Week of Pines is the beautiful long playing debut album by Welsh singer-songwriter and harpist Georgia Ruth, it’s creation prompted by a return to Wales. Love that has been lost is tempered with joy at being home, and in the solitude of a Snowdonia studio she has melded together a plethora of influences to create an album that has an all pervading sense of calmness. Opening track and album namesake Week of Pines is a highlight, the gorgeous melody swinging along to a hastening drum beat. Welsh tune Codi Angor harnesses more obvious folk influences, and Dovecote includes the atmospheric clanging of bells, Georgia’s voice drifting in and out of the instrumental with hypnotic grace. Seeing You Around and In Luna trace the troubles of lost love, her vocals soaring in delicate arcs around the harp. A lonesome harmonica takes pride of place in Old Blue, a reinvigorated Appalachian song made popular by Joan Baez, and the album finishes with the slow beat of Winter, redemptive lyrics bringing the album to a fitting close.
Week of Pines features songs in both Welsh and English – but I believe you did not even grow up speaking Welsh. How did you get to the position where you were confident to write and sing in it?
I grew up bilingually from the age of 4, when my family moved from South Wales to Aberystwyth and I started going to a Welsh language primary school. From then on, the two languages were an integral part of my everyday identity. And it’s very much true of my music, too. There are some things I feel only able to express in Welsh, and vice versa. But I knew the album would have songs in both languages.
Week Of Pines by Georgia Ruth.
You have said that most of your songs come from personal experiences – what experiences have made this record?
On the next album I’ve told myself that I’m not allowed to write one song that relates to my actual life, just to see how I get on! Narcissistic bugger. But in many ways Week of Pines is a record about coming home. I moved back to Wales a couple of years ago, after living in London and Brighton, and the friends and relationships that I found waiting for me here have been so important and strengthening.. It’s a happy record, sun through the leaves stuff, despite some moments in the shade!
Why did you decide to learn the harp, and what is the best thing about it?
I started learning when I was 7. But it wasn’t quite my choice. In our primary school, the instrument you got was very much dependent on your place in the register. I wanted clarinet (the instrument of the enviable 10 year olds) but being a Williams did not stand in my favour. All the Evanses and Griffithses got the clarinet. So they offered me the harp, and I said yes! The best thing about the harp is that it’s a great conversation starter. You’re standing at the bus stop with one of these beauties stood next to you, someone’s going to want to ask you about it! That being said, it’s a nightmare to get it on planes. That is absolutely the worst thing about it.
You happily meld influences such as sea shanties, appalachian tunes and traditional folk. What were you listening to as you grew up?
Lots of different stuff! My parents would play a lot of Hank Williams, American and British folk music, Paul Simon, Melanie. And then I was learning these Welsh folk songs in school. When I hit my teens, it was the solo women who took up most of my earspace: Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Aimee Mann, Sandy Denny.
What was it like to record in the middle of Snowdonia?
Very quiet! Bryn Derwen is such a wonderful, peaceful studio. We were there for a week in the middle of August, and the air was thick and heavy with the smell of the eucalyptus trees. At times, you weren’t sure which country you were in! It was a very happy time.
This record has been described as a homecoming – what prompted the move back to Wales and will you be staying for the near future?
I just woke up one morning in Brighton, and realised that I missed Wales terribly. And I came back! I’m definitely very happy here, so yes: I’m not going anywhere. Unless someone forces me to live in sun-filled San Francisco, I would have to concede to their wishes…
What can musicians find in Wales that is not so easy to find elsewhere?
Mountains! Certainly for me, it’s been the sense of fraternity and support amongst the musicians here in Wales that has been the most amazing. In London, I often felt quite isolated as a musician. I didn’t feel as much a part of a community as I do now. And that’s been so key to the making of this record. I was all but ready to give up, and then I came home, met these remarkable people, and thought: nope!
Where can fans hear you over the course of 2013?
I’ll be touring the album in May and June with the band (current list of dates is on georgiaruthmusic.co.uk with a possible few more to be added) and I’m particularly excited about playing in Spillers Records in Cardiff on the day of release. It’s such a brilliant record shop, that’ll be a real privilege.
Mark Olson played with the seminal folk-rock/Americana bands The Jayhawks and Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers, before becoming an acclaimed solo artist, earning acclaim for his sun drenched melodies, and many appearances on Later… with Jools Holland. Following the 2014 release of his acclaimed Good-bye Lizelle album, Olson is currently on tour throughout the UK throughout April 2015, so we caught up with him to find out more about life on the road with collaborator (and now wife) Ingunn Ringvold.
How does it feel to be known as a founding father of modern Americana?
‘My Father Knows Foes‘ is a traditional song that I used to do. It’s a remarkable song because it is exactly the way my father acted when he picked out a singleminded friend of mine who happened to be the best boxer and wrestler in my grade school. I remember it being exactly this time of year and on Friday evenings he cleared out the kitchen table and we would wrestle and box with winter gloves on. Winter gloves hurt more than boxing gloves! My father would referee and he was fair and in fact made sure that I was always at a slight disadvantage because of my home kitchen advantage. This went on and on and eventually I wrote songs about him because it is a memory I wanted to figure out. l like a painting that is all disjointed and tilted. He died too early and I put the exact circumstances into the Jayhawk song ‘Ann Jane‘ about me cooking for my sisters and ‘See Him On The Street‘ is also this lyrical question. I put my family in all the songs I wrote.
Was Ingunn Ringvold collaborator or partner first?
We were going out from the first hour we met and then we started to practice music together later that week. We have a lot of things in common and our backgrounds are very similar even though we are from two different nations. We enjoy many of the same activities and goals in life.
Where did you first meet and how do you work together?
We met in Bergen, Norway. I work at lyrics a very long time and bring in lots of ideas with a basic groove and melody and overall layout. Then we will both take turns at the piano trying in front of each other to improve components of the song. Ingunn will bring a musical part and I will add lyrics and vocal melody. Also she will add top harmony and likewise I will add low harmony. To me what I describe above is basic songwriting. There are other ways too – for instance sometimes we sing chants together in the car! This is really a good time and mostly we do this going up roads in mountains for some reason it lends itself to that sort of chanting.
Who else did you collaborate with for this album?
Neal Casal ( guitar ) and Danny Frankel ( percussion, drums ) brought their knowledge and great musicianship to the album.
Who is Lizelle? Ingunn and I were married in South Africa. I have some good friends there that helped with our stay and inspired the Long Distance Runner song. They would have us over for their yard cricket games which was new to both of us and we have spent about 5 months there between 2 trips. Lizelle is a South African name and I made short fictional story about a woman who writes dark and mystic books.
What inspired the lyrical content of the new album?
Family musings and philosophies, desert djembe circles, ideas about hope and laughter, not wanting to be around people that continually lie to our faces. I think these are universal themes and inspirations
Where can we catch you during the rest of April?
