Next Monday 15 August, Rapids! release their new EP Fragments, preceded this Saturday by a live performance at Champions, the venue that hosted the band’s debut performance in 2009. The gig will be a fundraiser for Julia’s House – a children’s hospice based in Broadstone that was recently brought to the band’s attention through their guitarist, Rob Murray.

Having watched the rise of Rapids! closely over the last year in particular, with the band signing to London/Manchester label Heist or Hit Records in 2010, it’s been engrossing watching a band totally on their game, totally obsessed and driven by a desire to achieve, a desire to be successful. Their signing followed a six-track EP released in March 2010, and around that time a number gigs that gained the band extremely favourable reviews in such high profile mags as Artrocker and Rocksound. Steve Lamacq too was quick to spot the band’s potential, interviewing the band on two occasions on his 6Music show.

Further radio and magazine interest followed the release of ‘Fuses’, their first single released through Heist or Hit, as well as a UK tour with label mates The Answering Machine. These lead to airplay on XFM and another live session on 6Music with Tom Robinson, as well as further subsequent airplay through Steve Lamacq. Suffice to say 2010 was a progressive year for Rapids!

Earlier this year the band begun writing and recording Fragments. Recorded in London and Southampton, the tracks were mixed by Dave Eringa (Manics/Idlewild) and in July a double A side ‘Comets’ / ‘House Of Sand Of Fog’ was released, with Faded Glamour recently saying “Oddly, they sound not much alike but that shows how ‘Comets’ is a glorious hybrid of anthemic rock and math-pop – complete with the best second half to a song this year.”

Following the edgy, angular intensity of their previous EP, listening to ‘Comets’ it may seem that the band have simply produced more of the same, sticking with a formula which served them well in 2010. However, the remaining four tracks (whilst not being a huge departure in the band’s sound) see Rapids! clearly benefitting from the extra production, intensifying their sound, adding weight, depth and a claustrophobia which knocks off a few of the edges. Less angular, now deeper and darker, heading (albeit very tentatively) towards an eighties goth sound (albeit on speed). The synths are heavier and more prominent, the songs are more layered, and like the previous EP nervous and impassioned, seemingly using their music to rid themselves of their personal insecurities and troubles.

The sense of intensity and claustrophobia screams through the music, and through the vocals of Matt Holliday who sings as if performing an exorcism. Fragments is exceptional stuff. Rapids! have upped their game, expanding and advancing upon an already winning formula.

We recently invited Rapids! front of house Matt Holliday (above) along to our rehearsal rooms at Champions for a natter. Matt needed little encouragement to discuss his opinions, feelings and thoughts about himself, his band and their new EP…

As we started talking a band came through to start rehearsing. A band quite clearly still at school who were clearly just excited to be able to ‘play’. That started Matt off…

“I remember way back when I was in my first band, we practised on a Monday and Thursday at the school practise rooms ripping off Blink 182 songs… thinking back to that without the slightest idea of how the music industry works, even playing in the hall to the school assembly feels like you’re playing Wembley. Kids have got this romantic notion, when you get older you become bitter & old… I’m kind of at that odd age when at 23 I’m kind of clinging to… I’m quite a romantic anyway, I love my old fashioned things, I hold things from the 1930s and 40s in quite high regard because I think, despite the fact that there was a war going on… material things were built to last and people were more there for each other. I realise I’m on the verge of becoming, not bitter but…”

It’s great to see such enthusiasm isn’t it?

“It’s cool… it’s really nice to see actually because you can get detached from that and forget fundamentally about what being in a band is about. That’s a shame because everyone goes on about how it should be about the music, but it really should. That’s why they’re doing it.”

It still is for you surely…

“Oh absolutely, yeah. I’m incredibly proud of the songs we’ve written, in the same way I was incredibly proud of the first song I ever wrote at my desk at school. So that feeling hasn’t changed when I write songs that I’m happy with. We take ages writing songs because we tweak it and tweak it and tweak it… until it feels like if we tweak it one more time the whole song will probably implode. We get to that point where we’re just about to kill ourselves with working so hard on the song and getting angry with each other, just as we’re about to completely implode, that’s when the song is right.”

