Cargo’s Free Fridays began almost a year ago with the express intention of putting on free parties you’d happily pay for. It was our way of giving something back to music lovers in times of economic hardship. And it’s proved a highly successful formula, one that has seen queues winding down Rivington Street week in and week out.

In terms of programming Free Fridays have been a breath of fresh air in the London clubbing scene. Not many clubs would have had the guts to put the likes of The Whitest boy Alive and Miike Snow under the same promotion umbrella as The Ragga Twins or Appleblim. Reflecting the varied tastes and musical savvy of the Cargo music team, the line-ups have been as eclectic as they’ve been exciting. From the rawkus 8bit punk of The Death Set to the lush techno soundscapes of The Field, from Chrome Hoof’s eccentric krautrock to Amanda Blank’s filthy hip hop, from Yacht’s imaginative disco to The Ratpack’s old skool jungle, Free Fridays has had something for all. Heck, we’ve even had a much in fashion Zomby no-show!

Such has been the success of Free Fridays that many bands have chosen it as the platform for their album launches. Joakim & The Disco, Nite Jewel or Miike Snow to name just a few premiered their material at Cargo to the delight of their cash-strapped fans. Two major festivals also deemed Free Fridays the perfect vehicle to host their launch parties: The Big Chill invited Orbital’s Phil Hartnoll for a rare appearance, whilst Lovebox rocked the arches with a line-up that included members of Horse Meat Disco, Secretsundaze and Disco Bloodbath. Music collectives and record Labels also looked to the Rivington Street cub to showcase their wares: Weheartcommix, Valerie, Tigersushi, or Mad Decent all flaunted their goods to the knowledgeable crowd’s that make Cargo the special place it is.

As the last Free Friday approaches, (which will see a live set from Chew Lips) Cargo’s commitment to quality underground music remains unchanged. The monthly residencies curated by the Last.fm team and Adventures in the Beetroot Field, as well as Cargo’s own promotions, promise to deliver something fresh and exciting for the more discerning London musos as well as the casual party goers. After all, if you have ears, you might as well use them!

The Horse, a noble animal. Carrying many a fateful yesteryear hero to the spoils of victory and to the swooning wench. Nowadays this majestic Equus is relegated to being rode by midgets for ’sport’ or to pen in football fans to regulate the flow at tube stations. Oh how the mighty have “foalen” (puny pun).

However some musical bands are using them to distinguish themselves from the pack. Which is a novel idea. Unfortunately two bands had the same idea at the same time. The Race Horses are from Wales and make mildly psychedelic jangley guitar pop. The Dark Horses are from England and make eerie, reverb laden dark-pop. Luckily, they don’t sound that much alike. Luckily for us, they are both playing at The Eat Your Own this Friday.

THE RACE HORSES

THE DARK HORSES

However it’s this bright four pieces band from Aberystwyth that catch our attention. They mostly sing about baking, for instance, like “Cake” or song: “Cacen Mamgu” loosely translated as “Grandmother`s Teacakes”. Prepare to sound like an idiot singing along to the catchy-as-hell choruses at their gig at the EYOE’s FREE Friday the 9^th of October.

Cake

LIVE: RACE HORSES + DARK HORSES + ISLINGTON BOYS CLUB + THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF YOU

DJS: RORY PHILIPS + EYOE DJS

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Tagged as “the most exciting thing happening in UK metal right now” by the NME, Invasion define themselves as two tough girls and one geeky dude having fun sharing the love for heavy metal.

INVASION – Moongazer (EP version) from Marek Steven on Vimeo.

They’re obsessed with fire, wizards and fantasy. Expect savage short tracks, huge riffs, empowering vocals and high energy live shows. On stage, they leave their souls. They’re intense. Their heavy is retro, raw and real. “It’s basically a bit like early Metallica mixed with early Sabbath but rough around the edges”, in their own words. The best: their frontwoman, a bouncy afro-asian diva dressed in robes –and with not really the kind of voice you’re normally used to in heavy metal bands. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

They’ll lighting our stage up the 2nd of October in Last.fm first night of residency at Cargo’s FREE Fridays.

LIVE: INVASION + BOY OF GIRL + LOVELIKEFIRE

DJS: SKULL JUICE + LAST.FM TEAM

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She’s a go getter; a naughty 18 year old MC from Harlem with a big dirty mouth. Although she doesn’t consider herself a diva, she boasts about doing exactly what she wants to do –and she really knows where she’s going. This cute girl writes all her own music, except for “Supplier” (diplo made that beat) and “Barbie Shit” (produced by Feel-X) –and just for the record, in “Seventeen” she raps over Laditron. If we made a word cloud with her whole discography probably two words would stand out from the rest: “tits” and “dicks” – and maybe “ass” or “bitch”. She raps mostly about sex, about her boyfriend’s package… pretty redundant teen topics –but her music is fresh, fierce and brighter than any other female rapper’s we’ve heard in ages –and there have been lots. If you bump into her on the night of her show at Cargo, think before you speak – with just two rhymes she could wreck you. And don’t challenge her to a Scrabble afterparty – you’ll lose. You’ve been warned!

