Aloosh

TIME - KICK KICK SNARE

Check out this incredible band called Aloosh. The core writing duo are vocalist Jody Scantlebury and producer/multi instrumentalist Alastair McNeill otherwise known as Yila. Jodie has lent her vocals to The Noisettes, Roisin Murphy, Crookers, Kele Okereke, Cee-Lo Green, Eliza Doolittle and The Wombats whilst Ali in his Yila guise produced Dan Le Sac Vs. Scrooius Pip’s first album and is currently producing Scroobs new solo album.

Drawing influence from the worlds of electronica, alternative indie and Jazz it’s very difficult to pigeonhole Aloosh’s sound. Their uncanny knack for making alternate time signatures accessible by juxtaposing rhythm section groove with anthemic hooks is clearly evident on new single ‘Time’. From the start of the track the syncopated guitar and minimal 4/4 beat really brings to the fore Jodie’s beautifully punctuated vocals. Subtle layers are introduced, delays shimmer and synths bubble before exploding into a rousing finale replete with multi-layer vocal harmonies, driving bass and a wall of guitars.

Aloosh will be releasing their new single ‘Time’ on August 11th, 2011 along with some very exciting remixes and a killer video also on the way, to be revealed soon.

“Is your time more important than mine?” - Kick Kick Snare

There's a disorienting deviance to Aloosh's sinister pop sound. The muffled synth and slow clack-clack sound that threads it's way through 'Separate'sounds like an evil clown tap-dancing by your bed before he stabs you in the face the moment you open your eyes. Deliciously ghoulish, this sounds like a pop song staggering to its own death. - Music Week

TIME - GOD IS IN THE TV

This single from quartet Aloosh begins as a quirky jittery little number, before settling in a Casiotone For The Painfully Alone like synthy rumble over Joshua Blackmore’s jazzy drum-beat, it’s spear-headed by vocalist Jodie Scantlebury who has a sweet yet ‘street’ snap to her delivery.

Around about the two and a half minute mark it turns into a pacy, lacklustre pop number, Scantlebury cooing ‘Time travels by so slowly’ as chords ascend up into twinkling atmospherics before it rattles to a sudden, erratic close.

It’s a slight, reasonably inventive and intriguing song that does, at least, mark Aloosh as a playful band willing to mess with a formula to produce something that in one regard conforms to accessible ‘pop’ tropes and in another turns them on their head. It’s enough to raise a curious eyebrow and suggest that they could have something marvellous up their sleeve. - God is in the Tv

Drawing influence from the worlds of electronica, alternative indie and jazz, Aloosh are vocalist Jodie Scantlebury, producer/multi-instrumentalist Alastair McNeill, bassist Jack Allinson and drummer Joshua Blackmore.

As they gear up to release their single ‘Time’, we spoke to them about attracting everyone from straight women and male guitar geeks to transsexuals, their distinct sound and touring with Roisin Murphy.

Individually, what do each of you bring to Aloosh?
Ally: Ideas.
Jodie: The feminine touch.
Josh: Jazz.
Jack: Tweed.

So, which one of you gets the most same-sex attention then?!
Ally: Jodie has been turning straight women at gigs and I get a lot of guitar geek attention from men, but that's not really what you're asking though, right? When we toured with Roisin, I had a few transsexual internet followers.

Tell us a little bit about your new single 'Time' - what can we expect?
Ally: You can expect an awkward beginning, a frustrating nature to the lyrics and a rush of relief at the end.

What are you most proud of about the track?
Ally: The interplay between all of us and its unique sound. We're really playing great as a band and this is a straight take in the studio - it's our first big pop moment at the end.

Is 'Time' representative of the rest of your music as a whole?
Ally: Yes and no. We've really developed our own sound as a four piece on this album, but we want every tune to have its own style and place. I'm sick of paint by number bands at the moment, 12 tracks of the same (but different) song. You'll always know it's Aloosh.

What's in store for the crowd at a live performance?
Ally: A really dynamic performance, lots of energy and Jodie wearing a nice get up.

"Jodie has been turning straight women at gigs and I get a lot of guitar geek attention from men, but that's not really what you're asking though, right? When we toured with Roisin, I had a few transsexual internet followers."

