Track of the week: Ady Suleiman - 'Not Giving Up'

Since catching him perform a hugely successful opening slot at Bushstock Festival in 2015 I've been keen to hear more of Ady Suleiman and can't wait for him to release an album of material. It seems he's been plugging away for the last couple of years and his recent new tune Not Giving Up is stunning, earning it the title of our track of the week! Check out a live session performance of the track here.

Follow Ady Suleiman online - Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.

Eight questions with Johanna Glaza

Next up in our series of interviews with Tigmus artists, we caught up with Johanna Glaza recently... she's set to release her debut album 'Wind Sculptures' later in the year and is supporting Lucía Scansetti alongside Emma Ballantine in London on October 13th - tickets and more info here! Get reading to find out more about Johanna!

1. First up, who is Johanna Glaza?!

It's me. Lithuanian born London based independent artist, with lungs full of songs.

2. How long have you been making music? Tell us your biggest musical influences!

I've been singing ever since I remember myself. But my first full time music project was the band Joana And The Wolf when I moved to London. Then in 2013 I've released my first solo EP Silence Is Kind and ever since enjoyed my solitary songwriting experience. It's always so hard to tell what really has influenced us, layers and layers of things we listened to, read and experienced. But when writing this album I've be listening to Arvo Part a lot, Lubomyr Melnyk too, also was going back to 70s - Joni Mitchell, Linda Perhacs, Roy Harper, Laura Nyro.

3. The 405 just premiered the video for your new tune Space Mermaid... it’s clear from the video and a glance through your photos online that visual art is a big element of your music, would you agree?

Very often I draw inspiration for my music from visuals - paintings, photographs etc. So maybe there is some natural correlation between the sound and the visuals. But I think lyrics are much more important to me than visuals. They are the bones that hold everything together. There could be no visuals at all but if the lyrics are evoking some strong images that can stir peoples imagination I feel like my work has been done. I guess the right images are necessary to unlock certain things and emotional codes that are so hard to express. I paint by words and melodies, these are my primal tools, anything else is additional.

4. We hear from the article that your debut album ‘Wind Sculptures’ is ready for release... how does that feel?! What can we expect from the record?

I feel terribly proud and terrified at the same time. Really happy I followed my instincts and recorded the album to tape at analogue studio, it was a very special experience. Very lucky too to have met someone who I think understood me and my songs completely. Ed Deegan has done some amazing work producing it. He helped me to challenge myself and all my insecurities, always walk on the edge of raw and beautiful and didn't let me use any 'make up' on songs. So they feel now very true to me. And the whole approach to arrangements by using tape loops and found sounds instead of usual synths and samples made it even more special.

5. You’re supporting at our upcoming Lucía Scansetti show at The Harrison in London on 13th October - we can’t wait for the show! Have you played alongside Lucia or Emma Ballantine before?

No, I haven't and I 'm looking forward to hearing them live very soon!

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with fans - all the usual social media?! Any crazy, fun, exciting stories about your fans are very welcome!

I'm very slow with the social media. I was probably the last person to join Facebook and later Twitter. I still don't have Instagram account. I love the actual physical presence during the live shows. It's a very unique experience to be on stage in your own world and at the same time to be able to communicate with the audience. The best part about people who love what I do - very often they become my really good friends.

7. Describe your dream gig to us! Any venues that you’re desperate to play in London, or further afield? Any artists you’d love to collaborate with on a performance?

I dream to have a world tour at abandoned churches...

8. As we glide through Summer rapidly, what does the rest of the year hold for you?

The end of September I'll see my album out and then planning a lot of shows. But also really looking forward to going back to my own bubble to write more songs. That's just what I do.

Gig of the week: Pale Seas album launch at The Social (1st Sep)

Hugely exciting gig of the week this week as Pale Seas launch their album at The Social in London this Friday, 1st September with support from Meggie Brown. After a couple of years away from the limelight they returned a couple of months ago and recently dropped the tune Someday - we can't wait to hear more when the record is released in October. Grab tickets for the show and read a little more about the band here - they're also playing launch shows in Leeds and Southampton at the weekend!

