1884 - Welcome to Wilhelm Street. Make yourself at home!

Peter Anderson • Apr 14, 2024

Somewhere nearby, there’s a meeting going on.

A very important meeting. Run by very important people.

Making very important decisions about your lives.

But you and your family are not allowed inside… it’s nothing you need to worry about.


140 years ago this year, in November 1884, representatives from 12 European nations, the Ottoman Empire and the U.S.A met at an international conference in Berlin. Before the conference, 80% of Africa remained under local and traditional control, but by 1902, 90% of the continent was under the colonial rule of the powers that met in Berlin.


BAFTA-winning game-makers Coney announce brand new co-creation with theatre-maker Rhianna Ilube, 1884: an immersive anti-colonial playable theatre show inspired by the legacy of the 1884 Berlin Conference, which is coming to Shoreditch Town Hall from Wednesday 17 - Saturday 27 April. Co-created by artists, historians and activists, 1884 is a groundbreaking game-theatre show inspired by this often-overlooked turning point in history for the African continent and the world.


Writer and project director, Rhianna Ilube commented: "1884 was inspired by the work of activists from the African diaspora in Berlin who have been raising awareness about how Germany has largely erased the memory of its role in the colonisation of Africa. I wanted to bring the story of the 1884 conference to the UK, but the nature and impact of this show have gone much further than I could've imagined."


"1884, created over a year of debates, experimentation and playtests with Coney and amazing creative collaborators, touches on the heart of crucial questions about land ownership, memorial cultures, decolonisation, gentrification, protest and more. I'm so proud that it will finally be experienced - and shaped - by audiences.”


The experience explores the ways in which anti-colonial resistance movements have been excluded from our public history and collective historical narrative, and how this omission highlights a glaring oversight in how we memorialise the impacts of colonialism. Taking place in a modern fictionalised setting named Wilhelm Street, over the course of two and a half hours, 1884 immerses audiences in a world that echoes the dynamics of the conference.


Played around tables in Shoreditch Town Hall’s iconic Council Chamber, participants form small family groups, collaborate on playful activities, and make choices about how to build their family community and make their house a home. However, as rules are gradually imposed on the groups and it becomes increasingly clear that not everything is within their control, they must decide how to respond. 1884 asks: how is history recorded, and who is left outside of the room where history is written?


Make sure, this room, Shoreditch Town Hall Council Chamber is one you are not left out of to see this ground-breaking immersive experience. Tickets and further information on  1884, which runs from Wednesday 17th - Saturday 27th April, can be found at https://shoreditchtownhall.com/whats-on/1884


