Music / grassroots
In full bloom: celebrating the UK underground
In an era dominated by fleeting digital feeds and transient online discourse, there is a quiet but tangible rebellion brewing in Bristol’s creative spaces.
On Saturday evening at the Love Inn the local creative community gathered to celebrate the launch of volume four of Bloom, an annual independent magazine dedicated to documenting, archiving and championing the vibrant British underground music scene.
What fills the pages of this print publication isn’t just lifestyle journalism; it is a raw, living record of a subculture that unapologetically refuses to be confined to algorithmic timelines.
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Founded by editor-in-chief George Kitching, Bloom began not in a corporate publishing house, but in the sweaty, strobe-lit crowds of live gigs. “I did photography at uni and I love music so I decided to photograph people I met at the music gigs and concerts,” he told Bristol24/7.
While documenting the unpolished, expressive faces he met via the UK’s sonic underbelly, Kitching realized quickly that these passing moments deserved a more permanent home than a temporary grid post.
“I made a magazine for my final project so I decided to continue it and express the theme of British identity with underground music through Bloom,” he explained.
The rapper Pablomari, who appears in Volume 4, performed at the launch event which also hosted talks and a photo exhibition
For Kitching, keeping the publication strictly in print isn’t merely a stylistic or nostalgic choice; it is a definitive philosophical stance against the ephemeral nature of modern media.
“There are a lot of opinions around us but ironically all of them are online,” he said. “The internet might not be a thing in future but physical forms of things will always exist whether it’s music or magazines.”
Of course, running an independent, large-scale print project on a tight budget in today’s economic climate is a gruelling logistical battle.
But Kitching is vocal about the fact that being fiercely independent is the defining theme and ethos of Bloom: “I’m grateful to everyone who helps me throughout the whole process of releasing every volume so that we can keep it alive against the odds of a very limited budget.”
Bristol-based multi-disciplinary creative Teddy Good was the host for the event
The launch event itself functioned as a living, breathing manifestation of the magazine’s pages, bringing together a diverse collective of contributors, featured artists and local boundary-pushers.
Among them was Teddy Good, a creative producer and a writer for the magazine, and the evening’s host. Good embodies the seamless blur between the creators and the subject matter that defines the publication.
While talking about his contributions for the magazine, he said: “I found it very easy to write for this magazine and host this event because it’s about something very close to my heart.”
The event also carved out space for local visual artist and Bloom photographer Savannah Buzzard, with the Bristol Film School graduate showcasing her prints during the evening.
About the experience of collaborating with Bloom for the first time as a photographer, she said: “It felt like an organic alignment of style and purpose as it is a reflection of what I do – portraying artists as true heroes.”
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Bloom’s graphic designer and local Bristol visual artist Demi Hopkins also expressed positive thoughts about her experience working with the magazine.
“My favourite thing about working on this volume was how I got the complete creative liberty of my part, which made me feel trusted and acknowledged,” she said, speaking at the launch.
The room was dense with the very musical artists driving the underground scene forward, including the likes of rapper Pablomari and local Bristol musician Badliana who reflected on the unique, nurturing incubator that the local creative ecosystem provides, praising the immense sense of community in Bristol where artists naturally support and lift one another up.
For her, the focus now is far beyond the city limits: “I got such a good community in Bristol because everyone supports each other here. I am now looking forward to expanding my audience beyond it.”
Bristol rapper on the rise Badliana, who performed at the event, is appearing on the Love Saves the Day mainstage this year in support of Eve
Regarding local indie musicians’ hustle and quest for recognition, Pablomari pointed out how they carry the title of ‘underground’ yet always strike the highest skies of the creative world.
As one of the artists featured in this volume, he also reflected on his experience of working with Bloom’s team: “It’s a very raw art so people can easily relate with it when they know what’s happening behind the scenes through such works.”
As people at the Love Inn appeared engaged with the artists and the copies of Volume 4 circulated through the crowd, it felt evident that Bloom is achieving exactly what it set out to do.
Not just reporting on a subculture from a distance, it is actively anchoring it, ensuring that long after the festival stages are packed away and the online hype fades into the archive of the web, a physical piece of this musical era remains permanently intact.
All images: Vihan
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