So it's begun

A brief break down in case you aren't up to date:
This is YOUNG KATO.
Who?
Tommy Wright - Vocals

Jack Edwards - Guitar

Joe Green - Guitar

Joe Lever - Bass

Harry Steele - Keyboards

Sam Henderson - Drums 

What tracks have they done?
Well Drink, Dance, Play is probably their most well known song, but if you watch Made In Chelsea you would probably recognise a lot of their songs, they're featured quite a lot. They even appeared in an episode at the beginning of the series! Zane Lowe has a lot of love for them too!    

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On Wednesday the 14th of November I embarked on a journey with four mates from my sleepy little university town to Dingwalls in Camden. I'd been invited to the YOUNG KATO gig that was kicking off later that evening; and in no way was I prepared for the performance they were about to give. Upon entering Dingwalls I became Two Drinks McGee, after not realising the bars card limit was a fiver. So Bulmers and Red Stripe in hand (we are not here to judge), my friends and I made our way to the back of the dance floor just in time to catch the bands warm up acts Mirror Signal and PROPELLERS. With both acts getting the crowd beautifully buzzed for the main event, I made my way to the front (and slightly to the left, so I didn't get punched in the face by a rouge fist from the mosh pit) just in time for YOUNG KATO to grace to stage. Everybody was cheering, until Tommy entered, then they were screaming in sheer overwhelming delight. The rest of the band fired up their instruments and played probably one of the most memorable gigs I have ever witnessed. Their music just, made everybody so happy. Between songs the guys would express their love for the crowd, they just seemed so down to earth, and humbled. Then came the end of the set and the band announced their final song; Drink, Dance, Play. The crowd went absolutely mental, everybody was moshing and Tommy full on crowd surfed on top of all his adoring fans. After the gig when I spoke to the band as they sold their merch, you felt like they had all the time in the world for you. They're so appreciative of their fans which is so refreshing, tweeting this after the gig: 

These guys are going to be absolutely huge, I can feel it. 
Here's an interview I did with Tommy for all your YOUNG KATO needs!   

Firstly, I love your guys stuff, you’ve made some insane tracks! What brought you guys together to form the band?

The band was bought together by the two step brothers in the band (Jack & Sam). We all had a huge passion for music and just wanted to make some noise.

Why YOUNG KATO? Is there any story behind your name?   

We needed to name the band in less than a week as our first confirmed show was coming up quick. The word 'kato' apparently appeared 'almost everywhere' to our guitarist and he pushed for it. I hated the name at first but we've all grown to love it. YOUNG KATO doesn't mean anything really ... Except us, and that's what I like about it.

You’ve had such a crazy couple of years, what’s been the highlight for you?

There's been so many highlights for us it's hard to choose. I guess specifically for me it was the recent headline show at Dingwalls in Camden on our November tour. There was just short of 400 people going mental and il never forget it.

Have you had any surreal moments this year?

I got a call from our manager at 10am one morning and he explained to me that in 2 weeks, we'l be playing a show St Petersburg, Russia. It was a whistle stop tour and we didn't get to enjoy much scenery. I still today can't quite grasp that songs we wrote, 3am some mornings in Joe's bedroom got us on a plane and took us 1400 miles east.

What’s your favourite track to perform and why?

I suppose at this moment 'Drink, Dance, Play' is the song in the set that just erupts. It's a youthful, vibrant song that seems to just flourish in a live environment. Wherever we are; be it Russia or in Truro on tour, it's really well received.

What did your track ‘Something Real’ being chosen as Zane Lowe’s ‘next hype’ feel like?   

It felt good, especially for someone as influential as Zane to back the band. The best thing about all of this to me is, that as a band, we just play music we would like to hear. Therefore this all becomes a huge compliment when people come to or shows, or even plays us on radio1.

Twitter exploded after your set on Played in Chelsea last week, were you expecting that kind of reaction? 

Not at all, it's always great when you are given the chance to promote your sound in front of a large audience. I was wary of how the desk feed would sound, however thinking back it all looked great and sounded cool, what more do we want? 

Your tracks have been featured on Made in Chelsea before, plus you were filmed performing in Camden Barfly for the beginning of the series. Were any of the band fans of the show before or was it a whole new concept to you?

