Lips Choir announce upcoming ‘Club Classics’ gigs

A singing collective for anyone who self-identifies as female, inclusive London-based Lips Choir have just announced their biggest gigs to date, with two nights planned at Clapham Grand on 14th and 15th November.

Talking about the importance of Lips Choir, Sally O’Connor from the group says:

“Feminist choirs are offering something that hasn’t really existed much before now – a space for women to take up space and create their own sound and to use their voices to make change in the world. There’s a lot of power and joy in a group of people coming together and singing…“

With Lips Choir having previously sold out The Coronet and performed at Bestival, Wilderness and The Royal Albert Hall, next month’s gigs will be celebrating their collection of songs Club Classics: The Lips Remix, and will treat fans to a brand new set that explores the history of dance music in sweet harmony.

Complete with a six-piece all-female live band and special guests including 4x UK beatboxing champion Grace Savage, these gigs looks set to be fun-filled, uplifting events to definitely put in the diary!

Of the event, musical director Jessica Maryon Davis explains:

“With this gig, we’re going big on all areas of dance music. We want to bring the Lips sound to everything from Acid House to UK Garage and give props to those varied voices which created the all-time club classics everyone knows and loves. Being a choir, it’ll add a different twist – people aren’t used to hearing up-tempo club tunes sung in choral harmony!“

Tickets are £15 (£8 for concessions) and the choir will also be raising money for WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together). Tickets are available here.

 

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Introducing Interview: FOURS

Having received praise from the likes of Clash Magazine, and being playlisted on Spotify, London-based FOURS have just released a powerful slice of soulful alt-pop with new single ‘Even In My Dreams’. Propelled by the soaring vocals of Edith Violet, it’s an instantly infectious, impassioned offering.

We caught up with Edith to find out more…

Hi FOURS, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about the band?
Hi there! We are FOURS, we spend most of our time sending each other gifs and talking nonsense. Also we sometimes write songs, but mainly it’s the gifs thing.

How did you initially all get together and start creating music?
We initially got together a few years ago. Had no idea what we wanted our sound to be and kind of rambled along for a while. I think when we started writing songs that we liked we started to take it seriously. How we met was kind of random and could very easily have never have happened. I think we’re all glad it did, we have lots of fun.

Your new single ‘Even In My Dreams’ is out very soon – can you tell us what it’s all about?
It’s about f**kboys making you hate yourself. And not being able to stay away from them. Dicks.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Paramore and Lykke Li, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Soul singers are my idols, Nina Simone is my all-time favourite. I think Florence is spectacular and very clever. My influences are often the people who are different. I don’t take influence from pop that tends to sound the same, even though I can appreciate it.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
London’s music scene is mental, it’s rare to see a bad band play because there are hundreds of great ones gigging constantly. It’s quite terrifying but also brilliant cause there’s nothing more fun than watching a band kill it on stage. I used to be better, but I try and go to see live music as much as I can, I take a huge amount of joy from it.

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
I think bands should expect me dancing lots during the show and then about five songs in being quite severely out of breath which is due largely to how out of shape I am. We try and make the shows fun and bouncy… Come see us and you can tell me!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
One of my favourite new bands is Childcare, they go on tour this month, so go see them! Also Clean Cut Kid have a new album coming out and I listened to their first one to death.

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
I think the music industry will always be a tricky one. It’s very fickle and can be quite disheartening but it’s kind of that way with *nearly* everyone so at least we are all in it together. There’s good people too, who are trying to get your project to work as much as you, so you just have to find some good ones!

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for FOURS?
The rest of 2018 will be very quiet from us. We are continuing to write a body of work that we’ve been writing all year. I’m super excited for people to hear the new tunes, so 2019 will be a fun one!

Huge thanks to FOURS for answering our questions!

‘Even In My Dreams’ is out now via Big Indie Records. Stream on Spotify.

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Five Favourites: Arc Iris

With their new album Icon of Ego released this month via Ba Da Bing Records, Providence trio Arc Iris, fronted by Jocie Adams (formerly of The Low Anthem) have been busy sharing their brand new sounds far and wide. We caught up with Jocie to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – Five artists or albums that have influenced her songwriting technique. Check out her responses below…

1. John Martyn – Bless the Weather
This record is the Five Leaves Left that never found it’s spotlight in America. The simple musicality on this record is wholly inspiring. The interplay between the bass and guitar is moving. John Martyn’s singing is incredibly human and musical.

Bless the Weather is a perfect record minus one. For some reason the British folk artists had a habit of ruining their perfect records with one electric blues tune. John Martyn did it (with Sugar Lump), Fairport Convention did it, Sandy Denny did it….

2. Yes – Close to the Edge 
A classic that we have shared as a band since day one. Zach and Ray had to learn this record as teenagers when they toured with Jon Anderson, but Zach was a die hard Yes fan well before that moment came about. In addition, Rick Wakeman was Zach’s number one keyboard influence as a kid. It’s hard to talk about this record. You should go listen to it, if you haven’t already. You will either love it, or hate it. It might take 2 or 3 tries to make sense.

3. Joni Mitchell – Blue
This year we re-imagined and released all of Joni Mitchell’s Blue under the name Foggy Lullaby. Learning and re-imagining these songs has had a big influence on the growth of our band. Joni Mitchell’s songwriting taught me a lot about the line between loose and tight when it comes to lyric writing and rhythm in singing. She is a melodic queen. Lastly, Joni’s attitude towards creating art as art rather than art as a part of trending pop culture is inspiring. Of course, she wouldn’t like me saying that because I don’t think she takes well to people trying to summarize her opinions.

4. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing….
Our immediate love for the sonic landscape on this record is paramount to the incorporation of samples into our set. Zach uses samples from my clarinet or his or my voice doing whacky things for both live purposes and the writing process. We have also started doubling drums with sampled drums on a lot of tunes.

5. Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
Stevie is another wildly influential artist for all of us. Strangely, his biggest influence on our band is likely his left hand bass playing. Zach learns a lot from his melodic bass choices, groove and tones. This record is undeniably a classic on so many levels. The fluidity and ease that Stevie carries while playing keys and singing and even playing the drums is inspiring for us all as musicians. The songwriting is beautiful. The arrangements are simple and effective. It’s just great.

Thanks to Jocie for sharing her favourites! Follow Arc Iris on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Introducing Interview: Cryptic Street

Maltese rockers Cryptic Street are fast becoming known in the UK for their immense, riotous live performances, and we cannot wait for them to headline for us at The Five Bells on 26th October!

We caught up with the band before the head on over to blow our minds! So, get to know all about Cryptic Street here…

Hi Cryptic Street, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and what you do?
Hi! We are so looking forward to performing for your Get in Her Ears event on 26th October! We are Cryptic Street – a psychedelic punk band ready to rock your patriarchal ears and mess with your brain. We’re serving alternative madness fresh out of a DIY framework, straight outta Malta!

How did you all initially get together and start creating music?
Leona (vocalist) and Janelle (guitarist) initially met in an all-girls school and founded Cryptic Street 8 years ago for a school project. After several lineup changes and a lot of ups and downs, we decided that it was something we want to pursue in a serious and professional way, and we are working to do just that!

We love your soaring post-punk energy, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
We have a wide range of musical influences, but our music and lyrics mostly channel an emotion or an experience that we would be going through at that point in time. Rather than pinpointing specific artists, Cryptic Street’s music is like a sponge – absorbing everyday life and personal troubles to create something cathartic and meaningful.

We can’t wait for you to headline for us at The Five Bells on 26th October, but would you say there’s been a particular gig you’ve played so far that stands out as a highlight for you?
All performances are special to us. Performing in Malta is heart warming since we’re performing for our home crowd and for people who have seen us grow. On the other hand, every time performing abroad is a different challenge since we have to prove ourselves again and again, and that itself is very invigorating and makes us want to push and challenge ourselves both musically and personally. However, supporting Acid Mothers Temple and PINS last year were definitely special gigs for us!

How is the music scene in Malta? Do you go to see much live music?
Malta’s music scene is small but blooming. There are projects ranging across the musical spectrum, and live music is something that is happening constantly all year round. The music community is a tight knit one, and you always manage to find a fellow musician that will help you out in some way or another. Everyone knows everyone, and obviously that has its advantages and disadvantages. There’s a lot of talent… But little international exposure. We hope to continue pushing the boundaries and promote Malta as a musical hot spot whenever we tour.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new upcoming bands/artists who that you’d recommend we check out?
We would definitely recommend Emme Woods from Scotland – she’s amazing, and of course, the amazing bands we’re performing with for your wonderful event (HAWXX, Worst Place, Panic Pocket). We would also recommend Maltese artists such as Beesqueeze, nosnow/noalps, and all the other cool bands and artists hailing from Malta… too many to mention everyone!

And how do you feel the industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
Coming from a tiny island, we definitely have to push harder and harder to get noticed and to get gigs abroad. There are so many amazing bands, for example in the UK, especially in our niche of Riot Grrrl punk, that you constantly have to push yourself in all aspects. Doing it DIY, like so many bands out there at the moment, is both rewarding and stressful at the same time – apart from the music we have to cater for everything, ranging from admin work to design to social media etc. We even organise our own parties in order to fund band stuff! Bands nowadays have to think of themselves as brands and that really pushes people involved in bands to develop different skill sets. On the other hand, we really want to advocate the importance of taking care of your mental well being – being a musician is tough work, and you really need to be mentally strong to navigate through all the rejections and obstacles that the industry throws at you. That’s something that really spills over in our lyrics too!

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Cryptic Street?
First of all, we have our upcoming UK Tour – totally DIY, totally fun, and supported by Girls Against and Women that Rock. We really wanted to support female talent during this tour and promote safe inclusive spaces where everyone, irrespective of their differences, can enjoy a night out without the fear of being harassed or mocked. That’s something we REALLY believe in. Therefore we are collaborating with a lot of feminist/non-binary promoters and we’re performing alongside a lot of inspiring, innovative artists. So check us out cause we’re coming for ya! We will also have our unique merch pieces as well as our Titty Monster album on sale during each performance so make sure you come and grab them here. We will be spending the rest of 2018 writing new music, developing the band and our vision, and becoming even more kick ass!

Huge thanks to Cryptic Street for answering our questions! Catch them live headlining our gig at The Five Bells, New Cross on 26th October! 

They’re also playing the following dates for their End Of The Titty Monster Tour:

26th October – London, The Five Bells (for Get In Her Ears!)
27th October – London The Good Mixer
28th October – Cardiff, The Moon
29th October – Exeter, The Cavern Club
30th October – Bristol, Venue TBA
31st October – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
1st November – London, The Windmill
2nd November – Brighton, The Green Door Store
3rd November – Sheffield, HER FEST//Picture House Social

Have a listen to Cryptic Street on Soundcloud and Spotify, and give them a follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Photo Credit: Matthew Attard

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