You can catch us on the 24th April at Dundee Beat Generator and on the 26th April at Aberdeen Almost Blue @ Blue Lamp. See more live sessions below:
Cherry Thieves:
Blue (Jayhawks cover)
Long Distance Runner:
Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday April 23rd, 2015 6:28 pm
‘I’m terrible at interviews’ I announce shortly after arriving at Rachel Freire‘s East London studio. A bit of a melodramatic introduction, stomach maybe; but as I now sit staring at my notes which resemble the scribbles of a toddler I now know why I said it.
My trouble is that I just like to listen to people. I get lost in conversation and forget to write anything down. I refuse to record interviews because I hate the sound of my own voice and I find it a bit of a distraction, cialis 40mg so my erratic notes are all I have to record our meeting. Sometimes, if I meet up with somebody and they don’t say much, I can manage it; when I meet people like Rachel Freire – gorgeous, mesmerising, opinionated, articulate – I’m left with nothing.
Rachel is based at the Dace Road studios, home also to the likes of Christopher Raeburn (featured in ACOFI) and Rui Leonardes. Ex-tennants include Mark Fast and Mary Kantrantzou who’ve now moved to Shacklewell Studios, aka hipster central, but despite her successes, Rachel’s staying put. I meet her on a grey Saturday afternoon, she’s been up for most of the night, but you wouldn’t notice despite her protests.
”Whoever says January is a dead month is LYING!’ Rachel exclaims as she makes the tea. I do find that I get on better with people who drink lots of tea. I just don’t trust people who don’t like it. I know, as she gives them a stir, that we’re going to get along. We sit at a big oak desk in the centre of the studio, Rachel lights a cigarette and we begin our conversation. I ask Rachel how it’s going, and she seems pretty positive. She has an army of interns and creates ‘a sense of family’ in her studio, which is adorned with all sorts of interesting antiquities like skulls and baseball paraphernalia. A sign above the door, Rachel’s mantra, reads ‘IF IN DOUBT, SPRAYPAINT IT GOLD,’ a statement I wholeheartedly agree with.
S/S 2011, illustrated by Naomi Law
Rachel brands herself as a ‘costumier’ who happened to fall into fashion, which explains her unique and innovative approach to dressing. ‘I’ll never lose track of my costumier routes,’ she tells me, ‘I’m pretty anti-fashion. It dictates what we wear and how we feel, and I’ve never subscribed to that.’ Her models ‘need to have an arse’ and she’s conscious of the responsibility a fashion designer must adopt, whether that be ethical or environmental. ‘I am the cheapest person!’ Rachel admits, ‘but I will never shop in Primark. I look at the clothes and think ‘somebody suffered for this’. I want customers to hold things knowing somebody’s crafted it – that something is special.’
Rachel won’t compromise. She’s staying true to herself and won’t put her name on anything that she hasn’t rigourously vetted and knows exactly where everything has come from. Rachel is as much an ethical designer as any of the Estethica designers – if not more so. She values the work of other people and believes that you ‘have to be ethical in so many different ways’. How you treat your interns, where you source your fabrics, how you communicate with suppliers – all these things, Rachel believes, are necessary for good business, not just opting for ethical fabrics.
Rachel’s previous collections provide sculptural, architectural pieces with innovative techniques (read all about her glow-in-the-dark S/S 2011 collection here) and it seems A/W 2011 will be even more exciting. As we chat about the boy Rachel’s texting and get mixed up with whose tea is whose (easy mistake – Rachel’s recently got a new mug but the Queen of Fucking Everything option she’s given me still has sentimental value) we’re surrounded by leather nipples. REAL nipples. Rachel and her team of merry men (and women) have been hard at work in the previous weeks to marry them together to make roses. They’re absolutely beautiful to touch and look at but there’s something rather unsettling about them. ‘That’s my aesthetic!’ Rachel declares.
Rachel’s also working with Ecco, who are developing processes for leather manufacturing for couture houses. Rachel has devoted a lot of her time visiting the Netherlands tannery working alongside them in their quest to transform how we produce and approach leather goods. ‘I’m obsessed with materials!’ Rachel tells me. ‘It’s much nicer to make a jacket out of something that you’ve had an input in from the start.’ She shows me a new process she’s working on (damned if I can remember the name) which gives leather an ethereal ripple-like pattern that looks as if it’s been photoshopped. I’m speechless, and we both sit caressing it for a while until I can think of something to say.
So what’s up next for Rachel? Well, A/W 2011 looks set to be her bravest collection yet, and I had a sneak peek at some of the fabrics, textures, techniques and cuts she’s working on. On a grander scale, she ‘loves to teach’ and wants to establish a system where the efforts of designers to instil good practises and skills into their army of interns is recognised. She describes mainstay teaching as ‘box ticking’ and, as someone whose never done what she was told to do, feels there’s more to give in a studio-based environment than anything in the classroom. I hear ya, love.
Rachel’s excited about the future. She plans to dazzle once a year at the A/W 2011 shows while maintaining commissions with an ever-expanding roster of clients and other projects during the rest of the year. She also wants to live on a boat and explore costume design in cinema. She references Jean Paul Gaultier‘s work on flicks like The Fifth Element and is excited by the prospect of applying her unique aesthetic to film. It all comes down to financing. ‘Money dictates and creates a standard,’ Rachel tells me. ‘The system to support new designers is very small, but I won’t compromise my values. I’m here to stay.’
I should bloody hope so.
All photography by Matt Bramford
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret the same image.
Ada looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, view rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, approved having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show, instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big a budget a brand has,” she explains. “For instance Lagerfield puts on amazing shows… but the cost to produce his concepts is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience given the cost restraints she has.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person.” This time Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes. With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market [of one].” As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.”
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
All of the silk prints in the new collection were done locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change at all and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
Ada Zanditon by Donya Todd, who chose to put her in one of her S/S 2011 designs anyway.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupitor that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
Ada Zanditon features in my new book: Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Part two of this interview will go online tomorrow and digs deeper into Ada’s theories on sustainable practice.
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret the same image.
Ada Zanditon looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, cialis 40mg rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, price having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show; instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big your budget is, sick ” she explains. “Lagerfield puts on amazing shows but the cost of production is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience on a tight budget.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person.” This time Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes. With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market [of one].” As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.”
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
All of the silk prints in the new collection were done locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change at all and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupitor that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
Ada Zanditon features in my new book: Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Part two of this interview will go online tomorrow and digs deeper into Ada’s theories on sustainable practice.
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret the same image.
Ada Zanditon looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, more about rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, health having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show; instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big your budget is,” she explains. “Lagerfield puts on amazing shows but the cost of production is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience on a tight budget.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person,” she says. Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes.
