Galaxians have been announced, along with acts Gang Of Four, Los Campesinos, Field Music and more, for Wakefield’s Long Division festival in June 2016.
Long Division is a weekend music and culture festival that takes place in Wakefield City Centre each year in June.
“It was the existence of Long Division that gave me the confidence to bring back Unity Hall as a music venue.” – Chris Hill (Unity Works Developer).
Since its formation in 2011, Long Division has led the way in develping Wakefield as a respected and revered musical and cultural destination. It is run by a very small but dedicated group of people who wanted to showcase Wakefield’s often overlooked musical talents to a wider audience.
“Absolutely invaluable to us, the biggest showcase of the year for bands and venues in the city. Makes me proud to tears every year.” – Rob Dee (Philophobia Music, Wakefield).
Using a range of city centre venues, it now attracts 3000 people each year, showcasing local talent by placing them alongside national artists. It has consistently produced line-ups amongst the strongest and most value for money across the whole country.
“Made by Music fans, for Music fans.” – Louder Than War.
Galaxians have been included in the first wave of acts announced for Dimensions festival, which takes place in a Roman amphitheater in the centre of Pula in Croatia between the 24th and 28th of August 2016.
Matt spoke with Leeds-List and Independent Leeds about JUX festival, which takes place at the Brudenell Social Club on 20th February.
LEEDS-LIST
Matt spoke to Joseph Sheerin…..
“Brudenell Social Club is set to host a day of the best and brightest musical talent from the North as Jux Festival comes to Leeds.
Leeds’ newest all-dayer, Jux Festival is all about, believe it or not, juxtapositions. They like contrasts, placing musical brilliance side by side, just because they can – and with a line up like theirs, they’re doing a pretty bang-up job of making it a must-see.
It’s curated by two Yorkshire musicians, Matt Woodward of Galaxians, Azores, and the renowned Release Yourself parties, and Michael Ainsley of Yard Wars and The Ainsley Band. They’ll be taking over Brudenell Social Club on Saturday 20th February 2016, bringing some of the North’s finest musical talents under one roof.
Woodward told us just why they’re doing Jux Festival, “A festival is a good way to bring together bands who might never share the same stage, perhaps as a result of not being part of the same genre sphere, belonging to a different creative or communal ideology, or simply having stylistic differences. I think that in very simple terms we’d like to use the festival as a platform for bringing communities together, helping people to make new friends and creating awareness of different cultural movements.”
Topping the bill at Jux Festival is electronic duo Shift Work, who get their mitts on all kinds of weird and wonderful equipment to create addictive jams such as ‘Abandoned Hands’ and ‘SBFM. Having released on both Optimo Music and Houndstooth, their stock is strong, and they’re definitely a group you have to see live.
They’ll be joined by Woodward’s Galaxians at Brudenell Social Club, a local group that’s played nearly every venue in the city with their infectious brand of live dance, and Sheffield’s finest Blood Sport, who blend punk and afro-beat in a delicious manner you’ve probably not come across before.
Coming across from the other side of the Pennines, in Wigan and Chorley, Cactus Knife will deliver some heavy psychedelia at Jux Festival while Makanitza offer the chance to catch some vibrant Romani and Eastern European tunes, something that likely doesn’t crop up too often.
Milk Crimes is another Leeds band that’s played all over the city, and their irresistible punk hooks will make them a blast at Brudenell Social Club, playing alongside the inimitable Joanne, a live coder, who creates live music using computer software.
Michael Ainsley’s Yard Wars offer up some indie goodness at Jux Festival, Wakefield’s Mi Mye promise flashes of their remarkable alternative tunes, emerging Leeds group Take Turns show off their burgeoning talent and Jonathan Nash returns to the city with eclectic solo project Game_Project.
It’s easy to see why it’s called Jux Festival. There’s so much going on here that you’re sure to fancy something from what is without doubt an incredible line up of diverse musical talent, from all over the North – here’s hoping it’s the first of many.
INDEPENDENT LEEDS
Matt spoke to Jed Skinner…
“This February will see the launch of JUX, Leeds’ newest festival of music, bringing together active participants of some of the vibrant musical communities across the North and London.
