Essential new acts witnessed at MENT 2020
Showcase festivals! There’s at least one a month these days. A network of music industry types networking and hyping a steady...
Essential new acts witnessed at Rockaway Beach 2020
A stark contrast to the stereotypical blazing sunshine and beer-in-fields impression of music festivals, Rockaway Beach occurs in the first few...
Portishead’s Dummy at 25: culture-shifting genius
In 1994, in the midst of the Britpop knees-up and the explosion of Oasis, painting a picture of Britain full of...
Free Fall rock: The birth of Imperial Wax
At birth, Imperial Wax was overshadowed equally by a blessing and a
curse. Despite being very much their own entity, they were...
Listen to the second Bloopcast, our new music podcast
It’s that Bloopcast time
again. Well it’s past that time! We got so inundated with great new music that
we didn’t notice it...
Crass release April Fool’s compilation of classic tracks for 24 hours...
This is no joke! Thrust into the middle of a
satire-meets-reality political situation this April Fool’s Day, legendary
anarcho-punks CRASS have a free download...
Listen to the first Bloopcast, our new music podcast
We get so much incredible new music coming our way, it’s almost impossible to keep up. We spend so much of our time talking...
Dad’s Lunch Box – Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 review
Food is often overlooked as the very core to so many of our relationships. What, how and when we eat shapes many of our...
Thicker That Water – Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 review
Building on the brilliant monthly Satori Screen showings, Quad Derby welcomed the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme for another year to showcase 11 Japanese...
Duelling identities: A conversation with Kayla Painter
The best art draws on heritage, a sense of identity. Work that tries to discover the artist’s place in the world through their creativity.
Cannibals...
Life has surface noise: A conversation with Copper Sounds
Experimental DJs Copper Sounds talk about their part on an innovative new tour.
Sound is a powerful thing, it has the power to ignite, manipulate...
Exploring sites that connect Tallinn’s oppressed past with its glimmering, creative...
Stepping away from the fairytale streets of the Old Town opens up the collision of ideals that make up the city's modern history. We...
Gum Takes Tooth @ Soundhouse, Leicester – 24/01/2019 – Live review
Everywhere you look there are passionate pockets of promoters bringing brilliant and unexpected music to their locales. And so, I made the trip to...
Penumbra: An interview with Rashid Khalifa
Rashid Khalifa’s show ‘Penumbra: Textured Shadow, Coloured Light’, currently on display at Saatchi, is not only metaphorically immersive but physically, involving sculptures which dominate...
Companion Pieces: An interview with Robert Fitzmaurice
In ‘Companion Pieces’, Robert Fitzmaurice’s solo show at no format Gallery, abstracted figures recur in many of the artworks, presented with a varying mix...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 05/10/2018
Time’s a funny thing! Loads of it has elapsed since we did one of these new music lists. Where have we been? Kidnapped by...
Boom: An interview with Roger Holtom
Featuring a collection of playful, experimental and abstract artworks by Roger Holtom, ‘Boom’ is now open at Fiumano Clase.
The artist, who’s been friends with...
Album review: Haiku Salut – There Is No Elsewhere
Evoking narrative, and a sense of place, through sound is a skill often most recognised in the worlds of jazz and classical music –...
Haiku Salut unveil ‘metaphysical performance event’ to launch new album
Fresh from collaborating with robots, Haiku Salut has concocted another event that explores technology and thought to launch third album There Is No Elsewhere.
The...
5 of the must-see theatre shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018
Edinburgh Festival Fringe returns for its 71st year this August, promising a huge number – and vast variety – of theatre shows across the...
Bloop’s must-see list for Indietracks 2018
Indietracks 2018 is now just days away. We’ve checked out all the bands, downloaded the excellent 40-track compilation and started packing for a weekend...
Indie pop Mecca: An interview with Indietracks organiser Andy Hudson
Nestled away in the Derbyshire hills, on the site of a steam railway museum, Indietracks has forged an existence as one of the UK’s...
The fabric of: Thud
Hong Kong based Thud are a shoegaze connoisseurs’ wet-dream. The five-piece take the best elements of classic bands like Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and...
Le Pop playlist – discover the seductive modern sound of French...
Since 2002, German label Le Pop Musick, coming out of Cologne, has been putting out their Le Pop compilation, highlighting the best new music from the French...
The fabric of: Brunch
Our new feature series, ‘The fabric of’ looks at the inspiration behind some of our favourite new acts. What influenced their sound, their outlook...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 08/06/2018
Good things come to those who wait! We’ve been off discovering new music at festivals and the like, and this is the first new...
Artfully Dressed: An interview with Carla van de Puttelaar
Since the opening of ‘Artfully Dressed: Women in the Art World’ – a new exhibition of Carla van de Puttelaar’s work at Weiss Gallery...
