CHAI are on the cover of Loud And Quiet 160 – subscribe to get your copy now
Plus, subscribers get an exclusive flexi disc from Squid
The new issue of Loud And Quiet is currently being printed, and it’s out next weekend (22 July). We’re delighted that Japanese neo-kawaii punks CHAI are our Issue 160 cover stars – subscribe now to get your copy along with an exclusive flexi disc from Squid.
As CHAI gear up to release their best album yet, a self-titled record out on 22 September via Sub Pop, Dominic Haley speaks to the Toyko-via-Nagoya group about self-belief, accepting difference, reclaiming Japan’s “cute culture” kawaii, their passion for food and the process of building their uniquely radical – and fundamentally punk – creative world.
Alongside CHAI, here’s what else is in Issue 160: Skye Butchard speaks to shoegaze legends Slowdive about their excellent new album and their enduring, generation-uniting appeal; as they call it quits on new releases, Daniel Dylan Wray reflects on the legacy of PC Music, one of the 21st century’s most innovative record labels; Nashville garage-rock cult heroes Be Your Own Pet reflect on their stratospheric rise, sudden burnout and recent return; one of the UK’s most inventive club producers Loraine James tells Theo Gorst about her favourite underrated artists; Ollie Rankine has a pint with the inimitable Baxter Dury and discusses a life on the bohemian fringe; Georgia tells us what her favourite songs are when she’s not trying to be cool; and Stuart Stubbs is shown around Canadian dance-pop auteur Jessy Lanza‘s home in LA.
We’ve also got interviews with a bunch of our favourite new, underground and emerging artists, including Nihiloxica, Moin, Mary In The Junkyard, Iceboy Violet, Yussef Dayes, Sweeping Promises and Emergence Collective, plus a deep dive into this year’s Primavera Sound, reviews of the most interesting new albums, book and film coverage, our regular columns, and a peppering of shit jokes.
Subscriber exclusive flexi disc no. 4: Squid
For L&Q subscribers, this issue’s exclusive flexi disc comes courtesy of UK art-rockers Squid. It’s our fourth in this series of discs, and it’s called ‘Sevens [Early writing session, 2021]’. As Louis from the band explains below, it’s the very first demo recording of the track that would become the opening of new album O Monolith, ‘Swing [In a Dream].’
“Here lies the first recording from a writing session for ‘Swing in a Dream’, the first track on O Monolith. When tiny ideas begin to resemble the basis of a song, we like to go somewhere nice to get a recording. We recorded this at our friend Jim Barr’s studio in Bristol called J&J. He is a great guy and we always look forward to visiting Jim and Coco, his incredibly small dog – it’s usually winter time. Jim showed us two red, plastic apple chimes that you hear at the start of the song, which we forgot to borrow and add to the Real World final recording sessions, haunting us forever.”
Subscribe here to receive this disc with your copy of L&Q this month, while stocks last.
