Interview

      1. What a year it’s been! Have you enjoyed it?

Matt: Yeah it’s been great! It’s been a real learning curve for us; we’ve met some really cool people who have influenced us, and had an amazing tour. Personally I’ve really enjoyed the different atmospheres that come with each venue; they’re all individual and give us a great vibe when we’re playing.

Robin: Plus visiting all these different places gives us a real sense of our fans; it makes us feel more connected to them, which I love.

2. How do you think your tour went?

Albertine: I think it went brilliantly! I found it difficult at first, because, you know, being away from home is different, and I’ve never really left my home town so it was pretty scary. But once I got into the flow of it, it was kind of cool, meeting all these people around England that loved us!

3. Favourite venue?

Jamal: I’d probably have to say the KOKO in London, the tone of the whole place was so welcoming and the crowd were amazing! They were really going crazy when we were playing, and were so desperate for an encore we couldn’t say no! It’s so nice when an audience does that, it boosts our confidence and is a really enjoyable experience.

4. Any weird fan stories?

Robin: I once got sent a pocket watch from a fan, it was really weird because I collect them, but I’ve never told anyone that in an interview or on my blog. It just freaked me out because I couldn’t work out how someone would know to send me one!

Matt: When we were touring a fan gave me a questionable piece of fan fiction detailing a potential relationship between me and Jamal. They were very specific, I won’t go into what went on, but it was pretty creepy…

5. How would you sum up your successful careers so far?

Albertine: I wouldn’t describe it as successful, but it’s definitely the most fun I’ve had. I love these boys, and experiencing all that I am with them is more of an achievement than making the number one in the charts.

Jamal: I’d have to agree with Bert on that one, we didn’t get into this band to be successful; we did it because this is what we enjoy doing and want to do with our lives. This is such a fun job, and we’re able to manage ourselves, we choose the music we make, we aren’t controlled by anybody. I would encourage anyone to aspire to have the kind of independence that we have.

6. What have been your favourite parts of this year?

Matt: All of it! Writing the songs, releasing the album, touring, it’s all been an amazing experience and I honestly couldn’t choose a specific bit. It was amazing and worth every second.

Albertine: If I’m being honest, the madras curry I had in Nottingham was insane…

7. Be honest, who is the most annoying to tour with out of you guys?

Albertine, Matt, Robin: JAMAL!

8. What’s been the worst part of this year?

Jamal: Probably being away from my family, I’m really close to them and regularly visit them, so not being able to do that was hard. I miss my mum’s spag bol! Yeah, that’s been the worst part for me.

Matt: Creepy fan mail!!!

9. You met Ed Sheeran backstage whilst on tour, what were your first impressions?

Robin: He’s actually an alright guy, not as depressed as some of his songs make him out to be! He was really nice, and said he liked our album which was pretty cool; it’s always awesome to have an influence compliment your work.

10. What kind of genre would you classify yourselves as?

Matt: I’m not a massive fan of labels, but if you really want one, we’re probably making soft rock I guess. Our inspirations range from Biffy Clyro to Damien Rice, so I suppose that’s the most accurate definition of our music.

11. How do you feel your debut album has been received?

Albertine: I think our fans responded well, we’ve gained a lot more interest, and we feel we’ve put across the right image across. We want people to see us as bare as possible, we don’t want to be dishonest about who we are, and I think our album has put that across. The songs aren’t stereotypical and generic; they’re about real people which I think helps our fans to relate to the album.

12. Lastly, what are you plans for next year?

Robin: We’re definitely planning on having a break! This has been a great experience but we certainly need some time off. Hopefully after then we can start thinking about writing some new material, and getting ourselves back onto the road.

Threadless Stitches debut album ‘Songs People Never Heard Through Slurred Words’ is available now.

Interview Questions

Interview Questions

1. What a year it's been! Have you enjoyed it?

2. How do you think your tour went?

3. Favourite venue?

4. Any weird fan stories?

5. How would you sum up your careers so far?

6. What have been your favourite parts about this year?

7. Be honest, who is the most annoying to go on tour with?

8. What's been the worst part of this year?
9. You met Ed Sheeran backstage while on tour, what were your first impressions?

10. What kind of genre would you classify yourselves as?

11. How do you feel your debut album has been received?

12. Lastly, what's your plan for the next year?

Contents page list of features and regulars

Features:

• Interview with band (main article)
• Gig Review - Twin Atlantic
• Insight - Exclusive photos from Little Comets tour
• Unsigned or Unavoidable? What's so really great about being a rock star?
• Dog Is Dead - How the boys are feeling for their next tour
• The 1975 tell us all about their new album 'Facedown'
• Whatever happened to Alex Turner? - Where the shaggy haired rocker is headed
• Free Posters! - Best Coast, Sea Of Bees, Cage The Elephant
• George Taylor gets messy - Is art the new venture for G-Man?