Taking place all day on Saturday 20 February at the Brudenell Social Club, JUX will create a broad palette of music by juxtaposing artists who would be unlikely to play together on the same bill.
Cactus Knife – one of the acts making up JUX’s bill
Co-organiser Matt Woodward explains the reasons behind putting in the hard work to create a festival which brings such a mix match of artists together;
“We felt tired of generic and unchallenging festival programming: many of the same bands play the same festivals, and only artists who share a common sound are suitable to share a stage or a festival billing.
“We decided to create JUX to juxtapose bands who are musically diverse; to bring together acts that exist in separate communities, but might share some ethics or philosophies about creating art and producing music.
“Also, the word ‘Jux’ is sometimes used as a slang word meaning to rob or steal! We thought that might serve well as a double meaning, as a cheeky dig at festivals that don’t leave you feeling that they’re worth the ticket price”.
Shift Works- one of the acts making up JUX’s bill
Just a few of the bands which will be taking to the iconic stage on the day are, Game_Program, Galaxians, Blood Sport and Shift Work – two guys from London, working on analogue gear out of a studio built in a former stable. They’ll be bringing hypnotic, looped vocal oddities, spiralled drum machines, strained key stabs and deftly arranged percussion. It’s a line up which definitely requires you to bring your dancing shoes!
Galaxians will join a host of acts from Glasgow and Leeds at co-operative-run space CHUNK in Leeds on 12 February. Expect lots of sweat and dancing ——>
CHUNK – A night of FUNK
Happy Meals (Night School Records, Glasgow) Apostille (Night School Records, Glasgow) Galaxians XAM Girl Sweat
8pm – late
£6 adv/ £8 OTD
18+
BYOB
Independent House, Meanwood Rd, LS7 2JD
————————–——————-
HAPPY MEALS
“Happy Meals is the Glasgow-based duo of Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook, life-partners since high school finding expression in cosmic form. Originally from the Scottish borders, Rodden and Cook (also of The Cosmic Dead) began Happy Meals in a flurry of experimentation at Glasgow’s creative hub The Green Door Studio. Both artists operate machines and sing but it’s the dominating Franco-Scottish lingua-franca of Suzanne Rodden that imbues a sense of seductive fun.”
APOSTILLE
“Apostille is the solo musical guise of Glaswegian DIY protagonist Michael Kasparis. Initially a creative harbour from his groups Please and The Lowest Form, Apostille has grown into an explosive synth-punk project unafraid of both physicality and emotional leakage. Fiercely independent in practice and execution, Apostille’s stated purpose is to bridge the gap between audience and performer, to connect through the fog of power structures and post-modernism; to ferment a direct pop music unconcerned with control.”
GALAXIANS
“Galaxians are Jed Skinner (synths // programming) and Matt Woodward (drum kit // programming). The pair met in Leeds and played their first show as Galaxians in 2012. Their rise to prominence as an exciting live dance act has been swift. In 2014 the band’s vinyl EPs – ‘Personal Disco Component’ and ‘Galaxians’ – released on US dance labels Dither Down (Brooklyn, NYC) and Rotating Souls (Atlanta, GA) respectively, sold out quickly in both Europe and the US. They have also featured on both vinyl releases on upcoming DIY dance label Stargaze (Leeds, UK).”
XAM
“XAM is the solo project of Matt Benn, one Hookworm, whose move to this kind of generative and rigid electronica is not too surprising, given the well-patterned psychedelia of his band. He stretches out warm tones and lets generous beats synchronise with the gliding atmosphere. Think Jonas Munk’s polished ambient tunes given Harmonia’s meandering but maintained drum machines and you’ve got “Werk & Play”, which does just as its title tells it to: it’s mechanical but wide-eyed.”
“Like the bastard lovechild of Mark E Smith & Jon Spencer fronting peak era Cramps after being remixed by early Cabaret Voltaire but with the brutality of early Swans.” Happenin’ sounds from Sweat himself, bringing you noise, swirling through the garage spectrum. Don’t play it well- play it cool.
CHUNK has a safe space policy and does not tolerate any sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and other behaviours that may exclude people from wanting to get involved. So play nice, we all love it.
