Tag Archives: Music

Bones Ate Arfa, Brighton music scene, Fever Rouge, Fire Escape, ism, Kocapoli, Lana Death Ray, Leibniz, Spill, Will E Bray's Horrible Lot

Music: Tallulah Gray’s Top Ten Must-See Bands For 2025!

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Brighton’s live music scene is one of if not the most exciting parts of living in the city, with a myriad of live music venues to choose from and a wide variety of genres explored by local bands. With so much on, it can be hard to tell what bands should be on your radar. What you need is a guiding hand… Fortunately, The Whistler’s Music Editor is here to shine a light

10. Fire Escape

I first caught Fire Escape back in January and recently caught up with them at their show supporting Lifts. The difference is night and day between January and now as the Brighton-based 5-piece has really tightened up their sound over the last year. Their shows are vibrant and energetic, blending a variety of influences to result in a post-punk meets performance art set that really distinguishes them from other bands in the Brighton scene. (Photo by @moonrockmgmt)

9. Kocapoli

With their angelic harmonies and their driving bassline alongside guitarist Billy Twamley’s blues rock riffs, this band feels like Fleetwood Mac meets The Doors. I first saw them play at Rossi Bar during the tail end of Summer and haven’t been able to get enough since. If you like powerful instrumentals and sultry vocals in equal measure than this is definitely a band you’ll want to see! (Photo by @Flyhighmedia_)

8. ism

I had no idea what to expect when I saw Ism(stylised ‘ism’) play Daltons back in October, and this kind of curiosity is exactly what seems to fuel the band and their eclectic performances. From their decision to assign themes to every gig they play, to the way in which lead singer Tyra Kristoffersen teases the audience during the set, this band is a surefire way to enjoy your evening. (Photo Shot by the band and @__pmw_)

7. Will E. Blay’s Horrible Lot

No words can really do justice to the vibe the Horrible Lot bring to their shows. An equal mixture of Irony and pure funkadelic talent. Frontman Will E. Blay’s energy on stage is infectious and the characterization he and the rest of the Horrible Lot lean into while performing on stage is a load of fun to watch. From fantastic music to an entertaining performance, The Horrible Lot certainly has it all. (Photo by @moonrockmgmt)

6. Bones Ate Arfa

The self proclaimed “Junkyard Dogs” of Brighton, Bones Ate Arfa has been making waves in the Brighton live music scene all year. Their latest EP release Akimbo People serves as a concise and emblematic release for the band. If you’re looking for heavy basslines and a punk rock energy then you are in luck! (Photo by @_beccaconn_)

5. Leibniz

After the release of their new EP Lifetime Patient, Leibniz has been a force to reckon with. Their shows are moody and cathartic, with a set that swells until you almost can’t bare anymore just to hit you with a sensational wave of release. I personally think this band is one of the strongest playing in the Brighton scene at the moment and I cannot wait to see what they do next. (Photo by @_redinfocus)

4. Fever Rouge

Fever Rouge are rapidly reaching Local Legends status within the Brighton music scene. From a well recieved tour to their phenomenal music video release for ‘The Buzz’ (shot by Cavey) this band is reaching new heights every time I see them. I last caught their live set supporting Die Twice at the Hope and Ruin and man, do these guys put on a show. Tracks like ‘Weatherman’ and ‘Feed the Villain bring such a palpable psychedelic rock meets King Krule energy that really sets them apart from modern rock bands. (Photo by @tale.pho)

3. Lana Death Ray

As a massive fan of the grunge and shoegaze music from the 90s, Lana Death Ray is a dream to watch on stage. Frontman Beau Jackson’s dynamic vocal range coupled with their driving rhythm section makes for a new take on the band’s 90s influences. And rumour has it, they’ve got an EP in the works for the new year! (Photo by Fynn Moran Media)

2. Slag

Slag has rapidly taken over my Spotify ever since I saw them play Daltons in early October. Their debut single Ripped is punchy and dynamic, and the way in which the band plays into the lilt of their lead singer’s voice alongside their incisive instrumentals. This band (along with Number One on our list) is really THE band to watch in 2025. (Photo by @ellatibbett)

