MODERN NATURE
Jack Cooper is a musician and composer based near Cambridge, UK.
He is primarily the leader of Modern Nature, a group that blurs the lines between folk music, modern composition and improvisation. Since 2019, alongside collaborators Jeff Tobias and Jim Wallis, they have released two critically acclaimed albums and a host of other material that includes an instrumental album, a short record called Annual and four cassettes of improvised music. Their next album No Fixed Point In Space is due in autumn 2023 on Bella Union Records.
His notated music has been performed by the UK based chamber group Apartment House, at Fouroneone in New York and recordings of his pieces Tributaries and Arrival were released on the U.S. label Astral Spirits. In 2024 the BBC Concert Orchestra commissioned a piece called ‘Triptych For Orchestra’ which was performed at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Describing his work, Jack Cooper says “in all my work I provide a framework for musicians to interact within where no instrument or performer is more important than the other. All of the musical elements; the melody, the pulse, the dynamics and the narrative are the shared responsibility of the collective. I want to hear that magic in detail, so I lean towards slow and quiet music”
He was previously a member of the rock bands Mazes and Ultimate Painting and has worked as a touring musician for Andrew Savage (Parquet Courts) and The David Nance Group.
TRUST FUND
Trust Fund, the musical project of singer-songwriter Ellis Jones.
Fans of Jones’ delicate, funny, relatable songwriting will know that yes, it has been a while. His last album was released six years ago. The 2018 LP Bringing the Backline – which received praise from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and more – coincided with Jones calling time on Trust Fund, as band members began their own families, and he moved to Norway (and then on to Canada) to begin a career in academia. As he puts it: “I turned thirty, I moved away, and I thought, ‘I guess I don’t do that anymore’”.
His return reflects a realisation that his music-making days continue to stretch out before him, and marks the development of a mature style that offers both continuity and change. While previous Trust Fund albums have foregrounded a fuzzy, indie-rock aesthetic, on Has It Been A While? Jones strips his songs down to classical guitar and vocals, supported by captivating string quartet arrangements provided by Maria Grig. Trust Fund’s lyrical dexterity remains, and is showcased here on tracks such as The Mirror (a duet with Radiant Heart’s Celia MacDougall), whose vainglorious protagonist would gladly “use the mirror as TV”.
THE BALLET
Formed in 2005 by Greg Goldberg and Craig Willse, The Ballet marry wry poeticism with pop romanticism and a queer DIY ethos to create literate, infectious pop gems. The band self-released their first two albums: Mattachine! (2006) and Bear Life (2009). These records caught the attention of indie-label-legends Fortuna Pop!, who released their third album, I Blame Society, in 2013. After FortunaPop! closed shop, The Ballet partnered with Fika Recordings, who released their fourth album, the critically acclaimed Matchy Matchy, in 2019.
The Ballet have been joined by a few other musicians over the years including Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Michael O'Neill, who left in 2007 to join JD Sampson in MEN, as well as guest appearances on previous albums from Linton of The Aislers Set, Ramesh from Voxtrot, Scott Matthew, and Kaki King.
In addition to citing Stephin Merritt as a formative influence, Goldberg—who writes and home-records all of the band’s songs—draws from an array of pop artists and periods; from 60’s bubblegum to 80’s synthpop and 90’s indiepop, fusing these genres in sophisticated and novel ways.
FRESH
Punx from London who love emo, shredding, touring, oat milk and using friendship to fill a large and uncertain hole inside of yourself. Made up of singer and guitarist Kathryn Woods, bassist George Phillips, guitarist Joely Smith and drummer Daniel Goldberg.
MAMMOTH PENGUINS
Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.
Mammoth Penguins are Emma Kupa (guitar, vocals), Mark Boxall (bass, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, vocals). Reminiscent of the pop melodies of The Beths, the indie dissonance of Land of Talk, and the guitar forward slacker rock of Weezer, Mammoth Penguins marry heart-ache indiepop with spiky guitars and Emma’s frank confessional songwriting.
ATLANTA DREAM SEASON
Atlanta Dream Season are an indie rock band from London consisting of David Singleton (vocals & guitar), Donal Sweeney (vocals & guitar), Robin Lindop Fi$her (vocals & bass) and Jim Humphries (drums).
Atlanta Dream Season have yet to disband acrimoniously in 2027 as the members move on to self-indulgent solo projects. In 2036, they will undertake a moderately well-received reunion tour.
