Kat Phan – Page 3 – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Joan As Police Woman

“This song is about fucking up against the wall, illness ” announced Joan Wasser as an introduction to “Hard white wall”, a track from her second album To Survive at her Barbican gig on Sunday. Never the shrinking violet, Joan stood centre-stage in an all-in-one fitted black leather number, slashed at the back, as the spotlights converged on her small frame. It was the seventh time I had seen Joan As Police Woman play in London.

The first time I saw Joan was on a balmy summer’s evening in 2006 at the now defunct Spitz in Spitalfields, which in my opinion, used to put on some of the best gigs in London. The venue was at capacity that night and the air inside was clammy to the point where every surface I touched, whether it was a table or wall, seemed to be coated with a film of sweat. Fresh from a tour supporting Guillemots, Joan took to the stage in a silver metallic floor length gown and wowed the audience with her electric solo set. No big stage productions, no fancy costume changes, not even a band; just Joan with her powerful, soulful vocals, Korg keyboard and guitar. I am certain that she gained some lifelong fans that night, of which I am one.

Illustration by Darren Fletcher

The truth is that my enthusiasm for Joan extends beyond just liking her records and appreciating her live performances. There’s something about her music – perhaps classified in the same category as Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Cat Power and Regina Spektor – that deeply resonates with me. Her sound is raw, honest, pure and sung from the heart in a way which isn’t bland, overdone or contrived. The combination of her emotive vocals, attention to detail in the form of a subtle stroke of cymbal here and an echo of string instruments there, has had the power to reduce me to tears in the past (although I have been known to cry at most things!).

Over the years, Joan has seen me through the best and worst of times: she’s been the soundtrack to exciting train and coach journeys across South East Asia and South America as I have admired the ever-changing landscapes, accompanied me as I have trudged miserably into work on an overheated tube wedged up against some hairy obese man’s armpit, and comforted me through the pain of a relationship break-up where I often found myself lying kidney-bean shaped, feeling ridiculously self-pitiful. Yes, my one-sided relationship with Joan has roots man, she’s a sista.

Illustration by Darren Fletcher

A multi-instrumentalist who flits effortlessly between piano to guitar to violin, Joan has worked and performed with the likes of Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Elton John to name but a few. Much is made of the fact that she was the girlfriend of the luminous late-Jeff Buckley when he died, whose “Everybody Here Wants You” track is rumoured to be inspired by her, but for Joan to be defined by this alone is grossly unfair. The recognition that she deserves should be based purely on her own talent of epic proportions.

In the same vein as Antony and Rufus, much of Joan’s charm lies in her musical arrangements and unique vocals which can be spine-tingling, served tender or gruff. Her new album, The Deep Field unfurls her lust for life and presents to us a more positive and upbeat individual compared to her earlier offerings, Real Life (2006) and To Survive (2008). In her own words, it is her “most open, joyous record” to date.

Although the record is a departure from her more typical sombre sound, its essence is consistent with her previous material where she continues to demonstrate mood, depth, authenticity and sophisticated musical arrangements; a rare gem amongst some of the generic, non-memorable cack out there today.

Illustration by Matilde Sazio

When I meet Joan for tea at the K-West Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush for our interview, she is friendly and sprightly, but appears visibly tired after having spent two days trekking across the UK to do promo work. I try to act cool and calm, but I am sweating like hell and on my way to the hotel, I slip over and land on my bottom to the amusement of two young teenage boys who break out into hysterics, which makes for a nice ice-breaker as I re-tell my story.

Wearing a brown leather jacket, a matching pair of trousers and a bright yellow t-shirt with “Strut ‘n’ Stuff” emblazoned across the front that she picked up from a thrift store, with her thick unkempt dark brown hair and flawless skin, Joan looks much younger than her years – closer to 30 than 40.

As we sit on a comfy sofa in the so-called ‘library’ of the hotel, Joan is oblivious to the two middle-aged men in suits sitting behind us having a business meeting, who shoot a few disapproving glances in our direction as her voice gets progressively louder during the course of the interview. Speaking animatedly with a cup of herbal tea (she is trying to cut back on the coffee) in one hand and some neatly cut slices of apple in the other, Joan talks to Amelia’s Magazine about life before Joan As Police Woman, the inspiration behind her new record, embracing life and whose house she’d most like to be a fly on the wall at, all in the good company of some soft-porn inspired saxophone music playing in the background…

Illustration by Darren Fletcher

You trained as a classical musician and spent some time performing as one. What was the catalyst for you to explore being an alternative musician?
I always listened to different kinds of music as I was growing up and throughout my classical training. Classical music and non-classical music is all music so for me it wasn’t all that big of a stretch making other music. I loved studying classical music, but I wasn’t really interested in making it my life’s work because I wanted to make new music. There were also plenty of people who were better equipped at bringing new insight to the Beethoven violin concerto and I was not one of them. I loved learning the discipline behind that, but pursuing a career in it didn’t interest me so when I moved to Boston to go to school I started playing in bands then because all my friends were in bands. The rest, I guess as they say, is history.

You’ve been in several bands since you started out as a musician, including playing violin with Rufus Wainwright and Antony and the Johnsons, yet it as only in 2004 that you decided to front your own band. Why was there this delay?
Well I played violin exclusively for some time so I was mostly contributing to other peoples’ bands, which I loved doing. I was playing an instrument that is like a voice in itself. You don’t write songs on the violin so I had no way of writing. I picked up a guitar in 1997 to see what it was like; I wanted to figure out if I could write songs and started writing. I put a band together called Black Beetle and wrote a few songs with them and I joined Antony’s band. At this stage, I was still playing with lots of people doing string arrangements, but I also wanted to try out my voice which sounded horrible to me at the time. In the beginning you’re not used to what it sounds like and it doesn’t feel natural.

But surely you must have had reassurance from your friends that your voice is anything but horrible…
Well no one heard it. I started playing but I didn’t tell many people. I did get a lot of support from my friends which helped a lot, even if you think they’re lying because they love you.