A lot of bands seem to instantly move on to writing new material, disregarding the music they’ve just made…

“Definitely. We’ve already written two new songs in the last couple of weeks, and because we spent a lot of time working on this we didn’t really have time to write, and now we’re writing again and that’s cool because I think a lot of these songs we’ve been working on since October… The lyrical content for example is stuff that was happening quite a while ago. Some of it not that long ago, but… With the first record it was kind of retrospective I guess, thinking way back, whereas this one it’s retrospective now, but when I wrote it, it was very current and how I was feeling. So now when I listen to it, it kind of feels uncomfortable because it’s written at a time when, yeah, that just happened, things that may have been a problem during that record and what I’m talking about are now…”

Do you still think too much? (referring to ‘Comets’ and Matt’s cries of “I think I think too much”)

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

Have you always thought too much?

“Yeah, I have a bad tendency to over think… I don’t know if it’s a bad habit as such, but yeah, I think way too much. I’m overly analytical to the point of… I do my head in. But sometimes I just want to grab people and shake them and be like… seriously can you not see, like are you literally that blind. But other times, it depends whether it’s an internal or an external thing, like I’ll walk along the high street and if I think about it too much it just depresses the shit out of me. I’m like the country is going to, well… fuck knows.”

That really comes across in your music. I was like that myself, but now I’d rather no over analyse because yeah, things can fuckin’ depress you…

“I looked at everything in the big picture and I found I couldn’t control any of that. The only thing you can control is… you make your own little bubble where I have my job, my friends, my family… that is my life and I can control things within it, in terms of that stuff I can physically affect. You know, I’m not going to change the way the street looks, but I have a tendency to over analyse extremely little things. I over analyse myself, I over analyse my relationships, I over analyse everything. That’s why I get angry because I think, if I walk along the street I think, it’s not great but okay, there’s very little I can do about it. But it’s the more internal things like I see how my other friends get on with each other or I see how other people get on… everyone’s so much more laid back I feel like, I dunno…”

And that results in the music you make… intense, passionate, often claustrophobic… It’s a musical reflection of your mentality if you like. It’s obviously not just you who is making this music, but lyrically and vocally, the style of the music does mirror what you’re saying…

“It’s funny isn’t it because I think it might be me who is vocally putting words to the music, and I’m putting my own words to the music in terms of that’s how I feel. But I’ve never thought about that, that actually… I don’t write the guitars, I don’t write the bass, I don’t write the drums, so it’s like… they don’t have a pen and paper they have instruments… I’ve never though of it as being… possibly selfish actually then in hindsight, because I’ve always managed to assume, yeah, the music itself can be like that and I don’t… yeah”

Vocally, it sounds like you’re letting stuff out…

“This is the thing… I wouldn’t ever remotely consider myself a good singer. Far from it, it’s like talking with melody really. I wouldn’t consider it great singing but I think I’m able to get it out and make it believable. It’s honest, like there’s no pulling something over someone’s eyes. This is very much how I feel and I’ve never second-guessed myself as to whether or not that is the right thing to do. I don’t even deliberately write about what I know, it’s like a subconscious thing; you start writing and you write a load of shit, and you write a line that works, then you write a bit more shit and you’ll go back to that line, flesh it out and turn it into something and then it just starts coming out and you don’t even think about it. That’s when you start to get to the interesting stuff, once you get all the kind of pulp out of your head.”

Do you see songwriting as a cathartic process?

“Yeah, I don’t intentionally write cathartically but I do feel better afterwards, so… I’m very open with my close friends and my family. There are some things I wouldn’t even say to them, or phrases and things that have come out in songs like… I mean, I think that’s my issue with this record compared to the last record. It’s almost… I don’t think I’ll make a record this personal again.”

