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——— TIBERIUS B (CA)Tiberius b's sophomore EP DIN opens with the death of a friend. On "Delicate People," thoughts race over silvery acoustic guitar riffs, articulating the many contradictions in loss—tears pour or vanish out of the blue, and existence is met with gratitude and disdain. The release marks a new era for the artist, delineating their most poetic, incisive songwriting to date. Unconsciously influenced by highlights from their parent's CD collection, like Portishead, Underworld and Massive Attack, these five tracks expand on the musical motifs of Stains (Zelig, 2021), spanning grunge, trip-hop, folk and Brit pop. DIN follows a tour last year opening for Perfume Genius across Europe and North America, as well as performances at The Great Escape, Les Nuits Botanique, Visions Festival, and Pitchfork Festival London in 2021.
Born in London but raised in rural Canada, these songs are an aesthetic homecoming, heavily influenced by relocating to the British capital in 2017. Co-produced by Vampire Weekend's Chris Baio, "Wasted," written on a ten-hour flight in the throes of fresh betrayal, still pays a cheeky homage to their dad's trailer back on Cortes Island. Elsewhere, "Cornerstone" plunges listeners into the exquisite chaos of a new life, coloured with forbidden infatuations and messy fantasies. Languishing guitar melodies morph into flickers of My Bloody Valentine-esque distortion while the chorus's post-punk clamour echoes in your mind for days after listening.
"My face covered in you / While I go about my day / All that we get up to permanently permeates," Tiberius sings on HHB. It's one of the EP's many sexual epiphanies. Likewise, DIN represents the intricate nature of queer intimacy, revelling in its ability to inspire originative communication and deep existential thought. "Twofer" portrays the latter, calling on the icons ("Orlando, Eileen and Claude") for guidance on surgical decisions and speculating about whether two people of the same type can fall for each other. In a 2021 Them feature highlighting their knack for seamlessly fusing contemporary language and nostalgic music, the publication wrote, "[Tiberius] is a modern day alchemist, transmogrifying familiar sounds into future queer anthems."
When first scheming visual ideas with stylist, art director and frequent collaborator Hamish Wirgman, they set out to make videos and cover art themed around London that were vulgar and embracing of sexuality, in line with the contents of the EP. In Stains, place also played a crucial role in defining the sound and imagery of the release, taking inspiration from their late grandmother’s cottage in the Welsh countryside. Upon Wirgman's suggestion, pigeons became DIN’s central emblem. Given that their songwriting process is based on the concept of ordinary magic, Tiberius found them to be perfect mascots. The videos for "Jetski" and "HHB" were shot by Aidan Zamiri, choreographed by Lydia Walker, and with creative direction and special effects by Ethan Skates. "Jetski" takes ordinary magic to its most extreme conclusion—love at first sight. Lithe drums lend an infectiously giddy undercurrent to the lyrics' shock and awe at how something as petty as a hookup could tectonically shift your perspective on life.
Made with a guitar plugged into their dilapidated 2010 Macbook with additional production from Yves Rothman, mixing by Andrew Sarlo and mastering by Eric Lagg, at its core, the EP mirrors the din of their life. Like years spent in the Vancouver scene, it's loud and DIY, with surreal, experimental South London flair. Filtering these elements through a distinct pop sensibility, Tiberius b's unique sound leaves an indelible impression.
——— NO WINDOWS (UK)
The award-winning Edinburgh-based duo No Windows fuse DIY, folk and classic pop on their second EP Point Nemo, set to be released on 3 May by Fat Possum. Taking its name from the location farthest away from land in the world, the five track EP evokes wintry isolation, and marks a significant step forward for the duo, taking inspiration from the expansive sound-worlds of Elliott Smith and Cocteau Twins, their Scottish peers Cloth and Jacob Alon, and a shared musical curiosity that is all their own.
The effortless musical chemistry of No Windows comes from the tight relationship at its core. Vocalist Verity Slangen and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Morris met as young teenagers at school in Edinburgh, after Morgan came across Verity – in the year above – who shared videos online of her singing. They quickly established a friendship and an artistic bond, with Verity adding her emotionally-charged lyrics to Morgan’s bedroom recordings. In December 2022, their debut EP Fish Boy was released; a public introduction to their strong songwriting and intricate, fuzz-pop arrangements, followed by live appearances including the 2022 Connect festival.
