AIRCOOLED + CEPHOS POWDERS – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 6.5.26
For those of you that are currently unaware Aircooled are an East Sussex based supergroup for those with their finger on the pulse! The band comprise Justin Welch (Piroshka, Elastica, Suede, The Jesus And Mary Chain) on drums and electronic presets; Oliver Cherer (Gilroy Mere, Dollboy, Miki Berenyi Trio) on vocals, guitar, and synth; Katharine Wallinger (Wedding Present, Viv Albertine) on bass; and Riz Maslen (Neotropic, FSOL) on vocals, synths, flute, and tambourine. They are joined by local artist Mew on synth and tambourine.
Aircooled have released a trio of top quality albums, these being 2022’s ‘St Leopards’, 2024’s ‘Eat The Gold’, (and the reason we are gathered this evening at the Green Door Store), latest release ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’, which like the previous two LP’s was recorded and produced at their studios in St Leonards. The album cover artwork was created by Mew and the record came out on 3rd April on Music’s Not Dead label, and is the band’s modus operandi for being here tonight. In fact, they are playing the 7-track album in full in the correct playing order, so I’m hearing a handful of tunes live for the very first time, which should be interesting! Once again, Aircooled are being put on by Melting Vinyl promoters who did the same at the Green Door Store back on 17th November 2024.
It’s a mixed bunch of punters this evening, no doubt composed of true Aircooled fans and some just present in order to catch up with former/current members of Suede, Elastica, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Wedding Present. We are given a 76 minute set from the band, running from 8:42pm to 9:58pm and comprising 10 quality tunes. From our left to right we have ever-smiling wayward-haired spectacled band spokesperson Oliver Cherer who is looking rather dapper in a white suit, who greets us with “You know who we are as you bought a ticket to see us”; to the rear is the powerhouse of the band, Justin Welch who is sporting his trademark casual black clothing look. In front of him and centre stage is the mysterious and glamorous Riz Maslen who has again dressed up for the occasion; just behind her is Katharine Wallinger who is sporting figure hugging trousers and soft to touch top, and is looking cool as f*ck; finally on the far right is Mew who has ditched her selection of artist boilersuits for the evening. Myself, I’m right at the front below Oliver with both hands resting on a floor speaker, so I can feel the music as well as hearing it! The scene is set…..
Before they head on into the new record, we are more than adequately warmed up with ‘Offenhauser 360’ from their ‘St Leopards’ album, which just so happens to be my very favourite Aircooled tune. It’s a truly hypnotic offering and within seconds I find myself engrossed in the sound as I shut my eyes and move to the rhythm. It’s a long krautrock masterpiece with a decent underlying deep bass guitar backing along with the drums at the fore which leads the other band members along. For minutes on end this tune is devoid of any vocals, until eventually Riz pipes up while being accompanied with some choice cymbal action from Justin which he plays with nylon tipped giant cotton bud styled sticks. Quite simply it’s the song of the set for me, but only just…..
And so onto their ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album. This commences with ‘Delirious’ which has a notable funky guitar strum and heavy bass with drums and Oliver and Riz give us joint vocals. Next is ‘Azmar’ which Oliver informs us was “named after the vape shop at the end of my street”. I thought he might be joking, he wasn’t, it exists! Riz’s vocals on this are exceptional as she stands back from her microphone but still manages to belt out her wailing which flows off the stage and fills the room. This tune has an Arabic psychedelic vibe, which is endorsed when Riz plays her flute. Meanwhile Oliver splits his time between his keyboard and guitar and sometimes juggling the two at the same time. ‘See It Detective!’ is up next and Oliver informs us that it’s “about a conversation between a detective and a PC about a murder in a house in Peacehaven” and adding “think of it as a true crime podcast”. This initially is more on the side of the guitar, bass and drums as opposed to the banks of keyboards, that is until there’s some serious Korg action which has a real retro Doors vibe. Again there’s the joint vocal deliveries.
‘Kepler’ comes next and begins with an anticipating guitar strum and then the solid slow chugging drums burst in and the other musicians follow. Then Oliver lets loose on his keys and the song becomes a swirling prog monster meets synth crazy Gary Numan number. Then the joint vocals kick in and the drumming is truly superb throughout. This has the album title within its lyrics which reminds me of Moby. The tune culminates in listing the exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope: “kepler 438b; kepler 442b; kepler 440b; kepler 186f; kepler 296e; kepler 296f”.
Justin stands up and utilizes the Roland drumpads for the first time this evening throughout ‘Ultramarine’. Their sound gives us a piercing boom which makes their way to my heart. The track has a psychedelic latter Beatles trippy vibe going on during this slower paced chugger. The vocals are delicately jointly sung and it’s a wonderfully mellow offering. ‘Idiots’ on the other hand is, according to Oliver, “a three and a half minute rant about gentrification”. This track sounds to me very much like David Bowie’s ‘Fame’ but with snarly talky style vocals atop courtesy of Oliver. It’s different from all other Aircooled material, but I guess it’s something that he really needed to get off of his chest! The album comes to a close with ‘Tolt’, which sees the return of the nylon-tipped drumsticks which gives the tune the desired depth, whilst the slow relaxing sound weaves around the stage. It’s a dreamy number with Riz on vocals that deserves to be played in Ibiza at 5am.
