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You are here -> Music / 60 Seconds Monday, 08 September, 2008
PLANETNOTION TELEVISION!
CAMERA-FOLK AND FILM EDITORS WANTED!
Planet Notion is looking for guys and dolls to film and edit features for its new TV channel, PNTV. Accompanying Notion to artist interviews, gigs, fashion shows, festivals and international events, you will be skilled, passionate and full of ideas about how to produce shit-hot video content. Camera-folk will be experienced and ideally have their own equipment, or at least access to equipment, while editors must be able to turn projects around quickly, and with stylistic flare. If you can both film and edit content, we would especially like to hear from you! These casual, unpaid positions would be ideal for those looking to develop their showreels, and to get the chance to travel, film major artists and top events.
 
Please email lucy@musichqmedia.com if you’re interested in getting involved, cheers!
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The Shapeshifters Interview!
The Shapeshifters Interview!
14/08/2008
tags: | shapeshifters | shapeshifters news | shapeshifters latest | shapeshifters interview | more...

Planet Notion shoots the 'you know what' with Madcon!
Planet Notion shoots the 'you know what' with Madcon!
14/07/2008
If you’re not from Norway, as in you’re not a Norwegian, there’s a strong chance you wouldn’t have heard of Madcon. They’re a hip-hop duo, Critical (Yosef) and Kapricorn (Tshawe), who cross over into R&B, African music, Latino, rock, reggae and, um, television. Yeah, they’re so huge in Norway that they have they’re own TV show. Anyway, now Madcon are set to conquer the world with new single Beggin, a rework of the classic song by Italian/American crooner Frankie Valli. On the back of the track being made Radio1 DJ Scott Mills’ ‘Single of the Week’, we caught up with Critical to shoot the shit… Who are Madcon? Madcon are me (Yosef) and Tshawe, children of exile who originate from Africa. Located in Norway we founded Madcon in the early 90s. What really sets us apart from the competition is how we put a lot of our own background into our music, which brings both originality and honesty to the table. Many artists are influenced by or copy music that comes out of the US, but Madcon don’t! We express our truth and address issues that people over here can relate to. Also we try to spread a positive message; the world needs it. What does the name 'Madcon' stand for? As young kids we used to ‘obtain’ what we needed in life by not paying for it. Not by being thugs or gangsters, but by being smalltime hustlers or cons; hence the name Madcon. It's such a fantastic re-working - where did the idea for Beggin' come from? Me and Tsahwe were out one night, and Tshawe was feeling broken hearted. The guys were sitting down having a heart to heart conversation, when all of a sudden Beggin by Frankie Valli came out the speakers. Tshawe really felt the lyrics, and the track was a banger. So we took the song and made a 2008 new and approved version, that even Frankie Vallie himself approved of! So in short it was a coincidence; we were at the right place at the right time. What can we expect from your album, 'So Dark The Con of Man'? The title ‘So Dark The Con Of Man’ indicates the state of mankind being in a dark place. But, despite the name, the album is very uplifting! It’s a melting pot of musical influences touching everything from reggae, to African music, to Latino music, to rock, to Motown, to hip hop, r&b - and the list goes on. We’re very unafraid to cross borders and break boundaries when it comes to music; why limit oneself to being just one thing? What's your biggest achievement? Beggin went 7xplatinum in Norway, and the album went 2xplatinum in 30 days; that felt pretty nice. What's next for Madcon? The UK baby! Here we come! If you’re not from Norway, as in you’re not a Norwegian, there’s a strong chance you wouldn’t have heard of Madcon. They’re a hip-hop duo, Critical (Yosef) and Kapricorn (Tshawe), who cross over into R&B, African music, Latino, rock, reggae and, um, television. Yeah, they’re so huge in Norway that they have they’re own TV show. Anyway, now Madcon are set to conquer the world with new single Beggin, a rework of the classic song by Italian/American crooner Frankie Valli. On the back of the track being made Radio1 DJ Scott Mills’ ‘Single of the Week’, we caught up with Critical to shoot the shit… Who are Madcon? Madcon are me (Yosef) and Tshawe, children of exile who originate from Africa. Located in Norway we founded Madcon in the early 90s. What really sets us apart from the competition is how we put a lot of our own background into our music, which brings both originality and honesty to the table. Many artists are influenced by or copy music that comes out of the US, but Madcon don’t! We express our truth and address issues that people over here can relate to. Also we try to spread a positive message; the world needs it. What does the name 'Madcon' stand for? As young kids we used to ‘obtain’ what we needed in life by not paying for it. Not