So it was all very much about stepping slowly out of your comfort zone?
Yes, very much so. Antony had me open with one of his songs solo sometimes. It was a very nerve-wracking experience, especially as I was around a lot of astounding vocal performers. It was really scary, but I’m that kind of person where I like to jump into the deep end. It’s the only way to do things. I was making a record with Black Beetle that never got released, which was part of the learning process and then that band broke up in 2002 but I kept going; playing on my own and then I got a drummer to play with me and then Rufus asked me to go on tour and open for him and it just all went from there.

Illustration by Aysim Genc

The first time I saw you perform was at The Spitz in 2006, and even back then you seemed to be a very natural performer. Has performing always been second nature to you?
At that point I felt a lot better. Opening for Rufus was a good experience – you can’t really be opening for a crowd of total music lovers without getting your act together. Also, the fact that I come to a city that isn’t mine and tonnes of people show up. It makes you feel great; it makes you think: “OK – well at least I’m doing something right”.

When did you start recording the new album and what were your inspirations for the record?
I started by making a covers record which was fun for me to do. I wanted to get out of my head, my own songwriting. I think that really helped me to direct my songwriting on this record. I’m in a great place these days so I feel really open and joyful and I really wanted to get this across in the record. I first recorded seven songs that I had been writing since my last record, some of which I had been playing live. I did that in March and completed those songs and surveyed the scene and decided what the record needed. I then spent a few months writing five more songs to fill out the record the way I saw it in June and then mixed the whole thing at the end of last summer. It was really fun because I had never recorded an album that way before. Before I would record what I had, decide what the record needed and then wrote the kind of song to fit the record. This time, the new approach was a great exercise for me. I recorded at the same studio with the same producer where I feel very comfortable; it makes me feel like I’m coming home. Then I just got all of my favourite musicians to contribute to the record. It was just an absolutely glorious experience.

How do you think your sound has evolved since Real Life and To Survive?
It’s interesting because when I listen to my songs, I always think: “Where did that come from?” It’s beyond me. But I feel like I’m in a different place now…much more relaxed with myself in general. This is one of the treasures of spending more time alive because you get more comfortable with yourself and your surroundings.

Illustration by Matilde Sazio

You reached a milestone age last summer (Joan turned 40) – were there any anxieties?
I was really excited about it because I felt like it was a demarcation point of where I really didn’t have to give a shit about anything anymore. I never had to before, but I could just actually free myself of all the youth stuff. I have experienced a lot of things and it’s all been worth it, even though it was very difficult at times. I feel really lucky that everyday feels a bit better than the last because I’m determined to live a full life.

How did you celebrate?
I had a big party on my roof at home just outside of New York. It was really nice because I was there for the first time on my birthday and I really embraced it.

What advice would you give a 20-year-old Joan and 30-year-old Joan?
I would just reassure the 20-year-old Joan that things are definitely going to get better – I did not think that then. At 30…I don’t know…the thing is I wouldn’t ever do anything differently. You have to learn everything the way you learn them, unfortunately sometimes.

What do you do to switch off?
I definitely have to exercise or I go crazy. I need that in my life so I do that a lot. I spend a certain amount of time with my friends being ridiculous and making jokes as terrible as possible. Oh and drinking way too much coffee.

Whose house would you most like to be a fly on the wall at?
Prince, definitely! He’s the only person who I think: “What is he doing right now?” Because you know it’s something weird…or fascinating. He’s just incredible; amazing.

Joan’s new album The Deep Field is out now on PIAS records and she is playing across the UK until 13 February.

For a free three track download from the new record, click here.

Joan As Police Woman – The Magic

Written by Kat Phan on Thursday February 10th, 2011 6:56 pm

Categories ,Antony and The Johnsons, ,Aysim Genc, ,Beethoven, ,Black Beetle, ,Darren Fletcher, ,Elton John, ,Joan As Police Woman, ,Joan Wasser, ,Kat Phan, ,Lou Reed, ,Matilde Sazio, ,prince, ,Real Life, ,Rufus Wainwright, ,The Barbican, ,The Deep Field, ,The Spitz, ,To Survive

Amelia’s Magazine | Rufus Wainwright – All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu – Album Review

The first time I encountered Rufus Wainwright was at the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park five years ago after a friend had cajoled me into joining her for a spontaneous post-work “treat”. Wainwright was the supporting act for Keane (it gets better) and had been given a slot just after James Blunt (I told you).

In hindsight he seemed somewhat misplaced in the line-up with his less-than radio-friendly sound and his frankly astonishing talent. With his theatrical and flamboyant persona, issues-laden lyrics and unconventional sound, Wainwright was clearly an artist who divided audiences; you were either with him or you weren’t. I was firmly in the former category and have been ever since.

Six albums on since the launch of his career and a series of Judy Garland tribute concerts later, All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu is Wainwright’s latest offering and his most moving work to date. The first record released since the death of his mother, folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, who died from a rare form of cancer on 18 January this year, it becomes apparent after the first listen that darkness is the album’s central theme.

All Days are Nights – whose ‘Lulu’ part of the title is inspired by the havoc-wreaking character played by Louise Brooks in the 1929 German silent movie Pandora’s Box – consists of nine tracks and in true I-am-a-high-brow-artiste Wainwright-style, three adaptations of Shakespeare’s sonnets also appear on the record, which he set to music for a theatrical production in Berlin in 2009. Unlike his previous work, which combines lush orchestrations and complex string arrangements, all of the opulence has been stripped away to a bare bones effect, allowing the spotlight to fall upon a single piano, dusted with Wainwright’s sumptuous vocals. It is a brave move, leaving yourself open to scrutiny if you’ve grown accustomed to the support of a full band and backing singers (who once included Joan Wasser of Joan As Police Woman and Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons). But then again, this isn’t Brendan Flowers having a go, it’s Rufus Wainwright.