With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished,” she says. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market of one.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio by Donya Todd, who chose to put her in one of her S/S 2011 designs anyway.
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
There are only a few print designs in the new collection, which were printed locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change on a regular basis and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupiter that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
Ada Zanditon features in my new book: Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Part two of this interview will go online tomorrow and digs deeper into Ada’s theories on sustainable practice.
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret one piece from the new collection… so read on to see what they did!
Ada Zanditon looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, salve rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, shop having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show; instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big your budget is, information pills ” she explains. “Lagerfield puts on amazing shows but the cost of production is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience on a tight budget.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person,” she says. Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes.
With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished,” she says. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market of one.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio by Donya Todd, who chose to put her in one of her S/S 2011 designs anyway.
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
There are only a few print designs in the new collection, which were printed locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change on a regular basis and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupiter that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
Ada Zanditon features in my new book: Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Part two of this interview will go online tomorrow and digs deeper into Ada’s theories on sustainable practice.
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret one piece from the new collection… so read on to see what they did!
Ada Zanditon looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, case rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, order having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show; instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big your budget is, unhealthy ” she explains. “Lagerfield puts on amazing shows but the cost of production is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience on a tight budget.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person,” she says. Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes.
With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished,” she says. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market of one.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio by Donya Todd, who chose to put her in one of her S/S 2011 designs anyway.
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
There are only a few print designs in the new collection, which were printed locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change on a regular basis and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupiter that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
Ada Zanditon features in my new book: Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration. Part two of this interview will go online tomorrow and digs deeper into Ada’s theories on sustainable practice. Susie Bubble needs no introduction and I absolutely adore Rachel’s rendition of this infamous fashion blogger. She’s been a great supporter of Amelia’s Magazine so it was an honour to see her at the launch party. You can read her write up here. Thanks Susie!
Rachel de Ste. Croix has developed a unique style that suits both childrens’ book illustration and fashion illustration a treat. Working from life she sketches a likeness of her subject and then transfers into into her computer through a painstaking process involving a light box and lots of black felt markers. From there she messes around in photoshop to achieve a beautiful handmade look that in fact makes the most of digital special effects – something which I talked about when I mentioned her in my Digital Arts interview. Here’s her fabulous ACOFI launch party output:
Katie Wright writes Style My Wardrobe and she managed to grab a little bit of my time to ask a few questions at the launch – you can read her great write up here.
Sarah Vernon is best known as SBV of essbeevee, doctor a lovely fashion blog. Here’s her write up.
Tigz Rice is actually a friend of Rachel’s – I’ve now had the pleasure of working with more than a couple University of Westminster graduates, who are all super talented. Can’t think why. Maybe it’s because one of my bestest mates the wonderful illustrator Simone Lia teaches there. Or else it’s something in the water.
I cheekily asked Rachel to illustrate me. Well, she did such an amazing job with everyone else I really didn’t want to be left out. Here I am wearing my Joanna Cave earrings (new season darling) and Beautiful Soul cape-let made out of an upcycled kimono. You can buy similar Beautiful Soul pieces (they’re all different obviously) at the V&A shop.
Rachel hard at work drawing Susie behind a curtain of hair. Photography by Matt Bramford.
Lily Vanilli ACOFI launch cake by Abby Wright. This must be the most lovingly photographed and illustrated cake ever!
Ah, cheapestAbby Wright. Where to begin? She has grabbed the proverbial illustration bull by the horns and run with it, big time. Never has someone still at university so inspired me. Some people just get it you know? And she’s one of them. If you’re reading this and you’re still at university wondering how you will ever get noticed, then read on and learn. I’m serious. This girl has got it going on.
Firstly – she’s all over twitter chatting to fellow illustrators up and down the country all the time, encouraging them and swapping advice. She’s so switched on she even instigated the Tea and Crayons illustration collective. Secondly – she just keeps on creating. Day after day she volunteers illustrations for Amelia’s Magazine. She’s not afraid of making mistakes in public, she puts it out there and learns, and it is a joy to watch her work developing all the time. Students all over should be inspired… just take a look at how many followers she has on twitter! Abby Wright is going places.
Which is why I asked her along to be at my ACOFI afternoon launch party. And here are the results of her doodlings:
Johann Chan, art editor of Digital Arts – no doubt grinning ear to ear because he came down for the fabulous cakes (see above).
Adorngirl, otherwise known as Ashanti Jason, who wrote this lovely blog about the event.
Emma Davenport is an old friend of mine who. Inspired by a life long love of the charity shop – snap! – she has been researching the history of ethical dress and fashion at the RCA. She has a blog called Frock Conscious and you can read her party piece here.
And finishing up with socialite Prince Cassius. Oh yes, he of the dapper clothing and super fro – a delight for both illustrators and photographers alike. What a gent.
She sounds delicate, healing pretty and well.. wonderful. Floating folk, pharm her music is ethereal and yet very raw. We at Amelia’s have been fans of Nancy Elizabeth for yonks. See the review of her album, Wrought Iron, available on the Leaf Label, here. Then see live reviews, here and here from 2007. This is our first interview with her. She is simply charming as you can read. Enjoy.
You sound so relaxed when you play your music, it’s like having a massage listening to you! Are you a very relaxed person? Erm, It’s hard to tell how relaxed you yourself are because you have nothing to measure it against. I’ve never been inside someone else’s mind to see how it is. Nevertheless, I do feel at home on stage even though I hate people staring at me. It’s a strange juxtaposition. I’m generally a relaxed person I suppose. I hate rushing and spend a lot of time day dreaming.
How did you get to where you are today?
I have a great mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, who has taught me never to give in to disbelief and doubt. I adore making music, so I do as much of it as possible.
Have you always been creative?
Yes, it’s quite tiring. I am always thinking of sounds and images and how to make new things. Having said that, I don’t know if I’m that creative. I do create a lot of stuff, but again, I’ve never been inside the mind of an accountant so I don’t know what that’d be like. I imagine everyone is creative, just in different ways. I can’t create a spreadsheet that will calculate the cost of cornflakes to save my life, because I don’t care. Some people do! I think creativity is the desire to do something and the necessary inspiration to do it, whatever it may be. Some people have that for cooking, some people have it for equations. I have it for music and words.
What musical instruments do you play and when did you start learning them?
I generally play anything that comes my way. I’ve got a piano and a guitar and a little harp and a few other stringed instruments, a celeste, synths, bells, drums. Loads of stuff. My house is a nightmare. Can’t move for instruments. They’re not designed to be economic with space. I started with the piano when I was ten but I hated having lessons so I rebelled and taught myself guitar. From then on I’ve collected various things and ended up falling back in love with the piano, but on my own terms, not the teacher’s terms.
Who inspires your music?
