the white horse” demonstrates how exhibition functions as a return to those wholesome, in the world around us. keen ackling is for people to feel comfortable seeing hearty, almost childlike explorations of nature that make one of his pieces next to a watercolour or a marble land art so appealing, as well as making some very relevant for five decades is truly eye opening. sculpture. these challenges to our perceptions of the use salient points about the world around us. But land art isn’t just about punchy messages of social of natural mediums are distilled in the work of antony much of David nash’s work is reminiscent of what it responsibility. land art can just as quickly swerve “off- gormley. one of the biggest names in British land art, was like to learn to love nature. his 1977 work, ash message” and turn into a celebration of natural mediums, gormley is an expert in provoking discussions about Dome, was a 22 year project consisting of 22 young which is often when it’s at its best. hamish Fulton’s our perceptions of biomass, as well as our interactions ash trees being slowly shaped into a canopy. it instantly Seven Days documents a week long walk through the with it. his two contrasting works from 1978, Flat tree reminded me of those childhood games of building rockies in the autumn of 1978, is as accessible as it is (pictured) and Upright tree, respectively portray a tree dens in the woods with your friends.Wooden Boulder, engaging. his humble and thematically uncomplicated sliced horizontally into dozens of discs, and one left chronicles a three-decade-long journey of a block of pieces are reminiscent of the colloquial style of the intact, raising numerous thoughts as to how we view wood from north Wales to the ocean, moved only by works of alfred Wainwright, who famously documented organic materials. the forces of nature. like a child at play, nash lets loose hundreds of walks in the lake District. richard long’s a all of these themes, issues and concepts come together the instinctual desire to shape, to create, and to give line made by Walking (1967) is maybe the one piece to create an incredibly refreshing discussion of the natural meaning to his environment. this inescapable sense that is simultaneously the simplest and the boldest - a world, which challenges our preconceived notions of of innocence permeates land art; an air of naïvety path trampled into some grass near his home. these how we should behave in our environment, and what and purity that, bizarrely, serves to add to its highly paths, formed as a product of people cutting across sort of legacy that we are leaving for future generations. provocative nature. of course, we must remember that grassy areas, are known by numerous names - “desire land art breaks down our cultural perceptions about behind each of these serene depictions of the joys of lines”, “social trails”, “goat tracks” - and are all equally nature, removing the commercial and political bolt-ons nature is an artist making a bold statement about the endearing ways to illustrate our intimate interactions with that have distracted from meaningful stewardship of the world that they live in. the environment. richard long may have captured his earth. By getting back to basics, this exhibition brings Few, however, make statements bolder than tony line made by Walking fifty years ago in london, but it out our instinctual love for the land - the inbuilt desire of Cragg. his 1978 assemblage, new Stones - newton’s makes me immediately think of the “desire line” by the each human being to care for the planet, to contemplate tones (pictured) is a striking, fifty-square-foot piece traffic lights adjacent to the law building. this illustrates our role within it, and to behave in a socially and composed of hundreds of tiny plastic fragments, many of the reason why viewing the exhibition was so affectingly environmentally responsible way. Be sure to catch this which are recognisable elements of household products. personal; every piece in the gallery reflects something exhibit before it disappears after Christmas - it’s worth the look and texture of the piece is really quite stunning, universal, even fundamental, about our interactions with every minute of your time. and is definitely appealing in terms of aesthetics, made nature. land art is one of those rare areas of art that all the more pleasant by the cheesey wordplay of its title. anyone can “get”, because there is nothing more human See the exhibition for yourself at the National Museum of it has that kitschy, plastic, highly tonal feel that i so love than wanting to participate in the world around us. it’s Wales from September 28th to January 5th.

41 Q WOMEN OF FICTION

Bridget Jones: diary-writer, mother, Twitter user... We love her just the way she is; a character who embodies the woman of our time, supposedly. Anne Porter explores what makes her, and many other notable female literary figures, such an exceptional personality

Helen Fielding’s character first emerged in a a goody-two shoes. Her decision-making saves a person. Bridget is infamously unfortunate newspaper column in the 1990s, with the witty Ron and Harry on multiple occasions. In the in relationships with men. In the first diary column’s popularity leading to the character’s second novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber instalment, she writes “I will not fall for any life stories expanding to fill a novel. Bridget of Secrets, she figures out who is attacking the of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, is stereotypical, scatty and chaotic, but she muggles and how. In the final novel, Harry commitment phobics, people with girlfriends has taught us a lot. She teaches us that our Potter and the Deathly Hallows, her handbag or wives, misogynists, megalomaniacs, mothers are often a hindrance to our ultimate comes in very useful (who knew?) for keeping chauvinists, emotional fuckwits or freeloaders, independence, she shows that having perfect the trio safe. perverts.” Then she falls for Daniel Cleaver, her hair and make-up isn’t the be all and end all, Similar to Hermione and Bridget is Roald boss, who ‘embodies all these things’. Smooth. and she knows that people will love you if you Dahl’s Matilda. The little girl outsmarts her There are ups and downs in her relationships, are yourself. She is still popular today, partly father, despite his assertion that ‘I’m right and but her character finds happiness at the end of thanks to her 2001 on-screen transformation. you’re wrong, I’m big and you’re small, and the first two novels. Despite what we love about her, Bridget has there’s nothing you can do about it’. Her quick Bridget is not the only one in her friendship been criticised as a character. Her obsessive thinking sees her out of many family difficulties, group who has relationship problems. Her best calorie counting (which she still endures, aged eventually letting her escape her father’s friend Jude is often ‘crying over [her] fuckwit 51, in her third instalment, Mad About The wrath through being adopted by Miss Honey. boyfriend’. Bridget’s coping mechanism Boy) and her continual hunt for happiness in Women in literature can be seen as intelligent (burying herself in a duvet with Ben and Jerry’s a relationship is somewhat grating. Surely – just as they should be seen in reality. ice cream when she thinks Mark Darcy doesn’t Fielding should have taught us that there are want her) is less extreme but still similar to Miss more important things to worry about than Our fathers are invaluable. Havisham’s refusal to remove her wedding diets and the meaning of every single text Despite what Matilda thinks, some literary dress when she is jilted in Dickens’s Great message? Journalist Hadley Freeman argues females rely on their fathers. Bridget relies on Expectations - both seek comfort and security. that ‘being a woman who occasionally gets her father, and vice versa. When her father Bridget shows us that while bad relationships things wrong does not make you Bridget Jones fears that Bridget’s mother is cheating on exist, so too do good ones that are very much because Bridget Jones is fictional’. Hadley’s him, Bridget rushes to his aid. When Bridget worth the stress. quite right, but surely we can take some lessons is sick of her mother’s attempts to set her up from Bridget and other women in literature. with various men, she seeks consolation from Women judge people, especially each other. her father (that said, one of these men is Mark The first time Bridget meets Mark at her Women are intelligent. Darcy.) mother’s infamous ‘Turkey Curry Buffet’, she Bridget’s academic qualifications aren’t In contrast to Bridget comes Scout Finch from judges him on his comical Christmas jumper. exactly glowing (‘a Third from Bangor a very different novel, To Kill a Mockingbird Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with the University’) but she occasionally shows by Harper Lee. Scout, aged five and a half central relationship of Elizabeth Bennet and intelligence in other ways. She works in at the beginning, learns her life lessons from Fitzwilliam Darcy, was the basis for Bridget publishing, she lives independently in London, her father, Atticus. One of the most famous Jones’ Diary (note Mark’s referential surname). she has a close group of friends (including is: ‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you Elizabeth Bennet overcomes her ‘prejudices’ of ‘Shazzer. Likes to say fuck, a lot’) and she can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a sin to kill a to marry Mr Darcy. In contrast, Bridget shows eventually works out that Daniel Cleaver is an mockingbird’. herself to be judgemental of other women, ‘emotional fuckwit’, unlike Darcy. Bridget gets While Scout narrates the novel, she learns such as Mark’s colleague Natasha. Pride and through life’s challenges, albeit in a somewhat about the events surrounding her from her Prejudice celebrated its 200th anniversary this unique way. father’s perspective. This makes her very year, and its messages are still as relevant as mature. She learns how to understand others those in modern literature today. While bad relationships when her father tells her ‘you never really understand a person until you consider things Women in Literature: A Lesson in Self Worth exist, so too do good from [their] point of view’. Scout is similar These comparison points show that fictional ones that are very much to Bridget in that she relies greatly upon her women have a lot to teach us, despite being father, though Bridget doesn’t realise just how mere characters in representations of real worth the stress much she needs her dad. life. Perhaps the most important lesson that literature teaches us about women is that we Many women in literature are smart Relationships can be terrible, but also great. should be ourselves, no matter how hapless characters. Harry Potter’s Hermione regularly Family relationships within Bridget Jones’ that self may be (looking at you, Miss Jones). outsmarts her male counterparts. She is quick Diary aren’t always steady, but they are noted witted, loyal, friendly and, to say the very least, and seen as influential in the development of Q 42 ENTERTAINMENT THIS CHARMING CULTURE MAN

This month saw the publication of Autobiography, the long-awaited memoir of Morrissey – bequiffed singer, lyricist and iconoclast famed for fronting the 1980’s alt-rock band The Smiths. Owen Spalding tells us his views on the Penguin Classic

