Maxi Curnow: Car Crashes, Creativity, And A Life-Altering ‘Transition’ [Interview]

Maxi Curnow makes music with a strong, no-punches-pulled message. Blending everything from poppy hooks to tech-metallic intensity on his new track If We Make It, and accompanying said song with a powerfully unsettling video (viewable below), he’s already making an impact.

TMMP caught up with Maxi Curnow to discuss the video for If We Make It, and got a glimpse into the reality of life spent saving lives and staying creative…

Your new video for If We Make It is one of the most gut-wrenching videos I’ve seen in a while. Can you explain the story and message behind it?

Well, while working on and off duty I’ve been to traumatic RTCs (Road Traffic Collisions), which have really hit home how vulnerable we are despite the safety features that most cars boast.

You are still responsible for a one-tonne missile, going at 70 miles an hour, which is made of metal. Our bodies can’t compete with that! So even if a seatbelt stops us, on impact our organs will keep on going.

If they rupture, you will start bleeding internally and that’s not a quick fix, all while on the surface you may not even have a scratch.

More importantly, it’s not just ourselves that we are responsible for when driving. What if Read more…

Posted on 09 November 2015

Julia Biel: MOBOs, Writing, & Memories [Interview]

One of the keys to creativity is a generous attitude. You can’t be stingy when it comes to putting something out there – you have to give it all you’ve got, holding as little back as possible. This interview reflects Julia Biel’s adoption of said attitude.

With a fantastic album (Love Letters And Other Missiles) behind her, a MOBO nomination in the present, and the MOBO Awards and an awesome remix EP on the horizon, TMMP caught up with Julia Biel to discuss writing, memories, and more…

You’ve been nominated for a MOBO Award, and you have a new remix EP out next month. Sounds like a busy time! What thoughts and feelings are going through your head right now?

It’s been a really busy year, yeah! Loads of touring abroad to lots of new places, and then the MOBO nomination and now getting to release the remix EP feels like the icing on the cake.

At the moment, I’m mainly feeling really grateful for all of it. I feel very privileged to be getting these opportunities.

While you were writing and recording Love Letters And Other Missiles, what was your creative process like? What did you have to do to make your ideas a reality?

I was writing songs at the piano late at night without really having an album in mind, but just letting the songs emerge as and when they did.

There was no pressure, no label to hurry me, no one telling me how they had to sound, just total freedom to write how and what I wanted. It was a great time as it was also the first time I was Read more…

Posted on 31 October 2015

The Manic Shine: Life Cycles, Creativity, And Low-Budget Fire Breathers [Interview]

In the UK, winter is a still, bleak, and boring time.

With Trial And Triumph, The Manic Shine have the solution. It’s an immense, dirty, and raucous blend of multiple classic and modern rock styles with an idiosyncratic twist, sure to get your blood warm and fizzy. Head here for a full review if you’re curious.

For this interview, TMMP caught up with The Manic Shine’s frontman Ozzie Rogers to talk Trial And Triumph, life cycles, creativity, and low-budget Scottish fire breathers…

Your new album Trial And Triumph is dropping soon. How’s it feel to have that on the horizon?

A huge whirlwind of excitement, terror and relief! As I’m sure most bands find with any album, so much work has gone in behind the scenes, personally and professionally, that the release really does feel like a description of how far the band has come in the last 2 years; trials and triumphs abound!

Its strange because every band lives this strange seasonal birth cycle, peaks and troughs alongside the album/material release, and if you’re a “lifer” like we are then it becomes Read more…

Posted on 30 October 2015

The Aristocrats Talk Fistfights, Touring, And Robot Pigs [Interview]

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Right now, The Aristocrats are one of the most infamous fusion-oriented bands on the planet. If you’re a regular TMMP reader, you’re probably well aware of them by now – but if you’re new and curious, or your memory needs refreshing, click here for many a reason to become a fan.

Besides being generous with their notes, these noble gentlemen are also generous with their time. With a four-month European tour kicking off in Cologne on November 16th before winding its way across the continent, TMMP talked to The Aristocrats about fistfights, touring, coffee, and robot pigs…

You’re three of the hardest-working musicians on the planet, and you have a hectic European tour running from November until February! How do you keep yourselves gig-ready amidst such a chaotic schedule?

Bryan Beller (Bass): Lots and lots of coffee. And naps. And then more coffee.

Guthrie Govan (Guitar): I always thought that being gig-ready should actually be easier if you’re gigging constantly, and that “rust” would be more likely to kick in after taking a long break from playing.

Marco Minnemann (Drums): Comfortable travel schedule, good sleep and good food. That helps. After the show…whatever happens.

What are your pre-show rituals?

Bryan: A nap. And then coffee.

Guthrie: Finding a secret smoking area.

Marco: Reclusiveness.

What’s the most awkward onstage situation you’ve ever had to deal with?

Bryan: I once got in a fistfight with the drummer from the band going on after us. 10 people jumped in. It happened onstage and Read more…

Posted on 29 October 2015

VASA [Interview]

If super-intense instrumental math rock is your thing, you’ve either heard of VASA and love them, or have just heard of VASA and will love them in the near future.

In this interview, TMMP talks to VASA bassist John Niblock about VASA’s new album Colours and the band’s past, present, and future…

Your debut album Colours is out now. How does it feel to finally have it out there?

It’s a mix of relief and pride, I’d say. We’ve spent the last 10 months working on it and building up to it, so it was great to finally let people hear the album that we spent so much of our time on. We’re very proud of the end product and couldn’t be happier with the response it’s gotten.

