Ramona Gonzalez is a composer, songwriter, Philosophy student from Los Angeles and the sweet voice of Nite Jewel. She’ll be playing in our Kaleidoscope Caravan Club on the 3rd of October, and Mila Doré had a sit down with her before their European tour.

Hi Ramona, please define yourself in 3 adjectives.
Pizza, pizza, pizza.

Our Philosophy studies were a haze of confusion and weed. How was yours? Do you find yourself influenced by the musings of say, Rousseau or Nietzsche in your lyrics, or do you steer clear of all that?
My philosophy studies were fragmented as I went from university to university for a bit.  All in all, I found Heidegger a huge source of comfort (as well as Nietzsche).  The references you are looking for are embedded within the song titles.  See if you can guess which one.

Do you think your music is meant to be danced to or to be listened with headphones?
My music is meant for deep meditation.

Why did you decide to record your album in an 8-track cassette and with, mostly, live takes?
The 8-track was the only device I had for recording at the time and the remote control to punch-in was broken so I had to record everything mostly in one take.  It makes you accept certain eccentricities instead of splicing out your mistakes.

You’ve said your electronica has more of the past than the present. What old bands have influenced you the most?
We are playing right before Liquid Liquid and Faust at Numusic festival tomorrow.  I am super excited because both bands have been influential in some ways.

For what already-made film (or tv series or videogame) would you like to make the soundtrack?
Super Mario Bros.

What do you listen to when you’re sad?
I listen to New Age in order to overcome my sadness (i.e. Constance Demby or Iasos).

What do you think is the most important problem of humankind?
Wow, I have never been asked the most important problem of humankind. I think humankind has many problems worth addressing including: racism, poverty, desertification, obesity, stupidity, chaos, randomness, STDs, incompleteness, insignificance, ineptitude, and lack of appreciation for the arts.

SAT. 3rd OCT.

LIVE: NITE JEWEL + THE GOLDEN FILTER + GOLD PANDA

DJS: MIKIX THE CAT + JOY ORBISON + COUNT CHOCULA + NOPAININPOP DJS

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Pay what you want*

*50% of proceedings will go to Amnesty International

Friday 31st we’ll be the full spectrum of musical colours. My Tiger My Timing are your geeky neighbours at New Cross that always are in front of you in the supermarket’s queue. They’re day in, day out people. They don’t intend to wear the hippest gear or the trendiest haircut, shit, they admit they aren’t cool at all, apparently. They merely make music. And for this reason, they rocket up your list of cool people you would wanna be friends with. A five piece (one of them is missing on the photo) band formed just one year ago, named after a song by Arthur Russell. They make funny dancey shiny pop songs, akin to the dark side of British pop music (in the vein of Primal Scream and Happy Mondays), but all climb trees with different musical roots, but wave to each other when atop them.

See what Anna Vincent (My Tiger My Timing vocals and synth), answered 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?

I find ‘Back In Black’ by AC/DC usually blows away the cobwebs and gets you where you need to be mentally to tackle the daily conveyor belt of issues and idiots.

 What’s the noise that annoys you the most in the whole wide world?

When we soundcheck James always winds me up by playing the bassline to Omar’s ‘There’s Nothing Like It’. It’s kind of smooth 90s jazzpop and it gives me the fear.
♥ Which are your top 5 bands at the moment?

I’m loving Post War Years, Plugs, Hook and the Twin, Django Django and Is Tropical.

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

“She got them apple bottom jeans, boots with the furrrrrr…” – bloody Flo Rida, I actually still wake up with this in my head sometimes, I don’t know what that says about my subconscious.

♥ What is the weirdest place you would like to perform in and why?

I’d like to perform at Pompeii in tribute to Pink Floyd, it’d be really epic, especially if the volcano was active – natural pyro.

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

We once played a clubnight in London run by a junkie who had just split up with his girlfriend –this gave the event quite a depressing vibe. We played drunkenly and got into fights with everyone including the DJs, the other bands and a man dressed as Elton John. They were all arseholes, obviously.

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

When you play to a big crowd that’s really up for it –you walk out onstage, look everyone in the eye and tell them, “You’re mine”.

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

The Internet is definitely a useful outlet for new music but you can spend so much time on self-promotion that you have no time to write a song.  So that’s the only thing that makes me wonder about music as a career, all this empty desperation for success.  A rock n’ roll band shouldn’t really have to beg for attention but maybe these days it’s unavoidable. It’s depressing that Liam Gallagher has a Twitter…

Far, far away from South East London, was a lyrical journalist covering the scene of her home, Kingston, Jamaica. Nowadays, Terry Lynn, instead of using the medium of paper, she captures her life, that scene and that capital city and emotes them  through her own brand of danceable techno, hip hop and electro beats.

Happiness vs harshness. Lyrics vs beats. Fun vs Social concern. Heads Vs. Tails, they’ll both be playing with Miss Ill, Bok Bok&Manara, Mememe and Count Chocula at our FREE FRIDAYS.

LIVE: MY TIGER MY TIMING + TERRY LYNN

DJS: MISS ILL + BOK BOK & MANARA +MEMEME + COUNT CHOCULA

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FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT