Charlie Barnes- Album Launch

Charlie Barnes and the Geekks

With Ellen Smith, Jo Rhead and Joby and the Roses

Bar 1:22, Huddersfield

Rating: Do I even need to bother?

Look at my dedication. I should be revising for my last exam, but instead here I am. After losing approximately half of our American contingent before we'd even left Manchester, we arrived in Huddersfield and realised that we didn't know where we were going. Classic case of "I thought you looked this fucking place up?" whilst standing outside the station ensues. A quick call to France later, and we were on our way (yes, we do have a French Connection- mystery!). By the time we got there, Joby and the Roses were already going. It was pretty much your standard well-executed folk guitar playing, albeit with absent violinist, so I don't know how much that would have added to their sound. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Mr. 'Joby' was the vocalist; this being the case, Mr Joby has an exceptional voice. Then again, he'd have to, to keep his own against Mr. Barnes. 

After Joby & co., we were in need of some food, so we popped off for some fast food and a pint at Spoons (got an excellent stout called Porter's; 6.5%, and a snip at £1.95, but I digress). By the time we got back, we'd somehow missed Jo Rhead, and Ellen Smith was getting herself set up on the stage. I'm a little pushed for time, so I'm going to resort to hackish music journalism here: her voice was reedy, perhaps sensual, and emotive. Right so I'm guessing you've basically got the sound in your head now. Her songs were good, but those without harmonica were perhaps a little texturally uniform- I seem to spend a lot of my life seeing acoustic acts, so I would say that use of dynamics is a rare skill, but a tremendous boon to the artist if it can be effectively employed. Never mind though, because Ellen's actually in a band called Ellen and the Escapades where this isn't an issue. Either way, it was good enough to make me part with cash for their new single-about the same amount as a pint, in fact- that's opportunity cost, people!

Finally, after a brief soundcheck (where Charlie slotted in the riff from Amplifier's 'Panzer'), the band were ready to go. Coming on-stage to 'A City Built', the band then played most of the new album, Geekk (as one would expect, really). My main preoccupation- which I think the rest of the room did not share- was staring fixedly at Charlie's drummer as he nailed every single beat perfectly, even though he was playing to a click track. My best friend is a drummer, so I'm pretty knowledgeable about the instrument, and really I couldn't tear my eyes away. However, I'm aware that nobody else but me probably gives two shits about drums, so I'd better say something about the rest of the band. From his 'electronic Jeff Buckley' solo show, Charlie and the Geekks have transformed; now, if crude comparisons are needed, they are kind of like Oceansize covering Thom Yorke's solo stuff. I think. 

As equally as from the music, I think the Oceansize comparison could well spring from the way Charlie now handles himself onstage. Gone is the shy boy-that-then-explodes-into-dramatic-performance, and instead we're confronted with Charlie the frontman. Guitar at about the same height as Mike Vennart, he even does most of his singing standing on one leg; but I might be the only one that's noticed this. Whatever, it's a confident, even aggressive delivery that's unfamiliar to those that have seen him before. Making a point of playing guitar on 'Degas Dancer' and 'This Boy Blind' paints them in a whole new light than the album versions, and for 'Snakes, Ladders and Aeroplanes' the distorted screaming is done by a guy wading into the audience- it really is a completely different atmosphere. Obviously, my favourites were always going to be 'Geekk' and 'Final Call', but in all fairness there was a remarkably high standard throughout, and Charlie ends his set on a stool playing his guitar behind his head. Fantastic. 

Coming on for an encore, Charlie returns alone and plays 'Bedroom'. Having earlier thanked Amplifier for all their help over the past year (I notice a grinning Neil Mahoney over one shoulder), all that remains is a dedication to his late mother. After throwing the mic across the stage, Charlie strolls offstage, hopefully confident that a new chapter in his musical career has begun.One of the lads observed that his voice is less at the head of proceedings than before, but the band more than makes up for it; there's a new drive, depth and power here that could just take them all the way.

