A Life of Grime
‘Without this shit I be losing my mind (…) So much more than drugs and violence it’s young black kids refusing to cry.’ – J-mal, A Life of Grime (2016) It’s dark in the studio. The room sits just above a railway line on the outskirts of Stratford, and Sam, the so
You’ve Got a Sweet Voice: Police, Guns and Protest Songs
On the 27th of October, this year, American singer songwriter Kevin Morby released his new single, ‘Beautiful Strangers’, and the next day, Vic Mensa, one of the biggest new names in hip-hop released the video for his song ‘16 Shots’. Although the two songs could not be further apart in thei
Retrospective Reviews II: Jackson C. Frank
One of the most influential folk albums of all time is shrouded in mystery. Jackson C. Frank’s life story follows a classic ‘tortured artist’ trajectory: depression, schizophrenia, a childhood accident resulting in severe and lasting burns, musical failure, and an early death at the age of 56.
Retrospective Reviews: Is This It – The Strokes
It’s 2001, and as ever, guitar bands are ‘going out of fashion’. The New York Times have run a cover featuring an electric guitar as a gravestone. The last couple of years have seen the release of Dr Dre’s 2001, Daft Punk’s Discovery, Radiohead’s electronic rebirth in the form of Kid A,
The ISIS TT16 Tapes Vol. 2
Second instalment of ISIS summertime goodness by Christian Hill.
Niche Numbers: #1
Jake Kennedy and Jamie Tahsin bring you some of their favourite songs with < 50,000 views on YouTube in the first episode of their NicheNumbers podcast.
The difficulties of staging an opera about rape
The Rape of Lucretia is being performed at St Peter’s College in seventh week of Hilary Term. Yet many voices have emerged to challenge the production. The controversy and struggle endured by the production team even to get the opera staged is far beyond what most experience when putting together
