Photo By Sander Lamme

Abbey Road Studios  opens its doors in March for a once in a life time chance to see the workings of the legendary Studio Two, where iconic albums by The Beatles and Pink Floyd were recorded.

Visitors will receive unique access to archived photos and unheard recordings before attending a talk by the authors of the book Recording The Beatles, which explores the sonic creativity of landmark recordings as part of the studio’s 80 year anniversary celebrations.

Original vintage recording equipment used to produce seminal acts like Kate Bush and Oasis will be on display, and possibly the very microphones John Lennon sang into. For the rock aficionado this is seeing the big bang of modern music, which only rock gods usually get to experience.

Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, authors of Recording The Beatles, have put the tour talk together especially for Abbey Road’s anniversary celebrations, the accumulation of over 20 years into EMI’s history, to address the different genre’s recording methods and the studio’s impact on rock and classical.

Film buffs are accommodated too as Studio Two was used to record the soundtrack to modern epics, Star Wars, Lord of the Ring and Harry Potter. It’s still a working studio where Elbow recorded their theme to the 2012 Olympics, securing Abbey Road’s London Legacy.

You could also walk across the Abbey Road zebra crossing on your way there if you wanted to act like a tourist. Or just watch it from this nifty web-cam.

The Abbey Road Studios Talk take place twice daily between 9-11 and 23-25 March. Tickets are £75 through See Tickets. Abbey Road Studios, 3 Abbey Road, London, NW8 9AY

2012 has already been a phenomenal year for them. The Staves have toured the US and secured a tour with Michael Kiwanuka, while Lianne La Haves is playlisted on 6Music and booked to play the Southbank Centre, all thanks to Londonist of course.

But tonight’s show isn’t simply a dress rehearsal for mainstream Valhalla, it’s a celebration of genuine talent, laid bare to an expectant and volatile central London audience.

Not that The Staves have anything to feel threatened by as the sisters’ triplicate harmonies soon diffuse any doubts, possibly helped along by the iced buns and whisky which came to their rescue during the previous day’s snowy video shoot. This bantered confession is the first revelation; the sisters are really funny and just like any other young women, shunning the expected stoicism of family based acoustica.

Although the ethereal delicacy of Mexico cuddles the packed venue with its simple lyrical melody, there’s a liquor swigging edge. They’re not merely nice sisters singing ditties — there’s a down to earth Watford drawl amid the beauty of Icarus’ ebbing harmonies, giving a natural credibility which folk often lacks.

To brand them folk is unfair as their togetherness puts you in mind of a Mid-West dusty plain where they’ve no one else but each other, yet they refuse to get drawn in to a Nebraskan cliché. This American edge, highlighted by the occasional use of electric guitars and set-closing family acapella, gives The Staves a pedestal outside the parsley and sage paradigm, securing a broad appeal.

It’s fitting how Radio 2′s Folk Awards are taking place across town on the same night, as The Staves are sure to be contenders next year. But tonight they’re raw, risky and exciting in a tiny Soho basement glowing from a phenomenal performance, which belittles the inevitable First Aid Kit comparisons.

Lianna La Havas also eschews the female singer songwriter story-board by thrusting forth sheer musicianship. For such a young and dainty presence she uses her guitar as though she’s Bert Jansch. Her finger picking surpasses anything at the London Guitar Festival, but when combined with an immensely soulful voice it’s clear La Havas is a performer par excellence.

La Havas is able to play herself what lesser singers need two other musicians to achieve; such is the quality of her Prince-like talents. She’s wise enough to change her focus when needed such as on forthcoming single Forget, which relies on a rhythmic stomp and Amazonian cries rather than intricacy and sounds incredible for it.

There are flaws in La Havas’ set. She falls into the warbling diva trap on Gone and a dull Jill Scott cover. These forays into the mainstream are forgivable, however, as she quickly restores her jazzy Billie Holiday-esque skills, which on For Unusual border on drum and bass.

Encoring with an awkward song about a sugar daddy, shows she’s not quite at her full potential yet, but this will come with a more refined set. And it was always going to be tough surpassing the truly exceptional Staves.

Diana Vickers

Sony’s campaign for Diana Vickers’ solid debut album, “Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree”, was a bit of a curious affair. At the outset, things went well, with both the record and its taste-maker , “Once”, hitting number 1. The promotional push, however, quickly slowed down and the second single (the underrated “The Boy Who Murdered Love”) stalled outside the top 30.

So, instead of trying to turn things round with a further single release from the album (and, to be honest, there was actually quite a lot to choose from), the label surprisingly decided to re-launch Vickers with a brand new song, an all-over-the-place cacophony called “My Wicked Heart“. Despite a live X-Factor appearance, the new track failed to re-ignite interest in the project and Vickers and Sony promptly parted ways.

It is understandable, therefore, why Vickers’ new mini-tour, which last night arrived at Cargo in Shoreditch, sees her looking forward rather than back. In fact, the only song from the “Cherry Tree” era to get a an airing was “Once”. The rest of the show consisted of all-new material from her forthcoming second album, which – for the time being – remains untitled and without a set release date (although speculation points towards April/May).

You have to hand it to Blackburn’s finest – she certainly has guts. To sustain an audience’s attention for the duration of ten songs, of which only one has had any radio play (and, therefore, familiarity), requires confidence in your new material. And it was clear that not only is Vickers proud of her latest compositions, but she also has a thirst for showing them off to her fans. A test-drive, if you like. And a successful one, at that.

To give credit where credit is due, Vickerites were recently treated to a free download of two new songs played at the show (set opener, “Kiss Of A Bullet”, and the more-than-averagely-brilliant “Music To Make Boys Cry“), so, at least for some, the otherwise new set wasn’t all uncharted territory.

As a performer, Vickers is assured and charismatic and her live vocal performance last night was fairly faultless. During chit-chat time, we also learnt that two of her band-mates managed to get themselves arrested in Manchester after the previous night’s show. Vickers, quite hilariously, regaled the audience with the whys and wherefores of the near-cancellation of the show, managing to inject humour and fun into an already winning evening.

Of the new material showcased, the ones that stuck with us most were “Love Sounds Better In French”, “Lightning Strikes” and “Boy In Paris“. If one of these is not the next single, we’ll eat our respective berets. In ok to miss for the bar and/or loo corner were new songs “Dead Heat” and “Smoke”, which were just ok but nothing to prevent you from, er… diverting your attention from the stage in order to go to the bar and/or the loo.

All in all, it’s a bravo and a thumb held firmly up for an excellent show.

Kanye West is rumoured to be in Shoreditch right now, readying himself for a major announcement at 5pm this afternoon.

There are no details as to what’s happening yet; all there is the picture above, which superimposes a map of east London over the cover for Watch The Throne, his 2011 collaboration with Jay-Z. However, at a recent pop-up event in New York West announced tour dates, showed videos and sold albums from a storefront draped in a gold Riccardo Tisci-designed print. Same this time?

No venue has been confirmed yet, but an army of workshy hipster spotters are parading Shoreditch (no change there then) looking for the rapper. According to Twitter he’s been seen in Argos, Dalston Oxfam, and Nando’s, and we all know how truthful Twitter is.

If anyone gets any snaps then send them our way.

Creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky...

How good are you at spotting the best of new art? Last year’s The Minotaur and Pret A Diner exhibition in the Old Vic Tunnels included work from graffiti artist David Choe. He’s the man who recently went from relative anonymity to a great favourite of his relatives: his efforts at the offices of a social networking site may soon net him a cool $200m.

Before you dig out your own spray cans and head down to SE1, you may want to appreciate the latest crazy collage of live music, comedy, theatre, circus and film to be found in what is undoubtably one of the coolest venues in London. The Vault Festival runs over three weeks from 9-26 February and has a dazzling array of productions to get your teeth into. Some tasters of what to expect if you can bag a ticket:

• The Wonder Club (9-12 February) is a promenade performance where it pays to keep off the grass, stay on the path and avoid the wolves as you take on the mantle of Red Riding Hood around the dark tunnels. Expect circus, comedy, music and a sweet-toothed Granny. As the invite says: “No Cake, No Entry”.
• It’s creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky – it’s Hammer At The Vault‘s collection of schlock horror classics presented by the Flicker Club. Roll up for some old school chills care of Dracula, Frankenstein and Sherlock plus more modern fare like Let Me In. Remember the popcorn and the sofa to hide behind.
• Let your hair down as Eye Saw Theatre (23-26 February) do drama with the emphasis on entertainment and recreation. As Cher famously said, “it’s…not fucking Chekhov.”
• Descent (17 and 18 February) is neophile nirvana with its series of new works from up-and-coming writers, actors and directors including at least 7 different plays over two days.
• Get your laughing gear around the post-Valentine/anti-Valentine fix that is Brand New Love Story (24 February) as Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna ask “just how long can a one-night stand last?”  Quite a while, we reckon.

More information at the official Vault Festival website.