What would be your fantasy gig?
Ally: When we were touring with Roisin we did some pretty amazing gigs, but when we were at Glastonbury I sneaked onto the Pyramid stage and looked out at that sea, so for Aloosh it's got to be that. Jodie has probably already done it.

Do you hit the gay clubs much on a night out?
Ally: Not much, but it's happened and we'll go wherever the party is sometimes!

Finish the sentence: A good night out starts with...
Ally: Real ale with a stupid name.

It ends with...
Ally: Sunrise.

It's our round - what are you having?
Ally: Real ale with a stupid name.

"We want every tune to have its own style and place. I'm sick of paint by number bands at the moment, 12 tracks of the same (but different) song. You'll always know it's Aloosh."

What's the best thing ever invented?
Ally: Valve amplifiers.

Who were your musical heroes as a kid?
Ally: Jimmy Page, Kurt Cobain.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Ally: I don't preach.

Anything to add?
Ally: Look out for our album in autumn.


'Time', the new single from Aloosh, is out on 17 August 2011 on Nature Scene Records. Find out more at www.facebook.com/Alooshmusic.
Author: Bree Hoskin - Gaydarnation

A lot of people will recognise the collective members of Aloosh.

The core duo, Jodie Scantlebury and Alastair McNeil, have both paid their dues over the years and built up a respectable pair of CVs. While the former has lent her vocals to the likes of the Noisettes, Cee-Lo Green and Kele Okereke; Alastair, under his production name Yila, has worked on the Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip LP Angles, and recently finished producing the latter’s solo debut. Having met while supporting Roisin Murphy they formed Aloosh and below we have the premiere of the new video for single ‘Time’. Excited? Intrigued? Read below and watch the video!

Could you give me a history of the band?
Jodie (Scantlebury) came to do a track with me as a producer (Yila) and while we were working on that track she was touring as a vocalist with Roisin Murphy and I joined the tour after the guitarist left. I suppose we were on that for about a year and started talking about what music we wanted to make (as we were playing someone else’s music all the time). When we came back we were both out of work and just started to make music as a duo. This was quite a while ago but it took us a long time to get a band together. I heard Josh (Blackmore) who played with the jazz band Troyka and I just wanted him! We managed to track him down and he was really into it so he joined. And then Max, who’s with Tom Vek now, played with us for a bit. We’ve morphed into a four-piece now and we don’t write on the computer anymore.

So you guys are the core writing unit?
We start it I guess. It can begin with either lyrics or something musical. It’s mainly rhythmic ideas – we want to do something different. It always starts small, with a vibe and going from there.

Do you split it between words and music?
It’s always different, which I think is why each one of our songs has a different sound. Each track sounds like us but it’s always a completely new way of writing – nothing is set. It’s works, because we’re busy with other stuff and it’s interesting to see what happens without a set formula. We’ll write fast and because the band is so good and we’ve gelled, we can rehearse a song once before we’ll record it. It’s quite spontaneous and often just one process.

How would you describe your sound?
I like our songs to be quite quirky with dark ideas, and then make them accessible to people. Some of our songs are really hard to play, although they don’t sound hard. We want our lyrics to be quite subversive, they’re not about lovey stuff – often about things or behaviour – but we have to make sure we’re not sending people suicidal so we have to write a nice melody for some dark lyrics!

What do you write about?
We started by writing about our touring experiences as that was what we had in common when we formed, and talk about silly little things that we’d done when we were away. It’s changed now, I’d say it’s far more abstract and story based.

Do you guys share a musical background?
Not at all. My background (Jody) is from listening to my Dad while he did the washing up and singing along to Prince, Alexandre O’Neil, Talk Talk, James Brown and Bob Marley - and that has certainly translated into me, when I went to University and sang jazz for a few years for example. The only common ground, I’d say would be bass-line stuff, anything that was bass heavy. Alastair grew up listening to Sonic Youth, Nirvana and then went into electronica. It almost clashes in a way. We toured a lot with Hot Chip and originally we had the idea of making music for people to dance to. I’m not sure what happened to that ethic….

What does the year ahead hold for Aloosh?
To finish the album by the end of the year and then we want to get a tour sorted. But our drummer will only sleep in his own bed! He’s done gigs in Scotland before and had to drive all the way back to London so we’ll have to look into that….

Watch the video for ‘Time’ below... - Clash Music

.... They dwell on the edge of indie pop, club culture and in the midst of every day details... - The Metro