Scottish designer Henrietta Ludgate grew up in the wilds.
I grew up in the most idyllic environment for a child: my imagination ran wild in the woods, nurse I collected frogs from the bog, see and skated on the dark loch in winter. I aim to capture these vivid memories forever, website like this in each collection. I’m inspired by Scottish folklore, the setting sun, the Northern Lights and the witching hour – the time when supernatural creatures are thought to be at their most powerful and magic is at its most effective. The Brahan Seer is a local mythical figure from the 17th century who was and still is renowned for his many prophecies which have continued to come true many generations after his tragic end.
Her trademark shape is a logo-less signature for those in the know.
I have developed a cylindrical trim that is an instantly recognisable trade mark for the cognoscenti, a discreet signature for those who are able to identify designer details, a subtle detail for the logo-phobic. I try to set the label apart with attention to detail, fine fabrics and exquisite workmanship that are the signal of slow fashion. Henrietta Ludgate clothing sets the wearer apart from the masses, symbolising a non-adherance to fast fashion, trendy logos and heavy branding…
Read the rest of this interview and see more illustrations of Henrietta Ludgate’s clothing in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, alongside interviews with 44 other ethical fashion designers and 30 fabulous fashion illustrators. You can buy the book here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday January 21st, 2011 6:50 pm
What have you been doing since the last Uncivilisation Festival? It’s been over a year and I presume you’ve been suitably busy…
Yes, viagra last year’s Uncivilisation does feel like a long time ago. I think it’s safe to say that neither Paul Kingsnorth nor I had ever imagined we’d find ourselves running a festival. It happened by accident. We were writers, we’d written a manifesto with the idea of starting a journal of stories and ideas — and then we got invited to use this venue in Llangollen for a weekend to bring together all these people for whom the manifesto meant something. It was an intense experience. (Read our post 2010 festival interview with Dougald Hine.)
Afterwards, we took some time out to reflect and decide what we wanted to do next. We started to hear from people who were running their own Dark Mountain events, which was very cool, and from bands who were releasing records inspired by the project. It’s a humbling experience, seeing other people respond to something you’ve written and take it to completely unexpected places, and do something beautiful with it.
Cernunnos – from Dougie Strang’s Liminal.
We knew we were going to do another book. We had writers getting in touch who we’d really admired, people like David Abram and Naomi Klein, and new writers sending us amazing work that spoke from the middle of the chaos we’re living through, or from the wild places at the edges. And as Issue Two came together, we realised we had to do another festival. There’s only so far you can go in print, or online. Beyond a certain point, you need to create spaces for people to come together face to face, to have conversations, to laugh and cry and hold onto each other. So yes, Uncivilisation is back, another gathering of stories and ideas, performances and encounters.
Mark Boyle at last year’s Dark Mountain Festival.
What are your feelings about climate change thinking and activism at the moment in the UK and worldwide? And in terms of the other associated problems we face? A lot has changed since May 2010…
It feels like there’s a new conversation opening up, with a rawness and an honesty to it. I’m thinking of the piece Shaun Chamberlin wrote after Just Do It the film came out, and also of an article of George Monbiot‘s from a couple of months ago. You compare that to the debates we had with George in the first year or so of Dark Mountain, which feel pretty sterile to me in retrospect, and there’s a sense that even as the situation becomes more desperate, in many ways, people are reaching deeper into themselves.
The roundwood timber frame classroom at the Sustainability Centre built by Ben Law. Photo courtesy of Permaculture.
And meanwhile, I think it’s dawning on many more people just what a multi-layered mess we’re in. The entanglement between the ecological crisis and the social and economic unravelling of the world we grew up in. I’m struck by how fast history seems to be moving these days, how quickly the ground of “normality” is shifting. Even in mainstream politics, the fabric is wearing thin, the gap between the official version of reality and people’s lived experience becomes more obvious.
What will be different about this year’s festival?
It feels like we’re consciously approaching it as a journey that people go through. You arrive and you’ve left behind your everyday life, and you need permission to enter into this other kind of space, where it’s safe to feel things and have conversations you might not do with your colleagues or your friends back home. So the first night is full of magical performances, feral choirs and storytellers and lyrical boat-dwellers and music by lamplight.
Then the Saturday daytime is where we can have big conversations about the past and the future, going into the ways people have made life work and made life meaningful in difficult times. By the Saturday night, you need to let your hair down, so we’ve got some real party music with bands like Merry Hell. Then on Sunday, as you’re turning for home, there’s more space for sessions about practical projects building parallel infrastructure and ways of getting involved in things back in the day-to-day world that have an edge of deep resilience, that allow you to take back some of the meaning and perspective that Dark Mountain is hopefully making room for.
What special new speakers and activities are you particularly excited about and why?