But for me, as a listener I want to hear someone pour his guts out…

“I think in hindsight my solution to that is… the EP is done, it’s finished and in that sense no matter what anyone wants to do with it I don’t need to listen to it any more… but I think when you’re on stage it’s a different thing. I’ve got no issue playing the songs live and I’m very proud of the record, but I find it uncomfortable to listen to at this point in time, but that may change.”

If ‘Comets’ is the single, would you say it’s the song most similar to the first EP?

“I would completely agree. I think ‘Comets’ has got much more of a… I hate genrelising but “math-rock” staple on it I guess.”

Describing ‘Nameless/Faceless’…

“… it’s not very insular; well the chorus is incredibly insular and very personal. The lyrics are “what makes the forests grow / what makes these flowers bloom”… in my notebook I had so many different versions of lyrics for that song because… I’m not a tree-hugger but I grew up in Wiltshire… it sounds petty and very Bill Oddie-esque, but I haven’t seen a stag beetle this year, I haven’t seen a frog this year, I mean where… can people not notice? There’s a line which starts the song “what will change the way we work / is there time and is there hope / I don’t know”… I don’t know really, but I love artists who suggest things and obviously at the time I was very annoyed by that…”

On discussing the subject of albums generally being better if the writer is going through a period of personal woe, Matt quotes Robert Smith…

“I love Robert Smith’s writing when he’s really down. ‘Disintegration’ I think is a great record. I listen to ‘Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me’ which is like a “party” record and it’s like, nah, I’m not feeling that. I don’t deliberately seek out miserable music, far from it.”

On the subject of lyrical content…

“I don’t really think with politics it’s necessary to throw your weight around. But I think with charities there are good causes to get behind, and this week we were really made aware of Julia’s House hospice, and I’ve done stuff with Beat Bullying and the It Gets Better project, and that’s exciting because you can make a difference to someone’s life. I’ve given up on politics to an extent. If someone said would you change who you voted for in the election I just wouldn’t have voted, and that may sound like a cowardly way out but I think they’re all wankers.”

(Despite realising the positive effects of donating to charities, it’s never straightforward for Matt…)

“But then I suppose it goes round in circles, because it’s like you could be helping a kid or someone be better off, but then if you’re not contributing to the political side they could be better off but end up growing up in a complete shit-hole.”

How do you compare this EP to your last? It’s not a million miles apart. To me it sounds heavier and darker, there’s more going on and it’s more produced. Less angular, more obtuse…

“I think two things happened. Rob got a chorus pedal, and I started reading quite a lot of Ted Hughes. Both of them had quite a big impact, because the chorus pedal was harking back to an age of music that we love. I know everyone is ripping off the eighties in some shape or form, but I grew up surrounded by music from the eighties, my parents listened to New Order, REM, Echo & The Bunnymen and things like that and it rubs off subconsciously. Also, I always think that when you play live you should leave nothing behind, like, ever. I don’t know when the angular thing changed. I guess it’s what you’re listening to, what your influences are… I mean there’s a lot more synth on this one. When we went in the studio last time I’d had my micro core (synth) a week. This time when we went in I’d had it for a year, we’d found sounds and played around with it a bit more.”

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

“Well, we’ve got the record coming out on August 15th, we’re playing here (Champions) on the 13th, and we’re playing the SWN Festival in Cardiff. That’s a Jen Long and Huw Stephens festival, and that’s with The Fall, The Joy Formidable… Mark E Smith is an amazing frontman so that’ll be cool. We’re booking up shows now for the rest of the year, so hopefully we’ll sort a tour out for the latter part of the year. I think the plan is to release a single in mid-October to coincide with SWN Festival, and at the moment we’ll be recording a new song, one of the new ones we’ve been writing, and we’re possibly going to re-record ‘Maps’ because we’d like to give it the treatment that this EP had, and I think it’s still a live staple of our set. My main thing is I just want to get the record out. I just hope it sells. I hope people like it.”

Whose review do you most care about?