I've always watched Made in Chelsea for the soundtrack predominantly. Lots of my favourite bands including: Various Cruelties, Zulu Winter, Foals etc are always being given synchs with the show. The show prides themselves on the best new music and were proud to be a part of it.

Have you become friends with any of the cast?

The cast were all really nice, down to earth guys. We've kept in touch with Andy a little bit and had a night out or two. 

You’ve just finished your tour, what do you have planned for your time off?  

We will keep ourselves busy writing more songs, playing a few gigs here and there until the new year. As a band we don't like to stand still and do nothing, it frustrates us! 

What can we expect from the band in 2014?

I know for a fact  that the album will come out. Hopefully we'l be playing almost every festival in the summer and also touring relentlessly throughout the year. We've got a lot of work to do but 2014 is already looking great for us.

So. Awesome. I have nothing but admiration for these guys!
Check them out if you haven't already! 

Bromance at its finest

Am I late to the party? I don't even care. This is the best thing my eyes have ever feasted upon.

Albion

On the 18th of November an exhibition was held by 8 photography students at my university. Six people exhibited their own work and two people curated work from other photographers. But this wasn't a normal exhibition. There was no box room with photographs on the walls, no, this exhibition was on a 1940's Routemaster London bus.

The exhibition was all about Britain, upon arriving you were given a authentic looking bus ticket with the exhibition information on that you could keep, designed by Jasmine Rajagopalan. The whole thing looked so professional the only thing that gave away the group were uni students were the UCA logos displayed on the tickets. In keeping with the British theme (if the big red bus wasn't enough) a marquee had been put up with a table underneath covered in a union jack, offering visitors a traditional cuppa tea and biscuits (or a cake, if that's what you're into). To make the experience all the more authentic, a member of the group was dressed as a bus conductor and held a tally counter which clicked away as the time passed and more and more people were curious as to what the red bus was all about.

You could see the photographs from the outside of the bus but boarding the bus was a complete game changer. With images of British fashion, urban landscapes, mini coopers, the military and 'disgracing Britain',  it was quickly realised that their goal had been completely achieved, it was impossible to not think about Britain. Cup of tea in hand, leaning out the back of the bus, it reminded me that we as a nation are something to be proud of.

Charlie Hummerstone-Pope and Jasmine Rajagopalan focused on fashion in Britain. Although their theme was the same, after holding separate shoots, their final products were at the contrasting ends of British fashion. Charlie focused on high fashion, showing how powerful and fierce the typical British fashion designer can make their pieces look despite not being over the top; "The exhibition is what we as individuals think represents Britain best" he added when I chatted with him at the event. Jasmine however, focused on the alternative side, her models moody glares, dark make up and doc Martens screamed indie kid with a hint of 70's punk. With the Union Jack proudly flying in both photos linking them together beautifully. "This is our interpretation of Britain as a generation, but we're all aware everybody's views are different".

Jay curated images from an organisation called mini madness, while Kara curated images from a photography duo "C & A photography" who focus on taking pictures of battle reenactments. Hollie and Samantha collectively took photos of the British army on a training day, reinforcing the proud to be British feels we were all holding as we toured the bus. Giulia's images displayed her own interpretation of urban landscapes as a exchange student from Italy, who was quite adamant her images wouldn't depict the capitals skyline as a typical tourist would. Quite alternatively, Jacob's interpretation of Britain was a little different, showing images of homeless people and drunks, although giving the exhibition viewers a little more to think about, it still didn't pull the focus of how the other images had painted Britain to be great. 

Plans to set a projector up and display all the images on the side of the bus were halted due to typical English weather, which also unfortunately put the exhibition to a premature end. It didn't matter though, the daylight hours were enough for the group to do themselves proud.   

(L-R Jacob Venn, Giulia Garetto, Samantha Liu, Hollie Lansley, Kara-Jayne Thorn, Jasmine Rajagopalan, Charlie Hummerstone-Pope (Jay Smith is out of shot))

Charlie's personal photography blog

Jasmine's flickr account

Kara-Jayne's photography Facebook pagex

Hollie's photography Facebook page