August2010 - Elevator Studios

CABLE #4
THIS ISSUE:
Sound of Guns
Elevator Studios
Ioisis
Claudia Pink
CONTRIBUTE:
Power Productions
Whitewood Studios
Phasic Labs
Seal Cub Clubbing Club
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[email protected]
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SOUND OF GUNS SCORE DEBUT ALBUM SUCCESS
Elevator residents Sound of Guns have reason to celebrate, with their debut album ‘What Came From Fire’
entering the independent album charts at number three in
its first week of release.
The album, released at the end of June, also received critical acclaim from titles such as the NME, with the reviewer
commenting that “..the Liverpudlians transform all before
them into Soccer AM hugeness”, and awarding the groups
first offering with a 7.
Radio 1 have been giving the group massive support, with
stacks of radio play, while Zane Lowe, a long-time advocate
of the band, has continued to shout about them from the
rooftops.
‘What Came From Fire’ is available to buy and download
now. The band, who recently performed single ‘Alcatraz’
on Channel 5 and in Mallorca, play with Jet at the Shepherds Bush Empire at the end of July.
For more information visit www.myspace.com/soundofguns
P H A S IC L A B S L A U N CH HEXIUS
Elevator based Phasic Labs have released their first title
for the iPhone.
‘Hexius’ is an action / puzzle game for the iPhone and iPad,
created by programmer Paul Ripley and is available in the
Apple Apps store now. The application is a must for fans of
games such as Bejewelled Blitz.
The game, which took 3 and a half months to complete, was
created solely by Ripley, who set up Phasic Lab earlier this
year.
“I’m now working on a second iPhone/iPad title, I’ll reveal
more details on that when it’s nearer to completion,” explained Ripley. “I’m also discussing some other games with
an ex-designer from Sony. These new titles will be bigger
projects than one programmer can manage alone, so I’ll be
sub-contracting artwork out - not sure who to yet!”
Ripley has been a programmer for 7 years, working most
recently as a senior programmer for Sony Computer Entertainment on titles such as Wipeout HD (PS3), Formula 1
2006 (PS3), and MotorStorm 2 : Pacific Rift (PS3).
HOT CLUB DE PARIS IN EUROPE
Hot Club de Paris will release new album ‘Free the Pterodactyl 3’ later this year… but you can’t have one, it’s only
for the eyes and ears of European guys and gals.
lease. In the meantime, Hot Club will return the studio to
write their third album.
For more information go to: www.hotclubdeparis.co.uk
The new record will combine the group’s two sold-out 2010
releases ‘With Days Like This as Cheap as Chewing Gum,
Why Would Anyone Want to Work?’ and ‘The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band’ into
one, handy package, complete with shiny new artwork and
everything.
The two 10” EPs saw the Elevator-based trio draw impressive plaudits from the likes of NME and Drowned in Sound,
with ‘Fuck You, the Truth’ crowning the NME’s top 10
Tracks of the week back in February.
The band, who have just completed another extensive tour
of the UK, will tour Europe in October to promote the re-
PAGE 1
INTRODUCING... ELEVATOR STUDIOS
The Coral in the process of turning their music into a physical product at Elevator Studio.
With a back catalogue of clients that reads like a who’s
who of the Liverpool music scene, Elevator Recording
Studios have long been on the map as harbingers of the
cutting edge and the timeless.
With albums from the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen, The
Coral, The Zutons and Clinic all recorded under their Aframe roof, and producers such as John Leckie, Ian Broudie
and Gordon Raphael taking advantage of the facilities, the
Cheapside studio’s ambience has been breeding creativity
and originality for the past ten years.
The beginnings of Elevator lay with the band ‘The River
City People’, a successful Liverpool group who recorded
two albums for EMI, and featured the talents of brothers
Tim and Paul Speed. The band had 5 top 40 hits, with their
cover of the Mammas and Pappas track ‘California Dreaming’ being the biggest.
studios had stood out. One was Peter Gabriel’s Real World
which was set in an old Mill in Box, Wiltshire and the other
was owned by Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz of the Talking Heads in Connecticut. This was set up in a barn above
their house. What was interesting about both is that much
of the natural character of both buildings had been retained
and the studios had been built around these features.
I wanted our studio to feel like that and realised that the
warehouse we had in Liverpool could be tweaked and tuned
into a technically excellent facility that also inspired musical creativity’.
“When our deal with Polygram ended we basically ran out
of money and so started renting out our studio out to local bands, The Bunnymen used it and then when The Coral
made the landmark record ‘Magic and Medicine’, people
started to take notice.
