With no shows taking place we’ve had to switch around our weekly music news just a little bit. However we will still be here every Tuesday with a Leicester music update for you in partnership with PPL PRS Ltd.
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NEWS
Fontaines D.C. – De Montfort Hall
Monday 10 May 2021
Fontaines D.C. met as a quintet in Dublin, influenced and driven in equal measure by the rich history of their hometown’s counter-culture, their response has been to make concise and immediately authentic indie-punk that has done anything but fall on deaf ears. Their Mercury Prize nomination and Album of the Year 2019 at both BBC 6Music and Rough Trade Record Store, shows just how far the band are going. For these new shows NHS staff and key workers also have the chance to secure free tickets, with 50 being made available at all regional events including Leicester. Tickets will be distributed on a first come first served basis, and anyone wishing to apply must email [email protected] by the end of the day on Tuesday 30 June, listing their profession and the show they want to attend. Tickets will be limited to 2 per customer. ID will be required.
Tickets on general sale on Friday 3 July.
INTERVIEW: Groove & The Bathtub Pings
Groove & The Bathtub Pings are a seven piece funk, soul, motown, disco, reggae, 80s with a bit of 90s, banger-busting band from here in Leicester. The band may have originally been set up as a bit of fun between friends, but now with a growing following and growth from being a covers band to writing their own material, they’re now looking forward to the band’s future and recording their first album. We caught up with Martha & Holly to find out more.
For those who haven’t heard of Groove and the Bathtub Pings, how would you describe the band and your musical style?
H: Haha this is never an easy one to pin down! I’d say it’s like going to a party where your mate is the DJ and they just keep throwing different genres and bangers at you and you’re not sure what to do with yourself but you do know that you’re all having a great time!
M: That fed into how we started off; a covers band with a weird twist of genre crossing mega mashups of songs that probably really shouldn’t go together at all. Then that love of listening to, and playing songs in, different styles across a range of genres stayed with us into writing our originals. So, to answer properly: how would I describe the band? Mental and chaotic but God damn groovy and full to the brim with love and positive vibes.
What have been some of your highlights of playing in the band?
H: There are so many! One that will always stick with me is from a gig we did up in Huddersfield. A woman chatting to me between sets told me it was her first night out since quitting drinking. She said we reminded her she could have a good time without it and she was having one of the best nights she’d had in a long time. That was one of the first moments for me that I realised people were really enjoying it and it wasn’t just our mates anymore; that we could have that much of an impact by playing music and having fun with everyone in the room.
Gig highlight has to be the Abbey Park Bonfire & Fireworks Display. The atmosphere was incredible and I don’t think any of us will ever forget the feeling of performing there to so many people. After our final set, a little boy was waiting at the barriers to see us all, he told us he ‘loved loved loved’ us and that he’d bring his ‘whole class next year’ to watch us too! Can’t think of a more glowing review a band could receive from such a tough critic!
How have you been staying creative during lockdown?
M: I’ve just finished my Uni exams, so I have been pretty busy with that. But I found myself waking up every other day with a bit of a bassline here and the odd sax riff there, that I had to quickly write down when I got up, before carrying on with my Uni work! Then once I finished my exams, I picked up where I’d left off with them all and got cracking! I’ve got 4 songs completely done and about 6 more half done. Next thing though is to try and figure out a way we can all meet up safely to play together again – we miss it so much!
H: Yeah definitely, getting back to playing is what we all need in our souls and we’re ready for it! I’ve been writing some songs, doing some painting and attempting to learn how to record and film things as I FINALLY started my own YouTube channel – something we need to get going for the band too actually!
For anyone who hasn’t heard your music what’s the first track they should check out?
M: Well we were in the studio back in Feb, with the hope of having a few tracks down ready to release in April, but Coronavirus arrived and swiftly nipped those plans in the bud.
However, with our burst of creativity during lockdown, we reckon we’ll be able to offer up a full album soon! Then once that’s out, I’d recommend people head to our UK Garage Mashup, and then to our original bangers Boss Ass Bad Ass Big Ass B*tch, Dirty Sweaty Nights and Cucumber if we just have to pick a few!
What music have you been listening to during lockdown?
B: I’ve taken lockdown as an opportunity to just sit, chill and simply listen to some of my favourite artists, something I haven’t had time to do in ages. I’ve been listening to Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Rubén Blades, Dodie, Lianne La Havas, Kirk Franklin, Nova Twins, Amber Rubarth, Nubiyan Twist, Superorganism, Kimbra, EMEFE, Tchaikovsky, Jacob Collier, Tom Misch and Tank & the Bangas!
H: Jacob Collier and did I mention Jacob Collier?
Who are some of your favourite local acts?
H: Anytime I can go to an event where Rich Bee is DJing I know it’s going to be a good time and The Social Ignition is incredible – you always know you’ll have a good, sweaty time! There are so many more: Earls, Phraser, Celestial Remedy, Dogs on Stilts, Hobo Disco, Sorrell, Bubblegum Hypnosis, anything that Tim Baker and Tom Carnell do, The In-Here Brothers, I could go on!
M: Oooh G & The Soundtribe, Homeless Shakespeare, Avnt Gards, The Titanic Jazz Band, Suddenly Zebras and The Status Trio too!
What do you enjoy most about Leicester as a creative and musical city?
H: I love that it’s a very accepting place, you know if you go into a venue you can easily make friends with the people there, it’s a very welcoming and supportive scene. The ‘Bring the Paint’ street art festival is insane, the murals all over the city are just stunning.
What ambitions do you have for the band in the next 12 months?
M: If you’d asked us a year ago we wouldn’t really have been able to answer; we weren’t sure about our future because we’d just set the band up as a laugh to play to our mates really. But then we started to get an actual following around the city and started getting booked for more and more things! We’re just so pleased that people enjoy our gigs just as much as we do, the crowd is always with us and people just let loose and the energy flows!
So, from here we’d love to get our first album recorded, released (and hopefully well received), bring some of our music video ideas to life and take a shot at playing at some of our favourite festivals too! We’re also really keen to keep up the charity work we do too as we think it’s really important for anyone with some kind of platform, no matter how small, to use it for good.
Sum up the band in 5 words
What the hell is happening?
You can keep up to date with Groove & The Bathtub Pings on Facebook and Instagram.
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Enjoy this week’s best of Leicester playlist! Each week we’ll be pulling together some of our favourites as well as recommendations to highlight some top local talent. This week’s list features picks by interviewees Groove and the Bathtub Pings plus some more tip picks of which Leicestershire acts we’re loving at the moment.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.
MORE MUSIC NEWS NEXT WEEK
