Thirsty and Miserable with Gunning For Tamar, Oxygen Thief and Andy Oliveri

Pama International Photo Special

All credit for the pictures to Andy Hall the full set can be viewed here

Pama International @ Soundhouse 28th November 2010

After starting my weekend watching brutally beautiful instrumental music I was heading to Birmingham to watch something completely different. Over the last ten years Pama International have been instrumental in the sound of ska, dub and reggae in the Uk and were the first band in thirty years to release a record on the legendary Trojan Records. The show was the second of the last five Pama International are playing before they take an indefinite break.

Despite having the services of Sir Horace Panter and Lynval Goulding of the Specials for their live shows, Pama International deserve to take all the plaudits as a band and after ten years of hard work they have earned the right to this.

After two reasonable support acts Pama International took the stage and caused the room to instantly fill out. The sign of a good band is to attract a vast range of fans, and the age range within the venue was great to see and showed that, despite being relatively young for a reggae or ska band, Pama had obviously balanced their sound perfectly.

The blend of soulful vocals, heavy bass, choppy guitars and smooth keys was enough to make you forget about the cold weather outside and transport yourself to warmer climates and better times. From the off it was apparent that despite it being time to take a break Pama International wanted to go out with a bang and everyone put their all into the entirety of the show. As tracks flowed into each other effortlessly I realised just how many great tracks the band have released during their extensive career. It was also interesting to hear how the bands sound has developed throughout the years and managed to stay fresh and exciting.

It is always a mixed bag of emotion watching a band play a farewell show, and this was no exception, no matter how intense the live set was everyone knew it would be one of the last. However, with such a talented group of musicians on a stage together it can only be a matter of time before they decide to record something new, either as a band or with other projects.

It was an honour to see one the most underrated bands in the country again, and a shame that it will be the last time for a while, but as far as live performances go this was the highlight of the five I have been lucky enough to see, each with a different line up.

I can only wish everyone involved in Pama International every success in whatever they choose to do in the future and hope for a reunion sooner rather than later.

Many Thanks to Andy Hall for the Pictures

Talons Photo Special

Credit to Andy Hall for these ace photos you can see more of his good work here

God Damn Photo Special

As previously all credit to Andy Hall for the photos and you can check more out here

Talons, God Damn, Killer Yogi & I/O @ The Flapper Birmingham 25th November 2010

Last weekend started with a bang, which was accompanied by some beautiful violin playing and brutal guitar lines. I was of course in Birmingham watching Talons, who are one of the UK’s hottest musical prospects.

As I got onto the train with Andy (who took all the pictures) we watched all the unfortunate Vampire Weekend fans getting into Wolverhampton for the show at the Civic. These poor young souls didn’t realise what they were going to miss in Birmingham for a quarter of the price. In truth we didn’t know quite how incredible the night and line up were going to be, but both Andy and I were blown away by ‘Hollow Realm’, Talons’ debut release, from the very first listen.

As we arrived at the Flapper to find a frozen canal and ice covered tables we were glad to be tucked away in the small back stage area with the band for an interview (which will be up shortly). The first two acts Killer Yogi and I/O played interesting sets, which were well worth watching. I’m looking forward to seeing both again, especially as now I know what to expect I will be able to formulate a full opinion on them. 

Wolverhampton’s finest God Damn were the first band to properly blow us away with their very individual sound and manic live performance. They’re a band I have seen numerous times and have never been disappointed by the live sound or performance. My description on the night was classicrockhardcore which sums elements of them up perfectly and does nothing for others. The band are a soundclash between individual styles and techniques which comes together into something very original and well worth checking out. 

Tonight was an example of one of the most irritating things about living in Wolverhampton, and Birmingham having such a good live music scene. As Talons took the stage I had a quick glance down at my watch to see we only had half an hour of their set to watch before the mad rush to the train to get back home again. During that half hour the band made me feel almost every emotion possible without the need to use a single word. The level of aggression that comes through every instrument is balanced by the moments of immense beauty and backed up by uncomfortable suspense. 

I thought I knew what to expect from the live performance after listening to the record numerous times but it turned out I was wrong. The live performance increases the intensity and general brilliance to alarming levels and as I looked around the audience the entire front row was looking on in amazement. 

For six people to convey such emotion through instrumental music is astounding and if you haven’t seen Talons live you should track them down in a town near you soon. If you can’t make a live show buy their debut album ‘Hollow Realm’ or at the very least add it to your Christmas list, you can’t be disappointed by something so incredible.

Cheers to Andy Hall for all the pics you check the whole set out here  

The Breadchasers - Time to stop (Offcut Records)

This debut album from Nottingham based The Breadchasers is only the second to be released on Offcut records which is owned and run by Jimmy The Squirrel front-man and artist in his own right Liam O’Kane. As you would expect from hearing JTS or Liam’s work the record has a strong reggae and ska influences.

From the off it’s apparent that this record is going to be good, the intro has a laid back tropical feel to it and moves into the first full track seamlessly. Vocally it’s always nice to hear a local accent coming through rather than a singer trying to sound like they’re from somewhere else. The vocals are multi layered and at times the passion comes through in a rough sound which would be at home on any punk record. 

As the album progresses the style is consistent without becoming boring, there is a definite combination of old and new styles of ska music. Vocally there is a vintage edge to the style which bears comparison with Terry Hall, Squeeze or Suggs without sounding like an imitation. Musically there is an incredible mixture of first, second and third wave ska with a very British feel mixed together with the obvious reggae elements. There are definitely small influences form the skacore of the early noughties with Capdown and Shooting Goon as obvious examples these are combined with a stylish mix of Skatalites and Slackers. The main comparison I personally found immediately on listening to the album was with many of the acts on Asian Man Records in the USA.

There are definite elements of Let’s Go Bowling, The Chinkees and Skanking Pickle in amongst the vast influences on the Breadchasers’ strylee. For me the three above bands are responsible for taking ska into another level where it wasn’t all about brass lines and upstroke and it’s nice to hear this come through in music with brass and upstroke to continue the progression.

There is a lot of depth to the record and it is musically incredibly complex, the brass-lines help to back up the points made both musically and vocally. At times the brass is used to create further rhythms allowing the musical depth to really shine through. At times the combination of brass, deep bass and organs create a tropical dub feel to tracks which adds balance to the whole album.

This is a record, which will be sure to warm your bones on cold winter nights. Considering it’s the first record from The Bread Chasers it’s pretty obvious there will be big things to come from this band in the not so distant future. 

Random Hand, Detached and Liam O’Kane Photo Special