Everyone I meet. I particularly adore Aphex Twin and I’d love to be inside his mind for a moment. I also love poetry and dialects.
How do you use the countryside/city/people as tools to write your lyrics?
I don’t really think about that. I live in a city. I sometimes go for walks in the countryside. I’m always writing so it makes no difference where I am. I use my own feelings as inspiration and both people and places being out different feelings so I try and mix it up as much as possible. I’ll be out clubbing one week and staring at a mountain the next. I have loads of different kinds of friends and enemies. It’s all a rich tapestry to me.
It’s so easy to become immersed in your music and drift off to a little world. Would you say your lyrics are your almost like your ‘own world’?
Yes. I find it really hard to deal with the reality of paying my rent and organizing paperwork. I’m 100% completely absorbed by my story of life and I live it like it’s a book unfolding. I sometimes want to shoot myself in the head and put a rest to it all but I don’t have a gun and anyway, even struggling to pay my rent is a story and a new chapter so I embrace it all. My songs are most definitely like chapters in a story. I don’t even care if no one cares. I am living out my life like a play and I love all the characters dearly. If I didn’t have many different kinds of sub plots and storylines going on then I wouldn’t be able to understand or relate to any one else’s story. It’s all interesting. I think I will write music until I die.
Does it ever make you feel vulnerable, articulating and exposing it?
Not really. In this modern age people seem to think you’ve got to put on some kind of show, especially in the arts. I am completely myself. I believe that my life is perfect as it is, with all it’s flaws and foibles. Surely I would not be happy if I felt I had to hide it? I think that sometimes people don’t like my level of honesty but I am happy this way so I will keep on writing music that is a representation of how I feel and if no one likes it I don’t worry. I don’t think that other people’s opinion’s has any bearing on how valuable what I do is. This is the only way to not end up making shit, lifeless music, or die of heartache in an industry and world where money and fame are the only accepted ways to measure success. It might sound arrogant, but it’s just self-belief, the two are not the same. I believe in myself completely, but I also have absolute belief in other people.
How do you escape it and free your mind?!
Day dreaming, dancing and the odd pint.
Is it hard to sit down and motivate yourself sometimes? How do you do it?
Yes I sometimes put off what needs to be done because it feels like the task it too big and everything is hard and scary. This never benefits me but I’ve learned not to give myself a hard time for it. I think motivation comes in direct proportion to how inspired I feel, and how inspired I feel comes in direct proportion to how much I’m striving to understand the purpose of my life. As I say, going out for a pint usually helps, as does eating curry and turning my music up loud and dancing around.
Where did you grow up, and where do you reside now?
I grew up in the wonderful town of Wigan and I now live in my beloved city of Manchester.
How important is ‘home’ to you? Do you get nostalgic?
I’ve wondered about this loads. I’m in love with the North of England. I really love other places too, but a few years ago I realized that I always measure everything against what I first knew… Wigan. I suppose the word “home” means, the place where you consider to be the centre of your world. Of course that can mean many different things. Geographically, at least, that will always be Lancashire for me. I always wear rose tinted spectacles when it comes to Lancashire. Red ones, of course.
How do you challenge yourself?
Ooo that’s a big question. I’d like to say I go for a jog at 6am everyday but that would be a giant lie. I try and read and see something good in people who I might dislike. If I just outright hate them then I’ll try and understand why and take a look at myself. I try and make my fingers play things they don’t want to on the piano, but only if it sounds good. Drumming is great for me because I usually can’t physically do what is in my mind, but after a good practice it all comes right. That is great.
What are you working on now?
MY THIRD ALBUM! God only knows when it shall be ready. I’m not rushing.
Thank you x
Nancy will be playing three more dates this month. See them here.
Written by Helen Martin on Wednesday February 23rd, 2011 9:11 pm
When I listen to music it’s not generally the lyrics I hear first, and in fact you could often ask me about the lyrics of a favourite album many years down the line and I wouldn’t remember them. With me, it’s always the melody, and the artwork, that will stick in my mind – perhaps because I usually listen to music whilst I am working or driving or cooking, and I’m concentrating on something else at the same time. So, it’s a general feeling that grabs me first and foremost: am I unusual, I wonder, or do others feel the same? Anyway, as evidenced by Okkervil River‘s front man Will Sheff‘s answers to my questions, I should perhaps pay more attention to lyrics before putting together a Q&A. His new album The Silver Gymnasium came out last month, and features the usual full Okkervil River sound and grand melodies, but this time with a personal touch brought to the lyrical narrative. The album artwork, (including an interactive map) was created by long time friend William Schaff and is absolutely stunning. I was eager to find out more about their relationship and I finally managed to catch up with Will Sheff late last week…
Okkervil River by Neil Leonard. This was inspired by the lyrics on the new record and the 80′s time period the songs are set in.
I last interviewed you many years ago for the print version of Amelia’s Magazine – how has the band evolved since then?
How many years are we talking? I can’t tell you how the band has evolved without knowing the vintage Okkervil you’re talking about. I always try to allow things to change. It feels like the most natural and least forced way to do things. Things should change, and it’s nice when a new member comes in and without especially meaning to the band kind of drifts into a different stylistic direction. I try to encourage and invite that.
What defines your sound?
I guess one thing all our records have in common, from Stars Too Small to Use to The Silver Gymnasium, is that I enjoy mixing electric and electronic textures with acoustic ones, I favour a strong songwriting perspective, and I want people to feel it.
I absolutely love the artwork for the new album – what was the process of producing this?
I work with William Schaff as often as time and scale permit, and he and I have now grown up together aesthetically as well as personally and we really get each other. Will also grew up in New England in the 1980s, so we have many of the same reference points, which I think made our collaboration on this record even more personal than usual.
What does the gigantic lizard signify?
That’s an amphibian called a Red Eft. They’re common in New Hampshire. When orange, as it appears on our album art, it’s in the so-called “terrestrial juvenile” stage, where it lives on land, mostly on the forest floor in deciduous woods. Later in life it turns green, gets a little larger, and gets some webbing between its limbs. After that it spends the rest of its life in the water.
The album is inspired by your childhood – what were the best and worst memories of your pre-adolescence?
I feel like most of what I wanted to say about my childhood is there in the album. Furthermore, I’m not sure I made this record because I wanted to say anything about my childhood so much as I made it because I wanted to talk about nostalgia and about childhood in general, and it felt more productive to use my own childhood as the model. The idea that I’m trying to make everyone in the world pay attention to my own personal childhood is an idea that makes me uncomfortable. My childhood was the same as anyone else’s, give or take.
Why did you decide to write an autobiographical album this time around?
Because I wanted to put something of personal value on the table in order to raise the stakes for my own writing.
