The wild success of the mediocre A Complete Unknown has at least opened up a new trend for cinema: a fictionalised exploration of specific albums recorded by specific artists. These stories tend to hark back to the analogue era, not only because young people who can’t imagine making music without …
In one way, the jazz biopic Everybody Digs Bill Evans is a resounding success as it introduces those of us who are not jazz fanatics to the life of the artist behind some huge hits and of the greatest live jazz recordings ever made. In another way, the jazz biopic …
Music documentaries are very good at providing a sociological picture of the time and place where the band got together. If a band gets famous enough to participate in its own obituary, their lives of success on the road tend to blur into This is Spinal Tap. If there were …
Becoming one of the latest actors to jump into the director’s chair, James McAvoy takes on a semi-true tale of music business bravado and bluster in California Schemin’. The title card sets the tone, cheekily saying its source material is a “true lie”. California Schemin’ follows two budding rappers, Gavin …
First we must congratulate Laura Caselli, the casting director for Two Pianos, for realising the male movie star currently working in France whose vibe best matches Charlotte Rampling’s is François Civil. He has a tendency to play hotheaded romantic heroes and recently carried the two-part adaption of The Three Musketeers …
Buckle up as you’re about to discover your future favourite band. The Left of the Dial names dropped in February, and they go out a stormer; that’s 40-something new acts who are almost now guaranteed and have the talent to make it big. Naturally, the first act to spotlight has …
Melodrama is a constantly sub-genre appreciated by cinephiles. Historically, filmmakers like Douglas Sirk, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Pedro Almodovar earned admiration from the lovers of the seventh art, predominantly because their work approaches the structures of the melodramatic conventions. In this sense, another contemporary filmmaker admired for his oeuvre in …
There are a few artists who make a generational impact. A work that influences and emotions for multiple decades, even if they are not with us anymore. It is the outstanding beauty of artistry that breaks the geographical and time barriers. An accurate example of that concept is Selena Quintanilla, …
Future Days takes the future of new music to Birmingham in a stellar showcase of some of the best up and comers. I was eagerly anticipating first band Piss and they more than delivered – performance art on stage; warning the audience that it may be an uncomfortable set as …
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard transformed from rave set that tore up Electric Brixton into an orchestra that tore up the Royal Albert Hall in an excellent show from one of our finest chameleons. The most prolific, enduring band of our current age show they’re the best at what …
In the non-fiction medium, there is a fascinating sub-genre. In recent years, filmmakers have been documenting unconventional competitions. In both Girls State & Boys State, we follow a mock representative election by high school students who are aficionados of politics. In Pianoforte, the filmmakers narrate the International Chopin Piano Competition, …
Radar festival is the best one-day city festival outside of London and to have it return – stronger than quite possibly ever – with this first wave of announcements signifies its intent to stay – after being on the wrong side of political pressure around Bob Vylan headlining a week …
This could have been a play and may well get a second life as a play, because its single set, very talky script and clever staging keep us in the room for the 100-minute runtime. It is heavily inspired by real events but also plays fast and loose as required …
The first thing that becomes apparent when you set foot in Rotterdam; the home of Left of the Dial festival, is that there’s a statue of a dwarf with a buttplug right by the ticket collection office. The second is that it’s very, very wet – unfortunate at the best …
Giuseppe Verdi may have been dead for the past 124 years, but his legacy as Italy’s greatest 19th century opera composer is as alive as ever on stages around the world. Viva Verdi!, however, the documentary by director Yvonne Russo, shows another side of his legacy in music education and …
It’s rare that a festival can get me so excited when I’ve seen every act on the lineup before; but such is the case with Future Days festival in Birmingham at The Crossing, a one-day alternative event curated by This is Tmrw – the promoters having spotlighted some of the …
When we talk about Coldplay’s journey from a small Manchester stage to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, one name quietly but significantly stands out – Debs Wild. A music consultant with an instinct for recognising raw talent, Wild was among the very first people to see something …
In its third year, Rally festival finally became what it was meant to be. Two years of running on the only wet day in August because of freak storms would have caused any small festival to close and you wouldn’t blame them; despite capturing star zeitgeist acts like early career …
There are few festivals like Arctangent, and that becomes clear when you set foot on the 5,000-capacity field in Somerset that this prog-rock festival calls home. It’s independent, not run by the big Ticketmaster/Live Nation backed festivals, and its small friendly appeal makes it one of the most charming, welcoming …
KPop Demon Hunters, the latest musical adventure from Sony Pictures Animation, is, in many respects, a global hit. Released in mid-June, the title is officially the most-watched animated movie of all time on Netflix, its distributor. Currently, the film sits comfortably at No. 2 on the streaming service’s Global Top …