folk – and so she thinks

Haiku Salut Lamp Show at Westminster Reference Library

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 11:20:00 +0000

On a Friday evening ending one of those Indian Summer September days, Westminster Reference Library was filled with people curious about discovering something new. Not necessarily through books this time. Hushed yet with a curious hum there was a sense that something a little magical could be about to begin. Looking like the eccentric living room of a crazy great aunt, lamps of all shapes and sizes dotted the stage positioned in front of Education, just left of Travel and right of Art. Gig in a library. Gig in a bloody library. My two favourite things mixing together in perfect alchemy. Gig. In. A. Library. And not only this, but a mesmerising light show, as an orchestra of charity shop lamps flash, flicker and dance in time to the music. Because this is how Haiku Salut roll.
Heavily cinematic and authentically exploratory, Haiku Salut are enigmatic to extremes. They don’t speak once. It’s dark, so there’s no audience interaction. Dressed in black the band members passed enigmatically through the shadows to swap instruments and change position, taking second place to the music at all times. Gemma, Louise and Sophie work together and almost seem to be a mouthpiece for the music that has a sense of being authentic, basal, drifting up from the ether.
Textured and sensual. theirs is a performance that challenges the rules, mixing folk, classical and electronic influences through their own emotions and drives until it is entirely original. Tensions tustle in the music, the outcome feeling balanced, like an old fashioned call and response arrangement. Each instrument, each sound, each flash and flicker feel perfectly in place, incandescent, poignant, and at ease.
Timed to the beat, not missing even a flicker of a second, the lamps added a visual element to the rapid delicate pulsation of the band’s music. It’s another dimension to an act already dripping in them. Electronic definitely, there is something in their style that also seems old fashioned – it’s probably the only band I’ve seen where three quarters of the band played the accordion, and the glockenspiel felt by far the most central instrument to proceedings. Digital deftness mingles with folk melodies and instrumental dalliances, tinkling rhythms and deliberate beats working together in a magical mix.

It’s a beautiful, contagious and inventive show that captivates and entrances in its poetic wonder, and has grown in grandeur without losing any of its intimacy. Lights, books, music – a perfect Friday night.

Pine Barons

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:57:17 +0000

Forming in the basement of Keith’s parents house whilst the guys were still at school in New Jersey, Pine Barons (Keith Abrams, Brad Pulley, Shane Hower and Collin Smith) write tunes constructed of off beat rhythms underneath simple chord structures. Yup, these guys aren’t rewriting the rule book, but that’s why they work. Last year they put out their seven track debut EP, a collection of rugged tracks from a group of like minded souls who see themselves us troubadours. Carnival twinkles with electrics as it fuzzes, but this is probably the only track to veer off piste, even momentarily, from the folk rock’n’roll vibe and all the jams and jigs of the record, although Chamber Choir is a refreshing piece of lo-fi. Dispute appearing to be buoyant and rhapsodic, the lyrics are not always so happy, the most pertinent and powerful perhaps being on Smile America (‘the end told me that I don’t deserve to breath’ and the most radio friendly Since I’ve Been Away (it’s raining on my head sometimes I wish my head was dead.) Bounding along with positive boisterousness, they are perfect for intimate end of summer festivals when the sun is dipping and the rugs come out (although there are a heck of a lot of references to rain.) Almost spitting their way through the vocals and with a rambunctious approach to drums, the whole sonic set up is reminiscent of Frank Turner or City and Colour. Folk with a hint of attitude; we like.