FRI. 25th SEPT.

LIVE: AZEALIA BANKS + QUAD THROW SALCHOW + PINEY GIR + COLOURING IN + GOLD PANDA + THE RAYOGRAPHS

DJS: TIM LOVE LEE + CRISPIN DIOR

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When they were no more than two snotty teens, on telly they were showing series like The Goonies or Transformers and films like Karate Kid, The Neverending Story or Teen Wolf. And there they were, sat right in front of the screen –who knows for how long! No surprise then that now they love the 80s: the fluorescent colours, the backcombed hairstyle… and, thanks to the music, they’ve managed to never stop being the kids they use to be.

Futurecop – Karate Kids (video by TNUC) from TNUC on Vimeo.

Check out Futurecop!’s answers to our Love & Hate quiz:

♥ When you first wake up in the morning, what’s the first song or sound you most like to hear?

M people – Move it! I automatically sing this song when I wake – this is actually true and I don’t even have the song. It’s all in memory!

 Tell us one song you hate but can’t get out of your head because the lyrics keep on coming back to you.

Black Eyed Peas – Boom

♥ Which are your top 5 bands at the moment?

New Moscow

Trackademics

New Boyz

Keith Masters

Taylor Swift

 What concert would you like to forget the most and why?

Yo Yo in London. It was one of our first ever gigs, and we had an idea to buy a massive light which we would shine through our futurecop! poster so it light it up. Seemed like a good idea at the time however it went horribly wrong because it was too bright and we couldn’t turn it off. It looked like someone was filming an asian wedding! –we couldn’t stop laughing on stage about it – it was hilarious. Our manager wasn’t too impressed lol

♥ What do you enjoy the most about playing in a band?

Quite a few reasons actually. Firstly its kind of a break from the real world.  Also it feels really good when your sharing ideas and emotions from your head, then sharing it with the world and people actually loving it. But mainly because it allows you to act and dress up like a kid again lol

 Can you think of any reason that would make you quit music?

If it was not fun anymore, we’ve come across a lot of people who try to change our ideas (and the music) to make it ‘commercial’ but I hate that I just run away from it, we make music to make us happy first, whether its commercial or not. Plus its hard work being someone else anyway.

Futurecop! will be playing in our 18^th’s FREE FRIDAYS, together with Ocelot, Milke, Newislands, Tom Neville DJ, Rene DJ and the infernal beats of Designer Drugs DJs.

LIVE: FUTURECOP! + OCELOT + MILKE + NEWISLANDS

DJS: DESIGNERS DRUGS + TOM NEVILLE + RENE (WONKY POP)

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Crystal Fighters mix electronica, nu-rave and folk music. They use Basque traditional instruments with synths, loops and voices moisturized by a thousand filters. They’re energy in the purest form and they’re revolutionising the local party scene with their “I love London” tune.

If they don’t make you sweat through your t-shirt and laugh like a child, maybe you should consider applying for a living statue down on the South Bank.

Folk music is a remote, partially undiscovered island. Spain is a deep dark cave within said remote, partially undiscovered island .. Catalan Guillamino has already tried it by mixing sardana (traditional catalan dance in which people hold their hands together and turn around in circles) with electronica, jazz and rock; but the experiment didn’t hit the dancefloors, maybe because sardana itself is anything but exciting.

Anyways, who would have said that a txalaparta could make us move like it does? Before this five piece band came along I thought playing the txalaparta was just the worst possible revenge to inflict on your biggest enemy’s hangover. But now I believe that it will replace the ukelele as the must-have instrument for every Shoreditch haircut band. Let’s see how long it takes for bands to bust out the castanets on stage.

We have two exclusive remixes for you to download
Cargo Free Friday faves: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix of Xtatic Truth
The Musical embodyment of our yard’s photo booth: Photomachine Dub of Xtatic Truth

Meanwhile, witness the folkdance revolution take shape with the Crystal Fighters live on the 11^th of September’s FREE FRIDAYS. If you come with a txapela, find me and I’ll buy you a drink and some tapas.

LIVE: CRYSTAL FIGHTERS + TERRY LYNN + JOANA AND THE WOLF

DJS: EDU K + ALI HISLOP + THE MONO

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