Usually reserved for such literary luminaries as Jake Owen Walters during the 90s is a truly Plato, Hardy and Nabokov, Autobiography moving vignette. ‘For the first time’ in my was published, at Morrissey’s request, by life…’ Morrissey recounts, ‘…the eternal ‘I’ Penguin’s venerable Classics imprint. The becomes ‘we’, as, finally, I can get on with news that the memoir would achieve a status someone’. never before achieved by an inaugural work understandably came laced with On several occasions, Autobiography controversy. I can confirm, however, that teeters on the edge becoming a platform for Penguin’s decision to publish Autobiography Morrissey to vent his rage at everyone who as such is entirely justified. has ever wronged him. His account of the infamous court case involving Morrissey and Beautifully written in a lyrical prose Mike Joyce, the former Smiths drummer, in laced with an inimitable, deadpan humor which Joyce successfully won the right to a only Morrissey himself could conjure, full 25% of the Smiths’ posthumous revenue, Autobiography is a joy to read. Smiths- clocks in at a mammoth 40 pages. Even related talk is kept to an absolute minimum, for a die-hard Mozophile (the affectionate occupying a mere 70 pages in this 457- nickname ascribed to devout followers of page opus. This does not prove problematic, the Moz), having to endure the rant of the however. The brilliance of Autobiography aggrieved singer borders on the tedious lies not with Morrissey’s brief account of his at times. It is, however, the brilliance of time spent fronting the seminal Manchester Morrissey’s written style, his acerbic wit band but in the self-portrait he paints of the and his ability to hilariously tear into his man himself. From his school days, ‘Kafka- adversaries with such rancor that saves such esque in its nightmare’, spent dodging the anecdotes from becoming stagnant. brutality of his teachers, to the teenage years spent locked in the bedroom of his Although we can forget any chance of mother’s Manchester terrace immersed in a Smiths reunion, I can only hope that the the poetry of Auden, Wilde and Housman, success of Autobiography provides the much- we are given a glimpse at chapters of the needed impetus for a new musical effort Morrissey legacy that are seldom explored. from Morrissey - a pop star unquestionably More tantalizing still is a hint at Morrissey’s as important now as he has ever been. As ever-mythologized sexuality. His account of the man himself solemnly reminds us, ‘I will the two-year relationship he shared with one sing. If not, I will have to die’.

Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and Morrissey’s Autobiography are both available in bookstores now

43 Q I’M AN ARISTOCRAT, GET ME OUT OF HERE KATHRYN ASHILL: FOR FUTURE REFERENCE 21 NOV, RWCMD 25 OCT - 24 NOV, CHAPTER For one night only, theatre company Gonzo Moose brings to After a visit to a psychic in 2007, Neath’s Kathryn Ashill Wales the hilarious, swashbuckling tale of a hero during the became fascinated with seers. Her ongoing autobiographical French Revolution. The show will bring you action, romance, project features drawings, installations, films and performances and ‘death-defying French accents’ - not an event to miss! that question the accuracy of readings, knowing the future and storytelling in life.

ARTING

PARALLEL LINES LLANAST! (CARNAGE) 20-30 NOV, CHAPTER 21-23 NOV, SHERMAN CYMRU The premiere of a 2012 Wales Drama Award winning play, A Welsh adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s Carnage, this this drama is about 15-year-old Steph and her teacher Simon contemporary comedy of manners upturns the mature world of when they are implicated in mysterious accusations. From two parents and reduces them to squabbling children. A modern critically acclaimed company Dirty Protest, this show explores classic, this show guarantees a hilariously chaotic evening. themes of class, truth and power. Q 44 ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE AN EVENING WITH BRYAN FERRY PERFORMING MEDICINE: THE ANATOMY SEASON 20 NOV, ST DAVID’S HALL 26 NOV-6 DEC, WMC Having just come from a stint writing the score to The Great To coincide with An Anatomie In Four Quarters, this short Gatsby, Bryan Ferry will be playing for one night only with season explores the relationship between anatomy and both his band and the newly formed Bryan Ferry Orchestra. performance. Free talks, art workshops and movement sessions led by industry professionals will open up the topics for attendants in a fun, accessible way.

AROUND

CHIN-CHIN GREG DAVIES 26-30 NOV, NEW THEATRE 27 NOV, ST DAVID’S HALL British acting veterans Simon Callow (Shakespeare In Love) The Inbetweeners’ headmaster takes the second solo tour of and Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) star in a revamp of his comedy career on a repeat lap around the UK. Guaran- Billetdoux’s French comedy. The two get together in Paris after teed to be hilarious, scathing and a humungous presence, their partners have an affair with each other, a story both the stand-up gives fans another chance to see him live and funny and sad. unrestricted. 45 Q BEYOND: TWO SOULS AVAILABLE ON: 3DS, 2DS AVAILABLE ON: 3DS, 2DS DEVELOPER: GAME FREAK DEVELOPER: QUANTIC DREAM OUT NOW OUT NOW 3/5

This month, Adam Bown looks at the spiritual successor to Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain. Is it worthy of being called an autumn blockbuster?

Sometimes expectations can make or break an opinion on a in a fight, whilst Madison Paige was chiefly in Heavy Rain to piece of work. For instance, the original ending to Mass Effect be exploited. 3 caused controversy when it brought to a close a series as Furthermore, the strong performances from the cast - Ellen anticlimatically as possible, almost like waiting for the encore Page in particular is excellent in the central role - and an at an Iron Maiden gig, yet instead of coming out with ‘Aces exquisite score by Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and Normand High’ they do a song and dance routine to ‘Sexy and I Know Corbeil, help to sell the dramatic elements of the story, allowing It’. players to get invested in the events transpiring. In this particular case, anticipation for Beyond: Two Souls was mute at best, this being writer/director David Cage’s follow up to 2010’s Heavy Rain: a neo-noir/sci-fi/thriller that, despite having some shining moments, almost hung itself by its own rampaging plot threads. However, what kept Quantic Dream’s latest offering interesting was the partcipation of A-list actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, as their performances - coupled with David Cage’s visual direction - had the potential to be one of the better collaborations seen in recent times. Beyond : Two Souls follows the story of Jodie Holmes (Ellen Page) ,who has been tied to an entity know as Aiden since birth, across 15 years of her life split into 24 chapters, which range from Jodie being a young girl at a paranormal research facility, to being hunted down by the CIA. However, one thing that has not been mentioned is the actual gameplay; and this is where we begin to find the first major problems. It is minimalistic at best - Jodie’s actions usually revolve around Quick Time Events or the much taked about ‘bullet-time’ mechanic, which involves moving the right analogue stick in the same way as Jodie’s motion, which led to several frustrating failures as some of the motions are ambiguous to say the least. It is also possible to explore the semi-linear environments with either Jodie or the entity Aiden, whose mechanics are controlled using the triggers and analogue sticks. However, unlike Jodie, Aiden has more of a free-roam aspect and can interact with certain objects and NPCs to solve puzzles or An create sheer chaos. This is exemplified in the chapter ‘Hunted’ First and foremost, it is a visceral experience that takes place whereby a series of opportunities to posess NPCs leads to one across a wide-array of locales and allows director David experience of the best action set-pieces of the game. Cage to to create technically impressive scenes - a personal Although this does bring us on to perhaps Beyond: Two favourite being a time-lapse in the chapter ‘Homeless’ which Souls’ biggest flaw: it is far more of a film than it is a game, an transitions from day to night whilst Ellen Page sings artist rather experience rather than a challenge, and that is what will make Beck’s ‘Lost Cause’. it suffer in the gaming community - it may well be too passive Cage’s script is on the whole much more tightly focused than a an experience for the ‘hardcore’ gamers of today. here than in his previous outing. It was also refreshing to see Nevertheless, it is bolstered by a great central performance Cage had dropped the rampant objectification of female challenge from Ellen Page, solid direction by David Cage, a phenomenal characters with Jodie being strong and able to hold her own score and has a story with an emotional punch that shows. Q 46 POKEMON X & Y

AVAILABLE ON: 3DS, 2DS DEVELOPER: GAME FREAK OUT NOW 4/5

Now in its 6th Generation, Nintendo’s series of Pokémon games have made their jump into 3D. Francesca Hepburn sees if the latest offering live up to the series’ reputation

If there is one Nintendo franchise that never seems to grow old, it their first Pokémon game. is most certainly Pokémon. Whether you fell in love with it through The pace of the game has improved compared to previous games the video games, the TV series or the trading cards - for the vast as, whilst the basis is the same, there is always something to do and majority of us Pokémon was everywhere when we were children. the game has a feel of fluidity that it arguably lacked before. The series has continued to influence generation after generation, Just as in previous games, each Pokémon can evolve when they as evident in its continued success at the top of sales charts and a meet certain conditions. However one of the most exciting features monopoly of merchandise wherever you go. The Nintendo DS not only saw 2 whole new generations of Pokémon games, but also two well-received remakes of the Game Boy Color classics Gold and Silver. Now the time has some for the series to make the jump to the Nintendo 3DS, but can it offer anything substantially new? The biggest noticeable change in Pokémon X and Y is the big upgrade in terms of graphics and general aesthetics. The colours

added is Mega Evolutions, which can be triggered once per battle when a Pokémon is carrying a particular item. This not only increases their strength, but there is also the possibility of their ability or types changing too, along with an awesome new look. This is an exciting new feature that all players can appreciate once they have ventured into the Kalos region. are more vivid, the movements of the characters are much smoother Although probably created to accommodate for a younger than previous games and the 3D enhances the game whilst not audience, quite a trivial feature that adds to the game is the mini being over used. Despite being visually upgraded, Pokémon X and games available with your Pokémon. You can now feed them to Y have still managed to keep the old ‘antique’ look of the original create a stronger bond, which positively affects the actual gameplay, Pokémon games that are loved by all players. increasing stats and general strength. There are three different mini As well as better visuals, the game can be personalised with games on offer, which include dragging the correct fruit to the right features such as the ability to change the clothes that your character There is always Pokémon and a catching game. All of these have three difficulty wears along with the fairly wide range of clothing and hair choices. levels and are a good way to have a break from the actual gameplay Whilst this isn’t why most people buy the game, it makes it feel more something to do itself. personal to the player and adds to the overall entertainment. and the game Overall Pokémon X and Y are impressive and suitable installments Surprisingly each Pokémon can still only learn a maximum of for the series. The new look given to the game really works and the 3D four moves, which can be quite frustrating when having to choose has a feel of feature is an added bonus making the battles feel just that bit more which move to forget; although traditionalists would argue that real. The fact that making the game feel brand new whilst sticking to changing this would be giving too much leeway for the players, which fluidity that it the core values of the series has clearly been at the forefront when particularly for those more experienced isn’t necessarily a good thing. arguably lacked the game was developed and, as a result, they have done justice to Also adding more slots would affect what is a very tried-and-tested a long running series. formula, which the makers of Pokémon X and Y have clearly made an before. effort not to change, no doubt to please players for whom this is not 47 Q RAYMAN LEGENDS