Okkervil River by Valeria Avantario. When I decided to create an illustration for the band Okkervil River, I was really intrigued because I hadn’t heard them before. I was curious to discover the melody behind that peculiar, almost fairy-like name. My intention was to simply let the music guide me. I immersed myself into the river, the flow of memories, fragments of life, old things. When I re-emerged, I run to the blank paper without hesitation and tried to translate my own impressions into an image which I hope will do justice to Okkervil River‘s softly melancholic music.
Are all the photos featured in the artwork video from your family album? What three words best define your childhood?
Again, this is a difficult question to answer. I’m not sure you could answer it, for instance. Could you? And if you could, how meaningful is it to reduce your childhood to three words? And again, if all that came from this record would be this vague idea that “Will wants to talk about his childhood,” I would feel like I failed somehow.
What would you recommend to a visitor in your home town of Meriden, NH? For us UK based fans, what was it like as a place to grow up? It looks beautiful (and your van is great too)
Growing up in a small town is great. I would recommend that, for sure. But if, for example, anyone wanted to move to Meriden because of The Silver Gymnasium I would probably kill myself. I want it to stay exactly the way it is.
Okkervil River by Colin Mayhew. When I draw an illustration that is inspired by music I tend to draw images that pop into my head whilst listening to the band. Whilst listening to Okkervil River I felt that some of the music was quite nostalgic and other tracks optimistic I wanted my image to have a sense of both. All the greenery and colourful trees gives you a sense of optimism but the isolation of the buildings hints at the nostalgia in the music.
What is the Solid Ghost?
That comes from a line in Down Down the Deep River where I talk about running away from home.
Why the Lake of the Strangled Crane?
That comes from a line in Walking Without Frankie where I’m describing a lake. William Schaff turned that lake into a beaver pond that was in the middle of the town I grew up in.
How did Jon first approach you and what were your first thoughts about his proposal?
Diamond Mine is the latest instalment of many years of different sorts of collaborations between JH and KC. In 2004 (I think) Jon approached me at a Fence Collective show in Pittenweem and asked if I’d re-record a version of a track called Your Own Spell with him. He’d heard the original on an old KC album, but he asked in a way that didn’t make me question the quality of my version, and I thought ‘what a clever, tactful chap’.
Your Own Spell
He remixed a track called A Sad Ha Ha that I recorded with Magnetophone for 4AD, and that made me all teary at the end of a Homegame when I heard it.
The Vice-like Gist of It
Next up he remixed The Vice-like Gist of It as a B-side which stopped Janice Forsyth in her tracks, and at the end of 2006’s Green Man Festival he played me And the Racket They Made. I shed real tears and instantly agreed to play at a stranger’s wedding because of it.
And the Racket They Made
We started on a collaboration album proper late in 2006, and the initial efforts were drafted into Bombshell for 679 once we’d secured the producer’s job for Jon, and in 2008 he worked on a couple of the Flick the Vs songs.
Even with all that under our collaborative belt, I think Jon felt he hadn’t quite made a true and genuine collaboration with my voice very much to the fore, band and record label concessions very much to the aft. Two years ago he called me back to London – this time there’d be no siphoning off of our labours.
King Creosote. Photo by Steve Gullick.
How well do you think you have both managed to evoke “space, longevity and timelessness”?
As a collection of songs spanning my entire songwriting history, sung in what is undoubtedly my best recorded singing voice to date, for my part I hope that was enough to push the record away from just the period leading up to a 2011 release. There’s everything from the naive views of an impatient student right through to the cynical musings of an impatient middle aged grump. Jon’ll tell you the in & outs of the music content, but most of what you hear is acoustic guitar, accordion, piano and voices – all of them timeless instruments I’d say. Jon’s given the whole thing a fairly light and airy touch.
Longevity … Well, I should be quite a few dozen listens ahead of our most ardent fans, and I still hear brand new sounds with every listen. The tracklisting still surprises me from time to time, and the album can take an hour to pass, sometimes just a few seconds. In brief, we’ve nailed it on all three counts
How is middle age treating you? I like the way that you say you intend to make the most your “thinning hair and diet of white flour and sugar” but it can’t be all bad?
I’m enjoying middle age immensely. I’ve resigned myself to most of the physical wear and tear, but in my head it’s not as bad as when I actually see my ageing mush in a mirror. I only have to look at an Ampeg bass rig and my back starts to hurt, and so as a rule I avoid reflective surfaces and load ins.
John Taylor’s Month Away
What’s the best part about growing older?
There’s a certain smugness comes with the realisation that I was incredibly lucky to grow up in the 70s & 80s – not only had national service long ended, but we enjoyed immense freedoms. Being young in the 2010s with all these mobile phones, digital cameras, youtube, facebook and twitter sites tracking your every move has absolutely no appeal. Hahahahahahahaha! And we TREASURED records, making live gigs and the latest album releases real moments of excitement and joy.
Bubble
Some of these songs were written as long ago as 20 years and more. What did it feel like to dredge them up again? Did you experience lots of weird emotions?
I’ve re-recorded many of my songs for lots of different albums, so I’m used to it. It’s difficult to explain now just what Your Own Spell from 1988 is truly about, so I just say it’s a banal ‘be careful what you wish for’ type tale. I’ve got a better, more emotionally believable voice now than I did back then, so not so hard to get the mindset right. Thankfully there are no real happy songs on Diamond Mine – that’s the one emotion I haven’t cracked yet.
On one hand a genius from the modern age can come along and make something that sounds as good as Diamond Mine, but in general I find it a real drag and best avoided whenever possible. If technology results in a machine that drops one back into a pre-technological era, than I’m all for it. I’d punch 1974 into the dial and would probably expire in time for the millenium celebrations.
Bats in the Attic
You say that “being a dad lights the way out”. How do your family fit into the musical world? Do they join you, and do they take part in your projects in any way?
My dad, uncle, brothers and cousins are all musical, but quite different in their approach, so it doesn’t feel like competition in any way. My daughter has an incredible ear for melody and a limitless memory for lyrics – she wants to do medicine, so she didn’t get my squeamish gene. I used to play with one of my brothers – Iain – in a bluegrass outfit yonks ago, and I’ve backed up the other brother Gordon on many live sets, but as we get older, the brothers and I tend to avoid interaction with each other’s music as much as possible, and stick to comedy impersonations of our dad, clicking heels and all. I’m a bigger fan of their music than they are of mine, so that helps!
Your Young Voice
My dad recently organised an Anderson showcase for charity. It was an incredibly surreal afternoon of many different musical styles played in front of a white haired audience, so not a chance of any of it landing up on youtube. And relax.
Thankyou so much for your wonderful answers Kenny!
Cults are a New York duo with a 60s guitar pop sound. Their debut album is out in May and I can’t wait. Go Outside has transported my moods from dreary, information pills coffee needing blah, more about to jigging around on my wooden seat, dancing with the cat, joy. The harmonies are pure dream pop. Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin first posted three songs last spring anonymously on a Bandcamp account and have since received great support from the likes of Gorilla Vs Bear and NME. They’ve also supported Best Coast among others.