1. Spill

It’s no secret that Spill is one of the strongest bands in Brighton at the moment. Their rich sound is meticulously crafted and their stage shows are filled to the brim with raw and electric talent. Spill has had a big year and it looks like 2025 will be starting off with a bang as they launch into their first tour to support their upcoming single release ‘Mr Blue’. Not a moment of their set is wasted as they pack their shows full of profound and cynical lyricism, overdriven yet melodic guitar riffs and the meanest bass tone Brighton has to offer. (Photo by @Caveyslife)

Die Twice, Fever Rouge, Slag

Music Review: Slag, Fever Rouge and Die Twice at The Hope & Ruin by Alex Hill

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It was pouring down with rain as I walked up the high street to The Hope and Ruin, yet despite the conditions huddles of devoted smokers were lining the pavement outside the venue as I darted inside in search of shelter. It was a packed gig – the lineup consisted of openers Slag and Fever Rouge with Die Twice headlining; all exciting new up and comiong bands in the indie scene. Outside might have been miserable, but inside it was a night of sweaty, attractive young people playing guitars and screaming down microphones. What’s not to like? 

The night kicked off as Slag took the stage. From the name of the band, I’d expected some kind of aggressive hardcore punk band and yet was very pleasantly surprised to hear their mix of shoegaze and indie with dreamy guitar rhythms overlapped by keyboard and intricate guitar melodies played by the captivating frontwoman Amelie as she sang her heartfelt lyrics. While only having one song released, the Brighton based five-piece band already have a defining sound and clear appeal.  

Fever Rouge sounded more punk than Slag, with distorted bass lines, heavy guitar riffs and screeching vocals driving their fast-paced songs that still left room for breaks overlapped by surf-sounding guitar; giving them an interesting and unique sound. The highlight of their set was a breakdown during one of their songs where there was a wailing Van Halen-esque guitar solo accompanied by crazy drumming and the rest of the rhythm section all laying into it together. They definitely set the bar high for Die Twice. 

While by no means blowing away the previous bands, the headliners clearly had the heaviest sound and the highest energy performance – at one point towards the end I was enveloped in the mosh pit which bordered on teeth losing territory. They were yet another band with an extremely diverse sound, some songs had a funky, disco feel as the members danced around the stage. Others, including one of my favorites – ‘Evelyn’ – took a slower pace with the singer using voice effects with an alluring and sensual result. Of course some were also especially heavy, a delight to my ears as I and everyone around me were forced to bob our heads in appreciation. Die Twice sure has some eager fans – as well as creating a fairly scary mosh pit; shouts of “I love you” echoed through the room, and after playing their final song, resounding boos followed and so we were treated to not one but two further songs. 

The performance was brilliant; as well as sounding just like they do on their recorded songs (check their new EP ‘A Beautiful Thing’), They were bounding around the tiny stage and pushing their guitars under the noses of those in the front row to their delight, showing an undeniable stage presence – this is why small, packed gigs are simply the best kind, and The Hope and Ruin is a great venue. 

Slag and Fever Rouge both have some more shows in Brighton before Christmas, while Die Twice are currently gigging around the UK on tour – all three are definitely worth seeing live. 

Brighton Life, Die Twice, Fever Rouge, Hope and Ruin, Slag

Music Review: Slag, Fever Rouge, Die Twice

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On tour promoting their new EP ‘A Beautiful Thing’, Die Twice hit up Brighton’s very own Hope and Ruin with supporting acts Slag and Fever Rouge.
Tallulah Gray was there

After a phenomenal sets from the first two bands – and more of them later – Die Twice had a lot to prove by the time their headline slot rolled around. And they didn’t disappoint.

The first thing that strikes as the band take the stage is a palpable chemistry that can’t be ignored. The ease and charm with which guitarist Billy Twamley moves around the stage while playing his bluesy-alternative riffs with such precision is something to be studied.