Galaxians have been announced for JUX, a new music festival in Leeds which takes place at the Brudenell Social Club on Saturday 20 February. Joining them will be Houndstooth / Optimo Music act Shift Work and a host of established and emerging acts from around the UK including Joanne Armitage, Blood Sport, Yard Wars, Game_Program, Milk Crimes, Cactus Knife, and Makanitza.
Festival co-host Matt Woodward (Galaxians // Azores // Stargaze Records) spoke to Joseph Sheerin from Leeds-List about the event….
How did JUX festival come about?
The initial idea came about because my pal and work colleague Michael Ainsley and I (we both work at Leeds Music & Performing Arts Library at the Central Library in Leeds) were talking about a number of things – our own bands, music festivals, different musical communities which exist in Yorkshire, Lancashire etc. We struck upon the idea of organising something which might bring together people of different communties and bands who normally might never appear on the same bill. Neither of us had ever organised a festival, though we have both been hosting gigs in Yorkshire for a number of years. Michael does a couple of bands – Yard Wars and The Ainsley Band – and I play in the bands Azores and Galaxians and run Stargaze Records with Jon Nash (Hookworms / Cowtown etc).
A festival is a good way to bring together bands who might never share the same stage perhaps as a result of not being part of the same genre sphere, belonging to a different creative or communal ideology, or simply having stylistic differences. I think that in very simple terms we’d like to use the festival as a platform for bringing communities together, helping people to make new friends and creating awareness of different cultural movements.
Can you talk us through some of the bands on the bill, and why you’ve asked them to play?
SHIFT WORK – are a duo, Mark and Johnny, who originally come from down south. They had a record out on Optimo (Glasgow) last year which is how I first heard them. I’m a big Optimo Records fan so I always check out new records on the label. SW do a kind of experimental, organic techno, though putting them in a genre box doesn’t do them justice. They make exciting, soulful modern dance music with character and without pretentions. I put them on last year at a party I co-host in Leeds called Release Yourself and at the time Johnny had his leg in plaster so it made for an interesting live spectacle too. Nice gentlemen and good facilitators of electronic dance music.
JOANNE – I heard about Joanne (Armitage) recently because I read an interview with her online. I wanted Joanne to play because what she does intrigues me in that I don’t understand quite what it is! Joanne is a live coding artist and is part of the ‘Algorave’ community in Leeds, I think. I might be wrong about that last bit, but either way I just thought what she does sounds really interesting and because I don’t know what it means I want to see it for myself. Plus, it’s another thing that is happening here that is important and is an art form and when Michael and myself were programming the lineup we wanted as much totally different stuff as possible.
MAKANITZA – are a trio from Leeds who I first saw a few months ago when one of my own bands, Azores, played with them. They were a bit of a revelation for us really. One of those rare bands that combine a really high, obviously very schooled, level of musicianship with really good, really fun music. My first reaction to seeing them for the first and only time so far was “Wow, where has this band been hiding?” but then you just realise that you’ve not seen them because as people playing music in Leeds you just exist in different communities. It’s one of the great things about this city. Even after almost 20 years of living here I’m still being surprised by stuff like this. In terms of their style they do Eastern European and Roma Gypsy folk music which is wild and hypnotic. The kind of thing that whips people into an actual frenzy and is impossible to sit still to. Again, asking them to play was a no-brainer because we want as much different music as possible, and they’re just really good.
MILK CRIMES – is Ellie, Peter and Simon. I have met them all but haven’t yet seen them play yet. I’m looking forward to that immensely. They are one of a new group of DIY bands coming through in Leeds at the moment, along with bands like Molars and Crumbs. People have described them as “catchy, fun, anti-social queer punk-pop in the same vein as bands like Martha, Trust Fund, and The Spook School etc. I’ve heard only universal praise for them so far and I wanted to invite them on because another thing that is important to me is having a mix of both older and younger bands playing.
There are lots of other really good bands playing – BLOOD SPORT (Sheffield), Michael’s band YARD WARS, MI MYE (Wakefield), GAME_PROGRAM (Leeds), CACTUS KNIFE (Chorley/Wigan), and TAKE TURNS (Leeds). My own band GALAXIANS are playing, too.
Will there be more in the future?