Could you introduce yourself please?
MF- He’s Brian Oblivion.
BO- She’s Madelline Follin
Could you describe your music?
On the surface it’s girl group inspired, bedroom pop, upbeat and uplifting but beneath that lies murkier realities. We wrap sinister tales in a sugar coated shell.
Why the name ‘Cults’?
BO- I think that the most startlingly beautiful things in life are pretty but desperately flawed at the same time. Cult leaders are a fascinating example of this so I guess our name came about is a result of this fascination.
Where are you both from? And where do you live now?
MF- We’re both from California, I grew up in San Francisco and Brian grew up in San Diego and we moved to New York together to go to film school.
How have these locations influenced your music?
BO- I suppose growing up in California we were tied trough our local history to some of the world’s most notorious cults. Charlie Mansion and his “Family,” spend a lot of time in LA and were responsible for Sharon Tate’s murder there. Jim Jones set up shop in San Fran, David Byrne’s Children of God were roaming California too. The inspirational, moving speeches that appear, ghost-like, behind our music are taken from speeches made by these guys. New York provided us with independence and the creative space for us to start making music in.
How did you get together…?
BO- By complete chance. Madeline’s brother is in a band that I was tour managing at the time, and she happened to be in San Diego the night they were playing. Then we did this drive from San Diego to San Francisco to pick up Madeline’s stuff. We were playing each other music from our iPod collection, and discovered that we loved all of the same stuff. Cults grew from there.
You are upbeat and 60s in your sound, are you particularly interested in ‘past pop’?
MF – Our sphere of musical influence is pretty diverse, we’re not bound to one particular era or genre. We’re as interested in and as influenced by The Wu Tang Clan and hip-hop as we are rock n’ roll or music from the 60s.
What’s the inspiration for your music?
BO- A lot of our songs are about what we’re going through right now – the fear of growing up and facing adult responsibility. These kind of fears are inspiring. Fear is what makes people join cults in the first place – wanting to escape competition and success and be a part of something bigger, communal. We also want to live our own lives with our own schedules and expectations, so in a way this band has become our own cult.
How do you create ‘your’ sound?
BO- Its spontaneous and real. We’re not sound technicians, we made our first track in our apartment. I layed down some demos and Madeline started singing along. You can suck the life out of a song by making it perfect and we never want to do that.
Do you write your own music?
MF- Our album, like our original demo is self written, self- produced.
What are your musical backgrounds?
BO- I’ve been in bands since I was 13, including a Slayer covers band.
MF- My stepdad owns a studio and I’ve sung on an Adolescents record – there was even a song I did with Dee Dee Ramone singing as well. But for me it wasn’t a big deal, Dee Dee was just one of my stepdad’s friends.
Did you expect Go Outside to be so massive?
MF- Not at all. Most people didn’t know the first thing about us when they heard that track.
Is it true that you actually want to keep an aspect of mystery around yourselves, which is why we don’t know very much about you?!
BO- Absolutley. Bands have become way too handy at promoting themselves. It cheapens the music a bit. It’s like Coca Cola or some brand. There’s nothing left to ponder if it’s all filled in – you can just consume it and throw it away.
But do you foresee yourselves coming to the UK more; perhaps the festivals this summer?
MF- Totally ! We love the UK. You have some world class festivals going on that we would love to get involved with. There is a great vibe here.
Do you enjoy touring? What’s it like for you?
BO- Yeh it rocks. It’s always nice to see witness the way fans receive you music at first hand.
What do you see as the future for Cults?
Unlike many of our historical counterparts ours will have a happy ending!
Goodbye Bangkok was one of those wonderful surprises that landed in my musical inbox late last year. From first single Train to Penang – a mournful tune backed by a full orchestra – to the twinkling horns and swooping cellos of Welcome, the album is an elegiac treasure chest of unusual tunes inspired by Richard Gilbert‘s occasionally difficult time in Thailand. Despite harrowing subject matter there is real beauty in this collection; highlights include the duelling banjos that introduce love song The Fool, and a husky male voice submerged by honeyed female vocals in Voodoo Doll. Every song is an unexpected delight. A real find of 2011.
Your debut album came out last September, what has been the reaction? Any pleasant or unusual surprises?
Well, it has all been pleasant really in that it reached a couple of places I never expected it would – BBC 6 Music has played tracks off it a few times and Clint Boon of XFM made it his featured album of the day, which was very nice, as is he. It was a pleasure to simply be in touch with a pop star that features in my own record collection! I originally intended to record this album with my musical ‘other half’, Simon Andrew, and not promote it at all. It was just for our own enjoyment. It was intended to be a download only release with no marketing at all. We were artists in the purest sense! No bullshit, just the music. I still don’t feel comfortable pairing the 2 activities together. So it was my intention to leave it sitting there in cyberspace, ready for any random passersby to enjoy or not enjoy. Anyway, in the 11th hour, my arm was twisted, partly by me, into doing more of the promo work. And I started to enjoy it because it gave birth to Mollusc Records that I set up with a few mates and off we went. There is more to nurture now than just Lymes. The most pleasing thing for me is that, for those that have bought / received a copy of the album, they talk about the lyrics first of all. I was very anxious about the lyrics. They needed to be interesting and not vague because I knew I wanted to explore songs with upfront vocals and in a talking style.
What was the name of the band that you were in during the 90s? And why did you decide to go it alone for awhile?
I was in a noisy band called The Mandelbrot Set. Loads of wah wah and distortion. I packed it in because we had not written any good songs for a few months. I was too impatient. And when I left the band, I realised I had a huge void in my life. I had no job, no degree. So off I went to get the quickest degree I could and then to Thailand, which certainly filled my life with colour.
Be My Dead Wife
The subject matter was inspired by your personal encounters whilst living in Thailand…. how did these find their way into a musical format?
This was a key concern for me. The music was writing itself nicely, with my multi-instrumentalist partner Simon and me with the recording gear. The songs were stockpiling with mumbled vocal takes and no finished lyrics. I needed a theme for inspiration and when I wrote one set of lyrics about Thailand, Be My Dead Wife, I was really happy with them. And I was able to write a set of lyrics very quickly. Often in one sitting. I was also very keen on storytelling in music as opposed to nebulous lyrical imagery, where the singer is another instrument…..I spent a lot of time listening to Johnny Cash whilst out there. This probably opened my mind to storytelling.
What prompted the move to Thailand in the first place? You were there for 6 years which is a long time… can you tell us about some of your more interesting experiences? How did you stay alive, ie what was your work during that time?
