In Pictures: The Close Encounter Club At SXSW
SXSW might be well and truly over, but here at Yuck we’ve been lucky enough to relive the experience through the lens of our extraterrestrial pals, The Close Encounter Club. Following their online showcase for the Texas-based festival of music and film, they beamed us some exclusive snaps from their sonic starship, accompanied by some ace captions from the club’s Art Director, Joey Julliard. Featuring celestial West Londoners Babeheaven, indie-pop outfit Weird Milk, and everyone’s favourite grit-pop duo, Sorry, the following photos were taken by Katie Willoughby during one of the club’s ecliptic detours to the Battersea Arts Club….
“I heard David Bailey would often hurl extremely personal abuse at his subject moments before snapping their portraits. Our in-Club photographer, Ms Katie Willoughby, opts for a way friendlier approach proving you don’t have to be cold-blooded to take a killer shot”
“The Club is as deliciously tempting as a takeaway pizza menu. This photo is on the front cover. Babeheaven are the toppings, the otherworldly plant shadow on the floor is a string of melted cheese, the light flare at the back is a choice of dips”
“An intimate moment captured by Katie. I’ve been a fan of Babeheaven since hearing ‘Friday Sky’ way back in 2016. This shot marks a proud step for me and a giant leap for The Club”
“Probably the best headgear ever donned in our orbiting venue. It’s hot under those stage lights! You have to admire Asha here, like a goth on a warm summer’s day, she is sweating for her art”
“Intelligent life discovered at The Close Encounter Club…Sorry’s twin lead vocals and live audio FX mixing makes for a universally unique sound. It was a pleasure to work with such pioneering artists”
“Tired of gravity keeping you down? Take a trip to The Close Encounter Club. Custom drum skin design by Mr. Kieran Riddiough of Nice Swan Creative”
“Our new vintage toy, gifted by our neighbours at the Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. Collecting and playing with analogue TV technology became a bit of a geeky lockdown hobby for me and now my front room looks like a junk shop curated by Vera Panton”
“Our Dan on set. This showcase was a challenge to pull together in the darkest depths of lockdown. The risk assessments, testing, distancing on set, clammy layers of PPE. The team work tirelessly, not getting too excited until we got safely home from the shoot with our memory cards full. As the footage uploaded we celebrated our most rock’n’roll intergalactic mission yet. Our little Club orbiting among the Texan stars”
“Weird Milk first rocked the Mothership in the summer of 2019, in front of 150 groovy music fans. We look forward to welcoming humans back to The Club later this year!”
“A once-in-a-light-year moment immortalised on the little screen. It wasn’t always easy, but it was definitely worth it. Tune in and space out!”