This multi award winning festival, staged against the jaw dropping background of iconic Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, takes place on 7th -9th June and promises to be another outstanding weekend featuring the hottest names in electronic, rock, indie and comedy.

Accorded the NME Awards ‘Best Small Festival’ for two consecutive years as well as the UK Festival Awards ‘Line Up of the Year’, the diverse bill for this year’s barnstorming Highland fling includes Plan B, Basement Jaxx, Example, Fatboy Slim, The Vaccines, Madness, Ellie Goulding, Madeon, Ben Howard and Lianne La Havas.
A host of eclectic arenas add a unique and much loved signature to RockNess including a comedy proposition headlined this summer by Dylan Moran and Jim Jefferies and a spectrum of laughter-inducing talents including Daniel Sloss, Des Clarke, Janey Godley, Scott Agnew, Gary Little and Wee Man..

Get set for a massive Loch Ness landing as electronic powerhouses Soma Records and Sub Club, two of the world’s most prolific exponents of dance, assume control of the Arcadia Afterburner extravaganza and Sub Club Soundsystem respectively.

For one weekend only, underground goes overground as the mighty Sub Club Soundsystem presents back to back legends Kerri Chandler, Carl Craig and Henrik Schwarz alongside the likes of Julio Bashmore, Jackmaster, Harri & Domenic and Sensu. Over on the Arcadia Afterburner it’ll be a guaranteed foot-to-the-floor lock in as Soma Records presents a monster bill including Len Faki, Joris Voorn, Pan-Pot, Josh Wink, Rolando and Nic Fanciulli.

The hottest breakthrough talent is well represented too including Jessie Ware, London Grammar, The Correspondents, Public Service Broadcasting and Zebra Katz, plus local Highland acts including The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Jemma Tweedie and Toby Michaels Rolling Damned.

Further enhancing the RockNess experience is an exceptional array of quality food and drink offerings, a luxury VIP area with all the home-from-home mod cons for the most discerning glamper, and the pièce de résistance…the undisputed best view of any festival in the world!

THE PRIZE
A pair of weekend tickets including camping.

To win a pair of tickets just like us on Facebook  & follow us on Twitter

and then tell us

What does V.I.P stand for?

Send your answer along with your name, address, telephone number and date of birth to competitions at fusedmagazine dot com putting Rockness in the subject box.

Deadline for entry is 03.06.13.

T&Cs – prize is non exchangeable or refundable. Own tent and camping equipment required.

Tell us about the new album ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’ it sounds like it’s a bit of a stomper?
Yeah it’s a stomper, very direct, whatever I’m talking about whether it’s positive or about love or being angry I’ve really let go with the lyrics, there’s no hiding behind mystical meanings or anything like that. It’s the kind of songwriting where you just have to let it all out. I think it’s the most honest thing I’ve ever done. I like being direct like that, although I’m not the kind of person who posts about what they’ve been eating on twitter!

You’re a stylish man, how important is style to Miles Kane?
It’s very important, it goes hand-in-hand with the music. I don’t really think about it, I just love clothes. I like feeling smart and looking sharp! Like when you put something on and it gives you a boost, then you feel great for the rest of the day.

Who are your style icons?
The Beatles, Oasis, French singer Jaques Dutronc, he was a very good looking fella! I did a cover of one of his songs recently, he was kind of like a mod Serge Gainsbourg. I also like Lee Hazelwood with his turtle necks, not so much the moustache, that’s not really me.

You’ve got a big tour coming up with loads of festival dates, what are you most looking forward to?
We just can’t wait to play the new songs, it’s going to be very epic live, very pounding and high energy.

Do you ever feel apprehensive about debuting new material live?
Obviously you get a little bit of nerves about playing new material to the crowd but we feel very passionate about the new songs so we can’t wait to play them.

What first got you into music and made you as passionate as you are?
I think it was my mom playing The Beatles, David Bowie, Motown.. it was kind of always there in the background. Then when I was at school I got into Oasis, I remember watching a live video “There And Then”, it kind of blew my mind. It seemed like another world, a mystical world, how could I get on that stage? Even watching local bands, it seemed impossible for me to do that and it has taken me a while to get there but I’ve worked for it and now it feels solid. I’m glad that I’ve worked for it.