AVAILABLE ON: WII U, PC, XBOX 360, PS3, PS VITA DEVELOPER: UBISOFT OUT NOW 5/5

Rhys Thomas Elliott rediscovers the whimsical charm of 2D platformers with the crazy and colourful Rayman Legends

Rayman Origins was a game that resonated with many. drawn style visuals and quirky characters radiate off the screen, The tight 2D platforming coupled with a cutesy aesthetic That’s while the character animations are also extremely charming and musical charm was a neat throwback to the good old and fluid. For me though, the details in the environments are days. Rayman Legends builds upon the foundations Origins a lot of the visual high point in Legends. The game features an array created, and then some. However, Legends had a bit of a rocky of themed worlds for you to explore; everything from the start. It was initially intended to be a Wii U exclusive. Due to standard water and snow levels to the bewilderingly bizarre release in the early days, the game was delayed for months to Rayman world based on the contents of a fridge. Legends proves that accommodate a simultaneous release for Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, a good art direction trumps pure processing power any day. PC and PS Vita. I myself played it on the PS3. for 30 The gameplay in Rayman Legends builds upon the The game kicks off with Rayman and the gang being awoken foundations set forward in Origins. It involves swimming, after a 100 year nap to find out that the 10 princesses and teensies of the land have been captured by the dark teensies. quid The plot is appropriately minimal, but its charm and tongue- in-cheek nature caused me to crack a smile on more than one occasion.

swinging, leaping, stomping and punching your way through whatever hazards, obstacles and enemies the game throws your way, and it’ll be throwing a lot your way. As with Origins, Legends can be played co-operatively with 1-3 friends locally. There is definitely some fun to be had with Legends as a party game; the sense of camaraderie in working together to explore the levels with friends is pretty fulfilling. The aim of the game in Legends is to save the captured Tempo and timing are central to the platforming experience princesses and teensies. This is achieved across over 120 levels, here. This is perhaps why the soundtrack is so refined and with many collectables and goodies to find along the way; varied. The soundtrack features contributions from the likes it’s a perfectionist’s dream. There are 700 teensies to collect, of Incubus, Slimkid3, and DJ Nu-Mark. The high point in this with what can be taken as the endgame being unlocked at 400 game comes in the form of the rhythm-based levels. In these teensies. The core game took me roughly 8 hours to complete, levels, every interaction with the environment cues a musical but there is so much more quality content to this game. Each element in the track. For example, on one level I collected 30 level has a certain amount of lums (the game’s currency) lums in rapid succession, only to hear a 30 note, face-melting to collect and teensies to save, and you are accordingly guitar solo; the feedback is extremely satisfying and is hands- given a gold, silver or bronze trophy for your efforts. You are down one of my best gaming experiences this year. heavily rewarded for fully exploring the levels in the form Legends is about the fun factor, and nothing but the fun of Lucky Tickets, which unlock extra lums, enemy concepts factor. No DLC, no season pass, just pure gaming ecstasy. and extra levels. There are also daily and weekly challenges, The astonishing gameplay, charm, visuals and soundtrack of which pit you against the globe or your friends in addictive Legends all mix together to fuse a cocktail of gaming goodness. leaderboard-based challenges. That’s not all, Legends features: Buy it. 40 remastered levels from Rayman Origins, time trials, an addictive football minigame and survival levels. That’s a lot of Rayman for thirty quid. The visual presentation of the game is top-notch. The hand- Q 48 ENTERTAINMENT VIDEOGAMES

SHADOWS OF THE DAMNED AVAILABLE ON: XBOX, PS3 DEVELOPER: GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURER 4/5 OUT NOW

Anthony Coote goes to Hell and back with the most phallic gun you’ll ever fire in the 2011 grindhouse extravaganza Shadows of the Damned

“Shadows of the Damned” is a game produced by Suda and these all have their unique strengths and faults, but 51, Grasshopper studios and EA for the PS3 and Xbox 360. the largest weapon upgrades are Automatic. You can still The game centres round Garcia “fucking” Hotspur as he upgrade via Red Gems and later buy these and Health from refers to himself, who travels into the underworld to save Charlie the Daemon using the lesser White Gems which all his suicidal girlfriend Paula from Fleming “Lord of Demons” adds up to make the weapon system more a decoration than who wishes to make her his mistress. He is aided by his gun and demon sidekick Johnson. In case you hadn’t guessed by now this game is full of sexual innuendo and jokes probably more at home in a B-list movie than a videogame, however this turns out to be one of the games charms rather than a short coming as it contrasts and compliments the hellish surroundings Garcia finds himself in. The game aspires to pay homage to the grindhouse genre of cinema, characterised by excessive violence and sexual content, and it does this exceptionally well. This particular choice of art direction actually suits the videogame medium very well making for an immersive and alternative picture of Hell that seems almost credible. The world is exceptionally well imagined with great characters and a solid storyline. The game takes a five act structure split into levels. Of intrinsic element, but when your gun is a wise cracking skull course, at the end of each Act there is a boss fight and here with penis envy this shouldn’t matter. This game is more of is where the gameplay sometimes falls flat. a fun experience than an actual challenge and this is okay. There’s enough story and humour to carry it through and make it a thoroughly enjoyable 11 and a half hours. Even though the game was made in 2011 it does look slightly dated and texture pop-in is a constant presence. The art direction here is very creative, with the game as a whole pleasing to the eye, even if Garcia does run like a Jerry Anderson Puppet. This almost makes up for the shortfalls in An textures and animation, but with the standard of graphics in While some bosses are great such as the operatic steam- the current generation so high you can’t help but feel a little punk singer, others seem very lazy. They also vary wildly in immersive let down. the level of challenge they present. Even with the sisters grim The sound design on the whole is also commendable despite getting progressively harder and other bosses ranging from and occasional lip-sync issues, and the music while not as metal easy to fairly hard to defeat none of them present much of a as I would have like for hell suits the environment well and all challenge leading to a slight anti-climax. alternative the effects make the game extremely immersive. This leads us to one of the key issues of the game. Yes the Despite all it’s faults I can’t help but recommend the game. method of character control is dated and the camera follows If you like the gratuitous gross out horrors of the 70’s and you too eagerly, but for the experienced among us it may picture of 80’s then this game is for you. It is also the most normal by be too easy. Once I’d finished on the demon hunter (normal) far of Suda 51’s games (though that doesn’t take much) and difficulty I replayed it on hard but the level of difficulty didn’t hell it would be a shame to overlook it. increase that much. You get many guns throughout the game 49 Q SQUARE EYED

THE QUENCH TV ROUNDUP

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK With Marvel’s ‘Avengers Assemble!’ standing as the third highest grossing film of all time and ‘Orange is the New Black’ is a new comedy-drama series based on every frequent release being another smash hit, the company has undoubtedly mastered the art the author’s real experiences within prison. This show really will have of box office success. But now they have turned their attention to the small screen with a desire you rolling around on the ground laughing. After watching the first to rival the dominance of competitors DC. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is shaping up to be an episode there is no going back. Entering prison is Piper Kerman, an explosive, character driven thrill-ride. attractive young woman with a classically suburban upbringing, who The pilot episode opens with the introduction of the male protagonist, Agent Ward (Brett was caught for delivering a suitcase of drug money for her ex-lover. In Dalton), in a scene that acts as a stereotypical spy scenario that, naturally, escalates into violence, prison she encounters the outrageous rules she must follow in prison, yet still has the element of humour which has been evident in Avengers Assemble! and the Iron the racially segregated system and the sexually obsessed lives of the Man trilogy. Shortly after the confrontation, special-guest star Cobie Smulders (reprising her role women inside. as Agent Maria Hill) is revealed questioning Ward about “what S.H.I.E.L.D stands for”. After The events within the prison act as a paradigm for American Ward extends the acronym Hill asks what it means for him; typically Joss Whedon (director of politics and represent many of society’s flaws and ethical dilemmas. Avenger’s Assemble! and guest director of the show’s pilot episode) utilises this moment for a Alongside this it is thoroughly entertaining. Watching what seems to classic piece of satirical humour with Ward replying “that somebody really wanted our initials be a relatively ‘normal’ young woman encountering the new ‘rules’ to spell out shield”. This is not the first cheap one-liner and, although most are witty and clever, she has to live by while inside is relatable and equally hilarious. there are some recurring jokes that are annoying and get old really, really quickly: namely Fitz From the very first episode you won’t be able to tear yourselves and Simmons. away from being a part of her journey. You’ll watch how after being As with Avenger’s Assemble!, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D offers a team dynamic in the form of ‘starved out’ by the prison chef, dealing with the lesbian advances “Level 7”; a group of specially selected agents chosen by Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg; the from someone nicknamed “crazy eyes” and trying to keep a long walking, talking dead agent killed by Loki in Avengers) who are on the hunt for a man with distance relationship going with her fiancé she progresses towards a superhuman abilities as Coulson believes other interested parties will be looking for him as well. different psychological mind set and comes to term with the realities Coulson’s team consists of young, inexperienced, scientific specialists Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) of her life. Brilliant and witty one liners are used CONSTANTLY to and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge); who, based on their irritating collaborations, may as well unfold the realities of life inside prison which gives the show a light be the same character; Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), who has a mysterious past of her own; hearted spirit. Watching the flashbacks of Piper’s and her fellow and Skye (Chloe Bennet) – whose fascination with superheroes and suspicion of S.H.I.E.L.D inmate’s lives will leave you attached to the personal experiences of leads to her recruitment by the end of the episode. These characters are immediately established the great variety of characters and can really become an emotional as a mismatched grouping but it will be interesting to see how they work together and ultimately experience. By the end of the series you see a family of inmates form a team. Skye seems to be “a risk” but there is no reason to doubt Whedon’s character with their extreme differences pushing through the culture of prison development. together and a liberated Piper who knows what she really wants. ChArlie Andrews Alys TApp Q 50 enTerTAinmenT film & Tv