We would definitely like to do more, and as these things often go, you have an idea to do a festival and then you’re already thinking about who you’d like to play the second festival / year. But it depends on one thing really: dollars. I hate that but it’s a fact. If we lose a lot of money on the first one then it’s gonna create reservations and stress attached to any future JUX events. I read somewhere that all music festivals lose money in their first three years so it doesn’t bode well, hah! But y’know, it’s a DIY festival, we’re low-key and we’re not going to lose like £250,000 on it, so it’s okay.
What are your impressions of The Garden Party so far?
J: We just got here at about 4 o’clock; it’s heated up a bit now.
M: It seems like a nice vibe!
How does playing a festival differ from playing your own show?
J: It’s just a lot more people, a lot more atmosphere!
M: I have to confess, I don’t normally like playing festivals; you know you have to get on and get off quite quickly and it can be quite stressful but it’s been really nice here; as long as there’s a nice vibe and people are with us when we play, it’s cool.
What’s been your best live experience in Leeds so far?
M: Well I don’t think there’s one thing that we can say is the best ‘cause every time we play it’s different but when we played the two Beacons festivals that we did were a real highlight. Gigs: we’ve played Wharf Chambers, we like that; they’re intimate and small.
J: I think the best one for me was probably Tom Tom Club at The Brudenell, about two years ago. That was amazing. Just meeting those guys was amazing.
What up-coming shows have you got in Leeds?
J: We’re playing Headrow House on 23rd October, which we’re excited about because Golden Teacher (who they’re playing with) are fantastic and Headrow House is a new venue.
What influence has the Leeds music scene had on your being a duo?
J: For me, it’s being able to meet people who were musicians first, in bands second, so loads of people that are in more than band; it’s that sense of collaboration, especially around the Hyde Park area; there’s a lot of creativity.
M: I think musically, we’re not necessarily as influenced by Leeds other than its strong club culture, like the DJs. But what I am influenced by is that Leeds has a really strong sense of community and I think that’s a really big thing, especially in dance music. It’s about unifying people and having a shared experience. It’s not about stardom or hierarchy.
What do you have in the pipeline?
J: We have a new album coming with quite a lot of tracks; we have vocalists now like Emma Mason who we’re collaborating with, possibly even live in the future, and we’ve got guitar on the new album from John Nash who’s in Cowtown and Hookworms. A bit more of a disco/house analogue kind of direction too. And a European mini tour!
M: We’ve gone out of our comfort zone a little bit more this time: vocalists, lyrics…
“By putting local boys Galaxians on your bill, you’re almost guaranteeing a party that shimmers and glitters like a roller disco ramped up to 11. Warbling synths, wobbling bass and beats that’d make even the most resistant of bodies shake, Galaxians are something of a secret weapon. No matter who they’re billed with, from Tom Tom Club to Horse Meat Disco, their modern disco-house vibes are enough to enrapture any and every audience put in front of them.” The 405 // Garden Party preview: 5 Bands We Want To See
“I’m personally looking forward to Roisin Murphy, as well as Little Dragon and Todd Terje. On the DJ front it has to be Craig Charles, Joy Orbison and finally having Kerri Chandler play for us. Special shout to Bambooman and Galaxians, two local outfits who will be performing on The Skinny stage.”Matt Long // festival organiser // About To Blow
“At the Skinny Stage, Galaxians succeed more-so than Craig Charles to counter the mid-day festival blues. As soon as the two-piece Leeds-based outfit takes to the stage, those sitting down take to their feet. Jed Skinner somehow coolly manages to replicate the sound of a four-layer melody section using two synthesisers. Matt Woodward on drums keeps the manic synth output locked to a sleazy groove. The pair’s most recent four track EP, Personal Disco Component, is much appreciated. One or two sporadic rays of sun even get involved in the party.”Review: Sunday At The Garden Party // Skiddle
Galaxians are included in the first wave of acts announced for Recon festival in October, at multiple venues across Leeds and Bradford. The festival pioneers music, art, film and technology in West Yorkshire and runs from 15 – 18 October 2015. Earlybird tickets priced at £25 are available on the festival website at http://reconfest.co.uk/
Pictures from our recent UK and European tour in May and June…
20.05.15 LEEDS Hifi Club (w. Golden Teacher // Bambooman)
21.05.15 LIVERPOOL Kazimier (w. Golden Teacher // Game_Program)
23.05.15 BRADFORD Playhouse (Threadfest)
25.05.15 MILTON KEYNES Craufurd Arms
27.05.15 DUSSELDORF Salon Des Amateurs
28.05.15 LILLE Aeronef (w. Bodybeat)
29.05.15 PARIS Pop In
30.05.15 NANTES Le Lieu Unique
01.06.15 ZURICH Boschbar
02.06.15 GENEVA L’Ecurie
03.06.15 FRANKFURT Robert Johnson
04.06.15 LEIPZIG Ilses Erika
06.06.15 KOLN Klub Genau
07.06.15 LILLE Le Rouge
BRAINTRUST BLOG // 25.06.15
CHOSEN BY: GALAXIANS
Playlist chosen by us ahead of our show at the Waiting Room in London on July 17.