Personally, I’m looking forward toTom Hirons‘ storytelling on the Friday night, and the Collapsonomics panel on the Saturday morning. That’s going to be a group of speakers who have personal experience of living through economic and social crisis — in the USSR, in Ireland and Iceland. They’re also all people who have an inside understanding of how the systems we depend on work, financial systems, tech systems. I’m expecting to learn a lot from that conversation.
And there are a couple of people who really stood out last year, who I’m really delighted are coming back. Vinay Gupta, who I’ll be interviewing on the Saturday afternoon, who’s this extraordinary hybrid between a Scots engineer and an Indian mystic, talking about these deeply practical projects he develops for working in the aftermath of disasters, but also the roots of his ability to think clearly about this stuff in the tradition of the ‘kapilika’, ‘the bearers of the skull bowl’, constantly facing your own mortality. And Jay Griffiths, who was one of the most moving speakers last year, she’ll be back to talk about the songlines and dream-shrines of West Papua.
Why did you choose to host this year’s Uncivilisation Festival at the Sustainability Centre? How many people do you hope will attend?
One thing we learned from last year is that the festival is as much about the people you meet as the speakers or the bands you see. So we wanted a venue with lots of space for conversations, walks in the woods, gatherings around campfires. We’re expecting about three hundred people, this time. It’s important to us that it’s a human-scale event, that there’s chance for us to meet people and hang out with them.
The philosophy of Dark Mountain has been described as moody, poetic and a bit devoid of hope. How do you respond when people say this to you?
To be honest, I know this is an impression people sometimes have at second- or third-hand, but it’s not something I get asked much by people who’ve actually had any contact with us. If you check out the video of people at last year’s festival, ‘hope’ is actually one of the words that comes up when people try to describe what they’ve experienced.
Now, that might seem strange, given that the starting point for Dark Mountain is admitting how deep a mess we’re in — letting go of the fantasy that we can take control of this reeling world, which, for all the wonders of science, we only partly understand. But hope is a strange thing — it’s not the same as optimism, or having a plan. It’s an attitude, a way of being in the world, treating each other well and finding meaning, even in the dark times. Go back to the Greek myths, and the last thing out of Pandora’s Box, after all the evils of the world, is hope.
We’re going to take some time out this autumn, before we come back and start working on the next book and the other plans we’ve been brewing. For me, it will be a time to weave some of the threads from Dark Mountain into the other things I’m working on — The University Project, where we’re creating new pockets and pathways for the cultivation of knowledge, and Space Makers, and the patchwork of other people and projects I’ve been stumbling across which share this search for what works and what makes life meaningful, when the future hasn’t turned out the way the grown-ups said it would.
Johanna Basford is the prolific illustrator behind Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest and now Lost Ocean, which was published in October 2015. For her latest underwater adventure Johanna has gone back to her marine roots to pull together a gorgeous volume full of intricately detailed drawings inspired by real creatures and ocean fantasies. It’s a must have for any colouring enthusiast!
How long did it take to create your new colouring book, Lost Ocean, working on average how many hours a day? Lost Ocean took about 4 months to complete. Average days don’t really come into play when you work from home and you have a little person to care for, but I have childcare 4 days a week so I cram as much as I can into these hours, then I work when she (finally!) takes a nap or goes to sleep at night.
Lost Ocean coloured by Johanna Basford.
What are you favourite memories of growing up on your parent’s fish farm, and how have these influenced the making of Lost Ocean?
My parent’s fish farm is a fresh water one and is located about 20 miles inland (not on the coast), so my experiences there didn’t influence this book so much, apart from seeing tens of thousands of fish every day! My parents are both Marine Biologists though so my sister and I spent a lot of time visiting scientific aquariums and on research vessels as children. We could barely make it through a seafood dinner without someone having their main course dissected and an impromptu biology lesson taking place. I think these kind of things all just help open your eyes as a child and expose you to a vast array of different experiences that form the foundation of your imagination as an adult.
Your studio looks wonderful (very jealous!), I believe it is in your house? Where is it located, what is the view, how long have you been there and is it always as tidy as it looks in your videos?
We live in a converted farm building in the Aberdeenshire countryside. We are so lucky to be out in the wilds and I really love that feeling of looking out our windows and seeing the changing seasons. Due to the incredible amount of toys Evie began to accumulate (why do small people have so much stuff?!) we converted my old studio which was next to the kitchen into a playroom and I moved into the space in the attic. It was no hardship though as the view from the apex window out across the surrounding fields is so beautiful and it meant I was tucked away when I needed to work and out of ear shot of little people.
Lost Ocean coloured by Louise Chagger
How long did you stop working for when you had your daughter, and when during the day do you find it easiest to work now, and why?
