In just two years, Crookes Magazine has featured more than 120 exclusive interviews with high-profile talent across the entertainment industries. I m incredibly grateful for all the people across the world who help make these interviews happen. This edition feels like the start of a new wave for Crookes Magazine, featuring my interviews with Liam Gallagher, Gary Numan, The Sherlocks, Cults and Halflives. j
ROCK N ROLL IS BACK KIDS The Mancunian icon is back to stay. After stating almost two years ago on his infamous Twitter handle that he had no intentions to pursue a solo career, Liam now finds himself gearing up for a tour - off the back of his upcoming debut album - that will take him through to 2018. AC: Are you going to be tweaking and changing things on the record right up until the release? Is that something you've ever done with your music? LG: The record has been finished for a bit now. I don't intend to revisit it. I've never been one to come back to it numerous times; I'm not a muso like that. As You Were consists of 12 tracks (plus an extra three on the Deluxe Edition), which comes in at just under 45 minutes. Interview with Adam Crookes AC: How many names had the album gone through before you landed on 'As You Were'? LG: Just the one. It was originally going to be called BOLD which is a track on the item but then I got bored of it and stuck with 'As you Were'. More on the next page...
It was on June 1st that Liam released his first single from the album - Wall Of Glass. The song was backed with a disorienting video that showed Gallagher staring into a mirror, but only his expression sings back. AC: You've released a couple of music videos recently, Do you come up with the concept for them? LG: God no - I don't particularly enjoy doing music videos. With Wall of Glass, I definitely wanted to recreate Bruce Lee's 'Enter the Dragon' with all the mirrors and stuff as I love all his films so I did have a bit of an input but not too much; it was mainly the director Francois Rousselet. This year Gallagher has already performed at the fundraising gig - One Love Manchester, Glastonbury in June and recently Lollapalooza in Chicago; all noticeably to a younger generation as well as Oasis fans from the 90s. AC: A lot of kids are starting to listen to your music, are you surprised by that? LG: Yes I am. Especially in this day and age when they've been getting told that Rock n Roll is dead and guitar music is over. The crowds seem to be getting younger which I appreciate; there's kids down in the crowd that are the same age as my kids - so I guess the people who used to come and see Oasis have passed it down to their kids. AC: Who are you writing this record for? LG: I wrote this record for me primarily but also my millions of fans around the world. AC: Have you got any expectations as to how many sales you want the album to achieve? LG: I don't judge success on record sales, I judge it on people taking it into their hearts and souls; people being inspired to play and make music. If it touches one person then that's a result for me. As You Were The debut solo album Out 6 Oct everywhere.
Acclaimed as the pioneer of electronic music, Gary Numan achieved his peak of mainstream popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His latest body of work comes with real meaning and significance, crafted around unarguably one of the most topical issues at the moment. Humble, unapologetic, the creative visionary Gary Numan is at the height of this career. You've talked about the concept of the album centering around a post-apocalyptic, post-global warming world. When was it that you first started to really think about global warming in your life? Many, many years ago, although I can t remember exactly when it first hit home. The album is taken from a book that I ve been working on for many years. An embarrassing amount of time to be honest as it s still nowhere near finished. But, to be perfectly honest, that book has only recently taken on the idea of global warming as a reason for the world in the story being the way it is. I started the album in late 2015 and the idea for making the story, both the book and the album, revolve around a global warming catastrophe started about then. It was encouraged massively by the arrival of Donald Trump into the political landscape, his views on climate change and his decision to pull the US out of the Paris Accord in particular I am a great believer in climate change and the threat it poses for the future of the world and so his ignorance is especially worrying. In recent years the reality of climate change has become increasingly worrying and so I saw the success of the Paris agreement as an incredible moment, when almost the entire world agreed and was willing to do something noble. Then Trump arrived. It made writing the album a far more meaningful experience for me than I think it would have been otherwise. Would you say that the themes of the album are even more relevant in the current international political climate? I would never claim that the album is an accurate prediction of how things might be. I m not intelligent enough to even begin to know how things might turn out if we fail to stop the planet's temperature rising. Savage is probably laughable to anyone that really understands the problem. But, in its own small way, it does raise the issue and makes it a talking point for a few people here and there, and that can only be a good thing. Given the current political situation I would say the themes of the album are extremely relevant. Are your feelings towards religion changing in any way? Is it a topic that enters your mind regularly? My feelings about religion are not changing at all. I dislike religion intensely. Religion is at the root of so much suffering, so much hatred. I have no belief in God, any God, and I m glad of that. To look around at the world, and at the history of the world and to believe that a God created all that, and allows it to continue? Who wouldn t be truly terrified of a God that did that? No, it s all nonsense, but it does a huge amount of damage on a global scale. What is your favourite track on the album and why? Ghost Nation. The song looks at a group of people that are so horrified by what they witness mankind becoming after the Earth is devastated by global warming, especially once the dark cloud of religion reappears, that they hide themselves deep within the most ferociously inhospitable part of the world. They find ways of adapting and surviving in a place that no-one else will even dare go near. They become the dead Ghost Nation. I just love the idea of that, it s got a cool groove as well and one of the best chorus lines I think I ve ever written. Are there some other narratives that you are considering exploring in future bodies of work? The next big task for me is to finish the book. If I can get that done within the next year or two, once this next batch of touring is over, I will at least know if I can write or not. If the answer is yes, then I definitely have other ideas that I d like to explore in that way. If I m rubbish, which is very possible unfortunately, I ll just keep making albums and speaking that way.