The group, like many of their musical contemporaries, rehearsed in the old Ministry of Defence building in the city
centre. “Every band rehearsed at the Ministry,” explains
Tim. “The Farm, The Bunnymen, OMD, Frankie Goes to
Hollywood, The Teardrop Explodes, I still have the original
ledger somewhere.”
“We did a lot of Coral demos, pretty much all of the Deltasonic records, Shack’s HMS Fable. We started to get a great
rep. At one time, every single band who recorded demos
in the studio got a deal, including Mansun, The Coral, The
Zutons, The Bandits. It was almost like a good luck thing,
you did demos in Elevator and you got a deal.
When the building was sold for redevelopment, much of
Liverpool’s musical talent was left without a place to rehearse.
“A lot of the bands that demoed came back and did albums
here. It was 6 years of intense productivity and now we’re
looking for the next thing to come through.
“Our favourite bands would have to be The Coral and The
Zutons. With The Coral, it’s been a pleasure to see their development and see them change. They first came in to do
demos when they were 16; to see them change from a fledgling band to a really great band is amazing. When I hear
Magic and Medicine it brings back really fond memories.
“I remember one time when The Subways were in, we had
MTV playing, and 3 or 4 videos in a row were for songs recorded here. It’s great when you hear records that were done
here on the radio or when you’re out and about
“I think the studio offers brilliant value for money, and
we have a track record of commercial success. We have a
very talented house engineer in Darren Jones who has now
worked on everything from The Lightning Seeds to The
Fall.
“The studio was developed by two musicians and we have
loads of instruments lying around and are all available
when you book Elevator, it’s homely, there’s a kitchen, sitting area, it helps when you need to get away. It’s also very
private, you can shut the door and that’s it. Nobody bothers
you unless you want them to.”
For more information contact Elevator Studios on: [email protected] or call 0151 225 0195
Paul and Tim managed to rent some space in an old warehouse on Cheapside, setting up the studio equipment they
had pulled together from their recording deal. “We had to
find somewhere new to work and the warehouse on Cheapside seemed like a great option” said Tim. “We basically set
up a studio in the warehouse which, at the time, was quite
an unusual setting. The River City People split up and we
started work on a new project, working with an American
R and B singer called Jill Jones, We wrote for her, signed
a new recording deal with Polygram and used the studio
to do some of the recording. That was the start of Elevator
recording studio.
“The record we did with Jill took us to a lot of different studios. “It was great laugh, we spent a lot of time in New York
and London and we went to loads of studios and worked
with some brilliant engineers and producers. The experience
made me think about how I wanted our studio at Elevator to
be different from a lot of the functional, characterless places
we had worked in. Many studios of the day had been designed by engineers and technicians with little understanding of the need to be relaxed and inspired by a space in order
to do your best work as a musician. On our travels two
Elevator’s control room.
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INTRODUCING... IOSIS
A veritable wet dream.
In the gods of Elevator on Parliament Street lies a veritable wet-dream for many of the male inhabitants of the
building. Under the A-frame roof silver poles glisten and
reflect in the mirrored walls, and every day a small army
of women giggle their way up to the fifth floor to bend and
writhe upon them.
Welcome to the world of Ioisis, the dream and reality of
Anna Rosser, founder of the country’s first pole dance
studio, and the reason many of the cities women’s fitness
levels and confidence have soared.
“I founded Ioisis in 2003,” explains Anna. “I sold my motorbike to buy four poles, which at the time, had to be custom made, in the hope that someone would want to learn to
spin around a lot. Although it’s not fashionable to admit it
in the pole fitness industry nowadays, I used to work in the
clubs,” she continues.”It paid my way through university. I
travelled around the country, met a lot of different people,
from many walks of life, and worked in all sorts of places
from back street dives, to Stringfellows. After university, I
continued to dance and perform, doing events, road shows,
random promotion work, before settling on teaching pole.
And it would seem if you provide the poles, the women
will come. After outgrowing her former premises, Anna
moved Ioisis to Elevator. The studio grew in popularity
and reputation as pole dancing, with the help of a few highprofile names such as Heather Graham, shook its sleazier
image, and became an empowering way for women to get
fit, lose their inhibitions and have fun.
“People first try pole dancing for a number of different
reasons,” explains Anna. “For some it’s as simple as the
gym bores them, others want to feel empowered, some are
looking for a confidence boost. But when you start, it is
very addictive. You get a vendetta against a certain move,
persevere, and get a huge sense of achievement when you
get it. The goals are short term as well as long term. This
is how it becomes such effective exercise, and the vast majority of people who get into pole dancing lose weight and
tone up, so they become even more addicted.
