The magic of flowers

admin — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 18:44:16 +0000

There’s something about receiving fresh flowers that just makes everything better. From the moment that the door rings and a parcel arrives from someone unknown and you get a frivolous shiver, from feeling loved and wanted as you read the card, and throughout the following days and weeks when the scent wafts to your nose and your eyes are thrilled by the wonder and beauty of nature. Seeing flowers always lifts the spirit, and even more so when the day starts off with them.

There’s a whole language and meaning to the practice of giving flowers, as Vanessa Diffenbaugh explored in her wonderful novel. Or Caitlin Moran said in an open letter to young girls in her column for The Times, ‘Buy flowers …blossom – and put them at the end of the bed. When you wake, look at it, and tell yourself you are the kind of person who wakes up and sees flowers. This stops your first thought being, “I fear today. Today is the day maybe I cannot survive anymore,” which I know is what you would otherwise think. Thinking about blossom before you think about terror is what girls must always do. Various studies show the health benefits of flowers, from the anxiety soothing fragrances, make you feel more positive about your home and space, encourage connection with nature and boost self-compassion.

The big bunch of oriental pink lilies, charming roses, lush green leaves, all dusky pinks, simmering amaranth and rich cerise, that sits at my desk right now makes me feel happy and alive. But it’s not just young girls who need this lift. It’s not just girls who need blossom in their lives. So this spring share flowers with your mum, celebrate a birthday, or just say thank you. I’m also a big believer in treating yourself, just because. The simple things can be the most magical.

Introducing…Hero Fisher

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 13:52:00 +0000

Hero Fisher‘s new album Delivery is steely, stark, and sexy. Full of edges, the tunes scratch at the skin like only an old lover can, but despite such resonance and immediacy, they’re not necessarily what Hero heard in the first place, and she acknowledges that it can be difficult to get what is in her head in to the instruments and on record. ‘I don’t always hear what I want to hear and so I’ve given myself the job to put down what I can hear in my head and hope it’ll either please me or someone else.’

Her work is more descriptive of an atmosphere rather than storytelling and following a character, evocative and charismatic, raw and dirty. Scratchy melodies and glitchy beats are melded together with pounding synths into resoundingly strong tunes that are not without a hint of sass. Born in London, raised in France, lived in Australia, now living in London and having recorded the album in New York, she says that all the locations have ‘all have different appeals for me although I think the English weather is what’s ingrained in me the most. If I’m imagining a landscape, chances are you’ll find somewhere like it in the UK!’

It’s been something of a process, and the songs have evolved and developed as Hero has herself. ‘I don’t think it’s possible to foresee what an album will sound like until you decide it’s done. Especially a debut album. I didn’t even have a band when we started! I’m really happy with it though- I think it’s a very special piece of work and I don’t regret a thing. I’m so glad it’s finally out and that I got to do it on my own terms.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrR7CnS889U

The grungy and dirty sounds to the songs are deliberate and reflective of Hero.’ It suits my mood.’ she says, and it’s a mood well conveyed on single Brutish Words. Her work is very much collaborative, with producers Bradley Spence and Charlie Russell giving the tunes a power, and she credits Saul Wodak who plays guitar in the band with ‘great visions when it comes to arrangements, soundscapes, rifs, and live performances. He also inspires me to branch out and work on other things than my own songs. I’d be lying to myself if I said I was solo.

Whilst touring the UK this autumn she’s also putting the work in writing songs for a new album. It’s going to be a busy few months for Hero Fisher.

‘See you there suckers.’

Catch her playing acoustic shows at The Star in Tuffnell Park, before a tour with Fufanu.

delivery – and so she thinks

The magic of flowers

Introducing…Hero Fisher