Jona Lewie – AmeliasMagazine

snowdragon-by-lorraine-nam

Back with post two on Christmas music. I hope post one was enlightening. Now let’s see what the chaps at Amelia’s Magazine love to listen to at Christmas time. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xx

2000 miles by Karina Yarv

Illustration by Karina Jarv

Karina Jarv – Illustrator
Of course there are always a lot of favourite Christmas songs… It’s Christmas, information pills there is a fantastic mood in the air and you want to listen to something very old and familiar to you. The same thing is with me. ONE of my favourites is ‘White Christmas’ by Bing Crosby. But to be honest my current favourite is the ‘2000 miles’ cover by 6 Day Riot. Everything is so perfect there for me: magical voice, amazing sound… Yes, the original song is great, but this sounds a little bit more personal. When I hear this song I want to put the kettle on, take a warm bath and good book with me and wait for someone…very special…’to come back’ to me someday.

Amelia Xmas

Amelia Gregory

Amelia Gregory – Our Magazine Leader
Do they know it’s Christmas? from 1984 – because it reminds me of being young. I love that all the famous pop stars of the era are featured in it, but it was still so craply done – no stylists on hand in those days. Of course it was cheesy even then but I was given a 7″ for my birthday which I still treasure.

And as I discovered watching the Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, it encompasses all the essential elements of a Christmas tune – obvious references to Christmas, innuendo, pathos, political context, bells and a sing-a-long chorus. An absolute classic.

Faye

Faye West

Faye West – Illustrator
So hard to choose, but it will have to be Mariah Carey‘s All I Want for Christmas (is that what it’s called?!), reminds me of being 14, in New Look shopping for a Christmas Disco outfit in 1998, the year we did a dance to Spice Girls for the Christmas assembly. I chose a gold glittery vest top with a blue velvet mini skirt as had Geri Halliwell in mind. The song makes so many of us excited. And then the fun of dancing to it in summery June in ‘Boombox’ a few years ago!

hippo-xmas-by-lorraine-nam

Illustration by Lorraine Nam

Lorraine Nam – Illustrator
I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas is my favourite Christmas song. It’s funny and silly and it has a great background story to it. The little girl ends up actually getting a hippopotamus and donates it to the local zoo.

Martin from Principal Colour – Amelia’s Book Publisher
Amelia has been working with Principal Colour since 2004. They have a close relationship, enabling her to do lots of new, experimental things when printing covers – like the pearlescent cover in the latest book, Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration available now here. Martin says his fave Christmas song is: Without doubt it has to be “merry xmas everybody” by slade, when I was young it was what Christmas was about and then when a bit older in the pubs was the sing along of choice (and apparently I used to look a bit like Noddy Holder – don’t know if that’s a compliment or not to be honest).

Matt Bramford Christmas Grump

Matt Bramford

Matt Bramford – Amelia’s Magazine Fashion Editor
Mine is Jona Lewie’s Stop The Cavalry because it’s so silly and I get to do my infamous fawn dance.

slow club by karolina burdon

Illustration by Karolina Burdon

Hannah

Hannah Bullivant

Hannah Bullivant – Writer Contributor – craft extraordinaire
Ok my favourite christmas song is It’s Christmas and You’re Boring Me by Slow Club, because its beautiful…even though i feel the opposite about my mister, I just love it.

Rob photo

Robert Harris

Robert Harris – Writer Contributor
I love Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. It’s got a lovely lilting, folky melody – it’s actually based on an old folk standard called Stewball. It’s a protest song about the Vietnam War, which makes it 100 times more meaningful than anything by Slade, and it’s one of the few credible Christmas songs. Well, until Yoko Ono starts singing…

Elvis-Christmas-Album-by-Mina-Bach

Illustration by Mina Bach

Mina Bach – Illustrator
The Elvis Christmas Album is an absolute MUST at Christmas for me!

jess_upperstreet

Jessica Furseth

Jessica Furseth – Writer Contributor
My favourite Christmas song is probably ‘Silent night’. It reminds me of what Christmas was like when I was a kid, when it was sort of magic. Where I grew up there weren’t really any Christmas-themed pop songs, so I don’t really like those as they don’t hold any significance for me. So yes, I like the old-fashioned songs.

