Following our interview with Tom Marsh where he introduced her, it made sense then to talk to Sarah Maguire, a fellow British expat also based in Berlin. We caught up with her via e mail...

Cat On The Wall: For those of our readers who have yet to discover Sarah Maguire can you tell us a little about yourself? Who is Sarah Maguire?

Sarah Maguire: The first thing that comes to my mind is…I don’t know! Ha ha. But I guess that describes me quite nicely in a way. I am a girl from Northern England that has been on quite a journey around the world and back. I am a compulsive learner and am on a desperate mission to find out about anything and everything that interests me, which is quite a lot! On this quest I have had to do quite a lot of looking on the inside as well as on the outside and I guess that comes out in my Writing and artwork.

COTW: You’re currently based in Berlin. It seems that the city is still a thriving place to be for musicians and artists as many artists I’ve interviewed recently either live or have recorded there. What brought you to the city?

SM: I ran away to Berlin from London about four years ago. I do this kind of thing every so often. I am quite a drastic person and if I want to change something I often do it without much fear or thought. So I chose Berlin because a friend lived here and said that the rent was cheap. I felt extremely trapped in London, working just to survive and sucking my creativity dry. Not very romantic I am afraid. I think wherever there is cheap rent and the cost of living is low, artists will flock. It means that you are a lot freer to create on a daily basis. Great things can blossom from this freedom if it is respected.

COTW: You play an instrument called the Autoharp – I’d never seen one until I watched the video of you performing on your myspace page although I had heard of it (and regularly confused it with the pedal steel guitar). How did you discover the instrument?

SM: As I mentioned earlier I am a compulsive learner. Well, there is an exception to the rule when it comes to musical instruments. In the past when I was a very small girl I had a fair few bad experiences with music teachers, which left a very bad taste in my mouth for learning to play instruments. Out of trauma, fear and a touch of stubbornness I vowed I would never pick up an instrument again. One night I was over at my friend’s dinner party and I saw this strange instrument laying on the coffee table. I asked her what on earth it was. She explained that I ‘HAD’ to see this thing in action and that it was for anyone who had trouble playing an instrument. You just press a chord button and strum! I ran home (not literally, maybe stumbled) and ordered a vintage Autoharp from eBay straight away. About four months later my first song was born!! Abracadabra!

COTW: What inspires you to create songs? How do you write your lyrics (are they inspired by books you’ve read, films you’ve seen, conversations you’ve had with people etc)? Talk us through the creative process...

SM: I love real life! I adore being nosy and ear wigging into other people’s conversations. I call it ‘being in someone else’s story’. At home I own a TV but it’s not connected to the aerial. I use it to watch countless films on DVD. A lot of the things I watch are documentaries obviously, cos I have to be ‘learning’ all the time. Ha ha ha! And yeah I read a LOT as well! So I guess it’s half-autobiographical and half-inspired by the subjects that I consume from day to day.

COTW: What gets you in a cultural mood at the moment (music, art, fashion, films, books etc)?

SM: For the first time in many years I feel at home in Berlin. I have got lots of artist friends and we are all very supportive of each other’s work. At first it was a little family and now it seems to be growing into more of a community. Even though I mostly work alone, I think that this idea of a social art community really helps and drives me. We are all living artists, creating everyday. It’s like an evolving culture. This is very inspiring and feels very powerful to me. Does this answer your question?

COTW: Yes, it does! Now what are your plans for the near future?

SM: I really want to do a little tour in the UK. Break out of Berlin for a couple of weeks and come sing my songs for you guys. This is one of the main dreams on my mind lately!

http://www.myspace.com/sassymaguire
Photos: Hella Wittenberg, www.farbensportlich.de

Interview by Jo Whitby

It's review time!

Not Cool: Demo

Not Cool are a band from the ‘impoverished area of London called Downham’. I didn’t know where in London this was so I did what comes naturally to an internet user these days and googled it. “That doesn’t look impoverished!” I exclaimed not realising there was also a nice little quaint village somewhere in Lancashire called Downham so I added London to the search and the results returned with lots of vague images of pubs and housing which would suggest it’s not somewhere you take lots of holiday pictures.

The music however does not seem to reflect the geographic location of the band and you’d easily be fooled in thinking they hail from New York with hints of early Yeah Yeah Yeahs or even the Ramones playing it loose coming through in their songs. It’s not surprising then that Not Cool cite Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Pavement as some of their influences (yes I know Dinosaur Jr and Pavement don’t come from New York but you can see the American link there, humour me). I’m not sure if the tracks the band sent me are on a demo or an actual release, it would be a shame if they don’t release these recordings as the raw live sound is amazing. For me the stand out tracks are ‘Dead Kid City’ and ‘Limbs Are For Liars’. Both emit from them a high powered energy that would knock the likes of fellow Londoners Bloc Party off their feet. Not Cools experimental punk/grunge or whatever you want to call it is a fresh alternative to the tiresome plethora of ‘mild intelligent punk’ that clogs up the airwaves at the moment. Not Cool thankfully do not live up to their name!

You can listen to their tracks on Myspace or Last FM!

DO IT NOW!