by being thugs or gangsters, but by being smalltime hustlers or cons; hence the name Madcon. It's such a fantastic re-working - where did the idea for Beggin' come from? Me and Tsahwe were out one night, and Tshawe was feeling broken hearted. The guys were sitting down having a heart to heart conversation, when all of a sudden Beggin by Frankie Valli came out the speakers. Tshawe really felt the lyrics, and the track was a banger. So we took the song and made a 2008 new and approved version, that even Frankie Vallie himself approved of! So in short it was a coincidence; we were at the right place at the right time. What can we expect from your album, 'So Dark The Con of Man'? The title ‘So Dark The Con Of Man’ indicates the state of mankind being in a dark place. But, despite the name, the album is very uplifting! It’s a melting pot of musical influences touching everything from reggae, to African music, to Latino music, to rock, to Motown, to hip hop, r&b - and the list goes on. We’re very unafraid to cross borders and break boundaries when it comes to music; why limit oneself to being just one thing? What's your biggest achievement? Beggin went 7xplatinum in Norway, and the album went 2xplatinum in 30 days; that felt pretty nice. What's next for Madcon? The UK baby! Here we come! 'Beggin' Released 1stAug (Digital), 11th (Physically) 'So Dark The Con of Man' Released 18th Aug www.madcon.co.uk
tags: | madcon | madcon critical | madon kapricorn | madcon yosef | madcon tshawe | more...
Welcome to the sex-crazed world of Muddyloop!
Welcome to the sex-crazed world of Muddyloop!
20/06/2008
Blonde Peterson and Metro Williams, otherwise known as Muddyloop, are a pair of randy Prince enthusiasts with a penchant for 80s, cheese-tinged, electro grooves. A distinct hip-hop, synth-heavy, sexy-electro sound, the kind that makes one want to pull the nearest floozy and have their oh-so wicked way with em’, is the lads’ forte; the knife that butters their bread. Planet Notion caught up with the sex-obsessed cheeky chappies to talk about debut album Flight Night, girl on girl action and, um… she-males? Tell us, how did Muddyloop come to be? Metro: Me and Blonde are cousins, so we pretty much grew up together. We clicked from a young age cos’ we both had a warped sense of humour and an unhealthy obsession with Prince. About 7 years ago we bought a drum machine and an 80’s sounding synthesizer and started writing songs to impress girls. That didn’t really work; but by chance, one of our tracks got signed to New York house label, Chez Music, so we had to come up with a name for our outfit. Blonde: Metro wanted to call us something dumb like ‘Spandex Death’. I came up with Muddyloop cos’ when we started making music our loops were real dirty cos’ we sampled everything from cassette tape. Then everyone would tell us our music sounded muddy; hence the name. I personally think that your music’s a tad on the cheesy side; but that’s by no means a criticism. It’s infectious cheese - kind of like fungal foot-rot, except it makes you want to spontaneously get into the groove. Was it your intention to make infectious cheesy music? Blonde: Thanks for the compliment. I guess, to be honest, it wasn’t our intention to make it like this. It’s just our personalities coming through. We just wanted to make music that was fun and not too serious. Metro: But still kind of fresh and cool. Like myself of course. Blonde: You love yourself too much! The problem is that people think we’re actually being serious when we sing songs like ‘Hairstyle’ and ‘Girl on Girl’, when in fact it’s all just tongue-in-cheek. We just make sure that we work the groove so that it makes suckers move. The track ‘I Could Do Things 2 U’ is definitely about the karma sutra or sado-masochism or something, right? Is most of your music and lyrical content of a sexual context? Blonde: The concept’s a guy letting a girl know that he fucks like Rocco Siffredi. Metro: Damn man! You’re so crude. Blonde: We do love the sexual side of things. I guess it’s all those years listening to Prince and watching porn. And the fact that we didn’t actually get much sex growing up cos’ we were strange and geeky. I guess we’re making up for it now in our music. Metro: Sex is just one side of our characters. We’ve also got tracks like ‘Glamour Magazines’ which talks about everyday modern relationships and a song about the end of the world; there’s even one on the album about a time traveller. There’s a good balance of topics, moods and tempos. Do you write lyrics for the music or music for the lyrics? And if you write lyrics for the music, surely that means that you see music as more important than lyrical content? Blonde: Lyrics to the music; always. It’s the music we make that inspires the vocal melodies. Then once we come up with those we start writing lyrics to the beautiful melodies that ooze out our hearts (laughs). Metro: We see lyrical content as very important. We always try and avoid coming out with lyrics that ain’t really saying anything. Even if we are talking about quirky shit, like on ‘Hairstyle’ or ‘80s Love’, the lyrics still have