From the opening-track, ‘Who are you New York?’, where Wainwright recounts an obsessive search for an unnamed object of desire against a backdrop of the famous city, to ‘So Sad With What I Have’, a more reflective, self-pitiful piece where he opines, “How could someone so bright love someone so blue?”, his bruised, drawn-out baritone and intricate, swirling piano arrangements dominate throughout.

In ‘Martha’, the conversational lyrics inspired by Wainwright’s sister, Martha, are set to twinkling piano which becomes increasingly erratic in parts where, for the first time, we discover that even the Wainwright duo experience the same occasional frustrations we have when it comes to our siblings – “It’s your brother calling, Martha please call me back…”

‘Give Me What I Want And Give It To Me Now’ lifts the mood of the album with its jaunty deliverance, gradually swelling into a more cabaret-style sound. ‘Les feux d’artifice t’appellent’ is the closing aria from Wainwright’s debut opera, Prima Donna, which is currently showing at Sadler’s Wells in London (12-17 April) to critical acclaim. The track is a decadent and dramatic piece, with a crescendo-style ending where Wainwright taps on the piano’s sounding board and runs his hands along its strings to mimic the sound of fireworks illuminating the Paris skyline.

The closing track, ‘Zebulon’, written while Wainwright’s mother was dying of cancer, washes into lush fields of melancholy, and is perhaps the most emotive track on the album. It takes on a haunting and lingering tone, where he reminisces on the happier times of his childhood but also voices his disillusion about the harsh realities of the world.

All Days are Nights is a complex record which may not cater to everyone’s tastes, but Wainwright’s ambitious work has never been produced for mass-market uptake. Some critics have cited his musical endeavors as inaccessible and pretentious; however, in an age where most musicians are into recycling and you feel like you’ve heard pretty much everything before, his work continues to remain inspired without being derivative.

Listening to the album is a voyeuristic experience as you cannot help but sense that its manifestation was a creative outlet for Wainwright during his darkest hours. The decision to fuse minimal, yet sophisticated, piano arrangements with pure, heartfelt vocals emphasises his solitude in the lead up to his mother’s death, exposing a more vulnerable side of him – rarely has he sounded so intimate, confessional or raw.

All Days are Nights is Wainwright’s most assured, imaginative and beautiful album to date, where he has managed to produce another bewitching set of songs through his own emotional turmoil.

Written by Kat Phan on Tuesday April 13th, 2010 2:25 pm

Categories ,1929, ,album, ,All Days Are Nights, ,Antony and The Johnsons, ,Antony Hegarty, ,folk, ,Joan As Police Woman, ,Joan Wasser, ,Judy Garland, ,Kat Phan, ,Kate McGarrigle, ,Louise Brooks, ,Martha Wainwright, ,Pandora’s Box, ,review, ,Rufus Wainwright, ,Singer Songwriter, ,Songs For Lulu

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with singer songwriter Roxy Rawson

Roxy Rawson by Matilde Sazio.

Roxy Rawson isn’t your average singer-songwriter, no. For a start, there’s her quirky lyrics which cover topics as diverse as throwing apricot trees out of windows, philanthropy, pixies, cooks and thieves. Then there’s the entertaining use of her onstage instrument of choice, the violin, to create compelling sounds, which include her using a pen to ‘play’ it or treating it in the same way as one would a guitar. And when the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is not in the studio or on stage flexing her musical and vocal muscles, she is working as a political activist, developing programmes on how to improve the infrastructure of African countries with the London-based NGO Justice Africa. Intrigued by this impressive young woman? So you should be.

A classically trained musician who studied at the Paris Conservatoire, Rawson first discovered her voice through joining an African choir (more on this later) and has since been wowing pretty much everyone who has had the privilege of seeing her on the gig circuit. Describing her own sound as “plucky, percussive, emotional-ballsy”, Rawson has built a loyal fan base over the years with her unconventional lyrics and sound, which continues to grow.

Bursting with creative energy and genuine talent with a warm, sincere and gentle demeanour, the angelic-faced Rawson has the qualities of someone who deserves to be very successful indeed. Already counting Rob da Bank and BBC Radio 6 as her fans, 2012 spells big things for the London-born songstress who spoke to Amelia’s magazine about some of her musical influences, being compared to Regina Spektor and her aid work.

Roxy Rawson by Matilde Sazio.

You trained as a classical musician. How do you think this has influenced your musical style?
I think of chords in quite a classical way as in from the actual classical period when Mozart and Haydn were writing. The chords are quite uncluttered and not as nuanced as much as later music – but I’m starting to want more dissonance, colour and violence in the chords… similar to what you hear in modern jazz, Liszt and Brahms.

What did you listen to when you were growing up?
There was a lot of popular music from the ‘60s and ‘70s in the background on my mum’s record player; also art house rock and folk: King Crimson, Joni Mitchell, The Police, The B52s, The Proclaimers, The Eurythmics, early Rod Stewart, The Kinks, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, loots of David Bowie (my mum was a BIG fan). Also jazz and funk like Prince, Stevie Wonder and reggae like UB40 and Bob Marley and older songs by Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Jacques Brel and few bits of classical, Debussy and Bach.

When did you first realise you could sing? How did you “find” your voice?
I was in the choir at school and completely loved it, but was never brave enough to put myself forward for solos. When I was studying in Paris, I joined an African choir and had to learn some songs to sing for one of my classes. I remember really enjoying working on those songs and that the choir had primed me for it as well. From then on, I’d walk around the Parisian streets humming and singing to myself. I had a friend that loved jazz standards and I remember walking and singing in Paris all day with her…

At which point did you decide you wanted to pursue a singing career?
I knew I wanted to sing during the year I had my finals exams for my degree and started to write songs afterwards. At the time, I didn’t realise it could be a “career” per se as I just wanted to sing and compose for myself (after years of rendering other people’s music, great as it was). But then in 2008, Ambiguous Records contacted me through listening to my music on Myspace, which is when I realised I could, perhaps, make a career out of it.