A chat with Joe Innes

admin — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:47:56 +0000

A bit indie, folk, pop, anti-folk, what sort of music is it that Joe Innes & The Calvacade make? And who is Joe himself? And, whilst we’re at it – Brian?? Read on to find out more…
For people who aren’t so familiar, can you give me a bit of background to you and your band?
So, I’ve been playing in and around London for a few years acoustically. I used to do that thing years ago where I’d record a song and put it up on myspace and expect something to happen – which was pretty dumb looking back, I probably wasted lots of time that could have been spent doing something more pro-active. At one point I had a record deal with this tiny label that didn’t do anything, and when that fell through I realised I’d have to do everything myself. So I put a band together with some of my friends from uni and that became the first incarnation of Joe Innes & The Cavalcade. We released our first mini album in 2012 called The Frighteners which I paid for by selling half my comic book collection, and we went from there really.
There are a lot of people in your band! Is it very much your band, or is it a collective?
The band has changed over the years, Chris Mitchell and Sam Simon-Norris (drummer and bassist) were the backbone for ages and we had Amy Smith on violin and Lynn Roberts filling in harmonies and keyboards and other bits and pieces. Last year though, Amy went to New York for a year and Sam and Chris started a new band called I.This.Yes (who are really good) so they had less time to spend with The Cavalcade, and I put together a new band basically. Those guys are still around though, they’re well up for playing whenever they can, so it’s like a rotating collective of people now. The current line-up is Mark Higgins (bass), Charlie Farncombe (banjo), Patrick Degenhardt (drums) and Lynn Roberts (harmonies, glock, keyboard etc). Most of them are people we already knew and liked. You spend so much time hanging around in a band, you have to have people you like hanging out with otherwise it can suck.
How does working with so many people contribute to the result? How has it changed your work?
I think it changes the live performances a lot, new people bring new ideas and ways of playing. I think it’s exciting bringing a song to a new group of people, changing things up is important when you can – trying different instruments and interesting drum rhythms is where incredible albums like Graceland by Paul Simon came from. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with music if you allow yourself, but having a rotating group of musicians keeps it really exciting. I like it.

You’ve got some great accolades from people like Alessi’s Ark, Steve Lamacq and Tom Robinson. How difficult is it to raise awareness of your music?
It’s incredibly difficult, but I’m incredibly grateful that there are people out there who take it upon themselves to listen to hours and hours of new music everyday (and often for a hobby). Tom Robinson in particular has been really great to us, as well as Steve Lamacq and all the blogs and publications that have covered us. It’s always been hard to get anywhere in music, even Mozart had trouble with it – and you have to work incredibly hard to get yourself heard, but you have to do it if you feel compelled to, and I feel compelled to.
Your sound is very folky and pastoral, but you live in London. Can the city inspire folk music? What is folk?
It’s funny you describe us as pastoral, because I would never have thought that, I think we’re a bit too rough around the edges to be pastoral! If I wrote about traditionally folky stuff, I feel like it would be incredibly disingenuous. All I’ve known is towns and cities, so that’s what I write about, and anything can be inspirational, even a drunk guy pissing against a wall. Louis Armstrong once said “All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.” And I’ve always remembered that quote. Before recorded music, the only songs that survived would be the catchy ones, and they’re the ones people would remember after seeing a folk singer at the pub – I’d say modern pop music is the natural evolution of folk music, with all the super catchy hooks and sing-along choruses. Music is music, songs are songs, there’s just so much of it out there it needs to be catalogued into genres otherwise there’d be chaos! We describe ourselves as alternative or anti-folk, like Jeffrey Lewis, The Mountain Goats or The Decemberists, and they’re just guys with acoustic instruments singing their songs. To be honest, I only play acoustic guitar so I don’t have to carry an amp around. That’s really all folk music is these days, unless you’re singing the traditional stuff. Your lyrics on the other hand are very gritty and real.
What is the writing process for you?
My writing process is stolen from 101 Dalmations. The guy in that film writes an awesome tune, and then meets Cruella de Vil, who inspires him to write the lyrics and finish the song. I have about 30 odd tunes currently knocking around my head and in my iPhone voice recorder waiting for a moment, or an event, or a Cruella de Vil to inspire the lyrics that will finish the song. At the moment I’m writing quite a lot, which always happens after we release something – I just want to record the next bunch of songs, which is bad because I should be spending my time selling the EP!

