Is the relatable style of Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Dean and Lola Young changing pop music?
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The BBC said it has “no future projects” with Cain planned as it pulls his BBC Three documentary series Into the Danger Zone
The singer reflects on 20 years as a musician and how moving to Oxfordshire helped his music.
Keith, whose real name is Brytavious Chambers, has also worked with stars including Lil Baby, Sexyy Red, 21 Savage and J Cole. He is best known for his work co-producing Scott’s hit track Sicko Mode, which earned him his first Grammy Award nomination in 2019.
The former contestant of BBC show The Traitors is speaking out about falling victim to the scam.
PUSSY RIOT
CYKA (Neon Gold)
CYKA, Pussy Riot’s first full album, does nothing to undermine the Russian collective’s long-established controversial reputation, but only elevate the diasporic, eclectic sense of identity that the band themselves hold a claim to.
The album is vast in all senses. Aurally, CYKA fuses trap, Russian- and English-language rap, electronic music and traditional folk-punk structures. Its content spans injustices of many kinds: child imprisonment, the Russia-Ukraine war, founder member Nadya Tolkonnikova’s exile, state hypocrisy and censorship. The title track, billed as “featuring” Vladimir Putin (more accurately, it samples his voice), is a diss track against state censors that is explicit to the extreme. As for Tolokonnikova, Nothing To Lose outlines how she now finds liberation in her exile and scapegoated position.
Though multilingual, Pussy Riot successfully capture a sense of retaliation in their melodies, so that their message transcends any language barrier. Labelled an “extremist organisation” by the Russian Federation last year, Pussy Riot’s music, expansive, experimental and revolutionary, is now more important than ever.
words MENNA WILSON
Effi o Blaenau follows a young woman grappling with unemployment in a north Wales town.
If you’ve read any of Valérie Perrin’s previous novels – Forgotten On Sunday, Fresh Water For Flowers and Three, all translated into English by Hildegarde Serle – you won’t be surprised by Tata, a captivating and gripping new novel.
When Agnes, a celebrated film director, receives a call informing her that her aunt Colette has died, it lands with a shock. This is her Tata that was laid to rest three years ago. Determined to unlock the truth, Agnes sets off to the town of Gueugnon, where her aunt had lived all her life. In anticipation, her aunt had recorded a suitcase full of cassette tapes, enabling Agnes to unravel the mystery surrounding the infamous resident.
Along with family secrets and domestic abuse, football features heavily as a theme threading through the narrative. Inspired by the author’s personal links to FC Gueugnon, it’s fitting that Tata is being published amidst World Cup fever this summer.
The ambitious scope of the novel, featuring a wealth of beautifully drawn-out characters, provides the perfect immersive read. As soon as one thread is tied up within the story, so another is unwound, adding layers to the drama and suspense. Set against the beautiful French backdrop this is another thought-provoking and memorable book from the masterful storyteller.
Marking their second time performing in Cardiff, London-based rock band Tooth are back better than ever, ready to prove themselves as one to watch. Think the infectious energy of The Kooks mixed with the fuzzy vocals of Pixies. Tooth instantly hooked the room with heavy guitar riffs, masterfully balanced with textured vocals, that held the high energy of the set from start to finish.
A cover of Billy Idol’s quintessentially 80s hit Dancing With Myself perked ears and was a standout moment of the night – the kind of cover you could easily envisage going viral on a Radio 1 Live Lounge session or Aussie station Triple J. But it was Tooth’s crowd engagement that stood out. The hyperactive crowd had each other on their shoulders, chanting “TOOTH!” in between every single song without fail. It was impressive and surprising, in equal measure, to witness first-hand the passion and community the group generate, this early in their career.
Staying behind amongst a swarm of fans at the merch table after the show, I caught the band fresh off the stage, and they offered a phrase they’d just learned from a local fan: “Caru ti”. It was a perfect end to a night that proved the feeling is entirely mutual.
Tooth, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Sat 13 June
words ELLIE EVANS photos SCIENTISTS OF SOUND
Mike Shinoda from the band says he spotted Megan Da Savage’s rap on an independent music platform.
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