HotWax top a stunning line-up at South Street Arts Centre this Saturday the 28th of March, courtesy of Heavy Pop.
Reading Beat Connection has played host to a number of great bands and artists since its inception, including Matt Maltese, Lime Garden, Deadletter and Man/Woman/Chainsaw. This years line-up is one of the strongest yet and is topped by alternative rock trio HotWax. Having caught them live twice in the past year we would highly recommend their live show.
MOULD are another exciting indie-rock/alt-rock act who are set to release their debut album in July. They have finished a pretty much sold-out UK tour and can be seen on the same bill as President at Take Down Festival the following week.
Modern Woman are a little bit post-punk, a little bit Windmill Scene, a little bit of all-sorts. They have an excellent debut album, Johnny’s Dreamworld, out on the first of May that we have heard and really enjoyed . We caught up with front woman Sophie Harris ahead of their appearance:
Reading Indie Life: Where did the Modern Woman moniker come from? Do you consider yourself a modern woman?
Sophie Harris: Our bass player Juan came up with the name, actually, it felt fitting as a female-fronted project.
Your debut album is dropping soon. What are you most proud of about it?
The fact we finished it. It’s our first record, so it developed from a year or two of writing songs, trialling songs, playing live. I guess because the record itself took a couple of years to make, we were recording it around our jobs – and in a recording studio that we could only use when other people weren’t using it – it felt endless at some points. I’m glad we stuck with it.
The album covers a range of styles. Where do you place yourselves within the current music scene? Are you a particular genre, or is genre becoming irrelevant in music listening?
It’s difficult to say, I’ve always felt it hard to describe the music, because we are into a lot of different kinds of music, and I’m never really sure which genres come out in what we play. So I tend to ask other people what they would describe us as – so I’ll ask you 🙂 I really love a lot of music coming out of London at the moment (where we’re based), but I try to consciously not be too influenced or blinkered by a scene because that has definitely happened in the past. I feel like I started restricting myself creatively if a song or a part of a song didn’t fit within the scene we were in. And scenes change and develop quickly. So I don’t try and force stuff, too much. I think we just try to write genuinely, and what we really like, and leave it to others to choose what genre we fit in.
Who are the bands and artists that most inspire you?
So many, from Sinead O’Connor to Nina Simone to Slint – the list is large.
If you could only listen to three songs, and no other music, for the rest of your life, what would they be?
This is a question that I feel takes years to decide, and is ever-changing so don’t hold me to it, but right now, in this particular moment, it would be;
Far From You – John Prine
God is Wonderful – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Big Time Sensuality – Bjork
What can newcomers to Modern Woman expect from a live performance?
I’d just be happy if they left the show saying anything other than ‘that was boring’. We try and keep the set varied, because I’m not a big fan of sets that sound the same the whole way through… I do get bored.
The final band on the bill is none other than Reading’s next big guitar hope, Puma Theory. Cam and Jacob also answered some questions before the big day.
Reading Indie Life: What is the backstory to Puma Theory?
Puma Theory: We (Jacob & Cam) initially met many moons ago at an Amazons show at Sub89, we hit it off immediately, but it wasn’t until a little way down the line that we began to play music together when we were both looking to start new projects.
It became clear in those early sessions that we shared the same ideology and tastes when it came to songwriting and music in general. So we started writing together, it wasn’t long until we had a batch of songs ready to share with the world. We knew from the start that it was always going to be a band project so we got in touch with a few close friends that help us expand the project to a full band for live shows.
You have just put out an EP of live recordings. Why did that feel like the right next step for you?
We felt like it was the right way to present the band in its current form, its exciting to be able to share a snippet of our live shows to audiences that’d haven’t perhaps made it down to a show yet. It was also an opportunity to to share a version of ‘Telephone Man’ to the world which is one of our favourites to play live.
For anyone who hasn’t seen Puma Theory yet how would you describe the live show?
I think we always aim to give an honest portrayal of the emotions underpinning the songs. The songs were definitely written from a place of strong feeling, so we try and convey that visceral emotive nature in our performances. I think we’d like to deliver the sort of show that makes everybody feel welcome too. Without sounding too virtuous, we aim to deliver the sort of show that makes people feel comforted and a part of something without fear of judgement.
Who are the bands and artists that inspire you?
We are heavily inspired by rock artists like Queens of The Stone Age along with The Black Keys & Drenge. We have a great deal of respect for artists that can manage to balance powerful live performances that you can lose yourself in with introspective songs that reflect lived experiences.
Any thoughts on the rest of the Beat Connection line up?
It’s a brilliant line up we’re really looking forward to catching HotWax live, their shows have looked wicked from pictures from their tour.
Are we likely to see any more recorded material from Puma Theory this year?
You’ll have to wait and see on that one.
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