What influences your lyrics and music? Are they the same?
I think when I write a melody it’s literally converting my mood into music – which is nice. Lyrics are more cerebral and involve me scratching my head a lot thinking about them, I like to reference pop culture a lot. My favourite TV, films and music growing up would reference other things (The Beatles did it a lot), and if you heard the reference and understood it, you felt like you were in ‘the club’ – I like to do that, and when people come up to me after shows and tell me they got it, that’s the best. Songs are basically there to communicate your experience as a human being to other human beings, and let everyone know we’re all in the same boat, so it’s nice to hear from people when they’ve shared an experience.
Who is Brian?
So, the new EP is called Brian, I’m a Genius Too which is a reference to a Beach Boys recording session where Brian Wilson’s dad Murray turned up drunk and started telling the band what to do, and says Brian, I’m a Genius Too to his son (you can listen to it on youtube). Him and Brian had a strained relationship, which is basically summed up in that phrase. It’s something that reverberated with me a lot. Murray Wilson was a washed up songwriter and incredibly bitter about his son’s success, which I suppose is a fear for me, when I have children I don’t want to feel resentful about being a washed up songwriter. But I don’t think I will, I think I’m too cheerful for that. That’s basically where the new EP came from.

Scriggler: Live

admin — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 16:46:30 +0000

A night of creativity and inspiration for the thinking person
Music and words, stories and songs, poetry and performance all come together at The Harrison Bar, London, on Thursday 18th September for Scriggler: Live.
Celebrating the launch of Scriggler, a hub for words, a magazine, social network, publishing and blogging platform for anyone who wants to read, write and discuss any topic in any style, the evening is one of inspiration and imagination.
Scriggler: Live brings the online offline, this night of music, literature and debate continuing in the ethos of allowing stimulating and creative content to be shared. Featuring the best of both established and new spoken word artists, actors, writers, poets, musicians, the live events will enthral and entertain.
And so we have Sam Berkson, the ‘poet thug’, giving us his take on the issues he sees in London, counter balanced by the sweet and gentle yet no less powerful Jo Brandon. See magical work courtesy of Anna Beecher, hear some work submitted to Scriggler, and listen back as lovely and lilting Hannah Scott plays some acoustic tunes.
Thursday 18th September 2014
7.00pm for 7.30pm start
£5 in advance / £8 on the door
Get tickets in advance from We Got Tickets or Eventbrite, and follow Scriggler and me on twitter for more information.

Orlando Seale & The Swell

admin — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 17:21:29 +0000

Once upon a time there was a (very talented) man with a guitar. He played folk style music, engaging crowds with his melodies and musings. Then one day he played with the The Southbank Sinfonia resident orchestra, and 8 members later, a musical beast was formed, all thrashy drums, whirling wind, bubbling brushes and everything in between. Orlando Seale & The Swell is as much a visual experience as an auditory one, with every corner of the stage every second being the home of something new and something dazzling. Intoxicating to the extreme, the songs unfold with passion and precision, exploring a landscape often untouched. Live there are some elements of Arcade Fire going on, the grand sounds swelling (apologies) and abating, luring you in to the epic soundscape but all the while feeling like your best friend, holding your hand as you enter, as well as some Nick Cave esque vibes via the variegated sounds and syncopated personalities brimming over. And a little bit of Pulp in there (thank you Ned from August & After for confirming this, I thought it was just my Jarvis coloured goggles). Clearly gifted, Orlando Seale is incredibly talented, and each song is arranged intricately, composition and harmony being of great importance. But what makes them captivating and compelling is the huge dollop of fan with which they perform. Crackling with eccentricity and electricity there is always the feeling that things could erupt any way, marvellous and fizzing tectonic plates constantly shifting, always engaging, always brilliant. Latest single Dance Little Man is available now.

An interview with…August & After

admin — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 13:16:46 +0000

It’s only September but we, we being Ned Mortimer and Vedantha Kumar, aka August & After, and myself, are holed up in a pub in Stoke Newington, drinking clove infused hot toddies and warming red wine, listening to the rain lash down, and soundtracked by some noisy 1980s classics (like the aforementioned red red wine) and a rather vibrant football match (Swansea v Liverpool, if you are interested). It’s one of those evenings that started off full of frustrations, and ended up full of fun and friends. And the personalities behind August & After are one of the main reasons for that.

An alt folk group led by Ned and Vedantha , and supported by an evolving but essential group of musicians, they are winning fans and friends by the dual sworded approach of creating great music and being genuinely nice guys. Whilst clearly passionate about music, they also love life and are interested in it, and so throughout our conversation I continually have to work to bring the conversation back to their music, so keen are they to just chat about what interests them – topics including the UN, Syria, sustainable development and international law. Heavy stuff for a Monday.