Oliver states “well we’ve played the whole album now, so we are going to do some old tunes”. The first of these being the instrumental ‘Star Rider’ from their ‘Eat The Gold’ album which features Riz on flute and some really decent melodic keys to begin with prior to the drums kicking in. Katharine’s continuous bass riff is to die for, as is the overall vibe which reminds me of Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ and several tunes from Neu! It’s another set highlight for me, but I certainly wasn’t alone judging by the crowd reactions. The band then vacate the stage, but Oliver is so engrossed and doesn’t notice. He mocks himself until his chums speedily return to play the final offering of the evening, it’s their 8 minute disco banger ‘Supamotodisco’ from their ‘St Leopards’ album. This is a slow builder until Oliver’s guitar kicks in, then Katharine’s bass, followed by the remaining band members. This track really does leave the fans ecstatic (myself included) and it feels as though a rave has just erupted! It’s a fine way to send the punters merrily on their way home via the band’s merch stall.
Aircooled:
Oliver Cherer – vocals, guitar, synth
Riz Maslen – vocals, synth, electronics, flute, tambourine
Katharine Wallinger – bass
Justin Welch – drums, electronic presets
Mew – synths, tambourine
Aircooled setlist:
‘Offenhauser 360’ (from 2023 ‘St Leopards’ album)
‘Delirious’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Azmar’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘See It Detective!’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Kepler’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Ultramarine’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Idiots’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Tolt’ (from 2026 ‘My God It’s Full Of Stars!’ album)
‘Star Rider’ (from 2024 ‘Eat The Gold’ album)
(encore)
‘Supamotodisco’ (from 2023 ‘St Leopards’ album)
The support act for this evening are Cephos Powders who describe themselves as “Experimental rock band born out of the sounds of Campbell Road’s Builders Yard, Brighton”. This is in fact my debut encounter with the quintet, but the lineup features at least a couple of familiar faces, these being Northern import frontman Ronan and drummer Sam, who hold the same respective jobs in Nil By Habit, who are another local act. The remaining trio in Cephos Powders are Em on keys and backing vocals, and Ed and Ryan who take care of guitar and bass duties.
The band have intermittently been releasing a number of tracks over the past four years, these being ‘Clap Song’, ‘Rules To Follow’ and ‘Chloroform In Print’ (all in 2022), ‘Fakes Instead’, ‘Unlettered Man’ and ‘3 Minutes’ (all in 2023), and most recent release ‘Kurfen Street’ (a 2025 single), with this being the only composition performed this evening during their 31 minute set which ran from 7:45pm to 8:16pm. The other half dozen tracks are, to my knowledge, currently unreleased.
Sadly at the beginning of their set, the crowd was to be honest rather sparse, which was a shame, but thankfully the longer they played the more the Green Door Store began to fill up. Ronan, who has a dramatic air about him, is very much the centre of attention in the band and tonight has dressed to impress in the hope of winning new eyes and ears. The musicians commence with ‘Lu-Fuki’, which may (or may not) be a nod to the Detroit-based composer of the same name. Interestingly, there’s also another Lu-Fuki who are a four-piece alternative funk/pop band based in Johannesburg. Tonight’s song offered a slight tinge of Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ but in an indie, partial psych style. It’s an interesting start!
Tune two is ‘Crazy Fickle Scene’ which is another varying beat indie rocker. This lot certainly aren’t purveyors of sub three minute pop ditties. Next up is ‘System’ which offers up a slower more funky beat than the opening two tunes, and is in the same ball park as when The Rolling Stones had a go at funk in the 1970s. The bass guitar certainly plays its part on this one. ‘Harder Right Easier Wrong’ comes next and the tempo is taken down even further as Ronan and Em give a joint vocal delivery. There’s a sedate David Bowie air to this, that is until Sam’s horse galloping drums kick in and Ronan gives the Korg synth a good outing, as the mood and intensity of the track increases. It’s the best received song thus far!
Ronan now switches from synth to guitar as the band surprisingly play a ‘Reggae Intro’ section for about a minute, which then leads into ‘Dr Kornfeld’ which is a totally different beast. The Ibanez guitar is prominent throughout this number and much twangage is had. Ronan’s vocals are sounding different here and combined with the instruments, surprisingly Thin Lizzy springs to mind. They sign off with the latest single, ‘Kurfen Street’ which Ronan dedicates to anyone who has been to Berlin to said street where “all the prostitutes hang out”. This song has an ‘I Will Follow’ (U2), sound in parts as it races along and it’s a valid choice in order to conclude their set. The now nearly packed room, offers up their thank you’s with their hands and voices. Later on Oliver from Aircooled sings their praises during their headline set. So it’s very much job done then!
Cephos Powders:
Ronan O’Brien – vocals, mini synth, guitar
Eduardo Ravelli – guitar or bass
Ryan Bridgewater – bass or guitar
Emelye Kenyon – Brown – keys, backing vocals
Sam Scott – drums
Cephos Powders setlist:
‘Lu-Fuki’ (unreleased)
‘Crazy Fickle Scene’ (unreleased)
‘System’ (unreleased)
‘Harder Right Easier Wrong’ (unreleased)
‘Dr Kornfeld (Reggae Intro)’ (unreleased)
‘Dr Kornfeld’ (unreleased)
‘Kurfen Street’ (a 2025 single)