“I like Artrocker and Q. I’m a bit older man when it come to my… I would like to say I… very verbally detest the NME, I think they’re absolutely appalling and hope they don’t go near our record. At the same time everyone wants to get reviewed by the NME so… (laughs). So if they review it, that’s cool, but if they don’t I’m not particularly fussed. I’d much rather have an institution like the BBC continue… Like I say, I’m a bit of a romantic in the classic sense, and the BBC is a British institution, and I’d much rather have someone like them backing us with notable legends, people like Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Tom Robinson, Chris Hawkins who are great people, they’re fantastic djs… It’d be nice if we got Jen Long who’s on BBC2 interested in us… that kind of thing. I just hope that they continue to like us, but I’m not really that fussed about the NME, I think they’re tosh.”

Having sat with Matt for nearly two hours, finding him passionate, enthusiastic and open about his thoughts and feelings (and despite already knowing him reasonably well), I still feel I’ve only scratched the surface when it come to discovering his individuality, his psyche. He seems to have more ideas and thoughts than he can cope with, and often when mid-sentence would change his train of thought and go off on a tangent as a result of an over-active mind. Such complexity screams through in the music of Rapids! It’s intense, it’s impassioned, it’s a purification of the soul through words and music. It’s bloody good.

For their EP launch at Champions this Saturday Rapids! have hand-picked three support bands who in their own words “each bring a new and exciting sound to the Bournemouth music scene, ranging from Street Indie (Working Title), to Progressive Rock (Died Of Crash), and finally out and out Dance Indie, with an early 60′s vibe blended with 80′s romance (Threads).”

Doors for this highly anticipated event open at 7.30, with entry just £3 before 10pm, £4 after. All profits and donations on the night will be going straight to Julia’s House Children’s Hospice.

So, another live music venue has bitten the dust. Okay, so the ibar was more a ‘bar’ than a ‘venue’, but due to Chalk Ink and Dom Patience in particular it attracted a long list of quality bands into a room, which in truth was inadequate for their needs. ibar had its loyal followers, its regular punters who loved the music and loved the scene that was created by Andy, Leigh, Dom and the rest of the team. I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t into much of the music there, and found its facilities increasingly shabby and the sound substandard. I just didn’t feel right to me. That’s possibly an age thing, and after managing the bookings at The Gander for a couple of years could also sound a little hypocritical (when describing ibar ‘shabby’). But my personal tastes are unimportant – the fact is the ibar was loved by many – it appeared to have found its niche, its clientele. But despite that, after four years of being one of the main players in the local live music & club scene it has just announced its closure (on 12 Aug). Why?

Now, I’m sure an official statement will be made in the near future, but from what has already been written on facebook it would appear it is primarily down to finances. Working at The Gander and now Champions I am completely aware of the financial issues facing any bar or venue, and due to the location of ibar its rates and overheads would clearly not have been cheap. Also, the current regulations and ridiculous levels of bureaucracy are killing independent businesses and venues, who struggle to cope with the resulting financial implications. Many of the issues that bar owners and managers have to face would not be in the minds of punters and gig-goers (licensing, police, environmental health, security) – although maybe they should be…

Venues have to work ridiculously hard to get people off their arses, away from their TVs, computers and consoles and out to watch bands. Once those people are out of their houses there’s obviously a huge variety of options available. Most people who read this will feel more at home in a music venue than, for example, Walkabout. Yet, frustratingly it is these sort of bars that not only seem to attract a horrifically large number of punters, but appear to flourish despite encouraging drunken behaviour. ALL DRINKS £1.50! was available last night, so said the HUGE sign outside – although in reality this was (in barely visible letters) *selected drinks only if you have a members card – yet music venues which do nothing to encourage drunkenness, constantly struggle with the council’s demands with regards to noise issues, anti-social behaviour and security requirements. Walking near Walkabout at the weekend and I’ll intentionally cross the road to steer clear of trouble – go to Champions (I can’t speak for ibar) and the most trouble you’ll generally find is a particularly angular elbow in a mosh pit.