Lead vocalist Olly Bayton is an absolute treat of a frontman, playing a wonderful game of cat and mouse with the audience, while the rhythm section proves to be the real strength of the band’s sound. With bassist Finn Lloyd and drummer Jake Coles in perfect harmony throughout the set. It’s hard to go wrong with such a fervent rhythmic backing and unique bass riffs that really set the band apart from the standard alternative rock/indie bands of the present moment.

The band comes across as refined, yet loose. Allowing the audience to peek behind the curtain of professionalism at four young men having fun on stage, doing what they love, with the people they love. Particular standouts include their performance of ‘The Art of Dying’ that was met with roaring applause by an audience screaming along to every word.

Not to be glossed over is how truly incredible both Slag (below) and Fever Rouge.

Slag has been the Brighton band to watch for a while now, and are doing an excellent job cementing themselves as must-sees within the Brighton music scene. Their latest single ‘Ripped’ is a refreshingly authentic and excellently produced release.Catch them while you can.

photo by Anna Polianichko @tale.pho

As for Fever Rouge (above) , the change up of their usual setlist served to create what has to be one of the best shows they’ve performed thus far. The impact they’ve made on the Brighton scene over the last year or so has been clear and effective – Fever Rouge are not going anywhere. With absolutely stellar performances of tracks ‘Weatherman’ and ‘Feed the Villain’ as well as their latest single ‘The Buzz’, their set was tight and utterly electric. As they gear up for new music releases and plenty more gigs Fever Rouge will continue to blow audiences away with their sharp sonic ability.

Club Silencio, My Bloody Pantomime, Panto, Peter Chrisp

Peter Chrisp on Club Silencio

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For the last nine years, Club Silencio has been staging extraordinary shows in various Brighton venues. I remember seeing my first one in a sex dungeon in Kemptown and feeling as if I had walked into one of the transgressive early films of John Waters. The next time I saw them they’d built a giant television set in the Phoenix Art Space, where they performed a surreal version of Blind Date, in which a water phobic contestant won a date with the Creature from Hove Lagoon. Then they turned the Arcobaleno bar into a pool party set in hell.

You can see Club Silencio yourself this December, in the Latest Music bar in Manchester St, performing My Bloody Pantomime (“Pantomime characters are quaking in their stilettos as a serial killer is picking them off one by one”). We are promised “gags, gore and a giant eyeball in this pantomime of epic proportions.” Stuart says this is the first Club Silencio show to feature panto characters: “However, most of them are dead!” 

I asked Stuart how it all began. “Silencio was created back in 2015. I’d been spending some nights at Subline, at the time Brighton’s only men-only sex dungeon, with my friend John Tovey. We loved it down there and saw loads of possibility for the subterranean space. The idea was to subvert the space by making it a very classy night. Dressing up in fancy clothes was encouraged, and the space was dressed with frilly lamp shades. We had a toilet attendant, who recited poetry, and a gimp in a tuxedo who walked around with doughnuts on a silver tray. I booked friends – mostly female folk singers – to play, as they brought something unique to the dank and seedy space, and I dressed up as a clown, and sang songs between the acts. For the first show I didn’t really have many acts, so I made up sketches involving puppets, and got friends to wear masks and lip-sync to weird audio clips.”

As for the Silencio name, Stuart says, “I had been to Paris that year and really wanted to go to David Lynch’s nightclub, Club Silencio, named after the club in his film Mulholland Drive. However, it was very expensive to get in and I couldn’t afford it at the time. So, irked by the exclusiveness of it, when it came to picking a name for my own club night, I chose that as a bit of a screw you to David, because Brighton’s Club Silencio was going to be a cheap and more subversive space.

John was my chief in command, and he was brilliant at dressing the room. My friend Joe worked with me in a kitchen at the time, and I persuaded him to be the gimp for the night. My friend Louis was the toilet attendant, and Juno was happy to DJ. Another friend, Ralph, ate doughnuts slowly to a weird advert for Krispy Kreme I’d made (the joke was they were our sponsors). I loved the idea that anyone who wanted to get involved could. After that lots of amazing performers, musicians, actors and creatives have come and gone over the nine years that followed, but John, Misha, Kit, Damian, Tommy, Jon, and Juno, have been at the core of Silencio.”

