KOKO London http://www.koko.uk.com Event listings for KOKO, London's premier live music venue; 1A Camden High Street, London, NW1 7JE. Fri, 09 May 2008 14:49:48 +0100 endfile en TONIGHT > CLUB NME : Dead Kids, a place to bury strangers, dj simon subsonic in the main room, the lovely jonjo (durrr) presents the on & up room, isa gt (girlcore) http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=558 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Sat 10th May > MR SCRUFF http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=531 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Wed 14th May > CAMILLE http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=497 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Camille was born and raised in Paris, France. As a teenager she studied ballet and developed an interest in bossa nova music and American stage musicals. She attended Lycée Henri-IV where she obtained an arts degree. Thanks to her mother being an English teacher, she grew up learning to speak English fluently. She performed her first original song "Un Homme Déserté" at the age of sixteen while attending a wedding. In the early 2000s, while performing at jazz clubs in Paris, Camille made her acting début in the film Les Morsures de l'Aube (by Antoine de Caunes; with Asia Argento and Guillaume Canet). She also contributed to the song "La Vie la Nuit" in its soundtrack.

]]> Thu 15th May > DINOSAUR JR http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=549 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Dinosaur Jr. are an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. The band's line-up has consisted of various line-ups for most of their recording career, but most of their success has come with the original line-up which consisted of J Mascis on vocals and lead guitar, Lou Barlow on bass guitar, and Murph on drums. The band disbanded in 1997, and reformed in 2005 with the band's original line-up. The band's 2007 release, Beyond was a critical and commercial success, and is the first album to feature the band's original line-up since 1988.

]]> Fri 16th May > DELAYS http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=555 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
“The last couple of years have been the biggest rollercoaster ride you’ve ever seen“ smiles Aaron Gilbert (electronics wizard and brother of Greg).

“It’s been sad and beautiful all at once. I’ve been rushed back from tour with nervous exhaustion, the works. But I wouldn’t change a minute of it.”

“Put it this way” smiles brother Greg. “We’ve come a long way from playing songs in a garage, dressed like The Sweet!“

Delays have long been British rock’s best kept secret. A heady concoction of angelic harmonies, beat-group hauteur and groove-based hedonism, they belong to British pop’s most regal bloodline: (early) Floyd, The Smiths, The Stone Roses.

Hitch a lift with them to North America, however, and you’ll see their euphoric ballroom blitz send fans into a frenzy. Head south of the border and it’s a full on teenage rampage.

“We played a sold-out stadium gig at this bullring in Mexico” says Aaron. “We got a limo to the gig and they were selling bootleg Delay’s t-shirts on the streets outside the arena. Not bad considering we haven’t even released a record there.”

Sometimes a delay can be a good thing. Had a brisk north-easterly not slowed the progress of the Armada when it was bound for the South Coast in in 1588, you’d probably be reading this in Spanish. Equally, having formed a decade ago in Southampton as glam-rock reprobates Corky –recruiting Aaron en route- the band have forged a bond which trumps faddishness hands down.

Aaron: “We’ve known each other from school. Because of that, we’ve got a really deep connection, which comes through in the music. We’re a proper gang, we grew up together, we just do what we feel is right.”

Such togetherness has brought with it a keen sense of purpose, as well as a pan-generic psychedelic know-how covering all bases from Oz to Prince to the Aphex Twin.

Having signed to Rough Trade in 2004, they released their debut album Faded Seaside Glamour the same year. A riot of page-boy haircuts, nifty riffs and celestial harmonies, it boasted top Twenty hits ‘Long Time Coming’ and ‘Nearer Than Heaven’ and prompted the Guardian to describe them as “the first guitar band in a decade to lay claim to the melodic guitar pop throne invented by The Byrds and the Hollies.”

Follow up You See Colours (2006) saw their psych-pop blueprint delivered with added BPM. A brooding mix of “Voulez Vous’ and ‘The La’s’, it spawned alpha-pop hits ‘Valentine’ (NME Track Of The Week) and ‘Hideaway’ and brought both an army of new admirers and a mutually agreed split from Rough Trade.

“It was a weird situation to be in” explains bassist Colin Fox. “We’d be playing to huge crowds at Glastonbury and T In the Park, all the while aware that we didn’t know who was going to put the next record out.”

”In a strange way it galvanised us” adds drummer Rowly. “We did a self-financed tour with the last of our money, and those were best shows we’ve ever done.The last date was at the Guildhall in Southampton, and the cherry on the cake was that we signed the new deal that night.”

“It’s a cliché to say it,” laughs Greg, “but after all the hassles, signing with Fiction was like that bit in the Wizard Of Oz where it goes from black and white to colour.”

