Nottingham Creative Community News

Plates Records: Coming Full Circle

Eileen Pegg chats with Nick Strang as Plates goes from selling records to putting out its own this year…

Tech Nottingham Are Helping Women Succeed in the Technology Industry

With a focus on improving the city as a place to live and work in technology, Tech Nottingham has been hosting events to an ever-increasing audience since 2014. With a string of exciting online events coming up, we catch up with Director of Projects Anna Dodson to find out more...

"You’ve got nothing to lose and your life to regain" - A Cocaine Anonymous Member on His Road to Recovery

27 October 20

No matter how far into addiction you may be, it’s not too late. We talk to one of the members of the Nottingham branch of Cocaine Anonymous, who wishes to remain nameless, about addiction and his own personal road to recovery...

Q & A: FLVZ On His Pangea Charity EP

26 September 20

Local multi-talented artist FLVZ has teamed up with eight others to release the Pangea EP. With musical themes of unity, all proceeds are going towards four different charities. Bassey had a chat with him to learn more about the project, so read on before pressing play and showing your support… but be quick, with downloads ending on 30 September

Illustrator Kate Sharp talks Children's Books, Lockdown and Drawing Animals

06 September 20

After catching our eye with a sweet illustration of our magazine stands you can find around town, we’ve had the pleasure of working with recent-graduate illustrator Kate Sharp for our spot-the-difference series and many other illustrations featured in our past few issues. After she bagged a Young Creative Award for her children’s book, Lion’s Hate Pigeons, we took a deep dive into Kate’s colourful world, discussing her past, present and future plans…

Catching Up and Slowing Down with Darkzy

24 August 20

Following on from his latest single release, Rachael Halaburda has a chat with the homegrown talent to talk career highlights, time spent slowing down and off the road in lockdown, as well as offering advice for budding DJs and producers…

Nottingham City Council Wants the City to Be Carbon-Neutral by 2028

29 July 20

Since 2005, Nottingham has reduced its carbon emissions by more than double the target goal first laid out by Nottingham City Council. But now there is a new target – to become the first carbon-neutral city in the UK by 2028. Ahead of the launch of their 28 day challenge, taking place on social media throughout August, we speak to Sally Longford, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder Energy, Environment and Democratic Services about how they intend to make it happen…

Interview: A Catch-up with Nactus Kunan

20 July 20

Sitting on lots of newly released material but with no imminent chance to share it live with fans, we caught up with Jack and Joe of local alternative four-piece Nactus Kunan to see how they've been keeping busy...

FlyGirl Are Launching to Empower Wxman of Colour in Nottingham

15 July 20

With the aim to empower womxn all across Nottingham – with particular focus on womxn of colour – FlyGirl is set to launch later this year. We caught up with Avarni Bilan, one half of the Wigflex team, to see what it’s all about…

Streaming from a Distance: George Gretton Interview

25 June 20

The local musician has been busy in his bedroom studio finishing his latest EP, soon to be released to the world. When Alanah Kholsa caught up with George, ‘streaming’ was the order of the day, as she learned about his virtual gigs and his latest single, Slipstream.

Interview and Video Premiere: Taking a Sec with Daisy Godfrey

13 June 20

Addie Kenogbon catches up with local rising star Daisy following her much-anticipated second release, as we share a first look at the stunning new video.

Midlands' Mix: Documentary Series Showcases Nottingham's Upcoming Bands

27 May 20

Ella Farnsworth's new documentary series Midlands' Mix aims to bring light to the best upcoming bands Nottingham has to offer...

Interview: Local Musician Sasha Assad Shares Her Ambitions and Lockdown Experience

25 May 20

We caught up with emerging singer songwriter Sasha Assad (virtually of course) to chat about her ambitions, and to find out how she's coping with lockdown...

Interview: Corrina Rothwell on Life as an Artist and the End of Blather

18 May 20

After almost two years of unleashing the manic brilliance of writer Adrian Reynolds in an illustrative fashion, our regular feature, Blather, sadly came to an end last month. Instead of getting all melancholy about things, we chose to celebrate its time between the pages by catching up (over email, of course) with the local lady behind the brushes: Corrina Rothwell. Under the spotlight we get chatting about Blather’s beginnings, the pleasures and perils of being an artist and the inspirations behind her brand of explosive abstract workings.

