Oracle Roulette

Oracle Roulette is moving! Now at oracleroulette.com...

2010-05-20T00:59:00.003+01:00

If you are wonderful enough to have bookmarked me, then firstly THANKS! You're pretty bloody ace :).

Secondly, please update your bookmarks and/or links - I've moved over to Wordpress (sorry google) and I'm now at: www.oracleroulette.com. Much easier to remember, and makes me cringe substantially less every time I give out the url (there is pre-existing evidence for me not liking rubbish names like - um - blogspot... *runs and hides*). Oh and the comments work. PHEW!

Clearly, even if you've not yet bookmarked me so far, then you should still visit me over on oracleroulette.com, because it would be lovely to see you there. Please say hello when you visit! (The comments section over there works, did I mention that?).

This site will stay open, but it won't have any new posts, so get yer botties over to my new site. You can subscribe to it over there and everything.

Faking it...

2010-05-13T20:11:00.000+01:00

...for Counterfeit. Ok thats a really shite title, I'll admit it. But I am rubbish at headlines still, and I simply want to show you these links to a couple of articles I've done for Counterfeit magazine, who have kindly humoured me and allowed me to waffle on for a few pages about tuneful noises. Well that's just the kind of magazine I like quite frankly.

So - here they are:

First of all a short snippet from a night of Synthpop at the legendary Sheffield Grapes (yes I did really drive all that way for no more than free entry and a complementary miniature hero..)

...followed by what I got up to at the fast-becoming-legendary Live At Leeds Festival in - er - Leeds. Photos (including the one above) are by the certainly-should-be legendary Dan Sumption

Hope you like :)

Icelandic banking or British politics?

2010-05-07T11:41:00.000+01:00

You know how there's always something you forget when you go on holiday? Well I've forgotten my guidebook. But actually it's not really that much of a disaster. I've been before, have a rough idea of a couple of the things I'd like to see, and am meeting up with a(n) acquaintance(s) who have offered to take me to hot rivers and to bars (I'm still assuming the names I was given were names of bars and not strip joints... I'll probably still go anyway mind..).

I have no actual plans and won't until I get there, but I think that's actually the kind of trip I want. I'm going to Reykjavik (amidst cries of "plug up that bloody volcano while you're there"; "so you're going to see the volcano then"; "is it safe?"; "HOW are you going to get there, aren't all the flights cancelled?" and "ooh isn't it expensive?"), and I loved it so much last time I went, I'm actually going this time to find out a bit more about the real Reykjavik and Iceland, and seeing if it's somewhere I could live. Not having a guide book will mean I have to ignore my instinct to have lots of lie-ins, go buy some tourist tat and end up in Sodoma every night, and talk to people who live there, do as many different things as possible, and maybe even learn some Icelandic. Even though I can't roll my "R"s. One thing is certain, there will be lots of late nights and lots of stupid photographs taken :)

Despite all this yet-to-be-written adventure, I'm a little bit sad to be out of the UK this weekend, as I'll miss all the bitching, backstabbing and coercing that will see the future of my country unfold. A hung parliament (in any other country it would be referred to positively as an opportunity for coalition government, where politicians - gasp! - work TOGETHER!), negotiations on people actually cooperating for positive change, and discussions on how electoral reform might happen, plus of course the incessant genius, sarcasm and insight of twitter - I'll miss it all as it happens and have to wait to find out how people are actually dealing with it (and exactly how much transparently obvious spin David Cameron thinks he can fool us with).

But onto more immediate things - I have a volcano to go and investigate! I've no idea which side of the plane Eyjafjalla will be on my trip up (some have told me right, some have told me left) - but I've got a right hand window seat and will be there like a sad geek with my camera and if nothing else I'll get some cool pictures of clouds. Or the glacier. While I glug coffee and dream of leaving the chaos behind.

[I'm posting this from Terminal 1 on an overpriced internet connection and the right click doesn't work so I am unable to copy picture links into this today. But I'll try my best for next time, promise x]

Get yer lugholes ready...

2010-04-18T23:27:00.001+01:00

Live at Leeds is fast approaching us (1st May 2010 to be precise), and I'm writing a little preview for you which will be with you - um - as soon as I finish it.