You’re a pretty cool cat, what are your guilty pleasure songs that your fans might not imagine you being into?
I love “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees and “Young Hearts Run Free” by Candi Staton.

Is there anything a bit darker/more embarrassing that you’d be less likely to admit?
2Unlimited ‘No Limit’, I remember that from when I was a kid.

Are there any current bands that you really rate at the moment?
We toured with Peace who are a great band, really nice lads and I love their record. Love that song ‘California Daze’. I also really like The Unknown Mortal Orchestra, they’ve got a couple of really good tunes I love and The Strypes are a great band.

What about any unsung heroes?
I suppose Lee Hazelwood. I love the stuff he did with Nancy Sinatra. Lana Del Ray did a really great cover of a song they did together ‘Summer Wine’.

You’re a Liverpool FC fan, what did you think of the Suarez incident and the 20 month ban?
He’s a crazy m*therf*cker but people buzz off him for it. He’s always on the edge of his fuse and that’s why people like him.

Maryam Snape 

Catch Miles Kane on tour with support from Findlay

01/06 – Academy 2 – Birmingham
02/06 – Ruby Lounge - Manchester
07/06 – Dingwalls – London
10/06 – Roamneder – Northampton
11/06 – Corn Exchange – Bedford

JOB DETAILS

We’re looking for an experienced and talented all-round graphics whizz to work on a magazine layout project with up to 15 young people over the summer of 2013.

You’ll be working with a team of facilitators on an intensive project to produce the official brochure of the ‘Discovery Season’ for the opening of Birmingham’s new Library based around the designed Discovery Season logo.

During a 2 week summer school (based in Birmingham city centre) an editorial team will produce text, images and artwork. We’re looking for an individual to work closely with the group (during the second week) to help turn their vision of the brochure in to reality with a highly professional finished product.

Download the Job Description and details on how to apply here: GD_JobDescription.

Kicking off the 20/20 celebrations, Gatecrasher has announced a 10,000 capacity warehouse party that will be taking place at Castle Donington on the 5th of May. The event features a line-up of epic proportions, which includes thrilling Pendulum DJ duo KNIFE PARTY, chart topping Dutch house star NICKY ROMERO, electro-house producer, globetrotting DJ and Dim Mak label boss STEVE AOKI, heavyweight house master LAIDBACK LUKE, and Gatecrasher favourite EDDIE HALLIWELL.

COMPETITION

We have 5 x pairs of tickets to give away.  All you need to do is tell us the name of Steve Aoki’s record label.

Email your answer along with your name, address and date of birth to competitions [@] fusedmagazine.com.

Deadline for entry is 30th April, 2013 at 12noon. Winners will be notified via email.

For more info please visit: www.gatecrasher.com

Having already supported The Vaccines, Mystery Jets and Tame Impala, Peace also took the coveted opening slot on the annual NME Awards tour, performing with the likes of Django Django and Miles Kane. Peace are now set to embark on their biggest headline tour to date to coincide with the release of their much anticipated debut album, In Love, a breezy, psychedelic and eclectic mix of indie tracks, which will no doubt be receiving many plays this summer. After blowing everyone away at SXSW, we caught up with a jetlagged Harry (singer) to discuss the album and the tour, amongst other things.

Hi Harry, how’re you doing?
Yeah I’m good. Just re-adjusting to the English time zone. We’ve been in Texas for South By Southwest.

How was that?
Goooooooooood. Very good, but now I’m a bit laggy, bit groggy. I’ve lost my voice a little bit.

‘In Love’, your debut album is out on 25th March. How was recording that for you? Tell us a little bit about the album.
It was a breeze. Yeah it was a good time recording that. We did the EP in like 9 days maybe, but we had more time with the album so it let us get more obsessive about tiny things and waste more time, like going over things we didn’t use…but it was all a laugh. We had a lot of time to experiment.