“I first saw Galaxians play at Tramlines last year in the back room of a social club in the outskirts of Sheffield. They had this intricate set up with multiple analog synthesizers going against a small acoustic drum kit, but they produced this uplifting disco sound going on. I loved the fact that their general positive vibe that they brought to a night meant they can slot onto genre bending bills and make punk kids fall in love with them. Drummer Matt Woodward is a DJ at the Release Yourself parties at Wharf Chambers and we’re delighted that he’s made a fifteen track mix for us. I guarantee you’ll find gems in here.” NIALL CUNNINGHAM (Braintrust)
Galaxians headline The Waiting Room with support from Teej on Friday 17 July. Tickets are available through: Billetto + DICE
Galaxians playlist:
1) MATRIX METALS ‘Ray Ban Meltdown’
Matrix Metals is Sam Mehran. He’s possibly more well known as a member of Test Icicles, but for us the MM record is his finest hour. It’s one of those records that defies categorization and people who dig it really dig it. A hard record to describe for sure, but it has a drugged-out, hypnotic, cyclical beauty to it, and it’s all the more amazing when you discover it’s essentially made from tape loops.
2) WICKED WITCH ‘Under Your Spell’
WW is the solo studio alter ego of Washington DC’s Richard Simms and this is from the compilation album ‘Chaos 1978-86’. Again, it’s hard to describe because it’s a pretty nuts record. It’s dark, wild, fucked up psychedelic machine funk, that’s pretty much the only way we can describe it. Matt picked this record up from a-Musik in Cologne recently.
3) RAVIOLI ME AWAY ‘Cat Call’
We played with RMA recently and enjoyed them a lot. They are Sian Dorrer, Rosie Ridgeway, and Alice Theobald and this one is taken from the album ‘The Inevitable Album’ on Good Job Records. It’s just a winner, firstly because it’s a straight up pop hit, secondly because the lyrics are good, and thirdly because the video has them doing some good David Byrne-style dancing in it.
4) SHOPPING ‘In Other Words’
Another ace band we’ve had the pleasure of playing with a few times over the past year. We both dig their album a lot and they’re always super-fun live. Shopping are Billy Easter, Rachel Aggs, and Andrew Milk. They’re also known for being members of other bands such as Wet Dog and Trash Kit. This is one of our favourite songs from their album ‘Consumer Complaints’ (Milk Records) and that guitar line just chops its way into the brain and stays for days.
5) ROLANDE GARROS ‘Polycrosscourt’
Rolande Garros is the alter ego / solo project of Tobias Piel, who is also one third of the trio Les Trucs from Frankfurt. We played with RG at the Robert Johnson club in Offenbach recently and it turned out to be one of the most memorable nights on our European tour this year. And he was one of many very nice people we met that night, too. And that sound system….oh my.
6) J.A. GROOVE ‘Release The Tension’
This is, as far as we know, the only record ever released by Jeff Seifer and Archie Lucas. It’s something of an obscurity but is a regular feature of Matt’s DJ sets at the Release Yourself parties he hosts at Wharf Chambers in Leeds. It’s one of those post-disco / proto-house records from the mid-80s with a super-tight bass line and conga groove that just jumps out of the speakers and gets people up and onto the floor. At 10:48 minutes long it’s no radio-friendly pop hit. It’s for people who want to get in deep, y’know?
