DIRECTOR / CAMERA / SOUND - Nicholas Abbott
PRESENTER / PRODUCER / CAMERA - Kevin Molloy
EDIT - Simon Lane
(12.03.10)
A global coming together of notable proportions here, we were delighted to recently welcome Swiss-based New Zealander Steve Abel to London for a special Rockfeedback “in-session” performance at our Lexington home. Famed for his quiet, yet intense, un-contrived and beautiful song-writing (alongside his equally notable environmental activism) this piece sees a wonderfully intimate performance of three songs solo, including a chat with Steve about the nature of his life and music.
Artists in this video: Steve Abel
(12.03.10)
A global coming together of notable proportions here, we were delighted to recently welcome Swiss-based New Zealander Steve Abel to London for a special Rockfeedback “in-session” performance at our Lexington home. Famed for his quiet, yet intense, un-contrived and beautiful song-writing (alongside his equally notable environmental activism) this piece sees a wonderfully intimate performance of three songs solo, including a chat with Steve about the nature of his life and music.
(10.03.10)
Hotly tipped indie darlings Two Door Cinema Club have been loosely compared to the gargantuam likes of Death Cab for Cutie and Broken Social Scene, but have also picked meticulously at the best bits of British music - the disco-punk of Bloc Party's Silent Alarm, the agit-rhythms of Talking Heads and the melodies of 80's pop bands like Spandau Ballet...Despite this melting pot of influences, the band are still one of the most distinctive and original bands pummelling at the doors of the charts right now. We met the fellows for a very personal, cosy little session in lieu of their debut album being released through Kitsune records and published through our sister label, Transgressive records.
(08.03.10)
Adored by music-critic-behemoth Pitchfork and with an ever-growing, dangerously passionate fanbase, Los Campesions! have been bubbling like a slowly heated kettle for some years now, but with the release of their second (brilliantly titled) second album 'Romance Is Boring', they are about to poetically drop-kick their way into the big time. We packed the seven noisy chaps/chapesses into our offices to film what turned out to be a mind-bendingly gorgeous session.
(05.03.10)
Rockfeedback returns to the Underage Festival for the third year running, witnessing the likes of the Mystery Jets, Ladyhawke, the Horrors, Tinchy Stryder, Hadouken!, Good Shoes, The Whip, Rolo Tomassi, JME, Patrick Wolf and The Champman Family as they stir a bunch of tirelessly enthusiastic fourteen to eighteen year olds in to a veritable frenzy. Interviews, live sets, circle pits – we’ve got the lot.
(04.03.10)
Originally from Leeds and now living it up in London, this dance-punk, new wave 5 piece band mix big, dark beats, drum’n’bass synths and ripped speaker guitars delivered faster and harder than a FedEx order of paving slabs. A perfect musical backdrop for Victoria Park’s 2009 Underage festival.
(23.02.10)
Art-rock, post hardcore influenced New York band Les Savy Fav are probably one of the most underrated live bands doing the rounds right now. Fact. Shameless, shirtless frontman Tim Harrington stalks the stage, looking and acting like Iggy Pop after a heavy decade on the carbs while the rest of the band bluster out a distorted, melodic mess of angular bass and bum-rush guitars. We have a little natter with the band backstage at Victoria Park's Field Day festival, in 2008.
(19.02.10)
The bastard child of Bob Dylan and David Lynch, Jeffrey Lewis writes surrealist stories about creeping animated brains, the beginning of the Soviet Union and being banned from The Roxy (though to be fair, that's a Crass cover), accompanies them with illustrations and somehow manages to be one of the most un-pretentious artists that we’ve ever met. Catch this fellow's unquantifiable performance at the eponymous industry love-in, SXSW in 2008.
(17.02.10)
Here joined by his large “ensemble”, Dan Deacon is nothing short of a wonder to behold at his live shows. This festival highlight at Spain’s Primavera is a clear testament why - getting into the crowd and embracing the crowd as a crucial point of the joyous, uplifting electronica he produces. After we found a brief second to try and wipe the smiles off our faces from watching his set, we quickly put them right back on as we chatted to a charming Mr. Deacon about the pleasures of performing and ensuring that his gear doesn't get broken during gigs.
