Orange Spotlight: Loose Articles

Who are Loose Articles?

We are a band based in Manchester and formed in 2019. In Loose Articles we have Natalie on bass and vocals, Erin on lead guitar and vocals, Abbi on drums and backing vocals and Anna on keys, rhythm guitar and percussion. The band name came from Erin going on a school trip to Alton Towers as she’s a teacher and she saw a sign saying ‘please secure all loose articles before entering the ride’. It immediately stuck unlike another name we were pondering over before. Being in a band is a rollercoaster so you need to strap in and make sure not to lose any loose articles on the way! As for our music we like to say we’re funky punk. You can have a good old dance with your pals but you can also start a mosh pit on the dance floor.

What inspires Loose Articles?

We take inspiration from everyday life. From misogynistic behaviours in the workplace, being talked down to for being a female musician, gender roles in jobs, the struggles of nearly making it in the music industry to our fascination with the underground pinball society. We like to take problems we face in our day to day life and turn it into sarcastic lyrics then put a funky punk beat behind it so you all can dance to it. We take pride in our fun live shows and try to make the music as fun as we can, however when you really listen to the lyrics the topics we talk about are more hard hitting.

What Orange gear is important to Loose Articles?

So I (Natalie) have a Terror Bass head and an OBC-112 cab. Right now as a touring artist at the level we are at, an important thing is getting the right, powerful sound I’m looking for but for it to also be light and easy to transport as possible and this set up is just perfect for me. I can lift my cab with one hand, which makes me look a lot stronger than I am as everyone thinks it’s going to be heavy when really it’s so light! It makes touring at this level very easy and doesn’t hold back at all on the sound as it’s a little power house!

Erin currently uses a Crush 35RT combo amp which she’s holding back on parting with just yet as it enhances our live shows sound wise when she needs to get the feedback she wants to play the Stella Artois can (yes you heard right) with her guitar when we start the show. Anna has just bought a Micro Terror and a PPC-112 which is already sounding amazing on stage and we can’t wait to start writing the second album with this second guitar sound.

Future Orange amps?

So the dream would be if the band made it big to upgrade to a OBC-810C cab and a AD200 head, however right now the set up I have is actually perfect for what I need and I recommend it to so many people when they talk about bass amps to me. I do know that Erin is eyeing up a Rocker 15 right now as an upgrade to her crush combo so the future of our sound is still very Orange!

What does Orange mean to you?

I’ve always seen bands I love playing orange amps but started to make note of it more when being in the market for a new amp to enhance my bass tone. I remember clocking at a Turnstile gig that the bassist has an orange amp and made a mental note of it. But it was when I borrowed the set up I have now at a gig we did in Leeds as my amp was broken that I really fell in love with the amp and how it was just what I wanted tone wise. From then I wanted to reach out to orange to get a relationship going as Erin is also a big fan of the brand and it’s honestly been such a nice relationship we have encountered.The Brand itself is so helpful towards artists. We have been sorted out for a massive show when we have been in need of bigger amps for the week, everyone has always been so helpful towards us when we message over its just all round a lovely brand to be associated with regardless of the killer sounds the amps make.

What’s the most memorable Loose Articles moment?

I guess the most recent one has to be supporting the Foo Fighters. The fact they picked up to support and at the time they picked us we had no backing from a label and no booking agent. I think we had maybe 6 songs on Spotify and they gave us this massive opportunity to support them. It not only gave us the confidence that important people in the industry believe in us but it’s made us hungry to be on these massive stages putting on a fun show to thousands of people. As it was such a massive show we were lent amps by Orange which really enhanced our sound on a big stage which we are all so grateful for as it made us sound massive!

What’s on the horizon for Loose Articles?

