Slam Dunk is tomorrow and we cannot wait for it.
Sitting our hotel room across from Birmingham's NEC, we feel like kids on the night before Christmas. Tomorrow is the day. Slam Dunk 2017.
Friday 26 May 2017
Slam Dunk 2017
Sitting our hotel room across from Birmingham's NEC, we feel like kids on the night before Christmas. Tomorrow is the day. Slam Dunk 2017.
Wednesday 24 May 2017
Our Response To The Manchester Attack
We are in shock. Absolute shock. There is no other way to describe what we're feeling.
Unpredicted. Unsuspecting. Uncalled for? Devastating. Forming full sentences are hard at the moment.
Why are we even talking about the attack? This isn't a political or news blog. We never cover other stories so why this?
Well, we're a music blog based in Glasgow. Doesn't seem as if it has anything to do with Manchester but we do in so many ways. Firstly, an attack on the music scene anywhere hits everyone who loves music and loves going to gigs. In some way, you feel like you can relate in the smallest way to those who have been caught up in the attack. Whether you were there yourself, have been in the venue before, or if you can just imagine how horrible it must be to go through. It does effect us all.
We are constantly at gigs and listening to live music. Just the night before, we were watching Declan McKenna play his headline gig in King Tuts. Just the night before, we were at a gig and felt safe. The thought of a music venue being attacked was at the back of our minds.
The horrific attack at the Bataclan in Paris, less than two years ago did have us shaken for a month or two, but we slowly returned to feel safe at gigs. I guess we saw the Paris attack as a one off and very unlikely to happen here in the UK.
We were proven wrong.
The Manchester arena attack is still difficult to think of. An attack which has claimed the lives of so many. Further still, it has caused life-changing effects for thousands of people. How do you survive such an attack and feel safe again, all the time knowing it could have been you? How do you live your day to day life never mind venturing near a venue or gig again without being reminded of the horror you were caught up in?
We were not at the gig, nor were we in Manchester at the time. We watched the story break and unfold on social media and on the news. Fixated to the screens, hoping it was a false alarm. Hoping it was an accident, something going wrong and not deadly. When the official statements were released we felt sick. Who could do such a thing and why? Why attack music? Why attack the people who are just going to see their favourite singer live? Why break apart families, cause such distress and heartbreak for those involved and those not? Why bring such horror to a safe and celebrated place?
Something we see time and time again, is our resilience. Whether in the UK or somewhere else in the world, we see genuine people come forward and help. We see people stop what ever their doing in their own lives and help other people. In the worst of moments, we come together.
Manchester is a proud city. It's a city full of talent and celebrates it when ever possible. It's a city steeped in music and history. Nothing can break its pride nor its people. The UK as a country shows this sense of pride and resilience. As an island nation which jokes about its weather and left the EU in a bid to show it is strong enough to stand alone, nothing can break us.
We don't come from Manchester, but many UK cities share similarities. You can't take our love away from us. Whether its sport or politics or NHS or music - if we love it, no one can take it from us.
The way the country has reacted to this attack is unbelievable. You hear stories of emergency responders saving lives on the scene, taxis drivers giving free rides, hotels letting out empty rooms for free and becoming safe places for the lost and injured. Everything and everyone pulled together to face this horror.
The attack is a tragedy. We can't talk about it without crying. The thought of it being real hasn't even settled in yet. We now understand why people call events like this nightmares. You feel like you might wake up and the event hasn't happened. It feels horribly dream like right now and will for the next few days.
Please, do not let this scare you. We know it sounds ridiculous but please, do not be afraid to go to gigs. Now more than ever do we need to support our music industry.
Gig goers and performers face the same fears but we need to work through this as people who love music, if we ever want to get back to the safeness we felt before. We are resilient and won't let this stop us. We can't live in fear.
As planned, we are attending Slam Dunk on Saturday. The festival is still going ahead, as is Dot To Dot and Radio One's Big Weekend in Hull.
If you do feel unsafe at gigs whether it's because of this attack or other issues, don't be afraid to tell someone. Even if you think something might not happen but it doesn't feel right, tell someone. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Below we've linked the two most important sites at the moment which are of use to anyone confused or caught up in the attack.
Unpredicted. Unsuspecting. Uncalled for? Devastating. Forming full sentences are hard at the moment.
Why are we even talking about the attack? This isn't a political or news blog. We never cover other stories so why this?
