The Great Varsity Band Hunt

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Monkey Princess

Like that band in High Fidelity, Monkey Princess are undergoing a minor identity crisis. It was the name of their last band, and it may have changed by the time this is published. Frontman and funnyman-about-town, Jack Gordon-Brown, who plays guitar and sings, went to school with Mike, who also plays guitar and sings, but they only founded the band when they got to Cambridge. Jono, their drummer, is a recent recruit, having defected from the Fat Poppadaddys camp.

Jack claims that Monkey Princess sound like "moules potato" . There is little Belgian

or piscine about them, though, and they don't sound much like their declared influences – Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dylan, the Stones, Toots and the Maytals. All three members are credited as vocalists, and this is an important part of their sound. On songs like John Belushi Dance Sountrack, they play energetic, endearingly ramshackle indie, tempered with drawn-out, melancholic harmonies; on Ratrace, they opt initially for a more acoustic sound, before a distorted guitar comes in, accompanied by a singalong barrage of wordless vocals.

Monkey Princess are ambitious: they're determined to write and play music until people start singing moules potato on the street, and Jono is able to buy a house in Hampstead. One wonders how long they can protect their secrets, however: Jono is actually a woman, Mike a giant, and Jack asexual. [DC]

www.myspace.com/monkeyprincessmusic

The Staircase Band

The Staircase Band put your Freshers' Week achievements to shame. A quartet of Clare first-years, they all live in the same staircase, and were brought together by a staircase meal on the second night. It was a dull, forced affair, and Arjun decided to loosen things up by playing his guitar. Merlin quickly retrieved his accordion, Arjun swapped his guitar for his violin, and they launched into a rendition of What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor; Ben ran to get his trombone, and, finally, Rob entered, sliding down the banister while playing his trumpet. They only properly decided to form a band a couple of weeks later when they played an impromptu set at a staircase party. They've since honed their craft at open mic nights in Clare cellars, and as the onstage band in The Gnadiges Fraulein at the ADC.

Their sound is a composite of diverse influences – European folk music, gypsy jazz, klezmer, Latin music, 1930s swing – described by the band as "wonky whirling gypsy swing" . They're just as likely to play

the Jungle Book's I Wanna Be Like You, complemented by Merlin's scat, as the Hebrew folk song Hava Nagila, but recent concerts have seen them focus more on the European aspect of their sound, each instrument, particularly Arjun's demonic fiddle, competing with the others for speed and virtuosity. The Staircase Band play the dance music of yesteryear, and they ought to go down a treat on the ball circuit. They hope to travel to where it all started, with a trip busking around Eastern Europe planned for the summer holidays. [DC]

Errant Band

Errant band describe themselves as "a folk-blues fiasco of finger-picking and fiddling" . They comprise Owen Holland and Sophie Erksine, both at St Catz, and Hugh Gifford who lives in Oxford. Owen sings and plays guitar, Sophie plays fiddle and Hugh plays bodhran. They formed when Owen and Sophie lived together last year and held jamming sessions on the roof of their house. You may recognize Owen as the organizational force behind Songs in the

Dark, the Sunday night acoustic session at Clowns. Despite this, when asked for his opinion on the Cambridge music scene, Owen replied " There's a Cambridge music scene? "

Their influences are many, from Dylan to Leo Kottke to Django Reinhardt to Sufjan Stevens. They also list William Morris, the socialist artist and wallpaper designer. They have just finished recording an album, Plough and Scatter which you can buy from Owen or hear on Sophie's Cambridge University Radio show. Owen is a member of the Socialist Workers party, Sophie is acknowledged in two books and Hugh is of aristocratic descent. [OR]

www.myspace.com/errantband

Dress Rehearsal Rag

Charles and Rav have been playing in various bands since the age of about ten, and Dress Rehearsal Rag started off as a side project around three years ago. After a couple of good recordings and show,s they

decided to focus on the band and have been going at it ever since. They say that their music grew out of liking "generic post rock like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky and My Bloody Valentine" but that they are also pretty keen on more experimental stuff like "Hella, TRS-80, Chin Up Chin Up, Tortoise and Do Make Say Think" (ahem). When asked to describe their sound, Rav said "Ha! Melodic, quiet/loud, occasionally Wall of Noise, Goon-ish". Make of that what you will.