Fernando Espi gives a guitar masterclass

The death of the guitar has been tiresomely proclaimed by rock-centric commentators recently, but as the London Guitar Festival proves, the axe is thriving, especially in the world of classical guitars and finger picking.

The three day festival at Kings Place hosts the inaugural International Guitar Competition featuring the worlds best classical guitarists under the age of 30, as well as bringing the genre’s most distinguished guitarists to London for exclusive performances and workshops.

Performances include a rare UK show by the elegantly refined Spanish guitar and piano duo Duo Hermanos Cuenca, and the UK’s Vida Guitar Quartet. The award winning Fernando Espi will also be holding a unique workshop for solo classical guitarists — a perfect excuse to head to London’s guitar quarter on Denmark Street and treat yourself.

The mesmerising variety of the guitar is at the core of the festival, which shows that the instrument is much more than an emotional outlet for teenage boys. It is steeped in history, spanning from folk compositions to cigar box diddley bows.

Are the pessimists wrong? Is the guitar alive and well, with more brilliant players from all over the world than ever before, and with more composers writing for the instrument than at any time is the past? Well this is what the London Guitar Festival will address, and judging by the quality of performers they have booked, it’s all looking pretty good.

The London Guitar Festival , 8-10 March, Kings Place, 90 York Way  London N1 9AG. Prices for workshops and performances vary, so check www.igf.org.uk for details.

So this is the deal: you bring your (fully charged!) mp3 player as well as your headphones and, faced with a complete stranger, foist your favourite song (or indeed the song that you think would make you seem cool/intelligent/alternative — delete as applicable) on said stranger whilst they do the same to you, in the hope that your respective aural taste-buds might click in musical harmony.

On paper this sounds like a brilliant idea. In reality? Well, we reckon it might also work brilliantly in practice. Let’s face it, music — as Madonna once said — makes the people come together. Madonna knows her stuff. Well, perhaps apart from when it comes to directing films. But this is a contentious point and we’re digressing. Besides, quite a lot of us might like artists that none of our friends are into, so even if this endeavour doesn’t get you a date, there’s still a plausible chance you might meet a like-minded gig buddy.

In an ideal world, love should be blind (though not deaf, in this instance), but we would suggest dressing up for the occasion. Also — choose your tunes well. First impressions are important. What’s a well-chosen tune? That all depends on your personality. But, ultimately, if you’ve thought it over and you want to be represented by a rare Smiths b-side or a Saturdays album track, who’s to say you nay?

Doors open at 7pm with the fun kicking off at 8pm. And after you’ve done your bit of DJ-dating, there’ll be some general mingling and dancing to be done from 10pm onwards. For ticket information click hither.

We’d also love to hear what you plan to or would otherwise play to prospective dates on this or a theoretical Speed Listening night so be sure to leave us a comment with your choon-of-choice.

With so much going on in London the whole time, it is very easy just to live from day to day. Some events, however, are worth thinking that little bit ahead for, simply to ensure that we don’t miss out on the most prized tickets. This is certainly true of Reverb 2012, the festival of cutting-edge contemporary classical music that now appears at the Roundhouse in less than three weeks’ time (24-26 February and 3-4 March).

Reverb 2012 celebrates a new generation of performers who have broken away from staging ‘traditional’ classical concerts, redefined the rules and shattered boundaries. The Roundhouse, with its unique space, atmosphere and heritage, is at the forefront of seeing artists create new music with inspiring visuals and genre-defying collaborations.

In this Olympic year, the theme of Reverb 2012 is love and truce, and the calibre of the performers could not be higher. The festival begins on 24 February with The Night Shift, which sees the 90-piece Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Sir Mark Elder, recreating the sounds of 19th-century Paris in Hector Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet. The evening also includes live sets from the Roundhouse Music Collective with their unique blend of alternative classical, jazz and electronica, and DJs throughout the Roundhouse foyers. In the lead-up to their Roundhouse performance, players from the OAE will be touring pubs all over London spreading that unique Night Shift atmosphere right across the capital.

Other highlights include the Aurora Orchestra on 25 February performing Love Song for the City, which moves from the desolate post-war German cities of Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen to the dizzying growth of modern New York as imagined by Michael Gordon in Gotham. Throughout, Bill Morrison’s breathtaking black-and-white film enriches this visceral contemporary classic. The following evening sees Imogen Heap perform her a cappella soundtrack for the 1928 French surrealist silent film The Seashell and the Clergyman, with acclaimed UK choir The Holst Singers.

In this short space we can only mention a few of the performances on offer, and indeed only some of the ‘acts’ within each concert, so we recommend that you check out the Reverb 2012 website for full details. All performances will be streamed live on the Roundhouse website and on Roundhouse Radio but, since there’s nothing quite like the live experience, we recommend that you make a date with one or more of the innovative performances on offer.

Photo: Reverb 2012 opens with The Night Shift, performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Sir Mark Elder, © Joe Plommer

Porcelain Raft

Tuesday: the Upset the Rhythm Kingdom Tour comes to Café Oto with Gentle Friendly, Way Through, and Peepholes.

Wednesday: the ever popular New York indie rockers Nada Surf are at Koko.

Thursday: surf poppers Hooded Fang are at Old Blue Last.

Friday: electro-rockers AWOLNATION are at the Garage.

Saturday: another chance to catch Hooded Fang when they play with Eagulls and History of Apple Pie at Barfly.

Sunday: sunshiny psych rocker Porcelain Raft is at the Garage.

Lots more gigs going on at Londongigs.net

Their inclusion in our Ones To Watch list was earned following a mesmerizing Lexington show which teetered on the edge of disjointed drone, yet maintained composure by transcending lo-fi shoegaze into an ethereal post-punk. Think The Fall’s bite, with Ride’s melody and the ingenuity of These New Puritans and the scope of Fever Dream’s abilities become apparent. Debut single This Waste oozes apocalyptic guitars yet remains hauntingly distant and subtle. It’s discerning noisy dream-pop for people with angular sensibilities.

They formed while Sarah Lippett (bass) and Cat Loye (drums) were on a drunken jaunt around America, then forcefully recruited Cat’s former Esiotrot band member Adey Fleet on guitar and vocals. In true indie spirit the three Brighton University friends started writing after returning from All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2010, playing their first gig that Christmas.

We spoke to Adey to find out more.

What do Fever Dream sound like in a sentence?
Kittens eating cupcakes with broken glass centres.

Describe your musical philosophy to us.
To play songs loud enough so no one can hear you mess up, or you’re out of tune. And to rip off enough bands in each song that they almost end up sounding original.

Who are your influences music and non-music?
We all have different musical leanings but we’re collective fans of noisy 90s stuff like Pavement, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, and most of the Postcard back catalogue. I think we’d all agree that Philip K. Dick is a true hero, and Neil Buchanan inspired us to attend art school.

In what area of London are you based, and how has that area influenced Fever Dream’s music?
We’re dotted around various parts of east London, so we’re lucky to be amongst some fantastic bands and venues. It’s easy to get to gigs of friends’ bands, have them come to yours, and to record and practice in the same spaces. I wouldn’t say we’re part of a scene as most of the bands we hang out with are pretty different to us, but I think that’s healthy.

What’s your favorite London venue and why?
Of the venues we’ve played so far, The Lexington stands out – they have a mini-fridge with TWO types of beer backstage, and the whiskey selection is outstanding. The great sound helps too. We were big fans of Barden’s Boudoir before its untimely demise, and nothing seems to have filled its sweaty boots yet.

What’s the London gig circuit like for bands starting out?
We’ve had some fantastic gigs with great promoters like OddBox, Scared to Dance and HDIF, who’ve taken a chance on us and are genuinely interested in promoting new music. But you still have some gigs where you’re supporting a Kooks covers band and you have to guarantee you’ll bring 500 friends before you get a free beer.

If you could have yourself projected on any building in London, which would it be and why?
Something Brutalist like The Hayward Gallery or the Barbican, for that authentic Blade Runner feel.

What’s your favourite…
…London monument?
 THE Monument – the climb is scary but the view makes it worthwhile.
 …Tube line and why?
Sarah would probably say the DLR but I’m going for the Overground.
… Place to hang out?
If only for the beer, the Jolly Butchers in Stoke Newington.
… Area for food, China Town or Brick Lane?
Brick Lane!

Where would Fever Dream like to play if they could play anywhere in London?
The revolving restaurant at the top of the BT Tower would be fun. I think we could pull off playing some lounge jazz there if we had to.

How exciting is to be releasing your debut single?
Bed-wettingly so, everything seems to have come together quite nicely. It was recorded at the end of last year at the new Soup Studios, and we’re really proud of how it’s ended up sounding. It’s our first release so it’s kinda nerve-racking to see how it’s received, but the guys at Underused Records have been fantastic in promoting it.

What’s been Fever Dream’s career highlight?
Playing in a public toilet in Berlin to a bunch of punks – and a fake fish tank.

What are your future plans?
To play in more public conveniences, all around the World. We also have plans for a long-player on Underused in the works.