You have often been referred to as the British Regina Spektor. Why do you think people draw this comparison and does it annoy you?
When I first started experimenting with making music, I listened to her a lot. I found it really refreshing to hear someone sing songs in the same kind of way I wanted to produce music and it gave me the courage to keep experimenting. The comparison doesn’t annoy me at all because I love her. I think we are similar in that we like to make quite stripped down music and are willing to be a little eccentric, but we’re quite different in other ways – her songs tell stories and though they are well constructed and lovely to listen to on a musical level, the emphasis is on the words and the stories she tells. My words have started to have more emphasis and some of them have stories – but the stories aren’t clear in their language. They are quite dreamlike / hazy and about conveying emotion. I like to convey the emotion through texture, dynamics and timbre – the types of sounds that can be put together, rather than an emphasis on the words.

Who are your greatest inspirations?
Hard life lessons (which can be alchemised through music) and opposites in feeling and in the physical world – light / dark, hard / soft, colours and black – I like to see these things in music and when I listen, I often see those things.

Any guilty pleasures?
Beyonce! Pop music with bounce! I love it.

What has been your most memorable gig to date and why?
St Barnabas Church in Soho. Because everything went awry before, my drummer couldn’t make it, my cello player stormed out of rehearsal – I didn’t know who was coming…it was a disaster. But I took myself off back stage and ignored them all, to de-stress myself before going on stage and somehow it all came together, the drummer turned up just in time, I felt enveloped by the warm audience and we played better then we’ve ever done.

You have a lovely, genuine and engaging onstage presence – have you always approached being onstage in your stride?
I have atrocious stage fright most times I play! It happens every time but it depends on how I deal with it. Sometimes I just play and ignore it, sometimes it’s difficult! But I think I’ve been starting to surmount it this year.

What have you found to be the biggest challenges of being an artist on the current music scene today? What things frustrate you?
The relentless self-promotion that you have to be doing these days if you want to get anywhere. You could spend most of your week tending to your music web pages if you do it all yourself… I don’t like computers so I tend to not to do that enough!

Aside from being a musician, you also work for the NGO, Justice Africa. How did you get involved in this?
I started volunteering for them a few years ago and they offered me a job. Since returning from Paris, I felt more aware of global inequality as I met people from all diff countries and walks of life. I studied an evening course in development, I travelled further to Africa and China and knew if I was going to work a day job, I wanted to work in development. But I wanted to work for an innovative NGO that didn’t dictate development needs. I wanted to work for a responsive organisation.

I can imagine working in this field must bring you into contact with some very depressing things. How do you deal with it and how has it influenced the way you live your life?
It can be depressing – yes – really distressing actually. My ex-boss’ family were caught up in the conflict in South Kordofan in Sudan recently. But I think it depresses me more if I’m not doing something that might in some way contribute to difficulties I’m aware of. I believe in what the organisation I work for does and so that is in itself quite uplifting.

What do you like to do to unwind? What puts you in a peaceful state of mind?
Reading, meditating and taking long walks in nature.

What’s next for you?
My new album is due for release in 2012. There’s lots of work to do for that and I’m planning a pledge campaign to try to fundraise for the remaining funds I need to raise to finish! I’m also gathering ideas and listening to lots to inspire me to write the next round of songs.

Roxy’s next gig is on 1^st December 2011, at The Hawley Arms. For more information, click here.

Written by Kat Phan on Wednesday November 16th, 2011 7:15 pm

Categories ,Ambiguous Records, ,Art House Rock, ,Bach, ,BBC Radio 6, ,beyonce, ,Brahms, ,Classical Music, ,Debussy, ,folk, ,Haydn, ,Jacques Brel, ,jazz, ,Joni Mitchell, ,Justice Africa, ,Kat Phan, ,King Crimson, ,Matilde Sazio, ,Mozart, ,Paris Conservatoire, ,Regina Spektor, ,rob da bank, ,Roxy Rawson, ,South Kordofan, ,St Barnabas Church, ,The Hawley Arms

Amelia’s Magazine | David Byrne & Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love – Album Review

There are certain musicians who do what they like. These are the frontline soldiers of the music scene, sales ed venturing into the unknown; fearless of the landmines that could blow their careers into smithereens. Just ask Britney, it’s a dangerous world out there.

David Byrne, on the other hand, appears to be made of vibranium. The former Talking Heads frontman has the uncanny ability to cut artistic diamonds out of pretty much everything he turns his hand to, and his latest project is no exception. In an unlikely collaboration, Byrne has teamed up with club DJ and dance-music producer Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) to compose a disco opera about the life of Imelda Marcos, who, along with her dictator husband Ferdinand, ruled the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. Confused? Well, I’m not surprised.

Five years in the making, Here Lies Love is a song cycle paying homage to the “Iron Butterfly” (as she was known), which tells the story of Imelda’s rise and fall through a sequence of songs written by Byrne, with Fatboy Slim providing the infectious beats. The impressive and eclectic name-check of female vocalists, including girl-of-the-moment Florence Welch, Martha Wainwright, Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper, and French chanteuse Camille, reaffirms the faith that Byrne’s fellow artists have in him in pulling off a potentially bonkers project such as this. Steve Earle and Byrne himself also make appearances on the record, where the twenty-two singers take us on a journey of Imelda’s life, from her humble origins to fleeing the country in exile. The roles of the former First Lady and those she was closest to are played out over the 89-minute song cycle, with the most notable character being Estrella Cumpus, Imelda’s childhood servant and friend, who was cast aside as Imelda began to occupy the upper echelons of Filipino society.

The record opens with a catchy, upbeat number from Florence Welch sung in a theatrical style, with a soaring chorus (no surprise there) to orchestral arrangements and squelchy electro. The title track details Imelda’s poverty-stricken childhood, her dreams for a better life and is amusingly also how she would like to be remembered when she dies: “When I am called by God above, don’t have my name carved into the stone, just say, Here Lies Love.”