You've just started touring, are you enjoying it? What are you getting up to during the day? We are so happy to be back on the road, every gig is absolutely crazy and huge, also it's the first time we've done a full tour on a tour bus so we've been having some insane party's, including a table tennis tournament with some of 'This is England' cast. During the day we're recovering from the night before and doing a few interviews before starting all over again. We are definitely aiming to headline Reading and Leeds one day. We are aiming for the top and hope to headline all the big festivals in the future. We would love to play a festival in Japan we seem to get a lot of love there. Between you, how many guitars do you have for the tour? Eight including two gorgeous Shergolds Debut album Live For The Moment is available now Consisting of two sets of brothers, the guitar infused indie/alternative band have amassed thousands of fans in the space of only a few years. Having now released eight singles, they have recently launched their debut album Live For The Moment - which is taking the charts by storm. The album is charting really high in the charts, what was the idea behind the cover art? Yes the album has done really well and we couldn't be happier, the cover art came from the lyrics 'Live for the moment' we feel the hummingbird is symbolic of that quote. After now playing Reading & Leeds three times and quickly making your way up the line-up poster, are you aiming to headline one day? Where else do you want to play? Do you think guitar music is about to properly come back? Guitar music has always been around & always will be. Over recent years it feels to us like it's been a dance phase. But it certainly feels like it's becoming a guitar phase now. Everyone wants to be in a band, and this is encouraging. There are lots of great young upcoming bands making great music!
MUSIC REVIEWS With JARED BERKOMPAS CONCRETE & GOLD BY FOO FIGHTERS All opinions are Jared Berkompas and not necessarily those of Crookes Magazine. The Foo Fighters have come combatively kicking back into our ears with a new old sound. Concrete and Gold, the Fighters ninth studio album, is an unplanned triumph. This album is the group's best in years. This album cements the group among those whose sound they are tributing throughout. Concrete and Gold was initially unplanned. Dave Grohl fractured his leg while on tour to promote the previous album Sonic Highways and needed to recover, thus a Foo Fighters hiatus was announced. This hiatus, only about a year long, was canceled with the release of Run, the lead-off single. Initially curious yet generally numb to this song, I expected only a decent album from the Foo Fighters. That isn t how it ended up. Concrete and Gold delves deep into the groups influences. From the grandiose Queen-esque sonic explosion in T-Shirt to the sweeping stretched guitar chords on the Pink Floyd-ian track Concrete and Gold and everywhere inbetween, the Foo Fighters shine a bright light on the artists they once as kids dreamed of being. This figurative light aimed upon their influences then bounces back at the Foo Fighters, illuminating them as well. The swagger and style of the band is prominent again, this is once again music you can tell they wholeheartedly believe in. With just a few exceptions, the Fighters take a relatively less-heavy approach to this album. In the quiet moments of the album, like Happy Ever After (Zero Hour), more sensitive emotions are again found within this band s lyrics, of which express their message well. Dave s approach to the lyrics on this album seem to be more simplified, more solid. Concrete and Gold is a great polishing of everything the Foo Fighters have been trying to do in recent years, the perfect taste of their many forms. Loud when it needs to be but more often restrained, the Foo Fighters are now surely among those legendary acts before them. But, most importantly, what do you think? RATING: 4.5/5 Follow Jared
After recently discovering Cults on a Spotify playlist - I was eager to interview them. Formed in New York, Madeline and Brian were both students at the time. Now on their third album, they have gained a cult following.
What inspired the name Cults and did this idea inspire song themes? When we were in college and starting to make music together we were both going through a phase where we were obsessed with cults. Reading about them, watching every movie, YouTube videos, documentaries. We ended up sampling bits of audio that really struck us and putting them in our music. These quotes definitely informed the lyrics and overall vibe of the song. When it came time to come up with a name for the band it just felt like a natural choice. How much of New York finds its way into your music? A lot of New York. A good chunk of this record was recorded in our living rooms, so there is a very strong possibility that if you listen close enough you may hear someone angrily honking their horn buried deep down in there. Are you looking to collaborate with any other artists? We are always excited to meet/collaborate with other artists. Being a musician is so cool because not only do you get the chance to collaborate with other musicians but also with amazingly talented visual artists, video directors, people in fashion etc. We have been so lucky to have the chance to work with such great artists who we can learn from/grow as artist ourselves. You re doing a huge amount of gigs. How do you prepare before doing a gig? Do you have particular routines? I wish I could say that we all stand in a circle and put our hands together in the middle for a big "hoorah" but unfortunately we are pretty boring. I have to do my vocal warm ups about an hour before the show and everyone walks in and out of the dressing room making fun of whatever weird word I am singing for the warm up. There are a lot of nervous bathroom runs and sometimes a beer or two. One thing we all agree on is no food for at least an hour before playing! What is your favorite track title from all of the songs you ve written? Gilded Lily. It was originally just meant to be a place holder while we were working on the demo but when it came time to change the name I couldn't bring myself to do it. Cults new album Offering is available from October 6th.