Track of the week: Everything Everything - 'Desire'

If it was possible to make a whole album our track of the week then we'd certainly be doing that for the incredible new record from Everything Everything. A Fever Dream was released last Friday and it's quickly becoming one of our favourite records of the year with tunes like Run The Numbers and Night of the Long Knives becoming firm favourites. For now though, we're recommending you check out the total tune Desire now with the cracking music video below! They're on a little tour of record stores at the moment with Bristol coming up this evening and Leeds tomorrow but should be announcing a full UK tour for later in the year soon - check out the whole record on Spotify here, it's a stunner!

Eight questions with Dan Rawle

We caught up with Dan Rawle for an interview! We last caught Dan when he supported Jonny Payne and the Thunder at The Library in Oxford for us back in Feb 2016, and since then Dan has played his own headline show at the venue to celebrate the release of his debut EP! He's playing in Oxford this Friday at The Mad Hatter for the first of our 'Friday Night Live' shows at the venue, alongside Scott Gordon and Martha Bailey - grab your tickets here and get to know Dan through the interview!

1. First up, who is Dan Rawle?! How long have you been making music?

So, I grew up in Abingdon, south of Oxford and ever since I can remember there was my Mum's old classical guitar tucked away in a corner of the lounge behind the sofa. I used to hop it out and pluck an open string or two, put it back, and forget about it. That's really where it aaaaallll began, I was about 11 or 12 I reckon.

2. Tell us your biggest musical influences!

I went through the pop punk phase, Blink 182, Sum 41 etc, and sang in the most ridiculous fake American accent until Oasis changed all that. But it was really The Beatles that kicked things off I think. As they did for a lot of people. And more recently I stumbled upon Passenger, that had a massive impact. I love Mike's ability to write songs with such detail and imagery. They make sense, and are lyrically so bloody clever!

3. You recently released new EP ‘It’ll All Come One Day’ - anything you can tell us about the writing or recording process for the track? How has the response been? 

My debut EP, It'll All Come One Day, has been years in the making, songs like My Oh My and He's A Friend Of Mine had been written yonks ago. For me, writing songs is a funny business, but a damn rewarding one. I strive to create something that is concise, catchy as a bugger, and that people can relate to. And I feel so proud of this EP, and hope that I've achieved those things. The response has been amazing!! The launch gig at The Library was everything I hoped for and I'm so chuffed with how everyone has received it. It's simply a great feeling to have your very own creation bouncing around out there, for all to hear. And pretty cool to see the physical CDs in Oxford's very own Truck Store.

4. We’re excited to have you performing at our inaugural ‘Friday Night Live’ show at The Mad Hatter alongside Scott Gordon and Martha Bailey - have you caught either of them live before?

I have to admit to not seeing Scott Gordon or Martha Bailey play yet. But I've listened to them both, and really looking forward to sharing the stage with them at the show, it's gonna be a corker!

5. As an Oxford musician have you been to the venue before?! We love it’s quirky artwork… for a little bit of fun, what’s your favourite Alice in Wonderland character? We’re partial to the March Hare!

And the Mad Hatter is a perfect venue for such music. Quirky and intimate, I just hope I get the door riddle correct! Or I'll be singing in the street. As for Alice characters, I haven't seen the film or read the book for many, many years. I'll go for a rabbit, theres a rabbit in there right!?

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with fans - all the usual social media?! Any crazy, fun, exciting stories about your fans are very welcome!

I love playing shows. There's nothing quite like standing in front of a load of people, telling them stories, and having them listen. Outside of the shows I try my best to keep up with the social media speeding train. These days the world has a 7 second glance, trying to be the focus is a tricky business. But, it's good fun! And never before can musicians connect so instantly with the audience.

7. Describe your dream gig to us! Any venues that you’re desperate to play in Oxford or further afield? Perhaps there’s a local artist you’d love to collaborate with?

Oxford is a crock pot (what is a crock pot by the way!?) of talent. And the venues have a lot to do with it. I guess it'd be cool to play the O2, and fill it out. But the smaller venues are fantastic. I've been briefly chatting to Harry from Waiting For Smith, we're hoping to sort a show out at some point. And have been dancing around the idea of playing with Barney of Duotone. That'd be a lot of fun.

8. As we closely approach the end of Summer (boo!), what does the rest of the year hold for you… is new music in the pipeline? We certainly hope so!