Quench Masterpieces

STARRING: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey YEAR : 2009 DIRECTOR: Duncan Jones

MOONSci-fi: In popular culture this has become a cheap term, conjuring up a lunar base that is at once futuristic and realistic. Using models images of Michael Bay’s giant robots, Tom Cruise looking surprised as well as CGI for realistic effect, you truly get a sense of being and blue Pocahontas. Gone are the days of gritty credible sci-fi, isolated on the moon, the utilitarian tech reminding one of the of HAL not opening pod bay doors, of Deckard stalking the streets Nostromo from Alien. CGI is also put to amazing effect in of futuristic Los Angeles. Or so we thought. Shining through the creating the two Sams, heightening the already intense veil of blockbuster mediocrity is a film that should be considered sense of hallucination. Along with the minimalist setting a modern masterpiece, the first true science fiction film since the film’s score, by Clint Mansell, is at once eerie Cameron’s 1986 Aliens. This film is Moon, brainchild of director/ and full of tension, perfectly complementing the writer Duncan Jones’ love for the true science fiction of the 20th plot. century. The plot itself is at once nostalgic and Set several decades in a foreseeable future, where clean power original, drawing on the corporate is provided by helium3 fusion, the story centres on the lone crew conspiracy theme common to sci-fi of member of Sarang base, a helium 3 mining outpost on the far side the late 70’s and 80’s. But instead of of the moon. This crew member, Sam Bell (masterfully performed the large casts and broad setting by Sam Rockwell), is nearing the end of his three year shift, and intrinsic to films such as Blade Runner has been away from Earth for too long. With only Gerty the base and Aliens, Moon takes the genre computer (voiced by Kevin Spacey) for company, Sam begins to in a decidedly intimate direction. hallucinate, becoming increasingly distracted from his dangerous The main character is isolated, work. The feeling of hallucination is only enhanced by the white accompanied only by machines, claustrophobic interior of the base, putting in mind the Discovery and at the same time Gerty cannot from 2001 A Space Odyssey. Eventually this hallucination leads be seen as a companion, but as Sam into an accident on the lunar surface; waking up in the the representation of corporate The nostalgia this film evokes authority. Even when the second Sam appears, he should not be is palpable, and only adds to considered a separate character, but as an extension of the original, the torrent of emotion as the making this film unique in that it can be considered the dramatic film reaches its intense climactic monologue and struggle of Sam alone. chapter. In Rockwell’s best role so far, he presents a character that is sympathetic and funny, medical bay, he has no memory of the accident. heartbreaking and utterly human. Spurred on by Gerty’s deflection of his questioning about the All these factors together create a cinematic accident, Sam ventures out onto the lunar surface, finding what experience that is vastly different from so- appears to be another Sam Bell at the site of the accident. Being called current sci-fi, a film that does not rely on unconscious but alive, this apparent clone is brought back to the special effects, a film that creates a truly powerful base by Sam, and when awakened appears to be like him in dramatic situation that will have a fan of true science every way. As the end of his shift approaches, and cut off from fiction enraptured from beginning to end. In spite of recent Earth by communication failure, the two Sams doubt their apparent attempts at a return to good science fiction, such as the ill-written hallucination, and determine to find answers to their situation. Prometheus and clichéd Oblivion, Moon will stand out as a The nostalgia this film evokes is palpable, and only adds to the modern example of what true science fiction should be. And with torrent of emotion as the film reaches its intense climactic chapter. a possible loosely-related sequel coming out in a few years, Mute, The atmosphere and setting of this film is masterfully achieved by hopefully the tradition of credible sci-fi can be resurrected. artist Gavin Rothery, a close friend of the director, who creates Oli riChArds 51 Q Quench 1963 Save the day

Kayleigh Chan is seriously excited about the upcoming 50th anniversary episode of doctor Who. you should be too - and here’s why.

This month Doctor Who turns fifty. Whovians across the world the first few episodes. Viewers may be surprised to find out just have been eagerly awaiting the date, savouring every little bit of how many obstacles were in the way to creating the first episodes. information that the BBC have drip fed into the public consciousness. Written by life long fan and Doctor Who regular, Mark Gatiss, the The fiftieth anniversary celebrations are vast and global, culminating film is his ‘love-letter to Doctor Who.’ in the premiere of the new episode The Day of the Doctor. Originally running from 1963 to 1989, what is now referred to Picture the scene. It’s Saturday November 23rd 1963. The world as ‘The Classic Series’, Doctor Who enjoyed twenty-six years as is still in shock and mourning after the assassination of JFK just a a primetime BBC show. When William Hartnell decided to leave day previous. You sit down for dinner at 5.15 and turn on the the show in 1966, the show’s producers were left with a difficult television. An old man ‘from another time, another world’ whisks decision, as documented in Gatiss’ drama. And so the idea of away his granddaughter and her two school teachers… in a police ‘regeneration’ was born, which allowed the show to continue box. with a brand new leading man. During the Classic era seven men Fast forward fifty years and the entire world is in preparation took on the title role; the most notable of which was Tom Baker, for The Day of the Doctor. The 75-minute episode, shot in 3D, will who played the fourth Doctor for seven years. Baker’s portrayal of be simulcast in cinemas throughout the UK, USA, Australia and the Doctor is so iconic that his long scarf and love of jelly babies New Zealand not to mention on TV in over seventy-five countries. is still associated with the character. A 1996 TV movie saw the The eagerly anticipated episode has been billed as an event. brand brought back for a brief time but received a poor reception, And with sell out cinema showings, it seems that Doctor Who is meaning that fans would have to wait another nine years before reclaiming this Saturday night as its own. In a time when catch up the show returned for good. TV dominates, it is a testament to the show’s history and production Since its return in 2005, Doctor Who has become an unstoppable team that there is such a buzz surrounding it. force. It has become a staple in the Saturday night schedule, not The Day of the Doctor is written by current showrunner Steven just in the UK but also with 80 million other viewers in over 200 Moffatt and features an all-star cast. The tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler countries. The demand for Doctor Who was demonstrated by the are back, as played by David Tennant and Billie Piper, and will be reception of the one-off programme, Doctor Who Live: The Next joining Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, the current occupants of Doctor, which was simulcast across the globe and revealed the the TARDIS. It will pick up where we left off in May, with a cliff casting of the twelfth Doctor. Filming for Peter Capaldi’s first series hanger that has sparked debate amongst the online forums. Just in the title role is due to begin in December, when Twitter will who is John Hurt’s character? We know that he is The Doctor, but typically be on the lookout for any sign of him on Cardiff streets. from what time? Past? Future? Or is he an amalgamation of all of One of the fantastic things about having Doctor Who filmed in them? Cardiff is that the locations used are instantly recognisable. Not A lot has changed since The Doctor, played by William Hartnell, only that, but it is also possible to discover filming taking place, set off on that first adventure. The new episode will be shown in Since its as many did for the upcoming episode outside both the National 3D, unimaginable for a 1963 audience content with a black and Museum of Wales and Doctor Who Experience in the bay. You white set and two channels. Secondly, we live in a faster paced return in may be surprised to watch old episodes back and realise just how world; what was an acceptable 25 minute episode back then many university buildings get used as sets. would barely pass as a pre-title sequence nowadays. Doctor Who 2005, Doctor Whilst there is yet to be any official events organised in Cardiff has defied all expectations from its beginnings as a drama the BBC for the anniversary, the Doctor Who Experience is once again was reluctant to make in 1963 to its flagship brand of the new Who has organising exclusive TARDIS tours as part of the celebrations. millennium. become an Available to purchase up to December 1st, fans have the opportunity During the build up to the fiftieth anniversary broadcast there to tour the actual TARDIS set, just a short walk from the Experience will be a range of Doctor Who focused programming across radio unstoppable at Roath Lock Studios. and television. Amongst these, one of the most anticipated is the The Day of the Doctor will see the hero face his biggest docu-drama, An Adventure in Space and Time. The 90-minute film force challenge yet. Even if you’re not a fan, you won’t want to miss explains the story of Doctor Who’s creation and the production of this television event. Q 52 2013 Quench ben foSter

Leanne dixon sat down to chat with doctor Who maestro ben foster, the conductor and orchestrator of the soundtrack to the time Lord’s adventures.