I took 6 weeks ‘off’ social media when I had her, but was still checking in on email throughout as my second book, Enchanted Forest was about to go to print. My publishers were super understanding though and we all worked around the craziness that is coping with a new born. I worked around Evie’s schedule until she was 6 months, after which we had a wonderful family friend who is a nanny come and help me a few days a week. It wasn’t till then that I really got stuck back into things properly. I work best in the morning, always have done.
What kind of work commitments are your priority now your time is more limited?
Now that there’s more to cram into a day I’m a lot more selective about what I can take on. I’d rather turn down a job or rejig a deadline than deliver bad work late. I’ve scaled back a lot on commission work and focused on the books and long term projects – the lead times for commercial illustration work are often just days or in some cases hours long and more often than not required immediate amends to meet print deadlines. I just can’t offer that level of flexibility anymore so I’d rather pass up on a job or recommend someone else, than take it and be unprofessional.
Lost Ocean coloured by Maria C Crowdey
What have been the most difficult and the most wonderful things about continuing to work and being a mum at the same time?
The most difficult thing is the guilt. I think all Mums experience this though whether they are working or not. You always feel you could do better for your child. I feel bad for not being with her every day, for letting her watch Cbeebies when I’m trying to answer urgent emails at 6am and for not serving her up a delicious, organic meal I’ve prepared myself every night.
Lost Ocean coloured by Naomi Russell-Baugh
That being said, I wouldn’t change our situation. I love what I do and I’m so lucky to have a job that truly makes me happy. After a day of work or a trip away, I’m so delighted to see her. We make the very most of all the time we have together and I never take a day off for granted. Having that space to do a job I love and fire up my creative and intellectual side means that when I’m back in Mum mode I do so with a fresh head and a happy heart.
Where is your favourite place to walk when you want to clear your head and reinvigorate your creative sensibilities?
We live in the middle of nowhere, so I love to bundle Evie into the carrier, grab the dog and walk around the fields and woodland the surround our home. I love the fresh air on my face, to see Simcoe our dog bounding about enjoying the outdoor time and to show Evie the changing seasons.
How are you sharing your love of nature with your daughter Evie?
We spent a lot of time our doors playing, I want to give her the same sort of free range childhood that I had as a child. In the summer we pottered about in the garden, picking strawberries we had grown and smelling the flowers. As Autumn fell we gathered leaves for painting projects and looked for conkers.
Lost Ocean coloured by Tamila Kushnir
You have said that being scared inspires your best work, what situations are most likely to scare you the most nowadays?
Scary deadlines! Now that time is so scarce, anything that involves a short deadline terrifies me. I worry that I’m taking too much on, then I worry that I’m not pushing myself hard enough…
Lost Ocean front plate coloured by Patricia Grund
You initially trained as printed textile designer (like me!) Now, do you consider yourself an illustrator, a designer, an artist or all the above?
An illustrator. I draw pictures, nothing more, nothing less.
Where do you screen print your artist editions, and how often do you get to do that now? Dundee Contemporary Arts. I love it there. These days I rarely print, but when I do it’s a treat to be surrounded by so many wonderful artists and to have the excellent facilities and staff at DCA on hand.
Lost Ocean coloured by Rebecca Honeybee Swan
We first met you when you launched your #TwitterPicture project: you have been very adept at using social media and the internet in general to raise your profile, when and why did you start doing so?
I didn’t want to move to London (or any big city for that matter) and knew that in doing so I was isolating myself. I wasn’t going to bump into art directors and commissioning editors at swanky exhibition openings and I certainly couldn’t just pop round their office with my portfolio to tout my wares. To get around this I used social media and the internet to allow me to open up my studio and connect with these people from my little studio in the Scotland. I tried to think of imaginative ways of getting people’s attention and making my work memorable. An email with a PDF or a link to a portfolio is so boring. I tried to be a little different and to think up ways of presenting my work that was a little more imaginative.
Lost Ocean by Amanda Steele
Why do you think that sharing work online has become such a major aspect of the adult colouring book phenomenon?
Because we are all so proud of our creations!! For me colouring books are a collaboration. I create those black and white outlines, but it’s not until the owner of the book adds the colour that those illustrations are ever complete. We need to work together to create the final artwork. So when someone has completed a picture, they quite rightly want to show it off! Who wouldn’t?! The best part of my job, without a shadow of a doubt, is seeing all those amazing pictures on social media, in the facebook colouring groups and on my colouring gallery. It’s humbling to think I have the incredible opportunity to collaborate with literally millions of people worldwide and that we get to share our work with the world. I never see the same illustration twice, every time someone colours a picture they make it unique. It’s like a giant game of consequences; I do my part, then hand the books over to the world and everyone picks up the baton (or should I say the pencil!) and completes the pictures.