However in the meantime I made a Spotify playlist containing something from each of the bands who are playing the Saturday (the ones who have a Spotify presence anyway).

Whether you're planning on going to Live at Leeds or not, you could do worse than to click the link (in my humble opinion ;) )

Enjoy!

LiveatLeeds2010

A Vinyl Junkie's Sundrenched Dream

2010-04-18T22:38:00.010+01:00

Inspiration
I've been having a little browse around the blogosphere today (yeuch, terrible word, who thought that up?) and happened upon fellow culture vulture contributor Ben Denison's Good Arrows, who does lots of inspiring creative stuff with Leeds' Hope and Social. This ties in nicely with some things I've been wanting to say about Record Store Day, for which I was queueing yesterday at the ungodly hour of 7.40am, outside Crash Records in Leeds, to buy VINYL. In 2010. And I don't even have a record player.

Record Store Day Queue - Leeds - 8am

Let me start at the beginning...
I've long loved packaging of music and its presentation - the more quirky or unusual the better. We never really had music on in the house when I was growing up - Terry Wogan over marmite on toast was about as avant-garde as it got. My mum didn't like my dad playing anything more risque (Ian Dury and Led Zep are all I remember) with us youngsters around, and Top of the Pops was banned for the same reason. I even remember covering my ears and crying when a 60s party compilation cassette was on in the car once - the music wasn't the sort of stuff Wogan played and I wasn't used to it; I didn't know how to react (I was only 7 in my defence). But I do remember poring over the inlay, and the brightly coloured drawings of the hip and groovy Austin Powers style scenesters partying on the front. And thinking wow. I can't stop looking at this.

I've never bought my own records (aside from a couple of awful 7"s that I demanded to be allowed, when 7"s were all anyone bought), and then when my dad moved out and took the record player with him, it was cassettes all the way. Not really getting out much when I was a teenager meant my life revolved around the radio and the cassettes I (sometimes) bought or (more usually) borrowed & copied from the library or my friends (yes kids, this was how we used to do illegal filesharing).

Old-skool cassettes: side Ride

My choice of tapes was undoubtedly pretty pedestrian but I loved the artwork and attention to detail. Like a lot of people, I'd sit and listen to my new acquisition, staring at the packaging throughout the whole album - opening it, looking at the pictures, folding it back again, opening it up slowly, turning it round, trying to compute what the band wanted to convey. Had the artist made the words flow around the pictures? Were there any quirky details? (Side Drive / side Ride and trumpet silhouettes on the run-in were two of my favourites). This is something that's engaging, and priceless even, about physical format music. You get none of this inclusivity or visual connection with mp3s, and sadly, a lot of this is being lost from commercial CD packaging too, to keep design and printing costs down and maximise profit - necessarily so in the on-demand culture. Naughty mp3s.

So it's 2010, and I'm queueing to buy a cassette..
This brings me to Record Store Day (see my previous blog for culture vulture). There were two releases I really really wanted: firstly the new Blur 7", and secondly the new limited-to-300-worldwide Goldfrapp cassette.

Goldfrapp- Head First (cassette release)

Mother Vulpine - Keep Your Wits Sharp (her words are quick) (mint green vinyl release)

Now I didn't think I'd have to fight for my Goldfrapp (sadly) but I knew that Blur would be a different kettle of fish - I'd never been shopping that early in my life. Fortunately the morning was sunny and my fellow queuers were in amiable mood, and I tried not to think about the facts that I was 34th in the queue and that Crash had only 25 copies of the Blur record on order.

1st choices of the first 31 people in the Crash RSD queue / I'm 34th!

But what else would I get? I have been known to buy vinyl before, if I love the band and the artwork, despite not having the facilities to play it in my own home (I do have friends who do I hasten to add). My prized mint green vinyl Mother Vulpine 7" is a case in point. Some of the RSD releases were really special, and the effort gone into the artwork on the majority of items was stunning, even the simple stuff.

Queue buddies

My queue-buddy for the morning (hi Jonny!), who turned out the be a graphic designer, also often buys vinyl on the strength of the artwork or presentation. People don't tend to release on vinyl these days unless they're really passionate about their art, because they understand what I've long believed, and what Ben Denison explains better than I ever could: that the end result of creating according to your own art is more inspiring, joyous and desirable than anything produced with commercial goals in sight.