Review by: Jo Whitby

Gomez: A New Tide

The new Gomez is now out and I must say that as a fan of the band myself I was not disappointed. ‘A New Tide’ is vintage Gomez with wonderfully warm vocals from Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball and lush arrangements perfect for laid back summer listening or a quiet evening in with your friends with good food and a bottle of wine. Gomez is a steady band in the sense that they stay true to their art and to their style. They’re not here to impress, become famous or millionaires, they are just a bunch of guys who get their kicks out of making music together. The band itself hasn’t changed: the musicians are the same and so are the people behind the instruments. This is what you’ll hear in ‘A New Tide’.

The band is currently on tour and I would strongly recommend going to see them; I did back in 2000 and they literally vibrated the place. It was magical.

Check out the tour dates here: http://www.gomeztheband.com/gigs/

Review by: CB Lux

PJ Harvey & John Parish: A Woman A Man Walked By

When I first listened to the latest PJ Harvey and John Parish album ‘A Woman A Man Walked By’ myself and fellow Cat On The Waller Lux both agreed it was definitely identifiable as a Harvey and Parish collaboration. We both share a great love of their first album ‘Dance Hall at Louse Point’ which was released back in 1996 and have been keen followers of each musician’s work (we even interviewed John several times for the previous guise of this webzine which you can read here). I for one was incredibly intrigued and curious to see what direction they would take musically.

What makes this stand out as something only Harvey and Parish would create is the freeness with which Harvey expresses herself. The vocals on ‘Pig Will Not’ sound almost like a primal scream or something recorded at an anger release therapy group. Another track that shows Harvey’s ease with letting go in the presence of Parish is the title track of the album ‘A Woman A Man Walked By / The Crow Knows Where All The Little Children Go’ which is paired together with an experimental and typically Parish instrumental. The lyrics are explicit and go on to describe a rather strange scene to do with a woman man, chicken bits and sex – something you hear on BBC Radio 2 everyday no doubt.

The musical compatibility between them both is also apparent on the first single of the album ‘Black Hearted Love’ which as Harvey admits herself sounds very much like a pop song. The guitar riff is a prominent feature to the track and lingers in your mind for several days after hearing it. It also happens to be the first track on AWAMWB and really kick starts the album.

I appreciate artists who are not afraid to be different and can show variety in their work and variety is certainly something you get with a Harvey/Parish release. Whereas with say a kids variety pack of cereals which usually contains at least one box you don’t like, PJ Harvey and John Parish have successfully put together a rather splendid collection that satisfies on every song.

Review by: Jo Whitby

Listen to Cat On The Wall’s favourite music on blip.fm: http://blip.fm/catonthewall

We felt it was about time Cat On The Wall had it's own gallery to showcase our gig photos and any other images to do with the webzine (interview shoots, events etc...). So we've set up a Flickr account which you can access here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catonthewall/

You can also have a peek at our photostream below!

Some of the pictures are related to Lux's Closer magazine from the 90s and also COTW's predecessor Funky Mofo - you can find more information about these zines here including interview archives: http://www.catonthewall.net/

All images were taken by Cat On The Wall's CB Lux unless otherwise stated!

After threatening the band with an interview last year at a Bristol gig we finally got ourselves together and managed to catch David Tattersall from The Wave Pictures for a quick chat before he and the band headed off on tour...

Cat On The Wall: We last saw you at a gig in Bristol with the wonderful Coming Soon! What have you been up to since then?

The Wave Pictures: We have toured France with Stanley Brinks, toured in Austria and Germany under our own steam and played a bunch of shows in the UK too. We have also done a whole bunch of recordings.

I’m glad you mentioned Coming Soon. We love that band! Great people and great musicians too.

COTW: You are releasing between April and May a single and an album both called ‘If You Leave It Alone’. Why did you decide to release the title track as a single prior to the album?

TWP: Well, it was our favourite song on the album. It’s track one and it gives the album its title. It seemed like a good choice of single. We like to do 45s. It’s good when anything we make gets put onto vinyl. We like vinyl.

COTW: Tell us about recording the album, how did it happen? Was it a case of just laying down the tracks or was there some ongoing creativity whilst recording? Did you record in a studio or was it a more D.I.Y affair?

TWP: Well, I would like to think it was all of those things. It was a case of laying down the tracks in an ongoing creative manner. It was recorded in the home of our friend Clemence Freschard in Berlin, so I suppose you could call that D.I.Y., except that Clemence has a real talent for producing and engineering and she also has lots of good equipment, so recording in her home has the same advantages as at a studio.

Clemence is a great undiscovered genius. Her own recordings, as Freschard, contain some of our favourite music of recent times. She has made two very brilliant albums, one called ‘’Click Click’’ and one called ‘’Moonstone’’.

The way the recording happened is that we went to stay with her and have a party and we did some recording while we were having fun. I already had the songs. I usually have a bunch of songs lying around waiting to be recorded.

COTW: You’re also heading out on tour around the UK and Spain. Do you enjoy performing live, any memorable experiences? Have you gigged in Spain before?

TWP: We love playing live. It is our favourite thing about being in a band. We have played a few times in Spain with our good friend Darren Hayman. It’s always been fun, we’ve always had a good time in Spain.