HOLIDAY GHOSTS
Holiday Ghosts - a prolific four-piece of musicians and friends bring their hip-shaking, head thrashing, raw and upbeat energy to their recordings and unforgettable live shows. The result is unadulterated and unclean, unabashed and uncompromised. As drummer, Katja Rackin, and guitarist Sam Stacpoole, share lead vocal duties, their voices come together as one with dispersed harmonies, often joined by rhythm guitarist Ben Nightingale, and grounded by Morgan Lloyd-Mathews tastefully simplistic bass grooves. Call it garagy, jangly, rock n rolly, indie, punky, poppy, whatever you wanty.
Since the birth of the band they have played iconic stages throughout the UK and Europe, from Latitude Festival to Left Of The Dial, from Dot to Dot to Misty Fields from the Pyrenees mountains to the chapels of Chester. They’ve toured with top acts such as WITCH, BODEGA, Shannon & The Clams, Juan Wauters, Black Lips, The Bug Club & more; attracted widespread praise across the press community (KEXP, Brooklyn Vegan, The Guardian, The Independent, Stereogum, DIY, So Young, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Gigwise & more), and been consistently spotlighted by BBC 6 Music, with their Album of the Day feature and live interviews. With catchy melodies, fiery lyrics, hard-picked guitars and a DIY punk spirit, Holiday Ghosts have cemented their status in the UK music scene and have big plans for the year ahead.
SUEP
Featuring members of Porridge Radio, Joanna Gruesome, Garden Centre and PC World, SUEP’s debut is fresh outsider guitar pop packed in a six track genre-fluid mini album. Tied by the force of invincible friendship, SUEP playfully subvert every little life-struggle into cohesively winsome tunes, flying high on lighthearted theatrics and absurdist reserve against the world.
Led by Georgie Stott (of Porridge Radio, Garden Centre) and Josh Harvey, SUEP was born out of a near-decade of playing in sheds and barns with like minded personnel, holding a mutual love for Paul McCartney, Jona Lewie, the B-52s, Devo and other performative freaks enjoying themselves.
EVRIPIDIS AND HIS TRAGEDIES
Evripidis and His Tragedies is Evripidis Sabatis. The "Tragedies" are the devastating, confessional, self-sarcastic, darkly humorous songs that draw on his classical piano training, queer sensibility and storytelling skills to examine and own up to the vicissitudes of life. Evripidis' pop inclinations take us for a bumpy, dancey ride across the fine line between tragedy and joie de vivre.
SACRED PAWS
Sacred Paws have a natural inclination not to take things too seriously. You can hear it all the way through a conversation with its two members, guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers, punctuated by rolls of giggles and thoughtful pauses, and you can hear it in the light touch they bring to their music, a jangly blend of indie pop full of fizzing world rhythms and bright horns.
Shimmering guitar riffs dance between snappy beats and swooning melodies that will have crowds committing to far more than a simple head-bob. “I think we’d get bored if it was too slow,” Eilidh says. “We’d never want to play something live that people couldn’t dance to. It would feel really strange to us. It’s kind of the whole point.”
AUTOCAMPER
With buckets of melancholic charm and a cardigan collection that would make even Stephen Pastel blush, Autocamper are the perfect pop antidote to Manchester's predictable post-punk machismo. Their new single Summertime / Ken Hom, effortlessly captures the jangle pop spirit of the '80s—without the C86 revisionism. Driven by a relentlessly melodic organ and a spare, scratchy guitar jangle, both tracks exemplify Autocamper's fresh and exciting UK-meets-NZ pop sound.
SASSYHIYA
Sassyhiya (pronounced “Sassy Hiya”) were formed when Helen and Kathy, real-life partners and co-songwriters, joined up with Pablo and Neil (drums and guitar). Helen had previously been in Boys Forever and Basic Plumbing, collaborating with much-missed Veronica Falls musician Patrick Doyle. She and Kathy then formed Barry, a stripped-down queercore outfit, with Bart McDonagh (The Male Gays) and Mark Amura (My Executive Dysfunction). Sassyhiya feels like a culmination of all these elements, hitting the sweet spot between post-punk and indie pop. They know their way around a melody but still keep it wonky, with influences ranging from the Breeders and Broadcast to Dolly Parton.