New sounds of the global underground – our picks from The...
Each year, Brighton, becomes the nucleus of the global music underground for The Great Escape, attracting the most beautiful budding talent to spaces in...
The Endless – Derby Film Festival review
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are an indie-cinema dream-team, and with The Endless have created a movie taking on the big studio efforts created...
That Good Night – Derby Film Festival review
“I don’t want anyone to think that is what John was like, he wasn’t. He’s just that good an actor,” explained Sir John Hurt’s...
Borley Rectory – Derby Film Festival review
Borley Rectory is a documentary like no other.
Director Ashley Thorpe explained his fascination with the ‘most haunted house in Britain’ at Borley Rectory as...
The Glamorous Life Of Sachiko Hanai – Derby Film Festival review
To say that The Glamorous Life Of Sachiko Hanai is a “good” movie would be to over-play its hand. Even to suggest it is...
Images of Apartheid: Filmmaking on the Fringe in the Old South...
Derby Film Festival’s ‘ParaCinema’ programme set about shining a light into the dark corners of the cinematic universe. It was inevitable that Calum Waddell’s...
Art exhibition review – Takefumi Hori – 円熟 (Enjuku) @ Fiumano...
With high-quality artworks, welcoming owners and an adorable gallery dog, Fiumano Clase is a joy to visit. Their current show, 円熟 (Enjuku), is Takefumi...
Attack of The Adult Babies – Derby Film Festival review
The short version of this review is that Attack of The Adult Babies is the most unexpected, disgusting, brilliant, hilarious and through-provoking film you...
Leon Must Die – Derby Film Festival review
When you learn that a movie has been made on a budget of 100euros it is safe to say expectations are low, especially when...
Jason Impey and Rob Ulitski discuss their creations for new horror...
The human mind is a tricky place, smashing our rationality with irrational thoughts. That is where phobias come into play, taking us on a...
Lisa Ronaghan and Joseph Baker talk about scientific research horror, Bodies...
The potential horror of our relationship to scientific advancement and technology has long been a rich source of information for the fright-inducing genre. Bodies...
Darrell Buxton and Steve Hardy, screenwriters of Ouijageist – Derby Film...
Ouija boards unleashing the powers of darkness with horrific effects is not a new idea in horror, but the British twist thrust on to...
Lonely Holiday is the genre-busting, alt hip hop gem that we...
Three years ago, at a record store in France, I came across what was possibly the greatest album artwork I’d ever seen. The album...
Leon Must Die director Lars Kokemüller explains his genre-subverting time travel...
Derby Film Festival is launching the first edition of ParaCinema this weekend – an event that delves into the outer reaches of cinema and...
Album review: Kim Fasticks – Sex & Death
Zaragoza, Spain - a siesta-filled quiet city brimming with antiquity, is the home of Kim Fasticks - an acoustic singer / songwriter who wanders...
Chernobyl – Desolate wasteland retaken by nature
Few places in the modern world come attached with as much folklore and mythology as Chernobyl.
The radiation only recently subsided enough for humans to...
Locust Fudge release the 90s revival album you didn’t know you...
If you are a UK resident, chances are you haven’t heard of German 90’s alternative band, Locust Fudge.
Although signed to Sub Pop’s Euro division,...
Tallinn Music Week embraced new voices subverting the pop music form
The stand-out point from this year’s Tallinn Music Week was its promotion of new voices. Artists that are using their uniqueness to subvert the...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 14/04/2018
This time last week Bloop was at Tallinn Music Week being exposed to new music from around the world. As if this wasn’t enough...
A music lovers guide to Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya has long musical heritage connecting the traditions of the past with the ever changing social and political climates. Its forays into the world...
Beyond the Opposite Sex: A conversation with documentary maker Bruce Hensel
We live in a moment of profound change in attitudes and understanding of transgender issues. Much as moved on since Emmy Award winner Bruce...
“Our potential is enormous and beautiful” – sculptor Josie Spencer discusses...
Representing a world of people who are “out for themselves”, Josie Spencer’s upcoming exhibition ‘Murmuration’ at The Playground Theatre, London, will have nine life-size...
Bloop List – new music undercurrents – 04/04/2018
Many things have been getting in the way of getting this latest Bloop list published. Easter’s chocolate overdose being one.
Also, the majority of our...
Latest announcement confirms Indietracks’ best line-up to date
Derbyshire based festival Indietracks, nestled in the hills of the county and set on a steam railway museum, has long been a Mecca for...
The Opposite of Sad: A conversation with Eels
“To me it’s the opposite of sad. To me the sad part would be if that message wasn’t there and you’re just going to...
The underground sounds of East and West collide at Tallinn Music...