You may - or may not - like to know that I plumped for Crystal Castles in the end, with cover art that reminded me of how 12"s USED to be - those illicit LPs in my dad's collection with just an atmospherically yellowed photo covering the front; the only text on the 288 square inches of the whole cover being boldly and simply on 6 lines on the back, just white on black. Speaks so many volumes, and differently to everyone who sees it.

Crystal Castles / Doe Deer 12"

Getting physical (Ha. Sorry..)
So unexpectedly, my Record Store Day experience has reminded me of things I'd long forgotten about physical format music, and in particular, vinyl. The cameraderie in the queue; the genuine and good natured excitement about what we would get to rummage through; hopefully take home, look at, hold, listen to, share, enjoy, and look at some more. My friend's reaction when I gave him the Mogwai/F*** Buttons white vinyl 10" split I'd bought him. My other friends' reactions when I showed off my haul.

Mogwai/F*** Buttons 10" split on white vinyl

The last time I felt that was when I was swapping homemade tapes with my schoolmates when I was 15. But this is grown-up, and much much prettier.

I'm off to borrow some separates.

In Store for Record Store Day

2010-04-12T19:06:00.000+01:00

Well I don't know about you but I'm getting a bit excited about Record Store Day. Which is probably quite a dangerous thing considering I am skint and don't own a record player..

We have three independent record stores in Leeds who are participating in Record Store Day, and fortunately there aren't just vinyl-related shenagins going on - releases will be on CD and cassette (god bless you Alison Goldfrapp!) too, plus some exclusive instore performances from some pretty big names.

You can read more about what's going on in my culturevulture Record Store Day post here: http://ow.ly/1xtca

Exposure in Leeds

2010-04-09T22:21:00.004+01:00

Image (c) Tim Parkin

This week I dragged a friend to hear landscape photographer Tim Parkin speak at the Leeds photography network ExposureLeeds meeting. I say dragged - my friend loves photography, especially landscape, but he's been feeling a bit disillusioned lately and hasn't been taking many pictures. It probably didn't help that I probably bigged it up a bit too much and made it sound like a compulsory networking event, but fortunately he ignored me and succumbed to my additional bribe of cider and cake. Always a winner.

Tim Parkin comes across as a lovely, unassuming chap with a real and expert passion for his photography. As well as talking us through how he'd developed as a photographer, he'd also brought along his fabulously complicated looking large format camera (it's VERY different to digital, non-photography geeks). These things take an hour or so to set up to get the photo you want, but he demonstrated this so simply and clearly, he made even me (who gets intimidated by the vast majority of the functions on my single lens intermediate camera) want to go out and have a go.

Tim's a sneakily inspiring speaker - he clearly knows a lot about his craft, both technically and compositionally, but describes it in such a straightforward way, with subtle yet obvious passion, it feels like he's explaining it over a quiet pint in the pub, making it seem realistically achievable for you to develop your artistic streak to its maximum too.

He certainly had this effect on myself, and my friend as well, who took it a step further and resolved to go out the next day (not having been out taking landscapes for a good six months) and put Tim's top tips on composition, colour and timing into practice: This is the result:

image (c) Malcolm F Stoney

Clicking the links below each image will show them a bit bigger and in a bit more glory on flickr.

Thanks Tim!

Have a look at:
Tim Parkin's website

Tim Parkin's flickr

Malcolm F Stoney's flickr

Vote for (bigoted) change?

2010-04-06T13:45:00.004+01:00

You may have heard in the press that Conservative MP & Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling thinks that christian B&B owners should be allowed to refuse service to gay couples. Frankly I find this idea incredibly bizarre - apart from being discriminatory, how on earth is it consistent with any other rule or law we have in this country? I have to disagree with commentators who think that people with these views should be allowed to exercise them as they will soon go out of business - I fail to see how easy it is to spot that a B&B landlord is a massive homophobe unless you happen to be the stranded vitim of their bigotry. Or are we to back to a time when B&B had signs hanging in their windows that said "no coloureds" ("no gays")? If the laws in the country condone these views, then fewer people will challenge discriminatory views like this, and it will remain acceptable. Our country's leaders should lead the way, not brush the issue under the carpet. What sort of example does this set to young gay people struggling to come to terms with their sexuality? Or gay people of any age experiencing discrimination because of their sexual orientation? Awesome way to boost self-esteem there.