As I said above, the big void left by not being in a band led me out of the country. It was supposed to be Argentina but I followed a mate to Bangkok after we did a TEFL course. I started off teaching English but quickly moved into market research in the grocery industry. Zzzzz. Some stories are in the album and the lyrics are all printed in the cover sheet. And there is no flowery stuff going on. Very direct I think. In addition to these? I have written a few things down here and deleted them. Sorry! It’s the usual stuff you would expect to see in Thailand; drugs, corruption, passport dealing, working without work permits, vehicle smuggling and ringing, prostitution, tourists and fresh expats getting duped, loutish behaviour, boiler rooms, grotesque sex shows (anybody care to see a go-go dancer shaking a coke bottle, sticking it up her bum, bending over and spraying the audience? No, thought not.), endless road traffic accidents and most sadly, child trading /smuggling. This is something that I could not put on the album. Although the lyrics are observational. the delivery and music add the appropriate vibe. I doubt I’d ever finish it if that were the story. To summarise, a sleezy English chap ran an English Language school but was also allegedly buying children from Orphanages on spec and selling them to Chinese people that were not able to have their own children. At least that is what I was told by others that knew him better than I. To just know the face and name of someone that might get involved in that troubles me. Writing songs about how great the food is and how lovely the people are doesn’t seem to work as well lyrically. But the food is amazing and the people are lovely!
You have said that songs start life in your phone voicemail at about 6am in the morning. Is that because you phone yourself in a half asleep slumber? Has this occurred under any strange circumstances, or in a strange place?
Kind of! I often wake up with song parts going through my head. I am usually convinced they are someone else’s. I sing them into my own voicemail before I forget them, so yes I am barely awake when it happens and then I ask everyone later if they recognise it…… the cellos on Welcome, for example, came about in this way, as did the violins on Voodoo Doll.
Your first live performance was with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra in October, which is quite a major deal! How did that come about? Any special things you had to adapt when performing with such a large amount of musicians?
That was the hardest gig I ever did. First gig with Lymes and my first gig since the 90s. I wanted to do something special, not just play the local clubs. And several Lymes songs had orchestral parts in them that would have left the song bare without orchestral instruments. We started planning this show 3 years ago. It is really tough getting people to come together for your music when you have hardly any money. But the Hull Phil were really nice people to work with and it certainly opened everyone’s eyes seeing the 2 genres coming together when no one had done anything like it before. We ended up with a chamber orchestra of around 22 players. It was a great success in the end. Amazing really, because we had to manage the show ourselves and many things were going wrong, increasingly so on gig day….. and we were trying to focus on the music.
Who else is Lymes?
Ah. I’m glad you asked about that. Simon is the other one and the musical backbone to this album. He has a lever arch file with hundreds of songs in it and we still have not gone through them all to see which ones need to be worked on. The 2 best songs on the album are The Fool and Train To Penang. He wrote the music for both of them. He is a very good drummer, a good keyboard player and a competent guitarist. There is also musical pedigree in his family. His brother is perhaps my favourite drummer of all time and had some success with Kingmaker in the early 90s.
The Fool
Train To Penang
My favourite story about Simon is that, while watching his brother having a really good time in Kingmaker, opportunity knocked on his door in the shape of an invitation to a drumming audition for a World Party tour in America. And he turned it down because he thought their music was boring!
When can people next see you live, and are you doing any festivals next summer?
We are planning another big show, this time with a gospel choir. We just need to find one that will not be too concerned about the lyrical content and lack of Jesus worship in our songs. We are also waiting to hear if we are on the bill for the Great Escape festival in Brighton in May. Fingers crossed on that one.
Eyjafjallajokull. How did you say that it your head? The impressive word refers to the glacier on top of the volcanic mountain (remember the ash cloud?) in Iceland. Understanding the perils of uninformed pronunciation, ordervisit this Icelandic native Eliza Newman, viagra approved wrote a little song on how to actually pronounce the word. It featured on the Al Jazeera News channel and has since become one of Al Jazeera’s most popular news pieces ever.
Ta daa:
But there is far more to Eliza (Geirsdóttir) Newman than chuckling at our pronunciation shortcomings. She plays violin, ukelele and piano, and is also a trained opera singer. Her song; ‘Ukelele Song for You’ was one of the most popular in Iceland in 2009. The tune is about ‘attracting trouble’, ‘broken promises’ and forgiveness. With ukelele strumming and high pitched notes, it’s lighthearted in its sound, contrasting with the seriousness of the topic. This is refreshing and conjures up thoughts for me, of Blue Valentine, and the heartbreak within the love and jovial moments. The uke can be (in a touching folky way) deep! It’s a pleasure to listen to:
Previously Eliza was the lead singer of girl group, Bellatrix and the rock band, Skandinavia. Through Bellatrix, Eliza and Co. released four albums on Björk’s Bad Taste label, signing to Fierce Panda for their fourth album release. They also headlined the Carling Stage at the Reading Festival and co-headlined a tour with Coldplay. These days Eliza is a solo artist and promotes Icelandic female artists by being part of the Trubatrix movement, which encourages gigs and album releases around Iceland.
Eliza’s second album, Pie In The Sky, is out on April 4, on Lavaland Records . Watch out for my review. For now here’s a little interview with Eliza:
Could you describe your music? Its beyond words, like touching heaven with your inner ear! Or just a kind of quirky pop style sweet on top but dark underneath muhahaha!….
Do you write your own music? Yes I write all my stuff and have always done , that’s the only way to go.
What is your inspiration?
Cats.
How do you feel about having one of the most popular songs in Iceland, ‘Ukulele Song For You’?
It feels great , very unexpected and a pleasant surprise. Icelandic people have good taste in music!
You play many instruments and are a trained opera singer, when did you start playing music and singing?
I started playing the violin at seven and studied that until I was 15 then I started a band and didn’t feel like practising violin any more. I started singing the day I started my first band. Never sung a note before then! Later I went on to study opera and I learned the piano, guitar and ukulele on the way.
What’s you favourite instrument, musical style? My favourite musical instrument is the harpsichord and the hurdy-gurdy, I really would like to get my hands on those two instruments to play! My favourite musical style is kind of pop rock indie opera classical hip hop and easy listening : )
Could you tell us about your former band, Bellatrix? Bellatrix was my first band, we were an all girl band and started quite young, got signed and released five albums both in Iceland on Björk‘s Bad Taste Label and later with Fierce Panda in the UK. The music developed from a punk rock sound to electro pop and we did loads of cool stuff like tour the world, headline Reading and do a tour with Coldplay. Fun and games!
What were the highlights of being in the band?
Headlining the Carling stage at Reading and Leeds Festival and travelling the world.
What about Skandinavia?
Skandinavia was my venture into heavy rock! Loads of fun. I was studying opera at the time in London and wanted to do some epic rock music inspired by opera. We recorded an album and did a UK tour and it satisfied my longing to do a heavy rock album, so that box is ticked now!