Alongside Stuart, the main writer is the novelist and actress Juno Dawson. Juno played Dorothy in Club Silencio’s wonderful musical, Return Again to Oz, a hit show in last year’s fringe. You can listen to the songs from the show on Bandcamp.

The regular club host is Jon Griffin, who does an uncanny impression of Death from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Jon writes his own satirical monologues for the shows, and is so good at being Death that he has since taken the character into stand-up comedy clubs. He’s a composer, like Stuart, and they co-write the songs for the shows.

For Pride in 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Stuart and Juno created Equality of the Daleks. Juno, author of several Dr Who related books, got to play the doctor in a time travelling investigation of how the brick that started the riots was thrown. The brick thrower was a sexually confused dalek.

I wondered if the shows are a reaction to the way Brighton Pride has become corporate and mainstream? “Well, I thought the gay scene was crap, and Pride was just an extension of that. It had nothing to offer me and made me feel unwelcome because I didn’t conform to the idea of what a gay man should be like. I rejected it, and thus was an outsider from my tribe, so in the end I made my own tribe. Now queer outsiders are very in vogue, and there’s loads of great nights that cater to them.”

For the last nine years, Club Silencio’s magnificent sets, props and costumes have been made by Kit Yellery (Odd Fabrication on Instagram). Stuart says, “Kit is incredible and one of the things I always loved was arriving at the venue and seeing what amazing things she’d made. She really is a genius. Last year was her final show with us, and it feels very strange not to have her involved now.”

Club Silencio shows are inclusive, welcoming and immersive. Audience members are encouraged to dress up and take part in surreal games and competitions.  There’s usually an interval, when the actors pose for life drawing sessions, with prizes at the end. 

Next year will be Club Silencio’s tenth anniversary, and Stuart says he has big plans for the celebration: “I can say no more but it will be something special.” Meanwhile, we have My Bloody Pantomime to look forward too – guaranteed to be a highlight of the festive season. 

l http://www.outsavvy.com/event/22586/club-silencio-presents-my-bloody-pantomime

l http://www.instagram.com/clubsilenciobrighton

l https://iamelliotlee.wixsite.com/stuart-warwick

l https://www.jonhgriffin.com

l http://www.junodawson.com

l http://www.instagram.com/oddfabrication

l https://clubsilencio2.bandcamp.com/album/return-again-to-oz-original-cast-soundtrack

Bom Banes, Brighton Life, Peter Chrisp

Peter Chrisp talks to Jane Bom-Bane

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Jane Bom-Bane plays the harmonium while wearing beautiful mechanical hats, which illustrate her songs, such as ‘I’ve Got A Goldfish Bowl On My Head’. She had the idea to open a café while running musical evenings at the Sanctuary in Hove with her then partner, the multi-instrumentalist, Nick Pynn. After she bought 24 George Street in March 2006, they spent six months restoring the building and creating the café. 

“It was a wing and a prayer,” says Jane. “A lot we did ourselves. People who helped us were friends and gave us really good prices. For a lot of years after, we were giving people free sausage and mash.” Here she’s talking about stoemp and sausage, one of the café’s great Belgian dishes created by Andre Schmidt, the first chef. It’s still on the menu today.

Jane and Nick built seven mechanical tables inspired by table-related wordplay. These are the mirrored Tablerone, the Water Table (a model of the Palace Pier with working rides standing in a rippling sea) and two Aesop’s Tables, showing 1920s animal fable cartoons. The Uns-Table, the Turntable and the 27 Chimes Table all have delightful surprises which I leave to you to discover.

“Until the day before we opened, I still hadn’t worked out a way of putting water in the Water Table. I knew it had to be an oil because water would evaporate. I wanted a transparent oil, but the things I ordered on the net were yellow. And I was in Boots just around the corner and do you know what it was that I spotted? Baby oil! And that baby oil’s been in there for 18 years!”