Estonian capital, Tallinn, has a history as a pan-European playground, an intersection of greater powers vying for its wonders – Soviet, Danish, Swedish, Polish,...
Album review: Sound 7 – Sound 7
2017 was a bad year for Detroit, Michigan's prolific singer/songwriter (and my friend and occasional music collaborator), Chris Oliver. While his wife and mother...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 23/03/2018
I’ve heard four separate world leaders compared to Hitler this week, without any irony. Admittedly one accusation of Hitlerness came from a guy who...
Album review: Grawl!x – Appendix
Appendix is the third installment of an album trilogy from Derbyshire multi-instrumentalist James Machin, in his Grawl!x guise and ends the trio of releases...
Machine 9 gives voice to the space junk encircling our planet
Humanity is crushing the world with junk, with debris. The cast away remnants of our excesses. We look to the skies as our saviour when...
Bloop List – new music undercurrents – 16/03/2018
Are we in the middle of a new cold war? Is that what’s happening? This has nothing to do with new music or this list...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 09/03/2018
This is the first new music list to appear as the site goes live. Everything on the site so far has been so underground...
Witnessing the apocalypse on Lake Skadar
Bordering Albania and Montenegro, Lake Skadar is often described as one of the most beautiful places on earth.
But the Skadar I found was a...
Bloop list – new music undercurrents – 02/03/2018
Bloop is drowning under a literal tidal flow of incredible new music each week.This new weekly list will highlight the pick of this musical...
Half Waif announce new album with new video for lead single...
Nandi Rose Plunkett's synth-pop alter-ego Half Waif is ready to release new album Lavender next month, and has teased it’s quality with new single ‘Keep...
Hear Peter Kernal’s hypnotic new post-punk cut ‘Men of the Women’
Swiss Canadian duo, Peter Kernal, are about to drop their third album The Size of Night which promises to be a leap forward for...
Label love: Beats In Space
Beats in Space only dropped into my consciousness this week with a serious bout of ‘how in hell have a missed this label’.
I was...
GoGo Penguin conduct electricity through the classic jazz sound of Blue...
Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin have always fused different genres but forthcoming album A Humdrum Star leans heavier on their shared love of electronica than...
Album review: Biscuit Mouth – Hot Change
The world, at present, is all bluster and turmoil, a broken cacophony of madness. In to that void stepped the latest album from general...
Working with Mark E. Smith – an interview with Fall drummer...
Keiron Melling was the drummer in the final line-up of The Fall after ten years working with legendary front-man Mark E. Smith. Following his...
Pendle Tones: The story of underground geniuses Transelement
As Britpop petered out and the late 90s charts packed with bland pop, a new self-referential and singular noise was emerging from the Lancashire...
Interview: Diet Cig
We’re sat in the upper floors of the labyrinthine Hare and Hounds in King’s Heath and ‘slop pop’ duo Diet Cig are enthusing about...
Exploring counterculture in San Francisco
The city gave birth to movements that changed the world, here’s how to explore them on your visit.
San Francisco is a city oozing with...
Interview: Unqualified Nurse Band
When bands talk about the different ‘eras’ of their existence it usually spans many years or even decades, but Derby rock trio Unqualified Nurse...
Interview: Neville Staple
Mark Lamarr is quoted as saying “Everyone has four good stories, Neville Staple has the rest!” And spending time with the 2 Tone legend...
Passion, punk and politics: an interview with Idles
With a relentless touring schedule, a stunning debut album and a message to believe in, Bristol’s Idles are proving to be the most vital...
Punk legend Glenn Matlock on the new punk opera album and...
“It’s not the beginning of a new punk movement with people in tuxedos and dickie-bows, it’s just a bit of fun, serious fun but...
Meet Hussain Manawar, the Muslim space poet challenging the stigma of...
Who is Hussain Manawer?
For starters, Hussain Manawar, is the performance poet that earlier this week broke the world record for the world’s largest mental health...
Interview: Laura Marling
The SU venue at Goldsmith’s is an echo from a by-gone age – an age of free education, £1 pints and living off grants,...
A music fanatic’s guide to New Orleans
There are few cities in the world that have as much music heritage flowing so visibly through their veins as New Orleans.
It is a...
Interview: Chuck Mosley – Faith No More
Despite playing a major and active part in how heavy music expanded into new realms in the late 80s and early 90s, Chuck Mosley...
Interview: Hot 8 Brass Band
In a modern musical landscape that sees ‘authenticity’ as the ultimate standard, Hot 8 Brass Band should be viewed as one of the greatest...
Interview: Lloyd Kaufman – Troma
“Farting is one of the rules of Troma script writing. In return to Nuke 'Em High you see a beautiful woman fart, you see a duck...