Do you feel you’ve experimented a lot on the album?
Yeah, on stuff that’s barely noticeable, but it all matters to us. There’s a lot of sounds which took a lot of time and a lot of sounds in there which are barely noticeable, but hopefully people will pick up on it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, you’ve generated a lot of hype from very early on, The Guardian even hailed you ‘the future of indie music.’ Did you feel a lot of pressure when making the album based on this?
Nah… we were out in the countryside, which was like, a rare change. So we were in the glorious country and we were staying in the studio which was this lovely chapel, so we kind of forgot about everything. We just made what we wanted to. It was very good.  It was a good plan. I don’t know who’s idea that was.

As with all new bands, people have made a lot of comparisons. So you’ve been likened to Wu Lyf, Vampire Weekend and even Radiohead. How do you feel about those comparisons?
I don’t think we sound like any of those, but, you know, they’re all good bands. I think those comparisons were made pretty early on when we were just experimenting and playing live was the only form that we could do it in.

Do those comparisons match up with your influences at all?
Um, not really. Maybe Vampire Weekend were into bands like Talking Heads. I don’t know much of their [Vampire Weekend] stuff but then Radiohead are good to be fair. I guess in the industry today it’s best not to aspire to be like bands past because I think the industry is very different nowadays. There’s lots of classic bands that I look up to.

Tickets are on sale for your tour, are you excited for that after coming off the NME Tour?
Yeah, it’s going to be really good to get out and do a headline tour. Really good. I’m excited and we did that for years before so we’re prepared.

Is being on the stage where you’d rather be? Are you happier live than in the studio?
Um, not necessarily ’cause a studio it’s completely different. We’ve built everything we have from playing live, so it just feels natural to us. So it’s very easy for us to go on a really long tour and not worry about it and just get on with it.

You and your brother Sam (who plays bass) are both in the band. Is there an interesting dynamic there between brothers?
Everything comes naturally to us. We’re on the same level. Its not weird or anything, it’s just quite natural.

So there’s no family squabbling there? No Gallagher-esque nonsense? 

No, no squabbling. Not yet. I mean…it’s early days.

Inspired by that, I thought I’d let my little brother work with me and write a few questions. He’s asking the big questions, such as, what’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you as a group?
As a group? Um…I’m trying to think of the most embarrassing thing…. In Austin Doug (Castle, guitar) smashed a glass table in the Four Seasons Hotel..and that was embarrassing. He now says that it was an accident, but at the time I was very convinced it wasn’t.

You could probably pass it off as rock’n'roll….
Yeah it’s not really that embarrassing. At the time I remember being like ‘Oh no!’ but I’m sure its easier to just be like ‘Yeah, whatever.’

My brother’s also asked me ‘Can anyone do any good impressions?’
(Laughs) I can do one but I’m not going to say because it’s of a band that I actually love and they might see this, so I’m not going to say that, but Dom does a great… I dunno if that’s a bit taboo actually, but he does a great Jimmy Saville impression.

And finally he’s asked ‘Who’s got the weirdest habits?’
Um…either…. I want to say Dom because he seems to have a lot of habits, but I dunno if they’re that weird. But then like Doug maybe…the way that Doug operates, like, everything he does is really confusing. He doesn’t work like a normal human. He doesn’t have many habits but everything he does is unusual. He’s just like an animal. He just doesn’t function in a normal way.

In Love is out now, and tickets are available for the tour dates listed below:

April:
12th – MANCHESTER – Club Academy
13th – YORK – Duchess
14th – NEWCASTLE – Cluny
16th – GLASGOW – The Arches
17th – EDINBURGH – Electric Circus
18th – PRESTON – 53 Degrees
19th – SHEFFIELD – Leadmill
21st – GLOUCESTER – Guildhall
22nd – BRISTOL- Fleece
23rd – PORTSMOUTH – Wedgewood Rooms
24th – BRIGHTON – Concorde2
25th – READING – Sub89
26th – OXFORD – Academy 2
27th – BIRMINGHAM – Academy 2
30th – LONDON – Birthdays

May:
1st – LONDON – Birthdays
2nd – LONDON – Birthdays
3rd – LONDON – Birthdays
4th – LEEDS – Live At Leeds

Words: Dave Heslop

“It started when Higgy and Austin were both working at Morrison’s,” Cavan, Swim Deep’s bassist, told us, “They just sort of decided that instead of talking about music they’d have a go at making some of their own. Then they met Zach on a night out and they had a go at being a three-piece for a while. Then on another night out they met me and it all just took off from there.”