The story arc continues with Imelda’s early hunger for fame and all things beautiful, captured by Martha Wainwright’s ballad-paced ‘The Rose of Tacloban’: “Elegant women on a magazine page…cutting out their faces, and replacing them with my own,” to her courtship and whirlwind romance with Ferdinand Marcos on ‘Eleven Days’, sung by Cyndi Lauper, who embodies Imelda’s excitement at the prospect of a diamond-dusted future. Over catchy bass lines and retro grooves, Lauper sings: “He gave me—two roses, one is open, one is closed, one is the future, and—one is my love.”

As Imelda makes the transition from simple country gal to fully-fledged member of the Filipino elite, Estrella’s gradual abandonment is highlighted in ‘How Are You?’ by Nellie McKay, in an imagined letter from Estrella to Imelda punctuated by a lively Latin-inspired chorus, and ‘When She Passed By’, which takes on a country-dance slant as Estrella only gets to admire Imelda from afar: “Did you see me outside? Did you see me? When you passed by in your car? Ah well, that’s okay.”

Further along in the song cycle, the record takes a more sinister turn, with angrier, edgier vocals deployed in the form of Alice Russell as Imelda acknowledges her husband’s infidelity: “You play around with that woman, Didn’t you know I cared?…If you prefer that slut—okay.” The last few songs paint a not-so-pretty-picture of martial law, with delicate vocals aptly provided by Natalie Merchant, and also the assassination of Marcos’ rival, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino (who dated Imelda in her youth, but rejected her because she was “too tall”), and then Imelda and Ferdinand being airlifted out of the Malacanang Palace (the White House of Manila) by U.S. marines (there is no mention of the infamous 3,000 pairs of shoes left behind – Byrne never likes to make reference to the obvious).

Among those making an appearance on Here Lies Love, stand out tracks include Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Eleven Days’, who captures the courtship thrill with a sexy and sassy deliverance; Roisin Murphy’s ‘Don’t you Agree’, with her husky tone perfectly pitched against Moloko’s signature staccato sleaze-horns (although hearing Murphy sing “Now, who stood up to the Japanese? Who cares about the Philippines?” pitched against this backdrop does throw you a bit); and Sharon Jones’ ‘Dancing Together’, whose muscular vocals finely complement the attitude-laden funk rhythms. Byrne shines in ‘American Troglodyte’, a song about American excess and the Filipino peoples’ fascination of it, employing a distinctive Talking Heads sound with sexy riffs and swirling synths. All in all, as diverse as the artists may sound on the roll call, the vocalists manage to meld their sequences together to seamless effect, without compromising their own unique style.

Despite the various themes, the record takes on a definitely 1970s and early 1980s disco theme, to honour Imelda’s love of the club scene (she was a regular at Studio 54). There are several moments on the album, such as in Theresa Andersson’s ‘Ladies in Blue’, where you can visualise the former First Lady throwing shapes around her New York townhouse (she had a dance floor and a mirror ball installed for entertaining and pleasure).

Here Lies Love is available in a deluxe hard-bound 120-page book, containing a DVD of news footage, but I got the poor woman’s version which has a double CD presented in a foldable cardboard case and pretty pictures of Imelda’s mother, Remedios, “Ninoy”, the Marcos’s in various poses and Estrella who appears as a blacked out smidge on the sleeve, presumably to illustrate a woman has clearly been left in the shadow.

As far as an analysis of the final piece goes, rather than painting Imelda as a monster, Byrne presents her as a sympathetic and tragic figure, one who lived in her own “bubble world” with an unashamed love of luxury. The record is more about human empathy than politics. Byrne is not proclaiming that Imelda has been misunderstood nor is he asking that we forgive her, but he artfully attempts to make us try to understand what drove her to behave in the way that she did; he considers how her inferiority complex about coming from humble origins may have motored her greed at the expense of her people; and how her gradual dissociation to Estrella may have been the caused by her wanting to rid herself of any association to her difficult past. The record in its entirety is a tribute to Imelda as Byrne tries to demystify such a well-known figure who people know so little about beyond the designer shoes and Swiss bank accounts.

It is inevitable that the musical-influenced style of the record will draw comparisons to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, but as Byrne has stated in previous interviews, the similarities end beyond both women being dictators’ wives. Here Lies Love is an adventurous project delivered by Byrne and although not every track is an instant classic, it’s definitely worth exploring for the innovation. It is a record that manages to be creative and intelligent yet highly entertaining. Somehow, David Byrne has managed to defy the odds and make his way safely back to the trenches to come up trumps again.

Written by Kat Phan on Friday April 16th, 2010 10:46 am

Categories ,album, ,Alice Russell, ,Camille, ,Concept Album, ,Cyndi Lauper, ,dance, ,david byrne, ,disco, ,electro, ,Estrella Cumpus, ,Fatboy Slim, ,Florence & the Machine, ,Florence Welch, ,Here Lies Love, ,Imelda Marcos, ,Kat Phan, ,Martha Wainwright, ,Moloko, ,Natalie Merchant, ,Nellie McKay, ,Norman Cook, ,review, ,Roison Murphy, ,Sharon Jones, ,Song Cycle, ,Steve Earle, ,Studio 54, ,Talking Heads, ,Tori Amos, ,Vibranium

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with indie band Delays

Most bands have a limited shelf life, especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.

British indie rock band Delays have so far managed to defy the odds. They have gone from strength to strength, following the release of their debut album ‘Faded Seaside Glamour’ in 2004. Six years on, the four-piece are set to release their forth record, ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel’ produced by Duncan Lewis.