Fever Dream play a single launch party, Friday 3 February @ The Others, Stone Newington, 6-8 Manor Road, N16 5SA. Their Debut single This Waste is released 6 February on Underused Records.

Luckily this year you can join in. Tickets to attend the NME awards go on sale tomorrow morning, and tickets for a special Brit Awards Party in aid of War Child will be available from Saturday. Both feature unique performances from London’s best talent.

OK, you won’t be treading the red carpet (your mates don’t have to know that) but opportunities to see Florence Welch collaborate with the Horrors at the NME awards and Damon Albarn with Graham Coxon in their first show together since the phenomenal Blur reunion shows simply cannot be missed.

Tickets for the NME Awards @ Brixton Academy, 29 February are on sale 9am Friday 3 February through See Tickets.

Red carpet photo by Alex_Pink via the Londonist Flickrpool.

Left at the wayside for much of the 2000s while producers stripped techno to its bare essentials or tested the durability of their subwoofers, this decade has seen the re-emergence of house music from clubland’s dark corners. Producers are taking solace in the form’s purity, from UK upstarts like Julio Bashmore and Pearson Sound shackling UK Bass signifiers to 4×4 rhythms, to Berlin’s Motor City Drum Ensemble and Dublin’s Space Dimension Controller reveling in forging deep, cosmic atmospheres.

But for all these new directions, house music is often at its best when left in its classic form – stabbed piano chords, high-hat splashes and diva invocations. It’s a view espoused by Azari and III, the team-up of Canadian musicians Dinamo Azari and Alixander III who come to London this week to launch their self-titled album. The band jet in from Toronto, fast becoming a dance music hub with acts like The Art Department and Basic Soul Unit finding sanctuary from the eternal blizzards in House’s warm atmospheres. This album launch seems somewhat delayed, their self-titled record being readily available on import for the last six months. Whatever, you don’t need an excuse for a party.

Their twin anthems Hungry for The Power and Reckless With Your Love were everywhere in 2010, mixing timeless elements into vital dancefloor destroyers. If you enjoyed Hercules and Love Affair but found their take on house somewhat sterile, a little safe, Azari and III’s album is a lot more muscular — the  band dubbed it “the soundtrack to dancing like your life depends on it.” Take album cut Undecided, whose frenzied synths and sleazy nocturnal vibes invoke a monstrous splicing of Lords of Acid with  Soft Cell’s Sex Dwarf. On a car journey over Christmas my own mother turned this track off claiming she’d probably have to be on drugs to enjoy it – always the hallmark of an absolute banger.

The pair don’t adhere to the two guys behind a mixer formula either, employing the fabulously named singers Fritz and Cedric to add to the party atmosphere. The two vocalists look like they’ve stumbled off the set of Madonna’s Vogue video — little surprise that the band are rumored to be supporting Madge on her 2012 tour. This being their only London date, Thursday’s show at Heaven marks a great opportunity to catch these guys in the intimate setting their sound demands. The UK economy shouldn’t be the only thing getting down this week.

Azari & III play Heaven on Thur 2 February. Tickets are available here.

Image from radio1interactive Flickr account under a Creative Commons Licence

Our pick of the new dance, theatre, art and classical music on offer in London this week

DANCE: London’s dance scene is fighting the cold winter blues with two exotic shows opening tonight: head to Argentinia (metaphorically) with Strictly Come Dancing’s Vincent and Flavia in Midnight Tango at the Aldwych Theatre; or warm yourself with South African rhythms with Umoja at the Peacock Theatre. More enigmatic but perhaps less exotic is The Dream / Song of the Earth at the Royal Opera House from tomorrow.

THEATRE: Two slick, smart comedies of manners open in London tonight. Mind your Ps and Qs and take your pick from The Importance of Being Earnest at the Theatre Royal Haymarket; or the star-studded She Stoops To Conquer at the National. Elsewhere, you can see a double bill of new, short plays under the title, ANGLE at the Bush from tomorrow; The Pitchfork Disney opens at the Arcola Theatre. The links between love, sex and madness are on the menu on Thursday, as The Changeling opens at the Young Vic and Les Liaisons Dangereuses opens at the Barbican. And on Monday, Russell Tovey and Jaime Winstone star in a new play called Sex With A Stranger (careful if you’re googling it) at the Trafalgar Studios.

CLASSICAL: The London Symphony Orchestra has an affinity with the music of Claude Debussy, and with American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas: the orchestra tackles music by the French impressionist composer this week. Tomorrow night, the LSO performs a programme culminating in a performance of tone poem La Mer at the Barbican.

WORLD/FOLK: BBC Radio 3′s World Routes programme broadcasts music from the far edges of the world and has recently released an “On the Road” album compilation. To celebrate the fact, presenter Lucy Duran welcomes Azerbaijani and Indian musicians to the Front Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a FREE rush-hour performance at 5.30pm on Friday.

ART: Tate Britain’s latest show, Migrations: Journeys into British Art looks at the influence foreign artists have had on British painting over the last 500 years. It opens today. Over at the Hayward, the much-anticipated new David Shrigley exhibition, Brain Activity, opens tomorrow. Look out for stuffed dogs alongside animation, sculpture, painting and music. We also like the sound of Her Maj: Sixty Years of Unofficial Portraits of the Queen at the Cartoon Museum from tomorrow. And if you’re by the Royal Academy but you can’t get David Hockney tickets, it might be worth checking out Nicholas Hawksmoor: Architect of the Imagination, looking at his beautiful baroque creations and the people he inspired. The show opens on Saturday.

Anything we’ve missed that you’re really looking forward to seeing this week? Let us know in the comments below.

We have listings for ongoing shows at London’s top museums on our Museums and Galleries page

Like Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Richard Strauss’s opera is the story of an ageing man of status who attempts to stand between two young lovers. The added irony in Der Rosenkavalier is that the youth who steals the beautiful Sophie’s heart is the person whom Baron Ochs had commissioned to secure his own betrothal to her.   

When David McVicar’s production first burst onto the English National Opera stage in 2008 it was an instant success. The single set had found a way of capturing the three distinct areas in which the drama takes place by creating a sumptuous interior containing columns and chandeliers, but also cracking plaster. In the various scenes different parts of it were then covered up with ‘metal’ curtains to create three unique spaces.  

Of course, it helped that the original production had a stellar cast. This time around, several of the original principals reprise their roles, and something rather marvellous has happened.  The cast that was so strong four years ago suddenly sounds even better.

Amanda Roocroft as the Feldmarschallin is at the height of her game, her voice radiating out with a power that never sacrifices any of the sensitivity that is required when lamenting lost youth and love. Sarah Connolly combines her secure, resonant voice with a range of subtle gestures that perfectly capture the predicaments that Octavian, who becomes the Rosenkavalier, finds himself in.   

The production also benefits from possessing two of the best actors in the operatic business. Sir John Tomlinson has played the largest and most serious parts in all of opera, but here as Baron Ochs reveals his unparalleled flair for comedy. Andrew Shore handles the role of Herr von Faninal with his trademark expertise for timing. Sophie Bevan is also delightful as his daughter, Sophie, while Gwyn Hughes Jones puts in an excellent performance as the Singer.  

By the time we have added in Edward Gardner’s exceptional conducting, it is impossible to do anything other than recommend an immediate trip to see Der Rosenkavalier.        

Until 27 February (seven performances) with start times of 17:30 or 18:30. Tickets: 0871 911 0200 or from the ENO website.

Photo: Sarah Connolly as Octavian, aka the Rosenkavalier, © Clive Barda.

Wild Flag by John Clark

Tonight: smooth-crooning hip-hop team Gym Class Heroes is at Koko.

Tuesday: fresh off of his lecture at Oxford, former Wu-Tang-er GZA will be at Islington Academy.

Wednesday: post-riot grrl supergroup Wild Flag are at the Electric Ballroom. Grotesque punks Misfits are at Islington Academy with JuiceheaD.

Thursday: freak-folk singer Beth Jeans Houghton and her band the Hooves of Destiny are at the Garage.

Friday: dub-step duo Sam Sure and Giacomo are at Koko.

Saturday: doo-wop garage rocker Hanni El Khatib is at the Borderline.

There are lots more gigs to go to this week – have a look at londongigs.net

Autoheart striking-a-pose-there's-nothing-to-it

Autoheart (née The Gadsdens) released one of 2009′s best singles, The Sailor Song. They then took some time off to write and record their debut album with Coldplay producer, Danton Supple. The as-yet-untitled long-player will be released later on this year and will also include the critically-acclaimed current single, Control.

Kicking off what promises to be an exciting year for the London five-piece is a live show at Barfly in Camden this coming Wednesday. Here, front-man Jody Gadsden not only (patiently!) answers some of our probings but also gives us (and you, lucky folk) an exclusive listen to Edit, a new Autoheart track, never previously released.