Named after a song written by Austin and Higgy’s first band, Swim Deep has an entirely organic origin story, rarely heard of in today’s Simon Cowell produced world where nothing is left to chance. Swim Deep are freshly unpretentious and unassuming, qualities that give them a unique charm and sound, “We don’t really draw influence from other bands, I mean obviously we all listen to other artists and stuff, but we’re just doing our own thing really.”

While it might seem daunting trying to break into the industry that is so dominated by the London crowd, the appalling named ‘B-Town’ movement has helped Swim Deep get their names on the musical map.

“I think it has been pretty beneficial coming from Birmingham, just because there are a few of us around at the minute trying to make it, like Peace. We all kind of helped each other I think, and it drew attention to the bands in Birmingham.”

And it looks like Swim Deep are showing no signs of slowing down. Having spent a week in Brussels recording their album with producer Charlie Hugall, the man who lent his magic touch to single ‘Honey’, the band also supported Two Door Cinema Club at the 02 in Birmingham, and have been invited to join indie favourites Spector on their UK tour.

Current singles Honey and King City are already available for download, and next single The Sea was released 11th March. Swim Deep’s lyrics are simple, but also hold a maturity that comes from years of dedication to their craft. The videos also reflect a degree of minimalism; Swim Deep aren’t trying too hard to impress, and the results are insightful and thought-provoking, but also reflective of their youth. The videos play heavily on their roots, and cast Birmingham in a different light. One track that encapsulates what Swim Deep are all about is ‘Orange County’: the B-side to Honey, complete with a DIY video. “Yeah, we were just in this room in a Travelodge on tour. We were bored and we had the photographer there, so we just did it.”

Their sound is upbeat, sunny, and original, a combination rarely heard these days, and their achievements so far reflect just how ready the UK is for something different. 2013 looks set to be a bright year for Swim Deep. “Yeah, recording the album in Brussels was really cool, and I think we’re hoping it’ll be out around May. We just have to wait and see what happens.”

Words: Susannah Dickey

Opening torch song ‘London’ sets the tone in front of a Saturday night audience allocated seats. It may not be party time but there is atmosphere in the intimacy as Wolf represents highlights from his five albums in a fresh way, switching from piano and four-string instruments whilst aided by four band members on violin, cello, accordion and oboe/woodwind respectively.  Although his work has always been critically praised, albeit ignored by the record-buying public, here in its barebones form it is surprising just how effective it, and Wolf as an artisan, is.

The show is in support of recent career overview ‘Sundark and Riverlight’, which presents sixteen of Wolf’s songs as an acoustic retrospective. However, other fans faves are also given a showing in the live spotlight, making the sparse but dedicated crowd an attentive and happy bunch as Wolf and his band effortlessly do each song justice. Highlights abound: Wolf amping up the drama as a frontman to the unhinged gypsy-folk of ‘The Libertine’, delivering romanticism free of irony during the blissful ‘House’ and ‘Together’, and enticing tears with a dedication to a lost friend on ‘The Sun is Often Out’, his voice soaring and aided only by accordion.

It’s easy for gigs like this to be stuffy and, considering the stripped-back element, weirdly pompous. Thankfully though, Wolf is a charming presence; although he can go to intense places in his songs and go all-out with a big vocal, Wolf understands that his music has reached a certain sector of music fans and communicates with them readily and easily between songs. Whether it’s introducing ‘Overture’ as a dedication to his younger bullied self or querying how far audience members have travelled or what’s worth doing in Wolverhampton (he is a Wolf after all), he makes the two-hour set as engrossing for part-time fans as the in-house devotees.

As the gig nears completion, songs usually reserved for encores come thick and fast: celebratory ‘The City’ comes complete with Wolves-based ad libs, while an anthemic double bill of ‘Bermondsey Street’ and ‘The Falcons’ are boosted by the week’s politics, Wolf’s all-encompassing love songs reaching sky-high in the wake of legalisation of gay marriage. Of course, ‘The Magic Position’ is a crowd-pleasing gem as always, and an encore of ‘Wolf Song’ (what else?) is rendered especially special with flourishes of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Circle Game’. All in all? Wow. A Wolf to hunt down and catch next time he’s in town.