Wham illustration by Avril Kelly

Illustration by Avril Kelly

Avril Kelly – Illustrator
Wham! Last Christmas. It is the ultimate cheesefest of Christmas songs, I hear it every Christmas in the car on the way to visit family and friends. Everyone always sings along loudly and rather terribly, it has to be said. It’s fun and cheesy and just I love it.

Abby Wright

Abby Wright – Illustrator
Well this is a hard question, I love Christmas songs, especially those I can sing or dance to. In particular I love Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie, Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and Band Aid’s Do They Know it’s Christmas. My favourite ever though would have to be Merry Christmas Everybody by Slade. It makes me so happy, and it’s a song that i’m guaranteed to dance to and get a sore throat singing to! It’s fun, cheerful and just what Christmas should be. I hope one year soon we will have an actual Christmas song for Christmas number one again!

Jingle Bell Rock by Chloe Cook

Illustration by Chloe Cook

Chloe Cook – Illustrator
Jingle Bell Rock by Billy Idol. I’ve chosen this song because I absolutely L-O-V-E Billy Idol, and I also love Christmas, so it’s putting my two favourite things together. Also I just think that it’s quite a funny thing that such a massively known punk rocker has done a cutesy little Christmas song, and I think more people should listen to it!!

Daria Hlazatova – Illustrator
I know what you’ll say about my favourite Christmas song being “Jingle bells rock” by Bobby Helms – “cheeky!” Well, I first heard it as a child in “Home Alone: Lost in NYC” and loved it. Since then it became associated with this city until finally some years later I found myself in NYC at Christmas completely alone. I remember hearing this song when passing Macy’s and being hit by a wave of nostalgia. Cheeky dreams come true at Christmas, I thought! Hope your Christmas is a happy one!

Helen Martin

Me – Helen Matin

Helen Martin – Writer Contributor
Christmas TV by Slow Club is my favourite Christmas song. It makes me happy. Tender, honest, true and full of yearning. Gorgeous.

Written by Helen Martin on Wednesday December 22nd, 2010 5:40 pm

Categories ,6 Day Riot, ,Abby Wright, ,Amelia Gregory, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,Avril Kelly, ,band aid, ,Bobby Helms, ,books, ,Chloe Cook, ,Daria Hlazatova, ,Editor, ,Elvis, ,fashion, ,Faye West, ,Frisky and Mannish show at the Lyric Theatre, ,George Michael, ,Geri Halliwell, ,Hannah Bullivant, ,Helen Martin, ,Jessica Furseth, ,John Lennon, ,Jona Lewie, ,Karina Jarv, ,Karolina Burdon, ,Lorraine Nam, ,Macy’s, ,Mariah Carey, ,Matt Bramford, ,Mina Bach., ,New Look, ,new york, ,principal colour, ,publishing, ,Robert Harris, ,slade, ,Slow Club, ,Spice Girls, ,Wham!, ,Yoko Ono

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Brainlove Festival by Ed J Brown

Brainlove by Ed J Brown

What a day for a birthday! After what seemed like an interminably wet few weeks, the weather was cooking nicely for a trip to Brixton Hill. As has become custom on what is usually a Bank Holiday weekend, the venerable Windmill played host to the Brainlove Festival, organised by that defiantly square peg in the round hole of mainstream indie music, Brainlove Records. Today, though, was an extra special day, as the festival reached the five year milestone (though, ironically, main man John Brainlove was in danger of missing his own festival, having been stranded in Iceland!).

The first act I caught was AK/DK, helped out by Amelia’s Magazine favourite Napoleon IIIrd. Comprising of duo Graham Sowerby and Ed Chivers, they built up from programmed synth loops to various (often seemingly improvised) patterns, layered with different effects, distorted vocals, Napoleon IIIrd’s guitar and some serious drumming action, creating a very pleasing noise.

I popped out to the beer garden, which was doubling as an outdoor stage, to catch some poetry in the sun, and heard tales of manga, Zooey Deschanel and what you really shouldn’t do with a jar of peanut butter!