Where was the first London venue you played live and what are your memories from that experience?
The first venue I played in London was the Bedford when it was in Baker Street — I think it’s in Balham now. I was 20 years old and it was just me and my guitar in this underground cave-like venue with odd UV lighting. My mother and best friend were in the crowd and I was petrified. The audience were very sweet and clapped politely but I sang all 3 songs about 2 feet away from the mic so they probably only heard some muffled grunting alongside some terrible guitar playing. I like to think I’ve improved since then.

Do you have a favourite London venue to see shows at?
I like the Scala in King’s Cross. It’s large enough to get lost in but somehow manages to retain that level of intimacy you get from much smaller venues. I’ve seen some wonderful acts there and have a lot of fond memories of the place. I also love the Union Chapel in Islington – I think when you mix the old age history and beauty of church interiors in general with contemporary music it can be quite a magical partnership. When we supported the Hidden Cameras at St. Leonards Church in Shoreditch a few years back it was especially surreal; looking at the audience sitting on pews and seeing all the religious iconology of centuries before adorned on the walls. Equal parts odd and equal parts lovely.

What’s your ‘local’?
I have two, The Nelsons Head off Hackney Road and The Elderfield in Clapton. Nelsons because they have a great, eclectic jukebox and lots of my friends go there – it has that home from home vibe about it and it’s very dog friendly  – I love dogs. The Elderfield is really relaxed and a little off the beaten track – I had a great New Year’s there once and the staff are always very warm and friendly.

You live in Hackney. Name the best thing and the worst thing about where you live.
The best thing about Hackney is that It attracts people not only from other countries but from around the UK and London and the constant flux and interaction of the different cultures and experiences ensure it’s a dynamic and exciting place to live. There’s always something to be inspired by in Hackney but while there are many creative people in the area, its lack of small-mindedness makes it difficult to get too self-involved or pretentious.

Worst thing – The downside of its ‘creative’ reputation is that it does attract some who are only interested in being in the place they think is ‘currently’ happening. They have no real interest in Hackney as a place or as a community. The riots last year exposed some of those attitudes, as people who moved to the area for the cultural cache started demanding the kids they live alongside be shot in the street.

If you could afford to live anywhere in London where would it be and why?
I would stay East definitely. I was born in Dagenham and grew up in Upminster so I’ve always lived in or around the eastbound District line. But if I could afford anywhere – perhaps De Beauvoir or Canonbury although that’s veering into N1 postcode territory. There are some lovely properties around there and the new overground links mean it’s easy to get around in the area.

Is there a London club you can guarantee you’d have a great night out at?
Oh My God I Miss You put on some great nights at the Bethnal Green Working Man’s Club. Grind A Go-Go plays Sixties Garage, the night is like Rosemary’s Baby meets Valley of the Dolls. And Jailhouse Jam is unabashed rock and roll and great fun. I’m more of a pub than a club person but I’ve always had a lot of fun at these nights and recommend them whole-heartedly.

Boris bikes — a sensible way to tone up the buns or “no thanks, I’ll take the tube”?
I love riding bikes but not in London — I’m too accident prone, I’d probably die within minutes if I took to the streets during rush hour, sadly. I give much kudos to those who do it daily to and from work. And their legs and bums would certainly benefit from the exercise. But I skip in my spare time, no joke, so my legs and bum are just fine without the cycling. I thought after visiting Barcelona years ago that London should adopt a similar scheme so I’m glad that the idea has finally been actualised.

Where would you take visitors from out of town to eat in London?
There a couple of nice Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road which are fairly reasonable in price and very tasty as well as the infamous Indian cuisine on Brick Lane. Dim Sum at Shanghai is always good. Dalston also has some of the best Turkish restaurants in London so I’d take them there as well.  Some of the Pubs around Victoria Park like The Britannia and The Hemmingway do great traditional Sunday roasts too.

Are you looking forward to the Olympics or are you not bothered?
I am and I’m not. I live literally 400 meters away from the Stadium so come summer time it’s going to be absolutely hell getting to and from my home. But I’m sure there will be a real buzz in the air when the Olympics are in full swing. I’m just deeply concerned with how our transport infrastructure is going to cope with the massive influx of people. I don’t envy the current Secretary of State for Transport, and I hope she has some pretty hefty contingency plans up her sleeves!

What can fans and new Autoheart listeners expect from your forthcoming Barfly gig?
We’re showcasing tracks from our debut album. So, new songs and of course a couple of old ones. We’ve been rehearsing the album meticulously over the past few months in preparation for the year ahead. I’m going on shopping trip on Sunday for a gig outfit, so you’ll have that unveil to look forward to at the Barfly gig. The red shirt or the white shirt? The black boob-tube or the brown leather waistcoat – what’ll it be? You’ll have to turn up to see!

You can get tickets for Autoheart’s Barfly show on 1st of Feb here. And below is an exclusive stream of brand new Autoheart track, Edit.

ART / EXHIBITIONS:

Other new shows opening this week include Jane McAdam Freud’s sculpture of her father at the Freud Museum from tomorrow; The Artists’ Eye: Mapping the Change about the developments in East London around the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Hackney Museum, also from tomorrow; and the intriguing-sounding Golden Spider Silk at the V&A: a display of large textiles woven from spider silk. (Did you know it’s believed Louis XIV had a full suit made from the stuff?!)

THEATRE: The Trial Of Ubu is this week’s first theatre recommendation. This new satirical play, at the Hampstead Theatre, sees an amoral megalomaniac brought before an international tribunal. It promises to be a funny and unsettling play. The Bee opens at the Soho Theatre on Thursday: Hideki Noda’s acclaimed drama based on the short story, Plucking At Each Other. Also opening on Thursday is The House of Bernarda Alba at the Almeida Theatre, starring Iranian stage and screen star Shohreh Aghdashloo. On Friday, you can see Father Ted’s Ardal O’Hanlon in Conor McPherson’s Dublin-set drama Port Authority, at the Southwark Playhouse.

OPERA: Look out for Cosi Fan Tutte at the Royal Opera House from Friday. It’s performed in Italian with English surtitles, and features contemporary staging; or Der Rosenkavalier at the London Coliseum, starring Sarah Connolly in the title role, with Sophie Bevan as the innocent Sophie.

JAZZ: Kings Place brings together three jazz heavyweights this weekend in a mini-series that goes beyond standard gig formats. The three headliners – trumpeter Jay Phelps, saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch (recently profiled here), and Latin pianist Alex Wilson – will all perform together as well as running their own very different gigs. Featuring a big band, concept album and concerto for the kora (the West African harp) this is as varied as modern jazz gets.

CLASSICAL: Young cellist Oliver Coates is an Artist in Residence at Southbank Centre, which means he gets to curate his own concerts under the title Harmonic Series (see the video below). On Sunday, Coates has put together an evening of classical, folk and electronic music, and poetry. And it’s only a fiver.

DANCE: Choose between Ivan Putrov – Men In Motion at Sadler’s Wells (a celebration of the male form in motion), and La Fille Mal Gardee, a performance by the Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Anything we’ve missed that you’re really looking forward to seeing this week? Let us know in the comments below.

We have listings for ongoing shows at London’s top museums on our Museums and Galleries page

28 January @ Kings Cross Social Club

Since 2009, Scared To Dance has become London’s premier club night for indiepop, spearheading a resurgent indie scene, thanks to the enthusiasm of its founder Paul Richards.

He hosts a phenomenal night at Kings Cross Social Club on Saturday 28 January with seven DJs playing seven songs each as part of Where Its At Is where You Are’s 7777777 singles club project which saw monthly releases of a special vinyl.

Guest DJs include indie legends Robert Rotifer, Tender Trap and Franz Ferdinand’s Nick McCarthy. They join a formidable history of guests such as Robin Ince and footballer turned indie superstar Pat Nevin, playing perfect indiepop from Joy Division and Depeche Mode to Wave Pictures and Standard Fare.

Fans are invited to make song suggestions through their Facebook page as well as picking up Scared to Dance fanzines and membership cards on the night, creating an atmosphere even the shyest wallflower can enjoy.

Indiepop is thriving in London with wonderful bands such as Allo Darlin’ and events such as London Popfest. Historically every scene needs its club, be that Trash for noughties electro or Blitz for the New Romantics, Scared to Dance is the club for indiepop.

As well as being a bi-monthly club, Scared to Dance promotes gigs including an excellent Shrag show featuring our Ones to Watch Fever Dream, which are essential events for any discerning music fan.

Richards said:

There is a real buzz around the London indiepop scene and it feels as if everything is about to take off, like a second wave of indiepop. I’m not sure if anyone else feels that, but I certainly do.

Scared to Dance Takes place 28 January @ Kings Cross Social Club, with the Seven 7s DJs 9pam-2am,  £3 for members £5 non-members and 11 February @ The Albany, W1.

Nat Baldwin

Tonight, Dirty Projectors’ Nat Baldwin is solo at Cargo.

Tuesday, Norwegian synth poppers Casiokids are at Cargo. Post-hardcore band La Dispute are at the Borderline.

