Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Photographer David Hall specialises in documenting the groups and musicians in the North East, his playlist includes some of the artists featured in his upcoming exhibition at NewBridge Project
Image: Marginal Gains by David Hall
Words: David Hall
My name is David Hall and I am a North East documentary photographer. Over the last few years I have been photographing groups and musicians, building up a documentary archive which goes under the name of The Newcastle Project. The project’s main aim is to make documentary and archiving accessible to everyone; to create a space where all art mediums can coexist to form a people’s archive that is free from class bias and any form of art snobbery.
All of the musicians featured in this Mixtape I have photographed in one way or another, some are featured in my upcoming exhibition at NewBridge Project in Newcastle, which runs from Friday 1st-Saturday 9th November.
GAYDAR – Jan Got Her Tits Done In Turkey
Pure joy! Our three dashing punketeers go for it hard and fast, energy is their currency, taking no nonsense from nobody, ever!!
FASHION TIPS – I Wish You Every Success
Backing up their electric live sound on record was always going to be a big ask, but Fashion Tips have produced a debut LP that has captured that vigour and raw visceral sound. Every song reaches right inside of you, grabs your guts with both hands and gives them a right old twist. In the pursuit of essence and intelligent pop music, Fashion Tips are relentless.
BITCHFINDER GENERAL – No Thoughts Just Vibes EP
You want sonic punk pop then this group of cool cats are for you. Wonderful live and now backing it up in the studio. B52s meet Bill and Ted do the last house on the left.
CERAMIC – Solid Ground
The sweetest group in all the world how could they do this to me? A slight take on Green Gartside’s lyric. Talking of lyrics, Alfred is a wordsmith as good as anyone and Tom’s guitar playing and musicality is a constant source of bliss. If this is their last single, here’s to all our halcyon days.
MARGINAL GAINS – Context EP
Like many, I was blown away by Marginal Gains’ first show at Three Tanners Bank in August 2023. They were on it from the start, both sonically and visually, and have continued in this creative vein ever since. Now that you can hear the songs Grammar School and CCC on a digital platform or cassette. Now that’s a marginal gain in my books.
MELANIE BAKER – All My Plants Have Died
The Cumbrian Patti Smith. Melanie is, for me, one of our brightest and rarest of musicians. She lights up the world with her wonderful songs and live shows. This particular song is a bona fide classic!
VICE KILLER – The Dark Side of The Railway (Sunny)
What I love about Vice Killer is their sense of community and belonging to a place where they were born. Their history runs through them like Blackpool in a stick of rock. Thomas Low Gilling is passionate about this, and I was proud to work with him and Ashleigh Walker from Marginal Gains on their Life Just Bounces exhibition and curated day to celebrate Peterlee. Plus, this is a cracking song.
RAPOON – MOKA24
Robin Storey continues his ambient odyssey in sound with MoKa24. An original member of :zoviet*france:, Robin is on fine form with this latest edition to his already impressive back catalogue of music.
IRKED – Backstreets
It’s all kicking off in the lane with these upstarts! I absolutely love this slice of punk magic.
NO TEETH – Decadence In Breeding
I love this group and everything they bring to the Newcastle music scene. The syndicate’s sell out show at St Theresa’s Catholic Club to launch this LP was nothing short of chaos and unadulterated bonkers fun. They left nothing to the imagination, and I can’t listen to Panty Raid now without coming out in a hot flush! They warned us not to look!
