Latest news with #TheCircle
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Ocean Colour Scene return to Scotland for summer dates
The band will play at Queens Park in Glasgow on 29th June as part of the Summer Nights on The Southside series of concerts, before returning to play at Discovery Festival at Dundee's Slessor Gardens on 25th July. Joining Ocean Colour Scene as special guests in Glasgow will be Glasvegas, P.P. Arnold and Ben Walker, while The Fratellis, White Lies and Cammy Barnes will be the band's special guests in Dundee . After forming in Birmingham in 1989, Ocean Colour Scene firmly established themselves as one of the UK's biggest bands, enjoying nine successive Top 20 singles, including The Circle, Traveller's Tune, Hundred Mile High City, The Riverboat Song, Profit In Peace and The Day We Caught The Train from the Top 5 albums 'Moseley Shoals', 'Marchin' Already' and 'One From The Modern'. Currently enjoying an extensive run of summer shows and festival dates after their hugely successful tour in the spring - which included sold-out shows in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dunfermline - Ocean Colour Scene are on the form of their lives. 'I'm loving it,' says Simon Fowler, vocalist and primary songwriter in Ocean Colour Scene as he considers his band's ongoing tour of the UK and Ireland. 'When we started off in Leeds a few months ago we had 30 gigs ahead of us and I was like 'Jesus, how will my voice hold up?' Well, it's not only held up but I'm singing better than ever before. We sailed through those thirty gigs and now we've got a summer of festivals and touring ahead of us and – you know what? - this is as good as it gets. Ocean Colour Scene are playing as well as we ever have and the audiences are just fantastic.' 'The audiences have been incredible,' agrees guitarist Steve Cradock. 'We played to over 60,000 people over our April-May tour and the enthusiasm with which they welcome the band just fires us up. We love to play and when we have an audience who are singing along, well, it inspires us.' Fowler and Cradock speak with evident joy, having helmed Ocean Colour Scene (with drummer Oscar Harrison and a selection of side musicians) now for 35 years. 'We're veterans,' says Fowler, 'and we haven't issued a new album in twelve years so we really appreciate the fact that our fans still want to come and see us. Now I see teenagers in our audience – admittedly, they're mostly the kids of people who first came to see us when they were teenagers – but they seem to be digging us. We're obviously doing something right!' 'Everyone in the band seems to have stepped up a gear,' says Cradock. 'We're playing really well and this puts us in good stead for the summer festivals where you have huge audiences and really want to make an impression on them.' Steve then adds, 'There's a quiet confidence that allows us to deliver. A nice confidence. The band are in a good place right now and I think our audiences are responding to this.' 'We just played to 10,000 people in Birmingham,' says Fowler with an evident sense of disbelief. '10,000! And then two nights at Brixton Academy! I don't know how to explain why so many people are enthusiastic about coming out to see us. I think Oasis put something in the water! Bands are back!' He laughs then adds, 'Actually, our tour tickets went on sale before Oasis announced their reunion so I can't give them credit for this.' Mention of Oasis makes me enquire as to whether the summer of 2025 is feeling like the summer of 1996. 'It does,' says Cradock. 'It's like the form of indie rock that we all started out playing is back and popular again. The Oasis reunion is a good thing. Good for Noel and good for Liam and good for rock and roll.' 'The first time we saw Oasis play was at the Jug Of Ale in Moseley – I'd met Noel through Paul Weller and he mentioned that they'd be playing there and I told him 'that's like our office'. So we went along to see them and they certainly had something. They weren't famous yet but you could tell it wouldn't be long before they broke through. In the dressing room I got to meet Liam and I immediately thought 'you are the coolest guy I've ever met'. You know what? He still is. We went out on their first proper tour, playing support …' He pauses and laughs at the memory. 'Good times.' A friendship was forged on that tour and Ocean Colour Scene would support Oasis at their historic (and huge) Knebworth concerts in August 1996. 'It was an amazing event,' recalls Cradock. 'Things had been building towards it ever since the Stone Roses played Spike Island – which we all went to. The Roses opened up the genre. As did The La's, another fantastic band. Then Oasis arrived and suddenly indie was the new mainstream and there we all were having huge hit records. Amazing really.' He pauses to reflect on playing Knebworth then says, 'Excuse me if I sound blasé but I can't recall much about Knebworth as we were touring or recording solidly for two whole years and Knebworth was in the middle of that. I know we played to 125,000 people – Oasis's audience – and then the next night we played to 1000 people, our audience.' 'My knees were shaking,' says Fowler. 'I'd never been on stage in front of such a huge audience before. I borrowed a camcorder as we were about to go on stage and walked up to the front of the stage and filmed the audience and they gave me this huge cheer! I remember that and coming off stage 45 minutes later, but nothing else. It was a blur.' Where Oasis split bitterly for many years, Fowler and Cradock remain close friends and obviously enjoy each other's company. 'When I first met Steve he was playing bass,' says Fowler. 