Over a year later, Morgan and Verity – now 18 and 19 – are pushing their artistry forward. ”Fish Boy was our first experience of putting together a body of work,” explains Morgan. “With Point Nemo we’ve gained a lot of confidence and knowledge. I think we improved on a lot of the basics as well: structuring songs, stronger melodies.” Morgan’s production has also evolved significantly: the songs sound bigger and more dense, with multi-tracked backing vocals and unexpected counter-melodies. Thanks to Morgan’s restless musical creativity, they also incorporate experimental flourishes like tape delay and the field recordings on platonic love song “Small Flashing Light”.
With a mature, reflective eye, Verity’s lyrics examine changes in relationships and emotions as reflected in nature. “Lyrically, it’s very bleak and cold,” she says of the EP. “It’s about that transition from summer into winter and trying to face the isolation that winter brings. The cycle that I have through the year is quite a significant one.” On “Zodiac 13”, she compares the doubts and isolation of a waning friendship to the anticipation of the colder months – resulting in a reflective souvenir of a time when she felt this way: “I don’t feel the same way that I did when I wrote it, so it’s really nice to be able to see the way I have changed.”
As well as drawing from the ebb and flow of friendship and romantic break-ups, Verity also takes inspiration from literature. Characterised by swelling backing vocals and a distinctive melodic bassline, the EP’s lead single “Song 01” is a meditation on loss inspired by Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, a novel about a man who faces ostracisation after a failed medical experiment. “I have always been drawn to books focusing on isolation and what it is like to be outed from social groups,” says Verity, who also cites I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg and Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. “The book emulates desperation and dread so perfectly. The song is written about that feeling, knowing that you are going to lose something when it’s all you have. Writing it opened me up to a whole new way of writing lyrics.”
In a notable change for the duo, Point Nemo saw them writing together in the same room for the first time, leading to an even stronger cohesion between the two elements. “Before, I’d record the whole instrumental before Verity would hear it,” explains Morgan. “We convinced ourselves that was the only way we could write songs. Then we wrote together and it was way better: the way the song moves musically tends to align with the lyrical themes, which is a really cool thing and we never plan it. Writing together has been a huge change to how the songs turn out.” The resulting song “Fibbs” is perfect guitar-pop, sweetened by drops of synthesiser and the pair’s close-knit harmonies.
The EP is also their first time introducing an outside producer into the fold: Ali Chant (Dry Cleaning, Sorry, Yard Act, Aldous Harding, Soccer Mommy, Youth Lagoon) who mixed the album with Morgan and Verity in his Bristol studio. “That was our first time passing on an element of control to someone outside of us,” says Morgan, who admits he and Verity are both “massive fans” of Ali’s previous work. “There was an interesting balance: we were quite clear on what we wanted and he was amazing when it came to realising that, but he also added elements that I wouldn’t have thought of.”
These steps forward bode well for the next chapter of the band, bolstered by their October 2023 win of the coveted Sound of Young Scotland Award at the annual Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Awards. Chosen by a panel of previous SAY nominees, the award represents a key co-sign from the Scottish music community, alongside mentoring, studio time and vinyl pressing.
2024 is set to be an important year for No Windows, with the release of Point Nemo, their first video release, and live appearances including The Great Escape and their debut Glasgow headline show at the legendary King Tuts venue. The most important work will be going on behind the scenes though, as Verity and Morgan continue to evolve their sound and make good on their significant artistic promise.
——— PEM (UK)
Pem is the project of Bristol based musician Emily Perry. Blending her rare husky voice with boundless vocal agility, she crafts a sound that hovers somewhere between folk and the smoky serenades of early sirens in music halls of days gone by. Her haunting voice dances up and over ethereal arrangements and intricate taletelling, lulling listeners into warm hazes of vulnerable contemplation.
——— INFOS
• Rotonde / Doors 19:30
• Bota'Carte 0€ (https://bit.ly/Bota_Carte)
Free show for Bota'Carte holders!
• Ticket 15€
• Day of Show 18€
(costs included)
——— TICKETS
FR: https://botanique.be/fr/concert/tiberius-b-no-windows-pem-2024
NL: https://botanique.be/nl/concert/tiberius-b-no-windows-pem-2024
EN: https://botanique.be/en/concert/tiberius-b-no-windows-pem-2024
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Le Botanique, 236, Rue Royale,Brussels, Belgium
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