How much time do you have to upload stuff to your blog and various other online platforms these days? Your Pen Geekery section on your blog is so fabulously… geeky!
Not as much as I would like! Social media and my blog is so very important to what I do, so I try to schedule time for it every day. Whether that’s just posting a quick WIP on Instagram or uploading a new Vlog to YouTube, I feel the colouring community online are so important to what I do, so I want to connect with them as much as I can.
New Designers is one of my favourite places to discover graduate talent, what did taking part in the show do for you?
It was great for me, coming from a relatively small art school in Scotland, to just be in amongst the chaos. It’s good to be a bit scared and New Designers can be an overwhelming place! There’s so much talent, so much energy. Everyone is keen and fresh and unjaded, you don’t get that same feeling again! For me New Designers was a place to make connections. I spoke to lots of people, organized some internships, some freelance work and even had a couple of job offers. Ultimately, it all helped me decided what I did and didn’t want to do going forward.
I love your opinion that technicians are the unsung heroes of art schools! what was the best thing you learnt from them?
The nitty gritty. Like how to get a stubborn stain off a screen. Which inks would last longer than a week if I stored them right. How to make sure my paintings didn’t stick to the inside of a heat press… Not super glam, but it’s practical knowledge like that that you just can’t gleam from a lecture theatre. In my mind, infinitely more useful.
Do you or did you ever feel isolated in Aberdeen? How often do you have to travel for work, and have you ever been tempted to move for work reasons?
No. I’m a country girl and I don’t function well in big cities. I can’t draw blossoms and hummingbirds surrounded by concrete and tarmac. I venture down to London about once a month, cram in a whirlwind of meetings then fly north again at bedtime.
Lost Ocean coloured by insolitecass. You can download this image for free here
Can you tell us any more about your upcoming collaboration with Staedtler?
Yes, we’re starting to post details of this now. I was approached by lots of different pen and pencil manufacturers this year, asking if I would partner with them. Although I loved all the products that were highlighted to me, I’ve used Staedtler pens since art school and they are the brand that I’ve been recommending for years, so working with them seemed the most honest and natural collaboration. We’ve made a series of videos, a super cool little adult colouring website and there are some special edition products and bundles on the way. I’m also speaking to them about a few top secret colouring projects that I’d like to see realized (watch this space!).
How do you feel when you see the huge piles of colouring books in book and gift shops across the country?
SUPER PROUD. To see the adult colouring category blossom is the biggest thumbs up you can imagine. What better sign that you are doing something right, something that people truly want in their lives? I love that with every new book that appears, more and more people around the world are putting down their digital devices and picking up pens and pencils. We’re onto a good thing here!
I feel as though this Christmas we are about to hit “peak colouring book” for want of a better phrase, do you think the interest in adult colouring books will fade away, and do you see an end point for your (immense) contribution to the genre?
No I honestly don’t. I think adult colouring is just a new form a creativity, one that for whatever reason hadn’t risen to the forefront of popularity yet. The exact format may change and I’m keen to see how the discipline evolves, for example onto new materials, new applications, different techniques (have you seen those pan pastel artworks coming out of Brazil?!) but essentially, I think it’s something we’ve all been craving for a long time. An accessible way to be creative, a digital detox, a stress buster, a warm shot of nostalgia – whatever your reason for initially picking up a colouring book, I’m sure they will become a staple part of your creative life.
Lost Ocean coloured by tatianecandido Finally, what are you working on now and next? (and any clues as to what another colouring book might contain?)
SO MUCH.
A charity Christmas project I’m launching on 1st December, more details coming soon!
A new colouring book next summer (details are top secret for now I’m afraid).
Calendars!
Pens!
More Christmas!
The list goes on and on…
You can tour Johanna’s gorgeous studio in the video above. Lost Ocean is available worldwide. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such brilliant and informative answers Johanna! I can’t wait to see what you do next. Images thanks to the members of Facebook group Colouring Companions and the lovely people who share on Instagram.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday November 14th, 2015 6:21 pm
The Catlin Guide returns once more with a selection of 40 recent graduates to watch: an intriguing selection that includes a bevy of painters. I caught up with New Sensations shortlistedRCA graduate Steven Allan, a Scottish painter who specialises in anthropomorphic depictions of everyday objects.
Steven Allan – There’s Always Time for Tea.
Has being Scottish and your subsequent move to london informed your work? and if so in what way?
I wouldn’t say that being Scottish has had an overriding influence on my paintings, but my roots have certainly influenced the black humor that is evident in most of my work.
Why do you think you focus on a confusing and tragic landscape? Any particularly sad stories in your past that have made you this way?!