The front wall of Bom-Bane’s has a bust of Jane with a revolving tray on her head with its own story to tell. Made in 2007 by her brother-in-law, Johnny Justin, it was stolen in 2012, later found in a student garden, minus its hat, and restored in 2017.

Go down the spiral stairway and you reach the basement, the main performance space, its walls covered with paintings and instruments. Although there’s only room for 25 people, it’s a room performers love. Stewart Lee, Bridget Christie, Jerry Dammers and Rich Hall are among the many who have played here.

Bom-Bane’s has a tradition of singing staff, beginning in 2008 with the waitresses Rosi Lalor and Candy Hilton, who Jane discovered were wonderful harmony singers. “I thought I’ve got to harness this, and so I wrote a musical. It was all about the café and how we cooked things, and how I got parsley and coriander mixed up.” 

This was the start of the Bom-Bane’s Family Players, who would perform a folk musical written by Jane every May fringe and at Christmas. These often used the whole building, with an audience of just five following a promenade performance from the attic to the basement.

Puppeteer Daisy Jordan, fresh from art college, joined Bom-Bane’s as a dishwasher in 2010, and soon found herself singing and performing puppetry as a member of the family players. Today she says, “I wonder if I would be a performer/puppeteer if it weren’t for Bom-Bane’s.” 

Isobel Smith, another puppeteer, had only made one puppet when Jane invited her to put on her first show here. Rosi Lalor, encouraged by Jane to write and perform her songs, has gone on to make two solo albums. 

To celebrate the centenary of the crossword in 2013, Jane turned the building into a big crossword puzzle, 5 Down and 20 Across. Her sister, the crossword setter Pegleg, wrote puzzles which were placed on the building’s 20 doors, which had all been turned into black and white paintings by different artists.

I painted one of the doors with the story of the explorer Sir John Franklin’s mysterious disappearance in the Arctic in 1845. By a curious coincidence (or Bom-Bane magic?), Sir John’s ship was discovered a year after I did the painting. This led to me hosting a series of Franklin Disaster Mystery evenings, with Arctic food, Inuit testimony, whale song and Jane as Sir John’s widow singing Franklin ballads.

The current chef is the singer-songwriter, Eliza Skelton. Unlike the waitresses who became singers, she was a singer to begin with. She performs here in the musicals, which she now co-writes, and as a member of the Silver Swans, a madrigal group with Jane and Emma Kilbey. She learned to be a great chef by working in Bom-Bane’s.

In 2008, Eliza and David Bramwell first staged Sing-a-long-a-Wickerman here. Audience members, invited to dress in character, were given a ‘Pagan Hymn Book’, which allowed them to sing along with the songs from the film. Eliza and David take this to festivals and theatres around the country, and still host Folk Horror film screenings in Bom-Bane’s. 

Today, Jane spends midweek with her mum in Coventry, and so the café is only open at weekends. It’s staffed by Jane, Eliza and recent recruit Kate Holden. Jane says, “Kate is helping me in the kitchen. She says she’s not musical, but I’m teaching her to play the guitar, and I think she can sing. Most people can sing.” That very evening Kate made her stage debut, accompanying Jane in a song.

We ended by talking about plans for the future. On the anniversary, 1 September, there’s a coming-of-age celebration, with 18 songs sung by Jane and her family of players. “There was a couple in last week who I got talking to. Somehow we got talking about when we first opened here and he said, “Was there anything that you planned to do that you didn’t do?” And I said “Yes, I wanted to make a tap with water music so that when you turned the tap on music came out with your water, but I never got around to it.” And he said, “I’ll do that for you!””

I tell Jane that I think the cultural impact of this little building has been massive. “When you look at it like that, yes, it’s been a springboard for a lot of people that normally wouldn’t do it. It’s because it’s so little and friendly, and that’s what Brighton’s like, isn’t it? It catches you if you fall.”

l Bom-Bane’s, 24 George St, Kemptown, BN2 1RH

For bookings email janebombane@yahoo.co.uk

Bom-Bane’s

https://janebom-bane.bandcamp.com

https://www.elizaskelton.com

https://www.daisyjordan.co.uk

https://rosilalor.bandcamp.com