Hi Ben, how does it feel working on a show that you loved watching We are always delighted when a concert sells out so quickly! We growing up? first did the Doctor Who prom in 2008 and to bring it back this was It’s a big responsibility working on a show that you loved because you obviously very exciting both for us and the audience. We’ve toured in want to make sure that it is the way you want it to be, but also that Australia, we are going back there in 2014 and hopefully there will other people are going to enjoy it. It’s a thrill, and it doesn’t really feel be other tours in the future, as there is a great audience worldwide. like work sometimes, even though the schedules are pretty tough and But hopefully we won’t forget that we can perform this music in the UK the nights are pretty late, instead it does have an element of doing and there will be more concerts to come. something that’s a real treat and doing something that’s collectively The music is recognised in its own right and that’s fantastic, as is exciting. People are really looking forward to seeing the next episode, the fact that it’s available on CD. The record label Silva Screen have and I’m the same really, so when we get to see the new episodes and been incredibly supportive in putting the music out so that people can we are working on the music, it is a really exciting process. enjoy it away from the TV show. It’s great that Murray writes such strong themes that people can recognise them away from the show What is your relationship with [composer] Murray Gold and what is itself, and I think that helps the concerts, it also helps the CD and it your role as orchestrator? also helps people to be able to play the music away from the show I’ve worked with Murray now since 2005 so we have a very clear, and be able to imagine and remember the pictures, which I think is and very well organised relationship. We are also very good friends an important part of music for picture. I think the Doctor Who scores which certainly helps when you are in a bit of a pinch, because we appeal to so many people for that reason alone, which is that they rely on each other. I love working on Doctor Who with him and the can listen to them in their daily lives, whilst on the train or jogging or music he writes is full of life, love and character, and it’s a pleasure to walking the dog, and they can escape into the world of the Doctor orchestrate. My role as orchestratror is to bring to life Murray’s piano simply by listening to the music. It’s a fantastically powerful thing that sketches: sometimes he will write in a more detailed way, sometimes exists separately to the show itself and which we are delighted about. its just a piano sketch, which I will then transform into an orchestral form. The process of bringing Doctor Who to life is one that involves When you were first approached to be a part of the show did you still the National Orchestra of Wales as very much the heart of the sound expect it to be running now? of the music and they are people we really rely on to bring the music I guess so, because the show ran for such a long time before, and to life. They do an amazing job of recording a lot of music in a very there was always the hope that they would bring it back. I’m not sur- short space of time but not in a way that is boring, they do it in a way prised because as soon as it returned, you realised how much it had that is full of life and commitment, and really the music of Doctor Who been missed and how a new generation of fans were ready to take it wouldn’t be the same without them. on and love it as much as the previous generation did, who of course still love it now. So it’s a massive shared experience not just in the UK You’ve already mentioned the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and but all around the world. the life they bring to the music of the show. How has your relationship with them developed over the years? My favourite piece from the show is Goodbye Pond, what is yours? I’m very clear about what we can achieve in a short space of time and I’d have to say The Long Song from The Rings of Akhatan episode. I know the individual players pretty well, so when I write the orchestra- I’m very clear We performed it at the proms, and it’s a really anthemic and joyful tions I think of them personally, I think of who might be playing this piece. part and what character they can bring to it. To my mind they really about what we are the Doctor Who orchestra and they always will be. I hope we will What else you are working on at the moment? always be recording the music for the show with them; they are a very can achieve in A series for the BBC called Hidden Kingdom, which is a three part important part of it. a short space nature drama about the smallest creatures on the planet, which should be broadcast at the end of 2013. I’m composing, conducting and The Doctor Who Prom sold out two shows in less than an hour this year, of time orchestrating the music, and hopefully it’s going to be really great. are you happy that the music of the show is recognised in its own right? 53 Q Quench 1963 Gareth roberts

Gareth roberts has been writing within the Doctor Who universe since the 1990s. Leanne Dixon asks him how and why he came to write lines for the world famous time

how long have you been a fan of Doctor Who and expand it and put in a real feeling of ‘what would this feel how does it feel to work on a show you’re such a like and what would it be like to be travelling through time fan of? and space?’ He introduced the emotions of modern television. I can narrow it down to December 1972, when I was 4 It expanded as a drama. So, having worked on the soaps, years old. I was watching Jon Pertwee in the first episode it was great to be writing magical realism, where you treat of ‘The Three Doctors’. Obviously I didn’t understand what everything as if it was real. the doctors were but I vividly remember it. It intrigued me, it was very different to anything that was on television. When With Doctor Who every Tom Baker took over a couple of years later, that was when I became really wrapped up. I was fascinated by him. He felt so often it changes ... the very much like my Doctor Who, it was as if he was beamed lead actor changes, the down from another planet to play that part. I loved his strange rudeness. He behaved like a kid yet at the same time was design changes, the feel very adult, remote and strange. In those days, with no video recorders, you only got to see something once if you were of it changes lucky. Television was much more of an event, it was like a play. It came on and that was it, so you had to carry your What is it like working with russell t. Davies and memories of it with you, which meant you took a lot more in. steven Moffat? I’ve known them both as friends for a very long time. It is how did you get into this job? quite daunting and occasionally you do sort of get the willies! I’d been working in television for about ten years. People of What’s great about them is you learn so much. They’re both my age and younger had all grown up with Doctor Who and very different writers with different approaches. I’ve learnt so it had come to the point where you thought ‘Well why isn’t it much, things I had never considered, like the more technical on?!’ Growing up it was one of those continuous shows, like side of writing scripts, the difference between writing a soap Coronation Street or Eastenders. Suddenly you had a mass scene or a drama scene. They’re big ideas men, they come gathering at the BBC and they went ahead and brought it up with daring, sometimes scary thoughts and you think ‘Oh back in 2005. I had worked with Russell T. Davies before at my god, what if everyone hates it!?’ But they’re bold, they will Granada and I wrote my first episode in 2006, which went really go for it. When I first started in television there was a out in 2007. It’s a very strange feeling because it had been off general feeling of ‘oh, we better not frighten the horses’. Now, air for so long and was regarded as a bit naff! Then it came largely due to the success of people like Russell and Steven, back and it was hugely popular, and still is. It has gone back people want something that is going to make them go, ‘what to being a kind of perennial, it feels like a fixture, like a soap, the hell was that?’ a long-runner. how do you think the more recent series of Doctor so, how did you make the transition from working Who compares with classic Doctor Who? are you on soaps to working on Doctor Who? excited about the discovery of the lost episodes? Soaps gave me a good grounding. With soaps you learn so In a way, the old episodes were sometimes much scarier. much, about production, what can and can’t be done, what We have all sorts of compliance these days where you kind of scenes to write and where to cut. Before the return of very rarely see blood in Doctor Who. In the old days there Doctor Who the storylines tended to have a problem, the cast was buckets of it, with really horrible things happening to dealt with it and then just let it go. There were big emotions, people! I was watching some of the rediscovered episodes terror, joy, fun and solving a mystery. What Russell did was and there is a lot of sadism and people being very nasty. Q 54 2013 Quench

Join Quench as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Doctor Who broadcast.

We still have that but it’s quite shocking when you look It changes all the time. If you look at the first episode of back. I think, in general, 60s and 70s television was a lot Coronation Street, for example, it’s still recognisably the more squeamish about things like sex and nudity than we same show that it is today. With Doctor Who every so often are, but could be quite violent. I was hugely excited about it changes. The lead actor changes, the design changes, the the lost episodes, I stayed up until late to watch them feel of it changes. That’s part of the reason that it has gone straight away. It was a surreal feeling. It’s been in your on for so long. Different writers, producers, doctors and head for thirty, forty years and suddenly it’s there. It’s like companions come in and consequently every so often you rediscovering something from history, like a new work of are being presented with something entirely new. It wasn’t Leonardo Da Vinci turning up! built into the format when it started, it was an accidental thing, but it has become the icing on the cake of the show. What Russell did was You can look at clips from 1965, 1975, 2005, or even 2015 expand it and put in a real soon enough, and they’ll all look totally different. What do you think it is about Doctor Who that feeling of ‘what would this attracts such devoted fans and why it appeals to feel like and what would both adults and children? Every episode is somebody’s first episode. One thing that’s it be like to be travelling very important is to keep a sense of wonder about the series. You have to constantly remind the viewers of how amazing through time and space?’ it is! Say you are a five year old girl now, you are going to tune in next year to Peter Capaldi, which will be a whole Considering your work on the sarah Jane new show to you. So in a way, every series is the first series. adventures, what do you think are the differences between writing for children and the fans really are so devoted, there are a lot of family? hardcore Whovians. Writing for children can actually be a lot more serious. Definitely but there are also a hell of a lot of people who aren’t Children will pay much more attention to the plot and that into it, yet still watch it fairly religiously. You have varying they will notice things more. A few times in Sarah Jane degrees of your audience and you are always trying to hold a scene would last about five minutes just explaining the that audience and increase it. It’s a question of making it open premise of something, you wouldn’t really risk that in and welcoming to anybody. So yes, there are hardcore fans Doctor Who. Douglas Adams once said: ‘the jokes are who know everything that’s ever happened, and then there are there for the adults, the plot is there for the kids’. Stories those which know hardly anything at all about the show, and are new to children and you have to respect that. It’s they are just as important. difficult because writing Doctor Who is so unlike writing So, it’s like a balance of capturing the two types of fans? anything else, you can’t compare it to anything else. It’s Yeah, and I think this year, particularly with the 50th anniversary, very fast moving, and the tone changes within a few there is a lot of pay off and warmth for the whole history of it. seconds. It’s a very hard job and, if I may say so, a very But normally it’s more a question of moving on and finding new unique skill to have! things to explore, reinventing the series each time.