Top Image (c) Kerry Churcher

Below: 1884 by Coney @ Talawa Firsts_(c) Alex Brenner

OFFICIAL ALTERNATIVE GREAT ESCAPE STAGE

By Peter Anderson • 15 May, 2024
Impressive PR take over Brighton's Secret Comedy Club 42 Brighton Square, tomorrow to showcase music acts from all over the world. As part of The Great Escape, a festival for new music, showcasing 500 emerging artists from all over the world in 30+ walkable venues across the city and a pop-up festival site on Brighton Beach. It’s the first place to discover your new favourite artist and see them in an intimate setting before they go on to headline major festival stages. 12:00-12:25 Marissa Burwell (Canada) It doesn’t take long to get to know Marissa. In her blindingly personal work, Burwell writes about childhood, love, vertigo, and snow. With her captivating warm vocals and sharp prose, she effortlessly weaves an enchanting indie sound that flows between folk and rock, traversing sensuous melodies to exhilaratingly raucous moments. Hailing from the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, she made her remarkable debut with a self-titled EP in 2019. The overwhelmingly positive response to her EP opened doors to international opportunities and in 2022 Marissa proudly unveiled her debut full-length album, “Bittersweet”, which showcased her warm, summery voice and wry wit beneath its indie-folk exterior. She has graced the stage at renowned events like Hamburg’s Reeperbahn Festival, the New Colossus Festival in NYC, and multiple Canadian festivals including Breakout West, NXNE, Pop Montreal and SXSW. Burwell’s latest EP Either Way, released via Devil Duck Records features the clearest synthesis of Burwell’s spectrum of musical sensibilities yet with moments of warm musical tones featuring thick harmonies wrapped around guitars and gentle drumbeats while other moments showcase cathartic bursts of alternative rock, erupting in dizzying crescendos of hammering pianos. https://marissaburwell.com/ https://www.facebook.com/marissaburwellmusic 12:40 - 1:05 No Windows (Scotland) No Windows:The award-winning Edinburgh-based duo comprised of Verity Blossom (vocals/songwriting) and Morgan Morris (production/songwriting) fuse DIY, folk and classic pop on their second EP Point Nemo released on Fat Possum. Taking its name from the location farthest away from land in the world, the five track EP evokes wintry isolation, and marks a significant step forward for the duo, taking inspiration from the expansive sound-worlds of Elliott Smith and Cocteau Twins, their Scottish peers Cloth and Jacob Alon, and a shared musical curiosity that is all their own. The effortless musical chemistry comes from the tight relationship at its core as Verity and Morgan – now 19 and 18 – met as young teenagers at school in Edinburgh, after Morgan came across Verity – in the year above – who shared videos online of her singing. They quickly established a friendship and an artistic bond, with Verity adding her emotionally charged lyrics to Morgan’s bedroom recordings. https://fatpossum.com/collections/no-windows 1:20 - 1:45 HMS Morris (Wales) HMS Morris: are a bilingual, award-winning, female-fronted art-rock four-piece from Cardiff, Wales. Supported by the esteemed Bubblewrap Collective (Georgia Ruth, Boy Azooga, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzzard, Sweet Baboo), they've already released two critically acclaimed albums, Interior Design and Inspirational Talks, both Welsh Music Prize nominees and variously described as ‘Innovative, forward thinking pop music’ (Earthly Pleasures), ‘strange and beautiful music’ (Electronic Sound) and a 'multi-dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound' (Clash)’. https://hmsmorris.com/ 2:00 - 2:25 Hotel Mira (Canada) Hotel Mira: is a Canadian alt-rock band who are fresh from a string of stellar shows at SXSW. The band released their new single “Waste Away at the end of April via Light Organ Records. The quartet comprises of LA based charismatic front man and songwriter Charlie Kerr, guitarist Clark Grieve, Mike Noble on bass and drummer Cole George. While building off the sharp, indie pop hooks, Hotel Mira are exploring their widest set of sounds yet, vaulting from neon-trashy garage rock to festival-sized pop hooks and glam-bop balladry. Live Charlie performs in a way that feels uniquely part Iggy Pop, part go-go dancer, and part fourth wall breaking experimental theatre. He tells a story to the crowd through his masterful lyrics, hip-swaying melodies, and attentiveness to his audience that makes each person in the venue feel special. Mike, Cole and Clark provide a sweeping soundscape that makes it impossible not to be swept away in the melodrama and passion of each song they play. The band has supported many acts including Billy Talent, Fizzy Blood, The Beaches and Frank Lero (My Chemical Romance), and carried out multiple headlining tours of their own. https://www.facebook.com/hotelmiramusic/ https://www.instagram.com/hotelmiramusic/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@hotelmira https://www.hotelmiramusic.com/ 2:40 - 3:05 Asha Jefferies (Australia) Asha Jefferies: Hails from the Northern Rivers in Australia but raised in Brisbane, her debut album Ego Ride released in April this year, through Nettwerk Music Group. The album speaks to an audience of listeners searching for moments of self-reflection and authenticity. To date, Asha Jefferies has toured with and supported acts including Julia Jacklin, Stella Donnelly, and has played notable Australian festival slots at BIGSOUND, Icebreaker Festival, Against the Grain, Bluesfest, Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals. 3:20 - 3:45 My Life Story (England) My Life Story: are epic pop pioneers headed up by charismatic frontman, Jake Shillingford who released their fifth studio album ‘Loving You Is Killing Me’ in February via Exilophone Records/Republic Of Music. This follows their last critically acclaimed album ‘World Citizen’ released in 2019. The new album discusses themes of empathy, profaneness, vaingloriousness, coercive behaviour and naturism. The record, published by Mute Song, has been written and produced by Jake alongside Nick Evans and mixed by Ben Hillier who produced two Depeche Mode albums as well as working with Blur, Patrick Wolf, Nadine Shah and Peter Perrett. The record features this year’s singles: ‘Numb Numb Numb’, ‘Tits & Attitude’ and ‘I Am God’. The band became a pioneering force in the Britpop movement scoring 6 UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album inspiring the era's orchestral identity. Combining playful lyrics with epic pop, MLS formed in Southend in 1984. By the early 90s, Shillingford had grown the band into a flamboyant orchestral 11 piece with string and brass section. Their passionate, often chaotic live shows lead to Giles Martin (The Beatles) recording tracks for their debut album ‘Mornington Crescent’ after discovering them at the Marquee. Signed to Parlophone in 1996, the band released ‘The Golden Mile’ which spawned most hit singles including ‘12 Reasons Why I Love Her’, ‘Strumpet’ and ‘Sparkle’. ‘Joined Up Talking’ followed on Andrew Lloyd Webber's It Records in 2000, featuring sixth hit single, ‘It's A Girl Thing’. Many collaborations followed including Morrissey, The Pogues and Marc Almond. MLS performed Glastonbury Pyramid stage and Reading Festival 4 times. They supported Blur & Pulp and are one of the only bands to headline over Oasis. https://mylifestory.band/ Image above HMS Morris (c) Rhiannon Holland