Which brings me to what's happening next! New music is most definitely on the agenda, I've previewed a couple of new songs recently and have a load of new ones up the sleeve. There are more shows for the rest of the year too, and it's really exciting to have two of my good pals, Pads and Sarah, behind me as a band to take things forward. Fun times are a foot! Thanks to promoters such as yourselves and many other local ones the music round here is tip top!

Gig of the week: All Tamara's Parties at Tap Social, Oxford (27th August)

It's just over a week since our all-day fest at Oxford's Tap Social Movement, with the likes of Slate Hearts, Holly Redford Jones, Flatlands and Hazey Jane playing super sets to the people of Oxford who came down in their droves and we're still reeling from how brill it all was! Excitingly if you'd like to relive it, our gig of the week this week is taking place this Sunday (27th) in the same venue! All Tamara's Parties head to Tap Social for an all day event with Tigmus faves Catgod, Lucy Leave, Anna McCrae and loads more for a bank holiday celebration! Check out the full line-up below and grab your tickets here! 

Track of the week: Temper Cartel - 'Babysitter'

Track of the week this week comes from Oxford lads Temper Cartel with their amusing new video for Babysitter. They formed in 2015 and soon caught the attention of Mark Gardener (RIDE), who is currently producing their debut album alongside Nick Moorbath and Tim Turan. They released tune Bad Influence last Summer and have been gigging around Oxford, London and beyond since - catch them opening up for Voksal at The Black Heart in Camden on October 13th! For now, enjoy this video featuring a bunch of their friends and fans showing their weird and wonderful sides!

Gig of the week: Willie J Healey at Rough Trade East (18th August)

This week our gig of the week shout is an instore, with one of Oxford's best musical exports of the moment launching his debut album at Rough Trade East. Willie J Healey is playing tunes from his album People and their Dogs and signing copies of it this Friday at the store on Brick Lane and you can grab a ticket with a copy of the record online here. If you're not in London you're in luck as WJH is also playing instore slots at Rough Trade Nottingham on 21st, Jumbo Leeds on 22nd, Banquet Records in Kingston on 23rd and at Truck in Oxford on 24th! Get listening to his total tune Greys below...

Eight questions with Flatlands

We caught up with Flatlands, a young indie rock band from Oxford who play at Tap Social Movement in Oxford this Sunday (13th August) for our Yan Tan all-dayer alongside the likes of Hazey Jane, Self Help, Holly Redford Jones and more! They're also heading across to the big smoke next week for a headline show at The George Tavern on Saturday (19th) with Self Help and a DJ set from Macho Trax - both are free entry! Get to know the guys with our interview and take a listen to their latest tune, Share My Smile.

1. First up, who are Flatlands?!

Flatlands are Nat (guitar), Tom (vocals, guitar), Jamie (bass, vocals), and Rob (drums). We're a four piece act from Oxford aged 17-19.

2. How long have you been making music? Tell us your biggest musical influences as a band!

We've been together since about November 2016. Our sound largely comes from two scenes. Modern indie rock akin to Will Joseph Cook, Circa Waves and High Tydes alongside the dance punk vibes of West Coast America; Modern Baseball, The Front Bottoms and Remo Drive are huge for us.

3. Having just lived in Oxford as a student for three years one of the things I miss the most is the incredibly tight knit and diverse music scene - how important do you find this is for yourselves as a young band in the city?

Oxford is definitely well known for having an amazing music scene. Currently, the young bands around are seriously strong: the likes of Catgod, Self Help, Slate Hearts, Daisy, Wolfs and 31hours have combined into a great little scene bubbling under. I think its been really great for all our confidence having fellow musicians playing alongside and watching each other.

4. You recently released a new tune ‘Share My Smile’ - anything you can tell us about the writing or recording process for the track?

We wrote Share My Smile whilst in a really upbeat summer vibe. Everything about it is glowing with energy. We recorded it with Nick Moorbath in Evolution Studios over a couple of days. I think the track really developed a lot in the studio with the end result having much more rhythmic flavour and pop sensitivities than our original intention.

5. You’re headlining at The George Tavern for us on 19th August with your Oxford pals Self Help supporting and Macho Trax DJing til late - what should we expect from the show?!