So, there are basically two issues here. Firstly the struggle to get people out of their homes and supporting local venues. Secondly, trying to cope with the ongoing issues with the council and red tape. These issues are nothing new, but when you see these local venues close – and further afield the likes of The Astoria and The Luminaire have both closed recently – you realise how difficult things are at the moment. Two things will help: Small bars and venues survive purely on bar sales. Please, don’t bring your own drinks to the venue, don’t drink outside, don’t bring in drugs and don’t attempt to drink if you’re under 18. Shit like that shuts venues. And, now more than ever, keep supporting live music, and for the sake of those bands attempting to create something different, something unique… original live music. Bands, promoters, punters… the local music scene is YOURS. Use it, celebrate it, put on gigs, go to gigs – metal, funk, rock, jazz, ska, punk, indie, whatever it is you’re into – encourage and support creativity. Live music and love music.

What makes a festival special? I’d say two things in particular – the entertainment and the atmosphere. In ten days the Endorse it in Dorset Festival returns for its 8th year, a festie that has built its success on fantastic music in an environment which is (for anyone who wants to have fun in a field with thousands of like-minded people) as good as it gets. Endorse it has no airs or graces; yes, it’s wonderfully organised, offers loads for the kids, has the usual array of festival eateries, drinkeries, stalls and theatre. The music is a mix of punk, dance, roots, reggae, & dub with dashes of rock & indie, but… despite the quality acts who come year after year the one thing that makes Endorse it special is its bloody fantastic atmosphere.

Okay, what’s on? You want punk? How about UK Subs, The Rezillos and Peter & The Test Tube Babies for starters. Ska n dub? The Toasters and Dub Pistols. Wanna dance? Subgiant and Banco De Gaia. Get yer hoedown? Cropdusters and of course Pronghorn. Honestly… this year’s line-up looks like Endorse it’s best yet, with acts now playing over seven stages. Personally I can’t wait to see New Model Army again, 26 years after being scared shitless watching them live at Bournemouth Town Hall on their ‘No Rest For The Wicked’ tour in 1985. I was young, ever so slightly intimidated and totally blown away.

Endorse it does local music complete justice. Dozens of bands from in and around Dorset play each year – Dubheart, The Sporadics, Disco’s Out (Murder’s In), C-30s and Cash Converted this year to name a few – and once again we are hugely grateful to Lamma for giving Oxjam Bournemouth its own stage on Sunday. We’ve whacked up a facebook event to promote what we’re up to, and to save me a job I’ll simply regurgitate it here…

For the second year, Oxjam Bournemouth are as happy as pigs in muck to be part of the legendary Endorse it in Dorset Festival!

Once again we return to the Wig-On Casino Stage on Ladies Day – Sunday 14 August.

We have an amazing line-up planned kicking off at 12.30, and will be there throughout the day with tins & buckets raising money for Oxfam by selling makeovers to eager dandy gentlemen for £1. Other activities are planned so pleez come & say hi!

Here’s what we’ve got for you…

12.30: Jonny Neesom – A modern poet, his voice is unadulterated by the auto-tune culture that permeates the current industry. Not so much political as socially aware, Neesom remains firmly opposed to all that is unfair in our legal system- his experience inside is what makes the track ‘Fuck Justice’ more insightful than vulgar. It is undeniable that with his “acoustic guitar and a voice full of venom” he unleashes “musical Armageddon”.

1.30: Zaardvark – Zaardvark are the best band in the world, I am not lying. Listening is like descending into a musical wind tunnel, or being hit, in the face by friendly meteors, or playing pool with Jesus, or just simply strolling across God’s lips. – William Neylon

2.30: Jouis –
Jouis live in Brighton. They like to play Psychedelic Progressive Jazz Pop and bring joy and smiles to all who hear them.