'Now he's one of Britain's greatest guitarists. I admire him so much because he's so focused on playing well and developing as a musician. It was his Dad who said to both of us 'you two need to form a band' and he was right. We've never looked back since then.' Cradock praises Fowler's skills as a singer and songwriter, noting that he's looking forward to Simon presenting the band with new songs at some point. 'I have about half a dozen decent songs right now,' notes Fowler, 'but that's not enough for an album. So I need to keep writing. It's not like the old days where I'd write two songs in a night because we were going into the studio in the morning.' Another change from the old days is this: Fowler no longer travels on the band's tour bus. 'No chance. I have a driver these days and sleep in a hotel. I like my comforts and being cooped up with a bunch of middle aged men – none of whom I fancy! (he laughs) – isn't my thing. And if I did go back on the bus I'd probably fall out of my bunk in the middle of the night. So, no thanks.' Ocean Colour Scene are one of Britain's most popular live bands, which is appropriate as the band now focus solely on touring the UK and Ireland. 'I'd quite like to play again in South America and Japan,' says Cradock, 'but it's not down to me. Our audience is here so it makes sense we play to them.' 'We once went to Australia and played to about 800 people,' says Fowler, 'and you know where they were all from? Britain! We might as well have just stayed at home and not flown that huge distance. And the US is just too tough – unless you have a hit single. We actually love touring Britain and Ireland, so it suits us that we concentrate on these islands.' When asked where there favourite place to play is both men answer 'Scotland.' They then add 'Ireland' with Fowler noting, 'I like everything about the Irish, the way they live, their humour, their music. It's a great place.' Cradock states, 'The further north we perform the audiences just get crazier. And I mean that in a good sense – they don't worry about the weather, they really come out to hear the band and have a good time.' He then says, 'Liverpool and Manchester are both magic music cities. There's something about Liverpudlian musicians, and not just the famous ones, they really have this mystical bent. I love it.' 'One of the joys of my life is getting to know this country inside out,' says Fowler. 'We tour all over and this means I get to stop where ever we are, look at the galleries and churches, go for a walk, get a taste of the place. I'm blessed that I have a job where I get paid to travel all over the UK. Really blessed.' Cradock spends even more time on the road than Fowler as he plays guitar in Paul Weller's band and, until the death of Terry Hall in 2022, was The Specials' guitarist. 'I was fortunate to be able to step into Roddy Radiation's boots and play with The Specials,' he says, 'such a great British band. And I love Paul. I grew up a fan of The Jam and The Style Council, so feel really blessed to have him as a mate and play in his band.' He then adds, 'I've just produced Paul's forthcoming album – my first time in the producer's seat with Paul and I really enjoyed the experience.' Ocean Colour Scene are a people's band and, as they prepare to play across Britain and Ireland, both Fowler and Cradock state they are looking forward to rock and rolling across the summer. 'I'm grateful to all the people who turn up to see us,' says Cradock. 'Being on stage is a joy,' says Fowler. On that note these happy, gracious men who helm one of the great British bands say goodbye and head off in their separate directions. Tickets for Ocean Colour Scene dates at Queens Park in Glasgow on 29th June and Slessor Gardens in Dundee on 25th July are available from 2 . Contributed Ocean Colour Scene lead singer Simon Fowler Photo: Submitted Photo Sales 3 . Contributed Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock Photo: Submitted Photo Sales 4 . Contributed Ocean Colour Scene (l-r): Ray Meade, Simon Fowler, Oscar Harrison and Steve Cradock Photo: Submitted Photo Sales
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Empowering young minds: How 4 friends are teaching AI in low-income communities
Pune: "Why are firefighters always men? Why is a black, old, fat woman never the first image when we ask for a person?" These were some of the sharp questions posed by 11- to 14-year-old children learning about artificial intelligence (AI), its reasoning, and its biases. As part of Pune-based THE Labs, a not-for-profit organisation founded by four friends, these children from low-income communities are not just learning how AI works but also how to challenge and reshape its inherent prejudices, how to train it, how to leverage it, and how to evaluate it. Since June 2024, its first cohort of 20 students explored AI through image classification and identification, learning how machines perceive the world. Now, they are gearing up to train large language models, equipping themselves with skills to shape AI's future. A new batch of 63 students has joined. THE Labs is a non-profit after-school programme blending technology, humanities and entrepreneurship. It was founded by tech entrepreneurs Mayura Dolas and Mandar Kulkarni, AI engineer Kedar Marathe, and interdisciplinary artist Ruchita Bhujbal, who saw a gap — engineers lacked exposure to real-world issues, and educators had little understanding of technology. "We first considered building a school, but the impact would have been limited. Besides, there were logistical hurdles," said Dolas, who is also a filmmaker. Kulkarni's acceptance into The Circle's incubation programme two years ago provided 18 months of mentorship and resources to refine their