For a band so absorbed by pop’s kaleidoscopic past -a quick straw poll of current faves reveals a love of doo-wop, The Flaming Lips and Mogwai- it makes sense that their new circumstances should be seen as as an awakening into technicolour. But their journey from darkness into light has also given Delays a hard won perspective on the pop process.

Greg: “In the last year I’ve come out of one really long relationship, met someone new and signed a new deal. Inevitably, that’s all going to end up in the music.”

All of which brings us to Everything’s The Rush. Recorded over twenty days in Spain with producer Youth (Primal Scream/Verve/Paul McCartney), it is the sound of Delays striding confidently into the big league. The tunes are brighter, the choruses are bigger, the need for emotional rescue greater than ever. If the urgency can be put down to a desire to make up for lost time, the super-charged guitar sounds and soaring synths owe something to psycho-geography.

“We recorded at Youth’s chateux in Grenada, which is high up in the mountains” explains Aaron.
“The live room has got a huge window with panoramic views over the Sierra Nevada range. When you’re staring at a mountain in a room full of amps, you want to make a sound that’s as big as the sky.”

From foot-to-the-floor opener ‘Girl’s On Fire’ -think The La’s at Red Rocks- to neurotic space disco “Friends Are False” to sky-scraping strings-assisted stomp ‘Touchdown’ (key lyric: “I’ll be calling on your radio!”) Everything’s A Rush is final proof that Delays have the melodic nouse to slug it out in Stadiumsville.

The music may be the musical equivalent of a huge gulp of alpine air, but listen closer and the lyrics reveal a darker aftertaste.

“One third of the album relates to the detritus of us getting out of Rough Trade and our private situations, and the other two thirds are about the joy of discovering new things and the beauty of making music again” explains Greg.

“We’re almost back to the point we were at before we had a deal. We decided to throw it all in there - take the soul of what we do and explode it. ”

With Aaron providing vocals and an acerbic lyrical wit on four tracks (not least on idlers anthem ‘One More Lie-In’), it’s the sound of a band scaling new peaks, tackling their personal demons along the way.

“A song like ‘Hooray’ sounds really uplifting, but it’s actually about me having O.C.D laughs Greg. “It seemed too easy to write a maudlin song. For me, music is at it’s best when it’s fragile and human; people crave that connection.”

Aaron: “For us, melody is king. We want to make music which sends a shiver down your spine.”

It’s been worth the wait.

Turn up the speakers; join the rush.

]]> Fri 16th May > CLUB NME : The Satin Peaches, dj simon subsonic in the main room, the lovely jonjo (durrr) presents the on & up room, arveene (dublin) http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=566 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Sat 17th May > BUTTONED DOWN DISCO http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=561 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment www.buttoneddowndisco.com.
]]> Mon 19th May > RAEKWON PERFORMING ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=532 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), known by his stage name Raekwon, is an American East Coast rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Raekwon may not have achieved the solo stardom of his fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard or RZA but along with Genius/GZA and frequent partner Ghostface Killah, he's done some of the most critically acclaimed work outside the confines of the group. His 1995 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is widely considered to be one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums, and one of the finest and most influential hip hop albums of the 1990s. Over the years, Raekwon has become known for staying true to his New York street fan base and making little effort to appeal to those outside of the city - making this visit to KOKO a welcome one!

]]> Tue 20th May > SPIRITUALIZED http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=546 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Spiritualized are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman) after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3. The membership of Spiritualized has changed from album to album, with Pierce - who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material - being the only constant member. Spiritualized have released five studio albums. The best known and most critically acclaimed of these was 1997's Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, which NME Magazine made their Album of the Year.

]]> Wed 21st May > WHITEST BOY ALIVE http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=529 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment The Whitest Boy Alive is a musical group based in Berlin. The band comprises singer/guitarist Erlend Øye, bassist Marcin Öz, drummer Sebastian Maschat, and Daniel Nentwig on Rhodes piano & Crumar. They started as an electronic dance music project in 2003 in Berlin, but have since slowly developed into a band with no programmed elements.

]]> Thu 22nd May > ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, atlas sound http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=548 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Animal Collective is a New York City-based group of experimental musicians from Baltimore, Maryland. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). Records released under the name Animal Collective may include contributions from any or all of these members; the lineup is not uniform. The band members met in school and started recording together in various forms of collaboration from a young age. Although the band is often classified as psych folk or noise rock, it is hard to define the Animal Collective sound as they often experiment with diverse styles and ideas from album to album. The group also runs the record label Paw Tracks on which they have released their own material as well as material by artists such as Ariel Pink, Terrestrial Tones, and The Peppermints.

