Fleckies Insights

Day: November 26, 2024

Welcome to Fleckies, where we highlight the venues and creatives shaping local culture.

Planet Wax: The Gravity of Community

One thing everyone knows about me is how passionate I am about collecting music. In an increasingly digital era, our musical consumption has moved behind screens, algorithms and streaming services. And so, it is genuinely delightful to take a break from that and dig through records in a locally run,

Read more >

Stormy J: Taking a Jab at Convention

From the emergence of reggae and jungle to the development of house and techno, some of the most exciting movements in underground music have emerged from artists willing to challenge expectations, break conventions and bring seemingly unrelated sounds together. But what happens when that experimentation becomes something deeply personal? How

Read more >

Revelle27: All the Things We Dance Through

Every now and then, I come across an artist and find myself wondering how on earth I’ve managed to miss them. Revelle27 was one of those discoveries. What started as a scroll through social media turned into a rabbit hole of connections. Laurie Revell grew up in Kettering, practically on

Read more >

The Whisky Flowers Set for International Blues Stage

Two years ago, The Whisky Flowers were finding their feet in Kettering’s local music scene. Now, they’re preparing to represent the UK on two international stages. Not bad for a band that started at a jam night. The four-piece, made up of Steph Ashcroft, Aiden Pryor, Elliot Clark and Ben

Read more >

Save Digbeth: Culture Is Not Collateral

Digbeth isn’t just somewhere you go for a night out. It’s an ecosystem. For decades, this corner of Birmingham has been home to independent venues, clubs, promoters, DJs, bands, artists and businesses, with different genres, scenes and generations existing practically on top of each other. Now, a significant part of

Read more >

Gigi Gold: Songs, Self-Belief and Starting Anyway

There is something about Gigi Gold that feels completely considered. The music, the styling, the photography, the visual world around it – everything feels like it belongs together. I first came across Gigi through mutual connections after her drummer Elliot and, more recently, guitarist Zak joined the band. I love

Read more >

The Fish Tank That Made Me Fall in Love with Music

I remember the day I discovered Panic! At the Disco. It was a quiet Sunday morning at home. I flicked on the TV, searched Kerrang! with the Sky remote and suddenly… There she was. A woman’s head submerged in a fish tank with tiny orange fish drifting around her. At

Read more >

April Baillie: Taking the Scene for a Spin

Sometimes the best ideas aren’t born from a perfectly mapped-out plan. They start with something you wish existed, whatever you already have to hand and somebody giving you the push to actually get on with it. For April Baillie, that happened to involve a bright red Vauxhall Corsa, some DDJ-400s

Read more >

Dance Till Dawn Passes £10k Raised Through Grassroots Music

A grassroots house music brand, local DJs, pubs turned into dancefloors and a community that keeps showing up – somewhere along the way, Dance Till Dawn has managed to raise more than £10,000 for local charities too. The Kettering-born house and tech house brand has officially hit £10,427.03 raised in

Read more >