I don’t think my paintings are necessarily just tragic or confusing – but they can often be interpreted that way. I think there are many less obvious things at play as well. Like Hogarth, I am interested in the tragicomedy aspect of humanity. I want to depict real life situations but obscure and twist them around to both bend and underline their meanings.
Steven Allan – One Off The Bunch.
Objects such as bananas and snails are a feature of your art – what draws you to these most curious and disparate of subjects?
I don’t tend to dwell on why I paint this, or why I paint that but If pushed for an answer I guess I Identify in some way with these kind of ridiculous objects. I look at a banana in the fruit bowl, browning, overripe. It’s such a sad image to me – the last banana that no one has gotten round to eating – destined for the bin. It can say a lot about where your heads at to be painting a version of yourself into such an object. The snail I don’t paint so much anymore. Most images are a passing phase. They completely captivate me at the time but at some point I’ll move onto the next image that captures my imagination. With the snail paintings I was just interested by this slimy little creature that carried its house on its back. How I choose an object is pretty much that simple –its really just about my desire to visualize that subject in my paintings.
Steven Allan – Stains Of A Decade.
Subversion is a key element of your artworks – any future subversive ideas that you would like to work on?
Currently I am working on a hybrid painting, which involves two very disparate images that visually seem to fit together. I came across this really odd photograph of a gimp in a pvc balloon suit and then thought about coupling it with something else I’ve been looking at a lot lately – Bertie Basset of the famous liquorish allsorts. As a child I always though there was something quite scary about Bertie Basset. He’s supposed to be approachable and sweet but he’s his strange anthropomorphic figure with a liquorish black hole for a face. Taking Bertie’s head and putting it on an inflatable gimp suit just seemed to be more in spirit with what he was all about in the first place so I decided to make a painting about it.
Steven Allan – The Faithful Companion.
What is your work process? (using materials and in the studio)
Well for me it’s a really intuitive, complex process and it can take a long time. I use alot of unconventional tools I find in diy shops and of course an array of paint brushes and palette knives. I’m always on the look out for different objects that I can manipulate paint with. I also use allot of paint mediums, depending on what effect I’m after. Some give the paint a matt finish, some a gloss, some thicken paint and other speed up drying time. It all really depends on each individual painting.
How has being part of the Catlin Guide aided your career and what do you hope for in the future?
Being part of the Catlin Guide so far has been a great experience. I was surprised to see an image of my painting in the Guardian and also get a quick review. I am also going to be putting work in the London Art Fair which will be featured in the Catlin Guide’s stand so I’m looking forward to that. All in all it’s been a great experience so far and I am extremely thankful to Justin Hammond who had the belief in my work to give me this great opportunity to get my work out to a wider audience.
He that’s born to be hanged will never be drowned.
Geoff Litherland – I Knew it Would Come to This (The Old Horizon).
Tamara Schlesinger is the talented lead singer and main brains behind the foot stomping folk sounds of 6 Day Riot, a band I have listened to countless times on record and loved many times over live – they even played a storming set at the launch of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration in 2011. Over the past year, with a little help from Creative Scotland, she’s put together her first solo album, The Procession. In this her honeyed vocals are looped to magnificent effect over the simplest of instrumentals. It’s a step away from the unabashed raucousness of her band, with melancholic lyrics such as those in the beautiful No Coming Back, So Long and Again (previewed on soundcloud below) inspired by a reflective period in her life. The Procession works best when taken together as a whole, each song subtly altering in mood as the listener is led on a meditative journey by the woven layers of Tamara Schlesinger‘s beautiful voice. I caught up with the singer to find out about the changes in her life.
The Procession, your first solo album, came out this week. What has the reception been like so far?
So far the reception has been great. The album was quite an experimental project for me, moving away from the 6 Day Riot sound and working with a capella vocals and I really enjoyed the challenge. I’ve had some lovely reviews already and a few spins on 6 music, XFM and Amazing Radio. Also Amazing Radio have made the album Album of the Month so I’m pretty happy so far.
The album was made in Glasgow with help from Creative Scotland – how did that process work and how did being at home forge the process?
I wrote the album over the course of a year and discovered that I could apply for funding from Creative Scotland. As I run my own label and have always self-released my music I thought it was a great opportunity. I was so delighted when I received the funding, it allowed me to spend longer in the studio than I normally get the chance to. It also allowed me to work with new musicians (all of whom are Scottish) and to work in a different manner. I went into the studio with ideas, but really they came to life once I was in there, and that was a very different process for me. Normally I would have rehearsed the tracks with the band and arranged all the parts before recording due to budget limitations. Being home was also great, it was fantastic to be in Glasgow, the mood is very different to London and it definitely affected the way the recording went in a positive way.
It’s much more mellow than the work 6 Day Riot is known for – was this deliberate and if so why?