The Conservatives, at the time of writing, have not mentioned the continued tenability of Mr Grayling's position in the party, although calls for his resignation are becoming louder. You can sign a petition to add to those voices - here is my response below:

I am quite stunned that views like this do not constitute grounds for dismissal - MPs and parliamentary candidates have resigned/been sacked for much lesser issues, that have no bearing on their public life or work (eg having an affair). Chris Grayling's comments are wholly offensive and inconsistent with anti-discrimination laws - where will it stop? Muslim B&B owners will have the right to refuse entry to white christians? Jewish B&B owners will have the right to refuse unmarried couples?

The Conservatives' silence over Mr Grayling's comments inherently condones his views during the run up to the election, when MPs, candidates and party members must be seen to be promoting their party's policies. Mr Grayling must be sacked, or The Conservatives become the party of discrimination, not just against gays, but against any minority group that a conservative politician takes a dislike to. Please remember, just as it's not ok to be racist, it's not ok to be homophobic either.

In need of caffeine

2010-04-05T18:11:00.001+01:00

I've *attempted* to sum up my upcoming April activities here for the ever-lovely culturevulture.co.uk. Have a read. I'm going to be quite busy. And on top of that please bear in mind I also have Unfinished Drawings at Verve, and National Record Store Day all over Leeds on the 17th. And a full-time job.

I can have a break in May though - there's another Bank Holiday and everything! Wrong. May Day Bank Holiday sees my birthday, Live at Leeds, and the last weekend I have to work out what I'm doing when I go to Iceland for a few days (answer: lots). Then there is the going to Iceland, and coming back via gigs with Pavement and Shonen Knife. All before the middle of the month.

So have pity, and buy me caffeine when you see me out.

More on March on CultureVultures

2010-03-24T16:23:00.004Z

Here be my latest post about March, on the ever-lovely theculturevulture:

http://ow.ly/1qcVd

The diary's looking a bit full..

2010-03-21T03:09:00.001Z

Oh dear, May's looking a bit rammed for music. Hooray!

Here's what I've got coming up over the next couple of months. I'm not posting this because I think you might find it interesting (although some of you might want to come along), but mainly because a) I'll get confused otherwise (diaries are so last year. Unless you've got one for 2010). and b) I'll be previewing them in a bit more detail shortly.

So for now, cos it's late, and cos someone's coming round with a power drill at 10.30 tomorrow morning, here's the list:

March:

New Young Pony Club (Cockpit)
Save BBC 6 Music protest (Broadcasting House, London)
Alt Track instore gig, (Musician's Centre, then 1in12 club, both Bradford). I can't actually go to this but you all should.

April:

From Leeds to Haiti, from Needs to Ability (Brudenell) with: I Like Trains / Middleman / Micky P Kerr / Lee J Malcolm / Secret Circuits / Alt Track and loads more
Alphabeat (*cough*) (Leeds Uni)
Fuck Buttons (TJ's Woodhouse)
Mark Lanegan (Brudenell)
Ben Frost/Sam Amidon/Nico Muhly/Valgeir Sigurðsson (Manchester Academy)
LCD Soundsystem (O2 Leeds)

May:

Live at Leeds (all over Leeds! For 4 days!)
Some gigs in Reykjavik (Iceland) - if you know what's going on in RVK in early May let me know.
Pavement (Brixton)
Shonen Knife (Brudenell)
Seabear (Brudenell)
Delphic (Leeds Met)
Chrome Hoof (Brudenell)

I might add the hyperlinks to these tomorrow but I might not. You've all got google though right? Goodgood :)

Night x

Roskilde 2010

2010-03-21T02:49:00.001Z

I've been to my fair share of music festivals but never one outside the UK, and Roskilde is one that I remember older friends talking about in excitement awe when I was a little (well, before I hit gig-going age). So when I saw that the organisers were looking for people to attend the festival for free and write a blog about it in the months leading up to it as well as while there, I got a little bit excited. So I've not been doing this writing malarkey long and I'm still finding my feet in places, but the last couple of festivals that I've been to I've had such a strong urge to document what I'd seen and done for people to read about, I thought I'd apply.

