email: [email protected] website: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net Free every month. NIGHTSHIFT Issue 198 January Oxford’s Music Magazine 2012 CHECK THIS OUT! Local promoters tell us who they think you should see in 2012 Photo: Johnny Moto NIGHTSHIFT: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. Phone: 01865 372255 NEWNEWSS Nightshift: PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU Phone: 01865 372255 email: [email protected] Online: nightshift.oxfordmusic.net THE OXFORD PUNT is set to return in 2012. The annual showcase of new local music talent has been running since 1996 but was forced to take a year off in 2011 due to a lack of suitable venues in Oxford city centre. This year’s Oxford Punt will take place on Wednesday 16th May, featuring 20 acts playing across five venues. Participating venues are The Cellar, The Purple Turtle, The Wheatsheaf, The Duke’s Cut and The Junction, the latter two venues situated across the road from each other in Park End Street. The Punt has previously given early exposure to bands such as Young Knives, Stornoway, Fixers, Little Fish and Elizabeth, the band formed by Yannis and Jack before Foals. Bands or solo acts wanting to play at the Punt can submit demos, either by emailing links to online music to [email protected], or sending CDs to Nightshift, PO Box 312, Kidlington, OX5 1ZU. In both cases please clearly mark your demo PUNT and include both phone and email contact details and a brief biog of the band. Only acts from Oxfordshire may apply, you can’t apply if you’ve played the Punt before and, due to licensing conditions of the venues, only acts aged over 18 will be 876084 eligible. Deadline for demos is the 10th of March, with the line-up announced on the 15th. As ever a limited number of all-venue Punt Passes will be on sale from the end of January. THE OXFORD RECORD THERE’S A WHOLE SLEW of new NOVEMBER’S AUDIOSCOPE mini- DVD & CD FAIR Oxford releases due in the next couple of festival raised over £1,000 for homeless months. As reported in last month’s charity Shelter. The all-day event at the OXFORD TOWN HALL Nightshift, Jonquil release their new Jericho Tavern, headlined by Karma To album, ‘Point Of Go’, on Blessing Force Burn, took the total amount raised by SATURDAY JAN 21st on 5th March. In the same month fast- Audioscope in its eleven years, to £23,000. rising local starlets Spring Offensive On another charitable note, The Cellar 10am- 3:30pm release a new single to coincide with a UK Family and We Aeronauts play the 12 Rock/pop/jazz/soul/reggae/indie, all other genres. and European tour, while Gunning For Bar in London on Wednesday 18th January Accessories/memoriabillia/books. Tamar, having recently signed to Alcopop! in aid of MacMillan Cancer Research. Brand new and back catalogue/Rare Vinyl. Records, release an EP, ‘Time Stallholders from all over UK. Trophies’.The Long Insiders, meanwhile, OXFORD MUSIC ROOMS are offering are set to release their debut album. local bands the chance to win a free day’s Richard Walters has a new five-song EP, recording when they book a three-hour VENUE PHONE NUMBERS ‘Young Trees’, out this month, produced rehearsal slot. The newly-opened studio in by A Silent Film’s Rob Stevenson. It’s Chalgrove features four rehearsal rooms, O2Academy: 0844 477 2000 (ticketweb) available online now at soundcloud.com/ each with PA, drumkit, and guitar and bass The Bullingdon: 01865 244516 rswalters as well as iTunes and amps and with the four rooms linked by The Wheatsheaf: 01865 790380 Bandcamp. February sees a new EP from audio and video feeds for recording The Cellar: 01865 244761 Charly Coombes & The New Breed, purposes. To find out more about the The New Theatre: 0844 847 1585 entitled ‘Noise Control’, which follows offer, visit The Jericho Tavern: 01865 311775 the band’s Brazilian tour. Finally electro- www.oxfordshiremusicrooms.co.uk. Fat Lil’s: 01993 703385 pop duo Space Heroes Of The People East Oxford Community Centre: have a new video on Youtube for their AS EVER, don’t forget to tune into BBC 01865 792168 song ‘Kosmocerotops’. Oxford Introducing every Sunday night The Port Mahon 01865 790970 between 9-10pm on 95.2fm. The dedicated VIXENS are the latest local band to local music show plays the best Oxford announce a split. The gothic indie rockers releases and demos every week as well as announced their demise on the Nightshift featuring interviews and live sessions from forum in December, saying “There have Oxfordshire acts, gig reviews and a gig been no big fall outs or drama, we just feel guide. The show is available to download