Regulars:

• VIB (Very Important Band) - Backstage behind the scenes photos/stories
• Fresh Flesh - Brand new bands on the scene
• A day in the life - Following a band/band member for a day
• Have you heard? - Top 20 most rated songs of the month according to...
• What are you talking about?! - Music and band news
• Reviews - New CD's out each month
• Listing - List of gigs across the country
• Hoarders Hamper - Competition to win specific band merchandise
• Mailbag - Letters from readers
• Out This Month - A list of all the new music/albums out that month

Mood Board for inspiration of magazine

Photo shoot Idea

Initial Masthead Sketches

The City magazine Unique Selling Point

The City is an up to date and on trend magazine which represents the centre of Indie and Rock music today. We celebrate the most respected bands, the biggest gigs, and reviews so real you’ll think you were there.  With connections across the world we can give you the latest news every week from the best bands, exclusive interviews and behind the scenes of even the most intimate gigs. Each issue is unique in its content, but also consistent in its commitment to bringing you the best.

Analysis of Wire magazine Front cover, Contents page, and Double page spread

Wire MagazineCover Analysis on Prezi

Analysis of Mixmag Front cover, Contents page, and Double page spread

Mixmag Magazine Cover Analysis on Prezi

Target Audience Profile

Analysis of NME Front cover, Contents page, and Double page spread

NME Magazine Cover Analysis on Prezi

Readership for inspiring magazines

CD Back cover

CD Front cover

Album cover analysis from Alice Childerhouse

Analysis of magazine front cover and contents page from Alice Childerhouse

Magazine Front Cover and Contents Page

Metal Band name Practice

Album cover analysis from Alice Childerhouse

Collage - Audience for CD

Open publication - Free publishing - More u4u

What I really like about this magazine is that the clean and modern look it has which is continued throughout the entire magazine. It looks very up to date and really appeals to the target audience, being college students, by having bright colourful pages and articles. I also like how each article has a large photograph that relates to the article itself, which would allow a reader in a shop to get a good understanding of what the magazine has to offer even with a quick flick through it. This is important, especially with magazine's features as they need to stand out and grab the readers attention. This is a common factor in nearly all magazines and is a convention of magazines in general, as it really benefits the company in gaining more readers if they see a few articles that interest them on the first few pages. This magazine really lives up to these conventions and, as you read through the first few articles you can tell how much they stand out.

Open publication - Free publishing - More boston

The way this magazine is laid out is very organised and neat, making it easy to read and find certain articles. It also has a clean fresh look about it which helps hit the target audience as they will be young students looking for opportunities and interesting articles. I feel this magazine really appeals to that franchise and also achieves a great look in the process. The articles are very suited to the age group and doesn't patronise the reader, which is very important in teenage magazines. In most popular teen/student magazines I think it's very easy to underestimate the interests of that particular age group, so missing the readers interests entirely is a fatal mistake when writing for this age group. It's also important not to think of them as adults and not involve too many mature articles, to keep in mind the age of your target audience and I think this magazine achieves this really well.

Open publication - Free publishing - More arts education

This magazine differs from the others greatly in the way that it isn't a casual leisure magazine, but instead is an informative text about courses for a university. The layout is far more mature and educational  as opposed to bright and exciting. Instead it is more information based and it's purpose is to advise readers on choices being made about their education. I think that's why there is a continuing theme of these pictures of a skeleton, which is obviously an intellectual notion. It's put there to remind the reader of what they are inquiring about and why they are reading it.The pictures of people taking part in various activities that are being written about on that pages allows the reader to have an insight into what they might do if they took that particular course.

Album Cover - Belle and Sebastian - If you're feeling sinister

This album was released in November of 1996 by a band called Belle and Sebastian who produce very soft acoustic indie music. The cover of this really works with the feel of the music on this album, as its relaxing and comforting with mildly disturbing lyrics. The photo on this cover art is of a young girl looking really bored, which is what most of the album is about, being young and bored and trying to find things to do, learning about people. It's quite an influencial album for young adults as the songs are almost educational, about life, being young, and all the ups and downs that come with it. There's also a copy of 'The Trial' next to the girl, which is a depressing and complex play written by Franz Kafka in the early 1900's, and is often studied in later years of high school or college. This also relates to the educational lyrics in the majority of songs on this album. The red filter on the photograph gives the photo a evil/sinister feel which also connects to the name of the album 'If You're Feeling Sinister'.

This album was released in September this year, and is Two Door Cinema Club's second major album. The cover art for this CD was particularly interesting as it didn't involve any shots of the band members, or any faces, and instead focused on women's body parts. The photos have also been edited to have a slight glow about them, adding a dream like atmosphere to the art. This also relates to the songs on this particular album because a lot of them have been inspired by a short period the lead singer went through when writing this album of having really odd and surreal dreams. There is a track called sleep alone which is about this period, using lyrics such as 'He sleeps alone, he needs no army where he's headed cause he knows that they're just ghosts and they can't hurt him if he can't see them'. It's the main single off the album and is very upbeat, despite Alex singing about something quite traumatic. Therefore the cover art connects nicely with the songs on the album, as well as referencing to something personal for the band, particularly Alex Trimble (the lead singer).

Album Cover - Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree

This album was released in May 2005 by 'Fall Out Boy', a four man band from Chicago, Illinois, which was their third album. Before they recorded this album, while touring, they crashed the bus they were travelling in, in the middle of winter. So the photo of a minivan half covered by snow relates back to this incident which shook up the band members and ad worried fans. I feel this made the cover quite popular because it related back to something important and meaningful for the band and fans, giving the album a homely feel. Moving onto the curtains and audience I think this is a reference to the record company 'Fuelled By Ramen' as at this particular time other that was their image, a dramatic theatre style which fellow friends and band 'Panic! At The Disco' were also playing around with.