COTW: What are you listening to at the moment?

TWP: I have been enjoying Lou Reed’s ‘’Set The Twilight Reeling’’ album from 1996, and Ali Farka Toure’s ‘’Radio Mali’’, a collection of his radio sessions, on which he plays some amazing solo acoustic guitar. At the moment, I am also listening to the records of Smog quite a lot, in particular ‘’Red Apple Falls’’.

COTW: What are your plans for the near future?

TWP: My immediate plan, for right after I finish writing my answer to your question, is to buy a cup of black coffee and then drink it in the street outside. I’m in an internet café on Leyton High Road, which is where I live. I like Leyton High Road.

The Wave Pictures’ plans for the near future include a lot of live dates around the UK, and then in Spain, and we have exciting plans to go to the USA in a few months too.

---------------------------

The Wave Pictures are currently on tour in Spain, calling at the following cities:

17th April Zaragoza (Spa) @ La lata de Bombillas
18th April La Coruna (Spa) @ Sede Fundacion Caixa Galicia
19th April Zarautz (Spa) @ Gazteleku
20th April Valladolid (Spa) @ Colegio Mayor Penafiel
21st April Huelva (Spa) @ Gran Teatro de Huelva
22nd April Algeciras (Spa) @ Universidad
23rd April Valencia (Spa) @ Octubre
24th April Granada (Spa) @ loop bar & records
25th April Madrid (Spa) @ Neu! Club
26th April - Palma de Mallorca (Spa) @ Teatre de Lloseta

Then back in the UK for a couple of dates including the Album Launch Show:

30th April Glasgow (UK) @ Hinterland Festival

7th May London (UK) @ The Lexington "ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW"

‘If You Leave It Alone’ the single is out now, followed by the album on the 4th May.
www.myspace.com/thewavepictures

The Wave Pictures 'If You Leave It Alone' from Create Spark on Vimeo.

Interview by Jo Whitby

Not that long ago we received an email from relatively unknown band, at least to us. We checked out their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/anatomyofthebear and decided we wanted to find out more about Anatomy of the bear. As Bear was poorly Ryan kindly took the time to answer our questions...

Cat On The Wall: For those of our readers who are just discovering you, can you please introduce yourselves? Also how did you find your name?

Anatomy of the bear: Heyyaaaaaaaa!!!

Anatomy of the bear consists of Bear, myself and Ed. I'm Ryan and you're pretty much stuck with me today! Bear’s unavailable at the moment, he's a bit unwell and Ed is looking after him.

The name Anatomy of the bear wasn't really specifically thought about, we were talking about writing songs to fit a mood. The mood soon became visual, we first wrote 'Playful Cub' and its uplifting and happy kind-of-feel made us think of a cub playing around. After that it became an on going theme, each song representing part of a bears life. It's a bit tricky to explain but if you read the title of each song and listen with that in mind, you will hopefully get the same kind of visual ideas it represents. Then it soon became 'Anatomy of the bear'. :)

COTW: Who in the band is daddy bear? Who gives the best hugs?

AOTB: Bear is daddy bear. He looks after me and Ed and in turn we look after him. Ed and myself do a damn good job of giving out hugs but it'll never compare to one of Bears, but of course, they are reserved for us. Bear is very shy.

COTW: You say on your myspace that you're working towards your debut album. Is there anything you could reveal about the songs or do you prefer keeping it hush hush for now?

AOTB: We are indeed. Originally we were going to release an EP and then maybe work towards something a bit more full length afterwards, but we figured since bear has been busy and he's supplied us with enough songs and ideas we might as well just head straight for the debut album! As for revealing anything, there’s nothing 'really' to reveal. We plan to do more of the same and are planning to head into a studio soon to record some 'bigger' live parts, there will definitely be a few surprises.

COTW: The band being composed of just two members (that we can see), how do you plan your live performances?

AOTB: The band is made up of three members, Ed, myself, and of course Bear We haven’t planned any gigs as of yet, but it’s definitely been discussed for the future. We want to keep the same sound you hear on speakers and headphones, and take that a bit further, and with just two members this obviously isn't possible, it has been in talks though and Bear has some wonderful friends to call upon to ensure its sounds every bit as good live as it does recorded...

COTW: What are your plans for the near future?

AOTB: Bear's plans are to get every single person to wake up and give someone a hug in the morning, to go for picnics, drink more tea, and eat more sandwiches. Aside from that, getting the album out ASAP and sorting out a solid live performance that whilst being chilled, will hopefully sound huge and get more and more people listening.

Thanks for having us!! Shall we go for a picnic now? <3

COTW: Thank you for kindly responding to our questions. We’ll make the sandwiches if you make the trifle.

Interview by Jo Whitby

We're almost officially back from our Easter break - we basically couldn't resist doing a quick update. We've got several interviews ready to put up online once we're back on home soil and several reviews too.

In the meantime we thought we'd let you know about the latest developments with The Cinematics who we interviewed a few years ago. They've been busy working on a new album and have a great new single coming out on the 4th May called Love and Terror.

You can also catch them on tour at the following dates: