Paper Dragon: Redefining Modern Artistry
Masterfully combining creative songwriting with hypnotic performance visuals is a skill few can so effortly achieve as Paper Dragon. Born from Bristol’s electronic current, the project, fronted by vocalist and composer Ruth Royall, seeks to put a progressive stamp on the concept of band artistry, whilst writing songs that reminisce drum and bass, house, soul …
‘It’s a final call out’: Drinks with Sampa the Great
Born in Zambia and raised in Botswana, rapper, songwriter and poet Sampa Tembo released her debut music project The Great Mixtape in 2015 while studying sound engineering in Sydney, Australia. People were quick to catch on, and following a series of singles including Estelle-collaboration HERoes Act 2, Sampa’s next mixtape Birds and The BEE9 won …
INTERVIEW // Pet Shimmers on the pursuit of imperfection
Surfacing in 2019 with Goat Girl collaboration Feels Hz, Pet Shimmers seemed at first to be a live band extension of Bristol musician Oliver Wilde; though it soon became clear something much bigger was afoot. This is a band so self aware of their self awareness, that they’re completely serious and taking the piss at …
INTERVIEW // UK jazz luminary Joe Armon-Jones on bridging worlds
Autumn saw the release of the highly anticipated, second solo studio album Turn to Clear View, from London keyboardist, producer and Ezra Collective member, Joe Armon-Jones. Featuring a whole host of musicians, including UK jazz artists Moses Boyd and Nubya Garcia, UK hip hop talent Jehst and US MC and singer Georgia Muldrow, Joe’s new …
‘It’s so important to stick to your guns’: Sub Focus on 15 years of uncompromising DnB
Discovered by the godfather Andy C in 2003 and emerging on Ram Records two years later, Sub Focus’ uncompromising sound has gone on to achieve unprecedented underground and commercial success. Drawing influences from jungle, dubstep, house and everything EDM, his euphoric take on drum and bass and his devotion to creating a spectacular audio-visual show …
24hr Garage Girls on their new UKG compilation and secret warehouse launch party
Nitelife are excited to make some noise for one of our favourite collectives 24hr Garage Girls, as they prepare for the release their first compilation album this Friday, alongside a secret location, invite-only party to celebrate. Let’s face it, these girls know how to treat their fans. Bristol’s homegrown concept brand and badass party collective, …
INTERVIEW // Mouse is ushering in a new dawn for pop music
There’s a sparkling, new pop sound on the scene and it’s being welcomed with wide open arms. Singer, songwriter and producer Mouse unveiled her debut single 3 Weeks at the end of 2018, and the music world was quick to see she was onto something great. Her second single Escape received a remix from Mun …
INTERVIEW // Indie’s golden children Bombay Bicycle Club are back with a new album
Five years ago it would’ve been fair to say Bombay Bicycle Club were headed down a sure-fire track to burnout. By the end of 2015, after nine months touring with So Long, See You Tomorrow – their first album to reach the UK chart’s #1 spot – the band’s four core members were clamouring for …
Drinks with Mala and Commodo: the past, present & MEDi 100
The end of November brought the fifth instalment of Bristol’s annual weekend-long bassweight collision, Teachings in Dub x Deep Medi. Friday night’s lineup was, as always, in veneration to the sounds of dubstep, and so before things kicked off, we sat down with one of dubstep’s earliest originators and most important patrons of the scene, Mala; …
INTERVIEW // How My Nu Leng dominated the bass music world
A duo who have conquered various genres and tore up venues across the nation, Bristol’s My Nu Leng keep on proving why they’re one of the generation’s best. A household name in the electronic music scene, Tommy and Jammo AKA My Nu Leng have come a long way since making their pilgrimage to Bristol from …