]]> Fri 23rd May > CLUB NME : Midnight Juggernauts, we are wolves, dj mikey four in the main room, the lovely jonjo (durrr) presents the on & up room, nova dando & lou (new young pony club, new sins) http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=526 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Midnight Juggernauts are an indie-electro-synth group from Melbourne, Australia.


Their debut album, Dystopia, was released in Australia in late 2007, with an international release with additional material to follow in 2008. The album was previewed by radio station Triple J as the "Feature Album". Vincent from the band has provided Triple J with previews for most of the tracks, citing Electric Light Orchestra as one of their influences, a key sound in some of their tracks, particularly Into the Galaxy.

]]> Sat 24th May > BESTIVAL REUNION TOUR 2008, the sugarhill gang, ulrich schnauss, florence & the machine, the cuban brothers, django spears, das pop, rob da bank, sombrero sound system http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=570 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
Guaranteed to bring our festival’s renowned spirit to the heart of Camden with head turning attractions that will include a knitting tent, Lost and Found giant scrabble, spoken word shenanigans, our usual fun and games and even Teepees, Rob da Bank has worked long and hard pulling a stunning line-up together for our last blow-out before the inaugural Camp Bestival gets underway in July.

Launching the tour’s last hurrah are Hip Hop innovators and bona fide legends, The Sugarhill Gang who will be getting in shape for their September set at Bestival with a showcase of beats, rhymes and flavour from the Old Skool, laying down some original flow.

Django Spears will be joining the parade, cooking up a storm with their natty take on recycling by rehashing classic tracks from the likes of 2 Unlimited and Whigfield and giving them a whole new lease of life. Bestival favourites Sombrero Sound System will be throwing down an eclectic blend of party favourites, before the inimitable Ulrich Schnauss - whose unabashed love for Bestival 2008 headliners My Bloody Valentine gives his shimmering electro soundscapes a unique edge - makes a welcome appearance with a truck full of lush melodies and wonky beats.

Bestival main man Rob da Bank will be getting behind the decks for one his legendary sets, warming things up for the delicately-rendered torch songs of the hotly tipped Florence and the Machine whose haunting vocals and blues inflected Soul are a must see. The Bestival faithful will be no strangers to main stage favourites, The Cuban Brothers. Infamous for their high-octane funk and high-jinx, Miguel, Archerio, Clemente and Kengo are the very essence of entertainment and will be bringing a welcome touch of Latino loving to the evening.

Das Pop will be bringing proceedings to a close with their blissful, guitar driven pop. Championed by Justice, and with a Soulwax produced album due this summer, Das Pop are definitely ones to watch.

With tickets for Camp Bestival and Bestival literally flying out of the door, you’ll have to be quick off the mark to ensure you have a spectacular summer indulging yourself in our carnival of colour, fancy dress and tea & cake!

]]> Sun 25th May > BODYROX http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=575 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
The infamous Bodyrox (Yeah Yeah, What Planet Are You From) join us straight from their headline set at Gatecrasher to showcase their renowned sound at the legendary Koko. The beautiful former theatre plays host to the biggest party in London over the May Bank Holiday.

No more words are needed the standard has now been set.

MAIN ROOM:
BODYROX
RICKY RPM
BLEND DJs
Farserelli
Alex Hero
Steve westover
Lewie five o

ROOM 2: FNUK/AUDIODAMAGE/ELECTROPHONIK / ELEKTROPHONIK
KID MASSIVE
FNUK ALLSTARS
Nick Fisher & Jamesy
EightfootDisturbance
The ethan project
Charlie c
live pa by elliot williams

ROOM 3: ELECTRO BREAKS SENTIAL
DANNY C
Heavy set djs
mezza breaks
Dave irvine
]]> Tue 27th May > BOB MOULD http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=541 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960, in Malone, New York) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for influential rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s..

]]> Fri 30th May > CLUB NME : Make Model, carlis star, dj mikey four in the main room, the lovely jonjo (durrr) presents the on & up room, tim fuchs (lick it, austalia) http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=567 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Sat 31st May > GUILTY PLEASURES http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=572 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
Book your tickets now, before they all go.

For more info go here.
]]> Tue 3rd June > TOM BAXTER http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=551 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Tom Baxter (born 29 October 1973) is a singer-songwriter based in London. Born in Suffolk, he grew up in Cornwall, with both parents regulars on the folk music circuit. After moving to London at age 19 to attend music college, he spent many years on the gig circuit before a successful residency at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush brought him to the attention of record labels.

 

He supported Nerina Pallot on her UK tour in January 2007. After splitting with Sony in 2007, Tom recorded his second album Skybound independently; it was released on the revived Charisma label through EMI on 7 January 2008.

]]> Thu 5th June > ALPHABEAT http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=568 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Sat 7th June > FUNKIN YOU http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=581 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Wed 11th June > THE SUBWAYS http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=539 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment The Subways are an English indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the US.

]]> Fri 13th June > CLUB NME : Haunts http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=574 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Tue 17th June > LIARS, deerhunter http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=580 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
]]> Wed 18th June > ATMOSPHERE http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=562 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
As Rolling Stone once gushed about Slug, "This Minneapolis indie rap hero has potential to spare, delivering taut, complex rhyme narratives with everyman earnestness." Or as the Village Voice once wrote of Ant, "His dusty grooves are hooky and R&B-informed, and even when they back up Slug's most maniacally depressed rhymes, they never feel heavy-handed."

While Slug's name has become synonymous with introspective rap, the new revelatory recording process with Ant inspired the MC to open up his subject matter well beyond his own life. In fact, When Life Gives You Lemons… is entirely based around fictional narratives that deal with societal issues – many, which revolve around the theme of parenthood. To accompany the release, the album comes with a 40 page hard cover book that includes a children's story by Slug in addition to all of the lyrics. And this was done in part to celebrate Slug's growth as a writer.

"This time around I really did force myself to try and write these stories as if I was writing a book or short stories and just trying to figure out how to put them into music," says Slug.

The song that got this whole album started is "In Her Music Box" – the tale of a young girl who sits in the back seat of her wannabe pimp of a father's car, absorbing the explicit raps she hears coming out of the speakers. The song is not so much about neglect as it is examining the dichotomy between a young, inexperienced father and his impressionable child. As Slug says of the track, "The main point of it was to look at and speculate on how children at that age learn the art of escapism that as adults sets up for self-medicating and self-abuse."

Another vital track on the album is "Shoulda Known," which also touches on parenthood in the context of examining poor decision making and how crucial it is to think beyond the present. With songs like these, Slug proves that his best work isn't necessarily the most revealing. And if you ask him, making an album with Ant completely comprised of fictional content sure helped get all of the real life characters from his former verbal journals off his back.

"Every record I put out you can guarantee there's going to be about five people that are going to call me and e-mail me and go, 'I can't believe you fuckin' said that on your record! I can't believe you fuckin' told people about that!' This time around, nobody can call me out on that."

Fuck a classic album, give my life five mics-Slug of Atmosphere]]> Fri 20th June > CLUB NME : Goose http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=559 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment Goose are a Belgian electro rock band consisting of members Mickael Karkousse, Dave Martijn, Tom Coghe, and Bert Libeert. They are currently signed to Skint Records.

]]> Fri 4th July > CLUB NME : Inner Party System, magic wands http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=577 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Fri 11th July > CLUB NME : Those Dancing Days http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=578 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Fri 18th July > CLUB NME : The Runners http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=579 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment ]]> Sun 3rd August > DJ KRUSH, dj vadim, memory 9 http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=563 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment
The History of DJ Krush DVD offers an epic recounting of the career of Japanese turntabalist, from his landmark first album Meiso to his 2006 world tour. Included are two documentaries--filled with behind-the-scenes footage from his tours and album recording sessions, as well as all of the atmospheric beat-maker's music videos. Ever...

DJ Krush is arguably the most gifted producer & DJ in the world with a superb sense in mixing and composing his sound who's been lauded for years by both his domestic and the international audience. Probably the most revered and renowned Japanese musician alive; the very fact of this unprecedented esteem goes some way toward justifying his laurels alone.

Krush was the first DJ to use turntables as live instruments, doing free sessions with live musicians on stage and comes at you in '07 as the battle hardened veteran of dance floor killing shows from Tokyo to the corners of concert halls across the globe.

DJ Vadim is a 4 weetabix a day powerhouse DJ/producer/musical incendiary and he hits the decks tonight surfing the wave of his latest release 'The Soundcatcher'. Brazilian carnival spirit crossed with a reggae soundsystem and Brooklyn hiphop sensibilities. DJ Vadim at his eclectic best, rocking the dancefloor like never before.

Anyone who has caught a Krush gig in the past will clamour to see the great man again and with support acts of this calibre, anyone who missed out in the past should grab this opportunity with both hands.]]> Thu 30th October > BELLOWHEAD http://www.koko.uk.com/gigs.php?event=576 Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100 music live music london entertainment