Interview by Adam Crookes In June, some of my family went to Camden Rock Festival in London, where they discovered a young alternative rock band called Halflives. After hearing the band they were enamoured, so they decided to buy their debut album Empty Rooms which has since been played in full in their car a dozen times. Keen to get me to interview Halflives, those family members played me the album to which it was a yes through instinct and an appreciation of their sound. Crowdfunding helped fund your debut album. Do you plan to do it again in the future? It s been an incredible experience and we ve been blown away by the amazing support we received from people from all over the world. As of today, we re still grateful for all that help and proud of our fanbase who showed us loads of love. About doing it again in the future, we didn t really talk about it. At the moment, how often are you working on new music? What is the writing process like for you? We just came back from a summer writing session with our producer. I ve been working on these new songs for roughly the past three months so basically I started writing again right after our album release. I usually start from an idea that can come up at any moment like in the street or at the supermarket..! I just take the phone to record a quick vocal note and once I m home I start working on it. I start with four chords, the vocal line and the lyrics, then comes all the rest. Where is your favourite place to perform? How do you prepare for a gig? If I would pick one city where I really to perform, I would pick Paris. We have always been warmly welcomed and always had a very reactive and excited crowd so it s a city I cherish a lot. Before a show I try to stay chill as much as possible, I usually have a warm drink and if I have time I take a walk in the city - it relaxes me and takes my mind off touring life for a bit. When I come back to the venue I warm up and then I m ready to go. What festivals do you really want to perform at? One I d really love to play is Summer Sonic in Japan. I love Japan and I always like their lineups so that would be a perfect occasion to both visit the country and play on such a great event. What are your hopes for the band over the next few years? We re always looking at reaching wider audiences and touring places we ve never been. We d really love to tour outside of Europe like Japan (no surprise) or Australia. We have high ambitions, with the final goal to share our music with more and more people. Their new album Empty Rooms is available to buy now
MUSIC REVIEWS With JARED BERKOMPAS Daniel Caesar. That name might be a new one to you, and if it is, you can thank me later. Freudian is the debut studio album from the soon-to-be-big R&B artist Daniel Caesar. Freudian is a crafty creative explorative effort into the wavelengths of modern R&B and neo-soul. Followed by a concise but dedicated fanbase, Daniel Caesar journeys throughout his open soul on Freudian. Every track on this project feels personal in some way. The trembling vocals in the later half of Loose, the punishing lines on Neu Roses (Transgressor s Song), the relationship ups and downs spread across We Find Love and into Blessed, they re all real experiences. The amount of openness on this debut album s lyrics is almost shocking. A good shocking. terms of inconsistency, those abrupt changes we were just visiting do get in the way of a complete, consistent idea at times. It feels as if instead of finishing off one idea or style and moving on to the next, an abrupt change occurs. This in turn leaves one wishing for more of each, wishing each section within one song was expanded into two separate, consistent songs. I appreciate the risk taking, but there is a point when it should take a back seat. Freudian BY DANIEL CAESAR RATING: Interestingly, Daniel doesn t seem to care too much about normal song format and what is typically preferred. Many of the songs on this project contain abrupt shifts. Hold Me Down completely breaks down into a slowly strummed guitar with soft vocals from a once danceable rhythm. Neu Roses cuts from a choir-like acapella bit into one of the funkiest things I ve heard recently. We Find Love and Blessed essentially being one 7 minute long rack. And don t even get me started about the 10 minute long closing track Freudian. I m not saying what Daniel is doing with the song format is totally new, it s not. I m not saying what Daniel is doing is completely unique, it s not. I am saying what Daniel is doing is risky, and it usually pays off. Overall, this album is groovy, is emotional, and is explorative.the shortcomings, though present, don t trip up or tamper down the project too much. For a debut album Freudian gets a whole lot right. This is an album I am personally getting many listens out of, but most importantly, what do you think about Daniel Caesar s debut, Freudian? Where this project falls short for me is in it s themes and Follow Jared 3.5/5 inconsistency. Thematically Daniel Caesar remains in the room of love and relationships, forgetting to explore other All opinions are Jared Berkompas and not necessarily those of Crookes Magazine. rooms, other experiences, too much. It would be nice to know a bit more of who Daniel Caesar, the person, is. In
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