3.30: Pachango – PaCHANGO is a multi-coloured and multi-cultured 9 piece latin-ska-gypsy-afro beat-reggae-fusion band, We describe our music to be Uplifting and Exciting rhythmic & melodic fusion with an Exotic Ska..ish gipsy-latin soulful sounds that complement strong powerful brass section plus sizzling flowing Lyrics from our Rapper & female singer with lyrics in Spanish and English

4.30: Know One – “the final mind blowing skatastic performance from Know One who had the whole place jumping and everyone quite frankly, going completely nuts!” – Pugwash Magazine

5.30: BigFace Reggae – BigFace Reggae are the sounds of the south coast inspired summer band. Heavily influenced by the sunshine their sound mixes surf/rock/reggae/ska and dub with hints of drum and bass. Heavy Bass, awesome drums and wicked vocals will keep ya thirsty for more as ya jump about till ya knees fall off. So put a smile on your face and a skank in your step as BigFace Reggae will keep ya moving to the sounds of the summer no matter what time it is.

6.30: Lady Winwoods Maggot – Sometimes an angel choir. Sometimes a chainsaw going through puppies. The Clash mating with Johnny Cash.

plus dj Mr Lively & compere George Weilgus

And there’s more! Those lovely people at Endorse it have given us two weekend tickets to give away! Want them? Simple. Send us an email solving this band name anagram – WE HURL ZEST (they’re playing on Scrumpy Sunday, obviously). Mail the band name to us with an email title ‘Endorse it’. Closing date to enter midnight on Sunday. Two winners will be contacted on Monday (please include a contact tel. no).

So, come to Endorse it, yeah? Great music, great people, and just about the best way possible to spend a weekend, anywhere, ever. For more information including a complete line-up and ticket & camping info, check out the official website.

Tonight was a special gig. Betika and Dutch Husband both tipped their respective hats to the Swamp at bh one’s fifth birthday bash, acknowledging their absent colleagues, thinking they were no more. The prospect of this gig was therefore rousing for many. When I heard tonight was happening I had a genuine stir of emotions, mostly because it completed the trilogy, but also because this was to be my last gig in the BH area for maybe three years. In a week or so I will be starting a new life in Thailand with my family and whilst this piece is primarily a review of the gig on the 30/07/11 it is also a personal trip down Nostalgia Avenue.

The preview touched on how the Swamp were part of a ‘scene’ which, for me started at a time when I attended gigs frequently, way back in the mid to late 2000’s. A time when I myself attempted to make music as original, beautiful and prolific as I could. My path rarely crossed with the Swamp or any of the affiliated Super Glider crew, back then and I was very quick to dismiss their musical style and consider myself healthier. I was young, cocky and twatish and those guys were doing stuff I only wish my ego would allow me to do. So basically, I wasn’t fond of any of them – Betika, Dutch Husband or the Swamp, in fact it was only a good boning from a member of one of these bands (I wont reveal which member, or which band) that got me listening to them from a viewpoint other than jealousy. Needless to say, the afore mentioned groups soon became my inspiration. I was a fan, a head bopping, fist thumping, hip-thrusting fan. I matured, my ego relented and I became a better person/musician listening to these guys.

Maybe time has tinted my memory, but no matter what, these bands in one way or another shaped me as a music human. I want to tell you this to give an idea of the impact this ‘scene’ had on Bournemouth and myself at that time; we were lucky.

Expeditionguide (pictured below) is Lee Jones on his own playing electric guitar and singing songs. I expected more noises, maybe loops, or a synth, a violin even or a megaphone, certainly a mask and where was his use of a drum machine? However, it was just Lee, and I’m glad it was. Don’t get me wrong I like a good gimmick and maybe it does help wearing a chicken costume, but there is something alluring about untreated music. The guitar tone was raw and the songs, equally uncooked. That was its charm and warmth. He deserved a more attentive, quiet audience but other than folk clubs it is difficult to get peeps to be considerate, and this wasn’t folk. In many ways it was a perfect start to the evening – dutiful, solo grunge in preparation for space prog.