How does being a solo artist differ from being in a band?
It’s very different because as a solo artist you have to take all the responsibility which is both good and bad. You have no one to blame but yourself haha! You get more freedom to do your own thing as a solo artist but in a band you get more feedback and have to compromise sometimes, both things have their advantages. Having said that, I am very much a band person and enjoy working with others, so I would not rule out joining another band at some point.
And how is your own music different?
My music is more relaxed then the band stuff I did, I have calmed down quite a bit!
How is the new album in comparison to your last album, Empire Fall (Series 8 Records)?
The new album is more hopeful and has a lighter tone to it with ukuleles, synths and various fun instruments mixing it up. Empire fall was more minimalist and had a darker undertone.
Where do you want to go now in your career? I would like to go to Japan and play, also keep writing and finding new interesting ways of expressing myself through music, yeah and learn the hurdy-gurdy!
END. Thank you so much Eliza. Helen x
Written by Helen Martin on Monday February 7th, 2011 1:55 pm
Mikey Bee (aka MT Warning) was playing a solo show in Australia, when American film-maker Taylor Steele happened to be in the audience. Intrigued by the performance the film-maker approached the musician with a different way of writing songs. “How would a song sound from a man sinking into the ocean?” Together they pushed the idea of a song telling a unique tale while being part of a visual story, the result is MT Warning‘s debut album (out March 24th) and a series of engrossing videos and live visuals, created in partnership with Taylor. The video for lead single Midnight Dawn is one such film, Mikey Bee takes up the story;
We needed a beginning to the new album ‘Midnight Set‘. We were in the middle of the album that we felt was going to be a story of a day and a lifetime, so we decided to soundtrack the sunrise. Taylor (producer/colloaborator) gave me images of people waking up all over the world, pre dawn, some waking, some still going from the night before. I liked the idea of the community of headspace that exists in those hours between the middle of the night and the sunrise, it’s quiet, but there’s lots of people going about their creative business. It was also the hours that the whole album was recorded, so a natural fit.,
In the footage was surfer Dave Rastovich playing a kora and I put it on loop and started jamming to it, the first strummed chords played out as I picked up the rhythm and the lyrics came really fast. I wanted a ‘call to arms’ feel, but in a set back way: the excitement of an adventure and the conviction that you will overcome what the day might throw at you. To persevere even though we know that we are made up of very little importance, the important thing is to keep going on whatever path you’ve chosen.
When we came to the video, we wanted to show a journey. The idea is that we often think we are travelling as best we can, but often we are carrying a whole lot of shit that we really don’t need. We struggle with it, we are addicted to it, we leave no space for ourselves. To show that we found an old boat and filled it with junk, lovely junk and started in what looks like a desert, the middle of the journey. That thing was so heavy it really took all my strength to get through the day, literally feeling the pain of carrying too much shit.
The tempo, theme, lyric and video for the song all are there to represent that part of a journey where instinct kicks in and stamina is an accident, you are constant, you hear voices, you see only the lowers of your eyebrows and you just keep on going. I like a story that starts there and then unfolds.
MT Warning‘s debut album ‘Midnight Set‘ is out on 24th March 2014. You can find MT Warning on iTunes here.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday March 21st, 2014 9:48 pm
Laura J Martin sets out her wares in the album title track and single The Hangman Tree, the sweetest of vocals twirling around languid drums, hand claps and a noodling kazoo. The beat builds to a flute embroidered finale which leads into the stunning Fire Horse, where upon Laura J Martin‘s favourite wind instrument takes precedence with unusual and beautiful results. Other standouts on the 16 track album include the bouncy Jesse, the frantic spitfire interludes to the lilting Spy and campfire crackling meets rap of Kissabye Goodnight. You read our recent review of her live gig at the Lexington, and now it’s time to catch up with Liverpudlian musician Laura J Martin as she gears up to release her much anticipated debut album. The Hangman Tree is a gorgeous medley of folk, oriental and jazz influences that needs to be on your stereo soon.
You are a multi-talented musician with a range of musical instruments at your disposal. How many do you play?
My main instruments are flute and piano, but I dabble with the mandolin and other pipes too.
You have said that the flute is your main instrument of choice – has it ever been hard to accommodate a wind instrument and voice in your songs: how do you prioritise what works best?
Aha! Well the loop station was brought on board because of this reason. I have recently incorporated piano regularly into my live shows and recordings as it does more naturally support the vocal, but I do love layering up the flute especially when I go Mellotron / Strawberry Fields style.
What has inspired the lyrics to the tunes on your debut album The Hangman Tree?
Tributes to good people I know and have known, pets, stories relating to my gypsy heritage and flawed relationships.
You grew up in Liverpool: how did this urban environment produce someone so bohemian? Did your parents encourage your music and if so in what way?
Well I grew up in one of the dullest suburbs of Liverpool so we were forced to make our own entertainment. My parents have always been pretty supportive. They followed the Catholic tradition of having more than 2.4 kids so they probably lost focus with me maybe! In all seriousness they have been very encouraging, my Dad is sometimes my personal caddie too. Music has always been important to the Martin family. My Grandad was a pianist so he planted the seed.
The tracks on your new album bear more than the usual folk influences… for instance Fire Horse sounds vaguely Oriental. Where do these inputs come from? Kung Fu and Samurai films mainly and I do have a soft spot for the likes of (Argentine composer) Lalo Schifrin. The flute is a particularly oriental sounding instrument. If you took the same pitches and played them on another instrument such as, erm, the didgeridoo, well it might sound less eastern, not that I’m complaining about the link!
The Hangman Tree has been some time coming: we’ve been championing you for over 2 years on Amelia’s Magazine. Has it been hard to get the album out and what have the biggest frustrations and joys of the process been?
Yes, tell me about it!! The joys of the process are creating the songs and the satisfaction of completing them and being able to perform them live. It can be frustrating having to wait that length of time before releasing an album, but if you leave songs to settle you are able to pick out the strongest ones and ruthlessly erase the ones that don’t cut the mustard.
How did you hook up with record label Static Caravan?
Through Marc Riley, I have a lot to thank him for. Well saying that I met Marc through Euros Childs and Norman when touring with Jonny. Those fine chaps saved my life!
Where can our readers see you perform live in 2012?
Well some dates are coming together in the UK. Please see my website for details: laurajmartin.com I have also been working with Richard James so there should be some dates on the board for that soon too.
Any top tips for other musical acts to look out for this year?
I’ve been digging out some old stuff to be honest. Geoff from Static Caravan gave me a Johnny Harris LP for christmas and it’s a beast! New stuff? I think Y Niwl are terrific, Serafina Steer, Clinic have just released a new album which I am looking forward to listening to.
