Xavier Voigt-Hill

Single review: Danny L Harle feat. Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Super Natural’

An exquisite marriage between ultra-modern melodic oomph and delicate yet alluring pop vocals, ‘Super Natural’ is exactly what it says on the startlingly-polished tin.

Originally published in The Edge

For the uninitiated, PC Music is weird. Perhaps ideally described as a production collective set on a synthetic and garish model for a future in which dance and pop and fun and samples of distorted latex are all synonymous, its most forward-thinking and public-facing presentations to date have come courtesy of affiliate Samuel Long, aka SOPHIE – Product, his own compendium of singles and bleeps, and the Vroom Vroom EP he produced for Charli XCX to launch her label of the same name.

Eloquent in interviews without the need for child-like voice pitching, a smiling and familiar face on camera with an avid social media presence, and producing the signature nectar free from any of the potentially bitter points generally there to be unearthed, the movement has found a frontman perfect for their partnership with the venerable Columbia Records in Danny L Harle. ‘Super Natural,’ his third single of the relationship, is the best yet, catapulting the uber-contemporary brand back towards late-millennium raves. Driven by claps and firmly bleating synths rising throughout, this is as much a hyperactive club record as a stimulating, radio-nudging tune. Continue reading “Single review: Danny L Harle feat. Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Super Natural’”

Album review: DJ Snake – Encore

A record in which personal signatures become tedious gimmicks and self-development turns regressive and unconfined, DJ Snake’s full-length debut is a profusely faulted conundrum.

Originally published in The Edge

When ‘Middle’ trickled out of relatively nowhere last October, I was confident that I’d uncovered a little gem. To an extent, that became true: six months later, it received a gold certification from the BPI after its optimism, particularly from Mancunian singer Bipolar Sunshine, and then-fresh stretched vocal snippets in the break came together to create a very solid pop song that happened to be DJ Snake’s first proper solo single. Though gathering acclaim since pitching in with ‘Government Hooker’ on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, Paris-born William Grigahcine’s rise began properly with ‘Turn Down For What,’ an overwhelmingly brash party record with Lil Jon that is the mournful soundtrack to many a weekend hangover. Following work both with and around the likes of AlunaGeorge and Major Lazer, ‘Middle’ hinted at a more mature, well-realised output with a clear pop touch and listenability. Instead, Encore is a chaotic jumble of castoffs each found slipping into a trap of mediocrity. Continue reading “Album review: DJ Snake – Encore”

Soundtrack to a Twenty20: Every song played at a county cricket match

I spent a drizzly evening on Shazam so you don’t have to

Thursday’s report from the Telegraph on the topic of a city-based Twenty20 league coming as soon as 2018 confirmed the inevitable: a tournament to ape the flashy leagues of almost every other test-playing nation, particularly India and Australia, is incoming whether the existing county community likes it or not. How such a tournament would magically revive the fortunes of the domestic game remains to be seen, but its impending arrival is sure to fuel the growth of ‘cricketainment,’ that ugliest of portmanteaus.

For stubborn purists, there’s a fair bit of a professional Twenty20 experience to despise, yet perhaps the most consistently irritating, regardless of location, is the soundtrack. On any given evening, county grounds are filled with a jumbled mix of records picked, presumably by an ECB-guided hand, to inject energy into crowds, celebrate rare moments of cricketing magic like boundaries being hit and overs ending, and usually just annoy people who’ve actually turned out to watch some cricket.

To illustrate the absurdity of the situation, I travelled to the 1st Central County Ground in Hove last night to see Sussex host Glamorgan in the final NatWest T20 Blast game of the season. Though the match, which was meant to begin at 6:30, ended up overrun by rain, the four hours of music that accompanied it may have been the most frustrating element of it all. Continue reading “Soundtrack to a Twenty20: Every song played at a county cricket match”

Peep Show goes stateside as the value of originality goes down the drain

Bemoaning Mark and Jeremy’s upcoming American rebirth.

Originally published in The Edge

The news reported by Variety that repulsively-named stateside cable network Starz is in the process of adapting Peep Show for its audiences is nothing but a blow to connoisseurs of creativity and self-deprecation.

The original Channel 4 show, created by Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, and Andrew O’Connor, completed its ninth and final series last winter, leaving Mark Corrigan and Jeremy Usborne (David Mitchell and Robert Webb) in the perfect finale of wallowing in their own awfulness in front of a television. Now, with Wilfred graduate Eli Jorne at the helm, its identity inevitably faces a tarnishing from a highly commercialised entertainment industry unwilling to take risks with original concepts. Continue reading “Peep Show goes stateside as the value of originality goes down the drain”

Album review: HONNE – Warm On A Cold Night

A flowing and cohesive set of soulful electronica gleaming with romance, Warm On A Cold Night may bear few unique moments though its dedicated crooning through the narrative provides a perfect soundtrack for the nocturnal and wistful.