Wednesday, the Loose Salute are at Hoxton Underbelly to promote their latest collection of alt-country tunes. Twangy singer-songwriter Lindi Ortega is at 12 Bar.

Thursday, hot young things Howler are at XOYO with Zulu Winter.

Friday, producer extraordinaire Lee Scratch Perry is at Jazz Café.

Fancy a blast from the past? 90s R&B sensations Boyz II Men are celebrating 20 years together with a new album and a show at Brixton Academy. If you want something significantly less smooth, Pulled Apart By Horses are at Barfly.

Find more gigs at londongigs.net

A nice song and splendid video for a Friday afternoon. Chanteuse June Caravel sings an a capella ode to London, where almost every noun is the name of a local street.

We could Ask the Mermaid and the Blue LionTo Join us on the Sugar Quay if they’re Not on a Pilgrimage to the Moon
If they Are, Let’s Ask the Angel and the Bride I know they’re on the Cheapside

Get the full lyrics here.

Now in its fourth year London Popfest is treating the city to four days of indiepop loveliness across four different venues, with a line-up to make us go…phwoar.

Shrag, Allo’ Darlin and Comet Gain are amongst the acts for the profit-free indiepop festival, which hosts shows across various venues including the Lexington and 100 Club between 23 and 26 February.

Expect a wonderful handclap-filled weekend of boys with vintage jackets and girls in pretty dresses celebrating innovative independent music, with fans excitedly nattering about new bands and sharing fanzines. OK, maybe a bit of a stereotype, but it will be fantastic.

The festival started after organisers spent hours drinking and dancing at the original New York Popfest and realised London needed something equally as great. Popfests have popped up across Europe since 2009, and although not directly connected they all support and encourage one another.

This DIY nature of the festival, free from commercialism and rooted in fanzine culture, brings together everything that’s good about old and new indiepop and creates new fans for the bands coming through the thriving scene.

Organised by a team at the top of the indiepops, Fortuna Pop’s Sean Price, Marianthi Makra of Atomic Beat Records, Ian Cowen from ace indiepoppers Pocketbooks and John Jervis from WIAIWYA Records, London Popfest is the embodiment of great alternative pop music.

The line up so far is:

• Thursday 23 February @ Bull & Gate
  MJ Hibbett
  One Happy Island (USA)
  Cats on Fire (Finland)
  The School

• Friday 24 February @ The Grosvenor
  The Give It Ups
  The Sock Puppets
  Tunabunny (USA)
  Shrag

• Saturday 25 February @ 100 Club
  The Hobbes Fanclub
  Tigercats
  Ace Bushy Striptease
  This Many Boyfriends
  Dignan Porch
  Comet gain
  Allo Darlin’

• Sunday 26 February @ The Lexington
  Electrophonevantage
  Haiku Salut
  Rosie Taylor Project
  The Just Joans

London Popfest takes place 23-26 February at various locations. Weekend tickets are £27.50 plus booking fee, through We Got Tickets, day tickets (except for Friday) are also available. Check www.londonpopfest.com for full details.

The first major change is a switch from the Boogaloo across North London to Highbury and Islington’s Buffalo Bar, and the second is a move from a Sunday afternoon to a Friday night.

Two thousand and twelve has already started pretty brightly for the organisers, as they woke up one cold January morning to find previous event headliner Michael Kiwanuka had topped the BBC’s influential Sound of 2012 poll. With a talent spotting pedigree established it seems worth keeping an eye on both Louis Brennan and Anothers Blood, who play on the 27 January. Louis is himself no stranger to Brighter Later having rendered the room silent on his last outing, but somewhat like the night, has undergone his own transformation to incorporate synths and a new band.

Brighter Later is on the 27th of January. Tickets are £5, with more details on Facebook. Doors open at 8pm and continue until late with Drowned In Sound and Thomas Bloody Hannan Djing into the early hours.

By John Wilkes

See also: London Music Ones To Watch in 2012

Fanfarlo play Scala 1 March

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon is offering local London bands the opportunity to support him at his forthcoming headline show at the HMV Forum on 25 April.

Bands wanting to play can be nominated by uploading a YouTube video onto Graham Coxon’s website  with fans invited to like on Facebook or share on Twitter to show their support, although the final decision as to who plays is Coxon’s.

Leading the pack at the moment is Sean de Burca, an instrumental acoustic fingerpicking guitarist from Kent who stands head and shoulders above the majority nominations – mainly boring boys with guitars.

Far from boring are Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who return to London to headline the Royal Albert Hall on 18 and 20 June, as part of their first major UK gigs in over a decade.

The dates will be the legendary American songwriter’s only mainland shows, the others being Dublin and the Isle of Wight festival, with spare tickets likely to be rarer than a free seat on the 8.15am Northern Line from Archway. 

Other Americans booking their flights into Heathrow are The Shins who bring their swooning indie dream-pop to the HMV Forum in Kentish Town on 22 March. The All Tomorrows Parties show is in support of their frankly fantastic forthcoming long player Port of Morrow, and their only UK date.

London indie folk collective Fanfarlo return to the city’s gig scene with a headline show at Scala on 1 March in support of their ace second album Rooms Filled With Lights.

Tickets for Tom Petty and The Shins (£20+bf) go on sale Friday 20 January at 9am and 10am, through The Royal Albert Hall and ATP websites respectively. Graham Coxon (17.50+bf) and Fanfarlo  (£11+bf) are available now through See Tickets.

Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson

In November it hosted Britain’s first Latin American Piano Festival; now Cuban pianist and composer Eralys Fernandez, a key organiser of that event, returns for the UK premiere of the Alta Gracias tango by Carlos Farinas. She will also perform works by the renowned Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and ‘the Schubert of the Pampas’, Argentinian Carlos Guastavino as well as her own arrangement for piano of Quirino con su tres by Eliseo Grenet.

The evening opens with Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson playing Cavatina by Stanley Myers – best known as the theme from The Deer Hunter – followed by Catalan composer Isaac Albeniz‘s Asturias and Koyumbaba by Carlo Domeniconi. After the interval, violinist Emma Blanco joins Dickinson for Historia del Tango, followed by Bartok‘s Five Romanian Dances and the Allemande and Gigue for solo violin from Bach’s Partita II. The evening will be rounded off with a recital from mezzo soprano Sarah-Jane Lewis, accompanied by pianist Neus Guiu.

Proceeds from the evening will go towards buying sports equipment for Cuban school children, to be donated later this year as a contribution to mark London’s Olympic year.

Cuban Classical Concert, Friday 20 January, 7.15pm at Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T5DL (two minutes from Warren Street tube). Tickets £10 at the door or from www.ratb.org.uk Tel: 0207 684 7463

South London Black Music Archive- click for full map

A map of major black music landmarks in South London — from venues and record shops to street corners and radio stations — has been created for the South London Black Music Archive (SLMBA), which explores the fascinating history and influence of black music south of the river.

The Harry Beck-inspired map, which connects such legendary locations as Rat Records, Porky’s Wine Bar and the Ninja Tune offices, is a unique highlight of  the SLBMA exhibition, which opens 17 January at Peckham Space.

Acting as an ‘open archive’, the SLMBA encourages the public to contribute their own additions to the map, to build a comprehensive record of key places in South London for black music as well as depicting people’s personal experiences.

Artist Barby Asante has ensured the exhibition contains an array of memorabilia such as records, posters and stories to highlight seminal moments in black music history. Asante said:

The influence of black music on the development on popular music is often overlooked. Black music has also played a significant role in the development of British culture from the 1950′s and this is a great opportunity to provide a platform for people to consider the significance of this cultural activity on their lives.

A specially commissioned vinyl record accompanies the exhibition containing inspirational songs chosen by members of Leaders of Tomorrow — a mentoring program supporting underachieving learners aged 14-18 — with exclusive artwork by the Åbäke collective.

The record also makes up an audio soundscape to complement the exhibition, alongside recordings explaining why the songs, including tracks my Adele, Prince Nico and Bob Dylan, were chosen.

The South London Black Music Archive takes place at Peckham Space, Camberwell College of Art, 89 Peckham High Street, London SE15 5RS 17 January – 24 March, Free entry. Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 11am-4pm, closed Sundays, Mondays.

This week’s big new blockbuster is surely David Hockney’s new show at the Royal Academy of Arts. David Hockney RA: A Bigger Picture examines the artist’s return to East Yorkshire, and his desire to paint the landscapes of his childhood. Look out for the 50-odd iridescent iPad drawings, and his experimentation with split screen film documentaries too.

Elsewhere in art and exhibitions, we recommend the free Samsung Art+ Prize show for new media art, on display at the BFI Southbank from tomorrow; Arnold Newman at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs from tomorrow, another freebie, showing portraits of Truman Capote, Henry Miller and Martha Graham, among others; and Meetings in Marrakech: The Paintings of Hassan El Galoui and Winston Churchill from Friday in the gorgeous surrounds of Leighton House: it costs about a fiver.

