Are You Listening? 2025 (Studying)

Are You Listening? Competition 
Studying 
ninth & tenth Could 2025

Studying’s Are You Listening? Competition is now in it’s 12th yr. Keith Goldhanger makes the annual journey to the Berkshire capital for one more multi-venue occasion. 

After festivals like this you possibly can solely come away congratulating your self on any good choices made if there are good decisions out there within the first place. This years Are You Listening? Competition appeared ok to go to for each days and proved to be among the best weekends since we started attending this annual occasion. Held throughout seven venues with over forty artists to selected from, not solely did the acts we determined to intention for really feel like the precise ones nevertheless it appeared to coincide with a lot of them enjoying the most effective reveals we’ve seen by them up to now. 

This doesn’t imply the line-up was filled with bands we’ve already seen earlier than although. Friday night inside Saint Laurence Church launched one or two of us for the primary time to Manchester trio Yaang. There was as soon as a time a few years in the past once we have been inundated with guitar bands utilizing drum machines. Yaang have reminded us how ace this sounds. Fronted by a hyperactive singer who spends the brief set dancing constantly whether or not singing or not and bookended by two companions that look like taking this much more significantly than the entrance man, this can be a fabulous begin to the proceedings. Standing inside a giant church on a sunny Friday night watching a shirtless man with a deadpan look on his face in entrance of a statue of Jesus on a cross is a weird solution to start any weekend nevertheless it units the scene properly for what lies forward.

Mandrake Handshake comply with and it feels as if we’re witnessing Stereolab enjoying Psychedelic hymns. They’re shaking tambourines, maracas, a triangle comes out and there’s a variety of different percussion that we don’t know the names of. They’re hypnotising us with the 2 vocalists, two trippy guitars and a hippie synth. If we’d walked into this at three AM at a competition we’d in all probability stroll away quick nonetheless experiencing this because the solar goes down feels good. Their single Hypersonic Tremendous-Astrid manages to final rather less than ten minutes. It’s the tune that drew us right here, it’s the tune that we’re glad we obtained to see performed stay and we’d do it once more.

Sprints are loud, brutal and straight in our faces as they handle to show this fabulous church into one large mosh pit as they thrash away at not solely the acquainted tunes from their debut album Letter to Self however some equally big songs from a forthcoming second album it’s believed could have already been recorded. Heavy is accompanied by the raucous crowd singing alongside, How Does The Story Go? Nonetheless sounds as nice as the primary time we heard it and the entire expertise is one which’s quickly anticipated to be replicated in a lot bigger environments over the following couple of years. They’ve all of the elements required to draw big crowds now ; Huge grungy riffs, sing alongside choruses and an viewers ready within the wings that will not but have even found these but. It’s solely a matter of time after all earlier than the general public will get what we all know they need. There’ll be some fabulous instances forward for Sprints and this was one for the watching crowd to soak in simply because it was when Idles performed this occasion a while in the past. 

The solar is shining, the crowds are out early and day two presents us with a couple of venue and an enormous listing of bands to be seen or missed for these of us unable to be in two locations on the similar time. 

We begin the day within the noon solar taking a look at native singer-songwriter Ben Marwood entertaining not simply the wristband queue however these already sat comfortably in entrance of him who’re acquainted sufficient together with his music to be visibly singing alongside to his songs. We return to the place we ended the earlier night again contained in the cooler Saint Laurence Church the place South London outfit Y are nonchalantly treating us to some unfamiliar tunes nonetheless the acquainted sound of Girls Who and Why? hit the spot and keep the excessive commonplace of performances seen inside this constructing up to now this weekend.

We realise that a variety of acts we need to see are showing inside this venue in the present day and stay for the fabulous Ziyad Al-Samman who appears to get higher and higher each time we cross paths with this Jordan born performer. The phrase Eurovision is talked about at the very least as soon as each time he performs nonetheless that is solely a visible commentary. Right this moment he offers a collection of songs that MGMT (bear in mind them?) would have been pleased with. Each music a banger, each face within the room is smiling, persons are dancing already and nobody inside this venue will go away wishing they have been elsewhere. This was a superb efficiency as soon as once more.