In a tiny room in the basement of music venue Water Rats in King’s Cross – decorated with blue and white fairy lights, a few old shelves and an enormous brightly coloured abstract painting – I join spiritual frontman Greg Gilbert (GG) and down-to-earth drummer Rowly (R) before they take to the stage at their sold out London gig, to talk about their latest album, town criers and livin’ it up at Glastonbury over lime-flavoured Doritos…

How would you describe your new album in three words?
GG: Rustic, organic and psychedelic
R: I don’t like organic, it sounds a bit vegetably
GG: OK then; rustic, psychedelic and melancholic
R: Yeah, that sounds better – I second that emotion
GG: Or we could say “Our. Best. Album” – three words – succinct and to the point

What has inspired your latest album?
GG: Our last album had a lot of orchestral arrangements and there was a real urge between the four of us to strip the sound back and become a four-piece band again. With that in mind we started to go for long drives at night along the New Forest, making music to soundtrack the journey. We built the record from the ground up and it was just a case of being inspired by the environment opposed to any concerns about writing a single. We banned the words ‘single’ and ‘commercial’ from the studio.
R: We used to do it all the time; we would say: “I think this one’s a single”, which makes you approach making music differently. We spent a lot of time in Southampton, reacquainting ourselves with the city and each other again, which does come through on the record. The result is a much more personal and honest sound.

How have you found the audience’s response to your new material so far?
GG: We’ve found that people who wouldn’t have liked our previous stuff have been positive about the new album. They’re responding to the fact that it’s a more personal record – they’re getting from it more from us as individuals then a commodity. So far, the people who have heard our record think it’s the best one.
R: The new tracks are going down just as well as our old stuff. It’s a great feeling when the roar for a new song is as enthusiastic as for an old song, like ‘Long Time Coming’.

How do you think your sound has evolved over the years?
GG: The first album sounds like a beach, the second album sounds like a club, the third album sounds like a festival and this album sounds like the forest, with the roots growing underneath the city at night making the buildings shake whilst you’re asleep. The first album is quite delicate because we recorded that before we toured so there was a certain amount of discovery. For the second album we worked with Graham Sutton who is genius producer; he brought a real club edge to the record which had a raw but beautiful precision about it.
R: We wrote the third album with the approach that it would be amazing at a festival; it’s big and bombastic and sounds like you’re playing it to 100,000 people rather then making a record for headphones.
GG: This album’s much more abstract; you can hear this on a beach in Scandinavia at two in the morning with mist flowing in the morning. We were trying to create a record which maintained a mood and an atmosphere which carries you into different surroundings. I think the best records take you to different worlds and that’s what we tried to emulate.
R: It’s not necessarily one genre of music. There’s a certain atmosphere which you can’t quite put your finger on, but it works for late night drives with aerial views over the city.

What’s your proudest achievement to date?
GG: To me it’s the fact that we’re about to release our fourth album and our songs are still playing on the radio. Very few bands get to make four albums so that makes me feel very proud. We’ve been around since 2004 and we’ve managed to sustain and grow our fan base in a way that has been pure because there is no hype now around what we do.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?
R: I’ve been going to Glastonbury for years so to play there was amazing. I was really ill on the day and I came so close to calling the others to say I couldn’t do it, but by the time it came to going on stage I’d never felt so healthy in all my life – Glastonbury has that effect, it wakes you up. There was another time when we played in Mexico City; we were headlining on one of the nights at a festival called ‘Manifest’ and we had no idea how big it was going to be. There were 6,000 people crammed into a wrestling/bullfighting arena all chanting ‘Delays, Delays!”. We were slightly in shock for the first couple of numbers.

Did you have any ridiculous demands on your rider in the early days that you don’t feel embarrassed about fessing up to now?
R: I don’t think our rider has changed much since the start; just the same stuff: vodka, beer, water bottles. In the beginning we did have one thing that we thought would be great to collect, which was to have a picture of the local mayor from every town where we played. The only one we got in the end was from Gloucester where they gave us a picture of the town crier which they also got signed – that was ace!

Now that you have played with your long-term idols the Manic Street Preachers, who would you most like to support?
GG: I always come back to Prince. I’m also pretty obsessed with Scott Walker at the moment – he’s the musician I most admire. I’m not sure how we’d go down with his audience but he’s awesome.
R: It’s still The (Rolling) Stones for me. Apparently we did get an offer to support them in Vienna about three years ago but we were already booked in for a festival in Wales on the same day.
GG: Keith Richards is pretty much top of the tree when it comes to rock and roll. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again…

Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.

Written by Kat Phan on Thursday June 10th, 2010 8:37 pm

Categories ,Delays, ,Doritos, ,glastonbury, ,Graham Sutton, ,Greg Gilbert, ,Kat Phan, ,Keith Richards, ,Long Time Coming, ,Manic Street Preachers, ,Manifest, ,Mexico City, ,New Forest, ,prince, ,Rowly, ,scandinavia, ,Scott Walker, ,southampton, ,The Guardian, ,The Rolling Stones, ,The Stone Roses, ,Vienna, ,Water Rats

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with indie band Delays

Most bands have a limited shelf life, information pills especially the ones who are hyped. Although a review like: “The first band in a decade to lay serious claim to The Stone Roses throne” (The Guardian) can put you in good stead while you’re starting out, for sale it can also set you en route Destination Doomsville, burdening you with a reputation you simply can’t live up to.

Delays release their fourth album ‘Star Tiger, Star Ariel on 21st June 2010 on Lookout Mountain Records, preceded by the debut track ‘Unsung’ on 14th June.

Written by Kat Phan on Thursday June 10th, 2010 8:37 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Swedish musician Lykke Li

Photography by Lee Goldup

Sweden is a small country but it has produced some big exports. Whether it’s infectious pop, affordable furniture or fashionable, well-priced clothes (take a stab at guessing the brands!), the Swedes know what it takes to satisfy their consumers. Now if we extend these categories to ‘hip young musicians’, you’ll find that they have their bases covered here too.

We first featured Lykke Li back in February 2008 when she was just an emerging artist, relatively fresh to the gig circuit. Since then, she has well and truly blossomed amongst the underground and commercial elite of the music scene, building up a set of credentials to leave most of her peers looking on with green-eyed envy.

