one eye open #1

ONE EYE OPEN

I S S U E # 1

L o o k i n g a t l i f e a l i t t l e d i f f e r e n t l y . . .

H A P P I N E S SV I L L A G E R S

M O N AX U U K I

N E W S O U N D SA L I C E G O L D

M I L L I O N D E A DA L E S S I ’ S A R KP I C K M E U P

EDITOR / DESIGNER: Nick ByrneCONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Nick Byrne, Ed Newman, Fin Murphy, Becky Wixon

ARTWORK BY: Nick Byrne

ONE EYE OPEN - Contents & Information 3

“Born in plaster, set to last us. Nothing sits in a cast that won’t rust.”

This magazine hopes to provide a range of articles loosely centred around music, film and culture. It hopes to bring to light music that you may not have heard, films that you may not have watched and subjects that you may not have thought about. But it does not matter if you have listened to, watched or thought about these

things before - the most important thing is that whatever is being written about, means a great deal to the writer.

Contents

THANK YOU:Marc Laming, Dave Eaton, Ed Newman, Fin Murphy, Becky Wixon, Todd Solondz, Philip Seymour Hoffman,

Dylan Baker, Conor O’Brien, Frank Turner, Joel Nash, Will Rugless, Alice McLaughlin, Alessi Laurent-Marke, Matthew Linley& of course you, whether you happen to browsing though a digital or printed copy!

Issue One / July 2011

ONE EYE OPENAll enquires: [email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/oneeyeopenzine | http://oneeyeopenzine.tumblr.com | http://oeomagazine.bigcartel.comISSN 2049-1271 (Online)

©One Eye Open 2011

EDITOR / DESIGNER: Nick ByrneCONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Nick Byrne, Ed Newman, Fin Murphy, Becky Wixon

ARTWORK BY: Nick Byrne

Any sort of reproduction without the written permission of One Eye Open is prohibited.If you would like to publish an article from this magazine online or in print, please send an email to the contact at the top of the page.

If you are interested in contributing to the magazine, please email a sample of your work to the email at the top of the page.

Supported by YOUNG EXETER.

Happiness

Villagers

Mona

Xuuki

New Sounds

Alice Gold

Million Dead

Alessi’s Ark

Pick Me Up

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OPEN EYE - Happiness4

This page is currently only available in print.

To purchase go to: http://oeomagazine.bigcartel.com



OPEN EYE - Happiness 5



OPEN EAR - Villagers 7

Villagers

F ive seconds of silence. Slowly jangled bells fade in, then a quiet organ, before a violin. A minor key piano melody starts, then a whisper.“Have you got just a minute, are you

easily lead, let me show you the backroom, where I saw the dead.” sings Conor O’Brien, an Irish singer-songwriter who performs under the guise of Villagers. This is the first minute of his debut album ‘Becoming a Jackal’. Beautifully dark, sincere and wellwritten - it is easy to see how he was chosen to support Elbowon an arena tour early this year.

Delicate and tuneful yet at the same time haunting, there is acertain poetry to ‘Becoming a Jackal‘. Although songs like ‘Shipof Promises’ are anchored by relentless drums and rhythmical guitar strums, they are equally reliant on vocals. O’Brien’s lyrics articulate to absolute perfection, from a forceful whisper to awolf-like howl. It is in that element of Villagers’ aural aestheticthat the listener can truly engage.

It is not only the execution of vocals in which O’Brien excels;in the great acoustic tradition, there is some great storytellingon show too. On the most part O’Brien seems to be lamentinghis younger years, with themes such as family in the aptlynamed ‘Home’, fragile relationships in ‘That Day’ and even abus journey in ‘Twenty Seven Strangers’. Everyday ideas as they are, O’Brien’s pulls you into his experiences with the beauty ofhis lyrics. Wholeheartedly honest; we cannot help but drawparallels to our own childhood.

And while Villagers can slowly ascend from delightful acoustic (‘The Pact’) to dense instrumental crescendo (‘Pieces’), everything about this album seems considered - nothing out of place orwithout justification, in the same way fine detail can sometimes bring an illustration or painting to life. ‘Becoming a Jackal’is a brilliant debut, which throughout it’s duration isenchanting and emotive.

Article and artwork by Nick Byrne.

OPEN EAR - Mona8





OPEN EAR - Mona 9



OPEN EAR - Xuuki 11

Xuuki

Loosely strummed guitar chords at the start of ‘Merz’,punctuate the various electronic noises slowly creeping their way into the soundscape. Each instrument works together,

for the same end: only Joel Nash’s ghost-like vocals are allowed to break free, and they meander between the beats and bleeps of the song. Even with the synthesiser and drum machine however, an overriding rawness remains - which could be what makes listening to their mp3s almost as captivating as witnessing them live.

It is certainly on the live stage where Xuuki’s sound is allowed toform organically. The smallest details of every song seem more obvious than before; you feel each song rise, bend and fall with infinite clarity. The music constantly deviates between polaropposites. The tone and speed of the music fluctuate and every so often songs explode - all tension built up is released. Guitars ring out and falsetto vocals echo around the dimly lit stage.

There is definitely something special about Nash’s vocals: theycontain a captivating fragility. He pulls off a delivery that is all at once effortless and painful - a rare feat indeed. It is within the dark and whispered moments that true musical beauty is captured; the guitars, drums and synth - however stunning they sound - slip into the background, leaving only Nash’s broken poetry. At timesit can be true bliss.

The best thing about Xuuki is as clear now as when I first listened to them for the first time: a fresh willingness to experiment. It is this facet of the band which I am most grateful for, and they excite me each time I listen to them.

Article and photography by Nick Byrne.

OPEN MIND - New Sounds12





OPEN EAR - Alice Gold 13



OPEN EAR - Million Dead14





OPEN EAR - Million Dead 15



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OPEN EAR - Alessi’s Ark 17



OPEN EYE - Pick Me Up18



one eye open #1

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