Ambient Music: The Unexpected Soundtrack to Lockdown

16 May 20

Pat Keista takes a deep-dive into the genre that many more might be turning to, following his recent album release, Ambient 3.

Interview: Susan, Conducted by Daphnellc for City Beat Radio

16 May 20

Susan is a singer, songwriter and performer, originally from Notts. Daphnellc also produces and performs, with a regular show on City Beat Radio. What happens when two creative, musical minds have a natter together? Listen back to the interview to find out...

Fleur East talks living in lockdown, reality TV and her new album, Fearless

15 May 20

After two stints on The X Factor, including finishing runner-up in 2014 where she became the first contestant in the show’s history to reach Number One on the iTunes chart during the competition, singer, songwriter and radio presenter Fleur East has walked an interesting path through the music industry. With her new album Fearless released last month, we caught up with her to talk about reality television, the unexpected truths of the music industry and how she’s handling lockdown...

Historical Author Emily Brand: "I feel a sort of security in writing about real people who lived, loved and died, generations ago"

20 April 20

Emily Brand is a local historian who’s been researching the Byron family tree and all its drama-sprouting branches. With a close look at life in the eighteenth century, her fourth book The Fall of the House of Byron is released this month. We sat down for a digital chat with the author to find out more...

She Found It At The Movies: Author Christina Newland on Her Book on Female Desire in Film

16 April 20

Nottingham-based freelancer Christina Newland has penned articles for film mags from Empire to Sight & Sound, but now it’s her turn in the editor’s chair. We spoke to her about her new collection of essays, She Found it at the Movies...

Interview: Electronic Music Open Mic Night Notts

12 April 20

Nick Strang speaks with Stewart Cuthew, responsible for running Notts’ branch of events that swap the acoustic guitars for synths and buttons. If you’ve been exploring the art of production in lockdown, you might wanna show yer new skills at its next night when things are up ‘n’ running again. For now, have a read and learn about the unique creative community...

Electronic Duo Bone Cult on Masks, World Tours and Their Debut Album

24 March 20

Formed in 2013, Bone Cult began after two members of a rock band decided they’d had enough. Time spent experimenting with productions in the studio – using synths, drum machines and more – led to the electronic duo, consisting of No.1 and Day2, finding that unique, fresh sound they were in search of, and settling on a new musical identity. Never showing their faces publicly, their only distinguishing feature comes in the form of artful tattoos covering their torsos. Even their tracked vocals are distorted beyond recognition. With an impressive cult following that has seen them perform across the globe and a debut album set for release this month, we talked to the Notts-based duo to uncover more about the minds that lie beneath the masks...

Brass Monkey Turns 20: Manager John McDermott Shares How…

13 March 20

We track down the general manager of the bar that’s open ‘till the early hours seven days a week, to learn why it hasn’t run out of steam, or rum, just yet…

Writer Eimear McBride previews her appearance at Peggy's Skylight

05 March 20

Ahead of her appearance at Peggy's Skylight on Tuesday 17 March, we talk to writer Eimear McBride about the highly-anticipated event - which is part of a series of literary events organised by Jon McGregor of the University of Nottingham - during which she will be appearing in conversation alongside Ruby Cowling...

Queer Band Slash Fiction on their Upcoming Show at JT Soar: " If we don't fight for visibility, what are we even doing?"

12 February 20

Since I moved to Nottingham as a young, queer person, I’ve been fortunate to stumble into the world of local indie, punk and DIY punk gigs, which have provided me with a community and more importantly, a place to go on a Friday night. Now, as an older, queer lesbian, I’m aware of the importance of carving out queer spaces, especially within rock clubs and bars that can be dominated by cis-gender, heterosexual boys. We spoke to Beans from Queer band Slash Fiction ahead of their upcoming Fan Club debut show at JT Soar about personal lyrics, influences and their EP Flowers...

Aussie Folk-Rockers Boy & Bear Prepare for Debut Nottingham Gig

07 February 20

ARIA award-winning Australian indie-rock band Boy & Bear captured our hearts with their charming folk sound way back in 2010. Following a four-year hiatus due to lead-singer Dave Hosking’s illness, the platinum record-holding band from Sydney are back on the scene with new album Suck on Light. We spoke with keyboardist Jon Hart about the band’s “weird” approach to developing their sound, preparations for their worldwide tour, and why Australia is dominating the charts internationally…

Metronome Sessions

Interview