(09.12.09)
Two Gallants have been wooing us for a while with their sublime mix of punk, country and folk. Rockfeedback were blessed with an exclusive performance and interview from the San Fran indie kids in a hot Austin car park at SXSW.
(25.11.09)
More used to rocking out than kicking back, Sky Larkin thrive in a more stripped back session, performing a rare, exclusive acoustic set and chatting to Rockfeedback at Glasgow's inaugural Hinterland Festival.
(30.09.09)
Rockfeedback caught up with Noah and the Whale at London’s Field Day festival back in 2008. We filmed both their on stage performance proper as well as a breathtaking acoustic performance backstage, in a Gibson trailer of all places. Grown men cried.
(23.09.09)
He’s made a fan of everyone from TV On The Radio to Grizzly Bear, and gosh darn it, he’s made a fan of us too. Miles’ gritty, gutsy vocals deliver brazenly honest songs that dissect huge themes in the prettiest of terms, made all the more beautiful by this riverside setting for an exclusive acoustic performance at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Miles grants us a chat too, as he’s nice like that.
(14.10.09)
The latest star of our unique Rockfeedback sessions – artists playing in a room with little more than a light bulb and their instruments for company – if Jess Bryant isn’t widely adored pretty bloody soon, we’re going to take to the street and start smacking random strangers ‘round the face. A uniquely delicate but powerful, disturbing and beautiful voice singing an array of quite haunting songs, we also chat with Jess about her music, the nature of performance and compositional ideas.
(28.09.09)
A privilege it was to have spent a particularly gorgeous afternoon in the presence of Marcus Mumford and his sons recently, as they performed for us the fourth of our Rockfeedback Sessions in the space below our London office. Further to four spellbinding versions of tracks from their debut album ‘Sigh No More’, the band reveal themselves to be wise beyond their young years in a frank and revealing interview, discussing life as a ‘new’ band, the wait to finally make their debut LP, and their place in the folk scene, indeed, if such a thing exists.
(07.09.09)
We heard that the San Francisco-hailing Dodos were in town, and couldn't rest until they'd played a rockfeedback session for us. Playing in their original duo form, we're treated to Meric Long's soaring vocals and acoustic riffery, and Logan Kroeber's almost melodic rhythms on three tracks from their latest album, 'Time to Die'. Inbetween times we chat to them about the nature of their music and its performance, and the very fabric of the universe itself.
(17.08.09)
When we were offered the chance to have Emmy the Great down to perform for our fledgling 'Rockfeedback Sessions', we jumped at the opportunity. One of those writers who transcends the label 'singer-songwriter' despite sitting there with nary but her voice and guitar to carry her songs, we get in-depth and in-session with one of the most genuine folk talents on the circuit.
(03.03.10)
"Couples wandered, soggy but happy, among the trees; the children's play area resounded with the tingling of rainwater on monkey bars; high-rises stood stark against the unchanging sky. However, walk on for about 5 minutes and you begin to hear noise - a distant throb at first, growing louder and higher-pitched with each step...." so said our youthful (15 years of age) reviewer all those years ago. If you're over 18 this is your only chance to see such brilliance. Observe.
Dizzee Rascal // Tim Burgess // Care Bears On Fire // Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds // Count and Sinden // Foals // Glasvegas //Ipso Facto // Kid Harpoon // The Maccabees // Eugene McGuinness // The Rascals // Those Dancing Days // White Williams // Wild Beasts // XX Teens
(01.03.10)
What kind of mental imagery does the word 'Festival' inspire in you? Stale, overpriced beer? Overweight, hairy shirtless old rockers rubbing their sweaty pits on your shoulders? Three years ago Eat Your Own Ears man Tom Baker decided to eschew traditional festival alcohol-company-pandering and create London's first Under-18s only festival. And we were there to film it. Boom.