to be humorous and cool. Blonde: Me and Metro really take our time over the lyrics and make sure they’re at least better than Usher’s. That’s the minimum standard. Tell us about the inspiration behind the debut album (Flight Night)? Were you inspired by other artists or does the album tell some kind of story? You know… About a night flying around on the town and all the shit that happens; something like that? Blonde: I guess the album is a melting pot of everything that inspires us artistically. Sure, it was inspired by other artists - you can blatantly hear the Prince and Michael Jackson influences. But you can also hear the old school hip hop and soul influences on the album too. Metro: The album doesn’t tell a story, but the title points towards some kind of late night journey through the world of Muddyloop. The production and sound of the album is very 80s influenced. Combining classic 80’s hip hop and soul with synth pop, electrofunk and groove. Blonde: With catchy songs all over it. Finally, anything you’d like to add? Some words of wisdom perhaps? Blonde: Metro needs to bath more often Metro: Blonde is into she-males Blonde: Metro’s mum is a she-male Metro: I think we’ll leave it there. Muddyloop's debut album, Flight Night, is available now on Muddytrax Recordings. Click here to buy. www.muddyloop.com / www.myspace.com/muddyloop Words: Dangerous Dave
tags: | muddyloop | blonde peterson | metro williams | flight night | prince | michael jackson | more...
Bashy chats about Adulthood The Movie!
Bashy chats about Adulthood The Movie!
18/06/2008
Gang culture is on the rise in London. Stabbings are becoming more prolific and post codes are sparking turf wars. But rather than the government installing X-ray machines to scan weapons at school entrances, it's films like Adulthood that are likely to have the most effect. Bashy, the emcee who did the lead single for the film, ‘Kidulthood to Adulthood’, is hopeful that this is the case. He’s all for people approaching their lives more positively. “The film concentrates on choices you make in life and what kind of path you take. On the street, a lot more is happening but at least it conveys the correct story,” he says. “Now, my response to all the stabbings is that I’m not as shocked anymore. We as a nation of people are becoming accustomed to it.” Bashy’s the man behind last year’s ‘Black Boys’ single and this was yet another contribution to encouraging people to raise their game. “The song’s a celebration of achievement, and it’s not only for black boys. I’ll go and do a show and it’ll just be white kids and then they’re all like brap! White people are struggling, black people are strugging, Asian people are struggling. Especially in London, we’re all in the same community,” he says. This is represented in Adulthood, which has a multicultural cast – “an accurate reflection of London’s society,” says Bashy. He reckons more films need to be made in this spirit. “I think a lot of the violence is bred through slavery – people were bred to hate each other,” he opines. “We need to get out of this.” The film itself is a brutal 24-hour journey through a west London underworld, where director Noel Clarke's dystopic universe offers little to those caught up in the vicious circle he's desperately trying to break. But its brutality puts a mirror up to the proceedings, and this is where its social relevance lies – especially in the current climate. To recognise that these lives yield little promise, and violence is becoming endemic, is the first step towards healing. www.bashy.com Words: Helene Dancer
tags: | adulthood | bashy | kidulthood to adulthood | black boys | kidulthood | noel clarke | more...
MAN LIKE ME's
MAN LIKE ME's "sweet as a nut" 60 Second homemade video!
09/05/2008
We asked ‘Man Like Me’ if they could contribute to the 60 Seconds section of Planet Notion. "Hell", we thought, "we’ll give them a wide berth", you know? We told them: “Do what you want, go crazy, let your mind wander.” You see, Man Like Me are creative guys - blending the old-school elements of ska with the new-wave grime scene, an electro-pop backbeat, a smidgen of funk, and a pinch of hip hop thrown into the equation. The results are: "Well fresh!" Anyway, the lads contributed a 60 Second video, sort of in the vein of ‘Oh My Gosh’ and ‘Doughnut’ but with a really, really low budget. We’ll let Man Like Me’s Peter Duffy talk you through it… “In 60 seconds we decided to each list our personal top ten favourite whatevers. Johnny chose crisps, I chose cartoons and Edwin chose diamonds. Johnny doesn't even really like crisps, I’m being childish, and Edwin is trying to make out like he's in the market for precious stones. Edwin kept his bit to the agreed 20 second length, Johnny went a bit OTT and overflowed at 24 seconds, but I fell short at 16 seconds so it all worked out quite nicely. Most of the items mentioned in each 'top 10' are only there because they rhymed with the previous ones. We used a camera phone for all the pictures even though there was a proper good digital camera upstairs. Safe.” Peter (Check out the 'Man Like Me' MySpace page!)