Yes! Extremely excited for this one. Danny, Silke, Sean and Elizabeth (Self Help) are just our absolute favourites. We haven't gigged alongside them since our March headline slot in The Library, Oxford, though Silke has joined us a couple of times to dep on drums. Its going to be a fantastic set and a really exciting first gig in London for Flatlands.

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with fans - all the usual social media?! Any crazy, fun, exciting stories about your fans are very welcome!

Our local audience is a diverse group of friends, musicians and, most importantly, our mums! Online we've done quite well at promoting ourselves. Definitely worth checking out our Instagram to see some Flatlands silliness. I'd like to think fans have been very receptive to some of our daft antics. Sadly we're still waiting on a super fan to send in a photo of 'Flatlands' tattooed on their forehead but I'm sure its coming.

7. Describe your dream gig to us! Any venues that you’re desperate to play in Oxford, London or further afield? Any artists you’d love to collaborate with on a performance?

There's a few bands we'd love to grab a slot with. Early on in our career we supported Yonaka who, since then, have gone on to do some pretty special things. A reunion slot alongside them would be an absolute honour. If we're really going for dreams though, supporting Modern Baseball at O2 Forum Kentish Town would be unreal if they do ever get back together...

8. As 2017 speeds along, what does the rest of the year hold for you… we hope that new music is in the pipeline!

August is busy. We're glad to be branching out across the country with a number of cool slots in places outside of Oxford. September should see some important recording getting done which we're super excited about, just in time before we head off to university in London together. We've got no idea what'll happen when we all move to the big city! Whatever it is, it's going to be exciting though.

Track of the week: Haim - 'Little of Your Love'

Female family trios are taking over my headphones at the moment with Exeter's Wildwood Kin set to release an album next week, The Staves touring all across the States with new tunes and this week's track of the week artist Haim returning recently with their second album Something To Tell You. Their latest single Little of Your Love is Nick Grimshaw's tune of the week on BBC Radio 1 at the minute, and they performed it live on SNL recently. If you're into a bargain you can grab the CD for a fiver at Tesco at the moment... what's not to like!

Gig of the week: Benedict Benjamin at The Harrison (9th August)

Gig of the week this week is another at one of our favourite intimate London venues, The Harrison, as Benedict Benjamin plays a full band show for New Roots. Robert Chaney is supporting, with things kicking off around 7.30pm - grab your tickets here, register your interest on the FB event here and take a watch of this simple but brilliant music video for Ben's track Thin Skin. We loved his set for Oxford Sofar Sounds last March! 

Track of the week: Glass Animals - 'Agnes'

Here at Tigmus we love a great music video and we're also partial to a bit of Glass Animals, and their new video for Agnes has earned them the spot as our track of the week! Hot of the press, it premiered online just minutes ago and features the band's vocalist Dave singing the track in a human centrifuge.

About the process of making the video, Dave writes that "you sit in a small egg-like pod about the size of a horse which hangs off a 50 foot steel horizontal frame. It looks like something out of a bond villain’s lair. it’s claustrophobic and uncomfortable and also incredibly hot... slowly the whole thing starts to rotate like a helicopter blade. Faster and faster until every part of you becomes crushed under the extreme gravity. its like being slowly sat on by an elephant, or like your whole body being punched in slow motion. you have to flex every muscle and use every ounce of strength you have to keep going. breathing requires serious effort. movement becomes incredibly strained and almost painful. everything that once weighed 5 kilograms now weighs 50. its difficult even to keep your eyes open. it hurts in places you really didn’t know existed. veins and capillaries burst under the pressure and bruising begins. its a rapid physical overdrive. the blood rushes from your brain making it impossible to think rationally or focus. your eyes are also drained and you get tunnel vision…only able to see small circles of the world directly infront of you and your sight goes completely greyscale…no more colour. your balance and spatial awareness goes and the world begins to spin like you’ve had way too much to drink. but the most striking thing is the way that the machine pulls on your heart. you can actually feel it struggling to beat and changing shape…flattening inside of your chest. Its similar to that horrible sinking, tugging heartache that comes only with complete and overwhelming sadness. and then you pass out.... we ran the centrifuge 18 times while i tried to sing along to a song which i find difficult to listen to at the best of times." With such an impressive physical effort going into making the video it almost feels as if we owe it to them to give it a watch, so give it just four minutes of your attention below...

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