A shortmovie produced by 4 guys from Stuttgart 2 years ago. At the time of production they were only 17 and in the last 2 years they have created even more videos, music, found their own business and got more and more professional.

a first taste:

Look forward to the newest shortmovie and an interview with ‘Filmfabrik Schwaben’ at berlinlondon coming very soon !

British electro-indie-pop band The Cads have exclusively chatted to BerlinLondon. Be prepared – not only can they sing but they’re funny too.

How would you describe each other’s characters?
James – Placid, friendly and mischievous, like a newborn turtle that’s been dunked in PVA glue and rolled in the clippings at a barbers.
Nathan – Friendly but quick tempered giant, a great friend to have but don’t try and cross his bridge because he’ll come out from underneath and try and swat you with his mighty fists.
Tom – Warm, erudite, like a pirate who’s been brought to the year 2015 to be a Geography teacher.
Stef – Outgoing, driven, relentless, can sniff a drop of blood in the ocean from a mile away, SHARK.

Why did you all decide to get involved in music?
Because we wanted a bit of a challenge and we can do everything else already, so we picked the thing we’re all collectively worst at.

How did you form the band?
We met at the midnight release of ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ in Waterstones, Ipswich. They had one copy left so, despite having never met each other before, we decided to all chip in and share the copy. Having to go through the journey of Dumbledore’s death together, it created an unbreakable vow between us. Thus ‘The Cads’ was formed.

What’s a regular day in the life of a Cad?
All of us apart from Nathan play an enormous amount of table tennis, practicing almost 10 hours a day. Garrithy just swims up and down the river under his bridge all day, then we meet for 45 minutes and do a practice before bed. (we wish… our days consist of drinking tea, playing Fifa, and not practicing music, amongst other things)

Where did the name ‘The Cads’ come from?
We wanted it originally to be called ‘The Dads’ but none of us are dads, and the name was already taken. So we just went with something that rhymed.

Do you have nicknames for each other?
No, except Garrithy, who we sometimes call Nathan, Daddy Boob who we sometimes call James or Princess who we sometimes call Stef.

You have often performed in Germany. Where has been your favourite place which you have visited?
Nathan said he had a really nice time in Morocco as a kid.

Who would be your dream person to collaborate with?
Blind Lemon Jefferson, we all really dig his vibe. If he was around today, he’d definitely be playing synth and providing some BV’s for us.

Do you write all your songs yourselves? Where do you get your inspiration?
Most of the songs come fully formed to Nathan in prophetic visions that he has, then its just a race against the clock to get to the studio and get them down before he forgets them.

What tracks are you listening to at the moment?
1. James: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden
2. Tom: Beach House – Lazuli
3. Stef: The Wanted – Glad You Came

What is your favourite song which you have produced?
We’re really happy with the new album, but not really sure what song to choose as the favourite?

What are you working on at the moment?
Getting good grades in our GCSE’s so we can go to sixth form.

You have performed at Latitude Festival as well as at a variety of gigs. Do you prefer playing festivals or venues?
I dont think there’s really a preference, they’re two different atmospheres, festival goers are up for dancing and getting on it and we get to see other bands which is always a plus. At venues there’s a more focused audience and people are there to see you instead of coming across you by chance. They’re different experiences but there both good experiences.

What’s the most entertaining thing that has happened on tour?
Our manager. He’s an absolute comical genius most of the time anyway, but being with him 24/7 on tour just makes it even better. We’ve had too many laughs to even think about choosing the most entertaining… some that will only ever be heard by the ears of a Cad.

Please complete this sentence: I couldn’t live without my…
Heart.

Berlin or London? Why?
Berlin, because we’ve been to London many times before, and we don’t feel like we’ve seen enough of Berlin yet. It might change… but I doubt it.

Ben Wilson working

‘Hi there, do you do requests?’ I ask the man lying on his side outside the bakery. He introduces himself as Ben – but of course I knew that, I’d seen the Chewing Gum Artist for years around Muswell Hill, intricately painting the tiny spontaneous canvases with bright acrylic paints. Ben takes out a scrappy notebook and flips open a new page, handing it to me. Feeling immensely humbled, I start to sketch out two figures and write the date of my sister’s wedding across the top. As I hand the notebook back, Ben starts to tell me more about his experiences as an artist.

Example of Chewing Gum Art

Ben’s been painting chewing gum for seven and a half years now, and says another main passion is carpentry, which has seen him travel across the world to Finland and the US. Ben has branched out into canvas work as well, with a recent exhibition of chewing gum pieces in the Tate as part of the Hidden Trails exhibition. ‘I melted the chewing gum into some foil and blu-taked it to the walls. I wanted to see if people would notice them if I painted on a realistic spider or stuck them on ledges.’ Ben explains his infatuation with art is born out of a compulsion to depict the stories of those around him, ‘it’s a passion for colours, and just life really’. As we talk, I watch Ben outline a design of a lilac background with an intensely detailed slice of cake in the middle and ‘Lillian’ painted above.

This is despite some road bumps along the way, ‘I’ve spoken with thousands of police officers’ he grins. As I take a seat on the pavement beside his dozens of paint pots, I find myself involved in a tale of Ben’s misadventures with the immigration staff at the US border. We actually talk for quite a while about this – which is weird because I remember asking about the most commission he’d ever taken on a chewing gum request. But as we talk, I notice how open and intriguing a person he is, and how much a necessity his artwork was for him. It wasn’t something he had to push himself to do, but rather a compulsion that literally knew no borders. And did his detention under the immigration authorities have an effect on his art? Most definitely: in 2003, Ben created a series of ‘darker’ works reflecting his experiences. ‘It felt so dehumanising, I didn’t realise I would be kept in solitary confinement’

As he’s developed as an artist, Ben reiterates the ‘responsibility’ he feels he has to stay true to his art form. As a street artist, he’s clearly all about interacting with the community, because his artwork is influenced so heavily by the people around him. ‘At first it was the homeless people, then the drunks and school kids who got interested in my paintings. Then the rich people – and I find myself painting chewing gum in Highgate’. His popularity is evident as we’re interrupted by passers-by who address him by name. An elderly Italian man exclaims that this guy is really ‘the best’, and Ben’s genuine humility is evident from his bashful response.
And how long do these miniature masterpieces take? He nods at my childish scrawl, ‘yours will probably take around 4 hours’, he estimates. I’m tempted to feel guilty at exploiting Ben’s creative spirit, but actually I can see that he takes inspiration from the community around him. I look forward to spotting his paintings on the streets of my neighbourhood.

By Sabrina Dougall

Images from: telgraph.co.uk; Wallflowerdispatches.com;