As the owner of one of the country’s leading and biggest
studios, Ioisis was an obvious choice when the world champion pole dancers gathered together. “Felix and Jenyne Butterfly,” smiled Anna. “Both were brilliant. You should look
them up on Youtube, if you haven’t already. The world wide
pole dance community is relatively small, and very geekish,
to the extent we have wikipole, so when a pole celebrity
teaching tour is planned, we hear about it quite early on.
We were approached to host the master classes and performances, and said yes instantly.
poles, is difficult.
For more information call 0151 708 9955 or email: [email protected]
What advice does Anna give to people who think they’re
too shy to have a go?
“That it’s probably not what they imagine it to be,” she explains. “That they should come along for one lesson, and
have a look around. There is a ton of different people aged
16-60, all different shapes and sizes. Everyone is genuinely
friendly and helpful, but most of the time are so focused
on what they’re doing, there’s no reason to feel remotely
self-conscious.
The studio also houses classes for other disciplines such as
circus skills. “Probably, like a lot of the country, the first
time I saw aerial dance was the BBC 2 Ident with the men
in white cat suits rolling down red ribbon, and ‘I thought
I want a go of that’,” she says. “Years later I came across
the Circus Space in London, and took myself down for an
aerial course. I was addicted instantly. There were no training schools in Liverpool, so I went to a few schools in Bristol, Sheffield and Manchester. I then invested in my first
trapeze, and silks started training. We now run Arial workshops for adults and children. We’ve been lucky enough to
have some amazing aerial guest teachers, including Helen
Ball, who is currently touring with Cirque Du Soleil.
“We also accommodate Got Poi, who are a floor based circus skills swap group. They incorporate juggling, poi and
acro-balance.
I think Elevator benefits residents because you are surrounded by other creatives. You can always find someone
to drink tea with, and chat about some mad thought up idea.
There’s something reassuring about no one expecting you to
fit in a box. Which when you spend a lot of time bent around
Ioisis founder Anna Rosser .
SUMMER IN THE BALTIC
The perfect alternative to the Matthew Street Festival
mayhem, join Elevator Studios for ‘Summer In The Baltic’, a mammoth bank-holiday extravaganza, taking place
at The Orchard on August 28th.
Four must-see bands, DJ’s, and performances from Elevator
residents such as the Ioisis Dance Studio and Giant, as well
as free rides from City Rickshaws.
Treat yourself to a spot of exclusive retail therapy from Microbrands and the iconic Slazenger Heritage range, as well
as other cutting-edge independent designers.
All this plus a hog roast, and The Orchard’s vast array of
ciders and real ales… the event is open to all.
Elevator residents should keep an eye on their inboxes for
an exclusive invite, coming soon, which entitles you to
some free goodies….
The event kicks off at 3pm and continues into the night.
PAGE 3
POWER PRODUCTIONS AIR NEW DOCUMENTARY
Wombles, the former Home Secretary, and a bunch of 80’s
pop stars in the House of Commons? Despite sounding
like a ‘guess the link’ segment on Have I Got News for
You, the above are all in a day’s work for Elevator resident
Stephanie Power.
With her first full documentary (a five-part series entitled
Alan Johnson: Failed Rockstar) about to air on Radio 4,
Stephanie met with the Elevator Cable to explain the peaks
and the pitfalls of owning your own radio production company.
Founder of Power Productions in 2007, Stephanie is a former radio news journalist for the BBC. After years honing
her craft in London, she made the move to the North to
become the managing editor of City Talk. “I was too gobby,
though,” she laughs, “and they fired me!”
With her house in London already rented out, Power called
upon the few friendly faces she knew in the city for help,
one of whom was Philip Hayes. She was introduced to Kevin McManus, operations director at ACME, was awarded a
£500 grant to help with set-up, and her production company
was born.
“I was told to stick to my guns,” she explains. “Even if you
think the work isn’t going to come in, it’s the only way to
make it happen.”
After calling her former bosses and introducing the company to them, Stephanie began to send through ideas for
radio stories. “You have to be so pro-active, people hardly
ever ring you”, she says.
“At the moment, I’m looking for women who were at
Greenham Common 25 years ago to talk to them about how
it ended up influencing their life. The idea came when a
friend, who lived on Greenham common for 5 years, posted
an invite to a Greenham reunion on Facebook. I rang the
editor and he was interested. Ideas come from everywhere,
especially when you’re out on other stories, you meet such
interesting people. This building is great, it’s a shame
I don’t know anyone yet as there must be so many great
stories.”
WHITEWOOD GET BUSY
Oddly, her work has already brought her in contact with a
few familiar faces from the building whilst in other cities.