Yes, I didn’t want to do a solo project that sounded like 6 Day Riot, I didn’t see the point in that. If I was going to do something on my own it really needed to sound different to the band. I was in a more melancholy place at the time of writing as well so that is definitely reflective in the mood to the record. I felt like doing an album that flowed together as a whole and I think I managed to achieve that.
What inspired the new direction and lyrics?
I was in the process of packing up my home and moving when a lot of the album was written, along with having some potentially life changing things to deal with – so I was in a very reflective mood. I was thinking a lot about what your home really means, whether it holds your memories or whether you can pick everything up and start a new. I was also waiting for some test results that could have meant a big change in my life – so the lyrics ended up being more personal to me than usual. I had also been co-writing with Deadly Avenger, we co-wrote the trailer music for 127 Hours (a survival drama film), and the tracks were all cinematic dance in style. So I think when I began writing my own music it ended up bit more cinematic than usual.
You’re expecting a baby soon: how is this affecting your plans to tour and what are your hopes and dreams for your little one?
Well, it is already affecting me as I am much more tired than usual! so I will probably be touring the album again at the start of next year when I release more singles. I just want a healthy, happy baby, but hopefully one that enjoys coming to lots of gigs and festivals and doesn’t get too bored hearing my songs and voice over and over again.
Lead single Again
The Procession by Tamara Schlesinger was released on Tantrum Records on the 6th of August 2012. If you are based in Scotland you can catch Tamara performing at Stereo Cafe Bar in Glasgow on August 15th – a series of dates will be confirmed soon so catch her live if you can: it’s a wonderful experience (read my review of a 6 Day Riot concert here). Hear 6 Day Riot play live at the launch party of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration in the video below.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday August 10th, 2012 10:04 am
The Proximity Effect is the second album from Glasgow based Laki Mera, order a band who excel in the creation of their own unique trip hop influenced sound. Focused around the luscious vocals of singer songwriter Laura Donnelly, the album moves sleekly between ambient textures and big folk inspired melodies, plucking the best from the electronic and acoustic worlds to create something utterly new. I caught up with the talented foursome: Laura Donnelly, Andrea Gobbi, Keir Long and Tim Harbinson.
How do you work together to create music as a foursome?
We write in a few, different ways… Some tunes start more as acoustic tunes written by Laura which are then arranged by the band as a whole – introducing beats and electronic feel. Some tunes start off as electronic ideas, from jams or individually from Andrea or Keir. At any stage of the process though, the collaboration between all of us is what creates the Laki Mera sound.
Do you all bring different musical inspirations to the table – and if so what are they?
We have a really wide and varied bank of influences ranging from folk and acoustic music to minimal electronica. To list a few… Beck, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, Bjork, Radiohead, Datasette, Zombie Zombie, Bat for Lashes, Portishead, Massive Attack, Advisory Circle, Benny Greb… there is a lot of good music coming out of Scandinavia at the moment – Little Dragon, Efterklang, Lykke Li, Fever Ray…
What brought Italian Andrea Gobbi to Scotland and what keeps you there?
I travelled up from London in 2001 and instantly felt attracted by the Glasgow music scene… collaborations were born and I got deeper and deeper into both the indie and folk music scene, both as a musician and a producer engineer.
Fool
Is there anything that you miss about Italy?
I obviously miss my family and friends, but as far as music is concerned not very much at all, I’m afraid… I’m very happy in Scotland!
What’s best about living in Scotland?
Definitely not the food!
The Proximity Effect is named for a studio technique – what does it mean and how was it used in the making of the album?
Our album The Proximity Effect was named after the interesting combination of the audio technical term ‘proximity effect‘ and the philosophical meaning behind how people react when in the proximity of other people, how people interact in the proximity of each other and how important these connections are. The actual meaning of the technical term proximity effect… well, it is simply a way to describe how microphones react to the relative closeness of the sound source you are recording… say for instance how a softly spoken lyric would come through when spoken directly into a microphone (i.e. with your lips touching it).
I haven’t heard the first album, how does the new one differ?
The first album was a production which took several years, during which studio electronic music experiment and song-writing took their time to develop! The outcome was a very deep-layered production with a much calmer and reflective feel about it. The Proximity Effect still has moments of pause and reflection but it’s a much more direct record, based around tracks that were born playing live rather than in the studio… Most of the electronic music production on this album was inspired by the tracks and not vice versa.
How do you ensure that you retain an organic feel to the music when applying so many electronic textures?