What do you think is the secret to the show’s Gareth is currently working on the new Peter Capaldi episodes longevity and can you see it changing over the for Doctor Who Series 8. next 50 years? 55 Q CINEMA REVIEWS MORE ONLINE:

DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron PRODUCERS: Alfonso Cuaron David Heyman STARRING: George Clooney Sandra Bullock STUDIO: Esperanto Filmoj BUDGET: $100m

REVIEWER: Oliver Richards GRAVITY 4/5

Gravity is a beautiful film, make no mistake. Director Alfonso Cuarón (Prisoner that combine an excellent score, clever sound engineering and the inescapably of Azkaban, Children of Men) and his cinematographer Emmanual Lebezki beautiful cosmic landscapes shown in deep and effective 3D. In moments such (Tree of Life) lovingly craft a vision of such, ahem, gravity that it is hard to as this the closing of an airlock is preceded by a booming swell of noise which resist. Co-written with his brother Jonas Cuarón’s script is perhaps the only dissipates in such a manor that will leave more than a few thinking they have disappointment: the combination of a stargazing George Clooney and a just experience a pressure change. monologue on the significance of life is a bit cloying. But, for the most part This suspense gradually creates a vice-like grip that, regardless of corny however Clooney, and the real star of the show, Sandra Bullock do a good job lines and some too earnestly heart-tugging exposure, is difficult to escape. of carrying the film’s heavy subject matter. Whatever you think about spending 90 minutes sharing a space helmet, and Cuarón’s film, unlike Terrence Malick’s Tree Of Life, does not aim to intrigue the camerawork seamlessly creates this symbiosis, by the film’s conclusion you your moral compass or posit questions about the universe of life-changing will be heaving a heavy sigh of release and sucking in as much breath as you grandeur. Instead Gravity instead, in a similar fashion to Danny Boyle’s much can find in the theatre. As far as modern cinema goes, for all its obvious turns underrated Sunshine, aims to construct a tense and gripping world leaving and techniques, Gravity creates a true experience. Something that is often both its characters and audience breathless. This is best achieved in sections missing from blockbusters. RunneR RunneR 2/5

For a film about online gambling, Runner Runner ironically takes not a single enough material or screen time to fully develop their characters; filling in as one- risk. The movie follows a safe, tried and tested formula dealing with the theme of dimensional supporting roles. However the most disappointing element of Runner innocence being corrupted. Think The Devil’s Advocate but in Costa Rica. Justin Runner is the director Brad Furman. Furman showed great promise with his earlier Timberlake stars in the lead role as Richie Furst, a genius Princeton student whose directorial effort The Lincoln Lawyer; but the assured and tight storytelling is clearly tuition money is stolen from him then arrogantly sets out to confront his perpetrator absent this time around. Ultimately despite its attempt to be an engaging thriller, Ivan Block played by Ben Affleck, but is ultimately enticed by the lure of money there are little to no thrills or exciting plot twists and as Runner Runner runs its and women. Timberlake never has to stray too far from either expressing a worried course, there is unfortunately no climatic payoff. Instead once the credits do begin look or showing the audience how good he looks in a suit. It is a seeming waste of to roll, viewers are simply left with a distinct underwhelming feeling as they realise acting potential having previously showcased his ability to find depth and range that there is no way of retrieving the last ninety minutes of their lives. A much more in The Social Network. apt title would be Duller Duller. In contrast Affleck as the pantomime antagonist of the piece is loud, brash and volatile. Talented actors Anthony Mackie and Gemma Arterton are not given Imran Bukhari Q 56 enTeRTAInmenT fIlm & TV “...this is a master class of real-life dramatisation from the director who does it best...”

CApTAIn phIllIps 4/5

The long-anticipated big screen retelling of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk from each scene, and contrasting the cramped and dingy ship with the vast and Alabama does not disappoint. Veteran director Paul Greengrass offering two unending ocean that serves as the canvas for this gripping and enthrallingly told hours of brilliantly played-out tension, as the action moves from the darkness of tale. the ship’s engine room to the creeping claustrophobia that engulfs the latter part Right from the opening shots of Captain Phillips at home as he prepares to of this epic and intense film. With the Bourne Ultimatum director masterminding embark on this fateful voyage, this film clearly aims to be more than the brainless proceedings, Captain Phillips is a showcase of how to imbue a real story with action movie it could have easily become. The real-life elements, and the lingering genuine suspense and terror, each scene gradually building towards the central thought that this is an all-too-common occurrence for vessels in this part of the action with commendable skill. world, offers a sense of perspective and reality that raises the film to a very high Recounting the story of Captain Richard Phillips and his crew on the Maersk standard. Light on laughs and heavily dominated by a testosterone-fuelled male Alabama, which became the first American vessel in over a century to be cast - I counted no more than three women with a total screen time of less than successfully hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, this film is notable for the ten minutes - this movie may not appeal to all cinema-goers, with its brutal and performances from its two leads. Tom Hanks produces a performance that ranks unflinching examination of the fraught nature of piracy and hostage situations. alongside anything from his commendable back catalogue, whilst newcomer But the sheer quality with which Greengrass executes this film, without flashy Barkhad Abdi sparkles with menace as the villain of the piece. Alongside these Hollywood set pieces or baseless posturing, makes it a gripping and nerve commendable performances, where this film really excels is in the confrontations shredding watch. Despite the extensive running time and unrelenting intensity between the pirates and their victims, the life-or-death stand-offs portrayed with that underpins the whole film, this is a master class of real-life dramatisation from such breathless realism that you feel yourself being drawn into the heart of the director who does it best. this real-life story of terror and piracy on the high seas. Greengrass uses his trademark close-up camerawork to full effect, drawing every ounce of emotion James Ayles ThoR: The dARk woRld 4/5

Coming from the same company that gave us Iron Man and Avengers Assemble, more interesting exploration of Thor’s relationship with his family, particularly the first Thor film produced by the franchise in2011, featuring Chris Hemsworth Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and even with some welcome light humour, manages a as Thor, was largely well received commercially and critically, despite some better appropriation of mood throughout. criticism of being more commercially-minded than true to the original Marvel In this film, there is a better flow between the two worlds of earth and Asgard, creation. in contrast to the slightly forced nature of Thor’s first appearance on earth in the It will please many comic book enthusiasts to hear that Marvel Cinematic previous film, as well as being a film that should delight long-time Marvel fans Universe’s second Thor film, Thor: The Dark World is a more serious and and a wider audience alike. Where bad sequels have the potential to turn a generally darker affair. It retains everything that made the first film so enjoyable; well-loved film into something predictable and tired, Thor: The Dark World only Hemsworth’s fantastic delivery, exciting but not over-the-top visual effects, expands and progresses from the original, hinting at great things to come from powerful one-liners and a cinematic-sized soundtrack, this time composed by Thor and Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole in the future. Brian Tyler (who also scored Iron Man 3), that accurately represents the ferocity of battle alongside more solemn adagio sections. This edition contains a further, Alec Evans 57 Q Well, do you? In a season of Welsh musIc aWards and festIvals, charlIe mock examInes just hoW far songWrItIng In Welsh can get you In 2013

It’s hardly a new development. Music was an music industry in Wales boasts a collection of top- competition, Lewis received strong support from all inherent part of the Welsh culture long before Tom class artists. This attention, albeit getting the hard four of the show’s judges, with Jessie J telling her Jones lent ‘It’s Not Unusual’ to Carlton Banks’ famous work of talented musicians noticed, also begs the that she didn’t need the show to have a career. In dance moves. No, ‘the Land of Song’ has been question: why are only Welsh media outlets pushing the sixth months since the initial airing of Bronwen’s churning out music since the twelfth century and it the dreamy Celtic lyrics into the limelight? If ‘Sunday episode of The Voice, she has been signed to Thumb isn’t stopping any time soon. Ask anyone and they’ll Girl’ can get to number one with a verse in French, Print Music on a six-year contract. Lewis opened up be able to name a myriad of Welsh artists, be it who says a Welsh act can’t follow in Blondie’s following the show saying that ‘more Welsh music Newport’s favourite alternative rock band Feeder or footsteps and get their own language recognised on needs to be sung on television, it needs to be more veteran on the scene Shirley Bassey. That being said, a national or worldwide scale? accessible to people my age’ and what better place ask someone to name an artist who sings primarily to begin than the great big network in the clouds (no, in the mother tongue of our Celtic nation and you’re 73% of the population not heaven), the internet. likely to be left hanging. Why? Well, approximately Producer, DJ, radio presenter and musician 73% of the population in Wales have no Welsh in Wales have no Welsh Gwenno has been in the industry for seven years and speaking skills, leaving a tiny fraction to lead the with experiences of singing in Welsh, Cornish and movement. Before music in the Welsh language has speaking skills, leaving English, is adamant that music should not be ruled by even left its country of origin, it’s deemed a minority. a fraction to lead the language. ‘We’re in an era where interesting things But when did that ever stop anyone? in music can get out there - music isn’t language,’ she Organisations throughout the country work hard to movement. enthuses, believing that the internet revolution should ensure that the music of Wales is given the attention it be used to its full advantage to ensure that music deserves. Both Mentrau Iaith Cymru and Cymdeithas With the Welsh language heralding a history placed produced in any foreign language receives the yr Iaith Gymraeg host battle of the bands shows and firmly in the genre of folk and evoking memories of appreciation it deserves. Websites like Soundcloud annual festivals presenting acts who utilise the Welsh the many male voice choirs that get through to the and Last.fm are overflowing with artists creating language in their music as well as BBC Wales, BBC semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, it’s no wonder that music using some of the world’s most diverse sounds Cymru and Huw Stephens at Radio One showing the Great British public are slightly close-minded and since technology is making it easier than ever for their continuing support and promotion of the scene. towards the vast amount of music hiding behind the those outside of the mainstream to present their work The abundance of record labels championing the border. Earlier this year, 19 year-old Bronwen Lewis to an audience of millions, a lack of platforms no Welsh language is just as strong, with Cardiff-based attempted to break down the stereotypes clinging to longer poses a barrier. ‘This is an age where there Peski putting on a regular night to showcase the the language with what was described as a haunting is so much music and so much access to it, if you latest talent that has emerged on the circuit. Not only translation of Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’ for BBC talent have another form of expression you should pursue is it a community that is growing consistently, the show The Voice. Despite not progressing in the it,’ she continues. ‘Before the internet you could just