In a rather packed week, we also like the sound of Scott’s Last Expedition at the Natural History Museum from Friday; Sense The City Photography Project on display at the London Transport Museum from Saturday, and, if you’re in the Royal Festival Hall from Friday this week, be sure to check out the Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana in the Level 2 foyers.

Our classical music selection this week is The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 20-day festival celebrating the brilliant music of early-20th century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev on Friday. Early reviews confirm it’s going to be good. The LPO’s charismatic Russian Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski is artistic director of the series, which has the subtitle “Man of the people?”

For contemporary music fans, check out the Kronos Quartet. A string quartet like no other, for nearly 40 years the Kronos Quartet has pushed the boundaries of what a string quartet can do: contemporary classical and jazz to world music collaborations. The quartet are in London from Saturday with three gigs in a trio of venues: American minimalism at Hackney Empire, a 9/11 programme in the Barbican Hall and an early music concert at Wilton’s Music Hall.

In theatre, Our New Girl opens at the Bush Theatre tonight, looking at the darker side of parenthood. Antony Sher stars in Travelling Light, a nod to the early days of cinema, at the National from tomorrow. Other stars treading the boards in town this week are Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins in Constellations at the Royal Court opening Thursday, and David Haig leads the cast in a sure-fire hit revival, The Madness of King George III at the Apollo Theatre from Monday.

If you like opera, Don Giovanni, a fiery production that’s part of the Royal Opera House’s Olympic Programme, opens on Saturday; this week’s dance recommendation is Smashed at the Linbury Studio from tomorrow: a sensational mix of juggling skills and drama inspired by seminal German dance-theatre maker, Pina Bausch.

Have we missed anything you’re particularly looking forward to this week? Let us know in the comments below…

We have listings for ongoing shows at London’s top museums on our Museums and Galleries page

Brought  to us courtesy of those Field Day chaps, Applecart is a bespoke family-friendly day of kaleidoscopic playground fun and frivolities, including comedy and cabaret stages with appearances from Sean Walsh, Shappi Korsandi, and the best thing to come out of Oprington since the train to Brixton, Josie Long.

There will also be an art car-boot fair, candlelit matinee theatre performances, the wonderfully named The House of Fairy Tales Film Theatre, plus an array of top DJ entertainment, which this year includes Shaun Keaveny off of  the wireless’ 6 Music station on the ones and twos.

Last year’s sublime event also included readings by authors, village fete games, a real-ale tent and a plethora of vintage fun to keep the kiddies entertained. Expect the same quality this time around.

There are still many more acts, DJs and artists to be announced, but the current line-up is:

• Billy Bragg
• Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts
• Marcus Foster
• Marques Toliver
• Martin Creed
• Neneh Cherry
• Noah and the Whale
• Penguin Café
• Stornoway
• Charlie Baker
• Josie Long
• Josh Widdecome
• Shappi Khorsandi
• Suzi Ruffell

Full details can be found at theapplecartfestival.com. Early birds tickets are £29.50 plus booking fee, under 14s through go free through see tickets. The Applecart Festival takes place 3 June, 2012 at Victoria Park, Hackney.

Kenwood House, sans concert.

English Heritage have announced that there will be no summer concerts at Kenwood House this year.

The open-air events at the Hampstead Heath attraction have been one of the highlights of the London summer for 60 years. The shows, originally classical but lately featuring the likes of Tom Jones, Blondie and Jools Holland, attract thousands and provide an important source of income for the former stately home.

But the organisers want to ‘do a Glasto’ in 2012 and take a break. The pause comes as a 10-year contract between English Heritage and event managers IMG reaches its natural end. The two organisations were unable to agree terms for a renewal. Rather than find a new contract partner, and with the nearby Grade I listed building about to embark on a renovation programme, English Heritage decided to call a hiatus. It’s not given as a reason, but we suspect competition with countless other outdoor events in this Olympic year might be another factor. A spokesperson for English Heritage said that this is a “good time to pause and see if the concerts can be done differently in 2013 and beyond.”

The shows were last cancelled in 2007, when grumbles from locals forced a rethink.

Image by Laura Nolte in the Londonist Flickr pool.

Laura Gibson by Melanie Brown

Tonight, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, featuring Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid, are at Cecil Sharp House. Laura Gibson launches her latest album, La Grande, with Dear Reader at the Social.

Tuesday, melancholic folk duo Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell are at the Slaughtered Lamb.

Wednesday, Diagrams, the latest project from Sam Genders of Tunng and the Accidental, are at the Lexington.

Friday, Londonist favourite Catherine AD is playing a free show at the National Portrait Gallery as part of their Late Shift series.

Saturday, see orchestral indie poppers Butcher Boy at Cecil Sharp House with man about town Darren Hayman (who is playing a solo piano set).

Sunday, indie janglers Standard Fare are at the Lexington.

Find more gigs at londongigs.net.

This week, the tale of General James Wolfe — soldier, hero and father of 13 illegitimate kids. You may have seen his statue at the top of Greenwich Hill.

“General James Wolfe was a battle-hardened war veteran, a fearless hero in everyone’s eyes. Well almost everyone.. his work colleauges started to wonder if there was actually something wrong with him…”

All songs can also be found on Songs From The Howling Sea. Lyrics can be found here.

Previously in Tower Hamlets

• Charlie Brown: Uncrowned King of Limehouse 
• Angela Burdett-Coutts, Queen Of The East End Poor
• Jamrach’s Menagerie, Rhinos & the Ratcliffe Highway
• Moris ‘Two-guns’ Cohen
• Emmanuel Swedenborg, Veruca Socks and Heavenly Secrets
• John Newton, Goebbels, Star Trek & The Slave Trade
• Eliza Marchpane, Mozart, Vol Au Vents And The Wapping Streets
• Isambard Kingdon Brunel, Ships, Bones And Bad Breath

Previously in Greenwich

• Joseph Druce: mudlark and Maori Chief
• Anne Boleyn: Marriage and May Madness

London produces the best music in the world with home grown talent revitalising itself each year, and 2012 guarantees to silence those troublesome Manc and Brooklynite competitors for good.

No longer is London’s music scene defined by a specific patch or cliquey area. Whereas the past had Carnaby Street, the Kings Road, Camden or the ‘Ditch as its dominant Zone 2 focus, 2012 reflects London as a whole with bands from Bromley, Watford and Kingston making our Ones To Watch list.

London is a city as varied as The Lexington’s whisky list and its music is just as intoxicating. There is no London ‘sound’, just a melting pot of genres, often at the same shows, reflecting our musically invigorating home.

So to reflect this great time for London music we present Londonist’s Ones To Watch 2012.

Graveltones
Graveltones live are a phenomenal experience for a mere duo. Although grounded in classic gritty blues rock they manage to invigorate the basic twelve bars to recreate the guttural sound of rock behemoths Monster Magnet. Watching them bulldozes any presumption of a new White Stripes or Black Keys thanks to their Bonham-esque thunder drumming cocooning vocals lifted from Howling Wolf or Chris Cornell with BB King’s guitar shredding.
Their debut EP is out now. They play Monto Water Rats 13 January.
www.thegraveltones.com  

Clement Marfo and the Frontline
Kingston’s Clement Marfo leads his seven strong grime collective out from the underground brandishing bruising rock leanings which mirrors the Jay Z Linkin Park crossover, but remains deeply rooted in London’s urban scene. Initially starting as a solo MC, Clement has morphed into the polished UK hip-hop perfected by Professor Green and Wretch 32 and is sure to attack the mainstream this year.
New single Mayhem is out 12 March. They play The Garage 11 February and O2 Academy Islington 29 February.
www.clementmarfo.com

The Staves
These three Watford sisters produce the kind of beautiful folk pop only a lifetime spent weaving knotted harmonies can produce. Avoiding the traditional folk tendencies of The Watersons they draw from the melodies of the great 60s groups like Crosby Stills Nash and Young, yet adding mesmerising porcelain fragility. The Staves produce a contemporary folk bypassing the novelty waistcoat and banjo quirks recently prevalent in the genre.
The Staves’ Mexico EP is out now. They play HMV’s Next Big Thing @ The Borderline 8 February and Islington Assembly Hall 16 February.
www.thestaves.com

Nzca/Lines
Nzca/Lines, the solo project from former Your Twenties bassist Michael Lovett, deploy genre hopping electronica which is part polished RnB, part rumbling breakbeats. His exact production nods towards Hot Chip’s take on sexy minimalism, which disregards nostalgia for a thoroughly 2012 sound. Precise beats cushion falsetto vocals which flirt with Kraftwerk and Rihanna alike.
Nzca/Lines’ self-titled debut is released 27 February, they play Old Blue Last 14 January and The Royal Albert Hall 22 February.
www.nzca-lines.com