we’ve reached the end of this particular as a podcast at bbc.co.uk/oxford. ADVERTISE road as a band. We’ve had some great Regularly updated local music news is times, put out an EP and done gigs available online at everywhere from Inverness to Brighton www.musicinoxford.co.uk. The site also HERE and no doubt some of us will resurface in features interactive reviews, interviews, future musical projects, so keep your eyes podcasts, photo galleries and occasional peeled for that.” live sessions. Nightshift’s online forum, Do it As a parting gesture, the band have put a meanwhile, features local music news as number of their recordings up online for well as the perfect place for a good row free download at soundcloud.com/vixens. with fellow local music fans. Tipping Points WHEN THE LEGENDARY POINT VENUE CLOSED DOWN in 2001 promoter Mac challenged everyone has something special worthy of sharing – it is not a everyone to “go and see at least one band you’ve never heard of before Christmas”. It’s exactly competition and in naming a few I this sort of attitude that keeps the local live scene alive. am forced to leave out all the others Here at Nightshift we’re forever ranting and raving about the new acts we love (or occasionally - but among the very many different loathe) and hope folks will follow our advice and go and hear them for themselves. musicians currently steaming up my January of course is a great time to start thinking about new acts and who is worthy of your time, radar, the ones that today spring to money and effort. But, for a change, we thought we’d challenge those real champions of new mind might be: Luke Keegan: great classic songwriting in the vein of music, the promoters, to pick the acts they reckon you should check out in 2012. Not necessarily Paul Simon, Tom Waits and Leonard acts they think are going to be household names come 2013, just bands, singers, MCs, producers Cohen; Matt Chanarin: a properly or DJs they like and hope you will too. We asked a host of Oxford’s finest gig and club promoters to deep and soulful singer and tip their favourites and below are the eye- and ear-opening results. songwriter who when I first saw him So off you toddle – go and see at least one of these before next Christmas. You’ll be glad you did. reminded me of Labi Siffre; Laura Theis: delicate, delightful songs from the piano; Rory Evans: a freakishly talented 15-year old guitar Kill Murray decks and a hot young prospect on the electronic scene under his guise player who is not just technically of Graphics.” astounding, but has depth of feeling www.facebook.com/wildswim in his playing that is unusual in itself; www.myspace.com/ Faceometer: breakneck eccentric glassanimalsband philosophical meanderer, and Diite www.facebook.com/ Goard: Wheatley raised, now thisisgraphics studying in Sunderland, she has that rare ability of stopping you from SIMON MINTER breathing while she is singing, just so you don’t miss anything. Dangerous, (Musicinoxford.com / but worth it.” Audioscope) www.myspace.com/ “Listing Ships will hopefully come lukekeeganmusic into their own in 2012. After www.faceometer.tk meandering around a slightly clichéd post-rock path in their early days, ELLIOT & RYAN COLE photo: Johnny Moto they’ve now collectively grown a (Buried In Smoke) pair and have started putting JOAL SHEARING EDD LEWINGTON “Bands we’d recommend are together strident, Krautrock- Blasted – featuring members of (The Wheatsheaf) (Bassmentality / Out To Graze) flavoured rock songs. The Cellar “Dial-F for me were one of the best Winnebago Deal – if you like your “If you’re a fan of that slow- Family seem fractious enough to Black Flag and Winnebago Deal, bands I had seen come out of Oxford building, epic-styled deep house à la either do great things or fall apart in recent years. I’m thrilled that Gus make sure you check these guys out! Pional and John Talabot, you might completely: they’re utterly, Also Black Sunrise (Ex-Death and Scott from Dial-F have now just like Casino Times (a new compellingly weird, mixing up Sonic joined forces with Aaron (Phantom Valley Riders): these fellas have music project between Joe Spencer Youth with the Pixies to create an moved away from the stoner rock Theory) & Chris (50ft Panda) to and Nick Church of Get Your Geek unnerving and confident new thing. form Kill Murray. I have huge sound a bit these days. They have On). The comparison may seem a Nairobi, on one level, seem taken more of a grunge approach on expectations for the band and little strained: Casino Times’ beholden to their influences - cannot wait to see how they grow in things now.