Music in Oxford

As festival season comes to an end and the days draw shorter, you might wonder how you can keep up with new music without the opportunity to stomp about a field at a festival every weekend. Worry not, as I have written this handy little guide to discovering new music in Oxford all year round – not just during festival season.

Nightshift Magazine

This magazine is nearly as old as I am, having been in constant circulation since March 1991. You’ll find it in most of the good pubs, shops or cafés in Oxford but if you don’t manage to pick up a printed copy then there is an online archive of every edition since 2005 on their website! Nightshift has really fantastic music writing: the reviews are detailed, with personality and opinions but are essentially still really useful to help you get the gist of what a musician or band is like. The magazine also organises the annual cross-city Punt festival presenting loads of new acts across several venues all in one evening. Nightshift know all there is to know about the emerging and established music scene in Oxford and all the contributors write with confidence and conviction, so you know you can trust this passionate bunch of musos.

BBC Introducing in Oxford

If you tune in to BBC Radio Oxford between 8-9pm every Saturday, or subscribe to the podcast via their website or iTunes then you will be able to discover and learn about lots of great local music made in Oxfordshire every week. As well as a section on music news, a recommendation from BBC Radio 1’s Hew Stevens, or Nightshift magazine editor Ronan Munro, there’s also loads of new music of different styles, interviews, chats and good humour. The music on the show is so new lots of bands get their first play on the radio thanks to presenter Dave Gilyeat and producer Liz Green – if you are a musician yourself, you can upload your music through their website and you could be the next up in their regular ‘first play on the radio’ segment! The BBC Introducing podcast really exemplifies just how many creative musical people are out there of all ages and backgrounds making great stuff in Oxfordshire. If you’re from a bit further afield then the BBC Introducing shows exist in different areas all over the UK, so if you want to know about the music scene in Jersey or Lancashire then you have the opportunity to do so!

Oxford Contemporary Music

OCM are a local music organisation that works with artists and produces great events that are not just gigs but also often even sound/noise experiences that combine music, art and media all in one. They are involved in Oxford’s annual experimental music festival Audiograft, and organise an annual Open weekend showcasing the best new music in Oxford – even if you don’t make it to their events you should look up the artists they promote and work with as they promote interesting and unique artists across the board (and not solely Oxford based artists).

Gigs

You can listen to live music every day of the week in Oxford, whether it’s busking or an open mic night, a jam or session, or even a proper full on gig with plenty of branded merchandise and fancy flashing lights. You don’t need to go to a dedicated music venue as lots of Oxford’s pubs and cafés, museums, galleries and even bookshops host gigs and concerts. Daily Info lists most gigs in Oxford, as does the Music in Oxford website, which also has a news feed and record and gig reviews too.

My current favourite musicians who I have discovered thanks to all the above include: Orcinus/Jack Casstles-Jones (listen to The Anthem), Be Good and Limbo Kids (who share the same frontman as other lovely band Alphabet Backwards). Check out the bands I’m listening to at the moment and find more through all the above resources!

From Oxford with love,

If I Could Turn Back Time – or Rather Music – to 1994

My best friend, Mandy, and I were recently scoping out gigs and festivals for a weekend getaway near Bath (her home-town) when we spotted a Levellers gig at Frome festival. We both exclaimed “I used to listen to them when I was at school’ and so the tickets were immediately bought. This quickly got us to thinking about all things 90s – and talking about the bands and songs we used to love when we were at school.

So I thought, why not take a mental trip back 20 years to 1994 for my next Fe-line music blog? Fashion seems to have taken a step back in time to the mid-90s so why not me! (Have you seen all the clumpy shoes, chokers, slip dresses, baby tees, daisy/plaid & gingham prints, and of course floppy bucket hats around lately?)

1994 was a very important year in my young life. I turned 16, had my first real boyfriend (well we started going out in the autumn of 1993 but ’94 was our year), survived my first exams (my GCSEs), started sixth form, properly discovered that sometimes saviour and other times downfall – a good bar – and went to my first school disco.

There was so much music I loved back then and I still adore many of the same bands. There were plenty of songs released in 1994 that stand the test of time now – and indeed are some of my all-time favourites. Blur was inevitably on when I got a go on the pub jukebox and more often than not it was “Parklife” and “Girls & Boys” – which both came out in ‘94. I was always a Blur girl in the infamous Britpop battle that raged through much of the 90s but one of my favourite Oasis songs has to be “Cigarettes & Alcohol”, another 94-er.

James, another 90s favourite of mine came out with both “Laid” and “Say Something” in 1994. There was also “Loser” by Beck and Weezer released “Buddy Holly”. Other bands around at that time included Suede, REM, Stone Roses and Pulp. I was mildly obsessed with “Common People” (1996) and “Disco 2000” (1997) – but we’re getting into the ‘University Years’ territory here, which I’m sure is a whole other blog post waiting to happen!

Although we didn’t meet until eight years later Mandy and I were both into very similar music. While we were reminiscing about our comparable teenage years she reminded me of more 90s songs by some of our other joint favourites; Radiohead, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, The Wonder Stuff and Ten & Vs.

In 2014, Mandy’s now my go-to festival and gig buddy – and I’ve never had a less than amazing experience with her around. See, it really is the atmosphere – or indeed the company – that really makes an event.

But back to 1994, the ladies were also making an impact that year with “I’ll Stand By You” from Pretenders’ front woman Chrissie Hynde and “Linger” and “Zombie” by the Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan – and we can’t forget Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl” and Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do”.

And finally, my guilty pleasures all seemed to be from the school disco DJ sets: “Things Can Only Get Better” by D:Ream, “All That She Wants” from Ace Of Base and Cyndi Lauper’s “Hey Now” (Girls Just Want to Have Fun) – and one of the best, 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” (albeit released in 1993). Also as much as I hate to admit it, I did have a penchant for Bryan Adams, especially “Please Forgive Me”. And I just have to give The B52s’ “Love Shack” a quick mention, another 90s school disco classic (although originally released in 1989).

However, I almost forgot the band that started this trip down memory lane, The Levellers! An alternative rock and folk punk band from Brighton; their first EP was released in 1989 but 1994 was the year the Levellers hit the peak of their popularity. Their appearance at the Glastonbury attracted the biggest stage-front crowd the festival had ever seen. Here’s a peak at how they’ve changed in the past 20 years.

Mandy and I were so excited on our way to the gig at the Cheese & Grain, it was like we were actually teenagers out on a Friday night again. The band didn’t disappoint in terms of energy and stage presence – they’re still amazing performers – especially the guy on the didgeridoo, all credit goes to him just for lifting the thing let alone playing it! And it was great to sing along to songs I haven’t thought about in 20 years. Well, apart from one – I’m still more than mildly obsessed with “Just the One” (released in 1995). It’s all about blowing caution to the wind for the night – which we all need to do sometimes!

But in, almost, the words of Franz Ferdinand the gig “could have been so much better”. It didn’t help that “Just the One” wasn’t on the set list and a lot of the songs sounded the same. However, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s all about who you’re with or who you meet – Mandy and I still had a ‘wicked good time’.

…Or maybe some things are just best left in the past, along with curtains, hypercolor t-shirts and double denim. I’ll leave you with that thought and another ‘then and now’ comparison; here’s a photo of both Mandy and I separately in 1994 and together in 2014.

 

 

Image Credit:

The Levellers circa 1994-1999 –

http://www.levellers.co.uk/about/what-a-beautiful-day