Huw Stephens: spokesperson for Welsh artists

Q 58 entertaInment musIc

Gwenno has released debut single Chwyldro in Welsh, promoting an international music scene. be dismissive,’ she emphasises, outlining the vast English is the only official language worth having – these can prove career changing for artists, it is not expanse of music that young people in particular are they don’t represent us.’ Even the new Nordic Noir unknown to hear that they feel segregated from the exposed to today. TV series ‘Y Gwyll’, broadcast on BBC 4 has been mainstream English-speaking performers. ‘There’s no Georgia Ruth, singer, harpist and winner of this stripped of its original Welsh language. Where its reason why we couldn’t have just performed with the year’s Welsh Music Prize with her album ‘Week of Scandinavian counterparts keep their language and rest of the bands,’ suggests Sen Segur’s Ben, having Pines’, which features a combination of tracks in both gain subtitles, ‘Y Gwyll’ was filmed in English purely played Nyth Presents, a night dedicated to acts English and Welsh, agrees with Gwenno: ‘if you can for the purpose of mainstream UK television. playing in the Welsh language during S n Festival. express yourself in the Welsh language, why not?' Co-organiser of both events Huw Stephens insists In spite of this, some still feel that singing in a Music isn’t language - that they ‘didn’t want to segregate the Welsh and language understood by such a small proportion the English because that’s not what [they] think the of the UK’s population is limiting your chances of We’re in an era where scene is about – the Welsh music scene in general progressing in the industry. Welsh singers Sen Segur is very inclusive, so it’s easy to just let the music take have spoken out about playing shows engineered interesting things precedence.’ With the WMP showcasing artists purely for those who speak the language, saying who sing in both languages and stages across S n that it’s ‘difficult to reach new audiences because can get out there and other Welsh festivals like it placing acts from you’re performing to the same circle of people’. As across the world next to one another, it is not out a result, the band has made the decision to switch With the Celtic tongue struggling to make it to of the question to ask when similar things will start to the English language in an attempt to maximize the big time in something that has already received happening on a larger scale. It’s clear that interest their listeners. ‘We don’t feel like we’ve been forced critical acclaim, the worry that the language barrier in the scene is certainly not dead. Through the into changing our language; we did it because we may never be broken in the entertainment industry continuous growth of events that champion artists like wanted to… We love singing in Welsh, it’s in our does creep into mind. Despite this, Gwenno insists Gwenno, Georgia Ruth and their contemporaries, it blood, so we’ll never lose it,’ responded vocalist that ‘the best music ever made was not made as a could be only a matter of time before national media Ben. On the reason behind their upcoming release: career thing, it was made to just be in the now. You outlets shine the spotlight on Welsh language that ‘I think that we’ve reached our full potential in have to make your own motivation as [the Welsh those artists have been waiting for. Wales, there’s not much else we can do here but language] isn’t mainstream.’ When asked if she So, what’s next for Welsh music? Will it keep playing the same venues. It’d be nice to play in ever thinks that the language will fade out as a form continue to showcase the uniqueness that is the front of people we’ve never met before.’ of musical expression, Gwenno suggested that we country’s language? The answer: undoubtedly. The But is a restricted following the only factor leading ‘always have to have the attitude that it could… The compromise? We may have to be willing to delve artists to make the decision to up sticks and switch to sense of crisis is an artistic motivation.’ So, providing a little deeper into the treasure troves of the ocean a language so saturated as English? Gwenno points musicians are prepared to brave the wilderness that that is the World Wide Web in order to reel it out. At out that in the past ‘people have experimented and surrounds the social mainstream of the 21st century, least for now, anyway. not been given much attention for doing so. Even in original and innovative use of the Welsh language in Wales there’s a resistance to the language – it’s not music should continue to strive. Gwenno’s single ‘Chwyldro’ is available for just about the music.’ She explains that the funding Of course, opportunities for Welsh artists to get download now with the album released in March behind music in the Welsh language has proved their music recognised within the industry are 2014. Georgia Ruth’s WMP winning ‘Week of Pines’ a contentious issue across the country. ‘I think it’s growing year by year with the Welsh Music Prize and is also available for download. Look out for Sen the general influence of the UK in the media and S n Festival about to enter their fourth and eighth Segur’s upcoming English language debut, estimated government, which still adheres to the idea that years respectively in 2014. Although events like for release in late December. 59 Q record reviews More oNLiNe: ArcAde fire - reflektor 5/5

The Montreal-based band, now on their fourth from the alternative approach to dance music of album, has been the subject of much critical acclaim Lcd soundsystem. Highlights including the david throughout their 12 years together, with previous Bowie-assisted reflektor, an unusual choice for a album The suburbs seeing them being named album first single with its seven and a half minute length of the year by Q Magazine and BBc 6 Music. and some French-language lyrics, the comparitively on their fourth album reflektor, they have worked catchy You Already Know and second disc finale with James Murphy of Lcd soundsystem as their supersymmetry, coming across as Arcade Fire’s producer. The album shows them drawing from the take on a fusion of African drumming and an almost suitably ambitious concepts of Black orpheus, a sigur ros-style ambience. 1959 film based on an adaptation of the Greek despite not being one of the year’s most instant legend of orpheus and eurydice and The Present albums, repeated listens in full should give listeners Age, an essay by danish philosopher søren the opportunity to hear the band producing some of Kierkegaard. The consistency and flow lends itself their best work yet. Butler’s comments of influences well to a double album, with a sense of freedom being ‘locked down by the time you're 16’ don’t still allowing them to give way to new ideas, seem to show in reflektor – this is a band that just such as the Haitian music and even influences keeps evolving. Alec evans gwenno - chwyldro 4/5

if you’re new to music in the mother tongue of welsh of the welsh alphabet reverberate beneath the main then Gwenno is a great artist to begin and arguably focus of attention in a barely audible whisper. if that’s end with, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. not enough to keep you interested then r seiliog’s ‘chwyldro’, the first of three singles from the upcoming mesmerizing interpretation of ‘chwyldro’ tops off the LP (welsh for revolution) is a beautifully relaxing release wonderfully. with a psychedelic spin on the infusion of synth and bass, topped by the angelic single, it is certainly a track worth waiting for. we vocal acrobatics of cardiff’s very own music producer, must urge, do not be put off by the lack of english dJ, radio presenter and musician. released on Peski language- the dream-like celtic lyrics enhance the records, the collection is a perfect example of the overriding tone of the calming electro-pop, lulling you talent that is hiding behind the city walls. despite its into a serene state of contentment that would blend downbeat tone, swathed in all its chilled out glory, a particularly well with a mug of hot chocolate and a prominent bass line keeps the track in the check giving thick blanket when you’re hiding from the stereotypical it an overridingly optimistic resonance. Bonus track cardiffian weather. ‘A B c ch d’ is equally haunting and just as packed catch Gwenno at Undertone on 23rd November with echoey melodies and enchanting hooks. As the with Y Pencadlys. charlie Mock soloist narrates the hypnotic verses, the first five letters

fUtUre of the left - how to stop yoUr brAin in An Accident 4/5

As cardiff's best alternative band, i would irrelevant but interesting) and the arrival of ex- argue and lead singer Andy Falkous would Million dead bassist Julia ruzicka. This sound certainly argue, Future of The Left have being a mix of sludgy rhythms ('Future child quite a task in surpassing their 2012 welsh embarrassment Matrix') and increasingly Music Prize-winning 'Plot Against common anthemic tunes ('Johnny Borrell Afterlife'). sense'. FoTL had certainly crafted their most it almost goes without mentioning that Falco's coherent and aggressively catchy record to lyrics are as sharp as ever, aggressively date, containing both their trademark wit and political when fitting and absurdly entertaining angular punk rock with sense of longevity elsewhere (see 'singing of the Bonesaws'). perhaps missing from the bands previous two The resulting album is less of a step forward efforts, 2007's 'curses' and 2009's 'Travels but a showcasing of a group that, tighter than with Myself And Another'. ever, have created their niche and built a As far as the songs go, the band's new comfortable but exciting home within it. oli album 'How To stop Your Brain in An Accident' richards builds upon a sound they carved out with the departure of previous bassist Kelson (who now works in cardiff University's dental hospital,

Q 60 entertAinMent MUsic "...The resulting album is less of a step forward but a showcasing of a group that, tighter than ever, have created their niche and built a home within it..." los cAMpesinos - no blUes 5/5

You know those albums where every song is gives an expectation-shattering hint at what is to absolutely top notch? Those albums that you just follow. ‘what Leaves death Behind’ and ‘Glue can’t stop listening to? Yeah? well, this is one of Me’ keep the record moving consistently towards them. ‘No Blues’ is the newest release from cardiff’s ‘Avocado, Baby’, the first single released from the very own sextet and it’s a mighty good one, to say album. Providing yet another page in the band’s the least. meticulously thought out musical canon, the track’s don’t let the optimistic title get you too in the final refrain hits you like a wall of bricks before mood for the latest bubblegum pop though; in sliding calmly into the closing tracks. true Los campesinos! fashion, a wave of ardently ‘selling rope’ brings the album to a defiant finish anguished lyrics hits you in the heart at exactly with a beautifully slowed down melody and echoing the same time as the overwhelmingly buoyant reverb. As a result, ‘No Blues’ draws you in, takes noise pop crashes into your ears. A match made you to its peak with a mish-mash of beautifully in heaven if there ever was one. ‘For Flotsam’ sets layered harmonies and instrumentals before being the tone for the album. with a mighty chorus that dropping you straight back into reality amidst the could have easily turned the record into the biggest overwhelming and insuppressible urge to listen all anti-climax since the 2012 steps reform, it instead over again. charlie Mock eMineM - the MArshAll MAthers lp 2 4/5