Cajun Dance Party // Crystal Castles // Johnny Flynn // Kitty, Daisy and Lewis // Lethal Bizzle // Mystery Jets // Jack Penate // Pigeon Detectives // Young Knives
(26.02.10)
London’s Field Day Festival really came in to its own in its third year, and though the grin-and-bear-it attitude to the torrential rain had a charming Englishness to it, the line up was thrillingly cosmopolitan. We capture live and interview the likes of Malian kora mastermind Toumani Diabate, Swedish sisters First Aid Kit performing an exclusive acoustic duet with Fanfarlo, some mental punk jazz courtesy of Norway’s The Thing, Final Fantasy from over the pond, and headliners Mogwai, who we’re surprised to learn Rockfeedback TV had a hand in booking. Erm, what? Find out herein...
Toumani Diabate // Mystery Jets // Mogwai // The Big Pink // Micachu // The Thing // SCUM // Final Fantasy // Sian Alice Group // Malcom Middleton // First Aid Kit + Fanfarlo //
(24.02.10)
Having ironed out the few problems which beset the first outing, Field Day 08 was the perfect balance of beer and incredible music (we won't mention the weather). With exclusive On Location performances from Noah and the Whale and Fionn Regan, as well as catching the likes of Tunng, Simian Mobile Disco and Of Montreal on stage. Check it.
Featuring: Efterklang // Emma Pollock // Fionn Regan // Foals // Laura Marling // Les Savy Fav // Magistrates // Noah and the Whale // Of Montreal // Richie Hawtin // Simian Mobile Disco // Telepathe // The Field // The Notwist // Tunng
(26.01.10)
More New Wave than Nu Rave, danceable futuristic popsters We Have Band cram enough Hot Chip beeps, Talking Head yelps and Rapture-esque disco-funk-pop to get your insides scratching like a sick dog. The ensuing cocktail is a frantic, itchy, delightful mess. Catch them at HMV's Next Big Thing Festival.
(24.01.10)
Brit-winning, chart-bothering, BBC-'sound of 2010'-winning hotly tipped electro-folk songstress Ellie Goulding is already well on her way to being a household name. She played at HMV's Next Big Thing while teetering on the edge of great things.
(24.01.10)
With influences ranging from Arcade Fire to Radiohead, this band deliver an epic sound... with a set that will be the bedrock of what promises to be an astonishing debut album. HMV's Next Big Thing? Certainly.
(04.03.00)
American rock inspired, r'n'b tinged synth-popper Erik Hassle is definitely one to watch in the coming months, writing guitar-edged catchy pop-songs sure to be tickling at the heels of Radio 1 playlists. See him play a sweaty set at HMV's Next Big Thing Festival. Go on. I dare you.
(18.12.09)
Perhaps still best known for an unflinching desire to party hard, Andrew WK is also a renowned noise musician (once a member of Wolf Eyes, no less), classical pianist, and motivational speaker. Espousing a philosophy that delves in to both rampant hedonism and quasi-solipsism, we attended a lecture given at London’s Madame JoJo’s club, and spoke with Andrew ahead of his appearance. Part 3 of 3.
(16.12.09)
Perhaps still best known for an unflinching desire to party hard, Andrew WK is also a renowned noise musician (once a member of Wolf Eyes, no less), classical pianist, and motivational speaker. Espousing a philosophy that delves in to both rampant hedonism and quasi-solipsism, we attended a lecture given at London’s Madame JoJo’s club, and spoke with Andrew ahead of his appearance. Part 2 of 3.
(15.12.09)
Perhaps still best known for an unflinching desire to party hard, Andrew WK is also a renowned noise musician (once a member of Wolf Eyes, no less), classical pianist, and motivational speaker. Espousing a philosophy that delves in to both rampant hedonism and quasi-solipsism, we attended a lecture given at London’s Madame JoJo’s club, and spoke with Andrew ahead of his appearance. Part 1 of 3.
(02.10.09)
Kim Fowley has worked as a musician with the likes of Frank Zappa, produced some of the biggest pop songs in history and written songs for the likes of Kiss. He remains a wild eccentric first, and an incredibly important music industry figure second.