Tribes
Camden’s Tribes are the kind of band we’ve needed for years: cocksure lads with boisterous guitars who will flick you the Vs then steal your beer – and your girl. They are the embodiment of their home borough’s grunge t-shirts, skinny jeans and grubby effects but manage to create the kind of heartfelt rock n roll not felt since before the Towers Of London parodied the genre for comedy gain.
Their debut album, Baby, is out 16 January. They play the NME Awards Tour @ Brixton Academy 25 February.
www.tribesband.com

Psychologist
Iain Woods’ choral vocal majesty is something to behold, his vulnerable warmth fluttering tenderly amongst late night tales. As Psychologist he employs James Blake-lite post-step beats and mute piano chords to create delicately caressing bedsit poetry, yet willingly dives into juddering epic electronica bass patterns with swooping strings. Similar to a dark Hurts or The XX in a jolly mood.
The Propeller EP is out now.
www.psychologistmusic.com

Van Susans
Musicianship will always work its way to the top, perfect for Bromley’s Van Susans who ooze skilled talent. Their Frank Turner-esque folk rock honours classic song writing with monstrous choruses holding up verses steeped in Chaucerian tradition with a pounding Celtic edge. They’re destined for stadiums, rather than low key fashion pandering, with their epic story telling akin to Bruce Springsteen, The Levellers and Counting Crows.
Van Susans’ debut album is due this year.
www.vansusans.tumblr.com

Toy
Being name dropped by The Horrors and S.C.U.M has secured their place as key figures in the shoegaze revival and they don’t try to deny it. Drowned in psychedelic distorto drones this five piece’s sound is more attune to Curve, Slowdive and Ultra Vivid Scene than the Simple Minds stadia of recent Horrors. Very image conscious and aloof with it, Toy are the band for people into black and vintage synths.
Debut single Left Myself Behind is available as free download  with limited edition vinyl out 23 January. They play HMV’s Next Big Thing @ Barfly, 7 February.
www.facebook.com/toy.band

Lianne La Havas
South London’s response to Lana Del Rey and Ren Harveu, Lianne La Havas delivers a sweeping soulful folk which has already backed Paloma Faith and supported Bon Iver. She started song writing aged 11 having been taught the piano and guitar by her father paving the way for her easy commercial sound which is destined for great things.
She plays HMV’s Next Big Thing @ The Borderline 8 February. The Forget EP is out now.
www.liannelahavas.com

Fever Dream
This east London trio create a lo-fi post-punk which Husserlianly transcends Sonic Youth’s visceral energy into raw teetering repetitiveness which is hypnotic and empowering. They have the jangly pop sensibilities of Ride with the gnarly urbanism of The Fall yet reinvigorate a nu-gaze sound which often seems to border on psy-trance played live. There’s an noir art-house edge which trumps more fashion conscious contemporaries.
Fever Dream release This Waste on 6 February and play a single launch @ Ryans Bar 3 February. UPDATE- Change of venue now at The Others, Stoke Newington
www.facebook.com/FeverDreamBand

Ok, so Richard III may not have used those exact words but he may have done if he had seen the bill for Limits’ upcoming series of shows at Dalston’s Arcola Tent. The Brisbane-born entertainer, renowned for his pithy put-downs and a voice which can span three-and-a-half octaves, has gathered the great and good of London’s cabaret scene for The Winter Of Our Discontent, three nights of variety performances covering comedy, dance, drag, burlesque and circus. The all-killer no-filler double-figure line-up has more big names than a large print Who’s Who and includes Londonist favourites EastEnd Cabaret, David Hoyle, Myra Dubois, Kiki Kaboom and Tricity Vogue.

We somehow got a word in sideways with Limits and asked him some pertinent questions.

Dusty Limits

What’s behind the title? Is it just a play on words or will the show play off the title?

The title popped into my head when I was chatting with the Arcola folks about a possible project. I realised how tough winter would be for the many victims of the Coalition’s ‘austerity measures’, and how likely it was we’d have a second, albeit different, winter of discontent. I think it also had something to do with the fact that the show is taking place in a tent – a disco-tent. The brief for performers was not specifically political – just ‘what’s pissing you off at the moment?’

When it comes to London, what are you personally discontented about at the moment?

Where do I begin? The London that adopted me 12 years ago, the London I love, seems to be disappearing. I know it was always built on air and wishful-thinking (a.k.a. the ‘financial services industry’, or ‘The Empire of New Clothes’ as I like to call it), but it’s still shocking. The city is becoming a colder,crueller place to live in. The other thing that drives me absolutely nuts is the proliferation of posh cupcake shops. They’re vile.

There’s quite an array of talent you have there. How long have you been planning this show?

Honest answer? I had coffee with the lovely team from Arcola in early December, the idea popped into my head. I emailed just over two dozen artists I know, hoping that 50% of them would say ‘yes’, which would give me enough cast for 2 shows. Almost everyone said yes – 22 performers. I panicked. I think everyone responded to the brief.

Other than going to the Arcola Tent next week, which activity in London would you recommend to the good folk of London looking to dispel the January blues?
Vigorous exercise. Artistically? Go see some live music. Support live entertainment. Go to the British Museum (it’s free, for now), and realise that it’s all happened before. We’ll survive.

All the information you need on who is appearing when plus ticket prices can be found here. Off you go.

For the hottest cabaret recommendations in London, check out our cabaret section.

The trio who made London their home in the early 90s played much of their forthcoming album Stand Upright In A Cooler Place – their first since singer Nigel Clark returned -- semi acoustically but will be fully amped and drummed up for the Bush Hall show.

The Boogaloo’s set of new songs was bookended by Tripped and Fell and Raggedstone Hill, harmonious tales of a monk falling in love with a girl and forced to climb a Malvern hill on his hands and knees, for falling foul of the bountiful evils of the flesh, 800 years ago. Deep stuff.

Shadows and Only A Heartbeat maintained Dodgy’s trademark 60s melodies with mature inflections, showing an integrity often missing from reunited bands. Indeed a reluctant airing of 97 single Found You, sounded tired compared to the new material, testament to the Stand Upright In A Cooler Place’s unfamiliar quality.

The highlights though had to be an on the spot song about Thiery Henry’s winning come-back goal down the road earlier that night, and the band’s comedy banter, which hasn’t diminished over the years.

Clark said about the time taken betwen albums:

What’s the rush? We’ve taken our time to make sure this album is better than our last one…and that was brilliant. The fans deserve it and we believe that the songs are good enough to win us a whole new audience.

Reunions can be a tired affair, especially when accompanied by the dreaded ‘new material’, but Dodgy’s show at Bush hall can’t be more highly recommended after tonight’s low key return.

Dodgy play Bush Hall 22 February,  Bush Hall, 310 Uxbridge Road,  London, W12 7LJ £16.50+bf. Stand Upright In A Cooler Place is released 20 February on Strike Back Records.

John Lennon's blue plaque at Montague Square

London Music Mapp is a free smartphone app which illustrates London’s fascinating musical heritage.

The app contains all of London’s main record shops, clubs, rehearsal rooms, and music-related blue plaques, along with some record labels and a selection of events happening each month. It is regularly updated with images and information, and users are invited to fill in any gaps.

It’s designed as an easy information and travel guide to popular music locations for London’s music fans and the UK’s estimated 7.7 million annual music tourists, and is usefully split into categories, and stations with accurate map locations.

Our test failed to show us Mute records’ location nor Joe Meek’s house with its unique black plaque, but there were some good Adam Ant facts, gig highlights and a Nordoff Robbins music quiz ( I won’t tell you how I did, hate to boast — DN).

It’s only available through iTunes at the moment. Sorry Android fans. It works really well on the iPhone, although it’s not formatted for the iPad’s screen size.

The London Music Mapp can be downloaded through iTunes for free.

Darren Hayman

Original righteous babe Ani DiFranco is at Union Chapel on Tuesday and Wednesday supporting her latest record, ¿Which Side Are You On?

Eliza Carthy, she of the famed folk family and an impressive multi-instrumentalist in her own right, is at the Lexington on Wednesday with Emily Barker and Left With Pictures.

Thursday, sweeping indie pop band Lanterns on the Lake are at Cargo.

Friday, Darren Hayman makes yet another London appearance at the Hideaway, this time performing songs he has written since the beginning of 2012.

Saturday, new wave cult legends Heaven 17 are playing a very intimate set at Metropolis Studios. If you can’t make it, keep your eyes peeled for the TV screening.

For more London gigs visit londongigs.net

Photograph: ITV/Rex

The death of Bob Holness on 6 January was a sad affair. Memories came flooding back of watching Blockbusters with granny and gramps, dreaming of how amazing it would be to be a student — you could get to appear on this wonderful show.

Being a student turned out different — Blockbusters repeats on Challenge TV in-between inverted triple kick-flips on Tony Hawks 2 for the Xbox, surrounded by gin bottles, ashtrays and books on theoretical phenomenology.

But the greatest memory of Bob Holness has to be the urban legend broadcaster Stuart Maconie started in the NME about him playing that saxophone riff on Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street. A total lie, but one Twitter still went crazy about upon Holness’ death.