Her documentary on the Home Secretary focuses on his
long-term goal to be a rock star, hampered only by his role
as one of the most powerful men in the country! He presents
the series, talking to people who are or where involved in
the music industry. The first people to be interviewed were
The Merseybeats. When the interview took place in Nottingham, one face stood out, Elevator resident and former
Merseybeat Dave Goldberg.
“It was funny, as I always see him eating the cafe,” she
laughs. “Another part of the series focuses on the Riot
Girrl movement. When I got back to Elevator I noticed that
founder of the movement Calvin Johnson is doing a gig here
on the same day that the programme is aired. It’s a small
world!”
With a DIY ethic seeping into most other creative outlets,
has Stephanie seen a change in radio? “I’ve been a to a few
conferences, and met people who’ve had an idea, sent themselves of to Iraq, after getting a bit of money together. I
don’t know if it’s a good way to go about it. I don’t personally like it when people think they can be radio makers with
no background. It’s a craft and you have to learn it, though
I know that sounds mean! I’m still institutionalised I suppose, despite being freelance. I’m proud of the BBC. Where
else can you find a programme on the history of the traffic
light, and with no adverts? I’m not sure if independent radio
making has taken off, or if you can make a living from it.
Co-owner Rob Whiteley completed mixing the forthcoming Kong track ‘Ribbons’ at the end of June. The Manchester band will return to the studio later in the year.
June also saw Liverpool veteran Paul Kappa record his third
album at Whitewood, while the LA-based Delta Fiasco laid
down their forthcoming EP at the studio in the midst of their
European tour.
Dan Haggis, drummer with The Wombats, has been recording songs from his forthcoming solo effort at the Elevator
based studio over the past few months.
Whiteley and partner in crime Daniel Woodward also found
the time to launch new website. All this and a new air-con
system? You can sleep when you’re dead, boys.
Visit www.whitewoodrecordingstudio.com for more information.
It would seem that getting fired didn’t end up being such a
bad thing after all...
For more information go to www.powerproductions.org.uk.
Does the news journalist in Stephanie conflict with documentary maker when newsworthy information crops up
within her research?
“It’s not worth it, she asserts. I’ve experienced that during
the Alan Johnson documentary. News came up about the
MORE SUCCESS, VICAR?
The Elevator based company produced 3D artwork for the
game which ran alongside the TV series. The show, which
aired at the end of last year is still available to view at
www.bbc.co.uk/switch/thewell/.
Whitewood Studios have had a highly-hectic few months
mixing and recording bands such as Kong, the Delta Fiasco and The Wombats’ Dan Haggis.
“It’s progression in your own working life, and so much
more enjoyable than running around trying to get people
to do things they don’t want to do. Right now I’m really
enjoying the documentary making process and the freedom
that comes with it.
“My friend Becky Milliagan, a reporter, also makes excellent political documentaries on topics such as what it was
like being a victim of expenses scandal. It’s not confrontational. Radio explores the possibility that maybe issues are
a bit more complicated than you think, it’s more caring.”
Milky Tea had yet more reason to celebrate last month,
as the cross platform project ‘The Well’, a Conker Media
Production for BBC Switch, won two awards at the
Bannf World Television Awards.
Kong are noisy and weird and awesome.
election. We were making the documentary on May 11th,
the day Labour were kicked out of power. It was all kicking off, but we were in the Houses of Parliament about to
do this interview with an eighties pop star. It was funny, I
am a news journalist, and everyone was on college green
poncing around saying ‘Alan’s just done an interview with
the BBC, where’s ITV’s? That was my job, I would have
been that person, but that day I was like ‘shut up love, we’re
interviewing an 80’s pop star here’! I watched my own job.
People wanted to know whether Alan was going to stand as
Labour Leader, I knew that before anyone else, but he needed to announce what he was going to do. Instinct kicked in a
little, I thought ‘I’ve got this thing that no one else knows’,
but for who’s benefit would it be for me to broadcast it?”
For more information call 0845 003 8159 or go to www.milkytea.
com.
PURE CREATIVE ARTS AT ELEVATOR
Alan Johnson having a right old laugh with his Gibson Thunderbird Guitar.
Attendees also had the opportunity to win prizes from the
likes of The London Carriage Works, Clarins Spa, The
Wombats, and Slazenger in out mid-evening prize draw.
‘Vicky’s Secret’, a play that looks at the issue of pregnancy
crisis, was preceded by an excerpt from ‘Face to Face’,
which focuses on anorexia and bulimia. The spoken word
and physical theatre piece ‘Power’ finished off the performances.
The evening closed with a one-off performance from the
Pure Band, who performed tracks from their current album,
‘No Compromise’.
