130 bands, five venues, nine days, one city - Norwich. No that’s not a typo. In case you didn’t know the ‘Fine City’ has an incredibly dynamic music scene covering every imaginable genre, but specialising in the more obscure delights of the musical spectrum. Just read the list of influences on your average Norwich band myspace: Velvet Underground? Joy Division? Talking Heads? Animal Collective? The left field is alive and well in Norwich it seems. Just look at the city’s biggest success story of recent years, Bearsuit, who along with Cardiff’s Los Campasinos have spearheaded the deliriously quirky Twee Core movement centred around the Twee as Fuck night at the Buffalo bar in Highbury.

That said the City’s Indie scene, for all its eclecticism, possesses a vibrant, organic and very inclusive sound. The Hot City Sounds Festival, now in its second year, seeks to draw together this energy, focusing it in one immense tapestry of sound that will really bring the city’s immense music scene to the foreground and give it the national recognition it deserves. Maddog spoke to founder and festival organiser Kingsley Harris.

MD: What is Hot City Sounds?

Kingsley: Hot City Sounds is a celebration of local music, by which I mean Norwich, Norfolk, East Anglia. An event to make us feel proud that the area does have culture far beyond opera, ballet and art. A more contemporary and earthy culture of good art rock and pop, hard rock, eclecticism, acoustic singer songwriters too, and lets not forget that mainstream stuff because we are not elitist here. We want to build it up into something people can look forward too.

MD: How many bands are playing?

Kingsley: Around 130 acts/artists are involved over nine days and five venues. The event is mainly built around Acoustic, Indie and Rock bands this year but we do have a Jazz night and will be looking to expand our genres year on year. Basically we are up for anything we feel deserves a stage and that's a big list.



MD: What made you decide to start the Hot City Sounds fest?

Kingsley: I've been doing small festivals and all dayers since the early eighties so this is not much of a departure from what I have done in the past, a bit bigger perhaps. Without going into a massive rant over the council not doing enough to help the contemporary side of our music culture, I just feel we really have something to shout about when it comes to nurturing musicians and songwriting talent. I'm really proud of where I come from and the fact that the music of the area still impresses and excites me.

MD: You also run the excellent label NROne. How does the festival relate to your work on the label?

Kingsley: The two things aren't connected in anyway, although I'm sure they’ll be some people who won't think so. I love Norwich music, all of it. I have my own taste and the label is just a way of helping those I personally like. I wouldn't want people to think that NR ONE is my sole contribution to the local music scene or that this is in someway being run to elevate the bands on the label, because it's not! This is a celebration of local artists and their music and to say we are here and we matter.

 

 

 

  

MD: This is the second year of the festival. What do you feel are the main improvements you've made?

Kingsley: Well it's much bigger, still not as big as we intend it to be, but bigger no less. That means we get to put on more bands and more variety. It's great to have people like Charlie and Emma from B2, Stuart and Ian from the Norwich Arts Centre and Gary from BBC Radio Norfolk Introducing backing the event, they are the kind of professionals that can take this event forward. We have also solved the non-event of last year's magazine by bringing in maddog. I hope everyone will get behind this event to show their belief in the live music scene.

MD: Tell me more about the music video festival you're holding at the Forum this year?

Kingsley: The film festival is being run by Gary Standley at BBC Voices and shows off the lovely and extremely expensive new video screen in the forum [the largest HD screen in Europe at 60 feet wide]. It's going to be immense!

MD: One of the purposes of the festival is to highlight the creativity that exists in the Norwich music scene. Has the festival attracted any attention on a national level?

Kingsley: It has. It was publicised well last year on 6music and Radio One, although the speed of it all bypassed the magazines. This year we are hoping for a bit more coverage on that front and, yes, hopefully draw some people into the area to see what we have to offer.

MD: What bands do you think will be highlights this year?

Kingsley: Every god damn one of them, you snooze you lose.

MD: Tell me about the compilation CD that will be available?

Kingsley: It's a 5" silver disc that takes around 80 minutes worth of music. We are going to play musical sardines and squash as many tracks from our performers onto the disc as we can and then press 1000 copies to give away free at all the gigs. Last year they went within a few nights so be quick if you want a nice keepsake.

Check out the full line up on Hot City Sounds Myspace and keep your eyes peeled for the official Hot City Sounds Brochure currently being designed by maddog!

www.myspace.com/hotcitysounds 

Words >Andrew Wensum