Unsurprisingly, the application process attracted over 450 entries, and I didn't get in (you can read the successful blogs here by the way). I was disappointed, yeah, but let's be realistic, I've only been doing this for real for 5 minutes (years of doing it in my head probably doesn't count. Should have thought of that years ago really..). But I thought it would be a shame for my application never to see the light of day ever again - so here it is. I don't think it's awful, but it ain't really in the top 2%. Some of it I'd probably change if I did it again but I'm leaving it like this because it's a little moment in my history now and you can't muck about with that shit. Look what happened to Marty McFly.

Name: Ellyoracle
Music Preference: Anything I’ve not heard before. Anything I have heard before and liked. Currently into: Future of the Left / LCD soundsystem / Hafdis Huld / Pulled Apart by Horses / Ladyhawke / Fuck Buttons. Anything loud and/or with a beat basically. (I make an exception for Hafdis because she sings about robots).
Reason for going to Roskilde, and why I am the blogger of choice: Roskilde’s a bit of a legend for us Brits - a bit like Glastonbury is when you’re growing up in the UK, but y’know, ABROAD! The line-up always looks amazing, I mean this year (already) you have FM Belfast! Pavement! Obscure Danish bands! (apologies – if you’re Danish and reading this you’ll think I’ve been living under a rock..). I do love discovering new music, whether it’s new full stop or just new to me, it’s pretty hard to stop me going to gigs. Ok it doesn’t even have to be new music, anything that I already like gets me quite excited too. It all kinda makes me twitchy-in-a-good-way, I love the atmosphere, I love the adrenaline, I love sharing the experience. Hell I even love trying to fit 6 different bands into one night (doesn’t always work to be honest but it adds to the entertainment). Stick all that into a festival, complete with wellies, loo roll and cider, and I can’t think of anything that makes me happier (other than maybe cake). Oddly though I’ve only just realised that I also enjoy writing about music, the whole live experience, and how it makes me feel. Fortunately people also seem to enjoy reading what I write (I’d still do it even if they didn’t but the positive feedback is quite nice. A bit like cake). I’m told my style is chatty and conversational, (oh, and witty.. ;) ) and people like reading it because it’s full of enthusiasm and easy to read - and that’s got to be a good thing for grabbing hold of your audience right? So... Putting all that together and blogging about Roskilde? Writing about the anticipation and who I’d like to see? A week of running around in a field in my wellies HAVING to go and see as many bands as I want? Talking to people and getting those obscure festival anecdotes out of them? Finding a solution at 3am for not having any ketchup? (Oh hang on, you don’t need to know about that…). AND telling people what I think about it in my very own Roskilde blog? I’m so excited you might have to calm me down by feeding me cake! *(*this means that I would very much like the position and that I think I would be really good at it, much better than everyone else).

Going Live...

2010-02-09T12:04:00.002Z

I've just finished my first ever live gig review then. Rather than start out simple, I've written about not 1 but 4 bands at the NME Awards Tour at the Leeds O2 academy, for the lovely people at TheCultureVulture. So no pressure then! But I had a great time at the gig and really enjoyed writing it up (thank god they didn't give me any less than 500 words!).

So this is partly a thankyou to CultureVulture for having faith in me, and partly to jump up and down a bit and say yay! That was much fun!

You can read the review here.

Hafdis Huld/Synchronised Swimmers

2010-01-20T17:18:00.001Z

Now I'm a girl who likes her music loud, and preferably jumpable to. Sugar-coated, cute-as-a-button, girl-next-door, singer-songwritery pop just doesn't do it for me. Or it didn't until I heard effervescent Icelandic bombshell Hafdis Huld's Synchronised Swimmers. I don't know if it's the homemade handicrafts on the album artwork, the Icelandic tongue-in-cheek attitude, or the ukulele (it's pink by the way. A pink flying V ukulele). Hafdis' songs are lilting, cheeky, and optimistic. She tells it like it is, but with a puppy-dog charm that oozes kitschy enthusiasm. Let's face it, you can't help but like a girl who sings about friends, nosy neighbours, and her love rival having "really stupid hair".

www.hafdishuld.com

Golden Dreams

2010-01-11T17:27:00.001Z

I'm strangely excited. I have never really felt very creative (although people have told me that I am) - well not originally or visually creative at least - but give me something to start from and I can be well away with things like event planning or decorating or hanging pictures (See? Not exactly ground breaking..!)