It was time to head back inside, as Brainlove stalwart Andrew Paul Regan was about to come on. Previously known as Pagan Wanderer Lu, he still totes guitar, keyboard and laptop to create buzzed up *indietronica*, flavoured with a dash of witty, acerbic lyrics. Prefacing each song (from soon-to-be released new album, The Signal and the Noise) with ‘just pretend that you’re not in the Brixton Windmill..’ Regan weaved his darkly humorous tales.

Out in the sun, Abi Makes Music regaled us with tales of accidentally being locked in the Hackney Picturehouse overnight, before her set of slightly twisted synth pop (which reminded me of You Will Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties era Jona Lewie). Despite an interruption from some random sweary local making his way to the barbecue, she won over the assembled onlookers. Also, I discovered that Abi’s partner is someone I know through work! Small world, eh?

Abi Makes Music by Sam Parr

Abi Makes Music by Sam Parr

Back on the indoor stage, London three-piece (and self-described “techno rock band”) Tall Stories were getting underway. With a keytar sporting bass player, they rocked out the crowd with their spiky, punk-referencing sound. I also noticed, later on, drummer Scott Vining helping out on the barbecue outside. Obviously a versatile sticksman!

Tall Stories by Scott Nellis

Tall Stories by Scott Nellis

One of the highlights from last year’s Brainlove Festival, Mat Riviere was occupying a spot in the beer garden. Crouched down with his keyboard , guitar and various effects, and using (amongst other things) one of the tables as extra percussion, he purveyed some haunting, discordant melodies.

Guitar and drums duo Crushed Beaks let rip with their wall of noise before Dad Rocks! slowed things down a little with some acoustic led melodies. Fronted by Denmark-dwelling Icelander, Snævar Njáll Albertsson, and backed with some trumpet and viola, Dad Rocks! treated us to some lovely lo-fi, almost country tinged tunes, and they also welcomed home the intrepid explorer John Brainlove, as he finally made it to the Windmill.

Continuing the Nordic flavour, as is traditional at Brainlove events, Estonian band Väljasõit Rohelisse took to the stage. Meaning ‘roadside picnic‘ and named after a Russian short story, they were bathed in darkness, save for a green lamp projecting on to one wall, with only guitarist Lauri Tikerpe’s back visible. The music was as dark as the stage, with sampled dialogue, reverb-laden vocals, fractured guitar, brooding bass and drums. There was a very post-punk vibe going on.

In complete contrast, headliner Enjoyed (aka dance music producer Peter Evans-Pritchard) offered up some blissful beats (joystep, as he calls it), which got some of the festival die-hards dancing. There was even, unless my ears were deceiving me, a remix of the old Mark Morrison floor-filler, Return Of The Mack. Didn’t see that one coming!

And so, another Brainlove Festival drew to a close. As ever, it was a rich and varied selection of artists, a contrast of styles and genres that marks Brainlove Records out from the crowd. Wandering out into the South London night, I’m sure I wasn’t the only person thinking ‘roll on festival number six!‘

Written by Richard Pearmain on Wednesday June 6th, 2012 12:36 pm

Categories ,Abi Makes Music, ,AK/DK, ,Andrew Paul Regan, ,Brainlove Festival, ,Brainlove Records, ,country, ,Crushed Beaks, ,Dad Rocks!, ,dance music, ,Denmark, ,Ed J Brown, ,Enjoyed, ,Estonia, ,Hackney Picturehouse, ,iceland, ,indie music, ,indietronica, ,Jona Lewie, ,joystep, ,Lo-fi, ,Manga, ,Mark Morrison, ,Mat Riviere, ,Napoleon IIIrd, ,Pagan Wanderer Lu, ,Post Punk, ,Russia!, ,Sam Parr, ,Scott Nellis, ,Synth-Pop, ,Tall Stories, ,Väljasõit Rohelisse, ,Windmill Brixton, ,Zooey Deschanel

Amelia’s Magazine | Ahoy there Amelia’s Magazine! What’s your fave Christmas song?

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Amelia’s Magazine | Brainlove Festival 2012: Live Review

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