They both grew up in Cambridge, and Rav is now at Jesus. They feel that although the Cambridge band scene died a bit when the Boat Race shut down, the dance scene is pretty good, and that Cellbar 8 and Box Tree put on some great nights. " Long live Dubstep " , says Rav.

They self-produce and sell all their music and apparently use about £300-400 worth of guitar pedals in the process. Their last two EPs were both written, recorded and produced in one week each. [OR]

www.myspace.com/dressrehearsalrag

The Moscow State Circus

The Moscow State Circus met at school and three of them, now at Cambridge, regularly play as a trio during term time. The band arose from the ashes of London favourites The Dialogue in 2007, and are borne from the same scene that has produced Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Captain Kick and the Cowboy Ramblers and King Charles, playing regularly with many of them. They were brought back together by a shared love of band names of dubious legality and a desire to bring down one of the world's most famous entertainment troupes. The Moscow State Circus are stronger and more vibrant than ever: If you type 'Moscow State Circus' into Google then their Myspace comes up fifth. Hasta la victoria siempre. Viva las unreasonably large legal fees.

With Alex (guitar/vocals) at Corpus, Dave (keyboards/vocals) at Peterhouse and Ali (bass/vocals) at Trinity Hall, they've seen their fair share of the Cambridge music

scene. Their verdict? It's a scene unfulfilled. If you want to know more about their sound, this description of it might help; they class it as " Fairground Blues, " inspired by one-man bands, funfairs, barrel organs, dilapidated theatres and The Moscow State Circus, and, rather more prosaically, Scott Walker, Radiohead, Cole Porter, Blur, and The Bonzo Dog Band. When they say that their future plans are to play, play and play, they mean it; in fact, The Moscow State Circus play until, and only until, they are asked to stop. They were even forced on one occasion to recite Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress over a fifteen minute oom-pah arrangement of 2 Become 1. This was followed by solos on – amongst other instruments – a metronome, a pair of orchestral cymbals and a vibra-slap. They were then asked to stop. [VS]

www.myspace.com/themoscowstatecircus

The Light Brigade

The Light Brigade got together over a shared love of the Pixies and the Smashing

Pumpkins; Simon, the guitarist, is at Magdalene and Peter, the bassist, is at Pembroke.

Their attitude towards the Cambridge music scene focuses on the positive, the epicentre of which is the new Cambridge Barfly, considered by them to be a real asset. If you haven't heard of it or been there yet, expect a little venue on Chesterton

Lane which proffers gigs from all the best new bands. As Simon point out, the small venue lends itself to creating a friendly atmosphere in the room; though perhaps they should reconsider the logistics of a powerful smoke machine in said room.

Atmosphere seems to be a major factor in the influences of the band; Simon says "we like bands that capture an atmosphere, or a way of life, which they communicate through their image, lyrics and sound." Their sonic influences include 90s shoegaze, big swirling guitars and ethereal vocals, into which category fall My Bloody Valentine, the Lilys and the Cure. As for their own sound,

we hear walls of warm, distorted guitar surround tales of sci-fi noir romance. Rock ‘n' roll stardom is what they aim for. They are also keen to go on tour in support of R Kelly.

The Light Brigade seem to be eminently photographable; one afternoon, whilst walking down a street in West London, a land rover with blacked out windows pulled up along side them and the window rolled down. A man poked his head out and said in a South American accent," Come to my studio and pose for me." They replied, "No thanks, you're a pervert." Instead of scuttling away ashamed, the pervert became indignant. "You know who I am!" he shouted. "I am the world famous fashion photographer Mario Testino!" Which, of course, he was. [VS]

www.myspace.com/lightbrigademusic

Johny Davies

Johny Davies had impeccable classical credentials. The son of a music teacher, he started playing violin "pretty much as soon

as I could stand up" , and joined the Jesus College Choir at the age of eight, rising to become head boy. He first showed signs of switching to the dark side at thirteen, when he began to produce music using an Atari 520st; a set of decks followed three years later. Today, he produces under the name Le Jockey, making precise, melodic music that occupies "a middle ground between electro and minimal" . He hasn't abandoned his past, though – he describes Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring as "possibly my favourite piece of music" . He has DJed at many a Cambridge night and party, and as far away as Budapest and Madrid.