We’ve used this wonderful non-fact as a tenuous excuse to declare the Top 10 songs about London streets.

59 Lyndhurst Grove, Pulp

They were dancing with children round their necks/ Talking business, books and records, art and sex.

A song about a “crap” middle-class party Jarvis Cocker went to in Camberwell where there were children, perish the thought. It’s a melancholic late-night tale laced with Pulp’s signature noir-synth and Cockers obtuse observations. Part of the Inside Susan trilogy of songs from the early 90s.

Carnaby Street, The Jam

This street is a mirror for our country/ Reflects the rise and fall of our nation.

A pessimistic view of how the centre of the swinging sixties had declined by the late seventies, sung by bassist Bruce Foxton. Although pedestrianized in 1973, Carnaby Street lost its trendy boutiques to the chains ripping the heart out of mod culture. Goodness knows what he’d think of Carnaby Street’s multi-national chains nowadays.

Oxford Street, Everything But The Girl

When I was seventeen London meant Oxford Street/ It was a little world, I grew up in a little world.

Probably one of the most accurate portrayals of London for people in the provinces: shopping. People travel for hundreds of miles for Oxford Street’s length and reputation, unaware of London’s little secrets. This smooth jazz-pop sums up the differences between living in London and looking towards our city.

22 Acacia Avenue, Iron Maiden

So If you’re looking for a good time, and you’re prepared to pay the price, 15 quid is all she asks for.

From one of the best metal albums ever, The Number of The Beast, this follows fictional prostitute Charlotte working in a north London brothel. The lyrics urge Charlotte to get away from the place while she can, since some people genuinely care for her and know what she’s truly capable of.

Maid of Bond Street, David Bowie

This girl is made of loneliness, a broken heart/ For the boy she once knew doesn’t want to know her anymore.

A rather jolly waltz from Bowie’s debut album in which he’s the dual protagonist of glamorous fashionista mixing with London’s sophisticate hoi polloi, and envious provincial boy. Bond Street is the metaphor for his personal and career change at the time — what he’s made of and becoming. Extra relevance since Bob Holness played the very first James Bond on the wireless in the 50s.

The Ghosts of Cable Street, The Men They Couldn’t Hang

With courage we shall beat those blackshirts down.

A retelling of the clash between the Mosley’s Fascists (Blackshirts) and anti-fascist demonstrators, and the role of the Metropolitan police, in a largely Jewish area of east London in 1936. It also honours anti-fascists who fought in the Spanish Civil War. It’s a punky folk stomp which now sounds rather dated.

Portobello Road, Cat Stevens

Nothing looks weird, not even a beard/ Or the boots made out of feathers.

This psych-lite folk ditty from Stevens’ debut 1967 album illustrates the bohemian nuances of Portobello Road’s market with exotic Indian boots, antique leathers and ill-fitting dresses, much of which is relevant today. Co-written by American Kim Fowley, it shows Portobello Road’s historic appeal stretches beyond London. There’s also a track of the same name in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, of course.

Suicide on Downing Street, Tim Finn

Too young to retire too old to die/ This message all he had to give.

A no-holds-barred account of the suicide of Derek Bainbridge outside the gates of Downing Street in 1988. He set his car on fire with himself inside, in a protest against unemployment. Police found a suicide note at Bainbridge’s home outlining his intent. No one else was injured.

Warwick Avenue, Duffy

And I didn’t want the train to come/ Now it’s departed I’m broken hearted/ Seems like we never started.

Sentimental couplet-laced schmaltz from the Welsh siren, which has less to do with Warwick Avenue itself and more to do with its syllables. Duffy’s been wronged by a horrible boy and excuses need to be aired, but she’s all: “Yeah, whatever, bothered”. But she is bothered really. A lot of people seem to like it.

Goldhawk Road, Dustin’s Bar Mitzvah

Some of them are good some of them are bad/ Some of them are angry some of them are sad.

This vitriolic view of the residents of the west London road, with crazy characters wandering into shops shoeless, and probably in sweat pants (yes, those types), is a quintessentially English view of London’s quirks thorough perfect Ramones-esque jangly indie from the mid noughties. Acton’s Dustins Bar Mitzvah were brilliant.

Listen to the Spotify playlist of all ten songs, with the honorary inclusion of The Sweet’s Blockbuster and Baker Street.

For people who haven’t been inside this beautiful 1726 building, there’s a good excuse this spring as St Martin’s is the main venue for the massive Brandenburg Spring Choral Festival, which also makes use of the National Portrait Gallery, St John’s Waterloo and Lincoln’s Inn Chapel among others.

Given that it’s only in its third year, the size of the festival – over 40 events – is surprising, but with Gareth Malone riding high with his TV choir shows and army wives, choral singing is evidently in vogue.

The festival is promoting a nice mix of amateur choirs from around London, university and college choirs, and specialist groups. The repertoire is diverse with classical music favourites – Brahms Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria, Faure Requiem, Haydn Nelson Mass – running alongside jazz concerts (including one in the cafe in the church’s famous Crypt) and other styles of singing, including Barbershop and Gospel.

The festival opened on 2 January with its now traditional performance of Handel’s Messiah but all other events are still to happen, starting tonight and running until 28 April. Full details here.

Image by Chloe van Grieken via the Londonist Flickr pool.

Photo by Crispin Hughes

Need a new year pick me up this weekend? Combine an invigorating evening skate with an infectious club night soundtrack courtesy of Skate at Somerset House.

If you avoided London’s most beautiful ice rink in the hectic run up to Christmas, make the most of this new year opportunity for a fun and funky foray into skating.

On Friday night DJ Edward Adoo plays an eclectic mix of House, Electro, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Hip Hop and Reggae to soundtrack your ice dancing. On Saturday night it’s house and disco from Bad Zuke of The Jinks.

Before and after your time on the rink, hang out with friends, enjoy the music and the pretty lights and get refreshed. Yes, mulled wine is still on sale in Tom’s Skate Lounge but so is the non-alcoholic Winter Sunrise cocktail, tea, coffee and that lovely hot chocolate with (or without) marshmallows on top.

Skate at Somerset House is only open until 22 January so make the most of these special club nights while you can!

Tickets for club night skate sessions cost £17 and start at 8pm, 9.15pm and 10.30pm. Book now.

Cancer Bats

A pentagram connecting five London music venues has been revealed by Canadian metallers Cancer Bats who will play all five in 24 hours on 21 April.

The five points connect with a near-perfect pentagram of lines across London, plotting the band’s tour which starts and finishes at The Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, taking in Camden, Islington, Notting Hill and Brixton. It joins other hidden pentagrams in London.

These include a set of paths in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, one on Primrose Hill and, according to Templar Mechanics, at the centre of London’s Kinghts Templar power connecting Buckingham Palace, The Home Office, Waterloo, Piccadilly Circus and Somerset House.

The lovely named Cancer Bats only have a gap of two and a half hours between the gigs, which may be a challenge knowing Transport for London and traffic on a Saturday afternoon.

Front man Liam Cormier told Kerrang! Magazine: “We’ve already done three shows in 24 hours — that’s now old hat! April 21 is going to be one totally intense day!”

Cancer Bats play

11:30am The Old Blue Last
2:00pm Notting Hill Arts Club
4:30pm Upstairs at The Garage
7:00pm Brixton Windmill
9:30pm Camden Barfly
12:00am The Old Blue Last

Tickets for each show are £10, so at £60 for all six it may be a pricey novelty but worth it to know Tom Hanks won’t be involved in this conspiracy.

Cancer Bats Pentagram Tour, Saturday 21 April, Tickets for each show £10+br through See Tickets  and venues. Check with venues for age restrictions.

The Wave Pictures

Back to work? Big pile of recycling? Slight twinge of gout? Yep it’s the New Year and there’s nothing to look forward to until Easter, whenever that is. Luckily for us though London’s gig scene is waking up with The Winter Sprinter, three nights of indiepop excellence from ace record label Fortuna Pop.

This traditionally barren week for live music will be surged with sunshine pop from tonight by nightly headliners, Singing Adams (the chap from Broken Family Band’s new group), Allo Darlin’ and The Wave Pictures with a support line-up which includes Rotifer who are signed to Edwyn Collins’ new record label, AED.

The Winter Sprinter was formerly hosted by The Track and Field Organisation, but since they disbanded Fortuna Pop kindly borrowed the idea. Previous years’ line-ups have included Veronica Falls and Darren Hayman, so you can tell the calibre and general aceness of the groups they put on.

Tickets are available for individual nights, except Allo Darlin’, or a three day pass for £20.

• Wednesday 4 January Singing Adams + Laura J Martin + The Werewandas
• Thursday  5 January Allo Darlin’ + Moustache Of Insanity + Knickers
• Friday 6 January The Wave Pictures + Evans The Death + Rotifer

The Winter Sprinter, 4-6 January, The Lexington 96-98 Pentonville Road, N1 9JB. 8pm. Tickets £8.50 per night, £20 three day pass through We Got Tickets.