vision. In June 2024, THE Labs launched a pilot at a low-income English-medium school in Khadakwasla, training 20 students from standards VI-VIII (12 girls, 8 boys). With no dedicated space, they conducted 1.5-hour morning sessions at the school. Students first learned about classifier AI — how AI identifies objects — and image generation AI, which creates visuals based on prompts. Through hands-on practice, students discovered how AI's training data impacts accuracy and how biases emerge when datasets lack diversity. They experimented with prompts, analysed AI-generated images, and studied errors. "We asked them to write prompts and replicate an image, and they did it perfectly. That is prompt engineering in action," Dolas said. A key takeaway was AI bias. Students compared outputs from two AI models, identifying gaps — such as the underrepresentation of marginalised identities. "For example, children realised that a black, fat, older woman was rarely generated by AI. They saw firsthand how biases shape digital realities," Dolas added. Parents and students are a happy lot too. Mohan Prasad, a construction worker, said he is not sure what his daughter is learning, but she is excited about AI and often discusses its importance at home. Sarvesh, a standard VIII student, is thrilled that he trained an AI model to identify Hindu deities and noticed biases in AI searches — when prompted with "person", results mostly showed thin white men. "I love AI and want to learn more," he said. His father, Sohan Kolhe, has seen a surge in his son's interest in studies. Anandkumar Raut, who works in the private sector, said his once-shy daughter, a standard VI student, now speaks confidently, does presentations, and is more outspoken since joining the programme.
The Courier
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Ocean Colour Scene duo announce Dundee, Glenrothes and Stirling gigs
Ocean Colour Scene duo Simon Fowler and Oscar Harrison have announced gigs in Dundee, Glenrothes and Stirling. The pair will perform acoustic hits at the shows in November. It comes as the full band prepare to play at Slessor Gardens this summer as part of Discovery Festival. The duo will kick off their acoustic tour at Stirling's Albert Halls on November 13. They will play at the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee on November 18 before heading to the Rothes Halls in Glenrothes on November 19. The shows will feature some of the band's biggest hits, including The Day We Caught the Train and The Circle. Forming in Birmingham 35 years ago, the band have released 10 studio albums, four of which have reached the UK top 10 album chart. Tickets for each show cost £36.75 and can be purchased from Ticketmaster.
Express Tribune
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
From prison cell to Cannes
Jafar Panahi never set out to be a political filmmaker. "In my definition, a political filmmaker defends an ideology where the good follow it and the bad oppose it," the Iranian director says. "In my films, even those who behave badly are shaped by the system, not personal choice," he tells DW. But for more than a decade, Panahi has had little choice. Following his support for the opposition Green Movement protests, the director of The White Balloon and The Circle, was handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking and international travel in 2010. That didn't stop him. Over the years, he found new ways to shoot, edit, and smuggle out his films — from turning his living room into a film set (This Is Not a Film) to using a car as a mobile studio (in Taxi, which won the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlinale). Last week, Panahi stepped back into the spotlight — not through smuggled footage or video calls, but in person. For the first time in over two decades, the now 64-year-old filmmaker returned to the Cannes Film Festival to present his latest feature, It Was Just an Accident, premiering in competition to an emotional 8-minute standing ovation. Prison to the Palais The road to Cannes has been anything but smooth. Panahi was arrested again in July 2022 and detained in Tehran's notorious Evin prison. After almost seven months and a hunger strike, he was released in February 2023. In a stunning legal victory, Iran's Supreme Court overturned his original 2010 sentence. Panahi was legally free, but artistically still bound by a system he refuses to submit to. "To make a film in the official way in Iran, you have to submit your script to the Islamic Guidance Ministry for approval," he tells DW. "This is something I cannot do. I made another clandestine film. Again." That film, It Was Just An Accident, may be Panahi's most direct confrontation yet with state violence and repression. Shot in secret and featuring unveiled female characters in defiance of Iran's hijab law, the film tells the story of a group of ex-prisoners who believe they've found the man who tortured them — and must decide whether to exact revenge. The taut, 24-hour drama unfolds like a psychological thriller. Stylistically, It Was Just An Accident is a sharp break from the more contained, and largely self-reflexive works Panahi made while under his official state ban, but the plot remains strongly autobiographical. Thriller that cuts deep The film opens with a banal tragedy — a man accidentally kills a dog with his car - and spirals into a slow-burning reckoning with state-sanctioned cruelty. Vahid (Valid Mobasseri), a mechanic who is asked to repair the damaged car, thinks he recognises the owner as Eghbal, aka Peg-Leg, his former torturer. He kidnaps him, planning to bury him alive in the desert. But he can't be sure he's got the right man, because he was