She released her debut album ‘Youth Novels‘ to critical acclaim in 2008 and has since performed with The Roots and hip hop legend Q-Tip, collaborated with Kayne West and MIA, and currently features on a track called ‘Miss It So Much’ on Roysopp’s latest album. As if that weren’t enough, she also penned the track ‘Possibility’ for the second installment of lovey-dovey vampire Twilight saga ‘New Moon’, gaining herself a healthy teen following in the process.

On the award front, Lykke’s musical talent and fashion sense have not gone unnoticed; she has received nominations for “Best Video” and “Best Female Artist” at the Swedish Grammy Awards and was voted “Best Dressed Woman” at the Swedish Elle Magazine Awards in 2009. Is there an end to this list of fabulousness?? (And she’s only 24!)

Photography by Lee Goldup

Dressed in an oversized black tassled jacket, a short black mini-skirt, bulky black boots and lashings of thick black eye make-up (and with few words), on meeting Lykke, I couldn’t help but feel that she exuded the demeanor of a slightly irked teenager.

I caught up with the Swedish starlet briefly, prior to her set at the Volvo Subject 60 launch party in London last week, for a rather intriguing interview in a drafty stairwell to talk about her international background, performing in front of big crowds and desert island necessities…

So how are you feeling about your set tonight?
Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to do some new songs tonight which I haven’t done before. The sets are also going to be more acoustic so it will be different and quite interesting.

You’ve had a very international upbringing – have you found that this has influenced your music?
I don’t know because I’ve never known any different. I don’t know how I would write music if I only lived in one place. I feel that my music comes more from within – not so much from the outside.

Photography by Lee Goldup

Who are your biggest musical influences to date?
There are just so many. I don’t really listen to a lot of new music. I get really inspired by weird chanting, like Voodoo music. I recently found these field recordings from the 1920s which I’ve been listening to a lot.

What bands currently excite you?
I really enjoy Beach House – the singer has a great voice and their songs are very well written. I am also listening to The Big Pink and a lot too who have an interesting sound. Of course, there’s always Leonard Cohen.

How have you found the transition of playing in big venues compared to small venues?
It’s been fine although I still enjoy playing small venues the most because there’s more of an intimacy you share with your audience.

How do you find playing in front of a UK audience in comparison to a Swedish audience?
It’s kind of crazy because I almost never play in Sweden; it’s so rare. I guess every audience is different but I find that in big cities, people tend to be slightly more reserved – there’s more of an effort that people make to be cool.

What has been your most memorable gig to date?
Last summer there was a festival on an island just outside Holland so we had to take the smallest boat to get there, but it was during severe storms and the water was really rough. Everyone on the boat thought that we were going to die. And then there was the coming back part when we were super drunk in the middle of the night. It was crazy but we had a great time.

Who would you most like to work with?
Leonard Cohen as always.

What’s the best piece of advice you can offer someone starting out?
It’s hard to maintain yourself in this industry. I think the main thing I would say is to be honest and always stay true to yourself. It’s clichéd but it’s true.

What are you most looking forward to this summer?
I’m looking forward to going for a swim in the lakes in Sweden when it’s finished. It’s going to be a long summer for me as I’ll going to be in the studio for most of it. It’s exciting but I can’t sleep anymore because I’m thinking so much – my brain is working all the time.

What three items would you bring with you if you on a desert island?
A hot man, a Swiss army knife and some erotic novels by Anaïs Nin.

Written by Kat Phan on Tuesday June 8th, 2010 11:25 pm

Categories ,Anais Nin, ,Beach House, ,CSI, ,Elle, ,Grey’s Anatomy, ,Kanye West, ,Kat Phan, ,leonard cohen, ,Lykke Li, ,MIA, ,Q-Tip, ,Royksopp, ,the big pink, ,twilight, ,Volvo S60, ,Voodoo

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with DJ/disco-dance/electro-pop musician Ali Love

Big Chill Festival 2010

I am standing on a sweaty tube to Ladbroke Grove and boy do I want to bust a move. I want to glide across the carriage, this wind it up, look shake my bootie (even though I don’t have much of one), viagra do the robot, shimmy back and forth and clap – but I don’t. Instead I repress all of my disco dancing energy into a few gentle taps with my fingers on the pole I’m meant to be holding onto; my inner Tony Manero bound and gagged.

Summer has arrived in full bloom as I listen to Ali Love’s latest single ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ on my hot pink ipod; I am on my way to meet the man himself. If truth be told, the first time I heard of Ali was only a few weeks ago when I was invited to a one-off exclusive show at East London art venue, CAMP. Although initially weary of all the hype, on seeing him perform and hearing his latest material, I couldn’t figure out why it had taken me so long to ‘discover’ him.

Photography courtesy of Pietro Pravettoni.

Storming onto the stage dressed head-to-toe in black with a cloak, studded vest and what oddly enough appeared to resemble a tassled curtain tie-back around his neck, Ali worked the stage with his two slinky backing singers dressed in rubber black cat suits, stitched with fluorescent electric blue tubing, like a veteran pop-maestro. As the girls writhed behind him in synchrony with lashings of mascara and kohled eyes, Ali delivered his anabolic steroid pumped disco tunes, filled with dirty bass lines, swirling-synths and throbbing melodies, laced with Prince-esque vocals, to an enthusiastic party audience who seemed to know every word.

Ali’s sound may not be groundbreaking in its 1980s electro-inspired genre nor particularly durable, but it is fun, upbeat, catchy and infectious, and his new album, Love Harder, features plenty of floor-fillers, such as ‘Done the Dirty’ featuring Lou Hayter from New Young Pony Club, reminiscent of Tom Tom Club’s Genius of Love, and ‘Show Me’, sampling Steve Winwood’s Higher Love, which deserve to be hit singles.

Photography courtesy of Pietro Pravettoni.

