OUT OF CONTROL         THE ORIGINAL PUNK SCENE IN MONTREAL In a new series of posts, we take to the road to explore and report on the thriving subculture scenes around the world. Keeping it authentic we link up with a champion, supporter or acitivist in the scene so that we get a down on the ground underground report. We visit Montreal for a look at the Punk scene that is alive and kicking. “PA “is a true punk and advocate for the scene in the city and gives us an insight into the bands, the venues, and the community in Montreal. Tell us a bit about yourself, when y ..read more

Skull Head is a chaotic cosmic story about a guy in a punk band & the people around him. Set in a futuristic dystopian world. It’s got everything from cults with Lovecraftian gods to mariachi bands, mutants, bikers, mobsters & a crime fighting cat. Think Tank Girl mixed with Judge Dredd wrapped in the most interesting or weird parts of subculture that exist in the world. But it’s not just the crazy story that makes this comic book so unique – the visual style has a distinct and eye-catching aesthetic unlike anything else out there today.   We talk to the creator of this independ ..read more

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The Garage Radio Show – The Independent Radio Show That Delivers Fresh Artists To Your Door. We sit down with Milk, founder of The Garage Radio show that has earned a reputation for promoting new and emerging artists at the forefront of punk, post punk, indie and alternative music. Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. Well, although my whole family is English, I was actually born in Elizabeth in South Australia, so I hold dual Australian/British nationality, but at one year old my family returned to the UK, where I then grew up in a village in Northamptonshire and ultimate ..read more

Words by Jess Ralph They are the band that showed a newly formed New Order that it was possible to make music without guitars. Depeche Mode cites them as an influence, as does Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. David J, bassist of Bauhaus, says the band “ one of the few post punk bands on the scene at the time who we related to.” Add to that, pretty much every musical outfit that has emerged since the early 80’s with a dark, abrasive, and danceable electronic sound. Cabaret Voltaire- the Zurich Café and epicentre of Dadaism that inspired the name. Cabaret Voltaire were pioneers of indus ..read more

Words by Jess Ralph A – Anarchy in the UK “I am the antichrist! I am an anarchist!” snarls Johnny Rotten on the opening lines of The Sex Pistols’ debut single, released in 1976 on their Never Mind The Bollocks album. With its references to nihilistic civilian violence (“ I wanna destroy the passerby!”) , the IRA and bleak visions of capitalist greed (“ Your future dream is in a shopping scheme!”) , the track caused middle England to collectively choke on their tea-dipped custard creams when it first hit the airwaves, and made the Pistols public enemy number one in the tabloid press. Anarch ..read more

@j4ziii UNDERGROUND chats with Jeanie Jean, the creator behind NOT DEAD zine – a rawly impassioned, documentary style diary capturing the influence and impact of punk and new romantic scenes on contemporary youth subculture. Jess Ralph sits down with Jeanie for an insight. Hi Jeanie ! What inspired you to first make the Not Dead zine? The idea came to me during the pandemic, during the first wave. It starts on quite a sad note – I just lost my mum, and my grandmother soon after. All my work had been cancelled or postponed and I felt as if I was just stuck in a box at home. As the res ..read more

Words by Jess Ralph The Queen is dead, boys. And no, of course, we’re not referring to QE2. Dame Vivienne Westwood passed away on the 29th of December 2022, casting a sombre cloud of collective mourning across the fashion industry and leaving behind her a legacy of cultural influence so seismic and far reaching it is almost ungraspable. From architecting punk fashion in the mid ‘70s to her vocal climate activism in her later years, Westwood’s spirit had been one of constant reinvention, taste making and politicised provocation; using her boundless creative spirit and vehement absorption of ..read more

The latest in our series on overlooked or obscured figures in musical and subcultural history takes a look at Japan’s new-wave singer Jun Togawa (The previous edition of ‘Ever Heard of…’ about the punk feminist icon Beki Bondage, can be read here) To many, Jun Togawa (born Togawa Jun) is a name that would not be familiar. However, her cultural impact upon Japan and the Japanese music scene was revolutionary. Often being compared to Bjork and Sinead O Connor, Togawa used her image and music to comment on the state of femininity within the music scene. Click here for more…. Her musical career ..read more

Harrison Swan of Talk Show. (Photo: Ben Stapleton) With an upcoming EP ‘Touch the Ground’ set to release in 2022, Talk Show, the London-hailing post-punk inspired quartet, partnered with Underground England and Sixty Sixty Sounds to create a launch party for their latest single ‘Underworld’. With Underground’s roots in music and subculture, and Sixty Sixty Sounds’ rich musical heritage at its Denmark Street location, the pairing was an obvious choice. The guitar shop, which has seen visitors from the likes of Billy Gibbons to Harry Styles, remains at the heart of Britain’s rock and roll hi ..read more