Luke McNaney

Documenting skinheads at Oi! gigs and events such as Birmingham’s Scorcher is quite different to your usual trending work at industry spectaculars such as London Fashion Week, what’s the appeal?

I find skinhead events such as Brum’s bi-annual Scorcher and Digbeth’s Pressure Drop nite, run by DJ Simon Tipper, really refreshing: raw, real. True skin style is minimal, stripped to basics. It’s more than about being British, being authentic. So much of the style is about links, links to working class youth tribes such as the Peaky Blinders of Digbeth/Cheapside, back in the 1870s, and the Scuttlers of Oldham, again as far back as the late nineteenth century. We’re talking Social History, Fashion History. Today’s ‘chavs’ don’t realise the evolution of their style. When people hear the term ‘skinhead’ they probably just think along the lines of boots, braces, boneheads, a Union Jack T-shirt. Nah, it’s so much more than that in terms of styling. From the donkey jacket, union shirt, clip-on braces and white-steeled toecaps on NBC boots of the 1968-9 first wave, through the years of bouncing soles, sheepskins, tonic suits, shawl collars, Brutus shirts, sta-prest trousers, Harringtons, short straight fly-fronted macs in iridescent colours such as blues, greys, off-whites… there’s such a wealth of style that’s beyond what most people think of the prejudices against this street style.

What made you decide to go back to your clubland roots and start pushing with the skinhead project?

Working to a commission is one thing, following your heart is another. I was a skin boy at eleven, back in 1969. Living in West London, that was quite radical. Getting a crop, a tonic suit, Ben Shermans… quite a shock to my family, school and mates at Ealing Swimming Club. I was so into the music, The Pioneers, Maytals, Sound Dimension and Lee Perry. Top Of The Pops was full of novelty pop, and I was more into Bluebeat, Trojan, and bands like Upsetters, The Ethiopeans, U Roy. I recently met up with photographer Gavin Watson, who was kind enough to allow me to buy thirteen amazing hand prints. Gavin is a photographer who has documented so much of British street-style, and this deserves a wider audience. His recent campaigns for Dr. Martens has a real vibe of skin culture, British youth.

Was it nerve-racking going from the comfort of Somerset House to a sweaty Streetpunk Drunks gig in Wakefield?

It almost felt punk, getting away from so much contrivance, to stripped-down heritage. True skin style is very proud, very direct. What worries me about this cult is that the finer elements might get lost. Whilst DJs such as Jon Farmer, Brian Kelson and Bully have heads like the most amazing archives, my worry is that unless the fine details are grouped, preserved, the true spirit will become diffused by fashion stylists who don’t know their stuff.

Are there any major differences in the way that you work in such diverse events?

For me, subjects always deserve respect, have rights. I’m not an invasive photographer. There are so many people at events such as Wayne Hemingway’s Vintage Festival who don’t want their style tribe over-documented, as it can attract the wrong attention from copycat zombies in need of a fix. A certain skin style outlet in Camden actually avoids letting the likes of NME know about their Oi! gigs, to avoid having the gigs become too mixed up. That takes courage.

Has anybody or anything caught your eye? Anything irresistible, new and exciting?

As a photographer, I tend to have a muse, whether it’s at a Daniel Lismore Shabba night or an Oi! gig. I love Skinfull, a great band from Coventry. Love the fact that I’m on stage with them at gigs, snapping away. Love that intense close proximity to both the band and audience. Yeah, I do tend to have my favourites, and it’s always the people who are a bit of a mystery who get my interest.

You have always been the leader of the pack when it comes to street and club photography, what do you think is happening at the moment? What should we be excited about?

All I can say is that in terms of exploring subcultures, my Nikon steers me towards Swedish skins, Italian skins, French skins. I love the attention to detail. Japanese skins… it’s the new breed of skins who have the energy and want to get the classic details right. It’s all about a respect for the aspect of heritage.

Photographs: Paul Hartnett
Words Laura Fraser

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