What’s VASA’s origin story?

I met Blaine (Thompson, guitar) during my second year of university. We started writing together, and shortly after he brought in Scott (Coupar, guitar), who he had been friends with from their high school years. We recruited Niall (Morison MacRae, drums) last June after replacing our old drummer.

When it came to writing the tracks on Colours, what was your creative process like?

Quite a few of the tracks had been started just before Niall joined, so for most of them it was Read more…

Posted on 27 October 2015

Lu’Ami [Interview]

At 2000 Trees 2015, Lu’Ami’s past-midnight set, set deep in some on-site woods on the Forest Sessions Stage, was one of the highlights of the entire 80-act festival.

Better – the track you can hear at the end of this interview – was the highlight of that highlight.

Lu’Ami is a genuinely one-of-a-kind artist, melting down loop-based electronica and Read more…

Posted on 17 October 2015

Nothing But Thieves [Interview]

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Today is a big day for fans of arena-ready rock with a twist. Nothing But Thieves have just released their eponymous debut album – and it is an absolute banger. Having been blown away by said album and raved about it in this review, TMMP talks to Nothing But Thieves frontman Conor Mason about Nothing But Thieves, supporting Muse, bad stage dives, and the future…

Your debut album is due out this month. What thoughts and feelings are going through your minds right now?

If I’m honest, I can’t quite believe it. We’ve all been in bands since we were kids. To have a debut album coming out on a major record label is quite ridiculous.

How did NBT come to be? What’s your origin story?

Story starts with Joe and I meeting at school. He was a couple years older, and we started a band together when we were kids.

Dom joined our school to do music; Phil is Dom’s cousin; and Price used to play in bands supporting us in Southend. So we nabbed him…

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Singing I Believe I Can Fly in the shower with my mum. Weird aye. What’s weirder is my memory span only stretches a couple years back.

If you had to pick just one moment as a highlight of your journey so far, which would it be and why?

I would have to say playing with Muse to 40,000 people. We may Read more…

Posted on 16 October 2015

Yossi Sassi [Interview]

If rock-oriented instrumental guitar is your thing, Yossi Sassi is a name you need to know. In this interview, TMMP talks with the man himself about his upcoming EU tour, the bouzoukitara (Sassi’s unique signature instrument), creativity, spirituality, and more…

You’re set to tour Europe this December. How’re you feeling about it?

We can’t wait to share the Desert Butterflies show with our European followers! The set list is promised to be diverse and rich, spanning both solo albums, as well as some past materials and surprise songs, past and future.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Age 1.5 or so. I recall my father singing in his underwear in the living room!

Seriously, I was surrounded by music all my life. My grandfather was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and played the oud, and was teaching music to his 10 children. I absorbed it from childhood.

I first played the flute around age seven, then sang in school choir. Then came the guitar, and it was right on the spot. The right instrument. It changed my life ever since.

You have a signature instrument – the bouzoukitara. How did that instrument come to be?

For years I’ve been playing over 17 different instruments, yet composing mainly on bouzouki, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.

In 2011 I composed a couple of songs for ‘Melting Clocks’ that demanded me to move between those instruments when playing live. I decided to plan an instrument, seeking an efficient way to switch between the acoustic Greek bouzouki to the electric guitar.

The “bouzoukitara” is a unique instrument that combines a traditional acoustic bouzouki with an electric solid-body guitar, and acoustic guitar. Together with luthier Benjamin Millar, I was able to Read more…

Posted on 12 October 2015

Press To MECO [Interview]

TMMP is dedicated to discovering and supporting musicians who break boundaries, beat the best expectations, and mean what they play.

Is it trendy? Is it cool and hip and in and [insert alternative buzzword here]? Who the fuck cares, honestly?

A self-conscious reluctance to experiment holds a lot of musicians back from doing something fresh, new, and vital. Now more than ever, musicians are placed under constant and unrelenting pressure to conform to the ways of the past – expected to be slaves to external demands, pleasing everyone except themselves.

The thing is, all the styles and genres that we take for granted now were alien once. Jazz is now considered quaint and archaic, as is classic rock’n’roll – but when those movements first kicked off, people had no idea what to make of it. From the perspective of those original jazzers and rock’n’rollers, we live in the future – and yet that same future is frequently soundtracked by vintage sounds.

Although there’s nothing objectively wrong with that, it’s still a little ironic that this future currently tends (and trends) toward the past, rather than looking forward and trying something new. Too many of today’s musicians have forgotten that the (metaphorical) musical melting pot even exists, neglecting it in favour of textbook, formulaic recycling.

But then, there are bands like Press To MECO. Read more…

Posted on 01 October 2015

Alpha Male Tea Party [Interview]

With ArcTanGent Festival on the horizon, TMMP talks to Tom of macho-monikered math-rock madmen Alpha Male Tea Party about ATG, car tax, plastic surgery fantasies, and pail-related enlightenment…

You’re set to hit ArcTanGent 2015 this week. How’re you feeling about it?

We’re feeling pretty rad right now. And, by that I mean, we’re very excited to be playing at our favourite festival again. It will be wild.

What’s the best thing about festivals for you?

It’s the only time no one will care if you are caught using a tepid can of Strongbow or similarly low quality beverage as a means to swill your mouth out after brushing your teeth. That and the general lack of real life. Your car tax could expire (as mine did one year) at a festival, and you wouldn’t give a shit.

Although I did give a shit actually; I drove to Read more…

Posted on 19 August 2015