Nights like tonight are what music is all about. Simple. 

Charlie and his band are headlining Let's Kill Music at Saki Bar on Wednesday the 9th of June in Manchester. It's £4otd or £3 w/flyer (on the Facebook page). The photos used here are (c) Hali Santama

Charlie Barnes - Voice of the Geekks

So looks like I'm getting my 'The End of Music?' article in Student Direct next week. Sweet. In the meantime, here's an interview with the excellent Charlie Barnes. Reminder: Bar 1:22, Huddersfield, Monday 31st May. You can check out the details here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=187702946&ref=ts#!/event.php?eid=407772552673&ref=mf . 

In the meantime, I'll let the man speak for himself.

Charlie Barnes - Voice of the Geekks

1.    I first saw you supporting Amplifier- how did you end up there and was that your 'big break' in any way?

I pestered them on myspace for a while, and the rest is history!  I wouldn’t call it a big break, but I’m not really bothered about any of that stuff.  I got to tour with my heroes, play on their songs, and earn the respect of some of my other biggest heroes along the way.  Fuck ‘big breaks’, I’m happy.  (Though a bit of cash to pay the rent wouldn’t go amiss…)

2.    Have you ever been in any 'full' bands as opposed to playing solo?

Oh aye, loads.  I did have a sort of band briefly to play my stuff before I worked out all of the looping.  But two years down the line of wandering the north-west with only myself to keep me company has rendered me desperate for interaction.  Thus, ‘Charlie Barnes & The Geekks’ has happened.

3.    What are your biggest influences, musical or otherwise?

Oceansize, Radiohead and Pink Floyd all pretty much changed my life.  At the moment I’m listening to loads of Jeff Buckley, avant-garde jazz and David Sylvian’s latest album ‘Manafon’.  I get a lot of inspiration from books too.  They’re my little escape.  George Monbiot’s stuff has always had a big influence on my writing, and Mark Z. Danielewski’s ‘House of Leaves’ has been a huge influence on my newer stuff.  Memory and reality and that sort of thing.  Fucking insane book.

4.    What is your take on downloading? Does it help or hinder a young band/artist?

Dunno.  Musicians definitely don’t get anywhere near enough money for doing their job.  Except the ones who play whatever the big company wants.  My problem with downloading is the way that people (mostly younger) nowadays have instant gratification for EVERYTHING.  Films, music, TV on demand; there’s no waiting around for anything.  I even get angry when my internet takes more than two seconds to load a page up.  But because of this instant gratification thing, no-one can really be arsed to come to gigs.  They don’t have to pay for recorded music anymore, so why should they have to pay for seeing the band live?  And then you just get the handful of GOOD people who come to your gig, buy your CD, and have every knowledge that they’re literally paying for your food.

5.    How do you create your live sound?

200 odd metres of cable, a laptop, a looper, a vocoder, a delay pedal, and my big loud voice.  I never write with the live performance in mind; I’ll only do looping if it suits the tune I’m playing.  I can’t stand watching these noodly buggers layering boring guitar riff upon boring guitar riff.  Get some tunes!

6.    What are you upto at the moment, and what are your plans for the future?

I’m just finishing off my new album ‘Geekk’, and then I’ll be releasing that at a big album launch party in Huddersfield on May 30th with the band.  After that I’ll be living in Leeds and trying not to starve, and hopefully playing some more gigs with the band.  A tour or two wouldn’t go amiss either….they’re fun.  I’ve already got a lot of the next record sketched out, so I’ll pretty much get working on that straight away.  It’ll be a few years ‘til I’m happy with it though.

7.    What tracks will feature on 'Geekk'?

A City Built, Architects, This Boy Blind, Bedroom, Degas Dancer, Bluebell, Oradour, Geekk, Snakes, Ladders & Aeroplanes, Final Call.  10 tunes, 40 odd minutes; that’s how they’re supposed to be, right?  Some of these songs are about 5 years old!  It’s been nice re-recording the ‘No Offenkk’ stuff with real strings and drums etc.  It sounds a whole lot better!