Retaining an organic feel to the music is very important to us as we are well aware that electronic music can become too sterile and repetitive if not handled properly. We have a good mix of acoustic and electronic elements to the band and when working on the electronic arrangement we use many analog synths such as Korg Sigma, Korg MS10, Roland Juno 106. We also create our own sounds from samples of real sounds. Also, when playing live we ‘play’ everything rather than relying on pre-recorded loops as so many electronic acts do. This is more fun (if a little tricky sometimes) for us and more interesting for an audience to watch.
You recorded some of the new album’s songs in turf house in a small Highland village – what lay behind the decision to decamp?
We recognised that there was a bit of a difference between the tunes on the album and we wanted to embrace this. We made the decision to spend a week in a remote part of the Highlands to concentrate on the more acoustic, song-like tunes on the album. We felt that the hustle and bustle of our city studio did not provide the right kind of environment to properly capture the more sensitive feel of tunes such as Reverberation, Double Back and Solstice. We needed somewhere with a more quiet feel and a slower pace.
Pollok Park
Does living in Glasgow influence the sound of the music?
Glasgow has always been a very musical city and I think that’s partly why we have all been drawn there. With its long, dark winters and brooding, grey skies it definitely lends itself well to writing dark, introverted tunes!
What else does everyone do when you’re not involved in Laki Mera?
Andrea & Keir are both sound engineers, Keir is also a piano teacher. Laura works on graphic design and art projects and Tim has recently completed a masters in Social Ecology.
Have you got any collaborations in the pipeline?
We’re working on it, so watch this space…
Honestly, This World, is one of the most marvellous albums I have heard this year – made all the more thrilling in the knowledge that it is merely the side project of a host of talented musicians more used to playing in better known bands. From anthemic opener Everyone I Know to the delicate chimes and scuzzy reverb of Boxes, the laid back jazz/trip hop inflections of Beautiful Creature and gentle lull of Oceans and Waves this is a fantastically diverse collection of songs that are drawn together perfectly by the pure vocals of Stacey Sievwright. I spoke with guitar and keyboardist Gordon Skene.
You are a very exciting sextet of Stacey Sievwright, Gordon Skene, Louis Abbott, Kev McCarvel, Iain Sandilands & Pete Murch, with members coming from the bands Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow, The Reindeer Section and Arab Strap. How on earth did you all get together? I hear the Scottish music scene is quite small, does it ever get a bit difficult because of this (you know, relationships etc)?
Well I suppose we started out playing together as a backing band for our friend Colin (The Boy Who Trapped The Sun) – that was Stacey, Kevin and myself. When he moved down to London we decided we liked hanging out and playing together so we kept going, and wrote some songs of our own. Later we were joined by Stacey’s old bandmate Iain (the Professor of Percussion) and Pete, and we recruited Louis as a sort of stand-in for me while I was away fulfilling other touring commitments. But he was ace so I came back and we both played guitar. I suppose the music scene is quite small up here, but everyone is pretty friendly towards each other and helps each other out. It’s not good for personal relationships though, no. Bumping into your exes is all too easy. I suppose in a way that’s good for the music, in turn.
What differentiates The Moth and The Mirror from your other respective bands? What makes this unique combination sound so fresh and new?
I suppose because we don’t take it too seriously, that lifts a certain amount of pressure off us. If there’s one thing scots aren’t good at it’s performing under pressure! Because of the way we formed (slowly, organically) there’s a genuine family feel. We have a wide range of influences too, gathered from our time apart and brought together when we do get a chance to meet.
Your name is quite memorable, how did you come up with it and does it have a meaning?
It’s the title of a children’s story, from a dusty old book we found in Stacey’s cupboard. About how the King Moth fell in love with his reflection in a mirror in an abandoned mansion, but the mirror broke and he sends his minions out nightly to search for his estranged Queen. Quite dark and romantic. At the time, there weren’t nearly so many ‘and the’ bands around.
How do you go about writing together, can you describe a bit of the process?
Usually Stacey brings us an idea or a snippet of a melody, and we take it from there; just a couple of us at first, then on to the rehearsal room. But a few were written straight off, as a band together. You can tell if it’s a good idea because someone will add a part to it instantly and it blossoms from there.
How do you all find the time to get together: is there a secret formula to juggling so many musical ventures, and what do you do when you all get together (apart from make music)?
It’s really hard! That’s why it’s taken us this long to make an album, and then almost the same time again to release it. There’s no secret, I guess just perseverance and a genuine fondness for the project. When we do get together, we mostly waste the time by talking nonsense and taking the piss out of each other. Or Stacey cooks.
We’ve just missed your mini launch tour – where else can people see you over the coming months?
I couldn’t say at the moment unfortunately… nothing is planned (see above!), so it might be quite last minute. Best to keep an eye on our twitter feed @mothmirror or facebook page.
Who created your album cover and what was the brief, it’s really quite beautiful?