blindfolded during his internment. "They kept us blindfolded, during interrogation or when we left our cells," Panahi recalls of his time in prison. "Only in the toilet could you remove the blindfold." Seeking reassurance, the mechanic reaches out to fellow prisoners for confirmation. Soon Vahid's van is packed with victims seeking revenge on the man who abused them for nothing more than voicing opposition to the authorities. There's a bride (Hadis Pakbaten) who abandons her wedding, together with her wedding photographer and former inmate Shiva (Maryam Afshari), to go after the man who raped and tortured her. There's Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr), a man so traumatised and so furious by his experience he doesn't care if the man they've caught is the right guy; he just wants vengeance. "Even dead, they're a scourge on humanity," he says of all the intelligence officers serving under the regime. As the group debates vengeance vs non-violence, alongside brutal descriptions of the beatings and torture they endured, Panahi inserts sly moments of humour and touches of the absurd. The hostage-takers cross paths with Eghbal's family, including his heavily pregnant wife, and suddenly find themselves rushing her to the hospital to give birth. Afterwards, as is tradition in Iran, Vahid heads to a bakery to buy everyone pastries. "All these characters that you see in this film were inspired by conversations that I had in prison, by stories people told me about the violence and the brutality of the Iranian government, violence that has been ongoing for more than four decades now," says Panahi. "In a way, I'm not the one who made this film. It's the Islamic Republic that made this film, because they put me in prison. Maybe if they want to stop us being so subversive, they should stop putting us in jail." No escape, no exile Despite a career defined by resistance, Panahi insists he's simply doing the only thing he knows how. "During my 20-year ban, even my closest friends had given up hope that I would ever make films again," he said at the Cannes press conference for It Was Just An Accident. "But people who know me know I can't change a lightbulb. I don't know how to do anything except make films". While many Iranian filmmakers have fled into exile - including Panahi's close friend Mohammad Rasoulof, director of the Oscar-nominated The Seed of the Sacred Fig, who now lives in Berlin — Panahi says he has no plans to join them. "I'm completely incapable of adjusting to another society," he says. "I had to be in Paris for three and a half months for post-production, and I thought I was going to die." In Iran, he explained, filmmaking is a communal act of improvisation and trust. "At 2AM I can call a colleague and say: 'That shot should be longer.' And he'll come join me and we'll work all night. In Europe, you can't work like this. I don't belong." So, even after his Cannes triumph, Panahi will return home. "As soon as I finish my work here, I will go back to Iran the next day. And I will ask myself: What's my next film going to be?"
Cosmopolitan
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Netflix's Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark - Who is Spicy Mari?
Netflix just dropped the most exciting new dating show of the year, in the form of Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark. The premise of the series is simple: six singles check into a fancy motel in the hopes of finding love. But, instead of their potential soulmate walking through the door, they're met with their booty calls, aka, their sneaky links. The show is hosted by Chloe Veitch, a reality TV pro and Perfect Match, Too Hot to Handle, and The Circle alumni, and Spicy Mari, a dating expert. But who is Spicy Mari, and have we seen her before? Here's everything you need to know about the Sneaky Links co-host. Spicy Mari, whose real name is Maricela Soto, is a relationship expert at the Sneaky Links motel, whose role is a mix of dating coach and therapist. She has also appeared in The Love Experiment and Love Allways. She's not actually a certified therapist, but does apparently have a dating certification from the International Dating Coach Association. In her Instagram bio, she describes herself as a "magnetic matchmaker," while on LinkedIn, she states she has a "Master of Communication Management with a concentration in Entertainment Media from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism." She is also the founder of The Spicy Life, a relationship consulting firm, whose "mission is to transform perspectives and fuel connections." On Sneaky Links, she hosts the nightly Link Lowdown. This is where the singletons have discussions about their progress, with conversations focusing on self-worth and boundaries within a relationship. When speaking on Too Hot To Handle contestant Harry Jowsey's podcast, Boyfriend Material, Veitch opened up about her time working with Spicy Mari. She said: "[Spicy Mari] is not one to be f***ed with. She is so good at her job, but she is so direct. She doesn't cut any corners." Veitch also spoke about the pair's dynamic on the show, explaining that she is the "big sister" to the contestants, while Spicy Mari "holds more of the respect title." Veitch expanded: "When she speaks, you listen, and take on her advice. So her aim for being on the show with me was just so that I didn't get an HR issue." Yes, Spicy Mari is on Instagram. Her handle is @spicymari, and she currently has 69.1K followers. Her grid is a mixture of Sneaky Links content, inspirational quotes, sweet family snaps, and footage from her The Spicy Life podcast. Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark is now streaming on Netflix.