But then I started jewellery class just over 6 months ago. Now I'm not one for planning my "design" - it's my way of defying convention (because I'm hardcore like that) - and have always felt more comfortable just experimenting as I go along and seeing what happens. I like to think this hasn't resulted in bad results (see pics), but it IS time consuming and expensive. I have also sadly realised that I can't just sit around for 2 hours a week melting bits of (expensive!) precious metal and hope that I'll keep making something different and nice to look at and wear each time.

Fortunately my lovely jewellery teacher Emma Jay not only gets how planning in the right way can actually help the creative process, but she can actually explain it to stubborn & clumsy students like me. Hooray! I know know about things like functionality, aesthetics, value and "reflection of self" (the bit that I always got I think, and it's more complicated than checking you look ok in the mirror..). More importantly for me, I have decided I want a project, to try and see if I can work all these things together, to develop myself as a proper artistic designer (haha!) and to bring pleasure to someone else: the finished article is not something that I plan to keep.

I intend in my project to turn an old (bottom of the range) engagement ring, and another gold & diamond ring given to me by an ex, into a new piece of jewellery. This relationship is water long under the bridge I hasten to add - there will be no symbolic or emotional smelting, this is a phoenix from the very cold ashes scenario, a truly exciting prospect where I really want to see if I can make something beautiful and new out of materials that exist in my past, that symbolise a past era in my life, using my new skills. A metamorphosis of my past experiences if you like, into a new, more creative me. There will be a certain irony in using those rings as materials like they were never intended (this will be part of the "reflection of self" Emma, check me out doing my homework!), and when I'm done, I'm going to take lots of photos (so that I can show off, naturally), and then SELL IT. And then when some new owner is delighted with my work, I am going to go out and buy all my friends an awful lot of cocktails with the profits. Can't wait!

Tasty Icelandic Tunes: Bloodgroup/Dry Land

2010-01-05T21:01:00.004Z

Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) Records on Laugavegur, 101 Reykjavik, have a reassuring end-of-aisle display of CDs bearing the title "Smekkleysa Recommends:". Music (literally) to my English-speaking, tune-hungry ears. I pick out a few with covers that grab me (my tried & tested, yet not always successful, method of choosing brand new music) and ask the extremely helpful man behind the counter what delights are in store for me should I buy them.

He describes Me, the Slumbering Napoleon's EP (the cover of which reminds me of Leeds' Tom Hudson's artwork) as noisy & heavy indie rock. I'm pretty much sold on this one and plump for the album as well just to be on the safe side. Apparently I also pick out another, heavier band (Morðingjarnir), and a reggae act (hjálmar) as well as the electro-pop Bloodgroup, (whose latest release Dry Land I later buy from ridiculously ace store Havari across town) and indie-rockers (with the emphasis on rock, apparently) kimono. I arbitrarily opt to buy the latter to accompany my first choice, along with the achingly gorgeous Hafdis Huld's new record Synchronised Swimmers. I'm very tempted by the rest but I force myself to take it steady for once - a decision I regret within about 20 minutes when I see a review (complete with live pictures) of Bloodgroup's Dry Land in a cafe magazine, and instantly feel I'm missing out on a lot of beeps, beats and energy.

So - I resolve to track a copy down during our packed sight-seeing schedule (made tighter by us not waking up till sunrise (11am), leaving the hotel considerably later, and the shops inconsiderately shutting at 6pm). Havari is on our list of places to check out and when we eventually find it (on our last day), there is another very helpful lady (whose husband we discover designs gig posters) more than happy to explain to us what the bands are like (despite seeming mildly baffled by our untypically-English enthusiasm). She explains that Dry Land is being hailed as the "best album to come out of Iceland this year" - she's not sure that any album deserves quite that much hype, but she does think it's bloody good, explaining that their first release Sticky Situation was lots of fun but not much more - the band have taken some time out to "find themselves" though and she thinks it's paid off - the songs are better written, more powerful, more exciting, and it shows she tells us. She says she likes it. I buy the record.

Back at the hotel, it doesn't disappoint - the first track My Arms kicks in with haunting but instantly magnetic synths and a heartbeating kick drum. The pace is instantly addictive but relaxing. Track two This Heart has the beeps, twangs, clicks and determined syncopated beats I was promised - classily put together, singer Lilja's voice makes the ever so slightly dirtiness of this track sound pure as her glacial voice. She shares vocal duties with one of the boys (they neglect to tell us which one) and the contrast between his and her voices only make it more electrifying. I've started to dance about to this in my head. This can only be a good thing.

The rest of the album is haunting, driving - god there's that icily stunning voice of Lilja's again - and upbeat, pacey. Overload and Pro Choice are Kraftwerk-tinged noughties gems, and while Moonstone and Dry Land are the token chill-out tracks, it's hard not to imagine a crowd chanting the chorus to the raw beats of Battered. To say the whole album wouldn’t be out of place as a James Bond soundtrack would be too one-dimensional a description of Bloodgroup’s cinematic crafting of beats, synths, strings and THOSE vocals. Go listen, go dance in your bedroom, go chill out. Go dress up, go drink cocktails and pretend you’re in a film. A really really cool one.

www.myspace.com/bloodgroup (Record records)

Introducing.... Iceland

2010-01-05T20:40:00.021Z

€I recently went to Iceland. In December. For a holiday. No the weather wasn't too bad at all (although we were lucky with a ridiculously mild spell). No it wasn't really all that dark - much the same as in the UK in fact, other than the late sunrise (at 11am), but I dealt with this by deciding it conveniently legitimises very long lie ins. No the booze wasn't as expensive as you might think - partway between a night out in Leeds city centre and a night out in London. Thankyou the unfortunate Kronur! (We won't mention Icesave and the impending referendum on the Bill..)

But oh yes was the scenery amazing! Oh yes was the light indescribably unique! Oh yes did the people we meet make us feel at home! Oh yes did the water do wonders for the skin! Oh yes is there an impressive literary legacy! Oh yes is there bonkers mythology!

And OH.. YES.. is the Icelandic music scene utterly, eclectically, image-eschewingly, vibrantly, riffily (I made that word up, shh), electrically, beautifully wonderful.
6 live bands and £200 worth of CDs in 4 days will either confirm this for you or give you an small insight into the state of my mental health when it comes to music. And no, there wasn't a festival on.

Some other blogs about the Bradford Odeon

2009-11-28T23:21:00.006Z

Lots of people seem to have some thoughts on The Odeon and other aspects of Bradford's regeneration, including the Westfield hole saga, so I thought I'd list the ones I've come across so far (in no particular order, although have tried to put the most recent ones first). I'm sure there are loads I've missed so if you know of one then please let me know via the comments and I'll add. Enjoy!

Keith Ruffles:
Should we save Bradford's Odeon Cinema?

Tales from Bradistan:
Wastefield
Democracy Wall
Save the Odeon part 1
Save the Odeon part 2

Alex Ross

Regarding Bradford Odeon (+ more)

John Mclear

Does average Joe care about the Odeon?

Jenny the Flaneuse

Culture, engagement and regeneration in Bradford

Paul Routledge (Mirror.co.uk)
The "Hopkins Hole"

The Devil's Own Blog (photoblog)

RIP Odeon - murdered

RIP Odeon 2

A sight soon to be gone

Converse on 28 days later

Inside the Odeon

Indymedia:

Singsong at the Westfield hole

We Are Not Zombies Event Report

Banner Drop/Pre-Halloween Pictures
Some more banner drops
Broadway Development Abandoned

Why save the symbolic Bradford Odeon?

2009-11-28T22:52:00.003Z

(Pic by Tom Hunter)

I was having a chat to a couple of my friends the other day about the Odeon, who have picked up information about it 2^nd or 3^rd hand. They both think it’s a shame to see it go but as it’s just an eyesore now, they just think that we should accept that times change and let the new development begin.

I think this is a pretty common attitude, and I can’t say I blame people. If you don’t spend hours on the internet reading about the Odeon campaign, or know someone involved in the campaign, you won’t really know WHY people want it saved, or have an idea of how strong some of the arguments are. For me, and I think for a lot of people, it’s about democracy and respect for the City of Bradford and its citizens.