Well, we're a music blog based in Glasgow. Doesn't seem as if it has anything to do with Manchester but we do in so many ways. Firstly, an attack on the music scene anywhere hits everyone who loves music and loves going to gigs. In some way, you feel like you can relate in the smallest way to those who have been caught up in the attack. Whether you were there yourself, have been in the venue before, or if you can just imagine how horrible it must be to go through. It does effect us all.
We are constantly at gigs and listening to live music. Just the night before, we were watching Declan McKenna play his headline gig in King Tuts. Just the night before, we were at a gig and felt safe. The thought of a music venue being attacked was at the back of our minds.
The horrific attack at the Bataclan in Paris, less than two years ago did have us shaken for a month or two, but we slowly returned to feel safe at gigs. I guess we saw the Paris attack as a one off and very unlikely to happen here in the UK.
We were proven wrong.
The Manchester arena attack is still difficult to think of. An attack which has claimed the lives of so many. Further still, it has caused life-changing effects for thousands of people. How do you survive such an attack and feel safe again, all the time knowing it could have been you? How do you live your day to day life never mind venturing near a venue or gig again without being reminded of the horror you were caught up in?
We were not at the gig, nor were we in Manchester at the time. We watched the story break and unfold on social media and on the news. Fixated to the screens, hoping it was a false alarm. Hoping it was an accident, something going wrong and not deadly. When the official statements were released we felt sick. Who could do such a thing and why? Why attack music? Why attack the people who are just going to see their favourite singer live? Why break apart families, cause such distress and heartbreak for those involved and those not? Why bring such horror to a safe and celebrated place?
Something we see time and time again, is our resilience. Whether in the UK or somewhere else in the world, we see genuine people come forward and help. We see people stop what ever their doing in their own lives and help other people. In the worst of moments, we come together.
Manchester is a proud city. It's a city full of talent and celebrates it when ever possible. It's a city steeped in music and history. Nothing can break its pride nor its people. The UK as a country shows this sense of pride and resilience. As an island nation which jokes about its weather and left the EU in a bid to show it is strong enough to stand alone, nothing can break us.
We don't come from Manchester, but many UK cities share similarities. You can't take our love away from us. Whether its sport or politics or NHS or music - if we love it, no one can take it from us.
The way the country has reacted to this attack is unbelievable. You hear stories of emergency responders saving lives on the scene, taxis drivers giving free rides, hotels letting out empty rooms for free and becoming safe places for the lost and injured. Everything and everyone pulled together to face this horror.
The attack is a tragedy. We can't talk about it without crying. The thought of it being real hasn't even settled in yet. We now understand why people call events like this nightmares. You feel like you might wake up and the event hasn't happened. It feels horribly dream like right now and will for the next few days.
Please, do not let this scare you. We know it sounds ridiculous but please, do not be afraid to go to gigs. Now more than ever do we need to support our music industry.
Gig goers and performers face the same fears but we need to work through this as people who love music, if we ever want to get back to the safeness we felt before. We are resilient and won't let this stop us. We can't live in fear.
As planned, we are attending Slam Dunk on Saturday. The festival is still going ahead, as is Dot To Dot and Radio One's Big Weekend in Hull.
If you do feel unsafe at gigs whether it's because of this attack or other issues, don't be afraid to tell someone. Even if you think something might not happen but it doesn't feel right, tell someone. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Below we've linked the two most important sites at the moment which are of use to anyone confused or caught up in the attack.
Friday 19 May 2017
Airways Debut EP 'Starting To Spin'
Earlier this week, we were given the chance to listen to the debut EP from Airways before it was released. Titled 'Starting To Spin', we've seriously struggled not talking about it.
Co-produced by our favourites over in Nothing But Thieves, this EP is everything we could have wanted and more.
Friday 12 May 2017
Changes Are Coming
Being inactive and quiet is something I'm becoming pretty good at (which is a really bad thing) but things are about to change!
If you haven't been on the website in a while you might not have a clue what I'm talking about but I'm sure you'll catch on.
For seven years this blog has run as an independent alternative music blog (pretty much) without fault. Yes, at times it looks a bit untouched and inactive but I promise something new is always happening. Which is where this new project comes in.
On top of my uni degree and being the sole person keeping this blog alive, I've taken on a big (huge) project, creating, developing and launching my own online magazine.
Working with other writers, photographers, designers, artists and musicians, I'm finally launching Social Sounds later this month.
It has been a mammoth project and surprisingly not very stressful, but the work that has gone into our first issue is pretty insane.
Its release date is still TBC but you'll have it by the end of the month.
If you want to read more you can check out our site and find our pre-release info at -
(Proper URLs are coming soon!).
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