The times eclectic line-up is beginning to be observed because the candy fragile sound of Honeyglaze calms us down earlier than a brisk stroll alongside the road to witness one other present by the unbelievable Advantages who but once more by no means disappoint with their intense, energetic, digital assault on our ears. It’s encouraging that this duo persevering with to attract extra folks into their reveals and get airtime on our favorite radio stations in a world that appears saturated with bouncy verses and sing alongside choruses. Watching a Advantages efficiency is invigorating. The noise made between the 2 is unusually comforting, interrupted from time to time by Kingsley politely thanking us all for being there after which giving us one thing harsh, difficult and extra importantly, completely different. At some other time throughout our lives music like this may have be saved on the again burner and saved for inclusion in occasions of a extra aggressive nature. The existence and inclusion of Advantages at occasions reminiscent of that is encouraging for others on the market making music that challenges our ears, the institution and displays on a few of the disagreeable segments of the world we stay in in the present day with uncooked emotion and sincerity. Their nod (extra of a headbutt) to Born Slippy that closes the present is a superb second too. Yet one more ten out of ten efficiency. 

Doops sound promising for the brief period of time we catch them over at Sub 89 nonetheless we’re merely popping in on our manner again to what we are able to name our ‘blissful place’ this weekend (St Laurence Church) for what we all know shall be a perfect setting for musician, poet, all spherical entertainer and beautiful human being Josh Idehen. He begins by describing the earlier 24 hours of his life. This in itself comes throughout like a murals, rigorously scripted and massively entertaining. It isn’t scripted after all, he’s simply arrived from Vienna having misplaced a few of his possessions and a few required sleep. His interplay with the attentive viewers is second to none as he encourages us to all take a couple of seconds to introduce ourselves to one another within the crowd and take part in a ‘Nigerian wave’ (like a Mexican wave however from entrance to again not facet to facet). His informal chat morphs seamlessly into Don’t You Give Up On Me and our ft begin transferring with out us realising. Study To Swim and Mum Does The Washing are aired and given the respect from the viewers each bit deserves and as one, we return outdoors to the brilliant sunshine noticing that everybody is leaving with an enormous smile on their face, feeling blessed and feeling they manner one must be after exiting a constructing reminiscent of this. 

Nathan Faux is a producer and digital music artist offering a perfect soundtrack for anybody wanting to listen to some inspiring dance music at three AM in a darkish room. Right this moment although it’s nonetheless early night, the solar continues to be shining and for this second in time can be the proper soundtrack to go with a a lot wanted relaxation on the pavement outdoors. 

Belfast band Makeshift Artwork Bar sound like a band we’re all going to like someday nonetheless they fail to look. This was the one disappointment of the day solely made up by the truth that we’ve now discovered one other noisy band that want investigating one other day. 

Huge Particular’s efficiency we count on shall be busy in an hour or two so we’ll finish our day at Sub 89 in preparation and watch Coach Celebration who a few of us haven’t seen since 2023 once they performed the identical venue on the similar occasion. As soon as the primary three songs have been thrown out at velocity, we realise that this isn’t going to decelerate. It’s an exciting show of blistering guitar music that the Pixies as soon as supplied every time they put their ft down laborious on the accelerator. Tonight, the band that by no means lose momentum and for slightly over half an hour handle to cram as many tunes as they will into their allotted slot leaving us breathless and barely regretful that we’ve not given this band extra consideration beforehand.

Midlands duo Huge Particular don’t serve up something that surprises us anymore. A small criticism for these of us who haven’t crossed paths with them because the launch of debut album Postindustrial Hometown Blues that got here out (we’re informed) precisely a yr in the past. 

The duo are extra assured with their banter with the large crowd inside this venue tonight. Dig, Shithouse and Bushes are the timeless classics a few of us knew they’d be once we first set our eyes and ears on them. We get a poem or two in addition to the now compulsory stroll into the group that we’re informed Joe has now taken upon himself to do at most of their reveals these days. It’s nice seeing them attract such an enthusiastic massive crowd, one which we at all times anticipated from the primary time we set eyes and ears on them.  

Are You Listening ? Competition didn’t finish there although. Competition favourites AK/DK have been nonetheless enjoying down the highway, there have been one or two different bands and DJ’s nonetheless but to grace one or two levels however for these of us London certain we name it a day to reminisce on what we resolve has been our favorite Are You Listening? Competition up to now. Two of the venues we didn’t even step foot inside this yr. We’re certain that many others did and got here away with completely different experiences all collectively. 

The choice decisions out there appeared simply as passable because the bands we noticed. We improvised our actions all through the competition and but once more got here away content material that but once more that is an annual occasion that may stay into our diaries. 

Be a part of us once more subsequent yr for what’s at all times a terrific occasion to attend earlier than the tenting gear comes out for the summer season. The practice to and from central London solely takes twenty minutes.  

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Phrases and photographs by Keith Goldhanger. Extra writing by Keith on Louder Than Struggle may be discovered at his writer’s archive. You may discover Keith on Fb  Instagram and Bluesky