Zaardvark (pictured below) are the best band in the world, I am not lying. Listening is like descending into a musical wind tunnel, or being hit, in the face by friendly meteors, or playing pool with Jesus, or just simply strolling across God’s lips. They are space beings from a place that is good, they are showing us their swimming pool and rather than pushing us in they are with us on the shelf, discussing chlorine levels and pH content. The only problem is I can’t dance to the bastards, the time signatures make sure of that. I just stand there, mesmerised, bopping out of time.

So many things are right with this band. The musicianship is outstanding –Dave, Andy and Mark are all masters of their field and a most humble collection of genius’. They have an image – hats, beard and thrusts – and a sound that isn’t wholly original but new. They use samples and click tracks and a collection of pedals that make my bowels loosen. I talked about gimmicks earlier but none of this is for show, it’s used to make things the way they are – perfect. Word is that this is Zaardvark’s last gig (apart from Endorse it) due to baby commitments, understood, but from a fans point of view this is a tragedy. Tonight was the best I have heard them, the sound was faultless and the performance so precise. They are only going to get better so please, find time and carry on.

Finally, SWAMP (pictured at top). It had been a perfect build up, Lee – subtle beauty and Zaardvark – meticulous robot, both highly complimenting what was to follow. True Swamp Neglect have not played for a while due to drummer Barney and his globetrotting exploits. Alignments have meant this gig is possible due to a small homecoming and two practises. Now, I like the fact that the Swamp didn’t replace Barney, yes I would have liked them to carry on but Barney is unique, he is on the edge, you never know what might happen. Tonight he was perfectly Barney.

This band is built to anthem. Three guitars and neither being playing too dissimilar from the other, just a wall of nice sounding twangs and a pounding bass low in conjunction with a hysterically thumped drum, all offering the backing for many, many constant and brilliant lyrics. Kids love this shit. It’s amazing – I’ve just harped on about what I loved about Zaardvark, yet the Swamp have nothing in common with them – they are almost opposites and I love them both. Highlights – ‘Cloud Cloud Cloud’, ‘Hung’, ‘Umbrella Weather’, ‘The Shield’ and ‘Slow Fighting’. It was chorus, and it was jubilee. The crowd loved it. What a night.

In conclusion, this review may sound very bum-licky, but, there’s a reason for that – it was a rather splendid evening out.

bh one was created for many reasons and was inspired by many people. Perhaps our main inspiration just over five years ago were the weekly nights being put on by Solid Air. Rubber Soul nights were their weekly Thursdays and quite simply offered the best in local live music. Each year or two seemed to (and still does) bring a new home to Solid Air, with a nomadic spirit that continues to shine brightly in their passion for local music.

Solid Air has been through many changes over the years, but Conrad’s adventure continues, having recently relocated to Boscombe’s cosy Cellar Bar. Now, after a break of five years Solid Air is relaunching Rubber Soul, once again on weekly Thursdays and no doubt attempting to bring the best in original local live music. The first Thursday takes place on 11 August, and features two bands packed with the sort of talent and creativity that Solid Air loves to nurture and encourage. We’ll let Connie give you more details…

“Solid Air relaunches its legendary Thursday band night, RUBBER SOUL, @ The Cellar Bar, featuring several musicians from it’s final month 5yrs ago @ The Green Room, which concluded an unbroken 300-week run @ venues all over Bmth, incl Bartonka (now The Winchester), King Arthur’s Court (now The Spyre), downstairs @ The Gander, Destiny (now Dusk Til Dawn), O’Neill’s & The Opera House (now O2 Academy).

HEAD OF A CUBAN TROJAN (ex-Dutch Husband/Betika) & GRUPPE! (ex-Sancho/Mezzotints/The Hat/Sea Monsters) feature musicians blessed with artful originality that we’ve grown up with. Rubber Soul hopes to explore the broadest mutations of live psychedelia every Thursday; you’re all invited to share tha ride – free entry & late nite DJ…”