Today, there is no cloak and I arrive at Ali’s early to find myself loitering outside his flat, waiting for him to return from picking up his DMX drum machine. I spot him approaching me in distinctively 80s attire; a bright green t-shirt, blue skinny jeans, white Nike high tops with a fluorescent orange tick and a gold vintage bling watch. Ali towers over me, greeting me with a hug and a Sarf London accented: “Hey babe”.

On stage, Ali appeared extroverted, flamboyant and massively confident. On a one-to-one, however, he is more reserved than I had imagined, making little eye contact and often flits between intense and evasive, lucid and incoherent. As the evening progresses, a cheekier and more spiritual side of Ali emerges, as we talk about his cosmic stage sets, his preference for recording in the studio over performing live and potential collaborations, over a nice strong brew in his cosy flat in Notting Hill…

Photography courtesy of Pietro Pravettoni.

I loved the cosmic theme of your stage set at CAMP. How did the idea come about?
In colour, the music I’ve created is black and electric blue. When I visualise the sound, I can picture things like arpeggiators and my DMX drum machine (Ali points to the electric blue lines on his Oberheim DMX drum machine). On the cosmic theme, well I like cosmic music coz I’m a cosmic guy.

How do you go about composing your records? Do lyrics or a tune come to you first?
Most of the time, it’s the melody that comes to you first. Then I’ll just pick up my guitar and try to re-create it. Other times, it’s being struck by a word that someone says; something that you instantly pick up on and connect with. A good word can just spark off an idea. Songs write themselves most of the time. It’s like a flame; you have to keep feeding it with your creative energy.

Photography courtesy of Pietro Pravettoni.

How would you describe your new album, Love Harder, in three words?
Electric love music.

What has been the general response from the audience who you have played to so far?
What I’ve done has been well-received by the gay community and all over Europe. They’re mainly my kind of people; slightly left of centre, so not mainstream. I don’t really make music for closed-minded people; I make music for open-minded people and cosmic party people. I don’t know if that sounds snobby but those are the kind of people I want to impress. When musicians like Aeroplane say they love my music, it’s a really great feeling because that’s the kind of audience I’m trying to reach out to. It means a lot to gain respect from the people that I respect.

There’s a track on the album where you collaborate with Teenagers in Tokyo. How do you think they complement your sound?
Well the opportunity arose to work with Sam (Lim) who has a lovely voice so I just grabbed it. I told her to sing like a space siren and she nailed it. She really went for it on the record and to me, she sounds like an angel singing. I think it’s a great track to end the album on.

Photography courtesy of Pietro Pravettoni.

Your sound is distinctively 80s – is this an era that you look to for inspiration?
I don’t see myself as a retro artist. The palette was slightly electro and analogue so that lends itself to sounding 80s. The machines that I used are all 30 years old. I don’t care whether something is retro or not, it’s about whether you can hold a tune or whether it’s good to listen to. We live in a post-modern world and it’s hard to create new ground.

What has your career highlight been so far?
I’ve been to lots of different places in the world and have experienced a lot of stuff and that’s all because of the music – that aspect has been good. I’m pretty even minded about most things in a Buddhist middle way; I try to stay emotionally consistent, whether things are good or bad. My most blissful musical times aren’t when I’m doing gigs – they’re when I’m in the studio, recording material. That’s what I love doing the most.

It’s interesting you should say that as most musicians tend to enjoy the gigging aspect the most…
The last gig was really good and I felt really confident and happy that people were there, which felt like a breakthrough. I’d like to be like Harry Nilsson, he never played live, he just made beautiful amazing songs in the studio. Same with Georgio Moroder – he gave up playing live. I’m more interested in being a recording artist.

What do you gain from making music from a spiritual point of view?
If I didn’t do music I’d have to do meditation or something to stop me from going mad. Music for me is meditative. I need to concentrate on something and it’s been the one thing I can concentrate on. I was terrible at school. My dad died when I was 13 and it stopped me from caring too much about things. I became quite spiritual as I was suddenly hit by the question of death. My whole mind started to move in a different direction. It has given me a place to escape to and a lot more empathy for feeling things in the world. It has enhanced my musical palette which happens to a lot of musicians. You need to find a place to visit to write songs. If everything in your life was normal, it would be quite difficult to find inspiration to write. Having said that I do still really like boner jams about sex; they’re all fine.

How have you changed as a person since you started out in the music industry?
When I started out I was living above a club on Kingsland Road in East London and high all the time. I was living on the dole but passionate about my music; just the classic clichéd punk rock vibe. But somehow I managed to get a big record deal. So because I’d been on the dole for six years beforehand, it all went to my head a bit. I went a bit crazy and the partying outweighed the music-making even before it all started. But luckily I had the hit with the Chemical Brothers which kept me financially afloat for a while. I wouldn’t change anything; it was a good journey. Now I’d love to have a guru or teacher and learn kung-fu in the hills; get more in touch with my spiritual side.

Who interests you most on the music scene at the moment and why?
I’m mostly drawn to disco people like Aeroplane and the guy who did my remix, Bottin. I really like the work that Prins Thomas does and the Lindstrom stuff. Pop wise, I like Empire of the Sun.

Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I’d like to collaborate with rappers, some kind of US stuff. I think it’s because I’ve just moved to West London and there’s a bit more rap around where I live and that’s starting to soak into me.

So do you find that where you live influences your sound?
Well I was living in East London before which is why I made a totally gay disco record!

And finally – what random piece of advice can you offer readers of Amelia’s Magazine?
Be nice to each other and always look right twice when you cross the road.

Ali Love’s new album Love Harder is out on 9th August on Back Yard Recordings.

Written by Kat Phan on Sunday August 8th, 2010 9:09 pm

Categories ,Aeroplane, ,Ali Love, ,Bottin, ,Chemical Brothers, ,DMX drum machine, ,Georgio Moroder, ,Harry Nilsson, ,Kat Phan, ,Lindstrom, ,New Young Pony Club, ,prince, ,Prins Thomas, ,teenagers in tokyo, ,Tony Manero

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