tags: | man like me | doughnut | oh my gosh | peter duffy
The Parlotones share photographic memories of Munich!
The Parlotones share photographic memories of Munich!
23/04/2008
Planet Notion recently told the world (perhaps we’re being a little optimistic about the scale of our readership) about melody driven (semi)rock band The Parlotones. They’re from South Africa, don’t you know? You can read all about them on the ‘Who the Fuck’ section of the site so we won’t rake up old ground. As Roman poet Juvenal once said “ Like warmed-up cabbage served at each repast, The repetition kills the wretch at last”. Bass player Glenn decided to take some photos while the band were supporting the, um, Wombats in Germany, and he’s shared them with us. Isn’t that lovely? He even wrote about it too. Exciting! “It's a nice, sunny day in Munich. So nice, in fact, that our good friend Adam offers to treat us to a bicycle tour of Munich. He's a tour guide, see? So after each grabbing a bike, our 12-person strong tour rockets off down the streets of Munich, instilling fear into the hearts of the pedestrians and stopping off at historical sites to brush up on our German history. Adam is a great tour guide and has us hanging onto every word. After a ride through a big, beautiful park we stop off at a lakeside restaurant for a pint of beer. Only one though, as drinking and riding is not tolerated in this part of town. After a few more stops and near accidents we head back to the bicycle hold, rack up our bikes, and head off to soundcheck.” Glenn Hodgson – Bassist – The Parlotones
tags: | the parlotones | glenn hodgson | munich | the wombats
Madchester Legends: Inspiral Carpets
Madchester Legends: Inspiral Carpets
04/02/2008
The Inspiral Carpets are one of music’s great forgotten love affairs. Like a wild three-day fling; a whirl-wind romance with uppers, downers and all-arounders. Necking this, necking that and necking she in the process. Oh, twas a special relationship and a high-time, remembered on rare occasions of sobriety. Alas, just like that recollection of pure ecstasy and euphoria, those that remember the Inspirals in their hey-day, always fondly recall. It’s a funny old game, the music business. Of all the ‘Madchester’ bands the Inspirals had the most consistent success. When you consider the sheer number of tracks and albums that bundled smack-bang into the charts, they were a far more prominent fixture than the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses. They faltered in the minds eye of today’s generation merely because they split as the heady heights of Brit-pop were entering their (not so) humble beginnings. We’ve got more to thank the Inspirals for than we’re probably aware of; their experimentation into modern-psychedelica arguably had prominence on the trip-hop scene that followed in the 90s and gave many of the 90s and double-Oh acts free-reign to try new technique and style. Oh, and as for the ‘Noughties’ biggest stars… Well, a young Noel Gallagher learned the ins and outs of touring with the Carpets as a wee pre-Oasis whippersnapper. Then there were the ‘Cool as Fuck’ t-shirts that created a whirlwind of obscenity charges not witnessed since Lenny Bruce was banned from city after city as a ‘fuck-you’ comedian of the 1950s. Planet Notion caught up with lead-vocalist Tom Hingley (a bar-collector at Manchester’s infamous Hacienda before he joined the band) to chat about the Inspiral Carpets, past and present, ahead of an eight-day UK tour… Many cite you as the forefathers of the ‘Madchester’ period. Do you agree that you had a major bearing on the scene? On bands like the Mondays and the Roses… If so, how? We probably all affected one another to be fair; Clint (Boon) was in bands with Mani (Stone Roses/Primal Scream) before he joined the Inspirals. I used to rehearse next to the Stone Roses actually, when I was in ‘Too much Texas’, at a rehearsal room in Chorlton. So, I suppose we must have affected each other on some level. What about the inspiration behind the Inspirals? The music you produced was extremely unique; it was something fresh and arguably uncharted territory… What were your influences? The Inspirals were going before I joined in February 1989. At that time the bands influences were Nuggets, West Coast psychedelic bands like the Seeds, 13th Floor Elevators, the Doors, and even the Chocolate Watch band. There were also the punk bands and Hip bands which were Craig Gill's major influences. How relative was the music you were producing to the drug-scene of that period? It was pretty psychedelic, mind-altering stuff… The band were pretty straight to be honest. We prided ourselves on playing our music straight; I still don’t drink before gigs. The