A resident, Johnny can boast of a greater contribution to dance music in Cambridge than nearly anyone. He helps out with college ents, providing the PA and sound expertise for Emmanuel; he puts on a monthly techno and electro night at De Luca; and, with Ben Vincett and Justin Argent, he founded Cambridge label Horseplay Records in 2006 as an outlet for electronic music with an experimental edge. Johnny has an EP coming out on vinyl in May, and a

number of remix projects are due throughout the year. He gives us all reason to be cheerful: unlike many of our interviewees, he is positive about the Cambridge music scene. "Scratch beneath the surface and you'll find a thriving night life." [DC]

www.myspace.com/lejockey

www.horseplayrecords.co.uk

Jack Bayley

If you've felt Cambridge dancefloors wobble over the past year, there's a good chance that Jack Bayley's been behind the decks. A third year theologian, he used to call himself Jam Baby, but recently took on the " sort of reggae-y " name of I-Jambi. Although he thinks that people give the Cambridge music scene " too much stick " , he felt that there was a lack of nights putting on the sort of music that he wanted to hear. With some friends, he started putting on nights at Kambar at the start of the year: Voodoo Rave is geared around electronic music like

dubstep, drum ‘n' bass, and techno, while Sounds of Royalness gives priority to two of Jack's great loves, reggae and dancehall; both have helped him give breaks to student DJs. His own sets are characterized by a " big and bashy, ruff and tuff " sound, and are crowd-pleasing in the right way – by playing dubstep next to its ancestor, reggae, he creates constant good vibes, and he veers towards the genre's more danceable moments. It doesn't stop in CB2, as Jack has plans to put on nights in London in the future. [DC]

Plaster of Paris

Plaster of Paris met at Camberwell College of Arts, where they both did Art Foundation. One day, they thought they'd try covering a song together for an open mic night at what Lewis describes as a "godawful local hippy place." It ended up going really well and in between hearing songs about the joys of friendship, performed by dreadlocked fifty-year-olds, they decided to carry on and started calling themselves a band. Lewis subsequently moved on to King's, whereas

Molly stayed at Camberwell to study sculpture (having already turned down a place to study Opera at the Royal College of Music in favour of the Camberwell Art Foundation course). However, the relocation hasn't prevented them from producing music which, according to ICA, depicts rough and ragged stories of love, lust and woe, combining roots in folk, klezmer and chanson with raw emotion and operatic vocals, and is inspired by such legends as David Bowie, Bjork, Metronomy, Django Reinhart, Nico, Kate Bush and Cab Calloway.

But what do they think of our fair city's music scene? Apparently, it's one without much scope, as Lewis points out that "there really isn't much of a grass roots music scene that we've come across, beyond classical and jazz." Maybe they'll have better luck at Glastonbury, where they're playing this summer, and Paris will certainly appreciate them next month when they perform there. As if that wasn't enough, they're also in the film Unmade Beds, which will be released later this year, premiering at Cannes.

Speaking of which, Molly lost the kazoomophone the day before they were meant to go up to Nottingham to film Unmade Beds. What to do? Spend the entire day (literally) running around London trying to find another old gramophone horn, of course. In the end a hairy-chested, shirtless man (he was only wearing trousers and a pair of braces) named Gordon, with a huge handlebar moustache, came to the rescue and lent them one. [VS]

www.myspace.com/weareplasterofparis

The Chatto Quartet

The Chatto Quartet, made up of Grace (cello), Milan (violin), Lydia (violin), and Shiry (viola), are the latest group to hit Cambridge's classical music circuit. As is the case with gifted teenagers, they had come across each other in different musical organisations like Pro Corda and the Royal College of Music, but only came together as a unit when they all found themselves together in Cambridge last autumn.