All of the proceeds raised at the event will be used to help
support the organisation in their ongoing work with young
people.
Pure Creative Arts raised funds to continue their theatre
in education work at the Elevator Café at the start of the
month, with an evening of music, merriment and prizes, as
well as a full production of ‘Vicky’s Secret’.
Pure, a multi-faceted Liverpool based company, carries
out work across the UK, and uses theatre and the arts as a
means of addressing issues such as self-esteem, body image and sex and relationships. Every production that Pure
performs is followed by workshops that allow the young
people the opportunity to talk about the issues raised in a
more one-to-one setting.
Guests at the event were treated to a complimentary drinks
reception before the evenings music kicked-off with a performance from Rachel Wright. Other acts included Shane
Beales and the Pure Band.
Shane Beales looking a little bit pixelated.
PAGE 4
CLAUDIA PINK’S CATWALK SUCCESS
Elevator’s Claudia Pink Jewellery caused a stir at Lenny’s
bar at the end of June, when founder Claudia Windle held
her first fashion show showcasing her latest collection.
Lenny’s, a 1930’s style restaurant bar, was the perfect setting for Windle’s exotic designs. Amazonian style glamour
took centre stage as models wearing enchanting customised
bikinis and flamboyant jewellery paraded down a catwalk
surrounded by lush foliage bathed in green light.
Guests at the event were treated to bespoke ‘Claudia Pink’
cocktails, delicious mini cupcakes by Tinakiiana, chocolate
dipped strawberries and canapés.
The show will be the first of many and Claudia’s next show
is soon to be been confirmed. Claudia Pink Jewellery are
also taking part in the finale at Liverpool Fashion Week in
October.
Claudia’s designs frequently feature in publications such as InStyle
and OK magazine and are available to buy from the Claudia Pink
shop in the Met Quarter or from www.claudiapink.com.
THE CORAL AND BALTIC JEWELRY
“Album wise, there was probably only 1/100th of the budget available compared to the last one, so it will probably
sound a lot closer to our live set,” explains Jay Freeman.
“It’s also the first album that I’ll have fully contributed to as
I wasn’t around when the first album was made.
“Musically speaking, the album is similar in content to
the first, though a lot of the faster tracks on the album are
pushing into a slightly heavier, dancier territory. Sonically
speaking, nearly all the album tracks have been bathed in
the array of new synths we’ve acquired!
For more sonic and musical speaking, as well as the occasional
free track, follow the band on: www.facebook.com/thesealcubclubbingclub.
The single, available to purchase from iTunes and Spotify,
has also been remixed by MSD Project. This incarnation
will be released on the same day.
“’Electric Ray’ was conceived by Dave (Graham) and I,”
explains vocalist Ian Hall. “I had the idea to write a track
about those nights where we go out and over indulge, but
it’s all good cause we’re on an enlightened level to those
who aren’t. The lyrics are basically about partying and feeling the love - the bass and chorus hopefully depicting the
feeling of elation when things are great.”
The Liverpool three-piece have also remixed tracks for the
likes of Ladytron and The Delta Fiasco.
For more information, go to: www.filterdistortion.co.uk
THE BENDAL INTERLUDE
Long-term Elevator amigos The Coral, and Elevator jewellery-makers Baltic joined forces in June, as the dynamic
duo’s bespoke pieces made it into the band’s recent cover
shoot for NME.
Baltic created special pieces for the group, who released
new album The Butterfly House in early July. The album, the group’s first full release since 2007’s ‘Roots and
Echo’s’, features the single ‘1000 Years’ and is available to
purchase now.
SCCC like to party.
FILTER DISTORTION
For more information on Baltic, email: [email protected]
This is what a proper band looks like.
SEAL CUB CLUBBING CLUB
Elevator heavy-metal mainstays The Bendal Interlude
have been added to the line-up for the forthcoming
Sonisphere festival.
Seal Cub Clubbing Club have almost finished work on
their currently untitled (but perhaps called Royal Variety!)
second album.
The band will join the likes of Alice Cooper, Motley Crew,
Iron Maiden and Rammstein at the event which takes place
from 30th June to August 1st at Knebworth.
The eclectic outfit, who played at Kendal Calling at the end
of June, aim to have the album competed by the end of the
summer.
The group’s second offering will feature the single ‘Made
of Magic’, championed by BBC Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw
earlier in the year.
The band have recently been working with Hot Club De
Paris’ Paul Rafferty, recording their forthcoming EP.
Elevator electro-outfit Filter Distortion release their new
single ‘Electric Ray’ on July 19th.
Go to www.myspace.com/thebendalinterlude for more information.
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