way I see it the music was mind expanding without the drugs. Do you still view Manchester as the singular hub of music in this country? More so than London, Liverpool and Sheffield? No, no, never. Liverpool has been hot recently, the Zutons, the Coral and more recently the Wombats. In Sheffield you’ve got Reverend and the Makers and obviously the Arctics; there are always hot spots; it moves round all the time… The Corteeners (Manchester) are good though. Those bands apart… Any particular bands out there that are catching the eye? Yeah… Arcade Fire and Lowline are fantastic; Lowline are supporting us on tour actually. The Hems are supporting us in Manchester, and they’re a band to look out for. There’s loads of Alternative Country stuff that I’m liking at the moment. How does it feel to be getting back on the road again? Do you still get the same flavour from the live experience? Yeah, definitely, it’s always good fun… Good music, good times, good laughs, and of course the adulation from the audience. In jokes between the lads and generally dropping bollocks. Having read Oasis: ‘Getting High’, and having quite an interest in the Manchester scene, I’m well aware of Noel being a roadie for you guys. Do you think that experience shaped his career in any way? If so, how? Noel wouldn’t have had a career without the Inspirals; it’s as simple as that. Whether you praise us or blame us for that fact is entirely up to you! Tell us about the ‘Cool as Fuck’ (Inspiral Carpets) t-shirts… Were you surprised by the coverage they garnered… Any amusing anecdotes or stories about them? Yeah, that was great. One bloke got arrested for wearing one and he asked us to bail him out of jail. Anyway, we found out that he was wearing and selling bootleg ones, so we told the police they could keep him in prison after that! You know, the Harlem Globe trotters once bought one each for the whole of the team. Your split infamously came before the Brit-pop era kicked-off. Do you think that was a factor in the Inspiral’s failing to hit the big-time… As being as big then as you arguably are now? You know, every dog has its day? We did a lot better than most bands of that time. I have no regrets about being one of the three biggest Indie bands of 1989 – 2002… Would you if you had been? I guess you’ve met a few people over the years… On your travels, on tour, playing gigs… Any particular highlights or encounters that were particularly enthralling? Iggy Pop in Canada 1994 has to be up there and, you know, he’d heard of us as well? Being in the same room as Morrisey twice and not talking to him because I thought he would be rude to me and couldn't be arsed to talk back… I loved his music though! What have been the most drastic changes in music since you lads first started the Inspirals? Has the music scene changed for better or worse? The internet, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the celebrity culture has all changed music… But the music itself is no better or worse now. It’s the same story; there's still good music and shite music, as always and as ever! And what about the technology of music? Do you think the whole download boom is ruining the charm of and nostalgia of the vinyl? No, not really. I would never slag off any particular format of music; though CDs are horrible things, they look like something you should keep hospital records on, so I don’t have much love for them. Vinyl has a cachet amongst the young now. I bought my daughter Elsa a turntable for her 16th birthday and she loves it. She plays Nirvana 'Live and Unplugged' at 45 and says it sounds like Dolly Parton. Rock on! Finally… What are your plans for the future? Well, there’s going to be a new album by ‘Tom Hingley and the Lovers’ called ‘Highlights’. That’s going to be released on the 10th of March. We’re working on some new material by the Inspirals, which’ll be out some time in the next two years. Oh, and doing a masters degree and getting a University lecturing job! Anything else you wish to add? Yeah, all that hippy shit about peace and love and ecology is all correct. I’m taking all my fake middle-class pseudo-punk attitudes back - for now! Inspiral Carpets Tour Dates: 7th March Glasgow ABC 8th March Oxford The Academy 9TH March Sheffield The Leadmill 10th March Northampton The Roadmenders 12th March Wolverhampton Wulfren Hall 13th March Nottingham The Rescue Rooms 14th March Manchester Academy 1 15TH March London Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Click HERE for tickets. Words: Dave Dryden, Photography: Ian Tilton, Mark Latham
tags: | inspiral carpets | tom hingley | happy mondays | stone roses | brit-pop | madchester | more...
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