8.    What's your opinion of the contemporary music scene? Any recommendations?

Some of it’s great, some of it’s shite.  I played with a band called Revere last night and they blew my socks off.  Sometimes playing bill after bill with dull indie bands you start to worry that there’s nothing interesting anymore, then a band like Revere reminds you that things are OK.  I hate the way that unsigned bands are all trying to…I dunno…’get noticed’ and do everything the ‘right way’.  Fuck it, have some fun.  I like the unexpected.  The best album of the last year was easily the Blue Roses album.  That’s a PROPER album.  No-one’s going to remember who this that or the other indie band is next year.  It’s a fad.  People like Blue Roses, Revere and Amplifier make the sort of music that you will listen to for the rest of your life; it actually has a bit of substance.  It isn’t the kind of rubbish that people dance around to in nightclubs when they’re off their face and can’t remember in the morning.

9.    Sell me Charlie Barnes in ten seconds.

Charlie Barnes does whatever he wants to do, and has a lot of fun doing it.  Charlie Barnes is not cool.

10.    Where can you see music going from here? (broad, I know)

I hope a lot more independent.  That whole Radiohead thing was obviously a bit of a turning point, and I hope it has a decent impact.  I like the idea of bands just doing it on their own.  You don’t need some big label or any of that shit.  If you can get 500 people to be excited about your new release, buy it, and come to your shows, what more do you really need?  It’ll just keep going in cycles, like it always has done.  Dance will probably be bigger in a year or two and the indie thing will die out, then metal and hard rock will get big again…blahblahblah.  I doubt big, orchestral moody pop music is going to be topping the charts anytime soon though….

11.    Live, or on the record?

Both.  I always think they should be completely different.  There’s no point in trying to fully re-create what you’ve done on an album onstage, because you can’t.  An album’s a fixed thing that you listen to on speakers or headphones and you have to imagine how they made it; a live performance is people playing stuff in front of you.  It’s a wholly different experience.  I love seeing bands play live who do things differently to the album/recorded versions.  Imogen Heap’s a prime example.  And MuteMath too.

12.    Favourite bit of kit?

My big, black Yamaha piano.  You can’t beat a real piano.

13.    Coolest brand/style of guitar?

Yamaha Pacifica 311ms.  It fits me like a glove.

14.    Finally, what do you love about music?

The unexpected. 

The above photo is (c) Simon Bray.

Charlie Barnes

No Offenkk

Pipco Collective

Rating: 4/5

Ok, so there's a pattern to the ratings on here at the moment, but that's because right now I can't be bothered to write about something that doesn't genuinely excite me. Hence: Charlie Barnes- live his show is a very exciting prospect indeed. I was lucky enough to catch him supporting Amplifier at the Academy last month, and got my hands on this, his debut EP.

After a burst of digital noise, the EP opens with a flourish on 'Oradour'. On the record gone are the overdubbed loops and ten-part vocal harmonies, and in is a thicker, more orchestral instrumental feel. On songs like 'This Boy Blind' there is a more up-tempo approach that is more indicative of his live sound, comparable to other live electronic bands like the excellent Fears ('This Boy Blind' at times does resemble their 'My English Heart' , though I should stress that this is a compliment, not a criticism).

The closing track, 'Architects' is a suitably slow-burning ballad (again showcasing his considerable vocal talent), but it's track three, 'Geekk' that is the show-stealer. It's got a catchy piano and glockenspiel hook, combined with simple, short vocal melody lines and the glitchy electronic percussion that is his trademark.

The whole set of songs are obviously underpinned by Charlie's tremendous voice, which is somewhere in the Jeff Buckley/ Matt Bellamy school of singing. It's a relatively modern style of delivery, which suits the freshness of the instrumentation supporting it. Perhaps there's nothing truly original left to be done with music these days, but if people like Charlie Barnes stop pushing the boundaries we'll never find out if that's true or not.




For the interested: http://www.charliebarnesmusic.co.uk