The band released their debut album Embers this year, a collection of ten songs that span the indie folk genre, with enough influences and alternative takes on it to keep things interesting. Part of the reason for this is the number of influences that the band cite, almost ticking off genres, although genuinely so. Whilst Ned and Ved sit and argue as to what counts as alternative, I learn that Ved used to be very into his hip hop (‘I used to make hip hop cassettes all the time to try and boost my kudos at school’), Ned is going through something of a classical music phase (‘I used to listen to it all the time, but our new viola player recently sent me stuff and I am having to reacquaint myself’), Ved listened to the latest Bastille track thirty times today (‘I tend to listen to only a little, but repeatedly, and really focus on it’) and that the band’s name is inspired by Ved’s favourite band ever, The Counting Crows.

‘We asked our friends to choose a name from all of those that we suggested. All of his included the word August or some variation on it. Other than ‘Gentle Beginnings’ or something shit like that. Says Ned. ‘It’s fair to say that I was very against it at the start; took me a long time to come round to it. In fact, I hated it. I was afraid that we would turn into some kind of soppy band. But now I see that it reflects our sound (which isn’t soppy) and, without sounding wanky, has a lot of branding potential for later down the line, and won’t restrict our sound.’ True to their word, they recently held an August & After Party. Although they see the core of their style and sound remaining very much as it is now, gentle melodies, resonant chords and a folk vibe, they are experimenting with electronica, which may make an appearance later down the line.
They’ve just started performing new songs, which are germinating and evolving as they go. The usual process is to write individually, and then bring to each other to develop the structure and performance. This means that whilst there is an August & After sound, varieties and variegations find their way in. Ved writes slightly more politically or socially commentating pieces, like Waltz For Marie, influenced by observation of a domestic violence occurrence, although he is keen to point out that ‘I’m not Billy Bragg or anything.’
The band have just been granted a residency at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Bar, and will be launching a new song each month, and recording and filming as they go to form a mini EP. As with Embers, they’re keen to develop lots of different projects, and keep very hands on, enjoying the branding and business side of things. It’s fun, the marketing and developing side of things, but it’s mainly about being yourselves. You capture that as a band and a brand. As long as you keep focused on that it’s fun.’
Not that they wouldn’t get involved with a label – the benefit of time and contacts would certainly help, and they are not put off by the sceptre of music industry at all, being ‘surprised at how few dickheads there are.’ ‘Where are all the dickheads?’ asks Ned. Should an opportunity arise, whilst money from the label would be nice, it’s not the main attraction for them. Unusually, success is not being able to live off their music, but ‘headlining Latitude and being signed to 4AD. Like The National and Bon Iver.’ Not so unusual then maybe.

Part way through the interview Vedantha gets a text. ‘Ned’ he shouts, ‘Have you been using my Mum’s shampoo again? She keeps giving me stick, it just disappears.’ Ned has to go and make a quick call to Mrs Kumar to apologise, his glossy locks shimmering as he goes, his smile beaming as he comes back, bollocking free. Having met during their first week at Cambridge university (Ved smiles as he tells the story of how actually he wanted to jam with a another friend of theirs, having previously been lead guitarist in a funk rock band and not keen to give up his coveted position) they are now very much the best of friends – so close that they share shampoo with relatives it seems.
It’s a Monday night and the day has been long. Rock’n’roll to the core, I am good and go home, whilst they head off to meet friends. On our way to the station Ned can’t stop taking photos on his new toy, playing with exposure and distance, flicking away at the moon and his mates, and anything else that catches his eye. Ved is softly spoken, asking questions, interested in me and my thoughts, reversing the usual journalist-interviewee dynamic. We all leave with smiles, Monday evening turning out much better than it started.
August & After, they will charm you, photograph you, serenade you with songs, and win you over.

