Music – Close-Up Culture

Honouring a Hero: Wade Cota on Writing “Last Alarm” and the Realities of Firefighter Sacrifice

When American Idol alum Wade Cota was approached to help turn the life and struggles of a late firefighter named Scott into music, the project quickly became much more than just another songwriting session. Written on Scott’s own guitar – entrusted to Wade by Scott’s widow – the resulting track, “Last Alarm,” serves as a…
Hinabi: An Accidental Artist with a Mission to Bring True Love Back to Music

For Hinabi, music was never part of the plan. A lifelong writer and poet, she stumbled into songwriting almost by accident, only to discover an unexpected ability to turn fleeting moments of inspiration into emotionally charged melodies. Now, with new music on the horizon and a growing ambition to bring her music to audiences around…
Patrick Gramm on the Sacred Responsibility Behind Last Alarm

For over two decades, director Patrick Gramm has trusted his instincts, but nothing could completely prepare him for chronicling the final months of Fire Captain Scott Leatham’s battle with occupational cancer. In this intimate conversation, the Emmy winner breaks down the meticulous editorial choices behind Last Alarm – interweaving deeply vulnerable family moments with studio…
Hooray for Hollywood: Joe Stilgoe & Liza Pulman On The Return Of Their Hit Show

Following a successful West End run at London’s Duchess Theatre earlier this year, acclaimed singer and comedienne Liza Pulman and virtuoso pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe bring their sparkling celebration of Hollywood’s greatest musical moments to Chichester and Wilton’s this Autumn. From The Wizard of Oz to Wicked, West Side Story to La La Land,…
10 Album Covers That Belong in a Gallery

Album artwork can be just as ambitious, strange and influential as the music itself. Close-Up Culture pick out ten covers that deserve to be looked at as art in their own right. 1. Tame Impala – Currents A hypnotic collision of movement and geometry that turns psychedelia into minimalist design. 2. Kanye West – My…
10 Musicians and the Movies They’d Make

What if your favourite musicians stopped writing songs and started writing screenplays? We imagine the films hiding inside ten artists’ most cinematic worlds. 1. Jamie T – London, After Dark A grimy, funny and chaotic coming-of-age film about friendship, drinking, petty crime and trying to outrun your own mistakes. 2. Kendrick Lamar – Before We…
Oye Santana – Live Music Review

Live music is thriving in the Berkshire town of Wokingham, thanks to the great work of the local music club, part of Wokingham Lions. With its shows always popular, Wokingham Music Club is able to persuade some phenomenal artists to come and play at its eclectic venues in the town: Judie Tzuke (Stay With Me…
Trash Boat at Koko: Celebrating 10 Years of an Album I’ve Never Heard

“10 fucking years. Start as you mean to proceed, Koko!” As soon as Trash Boat took the stage at their album anniversary show at Koko in Camden, the audience were locked in. I’m a fan by association but was heartily won over by the five performers on stage. My partner, a longtime lover of the…
LUKE MATTHEWS, Moving With The Tides – Music Review

Piano Smithfield is a magnificent live music venue within a hoof of the old Smithfield meat market in London. It’s funky, intimate and its cocktails are to die for. It’s also a venue that prides itself on promoting emerging musical talent (and boy do we need such venues to thrive so that live music continues…
10 Arthouse Movies & Indie Albums with the Exact Same Energy

In this series, Close-Up Culture pair movies with songs that share the exact same atmospheric DNA. This week we ask: What if your favourite indie albums are secretly the perfect soundtracks to cinema’s most striking arthouse films? 1. Climax (2018) + Currents – Tame Impala Hypnotic, sensual and increasingly sinister, with beauty slowly giving way…