Thank you! It’s a piece by an artist called Fiona Watson – she also has an excellent flickr page – who Iain and Stacey discovered one afternoon last winter at an exhibition above a lovely wee bar/cafe in the merchant city. She’d already done it, and we asked her if we could use it – she very kindly agreed.
Fire
Are there any great Scottish bands that you recommend we check out that perhaps don’t get the attention they deserve? Endor and Open Swimmer just opened for us at our Edinburgh launch; both lovely, and beautiful songwriters.
The Proximity Effect is the second album from Glasgow based Laki Mera, order a band who excel in the creation of their own unique trip hop influenced sound. Focused around the luscious vocals of singer songwriter Laura Donnelly, the album moves sleekly between ambient textures and big folk inspired melodies, plucking the best from the electronic and acoustic worlds to create something utterly new. I caught up with the talented foursome: Laura Donnelly, Andrea Gobbi, Keir Long and Tim Harbinson.
How do you work together to create music as a foursome?
We write in a few, different ways… Some tunes start more as acoustic tunes written by Laura which are then arranged by the band as a whole – introducing beats and electronic feel. Some tunes start off as electronic ideas, from jams or individually from Andrea or Keir. At any stage of the process though, the collaboration between all of us is what creates the Laki Mera sound.
Do you all bring different musical inspirations to the table – and if so what are they?
We have a really wide and varied bank of influences ranging from folk and acoustic music to minimal electronica. To list a few… Beck, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, Bjork, Radiohead, Datasette, Zombie Zombie, Bat for Lashes, Portishead, Massive Attack, Advisory Circle, Benny Greb… there is a lot of good music coming out of Scandinavia at the moment – Little Dragon, Efterklang, Lykke Li, Fever Ray…
What brought Italian Andrea Gobbi to Scotland and what keeps you there?
I travelled up from London in 2001 and instantly felt attracted by the Glasgow music scene… collaborations were born and I got deeper and deeper into both the indie and folk music scene, both as a musician and a producer engineer.
Fool
Is there anything that you miss about Italy?
I obviously miss my family and friends, but as far as music is concerned not very much at all, I’m afraid… I’m very happy in Scotland!
What’s best about living in Scotland?
Definitely not the food!
The Proximity Effect is named for a studio technique – what does it mean and how was it used in the making of the album?
Our album The Proximity Effect was named after the interesting combination of the audio technical term ‘proximity effect‘ and the philosophical meaning behind how people react when in the proximity of other people, how people interact in the proximity of each other and how important these connections are. The actual meaning of the technical term proximity effect… well, it is simply a way to describe how microphones react to the relative closeness of the sound source you are recording… say for instance how a softly spoken lyric would come through when spoken directly into a microphone (i.e. with your lips touching it).
I haven’t heard the first album, how does the new one differ?
The first album was a production which took several years, during which studio electronic music experiment and song-writing took their time to develop! The outcome was a very deep-layered production with a much calmer and reflective feel about it. The Proximity Effect still has moments of pause and reflection but it’s a much more direct record, based around tracks that were born playing live rather than in the studio… Most of the electronic music production on this album was inspired by the tracks and not vice versa.
How do you ensure that you retain an organic feel to the music when applying so many electronic textures?
Retaining an organic feel to the music is very important to us as we are well aware that electronic music can become too sterile and repetitive if not handled properly. We have a good mix of acoustic and electronic elements to the band and when working on the electronic arrangement we use many analog synths such as Korg Sigma, Korg MS10, Roland Juno 106. We also create our own sounds from samples of real sounds. Also, when playing live we ‘play’ everything rather than relying on pre-recorded loops as so many electronic acts do. This is more fun (if a little tricky sometimes) for us and more interesting for an audience to watch.
You recorded some of the new album’s songs in turf house in a small Highland village – what lay behind the decision to decamp?
We recognised that there was a bit of a difference between the tunes on the album and we wanted to embrace this. We made the decision to spend a week in a remote part of the Highlands to concentrate on the more acoustic, song-like tunes on the album. We felt that the hustle and bustle of our city studio did not provide the right kind of environment to properly capture the more sensitive feel of tunes such as Reverberation, Double Back and Solstice. We needed somewhere with a more quiet feel and a slower pace.
Pollok Park
Does living in Glasgow influence the sound of the music?
Glasgow has always been a very musical city and I think that’s partly why we have all been drawn there. With its long, dark winters and brooding, grey skies it definitely lends itself well to writing dark, introverted tunes!
What else does everyone do when you’re not involved in Laki Mera?
Andrea & Keir are both sound engineers, Keir is also a piano teacher. Laura works on graphic design and art projects and Tim has recently completed a masters in Social Ecology.
Have you got any collaborations in the pipeline?
We’re working on it, so watch this space…