They were first heard publicly at the launch for the Shop on Jesus Lane, where they are the resident quartet; they "really love the space to work in" , and hope to play there again soon. Their first concert proper was in the King's Chapel last week, where they played works by Shostakovich and Dvorak (they "feel an affinity with Slavonic music" ), and concerts in other colleges will follow, starting with Caius on 1 March.

The Chatto Quartet claim as inspiration those musicians, like Max Baillie or the Brodksy Quartet, who "visibly really enjoy themselves on stage" . They are extremely positive about classical music in Cambridge, and the wealth of talented musicians and groups, but admit that, with exceptions like CUCO's fusion of West African drumming with European classical pieces this term, the classical and non-classical scenes here are "by and large two separate worlds" . More attempts at interaction are needed, they argue, and by playing in unconventional spaces like the Shop, they're making their own contribution. [DC]

Individual Artists

Steve Downie is at King's. When asked for a sentence on his music, he replied "It's very bare, there‘s nothing superfluous – just big vocals with acoustic guitar." He was in a band at fourteen but started performing solo three years ago.

His influences are mostly Canadians. Either old ones like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, or young ones like Rufus Wainwright. He plans to spend the year after graduation travelling the country, bumming on friends' sofas, and living "the impoverished musician's life" . At the moment, however, he runs the ‘8-Track Shack', an open-mic night at King's every other Thursday.

He once shot his friend in the mouth with a pencil launcher (whatever that is) and currently lives in Milton Keynes which, believe it or not, was where they filmed Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. [OR]

Ravi Amaratunga both lives and studies at Cambridge. He performs solo when not performing with his band Dress Rehearsal Rag (also featured on this page). He describes his music as electronica and says he decided to try it having listened to a bit too much of Warp Records and Planet Mu's output.

He finds the Cambridge music scene a bit claustrophobic and too dominated by minimal house but says you can find "hidden gems".

He plans to keep performing until his fingers and ears drop off. [OR]

www.myspace.com/rjamaratunga

Thomas Edwards

You may have seen Thomas Edwards playing the ukulele on the street outside King's. He started writing songs around the age of fifteen and his first ever song was called The Adult Choking Protocol, inspired by a day of St John's Ambulance training.

His influences are Herman Dune (He used to play at an open mic spot in Paris run by the band's singer David) and Daniel Johnston, whose lyrics he describes as " incredible " . He says that his music is " Like a story, but to music " and is currently working on a song-story for children about a sasquatch called Yves. He hopes to create animation and a live-show to go with it. When not writing music, he is either studying the troubadours in old Occitan or watching The Wire. [OR]

www.myspace.com/thomasgedwards

We didn't have space to cover all the bands we found but they are still worth checking out. Here they are:

Run of the Mill – Celtic folk music

Eighth Rule – Wycombe-based indie band

Robbie Baker – Singer with a penchant for serial killers

Lost Boys – Queen's-based indie rock

band

Claves – Electroacoustic Jazz

Soyadrinkyum – Acoustic guitar skills

Assembly Point Three – Jazz funksters

Emma Parnes – Piano driven pop

The New Theresas – Alumni folk rock of Tents fame

Top Attack – Nu metal-style rockers

Jazane – Laid-back Drum & Bass

The Get Up Forward – Funksters

Frank the Man – Hardcore Bedford-based rocker

Caimbo – Blonde Darkness-style rockers

Will Buchanan's Jazz Attack – Jazz attack

Trailing Cable – Cambridge-based

hardcore punk

The Puncture Repair Kit – Folksy indie

The Tupolev Ghost – Cambridge-based rockers

Kyla Bowen-la Grange – Alumna female songstress

City Cops – Amersham-based swinging acoustic


Posted on Friday 29 February 2008