7) MADONNA ‘Lucky Star’
…..and speaking of radio friendly pop hits, this is one of our favourite Madonna songs. For us this is Madonna at her finest and in her most natural, instinctive setting. That early 80s NYC boogie funk club sound was just perfect for her in those first years. Of course, ‘Into The Groove’ is incredible and a more obvious choice (for THAT bass line alone) but the naivety and charm of those early songs is so attractive. It’s the sound of pop rapture.
8) KENTON NIX Featuring BOBBY YOUNGBLOOD ‘There’s Never Been No One Like You’
A West End Records NYC classic and christ, there are so many of those that picking one is a mission. Weirdly, we only came across this one fairly recently, despite being huge fans of the label. But that’s one of the many great things about music and buying records – just when you think you know every record on a label something pops up from a rack in a record shop and blows you away. This is one of those. It’s classic West End – soulful, shimmering, and beautifully arranged.
9) JAMES MASON ‘I Want Your Love’
This is a recent release on Amsterdam’s Rush Hour Records, but it’s actually two songs from 1984 and 1978. The A side ‘Nightgruv’ is really good too, and has a great proto-house vibe to it, but this one is a stunning, sexy, slow burner, more in the boogie style. One of the things we love on this jam is the combination of the slow beat with the crazy fast conga pattern. Marry that with the soulful vocal and those great piano chords and it’s a big win.
10) WALTER WHISENHUNT ORCHESTRA featuring GLORIA ANN TAYLOR ‘Deep Inside You’
This is a really beautiful song from 1973, and we read recently that the original EP – which also features the even more stunning ‘Love Is A Hurting Thing’ – is one of the most expensive disco / soul records ever. More importantly, it’s a gorgeous, eerie, seductive, super-soulful record from start to finish and every home should have one.
11) ADONIS Featuring THE ENDLESS POKER’S ‘!The Poke!’
Not our favourite cut on DJ International Records by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s something Jed picked up recently from Kompakt Records in Cologne when we did a bit of record shopping whilst on tour. It’s kind of a daft record, but just has that unmistakable late 80s Chicago house vibe, with those 303 sounds and that wobbly acid house bass line. And it’s always going to remind us of our time in Cologne which turned out to be a real highlight of the tour.
12) DIBLO DIBALA ‘Super K’
Diblo Dibala is a Congolese Soukous musican whose nickname is ‘Machine Gun’ because of his insane skill and speed on the guitar. This song is from a mid-80s album Matt picked up from Deco Records in Withington in Manchester the morning after we’d played a show at Fuel Cafe. If there’s a more positive and uplifting record than this in the entire world we’ve yet to hear it. Diblo’s records are a big influence on Matt’s other band Azores.
13) DEERHOOF ‘Paradise Girls’
Choosing just one Deerhoof song for a playlist is a near impossibility. Choosing a favourite top five albums is difficult enough and we are constantly amazed by their ability to keep writing genuinely incredible music after thirteen albums. Just such a great band and a constant inspiration as people, writers, musicians, the whole shabang. This one is from the most recent album La Isla Bonita.
14) UNIVERSAL ROBOT BAND ‘Barely Breaking Even’
It’s always difficult for us to put into words how much we love the combination of Leroy Burgess (as songwriter and performer), Greg Carmichael (as performer and producer), Patrick Adams (as producer) and John Morales (as remixer). For us this 1982 record is a benchmark and the pinnacle of the NYC post-disco / boogie era (there’s even a record label named after it). It’s just the perfect boogie jam and is a deejaying no-brainer. It always brings a full floor along with whoops and hollers.
15) GOLDEN TEACHER ‘Party People’
GT are Cassie Ojay, Charles Lavenac, Laurie Pitt, Oliver Pitt, Richard McMaster, and Sam Bellacosa. Together they somehow seem to effortlessly combine every element you’d want from a dance act and in live terms there’s probably no one to touch them right now, at least not as far as we know. When we played with them on tour recently their new material just floored us, and we like them a lot as people, too. They are part of Glasgow’s great tradition of community-focused experimental music and art.