There didn’t seem to be a taboo subject that eminem days, but his sense of diction is a return to form, hinted wouldn’t tackle releasing ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ back at but never quite achieved on recovery three years ago. in 2000. Having since opted for an altogether less angry Looking forward to hip hop’s future in collaboration with sound on following releases, could it be that ‘the most popular upstart Kendrick Lamar on Love Game as well meanest emcee on this earth’ has mellowed out in his later as embracing its past with catchy but slightly regressive years? revealing his new album to be called ‘The Marshall Beastie Boys tribute Berzerk, this is eminem adapting to Mathers LP 2’ at the MTv video Music Awards in late the times, referencing hip hop history and writing personal August, eminem was clearly interested in a return to the lyrics better than he has done in over a decade. Possible venomous mood from the turn of the millennium, but the highlight is the Kanye west-style ambition of rap God, question on the world of hip hop’s lips was just how well combining some of eminem’s fastest rapping yet with edM- would the man behind ‘The real slim shady’ stand up in inspired synth. 2013? The Marshall Mathers LP 2 doesn’t have the consistency straight from first track Bad Guy, eminem sounds more of the original, but even some of the filler tracks prove invigorated and focused than he has done in years. interesting listens. For a rapper that has claimed to be He raises the bar further with rhyme or reason, his ‘back’ on every album since he rocketed to fame, with this combination of rapid-fire verses and some amusing one- record you can’t help but think that he means it more than liners. The backing beats are a step down from his glory he has done for quite some time. Alec evans disclosUre - Apollo little Arrow - poeticAlly electronic wonder-kids disclosure There is nothing new to report in their third endeavour, Little the stronger personality, leaving are back, only a short time after here, just a very well produced Arrow’s title track 'Poetically' opens the first in folk limbo. This time, the their debut album launch with piece of electronic fare which, with a rich a cappella reflection electric instrumental with chanting ‘Apollo’; a decidedly darker whilst staying comfortably within on the world’s cruelty. A chorus of vocals achieves its aim, surreal and track, featuring their trademark the realms of conventional club voices resonate with the potential climactic. deep, lush synths and space-like music, succeeds in sounding fresh to move away from conventional Third track 'Paddy Fields' is a vocal samples, showing that they and interesting with an absence folk. Unfortunately, those guitar live session. sparse acoustic guitar have not completely lost touch of cheese or compromise. This twangs soon kick in, while the vocal accompanies the richest vocals on with their garage roots. After track easily matches some of becomes self-indulgently theatrical. the single, adding to the isolation the chart success of ‘Latch’ and the best material off the album The track builds to a clash of drums pervading the lyrics. The steady drum ‘white Noise’, it’s promising to and unquestionably tops off an and inconsequential electric guitar to beat and multitude of voices come see they haven’t lost their ability excellent year for Britain’s most close. in again, unnecessarily: a stripped- to release highly energetic house exciting musical duo. radiohead influences permeate back offering would have had more music, appealing to both hardcore george Atkins follow-up 'i Man ogre'. This track impact. But then that ain’t folk. fans and the casual club-goer in is jarring to higher effect. it’s just hannah embleton-smith equal measure. a shame that the second track has 4/5 3/5

61 Q LIvE REvIEWS MORE ONLINE: It’s dark. There isn’t a queue at the bar. The usual tonight’s inhabitants of the third floor must endure a buzz of the top floor is somewhat stagnant, as the large weak and pretentious musical display, backed only by audience huddles awkwardly around a gismo-cluttered a projection of a naked man swinging his ding-a-ling. stage, awaiting vintage indie band Young Knives. Singer Henry Dartnall’s tie-dye outfit and pompous Five minutes late for their set, bassist Thomas Dartnall stagecraft is accompanied by a bubbling concoction bounces onto the stage in an oversized alien mask. of sound, which no one seems brave enough to drink. He prances around to the tune of children counting, And then they turn it upside down. Young Knives’ which is mystifying, to say the least. This precedes an saving grace is their ability to groove impeccably when hour-long recital of their newest album, Sick Octave: playing their older songs. Thomas finally steps away a mixture of crunching riffs and wailing poetry. from the synthesizers, pumping lines that rumble in Unfortunately, these are completely overshadowed by the chest and warm the cockles. Henry breathes fire a wall of synthetic sound and homemade percussion; instead of wilting flowers. Drummer Oliver Askew is the audience seems slightly bewildered. This is a far solid rock. Together, they become natural, confident. cry from their ‘old stuff’, where they were revered for Their encore is deserved; everyone dances the night catchy melodies and witty lyricism. away. There’s a shared expectation for something theatrical, ‘a real live experience’, as advertised. Instead,

Upgraded from the Solus to the cavernous Great Hall, the the metalheads’ best kept secret. Dillinger are an abrasive feverishness that surrounds tonight’s rare Dillinger Escape Plan but breath-taking assault on the senses, whose metallic, UK appearance is palpable. Openers Maybeshewill channel mathematic and melodic output holds more in common with this energy into a gargantuan feast of perfectionist post-rock. an ironworks than Iron Maiden. Peppered with spoken word samples and strobe lighting, They may have arrived in Cardiff a day late for Halloween, the awed silence that pervades the room somehow speaks but the band bring the horror with them, flanking themselves volumes. with screens displaying eerie, jarring imagery. The true Three Trapped Tigers’ electronic noise-rock occupies a spectacle, however, lies with the band themselves. Frontman far different end of the instrumental spectrum. The band’s Greg Puciato and guitarist Ben Weinmann make the perfect on-record ability to mix jarring electronic wizardry with a pairing – a seemingly unanimous mass of muscle and madness, muddled sense of melody is inspiring enough, but watching health and safety take a swift nosedive within seconds of them somehow recreate it live invokes a whole new level of stage time. From walking on the crowd, to hurling microphone respect for the trio’s talents. stands at each other, to flailing guitars around by their straps As 9pm rolls around, the packed out Great Hall hints at like maces; the set is an hour and a half of pure, unconfined the reverence that surrounds tonight’s headliners. The sea chaos - though never once does the music suffer at the hands of of beards indicates the circles from which this reverence the stage show. Intense, insane and incomparable - Dillinger’s emanates, though The Dillinger Escape Plan may just be legacy is well rooted.

‘And if you’re in love then you are the lucky one, because most Aguilella’s drums and displays a more extensive production. A of us are bitter over someone.’ With such brutal honesty from highlight of the set was ‘Youth’, visually stripped down to twinkling their single ‘Youth’, Daughter are recognised for their beautifully background lights with the audience singing back the lyrics, creating melancholic songwriting, which gives insight into lead singer Elena an aura of tranquility. ‘Home’ brought the gig to a climactic end as Tonra’s cynicism of love and heartache. It was intriguing to see if the trio built a huge crescendo, bombarding the audience with a their emotionally bleeding tracks would translate to a live audience, wall of sound. Daughter left the stage to a rousing applause, fully yet it was this lyrical frankness that made Daughter so compelling. deserved after a stunning performance. Together with dynamic playing from guitarist Igor Haefeli and Despite minimal interaction, Daughter surprisingly still connected drummer Remi Aguilella, and a complementary visual production, with a live audience. When Tonra briefly spoke mid-set, her timid the trio commanded a hushed audience. voice was barely audible. She is enigmatic in that through her Tonra’s understated yet haunting vocals echoed, sending The Great songwriting she doesn’t hold anything back, but she is quite the Hall into a trance-like state with her ethereal tone. Haefeli used opposite when speaking to an audience. The band covered Daft the innovation of violin bowing his electric guitar, creating spooky Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ for their encore, purely due to demand from the harmonics that further contributed to the atmosphere. Daughter’s crowd, and the trio looked taken aback by the positive reception. soundscape varies from quiet, guitar-led tracks such as ‘Candles’ However it is a reaction that Daughter should indeed get used to, as that are more exposed, compared to ‘Human’ that is driven by this is merely the beginning. Q

THINGS LOOKING FOR AN EvENING OFF THE BEATEN TRACK? qUENCH CONTRIBUTORS PICK THEIR NOT TO HIGHLIGHTS FROM CARDIFF’S UPCOMING MUSICAL CALENDAR 5 MISS Adopting a DIY approach to launch his career, Lewis Watson has steadily accumulated a Formed at Cardiff University loyal following that arose from Despite taking their band name in 2006, Los Campesinos uploading YouTube covers. from the remote Scottish isle, have enjoyed a career that 2013 has seen acceleration in the folk quartet Stornoway has taken them around the Watson’s success, after being originated in Oxford, writing world, seen them play with elevated to the leagues of Ed jubilant pop ditties on a the likes of Johnny Foreigner Sheeran and Ben Howard by reoccurring pastoral theme. and grace stages at festivals critics, and his first three EPs Leaving his unrock’n’roll studies such as Reading & Leeds, What’s in a name? Unashamedly all broke into the top 10 iTunes of ornithology behind to start After the success of the Cardiff Latitude and Glastonbury. gnarly, Gnarwolves’ unabashed, chart. Starting with minimal the band, lead singer Brian Oxjam Takeover earlier this With four successful albums singalong punk-rock has acoustic tracks using solely his Briggs’ unconventional lyricism month, Cardiff Uni Oxfam behind them, and having just spread across the country guitar, the recent EP ‘The Wild’ is undeniably inspired by his Soc presents another line-up released their fifth at the end of like wildfire in recent months. exhibits an evolved production, background, singing ‘I’m a featuring some of the best local last month, they are returning Seemingly never off the yet Watson’s songwriting scientist with far too many talent. Headliners Peasant’s to the city it all started. If fun road, the band have enjoyed remains sincerely heartfelt. The metaphors’. After the success of King are an emerging Welsh indie pop is your thing; you’ll support slots alongside cheery optimism of his latest EP their first album ‘Beachcomber’s band tipped for great things enjoy it. But if you want music Funeral For A Friend, Lower ‘Four More Songs’ awakens Windowsill’, Stornoway steer after recently securing a spot that makes you dance, sing Than Atlantis and Anti-Flag a summer atmosphere, which clear from the second album on the coveted Radio One and shout whilst awakening to name a few. They return will undoubtedly be a distant curse with ‘Tales From Terra playlist. Support comes from emotions you’d forgotten to the South West with this, yet welcomed memory amidst Firma’, crafting charmingly the energetic indie pop of existed, then Los Campesinos! their first UK headline tour, Cardiff’s winter months. Lewis intelligent tracks. Stornoway Atoms and good time boys will captivate you. Supported bringing along their Big Watson will be stopping off will be performing in Cathays’ Weekend Arrows. With the by the equally enchanting Scary Monsters labelmates at CF10 during his headline conveniently situated The addition of cake, it would Playlounge, the atmosphere Woahnows and one of Swn’s tour, an ideal venue of just Globe, and their feel-good be rude not to head down to is sure to be electric: this is an highlights Nai Harvest along 300-capacity to showcase his repertoire promises to be an enjoy a night of live music in evening not to be missed. for the ride. Gon’ get sweaty. refreshing talent. exuberant and uplifting affair. the name of charity. Q