Introducing – Courtney Yasmineh

admin — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:54:37 +0000

Ballsy and confident in demeanour, Courtney Yasmineh is charming and captivating, and her music direct and delicious, a potent cocktail of alternative rock, folk, pop and even a little gospel, all blended and blurred into a dazzling and blistering output. A complex and tough upbringing saw her flee to great north woods of Minnesota where she started working on a six song EP, including the fanciful tune Married To Bob (Bob Dylan once fled from the same woods.) Since then she has grown and developed, but still always raw and honest. Brazenly emotive, her music perches on the brink of various styles but gathers up their substance, eclectic yet distinctive. New album Wake Me Up When It’s Over has a rather misleading title. Despite tough times and adversity Courtney strikes as the kind of woman who grabs life, attacks it head on, and rides out her thrills and demons. Opening with Ballad To My Other Self, a bold statement of awareness as to personality fractures and how people change, all glitch and guitars, the album flickers through slow and fast, happy and sad, grunge and folk. Scrutiny sees soft flirty vocals, and Bury Me makes you squirm with its raw and open wounds from an unhappy marriage. The ditzy named Pretty Kitty is a highlight, howling loops and compulsive riffs under slightly husky vocals, building up to a brash and almost seismic shifts. Released on her own Indie label, Stupid Bitch Records, she will be playing songs from it when she visits Europe.
26.09 – 12 Bar Club,London
27.09 – The Troubadour, London
30.09 – Gaslight Club @ Oporto, Leeds
01.10 – The Blues Bar, Harrogate
03.10 – The Victoria, Swindon
04.10 – The Jet Lounge, Amsterdam
05.10 – Het Podium, Hilversum
06.10 – The Music Village, Brussels.
.

The Beautiful Word – May Not Be Love

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:01:51 +0000

The Beautiful Word create music that they refer to as mystery pop. Gentle, dazzling and beguiling, the infectiously happy warm nature of the band shimmers with dimensions, and the blend of front girls Emily Bryant and Megan Clifton voices together make one singular, captivating texture. This new track May Not Be Love has more melancholy lyrics than we have come to expect from the five piece, but the combination of flecked guitars, glockenspiels, casio tones and regular percussion means it is still utterly their own. Folky, poppy, dazzling.
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Oh So Quiet – Oh So Quiet EP

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:39:57 +0000

Released on Cool For Cats Records on April 29th

From the opening gentle picking pattern on Rain At Night and the first time we are introduced to the warm wholesome vocals of Malena, through to the final lulls of Si Quedamos the debut EP from Oh So Quiet is one uses strings and strums to their full effect, being soothing and fluid whilst simultaneously dazzlling. Whilst being a ‘folk’ band they sound more at home in urban streets, the five songs on this EP having a feeling about them of not only living a life, but being scarred by it. Bubbling with wonderment throughout, the EP flickers and flutters with a gentle authority. Motorcycle Journey has a euphoric post verse riff, and Water’s Fall is so hauntingly delicate your ears are almost scared to listen too closely until it fights back with chimes and charm. The output of Argentinian pair Lucas and Malena Zavala, who currently live in Guildford and have substantiated the band with multicultural members Oh So Quiet combine indigenous Latin-American music with western world indie and folk to create something currently missing in the somewhat saturated folk scene, and are more than worth investigating.
A special Cool For Cats party is taking place at Tipsy in Dalston to celebrate the release.

Peter Darling – Limehouse

admin — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:44:38 +0000

Peter Darling is a singer songwriter from Kent. So Peter Darling is some bloke strumming his acoustic guitar and singing yearning odes to countryside times gone by, probably with too much facial hair like the rest of them? Ha.

They say that every song has already been written, but that doesn’t stop so many artists just replaying them. On Limehouse the musical canon has been well and truly absorbed, the best of it all being seemingly seamlessly merged into striking song writing, to plug back in again to the ever evolving musical cloud.
Having a seemingly symbiotic relationship with his craft, from the opener Sunland (Intro) that quivers and quakes its way across the strings to final song Never Outstay Your Welcome, a fun and frantic acceptance of the frustrations of teenage life, this is the sound of someone coming of age, and realising that amongst the dichotomies of black and white exist shades of grey and that can be damn good fun. Honest Again is engrossing and energetic whilst Venus sounds like George Michael’s best ballad – in a wonderful way. Changer chugs along with real grit, the strong vocals adding a layer of almost menace to the melody. A rampant and random amalgamation of hooks, fuzzy electronics and striking styles abound, and startle with the conviction and ability with which each is grabbed.
The entire EP (bar a cover of Air’s Venus) was written and produced by Peter himself, and is available to download for free from his bandcamp page. Talented and generous.