I explained to my friends that if the majority of people wanted it knocking down then I would respect the choice of the majority – however the majority appear to want it saving – 2000 objections to the demolition were placed to the Council, and only 2 people supported the demolition. There is a thriving Bradford Odeon Rescue Group and Save The Odeon facebook group, both full of people who want justice and to save their City’s heritage, both growing all the time, as are the paper and online petitions and support from everyone from policemen and reporters to council workers and street cleaners, from Asians and whites alike, and from children, teenagers and 20-somethings, through to pensioners and everyone in between. The www.savetheodeon.co.uk website, containing campaign ideas and information, is getting bigger every day.

When one looks at why the people who want it demolishing are of this opinion, they either believe what they have been told in the local paper (who stand to gain with the Odeon’s demolition) - and in my experience these people change their minds when the facts are explained - or have vested financial interests in having it demolished (councillors, developers, quangos, local papers). The process of consultation and objections required when applying for planning permission have been ignored, and people have been told by the council that the Odeon is a shell inside and only fit for demolition (photos show this to be far from true). The decision to grant permission for demolition has not been a transparent nor a democratic one, and ignores a huge strength of feeling from the residents of Bradford.

What concerns me about this, is that many Bradfordians feel their city has lost its heart and soul. Many beautiful buildings have been demolished, not to be replaced by “new heritage” – new beautiful buildings that a new generation can grow up with and want to fight to save – but by soulless concrete blocks, that are themselves facing welcome demolition only 30 years later. The planned development for the Odeon site is another such concrete and glass office block, unwanted by locals who want to feel pride in the rich architectural heritage of their city. 15 acres of the city centre has lain for the last 5 years as a wasteland after planning permission was granted for developers to demolish existing buildings and build a shopping mall. The demolition of those buildings went ahead, but the developers pulled out of the new mall due to lack of investment – well before the recession. The council has done nothing to either force a useable development, or heed the calls for the best to be made of a bad job and convert the site into a park or greenspace.

Even attempts to decorate the ugly maroon hoardings that still bear the developer’s propaganda by locals with imaginative and heartfelt art, have been hurriedly scrubbed away. This is not a council that respects the need of the city to have a soul, or for its citizens to be able to believe in their city and its leaders, to feel proud of their city, that it is the heart of a community. We don’t need to go too far back in time (2001 in fact) to remember that a lack of sense of community, pride and understanding in Bradford’s uniquely diverse population can be used to stir up hate and violence. Whites, Asians, and other ethnic minorities alike are on board with the Odeon campaign however.

Bradford residents that I have spoken to (and that’s quite a few) are frustrated that their city has the reputation of being soulless; “a sh*thole”; a dirty, derelict mess. But as one twitterer posted: “ Bradford's known for all the wrong reasons in the

. In the twitterverse, it's @BradfordOdeon who's making it known for all the right ones”. The Bradford Odeon has become a symbol of Bradford: of its architectural and cultural heritage (The Odeon is the last remaining 1930s super-cinema in the country and is still a thing of beauty 80 years on, like the remaining Victorian architecture that can still be seen in varying states of repair in the city; Bradford is also the 2009 UNESCO City of Film); of the need for transparency in the democratic process and for trust in the city’s leaders; and for respect for the city’s people and spirit.

This is not about sentimentality – I personally do not believe that because I went to see a film there once, or that the Beatles once played there, these are good enough reasons alone to save it. If the building was truly derelict and beyond saving then I would (sadly) wave it goodbye. This is not about opposing business or regeneration – if we trusted the council to support business or regeneration in a way that is sensitive to the city then we could be confident of our voices being heard and we could be confident every possibility had been exhausted before demolition was considered, and that a thoughtful replacement would be build, completed, and used. This is not about not fear of the future – I know no-one who wants Bradford or the Odeon to stay as they are - we want to see the city living and breathing again, with the Odeon being used sustainably as a building that everyone can use and be proud of.

This is about respect (for the city and its citizens), democracy and community pride. For me, the Odeon campaign aims to save Bradford from soulless & corrupt regeneration. To quote from the online petition “This city has suffered 5 decades of bad planning by a council that neither listens nor cares. The Odeon is now a symbol of citizens sick of being treated as if they were worthless.”

It’s time to listen to what people want and to work together to achieve aims that everyone can be proud of.