Scotty McCreery releases "Rise and Fall"

By Peter Anderson • 14 May, 2024
“ …after more than a decade of successes, experimentation and growth in the genre’s top tier - the multi-faceted singer-songwriter has zeroed in on his truest sound with Rise and Fall. ” – Holler On the heels of his sixth No. 1 hit on the U.S. Country Aircheck/Mediabase Chart with lead single 'Cab in a Solo', Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery released his fifth studio album "Rise and Fall" last Friday. The North Carolina native knows all too well there’s a rhythm to life and a cycle of ups and downs. And right now, he’s on the upswing. “ I feel like we’re on the rise now, but I’ve fallen pretty low as well, ” McCreery admits. “I learned from every little part of that, and it helped me to know who I was as a person – let alone an artist. The rises and the falls helped craft these songs. They made this album what it is. I’ve been living with this record for months…it is more me than any I’ve ever made, and I’m so excited for the world to finally hear it,” added McCreery. “ Across the 13-track collection, McCreery exhibits his continued growth as a vocalist and songwriter, ” notes Holler , while Country Now calls it “ his best record yet, ” as Rise and Fall finds him exploring not only heartbreak but rowdy nights, nostalgia, faith, newfound joy, fatherhood and enduring love, resulting in a project full of insightful storytelling. The album was produced by McCreery’s longtime production team of Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis. McCreery co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on the album, which Billboard observes, “ Light-hearted fare such as ‘Stuck Behind a Tractor’ and ‘And Countin’’ mesh with heartbreak brushoffs such as ‘Lonely,’ the bluegrass-inflected album-closer ‘Porch’ and the faith-filled ‘Red Letter Blueprint. ’” It is available digitally as well as on CD and vinyl. In addition, Amazon is releasing a limited-edition forest green vinyl version of the album. “ I know every artist says it, but this is truly my favourite album I’ve made so far ,” shares McCreery. “ I wanted to create an album that reflected the music I grew up on and wasn’t chasing trends. So, I brought several of my songwriting buddies to the mountains of North Carolina to sit down and write a full-on country album that told a story, start to finish, and spoke to my soul. We’ve been performing most of the album live on the road and the response from the audiences has been overwhelming. I’m excited for everyone to finally hear Rise and Fall.” Now 30 years old and a seasoned country music veteran selling out concerts across the globe with six No. 1 hits under his belt, McCreery is also a dedicated husband and father, welcoming a son named Avery in 2022, whose impact on the singer is highlighted in several songs on the album. Recently, he even celebrated the milestone of all milestones for a guy who grew up on Randy Travis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Ronnie Milsap; he was invited by his musical hero Garth Brooks to become the newest member of the iconic Grand Ole Opry. McCreery was just welcomed into the Opry family last month by two more of his heroes, Josh Turner and Randy Travis. For more information on the album and Scotty, please check out his website & socials: - ScottyMcCreery.com | Facebook | X | Instagram | TikTok Image above (c) Jeff Ray
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