So right now we have just finished touring our debut album ‘Scream If You Wanna Go Faster’ yet we are already working on album number 2. We have also just announced our Arts Council England-funded Kick Like A Girl Extra Time! This is a touring project running throughout Jan/Feb/Mar 2025 across grassroots venues in the north of England. The project is aimed at primarily engaging young female identifying and non- binary people from backgrounds and groups who typically aren’t represented in the music industry, and we’ll illuminate the pathways into the often male-dominated music scene with community outreach locally via local community groups in each town. This is the second Kick Like a Girl tour and from the reaction we had during and following the last one, we feel more than ever the importance as a band to be doing tours like this. We feel passionately about making changes in the music industry to address inequality. We want to create a shift away from the industry we operate in being white male dominated. Across all the job roles that exist from being in a band to being a sound tech, promoter, manager etc.. We want to encourage young female identifying and non- binary people to get involved and feel like they can succeed in this line of work. As a band our song topics touch on gender roles and overcoming the struggles of being a gender minority in a male dominated industry. So why not actually practice what we preach about in our songs and really try to make a difference. We want all of the gigs we play to be a safe space for all regardless of gender identity. Everyone is invited to get involved with the party!

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Photo Credits – Sarah Louise Bowery, Alexis Panidis and Sinead Ferguson

Orange Spotlight: Longheads

Who are Longheads?

Longheads are a five piece psych rock outfit. We all met in our home county, Norfolk but we are now based in South London. We are; Al Bishop (Guitar), Sam Mitchell (Bass, Vocals), Nick Oakes (Drums), Ben Reeve (Guitar), and Mitchell Corrigan (Synthesisers).

The band started almost ten years ago when myself and Ben attended a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard show in London. After witnessing a life changing live show we knew we had to start a band. Since then the project has gone through many names and a few line-up changes. In 2020 we settled on the name Longheads and began developing our heavy-ish style of psych. Our music is a combination of modern psych and classic rock with a sprinkling of prog, doom, kraut rock and proto-metal. In our last EP, Mars Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore, we explored odd time signatures and long extended jams. With our upcoming album we have continued developing some of those themes but have explored heavier tones, adding some doom and a thrash metal track into the mix.

What inspires Longheads?

Al: When I sit down to write a song, usually inspirations seeps in from whatever I’ve been listening to at that point in time, sometime in less than obvious ways. When we were composing some of the early Longheads tunes I was getting really into the band Death. I was super into there use of tempo and time signature changes. Although we never wrote any death metal tracks I did take huge inspiration from those elements.

Deathcap Farmer, the lead single from our upcoming album features a riff that is heavily inspired by the intro to ‘Arrival’ by The Alchemist. I basically just took the rhythm, swapped the horns for some new heavy chords and added in an extra beat to give it some trademark Longheads weirdness. Lately I have been getting really into Rush and have been doing a deep dive into all their albums. I would one day love to experiment with going full prog but I don’t think my guitar playing is quite up to scratch yet!

What Orange gear is important to Longheads?

Al: For our upcoming album, Layers of Wax, we recorded two doom inspired songs. For these we used some classic OR120 tones. We were able to use a great selection of amps in the studio to really dial in our perfect heavy fuzz tone.

Unfortunately we are not yet able to take a selection of 4×12’s with us to gigs. We are often at the mercy of house cabs. I am always happy to see an Orange cab when I arrive at a venue. Orange are my preferred cab of choice especially for live. The bass response and overall tone really gets me going when we are playing our heavier stuff.

Future Orange amps?

Al: I need to try a few out and go from there. I’ve had my eye on a Dual Terror head for a while as well as an OR30, defiantly something I need to check out in the future. I like to keep both small and larger heads on hand and often decide which one to use depending on the venue.

What does Orange mean to you?

Al: I’ve been aware of Orange since my early days of learning the guitar. However my favourite Orange moment has to be Matt Pike of Sleep’s rig rundown. Seeing him blast through some of the heaviest tones I’ve ever heard while standing in front of a huge wall of Orange amps is just the coolest thing. One day I’d love to try playing through a similar rig!

What’s the most memorable Longheads moment?

Al: My favourite Longheads moment is when we supported SLIFT two years back. That was our first big gig. There were around 400-500 people there whereas before we’ve only really played to 100 people at the most. We all went out to Bens place in the sticks to practise for a week to make sure the show was tight. All just for one show! We converted an old caravan into our practise space. It turned out to be a really special night though getting to support one of our favourite bands and the crowd (hopefully) digging our set.

What’s on the horizon for Longheads?

Al: We recently released our new album, Layers of Wax, which came out on the 4th of November. It’s been in the works and under wraps for almost two years at this point and I’m relieved it’s finally out. After that we are hitting the road for some UK dates in December. Got some exciting things in the works for 2025 as well!