Originally published in The Edge

“Okay, it’s 3:17am… If you don’t got a lover, just close your eyes and listen to HONNE.” This instruction, courtesy of a sultry croak from a radio host at the opening of HONNE’s debut album, could not be any more apt. At this point of the evening, timed to experience the album in the sort of woozy, tender emotional state it appears to command, keeping my eyes open is enough of a chore, and the smooth organ-like instrumentation of title track ‘Warm On A Cold Night’ forms such a feathery pillow that is close to being a lullaby. “I want to take you to paradise / In a 1950s Merc,” sings Andy Clutterbuck, HONNE’s bearded half. Expecting anything other than syrupy romantic adventures from Warm On A Cold Night would have been foolish. Enamoured with the tender embrace, I go wherever he asks me. Continue reading “Album review: HONNE – Warm On A Cold Night”

Live review: Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, London

Taking in the first of the band’s four sold-out nights at the home of football.

Originally published in The Edge

For what would certainly be the pinnacle of my career as an interviewer and the nadir of his as an interviewee, I hope one day to sit down with Chris Martin. Over afternoon tea in a swanky London hotel, we’d talk about how the whole Coldplay thing would have panned out had they never consciously uncoupled from the name Pectoralz when Guy Berryman came along. I’d be armed with the most pertinent queries from their ardent fanbase, such as what the hell Mylo Xyloto actually means, how one should best attempt to pronounce it, and why the 42-second title track that opened the album of the same name wasn’t just properly bundled into the start of ‘Hurts Like Heaven.’ If the venue didn’t have a strict policy against such a thing and the inevitable PR folks in the corner weren’t glaring at me too furiously, I’d present him with a goose to see whether his natural reaction would be to say a gentle boo with a smile or to crouch to its height, leap across it to the nearest pastel-tinted piano, and begin a tender falsetto. Why bother with this palaver? Well, after 16 years of being Coldplay for Martin and his silent accompanists Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion, surely the time has come for a little fun. Continue reading “Live review: Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, London”

Festival review: Sunday at Common People 2016

Duran Duran anchors the serene second and final day of Southampton’s leading festival.

Originally published in The Edge

Surveying the Common People site from atop a ferris wheel early on Sunday afternoon, a gentle reggae lilt emanating from David Rodigan and friends on the Uncontained Stage combined with a sky tinted the clearest of blues to paint a picture of sheer tranquility. Lazy days on the Common are tempting enough even without the allure of a fledgling festival. When you mix in a lunchtime workout on the main stage from Mr. Motivator, the presence of new wave royalty with rumours of elaborate pyrotechnics and confetti cannons, and all the cultural delight and gourmet eccentricity of a fancy fair situated within walking distance for most attendees, you’re left with an irresistible recipe for age-discarding delight. Continue reading “Festival review: Sunday at Common People 2016”

Festival review: Saturday at Common People 2016

We review Craig David’s hometown return and debut festival headline show.

Originally published in The Edge

Such is the adoration felt towards Craig David in his hometown of Southampton, he could easily have just stepped onto the stage at Common People on Saturday night to motionlessly croon a hit from the turn of the millennium before retreating to his Miami abode without a word and still cause a city to collectively swoon. Instead, he reminded us all just why he is a national treasure exploding for the second time as he brought a taste of that atmosphere to his family and thousands of friends with an emphatic display of cross-generational skills. Continue reading “Festival review: Saturday at Common People 2016”

“Common People is a good festival to launch yourself into” – An interview with Rob da Bank

Ahead of Common People’s return to Southampton, we chat to the man behind it all.

Originally published in The Edge

This weekend sees the second run of Common People, the first taste of 2016’s summer festival action for The Edge’s hometown. Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at our picks from the lineup and set the scene for the Bank Holiday weekend’s festivities in our full preview. Now, with stages going up and excitement building; I spoke to curator, founder, and Hampshire local Rob da Bank about life organising festivals from Southampton to Toronto, local musical talent appearing on the Common, and bouncy castles. Continue reading ““Common People is a good festival to launch yourself into” – An interview with Rob da Bank”

Eurovision, Mon Amour

Heaven is a place in Stockholm this year.

Originally published in The Edge

The Eurovision Song Contest is the pinnacle of humanity. Each year since 1956, up to 27 nations have battled it out in the ultimate televised bloodbath in front of hundreds of millions, with their weapons of cheesy pop songs and questionable dance moves.

But you knew that already, for Eurovision also serves as that most British of institutions: an excuse to chuckle with schadenfreude at our own mediocrity. Until 2002 things were pretty consistently adequate, concluding with Jessica Garlick’s second place in Estonia. What followed was so beautifully catastrophic that the hangover lingers to this day. Continue reading “Eurovision, Mon Amour”